Reverberations (Kakashi x OC, Gaara x OC) -- Book 3

Chapter 8: Through the Portal

That evening, the teams gathered near the entrance to the village.

"All right, listen up. Genma is going to be working with Naruto's team on this one. Your team will be watching our left flank. Aoba will be joining Shikamaru's team to watch our right. We need Keiko's nose for the success of this mission, so she will be leading. Shikamaru is going to be assessing the situation as we go. We don't want to run into a fight unless we have to. The goal of this is recon," said Kakashi.

"Seems like we're pretty heavily stacked," Shikamaru said.

"I don't want to underestimate our enemy or have any...accidents," he said turning to Keiko. She said nothing. "As some of you already know, Keiko has been attacked by Kabuto and possibly Orochimaru . We're not sure whether Itachi was able to successfully trap all of his essence."

"How do we know it was Kabuto?" Genma asked.

"The particular virus that is attacking her is specific to her cellular structure. It won't spread to humans," said Sakura. "Kabuto was in the position to capture some of her DNA about a year ago."

"Part of the overkill is for your safety as well. This virus was suppressing my higher cognitive function prior to Jiraiya -sama sealing it away. I may not have the talent in ninjutsu the rest of you have, but I have the ability to wield elements to a degree without hand signs," Keiko explained. "If I get out of control and you can't subdue me, you will die." Her eyes flashed as a chill washed over the group.

"What Keiko means to say is that we're dealing with something unknown on all fronts, and this is going to be dangerous. If we're fortunate, everything will go as planned," Kakashi reassured them.

Shikamaru stepped in. "It's a real drag, but unfortunately, all we have to go on is that disappearances have been happening between here and the Hidden Sand. Keiko- sama was initially attacked between the Graduate Academy and there. There's a chance Kabuto has been watching us all for quite some time. Getting the drop on him may be a challenge, especially in a group so large. But hopefully Keiko- sama's nose will eliminate his ability to evade us."

"All right. Everyone, let's move out," Kakashi said.

Keiko didn't know how she knew where to go, but it was like Kabuto was in the room with her, leaning over her while she was tied to a slab again. His scent invaded her nostrils.

"How far?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's hard to tell. It's like his scent is setting my nose on fire," she said. "Gauging on the direction, I'd say it's likely he's closer to the Sand than to us."

"How do you know that?" Genma asked.

"I have no idea."

It seemed like hours before they passed the graduate academy. About a mile later, Keiko slowed to a stop and crouched down in a tree.

"Keiko?" Shikamaru asked.

Her eyes narrowed. "He knows."

"Is he alone?" Aoba asked.

"I'm not really sure. I smell something else, but it's not quite human. The scent makes me uneasy and I don't know why."

Kakashi fixed his eyes on her face. He hadn't been on any major missions with her. She was so focused. Assessing everything. Just like when they used to run together through the woods at night so long ago. She complained that emotions had washed her of her focus and weakened her. Was she reverting back to the hardened creature they found lying unconscious all those years ago? He turned his attention back to the task at hand.