It was dark… not the sewers that they used to be before the change… but it was simply darkness. It was an absence of light and Haruto could only stare into eternal nothingness. It was as he stared forward that he heard it… the chilling laughter that he had let loose when he had gone drunk with the Kyuubi's power… or he thought it was her power. He turned his head in a raging motion as he tried to find the source of the dark laughter.
"You are looking for me… aren't you?" Haruto turned his head to find where the voice had come from and he stopped when he saw something in the abyssal darkness. It was… him. The person looked exactly like him… he even had Haruto's new look. Only it was grey instead of black. The major difference was his eyes… they were cold… dead… unfeeling. Haruto could see that they weren't his blue eyes, but an evil black. Haruto was ready to speak until the other him spoke for him. "Who am I? Is that what you're going to ask? Well no need to worry because the answer is quite simple. I am you."
Haruto was stunned… this thing was him? He was about to speak again until he was interrupted again. "How is it possible? Simple… it's very simple… you are insane, my dear friend." Haruto heard the dark Haruto's voice ring all around him as he spoke. "I'm… insane?" The evil Haruto nodded with a small smile and a light chuckle. "Well… not entirely insane. You are still retaining some of your sanity. But that is only because of the people you have around you."
Haruto accepted the answer as it was rather logical. "But how do you know that I'm insane?" Dark Haruto chuckled evilly and pointed to himself. "I am all the proof you need. You're here talking to me and I'm talking back. An alternate personality does not a sane person make, my dear Haruto. Especially when that personality is a bloodthirsty maniac, young grasshopper." Haruto sighed and watched as Dark Haruto walked over to him on the invisible floor.
"You see… during the outbreak in the Elemental Nations, you were already losing yourself. It was Kyuubi's corruptive chakra and the dark atmosphere that contributed to my creation. Do you remember when you tapped into 'Kyuubi's' chakra to replenish yourself?" Haruto nodded and waited for Dark Haruto to continue. "That was only the start. You see, when Kyuubi put herself in the very back of your mind, she took all of her chakra with her. Well…ball of her chakra that wasn't already assimilated into you by the seal. The chakra that was left behind was formed to make… me!" Haruto finally spoke his first words in the whole conversation. "But I thought that that chakra had been assimilated into me..."
Dark Haruto wagged a finger as he walked in a circle around Haruto. "Now you see, that's your problem. You thought that it was when you never bothered to check. Instead… over the years when it was being taken from Kyuubi, it was not being put into you. It was simply being put to the side… kind of like a garbage can. Well when you were fighting in your outbreak… your soul was beginning to break into two pieces. I personally blame the stress. That bitch Tsunade wouldn't let us rest for a single fucking day while those things were loose..."
"Don't Talk About Baa-chan Like That!" Haruto's face was entangled with rage as he roared at the malignant version of himself.
Dark Haruto chuckled once more as he stopped in front of him. "Anyway… when your spirit was torn… both of them were the same. They were simply in two pieces inside of your body. Now had you noticed this by trying to use your spirit energy, maybe you would've caught this and reversed it… but you're a dumbass! Only death cures stupidity, my idiot friend!" Haruto was getting angrier and angrier by the second. "Just Tell Me What You Need To Tell Me!"
The malice pouring off of Dark Haruto couldn't have been heavier. His chuckling was actually beginning to scare Haruto. "I'm striking chords here, aren't I? Oh well! When Kyuubi's assimilated chakra came into contact with one of the halves of your soul, it had not yet been purified by your body's coils. The corruption spread and gave you a split personality. Also know as… me!"
Haruto got wide eyed at what he was telling him. "So… when I leaked that chakra into me… it was actually yours?" Dark Haruto nodded and Haruto continued. "And when I did… you took over me?" Dark Haruto held up a finger and shook his head.
"Wrong, dumbass! While my chakra is still a secondary reserve like the Kyuubi's, I'm still a part of you. When you took my chakra, you were simply linking with the other half of your soul for a short period of time. The two personalities clashed and mine won for a short period of time until the halves of your soul separated and your natural chakra replenished. Well… now that I think about it… maybe there was a bit of possession… but only minor if any."
Haruto sighed. "Well… this definitely sucks. I'll have to get Naruko to fix this later." Dark Haruto grinned and spoke. "She can't do anything about it, my friend. It's too far gone to fix it now. You'll just have to deal with it." Haruto frowned. "Well this just got even shittier. I'll have to be careful from now on about that chakra." The Dark Haruto simply shrugged. "I personally don't care. But this conversation is definitely cutting into my sleepy-time. I need my beauty sleep so why don't you just take your happy ass away and wake up already?"
Dark Haruto began to walk away as Haruto began to fade from the malignant place. Before he and his other half were both gone, Dark Haruto turned and spoke. "Don't fuck up, dumbass..." With his final words, they both faded away.
Haruto had awoken to the noises of argument going on around him. His eyes fluttered open softly but he let his body stay still so as to not alert anyone to him being awake. He cracked his eyes slightly so he could still see what was going on. Kohta had an enraged look on his face and he was pointing his weapon towards the back of the bus. Haruto could also see that Saya, Saeko and Shizuka were at the front near the door. It was brighter outside so Haruto could only figure that it was the next day.
Kohta was going off about his life before the outbreak. How hard it was and how he was always picked on and ridiculed. Apparently it was egged on by some Shido character. Haruto could feel his emotions start to come forth as he remembered his own life as a child back in Konoha. He remembered how he was beaten and called names. He remembered the glares from his own teachers… but then he remembered Iruka… he remembered his warm smile and cheery face. He remembered the times that he would take him out for ramen and also the times that he would sit and watch over him as he cleaned the Hokage Monument after he had gone on a prank spree and been caught. It brought an unnoticeable smile to Haruto's face.
The argument was beginning to heat up and Haruto heard footsteps beside him. Sensing that there could be possible danger, he quickly stood with his fist reared back and poised to strike at whoever it was that was going towards the four at the front. He came face to face with a man wearing glasses. He had a pale, narrow face that reminded him of Orochimaru so much that he wanted to cut the skin from his skull and burn it. His eyes were those of a manipulative man. Haruto could feel every vibe from this man that he had felt from Orochimaru… but he knew that it wasn't him. Haruto also saw a small cut on his left cheek and from the corner of his eye he saw the nail embedded in the seat. Haruto smirked, Nice, Kohta.
Haruto's face twisted in disgust as he spoke. "Who… the Hell… are you?" The man looked like he was about ready to defecate himself until he spoke. "I-I'm Koichi… K-Koichi Shido..." Haruto got a dark look in his eye as he looked at Shido but he quickly turned and looked at Kohta and smiled… more like a smirk, though. "You did well, Kohta-san. Though I must ask, what's going on?"
Kohta frowned and looked towards Shido while lowering his weapon. "We were trying to leave but then this bastard was trying to make Marikawa-sensei stay when she didn't want to. I could feel the lust in his eyes on her… it sickened me..." Haruto nodded as he lowered his fist and turned back to Shido. Said man's eyes were shimmering in fear of Haruto's unknown, to him, wrath. Haruto raised a finger and pointed it at Shido. "You… will stand down… now!"
Shido quickly backed away and nodded his head, holding up his arms in order to protect himself if need be. Haruto looked to his seat and found Shukketsu Souru. He grabbed it quickly and sheathed it. He turned and nodded to the four at the front. "If you wish to leave then leave now. And Kohta-san..."
Kohta, who had already turned to leave, turned back and looked Haruto in the eye. Haruto nodded and Kohta smiled slightly. Even if it wasn't words, the fact that his deed was acknowledged was enough for Kohta. He felt a small wave of warmth run through him as he turned to get off of the bus right behind Saya. Haruto turned one more time to Shido, who was cowering in fear of what would happen.
Haruto stalked over to him and Shido could feel his body trying to shrink to get away from the angered blonde. When Haruto towered over his cowering form, he spoke. "If I ever… see you again… then I will peel your skin from your bones and burn your body to ash. Do you understand me?" Shido nodded fervently as Haruto turned to take his leave.
As Haruto walked off of the bus, he saw that the other four had taken the time to wait for him. Haruto walked over to them as he took in the sight of what was around him. A large bridge was off in the distance and they were stuck behind much smaller versions of the thing that they were in. Haruto looked to the group and also noticed that two were missing. "Where are Takashi-san and Rei-san?"
Saeko spoke to answer his question. "While you were out, Takashi-san and Rei-san got off of the bus because of Shido, or something that he had done. Whatever it was, Rei-san did not trust him. Takashi-san had gotten off to try and get her but before he could convince her, another bus that was full of them came down the road and smashed into the tunnel that Takashi-san had followed her into, trapping them inside. We were supposed to cross this bridge so we could meet them at the police station at seven yesterday. Since we couldn't make it then we have to be there today but this traffic is keeping us from doing that. We are going to cross a different bridge."
Haruto nodded and motioned for them to go on ahead. He followed behind them at a small distance and started to think to himself. Those two had better be okay. If they die then this all goes to shit! As he thought to himself for a little while longer, he noticed that it was getting darker. Haruto scowled to the sky with its orange hue. These fuckers get more active at night. We need to either hurry up or find shelter.
In the distance Haruto saw a bridge come into view. Saeko spoke up from the front. "There it is. But it looks like they have overrun that bridge." Haruto grunted and in a second, all attention was on him in the back. Haruto looked at all the wondering faces and simply spoke. "If these things have overrun a bridge to an objective then the only thing to do is to eradicate them and walk on through."
Saeko nodded and turned back to look forward. "You are right on that account, Haruto-san. We have to get there tonight and the only way is over that bridge. Let's go!" Everyone got fired up and Haruto smiled unnoticeably underneath his mask. Both her and Takashi make excellent leaders for their age and lack of experience. I wonder what else she can do.
As they came to the bridge, Haruto saw that there were far more than he had expected. Saeko and the others were shocked and began to back up slightly. Haruto grunted and got their attention again. "I thought we were going to go through them?" Saeko's eyes hardened as she found her courage. She pulled her bokken forward only to be stopped by Haruto. She looked up into his eyes as he shook his head. "This is no longer practice, Saeko-chan..."
Saeko could only stare at him. "It's not like I carry around a real blade with me. It's illegal at the school for students to keep them." Haruto shook his head once more and reached for a different scroll on his waist. "It is rather sad that you cannot… because you never know when it will come in handy." Haruto rolled the scroll open flamboyantly as he had done with his kunai and bit his thumb before swiping the bleeding appendage over a small part of the scroll.
In a puff of smoke, a katana with a white handle and sheathe floated in the air for a minute until it fell down into Haruto's hand. In the time it had to fall, Haruto had already put the scroll back away and caught the blade. He quickly handed it off to Saeko who took it with a confused face… the same face that everyone else had. Haruto simply looked at them with an innocent look on his face. "What?"
Saya pointed to the scroll on his waist. "How in the Hell did you just do that?" Haruto looked at the scroll and then back to her with a confused face. "Out of all of the things that have happened in the last twenty-four hours… you're freaking out over a scroll?" Saya nodded with gusto as Haruto sighed. "I'll explain everything when we have some downtime… for now we need to take care of the problem at hand."
Saya accepted the answer and Haruto looked to Saeko. He held out the hand with the white katana towards her and she took it carefully. She didn't have time to inspect it as they soon heard the roars of the infected coming at them. All of them looked forward and Haruto drew his own blade. His eyes narrowed as he spoke.
"Let's do this..."