A/N: I, your venerable author, give you…the next chapter! Of course, I could always just cut it painfully short, and decide not to update ever again until I got some reviews…but, hey. I don't threaten people. Just hypnotize. You will review, you will review…
Sorry if some of the details are a bit off, or if I get anything very wrong – I haven't seen every episode, I haven't read much of the manga, and I have only seen the gorgeousness which is Itachi on the web.
Hey, I almost forgot the
Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own Naruto. I own practically nothing. I just write fan fictions. Happy?
Chapter 1: The StormKakashi bounded through the trees, searching for his team. "Damn." The jounion muttered to himself. "Where are they?"
He had told them to set up camp while he went to survey the area. On his way back, he had been accosted by a man – it was clear from his fighting style that he was a shinobi, but he had worn no headband to signify where he was from. They had fought, and Kakashi had won, but not without the long, shallow cut down his arm being placed there by a lucky shuriken. Then, it had started to rain. He quickly found the place he had told his genin to set up – but they weren't there. Their packs and equipment lay scattered on the ground, and the trees around it were covered in scorch marks – compliments of Sasuke, no doubt. Many shuriken were embedded in the trees, and there were signs of a major scuffle – a strip from Sakura's dress hung on a branch, blood dripping off of it, showing that she had tried to launch an attack from above; footprints littered the ground from multiple Narutos, probably from his Shadow Clone jutsu; and, of course, the burn marks. There were also signs of various earth shields being brought up – most likely from the enemy ninjas, as his team hadn't yet learnt that jutsu. Tracing the battle with his mind, based on the evidence at hand, Kakashi laid out a clear plan of the events.
First, he had left, and his team had begun to set up as he had instructed. Then, as soon as he was far enough away not to hear the noise, the enemies had attacked, probably catching the young genin off guard. Broken branches – yes, Sasuke had tried some taijutsu, but had missed. Then, Naruto sent along a bunch of shuriken, ah, here was blood. Good, Naruto had hit their enemy with his throwing stars. Sakura was attacked from behind while the boys were busy, no, not from behind, he had crept up on her, but she had sensed him before he got there and turned to face him. Good girl! Ouch, she wasn't quick enough, for, see; here her body had fallen, drops of blood staining where her shoulder would have been. More footprints, ahh, Naruto had come to help her up. No, Naruto was over here…oh, he must have created his clones right after he sent out the shuriken. He helped her to a tree; up she climbed, tearing a piece of her bloody dress off as she went. She sat for a moment to regain her strength. In the meantime, Sasuke has been fighting hand-to-hand with a much larger opponent…good, he used a taijutsu to pin him against a tree, and oh, there's the body. One down, two to go. Well done, Sasuke! Hmm, it seems that while Sasuke has been busy, Naruto has been furiously trying to get at this one with his Shadow clones. Well, 50 Narutos, each armed with shuriken…that's where all the ones in the trees came from. Here is another body – oh, so covered in Naruto's weapons that the face isn't visible. The third one, though, he was fast. And, surprisingly, he stayed around after his cohorts were killed. Sakura has gotten her wind back, and is raining down senbon at him. Doing quite well, for a newly learned jutsu! It seems she was going after a clone…for the original is climbing up behind her…ah, that's where Sasuke's fireballs come in. Which is the clone, and which is the original? Naruto seems to have shown his unerring judgment again and discovered the true ninja, who is hiding in the trees! Sasuke has demolished one clone, and Sakura has taken down the other. Well done, Sakura! A long-range medical jutsu – and the final shinobi's body is here. Sakura, in using that, depleted all her chakra and fell from the tree. Ahh, so Naruto and Sasuke picked her up and tried to take her to safety.
While his idea told him what had happened, and why his students were not at the camp, it didn't tell him where they had gone, for the boys had completely covered their tracks, keeping to the trees and using basic clones to mislead any trackers. It could take days for him to find out which path they had taken, and, if Sakura was as badly injured as the evidence suggested, then he didn't have that kind of time. Trusting himself to pick the right trail, he set out again.
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Wrapped in thick blankets in front of a roaring fire, the boys silently watched as the mysterious woman came down the stairs, supporting herself on the banister. She stumbled into the room and collapsed onto a chair. Sasuke looked at Naruto, who answered the unspoken question. "Her chakra is almost depleted, Sakura must have been worse than we thought. You were right to trust her, Sasuke." The black haired boy nodded, and stood up to check if his sopping clothes were dry yet. Naruto also rose, and felt the material of his garments to be still damp. They both sat down again, and continued staring into the flames. The woman raised her head, and enquired weakly: "Are you boys hungry?" Naruto's stomach growled in response, but both boys denied the fact, afraid that the food might be poisoned. She laughed at their denial, and pushed herself to her feet. "You may come and watch me prepare it, if you are afraid. You may even examine it using jutsus." She slowly stumbled toward the kitchen, supporting herself on everything in her path.
Sasuke shook his head, and motioning for Naruto to do the same, grabbed one of her elbows and helped her back to her seat. "You are too weak." He declared. "Also, we are not afraid. If the tales of this place are true, then we have no need to worry for the safety of ourselves, or that of our companion. Come, Naruto. We will prepare our own food."
The blonde haired boy nodded hi head vehemently. "I have no clue about any stories about wherever we are, but if Sasuke says it's safe – then I expect it to be safe. Believe it!" Sasuke's jaw practically fell off. He and Naruto were rivals – and almost hated each other. Yet, in spite of all that, here he was, proclaiming his trust in his teammate. He shook his head, and walked into the kitchen, resolving to tell Kakashi of this when their sensei found them.
Half an hour later, Naruto had fallen asleep on the couch, his mug of soup still half full in his hands, and Sasuke was getting drowsy as well. The woman had already dropped off into unconscious oblivion when they returned from the kitchen, so there was no need to worry about her. Sasuke yanked his clothes down from the mantle of the fireplace, and struggled into them. He put a few more logs on the fire, and settled down on the floor, huddled in his blankets, to sleep.
It was this way that Sakura found them, when she came down in the morning. Smiling at the utter cuteness of her fellow genin, she placed another log on the smoldering fire, and re-arranged the boys' blankets so they got the full extent of the renewed warmth. At times like this, she felt as if she were their mother – a mother that one did not have, and the other did not remember. She sat down by Sasukes feet, waiting for them to awaken. As she did, she took a mental inventory of her wounds. She was surprised to discover that she had none. She knew that she had sustained heavy injuries, yet she could find no trace of them. Looking at the unconscious woman slumped on the chair; Sakura realized that her savior must have used up most of her chakra to heal the girl. She resolved to repay the woman, no matter how long it took.
A/N: Heeeheee! Kakashi has no clue where his genin are, and, is still running through the soggy forest searching for them. Sakura is alive and well, Naruto and Sasuke are fast asleep with a newly discovered trust for each other, and the woman put her life on the line save the little shinobis. What will happen next? cue spooky music Anyways, dear ones, all shall be well in the end. Plus, in the next chapter, we meet a very dangerous ninja, and discover who the one kunouchi in every bingo book is. Mwahahaha! Anyways, please review!
Love and hugs!
Youkai kagami