Obviously, this chapter is very short, but I promise I'll have the next installment up in a day or so.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied—
"If you seek for El Dorado!"
—El Dorado by Edgar Allan Poe
The tangled mass of forest stretches out gnarled branches of pine trees like claws and talons, beckoning onwards. Before Kakashi stands a mass of ancient darkness; the forests of the southwest of Tsuchi no Kuni are probably the oldest on the continent, as that country, having never evolved far beyond its nomadic roots, built only one great city, Iwagakure, and carved it out of stone. They have never had much use for deforestation as a result.
The sunlight above Kakashi is gray and dull, hidden by the twin layers of fog that often blankets Tsuchi no Kuni, it being such a rainy country, but he knows he's going to miss it once he's entered the confines of the forest beyond. No light penetrates that canopy of pine needles.
Kakashi sighs.
His ninken would be a huge help on this mission, and he knows that Pakkun has been looking forward to having such a mission once again. A mission that could take weeks could be cut down to mere hours.
But Sarutobi's right. The ninken will without a doubt draw the attention of any missing nin, and Nii as well. If she becomes aware of the presence of ninken in the forest she's taken refuge in, there is no doubt that she will mistake their presence as tracker hounds from Kumo. That's the last thing Kakashi needs.
If Nii's even here at all. Leaf intelligence has been wrong in the past.
Ah, well. Even if it is a fool's errand, it will be a distraction from the empty hours that have filled up his life since his resignation from ANBU.
At any rate, it's just a feeling, but Kakashi is fairly certain, that Nii is here.