Chapter 11
Making Decisions III
We were off again, desperate to catch up to Sasuke before they crossed the border. "Well, guys," Kiba said, turning to face us while running through the tree tops, "looks like it's just the four of us left now."
"I don't think you have to worry about that. Choji and Neji are going to catch up in no time," Naruto exclaimed excitedly. "Choji's got his triumph card with him. And don't forget, I fought Neji in the Chunin Exams, so I know."
Kiba looked back at Naruto questionably, "You know what?"
Naruto smiled, "That guy; he' a true genius."
We continued on in silence, hoping our comrades would make it. It was getting near sunset when Kiba turned to look at us, "We're close."
Shikamaru smiled, "There's only two of them left, against the four of us. I like those odds. If we play it right the next time we meet them we'll be able to wrap things up once and for all."
"I'll say," Naruto yelled, "Two against four, no sweat!"
"What do you mean it's two against four?" Kiba asked, making Akamaru bark.
"Opps, sorry about that Akamaru," Shikamaru laughed, "It's two against five, I like those odds even better."
"Wait till they see our new technique, those clowns won't know what hit them. Right boy?" Akamaru barked in response.
"Don't worry about a thing, As soon as we catch up to them all I got to do is my Shadow Clone Jutsu and the shows over."
"Well that's comforting to know," Shikamaru said in a monotone voice. "All the same, we're working as a team here, right? Just stick to the plan."
"Oh, well… sure," Naruto said, quickly losing his before-fight spunk.
"The most important thing is to at least get them in range before the sun goes down."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kiba said quickly. "Let's hit it!" we all started to go at a faster pace. It wasn't until it started to get dark that Kiba spoke up again. "Hurry, they're just up ahead."
"No," Shikamaru insisted, "We're close enough. We'll stay right on their trail, but we're going to maintain this distance."
"What the heck are you talking about?" Naruto piped up from the back.
"We'll keep them in our sights, but we won't attack until sunrise."
"That's crazy. We can't afford to wait till then. What about Sasuke?"
"Yeah, he's right." Kiba interjected. "And besides, if we're going to hit them with a surprise attack, it's be an even bigger surprise if we hit them in the dark. "
"You guys don't get it, do you?" I asked. The gang was taken aback, having those as my first words since we set off after leaving Neji.
"Get what?" Naruto and Kiba asked at the same time.
I smiled at their sense of naive. "It's true; the darkness might give us an edge at the first cover of contact. But after that, it will only give us a disadvantage, right? Don't forget what we're really after. We want to keep them occupied just long enough to get Sasuke out of there. That will take decision and split second timing." I looked over to Shikamaru and saw him smiling. I gave a nod and he nodded back in acknowledgment. "We need to be able to see clearly, we can't risk going in blind wondering around in the dark. Once they knew what we we're up to, all they have to do is fall back and guard Sasuke's coffin. They could take up a defensive position and wait for us to come to them. The advantage would be all on their side."
Shikamaru picked up where I left off, "Of course, things would have been a lot different if we had Neji and his Byakugan with us too."
"Even so," Naruto enquired. "What about your eyes?" Naruto asked, looking towards me.
"My eyes are only good at picking up body heat, like a snake. Though it would be good in this situation, I can't just go in there all by myself. And I can't shout out directions all over the place, they'll catch on, so there would be no surprise. I still say we go in the morning."
"Aren't you forgetting about me and Akamaru and our sense of smell?" Kiba remarked, making Akamaru bark in agreement.
"We didn't forget about those sensitive noses of yours." Shikamaru continued. "Even so, in this part of the woods they've got the geography in their favor. Once more, what's the sense of attacking now? My Mind Jutsu is no help. The moonlights too dim and there's too many clouds passing over it for my Shadow Possession to be effective. It's a drag, but to be completely safe we've got to wait till daylight."
"I don't know," Kiba started.
"I agree," Naruto yelled, surprising all of us.
"What?"
"Shikamaru is our leader. And if he says we wait then we're gonna wait."
"I just hope I'm right," Shikamaru stated.
-IN THE MORNING-
The sun was shooting warm rays through the tree tops as morning set in. "Alright guys," Shikamaru said, "You know what to do."
"Right!" agreed the three of us as a bark resounded.
Kiba, Akamaru and I went to the left as Naruto and Shikamaru took the right. We all circled the two sound ninja and meet up in the middle of their path, making them stop.
Naruto was in the front with a kunai at hand, "Sorry, just us."
"Who needs those two," The two-headed one smirked, "When I can handle these guys myself." He then jumped at us.
"Get ready!" Naruto yelled.
We all got into a formation and braced for an impact. Naruto threw his kunai and just barely skimmed past the freak's head. Naruto made a quick shadow-clone as Kiba, Shikamaru and I lunged at the silver-haired man.
Naruto and his clone quickly made a rasengan as the man yelled out "Fist Barrage," while swinging his fists in a lightning fast speed. I felt a pain in my stomach that was quickly over shadowed by pain in my chest, then face. The man had stopped not only me, but Kiba and Shikamaru too. One last punch to my gut sent me flying backwards and away from everyone.
My back connected with a tree trunk before I slumped towards a branch not far below. My body felt bruised all over but I pushed those feelings aside, 'Not now,' I thought to myself, 'I have to fight. I'll tend to my wounds later.'
Slowly rising to my feet, I could feel my muscles protesting. I looked over just as Kiba used his Tunneling Fang on Naruto's clone and just barely missed the silver-haired man and head towards the red-headed girl. 'I knew I should have let Naruto use his shadow clone. God, I'm so stupid sometimes.'
I watched as the man and woman figured out our plan. The man yelled, "So what? Do you think that's gonna do you any good?" and jumped after Kiba as the woman was about to grab the coffin and move. Just then Shikamaru's Shadow Possession shot out and captured the woman's shadow, immobilizing her.
"What hit me?" the woman asked, looking towards Shikamaru with difficulty.
"It's called a Shadow Possession Jutsu," Shikamaru said from where he stood.
I could only watch as Kiba grabbed Sasuke's coffin from next to the woman and kept going.
The man yelled at the woman to move and get Kiba, not realizing that his comrade was immobile. Shikamaru stood up and took a step forward, making the woman do the same. "What are you doing?" The man yelled from his place in the air. "Get out of the way!"
Shikamaru released the Shadow Possession just as the man collided with the woman.
Kiba threw Sasuke's coffin at Naruto, urging him to catch. With a huff, Naruto caught the coffin, "Good work Kiba. OK, got it," Naruto said, just before taking off back from where we came.
"You heard him Shikamaru and Lynne." Kiba shouted, "Time to pull out."
"Don't worry, I'm coming," Shikamaru said as he headed towards Naruto and Kiba.
"Me too," I chimed, gathering my strength and ignoring the pain as I tried to catch up to the gang.
"Ha, just as I thought," Shikamaru smirked, "They left themselves wide open. Sometimes being so sure of your own strength can be a weak spot."
"Well, whatever," Naruto said. "It worked."
"It's about teamwork, Naruto," Shikamaru chided. "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. If we just work together, nothing can stop us."
We continued to run with Sasuke in tow as the enemy followed close behind. "He's fast," stated Kiba.
We all chanced a look back and noticed that the two-headed man was gain on us and fast. I quickly heard a familiar bark coming from Akamaru as we passed him. "Akamaru! Once you set the bombs, get moving," yelled Kiba towards his companion. Akamaru barked back in confirmation. We stopped not far ahead to witness the man get caught in an explosion.
"Alright," Shikamaru praised.
"He fell for it!" yelled Naruto with excitement.
"Akamaru, nice work buddy," Kiba complimented. Akamaru barked at all of the comments he was receiving.
Unfortunately the explosion caused more than a few trees to catch fire and/or topple over. From out of the smoke came the man from before, only angrier now. "Don't you mess with me!" yelled the man as he came closer and closer to us with ever angry bound. Akamaru tripped as he went to flee which caused Kiba to yell. "That's the last time you'll bark at me, you mutt!" yelled the enraged man. Lifting his arm toward the dog, wires began shooting out and trapped the dog to the branch that he fell on. "You won't get away."
The paper bomb just in front of Akamaru began to burn. Kiba yelled a quick, "Hold on," as he headed towards his companion. The bomb exploded just a Kiba reached Akamaru.
"Kiba! Akamaru!" yelled Naruto.
"I can't see them," came Shikamaru.
"Hold on," I said as I formed the hand seals to my Dragon Eye Jutsu. With the jutsu I could easily make out Naruto and Shikamaru standing next to me. They showed up as red and orangish splotches, indicating their body heat. I then looked out towards the area now covered in smoke from the previous explosion. I watched as Kiba, Akamaru, and the man fell off a side of a cliff. 'When did that get there?' I thought to myself.
"Damn it!" yelled Naruto. "What's happening? Where are they?"
"Don't worry, they're alive… for now," I half reassured them as I dropped my jutsu.
A yell coming from where we just came from drew all of our attention. "You're mine now!" It was the red-headed girl who was with the two-headed man earlier.
"Kiba and Akamaru are still gone," Naruto said.
"And we still have another one to deal with," came Shikamaru's reply. "There's no other way. I'll have to take care of this one. You take the coffin and carry on with the mission."
"Shikamaru-"
"Just get going."
All of a sudden the red-head stopped in her tracks. "What? What are you doing here?"
Just then a man jumped down on top of the coffin and flipped so that he was facing it before he kicked Sasuke's confinement away from us. He did all of this with such speed that we didn't even have time to react before he was already on another branch with the coffin.
The new man was dressed just like the other people we met who worked for Orochimaru. His hair was grayish white and he was crouched so that we couldn't see his face. He stood up and turned to face us. I immediately noticed the red rimmed eyes and the two red dots on his forehead.
"Sorry Naruto," Shikamaru apologized. "It looks like I missed calculated."
"Kimimaro," the red-head uttered. 'I guess that's the new man's name.'
"You were taking too long, Tayuya," came the deep reply. 'His voice is almost as deep as Gaara's' I thought with amazement. "And what of our comrades? What happened to our other three men? This from the former members of the sound ninja five."
"Why have you come back here?" asked the red-head now named Tayuya. "Your body is- by now your body should be-"
"My body is too devastated to move on its own anymore. I used the power of my mind."
"No way," exclaimed Tayuya. "Now you're cheating death?"
"I understand much more now," replied Kimimaro. "This strength of my life force has intensified since escaping the prison of human flesh." The man then rubbed the top of Sasuke's coffin in an affectionate way. "I've had a taste of lord Orochimaru's magnificent dream."
The mention of that bastard's name made me clench my fists to the point that blood began to well up and I had to hold back the urge to punch Kimimaro.
"Orochimaru," Naruto ground out with as much hate as I was feeling.
"This vessel," the man continued on, "is an important part of his dream. It has the flesh that lord Orochimaru desires. But you have taken too much time retrieving it."
'Oh, great! Just what we needed. Another freak to deal with. "Flesh that Orochimaru desires," Yuck! It makes it sound like Orochimaru is a pedophile, which he probably is. And what the hell was all that about with 'his body'? This mission just got a whole lot creepier.'
"Hey, jerk!" Naruto yelled. "I've had just about enough of this nonsense you're yapping about."
"Naruto-"
"I'm taking Sasuke back, NOW!" Naruto yelled, cutting off all of Shikamaru's protests. Naruto leaped towards the stranger as both Shikamaru and I reached for Naruto, be we were too late. Naruto was already heading toward Kimimaro.
The red-head leaped with such speed that she was able to get in Naruto's path and punch him in the face before he even came near the silver-haired man.
Naruto ended up falling towards the ground. Both Shikamaru and I ran towards him and Shikamaru caught him before he collided head-first into a tree branch below. I landed next to both of them and watched as the silver-haired man landed next to the red-head and began to whisper among themselves. A minute later the man jumped towards the coffin and left with it back in the direction we just ran from, leaving the red-head behind.
"He's taking Sasuke!" Naruto said in agony. "Not again! I've got to go and get him."
"Just calm down, Naruto," Shikamaru said calmly.
"How can I calm down?" Naruto yelled back. "We're losing him. He's gonna take Sasuke away from us."
I watched as the red-haired woman stood up from the branch she was crouched on. "You rodents!" the woman yelled as she pulled out a flute from her hip bag. "I'm gonna end this in a flash."
"Naruto, Lynne, listen to me," Shikamaru began. "I've got a plan, but you've got to follow it exactly. We're going to make her believe that we all are going to gang up on her and fight. But, in reality, I'm going to distract her with an attack as both of you run past her and go after Sasuke."
"But, what about you?" Naruto asked.
"I'll stay and fight her."
"What about me?" I asked. "I can stay and fight with you."
"No, that's not going to work. For one reason, this woman was afraid of the other man so he must be pretty strong. As strong as Naruto is, having two fighting against the enemy will make our chances of getting Sasuke back even better. And the second reason is that you are already hurt and staying here and fighting with me isn't the best choice for you right now. Do you understand where I'm getting at?"
"Wait. Hurt?" Naruto asked. "When didn't Lynne get hurt?"
"Back when we first retrieved Sasuke. Didn't you notice that she was the only one who actually got hit with that two-headed man's punches?"
"Oh… now that you mention it, I guess I did notice it. I guess I was just so excited about getting Sasuke back that I kind of pushed it to the back of my mind."
"Yes," I finally answered to end the conversation. "I understand."
"Alright, you guys got it?"
"Yeah," we both replied.
"Well, let's get on with it you wimps," Tayuya called from her perch.
Shikamaru pulled out a kunai, "its three on one, and we've got the advantage. If we gang up on her we've got a shot. What do you say guys?"
"Let's get her!" yelled Naruto.
"Yeah, I'm game," I smirked.
"Ha," the red-head laughed. "It doesn't matter how many of you there are, your still a bunch of worthless morons."
"Don't get cocky; we've got teamwork on our side."
"Even if we are a 'bunch of worthless morons,'" I mocked.
"We'll show you," Naruto called.
At the same time we all jumped into the air and all aimed an attack at the woman.
"Bring it on!" yelled Tayuya.
Shikamaru swung his hand with the kunai back and struck towards the woman who blocked it with her flute. "Now, Naruto! Lynne!" Shikamaru signaled for us.
"I'm gonna punch your lights out!" Naruto yelled. But both Naruto and I sailed over her head and landed on the other side, leaving a confused red-head and a smirking brunette behind us. "Huh, she fell for it. This plan is working." Naruto said to himself more than to me. Then, in a loud voice he called out to Tayuya as he slapped his butt, "I'll see you around!"
"Maybe we'll fight some day," I called over my shoulder. "That is, if Shikamaru lets you live through today."
Naruto then stuck his tongue out at her in a childish manner before we both ran off in Sasuke's direction. I looked over my shoulder to see how Shikamaru was fairing but he was already out of sight. I looked toward Naruto and noticed that the nine-tailed fox's chakra was leaking so that Naruto's eyes were red and his whiskers were more pronounced.