Author's Note:

Hey guys, its been a while huh? I'll try not to make four month's a habit, but we're getting to the point where I have to remember all of the stuff I've already written, and of course school's starting back up. But anyway, rest assured that this isn't dead, and I should be updating more frequently (although not as frequently as before) now. Anyway, tell me what yall think.

Oh, and sorry about the awkward beginning, but I wasn't sure where I was planning on starting this, because it seems to me that I just kindof stopped writing the other one in the middle.

Chapter 19

They had finally settled into a somewhat amicable silence, with the two awake members of team seven reluctantly sharing their hiding spot. Both of the girls couldn't seem to sit still, taking turns drifting into restless sleep that never lasted more than several minutes. When they were awake, they stole quick glances to their sleeping comrade every couple of seconds, as if out of habit, but quickly looked away. Both seemed reluctant to speak at all, and the silence weighed oppressively on everyone there.

"Um, sis..." Naruto warily broke the silence. "I think we've lost that creepy Kusa ninja by now."

"Yeah," Kitsumi turned toward the entrance to the hollow, "We should go now, so before someone less friendly decides to hide out here."

"Wait!" Ino suddenly looked up from the ground that had previously drawn her attention, "We let you stay here when you needed it, the least you can do is return the favor by helping us guard this place until Sasuke-kun wakes up."

"Sakura-san wouldn't have even let us stayed if we didn't refuse to leave." Kitsumi didn't even turn around. "We don't owe you anything."

"But sis, they did let us stay in the end. And just look at them." Naruto motioned to the prone shivering form of Sakura, "Forgive them this once?"

"Yes, Kitsumi-chan," Hinata looked over to where Sasuke lay, "He does not look good."

"Ugh..." Kitsumi sighed loudly, but did turn around and move farther back into the cave. The issue decided, everyone settled into comfortable positions to wait for what. No one really felt up to talking, and would have interfered with looking for intruders anyway, so an uncomfortable silence enveloped the hollow once again.

Less than an hour later, the distinct rustling of shinobi could be heard outside. The silence became even thicker in between steps, as the sound approached slowly, as if circling the hollow. Everyone prepared with as little noise as possible, keeping their senses keen to ensure that no attack would slip into their hiding place unnoticed.

Kitsumi nervously played with a kunai. Hinata withdrew a water bottle from her pack. Then she silently made the seals for her Byakugan. Naruto rubbed his hand over the mark on his palm. Two distinct sets of feet warily stalked around the entrance.

Ino nodded to Sakura. Sakura cut a wire directly to her left. The crash outside reverberated, and the footsteps stopped. A small trickle of blood dripped in front of the entrance. Then the intruders finally decided to reveal themselves. A head adorned with a Kusa hitai-ate slowly emerged from the top of the entrance.

"You got me." A deep voice escaped around a smirk, "but now I've got you. Doton: Doryuuheki!" He made a hand sign, and a wall began to rise from the ground, eclipsing the entrance. At once, everyone sprung for the entrance, but the wall moved too fast, and soon the light faded, as their hollow quickly became a prison. As soon as the light completely faded, a light trickling noise filled the darkness.

"Um...this is bad..." Hinata spoke, barely audible over the noise, "Kitsumi-chan! Below you!" A hand burst from the ground under Kitsumi, who barely managed to jump out of the way.

"Hm... it looks as though you can see me little princess." A voice reverberated around eerily, "Well that should make things more interesting."

"He's going for Sasuke-san." Hinata barely managed to finish before the hand once again noisily burst from the ground, latching onto Sasuke's wrist. However at that moment, Sasuke began to exude an extremely dark aura, and ripped the rest of the hapless ninja from the ground.

"Give me your scroll." His voice, although barely above a whisper, echoed around the cavern.

"I can't. I-I don't have it." The captured ninja barely stammered out.

"Your loss then…" A loud crunch followed by silence, disturbed only by the splash of the body. Immediately, the evil aura retreated, and soon another splash punctuated the silence.

"There were only two, so all we need to do now is get out before this jutsu kills us." Sakura hesitantly broke the silence, moving to remove Sasuke's mouth from the water, "Any ideas?"

"I'll be back. Are you marked sis?" Naruto splashed around a bit.

"Yeah, square, circle, triangle," was her unusual reply to Naruto's question.

"Alright, mark everyone else too. I'll bring you in fifty." A rush of air filled the cavern.

"Hinata-chan, mark yourself, everyone else, come here quickly." She rustled in her bag and withdrew a brush and ink. "Sakura-san, Ino-san, come here and let me mark you. Hold out your palms."

When they did, she drew a large square that covered their palms, and inscribed a circle in it, and inscribed a triangle in the square. Hinata did the same with her own palm, and moved to mark Sasuke, raising his palm above the surface long enough to ensure the ink would dry. As soon as the two finished, Kitsumi disappeared in another rush of wind.

A few seconds later, they had all caught their bearings and adjusted to the bright sunlight. Naruto and Kitsumi lay panting heavily, but everyone was safe and sound.

"You guys will be alright…won't you?" Ino looked slightly concerned at the twins.

"Yeah, we'll be fine, but you might want to get the scroll from that other ninja before he realizes that we've escaped. See you at the tower." Naruto stood, and helped his sister up. He motioned in toward the direction of the other ninja, and the two of them lead Hinata, once again headed toward the tower. Unfortunately, they didn't make it far before they we're accosted by another group of ninja.

"Hail my eternal rival. This competition is very youthful is it not?" As Lee burst from the foliage, Kitsumi's expression fell sharply, "The score is currently three to one, but I will redeem myself with a victory today."

"Alright rival," Kitsumi emphasized the word rival as a sudden glint overtook her eyes, which only appeared around the overly enthusiastic ninja. "We'll play ninja. The first one to touch the other's body with their hand wins. As for the penalty, how about the loser has to carry the winner's team to the tower?"

"Yosh! I accept this most youthful challenge. And if I cannot defeat you, I will carry your entire team to the tower by sunset. Are you ready?"

"Go!" Kitsumi summoned the rest of her chakra, stuck her hand out slightly. Lee ran at her as quickly as he could, but he did not reach her in time. She finished her technique, and held him over her head by his ankle, touching two fingers to his stomach with his head perfectly positioned to see her smirk. "You should have taken off your weights."

"You have defeated me most youthfully. I will carry your team to the tower by sunset, and if I cannot do that, I will carry you the rest of the way on my hands." And that was how Kitsumi and her team managed to arrive at the tower by sunset, with two members almost drained of chakra, and another who was almost at full capacity.