Chapter 35: A Step Forward

"Okay everyone, let's focus here!" Airas shouted. "We came here to discuss the matters at hand, remember?"

"Oh, sorry," Kakashi said.

"What's the point? How are we supposed to know where to go from here?" Kiba asked.

"Do we even have a clue as to where Shinji might be?" Sasuke asked.

"Where's Kitari?" Hinata asked.

"Stop asking so many damn questions at once!" Airas shouted.

"When we came back here, she said she had some business to take care of," Kurenai said, not paying attention to Airas.

"Is she still gonna be considered an enemy?" Naruto asked.

"Or a good person?" Sakura added. "I mean, she's a rouge ninja after all…"

"Our best bet right now would be to find Kitari," Aurion said.

"She's spent the most time with Shinji, so that's a good idea," Airas agreed after calming down. She looked over at Airi. "Airi, what're you doing?"

Airi was hunched over her cards doing something. "What?"

"What're you up to."

"I'm adding the Three Universes to my cards," Airi replied.

"What! That's a forbidden power!" Airas shouted.

"Airi, the Three Universes are impossible. No one has mastered them," Aurion said.

"What are the Three Universes?" Shino asked.

Airi held up her incomplete cards. "They're these little circles on my cards. The colors represent the different Universes. I have the Blue Moon Universe, The Red Sun Universe, and Gaia!" She smiled.

"Eh? Gaia? Universe?" Naruto asked. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I think none of us know," Sakura said bluntly.

"It's a Nozomi thing," Kakashi said.

"Remember, Yosaku taught us this," Airi said to her siblings. "He was able to master this."

"Yosaku?" Hinata whispered. "Wasn't that the guy from the Nozomi village? And didn't he run away when…?"

"Airi, do you think you can master that?" Airas asked.

"Sure!" She finished etching the charms onto her cards. "I have complete confidence in my skills now!"

Wow, she's really a different person now… Airas and Aurion smiled.

"I'm glad to see you're still alive Airi." Everyone looked at the door. There was Kitari with a small smile. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"Where have you been?" Kiba asked.

"It doesn't matter." She sat down. "So what're we doing? Planning how to find Shinji?" They nodded. "I know where he is."

"WHAT? YOU DO?"

"Yep!" She pulled out a map. "I swiped this from him right before we got Airi."

"…Hey!" Airi yelled as she jumped up. "You're the person that hit me!"

Kitari jumped up as well. "So what! You wanna make something of it?" They got into each other's face.

"Yeah I do! What's the big idea pretending to be all friendly-like with us? I can see through your act!"

"You ungrateful little twerp! How dare you!"

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Airas shouted as she punched the two.

"OWW! That hurt!" Airi shouted.

"Conniving witch!" Kitari seethed.

"Shut up both of you!" Airi sat down in a huff and continued to modify her cards. Kitari kicked out a chair and sat in it angrily. "Look, you guys, this is really important. We have to stop Shinji at all costs!" She looked at Kitari. "Kitari, may we use that map?"

"Sure thing." She handed over the map.

"…Huh? So this is where Shinji is headed?"

"May I see it?" Kakashi asked. She gave it to him. "A…fire shrine?"

"You mean the fire shrine in Aisha?" Kurenai asked.

"That's right," Kitari answered.

"Great! We should go there now," Naruto said.

"Yeah," Aurion said. "But let's make this day our last in this village and stock up on things that we need."

"Alright, another step forward to finding Shinji," Shino said.