I'm putting up another chapter now to all my non-existant fans! ... Does no one like my story? Am I just not good at writing at all? Should I have written a better summary? Please review! You're making me sad here.
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"How much farther to Sunshine Inn?" Sakura asked Ikamaru. Ikamaru didn't reply.
"Sunshine Inn is approximately four miles from here. We'll be there within the day," Surgeon said, looking at a map.
"S-Sakura.." That was Hinata, tugging on Sakura's sleeve.
"What is it Hinata?" Sakura asked, exasperatedly.
"There's somebody following us," Hinata whispered. Sakura snapped to attention.
"Is it a ninja?"
"He's wearing a rock headband."
"Where is he?"
"Ten meters behind us to our right."
"Do you think you could hit him with a kunai?"
"M-maybe."
"Alright. Here's the plan: You throw a kunai in his direction, then using that approximation, Tenten will let loose a barrage of weapons. You go tell her that, got it?"
"O-okay."
"WAZZUP?" Mogura cheerily bursted in onto their conversation, startling Hinata.
"What do you want?" Sakura asked, flustered.
"Well, Ino told me to go away because I was bothering her, and Tenten heartily agreed, and Surgeon said he was busy, and Ikamaru would probably yell at me or something, so I came to hang with you guys," Mogura said, loudly.
"Stop bothering people. Can't you walk without talking to people?" Surgeon asked, without looking up.
"S-Sakura.." That was Hinata.
"Oh, shaddup. I'm BO-ORED with just walking," Mogura said.
"S-Sakura.."
"You should try being more polite and quiet when you approach," Surgeon said.
"S-Sakura.."
"Blah Blah Blah and one more Blah. You're always bugging me, Surgeon. How I roll is none of your business," Mogura said.
"S-Sakura!"
"Yes, Hinata?" Sakura asked, turning to her.
"He's gone. I looked back and I saw him getting closer, but then he ran ahead of us and now I can't see him anymore!"
"What's that?" Ikamaru said, stopping in front of them.
"Um.." Sakura tried to think of what to say. How much had he heard?
"There was somebody following us and you let him get away? What kind of ninjas are you?" Ikamaru asked.
"Ah..." Sakura stalled. If he had heard everything, then what? What was his game, anyway? What side was he on?
"We've got to make better time. Starting now, we're going to go at a run," Ikamaru said. In a flash, all four Konoha ninjas were up in the treetops. If there was anything they were good at, it was leaping through trees.
"What are you doing up there?" Surgeon called.
"Making better time. Ninjas work better away from paths," Sakura explained.
"We're not monkeys," Mogura said, contemptuously. Hinata slowly climbed down.
"Those snobs! Who do they think we are?" Tenten said, fuming. Sakura sighed.
"It's useless to argue. I've been jogging for a couple weeks now. I think I'm fit enough to run," Sakura said, climbing out of the tree. Tenten and Ino looked at each other for a while and then climbed down. A few minutes later, the four Konoha ninjas were jogging slowly, but not yet moving as slowly as their three clients. Mogura was huffing and puffing and leaning against a tree, Surgeon was jogging extremely slowly, and Ikamaru, for all his big talk, was walking.
"Start hustling, you wimps!" Ino shouted.
"I.. can't.. go on.." Mogura said, breathing heavily.
"You were running with everything you had a minute ago," Tenten said, turning around to look at her.
"Well, running with everything usually tires you out quickly," Mogura snapped.
"Come now, we can't stand around taking breaks. We need to make better time," Ikamaru said, clapping his hands together sharply.
"I feel quite fit now. I'll change to walking for the rest of the trip," Surgeon said, changing to a walk which was faster than his jog. Sakura sighed. Were they trying to lull her into a false sense of security with this stupid act? Well, she wasn't going to fall for it.
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"So why do you wear that mask all the time?" Ino asked Surgeon, walking in pace with him.
"To keep out infectious microbes naturally," Surgeon said, "Why don't you?"
"Um.. well.. In Konoha, the air is especially clean," Ino said, nervously. A mask like that could totally ruin her image.
"That makes sense I guess. Still, public facilities are often germy. You should always take care to wear a mask and bring gloves along when going out somewhere," Surgeon said. He might have been smiling, but the mask made it impossible to tell.
"Ha ha. I'll remember that," Ino said. Yeah right. The only time I would dream of wearing that is when I'm not in public.
Tenten, on the other hand, was busy talking with Ikamaru.
"Why do you keep weapons in your sleeves?" Tenten asked.
"To kill flies," Ikamaru said, smiling. Tenten and Ikamaru laughed for a while.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"What's the REAL reason you keep those weapons up your sleeves?"
"That's it."
"WHAT'S it?"
"To kill flies."
"Ha ha. That's funny, but if you hire us, you have to be willing to tell us about yourself," Tenten said, annoyed.
"Come now. Don't you agree that flyswatters are uneffective? You could hop around your house for hours trying to kill one fly before you gave up," Ikamaru explained.
"Have you ever killed anyone?" Tenten asked, deciding it was wisest to change the subject.
"I've killed flies."
Thus ended the conversation between Tenten and Ikamaru.
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"Well, here we are." Ikamaru said, gesturing to a quaint little place with several windows and apparently two floors. A certain air of homeliness floated around the place; a garden planted for people to walk through, cobblestones leading up to the front of the inn, even the sign depicting a sun hanging by two chains had a peaceful kind of look about it. The serenity of the forest about them was quite pleasant. Sakura thought that without her ninja training, she probably would have dropped her guard.
"It's as old hat as we left it," Mogura said, making a face.
"I do like the calming effect this place has on my nerves," Surgeon said, raising his hands as if he were soaking in as much as this "calming effect" as he could.
"Well the sooner we get the princess and split, the better," Ikamaru said, tensely.
"The princess? There's another princess?" Ino asked, disgustedly. A vision of a second Mogura popped into her mind.
"Well, duh. Why did you think we came all the way down here for?" Ikamaru said, picking up a rock, "By the way, Surgeon, which window was it again."
"Second from the right second floor." Whiz. Crack. Ikamaru sent the rock hurtling with amazing accuracy. Somebody came to the window, paused for a moment and then disappeared. For a second or two, nothing happened. Finally, the door swung open revealing an old man and a girl, around the age of seventeen. The old man wore clothes similar to Ikamaru and also had his messy hair, although it was gray. His forehead was bent with countless wrinkles and his hands curled uncomfortably. The girl was young and smooth, but her gaze was vacant, and as she stared at the four Konoha ninja, it seemed more like she was gazing at something miles and miles away on the horizon. She wore a pink top and pink travelling pants, topped off by having her long, gorgeous brown hair tied near the top with a pink ponytail.
"Ah! Ikamaru, my boy! Pleasure to see you again," the old man said joyously, hobbling over to the group.
"Hey gramps! We got the ninja," Mogura said, punching Sakura in the arm. Sakura winced. The old man looked around excitedly for a while and then, spotting the four girls, his face fell.
"Is that all?"
"Is what all?" Ikamaru asked.
"You were supposed to bring an army," The old man said, sadly.
"Now, Mr. Umimaru, you must see that sending Ikamaru and Mogura actually count as negative support and therefore make Lady Tsunade less trustful of us," Surgeon said, matter-of-factly.
"Ah, stuff it, old bag." Mogura said, messing with the inside of her ear using her pinky finger, "Your face ain't too beautiful either."
"I'm not talking looks here, but in that area, you are also incompetent."
"Bah! All girls care about is beauty!"
"Geez, Mogura, don't tell me you also have boy's sexism too," Ikamaru said, butting in. Umimaru cleared his throat and Ikamaru, for the first time, ceased to smile.
"That's quite enough of that," Umimaru said. Ikamaru stared blankly for a while, and then resumed his smile.
"Ex-excuse me. Is she the princess?" Hinata asked gesturing towards the young lady, who had been silent for some time.
"Ah yes! I had nearly forgotten about you four. I'm Umimaru," the old man said kindly, shaking Hinata's hand.
"And who is she?" Ino asked.
"Oh oh oh! Yes, I nearly forgot. Ha ha. That's the-" Umimaru paused to stare all around before cupping his hand to whisper, "princess of Fudaraku, Kagura."
"There shouldn't be any enemies around, old man, it's onl-" Ikamaru was saying but suddenly, silent as shadows, dozens of ninja popped out of bushes, dashing towards the group. One of the ninja, apparently the leader, clapped his hands together, forming a ninja sign, and then yelled,
"Fudaraku wants the princess alive, kill the rest!"
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Author's Krad: Alright. That was it. PLEASE pleasepleasepleaseplease review! I'm going to lose all confidence and completely snap if I don't get any reviews! So, even if you don't have anything to say, just review to keep me going, knowing you care. (I... I hope you care at least...) I'm sorry if this is a little bit slow of coming but thank you to anyone who has read my story so far.
