Chapter 2: Hide and seek
A/N: Thanks for the reviews people, you are awesome...
Swanfrost15: So you think it's Naruto? Hmmm...Wait and see...
3:47 pm
Her blue eyes.
All the shock in the world couldn't keep him from witnessing the exploding fireworks lighting up the white sky directly behind him, reflected in her terrified blue eyes as she sprinted full speed towards him. Slow motion. Screaming his name...
Shi. Ka. Ma. Ru...
No time to think or hesitate, it was too late…
Ino Yamanaka hooked her fingers onto the clothing of a slouching Shikamaru to haul him away fast amidst the violent quaking cataclysmic ground threatening to pull her down. She had no time to grab onto his body...he felt it coming...
-BOOM-
Debris of splintering wood, burning trees and snowfalls hovered above them hazardously as the section of forest directly behind Shikamaru and Ino was obliterated. Then.
Bad breath...
Flaming eyes and tail...
Pointed yellow teeth and claws...
The ground threatened to break under the weight of a large black demon spirit that had just arrived...an oni.
It was an enormous black oni: a malevolent demon spirit in the appearance of a massive black, skeletal, emaciated dog...it emitted a furious roar which grew into an intense shockwave that levelled them all, Taka and Leaf ninja ahead of Shikamaru and Ino, to the ground...
They all stumbled trying to get up but had just a second to turn around and see the monstrosity working to destroy them through the heavy snowfall and unsteady ground.
"What the hell is that thing!" shouted Tenten horrified while she scrambled to get up.
Sakura saw it with widened stunned eyes: It was massive. Taller than the tallest tree. Mean and angry and bony liked a starved dog baring its yellow teeth, its flaming red eyes and tail on fire. It's curved yellow claws beating down heavily on the white snow that resembled thick golden horns, threatened to tear them into pieces. They were all stunned by the sheer size of the beast as they struggled, stumbled and fumbled against the quaking ground to run away.
"Everyone! Move quickly!" shouted Neji scrambling with everyone else to get up as he, Tenten and Sakura finally caught up with Sasuke and Suigetsu as the big guy Jugo from the Taka group flung the snooty Kariin girl over his shoulder while they fled.
The black oni dog stretched its thin body backwards for optimum trajectory readying itself to pounce...
"It's coming!" screamed Kariin.
It came charging into the air after them...galloping and stampeding towards the Leaf and Taka ninja ahead. It bared its pointy teeth thirsting for blood, with every earth shattering stomp rippling through the ground...
Ino and Shikamaru found themselves directly below the black oni beast as Shikamaru's injury was slowing them down considerably. Both never paused their running...no time...
The demon dog tried to pry them out from under its belly, directly aiming at them. One of its horn-like claws swiped at Ino's head as she screamed and ducked herself and Shikamaru.
"Ino leave me behind, just go" he yelled.
She completely ignored him, never allowing the thought inside her head; it was unthinkable. She didn't care about shinobi rules of leaving people behind for the sake of a mission. After all, Shikamaru wasn't most people. He was irreplaceable to the Leaf...
The demon dog tried aiming at the people directly in front of it now having failed at trying to thwart the people below its body.
"Jugo, lookout!" yelled Kariin.
Its long flaming red tail circled their heads above...Sakura, Neji, Tenten, Sasuke and Suigetsu all ducked to avoid the fire like whip, but Jugo didn't duck low enough so the impact of the heated tail pushed him over...
The Kariin girl screamed as she and Jugo carrying her fell to the ground. Sasuke fell back to help them. Sakura thought of doing the same thing for their teammates left behind.
"Neji we need to back for Shikamaru and Ino. They need help them now." she yelled.
"All right, Tenten get ready" said Neji. She exchanged glances with Neji and Sakura.
"Sakura back me up" said Tenten jumping forward into the air and pulling out her biggest scroll strapped to her back, summoning some of her larger ninja tools to use against the monster. Fighting in the snowfall with weak visibility was a huge obstacle. She fired as many oversized shuriken as she could at the burning eyes of the beast but they were all sucked into its fire and made the demon angrier.
"That's not going to work. Sasuke this beast contains a relatively small yet strong amount of chakra but it's coming from an outside source" said the girl Kariin as she and Jugo go up.
"So someone's controlling it" he said looking out towards the forest, although he didn't know how they would ever find who was behind the attack as the heavy snowfall and the beast itself were perfect distractions.
Suigetsu unstrapped his giant blade from his back and swung it like a discus, hurtling it through the air, spinning through the air towards the demon dog...it sliced a long cut along its neck as it roared.
Jugo ran forward and tried grabbing its two front legs together to pull it downwards but he struggled to grab a hold of them.
"No, stay away from its mouth and legs, those areas have the most amount of concentrated chakra" yelled Neji using his byakugan.
Its vicious teeth snapped towards Tenten; she was stuck in space as she didn't have enough momentum to jump away. She pulled out her bow staff to swing at the demon's mouth...
"Neji give me a boost" said Sakura. Neji cupped his hands together so she could use them as a launching pad. She flew into the air pressing her two index and middle fingers together and crossing them over to copy a trick once used by her missing teammate.
"Shadow clone jutsu"
A poof of smoke erupted beside her as the second Sakura grabbed Tenten, pulling her away from the dangerous mouth of the beast while the original Sakura came behind, curling her fist to aim at its head...
...but she timed it too late; the black oni saw her and swiped its claws at her. She covered her head for impact but it never came. Instead she was already back on the ground somehow... She felt someone's arms over her body as she looked up. Sasuke Uchiha.
The boy with the shiny black eyes...her old teammate. He'd just saved her. If it hadn't been for the monster terrorising them Sakura would've stopped all movements and gone numb. Sasuke had just saved her...he had just saved her...but there was no time, the giant demon dog pounded its paw at them on the ground...Sasuke grabbed her once again and they were gone in an instant. She'd forgotten that his speed was too difficult to see.
Neji surveyed the demon frantically as best as he could in the heavy snowfall, looking at its chakra. He'd already stated that its mouth and claws had the most chakra concentrated from its chakra points...but he knew that there had to be somewhere where it was vulnerable...
Sasuke quickly slid out his katana. His body soon became an electrical current visible with a blue charge. He appeared under the chin of the beast and stabbed his katana inside the cut made by Suigetsu's blade.
"Chidori!"
Neji found the weakest spot...
"There! Its weakest spot is the chest, aim for its ribcage"
The chidori electrified the monster and it let out a shattering roar of pain as blue light engulfed its entire body, lighting up the sky. It came down on two legs with a crashing thud head down.
"Now Sakura!" yelled Neji.
Sakura jumped onto Jugo's shoulders, propelling herself into the air as she balled up her fist and slammed it into the black oni's skeletal visible ribcage...it was flung high into the air thanks to Sakura's powerful fist, and it expelled one final roar with a fiery rage...before it disappeared in a poof of smoke as Sakura landed back on the snow.
"It's...it's gone...but how?" she breathed.
A frustrated loud shrilly scream followed, piercing the air in an echo. Everyone covered their ears in pain; Sakura immediately recognised it as the same scream she'd heard earlier when she was alone in the forest; but it appeared that she wasn't the only one that'd heard it this time.
When the screech was over and replaced by quietness, Sakura heaved a long sigh, allowing her arms fall to her sides. It was exhausting work.
"What the hell was that thing?" came Sasuke breathing hard whilst sliding his katana back into its shell. His onyx eyes met with Sakura's pale green one's; he looked at her slightly wide eyed like he was seeing her for the first time. The girl who'd finished off the malicious oni demon with such power and grit couldn't be the same annoying clingy person he'd once known...from a distance anyway...
Sakura felt quite guarded staring into Sasuke's gaze but she didn't look away. Her insides were burning for her to ask him why he'd chosen to save her life if he didn't care about her like he'd said a long time ago. Sasuke had saved her. There was a tiny spark of hope that her mission with Naruto had purpose. It changed everything.
"It's gone! Quickly this is our chance to get out of here; before it comes back for us." said Tenten panting.
"And go where? Go where huh? Back into the woods so we can take our chances and hope it doesn't come back to pick us out again? Besides there is a snowstorm coming." said Sakura finally looking away from Sasuke. "It's too late. It'll take another day to get to the Grass Village in these conditions and we'll die from exposure. Not to mention that I'm not leaving without Naruto and we Leaf ninja are still on a mission." she said eyeing every one of the Leaf ninja.
"Are you saying that we're stuck here?" cried Ino holding onto Shikamaru; her body shivered just a little bit more.
Sakura kept quiet. They all did, trying to catch their breath. Frustration was overwhelming.
Neji closed his eyes for a moment in defeat. With him being second in command and due to Shikamaru's momentary incapacitation, he had to take control of the situation.
"Unfortunately there's nothing we can do about it now but improvise and work with what we have. Let's just get out of the cold into that house for now then decide on our next step" said Neji as his gaze met with Sasuke's; it had only just occurred to them that there was only one shelter and two opposing groups.
"Sasuke, what should we do?" asked Kariin beginning to shiver as well.
"We're going into that house Kariin." he announced loudly over the wind so that the rest of the Leaf ninja could hear him and stare at the nerve of him. But that was the nature of Sasuke; someone they'd known as being very confident and self-assured.
The looming silence confirmed it with the rest of the group. The only shelter available for miles...Sasuke never took his eyes of Neji's glowering gaze.
"We can't leave this place Kariin, not like this. We have to get into that house too or we'll die out here." said Sasuke walking forward with Suigetsu.
"Well this should be fun" smirked Suigetsu advancing on Neji.
"Where do you think you're going? Stay back, Sakura found this place first. I'm not letting you inside here." said Neji.
"It doesn't matter who found it first, it's the only shelter in this area and we'll fight for it if we have to. And you can't afford that now can you? With an injured squad member?" said Sasuke.
"We will do whatever it takes to protect the interests of the Leaf Village." Neji stood in his air palm stance while Sasuke and Suigetsu and Jugo positioned themselves together.
"Woah, stay back. Hey just wait a minute!" yelled Tenten coming forward to use her bow staff as a separator, placing the end points horizontally between Neji and the Taka, keeping them apart. Jugo tried smacking her stick out of the way but she blocked him by shoving them all backwards.
"Just hold on alright" she said to both parties as they halted struggling against her. "Neji, we don't have to deal with them right away, they're not our mission remember. You always told us to stick to the scope of the mission which is one of the most essential ninja rules. Right?" said Tenten looking up at him.
"Are you kidding me? Taka and Leaf ninja all under one roof, they're not going to play by our rules! We'll kill each other by the end of the day."
"But our squad has been weakened and we can't fight them anymore." she placed a hand on his shoulder and pointed to Shikamaru. He was still clutching his side as Ino tried to cover his deep wound with her hand. Neji looked over at Shikamaru and relented, thinking of a somewhat positive outcome.
"Then so be it. I guess in this way, since we're all here, we can keep an eye on you Taka."
Tenten lowered her bow staff and walked ahead.
"Ino, are you okay?" Shikamaru suddenly whispered pained. She looked at him incredulously.
"Me? Forget about me, what about you? Are you okay?" she said borderline hysterical.
"I'll be okay, I've been through worse" he said giving a half smile as she shook her head at him. He continued to hunch down as she lifted him up to his feet to follow after Neji. Neji gave Sasuke one final stare as Sasuke followed behind him with his team.
"Neji wait, before we do anything, I need to go look for Naruto" came Sakura behind him. She didn't care about the cold anymore and she couldn't delay it any longer, not after that sinister monster disappearing from sight.
"Wait Sakura. We need to stay together and figure out our standing. Let's go inside this house and regroup first."
He saw the dispirited look on her cold face.
"We will find him, don't worry Sakura, none of us have forgotten. He's a resilient one that Naruto, you know that" said Neji.
"That's not what I'm worried about; it's all these weird things events happening to us since we got to this forest."
"Like I said, if there's anyone who has proven that he can handle anything, its Naruto. He just never quits and he won't quit now because it's snowing or there are unexplained events happening" he said reassuringly.
Sakura nodded her head at him feeling slightly assured. Neji was right, Naruto never allowed anything to keep him away from his goals...
Everyone stood behind Tenten as she moved her frozen feet up the stairs leading to the patio of the house. Sakura looked around at the group of ninja making their way towards the stairs. Both Taka and Leaf were in a mix. She knew it wouldn't end well but she was somehow glad that Sasuke, not his team, were with them; after all she could never allow him to freeze outside. Neither would Naruto...Naruto...
Tenten noticed the wind felt like it had picked somehow as a kind of warning system, screaming for her not to go inside. Sakura felt it too. The house made her feel uneasy, unlike the time she'd first seen it with its luring presence.
Tenten reached the patio and stepped towards the door tentatively, not thinking as she just wanted to get away from the outside.
Sakura's eyes surveyed the outside wall as she clung onto Shikamaru while they all waited for Tenten. Last time she was here, there was a lantern hanging outside on the wall. She remembered it clearly; a single candle inside had left a smoke trail behind after the flame had been blown out. The lantern was gone. She narrowed her eyes as she wondered...how the lantern had disappeared if they were supposedly the only ones in the forest...
Her eyes darted down to something that was present on the outside wall just next to the main door. There was a word carved onto the dark wood. She peered down and saw a name written in kanji: Kamakura. It appeared to be a surname. Was it possible that a family was living here? It seemed unlikely to her that any family would choose to live or own a house in the middle of nowhere...in that kind of forest.
"Hello? Is there anyone here?" Sakura yelled at the house as she stood behind Tenten and Neji.
"What are you doing? Clearly this house is empty" said Neji.
"See that" she said pointing to the name outside the house, "It looks like a family name to me. It could mean that someone or some people are still living here. We don't want to intrude."
"That seems unlikely since no one came outside to check out all the chaos and noise" snapped Kariin from below.
After no one answered, Tenten's uneasy hand reached for the door, again, slowly. She took a big gulp...
"Hold it!" said Ino scaring Tenten with her sudden outburst. She froze her hand...
"What if there's something waiting for us on the other side. Like a trap or something of the sort?"
Tenten looked at Neji. "Well, should we go in?" she asked the second in command.
"We'd better be careful. Let me just scan the inside first" said Neji turning on his byakugan.
"Oh move over, we don't have time for these ninja operations" said Suigetsu pushing his way through everyone and up the stairs towards the front door.
"Suigetsu wait. We don't know what to expect. Let the Leaf check it out for us first then we go in. That way none of us gets hurt if they get attacked." said Sasuke.
"Sasuke, there's no one in that house. I can feel it" whispered Kariin to Sasuke so only he and Jugo behind her could hear.
Sakura exercised all effort not to shoot a glance back at him. She couldn't help but feel stung at his comment. He wouldn't care if his old team was caught up with any danger. It was all about the Taka to him now. So why did he choose to save her from the oni then...
"I don't see anything...go ahead Tenten."
She looked up at Neji who gave her an approving nod. Her frozen hand gripped onto the doorknob; she twisted it slowly as it complained with a hair-raising creak like it hadn't been opened for centuries. The noise reminded her of the scream they'd heard when the dog-like oni had disappeared.
"Here we go" she breathed looking back at the rest of the group who waited with withheld breaths.
Tenten pushed open the door apprehensively...
4:04 pm
It was quaint, she thought delighted. The house was an open plan inside where the entrance or genkan leading to the large living room was all one room. But she noticed that even as it was still early evening, the frost and snow solidifying on the small yet few square windows blocked most of the weak sunlight from penetrating through the dark wooded house and even the white fusuma panels; it created a dim ghostly lighting. Tenten could feel the hairs on her back stand on end which had nothing to do with the cold.
Further down from where she was standing at the door, she saw a three seater couch with a neatly knitted quilt blanket on the armrest. There was no fire pit as per usual in a traditional house; instead there was a much needed fireplace, a large bookshelf and a coffee table all resting on the tatami floor. There were only two other doors on either side of the room leading to other rooms of the house. The living room was made to look bigger by all the furniture being concentrated around the fireplace.
Everything seemed to pass the test with her at that point so she realised that there was only one more thing to do.
She stepped through the threshold onto the wooden platform reserved for shoes when entering and exiting the house... immediately she felt a shift in the air inside. It made her tense up and draw in a sharp breath. She moved her head slightly to the left. Then right.
Nothing...two more seconds...
She let out a sigh of relief. Everything appeared to be okay, which was great news for her because she could feel the cold making her nose run.
However as she took a sniff, she noted strangely, how the undeniable and stingy pungent smell of iron filtered through her nose as she turned back to the others.
"Its safe guys, I think it's safe."
Neji, who was standing right behind her, was the only one to see it.
"Wait Tenten. Your nose is bleeding."
She looked at him. "Oh, that's where that irony smell came from; I thought my nose was running from the cold. Looks like it was just that one trail."
"Here let me get that for you" he whispered softly wiping her lower face with the sleeve of his thick white jacket.
"Thanks" she smiled up at him flustered as they waited for the other ninja to head inside; thank goodness for the cold or she'd have to come up with an excuse for her flushed cheeks.
Sakura and Ino lifted Shikamaru to carry him inside their new haven...unfortunately she didn't get the chance to witness Tenten during her epistaxis.
Sasuke and his Taka team took no time bursting in through the entrance and shot straight through to other parts of the house opening and sliding shut the white paper panelled doors, scanning the place.
"Hey wait, where do you Taka think you're going?" said Tenten.
"Don't worry; I'll keep an eye on them. Byakugan!" Neji examined the two rooms opposite the living room with his inherited visual power.
"I can see the Taka in a kitchen. And the door opposite this living room there's a bathroom. There doesn't seem to be any other rooms in the house. Odd, I would've thought this house was a lot bigger judging by the outside."
"What are the Taka doing?"
"Searching the contents of the cupboards and checking for any signs of someone hiding inside here but they're all empty. It's just us, literally."
Sakura and Ino carrying Shikamaru gravitated towards the unlit fireplace.
"Here put him on this couch." said Ino. Both her and Sakura were about to start healing him but he protested.
"Wait, we need to check on the weapon before the Taka comes back. This might be the last few minutes of privacy we're afforded here." he whispered pained. "Ino do you still have it within your backpack?"
Ino opened her bag and found the sealed medical kit which was separate from the standard medical kit and opened it. Among the two syringes, there was one curious looking one with a silvery liquid, heavily wrapped in a sealed transparent plastic.
"Yes, here it is. Okay, this one here in the middle is the poison meant to kill the rogue ninja. In case we can't do it our own way. The other one syringe is an anaesthetic but be careful, it's very potent. One prick of this will paralyse and knock you out for hours."
"But why would Lady Fifth give you this poison. Do we really need it?" asked Tenten.
"We could." said Sakura. "See Lady Tsunade gave us this lethal poison to use if need be because there was very limited information that the Leaf could gather about this rogue ninja. He is extremely elusive even to the people of the Grass. So the reality is, we don't really know what we're up against and Lady Tsunade didn't want us taking and chances with someone we hardly know anything about after what happened to..."
Ino looked away as she met eyes with Shikamaru.
"...to Asuma sensei. This can be used as a last resort if need be"
"So it's our backup plan. Hopefully we won't-
Neji had to stop talking as The Taka had come back marching in which indicated that everything was clear. The two groups looked at each other in animosity, stopping for a second...before the Taka settled next to the Leaf on the coffee table. Kariin couldn't stop fidgeting as she was too uncomfortable around the unpleasant chakra of the Leaf.
"Ah!" Shikamaru exclaimed in pain and crouched down clutching his side.
"Shikamaru! You're still hurt. Just don't move, I'll help you with any chakra I have left" whined Ino.
Sakura ignored all the personal pronouns she'd used. She was about to focus her teal coloured chakra to heal him but once again was quickly side-lined.
"Move over Sakura, you're not the only medical ninja anymore okay" said Ino jealously bending over towards Shikamaru. Sakura was annoyed yet not surprised at Ino's behaviour; all the personal pronouns she'd used were an indication that she wanted to heal him alone. She was always the competitive Ino.
"But I've had the most experience; don't forget you're still my apprentice!"
"Why do you have to always show off with your skills? I'm just as good as you are"
"Are these 'ninja' for real? Going on in meaningless squabbles." asked Suigetsu from the table with the rest of the Taka. Kariin shook her head at them in agreement with Suigetsu as Sasuke looked at the silent big Jugo. The irony was not lost on them.
"No, that's okay, you two can go on and fight with each other, I'll just lie here and die quietly" said Shikamaru sarcastically. They both snapped out of their bickering and healed him. Sakura did most of the work as she had superior skills. His blood began to dry then disappeared.
"How do you feel now?" asked Ino.
"Much better thanks Sakura, Ino."
"No problem." Sakura really wanted to shoot a told-you-so gaze at Ino but felt it wasn't the appropriate time. She threw herself onto a stool next to the unlit fireplace. Exhausted…everyone was exhausted. But they didn't forget for one moment that they weren't alone. They all stared at the people standing in the room with them in an awkward silence.
"How did you get that wound anyway?" came Tenten to Shikamaru.
"Shuriken. They came at me from all over that forest and at close range, out of nowhere. I tried to doge them but they were too quick"
Sakura's eyes shot straight up at Ino. It didn't connect in her head until she looked at Sakura gaze. Her mind was buzzing. Sakura had said that she'd attacked her by hurtling shuriken at her. But if, Shikamaru had been injured by the shuriken she had been throwing, he should've been relatively close by...but both she and Sakura hadn't seen him...She wondered if it explained where the blood on her fist had come from...She looked away from Sakura's penetrating gaze not wanting to acknowledge any of it...
"Shuriken? From where, the rogue ninja or that black beast?" asked Tenten.
"I don't know, I never saw any person. I just saw that horrible black dog come from nowhere and it began growing in size so I tried to get away."
"So then what was that thing outside? A tailed beast?" asked Tenten directing the question to the Leaf ninja.
"Of course not! It was a summoning jutsu, duh, anyone could see that. The chakra was not massive enough for it to be a tailed beast; besides we all saw it disappeared. I thought that much would be obvious…" Kariin snooted, nose in the air. Tenten shot an annoyed glare at her. That Taka girl had to be the most annoying person in the world.
"Hey you Taka girl" said Shikamaru.
"My name is Kariin. Not that you need to know"
"Fine then Kariin, how did you know it was coming before it appeared and from which direction?" asked Shikamaru.
She looked at Sasuke for permission but he stopped her from talking. "No. We don't owe them any information"
"Them?" grunted Sakura outraged. It infuriated her how he'd somehow forgotten that he used to be a part of 'them' that he'd referred to.
"That's okay, we can't trust anything she says anyway, don't you remember how she deceived us in the forest? We'll just have to assume that it was a summoning." said Ino.
"If it's a summoning then it must mean that the rogue could've used the beast to keep us occupied so he could escape the forest without being followed by us." said Neji.
"Then what about the scream?" asked Tenten.
"What do you mean?"
"Didn't you notice? The scream only came once the monster disappeared?"
Silence...they needed time to let it all sink in...
But Kariin had noticed it too. The scream had only come once the giant black oni dog was gone. But she didn't say a word out loud. She didn't want to confirm the Leaf girl's observation...
"I've heard that scream before." came Sakura.
"When?" asked Shikamaru.
"Once in the forest before I found everyone else. But there was nothing there to indicate where it'd come from as well. But then it was followed by...never mind. " said Sakura not wanting to explain about hearing a voice or risk coming across as a lune to everyone.
"But then where did it come from. It couldn't possibly be the rogue ninja; he can't still be in the forest with this weather. But if it is him remember we still...we still need to finish the mission" said Shikamaru reserved seeing the Taka team and not wanting to discuss their mission with them.
"You mean eliminate him" came Sakura, there was no way their communication would be effective if they couldn't speak openly.
"Now why would you tell our enemy what our mission is?" scolded Neji.
"Because in case you haven't noticed we're all stuck here together. Sooner or later we're going to have to discuss our mission amongst ourselves and the Taka will still be here."
"That's right. Didn't you notice how we battled that creature? As much as I hate to admit it, it took nearly all of us to get rid of it because we needed each other" said Suigetsu.
"We don't need any one of you Taka-
"Neji wait. He's right; we don't have a choice right now. There's a rogue ninja on the loose and that summoning might've come from him. So we need to remember why we're here. Don't lose sight of our real mission. For now the Taka is not our problem. We have to at the very least coexist."
Everyone from the Taka and Leaf group looked at each other sourly; they had no choice but to stay with each other even when trust was low.
"This is only temporary; we don't need to share all private information with each other, of course." said Kariin.
"So do we all agree on an alliance or ceasefire?" Shikamaru asked.
"Temporarily until the storm stops. But we're not helping you on your mission" said Sasuke.
"I can live with that, are you guys good with that?" Shikamaru asked the rest of his team. They begrudgingly agreed. Sakura wished it had only been Sasuke with them.
"Don't worry guys, in a few months' time; we'll be given a mission to hunt these guys down for good." said Shikamaru grinning.
"We look forward to it" smiled Suigetsu.
4:16 pm
It was starting to get dark; the sun had faded to a blue-black twilight into an ever creeping darkness exacerbated by the blizzard over the cabin and frosted windows which didn't allow anymore light through the intensifying the blackness. The group of Leaf ninja and Taka huddled around the unlit fireplace but in their own groupings and separate from their enemy, not speaking and unsure of what to about the Naruto situation as they were all aware of the decreasing visibility.
"What are we going to do now? It's getting really dark." asked Ino finally breaking the long standing silence and directing the question at her only present teammate.
Shikamaru sat up feeling better yet still slightly shaky from his now healed injury. He stood in front of the group of Leaf ninja huddled around the couch to address them except Sasuke's team who sat on the coffee table nearby.
"Okay listen up, this is the current situation. It appears as if were trapped here in this house until the storm subsides with the Taka. Now we don't know how long it will take so we need to get into survival mode and figure out a way to find Naruto, keep sustained, keep warm, and continue tracking the rogue ninja. Those are our top priorities. Sakura what's our standing geographically?"
"Were in what appears to be an isolated house in the main forest eighty kilometres outside the Grass Village. We left Grass Village mid-morning today and trekked from the village through the grasslands to this forest. Currently we are experiencing a severe winter here. That's why we can't leave here yet."
"Huh, how pathetic, taking orders and playing professionals. They'll never get to better ninja like that." said Suigetsu. It was a battle for survival, everyone knew it.
"Oh what you mean with teamwork?" sassed Kariin.
"Please, our teamwork is perfect." said Suigetsu as Kariin raised an eyebrow at him.
Sasuke looked on, he was reminded of a time, centuries ago, when he was on a team mission taking orders and giving them out in organising. He wondered what it would be like if he'd stayed...
"Neji what is the status of the rogue ninja?"
"Absent for now. We lost track of him over two hours ago now upon arrival to this forest when a giant blast knocked us all out. There is still no trace of him using byakugan. No footprints in the snow, trees or in this house and with this blizzard it will be impossible, he would've long since fled. To be quite honest, we're going to have to start from the beginning in tracking. "
"Ino what utilities do we still have among us for survival?"
"We have our backpacks containing sleeping bags, nightwear, dry noodle packs, first aid, a map of the Village Hidden in the Grass and a limited amount of water" she said but from what Sakura could see there were a few more items she was holding inside her pack but didn't call them out; notably their lethal weapon meant to assassinate the rogue. She looked at Sakura and pointed towards the Taka with her eyes. Sakura understood.
"Okay so the situation isn't entirely hopeless. At least we sort of know where we are and we'll be able to support ourselves for a while. As for the rogue, this mission is going to take even longer now. It's such a drag" said Shikamaru.
"Although our sustenance won't last long and we underestimated the weather here, none of us know how long blizzards last here during this time of year. We could end up running out of food" said Tenten. The Taka group and Leaf ninja eyed each other. It could potentially turn into a battle of survival. If that were to happen, the house would turn into a hotbed of chaos...
Neji was leaning against the wall, arms folded. His byakugan eyes weren't activated but somehow a flashing light coming from the corner of his eye caught his attention. He blinked once taken aback and unsure of what had just happened during the strange flash; it appeared that he was the only one that had seen it. He turned on his byakugan eyes to get a better view...and saw the outline of two long thin objects and one square box in what had previously been a bare empty kitchen.
"Would you excuse me for a moment?" he said suddenly.
"Where are you going?" asked Shikamaru.
"I just need to check on something. I'll be right back"
Neji walked into the kitchen studying the insides of the cabinets with his byakugan. What had he seen?
His eyes swept over the cabinet under the kitchen sink and saw it: two long candlesticks accompanied by a matchbox.
He shook his head as he bent down to retrieve the candles and matchbox.
The house had to be alive. It was the only explanation as to how the very objects they needed to combat the darkness would just arrive out of nowhere. He walked back to the group of ninja.
"This is unbelievable. Look at this. I found candles and matches in a cabinet in the kitchen, just as I did another good sweep of the place." said Neji walking back to the living room.
Sasuke looked at his team and exchanged glances with both Neji and Tenten.
"I'm pretty sure those weren't there when we checked the kitchen." said Suigetsu.
"But it's just what we need without having to go into the forest to collect wood for a fire. What a coincidence." said Ino gratefully.
"It's too much of a coincidence…" came Sasuke a short distance away sitting on the table.
Shikamaru contemplated this. "Remember the name written on the wall outside. I think Sakura was right. Someone could be living here, even a whole family. Perhaps they left a few items behind when they left for the winter? Any guess is possible"
"Shikamaru you don't understand. I searched this entire house with my byakugan and the Taka also searched the kitchen thoroughly when we got here and found nothing. These candles and this box of matches appeared out of nowhere, exactly when we needed some light." said Neji.
Shikamaru looked at the ground. Everyone was thinking hard. How could a house provide the provisions they needed the most at the right time, like some magic genie.
"You don't think we're alone, do you Shikamaru?" asked Sasuke remembering his apparent 'genius' from his Leaf ninja days.
"That's the weird part. Anyone living here would've had to come back to the house to avoid freezing to death. There's no way that they could make it to the Grass Village alive in this weather. And we didn't see anyone else's trails did we?"
"Well then what about the rogue?"
"That's a good question. Maybe it was him who was here, but once again if he was, where is he now? There's no way that he would make a run for it out of the forest, it could take a whole day because the storm would wipe him out. He would have had no other choice but to come back to this house just like us or risk dying to try and get away from this isolated place."
"Maybe he's already dead" said Neji.
"Nah, I don't think so. Remember what Lady Hokage told us, this guy might be unpredictable but he's shrewd. He probably was the one that knocked us all out with a blast and cast the summoning jutsu to get away if he did manage to get away. Besides he's a rogue ninja and he wouldn't be dumb enough to stay in the cold-
A thought clicked into Sakura's head. It was unforgivable that it had taken that long...she was the worst teammate in the world.
"Oh my goodness, Naruto! What if he's got Naruto? He's still missing and he's going to die out there. I have to go and get him." she cried jumping up.
"She's right. You should've sent out a search party to go and find him hours ago...Naruto will never find this place by himself, so Kariin and I will also go and find him" said Sasuke…
Sakura was the first one to look up at him and gasp. If she hadn't heard it with her own ears she would've never believed it. Stunned. She was stunned by what he'd said. Everyone from the Leaf team looked at him in stunned surprise; he'd claimed a long time ago that he didn't care about Naruto but now was willing to go look for him in the most relentless ruthless weather.
"What did you just say?" she breathed unbelieving. Even Kariin looked speechlessly at him.
"I'm going to go personally find Naruto myself because he's still lost, and most of you Leaf ninja seem unwilling to go yourselves. I'm going to bring him back here to us..."
There was a disconnect in her head. Did he have any idea what he'd just said?
He's lost...I'm going to bring him back here to us... Where had she heard that speech, those familiar words before? Her mind couldn't decide whether it was Sasuke or Naruto himself speaking. She couldn't hold it in...
"How dare you. How dare you. I know you don't care about him. You said that yourself. So why this now?" said Sakura bitterly.
"It's within my-our own interests" said Sasuke as blank toned as possible.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
Like I said before, I don't owe you any explanations, I have my own reasons. C'mon Kariin, I need you to locate him for me" he said standing up with Kariin right behind.
Kariin tried to whisper as closely as she could to Sasuke's ear, taking delight in being so close to his perfect body as Sakura felt a vein growing in her temple.
"Sasuke, if you're talking about the ninetails boy...I don't...I don't sense his chakra anywhere." she whispered.
"What did you just say? What do you mean 'sense' his chakra?" asked Sakura overhearing and feeling alarmed staring at her, hoping she'd misheard. "You know what; nobody cares what comes out your mouth anyway because you're just a liar. I'm not letting you two go after him."
"Nobody cares what comes out my mouth? Nobody like Sasuke?" she teased. Sakura gritted her teeth. She could feel her control slipping...
Sasuke turned away annoyed and walked with Kariin towards the door but was barred by Neji.
"Sakura's right. You're not going outside there; we can't trust you Taka to be alone. And you could expose our location to anything else waiting outside" said Neji.
"What a quick change of heart; first he doesn't want us to come into this house and now he's begging us to stay" mocked Suigetsu.
"That is not my problem if you don't trust us, now move." said Sasuke.
"No way, I won't allow you to go after Naruto by yourselves. I'm going to find him and bring him here without you." said Sakura taking a firm stance. He knew better. He had to have known better. Sasuke was both the gun and the trigger holding power over Naruto's emotions that would always set him off.
"And that goes for you as well Sakura, we haven't decided on what do to collectively yet. Just stay put for now" said Neji.
"So I'm supposed to let him die out here? Is that what you want?"
"I don't wish for him to die, I just think it wouldn't be helpful if we go out there and die ourselves or jeopardise our location. We need to plan this first." he said with increasing agitation.
"Neji, any shinobi of their worth would risk their lives to save their comrades. We knew the risks when we took on this mission" Ino added.
"No we thought we knew all the risks until he made a miscalculation about the sheer scale of this mission and forest. And now were stuck here with no way out" came Neji shooting an accusing finger at Shikamaru.
Sakura, Ino, Tenten and Shikamaru stopped, taken aback by Neji's sudden outburst. It came striking at them from nowhere.
"Neji what is wrong with you, it's not like he knew this would happen" Sakura said shocked by his sudden outburst; it was so unlike him. Why was he so angry all of a sudden? Tenten couldn't say anything at that moment.
"Would you just gimme a break. Weather we were prepared for the forest or not, the same thing would've happened to us. Clearly this storm was well on its way when we got to this forest"
"Yeah it's not his fault" said Ino defending him. She couldn't stand for someone criticising Shikamaru unfairly.
"Everyone be quiet. Now if we want to survive, we need to find Naruto in calm and progressive way." Neji said with an ever hostile tone.
Sasuke looked straight at Neji blocking his way out.
"Move. We're going to- came Sasuke.
"We're not going anywhere; you don't have the authority to make decisions for anyone here. This is the Leaf ninja's mission and I will do anything to keep us safe." said Neji with an ever hostile tone.
Sasuke teleported closer to challenge him before Neji could even blink. Neji was caught off guard as he took a step backwards.
They all watched the two guys anxiously, especially Jugo who was just about ready to pounce. All Sakura wanted to do was go looking for Naruto. It was proving impossible to even get out of the house.
"Do you think you can stop me? Get out of my way!" Sasuke pushed Neji aside who didn't let him pass by. He grabbed Sasuke's hand to push him back but Sasuke held onto his jacket under his neck. Suigetsu jumped up and waited next to Sasuke holding onto the hilt of his blade waiting for orders.
Suddenly Neji and Sasuke were at each other's throats grabbing each other by the collars of their jackets as Shikamaru, Tenten and Ino jumped up to stop the looming altercation, Neji turned on his byakugan absent mindedly. Sakura stood where she was frustrated by what was happening, whereas Kariin and Jugo stood watching intently.
"C'mon cut it out guys! We really don't need this right now" whined Shikamaru annoyed; he really didn't want to get into a fight that was about to break out with everything else happening.
"Just try me Uchiha, I dare you" Neji spat holding onto Sasuke's collar.
"Why are you trying so hard to stop me from finding Naruto huh? When he's one of your own anyway?"
"How do we know that you haven't taken him anywhere, it wouldn't be a surprise considering that you've already betrayed the Leaf Village for some cracked 'brother' of yours that you claimed you hated no less…"
"Neji!"
The room froze.
The air froze.
The silence, crushing.
Tenten and the rest of the Leaf ninja team gasped at the below-the-belt comment. He'd gone too far. Sakura cringed; she'd been afraid of this.
An awkward, heavy, stinging, uncomfortable silence wiped through both teams of ninja and competed with the roaring loud wind outside for power after what had just been said. Sakura couldn't look at Sasuke. She couldn't exhale. It wasn't safe.
The personal ugly truth that had been on every Leaf ninja's mind for years was exposed. The truth that they were too afraid to speak out about. Sakura stared at the ground stiffly.
Sasuke's eyes turn a brilliant dangerous shade of red. He grabbed Neji tighter...The ignorant bastard Neji Hyuuga standing in front of him had no idea; no idea of the damaging floodgates he'd just opened. No idea of the struggle he'd just made mockery of...No idea.
"Mangekyo...Shari-" he whispered breathy.
Tenten, Ino and Shikamaru mobilised swiftly.
Sakura couldn't move.
"No Sasuke don't! Take him away" yelled Tenten from behind. Shikamaru pushed them apart while Tenten slapped her hands over Neji's eyes, pulling him away from the danger while Jugo and Suigetsu pulled Sasuke away to the other side of the room away from Neji.
"It's okay Sasuke, just let it go, he doesn't understand." said Jugo quietly as angry as he was that someone had hurt Sasuke.
"I swear I'll kill you if try me again. DO YOU HEAR ME?" Sasuke yelled furiously.
"Sasuke calm down" Kariin tried.
"Don't touch me" he said smacking her hands off his shoulders. "Just come here Kariin." he said fiery as she took a little skip to catch up with him and walk beside him.
Sasuke stormed into the kitchen fuming as Kariin came after him. He had his back to her...he needed a moment to calm down after the ordeal, he couldn't look at anyone.
"Damn those Leaf ninja!" he said slamming his fist on the wooden counter, making Kariin jolt with his aggression.
"Kariin where do you sense Naruto?" he demanded.
"Sasuke...like I said before, I can't sense him anywhere..." she whispered.
"Seriously? How can you not sense his chakra, he has a powerful fox spirit inside him that's hard to miss!"
"I know but there's nothing I can do if I can't feel it, it's not my fault...but Sasuke, I don't understand, he's that boy always chasing you. Didn't you say you don't care about him anymore? Why do you care so much now?"
"You're forgetting Kariin; we have an obligation to make sure that he's captured by the right people. I can't fulfil my own ambitions without this working. If Naruto's been taken by some lucky opportunist, then we have to go and get him back!"
"But we-you betrayed them, the one with the mask. We don't owe them anything anymore"
"I know, but Naruto is a highly valued prize for them so he can be used as leverage for a bargain if need be. I didn't want them to have power over me. I want to make my own decisions my way. I still want my revenge. I'm still hungry for the vengeance I haven't received yet. The Leaf...They took him from me..." he said looking away with his malicious red eyes.
Kariin didn't know what to say to appease him; she'd never seen him so aggressive. "Sasuke..." she said softly feeling guarded. "Are you okay...?"
"Go back to the living room; I'll be there in a minute"
Kariin walked away giving him one final worried look.
He was finally left alone with his thoughts. Sasuke tried to control his trembling hands. There was no use being angry because he knew that he would have his vengeance one day...he eyes shot up at the ceiling to keep the burning tears at the bottom of his eyes firmly locked inside. The wound...his wound was still too fresh...
As Sasuke stared up at the ceiling trying to keep his emotions at bay, his powerful red eyes...noticed it immediately.
Hiding in plain sight.
Dangling from above.
No wonder Kariin didn't sense it.
His shock grew. He should've turned his sharingan on a long time ago. All the other ninja in the house had no idea of the enormous jutsu he could see being used against them all...so much power...There was no way that they were in that house alone...
Back in the living room as Kariin walked back to Suigetsu and Jugo, everyone there noticed that she'd come back alone.
"Where's Sasuke?" Sakura asked Kariin. Kariin shot a nasty glance at her and sat back down next to Suigetsu not answering back. Sakura threw herself back into the black stool next to the fireplace again.
"Just forget him Sakura, that jerk needs to cool down" said Tenten still angry that Sasuke almost used a harmful ninjutsu on Neji. Jugo cracked his knuckles dangerously at her.
"Jerk? Did you just hear what Neji-?"
"-Sakura! Please don't start. It's not helping the situation. Everybody just calm down okay; we're all frustrated and it's making us irrational." said Shikamaru. Neji brows furrowed.
"So what are we going to do about Naruto already!" said Sakura.
"Okay how's about this, we wait for Naruto for another ten minutes and if he's not back by then, you and Neji will go into the forest and use his byakugan to scan the area again, we'll give you two ten minutes also. After ten minutes you two come back regardless of the outcome. If you two don't come back in ten, we'll come for you knowing that you might be in danger. If he still isn't found we all go find him together and this time we stay together. We don't have much choice. I say we stick with the plan and wait for Naruto and go look for him if he's not here in ten minutes then go from there. Is everyone okay with that?"
They all nodded their heads grateful that Shikamaru was their squad captain.
"Okay good. Then we wait. Ten Minutes."
4:50 pm
It was the longest ten minutes of Sakura's life. Naruto was still somewhere out there in the freezing blizzard. She sat on the cold stool, head buried in her hands in stress listening to the snow and wind hammering on the house. She then lifted her head up and looked around the room full of Leaf ninja and Taka. In a situation like this with no proper authority, strip away all the learning, tools and all they really were, she realised, were just teenagers stuck in a snowed in house in a foreign land, lost and not knowing what to do.
She looked over to Shikamaru lying back on the couch watching the clock now and then mounted high on the wooden wall and Ino sitting next to him looking disgustedly at Suigetsu eyeing her with a cheeky eyebrow lift and smirk with his large incisor poking out his top lip. Tenten had lit candles that Neji had mysteriously and conveniently found earlier, placing two on the coffee table. Then she walked back to Neji leaning against the wall and seemed to be reassuring him by talking to him softly. She noticed that Sasuke was still somewhere they didn't know.
She was watching everyone. Hearing only the terribly loud tick, tick, tick…of the clock in her mind, she realised that she was getting restless and anxious. Her eyes darted back to the bookshelf she'd seen earlier. Sakura stood up, completely fed up and hoping to kill time as she walked to the bookshelf with everyone's eyes following the only thing moving in the room besides the clock.
When she got to the large wooden bookshelf, she noticed crumpled pieces of paper shoved in between a few book spaces and pages; it added unkemptness to the otherwise neatly arranged shelf. She looked at the assortment of books, slightly intrigued by them, reading the spines of some of the books:
Broken Pieces of Silver, White Lotus, and Kunoichi on the Battlefield: A History of the Female Ninja…they all sounded interesting to her. She picked out the book titled 'Kunoichi on the Battlefield: A History of the female ninja' curious to find out about kunoichi before her time. She opened the book...
Betrayer of mine (5)
I will surely bury you (7)
You do seppuku (5)
Sakura's brows furrowed at the text in surprise; it was not what she'd expected. There was no research or narrative about female ninja she'd been hoping to read.
Instead the numbering written after each verse indicated that it was rather a somewhat grim haiku about killing a betrayer, or someone killing themselves by the 'seppuku' word. She swept out the mental image of Sasuke out of her mind. The betrayer... She flipped through the rest of the pages...
Blank, blank blank...
She noticed glumly that it was the only writing in the entire book. What could've been an interesting read for her was nowhere to be found. No history of female ninja, nothing. Sakura turned to the cover of the book to check who the author was. But the author's name was missing throughout; it wasn't written at the bottom of the page, below the poem, on the spine of the book or the back.
She slid the book back disappointingly back into place and read the spines of other books on the shelf. Then...
One book or its title in particular caught her attention. Merely looking at it made her heart beat faster. She stared at in curiosity and feeling uneasy. The book entitled:
'Hide and Seek'
Her mind shot back to the voice she'd heard in the forest. It had said something to the order of...hide and seek...she was sure of it. But was there a possible link...
Her hand shakily hovered over it curiously; she reached for it slowly...and touched it.
-Instantly a flash sparked inside her mind—
-A pink swing with rusted chains-
She gasped in shock and began sweating.
Sakura drew back her hand from the book and breathed. No doubt that she was completely spooked. It had happened too quickly for her to come to terms with what was happening. Her hands were shaking. Her eyes shifted towards the other ninja in the room. None of them seemed to notice that something clairvoyant and creepy had flashed in her mind...what was it...what did it mean...she wondered...why were all the unexplained events she experienced connected to that one concept...hide and seek...
Her curiosity spurred her on to touch the book again. Nothing. She took out the book cautiously and opened it...
Seek, seek, seek, seek
Seek, seek, seek, seek
Dopple
Grounded
Outside
hide hide hide hide
A place to hide
She once again flipped through the pages of the book...this time it was the same poem on every page exactly as it was. She placed the book back, happy that it made no sense; she had been spooked. Although she noticed this one was different than the previous poem.
It was written with furigana above the kanji characters and the writing was simplistic, which suggested that it was written by or for a child...She slipped the book back into its place on the shelf. So much for killing time...But that last one had been pretty close to messing with her head.
"What you got there Sakura?" She turned around and saw Shikamaru walking up to her with his hands in his pockets. She contemplated telling him what had happened to her but decided against it.
"Oh nothing much, it's a, well a bookshelf with obscure poetry so far. This one's dated about a year ago. Come see." she said hoping to distract him from the ticking time bomb. She picked out the book called 'Broken pieces of Silver' and flipped to a random page.
Ereben spoon
Ereben cups
Ereben plates
No one eating
No knife allowed
Once again, to Sakura's dismay, the poem was very vague; there was no reference or clue as to what it could mean or how to interpret it. She flipped through the pages and saw that it was the only poem in the book. Again. The rest of the pages were completely blank adding an odd nature to the books on the shelf.
"I don't think I understand it, but I've never really been one for poetry anyway" said Shikamaru shrugging.
"I don't get it either, these books are just useless" she sighed but still relieved.
She slammed the book and involuntarily looked at the time. Naruto had roughly less than one minute to arrive or a complicated search party would have to go looking for him. It wouldn't turn out good. She had no choice but to stroll back to her stool having lost the contest with time...it was back to...
tick, tick, tick…
She looked at the time restlessly, it was maddening. One minute is equivalent to sixty years with impatience. She was so afraid of having to go and search for Naruto with Sasuke and his bloody girlfriend alone, or just go outside with lurking dangers...But Naruto; she couldn't even imagine where he was in that kind of a storm...
tick, tick, tick...
Tenten looked over to Sakura. She was incredibly stressed. Guilt washed over her as she thought about the spat they'd almost started. She knew it was unfair to call Sasuke a jerk but Neji...she had to protect him. He was her teammate and she was loyal to him. But Sakura. She'd helped save Neji's life in a way that she wouldn't know how to. She swallowed her pride.
Tenten walked over to Sakura and crouched down to where she was sitting on the stool then placed a hand on her lap. Sakura looked at her apologetic eyes.
"I'm sorry Sakura, for what I said. It wasn't the best time..."
"Is Neji going to apologise for what he said?"
She took a pause after Sakura's annoyed vent. "You know Naruto's been through a lot worse; he can handle a storm like this" she whispered when time was almost up.
Sakura strapped on her backpack. "We'll just have to see about that won't we?
Sakura looked up to Shikamaru who nodded his head at her. She stood up and walked away to the door, as Neji followed after her. She didn't have time for any harsh feelings now; her only focus was finding Naruto"
Kariin sat next to Suigetsu by the coffee table still thinking about Sasuke. Watching the two Leaf ninja heading out to find the ninetails made her nervous. She straightened her glasses on her nose and wondered if she should make Sasuke aware that the Leaf was going to find their missing teammate.
"Where's Sasuke now? Is he still in the kitchen?" whispered Jugo. Kariin nodded her head and stood up. Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura, Neji and Tenten's eyes shot to her curiously like carnivores smelling meat. It wasn't going to be easy to inform Sasuke privately in the kitchen. If she even took one step in the direction of the kitchen, the Leaf ninja would be on to her. She looked at the time...ten minutes was almost up...
...Six...five...four...
Once the two Leaf ninja had left, she would have to chance it; run to inform Sasuke quickly before...
-PANG-
Kariin felt her body lose balance as a pang shot through her almost pushing her over. Luckily she was caught by Jugo.
"What was that- yelled Kariin involuntarily. Everyone stares fixated on her. She'd felt it vibrate through her entire body. A massive chakra force appearing out of nowhere.
-BANG!-
A loud single slam against the wooden wall outside made everyone jump in startle and placed them in high alert. The fright was not as unnerving as a faint voice trying to be heard from outside.
5:00 pm
"…'M'on let me in!...Freezing out here…'ikamaru, 'akura. Let .me in. Please guys…"
Sakura could almost scream. Her hand shot up to her mouth...it was finally her turn. Her turn to jump up in relief...
Shikamaru's eyes grew wide in shock...It was impossible...
The whiny loud voice was all too familiar to the Leaf ninja group who welcomed the voice at their stressful time. Ino, Tenten, Neji, Shikamaru and of course Sakura looked at each other auspiciously, with Sakura's eyes lighting up before Shikamaru walked to the door, opening it with disbelief etched onto his face...but he was almost trampled by the rambunctious gung-ho championed underdog and spitfire that he saw, enter, Naruto Uzumaki.
"Hey Naru-
"Shikamaru! What happened-where are we-oh my goodness-I'm freezing-I'm starving—we're all going to die-how am I going to eat ramen in this place?!" he yelled rapidly all in one breath jumping inside and looking around. "Where is Neji that jerk-I'm gonna kill him for leaving me behi-huh…"
Naruto looked behind Shikamaru at his only teammate present. Sakura could feel the heavy burden being lifted off her shoulders yet another one took its place. How was she going to protect Naruto where they were? Especially because of the whole Sasuke matter...
"Sakurah, Sakurah! You made it!" he said balling up his fists and punching the air in triumph then went over to her.
"Naruto, you're back, thank goodness." she said unable to help but laugh and hug him tightly. She could feel tears burn the insides of her eyes. Finally after hours of uncertainty. It was all over. They hugged for about another minute as everyone looked on. Then she had to take out her frustrations and relief by growling angrily at him.
"Naruto you idiot! Where have you been? We've been dying of worry!" she growled punching his blond head and shaking him by the collar.
"Ouch!…Sakurah. I'm s-sorry Sakurah, It wasn't my fault. Ahhh!" he whined. Everyone from the Leaf cracked in a smile or a light laugh even the inflexible Neji who at least, looked better than before. There was no one in the world quite like Naruto to cheer up a grim mood.
"Finally Naruto. What happened to you?" said Shikamaru smirking at the kid who fascinated him until the end of time.
"I don't know, I erm think that I hit my head after a blast-
Naruto's eyes shot up as he gasped in outrage. He'd just noticed most of the Taka sitting by the table. "What the hell are they doing here!" he spat pointing rudely at them.
"Ah it's the ninetails jinchuriki again. Here we go with the annoying loud talking and yelling" complained Suigetsu feeling wary as Jugo looked angrily and Naruto just the same. He was the one who'd gone crazy and attacked Sasuke which in turn made him lose control when he tried protecting Sasuke before the blast...
"Relax Naruto, we have no choice, they're sharing the space with us…for now" said Shikamaru.
"What? No way, since when have we ever allowed rogue ninja's on our team. I'm never going to 'share space' with them" He curled up his fist. "Where's Sasuke?"
The Leaf ninja kept quiet. Nobody dared point out Sasuke's location to the likes of Naruto. The same explosion of chaos would just erupt again like it had before the blast.
"He stormed off to the other side of that door." said Suigetsu pointing to the kitchen. Clearly he didn't care what the results of his actions could be.
"You Taka have no tact, do you? You want to have the same thing happen again to them. Sasuke is your teammate after all" said Neji shaking his head.
"No Neji! Stop it! Don't' say that. They're not Sasuke's team, we are. He is a Leaf shinobi" yelled Naruto narrowing his eyes at the Taka. All he wanted now was to go to the kitchen.
"Would you give it a rest already; we have a crisis on our hands before anything else."
"SASUKE!" Naruto called out to him.
"Oh here we go again!" groaned Tenten.
Sasuke walked in the room. Naruto's eyes shot to him immediately as did everyone else. The tension between them was frightening, especially because of the kind of passion Naruto had to his word of bringing back his best friend. All the history, rivalry, bitterness, anger, friendship, hatred and resentment reflected in both their heavy eyes.
"Sasuke" exclaimed Naruto quietly at him.
"Naruto, you made it. Took you long enough. Where were you? " he said looking over to his team.
Naruto flared his nostrils and narrowed his eyes.
"No Naruto don't do this again. It's partly the reason why were stuck here" said Sakura standing in front of him.
"Make sure that he doesn't disappear and keep him away from me!" said Sasuke casually.
"What did you say!" yelled Naruto. Sakura, Neji and Tenten blocked Naruto from advancing forward towards Sasuke while Jugo and Suigetsu flanked Sasuke leaning against the wall.
Shikamaru however didn't join the struggle. His eyes were solely focused on the only female of the Taka team and Ino noticed.
"What's wrong Shikamaru?" she asked.
"Something's off; there's just something about this house that's giving me the creeps"
"Like what? What do you mean?"
"I don't know...the timing. We all acknowledged that it was getting too dark for us to see. Then Neji sees two candles and a matchbox come from nowhere. Then we decided to wait for Naruto to arrive. Then he comes exactly after ten minutes...it's weird" he said staring back at the Taka girl.
Kariin was looking around wildly about the room wide eyed and alarmed as if she was seeing something only visible to her. She noticed Shikamaru looking at her and stared at him. She had hoped that they'd all forgotten about her outburst before the ninetails arrived but clearly the sharp Leaf ninja didn't. Judging by the look on his face, he wanted to know what she'd felt. What she'd felt before Naruto arrived.
Kariin was frozen. She tried to filter out the rambling and yelling of the ninetails. It had definitely been there. No doubt about it. It had disappeared in an instant.
It was another chakra, an intoxicatingly choking chakra different to the ninetails boy. But she'd felt it not even a second before the jinchuriki boy had arrived, and it disappeared just as fast...so whose new chakra had it been and where did it go. No way was it the rogue ninja, she would've still felt it...she couldn't hold it in any longer. She was incredibly frightened.
"Sasuke. What was that?" she said softly looking towards him leaning on the wall. Sasuke looked at her in surprise; so did the rest of the ninja group seeing her shocked face.
"What are you talking about?" asked Sasuke as everyone looked on.
"That chakra...whose extra chakra was that that I'd felt and just left, apart from this ninetails boy?"
"Did you sense another chakra? From whom? The rogue?"
"I don't know, it was incredibly potent but now it's completely gone. It's different from anyone I've felt. I can't feel it anymore." she said eyeing her Taka team who grew worried; Kariin always felt chakra continuously that had never disappeared.
"Why should we trust anything you say to us?" snapped Sakura.
"Because if you don't want to die, you'd better start believing me. The chakra that I sensed, it came and was gone a second before that ninetails boy arrived" she said. She tried thinking about it..."Wait a second, you there with the spooky dead looking eyes, did you say that you scanned the entire forest for the rogue ninja and didn't find any traces?" she referred to Neji.
"Yes" said Neji through gritted teeth and pausing after the offensive remark.
"And there are no footprints but our own in the snow outside..."
"Erm Kariin was it; do you sense any chakra of anyone outside but us?" asked Shikamaru.
"I can sense the chakra of everyone in the entire Grass Village hours away and all of ours in this room. There's no one and nothing in the forest."
Sasuke looked up at her; Kariin would never divulge any piece of information to strangers, something must've really spooked her.
Sakura looked away pensively and Shikamaru noticed, she'd just remembered something.
"What is it Sakura?"
"When I got here to this house earlier before I found anyone, there was a lantern hanging outside that had only just been blown out by the wind which means someone had just been here prior to us, and Neji didn't find any trace of the rogue in the forest when no one could escape his gaze, nor can this Kariin girl but the rogue ninja couldn't have escaped because even he must've known that a blizzard was coming…" she whispered with every word becoming breathy.
Shikamaru gave her a knowing look and she exchanged glances with him and even Kariin, she knew immediately that he was thinking the same thing, as she knew that he had such an elysian intelligence at problem solving.
Then it came.
It came like a creeping stalking realisation. The thought. The realisation. Kariin stood up slowly. She had no idea where the chakra had disappeared to but she did know where she'd felt it...it was alarming...
"Where did you feel this chakra last before it disappeared?" asked Shikamaru.
"Within this room...amongst us"
"So what does that mean exactly? You're scaring us a little here with all the suspense. Spit it out Taka" whined Ino.
"What? What is it, what have you discovered?" asked Neji with fourteen pairs of eyes staring intently at her. She took a moment to breath before answering him.
"It's one of us…it has to be…someone here is using some kind of transformation or body doubling jutsu to impersonate and blend in and is pretending to be either a Leaf shinobi or one of us Taka. One of us in this group is the rogue ninja…One of us is an imposter…" she whispered.
The information and realisation hit them all like a ton of bricks. All six Hidden Leaf ninja and Taka gasped in shock and stared suspiciously around...swift shooting eyes going around wildly scanning in full shinobi mode trying to find the cockroach among them...to try and figure out who it could be quickly in alarm. The rules had just changed...