A Different Path

Late Night Fire

Naruto's POV

Damn it.. It just had to be that bastard's room. Naruto closed his eyes shut before he breathed out warm air and returned to the cruel reality. He was surrounded by raging flames and choking grey puffs of smoke, making it even harder to breath properly.
Nevertheless, he followed Takao as they delved deeper into the room in search of the other Oharo. The blond could still hear Sasuke's rapidly increasing heartbeat so he narrowed his sensory range in order to block out any more sounds that could distract him. He knew that the raven was worried and that didn't make Naruto's situation any easier. Now it was not the time to lose focus.

I swear to God, if Kou has somehow managed to light the Oharo quarters on fire, I'll twist his neck with my bare hands. He gritted his teeth forcefully accompanied by the sound of two rocks clashing against each other. Suddenly, a small chakra signature appeared out of the blue as if it had been hibernating for the past five minutes. Naruto immediately turned towards it as he waved his black cloak in the air to clear his path. An arm caught his eye, hanging limp over some wooden bars that were probably used to support the ceiling. This is worse than I thought. The ceiling could burst open any moment now. Damn it!

Takao jumped at his side to help him push the planks over the motionless body as they struggled not to inhale any of the toxic vapors trapped inside the four walls. As soon as they managed to drag Aoi out of the huge mass of splinters, the section of the ceiling above the Oharo's previous location crashed down onto the floor with a loud thud, breaking into the room below them. Crap!Naruto flicked Takao's unfocused head with the back of his free hand before they both carried the other Oharo out of the room, panting heavily. The Jinchuriki had to ignore the stinging pain of the small burns on his tanned skin that had even succeeded to turn his black clothes slightly crispy.

He grimaced when Takao pressed his trembling and sweaty palm on his shoulder to guide him to a familiar corridor, jolting slightly with Aoi still laying unconscious in their arms.
"We-*cough*-need to get him to-*cough*-safety and to evacuate the people living in the-*cough, cough*-western area of the quarters!" Naruto choked out, his voice cracking from the thick layer of smoke invading his lungs.
"*Cough*-This w-way!" Takao's grip on Aoi's torso tightened given his tense arm. Naruto could tell that he was scared, but he didn't seem to be scared for his own life. He was scared that he might have to deal with the loss of Aoi.
They must be close. Naruto felt a pang in his heart that quickly vanished.

"Maybe they're like you and Sasuke." Kurama's soothing voice dispelled any painful thoughts swarming inside the blond's head. The fox knew exactly how to make Naruto relax by massaging his pressure points with gentle words and warmth. And bringing Sasuke up had recently become the perfect ointment for the wounds on Naruto's broken soul.
"No one is like me and him. The bond we have.. It's different." The corners of the blond's mouth rose slightly to form a small, genuine smile, that Takao didn't see, again.

Suddenly, a loud crackle came from above as small bits of hardened dust found their way onto Naruto's damp hair. He raised his squinty, puffy eyes to see a huge crack in the ceiling that was slowly getting dangerously wide.
Thinking fast, the Jinchuriki pushed the now dizzy Aoi and Takao onto the floor, a few heated tiles in front of them just as a pile of splinters and marble crashed down right between them. The blond took a few steps backwards, raising his arms to protect himself from the falling debris.

"Hey! *Cough*-Mukami!" Takao's frightened voice came out of the mess of raging flames, slightly bathed in the crackling of the fire.
"I'm fine! You go-*cough*-go on ahead and get Aoi to safety! I'll find a way out of here.." His voice started to trail away when the screen of smoke got thicker and he broke into a coughing fit.

"Why didn't you use the Body Flicker to avoid getting trapped here?" Kurama kept pacing around the Tailed Beast psyche, worry obvious in his gaze.
"I'm supposed to learn how to use it from the Oharo. The other way I could have learned it would be the ANBU and I'm not supposed to have even come in contact with them. That moron was still there and I might have risked blowing my cover!" Naruto's voice suddenly grew angry, and then tired as he sighed slowly, wiping away sweatdrops from his forehead with the back of his hand, engulfed by grime.

"Kit.. Don't risk your life to take them down.. Please." The Tailed Beast lowered his head to meet his Jinchuriki's level, who closed his eyes in return. "What will you do now to get out of here?" He pushed him further, scrunching his nose as if he could feel the heat in the now closed off section of the corridor.
"I'll use the Transportation Jutsu.. Once.. He's far away.. But I.. Don't.."

Naruto's vision got considerably foggier and he suddenly found it even harder to breathe. He felt like he was being choked to death while the air refused to enter his lungs, leaving him painfully aware of the fact that, no matter how much chakra he possessed, his body couldn't stand the rising heat and smoke any longer. The Jinchuriki's knees finally gave up as he fell down on the floor, his sweating back against the rigid wall behind him.

"Kit!! Naruto! What's wrong?!" Kurama jolted upwards while his tails furrowed in distress.
Naruto let his head rest on the wall as he slowly slided down with his breathing shallow and his body left without any kind of energy.
The Tailed Beasts ruffled their pelts, their eyes wide in fear. They were all concerned about their Jinchuriki. "Naruto! Say something, please! Naruto!" Naruto felt himself drifting away from reality before he thought he heard a desperate voice calling him by his name. Even though he wasn't supposed to be able to hear him anymore, the blond still recognized him. Sasuke?

"..Naruto.." Sasuke? Is that you?
That was before everything turned black and Naruto's arms fell limply along his sides, brushing the coal-black ashes on the floor.

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Heya! Sorry it took me so long to update, guys. Author's block. Anyway! Another cliffhanger!😉 You know me! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Next time, on Naruto Shippuden: 'Saved By The Enemy'
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~See ya!~
~Bella~
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