Chapter 9: Stuck
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
(After a brief meeting with
Asuma's team, he and his team join the Guard. That team stayed in
the village to make sure no suspicions came up. Several days after
Sakura and Ino's match, breakfast is already on the table when
everybody comes in.)
Konohamaru: "What the hell!? She already
did everything!?"
Sei:*sleepily* "Naw Konohamaru, Kakashi
did."
Kakashi:*gave him a funny look*
Lei:*just walking out
of the kitchen* "Oh, hey guys. I didn't think you'd be up this
early."
Sei: "Are you kidding me? Konohamaru was jumping on my
back, how could I not get up?"
Konohamaru:*smiles and
laughs*
Lei:*sighs* "Little brothers and cousins. Can't keep
'em from killing each other can I?"
Sandaime: "These two,
definitely not."
Lei:*sighs*
(Everyone eats and then goes
about their business. Lei finishes off her training with Team 7
around noon. Once they're off and doing their thing, Lee approaches
her at the lake. She's alone for once.)
Lee:*coming up from her
right* "Lei-san?"
Lei:*turns to him* "Lee. Something
up?"
Lee: "Not really. I just wanted to talk to you about
something."
Lei: "And what's that?"
Lee: "Well, I
just have a feeling that Gai Sensei's training is not enough.
And-"
Lei: "You want me to help you."
Lee:*sighs. Feeling
a little ashamed* "Yes."
Lei:*puts a hand on his shoulder*
"Don't feel bad about asking for a little extra help Lee. Gai
would've wanted you to ask me for help if you ever needed it."
Lee:
"Seriously?"
Lei: "Yes. He may be a bit of a pervert, but he
knows when he can't get a job thoroughly done. You want to be a
Taijutsu master, if you ever want to achieve that goal you'll have
to train under more than one person. True Gai is good with Taijutsu,
but you're better at it than you think you are. You just need a
fine tuning."
Lee: "You make it sound so easy."
Lei: "Oh
it won't be, that I can assure you. Taijutsu isn't mastered in a
day; it takes practice, perseverance, and patience."
Lee:*looks
at her and smiles.*
Lei:*returns the smile* "We'll start first
thing tomorrow, after breakfast. Considering I'm the only decent
cook around here."
Lee:*laughs*
(Later still, Lei approaches
Naruto and sends Sakura and Sasuke inside. He looks
confused.)
Naruto: "What's up?"
Lei: "There's
something I have that belongs to you."
Naruto: "Hm?"
Lei:*pulls
a wooden medallion out of her pocket and holds it out to him* "This.
It's the amulet that I use to keep Trudgen under control."
Naruto:
"Wha? Why are you giving it to me?"
Lei:*gently smiles* "It
was left to you Naruto. I was to keep it until you were ready to
handle him. He's yours to care for now."
Naruto:*gingerly
takes the amulet. Looking over it.* "What's with the funny
symbols?"
Lei:* "Ditz."* "Never mind them. You don't
need to know what it says. But here's some advice for you: Keep it
close at all times, you never know when you'll need him."*heads
inside; leaving Naruto confused beyond belief.*
Naruto: "Eh, I'm
so confused."
Lei: * "You'll understand when the time comes.
Believe me you will. As much of a ditz as you are, you'll figure it
out eventually."*
(Later that night, Lei is sitting in her room
playing with a small fan similar to Temari's [no purple dots].
First she flips it between her index fingers and closes it with a
quiet snap. She slowly opens it again and ink seems to spread across
the fabric into the kanji for wind and fire. She closes it again and
sits it in front of her.)
Lei: "That jutsu is so old. How it
survived the rewrite process is beyond me, and this fan for that
matter. It's almost four hundred years old."
Obito:*talking to
her from the kunai* "That's an old fan."
Lei: "Stuff it
Obito. It was my mother's. She handed it down to me as her mother
did to her. It's part of the Oratagi family bloodline limit. I'm
stuck between Mortagashi and Oratagi."
Obito: "Therefore, you
can use both families' techniques, right?"
Lei: "Yep, that
about sums it up. How my mother found the time to tell me or my dad
about that is beyond my comprehension."
Obito:*teasingly*
"There's a lot of things out of your comprehension."
Lei:
"Shut up. The same goes for you pirate boy."
Obito: "HEY!!!
Don't go there."
Lei: "You started it."
Obito:
-_-*sighs* "Why do I bother half the time?"
Lei: "You now
you love me."
Obito:*frowns* "But speaking of love. How well
are you and Kakashi getting along, eh?"
Lei: "Just fine thank
you. Matter of fact we're engaged."
Obito:! "Really?"
Lei:
"Yes. And tell my father if you wish, and sensei. See if I do
anything to you, except maybe let your soul float around in limbo for
awhile."
Obito:*sarcastically* "Haha very funny. Why am I
always the butt of your jokes?"
Lei: "Your not. It's mostly
Sei and Gai."
Obito: "Why am I not surprised?"
Lei: "Cuz
they're idiots. And that's being nice about it."
Obito: "I'm
guessing that Kakashi called Sei a blonde again."
Lei: "You
better believe it."
(Meanwhile, Orochimaru and Nokki have been
training non-stop since Nokki laid the challenge at Lei's feet.
Both of them are using kendo sticks, as such not to knock the hell
outta each other [They're doing that anyway], Nokki's getting
most of the beating because he's so slow. Nokki's knocked back at
least seventy feet. Orochimaru shoulders his kendo
stick.)
Orochimaru: "Getting tired already?"
Nokki:*standing
up* "No, you just caught me off guard."
Orochimaru:*smirks*
"Shall we continue then?"
(The two of them get back at
it.)(Back at the mansion, Lei is getting into her pajamas as Trudgen
scratched at her door. She ignored it and pulled her hair out of the
braid and into a bun. Trudgen scratched again with a
whine.)
Lei:*sighs.* "It's open."
Trudgen:*nudges the
door open with his nose and comes inside. He sits close to her.*
Lei:
"Are you here to yell at me or to tell me Naruto is standing right
outside the door because he wants answers."
Naruto:*outside the
door.*! * "Busted."*
Trudgen:-_-; "I told you it wouldn't
work."
Lei:*sighs* "Come in."
Naruto:*comes inside
obediently. Without shutting the door*
Lei: "There isn't a lot
I can tell you. He is the only thing that I know of that was able to
be left behind for you."
Naruto: "What? You're kidding
right?"
Lei: "Nope. I wish I could give more information than
that, but I can't. Besides, you shouldn't even be out of bed.
Kakashi'll ream you a new one if he finds you up this late. And
Gai'll ream me for the same reason."
Naruto: "Why's he
gonna ream you? Not like your training with that pervert."
Lei:
"No, but I am starting training with Lee tomorrow after
breakfast."
Naruto: "Oh." O_O "WHAT!?!?"
Lei: "Shut
up you loud mouth. You wanna wake up the whole village?"
Naruto:
"No."
Lei: "Then shut the hell up. Now, off to bed with ya,
both of ya."
Naruto Trudgen:*They head to their
room*
Lei:*sighs* "He knows better than that. Being up at this
hour."
Kakashi:*coming from the closet* "So do
you."
Lei:*jumps* "How the hell did you get in there without
me noticing?"
Kakashi:*steps out* "How do you
think?"
Lei:*teasingly* "Closet pervert."
Kakashi:*closes
the closet* "I am not. That title rightfully belongs to Ebisu."
*playfully dusts himself off*
Lei: "You're hopeless."
Kakashi:
"No. That'd be you smart mouth."
Lei: "How much of me and
Obito did you hear?"
Kakashi: "The whole thing."
Lei:
"Oh. Okay."
Kakashi: -_-; "And that doesn't matter to you
in the slightest does it?"
Lei: "Nope."
Kakashi: "I
might've known."
Lei: "You're suppose to be a genius and
your fiancée is outsmarting you. That's saying somethin
Kakashi-san."
Kakashi:*unexpectantly picks her up, his arms
around her waist* "Oh really?"
Lei:*smiles. Slips down his
mask and kisses him*
(Early the next morning, Lei gets up before
everybody else and goes into the kitchen. Once she starts cooking,
the smell of eggs, bacon, pancakes and coffee fills the house. The
first one to enter the dinning room is (believe it or not)Smicha,
followed closely by Akamaru. Both of them look over at their empty
food bowls, then at each other confused. Then Trudgen walks in seeing
his empty dish, he scowls. Lei soon walks out of the kitchen with two
plates of eggs in her hands. She places them on the table, and heads
back into the kitchen [the table is already set]. Akamaru and Smicha
exchange looks of confusion. Trudgen shrugs and lies down by his
bowl. Lei comes out again with the bacon and lays it on the table.
Akamaru paws at the hem of her pants. She looks down and
smiles.)
Lei: "Hey Akamaru."*kneels and scratches his
ears*
Akamaru:*pants happily and wags his tail.*
Lei:*stands
back up and heads back into the kitchen.*
Akamaru:*looks at the
door*
(A second later, three doves fly out of the kitchen and grab
the bowls)
Akamaru:*starts barking at them*
(That's what woke
Kakashi up.)
Kakashi:*half opens his eyes and looks around. he
gets up and starts for the dinning room. Walking in.* "What
the?"
Akamaru:*continues his barking, not noticing
Kakashi*
Trudgen:*seeing Kakashi, barks once and Akamaru shuts up
in fright.*
Akamaru:*whine*
Kakashi:*picks him up and scratches
his ears*
Akamaru:*enjoys his scratch*
(The three birds fly out
again carrying the bowls full of food and put them back in their
places.)
Akamaru:*leaps from Kakashi's arms to the floor and
charges at his food*
Smicha:*stops him before he hurt himself.
goes to her food and eats*
Trudgen:*doesn't bother to move and
starts out of his bowl*
Akamaru:*starts eating his*
Lei:*comes
out again with the pancakes* "Oh, hey Kakashi. I didn't hear you
come in through Akamaru's barking."
Kakashi: "He was barking
at the birds."
Lei: "My doves? That figures."
Kakashi:*shrugs*
"What on earth do you have planned for breakfast?"
Lei: "Eggs,
bacon, pancakes and coffee. Why?"
Kakashi: "Just asking. I
could smell it all the way from your room."
([Don't take that
the wrong way. He has to walk past her room to get to the dinning
room.])
Lei: "Is it that strong? Yeesh, then Naruto and Iruka
will be up any minute if not already."
Kakashi: "I'm betting
on Kiba first."
Lei: "Don't underestimate Naruto's nose.
When he smells food, he'll be out in a heartbeat."
([speaking
of which] Naruto has just walked into the dinning room.)
Lei:
"What'd I tell ya? There's the loud mouth now."
Naruto:*scowls*
"Very funny."
Lei:*fake laugh* "Of course it was."*one of
her doves lands on her shoulder. It quietly chirps in her ear*
"Excuse me."*heads back into the kitchen.*
Naruto:*turns to
Kakashi* "What's with the birds?"
Kakashi: "They're her
summon."
Naruto: "Oh kay. Birds?"
Kakashi: "Technically
they're doves, birds of peace."
Naruto: "Peace?"
Kakashi:
"Yes." *sighs* "You can be as bad as Sei sometimes."
Naruto:
"At least I can put two and two together."
Kakashi: "That
depends on your point of view."*sits at the table*
Naruto:*sits
down.*
Lei:*walks back out with the coffee and puts it on the
table*
Naruto:*looking up at it* "Don't let Konohamaru get
that. Caffeine makes him bounce off the walls."
Lei: "You
would know that wouldn't you. Grampa won't let him have any, one
because he's too young, and he knows that."*one of her doves
comes of the kitchen and perches on her shoulder. She gently strokes
it*
(As Gai walks in the dove chirps at him)
Gai:*looks up at
it and smiled* "Been awhile since we've seen
you."
Dove:*chirps*
Gai:*takes his seat at the table*
(After
a few minuets, everyone starts to come in, responding to the smell of
food, Lei's food [yummy]. Once they began to eat, there was
immediate conversation. Lei finished up her breakfast and headed out,
Kakashi not following her.)
Sei: "How come you
stayed?"
Gai:*rolled his eyes with a groan*
Kakashi: "Never
mind Sei."
Lee:*was staring confused at Sei with his fork in his
mouth. His took his last few bites on his plate and headed out after
Lei*
Sei: "And where's he heading?"
Naruto:* "Man, he's
dumb."*
Konohamaru: "You're such an idiot Sei."
Sei:*vein*
"What was that, shrimp?"
Konohamaru:*vein* "Who you callin'
a shrimp, blondie?"
Kakashi:*holding his hands up innocently*
"That was not me."
Kiba:*is trying not to laugh*
Sei: "You
shrimp."
Tenten: "Might I suggest running?"
Naruto:
"Little late for that."
(Shooting each other evil
glares)
Konohamaru:*tries to jump at Sei but couldn't get over
Naruto's head, falls and knocks over Naruto in the
process.*
Naruto: "OW!!! Can you leap any lower? Geeze! You
almost took my head off!"
Konohamaru:*tries to leap again but
gets his ear caught by Sakura*
Sakura: "Nice try. But your not
going anywhere from here except to your room or the corner for a
time-out."
Konohamaru: "OW!!! Lemme go!!!"
Sakura:
"No."
Sandaime:*sighs* "Some things never change."
([Ahem,
in the meantime] Lei is at the lake waiting for Lee. As Lee comes up,
Lei spins her windmill shuriken on it's point)
Lei: "Ready to
get started?"
Lee: "Yes, but what is the shuriken for?"
Lei:
"I'll be teaching you a technique or two. These are to help you
balance."
Lee:*utterly confused*
Lei:*sighs* "Let me put it
this way, the first technique I'll teach you is called the Leopard
Strike. It requires absolute balance from the user. These shuriken
are perfect in this situation because the points are
small."
Lee:*nods in agreement* "Then why do you have
two?"
Lei: "I'm not letting you do it alone."*she plants
one of the shuriken into the ground and the other about five feet
away. She steps on top of one of them and balances* "Now you get
up."
Lee:*looks at the shuriken, and heads toward it. He gets to
the point of the shuriken and almost falls. He regains his balance
and tries to stand like Lei*
Lei: "Ah, don't try and stand
with one foot. Use both for now, that'll cover it."
Lee:*gulps
and tries to balance. He nearly loses his balance but quickly regains
it.*
(For the majority of the day, the two of them stay on top of
the shuriken. Lee had a hard time staying up there. Lei didn't
twitch. Lee was sweating in the afternoon sun. As the sun began to
lower in the sky, Lei stepped down off her shuriken.)
Lei: "Lee,
you can step down now."
Lee:*hadn't heard her*
Lei: "Lee,
come down."
Lee:*opened his eyes which were tightly shut*
"What?"*he lost his balance and fell off.* "Ow."
Lei:*helps
him up* "You did fine Lee. That's all we need for today. Keep
practicing on the shuriken."*helping him to his feet* "As of now,
your coming inside whether you want to or not. You need to put
something in you before you pass out of pure exhaustion."
Gai:*who
had been sitting against a tree since noon* "I can get one of the
other Genin to help him so you won't have to carry him."
Lei:
"No, you go inside and make sure at least one of them is at the
door to the dinning room. I won't be able to get into the kitchen
with him."
Gai:*gives her a look of dissatisfaction*
Lei:
"Don't give me that look Gai. I care about Lee just as much as
you do." *catches him as he about falls* "Unless you'd rather
take him."
Gai:*slightly surprised. He steps over to her and
takes Lee from her grasp. He keeps Lee up until he gets to the
dinning room*
Lei:*follows*
(Once in the dinning room Gai sits
Lee at the table. Lee leans over trying to keep the weight shifted
from his feet and legs. Naruto and Kiba walk out of the kitchen with
a stack of plates each ready to set the table. They both almost drop
the plates seeing Lee.)
Naruto: "What happened?"
Lei: "He's
just exhausted Naruto. The training is taking a nasty toll on his
body."
Kiba: "Geeze, and we thought he could withstand
anything."
Lei: "You couldn't last half an hour in the
training he's doing. Lee lasted most of the day."
Naruto:*puts
the plates on table (still in a stack) and heads back into the
kitchen. He comes back out with a glass of water. He hands it to
Lee*
Lee:*still trembling a little, takes the glass with a thank
you. He gulps it down and places it on the table.*
(After dinner
that night, Gai takes Lee into his room and lays him down. Lei sits
outside on the steps, looking up at the moon.)
Lei:* "I've
faith in you Lee. You can do this. It'll take a few days, but
you'll pull through. I know you will."*
Sakura:*seemingly
coming from nowhere* "Lei-san!"
Lei:*coming back into reality*
"Yes? What is it Sakura?"
Sakura: "While your waiting for
Lee to get the balance he needs, would you mind training me?"
Lei:
"Of course not Sakura. Lee will obtain his balance, but I will
remain in the same vicinity to keep an eye on him. If you don't
mind."
Sakura: "Uh, no. Not at all."
Lei: "Good.
Sakura, maybe now you'll advance in your fighting skills. You can't
just keep standing on the sidelines watching what your teammates are
doing. You have to learn to get into the battle too."
Sakura:
"Hm, what do you mean exactly?"
Lei: "Life isn't a
spectator sport. If watching is all you're planning to do, you'll
watch your life go right past your eyes."
Sakura: "So I have
to stop standing on the sidelines and get into the
action."
Lei:*nods* "Yes, my point exactly. You did well in
your battle with Ino, and that was your first step to mastering the
Second Sight. It's not like a normal Bloodline limit, matter of
fact it's not. I'm passing the technique to you because I can see
in you a person who will never use it for the wrong
reasons."
Sakura:*smiles with a light blush*
"Thanks."
Lei:*smiles. She stares back up at the moon*
(After
two days, Lee's balanced improves dramatically and Sakura learns to
get a better grip on her Second Sight [pun was unintentional]. And
Naruto [being the idiot he is] still hasn't figured out how to call
Trudgen from a distance. On the third morning, Lei is up at her usual
hour getting breakfast ready. Things are going normally until
Konohamaru walks into the dinning room [no one else is in
there].)
Konohamaru: "Lei."
Lei:*pokes her head out of the
kitchen* "Yeah."
Konohamaru:*looks around a little confused*
"Where's everyone else?"
Lei: "Not up yet. You need
something?"
Konohamaru: ! "...Uh, no…"
Lei:*raises an
eyebrow*
Konohamaru:*sighs* "No."
Lei: "Yeah."*goes
back into the kitchen as a large dove flies past her with a pitcher
of orange juice. The dove places it on the table*
Konohamaru:*sits
at his seat and rests his head on his arms*
(Soon after, everyone
comes in and takes their seats. They start on their breakfast of ham
and eggs. After breakfast, they all head about their business.
Naruto, Hinata and Konohamaru head out to the canyon on the north
side of the village.)
Konohamaru: "Remind me why we're here
again."
Naruto:*sighs, annoyed* "Because Lei-san asked us to
pick up a few things from the canyon."
Konohamaru: "Why can't
she do it herself?"
Naruto: "Oh brother. She's training with
Lee."
Konohamaru: "Oh."
Hinata:*looking over into the
canyon. She sees nothing but the sheer cliff and rocks at the bottom.
She cringes as the other two continue to argue. She finally realizes
they're arguing and turns around to face them*
Konohamaru: "I'm
not goin' into the canyon. Who knows what's down there."
Naruto:
"Coward!"
Konohamaru:*scowl* "I am not!!!"
Hinata:
"Naruto-kun..."
Naruto:*turns to Hinata* "Hmm?"
Hinata:
"Whenever you're ready to head down."
Naruto:*nods. He heads
over to the edge of the cliff and looks down into the canyon. he
gulps.* "It's a long way down."
Konohamaru:
"Coward."
Naruto:-_-; "Speak for yourself."*kneels at the
edge and gives it a tap or two.* "It's sturdy, but we don't
have anything to put the hook on to unless one of us stays at the
top."
Konohamaru: "I coulda told you that."
Naruto:*ignores
him*
Hinata:*pulling the hook and rope out of her bag* "There's
a couple of rocks down that way a little. We could use
them."
Naruto:*looks to the direction she's referring to.*
"Good idea."
Konohamaru: "Hey! What about me?"
Naruto:
"You're gonna keep watch while we're in the
canyon."
Konohamaru: "But-"
Naruto:*crosses his
arms*
Konohamaru:*huffs* "Alright."
(The three of them head
over to the rock)
Hinata:*secures the rope to the rock* "There.
It should stay if we don't bounce around too much."
(There's
a dark shadow passing behind them. Hinata, turns to try and see what
it was but it had disappeared.)
Naruto: "Something wrong
Hinata?"
Hinata:*somewhat unsure* "N-no. No, I'm fine."
(The
boys shrug. The shadow passes behind them again, Naruto and Hinata
look toward where it had passed. Nothing.)
Naruto: "What was
that?"
Hinata: "I don't know."
Konohamaru: "What are
you guys talking about?"
Naruto: "Never mind Konohamaru."
(The
shadow passed behind Konohamaru and lightly brushed him. He turned
around seeing nothing.)
Konohamaru: "What was that?"
Naruto:
"I couldn't see it."
Hinata: "I'm not sure what it is
either."*forms her hand stance for the Byakugan and activates
it.*
(Just as she activates it a rush of wind comes at
her)
Naruto: "HINATA!!!"
(Just as she looked, the blast hit
her and knocked her back several feet and onto her back. A wicked
laugh came out of nowhere.)
Hinata:*sitting back up*
Naruto:*goes
to her side* "Are you alright?"
Hinata:*nods to
him*
Naruto:*looking to the direction where the blast came from*
"Good."
Hinata:*lightly blushes*
Konohamaru: "Where did
that come from?"
Naruto:*pointing ahead and away from Hinata*
"There."
Konohamaru: *looks in that direction.*
(Jasmine is
standing on a rock about 100 yards from them.)
Jasmine: "Maybe
you're not so dim witted after
all."
Naruto:*scowls*
Jasmine:*tauntingly* "Is he getting
angry? I'm sorry if I offended you. Oh, where are my manners? I
forgot to introduce myself."
Konohamaru: "WE KNOW WHO THE HELL
YOU ARE!!!"
Jasmine:*twitchy
eye*
Konohamaru:*raspberry*
Jasmine: "Ooooh, so
dead."*charges at him*
Konohamaru:*barley moves out of her
way*
Naruto:*helps Hinata up* "Shall we?"
Hinata:*frowning
at Jasmine* "Let's."*re-activates her Byakugan*
Naruto:*forms
the three signs for the chakra bomb and plants it into the
ground*
(As Jasmine continues to chase Konohamaru around, the
mines position to projected areas to catch Jasmine. As she steps onto
one of the mines, it explodes and sends her flying)
Jasmine:* "I
don't think so."**her eyes turn a greenish color and she stops in
midair*
Naruto: "What the?"
Jasmine: "It was a good idea,
but not a great idea. A Phoenix can fly ya know."
Hinata:*scowls.
a ball of chakra appears in her hand. she throws it up at Jasmine who
can't dodge from just getting into the air. it hits it's mark and
Jasmine hits the ground again* "Neither was yours."
Konohamaru:
"YEAH!!!"
Jasmine: "Nuisance."* "I better do this now or
Lord Orochimaru will have my head."* *she signs about 16*
"Disengage."*a ripple flies across them* "So there. Now you
can't use any of your jutsu's. Put that in your pipe and smoke
it."
Hinata:*surprised*
Naruto: "No fair."
Jasmine:
"It's plenty fair."*dashes up to Hinata and grabs her.*
Hinata:
"Hunh?"
Jasmine:*pulls her from Naruto's reach and over to
the edge of the cliff* "Hope you enjoy the view from up here, cause
you're gonna be seeing it from the bottom."
Hinata:*gasp*
Jasmine:
"Bye bye girlie."*drops Hinata into the canyon.*
Naruto:
"HINATA!!!!"* leaps after her [idiot]*
Jasmine: "Huh.
Retard. But now for the pip squeak."*turns around only to notice
that he's gone* "HUH? WHERE'D YOU GO SHORTY!?"
(In the
meantime, Tenten has Konohamaru around the waist and running back
toward the mansion.)
Tenten: "What did you think you where doing
out there? You could've been killed."
Konohamaru: "She
wouldn'ta killed me. Lei would've been after her for
that."
Tenten:*stops dead and drops him on his butt, hands on
her hips* "That's not funny Konohamaru. That's exactly what
Jasmine wants."
Neji:*coming out of nowhere* "You especially
should know that."*drops down next to him* "You were lucky Tenten
and I even figured out where she was heading. Otherwise you'd be
mince meat by now."
Konohamaru:*opens his mouth to say
something, but closes it again thinking better of it.*
Tenten:*folds
her arms* "So now what do we do?"
Neji: "Tell Lei-san and
the Hokage."
Tenten: "Let's go then."*picks Konohamaru up
again and puts him on her back* "You just have to hold
on."
Neji:*takes off toward the mansion.*
Tenten:*follows*
(Once
they arrive at the mansion, they run into Sei and Gai on the
deck.)
Sei: "Where you three off to?"
Tenten:*puts
Konohamaru down without and answer*
Sei:*eyes turn to slits* "What
happened at the canyon?"
Gai:*completely and utterly
confused*
Tenten: "Dunno exactly. Ask
Konohamaru."
Sei:*fiercely* "Tenten."
Tenten:*cringes
noticeably* "Jasmine attacked and sent Hinata and Naruto over the
cliff."
Gai:*was drinking something out of a can. Spit
take.*
Sei:*eyes narrowed further* "Where's Lei?"
Gai:
"At the lake with Lee. Why?"
Sei:*has disappeared*
Gai:
"Ugh. There he goes again."
Tenten:*a little scared* "What's
up with him?"
Gai: "He figured something bad happened."*sighs*
"Sometimes he just overreacts."
Konohamaru:* "He'd know
that."*
Neji: "Hmm."
(Sei jumps out of the trees near the
lake.)
Lei:*eyes still closed and keeping her balance* "What do
you want otouchan?"
Lee:*opens one eye, keeping his
balance*
Sei:*his voice is dark* "We have a
situation."
Lei:*sighs. Opens her eyes* "What is
it?"
Lee:*turns to Sei, both eyes open, maintaining his
balance.*
Sei: "Naruto and Hinata, they've fallen into the
gorge."
Lei:*pupils shrink* "What?"
Lee:*sighs* "Should
we go after them Lei-san?"
Lei:*thinking. An inky black shape
flies across her eyes and Yondaime's voice echoes in her
ears*
Yondaime V.: "Wait at the gorge. Do not help him get out.
Leave that to Trudgen."
Lei:*sighs* "We wait for them at the
gorge, and let Trudgen handle the rest."
Lee:*taken aback by her
comment* "What?"
Lei: "You heard me Lee."*steps down from
the shuriken* "We should go now, before the sun gets any lower in
the sky."
Sei: "What difference would that make?"
Lei:
"You know what or whom I'm talking about."
Sei:*cluelessly*
"No I don't."
Lei and Lee:*groan*
Lei: "I swear, you
inherited mom's blond stupidity."
Sei:*vein* "I did
not!"
Lei: "Enough arguing. Let's go Lee."
Lee:
"Hai."*steps down from the shuriken*
Lei:*picks both shuriken
up and puts them on her back. she starts off at a
run*
Lee:*follows*
Sei: "Good luck. You'll need
it."*disappears*
(Meanwhile in the gorge...Naruto is laying on
his back knocked out. Hinata is a few feet away from
him)
Naruto:*begins to stir. As he opens his eyes looking straight
up at the sky* "Where am I?"*looks toward Hinata and his eyes
widen* "Hinata."*he sits up and gently shakes her* "Hinata wake
up."
Hinata:*opens her eyes slowly and looks around* "What
happened?"
Naruto:*looking up* "By the looks of it, we fell
into the gorge."
Hinata:*looks up, then back down*
Naruto:
"C'mon, we should try to get outta
here."
Hinata:*nods.*
Naruto:*stands and helps her to her
feet*
Hinata:*stands up. A sharp pain shoots through her right
ankle and she falls into him*
Naruto: "What's wrong?"
Hinata:
"It's my ankle. I can't stand on it."
Naruto:! *pulls her
into a bridal hold* "You better stay off it then."
Hinata:*lightly
blushing, she rests her head on his shoulder*
Naruto:*heads toward
a small cave ahead of them. Inside he puts her up against the wall*
"How's your ankle?"
Hinata: "It hurts pretty
badly."
Naruto: "You want me to take off your
shoe?"
Hinata:*nods*
Naruto:*carefully slips off her shoe.
when it comes off, it's swollen to about the size of a grapefruit
and black, blue and other 'pretty' colors[sorry, inside joke]*
"That's not good."
Hinata:*shakes her head* "That's
broken."
Naruto: "Uh, yeah..."*he slips off his jacket and
folds it up. He slips it under her ankle*
(At the top of the
gorge, Lei and Lee are looking over the edge.)
Lei: "This is the
gorge. I just don't see them down there."
Lee: "They might
have taken shelter in a nearby cave."
Lei: "Maybe."*looks
up at the sky.* "Hmm..."*whips a scroll from her pocket, then
puts it away thinking better of it. She bites her thumb and draws
blood* "Summoning Jutsu."*the symbols come around her hand as she
slaps the ground. There's a puff of smoke and as it clears there's
a dove about the size of a swan on her shoulder*
Shinsei-Na: "Yes,
what do you want now Lei?"
Lei: "I just need a weather report.
Three miles in every direction so we know it's coming."*sets him
off to fly* "And report any strange activity."
Shinsei-Na:*sighs
and flies off*
Lee: "Not very enthusiastic."
Lei: "He's
rather lazy. Like Shikamaru."*takes a shuriken off her back and
plants it into the ground and the other directly in front of it*
"Ready?"
Lee:*nods and gets up on one of the shuriken and
keeps still*
Lei:*gets up on the other and balances, both eyes
open while Lee's are closed*
(About three miles away, Shinsei-Na
is scouting the area)
Shinsei-Na: "I hate it when she interrupts
my naps like that."*looking over the land. There's not a cloud in
sight so he flies back to her* "There's not a cloud in
sight."
Lei: "Good, now anyway. We may have rain or something
later on."
Shinsei-Na: "Perhaps. Now can I get back to my
nap?"
Lei:*raises an eyebrow* "I suppose lazy
bones."
Shinsei-Na: "Hmph."*he disappears*
Lee:*lightly
quivers but retains his balance*
Lei:* "His shaking has reduced
to but a light quiver. This is good."*
(Once the sun has set,
clouds have quickly moved in and pose the threat of rain. At the
mansion…)
Sakura:*looking out the window* "Looks like rain. I
hope the others are alright."
Ino:*who was visiting* "They'll
be fine, even though Naruto is a flat out idiot."
Sakura:
"That's not what I'm afraid of."
Ino: "Then what are you
afraid of?"
Sakura: "Jasmine attacking again in the night. If
one of them is injured the other will have a hard time fighting
her."
Ino: "Those two'll make it."
Sakura: "I hope
so."
(With Naruto and Hinata...)
Hinata:*has fallen asleep
with her and Naruto's jacket's elevating her foot and in a
bandage.*
Naruto:*not to far away keeping a small fire burning,
every so often looking up to check on Hinata. He started to fiddle
with the medallion out of boredom.* "Why do I even have this thing?
I don't know how to call Trudgen to me."*sighs and lies back,
feet toward the fire.*
