Shigure: Yes! I love this game! (growls with excitement)(ears twitch)

Sora: We know, Shigure... please don't sugar-coat it...

Shigure: Sorry...(sit in snow)(wimper)

Shigure began his hunt. He knew that all of the current "hiders" would have used the genjutsu Light Footing which would make their tracks in the snow instantly disappear. He couldn't rely completely on his eyes. So, he lifted his nose into the air and drew in a long breath. He caught all three of their scents instantly and he could tell which direction they were coming from. It was a requirement that you find all of your teammates, and that the teammates you find first are to help you find the others, so he figured the most logical technique would be to start with the easiest find.

He started in Sora's direction. Sora could hear him coming. Though Shigure was still fairly far away from him, Sora began to panic. He did not want to be found first and forced to become the loathed "seeker." Every technique he would have thought of in a normal circumstance completely left his mind. He could only think of one jutsu, but he wasn't sure if it would work quite right since he was under the snow. Shigure's almost inaudible footsteps were coming closer. Sora had to do something, so he performed the Replacement Jutsu, replacing his body with a giant icicle that was high up in a-

Oh, man…why'd I have to do that? Now I'm stuck in this…extremely…tall…tree. Sora thought as he gazed far down at Shigure who was now digging

through Sora's snowdrift. Sora knew he had to move, but all the ninja training in the world would never get him over his fear of heights. He couldn't let go of the tree.

What is this?,Shigure thought as he kept on digging, ah, an icicle covered in Sora's scent. He must have used this for a Replacement Jutsu. But that would mean that-- Shigure looked up and, sure enough, there was Sora clinging to the trunk of the tree, shaking like a leaf with sweat beading down his face. He looked down at Shigure who was beaming.

"Ok, ok! S-so you found me! I'm just glad that I don't have to s-stay in this…tree."

Shigure laughed, "So now I suppose you will want me to show you a way down, is that it?" an almost teasing grin crossed his jaws.

"Um…yeah, that would be v-very nice, Shigure," Sora glared down at Shigure, but started to lose his grip on the tree.

"Just do the Replacement Jutsu again with the icicle. That would put you back on the ground."

"I would do that, Shigure, but, if you haven't noticed, my hands are definitely not free to perform a jutsu and...I'M SLIPPING OFF THE FREAKIN' TREE!" Sora started to dig his fingers and heels into the bark of the tree.

"Sora...there's a branch right underneath you. You can just drop down to it."

"Ugh...Shigure..."

"What?"

" 'Drop' is not a very comforting word right now!"

"Oh, sorry." Shigure smiled that teasing smile again as Sora gingerly reached one foot out and found the branch. He put both feet on it and quickly did the Replacement Jutsu again. There was a poof of smoke and Sora found himself on the ground at Shigure's feet.

"Ah...land. Sweet, hard, solid land." Sora knelt down, planted his face in the snow, and sighed heavily.

"Sora, if you're going to be a true ninja someday, you have to be over this fear of heights."

"Hey," Sora pulled his head out of the snow and wiped his face on his shirt, glaring up at Shigure, "you're scared of heights too!"

"Yeah, but I don't have a phobia towards them like you do." Shigure raised an eyebrow to Sora who had sat down in the snow and crossed his arms.

"Remember, Sora, we still need to work together to find Yuri and Kisho-sensei."

"Fine..." Sora stood up and brushed some of the snow off of him.

"Um...Sora--" Suddenly the icicle, which was no longer attached to the tree due to a certain someone's jutsu, came crashing down on Sora's head!

"OW! Geez..." Sora rubbed his head and glanced up at the tree.

Shigure had to keep himself from bursting into laughter, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Shigure heard Sora curse under his breath and he laughed slightly to himself. Suddenly, both of them sneezed at the same time. They shrugged it off and Shigure lifted his nose into the air once more.

"What? This can't be..."

"What's wrong, Shigure?"

"It seems that I've lost Yuri's scent all together! He was going to be my next target. Where could he have gone?"

"Or what jutsu could he have used?" Sora suggested. He looked down at his wolf friend.

"What? There is no such thing. A jutsu to make your scent disappear? Impossible." Shigure scanned through the trees above him.

"Hey, wait! What's that over there?" Sora pointed towards a shady figure not but twenty feet away from them.

"Huh?" Both boys started cautiously in it's direction.

"Oh, it's only a tree, Sora...a very small tree...?" Compared to the trees towering around them, this tree was a bonsai. It only came up to Sora's chin.

Something isn't right. Shigure walked up to the tree and took on his human form. He looked closer at the tree and drew in it's scent, "Sora, this isn't a tree."

"Shigure, it has bark, branches, and leaves. It's a tree."

"Wait a second, Sora. Do any of the other trees around here have leaves?"

"Um...no."

"Hmm..." Shigure grinned and tickled gently under one of the branches. The tree quivered and seemed to chuckle. It then changed back into what it really was.

"Yuri? Disguised as a tree! But, how?" asked Sora.

"Yeah, Yuri. Your scent completely disappeared! No genjutsu can do that!"

"No...because it wasn't a genjutsu..." said Yuri.

"What?" said Sora and Shigure in unison.

"First, I used the ninjutsu that my grandma taught me: Beast Style: Constriction of the Senses on your noses. Then I used the genjutsu False Leaf to become a tree. B-but I guess neither one could have fooled you, huh?"

"You fooled Sora." Shigure smiled. Sora blushed red.

End…Chapter Three: Hide-and-Seek, Part One

Sora: I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that last remark...--+

Shigure: (snicker to self)

(roll eyes) Please R&R!