V 10 Ch 9

Misinterpretation

Saori Nara stood in front of the Hokage in a small make shift room at the hospital. Beside her was Areku Inuzuka and Takori, a man she did not know. The Hokage had summoned all of them to meet with him that morning. She had her hands placed on her hips wondering what this was all about.

Takori stood with his arms crossed, legs apart in a wide stance. He had no idea why he was here. Cleaning up the village was his main focus. I hope this isn't pertaining to that Uchiha kid. He grumbled, rolling his eyes. That's all he needed. Takori assumed he was getting in trouble over a pretentious matter.

Naruto finally looked up from his paperwork, rubbing his temple. His stress level had gone back up after assessing the damage done to the village. Unfortunate people had perished in several major attacks. He ran his hand through his hair as he tried to focus on the ones in front of him. "Okay. Sorry about that. I need you three to form a small team. Your mission is to follow Daiya Uchiha's group out of the village. I want all of you to be cautious, swift, and let him scan for the enemy." Naruto pulled out a scroll. He unraveled a map, placing his finger on a particular location. "This is where the two teams will split up. One will head to the Forest village to retrieve Team 6. Saori, your group will be headed to the Sand village. I need aid from Gaara. Tell him what has happened. See if he is able to spare any men to help us for a period of time."

"So you want me to talk to Uncle Gaara as a diplomat," Saori said. She smirked. "I've never been put in a formal situation like this."

"That's why Takori is going with you," Naruto said. "We can't treat this as a casual affair. Gaara's decision will be based on the intelligence he recieves from his men. More than likely, he already knows."

"So why hasn't he sent anyone if he's aware," Areku asked.

"Protocol," Naruto said leaning his mouth against his clasped hands. "He wants to hear it straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak."

"Two kings won't underestimate the other's abilities nor knowledge of how to rule. To simply send men straight away to another king's territory is an insult," Takori said finally speaking. "Or it's an act of war."

"Okay, when are we leaving," Areku said. He didn't like leaving the village after a massive assault. He was still quite angry at his mother, Kashira, being one of the injured. Ichigo whined a bit as she sat beside his feet.

"In fifteen minutes," Naruto said. He tilted his head to the shelf of medical supplies. Three packs of food and preparation had been set up on the shelf. "Your supplies are ready. Suit up and meet Daiya's team at - what remains - of the entrance to the village."

"Understood," Saori said.

(Scene Change)

Teine ran down the path, her long brown hair swishing back and forth. She had heard from Aoi that Goro had been given a last minute mission. She couldn't help feeling overwhelmeed about everything occuring around her. She was swamped at the hospital dealing with those that were injured. Now, she was finding out that her only family was going on a dangerous mission outside the village. She finally saw him standing with his side to her, hands in his pockets, sporting a back pack. Goro was watching the other two he had been paired with, cautiously.

Before she even yelled his name, Goro caught her scent on the wind. Damn. Who told her? He turned around walking towards her in a rush.

"Goro," Teine said panting. She felt her arm grabbed as he began to pull her out of view. "What's wrong," she asked bewildered. He pulled her behind rubble forcing her to duck behind it.

Goro's hard gaze stared at her. "How did you find out where I was?" He saw her get dumbstruck. Goro waited until he saw her touch her index fingers together. "Teine."

"Well... Aoi." She saw her brother snarl his usual expression of disgust. "You can't leave and not tell me where you're off to. What if you don't come back?"

"Secret mission," he said quieting her. "Aoi needs to keep his ANBU'ed butt out of my affairs." Goro stood up. "The other team is here. I don't have time for this."

Teine clutched her light pink kimono. "That's what father said when I asked he and mother not to leave that day." She threw that at her brother, who acted just like their old man.

"Teine, don't you dare do this," Goro warned.

"You're just like-," she started until he muffled her words by pressing her into his chest.

"Tell Aoi to stay out of my damn business," Goro said finally before he let her go. He left her standing there as he walked to the group ahead of him. He really didn't have time to console his sister.

(Scene Change)

Yanagi was slammed against the wall, her vision going dark for a few seconds. Her head swimmed as the room came into proper view. What... happened...? Ateru and Tachiba had been in front of her as they made their way down the hall until they had reached the room where the Morikage resided. The Shinobi guarding the doors had been taken care of easily by Ateru. But once the doors had been openeed, they entered to find the Morikage missing. Somehow, Yanagi had ended up on the floor.

She tried to lift her head, only for it to fall down again. It felt heavy. Her limbs were sluggish, refusing to cooperate with what her mind was telling them to do. Yanagi tried to speak, to call out, but her mouth wouldn't make any sounds. Her ears picked up the sound of air coming into the room they were all in. Her eyes searched the walls. There were small holes at the very tops of the walls where the air was coming from. Gas.

Yanagi flopped her head around, eyes finding Ateru and Tachiba both near her, their backs to her. The Morikage had taken extra precautions to secure his area. He knew he would be found out eventually. She tried again to lift her head, to again call out to the guys, to no avail. the gas had numbed her body. Her eyes started to go blurry, vision clouding over. The room in front of her seemed far away; a dream.

"I can't leave you alone for five minutes," an angry voice said. Yanagi felt her collar being lifted, body coming off the floor. She was being dragged out into the hall near Ateru who was leaned against the opposite wall. She heard the man groan. He was coming to.

Idai held his sword on his shoulder as he looked at them with bitter shame. "Running into a dangerous situation head first..." He rotated the sword as he held the other one straight out. A gust of wind cycloned into the room. It was so strong, the back wall blew away, revealing a hidden room of dead Kasha. Idai tilted his head. He walked straight into the ominous room, his ears listening. "The Morikage isn't even in this building," he said turning around.

Ateru wobbly stood, holding his head with both of his hands. He blinked his eyes amazed it was actually Idai. "You're back to normal, I see."

Yanagi sat up. Tachiba was just now waking up from his drowsy state. "You were supposed to take care of the guards down there," she told Idai.

"Idiot. They're fighting the Kasha. The Morikage has fled the building, so why guard it to preserve it," he said annoyed as hell. "Get up," he ordered, his eyes stern. "That asshole is going to get it from me."

Tachiba looked for Nuguru. Idai opened his kimono collar to let the blue bunting loose. "I was afraid you had gotten yourself in trouble."

"He has more sense than the three of you," Idai said turning back around. "Where is Masaru?" He walked off with his hand on his hip expecting the boy to come out of the shadows.

"Why are you angry," Yanagi asked as she went after her team mate.

"Why? The next time you see it fit to let Ryokuzu out, in this chaos, don't!" Idai still had Kasha blood all over his face and clothes. "I almost went insane!" He was thoroughly pissed off about being lost mentally for so long. Idai hated cleaning up someone else's mess. "In fact, here's an order: Find Masaru and kill these things."

Ateru hadn't expected the Morikage to use his tower as a decoy, in order, for him to make a run for it. "Tachiba, help her. I'll go with Idai," he said gruffly beginning to question the fate of the village.

(Scene change)

Kaiya struggled to pull the blond haired boy from Team 6 out of the debris from the massive tree overhead. As she grunted freeing his upper body, she stopped. There was wood lodged into his shoulder. If she were to remove it, Masaru would bleed to death. Kaiya took out a kunai sawing the wood piece down to an inch on both sides.

She watched as the Kasha swarmed the huge tree. Explosions sounded off at the top of the tree, drawing her attention. Quickly, she bandaged Masaru's shouldeer. Once he was free of the building's remains, Kaiya shook him. "Masaru! Masaru!" Her voice yelled, not sure how much blood he had lost. Masaru's head slumped. He's not dead. Not yet. She lifted him to a sitting postion, her mind racing with options.

The Forest village was being overrun by the Kasha demons. She had no idea where his or her team mates were. The area around her was unsafe. Kaiya lowered her goggles. She threw her puppet down. With a kunai in her hand, she etched a message onto the front of the puppet. "I am safe. I have Masaru." Kaiya lifted the boy onto her back. She ran away from the Forest village at high speed. There was nothing she could do. I have to save one person from the Kasha.

Nuguru flapped his bright blue wings moving swiftly through the demons. He made noises distracting them as Tachiba and Yanagi laid waste to the ones in their way. The Kasha jumped from all sides trying to subdue them. Another part of the tree broke away, one of its smaller branches starting to crack.

Yanagi grabbed Tachiba's arm pulling him with her. "Going down to the first floor," she said leaping off the tree. Nuguru dove like a missile after them.

"Please, tell me you have a plan," Tachiba said as they fell.

"Not really," Yanagi yelled.

A smaller bent branch came into view. Yanagi prepared herself for impact. Her feet hit the wood causing a shock to go painfully up her knees. Tachiba almost fell off as he hit the branch. They slid down the wood until they tumbled onto the ground. Tachiba groaned, lifting his head. "Lets not do that again," he said.

"Yeah. That wasn't well planned out," she admitted. Yanagi stood looking around. "The Kasha aren't coming after us. We're completely out in the open unprotected."

"They're after the tree. Come on. We have to find your team mate. Hopefully, he hasn't been eaten."

Nuguru flitted around lighting up the ground for the two kids to be able to see. He darted back and forth as Tachiba instructed him, only stopping at each spot for a few seconds. So far, there were no signs of Masaru.

"You said when you were all together, a building fell on your team," he asked. Tachiba ran around searching the area. There were a ton of broken pieces of wood lying everywhere. "Yanagi," Tachiba said getting her attention. "If he's out here, under all of this, he's going to be impossible to find."

"I can't leave him. He's the Hokage's son," she said with emphasis. "Idai will be angry as hell if I don't locate him."

Tachiba kept looking, but something else bugged him. "Why are you afraid of your team leader," he finally said. There was still no sign of Masaru.

"It has nothing to do with fear. Idai's had a difficult start in his life. And when he was added to our team, there was hostility and rejection because of where he came from," she said moving swiftly to cover ground. "What Kiba sensei expects of our misisons as a unit is high. We are not to fail." An object off in the distance caught her eye. "Tachiba, what is that?"

Tachiba had Nuguru hover over the dark object. "It's Kaiya's puppet." He knelt down. "There's a message carved into the wood. She has your team mate." He looked around. "For her to ditch Hax, it must have been a dire decision."

"Where could they have gone," Yanagi asked as they both stood, their heads turning towards the dark forest.

(Scene Change)

Ateru stepped his large heavy rock form along the tree, his eyes scanning for the damaged parts. his yellow eyes followed the Kasha as they kept attacking. Idai was slaughtering them as much as he could, but the young team leader was running out of energy. "Idai, we can't keep this up."

"Then what do you suggest we do," Idai yelled sending several Kasha back with a wind blast.

"Preserve the tree," Ateru said gruffly. Before anyone could object, he opened his mouth wide spewing molten lava all over the bruised wood. He wasn't concerned with saving the buildings. His only focus was the tree itself.

"Are you crazy," a man yelled at him. "We've been working to the bone to remove these things, Ateru!" He clenched his fists.

Kinari ran towards the fire coming from Ateru's lava blast. "Wait! He's not doing it to destroy the tree! Lava has a property in it that makes soil more fertile! Wait!" They started to push him aside while the other men threw insults at his trainer. "You have to believe me! It's the truth!"

Ateru kept covering the tree with lava. The Kasha screamed at his effort of removal. They began to move back for fear of becoming one with the tree instead of devouring the dead that were at the top. He swung violently at a hoard of the demons that were trying to encase the ninja around him.

Idai was getting angry at how long they had remained in the village fighting these things. He regretted sending Yanagi away to locate Masaru. If something had befallen the Hokage's son, he was sure Konoha would turn against him. He yelled as he swung his blade, another gust of wind slicing through the Kasha that got too close.

Ateru moved along the branch regardless of someone with his massive size. He continously patched the wood in places that he was able. If he couldn't fix the bark that surrounded the tree village, he simple broke apart the badly damaged pieces. They fell below into the abyss. Ateru continued upon his rampage, the Kasha retreating since they were unable to access the top of the tree. Lava flowed down the sides preventing any new hoards from making their way up. Now, the forest-nin were having a more controlled time of slaughtering the foul creatures that remained.

Idai breathed hard, his eyes staring out at the damaged tree. Miasma. The slaughtering of the Kasha has released a lot of negative energy. He slung his head to the left, his vacant stare finding Ateru. "Hey, Ateru sensei, what do you propose we do about the miasma?"

Ateru plopped backwards onto the tree, his robust exterior crashing down. He hunkered over chest heaving as his golem form deteriorated. He returned to the form of a man. "I'm at my limit," he breathed. "I can't do everything around here."

Meanwhile in the forest, Kaiya set Masaru down against a tree. His head went forward. She checked his neck for a pulse, her finger going straight to his jugular vein. "Masaru, can you hear me?" Kaiya shook the boy lightly. "Masaru," she begged, "Answer me."

Masaru Uzumaki opened his eyes unexpectedly fast. It was dark. He gasped the pain in his shoulder surfacing for the first time since he was unconscious. He yelled out not realizing Kaiya was inches from his face.

"Wait! Don't move! Your shoulder has been pierced," she said putting her hands on his arms firmly to hold him still.

Masaru couldn't think straight with the amount of pain he was in. He began to fight Kaiya, the seething torture of the wood lodged in his shoulder driving him over the edge. Masaru had never been wounded to this extent. He screamed loudly, his head tilting backwards. Masaru's hand wrapped around the piece of wood, trying to free it from his body.

"No!" Kaiya pulled on his wrist using all her strength to keep him from succeeding. If he pulls it out, he'll bleed to death in a matter of minutes! She kept her hold on him with her knuckles turning white. The forest village was forgotten. The betrayl of the Morikage left her mind. All of the destruction they had endured, the sorrow, the loss of her home - seemed trival. Kaiya had to keep Masaru alive.

Tears crept out of her eyes. She wasn't able to fix this. Her mission was a failure. Her team discarded amongst the ruins of the village. Kaiya couldn't problem solve this. "Masaru, you have to bear this for the sake of your family! You have to be stronger, to fight this!"

Masaru heard her words, but the pain he bore was greater than anything he had ever dealt with. The wood moved closer to being dislodged. There were no thoughts of his family, nor his current life - only his situation. And Kaiya was no match for his determination to be free from torment.

Masaru pulled the object out of his skin and flesh. The release of it finally gave in to his consciousness. A rush of cold washed over him quickly. He gasped not expecting it. Masaru fell over, his head hitting the ground as he bled out.

Kaiya kept saying his name over and over, but his eyes showed no recognition of her. She put her hands on the bloody gaping hole in his shoulder trying to stop the main artery from bleeding out its entire resevoire.

Yanagi Lee came busting through the brush with Tachiba and his blue bunting, Nuguru. They had managed to follow Masaru's screams at high pace through the dark forest. Yanagi didn't have to ask Kaiya what had happened. Masaru was lying in a small pool of blood. "I need all of your bandages now," she yelled to the forest-nin. Ripping open his shirt, Yanagi saw the extent of the wound. "There's no time, Kaiya!" She grabbed the girl's hands pressing them hard on the correct spot for the main artery in the shoulder. "Don't stop no matter what! His life depends on it! Tachiba! Find the largest branch you can!"

He looked at her baffled. "You want me to find a bigger piece than what was in him?" He moved his hand sending Nuguru to scout the area.

"It's what was preventing the blood from escpaing," Kiaya shouted.

Tachiba took off after Nuguru.

Yanagi kept pressing her hands with Kaiya, her thoughts racing for other solutions. They were out in the wilderness with limited supplies. Hurry, Tachiba!

"How do you know what to do," Kaiya asked as she saw Yanagi moving her hands, concentrating.

Yanagi took the piece from Tachiba and slammed it into the wound. "My mom was trained with medical knowledge." She had also been trained by her mother working at the hospital. It was important for Yanagi to know how to endure hardship and overcome medical emergencies for the sake of her team.

Masaru's body jerked, but he was too weak to move further.

Tachiba watched Yanagi in fascination of her knowledge and abilities. She placed her hands on Masaru's chest. Closing her eyes, Tachiba saw a blue light come around her. She's transferring her chakra to him.

Yanagi opened her eyes when she was finished. Her shoulders went forward, body rolling backwards until she fell. Kaiya caught her. "I'm sorry. This is the first time I've used it on an actual person."

"Is he...," Tachiba started.

"He's still in trouble. I only gave him the chakra needed to keep his organs functioning. Masaru's going to need a blood transfusion." Yanagi started to lift her teammate, but Tachiba placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I'll carry him," he offered. "You've done more than we could to save him." Once Masaru ws secure on his back, Tachiba ran back to the village.

"What about the Morikage," Kaiya asked moving with them.

"He's gone," Tachiba said. "Our only hope is to destroy the Kasha. That coward probably fled as soon as we began defending the village."

(Scene change)

Idai stood on the ground, his body immersed in demonic blood. His anger had gotten to him so badly that he had taken it out on anything left behind after Ateru had retired. He glanced upwards from the trunk of the massive tree, taking in its strange shape. It looked like a waxed figure standing out in the open. The lava was finally cooling off. The Kasha that were on the ground had taken refuge fleeing into the forest. Morning sunrise was peeking over the vast trees surrounding the remains of the village.

Kinari was devastated at the huge branches he used to walk upon now fallen below. He hopped down, his head turning to search for Idai. He saw the team leader waving his sword, flinging buildings and dead Kasha away, out of anger.

The battle was over, but the Morikage had vansihed from all sight. When the guards had gone to investigate the tower, they found no trace of their leader. His quarters were bare. He had fled amongst the chaos. Up top, there was a debate going on amongst all of the ninja. Kinari sighed at how complex the adults were being. All he cared about was saving the village. He thought that was top priority.

Ateru sensei had done that. But now they were without a leader, or a plan to rebuild the village. His thoughts were cut short as a blue bunting shot in front of him. Kinari knew instantly it was Nuguru. He turned his head to look in the wake of the bird to see the rest of his and Idai's teams hastily running towards them.

Idai flew straight at them catching on to their heightened alarm. "How great are his injuries," he said running backwards as he kept up their pace. Yanagi shook her head. Idai put his two fingers to Masaru's throat checking himself. "He's fading," he said. "Hand him over!"

Idai cradled Masaru with one arm against his chest as his other hand withrew his sword. He rotated the blade at his feet, sending himself upwards in a shot of air.

Ateru was standing trying to talk to his fellow commrades about his decision. "My duty is to save our village and our people. We have no idea where the Morikage has gone, but he was the one behind all of this! Don't any of you find it strange how much knowledge he had of the Kasha?"

"He's the leader. His knowledge is supposed to be greater than our own," a man argued.

"Where is your proof he was the one responsible for what occurred," another asked.

"My students have seen it," Ateru protested.

"We're supposed to believe three kids who are just starting their ninja training," the same man from before asked. "What you're saying is treason! Accusations against the Morikage without proof is treachery," he warned.

"The man just saved your butts and this is how you repay him," Idai shouted from behind the group. Idai waited for the group to stop their quarreling. "Ateru sensei, he needs medical aid."

Ateru turned around ignoring the motley crew. His face showed great concern as he felt Masaru's weak pulse. He looked over his shoulder giving direct orders. "Medical aid is needed at once! We have a critical kid over here!"

Idai watched as Ateru took Masaru from his arms. He held the Hokage's son as he would his own, his hand upon the boy's head as he ran towards a medic-nin instead of waiting for him to arrive. A swollen lump of sadness hit Idai harder as Masaru's form faded away. Had he done the right thing? People swarmed around him in all directions assisting the injured. Now people were coming out of the hollow tree entrances inspecting the damage of their village. A lot of them gasped, overwhelmed at the damage to their home.

An older woman held her hand over her mouth. "Where will we live," a little girl asked. "We are safe, Yonko. They saved the tree. It can flourish once again," the old woman said. "Who has covered the tree like this," she asked the ninja standing around. She touched the hardened substance on the bark.

"It was Ateru," a man said. "He thought his lava jutsu would protect the tree from the Kasha and prevent further destruction."

"He was correct in doing so. Volcanic soil is the most fertile on our planet. Our tree did not die. It has been preserved. He is to be commended for his actions," she said with authority.

"Yes, Lady Wata," the man said bowing lowly.

Idai furrowed his brows. This old woman had some kind of high recognition in the forest village. He felt others standing next to him. "Ateru sensei took Masaru. I don't know where."

"Are they talking about having Ateru sensei imprisoned? That can't be true," Kaiya said angrily. Her trainer had done nothing wrong.

"They're not believing the Morikage was the one who lured the Kasha here," Idai said. "Come on, we have to find out where they took Masaru," he said to Yanagi. Idai didn't want to get involved in Forest village politics.

(Scene change)

Daiya Uchiha, of Team 2, shot through the trees with his newly formed Retrieval Team. His concentration increased once his team had departed from Saori's group. He had learned through intense training with his adopted father, Sasuke, to drown out outside noises and energies that were irrelevant. However, his mind was slowly becoming fatigued using his kekkegenkai for an extended period of time. Daiya had not used this ability without his father being present. So far, the results were turning up nothing. He placed his hand to his head pinching the space between his eyes.

Kiba Inuzuka kept his pierce eyes scanning as they moved through the area. Mebae leapt alongside him, the black canine with one eye listening intently for any sign of an enemy attack. The entire three man cell was on edge.

Goro kept his gaze on Daiya. The kid was only fifteen-years-old and had been handed down the duty of team leader. It wasn't that he couldn't take orders, or follow another person's lead. It was the strain he noticed on Daiya's face every time they touched down to leap. "Hey. If you're not picking up anything, perhaps you should take a break."

"I'll do what I was assigned," Daiya said dismissing Goro's concern.

Kiba looked at Goro. "He's not goign to listen. Daiya's hard headed."

"No, I'm defiant," he said correcting Kiba. "You're not my sensei or my father." He started to move faster trying to prove to them he could fullfill his task set by the Hokage.

"Yeah, but that's the same thing," Kiba protested at the boy. "Don't take offense. He'll only listen to Sasuke on most missions," he told Goro trying to ease both of the boys.

"That's going to be a problem in the long run," Goro said lowly. He kept swiftly moving in the group his attention solely on Daiya. They had to get to the forest village in one piece. And if Daiya became too fatigued to travel, he was going to be a burden. I've become a professional babysitter..

(Scene change)

The Uchiha house was eerily quiet. Daiya was gone on a mission to retrieve Team 6 from the Forest village. He was left alone in the abode by himself. Takeru slammed his back against the kitchen wall as he sat on the futon on the floor. His father and mother were out doing what they could to assist the village. He had the unfortunate task of working on the house. Suiren slithered pass the room, her head turning, tongue flickering to make sure he was still there. "I'm not going anywhere," he said throwing his pillow at the water moccassin. She hissed at him angrily.

Takeru punched the futon.

How am I going to look for Onari if I'm grounded? I'm not allowed to leave the village for any mission, much less, the house! And ever since I got into that fight with Gin and that Jounin, everyone has avoided me. People are saying I shouldn't have had Uso to begin with. The Hokage is, also, disappointed in me.

Takeru moved his hand through his hair roughly. Ryu won't talk to me either. Takeru saw everyone's backs turned to him. His chest hurt. Ryu was his best friend. And he idolized him a lot. He felt incredibly stupid for acting without thinking. "Dad was right. I have ashamed the Uchiha."

Sasuke stood quietly at the entrance of his house. He closed his eyes. What Takeru was experiencing was life. This was not something Sasuke could correct himself. Takeru was going to have to prove to everyone he was worthy of the Uchiha name. And that he had the right to the celestial dragon. Things are going to be a lot tougher from here on out.

(Scene change)

Kando stood with his hand folded on top of the hoe, his gaze aimed straight at Onari. "You've not been very forthcoming with who you are," he started. The girl's head lowered, body stance changing to a defensive pose. He didn't move towards her. "Your body language is that of tension and warning."

Onari knew ahead of time that he and Akiru were discussing her when she wasn't around. "I don't want anything from you." She turned around walking off from him. Kando was only an encounter for her. Onari had no intention of getting close to anyone. As she left the field, she set out trying to think where to go. But as she thought, her body ran straight into a fence.

Onari looked up trying to decipher where the fence had come from. Her head flipped around. She was still in the vegetable field. Genjutsu. Onari's gaze shifted to look at Kando with shock.

He smiled at her. "I wasn't finished. It's bad behavior to dismiss others so easily."

Onari withdrew two kunai flinging them straight at Kando. She hunkered down preapring to run at him to knock him over. That was, until she saw the kunai go through his body, passing to the other side. It was a copy.

"Behind you," Kando said hitting her square in the middle of the back. He flipped the hoe over, catching her shin. With one pull, he caused Onari to land on her stomach.

Onari pushed up off of the ground with the palms of her hands as she supported her weight on her elbows. Dipping her head forward, her back legs came up, knees bent, the soles of her feet hitting Kando in the side of the head. He went flying over her as she wrapped her knees into her chest, somersaulting over the ground to regain her balance. Again, Onari threw kunai at Kando trying to make contact.

Kando brought his hoe up twirling it to block the ninja blades. They hit the wooden handle instead. He moved back with Onari coming at his face, her arms swinging to make contact. She's fast. A little too fast. As Kando struggled to miss her fists, he noticed her foot work was not up to par. He stuck his foot out, leaning back the moment a right hook came at him. He successfully tripped Onari. She hit the ground so hard, her body went forward several feet. Kando took a deep breath to calm himself. I'm out of shape. "As I was saying, you've had training from somewhere. People don't just wander up this part of the mountain," he said.

Onari coughed having the wind knocked out of her. She sat up slowly expecting Kando to try and bind her, but he didn't move. He was keeping a safe distance away from her - and for good reason. Despite her limited training, her taijutsu was no laughing matter. Onari would have never assumed he was also a ninja since he was portraying a farmer.

Kando tilted his head. "I have no reason to alert anyone of you. I, honestly, don't think I could take you in. I'm really behind on my training," he admitted with a slight smile. "You seem to be an inexpereinced confused person, Onari."

Onari moved her head to the left and right several times trying to put the words she did not know together. "I am not an officer," she said wondering why he thought she was. Onari just stared at him.

"Officer? Inexperienced," he said again with Onari shaking her head. She can't be serious. "You do not know the word. You're kidding." This had him a little amused.

"I have said nothing funny," Onari said rather seriously.

"Okay, you don't understand harder words," Kando said watching how her eyes darted whenever he shifted his weight. She was focuing on his body language to determine his motives. "What ninja association are you a part of?" She shook her head. "Oh, boy. Who taught you ninja skills?"

"Brother Neji, Brother Shikamaru, Brother Kiba, Lee sensei, Izumi," Onari rambled.

"Yeah, I don't know who they are," Kando said not recognizing the names. "You have a lot of brothers. Is that who you're runing from?"

"Onari is not running from brothers. I only have one brother," she said confusing Kando even more. "Why are you interested in brothers?"

Akiru decided it was time for her to step in. She walked quietly to the girl kneeling over with her hands on her knees, long hair in a ponytail falling over her shoulder. "Kando is asking where you live."

Onari looked away. "I live nowhere," she said. "Onari is alone."

"You do not have a family," Akiru asked in her motherly tone.

Onari shook her head again. "Mother and father were killed by uncle." She looked up at the two adults who were now relaxed and overly concerned. "What?"

"You say that a little too casually for my taste," Kando admitted. "When did your parents die?" He saw Onari working the equation out in her head, her eyes squinting.

Onari moved her hand out hovering it to her shoulder. She indicated the height of herself at the time of her father's death. Now that she was older, it wasn't bothering her as much; yet, she felt the need to avenge their deaths. Onari knew her parents didn't deserve to be killed the way they had been.

"Onari, someone taught you to fight. Where did you learn to attack," Akiru asked with a sweet voice.

You're being way too obvious, Kando thought.

"Village," Onari answered truthfully.

"Which village," Kando asked. "There are a lot of villages in the surrounding areas." He had to figure out where this kid was from.

"Tooth," Onari said.

"Tooth," Kando and Akiru said at the same time, not understanding.

"Tooth," Onari said again sure of herself.

"There isn't a 'Tooth' village anywhere that I have heard of," Kando said of Onari's mispronunciation and association of words.

"Why are you not in your village," Akiru pondered.

"Onari is in trouble," Onari said shying away as she was interrogated.

Kando approached her with his hands open to show her he had nothing on him to harm her with. "Ninja who leave the village and do not return are dealt with," he said kneeling down to look her straight in the face. "They will erase you, Onari. Kill you," he said in simplier terms.

"Kando is correct," Akiru said. "They cannot find you or you will be living your last moments. You know too much of the poeple in the village where you are from."

Onari narrowed her eyes.

"You already stated you were in trouble. Think of this as the most trouble you're going to ever get in," Kando said picking his hoe off the ground where it had fallen. "No one will find you here. There are traps in all directions of this place. My home is a lookout point for my own village."

"What village," Onari asked quizzically. She really had no clue where she had ended up. Onari was not familiar with the areas around the fire country.

"Valley," Kando answered. "Our village has no quarrels with anyone. I plan to keep it that way. Therefore, it is against my judgment for you to leave. I don't know what secrets you have, but I suggest you keep them."

(Scene Change)

Idai stood over Masaru Uzumaki with a grim expression on his face. All of the wounded were laying on the ground on top of blankets. The forest village was no more. The medic-nin were concentrating on the worst case scenarios involved in the Kasha attack. Masaru was one of the few who was critical. The hole in his shoulder had been patched by using extensive medical knowledge and concentration of the wound itself.

His body energy was very low. Idai, regrettably, was not a blood donor type for Masaru. Instead, it had been Ateru sensei, who was being heavily watched by his comrades. They still argued about the Morikage's involvement. Kinari and his team were hell bent on retrieving proof from the caverns deep in the forest. They had left as soon as the village was secure.

"He's really pale, isn't he," Yanagi said. Her short pink hair fell over her cheeks. She was worried about Masaru's recovery. There had been little change since he had been helped by the medic-nin. "Idai, this is the first mission we've ever failed as a team."

Idai didn't want to think about the misison they had taken without their trainer. He already felt hopeless as a team leader. Yanagi was the only one in his group who knew anything about the human body. Regarding Masaru, Idai was questioning his own leadership. What if something happened to Yanagi, or they all got killed because he wasn't able to do anything?

Ateru walked over realizing how heavy the atmosphere was with the Konoha team. He wasn't concerrened about the speculations surrounding himself at all. In fact, he was more disgusted how his attempts at defeating the Kasha were going unrecognized. "Neither of you can do anything for him right now. Standing there looming over him like crows won't help. Both of you need a break."

"What are we supposed to do? Masaru is my responsibility. If he dies, it won't be just the loss of a teammate. He's the Hokage's son."

"And your village leader knows the risks and consequences of war," Ateru said matter-of-fact. "That's why you all are trained as shinobi. You learn how to protect, how to defend, and when mistakes are made, you hold responsibility for them - not blame."

"What difference is there," Idai said at an attempt to shoot down Ateru's advice.

"The difference is how much of a man you are. A man is responsible for his decisions and learns from them. If he places blame on himself, he only worries about his own outcome. And in saying, he should not have been made a leader over others. Your trainer saw something in you that qualified you as a leader. Dont' dobut your own abilities, Idai. Or you'll continue to make mistakes." Ateru placed his hand on the top of the boy's red hair. "You have to learn from this. That's all you can do in situations like these."

Yanagi took Idai and Masaru's hands, holding them with her own. "We have faith in you, Idai. We're new at this, too. We won't falter with you and Kiba sensei. Whether it's you alone giving orders, or Kiba sensei, we will follow you."