Note: regarding Shino¡¦s condition, it is only my speculation.

Chapter 3 ¡V Fire Element Jutsu

Shino¡¦s eyes fluttered open. The usual noise of the bugs creeping around him, creeping inside him was music to his ears. The noise was there, and it was comforting. They were his friends. He would describe them as his life support, much like his veins and his blood cells. He pushed himself up but immediately found himself stuck. He lifted his leg. Something was sticking to him, yet he was not sure what it was, not with the darkness of night upon him, denying him light. He ceased his struggle and listened, having caught a familiar sound. There was a clicking sound coming somewhere above him. There it was again. The sound¡K he knew what it was.

The fire was unbearably hot. His body could not stand it, and his bugs were dying. They were no match for him. They had to attack from close range, but the fire kept coming, preventing them from getting closer and frying them the closer they came. The fire.. the heat, the light was stabbing into his eyes. Shino was amazed. This guy must be high on stamina to be able to use the fire element jutsu so many times without running out of chakra. Probably a pill like the one that Kiba used to increase his strength, but Shino had no pills, and his aids were dying.

He recalled his bugs and ran, hearing the pursuer behind, seemingly jeering at him though the ninja was hardly uttering a noise. The fire swirled around him, scorching green leaves and tree barks, scorching them, turning them into ashes and lifeless inanimate. Shino ran, and the fire chased him to jump higher and higher. His bugs clung to him, feeling the dread heat.

Shino sweated. He hardly sweats, but he was sweating now. He knew what it was, a giant spider and the substance that impeded his movement were spider thread. He was stuck in a spider web. His bugs would not be able to help. The web was not made out of chakra so they could not chew through it. They will only get stuck like him and became dinner of the eight legged creature. His thought raced like his bugs milling inside him in panic. Spiders were intelligent creatures, so they will listen to reasons, that was, until they deemed you not interesting and decided to butcher you instead. Shino¡¦s hand moved, if only he could draw his glasses off. He lifted his right arm with all the strength he could muster. The clicking sound drifted closer to him. It was like playing tug of war with a rock. He pulled his arm towards him, the thread under his sleeve stretching, pulling the whole web to him. He bent his head. Just a little more¡K. The strain was heart wrenching, and his arm felt like it was breaking. Why? Perhaps it was. The clicking noise came closer. Shino grunted. The insects were his to control. He continued to lift his arm towards him. He will not lose to an insect.

The clicking sound was right above him, only inches from his face.

Shino¡¦s fingers touched his glasses and flipped it over his head.

His hollow eye sockets stared at his predator.

* * *

That guy. Kiba thought appraisingly.

¡§What, what is that?¡¨ Naruto screamed, his voice echoing emptily into the forest.

¡§Shus, Naruto,¡¨ Kiba rebuked. The three of them came just in time to see Shino being lowered to the ground by a giant spider. A thin almost transparent thread was wrapped around the leaf genin¡¦s waist and when Shino¡¦s feet touched the ground, his glasses slightly askew but were still covering his eyes, the thread unwound and disappeared up into the canopy along with the creature.

¡§Shino,¡¨ Kiba grinned as his team mate adjusted his glasses.

¡§Kiba. I see you are all right,¡¨ he said, as if it was entirely expected of him. He turned his sunglasses covered eyes to Naruto. Naruto was always excessive in his expression. In a way, he was much like Kiba, both jumping into things that took their fancy. Although the spider was about to eat him, Shino now considered it a friend, after he managed to tame it with his family¡¦s secret. He did not frown, but did feel a slight tweak in his heart with the way Naruto was acting.

¡§Why are you here, Naruto,¡¨ he said. ¡§And Sakura,¡¨ he added.

¡§They are looking for Sasuke,¡¨ Kiba said.

¡§What was with that thing?¡¨ Naruto said, peering up at the treetop where the spider had disappeared. Shino did not reply.

¡§Sasuke?¡¨

Sakura spoke, though she spoke from a little distance from him. Seeing the spider had convinced her, Shno was not only creepy, he was scary.

¡§Sasuke left a while ago. Me and Naruto were searching for him when we came across Kiba,¡¨ she explained.

¡§Lying on the ground,¡¨ Naruto said smartly with a big grin on his face.

Kiba spat.

So Kiba was helped by Naruto and Sakura. That was unexpected. ¡§I was battling a ninja whose stamina was unbelievably high,¡¨ Shino said simply.

¡§And I was fooled around by a genjutsu user,¡¨ Kiba informed him dryly.

Sakura wrapped her arms around herself. A ninja whose stamina was high, and a ninja whose genjutsu could fool the keen sensed Kiba and Akamaru. What enemies were they going up against here? Could they ever find Sasuke? She looked up, her emerald green eyes flashing in worry. ¡§We¡¦ve to find him,¡¨ she said.

Kiba clapped his hands once, ¡§No point standing here. Let¡¦s go.¡¨

Shino nodded and they leaped onto the trees.

A loud explosion shook the earth and smoke issued into the air beneath the now bright moonlight. No one hesitated as they all headed automatically towards the source of the explosion. Please let him be allright. Sakura thought anxiously as the leaves brushed her bare arms. The four of them sped on, their shapes becoming a blur, the movement that only a ninja could manage. As they leaped from tree to tree, Sakura noticed kunai embedded in the trees they past. ¡§Fire.¡¨ Kiba warned at the bark of Akamaru.

And there it was, a large ball of fire flashed before them. ¡§Sasuke kun,¡¨ Sakura said.

¡§No,¡¨ Shino said, putting a restraining hand on her arm and she shrank away involuntarily as he continued. ¡§The ninja I fought with uses fire,¡¨ he said quietly.

¡§The guy with high stamina?¡¨ We can match that,¡¨ Kiba said dangerously.

A shout rang through the darkness.

¡§Naruto!¡¨ the name escaped from Sakura¡¦s lips at the same time as it was also called out by another.

¡§Sasuke kun!¡¨ Sakura said, turning to the sound. It was really Sasuke, looking worn out but still alert as a ninja would. The Uchiha did not hear her, his eyes were fixed on Naruto, or rather, a number of Narutos jumping from tree to tree.

¡§Shall we get busy?¡¨ Kiba said and darted off with Akamaru. Shino vanished.

¡§I¡¦m not letting you go,¡¨ Naruto said. It was impossible to figure out which was the real Naruto. There were probably twenty or so Narutos running around, but Naruto¡¦s technique, though confusing even for his friends, was working. They were slowing down the ninja, allowing Sasuke, Kiba, Shino and Sakura to catch up.

¡§Eat this!¡¨ six Naruto shouted in glee and threw their fists at the ninja, dropping him to the ground. Beneath the bodies of the Naruto clones, the figure pulled out four kunai and threw them, forcing his opponents off him and to turn into puffs of smoke. Sasuke jumped off the tree and performed the fire element jutsu in mid air. Each dart of fire hit the ground, gorging out charred holes as the ninja in black did a series of back flips to avoid the heated projectiles. The ninja straightened while Sasuke¡¦s feet touched the ground, and he felt the cut of wind behind him. He turned around and held up his arms in time to block an attack from Kiba. Grabbing Kiba¡¦s arms with lightning reflexes, the ninja bent an threw the boy into the charging Akamaru as Sasuke and three more Naruto clones jumped on him.

Fire lighted up the area like a cloud of light, orange and yellow, a mix of pretty light that hid within it the danger one would not suspect. Under the cover of fire, the ninja attempted to escape and he was heading straight towards Sakura. Sakura whipped out her kunai. The moment, swift yet slow in her eye flowed like the time when she was sitting in the market place, with the sound of the people and the aromas of different food surrounding her. Sakura raised the kunai. Four Naruto dropped down from above and thumped onto the ninja, causing him to lose his footing. ¡§Just let me beat this guy up,¡¨ Naruto said beside her with his usual cocky attitude and jumped into the fray.

Then the atmosphere started to change.