The Stone of Shadows Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – It Begins

The blaring of their respective alarm clocks shocked both girls out of their slumber, reminding them that it was two in the morning. Tayuya stretched, still somewhat tired, and looked out the window. Despite it technically being the "morning", it was as dark as it could be outside. She could feel she needed a change, and felt it smart to attend to that before she met her partner outside her room. Tayuya grabbed the small bag containing her materials from its location, and set it on the bed. She grabbed the waistband of her sweatpants, and pulled them down to her ankles, exposing her sodden diaper. Sighing, she undid each tab, and slid the garment out from under her. She tossed it into the trash can near the bed, and grabbed the moist wipes from the bag. After opening the package, she grabbed a cool wipe, and slid it across her nude privates, wiping away any spare urine off her skin. Tossing the wipe in the trash, she grabbed the small bottle of powder and applied it to her skin. After she rubbed the powder in, she grabbed a fresh diaper from the bag, and sat on top of it after she unfolded it. She taped the tabs on, and pulled her sweatpants back up. She sighed again, and stood up from the bed, putting the supply bag back into her pack.

"Tayuya, you ready to do this?" Oshime asked, before knocking gently on the door.

"Yeah, hold on." Tayuya answered.

Tayuya stretched once more, and then opened the door to meet Oshime.

"Grab your pack, Tayuya." Oshime stated.

"Won't taking our packs with us hamper our abilities?" Tayuya questioned.

"Of course it will" Oshime responded, "That's why we're not taking them with us."

"Then why do you want me to grab mine?" Tayuya asked, confused.

"Do you plan on leaving it here?" Oshime asked, "Do you plan to return for it after we're wanted fugitives?"

"Oh...um, err..." Tayuya stated, not having thought of this dilemma earlier.

"You're lucky I actually use my brain..." Oshime replied, shaking her head.

"Shut it, assface!" Tayuya shouted.

"Nice comeback..." Oshime said sarcastically, "Just grab your pack and meet me downstairs."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." Tayuya mumbled, grabbing her pack.

She left her room, and headed for the small den in the house. When she reached it, she noticed that Oshime was already there, holding her own pack. Tayuya placed her pack on the ground in front of her, as did Oshime. Before Tayuya could ask what her plan was, Oshime completed a familiar series of handsigns, which Tayuya recognized was used to summon their sealed container. When the slight smoke cleared, Oshime opened the waist high container, and tossed both hers and Tayuya's packs into it. She closed and sealed it, and then reverse summoned it, surprising Tayuya.

"I...never thought about that..." Tayuya stated, thinking it seemed obvious.

"Oh, really, I couldn't tell..." Oshime replied, rolling her eyes.

Tayuya glared, but before she could reply, Oshime began stating something else.

"Ok, I'm thinking we should wait about an hour before we head for the building." Oshime stated.

"What, why?" Tayuya asked.

"I think it's just better if we go over some strategies and possibilities for the next hour" Oshime replied.

"Well, I guess..." Tayuya stated, "I'd hate for us to screw this up."

"Exactly" Oshime replied, "This is without a doubt our most important heist we've ever taken on."

Tayuya nodded, and sat down on the sofa, waiting for Oshime to begin her strategy discussion. For the next hour, the two girls poured over any and all possible contingencies, not content to get caught napping. As the clock struck three, both girls nodded, and stood from their seats. Tayuya slid her Akatsuki cloak on, noticing that Oshime had been wearing hers the whole time. Oshime walked over to the door of the house and opened it, peering outside. Not seeing anybody in the darkness, Oshime gestured for Tayuya to follow her. They exited the dwelling, and made their way towards the target without a sound. Both had agreed that quiet and stealthy was better than trying to rush, so it took a bit of time for them to reach the building. As they did, they noticed two Jounin standing guard in front of it. The two girls ducked behind a bush near the entrance, and planned their next move.

"I hate the night shift..." The older Jounin said to the other one.

"Yeah, I know what you mean" The other Jounin replied, yawning.

Suddenly, the older Jounin began hearing music. It started off very light, but soon increased in volume. He looked around for a source, but not only could he not see anything, but it also seemed omni-directional.

"Hey buddy, you hear that?" He asked the other Jounin, not receiving a response.

"Hey, you hear me!?" He shouted, once again not getting an answer.

He turned around to face the younger Jounin, and let out a scream at what he saw. His partner no longer had any eyes, just empty eye sockets, and his skin was melting off of his skeleton.

"Wow, incredible Genjutsu, Tayuya." Oshime said, looking at the two Jounin standing there motionlessly with vacant looks on their faces, "They're not even reacting to the visions they're seeing."

Tayuya took her lips off of her flute, and nodded, "I figured it'd be best if they didn't make a scene out here, even if it is early in the morning."

"Agreed" Oshime responded.

The two kunoichi walked past the two stationary guards, and quickly entered the small building. Inside, was just a moderate sized room, with a small altar in the middle. On the altar lay a small, black object, which must've been the Stone of Shadows. Oshime took a shuriken out from her pouch, and threw it in such a way that it whizzed across the room just a centimeter above the ground. As she suspected, a few wire traps were activated, but not where they were standing due to the use of the shuriken. The two girls watched the groups of kunai launch at various spots around the room, littering the floor with metal. They waited a few seconds after the last kunai had struck, just in case, and proceeded to walk slowly over towards the altar. Not tripping any additional traps, the two stopped in front of the altar, and stared at the stone. It was small enough to fit in the palm of an average had, and it was obvious by looking at it that the shape of Kagegakure's symbol was based on the stone. The stone was black, yet translucent, and rounded on the bottom. The two spikes on the right side, curved just as the village's icon did, back towards the left.

"There's a good chance that there's a better trap on the altar itself" Oshime stated.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking." Tayuya replied, thinking of their next move.

Before Tayuya could come up with an idea, Oshime pulled a kunai from the ground, and dropped it onto the altar, making sure it lightly hit the stone. Right as the kunai made contact with the stone, it shattered into a large number of pieces, leaving naught but small metal chunks.

"Well, this is interesting..." Tayuya said, glancing at the shattered remains of the kunai.

"Yeah..." Oshime replied, thinking up a strategy.

Before Oshime could think of an idea, Tayuya had pulled her flute out, and put her lips to it.

"Tayuya, what are you doing?" Oshime asked.

Tayuya did not answer Oshime, and simply began concentrating her chakra through her flute. Instead of playing a complicated musical melody, Tayuya simply played any notes she could, as loud as possible. Oshime covered her ears, wondering what in the world her partner was doing. Oshime stared at the flute, and was amazed as a blast of air shot out of it, launching towards the stone. As it made contact, the stone was knocked off the altar, and tumbled over to the wall.

"I...was not expecting that..." Oshime stated, staring at Tayuya.

"I wasn't even sure it would work, truthfully" Tayuya admitted.

Oshime lifted another kunai off the ground, and lobbed it at the stone. It lightly made contact, but even after several seconds, nothing happened. Tayuya walked over, and hesitantly lifted it off the ground. As she did, she felt a tingling in her fingertips, and felt her stomach turn. The world began spiraling out of control, colors pouring from and towards all directions.

"Dammit, a Genjutsu!" Tayuya thought to herself.

She tried releasing it a couple of times, but to no avail. The world only spun faster, more colors psychedelically flying around.

"Crap, she's in a Genjutsu!" Oshime shouted, seeing Tayuya thrash across the floor, "If she can't break it on her own, it must be a strong one."

Oshime shoved Tayuya, trying to knock her out of it via force. Seeing it was no use, Oshime sighed and grabbed a kunai off the floor.

"I'm sorry, Tayuya" Oshime said, slicing Tayuya's finger with the knife.

Tayuya yelled as the world slowed down, the extra color fading away. She felt the tremendous pain, and used it to break the Genjutsu on her. Tayuya panted as she stood up from the floor, still clutching the stone in her hands, realizing that she had wet while she was affected.

"I thought that might happen" Tayuya stated, dusting herself off.

"Then why'd you do it?" Oshime asked.

"I'm much better at breaking Genjutsu than you are, Oshime" Tayuya replied.

"True, but still..." Oshime responded.

"Don't worry, I'm fine now." Tayuya said, "So let's get out of here."

"What about the guards outside?" Oshime asked, "Are they still under your Genjutsu?"

"Yeah, don't worry about that." Tayuya answered.

Oshime nodded, but still decided to open the door outside slowly. She saw the two Jounin standing there, the vacant looks still on their face. Oshime gestured to Tayuya, who followed her outside.

"Umm, how long are they going to be in that Genjutsu?" Oshime asked, actually looking concerned.

"No more than 3 days" Tayuya replied, "Well, ok, maybe a week. But no more than two..."

Oshime tried to think of a response to convey how insane that was, but could not find the words to adequately convey her feelings. Instead of pressing the subject, Oshime took a quick glance in each direction, looking for any sign of people about. She noticed no signs of trouble, but did notice the faintest hint of sunlight peering over the horizon, and was surprised at how early the sun rose in this village.

"Ok, Tayuya, now we go, as fast as possible." Oshime said.

"Right" Tayuya said, "I can almost smell our victory."

Both girls nodded, and began running towards the entrance to the village. As they got further from the building that once housed the stone, the bushes to the side began rustling, and a figure emerged from within.

"Well, looks like my prize has been snatched from under me..." The figure spoke, "No matter. That stone, and its power will be mine…"

~~~

"Naruto, it's late!" Sakura yelled, "We should wait till morning before reaching the village."

"And let the Akatsuki get away!?" Naruto shouted back, "No way!"

"But, Naruto-!" Sakura replied, before being cut off.

"Sakura, Naruto may be right for once." Shikamaru said, cutting Sakura off, "We don't know why the Akatsuki are even in the Shadow Village, so we can't run the risk of them slipping through our fingertips."

"That's true, I guess" Sakura responded.

"Besides, we weren't hired by the Village, so while it would be a good idea, we are under no obligation to immediately visit the leader." Shikamaru stated, matter-of-factly, "It would be a good idea for us to investigate the Village for how ever many hours until we can arrange a meeting with the leader."

"Ha!" Naruto shouted, beaming, "And you doubted my intelligence, Sakura."

"Knock it off, both of you!" Shikamaru demanded, quite unlike his usual demeanor.

Naruto and Sakura stayed quiet for the next few hours, while the trio tree-hopped towards their destination. As they came closer to the gate, Shikamaru noticed that the sun was just beginning to rise.

"Sunrise, already?" He thought to himself.

When they approached the entrance gate, the three looked around, not seeing any villagers up and about yet. Just as they entered, Naruto pointed to the left.

"It's them!" He yelled, pointing at two figures wearing the standard Akatsuki robes.

"Who was that!?" Tayuya yelled to Oshime, realizing that the voice was somewhat familiar, yet unable to place it.

Tayuya and Oshime turned to look, just as Shikamaru and Sakura did the same.

"Fuck!" Tayuya shouted, recognizing two of the faces. They had, of course, aged a couple of years, but that was undoubtedly the blond kid and the shadow brat that helped beat her in that incident over two years ago.

"T-that redhead..." Shikamaru stammered, not believing his eyes, "It can't be..."

"Shikamaru?" Sakura asked, concerned, "What's wrong?"

"Naruto, look at the redhead" Shikamaru stated, "Don't you recognize her?"

"Actually, now that you mention it..." Naruto replied, trying to place the face onto a figure from his past.

"It's that flute girl..." Shikamaru responded, "Tayuya, I believe...but she should be dead..."

"Huh...?" Naruto asked, "Wait...Oh yeah, I remember her!"

"Tayuya, do you know them?" Oshime asked, curious.

"H-he's the one I fought almost three years ago..." Tayuya said, pointing at Shikamaru, "That fucker and his whore almost killed me, and they're the reason I'm incont…" She drifted off, not wanting to finish that sentence.

"Well, what are they doing here?" Oshime asked.

"Damned if I know" Tayuya responded, "But I have a feeling this isn't coincidence..."

"Same here" Oshime replied.

"That flute girl is in the Akatsuki?" Naruto asked, "I thought she was one of Orochimaru's goons?"

"Yeah, and I don't recognize that silver-haired one, either" Shikamaru stated.

"Let's go!" Tayuya stated, turning around to run from the three Leaf ninja.

"Right!" Oshime shouted, right behind her.

"After them!" Shikamaru yelled, beginning the chase.

"Right!" Both Naruto and Sakura shouted in unison, following them.

"Ok, what's the plan?" Tayuya asked Oshime.

"First, we ditch these Akatsuki robes, as they'll only slow us down" Oshime said.

"Finally!" Tayuya said, tearing hers off, and tossing it behind her as she ran.

"I figured you'd like that" Oshime responded, pulling hers off, and revealing the dragon cloak she usually wore.

"You…wore another cloak under the Akatsuki one...?" Tayuya asked, shaking her head.

"Heh, you know I like my dragon cloak..." Oshime said, rubbing the back of her head.

A kunai flying right past their faces reminded the two girls that they were in the middle of a chase.

"Crap! Ok, on my word, we split up" Oshime said, "You veer left, and I'll veer right, got it?"

"Yeah" Tayuya said, nodding.

"Also, give me the stone" Oshime said, "Since they know you already, they'll probably be more inclined to chase you."

Tayuya nodded, and slipped Oshime the stone, who slid it into a pocket inside her cloak.

"Ok, then…NOW!" Oshime yelled, jumping to the right immediately, seeing Tayuya do the same thing, but in the other direction.

"They're splitting up!" Sakura shouted.

"Naruto, follow the one with the silver hair!" Shikamaru shouted to his blond teammate, "Sakura, you and me will follow after Tayuya!"

"Right!" Naruto yelled, turning towards the right, and chasing after Oshime.

Sakura nodded, and followed Shikamaru in the direction of the flute-wielding kunoichi. Tayuya had no idea where she was heading, but she had a feeling that no matter where it was, a battle was going to be imminent. She let out a loud curse as she saw a large rock wall approaching her in the distance, impeding her progress.

"We've got her!" Sakura shouted, "She's trapped!"

"It looks like it" Shikamaru replied, "But keep your guard up."

Tayuya stopped almost twenty feet in front of the wall, unsure of her next action. She simply stared at her two pursuers, who had stopped fifteen feet behind her. She grabbed her flute from its holster on her belt, and pulled it out.

"Well, looks like this is about to get interesting..." Tayuya thought to herself, placing her flute to her lips.

Oshime, on the other hand, currently found herself being chased by four Narutos, which she assumed were clones. To her surprise, they grabbed each other, and threw each other towards Oshime, each using the momentum of the previous to increase their velocity. By the time the final Naruto flung himself, he was traveling faster than Oshime could run.

"Take this!" Naruto yelled, aiming his fist at Oshime's face.

Oshime drew her sword in order to block the punch, but wasn't sure she could do so in time.

"A sword!" Naruto shouted, his fist sore from hitting the metal at such speed.

"Well, looks like this is about to get interesting..." Oshime thought to herself, gripping Sui-Rui in her usual stance.