Struggle [On Hold]

Chapter 2: Diamond

A/n
After this chapter I will start to write on my own because there were many parts I thought I should change

Temari and Naruto still refused to speak to each other as they watched the camp for any suspicious activities. Because of their childish argument, they hadn't agreed to leave yet, so they both continued watching. The temptation to talk was definitely overwhelming, since the silence was piercing into their ears, grinding away at their nerves. In fact, they focused on maintaining an angry attitude at each other that they didn't even sense the approaching ninjas until Temari had turned around and let out a gasp.

Upon Temari's gasp breaking the silence, Naruto whirled around. Why hadn't he sensed them? How could a group of five or six just sneak up on them?

The apparent leader began to speak. Probably giving demands, but Naruto was paying attention. He was getting ready to attack, but Temari put her hand in front of Naruto, blocking his way.

Temari gave the ninja group a nervous smile; "How about we just leave? There's no need for any fighting." Her smile faded, 'Shimatta!' she thought, turning around, to have a fist meet her face. Once again the group of ninjas had fooled them—they had placed two ninjas behind them as they were distracted by the false negotiations. Temari had stumbled backward, only to hit one of the other ninjas in the large group that they had discovered first. There was no way to avoid it, and the ninja sent her in the darkness of unconsciousness, with the final noise being Naruto's voice, "Temari! Hey! Let her—"

Temari awoke rather suddenly. For a moment, she couldn't remember what had happened. Then the blood running down her face caught her attention. So that's what had happened… she couldn't believe she let an argument with the idiot kid get her so distracted that they ended up in this situation. She, after all, was the Jounin. Wasn't she supposed to be looking after the genin? All of a sudden, she felt very ashamed of her actions. But she didn't dare do anything at the moment—they clearly weren't normal bandits—she assumed they were the bandits. Generally speaking, the camp members would not have attacked unless they had something to hide. She didn't know how powerful the group was. If it was a group of missing nins, they could be in some trouble.

That's when she realized that there was no way she could be in a camp. The place she was in was dark—too dark. It was like the sunlight couldn't reach here… Where were they? She strained her ears, but she couldn't hear anything. It was completely silent—had the bandits left them alone? She couldn't tell.

A groan from Temari's right signaled that Naruto had awakened. "Are you all right?" Temari whispered. She jumped; her own voice had startled her. The silence seemed less frightening once she realized that Naruto was here with her. Somehow, it was oddly comforting…

"…Yeah I'm doing all right." Was the muttered reply from the blonde ninja next to her, "You?"

"Just dandy," She said sarcastically, "My pride has been thrown to the ground and stomped on. Other than that, I'm okay."

Naruto couldn't help but laugh. The girl next to her was actually admitting that she had made a mistake. Ever since he first met her, he figured that she was the cliché egotistical girl. But now he was starting to think that maybe she actually had a personality underneath her inflated ego. "That's good. How's your nose?" He asked, recalling the punch earlier.

"It's been better." She assured him, "But nothing big." She could feel dried blood underneath the fresh blood, which told her that her nose was still bleeding. Which, conveniently, meant they hadn't been here long, most likely. After deciding this, she checked herself. She wasn't tied in any sort of way. Were these people idiots? She wiped the blood away from her nose onto her sleeve. Through the gloom, she managed to make out Naruto's form, which gave her some more comfort, knowing she could locate him if need be. She slowly eased herself into a standing position, but sharp pains ran up and down her legs, causing her to grab onto Naruto's shoulder for support. Unfortunately for her, her legs gave out, and she collapsed on top of the other ninja, sending them both sprawling to the ground.