So…Tomoki thought as he walked behind the others through a tunnel of whirling shapes and shifting lights This is a 'B'-rank mission. His expression flickered indifferently. It doesn't seem…so bad.

After the brief introduction of captives and captors, Tomoki learned a couple of things. One, the truck was not theirs. It had been stolen and put there specifically to set the stage for a diversion. Fine, he'd concluded, somewhat annoyed that he'd changed a tire for nothing. Two, they were taking him north. That hadn't meant anything to him, but seemed like a salient fact. Three, Reona possessed a marvelous jutsu.

After a brief argument with the young kunoichi, Uiko formed them into a formation, with Reona at the point, herself and Naruto walking abreast, then Fugo and Tomoki following behind. After they traveled some ways from Konoha, Reona made a complex series of hand signs as she gathered her chakra. The light faded and changed around them as they started to pass into an unworldly, spectral tunnel. When Tomoki glanced to the side, the sight of the landscape rush by in a frantic, dizzying blur made him queasy. He learned quickly to keep his eyes open and straight ahead, and to keep pace with the others. Though he was the object of their mission, he didn't doubt that what would happen to him would be bad if he strayed too far and slipped out of the jutsu's effect.

The strange group had walked for a few hours in oppressive silence before Reona wobbled and Uiko urgently signaled a stop. The world lurched sickeningly then returned to normal as the effects of the kunoichi's jutsu faded.

"Yeech!" remarked Naruto who lurched a bit and pressed both palms against the sides of his head as if it might come off.

The pretty red-head stumbled sharply and her face constricted, then she fell to the ground of this distant place she'd delivered them to and panted for breath.

Uiko walked up before her, dropped a canteen in her lap then crossed her arms. "Reona!" she sputtered angrily. "Nice work, you're exhausted and we're only half-way back! I was hoping you'd figure it out by yourself that you're not strong enough yet to manage two jutsus at once, especially since you're taking twice the number of people that you're used to. Now cut out that ridiculous disguise!" Her head snapped towards the other ninja. "You too, Fugo!" The brawny warrior strode up to her to argue, but she stopped him with a withering glare. "Do it now!" she hissed.

Both ninja glowered solemnly and muttered: "Transform," and a cloud of dispersed chakra scattered from them. Naruto gawked, momentarily breathless, then pealed with laughter, for Fugo and Reona were no more than children. Fugo's face congealed into a sour, nasty pout. He was a head at least shorter than Naruto, skinny as a rail, with paper-white skin and carrot-colored, bowl-cut hair. Reona was bigger, plain and pudgy, with mousy-brown pig-tails.

Naruto stumbled drunkenly, almost incapacitated, as he howled with laughter, doubled over with both hands clutched around his stomach. "Yeah, Tom-tom! he crowed. "I'm soooo jealous that somebody sent some kindergarteners to k-k-kidnap you!"

Tomoki winced self-consciously, then glanced at Reona and his eyes lifted.

Uiko followed his gaze and groaned then said with cold disapproval: "Unbelievable."

Upon the young girl's brow was a headband, just like Tomoki and Naruto's, except this one was brown and had upon it a metal plate that was clearly embossed with the clustered circles of the Village Hidden Among the Stones. The little girl's eyes rose toward it and crossed, then her lips trembled and she snatched it off.

"Too late now," Uiko hissed and waved her hand. "You might as well keep it on."

Tomoki turned away and made no more about it, not wanting to add to Reona's misfortune, while Naruto and Fugo set into each other with loud vengeance.

The landscape around them was considerably different from the verdant forests and rocky bluffs of Konoha. This country was fairly flat and desolate but for its covering of brush and small, gnarled oaks. The young kunoichi from the Stone Village had taken them a long, long ways. Tomoki found the effect disorienting, and wondered if this was how Naruto felt when traveling through his shadow gate jutsu.

Uiko cast a look toward the setting sun, frowned and shook her head. "And just when things were going so well," she muttered dourly. After a few breaths, she appraised the situation and reached a judgment: "All right then. We'll camp here for the night."

Only Tomoki and Reona nodded that they understood. Naruto and Fugo were still discussing the merits of the little boy's earlier 'midget' remark. Only when Naruto had run out of insults and started to repeat himself did he sweep toward Uiko to ask: "Got anything to eat? I'm starved!"

The elder kunoichi raised an eyebrow. "Well, we hadn't figured on an overnight stay, or having an extra person with us, so…"

Naruto's expression broke with dejection. "That's a 'no'," he summarized correctly. Though the two younger ninja said nothing, they too were clearly disappointed.

"I have some bread and dried fruit, and water in my canteen," offered Tomoki with a shrug, but his report drew only disdainful stares. "Ok, it's not much, but we could forage for something else."

Uiko nodded. "A sensible suggestion," she agreed then frowned, "though it doesn't look like there's much around. Why don't you see what you can find? Fugo and I will get a fire together."

"I'll go with Tomoki," piped Reona to the older boy's surprise.

Tomoki lead the way into the stunted forest, with Reona following behind. After awhile, the leaf ninja realized that his hopes of finding something edible in this barren country may have been misplaced. All academy students had been trained in survival, but where he was now seemed strange and he found himself fairly lost in it.

"So…Reona," he ventured tritely for the sake of conversation, "'been a genin long?"

She perked at his interest. "No, not long," she answered but then abruptly fell silent.

"I've never been to the Country of Earth," he tried again, this time with something he thought was more open-ended. "What's it like?"

"S'ok, I guess."

"Ah," the boy replied obtusely. "Ok…well, that jutsu of yours is pretty impressive."

"Oh!" she piped eagerly. "You think so? It's called ghost-walk jutsu. I'm a natural at it, that's what Uiko says." She paused to pick a leaf from a low-hanging branch. "I can take people a long ways in a short time – time is dilated when I do it, that's what Shin-sensei says -- I think it's really cool even though it makes most people sick, especially 'cause Fugo gets so jealous 'cause he can't do it."

"Oh, is that right?" said Tomoki encouragingly while she went on. His brow furrowed suddenly. "Reona?" he interrupted her. "Isn't Uiko your sensei?"

"Huh?" she said. "No, silly, she's only a genin."

The boy shook his head. "Well, who's leading you then?" Reona gave him a confused look. "I mean is it that Shin guy you mentioned?"

A stricken look of betrayal fell over the kunoichi's face as her cheeks flushed. "I'm not…I'm not going to tell you a thing!" she screeched.

Tomoki grimaced and held up his hands. "Hey! Wait, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he offered sincerely. "I didn't mean to pump you for information, even if that is what I did."

Reona looked back at him, still angry. "Yeah, right!"

"Really!" The ninja bit his lip. "I just thought it was weird that three genin would be sent all the way to Konoha alone to go grab somebody, you know? Listen, let me make it up to you. Ask me anything you want, then we'll be even."

"Anything?" asked the girl dubiously.

"Absolutely," the leaf genin answered.

Reona raised an eyebrow and scrutinized his face, still uncertain but coming around to the idea. "You mean, anything – anything?"

Tomoki grinned down at her. "I swear on these patriot swords that to you I shall be as an open book."

Her eyes darted left and right as she thought about it for awhile. Then she smiled broadly and asked, "Tomoki, do you, um --," she stopped suddenly as the boy's head turned sharply. "What is it?" asked Reona, but Tomoki held up his hand for silence and crept forward with slow, deliberate patience toward a scrap of brush. Though the ground was a minefield of dry leaves, twigs and clots of dry earth, not a sound issued from his effortless passage over it.

A shrill twittering rose as two grey blurs shot skyward, but were intercepted by the invisible, deadly arcs of the ninja's sword. A pair of quail dropped to the ground, headless.

"Huh," Tomoki muttered, with a trace of self-congratulation in his voice. "I never thought of swords as hunting weapons before." He shrugged, wiped off his blade then returned in to its sheath. Turning toward Reona with a cheery smile, he offered, "Look at this! We've got something to eat now."

The young stone ninja gaped at him, quivered then fell to the ground and sat there in mute horror.

"What's wrong?" Tomoki asked alertly then looked around to see what the cause of her distress was, before his eyes dropped to the two fallen birds. "Oh, are you a Buddhist, vegetarian or something?" he guessed. "Sorry, I should have warned you."

"Y-you…," she sputtered in a squeaky voice and gestured at him as the wind blew scraps of dried leaves past them. "You could have killed us, back in Konoha…just like those birds!"

"Huh?" The ninja's face went blank. "Reona, I --," he began then stopped, not knowing what to say. "That's not really my style…killing someone without a really good reason," he muttered then chewed his lip. After all, what would have happened had he not been forewarned? Tomoki declined to pursue his thought, smiled sadly then crouched down and put his arm around her. "Shh…it's ok," he ventured awkwardly as he tried to console her. "You're ok. Things turned out alright. You shouldn't get so carried away with what might have been." He looked up, then back at her. "But you knew that missions like this can be dangerous, didn't you?" He studied her young face which clearly revealed the answer. "Didn't you?"

When the two returned to the campsite, it was getting dark. Uiko had a fire going. Fugo and Naruto were on opposite sides of it, not looking at each other with great seriousness. The elder kunoichi's face lit at the sight of Tomoki's catch, then faded at Reona's pensive, shaken expression. She took charge of the night's entree, then sat Reona down and gave the girl a cup of hot tea.

Naruto looked toward Tomoki expectantly at first, then turned back, crestfallen.

"Sorry, Naruto." Though Tomoki was deeply preoccupied, he managed to quip with a sarcastic smile, "I couldn't find any ramen."

The five ninja ate their meager meal in an uncomfortable, un-companionable silence. Fugo glared periodically at the yellow-haired genin from the leaf village and bit angrily into his piece of boiled quail. Uiko sat close to Reona, who hovered close to tears, and put a comforting arm around her.

Tomoki drank the tea his captor had made but ate little, while his fellow genin wolfed down his portion almost at once. "So," Naruto began loudly as he wiped his mouth. "You guys are stone ninja."

"Duh!" replied Fugo who glared accusingly at Reona.

Uiko sighed tiredly and answered simply, "yes, that's right."

Naruto leaned back and cocked his head. "You seem pretty old for going on missions and stuff, or is that just a disguise too?"

The woman took his observation in stride. "With me, what you see is what you get. I am an old genin and not very talented I suppose, but age has its assets too."

Tomoki gave her an inscrutable glance, while the blond ninja continued unconvinced, "Huh? Like what?"

She canted her head abstractly. "You must have had your share of missions," she pointed out. "Not all of them call for those things that young people are good at. Some call for discretion, stealth, patience…and other things experience teaches."

Tomoki turned away in disgust. "I don't see how you can say that?" he snapped testily. "You brought two kids, straight from the academy to kidnap a ninja from another village. That's dangerous enough in itself." He tossed his head then glared at her. "Such a thing…if you'd have been caught, it could have been considered an act of war! Did you even consider that?!"

"Of course I did," she hissed back. "Don't you think I know?"

"Then why?" Tomoki's voice cracked.

Uiko turned aside. "You don't always get to pick your missions. Sometimes there's no choice," she intoned gravely, "and desperation picks them for you."

"'Sounds like an excuse," the leaf ninja grumbled. "I wonder what that really means – maybe that somebody really screwed up."

"Shut your mouth!" Fugo fumed, and there was little that was child-like about his furious, enraged expression as the fire glowed in his pale face. "If we'd have jumped you like we planned, I coulda beat you to death if I wanted. I would have been easy!"

"Ha!" pealed Naruto. "That's a laugh. How were you going to do that -- on your back!? Yeah, that's right, I saw the whole thing!"

"Quiet!" Uiko exploded her feet, her eyes wide; her expression made even more intense by flickering, orange campfire. "None of you have any place to criticize! You, Tomoki," she cried and pointed at him, "what kind of person willingly goes along with their own kidnapping? Are you so tired of life in Konoha, or just tired of life!?" She turned her angry glare to the yellow-haired boy beside him. "Naruto – you're no better, you went along with him. You could've gone for help or else drove us away. What's your excuse – do you love danger so much?" She whirled now on her own charges. "And you two children – young and stupid as they come!" she raged, and her furious voice echoed in the distance. "Fugo, you ignored my signal to hold back just because you like to fight, especially those you think are weaker than you. You, Reona, you joined in rather than disappoint him."

She brought a hand to her fevered brow and gasped, "I'm the leader here; it's up to me not to get you killed! When I saw his swords and then how strong Tomoki's grip was, I knew he was a fencing master and that we were no match for him – that he would kill all three of us, and there'd we'd be, strewn over that Konoha road like so much bloody cold-cuts!"

Reona sniffled and turned away, while Fugo grimaced and said nothing.

"Becoming strong," the woman spat. "It's not worth a damn. What you all need more than anything is some damn common sense! That's what gets you back home alive! That's what keeps young pukes like you from the battlefield in the first place!" Her wild stare swept the campsite, then, as quickly as it had come, the intensity faded from her eyes like dying embers. Uiko paced back to her spot of ground around the fire and slumped down. "But what do I know," she muttered hollowly; her words punctuated by the campfire's sharp, random crackles. "I'm just an old woman who's been where you are now once. Why should you listen to me?"

All remained quiet for a long while. Even Fugo's callousness and Naruto's boisterous nature had been subdued by Uiko's unexpected soliloquy. After awhile, Tomoki excused himself and began to walk off into the night. Naruto looked after him curiously.

"Hey!" Fugo challenged. "Where 'you going?"

The leaf ninja glanced back at him. "Escaping," he joked mirthlessly, then, knowing the boy's temperament, clarified before he could get too worked up: "Just answering the call of nature. Oh, yeah," he added indelicately, "I had eels and eggs for breakfast, so I might be awhile."

Fugo made a disgusted face while Naruto slapped his leg and laughed, "Um, yeah, Tom-tom, you just keep the details to yourself next time, ok!?"

The boy walked through the dark woodlands until he'd left the campsite far behind, then sat down and crossed his legs. The air had cooled since he'd set out and was thick now with the sound of cricket song. Tomoki took a deep breath of the untamed air that was laden with unfamiliar scents, then sang a deep, single note to center his concentration and chakra.

By the time he was halfway through his one-hundred and eight mantras, the world around him seemed to dissolve, as if it remained as an image only, arbitrary and insubstantial.

His previous forays into meditation that his mentor, Ichi, had taught him had been restful and calming. But what he experienced now was anything but. He felt anchored, like he should, but with the distinct impression that the firmament beneath him could suddenly yield and give way.

"It is because I have such affection for you that hesitate to teach you this," Ichi had told him in a dire tone that got his attention. "When I said that your way lies down a quieter path, I didn't say how frightening a journey it could be. This method will allow you to perceive nature more clearly, by embracing it and becoming a part of it." The old soothsayer, who seemed to him then more than ever like a father than ever, had then frowned and taken a few moments before he was able to continue his explanation. "Few people have the fortitude to do this, to risk losing themselves amidst the enormity of nature that most people take great comfort in imagining themselves separate from." The boy nodded, but both knew he did not fully understand. "Most of all, be careful, because when you perceive nature in this way, it can also perceive you."

Awareness of his immediate surroundings returned greatly sharper than before, and he seemed to him that he was outside himself. He startled a bit to learn that it was not at all barren as he'd thought, but teeming with life. Its energy coursed around him and through him but it did not belong to him; rather he belonged to it.

Though the scrub forest was dark, lit only at its edges by the crescent moon's silvery light, Tomoki could see it in his mind as if it were bright as day. Each leaf, insect or tiny animal pulsed with energy – an entire world unto itself yet only a mote amidst a vastly greater continuum.

He thrilled at the novelty of the sensation and extended his chakra.

The crickets suddenly ceased their susurrations and everything became dreadfully still. Tomoki's thoughts filled with worry at what he'd done and what this meant. At once, the songs returned in the form of a single note. The sound of it washed though him and filled him, inexplicably, with a terror unlike any he'd experienced before. The note repeated, echoing through the forest, and his concentration broke. He came out of his meditation with a jolt of panic and sprang to his feet, then looked about wildly as if phantoms lurked all around.

All was quiet once again, and the insects had gone back to their normal, broken rhythms. Tomoki's eyes darted again for threats, but found none. He staggered a step and raised a hand to his head. He was alone in the forest at night, but that was not what made him quake – it was the sense that something awaited him unseen, something that lurked just beyond his senses.

Tomoki stared lugubriously at the sputtering campfire. As small as it had become, its light was still the brightest to be found, probably in a thousand miles and had lead him back from the depths of the forest. It was its glow and radiating warmth that even now conveyed a sense of comfort. It defined here as here, and everywhere else as everywhere else and so around it everyone had gathered: Uiko, Fugo and Reona from the Stone Village, and Naruto and himself from the Leaf.

There it is, thought Tomoki, civilization at its most basic. He sat upon a rock, leant over and resting his elbow on his knee and his head upon his palm which pushed his cheek up almost into his eyebrow. He should be asleep, but was too troubled. Breaking from his uncomfortable pose, he laid another stick on the fire. A small enough sacrifice, he considered darkly. Is that not what we all are? Ninja in the service of our lords and countries – who would mourn our loss, who would cry out for our sacrifice if it keeps the fire lit…a fire that drives away the cold and keeps the darkness at bay?

He rolled his eyes then shook his head, dismayed at his own sentiments. What's happening to me?

Looking over at Naruto, who lay curled up on his side, fast asleep, Tomoki was amazed at how calm and peaceful he looked. The impulse seized him to grab his friend by the high, wide collar of his orange jacket and shake him awake, then babble into his face like a madman with lips frothing and features boiling, about his recent terrors and misgivings. The thought of the look on Naruto's face immediately made him chuckle, and he put the idea away. After all, he thought, what right do I have? He looked again at the boy. Where was I all those years, when he needed a friend...or just someone to listen, who could say something to him besides insults?

He blew out a frustrated breath and his eyes rolled over the sleeping forms of his company. Only Reona looked back at him from where she lay.

"Not sleepy?" ventured Tomoki.

The girl brushed her cheek with her fingers, nodded, then pushed herself up. Without her ties, her hair flopped over her face in an awkward, endearing way.

The boy grinned, then asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

"I've never camped out so far from home before," she began. "I'm…kinda scared."

The genin nodded. "Makes sense," he opined, then inquired gently, "What of?"

She looked around nervously into the dark then swallowed hard. "Uiko says there's nothing out there, but then what are all those sounds!"

"Well," began Tomoki. "That's not exactly true. Really, there're all kinds of things out there, there's crickets, bats, owls, snakes, voles," he shut his eyes and his expression flickered, "even a big cat of some kind, like an ocelot or something." His eyes opened, tapped his chin then rambled, "I think that's what they're called."

Reona's eyes went wide with alarm at which Tomoki winced sympathetically. "It's not so bad," he said and gestured around them. "There's nothing mysterious about it. They're just doing the same kinds of things we do in the daytime, only at night. They're out having a look around, looking for food, a girlfriend/boyfriend or someone to play with. We're too big for any of them to want to mess with. Even if they did, we'd all protect you – Uiko, Naruto, me and…," he chanced a look at Fugo, "well, three out of four ain't bad."

A smile crept its way through the little girl's gloom. "You'd really do that for me?" she asked. "Even though I'm stone and you're leaf?"

"Of course," Tomoki confirmed surely.

Reona relaxed a bit and seemed to take comfort in his assurance. "Him too?" she gestured at the stirring, open-mouthed Naruto.

The leaf ninja chuckled then replied, "Believe it. Now get some rest."