"Hey, look…" a voice managed to push into my slumber from reality, the hushed whisper causing me to groan as I turned over in my sleeping bag. Even with the near death experience from yesterday, my sleep had remained without dreams or any semblance of visions or aspirations; simply the present thought of what I could be dreaming.
Earthly senses filled my head as I began to wake: the morning light seeping in through the canvas of the tent, the pillow which was soaked in an unusual scent, the warmth that circulated around me inside my sleeping bag.
Then, more murmurs pressed into my subconscious and I changed positions again, pulling the cover of the sleeping bag over my head in an attempt to block out excess light and noise.
My eyes fluttered open, the surrounding tent blinking in and out as I blinked sleep away from my eyes. A hot breath puffed out onto my face in the form of a chuckle as I rolled onto my back, crimson and golden locks blocking out bits of my vision.
"Wakey wakey," Kiba chuckled, my eyes narrowing at him dangerously before I noted each of the shinobi stretching sleep away and watching me with confusion and amusement.
"What the hell are you doing in my tent?" I exclaimed, holding the sleeping bag up over my nose so that my croaking voice was slightly muffled.
All of them snickered to each other as I remained in a cloud of utter confusion.
"What do you mean "your tent"? Last time I checked, this was the boys' tent. Besides, that isn't even your sleeping bag," Hiro mused as my baffled gaze flickered to him.
Glancing down at my bedding, it dawned on me that he was right; this wasn't my sleeping bag and this wasn't my tent.
"So what did you do last night? I want all the dirty details," Kiba chuckled, hinting at some situation his sick mind had created.
"Pervert," I hissed, glaring at the dog-nin darkly. I could hear his dog scuffling somewhere in the tent away from his usual perch atop the mess of Kiba's hair.
"What were you doing in Sasuke's sleeping bag?" Hiro teased, only encouraging the other shinobi to add their snide comments.
"What has eaten away the small bit of brain you had?" I spat, sitting up and ripping myself from the warmth of the downy bedding. My voice cracked with effort, the technical difficulties making my voice sound hoarse and weak in comparison to my usual tone.
"Move," I hissed, my throat burning with a sharp stinging as if the blade of a kunai had been brushed down the back wall of my throat. Gulping back the tenderness, I shoved passed Hiro and Kiba, who continued to throw taunts.
"Aww, Kyoko's embarrassed!" Hiro shouted, laughter rumbling from his chest. My eye twitched involuntarily as I unfastened the door of the tent in utter silence.
"What's wrong? Tongue tied? Or just tired?" Kiba laughed, Hiro's own laughter growing in volume until both of them were rolling with amusement.
Bright sunlight burned into my eyes, making my drowsy vision even blearier. Taking the first few steps toward my tent, I rubbed my eyes to try and clear them when my foot caught up on something.
"OUCH!" Naruto screeched, waking from sleep on the dirt floor outside his tent. Pushing my face away from the ground so I could prop myself on my elbows, I shook the dirt from my hair.
"What are you doing out here, Naruto?" I exclaimed. Finally stopping his shuffling in dust, Naruto stared at me with unfocused eyes as if he was still in dreamland. Shaking his head, he finally noticed my questioning glare and scratched the back of his head nervously.
"When Sasuke wouldn't give me back my sleeping bag, I just kind of fell asleep…" His sentence fell away when I rolled my eyes, huffing as I pushed myself back to my feet.
"Where is that bastard now?" I asked icily, brushing dust off my clothes. A moment of silence filled the air before the Uzumaki attempted to speak again.
"I…I think he's trying to start a fire," he stammered, bemusement encircling his statement. Rolling my eyes, I left the Uzumaki where he lay in the dirt in search for Uchiha.
Inhaling deeply, my lungs wracked with the sting of harsh use, as did my throat and nose. Coughing deeply, I finally spotted the Uchiha where Naruto had suggested: kneeling on the ground beside the fire pit and failing at starting a fire.
"Damn it…" he cursed under his breath as I crossed my arms and glowered down at him. Twisting his neck around, he sent me a bored stare and questioningly raised his eyebrow at my irritated state.
"Why was I in the boys' tent, Uchiha?" I demanded, my voice cracking halfway through the sentence. Dusting off his knees, Sasuke rose to his full height, just taller than myself, as he continued to stare at me with a questioning gaze.
"Your tent blew away while we were gone; setting off a bomb right next to it just the night before probably didn't help keep it in place," he commented sarcastically.
"What about the girls' tent? Huh?" I asked irately, wondering what the hell made it a good idea to put me in the boys' tent.
"It was full. I let you sleep where there was room. It isn't that big of a deal," he sighed, talking as if I were a child to be calmed out of a temper tantrum.
"Actually, it is kind of a big deal Uchiha," I told him, poking his chest once for emphasis. He only chuckled as the Uchiha smirk played across his face, "Just go back to your tent. I dare you. Then you'll find out why it's a big deal."
The raven haired shinobi shook his head in disbelief as I spun on my heel, heading back to the tents for another couple hours of sleep.
Upon crawling into the girls' tent, I found that it really was quite cramped; not that I'm admitting that bastard was right in any way, shape, or form. But I crawled over to Mai's sleeping form and gave her a soft nudge. Her hair was a tussled mess about her head, random strands stretching out across her pillow. Tossing for a minute, Mai finally was roused enough to give me a quick smile before scooting over enough for me to share some sleeping space.
"Thanks," I murmured as my eyes closed.
"Mhm," she mumbled as sleep took her back into its embrace.
"Shut up Sakura!"
"No you Ino! You're gonna wake her up!"
Both girls' strident voice interrupted my slumber this time, their voices sounding very close, even for the tiny tent.
"Do ya think…" Sakura questioned, her voice simply dropping away.
"There's no way. The two hate each other Sakura. People who hate each other don't do…that…" she stated more confidently to her frienemy. I could feel both of their gazes boring into the back of my head as I pressed my face deeper into the pillow, hoping to keep their voices from reaching my ears.
"Kiba's such a liar…" Ino spat, disgusted that she had even listened to the dog-nin in the first place.
"She couldn't…" Sakura stated, self assurance woven in her tone. Now both kunoichi were examining the back of my head so close that their exhaled breath was brushing my hair about.
"If you don't back up and leave me to sleep in peace, you will leave this tent with broken noses," I mumbled through a mouthful of pillow.
A snorted chuckle, muffled by a face full of pillow, came from Mai next to me as both girls backed up immediately, gasps following their retreat. The sound of a flapping tent door announced they two girls' exited, allowing me to sigh in relief.
"Can you not go back to sleep either?" Mai questioned without moving, her pillow still blocking out a good amount of her voice. Without lifting my head, I nodded, the smooth fabric of the pillow rubbing over most of my face.
"Maybe that dumbass finally started a fire," I mumbled as I heaved myself up and out of the tent. Mai was just ahead of me as we groggily headed in the direction of the fire. Even with my closed eyes, I knew a fire was burning; waves of heated breezes blew past my face, warming my cheeks and nose. The heat was inviting in the chilly morning air, foretelling the mid-Spring weather to come.
"Finally…warmth…" I mumbled, spreading my fingers out in front of me to warm in the flames that twisted from the logs on the ground.
"Sasuke too cold for you?" Kiba chuckled, sitting down on my right. Slowly turning my head, I sent the dog-nin a dirty look. No words couldn't be twisted by Kiba so I choose to not speak back at all. Other genin joined us groggily, most still rubbing dreams from their eyes as we all waited for the jounin and some guidance to where the hell we were going. Hiro was the last to join, sitting on the other side of Mai, much too close for her liking. All of us were silent as we waited and waited. Hiro made a double take of me, his face contorting in confusion.
"Who got Kyoko to finally shut up? And how? I want to know for future references…" Kiba's grin widened hugely, his dog seeming to grin just as much. Sending a swift elbow to his ribs, Kiba kept his mouth shut but still, his grin remained in place.
Eventually, we were back on the road, our destination growing closer and closer as the days passed. It was the same everyday for three days straight: wake up to crisp and chill mornings where the grass was frosted with dew, walk through the day dealing with taunts and everyday chatter, pitch camp, fall asleep to the sound of crickets chirping in the warm night air.
I just kept telling myself that the teams would be splitting up in three days, meaning no more Kiba and his dog, no more Shikamaru and his complaints, and no more Ino and all that encompasses up "Ino". Residing in a tent with either of the two annoying kunoichi was enough to make one insane.
As dinner was being prepared, I watched with vague interest as the shinobi who weren't assigned a job instinctively returned to their specific jutsu training. Shadows darted to and fro across the uneven earth as paper mice and squirrels scavenged and then later exploded to the amusement of Mai; every once and a while a Naruto clone would scamper between the trees, sometimes with Kiba's dog hanging off their arm and other times with burn marks from paper bombs and fire jutsus. It was an amusing circus to watch, the many different rings containing chaos that easily intermingled with the other realms of the show. Just as I began to doze off, another body plopped down on the ground next to me, panting with exhaustion.
"Can I help you?" I sighed, closing my eyes again. Sasuke continued to pant for a minute more before finally sucking in some oxygen and using his lingual skills.
"Yeah, fight me," he stated, as I opened my eyes, confused. For some reason, he looked completely sane and sure.
"Fight you?"
"Repeating me isn't an answer," he deadpanned.
"Ok, how does "no" work for you?" I replied, leaning back again.
"It doesn't," he huffed, "Now get up."
Uchiha pushed himself to his feet, only to raise an eyebrow at me as I remained at rest. I returned his confused stare.
"You expect me to listen?"
Pursing his lips in a straight line, Sasuke continued to glare down at me until his sly smirk crept across his face.
"So you admit that I would kick your ass then?" he assumed, crossing his arms across his chest. My eyes narrowed as my mind became torn; my pride won.
"No. I just thought I would save you the embarrassment," I stated, standing to follow the raven haired shinobi to a clear area. He turned suddenly, a challenging stance taking over his posture. Crouching low, I waited for the attack.
When it finally came, I was shocked. It was fast and swift, a crouching lion on the attack, I being the grazing and unprepared prey. The swift blazes of fire that danced across the clearing zipped past my body as I contorted to dodge the burning heat. Panting and finding my clothes singed, my vision swept across the surrounding area, searching yet finding nothing but more fire as I continued to dodge and swerve and dart about.
Finally getting a glimpse of Uchiha, I darted at him, a double of me coming from behind. His smirking features were there for only a second though. The flames chased after me as I was warded off and my double disappeared in a puff of smoke.
To rid myself of my pursuers, I pulled any water I could to me and attempted to control the flames, my hands pressing together into a combination of seals. But all the water that flowed disappeared into a cloud of rising steam and the fire remained untamable. I had lost all sight of Uchiha as the fire surrounded me with bright dancing colors and dark plumes of smoke.
Tired of this bombardment, I scanned skyward and found a tree branch to which I sprang and clung to, searching for Uchiha. The flames pushed heat into my face as they spun about in a dizzy circus, Uchiha hiding among the fluttering and fanned flames.
It didn't take long for him to reveal himself.
In a matter of seconds, I was tumbling through the air and landed on the now flameless ground with a thud. I was staring up at the sky, my mind blank as the air rushed from my lungs. Twitching in reaction, kunai pinned my appendages to the ground, snagging both clothe and skin as they blade sank into the earth.
Uchiha stared down at me, a confident smirk across his face as I gasped for air, my throat painfully raw. I couldn't stand it; that confident smirk, the charcoal eyes that held such pride and mockery. It filled me with an anger and disgust, burning so warm that it stung.
Subtly curling my right hand about, water crawled up and about him, freezing against his skin. First his hands, followed by his arms, feet, legs, and torso, his whole body was made immobile by the ice. Finishing my Ice Lock jutsu, I ripped each arm and leg away from the kunai and approached the Uchiha.
Even as I saw it coming, I couldn't compel myself to stop it. Something just halted me; I could completely smash any hopes that Uchiha had of beating me now but I wouldn't, just couldn't for some reason. I knew it was stupid of me; Uchiha was definitely right at my level of fighting, if not better, as much as I hated to admit it. My Ice Lock would only hold him for a short time if he was smart, which I highly doubted.
I was only given a few split seconds of the warning heat before the explosion hit me. I pressed my eyes shut and wrapped my arms about myself in an attempt for protection from any obstacles in my way.
My vision twisted in and out of focus as I lay on my side, facing a set of trees I hadn't passed through to arrive to the clearing I had just been in. I remained still for a few seconds before I pushed myself up, only to find my head pounding with a heavy thudding of pain. Just along my hairline, the pain pinpointed and radiated over my skull. Touching my fingers to the origin, I found my fingertips to be painted with blood. Closing my eyes, I leaned and steadied my weight on the nearest tree; dizziness made my balance very untrustworthy at the moment.
"Kyoko!"
Ignoring the voice, I scanned the area for a familiar pathway. Uchiha's footsteps alluded to his appearance as they approached swiftly.
"You okay?" he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. I shook my head slightly, a twitched of my head indicating a "no".
"Let me help you; one of Mai's bombs scuttled in my line of fire," he grumbled, tugging on my shoulder.
"Go away," I hissed, an odd sense of confusion pressing into my already crammed head, "I'm not practicing with you anymore."
Sasuke's hand left my shoulder swiftly, his usual cold aura returning.
"Whatever. Tell that bitch to keep better track of her bombs from now on," he spat, turning on his heel and leaving me to be.
Leaving my head as it was, I withdrew kunai and began to chip away at the tree trunk, pieces of bark and wood splintering off in all directions. I chipped, and picked, and targeted at the trees about me
Collapsing to the ground, the bark of the tree was rough and gnarled behind my back; the grass pleasantly warm beneath me. Thoughts I didn't want flowing through my mind flowed; questions I didn't want answered.
Why did I let Uchiha lure me into a fight so easily? Why had I left my Ice Lock so weak? What was making me feel so clogged and confused? Why did Sasuke care?
Why did I care?
Gripping my head in my hands, I slowly dragged my fingers down from my hairline, lock falling in my face. My fingertips ran over the contours of my face; the curved plane of my forehead, the depression of my eyes from my forehead and then the smooth curve of my cheeks to my jaw. I shook my head, attempting to clear it, to no avail.
When I came back to reality, the sun had fallen and a cold wind swept about the wood, blowing my hair about my face and chilling my skin. A pale darkness filtered through the trees as I began a slow trudge back to camp, the cool night swirling about me as I went.
It wasn't long until I felt it: a presence. The signature felt dark and cold, like millions of ice crystals had joined within the atmosphere. Immediately, Uchiha popped into my mind. Had he come back to try and spook me? Or maybe Rika had sent him retrieve me?
Whatever it was, he had better just go back to camp because I was going at my own pace and wasn't about to move any faster. I had begun to move about, aimlessly walking through the wood as it followed me for a long while, keeping a good distance yet still on the same trail as I was, like a distant shadow, just as dark and stoic.
"Hey, Uchiha! I know you there! How about you stop sneaking around like a fucking weasel!"
"Gladly," a deep voice replied. I choked back on shock and fear as my mind whirred.
Who was this? It definitely wasn't Sasuke. A cloaked figure, dark and mysterious as its signature, made itself clear from the shadow of a tree, dull moonlight illuminating blood red eyes that spun in their sockets.
I ran my eyes over the stoic figure: tall and gaunt, pale and scarred skin, dark ebony hair. And those eyes…so deep and empty, like staring straight into a starless night reflected on a pool of blood.
RIKA'S POV
Curiously, I glanced at my brother and then at his pupil, both of whom were deep in thought. The young shinobi, Sasuke Uchiha, just kept staring out into the trees, searching for something that obviously wasn't being illuminated by the fire light. Kakashi seemed tense, his mind very far away, dealing with some problem he had found.
In all truth, as soon as the sun had left the earth, an eerie and invisible fog had covered the area, a pretense that something at any moment could go wrong. And now noting that Kyoko still hadn't returned to camp, I began to worry.
Suddenly, breaking the still silence, Sasuke bolted, his form disappearing in between the trees.
"Rika, notify the other jounin that Kyoko is missing but don't let any genin know yet, not even her teammates. Something is very wrong and I have to find it out before Sasuke does something he will regret," Kakashi stated grimly, his figure disappearing among the same trees Sasuke's had only moments before.
I didn't want to believe him; Kyoko wouldn't let that happen. She was much too stubborn and much too strong. But I did as my brother asked; I refrained from answering Mai's and Hiro's curious and wondering gazes and informed Asuma and Kurenai of what I had been informed myself: something had happened to Kyoko and Kakashi had gone to investigate.
"Why is Kakashi going to look for her?" Asuma questioned, a cigarette held precariously between his lips, unlit. My fists clenched together for a mere second; I knew I should have gone looking for her myself but they also didn't know of Sasuke's absence from camp as well as Kakashi's.
"Because he insisted," I replied, returning to the camp fire. I was scared, I admit it, but the real fear didn't settle in yet. Sasuke stumbled back into camp minutes later, only half an hour after leaving, bleeding and wheezing as he tried to support himself.
Until now, I hadn't completely grasped the danger at hand.
Naruto and Characters © Misashi Kishimoto
This story, characters, and plot © Midnight Writer 13