Animal Instincts

Chapter 11: Mission: Convince Elder Fuuin!

Recap:

"Let them put Akamaru on a lead," said Kurenai. "They're not going to hurt him, right?"

She gave the leader a do-as-I-say-or-there-will-be-trouble look. He nodded and Kiba stood up straight, allowing the ninja to walk by him and slip a loose lead on Akamaru. The hound was not pleased at all to be tied up, but like his master reluctantly accepted the situation.

The Tomi Village ninjas had their team file into a line, allowing Akamaru to walk next to Kiba. Kin had been put on a lead too, a small rope tied around her ankle. Kin perched on Takara's shoulder, unhappy about this turn of events.

I don't know who they think they are tying me up like this, she said dramatically.

"Relax, Kin," said Takara. "It'll be over with soon."

She followed behind Hinata as the team made its way through the forest into Tomi Village.

***

It had been only twenty minutes that the ninjas from Tomi Village had caught up to them when the forest began to thin and sunlight crept through the branches. Takara looked up and could see that it was almost dusk now and the sky was beginning to turn orange. She sighed as she wished she could just sit down and take a rest. Her feet were killing her.

The Tomi shinobi were walking on either side of their group, keeping an eye on all of them. Takara was walking directly behind Kurenai who was at the front. They had been able to make it through the first part, but would Elder Fuuin let them speak with her?

Takara glanced over her shoulder at her teammates. Hinata looked nervous as she glanced at the men that walked on either side of her. Shino looked like ... well, Shino. Kiba and Akamaru looked pissed and ready to blow. Takara sighed.

She knew that Kiba wasn't liking any of this so far. She wasn't liking it anymore then he was, but for the sake of the team she needed to act like a leader and put aside their differences for now. She could do that, couldn't she?

"Kin," she whispered. "Can you see the village from here?"

"Hey! No talking!" grunted one of the ninja standing to Takara's right. He leaned it next to her menacingly to emphasize his point.

Takara looked at him with a raised eyebrow, not intimidated at all by his mean growl or the fact that he was probably two times her size. She held her breath as his dirty stench floated into her nostrils. He stood straight again and they resumed the walk. Takara let out her breath, grateful for clean air.

I can't see too much, but I think we are coming to the end of the road, said Kin. I'm sure the village isn't far away.

Takara nodded her head, but made sure not to say anything. The ninja might make another scene.

"So, what business do you have with Elder Fuuin?" asked the leader of the Tomi Village shinobi.

Kurenai turned her head in his direction and looked at him for a moment. "None of your concern."

"It is if it had to do with this village," the leader practically shouted.

"Well, then it's a good thing our business has nothing to do with your village," said Kurenai as she turned her head away from the insufferable ninja.

Takara sweatdropped as she looked at her leader. 'I guess we don't have to worry about being quiet anymore,' she thought.

Takara stepped out of the shadows from the woods and into the evening sun. She held her cuffed hands in front of her face to shield her eyes from the sun. She blinked a few times before she'd adjusted to the light. When she lowered her hands and opened her eyes she couldn't believe what was in front of her.

This wasn't an ordinary clearing, and Tomi wasn't an ordinary village.

Takara walked forward as she followed Kurenai. In front of them, the forest, which was once so dense you couldn't walk, suddenly stopped completely. Twenty feet from where the forest stopped the ground dropped off and Takara couldn't see where they were supposed to go. She walked for to the edge and gasped.

Tomi Village lay fifty feet below her. There was a staircase the spiraled down into this immense pit in the ground. At the very bottom lay the village. Takara couldn't believe it. This place was huge! How could anyone not be aware of its existence. Sure they didn't like outsider, but come on. How isolated can you get?

"Hurry up!"

Takara was startled out of her thought and began walking behind Kurenai again. The ninja led them down the staircase, which seemed to go on forever. Takara was busy looking into the city. There were so many people and buildings. It seemed almost impossible for all of this to fit in a hole in the ground.

The shops and restaurants stemmed from the middle of the town and branched out into the residential areas. At the center of the village was a tall building. That must be where the elders were.

The Tomi Village ninja walked to the end of the stairs. They turned and began walking through a neighborhood that had little kids playing with a ball in the street. As their group came closer, the children stopped their game and stood to the side of the road to watch them pass.

Takara got uncomfortable having all their eyes on her. She kept her eyes glued to the back of Kurenai's head to keep her from looking at any of the people they passed. She didn't want to startle them, they'd probably never seen strangers before.

The village was so low in the ground that the sun had already lost it's effect on the town. All the lights were on and lanterns were lit outside. Takara couldn't help, but begin to feel complete exhaustion settling in. As they neared the tower in the center of the village their team began passing by all the restaurants making Takara's stomach grumble with hunger. She hadn't had a good meal since before they left the village. Takara looked at all the different places to eat with want in her eyes. What she would give to have a meal right now.

The group finally arrived at the tower. Takara looked up at the building. It was smaller then the Hokage tower back in Konoha, but it was no less daunting.

The ninja led them all inside the building where they were checked by the clerk. She eyed all of them suspiciously as they walked by. Takara could feel her heart begin to pound against her chest. This was the moment of truth. If they could get the information they needed, who knew when the mission would get off the ground. They had no other leads then Elder Fuuin.

If they couldn't convince her to help them, the Akatsuki would surely find the other shards. Takara reached up and grabbed her necklace with both hands. But at least they already had one shard.

They walked down the hallway in silence as they neared a set of double doors. That must be where the Elders were. Takara bit her bottom lip as her nerves began to get the better of her. She took a deep breath to calm herself and stared hard at the doors. She was ready.

The leader ninja raised his hand and knocked on the door. He waited for a reply. Someone inside must have responded because he grabbed the handles on the doors and yanked them open. The team followed him inside the room. There was a set of small stairs that led up to a platform. The team walked up the stairs and filed into a line in front of the Elders who sat on large cushions on the floor. Takara looked at the four elders, three men and one woman.

She must be Elder Fuuin. The woman was sitting with her eyes closed and her head bowed. She wasn't even looking at them.

Takara stood straight with her hands still cuffed in front of her. They all must look pretty criminal right now. She kept her face emotionless as she waited for the Elders to speak.

"Your excellencies," said the leader ninja. He stepped forward and kneeled in front of the four Elders. "We have apprehended five shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village. They were walking through the woods twenty minutes from the village. They have asked to speak with Elder Fuuin."

At the mention of her name Elder Fuuin lifted her head slightly, but still didn't open her eyes. Did she think she was too good to even look at them? Takara frowned at her rude attitude.

"And what is so important that you would ask for a private audience with me?" Elder Fuuin said slowly. She inclined her head at their team.

"We were hoping her grace would be willing to welcome an old friend," said Kurenai, not looking the least bit deterred by the elders actions.

Elder Fuuin opened her eyes and looked at Kurenai. Her face broke into a soft smile and she got up off her mat. She walked over to Kurenai with her arms held out wide.

"Kurenai," she said, clearly glad to see their sensei. "What a surprise, child. You should have let me know you were coming."

"I would have, Ayame-sama," said Kurenai with a smile. "But we're on a very hurried schedule. I'm afraid this trip is because of business."

Elder Fuuin nodded her solemnly. "Still a shinobi then," she said. "One of these days you'll see that I'm right and you'll settle down with a fine man and start a family."

Kurenai blushed at the Elder's words. She smiled weakly at the old lady, but didn't say anything. Elder Fuuin looked down at Kurenai's hands and saw the chakra cuffs on her wrists. Her smile disappeared instantly and turned into frown.

"What is the meaning of this!" she shouted, startling everyone in the room. "Why are there chakra cuffs on my guests! Take them off this instant! These aren't just any shinobi from the Leaf Village. They're traveling with Kurenai Yuhi. You fools!"

Everyone on the team sweatdropped as they watched the old lady stomp around the room shouting orders at anyone that was unlucky enough to pass by. The ninja came over and took the chakra cuffs off their wrists and untied Akamaru and Kin from their leads. Takara felt her chakra begin to flow through her hands and fingers again. She stretched her fingers and then close her hands into a fist. That felt better.

Kurenai stepped up to Elder Fuuin and touched her on the shoulder. Elder Fuuin turned around, ready to spout off another order, when she realized it was Kurenai.

"Ah, Kurenai dear," she said. "Arrangements are being made for your stay. You can rest tonight and then we'll talk in the morning. How's that?"

Takara was silently clapping on the inside. This would be great! They could eat and have a good nights sleep before they had to even talk about the shard.

"I'm sorry, Ayame-sama," said Kurenai. "But we don't have the time."

Takara's face fell as well as Elder Fuuin's.

"It would be best if we get to business right away," said Kurenai. "We'll need to leave right at daybreak."

"So soon, child? But you've only just arrived," said Elder Fuuin.

Kurenai nodded. "Our mission is one of great importance. Time is essential and cannot be wasted."

"I see," said Elder Fuuin. "Then let us go some place with a little more privacy."

Elder Fuuin walked over to the other side of the platform and pulled back a curtain. Behind the curtain was door which she opened. Kurenai walked over and followed her in. Takara paused. Did Kurenai want them to follow her or was this a private meeting between her and the Elder?

"What are we supposed to do?" Kiba grumbled.

"Takara," said Hinata. "Y-You're our ... co-leader. What should we do?"

Takara looked at Hinata. She wished Hinata wouldn't call her the co-leader in front of Kiba. That just got him even more annoyed.

"Let's go in," said Takara. "No real reason why we shouldn't be able to."

Takara walked over to the door and pushed it open. Inside Kurenai and Elder Fuuin were sitting on cushions around a small table. There was a candle flickering in the center of the table casting long shadows against the wall. Elder Fuuin sat at the head of the table and Kurenai in the seat on her left. Takara took the head seat on the other end as Kiba and Shino sat across from Kurenai and Hinata.

"Now then Kurenai," said Elder Fuuin. "What is it you want to speak with me about?"

Kurenai didn't look at the Elder as she said, "The Sacred Crystal."

Elder Fuuin stared at Kurenai, wondering if she was really asking for information about that. The Sacred Crystal wasn't something that was common knowledge anymore. She couldn't hand out that information lightly.

"Why?" she asked crossing her arms. "Have you any idea what that thing is?"

"It is a stone of unknown origin found hundreds of years ago," said Takara, getting everyone's attention. "It was shattered into five shards because of its dangerous powers and the shards were placed in each of the shinobi nations, protected by its own sanctuary."

Elder Fuuin narrowed her eyes at Takara. She tried to hold the woman's gaze, but found herself looking instead at the candle flickering on the table.

"Who are you?" asked Elder Fuuin leaning forward onto the table.

Takara looked at her and said, "Takara Nishimura, your grace."

"I don't know how you've come to learn about the Crystal," said the Elder. "But what does this have to do with anything. It's ancient history. No one cares about this anymore."

"Ayame-sama, have you heard of an organization called the Akatsuki?" Kurenai asked.

Elder Fuuin shook her head, beginning to think that being isolated from the world had its downside.

"They're a criminal organization whose main goal is to rule the shinobi nations. Right now, we believe that they are working on securing the shards of the Sacred Crystal and use its destructive power to further their plan of complete domination."

Elder Fuuin paused and seemed to take in this information. She hung her head and shook it back and forth. She sighed and looked up and stared at Takara. Takara looked around at the others, but they were all in thought too. She looked at Elder Fuuin and noticed that she didn't seem to be looking at Takara, but through her as if lost in her own thoughts.

Why was everyone quiet? She couldn't understand it. They should be talking about a plan right now. They should be figuring out what they were going to do to get the shards before the Akatsuki did. Instead they were sitting and looking at each other.

"So what do we do?" she asked.

Elder Fuuin blinked and her eyes seemed to focus on Takara's face. The others looked over at her too. Takara looked around at all of them, but rested her gaze on Elder Fuuin.

"Elder Fuuin," she said leaning forward onto the table. "Kurenai-sama says that you may have some information as to where the shards might be. Is this true?"

"I hope you don't expect me to just hand something like this over, do you? These are the shards of the Sacred Crystal. One of the most powerful objects in our history. Information like this doesn't come lightly."

Takara gritted her teeth. Couldn't she see that this was life or death for all of the shinobi nations? Even if Tomi Village didn't like to get involved in outside affairs, this affected them too. She should be more eager to help them, not just sitting there talking nonsense.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Takara. "You want us to do something for it? We don't have that kind of time! We have to find the shards before the Akatsuki does!"

"Takara!"

Takara flinched when Kurenai said her name. She was getting worked up, she knew that, but she couldn't help it. Was she supposed to just sit back and let the old lady ruin their plans? When Takara had calmed down Kurenai looked at Elder Fuuin.

"Ayame-sama," she said. "I know that you want to protect the Crystal at all costs, but believe me, we won't give away any of the information you give us. We want only to protect the shards."

Elder Fuuin looked hard at Kurenai. There was once a time when Elder Fuuin had believed she'd never need the help of an outsider. That had changed when she had been kidnapped all those years ago. Luckily, Kurenai had been given the mission to find her. Kurenai rescued Elder Fuuin from her captures and returned her safely to Tomi Village. Elder Fuuin had promised that she'd always be there to assist Kurenai in anyway. She knew she could trust Kurenai with the information, but what of her students? Were they as trustworthy?

"We already have one of the shards," said Takara, suddenly remembering her necklace.

Elder Fuuin's head snapped up and she stared at her. Takara held the stone around her neck up by the chain it hung on. It shined in the candlelight and she could see Elder Fuuin's eyes widen.

Suddenly, Elder Fuuin leapt onto the table and, nearly knocking over the candle in the middle, reached out for the shard. Takara was completely surprised and taken aback. She stared at the old lady as she held her necklace in her hand and examined the stone. She wore a concentrated expression as she stared at the shard and rolled it over in her palm.

After a moment, she paused and blinked, looking at the stone unbelievingly. She looked at Takara who was sure this old bag was going out of her mind from old age.

"It's real," she whispered. "It's the shard from the Wind Country."

"Of course it's real," said Takara impatiently, but tried to disguise it in her voice.

She reached up and took back her necklace and put it on. Elder Fuuin sat back down in her cushion and stared at Takara as she now fiddled with the stone.

"So, Ayame-sama," said Kurenai. "Will you help us?"

Everyone held their breath as they waited for the Elder's answer.

"Alright," Elder Fuuin said in a tired voice.

"You'll help us!" exclaimed Takara with a smile on her face.

"On one condition!"Elder Fuuin shouted, stopping Takara's momentary celebration. "You all have to swear that you won't breath a word to anyone outside this room. Understood?"

All of them nodded their heads and waited for what would happen next. Elder Fuuin stood up from the table and crossed her arms so they went inside the wide cuffs on her sleeves.

"Follow me," she said and began walking towards the door.

They all stumbled to their feet and walked behind her. She led them through the room they had first seen her in, and out into the hallway. It was now pitch dark outside, darker then anything Takara had every seen. Not even the moonlight found its way into the dark pit. Windows were now dark and everyone seemed to be starting to go to sleep.

Elder Fuuin led them down the main hallway and around a corner. They went down several more hallways and Takara was beginning to wonder when they were going to stop when the Elder halted in front of a door. She pulled out a huge key ring with what looked like at least seventy keys on it. Small ones, large ones, some with two keys on the same ring. Elder Fuuin found the key she needed quickly and slipped it into the slot and twisted it. She opened the door and walked inside.

"Don't touch anything," said Elder Fuuin as she turned on the light.

They walked into a room full of scrolls. There were shelves and shelves of scrolls going all the way up to the ceiling, twenty feet over their heads. The room was huge and filled with nothing, but scrolls that looked to be ancient. Takara looked around the room with her mouth agape. She'd never seen anything like this.

"Over here!" barked Elder Fuuin.

Takara and the others walked through the rows over to Elder Fuuin's voice. She stood along one of the back walls and had pulled away some books which now littered the floor. She had her back turned to them and once they'd reached her she turned around with a chest in her hands, there was an open safe in the wall behind her.

Takara looked at the small chest, intricately carved with minuet detail. Swirls and branches crisscrossed a pattern across the ancient wood.

"Hold this," she said to Kiba and she shoved the chest against his chest.

He heaved as the heavy chest knocked the wind out of him and he hung his head, trying to catch his breath. He straightened after a moment and Takara covered her mouth with her hand to keep herself from laughing at his annoyed expression.

Elder Fuuin unlatched the lid to the safe and opened it. Takara leaned forward to get a look at what was inside this hidden chest of secrets. Her heart thumped hard in her chest as she peered over Elder Fuuin's shoulder. Inside the chest were ... more scrolls.

Takara frowned. Elder Fuuin riffled through the scrolls in the chest until she found the one she needed. She lifted it out of the chest and slammed the lid shut almost snapping off Kiba's fingers.

She held the scroll out to Kurenai who took it without hesitation. Kurenai opened the scroll and looked it over. She narrowed her eyes and began glances at certain places on the scroll.

"This is ..." she said under her breath. " ... a map?"

Elder Fuuin nodded. "It shows the five locations of the shrines that house the Crystal shards. I assume it will be useful to you."

***

Takara lay awake in her bed staring at the ceiling. She was finally able to get some sleep, but for some reason her body wasn't letting her. What was going on? She needed to get rest before tomorrow or else she'd be even more useless then she was today. Takara rolled over onto her side and looked at Hinata who was in the next bed sleeping soundly. Takara wished she could be like that right.

She sighed and threw her covers off of her and swung her legs off the bed. She sat on the edge of the mattress and looked around for her shoes. When she couldn't find them she gave up searching and walked out of the room barefoot.

Takara tried to remember her way around this infernal maze of a building. If only she could find her way to the roof or to a balcony, she needed some fresh air. Takara turned the corner and her foot caught the edge making her stumble.

She fell hard on her knees and winced in pain. Takara sat on her bottom and held her foot and waited for the throbbing to subside as she mumbled incoherently to herself. Once the pain in her toes became more bearable she got off the ground and resumed her walk down the hall.

She couldn't see anything that pointed her to the roof or even a porch. Takara sighed and tried to think. That's when she heard a small shuffle behind her. She stopped and turned around and looked down the hallway. There was no one there. She frowned, sure that she had heard someone. She shrugged and turned the corner.

There it was again!

Takara flattened her body against the wall and hid just around the corner. Someone was following her and she aimed to find out who it was. The shuffling of foot steps grew louder and quicker as whoever it was tried to catch up with her. Takara watched as a body emerged around the corner, their face obscured by shadows.

Takara grabbed their arm and wrenched it behind their back. The person swung their elbow backward at her head and she ducked, causing her to let go of their arm. She swung at their face, but they stepped back and grabbed her arm. They yanked her to them and held her against against them, her back to their chest.

She elbowed the person in the stomach and they let go of her. She swung around, ready to swing her fist into their face again when her adversary lunged forward and knocked her against the wall. She gasped as the wind rushed out of her lungs. The person grabbed her hands and held them against the wall by her head. Takara twisted her body, trying to wrestle herself out of their grip.

"Takara, relax, it's me."

***

Preview Ch 12:

"Ready?" he asked looking into her eyes.

Takara nodded.

"Alright. One... Two..."

Takara gulped as she stared at Kiba. Their eyes locked for a brief moment and she felt her heart squeeze with anxiety.

"Three!"

***