Note: contains a bit of spoilers from the fight with Zabuza onwards.
Chapter 1 - Kakashi, where are you?
The water was so blue and the sky so clear, clear of all the trouble that once plagued this place. The wave country, known as the poorest in the world was now prospering like flowers in spring. The bridge, linking the country to the outside world was walked upon by hundreds of people each day. Naruto sat on the wharf with Inari just at the back of the boy's house, both with their legs dangling over the side and in Naruto's case, in the water. It was a tearful reunion. Group seven had just finished a mission and was passing by the wave country when Naruto's name was uttered by a group of complete strangers. Curiosity gusting out of him, Naruto had jumped at them, a man, a woman and two teenage girls. Upon hearing that the bridge connecting to the wave country was named Naruto, the blond haired boy had stood stock still. Sakura, thinking something was up, went to see what it was this time, and she got a shock at seeing Naruto's face. He looks like a fool coming out of the hospital was her first impression. Then he had jumped up suddenly, causing her to stray back a step and yelled with his arms in the air that they were going to visit Inari. Inwardly Sakura was elated, but she uttered a, "But" anyway. Sasuke was looking on with his hands in his pockets. Obviously it did not matter to him whether they went or not, and Kakashi? He was interested in seeing how their friends were faring, so at the insistence of Naruto, the group turned from their homebound route.
"Good job Inari," Naruto complimented and the little boy beamed. Inari, no longer the frightened little boy swallowed in self-pity and helplessness, had been helping around the house and making some modifications. Sakura noted that the torn out part of the picture hanging on the wall was now put back and the foster father, the hero of the wave country, smiled happily at the pink haired girl. Team seven had spent two days just wondering around doing nothing and relaxing themselves, then Kakashi suggested they started a training session since they were all so free (with the exception of Kakashi being missing the whole two days), so at the appointed hour, the three team mates assembled in the market place..
The people of the wave country, for those who remembered the group anyway, which was practically everyone, greeted them as they hurried by on their businesses. Naruto sat on the ground waving tiredly as Sakura slumped beside him. They were assaulted by the heavenly smells of the market place and it had already been three hours. Sasuke stood behind them with his arms crossed, his eyes roving among the throng.
"Arrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! As much as I like greeting all my friends, WHERE is Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto let out.
A puff of smoke appeared right beside him. "Yo," Kakashi said with his hand up. "Somebody fell into the water and I.." He didn't get to finish as both Naruto and Sakura shouted, pointing at him in unison, "Liar!" Kakashi wasn't even wet!
The Jounin put his hand in front of his mask and coughed once to cover the embarrassment. "All right, today's training is very important. What did you feel while you were waiting?" he said.
"Nay Nay, Kakashi sensei," Naruto said, getting up to his feet, "Can we have ramen first? I'm starving!" Sakura nodded sensibly, "We can start the training afterwards."
Kakashi put a finger in front of Naruto's eager face, and shook it very evenly before his student. "If you were all comfortable after a meal, the training is moot. Besides, you've already started," he made a sweeping motion with his hand as his students gawked at him. They had started their training already, when was that? "Concentrate with your nose, and tell me what kind of smells you could distinguish."
"Smell?" Sakura said.
"Yes," Kakashi replied, "A good Shinobi will employ all his five senses. Today is to train you to use your sense of smell." Naruto crossed his arms and nodded. As much as he would like to have lunch now, with ramen of course, he liked training to become stronger better, so, even if only understanding half of what Kakashi was saying, he sat back down and began to train, sniffing the air with his nose.
"I'll be back in a second. Now don't fall asleep," the Jounin advised and with a smile, he was gone.
They spent the next three hours trying to distinguish the smell, but the smell of the sea was particularly strong and it was obscuring all the other smells in the air. Naruto rubbed his nose absentmindedly. Sakura put her chin in her palm, supporting her arm above her knee and closed her eyes, while Sasuke, similarly with eyes closed was attempting to block out all his other senses.
The sea birds flew above the calm surface of the water, diving in now and then to emerge with a struggling fish in the beak. The waves churned slightly and the wind ruffled Naruto's hair.
Naruto jumped up abruptly. "He said one second didn't he? Sakura?" he insisted. "I'm going to have some ramen before I die of starvation."
"Naruto!" Sakura protested, but seeing Naruto walking towards the ramen shop which was, not surprisingly, right opposite them (Naruto chose the spot) and she was reminded starkly of her empty stomach.
"Sasuke kun?" she said, turning around. Sasuke was already moving. "Let's go," he said.
The ramen was heavenly, even though Sakura did not like it as much as Naruto, who was having bowl after bowl. Well, let him waste his money if he wanted. The group soon finished a late lunch and went back to the smelling exercise, much refreshed and annoyingly, not as sensitive to the assorted aromas floating around them as before. Being hungry really was a two edged tool in aiding your study. They waited and did the training, and Sakura rose to give her legs a stretch. It was dusk, the sun was setting, and people were getting ready to go home. The market place was becoming quiet, and the nice aroma was fast disappearing. "WHERE IS HE?" she exclaimed.
"Shall we head back? He's probably back already," Sasuke said. "You're right, he's probably eating ramen with Inari!" Naruto huffed. "Naruto," Sakura reproved, how come all he could think of was ramen?
* * *
"He's not here?" Sasuke said, frowning as Inari's mother prepared dinner. In the dining room, Naruto was getting excited about all the food on the table, all looking very delicious while chatting with Inari. Sakura was putting down pairs of chopsticks around the table, swatting Naruto's hand occasionally as the blond boy tried to sneak in a bite. Sasuke headed for the door.
"Sasuke kun? Where're you going?" Sakura called. "Just a short walk," he replied shortly. "But we're about to have dinner," she protested. "I'll be back really quick," he said, throwing her his usual expressionless look and shutting the door behind him.
Sasuke jumped up onto a tree and sped southward. He was not sure where Kakashi had gone to, but he knew it was no coincidence that they were here in the wave country when there were tons of missions waiting back in the village. Kakashi had spotted something, and that was why he came, seemingly to oblige Naruto. The deep blue haired Uchiha leaped expertly from branch to branch, searching with his eyes, his hearing and what he had been doing all day, smell. It did not take him long to come across something suspicious. At the wan light of the moon, the string strung from tree to tree was reflected momentarily, giving away its location. Sasuke stopped, breathing a sigh of relief for seeing it in time. Carefully, he stepped across the string, his feet sailed over it, and he landed on the ground.
Almost too late, he saw the rectangular papers scattered like fallen leaves beneath his feet and he gathered the chakra to his soles quickly and jumped. The ground exploded below him like a volcano, shaking the trees nearby and deafening Sasuke's ears. His body arched over the smoky ground and his feet found another tree trunk, on the opposite side of where the string laid. Someone had set traps here and whoever that followed had not triggered one trap. Could it be Kakashi? Sasuke forged ahead.
* * *
"Where's your friend?" Inari's mother asked, standing up to pick up the dirty dishes. Sakura could not answer. Sasuke said he'll be back, but he had been gone for an hour, and he missed dinner. She could not stand the thought of something happening to him. Sasuke was the number one rookie in the leaf village; no one could possibly best him. The thought of Orochimaru rose unbidden and she shiver involuntarily. If it was Orochimaru, Sakura admitted reluctantly..
"I'm going to look for Sasuke," she said, slipping her feet into the pair of sandal. "What?" Naruto said, putting down his chopsticks quickly. "I'm coming too," he said, hurriedly getting off the chair. Sakura nodded. She hoped it wasn't what she thought it was. Strangely though, the possibility of Sasuke going to look for Kakashi never crossed her mind. The shadow of Orochimaru covered Kakashi's like a black moon.
Chapter 1 - Kakashi, where are you?
The water was so blue and the sky so clear, clear of all the trouble that once plagued this place. The wave country, known as the poorest in the world was now prospering like flowers in spring. The bridge, linking the country to the outside world was walked upon by hundreds of people each day. Naruto sat on the wharf with Inari just at the back of the boy's house, both with their legs dangling over the side and in Naruto's case, in the water. It was a tearful reunion. Group seven had just finished a mission and was passing by the wave country when Naruto's name was uttered by a group of complete strangers. Curiosity gusting out of him, Naruto had jumped at them, a man, a woman and two teenage girls. Upon hearing that the bridge connecting to the wave country was named Naruto, the blond haired boy had stood stock still. Sakura, thinking something was up, went to see what it was this time, and she got a shock at seeing Naruto's face. He looks like a fool coming out of the hospital was her first impression. Then he had jumped up suddenly, causing her to stray back a step and yelled with his arms in the air that they were going to visit Inari. Inwardly Sakura was elated, but she uttered a, "But" anyway. Sasuke was looking on with his hands in his pockets. Obviously it did not matter to him whether they went or not, and Kakashi? He was interested in seeing how their friends were faring, so at the insistence of Naruto, the group turned from their homebound route.
"Good job Inari," Naruto complimented and the little boy beamed. Inari, no longer the frightened little boy swallowed in self-pity and helplessness, had been helping around the house and making some modifications. Sakura noted that the torn out part of the picture hanging on the wall was now put back and the foster father, the hero of the wave country, smiled happily at the pink haired girl. Team seven had spent two days just wondering around doing nothing and relaxing themselves, then Kakashi suggested they started a training session since they were all so free (with the exception of Kakashi being missing the whole two days), so at the appointed hour, the three team mates assembled in the market place..
The people of the wave country, for those who remembered the group anyway, which was practically everyone, greeted them as they hurried by on their businesses. Naruto sat on the ground waving tiredly as Sakura slumped beside him. They were assaulted by the heavenly smells of the market place and it had already been three hours. Sasuke stood behind them with his arms crossed, his eyes roving among the throng.
"Arrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! As much as I like greeting all my friends, WHERE is Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto let out.
A puff of smoke appeared right beside him. "Yo," Kakashi said with his hand up. "Somebody fell into the water and I.." He didn't get to finish as both Naruto and Sakura shouted, pointing at him in unison, "Liar!" Kakashi wasn't even wet!
The Jounin put his hand in front of his mask and coughed once to cover the embarrassment. "All right, today's training is very important. What did you feel while you were waiting?" he said.
"Nay Nay, Kakashi sensei," Naruto said, getting up to his feet, "Can we have ramen first? I'm starving!" Sakura nodded sensibly, "We can start the training afterwards."
Kakashi put a finger in front of Naruto's eager face, and shook it very evenly before his student. "If you were all comfortable after a meal, the training is moot. Besides, you've already started," he made a sweeping motion with his hand as his students gawked at him. They had started their training already, when was that? "Concentrate with your nose, and tell me what kind of smells you could distinguish."
"Smell?" Sakura said.
"Yes," Kakashi replied, "A good Shinobi will employ all his five senses. Today is to train you to use your sense of smell." Naruto crossed his arms and nodded. As much as he would like to have lunch now, with ramen of course, he liked training to become stronger better, so, even if only understanding half of what Kakashi was saying, he sat back down and began to train, sniffing the air with his nose.
"I'll be back in a second. Now don't fall asleep," the Jounin advised and with a smile, he was gone.
They spent the next three hours trying to distinguish the smell, but the smell of the sea was particularly strong and it was obscuring all the other smells in the air. Naruto rubbed his nose absentmindedly. Sakura put her chin in her palm, supporting her arm above her knee and closed her eyes, while Sasuke, similarly with eyes closed was attempting to block out all his other senses.
The sea birds flew above the calm surface of the water, diving in now and then to emerge with a struggling fish in the beak. The waves churned slightly and the wind ruffled Naruto's hair.
Naruto jumped up abruptly. "He said one second didn't he? Sakura?" he insisted. "I'm going to have some ramen before I die of starvation."
"Naruto!" Sakura protested, but seeing Naruto walking towards the ramen shop which was, not surprisingly, right opposite them (Naruto chose the spot) and she was reminded starkly of her empty stomach.
"Sasuke kun?" she said, turning around. Sasuke was already moving. "Let's go," he said.
The ramen was heavenly, even though Sakura did not like it as much as Naruto, who was having bowl after bowl. Well, let him waste his money if he wanted. The group soon finished a late lunch and went back to the smelling exercise, much refreshed and annoyingly, not as sensitive to the assorted aromas floating around them as before. Being hungry really was a two edged tool in aiding your study. They waited and did the training, and Sakura rose to give her legs a stretch. It was dusk, the sun was setting, and people were getting ready to go home. The market place was becoming quiet, and the nice aroma was fast disappearing. "WHERE IS HE?" she exclaimed.
"Shall we head back? He's probably back already," Sasuke said. "You're right, he's probably eating ramen with Inari!" Naruto huffed. "Naruto," Sakura reproved, how come all he could think of was ramen?
* * *
"He's not here?" Sasuke said, frowning as Inari's mother prepared dinner. In the dining room, Naruto was getting excited about all the food on the table, all looking very delicious while chatting with Inari. Sakura was putting down pairs of chopsticks around the table, swatting Naruto's hand occasionally as the blond boy tried to sneak in a bite. Sasuke headed for the door.
"Sasuke kun? Where're you going?" Sakura called. "Just a short walk," he replied shortly. "But we're about to have dinner," she protested. "I'll be back really quick," he said, throwing her his usual expressionless look and shutting the door behind him.
Sasuke jumped up onto a tree and sped southward. He was not sure where Kakashi had gone to, but he knew it was no coincidence that they were here in the wave country when there were tons of missions waiting back in the village. Kakashi had spotted something, and that was why he came, seemingly to oblige Naruto. The deep blue haired Uchiha leaped expertly from branch to branch, searching with his eyes, his hearing and what he had been doing all day, smell. It did not take him long to come across something suspicious. At the wan light of the moon, the string strung from tree to tree was reflected momentarily, giving away its location. Sasuke stopped, breathing a sigh of relief for seeing it in time. Carefully, he stepped across the string, his feet sailed over it, and he landed on the ground.
Almost too late, he saw the rectangular papers scattered like fallen leaves beneath his feet and he gathered the chakra to his soles quickly and jumped. The ground exploded below him like a volcano, shaking the trees nearby and deafening Sasuke's ears. His body arched over the smoky ground and his feet found another tree trunk, on the opposite side of where the string laid. Someone had set traps here and whoever that followed had not triggered one trap. Could it be Kakashi? Sasuke forged ahead.
* * *
"Where's your friend?" Inari's mother asked, standing up to pick up the dirty dishes. Sakura could not answer. Sasuke said he'll be back, but he had been gone for an hour, and he missed dinner. She could not stand the thought of something happening to him. Sasuke was the number one rookie in the leaf village; no one could possibly best him. The thought of Orochimaru rose unbidden and she shiver involuntarily. If it was Orochimaru, Sakura admitted reluctantly..
"I'm going to look for Sasuke," she said, slipping her feet into the pair of sandal. "What?" Naruto said, putting down his chopsticks quickly. "I'm coming too," he said, hurriedly getting off the chair. Sakura nodded. She hoped it wasn't what she thought it was. Strangely though, the possibility of Sasuke going to look for Kakashi never crossed her mind. The shadow of Orochimaru covered Kakashi's like a black moon.