You are the only one.... ×Book 2×

49. Team Kasai: Welcome to Hell

==========The Next Day==========

"Be safe" Gaara said as he walked us to the exit "I hope you can complete your mission without any harsh complications."

"As do I" Ryuku said politely "thank you again for allowing us a place to stay."

"No need to thank me" Gaara said grinning "anytime you're in the Sand Village I will be more then willing to help you or any Leaf Shinobi for that matter."

Ryuku nodded and we all said one last farewell to Gaara before heading off in the direction a few of the villagers had seen the rouge ninja go. Hope was being unnaturally silent and had bandages wrapped around her wrist for reasons unknown to me, Kuro was still being his energetic, attractive self, and Ryuku had went from brotherly mode to leader mode again.

I sighed deeply and toyed around with my sword as various thoughts clouded my mind, one of those thoughts being that stupid knucklehead ninja.

"Hey?"

I turned towards the sound of the voice and saw Hope had inched closer to me and was whispering quietly. What does she want, and why does she have to whisper in order to tell me?

"You know who the Akatsuki are, right" she asked curiously.

"Yeah" I replied bitterly "I know exactly who they are. Why?"

"Did you know a man named Hidan....because I just heard a rumor that he was really brutal" Hope said, biting her bottom lip.

Hidan...?

Damn, that sounds so familiar! Where have I heard that name before; come on! Think Ruka!

Wait....

*****

"Where's Shikamaru" Yamoto asked curiously.

"He's fighting the other Akatsuki member, Hidan" Kakashi Sensei said "in order to assist him, it'd be best to send a distance fighter and a medic."

*****

"Yes" I said nodding "I never saw him directly but I know who you're talking about."

"D-Do you know what happened to him?"

"Yep" I said happily "my friend Shikamaru killed him, he did it in the most painful way to. Good riddance!"

"I see" she said in a low voice "when we get back to the village; will you show me who Shikamaru is?"

I simply nodded as Hope remained deadly silent and didn't ask any more questions after that. Hmm, I wonder why she was asking me this stuff in the first place. Before I could ask, Ryuku stopped in his tracks and stared up at a giant redwood forest standing before us.

Geez, we got out of the desert fast!

"They went in....there?" Kuro asked, frowning as he pointed into the depths of the ominous redwood labyrinth.

Ryuku nodded and we all gulped nervously. Typical, the bad guys always have to go in the creepiest of places before we find them. Ryuku rolled up the map he was holding and turned towards us.

"We'll split up."

"No, no, no" Kuro said hastily "aside from the fact that you're trying to make us enter that creepy place alone; Hope has a tendency to destroy things when she's by herself."