Last chapter i have done so far. Like I said in my bio thing, I'm working on my Zelda fanfic first but once this phase ends I'll probably pick back up on this. I know I'm leaving you with a cliff hanger but just tough it up and I'll update when I update.
Chapter 24: Captured
A day had passed since Maemi's team witnessed the horror of the Earth Village. Maemi was still in doubt about what he had heard. Sasuke? Alive? The information wouldn't settle in his head.
"We should get moving. We need to find that other scroll," Jiro said. Michiko nodded and stood up. Maemi didn't move for a moment. He didn't seem to even acknowledge Jiro's words. "C'mon Maemi. We need to get moving, now."
Maemi shook his head slightly, seeming to bring him back to reality. He stood slowly and walked to the others. The smells of the forest filled Maemi's nose again. The scent of blood was stronger then ever. Memories of the Earth ninja attack flooded back to Maemi's mind. He was a ninja, a trained killer, but what the Earth ninjas did was too much.
"I swear…" Maemi muttered.
"What?" Jiro asked.
"I swear by my ninja honor. I will kill those Earth ninjas. One way or another those three will die by my hands." Maemi said. His face was serious, yet filled with grief.
"Well you'll need to be stronger first. Those Earth nins look like their as strong as Sensei," Jiro said. Michiko just shook her head. She hopped that it was a hollow promise, that Maemi wasn't serious about that suicide mission.
The three steel nins walked through the forest of death. Their ears picking up acute sounds, making sure they weren't being followed. Soon, Maemi noticed a clearing. It was a small clearing but a clearing none the less.
Jiro and Michiko saw it as well. No grass grew there. The clearing was covered with sand. They could sense the trap laying there. They knew someone had to of found the clearing and set traps there.
"Someone's close by. I can smell them. How close I can't tell," Maemi said softly. Jiro and Michiko nodded. They had to go through the clearing.
"Send a clone in first to set off the traps. That way we should be able to walk through unharmed," Michiko said. Maemi nodded and produced three clones. Then two of them did the copy jutsu to look like Jiro and Michiko.
The three clones walked into the clearing. Nothing seemed to happen. No traps were set off. No shurikens or kunais fell from the trees at the clones. In a few minutes the three clones reached the other side of the clearing. The Maemi cloned waved back at the three real nins before disappearing in a puff of smoke along with the other clones.
"Guess it really is safe," Jiro said.
"Yeah. Those clones were perfect copies," Michiko said.
"Fine. But I'll go first just to be safe. I can take a hit better then you guys thanks to the Gobi." Maemi said.
There he goes again, bragging about the stupid Bijyuu. Would still be a loser if he didn't have it. Thinks he's specials. Idiot. Jiro thought as he followed Michiko into the sandy plain.
Everything was going fine for the ninjas. Nothing was happening to them like with the clones. Maemi was becoming less tense as they approached the other side of the clearing. Then it happened. Slow at first. But their feet started to sink into the sand. Maemi was the first to noticed.
"Hurry! It's a trap!" Maemi yelled. They hurried to the other side. The faster they moved the faster they sank. It was becoming harder and harder for the three of them to lift their legs out of the heavy sand. Maemi groaned in defeat as he was waist deep in sand, less then two feet from the end of the clearing.
Shadowy movements could be seen in the forest. Maemi could feel his muscles tense up again. He didn't know of anyone who could stage a trap like this. Maybe Garaa, but he was the Kazekage now. Three ninjas walked out. The leader carried Garaa's giant gourd on his back.
"So it's true. Garaa-sama dose have a son," Maemi said.
"That's right. The name's Yasuo. And you must be Maemi-san. Naruto-sama has spoke a lot about you. How you have the Gobi inside you. To bad you'll be like your idol and fail your first chuunin exam," Yasuo said.
"Smells like you already failed. You reek of cat. You meet up with a couple Mist ninjas? Girl and two guys, one's a pirate the other looks normal?" Maemi said with a smug smile.
"How… how did you know?" Yasuo stuttered in disbelief.
"Acute nose knows all!" Maemi said in a corny kind of way.
"We might of met up with them, but we still have our Earth scroll. And we want your heaven scroll."
"HOW DID YOU KNOW WE HAD A HEAVEN?" Maemi yelled in shook.
"They didn't moron. They just said that as a bluff. But thanks to you they now know we have the heaven scroll and since we seem to be stuck, we're pretty much S.O.L. in protecting our scroll." Jiro said.
"Sorry…" Maemi muttered, looking pitiful.
"Wait… I've been thinking this over. Yasuo, how do you have the Ichibi? I thought Garaa-sama lost it to the Akatsuki stole it," Michiko asked.
"Maemi-san, your such a Naruto buff. You should know how my father got the Ichibi back."
"It's true Michiko-chan; Garaa-sama did loss the Ichibi. He was without it for a great period of time. But shortly after Naruto-sama killed Orochimaru and took the title Hokage, he made it his mission to destroy the Akatsuki. He and Garaa-sama led a team of powerful Jounin to the Akatsuki headquarters and pretty much destroyed them. The most famous death there was probably Uchiha Itachi's. Anyways, they removed the Ichibi from the member of the Akatsuki that had it and returned it to Garaa-sama," Maemi explained.
"My, you are a Naruto buff. Now hand over the scroll. Who ever has it. I want to make it to the last exam," Yasuo said tensely with his hand out stretched.
"Kinda hard to do that when were up to our shoulders in sand," Michiko said.
"Nice try. Trying to make me free you so you can run away."
"Actually I was going to kick your ass first." Jiro and Maemi laughed slightly.
"Wait. Yasuo, I challenge you to a battle for the scroll. One on one. No killing. Lets find out who holds the stronger Bijyuu inside; you with the Ichibi, or me with the Gobi," Maemi proposed.
"This idea interests me. It'll give me the pleasure of talking down on you the next time Naruto-sama visits. I accept your challenge," Yasuo said, he then raised his hand and Maemi, Jiro, and Michiko rose from the ground. The sand that they stood on slowly started to return to Yasuo's gourd returning the clearing to its natural, green beauty.
"If any of our teammates interfere with our fight, automatic disqualification and forfeit of their scroll," Maemi said.
"Wouldn't want it any other way," Yasuo said. The four other ninjas retreated into the forest, watching the fight. Yasuo and Maemi circled each other, watching each other, studying each other, waiting to see who'd make the first move. Maemi saw his opening and charged.
