Sage

Ch.16

"So where are we now?" Shizuku looked over at her companion, noting that he seemed just as tired as she did. Once they had made their swift escape from Taki they had been pretty much running non-stop east towards the country's border. Naruto was just glad he had completed his wind training before they were forced to flee as they passed by more than a few waterfalls on their 'tactical retreat'.

"It's not far now. According to the map and that large valley we just passed through, Ta no Kuni should only be another mile or so." Shizuku just nodded between ragged breaths, slightly surprising herself at how she took the news. Before Naruto came into her life even a single mile might have sounded daunting but now she could use Chakra it wasn't all that far. Sometimes what she could now do still amazed the girl; everything was so different after you began using Chakra. Running was easier, weights were less heavy and you had more energy than ever, it was just indescribable.

"Alright, but promise we'll stop after we pass the border." All she got was a fairly non-committal nod from the blonde; she knew it was still dangerous to stop so soon but she was nearly exhausted. Naruto probably wouldn't admit it but even he was a little winded from the run, despite his large reserves and incredible stamina he was still fallible.

"Are they following?" Naruto quickly turned, not breaking his stride as he ran backwards for a few meters, allowing his Rinnegan eyes to scan the forest behind them. He quickly turned back before he could accidentally run into anything and subtly altered their course slightly.

"I don't see anybody but that doesn't mean they aren't following." Shizuku just nodded tiredly as she forced her legs to keep going, maintaining a steady flow of Chakra to her muscles as best she could. She wouldn't be surprised if they had pursuers; their escape from Taki had hardly been as 'subtle' as either of them could have hoped for.

"Come on, we need to get to the tunnels as quickly as possible." Shizuku nodded determinedly as the two set off at a reasonably quick but not suspiciously fast pace through the winding streets. They mostly stuck to the quieter back alleys to avoid running into any prying eyes, unfortunately that didn't work for long.

"Oi, you two!" Naruto froze, an irritated expression quickly suppressed behind a serene and innocent smile. He turned only to see the same large shaven-headed who had accompanied Fuu, as well as the one who had administered her 'punishments'. Even seeing him made Naruto's had clench slightly before he realised what he was doing and forced himself to relax.

"Can we help you Shinobi-san?" The man only levelled a suspicious gaze on the two, particularly Naruto who he narrowed his eyes at dangerously.

"I need to take you two in for questioning regarding one of our... Shinobi who have gone missing" The man seemed to struggle with the word 'Shinobi' which didn't do much to settle Naruto's growing temper. He hadn't been the only one to share their story, Fuu had told him enough about her treatment that he had begun to seriously reconsider his beliefs in the one instance.

"And how would we be of any help?" The man just grunted as he made a move to grab Naruto's wrist, the monk quickly leaning back to avoid him.

"That doesn't matter, you are in our village, you have to follow our rules. If we demand you come in for questioning you either do or I question you right now." Naruto smile widened although it was incredibly strained; luckily he had been hiding behind masks of happiness almost his entire life so the burly Shinobi noticed nothing.

"I'm afraid that would be incredibly inconvenient right now Shinobi-san." Like the man before Naruto was beginning to have difficulty saying the honorific with any kind of sincerity. "You see my friend and I were running an urgent errand, would it be possible for us to re-schedule?" The man finally seemed to lose his patience as in one swift move he grabbed Shizuku by the wrist.