SC: Okay, time to try and get over my serious CoaS problem… unfortunately, my plot bunnies for this story seem to be getting crushed by writer's blocks more than any other bunnies. And since my sledgehammer has suddenly disappeared there isn't much I can do about.
Basically, all I'm saying is that the lack of updates on this story are not Puck's fault.
Puck: Thank you.
SC: But the lack of updates or suckiness of the updates on the other stories are Puck's fault, so you can blame him for that.
Puck: Hey!
SC: Anyway, on with the chapter!
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Chapter 12
Byakuya Abarai: Ninja of the Shadowed Dragon
"Shin, we've been walking for hours." Menrui whined. "Can't we stop?"
Shingetsu looked back at her friend, then back at the map in her hands and sighed. "Yeah, I guess. It's almost too dark to read the map anyway."
Even sighed as they sat down. "So… is a fire still out of the question?" Kiseichu asked, lazily drawing circles in the dirt with a stick.
"Well, considering we're only SURROUNDED by flammable vegetation…" Roba drawled.
"A simple 'no' would've been fine."
Hiun sighed. "Boys, don't make us separate you two."
Hari smirked at his sister. "Yes ma'am."
"Shut up, I wasn't even talking to you."
Kakushin sighed. "Now, now children. Behave yourselves or I may have to… ano… tie you to that poor, defenseless tree over there!" He pointed in a random direction, only to find that he had pointed at a large fern. "I mean fern…" That got a laugh out of everyone.
As the laughter died, everyone found themselves in a better mood. "So, what do we do for the rest of the night? I mean, I'm not that tired yet, so trying to go to sleep seems kind of pointless." Hari said.
There was an almost unanimous shrug in response. "I dunno." Hiun said. "Tell stories?"
Kiseichu laughed. "Like what? We can't do anything scary. There's no fire to tell them around."
"Then… we can do stuff from when we kids." Menrui said, her grin still clearly visible in the dark. "Like when Hiun and Kiseichu got caught under the mistletoe a couple years back."
There were identical sounds of disgust from the two Hyuuga siblings as everyone else laughed. "You didn't actually have to kiss, you know." Shingetsu giggled.
"It wasn't on purpose!" Kiseichu yelled, his face obviously red.
"Yeah, we wouldn't have if you two idiots," Here Hiun pointed at the Uchiha siblings, "Hadn't run by and slammed us into each other!"
"Funny, I don't remember that." Kakushin said thoughtfully, trying not to laugh.
Hiun growled. "You kusoyaro! You do too!"
"Mmm, nope, don't think so."
At this point, everyone was laughing too hard, save the younger Hyuuga triplets, to stop Hiun from tackling Kakushin and attempting to strangle him.
As their laughter subsided, the group realized how tired they actually were and decided that it was best if they went to sleep. "Hey," Hari said suddenly, "What about keeping watch?"
Menrui rolled her eyes. "Hari, we're in the middle of the jungle. What do we need to keep watch for? Mosquitoes?"
He frowned. "What about the thing that attacked our parents?"
Everyone grew silent. "They were farther in than we are." Shingetsu said after a moment. "We should be fine. Besides, we all need the sleep." Reluctantly, the elder Hyuuga agreed, and all fell asleep.
--
"Naruto." The blonde shinobi turned to see Kakashi standing behind him.
"Oh. Hey Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi chuckled. "It's been years has it been since I taught you and you still call me sensei."
Naruto shrugged. "You still teach me a lot of things."
He smiled, tugging his former student's hair. "Are you trying to make me feel better?"
"Maybe a little." Naruto looked out over the village that they had stopped in. "Do you think they're okay?"
Kakashi's frown was hidden under his mask. All this worrying combined with no sleep was going to do some serious damage to Naruto if they had to fight whatever had the poison on Kage Ryu. Kakashi sighed and sat down next to Naruto. "I think that they're a little headstrong and stubborn, but they'll be fine." He smirked a little. "No doubt that Shingetsu is the leader behind this little endeavor of theirs, so they'll be fine."
Naruto nodded, a small smile on his face. "Yeah, I guess. If she's anywhere near as good a leader as Sasuke, nothing's going to happen to them."
Kakashi nodded. "C'mon, let's get some sleep."
--
Shingetsu opened her eyes wearily. 'Ugh… I'm still so tired…' She tried to shove herself up, only to find that she was moving as if she were submerged in syrup. 'What's wrong with me?' She managed to shove herself into a somewhat upright position using her elbows to support her. Her vision, which was above perfect, thanks to the Sharingan, was blurry, and barely made out the basic shapes of her friends lying beside her.
Looking down, she saw the pink hair of her brother. She nudged him. He didn't stir. "Ka'shin… wa' up." The Uchiha's words were slurred worse than Tsunade when she had too much to drink.
Shingetsu fell back onto the soft… whatever it was she was lying on. She frowned. Soft? They were outside, in the jungle… right? Something sharp stabbed her arm and she slipped back into unconsciousness.
"Ah-ah, not time for you to wake up yet, little one." A woman's voice crooned. She turned and pushed a few strands of Menrui's dark hair out of the Uzumaki's face. "Just be a good girl like your friends and stay asleep." She walked out of the room and knelt before the figure occupying the only chair in the next. It was a man in his late twenties. Dark indigo hair fell to his shoulders messily, badly in need of a good brushing. His sun deprived skin glowed orange from the torchlight around him, and nearly colorless eyes looked down at the woman under half-closed lids. A long vest made from black silk hung over his shoulders limply, and crimson hakama pants were tied around his waist with a black sash.
"Are they all sleeping soundly, Tsuki?"
Tsuki looked up, and the fire of the torches surrounding the walls gave her steely gray eyes an eerie red glow. Her silver blonde hair was held out of her face with a hitai-ate, but where the symbol of the village would be was smooth metal. Her features were soft and tanned with shadows from the dancing flames flickering over them. A form fitting white dress hugged her body, and black tights that came down midway down her thighs were visible under the almost waist-high slits in the sides. At first glance, one would think of her as very lovely, until they saw the pure ice in her eyes.
"One woke up, but she'll be out for another day or so now. Everything's going smoothly, Byakuya"
"Good." Byakuya fell back into silence.
Tsuki walked over behind him. "Relax, Bya-kun." She placed her hands on his shoulders and began to massage them. "You're so tense."
He sighed and sank down further in his chair. "I keep thinking."
Tsuki stopped her massage. "About?"
"Him. That shinobi."
Tsuki had to pause for a moment before she realized what he was talking about. "Oh! The one who you missed." She stroked his hair with one hand and left the other on his shoulder. "Poor Bya-kun. You need to get your mind off of it." Tsuki tilted his head up and kissed him. "We need to take your mind off of it. I'll be right back." She walked out the a different door that was merely covered by a cloth, returning moments later with a cup half full of a thick, dark liquid.
Tsuki sat down on Byakuya's lap and put the rim of the glass to his lips. "Drink up." Byakuya opened his mouth and she tipped the cup, pouring it into his mouth.
When about a quarter was left, she stopped. "Feeling better?"
"Much." Came the reply, in a much stronger voice than had been used earlier. Byakuya grinned at her evilly, his eyes dark with a strength that hadn't been there before. "What do you say to having some fun?"
Tsuki stood up and took his hand, leading him through the cloth doorway once more. "Now there's an idea."
--
Sakura sighed as she watched Sasuke struggle to stand up. The poison in his body had already paralyzed from halfway up his left thigh down, making him unable to bend his leg. Lately, it had gotten so bad that he had to use a crutch to get around anywhere. Now, Sasuke was still an Uchiha, poisoned or not, and using a crutch was severely beating on his pride. So, he insisted on NOT using it and struggling to do everything.
As he fell down again, Sakura winced. "Sasuke, please!"
"I'm fine, Sakura." He growled, shoving himself up.
"No you aren't!" Tears broke free from Sakura's emerald eyes.
Outside Sakura and Sasuke's room, the rest of the afflicted shinobi listened to the Uchiha's fight. Tenten sighed. "He's still so stubborn… Sasuke is going to get himself hurt."
"What can we do about it? It's Sasuke." Hinata said softly. "Even if we offered to help him, he wouldn't accept it."
"You don't offer help to Uchiha." Neji told her. "You force it down his throat until he chokes on it."
Ino smiled at him. "Wow, is this the same Hyuuga Neji who bristled at the very mention of anything that sounded remotely like Sasuke's name?" He gave her a 'Ino-shut-up' look, but she ignored it. "Tenten, where IS your tape recorder?"
The weapons mistress sighed. "If only I knew…"
"Okay, if we're done teasing me…" Tenten and Ino grinned at him.
Shikamaru sighed. "You realize that this is going to be one big pain in the ass, right?"
"Lazy." Ino chided.
"Um… maybe it would be better if just the girls offered to help Sasuke. If you offered, Neji-nii-san did, Sasuke might think you were just trying to insult him." Neji blushed slightly and 'hn'-ed.
Sakura and Sasuke walked out a second later. Sasuke was using the crutch and Sakura had an evil gleam in her eye that clearly said that she'd guilted him into it. Ino grinned and gave her a thumbs up when Sasuke had passed her and Tenten just grinned evilly. Hinata sighed, mentally thanking Sakura for doing whatever it was she did before Sasuke injured himself. Then, even though she didn't want it too, her mind turned to Naruto and Menrui. Biting her lip nervously, she thought, 'I hope they're all alright.'
--
SC: Finally! I update Child of a Shinobi! It's a miracle!!eleventy1!!! And I'm using l33t! Gah! Grammar… so bad…
Puck: (coughs)
SC: Right. Anyway, I've finally managed to get back into the swing of things since marching season ended. My fifteenth birthday has past (w00t!) and I don't feel any different, though I do get to go to bed at, le gasp, ten o'clock now! Ugh, stupid freakin' bedtimes… anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this horribly, HORRIBLY late chapter. Reviews will help me find my sledgehammer faster!
Ja ne
SpontaneousCombustion