A Darker World

Authors note: well, I hope you enjoyed and even if you didn't feel free to share why.
Thanks to all who reviewed
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There was a visceral satisfaction in running. Naruto couldn't really remember the last time he had really just run. For almost three years his world had been defined by the walls that surrounded the House, and now that he was beyond it, each step felt different. He felt as if he could run forever, never stopping and never tiring. Of course, his high couldn't last. The strength wasn't his and when he crashed it was literal.

Stumbling, he hit the ground, sending Konohamaru flying off of his back. Fortunately for both of them the ground was covered in dead and decaying leaves. Climbing to his knees, Naruto spat one out of his mouth before collapsing onto his side panting. Exhaustion had hit him all of a sudden and for the first time he felt his legs burn with exhaustion as his feet throbbed from the long run.

“Are you all right?” Konohamaru said, coming to kneel by his side.

“Yeah… I… just… need… to… rest… here…” he answered between gasps. Rolling onto his back he stared up into the star-filled sky, chest heaving. The moon was full, and even through the trees it provided enough light to see clearly. He tried to take in his surroundings. Unfortunately, it looked as if it was just a random spot in the woods.

“Naruto,” Konohamaru asked after a few minutes.

“Yeah,” Naruto's breathing had become quieter and less deep.

“Thanks, for saving me. At first I thought it was a mistake, but-”

“No,” Naruto interrupted sitting up. “It wasn't. The madam told me about it.” He didn't know why he felt the need to say that, but he did. Konohamaru didn't say anything after that, and after a moment Naruto went on, “I think we should get some sleep.”

“Where are we going to sleep?”

The question caught Naruto off guard. He had meant in the woods, but now that Konohamaru had mentioned it they didn't have a place to sleep and wouldn't have a place to sleep or eat or drink. “We'll sleep out here tonight,” he said trying to break that track of thought before the sense of panic he was starting to feel could set in.

“All right,” Konohamaru said, yawning.

He reached out and grabbed Konohamaru's little arm and pulled him to the ground with him. The night was warm and the sky was clear, so Naruto thought one spot was just as good as any other to sleep on. The leaves didn't seem to make a bad bed, but they weren't as comfortable as his bunk back at the House.

Konohamaru seemed to find a little more comfort, resting his back against Naruto's side and using his shoulder as a pillow. He could tell his friend had drifted off quickly which he thought was a little funny because he had done all of the running. He tried to follow suit, but he was only starting to realize how much trouble the two of them were in. For a second he considered the idea of going back, but squashed it immediately. Konohamaru wouldn't have to do the things he had done. That was his last thought as exhaustion finally caught up to him.


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“Wake up, Naruto, please wake up!”

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, feeling a pulling on his shirt. For a second, he thought he had not opened his eyes, but then he realized that clouds had blotted out the stars and the moon which made it almost completely dark.

“Please wake up, I'm scared.”

Naruto recognized the voice as Konohamaru’s, but it sounded as if he was in tears. “What's wrong?” he said groggily.

Not breaking his mantra, Konohamaru continued, “It’s dark. I don't want it to be dark. Do something,” he pleaded.

Sitting up, he grabbed Konohamaru's arms which were still pulling on his shirt. “Hey, stop. What's wrong?”

“I don't like the dark. I don't want it to be dark.”

Even though he was more awake now, Naruto still couldn't make any sense out of what Konohamaru was asking. “There's nothing I can do about it.”

“Please,” Konohamaru pleaded, throwing himself into Naruto’s chest. “I don't want it to be dark anymore.”

He could feel his shirt was still soaked with sweat, but more importantly he could tell Konohamaru was crying. Not knowing what to do, but feeling the need to do something, he hugged the smaller boy. The eight year-old’s body shuddered with sobs as he kept letting out a plea for him to do something.

After a minute of this he hit on an idea and pulled Konohamaru away from his chest. He placed his hands on either side of Konohamaru’s cheeks, barely being able to make his friend’s familiar face out, but feeling the tracks the tears made. “Listen to me.” The younger boy stopped muttering his pleas and sniffed loudly. “I want you to close your eyes, okay?”

“Okay,” Konohamaru responded in a quiet voice that sounded nothing like him.

“I want you to pretend you're just trying to go to sleep and pretend it's the middle of the day, okay?”

“All right,” he said quietly and more calmly.

“Okay,” Naruto echoed, pulling the boy back against him. He hugged the other boy again, stroking his back to comfort him. It took several minutes for his sobbing to become quiet and even longer for his breathing to slip into what might have been sleep.

Still Naruto held Konohamaru, afraid that if he moved he would wake him and start another round of sobbing. He didn't know what had set Konohamaru off like that and it kind of scared him. The younger boy didn't usually cry and as he thought about it, he could not really remember this happening before, at least not like this. Naruto tried to remember the other times Konohamaru had cried.

When it had just been the four of them back at the cottage, before the House, Konohamaru had cried. Naruto vaguely remembered that they all had, at least at night. All four of them had been uprooted and were scared, but those tears had been nothing like this. The only other time he could remember Konohamaru crying was when he was about to service his first client. However, those tears had been nothing like this, either. Still, back then they had moved him and he had taken on the client that was supposed to be Konohamaru's.

Had it just been the dark that triggered his tantrum? After a moment of thought that did seem to make sense. At the House on the floor where they had all slept there were at least two nightlights plugged into either end of the dorm room. They had provided a fair amount of light because even after the House had closed for the evening there were always a few of them coming in late from servicing last minute clients.

Slowly the mystery of Konohamaru's tantrum was pushed aside by a growing and more urgent need: Naruto was thirsty. Back at the House he could have just slipped out of his bed and got a drink from the faucet, but out here he supposed he would need to find some water. As he thought about how thirsty he was he realized he hadn't eaten anything since lunch either.

Food would probably be harder to find than water. He had spent some time at the Academy, but the stuff he had learned there was from a different lifetime, and even then he had not been that good of a student. Maybe if they found a road they could find someone who would give them food, but that seemed unlikely to Naruto. Then he stiffened and wondered if the Madam would be looking for them.

Naruto knew that he had been the most profitable entertainer and that was largely due to wanting to protect the boy he was currently holding, but that probably meant she would be looking for him. If someone saw them they might tell her if she was offering a reward.

His thoughts continued like that until the dark sky turned gray and his thirst went from a want to a desire and finally a need. Shaking Konohamaru awake, he said, “Time to get up.”

The younger boy blinked up at him, still half asleep. Rubbing his eyes he said, “I'm thirsty.”

“Yeah, so am I. Maybe we can find a stream or something.”

Pulling apart, they both climbed to their feet, feeling a little stiff. To Naruto any direction was as good as another, as long as it didn't bring them back towards the House. So they set out side-by-side heading vaguely northwest. For a while they were quiet as Naruto tried to figure out what they were going to do and Konohamaru felt embarrassed about his tantrum. After a few minutes of silence, though, the younger felt the need to remind Naruto, “I'm thirsty.”

“I know,” Naruto said again.

“I wish Kiba was here,” Konohamaru added.

“Why?” The blonde asked confused. He didn't think that the two of them had ever got along that well.

“Because,” he said with a grin, “then we could have something to drink.” He giggled to himself.

It took him a moment to realize what his friend was referring to and he made a face. Kiba had started producing sperm about a month ago which was a fact that Naruto could attest to, but he can also attest to the fact it wasn't that much. “Trust me, it wouldn't work.”

“I know,” Konohamaru said disapprovingly. “I was just making a joke.”

“Yeah,” Naruto said, turning to say with a grin, “but it was bad.”

Konohamaru stuck out his tongue and lowered his eyelid. Naruto copied him and they both started laughing. After a minute, though, the younger of the two asked, “What does it taste like?”

“Sperm?” Naruto questioned. “Why do you want to know?”

Konohamaru shrugged and looked down his face turning red. “I'm curious. I mean, you'll start making it, eventually.”

The way he had said, “Eventually,” made it seem like years would pass. Swatting at him playfully, Konohamaru danced away with a grin, his cheeks flushed from his earlier embarrassment. Naruto did think for a minute about the question, trying to sum up all of his experiences. It was harder than he thought, since he stopped thinking about it a long time ago. “Well,” he began “it's salty. Kinda like the saltwater you gargle with when you have a sore throat.”

“That's it?”

“Sort of. Everyone's a little different I think, but salty I think is best.”

“I heard-” Konohamaru began only to be cut off as Naruto gestured for silence.

“You hear that?” After a second Konohamaru shook his head no, but Naruto didn't notice. “I think that's a stream. Come on.” He broke into a run, his friend following a few steps behind.

Naruto followed the sound of flowing water until he saw the source of the sound and sprinted forward shouting, “Water.”

The small stream was in a depression. It seemed clear to Naruto and the water was moving fast. Carefully climbing down the steep bank of the stream, he hesitantly cupped the water with his hands and lifted it to his mouth.

“How is it?” Konohamaru asked from above, more than happy to let Naruto take the lead on this.

Running his tongue over his lips, he thought about it for a second. “It's different than the tap water, but it doesn't taste bad.” It did have a taste, but he couldn't quite describe it.

Konohamaru nodded and started down, but a second later he let out a cry and tumbled into the stream. Naruto looked over, just in time to see Konohamaru make a splash in the stream as his friend landed face first.

“You okay, Konohamaru? Naruto questioned.

The other boy raised his head out of the water and gave him a dirty look, before pulling his arm out of the muck. “Yeah,” Konohamaru answered, trying to wipe the mud from his arm with his hand and flicking it back into the stream with a disgusted look on his face.

Naruto tried to help him up, but he pushed him away, wiping off the remaining mud on his shorts. They both drank their fill, which was more than usual as their stomachs were still empty. Climbing back out of the depression, Konohamaru took off his shirt and tried to dry his hair with it, which was only partially successful. Throwing his shirt over his shoulder, they started off heading downstream. At least they would have water for a while.

Naruto’s eyes drifted to Konohamaru, and in his mind he played out some things he wouldn't mind doing with his little friend right now, but between being hungry and not knowing what they were going to do, they remained just that. As a result of Naruto’s daydreaming, though, it was Konohamaru who pointed out the house.

“Hey, look,” Konohamaru said, pointing.

Naruto followed the gesture and saw a two-storey house. It was taller than long and a part of it seemed to be built into the stream itself. The water seemed to channel down a gradually narrowing path which led to a large wooden wheel that turned slowly.

Earlier, Naruto had worried about running into people, but now his stomach made its decision for him. “Stay here. I'm going to see if they will give us something to eat.”

“Why can't I come with you?” Konohamaru said, confused.

Naruto had to actually think about that for a minute, as he wasn't sure why he had said it. There had to be something more to it than the fact that he was wary of adults, but he couldn't come up with another reason. “Just do it.”

“No. I'm coming with you,” Konohamaru said, folding his arms defiantly.

For a moment, Naruto was going to argue, but his stomach rumbled and the fight went out of him. “Fine, just let me do the talking.”

Konohamaru made a sound that could have been interpreted as anything, but Naruto ignored it. The two of them went around the house to the front door. The house itself was not on road, but there was a short path that led to one. Even to Naruto's untrained eye, it looked to be well traveled, which meant it had either existed for a long time or this house had a lot of visitors.

Knocking on the door, they waited for a response before knocking again. After a few minutes without a response, Naruto went to one of the windows and looked inside. “I don't think there's anyone home.”

“No food, then,” Konohamaru said, dejectedly.

His young friend’s downcast face made Naruto take a second look into the window. He hoped he could see someone, but all he could see from here was a couch. Trying to look around the room, he saw a doorway that led to another room, which he guessed was the kitchen simply because he could see a refrigerator.

Maybe it was his own hunger or perhaps Konohamaru’s that made him say what he said. “I can see a fridge, so they have food. Maybe we should take some.”

“How?”

Instead of answering, Naruto went back to the front door and tried to open it, but found it locked. He tried pushing against it, but that had no effect. “Maybe I can break a window. Come on.” They went around the back of the house again and Naruto found the window for the kitchen. “Look for a rock or something,” he instructed Konohamaru.

The two of them looked around for a minute when Konohamaru called out, “Hey, Naruto, what about this?”

Looking over, he saw the younger boy kneeling and trying to pull a rock out of the ground. At first it looked to be only two inches big, but as he pulled it turned out to be nearly four times that length. With a grin, he stood holding up the oval-shaped rock over his head, proud of his discovery.

“That's perfect,” Naruto said, taking it away from Konohamaru and lifting it to get a feel for its weight. “Okay, I'll break the window, climb inside and grab some food.”

“What about me?”

This time Naruto was prepared for the question. “You have to watch the road in case someone comes back. I don't want to get caught inside.” Konohamaru nodded solemnly at that, which caused Naruto to hide his grin. For a moment, he thought he would have another argument on his hands.

Walking up to the window, he paused. He had never purposely broken a window before, or anything for that matter on purpose. For a brief second, he wondered if they should just wait for whoever lived here to return, but what if they wouldn't give them food? He was hungry and he knew Konohamaru was worse off than he was. With that thought in mind, he hurled the rock.

The sound of breaking glass shattered the silence of the woods and when it returned, it seemed quieter than before. For a moment Naruto stared up into the broken window, not quite believing how easy it had been. Pulling himself out of his contemplation of the vandalism he had just done, he pulled himself onto the windowsill. Taking out a few pieces of glass that were stuck in the frame, he tossed them on the counter in front of him before carefully stepping in.

Hopping off of the counter, he looked around, feeling like the intruder he was. He shook the feeling off and headed for the refrigerator. Opening it, his eyes roamed across the contents. There was a lot, and subconsciously, he tried to guess the point value for each item. Back at the House, everyone had received three square meals a day, but if they wanted anything beyond that they had to turn in some of their points. It came as a bit of a startling realization that he could take whatever he wanted.

Was this what it was like for others his age? Just open the fridge and grab whatever you want? It was strange, but the more he looked at all the food the happier he became. Grabbing an apple he bit into it. He had had apples before, but never directly from the fridge. It felt good cold.

Remembering Konohamaru, he looked around and saw a plastic bag hanging on a doorknob. There were several bags inside and he grabbed a couple and went back to the fridge, thinking what would be best to grab. He dumped the rest of the apples into one of the bags followed by a jar of olives. After a moment of hesitation, he started to grab some of the cans of soda. After all, they wouldn't be able to follow the stream forever. After that, he just decided to grab everything that looked like it didn't need preparation

When he had two full bags, Konohamaru called out, “Someone's coming!”

Naruto froze for a minute before beating a hasty retreat. When he jumped out the window, however, one of the bags brushed against a piece of glass he had neglected to remove from the side, and as it was already full to bursting, the bag's contents spilled onto the ground. For a moment, he wondered if he could pick them up, but Konohamaru said in a panic from his position at the corner of the home, “They're almost here.” Grabbing his friend's arm he pulled away, running into the woods, leaving behind half of what he had taken.


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Kaede had to do several things before tracking down her wayward charges. First she confirmed that Naruto was indeed no longer in the cell she had locked him in last night. The splintered wood was enough evidence to show he had escaped unassisted. Then she had to go back upstairs and see to it that Gato and his men were taking care of properly. A skilled medic-nin or physician would be able to easily determine that they had not died at the same time, but fortunately, there weren't any around these parts.

The last thing she did was go to the master registry they kept for the clients. The registry consisted of a little information on each child, and of course, several photos. Even though Konohamaru had never taken on clients he was entered in here just to keep Naruto honest. She removed the head shots of each boy and pocketed them. In case they had made it into a town she could show the images to people and say they were runaways, which were true, after a fashion.

Leaving the House behind as it opened, she tried to search for the trail. Her first track was simple enough to find. From the room where Gato was killed, it seemed Naruto had jumped onto the wall. Fortunately for her, there was grime on the wall and his landing had scraped some of it off. Once she had picked up the trail it was pretty easy to follow.

Tracking had always been something she was good at, even if she was out of practice now. Still, it was clear Naruto had been running hard and apparently carrying Konohamaru as when she found a footprint it was much too heavy for his frame.

After several miles, she concluded that he must've still been using the demon’s power at the time. Without training or the fox’s power he shouldn't have been able to run that long, especially carrying another person. She actually thought this was a bit of good fortune, as he was running in more or less a straight line, which only made it easier to track him.

The longer the trail went on like that, though, the more nervous she became. From what she read in the Bingo Book, most Jinchuriki could tap into their demon’s power at different stages, but this came at a price. When they came down from the high they were often exhausted and vulnerable. However, she really didn't want to come across Naruto if he was still tapping into the fox’s power. Then she wondered how Konohamaru would be taking it if Naruto was still like that now.

Fortunately, as she was becoming more concerned, the trail changed. Now she was finding evidence of two people walking and she was relieved. In her mind, she started to hope that when she came across the two boys they might even be happy to see her. So far there had been no evidence they had been able to eat anything, nor had she come across a source of water that would be obvious to untrained eyes.

That hope was dashed when she came across a small stream. Finding the spot they had drunken from, she knew they had not crossed over to the other side: the other bank was pristine, whereas the side she was on had obviously been climbed. It took her a few minutes to find out if they had traveled upstream or downstream, but a footprint led her in the right direction. She was grateful they didn't have any training: it was such a long trail it would have been easy to lose them by now otherwise.

She followed their periodic tracks downstream. When she saw a house with a water wheel, she briefly wondered if the two boys had taken refuge inside. As she approached, though, a voice called out, “Get off my property!”

Freezing, not knowing where the voice had came from, she raised her hands as the man came from around the corner of his house waving a fire poker in his hand. “Please calm down,” she said.

“Calm down!” the man shouted, “You break into my house and you tell me to calm down?”

Before she could reply a woman came around the same corner the man just had. “Kisho, dear, calm down, please,” she said laying a hand on his wrist. “She may not be the same person who broke our window.”

“Unlikely,” Kisho spat. “What are the chances of having two unwelcome guests in the same day?”

“I know you're angry but, please, they didn't really steal anything important.”

‘Steal’ Kaede thought: she didn't think Naruto had it in him, or was it Konohamaru, she wondered. “Excuse me, but you were robbed?” she ventured.

The woman smiled and put her arm around her husband. “I really wouldn't say he stole anything. He just took food.”

“And broke a window,” the husband added.

Well, it seems her charges were here, she thought. “I'm sorry, but I'm trying to track down a fugitive. I'm afraid he might have been the person who broke into your home.”

The man tensed and the woman's eyes widened as she said, “Is he dangerous?”

“No,” Kaede said quickly trying to reassure them. “I do have to catch them, though,” she said tapping a finger against her forehead protector. “Could you tell me what they took? It would be a great help to me.”

The woman put a finger to her lower lip, which must've been a habit of hers. “Well, I think they took the apples we had left. I think there were four of them and he took some sodas, but I'm afraid that's all I can remember. Some of the stuff he took ended up on the ground outside. I think we startled them when we came home from selling the grain we had ground up in town. To be honest we didn't have much as we also bought groceries while we were out.”

“Thank you,” Kaede said. “How long ago did you come home and how far is the town from here?”

“About an hour and a half,” Kisho muttered, “and the town is about a half hour walk from here.”

Kaede smiled and thanked them again before saying she would just look around the area in case she could pick up the trail again. Secretly, she hoped they were heading for the town. It would be a lot easier if she could have dozens of citizens looking for them, all thinking they were just doing their civic duty, than tracking them through the woods.