A caterpillar crawled along Fū's arm. A beetle landed on her toe above the strap of her sandal. Spiders were spinning webs across the entrance to the hollowed tree where her body was pressed, mashed and folded into place. Fū welcomed the touch of every tiny leg that brushed over her skin. The bugs made her feel at home.
Chōmei had gotten quiet. Fū used a lot of chakra running away. Chōmei had plenty more, but the connection was strained. The Bijuu wasn't talking. Fū was left alone with her thoughts and her own heavy breathing. It was dark. A little cold. Water dripped along the inside of the tree, stroking her bare arms. Fū wanted to say something, even if it meant talking to herself. But she was scared that would give her away. A visage full of sharp teeth flashed through her head, followed by a memory of red eyes. She found herself thinking of the way the night started. Fire and water tearing apart her guards, the Takikage screaming at her to run— Fū shivered.
"Found ya!"
Her head whipped up. Instead of a black cloak and red clouds, she was faced with a mesh shirt and orange pants. Bright blond hair and shining white teeth; a beaming smile with warm blue eyes.
"I guess I'm pretty good at hide and seek, huh?" Naruto said.
Fū shot from her hiding spot, wings buzzing as she hurled her arms around him.
If she cried a little, well, she'd been through a lot.
O-O-O
"They're really gone?"
Fū was buzzing next to Naruto, hovering six inches off the ground with her hands linked behind her back. Her wings carried her forward without her legs moving. The whole time, her head turned on a swivel toward each bird call or crunching branch in the forest.
"Itachi and Kisame are long gone," Naruto said. "They weren't willing to stick around with Naruto Uzumaki on the scene!"
He thumped his chest, earning a tentative smile from Fū. It seemed like she didn't quite believe him.
"They're gone," Naruto repeated. His bravado faded, and he gave Fū a smaller smile. "The Akatsuki need to capture the Jinchuriki without killing. They're collecting our Bijuu, so if they kill us they set their plan back by years. Even if they caught me, they can't take Kyu away until they've gotten all of her siblings. There's not much they can do to me."
"You make it sound as if they didn't flee from our might," Kyu said. Naruto imagined her nostrils were flaring.
"Fū's scared. They seemed unbeatable to her, that's why she can't believe they ran off. It's easier to explain this way."
Kyu snorted. "If she can't understand our greatness, that's surely a problem for her."
"Eventually… they'll come for you?" Fū said. "Once they have the others, they'll be able to capture you then."
"They won't get the others. Not if I can help it. Besides, takin' on Jinchuriki isn't easy! They're not all as young as we are. Some of them have had their Tailed-beast for decades. We're all tougher than nails."
Fū didn't answer right away.
"They were monsters too," she finally said. "They would've gotten me if you weren't here. I'm scared for Yugito."
They reached Fallen Leaf Lake, stepping past the last of the trees and crossing the water. Naruto walked along the surface while Fū continued to float, her wings buzzing behind her. Naruto over from the corner of his eye.
She was scared for herself, too. But she was most scared on Yugito's behalf. A woman she met yesterday who ran from the trouble.
"Yugito has lots of friends," Naruto said. "They'll have a hard time catching her alone. Especially now."
Fū looked at her toes. "I wasn't alone."
"Tell her that her friends were weak. The combined forces of Kumo would have crushed them as easily as the shark and the Uchiha."
"Yugito has a lot of friends. And it's not just her, Kumo has another Jinchuriki. I hear he's brothers with the Raikage!" Naruto said. "That guy's another monster, just like the Akatsuki are! He won't lose his brother without a fight."
Fū didn't perk up. After a second, Naruto felt like cursing. Of course she wasn't just worried about Yugito. She was thinking of the friends that she lost.
"The Akatsuki are gone." This time, Naruto's tone didn't leave any room for doubt. "They won't be back tonight. So you don't have to be scared. You can go back to them."
Fū jolted. "Back to who?"
"The ones you're worried about." Naruto smiled, tilting his head. "I'll be right behind you."
Fū barely hesitated. She shot off, peeling away like a bolt in the sky. Naruto watched her go for a second, before tilting his head down and kicking off the surface of the water.
To a civilian's eyes, it would've been as if he disappeared.
O-O-O
"Brace yourself, Fū."
Chōmei's voice returned in the form of a warning. The Jinchuriki was bearing down on a building she had visited more times than she could count.
Not much was left.
The Takikage's residence had been a large building of multiple floors, many rooms, and stunning views of Fallen Leaf Lake. It was a ruin now, strewn with debris and spewing thick dark smoke. One half had been crushed by relentless water, while the other half was burned by an inferno. The scene was crawling with Takigakure shinobi, using Suiton techniques to fight the flames or pulling unmoving bodies from the rubble.
Fū zipped past all of them. Only the sharpest noticed the displaced wind as she shot overhead. Many of those working were dazed, barely noticing anything except their grim work. Fires still raged amongst the lower roots where villagers lived, smoke curling off of ruined homes.
Fū went past all of it. There was only one place she had to get to, and it wasn't here.
Weaving between roots, Fū reached her destination after another thirty seconds of flying. Taki shinobi hadn't arrived here yet.
"They must be dragging their feet. They've always feared this place."
Normally, Chōmei would jest about Taki's fear, turning it into another of the jokes she loved. Tonight, even the Bijuu's voice was somber. She was fond of her Jinchuriki. There would be no jokes while tears ran down Fū's cheeks.
A one-room hut was carved out of the roots, unadorned except for the wooden carving on its door— a snarling beetle head with a mouth full of jagged fangs. No bigger than a modest studio apartment, the hut had been designed to overlook a valley within the roots that was home to grass, glowing moss, and an artful pagoda that had been situated amongst the greenery.
It was all gone. The pagoda had been crushed into scraps. When Fū landed next to it, her legs sank up to her knees in standing water left over from the attack. Kegon and Yōrō were floating in it, faces down.
"Don't look!" Chōmei hissed.
It was too late. But Fū didn't run to them. She waded forward, sloshing to the ruins of the pagoda. There, she dropped to her knees, water enveloping her up to the waist as she stared at her first friend. Shibuki coughed.
"You're… alive," Shibuki said.
He had always been a gentle-looking boy, with flowing brown hair and large, dark pupils. It seemed like he was always smiling, except for when something startled him. That happened often, be it a bird flying close to his head or someone dropping something nearby. Fū laughed at the memories as she started to cry.
"You've always been a coward! That's just what you're like! So why… Why would you act like this?"
Shibuki laughed, but his chest was moving shallowly. His brown hair had withered into gray, his once-smooth skin twisted with wrinkles. His hand was bony as he reached out, trying to touch Fū's face but failing to reach. Fū leaned forward, pressing her cheek into his fingers.
"They… were going to take… you," Shibuki said. "They… burned the village. Had to… had to stop them."
"Then do it without the Hero Water!" Fū cried.
Shibuki chuckled, the sound raspy. "Couldn't. Failed anyway… even with the water…" He kept chuckling.
The Hero Water was Takigakure's secret weapon. It could enhance anyone's chakra by ten times or more for a short time, burning through their life force in exchange. Even using a little bit could age you by ten decades. Fū could tell from a single look. Shibuki had sacrificed his entire lifespan.
But that wasn't what killed him. He had been crushed through the pagoda that housed the Hero Water, beaten into a state where he couldn't move and left behind as unimportant.
"I was supposed to protect the Hero Water." Tears were streaming over Fū's cheeks. "That's the job of Taki's Jinchuriki! It's why we live above it! It's why we're called the village guardian! So why… Why would you use the water trying to protect me?"
Shibuki moved his lips silently. Fū was terrified that he'd already given his last words, but he was just searching for the right thing to say.
"I wanted to," Shibuki said. His gaze drifted to the side, the motion taking visible effort. "Please… take care of her."
Fū spun to the side, splashing the water around her waist, and found Naruto crouched on the roots. The bodies of Fū's guards were braced over his shoulders. He finished setting them down gently before he turned back.
"I won't be staying in Taki," Naruto said.
Shibuki smiled. It was the first time they'd met, but he knew that.
"You're telling me to leave?" Fū asked. "I know that I failed tonight, but I'll get stronger! I can protect the village! Don't—" Her voice hitched. "Don't get rid of me."
Shibuki's fingers trailed off of her cheek, finding Fū's hand. He gave it a squeeze.
"Not… telling you to leave," he said. "I'm saying… You don't have to stay."
"This is an immense kindness, Fū." Chōmei's voice was cautious. "He's giving away Taki's strongest weapon. No other leader would be this kind. If you don't accept his generosity, his successor will not offer the same."
"Taki is the only place I know," Fū said.
"Change that," Shibuki said. "See… the world…"
A pained look crossed his face, ruining his peaceful smile. First his hand went limp, sliding off of Fū's and splashing into the water. The rest of his body relaxed soon after. A bittersweet feeling took over Fū's heart as she saw the pain fade from his face, replaced by blankness.
She lunged forward, hugging his limp body and crying into his wet shoulder. She barely heard Chōmei repeating her name. It was only Naruto's touch on her shoulder, gently pulling her away, that brought her back to herself. Who knew how long she would've taken if he wasn't there.
"Bring him back." Naruto didn't talk about Shibuki's last words. He didn't ask about the nature of Hero Water or what happened here. He didn't even ask how she felt. "You want to," he said. "Go. I'll be there."
Fū nodded. She lifted Shibuki's body from the water. Death hadn't made him any heavier, only her heart. She carried him across her arms, flying to the village. They needed to know.
Her head was lowered as she passed the burning and crushed remnants of Shibuki's home. One of the shinobi pointed, and the others craned their necks to watch her pass. Fū didn't slow down until she had reached the heart of the village.
Civilians were crowding in the streets, funneled out of houses that had either burned or were still burning. They took longer than the shinobi to notice her arrival. When they did, fingers weren't the only thing Fū found herself faced with.
A ripe plum flew out of the crowd. It hit the side of Fū's head, splattering its purple guts on her green hair. The noise Chōmei made inside her head was shrill and vengeful.
"You were supposed to protect him!" someone shouted.
"I tried," Fū said, but no one seemed to listen to her, and maybe that was for the best, because it was a lie. She gave into fear and ran off. So what if Shibuki told her to? She should've ignored him. She should've stopped this, all the blood that was spilt over her, even if it meant giving herself up.
"What good are you?" shouted a voice from the crowd. "What were you doing?" another screamed. Someone said, "Don't touch Shibuki's body! Who knows what you'll do to it!"
That one hurt the worst. Fū recoiled, floating back a few inches, but she did not put her friend's body down. He would have wanted to be returned to his people. He had loved them and they loved him, even now. Fū had to reunite them, even if they didn't love her.
But when the crowd lurched forward, they came for her angrily. Fū didn't feel like they would accept Shibuki's body in peace. Someone threw something at her, and when her eyes flickered toward over as it missed her head, she caught a glimpse of an iron tool. Far less harmless than a fruit.
"Stop," Fū said. "Shibuki wouldn't want this."
No one seemed to hear her. She considered flying away, but didn't want to steal Shibuki's body, and wanted to drop him even less.
"Fū, I will not let them touch us. Humans are dangerous in groups. If you won't protect us, I promise you, I will."
"Don't hurt them," Fū begged Chōmei. "They were precious to Shibuki. They're just hurting—"
The tide of the crowd stopped abruptly, a strange mood going through them. The one in the lead, a tall man who Fū recognized as the village's main butcher, had fallen forward, his body no longer working. It was clear who had done it. A pretty girl with pupilless eyes like Fū's stood over him. Someone else tried to rush past her, and the girl sent them to the ground the same as the butcher, doing it with one touch. The word outsider passed through the mob like a heartbeat.
"Did she set fire to your houses?"
Fū was drawn in by this girl's smooth, rich voice.
"Is she the one who killed that man? A man she's brought to you with tears in her eyes?" The bulging veins around the girl's eyes throbbed. "What do you think you're going to achieve?"
"You're not allowed here." Noticeably, it was someone from the middle of the crowd who spoke, out of sight and out of reach. "This is a Taki matter. That thing is a monster."
Someone laughed.
Fū felt an arm drape over her shoulder. Naruto had caught up, and he pulled her down until her feet touched the ground. He was making a face Fū hadn't seen before. There was something dangerous about his grin.
"Hi!" He waved to the crowd, who had no idea what to make of him. Shinobi were arriving from all around the village, positioning themselves on rooftops and vantages atop the roots, although none of them seemed to know what to do.
"My name's Naruto! I'm a monster too! In fact, I'm so big and scary that Fū doesn't even compare to me. If you're scared of her, whew boy, you'll be terrified of me!"
He laughed loudly. No one joined in.
"Did you see that huge explosion on the lake? That was me," Naruto said. "I'm the one who chased off the ninjas that killed your leader. They could've wiped your village off the map like it was nothing, but they couldn't handle me. Aren't monsters super scary?"
He laughed again, and it was still just him. The girl who'd stopped the crowd shook her head.
"Don't worry, I'm leaving now," Naruto said. "Fū is coming with me. You might never see either of us again. Isn't that exciting?"
"But the Seven-Tails is our…"
Whatever the man from the crowd was going to say — guardian, tool, weapon — he thought better of it once Naruto looked at him.
"We're going to go now," Naruto said. "We're going to hang out on the beaches of Water Country and sunbathe in the heat of Wind Country. We're going to see a thousand more things, too, and have a really good time doing it. And if anyone tries to stop us, I'll knock 'em into the ground head-first without looking twice. I might even enjoy it. You know what we monsters can be like."
He continued smiling, the crowd reduced to silence. With a slight push, Naruto gave Fū her queue, and she hastily knelt down, setting Shibuki's body against the root they were standing on. Slowly, Fū stood up. She nodded at Naruto and got one of his grins in return.
"Bye!" Naruto said, waving as over-enthusiastically as he had while introducing himself.
He insisted on leaving at a walking pace, leading Fū on a route straight through the middle of the crowd, which parted for them without a word. The girl without pupils joined them, walking briskly to stay alongside Naruto. They passed out of the mob, descended into the lower part of the village, and headed for the tunnel out of Taki.
"Welcome to life on the road," Naruto said, speaking up when they were at the cave's entrance. "We'll find you more friends than you can count and show you things you can only dream of. It'll be a blast."
"I believe you," Fū said.
Somehow, the worst night of her life had a decent ending. She allowed herself to look forward to the future. As she took in Naruto's grin, a smile of her own formed, her heart even started beating faster, although only one being noticed the change.
Inside her seal, Chōmei felt a sense of unease as she watched her Jinchuriki make doe-eyes at the handsome fox. If a bug could sweat, she would be doing so now.
This… could prove troublesome.