Chapter 2: Manhunts and Missions.
Naruto collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily, and then rolled to the side. A tree trunk, nearly ten feet in diameter, crashed down on the spot Naruto had been a moment before. Naruto eyed the felled tree hatefully, and then clambered back to his feet, using the trunk to help him up. For a moment, he leaned against the trunk, then pushed off and stood on unsteady legs. As Naruto looked around, he realized how exhausted he was, as well as how much damage he was doing to the clearing.
After the first hour, Naruto had lost track of time. And after the third tree nearly fell on him, he lost count of those too. Now looking around, he took stock of how many trees littered the ground.
(12...I've taken down 12 trees simply by doing a chakra control exercise...Damn it...)
Naruto looked around again, and realized with a start that night had fallen. Naruto suddenly felt as if a hundred eyes were looking at the small of his back. And for all he knew, there were.
Naruto released the Kyubi's chakra and trotted over to Gaara, who was still in the same spot, practicing katas.
"Hey Gaara, we'd better move. We'll pick up where we left off tomorrow. If I can even move that is."
Gaara looked at Naruto out of the corner of his eye and nodded, coming out of the kata stance. Gaara then crouched down, preparing himself for a leap up to the treetops above. Naruto reached out and grabbed his shoulder. When Gaara looked at him, Naruto spoke.
"Don't bother. I've got a much better mode of transport..."
Naruto walked forward a few steps so that he stood in front of Gaara, checked his watch, then assumed his favorite meditation stance and concentrated on the Kyubi's chakra. Naruto quested about for a moment in his mind before finding the Kyubi's chakra. He then began to draw it out, and felt the familiar burning sensation spread from his navel to the rest of his body slowly. As he drew forth more chakra, the burning intensified and spread out to the rest of his body at a more rapid pace. Naruto felt his tired body protest loudly as it was forced to make room for the huge chakra, his muscles bulging a little here, growing a little longer there...
Naruto felt his most easily manipulated body structures change as the chakra reached them. His fingernails grew longer and pointed, while his canine teeth became much more pronounced. His eyes burned for a moment, as did the markings on his face, and Naruto realized that his eyes were now a blood red with slited pupils, and the whisker marks on his face grew much more pronounced and darker.
Naruto felt the Kyubi's chakra finally finish burning through him, and felt he had enough. He opened his eyes, and glanced at his watch to see how long it had taken him.
(9 minutes. Crap. That took way too long...)
Naruto decided to worry about the time it took to draw on Kyubi's chakra later, and worry about getting him and Gaara out of there now. His skin was crawling with the feeling of eyes on him.
Naruto bit his thumb, and then went through a series of seals, before slamming his hand down onto the ground.
"SUMMONING NO JUTSU!!"
Gaara's eyes widened, and he got ready to leap away. But there was a sudden explosion of smoke and Gaara felt himself raised into the air by about forty feet. When the smoke cleared Gaara saw that he was standing on what appeared to by a small plain of blue fabric. For a moment nothing happened. Then it felt like an earthquake occurred.
"WHAT THE HELL? WHO SUMMONED ME HERE?"
Gaara came close to covering his ears as the voice washed over him. He doubted that the speaker was trying to be that loud; it was just that they were. Gaara glanced at Naruto as he shouted back.
"Oi, Gama-Bunta, it's me, Naruto!!"
"NARUTO? WHY THE HELL DID YOU SUMMON ME HERE? AND WHO'S THAT WITH YOU?"
Gaara felt a small bit of dread flow into his system. The last time he had encountered Gama-Bunta was when he fully transformed, and let Sabaku out. Naruto had summoned the frog Gaara was now standing on, and proceeded to smack Gaara around. In the end, Gaara and Gama-Bunta hadn't parted on the best of terms.
"It's Gaara, the guy I summoned you to help me beat. We-"
"GAARA!! THE MEDIUM FOR SHUKAKU?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN HIS COMPANY, AND WHAT IS HE DOING ON MY BACK?!?!"
"YES, that Gaara! Now will you listen to me?! We need a ride to an area farther away, preferably to the south."
Silence reigned for a moment. Then Gama-Bunta started shouting, and Gaara was forced to cover his ears lest he be made temporarily deaf. After a moment of shouting, Gaara also closed his eyes.
"A RIDE?!?! YOU LITTLE PUNK, I DO NOT GIVE RIDES!!!!!"
Naruto collapsed, hands over his own ears, and his eyes dazed. Gaara perfectly understood as he cracked one eye. Even with his ears covered, his eardrums were ringing violently. Gaara watched at Naruto climbed back to his feet somehow.
"Oi, either you give us a ride, or missing nin hunters will find us, and kill us! And before you ask, neither of us left our villages willingly. We were both driven out."
Naruto's voice trailed off into a dejected whisper, conveying how much that event still weighed on his mind. Gama-Bunta was silent for a moment. Then he spoke in that earth shaking voice he seemed to have.
"ALLRIGHT. I'LL TAKE YOU SOUTH."
Naruto brightened, then moved up to the point where the coat Gama- Bunta was wearing ended, and gathered some cool, non-demon chakra into his hands and feet, and got the best grip he could. He turned to look at Gaara.
"Better hold on."
Gaara hesitated for a moment, then came forward and did the same thing as Naruto. He looked at Naruto from the corner of his eye.
"Why?"
"Cause Gama-Bunta goes fast-"
At this point, Gama-Bunta leapt nearly a hundred feet into the air, and about four hundred feet forward, and came down with a crash.
"-and I haven't gotten seatbelts installed yet!!"
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To most, the sun was a glorious thing, bringing warmth and life to the planet. To others, the sun was nothing more than a nuisance in the morning.
One such person currently had the sun shining in his eyes as he tried to sleep. He cracked an eye open and glared balefully at the sunlight, which was admitted by a cunningly placed window to shine directly in his eyes in the morning.
He flopped over in his bed, closing his eye and returning to dreamland.
(Wait a second...there's still light shining in my eyes...)
He once again cracked an eyelid open and saw that a mirror had also been cunningly placed to reflect the sunlight into his eyes.
(Damn bastard.)
He momentarily hosted the idea of throwing a few shuriken at the mirror, shattering it and allowing him to return to sleep.
He slipped his hand underneath his pillow where he kept an emergency supply of kunai and shuriken, and grabbed three of the throwing stars. He withdrew his arm, and drew it back, preparing to throw the metal stars with the precise pinpoint accuracy needed to turn the mirror into nothing more than little shards of useless glass.
(This'll show you to...Huh? Why's the bed tilting?)
He released the shuriken, which fell harmlessly to the floor, and made a mad scramble at the bed sheets with his hands, attempting to gain a grip to keep himself within the comfortable confines of the bed. He failed miserably and crashed down onto the floor with a not-so-soft 'Thump'.
"Time to get up Kakashi."
Gai watched as the silver haired jounin got one arm on the bed and used it to pull himself off the floor. Once his eye cleared the bed, he glared at Gai, who merely looked back, another serious expression on his face.
"We have a problem. Sasuke's gone from the hospital."
Kakashi groaned, and pulled himself into the bed once again.
"You woke me up for that? Please Gai, have you even thought to check the training grounds yet?"
"There are people checking the various training grounds now, but I thought I'd come and get you anyway, since he's your student. NOW GET UP!"
Kakashi had just buried himself in the blankets again, and was about to fall asleep when Gai blurred forward and kicked the bed, expertly flipping the mattress into the air, and sending Kakashi into the wall. The mattress fell back onto the bed, complete with blankets and pillow, perfectly, speaking of long practice on Gai's part.
The fact that there were several Kakashi shaped indentions around the room spoke of VERY long practice on Gai's part.
Gai walked around the bed, and grabbed the dazed Kakashi, who had just slid down the wall, by the collar and dragged him into the bathroom. Gai tossed Kakashi, fully clothed, into the shower, and turned on the water as cold as it could get. He then walked out, ignoring Kakashi's cursing.
Kakashi flailed about in the shower, vainly trying to escape the freezing water, before finally regaining the presence of mind to turn the water to hot. After a moment, the water was finally hot, and Kakashi stripped off his clothes and tossed them into the hamper. Or tried. The fact that the hamper was badly overflowing made the attempt mute.
Ignoring the overflowing hamper, Kakashi went about soaping himself down and rinsing off, as well as shaving. Finally done, he climbed out of the shower and went to grab for a towel. When his questing hand encountered nothing, he glanced at the towel rack only to find it empty. (Oh yeah. The towels are all dirty too. One of these days I'll have to wash them...)
Kakashi formed a hand seal, and was suddenly dry, his hair blasted upward from the jutsu. He walked out into his bedroom and opened his closet.
"Hmm...Now what should I wear?"
This question was made rather mute when the contents of the closet are examined, revealing a large collection of...
...The standard jounin uniform, and nothing else.
After getting dressed, Kakashi went into the kitchen, and grabbed a cup of coffee, then walked out the door, locking it and back flipping up to the roof without spilling his coffee. Once on the roof, Kakashi idly sipped his coffee and looked out over Kohana.
(Hmm...Now if I were Sasuke, where would I train...?)
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Sakura sat in front of her mirror, running a brush through her short hair, her eyes gazing unseeing at her reflection, thinking about the past few weeks. With a sigh, Sakura put the brush down, and leaned her head against the mirror, feeling the cool glass surface. She closed her eyes, and an image flashed through her mind's eye of a young man, grinning broadly, with blue eyes, and blond hair.
Sakura sighed.
'Tap tap tap.'
Sakura's eyes shot open and her head snapped to her bedroom window. Her mouth fell open as she realized who was outside her window, upside down. She stood and walked over to the window, undid the lock, and opened it.
Sasuke crawled in without a word, and sank down onto the floor, panting, once he was fully inside. His right hand went up to clutch at his left shoulder, but Sakura didn't notice.
"Sasuke, what are you doing here?! You're supposed to be in the hospital!!"
Without giving Sasuke the chance to speak or protest, Sakura wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to his feet. She then marched him rather forcibly to the nearest piece of furniture, which happened to be her bed, and forced him to sit upon it. She placed her hand on his chest and pushed him back so he leaned back against the pillows with a barely audible sigh. His right hand once again went to clutch at his left shoulder. Sakura took notice this time, and was about to reach out and grab his arm when there was a knock at her door.
She gave a slight jump, and hurried over to the door, opening it just enough to see who was on the other side.
Sakura's mother looked at her through the crack with concern filled eyes.
"Sakura, what's all the noise about?"
"Nothing mom."
Sakura's mother nodded. But before Sakura could shut the door, her mother stood up on tiptoe to see over Sakura's head. She sank back down to her original height with a knowing smile on her face.
"Yes, nothing Sakura, nothing at all."
Sakura's mother then turned away from the door, and walked down the hall, as Sakura closed the door, slightly confused. That is, until she turned around and remembered that her bed was directly across from the door, in easy sight. And the fact that Sasuke was currently leaning back on her bed, panting slightly with his eyes closed...
Sakura felt herself blush. She then remembered how Sasuke was holding his shoulder, and she moved over to behind him, grabbed his arm, and gently lifted it away. She then grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted it up, revealing his shoulder.
Sakura gasped at what she saw.
Sasuke's curse seal was glowing and slowly spinning in a clockwise direction. (It's active...but why isn't it spreading?) She then took notice of the two seals surrounding the curse seal. She would've bent down to examine them more closely, but Sasuke slapped her hands away, and sat up, clutching his shoulder again. His face gave an annoyed, and pain filled, grimace, before settling into its usual poker face.
Sakura walked over to her desk, and turned the chair around, studying Sasuke as she brought it over and placed it near the bed, and sat down.
"What are you doing here Sasuke? You're supposed to be in the hospital healing."
"I woke up and left. I have better things to do than lay around in a hospital bed."
Sakura leaned forward, worry creasing her brow as she supporter her chin in her hands.
"Like training?"
Sasuke merely nodded, leaning back against the wall. His body still wasn't recovered, and he was in a rather large amount of pain from his journey from the hospital. And his shoulder was burning fiercely.
"So why come here?"
Sasuke opened his eyes, and looked at Sakura.
"To get you to come train with me."
Sakura's eyes widened with shock, and she gasped.
"Wha...why?"
"I'm going after Naruto."
Sakura's mouth closed with a snap, her head coming out of her hands.
"And I want you to come with me. While your combat skills aren't equal to his, or mine, you're the smartest of the three of us. You'll be able to predict his every move."
Sakura simply stared at Sasuke for a moment, letting the idea flow through her. They COULD go after him, find him, and bring him home.
And by law he'd be killed the moment he set a foot over the border of the Fire Country. And they'd be labeled Missing Nins for leaving.
Sakura felt herself slump down, the sudden feeling of hope she felt leaving her rapidly. She reached out and grasped Sasuke's left hand, and raised her head, looking him in the eye.
"Sasuke...No. We can't. We'd be labeled as Missing Nins, and Naruto would be killed the moment he's discovered. He's been legally banished. There's nothing we can do."
Sasuke merely stared at her for a moment. He then calmly removed his right hand from his shoulder, and swung it into the wall, cracking the plaster and making Sakura jump.
"I. Don't. Care."
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Kakashi strolled along, idly sipping his coffee through his mask, heading for Sakura's. He suspected that's where Sasuke had gone, and even if he hadn't, one more person looking for Sasuke wouldn't hurt. And with Sakura's determination to find Sasuke, she'd be the perfect candidate for the search.
Kakashi arrived at Sakura's house, and was about to enter her room through the open window when he heard Sasuke's voice. Kakashi stopped and settled in to listen.
"They can do what they want with me. The news of me going to join Orochimaru will soon spread, and everyone will despise me. I might as well as have them despise me on my own terms. So, are you coming with me or not?"
There was a healthy pause as Sakura considered. Kakashi heard the sound of a chair being pushed back.
"I don't know Sasuke-kun...I want to help Naruto just as much as you. But what good will it do? We can't bring him back...In fact, we wouldn't be able to come back..."
Kakashi decided to join in the conversation.
"True. If you went about it your way, you wouldn't be able to return."
Kakashi smirked slightly as he heard the gasps of surprise, as well as the commotion of his two students rushing to the window. A moment later Sakura and Sasuke stuck their heads out of the window. They looked around for a moment before they looked up and spotted Kakashi. He was sitting on the roof, his legs dangling over the side, reading the latest version of 'Come Come Paradise'. Kakashi raised his left hand, his right holding the book open, and his coffee on the roof beside him, and gave his customary greeting.
"Sorry I'm late. I slept in a little, and had an incident with the shower."
Sakura smiled lightly.
"Liar."
Kakashi didn't even bat an eyebrow at Sakura's usual reply to his excuses, even if that one was true. Instead, he hoped down, grabbing his coffee with his left hand, and landed lightly on the window sill as they backed up. He crouched down, coffee and book still in hand.
"Sasuke. You're supposed to stay in the hospital. You would've been discharged later today for a mission briefing anyway. So, since you've already left, meet in Hokage-sama's office in two and a half hours. You too Sakura. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go stop the village wide man hunt for Sasuke. Later."
Kakashi exploded into smoke, and Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other.
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Naruto awoke with a pained yelp. He lay still, hoping that the fierce burning of his muscles would go away. After a minute, when the burning didn't go away, he slowly opened his eyes, and very slowly turned his head side to side to see where he was. Even that small movement made him cringe in pain as his neck muscles protested loudly.
He was laying on a patch of thick grass, on the shore of a small lake, shaded by a few trees. When turning his head didn't really provide him with much information, he sat up with a series of pained grunts, and pops as his joints protested as well. Once he could see through the slight blur of pain, he gasped.
The small lake was nestled next to a cliff of about 100 feet, with a cave at the bottom that five people abreast could fit into. Circling the lake was a line of dense trees and other foliage, and the ground was covered in thick grass, providing a natural padding to it. With the light that was filtering down into the clearing, the whole place had a mystical and beautiful cast to it.
Gaara was farther down the shore of the lake, going through the katas again, determined to become as good as possible in a short amount of time. Gama-Bunta seemed to have disappeared. A moment later, Naruto realized that Gama-Bunta hadn't disappeared; he was simply doing what frog's do best; Swimming.
Gama-Bunta's head broke the surface of the water, and he looked at Naruto with one yellow eye, before taking a deep breath and vanishing under the water's surface. For a moment, Naruto wondered why Gama-Bunta was still here. He then remembered what Gama-Bunta had done before Naruto had passed into sleep. Or passed out, that term seemed more appropriate.
Last night, after an hour's travel, they had come across this clearing, and Gama-Bunta had stopped. When Naruto asked why, Gama-Bunta said that this place was perfectly suited to lying low for a while. Naruto, too tired to argue, merely slid off the toad's back, and fell asleep right after Gama-Bunta had performed a Genjutsu. The last thing Naruto remembered was Gama-Bunta saying that he and Gaara were safe so long as Gama-Bunta was present to hold the Genjutsu.
Naruto once again glanced around the clearing before deciding that Gaara had the right idea. Naruto proceeded to stand, with another series of pained grunts and popping of joints, and walked over to a poor, innocent tree that Naruto was probably about to cut down by simply trying to walk up it. Naruto clasped his hands together, and summoned the Kyubi's chakra. He nearly screamed when he managed to bring it out of the seal, and it burned its way through him. (Ow ow ow ow ow ow...Damn it that burns...oh well. 'No pain, no gain'. Maybe Sakura was right, and I am a masochist...damn it.)
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Sasuke silently groaned as he rounded the last corner, bringing the Hokage's office into sight, Sakura walking next to him, eyeing him worriedly. Sasuke's whole body ached, and his shoulder burned, though it had died down to an acceptable level. As it was, he walked like nothing was wrong, hands in his pockets, and his poker face in place as he studied the group that had gathered outside the Hokage's office. The rather large group consisted of shinobis from the entire range of levels, jounin, chounin, and genin.
All of the 'Rookie Nine' were present, with the obvious exception of Naruto, as well as their respective jounin leaders, even Kakashi. Sasuke blinked in surprise at this unexpected show of promptness from the jounin. Gai and his team were also present, Lee still supported by his crutch. Iruka was there, leaning against the wall and fidgeting. But the strangest person there was Jiraiya, who was standing next to the door and snoring softly. Sasuke eyed the old man with a mixture of respect and disdain before he had to grimace as someone latched onto his arm, sending a jolt of pain through him, quickly followed by annoyance. He looked down and saw a head of blond hair, while the female shinobi who possessed it had her arms wrapped around his right arm, and was snuggled as close as she could get to him.
Sakura took one look at Ino and nearly lost it.
"Ino, let go of Sasuke, you're hurting him! Now!!"
The command and authority in Sakura's voice made Ino release Sasuke on instinct. For a moment, Ino blinked in surprise, and then turned to Sakura, anger in her eyes. Ino opened her mouth, but before any words could come out, the doors to the Hokage's office opened, and everyone filed in. Ino turned around to walk in with Sasuke, arm in arm, but he had already vanished into the room. But not before flashing a grateful look to Sakura over Ino's head.
Sakura blushed at the look, and went into the room. Ino turned back around to see Sakura had also left before Ino also went into Hokage's office. The doors shut behind her.
Tsunade barely waited for the doors to close and for Ino to find a seat before starting.
"Before I fully start the mission briefing, I will notify you of the high danger of this mission. It is an A-class mission, and all of you that go will risk more than life and limb. Your very status as Shinobi will be risked. Even if you survive, you run the risk of never being Shinobi again. Now that you know that, if you do not wish to go on this mission, then leave now, and do not say a word of what you have heard here today."
Unsurprisingly, quite a few people got up and left. Of those that were gennins and left, there was Sasuke, Sakura, Lee, and, surprisingly, Hinata and Neji. Shikamaru and Iruka also stayed, as did Kakashi, Gai, and Kurenai. Jiraiya didn't even shift from his position. Tsunade looked around at all of those who stayed, signifying that they would be going on the mission. Once the door clicked shut, she continued again.
"Not as many as I had hoped, but more than I expected." She sighed, and raised her hands to steeple her fingers in front of her face. "This mission will have one objective only; to find, and give aid to, Naruto."
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Gaara back flipped, did a hand stand, and spun in a circle, left leg fully extend, while coming back up to his feet, and spinning around, switching to his right leg. He came to a stop, and threw a half dozen punches, before dropping down and doing a sweep, then bringing both hands down onto the ground, clasped together. He then slowly stood up, and whipped a fine sheen of sweat off of his face. He walked down to the lake, and cupped some water in his hand, and splashed that onto his face.
He cupped his hands and filled them with water, this time to drink, when a sudden explosion off to his right caught his attention. His eyes widened as he saw Naruto fly back, and Gaara rushed forward, covering the distance as fast as he could, and diving under Naruto just in time to break the other boy's fall. Naruto lay almost perfectly still atop him, twitching slightly, and Gaara eased him to the side, and gently laid Naruto on the ground. Once the dust had cleared, Gaara looked at the area Naruto had just...explosively vacated.
Gaara blinked as he looked at what remained of a very large boulder. Over half of the rock had been blown apart, and what was left toppled over onto the ground and broke into smaller pieces. Either Naruto had been practicing some Jutsu, or he had used his remarkably thick head, as Gaara should know first hand how thick it was, to break the rock. Gaara believed it was the former as he glanced back down at Naruto.
Gaara blinked in confusion as an odd feeling welled up inside him. His left hand went to his head and he grimaced in pain as he recalled anther event during the Chounin exams.
Gaara sped toward the now collapsed Uchiha, his transformed arm extended, ready to crush the other boy. There was a sudden flicker of orange in his peripheral vision, and then Gaara felt something he hadn't felt before. Ever.
A foot collided with his face, and time seemed to slow as his head was forcefully turned to his right, and then the rest of his body was forced to follow the path set for his head, and he flew away, landing on a branch. Gaara grabbed it with his transformed arm, and slowed his backward progress. His cheek...hurt.
Once Gaara stopped sliding backward, he looked up at the fool who dared challenge Gaara's existence only to find himself looking on the coward from the hospital. Gaara switched his view to the pink haired girl, who was kneeling next to Uchiha, and looking at him with an unreadable emotion in her eyes.
(It is concern.)
Gaara's other hand flew to his head at the female sounding voice as another voice sounded in outrage.
(CONCERN!?! Concern is not for us! KILL HIM! END HIS EXISTENCE!!! Give us his BLOOD!!!)
For a while Gaara moaned behind his teeth, which were clenched and bared, as a battle of wills went on inside him. Madness raged in his head, demanding Naruto's blood, and Gaara's only saving grace was a small spot of order, of peace, one that had always been there. Gaara reached out to that small spot and grabbed hold of it, clinging desperately to the sanity it offered.
Soon the other voice vanished, and Gaara breathed a sigh of relief, opening his eyes, and removing his hands from his head. He blinked when he saw Naruto looking up at him, blue eyes dulled with pain. Naruto only said one word, and it caused Gaara to chuckle weakly.
"Ow."
Gaara gently slipped his arms under Naruto and picked the boy up. He turned and carried him down to the lake shore, and slowly placed Naruto into the water. Naruto sighed as the cool water enveloped his body up to his neck, and he closed his eyes. He opened them again when he felt Gaara unzip his jacket, exposing Naruto's chest, and the several rocks embedded into it. Naruto grimaced in pain as Gaara set about pulling the rock fragments out.
"What happened?"
Naruto grimaced again as Gaara grabbed a particularly big rock piece before answering.
"I was practicing one of the techniques taught to me by the pervert sannin when I sneezed. Someone must be talking about me."
:Author's note: Another chapter done. Please let me know what you think in a review. Even those of you who've reviewed before, please review again. There's no greater feeling to an author than to have people appreciate his work. Oops...nearly forgot something. The inspiration for the scene where Kakashi wakes up came from the fic The Last Step, also in the Naruto section.
Naruto collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily, and then rolled to the side. A tree trunk, nearly ten feet in diameter, crashed down on the spot Naruto had been a moment before. Naruto eyed the felled tree hatefully, and then clambered back to his feet, using the trunk to help him up. For a moment, he leaned against the trunk, then pushed off and stood on unsteady legs. As Naruto looked around, he realized how exhausted he was, as well as how much damage he was doing to the clearing.
After the first hour, Naruto had lost track of time. And after the third tree nearly fell on him, he lost count of those too. Now looking around, he took stock of how many trees littered the ground.
(12...I've taken down 12 trees simply by doing a chakra control exercise...Damn it...)
Naruto looked around again, and realized with a start that night had fallen. Naruto suddenly felt as if a hundred eyes were looking at the small of his back. And for all he knew, there were.
Naruto released the Kyubi's chakra and trotted over to Gaara, who was still in the same spot, practicing katas.
"Hey Gaara, we'd better move. We'll pick up where we left off tomorrow. If I can even move that is."
Gaara looked at Naruto out of the corner of his eye and nodded, coming out of the kata stance. Gaara then crouched down, preparing himself for a leap up to the treetops above. Naruto reached out and grabbed his shoulder. When Gaara looked at him, Naruto spoke.
"Don't bother. I've got a much better mode of transport..."
Naruto walked forward a few steps so that he stood in front of Gaara, checked his watch, then assumed his favorite meditation stance and concentrated on the Kyubi's chakra. Naruto quested about for a moment in his mind before finding the Kyubi's chakra. He then began to draw it out, and felt the familiar burning sensation spread from his navel to the rest of his body slowly. As he drew forth more chakra, the burning intensified and spread out to the rest of his body at a more rapid pace. Naruto felt his tired body protest loudly as it was forced to make room for the huge chakra, his muscles bulging a little here, growing a little longer there...
Naruto felt his most easily manipulated body structures change as the chakra reached them. His fingernails grew longer and pointed, while his canine teeth became much more pronounced. His eyes burned for a moment, as did the markings on his face, and Naruto realized that his eyes were now a blood red with slited pupils, and the whisker marks on his face grew much more pronounced and darker.
Naruto felt the Kyubi's chakra finally finish burning through him, and felt he had enough. He opened his eyes, and glanced at his watch to see how long it had taken him.
(9 minutes. Crap. That took way too long...)
Naruto decided to worry about the time it took to draw on Kyubi's chakra later, and worry about getting him and Gaara out of there now. His skin was crawling with the feeling of eyes on him.
Naruto bit his thumb, and then went through a series of seals, before slamming his hand down onto the ground.
"SUMMONING NO JUTSU!!"
Gaara's eyes widened, and he got ready to leap away. But there was a sudden explosion of smoke and Gaara felt himself raised into the air by about forty feet. When the smoke cleared Gaara saw that he was standing on what appeared to by a small plain of blue fabric. For a moment nothing happened. Then it felt like an earthquake occurred.
"WHAT THE HELL? WHO SUMMONED ME HERE?"
Gaara came close to covering his ears as the voice washed over him. He doubted that the speaker was trying to be that loud; it was just that they were. Gaara glanced at Naruto as he shouted back.
"Oi, Gama-Bunta, it's me, Naruto!!"
"NARUTO? WHY THE HELL DID YOU SUMMON ME HERE? AND WHO'S THAT WITH YOU?"
Gaara felt a small bit of dread flow into his system. The last time he had encountered Gama-Bunta was when he fully transformed, and let Sabaku out. Naruto had summoned the frog Gaara was now standing on, and proceeded to smack Gaara around. In the end, Gaara and Gama-Bunta hadn't parted on the best of terms.
"It's Gaara, the guy I summoned you to help me beat. We-"
"GAARA!! THE MEDIUM FOR SHUKAKU?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN HIS COMPANY, AND WHAT IS HE DOING ON MY BACK?!?!"
"YES, that Gaara! Now will you listen to me?! We need a ride to an area farther away, preferably to the south."
Silence reigned for a moment. Then Gama-Bunta started shouting, and Gaara was forced to cover his ears lest he be made temporarily deaf. After a moment of shouting, Gaara also closed his eyes.
"A RIDE?!?! YOU LITTLE PUNK, I DO NOT GIVE RIDES!!!!!"
Naruto collapsed, hands over his own ears, and his eyes dazed. Gaara perfectly understood as he cracked one eye. Even with his ears covered, his eardrums were ringing violently. Gaara watched at Naruto climbed back to his feet somehow.
"Oi, either you give us a ride, or missing nin hunters will find us, and kill us! And before you ask, neither of us left our villages willingly. We were both driven out."
Naruto's voice trailed off into a dejected whisper, conveying how much that event still weighed on his mind. Gama-Bunta was silent for a moment. Then he spoke in that earth shaking voice he seemed to have.
"ALLRIGHT. I'LL TAKE YOU SOUTH."
Naruto brightened, then moved up to the point where the coat Gama- Bunta was wearing ended, and gathered some cool, non-demon chakra into his hands and feet, and got the best grip he could. He turned to look at Gaara.
"Better hold on."
Gaara hesitated for a moment, then came forward and did the same thing as Naruto. He looked at Naruto from the corner of his eye.
"Why?"
"Cause Gama-Bunta goes fast-"
At this point, Gama-Bunta leapt nearly a hundred feet into the air, and about four hundred feet forward, and came down with a crash.
"-and I haven't gotten seatbelts installed yet!!"
-------------------------------------- ---
To most, the sun was a glorious thing, bringing warmth and life to the planet. To others, the sun was nothing more than a nuisance in the morning.
One such person currently had the sun shining in his eyes as he tried to sleep. He cracked an eye open and glared balefully at the sunlight, which was admitted by a cunningly placed window to shine directly in his eyes in the morning.
He flopped over in his bed, closing his eye and returning to dreamland.
(Wait a second...there's still light shining in my eyes...)
He once again cracked an eyelid open and saw that a mirror had also been cunningly placed to reflect the sunlight into his eyes.
(Damn bastard.)
He momentarily hosted the idea of throwing a few shuriken at the mirror, shattering it and allowing him to return to sleep.
He slipped his hand underneath his pillow where he kept an emergency supply of kunai and shuriken, and grabbed three of the throwing stars. He withdrew his arm, and drew it back, preparing to throw the metal stars with the precise pinpoint accuracy needed to turn the mirror into nothing more than little shards of useless glass.
(This'll show you to...Huh? Why's the bed tilting?)
He released the shuriken, which fell harmlessly to the floor, and made a mad scramble at the bed sheets with his hands, attempting to gain a grip to keep himself within the comfortable confines of the bed. He failed miserably and crashed down onto the floor with a not-so-soft 'Thump'.
"Time to get up Kakashi."
Gai watched as the silver haired jounin got one arm on the bed and used it to pull himself off the floor. Once his eye cleared the bed, he glared at Gai, who merely looked back, another serious expression on his face.
"We have a problem. Sasuke's gone from the hospital."
Kakashi groaned, and pulled himself into the bed once again.
"You woke me up for that? Please Gai, have you even thought to check the training grounds yet?"
"There are people checking the various training grounds now, but I thought I'd come and get you anyway, since he's your student. NOW GET UP!"
Kakashi had just buried himself in the blankets again, and was about to fall asleep when Gai blurred forward and kicked the bed, expertly flipping the mattress into the air, and sending Kakashi into the wall. The mattress fell back onto the bed, complete with blankets and pillow, perfectly, speaking of long practice on Gai's part.
The fact that there were several Kakashi shaped indentions around the room spoke of VERY long practice on Gai's part.
Gai walked around the bed, and grabbed the dazed Kakashi, who had just slid down the wall, by the collar and dragged him into the bathroom. Gai tossed Kakashi, fully clothed, into the shower, and turned on the water as cold as it could get. He then walked out, ignoring Kakashi's cursing.
Kakashi flailed about in the shower, vainly trying to escape the freezing water, before finally regaining the presence of mind to turn the water to hot. After a moment, the water was finally hot, and Kakashi stripped off his clothes and tossed them into the hamper. Or tried. The fact that the hamper was badly overflowing made the attempt mute.
Ignoring the overflowing hamper, Kakashi went about soaping himself down and rinsing off, as well as shaving. Finally done, he climbed out of the shower and went to grab for a towel. When his questing hand encountered nothing, he glanced at the towel rack only to find it empty. (Oh yeah. The towels are all dirty too. One of these days I'll have to wash them...)
Kakashi formed a hand seal, and was suddenly dry, his hair blasted upward from the jutsu. He walked out into his bedroom and opened his closet.
"Hmm...Now what should I wear?"
This question was made rather mute when the contents of the closet are examined, revealing a large collection of...
...The standard jounin uniform, and nothing else.
After getting dressed, Kakashi went into the kitchen, and grabbed a cup of coffee, then walked out the door, locking it and back flipping up to the roof without spilling his coffee. Once on the roof, Kakashi idly sipped his coffee and looked out over Kohana.
(Hmm...Now if I were Sasuke, where would I train...?)
-------------------------------------- ---
Sakura sat in front of her mirror, running a brush through her short hair, her eyes gazing unseeing at her reflection, thinking about the past few weeks. With a sigh, Sakura put the brush down, and leaned her head against the mirror, feeling the cool glass surface. She closed her eyes, and an image flashed through her mind's eye of a young man, grinning broadly, with blue eyes, and blond hair.
Sakura sighed.
'Tap tap tap.'
Sakura's eyes shot open and her head snapped to her bedroom window. Her mouth fell open as she realized who was outside her window, upside down. She stood and walked over to the window, undid the lock, and opened it.
Sasuke crawled in without a word, and sank down onto the floor, panting, once he was fully inside. His right hand went up to clutch at his left shoulder, but Sakura didn't notice.
"Sasuke, what are you doing here?! You're supposed to be in the hospital!!"
Without giving Sasuke the chance to speak or protest, Sakura wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to his feet. She then marched him rather forcibly to the nearest piece of furniture, which happened to be her bed, and forced him to sit upon it. She placed her hand on his chest and pushed him back so he leaned back against the pillows with a barely audible sigh. His right hand once again went to clutch at his left shoulder. Sakura took notice this time, and was about to reach out and grab his arm when there was a knock at her door.
She gave a slight jump, and hurried over to the door, opening it just enough to see who was on the other side.
Sakura's mother looked at her through the crack with concern filled eyes.
"Sakura, what's all the noise about?"
"Nothing mom."
Sakura's mother nodded. But before Sakura could shut the door, her mother stood up on tiptoe to see over Sakura's head. She sank back down to her original height with a knowing smile on her face.
"Yes, nothing Sakura, nothing at all."
Sakura's mother then turned away from the door, and walked down the hall, as Sakura closed the door, slightly confused. That is, until she turned around and remembered that her bed was directly across from the door, in easy sight. And the fact that Sasuke was currently leaning back on her bed, panting slightly with his eyes closed...
Sakura felt herself blush. She then remembered how Sasuke was holding his shoulder, and she moved over to behind him, grabbed his arm, and gently lifted it away. She then grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted it up, revealing his shoulder.
Sakura gasped at what she saw.
Sasuke's curse seal was glowing and slowly spinning in a clockwise direction. (It's active...but why isn't it spreading?) She then took notice of the two seals surrounding the curse seal. She would've bent down to examine them more closely, but Sasuke slapped her hands away, and sat up, clutching his shoulder again. His face gave an annoyed, and pain filled, grimace, before settling into its usual poker face.
Sakura walked over to her desk, and turned the chair around, studying Sasuke as she brought it over and placed it near the bed, and sat down.
"What are you doing here Sasuke? You're supposed to be in the hospital healing."
"I woke up and left. I have better things to do than lay around in a hospital bed."
Sakura leaned forward, worry creasing her brow as she supporter her chin in her hands.
"Like training?"
Sasuke merely nodded, leaning back against the wall. His body still wasn't recovered, and he was in a rather large amount of pain from his journey from the hospital. And his shoulder was burning fiercely.
"So why come here?"
Sasuke opened his eyes, and looked at Sakura.
"To get you to come train with me."
Sakura's eyes widened with shock, and she gasped.
"Wha...why?"
"I'm going after Naruto."
Sakura's mouth closed with a snap, her head coming out of her hands.
"And I want you to come with me. While your combat skills aren't equal to his, or mine, you're the smartest of the three of us. You'll be able to predict his every move."
Sakura simply stared at Sasuke for a moment, letting the idea flow through her. They COULD go after him, find him, and bring him home.
And by law he'd be killed the moment he set a foot over the border of the Fire Country. And they'd be labeled Missing Nins for leaving.
Sakura felt herself slump down, the sudden feeling of hope she felt leaving her rapidly. She reached out and grasped Sasuke's left hand, and raised her head, looking him in the eye.
"Sasuke...No. We can't. We'd be labeled as Missing Nins, and Naruto would be killed the moment he's discovered. He's been legally banished. There's nothing we can do."
Sasuke merely stared at her for a moment. He then calmly removed his right hand from his shoulder, and swung it into the wall, cracking the plaster and making Sakura jump.
"I. Don't. Care."
-------------------------------------- ---
Kakashi strolled along, idly sipping his coffee through his mask, heading for Sakura's. He suspected that's where Sasuke had gone, and even if he hadn't, one more person looking for Sasuke wouldn't hurt. And with Sakura's determination to find Sasuke, she'd be the perfect candidate for the search.
Kakashi arrived at Sakura's house, and was about to enter her room through the open window when he heard Sasuke's voice. Kakashi stopped and settled in to listen.
"They can do what they want with me. The news of me going to join Orochimaru will soon spread, and everyone will despise me. I might as well as have them despise me on my own terms. So, are you coming with me or not?"
There was a healthy pause as Sakura considered. Kakashi heard the sound of a chair being pushed back.
"I don't know Sasuke-kun...I want to help Naruto just as much as you. But what good will it do? We can't bring him back...In fact, we wouldn't be able to come back..."
Kakashi decided to join in the conversation.
"True. If you went about it your way, you wouldn't be able to return."
Kakashi smirked slightly as he heard the gasps of surprise, as well as the commotion of his two students rushing to the window. A moment later Sakura and Sasuke stuck their heads out of the window. They looked around for a moment before they looked up and spotted Kakashi. He was sitting on the roof, his legs dangling over the side, reading the latest version of 'Come Come Paradise'. Kakashi raised his left hand, his right holding the book open, and his coffee on the roof beside him, and gave his customary greeting.
"Sorry I'm late. I slept in a little, and had an incident with the shower."
Sakura smiled lightly.
"Liar."
Kakashi didn't even bat an eyebrow at Sakura's usual reply to his excuses, even if that one was true. Instead, he hoped down, grabbing his coffee with his left hand, and landed lightly on the window sill as they backed up. He crouched down, coffee and book still in hand.
"Sasuke. You're supposed to stay in the hospital. You would've been discharged later today for a mission briefing anyway. So, since you've already left, meet in Hokage-sama's office in two and a half hours. You too Sakura. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go stop the village wide man hunt for Sasuke. Later."
Kakashi exploded into smoke, and Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other.
-------------------------------------- ---
Naruto awoke with a pained yelp. He lay still, hoping that the fierce burning of his muscles would go away. After a minute, when the burning didn't go away, he slowly opened his eyes, and very slowly turned his head side to side to see where he was. Even that small movement made him cringe in pain as his neck muscles protested loudly.
He was laying on a patch of thick grass, on the shore of a small lake, shaded by a few trees. When turning his head didn't really provide him with much information, he sat up with a series of pained grunts, and pops as his joints protested as well. Once he could see through the slight blur of pain, he gasped.
The small lake was nestled next to a cliff of about 100 feet, with a cave at the bottom that five people abreast could fit into. Circling the lake was a line of dense trees and other foliage, and the ground was covered in thick grass, providing a natural padding to it. With the light that was filtering down into the clearing, the whole place had a mystical and beautiful cast to it.
Gaara was farther down the shore of the lake, going through the katas again, determined to become as good as possible in a short amount of time. Gama-Bunta seemed to have disappeared. A moment later, Naruto realized that Gama-Bunta hadn't disappeared; he was simply doing what frog's do best; Swimming.
Gama-Bunta's head broke the surface of the water, and he looked at Naruto with one yellow eye, before taking a deep breath and vanishing under the water's surface. For a moment, Naruto wondered why Gama-Bunta was still here. He then remembered what Gama-Bunta had done before Naruto had passed into sleep. Or passed out, that term seemed more appropriate.
Last night, after an hour's travel, they had come across this clearing, and Gama-Bunta had stopped. When Naruto asked why, Gama-Bunta said that this place was perfectly suited to lying low for a while. Naruto, too tired to argue, merely slid off the toad's back, and fell asleep right after Gama-Bunta had performed a Genjutsu. The last thing Naruto remembered was Gama-Bunta saying that he and Gaara were safe so long as Gama-Bunta was present to hold the Genjutsu.
Naruto once again glanced around the clearing before deciding that Gaara had the right idea. Naruto proceeded to stand, with another series of pained grunts and popping of joints, and walked over to a poor, innocent tree that Naruto was probably about to cut down by simply trying to walk up it. Naruto clasped his hands together, and summoned the Kyubi's chakra. He nearly screamed when he managed to bring it out of the seal, and it burned its way through him. (Ow ow ow ow ow ow...Damn it that burns...oh well. 'No pain, no gain'. Maybe Sakura was right, and I am a masochist...damn it.)
-------------------------------------- ---
Sasuke silently groaned as he rounded the last corner, bringing the Hokage's office into sight, Sakura walking next to him, eyeing him worriedly. Sasuke's whole body ached, and his shoulder burned, though it had died down to an acceptable level. As it was, he walked like nothing was wrong, hands in his pockets, and his poker face in place as he studied the group that had gathered outside the Hokage's office. The rather large group consisted of shinobis from the entire range of levels, jounin, chounin, and genin.
All of the 'Rookie Nine' were present, with the obvious exception of Naruto, as well as their respective jounin leaders, even Kakashi. Sasuke blinked in surprise at this unexpected show of promptness from the jounin. Gai and his team were also present, Lee still supported by his crutch. Iruka was there, leaning against the wall and fidgeting. But the strangest person there was Jiraiya, who was standing next to the door and snoring softly. Sasuke eyed the old man with a mixture of respect and disdain before he had to grimace as someone latched onto his arm, sending a jolt of pain through him, quickly followed by annoyance. He looked down and saw a head of blond hair, while the female shinobi who possessed it had her arms wrapped around his right arm, and was snuggled as close as she could get to him.
Sakura took one look at Ino and nearly lost it.
"Ino, let go of Sasuke, you're hurting him! Now!!"
The command and authority in Sakura's voice made Ino release Sasuke on instinct. For a moment, Ino blinked in surprise, and then turned to Sakura, anger in her eyes. Ino opened her mouth, but before any words could come out, the doors to the Hokage's office opened, and everyone filed in. Ino turned around to walk in with Sasuke, arm in arm, but he had already vanished into the room. But not before flashing a grateful look to Sakura over Ino's head.
Sakura blushed at the look, and went into the room. Ino turned back around to see Sakura had also left before Ino also went into Hokage's office. The doors shut behind her.
Tsunade barely waited for the doors to close and for Ino to find a seat before starting.
"Before I fully start the mission briefing, I will notify you of the high danger of this mission. It is an A-class mission, and all of you that go will risk more than life and limb. Your very status as Shinobi will be risked. Even if you survive, you run the risk of never being Shinobi again. Now that you know that, if you do not wish to go on this mission, then leave now, and do not say a word of what you have heard here today."
Unsurprisingly, quite a few people got up and left. Of those that were gennins and left, there was Sasuke, Sakura, Lee, and, surprisingly, Hinata and Neji. Shikamaru and Iruka also stayed, as did Kakashi, Gai, and Kurenai. Jiraiya didn't even shift from his position. Tsunade looked around at all of those who stayed, signifying that they would be going on the mission. Once the door clicked shut, she continued again.
"Not as many as I had hoped, but more than I expected." She sighed, and raised her hands to steeple her fingers in front of her face. "This mission will have one objective only; to find, and give aid to, Naruto."
-------------------------------------- ---
Gaara back flipped, did a hand stand, and spun in a circle, left leg fully extend, while coming back up to his feet, and spinning around, switching to his right leg. He came to a stop, and threw a half dozen punches, before dropping down and doing a sweep, then bringing both hands down onto the ground, clasped together. He then slowly stood up, and whipped a fine sheen of sweat off of his face. He walked down to the lake, and cupped some water in his hand, and splashed that onto his face.
He cupped his hands and filled them with water, this time to drink, when a sudden explosion off to his right caught his attention. His eyes widened as he saw Naruto fly back, and Gaara rushed forward, covering the distance as fast as he could, and diving under Naruto just in time to break the other boy's fall. Naruto lay almost perfectly still atop him, twitching slightly, and Gaara eased him to the side, and gently laid Naruto on the ground. Once the dust had cleared, Gaara looked at the area Naruto had just...explosively vacated.
Gaara blinked as he looked at what remained of a very large boulder. Over half of the rock had been blown apart, and what was left toppled over onto the ground and broke into smaller pieces. Either Naruto had been practicing some Jutsu, or he had used his remarkably thick head, as Gaara should know first hand how thick it was, to break the rock. Gaara believed it was the former as he glanced back down at Naruto.
Gaara blinked in confusion as an odd feeling welled up inside him. His left hand went to his head and he grimaced in pain as he recalled anther event during the Chounin exams.
Gaara sped toward the now collapsed Uchiha, his transformed arm extended, ready to crush the other boy. There was a sudden flicker of orange in his peripheral vision, and then Gaara felt something he hadn't felt before. Ever.
A foot collided with his face, and time seemed to slow as his head was forcefully turned to his right, and then the rest of his body was forced to follow the path set for his head, and he flew away, landing on a branch. Gaara grabbed it with his transformed arm, and slowed his backward progress. His cheek...hurt.
Once Gaara stopped sliding backward, he looked up at the fool who dared challenge Gaara's existence only to find himself looking on the coward from the hospital. Gaara switched his view to the pink haired girl, who was kneeling next to Uchiha, and looking at him with an unreadable emotion in her eyes.
(It is concern.)
Gaara's other hand flew to his head at the female sounding voice as another voice sounded in outrage.
(CONCERN!?! Concern is not for us! KILL HIM! END HIS EXISTENCE!!! Give us his BLOOD!!!)
For a while Gaara moaned behind his teeth, which were clenched and bared, as a battle of wills went on inside him. Madness raged in his head, demanding Naruto's blood, and Gaara's only saving grace was a small spot of order, of peace, one that had always been there. Gaara reached out to that small spot and grabbed hold of it, clinging desperately to the sanity it offered.
Soon the other voice vanished, and Gaara breathed a sigh of relief, opening his eyes, and removing his hands from his head. He blinked when he saw Naruto looking up at him, blue eyes dulled with pain. Naruto only said one word, and it caused Gaara to chuckle weakly.
"Ow."
Gaara gently slipped his arms under Naruto and picked the boy up. He turned and carried him down to the lake shore, and slowly placed Naruto into the water. Naruto sighed as the cool water enveloped his body up to his neck, and he closed his eyes. He opened them again when he felt Gaara unzip his jacket, exposing Naruto's chest, and the several rocks embedded into it. Naruto grimaced in pain as Gaara set about pulling the rock fragments out.
"What happened?"
Naruto grimaced again as Gaara grabbed a particularly big rock piece before answering.
"I was practicing one of the techniques taught to me by the pervert sannin when I sneezed. Someone must be talking about me."
:Author's note: Another chapter done. Please let me know what you think in a review. Even those of you who've reviewed before, please review again. There's no greater feeling to an author than to have people appreciate his work. Oops...nearly forgot something. The inspiration for the scene where Kakashi wakes up came from the fic The Last Step, also in the Naruto section.