Never Forget

Unexpected, Understand

I know, two posts in one day?? 

To explain, it's the last day of Spring Break (Monday), and therefore I actually have had a bit of time. I hope you enjoy, because the rest of the year is bound to be hectic.

Chapter 9

                I wrapped my cloak around me tightly. While it had been warm that day, and possibly even warmer here in the desert, nighttime was a whole different story… especially in the desert.

                Kakashi and Sakura flanked me on either side, despite the fact that I felt as though Sakura should’ve been the one in the middle. I didn’t dare voice my opinion, though, knowing that she would refuse and most likely pull the “your-wing-was-broken-not-too-long-ago” excuse, as well as the “I’m-perfectly-capable-thank-you-very-much” one. Possibly accompanied with a glare and a “hmph.”

                We were traveling to Sunagakure again, as Fukasaku took charge of Naruto’s training. As it turned out, the rest of the Eleven were still training in Suna, although my team had returned to Konoha briefly, both to escort the medical nin from Suna who were going to train in Konoha, as well as to pick up some scroll that Gaara had wanted.

                Kakashi now carried it, tucked away safely in one of his hip pouches. Clearly, it hadn’t been a large scroll, although nobody had told me what exactly it was. We traveled on in silence, and I could almost see the lights of Suna in the distance.

                Suddenly, Kakashi tensed, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Unpleasant feeling. Even with the impossibly-dim lighting, I managed to make out his hand signals. Two-six-one, it read. Yes, that would be perfect.

                ‘Be on guard,’ I warned Sakura, whose green eyes immediately shot to me. ‘There’s only one. If we’re attacked, stay out of the battle as long as possible. We need our medic if the situation gets bad.’

                ‘I understand. But surely, with you and Kakashi-sensei…’

                ‘You should always be prepared for the worst.’

                As it turned out, we never were attacked, but as we neared Suna, I glanced back. With a jolt, I realized that there was a masked man running behind us, but not chasing us. He was just trying to catch a glimpse of us. I doubted that he was even tailing us.

                “Who is that?” I asked quietly.

                “That’s the same person who was at the fight between us and the Akatsuki,” Kakashi said, catching a glimpse of him as well. “He never interfered. I think the blonde called him ‘Tobi’.”

                “But he never fought?” I had missed the battle, having been summoned to Iwagakure. Now, I kind of regretted it; it hadn’t even been an urgent matter, despite everyone acting as though it was.

                “No,” said Kakashi. “But he’s stopped tailing us. It seems that the Akatsuki are aware of our movements.”

                Well, their leader had just killed Jiraiya, so I wasn’t really surprised. As we entered the village, having our papers checked by the guards despite them knowing us, I tried to contact Itachi. He had been strangely absent, although I hadn’t disconnected our mind link. But he wasn’t responding, which meant that he was probably sleeping. The other option was that he had been rendered unconscious some other way, which seemed highly unlikely.