Blank. Nothing. Emptiness. Total, utter, deathless. Surrounding me, a shroud, a fog, a hateful barrier of non-existence strangling me. I writhe in its invisible grasp and it constricts me tighter. The air leaves. My lungs close. All goes dark, all fades, the nothing becomes black…

And then, children…three of them, they walk away, into a sunset…backs to me…a girl, two boys…one turns to wave…and then they, too, fade to bleak shadow…

My eyes slam open, but I don't move. Sweat drips, cold, down my brow, my arms, my chest. The blankets, soaked. It falls into my eyes. I squint at the ceiling blinking as I think, remember.

And then it hits me.

Naruto. Sasuke. Sakura.

"…What do you mean, we aren't going to do anything?!?" I was enraged; what was she thinking?

She raised her voice as well, "You heard me quite well, Kakashi; off and lost though they may be, there is little to nothing we can realistically do to aid them. We have no idea of their current whereabouts, no idea of their motivation, and no coherent reason to pursue the matter."

"B-but…they…" I looked down and cursed myself.

She softened her demeanor. "Listen, Kakashi, I know they are your pupils, and I know that you value their lives as I do yours. However, quite simply, it would currently be in our best interest to simply leave them be. They will find their way back soon enough, if they wish to."

I raised my head. If they wished to?

"Hokage-sama, do you mean to say—"

"Kakashi, please…I have work to attend to.

She closed her eyes and swiveled her chair to face out the windows. She wasn't just making excuses; her desk was piled with papers and scrolls and pamphlets of all types, however her words still distilled my mood. Did she think they might have some reason to not return?

Still, I had obviously been dismissed. I shuffled out of the office, not simply poofing off because I needed a moment to think. I couldn't do a damned thing about my squad, so I pondered a problem I could fix: the crime scene. It wasn't exactly orthodox; the entrance was seemingly made by a tidal wave, simply sweeping through, somehow breaking the glass. Considerable force would've been necessary for such a thing, so it must've the handiwork of some kind of expert—someone well-versed in water-related ninjutsu. And I knew the perfect place to begin searching.

I looked up, and found myself on the stairway leading down the Hokage Towers. I gazed off in the distance, then leaped and vanished.

Milliseconds later, I stood in front of the Kiekyolo Theatre; I knew it to be a favored thinking spot for Asuma. I entered; it was a large, gaudy place, full of streamers and signs and lanterns. Despite its rather flamboyant appearance, however, the musicality of its exceptional shows were second to none, hence Asuma's likening to the place—it turned out the fellow was a bit of a connoisseur. I had barely to look around before I spotted him, splayed across a bench sitting just outside the wide, loud double doors that lead into one of the massive theaters.

I strolled on over, opening up my latest copy of Romance Island as I didfor an air of nonchalance. He still hadn't noticed me. I kept walking, and he didn't look up. I stopped, just in front of him. Still, he stared off into space. I cleared my throat and suppressed a chuckle when he jumped.

"K-Kakashi!" he stammered, "Please, do—do not…" He cleared his throat, seeming to compose himself. He tried again.

"Kakashi, how are you doing?" This time, he looked a bit more joking, as though my interruption was merely a child jabbing him in the side as he passed on a crowded street. Still, he seemed to shake slightly at his own lying airiness.

"I'm quite well, my friend, though rather puzzled at the case—" I looked at him, a glimmer of interrogation in my eye, and he nodded a quick affirmative, "—and was curious if I could come back on you for that…eh…favor I granted you a while back."

He reddened slightly. "F-favor? I don't know what you're talking about!" He smiled sheepishly and scratched at the mat of hair on his head.

I rolled my eyes. "Asuma," I reminded him, "both you and I know that the one reason she spoke to you was my own persuasion in your direction. I could have easily taken the prize myself, but I chose to pass it up in your favor. Just because you chose to ignore my goodwill does not mean it didn't occur. I believe you owe me, at least to a point."

He blushed a little deeper, then looked down and kicked at the ground like a denounced child. "What do you want?"

"Simple: visit Kirigakure, and see if you can't locate our old friend, Momochi Faikujin." He cocked his head, obviously puzzled. I smiled. I suppose I can't expect him to know the guy…

"Just…remember the name, and ask around. He's well-known enough to get more than a few enthusiastic responses."

"But…why?"

I shrugged, then said, "Hey, what harm can it do? The guy's a mizunin, right? Just ask him if there's been any…odd stories of late. He always has a few to spread around."

Asuma just shrugged. "Hey, if you say so…"

"Trust me on this one…oh, and if you chance upon my pupils, please ask them to return. Their task is now quite outdated."

Dawn. The young sun blared orange in the distance, a golden face peering warily over the horizon.

I'd been up for quite a while—hours, in fact—just watching it rise, watching and waiting and feeling the red of my eyes fade out just as the sun faded in. I was crouched, high in a tree, overlooking a massive berth of a path in the middle of the forest. It broke off into dozens of miniscule trails, one of which led into our most recent camp. I suppose you could call it me a lookout, but that's not why I had relegated the company of my squad mates—I just longed for a few hours to myself, just a while to recollect my thought and converse a little with my…inner beast, if you will.

"…Well, what if I just used the Anamizu again?"

Don't be dumb, that only works on man-made doors, and you know it.

"So the door isn't man made?"

Of course not; it's been around since long before man's time.

"Then why—or how—is it so heavily sealed?"

Don't forget, you silly humans get all off your techniques—each and every one of them—from us.

"So if they're the same sealing techniques, why won't the same unsealing techniques work?"

Well…that is, you see…ahh, just shut up, ya dumb kid. What do you know?

I chuckled.

"Not too much, but that's why I'm asking."

Well, try to keep the questions relevant, will you?

"I…hello, what's this?" I had sensed something, a presence in the distance.

Small troupe, about 6 men, all full grown and advancing. They're not aware of us quite yet—

"Are they ever?"

--And it doesn't seem that they'll be leaving the path anytime soon.

"Traders, you think?"

Whatever they are, I think they're heading to the Land of Waves.

"Definitely traders, then."

Rightfully so; they're probably just lining up to see that little bridge of yours.

"Hey, I deserved that bridge!"

I believe the proper word is we. We, together, saved those silly villagers from Momochi, and it is only thanks to you actually having a body that I am not credited.

"I'll be sure to include you in my memoir."

Your what?

"Let's go. I want to see if the others are up."

Fine…

At the new camp, Sasuke was awake, already tending a fire. Again. He seemed rather fond of the things, understandably so. He dumped an armful of logs into a makeshift pit the previous night and lit them up with a quick gokakyu. Apparently satiated, he plunked down on a larger log off to the side. Sakura stumbled out of her tent, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Sasuke, Sakura," I said, kicking up dust as I landed next to the fire in the tiny clearing, "Make breakfast and make haste. We leave in one hour" I held up a single finger.

Sakura tried to respond, but her thought was overcome by a tremendous yawn. She tried again, but I just held up my finger and said, "One hour," again. Then I leaped off, just to see her reaction.

I stood just in the shade of the trees, in the ring of towering trees surrounding the clearing. Sakura was stunned for a moment, then I watched her storm about, shouting obscenities—most of which were clearly understandable, even at this distance—and kicking up dust before settling into a dignified pout on a log opposite of Sasuke's. I laughed.

How childish.

"Of me or her?"

Hmm…Both.

"You think?"

So you don't then? You think it's perfectly alright to screw with her head?

"Not necessarily, but—"

You do realize she is likely the only non-hostile female contact you will have for possibly years?

"Well, I—"

Just try not to be too big-headed, please. When you're unhappy, I'm unhappy, get it?

I mumbled and jammed my hands in my pockets.

"Right, right…"

Heh, well you just gotta—oh, FUCK! Naruto, get the others and RUN! Hostile on the approach!

"Hostile on the—"

That was all I was able to say before I let a bit of instinct take over. I hit the ground just as something schizzed through the air just where my head had been. It sliced through the bushes and underbrush I was hiding behind, and then just through Sasuke's fire, making a slight flicker. I hoped that would be warning enough for them to get out. Then I flipped onto my back and stuck my legs straight into the air, then kicked them down. Milliseconds later, my enemy connected with my falling legs. He struck the ground and I jumped onto my feet with the momentum. My enemy grunted in surprised pain, and I turned and ran into the clearing. Sasuke and Sakura had gotten up, and had just gotten moving.

"Let's go, let's go!"

"Naruto, what's—"

"I said, LET'S GO!"

I picked up the pace and grabbed Sasuke in one arm and Sakura in the other. Then I leaped up, as far as I could, into the forest beyond. I kept moving, jumping from branch to branch at top speed for a good ten minutes. Then I hit the forest floor, releasing my passengers. I counted to about 4, and threw a fine handful of shuriken skyward. The resonating shlikk told me they had connected with flesh, and our pursuer fell down to strike the forest floor with a crunch. He didn't make a sound, and I guessed he couldn't have if he wanted to.

Sasuke and Sakura just stood, staring in awed wonder. I realized they still hadn't become used to my real potential, and smiled inwardly. My inner beast was howling with laughter.

I crouched to investigate the corpse, and found another sound headband. I removed it, adding it to my growing collection in my pack slung across my pack. That makes six. I looked around; Sakura looked confused, and Sasuke seemed more worried than ever.

"What's with all these Sound ninja?" she asked.

"Well, we can assume that Orochimaru doesn't want us to establish connections with Kirigakure for one reason or another; I'm glad we managed to be gone as soon as we were, for I'm quite sure that this fellow—" I kicked at the corpse lying amongst the leaves and twigs, "—was little but a tripwire."

"Which means that there's more out there?"

"Which means that we need to get going again."

Sakura and Sasuke turned to make leave.

Way to take charge, hero-boy.

"I try."

"Hmm?" Sakura turned around, smiling, "What was that, Naruto?"

I blushed lightly, then said, "Not a thing, Sakura. Let's you and I and Sasuke make haste. We still must find Kirigakure if we are to finish our mission."

What's that supposed to mean? I thought we had our own agenda.

Hey, I thought, there's safety in numbers, and last time I checked, villages tend to have plenty of people in them.

Safety? Psssh. He's just some snake freak.

Snake freak or no, he took down the Hokage. That means he's big and strong and none too nice. Safety is exactly what we need right now. The plan doesn't mean jack if we aren't around to execute it.

Kirigakure it is, then.