punkish furball – Howdy, strangas! XD

Words to Ponder:

Sorry for the delay, everyone! I sorta fell off Naruto for a while, but I was determined to get this next chapter out. Please accept my humble apologies!

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Installment 4: The Phantom of the Tollbooth

Kagome grimaced as she stood over her two latest charges, both of them thoroughly subdued by her spelled prayer beads. She sighed and began to rub her temples to relieve the pressure of her oncoming headache. At least the Uchiha decided to remain silent for now. Unfortunately for her, Naruto spoke more than enough for the both of them.

"The longer you keep this up, the longer the whole process will take," she said, exasperated. She already said the same phrase several times before now.

Kagome raised an eyebrow and lowered her hands when Naruto's unintelligible mumbles grew louder.

"Pardon? What did you say?"

With a loud groan, Naruto lifted his head from the dirt to glare at her.

"I said you're the one who keeps pummeling us to the ground! You're the one holding us up!"

Kagome rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I wouldn't have to do that if the two of you could be civil for more than two seconds," she explained, "I use the spell to keep you in check. That's the purpose of the subjugation beads."

The right side of her mouth twitched as she fought the urge to grin. Kagome would never admit she subdued them once or twice purely for shits and giggles. She didn't have a chance to use her favorite trump in a long time. This change in her usual routine was turning out to be a lot more fun than she expected even if they were behind schedule.

"It's not my fault!" Naruto cried, "Sasuke attacked me way more times than I attacked him!"

"Really?" Kagome asked, grinning as she feigned innocence, "I haven't noticed."

"Why you—!"

"Shut up."

Naruto and Kagome turned in Sasuke's direction after he spoke. He was sitting up with his legs crossed, surprising them both. Before now, he initiated an attack immediately after he recovered from the subjugation spell.

"Sasuke," Naruto quietly muttered.

"Tell me. Where are we?" he asked.

"Are you finally ready to listen to me?" Kagome quipped and continued speaking without waiting for Sasuke to respond.

"This is an intermediate plane of existence between the realm of the living and the realm of the dead. You are here because you and Uzumaki-san died in battle."

Kagome paused and waited, carefully watching the boy's reaction. At first glance, he appeared completely emotionless, indifferent to the reality he just learned of. However, closer inspection revealed the tightness in his jaw, the tension in his muscles, and the mixed emotions in his eyes.

So he's that type, Kagome surmised. Unlike Naruto, true acceptance would come much later for him, and it would likely be a very volatile experience. Until then, she could use this momentary lull to her advantage.

"Alright, gentlemen!" she said, clapping her hands together once, "Let's get going. We've spent too much time here as it is."

Sasuke quickly and calmly stood to his feet as though the prior alterations and the resulting punishments didn't happen. Naruto stood right after, protectively shadowing Kagome with both eyes trained on Sasuke. Their lifeless escort may have the upper hand, but he would not let his guard down with the other ninja so close. The battle that led to their deaths was still fresh on their minds, so the talk Naruto wanted to have with Sasuke would have to wait until they achieved some sort of stability.

Without commenting on the behavior of either shinobi, Kagome began walking with Naruto glued to her side and Sasuke following them just within the limits of her peripheral vision. As they traveled in silence, time seemed to both pass and stand still. The position of the sun overhead did not change as Kagome said before, but Naruto was sure they've been walking for hours.

"Isn't there a faster way to do this?" he asked with a groan. He wasn't fatigued, only bored.

Kagome shrugged. "I prefer this pace."

"Weren't you complaining about us being late this whole time? We should really speed up then!"

"It doesn't really matter. We already missed our appointment, but we'll still show up at a reasonable time if we continue to walk."

Naruto growled. From the moment they met up with Sasuke, it seemed like everything Kagome did or said was meant to rile him up.

"Seriously!? Dying is bad enough without having to spend the rest of eternity walking in some stupid field where it's always noon!"

"You know I told you there's more to the afterlife than this."

"But how much longer do we have to walk? I would die of boredom if I wasn't already dead!"

Sasuke sneered and uttered the first word he said since he officially joined the oddly matched pair on their journey.

"Halfwit."

It was obvious who he was referring to.

"What did you say!?" Naruto bellowed as he turned to face him, "If you wanna go, I'm more than ready!"

"Down," Kagome dryly said.

Naruto moaned as his body crashed to the earth. "What did I do this time?"

"Do you even have to ask? It thought we were passed this, Uzumaki-san," she replied.

"But Sasuke started it!" he countered.

Kagome thoughtfully hummed and looked at Sasuke from the corner of her eye. He didn't seem to fear reprimand.

"While I don't approve of how he said it, Uchiha-san was just making an observation."

Naruto pulled himself into a sitting position with his legs crossed.

"And why would that be?" he asked, his face flushed with both anger and embarrassment.

Sasuke smirked and pointed one slim finger ahead of them. Naruto's eyes widened when he looked in the direction he indicated and saw a gate built up with gleaming white limestone and precious metals that seemed to span several miles in height and length.

"So that it?" he asked, awed, "The gates of judgment?"

Kagome nodded once. "It shouldn't be much longer now. Follow me."

When Naruto was on his feet, the trio began traveling again in the same formation as before. They remained solemn and silent as they approached the great gate. Naruto shuddered at the obvious shift in the atmosphere. Sasuke displayed no signs that he was affected other than a brief narrowing of his eyes.

As they got closer, another structure completely dwarfed by the gate appeared, a lone tollbooth. It was made of white stone like the gate but was plain in construction, lacking the gate's intricate details. Naruto and Sasuke would not have noticed it if Kagome didn't slow to a stop in front of the booth directly in front of its main window.

"I'm checking in," she announced.

Soon after she spoke, the window slowly opened. Inside was a girl about Kagome's age with pale skin and hollow eyes but just as beautiful if not more so.

Creepy, Naruto thought and focused his attention on Kagome.

For the second time after he first met her, Naruto truly noticed how different Kagome was from his image of death as he compared her to this new girl. Where she was pale as the imposing limestone that surrounded them, Kagome was sun-kissed. Her eyes were hollow and guarded where Kagome's were vibrant and bright. Everything about the girl confined to the tollbooth from her traditional manner of dress to the blank stare she fixated on them and her hauntingly calm aura cried death. Kagome with her rosy pink cheeks, expressive eyes that revealed her every emotion, and so much more that was uniquely her was boundless and free, emitting life and life at its fullest. Naruto had to keep reminding himself that she was not of the living.

Could it be that this girl is older than Kagome-san? Or rather, she died long before Kagome-san did.

"Kagome-sama," the girl addressed her, her voice devoid of feeling, "who do you wish to bring through the gate?"

"Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke," Kagome answered.

The girl waited for several tense moments before she spoke. Her countenance gave no indication of what she was silently deliberating.

She finally said, "Then let it be so."

The girl reached out her hand and preceded to hand Kagome two paper lots. Kagome thanked her as she received them and bowed before she left the booth with Naruto at her side and Sasuke behind her. Before they reached the gate, she held out the two lots to them.

"Take one and be sure that you don't lose it," she instructed.

Sasuke quickly pocketed his while Naruto took the time to turn his over one side was blank while the other contained a single printed number.

"192? What does that mean?" he asked.

Kagome sighed and absently brushed her hair behind her ear. She didn't look at the lots before now.

"That's your number? I knew we were running late, but id didn't think we were that far behind!"

"What does that have to do with this number?"

"Well," Kagome began to explain, her tone oddly sheepish, "have you ever gone somewhere you have to pull a number and wait to be served until it is called?"

Suddenly, the tense atmosphere completely dissipated.

"You mean we have to wait for 191 other people to go ahead of us!?" Naruto cried. Though he was still silent, Sasuke was brimming with anger. He wanted to get these proceedings, whatever they entailed, over with as soon as possible. That way he could leave Naruto and their irritating escort behind for good.

"Not exactly."

Giggling, Kagome pointed back to the tollbooth. Placed on its roof was an LED sign reading, "Now Serving #57".

-O0o0O-

punkish furball – That's a wrap! XD And seriously, how can you not take advantage of the subjugation beads? I can think of so many fun uses! ^.^ Also, it seems as though Naruto is getting a lot of the spotlight—the good and the bad—but Sasuke will have his turn soon once he decides to open up. Until next time, which I promise will not take quite as long as last time, TCB!

(edited 05.29.2014)