Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Road Less Travelled By ❯ The Chase is On! The Pursuit of Gaara ( Chapter 16 )

The Chase is On! The Pursuit of Gaara

 

Shikamaru was glad for the company as he ran along the branches of the forest. While his tracking skills were passable through his family's job as game-wardens, he was glad that Sasuke seemed to be living up to his reputation of Number One Rookie and taking point. Thankfully, the passage of the fleeing Sand ninjas had caused easily visible signs of their passage, and even Naruto seemed able to follow the trail.

Of course, they'll know that they're being followed. We aren't hiding our presence as we pursue them. Shikamaru glanced to his right to watch Naruto leap on all fours to the next branch. And we're at a disadvantage when we do catch them. Naruto and Sasuke must be near their limits, even if this will let them recover some of their stamina, and Temari and Kankuro will both be fresh. He focused his attention back on the trees ahead, his gaze sweeping over Sasuke's left arm and taking note of the spots of blood on the bandaging. Obviously we need a plan.

“We need a plan,” he said out loud, causing both Naruto and Sasuke to turn some of their attention towards him and away from the task of running through the trees.

Naruto was the first to reply. “What do we need a plan for? We catch those Sand ninjas, Sasuke does that blue chakra lightning thing on Gaara again, and we win.”

Sasuke shook his head. “I can't do much more than run in a straight line with that. I'd be too vulnerable to attack by those other two ninjas. We need to take them out, then go after Gaara.”

“I still say it'd be three versus three. I beat Neji, I can beat these guys.” Naruto looked smug.

Sasuke, however, turned his attention forwards again, frowning as he passed over something that seemed out of place. “What… damn!” He leapt away, travelling at a sharp angle compared to before. “Explosives!” A fireball bloomed at where he had just passed over, causing the fine wires wound around the trees to glint slightly.

Both Shikamaru and Naruto started moving, dodging over the explosive tags placed on nearby branches, barely keeping ahead of the shockwaves produced. Sasuke lost track of them for a while, instead concentrating on his surroundings and not getting blown out of the air. He finally found a safe spot to rest, stuck to a tree branch with chakra whilst hanging upside-down. He looked around slowly while getting his breathing back under control, before finally spotting Shikamaru kneeling horizontally on a distant tree trunk.

Shikamaru nodded to him. “No damage here.”

Sasuke nodded back, looking around for Naruto. Where's the idiot gone? He couldn't have been caught in all that, surely. Sasuke swung himself up onto the top of the branch, still looking around. “Naruto?”

“What the hell was that?!” demanded Naruto from somewhere above him. Sasuke looked up to see Naruto draped inelegantly over a tree branch further up the tree.

“Idiot.”

“Hey, at least I'm an alive idiot.” Naruto wriggled off the branch and landed in a crouch next to Sasuke. “I don't think they want us to follow them.”

Sasuke snorted. “You think?” He started looking around, trying to pick the trail back up again.

Naruto stuck his hands behind his head and rocked back on his heels slightly, going back to their conversation as if the explosions had never happened. “So, why don't you just skewer the girl first, then the freaky puppet guy, and then Gaara? Me and Shikamaru can keep them looking the wrong way while you do it.”

Sasuke sighed and turned his attention to Naruto, beginning to rub his neck and hoping Naruto took the hint. “I'm good for one more run only. Kakashi said I shouldn't try to do more. It would cause complications.”

“Complications?” Naruto looked puzzled, and Sasuke could see his eyes tracking to look at his neck before blinking. “Oh. Right. Complications are bad, we don't want any of those.” And if it does get complicated, better that Sasuke is pointed at them then at us, I think. Naruto looked about. “So where did they go next?”

Shikamaru spotted the trail. “This way.” He leapt off the tree-trunk and started moving from branch to branch. “Two separate passes happened through here.”

Sasuke moved alongside and nodded. “That's what I'd do. Have one person remain behind to set the traps while the other continues.” He looked about. If they're splitting up to do that, we must be close behind. They wouldn't risk separation otherwise, even if for only a short while. He resisted the urge to scratch at his arm through the bandages. Damn this injury. It's going to make it much harder to finish Gaara when the time comes. His eyes flicked slowly from Naruto to Shikamaru. I hope Shikamaru didn't gain anything from when we spoke. I don't want anyone outside of the team knowing what Orochimaru did to me. It would stop them trusting me.

Shikamaru chanced a glance upwards at the sun's position. “Well it's midday now. My range will only get greater as time goes on.”

Naruto laughed. “Until night anyway. But I'm guessing we'll have caught them by then.” He saw Sasuke look slightly puzzled. “What's up, Sasuke? Don't you remember how Shikamaru beat that girl from the Sound?”

Sasuke growled slightly. “Idiot. I was in hospital after my fight, remember? Kakashi didn't bother giving me any information on Shikamaru or anyone else except Gaara.” I wonder if that means he knew this would happen? Bah, Kakashi likes to look clever but he doesn't know everything. He shook his head slightly to clear it and bring his thoughts back on track. “The Nara clan was never big enough to be a threat to the Uchiha. I don't know anything about their special jutsus.”

“Really?” asked Naruto. “Aww it was so cool! Shikamaru just stood there and his shadow stretched like elastic and then that girl started moving just like he did. It was awesome!”

Sasuke automatically tuned out Naruto's enthusiasm as he knew that Naruto could be enthusiastic about almost anything. “Shadows, eh? You fight by extending your own. Can it piggyback other shadows too?”

Shikamaru nodded. “That's why midday is such a troublesome time to fight. I have to take account of the short range.”

Naruto, ignoring Shikamaru's explanation, sped up slightly to pull in front of the others. “I think I see them! That girl's dress is bouncing light back at us.”

Shikamaru turned his attention away from Sasuke and squinted slightly. “I can't tell. It could be anything moving ahead of us, or just an optical illusion at this speed.” He turned back to Sasuke. “Can you go further ahead and see?”

Sasuke shook his head. “Not enough traction for me to speed up here. We can catch them in a minute or two if it is them. Do we have a plan?”

“Not really,” replied Shikamaru, noticing a change up ahead. “Looks like they've stopped.”

“Then let's go get them,” said Naruto, leaping ahead, to stop on a wide branch facing the now-stopped Sand ninjas. “Hey, you losers! I don't know what you're planning, but we're here to stop you!”

Sasuke landed next to him and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This isn't some sort of adventure story where the hero makes a grand entrance, Naruto. We're trying to stop them when we don't even really know what they're doing, just that it involves Gaara. Sasuke let his eyes drift over Temari and Kankuro, before looking at Gaara carefully. He could see a dark stain on Kankuro's shoulder where he held Gaara, which led Sasuke to believe that Gaara might still be bleeding, even though he was certainly unconscious. That helps. Two of them versus three of us, and one of them will be hampered with carrying Gaara. He sensed Shikamaru land on the far side of Naruto, bringing their number to greater than that of the Sand ninjas. “Surrender. You're not going anywhere now.”

He saw Kankuro turn to mutter something uncomplimentary under his breath, before Temari sprang forwards.

“Kankuro, take Gaara and run.” She drew three kunai and hurled them at the group of Konoha ninjas, causing them to scatter slightly. She withdrew to a higher branch before turning back to Kankuro. “I'll hold them here as long as I can.”

Kankuro shook his head. “There's three of them, Temari, and only one of you. You can't do this alone.”

“Don't worry about me,” she replied. “This is an important mission for the Sand. You need to place the priority on Gaara's condition.” She turned her attention back to the Konoha ninjas, ignoring Kankuro and Gaara's departure.

“Hold it!” called out Naruto, starting after them. He started climbing the tree branches to follow, even as he heard Sasuke launch kunai at their retreating backs. I won't let them get away. Something moved in front of him and he looked up, puzzled. “Huh?”

Temari grinned mirthlessly before him, swinging her arm round to generate a breeze with her fan. “Take this!” The gust picked Naruto up off the branch, throwing him through the trees until he impacted on a trunk. Temari hung back, keeping her open fan between herself and the other genin.

Shikamaru looked up at her. She hangs back so that she can knock any one of us flying with her wind jutsus if we try to pass her. She has her fan fully open, so she's not playing with us like she did with Tenten in the preliminaries. We need to stop her from swinging her fan, and that means we need to stop her from moving. He shook his head. But she'll be expecting me to try using my Kagemane no jutsu(1) to do just that. We'll need a distraction.

Sasuke looked at both Naruto and Shikamaru. “Every second we waste here, Gaara gets further away. I say we take her down, and take her down fast.” He got an agreeing nod from Naruto, which made him hopeful. Naruto is eager to fight. With some luck, this means that he'll use his only real move. With that, there should be plenty of shadows for Shikamaru to try his luck. He saw Naruto bring his hands together in the familiar hand seal.

“I'll show her. Kage Bunshin no jutsu!” Six Narutos formed on surrounding tree branches and leapt towards Temari, yelling inarticulately.

Temari swung her fan back. “Ninpou Kamaitachi! (2)”

Sasuke watched the winds score the bark of the trees they passed. When they hit Naruto's bunshin, the cuts caused them to evaporate back into clouds. It took Sasuke a moment to realise that the winds were not dissipating as they drew closer to the three Konoha genin. He faintly heard Shikamaru call out an order to scatter before he was again dodging through trees for the second time that hour. He idly hoped that there would not be a third time as he heard Temari call out her technique again, trying to take out another wave of Narutos who were throwing shuriken at her.

Slowly, Sasuke moved around, watching how often Temari swung, and timed a kunai throw to one of the gaps, hoping to catch her off guard. His aim was perfect but she managed to reverse her hand to bring the fan around in another move.

“Ninpou Fuusajin!(3)”

A hot wave of gritty air hit Sasuke, sending him flying into a tree. His injured arm protested at the sand grating against the wounds, and Sasuke rolled with the hit to put the thick tree trunk between himself and Temari. He looked around and saw Shikamaru and Naruto likewise seeking shelter, Naruto looking annoyed that his usual tactic was not working.

If we don't finish this quickly, we'll just waste time and chakra. He looked at Shikamaru, noting that he had moved from his initial point to hiding at the ground level but had tried no attack, and that Temari probably would be unable to keep track of several things at once. If she thinks Shikamaru is gone, then we can call her bluff and catch her! He looked over at Shikamaru and met his gaze, seeking understanding. Sasuke then leapt up to a branch on a level with Temari. “Shikamaru! Come back here and help us out, you coward!” he yelled, focusing his attention on somewhere behind Temari. To his surprise, he saw Shikamaru running away through the trees behind her. What? But I know he's still hiding. Then Sasuke realised. It's one of Naruto's bunshin. He must've positioned it for an attack then, hearing what I said, making it move to try to help my story.

Temari just smirked. If he thinks that something that stupid will make me turn attention away, he's mistaken. It makes no difference if one gets through. Kankuro is skilled enough to deal with that shadow user, even burdened with Gaara. The Uchiha, however, is far more dangerous. At least he hasn't noticed the dust left on the branches by my jutsu. She saw some movement out of the corner of her eye, and swung her fan once more, knocking away more Narutos as they tried to approach. She then focused her attention back on Sasuke, glaring. “Some pride of Konoha you are, letting others fight for you. Why don't you try more than just kunai and icy glares?”

Sasuke snorted. “You're just full of hot air, aren't you?” He brought his hands up and started flicking through a complicated sequence of seals. “But then, so am I.” He brought a hand to his mouth as he felt the chakra-created fire welling up in his chest. “Katon, Housenka no jutsu!(4)” He aimed the fireballs at Temari, guiding them down as she leapt off the branch to the forest floor. As the fireballs hit the ground around her, they produced pillars of flame that lit up the surrounding area and generated flickering shadows. There. Hope that gives Shikamaru enough to work with. But just in case, I'd better keep going as if I don't expect him to act. He saw Temari rise to her feet and look back up at him, drawing her fan back. Sasuke started to flip through the seals for a more precise Katon jutsu, then stopped as he saw Temari's arm jerk to a halt.

“That's far enough, lady.” Shikamaru slouched out around the tree, keeping a distance as the fires died down. At his feet his shadow stretched out to connect with Temari's, its range boosted by the shadows created by the fire. “You've been captured now.”

Sasuke heard Naruto whoop somewhere up above. “Whoohoo! Go Shikamaru! Show that crazy fan-lady who's boss!”

Sasuke sighed. Figures that Naruto would be eager. Three against one isn't much of a fight in this case. He looked up and spotted Naruto almost instantly because of his brightly coloured clothes. “Get down here, Naruto. And mind the dirt.”

“What dirt?” asked Naruto, just before neatly landing on a patch on a low branch. Losing all traction with his feet he skidded off the branch and hit the ground with a bump. “Owww…” he complained, rolling around and holding his head.

Sasuke sighed again. “The dirt that she placed to trip us up when we tried something, idiot.” He looked at Shikamaru. “So now what? We knock her unconscious and leave?”

Shikamaru shook his head, Temari mirroring his actions. “No good. While this jutsu is in effect, anything you do to one of us, you do to the other. Unless you know exactly how hard to hit her, and she doesn't dodge, we can't do it.”

Naruto got up, still rubbing at his head. “So what? We take her with us? Fat lot of good that'll do, Shikamaru. I thought we wanted less enemies.”

Shikamaru nodded. “And you and Sasuke will have them.” He moved to a convenient tree and sat down, leaning against it. “I'll stay here. I might not have as much chakra as you guys do but I can keep her here a while, maybe even long enough for you to catch up and deal with Gaara.” He looked over to where Temari had copied his pose, seemingly leaning against thin air. “She won't be able to complete her mission. That's a victory even if it isn't a decisive one.”

Sasuke nodded and thumped Naruto across the chest as the latter opened his mouth to argue. “We argue about this and we lose time, Naruto.” He nodded to Shikamaru. “Hide yourself and take care that no one else finds you two. Good luck.” He leapt away into the trees, following Kankuro and Gaara's trail.

Naruto snorted. “Heartless jerk.” He turned his attention to Shikamaru. “Thanks, Shikamaru. Try not to take advantage of a helpless lady, you know?” He grinned and chased after Sasuke.

Shikamaru sighed. Well that takes all the fun out of my life again. It's just me and the Sand kunoichi. He leaned back and looked up at the small specks of blue sky peeking through the leaves of the forest.

“You know, when I get free of this, you're going to wish you were dead,” said Temari.

Shikamaru shrugged philosophically, knowing that it would make her do the same. “You'd get on well with my team-mate, Ino. She has a sharp tongue, just like you. Don't think she's ever threatened to kill me though.”

“Oh, I'm not going to kill you,” replied Temari, her voice practically sneering. Shikamaru knew that this was because she'd realised that this was the only way other than words to make her point. “Killing you would mean that you'd never live to regret the lesson I teach you.”

They sat in silence a while before Temari spoke again.

“Don't you get a crick in your neck, staring up at the sky like that?”

 

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Sakura was worried. She supposed she had every right to be, but it was not the done thing when a ninja was on a mission. Ever since Pakkun had reported that two squads and a spare were tracking them she had been trying to think of a way to sort out the problem. Nothing Kakashi had told her when assigning the mission gave her a clue on how to deal with this.

Pakkun sniffed the air again. “No good. They're still following us.”

Sakura heard Ino curse slightly. “After all that time we wasted to confuse our trail, and even walking backwards like you told us to, all we've done is lost time and let them get closer!” She tugged at the covers over her elbows slightly as she kept running. And what I'm wearing isn't something that I've ever run missions in before, and it's got less protection than my usual gear. “I can't believe that your sensei told us to do something so stupid. This is all your fault, Sakura.”

“Mine?” asked Sakura. “How can it be my fault? I was sat with you the whole time.” Please, Ino, now isn't the time for us to start a fight.

Ino huffed slightly. “Shikamaru would never do something so adventurous as go after the sand psycho unless he was encouraged by your suicidal team-mate.”

Sakura allowed herself to smile. “Which one would that be?” She shook her head at Ino's shock. “It's no good blaming people, Ino-pig, not even me. We're in this mess, and if we don't work together we'll not be able to save the boys.”

Chouji nodded, huffing slightly from the pace Pakkun was setting. “She's right, Ino. Shikamaru needs our help more than we need to have this argument.”

“Chouji,” whined Ino. “How can you take her side of the argument?”

“Sorry, Ino, I just think she's right.”

Sakura sighed exasperatedly. “It doesn't matter who's right if we don't manage to lose these people.”

Pakkun sniffed the air again. “They're still gaining on us. We have ten minutes at best to lose them before they catch us. On top of that, I can smell a battle. There's the smell of burning and chakra in the air ahead.” He turned back to look at the humans following behind him. “Seems like Sasuke is in a fight.”

“Sasuke-kun.”

Sakura and Ino both turned their heads to look at each other as they realised that they had spoken the same thing. Ino was the first to look away and shake her head. “How can you know it's Sasuke-kun fighting?”

Sakura smiled, realising she had knowledge over Ino of Sasuke's habits. “He's an expert in using Katon jutsu, even though he's only a genin. Unless the Sand ninjas also know ways of fighting with fire, it will have been him who started it.” She focused on Pakkun. “Can you tell if Naruto and Shikamaru are still with him?”

Pakkun sniffed again. “They are nearby, but they seem to be separating. Shikamaru and another remain while Sasuke and Naruto go on ahead. There aren't any fresh smells of battle, but with two ninjas of opposing sides remaining, it's likely that this is just a pause in the fight.”

Sakura nodded. So Shikamaru is stalling one of the Sand ninjas while Sasuke-kun and Naruto follow the other two. That means that Shikamaru is comparatively safe as I doubt it's Gaara he's facing. Also, if we go to help him and stop our progress then our pursuers will catch up with us. She looked over at Ino and Chouji. But half this squad is made up of Shikamaru's team-mates. They will resist the idea of abandoning Shikamaru as being tactically sound, and even argue that my insistence to go after Sasuke-kun and Naruto comes from my loyalty to them. Even if I can get Ino to go after Sasuke-kun because of her crush on him, Chouji will resist. She tried not to shudder as she thought about what she might have to do to provoke that sort of response in Ino. It's not fair to manipulate her feelings like that, and I know that Sasuke-kun would hate being seen as nothing more than an object like that.

“We've got to help Shikamaru,” said Chouji in between deep breaths. “If he's in a fight, he's in trouble, and there's no examiner to stop the match and save him.” He looked behind fearfully, as if he could see the enemy approaching. “And what if they go after him because he's an easier target alone?”

Sakura sighed. “We need to get rid of some of these problems. It's a shame we can't ambush the squads pursuing us and take them out. That would at least solve one of our problems.”

“Then why don't we ambush them?” asked Ino. “If that would make life easier for us, I'm all for it.” Then we can get Shikamaru out of trouble, and I can rescue Sasuke-kun. Maybe doing that will make him realise how much he loves me.

Sakura rolled her eyes, being careful not to look around so Ino couldn't see that action. “Because if they're moving that fast they're probably chuunin or better. And the one following the two squads is probably there to help stop ambushes.” She looked back at Ino. “There's no way we could win. They've probably been briefed on how to do this, and most certainly will know the territory. Do you really think we could take on two chuunin each and win fast enough?”

“I'm a tracker, not a combat-type,” added Pakkun in a helpful tone.

“Okay,” conceded Sakura, “Two and two thirds of a chuunin each. My point still stands.” And a lot of use the dog is.

“And we're supposed to just let Shikamaru get hurt?” replied Ino. “Surely we have to try something? I thought that forehead of yours meant you had a large brain. Use it.”

Sakura sighed and tried to think. There's no way an ambush would work. They're expecting it, and have taken countermeasures to stop it happening. “I think the best we could do is stall them. Maybe cut the numbers down or something. But it could cost us the time we need to catch up and stop the others reaching Gaara.” She looked at Ino. “There is one way to do it that I can think of. One of us goes with Pakkun after Naruto and Sasuke-kun, the others go to meet up with Shikamaru. That way three of us may only have half of the trackers.”

Ino shot her a crafty look. “So, you go rescue Sasuke-kun and be the hero, while we do all the work? That's hardly fair, forehead-girl.”

Sakura shook her head. “I don't want to be the hero, I want to make sure Sasuke-kun and Naruto are safe.” She looked at Chouji then back at Ino. “Do you really think either of you could talk Naruto and Sasuke-kun out of whatever they're doing? They aren't the type to listen if you just say `Well your sensei said so'. You have to argue with them and make them listen. You really think you can do that to your precious `Sasuke-kun', Ino?” She focused on Pakkun's back. “And besides, you know how Shikamaru fights. You're used to working together as a team. I'd just mess it up.”

Ino resisted the urge to sigh. That's so like Sakura, to stand up for herself if it's important to her. Even I have to admit that she's talking sense, even if I don't like what she's saying. Now because of what I've said, she's doubting her ability to do any good at all in this situation. Boy did I mess this up. “So that's it?” Ino asked Sakura, hoping to encourage her. “You're just thinking that all you're good for is talking? You've seen more action than we have, Sakura. You've even taken a C rank mission. To do that you must have some reliability in the field, else your sensei would never've agreed to it.” She dropped back to run alongside Chouji. “You're right. You're the only one who can talk Naruto out of some boneheaded stunt, just like we're the only ones who can hope to get Shikamaru up and working to stop these guys from following you. You'd just better use the time that we buy you well, because there's no way we can totally stop them for you, forehead-girl.” She tugged at Chouji's scarf. “Come on. Let's go save that lazy idiot.”

Chouji nodded. “Sure. Things always go better with him around.” He looked at Pakkun. “Which way?”

Pakkun stopped on the next branch, sniffing the air while the others joined him. “I've been following Sasuke and Naruto's trail. Shikamaru is that way.” He pointed with a paw. “The other ninja isn't with him anymore.”

“Well that helps,” said Ino. “Now we just need to make sure that they follow us and not Sakura.”

Sakura seemed to think a moment, then smiled. “I know.” She jumped slightly and tore off some of the thin twigs from the branches above. After fumbling with them for a moment, she held them up in an arrangement similar to a dog's paw. “You take this and use it. The trackers aren't going to notice one set of prints out of three going missing if Pakkun's are still there.”

Chouji shook his head, taking the sticks from Sakura. “But then it'll just look like we have two dogs now, one going in each direction.”

Sakura kept smiling. “Not if I do this!” She bent down and scooped up Pakkun, who looked less than happy at being carried. “Now my group has only one set of footprints, and yours has three.”

Ino nodded. “Looks like you're right. As long as they don't examine it too closely, we'll be okay.” She smiled back at Sakura. “You take care, and look after your team. We'll do the same for ours.”

Sakura nodded slowly. “Good luck, Ino, and thank you for this. You too Chouji.”

Chouji blushed slightly at the thanks. “It's okay, Sakura. We'll keep the trackers away from you.”

Sakura nodded and then started running through the trees again, trying hard not to worry about what the enemy ninjas would do to her friends when they caught up to them.

 

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Sasuke was relieved when he finally spotted the dark form of Kankuro up ahead. Neither he nor Naruto had wanted to push themselves to their limits to catch them, only to be unready for the inevitable fight that would occur when they found the two Sand ninjas again. It had left him worrying that perhaps they would be unable to catch up before Gaara recovered enough to fight, and so cause trouble.

From how important he seems to be to this attack, he must be powerful indeed in some form. Obviously what Naruto said might be true after all. Sasuke shook his head slightly. Now isn't the time to be thinking about whether or not Gaara might be a demon. Judging from his injuries and how the other two ninjas are trying to protect him, he's certainly mortal. That's all that matters with stopping their plans.

He looked over at Naruto. He seems to be recovered from Neji's attack on his tenketsu, even though it should take hours. Maybe it's that mysterious red chakra he's using instead. He paused, then dismissed the idea. It feels like Naruto always does, not that sickly feeling from before. Whatever it is, it can wait till later to be solved. All that matters is that we're both close to top form for this, in case Gaara makes trouble.

Naruto grinned at Sasuke. “So how shall we do this?” He tilted his head to indicate Kankuro, who seemed to be putting on a burst of speed.

Sasuke looked around. “I'll go on ahead and block him. You stay behind. Classic pincer movement.” He waited until Naruto nodded then sped up slightly, drawing three shuriken and throwing them at Kankuro's feet to attract his attention and force him to dodge. He then leapt up into the higher branches of the treetops and raced forwards, over Kankuro's head, before dropping back down to the level of the fleeing ninja.

As Sasuke straightened from his crouch he saw Kankuro had stopped running, and was scowling back at him, looking like he was biting back a curse. Sasuke smirked and tried to get his breathing back under control from his sprint through the treetops. “Don't run away from us,” he said calmly. He let his gaze flicker past Kankuro as Naruto took up position directly behind the Sand ninja. From how Kankuro shifted, he was obviously aware that Naruto was blocking his escape.

He snorted, trying to cover his own laboured breathing. “Bring it on, then. One at a time or both at once, makes no matter to me.”

Naruto cracked his knuckles. “All right, you asked for it.”

“Wait!” There was a rustle of leaves above before Temari dropped to rest besides Kankuro, panting hard.

Sasuke looked over to Naruto and could see him look faintly worried. He's realised that if she's here then Shikamaru is probably at best out of chakra and at worst… Sasuke trailed off that line of thought, not wanting to consider that someone he had made an effort to talk with might now be dead. That way lies madness, I'm sure. He considered his options. She could well be rested now because of the waiting around, but she seems to have used some chakra to catch up to us. She's probably at about half strength, same as me and Naruto. This will be close, assuming Gaara doesn't wake up.

Kankuro turned his attention to Temari. “What happened? I thought you were going to stop these guys, but you let two of them get past you and just took out the weakest?”

Temari scowled at him. “They had some good tactics, and a lot of luck.” She stood up slowly. “But their luck has just run out. Two of us, two of them, and we're in better shape.”

Kankuro smiled. “So, you made them waste chakra even if they did get past you? That'll make this easier.” He gently lowered Gaara to the tree branch. “You still gained Gaara more time to recover. Now it's my turn.” He moved forwards, pulling the bandaged-wrapped bundle off his back. “Temari, take Gaara and get going. You're nearer your limit than I am, so I'll hold them here.” He heard Temari start to argue, but cut her off. “Go. The mission comes first, remember?”

Temari looked from Sasuke to Naruto, then sighed. “I understand.” She stooped and picked Gaara up off the branch, slinging his arm around her shoulder.

“Hey…” said Naruto, realising what was happening. He started forwards, but before he could catch her she had already moved away, carrying Gaara away from them. “Come back here!” he yelled at her retreating back, then turned his attention back to Kankuro and Sasuke. “Sasuke…?”

Sasuke nodded, not taking his eyes off Kankuro who stood ready to release his puppet. “Go, Naruto. I'm fast enough to catch you both. Dealing with this guy won't take long, then I've got your back.”

Naruto nodded back. “All right. Watch yourself, and don't take too long. Otherwise there won't be anything left of Gaara for you to play with.” He grinned at Sasuke then took off, chasing after Temari and Gaara.

Sasuke focused on Kankuro and smirked. “Do you think it matters to me which of you I fight? Both of you are no match for either me or Naruto.”

“No.”

Sasuke stiffened at the voice coming from behind him, and turned slightly to see who it was who had spoken. “Shino?”

Shino had his attention still focused on Kankuro. “I will be your opponent.”

Sasuke felt ire rising within him. Doesn't he think I can handle this? And what stopped him showing up before now? Does he want to try to upstage me somehow? He blinked. And how did he know we were here? I didn't know his tracking skills were that good. “Why are you here?” he asked.

Shino raised a hand and pointed at him. Sasuke instantly felt something crawling over his skin, up his back and over his shoulder, before looping up over his collar. He turned his head and squinted down to see a small insect, smaller than his thumbnail crawl out of his clothes and down his body towards the floor. He suppressed the urge to shudder. Ugh.

“Before you left the stadium,” explained Shino, “I put a female bug on you. The female is almost odourless, and the only thing that can smell that faint odour is the male of the species. The males, however, have a stronger odour.”

Sasuke became aware of bugs crawling all over the branch he was standing on, and from how Kankuro was acting the insects had spread throughout the surrounding area while Shino had been talking. Figures, thought Sasuke. Shino is spreading his weapons around now before the fight starts, the better to use them when the time comes.

“Uchiha Sasuke,” said Shino, reclaiming Sasuke's attention. “You go after Gaara, as the match between you and him was not completed. I will fight this Sand ninja, as he was originally to be my opponent.” He saw Sasuke's hesitation. “Leave this to me. Go after Gaara,” he said more forcefully.

“You seem confident,” observed Sasuke. “Are you sure you'll be able to handle him?” After all, I can't leave a fellow Konoha ninja in a bad situation if they can't handle it.

“Don't worry,” replied Shino. “Give me ten minutes, and I'll back you and Naruto up.”

Sasuke smirked. “Give us ten minutes and there won't be anything left for you to do.” He nodded slightly to Shino, then took off running after Temari, Gaara and Naruto. The odds are in our favour once again. This time when I catch up to Gaara, we'll finish it. He turned his head slightly to watch Shino and Kankuro vanish into the distance. With any more backup on this we'll run the risk of simply tripping over each other. I know Naruto, and Naruto knows me. Shino would just get in the way anyway. He smiled to himself.

Time's up, Gaara. Recovered or not, next time we meet, you'll deal with us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1) Kagemane - Shadow Copy

(2) Ninpou Kamaitachi - Sickling winds according to my subs

(3) Ninpou Fuusajin - Dust wind

(4) Katon Housenka no jutsu - Fire element, mythical fire flower