Chapter 12: Finding A Friend

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"He's reached the bottome already!" Naruto leaned out of the window. He watched as his sensei leapt from the ground and ran through the trees. The boy pulled his leg up and was about to follow when he felt a restraint. Misha had wrapped his large arms around the boy and began to pull him inside. Naruto didn't even try to fight, he knew the man's strength.

"Hold on," Misha let go off the blonde and stood in front of the window, "I said we can go after him, but we have to do this with our brains. No rushing out blindly. If we do that, then death is certain. Do you understand?" When he asked this, his head leaned down a little and he directed his stare towards Naruto. "Do you understand?" he asked again. This time his voice hardened.

Sakura nodded, Naruto did the same. Yet, he didn't know if he really meant it. Impaitence got the better of the young genin and he began to complain. "Come on, let's get going. Kakashi-sensei is already half way to Ishida... I think."

The pink headed girl decided to speak this time. "That's exactly what Misha is talking about. We don't even know where Ishida is?" She put her hands on her hips and looked at both of the boys. Then Naruto pointed his blue eyes towards Misha, as Sakura did. It was up to him to decide where Ishida was. Besides being in charge, he also knew Ishida than any present.

But all he did was scratch his head and mumur, "Well, I uhh... Let's see... umm..." This time he bit his lip and looked out the window. His eyes squinted. 'He'd be on the wall somewhere. So that Kakashi could find him easily. But where? Ah! No, wait. Almost, yes there!'

"Far side of the village. I can just see a speck of red. No doubt that's Ishida," then another matter popped into his head. His gaze ran down the window to the mountians edge. It was as he feared, the trees began to die. A red powder seeped through their branches and began to crawl up. "Damn wind!" Sakura and Naruto wondered what had made him use such language. The two raced to the window, but Misha pulled back with his arms. "Cover your mouth and nose! The powder's coming up with the wind."

"What's so bad about the powder?" Naruto asked as his feet slid on the floor.

"It's Ishida's. Just one speck of it can kill a grown man." At that, he let go of the two and ripped a piece of the packs off. Then he handed them to Sakura and Naruto. While fitting one for himself, he showed them how to put them on. Luckly, the three had them on just in time. The red powder swept through the room, spreading across the floor like a fog in a swamp.

Sakura began to cough. The boys looked to her with a worried look. "No, it's not that. I've had something in my throat for a while." With a final clearing of her throat, the coughing stopped.

Misha knew that they couldn't stay there. He pulled Naruto's arm, who in return, pulled Sakura along. Before the genins knew it, they had scrambled out of the window and began to slide down the side of the Hokage mountian.

When they hit the bottom it was a big mess. Misha hit the ground, his legs buckling under him; Naruto tumbled on top, his butt in the air; Sakura was the last to fall, she ended up with sittting on Naruto's back. She slid and fell to the ground. Dust rubbed into her cheeks. Naruto finally fell off to the side of Misha. Well, Misha just stood up. His large arms picked up Sakura; leaving the blonde by himself.

"Oi!" he cried. His feet scrambling to get him up. Misha stopped and told Sakura to continue. His hand shot down and didn't wait for Naruto to grab it. Instead he took a hold of Naruto's shirt and pulled him to his feet. Infact, Msiha even found time to brush the boy off before being on his way. The blonde yelped and ran to catch up.

Sakura had made it through the trees. The sight before her made her heart sadden. On the ground, their lay those in pain, those weeping, and those dead. Immediately she kneeled next to every one she could save. One by one she removed the dust in their lungs. Soon color began to return to the faces. The pained lessened. Sakura went into a sort of boss mode. She was ordering those well enough, to take those who were sick to the hospital. Shinobi, and even some ANBU members, did what she said. The attack had seemed so small at first. But Akira Ishida had known what he was doing. The results devastating. Sakura brought hope back to those lying almost dead.

The blonde and the forgiener ran to her side. They had just broken through the trees. The girl wasted no time in talking to them. "Go find Kakashi-sensei. Don't worry about me, I know what I'm doing," as they began to run off, Sakura called once more. "Naruto!" he turned around.

"Be careful," she smiled as she said this. He smiled back, a shimmer in his eyes. Then she went back to business and Naruto took off after Misha. Sakura took one more glance at him. Something had developed between the two. It might be more than friendship, she didn't know. She didn't care as long as Naruto could come back safe to her.

xxx

The two of them jumped to the roofs. Their eyes shot back and forth. There was no sign of Kakashi, nor Ishida. Then, the dust got thicker. It was concentrated in one place. "Naruto! This way! Follow my voice," for now the powder had grown so thick, it was like running through a red fog.

"Misha!" The boy had lost sight of him. To make it worse, the man's voice was nothing more than a whisper. "Misha where are you!?" The blonde stayed calmed. He had too. There was no controling your enviroment, if you couldn't control yourself. His eyes squinted. It had become so thick. Some powder got into his eyes, causing his vision to grow blurry. Naruto placed his arm infront of his eyes. He stood there and took a look around. He couldn't see a thing. So, he called once more, "Mish-"

The boy was taken by surprise. His sensei came falling through the fog. Right in front of his eyes, he saw as his friend and teacher, hit the ground. His silver hair had specks of blood on it. Naruto didn't know what he was feeling. His sensei's eyes looked up at him. When he looked into them, the blonde felt a shiver run up his spine. In the eyes of his teacher, there was fear. The kind of fear you saw in cornered animals. The kind of fear that would make the bravest man quiver in his place.

Naruto didn't have time to react, for Kakashi lunged at him and pulled him to the ground. Just as he did so, a beam of black came through the powder. In a doubled over voice, like a snake and a demon, there he came. Ishida called out. "I know your here!" Naruto tried to get up, but it was too late. Kakashi stood up in front of him.

The jounin had a kunai in his hand. He was ready, but not ready enough. A black bar seemed to strike his side. Naruto could feel fresh blood on his face. The dark blurr that was his sensei, gripped his side and fell.

The boy gripped his head. He shook it. This couldn't have been happening. What had happened. Too much, too soon. Then in the voice of a frightened child, he shouted, "No!"

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