Outsiders

🍥ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟛🍥

A/N: Written from the sewers. Local sewer rat delivering your daily fan-fiction. I need milk. brb rq.

***

They were soaring from branch to branch, surveying their surroundings. According to what Ero-sennin (pervy sage) had said, the location of the sound village was close to a river. Another fact obtained from their mission details said that the place was supposedly suspected to be underground, meaning everyone had crooked their necks to the forest floor, desperately searching for something suspicious.

"Everyone be on your guard, snakes don't sweat- they're harder to track down." Kakashi whispered.

In the depths of his gut Sasuke had a nauseous feeling that they weren't alone. A flying kunai proved his hypothesis.

"DUCK!" Sasuke yelled, his voice strained. Shikamaru barely just dodged the sharp shard of metal, and Naruto almost fell from his branch trying to see what the commotion was about. Sakura froze mid-air but landed on her branch, looking dizzy.

The attack had taken them by surprise, especially as it wasn't flashy at all. Just a simple kunai thrown with precise aim. They were nearing a clearing when the ground began to tumble and turn. What they saw next knocked the wind out of everyone, including Kakashi.

Hundreds and thousands of intricate patterns/seals formed scribbles the forest floor. There were no trees here, so they were forced into this mystical cage. The seals on the ground floated up, radiating a warm green hue. The ground began stirring at the centre of the clearing. Everyone jumped up and began backing away into the spiralling vortex. A myriad of stars was seen in the infinite dimension of space.

They were vigorously being sucked into this wormhole by a gargantuan force. It felt like they were being rolled into human sushi if they resisted. Nevertheless, they tried anyway, grasping for dear life onto threads of unnaturally strong grass. Shikamaru dug a kunai deep into the moist dirt and grasped onto that. Sasuke and Sakura followed his example. Meanwhile, Naruto began digging the ground beneath him but failed considerably. With a tug that Hercules would be proud of, Naruto was hurled into the underworld, much to everyone's despair.

From afar, Tayuya and her companion watched, satisfactory grins hidden by their hoods. Another hooded ninja materialized behind the two, mirroring their grins.

"So, the Kyuubi got warped in first, huh? Sucker." The new accomplice muttered, eyeing the scene as if it were a show. He slid his hood back only a little, just to let the light glint on his bulging nose.

"Kidomaru, where's Sakon and Ukon?" The guy next to Tayuya queried.

"He's supposed to be with Jirobo" said the guy with the bulbous nose.

"Right here" Another puff of smoke revealed the hoodless figure of Sakon and Ukon. The two of them were joined together into one body, and they could split apart if they wanted to. At this particular moment, they had their faces facing both forward and back. It was sort of creepy.

*s i l e n c e*

***

Back on the field, Sasuke was cursing Naruto to have gone into that thing. The moment he let his guard down, he was pulled into the vortex of swirling stars. Since they couldn't just let their teammate die and knowing better from past experiences, Kakashi leaped into the starry mass and motioned Sakura and Shikamaru to follow his lead. Shikamaru groaned and let go, while Sakura procrastinated her choices. If she was going to die, she was going to die with Sasuke. Without a moment's hesitation she let herself be yanked into this universe.

***

"Are they giving up already?" Jirobo asked, seeming mystified by their lack of effort.

"This might be harder than we thought..." Sakon and Ukon muttered in unison.

"Kidomaru, go back to Sound and inform Lord Orochimaru. I fear they have a plan." Tayuya instructed in a monotonous tone. Kidomaru gulped and pulled his hood down lower. Tayuya grinned from ear to ear, she didn't like where this was going, but she had a feeling that this was going to be fun...

***

They were falling. Falling to no destination whatsoever. The sound of bells rung in their ears, making them nauseous. Where were they going? Will they be like this forever?

"What a drag..." Shikamaru groaned. His eyes widened when his voice echoed back to him, hollow and empty. Was there a finite amount of space? It didn't seem so. Stars and junk lined the atmosphere. They were floating like bubbles in an infinite box. A living paradox. 

Shikamaru rolled the thoughts over and over in his head, they seemed alien on his tongue, and he doubted anyone could hear him either, if he did try to think out loud. The air was very thin and he doubted he would want to waste his precious air molecules. He chewed his thoughts and subconsciously eyed the black whirlpool forming a few hundred yards away from them. It was like they were little pieces of shit, and the whirlpool was like a flush in this infinite toilet bowl. Where would they be deposited? He had an awful feeling, which pushed down his curiosity.

Where were they? Would the spinning stop at some point, or will they be spinning forever like a rotisserie chicken? Another celestial tug contradicted him. A cold gust of wind knocked the wind out of his lungs. Four other thuds dropped in a ring around him. His subconscious was threatening to snap.

The silence was deafening.

Blackness dripped over him, a soothing blanket of peace, away from harsh reality. He wanted to let go, leave this world, forever. His body was killing him inside out, but something wouldn't let him. 

With a grunt he heaved his oblong physique up, just barely catching his jaw before it shattered to the floor. The others had mirrored his expression. What had left their jaws hanging like bait on a hook? Even Sasuke couldn't help but let out a small gasp. 

A/N: For some damn reason, the underline button has expired. Like, fr bruv, I cant un-underline this. Sorry for the confusion, it doesn't really add to the story. Nevertheless, tell me what you think! I'll be posting chapter 4 tonight (or at least tomorrow morning).