The Ultimate Weapon (Naruto Fanfic)

30-Stories are Just That

Murasaki's eyes widened slightly and he looked over at Shino. The others continued forward, not hearing the question that had been asked. "W-what makes you say that Shino? That was out of the blue." Murasaki faced forward again, only just catching himself from tripping on a root.

"The fact that you are tripping is proof enough. Why? Because you are not a clumsy person. Adding to this, you no longer look people in the eye, only in the general direction." Shino adjusted his glasses slightly, a brief glint shining off of them. "The only logical assumption would be that you can not truly see. In other words, Murasaki, you are blind."

The group kept walking, but the two didn't speak for a while. The princess laughed lightly at something Kiba said to Hinata, but no one turned back to look at them. "Shino, you really pay attention to comrades, don't you?"

"Of course," was the immediate reply, "if a comrade is hurt, it is best to know immediately so nobody dies."

Reaching up, Murasaki scratched the back of his head lightly. "I suppose, but I would rather not make a big deal of this... Shino, you don't suppose you could keep this a secret until we reach the palace at least?" He simply nodded in answer to Murasaki's question, causing the purple haired boy to sigh. "Thanks."

_+_

The day merged into nighttime as everyone sat around the small table in the room. Five cards were held in everyone's hand, but the boredom was clear on everyone's faces.

"Shikamaru, do you have any five cards?" Aoi looked up to whom he had addressed, only to find him asleep.

Kaori fell back, her cards falling to the table in a careless manner. "This is so boring!" The soft groan in her voice summing up the feelings of all the people in the room. "We need to do something other than play cards."

Mumbles of general agreement rang through the room, and Kodomo perked up. "Why don't we tell stories?" Ryo rose an eyebrow in interest, and Migota turned from her face down position on the floor.

"Scary ones?" The voice was slightly muffled, as Migota's cheek was still against the ground.

"Sounds more interesting than go fish," Ryo shrugged and cracked his neck lightly. Migota winced slightly at the sound, but other than that didn't react.

Kodomo stood up, grabbing a candle from the bedside and lighting it before turning out the rest of the lights in the room. "I suppose I'll start then. Let me see..."

_+_

"The floorboards creaked underfoot, but underneath that sound another could be heard. Stopping to assess the new sensation. It was more of a sliding than a shuffling, but when he stopped, so did the sound. Turning around slowly, a figure was seen behind them, and before they could even scream, darkness engulfed them. Four days later, a body was found in that house, charred to a crisp, even though nothing else was so much as scorched."

Kaori and Migota were next to each other, holding onto one another for dear life. Shikamaru's eye was cracked open and trained on Kodomo as he told the story, but he shut it once it ended, giving off the appearance that he was bored. Ryo was huddled in the corner, rocking back and forth mumbling a mantra to himself as if for protection. The odd one out was Aoi, who just sat there staring at Kodomo through the whole thing without so much as flinching.

"Alright then, I say the person that is the most scared gets to tell the next one, so it looks like Ryo is up!" Kodomo smiled lightly, and the mantra going through the room abruptly stopped when Ryo heard this.

Slowly standing, everyone was shocked when Ryo suddenly turned to face them. Migota even let out a squeak of fear. The smile on his face was wide and inviting, but somehow the candlelight made Ryo seem threatening and sadistic. "I love to tell scary stories!" The second he said this, Kodomo felt he had made an error in his choice.