SO.

My impromptu hiatus is not exactly over. I still probably won't be able to update anything until my winter break begins.

But anyway.

In the spirit of THANKSGIVING (woohoo for a holiday for food binging!)… I COME BEARING GIFTS BITCHES. Lol enjoy!

Shikamaru's eyes furrowed. He glanced at his companions, who lounged around patiently, clearly not as worried as Shikamaru felt. Troubled. That was the more appropriate word. Naras don't worry. The just become troubled. And this was all very troublesome.

Neji was silent. Brooding. Fuming. Shikamaru glanced at the Hyuuga, sitting in the lotus pose while meditating, no doubt taking this time to tamp down his anger. Kakashi was reading his porn. Big surprise. All of them were frustrated, though. They had fallen for the false trail. The three of them had followed the scent and chakra trail that appeared to be Sasuke and his companions for a good hour before Shikamaru had noticed that they were just going in one large circle.

Nothing. They had nothing! Travelling all the way to Kumo and what do they get for their troubles? Nothing! If it wasn't for the fact that Sasuke was an international criminal and giving Konoha a bad reputation, Shikamaru wouldn't even bother attempting to bring him back like that Naruto-baka. In fact, even now he felt quite disinclined to retrieve the Uchiha. Why couldn't they just let the Hunter-nins take the job?

I don't get paid enough to deal with this crap… Shikamaru thought grumpily. His eyes shifted towards the direction of the temple, which was currently obscured by a large influx of fog. The clouds were growing before his very eyes, lifting slowly but steadily into the sky, darkening from blue to grey. His eyes narrowed. How odd that the fog should thicken at this time of day. Fog doesn't occur during the middle of the day.

"Stop sighing." Kakashi drawled in his direction, his gaze never leaving his book. "I'm sure she's fine."

A cold wind reached across the vast expanse of land around them, exploring with chilled fingers and sharp stings, whistling piercingly into their ears. Shikamaru tore his gaze away from the direction of the temple. "I just… have a bad feeling."

From his lotus position, Neji opened one eye and looked up at him. "Why are you so worried, Nara?"

Shikamaru stood up from his slouch, alerting the other two to the gravity of the situation. "That temple…" Shikamaru's instincts were clamoring as the fog surrounding the temple seemed to double with every passing second, "That fog wasn't there before. Plus, Sakura was extremely hesitant about entering the place. Almost… afraid."

Kakashi chuckled, eyes still focused on the pages of his dirty book. "Sakura doesn't get scared. I'm sure you're just overreacting. Besides, fog is common in Kumo."

The Nara cast them both sharp glances. "Fog in the middle of the day?" He drawled sardonically. That seemed to catch the attention of his companions. Neji and Kakashi tensed and glanced in the direction of the temple. The fog bank had risen into the air in a most definitely unnatural manner, towering above the mountain range and stretching into the sky with ominous, dark clusters. A cold wind was making itself known to the three shinobi, gradually picking up speed until it was a cold, blistering gale, beckoning the deep grey and black hued clouds that billowed out from the temple's location.

"That's definitely not natural!" Neji growled as he braced his legs against the wind that rocked into them with merciless force.

"We need to find Sakura!" Kakashi yelled over the howling wind. No one protested, and with careful steps the three began to make their way towards the steps leading up to the temple. Their pace was agonizingly slow, the wind buffering their every step, the cold mist seeping into their clothes and flesh.

Their path became more treacherous as they began ascending the large flight of stairs leading up to the temple entrance. The stone steps were wet and slippery, and in Shikamaru's opinion, they were sloping downward at a steeper angle than before. The wind, if it was even possible, picked up its brutal assault, screeching like a banshee in their ears and slamming itself into their bodies, as if trying to knock them over. Every step seemed to take twice as much energy as the one before it, and soon the shinobi were struggling at every step. Halfway up the three companions had taken to roping their bodies together, for both stability and safety. At one point when Shikamaru slipped, the wind seemed to slam even harder into him, attempting to knock him all the way down to the bottom of the stairs. Neji had barely been able to catch him, and Kakashi had barely been able to catch Neji as his footing was slipping as well.

Shikamaru spat curses into the rain as they neared their destination. The fog was descending from its place in the sky, blanketing their surroundings, thick and opaque. His team could barely see five feet in front of them; even holding their hands in front of their faces resulted in a blurred sight. It was a good thing they had roped themselves together earlier. They might have lost each other in the fog.

The entrance to the temple was dark and foreboding as it finally came into view. The shadows seemed to crawl out of its maw like tentacles seeking to drag its victims into its black depths. The wind chimes hanging from its arches were eerily silent, despite the violence of the wind. Shikamaru eyed the arches, noticing that they seemed barer than before.

"Go!" The yell broke their reverie, and Shikamaru and Kakashi followed Neji's order and scrambled for the temple, to escape the sudden storm.

Upon reaching the entrance, the shinobi gave one last burst of energy and bolted inside. They were now shivering, their hair plaster to their faces and shoulders, their clothes soaked from the sudden rian.

"What… the hell… was that?" Kakashi muttered in between pants. They all leaned against the stone walls of the tunnel entrance, far enough into its corridor that the wind and rain could not touch them.

"The wards…" Shikamaru mumbled.

"What?" Kakashi and Neji looked at him.

Shikamaru glanced outside at the temple arches. "The wards are gone. Every temple has omamori hanging from their roofs and arches to ward off evil spirits." He paused to ring out his hair before pulling it back into a ponytail. "When I was here with Sakura the omamori were here. Now there are none. I didn't even see any on the ground if they had been blow off. It's like they were never there."

His two teammates were silent, not knowing what to make of the odd observation.

"Come on." Kakashi spoke up, pushing his soggy body off of the wall. He pulled an emergency torch from his pack and struck it, its red light casting a soft and controlled glow. "We need to find Sakura."

And so began their trek through the temples. The eyes of the three shinobi geniuses were flickering everywhere, taking in the remarkably preserved painted carvings along the walls. Their brows furrowed in thought, not remembering anything in their history studies about a lost civilization in the Kumo Mountains. Yet these paintings displayed a group of people that were obviously different from the residents of Kumogakure, with a thinner body frame, longer limbs, and paler skin.

The paintings depicted the people as thin and long, their bodies clothed in long blue or purple robes- or were they cloaks? A symbol that looked to be a multi-ringed eye appeared regularly throughout the paintings, along with the kanji for 'Kami'. Although neither of them was surprised at that, this was a temple after all. Still, the most disturbing thing about the temple was the faces of the painted people. Or to be more specific, their eyes.

Was it just Shikamaru's mind going crazy, or were those eyes glowing? He shook his head. It was just the torch light, he was sure. Still, the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up in that 'someone-is-watching-you' feeling. And being a shinobi, that feeling was usually right. His suddenly snapped to the left as he saw movement on the wall and Shikamaru's body froze.

"Nara?" Neji asked quietly. "Do you see something?"

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he scanned the painting beside him with great intensity. It was a large, maybe three foot carving of a person, dressed in dark colored robes, the details of its face (with the exception of its eyes) and lower body worn through the years. One hand was depicted holding its stomach, where the chakra was centered in the body; the other arm was stretch upwards, cupping a star in its palm. And its eyes. Those eyes were faintly glowing in the torch light, if Shikamaru glanced at them from a certain angle. And he could have sworn…

Shikamaru forced his muscles to relax, although his instincts were still screaming in alarm. "It's nothing." He muttered. "Just overreacting."

Because there was no way those eyes had moved to follow him. That was impossible.

Neji and Kakashi glanced at him worriedly, but said nothing as the three continued down into the bowl of the temple. After that incident Shikamaru refused to look at the wall paintings with a determination that should be considered paranoia.

"I think we are reaching the main room." Kakashi's whisper echoed into the hallway, seeming louder in the smothering silence. They could tell that they had entered a larger space as the feeling of slightly fresher air greeted them, cooler and less moist than in the tunnels. The sound of their footsteps were quieter, and the darkness of the room seemed to dim the light of their torch.

"Do you sense anything, Neji?" Kakashi asked.

Activating his Byakugan, Neji did a quick scan of the room. He tensed. "I think I found Sakura!" He whispered urgently and they followed him as he rushed towards the very center of the room. Their worries increased when they saw the position of their teammate's unconscious body: legs folded at odd angles beneath her, her arms twisted, her head resting forehead-down on the cold earthen ground. Sakura's body had collapsed in an unnatural position, as if it had been dropped vertically rather than fainting forwards or backwards. Most disturbing were the scorch marks on her clothes. It looked as if someone had burned away certain areas of her collared shirt, starting from her mid-back to her neckline. Neji was the first to reach her, leaning the pinkette's torso onto his lap and cradling her head in the crook of his arms.

"Something's wrong!" Neji informed them with a hiss. His gaze travelled down her body, narrowing in confusion.

"What is it?" Kakashi snapped, not wanting to wait any more for answers. Something was happening in this temple and he had no clue as to what and it was seriously pissing him off!

Neji took a moment to think before carefully trying to explain. "Her chakra… is off. It's as if her signature has been altered-"

"That's impossible." Shikamaru interrupted. "A chakra signature is like DNA. It can't just be altered."

The Hyuuga let out a frustrated sound at being interrupted. He really didn't like being interrupted. "I know that, Nara. But it's true. Sakura's chakra signature has been altered. It's hard to explain but… it's like the color is off. And the feel is different. It's like listening to an orchestra and one player is playing in the wrong key. You can hear it but you can't pinpoint where it is coming from."

"Only a Hyuuga would relate chakra to a symphony." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Was she attacked?" Kakashi interrupted; his protectiveness for his female student kicking in. "And what kind of attack can alter the very nature of one's chakra?"

Slowly, Neji began to stand, carefully adjusting Sakura's position in his arms. "I've never heard of such thing before. It should be impossible. And I don't sense any distress in her chakra. It's not fluctuating as if she had recently fought. Although it does seem stronger, as if it is pushing at her coils."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked worriedly, although he tried to mask it.

"It just feels like Sakura's chakra is straining itself. It feels wild, like Naruto's chakra usually feels. Except in Naruto that is because of his Kyuubi chakra. There is so much inside of him that it wants to overflow." Neji glanced at Sakura's limp body. "But Sakura shouldn't be having that problem. She has a normal chakra supply and clear coils. Her chakra shouldn't feel as if it is overflowing."

Shikamaru frowned. "Are we in danger if it does overflow?"

Neji shook his head. "No. She doesn't have such a large amount of chakra that it can overflow. It just feels as if it will escape her."

"Let's just get her back to the village." Kakashi interrupted, his body hovering close to Neji and the unconscious Sakura, his eye trained on the pinkette. Her breathing was shallow. "Sakura needs medical attention. Now."

(((o)))/ _\(((o))) It's in her eyes

Upon exiting the temple, the skies were suspiciously clear. It looked as if the storm had never existed. However Shikamaru noticed that the omamori were still absent from the arches of the temple, and the steps were still damp (although less damp than they should be considering the strength of the sudden storm).

The three shinobi were silent as they raced back to Kumogakure, thankful that nothing else unusual or strange occurred on their way back. The guards at the gates took one look at the unconscious medic in Neji's arms and allowed them to pass into the city unquestioned. Thankfully the hospital in Kumo was right next to the Kage tower.

The medics in the hospital practically swept the limp Sakura out of Neji's arms before they could say a word, rushing the pinkette into the emergency room as they pushed her team out the other way. It would seem that even in Kumo the medics have learned how to deal with overprotective and troublesome shinobi when their teammates are injured. Knowing that it would take a while before they heard any news concerning Sakura, the three Leaf ninja decided to go speak to the Raikage.

"The Raikage is ready to see you now." The voice of the Kage's secretary interrupted the musings of the Konoha ninja.

The three of them stood up as one, following the young Chuunin into the Raikage's office, where she bowed before exiting and closing the door behind her. Kakashi leaned against a wall, Shikamaru slumped into one of the chairs in front of the desk, and Neji chose to stand behind the chairs, legs braced apart and arms clasped behind him in the soldier's fashion.

The Kage's chair was facing away from them as he gazed out the windows across his village. They heard a long sigh from the being in the chair before he slowly turned to face them, leaning back into the cushions and tapping his fingers. The Raikage's eyes flickered over their team, noting the lack of their female member.

"How did it go?" He asked gruffly.

"The Uchiha fugitive has escaped." Neji answered tersely.

The Raikage guffawed. "Well my men could have told ya that, kid!"

The Hyuuga refrained from reacting, although he was quite annoyed. "My teammates and I were able to find a promising trail left by him, however it was proven false."

There was a tense quiet in the room and A inwardly wondered if they were waiting for him to ask about that cute little apprentice to Tsunade (and no, he was no creepy old man). Did they want a freaking invitation? The Raikage would have chuckled if it weren't for the stiff postures of the Leaf ninja. Something must have gone very wrong. It was strange that they weren't forthcoming about it.

"Okay I give." A growled, crossing his arms. "What's stuck up yer asses, boys?" Much to the Raikage's surprise, the lazy Jounin opted to speak up.

"There is a temple near Killer B's hangout." Shikamaru drawled, his eyes locking on the Kage with disturbing intelligence. "What is your opinion on that, Raikage-sama?"

A's brows furrowed. "What about it? It's abandoned. There's nothing valuable there. Killer B thought it was cool, and often took to studying it, not that he's learned anything from that piece of rubble."

Shikamaru arched an eyebrow. "Well how much do you know about it?"

"What's it to you?" The Raikage barely refrained from griping. It was just a run-down building. What could these Konoha nin possibly want with it? Perhaps there was something there his own ninja had overlooked? No, impossible. Killer B had been exploring that place for years.

A's eyes flickered up as the silver-haired scarecrow looking guy seemed about to talk. However the shifty Nara waved him down with a lazy hand, assuring his team that he was handling this particular conversation.

"Raikage-sama." Shikamaru finally sat up, steepling his fingers in front of him in a thinking position. A suddenly got the feeling that this Jounin was more than he seemed. "In case you haven't noticed, our team is down one member."

The Raikage nodded. "Indeed I did notice. Did something happen in the temple? In all the years my ninja have been exploring that place, there have never been any booby traps or dangerous seals. The place is clean, to my knowledge."

"And yet," the Nara continued to speak with a dangerously calm voice. "When we sent our teammate into the temple, she did not return. And when we went to retrieve her, we were assaulted be the most curious circumstances."

A felt his eyebrows rise in surprise. "What-"

"And once we finally got into the temple," Shikamaru continued, ignoring the Kage, "We found Sakura's unconscious body in a heap on the floor, breathing shallow and chakra going haywire."

Suddenly Shikamaru, to the surprise of everyone in the room, stood up so fast that his chair toppled over and slammed his hands on the desk, leaning threateningly towards the Raikage. "What the hell is going on here?!" He demanded. "Do you expect me to sit by and accept your useless answers while my team is being injured under mysterious circumstances?!"

Now neither Kakashi nor Neji were ever the type to be surprised. Or stare. Or to stare at anyone with surprise (unless, of course, Naruto had once again broken the record of 'most extremely stupid stunt'). However both could not help but stare at their normally composed teammate actually yelling at the leader of a foreign country, completely thrown for a loop. And one of the more feared leaders at that! This was a man who could hold his own in an arm-wrestling fight against Tsunade!

For a long while A regarded Shikamaru with cool, calculating eyes. So he's the brains behind the team. And here I thought it was the pink one. The Raikage sighed and sat forward in his chair, picking up a pen and writing something down on a piece of spare paper. "I honestly have no inkling of what you are describing within that damn temple. However B might." A handed Shikamaru the piece of paper. "That's the apartment he's staying at, for now anyway. It's nearby, so you shouldn't have a hard time locating him. That boy always manages to draw attention anyway, the damn drama queen."

Shikamaru slowly reached for the paper, plucking it from the Raikage's hand like a cautious animal. No more words were spoken. There was really nothing left to say between the four men. The Nara took a moment to make eye contact with his two teammates before walking towards the door, the other Leaf nins following him out. They did not bow to the Kage, or even nod at him, as they exited.

"Damn brats." A muttered, having no idea just how much he sounded like the Hokage herself (and he would shudder if he only knew). "No respect these days."

(((o)))/ _\(((o))) It's in her eyes

"How is she?"

The nurse looked up to see them hovering about two feet away from Sakura's bed, their worried eyes continuously glancing over the pink haired kunoichi. Neji felt an odd feeling in his stomach, curling nervously. He pushed it away, but he acknowledged the fear that hung in the back of his mind.

The Kumo medic sighed. "None of us know, sir." She answered Kakashi's question, placing her hands on her hips and staring intently at her patient. "We checked everything. Her brain levels are normal, if not a little unresponsive given her… coma."

They all flinched at the word.

"But the thing is, your friend here shouldn't even be in a coma." The nurse walked over to a side table next to Sakura's hospital bed and picked up a clip board, her eyes roaming the scrawls and scribbles that the doctors had written. The nurse reached up to tug on her short brown hair in confusion. "Her body is perfectly healthy, her nerves show normal activity, and she has suffered no serious injuries, at least physically. We even had our genjutsu specialists come in, but they all say she is clear. It's like your friend is sleeping and refuses to wake up."

Neji clenched and unclenched his hands. This was… unprecedented. Rogue ninja he could handle. Fighting demons and shinobi was a breeze. But fighting an invisible enemy was… impossible. All of the statistics said that Sakura should be awake and healthy. There was no medical reason, or even a genjutsu reason, as to why their favorite medic was suddenly unconscious and unresponsive.

Beside him, Neji heard Kakashi let out a similar sigh of frustration. "Then there is nothing we can do for her?"

The nurse shook her head. "No. I'm sorry. All we can do now… is wait."

Shikamaru pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, rolling it with his tongue. The nurse turned sharply to glare at him. The Nara held up his hands, already knowing what she was going to say. "Yare, yare, it's not lit. I just chew on it when I'm thinking."

The little nurse made an 'I'm-watching-you' motion with her hand before placing the clip board back down on the table next to Sakura. "Light that in here and you die." She warned him as she exited the curtains that separated Sakura from the other patients in the ward.

Kakashi chuckled softly. "She reminds me of the medics in Konoha."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I swear Ino used those exact same words on me one time." He told them as he began to walk away. "Come on; let's go talk to Killer B."

Clearly there was nothing more they could do for Sakura, and so with a heavy heart, Neji followed Kakashi and Shikamaru out of the hospital. They followed the Raikage's instructions to Killer B's apartment, which was maybe a ten minute walk away from the hospital and a five minute walk away from the Kage tower.

Neji was the one elected to knock on his door, much to his displeasure. Not that any of his other teammates would be better in that position. The Kumo jinchuriki was like Naruto: one could only take him in short doses.

"Why hullo~~~~!" The man in question practically sang as the door swung open. Killer B attempted to hug Neji in greeting but found himself with nothing but an armful of smoke.

Looking up and blinking in confusion, Killer B found three highly unamused Leaf ninja staring back at him. Shikamaru seemed to shiver at the mere thought of being on the receiving end of Killer B's hugs, Kakashi looked blasé as ever, and Neji… Neji was hiding (well, standing very closely, because Hyuugas do not hide) behind Kakashi, looking positively revolted and sickened at how close he had come to being smothered by the Kumo nin's insufferable hugs (which were probably accompanied by flowers and rainbows and unicorns and emotional music… heaven forbid!).

"My friends of Naruto!" Killer B exclaimed when he quickly recollected himself. "What up dawgs? As swaggerliscious as always I see!"

Shikamaru winced at the horrible and uneducated slang. Honestly. Swaggerliscious? He wondered if A would mind if he just ripped out B's tongue. "Killer B," Shikamaru cleared his throat. "May we come in? We have important business to discuss."

The jinchuriki paused. "Uh, sure. "

Stepping aside, the Kumo nin allowed the three Konoha shinobi to enter the apartment, shutting the door behind them and activating a seal. The apartment was relatively big, with a small kitchen and eating area off to their right and a living room across from that. The bedrooms appeared to be down a hallway further down.

"Thanks." Shikamaru murmured, leading the group into the apparent living room and grabbing a seat. Neji followed suit, and Kakashi chose to stand, as usual. Killer B joined them, sitting across from Shikamaru. There were four cushioned armchairs, all surrounding a coffee table. The table was made of hardened wood, scuffed with weapon marks, which were apparent from the whet stones, kunai, and senbon that lay in neat bundles on top of it. A small bookshelf was located beneath it. On the walls were a few pictures of Killer B and a few others, presumably his friends.

"Just so you know, this isn't actually my apartment." Killer B informed them. "It's-"

"B? Do you have company over?" Sounded a woman's voice. Following the voice as it got closer was a Kumo kunoichi, dark skinned, bright and spiky red hair, and a pretty face. Her golden eyes were fierce, glinting predatorily as she glimpsed the foreign ninja. One carefully arched eyebrow rose. "You brought enemy ninja into my apartment?"

Killer B seemed to cower at her growl. "Karui, I assure you these are allies of Kumo-"

The kunoichi scoffed, crossing her arms and leaning on one leg in the universal 'I-am-a-woman-hear-me-roar' pose. "Treaties mean nothing to the shinobi villages. Outside ninja are always subject to suspicion."

Shikamaru sighed loudly. "What a drag."

The kunoichi's eye twitched. Man this woman reminded him exactly of Ino. And Sakura. And every other damn kunoichi in Konoha. What was it with stubborn women? They were like a plague!

"Karui." Killer B said with a sudden seriousness that grabbed her attention. "They really are here to discuss important matters."

Karui finally relented, slightly. But only because Killer B outranked her. "Fine." She snapped. She grabbed her sword as she made her way towards the door. "And try not to burn the damn complex down!" The door shut behind her with a bang.

There was a moment of awkward silence after her exit. Finally, Killer B chuckled. "She ain't bad, ya know. Spirited and stubborn as a bull though."

"You live with her?" Neji spoke up from his seat.

Killer B shrugged. "For now I guess. After that Uchiha kid went after me, Kumo ain't willing to let me outta their sights. It was either stay with Karui, or try to live under the same roof as A. And as much as I love my brother, A ain't easy to live with." The jinchuriki sighed. "And Karui's opinion of me isn't influenced by politics, unlike my Raikage."

The three Konoha shinobi caught a brief glimpse of Naruto in Killer B, remember how hard it was for their own demon container to distinguish himself apart from the political power games as more than a potential weapon.

Shikamaru tapped his unlit cigarette thoughtfully for a moment before plunging into what he wanted to say. "We need to talk, Killer B-san."

The Kumo nin nodded. "Watchya need, kid?"

"That temple near where you fought Sasuke." Shikamaru prompted. "What do you know of the place?"

The demon container's face scrunched with confusion and surprise. "What does that place have to do with anything?"

"Because we found unconscious Sakura's body in there." Neji suddenly snapped, to impatient to deal with explanations. "And now she's in a coma for no apparent reason."

Killer B's eyes widened. "What? The cute little thing?" The three Konoha shinobi bristled protectively at her nickname, but the demon container ignored them. "Well… I'll tell ya what I know. I don't think it will help, though I hope it does."

Killer B rose and exited the room, soon returning with a few folders of paper. "These are my notes." He chuckled. "A was always complaining of how hopeless I was in the Academy. Guess they just never found something that really grabbed my attention."

He then pulled an old text out from under the stacks of books underneath the coffee table that sat in the middle of the room.

"Get comfortable, boys." He told them. "This might take a while."

Yes, that was a horrible attempt at a cliffhanger. I was going to continue the chapter, but then it would be too long, so I decided just to split it.

READ & REVIEW PLEASE!

Lots O' Love,

~Lilithia