Chapter VII
Old Silent Hill

Ichigo and Naruto walked with caution through the dense fog, down Nathan Avenue, which held an ominous feeling. Yet, they crept along; trying not to make much sound while they step to avoid as many enemies as possible. They barely talked, a little shaken up from their previous encounter under the bridge. The fog didn't get any clearer, no matter how far they walked.
“Weren't Orihime and Rock Lee searching this street?” Naruto asked, glancing from side to side, not seeing much through the white that surrounded them.
“Yeah,” Ichigo replied. “But we saw them back at that clinic. So I doubt they'd look in the same area. They're probably on another street by now.”
“I guess so,” Naruto said. “Where was Sakura?”
Frowning, Ichigo replied, “I don't know. I didn't pay attention.”
Dissatisfied, Naruto shut his mouth, and walked on in silence.
They reached a large curve in the street, which seemed to lead them in a big circle. However, once they drew further down the road, they could see more and more buildings. These were smaller than the ones on Nathan Avenue. As they passed Ichigo recognized them as apartments or shops. They passed a couple gas stations. Naruto stared in amazement.
“What is all this?” He asked.
“Apartments,” Ichigo replied. “There's a store.” He pointed to a small shop labeled Café. “And that's a gas station.”
Amazed, Naruto asked, “What's a gas station do?”
A little bewildered, Ichigo asked, “What do you mean? You buy gas there.”
“Gas?” Naruto asked, a smug look on his face. “I didn't know people buy that. I figured the smell would drive people away!”
Ichigo shot Naruto a weird look. “Did you just make a fart joke?” Naruto shrugged. “How old did you say you were?”
“Look, I'm thirteen, all right? I don't know what you mean by gas!”
“For cars, you idiot!” Ichigo yelled, becoming quite annoyed. “What else?”
“I don't even know what a car is!”
Ichigo stared blankly, unsure how to react. “What do you mean?”
“You were going to tell me, but then we ran into that thing!”
Remembering, Ichigo sighed, “Oh, that's right. A car is a way of transportation.” He paused. “But how don't you know that?”
“I don't know! We don't have cars!” Naruto exclaimed.
“That's just weird,” Ichigo said.
“No it's not! You don't have ninjas, so there!”
“We have soul reapers,” Ichigo replied, the temper in his voice rising.
“They're not as good as ninjas!” Naruto replied.
“Want to find out?” Ichigo threatened, reaching for his sword.
“Let's do it,” Naruto smirked.
They stopped walking and turned to face each other. They stared in each other's eyes, fire burning in their souls. They both shook slightly from anticipation. Ichigo slowly drew his sword, while Naruto began to draw a kunai. In an instant, they both charged at each other, with the full intent to prove the other wrong. Naruto thrust his kunai at Ichigo's shoulder, who nimbly dodged, slamming the hilt of Zangetsu into Naruto's back.
Naruto yelped in pain as he dropped to the floor. Ichigo seized this opportunity to bring his foot crashing down on Naruto's back, but Naruto rolled to his side and used his legs to grab Ichigo's leg. Naruto twisted, causing Ichigo to fall to the ground as well. Ichigo used his hand to stop the fall, but Naruto was already up, and in mid stance for a roundhouse kick. Ichigo blocked with Zangetsu, as he regained his balance. They both took a deep breath as they charged again.
Ichigo swung a horizontal slash. As Naruto ducked, Naruto swung with his leg, connecting with the side of Ichigo's leg, causing Ichigo to fall yet again. Ichigo thrust Zangetsu into the ground, stopping his fall. Naruto kicked again, this time connecting with Ichigo's hand. Ichigo let go of Zangetsu, and fell backwards. Naruto leapt in the air with his kunai aimed at Ichigo's chest.
Ichigo caught Naruto's arms before the kunai could penetrate his skin. Ichigo gasped for air as he used all his strength to hold off Naruto. Both struggled fiercely, trying to overpower the other. Finally, Ichigo moved to the side, letting the kunai stick into the ground. Ichigo kneed Naruto in the face, forcing him to drop the weapon. A small amount of blood trickled from Naruto's nose.
Naruto wiped it off with his sleeve. “So you're going to use my weapon against me?” Naruto asked.
“Hell no,” Ichigo replied. “I don't need your crappy weapons!” He smirked triumphantly as he charged at Naruto yet again. Naruto remained still, not expecting a charging attack. Ichigo grabbed Naruto's collar, and used all his might to pick Naruto up, and throw him over his shoulder. Naruto hit the ground hard and slid a few feet. Once he got up on one knee, his pants were slightly ripped, and blood stained his knee. Naruto huffed, smiling. He returned the charge, facing Ichigo with shear determination. Ichigo stood ready. Naruto punched at Ichigo's face, while Ichigo punched at Naruto's but both caught the other's punch in mid air. They stood, locked in combat, veins pulsing from their muscles.
Ichigo grunted, “You have guts!”
“You sound like bushy brows!” Naruto retorted.
“Don't compare me to that freak!” Ichigo pulled Naruto closer, making Naruto lose his balance. Ichigo kicked Naruto in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.
Naruto fell to the ground, holding his stomach in pain, trying to breathe, but to no avail. Ichigo gasped for air, sweat beginning to form on his forehead. Naruto, grimaced, regaining his balance.
“I'm,” Naruto began. “Going to kick your ass!” He charged once more, his arm ready to swing. His eyes burned with a fiery rage.
Ichigo got into a readied stance. They began to throw punch after punch at each other. Each one dodged or countered, but no one landed another blow. They struggled for a few good minutes, until they began to get sloppy from exhaustion. Their punches became slower, as their breaths became heavier. Naruto punched the air towards Ichigo’s face, while Ichigo did the same to Naruto. They both caught the other’s fist, locked them into combat. They strained to over power each other. Sweat began to form on Naruto’s brow as he gritted in teeth from the effort. Ichigo also began to show signs of energy loss. He gasped for a breath for an instant, and then shut his mouth to avoid showing signs of any weakness.
Then Ichigo used all his might to pull Naruto in, causing him to lose his balance. Naruto hung in mid air for a second, until Ichigo took the opportunity to slam his knee into Naruto’s face. Naruto was knocked backwards, stumbling after Ichigo let got of Naruto’s hands. A small trickle of blood dripped from Naruto’s nose. He wiped it away, smirking.
Ichigo shook his hand from side to side, and then balled it back into a fist. He bounced to the left and right, in a full battle ready pose.
Naruto charged blindly, rage filling his eyes, yet fully determined to beat Ichigo to the ground. Naruto swung a left hook, but Ichigo ducked low to the ground. Ichigo pushed of the ground with his feet and grabbed Naruto’s collar again. But Ichigo didn’t have the energy to lift Naruto up again. Instead, he just tackled Naruto to the ground.
As they fell, Naruto seized Ichigo’s clothing as well. They both hit the ground hard. Ichigo coughed from the impact. They wrestled on the ground, trying to get on top of the other, both losing energy fast. Sweat began to pour from their foreheads. They rolled from one side of the street to the other, cutting themselves on the hard rocks that lay on the ground.
They continued to wrestle until a sharp static erupted from Naruto’s pocket. They ceased to roll around. Still holding onto Ichigo, Naruto said, “What the heck is that?”
Ichigo let go of Naruto’s collar. “It’s the radio we picked up!”
They both immediately stopped, and let the other go. A little ways off, they saw a shaded figure coming near them. They gasped as the being drew closer. It swayed from side to side, but it seemed to have a different shape.
They squinted to see the creature. “Is it another one of those things from the bridge?” Naruto asked.
“So there is more than one,” Ichigo acknowledged.
“Guess you were right after all,” Naruto said.
Once the creature came close enough, Naruto pointed out, “Check it out, it’s walking on four legs!”
“Yeah.”
“It must be a dog!” Naruto exclaimed. “It’s way too big to be Akamaru, but maybe it’s friendly?”
“Yeah,” Ichigo retorted, sarcastically. “Go and pet it, see what happens.”
“I will!” Naruto defied, forming a hand sign. “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” After the puff of smoke vanished, a clone stood beside Naruto. Already knowing what to do, the clone moved closer to the animal, walking very nervously.
Ichigo and the real Naruto stared intently, as the clone drew closer, slowly reaching out his hand. The creature growled, and snapped. The clone twisted around quickly and yelled, “Okay, it’s not friendly!”
Suddenly, the monster lunged at the clone’s back, ripping through his flesh. Another puff of smoke appeared, leaving the clone destroyed.
Naruto and Ichigo glared in shock. The monster began to charge at them, snapping and growling.
Ichigo instinctively reached for his sword, to find that it wasn’t there. In horror, he looked around to find that it was still over on the side of the street after Naruto kicked it away.
“I’ll do it!” Naruto exclaimed, reaching for his kunai, only to have the same realization.
The animal leapt, but Ichigo and Naruto swiftly moved out of the way.
Ichigo used his elbow to crush the dog’s ribs. It merely bounced off, and hit the ground, landing on its feet, seemingly unharmed. “Damn,” Ichigo grunted. “We can’t do anything to it, without weapons!”
Naruto uttered a long cry as he jumped into the air, his foot above his head, and his head tucked into his chest. He brought his leg crashing down onto the dog’s skull, making a sickening crunching noise.
The animal staggered for an instant, before it shook its head and got ready for round two.
“Dammit,” Ichigo grunted.
Naruto smirked. “Well, I didn’t want to have to use such a powerful technique on just a lame dog, but we can’t hurt it by punching. Not easily, anyway.”
“You got a plan?” Ichigo asked, intrigued.
Without replying, Naruto formed a hand sign, performing the shadow clone Jutsu. Only one clone stood behind Naruto. The real Naruto put back his hand, as the clone swirled the air around his hand. A shining blue sphere shone brightly in Naruto’s palm. “Take this!” Naruto yelled, thrusting his hand into the belly of the dog. “Rasengan!”
He pushed the sphere deeper and deeper into the creature, until it began to spin in the air, furiously. The Rasengan left Naruto’s hand, lifting the dog with it. The dog spun continuously until it hit a brick wall that seemed to belong to some apartment store combination building. The wall cracked slightly as the creature hit the ground. A small puncture wound was made in its chest, yet large amounts of blood flowed into a pool formation beneath it.
“That’s a weird attack,” Ichigo replied. He walked over to the dog, as Naruto’s clone vanished. Ichigo stepped in the blood and kicked the creature over onto its belly, to reveal a gaping hole blown through its back. Ichigo stared in amazement. “How the hell did that happen?”
“It’s because,” Naruto started.
“Nevermind,” Ichigo interrupted. “I don’t want to hear any more explanations of any crap anymore.”
Naruto grumbled at Ichigo for ruining his shining moment. “Anyway, we haven’t seen this kind of creature before,” Naruto acknowledged.
“What, a dog?”
“No,” Naruto replied. “Look, it doesn’t look like a dog.” He was right.
This creature walked on all fours. Its face was much narrower than a normal dog’s and was almost triangular. Its rows of teeth were spread out, more like a dog shark than a dog. It had no fur; it looked more like rotting flesh. Blood stained its skin, indicating that it’s been there for a couple days at least. Its eyes were black holes, and gave you an eerie feeling just by looking at them. Its mouth was opened, blood gagging its throat, as it slowly died. The sounds were stomach turning as the creature struggled to hold onto life, blood pouring from its wounds.
“I almost feel sorry for it,” Naruto remarked.
“Let’s just go,” Ichigo suggested.
Agreeing, Naruto and Ichigo grabbed their weapons, sheathed them, and continued their long walk down Old Silent Hill.
Many minutes passed, all without talk. Without showing any kind of emotion, Naruto was secretly quite angry with Ichigo. Yet he walked on, not letting Ichigo see through his stone cold face. He focused on staring straight ahead, unblinking. Dang, he thought. We never finished our fight. Maybe I should just pick another fight with him. I’ll beat him down this time. He focused on his thoughts for a while longer as they walked. No, that’s not right. I have to focus on finding Sasuke right now. So, resolved, Naruto continued to walk, a fire of determination burning in his heart.
They quickly came to an intersection. A few cars were parked on the sides of the street, lights off, like they hadn’t been run in months. A traffic light hung above them, lightless as well. It swung back and forth slightly, making small squeaking sounds. Naruto glanced around, growing nervous. “Where are we now?” he asked.
“I see a map booth,” Ichigo replied. Walking over to it, he glanced inside. “Damn.”
“What?” Naruto asked, his nerves growing further.
“It’s so freaking dusty!” Ichigo took the sleeve of his robe and wiped the dust off the glass protector. He observed the map within, and then reported to Naruto, “We’re on Bachman Road.”
“And where’s the school?”
After a quick glance, Ichigo said, “On Midwich Street. It’s two streets over to the East.”
“So we’re almost there?”
“No,” Ichigo replied bluntly. “It’s at the other end of Midwich. We have to go two streets over, and then travel all the way down the street. And by the looks of it, Midwich is just about the longest street in this area of town.”
“Area?” Naruto groaned. “What does that mean? We’re in Silent Hill, aren’t we?”
“Old Silent Hill,” Ichigo replied. “There’s Old Silent Hill, the Lakeside, and Central Silent Hill. And some stuff on the outskirts, like a graveyard and things like that.”
“How do you know all that?”
After a pause, Ichigo replied, “I’m looking at a map.”
Feeling stupid, Naruto said, “Yeah, I know!”
“What I want to know,” Ichigo began. “Is where everyone else is. Toshiro should be around here with his group.”
“Who?” Naruto asked.
“Toshiro Hitsugaya is the captain of Squad Ten in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads of the Soul Society.”
“Oh, he’s the guy leading your group, right?”
“I guess,” Ichigo replied.
“Let’s get to that school,” Naruto suggested, beginning to walk to the East.
“Hold it,” Ichigo said.
“What is it?” Naruto asked impatiently.
“Now you’re facing North.”
“So?”
“When we were facing South, Midwich was to the East. Now we’re facing North, so Midwich is to the West.” Ichigo explained.
“Whatever,” Naruto said. “Just take me to the school.”
Ichigo nodded, and they began to walk to the West, heading towards the school.
They walked down the street, making slightly more conversation than earlier. Even so, Naruto’s rage had not subsided. It was merely put off until later. He still wanted to beat Ichigo down.
They walked for a short distance when Naruto glanced over to his left to see a dark alleyway leading down from them. Ichigo passed through it, but Naruto stopped to gaze within it. Noticing that Naruto had stopped, Ichigo joined him, staring down the alley.
“What’s wrong?” Ichigo asked.
“I’m getting a weird feeling about this alley,” Naruto replied, shaking slightly.
“Yeah,” Ichigo said, shrugging. “This whole town kind of gives me that feeling.”
Naruto ignored Ichigo and stepped between the walls. “Hey,” Ichigo called. Naruto didn’t listen. “Damn.” Ichigo followed Naruto inside. He sped up a bit to catch up to Naruto. “Hey, where do you think you’re going?”
“I just want to see what’s in here,” Naruto replied, not even looking at Ichigo.
“What about the school?” Ichigo asked. Naruto ignored him.
A constant squeaking sound emerged from the fog. Now intrigued himself, Ichigo stopped talking, and followed Naruto deeper inside. They moved slowly, cautiously. They turned a corner to find an overturned wheelchair, lying on its side. Its bent wheel was spinning nonstop. In the seat, a puddle of blood was stained, and spilt onto the pavement.
They glanced at it, and then brushed past it. As they moved farther away, the squeaking began to cease. They shifted down the alley, ending up in a larger area, much like a maze, the walls being fences. They easily reached the other side, and continued on. They ended up at a large brick wall.
“Great,” Ichigo groaned. “So what was the point of even coming in here?”
“I,” Naruto began, shocked. “I know that something weird was in here.”
“Screw it!” Ichigo yelled, leaping high into the air, landing on the top of the brick wall. “I’ll find the damn school from here!” He looked from side to side, in every direction. After a pause, he jumped back down.
Naruto had an anxious look on his face. “Well? What did you see?”
“It,” Ichigo replied, irritated. “Was all fog. You can’t see a freaking thing up there!”
“I see.”
“So let’s go back to the main road. Thanks for this useless little detour,” Ichigo growled angrily.
“Shut up!” Naruto snapped.
They moved through the fence yard and back through the alley. As they passed the bloody wheelchair, they noticed that the wheel had stopped moving. They disregarded it, then reentered the entrance, and were back on the main road, and continued their journey to the school.
Naruto rubbed his stomach. The pain from when Ichigo kneed him hadn’t subsided yet. He tried to make it as least noticeable as possible. He glared at Ichigo, wondering what his real powers are. I remember back in the forest, he thought. He said Bankai. What’s Bankai? He was emitting a lot of chakra. I know that I haven’t seen all that he could do. Still, Naruto followed Ichigo.
“We’re almost to the end,” Ichigo announced. He nodded to the fog ahead. “Then we just make a left up here, and we’ll be on Midwich Street.”
Naruto smiled. “Good, I’m getting bored. We’ve been walking for hours!”
“It hasn’t been that long,” Ichigo argued. He sighed. “But I know what you mean.”
The fog began to clear as they got closer. Once they reached the end, their faces contorted in shock and disbelief.
“There’s no way,” Naruto whispered.
Ichigo’s eyes bulged from his head, as he stared at the road, speechless.
The road just stopped. It looked like the street was ripped from the ground, leaving nothing but a deep pit. The fog obscured the other side, making it impossible to tell how long, or deep, the pit was. Nearby was a house, just barely hanging on to the edge. A few feet from that was a car with the trunk open. Skid marks led from the street to the car’s tires.
Ichigo kicked a loose pebble down the pit. After a few seconds Ichigo gave up even trying to listen for the impact. Naruto stared in shock.
“Now what?” Naruto asked, turning to Ichigo.
“We can’t cross,” Ichigo replied. “We can’t even see the other side.” He began to think for a moment. Although, Soul Reapers can use Reishi to walk on the air, so I can carry Naruto over to the other side.
“Then,” Naruto said, getting into a jumping stance. “We just have to jump it!”
“Hey, hold on!” Ichigo called out, but it was too late. Naruto had already begun to run, and before Ichigo could chase after him, Naruto was already in the air. “Damn!” Ichigo jumped in after him, the wind flowing through his hair. Ichigo felt his stomach lurch as he fell. Naruto was a bit further ahead. “Damn, he jumped farther than me! I can’t catch him unless I move faster!” In a blinding speed, Ichigo dashed towards Naruto, catching him. Ichigo’s eyes bulged in surprise. “I can’t stand!” After a short pause, he yelled to Naruto, “Hey, make a shadow clone now!”
Naruto obeyed, fear in his eyes. They seemed to fall forever, but Naruto made a clone, and Ichigo, holding Naruto, jumped off the clone, moving at the same blinding speed as before.
Naruto’s head jerked as Ichigo moved. Naruto continued to make clones as Ichigo bounced off of them. Eventually, they reached the top.
Ichigo landed on his feet, and threw Naruto to the ground. “What the hell were you thinking?” Ichigo yelled.
“I was thinking of the only solution!” Naruto snapped. “Besides, what were you thinking? I can’t stand? What the heck does that mean?”
Ichigo was taken aback. He hesitated, and then replied, “Soul Reapers can use Reishi, or spirit particles, to stand on the air.”
Shocked, Naruto said, “That’s so cool!”
With a solemn look on his face, Ichigo said, “Yeah, but I couldn’t do it this time.”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t know,” Ichigo replied. “I can only think that it’s this town. There’s no other reason for it.”
“Man,” Naruto sighed. “This is weird. Something in this place is screwing up our radios, your air standing thing, Kiba’s nose, and Neji’s Byakugan. Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“But how did you move in mid air?” Naruto asked, anxiously.
“What do you mean?”
“You moved in mid air! I jumped farther than you, but you still caught me!”
“Oh,” Ichigo said. “That’s called Flash Step. It’s a technique that Soul Reapers can use.”
“Aw, man!” Naruto sighed. “I want to be a Soul Reaper! You Have so many cool Jutsu!”
“It isn’t Jutsu.”
“Whatever!”
Ichigo sighed, and sat down. “What do we do now?”
Naruto suddenly remembered their new problem. “Oh, yeah. I have no idea. Is there another road?”
“I don’t remember,” Ichigo replied. “All I remember seeing is that Finney Street leads to Midwich Street. We’re on Finney now, but we can’t get to Midwich.”
“Let’s look for a map booth,” Naruto suggested.
“There aren’t any around here,” Ichigo informed Naruto.
“How do you know that?”
“This is a residential area. Map booths are around those business like areas.”
Naruto looked around, finding houses and lawns. “Oh, you’re right! I didn’t even notice that we got into this kind of area!” He paused. “So what do we do now?”
“We keep asking that,” Ichigo replied. “But I don’t know. Maybe we should try and find another street.”
“What’s that?” Naruto asked, referring to the parked car near the edge of the pit.
“That’s a car,” Ichigo replied.
Naruto, interested, moved over to the car and looked inside. “A car?” He opened the door. Ichigo glanced over, intrigued that the door actually opened. “It’s so weird looking. How does it run?”
“With gasoline,” Ichigo explained.
“What’s that?” Naruto asked as he moved the side handle bar up and down.
“It’s put in the engine, and the explosions cause the pistons inside to move. That makes the energy for the car to move.”
Naruto looked horrified. “It explodes?” he exclaimed.
“Not the whole car, you idiot!” Ichigo snapped. “Just the engine.”
“The engine explodes?” Naruto’s voice was full of shock as he tried to grasp the concept of an engine.
“No!”
“Wait; is it like the engines on a boat?”
“Pretty much,” Ichigo replied, relieved that Naruto had an example to work with.
“Oh, because I was on a boat once, on my first real mission as a ninja. I don’t count all those stupid, weed picking, fence painting missions.”
“You have to paint fences as a ninja?”
“Only the real low rank ninja do.”
“So,” Ichigo began. “You’re low rank?”
“Yeah, I’m Genin!” Naruto snapped. “And I still kicked your ass!” Naruto got out of the car, getting a few inches from Ichigo’s face, staring angrily into his eyes.
Ichigo laughed and backed away. “Bite me!”
This only made Naruto angrier, but he stepped down as well, and slipped back into the car. He fumbled around for a minute, then asked, “Where’s the pull thing?”
“The what?”
“The string that you pull to start the engine.”
“That’s only in a boat,” Ichigo replied. “You need keys in a car.”
“Where are those?”
“I don’t know!” Ichigo snapped. “Besides, it looks pretty run down; I don’t think it’ll even work right now.”
The sides of the car had deep scratches, leaving only a metal color, stripping the car of its paint. “That sucks!” Naruto complained as he kicked the dashboard. A small compartment opened up, and many papers flew out, landing softly on the passenger seat, and all over the floor.
“A secret compartment?” Naruto asked, astonished.
“No,” Ichigo answered. “It’s the glove compartment. It’s a little space to put things, like your car’s registration.”
Naruto shuffled through the papers, glancing over each one. “It’s all stupid notes that some guy left. Here’s a recipe for a kind of cake.”
Ichigo grabbed a few papers. “It’s all junk, we should just go.” But something caught Ichigo’s eye. “Look at this, Naruto!” Naruto glanced over Ichigo’s shoulder. “It’s a map!”
“Of what?” Naruto asked.
“Of your basement,” Ichigo replied sarcastically. “What do you think of what? Of Silent Hill!”
Sure enough, Ichigo was holding a paper map of Old Silent Hill. The edges were torn from aging, and seemed like it was very delicate.
“What luck!” Naruto said, gleefully. “So what now?”
Ichigo read the map. “Hey, do you have a pen or something in that bag?”
“Yeah,” Naruto answered, pulling a red marker from his pouch. “What do you need it for?”
Ichigo slid his finger through Finney Street, until he got to the end. There, he opened the marker, and put a big red “X” on the street.
“Why’d you do that?” Naruto asked.
“We don’t want to make the same mistake twice,” Ichigo replied. “So let’s see what’s next.” He studied the map and replied, “Okay, so if we go back to the Finney Bachman intersection, we should go south from there.”
“What was Bachman?” Naruto asked.
“That was where we came from,” answered Ichigo.
“I thought that was Nathan Avenue.”
“It was, but once we moved into Old Silent Hill, the street became Bachman Road.”
Naruto nodded, understanding. “So we go all the way back?” He asked, dreadfully.
“Yeah,” Ichigo replied solemnly. “We might as well get going.” Naruto agreed and followed Ichigo as they continued to walk.
Only a few minutes passed before Naruto started a conversation. “So I was thinking.” Ichigo turned his head to face him. “You think we should name those monsters?”
“Name them?” Ichigo sounded surprised. “Why?”
“You know,” Naruto replied. “There is definitely more than one kind of monster, so it could get confusing.”
“So,” Ichigo began. “I’ll call that dog Fred, and I’ll call that armless thing Zack.” Then he gasped dramatically. “Oh, damn! But I killed them! Oh no, they’re dead!”
Naruto gave a blank stare. “That’s not what I meant, jerk. I meant we should name the different species of monster.”
Ichigo shrugged. “If that’s what you want to do with your free time, then be my guest.”
Naruto thought for a moment. “Those dog type things can just be called a dog.”
Ichigo snickered. “Very creative.”
“Shut up! What else would I call it?”
Ichigo shrugged again. “Something better. But I don’t really care, so you can call it whatever you want.”
Naruto turned away. “I will. I don’t care what you think!” He was silent for a moment, thinking about more names. “And that armless one can be called an acid.”
“An Acid?”
“Yeah, that’s what it shoots out of its chest, right?” Naruto asked. “So that’s a great name for it. For someone who doesn’t care, you seem to have a lot of complaints.”
“I don’t really care,” Ichigo said.
Naruto ignored him as they walked. “I wonder how many species there are.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Ichigo said. “I’ll beat them all.”
“Yeah,” Naruto agreed. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to find Sasuke!”
“Good,” Ichigo said. “Because it looks like we’ll need all that determination if we’re going to get out of here.”
“Don’t worry,” Naruto reassured. “I don’t plan on dying just yet!” He wore a huge grin as he gave a thumbs up to Ichigo.
“Yeah,” Ichigo replied. “Try to avoid dying.”
Naruto chuckled as they continued to walk. Quickly after that, they reached the alley that they entered earlier. They passed it without even a second glance. As they passed, a sharp static erupted.
“It’s a monster,” Naruto said, alarmed.
“I know,” Ichigo replied. He began to draw Zangetsu. The static got louder as a Dog emerged from the fog. It swayed back and forth, almost as if it was drunk.
It saw the two standing there, and began to stagger towards them, obtaining new targets. Fresh blood dripped from its mouth. It didn’t look like it was its own blood. It growled menacingly as it picked up speed.
Naruto drew a shuriken and instantly threw it, digging into the Dog’s head. It collapsed to the ground, new blood spewing onto the pavement. However, it quickly got back up and charged at full speed. It leapt, scratching Naruto on the back as they tried to dodge. The cut was red with blood, but not deep enough for any to come out.
Ichigo howled as he leapt into the air with Zangetsu, bringing it down hard on the creature’s spine. It snapped with a sickening crack, as blood exploded onto Ichigo’s face, staining his clothes. He landed nicely on his feet, and sheathed his blade.
Naruto touched his wound. “Damn, and I just got these clothes. I need to ask the Pervy Sage to get me another set.”
The Dog squirmed as it tried to move, but with no success, due to a cracked spine. It glared at Ichigo, trying to bite him, until its movements slowed. Its eyes closed slowly as it died.
“Those things are so creepy,” Naruto said. Ichigo nodded, and they walked on.
“I wonder where they come from,” Ichigo said.
“I don’t know,” Naruto replied. “I still think it’s part of Orochimaru’s experiments.”
“Yeah, you were saying,” Ichigo answered. “He sounds like a creep. A real low life.”
Naruto nodded. “He is. I just want to beat the crap out of him.”
They quickly arrived at the intersection, and made a turn south. They walked for a while dealing with all the Dogs that showed up. There weren’t many. In fact, there barely seemed to be any at all. Still, they moved through the town, occasionally glancing at a café or apartment building. They moved through, exchanging only a few words, both eager to get to their destination. They soon arrived at another intersection.
“Where’s this?” Naruto asked.
Ichigo pulled out the map. “This is the Bachman Matheson intersection. If we make a right here, we’ll get to Midwich Street.”
Naruto nodded as Ichigo put away the map. They both walked, not even bothered by the reappearing monsters.
They walked for a few more minutes, until Naruto said, “Hey.”
Ichigo looked over. “What is it?”
“Isn’t it strange?”
“What?”
“We fought against that Acid earlier, by the bridge, but ever since then, the only things we’ve found are Dogs,” Naruto pointed out. “Isn’t that a little weird?”
“I suppose,” Ichigo replied. “Maybe the Dogs are like grunts or something.”
“Could be.”
Nevertheless, they continued to walk down Matheson Street, anxious to find Midwich Street. They conversation died there, and barely was kept up, until Naruto gave up trying to talk at all.
As they walked, they saw another street to their right. It, like all the others, was obscured by fog. But more houses could be seen, with some trees in front yards. Many fences surrounded those yards, but not a soul was seen anywhere.
They only traveled a little ways longer until they came to the end of Matheson Street. And, much to their dismay, they saw this street shared the same fate as Finney Street. They gaped, quite disappointed.
“How did this happen?” Naruto growled.
“I don’t know,” Ichigo replied. “But it’s pissing me off more than Rukia at the hot springs!”
“The what?” Naruto asked, a little taken aback.
“Nothing,” Ichigo snapped. After a pause, Ichigo suggested, “Let’s go back.”
“And go where?” Naruto asked, upset that more walking was involved.
“If we go south from the last intersection we were at, we can get to another street that will lead us to Midwich Street.”
Naruto groaned miserably. “This sucks!” Even so, he followed Ichigo through the fog, heading back to the intersection. As they walked, Naruto saw the street they passed earlier. He grabbed Ichigo. “Hey, let’s go down here!”
Confused, Ichigo asked, “Why? There’s nothing there.”
Angry, Naruto snapped, “Hey, I followed you to Finney Street and it was a dead end! Now I followed you through Matheson, and that was a dead end too! Now it’s my turn!”
Sighing, Ichigo said, “Fine.”
Ichigo let Naruto lead him down the new street. Ichigo glanced at the map. “This is Levin Street. I wonder what’s down here.”
“That’s what we’re going to find out,” Naruto answered.
The street was filled with houses and lawns, which they were not used to seeing in this town. Even so, all the houses looked run down and beaten up. All the houses had the same structure and was quite boring looking.
“So,” Ichigo complained. “This sucks!”
As he said that, they passed a house that was different from all the others. The only difference was a doghouse out in the front yard. Inside was lots of dry blood, and some kind of organ rotting away.
Ichigo became disgusted, and Naruto ran away. Ichigo called after him, “Where are you going?”
Naruto ran to a nearby tree and began to vomit onto the grass. His insides burned as he puked, but he couldn’t stop. The smell was so awful that even the slightest reminder made him throw up.
“But,” Ichigo began to think out loud. “Where’s the dog?”
Sure enough, a static erupted in Naruto’s pocket. Ichigo got ready, drawing Zangetsu. His blade had a red tint to it now, blood splashed all over it. The Dog staggered from the fog. Ichigo used Flash Step, getting into the Dog’s face, and using a horizontal slash, he killed it in one strike. More blood exploded onto the pavement, and all over the grass. The trees’ trunk became stained red.
Naruto walked over to the corpse. “That’s horrible,” he said as he gagged. The smell was still caught in his throat.
Ichigo sheathed Zangetsu and walked over to the doghouse. Naruto watched, curious. Ichigo looked inside.
“What the heck are you doing?” Naruto yelled.
“This doghouse seems weird to me,” Ichigo replied. “Like, why is it here?”
“Who cares?”
“I do! No other house in this whole town has a doghouse!” Ichigo peered inside. Smiling, he reached inside, pulling out something shiny. “See what I mean?” He held up a key.
“How would you even think to do something like that?” Naruto asked, amazed.
“Yeah,” Ichigo replied. “But where does it go?” He glanced at the house. “This is the only thing I can think of.”
“I’ll bet it’s for the car!” Naruto exclaimed.
“Good guess,” Ichigo said. “But I’ll bet it’s to this house.” He stepped up the few stairs as Naruto followed.
“Well I bet it’s for the car,” Naruto said.
“Want to bet on it?” Ichigo asked.
“Sure!” Naruto grinned, sure that he’s right.
“What are the stakes?” Ichigo asked.
Naruto thought for a moment. Then a gasped, just getting an idea. “I know! The loser has to buy the Ramen when we get back to the Village Hidden In The Leaves!”
Ichigo grinned back. “All right!” Ichigo slipped the key into the lock. He smiled. “So far so good.” He turned they key, and the door clicked open.
“Damn,” Naruto groaned.
Ichigo turned the knob and opened the door. Together, Ichigo and Naruto stepped into the dark house.