Then he stood up.
The bottom of the waters here was a mere six meters. Further out it deepened considerably.
It didn't matter much. Naruto stood and felt the waters sluicing off of his form, the depths here barely past his ankles.
His inhuman visage bent closer to the bridge. Eyesight that did not involve such things as reflected light took in the scene at this primitive structure.
His intelligence was vast, inhuman, and a cold reasoning unburdened by primitive urges or emotions. He analyzed the situation as being of little concern.
NO! They're my friends!
The concepts of belonging to a group, of mutual benefit, of kindness - these were completely alien. Of what use were these others.
We have to help them!
The Being that stood there in awful majesty took the measure of the structure, the primitive and simple beings there, and devoted an eon-moment to considering what to do with them. It determined that It WAS one of them, currently burning itself out as it tried to handle being so Other. Given time, that spark of Humanity would be lost.
Please! We have to stop this!
It considered and agreed. This fragile world was insufficient for It. A hand/claw/tentacle reached down for the containment seal.
Kakashi Hatake was aware of Naruto falling into the water, but had been involved fully in fighting Zabuza and aware that he'd gotten a bit soft in ANBU somehow. His stamina just wasn't where it used to be, neither was his chakra reserves.
Not that Zabuza was a pushover, but frankly he was a lot better than the missing-nin. Or had been at least.
Then the fight stopped, abruptly.
That THING that came out of the water, towering over them, was clearly NOT something that should exist. It was Wrong on a fundamental level. Even covering his Sharingan didn't completely protect him, and he'd only glimpsed the thing.
Zabuza wasn't fighting either, having sunk to his knees and screaming with his jaw obviously unhinged under his own mask. Kakashi focussed on Zabuza, safer than looking at all in the direction of That Thing, and noted that Zabuza was bleeding. From the eyes and ears and nose all at the same time.
Kakashi glanced over to the side. Sasuke was unconscious and had no idea how lucky he was at that. The masked Hunter-nin was clawing at his mask, the region around the eyes - and if he hadn't had that protection might have plucked them out of his skull. While Kakashi watched, he saw that boy collapse, his body going limp like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Sakura and the client? Tazuna was huddled up in a ball. Sakura looked like she was having an epileptic seizure.
Then the awful Presence faded and unconsciousness came.
"Ugh." Morning. Why did it have to come so early?
Kakashi's eyes shot open and he sat up in the bed. Had that all been some awful dream?
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei! You're awake. Good," said Naruto. "Got some stuff to talk to you about. In the meantime, just try not to look at me with the Sharingan, okay. That could be bad."
"Huh? Why? Did you get into something?" asked Kakashi but Naruto had already gone.
Getting up out of the futon and going to the common room, Kakashi was rewarded with a sight that indicated that Something had happened. There was Zabuza on the couch. There was some pretty-boy type sitting in a chair nearby, crushing herbs with a mortar and pestle. Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna were all lying on their own futons - stretched out in the room.
"I couldn't do anything about Gato or his mercenaries. They got too close, looked too long," said Naruto. "They broke."
"What... happened?" asked Kakashi.
Naruto fished a disc about the size of a salad dish out of one pocket. "If something happens where I lose this, Kakashi-sensei? Don't look. Run. I found out there are things that scare the Kyubi. Things that can break the world."
"I can't remember all the details," said Kakashi after a moment. "There was something at the bridge."
"It could do that much," said Naruto. "Though It couldn't put everything back quite the way it was."
Looking around, Kakashi noted where something was definitely off. "Is that why-"
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Sat, 03 Aug 2013 16:39)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.