Wild-filly: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, these people being the wonderful xl-black-tears-lx, Tora Macaw, JapanAnimeGirl, Anime Lance, Katzuki, kimpster and Veve. Since wild-filly will be away for three weeks from reliable internet connection after 1st January, she has to apologise for a large break that may come until she gets another chance to update Much apologies for this… I promise to get back into writing mode after visiting the rest of the clan in Scotland (yes, wild-filly is Scottish; living about as far south as you can get without living in Antarctica, but still Scottish – let that explain the random sense of humour). Assorted comments have been taken on board and appropriate measures taken – thanks Katzuki! (grin)... I almost forgot…
Disclaimer: Still don't own; if I did, then… well… let's not get into details
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Okumen Gokurakuchou: Chapter 16
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Speed was now of the essence. Since their Chakra stores were now more or less fully replenished, the three Shinobi removed the tack and packs from their camels and released the animals to join Kakashi's mount, already far in the distance and still gaining speed. They would stand a much better chance of survival out here than the Chuunin would at least. Camels were useful, foreign Shinobi were annoying… it was strange how value systems worked. Dividing up the dried provisions and heavy water skins between them, the ninja took off even before the camels had vanished from view, running easily over the slippery sands as the sun slowly came over the horizon. As they loped over the boggy surface, Kakashi realised that he never wanted to sit in a saddle again; running all the way was a far less painful option. Besides, after divesting the two less-than-professional attackers from the sand and giving them a slight concussion in order to let the Chuunin get a head start before they called for backup, they should be less easy to spot without their mounts. They hadn't been malicious enough to chase away the camels belonging to the other men, but malicious enough to mutilate their saddlery.
Masurao was currently leading, against Kakashi's private better judgment, but he hadn't drifted offcourse yet. Not that that wouldn't come soon, of course. In order to avoid the attentions of lesser defence forces, Masurao was currently casting a genjutsu shade over the trio, disguising them as yet more sand in the desert. Perfect camouflage really. The genjutsu was taxing on Chakra supplies, but this one wasn't extremely complex, so Masurao could maintain it for longer. After he was tired, either Kurotaka or himself would take over.
Having hardly slept that night, Kakashi was feeling that irritating bite of fatigue yet again. It was so unfair… As soon as he found Gai, he was going to treat him to a bit of verbal abuse. That thought raised his spirits somewhat, yet failed to give him any additional energy. He truly was coming to hate deserts. After this mission, he didn't want to visit one ever again. If the ANBU saw fit to give him a desert-crossing mission, then he would threaten to hand his resignation. With any luck all his years of service and undetected crime in the force would act in his favour… or leave him unemployed and bitter. Ah, the possibilities.
"Another patrol!" Kurotaka hissed in his ear, sprinting to come up alongside him and accelerating to catch up to Masurao and pass on the message. Judging by the sweat beading on the older Chuunin male's brow, the combination of genjutsu, running and early heat were starting to get to him. Kakashi sped up, drawing level so that all three of them were running abreast, Masurao in the middle. Having drawn up to them, Kakashi slowed, eyes intent on Masurao's clouded face as the other two slowed to keep pace with him.
"You going to be alright?" He murmured to Masurao, eyes travelling from the tiring Chuunin to the huddle of mounted soldiers a couple of hundred metres away from them. The patrol was plodding sedately in their direction, but obviously hadn't spotted them thanks to the illusion.
"I'm fine, I'm fine… Let's just get out of their way quickly, okay?" The dark haired Chuunin's voice was strained, the combined Chakra drain obviously affecting him. Kakashi cursed under his breath; they didn't need Masurao's genjutsu to falter now.
"Don't squirm", he ordered. Masurao cocked an eyebrow at him appraisingly, too tired even to ask him what he was doing. Kurotaka glanced over at Kakashi and exchanged a meaningful look with him. Together, they placed one hand under each of Masurao's elbows, hoisting him above the ground and sprinted on.
"What the hell?" True to his implied word, Masurao didn't move, but he glared down venomously at Kakashi and proceeded to mutter curses down at him. "I'm not that tired you morons!" The hastily-constructed human sling continued making its jagged, laboured way across the sands in the much the same fashion as a drunken crab.
"We can't take that chance", growled Kakashi through gritted teeth. Supporting both his own and Masurao's weight over the soft sand was proving more challenging than he had anticipated. At least now the other Chuunin could devote all of his vital Chakra towards maintaining their camouflage, instead of trying not to sink into the desert's depths. Kurotaka was silent, but Kakashi figured that she was probably having the same difficulties.
For all the ridiculous and impractical features of their current position, the Shinobi were able to keep up a respectable pace and drew away from the plodding troops. Finally they outdistanced the soldiers far enough for Masurao to be lowered back to his feet, arms folded and expression highly indignant.
"That was completely unnecessary you two". The pout he was wearing was quite fetching on his delicate features, scarcely marred by his years of Shinobi training. "I'm an expert when it comes to genjutsu; there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell of me dropping that illusion".
"I know that", growled Kakashi, massaging his arm in hope of attracting a little life into it. How much weight had his friend put on since the last time he'd had to use that trick? "But you also don't usually have to keep running at the same time, especially not over quicksand".
"All the same, I'm offended that you thought so lowly of my abilities. I may not be as fit as the two of you, but I do pride myself on my Chakra control. And by the way Kakashi, you know that little move you pulled earlier? I was the one who invented that technique, you lousy copycat ninja; so don't try to take any inventive credit for it". It was too late; a sulk was well and truly imminent. Kakashi rolled his eyes and chose to ignore it, while Kurotaka looked on with mild confusion. Then she blinked.
"Kakashi, Masurao… I don't think we picked the right place to stop".
"What now?" Kakashi turned to gaze at where she was staring distractedly. "I don't see anything…" Then he felt it. How could be have been so blind? His eyes widened in shock. "Hit the ground now!"
His shout came none too late. A great explosion ripped over their heads as the Chuunins' knees buckled and they hastily collapsed to the sand, flattening and sprawling themselves against the gritty surface for protection. Kakashi rolled over onto his side; legs braced to either propel him back to his feet or flatten himself against the ground again. There was a series of cracks and another volley of fire shot overhead, narrowly missing Kurotaka's ponytail. Sliding closer to Kakashi, she whispered. "How could they have seen us so quickly? Masurao only dropped the illusion for a few moments…"
Numb, Kakashi shook his head. "That other patrol group was a decoy; this is the real one. They must have set up weaker patrol groups to drive any foreigners in the direction of the stronger troops, literally driving all of the people currently in the desert into a convenient corral. Concealed ninja would fall into that category".
"Shall I cast another genjutsu?" Masurao joined their sprawl, crawling army-style closer to them. "I should be able to distract them by throwing an illusion. We can escape while they're investigating it".
Kakashi squinted upwards, trying to sight the enemy while not coming into convenient line of fire. They were concealing themselves in a sand dune or something. He could sense their presence, but not actually pinpoint it. "They're using weapons that Shinobi avoid, but I have a feeling that there's at least one Hidden Sand ninja somewhere in their number. No mere police official would be able to cast such a camouflage".
"You don't think another illusion would work?"
"As of the moment, not really".
" I can pinpoint them if you wish. Since they already know where we are, I needn't fear having my Chakra signal becoming stronger and giving away out position. They can more or less tell that we're face-first in the sand over here".
Masurao glanced over at where Kurotaka was lying, head propped up by both her hands, now clasped in a seal with her eyes closed. "How do you intend to do that?"
She opened her eyes and grinned at him, crimson pupils flaring. The other Chuunin hissed a swift intake of breath. "Uchiha? I was under the impressio that you carried the surname Yumenimo… Why don't you carry the name of your heritage?" He stared at her with a combination of suspicion and confusion.
"Because I'm not like them".
Masurao blinked. "That doesn't make sense. If you're not like them, then why do you have the Sharingan? A tri-comma Sharingan pair as well, I might add. That just doesn't add up".
She rolled her bloody eyes. "I was trying to sound cool, okay? I'm an unwanted bastard, that's why I carry my mother's surname".
"Fair enough". He grinned back at her. "Nothing wrong with having unconventional parentage, after all, bastards change history all the time, right? When they aren't hunted down and… uh… disposed of…" The grin was fading as Masurao regretted having opened his mouth to insert one ninja-sandaled foot.
She stared at him. "When has that ever happened?"
"Oh, during obscure dynasties and royalty and such… 'twas a random comment". The relief on his face that she hadn't glared at him or worse for the ending comment was very clear.
"Quite…" She turned her attentions back to the concealed attackers somewhere in the dunes beyond. Her eyes narrowed. Kakashi could feel her Chakra building, swirling around her form despite her stern control over its movements. It occurred to him that for all the Sharingan's benefits, it was a taxing technique to use. Against her will, just about all of Kurotaka's Chakra was joining in with the Sharingan's activation. Perhaps the elitist Uchiha clan was not without its weaknesses after all. She was frowning, biting gently down on her lip in effort.
"There. They've constructed tunnels with arrow-slit openings inside the dunes. I can just pick out the Chakra circulations of at least thirty people. Can't tell what gender they are, or their strength, but I think two of them are Hidden Sand Shinobi. Their inner Chakras are partially concealed against me". The red glow faded and the three black commas ceased their spinning, melting into the dark irises within as she turned to grin triumphantly at Kakashi and Masurao. "At least we know what their secret is".
"So our best move would be to get past their little fort and let the Shinobi come to us, if they catch up, that is". Kakashi smirked. No secrets now. "Could you lead on with the Sharingan, so we don't come into the line of fire? I can take care of the Shinobi when they choose to emerge… Masurao… you can hold the bags".
"But of course". She smiled arrogantly as Masurao rolled his eyes in exasperation, mouth moving in preparation for a volley of insults directed towards his lanky friend. "Don't get left behind though; we'll have to move fast". The scarlet returned to her eyes as she leapt to her feet, sprinting across the sand as a hail of bullets erupted after her. Kakashi plunged after her, picking his way through her path, just as Masurao chased after him, with or without murderous intent. The noise of the guns was remarkable, sending chunks of sand pelting up from the desert as the bullets struck, but they simply weren't fired fast enough. Marksmen the concealed attackers may be, but they had seldom tried to shoot ninja that were aware of their location.
A glint of sunlight reflected off the silver barrel of a rifle, catching Kakashi's eyes as he dodged the shots that were now being fired at random, the marksmen now becoming desperate to strike one of the flitting, Shinobi. Kurotaka's path was random, jagged and uncertain, straying into blind spots frequently. Drawing a shuriken from its holster as he ran, Kakashi threw with all the accuracy that a lifetime of training under a legendary father and sensei had to offer. The spinning, razor-sharp blade skimmed easily through the air, homing in on the spied rifle. There was a shearing sound, harshly metallic as a small shower of sparks flashed through the air. Dropping his weapon with a cry of alarm, the sand-coloured robed marksman stared in horror at his useless gun and the blunted shuriken lying innocently on the floor.
The trigger had been sawn clean off.
From the distance, Kakashi could hear the faint cries of surprise that echoed around the hidden chamber in the sand and permitted himself a slight grin. It was nice to know that one still had the knack to cause trouble, even when supposedly being the one IN trouble. The gunshots seemed to be dying down, the dust clearing and deathly quiet of the desert setting in. Kurotaka glanced over her shoulder, calling back to the other Chuunin.
"We've passed their tunnels completely now! We should be nearly…" Her words were cut off with a high, pain-filled shriek and she collapsed to the sand, limp as a doll.
"Kurotaka!" Kakashi bolted, sprinting as hard as he could towards the fallen Kunoichi. All he had seen… a slow-spinning shuriken coming in a lazy arc straight for her head as she turned to call out to them. The sand beneath him didn't seem to provide any foothold, giving way completely to his weight. He floundered, Chakra pushing him upwards with earnest, yet still failing to let him continue on towards her. What was going on here? Why was he sinking…she needed his help… he couldn't move… he had to move.
"Konohagakure… I might have guessed. No other village would send Shinobi as weak as these".
The voice reached his brain, but simply didn't connect with anything. He stared uselessly at Kurotaka, lying completely motionless on the desert floor as the breeze dusted her with sand. He had to get over there somehow, if only his feet would find purchase…
"Kakashi! Get a grip of yourself!" Masurao's voice roared over the fog that was Kakashi's consciousness. "You're in a goddamn trap, you baka!" There was anger there, but also panic. The fear in his friend's voice gave Kakashi a brief revisit to sanity. He blinked, scrubbing the sand from his eyes, but found that he was up to his chest in the stuff. Freezing, Kakashi tried to regain the ground that he had lost in his horror at witnessing Kurotaka's fall. He had to help her, but if he was sucked into his quagmire then he'd be of no use to anyone.
"Kakashi!" Masurao's voice came from somewhere to his left, but he didn't dare move to look at him. The only way to get out of this… he had to stay still and think of a plan; anything that would prevent him from sinking further. He heard a metallic clink, a gasp of pain and then a soft thud as Masurao crumpled into a heap near Kakashi, yet mercifully out of the range of this quicksand.
"Foolish little children… is this what the Hidden Leaf sends to do its dirty work?" A rasping, heavily accented voice rasped in Kakashi's ear. He shuddered; the lone Shinobi had emerged from the quicksand directly behind him, sinuously worming his way from out of the slippery depths. He let his one free hand move to a concealed kunai within his other sleeve. Even if he was currently at an exceptional disadvantage, he still had to try for any opening that may come. He couldn't quite see his opponent yet, but had a feeling that he soon would; no one could resist toying with an opponent so completely trapped.
"You thought that the little commoners with their toys were to be your only enemies?" The voice was smoother now, mocking. Kakashi didn't dare move. He couldn't afford to sink further into the sand; at the rate he was vanishing, he'd be in more danger of suffocation than any other attack the revealed Shinobi could offer. As the other ninja moved into sight, Kakashi bit his lip until he tasted blood.
The Shinobi was little more than a skeleton, bronzed by the sun and beaten by the desert to something lean and twisted. He leered back at Kakashi with two colourless eyes, not unlike those of the Hyuuga clan back in Konoha, but these were obviously not natural. Whatever part of his body wasn't covered with dust-coloured robes was riddled with scarring, more severe even than that of some of the ANBU whom Kakashi had seen coming off the battlefield.
"Do you enjoy staring at death, little ninja?" The blank eyes gave away no emotion, yet the warped mouth dripped with sarcasm. "This is what a true Shinobi of the desert looks like; one whose body has been claimed utterly by it. The sheltered upbringing you've had in Konoha is nothing compared to the ravaging of time and the wilderness". Kakashi tore his gaze away from those tortured eyes. There had been little that was sheltered in being brought up on a battlefield, but this just went on to prove that no matter how bad your life may seem, there's always someone out there with an even worse fare than your own.
"Our training in the ninja arts differs, but myself and my companions did not come here to pose any threat to the nation protected by the Hidden Sand". He was interrupted by a wheezing laugh.
"Where has your head been, little ninja? You cannot simply walk into our proud nation in the midst of war! Not that this matters". The colourless eyes closed and Kakashi could feel the swirling of Chakra building up around him. "Not very much will be mattering to you after this". Swiftly drawing the concealed kunai, Kakashi hurled it right at that scarred, twisted face, forcing the other ninja to duck and tear his attention away. Now was his chance. It was time to rip off Masurao's jutsu again.
Head turning back to where Kakashi had been, a slow, dark brown bead of blood dripping down the bridge of his crushed nose. The kunai had nicked the leathery skin, but there hadn't been much to attack as far as vulnerable areas went. Colourless eyes narrowed. The silver-haired young Shinobi had vanished, swallowed by the desert trap that had been laid out for him and the other members of his team.
"Nice try, little Konohagakure. My sand is not so easy to burrow away from though". The eyes glowed golden, as gold as the wandering sands at the pinnacle of the day's heat. A golden glow arose, forming a hazy mist over the pit into which Kakashi had been engulfed entirely. Slowly, the sands began to swirl as though stirred by an invisible hand, golden particles of Chakra flitting into and under the sand. The Shinobi smiled gently. "Suffocation is so unpleasant… but at least you're already buried".
"Guess again".
The voice came from behind, a lone figure standing entirely unscathed at the Hidden Sand shinobi's back. Disbelieving, the ninja whirled around, throwing a handful of sand, bound by golden Chakra towards Kakashi, stance unnervingly casual. The sand was dispersed before it could strike, Kakashi lazily drawing the katana as the other ninja stood there in shock.
"How did you get out of the pit? None can escape when the golden winds sift the sand…"
The ninja before him made no reply, eyes creased in a cocky smile as the blade of the unsheathed katana glittered menacingly in the bright sunlight. The Sand Shinobi grinned back. "It was a nice try, I give you that… but I won't be fooled by your mere shadow". One ravaged hand snapped back nimbly, flicking a long acupuncture needle towards the unmoving Kakashi. The needle pierced straight through his neck, dissolving the Kage Bunshin into smoke.
Sand swirled all around him. It filled his ears, his eyes, crept in at his mouth and nose still covered by the blessed mask. Darkness, deafness, nothingness. He was being thrown uselessly by each of the Chakra-stirred torrents. Blood pounded in his skull, lungs screaming for air. Muscles squealed as they were twisted and turned each way about, bending his bones. Pain burst from every pore as sand grazed, tore at his skin. He could feel his mind shutting down, giving in. He couldn't let it all go like this, not here, not now. The summoning scroll was tight in his fingers. The last thing he grabbed before letting the sands swallow him whole. Chakra failed to come to him, mind poisoned by desperate need. Panic was setting in; he needed air, he needed help, he needed to help the others…
That thought burst forth and cleared his head, hands painfully finding one another in the suffocating, gritty blackness. Chakra flooded forward, pushing itself into the scroll. He hadn't been able to bleed onto the summoning symbols, but it wasn't necessary if he was in an emergency situation. He felt the golden Chakra slowing, not throwing him around so turbulently. The scroll was unfurling, pushing itself a path through the sand. Stars glittered in his vision, blackness dissolving the dark that was already in his eyes. Something furry brushed his arm, a welcome change from the grazing, searing sand that rushed past him.
It was suddenly light, a blinding brightness. Sand fell from him and air rushed to his tortured lungs. He drew a great, gasping breath, sand choking him still. A muzzle pressed towards him, hot, stinking breath at his face, teeth bared in a snarl as they ripped off the mask that choked him. Kakashi couldn't see which of his nin-dogs had helped him, he couldn't see anything at the moment. There was a rabid, frenzied snarling in the background. They must be attacking the Shinobi themselves while he was recovering.
"Hey Kakashi, what the hell were you thinking? Have you any idea how rude it is to summon us when you're UNDERGROUND?!"
Gods damn you Pakkun.
The snuffling face was still at his, lowered as he hunched on all fours on the sand, heaving air into his lungs and fighting off unconsciousness. The light was no longer so offensive as he hesitantly cracked one eye open. Pakkun's hairy face stared back at him. The light definitely wasn't so offensive in comparison to that sight. He staggered to his feet, drawing the katana that had survived the sandpapering considerably better than Kakashi had.
"Cheap trick, little Konohagakure ninja. Getting your dogs to fight where you can't".
Kakashi stared, eyes muzzily focussing as he blotted out the pain from his sand lacerations. The Shinobi leered back at him, colourless eyes maddened with pain as blood oozed from dog bites all over his body. His great bulldog had fastened his teeth onto the back of the ninja's neck, forcing the skeletal man onto his knees as blood pooled to the sand around him. Kakashi coughed, spitting out yet more sand.
"You call that a cheap trick? Since when is sandpapering someone to death not cheap?" He raised the katana, weighting the blade in his hands. "I would rather not do this, but I will not hesitate". Kurotaka and Masurao were still motionless on the sand. The pain from his body was inferior to the pain in his chest, aching for their pain, aching with anger. He could feel his shoulders shaking, the blade of the katana wavering. The Sand Shinobi grinned mirthlessly. "So touchy over your fallen comrades? A ninja is always alone, you fool. At the end of the day, we are born alone and we die alone".
"You forgot something important there". He drove forwards, muscles given a new lease of energy as he pounded towards the exposed ninja, katana extended before him. He did not hesitate, eyes never leaving the colourless depths of his opponent. The tempered steel slid into the wiry chest like a hot knife through butter, piercing the heart and releasing a great spurt of darkened blood. Raw pain flooded the ninja's face, breath gasping and coughing, spitting up a great clot of blood. Kakashi leant forwards, eyes still level with those of the Sand shinobi's.
"We may be alone at the beginning and the end, but we can't live alone. It is the middle decides the true end, not the beginning". His eyes were blank as he drew away from the dying ninja, sliding the katana from the shinobi's ribs and wiping it on the sand before sheathing it again. "It's a shame that you didn't have longer to meditate on that little statement".
The great bulldog's jaws slackened and dropped the dead ninja to the ground. The dark, furry face affixed Kakashi with a serious stare. "This one would have killed you is you had called us a moment later. I do not like the risks you take, Kakashi-puppy". The low, growling voice didn't suit the context. Kakashi knew better than to wince at the belittlement. He owed the dogs a lot at this point.
"I know. I'm sorry". It was easier to apologise for now. He hurried over to where Masurao was being licked into consciousness by three other dogs of assorted breeds. "You three! He's allergic, remember?" With a whine, the dogs retreated and with a groan, Masurao sat up. He stared blankly at Kakashi, then his eyes trailed over the pack of dogs sitting around him with profoundly disgusted expressions on their canine faces. Then he touched his face, sticky with slobber.
"That's disgusting! Kakashi, how could you?!"
Kakashi face-faulted, "what the hell do you mean by that?! It was the dogs, not me…"
Masurao grimaced, scrubbing at his face and then wincing as he found a wound at the back of his head. "I didn't mean it was you, baka, I meant you let those dogs just drool all over me… Shit this is a bad headache". He glared blearily at his fellow Chuunin, still reeling with disgust and trying to delete those words from his memory. "I take it he got me from behind… how badly is it bleeding?"
Kakashi parted his friend's hair, staring critically at the jagged wound hidden by the short black locks. It wasn't pretty, that was for sure. "You may want a stitch or two in it. He'd obviously intended for you wake up after he'd killed me. One on one is usually more entertaining".
Masurao muttered under his breath, "charming. Let's just hope that Kurotaka fell into the entertainment category as well". Kakashi nodded, throat tight. He hardly dared to turn and look in her direction for fear of what he would see… a shuriken's gouge in her throat, blood pooled all around her still sinking into the sand. A full-on strike to the face… how could she not have been mutilated terribly? All of that time left alone as well while he was in danger himself… he hardly dared to hope for her safety. With legs of lead, he walked over to where she was still sprawled, still completely motionless and silent.
The scent of blood filled his nostrils, he drew the mask back over his face from habit as he hunched over her limp form, facedown in the sand. Gently, carefully he rolled her over onto her back and stared in a mixture of shock and relief. Blood still oozed from a wound, but it was on her cheek, not her throat as it should have been. A great slit went from the end of her nose to the furthest tip of her left eye, vivid red blood streaming down to stain her face, her clothes, the sand beneath her. He gently probed the wound with his fingers, their tips sinking into raw flesh as it bubbled to meet him. There didn't seem to be any toxins in it other than sand; she had fainted from the pain and then had been able to get enough air to revive with her head in the sand.
"Kurotaka-chan?" He withdrew his fingers and cradled her head in one hand and his lap as the other foraged behind him, delving blindly into his pack in search of his water canteen. Masurao passed it to him, face writ with concern. "How much blood has she lost?"
"Wounds to the face are usually overdramatic when it comes to blood loss", stated Kakashi, withdrawing to analytical means to hide his fears. "They look worse than they are…" He trickled some water into the corner of her mouth, cutting a path through the wide bloodstain. At first there was no response. At last she twitched, eyes opening and then shutting again. Then one opened, the eye closest to the cut kept determinedly closed. She stared up at Kakashi, lips moving soundlessly. He moved the canteen back to her lips and she drank, eye closing again. She drank deeply and struggled, shifting her head out of Kakashi's hands as she sat up, one eye still gummed shut with blood.
"Kakashi-kun? Have I been blinded? I can't open one eye and my face hurts". Her speech was slurred, but her breathing was regular, steadying.
"You haven't been blinded, Kurotaka-chan. There is a nasty cut on your face though, just under your eye". He could feel a blush rising to his cheeks as Masurao shook his head disdainfully at the endearment, but chose to ignore him. She nodded blithely, raising one hand to probe the wound for herself. She winced as puffy, raw flesh met her fingers. "That's not going to heal well at this rate…"
The next two hours were spent doctoring wounds and making a serious dent in their medical supplies. None of them was without bandaging somewhere on their person and no one felt like running anywhere. The ninja-style run had been reduced to a jog at best. Fortunately for the miserable Chuunin though, smoke spires were creeping on the horizon by the time night started to fall.
Masurao rubbed his head gingerly yet again, chewing morosely on a strip of tough dried meat. "I can't wait until tomorrow… we'll finally reach civilisation. I couldn't give a damn if it arrested us the instant we arrived, just as long as it gives us food other than this old shoe that we've been living on". He sneered at the jerky contemptuously and bit it with considerably more violence than most people would usually use.
Kakashi sighed, "I may know exactly how a freshly-sandpapered table feels, but I can still cast a genjutsu shade over us long enough for us to acquire suitable disguises. If we push ourselves tomorrow, we'll be able to get some more medical supplies at the town and look for information regarding Akiraka".
"What about Gai?" Kurotaka's voice was muffled. The shuriken tear on her face was stiffening, making it harder and less pleasant for her to talk. At least the blood flow had stopped, but it still wasn't going to heal very well.
"What about him? Don't you think I'm in enough pain without having to contemplate the idea of him rejoining us soon?"
"I was just checking that you weren't excluding him on purpose… he's not a nasty person or anything. You're just being petty for some reason".
"We've had this discussion already". Kakashi rolled his eyes and regretted it. Kurotaka shook her head. "In that case I'm going to sleep now. If either of you see anything dangerous, don't wake me. I'm not interested until I've had at least three hours of peace".
"It's alright for some people", growled Masurao, throwing away his chunk of jerky in disgust and clumsily divesting the blanket from his pack. "If I tried that tact, then I'd be thrown to whatever was dangerous in the first place".
Kakashi nodded, eyes not leaving where Kurotaka lay. Her breathing was rhythmic, easier now. With her face turned away from him, he couldn't even see the scar she had gained today. It was almost as if today's horrors had never happened; he hadn't had to take life for fear of losing not only his own, but that of Masurao's and Kurotaka's.
He only knew one thing. He didn't want to have to see that happen again.
It was just a shame he was in exactly the wrong place at the right time.
…………
wild-filly: Please review! I will be fighting tooth and nail to get to the keyboard of every computer I find while away, so please be patient with my three-week break. Thank you!
