Chapter 9: Do You Mind?

With much persuasion, Shikamaru managed to convince Naruto to take a map from the Susumu clan. Now that the two of them had eaten their fill, it was time to get going. At least, that was what Shikamaru thought. As soon as he looked away, Naruto scurried off somewhere, leaving Shikamaru to find him.

His hooves clopped on the wooden floorboards, looking for his friend. He called Naruto's name but he didn't answer. He found a door leading outside and poked around in the yard. It was a small yard, completely fenced in. There was mud everywhere and dead grass. It was clear that the children from the other village didn't play here. The lack of toys told him that. Near the back of the yard was a small pond. In front of that pond was the boy he was looking for.

"Naruto, we have to go."

"Just a sec." Naruto was crouched on all fours, staring at the water. His ears rotated and flicked, sensing something.

Shikamaru peered over his back at the water. A scaly face was staring back. It was a crocodile. Its dead eyes were on Naruto. It looked like they were having a staring contest. "Naruto, what are you doing?"

"This is one of the guys from their clan that got changed, remember? I wanted to come and see him."

"Why?"

"To pay my respects. Or something like that. It just didn't feel right to just leave without seeing him."

"Why's that?"

"Just a feeling I have. It's something I had to do." Naruto leaned closer to the water.

As soon as he did, the crocodile lunged at him, its mouth wide open. Naruto jumped back just in time. Shikamaru ran for it. He turned around only when he was at the front step of the house. Naruto was still sitting on the ground, watching the crocodile watch him. It sank back into the water, hissing.

"Come on," called Shikamaru. "Let's get out of here."

Naruto picked himself up and started back towards the house. "Yeah, alright." He looked back at the water. He didn't look away until he was at the door. He stepped inside and gave the pond one final look before following Shikamaru down the hall.

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked him.

"Nothing." Naruto kept his head down. "I just... I thought I would be able to understand him like I can understand you. Maybe I could have talked to him or something." He lifted his head slightly. "You want to give it a try, Shikamaru?"

"No thanks. I don't want to."

To Shikamaru, seeing those crocodiles was like looking at what could be if they didn't change back in time. They, too, would suffer the same fate. Shikamaru didn't want that at all. Seeing those two was scary and not just because he was lower than them on the food-chain.

Maybe Naruto wanted to see them so he could get a better understanding of what was to happen. Maybe he was trying to reach them and help them remember that they were once human. Maybe he was trying to ask them what it was like to change into an animal completely. Or maybe he was seeing them out of pity. Shikamaru couldn't be certain. In some ways, Naruto was very complicated.

Naruto and Shikamaru thanked Ko and the rest of the clan for their help and were on their way.

With map in hand, Naruto led the way out of the village and back into the woods. They followed the path through the trees and onto the main road. Looking at the map, Naruto planned out where they were going to go. "I think it's that way."

Along the way, Naruto started talking cheerfully about what they were going to do.

"Hey, when we figure out how to change back, we can come back here and tell Ko and the others and change the crocodiles back to humans. That'd be awesome!"

Shikamaru didn't share in his cheerfulness. He was too busy worrying. What if they didn't make it in time and were stuck like this forever? What of there was no cure? Something even worse entered Shikamaru's mind and it made him so scared he felt like crying or bolting.

"Naruto..." His voice was shaking he was so frightened of the thought. "Naruto."

He wasn't listening and kept chatting away as he walked. "And we'll come back to the village and tell everyone what happened. Oh, we'll have to apologize to Sakura and the others for running off like that. But it'll all be worth it when we're-"

"Naruto!"

He stopped and turned around. "What?" he asked frowning.

"I just had a horrible thought."

"Yeah?"

Shikamaru stood perfectly still. "It's about what Shino and Ko said. And..."

"Yeah? Spit it out?"

"What..." Shikamaru lifted his head, showing Naruto's his fearful expression. "What if our animal minds take over and we forget about changing back to normal? What if we end up thinking we are animals and that we shouldn't do anything? What if we forget about everything and we end up straying from the path and never change back?"

Naruto cocked his head. "Huh? What are you talking about? How could we forget we were human or about our mission? That's silly. How could we think being animals is right?"

"It could come so easily, Naruto. Like you eating mice you caught in the woods. To a human, that's gross. To you it's perfectly normal. You didn't think anything of it, right? But you're a human, so shouldn't you have thought something about it?"

Naruto cocked his head again.

"I mean, something that comes so naturally could be wrong. Maybe... maybe we were wrong to leave the group like that."

Naruto scoffed. "They were slowing us down. We had to. We got there super fast because of that shortcut. We're making great time now."

"But what if being with them was the only thing keeping us rooted? What if spending time away from our group makes us lose track of who we are? What if being around humans is keeping us human?"

"You worry too much. I'm telling you, we'll be fine." Naruto started walking again.

"But..." Shikamaru called after him. "But I'm noticing some things myself now. There is a difference in us. Between us. We are changing. And I'm aware of it."

Naruto turned around. "What do you mean?"

"I'm a full deer physically. But mentally, I'm still myself for the most part. But sometimes, I end up acting like a real deer. I'm not usually this skittish. Even me allowing you to talk me into leaving the rest of the group. How do I know that was me making the choice or the deer mind I'm starting to get? Would I have chosen to do that or the deer?"

Naruto cocked his again again. "Huh?"

"You're turning into a fox more slowly, but you're acting like one more than I am. What if... what if you're becoming a fox on the inside faster than on the outside and what if I'm becoming a deer on the outside more than on the inside?"

"You've lost me. Can't we just get going? The longer we wait, the less chance we have of changing back. You want to change back, right?"

"... Yeah."

"Then let's go."

Shikamaru had more to say, but he knew Naruto was right. The faster they moved, the faster they would return to normal. At least, that's what he hoped.

Shino's group arrived at the village that morning. The people in the village were going about their activities as normal. Shino had yet to hear from his bugs so he had no new information. "I'm sure this is the village. This is where they were heading."

"I don't see them." Ino looked up and down the road, squinting her eyes. "Should we ask people? I mean, Naruto and Shikamaru wouldn't be that hard to spot. Know what I mean? The way they look..."

"I'm not so sure," said Sakura. "We don't know much about this Susumu clan. If they're the ones who put a curse on them of some kind, then they could be dangerous. After all, they are the ones who took those people from the other village. That's what Naruto told me."

"You really think they would do something to them?" Ino asked, though she didn't sound too concerned. "What reason would they have to hurt either of them? Or kidnap them? I don't think the clan is something to worry about."

"Still, we should be cautious," warned Shino. "Let's not look for trouble before we have to. Knowing Naruto, he would just barge in without thinking and alert everyone. I say we take a look around and see what we can find."

They stayed as a group and searched the village for any signs for their friends. They walked up and down the different streets and in yards and in windows. They tried not to call attention to themselves. Shino sent his bugs out to search the village more thoroughly. They reported back with no findings.

"Did they even make it this far?" asked Ino, getting annoyed. "They took the shortcut so shouldn't they be here by now? We can't find them anywhere."

"Maybe they got lost. Naruto was leading the way," said Sakura.

"No way," said Ino. "Shikamaru would have taken over and put Naruto on the right path. He might be lazy but he doesn't want to get lost. He's smart enough to take over if Naruto's going the wrong way."

"We've been here for almost an hour and we can't find any trace of them."

Shino was getting worried. Sakura had a point. Maybe they were lost and never came to the village. True, Shikamaru would have put Naruto on the right path. Ino was right about that. Naruto always did his own thing, but he would have listened to that. What had Shino worried was the possibility that they had gotten lost for another reason. What if their animal instincts called them away from their path and into the wild? In their current state, it wouldn't have taken much to distract them.

Shino looked down at a child who had been staring at them from the gate of their front yard. It was a little girl. She was looking at Shino's forehead and at the other two beside him. Shino cleared his throat, alerting the girls to the child.

Sakura tried to be friendly when she spoke to the girl. "Hello. Are you looking for something?"

The girl shook her head. "Are you looking for something?"

"Just our friends."

The girl pointed to her own forehead. "Did they have those band things you guys have?"

She was talking about their headbands. "Yes. Yes, they were."

"Was it a boy with a bushy tail and a deer?"

They had been to the village after all.

"See?" boasted Ino. "I told you they would be easy to spot."

"Where did you see them?" asked Sakura.

"They left the village this morning. I don't know where they went."

Sakura, Ino and Shino looked at each other. Now they had so many questions.

"Why would they leave the village? Is this the wrong one?"

"It can't be. This is the right one."

"Maybe they were told to go somewhere else?"

"Maybe they ran off to answer the call of the wild."

"You don't really think that, do you?"

"I'm not sure. But now we don't know where to begin looking for them. They left the village and no one knows where they're going. Where do we search? Which direction?"

"And if they left this morning, they have a head start. They could be anywhere by now. We've been here an hour and they've been traveling longer than that."

"All the girl said was that they left this morning. That could be from sunup to an hour ago."

"That's a three hour gap right there. At least!"

Shino had a bad feeling. He could send more bugs out to search, but where? He could spread them out over a distance. He had plenty of bugs, but what if they ran into trouble? Using so many bugs to search over such a vast area would leave him in a weakened state. He would still be able to fight but he would be limited. It would be like fighting with half his weapons and a sprained arm.

"Regardless..." Shino looked at the woods surrounding the village and the rolling hills in the distance. He looked at the endless sky above them, knowing Naruto and Shikamaru were somewhere under it. Somewhere out there. "We have to find them."

Shikamaru may be right about this.

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