Misuto Seishin: The Mist Spirit

17

《☆☆☆》

With half of the immediate threat surpressed, my mind goes to the one I have to protect with my life. I had seen him run after Shukaku's host. I gathered my bearings and sent out waves of chakra signals to track him down. Once more, what I received was not what I wanted. I had detected the actual presence of Shukaku. He must have taken over when he found out he was being chased.

Is everything okay out there?

Possibly?

Don't lie to me.

Fine. Gaara has gone all crazy and is destroying everything!

Think of what you can do but don't get yourself killed.

I got it!

Oh boy.

I was honestly worried with what kind of 'plan' he came up with. With that thought in mind, I sped off to where the cloud of destruction was. I don't understand why I didn't notice this earlier. I mean I was busy but the cloud is quite large. I flew over the cloud, seeing a tail or two swing itself from the cloud. One was orange, making my heart drop even lower than I thought it could go. I was almost positive that Kurama took over. I'm just confused because it is said Kurama had the most chakra out of all the Bijuus. I don't feel an overbearing chakra, just an immense one.

"Nagareru Kaze." I said, flapping my wings to gain altitude.

(flowing wind)

The wind moves the dust, smoke and debris out of sight, allowing me to see the raging battle. I took a huge sigh of relief after I saw Naruto standing atop of the fox's head. It has to be Gamabunta, no other toads are quite that large. They were quite the duo but it took a bit for them to formulate a plan. I don't know how long Gamabunta can hold the transformation and I don't know if this 'plan' will work. I spiral above the fight, looking down below from a bird's eye view. Naruto jumps off of the head as Gamabunta holds Shukaku still. I see the host on Shukaku's forehead like a pimple. This was a planned release. The two were possibly working together but knowing the trouble Shukaku causes, I highly doubt it. Naruto goes right in for the host, hitting him in the face which causes him to wake up. Shukaku faded away into sand and the two boys plummeted from a decent height. Gamabunta had returned to his world to heal himself. I floated down two the two boys to retrieve them. As I got there, two more people arrived, taking the red-head with them. They seemed close to each other so I suspect it was either friends or family that came back to get him. Most shinobi wouldn't because whoever ordered this meant for Shukaku to be a pawn. Being a pawn means that you are replaceable. I doubt that was the case this time, it looks like they wanted to get rid of the poor kid. I landed beside Naruto, and reached my head down to grab the collar of his jacket. This kid could sleep, let me tell you. I'll let him though. It was a tough battle but he won in the end, even if it was by unpredictable means. To make this flight back easier for me as well, I decide to put him on my back, in between my wings.

To be honest, the only other person who has ridden me was Minato. I don't like things on my back that weigh me down. It also makes me responsible for them, I can't let them fall. This was an exception though. I wanted to do this, he needed his well deserved rest. He just got out of the hospital too. He's going to be quite the complainer once he wakes up.

When I arrive back at the village, you can feel the mood in the air. It was depressing and heavy. Most people have probably found out about Hiruzen's tragic death. It's as if the earth and sky are saddened by this death too. The sky is letting water drip from its clouds. The water from the clouds soak the land below just like how tears would soak a dry face. This was helpful because they put out the fires that were burning. Maybe the land wanted to take some of the weight off of our shoulders. If anything, it adds to mine. I feel totally responsible for his death. I should have saved him, I should have trusted the fighting shinobi and I should have trusted Naruto. This was the second friend that I had lost to tragedy. It seems that you don't live for too long in the ninja world. Hiruzen was able to make it because he was strong and continued to get stronger.

I flew to a tent nearby that was healing the injured citizens and shinobi. I hand over Naruto and after checking that he was cared for, I flew to the mountain containing the stone remnants of my two friends. The rain covered my fur and feathers with water, disguising the tear stains that led from my eyes. I added to the steady rain. I know this is not how they would have wanted me to act but it's as if I lost a brother.

I curl into a ball on the mountain and let my wings drape over me. I would do a silent vigil all night, not sleeping or moving from this spot. I wanted to bang my head against a wall and shout at the world but I can't. I don't have the energy at the moment. I was depressed and furious. Furious with myself and furious at Orochimaru. He and Kurama will perish, but Naruto must come first now. He is the last person that is closely tied with me. I won't lose him, he's all I have right now. I know I have Kakashi and other people but I'm not as close to them. I don't not feel the urge that drives me to protect Naruto when I think of them. Don't understand, I would protect them with my life too. But if it came down to choosing between lives, Naruto would have the utmost priority.

I won't make the same mistake twice.

《☆☆☆》

I'm sorry that was like suuuuuppperrr depressing but the episodes during this point were kind of depressing. The story will pick up from here and slowly get happier and happier. Until...you know.