In Spite of it all (BOOK TWO)

Chapter 5

Kakashi POV~

I stared at my Icha Icha book, reading and re-reading the page over and over but unable to keep my focus on it long enough to actually decipher it. Eventually I gave up, slipping the little book into my pouch. Ah, well. 

I glanced down at the clearing below from my perch on the branch. The three silent forms of Sakura, Sasuke, and Sai were laid out around the still-hot embers of the campfire. Sighing, I leaned my head back against the tree trunk, letting my thoughts wander while my senses roved.

Pakkun, who was laying on the branch adjacent to me, yawned and glanced over. "You okay, Kakashi?"

"Yes. I suppose." I answered, not quite believing my own words. Pakkun didn't seem to believe them either, but he didn't mention it.

"Hm. The Hokage's message came as quite the shock."

"Yes, it did, didn't it. Though, to be honest, I wasn't all that surprised." I pulled out a kunai and twirled it in the air idly, "I've heard of the Akatsuki, and what they've been doing to the Bijuu. It was only a matter of time before Naruto got involved once again."

"It's always him, isn't it?"

I hummed in affirmation. "It seems so."

Pakkun was silent. We sat in companionable quiet until he said, "I wonder who forced him to use so much chakra."

I frowned. I had also wondered about it, but kept it in the back of my mind for later. "I don't know. It could be that he was outnumbered by more than one Akatsuki member."

Pakkun just nodded. Neither one of us said what we were thinking.

Or just one of them was strong enough for that.

A few hours later, everyone was prepared and ready to go. We cleared our camp, not leaving a single trace behind, and took off into the trees once more.

"We'll search this area a little more. If we can't find anything today, we'll turn around and go back. No point searching if we're searching blindly, especially since this is Naruto we're talking about." I said.

For the first few hours, there really was nothing. Not a single clue as to where Naruto was. But, long after I thought we would find nothing, Pakkun froze, skidding to a stop on a branch.

Startled, the rest of us stopped too. 

"Pakkun?" 

The little ninken had his nose in the air, mouth open slightly. He met my eyes, looking near excited, "It's him. I can smell him."

My blood froze. I heard Sasuke's sharp intake of breath too. 

"Where?"

Pakkun tilted his head ahead of us, slightly to the left of where we were going. "A faint scent, just barely there. My guess is that he spent the night there, which is why it was a little harder for him to conceal this trail. I have to strain to smell it, but there's no doubt it's him. Except..."

I furrowed my brow, "What?"

"Why the slip-up? First the chakra, now this? He did really well hiding his scent before. This time, he either didn't bother, or..."

His words clicked in my mind, and decided now was better than ever. Reaching to pull up my headband, I revealed the sharingan. 

"Be careful." I warned, "If anything, Naruto is not careless. He must've guessed someone would come after him, and it's a possibility he purposefully left traces of his being here to lure whoever's chasing him in. We could be walking right into one of his traps if we follow whatever trail he left for us."