A Heroe's Tale Book 2: The Shinobi of Konoha

by Shadow1275

After returning from their first successful mission, Joe, Sakura, Yahiko, and Kakashi are ready for a rest. Fate has other plans however, as they are immediately thrust into a fight to survive. Old enemies will have to band together, and Joe is about to learn that though they wear the same headband the shinobi of Konoha are far from being on the same side...

4. Chapter 4: The Hells of Dinkara

Chapter 4: The Hells of Dinkara

"AHHHHHHHHH." Dan shouted as they fell alongside the mountain wall. He could feel the cold blade of the wind slice against the side of his face. As they fell, their speed increased tenfold which made their situation even more dangerous. On the side of the mountain wall were several outcroppings. They stuck out like nails on a piece of wood, and he knew that one hit could easily break any bone in his body or worse. In other words, they were careening down a 1000 foot freefall of death. His vision revolved from spiraling in freefall. "Sky, mountain, ground. Sky, mountain, ground. Sky, mountain, grou-Oh no!" He thought to himself, panicking as he noticed that they were heading straight for an outcropping. "It's hopeless, there's no way we can dodge in mid-air!" He closed his eyes and braced himself, expecting to get ruined. But the impact never came, for instead he heard a sharp grunt of pain. "Shit." Joe cursed as his side collided with hard stone. Dan nearly lost his grip on the bigger man, as it was tested by the jolt of the impact. Dan let out a sigh of relief, thinking that their fall had finally ended. Then gravity took over as they continued to fall. As they fell they slammed into several outcroppings. "When is this going to end?!" He wondered in desperation. His question was answered in the worst way. When Joe had jumped down the side of the mountain to save him, he had dived head first in order to pick up speed. They were falling in opposite directions, with Dan's head facing the sky and Joe's head facing the ground. Though their fall had been slowed by their collisions with the wall, Dan had drawn the short stick of the deal. Coming down at an angle, Dan's right foot hit the sand first with a sickening crunch. To him, it felt like something was trying to force his foot up through his waist and into his head. But that feeling was nothing when compared to the pain he was experiencing at the moment. Mentally cursing, he gritted his teeth and tried to fight the pain. "Are you alright?" He heard Joe ask as he slowly got up, apparently still shaken by the fall. "I'm fine." Dan answered as he fought back the urge to scream. However, Joe wasn't fooled. Looking him over he simply said, "Alright." And then proceeded to casually kick Dan in the knee. This time no amount of teeth gritting could prevent him from screaming. "AAAHHHHGGGG!" He shouted in pain as he grabbed his leg, intent on blocking any more attacks on it. "What the hell asshole?!" He asked as he shot an angry glare at the other ninja. "Your leg doesn't seem fine." Joe answered coldly. "Well of course it isn't if you keep hammering it!" Dan exclaimed. Then he felt Joe's hand touch his shoulder and tried to shrug him off. "What are you doing?" He asked. "Try to stand on your leg." Joe ordered as he grabbed Dan around the shoulders and lifted him off of the ground. Standing on his good leg Dan carefully placed his right foot on the sand, shifted his weight to his right side, and promptly fell down to the ground hissing in pain. "Great idea jerk." He said putting as much insult into the word as he could. Joe simply ignored him and stroking his chin replied, "Can't take any weight huh? Looks like it's broken." He then walked over to Dan and carefully placed his hands on his leg. "What the hell are you do-Owwwww." Dan groaned as he felt Joe squeeze his bad leg under the knee. "Suck it up." Joe replied. For a couple agonizing moments, he slowly moved his hands up and down Dan's lower leg and ankle feeling for something. Finally his hands rested right in the middle of Dan's lower leg. Dan winced in pain as Joe squeezed hard and probed his bones with his fingers. "There it is." Joe stated as he let go of Dan's leg. "There what is?" Dan asked as he attempted to get up, but Joe grabbed his shoulder and pushed him none to gently back to the ground. "You don't want to do that." Joe commented as he moved over to his bag. Confused, Dan challenged, "Oh yeah, why not?" And then flinched as Joe pulled his leg back and carefully tapped the point where his hands had been with his foot. "That's why. The reason why you can't move is because your leg is broken, not to mention whatever happened to your foot. If you put any kind of serious pressure on it, then the jagged bone which is swinging around in your leg could slice through your skin." He stated, then with a malicious half-smile added, "Of course if you don't mind bleeding out then…" "Alright I get it." Dan interrupted "Moving=Bad." He watched as Joe walked over with his bag and kneeled down on one knee, then went to work. "Straighten it out flat." Joe ordered as he reached into his bag and removed a kit. "What's that?" Dan asked as he painstakingly moved his leg until it was flat on the sand. "It's a first aid kit." Joe answered simply as he unlatched the lid and popped it off. Inside the kit were several different items neatly placed together. The items included several rolls of bandages, swabs, gauze, and scissors. Dan even noticed a giant bottle of Robicol sitting in the corner of the container. Joe reached for none of those however, opting to take out what appeared to be a large square shaped block of wood. The only special thing about it was the smaller metal rectangle attached to one side. "What is that thing?" Dan wondered aloud as Joe held it above his leg with both hands. Instead of answering however, he grabbed the metal-less side of the block and pulled. Carefully, he unraveled the wood one piece on top of the other until instead of one large block there were several smaller blocks forming a small plank. He then grabbed the metal piece and pulled it out until what he had was a half-metal half-wooden one inch plank. When he was finished he finally opened his mouth and answered, "It's a portable splint." He then put it next to Dan's outstretched leg and compared the size. Satisfied, he carefully picked up the injured leg and placed the splint underneath it with the wooden side facing up. "I can't bend my leg at all!" Dan exclaimed as Joe put a roll of bandages he had been using away. "That's the point idiot, didn't you hear a word I said earlier." Joe replied with an annoyed expression zipping up his bag. "Then how am I supposed to get up?" Dan asked as he placed his hands on the sand. Then he felt Joe grab him around the shoulder. Carefully, he used the support to pull himself off of the ground until he was balancing on his left foot. His leg taken care of, he then proceeded to focus on the future. "Well we survived the fall, now we have to find a way out of this desert." He said as he slung his bag around his shoulder. "Any ideas?" Joe looked out in the distance and answered, "There's only one thing we can do, follow the mountain side." Confused Dan asked, "How is that going to help?" "Remember what Sean said?" Joe answered, then upon seeing Dan's confused expression added, "The parts of the trail lie next to the desert itself. If we follow this wall, then not only will we reach the end of the desert but also have a chance at meeting up with our Squads." Dan wanted to deny his logic. He wanted to say something that would end this journey, prevent this idea. Anything to avoid traveling alone with Joe. But he could not find any rhyme or reason to do so. "He's right. I can't walk on my own, and the only way out alive is to stick together and follow this wall." He thought to himself as he mentally accepted defeat. "Dammit!" Slinging Dan's right arm over his shoulder, Joe stated "Now c'mon, let's get going. We have a long way to go if we want to survive."

"This is getting rough!" Sakura thought to herself as she ducked under a swing from a bandit. Crouching low, she pushed with both of her legs and balled her right hand into a fist. "Buzz Off!" She shouted as her fist found the soft part of his stomach. He immediately let out a grunt of pain and doubled over, momentarily stunned. Drawing a kunai knife, Sakura pondered her next move. "Should I finish him off?" She wondered to herself, unsure of what to do. She didn't have to however, as Kakashi who was nearby planted his own kunai solidly in the man's throat. "Nice wo-" Kakashi was about to say, but then he saw Sakura make several hand-signs. All of a sudden 3 ugly bandits who had been creeping up behind Kakashi hit the ground, their faces plastered with dazed looks. "Genjutsu, nice touch." Kakashi complemented as one of the goons muttered, "Hatake, how does it feel to be humiliated by me!" Sakura simply nodded with a smile on her face. Then she saw Kakashi pull his headband above his eye. "Sakura, go help Yahiko." He ordered as he began making hand-signs. "What is he doing?" She wondered as she asked," What about you?" But she never got an answer. Suddenly, Kakashi's hand was enveloped in a sky-blue aura. Gathering power to his hand, the jonin shot forward like a rocket moving almost too fast for her eyes to follow. "Wait, did he say Yahiko was in trouble?" Sakura thought as she began to franticly search her surroundings. But for the life of her she could not find him. "I've got to get to higher ground!" She then sprinted towards the forest, zigzagging to avoid several dead bodies no doubt Kakashi's work. As she neared the forest's edge, she nearly puked when she saw several burnt bodies as well. "Did that slacker do this?" She wondered as she tested several branches. Weakened by the fire from Joe's jutsu, most of the tree branches snapped after the smallest tug was applied. Moving deeper into the woods, she finally reached an area devoid of burn marks. She immediately made a hand-sign. "Let's see, gather chakra to my feet, maintain the output, and climb!" She prepped herself. Taking a deep breath, she took a step forward and began sprinting up the side of the tree. Upon reaching the top, she had secured herself a bird's eye view of the battlefield. "C'mon where is he?" She worried as she still could not find Yahiko. Looking around, she saw Justin finish off 3 fleeing enemies with Sean pursuing them into the woods. She also found out what Kakashi had used his Lightning Blade for, having skewered the largest man she had ever seen. Then she saw him. She nearly lost herself to panic noticing that Yahiko was pinned under 5 enemies, each one intent on slitting his throat. "Hang on, I'm coming!" She thought as she began to think. "He's several feet away, pinned down with no way of activating jutsu. I've got to free him up somehow." At first, she wasn't sure how she would get to him in time. But then it hit her. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a pair of throwing stars and threw them around the tree behind her. Catching them in opposite hands, she waited until the nylon attached to shuriken was taut, braced her feet against the side of the treetop and pulled. She felt the precipice slowly bend as she used the other tree as a bracer. When she was satisfied with the angle and direction, she took a deep breath and let go. Her eyes immediately began to stream tears from the sheer force of the wind as she was launched at break-neck speed into the air. Rising high above the ground, her speed slowly began to decrease as gravity began to defeat her momentum until she began to fall… right on top of one of Yahiko's attackers. The bandits all wore dumbfounded expressions as she landed feet-first on top of their comrade's head. Taking advantage of their surprise, Sakura jumped off of the man's now unconscious head and landed in front of another enemy. "Son of a!" He blurted out in surprise as he cocked a fist back. But she was too fast for him. Ducking under his swing, she grabbed his neck. Then she made several hand-signs with her free hand. As if on cue, chakra began moving from her right hand and began to seep into her attacker's body. Her own chakra eventually penetrated the man's chakra network, moving along the cardiovascular highway of energy until she reached her destination. "Lights out jerk!" She smiled in satisfaction as she finished signing. "Feather Illusion Jutsu." The man then proceeded to smile, his face an expression of pure ecstasy. "Lookit all the pretty feathers…" His voice trailing off as it began to waver. Slowly but surely his eyes began to flutter until finally they closed and he collapsed to the ground unconscious. "That got em." Sakura said with a pleased note in her voice, which changed to worry when she remembered the other three goons. Hearing a grunt of pain, she wheeled around only to see Yahiko surrounded and worse yet a knife sticking out of his chest. "No." She muttered to herself, completely distraught. "Stupid ninja!" The killer jeered as he spat on Yahiko's lifeless body. Then the three began to advance towards her. "I wonder if this bitch will put up a better fight?" One of the goons asked. "Probably not, she looks like a baby." Another joked as all three began to laugh. She couldn't hear them though, her attention still on the body lying a couple steps away. She was fixated on the spittle from the goon, watching it as it fell slowly down to the body. Closer and closer until it was about to hit his face… and instead hit the cold ground. "What?" She wondered to herself as Yahiko's entire body disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Suddenly three Yahiko's appeared from underneath the ground, each one striking an enemy with a nasty uppercut. "That other Yahiko must have been a clone!" She realized, then grimaced when she heard the cracking sound of lower jaws meeting teeth. Landing on his feet, Yahiko made a hand-sign causing his clones to disappear. "That was awesome Yahiko!" Sakura complimented as she walked over to him. Yahiko simply began brushing dirt off of his shoulders and answered, "Of course it was, it's me remember?" Sakura was about to reply when all of a sudden Yahiko's eyes widened. "Look out!" He shouted as he grabbed her head and none too gently shoved her down. Sakura felt a breeze of wind cut over her neck as she was forced to bend over by Yahiko. Looking up she saw why. The goon she had taken down with genjutsu had gotten back up and decided to take off her head in revenge. Yahiko quickly spoiled that party though. Grabbing the man's arm he let out a yell as he pulled the man over his shoulder and slammed him hard against the ground. "That was too close." She thought to herself relieved. "But that genjutsu should have taken him out." After she got her heart rate under control she turned over to Yahiko and smiled. "Thanks for saving me Yahiko, you've always got my back!" She exclaimed. "Whatever Sakura, I wouldn't have to get your back if your genjutsu wasn't so useless." Yahiko answered as he began to walk towards Kakashi. Sakura's smile slowly turned into a sad expression as she slowly began to follow. Having taking down the last bandits the battlefield was silent, in stark contrast to what it had been only seconds before. "I wonder if Laura is O.K?" Sakura wondered. She began to look for her friend and spotted her friend kneeling by the wagon. "Laura are you alright?" Sakura asked, worried for her friend. "I'm f-f-fine S-Sakura." Laura answered in a shaky voice. But Sakura could see that she was anything but fine. "Laura, what's wrong?" Sakura asked scared to find out the answer. "I-it's D-da-an and J-J-Joe, fell o-over." Laura answered, struggling to form sentences. Sakura immediately jogged over to the edge that Laura was pointing to and called out to Kakashi. "Sensei, is he… are they all right!" She shouted. No answer. Finally reaching the cliff's edge, she carefully leaned over the side and let out a sigh of relief. Joe and Dan were hanging off the slide of the cliff by a nylon thread, but they were still alive. "Ah Sakura you're ok." She heard Kakashi acknowledge. "Yeah we're fine, but what about Sean and Justin?" She answered. All of a sudden someone answered, "right here." Looking over to the source of the noise she saw Justin and Sean approaching them. "Ah Sean you survived." Kakashi commented. Smirking Sean replied, "What's wrong Kakashi, you almost sound disappointed?" However, after looking around his face quickly changed to concern. "Kakashi, where is Dan?" He asked a worried tone buried deep within his voice. Before Kakashi could answer Sakura moved to the edge and pointed down towards the cliff-side. "They're over here." She stated as Sean let out a sigh of relief. "Phew, I was worried." Sean said then motioned to Justin and Yahiko. "Quick grab the rope and pull them up. He ordered. Taking a deep breath, Sakura cupped her hands in front of her mouth and shouted, "Are you guys all right!?" When Joe returned it with a wave Sakura nodded towards Yahiko and Justin who had grabbed the rope and were in the process of lifting the two men up. They began to struggle however, as the rope slowed down. "That slacker ate too much steak this morning. All that running and he's still heavy as hell." Yahiko complained. "Just shut up and pull harder!" Justin ordered as they both dug their feet into the ground and squatted. Suddenly Kakashi who had been staring intently over the cliff turned around and immediately shouted, "No Stop!" Even though he hadn't explicitly stated the sudden emergency, somehow Sakura knew what was about to happen. Justin and Yahiko who had been struggling to pull the rope were thrown onto their backs as the nylon thread snapped. She watched in horror as Joe and Dan began to fall towards the unforgiving ground. Panicking she turned to Kakashi and asked, "Sensei?" hoping that he might have an answer. But Kakashi's attention was focused elsewhere, watching the two roll in freefall. "That fall is a good thousand foot drop, there's no way that they'll survive." Sakura could only wince in pain as she saw them crash into several outcroppings until finally they hit the sand causing a cloud of dust to surround them. For what seemed like hours the five of them stood looking over the cliff. They waited for the dust to settle, not sure of what they would find when it did. Finally, a breeze came and blew the cloud away leaving only two limp bodies behind. "No, they can't be…" Sakura thought as Justin voiced the question on everybody's mind. "Are…are they dead?" No answer. For a couple seconds everyone was quiet, until Yahiko interrupted the silence. "No way, they're not dead!" He exclaimed, but even though he sounded convinced Sakura could sense a defeated tone in his voice. "Right Sensei?" But instead of reassuring him, Kakashi simply answered, "That's enough of this, let's move on." "What?" Yahiko murmured, his face covered in shock. Sean was worse. "The legendary Hatake coldness at work boy." He replied addressing Yahiko, than glared at Kakashi. "So a boy gives his life to save another, your own student, and all you have to say is let's move on." "So?" Kakashi answered, turning back towards the wagon. "So ever since this mission started you've been keeping secrets from us!" Yahiko burst out as he began to lose his temper. "What's your point boy?" Kakashi asked as he stopped and looked towards Yahiko. "My point is it proves something very important; that you don't trust us!" Yahiko shouted slowly advancing toward Kakashi. He was stopped however when Sean stepped in between. "Get out of my way!" Yahiko demanded in a threatening tone, trying to step around Sean but it was pointless. "Calm down kid, else I may have to put you on ice." Sean answered. For a second, Sakura swore that she felt a chilling breeze blow by, but shook it off. Sakura didn't want to believe it. There was no way that two people who had hours ago been standing right in front of her were lying dead on the desert sand. Still reeling from what had happened, she carefully peeked over the side for another glance. Nothing had changed; the ground was populated by two lifeless bodies. All of a sudden however she saw one of the outlines slowly rise from the ground, walk towards the other body, and then proceed to kick it until it too started moving. Instantly the shock disappeared from her system as she grew excited. "Black clothes, brown hair, attacking a teammate. Yup I'm sold." She thought to herself. Motioning over to the others she shouted, "Guys quick over here!" Immediately everyone except Kakashi sprinted over to the cliffside. "Holy crap, they survived!" Yahiko exclaimed as he covered his forehead with his hand in disbelief. "But why didn't they get up sooner?" Justin wondered aloud. Smirking, Sakura turned to him and answered, "That's simple, that slacker was probably taking a nap." "Which slacker?" Justin joked back, but Sakura could see the relief plastered on his face. "Phew, I was worried about him." Sean commented, relief evident in his voice. All memory of the recent argument gone, Kakashi then cleared his throat. When he was sure that he had everyone's attention he began to speak. "Alright everyone, now that that matter is settled we need to figure out what to do next." Yahiko was the first to answer. "Easy, we have to climb down the side of the rock face and get them." He demanded more than suggested. But Kakashi had other ideas. "That's not possible." Kakashi stated simply as he folded his arms. "What do you mean sensei? We have to save them!" Sakura exclaimed. "We can't, because how would we get back up?" Kakashi replied matter of factly then added, "The rocks are too sharp for the ropes we have. They would just tear apart and cause us to fall to our doom. Besides…" "Besides?" Yahiko prodded as he put his hands on his hips. Kakashi gave him a cold look and stated, "We have a mission to carry out, one that could change the very fate of Konoha if not handled with care." "That answer is bull-" Yahiko was about to say, but again Sean interceded. "He's right Yahiko, but all is not lost." Sean interrupted as he quieted Yahiko by raising his hand. "What do you mean Sensei?" Justin asked confused. "The pass follows the cliff face closely thanks to natural erosion from weather. If those two follow the pass, then they may survive long enough to regroup with us." "But…" Sakura could see that Yahiko was conflicted. "Clearly he's not very confident about their survival, and who could blame him? 500,000 is a very high number indeed…" Sakura thought to herself. Taking a deep breath she walked over to him."It'll be alright, he's stronger than he looks." She assured as she forced herself to be calm. At first Yahiko looked off towards the desert, but then he smiled back and answered, "You're right." Sakura was stunned, this was the first time Yahiko had ever smiled towards her. Deciding to push her luck, she slowly moved her hand towards his arm in order to comfort him… and nearly fell over as her hand brushed empty air. "If we can make it to the desert edge and meet them, then we can reach the base and resupply. Good plan Sean!" Yahiko complimented as he patted Sean on the back. "Thank you. It's a brilliant plan really that I came up with myself. It all hinges on one thing; whether or not they can survive the Dinkara."

"That was a close call, we almost lost our cool." Kakashi thought to himself as he watched Sean literally bask in Yahiko's praise. "They're like two polar opposites." He thought with a glance towards the cliff side. "One boy bottles everything up and refuses to show any emotion…" and then glanced towards Yahiko, "The other just explodes. Honestly how is the perverted Squad leader the sanest of the group?" Then he shook his head and took out his book. While the well-being of his students was important to him, he couldn't lose his focus. The mission he had been given was a precarious one. As they began to walk towards the wagon someone suddenly chimed in. "Are they alright?" Laura asked clearly concerned. "They're fine Laura, at least for now." Kakashi answered as Laura sighed in relief. "However, that's not important. What about the equipment?" "It's… fine. He cut the wagon in half but he missed the equipment." Laura answered, pointing towards the wagon. Kakashi followed her finger and was immediately satisfied. "The wagon's a loss but the equipment's still intact. One arrow dodged at least." Sean then stepped forward and asked, "What about Wes?" Laura tried to answer but her voice quickly became shaky. "I…I t-t-tried everything I k-knew but…" "It's alright Laura, he never stood a chance anyway." Kakashi answered studying her closely. "Adrenaline rush, she's not used to that yet. She'll get over it…eventually." He thought then addressed the group. "All right listen up, this wagon's finished but the equipment's still salvageable Therefore from here on out we hoof it to Delta base. We'll split up the equipment and take turns with the heavy stuff, understood?" After a nod from everyone he began to distribute the gear. When he reached the last person however, they had a few words for him. "Hey Kakashi?" "Yeah Sean?" Kakashi answered as the others moved out of earshot. "I know you may think that you got off the hook earlier…" Sean said as Kakashi handed him a piece of equipment. "and?" "Your student said that you don't trust them." Sean stated as he took his assigned load. "What's your point?" Kakashi asked, injecting curiosity into his tone. "You don't care about or trust your students." Sean answered as he looked Kakashi straight in the eye. Kakashi simply picked up his own pile of equipment and nonchalantly answered, "Whatever would give you that idea?" To which Sean replied, "Because one of the key lessons taught to ninja is that those you don't trust are expendable." Kakashi could see the anger in Sean's eyes, but he simply turned away from him and answered, "I don't have the luxury of caring right now." As he walked away he added in his thoughts, "Lord Hokage was clear; Failure is not an option!"

"Damn it's hot." Dan thought to himself as he wiped the sweat from his brow for the umpteenth time. "Then again it is a desert." After fixing Dan up with the splint, they had begun the long trek to the end of the desert, closely following the cliff's edge. But it was midday, and the sun was beating hard onto their backs. The heat was not the only force hampering them however. Because of his broken leg, Dan had to walk with one arm hung around Joe's shoulder constantly relying on him for support. It drove him crazy. "How the hell did this happen?" Dan wondered to himself, considering his predicament. "One moment I'm joking around with my squad, the next I'm stuck in the most dangerous desert in the world with a messed up leg and an even greater messed up partner." He glanced over at Joe as he thought and tried his hardest to shoot lightning bolts his way. As if sensing Dan's hostility, Joe immediately turned towards him and fired back bolts of his own. For a couple seconds they walked side by side glaring at each other. They were so intent on their staring contest that they failed to hear the faint hissing sound at their feet. All of a sudden his glare was replaced with a pained expression as his left ankle was stabbed by several sharp needles. His left foot gave way from the pain and with Joe and himself covered in sweat, he slid out of Joe's grasp and fell straight to the sand. "Shi-!" He began to curse as he rolled over onto his back, but he immediately grew quiet. Staring right into his eyes was a snake. It was a monster, slithering at what Dan guessed was 12 feet. "That thing's even larger than Joe and I combined." Dan thought to himself, gulping as he realized that that meant it could also easily fit them both into its stomach. With that realization, he tried to get up and run away as fast as he could. But he was prevented by both his broken leg and the nasty cuts that the snake had made with its many teeth. Then the snake began to move forward. Slowly, it slithered across the sand until it finally reached his leg. Dan shuddered as the dry scales of the snake touched his ankle and began to wrap themselves. In a two pronged attack, the snake held its bite on his ankle and cocooned his entire body with its own. Then it began to squeeze, tightening its muscles until he could hardly breathe. He immediately began to panic. "Let go of me!" He demanded, as if the snake could understand him. "Get me out of here! Get me ou-." He tried to shout but it was no use, he couldn't get any air. "Stop breathing so fast you idiot, you're making it worse!" He heard Joe shout at him. "Oh sure stop breathing he says, lot of help you are!" Dan thought angrily as he tried to move his arms. The powerful body of the snake was too strong as the oxygen deprivation was taking its toll on his body. The situation only grew worse, as Dan's vision which had been nothing but the light underbody of the snake began to shift to black. All of a sudden, the pressure on his body released. "What the hell?" Dan wondered as the snake's grip on him relaxed. "Why the heck would a hungry predator give up on its prey?" The reason he was confused, was that while the suffocation had stopped the snake had refused to let go of his ankle. Then the snake fell off of him, the tail half of the snake anyway. His eyes no longer blocked, he realized what had happened. "That bastard cut the thing in half, gross!" He thought with disgust as he wiped snake blood from his arms. "Thanks a lot." Dan said sarcastically, but Joe simply ignored him. Though the snake was no longer breathing, its mouth was still clamped on his skin. Joe however had decided to fix that. "Hey douchebag, did you hear what I Argh!" Dan winced in pain as Joe roughly pulled the limp snake jaws apart and off of Dan's ankle. "I'm sorry did you say something?" Joe finally answered nonchalantly. His ankle searing, Dan started to panic. "Oh god is it poisoned?" He asked his face full of worry. "Relax." Joe answered as he began to reach into his pack. But Dan could not ignore the pain in his ankle. Growing desperate he said, "Oh god, that snake must have been poisonous. I can feel it right here in my ankleIdon'twanttolosebothmylegs-." "Shut up." Joe finally interrupted. He hadn't shouted and it didn't sound forceful or threatening, but behind those two words and Joe's demeanor was a coldness which instantly froze Dan's tongue. For a couple seconds he remained silent as Joe carefully examined the puncture wounds which had begun to drip blood into the sand. "Shouldn't you suck the poison out?" Dan carefully suggested, trying to ignore the throbbing feeling in his ankle. "No that would be stupid. Not only would the poison stay in your bloodstream but I would be poisoned too." Joe stated matter of factly . "So does that mean that I'm?" Dan cautiously asked, dreading the answer. "Poisoned…no. What I was trying to tell you before was that that type of snake is a constrictor. They aren't nice enough to poison you." Joe answered then added, "They prefer a more… personal approach." Slowly he began to calm down. "So I don't have to have my ankle amputated?" Dan asked hopefully. Instead of laughing however, Joe simply frowned. "Of course not, that never works and unless I cauterize it with my fire jutsu you'd bleed out." He answered as he offered Dan a hand. Taking it, Dan pulled until he was balanced on his "good" ankle. Once the adrenaline kicked in, he put his arm around Joe's shoulder and they began to walk again. "You know…you sure know a lot about medicine." Dan commented as he cautiously glanced at Joe. "So?" Joe answered simply. "So you're a combat ninja, not a medical ninja." Dan replied. He didn't want to talk to Joe, but there wasn't much entertainment in the desert. "Only sand and cacti as far as the eye can see and while I hate this guy, if I don't keep myself occupied the boredom will kill me before the Desert does." Dan thought as he waited for Joe's response. For a second he had a hesitant look on his face, but then decided that the question was harmless. "While unlike your squad we don't have a real medic ninja, so I figured it would be a good idea to learn." He answered. "Makes sense to me." Dan answered with a smile then added, "It's also a great alternative to dying." For a couple moments a smirk crossed Joe's face, but he quickly wiped it clean. "Tough nut to crack." Dan thought as Joe added, "True, but I didn't really have much of a choice really." Confused Dan asked, "What do you mean?" "Well…" Joe began to say but stopped. "Well what?" Dan bluntly prodded. "Never mind." Joe answered as he looked away, trying to dismiss the conversation. Dan was persistent however. "Oh c'mon you owe me that much!" Dan exclaimed intent on avoiding the complete silence that had dominated most of the trip. "Owe you for what?" Joe asked, one eyebrow raised. "I just saved your ass." Dan looked away and answered with mock indignation, "A small step considering the times you tried to kill me." "Alright, Alright you annoying bastard!" Joe replied. But he still didn't say anything. "Well?" Dan prodded as Joe stroked his chin with a thoughtful look. Finally after several seconds he replied, "Let's just say that when you're alone you have to learn how to survive by yourself." Dan shot him a confused look. "While that doesn't answer much." He thought, mad at Joe's rudeness. But then his expression softened. "To be fair though, I wouldn't have made it this far without him. I guess he deserves a little privacy if he wants it." As he walked, he was careful to step over the lizards basking in the sun.

"It's getting dark." Joe thought as he wiped the sweat from his brow. They had been walking for hours, but the desert's end was still nowhere in sight. The only thing in front of them was sand, sand, and more sand as well as the slowly setting sun. "Surprisingly enough the heat is slowly subsiding." Joe thought as he drew his black cloak tightly around himself. While Dan's light blue clothes had provided him with some protection from the sun's rays, Joe's black garments should have caused him to bake. Instead he had been able to take the full brunt of the desert's heat without succumbing. "It must have something to do with my fire jutsu. But if not the heat, what killed those 500,000 ninja?" He wondered as he stopped. "What's the matter?" Dan asked coming to a stop himself. "That's far enough for today. We should stop and make camp." Joe answered, then added, "Maybe make a fire and get some sleep." "Fire? Why make a fire?" Dan asked with a questioning look. "Isn't it hot enough already?" But Joe shook his head and with a glance of his watch replied, "No, it's only 8 and it's already chilly. With the sun setting it will only get colder." At first Dan was skeptical, but after a cold breeze came by causing him to shiver, he made up his mind. "Alright, how's about we use the cacti for firewood?" Dan suggested. "Good idea." Joe answered as he carefully lowered Dan onto the sand. He then proceeded to carefully cut a cactus into strips taking extra care to avoid the prickly needles sticking out of the side. After arranging them into a pile, he began making handsigns and when he was finished blew out a small stream of fire. For a couple seconds the Cacti refused to burn, but Joe kept up the pressure and the dried cacti strips final burst into flames. Comforted by the roaring flames, Joe then sat down opposite of Dan and began digging through his bag. "What are you doing?" He heard Dan ask from the other side of the fire. "Grabbing some food, I'm starving." Joe answered as he rummaged through his supplies. "Hmm, I've got three bags of meat left inside my pack. Now what about water?" He wondered to himself. Looking inside his bag, he counted 2 canteens. "But my main canteen is already empty. The heat really took its toll on us." Though they had made good progress throughout the day, as a result they had powered through both of their main canteens. "Well it looks like I'm ok on food, but water's a different story." He thought as he closed his sack. "Hey Joe?" He heard Dan call over to him. "What?" He replied. "Can you come over here and look at this?" Dan asked. Hearing the worry in his voice, Joe slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked over to the ninja. Dan who was sitting down, immediately motioned over towards his ankle. "Could you look at it again, It's still bleeding?" He asked. "Sure." Joe answered. Kneeling down into the sand, he grabbed Dan's ankle and brought it closer to his eyes. "He's right, the bleeding hasn't stopped yet, but why?" Joe wondered as he analyzed the wound. Then he saw it, among the two major fang marks were several other teeth marks. "The snake bit into his ankle causing the initial puncture wounds, but these are slash wounds." Thinking back to the attack, he remembered what happened. "Of course. Constrictors don't tear, they grip. But when Dan was attacked, his first reaction was to panic." Joe realized as he grabbed his bag and pulled out his first aid kit. "The struggling caused the teeth to tear further into his leg. Dammit, I should have handled this wound sooner. It might be infected by now." Opening his kit, he began to rummage for bandages. But he cursed under his breath when he realized that there were none. "What's wrong?" Dan inquired having heard Joe's curse. "Nothing." Joe answered as he drew his kunai. Carefully, he cut off part of his sleeve and grabbed the bottle of Robicol from the kit. This time it was Dan's turn to curse as Joe quickly swabbed the antiseptic liquid onto the wound, causing it to burn. After applying the Robicol, Joe quickly took his shirt sleeve and tied it around the slashes that lined Dan's ankle. Satisfied with his work, he began to pack his equipment away in his bag. "That ought to do the trick." He commented as he finished putting away his supplies. "So am I all set?" Dan asked, a hopeful note in his voice. "Yeah, you should be alright." Joe answered. Grabbing his bag, he got off of his knees and moved back to his previous spot across the fire. For a couple seconds he thought about making dinner, but fatigue won out over hunger. Instead he laid down on his side and tightened his cloak to guard against the cold breeze that accompanied sundown. Basking in the warmth of the fire, his eyes began to droop as he slowly gave himself away to darkness. Just as he was about to let go, his dive into a slumber was interrupted. "Hey Joe, are you asleep?" He heard Dan call over from the other side of the fire. "I was." Joe answered as he added in his head, "Until you bothered me." "Oh sorry." Dan answered. Joe rolled onto his other side, the one facing away from Dan in an attempt to shut him out. But it was no use. "Joe?" He heard Dan call again. "What?" Joe replied, a hint of exasperation in his voice. "Do… do you think we'll make it out?" Dan asked. "Of course we will." Joe replied, more to himself than Dan. "Are you sure?" Dan asked again. Annoyed, Joe flipped over to face Dan and answered, "Yes, now get some sleep!" "Alright..?" Dan replied, finally turning over and closing his eyes. "Maybe now I can get some sleep!" Joe thought with satisfaction, closing his eyes. But before he could calm his mind, Dan called over to him again. "Hey Joe?" "What is it this time?" Joe groaned, his voice laced with cold frustration. "I just wanted to say… thanks for saving me." Dan answered, finally growing silent. Taken aback, Joe was unsure of what to believe. Dan had never thanked him for anything… period. For several seconds he waited for the kid to speak again, to perk up with some blunt insult or annoying remark… but none came. Satisfied that he had peace and quiet, he let the warmth of the fire drag him into sweet oblivion.

"Brrr, It's cold." Yahiko thought to himself as he pulled his blanket tighter around his body. It had been a rough day. For hours they had been forced to lug equipment along the pass, taking turns with the heavy stuff every couple miles or so. Once night had hit them, so had the cold and as a result Kakashi had ordered them to make camp. "Sheesh I almost miss that slacker. He was really good at making fires." Rolling over on his side, his glance passed over the others. They were all gathered around the fire that Kakashi had created, with Sakura and Laura opposite of Justin and himself. He was surprised however to notice that Kakashi and Sean were nowhere in sight. "Where are you Kakashi?" Yahiko wondered as he rolled over onto his other side. Unable to contain his curiosity, he immediately leaped out from under his covers. "Alright you sneaky snake, where'd you go?" Yahiko thought. He then made a quick hand-sign and whispered, "Shadow Clone jutsu!" Instantly, several clones appeared in a poof of smoke ready and willing to carry out Yahiko's demands. "Alright, scatter and find Kakashi and that other guy!" Yahiko ordered. All five clones nodded in agreement and split up, each clone running in a different direction. For several minutes Yahiko waited, staying near the fire to keep warm. Finally one of his clones came back to him. "Did you find them?" Yahiko asked, and upon seeing his clone nod added, "than lead the way." His clone began to run alongside the path, with Yahiko close behind. "How far ahead did they go?" Yahiko wondered. Suddenly his clone hopped into the brush. Following suit, Yahiko crouched low and slowly prowled through the bushes until finally he nearly bumped into his clone who had stopped. Silently, Yahiko made a hand-sign releasing the jutsu causing his clone to disappear. Then he carefully crept closer to the source of the noise. "Del-bas-Lig-cou…too dangerous Sean." He heard Kakashi say as he finally drew close enough to make out their conversation. Sean was sitting on the ground, his arms folded. He had an uneasy look on his face, Yahiko could clearly tell that something was on his mind. "And I bet that I can guess what that something is." Yahiko thought to himself, than clenched his fist when he noticed Kakashi. His squad captain was casually leaning against a tree, and from the position his eyebrow was in apparently did not have a care in the world. "I know Kakashi, but we don't have a choice. Hokage's orders, and unlike you I'll never question Lord Sarutobi." Sean answered, fiddling with a shuriken. "Oh stop it; you know that I respect Sarutobi. The only reason I disagreed is because of the implications of this mission." Kakashi explained. "You've got a point Kakashi, this could create a conflict of interest with them." Sean conceded. Glancing at the ground, he cautiously asked, "You don't think that they were behind the attack do y-" Kakashi however cut him off as he raised a hand. "Uh-oh!" Yahiko panicked as his heart skipped a beat. "What's the matter Kakashi?" Sean asked, instantly jumping to his feet. Instead of answering him, Kakashi instead began swiveling his head his eye scanning the bushes. Yahiko watched with baited breath as Kakashi's eye slowly met his own. "Crap!" Yahiko thought to himself. He had been caught…

Darkness… He was caught in a dream, one that was all too familiar to him yet unknown at the same time. Joe slowly got up off of the ground and tried to figure out where he was. "What is this place?" He wondered as he scanned the surroundings. Than he saw it; the black shadowy figure. It had no definition or features to speak of. In fact, he had no idea who or what it was exactly. There was one thing that he did know however: It was attached to him. When he ran, it followed. When he walked, it walked with him. And when he stopped, it stopped as well. It always stayed a couple feet away from him, never drawing closer nor retreating further away. "What is this thing?" He wondered as he tried to find some sort of defining feature. An eye, a mouth, or even just some sort of curve or line. But instead it was simply nothing. "What are you?" He asked hoping for an answer. The shadow did not reply, and instead continued to simply remain where it was. Confused, Joe decided to ignore it and instead focused on his surroundings. That didn't take long, for he was surrounded by surroundings as opaque as the object standing in front of him. "And yet… though I seem to be stuck in this shadowy prison I feel… safe." Joe thought to himself, curious and comforted at the same time. The warm feeling that he had didn't last for long. Suddenly the ground began to shake, causing him to nearly lose his balance. "What the hell is going on?" He wondered frantically, stuck in the reality of his nightmare. Looking at the ground, he noticed a giant shadow eclipse his entire body. He instinctively jumped to the side and narrowly dodged a giant chunk of what appeared to be solid black matter. "What's happening?" He asked the shadow, thinking he might get an answer. But as with every one of his nightmares he received nothing. Than the ground began to crack as it shook, causing him to stumble backwards and nearly fall. Having regained his balance, he tried to make sense of the events. "Stuck in a shadow realm with no way out and it's slowly turning into a nightmare." Then he turned his gaze towards the shadow. "That "thing" seems to have some sort of power over this place. If I can't persuade it to talk…" He thought. His kunai appeared in his hand, and without questioning it he finished his thought out loud. "Than I'll have to "convince" you to talk!" He stated coldly, and began to charge. Sprinting towards the shadow, he carefully moved from side to side, effectively dodging several black matter masses that fell from the "ceiling". "Lights out." Joe said as he leapt into the air and pulled back his knife-hand. But all he struck was emptiness. "Wait… what?" He wondered in confusion as the shadow completely disappeared. Than he noticed something far worse; he hadn't stopped falling. Before he had been able to land on solid ground, his landing spot had completely split down the middle. This of course left a nice opening for him to fall through. In complete free-fall, he managed to steal a glimpse up through the rift that had formed. Staring back at him was the shadow, and like it he was diving into darkness.

"Wake up Joe!" He heard Dan yell as he was jolted awake. The ground was shaking, causing him to nearly fall over as he slowly pulled himself up from the sand. "What's the matter?" Joe shouted back, struggling to maintain his balance. "I don't know!" Dan answered as he used his good leg to push himself to a standing position. "I was lying on the sand waiting for you to wake up when all of a sudden the ground began to shake." Still shaky from being abruptly awoken, Joe shook his head to try and clear out the rest of the fog and make sense of the situation. "Seems like an earthquake… except…" He thought as he quickly gathered his stuff and carefully crouch walked over to Dan. His walk quickly changed to a stumbling sprint. "Look out!" He shouted as behind Dan a scaly spear suddenly shot out of the ground. Joe could see the muscles flex back as the long pointer pulled away from Dan and prepared to strike. He had other plans though. Crouching low to the ground he put as much force and chakra as he could into his legs and pushed. Instantly he was catapulted into the air at a blinding speed. Colliding with Dan, he was able to push him out of harm's way just in time… or so he thought. As they landed he heard Dan hiss in pain. "Are you alright?" Joe asked as he pulled himself up off of the ground. Dan had his mind on other things however. "Joe?" "What?" "Why has the ground stopped shaking?" Dan asked. Looking down at the sand Joe noticed that he was right. "Or at least partially correct." Joe thought as he observed the spot where the spear was now bent into an arch. "What is that thing… a sand worm?!" Dan asked as Joe slowly began to pull him away. "I have no idea." Joe answered, and he had no intention of finding out. He didn't have a choice however. Even as every instinct in his mind was telling him to leave he could not stop staring at the object. Suddenly the spear pulled out of its arch and began to withdraw itself into the ground. "Do you think it's over?" Dan asked a hint of hope in his voice. But Joe knew better. The ground began to shake under them again, nearly causing the two ninja to lose their footing. Sensing danger Joe quickly crouched down and shouted at Dan, "Jump!" Rising into the air he heard the clank of metal meeting metal. "What is this thing?" He wondered to himself as he and Dan landed on a sand dune. Then he saw it. Facing him was a lumbering behemoth. A giant creature the likes of which he had never seen before. It was a 6 legged monster with two large claws that could easily crush him into oblivion. To complement its ferocity, it had 10 slits for eyes and a giant tail that was dripping with a yellow tinted poison. "Holy Shit!" He heard Dan curse as he felt him leave his shoulder and turn to run. But he only made it two steps before his leg gave out. "Crap." He cursed as he fell to the ground. Then he turned to Joe and shouted, "Hey can you give me a hand!" Snapped out his fixation Joe quickly turned and began running for Dan. "Grab on." Joe stated. Upon reaching Dan he quickly grabbed the other man's arm and over his right shoulder. Then he began to sprint. "Oww you idiot how is this any be-." Dan began to quip as his leg beat against Joe's chest. "Just shut up and tell me what that monster's doing!" Joe shot back as he put every ounce of energy into his calves. "I don't know… he dived back into the sand!" Dan answered, clearly worried. "Not good." Joe thought to himself as he heard Dan begin to shout. Reacting immediately, again he crouched low to the sand and leaped. This time he felt the claw brush his foot. Thrown off balance by the unexpected force, Joe and Dan were sent spinning through the air until they landed on the unforgiving sand. Pulling his face out of the dirt, Dan turned towards Joe and asked, "What now Joe?" Joe simply stood up, his back to the beast and answered, "We fight." Drawing his Kunai, he prepared to charge.

"Shoot!" Yahiko thought as he stilled every muscle in his body. "You see something?" Sean asked as he began to scan the forest. Kakashi however, after several seconds looked back down at the ground and simply answered," Oh nothing, just a rabbit in the brush." Sean nearly fell over. "Seriously Kakashi? All that hoopla over a little bunny?" He then shook his head and laughed. "No wonder Sarutobi put me on this mission. He knew you'd lose control over a bunny." He jeered as Yahiko rolled his eyes. "Enough joking around Sean, this is serious business." Kakashi admonished. "This is an important intelligence mission." "Intelligence?" Yahiko wondered to himself. "But Sarutobi said that this was a supply mission. What's really going on here?" Slowly Yahiko inched closer, intent on hearing more. "Relax Kakashi, I know what's at stake. This might be our only chance to catch Prometheus off gua-." Suddenly Sean stopped himself.. Because he was so focused on the conversation he had failed to watch where he was going. Yahiko's heart nearly stopped as he stepped on a small branch making the loudest crick sound he had ever heard in his life. "You hear that Guy?" Kakashi asked, suddenly alarmed. "Yeah Kakashi. You think it's another rabbit?" Guy replied as he drew several shuriken. "Perhaps, perhaps not." Yahiko heard Kakashi answer as he pulled his headband above his right eye. "Crap this is not good." Yahiko panicked, warily watching Kakashi scan the forest. Even through the dark of the night he could clearly see the three black markings on Kakashi's right eye spinning as they hunted whatever had disturbed the Jonin's secret meeting. Despite the thick foliage he felt exposed and began to ponder his next step. "What should I do? Should I run or try to wait it out?" Yahiko debated as the silence crawled on. The decision was made for him however as he heard Guy say, "Well anyways we should get back to our camp. This place is starting to feel less and less quiet." "Yeah you're right." Kakashi answered calmly. He didn't however cover his right eyes. "Damn." Yahiko panicked.

"Damn." Joe thought as he was nearly decapitated by the Scorpion's tail. "I can't put a dent on this bastard!" He had tried everything to try take down the behemoth. Bomb tags, blades, poisoned kunai, but every one of his attempts had been met with failure. "It's not just its body though, it's damn intelligent too." Joe thought in half-exasperation half wonder. "Every time I try to strike its eyes or underbelly it guards itself with its claws, snaps at me with its tail, or dives back under the sand. That's when things get even more difficult because than it can attack from anywhere. Not to mention that most of its aggression has been aimed at Dan meaning that I haven't been able to go on the offensive." As if to make his thoughts reality the beast again dived underground. "Joe he's digging again!" Dan shouted to him. "I see it!" Joe shouted back as he made a beeline for his comrade. Seeing the ground under Dan shake, he ignored the groaning exhaustion in his calves and forced himself to go faster. "This is gonna be close!" Joe thought as he grabbed Dan. Just as his hand touched Dan's a hole opened up out of the ground. He could see the iron pincers gnashing their way up through the sand and he knew that he would not be able to escape by jumping. "Brace yourself!" He shouted towards Dan as he rotated as much as possible and let go of Dan's hand. "Wait wh-?!" Was all Dan got out as he was flung several feet into the air and landed a couple feet away. "Good, now he's out of the radius." Joe thought. Satisfied though he was, he still had the Scorpion to contend with. "Enough playing around, time to fry this monster." Joe thought triumphantly as he quickly dodged a pincer and jumped into the air. Instead of jumping away however, he landed on top of the Scorpion. He then reached into his pouch and drew two fire tags out of his pouch and slammed them down with all of his might into the beast's hard shell. But despite all of his effort he was rewarded with a solid clang and nearly lost his balance from the impact. Joe however was not about to give up. Ignoring the pain in his legs and the hammering in his head, he back flipped away from the beast. "Fire Style, Fire Ball Jutsu!" He shouted as he finished signing. Exhaling the heat from his chest, he fired two large fire balls that hammered the face of the beast. The force of the jutsu was so great that he was knocked back while still in mid-air and landed a couple of feet from Dan. "Is it over?" Dan asked hopefully. Joe simply picked himself up and stared at the sand cloud that had formed from the collision. What he saw made his headache worsen. There was no Scorpion at all and he knew that could only mean one thing.

For what seemed like the umpteenth Laura rolled over inside her sleeping bag. There were several reasons that could explain why she couldn't sleep. First off it was cold. Despite the fact that Kakashi had provided a fire for them, he and Sean had left a while ago and the fire had begun to wane away. Second it had not been an easy day for her. Not only had she spent the day lying in a pile of guts and blood but she had watched a good man die today. Even though she had only met Wes recently, he had been a cheerful old man. Almost like the loving grandfather who would comfort you not through heart to hearts, but through an un-ending slew of jokes good or bad. Even his toothless smile was a welcome occurrence at this point. "But none of those things compare to the fact that Dan was stuck in hell right now." Laura thought as she again turned towards the Cliffside, beyond which lay the desert. It's not that she was obsessed with him. Dan was her friend. "Justin can be so standoffish sometimes with his Hyuga inheritance mantra." She thought to herself as her mind drifted towards their first couple missions. For her entire life she had never been alone, always surrounded by her family and loved ones. But when she joined the academy at age 7 it had been a different story. "I was so scared. My family had always just accepted me for me. I never had to introduce myself or learn about other people because my life was my family. But at the academy I was alone." Things changed however when she had met Sakura. It was like they had known each other forever. Two girls studying to become Kunoichi. Laura and Sakura. "Sisters." She thought as she glanced at Sakura's long pink hair which had snuck out of her sleeping bag. "But that changed too after graduation. No one understands the pressure that shinobi face. Everyone only thinks of the glory and accomplishment that comes upon receiving the headband." Though her family had been ecstatic upon learning of her accomplishment, the only emotion she felt was fear. "Once again I was torn from my family, my sister and placed on a squad. I had no idea who they were and was expected to work with them or die." She remembered how awkward it had been at first, with Justin's haughty attitude and Dan's ego. "But even though it took a while somehow he broke through." Laura thought as she began to smile. "I don't know how he does it but he gets through to people. Maybe they laugh at his jokes or maybe they simply laugh at him, but they love him." However her smile quickly turned grim as she again looked out into the maw of the desert. "Dan please be safe. Please make it back to your family."

"Now what?" Joe wondered. He had managed to move Dan again but he knew that he could not keep this up for much longer. "Especially since it's almost dusk. If the sun comes up before we can finish this creature than no amount of anything is going to save us!" He knew that they were in deep trouble. So far everything he had thrown at the creature had been resisted. Not only was he almost out of options but the fight was beginning to take its toll on his body. He had been without adequate sleep, water, and food for days and that was a dangerous position to be in when fighting for your life. "Hell, even if we get away the Sun is likely to finish us off, unless we can finish this fast. The only question is how." Joe thought as wondered just how exactly he was going to survive this. "You think this can get any worse?" He heard Dan joke as they exchanged a glance. "Don't press your luck." Joe answered. As if to confirm his worst fears, two more holes opened up next to the giant scorpion. To both of their horrors, two monsters came up with both pincers snapping. "You have got to be kidding me!" Dan exclaimed in bewilderment, a hint of defeat in his voice. This is only served to piss Joe off. "Don't give up yet." He admonished as he stared at the swaying tails dripping with deadly poison. That's when it hit him. "Dan, start crawling away from here." Joe stated as he began to plan out his next set of moves. "But we'll never get away like that." Dan answered. "We won't, but you might." Joe replied not looking back. "But…" "Just do what I say Dan!" Joe exclaimed, cutting Dan off. "Al-alright." Dan submitted. Satisfied Joe looked back to the approaching targets. "He's right, I might not make it." Joe thought, but then he smiled. "But if I nail this just right I might have a chance." Resigning himself to the task at hand, Joe charged. Running at the three monsters he drew three bomb tags and tossed them towards the Scorpions. This time though he had a different target in mind. All three tags missed the giants and instead landed at their feet. Replacing his smile with a determined expression Joe made a hand sign. All of sudden a giant explosion lit the dark surroundings of the dusk, but despite the light there was zero visibility. Thanks to the explosion a giant sand cloud had formed around the Scorpions obscuring their vision. Satisfied that he had achieved his desired effect, Joe leaped as high into the air as he could, high above the smoke cloud where he could see the tails sticking out and began to fall. Grabbing the center Scorpion's tail, he then drew his kunai from its sheath and proceeded to stab the Scorpion repeatedly in the small openings in between the plating. The openings where he had seen the muscle flex only minutes earlier. The result was a hissing Scorpion that began to shoot venom out of its tail in order to reach the spot where all of its other weapons could not reach. Unfortunately for its pals this is what Joe had wanted. Gathering chakra to his feet Joe anchored himself to the hard shelled back of the beast and managed to force the erupting tail towards one of the Scorpions by its side. All of a sudden his new mount shook as the targeted beast hammered its claw into its "attacker". "Time to get off this horse!" Joe decided. Crouching one last time he barely managed to dodge an incoming stinger as he leaped off of his ride and managed to land in a crouch next to Dan. "You alright?" He heard Dan ask as he came out of his crouch. "I'm fine." Joe answered. "Woah, look at that!" Dan exclaimed. Looking over in the direction that Dan was pointing, Joe saw quite the spectacle. For some un-explained reason the Scorpions had begun to viciously attack each other. As one Scorpion attempted to pierce its brother with its stinger, the third scorpion grabbed its tail with its claw and ripped it clean off causing poison to spew like a geyser. Seeing an opportunity, Joe grabbed his bag from Dan and slung Dan's arm around his shoulder. "Time to go." He stated, half-walking half-dragging Dan by the shoulder. "Y-Yeah you're right." Dan agreed. After a few awkward steps the two began to move in tandem until the all-out war raging behind them was left in the dust.

After scrambling for hours they finally stopped to rest. "Phew, that was too close," Dan thought to himself as Joe lowered him to the ground. "We nearly bit the shuriken a couple times back there. No thanks to me." Glancing over at Joe he saw the older shinobi collapse, clearly exhausted from the recent struggle. For several moments they sat in silence, too tired to say anything. Then Dan broke the silence. "While that was a mess." Dan said trying to break the ice. "Mess? That was nightmare." Joe answered simply as he slowly stood up and began to check his pouch. "What are you doing?" Dan asked confused. "I'm doing inventory. This isn't over." Joe grimly replied. "What do you mean?" Dan inquired, not liking where the conversation was going. Joe however was too absorbed in counting and muttered to himself, "Crap, down to three explosives and smoke bombs. As if that will help us." "Help us with what?" Dan said. "Those Scorpions." Joe replied suddenly moving towards Dan. "What do you mean? We just saw them tear each other apart." However Joe simply brushed his explanation off to the side. "It's not that simple." He implied as he reached Dan. "What the hell are you doing?" Dan said demanding an explanation as Joe ruthlessly tore the bandages from his cut ankle. Then he saw it, the once white bandages were stained with blood. Blood that had been seeping into the sand. It slowly began to dawn on him. "Now wonder the Scorpions went ballistic." He thought to himself as he went over the fight. Every single time the Scorpion dove underground, it had targeted him. Despite Joe constantly attacking it, the Scorpion had been constantly moving towards him. And when the Scorpions themselves had begun to bleed, that was when they went berserk. "It's blood. My blood. They follow the scent that seeps into the ground to hunt their prey." Dan realized as the pieces began to fall into place leading to a much darker revelation. "I'm a walking target!" Dan wondered aloud. "Shut up." Joe answered as he calmly reached into his bag and rummaged inside. Unfortunately he was out of pressure bandages. Sighing, he proceeded to tear his other sleeve off and then wrapped it tightly around Dan's ankle. "I'm marked for death." Dan said aloud, a defeated one in his voice. "Nonsense." Joe answered as he finished dressing the wound on his ankle. But Dan knew that it was no use. "I'm not going to make it out of here." Dan stated. "Of course we are." Joe replied, a concerned note in his voice. Dan however was unconvinced. "Don't you understand?" He asked slowly getting more worked up. When Joe continued to ignore him Dan grabbed the chest of his shirt. "50,000 shinobi were killed because of those things. We barely survived three, and the only reason they attacked us was because of me!" Dan exclaimed. With that statement came an even colder revelation. "You have to leave me behind." Dan coldly stated. "What are you talking about?" Joe immediately protested, knocking Dan's hands off of him. "I already told you I'm a walking deathtrap!" Dan shouted. "Those things are attracted to blood and I'm the only one who's bleeding right now!" "So what?" Joe answered. "So I'm going to die." Dan replied. He tried to keep the fear out of his voice but he could not prevent it from cracking. Still he forced himself to continue. "I-I may not be able to escape those monsters, but you can. I might be able to buy you some time." Joe simply shook his head, clearly unable to grasp exactly what Dan was implying. "If we separate no-" "If we separate now then you'd die!" Joe interrupted. His shout echoed into the dusk as the black sky began to turn blue. "So what I'm already a dead man walking!" Dan shouted back, forcing himself to sound brave. "That's not going to happen!" Joe responded losing his composure. But Dan was not convinced. "How exactly?!" He asked expectantly, inwardly hoping for a response, any solution. But Joe didn't have an answer, and he was only rewarded with silence. Taking a deep breath he made his decision. "I'm leaving." He stated as he slowly pulled himself up onto his good leg. "Are you insane? You can't leave!" Joe yelled, his voice full of concern. "I've made my decision, this whole nightmare I've had to lean on you for strength." Dan answered, his voice no longer shaky. After several moments he added, "I've been your baby, and I am no ones' baby." He could practically see the tension in the air, but his mind was made. "If he wants to delude himself then fine! I have to make the decision that's best for all of us. Besides, I will not be taken care of like a child." Dan thought as he began to limp away. He only got a few steps before a freight train hit his back. In seconds he landed face first in the sand and was immediately flipped over with his hands pinned to the ground. "You Idiot!" He heard Joe shout. Out of nowhere a hammer smashed him on the side of the face, causing his vision to spin for a sec. "D-Did he just punch me?" Dan wondered groggily. He could practically see the venom seeping out of Joe's insult. Then his mind refocused. "What is your problem?!" He half-asked half-shouted as he struggled to get free. "My problem? What's your problem?" Joe shouted back. Dan flinched as he saw Joe raise his right fist for another strike, but then relaxed when he saw Joe drop his fist. "What do you mean?" Dan asked, bewildered by the events that had just transpired. "Why are you giving up?" Joe answered. "So that you can ge-" Dan tried to respond but Joe was having none of it. "Bullshit!" Joe shouted, his eyes burning into Dan's. "Don't give me that!" Dan shot back, matching Joe's glare. "I'm trying to save your life." After what seemed forever, Dan glanced dejectedly to the side and added, "It's not like anyone's going to miss me anyways." "That's not true Dan." Joe answered as he finally let go of the younger ninja. After Joe had rolled off of Dan, he asked, "It is true and don't you dare tell me otherwise!" Dan shouted back. "What do you think? That someone's going to be crying tears over me? Because I'm the baby?" Joe simply stood back and folded his arms expectantly. Dan, whose rage had begun to take over continued his assault. "No, no one has ever tried to take care of me. Ever since I moved to this god-forsaken hell-hole it has been the same thing. Constant beat downs and glares." "What do you mean?" Joe asked, egging him on. "Oh don't play dumb with me. Word must have gotten around about the super rookie." Dan replied, putting as much venom into his words as he could muster. "When I first joined the academy, it was a living hell." Dan stated as his anger slowly died own. Then he chuckled. "They say that the Leaf village houses the Land of Fire, but all I felt was the cold. I was all alone. Thrown into an unknown place that eats the weak for breakfast. I-I didn't have any brothers or sisters. All I wanted was a friend." As he continued his tone grew more determined. "But then I saw Yahiko. I saw the success that he had achieved. All because of his achievements at the academy he had gained everything; friends, girls, and A grades. I was a sucker from the start. I immediately joined the academy and started my training. I KILLED myself just so that I would be noticed. Forced myself to eat all of the right foods. It was torture. But I thought to myself that if I could just keep improving. If I could run faster and hit harder I would finally be someone. I would finally be worth someone's time." Then Dan's tone grew sad. "But I was wrong. For all the grades I skipped and the awards I achieved, I was shunned. Outcast. Even picked on." Finally he stopped, slowly breathing in and out as he struggled to control himself. But Joe pushed him further. "What about your parents?" Joe prodded. Smiling Dan answered, "My parents were always worried about me. They were proud about my grades, but my mother always cried whenever she saw the bruises." Dan's smile grew as he continued. "One day they got me a present." "What was it?" Joe asked. Dan's smile reached full beam as he answered, "My best friend." After a questioning look from Joe he continued. "It was a dog. A small thing really, one of those feisty ones, you know the ones that love to bark all the time. But I loved him. He followed me everywhere. Drove the neighbors insane, with his antics." Dan's expression than grew more serious. "But he didn't care that I was a kid or that I had a ton of awards. He was my friend. Unfortunately however, they weren't finished with me yet." As he finished he realized that he had been talking for a while. "Geez my throat feels like leather." He thought as he took a swig from his canteen. But he knew that wasn't the real reason that he had stopped talking. He did not want to talk about that day. Never again. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like Joe was going to give him a choice. "What happened?" Joe asked. "It's not important." Dan replied trying to dodge the question. He couldn't take Joe's stare however and finally gave in. "Fine you stubborn hard-ass." Dan gave in as his expression turned sad. Taking a deep breathe he continued. "What does the name Gakuya Close mean to you?" Dan asked as Joe scowled. "That scumbag? He stuck a knife in my face once and didn't back down until I returned the favor." Joe answered, his voice full of disgust. "Ah so you have met him? Classy guy huh? Well anyways I remember it like it was yesterday. I was taking truffles-" "Truffles?" Joe asked, a smirk forming on his face. "Shut up, I was taking him out for a walk late one night when I ran into him and his goons." Dan nearly stopped. He didn't want to continue. But something else urged him on. "Who am I kidding myself, this is the end anyways. Why hold back." Dan decided as he braced himself and carried on. "I fought back, I tried to fight back. But it was three on one. Than one of the goons complained about the dog's barking. And he stepped forward." Dan said, his voice starting to crack. "He drew his red tanto and said, "" A master who can't control his dog. How unfortunate. I'm so sorry, but you are too young to be saddled with such a responsibility like this." And with his friends holding me down he gutted my companion right in front of my eyes without hesitation." "So what do you want then revenge?" Joe asked. "Why throw in the towel?" Dan simply looked at the ground as several droplets rained into the sand. "Because he was right. After he killed my friend his friends let me go. He egged me on, itching for an excuse to cut some more." Folding his arms Joe inquired coldly, "So why didn't you plant a kunai knife in his side." "Because I was scared! So much so that I could barely breathe!" Dan shouted back. "I was so filled with hate but at the same time fear." "Fear of what?" Joe asked unconvinced. "Fear that I wouldn't win, that I might be gutted just as my best friend had been only seconds earlier." Dan answered, not even bothering to hide his tears. "In the end they were right. I was just like a baby, and because of that my best friend had died and I was again all alone. Worthless." Dan then brushed away his tears and looked up at Joe. "So don't you try to tell me what's true and un-true. You're nothing like me anyways. You've got Squad mates that look out for you and friends that care for you. Me I've got nothing." Joe however was un-moved. "So that's how you see it huh? You couldn't be further from the truth." He answered as he looked down at the ground. "What is he talking about?" Dan wondered as he shook his head. "Well in any case, we should try to get some sleep. It's been a long day." Joe suggested as he sat down again. "Whatever, its not like it matters where I die. I'm still screwed no matter what choice I pick." Dan replied, defeated. "Just shut up and go to sleep. I'll keep watch." Joe shot back." "Waste of time-" "Goodnight idiot." Joe answered forcefully. Dan just rolled his eyes and stared at the blue sky, hoping that he wouldn't be awoken by a Scorpion nightmare. "Whatever."

"I've got to get out of here before I get spotted." Yahiko thought frantically. "But if I move even one step I might attract unwanted attention." The situation did not look good. Not only was Kakashi scanning the forest with his eye, but Sean who had begun to head back to camp was slowly walking closer and closer to Yahiko's location. "Got about 4 seconds." He thought as he pondered his next step. Though he was frozen in a standing position, every inch of him yearned to melt into the ground. Short on time, he quickly made a decision. Making handsigns he aimed his jutsu at a branch causing it to rustle in the wind. "Huh what was that?" He heard Kakashi say as both he and Sean looked towards the source of the noise. "Perfect." Yahiko thought, congratulating himself as he slowly went prone. Taking advantage of the distraction, he quickly inched his way over to a thick patch of foliage. When he looked up however he nearly had a heart attack. Despite his actions Sean was still on a direct path towards his hiding spot. "Probably just another rabbit." Sean reassured but Kakashi seemed unconvinced. "Maybe…" Kakashi answered, a hint of suspicion in his voice. "Relax Kakashi, let's just head back to the camp." Sean replied confidently. As he neared Yahiko the boy took a deep breath and closed his mouth, unsure of whether he would be able to take another. "He's way too close. If he even glances down at his boots he'll notice me." As if hearing Yahiko's thoughts, Sean suddenly stopped. Right in front of his hiding place. "Hey Kakashi?" Sean suddenly asked. "Yeah Sean?" Kakashi inquired, absorbed in his search. "Do you ever get the feeling that we are being watched?" Sean replied, his tone taking on a predatory growl. "No, not really." Kakashi answered, as he began to gather his things. Yahiko's heart was pounding so hard that it nearly leaped out of his chest. "Did he finally catch on to me?" He wondered as he considered making a break for it. After what seemed like an eternity, Sean finally revealed his hand. "Well, Kakashi. Perhaps you aren't looking in the right direction!" Sean shouted triumphantly brandishing several Kunai. Whirling around, he threw them straight into a tree that stood above Yahiko's former hiding place. All of a sudden there was a huge explosion as the tree and the foliage underneath quickly burst into flames. "Sean you idiot!" Kakashi shouted furious. "Are you trying to give away our position to the enemy?" Sean after confirming that his efforts had been wasted simply answered sheepishly, "sorry Kakashi. It's just…" "Just what Sean?" Kakashi asked. Sean's expression grew concerned as he replied, "I'm just worried about him." Kakashi's expression softened a bit as he heard this, but then sighing he answered, "But that's the problem Sean. You can't let Dan's situation bother you." "But Kakashi he's my student. It's my job as a teacher to protect him." Sean stated, but Kakashi only disagreed. "It's not that simple Sean. Dan may be your student, but he is also a ninja of the Hidden Leaf." Kakashi reasoned, then after seeing Sean's pained look he added, "You know how it is." "Yeah sure." Sean answered dejectedly, but as he turned and began walking towards their camp he added, "But that doesn't mean I like it." Despite his earlier stunt with the kunai, Yahiko's respect for Sean shot up tremendously. "Now there's a Squad Leader who I can get behind." Yahiko thought as he watched Sean disappear into the darkness. Then looked over to Kakashi. However Kakashi was nowhere in sight. "Where did he go!" Yahiko worried frantically as dread began to conquer his chest. If there was one thing that every person in team 1 agreed upon, it was that whenever someone lost sight of Kakashi bad things happened. Very bad things. Feeling an ice pick tap his shoulder, Yahiko slowly turned around and faced his ambusher. "Hello Yahiko, out for a late night stroll are we?" He heard Kakashi inquire nonchalantly. "You Bastard Kakashi!" Yahiko yelled as he jumped out of his crouch. Facing Kakashi he shouted, "Joe was right about you! You are hiding something from us!" Kakashi however simply shrugged. "I am?" He answered coolly. "Of course you are, you said it yourself. This isn't a supply mission, this is an intelligence mission!" Yahiko exclaimed, his rage slowly building. "I think you've got this all wrong Yahiko, Sarutobi said that this is a supply mission. We are to drop off communications equi-" "Communications be damned!" Yahiko interrupted. Kakashi however was unfazed. "I'm tired of this!" Yahiko stated. "Tired of what Yahiko?" Kakashi asked, clearly feigning confusion. "You give us false information and constantly confuse us with you advice." Yahiko stated, the anger clear as day on his face. "But worst of all is that you spout words of teamwork and comradery, yet when your own student lies at the bottom of hell itself you don't even give a Damn!" Kakashi simply ignored him, with not even an eyebrow twitching. Instead he answered, "My my Yahiko so caring of your Squadmates all of a sudden." After letting that last line sink in however, Kakashi than added snidely, "How weak of you." That was the final straw. "That's it!" Yahiko shouted as his rage broke. In a furious rampage he drew a knife in each hand and charged at Kakashi. "I am so tired of this guy's nonchalant attitude! He is our sensei… Our Teacher! Isn't he supposed to be on our side?" As he neared his master he thought with satisfaction, "Time to make him pay his attitude!" This was not the case however. Just as he had done on the day of their bell examination, Kakashi forced Yahiko into the ground. Struggling against his master's grip was useless. "Temper Temper Yahiko. It always was your greatest weakness." Kakashi chided, changing his tone to the type that one would use for a child. "Let go of me!" Yahiko demanded, and then added in his thoughts, "So I can tear you limb from limb." Kakashi was not born yesterday though, simply answering, "So you can tear me limb from limb? I don't think so." Than Kakashi silenced Yahiko with his next sentence, "I don't feel like going up against a council tribunal for murder." Yahiko immediately shut up from the sheer icy coldness in Kakashi's voice. "But that also leaves us with a problem…" Kakashi continued. "What, what sort of problem?" Yahiko asked, for the first time fear creeping into his voice. "Well I can't necessarily kill you and you simply know too much right now." Kakashi answered, a hint of malice in his voice. He then began to make several handsigns. "However there are other ways of protecting you my student. Ways that are much less lethal." As Kakashi finished Yahiko felt the larger man slowly pull his head around until they were face to face. He knew what Kakashi was trying to do, but even so he still could not help himself from staring at that mystical eye. All of a sudden the three tomoe circling the pupil began moving around in a windmill motion. He was immediately entranced by them, hypnotized by their movements. Then the white in Kakashi's eye grew larger and larger until it consumed and he was swallowed by the light.

"This has to be done." Dan thought as he lay in the sand next to Joe. It had been about two hours since they had escaped the Scorpions, and despite his best efforts Joe had clearly nodded off. "Not like he had a choice in the matter. It doesn't matter how stubborn you are, when you hit your limits there's no beating them." At the moment he was confused, unsure of what to do. He knew that he was a dead man walking, there was no way he could defeat the Scorpions. "They'll just keep chasing us… me." Dan thought. "But if I leave than there's no chance of me surviving at all." Turning on his side he glanced at Joe again and couldn't help but smirk. "Does that guy ever unfold his arms? He's such a jerk." But then his smirk disappeared. "No that's not fair, we've both been jerks. I've acted as coldly as he has. Perhaps even colder." He had to admit that while Joe had certainly acted mean at times, there had been other times when he had not. Dan knew that he would have been dead today had Joe not have been with him. "And then there was that one time." Dan thought as he remembered there fight at the river. "We fought each other tooth and nail using shuriken, exploding kunai, and even jutsu. But unlike all of the other times, he didn't call me pathetic… He said that I was good." Even after that show of respect, Dan had still tossed him to the side. "I'm so pathetic." Dan thought. "I couldn't save my best friend, I couldn't keep his respect, and I couldn't even impress Laura." He grimaced as he remembered how she had felt up Joe's arm earlier. But despite all of this he felt no hate for Joe. Because he knew that it wasn't his fault. "Who am I to blame anybody but myself? Even now Gakuya was right. I am still somebody's baby, a worthless loser who is worth absolutely nothing." Making up his mind, he slowly forced himself to stand. He then undid the wrappings around his broken leg and grabbed the brace that had held his leg in place. Using it as a makeshift crutch he began to creep away from their resting place. At first his ankle screamed with pain but he had chosen his path. "I may be a baby, but no more. If I leave now I can still save him. I can finally be useful." With a last look at Joe, Dan limped off into the sunrise.