Naruto:
Brothers of Sand and Leaf
By Geor-sama
-Chapter 3-
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Nara Shikamaru stared blankly at the side of the tent, listening to the loud snores directed directly at his ear. It never failed that for the few days that they had been out here, Kiba would somehow manage to wind up next to him and snoring directly in his ear. This, in Shikamaru's opinion, was the problem with sharing a tent with someone else. Everybody had annoying and troublesome habits and in such a confined space they were only going to be revealed to everybody.
Sighing the black-haired Chunin sat up, aware that it was only Kiba and himself inside the tent. Shino, for some unknown reason, woke up an hour before sunrise and would leave the tent. Naruto had never spent an entire night in the tent; usually he would go to bed before everybody and then would disappear sometime during the night. The blond would always be at the fire talking with Sakura, Shino and Temari in the morning.
Getting into a half crouch Shikamaru opened the tent, slipping out into the cool morning. The leaves and grass actually sparkled with the dew from the previous night. Glancing to his left he noted the position of his fellow teammates; Gaara was still sitting against the log staring at Naruto who was seated between Sakura and Temari. Baki stood a little ways off talking with Sogetsu; with Kankuro near the tent they shared working on his dummies.
Shaking his head the boy turned heading into the surrounding forest, knowing how troublesome it would be if anybody spotted him. Once enclosed by the silence of the forest he allowed himself to reflect on the mission, wondering who the ninjas were that were shadowing them and what they're mission was. Maybe they were just keeping an eye on them or preparing for an assassination. Shikamaru would put money on an assassination, only he wasn't sure who the target was.
Frowning he shoved his hands into his pockets, tilting his head weighing each team member but still unable to figure it out. Well at least everybody in the team knew they were here, at least everybody except Naruto who had been beyond distracted by Temari's legs. Not that it mattered the blond would more than carry his own weight when the fighting started.
But that was something else that was bothering him, Temari and Naruto. Not that them getting together really bothered him, it was too troublesome to get worked up over. Besides he was with Ino now and despite her overbearing and loud nature, Shikamaru really did care for his fellow leaf ninja.
Still, something was bothering him about the relationship between Naruto and the sand ninja. Why her sudden interested in him? Sure he was strong, but she hadn't been interested in strength. Hell, he could count the number of times she'd even mentioned Naruto to him on one hand...using three fingers.
Something just wasn't right about that whole situation and Shikamaru knew he wasn't the only one that sensed it. Sakura seemed to be aware of something and Shino obviously had to know...and Kiba was becoming snappish and more withdrawn, a sure sign that he did not approve of what he was sensing. Everybody but Naruto seemed to know that something was off in that relationship, but then again Shikamaru wasn't surprised.
Naruto might have been great in battle, seeing things quickly that others would miss or ignore. But in the world outside of battle, the boy was utterly clueless. Shoving those thoughts aside the Chunin eased himself down into a sitting position, back against the trunk of a tree.
Stifling a yawn of boredom he stared up dispassionately at the thin wisp's of clouds over head, reflecting that he loved the silence. Yet there was a small voice in the back of his mind, whispering that something was missing. He shrugged it off for as long as he could, enjoying the chill in the early morning air.
For some reason thinking about the chilled air brought his mind back to Ino and he found his lips twitching into a smile, dating Ino had been one of his better ideas. She had finally understood his desire for a moment in the morning where he could be utterly surrounded by silence, of course he in turn was dragged everywhere she wanted to go.
It was at that moment, remembering how she bossed him around so much, that he finally realized what that small voice in his head had been telling him was missing: Ino.
The girl made the silence better, lying out together in the forest around the village staring up at the sky. They'd meet before the team was suppose to see each other and then just wander out into the forest and stare up at the brightening sky in utter silence. Her head would rest on his stomach and his would rest on his hands. It was one of the few times that she was silent and Shikamaru treasured those moments.
After a few more minutes he sighed, standing back up knowing that if he didn't get back soon he'd have to listen to a lecture. He found that prospect far too troublesome so the wisest course of action was to head back, then his ears heard the crack of a twig. Seconds later four ninjas appeared, most of their faces covered in masks so that only their eyes and eyebrows showed.
The one apparently in charge was laughing "I wonder if all the ninjas Konoha sent are this stupid. Rule one is to never go off by yourself."
Shikamaru merely scowled his hands still at his sides.
"Oooh, are you trying to be tough or are you scared?" The leader taunted, laughing.
"I think he's scared." One of the other ninjas interjected laughing as well.
"I wouldn't worry about things that much," one of the other ninjas said, chuckling "You won't be alive much longer to care."
Shikamaru continued to glare at each of them in stony silence.
The leader smiled thinly, producing a kunai wrapping a scroll around the handle "I'll make it quick and painless…just because you remind me of my little brother."
That said the leader hurtled his kunai forward, aimed directly between Shikamaru's eyes. It would have been a perfect hit, except it passed completely through the boys head and struck the tree. Seconds later the four mysterious ninjas were leaping into the limbs high over the clearing while a green mist settled over the air.
"Damn it!" the leader hissed looking at the other three, before focusing on one with blue eyes "I thought you hit him with the Temporary Paralysis Technique, Giichi!"
"I did!" Giichi retorted hotly and the leader narrowed his green eyes.
"Then how the hell did he manage to disappear and leave behind a Clone?" The leader hissed back then shifted his gaze to the other two ninjas "The plan can still work. I'll find him, Daiki you have to hurry. Daisuke make contact with our insider and tell him what happened."
Both nodded before leaping away into the forest, leaving Giichi and the leader alone. Silently the two ninjas remained motionless, then Giichi spoke "This one was just lucky, Murai. I don't think any of them are as strong as we were told."
"Maybe Giichi," Murai murmured, green eyes narrowed as he considered the forest floor below "But I'm not taking any chances. I want you to head to the rendezvous point and wait there, get things ready. We can't risk failure."
"What are you going to do?" Giichi asked after a moment, raising an eyebrow.
"Play a hunch." Murai answered cryptically before dropping to the floor and disappearing into the forest.
Sitting crossed legged, facing away from the fire and his teammates the young man dressed in the black jumpsuit selected a thin tool designed especially for work on marionettes. Frowning, he carefully detached the head from one of his prized devices of death, Karasu. Easing the mouth open, careful to avoid the spring loaded poison daggers, then set to work adjusting the minuscule gears that controlled the joints of the mouth.
He prized his puppets more than anything; and with an almost religious zeal he would maintain them and adjust the most minor of things. He paused setting the tool he was using aside and eased the jaw shut before extending a strand of chakra to open the mouth so that the dagger extended. Seeing that it had indeed react slightly faster he cut his chakra string and picked up the tool once more.
He had learned from his brief battle with Shino not to long ago that Karasu had slow reaction time, thus he was almost obsessing about speeding it up. Every joint and crease had been tweaked to get maximum speed and power, all except for the head. For some reason Karasu's head was being stubborn about letting him adjust its gears for speed, but it didn't matter Kankuro would keep working at it until he was satisfied.
Checking the device once more he smiled, pleased with the progress so far. His hand hesitated, tool inches from a gear as he realized just how close to the poisoned dagger he was. Easing his hand back he set the tool aside, considering the other tools for a moment, then glanced over his shoulder at the various Leaf members of his team.
He saw Kiba and the damn dog of his that kept trying to mark its territory on Kankuro's marionettes, goofing off. Closer to the fire was 'Kill me' -Kankuro's private name for Naruto due to his loud nature and clothing- who had Sakura AND Temari laughing at something he'd just said.
He couldn't understand what kind of sense this made, none of them had been able to fight evenly with those sound ninjas that had kidnapped the Uchiha so why send them on a mission where they'd have to face the very man that had killed both the Hokage and the Kazekage? Cursing all the evil spirits that had conspired to torture him with this team, he turned back to his project.
Taking a steadying breath, he picked up a different tool. This one was thinner and longer, allowing him to keep a moderately safe distance between his hand and the dagger as long as he concentrated and kept his hand perfectly steady. Narrowing his eyes he slowly tweaked the minor gear, wondering if this would increase his precious puppets reaction time as he thought.
"ARF!"
Jerking Kankuro tossed the head into the air both startled by the sudden barking noise and the fact that a small furry object had slammed into the back of his head. Tools scattered the ninja sprang to his feet, kicking out at the white dog who dodge growling up at him "You little mutt!"
"Hey!" An angry voice said and Kankuro looked at Kiba who was stalking toward him "He was just chasing a damn ball. It's not his fault."
Kankuro in response to this kicked out again, only to have his foot bit by the dog. Yelping in surprised pain the sand ninja shook his leg before finally forcing the dog to release his foot and sail through the air to land in Naruto's arms. Glaring at that dog and 'Kill Me', he swore under his breath.
"Oi! Akamaru was just having fun; you didn't have to freak out." Naruto said, while Akamaru growled in warning at the still glaring Kankuro. All the gods in the heavens, did he have to have these three morons on his team?
Then suddenly he remembered Karasu's head and he began looking around in a panic, until he found that pink-haired bitch picking it up. It didn't seem too damaged; maybe a slight dislocation of a jaw but that was because he'd had it open at the time. He could fix it; maybe, he'd have to check his material first to be sure though.
Turning away from the puppet head, he glared at the dog, his voice venomous "That damn mutts lucky I can still fix it! He should be put to sleep and save us all a headache!"
"What'd you say!" Kiba interjected angrily, moving as if he was about to attack the boy.
"I didn't stutter!" Kankuro shouted back, gesturing at his puppets head without looking "Look at what that kunochi's holding! Your mutt of a dog caused that and I'm personally going to see he's put down." He winced however as the puppets head bounced of off his to fall to the ground and turned to glare at the now pissed looking girl "Keep your damn hissy fits to yourself ya pink bimbo!" Snorting in disgust, he looked back at a defiant Kiba.
Only instead, he found an angry looking Naruto in his face, which startled him so badly that he actually took a step back.
"Don't call her that." Naruto said with a sharp edge to his voice.
Kankuro resisted the urge to respond and start a fight that he so desperately wanted to. Baki would loose it if he did, so he merely rolled his eyes in disgust and then keeping an eye on Naruto, Kiba and Akamaru, he picked up Karasu's head.
Squaring his feet, he allowed the chakra strings to attach themselves to the puppets head if he needed it. "You keep that mutt away from me and my puppets," Kankuro said dangerously staring at Kiba's livid face "If you don't I'll neuter both of you!"
Kiba's eye twitched, his fists balling as he prepared to attack. Kankuro was ready, his chakra strings were ready to launch Karasu's head in a half second.
"Hef," Naruto suddenly interjected loudly "Kiba's suppose to be scared of a guy that plays with dolls?" There was a moment of silence then Kiba started laughing, leaning against a stoic Shino. Sakura covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud, though Temari wasn't making a secret of her laughter.
"Bastard! They are action figures and when used properly deadly tools!" Kankuro roared at the now laughing boy, which only seemed to increase the amount of laughter directed his way. Glaring at the blond, the mutt and Kiba, Kankuro turned scooping up his various tools and puppets stalking away from them. Their laughter ringing in his ears, he would have attacked, he should have attacked, but Baki had been adamant about none of them fighting with each other and the only person scary than Baki when he was angry was Gaara.
Turning to glare at them, he sat down angrily and picking up the tool kit, he placed Karasu's head in his lap and started to work, repairing it. He paused however, sensing the attention he was receiving and looked up, frowning darkly at Baki. "What?"
"I know how much you hate the Leaf ninjas, especially that boy, but remember the mission."
Kankuro clutched the tool in his hand tightly, his answer short and to the point. "Yes sir." That said he turned back to his marionette, focusing his entire being into what he was doing wanting to kill all of them painfully. How dare they laugh at him and his weapons? How dare Naruto call them such a derisive term, dolls! DOLLS!
"I'm going to kill him," Kankuro muttered to himself, reaffirming his silent promise from the preliminary matches of the Chunin exam. "I'll crush him then kill him." Kankuro grinned darkly, already hearing 'Kill me' begging for mercy. That was the one thing that Kankuro had in common with Gaara, when he wanted to kill he enjoyed it.
The forest was far too silent, it was bordering on unnatural. There should have been bird songs and predators moving stealthy through the underbrush, or even deer or a rabbit, some sign of life. Shikamaru stored this fact, knowing that it meant either he was in a genjutsu or something evil was in the forest. Moving quickly, leaving very little of a trail he wondered how he had gotten this far away from camp. Then again, it was understandable since Kiba and Naruto were in the same place, those two together in a small area was a recipe for lots of noise.
Still he kept his black eyes darting everywhere, trying to get a hint of his bearings and his pursuer. He spotted the masked-ninja keeping pace with him off to the left among the trees. Apparently, this ninja didn't care about being seen...which prompted Shikamaru too leap out of the way a split second before a dozen kunai's and throwing stars slashed into the ground where he had just been.
Then before the black-haired leaf ninja could appreciate how narrow that trap had been he was leaping backwards to avoid the kick that had just sailed harmlessly through the air where his head had just been. Resetting himself the young ninja sized up his enemy then leaped to the side and forward as his real enemy attacked from the back. This mystery ninja was good, but he relied too heavily on clone ninjutsu.
Still as Shikamaru raced through the forest, desperately trying to regain his bearings, he knew that no matter how smart he was he would overlook something eventually. Which meant he'd have to go on the offensive soon; the question was how to do that? Seconds later he pulled a kunai and thrust it out to block the mysterious ninjas sudden thrust. Blades locking, Shikamaru slid backwards from the force.
This wasn't good, he thought narrowing his eyes. His enemy was both skilled and strong. No way could he win head on, but that was fine. Shikamaru knew that despite how troublesome this situation was, he'd been in worse and it was still only one ninja. Pushing the Kunai way with a strain the ninja leaped backwards, hands flashing through the seals required for his Shadow Imitation. It was a second after he had already sent his shadow racing toward the still off balance enemy that he noticed the masked man's lack of shadow.
He darted his eyes to the right and branched off a section of his shadow, capturing the enemy. Unfortunately, he had his concentration broken as several kunai's raced through the air toward him; apparently, this man had already set a trap even before he attacked. Moving quickly, Shikamaru dodged certain death but he had to release his attacker who wasted no time in launching forward in a new attack.
Relaying on taijutsu for the moment Shikamaru noted that the masked ninja seemed to be favoring his left side. So either it was his weak side, or he'd been hurt there recently. Not much to work with but it was something and he hastily formulated a plan. Continuing his dance of evasiveness the Chunin produced two kunai's, flinging one off to the side into the forest while the other arched out and stopped the incoming kunai aimed at his throat.
It was only a moment, but that was all Shikamaru needed, thrusting his foot out he kicked the man in groin and took off in the direction of the kunai he'd thrown. Fleeing quickly and not bothering to hide his tracks to well, giving the appearance of panicking he formed the hand seals creating two clones that each moved in a different direction intent on leading him to the clearing.
Spotting the kunai he'd thrown stuck in the trunk of a tree he jumped and sinking it deeper into the trunk, disappeared into the limbs high overhead. Shikamaru took a moment to study his surrounding then satisfied he left one last clone crouching down on the limb before he dropped noiselessly to the foliage on the left. Controlling his breathing he flashed through one last set of seals, molding his chakra whispering his intent "Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique."
Across the clearing, a dead tree transformed into an illusion of him crouching down, breathing heavily and eyes closed. Done he quietly slipped his last kunai out so that he held one in each hand, then prepared to wait. Knowing his enemy, it wouldn't be long; hopefully the man would be so angry that he'd act without thinking clearly. He was gambling, not something he was prone to do but he had no other choice.
Gaara stared disgustedly at the surrounding foliage, loathing this forest for all of its greenness. At least it was quiet; Naruto's grumbles of annoyance aside. Gaara could tolerate them, mainly because they were curses directed at Shikamaru who everybody had to look for, and because they were in a subdued tone. That was one thing he would never be able to live with, excess noise. It quickly frayed his nerves and forced him to do things he would rather not do; it was one of the main reasons he killed some people.
That was one of Gaara's problems on this mission -he had several actually- Naruto wasn't always quiet. Yet Gaara didn't feel quite the same urge to silence him that he did for Kiba. Naruto also seemed to change from moment to moment, like the desert. One minute the blond could be terrified, then the next utterly confident. One minute he could be as calm as a pool of water and then as wild as a sand storm. This was the reason why, even after the last few days of traveling with the blond he still couldn't understand Naruto.
He couldn't understand how the Naruto that had beaten him had been so scared the day before. He couldn't understand how anybody could always find a reason to smile, even when others couldn't. Gaara couldn't figure out why the ninja -who had to be as powerful as him if not even more so- would tolerate the constant abuse from Sakura and the names the other leaf ninjas called him. Most of all he couldn't grasp how Naruto could actually be lulled by the mockery of nature that was this forest.
Naruto didn't understand that nature was the desert, where you could wake up in the middle of the night and find a scorpion on your chest or a poisonous snake on the floor of your room. Nature was death at any moment if you weren't fast enough, smart enough, or strong enough. Naruto was, for lack of a better word, strange.
Yet Gaara continued to view him as a brother, because he knew that Naruto was a creature of duel personalities. During the day, he was bright and cheerful always joking and laughing, talking and constantly moving. At night however, at night Gaara suspected the real Naruto snuck out. The blond ninja always disappeared when the moon was up and he would stay away for hours, only to turn up dirty and battered later.
At night, Naruto was quiet and subdued. He would sit beside the burned out fire with an air that he was to be left alone with his thoughts. Eventually he would notice Temari who had begun sleeping near the fire until he returned, and then smiling an odd smile, he would talk with her. Sometimes Sakura would be there and he would talk with her, with that odd smile of his. Then after both girls had went to bed, Naruto would look at him and say something stupid, after which he would drift into a silent sleep.
Gaara understood that Naruto. He understood that Naruto perfectly and he was happy to share the night with him. Gaara also understood the smile he gave Temari and Sakura, it was an odd smile because it was a real smile. The ones that Naruto wore during the day were practiced, developed to keep others from knowing what was deep in his soul. To keep everybody from finding out just how lonely he was and how much he hated everyone.
Gaara used to have a look that was like that. Just a blank look that he practiced until it came naturally, until he wore it all the time and convinced everybody that he felt nothing. That he was emotionless and cold, willing to kill for whatever arbitrary reason that struck him.
Yes, Gaara understood the nighttime Naruto, but he couldn't understand the daytime Naruto. Because despite knowing that most of it was merely his act that he had practiced for so many years, Gaara also felt that it was the real Naruto as well. Maybe, Gaara hazard to himself, he's what I'm suppose to be. Both happiness and reclusiveness. Yin and Yang.
Thinking that the redheaded ninja tried to imagine laughing at one of the jokes the others told, or telling one himself. Just enjoying the world around him. He failed miserably and decided that Naruto was Naruto and he was Gaara, there was nothing else to it. He would still live by his brothers example, he wouldn't kill if he didn't have too and he would try to be nicer and he would fight for others. That was what made Naruto strong or at least he believed it was.
The sand ninja came out of his thoughts at the sound of Naruto's curses while the boy hopped around on one foot, having apparently stubbed his toe. Watching the blond part of him was annoyed at how clumsy the boy was, the other part found it odd.
"Damn it Shikamaru!" Naruto finally burst out heatedly, still favoring his stubbed toes. Glaring at the forest, he snorted and turned, only to find Gaara staring at him. The red headed ninja watched the look on his face carefully, as he did with the villagers and other sand ninjas. It wasn't fearful or repulsed it was a concerned anger. Why? Did he consider this Shikamaru important or was there something else?
Then he saw the way those blue eyes shifted to the left, as if thinking about something and then came back to settle on his face. Gaara instantly understood what was going on and the unasked question, he didn't feel hurt or angry surprisingly. "No." He found himself saying, continuing the staring contest that he had entered with Naruto. "I'm trying..." Gaara added feeling slightly annoyed.
Naruto's eyebrows came together for a moment before he turned away. "Damn it! Shikamaru where the hell are you?" The blond called once more, startling Gaara.
It was that easy? Naruto trusted him that easily? To be honest Gaara had never had someone take him at his word, at least never taken him at his word about not killing somebody. "You're different," Gaara said abruptly and Naruto spun to look at him.
"Huh?"
"You trust me. You're different...and you don't have the same eyes as before." Gaara crossed his arms, during their battle Naruto's eyes had been different and not just the shape or color, but in the determination and the loneliness that had shone in them. Those eyes had truly beaten him and had truly made him think that he had a brother. Not even Uchiha Sasuke's eyes had been that lonely or that determined.
"What the hell?"
"Those eyes, they told me you understood," Gaara said blandly, staring at the boys narrowed eyes and disgruntled face "That you were the same. " He paused, frowning slightly.
"I thought the same thing," Naruto said very softly "Like you were...a brother..."
"Huh?" Gaara grunted, mildly surprised to hear his own thoughts directed at him.
"Brothers," Naruto repeated in a distant voice as he lowered his gaze to the ground between them. Silence settled over the two for several moments until at last Naruto looked back up, his eyes once more as Gaara remembered. "But I've got a brother and I'm going to break every bone in his body."
"Uchiha Sasuke," Gaara said almost immediately after Naruto's statement. It was an almost obvious conclusion to draw; the two had grown up in the same village, in almost the same but not identical loneliness. Gaara supposed that in a distant way, he had too consider the black-haired boy a brother as well since he had managed to fight him evenly for a few minutes and he had been the first one Gaara had ever seen with the same hateful eyes as his.
Naruto continued to stare at Gaara, and then slowly one of those rare genuine smiles appeared "Brothers." Gaara stood there a moment, wondering if he had meant Sasuke then realizing that he had been affirming that Gaara was indeed his brother. Knowing that stirred something Gaara wasn't used to feeling but it wasn't completely alien.
Suddenly Naruto was there, arm slung around his shoulder and talking in a loud voice "Ok! First things first, we have to get you a sense of humor!" Gaara felt his eye twitching as Naruto rattled on, trying to explain the nuisances of humor to him as they moved nosily through the forest once more.
Maybe he should just use his sand to crush the blond and save him the headaches that he would experience down the road. As tempting as that was he didn't, trying to understand the joke Naruto was telling that involved three Jonins and a Hokage going into a bar. Maybe Temari would get the punch line, he'd have to remember the joke and ask her about it.
A rustling of leaves and suddenly a kunai was whistling through the air followed by a broad-shouldered masked man. He skidded to a halt as the kunai hit its target with a thunk normally associated with metal hitting wood. Before he had time to react, a shadow was attempting to attach itself to him, only he had no shadow and disappeared as another kunai came hurtling through the air up into the tree.
Only this weapon too sailed harmlessly through a clone and the masked man moved into the clearing frowning, only to vanish when another Shikamaru seemed to throw a kunai from the left side. This new Shikamaru disappeared in a puff of smoke as the masked ninja dropped to the ground from over head.
"Got you!"
No sooner had the real masked-ninja uttered that than he found himself frozen by a Shikamaru who was on the right side of the clearing. "What! How!" the masked ninja shouted in distress frozen in postion.
"You were too obvious," Shikamaru answered, not breaking his concentration "Earlier in the fight you weren't favoring any side, then you started favoring the left. I bought it till I had time to set this up, when I realized the ploy I left a clone and switched positions to attack from the direction you wouldn't expect."
"So this was..."
"A trap-trap-trap-trap."
"I see," the masked leader muttered, struggling futile against the shadow hold the boy had on him "I thought it was just a trap-trap-trap. You're smarter than we were told."
"Heh, don't suppose you'll tell me what your plan is uh?" Shikamaru asked tiredly and when the man remained silent, Shikamaru closed his eyes and flashed through the seals, only opening his eyes to stare at his enemy "Shadow Neck Bind Technique." The leader's eyes went wide as he felt the cold sensation of a shadow slowly moving up his body.
Seconds later the insubstantial fingers of the hand grasped his neck tightly choking him. Two minutes later Shikamaru let the technique release its hold "I'm better than during the exams now, I can keep this up for an hour." Well, Shikamaru corrected silently, if I hadn't been forced to expend so much chakra I'd be able to do it for twenty minutes.
The Chunin could already feel the effects of creating so many clones; he had enough chakra to hold the mysterious ninja for ten minutes, after that he'd have to find a more permanent solution. Why did it always seem to end up like this, him using up most of his chakra so that he couldn't finish a fight on his own. He had no answer, all he knew was he didn't like it...maybe he'd start training with Naruto at night. He decided against that since it would be way to troublesome, his current training was hard enough.
"Heh, you should know I'll die before you get anything out of me." The masked man boasted and Shikamaru frowned even more, lost as what to do. He heard the rustling of undergrowth and was pleased to find the familiar presence of a friend beside him.
"I've been waiting for you; this entire deal is far too troublesome to handle on my own."
Sakura walked dejectedly back into the camp, her attractive companion muttering about males and their stupidity about wandering off because of male pride. Letting her green eyes roam she noted that everything looked ready to go, all save for the fact that most of the team was missing.
Spotting Kankuro, Baki and Sogetsu talking on one side of the camp she quickly looked around to find Kiba and Akamaru. The two were located further away from the ninjas, satisfied she started toward him wondering why Temari was tagging along. They're search was over so the girl didn't need to keep hanging around, but Sakura brushed it off, not caring one way or another.
"Hey," Kiba muttered not looking up from the white dog that was crouching in front of him, rubbing its nose with is paws. Sakura gave a wane smile, sitting down nearby watching Temari move to lean against a tree. Looking away from the other girl she turned her attention back to Kiba who it seemed could read her mind "Nobodies found him."
"Oh," Sakura said gloomily, thinking hard about what she knew. He couldn't have gotten lost or been ambushed by the ninjas that had been shadowing them. He might have gotten hurt, but she doubted that. She hoped they found him soon because she really didn't want to tell Ino that her boyfriend just disappeared. It wouldn't be a pleasant conversation and Sakura doubted they could keep the girl in the village.
If they didn't find him soon though, the leaf ninjas would have to decide who the new unofficial team leader was. Shino would be a good choice, he was smart and he was calm. He would think things through and make good decisions. Sakura would refuse the job because she knew her own private goals, which would make her unfit for the job. Naruto might be able to do the job it'd be a good experience for him, but he was too hotheaded at times and didn't always plan things out. Kiba was also out because he was too much like Naruto and he hadn't shown any sort of ability to create a plan.
Frowning she compartmentalized those thoughts, taking comfort in the fact that Naruto was still out there and if anything bad was happening he'd stumble across it. That seemed to be his main talent, getting into trouble without meaning too and making it all turn out right in the end.
Turning her attention back to more immediate problems she noted the way Akamaru was acting and frowned a little more "Kiba-san...did something happen to Akamaru?"
"Yea," Kiba muttered darkly "We were on Shikamaru's trail when some sort of scent got in the way, it was horrible...but we didn't think too much about it till we realized that we couldn't smell anything." He pickedup a squirming Akamaru in an attempt to stop the puppy from fidgeting. "I used some medicine that cleared it up for me...but it's not working in Akamaru. I'm worried it's damaged his nose."
Sakura nodded absently then plucked the dog easily from the boy's hands "Let me take a look," then concentrating her chakra into a hand, she slipped easily into the dog's body. She did a brief check on the lungs first, and then moved onto the nose where she found that Kiba was right. The dogs nose was damaged, but it wasn't permanent merely uncomfortable. Without much thought, she healed it the best she could -animal physiology was harder to work with than human after all- then smiling handed him back to his master.
"Wow," Kiba muttered holding a now happily barking Akamaru; then the boy glanced at her grinning, "You're really good."
"It's just a simple healing jutsu," Sakura said brightly even though Inner Sakura was doing an odd dance shouting 'Hell yeah! I'm good! I'm good! Take that old lady Tsuande!' Laughing without meaning too she found Kiba laughing with her and for a moment, she felt good.
"No, No! You say who's there!"
Startled Sakura turned to see Naruto strolling out of the forest with an unamused Gaara at his side. Naruto seemed to be working himself into a fit and his voice grew in volume, oblivious that Gaara's right eye was twitching dangerously "Ok, one more time! Knock knock!"
The redheaded ninja paused and cutting his eyes over stared at the blond beside him in what appeared to be a tolerate fashion "Who's there?"
"Boo!" Naruto exclaimed jerking his hands up, then back as sand came swirling up to where the spot where his hands had been. Naruto however was glaring at the dispassionate boy who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow "You're suppose too say 'Boo who?'"
There was a moment of silence and then Gaara repeated what he had been told, "Boo who?"
Grinning ear from ear Naruto shouted his answer, while slapping the other ninjas shoulder "Sorry didn't mean to make you cry!"
Sakura felt herself paling watching the two, wondering how Naruto could miss that dangerous glint in the other ninja's eyes. For the love of Konoha! That boy had a monster inside of him and he had nearly killed her and Sasuke, what could Naruto be thinking. Then she saw something that made her breath stop and she heard a small gasp from behind her.
"D-did ...did you see that?" Kiba asked softly from beside her and Sakura nodded.
"Gaara...just...smiled?" Temari whispered and Sakura nodded again, thinking that the smile had made him look twenty times more frightening. It didn't belong on his face, no smile belonged there it was unnatural. It was evil.
Naruto however seemed ignorant of that fact and smiling himself finally spotted them. Thrusting his hand in the air, he smiled a little wider "Oi! Temari, Sakura-Chan!"
Sakura blinked slightly, feeling suddenly put out that he hadn't noticed her first. It wasn't the first time -during the Tea Country mission, he had noticed Sasame first- but this time it felt slightly different. She puzzled over it for a few minutes as he started toward her grinning, deciding that she just valued him noticing her. He always noticed her, always got worked up over her and when he didn't she felt left out.
"You guys find Shikamaru?" Naruto asked as he plopped down across from Kiba and Akamaru.
"Sure we did! We just hid him from you that's all." Temari retorted and Sakura giggled into her hand watching as Naruto laughed as well, seconds before a playfully growling Akamaru pounced on him. Sakura watched the two, cheering Akamaru on for a few minutes before she stopped and glanced at the sun's position in the sky.
It was almost directly over head, time for lunch and still no sign of Shikamaru -or Shino she added absently- she felt the slight edge of worry eating at her, but she was hoping that Shino had found the boy and they were merely taking there time coming back to camp. However, this did mean one thing, until Shikamaru or Shino showed back up she was in charge of the leaf ninjas currently present.
Abruptly her thoughts were derailed by an intense stench that swept over the camp, forcing several people to dry wretch. Kiba and Akamaru however suffered the most, both whining and trying to protect there noses. Naruto was doing the same thing for some strange reason, but he wasn't being as frantic about it. Sakura was to busy trying to keep her eyes from watering to care about that.
After a few moments, either they were used to it or it had faded the various ninjas regained there normalcy and turned as one toward Kiba who pointed off in a vague direction talking in a nasally voice "It's Shino's secret weapon, some sort super stink bug."
Sakura turned in the direction he had pointed to find the sunglass wearing Shino and a bored Shikamaru standing just beyond the trees watching them. Sakura would have taken a breath of relief but unfortunately, the air was too thick with the stench. Then she noticed that the two ninjas weren't getting any closer. Baki seemed to be wondering about that as well since he started toward them, holding his own nose.
"This is the scent of an Akushuu bug," Shino explained not breaking from his calm manner to shout, "It'll fade in a few days."
"What happened?" Naruto called, then promptly choked from the lung full of air he'd absorbed.
"Shikamaru was being attacked by some local kids playing ninja, so when I arrived we decided to drive them off with this scent." Shino paused as if judging the wind before looking at Baki "I'd recommend that we walk down wind of you." Baki snorted and turned shouting thickly for everybody to get they're stuff and then stalked off.
Sakura however was studying the two and couldn't help but think that something wasn't quite right. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was just something odd. She allowed Naruto to distract her, taking the pack he offered her without objection. The pink haired girl kept her eyes averted, reflecting on why she thought something was wrong then sighing she compartmentalized it saving it for the first post-town that they should be reaching sometime tonight.
AN:
Here' the third chapter. Had to change the ending since someone guessed that I was going to wrap up the mission and have Temari and Naruto fall madly in love in chapter three. So blame them. Actually these chapters are flowing rather well, I don't have to struggle to much to get them down on paper (so to speak) so I'm happy.
Lets see, thanks go out to Wanderer3 as always. I tried to implemeant your suggestions Dchimera, but I wasn't entirely sure about them so I did my best. If I messed up feel free to point it out.
For those of you that are having trouble imiagining Gaara's smile at the end: If you can remember back in the ninties, when they made two Addams Familly movies, picture Wensdays smile at the summer camp. That's the type of smile Gaara shows. Creepy.
Oh, I disrupted my updating schedule: I'm going on vacation (MY FIRST ONE IN FOUR YEARS!) anyway, I'm giving you this chapter early as a present. So really enjoy yourselves and I hope nobodies disappointed by the Gaara/Naruto scene...those two are hard to write interacting I just want you to know.
Other than that, I've got nothing else to say, except songs. I heard a song I hadn't heard in forever as I finshed this chapter and for some reason I thought of Orochimaru. The song? 'Sympathy for the Devil'. Think I'm wrong? Then listen to it, you'll see.
But the entire reason I mention this is becuase I'm curious what songs you think belong to which character...and which pairings! So if ya leave a review and ya feel like it, tell me what you think.
Sincerely,
Geor-sama