Chapter 28: Defensive offense

Jiraiya panted as he ran through the forest, summoning up a variety of transparent shadowclones to act as lookouts. He was running dangerously low on chakra, and had no idea how to beat Mizuko and Ameko, without seriously hurting them, since he'd already used most of his non-lethal jutsu, and couldn't use any equipment. Jiraiya hissed as he saw a high chain link fence rise before him, and just managed to avoid slamming into it. It was the edge of the Forest of Death, where that cursed tower with the great big red demon thingie slept - Kyuubi - It was also somewhere that hopefully, no-one would look, since it was notoriously dangerous, and without the Shodaime expending his chakra to seal nine-tailed fox, it made its presence felt throughout the forest, in spite of the insanely powerful wards all over the tower.

With a grunt, Jiraiya wove his fingers through the fence and began to climb, he didn't have enought vchakra to simply run up, so he had to make do with the agonisingly slow progress that hsibody could make.

Ten minutes later, he was standing under the shady canopy, looking for something to eat as his stomach protested loudly enough to give away his transparent body.

He hunkered down next to a small plant with smal black berries, kind of like a blueberry bush, except that the leaves weren't as shiny... HE was just about to pick a handful and shove them in hsi mouth, when he remembered, years ago, being sent into the forest for the chuunin exam, and the look on the proctors face when he suggested eating the native flora and fauna.

Taking a step back form the bush, Jiraiya paused, hopping from foot to foot in an absent minded way as he recalled the handsigns. After a few moments of deliberation, he made several swift gestures and pressed his fingertips to his eyelids.

"Poison detection jutsu." He said quietly, opening his eyes. HE jumped away from the berry bush in front of him as it flared up a bright orange under the filter of the jutsu - deadly, do NOT eat, very deadly. Backing away, Jiraiya examined the rest of the forest, miost of which was appearing in varying shades of orange poisonous-ness, or grey for simply inedible, like rocks. Even the trees were lit with an orange glow. Jiraiya grumbled, not sure if he was glad or frustrated that Tsunade had taught him this jutsu last year when they'd gone on a mission together, and, on his turn to forage, he'd come back with a wilderness rendition of Ma Shima's newt and mud stew. After all, the jutsu had probably just saved his life, but it meant that he had nothing to eat...

Swearing quietly, Jiraiya wandered through the forest looking for a green, edible food that he could eat to replenish his chakra, energy and general will to live. Once he had food, he would summon up Gamabunta, and they'd think of some way to beat Mizuko and Ameko.

*

HAlf an hour later, Jiraiya say a flash of green from the corner of his eye - which was starting to ache from the jutsu, as well as the rest of his head. He spun and pounced, gripping something small, slimy and wriggling in his hands.

It was a frog. Jiriaya went slightl green as he realised this - the creature looked dreadfully similar to some of the myobokuzen toads, and eating it seemed wrong - not quite so bad as eating a person, but getting up there. Gama and his extended family were his friends.

With a sigh, he let the frog go, and slumped down on the bank of the river he had come to. Maybe he could catch a few fish. He thought, digging his fingers listlessly into the soil in search of worms, his stomache growling and his eyes drooping from chakra induced fatigue.

I remember you.

Jiraiya's eyes snapped open, as he remembered the half growl that sounded in his mind. The demon was making its presence felt throughout the entire stinking forest. Trying to ignore the voice, working with the vague belief that if you pretended the boogeyman wasn't real, it'd go away, Jiriaya pulled out a hand ful of worms from the earth. He went over to the stream, dropping them into the water as bait, before spreading a finely woven net of hair over the rocky bottom, not letting the mocking, amused growl in his head distract him, as he began humming to drown it out.

Why are you in my forest?

Jiraiya didn't answer, and the Kyuubi apparently didn't see fit to pester him - probably below its dignity - so he spent a peaceful ten minutes fishing, trying to ignore the feeling of Kyuubi's presence wafting through his thoughts with a purring growl, a sensation that sent tingles of horror and revulsion tingling down his spine.

When after ten minutes, a small school of fat silver fish that Jiraiya recognised from the pool near the waterfall, swam by, stopping to eat the bloated and drowned worms, Jiraiya tightened his net, catching the fish up in one swift move, before running for the edge of the forest, feeling Kyuubi's presence weakening in his mind with every step he took, until it vanished with a whisper.

Run away little kit...

Reaching the edge of the forest, Jiraiya paused to lean against a tree and retch, glad that he had managed to avoid all of the nasties of the forest - although admittedly, most of them were kept at bay by Kyuubi, and there weren't half as many of them as there were in Naruto's day. When his empty stomach had been vacuumed and steam-cleaned, he sat down to light a small fire and cook his fish, planning his next move.

*

"Where the hell is he?" Asked Mizuko, washing the last of the toad oil out of her hair with a canteen of water.

"He can't have just run away - then he'd fail too." Ameko continued, her wet hair hanging limply around her shoulders.

"Maybe he got bored and went to peek on girls at the hotspirngs."

"He'd do that, wouldn't he?"

"Of course, shall we go see if we can find him?"

*

Jiraiya sat, transparently on a nearby rock, his mouth open in disbelief. They didn't believe he'd just run off like that in the middle of a mission, did they?

Apparently they did, as both girls got up and walked off in the direction of the hotsprings. Not quite believing his eyes, Jiraiya tried a genjutsu dispell, but nothing happened, and so, suspiciously, he followed Mizuko and Ameko, to continue his mission at the local hot spring.

*

Finished!!! I've been on holiday, so I couldn't really write, but in exchange, I made it longer than usual, although not much happens... Anyway, please R&R! ^_^