Author: enchanted nightingale

Beta Reader: pussycatadamah

Disclaimer:The characters do not belong to me.

Chapter 37

Previously…

"See you down!" the miko told them, winked and then jumped.

"KAGOME!" Naruto yelled and even Jiraya.

Sasuke snorted. "Such a show off," he muttered and walked over to the edge. "Well, we better follow." And before their surprised eyes, he jumped as well.

…now

The remaining shinobi were left staring at the cliff with horrified expressions on their faces.

"Those idiots!" Jiraya raged.

"I cannot believe the stupidity…" Sakura muttered. "Naruto you idiot! Get back here!"

But the blond continued standing on the edge, looking thoughtfully down the cliff. There was a lot of humidity and vapor from the nearby waterfall and zero visibility.

"Right," the blue eyed ninja decided. "I'm jumping."

"Naruto!" Sakura hissed. "Don't be an idiot."

"There's no logic in this," Shikamaru sighed. "Uchiha was not surprised when his wife jumped, didn't you notice?"

Jiraya blinked. "You are right!"

Kakashi walked over to the edge as well. "One way to find out." He pushed Naruto, who yelled and screamed murder at the Jōnin before waving at the stunned members of the group and joining the blond.

Shikamaru groaned. "Troublesome." He edged closer to the cliff and with a look of distaste on his face he followed after Kakashi. Neji followed.

In the end it was just Jiraya and Sakura at the top. They glanced at each other and, looking doomed, they followed after the others.

o

Naruto was cursing a stream when he felt Kakashi shoving him off the edge. He broke through the thick mists and he hit a very smooth rock made slide that continued all the way down to the valley. Half the time he could not see ahead but he continued spinning and sliding all the way down. He could hear Kakashi enjoying the ride behind him and a vague yell of 'Troublesome!' from a bit further back. As he neared the lower part of the waterfall the mists cleared up a bit he could see a lot of soft squishy things at the bottom and Kagome and Sasuke still bouncing on them. A wicked gleam appeared on his face as he formed a plan.

o

Sasuke did not know what hit him. He was trying to gain his equilibrium and stand. Kagome was giggling and squealing as the bouncing purple mass of squishy bushes was moving. Then something hit Sasuke from the back and he started rolling. He caught sight of bright yellow and he realized it was Naruto who had landed on top of him, quite deliberately.

"Get off!" the Uchiha yelled. He tried to push Naruto away but they ended getting even more tangled up.

Kagome had even stopped bouncing and just stared at them, laughing at their misfortune.

Soon the others came down the slide and onto the bouncing mass, which got even bouncier.

It took the group almost an hour to escape from the natural mattress and get their dignity in check.

"What was that thing?" Neji asked Kagome.

"Well, believe it or not it was a bush, of the demonic kind," the miko cheerfully replied. "It hates how humans taste so it did not swallow us up."

The shinobi froze.

"That thing could have eaten us?" Jiraya yelped.

"But it didn't," Kagome replied.

…Day fourteen…

"Wow!" Naruto stood under a tree, peeking up.

Sakura nodded in agreement. "The trees here are even larger than the ones in Konoha!"

Kagome walked up to them. "Those are special trees," she told them.

"How special can a tree be?" Jiraya asked.

They had reached the end of the forest and if Kagome was right, they would be in Edogan, the first town, by morning.

"Well, trees can be under the rule of tree demons," Kagome commented. "But these ones house tree nymphs."

The Toad Sanin got a lecherous grin on his face. "Tree nymphs?"

"Jiraya," Kakashi sighed. "You are drooling."

Sakura smacked the Sanin on the arm. "Stop being a pervert."

"What can I say? It's in my blood!" Jiraya boasted.

…Day fifteen…

"… and don't start any fights. If they growl look away. Don't give a smile where all the teeth are showing," Kagome dictated. "Some canine demons take offence to that."

"Avoid eating things you don't recognize," Sasuke told the other six. "Some things are not foods you know."

"An example would be nice," Kakashi commented.

"Well, there was a dish that smelled nice," Sasuke recalled. "Delicious in fact. And Kagome stopped me before I even tasted it."

"Why?" Naruto nearly had tears in his eyes.

"Because the meat was from a Boar demon," Kagome responded, making the blond, Sakura and Jiraya gag.

"Cannibalism?" Kakashi muttered.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru sighed.

"Not if you eat other kinds of demons," the miko responded.

"Well, no tasting foreign foods for me," Neji decided.

End of chapter.