I do not own Naruto…and that's the gospel truth (sorry Hercules moment)
Anyway, on with the show- I mean fic, and thanx for the replies.
Previously on…'The Lost Clan'
"He probably would've killed you."
"We're actually Konoha nins"
"We've been hidden from the villagers all our lives."
"It's for our own protection. And you know the law forbids us from revealing who we really are."
"not showing any signs of breathing or movement, which can only mean…!"
(I dunno about you guys but I luv these dramatic intros)
"So we're sticking to the same story as before?" asked the young kunoichi while turning to face her brother, the passing scenery appears at a blur as the two ninja are 'escorted' to the campsite
"Yea Suonyo. I just hope we get back to the village soon cause I don't think I can lose much more blood before I faint." Replied Senji, the tell tale signs of fatigue clear on his face
"You should have let me handle both of them. Then you wouldn't be in this shape and we wouldn't be in such a mess. I mean maybe if I-"
"No Suonyo. You had less chakra than me. That mission took its toll on both of us. There was nothing either of us could have done to improve the outcome of that particular battle and for once you weren't even reckless. We performed at our best, given the circumstances and we survived with the information Jiraiya-sama needed. We completed the mission that's what counts." Reassured Senji as he laid a gentle blood stained hand on his sister's shoulder
"Right brother" a slight smile graced her saddened face "We will confront him eventually."
"I know Suonyo but we cannot reveal our real identities just yet. We will wait until we reach back home and get permission from Hokage-sama first."
"If you mean granny I don't care what I have to do to convince her to at least tell him the truth…he deserves to know" she whispered mostly the last part to herself
"….stubborn as always. Not that I didn't expect it but for once in your life could you at least call her Hokage-sama, Hokage, I mean even, Granny-sama is more respectful." Said Senji, a disapproving frown upon his lips
"Hey you two quit collaborating back there." grumbled Shikamaru
"Hai." Replied Senji
"Whatever Mr. lazy – ass." Said Suonyo as she smirked pointedly in his direction. 'Just because we're on our way to be interrogated doesn't mean I can't have a little fun along the way.'
"Hey! What did you just call me!"shouted Shikamaru
"Mr. Lazy. Ass. Or should I say it in a way easier for you to understand widdle baby. "came Suonyo as she taunted Shikamaru with little cooing baby noises
"Alright that's it you wanna go kid cause I'm ready! In fact forget it. It'll be a waste of energy. Plus I hate to fight a girl. What a drag you two are turning out to be."
"Shikamaru, Kiba we are here. Watch these two while I inform the others and then we shall have a talk."
"Right Shino. As long as Shikamaru and the girl don't start anything we should be fine for a few seconds." Kiba said.
The group stopped on a few trees away from the campsite and Shino proceeded on to inform Ino of their new guests.
"Me start anything? SHE started it!" the sleep deprivation must really be getting to Shikamaru.
"I have a name you know."calmly stated Suonyo
"Oh yeah and what's that, oh wait let me guess miss talks-a lot or maybe its miss annoying-
"Say one more thing. Just one more and I swear….I'll kill you with one attack. It'll be so fast that you'll forget to blink." The sudden killing intent that radiated off of Suonyo and the sincerity behind her words was enough to make Shikamaru and
Kiba pee their respective pants, if they weren't big and strong ninja that is.
"Whoa Shikamaru I think you better do what she says. She's giving off more killing intent than Sakura and Ino combined." Whispered a more than slightly terrified Kiba
"Uh-I-I was ju-just kidding…um. Ss-sorry for that." Replied Shikamaru as he hastily apologized
"Hahahahahaha!" seriously guess who
"What!"stated a surprised Shikamaru
"What's-a-matter Lazy-ass. Giving up already? Gee, you really are the smart one."
"Suonyo be nice. I really don't mind but we really shouldn't kill two exceptional ninja. That would be a blow to our military force especially seeing that the lazy one seems to be a tactical genius and the other one could make for a great tracker in the ANBU black ops." agitatedly whispered her brother
"Please. I know very well the only reason that you wanna keep the lazy guy around is so that you can have someone to play nerd with."
"I am NOT A NERD!" yelled her infuriated brother
"Sure you aren't. Whatever helps you to sleep at night."
"Alright that's it Suonyo. If you wan-
"NNNNNNAAAARRRRRUUUUUTTTOOOOOO!" (okay if you don't know who this is… :P)
"What was that?" asked Senji bewilderment evident on everyone's faces
"Don't ask me Senji I'm not the smart one here."playfully whispered Suonyo
"Uh oh that's not good! That sounded a whole lot like Ino." Said Kiba
"Well if Naruto wasn't dead before he's dead now." Shikamaru took off in a leap towards the camp
"I hear ya Shikamaru. And you two don't try anything funny me and Akamaru are still here."
~In camp~
"Sakura, Ino" came a monotonous drawl
"WHAT!" reply two really pissed off kunoichis who are noticeably twitching madly
"Uh…. (Shino noticeably backs up) Shikamaru, Kiba, Akamaru and I have the ninjas that I suspect were trailing us."
"Oh well ya could've just said so. Ino you and Shino can deal with them while I finally get around to Naruto's injuries. You know Ino I think you gave him a concussion."
"Oops. Well that's what he gets for acting immaturely. Anyway Shino you can bring in the ninjas."
"Right, sometimes I wonder why Ino was made leader of this mission." He mumbled the last part.
"What was that Shino?" asked Ino
"Uh- Nothing Ino." Hurriedly replied Shino
"Right, okay Kiba you can descend from these trees."stated Shino
Kiba and Akamaru followed by Senji and a clearly amused Suonyo jumped from the over head canopy a few feet in front of the campsite and steadily walked towards the group of young shinobi. All the while Suonyo's eyes stayed glued to him, the object of hers and Senji's conversations for awhile, and his state of…disarray*cough cough*. However her eyes quickly drifted to the steely pale blue eyes of the platinum blonde haired kunoichi before her who seemed anything but happy. She was gonna have some fun with her.
"Hello there I'm Yamanaka Ino and we're shinobi from Konoha gakure no sato. I'm gonna get straight to the point. Why were you following us, what are your intensions, how did you get so badly beat up and where are you from?" demanded Ino using her best dominatrix stance
Suonyo eagerly stepped forward despite her brother's warning glances. He could tell this was gonna go bad from the moment he saw a mischievous gleam enlighten his precious sister's face.
"Well psycho to answer your questions. We are from Konoha. I believe that answers the first, second and last question. As in, for all you slow minded ninja, we were headed there as well and just happened to take the same route that's all." A wide grin evident on Suonyo's face at the violently twitching state of their new host and the fear evident on her teammates faces.
Senji of course being the considerate, kind, caring, fearing for his life brother that he was, made his way to…intervene.
Stepping forward "As for why we're all beat up." He began making sure Suonyo was behind him and as out of sight as possible "We were just returning from a B ranked mission turned S. We kinda had a run in with one of those guys with the red cloud coats."
'If we just play it nice and dumb they'll never suspect us.'
"An Akatsuki member?" incredulously asked Kiba
"His name was Zetsu or something." Said Suonyo earning a glare of death from Senji. She was gonna give them away, he could feel it.
"Yeah him, and we had a pretty intense fight." Finished Senji.
"I see and the outcome of the battle was?" 'There's something off about these guys' thought Ino 'I have a hunch…'
"He's dead, but not before we got some info outta him. Actually he kinda split his body in two. I took out my guy and then helped my bro cause he got some kinda weird plant poison. We managed to extract it but he has lost an unhealthy amount of blood and chakra."
"You however sister, have wasted even more chakra than me. I know that you all may not believe us but maybe this can help." Holding up the tiger sign Senji uttered "Release." Instantly a headband appeared on his forehead and the metal plate on his shades now had a leaf village symbol engraved onto it.
"My turn, release.(her gloves poofed and the Konoha symbol appeared on them as well as her newly adorned head band)."
"We had a genjutsu on these things just in case we ran into any ninja from another country. You see our mission took place in the lands of lightning and sound. As stated before we understand if you don't believe us but please at least help us with our injuries or allow us to travel with you since we are going to the same place. We'll willingly allow you to tie us up if you wish. I am Enji Chan and this is my sister Sukyo Chan" calmly stated Senji as he was feeling quite pissed on the inside at Suonyo's slight eye roll at their names.
'I mean seriously Jackie Chan that's the best last name he could think of!? Sometimes I wonder if we're really related.'
"Well Ino it's your call." "Bark" Kiba and Akamaru said
"I'm alright with it, what about you Shikamaru?"
"I say bring em along cause if we do and it's a trap at least we won't feel guilty about leaving two supposedly Konoha shinobi behind. Plus they seem a bit too dangerous to let out of our sights anyway. I'll ask Sakura to see what she can do for them after she's done with Naruto."
"Right, and for your sakes this better not be a trick." Ino gazed into the two emotionless faces of Enji and Sukyo satisfied that no traces of guilt were found.
"I assure you that we are telling the truth." Said Senji his hand extended in an act of trust
"What reason could we possibly have for lying anyway?"
Ino considered this as she reached out and shook his hand. 'They seem sincere but still…'
"If you have nothing to hide then you shouldn't mind being guarded. Kiba if you don't mind."
"No worries here Ino. Me and Akamaru are all for it."
"Good. Shino, Shikamaru a word."
Shino and Shikamaru silently followed Ino to the far side of their campsite towards Sakura and Naruto and away from prying ears.
Well so far so good for our ninja. But what mysteries lie ahead and what about Naruto's concussion…..stay tuned to find out!
JOKE
~With Naruto and Sakura in the 'medical tent'~
"Naruto for heaven's sakes wake up already!" Damn it all we couldn't have given him a concussion! I need him to wake up! I guess our combined punches are to blame for this. You idiot you had better wake up!'
All the while Sakura continued her brisk shaking of her companion demanding him to open his eyes and awaken from his drowsy demeanor.
"Sakura we-"
"What now Ino-pig?" Sakura groaned and relented to resting Naruto back onto his sleeping bag.
Sensing her friend's stressed and worn state Ino decided to inform her of their company after her discussion with Shikamaru and Shino. She quietly left the way she came.
"Alright guys I can't help it but I have an uneasy feeling about those two. Call it woman's intuition if you will but something isn't right. What do you think Shika?"
"Well I gotta agree with you there Ino. There's fact that they even survived a battle with an Akatsuki member, and with just the two of them. It's unbelievable. Especially based on the information we have from the Hokage on this particular guy. Zetsu. He was apparently like Pain's right hand man. He had to be pretty powerful to get that position and we had loads of trouble with his subordinates like Kakuza despite our large team size. There is also the fact that there is only two of them and that they're related." Stated Shikamaru
"It isn't unheard of for siblings or relatives to work together. However I understand your issue with the squad size. Simply because, a normal squadron from our village, has at least three members. In our case we had six members to enable a split into two teams of three if necessary." Stated Shino
"Exactly what I was thinking Shino. Not only that but I for one have never seen them in the village before. Have you Ino? Shino?" asked Shikamaru
"It is a rare occasion when I don't know shinobi that are around our age." Replied Ino. Despite her tries she couldn't recall ever meeting these strange ninja
"I concur. I have no knowledge of these two. The only rational explanation seems a bit too extreme in any case." Replied Shino
"Yea I see what you mean Shino. Unless those two are the youngest ANBU black ops in the core, which I highly doubt…still there's no other explanation." Concluded Shikamaru
"Well if that's the case then Shino do you mind guarding the girl and having Kiba guard the boy until this mission ends. We need to keep them apart but just as a precaution." Said Ino
"No problem Ino. I'll go now." Replied Shino
Shino nodded to his two colleagues and teleported away using the leaf's shun shin jutsu. Ino looked after him with uneasy eyes.
"Shikamaru, what am I doing? These guys at best are ANBU black ops from our village and at worst enemy ninja who are just waiting for us to let our guard down. Powerful enemy ninja too. Am I making the right decisions or just putting the team in danger? As team leader I should-
"Hey, enough of that rambling. Self-doubt'll get you nowhere. Believe me." Stated Shikamaru as he aimed a smile at Ino and rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder
"I had to learn that lesson the hard way after we failed to bring back Sasuke all those years ago. Right now you need to be confident and think with a straight head. The first thing we should do is try to help them and Naruto get back to the leaf. Then we'll let the Hokage-sama take care of this whole mess kay?"
"Thanks Shika I really needed that."
"That's what friends are for. Now you go help Sakura before she throws a cow over Naruto. I'll make sure the others are good before we bunk for the night."
~Inside the medical tent~
Ino once again silently entered the make shift medical tent where Sakura was still profusely swearing and beating at Naruto to wake him up. His jacket and t-shirt already lay discarded on the ground from earlier when Sakura healed up the few cuts left on his chest. The faint orange glow from the candle light made for an overly dramatic play of lights and over emphasized the physical features within the tent. In fact that must be exactly what Ino saw when she peered at Sakura's face because she could've sworn she looked ready to cry. Just as easy as the look came it went and Ino continued towards her friends.
Sakura's POV
'The damn idiot just had to go and get the stupid spider! I'm surprised Shino didn't hit him as well. Actually no I'm not. Shino would never have done that because he's probably the sanest person here.'
"Let's see. He got struck by a kunai on his right shoulder, some shuriken near his sternum and then a sword slash between his shoulder blades. I need to make sure that his ribs are intact. I somehow doubt there's anything wrong with his spine or else even he wouldn't have been running with us."
'The idiot. And his ever obsessive need to wear the colour orange. He might as well be trying to outdo that Robin guy from the Teen Titans. I mean do they both purposely try to dress in fruity coloured clothes.(couldn't help it sorry. As for the fruity comment I suggest the story '100 ways Robin's like a Banana').'
'Ugh will you listen to yourself! Cha! I mean I know how distracting his rock hard abs right in front of you can be but you're rambling has been taken to a whole new level-'
'Wait WHAT! I was NOT rambling and since when does Naruto have rock hard-
Sakura paused as her inner self lead her eyes to the bare chest before her.
'Okay so maybe he's been working out but since when do you find that distracting!'
'Hey I'm only you so why don't you tell me.'
'Now isn't the time for your- our- whoever's foolishness. I need a clear head so I can finally examine him properly. If anything happens to him…'
By now Sakura could feel the tears threatening to fall from her eyes
'No! I can't think like that. I'm a trained medical kunoichi and I will help him.'
"Naruto…why do you have to be such a bakanero?" asked Sakura as she peered at her blonde haired companion. A hidden longing behind her words.
Anyone's POV
For the first time, in a long time…Ino heard something in her friend's words that she had only heard directed towards another individual over three years ago. She couldn't help but smile at her friend's antics and decided to help her. After all she was partly responsible for his current state of unconsciousness.
"You know constantly berating someone isn't usually how you get them to wake up. Come on we gotta check these bandages you put on him earlier and see if he's got any internal bleeding." Said Ino before lightly smiling at her long time friend and proceeding to help her lift up Naruto. Sakura unraveled his bandages.
"Thanks Ino. If only we could get him to wake up. It would sure help me sleep easier."
"I got an idea Sakura"
Ino rested Naruto's head back onto his pillow and placed her head next to his. Her lips lightly brushed his ear as she proceeded to whisper to him words inaudible to Sakura. As Ino lifted her head
*groan*"saku-sa…chan" Naruto croaked
"Naruto! Ino how did you?"
"Don't focus on me forehead just make sure he doesn't fall asleep again!."
"Thanks Ino-pig."
Naruto's eyelids slowly but surely opened to reveal his crystal clear blue eyes and Sakura couldn't help but feel as if she was looking into a never-ending ocean, probably made from Naruto's never-ending determination.
'Yea, THAT doesn't sound anything like being distracted.'
Broken from her reverie Sakura noticed that the usual gleam of joy in Naruto's eyes seemed to dim ever so slightly.
So how's THAT for longer. Okay so it's not THAT much longer. And not MUCH happened. At least Naruto isn't dead so…
Will Sakura continually become distracted? Will Akamaru learn any words other than "arf bark" and will Naruto be able to stay awake long enough that the head trauma from his concussion won't send him into a coma? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z- uh I mean Titans Go! Wait uh, maybe Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!...You know what I'll just see u next time on Lost Clan.
Hey I got it right!
R n R
Peace
Jay out Suckerz!