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Cloudbreak

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Western Steppe Country, nightfall…

"North by northwest," stated Choji, numbly. "That's where we are relative to the site I found. They were headed here."

Choji was kneeling next to a small pile of branches, preparing some kindling at the base of it. Ino was standing a short distance away, looking out over the plain. The two of them were in the depression they had found, but well away from the ridges to avoid the lingering smell of death.

"Yeah," Ino replied. "I had figured that. They met up with everyone else here."

Finishing up, Choji struck a sulfur stick from his travel pack and lit the campfire. "There were too many of them here, though. Their prints have been trampled over too much. I don't think I could possibly track which way they went from here."

Ino sighed. "Because they had to go somewhere else." The kunoichi wearily shook her head. "I don't get it, Choji. There was nothing here. All those ridges, all that cliff-side, and not one sign of a nest. No burrows, no scrapes, incubator holes… Not even a discarded shell! Why bring all those animals here if there's nothing nearby?"

"I think we're just going to have travel rations tonight," meekly informed Choji. "I haven't seen so mach as a lone rabbit around here…"

"Why?" Ino repeated, ignoring Choji. "It just doesn't add up…"

A moment later, Gaara appeared in a swirl of sand.

Sitting a short distance from the fire, Choji looked up. "No luck?"

The Sand ninja glanced to the side and promptly took a seat. "I found no sign of our quarry." Gaara paused. "Beyond what we already knew."

Ino exhaled loudly and joined her team around the fire. "How many animals?"

"Some thousands," the boy replied. "I cannot say for sure, but I do not believe that matters."

"Not really," Ino agreed.

"Many of the animals were herded from the north," Gaara supplied. "All approach the ridge perpendicularly, but if you follow the trail out far enough, most veer north." The Sand ninja paused for a moment, giving the others a chance to respond. When they didn't, he continued his observations. "The land starts to rise only twenty klicks north of here. No doubt it becomes hillier until the ridges close in from both sides. Regekion has likely used the landscape to funnel all herds south, to this location."

"But why?" Ino persisted. "There's nothing here."

"There's a cliff," supplied Choji. "You drive the animals off a cliff, and they die. Right there. You kill all the herds in the same place…"

"Like harandous in the cupboard…"

"Huh?"

"Ants," Gaara clarified with a slight shake of his head. "A particularly hated strain of ants that nest in the mud walls of homes. They are known for swarming over any food left unsealed."

"Ick," muttered Choji.

"But that's what you were getting at, wasn't it?" Ino prompted. "You're thinking Regekion had everything driven here, so it could be eaten en mass."

The leaf ninja nodded. "It makes sense, doesn't it? If you know there's a lot of food in a certain place, you just keep sending insects to that spot. They carve off what they can, go back to the nest, come back and carve off another load…" Choji absently gestured to the cliff face. "You'll have a steady stream of insects coming and going until you've stripped it clean."

"While other insects drive more prey to the chosen spot," Gaara finished. "If that is the case, there is likely little prey left in the entire valley."

Ino glanced between her two teammates. "That makes sense on its own," she argued, "but not with what else we know! Choji, that first attack we saw wasn't nearly this clean. There was still lots of meat left on those cows. And the other site we saw…" Ino gestured to Gaara. "You're team hasn't mentioned anything like this before. Everything else we've encountered has been a strike in the open by scouting party of insects."

"Maybe they've gone back to those old sites," Choji offered. "The only one we saw up close was that first one…"

"That incident killed forty, did it not?" Prompted Gaara. "It is possible that instinct drove the insects to kill all the animals there, even through there were not enough insects to eat them all."

Ino rubbed her forehead in frustration. "But that still doesn't explain why that was a random hit, while this seems so…" The kunoichi trailed off as she looked up. "Systematic."

"This could be closer to the nest," Choji suggested. "Wherever that is. Or it… No, this was two weeks old."

"By my guess, the tracks coming in ranged from fifteen to twenty seven days old," supplied Gaara. "This was a long operation."

Ino shook her head. "All this… Not even two days from Tarull…"

Choji held up his hand. "Two days for us. For regular people, probably a lot longer."

"But for Regekion, much less," Gaara interjected.

"So why hasn't she attacked the town?" Ino asked. "There's lots of 'food' there."

"Because that would attract attention," suggested Gaara. "Thus far, she had gone out of her way to avoid being noticed."

"Except she wiped out an entire mining camp," Ino countered. "And that's what got us out here. What made her think she could get away with that, and not anything else?"

"Or," added Choji, dragging out his words, "what made her think that was worth the risk, when nothing else was?"

The three ninjas lapsed into silence for a moment.

Ino eventually shook her head. "Man, I wish Shikamaru were here, because I just can't figure out how this adds up…"

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Northern Steppe Country, predawn…

"Get up, you two. We're moving out."

Kankurou skeptically raised his head. "You're kidding, right?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

After over an hour of rain, the storm had run its course. The sky to the north was clearing, with the last of the clouds rapidly moving south. The moon was waxing, and together it and the stars dimly illuminated the landscape. There was still a cold wind blowing, but not so cold as before.

After glaring at Shikamaru for a moment, Kankurou muttered something inarticulate and pushed himself to his feet.

Already standing, Temari flushed the last bits of water from the folds of her cloak. "So we're moving at night?" She asked rhetorically.

"You two are supposed to be better than regular Gennin…" As he spoke Shikamaru pulled a small flashlight out of his travel pack. Cupping his hand around the end of it, he briefly turned it on to ensure it still worked. "You should be able to handle it. Just keep in mind that it'll be slick out there."

"Yeah, we can handle it," said Kankurou as he rubbed the stiffness out of his neck. "But what about you? I saw you doze off a couple times. Are you really sure you're up for this right now?"

"If I have to, I can go all night."

Kankurou paused for a moment. "Okay, that just sounds dirty."

"Stop talking," Shikamaru ordered.

"You think he's bad now, you should try living with him," commented Temari. "Here," she said as she tossed Shikamaru his cloak. "It was nice during the storm, but it'll only slow me down."

Shikamaru shrugged and put the already folded cloak into his travel pack.

"I take it we're still headed to Kyokoa," Temari prompted as she secured her fan in her sash. "What's the hurry?"

"My contact in Tarull only said he had heard stories 'out Kyokoa way.' I don't have anything more specific than that, and I'm not about to waste my time searching blindly for something that may or may not be connected to my mission."

"Still not buying it, huh?" Asked Kankurou.

Shikamaru ignored the interruption. "I want to get to Kyokoa and find out where these stories are coming from. If there's a missing person involved, there's got to be an area associated with it. I want to get to that place as fast as we can so I can get an accurate gauge of the situation." Shikamaru rolled his shoulders to adjust his grip on his travel pack then leapt to the treetops. "Now come on," he called back.

Shouldering Karasu, Kankurou glanced at his sister. The elder Sand ninja tilted her head to the side and leapt after Shikamaru. After sighing in annoyance, Kankurou followed suit.

Despite Shikamaru's head start, the two Sand ninjas quickly caught up to him.

Slowing her pace to match his, Temari glanced over at the Chuunin. "So then, 'fearless leader,' she said, putting extra emphasis on the title. "Are you paying? A good leader always treats his subordinates…"

Shikamaru cast a withering gaze at Temari.

The kunoichi was about to wink when Shikamaru tripped up and fell face first into a thicket of scrub oak. Both Sand ninjas quickly came to a halt.

"Watch out," called back Kankurou as he tried to suppress a chuckle. "It's slick out here."

Cursing mildly, Shikamaru pulled himself out of the tangle of branches. Though essentially unhurt, he had picked up large assortment of scratches.

"You'd think a Leaf ninja, of all people, would be able to handle himself in the trees," observed Temari, unable to hide her amusement.

"Shut up," muttered Shikamaru as he tenderly felt a scrape on his forehead. "And no," he angrily retorted after a pause. "I'm not paying for you two because we're not eating there. I wouldn't be paying even if we were."

Having made the suggestion in jest, Temari wasn't put off by Shikamaru's response. She was however, curious as to what he planned to do in Kyokoa. "Wait, so you weren't planning on checking in at the tavern this time? Then where are we going?"

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Kyokoa, dawn…

"About time you got here."

Having just closed the door to his office, the Sheriff of Kyokoa stumbled back against the wall. The office was still dark, but just enough light filtered through the window blinds for him to make out three figures standing behind his desk. Each of the figures wore a shiny patch of metal, which the sheriff instantly identified as ninja insignias.

"I always figured it would end like this," the sheriff muttered to himself, feeling the side of his waist for his dagger. "Who sent you? Tell me that at least…"

"Nobody you would know," sarcastically replied one of the ninjas.

The shortest ninja, who wore his insignia on the side of his arm, crossed his arms in annoyance. "Don't try to fight us. We really don't have the time for it. Just tell us what we want to know and we'll be on our way."

Not fully reassured, the sheriff slowly raised himself up. "What do you want?" He demanded.

"We've heard rumors about missing livestock somewhere near Koykoa," the woman of the group replied. "If that's true, we think we have some business with those responsible."

"Tell us where, tell us when, and tell us the circumstances surrounding any suspicious disappearances of cattle, or people."

"You're talking about the ranch hand?" The sheriff prompted. "That was nothing. The old drunkard left his post for a bar and didn't come out for a week."

"And cattle?" The short ninja prompted again.

"There's been some rustling," the sheriff continued. "Bit outside of town. Somewhere near Dyokin's Hill. Been going on for the better part of a month now. We ain't sure where the cattle are going, but people are thinking it's across the boarder. No strangers have been selling us cattle back, no one is flashing money around they shouldn't be having… Rain country is the only place they can be disappearing to."

The sheriff watched hesitantly as the ninjas glanced at each other.

"That'll be it," one of the ninjas informed.

The sheriff winced, still half expecting a killing blow to follow. But none did, and when he looked around again, his office was empty.

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A road just outside of Kyokoa…

"Not bad. I didn't think you had it in you."

Making an effort to avoid the patches of mud along the road, Shikamaru, Temari, and Kankurou trudged up a hill overlooking Kyokoa. Temari was leading the group, casually eating a roll she had snatched from one of the town's vendors. Shikamaru was wearily following, keeping his eyes on the ground ahead of him. Kankurou, the most lively of the bunch, brought up the rear.

"Had what in me?" Shikamaru half-heartedly asked.

"That," replied Kankurou. "That whole scene back there. Scaring that guy witless and all."

"You've seen him act threatening before," Temari countered.

Kankurou scoffed. "Yeah, but not like that. He's never played himself up as a ninja. A real cold-blooded callous life-taking ninja."

"Actually, he did threaten to cut your throat a couple times," Temari pointed out after swallowing.

"Well…"

"I don't act like a heartless life-taker, because I'm not a heartless life-taker," Shikamaru muttered. "That isn't the sort of ninja Konoha produces."

"Then Konoha doesn't really produce 'ninjas' at all, does it," Kankurou prompted. "Ninjas kill. It's the most basic principle of the shinobi."

Shikamaru sighed and looked up at the sky. "We kill. But it's our last option. Not our first."

Temari chuckled. "The Bloody Mist you are not…"

"How do you keep influence like that?" Asked Kankurou. "How do people take you seriously if they know they can jerk you around some and still live?"

Shikamaru cast a withering gaze at Kankurou. "Because some people won't work with others unless they can jerk them around a little. Look, I don't care if you don't do things like we do, but don't knock it. If the Leaf didn't operate the way we do, you wouldn't even be alive right now."

"Pft." Unable to help herself, Temari rolled her eyes.

"And you're why," commented Shikamaru, turning his gaze to Temari. "Remember that cheap shot you tried to get in during the prelims? Remember what it did to Rock Lee?" Shikamaru paused a second for emphasis. "If Lee was a life-taker, he would have torn you apart for that."

Temari stopped short.

"Hey," argued Kankurou, coming up behind his sister. "If he tried that, I'd be down there in a second."

Having passed Temari, Shikamaru turned to face the ninjas and raised an eyebrow. "To do what, exactly? If Lee meant to kill you, those weights on his legs would have come off in a second. If you were lucky, they wouldn't have come off flying towards your heads. And even then…" Shikamaru pointed at the Sand ninjas and wagged his finger. "You two are good, but I haven't seen anything from either of you that could counter what Lee did."

Biting her lip, Temari looked down at what was left of her roll.

"Alright," continued Kankurou after a moment. "But Gaara did beat that kid. What makes you think he'd just stand there and let us die?"

Amused, Shikamaru raised his eyebrow again.

"What makes you think Gaara wouldn't have just stood there, little brother?" Temari asked in a soft voice. "Remember who we're talking about, here…" Temari reluctantly looked up at the Leaf ninja. "Point taken, Shikamaru. So are you saying I should apologize to Tenten when this is all over, or what?"

Shikamaru shrugged and turned around to continue walking. "It's not my conscience," he said, holding his hands slightly out to the side. "And I barely know the girl. It's not like I owe her anything…" Before he got any further, the Chuunin abruptly stopped and turned around. "Why are we talking about this?" He demanded.

With her mood quickly lightening, Temari chuckled. "Because you weren't telling us our next move, and you weren't taking us anywhere in a hurry," the kunoichi pointed out. "As far as my brother is concerned, that's an open invitation to lead the conversation wherever he wants it."

"It is not," Kankurou retorted.

"I thought it was obvious what we were doing," Shikamaru said as he crossed his arms. "The sheriff said the cattle were disappearing around Dyokin's Hill. Therefore, we are headed to Dyokin's hill to investigate."

Kankurou regarded Shikamaru for a moment. "Okay, fine. But do any of us have any idea where Dyokin's Hill is? I don't remember anyone asking that, and you haven't looked any of your maps. Shouldn't we figure out where we're going before we leave the town?"

Shikamaru shook his head and sighed. "Konoha doesn't teach its ninjas to be heartless mercenaries," said the boy as he continued up the road. "But they do teach us how to find our way around."

Hastily finishing off the last of her roll, Temari brushed off her hands. "That, and they taught you how to read. I saw the sign too, Shikamaru."

Kankurou's head tilted to the side. "Sign?"

Temari looked back and grinned. "A road sign, little brother. Haven't I told you that you miss things when you talk to much." Flashing her brother a mocking grin, Temari leapt past Shikamaru.

Grumbling to himself, Kankurou eventually followed suit.

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