We've been walking for three hours now, and everyone was out of breath. Naruto and Sasuke were walking heavily, looking like dead zombies. They seemed to have an unspoken competition of who gets tired last....
I shook my head a little, amused at their antics. They're so different, yet the same. So childish, yet mature.
"Give.... it.... up," Naruto panted. "I... will win.... Believe... it..."
"Shut.... up," Sasuke answered, breathing heavily than Naruto.
I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing. "You know, guys, we could rest if you'd like?"
Instead of answering me, they kept walking heavily, not daring to break. It was Sakura who answered.
"How.... could you.... look so.... fresh?" She sagged down on the forest floor. "Ah! Mou! I'm... so tired!"
I sighed, then opened the bag I packed for this mission. I took out the water bottle and handed it to her. "Here. This'll help you."
She looked at it carefully as if it was a bomb, then at me, scrutinizing my expression.
I rolled my eyes. "It's not poisoned. I won't be that low," I stated. "If I want to kill somebody, I'd prefer to do it face-to-face."
She sweat dropped, then took the bottle from me, downing its contents in three gulps. I chuckled a little at her eagerness and turned to look at what the two rivals were doing.
When I saw what they're up to, however, I had to sweatdrop. They were still standing! They look like dead corpses standing. Their arms were heavy in front of them, faces looked like they could pass out should the wind howl a little harder.
"Um... guys?" I asked carefully. "You could rest if you want. I mean, if you don't rest, then how could you win on the next round if you're tired?"
Before I could even stop talking, both of them simultaneously fell on the ground, looking like they're not breathing.
I sweat dropped again and shook my head in amusement. These guys....
"It looks like we should rest here for a while," Kakashi said as he dropped his bag. "The stars would be out soon. We need to have full energy for the day."
I nodded, agreeing. That's right. We need to have our energy tanks full for tommorow since we'll be reaching our destination soon. Who knows what kind of things we'll encounter? We'll---
My train of thought was interrupted by a rustling noise to my left. I looked at the others to see if they heard, but they didn't. I shook my head. Damn, I'm more tired than I thought.
As I was about to lie down, I heard the rustling again. This time, a little louder. I turned my head sharply to look and extended my chakra range to feel if there are any intruders. There was none that I could see or feel.
I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. A circuit in my head's messed up again. Now I'm hearing things... Maybe I really need to sleep.
But before I could even close my eyes, I heard it again. I jumped up and turned my head again, hoping to catch anyone. But there was none.
I took a step, contemplating if I should check it out or pass it as the wind. After all, this is a windy forest....
Curiosity won.
So, without looking at the others, I walked towards the place I heard the rustling from, staying alert should any attackers try to do an ambush. The rustling came from a bush not far from where we set camp. I took out my kunai and readied myself. Extending my hand to the bush, I parted it and saw....
A rabbit.
I exhaled, nerves all crashing down. Phew... It was only a rabbit. And here I am getting nervous about nothing. Ha! I'm so paranoid.
I shook my head, smiling at myself, then crouched down, extending my hand to the furry animal.
"Come here, you little fuzzball," I cooed.
The rabbit looked at me with eyes much like a human's, which I took as an odd thing but passed it up as a nothing since I'm in another place; the rules of where I come from may not apply here.
The white-furred animal jumped to my outstretched hands, nuzzling my hand.
"Ayame! Where are you?" I heard someone call.
I turned and saw Sakura looking for me.
"Right here!" I answered.
A few seconds later, I heard her footsteps gradually getting closer.
"Hey, why're you.... Aww! That's so cute!" she exclaimed, her voice thinning to her usual annoying pitch.
I winced a little, then nodded. "Yeah, I know. I found him, so I wanted to pet him."
"Yeah, but you shouldn't have walked like that. We were worried," she scolded.
I smiled sheepishly, then let the rabbit down. "Sorry, got carried away."
She rolled her eyes. "Come on! Kakashi-sensei's waiting for us."
I chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. I'm coming, woman."
I took a step and immediately felt that something was wrong. Five chakra signatures simultaneously appeared in my range, all of them strong. I had the time to shout at Sakura before I felt myself get engulfed by a hard object.
Darkness came over me, blocking my vision. I strained my ears trying to hear what's happening outside but found that I couldn't. Whatever I was in was soundproof and, it seems, chakraproof. I couldn't use my chakra to break it.
Yep, these guys are strong.
I closed my eyes and tried to keep calm. Sweat ran down my face, my breathing heavy. While I calmed myself down, I tried checking if I was wounded or not, and I wasn't, thank Kami. But... I felt weak. It was like all the strength I had before was deteriorating. Fast. Like....
I was being drained.
With that realization, I became more desperate. I shouted, my voice slowly becoming softer. My eyes felt heavy, begging for me to close them, my body sagged heavily, and my limbs became numb. Still, I tried.
But it was no use.
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~ Heyo! Sorry I uploaded only now, but school is really taking its toll on me. Its exams week, and I haven't even finished doing all the projects yet... -__-"
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