Chapter 16: Camping, Cliffs, Crawfish, Holes, Flying, and a Strange Girl!?

By: DemonClowSorceress and Red

Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto, but if we did, there would be such change in pairings and deaths, you don't even know........

Three days later saw the entire six-year-old cadet class waiting by the village gates, fidgeting under the weight of bedrolls, supplies, and weapons. Several talked in excited whispers about the trip, having heard from parents or older siblings about the perils of camping in the woods around Konohagakure. Many of the boys were bragging about how unafraid they were. Groups of girls swore to use the buddy-system so none would be eaten by wild animals, or worse, surprised and humiliated by the boys.

Naruto looked at Sasuke. "Exactly how did we get roped into chaperone duty again? I was confused somehow, when did this happen?"

"You? Confused? Gee, there's something new," the black-haired duckbutt Uchiha grumbled before recieving a 'stuff-it' glare from the blond. "Well, to answer your question, the class is substantially bigger than ours was, so it's only natural that more chaperones are needed."

"But all of us?" Naruto asked. His arm swept out to include Teams 7, 8, 10, and Team Gai, standing tall as giants among the little midget cadets. "Isn't that a little overkill?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and slugged his shoulder, putting a little superhuman punch in her fist. "Moron. It's so the rest of the Academy senseis can teach the other classes. This way only Iruka-sensei has to come."

"And Kakashi-sensei," added Naruto, pointing to the puff of smoke that signalled the arrival of a familiar tardy silver-haired jonin. "He's coming too. Dunno why, though."

And he wonders why we always leave when those two want to talk about 'top secret missions' in Iruka's bedroom, Sasuke and Sakura thought, sighing heavily. Idiot, can't you read the signs?

"Papa! Tou-chan!" Hiro's voice made all three teammates look over as the squirrel-boy ran over and tackled Sakura's middle in a hug. "And Sakura-nee-chan! You're all here!"

Switching to loving aunt mode, Sakura ruffled the fur on top of his head between his squirrel ears. "Of course Hiro-chan! We're so happy to be here! You're going to love this trip."

The young squirrel-boy cracked his knuckles. "Don't worry, Sakura-nee-chan! If there's another scary demon attack, me and the Fur Fighters will defend you!" He punched his fist into the air. "Let's have fun on this exam!"

"Yeah!" responded the Fur Fighters, their fists meeting his in a giant fist-pound.

It took over three hours to reach Hiatsu Lake, but the cadets were whining plenty when they finally arrived. Iruka directed the cadets to set up their tents and get their gear stored away. The girls were able to share a tent, while the boys had to split between two tents. After they unpacked, the Fur Fighters returned to the center camping ground to hear what Iruka-sensei had to say about their upcoming exams.

"All right now, these next few days will be a cumulative examination of your skills in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and general knowledge of weapons and abilities. You will be placed in teams to simulate how you will be grouped once you graduate. This will help create a group dynamic that many genin teams rely on to win fights and survive as a unit." Iruka-sensei's words captivated most of the children, making their eyes go all big-anime-glassy as they imagined themselves as fully quaified ninja. "Those skills will serve you later in life, as the Konoha Twelve can attest to."

"You kidding me, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto said with a grin, folding his hands behind his head and winking at the kids. "We survived because we're badass ninja! Duh!"

"Yeah, we're kinda amazing because of our clan skills," Kiba replied, hooking his arm around Shino's neck and grinning just as widely as Naruto.

Shikamaru crossed his arms and gave the other two boys a look. "Although some have both skill and brains," he said pointedly.

"While some have awesome kekkai genkai," interjected Neji modestly, earning a nod of agreement from Sasuke.

Hiro giggled when he noticed that Iruka-sensei looked annoyed by Hiro's nii-chans' answers. The dark-skinned man coughed before continuing. "Um, anyway, the purpose of this exam period is to see who among you right now has what it takes to become a ninja of Konhagakure. Bear in mind, however, that this will not be as easy as in the classrooms. If you do not pass the tests, it's not a critical loss. It won't count against your final permanant grade, so you can relax a bit." There was an audible whoosh of air as the assembled children exhaled as one in relief.

Tsukasa yawned, stretching his little wings and arms in tandem. "So.....what's on the agenda first?" he asked, absently preening while the girls in the class tittered and swooned.

Iruka-sensei shook his head, a smirk of amusement touching his face. "First is dinner. You'll have to forage for your food, and now's as good a time as any. You can ask for tips from the Konoha Twelve, but absolutely no help will be accepted from them." He delivered this rule with a significant glance at Sasuke and Naruto, probably thinking that they would take the time to help Hiro and his friends.

But Naruto shook his head with his own grin. "Why you lookin' over here, Iruka-sensei? Your students are heading off in that direction," he said, pointing at the disappearing dust cloud trailing behind the Fur Fighters.

********

Tomoya leaned over and sniffed the surface of the water. "I think there's crawfish in here," he announced to Hanika, not breaking eye contact with the river. "I like crawfish. And berries. Actually, any type of food. Even worms are tasty, you know. You want any crawfish?"

The rabbit-girl turned a delicate shade of green. "Um, no thank you. I'll be fine." She poked around the blackberry bushes and started plucking handfuls of berries into her hip pouch, being careful not to smash them. "How can you stand to eat anything that comes your way?"

"I know what it's like to starve." The normally jolly Tanuki-chan was very somber when he revealed this information. "My first memory was that I was starving and had to find something to eat. It was really bad." His little ears visibly drooped, as did his tail. "I ate anything and everything. I even ate rotting meat that I found in trashcans when everything else was gone. It made me sick all the time."

Hanika looked at his back, twisting the hem of her skirt. She knew nothing of starving that badly; saying 'Chu' allowed her to summon her favorite food whenever she wanted. Of course Tomoya, with his statue-summoning cry of 'Shiny', had to resort to seeking other forms of nourishment.

"Hiro-chan said......that you were pretending to be a forest spirit."

Tomoya laughed hollowly. "Yup. I scared a traveler into giving me his food - I was nearly mad with hunger and used my word too much. But the next thing I knew, there was a shrine built and offerings of food left at regular intervals." Looking back at her, he gave a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I never starved again. But I never forgot that feeling."

Hanika opened her mouth to apologize, but the boy quickly returned to his gazing into the river. He gave a sudden cry and plunged both hands into the water with a giant splash. When they came back out, five scrabbling and squirming crawfish were clutched in his hands.

"Excellent!" Tomoya crowed, shoving them into his hip pouch. "A couple more lucky catches like this, and we can have a good dinner!" He then knelt at the riverbank again and watched the water intently.

A squishing sound made him tilt his head. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hanika's yellow sandals come closer, then she knelt beside him as well. "I'll help," she offered. "How do you catch crawfish?"

********

Farther up the river, Hikari and Hikaru were scooping fish out with relative ease. Tsukasa was up a tree picking apples. Shippo hung from his tail, happily giggling at the exploits of Mei as she dug for hidden caches of roots and nuts left by other animals.

"You know, you can help too," Mei called up to the monkey boy.

Shippo munched on a banana. "Why? We can summon our own food."

"We should still learn to search," said Tsukasa wisely, plucking another apple and dropping it into the pile beneath him. "What if we're in a situation where we can't summon food? It's a necessary skill."

Mei sighed, continuing to dig under the apple tree. "Well, mine is an obvious need. I mean, the only thing I can use my bones for is fighting or gnawing."

The cat twins finished their fishing and brought the slippery, flapping fish under the apple tree. Hikari looked up at Tsukasa anxiously. "Please be careful, Tenshi-chan," she called. "Don't hurt yourself."

"I won't. I have excellent balance." His wings fully extended, Tsukasa stretched as far as he could along the branch for the last apple. His fingertips brushed the skin of the delicious fruit, wiggling to gain a grip on it. "Just a - little farther - " He leaned forward, straining to reach it.......

And the branch he sat on snapped halfway through, dropping him and startling the boy enough to make him topple off the branch. His wings reflexively spread open even though his mind knew he couldn't fly and his little wings wouldn't be able to support his weight. He saw Shippo reach for him, but the little monkey boy's hand missed his by an inch. Tsukasa squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for a hard landing.

"Kyaa!" screamed a female voice. A thin object wrapped around Tsukasa's ankle, halting his fall. He hesitantly opened one eye and saw a pink ribbon holding him up, the other end tied around a sturdy rod held by one black-and-white cat girl. "Are you all right?" Hikari asked breathlessly, struggling to hold him aloft.

Tsukasa's mind was whirling from the new information, but he could only ask one thing. "So....'Kyaa' is your word?"

********

In the deeper part of the forest, Hari slithered through the underbrush as quietly as her snake heritage allowed. Her tongue flicked out from time to time, assisting her in her search for food.

Being with the Fur Fighters had drastically changed the Hebi-chan. When she served Orochimaru, she had no qualms about hunting her food in open spaces and devouring it in front of others. But now, with her new mannerisms and the fact that her friends were mostly what she ate, she felt the need to feed herself in seclusion. Tasting the air, she chanced upon a nest of mice and, with a few quick stabs of her crystal hair chopstick, ate the whole rodent family off the skewer.

Hari lifted an eyebrow when she saw Kusaka and Valac passing by, but she thought very little of it. She knew that the two were very secretive beings, each with their own reasons for keeping to themselves and only seeking out each other's company. But the snake girl still found herself listening in on their conversation.

"Saka, this is serious," Valac said in a firm voice. "Where is your jewel? I can't get a firm read on you. It's like you're only half here."

The blue-haired girl shrugged, seemingly agitated. "For the last time, I don't know where it is. When I came to, I didn't have it. It wasn't until I found those kids that I poofed to this form. Energy conservation, I guess."

Valac rolled his eyes. But then, quite unexpectedly, a smile graced his features. "Oh, then I can actually do stuff that you can't? Excellent." He grabbed Kusaka's arms and pulled her close to him, yanking out a chain from under his shirt. Hari saw something red glowing on the chain right before Valac's feet lifted off the ground, taking Kusaka with him.

Hari swallowed her mouthful as the two children did a Peter Pan-esque flight for a few minutes. While the Hebi-chan had seen a lot of stuff in her time, she'd never seen anything quite as........well, innocent.......before. Kusaka's normally somber expression had been replaced by one of pure happiness, her smile a testament to the wonderful experience. Valac smiled as well, a fond smile on his face as he guided her through the skies.

When the rainclouds began to form, Valac and Kusaka touched down. Hari took the opportunity to walk out and join them, showing her half-full pouch of edible flowers and roots. They discussed ideas for food while heading back to camp.

And Hari kept what she saw to herself.

********

Daisuke stubbornly pressed on into the woods, trusting her nose to search for foodstuffs. Her bright green eyes intently scanned the forest vegetation for anything she could harvest.

She was also trying to ignore the annoying bat boy hovering behind her. Grinding her teeth, she rolled her head around before returning to glare at the ground. "You know, you're being very annoying. It's like having an irritating fly that I can't swat."

Kaname snickered. "Admit it. You're glad I'm out here."

"And why would that be?"

"What if you get stuck in the undergrowth?" Kaname asked, swooping around to her side. "Or what if you got lost? You'll need my help."

Daisuke growled eloquently before returning to the task at hand. Her nose sifted through the many scents lacing the air around her, but one scent stood out very prominently. A strange sharp scent, reminiscent of cinnamon with a hint of sulfur. She sneezed twice at the spicy smell.

This made Kaname hover closer. "You all right? Not allergic to anything, right? Cuz that'd just suck."

She rubbed her nose and scowled at him. "Just buzz off, will ya?"

The black-haired boy shrugged and flew straight up out of the woods. Thanking whatever gods had decided to take pity on her, Daisuke continued to sniff around for food.

After half an hour she had gathered a nice medley of herbs, edible plants, and berries. Daisuke felt satisfied at her accomplishment and turned back to the campground. A storm was coming, she saw, and she wanted to get back before she got soaked.

There was a sharp crack under her foot, much like a stick breaking. Daisuke blinked, then screamed as she plummeted into a deep hole. A sharp knock of pain blossomed on the side of her head, making her almost black out. Another flower of pain exploded in her ankle, which was crumpled underneath her - possibly sprained, or at least twisted.

Dammit, she thought, struggling to sit up. She looked up and saw raindrops plopping down around her. Crap. Double crap. She looked around her hole, which now that she paid attention, looked like an abandoned well. I'm gonna get soaked out here before I get back, then I'm probably gonna get sick, and then -

"You look like you could use some help."

Daisuke looked up again. Kaname was kneeling beside the well and leaning over the edge, looking down at her. Ice blue eyes almost glowed in the dim, making the red streaks in his hair stand out even more. It might've been the lack of light due to the darkened sky, but Daisuke thought he looked......concerned?

"You gonna stare or are you gonna help me?" she snapped, cheeks burning for some reason.

The bat boy tilted his head to the side. "Can't you get up yourself? Acrobatic kitsune that you are, should be easy."

"My ankle's busted. I fell on it." She waited for the unevitable jibe at her clumsiness or her complete inability to -

"Okay, hang on."

Daisuke looked up and watched as Kaname's wings opened and fluttered, letting him descend gradually to her side. His arms extended towards her. "Come on. Grab a hold."

"Can you carry us both?"

He gave her an 'Are you seriously asking me that?' look. "Trust me, why doncha."

Swallowing the whimper of pain from leaning forward, Daisuke reached up and clasped her hands behind Kaname's neck. He awkwardly picked her up bridal-style, then beat his wings harder to get airborne. Slowly and gradually, the pair began rising up from the well shaft.

She was expecting him to drop her once they cleared the well. But Kaname again surprised her; gaining more altitude, he rose above the forest and flew all the way back to the campground. And not once, during the entire flight, did his grip on her loosen.

********

Hiro thought he had done a very good job at gathering food. True, they were mostly nuts, but they were chestnuts and acorns and other good things. He'd also found some fresh edible plants for others, in case they didn't like nuts. Sure, he could have summoned some nuts, but that would defeat the purpose of foraging, now wouldn't it?

The storm was beginning to break when Hiro decided he had collected enough. He was heading back to the campground when he heard a low snarling coming from the undergrowth. Instinct made him scurry up the nearest tree trunk and nestle in the branches. His ears swiveled around, trying to pin down the location of the snarl.

There was another snarl, followed by a howl and a terrified shriek. The shriek sounded human. Hiro immediately thought it was one of his classmates and jumped through the trees towards the noise. As he got closer, he could hear a girl's high-pitched cry of "Help! Help!" along with a deep barking that he surprisingly recognized. Why's Akamaru chasing one of my classmates up a tree?

Hiro reached the area of the barking and screaming and dropped to the ground on all fours. He spied Akamaru's large white form, his front paws up on the tree trunk and barking loudly and insistantly at something cowering in the branches just beyond his reach. Scampering over to sit beside the Inuzuka ninken, Hiro raised his voice to shout, "Akamaru! Akamaru, stop it!"

Akamaru stopped mid-woof, looking down at the small brown fur-wearing boy. "Aroo?" (Author's Note: Everything Akamaru says in English from this point forward has been translated from canine.) The dog tilted his head to the side. "Hiro, why are you on the ground?"

Hiro tilted his head as well. "Where else would I be?" he asked. "And why are you harrassing whoever is up there?"

"But Hiro was up in the tree," Akamaru said, sounding confused. "Why are you on the ground now?"

"Huh?" The squirrel boy looked up in the tree, trying to see the person huddling scared in the branches. He spied a face in a flash of lightning from the storm. It wasn't a familiar one, but the face of a complete stranger. "Hey, who's up there?" he asked, craning his neck to look up. "It's okay, Akamaru won't hurt you. Come on down."

There was total silence. Then Hiro's ears were assaulted by the loudest shriek he'd ever heard in his short life. "Chi-denka*!"

Akamaru woofed in surprise when a brown mass about the same size as Hiro dropped from the branches right on top of the squirrel boy. Hiro could barely see past the auburn-tinged brown hair and struggled to breathe as the repeated shriek of "Chi-denka! Chi-denka!" sounded off next to his tortured ear. Reacting on instinct, he shoved the clinging shouter off of him and jumped to his feet.

What he saw shocked him.

His attacker was just a bit shorter than his own height of three-foot-six. Obviously female, she had long hair of a very dark auburn. Her clothes were very smiliar to the kind Hiro had worn early in his life, comprised of a short fur skirt and a brown tube top with a furry shrug, colored the same shade as her hair. The girl was also wearing what looked like a headband and - and -

Hiro's eyes widened. She had squirrel ears, same as him. A squirrel girl?

Beautiful hazel eyes stared at Hiro with a mixture of adoration and relief, as well as a disturbing measure of what Hiro had come to recognize as hero worship. He was beginning to feel very uncomfortable, so he cleared his throat nervously and asked, "Um, who are you?"

The squirrel girl gave a squeak and hurriedly sat in seiza position**, bowing low to him. "Please forgive my lapse in courtesy, Chi-denka," she said. "I did not mean to be so rude, it's just......." Raising her head, she beamed at Hiro. "I've been searching for you for months, and now I've finally found you!"

Hiro couldn't follow her. "Who are you, squirrel girl?"

Again she bowed low, forehead almost touching the ground. When she looked up again, her expression held confusion. "My name is Momoka, Chi-denka. I am the daughter of one of your vassals, do you not remember?"

"I don't know any Momoka," Hiro said, "and I'm not Chi-denka. My name is Hiro. Uzuha Hiro." He spoke his name with great pride, earning a bark of agreement from Akamaru.

Momoka's face grew even more confused. "Chi-denka, what are you saying? You are the prince of our clan. Don't you remember?"

"Prince? Me?" Hiro laughed so hard his legs collapsed, forcing him to lean against Akamaru's side. The large white canine likewise gave a rousing chorus of barks. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Please tell me you're joking."

"This is a matter of utmost importance, Chi-denka." Momoka was beginning to look very uncomfortable and angry. "How can you take this so lightly? Why, if you don't complete your - "

Her words were suddenly cut off by a loud screech from the skies. Terrified, Momoka launched herself into Hiro's arms with a squeal. His breath was knocked from his body as the girl's arms locked around his torso in panicked fear. And for some odd reason, Hiro's heart was hammering in his chest.

Akamaru woofed in concern, nosing Hiro's face. But this only freaked Momoka out even more, causing her deathgrip around Hiro's waist to tighten even more. Then suddenly, her grip slacked. Hiro caught her in his arms before she slid off onto the ground.

"Raining," Akamaru said unhelpfully as drops of icy liquid fell from the sky in pelting sheets. "Should get back."

"Okay," Hiro said, sitting up. The rain was turning the earth to mud, which was staining his legs and feet. Momoka's lower body was also plastered with mud. "Let's go."

The large white dog cocked his head sideways. "Leaving girl behind?"

"Huh?" The squirrel boy looked at Akamaru in confusion. "Why? I can't leave her. She's annoying and shrieky and strange, but we can't just leave her alone here. The animals will get her." Pulling Momoka onto Akamaru's back, Hiro made sure she wouldn't slide off before crawling on himself. Hiro sat tall and held the unconscious squirrel girl tightly as Akamaru loped back to the campground.

The rain was pouring down when they returned, spattered with mud like a child had thrown clods of the brown goop around in a festive manner without caring where it landed. Akamaru lowered himself down like a camel in front of the joint tent that the Fur Fighters were using. Hiro picked Momoka up on his back and carried her inside, wincing when mud slung from Akamaru's paws as the dog rocketed to his master's tent for shelter.

Inside, he was greeted with an interesting group of sights. Tomoya was heading a committee for dinner, adding this and that to the boiling stewpot in front of them. Hanika was at his left, chopping vegetables and scraping them into the pot. At his right, Mei was busy sniffing the stew happily, her tail wagging nonstop. Tsukasa was lying on his cot, foot propped up with Hikari administering to his ankle. Next to his cot was Daisuke, lying with a bandage on her ankle and her arm, bickering with Kaname. Shippo and Hari, an unusual combination, were playing some sort of card game with Hikaru that involved slapping piles of cards. Kusaka and Valac were playing shogi in a corner, oblivious to the world. The air was full of chatter and laughter.

The sight of Hiro entering with an unknown girl on his back, however, had an instant silencing effect on them. All eyes turned to him in shock before Hanika, Mei, Hikari and Kusaka quickly came over and took her from Hiro, carrying the little squirrel girl to an empty cot. The boys pulled Hiro towards Tsukasa's cot while the girls started to clean and dry Momoka.

"So," Tomoya cackled loudly, hooking his arm around Hiro's neck, "where'd you bring a girl from?"

A.N

* - Denka is a Japanese suffix that means 'Royal Highness'

** - Seiza is the polite way to sit in a Japanese room. That's when they sit with their legs folded underneath their bodies.