Meilin: And it's time to bring back my favorite presents: Commercials! That's right, we now have commercial breaks for the sake of suspense!
Sasuke: Meaning she couldn't figure out how to elongate the chapter and she didn't want to make five little chapters.
Duo: At least she let everyone pick one.
Ed: Yeah. Greedy witch almost wouldn't give us a say at all.
Meilin: Stuff it, Shrimp! Sasuke! Disclaimer!
Ed: Shrimp?
Sasuke: Unless you saw Lee rescuing Gaara, Orochimaru dropping dead, Gaara skipping off thought a field of flowers with Haku while Lee cried, and Itachi bowing down to Sasuke in the latest episode of Naruto, Meilin does not own it. She owns: Meilin, the Lyric no Jutsu, the Traveler Ninja rank, this fic, several very old graphic novels in Japanese, a TiVo with all the Naruto episodes on it, and many random anime-based memorabilia. She does not own Ukiah, Valyon, Zack, Malina, or Edward, as they are owned by her RP friends. She does however, own the rights to their Naruto forms. She also owns her version of Sasukes home, the origin of Otogakure, and all characters from The Lands of Lightning, Earth, and Mist. She also owns the Land of Darkness, The Village of Wind, and all characters who reside thereof. Use of these lands are restricted to Schweppes and anyone who emails her for permission using the emails in her profile. She doesn't own Goldfish or Maxwell House (Duo: Maxwell?) Coffee, but she DOES own her version of the '100 rules of Conduct for Ninja and Shinobi'.
Edward: SHRIMP?
Duo: Shut up Ed.
Warnings: As many commercials as a Cartoon Network Naruto Dub, Mild-OOCness, HinaNaru, SasuOC, Mild to Major Post-Chuunin Exam Spoilers, Mild Angst, Mild Fluff, Disappearing Acts,
Meilin: Here it is, the angsty chapter! Or as angsty as I can write. Of course, I have to get from now to that scene... (That's the hard part. XD) And I lost my progress THREE BLOODY TIMES! Also, rejoice all you Sakura fans, she's actually got lines in this, the 2-chapters-in-1! Yeah, I spent so much time over the undetailed chapter 6, that I combined it with the last chapter of the story!
--------------------------A Shinobi's Fate and the Final Disappearance-----------------------------
The next day, Meilin announced that they would be returning to Konoha. Hinata shook her head vigorously. "What about Naruto?" she yelled.
Meilin sighed. "Naruto's nowhere near here. When we get to Konoha, I will personally lead a Black Ops team to retrieve him." she lied.
Hinatas face fell. "Okay..." she said, tears falling down her cheeks.
Meilin looked away. It wouldn't be fair to give Hinata any more false hope. Whether or not the young genin could survive a fight with the Akasuki members wasn't the issue. It was simply fact that no genin could hope to last long in their clutches. She sighed as she walked back to her room to pack her things. She wondered what The Snake was up to. Did Orochimaru want to make these children members of Akasuki? Did he just want to eliminate the dangerous competition while they were young? She didn't know. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meilin and the others stood at the East gate of Sunagakure. Meilin hugged Temari as Sasuke shook hands with the taller Kankuro. To the other ninja standing around, it looked a parting between old friends, and it was, but it was also more.
Temari pulled away slightly from the hug and whispered into Meilin's ear. "Bring my brother back, Mei."
Meilin nodded, wanting to cry but unable to find the tears. "I'll try. I swear I'll try. Or die trying."
"Don't say that. No one wants that."
Kankuro jerked his head towards the girls. "Watch her. She may not be a genin, but…."
Sasuke nodded at the older ninja. He knew was Kankuro was getting at. Meilin hadn't been without her issues with Akasuki, and she wasn't much older than Naruto or any of the others. "They'll have to go through me."
"Watch it. Or they will."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Edward and Sasuke's Commercial Pick-
Here's our jingle for Goldfish
Baked but not fried Goldfish
The wholesome snack that smiles back
Until you bite their heads off.
Don't you know their made with real cheese
Even though they look like fishies
The snack that smiles back, Goldfish.
And for a taste that's out of waver
We've blasted every flavor
For flavor blasted Goldfish!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the next two days, they trekked back across the land. Meilin and Sasuke led them with fewer stops than before, thought to general malcontent. Kiba was as loud and insensitive as ever, while Shino and Sakura preferred to suffer in silence. It appeared that Naruto's disappearance had shaken Sakura quite a bit. Hinata wouldn't look anyone in the eye, not even Kurenai, who for her part was silently brining up the rear with Kakashi, who – characteristically – never took his eyes off his novel.
The first night caused Meilin the guilt of hearing Hinata wake up crying halfway through the night. Comforting the girl had hurt her inside with every lie she told about Naruto's chances in Oto. When she finally slept, Meilin wished she could do the same.
Once again they rose early to trek across the desert, forests, and fields of the Lands of Wind and Fire. When they finally made camp on the second day, they were only a few hours from Konoha. "Kakashi, Kurenai? Your turn to watch first." Meilin said, tunneling into her sleeping bag. The other jonin nodded. She frowned. It had been too easy getting back for her taste. The shinobi that attacked them on the way here hadn't returned. There was no way they were all dead. Or maybe they were. Was she over thinking it?
At midnight, when the forest was at it's darkest, Kakashi roused Meilin and Sasuke for their watch. The young jonin nodded and yawned. She was amazed she'd slept at all with the nightmares that had haunted her the past several nights. Sasuke sat up against a tree and sighed. "I'm gonna grab firewood." He said, pointing at their low supply.
Meilin nodded. "Be quick."
Sasuke moved away from camp. He had about four logs, when someone grabbed him from behind, covering his mouth and grasping his wrist. "Don't. Move."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Meilin and Duo's Commercial Pick-
Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, that was where we used to sleep
Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house...
The Coffee's Good to the Last Drop
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meilin grabbed Sasuke. "Don't. Move."
Sasuke looked left and right. "What's wrong?" he whispered.
She jerked her head to motion for him to return to camp. "Someone's in the woods."
But just as she said this, a noise at camp caused them to dash back to camp at top speed. They arrived just in time for Meilin to flip an enemy shinobi away from the mat where Hinata was sleeping. The genin woke, slowly rubbing their eyes. "Wuzzgoinon?" wondered Kiba.
"Wake up!" Meilin yelled, batting away Kunai, "Wake up you midgets! It's an attack!"
With Kiba mumbling about how he was taller than she was, he and the other genin shook their heads to clear their eyes of sleep and reached for their weapons. Kakashi sent another would-be kidnapper flying while chuckling over his novel. Surprisingly, the enemy fled.
Meilin's weapons lowered. She glanced at Kurenai. "That was too easy." she said wearily.
She was right. The shinobi weren't done yet. The leader, a tall man wearing the mask of the sound's ANBU, jumped from the trees, knocking Sasuke out before he even had the chance to defend himself. Meilin turned and gave chase as they fled; the young Uchiha heir in their arms.
But no more than 30 meters away, the remaining shinobi blocked her advance. She fought like the devil-possessed, to get past them, but when the enemy finally fled, no trace of Sasuke or his abductor could be found. The other Konohas arrived, a certain pink-haired ninja in the front of the pack. She ran angrily to Meilin. "Where is he?" Sakura yelled at the older kunoichi, "Where's Sasuke?"
Meilin, her back still turned to Sakura, did not respond. Sakura glared. "You lost him! It's your fault! You were supposed to protect him; and Naruto too! Now he's gone, and you don't even care!"
Meilins voice floated back to the group, calm and steady. "You're a good student, Sakura." she said pleasantly, "What is the Twenty-Eighth Rule of Conduct for Ninja and Shinobi?"
Sakura repeated it irritably from memory. "A shinobi does not grieve. When the mission is complete, only then can a ninja regret."
"My... No... Our mission is not yet complete." Meilin said stonily. "Time to return to Konoha."
"You evil witch! First Gaara, then Naruto, now Sasuke! And you don't even care! You are the true example of heartless!" she grabbed Meilin's shoulders. "Say something!" she yelled as she spun Meilin around.
Sakura gasped. Meilins face was soaked in tears, her eyes bloodshot and her face red. She turned away again. "Shame on you Sakura. You forget the Twenty-Fifth rule of Shinobi Conduct: No matter what happens, true shinobi must never... Ever... Show their emotions." she said, her voice steady and slow. "The mission is the only priority. Carry that in your heart and never shed a tear, never give the enemy the gift of your rage, lest you lose more than you already had."
She walked past them without meeting their gazes, and led them back to camp where she set them about packing camp. She hid behind a tree. Foregoing the rules of shinobi conduct, tears ran unchecked down her cheeks as she buried her face in her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. First Gaara, then Naruto, now Sasuke... The younger kunoichis words rang in her head. She should leave this to the village ANBU, and yet...
Sasuke was like a drug to her. She could've lived not knowing, but now that she'd felt his soft touches... Now that she knew how to love, to care, to be cared for, how could she live without it? But that meant returning to Oto... And seeing Him.
She steeled her expression. There was no choice. She was going to get him back.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meilin: IT'S FINISHED! W00TAGE!
Sasuke: Finished? That was THE crappiest ending EVER!
Duo: ' There's a sequel, remember?
Sasuke: Huh? Oh yeah….
Ed: You liked it!
Sasuke: Did not!
Ed: Did too!
Meilin: REVIEW! And look out for The Ninja Trilogy: Part Two: A Shinigami's Folly But I'm lazy, so it might take a while. PM's and Reviews make me update! -Puppy eyes-