"Looks like they didn't leave that long ago..."
Shikamaru brushed aside another tent flap, frowning when he was met with the same hastily abandoned scene. Clothes were scattered on the carpet floor as if someone had been changing in a hurry, various light fixtures had been left on, and a game of cards was discarded on a small circular table--there was even a half-eaten cup of ramen steaming slowly on a desk.
The enemy ninja must have all left when they were busy plundering the supply tent.
A million questions whizzed through his analytical mind at a pace that would incapacitate most people. Had the rogue-ninja been aware of their infiltration? If so, why didn't they apprehend them? Where had they gone? Why?
Almost as soon as he thought of the questions he thought of the answers.
No, they couldn't have known that Kakashi and himself had snuck into their camp, the two guards who had stumbled upon them had been a little too shocked. The Shadow-user told himself it had absolutely nothing to do with the incriminating position they had been in upon discovery. They must have gone somewhere relatively close by because they left the majority of their belongings behind them, and that's just not how you survive as a nomad. They had left in a great hurry, some new information must have made them change their plans.
All of this went through his mind within the time it took for him to blink, drop the tent flap, and walk back over to where Kakashi was standing in the middle of the encampment.
The thin, white light of the stars and moon filtered eerily through the pockmarked wooden walls Yamato had erected earlier. It cast a dappled shadow upon Kakashi's lean frame, illuminating patches of his head and shoulders in an ethereal glow. Shikamaru cast a speculative eye over his teammate.
Kakashi was all angles, his shoulders hunched, he rested his head forwards against the palm of his hand, fingers on his other hand curling around his elbow in a tight grip. Every outline of his musculature was brought into sharp relief as the man breathed slowly in and out, the slightest movement seemed profound in contrast to the tense stillness of his body. Shikamaru frowned. If he didn't know better he would think the Copy-nin looked... upset? nervous? worried?
He couldn't determine exactly how he looked, but it didn't look Hatake-esque. The Shadow-user felt an unfamiliar cold heaviness coil in the pit of his stomach as he looked at the older jounin. Something wasn't right here...
"We're going back." Kakashi's voice sounded strained.
Before Shikamaru could say anything, Kakashi had sped forwards and was scaling the cratered surface of the wooden barrier. After a split-second's deliberation, he snatched up their bag of stolen elixirs and sprinted after him.
Yamato shifted uncomfortably, his self-imposed perch seemed to have transformed into a self-imposed punishment. I guess that's what happens when you volunteer to take the entire night shift on all by your lonesome. He sighed. Why do I do these things to myself?
The mental images of Naruto's comically exaggerated pleading face, Sakura's tearfully hopeful eyes, Sai's blandly unfocused expression, Ino's "I'm about to whine your ears off" look, and Chouji's lackluster nibbling of a candy bar bombarded him.
Oh...that's why...
He mindlessly shredded a leaf into lots of tiny, tiny bits, letting them sprinkle through his fingers to the forest floor below. Well, it's not like he really minded really. He would actually be more uncomfortable if one of them had taken up guard duty and fallen asleep.
Yamato snorted. Yeah, uncomfortable as in quite possibly speared through by one of those poisoned arrows those extravagant vagabonds were using. He forced his stiff muscles to transition from an awkward lounge into a relaxed crouch. Just the thought of being taken by surprise unsettled him and he habitually focused his mind on his surroundings.
High in the upper boughs of a towering tree, the expansive sea of silvery leaves swaying peacefully around him, he was in the perfect position. At one side there was the clearing, a nondescript little stretch of lush grass and pearly mushrooms that was fenced in by the looming trunks of wooden giants. The perfect spot to hide away from any possible pursuers and catch up on sleep. And with just a turn of his head, Yamato could scan the expanse of the forest. To be honest, he was actually quite in his element. Even in the pitch black of midnight, there wasn't anyone who could take him by surprise when he was in a forest. This had been proven countless times.
... So why was it that he just couldn't shake off this dark feeling of dread? He thought that it would have left by now--the worst had already happened, hadn't it? Kakashi and his team had been discovered and they had all failed the mission.
But Yamato knew better. If he was still haunted by this inexpressible feeling of heaviness and trepidation then the worst hadn't happened yet.
He pursed his lips and scratched behind the lower left side of his face-plate distractedly. I just know I'm not going to get a moment's true peace until it happens, all this waiting around is making me nervous.
He scanned the scenery thoroughly, listening intently for any possible--What was that?
Yamato squinted his eyes, eyebrows furrowing slightly in confusion. What was that light far over there? There was a tiny flicker of brightness twinkling teasingly between visibility and invisibility over in the lower left corner of his vision. He debated whether he should abandon his post to go check it out or not. The mental debate lasted for a couple of minutes, this new uncertainty mixed with his plague of worries in a befuddling whirlpool of nervousness. As one may or may not know, it can take quite a while for one to navigate themselves out of a whirlpool of such demanding emotions.
In the end he decided to send one of his wood clones to go check it out, he didn't feel entirely comfortable with leaving his charges behind with superficial protection. He formed the necessary hand seals and the mirror image of himself saluted him through the shadowed darkness before bounding away. Now I just have to sit and wait--Wait! What?
Directly in front of him, it's shine slightly obscured by an indiscriminate distance, another light flickered to life. Yamato had just enough time to blink before a similar brightness sparked to life, a smidgen to the right of the last apparition. One, two, three--seven different sources of light suddenly ignited before him in rapid succession. Crap! What?!
The unexpected dissipation of the chakra he had set aside for his wood clone startled him at the same time the rest of the surrounding forest was illuminated with bright, unearthly spots of light. Yamato yelped in surprise, instinctively yanking out a kunai and jumping to his feet in one calculated motion.
The countless specks, luminescent and pulsing erratically, swirled and split into a dizzying kaleidoscope of blinding light and dark. They were close and far away at the same time. He cried out, unconsciously covering his dazzled eyes with his forearm as his head reeled. He stumbled backwards, the heel of his boot making a loud twang noise as it slid over rough bark. Huh? A loud twang? What--
Fire suddenly erupted from his shoulder as the jagged edge of an arrowhead imbedded itself deep into the tensed muscle, burrowing deep enough to scratch the bone.
Yamato gasped as his senses were overloaded with the earth-shattering collision of reality and illusion. He was vaguely aware of a swirling backdrop of flickering motes of light, grinning faces cast in a devilish red glow, and the gut-wrenching sensation of falling before the world exploded.
"Shit!"
Sakura jolted into awareness at the deafening boom that reverberated through the forest. She shrieked, snapping into an upright position, her blankets spilling about her. She whipped her head around, panting, only to see the similar expressions of shock and fear on the shadowed faces of her friends.
"Oh my god, what was that?!" Ino's eyes were wide as she quickly yanked back her covers with an unnecessary amount of force.
"I do believe it was an explosion," the sound of Sai's voice came from behind her, "You can tell because of the--"
"Shut up! We know what an explosion is!" Sakura snapped nervously as she hastily rolled up her bedroll with military precision, "Idiot..." she muttered under breath, distractedly.
"Guys, where's Yamato-taichou?" Chouji asked nervously, "Wasn't he--
Sakura screamed as a volley of fire-tipped arrows rained down upon them from every direction. The incoming assault briefly illuminated the many dark figures speeding through the tree trunks towards them, their blades reflecting the light with a hellish gleam.
Even as an army of Naruto's shadow clones sprung into the air, creating an impromptu shield for them, Sakura couldn't help but think one thing.
Kakashi-sensei, where are you?!
Alright, things are really picking up now :) I'm excited!
This chapter took a while to write, I wasn't sure how I wanted it to go. I think this is my first time writing an action scene (or at least the intro to an action scene) and I hope it wasn't super confusing or anything. But, just in case it was, I'll sum it up really quick. Kakashi and Shikamaru successfully raided the supply tent, stealing all of the poisons and antidotes from the rogue Sand-ninja. They noticed that no one was at the camp anymore and they felt something was wrong and decided to head back to the clearing where the rest of their team was. Meanwhile, Yamato is keeping watch for the others as they sleep. He falls under a genjutsu and is shot with a fire-tipped poison arrow (yeah, overkill much?). The rogue-ninja make an explosion (probably copying off Shikamaru's distractionary tactics used during the rescue, the lamos) which woke up Sakura, Sai, Naruto, Ino, and Chouji. They got up just in time to get ready for an attack.
Anyway, thankyou for reading! Please, please, please review and tell me what you think! I've never really written anything so action-packed and want to know if I'm doing it right lol. Any suggestions or criticisms would be greatly appreciated and I will definitely listen to and try to build off of whatever you say--so review!
Thanks!
~Flintyminty25