Ambushed

Normal Monologue

Thoughts

Jutsu

Voice / Inner Sakura

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Head note: Sorry it's taken so entirely long to get this chapter up, but my writing was absolutely horrible! I mean, my mom wouldn't even read it! (Not really, she doesn't really look at what I'm writing.) But anyway, everything's all good now, cause I got that laptop I told you I'd be getting! I went with a Dell Inspiron 1545, one of the newer ones, and let me just say, it works and looks great, so I'm very happy. And hopefully you'll be happy to know that I'll always have chapters up on time from now on cause now I have much more time. So, here we are, the next chapter to Demon No More.

Ambushed--

The blonde boy watched with a deflated expression as the six-tailed container walked away, disappearing into the stretching shadows. He gritted his teeth and sucked up all the depression rising in his chest as he turned to face the others. He smiled weakly.

"Well, that's that, then…let's get going." he said softly, shoving his hands in his pockets and striding away. The group exchanged a glance and Sakura ran to catch up with her speedily moving team mate.

"Shouldn't we, I don't know, stay overnight, wait for him to think about it and show up on our doorstep?" Sakura asked. Naruto grimaced.

"Nothing ever happens the same way twice." he replied, his eyes on the road ahead.

"What about…hoping that he rethinks it and shows up with a grand gesture of friendship?" she threw out again, half-jogging to keep up with his long strides.

"It was bound to happen sometime. There's nothing we can do now but keep moving." he sighed.

"But…but, shouldn't we at least rest first?" Sakura blurted, desperate to keep him in one spot. Naruto shook his head.

"We've lost too much ground already; we need to keep moving if we plan on keeping a timely schedule. We'll camp later tonight and I'll keep watch if you guys get tired." he answered, though the weariness was evident in his voice, even if it wasn't in his face.

Sakura stopped and struggled for something to say, her mind whirring for a reason for the blonde jinchuuriki, but she drew a blank. Her shoulders slouched and she exhaled loudly, blowing the bangs out of her face. She glanced back at her friends, who were just now catching up.

Sakura ran a hand through her shoulder-length hair and sighed.

"Come on…we'd better get moving." she stated, rushing to get closer to her comrade's retreating back.

Youdai--

The teen turned down a narrow alleyway, the streetlights unable to penetrate the growing darkness. He furrowed his brow and recalled what had happened only minutes ago. More then half of the jinchuuriki had shown up looking for him, wanting him to go with them to defeat the Akatsuki and take back the demons they had been housing for 16 years or more.

But there had been something familiar about those people, some sort of vibe that he had felt before.

After the (6 tailed) was taken, of course, like the others, he had died. But a few short weeks ago, he had woken up in the middle of a forest, propped up comfortably against a maple tree's trunk. He found that he had been brought back from the land of the dead, though he didn't know how or why it happened.

Though the (6 tailed) was absent from his mind and body, he found quickly that his heightened senses had remained, though he could no longer tap into any of that incredible aura all of the nine cursed shinobi used to sport as a trump card.

Though one of the skills he was left with was one to sense the spirit of someone he had met before, someone he had imprinted into his mind so he was able to locate them with his eyes blindfolded and his fingers shoved up his ears.

And he knew…that though he had never seen any of those people before…that one of them was a friend, that he had become attuned to their soul at one time or another in the past. But he just couldn't place the name with the feel, or even a face.

He furrowed his brow and squeezed his eyes tightly. He felt for that buzzing sensation he got every when he was near the group of teenagers he had run into a little over half an hour ago.

Then, he got it. The warm, gentle glow washed over him again, filling his mind and heart, becoming the only thing he was aware of at the time.

It had been her, a girl he had met so long ago and knew she was something special from the moment he laid eyes on her. He hadn't seen her at first because she had been hiding behind another, a kunochi with light pink hair.

"Myori." he muttered, awed.

Jinchuuriki bunch--

"And you're sure it was him?" Sukiya asked, her soft blue eyes aglow with laughter. Myori nodded her head enthusiastically.

"I know it was! I'd remember that face anywhere, his eyes! He was the boy I met six years ago, the one that saved me from drowning in the river!" she exclaimed, bouncing slightly as she walked.

The four girls were hanging back from the rest of the gang, the guys all laughing loudly ahead of them, not wanting to be a part of the "girlie chat" as they called it.

"So, you fell in trying to get the water jug back…and he rescued you just before you drowned?" Reiya repeated. Myori nodded.

"I didn't know how to swim back then…I guess I just leaned over too far and just…went in. It was all a blur of white water and the bottom of the river. I keep swallowing mouthful after mouthful of water, but no air. Finally, just as I thought I was going to die, a pair of hands caught my arm and pulled me out. The last thing I saw was his worried face hovering over me."

"I had inhaled so much of the river, I was placed in the hospital for more then 2 weeks. After they had pumped me clean, I woke up about three hours after I was originally signed it, and I found him sitting there, waiting."

"We talked for hours and he was there every minute of visiting hours until I was discharged. Then…I never saw him again. He disappeared that very same night…" she whispered, a sad gleam in her eyes rising to the surface. Reiya put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Then why didn't you talk to him back there?" Sukiya squealed, her grin growing. Myori smirked softly and shrugged.

"I was too shy. We've grown a lot and…well, let's face it, why would he remember me?" she answered. Sakura punched her lightly on the arm.

"Because you had him star-struck! If any boy is around for that long of a time without knowing you in the beginning, you've got him wrapped around your finger." she joked. Myori turned a gentle shade of pink and lowered her head, walking slightly faster.

The three laughed joyously, enjoying their time together.

Suddenly, Naruto stopped, disrupting their conversation on good places to eat in their respective villages. The two other guys stumbled over their feet and turned, their expressions ones of confusion.

The blonde stood rigid, his ears tuning into a sound he heard in the distance. For a second, he was thrown off by the fact that his hearing and sight seemed to be working better then usual, but the distraction was broken when he caught the sound of wood hitting wood, a noise he unfortunately knew very well.

He twisted around and grabbed a kunai from his holster in a flash, throwing up the weapon just in time to block the down stroke of a strikingly familiar sword, the blade looking like a giant porcupine. Two other figures landed behind him, both splitting up and running in different directions, one toward the girls in the back and the other headed for the remaining guys.

Naruto grunted and glanced up, meeting his attacker's gaze.

"You're going to pay for what you did to me, you little brat!!" Kisame roared, his shark-like eyes glowing fiercely.

Meanwhile, Deidara dashed swiftly at the four girls taking up the rear, his bombs of art held in his hands.

"Time to die!" he yelled, throwing a handful of small, explosive spiders.

Youdai--

A splitting pain erupted in the boy's head, awaking him from his slumber. He shot up in an instant, almost falling off the couch he had dozed off on. His hand flew to his temples and he massaged them roughly, the explosion that had gone off a few seconds ago receding.

But the panic that had came along with it only grew, becoming a suffocating fear that swallowed up his entire conscious. He didn't know what had happened to make him act like this to a headache, but whatever it was, was telling him to head north, and fast.

Suddenly, an image came to his mind, showing a dirt road surrounded by large pin trees. There was a huge gaping hole, still smoking from an attack of some kind. He could hear the sounds of fighting in the background, but he couldn't see who was fighting. Then, he caught sight of something that made his heart stop mid-beat.

It was Myori, picking herself off the ground; she was covered in dirt, dust and grass, tufts of it sticking out of her hair. But behind her, there was a blonde with long hair, coming down for a strike, a kunai made of some kind of paper, but with his extensive perceptions, he knew it was some sort of mine compressed into a form capable for mobility.

The blue-haired girl flung herself to the side, rolling into a ball and flipping back to her feet, her movements fluid. The man attacked again, stabbing at her with his unstable weapon. If he landed a blow, she'd be blow to smithereens, or at least heavily injured, probably beyond repair.

He had to help her, no matter what the cost. The protective instinct was immensely strong, just as it was all those years ago when he had saved her from dying in the river.

So he jumped out the window of his small apartment and started to run, his powerful strides carrying him fast to his destination, determination driving him onward.

Battle--

Myori skidded away again, ducking down under the swipe Deidara had aimed at her neck. The paper-Mache weapon whistled through the air safely over her head, but it was still too close.

Deidara sneered and swung down, his hit headed directly for her exposed back. The kunochi rolled away, the explosive colliding with the ground and blowing up in a loud boom. A cloud of smoke rolled over the surrounding land and the teen stopped mid-roll, covering her head and parts of the earth flew dangerously around her.

A few seconds later, she raised her head cautiously, showers of dirt falling from her hair. She glanced around, the Akatsuki member nowhere to be seen. She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and pushed herself into a crouch, taking a well-deserved rest.

But suddenly, from out of the blackened dust, Deidara charged, another one of his blades held firmly in his hand. He was covered with a few small burns, but other then that, had no other visible damage. Myori's eyes widened and she tried to move, but found that her feet were stuck and wouldn't respond. With a swift look down, she noticed a soft aqua glow around the edges of her feet. Groaning inwardly, she realized a little too late that the blonde had powered the explosion with a powder that would glue her feet to the ground with a small pinch of his chakra, rendering her incapable of movement. She returned her gaze to the rushing man, and let out an exasperated sigh.

What a pathetic way to go…blow up by a man who spends all his time making little birds.

But before he could land the blow, a streak of black slammed into his side, the force sending the man flying away, disappearing back into the thick, suffocating debris. Myori glanced at the new arrival, ready to give it her all, even though she was stuck.

But when the person turned, she gasped.

"It's you." she whispered. Youdai smirked and walked over to where she was crouched, touching his hand lightly to each of her feet, the chakra was dissipated, leaving her free to move again. He helped her to her feet and looked around, squinting his eyes to see better through the smog.

"It looks like your friends are in a bit of trouble." he commented, smiling slightly. Myori shook herself out of her gawk and nodded.

"We were…attacked by some of the Akatsuki. I've seen two of them before, but the third one's new, the puppet user." she responded, starting to move through the smoke towards the sounds of the fight. Youdai followed after her, keeping his vigilant eye out for the Akatsuki.

As they emerged from the still billowing cloud, they came upon an interesting sight. Naruto and Kisame were going at it one-on-one, the fish obviously wanting to get back for the whole neutering thing. Meanwhile, the others were fighting with a numerous amount of puppets, with Sakura and Sasori having their rematch again, though this time the odds were pretty good this time, even though she was flying solo.

The blonde teen pushed the fish man back a few inches, his teeth gritted with the effort.

"You…will not…win! I won't…let you." he gasped, beads of sweat gathering on his forehead. Kisame frowned and his gaze flickered toward Sasori. The red head glanced up and met his eye, and with a nod, flashed up, causing Sakura to stumble forward as her target vanished into thin air.

"We'll be back Naruto, we swear on it. Remember what I said…this isn't over." Kisame growled. Naruto's eyes widened and he rushed forward, his fist coming in fast, but before he could hit, the blue Akatsuki flashed away in a swirl of water, leaving the jinchuuriki alone again.

Naruto stood still, breathing hard and still in a battle stance. Then, he slowly turned around and walked sluggishly over to the others. He stopped and screwed up his eyes, and then lashed out with his fist, smashing the bark in the nearest tree in, creating a fairly sized hole.

"Got away again." he muttered, his voice filled with frustration. He sighed and ran a hand through his spiky blonde hair and inhaled deeply, collecting himself. He glanced up, looking at all of his team mates.

"Everyone ok? Nobody hurt, right?" he asked, glancing from one person to the next, who responded negative. He finally got to Myori and smiled softly.

"That certainly was a number of impressive explosions. Nice work."

Now his cerulean gaze landed on Youdai and the caring, protective look was replaced by a confused one.

"You…what are you doing here?" he wondered aloud, not in an angry tone at all.

Youdai sighed and glanced at the girl next to him, who gave him a supportive grin in return. The teen smiled back and turned to face Naruto again, his face full of determination.

"I'm here to join you in your fight against the Akatsuki."

A/N -Well, there's the chapter that's so incredibly late, but you know, to make up for it, I stayed up till midnight to finish so it'd be out that much sooner. Lol, but it doesn't really matter, cause I do that basically every night anyway, so…yeah. Anyways, I'm going to bed…tired. Night….=D

Kyubbi-Kitsune

Next Chapter: Fast Forward

"Well, we're about done with recruiting…what next, Captain?"