Okay, two things.

One, c'mon guys. The lack of votes and comments compared to the number of reads each chapter gets is PATHETIC. PLEASE use one or two seconds of your time to Vote and Comment. It's not that hard, considering how hard I work to get this uploaded for you. And despite the fact that I have barely any free time anymore, I'm not making the chapters any shorter........Didn't want to do this, but from now on, I WILL NOT upload unless each chapter gets at least 150 votes. Which should be EASY considering the reads this story gets.

Two. I went to a Armageddon (Like Comic Con) dressed as Snow White, and I got a plushie of Kakashi Sensei and Shippuden Naruto. They didn't have my Kiba :,( but they're sooo cuuute xD

Now I'm not nerdy in the least, but seriously, that was my second Con, and I feel like EVERYONE on the PLANET would enjoy Comic Con and similar events. Wear a good costume and you're popular ;P Heheh...

Anyway, enough babbling........ I GOT A PICTURE WITH A GUY THAT LOOKED LIKE KAKASHI! xD .........Okay, I'm done now.......

Quick pic of Ashley  --->

Third Person’s POV

Shizune stands restlessly beside Lady Tsunade’s desk, with Tonton lying happily at her feet and a small, brown Pug sitting on the other side of her. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too much longer. This whole situation was making Shizune a little nervous.

The Ninken beside Shizune yawns tiredly, having run all the way back to the Leaf Village on Kakashi’s orders. He wasn’t too sure what that pink stone he’d brought back was, but judging from the hard look that had crossed the Hokage’s face when he’d shown her the stone, Pakkun couldn’t imagine it was anything good.

At the sound of a soft knock at her door, Tsunade slowly spins around in her chair, caramel eyes drifting over to it.

“Yes, come in” the blonde woman calls, ignoring the faint sigh of relief that escapes from Shizune’s lips. She knew the dark haired woman was worried, but then, she always was.

All four occupants of the room watch as the door to Tsunade’s office is opened, before a tall, muscular man with chocolate coloured hair enters the room, a passive look on his face.

“You wanted to see me Milady?” the man questions, coming to a stop before Tsunade’s desk and bowing his head slightly.

“Yes, that’s right Yamato” Lady Tsunade confirms with a nod. “I’d like for you to head out and help Team Kakashi with their mission.”

“Kakashi?” Yamato can’t seem to help repeating with slight surprise, blinking a few times. “I heard that it was nothing more than a search mission…..Did something happen to them Milady?”

“Kakashi sent Pakkun here back to tell us that they had a bit of a run in with the enemy” Tsunade explains seriously, motioning briefly towards the brown Pug at Shizune’s feet, “But that’s where things get a little…..prickly. The enemy used a Jutsu that we’ve never seen before.”

“A Jutsu that…..That we’ve never seen?” Yamato questions, brows furrowing in confusion. “How could that be?”

“I’m not sure” Tsunade admits, her face hardening a little as she glances up at Yamato, “And the details are still quite sketchy. I’m having the sample that Pakkun brought back analysed as we speak. I should have a result soon.”

“Alright, well” Yamato says, changing the subject, “Who shall I take along with me?”

“Take Sai” Tsunade instructs, pursing her lips a little in thought. “He can scan for Team Kakashi and the enemy from the sky, so he’ll be quite useful on your mission. And you should take Sakura as well. Her skilful use of Medical Ninjutsu will prove useful too, especially if any members of Team Kakashi are injured.”

“Sakura is running an errand for you right now Lady Tsunade” Shizune reminds the blonde woman. “She probably won’t be back until dawn.”

“Very well” Tsunade sighs. “As soon as Sakura returns, you are to head out.”

“Understood Milady” Yamato replies dutifully. “What about Naruto though? Seeing as Orochimaru is involved in this, should I bring him along as we-”

“Naruto is to know nothing about this mission” Tsunade interrupts hotly, leaning forwards in her seat. “As soon as he hears that this mission has to do with Orochimaru, he’ll think of Sasuke and do something reckless…..So I don’t want him hearing a single word!”

Rain pours heavily from the ominously dark sky, with nasty looking black clouds filling it and blocking out any possible view of the stars.

Being sure to step lightly, a drenched Hinata skips down from a high mound of vine covered boulders and ducks into the hollowed out entrance of an exceptionally large tree. Once inside, she glances up at the man waiting inside, while brushing some wet hair from her eyes.

“So” Kakashi begins, hands in his pockets, “How’d you go out there?”

“I’m afraid I wasn’t able to find anything” Hinata replies, sounding a little disappointed. “No leads, no trails…..Nothing.”

“Same here unfortunately” another voice adds roughly, making Kakashi and Hinata look over at the entrance. They are greeted by the sight of a rain soaked Kiba and Akamaru, with the large, white Ninken shaking himself vigorously to rid his coat of water. It wasn’t nice to walk around with water clogged fur. It made Akamaru feel heavy and slow….Not to mention cold.

“There’s not a whole lot we can do in weather like this” Kiba continues, running one hand through his messy, wet hair and sighing, while motioning towards the rain outside. “Rain like that makes it practically impossible to pick up a scent…..I won’t be surprised if any traces of the enemy’s scent are completely washed away by the time this rain eases up.”

“…..Not what I was hoping for…” Kakashi sighs wearily, watching an irritated Kiba as a few drops of water fall from the ceiling and land on the brunette’s head.

“See?” Kiba growls, jabbing his hand in an upwards motion. “Even the Bats are taking shelter from this crap weather……”

As soon as the words leave his mouth, the annoyed look slowly drops from Kiba’s face, his eyes beginning to widen with realisation. How could he have not thought of it before?!
“The Bats!” Kiba suddenly exclaims, making Hinata jump with fright. Momentarily placing a hand over her heart, Hinata turns around to face Kakashi, her eyes filled with determination.

“I’ll go back out and keep looking” she decides, only for Kiba to hold up his hand and stop the female Hyuga.

“Hold it” Kiba orders, his eyes narrowing up at the small, brown creature hanging upside down from the ceiling. “Don’t go anywhere…..”

“Huh?” Hinata asks, tilting her head.

“Why not?” Kakashi questions, following Kiba’s lead to glance up at the roof. “What’s up Kiba?”

“Well……I’ve been thinking about that high pitched noise me and Akamaru heard earlier a lot” Kiba begins slowly, looking back down at his teammates, a thoughtful frown now settled onto his face, “And it’s just hit me. What other animal uses ultra sonic frequency like that?.........That thing, right there.”

“Hm…” Kakashi grunts quietly, looking back up at the silent Bat and rubbing his chin with one hand. “Okay, gotcha. So, you think our enemy is spying on us by manipulating a Bat?”

“How do we know which one it is?” Hinata asks, suddenly feeling a little nervous as she watches the Bat turn its head slowly. Kiba shrugs at this, suppressing a growl as he too watches the Bat move.

“I dunno” the Inuzuka admits, crossing his arms. “I mean, they could be manipulating multiple Bats for all we know. What I know for sure though, is that we better move carefully from now on, or we’ll be opening ourselves up to the enemy’s detection…..Well, assuming they don’t already know we’re here anyway…..”

“Once that crystal sample is done being analysed back at the Village” Kakashi speaks up wisely, “We’ll have more of an idea of what we should do next. Right now, we’re just going to have to rely on Shino and his insects……”

“Great…..” Kiba mutters darkly, spinning around and pressing his back against a wall, arms crossed. The brunette hangs his head and frowns down at the ground, bending his knee to rest one foot against the wall as well.

‘I was hoping this would be a quick mission’ Kiba thinks unhappily, ‘But it just keeps getting weirder and weirder….We need to hurry up and find these guys so we can finish our mission, and I can focus on rescuing Ashley……Hold on Angel, I know you can do it…….’

Ashley leans back on one hand, crossing one outstretched leg over the other as she tilts her head back and scowls up at the branch above her. It was absolutely pouring down with rain, and Ashley had thought that sitting underneath a branch covered in thick clusters of leaves would provide her with some shelter. The way cold rain drops kept falling on her head though, Ashley didn’t think had helped much at all.

“T-Tobi is cold……” the black haired male announces miserably, making Ashley look over at him. She can’t help sighing a little, seeing the way Tobi is hugging his knees to his chest and rocking back and forth below a low hanging branch. Rain drops fall from the leaves above and land on his head, following the swirling grooves in his orange mask as they drip to the ground.

Deidara however, who is sitting only a few metres away from Tobi, his back leaning against a sturdy tree trunk, has his head tilted back and a slight frown on his face. Following the direction which Deidara’s bright blue eye is looking, Ashley looks up into the trees and spots a small, brown Bat. It slowly blinks its beady, red eyes, rain water soaking its short fur.

‘Why is a Bat out here in the rain?’ Ashley can’t help wondering, shivering slightly due to the cold, night breeze. ‘Bats normally take shelter in the rain…..Don’t they?’

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many Bats in one night” Ashley mutters out loud, Tobi and Deidara barely hearing her over the sound of the rain, with the blonde male nodding in agreement. “This is the fourth one I’ve seen tonight.”

“It’s very suspicious how out in the open they’ve all been hm….” Deidara says thoughtfully, his frown deepening a little. “Normal Bats wouldn’t be out in the rain like this.”

“Plus” Ashley decides to add, eyes now narrowing slightly at the Bat overhead, “Wild animals tend to run away from humans…..Not follow them.”

“An interesting choice of words hm” Deidara comments wryly, reaching one hand into one of the pouches that carries his clay, eyes still trained on the Bat.

“M-Maybe this Bat l-likes the rain!” Tobi suggests, his teeth chattering as he hugs himself to try and warm up. “E-Everyone likes d-different weather.”

As soon as Tobi finishes speaking, the Bat flings its wings wide open, small droplets of water flicking away from the leathery skin. The animal’s tiny, clawed feet release the branch they’re holding, causing the Bat to drop towards the ground.

“Oh no you don’t” Deidara growls, swiftly pushing himself to his feet as the Bat flaps its wings, aiming to fly off into the night. As Ashley too climbs to her feet, she watches the Bat dart right past Deidara, only for the blonde teenager to throw his right arm forwards, sending a small, white object after the Bat.

The small, clay creature also flaps its wings, swiftly gaining on the Bat and crashing into its back. Ashley turns her head away and throws her arms up just in time, as a blast of hot air and water hits her face, causing her hair to stream out behind her.

“Deidara!” the girl exclaims irritably, throwing her arms down and glaring at said male as the air returns to normal. “What did you do that for? It was just a Bat!”

Deidara merely places his hands down by his side, sleeves covering his hands, and raises one eyebrow at Ashley.

“You said you saw four bats hm” the nineteen year old states dryly, a smug look on his face, “When in reality, there was only one. That Bat has been following us this whole time hm…..And you’re not really in any place to be yelling at me. Remember that.”

Ashley pauses at this, though she retains a stubborn look on her face. Briefly ignoring the fact that Deidara was acting superior to her again, Ashley wonders how the teen had noticed that it was the same Bat this whole time. All Bats looked the same, to Ashley at least. She’d never admit it out loud, but Deidara must have keen senses if he was able to tell such a thing.

“Even if it was following us” Ashley begins, still sounding annoyed, “That’s no reason to blow it up.”

“You can’t be too careful Ashley-chan” Tobi advises brightly, cheekily sliding over to the girl and throwing an arm around her shoulders. “We’re famous bad guys, so we’ve gotta be ready for anything!”

Ashley grows an anime vein, leaning her head back a little to give Tobi an unimpressed look. If he didn’t remove his arm within the next two seconds, Ashley was going to throw him away from her.

“Though I don’t like to admit it hm” Deidara sighs, settling back down on the ground, “He’s right. You have to learn to expect the unexpected.”

“How cliché” Ashley sneers, before turning her head to give Tobi a deathly glare. Before the taller male can back away, a sweat drop forming on the side of his head, Ashley reaches up and grabs hold of the hand Tobi has on her shoulder, gripping it tightly.

“And you” the Minami growls, showing the tips of her pointed teeth as she focuses chakra into her arm, “Really need to learn not to touch me!”

In one quick movement, Ashley throws her arm forwards, flinging Tobi away from her with such force that he shoots past Deidara and crashes straight through a thick tree trunk.

Ashley throws her hands on her hips and smirks nastily as wood chips fly through the air, Tobi landing heavily in a large mud puddle a good distance away from her. The tree Tobi had crashed through begins to fall, slowly tipping over at first, before picking up speed the closer it gets to the ground.

The heavy tree crashes through the foliage, snapping branches and crushing plants, before hitting the ground with a resounding boom. All the while, Deidara just closes his eyes and leans his head back, feigning sleep. Maybe if he ignored them, they’d stop being so annoying. Though he was finding Ashley to be somewhat irritating so far, at least she seemed smart enough and wasn’t afraid to beat Tobi up. Now he wouldn’t be the only one constantly annoyed with the orange masked male.

Ashley slowly walks beside Deidara through the forest, boredly watching as Tobi skips and dances ahead of them like some kind of hyper puppy. She can’t help briefly wondering how Deidara hadn’t killed the annoying male yet, seeing as he wasn’t the type to resort to childish behaviour. Surely he found Tobi’s personality as taxing as she did?

“How does it feel taking on the senior role Deidara?” Ashley questions, a slightly teasing tone to her voice. “Are you used to it yet?”

“I have no problems with being in charge” Deidara replies evenly, though the way his visible eye had narrowed at Tobi’s back would suggest he felt otherwise. “What I do have a problem with is being stuck with him. My man Sasori may have had idiotic views on art, but at least he wasn’t irritating twenty four seven hm…..Tobi makes me miss that old Philistine.”

“Wasn’t he killed by a girl and some old lady?” Ashley questions dryly, to which Deidara’s lips twitch up into an amused smirk.

“Hardly a dignified way to go hm” the blonde male muses, when Tobi suddenly appears in front of him, wriggling with excitement. As Tobi begins giggling happily, Deidara momentarily closes his eyes and sighs, while Ashley casts the masked male a disapproving look.

“You’ve really got a problem with getting way too far into people’s personal space” she informs Tobi, scowling at him.

Tobi, being the oblivious soul that he is, ignores Ashley’s jab at him and begins jerking around in a strange dance of happiness.

“Look Deidara Senpai!” the dark haired male sings brightly, arms waving in an almost unnatural fashion. “There’s a Dumpling Shop just ahead! Can we Pleeeaaase take a break?!”

As Tobi begins spinning in place, Ashley looks over to where the male had pointed, and raises an eyebrow.

“Why’s there a Dumpling Shop in the middle of nowhere anyway?” she questions, while a calm faced Deidara merely blinks, visible eye watching Tobi carelessly.

“C’mon Deidara Senpai!” Tobi continues, his voice taking on a pleading tone as his shoulders slump. “We’ve been walking for so long and I’m exhausted!”

That said, Tobi whirls around and dashes off towards the cosy looking building ahead, leaving his two blonde teammates behind in a cloud of dust.

“You don’t look all that exhausted….” Deidara mutters, deadpanning. Ashley remains silent, waving her hand back and forth to try and keep the dust out of her face.

‘Why are the morons always the ones with so much energy?’ the Minami can’t help wondering dryly, following as Deidara begins making his way over to the Dumpling Shop as well.

“I don’t even want Dumplings” Ashley complains flatly, watching as Tobi flops down onto a wooden bench and speaks with an old lady that had come out of the shop entrance. “I want meat.”

“You can just starve then hm?” Deidara suggests smartly, closing his eyes as he sits down on the wooden bench next to a wriggling Tobi. “…You’re like a four year old sometimes hm. You know that right?”

“Awww what’s the rush?” Tobi asks breezily, waving to Ashley as she comes to a stop before the two males, an unimpressed look on her face and hands on her hips. “We’re trying to catch one of the Tailed Beasts, but we don’t even know where it is! What’s it gonna hurt if we kick back for a bit?.........By the way…..Which one are we after again?”

“The Three Tails!” Deidara can’t help snapping with annoyance, as Ashley anime falls.

“First we find it and then we catch it!” Tobi laughs easily, as Ashley sits up on her knees, eyebrow twitching. “It’s fine. Just leave it to Tobi!”

Deidara’s eyebrow also begins twitching, as he stares at Tobi with a blank, yet strangely terrifying, glare.

“I wouldn’t even leave peeling an orange to you Tobi” Ashley mutters darkly, causing said male’s shoulders to droop slightly. Ashley soon looks up though, as a kind looking old woman exits the shop, three plates of dumplings in her hands.

“Here we go!” the woman chuckles, gently setting the plates of delicious looking snacks down. “Three serves of sweet dumplings. Enjoy!”

“Wa ha hoyyy!” Tobi cheers excitedly, immediately reaching down and lifting up one of the skewers, briefly admiring the syrup soaked treats. “These look amazing! Let’s see, let’s see!”

Ashley leans forwards a little, nose twitching as she sniffs the Dumplings, her brows furrowed. They smelled so sweet, Ashley wasn’t sure if she was going to enjoy the dumplings all that much.

The girl’s fuschia eyes flick to her right however, when she sees Deidara lean forwards a little, his attention focused on Tobi. Wondering why he’d be staring at the dark haired maniac, Ashley too looks over at Tobi, only to tilt her head to the side.

As Tobi brings the skewer of little dumplings towards his face, he uses his free hand to begin lifting his mask.

‘Hmm…..I wonder what he looks like’ Ashley thinks to herself, blinking her slightly widened eyes. ‘Deidara looks pretty intrigued, so he’s obviously never seen Tobi’s face either.’

Just as the lower half of Tobi’s face is about to be revealed, the tall male turns around, stuffing a dumpling in his mouth and moaning at the deliciousness of it.

“Mmm it’s so good!” Tobi cries, though his words are a little garbled, considering the amount of food he’d shoved in his mouth. “The sauce is out of this world! It’s not too sweet, but it’s not too salty either! It’s a masterpiece!”

Ashley sweat drops when Tobi turns around, before leaning forwards and cautiously taking her own skewer full of dumplings, as an unimpressed Deidara also takes a bit out of his treat.

‘What I wouldn’t give to go to Yakiniku Q right now’ Ashley thinks as she lets out an audible sigh, before taking a big bite of her dumpling and chewing it thoughtfully. ‘Hmm….It’s not so bad…..And Tobi was right for once. It’s not too sweet.’

“Ahhhh, that hit the spot!” Tobi giggles, turning his head around and pausing. “Hey Deidara Senpai, look at that!”

Glancing up as the dark haired male points to something in the dumpling shop with his now empty skewer, a suspicious Deidara turns around. Ashley also looks up, only to see that Tobi is pointing at a white paper lantern, in the shape of a pig.

“Get a load of that” Tobi muses, waving his skewer up and down, “It looks just like your work, doesn’t it!”

Ashley swallows her mouthful of dumpling, eyes widening slightly. An amused smirk threatens to spread across the girl’s face, as she takes in the slowly darkening look on Deidara’s. Surely this wasn’t going to go down well. And Ashley was sure looking forward to watching Deidara beat the crap out of Tobi.

“Could it be that your work…..” Tobi begins sweetly, before placing a hand in front of his mouth and giggling, “Is a rip off.”

‘Oh, he’s gone” Ashley thinks gleefully, watching Tobi sweat drop and jump to his feet, as Deidara’s shoulders shake with anger.

“Tobi……” the blonde male growls dangerously as he slowly raises his head, fire burning in his visible blue eye.

“Aiyeeeeeee!” Tobi screeches, launching himself away from Deidara at speed and racing in the opposite direction. He pumps his arms and legs as fast as he can, hoping to get away before Deidara can hurt him.

“You’re dead!” the blonde teenager shouts angrily, throwing a large figure made of clay after his retreating partner with pinpoint accuracy.

Ashley merely continues chomping on her dumpling skewer, not even blinking as Deidara’s clay hits Tobi square in the back, causing a massive explosion that throws him high into the air. A wave of hot air tears past Ashley and Deidara, causing their hair to stream out behind them wildly.

The young Minami raises her eyes, highly amused as a screaming Tobi is flung way into the distance, before Deidara sighs with aggravation and dumps himself back down on the bench, hand holding the bridge of his nose.

“Didn’t think you were the kind to lose your cool like that” Ashley muses cheekily, causing Deidara’s head to snap up, a warning look in his eye. “You must be sensitive about those clay things of yours.”

“Make one crack about my art hm” Deidara challenges fiercely, “Just one, and you’ll receive the same fate as that moron.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it” Ashley replies sarcastically, shrugging her shoulders and throwing an empty skewer over her shoulder. “Your art is clearly so much better.”

The forest is almost silent, save for the distance chirping of a bird, as Kiba peeks around the side of the tree he’s hiding behind, eyes focused straight ahead. Akamaru crouches behind a thick bush, only a few metres away from the boy, his lips pulled back and a faint growl bubbling in his throat.

Kakashi is to the other side of Kiba, also hiding behind a tree, though his attention is focused on Hinata. While the Jonin’s senses were alert to his surroundings, he was watching to see Hinata’s reaction to the situation at hand.

Though Akamaru had been the first to notice the enemy, due to his incredible sense of smell, Kakashi wanted to find out exactly where they were hiding. And Hinata’s Byakugan would be able to find them, no matter where they decided to hide.

“I can see them!” Hinata suddenly whispers loudly, her pale eyes narrowing slightly. “And it’s definitely the chakra of Shinobi-”

Before anyone can react, a huge man with inhumanly large muscles bursts out of the ground from behind Kakashi, one fist raised up in the air.

Hinata gasps with surprise, while Kakashi whirls around, his visible eye wide. How had they not sensed this man earlier?!

“So” the stranger shouts, his sharp teeth flashing in a small ray of light, “You must be the Leader here!”

“Kakashi Sensei!” Kiba calls worriedly, just as the Jonin throws his arms up in an x formation, managing to block the stranger’s powerful punch just in time. Kakashi is thrown backwards from the sheer force of the inhumanly strong punch however, before the large, muscled man charges after him.

“Sensei!” Kiba calls again, moving to chase after the silver haired man, when Hinata throws out a hand.

“No Kiba!” she cries frantically. “Don’t move!”

“Huh?” the brunette replies, only to reel backwards when a small barrage of kunai knives shoot past his face. “What?!”

“Aw, I missed” an unfamiliar voice chuckles, making Kiba, Hinata and Akamaru turn around. “Oh well. Now that Gozu’s gotten their Leader out of the way, the rest of them shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Kiba grits his teeth, lowering his head a little as he narrows his animal like eyes at the three men now standing before him. He’d never seen the three of them before, but he just knew that these were the people they’d been tracking for the last few days. It looked like they were finally going to engage the enemy in a fight.

“Since you managed to find us in this huge forest” the man with shaggy green hair says, placing his hands on his hips, “You must have great tracking skills…..We’re going to make you wish that you didn’t though.”

Muttering a quick plan to Hinata, Kiba drops down on all fours, his sharp teeth bared in a scowl. Crouching beside his best friend, Akamaru suddenly disappears in a puff of smoke, a clone of Kiba now standing in the Ninken’s place.

“Now Akamaru!” the real Kiba shouts, launching himself forwards with impressive speed. “Fang Over Fang!”

The two Kiba’s race forwards, before leaping high into the air and releasing large amounts of chakra to make them spin rapidly. Their movements quickly become too fast for the eye to track, looking more like a ferocious, hurricane-like drill.

“Heh, give us a smokescreen Kigiri” the green haired man instructs, causing a taller man with a gas mask over his mouth to lean forwards. As he does so, a thick, brown haze speedily blows out of the gas mask, filling the air and surrounding forest.

“Kiba!” Hinata cries worriedly, as Akamaru and the brunette collide powerfully with the ground. They remain unharmed though, with Kiba swiftly throwing a hand over his mouth.

“Is this….Poison gas?” he questions, only for Akamaru to bark his reassurance, causing the brunette to drop his hand and grin at his Ninken. “Oh, cool. Thanks Akamaru!”

‘If this isn’t poison, then what is it?’ Kiba wonders, turning his head left and right to try and see. ‘Some kind of diversion maybe?.......Wait a second……I can’t smell their scent anymore! I can’t smell anything anymore!’

Kiba grits his teeth in an unamused smirk, eyes still straining to see through the thick haze.

‘I get it’ the brunette realises, ‘This fog is more than just a diversion. They’re using it to cover their moveme-’

Kiba is suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, when something hard slams into the side of his face, causing the unprepared Inuzuka to rocket head first into a tree. He is unable to keep himself from groaning in pain, as he painfully pushes himself up on his hands and knees, wiping some blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

‘This is bad…..’ Kiba thinks with a frown, lifting his head to try and look around again. ‘I can’t see them, I can’t smell them……And the same must be true for them, so how come they know exactly where I am?.....’

Ashley’s eyes flick over to her left, once again glancing at a silent and blank faced Deidara. He hadn’t spoken a word since they’d left the Dumpling Shop a good hour ago, and Ashley had begun to think that the blonde male was sulking about what Tobi had said.

‘These S Ranked Criminals aren’t all they’re made out to be’ Ashley thinks wryly, wondering why she’d ever thought all of the Akatsuki members were supposed to be the biggest and baddest of all Ninja. So far, she certainly wasn’t impressed with what she’d seen. Hopefully she wouldn’t always have to be with Deidara or Tobi, or she was going to kill one of them. Most likely Tobi, seeing as Deidara wasn’t as annoying as Tobi. The blonde just had one hell of an ego problem.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this” Ashley begins flatly, flicking her long fringe back from her face, only to have it fall right back, “But shouldn’t we at least try to find Tobi?”

Deidara remains silent, though he closes his visible eye and picks up his pace a little, causing Ashley to growl under her breath a little. Who did he think he was, ignoring her like that? He’d been ignoring her this whole time, and her patience was growing very thin.

“Hey!” Ashley barks vehemently as she jumps in front of Deidara, making him pause and glare down at her. “Don’t ignore me just coz Tobi called you out on your cheap art style Deidara! I need to impress this mysterious Leader of yours, and I’m not going to have him thinking bad of me just coz you lost your patience and tried to kill him!”

“….What did you just say hm?” Deidara asks lowly, his visible eye narrowing dangerously. Ashley smirks meanly at Deidara, clearly not afraid of him at all.

“Oh, so you can speak” she taunts, annoying the blonde teenager further. “I was beginning to think the only reason you could talk was because Tobi’s hand was up your ass. Huh, go figure.”

Growing an anime vein at Ashley’s words, Deidara suddenly raises his arm, causing Ashley to leap backwards, one hand on the ground for balance and an amused twinkle in her visible eye.

“Before you go all terrorist and try to blow me up” the Minami smirks, showing her sharp teeth, “I’m going to go and find Tobi. Whether he’s alive or not, I’ll catch back up with you later.”

Not bothering to reply, an aggravated Deidara viciously throws a clay figure at Ashley, only for her to spin around on her heels and dart off into the trees, chuckling to herself.

As the girl runs away, she feels a powerful wave of hot air hit her back, as Deidara’s clay bomb hits the ground and explodes with a resounding boom. Bits of dirt and clumps of grass fly past Ashley’s head, the girl having to push her wildly blowing hair back from her face.

“Who knew he had such a temper?” Ashley asks herself with a shake of her head, still running through the foliage as she activates her Katsuryoku. “Now, to find Tobi. Hopefully he’s within range so I can-”

Ashley suddenly skids to a halt, staring down at the ground as she feels a large tremor in the earth below. She continues aimlessly searching the dirt with her eyes, trying to figure out what’s going on as more, smaller tremors vibrate through the earth.

“It feels like….A fight?” the blonde Minami suggests to herself, feeling a little confused. “Could it be Tobi? Did he…Get into a fight with someone?......Why can’t I sense who or what it is over there?......”

Frowning with confusion, Ashley raises her head and looks off into the distance, before bending her knees and jumping up into the trees. She begins bounding easily through the sturdy branches, heading towards the cause of the strange vibrations she’d felt.

Why couldn’t she sense the presences properly? While they certainly felt human enough, it was difficult for Ashley to feel their movements, get a sense of their height and weight. Normally it wouldn’t be much of a problem, but it felt like….Something was interfering with the vibrations…..

Ashley continues leaping through the trees for a few relatively silent minutes, her suspicion growing as she draws nearer to the source of the tremors. Even though she was a lot closer now, she still couldn’t sense the presences properly, though they were definitely still moving around.

“Whoa!” Ashley cries, skidding to a halt on a branch and throwing out her arms to balance herself. “What’s that?....”

Ashley narrows her eyes at the thick, brown mist floating in front of her, slowly curling around trees and seeming to suck them into its strange darkness.

“…It’s not poisonous at least” the Minami quickly decides, choosing to press onwards and jump into the strange fog. “What’s going on here?.....Hey!”

Ashley’s eyes widen, as a sharp kunai knife slices through the air beside her ear, barely missing her and sticking into a tree. The blonde raises a hand to her cheek, unsure of whether the weapon had skimmed her flesh or not.

Satisfied when she feels no blood, Ashley’s brows furrow in confusion, when realisation suddenly dawns on her.

‘Why didn’t I sense that kunai coming?’ she wonders in annoyance. ‘And why can’t I sense anything properly now? At least before I could sort of sense things, but now……I can’t see at all and…..Yep, I can’t smell either. What sort of fog is this?.....’

Ashley’s head suddenly snaps up at the sound of a female voice, crying out in pain. The blonde tilts her head a little, finding the voice to be somewhat…..familiar. Ashley remains still, her knees slightly bent, as she listens to a quick barrage of hollow thuds, as if someone were being punched, before there is a loud crunch as something clearly crashes into a tree.

‘What’s going on here?.....’ Ashley wonders again, moving to walk forwards, when a voice to her right makes the blonde freeze.

“Well, well” the smug voice muses, “Looks like we’ve got another one. You’re interesting. We didn’t notice you earlier. Too bad you’re going down as well.”

“Probably because I wasn’t here earlier” Ashley retorts irritably, ignoring the man’s last sentence as she begins performing a swift set of hand signs. “I may not be able to see or sense you, but this won’t miss…..Earth Style: Stone Column Spear!”

“What?!” the male voice shouts, as the sound of rocks tearing up through the earth begins echoing all around a now smirking Ashley.

“Aahhh!” she cries out however, when a kunai suddenly stabs her in the upper arm, the tip piercing a good few centimetres into her flesh. “Bastard!”

“What’s happening to the ground?!” another male voice, this one rougher and younger sounding, cries out. “Is this another one of the enemy’s Jutsu?....Are you alright boy?!”

Ashley ignores this voice as well, too busy sucking in a breath through gritted teeth as she rips the kunai from her arm and tosses it on the ground.

“That’s it” she growls loudly, “I’ve already had enough of this.”

“Did you guys hear that voice?!” the rough sounding male calls out again, sounding a little closer than before. “Am I the only one who heard it?”

“This fog has got to go” Ashley continues growling, “And then I’m going to make someone pay for that!”

Focusing her Katsuryoku, Ashley swipes her arm up in a diagonal line, sending out a powerful blast of wind that immediately blows away the foggy smokescreen and makes it disappear.

Her vision, smell and ability to sense movements returning, Ashley begins smirking and raises her eyes to look for whoever had stabbed her, only to freeze.

Only about ten metres ahead of her, Ashley finds herself staring at the back of a tall brunette clad in a black leather jacket. He is bent over, one hand resting on the collapsed form of a pale girl with long, midnight blue hair, a white Ninken on his other side.

‘Leaf Ninja?!’ Ashley thinks wildly, her eyes wide as she slowly and silently begins backing up. ‘What are they doing out here?!.....And I can feel Kakashi not too far from here too! Dammit, if I’d been able to sense them properly and knew they were here, I never would have come over….’

“I know we’re surrounded by the enemy guys” Kiba begins, sounding both confused and determined, “But I swear I heard Ashley’s voice just now….”

Ashley’s eyes widen further at that, as she continues slowly walking backwards, eyes trained on the Leaf Ninja ahead of her.

She glances down momentarily however, when something small and black flits past, causing the girl to bite her lower lip.

‘That’s one of Shino’s insects’ she thinks to herself, eyes flicking around as she begins sensing a whole multitude of the small Beetles, all of them beginning to surround the nearby area. ‘He must be trying to trap the guys Kiba and the others are fighting in…..I need to get out of here right now!’

Spinning around, Ashley silently leaps up into a tree, vanishing out of sight just in time as Kiba turns around, a concerned and hopeful look in his eyes. He looks around for a few moments, sniffing the air in confusion. Was he imagining it or could he….Smell Ashley’s scent?....

“Uh oh….” the man with the green hair suddenly groans, a scowl crossing his face. “We’re….We’re being surrounded! Quick Kigiri, another smokescreen! We’re retreating right now!”

Though feeling a little confused, the man with the gas mask over his mouth obliges, blowing out another thick, brown haze so he and his teammates can escape Shino’s trap.

“What?!” Kiba barks, coughing a little as they are surrounded by the fog again. “Why are they leaving? What’s going one here?!”

“It would seem that our enemy has very keen senses indeed…..” a familiar, mysterious voice drawls, causing Kiba and an injured Hinata to look up.

“Sh-Shino….” Hinata says quietly, though she sends the tall Chunin a tiny smile.

“How disappointing…” the dark haired Aburame mutters. “Just when I’d almost finished weaving my net around them…..”

“Is everyone alright?” a concerned voice asks, just as a man with silver hair lands on a tree branch above Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru.

“Kakashi Sensei” Kiba greets sullenly. “Well, Hinata’s hurt pretty bad, and our guys got away……”

“My guy got away too” Kakashi sighs, placing a hand on his hip and glancing down at a shivering Hinata, while Shino holds up his hand to allow a Beetle to land. The Aburame stares at his insect for a few moments, his brows furrowing the tiniest bit as the Beetle relays some interesting information to him.

“Is it bad Hinata?” Kakashi questions, leaning forwards. “Can you move at all?”

“I-I’ll be fine Sensei” Hinata says with a pained closed eye smile. “I j-just need a few moments.”

“I can definitely smell her presence….” Kiba mutters softly, eyes searching the area as his nose catches Ashley’s alluring scent again. “I wouldn’t mistake that scent….”

“….What are you talking about Kiba?” Kakashi asks in confusion, everyone watching as Kiba begins following his nose, stepping carefully through the foliage. “Who can you smell? The enemy?”

“Nah, not the enemy……” Kiba replies distractedly, his head tilting in confusion. “I know that I can smell Ashley around here, and back when we were fighting, I swear I heard her voice…..Just before the smokescreen disappeared….”

Kakashi gives the Inuzuka a sympathetic look, figuring that the boy was just imagining things due to his worry for Ashley. There was no way Ashley had been in this area, or they would’ve sensed her earlier, either through scent or Hinata’s Byakugan.

“You’re worried about her K-Kiba-kun” Hinata says softly, giving her teammate a troubled look, “And you’ve been thinking about her a-a lot too….Maybe you’re sort of….hallucinating?”

Running a hand through his hair as he places a hand on his hip, Kiba throws his head back and sends the sky a somewhat defeated look, shoulders slumping.

“Yeah….” he agrees half heartedly. “Maybe you’re right……”

“I wouldn’t be so sure Kiba” Shino suddenly speaks up, dropping down to the ground and producing something from up his sleeve. “What does this tell you?.....”

Everyone looks over at the Aburame, all confused by the slightly blood stained kunai now in his hand.

“Why are you showing us a bloody kunai Shino?” Kakashi asks in confusion, as Kiba sniffs again, before his eyes narrow at the knife. He begins striding swiftly over to Shino, a hard look on his face as he continues sniffing.

“Angel……” he eventually whispers, eyes widening. “This is definitely her blood. She was here! I knew I didn’t imagine it!”

“What……How could that be?” Hinata wonders out loud, as Kiba begins looking around, that hopefully look back in his eyes.

“That’s not all” Shino speaks up again, making everyone pause. “One of my insects saw Ashley just a moment ago.”

“What?” Kiba asks loudly, dumbfounded by this sudden news. “Well, where is she?!”

“I don’t know” Shino replies flatly, glasses flashing in the light. “As soon as the smokescreen cleared, she ran away. Apparently she didn’t want to be seen.”

“This….Doesn’t make any sense….” Kakashi murmurs, brows furrowing as he raises a hand to rub his chin. “If that really was Ashley, why would she run away from us?”

“Maybe she got away from the Akatsuki” Kiba begins excitedly, looking eager to run after Ashley, “But got a bit scared when she realised a fight was going on over here…..We’ve gotta go and get her Kakashi Sensei!”

“We don’t know if it’s really her Kiba” Kakashi begins slowly, unsure of whether to believe Shino’s news or not. “For one thing, we could run right into the enemy again if we go running through the forest…..And for another thing, this could easily be an enemy trick….Especially if Orochimaru is involved……”

“But…..What if it is true?” Kiba asks softly, looking down at the bloodied kunai Shino had by then dropped back on the ground. “She’s clearly injured….So what happens if she runs into the enemy?....”

A determined frown settles on Kiba’s face, as he looks up, eyes staring in the direction he can smell Ashley’s scent from.

“I’m going after her” Kiba says decisively, taking a step moving to run forwards. “I’ll catch up with you guys lat- Ughh!”

Kiba is cut off, as Kakashi suddenly appears beside him and pulls one arm up behind his back, before pressing the Inuzuka’s chest into a tree.

“Let me go Kakashi Sensei!” Kiba shouts in a commanding tone. “You may be scared to look for Ashley, but I’m not! I’ve got to help her! I don’t care if I run into the enemy out there! Let me go dammit!”

“Simmer down Kiba” Kakashi orders calmly, pressing his knee into Kiba’s back and making the teenager groan in pain. “We’ll look for her, but we need to get this situation under control first. I want to save Ashley too, but if we go rushing through the forest like crazy, we’ll all end up dead.”

Kiba slowly stops struggling at that, heaving big sigh of defeat, though he continues to glare at the ground. He wasn’t going to admit it to the others, but he’d gladly take that risk if it meant saving his Angel from the Akatsuki. Whether that made him a bad person or not, Kiba didn’t care.

“Fine” the brunette sighs irritably. “Let’s get this over with then.”

Ashley continues bounding through the trees at speed, her heart sounding like it’s beating right in her ears.

That had been way too close for comfort. That fog had restricted most of her senses, and the last thing she needed was a bunch of Leaf Ninja coming after her. She didn’t want anything to do with them, and if they’d noticed her, there was no doubt in Ashley’s mind that they would’ve given chase.

“I’ll have to let Deidara know that they’re here” Ashley sighs out loud, hair streaming out behind her. “We’ll have to be really careful now that those Leaf Ninja are snooping around….What are they even doing out here anyw-”

Ashley cuts herself off, coming to an abrupt halt on a high tree branch and resting her hand against the trunk, sweat dropping at the sight before her.

“Figures” the blonde mutters, shaking her head as she drops down to the ground. Landing in a crouched position, Ashley can’t help smirking at Tobi, who is hanging upside down from a tree, his foot caught in a fork between two branches. Anime tears pour from the eyehole in his mask, as the dark haired male swings pathetically back and forth in the breeze.

“Just hangin out Tobi?” Ashley asks smartly, stepping into the male’s view and crossing her arms. “Deidara won’t be happy to hear about how lazy you’re being right now.”

“Oh please don’t tell him Ashley-chan!” a still slightly smouldering Tobi begs, clasping his hands together. “Please help Tobi down, and then he’ll make up for it by doing aaaalllll the work! Please? Please?.......Pleeeeaaaase help Tobi get down Ashley-chan!”

“Alright, fine!” Ashley snaps, rolling her eyes. “Just shut up. I didn’t slip away just to have your loud, annoying voice let everyone know where I am.”

With a swipe of her hand, Ashley sends a small blast of wind up at the branches Tobi’s foot is caught between, causing him to crash to the ground in a tangled heap at her feet.

“Oh thank you Ashley-chan” Tobi says brightly, hugging one of Ashley’s legs. “You are so kind!”

“Let go of me you idiot!” Ashley growls with annoyance, an anime vein forming on the side of her head. “We have to find Deidara as soon as possible. I’ve got some important news to give him. Now come on!”

That said, Ashley violently kicks Tobi away from her, before bending her knees and launching herself back up into the trees.

‘Hopefully Deidara doesn’t run into the Leaf Ninja before I get back to him’ Ashley thinks, focusing her Katsuryoku to try and find Deidara, picking up the pace as Tobi begins bounding through the trees behind her.