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Naka za Kitsune

Chapter 5:

Time's Game

By – Spades

(Finally me again!!) (Yay!) (Sorry it took so long . . . You know, school . . .)

Sasuke walked along the river, contemplating his next move. No, he couldn't go to the closest village (which was Konoha) and, no, he couldn't even get close. Well, he huffed, closer than I already am.

He walked a bit further before halting. This was the place where Tobi was supposed to meet him. Did . . . they . . . get him???? He asked himself, starting to get unnerved.

There was a rustle of movement from the bushes. He looked behind him before smiling wickedly—if these weren't Konoha, he'd have fun.

Despite his older appearance, a young lade mused, he still looks like his old self. She moved to the other side of the brush she was currently hiding in to spy even further. Unknown to both Kiba and Lee (not to mention the rest of her group), she had actually been sent to watch, or spy, on the Uchiha. Since his comrade (or . . . son?) had apparently been apprehended already, he was the last part. Tsunade had said to her that this Uchiha was the last missing link of their village. She preferred to have that link in sight. Maybe the boy—

She made a noise. Oops, was her last thought before she collapsed. Sasuke stood behind her, hand still out and formed into the fist that had struck her in the head.

"TENTEN!" Lee called out, cupping his hands around to make his voice louder. Kiba kept wondering how loud the guy could possibly get. Hopefully not any louder, the Inuzuka thought as he clapped his hands over his ears and grimaced. Good thing he had left Akamaru back with his little girlfriend and her puppies, ne?

Aoao would enjoy Akamaru's company, and so would Kuromaru (whose true color is black black, but is a confused puppy, also named after Kiba's mother's dog now deceased), Shiroi (a cute puppy who loves to be loved, and whose true color is pearl-white), Aoiko (this one's true color is blue which is very odd, but she is more territorial), Kiiro (a devilish little boy, true color being yellow), and finally the incredibly obnoxious runt of the litter, Kata's favorite little boy puppy, Shikon (named so because of his purple-ish blue-ish true color).

Kata. My wife.

Kiba sighed and wondered when he would get home. Just then, though, a woman came bounding up to them. Upon closer observation, it was Tenten.

"KIBA—" but Lee never quite finished that thought. And neither did Kiba.

"Lee, Tenten—?"

I woke with a start, still scared. But why? That I want to know. Wait. What's happening here? Didn't this already . . . happen?

Why can't I sleep? I'm so tired, yet I'm so . . . hyper . . . strange combination, ne? But, that was last night, wasn't it?

Very strange indeed, came the now expected reply.

I (or my past self?) sat up in bed and stared at the kitsune. What do you want, kitsune

Simple. You're wanted elsewhere. He said that last night. This is getting creepy.

Huh? Nani? What's happening?

Part of your future. The kitsune said as he left out the window. Or, at least I thought it was a 'he.' How rude . . . he (or she) didn't even tell me his (or her) name! Uurgh! Didn't I already think that?

I followed the kitsune out of the window and onto the roof. So, we're roof-jumping, ne? This is fun . . .

At the moment. His answer had scared me, but hell if I had let him know that! Wait. I'm thinking like last night. Again. No, my past self. What was this? I'm watching myself do everything I did last night . . . By the way, clueless one; I'm a 'him.' My other self blushed. Whoops. She almost called him a girl for good. Creepy. Again. Suddenly, both of us felt another chakra signature from someone close . . . Tobi . . . Just for security reasons, we masked our/my chakra. The other signature did the same. Just like last night. So, this was a game of 'hide and seek', ne? There was no reply. My other self stopped short to look around, but she couldn't see a thing. Well, I remember I could see the basic outline of things last night, but that was all. No kitsune in sight. He bailed. On me. Or, my other self. Apparently, she couldn't see me, and I could see the kitsune. He was watching my from below, from the roots of the trees. Another came up beside him and then they disappeared from my view.

Great. Heh, just like last night . . .

I left my past presence to go fight Tobi while I decided to follow 'him.' He couldn't have gotten far, could he?

So, as I was walking through the forest, there was a blinding (but very quick) white flash and suddenly everything changed colors. I'm not even kidding; I mean, the grass turned purple, the sky turned pink, the trees were yellow and orange and their wood turned blue. It was creepy. So, being as creeped out as I was, I ran through the trees, bushes (they were red?), and discolored flowers and into strange clearing. And, in this clearing, was a huge lake with a heavy silver mist lurking above (it rose to the pink sky.) I'm not even kidding, it was so large. It seemed so be very loud, though I don't know why.

There wasn't a waterfall in sight and the only source of water leading away from it was its extremely small river. And even that was running slowly. Oh, and guess what color the lake/river thingy was? Yeah, it was the only normal color—or the sanest color, for it was actually blue, just a crystal blue that looked very, very cold. I didn't touch to find out. Probably would've if 'my' kitsune and his little 'girlfriend' didn't show up. Heh, guess they heard that? No, they probably saw it on my face.

There was yet another blinding light and everything turned to normal color. Nani? They didn't even say goodbye? Kami-sama, they were out to get me, weren't they?

I almost jumped up about four feet as the sound caught up to me—lots of screams and the sound of many katana clashing against something and, worst of all (besides the sound of trees being uprooted), the sound of a gigantic . . . beast roaring.

"Where the hell am I?" came a voice directly behind me. Again, I almost jumped four feet into the air. Wow.

I looked around, and guess who I see? None other than my teammates and Tobi. Great.

"To hell if I know baka!" Oh, there they go . . . again.

"Takashi, shut up. You too, Arashimaru!" I yelled at them using Arashi's full name (reason: he hates it when anyone does that.) So, he blew up. Practically.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?" he asked/yelled. I cracked up. Suddenly, there was some movement from behind us in a bush. All four of us moved quickly—there was no telling where we were, what we were up against, and why we were here. We had no clue.

Until we came into yet another clearing—this one cleared out by a monster. And by monster, I mean monster; nine tailed, orange, vast, and mean. Like, we were the size of its fangs. I screamed, though it was drowned out by both the giant . . . fox's roar/growl and every ninja's scream from the battlefield. Hai, battlefield.

"What are those little kids doing here? We need to take them back to Konoha where they'll be safe!" someone yelled from a foot or two away. We're not that little!

"Wait," someone else said as they pointed up at a man who had 'magically' appeared on a giant frog, no, toad. He was standing very majestically on its head. It looked like . . . Dad? Otousan was here? No, his hair wasn't that long, and people weren't chanting 'Hokage-sama, Hokage-sama!' with glee to otousan. Unless, we were in the future? I swallowed hard. Or the past. I remember that I had to do a report about him. The Fourth Hokage. Yondaime Hokage. So, we were in the past? If so, then that means that he'll die. Now.

I couldn't look. Neither could my teammates, I could tell, but I don't know about Tobi. He didn't seem like the type of person to be scared of death, now did he?

When I opened my eyes, though, I wasn't there anymore. I was in a bed. A bed, not my bed. Not my room. It looked like a . . . hospital's room? Wait . . . that couldn't be right, could it? Unless . . .

Was that good? Could you pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease tell me it if was good? Please?

-Ace of Spades-