Shattered (#1 in Shifting Series)

Land of Lightning

Kakashi listened carefully as the Shinobi that had been assigned to investigate the grave robbing filled him in on the details they had gathered to date.  They were working alongside with the Shinobi from the Hidden Cloud village.  It was troubling what he was hearing, and he was beginning to believe that someone was attempting to do a reanimation Jutsu.  The bodies that had been taken had been some of the more notable warriors of the Land of Lightning.  It was no secret that the bodies of the dead held all the secrets of the village and Jutsu's they belonged to, a valuable asset to someone up to no good.  He didn't like it at all and he had a deep foreboding about the entire matter.  As he shifted his eyes around the group, he hoped that they would be enough to counter the rogues.

He turned away to look out across the land below from his vantage point.  In the center of the country there were vast mountain ranges, whose many thunderstorms had given the country its name. From these mountain ranges, many rivers flowed to the sea, creating a very crooked coastline.  He was able to see the mountains and the rivers from where he was currently standing.  There were innumerable places the thieves could hole up, finding them would be challenge.  He frowned; this could take some time without a little bit of luck on their sides.

"They are likely to take another body in the near future," Kakashi said after a long pause.  He turned to look at the Hidden Cloud Shinobi.  "Which warriors are most likely to be targeted next?"

They gave a list of five names.  Kakashi narrowed his eyes, "We will lay a trap for them.  Trying to find them is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  We will let them come to us. We can then track and capture them in one swoop."

The others gave nods of approval.  He crossed his arms in front of him, hoping that they would catch the thieves soon so he could go home. This was the first time he had ever been antsy about how long it would take to return to the Leaf.  He wanted to settle the matter immediately and hopefully the thieves would not give them too much trouble.  He wondered, not for the first time, what Sarah was doing.  His mind wandered to her, in his mind he could see her hair gleaming in the sunlight and remembered the way her skin felt beneath his hands.  It wasn't right that they were married and already parted ways.  They should be stretched out on some beach somewhere, enjoying their new status as husband and wife.  Instead, he was far away in a foreign land chasing after death.  The story of his life, nothing ever went the way it should.

"This could be really bad," Yamato said to his right as the others moved away.  "It has a bad feel to it.  This feels too much like the Fourth War."

Kakashi was thankful his friend had been sent last minute to join him on this mission.  The two of them together made a good power of force.  He did not necessary like having to depend on the warriors from the Land of Lightning.  He preferred to know the men he went into battle with, there was something to be said about knowing intimately what your comrades were capable of from time in the field together.  He shifted his glance to his old friend, "Yes, I agree.  We must be very careful.  Something is definitely off about all this."

It was two weeks before one of the five graves was finally targeted.  Kakashi had just about pulled his hair out at how long it took waiting.  The miles between him and Sarah seemed infinitely longer.  Yamato had found his irritation humorous.  "I've never seen you so wound up on a mission, Kakashi.  You're usually quite patient, it's one of your strengths."  Kakashi had only grunted, not wanting to admit it was because he wanted to be back home in bed with his wife.

Kakashi felt eager excitement that their mission was almost over as he quietly followed the robbers with his team, leaping from tree to tree in their pursuit.  He did not want to take the men down before getting back to their headquarters.  It was a real chance that if they had immediately engaged, that any co-conspirators would slip through their fingers.  He was mindful to just stay out of their range, so that they would not know they were being followed.