A/N: Numba1- It seems I didn't make it clear exactly how many people were there when Naruto got attacked. We're talking like 400 or more people, many probably ninjas. So, when Naruto got attacked, the person didn't have to sneak up on him at all. So there would be no 'detecting'. As for Temari, I don't really think she was caught of guard the second time. She just kinda gave in. As for her choice, I kind of think it would have been right anyway. There were too many for her to take on at once.
As for Temari's feelings for Naruto, at the moment, I think it's a bit more of friendship at the moment than love. But that's my opinion, it might seem different to someone else.
Also, a few other things will be revealed in this chapter that'll make some other things more clear.

I hope that cleared up a few things.

Struggle

Chapter 3: Smoke

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Bastard. Lucky bastard. He was so blissfully unaware of what had just taken place. But, she couldn't be mad at him for being captured and letting the diamond get out of their sight. She just couldn't. With a blush, she pulled away from the shinobi's chest. "You idiot… you're an idiot, you know that right?"

"Glad to know you care." Naruto responded, noting his position in her lap. She was holding him against her, while sitting on the ground. The position was a bit awkward, but it proved that Temari had clearly believed he was in danger.

Pushing Naruto off, making him sit on the ground, she examined the head wound. It wasn't fatal, it seemed, but it was still bleeding. With a thoughtful frown, she pressed her sleeve against it in an attempt to stop the blood.

"You're not like Sakura-chan." He said suddenly, feeling the pressure of her hand against his head. Having her there was oddly comforting.

"How so?"

"Well, you're medically impaired," he began, earning a glare from the older girl, "You're a bit egotistical, but you've got a attitude that Sakura-chan doesn't. And you're just…different."

"Yes, well, I'm a different girl than Sakura. Raised differently, trained differently. Everything is different." She responded, ripping off the cloth from her headband. With a sigh, she tied it around his head and tightened it, attempting to suppress the blood-flow, "Did you expect me to be like Sakura?"

"No, not really. But it's not just your personality…you're just…different." He didn't want to explain it anymore. How it he felt differently when she was around than when Sakura was around. He just didn't want to explain it anymore.

"That was a bit easy." She said, changing the subject.

"What was?"

"Tricking them."

"Tricking who?"

"…. Forget it." Temari sighed.

"No, I really want to know."

"The bandits." Temari began, "It would have been extremely stupid to go after them by myself. They outnumber me, and might overpower me too. So, instead, I decided to use this." She pulled out an explosive note; "It'll explode after a certain amount of time. It's more noise than anything else, but the sound should travel a long ways. And if they hide in a forest, it'll most likely catch the forest on fire, which will be a big help."

"When is it supposed to go off?" Naruto had left all hopes of Temari's medic skills behind and started taking care of his own head wound.

"Any minute now, actually."

Kumori grinned. It was getting interesting. The girl had managed to get that explosive note on him without him noticing. He was going to let it go off, actually. If the ninjas found them, it'd be interesting—he longed for excitement. And this situation was just perfect.

He had to hand it to the girl though. If it had exploded on him, his clothes would have caught fire. Naturally, he'd try to smother the flame, and that would lead the forest floor to get on fire—the trees and ground were dry. This region hadn't had rain for a long time, it wouldn't take long for the fire to spread across the forest floor and catch trees on fire. A brilliant plan indeed, but it was risky for her. She'd be responsible for all the damage…it wasn't very practical, but it worked.

The girl was no threat, most definitely, but the blonde boy they had managed to knock out. Keyword: Managed. The boy put up quite a fight—as much as one could when anything he did could injure or kill innocent bystanders. But there was something odd about the boy. Everytime he thought about it, the maniacal grin he had faded to a frown. The boy was going to be a threat; he could feel it in his bones.

With one last grin, he let go of the paper and let it drift to the ground. Just as it hit the ground, a deafening bang pierced through the air, echoing for many miles, and then, slowly, as the paper began to burn, the forest floor caught on fire.

There was no need for the two to be told twice, once the very loud bang had reached their ears, they were off. They couldn't tell which direction it had come from, but they pinpointed a general area, and prayed that the trees would catch fire soon. They didn't have wait much longer. Up ahead, smoke rolled out from the forest. It wasn't necessarily a big fire, but they'd have to take advantage of it while it lasted. A fire could be put out almost as easily as it had been started.

"What was that?" A worried Sakura asked, as a loud bang echoed along. It didn't ease her worries when she saw puffs of smoke float up lazily in the distance. But despite her worries, the silver-haired man next to her just waved her off.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura. I'm sure it's nothing. Even if it is, I'm sure Temari and Naruto are on it."

"But that's what I'm worried about! Don't you think we should go? Y'know, for back-up?" Sakura's green eyes scanned the distance, her fingers laced together against her chest.

"No I don't."

"You're just trying to get out of working!" Sakura accused him; "I don't even know how you got to be a sensei—"

"Sakura, be quiet. Sometimes, you have to wait awhile before taking action." Kakashi's fierce tone had silenced the pink haired girl, but she still eyed Kakashi with concern flashing in her green orbs.

Naruto couldn't help but think about all the bandits that could be there, waiting for them. Perhaps they had caught Temari's trap? Should they back off? He turned to her, but she seemed confident and egotistical as ever. She'd call him a coward if he told her they should back off… he didn't want that, but he didn't want to head into something that they couldn't handle. Temari had a straight head, did she know something he didn't? It was too late to ponder this any longer as the flames came into view.

The two ninjas dropped down near the flames, the smoke creating something like a veil around them. Temari glanced about quickly, calculating. People could die from smoke inhalation, she knew. "Naruto, come on." She hissed, "We need to get out of this smoke." She put her sleeved hand over her mouth in an attempt to filter the air.

Naruto nodded, mimicked her, and edged through the smoke. Now something like a smoky mist settled down lowly, putting a haze over the scene. It was hard to see everything was like a shadow. But was mist real, or was it genjutsu? Temari had a hard time telling. Maybe some of it was real, then there was some genjutsu mixed in. Either way, both of them needed out. They needed out now.

Temari then looked around. The shadows were all the same. Which one was Naruto? Panic began to run through her, until she calmed herself down. The other shinobi was smart enough to find his own way out, right? Maybe he already had. Now that the blonde wasn't around, her main priority was to get out of the mist, if she could.

Naruto looked around in the smoky mist. Temari was nowhere in sight—the shadows of the trees looked all the same. Even if one was Temari, he wouldn't have been able to tell. Where had she gone? Maybe Temari was right next to him? Should he call for her? So many questions with no answers. He couldn't just leave the smoky mist—what if Temari was in trouble? "Temari!" He called out weakly. It earned no reply, and slowly, he went on, his eyes straining to see through the fog.

Temari automatically went alert when she heard her name. It sounded like Naruto's voice, from far away. Was he still in the thick fog after all?

Then it hit her. It was so obvious. So obvious it hurt her to think that she hadn't thought of it before.

This was nothing but smoke. Genjutsu or not, it was still smoke. Smoke went wherever the wind told it to. She'd just have to cause a storm.

Taking her fan off her back, she made a powerful, defiant swing.

Naruto blinked as the fog cleared. It was moving fairly fast considering it had been dead still beforehand. What had happened? Then he remembered that Temari was a wind user. Had she created wind power enough to drive away the smoke? He hoped so.

Either way, he could remove the sleeve from his mouth and look around freely. It looked like he hadn't moved at all. The fire was nearby, but the smoke was going in a different direction. Well, that solved the inhalation problem. But he still couldn't see Temari. She must have gone somewhere else. Wherever she was though, he'd have to find her. Working alone right now was probably dangerous.

"You had a clever plan going for awhile. But everything is going to end here." It was the chilling voice she had heard in the crowd. It was the voice that had threatened Naruto's life back near the gates.

But instead of feeling afraid, Temari couldn't help but smirk. She had a feeling that today, she'd have the best fight of her life, and it was going to be fun. Feeling bold, she sent a remark right back at him, "Yes. Here it's all going to end. The ring of thieves, the jokes, the plots. Everything."

Kumori smirked right back. This girl had spunk. He liked the feisty ones. It made things so much more interesting…

"Dammit all! Where the hell is Temari!"A frustrated blonde hissed aloud. At the moment, frustration was reaching its peak. He couldn't find his kuniochi partner, and there was no sign of the bandits. Over time, he began assuming the worst. Maybe they had taken Temari, or maybe they killed Temari and left.

Kumori might have been smirking on the outside, but in the inside, he was concerned. Not overly concerned, but concerned. He had to finish off this kuniochi before blonde haired boy came and ruined things for them. With no time to waste, he hastily began his rain of taijutsu attacks.

Sakura stared at Kakashi as he read his usual book. It had been at least 20 minutes since they first saw the smoke and heard the bang. But Kakashi was still insisting that they wait that things weren't as bad as they seemed.

But all the waiting was getting Sakura frustrated.

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A/N: Bleh. It's done. Shortest chapter yet. It'll be longer next time, promise.