Kali trotted along through the woods on all fours silently and skillfully. The sun was still not set and she wanted to get far away. Something in her mind told her someone was going to look for her. She ran straight into a deep shrubbery. It had a space of about four feet from the ground before the thick began. This effect made a great, house-like shelter that stretched far through the forest. It was mostly dirt underneath which made it cool and agreeable to Kali's now disagreeable nature. She sat and wrapped her tail around her leg; she felt weary but not enough to sleep. Instead, she just sat like a pleased dog and closed her eyes. All was peaceful until Kali heard a voice she didn't recognize.
"Well, well, what a pretty pup you are!" it said. The voice was gruff and had an old witty hint to it. Kali located it right in front of her as the short man popped down like a monkey from a tree. He smiled with mouth closed, but it was so wide his wrinkled face closed his eyes. Kali looked at him with one eye and noticed he couldn't be more than three foot tall. She put her ears back and her head low.
"Stay back, old man," she snarled deeply. The man chuckled and pulled back up into the branches. Kali perked her ears at his sudden disappearance. He came back down behind her and spoke again.
"Would you like a meal, pup?" he asked. Kali's heart jumped and she spun around. With all fours on the ground Kali growled with her fangs bared. Her tail whipped from side to side angrily.
"If you don't leave me alone, you will be the next meal!" she said before jumping at him. The man quickly popped back up into his thick retreat. Kali looked up for him, but all that was there was a hole. He came back down not far away.
"Now, now, I was trying to be hospitable, Pup," he said still having his warm grandpa smile. "Is something troubling you?" Kali took a long breath and lay on her back, looking up at the empty branches above her. She seemed to be suddenly non-violent. She was so tired; fighting the little man wasn't tempting enough.
"I have never hated life more than now…" Kali said with a sigh, "These feelings humans feel are almost too much to take. It makes me sick…" She looked back at the man. He had his arms crossed and was nodding.
"You are still young, Pup, you are just learning what true feelings are," he said, "These emotions are some of the strongest of anyone's life; the new experiences, new fears, new loves…they all are fresh to your soul and your mind isn't quite ready for it all." Kali stared at him blankly.
"You. Have. No. Idea." Kali rolled to her side.
"Just be strong. Bad times always yield to good times." Kali closed her eyes.
"I may kill you in the night, but I'm staying here. If you want to live, I suggest you stay away." The man disappeared after a while into his shrubbery and Kali slept peacefully. Maybe he's right, she thought before drifting off to sleep, this will get better sooner or later…
Sasuke navigated quickly through the forest looking for any sign of Kali's whereabouts. He tried using his Sharingan, but there was nothing to look for. He was lucky the moon was close to being full so it was easier to see, but seeing wasn't always helpful when you could only see about ten feet in front of you. Sasuke wanted to at least get far enough away from the group so as not to be follow-able. As he jumped through the trees he looked from side to side. Nothing was anything close to what he was looking for. Soon, he came across a large brown structure. He stopped.
It looked like it was made from bamboo and vines were situated on top of it to break up the silhouette. It was rugged and old and obviously not in use. Sasuke walked up to it and realized it was just slightly taller than he was. Walking around it, he found a vine-covered entrance. Inside was dark, but he could make out a table, two chairs and a box on the table. Sasuke was cautious to enter, but the thought of Kali being inside pushed him forward. As he entered he saw another chair in the corner. Thankfully, all were empty. The box on the table was pretty large and halfway open. Sasuke opened it the rest of the way and saw inside a small wooden whistle that looked like a roaring lion. He picked it up and looked it over. Sasuke tucked it in his pocket and left the building
If what he thought was right, this whistle did just the opposite of what his other, wolf-shaped one did. He continued on his way silently.
Oji laid leaning against one branch. He had his eyes open and was looking down at his knees. The first time Sasuke stood up, he had heard. At first he thought about chasing him, but these other two needed him. He looked up at the sleeping Naruto. Sasuke was so determined it would have been impossible to stop him. Oji smiled as he crossed his arms. Sasuke and Kali were so much alike. It felt strange now; Oji had imagined Sasuke's spirit as Kali's and now that both were gone, there was an empty lone feeling about the place. He closed his eyes and frowned. Well, he'd better get some rest, too; in the morning he had an important decision.
The sun rose surprisingly quickly and Oji was plenty awake when Naruto sat up and stretched. Oji watched Naruto look around for a second, blink, then look at Oji with a questioning stare. Oji was silent for a second before he spoke.
"Wake Sakura, Blondie," He said as he stood, "We're going as soon as everyone's up." Naruto was going to say something, but Oji dropped from the tree before he could. Naruto shook Sakura's shoulder.
"Sakura, Sakura," he said, "I think there's a problem." Sakura sat up and blinked, yawned then realized what Naruto said.
"What do you mean, Naruto?" She asked.
"Sasuke's gone and Oji's not saying anything," Naruto said as he glanced back to where Oji had disappeared. Sakura thought for a second before standing.
"Naruto, do you think he went to find Kali?" she whispered.
"Hey!" Oji yelled from below. Naruto and Sakura jumped. "It doesn't take that long to wake up!" The two moved quickly down the tree and stood in front of Oji. Oji stood with his fingers half-run in his hair. He was looking at Akkan thoughtfully.
"Hey, Oji," Sakura started. Oji looked at her. "Where's Sasuke?" Oji blinked then looked to Naruto.
"He went to find Kal on his own," Oji answered. "And now I'm posed with a difficult choice: we can go help or I can drag you two to the shore and get you to safety."
"That's not even a choice!" Naruto yelled, "We have to go help Sasuke and Kali!"
"I know that, Blondie!" Oji snapped. "What, do you think I just want my sister to suffer!?" Naruto was taken back by Oji's sudden anger. Oji calmed. "You aren't the one who's seen her at her worst and her best, at her strongest and weakest." There was a long pause before he said more. "Most likely Sasuke is trying to find her on his own because I wasn't going to let him. We need to retrace our steps and find him. Hopefully he'll be ok, or Kali will kill me." Oji walked back down the way the group had come followed by the others.
"What are we going to do when we find Sasuke?" Sakura asked.
"We'll see when we get there," Was all Oji said.
Sasuke pushed the bushes aside and looked out over the slightly clearer land. Trees still stood, but the bushes and shrubs were thinner. The sun was just rising and the sky had turned a softer blue, but the ground was still thick with shadows. There was little chakra to focus on in empty forest. Even though the trees seemed to be empty, there was a mist of power over everything. Sasuke felt more and more discouraged as time went on. There was no sign of Kali and even if he did find her, judging by what Oji had said, she would probably want to kill him.
"Kali!" Sasuke called. His voice echoed through the woods ominously and only silence followed. He sighed and continued walking. Hopefully Kali could hear him and not Oji.
Kali lay sleeping soundly on her dirt bed. The old man had long since been gone, and she had been able to get a good rest. A small voice echoed to her ears. She sat straight up with wide eyes and her heart skipped a beat. She jerked her head to her left with ears perked. Could that have been who she thought? No, why would he be looking for her, Oji had said he wouldn't let them return… But she would never mistake that voice, especially now that her senses were more than usual. She stood up on all fours and her tail whisked from one side to the other. Should she go, or stay? Her heart was torn so she sat and waited patiently.
Oji walked slowly, following Akkan who was following Sasuke's scent. He would sniff and then walk a while before repeating the cycle. Naruto walked at the end of the line and held his stomach.
"When are we going to eat breakfast?" he asked finally. Oji stopped and looked back at him over his shoulder. The spite in his eyes made Naruto stand straight. He sweated for a second before Oji walked up to him. Naruto was intimidated by Oji's height as the angered warrior stood right in front of him.
"You want to…eat?" Oji said. Naruto gulped.
"Well, I-I…" Naruto stuttered. Sakura looked worried. Oji wanted to say more, but he would probably have decked Naruto between sentences. He turned and walked furiously back to Akkan's side and they continued. Naruto sighed and followed with no more complaints. Sakura also seemed to sigh. She wanted them to find Sasuke as soon as possible without incident. At the pace they were moving it would take a while. Akkan was trying his hardest but he wasn't that good at tracking things that weren't dieing or dead. Oji soon patted Akkan on the head and spoke.
"You did well, Akkan, but we need to get going," he said before standing. He looked one way then the other before setting off at a good pace.
Sasuke felt the cool morning mist on his legs as it slowly dissipated. Despite his fears of Oji hearing him he cupped his hands around his mouth and called out again.
"Kali!!!!" again his voice flowed around and through the trees before falling to silence again. Sasuke jumped when he heard rustling in front of him. It was faint, but noticeable. "Kali...?" Sasuke whispered. Kali stood up staring straight at Sasuke.
"So you came," She said softly. Sasuke felt himself sigh in relief. She ran to him. Sasuke was startled at first when she embraced him, but put his arms around her lightly. "But you wanted to get off of this island, didn't you?"
"I was worried about you. Are you okay?" She stepped back.
"I'm getting by, but that's normal." She looked down with a pause. "Sasuke, why do you care about me?" Her question caught him off guard and he thought for a second.
"Because… I just do." Sasuke struggled. "I don't want you to go through this alone." Kali looked up.
"You mean you want to come with me?" He nodded. She thought hard. "Ok, I guess you won't listen to me about leaving." She smiled wide up at him. "Let's get going then!" She took his hand and they departed.
"So where exactly are we going?" Sasuke asked as they walked.
"There is a large tower a little north of here. That's where the last of the cursers is."
"Who are they?"
"The one's you fused me with this spirit so long ago. It's not much of a curse now that I'm used to it, but their intentions are what tick me off. Most of them have died by now except for one. He's still waiting for me to return and rid him of his life."
"He wants you to kill him?" Kali stopped and looked at him.
"As far as I'm concerned he is. The whole group wanted me to exact revenge on the people who brought them to this island, but I wasn't about to let them control me like that. When there were only four left three killed themselves and the fourth is mine." She continued walking. "They have this…thing that makes me not think straight. I'm not quite sure what it is exactly, but I know this guy knows how to use it well and I've never been able to get to him." Her voice deepened with aggravation and she stopped. "That's why I discouraged you coming." She released his hand gently. "I'm afraid of what I'll do by mistake."
"Don't worry about me, Kali," Sasuke said, stepping beside her. She smiled but didn't look at him.
"Ok, if you say so." The continued silently.
The three ninja stopped at the old building Sasuke had been to earlier. Oji wasted no time in continuing directly toward the building he knew Kali would be going to.
"Wait!" Sakura called out. Oji stopped and looked back. "Can you at least explain what's going on with Kali? Or maybe where we're going!" Oji thought without motion.
"No, I can't," He said bluntly, "Because I myself am not clear on all of the details. Because of what I do know, I have more reason to withhold the facts from you. I can tell you that when we get to where we are going there will be some things going on that we won't be able to control. Kali has to do this and Sasuke has jumped in without thinking. I'm almost afraid of the unstable situation we've found ourselves in." There was a moment of silence before he continued at his pace. He knew this was going to end quickly whether it is a happy or sad ending. He hated to be unprepared like he was but there was little he could do. All that was left to do was get to Kali as soon as possible.
Naruto followed silently. He had barely kept up with what Oji had said and now he felt a little concerned. What if they've jumped into something too deep? Naruto shoved the thought away. Kali and Sasuke needed their help and that what they'd get.