A/N: School stuff has been taken care of, so here's chapter 11 - never thought I'd get this far with the story. Anyway, enjoy...Read & Review (looking at the responses I got after last chapter, maybe I should always end with a cliffhanger :)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER 11

"SPLIT"

"Let's go," Takeo advised. "I'll take the lead, Ren-san."

Ren nodded in agreement and fell in line behind Takeo as he began the march up the twisting pathway. Glancing back toward his home once again, Ren spotted Aojiro's blue-winged form slowly gliding away from their sight. The hawk's faint cry echoed through the rolling valley between the plateau and Ren's house, where the four remaining shinobi continued their drawn out battle.

"Kaori and Kintarou will be fine," Takeo said, noticing the old man's concerned expression. "It wouldn't surprise me if they'd beaten the rest of those Sound ninja by now."

Ren smiled, shaking his head. "You're probably right, Takeo-san. You kids are a lot tougher than I expected."

"Ah, you know the saying, never judge a book…" Takeo smirked. "Come on."

A few steps ahead of the gray-haired man, Takeo led the way as the two began the hike around the winding path leading up to the top of the wide towering plateau bordering alongside the deep canyon. Knowing what lay waiting atop the raised ground, Ren couldn't help but feel nauseas, despite the security provided by Takeo's presence. The mere thought that his two adopted daughters, Jana and Nanami, could be injured or even killed because of him made Ren sick. The sweltering heat made it easier for Ren to hide his fears from Takeo, though, as the hot and arid afternoon air provided a welcome excuse for the sweat pouring down his face and neck. If not for high temperature, the hand Ren extended out to touch Takeo's shoulder would have been ice cold.

"Before we get too far," began Ren. "I want to say how much I appreciate you aiding me Takeo-san."

"You already said thanks," Takeo replied as the two continued their gradual climb up the path. "And again, it's my job to protect you. Besides, the Hokage would literally break me in half if anything happened to you."

"Yes, well, I suppose it takes a bit getting used to…meeting a ninja with morals," Ren said.

"Don't judge us all by a few misguided Sound nin," Takeo responded. "Every village has its own way of doing things, but we're all mostly out for the same thing."

"What is that?"

"Money," Takeo answered flatly.

Ren's head dropped as an odd expression spread across his face.

"Kidding," Takeo grinned, noticing the old man's demeanor. "I told you to relax, Ren-san. Each village has their own teachings and individual goals, but all of them basically want the same thing…to continue on living and surviving. Konoha's not really out for power or destruction or anything like that. Yeah, we're probably the strongest village, or at least we were before the whole ordeal with the last Chuunin Exam. But our strength is developed only to protect our home and defend the people that live there. And since you're technically going to be a resident of Konoha once we're finished here, I'm pretty much obligated to guard your safety."

Ren chuckled softly. "You're surprisingly idealistic, Takeo-san."

"Eh?" Takeo responded, scratching the back of his head. "I think that's the first time someone's said that about me."

Ren echoed his own laughter, enjoying the moment when his mind was not focused on the peril awaiting them at the summit.

"So did you see the Chuunin Exam disaster?" Ren suddenly asked.

"Yeah," Takeo nodded as he slowed his pace to allow Ren to catch up. "Strange enough, that's when I first teamed with Kaori and Kintarou. Wow, it feels like a long time ago…though to be honest, the three of us didn't really mix well at first. Kaori and Kintarou both wanted to split our group up before we'd even officially worked as one. Especially Kintarou…he was always trying to lecture us on something."

"Really?" Ren asked.

"Yeah," Takeo sighed.

Takeo immediately began retelling several of Kintarou's earliest attempts at scolding him as the two made their way ever closer to the top. As they passed the halfway point, Takeo began amusing Ren with stories from his journey to Earth Country. Though he had done so at Ren's request, Takeo could sense that the older man wasn't really paying attention to him. Ren wanted to hear something, anything to drown out the words repeating over and over in his mind. And Takeo's stern yet calming voice seemed to work well, muffling the fear-filled inner ramblings replaying in Ren's head. Noticing this fact, Takeo had little trouble trying to keep Ren's mind occupied. Before either of them had realized it, they had traveled nearly two-thirds of the way up. It was here that Takeo stopped walking and dropped down to sit on the gravelly pathway.

"Let's rest for a moment," Takeo suggested to Ren, who nodded and knelt gingerly down beside him.

As he glanced over at the old man, Takeo removed one of his black sandals and dumped a few small pebbles from inside it. Ren looked exhausted, his sweat-soaked face resting wearily in his hands. Takeo focused briefly and checked their surroundings using the enhanced vision provided by his Katsugan. Once he was sure that they were safe, he slid his sandal back over his bandaged foot and ankle and hopped up to his feet. He walked to the edge of the path, glancing down to the tiny boulders and bushes below. Takeo turned his head around, looking up at the rocky cliffs overhanging from the plateau's summit.

"Not too much longer," he sighed to himself.

"Takeo-san?"

"Ah, I was just saying that—"

A loud familiar screech cut his reply short. Gliding across the sky towards him, Takeo spotted the recognizable blue-winged bird. He held up a bandaged forearm, allowing Aojiro to land on it. Takeo noticed the note around the hawk's leg and frowned.

"Guess Kintarou made you run another delivery," Takeo said apologetically. "Sorry, Aojiro."

The hawk flapped its wings briefly, quietly voicing its displeasure with an irritated caw.

"Right, right," Takeo nodded, removing the note. "Your job's really done this time."

Aojiro's blue-feathered wings lifted high into the air as the bird vanished in a puff of smoke. Takeo sighed and quickly unrolled the parchment.

Noppo,

Please do not do anything rash or foolish, though I suppose that is a useless request.
Kaori-san and I are on our way, so please wait for us to arrive before attempting any
sort of rescue. If anything happens to Ren-san in the meantime, I personally will deal
with your punishment. Hokage-sama will never forgive us for failing her and then you
will have not only failed Ren-san and Tsunade-sama, but I shall also be…

Takeo scanned over the rest and rolled his eyes. He quickly crumpled the note into a tiny ball and tossed it over the edge off the path, watching it slowly flutter down.

"Was that from your friends?" inquired Ren.

"Yeah," Takeo nodded. "Kintarou wants us to wait for them to catch up before we do anything else."

"What? But we're so close to the top," Ren exclaimed.

"I know," Takeo replied. "But he has a point. If there are still several Sound ninja up there, then it would be better to wait. I may be good, Ren-san, but after fighting Bandon and those other shinobi, I'd be lying if I said I'm back at a hundred percent."

Ren sadly nodded and dejectedly hunched over, resting his hands on his knees.

"We can still keep going up, though" Takeo continued. "If we find too many Sound at the top, we can at least scout their numbers and their positions while we wait."

Hearing this made Ren quickly nod in agreement.

"Let's hurry then," he anxiously said.

Takeo was slightly startled to see Ren's renewed vigor, and shook his head as he smirked, watching the old man march off without him. Breathing a heavy sigh, Takeo quickly caught up with Ren and again took the lead as they stepped closer towards the Sound's camp atop the plateau. Having traveled most of the way with at least one of their voices filling the air, both Takeo and Ren found the sudden silence between them discomforting. And yet they both knew now that any sudden noises this close to the top could easily alert any ninja nearby to their presence. So they walked in silence on the winding trail, moving nearer to the summit.

"Wait," Takeo softly whispered as he and Ren stepped beneath an overhanging cliff.

Approaching an hour since the two began ascending the plateau, Takeo was somewhat surprised that they had finally reached the top. Thirty feet above them, the hook-shaped cliff jutted out from the main part of the plateau. Pressing both himself and Ren back against the uneven wall of rock beneath it, Takeo concentrated. His ears still ached from Bandon's lethal screaming, so his hearing wasn't quite on par with his vision or his other senses. Deeply focused, Takeo searched their surroundings for any signs of chakra. Ren glanced over at him several times, trying to figure out what he was doing. Eventually, Takeo poked his head out from the shadow created by the cliff above them. A worried expression appeared on his usually relaxed face.

"Takeo-san?" Ren quietly nudged him.

"I can sense powerful chakra," he informed Ren, still staring upwards.

"So that means there are Sound ninja at the top," Ren gloomily responded.

"Yeah," Takeo nodded without looking back. "Probably quite a few. Ren-san, I want you to stay here and take cover while I check out their camp."

"No," Ren loudly refused.

"I wasn't suggesting it, Ren-san. Stay here where it's safe, or I'll have to force you to stay."

Ren started to respond, but stopped himself as his eyes wandered around.

"Very well," he said.

"Good," Takeo nodded. "Back in a flash."

With surprising speed, Takeo darted off up the trail and out of sight. Ren waited a moment, and then moved back down the path a bit. He stopped and turned, facing the jagged and diagonally inclined side of the plateau before him. He shakily grabbed hold of a small ledge at eye level and lifted his foot into the narrow crack carved into the rock a foot or so off of the ground. Ren paused, before hoisting himself up.

"Sorry, Takeo-san," he mumbled as he carefully began climbing up towards the peak.

Minutes later, coming to a stop on the opposite side, Takeo balanced himself at the top of the plateau's smooth western face, using chakra to secure his feet and hands to the high-rising mound of rock and earth. Cautiously, he glanced down at the bottomless gorge beneath him before peeking his head over the top. Takeo froze. His eyes darted around quickly, surveying the scene as his brow wrinkled into a look of confusion. Expecting to see a well-guarded Sound encampment at the pinnacle of this elevated plateau, Takeo was caught completely off guard by the sheer emptiness. Two small tents were erected in the middle of the flat plateau peak. A tiny wooden table sat between them. With his sharp eyesight, Takeo noticed several half-empty bottles of sake sitting atop it. But there were no Sound nin nearby. The entire area was barren, save for two figures kneeling in front of the tents. Takeo strained his eyes to try and identify them. Blindfolded and gagged, the heads of two girls hung miserably down towards the ground. Their hands and feet bound together, they were trapped in this vulnerable position. The shorter girl was motionless, her short blue-tinted hair lying lifeless atop her unconscious head. The older girl beside her seemed to be fighting unconsciousness, her long platinum blonde locks swaying back and forth as she tried to stay alert.

"Well, this is kind of strange," Takeo muttered softly.

He continued glancing around, trying to determine if this was some kind of trap. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure emerging from near the hook-shaped cliff. Takeo's gaze shifted to the thin frame of the man slowly pushing himself up from the cliff's edge. He immediately frowned as a head of bushy silver hair glistened in the sunlight.

"Damn it," he sighed.

Struggling to lift his legs up and back onto solid ground, Ren hurriedly moved his body back and forth. When both knees finally lifted up over the edge of the cliff, the older man immediately flattened himself on the ground to try and hide himself from sight and to allow his aching muscles to rest. Unfortunately, Ren's eyes promptly fell on the two girls bound beside the tents. Even though they were several hundred feet away, Ren knew it was them. Ignoring the stiffness in his arms and legs, he hopped to his feet and without thinking, began to sprint towards the two helpless females.

"Damn it…" Takeo repeated as he quickly moved.

He pressed his hands firmly against the plateau's edge as he swiftly hoisted himself up, recoiling a bit as his hands dug into the moistened dirt, before using all of his speed to quickly reach Ren. The old man had barely taken more than a few steps before being tackled behind a pair of leafless shrubs by the charging Takeo. Ren struggled for a moment before he realized who had taken him down. For an instant, he stopped moving. Then he saw the two girls sitting powerlessly out in the open.

"G-Get off, Takeo-san!" Ren tried to scream.

Takeo's hand closed over his mouth.

"That was really stupid," Takeo quietly muttered into Ren's ear.

Ren mumbled some inaudible reply. Takeo relented and helped the old man to his feet as they both cautiously rose.

"I guess this is how Kintarou must feel…look, I told you I sensed really strong chakra," Takeo whispered. "And you yourself said that there are probably other Sound nin guarding the place, right?"

"So—" Ren started to protest.

"So where is everyone?" Takeo wondered. "It's too easy…the girls being out unguarded like that. And this doesn't help matters…"

Takeo opened both of his hands and showed them to Ren, who stared with his hazel-tinted eyes at the large splotches darkening the palms of his gloves, and staining his exposed fingertips a deep red. A large spot near the base of Takeo's right palm was still slightly wet, a drop or two slowly running down the glove to the underside of his wrist.

"Blood," Takeo stated, glancing around. "There was a pool of it near the ledge over there where I came up."

Ren didn't respond, only mimicking Takeo in scanning the barren plateau summit.

"It hadn't absorbed into the ground yet," Takeo continued. "Which means it was spilled recently."

"I don't get what that—"

"Quiet!" Takeo hushed him, as he and the older man crouched.

"You might as well stand and present yourselves."

Takeo's head snapped toward the direction of the voice. He was surprised to see a boy no older than he was standing calmly twenty feet away, flanked by two more boys on either side. His arms were folded tightly across his chest, where Takeo noticed the shining metallic band tied around the stranger's bicep. He stared for a few seconds at the symbol carved into the rectangular plate's center.

"Great," Takeo scowled. "Stone shinobi…"

Takeo hesitantly stood, pressing down on Ren's shoulder to keep the older man down and somewhat hidden. As soon as the Stone shinobi saw Takeo's lean form rise and face him, his dark eyes shifted to the forehead protector affixed to the quiver strap around Takeo's chest.

"You're a ways from home, Leaf ninja," the boy called. 'What are you doing in our country?"

"Vacation," Takeo smartly replied.

"Hmph," the Stone shinobi on the left smirked. "Crappy spot for it…"

The four shinobi stared at one another for a minute before Takeo broke the silence.

"Yeah…maybe we should head home then," Takeo said, slowly eyeing his surroundings.

"By we, you don't mean you and those two girls, do you?" the larger Stone shinobi on the right asked with a smile. "Because those two are now our prisoners until we straighten this whole mess out."

"Prisoners?" Takeo asked.

"Yeah…you foreign shinobi are invading our jurisdiction," the first boy replied.

"So you got rid of the Sound nin up here?"

"Who? There was no one up here except you guys when I arrived," the boy responded. "Our captain ordered us to avoid conflict on this investigation…bunch of old merchants spotted shinobi wandering about in the valley. However, I doubt he expected us to find a shinobi from Konoha. We may not be at war anymore, but my father has a few scars from those battles that I wouldn't mind paying back."

Takeo readied himself, hoping his teammates might arrive shortly. A tingling chill washed over his body as a pair of darkened figures suddenly zoomed in from out of nowhere. He prepared himself for more Stone nin, but was surprised to see the Stone shinobi knocked back off of their feet.

"What the…" Takeo muttered.

The three Stone ninja quickly rose and the largest thrust his hands together, creating several hand seals. Without warning, the ground beneath them all began to shake. Takeo watched as a large chasm opened up at the Stone shinobi's feet and a wave of rock and sand rose up in front of the three Stone nin. The earthen wall temporarily shielded Takeo and Ren from their sight.

"Ren-san," Takeo said quickly. "We should go…now."

"But what about my girls?" he immediately asked.

"We'll grab them and run," Takeo replied, grabbing hold of Ren's arm and dragging the man with him.

Within seconds, the two had made it over to the tied up young women. Taking a kunai from his pouch, Takeo quickly cut the cord binding the older girl's hands and feet. He moved to release the other one, but froze. He spun around as a Stone shinobi's agonizing scream filled the air, echoing loudly as his body tumbled over the edge of the plateau. Takeo lifted his bow from over his shoulder, leaning it against the side of the nearby tent, and tossed his kunai to Ren.

"Get the other one," Takeo said quickly, rummaging his free hand through his pouch.

Ren shakily grabbed the blade. "R-Right…"

Withdrawing his hand, Takeo held the ornately decorated knife again. He wiped the bloodstains from his left index finger before slicing through the tip with the blade of the fancy dagger. He smeared a line of the crimson liquid across the blade, covering the symbols again with his blood. He hastily thrust the dagger into the ground and looked up. Standing along the ledge where the Stone ninja had been tossed, two black-robed figures stood calmly staring back in his direction, ignoring the other two Stone shinobi angrily preparing to attack. Suddenly, the two figures rushed towards him. Takeo rapidly finished his hand seals and thrust his left palm into the ground. He yelled a few brief words to Ren before a giant puff of smoke clouded around him. A loud screech accompanied the movement of the enormous shadow that appeared within the cloud. Ren's cry of reply was silenced as a giant explosion of rock and debris erupted from nearby, causing the entire plateau to quake…

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"If we hurry, we should be able to catch up in no time," Kintarou grinned.

"When we do, I'm going to give him a—"

A loud, earth-shattering blast drowned out Kaori's words. Both she and Kintarou hurriedly looked around, trying to find the source. Within seconds, Kintarou spotted it and placed a hand on Kaori's shoulder to get her attention. Atop the large plateau in the distance, the place where Takeo and Ren had to be, a cloud of dust and smoke rose high into the air. And though his eyes were nowhere near as sharp as Takeo's, Kintarou was sure he saw what he did. Kaori's trembling body and awestruck expression confirmed it. Beneath the cover of sand and falling debris, both of them stared, as the large mound of elevated rock splintered apart, its shattered fragments tumbling into the gorge below.

"What…"

"K-Kintarou-kun," Kaori mumbled. "That's…"

"Let's go," he quickly replied.

Leaving the fallen quartet of Sound ninja behind, Kintarou and Kaori frantically raced towards the destruction in the distance. Neither of them spoke a word; Kaori could barely breathe, while Kintarou's face displayed a rare look of concern. Moving swiftly through the valley, the two Konoha shinobi reached the site of the plateau, or at least what remained of it. An enormous pile of broken rock and bits of dirt stretched out for several hundred yards. Recklessly, both of them began scouring the debris for their teammate and the old man he'd chased after.

"Takeo-kun!" Kaori repeatedly shouted.

"Oi, Noppo!" Kintarou yelled several times.

Despite their best efforts, they were unable to see anything in the carnage lying before them. Unwillingly, both of them turned their gaze toward the hollow canyon beyond the pile of rubble.

"You don't think he…" Kaori started.

Kintarou frowned. The two stood motionless, waving away the remains of the dust cloud from their eyes. Out of the blue, a thunderous screech called out from above them. Kintarou and Kaori immediately looked upwards and watched intently as a giant bird began descending towards the ground. Both shinobi shielded their eyes as it kicked up sand and dirt as it gently landed. Standing nearly as tall as Kintarou, the hawk's rust-colored feathers ruffled slightly as it lowered it wings. Kaori and Kintarou watched in awe as it gently rolled Ren slowly off and onto the ground. An unconscious girl followed behind, landing beside the weak and barely conscious older man. Her long blond hair masked her face, though not quite hiding the scrapes and bruises around her chin and cheeks. Snapping out of their daze, Kintarou and Kaori quickly rushed to Ren's side.

"Kaori-san," Kintarou said.

"Right," she nodded, kneeling down and reaching her hands out to examine him.

Ren suddenly lifted a hand and clasped her wrist. Hysterically, he rambled off several words that silenced everyone. Kaori tried to maintain her composure as she felt the tears beginning to form. Kintarou quietly glanced away towards the plateau remains, Ren's incoherent voice replaying through his head.

"He…saved us…Nanami, they…and he tried to save her…fell down…over cliff…both…fell …"