A Darker World

Authors note: Let it never be said I don't listen to my reviewer's. After receiving an e-mail I've decided to post this chapter ahead of schedule as it completes the other two. Also, I shall be going back to chapter 1 and making their ages clear as that was another complaint. Of course, so not that everyone has to go back and read the chapter again I shall state the relative once here. Naruto along with all the other of what would have been his graduating class are 11 and Konohamaru is 8 (yes I'm fudging it a little.) I would like to thank the reviewer for taking the time to write an e-mail to me to point out these problems.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Naruto did what he could to comfort Konohamaru. He cleaned both of them up and got them dressed, but beyond that he didn't really know what to do. In the end, he ended up sitting on a table with his legs folded and pulled Konohamaru onto his lap. They didn't say anything and the younger of the two leaned against him, quietly munching on the candy bar, eating each piece individually.

The two were silent and it was several minutes after the show ended when the door opened and Kaede, or the Madam as some called her, walked in. Unconsciously, Naruto tightened his grip around Konohamaru as she approached.

“The audience seemed a little disappointed in the show,” she said without preamble, “but as it was Konohamaru's first time, full points.” She paused before adding, “Still, I'll expect a better job next time, perhaps some audience participation?”

Naruto stiffened and said, “Only with me.” Sometimes someone would pay to be on the stage with them and join in the show or even rarer they would pull someone from the audience. The audience always seemed to like it when their was an adult up there with them, but Naruto didn't want any of those types of people near Konohamaru.

She smiled and came a little closer. It was only then that Naruto noticed she had been drinking. She wasn't drunk, but it didn't look like it would take much to get her there. “Well, you two should grab dinner, but Naruto, I need your help moving some supplies from the basement. Konohamaru, you should head to the kitchen.”

Naruto would have been happy to stay right where he was, but that wasn't an option. So he pushed Konohamaru up and told him he would see him in a few minutes. Then he followed Kaede out of the room.

The basement of the old estate was creepy. It wasn't just Naruto who thought so, but just about anyone who went down there. They used the stairs that connected all the other floors together, and once the door was closed, it was absolutely silent. There were four small cells and he didn't know why this place had them. All of the cells were being used to store supplies that ranged from canned goods to costumes that were only brought out for special occasions.

“We need toilet paper and paper towels,” Kaede said pointing to one of the cells.

The lighting was dim in the basement and the cells themselves had no lighting in them at all. The bars to the cells were made out of two inch thick wood that made a checkerboard pattern. The door to the cell was small. An adult would have to get on their hands and knees to climb inside and even Naruto, short as he was, needed to duck low as he entered.

All the supplies were in bulk and as he grabbed the thirty-six pack of toilet paper, he heard a creak followed by a click. At first he didn't think anything of it, but when he turned around holding the toilet paper, he paused. “Um, the door closed.”

“I know. I think it's best if you spend the night here,” Kaede answered looking off to her side.

His eyes widened, “I don't want to stay here.” He couldn't keep the confusion or terror out of his voice.

“I know. I am sorry.”

Naruto felt his throat go dry. “Why?” He croaked the word out.

Kaede sighed and leaned against the bars. “Listen Naruto, I respect you. You've worked hard for Konohamaru’s sake and that is why I think I need to do this. You see, a man came in and offered a very large sum to spend one night with Konohamaru.”

“What! He can't,” Naruto said in almost a whisper. His voice teetered on breaking either on the edge of anger or tears.

“Naruto, the sum is large. We will be able to shut down for two weeks or maybe more. I can't pass that up. I'll be sure to tell everyone that it is thanks to Konohamaru that they have a vacation.”She said pushing away from the bars.

“Let me take his place. I'll do whatever the guy wants.”

She started to walk away and said over her shoulder, “Sorry, he requested Konohamaru, but he did say that he wasn't into anything out of the ordinary.”

Naruto ran to the wooden bars and watched as she started up the stairs. He kicked at the cell's door, but it didn't give.

“Don't do that.” Kaede said. “That's the strongest cell here and you'll just end up hurting yourself.” Those were the last words she said before she walked up the stairs and left the basement.

Naruto had never made many decisions in his life. At the orphanage decisions had been made for him. There was a time to get up and a time to go to bed. Meals had followed a schedule and even attending the Academy was expected for everyone at first. Then he had been taken away from all that, but not much had changed, his life still followed a pattern. Even when he had been shown what he was expected to do and when he did it, he never chose to do it.

The only real decision he ever made was when he chose to help Konohamaru. The boy had been scared and almost instinctively he wanted to protect him and he promised himself he would. Now, he made another decision and that was he was going to keep that promise, no matter what.

He looked at the cell again. On three sides the walls were stone, so there was no way out that way and the little door seemed to be reinforced. That left the cell wall itself and he kicked it, but it didn't give. So he backed up as far as he could and ran at the cage before throwing his body against it. This time he heard a crack, but didn't see any damage. Still, it was a start and he threw his body against it again and again.

It hurt at first, but the more he did it the more the pain seemed to fade away. Each blow seemed to become stronger and he his running faster. As he thought of what might be going on, he became angrier and seemed to redouble his efforts. At some point, he fell on all fours like an animal and found he was quicker that way, it almost felt natural. He threw his shoulder into every blow and some of the cracks he was hearing were his bones breaking, but they seemed to heal as fast as they were broken.

The wooden bar cracked and began to bulge outward. The next time he hit that spot, it broke and he crashed through the cage and landed on the floor of the other side. Rolling to his feet, he realized he didn't have a plan, but at the moment it didn't seem very important as he broke into a run. Again, he fell to all fours as he started up the stairs.

He wasn't thinking. He really didn't know what he was doing, but he felt as if he could do anything right now. He had one overriding thought which was simple, he had to save Konohamaru.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

There were a lot of things Konohamaru didn’t understand. He didn't understand why he liked the smell of tobacco. He didn't understand his nightmares. He didn't understand why people didn't want to be his friend. One thing he did know, though, was when Naruto had been holding him, he had felt Naruto's heart beat and he hadn't wanted that to end.

He liked when Naruto was around and missed him when he wasn't. Konohamaru also liked when Naruto did stuff with him. It didn't matter if it was just talking or the stuff that was normally done with customers, he just liked being around him.

So when Kaede, the matron, had told him to get dinner, he hadn't exactly been happy. Even though he hadn't eaten much that day because he had been nervous, he wasn't hungry now. Still, Konohamaru went to the kitchen like he had been told to do.

Along the far wall in the kitchen was a small counter where twelve people could sit and this is where most of them took their meals during the day. Right now it was empty and he was thankful for that. Instead of taking a seat, though, Konohamaru leaned against the wall, deciding to wait for Naruto.

“Hey, Konohamaru take this to the second suite.”

He turned towards the voice to see the cook pointing at a covered platter of food. “I'm off for the day.”

“Yeah, well you haven't eaten dinner yet and I could burn it on you if you don't help out,” the man called back.

Sticking his tongue out at the cook, he picked up the heavy platter and headed for the stairs. The platter was actually placed on a tray which had straps connected to it. The straps went over the shoulders which made carrying it easier for the younger kids like him.

Bringing food to the rooms was a job given to anyone who didn't seem to have anything to do at the moment and Konohamaru thought he was given the job more than most. It wasn't that he didn't put in as many hours as everyone else, but when Naruto didn't have time off he didn't like staying upstairs with the others. They weren't mean to him really, but he felt out of place.

Climbing the stairs, he tried to amuse himself with trying to guess what was under the cover. The more the food cost the more points the person entertaining the client would get. He had heard others talking about how they could trick the clients into ordering expensive things. It was something they seemed to find funny, but although he would laugh with them, he didn't really get it.

The floor that had the suites only had four rooms to the twelve of the lower floor. They were not rented as often. When they were it was usually for honeymoons that normally lasted for at least two days or private parties. Walking up to the door with the number two on it, he knocked and waited.

When the door opened, it revealed the man from the table earlier wearing a white bathrobe. Konohamaru tensed at the unexpected sight of him, but when the man stepped aside and said, “Put it on the table.” He realized it was just a coincidence.

Stepping inside, Konohamaru headed for the table. He didn't give much thought to the door closing behind him. Standing on his toes, he placed the platter on the table and turned intending to leave, but stopped when he saw the man leaning against the door with his hands in the pockets of his bathrobe.

“You look even better in this light. Although, I think I preferred how you were dressed downstairs,” the man said eyeing him up and down.

Konohamaru resisted the urge to take a step back and said with both a false confidence and casualness, “I have to get going.”

The man smiled unpleasantly and pushed himself off of the door saying, “No, you don't. You will be spending the night here with me.”

This time he didn't resist the urge to take a step back. Bumping against the table, he slid along the curved side until it was between him and the man. “Um,” he didn't know what to say as fear and panic seemed to take over his mind. On some level he knew Naruto found himself in situations like this all the time as did the others, but this was a first for him. “You're wrong.” The words came as a surprise to Konohamaru, but then he understood what he was trying to say, “I'm not the one you paid for.”

He looked to his right where the door was open to the bedroom, half expecting to see someone sitting on the bed, but it was neatly made. Frantically, he wondered if he ran in there, would the man follow? Maybe he could get around him then and then get to the door.

“I know what you're thinking. Whatever you were told or whatever protection you have is gone.” He paused to loosen his bathrobe to reveal he was wearing nothing underneath it. “The fact is, if you have enough Ryo, you can buy anything. Consider that a free lesson on how the world works.” The little man smirked and placed his hands on the table saying, “Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way, but I'm going to get what I paid for.”

Konohamaru's vision blurred as he felt himself break out into a sweat. This couldn't be happening. Naruto had cashed in his points so something like this wouldn't happen, didn't he? Naruto always protected him.

At that moment, as if summoned by that thought, the door banged open, the flimsy lock offering up hardly any resistance to the body that had been thrown against it. The man spun around as Konohamaru peered around him and smiled as he saw Naruto standing in the doorway.

“What the hell do you,” the man started to speak, but was cut off as Naruto darted forward and punched the man in the jaw. Naruto was shorter than the man, but to Konohamaru's astonishment, the man's feet literally left the ground. The body crashed to the ground and even to his untrained eye, Konohamaru could tell his head was at an unnatural angle.

Looking back at Naruto, he noticed for the first time that there was something different about him. He seemed a little scary. The marks on his cheeks were more pronounced and his eyes seemed to have turned blood red. When he spoke, though, it was unmistakably the Naruto he knew.

“Are you okay? He didn't touch you did he?”

Konohamaru shook his head no, before finding his voice and saying, “No, he didn't do anything.”

“Good,” Naruto said nodding to himself. “We're getting out of here.”

“What?” Konohamaru said, “What do you.”

Before he could finish what he was saying, Naruto scooped him up. Despite the slightly longer than usual fingernails, he was unquestionably the Naruto he had known for years.

The blonde cracked open the window, and before Konohamaru knew what he was doing, Naruto had stepped onto the windowsill and jumped out. For a moment, as he fell, he thought Naruto had gone crazy, but before he could scream they landed on the outer wall that surrounded the House and Naruto jumped down from there. The two of them disappeared into the night.


0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Kaede came back to consciousness due to shaking. Before she could even open her eyes, though, she wanted to go back to sleep or being unconscious; whichever she had been jarred away from. A hand shook her again and she was about to slap it away when the words they were saying registered.

“Matron, wake up. We have a problem.”

She looked up at the man who was dressed as one of the guards and asked groggily, “What's wrong?”

“It looks like a guest was killed,” the man reported.

That brought her to full attention and she tried to stand up only to have her body protest. She had gotten drunk last night and passed out in her office chair. Her body was now reminding her that was not a good idea. After a second of gripping her desk she said, “Show me.”

A moment later, the guard led her to the floor where the suites were. She had a sinking sensation even before she stepped into suite number two and saw Gato’s body on the floor. There were three other men in the room, one was Mitate, the medic-nin, but the other two were unfamiliar. It took her a second to realize that these must be the bodyguards Gato had mentioned.

“What happened,” she said causing Mitate to look up.

Standing, he said, “His nick was broken. I'm guessing death was pretty instantaneous. Rigor mortis hasn't fully set in and I would say he died about ten hours ago.”

“All right, who found the body?”

“That would be me,” the guard who brought her here spoke up. “I was doing my rounds which involve checking this floor. As I was walking by this room, I noticed the door was ajar and I went to close it, thinking it was left open by accident. It was only then I noticed that the wood around the lock was splintered, so I looked in the room and saw this,” he gestured to the body on the floor.

“What does it matter what happened,” the taller of the two bodyguards said. “Our employer is dead and it happened at your establishment. We demand compensation.”

Kaede held up her hand, not appreciating the shouting with her hangover. “Sir, I recognize the situation. We will deal with that, but right now you should inform every one of his death and where it took place, so the company can sort itself out.”

“Tell the company where he died? Are you insane?” The shorter of the two spoke up. “It would ruin his good name.”

“Oh, so nobody knows he was coming here?” She asked.

“Of course not,” the taller of the two said.

She silently sent a prayer of thanks to whatever deity had blessed her with two complete idiots as witnesses. Without warning, she grabbed the taller of the two head and slamming his neck against the table. There was a satisfactory crack and before the body hit the ground she pivoted on the ball of her foot, catching the other guard in the throat. He stumbled backwards and tried to draw his sword.

She knocked his hand away before hooking her foot behind his knee which took him to the ground. From there, she grabbed his neck and twisted. She felt a crack this time and the body went limp.

Kaede leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. She had not realized she was this out of shape. After a moment, she looked over at the guard who seemed to be frozen with fear, perhaps thinking he was her next victim. For a second, she found that amusing and wondered how tough her guards were.

“Put the three bodies in a cart and take them several miles up the road. Dump their bodies there where they will not be found for at least a few hours. Be sure to collect the other personal possessions from here and make sure to plant all of them on the bodies. Gato had enough people after him that it won't be surprising if he ends up dead. I don't really care what they think as long as it didn't happen here.”

The man nodded and practically scurried from the room, before pausing. “Should we close for the day?”

“Absolutely not,” She said emphatically, “nothing unusual has happened here.” Turning her attention to Mitate she said, “You could've helped me, you know.”

“Hey, I'm a medic, not a fighter. That's why I was assigned here.”

Useless, she thought. “Do you know where the boy who was supposed to be with him is now?”

He shook his head, “The room was empty. I'm a little worried to be honest. I mean, this really could have been an assassination.”

Kaede doubted that, but she said, “Go do a bed check. It's unlikely, but they might have gone upstairs to bed after that happened,“ she nodded towards the body. “He might've been scared and just didn't say anything.”

“I'll get right on that,” Mitate said.

Once he was gone, Kaede turned towards the open window which no one else seemed to notice. Walking up to it, she looked down the three stories. A ninja could've climbed up here certainly, but if they were an assassin they would've at least incapacitated Konohamaru which would mean he would still be in the room. However, if Naruto still wasn't in his cell then she would bet everything that it had been Naruto who had killed Gato with a little help from a demon perhaps.

Of the two scenarios, she actually preferred that one. If there wasn't another ninja involved she could then sweep the entire mess under the rug if she could capture those two again. However, if she made a complete report of the incident she was pretty confident that she would receive a kill order regarding Konohamaru, and really, she didn't want to do that. Rubbing her temples, she headed to the basement to discover what her next move would be.