---Sorrows of Yesterday---
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Naruto.
Alright! In this chapter, we'll be focusing a bit on Naruto, but mostly on Gaara, Kagome, and Sasuke, since they haven't been getting a lot of attention in the story lately. There will be Neji and Hinata though, since they've been working so hard.
The story is actually quite dramatic overall, in my opinion, at least, and I hope you guys don't mind. It's a thing of habit for me, I guess.
Chapter 12: There Were Six
"Out! Out! Out!" Naruto emphasized each stomp with a louder word, the trampled blanket withering beneath him. Underneath the blanket, flames were slowly being reduced to small cinders.
The blonde gingerly picked up the tattered blanket, shaking it to see clouds of dust burst out. He coughed and waved the ash away.
Naruto took note of how the ashes looked after he put the fire out.
The ash looked like it was swimming in something oddly slick and gooey. The substance was clear, apart from the ash, and mildly thick. There were also patches of the substance on Naruto's blanket.
Oil.
Just like Sakura mentioned. Why and where would the invading village get their oil to produce this fire? But the oil on the blanket wouldn't do any good now.
"Naruto?"
He whipped his head around, "Gaara? What are you doing here?"
"The Hyuugas got me from my village by Hokage's orders." Gaara explained a bit monotonously, the cork to his gourd rattling in its hole a bit in anticipation.
"You're here to help?" Naruto lightened up, "Great! With your sand, right?"
The Kazekage nodded silently, demonstrating to Naruto how it would work properly. Slowly, a stream of fine sand slid out of Gaara's gourd and hovered above the ground before shooting off to the nearest lit building.
Naruto watched in fascination as the fire raged for a split second, and then died down, the faint tan residue of sand lingering in the air.
"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed, "That looks way easier! Could you do more?"
Gaara nodded again as he followed after a speeding Naruto. He kept at a slow pace, occasionally stopping to just step on a weak flame or take care of a campfire-sized fire.
Soon enough, an exhausted Naruto came into view.
"You use up too much energy," Gaara commented distastefully, smothering the last of the fire that the two could see. There were many more, but they hadn't gotten to that yet.
Naruto just stuck his tongue out, half teasing and panting. He brushed some dead cinders off his sleeves and wildly shook his blanket again, making Gaara wave an arm around in an effort to clear the air, "I'll do fine on my own. You can do whatever you need to do."
"Hn." The Kazekage just turned around and walked off; a sign that he understood.
Naruto grinned at his back, where the gourd was strapped.
Gaara whipped his head to the side once he was over a hill. He could've sworn he saw a shadow pass by from there.
For a moment, he contemplated whether he should go or not, then finally, he came to a conclusion, walking off in the direction where the shadow had bolted from.
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The doors slammed open again, making Tsunade wince, "What now?"
"Tsunade-sama!" Neji announced; Hinata right behind him, both out of breath.
"What?" Tsunade was shocked. "You're back already? But it's a three to four day trip to Suna! It isn't possible for you to get here and back so quickly, even on the situation at the moment!"
Hinata nodded warily. "But Tsunade-sama…the village is burning down, and we needed Gaara-san to get here quickly…and…and…" Her face finally gained the exhausted, strained look on her face, and then Hinata started to haphazardly lean forward.
"Hinata!" Shizune and Tsunade ran toward the wavering Hyuuga.
A step before they got there, Neji started to sway too, crumbling onto the ground with a loud thump, Hinata following not long after.
"Neji! Hinata!"
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Sword or bow?
Kagome was forced to make a quick decision as a shinobi bolted out of the bushes and dived at Sasuke. Another soon leaped out in Kagome's direction, and out of sheer instinct, and her years of continuous use, Kagome drew her bow, notching an arrow and pointing it at the ninja.
Glaring at the smirking stone-nin in front of her, Kagome released her arrow, only to find a cloud of smoke 'Shoot! Another clone?' Kagome cursed. She shifted into her stance once again, drawing another wooden arrow.
"Kagome!" Sasuke shouted as he kicked away an enemy.
One lay dead beside him. Five more to go.
Mistake #1: Diverting your concentration.
"Kagome! Watch your back!" He grabbed a shuriken and hurled it towards Kagome with precise accuracy.
The miko's pupils dilated. 'He's attacking me? –No!' She watched as the small weapon sailed behind her and hit something that hissed. Kagome whipped around to find an enemy at her back. With a little shriek, she released another arrow through his stomach, pinning him to a tree.
The shinobi let out a groan, slumping against the bark.
Four more.
Kagome turned to Sasuke to see that he was already busy with another enemy.
"Shishi Rendan!" Sasuke performed a series of taijutsu moves, thrashing the ninja deep into the ground.
Three.
Another tackled him, and two charged at Kagome, all grinning mirthlessly, kunai in hand.
Sasuke ran around the ninja, making him blink when the Uchiha suddenly 'disappeared'.
Kagome was just about to shoot, when a smooth voice whispered into her left ear, making a faint pink blush spread across her cheeks, 'Gather them into the corner with the boulder.' Surprised, she jerked her head to the side, to find nobody there.
"Your attention is here!" A stone-nin roared.
The miko shot a quick glance at Sasuke, who nodded, and then diverted his attention elsewhere. Biting her lip, Kagome shot another arrow, searing pink light spurting off the tip, surprising everybody in the clearing.
'Was that…chakra…?' Sasuke questioned in his mind, turning back to the single ninja he was battling with.
Whatever it was, it was sure working.
The arrow had skinned a ninjas' shoulder, making him hiss in pain at from the peculiar wound that was now there. It was sizzling, burning, and it stung like hell. He stared at it in horror.
Now every time that Kagome shot an arrow, it drove them back, one shinobi stumbling, and another jumping so they wouldn't get hit.
Soon enough, it drove them into the corner, where Sasuke was currently fighting.
As she saw Sasuke take a leap back, the miko did the same, sensing that something was going to happen.
In an instant, the injured shinobi tripped over a trap wire, making his so-called comrade scowl at his foolishness. They didn't completely have time to react to his mistake though, as about a dozen kunai shot out of the bushes towards them. They jumped up to dodge it, only to meet…
"Katon: Goukakkyu no Jutsu!"
Because of their momentum going up, the Stone-nin failed to dodge the jutsu, therefore becoming enveloped in the flames. Some shrill screams were heard before they went quiet, the fireball dispersing.
Kagome let out a breath she never knew she was holding, the image of the magnificent attack engraved in her mind. Soon enough, she would be able to use those sorts of attacks too. Soon. She found herself sighing, "Thank kami…it's finally over…"
Mistake #2: Letting your guard down.
Sasuke and Kagome just stood there for a few moments, doing nothing, contemplating what to do next.
"We should report back to Tsunade-sama," Sasuke muttered quietly.
"Aa…"
"How do you think the others are doing?" Kagome murmured thoughtfully.
"Fine. They're capable of handling their own situation. I just wonder what state the village will be in when we get back."
"Yeah, you're right."
Mistake #3: Relaxing.
"I finally realize that I feel so tired now…heh," Kagome smirked. "It's almost morning… --look, the sun is starting to rise. I haven't had any sleep at all!"
Sasuke nodded.
They both let out a barely audible sigh, closing their eyes.
Mistake #4: Sealing your view of your surroundings.
Sasuke cracked one eye open at the sound of a bird chirping. 'What?' His eyes snapped right open as he realized something a second too late, "Kagome! Watch out!" 'Shit! Why didn't I sense him?'
Reviews would be appreciated.
Tenshi-Battosai