Dream Skirmish

Chapter 10

The young blond knocks on the door of the Sanin's room, entering it slowly as he hears a mumbled 'come in'. Naruto stands in the open doorway, his eyes cast to the ground and his shoulders hanging loosely. Jiraiya gives him a puzzled look while sipping from a small tea cup.
"Naruto? What's wrong?"
"What..." His lips curl downwards. "What's wrong with my sister? It's been hours since she left for some 'fresh air' and she hasn't come back yet..."
The adult sighs and runs a hand through his long white hair. "Maybe she just needs some more time to herself, then." 'Stupid girl, she knows that it's dangerous out there... And she was supposed to help Naruto with his training...'
"No... No, this isn't like her. She didn't even finish her breakfast!" The young boy cries out a little louder than intended. "Pervy sage, I'm really worried about Blacky... She's been getting worse and worse every day..."
"Worse how?"
"Just... So unlike herself... She used to be so upbeat and happy, but lately she's just... Not herself..."
Jiraiya nods slowly, standing up and stretching his limbs. "Look, I don't know your sister real well so I can't exactly help you with that. What's important now is that we find her and make sure she's ok. It's not exactly safe out there with the Akatsuki sitting up trouble in all nations."
Naruto's eyes widen in realization. "Oh no! I completely forgot about those guys! Come on, pervy sage, we have to find Blacky!"
Without hesitation the teenager dashes down the hallway and races into the streets. With an irritated sigh Jiraiya puts on his sandals and finishes his tea before following the eccentric boy. Under the strict orders not to leave the safety of the city, Naruto goes with the best approach to locating his sister's whereabouts by asking anyone he can find if they've seen her, while constantly giving his surroundings an anxious and nervous glance.
The Sage takes it upon himself to explore the surrounding areas, summoning a handful of smaller frogs to help search. Hours pass, the sun is beginning to set at the horizon and there is still no sign of her. Deciding to call it a day, Jiraiya returns to the city where he finds Naruto impatiently sitting on a bench, his fingers fiddling with each other.
"Pervy Sage!" He cries with excitement before a crestfallen look replaces his brief spurt of energy, "You didn't find her?"
"'Fraid not, kid... Look, let's just assume she's perfectly fine and get some rest, ok? We'll continue looking in the morning if she hasn't come back on her own."
"No!" The young blond protests. "If that were me out there my sister wouldn't stop looking for me either! I can't just-"
"Naruto, there's no point in going out there when you're exhausted, especially not at night... What good is it going to do your sister if you end up getting yourself hurt or killed?"
He defiantly shakes his head. "You can sleep if you want, I'm not going to sleep until I know she's ok!"
The adult can only watch as the young man runs headfirst into the forest surrounding the city. With an exasperated sigh, Jiraiya rubs his temple as he can feel a headache coming through.
"Stupid kid..."
Though the need for sleep gnaws at him, he can't let his student rush into danger without backup. The adult looks around the dark rooftops, feeling like there's constantly eyes on him, before he walks after Naruto, his muscles and senses tense from suspicion and caution.

"We must be getting close."
Naruto looks up at his teacher. "Huh? How can you tell?"
"It smells like burnt wood... Let's just hope it's not the campfire of hostile ninja."
"What makes you think there's bad ninja here, pervy sage?"
"Just... A gut feeling..."
Jiraiya proceeds uncharacteristically cautious, making sure to always be a step ahead of the young ninja following him. Their movements slow down as they can hear a faint voice in the distance. As they draw closer they recognize it to be Blacky, but before Naruto can feel happy about finding her, a bone chilling scream forces him to panic instantly. Fearing the worst the young blond runs head first towards her, despite his master's advice not to be too hasty.
"Sis!" He yells loudly as he runs to his siblings aid. He drops down next to her, frowning in concern as he realizes her arm is injured and her clothing partially seared. "Sis! What happened?! Did someone-"
The young woman shoves her brother away, panting heavily. "Get away from me!"
"Bl-Blacky..." Naruto reaches out for her but his hand gets slapped away as she tries standing on shaky legs. "What's wrong? Come on, tell me. What's wrong with you?! Why are you being so mean?!"
"Just... Just stay away from me..."
The white haired man walks over to Naruto, helping him back on his feet. "Kid, maybe you should let me talk to her."
"No! She's my sister! I have to help her... Whatever it is that's wrong." He scratches his short blond hair. "Sis, what is wrong? You never answered my question..."
Blacky turns away from the other two, slamming her hands together as sweat and tears run down her cheeks. At the same time a single drop of blood drips from within her palms and falls to the ground between her naked, dirt covered feet. The men can only stand and watch with trepidation as flames engulf her, swirling around her body like writhing snakes before disappearing with a sizzling sound. The young girl quakes with trembling hands, yelling to try and force her depleted chakra to do the impossible and perform a jutsu, before hanging her head silently in defeat.
Jiraya steps closer to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Blacky... Stop. You'll only get yourself killed at this rate."
"Huh?" Naruto wonders aloud. 'Why isn't she slapping his hand away or yelling at him?... What the heck?!' "Hey! How come he's allowed to help you but I'm not?! Kinda hard not to take personal, sis!"
"Hm?" The tall man leans down and looks at Blacky's face before sweatdropping. "Naruto, she's passed out..."
"...oh... Oh, that's different then... Pervy Sage, what do you think just happened? Was she attacked?"
As he lifts the young woman onto his back, he shakes his head. "No... She was overdoing her training... We best head back though before we get company."
"Company? What do you mean?"
Jiraya begins heading back to town, with the young blond following suit. "I've just been having a bad feeling ever since we arrived... Like someone's been watching us or at least one of us." He explains in a hushed voice.
"Oh... Is that why you told me not to rush in?"
"Yes... we'll stay for the night, but first thing in the morning if she's up or not, we're heading back to the Leaf village."