"Check over there..." one of the trackers said."She can't have gotten far. Not with the amount of chakra she's used up." Footsteps shuffled by the stout bush the girl was hiding in. this definitely won't work for long. she thought desperately. Her mind raced. They couldn't find her; that just wasn't an option. Not when she was so close to the border. She could almost see the edge of the fog, or she would have been able to if she wasn't crouched to the dew strewn grass clutching a scrap of cotton against her wrist to stem the flow of blood.
Another pair of feet splashed down the path. How many of them are there?! She thought, stubbornly telling herself that it was completely unrealistic to send the entire fleet after her. She knew it was true though. Yukio would use all the force he could to keep her in the country.
"I think I've got her!!" One of the trackers shouted. The girl instantly froze.
"Captain! Over here!" NO. she thought defiantly. But she couldn't hear any footsteps around her, and smiled to herself. Must be one of the clones. False alarm. and a laugh almost escaped her lips as she heard screams of frustration from the group of ninja a quarter of a mile away.
"HOW MANY OF THEM DID SHE MAKE!?" one of them yelled. The girl couldn't hold in her small laugh, but as soon as she did she drowned in regret.
"I heard something!" someone shouted. She mentally cursed herself. Shit. I don't know if I have enough left! she thought in a panic. The fact that they didn't know her exact location was her only reprise. But it wouldn't be long before the entire fleet was bearing down on her. I have to try. she resolved stubbornly. And in one swift motion she stood to her feet and clasped her hands together in the first seal, going through them as quickly; she could she'd been spotted, but this was no time to freeze up. She touched her forefinger to the cloud emblem on her headband. This would be her last move. And it would work. It was her strongest: her last resort. The Sasaki Clan Kekkei Genkai, and only once in her 16 years had she ever used it.
"Fear Lightning no Jutsu!" she screamed. Her body felt instantly weak, and for one horrific moment, she thought it hadn't worked. But before her eyes the rocky landscape seemed to light up, and around every tracker ninja a jagged swirl of violet chakra seemed to be trapping them. She could hear the desperate screams as she saw the closest one drop to his knees, but she didn't have time to stick around. She launched herself from the bush and sprinted full speed down the path. It was her only chance.
She could see other trackers falling out of the corners of her eyes as she jumped over rocks and slid down the last hill. The fog was dissipating around her and the landscape was changing. But as she ran it was starting to change back. The fog was coming back. How! NO! her voice rang in her head. It can't be...happening. she could barely think straight, and she stumbled, falling flat onto her chest. Her genjutsu wouldn't hold them off for long without her there. It couldn't even run its full effect if she wasn't there to maintain it. Especially with the small amount of chakra she had left when she used it. But it would make them weak. And in a last ditch effort she jumped up into the tallest tree she could see and collapsed on one of the thicker limbs.
It was all she could do not to fall off. Her vision was getting cloudy and the bandage around her wrist was soaked with blood now. Even if she hadn't exhausted her chakra supplies, the loss of blood would have made her woozy. The combination of both was dangerous, and deadly at worst. stay awake... she pleaded to herself.stay. . .awake. Everything was dark now and she couldn't tell if it was the shadows in the trees or her mind losing consciousness.
Desperately hoping it was the former she dug her fingers into the trees limb. She could hear them coming now: with thundering footsteps. She closed her eyes tight, desperately trying to gather energy. She couldn't pass out now. But even keeping her balance on the limb was waring on her, a task that under less trying conditions would have been effortless. She was about to give in, she could feel herself slipping away when she heard a voice. It was directly below her on the path.
"Stop." it said resolutely. Her eyes snapped open. It did not have the accent of the trackers. It was similar, but of a different area: perhaps a neighboring village. But what business someone of another village would have with the trackers chasing her was beyond Mai's comprehension. She certainly had no contacts in the other lands. She hadn't even been outside of her village in close to 10 years.
She glanced down between the leaves and saw a small group of people: three, maybe four. It was unclear since her vision was going in and out of focus. Maybe a foot away, very close was one of the trackers with a raised shuriken. It had stopped in a few inches from the neck of one of the foreigners. The boy had not even flinched. Surely there was some kind of Jutsu involved. Not only could she see the slight glint of a headband on the top of the head of one of his comrades, but only an idiot would tell a tracker ninja in full chase to simply stop, unless they had some way of stopping them. Otherwise, this boy would be dead right now. The girl in the tree rubbed her eyes trying to clear her vision. Hanging back a ways with an open book was a taller person. And sprinting to the dark haired boy's side was a fair haired boy.
"What do you think your doing?!" the fair haired boy yelled, shaking his fist at the tracker.
"Shut up Naruto." the dark haired boy said, reaching into his shuriken holster and pulling one out, letting it spin around his finger until he gripped it firmly in his hand. The tracker ninjas had assembled in a small group behind the frozen one.
"I am sorry. We have no business with you." One of the leaders said, stepping forward.
"Who do you seek?" the taller of the four asked, stepping to the other side of the raven haired boy.
"A fugitive from the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Sasaki Mai." The tracker said stiffly.
"We have seen no one on this path." the tallest said, snapping his book shut and stowing it under his belt.
"I'm not surprised. Why do you think the Trackers were sent?"
"What do you take us for!? Idiots?!" the fair haired boy demanded hastily. "We would have seen them. See? See?" he said pointing furiously to his headband. "I'm a chunnin from the Land of Fire! I would have seen them in an instant." The tallest of the four put a hand over the mouth of this boy.
"Is she dangerous?" he asked calmly, having no problem keeping the fair haired boy at bay.
"Yes Sir." sir? she thought, trackers are subordinate in rank only to Jounin. Perhaps he is of the Land of Fire too. "Though she most likely poses no threat to travelers. We don't believe her intentions to be of a sinister nature."
"Well search the path if you must, but while Naruto may be a little too hasty, he is correct. We passed no one on the path." the tallest said.
"We must complete our search of the area. It is our duty Hatake Kakashi." The lead tracker bowed his head to Kakashi and stepped smoothly past the group. The one with a shuriken to the neck of the dark haired boy dropped it to his side and walked past him without a second glance. The rest of the group followed suit and once they were all past, the dark haired boy finally stowed his shuriken back in his holster.
The girl in the tree sat motionless until the trackers could be neither seen nor heard. For some reason the group below her had stalled, they were not moving either toward the fog that marked the edge of the Lightning Village, nor heading back the way they came. Kakashi had taken out his book again and was leaning on a tree reading it by the light of the moon, which was full tonight. The fair haired Naruto, who had initially started back up the path, had returned when no one had followed him, looking cross and impatient.
"What are we waiting for!!?" Naruto demanded, stomping his foot.
"Be patient Naruto." Kakashi said calmly.
"Kakashi-sensei!" the one with the bandana on her head called suddenly, before Naruto had a chance to object anymore. "Up in the tree!" The girl froze. How could they see her? She hadn't moved and she was blocked by limbs and leaves almost entirely. Not to mention it was dark.
"Very good Sakura. I had wondered when you would notice it." And before the girl could do anything but stare at the group blankly Kakashi was perched next to her calmly with his hands folded neatly in his lap. "Well if it isn't a Sasaki. Sasaki Mai." he said looking the girl directly in her eyes. It was all she could do not to fall out of the tree in surprise. How does he know who I am?! She thought desperately. And as she stared into his face for some kind of recognition, none came. Though, most of his face was covered.
"And you are Kakashi, of the Hatake." she said in the most calm and steady voice she could muster. Mai didn't like seeming out of the loop.
"I don't believe we've ever met." Kakashi said bowing his head slightly. Mai mirrored him.
"No, I don't believe so either-"
"Kakashi-sensei!!" Naruto shouted with his hands cupped around his mouth. Birds flew from the treetops all around.
"Shut up Naruto!!!" the girl who'd spotted Mai hissed, pulling him into a headlock. He struggled for breath as she hissed in his ear again. "Don't you understand anything?!!" The dark haired boy laughed quietly and leaned back on a tree, but Mai's attention was drawn back to Kakashi in an instant.
"So then I guess you're wondering how I know you." he said. A slight grin, barely distinguishable under the bandana covering his face, could be heard clearly in his voice. Mai said nothing. Without the detectable threat of being killed her energy was waning. Her eyesight was getting fuzzy again and her head was starting to spin. "It has been a long time since I've thought about your father." Mai's attention sharpened briefly. "I knew him a long time ago. During the war between our villages."
"Were-...were you friends?" Mai asked, her voice wavering in her exhaustion.
"No." Mai said nothing, not because she had nothing to say, but because she couldn't find the strength to speak. Kakashi seemed to understand. "You need rest, Mai-san." And without waiting for an affirmative response, Kakashi hoisted Mai to her feet and into his arms. She could barely keep her eyes open now. She could feel the air lift her hair up as Kakashi jumped from the tree, landing back down with his comrades. But even through her squinted blurry vision, Mai could see that the other three were younger.
Kakashi was a Jounin as she had suspected. And the other three were his subordinates. "Sakura. Watch over Mai. We need cannot travel back to our village tonight. The trackers are searching the area. We will need to set up camp a little early tonight." The girl nodded and walked over to Mai's limp body as Kakashi set her down under cover of the trees. "Sasuke. Naruto, help me set up." he said in what seemed to be a distant voice as Mai tried in vain not to lose consciousness. The last thing she heard was Sakura telling her it would be alright.