Naruto, Kiba, and the Owani girl whose name they learned was Tora were quick to move along the swamplands and onto dryer, more solid land so they could run along at faster speeds. They were already well ahead of any possible pursuers, thanks to Naruto's trickery, and likely wouldn't have any problems, so they made a straight line back to Konoha.
The only real problem was, none of them were -quite- sure which way was the straight line they wanted.
"Kiba, come -on- already!" shouted Naruto angrily. He thrust the map under his feral companions nose. "The map says we should go straight along the river! Look at it!"
"I'm looking," replied Kiba angrily, swatting it away. "And I'm telling you not to be such an air-headed blonde! I've been that way before, it's nothing but rocky ground. We should head south and then head west along the river, on the -other- -side-. You imbecile!"
"What'd you call me?!"
A cry split the air, though it was more the roar of a wildcat than it was the cry of frustration of a twelve-year-old girl. Tora had heard the two boys do nothing but bicker since they'd rescued her. Between that and being wet (it was drizzling lightly), to say nothing of having been kidnapped, her patience was at it's absolute end.
"Both of you shuttup! Goddamnit I have never seen such a sorry operation! You call this a rescue?!" shouted Owani, directly into both of their faces.
Kiba, never one to back down from a fight, barked right back "that's some way of showing gratitude, jou-chan! We just rescued your sorry tail from Hidden Swamp, how about some gratitude?!"
"So far all you've managed to do so far is get us lost... gimme that..." she said, yanking the map from Naruto's hands. About to protect, the blonde ninja was hissed at, and he stumbled backwards in shock. "Hmmm. Good I know this region... Kiba's right, we head south," she said, snapping her arm and rolling up the map, then tossing it to Naruto, who barely caught it in time.
When both genin looked up, Tora and Tigtig were already heading down the hill.
"Coming?" she called up at them.
Muttering, the two boys followed after her.
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Unfortunately, even with Kiba's expertise at fieldwork, backed-up by Tora's map-reading skills, they didn't make much ground on the first day thanks to bad weather. The light drizzle quickly turned into a full downpour, forcing them to seek shelter in a nearby cave Naruto stumbled across (stumbled into, rather). Tora quickly had a fire going and the three of them decided on a hot meal while they waited for the weather to blow over.
As the storm raged outside, Kiba sneezed, grumbling angrily. The dog-ninja rarely caught cold, but whenever he did, it never failed to put him in a foul mood. Shivering and soaking wet across from him, and not enjoying the benefit of a heavy coat like her comrades, Tora was in a similar miserable state.
And then there was Naruto, who realized he'd forgotten to pack his ramen for the trip.
So there were three very surly ninjas in a small cramped space until the storm passed. It was a minor miracle none of them wound up dead.
Kiba was somewhat quiet, which was unusual for him. He tore into some beef jerky he'd brought along for the trip, regarding Tora with a critical eye. She and Tigtig (whom she'd introduced to them) didn't look all that special, but then again Akamru's small stature had caused him to be underestimated before as well. Usually to an enemies misfortune.
"What?" she snapped at him.
He frowned, not liking to be challenged. "You're one of the legendary Owani? Cat Ninjas?"
"And you're a Dog Ninja? Inuzuka?"
Give and take, even amongst shinobi. Kiba nodded. "The Hokage felt our tracking would be necessary to find you."
"Actually Kiba was the only genin left in Konoha when I had to find teammates," Naruto stated, unhappily munching on some cold trail mix. "Couldn't find anyone else."
Kiba growled unhappily at that description, but Tora giggled. "Oh, I get it. You were all they had left? What, not even a three-man squad?"
"I got injured on my last mission," replied Kiba, shrugging off his jacket to expose his left arm, showing a nasty gash that didn't look fully healed running from shoulder down almost to the elbow. "My teammates had to go on without me while I healed. They should be in Hidden Grass by now."
"... oh," she replied, a little lamely.
Kiba grunted, shrugging his jacket back on. "We'll leave soon as the storm lets up. Naruto, let me know when, I'm takin' a nap," he grumbled, lying on his side and curling up his jacket. Akamaru, nearby, curled up beside him, doing his best to keep his master warm.
Tora smirked. "Not going to walk in circles before you lay down, Inuzuka?"
"Bite me," he grumbled, closing his eyes and trying to rest.
"You wish," she quipped, before lying down herself on the opposite end of the cavern. "I think I'm going to rest as well... Naruto, was it?" He nodded. "Wake us when it's time to go?"
"Uh... sure... but why do I get stuck with guard duty?"
Neither of his team answered, both were already fast asleep. Being experienced ninja, they could fall asleep and wake up in an instant if their mission required it. Naruto frowned, scratching his blonde spikes as he pondered of their angry behavior towards one another.
"Wow, they really are like cats and dogs... they totally hate each other."
Uzumaki Naruto was infamous for many talents. Perseverance. Adaptability. Loyalty to his friends. But his understandings of human nature and emotions was limited, to say the least.
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The storm ended late in the afternoon, when the sun was already starting to set. Going was slow because of the soggy ground but otherwise the team made good time as they headed south, then turned west at the end of a series of markers and headed west along the river. They'd cross one of it's tributaries before they were back in Fire Country but from there it would be straight going back to Konoha itself, where Tora's family was waiting for her, and presumably Kiba's was too.
However, they weren't out of the woods just yet.
This time of year rain was frequent in this part of the country, something that wasn't shown on the map they'd brought with them. The tributary they reached was overflowing and nearly twice as wide as they'd expected, and was running fast and hard, with choppy waves. No way they could run across it. Plus, Tora readily admitted her training with water-walking wasn't very well developed, so unless Naruto or Kiba carried her, they wouldn't get across that way. So instead they headed further south to try and find a boat or a bridge or some means to get across. Or maybe just a shallower, calmer spot where they could wade in up to their waist and pass in such a fashion.
Fortunately, they found just that.
"Hey guys, look!" shouted Naruto, who'd moved on ahead (sick of listening to his comrades arguing the whole while, to say nothing of the dirty looks both their pets were giving one another). "I can see a bridge up ahead! It looks sturdy!"
The three of them rushed forward, anxious to be out of the depressing Twilight Country, and found it was just as Naruto described. A fairly simple but sturdy looking wooden bridge, wide enough for three to pass side by side comfortably.
With a whoop of joy, Kiba was determined to be the first across, and raced there with Akamaru by his side. Tora and Naruto followed behind, a short distance behind...
... and that is when Dokueki struck.
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Dokueki had actually caught up to the team earlier that day, but had kept his distance to observe them, hidden in the shadows. He hadn't become one of the chief assassins in Hidden Swamp by being a fool, after all, which was considerably more than could be said about his comrades.
Based on what he saw, as well as what he knew from the reports of their rescue mission, the Konoha genin were powerful but uncoordinated, unorganized, and their rescued Owani lady wasn't helping much. But they were still a threat, and so a frontal assault wasn't an option, even for a fully trained jounin like Dokueki. So instead he'd moved ahead to a logical ambush point and prepared some of his more formidable jutsu to use against them when they arrived.
And now, he struck.
"Suishouha!"
The waters below the bridge, already in an agitated state, became downright aggressive, rising up as a small tidal wave that swept towards the bridge with frightening speed. The impact cracked the foundation of the bridge but, miraculously, it held together. However, those traveling atop of it were not nearly so fortunate. Naruto slammed into the railing hard, though fortunately without sustaining serious injury from the impact. Beside him, Tora wasn't nearly so fortunate, being much more lightweight she was swept clear over the railing and went splashing down into the waters below, coughing and spluttering.
Further down, Kiba was in much better straights, having been able to dodge aside much of the watery attack. Upon spotting Tora's predicament, however, he pitched himself clean over the side and into the water after her.
Naruto, meanwhile, turned to face their enemy, who'd sprung from the shore to land on the far railing of the bridge as he stood. Now that he was much closer it was easier to make it some features, though he was shrouded head to toe in black shinobi garb, and wearing a mask not unlike his own sensei's. Hair so dark it was almost green flowed behind his head, being painstakingly drawn into a series of dreadlocks. Perpetually wet, they clung to his skull and shoulders like the tentacles of a squid, and the image was further enforced by what skin was visible of his face and his bare arms, being clammy and pale. A number of pouches hung from his sides, and a chuunin flak jacket rested on his chest, but he displayed no other unusual equipment or apparel.
His forehead protector bore the image of Hidden Swamp, however, leaving no doubt in Naruto's mind what he was here for.
"You bastard! Why can't you people leave Tora alone?!" shouted Naruto, grabbing up kunai and holding it at the ready.
"Her clan have long been thorns in our side," spat Dokueki from behind his mask. "We had hoped to learn a way to destroy them through her, but alas, we underestimated your abilities. It won't happen again... brat."
"Grrr," Naruto growled. At his feet, Tigtig and Akamaru gave similar challenging hisses and growls. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
A puff of smoke filled the air and six Narutos charged out of it, all with kunai upraised to do battle with their opponent. However, rather than shock or fear, Dokueki looked faintly pleased with himself.
"I thought as much," he hissed. "So you like to use replications, mm? Well try this on for size," he replied, snapping his hands together into seal. "Hikari Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Six clones of Dokueki then launched themselves towards Narutos, and the two sides met in a flurry of attacks. Each time a blow was landed, the clone vanished in a puff of smoke or a burst of light, and Naruto and Dokueki sent in another small squad with much the same results. While Dokueki's attacks were faster, and his side tended to overwhelm Naruto's with sheer power, Naruto had a near unlimited supply of chakra to draw upon, and kept sending more and more clones in to do battle.
Changing tactics, Dokueki signaled for two of his clones to fall back and slip under the bridge, and they emerged on the other side, grabbing hold of the original Naruto (or so they presumed) and allowing him to send a flurry of kunai flying to tear him apart. Alas, their plan failed, for the original had already slipped into the fight with is others and was working his way towards the original Doukeki. Hurling his own pair of shuriken, Naruto removed the rest of the clones, leaving a clear path for him to charge forward, fist upraised to smash in Dokueki's nose.
But while Dokueki came from a village of incompetent fools and weaklings, he was the best they had to offer, and even that was enough of a challenge for a mere genin like Naruto.
Taking advantage of the slick floorboards, Dokueki pushed himself forward and slid underneath Naruto as the blonde-haired boy miscalculated his jump, flying over Dokueki. As he flew overhead, Dokueki formed some quick seals and tugged down on his mask.
"Suiton, Taihoudan!"
A stream of water spat forth and slammed into Naruto's body like a geyser, vaulting him up into the air and clear over the side of the bridge into the river, even as Dokueki flipped gracefully back up onto his feet.
One down, two to go.
But as he turned, his keen senses warned him of danger, and he spotted a soaked, very surly Kiba on one end of the bridge, and a dripping wet, frazzled Tora on the other, both with their familiars by their feet. And both of them looked very, very angry with him.
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Author's Notes:
Hikari means Light, so Dokueki's clones are light to Naruto's shadow. Seemed suitable for a Twilight country jounin.