PART 1: Rift
Chapter 2: Taken
"Naruto, wake up."
Snapping to attention, the blonde ninja jolted upright, one eye gummed shut, rubbing off the side of his face. "K . . Kakash-sensei?"
"Someone's in the main building. Naruto, take the front entrance, Sakura, back him up. I'll take the upstairs window. Regroup on the landing."
"Yes sensei," they chorused.
With a swift sonic reverberation, three shadowy shapes darted from the shelter of the outhouse and to their respective positions around the rest-stop. At the front, Naruto, on the left side of the door, looked across to Sakura's half-concealed form. She gave a sharp nod. Wrapping the blanket around his fist, he struck at the fragile lock. It gave under the first blow. He slipped past, dodging the hulking, rough wood dining table that stretched the length of the room and made for the door at the back leading to the stairs to the upper floors. Sakura was right behind him, body turned slightly to sweep the room with her gaze. He could sense the condensed chakra around her left fist, bowstring taut and tightly controlled. The musty smell of old food scraps, unwashed dishes and vegetable waste wafted over to them from the scullery as they passed. And a soft clink of cutlery being subtly shifted by someone who obviously did not want to be detected. Glancing slightly over his shoulder, Naruto jerked his head. Nodding, Sakura bypassed the door, tightening the glove over her 'good' fist.
Hand forming seals rapidly, Naruto twisted the brass handle, swinging the door wide, kunai at the ready. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!"
Three identical clones appeared in billowing puffs of smoke. A louder clatter from the kitchen and a heavy muffled thump, with all the resonance of a chakra laden punch, met his ears. He grinned. One down. From the staircase above another heavy thud and frantic breathing. Kakashi had probably let this one go to secure the merchant upstairs, in the knowledge that they would deal with the intruder down here. A stumbling shape appeared ahead, freezing halfway down the staircase when he spied Naruto at ground level.
The shinobi obviously felt that he would rather take his chances with this boy than with the terror waiting upstairs. Drawing three kunai and letting fly, he saw the blonde-haired boy duck into the safety of the dining room. Seizing his chance, the intruder launched himself at the open doorway, only to find himself in a tight stranglehold, with two more pairs of arms fastening around his waist and legs. One solid punch to the ribs later found him winded on the floor, wrists and ankles tightly bound with wire. The clones holding him down vanished in noisy puffs and the young shinobi above him rubbed a finger under his pert nose, sniffing disdainfully.
"Just as hopeless as the other one. What's happening to shinobi standards, Sakura-chan?"
"Come on, idiot, let's go find -"
"Naruto! Sakura!" The urgency in their sensei's tone caused them both to tense instantly.
"Kakash-sensei?" Sakura called tentatively. A moment later, the jounin appeared in the doorway, hardly sparing a glance for the bound man at his feet. "Igarashi-san. He's gone."
"WHAT?" Naruto stared in disbelief. "These dickheads? They took him?"
"It appears so." Kakashi had already sliced his thumb, squatting to slam his hand into the dusty wooden floorboards. Pakkun yawned back at them when the smoke had dispersed.
"Long time no see, two legged friends."
Kakashi held up a cotton shirt. "Track this scent, Pakkun. We need to move fast."
"Wait," Sakura was frowning deeply, "How did they get past us? These guys are amateurs!"
She received a grave shake of the head. "Igarashi-san's been gone for some time. Someone hired these idiots as decoys."
"But-"
"Guys," Naruto interrupted, pointing up the staircase. They looked up to see a growing audience, muffled whispers carrying down to them. The owner of the rest-stop came down partway, stomach bulging over tight pyjama bottoms.
"What's going on here?" There was an audible quake in the man's voice. "Who's that on the floor?"
"An intruder," Kakashi interjected smoothly, rising from his position beside Pakkun, "Tell me, did you hear any suspicious noises during the night? Any sign or sound of a struggle?"
The portly man shook his head, a hint of self-righteous indignation creeping into his tone, "Certainly not. At least, not until you people came in here and started throwing the furniture around -"
"Can it, jiji!" snapped Naruto, "Igarashi-san's missing!"
"Wha - "
"No time," Kakashi cut in curtly, "Naruto, leave one of your kage bunshin behind to interrogate this one." He kicked the man on the floor who groaned and rolled over, clutching his stomach. "Sakura - "
She shook her head. "The one in the kitchen got a head-on hit. He won't be waking any time soon."
"Pakkun, do you have the scent?"
"Yes, boss. Heading east and fast."
"Let's go. I'll brief you two on the way."
Leaving the dumbfounded owner, a crowd of confused patrons and one bruised, bound shinobi, the three took off, dark streaks pelting through the night towards the forest. The blonde, orange-clad clone in the doorway watched them go, then turned to his captive, knuckles cracking, as ominous as the sharp-toothed grin that spread across his face. The gathering on the staircase took a collective step backwards. He approached the trussed form on the floor and turned him over with deceptive gentleness, rolling up one sleeve.
"Talk, bastard, or this fat ojiisan will be throwing your fingers out with the potato peels tomorrow."
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Shikamaru was on guard duty. Of course, anyone who knew him well enough would know that 'guard duty' was simply a synonym for watching the clouds. On his back, preferably with a blade of grass between his teeth. There were many synonyms in Shikamaru's internal thesaurus for watching the clouds. Grocery shopping, training, helping genin, tutoring academy students, to name a few. Nobody tried to talk him out of this manner of passing the time. Nobody had that much time to waste on fruitless pursuits. And so it was that the ANBU found him easily. The patrol roster had his name listed next to training ground 6. It was precisely in the middle of training ground 6 that the chuunin had settled himself comfortably.
"Nara Shikamaru, you are to report to the Hokage's office urgently."
The ponytail shifted as Shikamaru moved his head a fraction. "How urgently?"
The ANBU appeared at a loss for words. Then came a stiff, "Now."
"Right. Coming." Standing and dusting himself off, he turned to find the ANBU absent, as he had expected. Heaving a heavy sigh, he cast a glance up at the lone drifting cloud in his field of vision. "Troublesome."
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The Hokage's office was a hive of barely controlled activity with Shizune as the frazzled, untidy hub at its centre. Tsunade merely appeared tired and thoroughly annoyed, as he could see from the thin set of her lips and the way her hand occasionally twitched as if about to pour an imaginary drink.
"Shizune," she snapped as he entered, "Get the files for Shikamaru."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama!"
"You asked for me, Hokage-sama?" he enquired.
"Of course, brat, I didn't send the ANBU to make you feel important."
Oh dear. "Oh. Right. So . . . will you brief me?"
Tsunade sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Don't play dumb. You must have heard from Ino. That girl could gossip enemy-nin into their graves."
He studied the ceiling for a moment. "Hm. Those executions."
"Executions?" Her gaze sharpened in a way he wasn't sure he liked. "So you've been thinking about this, eh?"
"Actually - "
"Excellent. So you'll take the case?"
"Case?"
"Finding out who is responsible," she explained impatiently.
It took him a few moments to catch up to her. "Hokage-sama? You want me to - "
"Yes, you, Nara." She leaned forward, fingers linked thoughtfully under her chin. "You've proved yourself, both in the field and behind a desk. Quite frankly, you are the best analytical mind we have available. This kind of case is no walk in the park. When shinobi kill each other, it's order of the day, unless it happens to be your own comrade. However, this is strictly related to civilians. Random attacks. Just the thing to spark panic and disorder in Konoha." She sighed. "The victims appear to be random targets. This may be the case, however, your particular skill is . . . lateral thinking, so to speak. You can predict with great accuracy, see connections and patterns when everyone else stumbles around in the dark. That's what's needed for this. That's what I need you to provide."
Shikamaru was, for entirely different reasons than normal, completely lost for words. To hear this kind of praise when the world had been screaming at him to get off his arse and be 'useful' for years (with the exception of Asuma-sensei who, in many ways, had been just as lazy as he was), and coming from the Hokage no less, was . . .
"Troublesome," he sighed. "I'll take the case."
Tsunade, despite herself, cracked a smile. "As if you had a choice. Shizune will give you the case files. You will be working in conjunction with Commander Sato Benjirou of the Konoha police force. Report all information gathered to him, he reports directly to me. You will also have other assistance. The ANBU, Hawk, will be at your disposal should you require information with higher clearance. He was at the site of one of the killings, make sure you gather everything of importance from him. Shizune?"
Her assistant looked up from where she had been gathering the relevant files and hurried over, pressing them into his hands. "I'm in charge of the autopsy reports, Shikamaru-san. I performed them myself, so come down to the morgue later to look over the bodies and discuss the details with me."
He nodded his understanding, was summarily dismissed, and so found himself embroiled in events that even he could not forsee the vital significance of in the near future. If he had known, he might have read those reports at lightning speed and completed his first analysis within the hour. Or maybe not. It was better not to rush these things.
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The forest swallowed them in immediate dampness and bone-chilling cold. Pakkun led the way, Kakashi following his diminutive form, Sakura and Naruto close behind. "Listen up, you two," the jounincalled to them. Neither of them dreamed of not paying attention. Kakashi was using his serious voice.
"We never heard Igarashi-san leave the premises. Either the assailant incapacitated him immediately upon entry without alerting us, suggesting a skilled shinobi, or there was some hold the assailant exercised over him to make him go willingly. There was no sign of a struggle."
"The money!" exclaimed Naruto, "That stingy old goat would never let it go."
Kakashi nodded. "Entirely possible. There was no trace of the money when I searched the room. But remember, if they took the money as a coercion tactic, then the weaker the shinobi. They preferred manipulation over brute force. This does not mean we should be less careful. We may be facing a small time crook, but he'll be a cunning little shit who, most probably, set traps for us in advance."
Sakura drew level with him. "Sensei, those guys back at the house . . . "
"Decoys, as I said before. Naruto's kage bunshin will most probably get nothing much out of them. I'll lay a bet that they received written instructions on a scroll with a self-destruct jutsu and picked up the money for the job at a drop point."
"So this guy who took Igarashi-san . . . might be a hired heavy too, right? The one in charge wouldn't risk being out in the open, would he?"
Kakashi smiled behind his mask. Ah, they grew up so fast. "Good thinking, Sakura. But this kidnapping, the amateurish thugs, it smacks of a low level operation. Whoever he or she is, they didn't have the resources to pick a wealthier, heavily guarded victim. Whoever took Igarashi-san is probably the one directly heading the operation."
She nodded and fell back. Pakkun paused in his tracks, hopping lightly onto a protruding branch, nose twitching. "Not long now, Kakashi. They're near."
"Hm. I sense two. Either he ran out of hired help, or they're concealing themselves very well . . . Single file, you two. Naruto, take the rear. Stay alert. Watch for traps."
So saying, he shot off the branch after Pakkun, trailing the two young shinobi in his wake.
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They halted within fifteen minutes of their short briefing, Kakashi motioning for them to stop with a raised hand. Pakkun vanished in a puff of smoke. Alighting on branches above and below the jounin, Naruto and Sakura scanned the area swiftly. Sakura glanced upward past Kakashi, who seemed entirely focused on the clearing beyond, and caught Naruto's eye, giving him a quick shake of the head. He returned the gesture. No enemy shinobi as far as either of them could sense or see.
And yet . . . she looked at Kakashi again, realising that most of her disquiet emanated from his stance and attitude. Years spent as his pupil had taught her the nuances in his moods, so much more subtle and difficult to read than Naruto and even Sasuke had been. Not to mention that pesky mask . . . and right now, he was as vigilant as only he could be. Kakashi never tensed visibly. His body language was trained to a level she could only dream of. But there was a certain battle-ready air to him, a tension coiled in his powerful, wiry frame that told one very clearly that he did not like the situation. And that it might end in a great deal of bloodshed. Fighting the urge to shiver, she looked away and concentrated on the clearing ahead. At the base of a tree, directly 12 o' clock to their position, a dark shape lay huddled, the form and approximate size indistinct in the shadows cast from behind.
"Naruto. Sakura. I'm going in. Watch the rear and the trees around the area carefully. The other chakra signature I picked up earlier is gone."
"But - "
"No 'buts' Naruto," his voice was uncharacteristically sharp. "Follow my orders." So saying, he promptly vanished from the branch above her.
Sakura gritted her teeth. Something . . . something's not right. And whatever it is, Kakash-sensei feels it too . . .
The branch beside her dipped slightly under Naruto's added weight. Turning to him, she saw by the tension in his face, that he didn't like this any more than she did. In the clearing ahead, Kakashi appeared, what little moonlight there was filtering into the small space and glinting on his distinctive silver hair. They saw him approach the huddled shape in slow measured strides.
"Igarashi-san?"
He was speaking clearly and audibly, as much for their benefit as the merchant's. There was no answer to his query. Squatting to the side of the shape on the ground, giving them both a clear line of vision to what was happening in the clearing, he called the man's name again, slightly louder this time and accompanied by a firm shake. There was a faint stirring, a shuddering movement in the huddled form. Sakura heard a low moan, a muffled sound then more unintelligible noises, rising rapidly in volume. It was Igarashi, and he was bound and gagged. Beside her, Naruto caught his breath. Kakashi reached out, tugged at the gag and cut away the bindings. Whatever had been obscuring Igarashi's ability to speak came free. She heard him choke, throat sounding dry and hoarse from shouting.
"Get . . . get me out! He did a thing . . . a . . . a jutsu . . . please! We have to get out!"
She was on her feet instantly, hand flying to her weapons pouch. Simultaneously, the clearing was lit by an eerie glow as a complex seal showed in luminous green lettering all across the bindings that had fallen away from Igarashi's form. The pattern spread out radially, shooting in all directions towards points on specific trees where resonating green seals glowed into life. Watching the events unfold as if in slow motion, Sakura saw Kakashi grip Igarashi, lifting his slight form right off the ground and hurling him bodily out of the jutsu's range. The old man landed just within the bright circle, stumbling to his feet and scrambling desperately out of harm's way. Naruto leapt from the branch beside her, launching himself towards the clearing.
"Kakash-sensei! Get out of there!"
It took her a moment to follow him, her legs unnaturally leaden, heart pounding in her throat. There was something off about Kakashi's stance. His lower body seemed strangely immobile and he looked up, his dark grey eye and the Sharingan, which he had exposed somewhere along the line, both widening in dismay.
"Naruto! Get back!"
Then it hit her. He can't move! The seal is binding him! Her foot struck out at the nearest branch, propelling her as fast as possible backwards, away from the clearing. Her voice, to her own ears, was high pitched, cracking in desperation. "NARUTO! NO!"
But Konoha's number one knuckle-headed ninja was deaf to her warning. As deaf to her as only the danger to a comrade and loved one could make him. Ignoring Kakashi's horrified shout and her own screams, he propelled himself directly at the jounin, aiming to knock him out of the jutsu's path by the force of his momentum.
"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"
A clone appeared in mid-air, grabbing Naruto by the wrist and flinging him with all the force it could muster in Kakashi's direction. Below him the seal glowed brighter, new rows of complex script running from the radial points on the surrounding trees back towards the centre of the clearing; directly towards Kakashi. Naruto collided with him at the exact moment the seal coalesced and cast a blinding light in all directions, forcing her to throw up a hand to shield her eyes. When the light had dispersed, she dropped her hand, leaping to the ground and bursting out of the trees, eyes widening in horror as she took in the absence of her team-members.
"Naruto! Kakash-sensei!" She spun in a dizzying circle, hysteria threatening to burst through her ribcage, "Naruto! Damn it, WHERE ARE YOU?"
Her cries went unanswered, the forest ehoing back the plea mockingly. Behind her she heard a small sound, a groan. Spinning on her heel, she almost burst into tears when she saw that it was Igarashi, leaning against a tree and clutching his chest. For a moment, she had forgotten his existence. No, no, NO! What happened? Where are they? Another groan came from the merchant as he sank to the ground, panting hard. The sight of another human being in distress stilled her somewhat, the natural-born medic within her taking over in the face of the irrational. She moved towards him automatically, green healing chakra gathering around her palm. Kneeling, she saw that he had suffered what looked like a mild stroke. Considering his age and the stresses he had been subjected to, it was not surprising. As she checked his heart and internal organs for any signs of damage, another part of her mind rebeled, casting panic and fear into every motion.
Dear Kami, please let them be all right. Please, not them. Not Naruto and Kakash-sensei. My only team . . . my family. She backed away from Igarashi momentarily, covered and rubbed vigorously at her face, breathed in once, twice, slow and easy. The hands she returned to his trembling form were wet and as steady as the ground beneath her.
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Chapter notes: Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any Naruto characters portrayed in this fic.
A/N: Here is my first foray into Naruto fanfiction! I hope my character portrayals are accurate . . . The timeline follows the time-skip, after Naruto develops the Rasen-shuriken technique, but after that deviates from canon. Reviews and feedback appreciated!
Chapter end notes: A/N: Here's another quick installment! Hope you enjoy, readers :)