A/N: Sorry for updating so late, but I just haven't been able to find the time or energy because of my current job. But the last day is this Friday.. until next Wednesday, then I'll start at the university =P
Chapter 9: Gen-jutsu
'What is Kurenai-sensei doing with Sakura's parents?'
They were at the moment still standing on the trail in the forest where they had discovered the scent of Sakura's parents, and Kurenai's. Akamaru had at first gotten confused if it truly was Sakura's parents he smelled because of Kurenai's scent. Then Shino and Hinata had come stumbling through the forest, confirming Kiba's and Akamaru's suspicions. Kurenai was there with Sakura's parents.
"Who the hell is 'she'?" Sakura suddenly asked, sounding very angry. Kiba suddenly remembered that she couldn't have any idea who they were speaking of.
"Is there an enemy with my parents?" she asked them.
"Na, take it easy Princess. It's only Kurenai-sensei" Kiba said with a smile at her. Instead of calming down – like he had expected her to do – she went furious.
"Why the fuck didn't you tell me so earlier?" she screamed at him. He looked at her a little surprised.
"I forgot" he said as if it was obvious.
"You forgot? You forgot?" she screamed.
"I'll teach you about forgetting" she then said as she jumped right at him, making him fall over, Sakura following down toward the ground. The next second he felt her hands around his neck, clearly trying to strangle him.
'What's wrong with her?' he thought to himself as he grabbed hold of her wrists, trying to force them away from his neck. Unfortunately for him she wasn't just any girl, she was a kunoichi who specialized in brute strength. He decided to surprise her just as during their training, therefore he stopped fighting for a while. Then when she least expected it he once again took a hold of her wrists and rolled them over. Now he was lying on top of her, holding her hands in a firm grip over her head with one of his hands.
"Take it easy Princess" he told her. She had stopped struggling because of the chock, still yet she was glaring at him.
"I'm sorry for forgetting, but I did. And it won't help if you strangle me because you're worried over your parents" he told her. Her glare slowly turned in to a regretful look and soon her gaze averted from his in guilt.
"I'm sorry" she said after a while.
"That's alright Princess" he said reassuringly before letting go and stood up, offering her a hand. She looked at it for a little while before taking it.
"That's better. Now, be a good Princess" he said as he petted her on the head.
"Let's get going" Shino suddenly said. Kiba noticed slightly how Sakura reacted surprised as Shino spoke – as if she had forgotten his presence – but he chose to ignore it.
"Yeah" Kiba said before all of them took of.
"Where are they?" Sakura asked as they were jumping through the trees.
"They're in a small cave up ahead" Shino answered. It only took a few minutes before they reached a stop of the trees. The line of trees formed a semi-circle and where they stopped a stone-wall started. Surprisingly enough the stone didn't have any opening.
"What? Where's the opening?" Kiba asked confused. He could clearly smell both Kurenai and Sakura's parents from the stone-wall.
"It's there, you just can't see it" Shino said.
"What? So you mean you can?" Kiba asked him.
"It's a gen-jutsu baka" Sakura said.
"They don't want to be found by enemies so they put up a gen-jutsu at the opening" Shino explained calmly.
"Probably simple for a gen-jutsu expert at Kurenai-sensei's level" Sakura said as she stepped out of the trees and in to the clearing.
"S-sakura-san" Hinata said as she stretched out a hand after Sakura.
"What?" Sakura asked as she turned her head to Hinata.
"W-what if t-there's t-traps?" Hinata said. Sakura smiled at her.
"You see any?" she asked the girl.
"N-no b-but-" Hinata started.
"Well, if you can't see any Hinata-chan there shouldn't be any. Right?" Sakura asked her, clearly referring to Hinata's byakugan.
"Oh" Hinata said before activating her kekkei-genkai and looking around.
"Clear, right?" Sakura asked her.
"Hai" Hinata said.
"Would've thought so. The gen-jutsu is of such a high-level that the only ones who would sense it would be high-level shinobi. People who would be able to get in to the cave despite the traps" Sakura explained.
"Then how did you discover it Princess?" Kiba asked her. Was she saying that she was a high-level shinobi?
"I guess I'm just good with gen-jutsus" Sakura said before walking up to the wall. Team eight followed her up there.
"I guess this is where I take over somewhat" Sakura said with a smile to them before closing her eyes and putting her eyes together.
"Kai" she said after a while. Then before his eyes a part of the stone-wall disappeared and an opening revealed itself. This was clearly where Sakura's parents and Kurenai were; their scent was clear as a day and was coming from that cave. He looked at Sakura and saw that she was clearly more relaxed now than earlier, she must really have been worried about her parents.
The cave was long and dark as they walked in. They didn't see much so Hinata had to go first since her sight was somewhat better than their. After her went Sakura, then Kiba and Shino. They walked for several minutes without finding anything. Still yet the scent of their 'target' hung heavy in the air to Kiba. They were clearly here.
"Shouldn't we be there soon?" Kiba asked after a while.
"I'm not sure. I do agree with you, still yet I don't sense ant gen-jutsu" Sakura answered.
"How about you Shino-kun?" she then asked the bug user. To their surprise there wasn't any answer.
"Hey, Shino" Kiba called out.
"Hinata-chan. Do you see Shino-kun?" Sakura called forward to Hinata. Once again they didn't get any answer. Kiba was very confused right now.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"I don't know. It might be another gen-jutsu and it might be enemy shinobi" Sakura answered as they backed up towards each other.
"I guess it's worth a try" she then suddenly said.
"What's worth a try?" he asked her, but as he turned around she was suddenly gone. What was happening here?
"Akamaru" he said, trying to locate his large white dog. Once again he didn't get any response and it seemed as if also Akamaru had disappeared. The next thing he knew everything started to grow hazy. Another second later he was standing in a larger opening of the cave with several people sitting in it. Sakura was standing right next to him.
"You alright?" she asked him.
"Yeah, I think so. What happened?" he asked her.
"It was another gen-jutsu. It was just too strong for me to sense at first" Sakura explained. He looked around and saw Shino and Hinata standing there.
"What about you two?" he asked them.
"They can see through any gen-jutsu. Shino thanks to his bugs and Hinata thanks to her byakugan" Sakura answered for them.
"Akamaru" he then said and spun around, frantically looking for his dog. He was answered with a happy bark from Akamaru.
"I'm here" the large white dog barked at him. At the sight of his partner Kiba calmed down.
"Gen-jutsus often doesn't work on animals" Sakura explained.
"How did I get out?" he asked as he once again looked back at Sakura.
"I helped you out" she explained.
"Oh, thanks" he said.
"Yeah, thank your lucky star that you hadn't moved" Sakura said.
"What?" Kiba asked her.
"Well, the gen-jutsu made the trapped ones invisible, that was why Hinata and Shino weren't able to help us. I however knew that you were standing right next to me" Sakura explained.
"Oh, okay" Kiba answered.
"Are they invisible to everyone including the user or just to everybody except the user?" Sakura then suddenly asked as she turned away from him to three people sitting around a fake fire-place.
"Kurenai-sensei" she then added. To his surprise it was Kurenai sitting there with two other persons who he assumed was Sakura's parents. The man had reddish hair, slightly pink like Sakura's and his eyes were just as green as his daughter's. The woman on the other hand had black hair and dark eyes. It was quite obvious that she took after her father when it came to colors.
"The victims are invisible to all, including me" Kurenai answered Sakura's question.
"Hoped so since you didn't bring us out of it" Sakura said before turning to her parents.
"Mom, dad" she said, clearly relieved that they seemed fine.
"Sakura-chan" they said almost in chorus as they stood up and walked over to her, embracing her in a family hug.
"I was so worried" Sakura said.
"We're sorry" her father answered. Leaving the relieved family alone team eight walked over and sat down together with Kurenai.
"So, this was you mission?" Kiba asked her.
"Yes, I'm sorry but I couldn't tell anyone. It was quite confidential" Kurenai answered.
"I guess you are not allowed to tell what you were gathering information on?" Shino asked her.
"No, I'm not" Kurenai answered.
"Alright, what are we here to do?" Shino then asked her.
"You are here to pick up a scroll with information from us" Kurenai answered.
"Okay, where is this scroll?" Shino asked her.
"I've got it. You'll get it later" Kurenai answered.
"Alright" Shino said with a nod.
"Now, I presume that Sakura-san's the medic" Kurenai stated.
"Yes" Shino answered shortly.
"Good" was all Kurenai said before standing up.
"Sakura-san" she said as she neared the Harunos.
"Yes Kurenai-sensei?" Sakura said as she turned around towards Kurenai.
"It is your turn now" Kurenai said calmly.
"Hai, what am I to do?" Sakura asked her. Kiba noticed a sudden change in Sakura's aura. Suddenly she seemed far more confident and resolute.
"First of all you are to heal any minor injures we've got plus restoring our body's strength. After that comes the difficult part. We need you to prepare our body's to stay still for a longer time. Can you do that?" Kurenai asked her.
"Yes, I should be able to do that. I am however unsure for how long you will be able to stay still. How long to you need to?" Sakura asked her.
"I'm sorry, but I'm unable to answer that question" Kurenai answered.
"You're not allowed? Or don't you have any idea?" Sakura asked her.
"Both" Kurenai answered with a small smile.
"Okay, well I'll see what I can do. But first I'll restore your bodies" Sakura said. As Kiba watched her get to her part of this mission it became very clearly that she had entered a working mode. It was nothing like her usual self. Normally she would be quite loud and seem confident, still yet she was basically always anxious, something that never went unnoticed by Kiba and his special nose. Now however she was confident and it seemed as if she was incredibly comfortable with what she was doing. Kiba looked at her almost hypnotized as Hinata walked up to him unnoticed.
"I-it really seems as if she k-knows what she's d-doing" Hinata said. Kiba slightly jumped at her voice and turned to her.
"Hinata, I didn't notice you" he said as he breathed out. Hinata giggled a little and he was suddenly very aware of her presence. How hadn't he noticed her smell until now? During their latest tracking missions he had usually screwed up because he couldn't smell anything but her, this mission however he had barely noticed her until now.
"D-did you listen?" she asked him.
"Huh? No, I'm sorry I didn't hear you" Kiba said, suddenly aware that she had spoken to him.
"I said that it s-seems as if Sakura knows w-what she's doing" Hinata repeated herself.
"Yeah" Kiba answered before turning back to Sakura. When he did some of his concentration on Hinata disappeared, something that had been impossible earlier. Suddenly he understood, it was thanks to Sakura. Her presence relaxed him so much that he didn't notice Hinata. As he realized this he suddenly cherished his friendship with Sakura even more than before.
Just a few hours later Sakura was finished with the first part of her mission. Her parent's and Kurenai were now fully healed and their bodies restored. All that was left now was the hard part.
"I think I'll have to think for a while before I can do the second part" she told them.
"Okay, now could you make sure that the effects of your jutsu don't become noticeable until after a few hours?" Kurenai asked her.
"Yes, of course. I'll just use another jutsu that hinders the first jutsu for a while" Sakura answered.
"Good, then you can think about the jutsu until tomorrow morning" Kurenai answered her with a smile.
"Tomorrow morning?" Sakura asked.
"It's dusk" Shino said. Sakura turned to him.
"Already?" she asked him.
"Yeah, you've been working for several hours Princess" Kiba shot in from his spot on the ground.
"Guess I forgot the time totally" Sakura said a little sheepishly. Apparently she had exited her 'working mode'. Kiba could clearly smell that slightly anxious smell on her as she still yet seemed confident.
"You've done a good job. Now could you put us three to sleep until tomorrow morning when you are ready to do the jutsu? We want to stay this fresh until then" Kurenai asked her.
"Of course Kurenai-sensei. Just prepare your beds and lie down" Sakura answered. After a while they were ready to fall asleep. Sakura walked up to her mother.
"Good night mother" she said as she put her hands to her mother's temples.
"Good night honey" her mother managed to say before her eyelids fell and she was sleeping.
"Good night father" Sakura said as she sat down next to his form.
"Good night Sakura, I'm really proud of you" he said before she repeated the procedure with him. Then there was only Kurenai left.
"Se you tomorrow morning" she said before falling asleep.
After putting them to sleep Sakura walked over to sit down next to Kiba. They sat there and talked for a while before Hinata decided to go to sleep.
"G-good night guys" she said.
"Good night Hinata-chan" Sakura said, smiling up to the girl standing beside her.
"G'night" Kiba mumbled, feeling tense as he looked at Hinata. As usual when he was with Sakura he had a hard time sensing when Hinata was coming close. Since he didn't expect it when she spoke he always got tense from not having time to prepare himself of the Hyuuga girl's presence.
"By the way, how should we do with the watch?" He then asked as he realized that they hadn't discussed that yet.
"Don't worry Kiba-kun, the gen-jutsu's up so we don't have to worry too much about intruders" Sakura answered his question.
"Really? We can all sleep the entire night?" he asked her surprised.
"H-hai Kiba-kun. Shino-kun has placed some bugs at t-the entrance that will warn him in case s-somebody comes" Hinata answered his question before she walked over and went to sleep. Soon after her Shino also went to bed and Kiba and Sakura were the only ones still awake.
"You like being a medic, don't you?" Kiba asked her after a while of silence between the two of them. Sakura looked at him slightly surprised before she looked away from him and down at the ground. He wasn't entirely sure but Kiba thought that he could see how her cheeks turned slightly red.
"Yeah" she answered him in a low voice.
"It's really obvious" he told her with a smile "You looked really confident when you healed them. You seem really good at it" she looked up at him astonished.
"Really?" she asked him sounding anything but confident.
"Yeah" he answered.
"Well, I don't feel confident right now. I don't really know what to do with the jutsu until tomorrow morning" she said as she looked down at the ground again.
"I'm sure you'll figure something out. It is after all you we are talking about Sakura" he said with a smile, hoping to lift her confidence. Once more she looked up at him astonished again. Now he could clearly see that her cheeks had a red tint to them. He found himself thinking that she was really cute and he got lost as he looked at her. Without noticing it his gaze went from her gorgeous jade colored eyes down to her plump rosy lips. He just stared at them for a while before he slowly started to bend forward without noticing it. For some reason he just so much wanted to feel her lips on his own right then. Luckily she didn't resist but just sat there almost seeming anticipant to what was going to happen. Soon he felt her breath on his own mouth and was once more overcome by her sweet overwhelming scent of vanilla that clouded his senses and brainwork. He could almost feel her lips on his when Hinata suddenly turned in her sleep, mumbling something quietly. Kiba jerked back at the sound as he realized what he had almost done.
"I-I-I think I better sleep as well I'm feeling a little tired you know after searching the entire day taking a beating from you and then dealing with the whole gen-jutsu thingy" he told her all in one breath without really looking at her, instead he looked in other directions or laughed sheepishly with his eyes closed as soon as he turned towards her.
"Well, good night Sakura. You better sleep as well since you need to come up with that jutsu for tomorrow" he told her before crawling in to his sleeping bag, leaving Sakura sitting there. He could hear how she soon after him also crawled in to her sleeping-bag, and soon also how her breathing evened out and slowed down. What had he almost just done? Was he really going to kiss Sakura? Wasn't he in love with Hinata?
A/N: Talk about anticlimax with the cliffy right? Felt as if though most of you were expecting something a little bit more shocking considering your reviews .. But I hope you enjoyed it anyway ^^
I'm sorry to say but it will probably take a while with the next chapter since I haven't finished it yet, and I don't really know the next step ..
