Sorry about the long wait. I admit it has been awhile hasn't it? Fortunately, I have finished the stupid online course thing that I had to do this summer, leaving me more time to write. So now my real summer starts. And there's only two weeks left. Sigh.
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Chapter 21: Black Out
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Sakura sat on the dew encrusted grass and gazed at the sunrise. The sky was filled with various hues of pink, orange, and purple. Tiny shafts of sunlight filtered in through the trees around her. It was one of those moments when everything just stopped and seemed to appreciate the beauty of the world.
It was one of those rare times when she was truly happy.
No worries.
No memories.
Just calm.
She knew it wouldn't last.
The sun continued to rise over the horizon, slowly blinding her with its brightness, casting light on her comrades' faces behind her.
'Okay, happy moment over. Time to wake everybody up.'
She pushed herself off the ground and stepped over to Naruto, who was splayed out on the ground next to his sleeping bag which he had obviously rolled out of during the night.
'That kid must have the craziest dreams.' She thought, bringing a slight grin to her features.
She debated with herself briefly on how to wake him up. She nudged him with her foot slightly.
"Hinata?" he said almost hopefully.
"No, Naruto, its Sakura. Wake up."
Naruto opened his eyes.
"Huh?"
"Hey, back from dreamland, loverboy?" Sakura teased as she looked down on his confused expression.
"Loverboy?" Sakura heard Rin's voice.
"Oh, nothing," Sakura said as she saw Naruto's face turn slightly pink.
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Naruto tightened the straps on his backpack and continued marching down the road. He glanced back at his teammates, who in his opinion, were lagging behind. He was about to say something when he noticed a bird flying overhead.
'A messenger bird.' He thought.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto hollered.
Kakashi saw Naruto point towards the sky and looked up. He saw a brown speckled bird slowly circling above him.
"What now?" he muttered and raised his arm so the bird could land.
It spiraled down in tight circles and landed with ease on his outstretched arm. Kakashi quickly untied the tiny scroll from its leg and opened it as the bird flew off again, back towards the village. His eyes scanned the message and he frowned.
"Oh," he said simply.
"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.
He handed the letter to her. It read:
ABANDON MISSION. RETURN TO VILLAGE IMMEDIATELY. AKATSUKI IN LAND OF FIRE. AFTER FOX.
"Oh," Sakura agreed.
"Do I not get to be in the loop here?" Rin asked.
"We're going back to the village," Kakashi replied. "Naruto! Come back!"
"Okay, I won't ask," Rin said and began walking back along the road towards the Hidden Leaf.
Naruto, who was some thirty feet ahead of them, quickly ran back and proceeded to ask a trillion questions.
"What's going on? Why are we going back? Are we in trouble?"
"The Akatsuki are here," Sakura stated. "I think that pretty much answers all three questions."
Naruto's face fell considerably.
"Crap," he said. "…But why are we going back then? We should stand and fight!"
"No, Naruto. Rin is here too, remember? Sakura and Rin are both medics, they're job is to heal, not fight. Which leaves only you and me," Kakashi explained.
"Hey! I can fight!" Sakura and Rin said simultaneously.
"It's still too dangerous."
"Not if we…"
Sakura tuned out the rest of the argument. She decided she would rather avoid a fight if at all possible, especially when the Akatsuki were involved.
She felt an icy chill shiver down her spine and stopped. Someone was watching again.
'Who is following me all the time?' She thought.
"Oof!" Naruto bumped into her.
"Why are you just standing there, Sakura?"
"Shut up, Naruto. We're not alone."
The rest of her team heard her softly proclaimed statement and everyone immediately quieted, but kept moving so as not to attract attention. Now Sakura saw that they all felt it too by their expressions and were on guard in case of attack.
'Is it the Akatsuki? Sound nin? What is going on?' She thought wildly.
She kept her hands hanging loosely at her sides, ready to defend herself if necessary. She figured it would become necessary very soon. If it was the Akatsuki-
"I would say this little game is pointless, you obviously know I'm here."
Instantly, the four Leaf ninja stopped in their tracks, observing their surroundings and taking fighting stances.
'Who…'
"I know that voice," Rin whispered.
"Where are you?! Show yourself!!" Naruto hollered at the trees.
"Well, well. As rambunctious as ever I see," the same voice drifted through the air.
Naruto gritted his teeth and made an angry face. Kakashi slowly lifted his headband to reveal the Sharingan eye.
"Stay calm, Naruto. Think," he said, never taking his eyes off the trees.
"And who is the new friend you have there? I do believe I've seen her before…"
A kunai whizzed through the air and would have hit Rin had she not reacted quickly and moved out of the way. The mysterious stranger finally revealed his identity since his hiding place was now obvious. He leaped from a tree and landed lightly in front of them. The leaf ninja all showed varying degrees of surprise on their faces when they saw who it was.
"Kisame Hoshigake," the fish-like Akatsuki member introduced himself to Rin. "Pleased to meet you."
"Kakashi that's the one who—" Rin began quietly but was cut off by Kisame.
"Ah, yes. Hatake, the copy ninja. It has been a while, hasn't it?" he casually put his hand on the handle of the giant sword on his back.
"Yeah," Kakashi stood up straighter, "So, Kisame."
"Hmm?" the rogue shiniobi raised his eyebrows.
"Who are you stalling for?"
"Stalling? Me?" he feigned innocence. "I was just trying to make conversation."
"Enough conversation!" Naruto yelled. "Let's just get down to it!"
Kisame laughed hoarsely, as though it was something he wasn't used to doing. He gave Naruto a wide grin and looked at him with his beady eyes.
"If it isn't the fox boy. I wondered when you'd set off that mouth of yours."
"Shut up!" Naruto roared.
"Easy, Naruto," Sakura put a hand on his shoulder.
Kisame continued to leer at Naruto, but then he suddenly turned his attention to Rin. He looked her over again and grinned.
"Ahh…yes. I remember now, you're the Hayata girl."
His smile only got wider when Rin grimaced. Sakura and Naruto looked from Rin to Kisame to Rin again.
"What?" Sakura asked, "How do you know this jerk?" She pointed at Kisame for emphasis. Rin didn't answer her.
"It was you who threatened me, wasn't it?" she questioned Kisame.
"Yes, you were a fast one, though; I never got you," he smirked, "Until now, of course."
"Rin, don't let him get to you," Kakashi warned, "He's just trying to buy time."
"For what?" Sakura asked.
"I don't know," Kakashi said, "but this isn't like him. There's something more going on here."
Naruto, who had been fuming silently while watching the proceedings, suddenly tried to rush past Kakashi and Rin at Kisame.
"I'm sick of this!" he shouted.
"No, Naruto!" Kakashi caught his arm just barely restraining him. Rin quickly grabbed his other arm. Kisame looked amused and flickered his eyes to the trees.
'That was a signal,' Kakashi thought.
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"No, Naruto!" Sakura heard her sensei shout.
She had been about to grab Naruto as well when she heard a thump behind her. She barely had a chance to look behind her into the blood red eyes of her attacker and her own eyes widened when she recognized him.
Then everything went black.
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Once again, another cliffy. Boohahahahaha. Pretty please review, the number of reviews I get are slowly decreasing. It makes me sad. I probably won't update again until school starts and I get back in the rhythm of learning again. So that sucks. And I start high school this year. Fantastic.