Normal
"Speech"
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Kyuubi

Warnings: I do not own Naruto. Rated "M" for language and adult situations.

Chapter 25: The Search

Naruto was running as fast as he could to get to the dojo. As he got close to the clearing, he saw Gaara sitting on the roof. He jumped from the tree line to the roof, landing with a loud THUD next to Gaara. Naruto's breath had gotten caught in his throat and he was having a hard time talking.

"Is…" pant wheeze, "Myra," Wheeze gulp "here yet?" Naruto put his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath. Gaara turned to regard his friend. "I have not seen her yet. I assumed she would be arriving with you." The Kazekage blinked. Naruto turned around, still breathing heavy from his panic to get to the dojo.

"What did you do?" Gaara was more than concerned and took a step closer to his blonde friend.

"I… Yelled at her… About Sasuke… I was trying to tell her that she reminded me of Sasuke… I'm not sure what happened after that. She looked at me like I was a monster with fear in her eyes. I had convinced myself to go talk to her but she took off before I had the chance. I was hoping she had come here." The blonde looked off in the direction of the tree line.

"Brilliant… She told you to stop looking for him, didn't she?" Gaara crossed his arms in front of him. Naruto didn't say anything, he continued to sulk lower.

"I'm not going to say anything more. I am sure you are going to be beat yourself up more than what I could do to you. I will help you find her, but you have to fix this." Gaara's sand whirled around him and he appeared on the ground in front of the dojo. Naruto heard the Akamaru's bark from just beyond the tree line.

Kiba and Akamaru came out of the trees into the clearing. Naruto jumped down. "Oi, Kiba… Can I borrow Akamaru?" The great white dog narrowed his eyes at Naruto.

"What'cha need Akamaru for?" Kiba asked.

"I need to track someone down." Naruto said plainly.

"Not Sasuke again." Kiba rolled his eyes. Familiar faces started to emerge from the dojo. Naruto was getting a little frustrated. The mention of Sasuke was beginning to get on his nerves.

"No not Sasuke." The blonde said through gritted teeth. Akamaru started to huff and gruff at Kiba. Kiba's eyes went wide; then he turned to Naruto.

"Akamaru said he won't help. He also said you're an insensitive gitt, and you can find her without him…" Kiba still looked shocked and confused. The great white dog sat down. Naruto looked at the dog.

"But, Akamaru? How did…" Naruto's eyes went wide. "Then she WAS here…" Naruto ran off into the tree line where he had seen Kiba and Akamaru emerge. It was there, the faint smell that he wanted to drink in. She had pressed up against the tree and the scent of her still lingered. Sakura walked up behind Naruto.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Naruto looked a little angry when he turned around to Sakura.

"Sakura, can you tell if someone is under the influence of genjutsu?" Naruto asked the kunoichi. Sakura raised her eyebrows. "Uh, sure. But who.."

"You may want to take a look at Kiba." He skulked back into the clearing. Kiba started to protest. "Wouldn't I know if I were under some sort of genjutsu? I mean I have Kurenai as a sensei, it would be embarrassing." Kiba laughed. Akamaru whimpered. Sakura looked over Kiba and extended her chakra senses. She found what Naruto said would be there. Sakura touched her finger to Kiba's forehead. "Release!"

Something snapped inside Kiba. "THAT BITCH!" He continue to rant and rave while Hinata and Lee held him down. Sakura ran back to Naruto. He was standing next to Gaara. Gaara always looked serious, but even Sakura could tell, this was more serious than usual.

"I thought she didn't know genjutsu?" Sakura asked. Shikamaru walked up. "She sure as hell didn't use it in the match yesterday. Man that would have been more of a pain than the lightning."

"She is a sharingan user. Genjutsu is one of the many abilities that she would have at her disposal. I was hoping to get here in time to see the match." Gaara sounded almost disappointed. Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru all looked at him a little surprised.

"I'm the Kazekage and I am in contact with the Hokage on a constant basis about a great many things. Matters of the Uchiha clan happen to be one of those things. Even I was curious to see if her skills were as exceptional as the other Uchiha's I have encountered." Gaara nodded.

"I don't think we saw half of what she can do." Shikamaru shrugged.

Sakura scoffed. "What are you talking about Shikamaru, I heard Lady Tsunade and Kakashi-sensei talking about the match this morning. They said that her style was very basic, like she hadn't really learned anything. Sure she's fast, and the sharingan gives her the ability to see what her opponent is going to do next, that doesn't make her a…"

Gaara interrupted. "A genius… As are most if the Uchiha that posses the abilities of the sharingan." Naruto was still silent. Neji walked over to the group.

"I would have to agree with Shikamaru. We all assumed her abilities should have been as exceptional as Sasuke's. And with her advantage of the sharingan everyone assumed she would be an accomplished fighter." Neji mused.

"She kept up with Lee didn't she?" Naruto spoke, trying to defend her.

"I watch her dodge and deflect most of what Lee dished out. Even in her fight with Shikamaru, she evaded him. She did not take the offensive. When she did finally attack Shikamaru, she was more concerned with his well being than the fact that she beat him." Neji took a breath.

"Oh yeah… It was a controlled lightning attack. Had she turned up the chakra output, she would have killed him easily." Sakura was shocked by her own realization. The wheels were turning in Naruto's head. Gaara, on one hand was enjoying the recount of the match he had wanted to see, but was concerned about Myra. Neji continued.

"In her fight with me, I knew she was much faster than I was. I have a very difficult time landing a blow on Lee, so I didn't think I could land a decent punch or hit a chakra point on her. She was injured and she had stopped using her sharingan all together. I am still a bit curious as to why she stopped using her greatest advantage, but she still defended to keep me back rather than make a direct assault." Neji finished. Naruto blinked.

"So what does it all mean?" Sakura looked to Shikamaru.

"It means several things. One: She toyed with all of us and she is better than she appears. Two: She has no desire to fight or harm anyone. Three: She really has a lot to learn. And finally, all of the above." Shikamaru nodded. The group nodded in shared agreement.

"Ok, so that's all wonderful and all, but it doesn't explain why she used genjutsu on Kiba and why Akamaru wont help Naruto find her. I didn't know she was lost." Sakura was confused. Gaara turned to Naruto. Naruto started to skulk away. Sakura started to chase after him, but Gaara stopped her.

"He has to do this alone. That is why Myra stopped Kiba and Akamaru. Kiba saw her and Akamaru can track her by scent. She didn't want to make it easy for him to find her." Gaara confessed.

"What happened?" Sakura was shocked.

"Sasuke happened." Gaara watched his blonde friend disappear into the trees of the forest.

Naruto run through the forest back to his apartment. He wasn't sure what he had to do.

"Do you think that the birds will help find her?" He turned his thought inward as he continued to run.

"I doubt it. Myra made it very clear that she wants you to find her, and no one else. You have to think Brat. She isn't going to make this easy for you." The Fox was sulking just as much as Naruto.

"What is your deal anyway? You don't call anyone by a name." Naruto asked.

"I have no reason or want to explain anything to you." The Fox trailed out of the mental connection, but did not shut the door all together.

"Fine, be that way… But I need to ask you something, can I borrow your nose?" Naruto thought it was worth a try.

"What are you talking about Brat?" The Fox's ears perked up.

"You're a fox… Can't you smell stuff like a dog?" Naruto was hopefull.

"Sure Kid… Why the hell not…" The Fox grumbled. Naruto felt the serge of chakra envelope him. The dark seemed to turn to day as his eyes changed to the Fox's slits. The dark of the world became a bright place and he finally noticed the putrid smell. In the distance he could smell something beautiful.

Naruto changed directions following the scent trail. It was faint, but the smell of cherries, jasmine and peaches was intoxicating. His mind went blank with the desire to find the source of that smell. He tuned out everything else. His one and only purpose at that moment was finding her. He needed to find her.

Naruto allowed his more animal instincts take over. Before he knew it he was at the top of the Hokage monument staring over the village. This was where the scent trail stopped, but she wasn't here.

Naruto couldn't understand. This is where everything had led him, and she wasn't here. He got closer to the edge of the stone face of the Yondiame. He sat down facing out to the village. He let go of the extra chakra he borrowed from the Fox.

"So did I loose her too?" He put his head down.