Section 4: Who is Our Enemy?

Shikamaru sat in the armchair in Naruto's room, slumped forward in an exhausted fashion. Ino suddenly bounds over the arm rest, landing heavily into his lap laughing, "Wake up Shika-baby, hehe."

Shikamaru groaned hopelessly as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her down with him in the chair giving her kisses on her cheek, and yelling jokingly, "You little brat!"

The injured Naruto watched with Sakura next to him by his bed, as he looked over to her grinning embarrassed, "I'm sorry I can't do any of that, Sakura-chan. I promise when I get better, I'll make it up to..."

Sakura turned to him smiling and shot in for a kiss before he could finish. She pulled back still smiling and blushing, "Don't worry, Naruto, just promise me you'll get better!"

Naruto nodded pleasantly, and moved his arm around to see if he could move it anymore than he could before. He flexed and extended his fingers to give them a stretch.

Sakura sat next to the bed, with the package she had laying by her feet. She looked down at it, and back up to Naruto nervously, "Should I give it to him now...? Yea!" She reached down and brought up the box very slowly, trying not to attract attention. "Naruto..."

He looked up with a baffled face on, "Ah-reh?"

She slipped the package into his lap quickly, and looked away with embarrassment. "That's for you..."

Naruto peered down at the box, and blew up in laughter, "Alright! I love gifts!" He rabidly tore open the box, and pulled out two smaller boxes. Naruto chose the bigger one first, and popped off the cover ecstatically. He stopped and reached in pulling up a necklace, with a small locket attached to it. A big grin popped onto his face, as he flipped it open, exposing a picture of him being stupid on one side, and Sakura being cute as usual on the other. Naruto stood up in his bed screaming, "Oooo!" He locked the chain around his neck and fixed the locket's position on his neck, while standing up proudly, "This is never coming off from now on! I promise Sakura-chan!"

Sakura leaned forward happily turning beet red, staring at Naruto lovingly, "...It looks so good on him, I'm glad he likes it!" She retrieved the smaller box on the bed, and tried to get Naruto's attention, before everyone was startled by a large and frantic pounding on the door. She put the box away when she heard the banging.

Shikamaru moved Ino over and headed over to the door, and opened it to catch a bloodied Choji. Shikamaru looked down, petrified, "Choji! What the hell happened to you?!"

Shikamaru collapsed to the floor, lowering Choji as well as he wearily uttered, "...attacked... killed... the village..."

Everyone shot over, including Naruto from his bed, and called out his name, "Choji!"

Shikamaru leaned down yelling, "Choji! What do you mean? Who's killed?!"

Sakura curled back in fear, "...The Grass Genin...?" She looked down at the ground sadly, "...I told Tsunade-sama that I would keep it to myself though..." She stood up quickly and grabbed bandages out of her bag.

After she had patched up Choji's wounds, Naruto moved so that Choji could lie down while he recuperated. Ino and Shikamaru stood at his side distraughtly, sticking close to their partner and friend.

Sakura turned back, to see Naruto finishing getting dressed in his orange uniform. Her eyes widened as she lashed out at him, "Naruto! You aren't going out, are you?!"

Naruto looked up at her in a serious tone, "I'm going to find whoever did that to Choji... and kick their ass..."

She stands in between him and his door, blocking him off, "Naruto! You aren't healed yet! I can't let you..."

Naruto interrupted her in the middle of her pleading, "...Don't get in my way Sakura-chan... I'm going to do this, so don't worry..." She drops her arms down feebly, and looks down to the ground. He ties his head protector on with an intense tug, as he looked forward angrily.

"Naruto..." She begins to get teary, "...I don't want to see you hurt again..."

Naruto lightened up, and smiled reassuringly while patting her shoulder, "Oh, Sakura-chan... trust me! I'll kick some ass, you'll see! Plus, I got your locket here with me to keep me safe, I'll be fine, ok?"

Sakura inhaled deeply, and smiled back, "Just promise me... you'll be ok..."

Shikamaru shot up, and walked over to Naruto's side, "Don't worry Sakura... me and Naruto will be fine."

Ino stood up with concern, "You're going too Shikamaru...?"

Shikamaru looked at Choji, who still lay on the bed helplessly, then looked up to Ino with a large frown on his face, "I have to... They're going to hurt someone else if we don't find them..."

Ino fired forward, "Then I'm coming too!"

Shikamaru looked her in the eyes, "...No." She pulled back in disbelief and rejection. "You need to stay with Choji... be there when he wakes up."

Ino looked down to the ground in distress, "...but... What if you got hurt...?"

Naruto fired forward, "Ha hah!" He flung his arm back showing off, pointing to Shikamaru with his thumb, "Ino-chan, like I'd let this guy get hurt! That'd make me look bad! Nothing's going to happen to him, I'll protect him!"

Shikamaru glares over to Naruto with his eyes narrowed and his eyebrow twitching, "Protect me my ass... I'll have to protect myself from you, ass..."

Ino smiled with relief, "You promise...?

"C'mon Ino-chan!" He gives her a thumb up with a confident smile on his face, "This is Uzumaki Naruto you're talking to! I always keep my word, that's my ninja way, remember?!"

Ino smiled, and jumped forward wrapping her arms around Naruto's neck for a hug, "Thank you Naruto!" She closes her eyes happily, and leans her head on his should, "...Man... I feel all warm and tingly inside..."

Naruto returns his part of the hug, and wraps his arms around her torso, "Oooo... Ino smells really nice..."

Sakura looked over smiling pleasantly, but as the hug grew a little long, her smile began to dissolve. She continued to watch as she grew irritated, twitching in anger. She stepped forward and pulled their shoulders apart, "Ok, ok that's enough! You have your own kare to hug!" Ino chuckled, with her arms crossed and her eyes shut confidently. Sakura waved her fist angrily in front of Ino, "What's so funny?!"

Ino opened her eyes, and leaned forward smugly, "Are you jealous that Naruto liked hugging me so much, Sakura?!"

Sakura froze up at the insinuations made by Ino, as Shikamaru glanced over scornfully to Naruto with his eyes opened thin, "...Yea, you seemed to enjoy that hug Naruto... a little too much..."

"Ah-reh?!" Naruto whipped back towards Shikamaru nervously waving his arms in front of him, "It's not like that, Shikamaru! Ha hah... hah..."

Shikamaru whipped his had upward in a fed up fashion, "Whatever, let's get going... we've got to catch up to those guys."

Naruto stood up tall, punching up in the air above his head, "Alright! Let's go kick some ass!"

------

Shino and Romi were running around through the panic in the streets, trying to figure out what was going on. Villagers were all running down the street in the same direction, as if they were running away from something.

Shino stopped, grabbing Romi to hold her still. She shot up, and looked at him frightened, "What's going on Shino?!"

He looked down the road to where the people were running from, with sweat running down his face, "I don't know..." He noticed that the crowd was thinning out, and he could now see through it down the road. Three figures were approaching very slowly, followed by booms, slams, and crashes. Shino looked towards them in horror, knowing who those figures were.

Romi grabbed onto Shino's jacket when she noticed that everyone had run by, and that they were the only people left in front of the figures ahead, "...Shino! What do we do?!"

Shino quickly grabbed Romi's arm, and jerked her arm, pulling her towards the side of the road, "Come here! Come with me!" He pushed her into a small and dark niche, and put his arms onto her shoulders to get her attention, "Look... you stay her, ok?"

Romi looked back with her mouth hanging open, "...What?!...Shino! No! They'll kill you!"

Shino shook her to regain her attention, "Listen! Stay down... please!"

Romi shot forward hysterically, "Shino! I can't!" She began to cry in fear to the idea of Shino getting hurt or possibly even killed.

Shino pulled her close to console her with the time he had, "Romi... I love you, ok? I'll be ok, I promise, just stay down!"

She continued to cry while clinging to his jacket, "...Shino...!" He pulled away slowly, and then shot out to the middle of the road to meet the three men, as she watched helplessly with tears pouring out from underneath her glasses.

Shino stood in the middle of the road, sweating profusely, "Man, I'm an idiot...!" He swallowed nervously, as the three people came into view with their arms crossed.

The three appeared to be ninjas, except they wore blank head protectors, which had caught Shino's eye. He noticed they had been filed down though, so he assumed that these ninjas were trying to hide their identities.

One ninja, the shorter of the two guys, had a black hardhat with a small light attached to it. His outfit was an oversized black jumpsuit, which seemed to be rigged with a large set of scrolls all across his chest and arms. He also had a gas mask on, along with red tinted safety goggles which looked more like glasses rather than Naizen's.

The middle ninja was a woman, taller than the first on her right, who seemed to be lacking femininity. She had short blonde hair, which was spiked back wildly as if she had been electrocuted, and had noticeable blue braids running down the front of her head, all the way down to her hips. She wore a black hooded cape on over her typical powder blue fighting suit that resembled most ninjas' outfits. Her blank protector was strapped around her waist, as a belt though.

The ninja to the far left was seemingly short at first, but he was just crawling on all fours similar to a monkey. His long dark gray hair covered most of his face, as he crawled along clawing the dirt as he advanced. His arms had large slits across them though, like his skin was cut open: one on each of his shoulders, three on his upper arms, and two more on his forearms. He wore a black muscle shirt, with dark blue shorts that seemed to be frayed at the bases from being overused. His head protector was also tied around his waist as a belt.

Shino stood still, continuing his eye contact with the trio, as they continued up to him. He noticed the ninja with the hardhat, yanking one of the scrolls from his suit, and blooding it with his thumb. He took a step back and braced himself for an attack, "Here we go..."

The woman ninja flung her arm back and caught the arm of the short ninja that was holding the scroll. "No Go... I want to have some fun..."

The ninja, presumably named Go according to Shino, looked away and huffed, speaking through his mask, "...Fine Ryo..." He looked away, and threw the scroll back to the side of him a long way. When the scroll hit the ground, it erupted in a blaze, demolishing the houses on the side of the road.

Shino flung back, holding his arms up defensively, "Wow... What power packed into those scrolls... it far exceeds the explosion note..."

The three stood still as the blast beat on their backs, and they laughed at Shino's reaction, "You're weak aren't you bug boy?" Shino arches his eyebrow in surprise towards the Ryo girl, "...Yes, we know who you are... we know you all very well..."

Shino clinched his hands tightly, "What? Who the hell are these ninja?! How do they know us?" The ninja on the far right began to bounce up and down, clacking two stones together wildly while grunting and moaning.

Go glanced over to the ninja looking annoyed, "Why the hell did we have to drag that basket case along with us anyways."

Ryo twitched her head back to Go and sighed, "I don't know, Arata isn't very useful indeed..."

Shino looked over to Arata with confusion, and was baffled by his behavior, but was still aware of his power nonetheless. Shino shot up to the apparent leader in Ryo, and yelled to her, "What are you doing here?!"

Ryo smiled smugly, and tilted her head back, "We came to send you leaf a little message, and right now..." She pointed out towards him, "...it's you're turn bug boy!"

Romi watched helplessly front the niche in the building side, as she panicked quietly to herself, "Shino! Run please!"

Shino stood up tall in front of them, and lifted his arms to allow the bugs to crawl their way out from his body. The slowly began to cover his arms fully, and started making their way around the base of his feet.

Ryo looked towards him, still smiling wickedly, and then turned her head towards Go, "Hey... this is the bug thing he does, right?" Go just huffed arrogantly in response, while Ryo just turned her head back to Shino, "...not really that impressive if you ask me..."

Shino's eyebrows arched up as he was startled by their defamations, "These guys..."

Ryo stared him down with her arms crossed, "You brought it right Go?"

Go tore off one of his attached scrolls from his chest and held it out in front of him, "Of course I did..."

Ryo began to step back with her eyes closed and an evil smile on her face, "Then you take it from here... C'mon Arata, come with me..." Arata turned back quickly, and hopped over with her far behind the still poised Go.

Go built himself a stance and unrolled the scroll, which was just over a foot long. He sliced his thumb on a small blade on his mask, and used it to draw a line across the center of the scroll. Shino braced himself, and readied his insects to defend for an explosion like he observed earlier. Go looked at him and huffed haughtily, holding the image on the scroll out. The image in the middle began to build a small green hole that leaked a green smoke.

Shino recoiled at the realization, "Oh no!" A green smog blasted Shino before he had the time to react, the green smog that originated from the hole in the center of Go's scroll that is.

Romi shot up with tears running from under her glasses, "SHINO!"

Shino shot out from the cloud and landed farther behind it coughing and wheezing from the cloud of smog. "Damn... that was close... why was that poison so weak though?" He stood back up and waited for the cloud to clear.

Shino heard Ryo from behind the cloud laughing, "Nice job, Go... it worked perfectly!"

Shino popped up in confusion, "What? But I'm completely fine..." Then Shino gasped when the smog cleared away from him.

Romi gasped as well when she saw what had happened, "Oh no! Shino!"

Shino looked in horror down at the ground in front of him. "...Imp...Impossible." All across the dirt road lay a mess of Shino's poisoned bugs. "The smog... wasn't even meant for me... and now... my body has the poison in my blood... I cant reproduce the bugs until it's flushed out... shit..."

Go began to laugh through his gas mask, "What'd you think I was going to kill you like that? I want to be able to enjoy killing you thoroughly, which is why I got rid of those pesky bugs for you." Shino clinched his hand nervously, knowing the severity of the situation, "Now how will you fight now bug boy?" Go launched himself towards Shino, "...Well let's see then!"

Shino pulled out one of his kunai and built a defensive position. Go appeared before him, and they clashed kunai violently with a large spark. Shino stepped back, and threw three more kunai in Go's direction, which were easily brushed off by the small ninja.

"Pshh... I'm disappointed bug boy..." Shino looked up still after throwing the kunai up at him, but couldn't move from shock. Go grabbed his jacket quickly before he could react, and jerked him up towards him. With Shino plunging up toward him, he socked Shino directly in his gut, followed by a swift knee to his face, sending him helplessly to the ground with blood leaking from his mouth.

Romi fell to her knees right inside the niche, falling down her hands in distress. "I... I can't sit here..." Shino fell to the ground from a continued beating from Go. Go walked over to him, and began to kick him while he was down. "I... I need to do something!"

Go picks up the battered Shino up by his jacket, chuckling arrogantly, "You aren't much without your bugs are you? Humph... too bad..." He raises his hand threateningly, and clinches his fist, as Shino twitches in his attempts to move. "I won't enjoy killing you this way... but this is boring anyways... good bye bug... huh?" He turns his head to the side to see Romi flying towards him, "a bug girl?!"

"Leave him alone!!!" Romi connects a mammoth punch right onto the side of Go's face, rattling his mask and knocking off his goggles as he is scorched into and through a building wall. The smoke filled the side of the wall, as Ryo hung her head in disappointment.

"Go... you moron... you were careless not to notice that girl..."

Romi jerked her head back to Ryo in shock, "She... knew I was there?"

Shino looked up from the ground and Romi, as she stood above him in his defense. "...R...Romi... Just... run..."

She remained still standing over him, letting her red bugs out of her body, "No Shino... I can't leave you... I love you too much." Shino looks up surprised by what she said, "...and I'll do whatever I need to... to protect you."

Ryo stands there with her eyebrows arched downward, but with a smile as well, "Humph... admirable... but you're a fool... you should take your kare's advice bug girl."

Go crawls out of the hole he was punched through, fixing his mask with a look of rage in his now exposed eyes, "Damn it, I should kill you slowly for that..."

Ryo turns to him in a condescending manner, "Shut up idiot... you let yourself get it... just get another one of your scrolls and take care of her quickly."

Go stands up straight, feeling offended, "...Yah whatever." He reached around on his arsenal, checking each scroll one by one. "Damn it... I think I only brought one..."

Ryo sighs heavily, "You really are an idiot, aren't you... Well then get out of my way... I'll take care of her then..."

Go huffs angrily, "Fine... make it fast then, I don't want to be bored." He leaned down, and picked his goggles up and put them back on after dusting them meticulously.

Romi stood there, with red bugs swirling all the way up her body and around her arms. "Don't treat me like an easy fight."

Ryo looks over with an amused expression, "Oh?! And why not? You bug people aren't anything special! Why should I worry about you?"

"...because I'm not just any normal bug user..."

Shino looked up from his wounded and prone position, up at Romi in wonder. "What is she talking about...?" He looked at her red bugs and wondered about them as she stood there over him still.

"...I'm an advanced user... a baguutatsujin... (Bug Master –note: I do NOT know Japanese, so don't burn me for it-)"

Shino's eyebrows launched up in astonishment, "A baguutatsujin?!... My dad... told me about them... why didn't she tell me before...?"

Ryo stood there with a change in expression, "...and what the hell does that mean to me? I'll still beat you." She lifted her arm, and snapped her fingers with a smile on her face.

Suddenly, Romi felt a tugging from her leg and head. She planted her feet, but she began to get dragged across the dirt. "What's going on?!" Her kunai pouch came loose and flew towards Ryo, who caught it laughing confidently. Romi's headband also came off and flew towards her as well.

Ryo laughed more as she caught Romi's head protector, "Now that you don't have any weapons or armor, I think we can begin, no?"

Romi positioned herself defensively, "What happened? How'd she take my stuff? Did she use magnetism?! ... That would make her..."

"Damn it... I guess you figured it out bug girl." She reached into her pocket and pulled out another head protector. She ripped away the blank protector and threw it down to the ground.

As Ryo tied the new protector, Romi looked in shock as she noticed the symbol on the plate. It was the symbol for the Hidden Cloud Village, and the only thing Romi could think about was the ninja she saw earlier that day. Romi shot forward in shock, "...You... you mean you're with..."

"Naizen? You mean you met him, and you're still alive eh?" Ryo laughed assertively, "...He'd destroy this entire village if he weren't on a leash."

Romi looked back in horror, "...So... he is the enemy... He'll destroy Konoha if we don't do something..."

Ryo smiles smugly, "Well, why don't you attack me? I know you want to."

Romi breaks out in a sweat, "What?! She knows what I'm thinking?!"

"Of course I do... your brain gives off electric signals... which I can pick up easily... as you can see I've mastered telepathy and telekinesis... so you're going to have your hands full bug girl."

Romi took her stance, letting the insects, tail off from her arms. "...We'll see..."

Ryo looked back smiling, "Yea right... we'll see..." Ryo shot forward, running across the dirt path towards Romi, with her arms hung back in a wind up. "Let's begin already!"

Romi focused on Ryo's movements, and read them easily, preparing to counter with her bugs around her arms, "I've got her...!" Romi shot a cloud of bugs forward at the oncoming ninja, but Ryo just smiled back complacently. Within a blink of an eye, she vanished before the bugs could reach her, "What?! Where'd she..." Romi panicked and turned her head to the side, to see Ryo with her back to her.

Ryo wrapped around in slow motion, "...Too easy bug girl..." She lashed her leg around and blasted her foot into Romi's ribs, making Romi arch her body in pain before being rolling across the dirt vulnerably.

Romi pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, and suddenly coughed up blood with a grimace across her face. "Damn it... how did she react so quickly..."

"Hello?! You forget that I have telepathy silly ninja? You can't do anything without me knowing ahead of time! I guess that means you lose already, hmm?"

Romi stands up, with anxiety in her eyes, "Damn... what am I going to do then..." Romi's eyebrows suddenly rose up with insight, drawing her to stand up tall with a smirk on her face and the blood still leaking from the corner of her mouth.

Ryo looked back a little confused, "What the hell are you laughing about? What plan have you thought up now?" Ryo smiled arrogantly, "I'll just sense what you're doing before you do it anyways!" Ryo laughed confidently, until she grew silently slowly, "...What? ...What'd you do...?"

Romi stood tall, as her bugs slowly made their way to the ground in front of her, coving the floor and all leaving her. She grinned confidently, "I just directed them to combat you on their own regard... and last time I checked... a bugs electrical signals are way too weak to pick up... even for a ninja like yourself."

Shino looked at her in shock, "...She... she can have them fight without direction... but how!?"

Ryo lashed back, "You!" She took a few defensive strides back in intimidation. The bugs approached slowly as she looked down in horror, "I never had to use my reaction abilities before! I've always been able to sense an enemy's movements! I... I'll be beaten by these bugs if I don't do something!" The bugs flew forward towards her, "NO!" The bugs flying towards her drew her to panic and swipe her kunai through them, sending them flying around. She turned around and looked up with a gasp, "Oh no!" A band of insects came from above and splashed across her back and cape.

Ryo began screaming in terror as flailed her arms around, flinging bugs around off of her body, as she ripped her cape off, which was also covered in bugs. She back pedaled frantically, falling backwards in a panic, "Get them away! Get them away!" Tears of fear began building under her eyes, due to her uncertainty in the fight that she had never really felt before.

Go watched from afar with his arms crossed, "Stupid Ryo... she's lost her cool because she doesn't know what's going on anymore... She's lost." He flew across to Ryo and grabbed her hand, "We've lost bug girl... we're leaving... Arata! Come!" He looked back over to Romi with hatred in his eyes, "...I'll be back... in the name of the Hidden Rock Village, I'll return to beat you..."

Romi became startled at the realization, "...The Hidden Rock Village..." An image of Benjiro scrolled across her mind, "...him too then..."

Go threw down a smoke bomb in front of the shattered Ryo, and vanished with her out of sight.

Romi stood still, as the bugs marched out of the cloud of smoke, and back into her body. She noticed from a distance that Arata still remained, crouched on the ground still. He tilted his head questionably, exposing a small view of his face. Romi looked in slight shock when she saw his eye, which was completely black. He groaned, and chuckled sinisterly, before her shot against the wall, and began climbing the sides of the buildings off into the distance.

Romi sighed in relief, and she collapsed to a W position on the ground. The bugs finished going into the holes in her neck, and she glanced around after gathering herself. She saw Shino struggling to raise himself, off to her left, "Shino!" She stood up and ran over to him, pulling him up carefully, "...Shino."

He continued to avoid eye contact with her as he looked away shamefully, "...I'm a lot weaker than you, aren't I Romi..." Romi gasped slightly, and then looked down to the ground with guilt, "...I did a pitiful job of protecting you... I'm sorry."

Romi pulled Shino towards her, and kissed him without warning. As they were kissing, red insects leaked out of her neck, finding their way into the small holes in his cheek. She pulled away with small tears running down her face, "I... I love you Shino... and you were great in protecting me... don't ever say such things..." She took her finger and caressed the holes on his cheek, "I gave you some of my bugs just now... they should help you from now on..."

Shino looked back with amazement, and then relaxed himself, "...Romi... thank you..."