Pairing: eventual Kakanaru; SasuNaru, KakaTenzou
Rating: PG-15
Disclaimer: All characters depicted in sexual situations in this post/fanfiction/fanart (including material in the comments) are fictional and are intended to be and considered to be by the author of said material of the legal age of consent in the United States state of California, regardless of what age these characters may be in the material they are derived from. Also, song is "The Gift" by Angels and Airwaves.
Notes: I did make the Whirlpool Village have the Kansai dialect; but it won't play much of a part, but I thought I would mention that it is a true dialect. Un-betaed.
Supplies; after all the hard work of whining and complaining, they got the 'burden' of moving supplies from Fire Country through the feuding Land of Rain and Land of Grass to the Land of Earth, where their alliance was rocky (pun unintended) and they seemed to rely on the supplies getting where they needed to go. Now this wouldn't be so difficult, except for the feuding countries part. Battles between civilians and shinobi alike were bound to break out at any moment on border towns: which was the swiftest route for taking the supplies through; and, of course, the way that Sarutobi decided the team would go.
"Can't you walk any faster, Naruto?" He didn't warrant the pink-haired girl any response, but instead continued moving along at his relaxed pace. Well, to be honest he was thinking a lot recently. Not only was he thinking about Sand, but he was thinking about the disagreements that the Hokage and he were having these days. A Hontokage, or a 'true shadow' is the real protector of the country, and every country with shinobi villages had one. He was the Fire Country's Hontokage, which also meant he had a huge job. However, there was more to being the Hontokage than just protecting the country from outside forces. The True Shadow must also be a skilled shinobi in many other fields including teaching or tutoring, under-cover assignments, assassinations, diplomatic liaisons and helping to guide the Kage of the country through strategy in economy, alliances, military force and war.
"Dobe, you're going to end up splitting off from us and getting yourself into trouble with the way you're not paying any attention." The Uchiha prodigy was looking at him with something akin to concern as he spoke, but immediately switched it to a glare when blue eyes glanced up at him. Kakashi, currently walking a few meters in front of the supply caravan, looked back, hands still in his pockets.
"He's right, Naruto. You should be paying more attention."
Think of a clean way out, Keiko, something that's in character.
"Yeah, sorry, I'll pay more attention." Nice try, but now you sound like something's wrong. Think, Keiko, think! He frowned, sucking his stomach in beneath his jacket, and then pushing it back out causing it to gurgle. "Just hungry, that's all." He looked up, following the road with his eyes.
"You're always hungry, Naruto." Sakura sounded exasperated, well then he was doing his job correctly. He returned to thinking, masking it by seeming hungry. The Sand's Hontokage, while out attempting to find leads to the Akatsuki crime group of S-class criminals which was forming, and why Orochimaru would suddenly back out, disappeared in a way that looked to be a kidnapping. However, there had been a body found in a ditch near the border of Wind Country: mangled almost completely, but still enough to make it seem like the Hontokage's. The Kazekage believed the rubbish, but Keiko didn't. A Hontokage, while being completely mortal, was not easily defeated. It would take a large number of highly skilled shinobi to do the deed, or perhaps the Hontokage themselves rebelled against the one. Still: unlikely since Keiko knew the whereabouts of all the Hontokage.
Sound had not yet managed to elect a Hontokage, nor did he expect that they would. The Sound formed itself, and it was not probable that the leader, the new Kage, would know the secret of the Hontokages. Grass Country's and Rain Country's were trying to fix the feuds between the countries; The Land of Moon's was on a diplomatic mission to Land of Bears, where their own Hontokage was as well; Land of Water's was posing as a Hunternin for the time being and attempting to go after their many dangerous rogues; Land of Lightning and Land of Snow's were both helping to fill mission slots and help the Land of Wind since their Hontokage was gone; Land of the Waterfall's Hontokage was taking charge of a Genin Team; while Mountain Country's was placed on an ANBU team as they were lacking shinobi. So in the end, he and the cynical Tadao from Snow Country were the only two that could really help. Tadao would be held up because of his Genin Team, while he would at least have an elite Jounin, a prodigy child, and himself on a team. The only one to hold them up would be Sakura. Where was the pink haired girl anyway?
Immediately he berated himself over his lack of attention towards the kunoichi. Sasuke tries his best to ignore her, and Kakashi was scouting ahead, that left him. He frowned, extending his senses as far as he could to see if he could catch a whiff of her chakra. How long had she been gone? Couldn't have been very long, she was the last to speak and that was only about ten minutes ago.
-----
There's a strangest excitement today
If you're awake then you're welcome to hear
I've got a gift and it blew me a way
From the far eastern sea straight to here
Oh God I feel like I'm in for it now
Its like the rush has gone straight to my brain
But my voice is as lonely as loud
As I whisper a joy of this pain
-----
He looked about, making a bunshin while he slipped off, leaving his bag in a supply wagon, leaping off silently. He felt Sakura's chakra going off to the north-east, Rain Country. His mind flashed him the information that the direction they were heading was towards Earth Country, his frown deepened. He hurried his pace, trying to get to her faster than Kakashi and Uchiha can figure out he'd left a bunshin. This, of course, wasn't long. The moment Kakashi had decided it was time to survey the caravan, he noticed two things: one was that Haruno Sakura was missing, the second was that Uzumaki Naruto was also missing, yet there was a clone in his wake. He dropped back, then, and looked over the clone; then turned to Sasuke, motioning him over.
Kakashi, being a Jounin, knew that he couldn't leave the caravan, and he couldn't stall it to look for the two missing students. However, he informed Sasuke of the situation, and then filled him in on the best course of action: which was to find them after they had delivered the supplies. They arranged a new formation, using Naruto's clone, which Kakashi took as Naruto going after Sakura, yet he was surprised that the clone was still stable that far away from Naruto himself. Although, he supposed it was entirely possible that whoever had decided to take Sakura, had then taken Naruto, but was following the caravan to take out Sasuke next. Which is why Kakashi made sure that Sasuke had his radio working, and had him stationed at the back of the caravan, the bunshin towards the middle of it, and he stayed up in the front; scouting, presumably.
The two remaining in the team slowly made their way Earth Country's borders and dispelled the bunshin quietly, making sure that they could get through and into Iwagakure, The Village Hidden in the Rocks. Moving at a slow pace, they knew that by this time, Naruto and Sakura were definitely missing, and they didn't even know where to begin to look. They held formation, still, and were always ready to defend the supplies, and possibly themselves.
-----
And now I'll stop the storm if it rains
I'll light a path far from here
I'll make your fear melt away
And the world we know disappear
I'll stop the storm if it rains
I'll light a path far from here
I'll make your fear melt away
And the world we know disappear
-----
Sakura twisted away from the two males, lethargic but still fighting to not be put into the restraints. Blue eyes watched through the window that was between the two rooms they were being held in. Sakura had been taken, initially, and drugged into a deep sleep, where they put the shackles around her and hauled her most of the way to the place they were now. Passing through Earth Country's borders, they were near the border, up by the north-east end of the country. It was just after passing through the border that Naruto had attempted to get Sakura freed, but ended up being captured as well, considering he had to stay at Genin fighting level. He had a rather large, tender lump on the back of his skull now, but his complaints had been stifled by a gag placed in his mouth. Weapons had been stripped off of him, his jacket was missing, he was only in a fishnet shirt and dark green boxers; hands chained up out away from each other and his body, his feet were chained together, straight underneath him, yet he couldn't touch the ground. Sakura, who had been let down to eat, was going to end up in the same position. For how long, the blue eyes asked. For what purpose, green ones asked back.
Once Sakura was back in position, her eyes remained on him for a good ten minutes before she let them fall closed: she was asleep. He sighed, wishing he could break her out, yet he cooperated fully as they unchained him, allowed him to eat and restrained him once more. He too, succumbed to sleep, knowing full well that the food had been drugged.
Once he woke up, his eyes went to the window, seeing no one there was a shock to him and he immediately felt responsible for anything that happened to the pink-haired girl. She may be annoying and immature, but she was his teammate, and someone he took care of. His attention was brought to the front of him as the two indistinguishable males wearing dark hoods to shade their faces from his eyes moved and connected different shackles to him, then removing the previous chains. Frowning as he attempted to gather chakra, he realized that these restraints were chakra-suppressing. Before he could gather chakra, but couldn't put it to use with hand signs, now there was nothing. His blue gaze moved up to the two, and he nodded, knowing he stood no real chance with these bindings on and against two shinobi who were fully capable of using jutsus. He allowed them to clip ropes to each side of him in two places along the chains, then begin leading him out of the door.
He was led blindfolded through the facility to the door, then along some sort of trail. He could tell by the smells and sounds which distinguished the land to be on the outskirts of a small forest. When the birds stopped singing and there were sounds of movement, murmurings and chains he knew he had been moved into a grouping situation. Hopefully this way he could find Sakura. He cooperated all the way in, and allowed them to take the blind off, take the gag out, and then unclip him, and back out of the way, shutting the gate. He turned to look, seeing a jumble of people: shinobi and civilian, all with the same shackles around their feet as was on his. He looked around, almost in a panic, trying to find a head of pink.
* * *
The caravan finally was allowed into the Village Hidden in the Rocks, and was handed over to the shinobi with many thanks. As they were dismissed without offer of food, drink, or rest, they decided to take leave and try to get some clues about where the two missing ones were. As Kakashi well knew, technically he should head back to the village and send ANBU out after the missing, however, that could end up being too long of a wait. So without hesitation, he moved off, Sasuke in tow. At least they knew around the area that they disappeared. After traveling for a couple of hours, short range radios on, they stopped briefly for drink and a short rest. Knowing they couldn't afford to spend the night comfortably, Kakashi moved them out rather quickly.
They drew to a stop within the village they were passing through when the two went missing, and Kakashi initially extended his senses, however, all he could see was where one chakra trail had suddenly come to being: that would be the bunshin, while another right next to it extinguished. Logic told him it wasn't Sakura: Sakura wouldn't be caught walking that close to Naruto and even so, Sakura had to have been alive, otherwise they wouldn't have taken her. However, logic also told him that Naruto couldn't have died because of how long the bunshin carried on for. Once a person is dead, their jutsus dissipate; therefore both were still alive, why, however, Naruto's chakra trail extinguished, Kakashi couldn't guess. The Jounin decided to rest for the night and attempt to gather more clues through the community the next day. This would give Uchiha a chance to rest, and Kakashi time to analyze the situation.
The next morning dawned bright, and Sasuke was up just as early as Kakashi was, after all, no matter whether he wished to show it or not he worried about the two; that or he was an early-bird anyway. At a ramen bar, the only place that the two could find that seemed to be decent and hygienic within the village, the two had sat down in silence and settled down to eat. Sasuke heard it first, hushed whispers from the store-keeper about missing people. He tapped the Jounin's leg with the side of his sandal, sending the alert loud and clear. Kakashi continued eating, yet strained to listen in on the conversation at the same time.
"I heard that a couple of outside shinobi are here."
"They're sitting at the bar. My guess is they're looking for their buddy, a little pink-haired slip of a thing that Daiki saw taken. But you know what happened the last time we confronted them."
"Their shinobi, we're civilians, I know. I feel bad for those two though, they don't know what they're getting themselves into. They'll just go missing too, just like the last group that came through. They got this far and they started disappearing. All I know is I'm keeping my head down and tail covered."
"It's the best thing you can do right now." Kakashi and Sasuke, both finished now, stood in unison and paid, then walked off. Sasuke initiated the conversation.
"So they were kidnapped, by shinobi no less. The locals are too afraid to say anything that much is certain. Where should we start?" Onyx eyes flitted to the taller frame beside him. While his conclusions were supported by the evidence of a single conversation; he seemed to have the right idea.
"We should continue about our business; listen to the people around you, if it feels alright, ask about others that might be missing. And try to find out who Daiki is." Sasuke nodded, attempting to hide his contempt for having to socialize in order to obtain the answers he needed. About to turn to his Sensei and speak once more, he realized that the older male had wandered away and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. So much for sticking together, or at least using the radios; the Uchiha sighed, moving off in the direction of the nearest hot spring baths. It wasn't long after Kakashi had teleported his farthest towards Konoha that he realized his mistake. Opposed to going back, he would just have to hurry to report to Sarutobi. As to conserve chakra, he made his way rather slowly through Fire Country and wouldn't enter Konohagakure until either late at night, or early the next morning. With anxiety eating as his mind, he spurred himself into a faster pace.
Meanwhile, Sasuke meandered around the village. After taking a relaxing bath, he went to the market, picking up dinner for himself before settling into eavesdropping on the civilians. True to his character, he stayed in the shadows and usually made himself comfortable and quiet within a tree. That's when, perched on a thick branch, listening into the man named Daiki's conversation with an elderly woman who seemed to be his neighbor, he knew someone was there. For a flashing moment he thought about escape, but had nowhere to go. A rag was covering his mouth, his black eyes rolling up as he passed out.
Shinobi number three: now they had a complete set of Genin from Fire Country. This would be a fat paycheck.
-----
I'll stop the storm if it rains
I'll light a path far from here
I'll make your fear melt away
And the world we know disappear
-----