Wild-filly: This time thanks go to… JapanAnimeGirl, Anime Lance, Tora Macaw, Katzuki, Grummur and shadowkazul It's great to receive your feedback.
Minor comment – this fanfic will become a lot more serious as chapters go on; I've been building up to assorted ideas (gotta love character development, ne?), but themes will be stronger in later chapters. Still intend to keep the characters acting as they are, but I may or may not have to raise the rating… won't give any spoilers for now, but will keep you posted concerning this And on with the chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, as much as I wouldn't mind investing in a share of the characters… however since this is unlikely to happen, I'll stick with asking people not to sue. It's so unpleasant and I don't even have any money… although I suppose I could be sued for my Kakashi keyrings and figurines, of which I own quite a few.
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Okumen Gokurakuchou: Chapter 15
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The desert continued to roll out before the three Chuunin and their camels, trudging along under the stars. Although they were unaware of it, they wouldn't have looked out of place on a Christmas card; three figures swathed in robes as they wandered by starlight in search of an illusive town. However, the reality behind the gently lit, peaceful scene, was much more flea-bitten, dusty and saddle-sore. Kakashi raised one gloved hand to his eyes, brushing the sand from them for what felt like the thousandth time. Swaying slightly in the saddle, wincing as muscles that had never hurt before handed in their notes of resignation, he tried to look on the bright side of their circumstances. For one thing, his Chakra stores were getting a chance to replenish themselves after so much running; his wretched camel was the one carrying his pack, as well as their pilfered supplies and they could travel through both day and night, since the animals appeared to be following the distant scent of water with all the distractibility of a brick wall.
Currently he was supposed to be the one "guiding" the camels and keeping a look-out for any sign of approaching danger, annoyance or Akiraka, while Masurao and Kurotaka slept, slumped over their saddles. This was a much more efficient way to travel; even though the camels couldn't maintain the same speed as the Shinobi would have travelled at themselves, they could keep their lumbering walk going for much longer and they didn't have to waste Chakra in the process. The only real problem that was being met was that of the fact that none of the Chuunin were especially experienced in handling animals any larger than Kakashi's nin-dogs. Camels proved to have more than slightly strong personalities and were not afraid to deliver a spiteful kick or vengeful bite to any Chuunin that came within range. Couple that with the fact that no one knew how to correctly handle the animals and you had the reason behind everyone's growing animosity towards large quadrupeds.
Looking down mournfully at his otherwise oh-so-cool-and-practical leather boots, wrapped with black straps and fastened with silver buckles, Kakashi surveyed the not-so-cool set of camel teeth-marks now taking residence over the toe guard. It was just as well that they were steel-capped inside. He hadn't known that camels could twist their necks far enough around to attempt surgery on their rider's feet. Mind you, he wasn't the only one sporting a full cast of camel dentistry on his clothing. A sizeable chunk had been taken from the sleeve of Kurotaka's kimono, narrowly missing her arm and incurring her more murderous wrath. While it had been quite amusing to watch her dangle aloft, thrashing suspended in the air by her sleeve, which was still lodged firmly in the camel's teeth, the resulting sulk at her fall from grace was proving most irritating. Well… it was still funny, even though he wouldn't say this to her face in order to prevent his own from being rearranged.
Their shuffling had been going for two days virtually non-stop. The mechanical gait of the camels was becoming more forced and the creatures even more resentful of their riders. The amount of ground they had covered though was astonishing. Kakashi would ordinarily have declined using animal transportation based on the fact that it was usually more trouble than it was worth. However, the strength and endurance of their cantankerous mounts was respectable, despite the drawbacks of having to lunge for cover whenever they dismounted, before being charged at with flailing, evil intent.
Kakashi yawned, shuffling from side to side in the saddle. Whoever had designed this thing obviously hadn't ever had to sit in one for any length of time; if they had, then there would have been much more padding and convenient supports to stop you from sliding off and splattering onto the sand every time you fell asleep at the reins. He resumed squinting into the distance; a task that was proving as aggravating as the bruises on his…well… never mind. The herder's prediction of five days before finding any form of civilisation should hopefully be inaccurate, based on the fact that that particular herder had spent most of the five days flailing after a group of directionally-challenged animals that had little interest in going in one direction for any length of time. While not expert camel handlers, the Chuunin had managed to convince their mounts VERY quickly that it was in their best interests to follow their lead. Not that this respect had lasted for very long, as the collective bruises, teeth-marks and crushed toes could vouch for.
Something was slowly appearing in the distance, a murky ribbon trailing through the air and obscuring the waning moonlight. Kakashi straightened, biting his tongue as he realised the foolishness of that move and stared. It was smoke. From a campfire? It couldn't be a town; there would be more fires around if it were a town. Was that Akiraka and Gai camping out ahead of them? He shook his head. It wouldn't be wise to go charging in. For all he knew, it was an ambush lying in wait for miserable travellers such as themselves. There could only be an hour or so until dawn; they would need to be ready in case of an attack.
He let his camel continue at a stately walk towards the smoke spire and bailed off, jumping lightly down to the pale sand, Chakra propelling him back slightly to prevent him from sinking into the ground. The camel ambled on ahead without even a backwards glance. Jogging lightly back across the sand to where the other camels were slowly plodding after the leader, Kakashi reached the flank of Kurotaka's mount and leapt easily into the saddle behind her, perched on top of the water supplies. He sat there quietly for a few moments, then reached down and tapped her gently on the shoulder. There was a groan, a brief shuffle and no response.
Kakashi rolled his eyes at the world in general, leant down and tapped a bit harder. Still no response. With a profoundly evil smirk that was barely visible for his mask, he slid into her saddle, letting his arms entwine around her waist as he leant forward onto her back and hissed in her ear.
"That was amazing… I had no idea you could get into those kind of positions in a saddle".
He ducked just in time as the elbow came soaring to attack, easily deflecting it with his own arms and grinning at Kurotaka as she glared muzzily back at him.
"What the hell did you say? I only caught the last part".
The eye-smile widened. "I don't think you'd like it. Well you might, but I wouldn't like to be in range if it turned out you didn't".
She blinked slowly, still partially asleep. "Why are you in my saddle?"
"Because I enjoy your company?"
"… Why are you REALLY there?"
"There's a campfire not too far ahead of us. It could be friend or foe and with this exam, I'd rather not take chances".
"Fair enough… are you going to wake Masurao in the same fashion?" She smirked evilly at him. "I don't think it's very fair to give us bother different treatment". At the look of disgust on Kakashi's face, she snickered out loud. "It was a joke, okay?"
"Not a very funny one". He was still desperately trying to clear his mind of all thought; such images didn't need to stay.
"You'd better go wake him some other way then. Not that I really mind this".
She said the last part in a voice much lower than the first, barely audible for Kakashi despite the fact he was practically sitting on top of her. Her face was flushed crimson, or at least a darker shade of grey for all the light that was on offer at this unpleasant time of the morning. Kakashi felt a heat rising to his own face as well despite himself. He hesitated, not wanting to release her after this revelation, but also feeling exceptionally uncomfortable. He'd never had any kind of feeling like this before. Being a shadowy, mysterious silver-maned ANBU had gained him his own share of calf-eyed looks from the local Kunoichi, but he had never entertained them. Such stares had always been little more than an ego boost to him, but this time… a Kunoichi was watching him with a level of attention that no one had ever given him. It went beyond calf-eyes to something more personal; it was calculating and level-headed, yet somehow vulnerable. He couldn't drag his attention away. Muscles were sagging, but the grip around her waist never slackened. She continued to hold him in her gaze, smiling nervously; was she afraid of him; afraid of what he would say?
This was a new vulnerability, one that he had never studied; she was completely opening her emotions to him; something she had never done with anyone. One wrong move could completely shred open her guard and leave some terrible wound. He stiffened; what do I do? Then he realised. It was so simple.
Silently, he placed one hand to the rim of his mask, eyes still locked on hers. The navy pupils widened, realising what he was about to do. She was twisted in the saddle, but somehow contrived to raise one hand to his cheek, fingers resting on, entwining with his own. He closed his eyes, holding within his hand both her cool fingers and the skin-tight fabric that concealed his face from view. Slowly, he began to drag the fabric downwards, sliding from the bridge of his nose…
"Ahem".
Startled, both Chuunin spun around in the saddle, flushed with embarrassment as they met Masurao's shrewd stare from where he was reclining precariously in his saddle with a mocking look on his face.
"Come now you two… this is better than watching you argue. Don't let me distract you. Although I'm sure that no one will want to use that saddle ever again…"
There was a crack, a roar, a thud and an outbreak of cursing.
"Damn it all Kakashi! What the hell did you have to do that for?!" Masurao was once again leaving an imprint in the sand, spitting mouthfuls of the gritty substance back onto the desert. His camel had taken off again, trotting in its ungainly fashion to catch up with Kakashi's mount. There was a Kakashi-hand-sized dust imprint on its hindquarters and a strained muscle somewhere as it bucked enthusiastically. Kakashi disentangled himself from Kurotaka with a swift, apologetic glance and leapt nimbly back onto the desert sands.
Striding over to the indentation, Kakashi extended one hand and hauled the indignant Chuunin out of his hole. After he had dusted himself off with as much dignity as he could muster, Masurao turned and affixed his "friend" with an apologetic grin..
"I'm sorry Kakashi… I just couldn't resist. Besides, the middle of some desert isn't exactly the best place in the world for that kind of thing".
Must. Resist. Urge. To. Maim. "And the existence of several hundred nomadic desert clans in this country is proof of what?"
Masurao rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean…" He glanced at Kakashi's mutinous expression. "Fine, maybe you don't, but don't you think that you could have picked a better time for your little heart-to-heart? I mean, come on… how much privacy do you think you'd get with me around, or that gathering up ahead?"
Kakashi had to concede, but still glared out of habit. "Just how long have you been awake for any way?"
"Long enough". He grinned. "Don't worry, chibi, I won't ruin your first relationship with my tactless ways and inappropriate sense of timing. I've been through exactly the same thing; my being your senior in age, ability and charm". Kakashi was staring after Kurotaka, long hair shaken free from its tie as she spurred her camel forward to catch the reins of her companions' mounts. Finally the last comment caught up too his brain. He glared down at Masurao.
"Chibi?!"
"Hey, not so very long ago you were a lot shorter than me, Kakashi-kun. AND I'll always be older and wiser than you. That's something I'm going to hold you to for the rest of your life, no matter how high you soar in assorted ranks… The ANBU never appealed much to me and this way, it needn't ever". Masurao took off, running lightly over the sand to where the three camels and one Kunoichi were awaiting them to catch up. Kakashi couldn't help it; he grinned and sprinted after him.
Damn Masurao and his sense of timing.
Back in the saddle, although not the saddle he'd rather have been in, Kakashi gathered up the reins of his swaggering steed and nudged the animal repeatedly behind the girth with his heels. With a growl of protest at this treatment, the camel broke into a grudging trot, resulting in the others speeding up out of herd instinct. Morning was faintly dawning and the smoke spire was coming closer and closer. It was time they introduced themselves to whatever group of people was up ahead.
Rounding the bulk of yet another towering sand dune, the three Chuunin came face to face with another group of camel-mounted people, who sat their steeds with considerably more pride and skill than the Shinobi. The camp was in the process of being dismantled, the fire just smoking, ashen remains. Kakashi quickly took in the vital details. Seven visible people; native to Wind country by the looks of their dress and build. All of them were male and had a lean, rough air about them, many of them scarred; like terriers kept for hunting. All of the camels were heavily loaded with food and water supplies, as well as collapsible tents, weaponss and tools.
This wasn't an amiable band of travellers; this was either a border patrol or worse.
Within seconds the Shinobi were spotted. It was too late to try and avoid the party; virtually non-existent cover would have resulted in them being seen any way. Casting a genjutsu illusion could help them to escape though, should any unwanted confrontation arise later. A shout went up around the camp and four of the men kicked their camels into life, the other three hastily mounting and came galloping the irritated creatures up the dune towards them.
Kurotaka pushed her camel to stand alongside Kakashi's. "They don't look happy to see us", she commented dryly.
Masurao followed suit, standing more or less on Kakashi's left side as his camel wrenched irritably at the reins. "Don't worry too much… This kind of thing always happens to me".
Kurotaka raised one eyebrow. "Why am I not surprised?"
Masurao easily ignored the insult, "if it's a policing force, they feel obliged to come screaming up at us. It's an inferiority complex, you see. They feel as though they should put on a show of how big and scary they are in order to compensate for the fact that they're really terrified of us".
Kakashi eyed the charging group appraisingly. "They appear to have drawn weapons and now have them levelled at vital areas. Do you still want to hold with the first theory?"
"On second thought, maybe this is an exception to that rule".
"Good idea".
Releasing his feet from the stirrups, Kakashi softly drew a couple of shuriken. He didn't want the camel to take fright while he was fending off an attack, so he prepared to disembark at any moment. He let a lazy trail of Chakra issue from his feet, preparing for that movement which should gain him the advantage in battle. The leader of the charge was coming closer, spear levelled with the chest of Kakashi's camel, great sprays of sand arising with every footfall of his grunting mount. Kakashi let his eyes follow the path of the spear. A crude, limited weapon. The camel shifted beneath him, growling its fright.
In one swift motion, Kakashi cut the ties that held his pack onto the saddle with the edge of a concealed shuriken and lunged upwards, leaping away from the oncoming spear.
The lead rider gave a yelp of surprise and Kakashi's camel bolted, heading back the way it had come at high speed. The Chuunin smirked. Whoever these aggressive people thought they were, they were no ninjas. Arching through the air, he curved in a graceful somersault back to the ground, landing gently on one knee in much the same fashion he had the last time he crashed through a roof. Rattled, the lead rider recovered quickly, levelling the spear again and moving in for the attack as his followers split off to antagonise Kurotaka and Masurao. Kakashi easily dodged it, moving in as the camel charged past him with his shuriken. One fluid slice with the blade's edge, he cut through the saddle's string girth, throwing the rider off balance as the saddle slipped off to one side, girth flapping uselessly.
Leaping from the camel's back, sword drawn, the leader gave a roar and lunged at the Chuunin, curved sword twisting, flashing in complex patterns. Swiftly drawing his own katana and countering a neat thrust, Kakashi let his mind relax. This was the kind of thing he understood. Unknown people suddenly launching into mortal combat with him for no known reason was much more normal to him than trying to form a special kind of understanding with Kurotaka. As the gleaming sword flowed in complicated arches, deflecting Kakashi's attacks with a conservative flourish, the young ANBU was impressed. This was no mere thief; someone had trained this swordsman for a long time in a style that was closer to art form than offensive style. Two blades clashed, metallic ringing filling the ears of both men. They broke apart, circling for a better vantage point, eyes never wavering from the blade of their opponent.
It vaguely crossed Kakashi's mind that he should question this man on exactly why he had chosen to attack their group when they hadn't even had a chance to earn such distrust. As the katana slid through the grey-robed elitist's defence to open a neat gash on the man's forearm, Kakashi decided that he didn't really want to hurt such a good pupil any more than was necessary. Lowering his katana to the sand, he dropped to his knees, eyes on the ground. Behind him, he heard Masurao's gasp of surprise over the clashing of metal on metal. There was a shout he didn't recognise and then a cry from Kurotaka; not of pain, but shock. He looked up at the swordsman standing before him, nursing the long slash down his arm, eyes welled with tears. Kakashi frowned; this was definitely not an experienced soldier.
"I don't want to injure you any more than is needed". Kakashi met the coal-black eyes of the man hunched with pain in front of him. "Skill such as yours shouldn't be destroyed and we didn't come here to fight you anyway".
There came no answer as the man stared back at Kakashi, eyes clouded with pain but seeming not to comprehend the Chuunin's words. The submissive stance he obviously understood, but not Kakashi's reasoning behind it.
"Kakashi! Behind you!" Masurao's voice rang out urgently. Instantly, Kakashi sprang to his feet, seizing the abandoned katana as another sword came crashing down on top of him from behind. Knees buckling, Kakashi pushed the blunt of the katana's blade against the overhead onslaught of the new attacker. A large, weather-beaten face leered down at him, leaning all of his weight against the struggling ANBU as he sunk into the sand from the pressure.
Focus, damn you! Kakashi cursed his mind inwardly and pushed as much Chakra to the soles of his feet as he could spare. The surge of energy burst him forth from the sand, sending his assailant flying backwards. The wounded swordsman leapt at him with a cry, blade an endless flurry. Parrying the strokes nimbly with his katana, Kakashi reached back into the Chakra writhing within his core. With a sudden thrust of his own, he pushed his attacker backwards and clasped his hand into a seal, just as his other opponent leapt in for the kill.
Both men blinked, glancing anxiously at each other. The pale foreigner had vanished. Turning back to the fight that was still raging between the rest of their comrades and the other two strangers, a weird tremor passed through the sand below them. It was as though something was burrowing around underground beneath them.
Two hands shot up from under the surface and both swordsmen found themselves losing height very quickly.
Shaking the sand from him hair with some difficulty, Kakashi resurfaced and glanced momentarily at the two heads shrieking at him in an unfamiliar language from where they were lodged just above ground level. Maybe in future he'd use that jutsu in less sandy ground. Plus now it needed a name. Turning his attentions back to the battlefield, it appeared that Masurao and Kurotaka had been managing exceptionally well by themselves, if the unconscious forms of three desert people sprawled on the sand was anything to go by. One of the others was currently locked in a genjutsu spell, staring unseeingly into the distance, face rapt with horror. Masurao was conducting the spell, one eye fixed on where Kurotaka was dispatching of the last opponent with a strike to the temple.
Kakashi ambled over to them, trying and failing to empty the sand from his clothes. This was going to drive him mad for days. Kurotaka grinned at him, "that was certainly a refreshing way to start the morning, wouldn't you say?"
"I suppose that's one way of putting it". Kakashi shook his head. "They all just attacked us for no reason at all; they never stood a chance either. One of mine was a skilled swordsman; much too skilled to be some thief trash that hangs around the outskirts of towns".
"That's because none of them were thieves". Masurao spoke, voice tight and eyes still locked on the man under his genjutsu. "Look at their clothes, their weapons… these are civilians. They shouldn't be out here, let alone attacking us".
"Look". Kurotaka was crouched over the small group of unconscious men, ignoring the incomprehensible curses of the temporarily decapitated attackers. "They all seem to be wearing the same armband, apart from Kakashi's two, who I can't see". She removed a woven red rag and handed it to Kakashi as Masurao looked on curiously.
Kakashi took it wordlessly, fingering the soft folds of the fabric, fingers running over an embroidered crest. It was a black eagle carrying a sword in its beak, set over a curly text which he couldn't read. "It's some sort of membership badge; a symbol of authority…I don't know what language the words are in though".
Masurao leant over and took it from him, mouth moving as he ran his eyes over the curving text. "It's a form of Sanskrit… one of the any desert texts. I don't think I can read it unless… I suppose… Yes. I've seen this before".
He stared at Kurotaka and Kakashi, deeply troubled. Kurotaka blinked in confusion, "what's wrong? What does it say?"
"It says "The People's Army". You two, I think another war's broken out while we weren't paying attention".
Kakashi shook his head despairingly. "This doesn't bode well… If Akiraka and Gai are still in one of those towns, then they're in very serious danger. We have to find them, and fast".
"It's going to be even harder to get inside one of those cities now", commented Kurotaka, staring towards the north. "And that's not including if we come across one of the country's real defences; the Hidden Sand Shinobi".
Masurao shook his head. "At least this is a sign that we're getting closer. Come on. We have to find them before someone else does".
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wild-filly: Once again, I will update as soon as I can – Please review!
