Chapter 11! And yes, it is now October and there was no September chapter! I'm sorry.
"Good!" Sakura proclaimed, "I've had to go to the bathroom for the last two hours! I'll be right back."
"Okay Sakura-chan, we'll start without you," Naruto said absentmindedly as she waved over her shoulder while pulling out an unusually large amount of ninja wire.
"How much do you expect to use?" Sasuke asked incredulously as Sakura left the clearing.
"It can never hurt to be prepared!" Naruto shot back with a glare, "Now help me set up, Jerk. We're putting the kunai in with this wire and…" Sasuke rolled his eyes and tuned out her babbling, keeping a wary eye out on the forest around them. Just because they had camouflage cloaks didn't mean there was no one following them. He'd had the nagging feeling that someone was watching them for the last few hours.
"…and then we'll use this boomerang to…" Naruto was still going when he tried to start paying attention so he started ignoring her again and just worked on setting up the trap.
.!.
After only a few minutes of setting up Sakura came back and immediately moved to help Naruto, "I have to admit," she spoke after a moment, "I didn't know you had it in you, Naruto."
Naruto looked up for a second from the wire she was tying to a tree, and in a normal voice replied, "Not a lot of people do, Sakura-chan," then a blinding smile lit her face, "It's all part of my master plan!"
Sakura, who was on the verge of feeling guilty with the first statement, relaxed, "What else do you need me to do?"
"You could rig some kunai," Naruto smiled and pointed to the pile of knives sitting next to her, "We need three on the north end, two in the southeast, one rigged from above, three more in the west, and two from the southwest set to go off at different intervals."
"To keep them guessing where the next one's coming from?"
"Exactly!" Naruto grinned, "Maybe you can come with me sometime to prank some Jōnin next time, Sakura-chan, you're getting the hang of this!"
Right on the verge of turning her teammate down outright, Sakura noticed something from the corner of her eye, "Where are you going, Sasuke-kun?"
"Bathroom," the only boy grunted.
Blood crept into Sakura's cheeks, "Ah… okay, see you soon."
Naruto blinked at the exchange and wondered why Sakura was embarrassed by it, but shrugged and finished the portion of the trap she was working on. She noted that Sakura was not nearly as quick as she was in rigging the kunai at the right angles so she picked up a few of them next. This part had to be done professionally, really. You had to accurately predict where the unfortunate victim would move once caught in the trap and, because Naruto didn't really want to kill anyone, aim for areas that would only hit non-critical locations or simply scare them to the location that was required for the final phase.
It was almost twenty minutes later when Naruto was pulled from her musings by Sakura, "Naruto! I think we should go look for Sasuke-kun, he's been gone a long time."
Naruto blinked, "eh? Oh yeah, he's not here."
"WHAT? How could you just forget about Sasuke-kun!.?"
Naruto rubbed the back of her head and shrugged, "I guess I'm just used to ignoring him, he's usually quiet anyway."
Sakura huffed and started to climb out of the tree she'd been in (Naruto had ordered her up there to do something ten minutes ago and still hadn't told her what she'd needed to do), "Well just because you don't care doesn't mean I don't! I'm going to go find him!"
Before the pinkette could get out of the tree the boy in question walked back into sight.
"Sasuke-kun!"
"Hey Sasuke," Naruto said distractedly, waving a hand without much interest.
"Sasuke-kun! What took you so long? I was starting to get worried," Sakura twittered from the tree.
Sasuke raised a skeptical eyebrow at her before rolling his eyes, "What do you need me to do now, Naruto?"
Naruto stopped working and turned to stare full-force at Sasuke, "What did you say?"
Sasuke glared back, "I asked what you needed me to do."
Sakura, noticing the tension in the air, tried to play peacemaker, "Naruto? Sasuke-kun? What's going on?"
Without warning Naruto attacked their male teammate.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screamed as the Uchiha clumsily evaded the unexpected blow, "Naruto! What do you think you're doing?" with a quick motion Sakura was on the ground, fully intent to give the blonde a piece of her mind, but upon seeing the completely serious look on her face (one of those little things she'd unconsciously focus on in an attempt to not be fooled again) her outer arguments quieted.
Even inner-Sakura stopped arguing when she heard the definitely-not-Sasuke voice that now came out of Sasuke's body, "Well, well, well, I was told you were the dumb one in the group. You're more than you seem, Uzumaki Naruto… heh… in more ways than one," the Sasuke look-alike smirked (it was a much more evil smirk than either girl had ever seen on the boy's face) and then he was surrounded by smoke, "How could you tell I wasn't your precious teammate?" the way he said the word 'precious' gave Sakura the chills. It was sarcastic and disregarding at the same time, and as if he would have just loved to kill off said teammate just to watch them squirm. The thought of Sasuke dead made her mind go into panic-mode.
Naruto's serious face fell and she stared at the revealed grass-nin like he was an idiot, "Sasuke doesn't call me by my name like that, stupid," they stood in a stalemate for a moment more while the infiltrator laughed. Naruto made a quick decision, "Sakura-chan!" the sudden call snapped the pinkette from her over-active-imagined panic, "Go find Sasuke, I'll hold him off here until you two get back!"
Sakura didn't need any more prompting (and only later would realize that she really shouldn't have left her teammate all alone to fight an unknown enemy… but this was Sasuke-kun they were talking about!).
Naruto waited until she'd gone out of sight, "How long have you been following us?"
The grass-genin smirked, "I only found you here a few hours ago, Sasuke-kun was quite skilled in unseen movement, as he proved when I found him a few minutes ago."
"What did you do to Sasuke?"
"Heh, let's just say he's currently… indisposed at the moment," the creepy girly-man (as Naruto had so fondly dubbed) smirked, "But more importantly, you can't do anything about it."
"Don't underestimate me!" Naruto was moving again as if to attack, but when the enemy nin dodged her easily she kept going and pulled one of the triggers for the trap they'd been working on for the last several hours.
A grid-work of ninja-wire lifted up from the forest floor, making any sort of footwork difficult. The creepy-girly grass nin stumbled a bit, and quickly struggled to regain balance, "Too bad I watched you set this up all day," he commented dryly as he found his footing.
Naruto could only watch helplessly as he completely evaded everything thrown at him.
.!.
"Saskue-kun!" Sakura called out blindly to the forest around her, looking for their lost teammate.
"ARGH!" a scream from her left made her stop in her tracks.
"Sasuke-kun!" she knew it was him. It had to be. The closer she got the more pain she could hear in the screaming, "Sasuke-kun!"
When she finally broke through the trees and bushes she finally found him. Sasuke was on his side, curled in a fetal position and clawing the ground hard enough to draw blood from his fingertips while his other hand was clamped to the side of his neck.
"Sasuke-kun!" he seemed to just register her voice before another wave of pain overcame him, he didn't cry out this time though, "What happened?" she knelt by his side tried to help him sit up. He didn't react to her touch.
He shook his head and he started to pass out, but just as his eyes got hazy he seemed to realize something, "N-Naru-to?" Sakura had to strain to figure out what he was trying to say as he seemed to succumb to more pain.
"Someone came to our hideout disguised as you, Naruto's back there fighting him now," she explained hesitantly.
"NO!" Sasuke, suddenly seeming to get strength back, pushed himself from her hold and attempted to stand, "He's too… strong," he managed to get out, "She can't… face… him alone."
It was here that Sakura realized she really shouldn't have left their teammate alone, "What should we do?"
Sasuke shuddered in her arms, he had managed to get to his knees in his attempt to stand then she'd had to catch him before he fell again, and his hand clamped down harder on his neck, "… help… her…" he managed to get out before he went completely limp. His hand fell away from his neck and Sakura noted a strange looking bruise-like thing.
"Sasuke-kun!"
"Sakura-san!" the sound of her name made her whip around and pull a kunai out. Lee stood behind her, "Sakura-san! What's wrong?"
"Lee-san!" she nearly cried with relief, "We have to help Naruto!"
"Where is Naruto-san?" Lee's worried eyes turned from Sakura to Sasuke and back.
"She's back there!" Sakura pointed, "She's fighting the guy that did this to Sasuke-kun!"
"I'll go!" Lee immediately volunteered, "after all I promised you both I would protect you with my life!"
"Thank you Lee-san!" Sakura bowed her head, "I'll be right behind you, I have to help Sasuke-kun first."
"I would prefer if you stay away from such a battle, Sakura-san," Lee voiced, but before Sakura could protest he continued, "But I understand the need to protect someone precious. So I will see you there?"
Sakura nodded, "I'll see you soon," the Green Beast turned to go, "and Lee-san… thank you," Lee grinned and sunlight glinted off his white teeth before he once more turned to go.
"Alright, Sasuke-kun, we have to get you someplace safe," Sakura muttered to herself and lifted the boy onto her back with a bit of difficulty.
She worked hurriedly to move back in the general direction she'd left Naruto and to find a good spot to hide Sasuke where no one else could find him.
"Eh? Forehead?"
Sakura nearly dropped Sasuke in her surprise, "I-Ino?"
"SASUKE-KUN!" Ino screamed, running at Sakura full-speed, "What did you do to him?" she accused bitterly and attempted to pry the Uchiha from her back.
"Ino!" Shikamaru called, "What are you doing?" He and Chōji were right behind her.
"I didn't do anything, Ino-pig!" Sakura glared back, "He was attacked! And now the same guy that beat him is going after Naruto! I have to get him someplace safe and go help my teammate!"
The declaration made the Blonde pause, "What? Someone was really strong enough to beat him?"
"Yes! And now he's after Naruto!" Sakura made to move away, intent on getting done what she needed to do.
"We'll take Sasuke-kun!" Ino suggested instantly.
Shikamaru groaned and muttered something suspiciously like, "troublesome woman, always doing things without thinking it through."
Sakura backed away protectively.
"No, think about it!" Ino protested, actually speaking in a calm voice to try and ease Sakura's fear, "You can't just leave him in a bush somewhere and you need to go help… Naruto," Sakura glared at the way her former friend said Naruto's name, "So you can leave him with us and we'll look after him while you go."
"I…" Sakura looked helplessly at Shikamaru and Chōji.
Shikamaru shrugged and Chōji offered a kind smiled through his chip consumption, "Don't worry, Sakura," the Akimichi offered, "We'll stay right around here and watch after him."
"What a drag," Shikamaru commented, "You're actually going along with this Chōji?"
"Yes," the boy replied, "But I think you should go with Sakura to help Naruto. Me and Ino can stay here and keep hidden."
Shikamaru groaned and leaned his head back to look at the sky while his hands found their way deep into his pockets.
"I… thanks guys," Sakura gently lowered Sasuke to the ground. Ino was hovering over him like a hawk over a mouse-infested field, "You don't have to come, Shikamaru," she also noted, "Watching Sasuke-kun for me is more than enough. Hopefully I'll be back soon."
"Shikamaru," whenever Chōji used that tone of voice on him he knew nothing good could come with arguing, the Nara sighed.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru murmured, Chōji nodded thanks, "Wait up, Sakura."
The Pinkette gave him a grateful look. He nodded silently in response, and then they were off.
.!.
Naruto gasped for air as the creepy girly man held her by her neck to the tree. She clawed weakly at his hands.
"This can be your punishment for thinking you could hold me off alone," the grass nin grinned wickedly, and leaned in close to hiss in her ear, "Little girl," his long tongue scraped up the side of her face and she shuddered at the contact. She wanted to start screaming and kicking, but with such a small amount of oxygen reaching her lungs at that point she didn't have the energy.
The grass-nin smirked as he pulled away slightly, "I think I'm going to enjoy experimenting with you… just like I did your precious little teammate."
The mention of Sasuke shook Naruto from the threatening darkness at the corner of her vision, "What… did you do… to Sasuke?" she choked out with as good a glare as she could muster.
"It would be wonderful if he survives," Naruto saw red. The grass nin backed away in surprise, "You're the host of-," he was cut off by the timely arrival of a foot making contact with his face.
"Attacking a defenseless woman against a tree," the new voice filtered in through Naruto's rage-induced haze, snapping her out of it to focus on the newcomer, "What manner of un-youthful behavior is this?" Fuzzy brows stood protectively in front of where Naruto had slid to the ground at the base of the tree when Creepy-girly man had let go of her neck.
"Who are you?" the enemy nin glared from where he was rising back to his feet, he had a hand to his cheek and wiped the blood away from the corner of his mouth.
"I am the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha! Rock Lee!" Lee gave the traditional Good "Gai" Pose (© Maito Gai, used with permission).
Naruto, who was feeling much better now that she could breath and was once again felt like she was in control of her actions, suppressed a shudder at the mention of the ridiculous name the Fuzzy Brows had claimed for himself, "Thanks, Fuzzy Brows."
Lee grinned at her and his teeth sparkled white in the sun.
"You'd do well to learn to not turn your back on your opponent," and then Lee was flying across the clearing and smashing into a tree, a large snake's tail replaced his image in front of Naruto.
At this point Naruto had regained her breath as well as her strength and multiplied herself several times over in preparation for an attack, "What did you do to Sasuke!" she asked angrily as she started her charge, "You never answered me."
"And I don't plan to."
"Naruto-san! Behind you!" Naruto only had a fraction of a second to prepare herself after Lee's frantic shout to turn and spot the massive snake that had easily blasted the boy out of the way before it swallowed her whole.
I took her a moment to fully realize.
"WHAT!" she shouted, but her sound died only a few feet from her in the esophagus of the large snake and she used up a large amount of the little remaining oxygen. She started to panic from the lack of air again, 'gotta' make more space!' her mind screamed.
So she did the only thing she could think of to make more room around her.
The snake exploded from the inside-out as a hundred or so Naruto's burst out of it, drenching the surrounding forrest in snake guts.
A moment later the remains of the snake burst into a clean white smoke.
"What the..!.?" she heard a lazy exclaim.
"Naruto!"
"Sakura-chan! Shikamaru!" Naruto turned to her and suddenly realized she was in a different part of the forest than she had been before the snake swallowed her, "We have to get back to Bushy-brows! Come on!" without pausing to explain she charged back in the direction where she just… knew that the green-clad genin would be, but if you'd asked her to explain how she knew, she couldn't have told you.
"Wait! Naruto!"
"Troublesome!"
But the only thought on the blonde's mind was the genin who had come to save her earlier. Not many people were willing to go out of their way to even talk to her, let alone fight for her, and anyone who did instantly earned a place in her good graces.
"This guy's strong!" she called back behind to where she knew Sakura and Shikamaru were following ('Wait! Where did he come from?' her mind thought momentarily before just as quickly forgetting), "We need a plan and we need one fast!"
Haha! You all have no idea how fun it is to procrastinate everything I'm doing to write this story (even if I can only manage it about an hour a week)... Of course it gives me major problems when I have an assignment due that I haven't even started… or have to go to work… or have to go to the other work… or have to go to the other other work… All I can say is that you're all really lucky I love writing this story so much otherwise you wouldn't be hearing from me all school year! XD
BUT! No matter how busy I get I love to read your reviews! So please do keep leaving comments and ideas for plot holes to fix and or scenes you would like to see! You never know what may end up in the story ;)
So tell me how you feel about this chapter, or maybe tell me about how you thought the modified Pedimaru (uh… wait… that would be Orochimaru…. Huh, go figure…) fight went, or about Sasuke's reactions to it, or the modified meeting of the teams. :) I'd love to hear about it! Or I'd also love to see the little counter on the favs go up, or maybe the alerts counter. Or even the hits counter. But I'd love to hear your thoughts even more!
Until next time!