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The Frozen World

Sasuke stood out by the water, looking ahead through the mist, and straining his vision to understand the mission that was laid out ahead. The morning was...eventful to say the least. Sakura had woken up not even twenty minutes after him and Naruto had calmed down from their...

Sasuke couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the thought of their morning. However, he quickly covered it up, careful not to reveal any sort of emotions when someone could be watching.

He was thankful that Sakura didn't get overly emotional at his arrival to the camp. She actually seemed relieved. He was unsure why, but he assumed it had something to do with balancing out the rash decision making of Naruto's. She had taken quite the lead in terms of planning out their infiltration and rescuing Hinata, while also keep Shikamaru and herself safe from any ambush.

So, after she explained the plan, Sasuke put his Rinnegan to the test, opening up another dimension—one that seemed calm, with lots of water— that allowed Sakura and Shikamaru to stay hidden and focus on healing, while Naruto and Sasuke could move to Hinata and not worry about the rest of their team. Also, thanks to Sasuke's training, he was able to return to dimensions he'd seen before. So, it wasn't risky to send his two comrades away, now that he could find them again whenever he needed to.

Needless to say, Naruto and Sakura were impressed with his new precision in dimension traveling. Of course they would be though, he wasn't lazying about for the month he'd been trapped inside of Konoha's mountains. He had a power that could be unstoppable in the wrong hands. And this all posed Sasuke as a tricky foe for the enemies they now had on their plate.

Sasuke didn't sense a barrier barring their entry or notifying Takahashi's men of their unwelcome arrival, which was good; It made getting to the island a lot easier.

Sasuke heard the crunching of leaves approach him from behind. Naruto had stayed at the camp site to wrap up anything that was theirs and destroy everything else so as they could eliminate their presence completely. While Kakashi was most definitely sending Sai and the extra back up, the current team felt it best to hide any information and to infiltrate immediately. Losing time wasn't an option now... More than one life was on the line.

Naruto lingered behind Sasuke, staring off in the same direction as he was. Sasuke could feel his heat close to him and, while the mist was cool, the heat of his blood rushing through him kept him warm. He wished this mission could be paused, since Naruto and his morning had been cut off too quick. He wasn't going to let Naruto get reckless and cause his own premature death. Not when there was so much left for them, together. He knew Naruto was focused right now though, not letting anything distract him from his goal. Which...unfortunately...was Hinata.

Sasuke felt a knot tighten in his stomach. He wasn't saving Hinata because of...it didn't even matter. Sasuke didn't know why he was still thinking about these trivial things. He knew Naruto was only seeing him right now, and the feelings were mutual in that. And so, Naruto was not going to trade his life for Hinata's.

I won't let that happen.

"Ready?" Sasuke turned his head ever so slightly so he could see Naruto from the corner of his eyes. He looked ready all right.

"This won't take long." Naruto's voice was lower than usual and it had such control. Sasuke felt a shiver creep up his spine as he turned around to look towards the island again.

I hope not...

"Should we run, y'know?" Naruto finally glanced at Sasuke, still serious in tone and eagerly anticipating his response.

"Yeah." Sasuke responded. He could feel Naruto's heart thump louder as the excitement poured into his bloodstream. Sasuke couldn't even get another word in before Naruto was off into the misty distance. Naruto was—and he'd admit it—faster than him. And so, Sasuke set off to catch up to his blonde friend. Naruto's scent lingered in a straight line, leading to where he was running. Even if Sasuke lost sight of him, the strong smell could be his guide. However, Sasuke wasn't going to lose sight of Naruto. Not only was he going to aid him on this mission, he told himself that he was going to save him—protect him—at all costs. Naruto and him weren't alone anymore. They only had each other and they couldn't let that disappear prematurely.