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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Princess Mononoke.

A/N / Warning: Terrible grammar and spelling so beware.

Like Human Like Demon

By: Lies To U

Chapter: 10

(Yay! Double digit!)

With Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura...

"What!? Sasuke and San's gone!? Where could they have run off to!?" Naruto exclaimed at Kakashi and quickly looked behind bushes and trees near by the remaining squad. "I hope they're both alright..." Sakura said uneasy with a clenched fist to her chest. "Dammit. Dammit. DAMMIT! Sasuke! San!!" Naruto hollered when he couldn't find either one of the missing people near by. "Naruto calm down-" "How can I calm down!? We've gone this far they just suddenly decided to disappear out of no where! I'm going to go look for them!" Naruto ranted and dashed away from Squad 7. "N-Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed and was about to chase after him but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. "Huh? she asked, looking over her shoulder to her sensai who stopped her in her tracks. "Sensai! Why aren't we going after him!? All three of them could get into serious danger!" Sakura said with worry rising in her voice.

Kakashi seemed to stay silent for a minute or half a minute, until now he smiled behind his mask. "Sakura, this is Naruto and Sasuke we're talking about. They can survive through anything, and I'm sure that San girl will be alright too with those two by her side, don't worry" Kakashi said with his revealing eye closed while he smiled in secret. Sakura had her eyes shaken, she then turned her head to where Naruto dashed off to "I hope you're right..."

With Sasuke...

Sasuke glared in anger and confusion as he stared at the part of the forest where San, and the wolves, had disappeared off to. It didn't make any sense... why did she act like she never even met him? Sure she must've hated him to the gut but she didn't have to act like he was a complete stranger to her. Sasuke's thinking was cut off when he heard a man scream from where he set those men down on the bank, he quickly ran to them. When he reached the injured men, one of them was trying to back away from what seemed like a little white miniature person who had big, black-dot eyes and a large black dot as it's mouth. "A kodama, I never thought I'd see one of them here..." Sasuke said with his eyes slightly widen. He knelt down behind the frightened man who was jabbering gibberish in fright at the sight of the little white, mini person. "Easy there, you don't want to make your injuries worse do you?" Sasuke asked, making the man slightly jump noticing there was someone else conscious besides him.

The little kodama turned it's head to the side then it clicked like a bobble head figure would do. "He's a tree spirit, he brings good luck. It's a sign that this forest is healthy" Sasuke explained, not taking his eyes off the little kodama. "But they'll lead their lord and master right to us!" the frightened man said, looking around if anything was approaching them. "Who do you mean? You mean those wolves I just saw?" Sasuke asked, looking at the man who was still slightly shivering. "No I mean like a REAL monster, like a huge enormous deer," the little kodama clicked its head again, "except they say its got a human face sometimes and then at night they say it-" the man suddenly screamed when the little kodama got up on its little feet and walked two steps away from them and disappeared.

"WHERE'D IT GO!?... AHHH!" the man turned his head to the side to see three more kodamas appear among them, two on a large rock on dirt ground while the other was sitting on a tree branch cross legged, having a more thinner head. "LOOK! REINFORCEMENTS! We're doomed!" the man cried "Oh no!" he failed to move since his broken arm strike pain up the limb when he tried to get up and run. "I sense no evil chakra within them, we have nothing to worry about here" Sasuke replied, looking at the new kodama that was on the rock and tree branch. Sasuke got up and walked to one of them while another kodama appeared next to the injured man and clicked it's head making him yelp in surprise.

"Will you be kind enough to grant us pass your forest little one?" Sasuke asked, the little kodama seemed to act shy when he asked at first but then turned around, still looking at Sasuke with its head upside down and disappeared.

Sasuke had made a clone of himself so he could carry the conscious injured man as the real Sasuke carried the unconscious man who had bandage wrapped around this head and eyes along with two sticks tied against his broken left arm (Carrying both piggy-back style). The conscious one had a ripped off piece of cloth tied around his neck, holding his broken arm while two sticks were against the limb to help it heal back straight, same went for his right leg. Many kodama where running near their feet, happy expressions showing upon their face as other Kodama were sitting on tree branches or leaves and bushes. "Uhh, sir I really think we should turn around now." the conscious man said wearily, "I wonder, did I ever mention that no humans have ever made it through these woods alive? There's a lovely trail back across the river". "The currents too swift for us to get across (He's starting to loose alot of chakra, so he couldn't do it with two injured men), and your friends injuries are very bad. If we don't get him back enough soon he doesn't have a chance" Sasuke said quickly, getting a little tired of the man's rampaging.

A little kodama can running in front of Sasuke, ducking under tree roots that was very big for their little side. Sasuke panted as he felt some sweat trickle down his face as he continued to follow the little kodama up a hill that was tiring Sasuke out, "Hey little fella, are you showing us the way or just getting us more lost?" the Uchiha asked with a smirk. The little kodama kept running but stopped for a second to take a glance at Sasuke over its shoulder, it made it to the top of the hill as it continued to run. The kodama waited for a second to see if Sasuke was keeping up, he was, the kodama turned forward and kept running with a smile.

Sasuke took a small break, resting his hand on the ground to support his weight while he panted from the aching pain that the unconscious man put on his back. 'There's this surging pain in my neck... where the curse mark is. What's going on?' Sasuke thought with concern as sweat trickled down his cheek. "Please sir? I'm pretty sure they're not trying to help us get home, oh my God there's thousands of them!" the man whimpered as he looked down at the ground seeing many Kodama run pass them. Sasuke lifted his head up to see the kodama run pass him with happy faces upon their face. One kodama ran pass him carrying a smaller kodama on its back and then after that, a small kodama was carrying a larger kodama on it's back... as if mocking Sasuke.

Sasuke inhaled a deep breath and shifted the man's weight on his back, he continued to walk forward. There was a large line of kodama's ahead, between, and behind Sasuke and the conscious man. All glowing bright with their white or pale yellow bodies with smiles upon their face, they came to a tree where they faded into and they didn't come out on the other side of the great tree. "Look at that, that must be their mother..." Sasuke said, looking up at the old looking, huge tree. He continued to walk forward,passing the tree with the man was whimpering as they continued. The kodama was clicking non-stop as if saying goodbye to them (Or something like that).

With Naruto...

Naruto continued to keep jumping on tree branches, trying to detect Sasuke or San's chakra if possible. 'Damn! Why did they have to disappear of to nowhere!? I'm gonna give of them a piece of my mind if I find either one of them!'Naruto thought with a clear glare upon his face. "Ack!" Naruto yelped as he clutched his stomach, clawing a sudden pain coming from his belly. He landed on a thick tree branch, squatting down while hissing in pain with his hand still clawing his stomach. 'It feels like my chakra's trying to burst out of my stomach... that's where the Kyubi's seal is... what the hell's going on!?' Naruto thought while panting from the surging pain under his clutching hand. "Argh, no time to be crouching down in pain, I have to find Sasuke and San!" Naruto groaned while rising to his feet and jumping more fast forward into the forest.

Back With Sasuke...

Sasuke had ended up at a swamp-like place only it seemed clean and it had grass/moss like ground with such clear water, not to mention some trees were growing upon it. He had noticed footprints embedded in the ground, seeing a small foot and a animals foot next to it. "The tracks of those wolves and San with them... this must be where the four of them live..." Sasuke said to himself as he looked around, seeing if they were around anywhere. They weren't, Sasuke set the unconscious man on his back down, lying him softly to the ground. "Sir, maybe we took a wrong turn somewhere? This is a place for Gods and Demons" the conscious man asked while looking around, still a little scared.

"I think we're safe, we'll rest a bit" Sasuke said calmly and walking to the edge of the mossy ground to the crystal clear water. He knelt down and searched in his ninja pouch attached to his side, finding a bowl he kept in there (He never thought he was going to use it XD). He dipped it in the water, cleaning it then dumped it in again, filling it fully with water. Something caught his eye, he looked up to see a footprint embedded in the moss ground too. Only these footprints had, what seemed, three toes and butterflies were hovering around it or standing upon it. "... More tracks?" Sasuke asked, looking around to see if there were any more tracks. He spotted another track imprinted on the ground below the water.

He blinked, "Whatever made these... made them recently" Sasuke said to himself once again. He started to take a closer look around the swamp, seeing if there was any signs of any living creature or thing among them. Something caught his eye, a light seemed to shine through a gap of threes far from where Sasuke was. Dark figures that looked like deer walked between the gap and disappeared from view once they went pass the tree that was in Sasuke's way of view. He breathed silently, wondering if something unusual would happen or appear. That it did! A deer, larger than the previous deer appeared, it had antlers that has many pegs sprouting and it stopped and seemed to look at Sasuke.

Sasuke slightly gasped, "Sasuke!" a voice reached him. He turned his head to where the voice came from, it was that loser, Naruto. "Naruto..." was what Sasuke could only say. Naruto landed on the ground next to Sasuke after jumping off the side of a tree, he panting while his hands were on his knees. "Sasuke! Where have you been!? You suddenly just decided to walk off to Kami only knows whe-" Sasuke didn't pay attention to what Naruto continued to rant about. He suddenly felt a large amount of pain scream on his neck. "ARGHHH!" Sasuke couldn't help but let out, he clawed his neck where the pain was activating. "Huh!? Sasuke!" Naruto said in surprise, he quickly knelt down beside his comrade. "Sasuke what's going on!? Where's it hurting?" Naruto asked, trying to stay calm.

Sasuke kept letting out cries of pain while clawing his neck, digging his nails into his skin. "Sir! What's going on!? Are you alright!?" the conscious man asked, as the clone of Sasuke, carrying him, began to do the same. Sasuke resisted the urge to scream in more pain as he notice/felt the curse seal marks started spreading down his arm that was clutching his neck. "Ah!" Naruto said, noticing the curses actions. Sasuke immediately plunged his arm into the pure water, he gritted his teeth as he felt and saw the curse seal marks burn like a glowing fire, he could hear his heartbeat clearly as he grasped the moss under his other hand from the pain. Sasuke or Naruto didn't notice, but the strange deer-animal walked away from eyesight and the light had faded away that was glowing behind it.

The curse seal started to desend and return to the mark on Sasuke's neck, he panted in relief. He brought his arm back up and scooped up some water with his bowl (He knocked the water out of it when he clawed his neck in such a hurry). "Uhh sir, what just happened there? You went white as a sheet all of a sudden" the conscious man asked, realising that the clone that was carrying relaxed and saw Sasuke walk back to the man he was once carrying. "I warned you about this place..." the man reminded him. "Here" Sasuke ignored the man and gave the other man lying down the water, he slowly drank it all. "Did you see anything just then?" Sasuke asked, not looking at the man who was talking before. "Like what?" he responded, "Forget it" Sasuke quickly replied with a quick glance at him. "Hang on just a little longer, you're almost home.." Sasuke said to the man who had finished drinking.

"I... failed him" he weakly replied and returned to a deep sleep. "Sasuke... who are these people?" Naruto asked, standing up now. "I'll explain later" Sasuke replied, looking over at Naruto. Sasuke looked back to where the strange animal was... nothing was there, "It's gone... whatever it was".