"AHHH!!!"
"...!!" Sasuke gasped, frowning, as they all stopped when they heard the echoes of a blood-curdling scream in the forest.
'Sounds like... it's started...' April thought, furrowing her brow.
"That was... a human scream, right?" Sakura asked, trying to keep her voice steady. "I'm... getting a little nervous."
"This... This is nothing, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, trying to reassure her.
"No, it isn't. From now on, we need to be on guard... or we'll be next," April said grimly. "So, a little nervousness right now is a good thing, Sakura-chan. It'll help keep you on edge. It's important that we don't forget the danger we're in."
"That's right... We need to stay focused," Sasuke agreed.
"R-Right!" Sakura said nervously. "Of course... It's just as Sasuke-kun says!"
April was kind of tempted for half a second to point out that he was only backing up what she had already said, but decided it would pointless since Sakura's hearing always became incredibly selective around Sasuke, and she wouldn't care either way.
"..." Naruto was uncharacteristically quiet.
April frowned slightly with concern. 'I wonder if I said to much...?'
"I've... got to take a piss...." Naruto said abruptly, completely blowing her worries away, as he turned around to pee on a bush right in front of them.
"!!" Sakura flinched in shock, while April calmly turned her back to him for a small measure of privacy, deciding to focus her attention on their surroundings instead. Sakura was not so forgiving.
"Ouch!!!" Naruto cried when she gave him a good wallop from behind before he could finish unzipping his fly.
"What are you doing in front of a lady!!! Do that in the bushes!!" she shouted incredulously. 'It would be okay if it was Sasuke-kun, hehehehe,' Inner Sakura giggled, blushing at the idea.
"Well, I know how you feel, Sakura-chan..." April said, turning her attention back to her teammates. "But I think it would be better if we stayed together..."
"No way!!!" Sakura protested sternly, refusing to budge on this issue. "Go find another bush somewhere I can't see you!!" she shouted at Naruto, shaking her fist to send him running.
"..." April sighed. Didn't she just finish telling them to be mindful of the danger they were in? She had a bad feeling about this whole situation. "Maybe you should go with him, Sasuke-kun...?" she suggested, hoping he wouldn't argue. They really shouldn't be going anywhere on their own right now.
"What? Why does Sasuke-kun have to!?" Sakura asked, ready to jump to his defense.
"... That might not be a bad idea," Sasuke said. He wouldn't put it past Naruto to go and get himself attacked by an enemy while he had his pants down.
"!?" Sakura was surprised. Normally Sasuke wanted as little to do with Naruto as possible.
Sasuke was about to go after Naruto, when he suddenly came hurrying back to them.
"Man!! So much came out!!" their noisy teammate announced with a grin. "I feel great now!!"
"!" Sakura gasped, appalled that he made her listen to something like that. She didn't want to know about how much he peed!
April and Sasuke immediately frowned and furrowed their brows.
Sakura raised her fist in anger, threatening to clobber him again. "I said not in front of a lady and...!!!" She was startled when Sasuke cut her rant short by hitting Naruto with a blow powerful enough to send him flying. "!!" Sakura gasped as Naruto slammed into a tree. 'Huh!?' she thought. Her confusion deepened when she saw the cold expression on April's face while she watched Naruto push himself up into a sitting position. "Sasuke-kun, you didn't have to go that far... April, why aren't you..."
"What the hell are you doing?" Naruto demanded, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
"That's our line," April retorted sternly, taking up an offensive stance.
"Where's the real Naruto?" Sasuke asked him.
"Huh?" Sakura asked, feeling almost completely lost now.
"What... are you saying all of sudden?" the fake asked with a frown, furrowing his brow.
"You can drop the act," April told him. "You're not fooling anyone."
"Your shuriken holster is on your left side, he's right handed," Sasuke stated. "You're a fake loser who's worse than Naruto at transforming."
"!!" Sakura gasped when she realized he was right. She was so upset over the fake Naruto's behavior, that she had missed that small detail. She was impressed both of her other teammates had noticed.
"Unlucky!! You figured it out, oh well!!" the hidden rain ninja said, releasing the jutsu since the jig was up. "Which one of you has the scroll?!!"
"!!" Sakura exclaimed when he lunged at them, following Sasuke and April's lead as they prepared to fight.
"I'll just take it by force, then!!" the rain ninja declared, shocked when April suddenly lunged forward to intercept him.
'Now!!' she thought, sliding under her opponent to deliver a powerful kick to send him straight up into the air.
'That's...!!' Sakura thought, surprised when she recognized the attack as the same move that lame bushy brows had used earlier on Sasuke. 'When did she...!?'
While April kicked, Sasuke leaped and formed the necessary hand seals. 'Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!!' he thought, blowing out a volley of small fireballs.
"!!" their enemy gasped in alarm when he realized he couldn't dodge in midair. "Argh!!!" he cried in pain, rolling around when he hit the ground to put out the flames, forcing himself up into a run. Sasuke was on his trail in a heartbeat. April stayed with Sakura in case the real Naruto returned, or the rest of the rain ninja's team came out to attack.
Kling! Klang! Kling!
Sasuke and his opponent were a blur.
'That guy's moving well despite his injuries...' April thought, keeping her eyes peeled.
"Sasuke!!" Naruto shouted as his teammate came into view when he landed on a tree branch above him.
"!" Sasuke said, surprised to see him tied up there. 'Geez... you moron...' he thought, gritting his teeth. "April!! Naruto's over here!!" he shouted, deciding to leave the idiot to her so he could focus on pursuing the enemy.
"!!" April furrowed her brow and immediately took the hint. "Let's go, Sakura!" she said, leading her over to join the boys.
"Sasuke!!" Naruto shouted again, squirming impatiently.
"Look, you!!" Sasuke shouted back, annoyed. "I don't have time for..."
"Yes, there's an opening. Lucky!!" the enemy exclaimed, throwing a kunai and several knives at Sasuke's hands and feet.
"Damn," Sasuke cursed, swinging around the back of the branch to avoid being hit. "!!" he gasped when he came around and saw the burning paper charm attached to the kunai that was embedded in its wood, only inches away from his face. 'An explosive tag...!!'
"Sasuke!!" April yelled, picking up speed as she hurled one of her own kunai, skewering the dangerous note to rip it away from its original carrier, pinning it to the thicker trunk of the tree.
'Nice, April!!' Sasuke thought as he took advantage of the extra couple of seconds that she had bought him by moving it a few inches away to drop safely to the ground below, just in the nick of time.
BOOM!
"No way!!" the rain ninja cried in dismay when he escaped the explosion unscathed. "One of you should have your chakra sealed!! Which one!?"
'As if we'd answer that!' April thought, using her momentum to run up the tree to take over for Sasuke. "Hand over your scroll!!" she shouted, on the off chance he might actually be foolish enough to attack alone while carrying it, throwing a spray of kunai at him, while she closed the gap, letting one fall to the ground below.
"!" Naruto said when it stuck tip first into the grass next to him. "Good!" Now he could rub the ropes against the sharp edge to cut them.
"Unlucky!! Super unlucky!!" the rain ninja exclaimed when she knocked him out of the tree with strong open palm thrust that made him cough.
"Yeah, your luck ended the moment you targeted us," Sasuke agreed with a smirk, jumping up to meet him from the ground.
"!!!" The rain ninja gasped, feigning alarm before thrusting his own hand out to stick an explosive tag directly onto his chest.
"Sasuke-kun!!" Sakura screamed.
"!!" Sasuke's eyes widened in shock when he realized what was about to happen, but he was even more surprised when April suddenly appeared between them, wrapping her arms around him as she tackled him out of the way.
The rain ninja smirked as he landed and started forming the hand seal to trigger the explosion. The tag had ended up stuck to April's back instead, but he didn't care which one of them it killed as long as it cut their numbers down "!!" he was interrupted before he could finish when someone hurled a kunai at him.
"Don't you dare!!" Naruto shouted furiously, charging at the bastard.
'You're always late, Naruto!!' Sasuke and April thought, smirking as they landed safely.
Without wasting a moment, April ripped off her tagged jacket and threw it away from them. "Duck!!" she yelled at Naruto.
Naruto didn't know what was going on behind him, but for once he did as he was told and was rewarded with the sight of her burning jacket sailing over his head toward their enemy as he finished forming the seal for its release.
"!!!" the rain ninja's eyes widened in horror when her jacket's shadow fell over him, and he realized what was happening. It was too late to stop the explosion. His only choice was to run.
KA-BOOM!!
"Ahh!!!" he grunted in pain when he was caught by the edge of the explosion. He really regretted using an extra strong tag now!
"You won't get away!!" Naruto yelled, running after him with April and Sasuke.
Sasuke and Naruto threw their kunais at him.
"Uwaaa!!!" the rain ninja exclaimed, only managing to dodge by a hair. "!!" he gasped in alarm when April pulled ahead of the boys with a fierce gleam in her eyes, aiming the kunai in her hand at him.
STAB.
April gritted her teeth as she drove her kunai in close to his left shoulder, hoping to render his dominant arm useless to prevent him from making more seals.
"April..." Sakura gasped, watching the flecks of their enemy's blood splatter on her teammate's face, shocked.
"This is rough, but we have no choice! Don't just stand around, there may be others!" Sasuke shouted down at her. "Listen!! Relax for a moment, and you really will be killed!!!"
'Damn, my left arm... How unlucky!!' the rain ninja cursed, pushing himself away from April as she moved to strike again, aiming for his other arm.
"!" April furrowed her brow when her attack missed.
'Coming alone to hide better cost me,' the rain ninja thought, taking off like a shot the instant he landed, fleeing into the trees for his life.
'His transformation might suck, but he has a high threshold when it comes to pain,' April observed, panting as she landed on the ground, feeling strangely fatigued.
'He got away...' Sasuke thought with a scowl, landing beside her.
"Damn it!! We almost had him!!" Naruto cursed, ready to take off after him again, until Sasuke grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait, Naruto..." Sasuke said, glancing at April. It was strange to see her so winded after using only taijutsu. Unlike when she tried to use techniques that required molding chakra, she always seemed to have extra energy to spare after practicing her taijutsu.
"Huh!?" Naruto said incredulously as he turned around, his expression softening slightly when he saw April. "Huh?" he said again, squinting in confusion. "What's wrong with you, April?"
"Sorry... I don't know why, but... I guess I need to take a breather...." she said, placing a hand over her stomach, where the skin had started to tingle uncomfortably. 'Is it... the seal...?' she wondered. Did she unconsciously start to do something with her chakra? 'No... that isn't it...' she thought, frowning in confusion. 'My chakra... I can't even feel it...' She decided it must be because she used a technique she wasn't used to, though it was usually rare for that to be the case. 'I must not have guessed right on the mechanics behind that move I copied from Lee-san...'
'Even so... It's amazing that she was able to keep up with them...' Sakura thought staring at their backs. 'I... I couldn't even move....' she realized, disappointed in herself. April had also been right about something happening to her jacket. That paper bomb had almost completely obliterated it. Only scraps of it remained, leaving her in just her black tank-top.
They retrieved their kunais to reuse them for future attacks and kept an eye out while they rested under the cover of some bent trees. April and Sasuke shared a glance when they sensed that they were being watched and spotted a hollow bamboo stem sticking up out of the ground several meters away from their spot.
"If we get separated again..." April said carefully. "Even if it's one of us, don't trust them. This could happen again."
"Then, what do we do?" Sakura asked.
"We'll make a codeword just in case," Sasuke replied. "Listen... if they get the codeword wrong, assume they are the enemy, no matter what they look like. Listen carefully, I'll only say it once. The nin song 'Nin Machine'... when this is asked, answer with.... 'A large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi, hide and remain silent. A shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill prepared.'
"..." Naruto stared at him, squinting again. Codeword? That was more like a code paragraph!
"Ok!" Sakura said with determination.
"Wait... That's impossible to remember... Right, April?" Naruto said, looking to her for help.
"Are you stupid?" Sakura scoffed. "I already memorized it."
"Me, too... Sorry, Naruto," April apologized with a wry smile, rubbing the back of her neck. Although it would be hard on him, it was better this way, since a simpler password would be too easy for enemies to guess.
Naruto frowned. "Hey, is this codeword really..." he started to ask, when Sasuke stood up. Apparently break time was over.
"I'll keep holding the scroll," Sasuke said.
"Actually..." April said, standing up a little slower. "I think it might be too obvious if we let our strongest member carry it..."
"..." Sasuke took a moment to consider. She had a point. If they ran into another team, he would probably assume the strongest member was carrying their scroll, since it seemed like the safest place to hide it. "You hold it, then," he said, tossing it to her.
April caught it and made sure that it was tucked away safely and securely in her pouch.
"!" Naruto winced when he felt something slice his cheek. "Ouch!!" He held a hand against his face to feel the cut. "... What?"
April furrowed her brow slightly with concern when an ominous feeling came over her, and she noticed what was going on with him. "Naruto, are you...!!" She tensed and her eyes widened slightly as she whipped her head around when she heard rustling.
WOOOOOSH!!!
"!!" they all gasped when they were hit by a blast of wind and quickly raised their arms to shield their faces from the debris caught in it.
"More enemies?!!" Sasuke said, trying to determine the cause, while April squinted, trying to see through it.
"WAAAA!!!" they all exclaimed when the roaring winds picked up speed. It took all of their strength not to be bowled over by it.
'It's like a hurricane!! We can't out run this... The affected area is too wide!' April thought. "Take cover!!" she yelled, grabbing Sakura's hand when her teammate's feet started to slide across the ground.
The large, artificial gale cut through a wide swathe of trees.
"You guys just play around over here... I'll take care of them myself," the grass ninjas' long-haired leader ordered his two subordinates after he finished the jutsu.
Sakura and April peeked out cautiously from the large tree they had ducked behind.
"!" April drew a kunai when she heard a quiet rustling. The two girls crept around the trunk cautiously to investigate the source. Fortunately, it was a friendly face they found.
"Sasuke-kun!!" Sakura gasped, immensely relieved to see that he was all right.
"April... Sakura..." Sasuke said, looking a little surprised to see them.
"Have you seen Naruto?" April asked when a quick scan of their surroundings for him turned up empty.
"Stay away," Sasuke said sternly, holding a kunai out in front of him while he moved into a defensive stance when Sakura took a step towards him. "First, the codeword. Nin song 'Nin Machine'."
"Oh, yeah!!" Sakura gasped, remembering what they had just agreed on. She looked at April, and they nodded in agreement to recite it together.
"A large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi, hide and remain silent. A shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill prepared."
"Good," Sasuke said, lowering his kunai. They didn't seem to be imposters.
'Sasuke seems to be Sasuke...' April thought, coming to the same conclusion about him. Nothing seemed out of place, and the energy behind his trademark glare was difficult to duplicate. 'Now we need to find Naruto...'
"Oww... You guys alright?" the loudmouthed ninja asked as he came hurrying over to them.
"!!" Sasuke and Sakura said, surprised by his sudden appearance.
April furrowed her brow. He looked like their Naruto, down to the fresh cut on his cheek, but something... something wasn't right. She looked at his childish grin again. 'Somehow... he doesn't feel like the usual Naruto...' she thought.
"Naruto!! Wait a second, the codeword!!" Sasuke ordered before he could get any closer.
"I know..." Naruto said, skidding to a halt. "A large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi, hide and remain silent. A shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill prepared," he responded perfectly, word for word.
The crease in April's brow deepened, and Sasuke smirked, while Sakura exhaled a sigh of relief.
"!!" Sakura gasped, shocked when the others suddenly threw their kunais at Naruto without warning.
"Whoa!" he cried in alarm as he dodged.
"!!" Sakura gasped again. 'Huh!?' she thought, bewildered. "Sasuke-kun, why? April-chan, too! Naruto said the codeword..."
"Exactly," April said with a frown.
"So, this time it's someone good enough to dodge my attacks..." Sasuke said, glaring at the imposter.
"What are you two talking about!?" Sakura asked, getting impatient.
"That isn't Naruto, Sakura," April explained, narrowing her eyes at the new enemy. "It's another fake."
"!?" Sakura gasped, her eyes widening with realization. Of course! Their were reactions were the same as the last time this had happened...
The fake Naruto smirked. "Impressive that you knew..." he said, releasing the transformation jutsu in a puff of smoke.
April and Sasuke braced themselves for another attack.
"How did you know?" the long-haired grass ninja asked. "That I was a fake..."
"We knew you were listening to our conversation from under the ground," Sasuke replied coolly. "That's why I made the codeword like that."
'Huh!? That's news to me...!!' Sakura thought, completely taken aback by the revelation.
"Yeah... There's no way Naruto could remember something that long..." April added. "So you had to be a fake." She loved Naruto, but there was no getting around his poor memorization skills. "Now! Where is he?" she asked sternly, prepared to beat it out of him.
"I see... Neither tired nor ill prepared, are we?" their opponent asked with a sinister expression on his face as he removed his straw hat. "This will be more fun than I thought."