Hello! Yes. I know I kind of promised an early update and now it's late… BUT! I have a reason. A really good reason- actually REASONS!
nodnod
Firstly, my Internet was down, so without that, I couldn't upload anything to meh -.-.
Secondly, it's um… writer's block, but reviews help that morenods,
Thirdly, I've been doing extra research, ya know on Kankuro's little illness thing? By the way, if anyone knows anything about poisons and venoms and medical science and medical knowledge please review and tell me. I'm absolutely clueless. 0.o I'm making up a lot of it and I'm using my logical so it sounds believable.
Lastly, sorry again for the long wait!
On an extra note, for the various ruler/divider lines you normally see at the chapter title and chapter end... little ruler buttons that I use don't work currently... So until they DO work, I'll have to deal with using '---'s.
OMG… I think I cramped up my whole body- I have complete writer's block! GAG. 0.o I've been trying for the past hour trying to come up things for all these stupid characters to do… 0.o It may not sound like much but hey- I've got like 15 characters to write, keep in character, and kind of develop, and make them grow or something like that…
Anyway, ideas- I will GLOMP you and stuff your mouth with cookies if you give me an idea- double bonus if it'd 'develop' a character here. I'm seriously suffering from writer's block. I don't have any problems with the storyline- just the characters and what they're meant to do. Because, half of these characters and starting to be 'filler' run arounds, if you get what I mean. If you don't I don't care…
Anyway, THANK YOU TO ALL WHO REVIEWED! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
Ahem. Now on to the next chapter- oh wait. Disclaimer.
DISCLAIMER: You know what? I AM SO FLIPPING SICK OF DOING THIS STUPID STUPID DISCLAIMERS! Everyone knows basically the one important thing which I DON'T own here and thus, after this disclaimer, there will be no more in this story! YES! I'm using this one to cover the rest of the chapters. CAUSE I AM SO FLIPPING SICK SICK SICK OF IT!
Ah there we go. That felt better. Now you can go read and whatnot!
Naruto Shipwreck Chapter 10:
Plans... Fears... Capture.
"It's not a swamp Kankuro." Gaara looked at his elder brother, concerned.
For a few seconds, the Kazekage nearly thought he heard wrong. But after Kankuro had said the word quite a few times… there had to be something wrong with his brother. Gaara surveyed the area- it was wet… but definitely not a swamp.
"It's complete jungle- the only thing of interest, like I said earlier…" Gaara pointed at a narrow man made path, "Is that."
"You mean… the alligator?" Kankuro followed his finger.
Gaara swallowed.
Temari swiveled to face her brother, "Kankuro. It's a rock… Damn it- I am not caring about your damned excuses anymore! Gaara… how long till the rest are here? We NEED a medic nin- we need Sakura now…"
"They should be coming soon."
"It can't be soon- it has to be now! Kankuro how did you- what happened to you? You feel like you're on fire, you're getting delusional- this is serious! Tell us!"
Gaara watched as Kankuro slunk down against the tree trunk and averted his eyes, trying to evade the question.
"Kankuro." Gaara looked directly at his brother's eyes, his tone demanding.
"All right all right… I was bitten by a spider or something a few days ago- just some mild side effects! There's no need to worry, damn it!"
Kankuro glared defiantly around.
Gaara shook his head, "Why didn't you ask Sakura before this…?"
"I didn't know- it only got this… bad today. Everyone's been complaining of the heat, headaches from the sun! What's the difference if my headache hurts a little more or if I have an extra mark on my skin?"
"What mark!" Temari rounded in on her younger brother.
Kankuro swore under his breath. Gaara sighed. From experience he personally knew that many times his brother, as anyone else hated having any type of weakness exposed. But even so… this wasn't really like Kankuro.
Gaara watched as his older brother showed his arm to Temari where indeed, a large red welt on his skin stood out amongst the numerous insect bites. The Kazekage took this time to sit down and watch his siblings, Kankuro grumbling, Temari scolding. Family. Even with the dark foreboding that Kankuro could and probably was in deep danger- Gaara still wanted to hold onto this moment in time forever- just the three of them.
It was almost nonexistent that they had times like these anymore. Just the three of them- doing things… like normal people did- or as normal as it could get. Gaara knew it was childish to want something like that to happen, but he didn't care. He had no childhood- every memory from it was plagued with people yelling and screaming at him.
So even if his 'family' was devoid of a real mother or father- he at least had them. Gaara glanced at his siblings. Sometimes… he wondered if this was anything like a real family. It was like some sort of dream- he knew any moment he'd wake up with the cruel reality bearing down on him, but until then, he'd at least enjoy what he'd had-
"Found you guys- finally!" Inuzuka Kiba came into view with Akamaru, "Your scent was just about washed away with the rain…"
Gaara's eyes snapped towards the Chuunin, his hopes of keeping his little 'fantasy' alive a little longer disappearing like a mirage in a desert.
"Where's Sakura?" asked Temari immediately.
"Um… Ah…" Kiba stuttered, not expecting this sort of greeting.
"She'll be coming in a few moments." Said Aburame Shino- the youth landed on a nearby tree branch.
Shino was followed by Hyuuga Hinata who came before Akimichi Chouji and Nara Shikamaru. Gaara dove in into his mind- Neji and Tenten would probably come next… then, finally Sakura, Naruto, and the Uchiha. At least, that was the order in which they all set out…
"Why are stopping!" demanded Chouji suddenly, "Have you forgotten about Ino!"
Shikamaru was too wise to say anything rashly but his face voiced the same expression as Chouji.
"We need Sakura- something's happened to Kankuro." Said Gaara.
Almost immediately, everyone crowded around Kankuro. Gaara glanced at them, small amusement on his face.
"I'm all right…" mumbled Kankuro, evidently irritated.
But no one believed him, of course. Tenten and Hyuuga Neji came next, one of Tenten's arms bandaged up roughly. Finally, came Team 7 of the Rookie 9- Uzamaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke.
"Sakura- you've finally come!" Temari looked relieved, "Something's wrong with Kankuro…"
Immediately the medic nin peered at Kankuro, her face alight with concern, her green orbs scanning the Jonin's body.
"He's half poisoned by some sort of spider." Said Aburame Shino first.
"Wha- how you know?" asked Naruto, surprised, "Sakura-chan's the medic nin… not you…"
"Shino knows anything and everything about insects," pointed out Kiba to Naruto.
"Do you know how poisonous?" asked Sakura, glancing up the Chuunin.
"Judging by the bite size… the spider shouldn't really have been too poisonous… but-"
Everyone hung on to that 'but', even Gaara- to a certain extent.
"Kankuro- you've been affected by some sort of poison before, right?"
"Yes…?"
"Well, your immune systems to poison, from what I know, should have been weakened by that event. So even a bite from a less poisonous spider could but your life at risk."
Sakura shook her head, "Since Kankuro's had a poison effect him before… normally the body would have built up some sort of immunity towards it…"
"It didn't really have time to build up immunity…" said Shino quietly, "You took it out personally- the immune system didn't 'conquer' it and get stronger…"
The medic-nin swallowed, "You're right. And…"
Suddenly the Chuunin noticed the amount of worried looks she received.
"I'll need some water for him- he's parched." She said quickly, "Other then that, I can cure his delusional state and he'll be alright to battle. He just needs someone to watch out for his back."
Gaara's glanced at her. She was hiding something… something a lot worse then the already bad situation. He'd have to ask her later- but then… did he really want to know?
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Shikamaru sighed, "Well- the people… who captured Ino are extremely fast. I'm quite sure they're ninja- they had some sort of forehead protector on. Anyway, these people- they left no trail… Besides that look at the broken twigs and footprints- it's a single person, not a group."
Akimichi Chouji glanced at his friend- at his height he practically towered over everyone else in the jungle. Not that he really minded though. Shikamaru glanced rather skeptically at the path- the path that Gaara had stopped to look at. Presently they were laying at their choices for action.
The path in front of him was definitely man made and the person who had last used it, seemed to be in a great rush- footprints, broken twigs and leaves…
Suddenly Tenten pushed through the group, Neji behind her.
"That…" the kunoichi inspected the footprints and held up a sack of fruit, "I think that a trail left by Lee…"
"We found the fruit some way off from here," continued Hyuuga Neji, "He either was being very intelligent… or extremely idiotical."
Kiba came forward, and bent down on one knee, surveying the various tell tale tracks, Akamaru sniffing beside him.
"It's hard to tell with the rain- but… it should be him- Lee, that is." He said.
"So are we… or aren't we going to follow that trail?" asked Chouji, reasonably impatient.
Why were they dawdling about like this…? Ino could be… dead, by now, or in a torture chamber. Even if she had cases of bossiness here and there- it was almost impossible to imagine a life, or even a day without Yamanaka Ino. It would be… too quiet.
"Come to think of it…" Naruto spoke up, "Where do these kidnappers live? We've basically searched this island through and through…"
At this point Sakura and Neji seemed to grow uncomfortable. Which was quite odd- especially for Neji. From experience, Chouji knew that most emotions the genius felt were hidden under a perfect mask.
"Do you have anything you might want to add?" Gaara, asked rather pointedly.
Everyone in turn glanced at the two. It was obvious they were hiding something.
"Well um… if you head north west from here… we might find their village- or where they come from…" babbled Sakura, her voice taking on a ridiculously joyful tone.
"Yeah… Of course, they didn't scout their own area… Especially since the two were scouting all the way into our area…" Uchiha Sasuke pointed out, a small tone of annoyance being directed at Neji.
"They came into ours too- and that's a long way from wherever they scout." Agreed Kiba, "You guys have no sense of direction!"
"I know!" agreed Sakura back all too happily.
"And you weren't scouting your area because…?" Gaara's aquamarine eyes pierced into Sakura's green ones.
"Anyway-" Shikamaru broke in, "What are we going to do? It's clear that if we follow this trail there's a possibility we might find Ino and we'll probably find Rock Lee… Presently this our only plan of action, unless"
"I say we go for the trail." Said Kiba, "It's most likely Ino's kidnappers went this way as well. Everywhere else, judging from terrain and all that is… not as likely."
Akamaru barked in agreement. Chouji tapped his foot impatiently- even if his foot made tiny shock waves ripple through the ground. He didn't care; he just wanted to get a move on the situation. More or less everyone agreed with Kiba and Gaara of course decided to go that way. So they could go, right?
"Let's go!" said Naruto, voicing Chouji's exact same feelings.
"We need to check the equipment first and have a basic plan," said Neji, "It's pointless running into unknown territory without it- you'd get yourself killed."
Naruto made some sort of disagreeable mutter which everyone ignored.
"Shikamaru and I have worked out the battle formations…" Gaara glanced at Shikamaru, "Care to explain them?"
Chouji nodded. This was kind of like when the tried to retrieve Sasuke two years ago- except for a few things. They were going to complete their mission fully this time, they had more people, and hopefully they were all going to come out of it without having a very close-to-death experience.
"Firstly, before I go into the exact positions, note that we will be scattered and not in an exact line. Make sure that wherever you are, you can see the people in front of you and behind you. Since we want to move before any scent or trail vanishes for Kiba, the orders are going to be fast and I'm not explaining them twice."
Shikamaru paused to catch his breath and let it sink in for the slower people in the group, no names mentioned, of course.
"Okay. Firstly, we of course have Kiba and Akamaru- our trackers. They pretty much can watch out for each other. Secondly, you have Gaara and I more or less beside each other so we can back each other up and he can give orders. Next we will have Neji- your primary orders are to use your Byakugen to scan the whole front area for upcoming attacks and traps."
Shikamaru continued, his voice picking up pace, "Sasuke will be with Neji to give support. Behind them, Tenten, our long ranged fighter will give backup support for any fighting. In the middle we will have Sakura and Kankuro-"
"I don't need anymore bodyguards then necessarily." Interrupted Kankuro fiercely, "Sakura said I can fight."
"I said you also needed someone to watch your back. Who better then the medic nin?" Sakura grinned at him apologetically, "So you'll be stuck with me- and that'll be in the middle, since that's the normal position for me. Besides, you're a long range fighter. It all fits, huh, Shikamaru?"
Kankuro muttered under his breath but otherwise kept quiet upon seeing Shikamaru nod.
"Of course, Chouji and Naruto will be roughly in the middle, so they can help everyone. Temari comes next, her orders the same as Tenten. Next, at the back come Hinata and Shino. Shino, you will support Hinata, and watch out for her while she uses the Byakugen to scan the back area."
"Are we nearly done yet? The scent of Lee is starting to fade…" said Kiba anxiously.
"Yes we are." Replied Gaara, "I suppose no one has any objections or questions so all we need to do is sort out arms quickly- very quickly. The scrolls, Tenten?"
The Kazekage glanced at Tenten who had been half hiding behind Neji. No… Not THIS again. Chouji cursed loudly- very loudly.
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Haruno Sakura brushed a lock of pink hair behind her ear and wondered with growing anxiety if they'd reach Ino in time and if they'd be able to find whoever kidnapped her… It was hard to believe that their time on this island had suddenly taken a sharp turn. Her anger towards Naruto from the other suddenly seemed so pathetic and unreal to today where she had no idea if she was going to see her best friend again.
The pink haired kunoichi shook the thoughts away. Hah. Who was she to get worried about Yamanaka Ino? That pig headed idiot was probably driving her captors insane by her constant jabbering…. Not that Sakura felt any better by it…
Sakura shook the thoughts away again. She had to stop being so paranoid. She had to think of something else… A sudden image of Uchiha Sasuke brushed into the Chuunin's mind. No… Hell no… Not him… Why did HE have to get into her thoughts at this time?
Try as she might, this time Sakura could not evade these troublesome thoughts. The harsh words from the day before had been etched into her mind. Even when she thought she hadn't done anything to him… even when she had dropped the 'kun' most times when she called him… he still seemed to dislike her… why?
If anything, their relationship was worse from when it started two years ago. What did he expect of her? Even when she stood firm in her faith towards him, even against Ino and the rest… when he came back… Naruto dragging the heir back one fateful day… She suddenly couldn't really face him… talk to him…
Then, on the boat, when she had found out she was in an opposite cabin to him, she squealed with pleasure… Strange. But although, Sakura did not know it, that had been a side of Inner Sakura… And Outer Sakura? She was trying to stop romantical feelings (and little did she know it ANY feelings) for her old team mate from cropping up…
She glanced at Kankuro beside her. The Jonin was definitely none to amiable towards her, and she looked away, half feeling guilty. She knew everyone half expected her to cure him fully automatically. But then… things weren't so… as simple as that. Tsundae-sama probably could cure him- but then, she was one of the most amazing medic-nin ever. After all, she had cured Gaara-sama, hadn't she?
Speaking of which, Sakura nearly lost balance as the Kazekage seemingly appeared out of nowhere beside her. Sakura cringed, knowing exactly what Gaara had come to talk to her about. Damn it… there wasn't an easy answer to this.
"Sakura…" started Gaara slowly.
"Yes, Gaara-sama?" replied Sakura back with equal slowness, dreading the next few sentences.
"How sick is Kankuro. I want nothing but the truth this time."
Sakura nodded mutely, trying to pull a string of words together, trying to figure out how to break it gently to him. It was best to do it in private…
Sakura glanced at Temari behind her, "I just need to talk to Gaara, nothing big, could you just watch over Kankuro for me, Temari-san?"
Even as she broke away from the group wit the Kazekage beside her, Sakura felt another twinge of guilt as she saw Kankuro's face. She knew it was almost cruel, but considering his state, precautions had to be taken.
"Before I go on, I must warn you not to behave rashly at all." warned Sakura.
"Have I ever acted rash?" the words might have sounded arrogant, but with Gaara, Sakura knew he was stating the pure truth.
"No… but you might after this." Sakura said softly.
"Hurry up." He said bluntly, "Don't stop evading it, and say whatever you need to say, Sakura!"
"Well… Well…" mumbled Sakura, "Kankuro desperately needs professional medical care... It's- it's outofmyreach. WeneedTsundaesama."
The last few sentences were spoken rushed, and Sakura knew that Gaara only just grappled them into his brain.
"You are a professional medic-nin."
Sakura swallowed. She hadn't wanted to admit it. Yes, she wanted to surpass Tsundae-sama, but… she had already proven herself capable to heal. Yet, the truth that she couldn't really help Kankuro had been shoved bluntly into her face. She could try to save him, but things would be more… drastic.
"I don't have the experience- I could… but it's extremely risky. The sort of treatment he needs… it's kind of like what happened to Hyuuga Neji when he and the rest of the Konoha genin returned from their mission… of not retrieving Uchiha Sasuke."
Gaara half froze but recovered instantly, "What do you mean?"
"I know, Kankuro still looks pretty much fine… but then, most of the current damage so far is internal. If it starts to become external… then it'll be kind of too late… His blood so far is being circulated with poison- Most of it still flowing from that welt on his arm. From the bite he has received, it seems that a large amount of poison has been stored on that lump of skin…"
"What is going happen to him…" Gaara's voice was filled with as much dread as Sakura had.
"For now, he only has a fever and other mild effects. Shortly, he's going to start vomiting, feel pain, and he may have trouble breathing. The next step is that he will start to lose his senses and… other things…"
Sakura trailed off, knowing, that she had said enough already.
"And… and…" Gaara said hoarsely, "How could you… cure him… There has to be a way to cure him…"
Sakura bit her lip, almost drawing blood, she had expected this, "If we got him back, if we get out of here and get to a village-"
"DAMN IT! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU DO… AS LONG AS YOU KEEP HIM ALIVE!"
Sakura's eyes widened, it was almost scary… that look in his eyes… The Kazekage was now breathing heavily, and has just refrained from shouting lest the others hear.
"Well…"
Sakura blinked back fear and gazed directly into the eyes of Suna's Kage,
"The first step, only the first step… is to amputate part of his arm off…"
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"Who you think has kidnapped Ino-san, Shino-kun?" asked Hinata softly, as the heiress scanned the area with her Byakugen.
Shino paused for a moment in thought, "I believe there's a hidden village of ninja living on this island. Shikamaru and Gaara have probably stumbled upon that fact too."
"Ninja…" said Hinata slowly, as if trying out the word, "It does seem to fit."
"Yes, it does." Agreed Shino, "But, since we haven't encountered these ninja before…. They probably will and seem to have different rules and regulations."
Shino glanced in front of him, where Gaara was bounding away to the farther front of the group while Sakura headed back to Kankuro. Judging by the looks on their faces, Kankuro was quite ill… But then, he would be. When he had inspected the wound, he noticed quite a few things, which he told Sakura in private, not wanting to alarm the others.
"Shino…" started Hinata, almost afraid.
"Yes…?" answered the Chuunin calmly.
He was used to things like this. Hinata sometimes took a while to voice her opinions.
"Do you think we will get out of this island…?"
Shino pushed his sunglasses further up the bridge of his nose. He knew that this was an important question.
So he answered, as truthfully as he could, "Yes."
That single word seemed to put his team mate in some relief and nodded in reply before she looked to her left and right, looking for enemies.
They continued on in silence for another few minutes. Each pondering their situation and each thinking of what would happen in their future. Truth to be told, Shino was feeling at the peak of his abilities in this jungle.
The Aburame Clan originally descended from a tropical place like this and no doubt Shino recognized many at the flora and fauna in this place. Even so, while he knew there must be humans on this isle… there seemed to be no human trace of footprint. This knowledge alone was rather disconcerting and Shino knew that Kiba had discovered the same thing with Akamaru earlier on.
Kiba had informed him of this and both agreed to only tell Shikamaru and Gaara. But even so, their… enemy, as he could call it, was definitely not going to give up Ino without a fight- a very dear and costly fight, it seemed.
Shino gritted his teeth, the emotion hidden behind his sunglasses and clothes. Last time, the rest of the shinobi had run off idiotically after the Uchiha and came back half-dead. This time, at least, he was there, however arrogant it may have sounded, the Aburame didn't really care.
"Shino!" Hinata's voice was soft, almost nonexistent.
The black haired teen glanced at the Hyuuga, half wondering what she meant. Then, a small black insect of his landed on his shoulder. In that single moment Shino also recognized what was happening.
"Yes… You're right. Hinata." Whispered Shino back.
He raised his head, and opened his mouth, hoping he'd be fast enough-
"Everyone!" Shino's voice was urgent, "Scatter, now-"
But before he could get the full message across, and run himself, a large object crashed onto his forehead, sending him forcefully towards the ground.
Shit… Too late.
He felt his eyes closing and the scattering of his insects over his skin. Somewhere far off, he heard a scream. In a remote recess of his brain, several fear alarms started to ring wildly, a feeling he had not felt in quite a while.
After all… he could be dying… or simply unconscious… And- these… things… they were. so. Fast. His thoughts began to fragment themselves unwillingly. Hinata. Where? Going… out.
It was then that Aburame Shino's world faded into blackness and there was no more… presently.
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Yo! Done. Sorry that Shino's bit was really tiny… But, I seriously wanted to get this out, so there you have it.
Thanks for reading, hope you DO bother to review, and read the next chapter!
-StarDragon X