For the next two days, Sora drifted in and out of consciousness. Even when she was awake, nothing Natsuko or Genji said would register. Her eyes, only half-open, were lost in fog, as if she was still dreaming.
"It's like we can't reach her," Genji muttered one night. "She's lost in La-la Land while we're stuck here taking care of her." He sighed, wishing he could be away in La-la Land as well. Both he and Natsuko were freezing, tired, and starving to death. They had to take turns sleeping and hunting for food, so that someone could watch Sora at all times. And the whole time, they had to be on their guard against other teams who might try to take their scroll. Thankfully, no one had tried to assault them…yet.
"Don't think that Sora's having a good time," Natsuko replied. "Look at her."
Sora's body kept stiffening and her pale face looked strained, as if fighting for her life. Her fingers twitched spastically, and her lips were moving wordlessly, muttering things no one could hear.
"It's your turn to watch her," Natsuko said, stifling a yawn. "I've been up half the night and my eyelids weigh a ton. Good night." And with that, Natsuko dropped off, right then and there.
"Sheesh, she falls asleep and leaves me to do all the work," Genji muttered. Just then, Sora gave another shuddering lurch. "And sure, you've been a great help," he retorted at her unconscious body. "Aaah, what's the use…we might as well…give…up…" Genji opened his mouth wider than a lion, and fell asleep mid-yawn.
By the time things started getting interesting, Genji was beyond wakeable. If he had been awake, he would have seen Sora tossing and turning, like a child with a nightmare. But Genji was still floating in the comforting dream land, so he didn't hear her breathing growing quicker and more ragged, and her talking in her sleep: "No…please, no…Sasuke!"
That last word was so loud, it snapped her awake. Sora's eyes flew open, and took in her surroundings clearly for the first time in two days. She swallowed the cold, hard lump in her throat, gradually lifting her shaky gaze towards the foliage above her, staring up at a canopy of leaves that let only the occasional sunbeam in. She could hear Genji snoring away, and, turning her head to the left, she discovered that Natsuko was also fast asleep. What a mess we've ended up in, she thought. And it's all my fault. I'm just a burden to them now. Just extra luggage. What am I good for? Nothing, at least until I get healed.
A voice interrupted her thoughts. "Had a bad dream?"
Sora was so shocked that she nearly sat up, but immediately let out a sharp hiss of pain through clenched teeth and was forced to lie back down. "Wh-who are you?" she asked in a steady tone that thinly masked her growing fear and sense of helplessnesss. Now was not the time to start a fight. "What do you want?"
"Why, what a silly question. Your scroll, of course." The stranger stepped forward into Sora's range of sight.
It was a woman with straight black hair, pale skin, and a sinister expression that was vaguely familiar. Her hitai-ate (headband) had the Grass insignia on it. Sora couldn't explain it, but her gracefully fluid pose and her icy tone of voice reminded her of a snake.
"What if I don't give it to you?" Sora asked, stalling for time, and hoping that she would wake her teammates up.
"Do you think you're in any condition to argue, my dear?" The woman asked in a voice as silky as a cat. But her voice carried a threatening messsage behind the smooth words. "If you're so determined, I'm afraid I'll have to fight you for it, and we know you're in no condition to do that."
"Well," Sora replied carefully. She didn't want to give enough lip to provoke the stranger, only enough to keep her talking. There was a fine line between offending someone and entertaining them. "What if I still won't tell you where it is? What if I've hidden it somewhere?"
The woman sighed. "Then I might have to force it out of you. Kill you, even." In the blink of an eye, she materialized behind Sora and bent down next to her, pressing a kunai against her throat. "We wouldn't want that to happen, now would we?"
Sora felt a jolt of new, yet familiar, pain hit her, this time from the shoulder, as the tips of the woman's hair lightly brushed over her face. She grimaced, and one of her hands went to her shoulder. All of a sudden, the puzzle pieces fell into place. Sora knew who this person was. But she continued stalling, waiting for the perfect moment, while she slowly moved her hand towards her weapons pouch.
"I'm the only one who knows where the scroll is," she bluffed. "If you kill me, you'll never obtain it; it's hidden in a place no one will ever find. But I'm never going to give you any information while I still live. So what are you going to do now?"
"You're a smart one, aren't you?" Sora's enemy chuckled darkly. "But you must not consider your life of much value if you are willing to throw it away over a simple scroll. How interesting. But I wonder how much you value the lives of your friends…" the stranger trailed off suggestively.
Sora decided that now was the time to stop playing. "But the scroll isn't what you value yourself, is it, Orochimaru?"
"Oh dear, I guess you've found me out. And I thought this was such a brilliant disguise." Orochimaru smiled mockingly. "So, can you also read my mind, and tell me what I want?"
"Yes, but no thanks!"
Suddenly, the air was filled with a thick, white substance as Sora detonated a smoke bomb. It temporarily obscured all vision, blocking Orochimaru from seeing Sora's next move.
Natsuko and Genji suddenly found themselves awakened by a sharp kick and a voice whispering in their ears: "It's time to put the Kumokasen to action!" By the time the smoke cleared, Team 11 was standing in a clearing on the ground of the forest, ready for Stage One of the Kumokasen. The enemy was nowhere in sight.
"Sora, how -" Genji began, shocked to see the still injured Sora even standing.
"Now is not the time for questions," Sora cut him off, gritting her teeth against the growing pain. "Natsuko, I need the coordinates."
"Coordinates? Oh, right. Byakugan!" Veins began to stand out on Natsuko's face as she began to reel off a list of unintelligible words and numbers. She halted abruptly. "Sora, are you sure you want to take the leg position, with you injured like that? I can do it for you."
"No, I need to do this one on my own. We'll stick to the original plan. Natsuko, you take the eye position, I'll do the leg, and Genji will take the web. Genji?"
"Yeah?"
"Make sure you use both sheet and tangle. This one's slippery, so don't waste time making an orb. Natsuko, can you give me the coordinates again?"
"Alright." Natsuko repeated the list: "Head, right leg, eight bounds; abdomen, right leg, twelve bounds; lower cephalothorax, left leg, fourteen bounds; upper cephalothorax, right leg, nine bounds."
Sora didn't move an inch from where she stood, but soon the sounds of a struggle met their ears. A short while later, everyone could see it as well.
A second Sora was fighting against a very surprised Orochimaru. But that was simply the point of the Kumokasen: to confuse the enemy so that they wouldn't sense an attack.
Natsuko was the "eye." Her job was to pinpoint the enemy's location with her Byakugan and give Sora the coordinates. The complex method of communication was meant to confuse the enemy as well. The compass was a spider, with the head in whatever direction Natsuko was facing; each leg stood for a different direction, and each part of the body corresponded to a different pair of legs. A "bound" was a predetermined distance of ground so that Sora could figure out approximately how far away the enemy was.
This was where Sora, the "leg" came in. She generated a clone before the entire operation began, and planted it with Natsuko and Genji. Meanwhile, the real Sora hid among the trees, following Natsuko's coordinates. She silently killed any clones the enemy might have created using her Sharingan, and went in for the kill. Next, she would lure the enemy out into the open, using Sharingan if necessary.
Genji, the "web" was next. His part was the most crucial, and it was still yet to come.
Meanwhile, Sora's injuries were beginning to cramp her fighting style. It was already difficult to draw out chakra from her weak body in the first place, but with a physical injury to help defeat along, well… Let's just say things aren't looking too good right now, Sora thought. She was using every weapon and jutsu at her disposal to slowly but surely push Orochimaru closer to the clearing where her friends stood. Sora knew her chakra and stamina wouldn't hold out for very long, and she was running out of ideas.
She flung another few shuriken at Orochimaru, who looked none the worse for wear; he simply dodged them with ease. And he was only slightly put out when that attack was immediately followed by a fireball which forced him one step back. But inwardly, Sora rejoiced. One step back was one step closer to the end of this battle. Thankfully, he hadn't shown any sign of finding out their strategy yet.
Finally, he was on the edge of a thick branch almost directly overhead the clearing. Sora ducked and swept her foot in an arc in order to trip him. Orochimaru lightly jumped to avoid it, but that was just what she wanted. She kicked him in midair, not strong enough to make any lasting impression, but enough to send him tumbling down towards the clearing.
"Genji! Now!" she yelled.