Caught in the Middle

Chapter 12

In Search of the Sage

Yo guys! Nope, still not dead, though it sure seemed like it, huh? I can actually explain this time! My other story I was working on alongside this one, The Fateful XIII, was almost finished, so I decided it would save a bunch of future time to just devote all my time to finishing it off.

Now, before we go any further, I'd like to apologize for the less than impressive previous chapter. I got a few complaints about it, and all of them justified and reasonable; it was critical thinking, not flames, which is what I like. I was by no means on the top of my game when I wrote chapter 11, and for that, I'm sorry; there was so much more I could have done with it, but failed to execute. For those of you who reviewed, especially those who dished out the constructive criticism (you know who you are), thanks.

So, for all its worth, here's chapter 12.


"Ah, finally outta there!" stretched a severely cramped Naruto.

The group of him, Kakashi, and Karen had just gotten off the plane and landed in Sapporo airport. They squeezed their way through the masses of people, trying to get outside to grab a taxi. When they finally did make it outside, Naruto took in his surroundings.

Even from the airport, Naruto could see the distant skyscrapers and twinkling lights. If what he could see form there was any indication, this place was probably even bigger than Konoha city, and his hometown was by no means small. He looked over to this left as a small taxi pulled up to them next to the curb.

Naruto and Karen handed him their suitcases, filled with the scrolls that housed their supplies, clothes, and weapons. Once he'd squared those away, they all got in the back seat, and Kakashi gave directions to the driver with some fluent Japanese. While the taxi drove out of the airport and into the city, Naruto looked out the window; bored.

Kakashi had already explained everything that would go down. There was a hidden Japanese style safe-house in the mountains, off the beaten path, that the FBPS used when in this particular area. It was stocked with food and other supplies, but since it was so far off the road, it took an hour or two to get there, hence them packing extra food and water.

The blond watched as neon lights of the downtown area flickered past him. He looked around to see if there was anything he could read. Kakashi had attempted to give him some linguistic lessons during training, but he wasn't too good at it. He probably would have gotten it eventually, but now that this mission had popped up, he would have to go with what little of the language he knew, which wasn't much; just enough to ask where the bathroom was and order some ramen.

He wasn't really sure how long he'd been sitting in the back seat of the taxi, but he assumed he'd zoned out for quite some time, seeing as the bustling city streets were now quieting down into suburbs. Less people walked the streets, and there was less traffic, allowing them to move much faster down the road. Naruto looked farther down the horizon, saw the mountains in the distance, and sighed; they were still quite a ways away.

"So Kakashi," began Naruto, "what's so special about this Jiraiya guy we're gonna see?"

Kakashi looked up from his book.

"Well Naruto, for one, he was the one who taught your father everything he knew and then some. On top of that, he happens to be your god-father, and the one who gave you your name," he said calmly.

"Whoa, seriously; he must be insanely strong then! But wait, if he's my god-father, how come I've never seen him before, or even heard from him for that matter?" the blond asked, sounding a little insulted near the end.

"It's not that he didn't want to see you Naruto, quite the opposite. It's just, Jiraiya had devoted nearly all his life to the FBPS, and never had any children of his own. When your father came along, they became so close that it was understandable to mistake them for father and son. When your father died though, it left the man heartbroken and with a huge feeling of guilt for not being there to help him in battle. For a while, he refused to speak to anyone or even go on missions. He ended up leaving the FBPS all together a few weeks later, and hasn't had much contact with us, outside some helpful tips and contacts here and there. To be honest Naruto, I don't think he felt he deserved to see you after your parents died," he explained.

Naruto listened and nodded his head in understanding. He could get where the old man was coming from; it was natural to feel heartbreak and sorrow when you lost someone that close to you. Still though, blaming himself for it wouldn't do anything to help the situation. Naruto decided that the first thing he'd do was try and get the old man past his guilt; it would take a load of his mind, and he'd be a better teacher.

With renewed motivation and vigor, he looked out the window again with a determined smile, looking up at the mountains as they exited the suburbs and entered the city limits; the green behemoths slowly growing larger, eating up more of the horizon.


Back in the downtown area, one Sasuke Uchiha was making his way through a less than inviting neighborhood. He occasionally got some strange glances, but so far, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The Uchiha was in told to just walk around and look causal until the agent or agents stationed here made contact with him. He presented no argument, but was still agitated by the whole situation. The fact that he was now unable to kill Naruto or his "fox bitch" as he came to call her, was a feeling that left a sick feeling in his stomach. How could he truely call himself the stronger one if they were both still alive?

Regardless of the situation, he came well prepared this time, ready for anything his blond adversary and their silver haired escort could throw at him. He had a vast assortment of grenades, including fragmentation, smoke, and flash-bang. He had two of his favorite handguns –the Glock 18c- along with a healthy stash of ammo stored away. His Sharingan nanite systems had gotten one last tune-up before departure, and his chokuto was sharpened to fine edge. He couldn't wait to see what these last few months had done for Naruto's skills; he'd show the loser that even with that power of his, he was, and always had been, superior.

Sasuke rounded a corner, and continued to walk causally, even though his ears had picked up some subtle movement coming from one of the alleys just up ahead. He guessed it was probably one of Orochimaru's agents coming to inform him of his prey's location.

Sure enough, a boy around his age emerged from the shadows, his arms crossed, leaning against the brick wall of the nearby building. Sasuke looked over, and sized up, the agent.

He was wearing urban-camo cargo pants, an tan long sleeve shirt with the word "Death" printed on it in black, and an urban-camo scarf around his neck. He wore a grey headband that held up his wild black hair. Overall he looked competent enough, but Sasuke could tell he was still no where near his level, and would probably just get in the way.

"I assume you're here to inform me about my targets location?" asked Sasuke.

He nodded.

"That's right, name's Zaku. My team and I have been trailing the FBPS losers since they got off the plane. When I broke off to get you, they were already in a taxi, driving outside the city."

"Where do you think they're heading?"

"We've been out here a while, and there have been a few FBPS agents sent before hand to look for whatever they're here for. When they were here, they used this safe-house base camp sort of thing up in the mountains. We know they're heading there, so all we have to do is follow them."

Sasuke smirked.

"Lead the way then, Zaku."


Back with Naruto's group, the taxi had just dropped the trio off and they had begun their trek into the mountainous wilderness of northern Japan. The fresh, natural air was a nice change of pace from the ventilated air of the FBPS underground headquarters and the stuffy air of the city. The setting was also a nice change; trees, dirt, and grass were a sight Naruto hadn't seen in quite some time.

As they ascended the steep mountainous terrain, climbing up a series of cliff-sides, he didn't neglect to take in all he could of this new and foreign environment.

"Kind of reminds me of home," commented Karen.

Naruto looked down at her from his place on the rock face.

"You know, you never did tell me where exactly you lived. Where is it?" asked Naruto, taking hold of another small protruding rock.

"That, my blond friend, is a closely guarded Kitsune secret. In fact, as far as I know, your parents were the only humans ever told about our homes location."

"So why can't you tell me? I'm just as trust worthy as my parents were!" protested Naruto.

"Because knowing you, you'll have a lapse of stupid and end up blabbing it by accident. I'm not questioning your loyalty, I'm questioning your attentiveness, which you're infamous for not having a lot of."

Naruto growled back at her, and that was when Kakashi decided to intervene; before the two got into a full blown argument...again.

"Settle down you two, we're almost there. Just atop this cliff-side and though some trees about another quarter mile" he said, pulling himself up to the top of the last cliff-face.

Naruto and Karen quickly scrambled up to the new elevation as Kakashi pushed his way through some stray branches. The remainder of the walk was quiet and uneventful, the trio only stopping once when one of the branches smacked poor Naruto in the face.

The three of them came onto a small clearing, and there sat their destination. It was a simple Japanese style house, just as Kakashi had said. They walked up to the front door and slid it open to the side, stepping inside onto the hard wood floor. Naruto looked around the house as Kakashi set all their gear and supplies down. The front door led into a simple den or living room, it had a low level table, a TV, a few seating pillows around the table, and a shelf against the wall with an assortment of books.

A hallway at the other end of the room led to a kitchen on the left which was fully stocked with food, and was equipped with a stove, refrigerator, and sink. To the right was the bathroom with both a tub and shower, and at the end of the hall, two bedroom with simple futon beds.

One he'd inspected the house, Naruto rejoined Kakashi and Karen in the living room. Karen was carrying things back to their rooms and the kitchen, while Kakashi laid out a topographical map of the immediate region. Curious, Naruto took a seat at the table and looked over it; it displayed the elevations of the mountains, and cavernous structures or anything else that could possibly be used as a shelter were marked with permanent marker.

"So, where do you think Jiraiya is Kakashi?" asked Naruto.

Kakashi shook his head.

"I'm not sure. He's was an FBPS agent longer some of are current agents have even been alive, he knows all our tricks and stradegies. He'll be tough to find, but he's somewhere in this area, of that we're sure," he explained.

Naruto nodded, looking over the map.

"Well lets see...what do you know about Jiraiya, I mean like his personality and stuff. I think if we find something that he likes or is interested in, something he can't resist, then we can lure him out," suggested Naruto.

Kakashi rubbed his chin in thought.

"Hmm...you know Naruto, that may work, but what could we use to lure out one of the greatest FBPS agents to ever live?" he asked himself, still rubbing his chin.

Naruto sat there thinking as well, what could they use? Then something came to him, something Tsunade had said.

"Oh, I think I've got something! I remember Granny-Tsunade telling me before we left that Jiraiya was this super pervert or something! All we need is a really hot girl or something!"

"Yes Naruto, that may well actually work! There's one problem though."

The blond tilted his head in confusion.

"What's that?"

"Where to we find a girl to lure Jiraiya out with?"

"Hey guys, I just finished putting all our supplies away, so have either of you come up with a plan yet?" asked Karen, just now re-entering the living room.

Both Kakashi and Naruto looked at her, then Naruto looked over at Kakashi, who had a look like he was forming a crazy plan in his head. Karen arched an eyebrow at the strange look.

"What?" she asked as she took a seat the table.

Naruto then saw a nervous smile creep under his mask.

"Well Karen, we do have a plan, but it's a little iffy, and we need your help specifically to pull it off."

"Well what is it?" she asked, getting the vibe she probably wouldn't enjoy this.

Naruto meanwhile, was sitting back, praying that she didn't outright kill him when Kakashi was done explaining. He thought his plan was a good idea, but suggesting it to a girl who had the ability to break every bone in your body was not the ideal situation. Under normal circumstances, he probably would have been pissed at Kakashi for even thinking about using his best friend for such an outlandish plan, but right now, he was a bit too busy fearing for his teachers life to be mad.

"Here's the rough outline, see, it'll go like this..."


Meanwhile, in the wilderness nearby, Sasuke and Zaku had finally regrouped with the other two of Orochimaru's agents. When the raven haired demon hunter finally arrived at their destination, he was greeted by the sight of a boy who looked like he was a straight up mummy, and a girl whose waist length hair rival his own in darkness. They each wore similar clothing to Zaku, save for some minor differences.

The bandaged one spoke first.

"Sasuke Uchiha, so glad you could grace us with your presence. Dosu Kinuta, to my left is Kin Tsuchi, I see you already met Zaku," he said.

Sasuke merely brushed the comment aside and immediately began prying for information.

"How far off is their base camp, and how long ago did they arrive?" he asked.

Kin spoke up and answered his questions.

"Their base is just up those cliff-sides and about a quarter mile away after that. They've been up there for about a half an hour, forty-five minutes at the most. We haven't gone made any attempt to approach them, as per orders," she reported.

Sasuke nodded silently; these light-weights could follow orders at least.

"So what's our plan of attack?" asked Zaku eagerly.

"There won't be an attack, not yet," said Sasuke.

They all looked at him confused and wanting an explanation. The demon hunter sighed and gave it to them.

"Up there is Kakashi Hatake, on of the most powerful current FBPS agents. I doubt even I could take him in a straight up one-on-one fight, so we need to wait until Naruto and the fox bitch are separated from him before we make our move. They're bound to begin their searching tomorrow, so when they do, our target will most likely be away from Hatake. Once they are, then we move in. Until that time, we bide our time and watch," he explained.

The three looked a bit disappointed that they wouldn't be going into combat, but seemed to except his explanation. Sasuke didn't mention however, that while it was true that fighting against Kakashi would be no easy feat, what he really wanted was to have an opportunity to fight Naruto one-on-one with no interruptions. He could really care less if he got to him before he made contact with this Jiraiya person or not. If he did, well that was fine, but if he didn't, then he would just challenge the blond after the training with him was concluded. The only difference would be that he would an even more challenging opponent, and it would be even more satisfying when he emerged the victor.

He wasn't afraid of Orochimaru's reaction if he failed his mission, the fool would never do any permanent damage to him. Sasuke was an extremely valuable asset to him, and he knew it.

"For now, we should find a well concealed spot and begin out surveillance," ordered Sasuke.

They all nodded and were about to move out when and ear splitting yell pierced the air, followed by some subsequent girlly shrieks and a loud crash, startling all the birds into the air and sending a chill up even Sasuke's spine.

"What the hell was that!?" shouted Zaku as he looked up at top of the cliff.

Sasuke couldn't help but look up and wonder the same thing.


"THAT'S THE MOST DISGUSTING PLAN I'VE EVER HEARD!" shouted Karen.

Kakashi had just finished explaining his plan to Karen, and the reaction was everything Naruto had expected and more. He had expected her to blow up and start yelling, but he definetly didn't expect her to pick up Kakashi with her monstrous strength and hurtle him through the front door into the clearing. The silver haired agent was now on his back some twenty feet away, clutching his head, which he landed on. Naruto looked out the door at his fallen teacher, unaware that those high pitched squeals were even in his voice range.

His thoughts were interrupted though, when he suddenly had the feeling that someone wanted to kill him as well. He looked over to his left, scared out of his mind. Staring back at him was a very very pissed Karen; her were fangs showing, her tail's fur was in all directions, and her eyes seemed to be shooting invisible death beams at him.

"Wait, wait, Karen! Using you as part of our plan was NOT my idea, that was all Kakashi!" he shouted, trying to explain. Somehow though, he got the idea that that wasn't exactly the right thing to say either, because he too could feel himself being picked up by the enraged girl.

A moment later, the blond was flying through the air, and ended up colliding with Kakashi, sending them both tumbling back further. With that, Karen slammed what was left of the front door closed, leaving the two males in a daze outside.

Naruto looked over at Kakashi.

"Well then...wanna sleep on the porch?"


FINALLY! Ah, it feels good to be back here again! I honestly didn't think I'd ever get this thing done, what with everything else going on. Anyway, since not much was really happening in this chapter, I thought why not throw in some comedy, just to keep thing from being boring. I'm not sure how well I executed it, but hey, at least I made an effort.

So, anwway, all comments are welcome. As usual though, no flames. I don't take kindly to flames, and neither does Naruto. So keep it clean or you're getting a 1000 Years of Death technique up the ass!

...ya know, unless you're into that sort of thing, in which case, I guess I'll just burn you alive or something.