Chapter 13 - ch.13

----------------------Just before Naru unleashed red chakra---------------------------------

In spite of being nearly blind by the mist, he was easily able to hear the clumsy (by ninja standard) bandits coming at him from any side, and dispatched any foolish enough to come close with ease. "That's right, keep it coming! It's been so long since I've been able to let loose!" He exclaimes, decapitating one and lodging his sword in another in the same stroke. He was about to unleash a cero to a particularly noisy bunch when he stopped. Everyone stopped. They turned to look toward where a great, sinister energy was radiating. Of everyone, on Grimm knew exactly what was going on. "So, it's finally awake. About time."

Everyone but Grimm was frozen in fear, so he took advantage of this, cutting down half of the remaining force in seconds. Then he hears Naru's yell. "Well, sounds like she's really getting into it! I'll actually have to be careful when fighting her from now on." Soon after, the mist started to lift, revealing all the rest of the bandits, the bandits who had fallen, and a large dome made of ice where his genin used to be. "It seems..." He started, clearing talking to the bandits, while his eyes never left the dome. "Your shinobi friend has pulled his ace. (He doesn't know it's a girl.) After that jutsu, he won't have any chakra left, seeing as he can't even sustain the mist jutsu from earlier. Look around you..." The bandits looks, seeing only 3 dozen or sol left out of about 2 hundred. "You have to the count of three to get out of my sight, before I kill you. That include's you, Gato." His gaze turns and lands directly on Gato, who is panicing at the loss of his force, and prepares a cero. "1." The bandits turn to run, some jumping off the bridge. "2." Gato turns to run, but the short little guy just doesn't have enough leg. "3." He fires his cero directly at gato, tearing through a few less inteligent bandits along the way. By the time the cero hit Gato, it had coned out bigger than he was, and completely annihilating him.

Grimm turns back to the dome, his battle over. He doesn't have to wait long before Naru breaks out, his blade looking like it was surrounded by a rasengan, before it broke, sending Naru flying a short ways, and landed hard, but got up quickly. Grimm noted that her body was practically covered in needles, though she seemed to pay them no mind. She started to walk quickly to the shinobi, who was slowly backing away, drained of chakra. "Heh, she must be pleading for her life." He looked to where the dome was, and saw Hinata and Sakura on the ground, unmoving. "I see. Killing her friends, huh? That would do it!" He looked back just in time to see Naru spin, and decapitate the enemy. "Well, about time we get the hell out Mist." He walks over to her, and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Time to go." She turned and swung at him, he manages to block, and can see her eyes. They are filled with pain and hate, red with slited pupils. "Naru, snap out of it!" She swings again, obviously not listening. After he blocks the next hit, he gives her a sharp jab in the gut. "I said, snap out of it." Naru's eyes go wide with pain before she passes out, falling limp into Grimm's arm.

He sheathes his sword, and hefts her up, taking her to the other genin, and setting her against the side of the bridges, sitting up. He went over to the fallen genin, and checked their pulse. "Nothing." He states, hearing Naru stir. She wakes up, her eyes back to normal. "What happened?" She looked up and sees Hinata ans Sakura, and suddenly remembers. "Hinata, Sakura!!!" She cries, crawling over. "No, please, please be alive!" Naru looked over at Grimm, who sent a cat, a scroll in it's mouth.

"We'll leave this to the Anbu. We'll take them back to Tazuna's, who will watch over them until they arrive."

"No, I, I can't leave them!"

"Dumbass! Who will it help for us to drag them back!" Naru's head dropped, beginning to understand. "The anbu can make sure their death is completely secret from other nations, who would want Hinata for her Byakugan. C'mon, let's get going." Grimm placed Sakura on his shoulder, being careful of the needles. Naru picked up Sakura by her armpits, carrying her with her heels dragging on the ground. They draged them in silence, the workers, ignored, staying out of thier way and returning to work. They finally reached Tazuna's house, and placed them in their room, side by side. Naru looked down at them sadly, and put their hands together, so they were holding each others. She backed away, and started crying. Grimm left her, giving her a moment alone. After 5 minutes, her returned, Naru still just standing there, her tears having dried long ago, though looked like she still was. "Time to go." She simply nodded, and left.

After leaving, they walked along the bridge, now close enough that the workers put wood between the gap between the bridge and the land. They crossed, and were back in the land of Fire, only a week's walk away from the Leaf village. Once the bridge was out of view, Naru asked, "What do I do now, that my best friends..." She trailed off.

Grimm looked at her for a while before responding. "Dunno. There's only two people I've ever been that close to, and neither of them have died. You have to figure this one out on your own, kid." They walk the rest of the way in silence, Naru unnaturally depressed, and thinking deeply. 'What SHOULD I do? What!?'

-------------------------------------one week later----------------------------------------

Naru and Grimmjow finally made it back to town, being greeted by the door guards. "Oh, you're in trouble!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Not yet, you don't!" Said the guard knowingly. Grimm raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but let it drop, figuring he'd find out sooner or later. They finally reached the Hokage's office and Grimm knocked. "Hokage, we're back." He opened the door, to be greeted by a kick to the chin, sending him flying through the roof, and into the air.

"Damn him, leaving me like that!" exclaimed Eva, looking up at the hole she made. She then looked at Naru. "You have the written report?"

"Yeah." Said Naru, not looking from the ground as she dug through her bag and pulled out a scroll and handed it to her.

"What happened?" Eva demanded. Naru just shook her head, and sat down in a nearby chair. Eva, face actually showing concern, immediately began to read the report. As she reached the end, her eyes shot open as she saw the results of Naru's battle. As she finished reading, her eyes narrowed in concern and anger. "I see." She looks at Naru, still not looking away from the ground. "There was a report on some fallen shinobi, but I never thought..."

A scream was heard from above, and Eva held her leg out, only for Grimm to land on it, audible cracking his back. she looks at him, anger only a fraction of what she was feeling. "Do you have any idea what you've done!" She said before dropping him on the floor.

"OW, damn. Hey, I didn't think that they would die from her! Besides, I had thought the dangerous part was over!"

Eva hit him on the head. "That's not what I'm talking about! Not only did you drug my evening tea and leave without me, but now I'm the fucking Hokage!!"

"What!!? How the hell did that happen!!?"

"Well, when the strongest leaf are either doing "research" or gambling, who knows where, they didn't give me much choice!"

"How the hell did the geezer die?"

"He had a massive stroke, and was babbling something about evil paperwork and fire-breathing squirrels. Anyway, he is in no shape to walk, much less act Hokage, and the elders forced me to step in." Her features softened as she turned her attention to Naru. "That aside, Naru.." she barely made a movement to the mention of her name. "..take off as much time as you need. But I do want you back to training as soon as possible." Naru nodded, and left, going for a walk, to no where in particular.

"I suppose I should get her home." Grimm started to leave.

"Hold it!!" Grimm stopped in his tracks, and slowly turned his head, a paniced look over his face. "You still own me!"

He gulped, and turned around. "Fine, you can take them next time!" He says, deserately trying to avoid punishment.

"Oh no I can't. I'm Hokage! So, both the reason I can't go, and me being Hokage is entirely your fault!!" She walks up to him, popping her hips, sending him mixed signals, as her face radiated pure anger. "So, you're gonna have'ta make it up to me." He was sweating bullets now. She pulls his head down and whispers something in his ear. His face immediately pales, his pupils become pinpoints in fear. He tries to run, but she has already blocked the exits in ice.

"No, no, please god, no!!!" She simply smiles, and nods, walking toward him.

-----------------------------------cut to outside---------------------------------------

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"

---------------------------------several days later----------------------------------------

The anbu finally arrived at Tazuna's house, having used a circuitous route to avoid detection. The knock. "Coming!" Tazuna opens the door, and looks at their masks. "Who're you?" He asks, clearly drunk.

"You are Tazuna, correct?" He nods. "We are here for the young shinobi.

His face becomes solomn. "Right this way." He showed them upstairs, and took them to the girl's room. "They're in here."

"Have you checked on them recently?"

"Hell no. Two young girls, dead before their time; it's just too depressing..." The anbu understood, and opened the door, and say the girls, but not waht the expected. Instead of them being in the first stages of decomposition, the were mearly thin, as though starving.

The lead anbu turns to another. "Blane, I need you to check these girls. It appears the report was not entirely accurate." The named anbu, an expert medic, entered the room and examined them.

"You're right. They aren't dead, but in a near death state. Anyone without formal medical training wouldn't be able to tell."

"We need to get them back to the leaf immediately! You two carry them, I'll send a message to the Hokage." His subordinates follow his orders, as he exits the house, and summons a hawk. "An urgent message for the Hokage. Be quick." It blinked in understanding, and left as soon as the note was tied under it's collar.

-----------------------------------------the next day---------------------------------------

A hawk appeared at Eva's window, interupting her paperwork. She stretches, turning toward the window. "I could use a break, anyway." She takes the paper out of it's collar, and reads it. Her brow raises as she reads. "Well, this is fortunate news." She pulls out a CB radio from her desk. "Chachamaru, come in, over."

"I copy mistress, over."

"Tell Grimm to bring Naru in tomorrow. I have some good news."

---------------------------------the next day, yet again-----------------------------------

Naru stood in front of Eva, not even Grimm was told of the news yet. "Naru, I have good news, bad news, and worse news." Naru didn't react. "The good news is, your friends are alive." She ran to Eva and grabbed her collar.

"Are you lying!? Don't mess with me, cause if you are, I will KILL YOU!"

"It's true." Continued Eva unpreterbed. "They got lucky. The needles narrowly missed their vitals, but put them in a state of near-death. Only a med-nin could tell they were still alive."

Naru's eyes went wide in surprise, and glee. "They're, they're alive?" She whispers. She lets go of Eva's collar. "Where are they!" she demands.

"They're in the hospital, they came in this morning. I did the examination myself." That little bit of self-praise distracted her. When she finished, Naru was already at the window. "Wait! I'm not done!"

"Tell me later!" Naru said, her voice cheery again. She ran as fast as possible, jumping from building to building toward the hospital. She slowed part-way there. "I feel weird... What's happening?" she says to herself, on the way, but the feeling passes, and she picks up speed again.

She makes it to the hospital, and runs to the front desk. "Hinata and Sakura, where are they?" She asks, barely stopping in time.

"Well, room 141, in recovery, but-"

"Thanks!" She runs off, looking for the door.

"Wait, they're not ready for guests!"

Naru runs to the door, and slams it open, to see Sakura and Hinata. Her eyes grow wide, as she sees them. They are gaunt, thin, malnourished. But then she really gets a surprise as they both look up in curiosity, unable to muster any stronger emotion in their weakened state. "Who are you?"

Naru begins to tear up, before she loses her lunch.