The whole world seemed engulfed by clouds. Kiba tried balling his hands into fists but he felt nothing, it was as though his hands were not there; no, rather that his hands had become a part of the mist itself. A gentle calm came upon him and save for the faint warning in his mind he was completely at ease. It was the lack of feeling that scared Kiba, though he couldn't give words to the thought he knew his central nervous system was being shut down.

"No," he tried screaming but could not hear the words out of his own mouth, "this isn't real. This is an illusion."

Mind racing, Kiba could not decide whether knowing this was a genjutsu made things easier or harder. He closed his eyes, but that didn't help as his eyelids seemed to dissolve away as well. A dark figure appeared in his vision, followed by another. The shapes seemed familiar, as though part of another life. The swirling mist surrounded everything, swallowing everything. The two forms broke apart and disintegrated into the gray mass.

A sudden rush came upon him, as though he was falling in a space with no gravity. An overwhelming epiphany filled his mind, a knowledge that he had never existed at all. It was comforting, peaceful. Suddenly a jolt shot up his arm, a new sensation he had never before experience racked his new world bringing a profane form of life.

"Aagh!" He yelled in an enhanced agony as he looked down at his arm. "My arm?"

There was a hole in the haze, his vision cleared as he saw his arm was cut on a shuriken lying on the table. He picked up the weapon and examined it the way a child looks at a new toy. As the opening in his vision began to close again Kiba's consciousness awoke bringing his sense of self, his fears, and his training. He used the few seconds of his narrowing vision to search for the grenades that had been lying in racks on the table. Grabbing one in each hand he threw them against the nearby wall before he jumped down to the ground.

One world filled with a single sensation replaced another as the explosion left a ringing in Kiba's ears. Looking up he saw the mist surrounding the shack had been blown back, but the distance cleared made it seem all the more ever-present and menacing. His vision turned towards where his companions were standing. Akamaru was beginning to stand while Karui was staggering near the rail. As she laid her hand on the rail to steady herself Kiba noticed that it had been damaged in the explosion, it broke under her weight and she began to fall to the lower level. Jumping up Kiba grabbed her, but as his body was not fully awakened yet he fell to the ground with her on top of him.

Awareness dawned upon her face when she finally grasped the reality of their situation. She looked over to the broken rail and back at Kiba. Placing her hands on the ground she attempted to rise, but her muscles failed and she fell back atop Kiba. Not wanting to risk her falling, Kiba placed his own arms around her. The familiarity of human touch seemed to help as his body was "waking up" from the effects of the genjutsu. Oddly she didn't complain but rested her head on Kiba's chest.

"We probably don't have a lot of time," she whispered to Kiba without moving her head, "whoever was performing that genjutsu is close and is probably already moving in."

"If he's the one manipulating the clouds up here, he has the advantage out in the open. Let's head for the caves, that way if there is anyone else we can try to separate them."

Placing her hands against Kiba's chest she rose, this time with a fierce look in her eyes. Steady feet under her, her hand moved to her sword hilt as she knelt back to the ground. Kiba rolled over onto his hands and feet next to Akamaru. He smiled devilishly as he realized the drawback to the genjutsu that had been used on them. It put the enemy to sleep without a fight, but if broken then whoever was affected would wake with renewed strength and stamina.

They ran towards the base of the mountain, knowing from the map that the cave's entrance was near the shed. In their haste Kiba saw the fog thin in front of them but that only fed his growing suspicion. Looking to either side the fog seemed like it was pulled away from their front and gathered behind them.

"This fog is not natural." Kiba half said to himself.

"You only now figure that out?" Karui replied as she stopped.

A wall of white-gray rock towered in front of them. The fog gathered around them in a slowly tightening ring that seemed to respond to their movement.

"Either whoever is doing this is toying with us, or he's not entirely certain about our exact location and this jutsu is meant to respond to any movement." Karui said as she cleared her sword from its scabbard.

"No, he knows where we are." Kiba sniffed sharply, clearing his nose, "The fog masks their scents, but it doesn't hide it completely. There are three of them, and they're taking their time coming to us."

Focusing his eyes he found a dark shape in the side of the mountain face, the entrance to the mine. The more they ran the closer the sides of the fog came to them. When they finally arrived at the mine the fog stopped dead at the opening.

"Idiot!" Karui said aloud to herself, "It was a trap. Designed to lead us right to the mine then seal us inside."

Looking along the wall Kiba found a small power generator with a switch which seemed connected to a series of lights. Activating it gave light to a room that oddly seemed smaller in the dark. Piles of bags were stacked on top of each other along one wall. Bending down, Kiba found the same fine crystalline powder he had seen at the shack.

"No, it's not a trap." Kiba said as things began to click together, "It's a very specific jutsu planned to react to movement between the shack and the mine. Yes we were targeted by a genjutsu, but if this mist is anything like the one we encountered a few days ago, then anyone else would have their chakra disrupted."

Walking over to the pile of bags Kiba took a quick count as he attempted to heft one, it was heavier than it looked. Looking over his shoulder Kiba saw Karui pull the box she had taken from the shack and began tinkering with it. By the entrance Akamaru scratched his right paw against the ground three times, then his left paw five times, his tail was swaying quickly. Karui put the box away before turning with a questioning look on her face.

"Three people incoming, five-hundred meters, moving fast." Kiba translated the code for her.

"If even one of them is a doton user, they'll have the advantage in this cave."

"Our other option is fighting them in an environment where we're not even sure we can use our chakra. How do you like our choices?"

"They suck."

"Yeah."

Kiba reached back to his newly stocked supply bag and gripped several kunai as he took a position behind a column of stone. Karui turned off the light switch before performing a quick henge turning into a stalagmite. On the other side of the room Akamaru transformed into the one of the bags in the large pile. Satisfied with their positions, Kiba crouched and waited.

The mist once again cleared from the entryway, it now rolled gently along the ground for a few feet before evaporating into the cave's warmer air. All at once the fog drew back from the figures entering the cave. From what Kiba could see, the entire valley was clearing off the fog to the point where the first lights of dawn could be seen on the treetops just barely visible from his vantage point.

The sight did not distract his gaze from the three robed figures who entered the cave. One very large man and a young woman were on either side of the third, an older man with dark wrinkled skin. As the woman moved to turn on the lights, the old man grabbed her arm and shook his head. His attention turned towards the cave, stopping at three specific points: Kiba's, Karui's, and Akamaru's.

"Interesting." Was all the old man said as a devilish smile crossed his lips.