Naruto: Call of Cthulhu

Night had fallen, and the Haruno family's carriage was quietly parked beside the forest road. A flickering campfire dispelled the darkness around it.

Mebuki and Sakura slept inside the carriage, while Kizashi sat in the driver's seat, leaning against the wooden beam of the carriage, though unable to sleep. The night brought endless space for imagination, and the forest in the darkness often triggered unsettling thoughts.

Looking at the trees on either side of the road, the flickering firelight cast shadows, resembling figures standing silently in the darkness, watching the carriage. He, unable to sleep, was still thinking about the trees blocking the road ahead. The mystery gnawed at him, refusing to let his mind rest.

According to what he knew, this place was near the deadly poison-filled Valley of Death. Though the gas wouldn't spread here, no one wanted to live so close to danger, so it was unlikely that there were any villages nearby. So who would bother to block this remote road?

Regardless, by tomorrow morning, the ninja sent from Konoha should arrive. They could help clear the trees and perhaps investigate who had set up such a dangerous roadblock in such a remote area.

The fatigue from driving the carriage all day caught up with Kizashi, and his consciousness began to blur. His eyelids slowly closed. Just a few minutes. I'll rest my eyes for just a few minutes.

Woo~ Woo~ Woo~

Half-asleep, Kizashi heard a painful wailing sound. 

It was unnatural, haunting, and definitely not something he wanted to hear in the middle of the night. And it was coming from the forest beside the road.

Woo~ Woo~

The wailing resembled a wounded person's groans but sounded far more like a ghost than a human. The sound was drawn out, with a sharpness that was almost piercing.

Realizing the sound was real, he quickly jumped off the carriage, grabbed a burning stick from the fire, and reached it toward the trees beside the road, hoping to see further into the distance.

But the source of the sound was farther away than expected, and the firelight from the stick couldn't reach it. Kizashi squinted, trying to make out any movement in the darkness beyond.

Woo~ Woo~

Suddenly, the wailing became more urgent, as if whoever was making it had become emotionally unstable. He now faced a choice.

One option was that someone in the forest was injured and needed help. The other was to do nothing. To stay with his family, keep them safe, and wait for the Konoha ninjas to arrive. It was the safest choice.

But Kizashi chose the former. If it was a living person, he couldn't just let them die nearby. What kind of example would that set for Sakura?

Having made up his mind, he found another long-burning stick in the fire and walked into the forest. The forest was always hard to navigate at night, especially when filled with low bushes. The stick didn't provide enough light for his feet, so Kizashi's pace was slow. This was easier when I was younger.

Soon, he realized the light from the campfire had faded, and he still seemed far from the wailing person. Though determined to help, he didn't want to stray too far from the carriage, so he stopped and called out: "Where are you?"

Woo~

The wailing became sharper, as if the person was in even more pain, unable to form words and only able to respond with indistinct sounds.

Left with no choice, Kizashi walked deeper into the forest, following the sound. Each step took him further from his family.

---

Inside the carriage, Mebuki slowly opened her eyes. Noticing Sakura sleeping beside her, she smiled and gently covered her with the blanket she had kicked off.

Then, she stepped out of the carriage.

Knowing her husband was likely exhausted, she wanted to take over and let him rest. She didn't think anyone needed to keep watch, but he insisted.

However, as she stepped out of the carriage, she found no one there, only a dwindling fire.

"Darling?"

"Darling?"

Not wanting to wake their sleeping daughter, Mebuki's voice was soft, only reaching the nearby trees. But there was no response.

He wouldn't just leave. Something must be wrong.

She started searching the trees around the carriage but stayed within the firelight's reach.

"Darling?"

"Where are you?"

Suddenly, a child's cry came from behind her.

Sakura!

Mebuki recognized the voice instantly and rushed back to the carriage. She flung open the curtain, but the carriage was empty.

Sakura was gone.

Before she could even call out her daughter's name, she noticed a shadow just beyond the fire's reach. The figure was very short, smaller than Mebuki herself, like a child. Though she couldn't see its face clearly, she saw that the figure was holding a small object, and the occasional flicker of firelight revealed strands of pink hair.

"Sakura!"

She immediately recognized that the object in the figure's arms was her daughter and shouted toward the shadow.

The thing in the figure's arms began to struggle and whimper. Though unclear, she knew it was her daughter's voice.

"Mm, mm."

Certain that the figure was holding Sakura, Mebuki began to negotiate in a panic.

"What do you want? Money?"

"I can give you anything. Just let my child go, please."

Mebuki slowly walked closer to the figure, trying to get close enough to snatch Sakura back. But the figure remained still, offering no response to her pleas. Its silence was more terrifying than any threat could have been.

Just as she was less than ten steps away, the figure suddenly turned and ran into the woods.

"No!"

"Sakura!"

Seeing the figure leap over the bushes and disappear into the forest, her maternal instincts took over. Without hesitation, she chased after them into the dense woods. Branches whipped at her face, but she barely felt them.

In an instant, only the lone carriage remained, quietly standing by the road.

---

In the forest, the flame on the wooden stick in Kizashi's hand was dying out. In this silent space, where only the shadows of trees swayed with the changing light, he lost track of time. Just a little longer.

Looking back, the fire from the carriage was long out of sight, but the sobbing ahead never ceased. Based on how loud the sound was near the carriage, he should have found the injured person by now. But despite walking a great distance, the sound still seemed far away. How is this possible? It's like the sound is... moving.

He realized something was wrong and stopped. Wait... something's not right here.

At that moment, a distant shout came from behind him.

"Sakura!"

He immediately realized something had happened near the carriage and turned to head back. Sakura! No... what's happening back there?

Just as he was about to run to the road, the painful sobbing behind him called out again.

Wooo~

The sobbing seemed to intensify with even more pain, but he no longer cared about the sound. Now, he needed to rush back to the carriage to ensure the safety of his wife and child.

Sensing Kizashi's firm decision to leave, the sobbing transformed, growing sharper and louder, almost mocking.

Wooo~ Waaa! Ha, ha!

The once painful sobbing turned into horrifying laughter! Shocked by the weird laughter, he had no idea who or what he was facing. But there was no time to deal with the being trying to lure him away from the carriage.

He quickly retraced his steps.

"You almost had me, you bastard," he muttered.

The dense brush he'd cleared earlier provided a path, so Kizashi quickly returned to the road and the carriage. He rushed to the carriage, threw back the curtain, and found it empty—his wife and daughter were gone.

"Where are they?!"

"Mebuki! Sakura! Where are you?! Answer me, please!"

He called out anxiously around the carriage, but no one responded. At that moment, a rustling sound came from the dark forest by the road. A figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

"Show yourself! What have you done with my family?!"

In the flickering firelight, Kizashi saw the figure clearly.

This person was short, barely reaching his elbow, resembling a dwarf in tattered red-and-blue rags, like a wild man barely clothed. But the figure's face was even more grotesque than its odd stature and clothing. Its face could only be described as deformed, or even monstrous.

It had almost no hair on its head, with a few wisps of white hair hanging from the back, ready to fall at any moment. Its face was horribly twisted, as if scarred by fire, with abnormally small eyes sunken into its dome-like bald head.

The dwarf-like wild man stood before him, the corners of its twisted mouth curving into a stiff, mocking smile. Though the smile was difficult to discern on its distorted face, Kizashi could see it clearly—a smile full of mockery.

Not only that, the dwarf parted its uneven lips and made a soft whistling sound, like a monkey.

"Woo~"

"Woo~"

The sound was all too familiar. It was the same sobbing that had been leading him earlier.

"It was you!" Kizashi glared at the dwarf. Despite the fury rising within him, he fought to keep control.

"Did you and your kind take my family?"

If this creature had lured him away, then someone else must have taken his wife and child. He assumed there were more of these dwarf-like beings.

"Give them back to me! They're everything to me!"

The dwarf tilted its head in silence, maintaining a confused expression as if it didn't understand Kizashi's words. But two seconds later, the dwarf's mouth curved again, revealing sharp, yellowed teeth, and it nodded with a vile grin.

Damn it! It was pretending not to understand all along!

"You think this is funny?!" Kizashi shouted. "You'll regret this, I swear it!"

In a fit of rage, he threw his burning stick at the dwarf.

But the dwarf was swift, turning and jumping away the moment Kizashi raised his arm. The spinning torch hit where the dwarf had stood, colliding with a tree instead. Damn! It's faster than it looks!

Bang!

Sparks flew from the burning stick.

Kizashi saw the dwarf running deeper into the forest, laughing that same eerie laugh.

Ha, ha~ ha!

The laughter echoed, multiplying as it bounced through the forest, growing fainter as the dwarf ran farther, until it vanished into the darkness.

"Come back, you bastard!"

The road beside the carriage fell silent again. No more terrifying laughter, no more shouts of anger from Kizashi. It was as if nothing had happened. 

But now, he stood alone beside the carriage. His wife and daughter were nowhere to be found. What do I do now?

He knew the dwarf had deliberately revealed itself to provoke him, trying to lure him away. Though these ugly dwarfs didn't look intelligent, they were extremely cunning. They knew to first draw away the strongest threat, Kizashi, and then attack his loved ones.

On top of that, their numbers were unknown. He knew that following them would be extremely dangerous. If he drove the carriage back, the ninja would arrive by dawn to deal with these vile dwarfs.

Should I wait for the ninja? Or should I follow them?

"If I go after them, I'm walking into their trap," he muttered to himself. "But if I wait... No, I can't abandon them!"

Kizashi barely hesitated. He climbed onto the carriage. No more running. No more hiding.

But instead of grabbing the reins to flee, he opened a wooden panel on the driver's seat, revealing his belongings. I hoped I'd never have to use these again. But for my family...

He opened his backpack, dumping out a large amount of food. A conspicuous blue cloth bundle tumbled out, accompanied by the clinking of metal. That sound... it's been so long.

He opened the cloth to reveal a metal forehead protector of Konoha and a black kunai.

"Looks like retirement's over."