E.P.I.C: the End of Peace Is a Crisis (An AU Naruto Fanfic)

A/N: Don't ask about the name, 'k? This story... I'm not too sure about continuing it. But I thought I'd go ahead and throw it out at people. -laughs at people attempting to avoid falling fanfics-

Chapter one

Naruto could smell the sweet sent of perfume exuding delicately from the cold wrist his nose pressed against, mixing in with the stench of burning flesh and leaving an acrid taste in the back of his throat. Something warm ebbed from his nose. He coughed, inhaling smoke, and sat up, pinching his sore nostrils shut to block the blood flow. Glass and wood debris clattered to the ground. It had been lucky he’d been wearing protective gear. He found a rag and covered his mouth. A piece of clay shaped like a bird’s beak tumbled out.

Deidara? He frowned, fixing the hachimaki covering his blond hair. Pieces of face-paint meant to hide his trademark scars flaked off his cheeks. He braced himself and watched the doors of the burning tavern. He had been lucky enough to notice the genjutsu before the bomb went off. Unfortunately, not everyone had. It hadn’t been that difficult to notice. People simply didn’t come in and then somehow come back in and say and do the exact same thing they just did. Most people that were there however, were too drunk to notice the unlikelihood of that occurrence. At least, until they were all blown up, like this poor woman. Naruto nudged the body gently aside. The sickly scent of death and cologne burned in his throat and blood crusted nostrils.

The Akatsuki simply didn’t care who they killed to reach him, something Naruto was more and more keenly aware of as the years passed. He gritted his teeth and waited for the familiar dreaded red clouds on black to appear. There was nothing. Naruto tried to remember the name of a rich man traveling these parts that would hire ninjas. “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu…” He muttered into his crossed fingers. Three clones appeared with a hiss. Naruto signaled them and they transformed into two confused Chuunins and a Jounin.

“Oooh! What happened here?” Asked one dramatically, rubbing his forehead. He knelt to check the pulse of a man lying on the ground. “He’s dead!”

The other Naruto-Chuunin growled out, “Some hoodlums trying to rally people up… We should check on Takawara Yoshinori-sama and make sure he’s safe.”

“Let ‘Yuki’ deal with that, ‘Keiichi’,” the Naruto-Jounin replied, coolly, peering out the window as though to see if the enemy was lurking outside.

‘Keiichi’, a muscular unpleasant-looking clone, scowled even deeper. “Yes, let the great ‘Yuki’, who runs at the sound of a squeaking mouse, deal with it. I’ll go check on Takawara-sama.” He stomped off, cursing under his breath.

The first Naruto-Chuunin asked, “Who do you think is responsible for this?”

The Jounin shook his head. He nudged a piece of glass off clay shrapnel and sniffed it gingerly. “Not too sure. This clay doesn’t seem natural though… We should keep it for further inspection.”

Naruto leaned forward, listening to his clone send subtle messages to him. He saw a flash of white through the shades hiding his blue eyes. The clones swiftly jumped into their last act mode. The first Naruto-Chuunin screamed, “‘Rakuda-senpai’, look out!”

‘Rakuda’ dove to the floor, barely missed by the explosive bird. Naruto swore under his breath. Of course, Deidara hadn’t been aiming at his clones to begin with. The blast shook the skeleton tavern, snapping a support beam nearly in half. Naruto silently urged the clones to last just a little longer. At least until he was well out of harms way…

The ‘Keiichi’ clone’s memories flooded his mind. His purpose had been fulfilled. Naruto closed his eyes. He could see, between two split boards as though peeking in on someone, the blonde Akatsuki watching carefully for him, beads of sweat dripping down his face. Something hadn’t been going so well for the explosive expert. He appeared to be very agitated.

Naruto supposed they were getting tired of his failure to capture a Jinchuuriki. He had heard they changed the team targeting Gaara. The Kazekage had proven too difficult for the two older Akatsuki members to catch. The ones chasing after him now were said to be Karin and Juugo, part of the Akatsuki organization’s partnership, Team Hawk. It had been a close one the first time. They had managed to capture Gaara, but he got away. Now Sasori had his grandmother, Sakura, and now Kankuro to deal with, and Deidara’s bombs could be blown away by Temari or Baki if he wasn’t careful enough. It just went to show evil never succeeded. At least, not always.

But for now, Deidara was hunting for Naruto. Naruto wondered if anything had given him away. He saw Deidara’s eyes flash with recognition and murderous intent. “You! I should’ve known you were trying to interfere, un.”

“Who is interfering? The Kyuubi is my target. You lost your chance to capture a Bijuu when you failed to capture the Ichibi, the weakest of the tailed-beasts, Deidara,” the newcomer said in a calm, heartless tone. Naruto’s breath caught in his throat. Sasuke… He screwed his eyes harder shut, drinking in the details as much as possible.

Sasuke looked more or less the way he had fifteen years ago, back when they were comrades. Taller and older in the face, but his eyes were much the same as before. Only filled with a grisly form of knowledge. Evil’s wisdom. It was frightening. Naruto hadn’t seen him since Tsunade’s death some ten years ago. Somehow, Sasuke’s face unnerved him. Sasuke was perhaps the only person Naruto feared anymore. Mostly because of the memories of a time when he had believed Sasuke could be saved. Could be redeemed. That had all changed years ago, but it still chilled Naruto to the bone. If he had just come to his senses sooner, would Tsunade have lived? Would the Old Konoha have survived?

Deidara made a sound in the back of his throat that sounded a bit like a bark. “Are you sure you can handle it, Uchiha? Even your dear brother couldn’t manage it, un.”

Sasuke grated out, “My brother had a weak resolve. I’m the evidence for that, as is Naruto.”

The clone’s memory ended. Naruto’s eyes snapped open. They were probably still holding a small reunion. He had to get out of there while they were still busy.

‘Rakuda’ signaled the remaining clone. They hurried out the door, fists full of shuriken, to check on the two buildings next to it and reassure the crowd that it was just an accident. Some stupid ninja who didn’t know how to use explosive notes correctly. Naruto slipped out the back, hoping Deidara and Sasuke would decide that this was a pointless attack and call it off.

He ducked underneath the steps for a moment and checked his position. Already flames flickered from the windows of three other buildings. Screaming people ran out. Officers and ninjas were gathering around looking for someone to pin this disaster on. Naruto gauged the chances of being hunted down as a perpetrator, if he ran for it now, and the chances of being captured by the Akatsuki if he didn’t run. He swore under his breath and stood up.

“Everything is under control. Don’t panic. Move calmly and dignified to safety. We believe this to be the work of the Akatsuki member, Deidara. Remain calm and keep your heads low,” he called out in his best commanding ‘I-am-not-Naruto’ voice over the roar of fire and screams. He sensed in the back of his mind that Sasuke and Deidara were watching the crowd now. The key to escape was now to seem as un-Naruto as he could be. “Medics, we have wounded people in here!”

As the medics hurried past him, he made his way through the crowd. His clones ran out of the other two buildings, bending under the weight of an unconscious man. “‘Yuki’!” ‘Rakuda’ called to him. “Do you know if Yoshinori-sama is all right?”

Naruto shook his head. “‘Keiichi’ hasn’t returned yet… “ He furrowed his brow and scanned the town. Not for his clone, which had already disappeared, but an escape route. “We should hurry! Let’s go!”

The three Narutos in disguise sprang to the rooftops and ran. Wind rushed by Naruto’s ears. He turned sharply, breaking from the two clones to walk into the hotel calmly. The hotel was nearly empty except for the manager’s daughter, who greeted him nervously. Naruto returned the greeting. “I’m here to check out.”

“Good luck, Hokage-sama,” she mouthed to him. Naruto smiled at her and nodded. He walked calmly up to his apartment, listening at the door to see if perhaps the Akatsuki and Hawk leader had beat him to it. The two clones were supposed to guard his window, but until they disappeared, he wouldn’t be able to see what they were doing.

He closed his eyes and canceled the technique. The first thing he realized was the last thing his clones had seen was his room. In his mind, The Chuunin clone set aside a stuffed pack and withdrew the message from the wandering Village Hidden in the Autumn he had received earlier that evening from a board under his bed. He sniffed it suspiciously. Satisfied with the lack of Uchiha or Akatsuki stench on it, he memorizing it to heart before burning it in a lantern.

Uzumaki Naruto-sama,

The days are wet and cloudy lately. The river we are staying at has swollen immensely. A portion of the town has flooded. How are you? We are all well. Hinata had an accident, but she’s okay now. She fell in the flood waters. One of our old contacts came when we were trying to resuscitate Hinata. He told us if you ever go to the Tea Country, you can find Morino Idate at Kuroshima. It is some ways away from the site of the Todoroki Taisha dedication ceremony Sakura told us about, so I doubt Sasuke would think of looking there for him. Look after yourself.

Inuzuka Kiba

Naruto smiled outside the door. He unlocked it and stepped inside. He picked up the pack. As he left, he stopped only to place the key back on the desk and say goodbye. The manager’s daughter gave him a warm smile and nodded. Naruto sprang over the town gates and into the thick forest surrounding the town.

Once away, Naruto inhaled the sweet air of freedom, concentrating chakra to his feet with every bounding leap through the trees. He could barely believe he had outsmarted, at least for now, the genius Uchiha and Deidara. It was too hard to believe actually. For now though, Naruto was on guard. It had been a fairly easy mission. Keep moving and sending messages to Suna and Konoha from afar. Not even his companions were supposed to know where he was going. It was just stupid luck that Kiba had mentioned a place he could go to in the Tea Country.

Naruto only had to keep running a few hours before reaching it, but already, the sun was setting. With the Sharingan and the mechanical eye, Sasuke and Deidara would face little problem traveling in the dark. Naruto would have to move quickly and try to confuse them, while heading for his new destination. Of course, he wouldn’t have been in this predicament if he’d kept moving just a few steps ahead of the Akatsuki. Naruto had gotten tired of traveling after a while, and had ended up staying a whole month in the town of Nakamura. It was just asking for trouble.

He already knew where Kuroshima was. The place was an island off the Southern most tip of the Tea Country mainland, on the borders of the Sea Country, only half a day from where he was currently. It was just a matter of crossing through the Fire Country -- familiar ground to a seasoned ex-shinobi of the Leaf Village, and ensuring he wasn’t followed. He would have difficulties if he went there and the Akatsuki, or New Konoha or Team Hawk, followed. The last thing he wanted was to box himself in like a present for the Akatsuki. Since the Tea Country was friendly to Old Konoha, perhaps the islanders would harken to his request as a Hokage for them not to allow two certain men to pass. Especially with a certain prestigious runner from the Todoroki Taisha dedication ceremony in their midst.

The only problem with going to an island was that it wouldn’t slow them down for long. Deidara used his technique to ride on giant clay birds, so could travel easily between the islands. But Naruto had handled Deidara before. The missing Rock-nin wasn’t that hard to fight. Sasuke was another problem all together. Naruto wasn’t sure he could defeat the Uchiha yet. Despite the risks, his best bet was to head toward the Tea Islands and the Sea Country. They would have trouble finding the right island once he reached the islands.

Naruto stopped when he passed the border into the Tea Country, remembering the last and only time he had seen Idate. The last mission Team Seven went on together… Naruto could almost here Sakura and Sasuke beside him, talking about old times and missions past.

“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?” Sakura commented. Looking down at the sign from her perch.

“Aa,” Naruto said. Sasuke only made a small grunt.

“How nostalgic! Sort of like how it was when we visited the Wave Country again.” Sakura jumped down from her branch to the ground.

“Naruto, don’t get in the way this time,” Sasuke said with a smirk, before following her.

“Huh?” Naruto stared at his old rival for a moment. A wide smile spread across his face. “Heh! Who are you talking to? You didn’t see my truly amazing finishing move.” He jumped off his perch.

The dream faded. Long ago, Naruto would’ve only had to worry about the Akatsuki. He thought Sasuke would help him defeat the fearsome organization once Sasuke had returned from killing Orochimaru and Itachi, but Sasuke had stabbed Konoha in the back, taking down the Fifth and the Elders, including a decoy disguised as Danzo. Naruto remembered vividly Kakashi lying dead among the many victims that day. The Jounin’s dead face staring with the same lazy look he always had, only somehow older and sadder, as blood trickled from his mouth. It had been the first time Naruto had seen his face.

Sasuke had practically handed Konoha to the Akatsuki on a plate by the end of the day, but Madara had decided they had had enough fun for one round. Things only got worse after the Akatsuki left. The real Danzo and the ANBU Root seized control of Konoha, at Madara’s orders. Almost overnight, the village Naruto once called home became known as New Konoha. As Madara’s grip tightened over the extinguished village, those loyal to the ways of the Hokages past had fled. Danzo’s men listed them all as missing-nin and were particularly interested in capturing Naruto for the Nine-tails.

Naruto had risen to the rank of Hokage over time, earning it after taking out a hundred hunter-nin with the Kyuubi. A meaningless, pointless title. He had been taken over by a power still far out of his control. In an even more ironic twist, they had neither land nor home to protect since his stubbornness had more or less condemned the village. Naruto couldn’t risk staying with them even to protect them and correct his mistake, since he was hunted more vigorously than anyone else. Yet, no one had held a grudge against him. Ebisu, the closet pervert who had once seen him as a monster, had given him his hachimaki after being mortally wounded protecting him. Naruto wore it to remember the sacrifices made by the villagers for his sake.

Naruto simply couldn’t bring himself to call himself Hokage. Not yet, anyway. Naruto moved on, pushing all thoughts of Team Seven aside.

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The shivering man lying on the canopied bed moaned, blood mixed with crusty mucus bubbling down his clammy chin. The medics looked frightened. Temari bit her lower lip in frustration. He was only near an infected person from twelve feet for thirty seconds… Surely that wasn’t enough for it to spread… But she was no epidemic expert. She gave the man a look of fearful pity. He would be dead in minutes, his chakra system eaten away from the inside. It was the only end they had seen for the sickness that had ravaged the lands west of the Wind Country.

It had finally reached them. They didn’t know what caused the disease, until the medical research team sent to study the disease died not long after simply saying, “Chakra,” through a computer screen that was their only window into the outside world while they studied.

It reminded Temari of the horrific pain her brother had gone through after the botched extraction technique that had left him with only a piece of the Shukaku’s chakra burning through his body. Her eyes tightened at the memory. She gave the dying man another glance before moving on. She had already cut herself off from Gaara after finding out someone she had just seen had died from the sickness. She couldn’t risk facing him while possibly carrying an extremely deadly and contagious chakra disease. His chakra system was still fragile from the unsealed erratic chakra. As if that wasn’t enough, chronic insomnia from when the whole Shukaku had been supposedly tightly sealed in him had already dealt a blow to his immune system.

Temari pushed the thought out of her head. The cough and occasional fevers that left him bedridden for days had ended a long time ago. Gaara was much stronger now and had even taken back the rank of Kazekage. He had survived through all odds up to now. Why worry about that changing?

At least Kankuro was rarely in Suna. He was busy on his own missions. Mostly, Kankuro commanded three teams in sabotage missions meant to stop or damage the Akatsuki nations’ supplies. It was quite a task, and dangerous enough as it was. He had to deal out unofficial missions against Rain, Mist, and New Leaf. The guards at the gate ordered to keep anyone from coming in would have to break the news to him the next time he came home.

Temari knew she should be frustrated at not being able to know what was going on at, or to be able to see her own brothers when she wanted to. She walked to the corner of her own plastic, sealed tent and sat at the small screen the village had furnished for her since she was the Kazekage’s sister. They were using more and more screens in Suna to avoid cutting off all human contact from each other. Only a chosen few led to the Kazekage. The last thing Gaara needed to hear was people ranting at him for letting such a tragedy happen when it had been out of his hands to begin with.

Temari opened a channel. She swallowed the lump in her throat as her little brother’s face filled the screen. Gaara appeared unaware she was on the computer screen beside him. He slumped over his desk, eyes staring past the last of the paper on his table. There wouldn’t be any more.

Temari was taken aback at how old Gaara looked. None of them looked half as great as they had during their youth, but Gaara had the eyes of someone who had lived far beyond his twenty years. His drawn face was heavily lined, and his bowed figure was as thin as it had been before the Chuunin Exam that changed everything for them. Temari thought, He must’ve stopped eating regularly. Temari recognized the disheartening depression signs. She hated seeing him that way.

Gaara clenched his fists, staring at the piece of parchment without truly seeing it. Temari cleared her throat questioningly. Gaara's face turned on her screen. There was a moment of silence before Gaara looked away. Did she imagine the small smile of relief on his face? He murmured in greeting, “Temari.”

Temari gave him the biggest grin she could muster. “Hey, I just wanted to see how everything was holding out on that end.”

“How many have died now?” Gaara promptly asked. Temari flinched. The last thing she wanted to talk about was the plague. She studied her brother’s mostly passive features. Only the slight crease in the corner of his eyes and the distant look in his eyes told her what it meant to him.

“Twenty,” she said softly. “There are thirty other cases and about sixty more people who are at most risk of carrying the epidemic.” Over a hundred going down within the first twenty-four hours. She watched Gaara’s face. He turned away from the screen, closing his eyes against the figures with a grimace. Temari felt her stomach twist. As the Kazekage, Gaara would feel the weight of the news as though somehow he was to blame for the mess. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’ll send a message to Kankuro. We should evacuate those who don’t have the infection.” He hesitated and looked at her.

Temari nodded. “We should know shortly who else has the infection, since everyone was quarantined. If I survive the week, I’ll follow you.”

The corners of his mouth curled in a half-hearted smile. He didn’t move for a moment, looking at her with tender brotherly affection and concern. He blinked and the spell was broken. “Aa. Thank you. Good luck, Temari.”

That was it. No ‘I love yous’ or even a real goodbye. But Temari understood. She nodded and reached out with her hand to touch the screen. Static hissed around her palm. Gaara placed his hands over hers. She smiled reassuringly at Gaara -- “Take care, otouto-san.” -- then closed the connection to avoid letting him see her break down. It wasn’t like her to get all sentimental over her brothers, but she knew she had a small chance of surviving. She might never see him again. She would’ve liked to see Kankuro once before dying, yet she felt relieved knowing he was probably safe wherever he was.

Temari wiped away the moisture gathering in her eyes. She took a deep breath. She unfolded the lumpy futon the medics had supplied and lay down. She looked over at the tent across from her. The heavily masked medics painted an X between rows of explosive notes slapped onto the tent. One lay out a scroll and began writing something on it. The man was dead, then. The medic’s hands flashed in seals and a barrier encased the contaminated tent. Temari heard the explosion rather than felt it. She knew what to expect. The dusty, burning remains of the tent would be sealed away and the barrier would lift, leaving nothing, not even dust.

She had seen it performed on twenty other occasions in the past two hours, after all.

.

.

A/N: So... how was it?

Hachimaki - a stylized headband or bandana worn as a sign of effort or perseverance. It's a bit like the cloth version of a forehead protector... Technically, Ebisu wears more or less a normal bandana and not a hachimaki. At least, in the canon it was pretty much a normal bandana. Who says Ebisu can't put something different around his head, like after Konoha falls? -sweatdrop-

'The days are wet and cloudy' - according to wikipedia, letters in Japan often begin (and sometimes end, too) with comments on a seasonal change. Usually it sounds more poetic than that, but somehow Kiba doesn't seem a very poetic person... -denies laziness-