Puck: Okay, she's still doing the ninja thing, so I'm stuck doing this again.

SC: (peace sign)

Puck: Oh let's just get on with it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, so don't sue.

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Chapter 14

Confrontation

"Naruto, do you see anything?" Iruka called. Said blonde shinobi was up in a tree, searching for the cliff Roba had described.

"Yeah. It's pretty far off." He jumped down. "Kid ran a lot farther than he thought."

Chouji frowned. "He'd just fallen off a cliff. He was scared and in some serious pain. And he did have a slight concussion." He glanced over at Kakashi. "AND WOULD YOU PUT DOWN THAT DAMN BOOK?!"

Kakashi looked up from his book. "I'm sorry; did you say something?" Chouji glared at him. "I'm kidding, Chouji." He tucked the book back in his vest pocket. "Let's get going." The group trekked for another few hours, with small stops so that Naruto could make sure they were going the right way every now and again, and they didn't seem to be making much progress.

Chouji groaned and slumped back against a tree trunk. "This is impossible! We've been walking for almost three hours and haven't gotten any closer!"

Naruto frowned and crossed his arms. "You know, this happened the last time I was here. We kept getting lost, even though we'd been walking a straight path."

Kakashi lifted an eyebrow behind his mask. "Really? I wonder…" Quickly, he put his hands together. "Release!" There was a small burst of chakra, then Kakashi disappeared.

"Ah! Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled, looking around desperately for the silver-haired ANBU member.

"Calm down, Naruto. I'm right here." An invisible hand held a rock in the air. "It's genjutsu." The other three copied him to see…

"No way…" Chouji gasped, looking at their surroundings. The cliff, which had looked miles away from the treetops, was a mere few yards in front of them. Naruto leapt into the trees.

"We're on the other side of the island!" He yelped, coming back down.

Iruka frowned. "But this doesn't make any sense! We've been walking in a straight line!"

Kakashi shook his head. "No, we've only THOUGHT we were walking in a straight line. The genjutsu made us believe that we were taking a straight path, when in fact we were walking circles around the cliff base. That's why it seemed like Roba should have run farther than he said he did."

Naruto was still frowning. "But than why couldn't any of us notice it? Shouldn't have Sasuke's Sharingan or Neji and Hinata's Byakugan picked it up?"

"No." Kakashi said. "Hold on, let me finish. I wasn't sure of it until now, but there's been a fine mist since we arrived."

Iruka ran his finger over a leaf. It was wet. "Yeah, but this is in the same territory as Hidden Mist Island. That's nothing odd."

"Yes, but there's something mixed in with the water. A hallucinogen of some sort." He turned to Naruto. "Did anyone mention feeling odd while you were on your mission?"

The blonde paused. "No, not… actually, Neji said that he had been getting a headache, and Hinata wasn't looking to good. She said that her Byakugan was acting funny, but she thought it was the mask."

"It wasn't. You had all been breathing in the mist since you landed on the island. It didn't affect you, Sakura, Ino, or Shikamaru because none of you possess a powerful kekkei genkai that is centered in your eyes. I imagine that because Sasuke's Sharingan isn't a permanent condition, like the Byakugan, he didn't feel the effects until he actually tried to use it."

Iruka looked up at the mountain. "Makes sense to me. So, we start climbing?"

Chouji glanced over at Naruto. "Race ya' to the top."

Naruto smirked and poked Chouji's stomach. "Sure you can make it?"

"Are you calling me fat?"

Naruto shook his head quickly. "Wouldn't dream of it." Then, he leapt away, leaving the rest to follow.

.o0o.

Tsuki walked into the back room to see Byakuya sitting on his chair. "He escaped. Fell off the cliff side. And now the ANBU from Konoha are here again. And they brought the one that you missed with them."

Something resembling a smile tugged on Byakuya's lips. "Really? How nice of them to save me the trouble of hunting him down." He stood, pushing her away. "Did you erect the barrier?"

"Of course. I was just on my way to make the finishing touches downstairs. Have you chosen which one you want to use yet?"

"No." She kissed him, a hand running down his chest. Byakuya grabbed her wrist, pushing her away. "Not now, Tsuki."

She pouted a little, nodding. "Whatever you say, Bya-kun." She began to walk away, but he didn't release her grip.

"Come with me." She nodded and walked with him through the curtains. They stopped at the end of the two rows of beds. His gaze drifted over the sleeping figures of Hari, Kiseichu, and Kakushin. "Which one do you like?"

"For you or for me?" She asked.

"Me."

Tsuki shook his hand off and paced the row, looking over all three. She stopped at the end of Hari's. "I like this one, but he's a little young."

Byakuya joined her. "They're all the same age."

"He's older." She corrected, pointing to Kakushin.

A pause. "I don't like his hair."

"Of course you don't. It's pink. You hate pink. But you could always dye it." She pointed out. Turning, she looked over the girls. "Are you sure you don't want to keep one? I wouldn't mind."

"I already told you, no. Besides, I need all of the other five now that one's escaped." He muttered, looking between Hari and Kakushin. Tsuki draped her arms around his waist, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"You know, I really don't mind the younger one." She told him. "And I'm sure you can find one around that age for me sometime."

Byakuya looked over at her for a moment. "All right. Him then." He pointed to Hari.

Tsuki grinned at him and let go. "I'll go make the finishing touches then." Turning his head, she kissed him again before walking back between the curtains. Kneeling down next to the chair that Byakuya almost always occupied, she pried up a concealed trapdoor and descended the stairs underneath it.

Finally, the stairs gave way to cool, smooth floor. Reaching out, she grabbed a torch from its holder in the wall, lighting it. Walking around the perimeter of the room, she lit the rest of the sixteen torches needed to provide sufficient light. After the lights had been lit, she set the original torch back in its bracket and walked over to the table shoved up against left wall. Across its surface was an array of weapons that any respectable ninja would have with them at all times. But lying amidst the various shuriken, kunai, and needles were several swords and a pair of kusarigama.

Brushing one of the scythes out of the way, Tsuki picked up a long, sharp dagger. Pressing the tip against her left index finger, she made a neat slice. Blood welled up immediately. She set the blade down and walked over to the middle of the room, kneeling down in the middle of a large, complex circle that covered the entirety of the floor. Pressing her bleeding digit onto the stone, she began to continue a series of kanji already drawn there, moving around the outer ring of the circle.

After drawing for several minutes, she reached an already dried kanji, her work finished. Standing, she brushed the dust off of her knees and looked over the intricate circles. Surveying her work, she smiled, apparently satisfied. Moving to the center circle, just big enough to stand in, she moved her hands through a series of signs. "Tatsu, Tora, Ne, Tora, Saru, Tori, Mi, Inu, Ne." At the last syllable, she spun around, raising her hands into the air. She stopped, facing the wall opposite the staircase. A low rumble shook the room, dust and bits of rock falling from the ceiling.

The ground around the circle cracked apart, and slabs of rock shot out of the ground. Tsuki watched with a smirk as they fell toward the ground. She wrapped her left hand around her right wrist, sliding it back along her arm up to her elbow. Five, glowing red kanji appeared where her hand passed over. They shot off of her skin, burning onto the rock. "Earth style, stone coffin jutsu!" The slabs fell to the ground, forming into five long, rectangular boxes evenly spaced around the outer ring of the circle. After surveying her work one last time, she walked back over to and up the stairs.

.o0o.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Chouji groaned. Surrounding the hut that sat on top of the mountain was a large, black fire shield. Kakashi and Iruka both immediately thought of Orochimaru's attack on the Third Hokage during the Chuunin exams.

"We need to find whatever's maintaining the barrier and destroy it." Kakashi muttered.

Naruto looked over at him. "So… we split up?"

"We split up." Kakashi and Iruka disappeared, leaving Naruto and Chouji.

Chouji looked over at Naruto. "Splitting up never works…" He whined.

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, but it usually gets the job done." And with that, he disappeared. Chouji sighed and started in the opposite direction of Naruto, heading after Iruka.

Inside, Byakuya frowned. "This is becoming bothersome. Tsuki!"

She walked into the room. "Yes?"

"Keep them busy until I can begin."

Tsuki smiled. "Of course, Bya-kun." She disappeared again, reappearing outside the hut, just inside the shield. Raising her hand to her mouth, she pressed her thumb hard against one of her canines. Blood welled up from the prick and she pressed it to the ground.

"Keep them busy, pets." She chuckled as the earth shifted below her.

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SC: God, I have been having such a hard time writing this, though it may just be the lack of enthusiastic response from anyone but Kudari-chan. Read and review please!

Ja ne

SC