A/N: It's been freaking forever since I updated, but that's how it goes. I hope I didn't lose any of you with the delay. Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 5

The change was slow but noticeable. Trees became more frequent. More wildlife appeared around them. It was nice. The change from the dry deserts of the Land of Wind to the lush forests of the Land of Fire was slow, but to Naruto it was the best thing he had seen in days. Except Hinata-chan, of course. For two days team 6 traded shifts while walking back to Konoha, and over that time Naruto and Hinata had become more accustom to being near each other. They were both quiet at first, but now they laughed at talked for the entire time. The first good news of the day came in the form of a small stream. Kakashi called for the wagon to stop and jumped from the back.

"Another mile and we will be back in the Land of Fire." He told the client they were protecting. Not like he needed it though. Over the whole trip, they hadn't even seen another person.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata wiped the sweat from her forehead. While it wasn't quite as hot as the desert, it was hot enough to sweat just standing around. "Are we stopping for the night?" Kakashi glanced up at the sun, there was about two hours of light left if he judged it correctly.

"I think that sounds good.." Kakashi told her causing the girl to nod. Naruto had just walked back to hear the news, he had been filling up everyone canteens in the stream. Naruto stood next to Hinata as Kakashi explained what was going on to their client. Every once in awhile the large man would look around the tree line, then quickly glance at Naruto. It happened every few minutes, Naruto was wary of the man now. Over the entire trip he hadn't said a word to the blond. All those things combined with the way he acted before had Naruto on edge.

"Are you sure we should stop, shinobi-san? We are close to the boarder, perhaps we should just make it to the other side before calling it a day." The client was oddly polite in the way he spoke.

Kakashi thought for a moment before he agreed. "Yes, that is a good point. Very well, we will continue to the boarder." Naruto and Hinita nodded as they took up positions around the wagon.

The wagon started to pull away again as Kakashi climbed into the back to continue resting from his shift with Shikamaru. Naruto walked on the left side of the wagon just behind it, it was mostly because he didn't want the man to look at him.

"Naruto?" Kakashi called out as he stuck his head out from behind the curtain that hung over the opening in the wagon.

"Yeah?" Naruto walked towards the wagon.

"You haven't been yourself since we left. Something the matter?" Kakashi asked. It was clear to the older man that something was bothering Naruto.

"It's nothing." Naruto smiled at him. It wasn't his normal smile. It was a mask.

"What is it?" Kakashi looked at Naruto unflinching.

"Well... It's the client. He gives me weird looks, doesn't talk to me. Makes me think that I did do something to him." Naruto explained in a low whisper so the man sitting a few feet away didn't over hear.

A noticeable amount of anger appeared on Kakashi's face before it faded as he smiled. "It's nothing to worry about." Kakashi looked to the other side of the wagon, Hinata was kicking a rock as she walked. "Why don't you go talk to Hinata? We are getting closer to the boarder, I'm sure nothing is going to happen." Naruto's face brightened instantly. He quickly thanked the gray haired man before he jogged over to Hinata.

"Naruto-kun!" She gasped as he jumped next to her. "Aren't you suppose to be watching your side?"

"Kakashi-sensei said it was OK if we walked together because of how close we were to the boarder." Naruto gave her a grin. Behind them Kakashi watched the two teens. It was clear as day to anyone that they were close. The sound of the hyper blond could be heard from inside of the wagon as he explained to Hinata about his run in with a few of the Suna shinobi. That was another thing that worried Kakashi. Naruto's run in with Gaara the son of the Kazekage. He knew that Naruto wasn't stupid enough to start a fight with him, but the fact that he was attacked could be enough for the council to want to shatter the alliance.

"That redheaded guy was strange. He said, 'You are like me.'" Naruto explained to Hinata.

"If he attacked you for no reason, he is nothing like you!" Hinata exclaimed. Her words caused the man leading the wagon to cough and glare at the two. Naruto didn't catch notice of it, but Hinata caught the attention of the man. Her pale eyes glared at him causing him to panic.

"Don't you look at me with those weird eyes!" He shouted at her. His voice was covered in fear.

"Don't you glare at Naruto-kun, he's never done anything to you!" Hinata shouted back. It took Naruto by surprise at the tone of her voice. "You've been giving Naruto-kun those weird looks the whole trip. I haven't say anything, but now you've made me mad!" She shouted at the man as she walked towards the wagon where he rode.

"Listen little girl. These looks are for a reason." His voice was low. Hinata narrowed her eyes before turning from him in disgust. Naruto put a hand on Hinata's shoulder and pulled her away from the man. The wagon kept moving as Naruto stood with here.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto moved so that his face could see hers as it looked at the ground. "You OK?" Hinata looked at him and all her anger faded, for a second.

"I can't believe him!" She whipped her head around and started to walk back towards the wagon when she was stopped by Kakashi.

"What is all the commotion?" The gray haired jounin asked as he held Hinata by her wrist.

"It's nothing, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto stepped between Hinata and the wagon with a pleading look in his eyes. Hinata smiled at him and nodded. Kakashi let go of her wrist and walked back to the wagon. Naruto led Hinata away from the view of the man they were protecting, although more and more he was starting to not care if the man was attacked or not. Time passed slowly as they walked down the dirt road towards the board of the Land of Fire.

After about hour the river that divided the two countries came into view. The large building that offered the only way onto the bridge to cross required for anyone entering to pass through the check point. The wagon came to a halt, and Kakashi jumped from the back to talk to the proper people to get past the bridge. It would be a few minutes and it gave the rest of the team a few more minutes to themselves.

"Sleep well, Shika?" Naruto asked the boy as he nearly fell out of the back of the wagon yawning.

"No." He simply stated before leaning against a tree that was near the building.

Stupid little children. They had no idea the pain that the demon had caused this village. It was sickening to see that beast running around acting like a child. How that little girl could defend the fox was beyond anything he knew. He would get what was coming to him. He reached into is pack once more to reach for the scroll. The instructions were simple enough, but he did have doubts if they would succeed. It worried him to think of the reaction that the village would have if they knew he was involved.

The man watched as the weird eyed girl, the lazy boy, and the demon talked amongst themselves. He never bothered to learn there names, he really didn't care. He hated that boy. Hate wasn't even a strong enough word. He wished everything in the world that was bad onto him, and soon he would pay. He would pay dearly. He slid the scroll back into his pack that rested on the floor of the wagon as the stupid gray haired one walked back. While he certainly didn't look strong, he had feelings that he was. They assured him that he wouldn't be able to stop it.

"We will be heroes." He remembered the man telling him as he handed him the scroll. Heroes. Not to the Hokage. They would be lucky if the Hokage didn't kill them in anger himself. As much as he respected the forth, he was a fool for believing that boy was anything but a demon.

"Naruto!" The stupid gray head called out, and the demon ran over to him like a pet dog or fox. The man smirked at his own joke. The one eyed idiot was issuing orders to the stupid brats before he turned his attention to the man. He walked over and explained that they had been cleared to walk through to the Land of Fire. Tonight they would either be heroes or traitors. He tried to put the latter out of his mind as he got on the drivers seat of the wagon.

XXX

Asuma took one last puff of his cigarette before he threw it on the ground and stomped on it to put the ember out. Kiba's nose turned up as his sensei blew out the smoke. Cigarettes were bad enough for regular people, but for someone with the nose of Kiba they were the worst things in the world. The smell quickly passed as the two men and a dog approached a small building on a still river. Voices could be heard inside of the building. Kiba's ears picked up on Zabuza, his voice sounded strained. The boy that had carried the missing-nin away could be heard too.

"They are in there." Kiba whispered as he tapped Asuma on the shoulder. The older man gave the boy behind him a nod before he readied himself. "There are three more in there though." Kiba told him before the jounin went rushing in.

"Who?" The Sarutobi turned his head to look at his student.

"Don't know. I don't recognize the scent." Asuma turned his head back towards the house as Kiba finished.

"We wait it out." Asuma whispered. Kiba nodded as he placed a hand on the head of Akamaru. Kiba sniffed the air every few minutes to make sure that their target was still in the build. It was another hour before the three others left the building. Two appeared to be samurai and one was a short man in a suit. He looked angry. Really angry. He furiously shouted back into the building as he held his wrist in apparent pain. A few moments later everything quieted down again. Asuma waited even now. This had to be perfect or they would fail.

Kiba sat nervously behind the jounin not really sure of what his part would be from now on. He knew that Zabuza was far out of his league, and the boy that showed up appeared to be as well. Kiba's thoughts were confirmed when Asuma turned to him.

"Wait here. If it goes bad, run back and tell Sasuke and Sakura what happened." Asuma ordered as he silently made his approach. Kiba watched as the large man made his way towards the house. Wasit deep in water he slowly crossed the river until he was next to a window. He pulled a knife from his side and used the reflection to look in the window. Zabuza was in a small bed wrapped in bandages. The boy wasn't in the room. It was now or never.

Asuma placed an explosive tag on the wall just below the window and made his way to a safe distance. After about ten seconds, the tag detonated and blew a massive hole in the wall. The once sleeping Zabuza was showered in fragments of wood. Asuma rushed in the room and dove at the confused missing-nin. Zabuza saw was the trench knives of Asuma tearing into his chest before a large fist filled his vision and everything when black. Asuma let out a grunt as he stepped off the bed. Something was off.

"Hehe." A echoing voice filled the room. "I knew you had been hiding in the bushes since you arrived. That brat you are with needs to control his emotions." Asuma cursed as he ran to the opening in the wall. Kiba wasn't in the spot he had left him in.

"Zabuza-sama." Asuma spun around to see the boy that rescued the older man holding Kiba by the back of his belt. The boy and his dog were unconscious.

"Well done, Haku!" Zabuza let out a hardy laugh. Asuma narrowed his eyes before disappearing. The boy, Haku, had no time to react at the sudden burst of speed. Asuma lunged a knife into his shoulder and cut the belt that he was holding Kiba by. The unconscious teen fell from his hand, but before he hit the ground Asuma had grabbed him and disappeared again.

"Impressive speed." Haku commented as he removed the kunai from his shoulder.

"Getting careless, Haku?" The real Zabuza revealed himself. His true body had been in a bucket in the form of water. Before the younger boy could answer, Asuma appeared again in a flash. Both of his trench knives in hand, he drove both of them into the stomach of Zabuza. The look on his face was enough to tell Asuma this was the real one. Asuma pinned the other man to the wall as Haku looked on feeling helpless. A lifeless body of Zabuza fell to the ground as Asuma moved his attention to the order person in the room. Haku was frozen from the shock of the only person alive that cared for him dying.

"Are you going to kill me?" Haku's voice was quiet. Amusa was taken back by the question. What kind of shinobi asked his attacker if he was going to kill him?

"That depends on what benefits there are to sparing your life." Asuma pulled a cigarette from his pocket and put it to his lips. Basically snapping his fingers a flame erupted from the tip and lit the cigarette.

"We were hired by a man named Gato to kill the bridge builder." Haku offered.

"Where is he?" Asuma took a long puff from the cigarette before blowing the smoke out as he spoke.

"I can lead you there." Haku's eyes wandered to the body of Zabuza once more. The only person alive that seemed to care about him was dead, it was hard to fathom. Asuma watched the face of the scared boy closely, it seemed as though he was completely broken from Zabuza dying.

"We will return to where we are staying to drop my student off before we go have a talk with this Gato." Asuma dropped the cigarette on the floor before stepping on it to smother the ember. The boy's face seemed to brighten when he heard that, but there was still a distance look in his eyes.

The jounin jumped from the house into the waist deep water and walked to where he had set the unconscious Kiba. The large man threw the teen over his shoulder and beckoned for his prisoner to follow. It took an hour at the slow pace they had to set to return to Tazuna's house. The jounin had Haku wait out of sight until he dropped Kiba off, he didn't want any unnecessary fights to occur.

"Sensei?!" Sakura jumped to her feet as Asuma walked through the door of the house with Kiba in his arms. She frantically cleared the sofa and Asuma laid the unconscious boy down.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked his sensei.

"I was careless." The jounin replied.

"Why is the fake ANBU outside?" The question startled Asuma.

Asuma leveled his gaze on the Uchiha. "The other man is dead. He is leading me to the person that hired them."

"What if its a trap?!" Sakura looked up from tending to her injured teammate.

"That boy may be strong, but he isn't in my league." Asuma's eyes moved over the three children before him. "Stay here. If I'm not back in two hours, send for help from Konoha." He took one last look at Kiba before he walked from the house. Haku stood quietly outside when he appeared.

"Are you ready?" He asked and received a nod from the older man before they both took off running.

XXX

Shikamaru watched the small fire with a look of boredom on his face, but he always looked bored. Naruto was off getting more fire wood, Hinata was preparing some food for dinner, and Kakashi was sitting under a tree reading his book. The client was near his wagon looking over a scroll he had read several times. Shikamaru prided himself on his ability to "read underneath the underneath" so something seemed off, and after Naruto still hadn't returned from gathering firewood, it appeared he was right.

"Kakashi-sensei?" He heard Hinata's voice break his thoughts as she spoke to their sensei.

"Yes?" He poked his nose over the top of his book looking at the girl with his one eye.

"Naruto still isn't back." The insecureness on her voice was easy to hear. The jounin's eye moved across the camp seeing that he hadn't returned yet. His eye seeming moved on his own to the man they were protecting, who was pacing back and forth by his cart. Kakashi rosed to his feet and in complete silence walked to the client. When the he turned around to do another round of pacing, he came face to face with an angry looking Kakashi.

"May I help you?" He asked as his eyes never made contact with the jounin.

"One of my students hasn't come back, I am going out to look for him. These two will be watching over you." He gestured towards Hinata and Shikamaru.

"Fine, whatever." He spun from Kakashi before he returned to his wagon. Kakashi added the way he acted to his mental checklist. The jounin gave a quick talked to his remaining two students before he ran off into the woods.

XXX

Naruto struggled against the ropes that were holding his hands. Whoever it was that tied him up was smart enough to at least tie him up so his hands were apart. It had been a while since he had been taken by surprise when he was attacked while collecting some firewood. They must be shinobi or missing-nin, because he hadn't heard them coming. The bag over his head currently didn't make it any easier to see who it was.

He was current draped over someone shoulder as they walked. They were still in the forest, he thought at least. The sound of cracking branches and the crunch of leaves on the ground gave that away.

"We stop here." With that Naruto was thrown to the ground in a not so friendly manner. It was the first time the young genin heard them speak.

"Now what?" Another asked, there was a hint of fear in his voice.

"We do what we came here to do. Take the bag off." With that a hand gripped the bag and a bit of his hair and ripped it off. Naruto grunted in pain as some of his hair was pulled out too. In the darkness, he couldn't make out the faces of his captors. It was a moonless night with an overcast.

"We want to see your face before we kill you." The man all but spat in his face. "Demon." For the first time, Naruto felt fear.

"Quiet." Another voice snapped. "We will all get a turn." Naruto felt a hand grab his hair again forcing him to look to his right. He could feel the breath of one of the men on his face.

"What do you want with me?" His voice was quiet, it was dripping in terror.

"We want you to feel pain for the pain you have caused us." With a hard push, Naruto's head was slammed back into the tree that the rest of his body was leaning against. He cried out in pain again.

"Did that hurt?!" Someone shouted at him and threw a kick into his side. The blond fell over in a heap. "You know nothing of pain. How much pain do you think my father felt when you killed him?!" Another kick to his stomach as he laid on the ground.

They are going to kill you.

Naruto thought the voice was just another one of his captors as he laid on the ground receiving another round of kicks to various parts of his body.

They know that you fear them.

All the other noise around him seem to drown out as the voice continued.

They know nothing of fear.

With his eyes closed, Naruto no long felt pain of his beating. 'Am I dying?" He thought as his world drifted into darkness.

No, you are not dying. I will not allow that to happen.

The voice was louder now. It was coming from in front of him. Naruto slowly opened his eyes to a very different world. He stood in front of a massive gate. Water was up to his ankle, and there was a dense fog covering the ground just below his waist.

"What is this?" He asked the voice that came from in front of him.

This is your mind, mortal.

"My mind? What are you talking about?"

I have been trying to contact you for years, but have been unsuccessful.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

Who am I? The voice chuckled. I am death.

Naruto found himself walking backwards away from the gate as a pair of eyes as big as him appeared in the darkness. "Am I dreaming?"

The voice barked in laughter. I assure you, those who are attacking you right now will wish this was a dream when we are done with them.

"What do you mean?" Naruto gathered a bit of courage to walk towards the eyes.

I am the Kyuubi. I was sealed in your body when you were a newborn infant.

"That's impossible! The Sandaime killed you!" Naruto shouted causing the demon to laugh again.

I cannot be killed by mortal hands, whelp. No, your foolish Hokage sacrificed himself to seal me in your body. There is a seal on your stomach. Surely you have noticed it when you channel your chakra. It is the seal that keeps me imprisoned.

"Why does everyone say the Kyuubi was killed then!?" Naruto refused to believe this.

That is something you will have to find out after this.

"How are you going to help me get out of this? How do I know I'm not already dead?"

If you were dead, we wouldn't be talking right now. Shut up and listen while I explain. I can give you some of my power if you just ask for it. It will be but a fraction of my power because your pathetic body couldn't handle it all.

"What do you want in return?"

I want you to live, human. If you die, I die. Now, wake up and show those men what it is to be truly afraid.

Naruto's eyes slowly opened as another kick flew into his stomach. The blow hardly registered to him as he readjusted to everything around him.

"Enough of this. Let's just kill him and be done with it. No doubt Kakashi has already realized he was missing for this long." The kicking stopped long enough for Naruto to sit himself up. It was a strange feeling. There was no pain at all when he shouldn't even be conscious. He felt refreshed. There was a lust for destruction in his mind. These men would know fear.

"Fine. Kill him." A voice said and one of them started towards Naruto. In his new state, he could see as if it was the middle of the day. The man with a kunai in his hand stopped dead in his tracks as a low growl escaped the throat of the genin.

"What the hell was that?" They all turned to face the demon. The growl became louder until a full fledged roar came from Naruto. With the pure strength given to him by the Kyuubi, Naruto ripped his arms free of the rope that was holding him. The eyes of the men around him widened just before he rushed forward with speed like they had never seen as he slammed the man directly in front of him into a tree. The collision caused the tree of snap in half like a twig before Naruto grabbed the man's leg and threw him with all his might into the darkness.

Naruto turned to the rest of them with the look of hatred in his eyes. A red aura surrounded him as he let out another ear shattering roar and enough chakra to push the men back. Naruto leapt forward slashing his hands at the face of the man closest to him. The force of the blow was so hard that the man's head spun around snapping his neck.

"You really are a demon!" The last one shouted causing Naruto to turn his attention to him. With his fangs barred, Naruto launched himself at the last one standing slashing his hands. When Naruto had finished with him, his face and arms were covered in the blood of the man, who laid motionless on the ground.

Well done, human.

Naruto shook his head to get rid of the voice. The chakra that was following through his body faded and he felt very weak all the sudden. Just before his body crashed to the ground, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him and a familiar face appeared in his vision.

XXX

Kakashi held the unconscious Naruto in his arms as he started walking back to the camp. Fifteen minutes ago, the jounin's heart nearly stopped when he felt the chakra released in this area. He knew it well. He knew it from twelve years ago. His first thought was the seal had broken and the Kyuubi had been released. He arrived on the scene just in time to see Naruto slash the last of his attackers and fall to the ground. He moved in quickly and caught the blond before he hit the ground. The boy was seemingly unharmed, but there were some abrasions on his wrists. The splintered rope on the ground near him was a sign that he was tied up.

Before Kakashi started back to the camp, he checked the bodies of those around Naruto. The one he attacked last was lying in a pool of his own blood. A few feet from him was a man whose head appeared to be on backwards. If the bruise on the side of his face was any indication, a punch caused his neck to break. A broken tree caught the jounin's attention next and his eyes moved over the forest. A slight movement caught his attention.

Kakashi's eye widened as he approached the movement. A man was propped against the tree, blood covering his chin and much of his shirt, but the most surprising thing was he was wearing a Konoha hitai-ate.

"You are still alive." Kakashi voice was cold enough to freeze water.

The man let out a laugh that sounded more like coughing. "The demon took us by surprise." He spit out more blood.

"Naruto is NOT a demon." Kakashi's voice caused the man to gulp.

"He has a spell on all of you. He just looks like a child." The man coughed out as Kakashi knelt before him. "We were suppose to be heroes. Everything had gone to plan as well. Even that foolish old man did his part."

"What old man? Our client? He was involved in this?" Kakashi stood and turned from the man.

"Yes, he was involved. We contacted him when he was still in Suna telling him we were going to strike just inside of the boarder. He was to ask for you to stop here." He called out as Kakashi gathered Naruto in his arms.

The glare that Kakashi gave the injured man was enough for him to drop his arrogant attitude. "He will be dealt with."

Kakashi started to walk away with the voice of the traitor calling out to him. "You are just leaving me? What about my injuries?!" He pleas fell on deaf ears as Kakashi ignored him and continued walking back to the camp.

Naruto appeared to be unharmed other than what appeared to be chakra exhaustion. Kakashi was deep in his thoughts during the walk back. Would the client still be there when he got back? Another thought cross his mind and he sped up through the forest. What if there were more of them? Hinata and Shikamaru could be in trouble.

XXX

As genin, the two left to guard the old man weren't experts at sensing chakra, but even they could feel the power that was unleashed in the forest. Hinata looked directly at Shikamaru when she felt it. The lazy genin's eyes were on her as well.

"You felt that right?" He asked, his voice was trembling.

"Yeah." She was quiet, reverting back to her old self.

"What could it be?" Shikamaru walked towards Hinata and stood next to her as she gazed in the direction of the source.

"I don't know. I just hope Naruto-kun and Kakashi-sensei are ok." Her eyes looked into the darkness of the forest. She activated her bloodline limit to try and get a better look. A visible aura of red chakra streamed into the air that originated nearly a mile away.

"What do you see?" Shikamaru noticed her eyes.

"Evil. The chakra is pure evil. It is streaming into the air. There is a lot of it." Hinata told him. The spent the next several minutes watching the forest intently before they decided that standing there wouldn't make Kakashi or Naruto come back any faster, so they returned to their duties. Hinata was growing more and more anxious the longer they waited for Kakashi to return. To her and Shikamaru's relief, the chakra they both had felt was gone now. The man they were protecting also seemed to be more nervous then before.

Hinata busied herself with preparing the food for dinner while Shikamaru kept his eyes on the tree line searching not only for a threat, but also for their sensei. It was then when the lazy genin saw Kakashi walking out of the trees and in his arms was an unconscious Naruto. Shikamaru ran to his sensei immediately.

"Take him. He isn't hurt, just chakra exhaustion." Kakashi handed the boy to Shikamaru. Hinata had heard a voice and looked up to see Kakashi handing Naruto to her other teammate. She dropped the pan she was holding sending it crashing into the fire before she ran to the blond. She got to him just as Shikamaru was lying him down on the ground. She pulled off a sweatshirt she was wearing and put it under his head as a pillow.

"Naruto-kun..." She muttered under her breath as she stroked his hair.

"You were involved in this?" Kakashi whispered to the client as he stood in front of him. If looks could kill, the man would have died when Kakashi first laid eyes on him.

"W-what are you talking about?" He stammered.

"One of them told me, you were involved in an attempt to kill Naruto." Kakashi's words caused the man to shrink before him.

"They told me they would kill that demon." He spat in the direction of Naruto. Kakashi returned the insult with a blow to his stomach causing the man to fly back into his wagon before crashing to the ground.

"That is my student you are talking about." Kakashi shouted as he walked towards the man grabbing him by the collar before lifting him off the ground. The commotion caused Hinata and Shikamaru to look over to see Kakashi holding the man three feet off the ground by his neck. They suddenly had a frighten realization on just how strong Kakashi was. Here he was holding a man that weighted over 300 pounds in the air with one hand, and he wasn't even struggling.

"What are you going to do to me?" Tears streaked down his face as he spoke.

"I would kill you right now, but I will leave your punishment to the Hokage." Kakashi told him before throwing him back into the wagon. His head crashed into one of the wheels and he fell unconscious. With all the action going on, no one seemed to notice that Naruto's eyes had opened. He watched as Hinata stroked his hair as she watched something behind her.

"Hey, Hinata-chan." His voice cracked as he talked. His throat was very dry.

Hinata jumped when she heard her named called and spun her head to look at Naruto. He was smiling up at her. "Naruto-kun!" She gasped. The blond reached for her hand and held it as she continued to stroke his hair.

"You OK?" He asked her after closing his eyes enjoying her touch.

"Am I OK? You are the one that was unconscious!" She stopped petting him as he cracked one eye open and had a grin on his face.

"I'll be fine." His eye closed again and drifted to sleep again.