Lost
"You weren't expecting me," Madara chuckles. "How foolish of you to think you would come here alone, despite it being my jutsu that brought us… I had expected more from the apprentice of a sannin."
She glares at him, furious. "You won't scar this place like you did back home."
"Oh, really?" he chuckles. "As if you can stop me."
Frustrated and angry, she lunges at him, kunai in hand. With little to no effort, he brushes her off. In mid-air, she twists round, sending a hail of shuriken in his direction. Madara leaps back, and only one strikes him. He lands in a crouch, and rips it out of his leg. Madara tries to escape, but by then Sakura had caught up to him. He leaps back again, and Sakura barely scathes him with her chakra scalpel before he disappears. She lands in a crouch, carefully balancing herself on the ground. She lets out a quiet frustrated scream.
She glances around the area, but there's not much out of the ordinary. As far as she can tell, she's out of Madara's genjutsu that lead her to him. She knows his genjutsu is probably too far above her level, but it won't deter her. She knows there will be some trace of Madara in the swamp-like clearing. She darts from one semi-stable piece of ground to another. Every here and there are small scatterings of paper. Sakura pauses in her search when a quiet sound reaches her. She jerks upright, and stares at a gap in the trees. Then she turns to where he disappeared. It takes her no time at all to disappear after him.
Not even a minute later, Ashitaka, San and her wolven brothers rush into the empty clearing. As they look around, there's no trace of Sakura and Madara. Furious, San races forward, moving to chase Sakura down. However, before she gets far, Sakura knocks her back. San's brothers snarl fiercely, ready to attack, but refrain from doing so.
Sakura turns, looking over the swampy area. "What are you doing?"
"We're looking for you!" Ashitaka exclaims. "What's happening? Tell us, you know we won't drop this matter. We can help you."
"If you don't tell us now!" San snarls.
Seeing no other way to persuade them, Sakura picks up a small stone. She throws it onto the semi-stable ground, and pushes past them. As the stone hits the ground it suddenly explodes. Earth scatters everywhere as they duck to avoid the debris. However, the explosion triggers others, until the clearing is gone. Only a crater is left in its place.
Sakura steps out from behind a tree. "Tell me, do you still think you can help me? This is nothing compared to what's coming. I think you should go back to Iron Town, Ashitaka. I assume you're still as stubborn as ever, San."
"We're the gods of the forest," the first brother snarls. "No human can overcome our strength."
"No fear is worthy of us," the second snarls. "This forest is our home."
"I'm not leaving either," Ashitaka says, adamant. "I can still help you. Besides, if it's really that bad, then you'll need all the help you can get."
"Be careful," Sakura warns, worry lacing her voice.
She, San, Ashitaka and the wolves are standing on a hilltop. Down below them is Iron Town. Below them is also the well-hidden Madara, ready to strike. Out on the water is a horde of boats, where Iron Town's inhabitants are. It's the safest place for them to be, even though it leaves them in the open.
Sakura removes a radio from her back pouch. She glances over it, to check it's condition, before handing it to Ashitaka. He takes it, looking over the strange piece of technology. Although, San and her brothers aren't pleased about it at all. Their instant reaction is to move away, somewhat angry.
"There's a button on the side, closer to the top. Push that to speak to me," she instructs. "The red button on the other side is to mute it, and block contact. That's in case of a target being close, so keep an eye on your surroundings. I only have one spare, so, San, will you be alright?"
"I'll be fine, I don't even need my brothers with me," San replies, gaining displeased looks from her brothers. "I'll be fine, stop looking at me like that!"
"Then we're clear on our parts?" Sakura asks, albeit reluctantly.
Madara pauses, his eyes peering around the forest. Then, as fast as the wind, he turns on his heel. A kunai slices through a tree. It slips by Ashitaka's throat, barely touching him. A thin trail of blood trickles down his throat as he tries to stay silent. He pushes down on the red button slowly. Halfway down, the button clicks in the quiet forest. Madara discreetly shifts his focus over to a small bush at the base of the tree he threw the kunai towards.
"Should we go to him?" one of San's brothers asks. "He seems in danger."
"No, we have our orders, let's go," she replies.
Moving as silently, and swiftly, as the wind, they fly towards Iron Town. Sakura had told them to wait at the gates for Madara. Ashitaka was supposed to gather information, and track his progress. However, Sakura hadn't been so kind as t explain what she's doing. They know she could be doing anything, even aiding him.
"San, can we trust her?" the second brother asks. "She could be aiding that man."
"We're the Wolf Clan, we don't have anyone to fear," she replies. "Besides, we can call on others to help us if they do."
They break through a tree line, only to stop instantly. The number of boats in the water has depleted, but Iron Town still looks empty. The missing boats aren't anywhere in sight either. San and her brothers exchange worried glances, and make their way down, this time, slowly and carefully. There's a hint of danger scenting the air. The kind of danger that came when Lady Eboshi first shot the Boar God who cursed Ashitaka.
On top of another hill, two pairs of eyes are fixed on them. Neither are particularly warm or happy. One pair moves as the person half-turns.
"See, this is what happens when you're careless," Madara states, monotonously.
"I had to give them something to do," Sakura replies quietly. She glances back over to them. "… Are you sure this will work?"
"You're the one to have started this," Madara glowers. "If anyone will know, then it should be you. This seems the logical answer to our problems."
"No one's going to be hurt by this?" Sakura frowns.
Madara turns away. "No one at all…"
"Hello, is there anyone here?" San calls out.
However, Iron Town is as empty as it looks. There doesn't seem to be any life in the village at all. Furious, she practically sees red. San grits her teeth, and turns on her heel. She storms past her brothers, and is heading for the gates. That's when it finally reaches her.
Cr… c.. S..
San stops, noticing a radio lying at the side of a road. She remembers Sakura saying that there were only two radios, and so San picks it up. She finds a button she thinks might work, and presses down on it. No sound comes out, and she prepares to throw it away.
"Thank goodness, Sakura, is that you?" a voice calls out, worriedly.
"No, who is this? What do you want?" San jumps, surprised.. "How do you know her? Where are you?"
"Who am I?" the voice shrieks. "How dare you not know me, I'm Yamanaka, Ino! Who are you with Sakura's radio?"
"San, who is this irritating person," the first brother asks.
"I said Yamanaka, Ino!" Ino shrieks. "Listen to me when I'm speaking; and where is Sakura?"
"You mean the traitor?" the second brother snarls.
"She is not a traitor!" Naruto and Ino exclaim simultaneously.
Loud scuffling and yelling erupt from the radio, and then silence returns. "… My name is Hyuuga, Neji. Have you seen Sakura, or Madara?"
"She spoke of someone powerful that was a threat," San says, carefully. "She told us to wait by the gate..."
Yellow-green light filters through pristine tree leaves. The trees on the other hand are full of dents and holes. There are burn marks on some, and the ground has been upturned in various places. Even the Kodama are frightened to enter the area.
"This isn't working," Sakura pants, out of breath.
"No, we'll do this again," Madara instructs, adamant.
"I'm running low on chakra!" Sakura snaps. "Stop pushing me!"
"You will try again, or find another way," Madara warns. "Let's see how those villagers like you walking away, hmm?"
Author's Note: Right, well, sorry for the delay. I've been getting tutors around, and working on Dusk, as well as some other problematic problems. Oh, yes, if the paragraph / layout thing is different, it's because I tried a new one. If it doesn't work, then it'll be scrapped. I was trying to elongate the paragraphs.
Right, so, some of the Naruto gang are back in action. Well, kind of, but… Right, I'm getting very confused today, so I'll stop before I make an idiot of myself. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed what you read.
xxxSakuraxloverxxx – Hi! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Sorry to keep you waiting.
Crystal-Wolf-Guardian-967 – I'm glad you've been enjoying this story.
TF angel – That's for the answer, I was quite worried I got it wrong.
yuchi1994 – Sorry I kept you waiting. I'll try and have the next chapter up sooner!
Diana – I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far. I hope this chapter's not too slow-moving for you.