Well, it's been what? Over a year ?!

May I please say I'm sorry? :( .

My main excuse is lack of time... However, every time I did try to go back and re-watch Naruto just to be able to write as accurately as possible, the website where I watch it would either crash, be really slow, or not let me skip certain parts of an episode... That kind of put me off writing, alot! I sometimes have my doubts about the quality of this story... But I don't want to give up on it! I have a plan, and I plan to set it in motion! Anyway, I finish college soon, and then I'll have all summer to do whateeeever I want. I hope to get as much writing done as possible! So let's see how it goes...

This chapter isn't as long as I had hoped it would be ~ but I'm just so happy to be updating again... Enjoy! ^.^

Chapter Nineteen

It was as though danger was visibly lurking through the air of that dark, cold night. Naruto silently strolled across the streets of Konoha, both hands in his pockets, avoiding eye contact with everyone. Something about this night didn't feel right. He could feel something evil brewing at the pit of his stomach – but it wasn't the Kyuubi – at least not the Kyuubi he had inside of him. He looked up momentarily as he felt a shiver run down his spine and suddenly spotted the familiar face of Ami Uchiha. He felt sudden warmth spread within him at the sight of her face. He walked a little faster, in order to catch up with the young Uchiha before she ran off somewhere else. She was always on the move these days – only going home to sleep. It worried him sometimes, but he knew it was pointless to say anything.
"Ami!" He called – but she walked off anyway. He ran after her, still calling out her name and wondering why she was ignoring him in the first place. Had he said something that he shouldn't have recently? He couldn't recall anything of the sort happening. He was about to speak once again when a group of hidden mist shinobi ambushed.
"You have something of ours." One of them said.
"Suck it, asshole." Ami spat. Naruto stared at her, slightly shocked by her choice of words and curious to know what the shinobi wanted. One of them grabbed her by the arm and she started to struggle. "Let go, before you regret it."
"How will that happen? It's not like you have anything to fight with." The shinobi said.
"Mangekyou... Just do it. I won't tell Kakashi." Naruto said, as he pulled out his kunai. "And you, get your hands off her right now."

As Naruto went to grab the shinobi, his hands slipped right through his body. Naruto froze. What was happening? Was this why Ami couldn't hear him earlier? Was he dead? This couldn't be real... If he didn't do something now, Ami would die. She wasn't fighting back – why wasn't she fighting back? That previous sense of danger was sneaking back and Naruto was struggling not to panic now. Where was he? Before he could make another attempt of getting Ami's attention, his feet started moving on their own, pulling him back and toward the gates. He had no control whatsoever of his movements. His feet began to move faster, and faster, and faster – and before he knew it, he was running. He was running as far away from Konoha as possible. The further he ran, the closer the danger felt. There was a strong chakra presence in the air – it felt foreign yet similar all at the same time. His feet stopped moving when he saw a temple. He figured he should've known what temple this was, as they were still close to Konoha, but he was pretty sure he'd never been there before. He began moving once again, and he found himself climbing over the large walls that surrounded the temple. The place was a mess. Bits and pieces were on fire, others were still steaming. Bodies were everywhere and Naruto wondered what could've caused all this and why he was the one to witness it all. There was a strong gust of wind and a loud growl. Something was behind the closed doors of the temple and trying to get out. It sounded frustrated and angry, and Naruto was certain he'd be the monster's first target. The doors burst open and –

Naruto rolled so quickly that he completely fell off Kakashi's sofa, with a very loud thud! Kakashi, who was sat on his balcony, closed his book and picked himself off the floor.
"Well, that's one way to wake you up." He said. He took notice of Naruto's pale complexion and heavy breathing. "Bad dream?"
"Definitely on the weird side." Naruto replied. "Got anything to eat?"
"Leave it to you, to wake up like that and still think of food. There's ramen in the fridge. Just heat it – it's all yours." Kakashi said.
"Why am I here anyway?" Naruto asked. Not that he minded the odd sleepover every now and then. Living alone got lonely after sixteen years.
"You overworked yourself at training this morning. I'm surprised you're awake already, but then again, you do tend to heal quickly." Kakashi said. "Even Yamato was exhausted after this morning."
"Sorry... Didn't realise." Naruto grinned, as he scratched the back of his head. "We can get back to the training grounds once I'm done eating, if you want?"
"I think Yamato's earned the rest." Kakashi said. Naruto was about to reply, but Kakashi held his hand up. "And Ami is on Sharingan rest for another three days. Tsunade's orders, not mine."
"Bet she's enjoying that one." Naruto mumbled. Kakashi chuckled in response – he was certain he'd have a very moody Uchiha in his hands once she's allowed to roam free once again.

x.x

Sai walked down the Hospital hallway, carefully balancing the once neat pile of books in his arms. He'd stopped by the library on his way and got a little carried away. This was his attempt of being a peacemaker – or so he read in one of the books he was carrying. If he wanted to be forgiven, he should do something nice and helpful. Ami surely must've been bored to death by now, having to stay practically locked up in that Hospital room, without fresh air or constant visits. He stopped when he reached her door and silently contemplated whether or not this had been a good idea. They hadn't been on the best of terms from the start and he hadn't properly spoken to her since their mission. The opportunity just hadn't been handed to him – but now he was here. What should he do? None of the books prepared him for this feeling that was building up inside of him. He angled himself, attempting to knock on the door with his elbow, when the door slid open.
"Sai?" Startled, Sai dropped the pile of books and paled – even more than he already was. "What are you doing here?"
"A-aren't you supposed to be in bed?" He asked, nervously.
"Doesn't mean I will be." Ami smirked. "What's all this?"
"Books." Sai said.
"Yes, I can see that... I meant why did you bring them here?" Ami asked.
"Oh... Well... I just figured you'd want something to help pass the time. It must get boring." Sai said. He suddenly became the monotone and emotionless person that Ami had first met. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Why?" She asked, sceptically.
"I..." He didn't want to tell her why. It felt... Strange. He suddenly felt hot and sweaty. He couldn't remember what this meant – unless he was coming down with a fever. He'd had fevers before.
"Are you blushing?" Ami smirked. She didn't mean to tease him, but his visit was turning out to be quite an amusing one – and she had to get back at him for being a complete jerk somehow. "Why don't you come in and tell me a little more about these books of yours?"
"Oh... Okay..." Sai said. Ami walked back into her room and left him alone to gather the books together – payback, it had to happen. Ami pulled the two visitor's chairs closer to each other and took a seat in one. She motioned for Sai to sit in the other, which he did while balancing the books in his arms. Ami leaned forward and grabbed the top book.
"Right then... '100 easy steps to get new friends'. Well, that sounds boring and useless." Ami smirked. "If you really want to get friends, just be yourself."
"That's the issue... I don't know what that means." Sai frowned.
"Sai... When I first saw you, you wouldn't show any emotion whatsoever. Now look at you! You're even frowning at my snarky remarks." Ami said. Sai furrowed his eyebrows in response. "Just allow things to flow naturally. Your brain will know how to respond."
"And if it responds in the wrong way?" Sai asked.
"Then you'll most likely get punched in the face." Ami shrugged. "Okay, let's start of simple... My favourite colour is purple. What's yours?"
"Er... I don't know." Sai said, still furrowing his eyebrows.
"Oh come on, it's really not that hard. If you could surround yourself with a colour, which would it be?" Ami asked.
"Black? Maybe blue... I mean, the colour of the sky seems nice." Sai said, uncertainly.
"Okay, let's go with blue then." Ami smiled. "You can change your mind however many times you want, though, so don't worry too much about it."
"Oh... Good, because the colour of the grass is quite nice too. Green... Green is good too. Oh, and red is pretty cool, but I'd never really wear it, it's too bright and that's not ideal on the battlefield – not that Naruto seems to mind, I mean he does wander around in bright orange – actually, orange is okay too-"
"Okay, Sai, I get it... You like many different colours." Ami smiled. "I'm going to assume you like reading also, I mean I don't think I've ever seen anyone take out so many books from the library in one go. Didn't even know you were allowed to."
"Reading helps to expand the mind – I read that in this book..." Sai said, pulling out a book with a bright green cover.
"Oh boy..." Ami sighed.

x.x

Naruto was overjoyed when Kakashi told him Ami would be allowed out of the hospital. He excused himself from a visit to the nurse to run to Ichiraku's, where he ordered five boxes of ramen. He then skilfully balanced the boxes and a bottle of orange juice as he made his way to Ami's apartment. Ami was taking a nice nap on her couch. Despite doing nothing but sleeping and reading at the hospital, she still felt tired - although it could've possibly also been because she'd decided to clean up everything as soon as she got home. Ami startled and fell off the couch when she heard hard knocking against her door. Naruto grinned when he saw Ami, rubbing the back of her extremely messy hair, and looking as though she'd just woken up.
"Got food."
"Mmhn." Ami mumbled. She stepped aside so Naruto could let himself in.
"Got what you like too. Figured one box was enough. I could get more if you like." Naruto said, as he set everything on the kitchen counter. Ami scrunched up her nose and shook her head. "Cool. Let's eat."
"Mmhn." Ami mumbled once again, but she smiled also, and went to sit down next to Naruto, who'd already started munching down his food.

The two were halfway through their food - or at least Naruto was - when Kakashi knocked on the balcony door, before allowing himself inside.
"Good to see you're feeling better, Naruto." Kakashi said.
"Why? What happened?" Ami asked, concerned.
"Nothing." Naruto said, waving a hand, as he continued to stuff his face.
"He just overworked himself, that's all." Kakashi smiled. "Had to make him take a rather long break."
"But you're okay now, right?" Ami asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Better than ever." Naruto grinned.
"So... What brings you here then?" Ami asked, turning to face Kakashi.
"Just thought I'd let you both know that Yamato needs you both. New mission. He'll brief you." Kakashi said. "I must take care of a few things myself, which is why you two are with him and Sai."
"What about Sakura?" Naruto asked.
"She's also on another mission." Kakashi said, with a rather glum tone to his voice.
"Great." Ami said, rolling her eyes. "I hope Tsunade realises she's the med-nin of our team."
"It's fine, it won't be that dangerous." Kakashi said, though he didn't seem too convinced by his words.
"Well, come on then, Naruto, you can eat on the way." Ami said, as she got up to change.

x.x

It was well past midnight when Yamato decided it was best to rest for the night. He found them a decent spot within the woods, close enough to the main path, but still hidden well enough to light a fire. Sai gathered together bits of wood and settled them on the ground. Ami immediately used her fire jutsu to get the flames going.
"You kids relax, I'm going to have a wander round." Yamato said, and he left. Ami settled down in front of the fire, reaching her hands out to play with the flames.
"Boy am I starving." Naruto said, as he eagerly opened his small bag and searched for a few snacks.
"I thought you ate everything on the way here." Sai said, staring at Naruto, who continued to search through his bag.
"No... No..." Naruto said, not looking up. "I ate everything that was in my pocket."
"And you forgot to pack the snacks in your bag." Ami said, knowledgeably. "Luckily for you, I put them in mine."
"Really?" Naruto beamed, and Ami simply threw her bag at him in response. He was quick to delve into it, pulling out three different snack bars.
"Don't eat all of them." Ami scolded.

A good half hour had passed and Yamato still hadn't returned. Ami had grown tired of playing with the fire, and was now lying on her back, watching the stars through the tree branches and plucking at the grass. Naruto and Sai were both fidgeting with their weapons, cleaning and sharpening them.
"He's been gone for a while." Sai said, glancing over at Naruto and Ami.
"Mm..." Ami agreed. Though, she mentally decided to give it a few more minutes before actually beginning to worry. After all, he did say he was going to have a wander round. He could be setting up traps for thieves for all they knew.
"Shouldn't we go look for him?" Sai asked, setting his weapons aside. Just then, there was a sudden rustle in the bushes not too far from them. Ami rolled over onto her stomach and reached out to grab her kunai, just in case. Sai was already on his feet. Only Naruto didn't seem too bothered, and continued to focus on cleaning his things. Then, a figure emerged out of the bushes. Ami couldn't read the chakra, it was masked. Was it Yamato trying to be funny?
"Who's there?" Naruto asked - he was now in a crouching position, clutching onto his kunai. Then, without warning, the figure pulled out something from behind their back - and a light came on. The three screamed when the light shone on a pair of creepy eyes. It was Yamato - and he was trying to be funny.
"So not funny!" Ami whined, throwing her kunai back down to the ground. Yamato, however, took a seat near the fire, laughing his head off.
"Sorry, sorry... Couldn't resist." Yamato grinned.
"You're spooky enough without having to do that." Ami said, glaring angrily at him.
"You're all such easy targets." Yamato said. "Anyway... On a serious note, as I was telling you all before... Normally during a grave robbery, precious jewels, treasures and even bodies are stolen. But this time, they were left undisturbed. It's a very troubling case. Every one of these robberies have happened within the same area - no further than five kilometres from the Fire Temple, which is where we're headed now."
"The Fire Temple?" Naruto asked, confused, and Yamato simple nodded.
"They hired us. Catching thieves is a simple job, but they specifically wanted a team from Konoha, so something tells me there's more to this story." Yamato said.
"There are also four more hidden tombs in the area around the Temple." Sai said.
"Exactly." Yamato nodded.
"So, do you think there's any chance the grave robbers were targeting those hidden tombs?" Ami asked.
"There's a strong possibility." Yamato said.
"What exactly are these hidden tombs?" Naruto asked.
"Even in death, a body of a ninja contains a tremendous amount of information. To some, that knowledge is a goldmine. When Sakura fought against Sasori, he'd made a puppet out of the body of the Third Kazekage." Yamato explained.
"The more powerful the ninja was during their lifetime, the more useful they can be in death." Sai added.
"In order to protect tombs from thieves and raiders, barriers are often set up, and they're built in secret locations. That's what we'll be dealing with." Yamato said.
"Wow... And this is only a D-Rank?" Naruto said, chuckling slightly.
"The rank of this mission could easily change." Yamato said.
"So I'm guessing some really amazing shinobi must be resting in those tombs." Naruto said, eagerly.
"Yes." Yamato nodded. "Especially these four. The information they hold is incredibly valuable. Though, on the other hand, something else could be going on here. It could be possible that the tombs weren't desecrated from the outside.
"What do you mean?" Sai asked.
"I mean... In other words... That those shinobi..." Yamato paused and began to fidget. Ami, Naruto and Sai stared at him, anxiously waiting. "Could be... ZOMBIES!"

Yamato had lit up his torch on his face once again, as he yelled out the so awaited answer. The three had jumped backwards almost instantly.
"YOU'RE NOT FUNNY!" Naruto yelled.

Sora appears in the next chapter! I quite enjoyed this arc... It's not really a filler-filler type of arc, but it kind of is a filler? If that makes any sense? It does in my head... But yeah, I just know that I quite enjoyed having Sora in the story. Shame he doesn't appear anymore... He might in mine! :) He started off a bit annoying, but I kind of liked him toward the end! hahahah... I'm so like Naruto sometimes, always disliking the newbies before I know them!