(A/N: Mkay, jumping back to Yukie and Leon, I finally started to tie everything in. Not too eventful, 'cept I mention the Sand dudes -I really wish I could give 'em a bigger part. I like the Sand.- Hope y'all like it. Please RnR.)

The traveling went easy for the two ninjas. Yukie and Leon had trained enough in the Hidden Sound Village to travel easily for days on end. Their endurance was high, and they wouldn't need a break until nightfall. As the sun slowly set on the horizon, a fire burned bright; Yukie, Leon, Kotori, and Koton sat around it, watching the four fish cook. Kotori and Koton had spent the whole day riding on Yukie and Leon's shoulders. That way, after they all ate, Yukie and Leon could ride on Kotori and Koton's backs once they took their larger beast forms. Yukie had devised this plan, wanting to get as far away from the Leaf/Sound war as fast as possible. Yukie looked into the fire, lost in thought.

Finally, she looked over at Leon, asking, "Why are you coming with me, anyway? You said it was because we were friends and you had nothing else better to do… but I don't think that's it."

Leon sighed, leaning back on his elbows to look at the stars and replied, "I dunno. I guess I'd just rather be with you at the moment. There's really no big reason. It's just… what I decided to do."

She looked sideways at him, without moving her face away from the warm flames, "What if I had refused to let you come?"

Leon shrugged, "I guess I woulda insisted and followed you anyway."

"And you think I would have let you?" Yukie challenged with a half smile.

"Like you could have stopped me!" Leon laughed.

"I think I could have," Yukie said, her grin changing to resemble mock-malevolence, "And I'm sure you think the same thing, too!"

"I definitely do not," Leon replied in a fake resentful tone.

"Would you care to find out, my little follower?" Yukie asked, turning to face him and raising an eyebrow.

"Of course I would," Leon replied happily, standing up and helping Yukie to her feet.

She let him help her then took a step back with a defiant laugh, "You can't beat me."

"We'll find out in a moment," Leon said, barely able to keep his forced angry voice.

But the carefree attitude vanished with the snap of a branch and a presence not too far off. "But another time," Yukie said in a whisper, performing a jutsu at the same time, Hidden Shadow. She vanished into the shadows surrounding the forest to scout the place for a threat. Leon moved hastily to the fire. He wrapped the four fish in a cloth and tucked them into his bag. The smell could have attracted unwanted guests. He then put the fire out with a bucket of water he had placed next to the fire. If the food hadn't attracted intruders, the smoke and warmth probably had.

Once the fire was completely out, Leon grabbed his bag and ran into the forest, telling the two animals, "come on." They followed him into the forest and he picked out a tree with good cover. With a few leaps, Leon was near the top of the tree and perched there with Kotori and Koton on another branch. With any luck, they hadn't seen Leon, only the abandoned camp sight. But Yukie would find out for sure. She could easily find Leon, so he sat in the tree, waiting.

Only about ten minutes later did Yukie rise out of the shadows next to Leon. She sat for a moment and looked at him, as if she'd been sitting there the whole time. He assumed she was making sure he wasn't an impostor, so he sat still until she seemed to relax.

"Well?" Leon asked when she let out a small sigh.

"They're ninjas from the Hidden Sand Village, traveling to help out Konoha. Orochimaru doesn't stand a chance if they arrive before he's done."

"Did you see their leader?"

Yukie shook her head, "The Kazekage wasn't there. But the group was being led by two ninjas; a boy and a girl. The boy was big, with an all black outfit and something in bandages on his back. The girl wore purple and had blond hair. She had a giant fan strapped to her back. They're a strange pair. But the scout didn't seem to spot us. There were six of them who fanned out to make sure there wasn't a threat, probably."

"How big is the group?"

"About a hundred. But they're moving slow. It looks like they've been traveling straight through, no breaks. But they seem to be in good shape. I say we stay here until they pass."

Leon sighed and leaned back into the tree, "Sounds fine to me."

They spent the next thirty minutes in the tree, waiting for the whole group to pass. After the Sand ninjas were a safe distance away, Kotori and Koton took on their large beast forms. Yukie rode on Kotori and Leon rode on Koton. Once the animals began to move at a steady pace, Yukie and Leon felt safe enough to relax. Soon, they were asleep as the two beasts moved fluidly through the moon-lit forest.

The routine went on for another day and night before the four ran into something of interest. Yukie had woken a little while earlier, but she didn't know why. Something had just told her to wake up. Light was starting to spread across the valley they were moving through. Soon, the sun would rise and they could eat a morning meal before switching places and moving on.

Yukie was looking up at the sky as the stars began to fade. She barely noticed when Kotori's smooth steps stopped. Shocked, she looked ahead. A huge cliff towered over the four travelers, but Yukie couldn't understand why this had stopped their travels. Then she noticed Koton, a few steps ahead, scenting the wind. Kotori moved her head a little, an eye meeting Yukie's. Her ear twitched and she turned back to face Koton and Leon.

Yukie nodded and dismounted. Apparently, Leon had noticed the stop, too, and was waking slowly. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his arm. "Get off. Something's up." Leon nodded and silently got off. "Come back here," Yukie said as she walked back to Kotori. Leon did as he was told and also stood next to Kotori.

After a minute of sniffing around, Koton turned back to Leon. Leon's face contorted to shock. At Yukie's questioning expression, Leon said quietly, "Sasuke's been here. Inside that cliff wall is a meeting place for ninjas."