"Are we there yet?"
"Do you see grass anywhere?"
"No."
"Well, there ya go."
Ichiro snorted and crossed his arms across his chest, looking annoyed. If looks could kill, his father would've evaporated.
"How long till we get to Konoha?" Koji asked, not tearing his gaze from the endless horizon of the desert. The family, along with Temari, Kankuro, Baki, and a small group of body guards, had been walking through the desert for 5 hours in hopes to send Koji and Ichiro to their Chunin Exams.
"At least another day and a half." Sakura commented, looking down at her son.
"A day and a HALF?! You never told us that!" Ichiro screamed out of frustration.
"Yes we did. But you were to busy running around screaming 'I'm gonna be a Chunin' that you must not have heard us." Gaara explained, annoyed.
Ichiro cursed under his breath and began to kick small stones as he walked. He decided to walk backwards and annoy the guards, something that always amused him. He stopped in his tracks and waited for the set of guards who were a few feet behind him to catch up then started to walk at their pace.
"Hey, wanna thumb wrestle? Bet I win." Ichiro smirked at the man. Suddenly, a hand was placed on the boy's shoulder and he spun around to see a familiar purple face.
"Last time you thumb wrestled with a guard you broke his hand. Not this time, champ." Kankuro smiled down amusedly at his nephew.
"Is it MY fault that guy was so weak?" Ichiro smirked, throwing up his hands defensively.
"Go bother your brother. The guards are here to protect us, not for you to play wi-"
"Like we need protecting! Dad's here, he IS the Kazekage after all! And mom'll whoop anyone's butt, nobody stands a chance with them around." Ichiro rambled with confidence. "Aunt Temari can carry her own, too. And so can Baki. Yup, we're all safe here!" Ichiro assured his uncle, as he sped up to catch up to his family.
"Hey wait a minute" Kankuro began after his nephew had ran off. "YOU DIDN'T MENTION ME!"
A few hours later, after the sun went down and stars filled the sky, the group decided on setting up camp for the night. Gaara was talking with Kankuro, the guards were keeping a watch on the vicinity of the area, Temari and Sakura were chatting and Baki, Koji and Ichiro were sitting around talking as well.
"I can't wait to see Naruto-san." Koji smiled lightly, thinking of his father's best friend. "We haven't seen him in so long. You think he'll be there?" Ichiro hit the back of Koji's head with his bag.
"Why WOULDN'T the Hokage be there, genius?!" Ichiro taunted.
Koji blushed at his moment of forgetfulness. "Shut up pinky." He smirked at his brother. Ichiro's eye twitched and he lunged at his brother punching and kicking while Koji sent sand to wrap around Ichiro to block him from the attacks. After a few seconds Baki managed to get the boys off of each other and lecture them about how to 'save it for the exams'.
"Hey Ichiro."
Ichiro murmured a reply as he was awakened by the call of his name. He blinked a few times and saw nothing but darkness. He closed his eyes again, thinking it was nothing but a dream.
"Ichiro…" the voice called out again, but a bit louder. Ichiro recognized it immediately as his brother's.
"What is it Koji?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
"Do you think the Chunin Exams will be tough?"
"You woke me up for that? Of course it'll be tough, but that's the fun part of it, right?"
"What if I don't make i-"
"Don't be so skeptical. You're stronger than you think, Koji...you're gonna make it, now get some sleep before mom and dad wake up."
"…K." and Koji rolled over on his side.
Just as Koji was about to drift into a peaceful dream the sound of movement woke him up. He shot open his eyes, and jerked upright looking all around but seeing no one. He heard movement again and scrambled to shake his brother awake.
"Ichiro..Ichiro WAKE UP!" Koji screamed in the form of a whisper.
"W-What is it?!" Ichiro spat out. This was the second time his brother had woken him up tonight. He'll never get back to sleep at this rate.
"I-I heard a noise." Koji stammered, trying to keep the feeling of panic out of his voice.
"Yah. We're in the desert. Things make NOISES." Ichiro commented harshly as he threw himself back on his side, facing away from Koji. It was only until he heard the odd movements himself, that Ichiro rose and saw an older man, with huge muscles, wearing a Sound Village headband around his left arm.
"Just the two little squirts I was searching for. The Kazekage's sons. I wonder if you're worth more dead or alive." The large man grinned and readied a kunai from his pocket.
As soon as he threw the kunai, Ichiro jumped back and Koji caught the kunai with his sand. The two readied themselves for battle.
"Mom! Dad!" Ichiro screamed out at his parents only a few feet away.
"They can't hear you, squirt." The man gleamed evily.
"What do you mean they can't he-"
"Look at his village symbol, Ichiro." Koji informed his brother, not tearing his gaze away from the dangerous man. "He's from the village of Sound, which means he's used an illusionary genjutsu on everyone. They can't hear us, they're in their own world."
Ichiro looked back at his mother and father in shock and then back at their opponent. "Let's finish this guy off." He said through clenched teeth.
"I doubt you'll be able to do that, pipsqueaks." The man laughed and readied some bells to trap the boys in their own illusion, but Koji was too fast. He sent a whirl of sand to trap the man in, making it hard for him to breathe. The man struggled and struggled and gasped desperately for air.
"I won't kill you, but I will suffocate you to the point were you black out. Then I'll let you answer to my father." Koji threatened, not an ounce of emotion in his voice.
The man stopped struggling and then turned brown and began to melt into a pool of mud into Koji's sand. Koji's eye's widened.
Substitution.
Suddenly the man zoomed right behind him and stuck a kunai under his throat and turned to Ichiro.
"DON'T move, or your brother's dead. Understand?" the man looked serious, and insanely angry and Ichiro could do nothing but nod.
The man took a step towards Ichiro who tried to take a step towards him, but the man tightened his grip on the kunai. "Don't try it, squirt, I'm warning you." Suddenly, Koji's face began to crack. "What?!" the man exclaimed. His ear fell to the ground, so did a piece of his hair, as did the left side of his face, showing the hollowness inside.
"It's a-…a sand clone?!" the man asked bewildered.
Ichiro smirked and withdrew his arm and gained chakra into his fist. Before the man could even decipher what was happening, he heard Ichiro scream "TAKE THIS!!" and punch the ground with all of his might. The ground split furiously in two, as if an earthquake had erupted into it. The man was flown back by the force of the punch and landed on his back, his leg and both arms broken, and a huge chunk of rock lying on his chest.
Ichiro walked slowly to the man who was an inch away from being unconscious. Koji appeared in a wave of sand and looked down at his attacker.
"Who are you, jackass?" Ichiro demanded in a harsh tone, putting one leg on the chunk of rock to squish the man if he should choose not to cooperate.
"Ka-Kazuki Haro…" the man whimpered out.
"How does it feel to be defeated by a couple of 'squirts' Kazuki Haro?" Koji asked a glimmer of amusement in his voice at the man's state. The man let out a grunt as Ichiro placed more pressure on the man's chest.
"P-Please!"
"Why were you trying to kill us?!" Ichiro screamed.
"It wasn't m-my idea! It was an o-order!" the man gasped for breath.
"An order by who?" Koji demanded.
The man gasped and tried to answer the question but began to feel light headed. Ichiro grabbed the man by his shirt and looked into his eyes. "Who. Sent. You. ANSWER ME!" he screamed at the man.
The man merely coughed and passed out in the boy's arms.
"Damn it." Ichiro spat out, dropping the man at his feet. "Who in the hell would try to kill us and why?"
"There are numerous reasons. We're the Kazekage's sons so we're worth a good ransom. Also, some people might want us out of the Chunin exams. Also-"
"Alright alright, I got it, geez." Ichiro stopped his rambling brother and rolled his eyes.
There was another noise a few feet behind the twins. They both spun around in shock to see…
CLIFFHANGER! XD Sorry to do this to you, but my hand hurts lol Ill write more soon I promise..that is..if you want me to..Review if you would like me to continue Thanks!
