Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ My Life as Hinata Hyuga ❯ Chapter 15

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

"I look in the mirror and see your face...! If I look deep enough... so many things inside that are just like you are taking over." -Evanescence
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"Man, maybe I shouldn't have come!" Mayu thought running behind Naruto. "This is taking for ever!"

Hinata: Mayu-san...!

"Sorry," Mayu thought frowning slightly. "But we have been traveling for a while now! And neither one of us has even sensed that stupid bird boy!"

Hinata: I know that, but please try to be patient.

"Yes, ma'am...!" Mayu muttered aloud.

"Shikamaru...!" Mayu heard Kiba say.

"What's wrong?" Shika asked.

"Nearby..." Kiba began, this caused Mayu to pay attention. "It's the smell of blood..."

"I'm not going to assume the worst... I will not assume the worst..." Mayu chanted in her head. "I will not assume they're killing Sasuke. Yeah, that's right... that is not what's happening!"

"The scents from those five, including Sasuke, and the others have clashed," Kiba continued.

"Oh, what am I thinking... they couldn't kill Sasuke even if they wanted to," Mayu thought.

"But the smell from those five is getting further away from the bloodshed. What should we do?" Kiba asked glancing back at Shika, who was the leader of the group.

"As I thought... They are guiding Sasuke," he said. "This is most troublesome..." Shika thought.

"It doesn't matter, let's hurry and catch up to Sasuke," Naruto said, not caring for anything else at this time.

"Shut up, Naruto!" Kiba shouted back at the blond. "Only Shikamaru decides those kinds of things! Quit barking out orders!" Naruto didn't like what Kiba had told him, but decided to stay quiet for now.

"Shikamaru..." Chouji said, allowing this best friend to talk.

"The smell of blood probably means that there has been a fight," Shika began. "If we head there, we might be able to get some information. We can't approach carelessly. We have to switch back to a reconnaissance pattern," he continued.

"A what?!" Mayu thought, she wasn't used to hearing such a big word.

"... and we will have to take it slow," Shika finished.

"And while we do that, Sasuke will pass across the Fire Country's border," Neji pointed out.

"What are you gonna do, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.

Shika didn't speak for quite some time, and then finally said: "Alright, we will follow Sasuke!" he said.

"Alright!" Naruto cheered. "That's how things are supposed to be done!"

"However..." Shika continued.

"Crap...! What, now?!" Mayu thought, slightly annoyed.

"If there was a fight that means that the enemy's guard will be up," Shika stated. "So, of course, those guys will be prepared for people chasing after them."

"I didn't even think of that," Mayu thought frowning. "And that's why he's the leader..."

"That means there is a good chance that a trap is waiting for us," Shika told the team. "Listen up. Use your defensive and offensive capabilities fully. We have to find them before they can prepare for us. And if you find anything suspicious, don't simply avoid it, dismantle it."

"Alright! If I find them, I'll use my new techniques and I'll kick their asses!" Naruto said grinning.

"Heh, you're not the only one, Naruto!" Mayu called up to the blond. "Just you wait!"

"That was Mayu talking," Naruto thought glancing back the girl. "I wonder if Hinata-chan has a new technique, too..."

"That Naruto, every time I see him, he has new techniques," Kiba thought glancing back at the two. "And now that Hinata has been hanging around him, she's got stronger! Just when I thought I was catching up to him." Kiba now had a frown on his marked face. Suddenly, Akumaru whimpered causing Kiba to go on full alert. "Hey, this place reeks of the enemy!" he shouted.

"Everyone stop!" Shika ordered once he heard Kiba's statement. As he ordered, everyone stopped on a single branch of a tree. "Look carefully, up there." Everyone looked up on Shika's command.

"It's an explosive note," Neji stated. "There should be more of them. This pattern creates an explosive field barrier."

"Explosive field barrier?" Chouji said.

"It's a kind of ninja trap," Mayu answered.

"That's exactly right, Hinata. The trap is activated when a person enters the field," Shika explained further. "It then explodes after a short time. It was in one of my dad's books."

"Geez, looks like we have to take the long way around," Kiba said.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Mayu thought sighing. "Well, what are we waiting for?" she said out loud.
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"Geez, it's one big trap," Kiba complained stepping over another wire.

"How many friggin wires are there?!" Mayu thought stepping over a wire. "These things are really starting to drive me insane!"

Hinata: After that fight earlier, the enemy will take no chances.

"Yeah, yeah, I know that..." Mayu thought frowning as she stepped over another wire.

"The enemy doesn't have that much time," Shika said, he, too, stepped over a wire. "There seems to be some shoddy work in these traps."

"Hey, hey, Naruto! There are wires around your feet!" Kiba warned. "Don't get caught!"

"Like I don't already know that!" Naruto said, he was about to step down when the sunlight hit a hidden wire.

"Wait, Naruto!" Shika shouted. Because of his shout, Naruto seemed to freeze in place. In reality, Shika had used his technique on Naruto while grabbing on to Chouji's scarf. "Kage Mane no Jutsu," he said straining to keep Naruto off the wire. Mayu sighed loudly in relief. "Somehow I managed in time..."

"Thank kami-sama for Shikamaru's shadow technique," she thought as Shika released Naruto after careful inspection to the area around him.

"Naruto! I told you to be careful!" he yelled.

"Calm down, Shikamaru!" Mayu said. "He didn't see it! Not his fault." Shika sighed, and then bent over to inspect the wire Naruto almost stepped on.

"I see... One of the wires is easily seen when it reflects the sunlight," he said. But the other is painted with something green."

"It's pretty hard to see that without the byakugan," Neji stated. "It's a double layer trap."

"Even though they are hurrying, they sure set up a lot of traps," Shika commented. "That means that..."

"... they are resting," Neji finished.

"They must be taking a break," Mayu muttered. "But then again... it could be a trap. Let's check, brother." Neji nodded, and then the two activated the byakugan. "I found them!" they both stated in unsion.

"Alright! Alright!" Naruto said grinning. "I will definitely bring back Sasuke!" Mayu bowed her head when she heard Naruto say that; she bit her lip lightly.

"Sorry, Naruto, but this time it's my turn to demostrate my new technique," Kiba stated proudly.

"Oh no, the battle of the idiots!" Mayu thought shaking her head.

Hinata: Mayu-san...!

"Sorry..." Mayu thought grinning lightly.

"Me, too!" Chouji joined in.

"Don't hurry," Shika said standing straight up. "Until my plan is worked out, we will not engage!"

"So then, what's the plan?" Mayu asked.

"Right, the plan is..." Shika began.

"If he says go and hide like Sasuke told me, I'ma kick him!" Mayu thought.
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Meanwhile, with the Sound Four.
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The four were panting heavily, having to have just fought jounins using level two. "We are trying to hurry, and yet we have to deal with these things..." Sakon stated.

"We don't have much of a choice," Tayuya pointed out. "Using curse level two takes too much out of us."

"Nevertheless, not being able to use your body is a bit..." Jirobo said.

"There wasn't much of a choice against jounin," Kidomaru said. "If we hadn't, we could have been defeated." He then stopped talking and closed his eyes. Could it be that he sensed something wrong?
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"Kiba, don't mistime the smoke bomb," Shika finished explaining the plan. Luckily, he didn't say anything about hiding, or Mayu could have kicked him. The six were hundled in circle listening to Shika's plan. Now, Shika was going to explain the positions. "We will split into two groups," he said; the rest of the team nodded. "One byakugan user in each group. Hinata, you come with me and Chouji. Neji, you go with Naruto and Kiba."

"Why did I have to be paired with the idiots?" Neji thought frowning.

"Let's move...!" Shika ordered; everyone nodded and went with their groups.
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Shika peered through the bushes at the Sound Four. He saw that they were still resting. "Seems like they haven't noticed yet," he said. Shika looked around, but did not see Sasuke anywhere. "Huh? Sasuke isn't around."

"He's in that barrel," Mayu muttered, she had the byakugan activated; her eyes narrowed. "He's not moving either."

"Is he dead?!" Shika asked with wide eyes.

"There's some kinda barrier surrounding the barrel, I can barely see through it," Mayu stated. "But I'm sure that they didn't just kill him. They wanted him too badly."

"That might be true," Shika muttered. Suddenly, Sakon stood up and threw a kunai! He knew that the three were watching! Shika's eyes widen as the kunai embedded into a nearby tree.

"It's a bomb!" Mayu shouted noticing the explosive tags attached to the kunai. "Everyone move!" Chouji, Shika, and Mayu jumped away just as the tag exploded. Though, the force of the explosion sent the three sprawling in a different direction. The three slid to a stop right in front of the now standing Sound Four. "Well, this is awkward..." Mayu muttered standing; Chouji and Shika did the same.

"What's this?" Sakon asked smugly causing Mayu to glare. "I thought they were snakes, but they were nothing more than insects."

Mayu's eyebrow twitched at Sakon's last comment. "Snakes... insects...?!" she thought.

Hinata: Please control yourself, Mayu-san! This is dangerous!

"I'll try my best..." Mayu thought glaring at the two-headed boy. Jirobo got into an attacking position, causing Shika to go on the defensive.

"Wait, wait!" he said putting his hands up to show he meant no harm. "We aren't here to fight! Rather, we're here to neogotiate." That's when Kidomaru chuckled.

"Then what are these?!" he questioned moving his arms.

"What are what?" Mayu asked not seeing anything.

"Yeah, I don't see anything either," Chouji commented.

"Just wait...!" Kidomaru said glaring at Mayu.

"If you say so..." she muttered. Suddenly, the sounds of yelling could be heard. Then out of nowhere, Kiba, Neji, and Naruto comes flying; they all seemed to be attached to some kind of string.

"Oh, those!" Mayu said. "Nice lie, Shikamaru!" she glared at her leader.

"Shut up," he responded. Suddenly, Kiba somehow flipped and threw a smoke bomb. Smoke filled the entire area, so now neither the team from Konoha, or the Sound Four could see one another. Kidomaru laughed as the smoke started to clear.

"What was the point of that smoke bomb?" he asked still chuckling. "You can't escape from me! These are better than wires. They are thinner, more durable, and almost impossible to see. I'll be able to take care of you guys with this wire."

The smoke fully cleared showing that Neji, Kiba, and Naruto were on the ground, while Chouji, Mayu, and Shika were standing. "Shit..." Kiba muttered.

"Ow, ow, ow..." Naruto groaned.

"That trap with two kinds of wires put in intentionally..." Shika said. "A three layer trap...? ... This is bad," he told his group.

"Yeah, no crap!" Mayu said.

"Who would expect there would be someone with such abilities?" Shika said, fully ignoring Mayu's comment.

"Well, aren't they a gay and merry bunch of insects," Sakon commented; his comment caused Mayu to snap.

"You're the only one here who's gay!" she shouted pointing a finger at Sakon, this caused him to glare at Mayu.

"Quit it with the comments, Hinata!" Shika ordered; Mayu pouted, but didn't say anything else.

"I'll deal with you bastards!" Kidomaru stated, he looked as if he was going to move, but he didn't. "What is this? My body can't..."

Hinata: So Shikamaru's plan did work after all...

"Nice, Kiba, Shikamaru!" Naruto grinned. "Kagemane no Jutsu has succeeded!"

"That's twice already that Shikamaru's technique saved us!" Mayu thought smirking. "Nice, indeed!" Shika's shadow stretched to all the members of the Sound Four.

"But there are also people with this kind of ability," Shika, in Mayu's opinion, bragged. "Thank you very much for falling into our trap."

"This could be bad. However..." Sakon stated; Mayu cringed knowingly. "I have this kind of ability."

Suddenly, three shuriken came flying towards Shika... from behind! Shika didn't even notice it coming, when he did, it was already too late. Two shurikens had pierced his flesh, and because of that, Shika had lost concentration on his Shadow technique. "Donton Keikkai..." Jirobo mumbled, and then he slammed his hands on the ground. Suddenly, the Earh itself rumbled and started forming around the six members of the Konoha team.

"Well, this can't be good..." Mayu thought as the ground fully covered them; no sunlight could get through. The six were left in the dark.

"Damn it!" Shika said frowning.

"This is..." Neji said.

"We're in that big guy's prison," Shika informed his group. After that, everyone of the members started looking for a way out. Meanwhile, outside of the mount of Earth, the Sound Four couldn't help but chuckle at their little victory.

"I've got them," Jirobo stated. "You guys want to rest for a while?"

"Once you've eaten, hurry and catch up to us," Sakon said. Kidomaru lifted the giant barrel on his back with a grunt of discomfort, and then Tayuya and he began to walk away. "Hurry..." he said, and then started following the rest of his team. Inside the prison, Naruto had become impatient and had begun to bang his fist on the dirt wall.

"Hey, let me out!" he shouted. "Damn it!"

"You're too noisy, Naruto!" Kiba told the blond.

Naruto was about to retort, but Hinata walked towards him. "He's right, Naruto-kun. It won't help if you shout," she said softly. Naruto sighed and tried to keep quiet at his girlfriend's request. Hinata had switched places with Mayu because the girl had started to do the same thing... except she was going to do it to Naruto's head. Fearing for his life, Hinata quickly switched.

"From what I see, these are just normal walls made out of dirt," Neji commented touching the dirt wall.

"It's their technique. There must be a trick behind it," Shika said looking around the prison.

"I don't know what it's all about, but it looks like we'll have to break out," Kiba stated.

Mayu: Oh, yeah! Prison Break!

"I'm just going to ignore you..." Hinata thought.

"It's dangerous to move carelessly, but as you said, to sit around doing nothing is even more dangerous," Shika pointed out.

"Tsuuga!" Kiba suddenly shouted jumping up, he then twirled around and ended up looking like a small twister. Kiba then drilled through the wall, causing dust to pick up. Everyone covered their eyes until they heard Kiba stop drilling. Fortuanately, Kiba made a hole in the dirt wall; unfortuanately, the wall started... healing itself... no, really!

Mayu: Please tell me that did not just happen...

"The wall just... recovered completely..." Hinata stated narrowing her eyes.

"Hey... I saw it," Kiba said pointing.

Mayu: We all saw it! This is really bad!

"What do we do?!" Naruto yelled out; his shout echoed all through out the prison.

Mayu: How about not freak out!

"Looks like it is not a normal dirt wall, after all," Neji said.

"I... I want to see it," Hinata said. "Byakugan!" Neji had also activated his byakugan.

"This is..." Neji said sounding shocked.

"What?" Shika asked. "What is it?"

"This is really bad..." Neji muttered looking at his hands.

"He's right..." Hinata said. "Our chakra... is being sucked away," Hinata said. The shocked look of her teammates told her that they were as much concerned as she was.

"Even though I didn't think they would just leave us alone in here, I didn't expect them to drain our chakra," Kiba said. All was quiet after Kiba's comment, that is until Naruto's outburst.

"Quit fooling around and get us outta here!" he yelled loudly. Neji, Chouji, Kiba, and Hinata sat down.

"This isn't good, my body is already starting to feel weak," Hinata said.

"Same here..." Kiba muttered panting lightly.

"My strength feels like its draining away," Naruto said also sitting down. Neji looked at Naruto through byagukan eyes.

"This isn't looking good, Shikamaru..." he stated.

"I didn't expect to get caught before we even found out the enemies' abilities," Shika said. "I was careless. And also, inside here..."

"Damn it! There isn't much time," Kiba said. "Before my chakra runs out, I will break through!... Akamaru!" The small dog stood up on command and barked. Kiba held out a pill to Akamaru. "The soldier pill."

Akamaru ate the pill right out of Kiba's hand. He suddenly, started growling and his fur began turning red. "Akamaru, use Gijyu Ninpo!" Kiba instructed.

Mayu: That is the scariest thing I've ever seen. A dog turning red... just crazy!

Now, there were two Kibas! They both twirled and formed into mini tornadoes. They both hit the wall repeatedly. "Alright, go Kiba!" Naruto said.

The others all watched as the Kibas hit the wall. "Something's not right..." Hinata thought.

Mayu: Yeah, you'd think that the wall would start crumbling by now.

Akamaru transformed back into his dog form. Kiba also stopped his attack on the dirt wall. "It's still repairing itself!" Hinata thought.

"Damn it!" Kiba said panting. "It's repairing itself again. Even the floor..."

Mayu: There is no way... no way I'm gonna just sit here!

"Mayu-san... please calm down!" Hinata thought. "Now's not the time to be thinking irrationally!" But it was too late, Mayu had already made the switch.

Hinata: That was pretty mean, Mayu-san...

"Don't worry, you'll be back in your body soon!" Mayu told her counter part. Mayu quickly formed the hands signs. "Bunshin no Jutsu!" she shouted getting the attention of the other group members.

"That clone...!" Neji thought.

"Mayu-san, why did you do that?!" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, aren't you supposed to be a secret, or somthing?!" Naruto said pointing.

"That's not a clone!" Shika thought staring at Mayu intensively. "It looks nothing like Hinata, except the eyes..."

"Quiet, I'm going to get us out of here," Mayu said, she got on one knee. "HEY, FATASS! DON'T YA KNOW THAT EATING CHAKRA WILL MAKE YOU FATTER!" she screamed. Kiba, as well as Naruto clutched their ears.

"What the hell are you doing, Mayu?!" Naruto yelled at the girl.

"Shut up, Naruto!" Mayu said. "CAN YA HERE ME, FATASS?! WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER?!"

"Interesting... whoever the girl is... you've got the same mouth as Tayuya," Jirobo called back. Mayu turned her head slightly. "Ladies shouldn't talk that way... Even if they are trash."

"There you are!" she thought; she got up and walked over to the spot that she looked at.

"Hey, who are you and what are you doing?" Shika asked Mayu as she positioned herself on one knee again.

"I'll tell you later if this doesn't work," Mayu said slapping her hands together. "Oh, this better work... I'll be so embarressed if it doesn't!" she thought closing her eyes. "But if it does... then..." Mayu started doing hand signs. "Mono... rata... zorro, dragón, gallo, caballo, mono, puerco, conejo... OVEJA!!" Mayu finished opening her eyes; she stopped on the ram sign.

"I recognize the hand signs, but I can't understand a word she's saying," Neji thought. "Could this be... her...?!"

"Time to see if this works," Mayu thought. "El estilo de Ishikari: ¡El interruptor del Cuerpo Jutsu!" she yelled. (Translation: The style of Ishikari: The switch of the Body Jutsu!) And then, she collapsed. The people around her blinked in confusion.

"Um... you have a lot of explaining to do, Hinata-sama," Neji said turning to his cousin. Hinata blushed as all eyes turned her on.

"Mayu-san, why do you do this to me?" she thought.

"Ugh... " Mayu sat up and rubbed her head. "How did I get in here?" Now, the others were really confused.
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Mayu's POV
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I could feel the rush I had felt before when I was in Sakura's body. It's the same feeling... I opened my eyes to see... sunlight! "Holy crap! It worked!" I exclaimed looking at my now giant hand. I took both hands off the dirt prison and examined myself. Yeah, I was in the body of that big guy. "Holy crap...! It worked..." I muttered. That means... I'm apart of the Ishikari Clan... or I'm a descendent of this clan. "Or maybe I'm just a reincarnation of an Ishikari clan member," I mused out loud. It did happen to Kagome and Kikyo...

"AAAHH! I'M IN A GIRL'S BODY!" a yell caught my attention. Oh, yeah! I'm supposed to be releasing the team.

"Okay, if I remember correctly... this guy's as strong as super man, so..." I muttered; I jumped up and put my best fist forward, fully intending to break through the top of the prison. "HULK SMASH!" I yelled as my fist connected. As I thought, I created a giant hole, seeing as how this guy's so strong, but I wasn't counting on me falling into that hole... Nor, was I counting on that hole to close up so fast...! Yeah, this is bad...

"M-Mayu-san, is that you?" Hinata asked. I turned to her and grinned.

"Unfortuanatly, yeah..." I said laughing nervously.

"That's a relief because I told them you were the enemy and so they tied your body up," Hinata pointing. I followed her finger to see the boys surrounding my body, but now they were looking at me.

"Hinata-chan, get away from him!" Narto yelled.

"Oh, shut up, Naruto!" I said. "As if I would hurt Hinata!"

"M-Mayu?!" Naruto said uncertain.

"Yes, it's me," I said walking over to them. Chouji and Neji stood in front of the others in a defensive stance. "Could you please step aside?"

"Why would you trap yourself in here with us?" Shikamaru questioned. I sighed and then rubbed my partially bald head.

"This isn't really me..." I began. "I did some kinda jutsu and switched bodies with this guy, so now he's in my body and I'm in his."

"She is correct," Hinata said walking towards me. "Only a male would scream that they're in a girl's body. This is Ishikari Mayu and that is her body," she pointed to my body, which was glaring at me. "Mayu-san means no harm. We can trust her; she is not the enemy."

"Alright, so now that that's all cleared up," I said walking forward again. "I need to talk to Jirubo!"

"It's Jirobo!" my body retorted, causing me to roll my eyes.

"My mistake..." I muttered; I picked myself up my the collar of my shirt.

Yeah, I know... very confusing...! "Now are you gonna tell me how can I reverse this jutsu or are we gonna have to do this the hard way?" I questioned.

"Teh... I don't have to tell you anything," Jirobu--I mean, Jirobo said glaring down at me, because I still had my body in the air.

"The hard way it is!" I smirked at my tied up body.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe you would hurt your own body? You're a girl after all," Jirobo taunted. It's amazing what bad guys say once they're caught.

"I don't have to," I replied dropping my body to the ground. Hinata stepped forward with her byakugan activated. "My friend over here could, though. Ya see, she's used to training with me... that means she doesn't mind beating the crap outta me for a while."

"Fine, do what you want!" Jirobo said. "It's not my body that gets hurt!" Damn it, he's right!

Hinata stepped forward again, this time in a position to attack. "Hinata...!" I said; she stopped and looked back at me. "He's right. It doesn't help if one of us is hurt. We still have three other ninja to deal with, and if one of us is hurt, it could cost us the entire mission."

"Then what?" Hinata asked deactivating her byakugan. I looked at Shikamaru and grinned.

"I'm sure our leader has some kinda plan," I said; he looked surprised at my comment. "Don't tell me you don't..."

Everyone focused their attention on Shikamaru, expecting him to say something. "I..." he began; everyone leaned in, curious of what his plan was going to be. "I... I have to think about it." I'm pretty sure the others, as well as myself fell at his comment, ya know, anime style.

"Well, please think fast," I told him. "I don't know how long I can hold this body. This is the first... wait... second time I've switched bodies with someone. And if I lose control, there's no telling what this guy can do to us when he gets his body back." Jirobo grinned evilly, showing that he was already thinking of some kinda evil plan. "Is that really how I look when I try to look evil?" I asked myself.

Shika closed his eyes and got into that familiar thinking position. I sat down and crossed my eyes. This was going to take a while. The last time Shikamaru did this pose, it took a while to think of the plans. Well, that's what a friend told me... I missed his fight with Temari every friggin' time it came on T.V.! "I've got it!" Shikamaru stated, startling me so much that I looked around in alarm. Okay, Ichiro is officially dead to me! "We should be able to break right through the wall, now!" he continued.

"Ha! Even though my body's not outside any more," Jirobo said glaring at me. "You still can't possible break through! I've already eaten most of your chakra."

"That's exactly why Chouji started eating..." Shika said pointing at his best friend. "To regain his chakra." I looked at Chouji in surprise. I hadn't even noticed that he was munching on chips. Where did those chips come from anyway?

Chouji crushed the finished bag of chips in his hand, and then stood up. "I can't believe I didn't notice that before," I thought. "Shikamaru and Chouji must have been friends for a long time..."

"And not only that," Shika said glancing at me. "We have your strong body at our disposal thanks to our new found team member."

"Oh, yeah!" I grinned giving a two-finger salute.

"You stupid trash!" my body growled out.

"It's up to you two, Chouji... Mayu!" Shika said.

"Yeah!" Chouji and I said in unison. Chouji slammed his hands together in a hand sign. "Baika no Jutsu!" he shouted, and then exploded--I mean, he expanded. "Alright, let's go!" Chouji said, and then his hands, legs, and head disappeared in his body. Chouji then started rolling towards the wall.

"My turn...!" I exclaimed; I punched the wall right beside where Chouji was rolling.

After repeatingly punching the wall, it finally split and Chouji broke right through! "Nooo!" I heard Jirobo screeched. ... Do I really sound like that?! Anyway, sunlight streamed through the massive hole that Chouji and I created. Right after, Chouji and I were out, the rest of the team ran out dragging my body with them. Thank kami-sama they didn't forget about me because the hole prison came crumbling down right as the last person left, which happened to be Kiba.

"Chouji, you are..." Shika began.

"Da bomb!" I finished for him. "Nice! I have a whole new respect for you!" Chouji grinned at my comment. I almost couldn't believe he knew what da bomb meant. Suddenly, there was a pain in my head. "W-What is this?!" I yelled clutching my head.

"Mayu-san, what's wrong?" Hinata question.

"I... I don't think I-I can h-hold this body anymore..." I grumbled falling to my knees in pain. "It's to h-hurting... j-just to s-s-stand!"

"Oh no! Quickly, Naruto-kun, untie Mayu-san's body!" Hinata instructed. I saw Naruto nod and quickly walk over to my body.

"Ha! You dirty trash! Your time is near!" Jirobo said, and then started chuckling madly, making me look like a weirdo. "Just you wait till I get my body back! I'll crush all of you!"

"N-Naruto...!" I grunted in pain.

"Almost..." Naruto called. With the strength I had left, I quickly jumped away from the group.

"Liberación..." I muttered closing my eyes. (Liberation) The familiar rush I felt before suddenly washed over me again. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in my body. "It... was a success..." I muttered as Naruto finished untying me.

"Mayu..." Naruto said. "That was... crazy."

"Don't I... know... it!" I said grinning weakly at him. Using the Ishikari techniques really takes a lot out of me. But I'm still glad that I read those scrolls. Hinata ran over to us with a concerned look on her face.

"You used a large amount of chakra, Mayu-san," she told me. I nodded in agreement, barely able to keep my eyes open. "Come back into my body so you can rest. You've done well."

"That's... fine... by me," I muttered nodding; I closed my eyes waited for the deep sleep. I hope the others will be okay. And I hope Hinata has a good explaination for my... arrival.

"You guys are finished!" was the last thing I heard before darkness surrounded me.
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"Ow..." I groaned clutching my throbbing head. I noticed that the wind was hitting my face, so that must mean I was moving. My eyes shot open to see Naruto looking down at me.

"Are you okay now, Hinata-chan?" he questioned looking quite concerned.

"I'm fine, Naruto," I told him. "Only, I'm not your Hinata-chan." Naruto blushed at my last comment, and then let me go.

"S-Shut up!" he yelled pointing at me; I quickly landed on a branch of a tree and started running, not wanting to get left behind.

"So what happened?" I asked looking around. "And where's Chouji?"

Hinata: After you went into my body... I, myself, experienced you fatigue and collapsed... so I don't know much.

"After Hinata-chan fainted, we left Chouji behind," Naruto answered. "We all took soldier pills, and then I gave Hinata-chan one." That would explain the sudden power boost. I feel better than before, and I think my chakra level is back to normal.

"How did you give it to her if she was unconscious?" I asked.

"I just--" but I didn't let Naruto finish.

"Oh, you passed it to her through your mouth!" I assumed. "So how was it kissing Hinata for the first time?"

A huge blush spread across Naruto's face, causing me to giggle lightly. "THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs.

Hinata: MAYU-SAN....!

"Oh, you know I'm just playin'!" I thought grinning.

"Hey, you, Mayu girl," Kiba got my attention. "Where's Hinata?"

"Yes, my cousin is still here, isn't she?" Neji asked looking my way.

"Hold on..." I said forming the hand signs for the clone jutsu. "Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Hinata was beside me when I opened my eyes. "Mayu-san, I wish you would stop being so reckless," she told me in a whisper; she was still blushing. "Now the others know about you."

"Hey, I got impatient!" I said. "There was no way I'm gonna let you die!"

"Thanks for caring, but that was still reck--" Kiba interrupted Hinata.

"Hey, Hinata, how long have you known this girl?" he questioned.

"Um..." Hinata mumbled.

"Does your father know about her? And why does she have the Byakugan eyes?" Neji asked.

"Uh..." Hinata said.

"How can you and her switch places? How can she come out in the form of a clone?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well..." Hinata muttered.

"Okay, we don't have time for this!" I exclaimed. "I'll answer any and all questions as soon as this mission's over. We don't have time to worry about the arrival of the new comrade. Just be grateful that I'm here to help!"

"I suppose she has a point," Shikamaru said.

"At least tell us who we're working with," Kiba said.

"Mayu... Ishikari Mayu," I said.

"Ishikari-san," Neji's voice caught my attention, causing me to look back. "I have one small question."

"Okay..." I said suspiciously. "Go 'head..."

"Do you... do you have a scar on the back of your neck?" he asked.

Well, wasn't that a bizarre question? I noticed that Naruto and Kiba looked at Neji like he was insane. Neji, though, focused all his attention on me. "Uh... no, I don't," I answered. "I get hurt a lot, but I'ver never done anything to cause injury to my neck area."

"I... see," Neji said bowing his head slightly. I noticed that Hinata looked back at her cousin with a concerned look. Okay, what was that all about?

"Anyway, Shikamaru..." Neji looked at Shikamaru, who was running along side him. "That pill that Chouji took... It seemed that it was some kind of last resort. Is there any chance of success?"

"He said that he had something up his sleeve," Kiba said.

"He is going to be alright, isn't he?" I questioned.

"Seeing that he's from the Akemichi clan," Shika began, "he brought some secret medicine for this mission. If he takes it, he will be able to use incredible power. There are the three different forms of the pill: green, yellow, and red. In each of those pills is hidden a massive power."

"I see, I see! That explains why he got so strong!" Naruto stated.

"I bet using secret medicine like that has some side effects..." Mayu thought. "Chouji doesn't die in this, does he?"

"Ishikari-san..." Neji said. Man, I wish he would stop being so formal!

"Mayu is just fine," I told him.

"Mayu-san," Neji said. This fool just don't want to listen. He's just like Hinata! "Tell me, what is your relationship with Uchiha Sasuke? Why did you want to come on this mission so badly? I'm assuming that it was you who threatened Shikamaru back when we were in the village."

Because I wanted to kick Sasuke's ass!

That's what I wanted to say, but Naruto decided to get back at me for that comment I made earlier and him and Hinata kissing. "Mayu is Sasuke's girlfriend!" he exclaimed. I almost tripped and fell out of the tree; luckily, I caught myself. From the looks of everyone else, I could tell that they were shocked; Hinata, meanwhile, was laughing! I'm glad she thinks this is so funny, cuz I'm gonna get her and Naruto back for this!

"THAT LITTLE...!" I yelled in my mind; I glared at Naruto's back, he looked at me with a evil grin on his face. "Hmph... Actually, I am!" I stated boldly; Naruto looked at me with a surprised expression.

"No way..." I heard Kiba mutter.

"It's true, Uchiha Sasuke fell madly in love with me!" I exclaimed clasping my hands together. I bet that there was a romantic backround behind me as I said this. "And after a while, I started falling in love with him!" Naruto almost fell because he was laughing so hard. Hell, it was pretty funny! "Soon after we became a couple, the third part of the chuunin exams started up. I totally helped train him for it! We spent all our time together, talking, laughing, training. We were--are the perfect couple! But when that bastard left me without any type of warning... That really pissed me off!"

"I-I don't believe it!" Kiba said.

"Believe it, hon! After I found he left, the only thing on my mind was kicking his ninny ass!" I said balling up my fist. "And that's just what I plan to do, and then I'm gonna drag his ass back to Konoha black and blue!" When I was finished with my little rant, I noticed that the guys' faces were like... I don't even know the word to describe the looks they gave me.

"Troublesome..." Shikamaru muttered.

"Crazy..." Neji said.

"Didn't know Sasuke liked those type of girls..." Kiba muttered.

"Anyway, let's focused back on the mission," I said. I didn't think they would believe that lie. "And shut up, Naruto! You too, Hinata!" They two were having a laughing fit. They were the only ones who knew the real relationship between Sasuke and I.

"Okay... everyone stop!" Shikamaru ordered. Everyone jumped down on to the forest floor on his command. Shikamaru went up to a random tree and made a mark with his kunai. "He promised," he said making a straight line with the kunai. "Chouji will defeat the enemy and then follow us."

I grinned in agreement. "Chouji will definitely win!" I said.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed.

"I guess so. When he gets serious, he's pretty good," Kiba said.

"Yup! He's even better than you!" I said.

"What?!" Kiba asked shooting me a glare.

"Please don't fight," Hinata told us.

"In that case, since everyone's in agreement, might as well add this," Naruto said taking out a kunai. He walked to the tree and began writing.

"Yeah, me too!" Kiba said.

"Me three!" I said, knowing exactly what they were doing. "Come on, Hinata, Neji!"

"Okay," Hinata said taking out her own kunai. Neji just stood there looking all cool... that was sarcam... No, really! It was!

"Listen up, everyone!" Shika said just as I was finishing up my writing. "Before Chouji catches up with us, we will get Sasuke back!" He then jumped off.

"Hey, wait for us!" Hinata and I shouted in unison jumping away from the tree.

"W-Wait!" Kiba called.

"Alright then, let's go!" Naruto shouted.

"You think Chouji will like what we left behind, Hinata?" I asked.

Hinata looked and me and smiled. "I'm sure he'll like it very much!" she answered. I sure hope so, that was my last bag of chips! And they were ranch flavored, too! On the tree that all of us marked, except for Neji, we put things like: 'Hurry up and come!' and 'We're all waiting.' and 'Hope you like this little snack!' I put that one! Hinata put: 'After eating, please catch up, Chouji-san!' And I think Shikamaru put an arrow.

"Don't you dare die, Chouji..." I thought slightly frowning. "You better not!"
**********************


It had been almost a half an hour since we left Chouji with Jirobo. I admit I was getting worried, but I have to stop thinking about it. Chouji will be just fine. "Just fine..." I thought. Suddenly, Akamaru barked, signally that something was up.

"We're getting closer!" Kiba translated Akamaru's bark.

"If we're getting close, then there might be traps set up," I said.

Hinata and Neji both activated their byakugans. "Strange... There's not one trap ahead of us," Neji said.

"That is very strange," Hinata agreed. "Shikamaru-san, what do you think?"

"We're being underestimated," he answered. "They think that the only one following them is that fat guy. They wouldn't set traps for him."

"Damn! How dare they underestimate us?!" Naruto shouted out.

"No doubt about it," Neji said. "We're definitely being written off."

"Perhaps this is our chance to ambush them," Hinata said.

"Yeah... Get them while they're open," Shikamaru agreed. "Listen to my plan..."

"Okay!" Naruto exclaimed. He sure is excited about this, isn't he?
************************


"Jirobo is late," Sakon stated glancing back.

"No," Kidomaru said. "He's already here." As Kidomaru said, Jirobo appeared and began following his team.

"Geez... What took you so long?" Sakon asked looking back at his teammate.

"Sorry," Jirobo apologized. "I had to take those weak punks' chakra."

"You fatass," Tayuya welcomed her teammate back. "Don't slow us down. Hurry up and take the barrel. That's your job, you dickhead!" Jirobo stared intensively at the barrel on Kidomaru's back.

"Okay," he said. His teammates narrowed their eyes at his answer. Something was definitely not right with their friend.

"You know, Jirobo..." Kidomaru said. "You're being awfully obedient today."

"What?" Jirobo said confused; Kidomaru stopped and put a pair of his hands on the barrel.

"I'm saying that I won't hand over the barrel..." he continued. "... because you're not Jirobo!" as he said this, he threw the barrel at his drak pink-haired teammate, who caught it effortlessly. Jirobo took out a kunai and jumped at Kidomaru. "I'll handle it this time. Sakon, Tayuya, you guys go on ahead." Sakon and Tayuya jumped away, leaving Kidomaru holding off Jirobo's attack.

"Jirobo always criticizes Tayuya for her speech," Kidomaru smirking at the imposter. Jirobo then transformed into Shikamaru.

"Heh, I see," he said; he tried kicking Kidomaru, but the multiple-armed boy just blocked. Kidomaru spit out... what seemed to be a spider web. Shikamaru was sent flying into a tree. He was stuck and out of luck... or was he?

Suddenly, six Naruto clones popped out, and they were coming for Kidomaru! "You bastard!" they all shouted, about to attack with their fists. Kidomaru chuckled lightly, and then lept off the branch he was on. He spit some kind of white goo in his hands, and then starting shaping it into something as he was falling.

"Ninpou, Kumo Soukai!" Kidomaru shouted, the goo in his hands transformed into a giant spider web! The Naruto clones all got caught in the giant web.

"Naruto!" Shika yelled.

"Now, Kiba, Akamaru!" Naruto thought. "He won't be able to get away while in the air!" Unfortunately, Kidomaru heard Kiba shouting.

"Gatsuuga!" he shouted. Kidomaru used his web to move out of the way of the two Kibas attacks. The two twisters transformed back into two Kibas. "I won't let you escape!"

Kido chuckled at this comment. "That's my line," he said. "Look at your feet!" There, on and around Kiba's feet were strings of a sticky substance.

"You... It's too early to think that you've got us with this!" Kiba yelled at the upside down, spider like boy.

"Keep at it," Kido smirked. Suddenly, Neji came out of nowhere with his byakugan eyes activated; it looked as if Neji would hit, but Kido just let go of his web.

He fell, leaving Neji to attack nothing but thin air. Kido clung to a branch upside, and then began to form something else out of the white goo. It flew from Kido in the form of a giant web! This time, Neji had been caught! "Damn... Naruto, Kiba, Neji, and I..." Shika thought. "Can this plan still succeed?"

"I'll cocoon you here," Kido told Neji, who was struggling to escape his sticky prison, but no avail.

Kido made it so that Neji's entire body was wrapped in the sticky substance. At this point, Naruto started to get worried, so he took out a kunai and tried cutting through the web, but that proved to be futile. "Damn it! Damn it!" he cursed. "What's with this web?! It won't cut!" Kido chuckled at Naruto's attempts to cut his web.

"It's useless! Useless!" he taunted still hanging upside down. "Even elephants couldn't break through my web."

From Kido's point of view, the Narutos looked like tiny insects caught in his web. "Kage Bunshin... Interesting..." he said to himself. He then started chewing on something, forming a special substance in his mouth. Meanwhile, with Hinata and Mayu, both girls were looking at the situation from their hiding place.

"Hey, Hinata..." Mayu whispered. "Did you notice the chakra running through his strings?"

"Yes, this guy must be using chakra and his body fluid to form this stuff," Hinata answered softly. "Even though its not attached to his body, chakra still runs through..."

"What about Neji?" Mayu asked. "He's not dead, is he? I can't tell even with these eyes."

"No, he's just very still," Hinata answered. "Neji-nii-san likes to remain still when he's thinking."

"Hold on, did you say chakra still runs through the web?" Mayu asked. "Just like a vein..."

Hinata's eyes widen. "You're right! It's just like veins in a human body!" Mayu grinned, and then she cracked her knuckles.

"I see..." she said. "Let's do some damage!"

"Wait!" Hinata instructed.

"You're my first victim, so let's make this entertaining!" Kido's voice reached the girls' ears, causing them both to look towards him. They saw that he held some kind of a curved weapon.

"What's that?" Mayu muttered. "And why is he pointing at the Naruto clones?"

"It's clear that he believes that one of Naruto clones is real," Hinata thought, she then glanced up. "Naruto-kun is still hiding up there." Hinata looked back at Kido, who was still talking, and narrowed her eyes. "Mayu-san..."

"Yeah...?"

"I have a plan," she answered.

"Then, the next one will be this guy!" Kido said throwing another curved weapon down at the Naruto clones. The weapon hit, and then the clone disappeared. "Lucky guy. Next, I'll get two at once! Fifty-fifty!" This time, he threw two curved weapons. Two Narutos disappeared once the sharp things hit. Kido laughed madly. "This guy really has good luck!" he laughed out.

"But this time, it's one of two!" he threw another, hitting another Naruto clone, making him disappear in a cloud of smoke. "So he lasted to the very end..." Kido remarked. "Well, it was interesting, for a game. But now the game ends."

"Get ready, Mayu-san!" Hinata told her counter part; Mayu nodded her head and jumped off the branch, leaving Hinata alone. "Neji has figured it out..." Hinata thought looking to where her cousin used to be. "That's good..."

"DIE!" Kido shouted throwing the last of his weapons at the last of the Naruto clones.

The weapon pierced the skin of the clone and went straight through. Though, the clone disappeared with a pop! "What?" Kido said confused. Naruto popped out of his hiding place and went for Kido. Unfortunately, Kido heard Naruto's battle cry and turned around, and then deflected Naruto's punch. Although, Naruto was away from Kido, the spider like boy still had Naruto captured because of his sticky string. "I see..." he thought. "Only his replications attacked. He's been hiding and waiting all this time. A guy like him, thinking so far ahead..."

"Good try," Kido muttered. "But! You don't have anymore tricks. DIE!" he yanked on the string that was attached to Naruto, causing the blond to fly off the branch. Suddenly, Hinata came out of hiding, slice through the string with her hand, and then grabbed Naruto; she quickly moved to a higher branch, where Neji currently stood.

"Hinata-chan... Neji!" Naruto exclaimed once he was out of Hinata's arms.

"How did you...?" Kido muttered.

"Now, Mayu-san!" Hinata shouted, this shout caused Kido's eyes to widen.

"Here we go!" Mayu shouted causing Kido to turn, but it was too late, Mayu had already unleashed her attack. She repeatedly hit Kido's chest area with the gentle fist, but she actaully used her fist, causing the boy to be sent falling from the branch. "ROCK HARD GENTLE FIST!" Hinata slapped her head on her head.

"I told her not to use that when it's still imperfert!" she groaned watching her friend as she started dancing.

"Is that--is she?" Neji asked.

"Unfortunately..." Hinata muttered. Mayu had begun to do the Running Man while chanting:

"Can't touch this! Doo do do do! Doo do, do doo! Can't touch this!" she sang. "Stop...! Hammer time!"

"That girl... is very weird..." Neji muttered, he then jumped over to Kiba to set him free.

"We know..." Hinata and Naruto said in unison.

"How did she become Uchiha Sasuke's girlfriend?" Shika thought as went a sweat drop went down the back of his head.

"Hey, you little bitch, that hurt!" a voice caused Mayu to freeze her dance. She slowly turned to see Kido glaring at her.

"Mayu-san!" Hinata yelled, but it was too late; Kido punched Mayu's face causing blood to fly out of her mouth, it also caused her to go over the branch. Mayu flipped and landed safely on a lower branch, she clutched her stinging cheek.

"Damn, that hurt!" she thought. "I've really got to stay more alert!" Meanwhile, Neji had begun to set Shika free.

"I'll kill you!" Kido yelled throwing that curved weapon at Mayu. Mayu's eyes widen as it came closer and closer! She squeezed her eyes shut and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "What?! A clone?!" Kido said, he then began looking around franctically. "Where's the real one?!"

Meanwhile, Mayu had safely returned to Hinata. "Are you alright?" Hinata asked.

Mayu: Oh man, I could swear I saw my life flashing through my eyes!

Hinata resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she performed the proper hand signs. "Bunshin no Jutsu!" she said.

"Hey, up here, freak!" Mayu called down to Kido. He looked up in surprise.

"How did you all get free?!" Kido yelled pointing.

Neji, Shika, Kiba, Akamaru, Hinata, Naruto, and Mayu were all standing on a single branch, and they were all staring back at Kido. "Since it uses chakra as a component," Neji began. "We destroyed it by pouring our chakra into it. This jutsu is useless against the Gentle Fist."

"That's right, it's just like the veins in a human body," Hinata said nodding her head. "Only members of the Hyuga Clan can deal with this guy."

"Go," Neji said. "I'll do it!"

"This guy is a lot stronger than the fat guy," Kiba said, his dog had just jumped into his coat in fear. "Much stronger..."

"If we don't go one on one, then the numbers will be off," Neji stated. "Isn't that what we discussed?"

"Yeah..." Shika said. "That's right."

"Furthermore, if we stop here, we won't be able to catch up to Sasuke," Neji pointed out.

"Chouji is still not back yet," Kiba stated.

"We are here because it is our mission to bring back Sasuke," Neji said. "But it's not only that... As ninja, we are chasing after and protecting Konoha's ideals. During the Third's funeral, do you remember Iruka's words?"

"No! Not another flashback!" Mayu thought. "Don't they know that the enemy could attack at any moment?! Morons!"

"Listen up, Sasuke is heading to Orochimaru," Neji said. "We can't let someone from our village go to him. We cannot. And... Naruto... You have better eyes than me. Sasuke is now... within the darkness. Hurry and go!"

"Neji-nii-san, you're not doing this alone," Hinata said softly. Everyone's eyes widen at Hinata's words.

"Hinata...!" Mayu was the first to speak. "You can't mean..."

"Yes, I will stay here and fight with Neji-nii-san," Hinata confirmed.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Mayu said shaking her head. "I won't allow it! No! No!"

"Mayu-san, as I said before... only the members of the Hyuga clan can deal with him," Hinata said. "And I am a member of that clan."

"No! You're not staying!" Mayu said. "I won't let you get hurt!"

"I have to do this, Mayu-san..." Hinata said.

"No, please no!" Mayu said. "Naruto, aren't you going to say something?!"

"Hinata-chan..." Naruto mumbled, causing the girl to look at him. "Knock him dead!" he gave her a thumbs up; this caused Hinata to smile.

"What?! That is not what I--"

"MAYU-SAN!" Hinata yelled gaining the girl's attention. "I do not need protection anymore. I am strong. I will stay behind and defeat this enemy with Neji-nii-san. I'll be fine."

"Hinata..." Mayu muttered, she opened her mouth to say something else, but what could she say? Mayu turned her back to Hinata; tears well up in her eyes. "Hinata's not a kid anymore, she no longer needs my help..." she thought.

"Mayu-san... I'm sorry, but I have to do this," Hinata said; she walked over and stood next to Neji.

"H-Hinata..." Mayu said, a tear slipped from her eye. "Don't die... just don't die."

"Thank you," Hinata said. "I'll do my best!"

"M-Make me proud, now!" Mayu exclaimed wiping her eyes.

"Just focus on bringing back Sasuke-san," Hinata said; Mayu nodded her head. "We're catch up later."

"Okay, I guess that means we can go, now..." Shika said standing.

"You two come along with Chouji, alright?" Kiba said; Akamaru barked.

"Yeah, we will..." Neji said. The rest of the team jumped off the branch, leaving the two Hyugas behind. The four glanced back at the two.

"Hinata-chan, Neji... catch up with us, okay?" Naruto thought. "Hinata-chan..."

"It feels like I just left my sister with a pack of hungry wolves..." Mayu thought as she clutched her stomach, hoping to stop the rising feeling of anxiety. Back with Kido, he didn't seem happy about the others' departure. He spit that goo into his hand and threw it.

"Byakugan!" Hinata and Neji said in unsion, activating their eyes at the same time. The substance shot out in the form of a web, it caught both of the byakugan users, and then it headed for the depearting four. The two cousins broke through their bonds and cut the strings that were going for their teammates.

"These two are pretty good," Kido said.

"Hinata-chan, Neji...!" Naruto said watching the two.

"As expected..." Shika said. Neji and Hinata jumped in front of Kido's line of vision.

"We won't let you get past us!" they said. Kido spit a web out, but Neji just destroyed it. "It's no use..." he said.

"It's okay then," Kido said. "You two seem like the strongest in the group."

"No matter what... we must win, Neji-nii-san..." Hinata muttered getting into her stance.

"Yes," Neji agreed also getting into the Hyuga stance. "Hinata's come a long way..." he thought. "I can't wait to see what abilities she's learned."
*************************
Mayu's POV
********************


I still didn't like the idea of leaving Hinata like that. And Naruto just let her stay! What kinda boyfriend is he?! "Hinata, you better be okay when I come back!" I thought. I looked up to see that the sun was setting. It's going to get dark soon. We had left Neji and Hinata over an hour ago.

"Don't panic..." I told myself. "They're both alright!" It's times like these when I wished I could have watched the entire Sasuke Retrival arc.

"They're close," Kiba suddenly told us. "Two enemies left."

"We've got four," Shikamaru stated. "It's four on two. If things go well, we may finish this mission with one last encounter."

"All right, all right! We got this!" Naruto shouted.

"No, it's five on two," Kiba remarked. Oh, yeah... can't forget about Akamaru! Akamaru barked to make himself known.

"Okay, I gotcha," Shikamaru said, chuckling lightly. "My mistake. Including Akamaru, it's five on two."

"We'll use our new move and finish this off quickly," Kiba said.

"Hey, hey! How about I do an amazing kage bunshin?" Naruto asked. "Everything will be fine then."

"That's such a good plan," Shikamaru said. "But let's go with my plan first. Got it?"

"Sure," Naruto said.

"Mayu...!" Shikamaru caught my attention. "Are you up for this?"

"Of course I am," I answered, though, my voice didn't sound as convincing as I wanted it to.

"Relax, Mayu, Hinata-chan is strong!" Naruto said. "She, Neji, and Chouji are on their way right now! I'm sure of it!"

"Yeah..." I said nodding. "I bet you're right!"

"Okay, now for my plan to work," Shika said. "We have to catch up to them before the sun sets completely."

"I gotcha! Let's speed this up then!" Kiba said going faster. We weren't going to make it.

"The sun going to set in a couple of minutes," I told them. "We won't make it."

"No, this is just fine," Shika said. "We will keep our distance and continue the pursuit."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"It just means that we're going to postpone the attack until the sun rises," Shika answered. What?! We're going to keep traveling until then?! Oh crap! That means no sleep doesn't it?

"Is bird brain really worth all this trouble?" I asked myself. "He is just a bird brain... but I..."

"Screw that! We don' have that much time!" Naruto shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"That's right!" Kiba agreed looking back at Shikamaru. "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," Shika told us. "In that moment, the chances of us getting Sasuke back, escaping, and then getting far away, are close to nothing. If, in that moment, we aren't successful in getting Sasuke back, they will collapse their defense around that barrel. If that happens, then 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 the advantage. It would be different if we had the Byakugan though." The boys' heads turned to me.

"What?" I questioned.

"You can you the byakugan," Kiba pointed out.

"Yes, but that's only when I'm in a five miles' radius of Hinata," I told them. "And seeing as though we traveled more than five miles since the last lime we saw her... that's not gonna cut it."

"Well, there goes that plan," Shika grumbled. "I'm glad I found out before hand."

"Hey, have you forgotten my and Akamaru's nose?" Kiba asked.

"I've already put your senses of smell into my calculations," Shika said. "Even with that, they would still have the advantage. Not to mention... If I can't use my technique, there's nothing we can do. Even if I stopped their movent by my kage mane, 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."

"But..." Kiba tried to protest.

"Shut up, Kiba!" I yelled. "Shikamaru's the leader, or have you forgotten? We follow his orders!"

"Mayu..." Naruto muttered.

"I'm worried and mad at the same time, and I don't want to hear any arguing!" I said. "Just listen to the smart one, and we may get this mission taken care of quickly."

"Yeah," Naruto said in agreement.

"Kay, thanks!" Shika said. Kiba grumbled something, but everyone decided to ignore that.
*************************

"What are those morons Jirobo and Kidomaru doing?" that dark-pinked hair girl shouted. The last two members of the Sound Four looked back at Naruto, Kiba, and Shika; they had glares on their faces.

"We're caught up!" Naruto stated. Yes, by sunrise, we had caught up. And now the three of them were standing across from Tayuya and Sakon.

"Fine, fine... How about taking care of this quickly?!" Sakon said; he looked angry. He jumped from his branch; Naruto quickly threw his kunai.

Sakon only dodged the attack, and then made a hand sign. Oh, by the way... I was hiding. Shikamaru thought it would be a good idea if I did. Yeah, I kicked him for it! Anyway, Naruto created a shadow clone. "Take this!" Sakon shouted throwing a punch. Kiba and Shika jumped into action!

Well, actually they just put themselves in the way of Sakon's attack, and then totally got pummeled. Behind them, Naruto had formed the Rasengan in his palm, and now was about to thrust it into Sakon. But... Sakon grabbed on to Naruto's arm. The rasengan disappeared. "There's no point if I grab you before you let it out," Sakon taunted. Suddenly, Kiba came out of nowhere and drilled through Naruto's clone. Sakon dodged Kiba's tsuuga by ducking quickly.

Ya see, the plan was for us to get Sakon and Tayuya in a straight line so it would be easier to get the barrel. "You think you got us there?!" Sakon asked. If I remember correctly, this is the part where Shika uses his shadow technique on Tayuya and root her to the spot. As I thought, she didn't move when Kiba came towards her and the barrel. Kiba quickly stopped twisting and grabbed the barrel. "Tayuya! Why are you just staring off into space?!" Sakon yelled moving towards her. "And why the hell are you stepping forward?!" he yelled; Shika made her stand up and step forward. Sakon wouldn't be able to dodge her.

He crashed into her, sending them both flying from the branch. "Here ya go!" Kiba said tossing the barrel. I stood up from my hiding place and caught the barrel with a grunt.

"Got it!" I called. "Now, let's get the heck outta dodge!" I jumped from my place and started to head back. Shika, Naruto, and Kiba followed me.

"BASTARDS...!" I heard Tayuya shout. I chuckled when I heard her.

I look down at the barrel in my hands. "Sasuke..." I muttered.

"Just as I thought. They were full of openings," Shika said grinning. "They have problems even though they have talent."

"Yeah, it went according to plan!" I said. "We got Sasuke and it went off without a major conflict."

"It just means we were one to two steps ahead of them," Shika said.

"Come back here, you trash!" Sakon's voice echoed through the forest.

"He's fast!" I thought glancing back. I looked forward again, and then I noticed that I went past Akamaru. "Was he finished setting up those traps?"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"I'll take that as a yes," I thought stopping and turning around.

"Good," Shika muttered.

"He did it!" Naruto stated.

No, no he didn't...! Sakon came rushing at us again. He wasn't caught in the blast! "Quit messing with me!" he yelled, and then: "Shut you 'woof', damn bitch!" Okay, that yell was kinda weird... I couldn't see anything because of the smoke and flames. Suddenly, Kiba went back yelling something about Akamaru. Then, there came the blast.

"Kiba! Akamaru!" Naruto yelled.

"Damn it!" Shika cursed. Then, all was quiet... until she came.

"HEY!"

"Oh, crap!" I thought looking up. Here she comes, the foul-mouthed one, Tayuya.

"You little shits!" she yelled. Yup, very foul-mouthed...

"Where did Kiba and Akamaru go?" Naruto shouted.

"The other one has come!" Shika stated. "We have no choice," he glanced at Naruto and I. "I'll do something. You take the barrel and go on ahead." The barrel was sitting in between us.

"Shikamaru...?" Naruto said. Tayuya was closing in fast... but all of a sudden, she stopped.

"Why did she stop?" I thought.

"Why are you here?" she asked. This made me even more confused.

"Great, our enemy is going insane!" I thought closing my eyes. "Why couldn't we get the normal bad person?" Suddenly, I could feel the barrel being moved, that caused my eyes to open. The barrel was gone!

FRIGGIN' GONE! "After all we did!" I thought looking around. Well, I found it... and right now... I wish I hadn't.

"Sorry, Naruto, Mayu..." Shika said. "He wasn't in my calculations." It was him... I nearly had forgotten about him.

"The hot bone guy..." I muttered.

"What did you just say?!" Naruto said.

"Nothing...!" I responded quickly.

"Kimimaro," I heard Tayuya say. So that was he's name... Well, Kimimaro now had the barrel we worked so hard to get.

"You're too late, Tayuya," he spoke. "Besides, where are the other three? We were the Sound Five."

"Why are you...?" Tayuya asked, not bothering to answer his question. "Your body... Your body should be..."

"My body is broken. I am using my willpower to move it," Kimimaro said.

"That's some willpower!" I thought gulping. "This guy is super strong! If I remember correctly... not even Lee-kun or Gaara-kun can handle his strength..."

"Damn you. Don't you know when to die?" Tayuya asked.

"I understand a little now," Kimi said. "This conscious feeling of life after being released from the prison of my body..." he stroked the barrel.

"Okay, that's going on my creepy list..." I thought.

"The feeling of touching a part of Orochimaru-sama's dream..." Kimi continued.

"Oro-bastard...!" I thought frowning.

"This container is an important dream container," Kimi said. "This is the body Orochimaru-sama really wants. But you guys were a little late." Suddenly, Naruto stood up.

"Hey, man!" he shouted. "What the hell are you talking about?! Give us Sasuke back!"

Naruto then recklessly jumped towards Kimi. I closed my eyes and shook my head. "What a idiot..." I thought. Suddenly, I heard a punch landing. I opened my eyes back up and saw that Shika had Naruto in his arms. "I'm willing to bet he got punched and Shika caught him." I sighed heavily, and then turned my attention to Naruto.

"YOU IDIOT!" I yelled. "Can't you sense how strong he is?! He'll destroy you!" But... Naruto wasn't paying attention to me because he said:

"Sasuke is..."

I hit him on the head in anger. "You moron!" I told him. "You make me want to rip out my hair!"

"Damn it! That bastard!" Naruto said.

I can not believe he was still ignoring me! I began to scream, but Shika told the both of us to calm down, so I tried my best. "How can I be calm?!" Naruto shouted. "At this rate, Sasuke will be out of reach again!"

"Even though Naruto's an idiot... he's right," I said. "The mission is to bring back Sasuke. Once he's with Oro-bastard... there won't be anything we can do." Shika didn't speak for the longest time.

"You shits!" I heard Tayuya yelled, causing me to look her way; she held out... I think it was a flute... "I'll end this quickly!" I guess Kimi had already left.

"Yeah," I called out to her. "With a flute! Someone save me from the terrible flute of doom!"

"You little shithead!" Tayuya yelled.

"Naruto, Mayu. Listen," Shika said. "Move exactly how I tell you to move. After I attack, you two pretend to attack, but don't... you two will go behind her and chase after that guy."

"What about you?" I had to ask.

"I'll stay here and somehow stall for time," Shika answered. "You two just focus on that barrel. Got it?" Naruto and I both nodded her heads.

"Come on, you shits!" Tayuya called.

"It's three-on-one!" We've got the advantage!" Shika stood with kunai in his hand. "If we fight together, we can take her."

"Trash like you, it won't make a difference how many of you there are!" Tayuya taunted.

"Don't underestimate our teamwork!" Shika called.

"Here we go!" Naruto shouted; we all jumped at once towards Tayuya. Shika attacked first, while Naruto and I was going to attack with our fists. Shika's attack was blocked, so now it was up to us.

"Now, Naruto, Mayu!" Shika yelled.

"We'll bash you up!" Naruto yelled; we both threw a punch.

Although, we went completely over her head, did a flip, and then landed safely on another tree branch. "Just kidding," Naruto said.

"The plan was successful," I said. Naruto started smaking his butt, causing me to roll my eyes.

"See ya!" he yelled, and then we both jumped away, hoping to find Kimi soon.

"YOU TRICKED ME!" I heard Tayuya yell. Both, Naruto and I, burst into laughter when we heard that.

Now, back to the seriousness. "Naruto..." I said, once I stopped laughing.

"What?" he asked.

"Once we get to him," I began, "I'll hide somewhere, while you attack, okay?"

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"So that I can grab the barrel while you're fighting," I answered.

"Oh, I see, now!" Naruto exclaimed.
************************


I admit leaving Naruto to fend for himself, while I stood back and watched from afar was kinda low... even for Sakura. But... it was the BONE GUY! Not even Gaara-kun could match his strength! So, here I was, standing on a tree branch watching Kyuubi-influenced Naruto clones surround Kimimaro. The bone guy looked all around him and say one word. "Wow..." he said.

"Ahh!" I squealed like the fan girl I am. "That was so cute!"

And I can understand why Kimi said wow. There were a lot of clones. I couldn't even count how many there were. "So much trash spread around," Kimi continued.

"Why do the sound people refer to their enemies as trash?" I thought. "Is that what Oro-bastard is teaching them?" That means that Sasuke will be saying the same things if he goes. Though, Sasuke can be stubborn as hell, so he'd probably just stick to moron.

Speaking of Sasuke, I wonder if he's all beat up in that barrel. He has been tossed around a lot. But, before I could ponder any further on that, I heard the sounds Naruto yelling. "Shut up!" Naruto yelled. The clones raced at Kimi and threw shuriken at him. Kimi just deflected Naruto's attacks, but I noticed that when the shuriken hit the ground, they had split into two.

"Wow..." I thought as I saw the Nartuo clones stop in surprise. "Kimi-san is stronger than I thought... And he's not even showing his true power yet."

Suddenly, Kimi ran at what I thought was the real Naruto, he just stabbed any clone that got in his way with his bone. Naruto clones disappeared left and right. "Unreal... doing some much damage in a short period of time," I muttered. "I wouldn't stand a chance against him and I don't even have clones to hide behind." I know Naruto won't die against Kimi, but I'm still worried. "When does Lee-kun come?" I thought. Meanwhile, back with Naruto, he was still attacking Kimi like he was just a regular enemy.

Naruto needs to calm down. He needs to think of some type of other plan, or Kimi is going to cut through all the clones, and eventually kill the real one. More and more of the clones disappeared after they had attacked. Eventually, there was only one Naruto. "This is really bad!" I muttered. That's when I finally notcied the dark smoke coming from the barrel. "When did...?" Suddenly, the seal tore!

The barrel exploded! "Sasuke...!" I nearly screamed, but held it in. I mean, was that supposed to happen?! When the smoke finally cleared, what I saw almost sent me into a laughing fit! "He... He... really looks like a bird now!" I muttered covering my mouth with my hand. Sasuke's hair had grown longer. I didn't see his face, but from the back, he looked like Vegeta from DragonBallZ.

Suddenly, the curse mark disappeared, and Sasuke returned back to normal. I think he did, anyway. I couldn't see his face. "Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto said. "What are you doing with these clowns?! Let's go back!" I realized then that Naruto was in denial. He really thinks that Sasuke will come back on his own.

"Naruto must've really thought of Sasuke as his best friend," I thought. Sasuke started laughing... like an evil person. "Sasuke... you!"

"You hear me, don't you?!" Naruto shouted. Sasuke didn't say a word, he just jumped off; this action only caused me to get angry. I was so focused on Sasuke's departure that I almost didn't hear the sound of grunting.

"Lee-kun...!" I muttered.

This is it... this is my chance! I have to go now while Kimi is distracted! I jumped from my hiding place and dashed towards the place Sasuke had gone down, careful to avoid Kimi. He seemed too intridged that Lee-kun had knocked him down to notice a girl run right past him. "Men... they're all alike..." I muttered jumping into a tree.
*************************


There... there he is. I've finally caught up to Sasuke. I don't think he knew I was following because he never turned around. We were stilling running through the trees. "Idiot..." I thought. "I think now's the time to stop him." I reached into the pocket of my capris and grabbed the heart shaped item.

I took it out and examined it; I smiled, and then frowned. "SASUKE!" I yelled. I saw him begin to turn his head, so I threw the item at him. "Ha! Dead on in the face!" I yelled. Yes, it hit him right as he turned around fully. The force of the impact caused bird brain to fall off the tree branch he was on. "Let the ass whooping commence!" I thought as I jumped down to, the groaning in pain, Uchiha Sasuke.
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HAHAHA! LOOK AT ME UPDATING ALL FAST! Summer Break's the best! Anyway, I hope you review.

Thanks for the 374 reviews I received! I'M ON A ROLL!