Chapter 4

The two teams headed down to the southern parts of the eastern countries. They had picked out a large town just north of the hot spots of attacks, so as to make base there as they carried out their investigations. They would also be able to help with the injured and sick who came in the huge waves of evacuees. Sakura was feeling fired up as she readied herself for constant chakra control…

Kakashi, Yamato and Gai talked over their location, setting up small teams of two to head out into the surrounding areas to conduct search and retrieval missions. Kakashi had to calm Gai down as his expectations got ridiculously high, but the three came to a decision, and prepared themselves for work.

The town they had aimed for wasn't as far away as they had first thought, though the did arrive feeling particularly tired. Kakashi had been letting his guard down too much, having not recognised the steady increase in pace that Gai had been cheekily causing. Kakashi knew there had been a reason Gai was usually at the back of the team when they were younger.

"Now everyone get a good night's sleep, while Yamato and I get some information for tomorrow." Naruto and Lee had of course complained, feeling they could do so much more today. But Gai had challenged them both to a sleep off, and the three were out for the count.

"He is quite something." Yamato would often say, Kakashi laughing at the thought. He had become so accustomed to Gai in the last few years he had forgotten he wasn't normal. Ritsuka would have been so happy they were getting along…

The pair made it to the town leader's home, introducing themselves as the help that had been requested. They had been invited into the leader, Chiduka's, home with such enthusiasm, that Yamato had been a little wary in entering.

"I am so glad you have finally made it here. I was worrying that maybe they had kept you in the north while things got worse in the south." Kakashi felt a little guilt poke at him.

"Well we did spend some time in the north, though we quickly realised that if we were to learn of these creatures, we needed to be situated here in the south." Chiduka smiled widely as he realised that this was a good sign. The shinobi needed to have their wits about them if they were to survive this ordeal. "Can you tell us what we are up against?"

"I can only tell you what I have heard, which isn't much. You must know that the creatures are fairly new to this world, and no one has really had the time to study them. Not that it would be possible to do so if there had been time." His sad smile said more than his words. "Most people die when they come in contact. They are an unstoppable force of evil, and I fear that your attempts may be in vain. But it is better to rid the world of them now, while their numbers are small, than waiting until the threat is at your doorstep, and the world is lost." Kakashi felt a sudden relief that he had finally met someone who understood the seriousness of the situation, who also seemed to have a lot of wisdom. "I have leant my town to the refuges as a stop off point of their journey north. We provide them with food and water and any spare clothes we have. As you can imagine our supplies are running low, and the north refuse to help us. As people go through our town, they speak of such horrors. One woman saw her husband ripped in half, another man saw his wife raped and killed. Children are swarming in, only following the crowds as they have no one else. It is a sad time for the world, and it is hard to see the silver lining. As far as I can tell, the creatures don't care who they kill. They don't seem to have a purpose either. It is like they have been driven mad!" Chiduka took as seat as he physically despaired. "I don't know if I can convey to you just how glad I am to see some help finally coming our way. Even if your chances are only slim." Kakashi felt a defensive urge come upon him. He and his teams will do all the could.

"Don't worry sir. We have some of the most powerful and skilled members of Konoha shinobi in our teams with us. I assure you that none of us will give up until this threat is removed." Kakashi couldn't really recognise his own voice in the haze of everything. He cursed the blonde Hokage for sending him out at such an emotionally raw point in his year.

The pair spoke with some refugees as they made their way back from the leader of the town. The stories were much the same; whole towns and villages disappearing, thousands dead, the unstoppable creatures, the apocalypse… Kakashi was really beginning to wonder if maybe the shinobi of the world were going to see the worst force ever known…

……………………………….

The group ran on through the night, many of the children crying and complaining about being tired and hungry. Kyoya had been surprised when his mother had returned with a convoy of children, but had put the pieces together quickly. He had tried to help as much as possible, carrying the smallest of the group, who was also blind, on his back. He grew tired quickly however, and his mother relieved him of his burden. He wanted so much to help but he frustratingly was just hindering her.

He had found himself close to loosing his temper with a couple of the kids when they kept complaining about things that his mother could not help, but he kept himself under control if only to keep the peace and make things easier for his mother. Soon his mother had stopped the group, looking quite tired herself. She made a fire and let all the kids rest, keeping an eye out on their surroundings. The creatures thankfully were not very clever, and were very loud when they approached anywhere. They could however get to very fast speeds, and would catch the group within hours if they could track. Too much was unknown about these creatures, the girl finally concluded frustratedly as she picked at the bark of the tree she was leaning against.

A couple of hours past and Kyoya woke to find the sun was now fully raised. He searched the camp for his mother, but couldn't see her. The faint sound of a sob caught his attention and he looked towards the source of the sound. The sight of his mother wiping tears from her eyes in a nearby tree pulled uncomfortably at his heart. He had never seen his mother cry before, and he had been wondering whether she had the ability to. But now he knew she was as human as he had suspected, whether she was in denial about it or not. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, his confidence in her shaken slightly. He had looked up to her so much, placed her on such a high pedestal that it was almost painful to see her falter. He knew it was selfish, but he immediately regretted seeing the tears. She was meant to be a perfect superhero, someone he aspired to be, but now he realised, she was just like everyone else… how could he aspire to be normal?

"Are you alright, Mother?" he whispered, hoping not to wake the others. She jumped down from her perch and smiled brightly, no sign of sadness on her face.

"Of course I am! Shouldn't you be resting?" her voice was hiding emotion in it and Kyoya hated it when she lied to him. But they both knew that Kyoya knew, but yet his mother was adamant she was going to keep her pretence going.

"Couldn't sleep surprisingly..." Kyoya seemed bothered, so his mother hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry I can't make this better. But I will be here for you, even if it doesn't seem like it at times. I love you..." His mother trailed off, the feeling of failure seeping in. Kyoya hugged her tighter, his cheeks flushing at her words. What had he been thinking! Of course she was human, and it was because of things like this, the way she held herself in front of others compared to the crumpled mess she was inside, the way she constantly seemed upbeat, even though she knew that everything was going to shit no matter how happy she pretended to be, the way she took on the problems of the world, and didn't seem to waver under it's pressure… that was what made her a superhero, not her untouchable persona that she kept up. It was the fact that she did feel, she did hurt, and she did get depressed and scared, and she still pulled though, smiling and saying just the right words, or doing just the right things. The way she could pick people up and dust them off, send them out into the world again a new person, make their lives that bit more bearable. And all through this, she felt, and empathised beyond all knowledge. Kyoya realised for the first just how amazing she really was, and smiled as he realised she was even better than the untouchable superhero he had previously believed her to be.

"Yeah, yeah I know..." he muttered embarrassment clearly evident in his voice "love you to..." he added quickly, hoping no one was watching this. His mother laughed, ruffling his already tousled hair.

"Good to hear it!" she stood back to her full height and looked about the area. They really should be heading soon, or even better, now. The wind was picking up and the rain was starting up again. If they didn't get to some proper shelter, they were going to suffer badly. Plus, now that the sun was up, they could make major progress. So with that decided she woke everyone up, ignoring the pleas for a five more minutes, and the curses that were made. She had to be strong, even if she was dubbed a slave driver.

The group moved off again, heading towards the nearest town. There would be no way that the creatures would make it before them. Well, that's what she kept telling herself anyway.

………………………

Meanwhile, Kakashi and his team were still being informed by the public of the sightings they had made. The physical description seemed to be varied from ninjas - but with black skin - to great huge monsters that were ten foot tall with seven arms and three heads. Kakashi rubbed his forehead protector to get rid of an itch under it. He had been sat down for so long that he wasn't sure if his legs were going to work anymore. It was like a déjà vu…

The meeting was finally over and the teams could now go out and do some investigating. The sun was high in the sky, signalling that it was late into the afternoon. Kakashi gave everyone partners and sent out tasks for them to do. Each couple to a different village, each with a nin dog so as to keep information flowing between the groups. And they set off towards their destinations, determination and adrenaline flying through their veins.

The teams would receive the same descriptions of strange sightings, though these ones were more accurate and seemed to be the same throughout the area. These were definitely the people who had actually seen the beasts, rather than the people who had heard of but claimed of have been their.

Kakashi had been working on his own with Pakkun by his side when they came across a deserted village. The smell of old blood and dampness hit them like a wave washing over them. Kakashi covered his mask with his hand, hoping to stifle the smell. Damn his keen senses… He checked some of the houses as he made his way towards the middle of the village, finding nothing but blood stains and broken objects. His heart fell as he came across a mound a bodies, all tied together in a mesh work of sticks and spears.

Pakkun reported the findings to the other nin dogs, his knowledge causing upset amongst the teams. A warning of keeping guard up passed out as well.

As Kakashi searched some more houses, Pakkun felt a familiar but comforting scent pass by him. He followed it a bit trying hard to place where he had smelt it before. His face was screwed up in thought when Kakashi emerged from another building, shaking his head sympathetically.

"Didn't stand a chance..." he muttered quietly before noticing Pakkun's strange behaviour. "Pakkun? You got something there?" Pakkun jumped slightly, so lost in thought that he had forgotten his friend was even there.

"um... I'm not sure. I recognise someone who was here not so long ago. I can't place the scent to who it was though." Kakashi raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as Pakkun sat in thought. The sun was beginning to set now, and Kakashi was wanting to get back together with the rest of the teams before it got to dark. It was said that the creatures did most of their work in the dark, and they wanted to stop them for causing more deaths.

"Pakkun, I think we need to go now, I'm sure it will come to you when you aren't thinking about it so much." the small dog nodded, though felt the answer was not so far out of reach.

The two made there way back towards the big city, Pakkun coming across the scent now and then. He was glad that the scent seemed to be leaving, meaning the person was likely to be alright. All the way back, the small dog pondered upon his predicament, growing more and more frustrated. It was on the tip of his tongue...

Kakashi relayed the plan to the teams, informing each person of their duties for the night. The groups were to spread out again as follows: Kakashi with Sakura and Neji, Gai sensei had set off with Lee and Ten Ten, Yamato with Naruto and Hinata and Shikamaru with Ino and Choji, and Sai having Kiba and Shino. The rest had arrived earlier in the day when the teams were out investigating There jobs were to find any traces of the creatures from their findings, and if possible to find the source.

The night was cold, windy and rainy again, causing the teams search to be a little harder than first hoped. Kakashi and Sakura made their way through the forests towards the nearest village to the one Kakashi had been at earlier. Pakkun had followed, insisting he wanted to find out who's scent he had picked up. It was now bothering him so much that he had grown grumpier than usual.

The three stopped at the nearest village, glad to see it had been untouched by the creatures. The village seemed to be alert and ready. They must have been notified of the nearby attack and were preparing. Kakashi sighed inwardly at their attempts, knowing that they probably knew they were going to die like the others.

On approaching Pakkun seemed to perk up.

"The scent?" Kakashi asked quietly as they approached the entrance or the village. Pakkun nodded slightly, lost in concentration. Kakashi watched as he wandered off. The dog had been acting very strange the past day, this scent had really gotten to him. Maybe it had stirred something in him? Kakashi shook his head before turning back to the task at hand. The villagers seemed to be very guarded at first, not sure if the creatures had changed into real life shinobi to trick them, but soon let them in peacefully, accepting their help gratefully.

Kakashi found himself a post on top of a house. He could see very far ahead and when Pakkun came back he would have him and a few others doing some scouting in the forests.

Herro! oooo so close to my 3000 mark, but hey im gettin there! so yes the story is not not going to split anymore, i dont think...

Will Pakkun ever find the source of the annoying scent? and will Kakashi find out what these creatures are?

It feels weird doing this cliffhanger talk hehe, but tune in again to find out!

what fun, well thanks for reading!