Chapter 2 - Discovery
Damn it, where has Sasuke gone off to? Disappearing just like Kakashi sensei? Naruto thought as he leaped among the tree branches with Sakura beside him. He had never understood why Sasuke did things. The Uchiha boy did things so differently from him, but one thing he could identify with. He had to become stronger and stronger so Sasuke would not look down on him again. Naruto suddenly stopped, and Sakura leaped past him to land on the next tree trunk. "What is it Naruto?" she said, impatient to go on.
"Do you smell that?" he said, sniffing the air. Sakura trained in her sense of smell. She frowned, "This is no time to play training Naruto. We have to find Sasuke."
"Ramen!" Naruto said, his eyes widening. The aroma of ramen in the middle of nowhere? Now this was getting suspicious. Sakura tested the air. The night air was clean and cold, and all she got was the smell of leaves and rough tree bark. She could not smell any ramen. Sakura glared at Naruto skeptically. She knew Naruto was obsessed with ramen. Then a thought hit her. Since he was so sensitive with the smell maybe she was missing it. If they could find out the person who was cooking ramen in the forest, maybe they could get some information out of him. It was better than searching in the dark, blind.
"Where is this smell coming from?" she said, thinking already that her sense of smell regarding ramen was not as sharp as Naruto's.
Naruto looked at her. "I'm sorry Sakura chan, let's go look for Sasuke." "Where is this smell coming from Naruto?" she repeated, exasperated at his lack of understanding. "Maybe the person eating ramen can tell us where he is," she explained.
Naruto blinked, and laughed, "Of course!" as if he knew it all along and he headed off to the right. They travelled for about half an hour, with a growing feeling of unease settling in Sakura's stomach when Naruto at last jumped onto the ground. The forest around them seemed to be suddenly quiet, so quiet that they could hear their own breathing. Naruto was moving on already, his stride purposeful when a type of strange smell assaulted Sakura's nostrils. "Smell it? The smell of ramen," Naruto whispered.
Sakura held her nose. The smell was no smell of ramen. It was a mix of the foulness of garbage and bizarrely the sweet fragrance of flowers. If she had not spent the whole afternoon doing the nose sensing exercise, she could not have picked it up so quickly. It took a while, but she realised that she was holding her breath. Just as well, for in front of her, walking deeper into the darkness of the forest, was Naruto, whose legs were trembling and gait unsteady. Then it was all clear to her as the midday sun. Naruto had not smelt ramen. She was right after all, there was no one cooking ramen in here. Sakura put her hands together in the form of a seal.
"Kai!"
Naruto fell onto the ground on unsteady legs. His head almost bumped the ground if not for Sakura who had bent over to hold it up. She let go of him when he sat up. "Um, what is that smell?" he said, wondering where the ramen smell had gone to. Sakura's eyes flitted from tree to tree. There was no one here besides them. "We've fallen into the trap of genjutsu," she whispered, angry at falling into such a lowly trap. Well, she had not really fallen into it, but her lack of confidence had prompted her to follow Naruto instead and now they were nowhere near where they were going. They must have found the right trail, otherwise why bother using the genjutsu on them? "Let's go, we're wasting time here." Sakura said.
"Wait," shouted Naruto. He headed deeper into the direction he was going to. Vexed, Sakura followed and grabbed hold of his arm. They must have wasted eons following a false trail. "Naruto, we.."
"Kiba, Kiba!" Naruto said, confused. Sakura looked around. They couldn't have been able to see anything if not for the light that was pulsating faintly from the rock around. A cave. Sakura went to her knees and touched Akamaru's fur as Naruto shook the bigger boy vigorously. "Hey Kiba, wake up!" he rolled Kiba over. Akamaru was warm, but there was no response when she shook it similarly, only gentler than Naruto. "What's wrong with them?" Naruto said to the pink haired girl, hoping she could provide an answer. Sakura placed her hand on Kiba's neck. His pulse was strong.
"I think they're just unconscious." First Kakshi, then Sasuke, now Kiba and Akamaru. She did not know Kiba's team was in the vicinity. Torn between wanting to keep searching for Sasuke, and asking what Kiba was doing here, Sakura sat back beside the bigger boy. "What're we going to do?" Naruto said, frowning at the sleeping face of Kiba. Kiba was the first serious rival of his level that he had beaten, and that was in the Chuunin preliminary exam. Kiba was strong, and with the combination of Akamaru, they were double strong. What could have knocked them unconscious? Unless it was a strong smell like the time when Naruto's odour stopped his attack. He voiced his suspicion to Sakura, and she turned thoughtful. She suggested that they removed them from the cave, and with the help of Naruto, the two dragged Kiba and Akamaru out. "Fresh air," Sakura muttered, glad to be out of the range of the mix of weird smell. The two team seven team mates waited for about fifteen minutes more and just when Sakura decided to resume the search for Sasuke, Akamaru stirred.
"Akamaru!" Sakura exclaimed, putting her hands on the dog to steady it as it tried to rise on its legs. The dog gave her a small bark and turned to snuggle against Kiba.
Kiba groaned. "Hey, wake up," Naruto said, and taking hold of the bigger boy's shoulder, he shook him viciously. Akamaru beared his teeth at Naruto but Naruto pretended not to notice.
"Who..?" Kiba mumbled. He sat up and put his hand to his temple. "Kiba, it's me and Naruto," Sakura said. The bigger boy opened his eyes. "Akamaru! You're ok."
"KIBA! Ha, what were you doing sleeping on the floor. Did someone beat the hell out of you?" Naruto said upon seeing him awake. Sakura shot Naruto a glare. He was asking for trouble for sure. Why did boys always like to pick a fight was beyond her.
"Naruto! And Sakura!" Kiba said, finally seeing the two of them. "What are you doing here?"
"I was asking the same Kiba. We were looking for Sasuke when we walked into a genjutsu trap, and then saw you lying in a cave." Sakura explained.
"Genjutsu," Kiba said, remembering. "You two must have walked into the same trap. What's this with Sasuke?" he asked.
"Sasuke that idiot went out and never came back, just like Kakashi sensei," Naruto fumed.
"Kakashi is here?" Kiba said, startled.
"Why don't you tell us what you were doing, Kiba?" Sakura said. Kiba stood up. An expression close to fear streaked across his face. "Now I remember, let's go," he urged, jumping up to a tree. "Where?" Sakura called. "Where Hinata is," he said, waving at them with a hand to follow. He was obviously impatient. "I'll explain as we go."
"Hinata? She's here?" Naruto said happily. "Where's she?"
They jumped and the trees receded past them quickly like the rushing of water. "We were heading back to the village when Hinata got kidnapped." Naruto went 'WHAT'. "So we chased the kidnapper," Kiba said, giving Naruto a disgusted look, "And ended up in the wave country. I was separated with our sensei and Shino by the genjutsu."
"Do you know why she was kidnapped?" Sakura said. Things were getting weirder and weirder. Maybe Kakashi and Sasuke had also walked into the genjutsu trap. She shook her head. Kakashi sensei was a jounin, he was much more capable than them. "We're not sure." Kiba said evasively.
"What? If they do anything to Hinata, I'll bash them till they howl!" Naruto said heatedly, clutching a fist.
"The trail shouldn't be hard to find," Kiba said, "That damn bastard left a lot of traps behind for the world to know."
"There must be more than one of them then." Sakura deduced.
"More than one, most likely two to three."
"What if the others are here somewhere?" Sakura said suddenly. The person who set the trap must be a very skilled genjutsu user. It was highly possible that Sasuke and Shino might still be near them, lost somewhere in the jutsu. "Just so long as they don't foul my sense of smell. I'll find them," Kiba said, determined.
* * *
The traps set along the route was numerous and getting devious by the second. Sasuke almost did not make out of the last one unscathed. He jerked and threw his body off to his left by instinct, and several kunai flew past his original spot. He stood, panting a little with his chest heaving. This hide and seek game was tiring, and he was running low on his reserve. How many more small traps were lying ahead of him? And he still had not caught a glimpse of the ninja.
Damn it, where has Sasuke gone off to? Disappearing just like Kakashi sensei? Naruto thought as he leaped among the tree branches with Sakura beside him. He had never understood why Sasuke did things. The Uchiha boy did things so differently from him, but one thing he could identify with. He had to become stronger and stronger so Sasuke would not look down on him again. Naruto suddenly stopped, and Sakura leaped past him to land on the next tree trunk. "What is it Naruto?" she said, impatient to go on.
"Do you smell that?" he said, sniffing the air. Sakura trained in her sense of smell. She frowned, "This is no time to play training Naruto. We have to find Sasuke."
"Ramen!" Naruto said, his eyes widening. The aroma of ramen in the middle of nowhere? Now this was getting suspicious. Sakura tested the air. The night air was clean and cold, and all she got was the smell of leaves and rough tree bark. She could not smell any ramen. Sakura glared at Naruto skeptically. She knew Naruto was obsessed with ramen. Then a thought hit her. Since he was so sensitive with the smell maybe she was missing it. If they could find out the person who was cooking ramen in the forest, maybe they could get some information out of him. It was better than searching in the dark, blind.
"Where is this smell coming from?" she said, thinking already that her sense of smell regarding ramen was not as sharp as Naruto's.
Naruto looked at her. "I'm sorry Sakura chan, let's go look for Sasuke." "Where is this smell coming from Naruto?" she repeated, exasperated at his lack of understanding. "Maybe the person eating ramen can tell us where he is," she explained.
Naruto blinked, and laughed, "Of course!" as if he knew it all along and he headed off to the right. They travelled for about half an hour, with a growing feeling of unease settling in Sakura's stomach when Naruto at last jumped onto the ground. The forest around them seemed to be suddenly quiet, so quiet that they could hear their own breathing. Naruto was moving on already, his stride purposeful when a type of strange smell assaulted Sakura's nostrils. "Smell it? The smell of ramen," Naruto whispered.
Sakura held her nose. The smell was no smell of ramen. It was a mix of the foulness of garbage and bizarrely the sweet fragrance of flowers. If she had not spent the whole afternoon doing the nose sensing exercise, she could not have picked it up so quickly. It took a while, but she realised that she was holding her breath. Just as well, for in front of her, walking deeper into the darkness of the forest, was Naruto, whose legs were trembling and gait unsteady. Then it was all clear to her as the midday sun. Naruto had not smelt ramen. She was right after all, there was no one cooking ramen in here. Sakura put her hands together in the form of a seal.
"Kai!"
Naruto fell onto the ground on unsteady legs. His head almost bumped the ground if not for Sakura who had bent over to hold it up. She let go of him when he sat up. "Um, what is that smell?" he said, wondering where the ramen smell had gone to. Sakura's eyes flitted from tree to tree. There was no one here besides them. "We've fallen into the trap of genjutsu," she whispered, angry at falling into such a lowly trap. Well, she had not really fallen into it, but her lack of confidence had prompted her to follow Naruto instead and now they were nowhere near where they were going. They must have found the right trail, otherwise why bother using the genjutsu on them? "Let's go, we're wasting time here." Sakura said.
"Wait," shouted Naruto. He headed deeper into the direction he was going to. Vexed, Sakura followed and grabbed hold of his arm. They must have wasted eons following a false trail. "Naruto, we.."
"Kiba, Kiba!" Naruto said, confused. Sakura looked around. They couldn't have been able to see anything if not for the light that was pulsating faintly from the rock around. A cave. Sakura went to her knees and touched Akamaru's fur as Naruto shook the bigger boy vigorously. "Hey Kiba, wake up!" he rolled Kiba over. Akamaru was warm, but there was no response when she shook it similarly, only gentler than Naruto. "What's wrong with them?" Naruto said to the pink haired girl, hoping she could provide an answer. Sakura placed her hand on Kiba's neck. His pulse was strong.
"I think they're just unconscious." First Kakshi, then Sasuke, now Kiba and Akamaru. She did not know Kiba's team was in the vicinity. Torn between wanting to keep searching for Sasuke, and asking what Kiba was doing here, Sakura sat back beside the bigger boy. "What're we going to do?" Naruto said, frowning at the sleeping face of Kiba. Kiba was the first serious rival of his level that he had beaten, and that was in the Chuunin preliminary exam. Kiba was strong, and with the combination of Akamaru, they were double strong. What could have knocked them unconscious? Unless it was a strong smell like the time when Naruto's odour stopped his attack. He voiced his suspicion to Sakura, and she turned thoughtful. She suggested that they removed them from the cave, and with the help of Naruto, the two dragged Kiba and Akamaru out. "Fresh air," Sakura muttered, glad to be out of the range of the mix of weird smell. The two team seven team mates waited for about fifteen minutes more and just when Sakura decided to resume the search for Sasuke, Akamaru stirred.
"Akamaru!" Sakura exclaimed, putting her hands on the dog to steady it as it tried to rise on its legs. The dog gave her a small bark and turned to snuggle against Kiba.
Kiba groaned. "Hey, wake up," Naruto said, and taking hold of the bigger boy's shoulder, he shook him viciously. Akamaru beared his teeth at Naruto but Naruto pretended not to notice.
"Who..?" Kiba mumbled. He sat up and put his hand to his temple. "Kiba, it's me and Naruto," Sakura said. The bigger boy opened his eyes. "Akamaru! You're ok."
"KIBA! Ha, what were you doing sleeping on the floor. Did someone beat the hell out of you?" Naruto said upon seeing him awake. Sakura shot Naruto a glare. He was asking for trouble for sure. Why did boys always like to pick a fight was beyond her.
"Naruto! And Sakura!" Kiba said, finally seeing the two of them. "What are you doing here?"
"I was asking the same Kiba. We were looking for Sasuke when we walked into a genjutsu trap, and then saw you lying in a cave." Sakura explained.
"Genjutsu," Kiba said, remembering. "You two must have walked into the same trap. What's this with Sasuke?" he asked.
"Sasuke that idiot went out and never came back, just like Kakashi sensei," Naruto fumed.
"Kakashi is here?" Kiba said, startled.
"Why don't you tell us what you were doing, Kiba?" Sakura said. Kiba stood up. An expression close to fear streaked across his face. "Now I remember, let's go," he urged, jumping up to a tree. "Where?" Sakura called. "Where Hinata is," he said, waving at them with a hand to follow. He was obviously impatient. "I'll explain as we go."
"Hinata? She's here?" Naruto said happily. "Where's she?"
They jumped and the trees receded past them quickly like the rushing of water. "We were heading back to the village when Hinata got kidnapped." Naruto went 'WHAT'. "So we chased the kidnapper," Kiba said, giving Naruto a disgusted look, "And ended up in the wave country. I was separated with our sensei and Shino by the genjutsu."
"Do you know why she was kidnapped?" Sakura said. Things were getting weirder and weirder. Maybe Kakashi and Sasuke had also walked into the genjutsu trap. She shook her head. Kakashi sensei was a jounin, he was much more capable than them. "We're not sure." Kiba said evasively.
"What? If they do anything to Hinata, I'll bash them till they howl!" Naruto said heatedly, clutching a fist.
"The trail shouldn't be hard to find," Kiba said, "That damn bastard left a lot of traps behind for the world to know."
"There must be more than one of them then." Sakura deduced.
"More than one, most likely two to three."
"What if the others are here somewhere?" Sakura said suddenly. The person who set the trap must be a very skilled genjutsu user. It was highly possible that Sasuke and Shino might still be near them, lost somewhere in the jutsu. "Just so long as they don't foul my sense of smell. I'll find them," Kiba said, determined.
* * *
The traps set along the route was numerous and getting devious by the second. Sasuke almost did not make out of the last one unscathed. He jerked and threw his body off to his left by instinct, and several kunai flew past his original spot. He stood, panting a little with his chest heaving. This hide and seek game was tiring, and he was running low on his reserve. How many more small traps were lying ahead of him? And he still had not caught a glimpse of the ninja.