Sage

Ch.24

Shizuku was worriedly pacing the small shack they were in; it was old and in terrible disrepair but it at least had a roof and wasn't going to fall apart any time soon. Fuu was just curled up in the corner, a book on her lap as her eyes skimmed across the pages absently. In honesty she wasn't actually reading, she hadn't turned a page in over an hour, however she wasn't the type to pace out of worry.

"He's taking too long, something must have gone wrong." Fuu just looked up a moment, her deep orange eyes peering over the top of her book before flitting back down.

"You're worrying too much, Naruto-san is strong and you know how good that technique of his is." Shizuku nodded with a frown but didn't stop pacing; her footsteps seemed to fall in time with the rain outside, pattering lightly on the wooden shack.

"But what if something went wrong? Or his control slipped? Or somebody bumped into him? Or Kumo has some really powerful sensor-type? Or-" She stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder; Fuu had moved across the room without her even noticing, her book conspicuously absent.

"Naruto-san is strong." Her eyes were steady and determined; it was a wide-leap from her usually expressionless mask. Shizuku had noticed that the only times Fuu seemed to gain any kind of emotion was when she was talking about Naruto or a book she was particularly interested in. The violette nodded again sadly; no matter how confident Fuu's words were she would always worry about Naruto if she could.

"Well, I might not go as far as strong, but I do my best." The two girls spun so quickly Naruto feared they might have left burn marks in the floor. He was standing there, dripping wet, with the Kohaku no Jouhei by his side and a sly smirk on his face.

"Naruto-kun!" He suddenly found himself bowled over by a flying purple blur that left him in a heap in the floor with an excited and relieved Shizuku straddling his chest.

"Wow, what a warm welcome." He grinned slightly as Shizuku blushed and quickly dismounted him, backing away with red staining her pale face. The blonde got up, looking around the small tattered shack the girls had been staying in. The wooden planks holding it together seemed worn but not mouldy and everything was tinged with a hint of moisture. Marseru seemed to like it the most, hanging lazily from a high rafter by his tail and looking down on the new arrival with the occasional curious chitter.

"So this is the Kohaku no Jouhei?" Fuu looked at the large stone pot curiously, briefly wondering how Naruto had managed to lug something this large all the way out here from Kumo. She touched it experimentally, feeling how her Chakra was immediately absorbed into it like Naruto's shakujou. "It's definitely one of the Sage's tools." Naruto just nodded as he patted the enormous purifying pot on the side.

"So how does it work?" It was Shizuku who asked, staring curiously at the unassuming, but definitely old-looking sealing pot. Naruto raised a hand up with his mouth open, only to frown and look back around at it.

"Actually, I have no idea." Shizuku and Fuu immediately sweat-dropped as the blonde sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess you just open it?" Fuu raised an eyebrow at that as Naruto went to lift the small wooden lid covering the pot.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Naruto just waved her off as he tentatively raised the lid just a crack. All three were holding their breath at this point as Naruto moved the lid further and further up. Finally he pulled up to reveal... exactly what was supposed to be inside of a purifying pot, a dark nameless liquid. Naruto just stared at it for a moment, half expecting it to do something; when it didn't he just shrugged and replaced the lid.

"Is it broken?" Shizuka was curiously looking over the large stone container, careful not to touch it though. She had learned that she had larger than normal reserves for her age, but nowhere near enough to hold Naruto's staff for more than a few minutes. Again Naruto just shrugged, he probably should have learned how the pot worked before taking it; that was an error in hindsight.