A Little More Than This (Discontinued)

Chapter 38

Mei was much less irritable as Itachi dipped her foot in the sickly green juice, he noted as he also dipped his own hand into the juice before pouring the remainder into a large cup.

"You have to take a gulp every time I release a prong, afterwards you'll be put into a coma from the sheer power of the release. After you're out Zetsu and I will pack up and by the time you've woken up we'll be in our next destination" Itachi in formed placing the cup in the tangerine's hands. Mei nodded and placed her foot in Itachi's outstretched hand.

Itachi then made a few complicated handsigns before placing both index and middle finger squarely in the middle of the seal as Mei took a large swing of the juice.

Mei groaned a little and pulled a face once she pulled the cup away from her mouth. "It's icky" she whined, causing Itachi to roll his eyes and Zetsu to chuckle lightly.

This process was repeated nine more times and each time Mei complained lightly about the juice. Finally Mei drank the last bit of the green juice before she hazily sat on the floor, her eyes glazed over in exhaustion and her eyes rolled into the back of her skull and she collapsed onto the floor.

Zetsu chuckled again lightly and pat her forehead lightly. They then wrapped her up in a thick blanket, making it look like a cocoon, and strapped her onto their back. Itachi packed up all other essentials before sealing it all away and placing the scrolls in his backpack alongside the scrolls and books dedicated to Mei's training routine.

After he and Zetsu cleaned up the hutt they left, venturing across the desert as the noon sun beat down on their backs. They marched against a strong wind, the beginnings of a sandstorm Itachi concluded, and found refuge in a cave. They had intended to wait it out but when the howling winds and waves of speeding sand didn't fade away after a day in the cave, Zetsu pulled both himself and Itachi underground appearing at the edge of the desert several uncomfortable minutes later.

The two sent a quick look over the near-peaceful desert before turning to the cool trees before them and walked steadily through the forest, making sharp turns every so often. They soon stopped next to a little piece of hedge that was covered in Sakura flowers and they stepped over the hedge before disappearing from sight.

The three ninja didn't reappear to the civilian's eye for the next two and a half years.

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It was a cold day, a sober one too. Naruto, the blond knucklehead, was finally leaving to go training with Jiraiya, meaning that all of the members of team 7 were officially going their own paths.

It was a depressing realisation for many of the remaining Konoha 16, for they were losing friends to the winds of fate. Many of the group were training the feelings away, others were busying themselves with other odds and ins around the village, and Shikamaru was watching the blond ninja make his way around the village.

He knew the second he left the village, Juriya would make sure there was no hair, nor hide from Naruto for their training period. He watched, a feeling of clarity deep in his chest, as Naruto and Juriya left the village, knowing that the next time the two saw the village they would be much stronger.

Shikamaru smiled at that thought as he leaned back against the tiled roof. He looked out above the village gate to the forest surrounding the village he had grown up in. Out there he knew Mei was training hard, and some part of him knew that out there was where she belonged. The other, however, wanted her to come back soon and safely.

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Ok, I will not be updating until the 20th of July 2016. Just so I have some time to completely finish my work on the plot and decide whether or not to make a sequel. I also apologise for the shortness of the chapter itself but I promise I will go back to my regular sized chapters upon the arrival of my next chapter.

I will also be going back through my work and editing. Some little parts are going to be changed a little so the whole story makes sense. However Mei will not be changed in appearance. That's is all for now. Thanks for reading this and sorry for any inconvenience I may have presented to you.