Akamaru barked gleefully bounding in front of the rest of them, carrying Kiba on his back like he weighed nothing though Kiba, with his shaggy black hair, had muscles which would shame most of the adults around the village. Kiba had a wide grin plastered on his face as whenever Akamaru was happy; it just seemed to rub off on him. Sakura was also smiling as the peaceful bound through the forest was surprisingly soothing but Naruto just behind was absorbed by his thoughts which though unusual for him none noticed or acknowledged. Kakashi and Sai were laying out field ink mice but caught up easily.
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Closing in on the village from the other side was Lee bouncing in and out the trees' too hyper to be true, Hinata just to the right checking in front ever so often with her byakugan, with Shikamaru behind him scolding lazily but on patrol as he was continuously checking the area around them. Ino was fiddling with her clothing trying to shift the tightness of her shirt to somewhere else, her face in an agitated expression, and Neji behind her with his byakugan activating every few minutes to check their surroundings. Neji wasn't showing any particular expression which was just typically him. Lee kept joyously shouting about how he was going to be the best infiltrator, how he's going to blend in and find out if the roomers' were true first, which Shikamaru repeatedly told him to be quiet though Lee took no notice.
"Lee, shut up! You might as well go in through the front door shouting questions at people about their so called secret destructive mission," Ino finally snapped. Lee looked thoughtful for a moment before turning around and grinning, though he was still bounding ahead.
"We're nowhere near right now so it doesn't matter!" He twirled around and jumped faster ahead shouting for them to hurry up which made the rest of them groan.
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Akamaru had leaded them half way and there was no interferences so they decided to stop to look at the map to plan their entry before they actually arrived. Sai was leaning against a far tree looking out at the forest probably feeling where his mice were and he wore his signature smile. Kiba and Akamaru were lying nonchalantly across the grass in a sunny patch, where as Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto were huddled around the map bickering about their entry route.
"Why can't we just do in through the front?" Naruto argued.
"Because imagine if we saw a strange group of ninja's just randomly strolling into our village? What would we do? Surround and question them," Sakura scolded.
"She's right Naruto. We should go in through the side here," Kakashi added in stopping their fight short, pointing at the left side of the village hidden in the sound where there should be a massive wall surrounding it, "this is one of the places where security is weakest. We infiltrate here as they do a shift swap." Sakura nodded but Naruto still thought his idea was better but after a few growls from Sakura and a reasonable explanation from Kakashi did he back down on his opinion. After that was sorted Naruto noticed that Kiba had drifted off, causing an evil smirk to tug at the corners of his mouth. Naruto, being as quiet as possible, tiptoed towards the sleeping boy.
"Nar-" Sakura started but was cut off with Naruto placing a single finger against his lips, where as Kakashi was just standing there with and amused look decorating the little part of his face which was showing. Naruto, though being so close, hadn't disturbed the boy or his white furry pet ninja dog, got into a ready position.
"Enemy ninja's!" he bellowed so loud Kiba shook awake as he tried to gain his feet but Naruto was on him before he could get up. They both hit the floor with a thud, Kiba groaning, Naruto laughing and Akamaru joining the pail up cutting Naruto's laugh short. Kakashi and Sakura's laughs were drowned out by Kiba and Naruto's desperate yells for Akamaru to get up though he was so hyped up he wasn't listening to a word they said, instead was trying to crush both boys into the ground. Sai hadn't changed his stance but his smile was now directed towards the struggling pair.
"Akamaru, get the hell off!" Naruto howled.
"This is your entire fault Naruto! Stop trying to put it onto Akamaru," growled Kiba shoving Naruto's face upwards which made him grunt as the weight of Akamaru was obstructing his spine from forming anything to get out of the way.
"Behave, Baka!"
"You're one to talk, Temee."
"What did you say mutt?" Kakashi with a heavy sigh, as they'd been arguing for quiet some time now, strolled over and grabbed Akamaru by the scruff of the neck yanking sharply to heave the heavy animal off the chaotic bundle of boys. The boys, having the heavy weight lifted from their crushed forms, untangled themselves and stood up patting themselves down getting rid of the clumps of grass which had clung to their clothes during their little scrap with each other. Pouting they both looked in the opposite direction of each other. Sai, having been quiet this entire time, finally spoke up.
"We should get moving as we want to be there to see their next shift swap." Kakashi nodded at the smiling Sai and motioned for Sakura to stand up from the squatting position she had taken as she'd waited for the guys to finish whatever they were trying to do. A slight head nod from Kakashi and they began their way towards the Hidden Sound village once more.
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"Hey, Shikamaru, when do you think we'll get there?" Ino asked innocently. Shikamaru turned to see Ino's angelic smile, and behind her he could just see Neji's slight frown but he addressed Ino evenly.
"We should be getting there before nightfall…" His curiosity got the better of him after a moment's silence, "why?" Ino blinked but that cunning gleam wouldn't leave her eyes.
"No reason at all. I was only wondering," she looked away casually gazing at the passing plant life. Shikamaru gave her a calculating look but shrugged it off deciding it was too troublesome to find out what she had planned. Lee up front was still bounding excitedly towards the village. Shikamaru didn't know where that guy's energy comes from, as he always seems to have some spare. His energy level almost equalled Naruto's which is, in some way or form, an achievement. Shikamaru, though he thought Naruto was a handful and irritating, he still had that weird charm about him which made him partially impossible to dislike once you get to know him.
Memories of a grinning Naruto skimmed through Shikamaru's head. Even though most of the villages despised Naruto at that age, because of the power which scared them that lay dormant inside of him, he still had a grin on in front of others. Shikamaru was interrupted in his trail of thoughts when Hinata and Neji's warning shouts zipped past him, "Lee, stop!" Lee tried to turn round but his foot triggered a thin piece of wire which stretched along the tree branch, setting off a chain reaction. Bombs began to blast left right and centre. Ino's strangled cry was frozen in her throat as she was pushed out of the way as a bomb was set off under her feet, which she didn't even now was there.
The dust from the blasts eventually cleared to reveal Lee, Ino and Shikamaru sitting huddled together with a large tree protecting their backs and Neji standing hardly out of breath before them. Coughing Ino gawked up at Neji as he cautiously got out of his well known fighting stance. Hinata hopped down holding a long piece of thread. Neji's eyes scanned the area before he turned to check for injuries. "Thanks Hinata, Neji," Shikamaru uttered, ashamed at his obliviousness that could have even killed one of his comrades. Neji acknowledged him, knowing how he felt without a word being exchanged. Ino glanced at the energetic Lee who was still searching the area for the ones who set the traps. No doubt looking for a fight, Ino thought as she suppressed an eye roll. Though Lee acted so immature his skills and reactions couldn't be faulted.
"Arigato," Ino said softly, compared to her usual remarks. Lee turned around with a beaming smile which gave a small sparkle, one thumbs up and a wink.
"No problem Ino, the power of youth must be kept alive!" Ino's smile began to waver but she managed to keep it up as Lee went to scout the destroyed trees with Shikamaru. Neji scanned around but he didn't see anyone around, meaning the trap must have been set for some time. Hinata looked closely at the thread she still held in her hand. It looked like it was once attached to a fence net indershirt.
"Nothing here," Lee called returning to the others, quickly followed by a frowning Shikamaru.
"What is it?" Ino asked. Shikamaru looked towards the scorched ground behind him once more before shrugging it off.
"It's just they don't seem to be from the Hidden Sound…" he shrugged again.
"What's that Hinata?" Neji suddenly asked. Hinata's head shot up as she held out the thin black thread. Neji carefully took the thread, examining its pattern.
"Come on, we best get going," Shikamaru comanded. They set off again looking out for traps the whole way as neither of them wanted to be held up by such a milestone again.
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They arrived at the wall of the Hidden Sound, stopping just sort of a few hundred metres away. Kakashi glanced at the top of the wall, just seeing two heads of men on duty. They were spread out about twenty-four beams away from each other leaving a blind spot directly in the middle. They sat there for a while watching how the guards' scanned the forest before wandering a few feet to one side, then back to their original position. Kakashi peered up at the sky seeing that it was almost nightfall. Movement on the top of the wall drew his eyes back to the men who were calling down to someone bellow before they jumped down to the ground on the other side. Minutes ticked by before the next men on duty finally got to their posts. The housing that the guards' must have been quiet deep into the village unlike back at the Hidden Leaf, where they had a cabin near the gate so the guard duty could be swapped quickly to stop intruders. Noting the time difference he motioned to his team to back off. They backtracked about two miles making sure that they would be seen as they waited in for the next duty change. Sai set off a few ink mice towards the gate to keep an eye on the place before he made himself comfy leaning on a tree, as his eyes wandered around watching the rest of them getting settled. Kakashi was carelessly dangling his legs down from his position in the trees so he could also keep checking the wall himself.
Sakura was sorting through her medicines' deciding which would be most useful for deep wounds and the sort. Kiba and Akamaru were already lying down huddled together, almost simultaneously snoring but softly which made Kiba seem more animal than human. Sakura smiled at Kiba as he murmured into Akamaru's fur. Naruto was observing Sakura as Kakashi's earlier words drifted into his head. Naruto decided to get some shut eye as he wasn't getting much sleep lately and was becoming increasingly dazed and it was becoming difficult to focus.
He lay on the welcoming grass and stared up at the midnight sky. He'd chosen the perfect spot to gaze up at the amazingly clear stars which were twinkling brightly. His eyes became heavy and his vision fuzzy, so he allowed his over welling impulsions to close his eyes win. Darkness possessed his body, like it usually does when his dreams take hold of his mind, but this time it felt different.
Painful. Chilling. Bizarre.
He was running. Running from the pain; from the hatred; from the monster that lay patently in his unconsciousness as if it was buying it's time. His legs were becoming heavy from the never ending exhausting run. Though he was nearing his limit he couldn't gain the courage to stop and face the darkness, instead he used the last of his energy to reach the small speck of light, and it looked like a small star like the ones he saw before he entered this world of devastation. The despairing feeling was ripping and clinging to his chest like a heavy weight which didn't want to budge. He began to panic. The light wasn't moving any closer and he was about to run out of energy. Desperate screams echoed in the darkness. He looked around trying to find the source of the screaming but his eyes were met with devouring isolation begging to be filled, he turned his eyes back towards the only glimmer of hope which was dimming. "No!" someone cried. He looked around once more hoping to see the creature yelling as he was desperate for someone's company. "No, please! Don't go. Help me! Please," the cries continued to echo but louder, more desperate.
Light. Bright light shining. Hushed voices asking what was happening. Bodies springing to action. Cloth. Lots and lots of cloth covering something. It was wriggling franticly.
Kakashi jumped down scanning the area before his eyes landed on what was causing the racket. He motioned for everyone to stay quiet and they obliged quickly. Sakura moved closer to the pile of clothing as Kiba, Akamaru and Sai created a circle around the thing and Sakura. Kiba began to step forward but Kakashi held him back with an arm in the way though his eyes where glued to the scene.
Sakura edged closer cautiously towards the orange and black pile. Calming herself she pulled at the collar of the clothing to reveal a small blond spiky haired head, the mouth open as it cried out for help. Sakura's heart squeezed. "Hey, it's okay. Shhh," she soothed. She stroked the small cheek. Baby blue eyes blinked open in a panic and a petit hand shot up to touch the one holding its cheek. They blinked up at the short pink haired girl with surprise. The shock of going from pain and being desperate to survive to being soothed by a young girl. The mouth tried to formed words but it had to lick its lips before they could finally tumble the words out.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked carefully, still dazed from the fast conversion.
A/N: Thanks for reading, hope you liked it, please review :)