Ayame pondered for a moment to find any reason to counter that argument, but she eventually sighed in defeat, "Fine … but we should go as innocent civilians to be lookouts. It's not like they could just move the facility so we might find something even if no one is working there." She said and took a second to ponder any drawbacks. "We'll leave in the night and just check it out. You eat." She ordered Naruto and he happily did so.
With everyone in agreement, the chefs made their own dinner and ate with Naruto. Despite the morbid happenings thus far, it was a pleasant meal together. However, the atmosphere changed as it became later in the evening. The air took on a sense of anxiousness. Naruto was nearly shaking as he changed into some black clothes. To add to the nervousness they realized that the moon was full and there were no clouds so they were without the cover of complete darkness.
"Should we wait for a different night? One with more cover?" Ayame asked as they walked out onto the empty moonlit road.
Teuchi frowned, "By then Naruto might have another mission and will be the decoy."
"Yeah." Ayame sighed and looked down at Naruto. "Will you be able to smell and hear us?"
The blonde nodded, "Yes … That's still getting better, like my jaw strength." He commented remembering that he could easily bite through the finger bones.
"Ok. If you don't smell us, be careful. It means we were spotted by someone and we walked away. Wait for us to return and if you hear us talking don't move. We'll only talk if we see someone nearby. Oh and obviously if you smell anyone we can't see then flick this fake bug at the back of my legs. We'll leave and you can come out once you don't smell anyone. Understand?" Ayame asked and once the blonde nodded she gave him the bug before sighing. "Alright. Take this. It's the smallest camera a civilian can buy and be careful … It has a light … Ok, let's go." She said and after giving Naruto the small device they followed Naruto every step of the way. When they made it down a road and to the other side of town they stopped.
Naruto frowned, "I don't remember exactly where it was. I remember being chased in this direction, but it's different. Before it was dark." He whispered softly.
Ayame hummed, "Close your eyes and think back."
After a deep breath to calm down Naruto closed his eyes …
Flashback
"Have to hide." A blonde boy gasped as he ran from what sounded like a mob.
The usual attempt to peek in on the chunins training for a yearly exam was always helpful with learning new jutsu without anyone knowing. Sadly, he got carried away with training and was in great danger in the darkness. His panic grew as the torches got closer and he ran farther into the darkness. Unfortunately, his escape was halted rather roughly thanks to a wall.
At first, the boy panicked. If the wall came out of nowhere then it was a jutsu, right? That means he was caught by a ninja and was about to be grabbed and thrown back into the bloodthirsty villagers' clutches. After a minute of nothing happening, the blonde looked around before promptly face-palming. The wall was that of a building, not a jutsu.
Flashback Ends
The blue eyes opened and he quietly started moving. With the two chefs following him he tried to mimic exactly what he did that night. Despite knowing he hit a wall once before he was actually surprised to run into a wall again. Probably because he never expected the same wall to be part of the ninja academy.
"You sure?" Ayame whispered into the blonde's ear.
Naruto looked a bit baffled too, but he soon nodded, "If it's here then it's this way."
Flashback
Naruto paled heavily as the mob seemed to change course. With the danger headed his way, he frantically felt his way along the wall. After finding a door handle he immediately rushed inside the unknown building. It was then he looked for a place to hide. At some point, he felt a draft and found a large vent that was hidden behind something heavy.
"Have to be quick." Naruto hissed and carefully nudged the very heavy thing just enough so he could get behind it.
At first, he thought he was safe. However, he heard the mob pile in the large building. He knew he needed to step it up and find a deeper hiding place. As fast as he could he popped open the vent and carefully closed himself inside.
Flashback Ends
"The cafeteria?" Naruto whispered under his breath as he and the two chefs entered the room.
Just like before he felt a draft and went towards it. It led them straight to a fryer and stove, which was actually the perfect cover. During the day no one would notice a little extra venting with those appliances near it.
Yet again, Naruto carefully looked behind each appliance and moved the one blocking the vent. To his surprise, it looked almost exactly the same except for a new grate. It wasn't as easy to open, but with a nearby knife, he still managed to unscrew the screws and slide it aside.
"Naruto," Ayame whispered and the blonde looked at her. "Be careful." She said quietly and Naruto nodded before nervously creeping into the vent.
(Calm down.) Naruto mentally screamed at himself, but his heart wouldn't stop ramming against his ribs at full force. If the fear was any stronger he'd have broken ribs. (Just a little more … Don't think about it.) Naruto pleaded with his own mind, but the second he looked down a vent shaft his mind betrayed him …
Flashback
Naruto moved as fast as he could through the ventilation while still trying to be quiet. After a little while he found a shaft that went straight down and carefully slid down the ventilation shaft. A moment later he saw a vent that looked down over a really weird room.
Since no one seemed to be there Naruto popped the ventilation grate off and dropped down into the room. Before he could feel relieved about escaping the mob he focused on the things in the room. From large glass tubes and beeping monitors, it all had the makings of an awesome laboratory.
"What's in- " Naruto clapped a hand over his own mouth to stop him from screaming at the sight of a human floating in the first tube.
The person looked like they were badly burned. The person's skin was completely blackened and covered in lesions and blisters. There were no ears, hair, teeth, or nails. The person seemed to be a male and looked dead, but the medical equipment seemed to say that he was alive.
The sight was so unnerving that Naruto slowly backed away. To his horror, he backed into a different tube and heard a very different beep. By the time he realized that he backed up and leaned on a button that changed the setting for this tube, it was too late. Next, he heard some bubbling.
"Ew … What is this?" Naruto muttered as he turned around and saw the weird mass of vines and sharp thorn-like teeth in the second tube. "Shit!"
The bubbles suddenly weren't the only thing. That horrifying creature began thrashing wildly. Before Naruto could say anything else the tube shattered. In a flash, the mass lunged at him and bit his arm.
The immense pain didn't stop Naruto. He managed to grab a shard of glass and stab the mass. Thankfully, it backed off just enough and Naruto leapt up into the vent again.
Of course, he thought he lost it, but he was too freaked out to stop running. As fast as he could he raced through the ventilation system. He only slowed for a second to make sure no one from the mob would see him leave. Much to his relief he no longer heard anyone outside. However, after getting the grate open he heard something behind him. A strange terrifying series of clicks and hisses were coming through the ventilation.
It was enough to convince Naruto to rush out of the vent and try to get out of the building. The sounds, which were somehow heard over the blonde's frantically beating heart, got much closer. Just as he got back to the door and turned the handle he felt something like thorny vines wrap very tightly around his left leg. It was followed by a searing burning pain throughout his leg.
The blonde desperately tried to pull on the door frame to get free. As if by some miracle he was suddenly able to pull himself free and the pain was gone. Without wasting a second he raced through the door and slammed the door in its face. Unfortunately, that didn't work for long because the hissing sound came back and the door started to heat up.
The blonde quickly realized that the door wouldn't last so he stumbled away. Technically it was more like a hop because his left leg wasn't responding. However, Naruto didn't let himself even consider what the problem might be. His only concern right now was getting away. Even when he heard other ninjas arrive and begin attacking the mass he kept running until he blacked out.
When his eyes opened it was still dark out. For a moment he thought it was a dream, but the pain in his arm told him otherwise. As he realized that he was safe he calmed down a bit but seemed dazed. Now he slowly checked for wounds besides the bite on his arm. After feeling around his body in the dark he realized that there was one other injury. His left leg was gone.
Flashback Ends
"My leg! My leg! Where is it?" Naruto gasped in a panic.
"Naruto, it's right here," Ayame said as both she and Teuchi lifted Naruto's legs up making him fall back.
It took a moment for Naruto to come to his senses, "What?" He muttered softly and finally sat up when the chef put his legs down. "How did I get back here?" He asked when he realized he was back outside.
Ayame kneeled next to him comfortingly, "You raced back out just a minute ago, and … You seemed to be stuck in the memory of that night. Maybe we shouldn't do this." She said, really concerned about the young blonde's mind.
Naruto took several deep breaths and steadied his nerves, "No … I'm ok." He said as he shakily stood back up.
"Well enough to use a clone instead?" Ayame asked hopefully, but the blonde shook his head sadly. They all knew he was too tired to use clones right away. Plus, he hasn't been able to use chakra since that attack.
"Ok," Teuchi commented as they cautiously headed back to the ventilation. "If you really want to try again then that might happen again. If it does then hold your leg and remember what happened after that moment." He said quietly as they went into the building. Since Naruto never stopped they were sure that he didn't smell anymore nearby.
Naruto nodded and after a moment of hesitation, he went back into the vent. Every fiber of his being was filled with relief and fear. Relief for not getting everyone caught after his freak out. Fear was obvious because this entire situation was dangerous. The fear started to increase once he got back to the same spot.
This time Naruto dug his fingers into his left pant leg so hard that it definitely left bruises on his leg and thought back …
Flashback
Naruto was in a stunned daze as his hands patted the lump of thigh that used to be an entire leg, "Where is it? … I know. Ayame will tell me. She's good at finding things. Teuchi and Ayame will help." He murmured blankly as he fumbled around the ground.
After a moment he found a branch. In a daze, he used it as a cane and started walking away. Even in his stunned stat,e it didn't take long to find the home of the two ramen chefs. After all, they lived in the house right behind the ramen stand.
It was mostly a blur, but he knew Ayame opened the door. They rushed him inside in a panic and made him rest. There was also a vague recollection of them trying to get him to drink some tea and asking all sorts of questions. The only questions he remembered though was 'What happened? Was it burnt off?' and 'Why does this bite mark have so many dark veins?'. He was sure that the last question wasn't for him, but it didn't matter.
Next came loud banging on the door and the chefs left him on the couch. After the door was heard being opened Naruto heard Ayame yelp and someone forcing their way inside. Despite still being in shock he could hear the conversation.