Yukiko called down the hawk that was circling high above her head, weighed down slightly by the cylindrical burden that clung to its leg. She held her arm aloft and the bird abandoned its flight and settled down on the offered perch. She relieved the messenger of its letter and set the bird on her shoulder so that she wouldn't scare it away when she tried to write back. Opening the scroll threatened a painful death by explosion for her had she not had the counter seal in her pocket, which she placed over the character inked onto the outside of the parchment. She channelled some of her chakra through the seal which caused a 'poof' to be released as the seals neutralised each other; a thin wisp of smoke trailing up through the air. Deeming the letter safe to open she quickly read through it, huffing in frustration. It looked as though she would have to abandon the search for Naruto - which was getting nowhere by the way-and meet up with her employers tomorrow. In her head she cursed the elusive teen, knowing that they would be disappointed with her for losing the boy even though it wasn't her fault! Any sign of his presence had disappeared and he hadn't returned to Konoha like she had expected. She had rushed ahead to the town once she figured out which direction his tracks had indicated and had waited there for almost two days. She had seen her team make their way back through the gates, and probably into the hospital, but there had been no sign of the blonde. She could only assume that he was too nervous to enter the village and was waiting somewhere at the border (though she could still not figure out his exact location). But now it looked like she no longer had any more time to search. Akatsuki would have to take over now and she would search for the location of other bijuu.

Kotetsu scoured his surroundings with a practised eye, poking about for things that didn't belong. He, Izumo, Shirogane and Aya were investigating the movement of a rock team that had been potted just outside the borders of Konoha. They had been spotted by border scouts who weren't supposed to involve themselves in combat unless absolutely necessary, so on their return a team had been sent out to spy on and intercept the team if needed. They were nearly at the coordinates they had been given but there was not yet any sign of the enemy ninja. They reached the clearing and crouched in the bushes to listen for the rock ninja but they still could not hear any sign of life. They crept closer, watching out for any traps that were waiting to claim their lives - or freedom depending on their enemy's intention. They entered the clearing with nary a scratch on their person and the watchfulness of curious deer wondering why the hunter hadn't sprung his trap. They reached the middle of the clearing, facing different directions so as not to be caught unawares. However, when facing opponents from the rock village there really is only one way they like to appear and so, true to their culture, four humans burst from the ground in a shower of rock and dirt, landing in the middle of the konohan's loosely formed circle.

Kotetsu jumped forward and twisted around so that he was facing the attackers, earning a blow to his guard from a (thankfully) kunai free fist. He pulled out a weapon as his eyes quickly flickered around to his companions. Thank God, he thought, they jumped away in time. They were all one on one, though Kotetsu wanted to group back together so that it was easier to defend each other as well as themselves. Apparently he was not the only one with that idea; Izumo had started to edge towards him but was stopped by his opponent. Looks like they want to fight us separately…they better be ready then. And so the fight commenced.

Naruto lay on his back staring up at the drifting clouds as a light breeze tousled his hair. He understood now why Shikamaru had done this so much when they were younger, it was so calming and free and he could almost lose his senses in the air around him and drift into a pleasant slumber. Sadly he knew that he could not afford to abandon his senses at this time so close to Konoha and sought after by his previous captors. He sighed thinking that he should probably move on soon but wishing to lie for longer. It couldn't harm anything; there is no one around at the moment. However his tails were becoming uncomfortable under his backside and he felt like they were getting pins and needles. Is that even possible? He wondered vaguely. He rolled over onto his front and the uncomfortable sensation disappeared, sometimes they really put a damper on life, how was he supposed to watch the clouds now? He contemplated the merits of moving for a moment before his ears picked up a new noise some mile or so away and he focused most of his senses on this discovery. He could hear the faint sounds of clashing weapons and smell blood in the air, not much but it was still there. He had managed to maintain a sliver of his curious mind through the years and so he got up to investigate the supposed battle.

As he got closer it became apparent that one side was losing pretty badly though there were still no major injuries. They were separated and not as prepared by the sounds of it, maybe an ambush? They were growing more confident with their hits but it may already be too late. He snuck up to the clearing with his presence hidden and his tails out of the way behind his back so that the vibrant colours would be hidden from any of the combatants. He peeked at their headbands to get an idea of who he was looking at. He separated the ones he assumed to be from Konoha and their opponents just in case he decided to involve himself and was confused to discover that they were fighting the rock village. What were rock doing all the way over here? He couldn't imagine what they would be after in Konoha, except perhaps another war… but from Orochimaru's occasional mutterings he knew that rock didn't have the resources to attack Konoha so they must be trying to pick up information or something. Maybe they wanted to interrogate one of their opponents. He was currently annoyed at his old home but he didn't truly wish any harm upon the ninja's that defended it.

Kotetsu was starting to panic slightly. That fist blow had hurt his unprepared arms and the force he wanted to exert just wasn't coming out. His opponent was starting to push him back, improving the advantage that they had already gained at the beginning. He could see that his allies were currently doing no better. They had come to spy and involve themselves in minor scuffles if necessary but they had been too laid back to have readied themselves for this battle. His opponent seemed to be trying to miss all of his vital spots which was why he hadn't given up quite yet, he could see that they wanted information; he had thought that it was a bit strange that they had allowed themselves to be spotted by the scouts – he no longer thought of it as good luck. He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by a sharp pain on his side. Dammit! He had been too careless. He looked up at the rock ninja and saw his eyes widen in alarm, perhaps he hadn't meant to do that? But then he stumbled back and twisted, falling onto his front to try and avoid landing on the kunai lodged in his back. For a moment Kotetsu was unable to move in shock from both his wound and the sight in front of him; the same question whizzing round and round his mind, 'who had helped him? His comrades were all too busy to have noticed his predicament and his enemies were in a similar state. He peered around the clearing trying to find someone hidden in the bushes before remembering that he was bleeding heavily and that his friends needed help. He took a bandage out of his first aid pouch and yanked the blade out of his side, grimacing in pain. He quickly took of his vest and tied the bandage tight under his shirt. He put his vest back on and looked up to see who needed immediate help. His eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat. 'What the hell?' He looked around the clearing in surprise and wonder as his brain tried to process what his eyes were seeing. Two of the rock ninja were lying unmoving on the floor with fresh blood blossoming over their chests, most likely dead. The last was hung up by his ankle on the branch of an oak tree, spluttering in surprise as he tried to figure out what had happened. He would have been able to untie himself easily were it not for the rope around his hands that bound him to an intricate trap on the floor. If he tried to tug his hands up two pieces of jagged metal would snap shut on his wrists, possibly cutting them off in the process. The rock ninja was being very careful not to move his hands once he had figured this out. Meanwhile Kotetsu's friends were perfectly fine and either lying or standing in wide eyed shock. Kotetsu laughed breathlessly as he walked over to Izumo to help him up.

Naruto chuckled to himself in the shadows. 'Let the fun begin!'

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Soooooooo summer has been kinda busy and I wasn't sure how to evolve the story but hey, next chapter! I hope you enjoy and I'm sorry that it took me awhile to decide how I wanted to continue this. I know some of you have said that it doesn't matter but I know I don't like it when people take forever to write more . So I will do my best to shove myself on the computer and NOT just read other stories.