33. To the Rescue
It was the frantic pounding on my door that woke me.
My sleepy brain tried to block it out and I rolled over, mumbling tiredly. Until I heard shouting.
"Nakao!"
I bolted upright at the call of my name. Someone was shouting at my door loud enough I could hear it from here. It was a male voice, familiar, but my tired brain couldn't quite place it.
More pounding on the door. Any harder and the wood might splinter. "Nakao!"
I flung my blankets away from me. Swinging my legs over the side of my bed, I hopped out, landing on the floor to hear a sharp crunch. Gasping, I stumbled back to see that I had stepped on the picture frame I'd left on the floor last night. Though it had not hurt me, the glass had shattered, starting over Sasuke's face and branching out across the frame.
Shit!
"NAKAO!"
Picture frame forgotten, I dashed out of my room, hurtling down the stairs. I rushed to the front door, undoing the chain lock and throwing the door open wide.
"Shikamaru?" I blinked in surprise.
"Get dressed," Shikamaru said hurriedly.
"What's going on?" I asked quizzically.
Shikamaru shook his head. "No time. I'll tell you on the way. Just get dressed."
I didn't need further prompting. Still confused, I hurried back to my room, throwing on my clothes. I clasped my weapons belt around my waist, threw on my Chuunin vest, tied my brother's headband around my arm, and was dashing back downstairs.
"What the hell is going on?" I questioned Shikamaru as we ran down the streets of Konoha in the early morning light.
Shikamaru side-glanced at me, his expression grim and…nervous? "Sasuke's gone."
"Gone?" I blinked. "What do you mean he's gone?"
"Sakura raised the alarm early this morning. Last night, Sasuke left Konoha, headed for the Sound village. Tsunade-sama has sent us to retrieve him as our first mission as Chuunin. She thinks that Orochimaru's subordinates are guiding him," Shikamaru summed up the situation, finally coming to a stop in the village square.
I stopped beside him, words lost to me. He was gone? He…left?
"What are trying to do with Sasuke!?"
Orochimaru chuckled. "I thought I already told you, Nakao. I don't have to do anything. Sasuke will choose his own path."
"He'll never choose you," I whispered fiercely.
Orochimaru tutted. "Your loyalty is touching, Nakao, but Sasuke-kun-"
"Don't call him that!" I suddenly snapped.
A sickening grin spread across Orochimaru's face. He leered down at me, but I held my ground, gaze never wavering. I wouldn't let him see the fear in my eyes, only my contempt.
Betrayal flooded through me, stabbing at my chest. It nearly robbed me of my breath, this sudden wave of grief and anger. He'd really left us. He just walked out on us. Left us behind like we were nothing. Like I was nothing. After everything we'd both gone through-
"Nakao."
Shikamaru's voice pulled me from my thoughts and intense emotions. I hadn't realized I'd been shaking; my hands curled into fists, fingernails biting into my flesh. I hadn't noticed I'd squeezed my eyes shut, as if to close my eyes to reality. But I opened them, and trained my gaze on Shikamaru.
"I realize this is a personal mission for you, but we don't have a lot of time. We need to gather as many exceptional genin as we can and head after Sasuke," Shikamaru said carefully, as though he could see right through me, to the storm that raged in my heart.
I nodded, trying to push aside my feelings. I could do this. I'd done it many times before. And it counted now more than ever. Ruling my face, I nodded. "Right. I know just the people."
"Great. Find as many as you can then meet me at the village gates in half an hour."
"Hai."
"What!?" Naruto's shout sent my ears ringing.
I cringed, resisting the urge to cover my ears. I stood in Naruto's doorway. Naruto was still dressed in his pajamas and sleeping cap. The news of Sasuke's departure had robbed him of any signs of sleep and his eyes were wide and alarmed. I saw him shake gently and his jaw began to twitch. I tried to keep my composure.
"Wait a minute!" Naruto instructed before dashing inside. He emerged moments later and we sprinted in the direction I desired. I relayed what Shikamaru had told me as we ran.
"Do you have other exceptional genin picked out?" Naruto asked, glancing over at me.
"Yes," my eyes glanced up to the sun. "But we're almost out of time. I have one more in mind. Let's hope Shikamaru was able to procure a few others."
Minutes later, Naruto and I came to a stop at a very familiar house. Rushing up to the door, I pounded my fist against it with all my might. Seconds later, the door opened and a very sleepy Kiba glanced down at me.
"Nakao?" He mumbled, rubbing sleepily at an eye.
"Kiba," I said hurriedly. "Hurry up and get dressed. We have a mission."
Kiba looked thoroughly confused, but he did not waste time with questions. He closed the door and emerge a few minutes later fully clothed and Akamaru on his head.
"I'll explain on the way," I assured Kiba as I turned and dashed towards the village gates.
It seemed as though Shikamaru had just arrived when the three of us came to a halt just outside the village gates. Accompanying him was Chouji and Neji.
"Time's up," Shikamaru said flatly, his eyes hovering over Naruto and Kiba.
I was already assessing the situation. "Six people…"
It was far fewer than I would have preferred. If we were going to be facing a group of Orochimaru's subordinates, I had to admit, our underwhelming group filled me with hesitation. But there was no time for doubt right now.
Naruto punched a fist in the air. "Well then, let's go! Everyone, follow me!"
"Naruto," I placed a hand on my hips. "This is mine and Shikamaru's mission. We're in charge here."
Naruto peered at Shikamaru sourly. "Shikamaru? He doesn't seem very reliable."
I rolled my eyes.
"You should talk. So why are you acting like the boss, Naruto?" Kiba asked with a smirk. Naruto glared.
"Let's get to it," Neji spoke up. "What's our strategy? According to what you said, it is highly probable that our enemies could ambush us."
"Well since this a rescue operation, we'll be in the position of pursuit," Shikamaru said. "Which means the enemy already has an important advantage over us."
"And they're probably expecting us," I glanced to each genin in turn. "We have to maintain formation so we're ready to respond to an attack." I then turned a pointed stare at Naruto. "Which means, if one of you decides to disobey orders and screw up the formation, we're probably gunna die."
"Alright," Shikamaru glanced to me. "We'll go in a single-file strike formation. The most important position is the spear-head. Kiba, that's going to be you."
Kiba glanced up in surprise, and I explained Shikamaru's reasoning. He was much more adept at planning strategies than me, but at least I could follow along. "Since you and Akamaru go on so many walks in the area, you'll be most familiar with the terrain. And you'll be able to track Sasuke's scent with that nose of yours. And you should be able to sniff out any booby-traps."
Shikamaru nodded and Kiba shrugged.
Shikamaru glanced over to me. "Nakao, you take the position behind Kiba. That way, he can relay information to you directly and you can make a split-second decision if need be."
I frowned. I felt like Shikamaru should be in my place. Not that I wasn't accustomed to making sudden decision in battle, but I'd never made a decision for so many people before.
Shikamaru continued. "Naruto, you'll be behind Nakao. You're the most capable of executing quick moves from either in front of you or behind you. You're the cornerstone."
"Your Shadow Clone Jutsu might be really useful here," I added quickly, and Naruto nodded.
"Fourth in line will be Chouji. You don't have much speed but your striking power is the greatest of everyone here. Kiba, Nakao and Naruto will launch a surprise attack, then you'll swoop in and finish them off. You're the second wave of the assault. I will be behind you in case something goes wrong in the back. That way we'll have planners on both ends of the line."
"Which leaves Neji in the back," I nodded, admiring the brilliance of Shikamaru's plan. "You can use your Byuukagan to scan for weakness in our ranks."
I scanned the boys around me. Each seemed confident, at least with their own orders. I envied this, but tried to mirror them. I was a leader now; but I still couldn't quite squash that nagging doubt.
Shikamaru knelt, finding a nearby stick and began drawing in the dirt.
"Take a look at this. This diagram shows what perimeter you are responsible for. Kiba look out from the font. Nakao is responsible for a wider, forward view. Naruto's got the left; Chouji the right. I'll have the wide view of the middle and the back if need be. And Neji will cover the entire area to the rear. I'll also have to check all of your gear to know what tools we can work with. Any questions?"
Naruto shook his head. The others only met his gaze intently.
"Since no one has anything to add, I've saved the most important thing for last. For as long as I've known him, Sasuke and I aren't exactly close buddies. In fact, I don't really like him at all. All the same, Sasuke's a ninja belonging to Konoha; he's a comrade and I'll put my life on the line to help him," Shikamaru said, his brown eyes flickering over each of us.
"Well on the 'Go Sasuke Team' over here…" I started, prompting the others to glance over at me. "I know you guys don't care much for Sasuke, but to Naruto and I, he's our friend and our teammate. To us, this mission means everything. I personally thank you for willingly sacrificing your lives."
Silence followed my words. Naruto looked at me sadly, clearly not missing my own sadness which had leaked into my voice. I kept my gaze steady, my shoulders squared, trying to look the part of squad leader. But in reality, I was terrified. Terrified that we would be too late. Or that Sasuke would refuse to leave with us. That he would break his bond with Konoha and with the rest of us; with me. That he would push me away. And forget about me.
"Okay," Neji interjected. "As soon as we check our gear, we'll go. Show your weapons."
All of us grabbed the gear we commonly used. Shikamaru and I glanced it all over, committing it to memory.
"Okay, let's move out," Shikamaru ordered. We turned towards the gates.
"Wait!"
The cry caught our attention and we all stopped, turning around. Sakura was running up to us, stopping before us looking rather pitiful. Arms at her sides, her face fallen in anguish, her shoulders shook as she cried.
"Are you alright, Sakura?" Naruto asked, concern plastered on his face.
"Sakura, you can't come," I immediately spoke up before she could ask. Sakura did not lie under the 'exceptional genin' group and would only be a hindrance. Even if she hadn't been the emotional wreck that stood before me.
"I know you tried to stop him, Sakura, but there's nothing else you can do for him," Shikamaru tried softly.
"Wait, what? Sasuke turned his back on you!?" Naruto exclaimed, an edge in his voice.
Fresh tears welled in Sakura's green eyes and she ducked her head as tears streamed down her cheeks. But she couldn't hide the choking sobs. "Naruto…this is a once in a lifetime request, just bring him home. Please bring Sasuke back to me."
In retrospect, her words shouldn't have mattered; not in the face of the current situation. Regardless, they felt like a slap to the face. Back to her?
A small flame of anger sparked in my chest. How dare she. Where was she that night when I tracked Sasuke to our bridge? Where was she anytime he was suffering? Back to her indeed. Sasuke never even liked her.
Naruto glanced away from Sakura, his muscles tense. But he forced a smile on his face. "Wow…you must really care about Sasuke huh? You must be in pain right now."
Naruto's own pain was enough to pause my obsessive thoughts. My heart went out to him, and my irritation went out to Sakura. Did she need to constantly throw her feelings for Sasuke in Naruto's face? When she clearly knew how Naruto felt about her? I understood the pain of caring for someone more than they cared for me. Maybe that was another reason Sakura and I couldn't get along-on top of all the others.
"I know you like Sasuke, Nakao," Sakura's voice echoed around the room.
I'd just come inside from lunch. I was still struggling to cope with the fact I'd been given the worst team in history less than an hour ago. And the day wasn't over. I still needed to head to the classroom and meet my jounin instructor.
I'd stopped at the bathroom first, however. I had just turned on the faucet to wash my hands when the door swung open. I looked into the mirror to see Sakura stalk in and angrily cross her arms over her chest, glaring at me. Had she stalked me in here?
I sighed, shutting off the water and shaking my hands. "How many times do I have to tell you, Sakura? You can have him."
"You can't fool me, Nakao. It's so obvious."
"What are you talking about?" I finally turned to face her, a bit exasperated. What on earth was she going on about?
A haughty smirk slipped onto her lips before she raised her nose in the air, attempting to look down at me, though we stood at practically the same height. "You're clearly trying to get him to notice you; but there's no way he'd ever go for a girl like you."
"…What?"
"Your hair, Nakao," Sakura rolled her eyes, speaking to me like I was a child. "Your hair is just as long as ours. Seeing as you spurn all other forms of femininity I can only assume you've learned that Sasuke likes girls with long hair."
My mouth had actually drawn open, so amazed by her brash arrogance I was. "No, that's why you have long hair. If you'll recall, I had long hair long before the rest of you."
"Because you heard-"
"I'm the one who told Ino that Sasuke likes long hair!" I finally barked, throwing my hands up in exasperation.
This finally had an effect. Sakura's face went blank and she seemed to forget her tongue for a long moment. When she did speak, her voice came out very soft. "What?"
"I told Ino that Sasuke liked long hair. I don't know how it got out but you only know about it because of me," I jabbed a finger in her direction. "Now, stop following me into the bathroom unless you adore the tile so much you don't mind it being your grave."
Sakura was still in a state of shock when I stalked past her. And I made a very conscious effort to ram my shoulder into hers as I did so.
"Don't worry one bit; I'm gunna bring Sasuke back!" Naruto assured Sakura, grinning as he gave her a thumbs-up. "Right, Nakao?"
I couldn't muster up a smile, but I nodded. "Right."
"I promise on my life," he said seriously but still smiling. Sakura only continued to cry.
"Woah, hold up there, Naruto," Kiba smirked. "That's quite a statement. Are you sure you should be promising her that?"
"Sure! When I give my word, you can count on it!" Naruto grinned, jabbing his thumb into his chest. He then punched his fist in the air. "What are we waiting for? Let's get going!"
"This interruption cost us some time," I said purposely aloud; shooting a glare in Sakura's direction. After her statement and all the crying, I didn't want to be around her anymore. I just wanted to get to Sasuke. "Let's get going."
"Right!" Naruto agreed.
The six of us departed Konoha, exiting the village gates. We immediately formed a line, taking our places in the formation. Since I was closer to the front, I held a hand up and motioned it forward. At my command, the six of us jumped into the trees and began speeding forward.
We traveled in silence, each of us alert. We were all very aware of the power Sasuke's traveling companions might have. They were not the sort to be trifled with. Not that we had a choice.
I've no idea how long we traveled before a soft whimper came from Akamaru. He was tucked into Kiba's jacket, his face poking out over the zipper. He'd detected something.
"Akamaru?" Kiba questioned, looking down at his furry friend.
"What is it?" I sped up just enough that I could speak with Kiba without shouting.
Kiba frowned, glancing over his shoulder at me. "He smells blood…somewhere nearby."
I felt my blood go cold and I hoped my face didn't reveal my sudden fear. We came to a halt and Kiba and Akamaru set to sniffing around the area.
"The scent of two newcomers converged on the scent of Sasuke and four others," Kiba said, his face tight with concentration. "The two have stayed behind while Sasuke's group has moved on."
"Well Tsunade-sama was right; Sasuke does have an escort. Four by the sound of it…" I gritted my teeth in frustration.
"We've got to go after Sasuke!" Naruto piped up from behind me.
"Who died and made you boss?" Kiba glared over his shoulder. "Last time I checked, Nakao and Shikamaru were the ones running the show."
I swallowed against my throat. "The blood…is it…?"
Kiba shook his head. "It's not Sasuke's."
Relief flood through my veins. But it begged another question. "Then whose blood is it? And why has it been spilled?"
"Were they fighting?" Shikamaru asked, he lips etched into a frown. "The escort with the two new arrivals?"
"And why did two stay behind?" I murmured. "Were they injured? Or…killed…?"
Shikamaru glanced to me and I could tell we were sharing the same thought. We were following blindly with no idea of our enemies. And I was worried about what my team might be walking into.
"We should go to the area where Kiba smells the blood. We might be able to find out something," I finally said.
"But Nakao!" Naruto's head swung in my direction, his mouth opening in protest.
"Enough Naruto, she's right," Shikamaru cut in. "But we can't just rush in; it might be a trap. We'll have to take it slowly."
"And while we're doing that, Sasuke will have crossed over the border of the Land of Fire and out of our hands," I sighed. It was not an appealing aspect, and it sparked fear in my chest to know he was getting ever further from me. But trying to find out more information was the logical course of action. I was glad that Shikamaru was traveling with me; he'd keep me on this logical path and keep my personal attachments from running the mission. Still…
"We'll what's it gunna be!?" Naruto asked, glancing between me and Shikamaru with a frown.
I peered over at Shikamaru. He was studying Naruto, and then he looked over at me. I kept my lips pressed together. I would follow his lead and judgement instead of rushing after my teammate.
But Shikamaru surprised me when he answered. "We follow Sasuke."
"Alright! I knew you'd make the right decision!" Naruto grinned.
"One thing…" Shikamaru pointedly stared at Naruto.
"What?"
"It sounds like these guys may have already been in one fight. If so, they'll be on their guard. Unless they're complete idiots, they'll have to know there's gunna be more ninja on their trail."
"Which means there's a good chance we'll run into traps or an ambush," I tried not to rub at my face. I tried to keep my expression neutral, the way a good leader would. But I turned a pointed stare on Naruto. "We proceed with caution. That includes you, Naruto. No rash decision. Stick to the orders."
"Everyone tune into your senses. I want everyone, not just Akamaru, to sense traps. If you catch a feeling of anything suspicious, sound the alarm. We want to find these guys before they find us," Shikamaru said.
"Got it! And when we do find them, I'm gunna clobber 'em!" Naruto grinned cockily. "I've got a new jutsu to use on them!"
"Remember what I said about being rash, Naruto," I shot him a warning glare.
"The enemy's scent is here, all around us!" Kiba suddenly announced.
The six of us froze. My eyes flickered around me, trying to visualize what Kiba had smelled.
"Up in that tree, you see that?" Shikamaru murmured. We followed his gaze upwards.
"A paper bomb," I mused, spotting the paper stuck to the tree above me.
"There's probably more of them-a perimeter barrier probably," Shikamaru said.
"Now we have to waste time going around it, great," Kiba scoffed.
Perfect. I had to hand it to these ninja, they were clever. Their traps were going to waste valuable time. And just like that, I spotted more. Wires were strung above the ground, threatening to trip anyone who was not paying attention. They forced us to go at a painfully slow, cautious pace.
"This whole place is rigged with booby-traps," Kiba complained as we navigated the traps.
"Yeah but luckily they're easy to spot," Shikamaru said several positions behind me. "These guys are moving fast and getting sloppy."
"Let's hope," I muttered bitterly.
"What do you mean, Nakao?" Naruto asked.
I sighed, briefly glancing over my shoulder. I was hoping I was wrong, but I couldn't help but wonder. "Maybe they're supposed to be easy to spot."
"That's a comforting thought," Naruto muttered, glancing nervously around himself. He raised a foot, stepping over a wire. Shikamaru, his gaze forward, suddenly gasped. The sun had hit another wire just in front of the one Naruto stepped over, making it suddenly visible.
"Naruto! Hold it!" Shikamaru shouted, prompting Kiba and I to stop and turn around to see what was going on. My eyes swept over the scene and my mouth went dry.
There was no way Naruto was going to catch himself. But just when I thought we were going to be blown to bits, Shikamaru activated his kekki genki, preventing Naruto from moving any further. I let out a small sigh of relief.
"Didn't we tell you to be careful?" Kiba snapped at Naruto, who glared in response.
I crouched down, examining the wires. My brows furrowed. "Looks like I was right. One wire is easy to see, the other is camouflaged."
"They've created a trap within a trap," Neji mused. "They're clever; whoever they are."
"Agreed," I sighed, rubbing at my temples.
"All their other traps were quick and dirty as though they were moving fast. But not this one," Shikamaru said carefully, his brows furrowed in thought.
"They may have stopped to rest," Neji suggested.. "Perhaps one of them is injured. Or is this part of the trap?"
Neji put his fingers into handsigns and activated his Byuukagan. The veins around his eyes popped out against his skin as his eyes scanned the area.
"I see them," Neji reported, his eyes narrowed.
"Really?" I asked, perhaps a bit too excited.
"Well let's go!" Naruto's eyes gleamed. "I'm dying to show these guys what I've got!"
"Heh, is that right? I hate to disappoint you hotshot, but I've got a new jutsu I've been working on too," Kiba smirked.
"Yeah, me too," Chouji piped up.
"Alright, calm down. First, we make a plan and get everything ready," Shikamaru interjected. "Then we go in and take them out."
"Everyone set?" I glanced to my team members. We crouched towards the ground, where Shikamaru had drawn his plan into the dirt. I glanced over to Kiba. "The timing of the smoke bombs is crucial…"
"I've got it," Kiba assured me.
Shikamaru glanced to each of us in turn. "Split up. Let's go."
We got to our feet and headed in our separate directions. The plan was to surround the clearing our opponents were resting in. Shikamaru had gone with Neji due to the usefulness of Neji's Byuukagan. Naruto and I had been ordered to be ready for a stealthy ambush. I had tried to oppose Naruto as my partner for our 'stealthy' ambush, but Shikamaru had shaken his head at my protest.
We crept up to the clearing as silent as possible, each headed for separate hiding spots. Crouching behind a bush, I peered into the clearing. There were four ninjas-our four escorts. I'd never seen ninja quite like them, I realized as my eyes swept over the group. The most normal looking one was fat and tall, and a woman with magenta-colored hair that didn't quite catch my interest. But there was one with eight arms, and one that had two heads that rested back to back.
Where is Sasuke?
My eyes swept over the clearing again, wondering if I'd missed him somehow, but still I did not spot him. Then my eyes fell on a large barrel; its decoration appearing much like a coffin might. And my heart stopped. Was Sasuke in there? In that…coffin-like thing? Was he dead? He couldn't be.
No…no. Orochimaru wants him. He's not dead.
Still, anxiety zipped through my veins.
Just then, the two-headed ninja whipped around, hurtling three kunais in my direction. My eyes widened and I ducked. The kunai sailed past me and planted themselves into the tree trunk just behind me. I glanced over my shoulder, noting the paper bombs attached to their handles.
Shit!
I dived out of the way just as the bombs exploded. Blinding white light filled my vicinity and I had to throw an arm in front of my eyes to shield them. But these weren't ordinary smoke bombs. The blast they emitted was powerful and I felt myself being lifted and thrown. Faint shouts told me Shikamaru and Neji had also been caught in the blast.
I grunted as I hit the ground before rolling to a stop. My head was aching and my ears ringing, but I was quick to get to my knees. A quick glance around found Shikamaru and Neji on the ground close to me.
"Well well, I thought I was flushing a snake out of the bushes, but it turns out it was just mice," the two-headed ninja said cockily.
The tall, fat ninja took a menacing step forward. Shikamaru quickly jumped to his feet, holding his hands up in surrender. "Now wait a second, calm down. We're here to negotiate, not to fight. Can't we talk this over like reasonable people?"
I couldn't help the snort of derision or the words that tumbled out of my mouth. "They work for Orochimaru, Shikamaru. There's nothing reasonable about them."
I wasn't playing into Shikamaru's act; I knew full well these ninja weren't going to buy it. Honestly, what had he been thinking? He was probably buying time so the rest of our plan could follow through. But it didn't mean I had to pander to them.
"Hmph, let's not forget your friends shall we," the eight-armed ninja smirked. From his finger, he flung what appeared to be spider webs out into the forestry. Three shouts reached my ears first and then Kiba, Chouji and Naruto were flung down towards me.
Before Kiba hit the ground, he twisted in the air, flinging smoke bombs between our group and the Sound ninjas. The bombs engulfed him, Naruto and Chouji.
"What good is that going to do? Throw all the smoke bombs you want; I've still got you," the ninja gloated. He twitched his fingers. "These threads are so fine they're almost invisible, but they're stronger than they look."
Realization struck me. Those are the wires from the forest…
The smoke dissipated to reveal Kiba and Chouji kneeling on the rocky ground. Naruto sat between them on his backside, cursing.
"So, you're the one that set the trap huh? Very clever. You must be the smart one of the group," Shikamaru addressed the eight-armed ninja.
"And you're about to be the dead one," he smirked in response, moving to use his threads, but quickly finding that he couldn't. "What the-!?"
While Kiba had distracted the group with his smoke bomb, Shikamaru had been able to link his shadow to each of the Sound members.
"You're not the only ones who can spring a trap," Shikamaru smirked. "Thanks for making me look good in front of the squad. I appreciate it."
"Very impressive," the two-headed ninja smirked, grabbing my attention. And that's when I noticed his other head was gone.
The hairs on the back of my beck raised and my hands hovered over my daggers.
"I'd be even more impressed if I hadn't mastered that technique as well," he continued.
Suddenly, several shuriken came whizzing out of the forestry at Shikamaru. He whirled around, his eyes widening. He had just enough time to throw his arms in front of his face. The weapons sliced at his skin. In his distraction, his jutsu ended and the Sound ninja were free.
"Earth-style barrier," the fat ninja said immediately after being released. He knelt on the ground and slammed his palms against the earth. "Earth Dome Prison!"
The earth began to tremble and rocks began to protrude out of the ground, creating a trail from the ninja's hands and around our group. We watched in surprise and horror as the rocks continued to grow, quickly encasing us in a rock dome.
"Oh fuck," I muttered as we were suddenly surrounded in darkness. My eyes took a moment to adjust, and even then I could only dimly make out my teammates.
"Terrific," Shikamaru scowled sarcastically.
"What is this?" Neji wondered.
"It's a barrier of some kind and we're stuck in it," Shikamaru gritted his teeth together.
"Now what?" Kiba scowled.
"Hey, you up there! Let us out right now!" Naruto yelled, slamming a fist against the rock wall.
"Yeah, like that's gunna help," Kiba said sarcastically, taking a moment to roll his eyes in Naruto's direction. He was kneeling on the dirt ground, searching the rocks for any sort of weak point.
"It seems to be nothing more than a dirt wall," Neji mused, walking up beside Kiba and placing his hand on the wall.
"But I'm guessing we can't just break through it," I said irritably.
"It's some sort of jutsu. We need to watch our step. It could be some type of trap within a trap," Shikamaru said.
"Yeah these guys seem to be quite enamored with that tactic," I said bitterly, carefully running my hand across the wall.
"Hmph. A wall's a wall and there's no wall I can't punch a hole through," Kiba declared, getting to his feet.
"It's worth a try I guess," Shikamaru sighed.
"Just be careful," I frowned.
Kiba summoned forth his chakra and jumped in the air. Spinning rapidly, he threw himself like a human twister at the rock wall. He slammed into the wall, spewing dust and rock everywhere. When the dust settled, Kiba had made a large dent in the wall, but no hole. Kiba dropped to the ground at a crouch, staring up at the dent. A moment later, the dent began to disappear as new rock filled in the damage.
"It's rebuilding itself," I ground out.
"Let us out!" Naruto screamed in frustration.
"It appears to be more than just dirt," Neji commented.
"Can you see through it, Neji?" I glanced over to the boy.
Neji glanced at me before activating his Byuukagan. He focused his eyes on the wall before gasping. "Th-The wall is-!"
"It's what? The walls are what?" Shikamaru asked impatiently. I could hear nervousness seeping into his tone.
Neji glanced down at his hands, eyes wide. "Our chakra, he's absorbing it like a sponge."
"Shit!" I swore.
"It's not enough they buried us alive but now they're trying to steal our chakra! Gotta give these guys credit for thoroughness," Kiba commented with aggravation.
Naruto's shoulders shook and he turned to look at the group. "No way! No way can they do this to us! Whoever you are, let us out of here right now!"
"Naruto calm down," I scolded him, not needing the added stress of his shouting.
I peered around me angrily at the rock encasing us. Time began to tick and it wasn't long before I could feel myself growing weaker and weaker. It started with soreness in my legs, then shaking, and then all of us began to sink towards the ground. My legs wobbled and finally gave out and I collapse to my knees beside a kneeling Kiba.
"I feel like all my energy is draining," Naruto said tiredly, leaning his back against the wall, his head bowed.
Neji, the only one left standing, activated his Byuukagan to look at the remaining chakra we each had. He glanced to Shikamaru. "Something must be done, Shikamaru, and quickly."
"That does it! Stand back guys; I'm gunna bust out of here before my chakra's all gone," Kiba finally said.
"How are you going to do that?" I asked skeptically.
Kiba took out two food pills, feeding one to Akamaru and himself. Akamaru's fur turned the color of rust and he roared like a lion. Akamaru used the Human Mimicry jutsu and turned into a clone of Kiba.
"Fang over fang!" Kiba shouted. The two became like twisters and bounced around the dome into the walls.
"Atta boy Kiba, go for it!" Naruto cheered.
I watched in silence for several minutes until Kiba and Akamaru finally ended their assault. Akamaru turned back into his regular form and flopped down on his belly, exhausted. Kiba himself knelt on the ground, his eyes flickering along the walls. But to our despair, the walls began to rebuild themselves, just as they'd done before.
Breathing heavily, Kiba glanced to us with dread. "I give us ten more minutes of this before our chakra is completely drained."
I felt my own dread fill my heart. I glanced about myself hopelessly. Would these rock walls become our tomb?
"Hey, you out there!" Shikamaru suddenly shouted, dragging my attention to him. "Let me talk to your leader! I have a deal to propose. What I'm thinking, is you let us out of this thing and in return, we let you keep Sasuke."
From beside me, Kiba's mouth dropped open. I watched Shikamaru curiously. This was obviously part of some plan. But what? I didn't think these guys were going to let us go when they already had us trapped.
"Shikamaru, what are you doing?" Naruto asked cluelessly.
"No deal," I could hear our opponent smirk. "I've never let a captive go before; I'm not about to stop now."
"Oh, come on, listen, how about you just let me go and keep the others? All this fighting, I'm tired of it-it's really not my thing," Shikamaru continued.
"You little-If you're selling us out, I'm gunna ring your neck!" Kiba shouted to Shikamaru's back.
Silently, I put a hand on Kiba's arm. He calmed, but glanced over to me in question. I shook my head and held a finger to my lips, signaling him to be quiet.
"Shut up Kiba," Shikamaru said, nothing turning to look at him. "For once in your life."
"What did you say!?" Kiba jumped to his feet.
"Kiba," I hissed fiercely, also getting to my feet. I grabbed hold of his jacket sleeve.
I heard laughter from outside the dome. "So much for teamwork. So, you're really the leader huh? What a fine example you're setting for the rest of your team. You see a man's character when he's pushed to the edge of death. But you're not a man at all; certainly not one who's worthy to lead a team of ninja into battle."
I frowned at Shikamaru's back, trying to figure out his plan. But I came up empty. Shikamaru got to his own feet.
Outside, our opponent continued. "Sacrificing Sasuke and the rest of your squad, ha! So that's how a Leaf Chuunin acts? Did you really believe I might let you out? You deserve to die."
"That does it, Shikamaru! You dirty little traitor! Let's take this outside; just you and me!" Naruto shouted.
"What do you mean 'take this outside'? How are you gunna do that, you idiot? We're trapped in here," Kiba glanced over to Naruto.
Naruto let out an aggravated cry, turning to Kiba. "What did you call me!?"
"I called you an idiot, idiot!" Kiba yelled, suddenly moving forward and snatching the collar of Narutos' jacket, pulling him closer.
"That's what I thought you said!" Naruto growled, head locking Kiba.
"Both of you, knock it off!" I shouted at the boys as they struggled against one another.
My loud reprimand broke through the boys' fight. They glanced to me in surprise, but quieted. I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face. Three feet away, Shikamaru crouched, elbows on his knees, fingertips brought together.
"What's Shikamaru doing?" Naruto asked, glancing over and seeing Shikamaru. "Meditating? He's just squatting there."
From behind us, a rustling sound grabbed our attention. We peered over in time to see Chouji pull a bag of chips from his green jacket. He opened them and began shoving chips into his mouth.
"You've got to be kidding me! Is that all you ever think about!?" Naruto yelled at Chouji.
"That's Chouji for you; responds to a crisis by stuffing his face. He's a real big help," Kiba muttered sarcastically.
"Why am I friends with you two?" I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. Kiba and Naruto glanced at me cluelessly.
If they'd ever bothered to pay attention, the two of them would know that Chouji's clan used calories to fuel chakra. Similar to Kiba's food pills, eating restores a bit of Chouji's chakra. But before I could inform my friends of this, Naruto opened his big mouth.
"Forget this, I'm gunna give shadow clones a try!"
"Don't bother," Neji spoke up. "That ninja has infused this wall with chakra so that it repairs itself. Your shadow clones won't work; you'll only deplete your own chakra. The fact is, multiple attacks won't work."
"Our only hope is taijutsu strong enough to destroy it," I frowned. No jutsu was going to get us out of here. Unless we could punch our way out of here, I didn't see a way out.
"Well Chouji has taijutsu; a knock-out punch even stronger than mine," Kiba said carefully, pivoting to look at Chouji who was still eating his chips. "But just look at him; he's got other things on his mind."
"Come on! What are we gunna do, just stand here!?" Naruto asked aggravated as everyone stared at Chouji.
"Neji, I need you to focus those eyes of yours on the wall directly behind you and directly behind Chouji. Do you think you have enough chakra left for that?" Shikamaru suddenly asked, grabbing our attention
"I think so," Neji replied.
"Hold on! You're not gunna listen to him!?" Naruto glared at Shikamaru.
"Naruto!" I hissed, shooting him a glare. "You have to trust Shikamaru. He wouldn't throw you to the dogs any more than I would."
"Kiba, are you up for putting another dent in the wall behind Chouji?" Shikamaru continued, getting to his feet.
"Sure, I guess," Kiba smirked and clapped his hands together for his necessary handsign. "I don't know what's going on but I'm always up for getting wild."
Kiba jumped into the air, rapidly turning like a human twister once more. He slammed into the wall as directed, forming several dents before coming back to the ground. He crouched, panting. Neji activated his Byuukagan and examined the dents. I followed his eyes before he finally set eyes one specific dent.
"That one," Neji pointed to it.
"Okay then, mark the spot with a kunai, will you? Chouji, are you ready buddy?" Shikamaru glanced to the boy.
Chouji smirked. "I was born ready."
"Good, then let's get started," Shikamaru smirked himself.
"Wait, let's get what started?" Naruto asked.
"Naruto, you're hopeless," I sighed, glancing to the boy. "The chakra infused in the wall is weaker in some points than in others. That's why some of the dents filled in faster than others. Shikamaru noticed this. When he was speaking to our captor, he was tricking him into giving away his position. Simple laws of physics say that the chakra is going to weaker at the area across from him."
Shikamaru smirked and nodded to his teammate. "It's up to you, Chouji."
"Okay!" Chouji put his fingers together in a handsign.
Chouji's body inflated like a large balloon. His legs, arms and head tucked in like a turtle would into his shell. Chouji began to rapidly spin and then sent himself flying at the designated point. All eyes were glued to Chouji as he worked at breaking through the rock.
Finally, the rock busted apart and a large, gaping hole appeared. I cheered and none of us wasted time in sprinting out of the barrier. We turned in time to watch the dome crumble to the ground. Only a large pile of dirt and rocks stood between us and our opponent. But there was just the one ninja. The other three, and Sasuke, were gone!
"Chouji, that was awesome," Shikamaru smirked.
Chouji chuckled to himself.
"He's by himself," I said, trying desperately to banish the worry in my voice. "The others must have gone ahead."
How long had we been in that dome? How much further was Sasuke from us now?
The enemy ninja slowly began to clap. "Not a bad bit of handiwork, you guys…for a bunch of losers."
"What!?" Naruto shouted.
"Who are you calling losers!?" Kiba shouted afterwards.
The two hotheads of the team sprinted towards the enemy. I cried out in aggravation.
"Now that we're out, you're toast, pal!" Kiba told our enemy.
"Out of the way, he's mine!" Naruto told Kiba as they ran side by side.
"Kiba, Naruto, stop!" I yelled.
Surprisingly, the pair listened and came to an abrupt stop before they'd gotten too far. They pivoted to turn quizzical stares on me.
"There's no way we can take him on head on," I said irritably. "He's drained too much of our chakra."
"We just broke through this guy's barrier. How tough could he be?" Kiba asked cockily.
Kiba put his hands together and activated his jutsu again. He spun straight for the ninja, who wasn't fazed at all. He simply pulled back a fist and managed to hit Kiba square in the face. He came flying back at my feet.
I quickly dropped to my feet, pull Kiba into a sitting position. "You idiot! I told you to stop!"
In true Naruto fashion, he neither listened to me nor learned from Kiba's mistake. He rushed the brute, activating his shadow clones. A series of punches ended the clones and the ninja head-butted the real Naruto, who flew and smacked into a nearby tree trunk.
"I'm gunna eat you guys for lunch!" the ninja declared, looking smug.
"Try it," Kiba dared after waving me off and getting to his feet.
The ninja rushed forward, slamming his shoulder into Kiba's chest. As Kiba fell to the ground, Naruto came up behind the ninja, aiming a punch for his head. The ninja pivoted, kneeing Naruto in the abdomen. Naruto also fell to the ground.
"You wouldn't even do as an appetizer," the ninja mocked.
The ninja put his hands in a handseal and he crouched, slamming his hand on the ground. He was preforming the same jutsu as before. As he got the jutsu out, Chouji raced in front of our group, once again inflating himself. His body spun, stopping the rock wall from forming and kicking up debris. It was enough for our group to escape into the woods.
We hid behind a large bush, a good twenty feet from the enemy.
"We're running out of time," I said, eyebrows drawn together in concern as I peered at my teammates. I couldn't get the obsessive thought out of my head. That Sasuke was getting further and further away by the minute. I wanted to scream and cry and punch something.
Naruto had noticed something in my demeanor, and he turned sad eyes on me. "Nakao…"
I refused to meet his gaze. I ducked my head completely, cursing myself for showing weakness.
"Nakao's right," I felt Shikamaru glance at me. "I think it's time to split up."
"What would be the point in that?" Naruto asked.
"He's right," Neji said. "With our chakra depleted, even with the five of us, he's not going to be easy to take out."
"And with every second that passes, Sasuke gets closer to the border," I said quietly, finally looking up. "Once he crosses it, there'll be nothing we can do. We should split into two groups: one to go after Sasuke and one to stay here and fight our friend out there."
Shikamaru nodded. "Nakao will head the team going after Sasuke. Kiba and Neji, you go with Nakao. Naruto and Chouji will stay with me and we'll take care of this guy."
Just as each of us agreed, the earth beneath us began to quake. I gasped as rocks began to break apart and trees fell to the ground. We scattered to avoid a large oak falling towards us.
Our opponent now had a clear sight, as all the brush and trees around us were no more. "So, there you are."
"Are you guys ready?" Shikamaru asked. He knelt, activating his kekki genki.
"I've already seen your parlor trick. Once was enough," the enemy ninja rolled his eyes.
"That's funny; I recall you falling for that parlor trick," Shikamaru responded without missing a beat.
Shikamaru stretched his shadow out towards our foe. Before it reached him, it dipped into a hole he had made in the ground and the shadow came out behind the ninja. Just before it was about to catch his feet, the ninja slammed a hand on the ground, breaking apart the earth around him and sending up a plume of dust and dirt.
As the debris settled, the area was empty.
"He's disappeared," Neji mused.
Kiba sniffed the air before looking over his shoulder. "He's behind us!"
We all whirled around to see the ninja raising a huge chunk of earth above his head. It was massive; at least a hundred yards wide and at least half as thick. Something that could definitely crush our bones.
You've got to be kidding me!
With a mighty heave, the ninja chucked the deadly earth at my team. We scattered, jumping in different directions to avoid the rock. It hit the ground, rolling a bit before it came to a stop. We landed back on the ground, only to find that our foe had disappeared again.
"Heads up, you guys! There's another one coming," Shikamaru warned.
Just as the words left his lips, a hand broke through the surface of the ground, grabbing ahold of Shikamaru's ankle. Shikamaru cried out as our foe jumped out of the earth and swung Shikamaru upside down, holding him by both his ankles.
"You're in charge of this ragtag bunch, am I right? When you've got an idiot for a leader the whole team suffers. Know what I mean? You don't want to follow a guy like this; let me get rid of him for you!" the brute began to swing Shikamaru around before letting him go, his body flying away from us.
"Shikamaru!" I cried out.
But Chouji was already sprinting, rushing towards our flying comrade. He inflated his body, catching Shikamaru's before he could smash into a tree. Shikamaru bounced off of Chouji's body before landing harmlessly on the ground.
"Oh, I try to help you guys out and look what you do! I don't know which is more pathetic, the fool or those who follow him. Tell you what; if you don't want to keep working under this glum-faced shadow-lover, I'll just kill you now and put you out of your misery."
"It's time to shut your big mouth or I'll shut it for you!" Naruto yelled.
"Naruto!" Chouji called out, grabbing everyone's attention. "This guy is mine."
"Chouji! You can't take this guy on all by yourself," I protested.
"He's mine I said!" Chouji was glaring past me at the ninja.
My eyes shown with worry but I shut my mouth. Chouji reached into the pouch around his waist and pulled out a brown sack, tied shut. "Shikamaru, take these food pills for everyone."
"Chouji…you're not gunna-?" Shikamaru blinked in surprise.
"Uh huh, don't worry, I've got my secret weapon with me," Chouji assured, handing the sack to Shikamaru.
Shikamaru took the sack. "Yeah, but Chouji this is-"
But Chouji was having none of it. He walked past Shikamaru, standing before the enemy.
The ninja smirked. "Oh, this is priceless."
With incredible speed of his size, the ninja sprinted towards us.
Chouji slid protectively in front of us. "Hurry up, get going!"
"Chouji…"
"If we lose Sasuke, we'll be just what this guy says we are: a stupid, idiot leader and his band of rejects!"
A heavy solemnness hung about us. None of us wanted to leave Chouji here to face this ninja alone. But he was right. We had to get to Sasuke.
"You'd better catch up with us, Chouji. Ya hear?" Shikamaru finally said, a bit dully.
"Yeah! Now go already!"
I swallowed against my throat, then nodded to my team. "Let's get going."
With heavy heart, the five of us jumped into the trees, continuing our search for Sasuke.
"A parting gift from Chouji, eat up," Shikamaru said, tossing the bag of food pills to Naruto as we sped away from Chouji. We reformed our positions, minus Chouji.
Naruto grabbed a pill, eating one and passed the sack to Kiba, who fed a pill to Akamaru and then himself.
"Nakao," Kiba threw me the sack. I caught it and took a food pill, swallowing it before tossing the sack to Neji.
We fell silent. My mind was quick to submerge itself in thoughts, pushing my emotions forward now that the immediate danger was dealt with. My thoughts drifted to Sasuke. We were risking everything to go after him; Chouji had already sacrificed himself. But what if…what if he didn't want to come back with us? After all…he'd chosen to leave the village. What would he say when we finally caught up to him?
Akamaru's bark tore my from my thoughts. I glanced to Kiba's back.
"They're close," Kiba said.
In the rear, Neji used his Byuukagan. "That's strange. I haven't seen a single trap. Shikamaru, what do you think about this?"
"They're underestimating us!" I glared forward at nothing in particular.
"The only person they think is catching up to them is that big guy. They wouldn't set traps for their comrade," Shikamaru reiterated.
"Taking us lightly, huh!?" Naruto imputed.
"You're right," Neji nodded. "This is our chance."
I peered over my shoulder at Shikamaru. "Time to use that big brain, Shikamaru. The element of surprise is back on our side."
Shikamaru's plan was to transform into the ninja we'd left fighting with Chouji. The ultimate goal was to grab Sasuke and escape without a fight; but the likelihood of this was slim. We let Shikamaru go ahead while I organized my teammates. I stationed them apart from one another, though I stood beside Naruto on a tree branch. I had just gotten everyone into position when I noticed that the eight-armed ninja was fighting with Shikamaru-who had returned to his original form. The other two ninja had taken the barrel and were fleeing.
"Shit!" I cursed, glancing at Naruto. "Prepare for stand-by."
Shikamaru aimed a kick for his enemy's face. He blocked it using one of his many hands. While he had Shikamaru occupied, I noticed his cheeks began moving, like he was swishing water in his mouth. I cried out in surprise as he shot webbing from his mouth. It caught Shikamaru and pinned him to the tree behind him.
"Now!" I ordered Naruto.
Naruto created his shadow clones and sent them flying at the enemy. The real Naruto stayed with me. The enemy ninja spit a wad of his webbing into his hands and kneaded it. As the clones got closer, he threw the wad and it expanded, becoming a giant spider web. It encased the clones as the webs stuck onto two trees, creating a sort of hammock with the clones encased inside.
"Naruto!" Shikamaru shouted, not having seen the original stay behind with me.
Across from me, I caught a glimpse of a gray jacket. It was Kiba, peering around his tree for direction. I gave him the proper hand signal and he set to work. He and Akamaru activated their 'fang over fang', and like two human torpedoes, they sped at the ninja.
Our enemy should have been hard to miss. However, the ninja twitched his fingers, revealing webbing secured high in the trees. We hadn't noticed it before. He tugged and the webbing bounced him upwards while Kiba and Akamaru slammed into the ground.
"I won't let you get away!" Kiba scowled upwards at his opponent.
"That's my line," the ninja said cockily. "Look at your feet."
Looking closer, I noticed that the ground had been strewn with webbing. Kiba tried to move his feet, but they went nowhere, as though they were adhered to the ground. Neji dropped down from above, aiming an attack at the enemy, but he was quick. He shot more webbing in Neji's direction. It struck, and though Neji twisted and pulled, the webbing wrapped around his arms and legs without mercy.
"I'll make a cocoon around you here," the ninja smirked and did just that, completely wrapping Neji in a cocoon.
"Shit," I turned to Naruto. "If you see and opportunity to attack; do it."
"R-Right," Naruto nodded.
I jumped down to a closer branch, running through handsigns. I did not go unnoticed for long and my foe whipped around, spotting me. He immediately spat a wad of webbing into his hands, readying himself to make another web.
As he released his webbing, I pinched my thumb and index finger together, took in a deep breath and blew a stream of fire from my lips. The flames latched onto the web and I cancelled the jutsu. I needed to find out if my wind had any affect on the webbing, over if it would work against me. But I didn't get the chance. I expected the webbing to had disintegrated beneath my flames, but this was not the case.
To my surprise, the webbing was still intact. It looked melted, like a web of candle wax, but it was still intact. I gasped as the webbing fell down on me. I tried to jump out of the way, but I'd failed to notice the webbing stuck on the tree branch. I tried desperately to free my feet, but to no avail. I cried out as I fell to my knees and the melted webbing practically taped me to the branch.
The eight-armed ninja laughed as I struggled against my bindings. "Not even fire can destroy my webs. They're invincible."
I glared at the ninja as best I could as I continued to struggle. I was trying to calculate my next move, figure out how to get out of this mess, but was distracted by a cry from above me. Naruto had abandoned his position and was flying towards our enemy, a fist pulled back. He had just enough time to block Naruto's punch with two of his arms. They struggled for a minute before he pushed Naruto away.
The enemy ninja leapt away and shot a string of webbing at Naruto. It caught his wrist and pinned him on a tree branch.
"You're pretty good," the ninja commented. "But if you're out of ideas, it's time to die!"
The ninja pulled on the string of webbing, which began to draw Naruto towards him. Naruto let out a shout of alarm. But movement from above caught my eye. Neji had broken free of his cocoon and was speeding towards Naruto. He sliced his hand through the webbing, breaking it apart. He grabbed Naruto around the waist and, together, they landed on my tree branch.
"Thanks for buying me time, Naruto," Neji said as he quickly freed me.
I hopped to my feet, staring at Neji with surprise. "How did you break free?"
"That which is made by chakra, can be destroyed by chakra," Neji shrugged.
Shikamaru and Kiba suddenly landed on the tree branch. Neji had managed to free them before coming to Naruto's rescue.
"His technique…only I can deal with him," Neji said quietly, his eyes set on the enemy. "Go. I'll fight him."
Akamaru whimpered and jumped into Kiba's jacket. He poked his head out of the top of his jacket and Kiba glanced down at him with a frown. "Looks like this guy's stronger than the fatass. By a lot."
Akamaru can sense his chakra level…
"You calculated that we have to fight one on one in order to move on," Neji glanced at Shikamaru. "You said that, right?"
"Yeah…" Shikamaru confirmed hesitantly.
I frowned in their direction. I hadn't heard Shikamaru say that. But I guess he hadn't been wrong. But we'd already left Chouji behind…now Neji?
"Besides, if we stop here, we can't catch up to Sasuke. Hurry up and go. I'll catch up later," Neji assured, setting his lavender-shaded eyes on the multi-armed ninja.
I hated this.
But I slowly nodded anyway. Because he was right, and we didn't have the time to argue otherwise. And so I turned to my remaining teammates. "Let's go."
"You'd better catch up with Chouji," Kiba told Neji solemnly.
Neji gave a single nod. "Right."
But even he didn't sound convinced.
I reached out, placing a hand on Neji's shoulder. He glanced at me and I stared up at him. I wanted him to know how thankful I was that he was giving us the opportunity to get to Sasuke. I wanted him to know that I thought he was brave and selfless. That I owed him more than he knew. "Good luck."
Neji nodded at me, and his eyes told me that he understood everything I hadn't said. I squeezed his shoulder gently before I tore my gaze away, signaled to the team, and we hurried out of the clearing.
Four of us remained. It made my stomach churn. How much longer was this chase going to carry on? How many more teammate was I going to lose? Two escorts remained. Would I lose another comrade to each of them? I couldn't. I just…couldn't.
The sun was beginning to set now, casting a red glow against the Earth.
Kiba and Akamaru sniffed the air. "They're close."
"Two enemies left," Shikamaru said from the back. "Two of them and four of us. If things go well, we might be able to finish this mission with one last encounter."
I hoped with everything that he was right. But I wasn't about to hold my breath.
"Alright, alright! We got this!" Naruto grinned, ever the optimist.
"It's five on two," Kiba corrected Shikamaru. Akamaru barked.
"Oh yeah, five on two," Shikamaru assented with a nod.
"We'll use our new move and end this quickly," Kiba said cockily, glancing at the puppy poking out of his jacket.
"What new move?" I asked curiously.
"You'll see," he winked at me.
Evening fell. The sun set below the horizon and the world around me dimmed to blue. A coolness swept through the forest, bringing with it a hint of dampness.
"Dammit," Kiba cursed. "We didn't catch up to them!"
I shared his frustration. Shikamaru had laid out a plan for us, but it had required attacking when the sun was still present. Shikamaru's technique wasn't very effective at night.
"This is fine," Shikamaru assured. "We will keep this distance and continue the pursuit. We'll postpone the attack until the sun rises."
I glanced over my shoulder to Shikamaru. "But what if they reach the border by then?"
"She has a point," Kiba chimed in. "Besides, if we're going to attack, isn't it more advantageous if we attack in the dark?"
"To us, the only advantage we have when we attack in the dark is that single moment when we strike," Shikamaru shook his head. "In that moment, the chances of getting Sasuke back, escaping and then getting somewhere far away, are close to nil. If, in that moment, we aren't successful in getting Sasuke back, they will collapse their defense around that barrel. If that happens, we'll be in the dark and unable to do anything. In return, they don't have to make unnecessary movements and that also gives them an advantage."
"Neji's Byuukagan sure would come in handy about now," I sighed.
"Hey, hey, have you forgotten my and Akamaru's nose?" Kiba sounded offended. Akamaru barked in agreement. I shot him an eyeroll.
"I've already put your sense of smell into my calculations," Shikamaru said. "Even with that, they'd still have the advantage. Not to mention…If I can't use my technique, there's nothing we can do."
But I frowned. It seemed strange to think that four, I mean five, of us couldn't defeat two ninja. But I kept my mouth shut. Shikamaru's analytical skills were far more advanced than my own. I had to trust his assessment.
"Even if I stopped their movement, if the moon was blocked by the clouds, the plan would only be half good. It's troublesome, but there are too many dangerous uncertainties."
I sighed, weariness lacing my tone. "You're right. I don't want to lose anyone else."
Morning broke when we finally spotted two forms in the distance.
"Shikamaru," I muttered, my body tensing in alertness.
"Yeah, I see them," Shikamaru murmured.
I knew we hadn't been loud of enough to be heard, but the two ninja suddenly stopped. The girl with magenta-colored hair set the barrel down at her feet, and her and her companion turned to face us. Our team immediately halted on a tree branch ten feet away.
"What are those morons Jiroubou and Kidoumaru doing?" the girl scoffed.
I felt Naruto take out a kunai, but the enemy was already in motion. The two-headed ninja leapt towards us with incredible speed. Naruto threw his kunai at him, but he easily dodged and put his fingers together in a handseal. Naruto copied and created a clone of himself. As Naruto and his clone worked to gather his chakra for the Resengan, Kiba, Shikamaru and myself leapt off the branch to meet our enemy.
I quickly realized that using my kekki genki may have been a better route to go. This ninja was insanely fast. Like inhuman fast. Without tiring, his aimed such rapid punches at us his arms were nothing more than a blur. None of us were able to get close enough to land a hit and one by one, we were sent flying away.
With us momentarily out of the way, the ninja was able to continue his path towards Naruto, but it mattered little. As I backflipped, landing on a tree branch, I noted that Naruto had completed molding his chakra. He leapt of his branch, aiming his Resengan at our enemy's chest. But with a rather bored expression, the ninja reached out and grabbed Naruto's wrist, saving himself from the Resengan.
H-He just stopped it!
Naruto was equally shocked, his mouth falling open as his Resengan died. The ninja smirked and said something to Naruto, but I was already mouthing at Kiba 'go'. Kiba nodded and activated his 'fang over fang' and spun right in front of Naruto and his opponent. He smashed right through Naruto, who was actually the clone. The clone poofed away and the ninja ducked. No matter. Shikamaru had gotten the foes lined up so Kiba soared right over the two-headed ninja, headed straight for his female companion.
"You think you got us there!?" the two-headed ninja yelled angrily when he realized what we'd pulled.
To ensure the girl couldn't get away, Shikamaru had snuck away and stretched his shadow to catch hers. She gasped when she realized what was happening. But Kiba didn't bother to hit her. Instead, he headed straight for the barrel, grabbed it and was gone.
"Tayuya! Why are you just staring off into space!?" the two-headed ninja yelled at his teammate, hurrying towards her.
Shikamaru forced her to step forward and the two-headed ninja's eyes widened just as they collided with each other. Shikamaru released his jutsu just as they did so.
Kiba tossed the barrel over to me. "Here ya go!"
"Nice one, guys!" I grinned, catching the barrel that contained my teammate.
Holding on tight to the barrel, I immediately turned my back and set off towards Konoha as quick as I could. Kiba quickly followed me, glancing over his shoulder. "Shikamaru, let's get out of here!"
Shikamaru nodded and followed, leaving our two enemies behind. I was…uneasy with the prospect of leaving my enemies anything short of incapacitated, but I had Sasuke. That's what mattered. If we could just get out of here fast enough, we could get him home. Maybe we'd even rendezvous with Neji and Chouji.
Assuming they're alive…
I pushed that thought down.
"Just as I thought; they were full of openings," Shikamaru smirked. "They have problems even though they have talent."
"Good work you guys," I smiled over my shoulder. "Shikamaru, that was brilliant."
Akamaru jumped out of Kiba's jacket, his mouth full of paper bombs. He hurried in front of us, placing them strategically along our path. A nice little surprise for our enemies.
But… "I won't let you get away!"
My head whipped around. "Shit!"
Tayuya and her male companion were hot on our trail.
"Akamaru!" Kiba glanced to his puppy.
Akamaru barked and dropped another paper bomb on a tree branch behind us. He leapt just one branch away, waiting for the trap to work. And sure enough, one of our pursuers stepped on a tree branch and the bomb exploded, setting of a chain reaction and activating all the other bombs.
"Good job, Akamaru!" Kiba cheered.
But from the rising smoke, the two-headed ninja appeared, appearing unscathed. I cursed.
"Quit messing with me!" he screamed, enraged, kicking Akamaru and sending him flying onto a different tree branch several feet away.
"Akamaru!" Kiba and I screamed.
But the ninja wasn't finished. He shot forth a wire, the kind I was used to seeing Sasuke use. It wrapped around the tree branch and Akamaru, effectively binding him to the branch. And something suddenly sparked beside the puppy. A paper bomb!
"Akamaru hold on!" Kiba yelled, headed for his rescue. He reached his fallen companion before the enemy could, but just as the bomb exploded, filling the area with a blinding yellow flash and grey smoke.
"KIBA!"
Author's Note:
Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! Twenty more and I'll reach 100! I love you all!