Edited 31/05/2020

Third Person POV

"Ninja Art: Shadow Stitching Jutsu!" Shikamaru shouts, as tendril like shadows materialise along the ground, writhing and stretching until they manage to wrap themselves around the enemy's arms and legs.

The men shout and struggle against the shadows, though no matter how hard they try to pull themselves free, Shikamaru's Jutsu holds them securely in place.

"Ino!" Shikamaru calls over his shoulder, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face. "Hurry, there's too many of them! I can't hold this for long!"

"Right!" Ino replies, struggling to sit up and pull weapons from the pouch on her thigh, blood seeping from a wound in her calf. "This is what you get for stabbing me!"

That said, Ino flings a handful of kunai towards the captured soldiers, paper bombs wrapped tightly around the hilts.

Shikamaru keeps a close eye on the knives as they fly through the air, and just as they are about to hit their targets, the Nara swiftly releases his Jutsu. When he had people caught in his shadows like that, whatever pain was inflicted on his victims was also inflicted on him.

Shikamaru spins around and darts towards Ino, scooping her up into his arms and running as fast as he can, before the bombs on the ends of the kunai knives begin to explode.

The Nara feels a hot wind blast against his back as the bombs explode, the sound tearing through the silence of the forest, before all becomes quiet again.

"....Do you think they're dead?" Ino asks after a long pause.

"I hope so" Shikamaru sighs, slowing his pace down slightly. "They've been after us for ages and running while I have to carry you is tiring."

"Hey" Ino pouts, folding her arms over her chest. "It's not my fault I can't walk."

"I know, I know" Shikamaru mutters, leaping up into the trees.

Shikamaru had been one of the few to jump out of a window when the soldiers had broken into the Zenchokage Tower, and seeing as Ino had been standing right next to him, Shikamaru had grabbed the girl's hand and dragged her along with him.

They'd heard Choji burst through the wall behind them, but they hadn't seen their teammate or their Sensei since.

Shikamaru hadn't had the chance to see where anyone went, because shortly after escaping, Ino had been hit in the calf by a kunai knife. They had barely made it into the streets at this point, and Shikamaru had had to defend Ino from the incoming soldiers while she pulled the kunai from her leg. He'd been rather impressed with her however. While she had fallen over from the hit and cried out in pain, Ino then ripped the kunai out of her calf in anger and flung it at a soldier fighting Shikamaru, hitting the man right in the neck.

"Hey Shikamaru?" Ino asks quietly. "Do you think Choji's alright? I hope he didn't end up alone...."

"I'm sure he's fine" Shikamaru responds, though he feels as if he's lying to his teammate. "Asuma Sensei was behind us and if he saw Choji run off alone, I'd bet he followed after him."

"I hope you're right...." Ino trails off, only for Shikamaru to notice that her breathing has changed.

He glances down, his eyes widening slightly. Despite it being pretty dark in the forest now that the sun is going down, Shikamaru can see that Ino's face has become rather pale.

"Are you alright Ino?" the Nara asks, coming to a stop on a large branch.

"I feel tired" Ino admits, smiling sheepishly up at Shikamaru as he gently lowers her down. "I think I've lost a lot of blood."

"Here, wrap up your wound" Shikamaru instructs, pulling a roll of bandages from his backpack and handing them to Ino. He then straightens up and looks around, rubbing the back of his neck.

While it seemed that they were no longer being pursued by the group of soldiers anymore, Shikamaru knew that it was only a matter of time before another group would find them.

"The last thing we need right now is for you to bleed to death" Shikamaru jokes morbidly, bending his knees to jump onto a higher branch.

"Wait!" Ino begs, grabbing onto Shikamaru's shorts with one hand, her teal eyes wide. "Where are you going?!You can just leave me here all by myself!"

"Shhhhh!" Shikamaru whispers urgently, shaking his leg free of Ino's grasp. "I'm not going far, okay? I'm just going to set up some traps in case any soldiers get too close to us. I'll be back in a minute, just lay low until I come back."

"But-"

Ino is unable to protest Shikamaru's departure, as he leaps away and disappears into the darkness. The blonde girls stares after him for a few moments, before heaving a defeated sigh and unravelling the bandages that Shikamaru had handed her.

She grits her teeth and tries not to make any noise as she slowly wraps up the laceration on her calf. It stung like crazy and Ino didn't want to touch it, but she knew that if she didn't stop the bleeding soon, things would be really bad for her.

Once done, Ino shuffles backwards along the branch, until her back hits the trunk of the tree. She pulls out some shuriken, seeing as she is out of kunai knives now, and sits with some in each hand. She remains silent, listening for any suspicious movement.

After a short amount of time, though it had felt like an eternity to Ino, Shikamaru lands back down on the branch in front of her.

"Took you long enough" Ino huffs.

Shikamaru merely shrugs. He knew she wasn't angry at him, she was just scared.

"I set up some exploding tags and trip wires" Shikamaru lets his teammate know. "Some kunai and shuriken too. At least we'll be able to get a head start if we hear someone set my traps off."

"Good work......" Ino says quietly, lowering her gaze and biting her lip. "Hey Shikamaru? Those guys....They wouldn't really kill us, would they?"

"Did that kunai feel fake to you?" Shikamaru asks sarcastically, nodding towards Ino's bandaged leg.

"That's not what I mean" Ino scoffs, rolling her eyes. "I mean, they hired us. Aren't they afraid of the Leaf retaliating or something?"

"I doubt it" Shikamaru answers with a heavy sigh. "Sirius knows that we brought that Minami in to try and kill him, so technically we started this fight. Lady Tsunade wouldn't really have a leg to stand on."

"I guess not" Ino says sadly. "I just hope everyone makes it back alright....."

"Are you alright Shino-kun?" Hinata asks softly, her pale eyes changing back to normal as she deactivates her Byakugan.

Shino pats at the sleeve of his jacket, putting out the tiny flame on it. A small number of burned insects fall to the ground, joining the hundreds of others that had perished in the fight.

"....I'm fine Hinata, thank you" he says, gazing around at the small battlefield. Despite it being quite dark now, Shino can see that many of his insects had died defending himself and Hinata.

"It's going to take quite awhile for my insects to recover from this and increase their numbers again" Shino adds, placing one hand on his knee and climbing to his feet. "Are you alright Hinata? You're bleeding."

"Oh!" Hinata blinks in surprise, wiping a trickle of blood from her cheek. "Yes, I'm fine Shino-kun. I didn't even notice."

"You did very well against those soldiers" Shino compliments, holding out his arms. "Your Taijutsu has never been better."

"Ah, thank you Shino-kun" Hinata laughs awkwardly. "Neji-san has been training with me."

"Well, your Gentle Fist technique has improved immensely" Shino praises, proud of his teammate's improvement. "Without your help, I wouldn't have been able to send out scouter insects."

He and Hinata watch as two small insects fly back towards Shino and disappear up his sleeve.

"I'm sorry so many of them were killed" Hinata apologises, sadly looking around at the burned insects dotted across the ground.

While Hinata had managed to get over her fear of the soldiers enough to fight against three of them at once, one had been a long distance Fire Style user. Hinata didn't have any long distance Jutsu to counter his attacks, so Shino had been forced to resort to sending out his army of insects to attack the man.

Many of Shino's beetles had died in the fight, and Shino himself had received a few burns, but ultimately he and the insects had managed to get rid of the Fire Style user.

"It would seem that I need to improve my own Taijutsu" Shino comments, tilting his head to the side as he processes the information his insects have returned. "Then I'll be able to keep up with you and Kiba, as well as fix my own shortcomings.........It would seem that the Temple is this way."

"Wonderful!" Hinata smiles, clapping her hands quietly. "Your insects are amazing Shino-kun. Without them, we'd be stuck wandering around this forest forever."

Hinata sweat drops as Shino suddenly drops to the ground in a sitting position, his face tilted towards the dirt.

"Sh-Shino-kun?" Hinata asks uncertainly, placing one hand on his shoulder.

".....It would seem that I need to rest" Shino states, inwardly feeling sheepish. Hinata had worked far harder than him and yet he was the one needing a rest....

"Oh" Hinata sighs with relief, before carefully sitting down in front of Shino and smiling cutely. "I'm glad, I'm tired out too. Ah, I'll keep lookout......Byakugan!"

Shino raises his head slightly, watching as Hinata activates her Kekkei Genkai and turns her head to look out into the darkness of the forest.

The two Genin sit in comfortable silence for a few moments, before Shino raises both arms out to the side, releasing a small number of beetles into the air. Hinata watches as they all fly in different direction, their low buzzing sounds fading into the night.

"They'll be able to keep lookout for us Hinata" Shino says gently. "Please rest your eyes for now. My insects are reliable."

"......Alright" Hinata eventually agrees, once again deactivating her Byakugan. "Thank you Shino."

Ashley pauses in her walking, feeling somewhat annoyed as she looks to her left. While she can't see anything, a few hundred metres away, something was following her. It didn't seem to move like a soldier, so Ashley had no idea what it was, but it had been tailing her for the last hour or so.

Ashley had been searching the forest for other people and avoiding soldiers for almost three hours now. She had managed to avoid any conflict, just barely in a few instances, and she hadn't come across any Leaf Ninja. This thing following her however, she had only noticed recently. Whatever it was, it seemed rather hesitant to come any closer.

Ashley was perfectly fine with that. She didn't need anything else wanting to kill her.

Deciding to continue monitoring whatever it was with her Katsuryoku, Ashley continues walking through the forest cautiously.

Truth be told, Ashley no longer had any idea where she was. She had been away from her homeland for far too long to be able to figure out where she was in the forest, especially given that it was dark now.

Ashley suddenly pauses again, noticing something dark on the ground in front of her. She crouches down and inspects the small stain, only to notice more small marks on the ground ahead of her. She bounds forwards to inspect those as well, diverting from the direction she had been walking in.

"....Is this blood?" the blonde asks herself, raising her eyes and seeing more blood stains on the grass ahead. "Someone's injured....."

Ashley's mouth pulls to the side as she considers the consequences of following the blood trail. It could be anyone's blood and while it was concerning that it could be the blood of an injured friend, it could also possibly be the blood of an enemy.

"If it's a friend, they might need my help," Ashley reasons with herself. "If it's an enemy..... I guess I can at least finish them off..."

Sighing quietly, Ashley keeps her eyes trained on the ground, trying to follow the specks of blood as well as she can in the dark. With her Katsuryoku activated, she wasn't too worried about anything sneaking up on her.

It was the stationary people she had to worry about.....She could sense vibrations through the earth but if someone was sitting still, how was she supposed to sense them?

After a few minutes of slow, painstaking tracking, Ashley notices something near a blood stain on a rock. Her brows furrow as she inspects the small tuft of dark hair, picking it up before too long to take a closer look.

"Fur?....." Ashley wonders out loud, rubbing the soft material between her fingers. "No, it doesn't feel like fur. It's more like.....fluff?"

A question mark appears over Ashley's head, as she wonders why the heck there's a piece of dark fluff in the middle of the forest like this. She stares at it for a few more seconds, when her eyes widen in realisation.

"Is this the fluff from Kiba's jacket?" she asks herself, alarmed. She looks back down at the blood on the ground. "This blood isn't even that old......He must have come this way earlier!"

Her heart now beating loudly, Ashley opens up her palm and creates a small ball of fire. She hadn't wanted to do this, in case any of the soldiers saw her from a distance, but potentially finding Kiba had suddenly become priority number one.

Dropping the fluff back onto the ground, Ashley cups the flame over both hands and then slowly pushes it forwards. The flame floats a few metres ahead of Ashley, lighting up the way for her as she searches for more traces of blood.

Ashley wasn't very good at creating and controlling fire, but she could handle small amounts like this at least.

Trying to pick up the pace a little, Ashley's eyes scour the ground for blood, the task only made slightly easier by the small light ahead of her.

"I hope he was able to stop the bleeding" Ashley whispers to herself, before shaking her head vehemently and scowling.

Why did she even care? Why did she feel so worried? She was being stupid by creating an extremely visible fire in a dark forest, just to look for Kiba?

How dumb.

This thought doesn't stop the girl from continuing however. For the next few minutes, Ashley struggles through the forest, looking everywhere to try and follow the trail of blood.

As she takes another step, Ashley hears a faint sizzling sound. The sounds causes her to stop, head tilting to the side as she tries to figure out what would be making such a noise.

Brows furrowed in confusion, Ashley glances down, only to notice an explosive tagged half buried in the dirt beneath her foot. Eyes growing round with panic, Ashley leaps up into the air, only for the tag to explode with a boom that resounds through the otherwise silent forest.

The force of the blast sends Ashley slamming into a nearby tree branch, her back cracking painfully against the bough. Another explosive tag, attached to the branch she had just hit, sends Ashley rocketing back down towards the ground.

Ashley lets out an involuntary cry of pain as she crashes back down to the ground, more paper bombs exploding above and around her. She covers her head as trees splinter and crack, branches raining down around her.

Ashley remains in place until everything falls silent again, before she slowly sits up, her head throbbing painfully. She groans and rubs the back of her head tenderly, scrunching one eye closed as she gazes around her.

The paper bombs had really done a number on the forest in the immediate area, with small craters in the ground, huge chunks blasted out of trees and snapped off branches lying strewn across the ground.

Hurrying to her feet, Ashley steadies herself, before taking off in a sprint. While she was still in pain and felt a bit dizzy, those explosions had been loud. The sound would have travelled a long way and no doubt at least some of the soldiers would have heard. Ashley didn't want to be caught lying around, injured, by any of them.

Ashley continues to run for a long time, not bothering with the fire or the blood trail anymore. While she did want to find Kiba, she certainly didn't want to be found dawdling around in the area where all of those explosions had gone off.

After sprinting for a good ten minutes or so, Ashley comes to a stop behind a tree and exhales a deep breath, leaning on her knees to catch her breath.

Ashley had good endurance when it came to running, but after spending three hours running around and basically being blown up like that, the girl was beginning to feel tired. It had grown rather cold too, something that she wasn't used to anymore.

"Arf!" a small voice barks in the distance, something that causes Ashley's head to snap up.

"......Akamaru?" the blonde calls, instantly recognising the voice.

"Arf arf arf!" the voice confirms excitedly, coming closer.

"Ah Akamaru!" Ashley cries, breaking into a grin as she spots the Ninken charging towards her.

Ashley runs to meet Akamaru, her arms outstretched. The small pup leaps into her arms, allowing Ashley to hug him tightly and giggle with relief at finding him.

"I'm so glad you're alright" Ashley says brightly, holding the pup out in front of her. Her smile quickly falters however, as she remembers the blood. "Akamaru, where's Kiba? He's still injured, isn't he?"

Akamaru nods his head, whining. He wriggles out of Ashley's grasp and drops to the ground, barking for the girl to follow him.

Feeling scared of what she'll find, Ashley runs behind Akamaru, allowing him to lead the way. He doesn't run for long however, disappearing behind some trees and barking again.

Ashley skids around the tree, sucking in a breath when she sees Kiba curled in the hollow of a large tree trunk, his head lolling to the side. His whole left side is stained red, blood seeping through his thick jacket.

Ashley feels her eyes wavering, tears threatening to form, as she drops to her knees and leans into the hollow.

"Kiba....." she says softly, a pain in her throat as she holds herself back from crying at the miserable sight of him. If Ashley didn't know better, she'd think he was dead.

"Arf arf!" Akamaru barks urgently, stepping on Kiba's knees with his tiny front paws. "Arf arf arf!"

Ashley feels tears forming in her eyes, as Kiba's slowly open. He smiles faintly at Akamaru, before noticing Ashley in front of him. He stares through hooded eyes for a few moments, thinking he is hallucinating, before his smile widens.

"I must have died and gone to heaven" he chuckles weakly, something that causes Ashley's tears to fall.

"You idiot" she cries, diving forwards to throw her arms around a surprised Kiba.

He immediately stiffens at the touch however, letting out an unintended hiss of pain. The sound causes Ashley to reel back from him, holding her hands up in the air and sweat dropping.

"Sorry, sorry" she apologises quickly, to which Kiba holds one hand over his wound and smiles wearily.

"It's fine, it's a good pain" he assures Ashley, only to wince. "A-Actually, I take that back. I-It's not."

Ashley shakes her head as Kiba laughs quietly, only to glance down when she feels something soft touching her hand. Akamaru, prodding at Ashley's hand with his nose, whines pointedly. He pushes Ashley's hand further, looking between Kiba and the blonde.

"I get it Akamaru" Ashley says gently, removing her gloves. "Kiba uh.....I need you take take your jacket off."

"I-Is now really the time?" the Inuzuka jokes through gritted teeth, though he still manages to raise his eyebrows suggestively at Ashley.

Ashley swipes at her wet eyes, the last remaining tears immediately drying up at Kiba's words. She remains silent as he slowly unzips his jacket, the brunette groaning quietly as he manages to pull it off.

"Um....." Ashley says hesitantly, rubbing the back of her neck and avoiding eye contact. "You might have to take your shirt off too..."

Kiba blinks at that, not wanting to have to move even more. Something as simple as taking his jacket off had been painful enough.

Seeing the tentative look on Kiba's face, Ashley heaves a sigh and reaches back into her weapons pouch.

"I'm gonna cut your shirt off okay?" the blonde tells Kiba, leaning forward with a kunai in her hand. "And no stupid comments okay? Let's make sure you actually survive first, and then you can say as many dumb things as you want."

Kiba closes his mouth, having been about to make a joke, and turns his head to the side. He remains silent as Ashley places her kunai at the hem of his shirt and drags it upwards, easily slicing through the thin mesh. She then cuts the arms of the shirt, and drops her kunai, using both hands to pull the shirt away from Kiba's wound as gently as she can. She lets out a low breath at the sight of the wound, the blood fresh and deep red.

"Why didn't you put any bandages on it?" Ashley asks, a slightly accusatory tone to her voice.

"Arf" Akamaru points out, running over to some bloodied bandages and batting them with one tiny paw.

"They did basically n-nothing" Kiba adds, tilting his head back against the tree trunk, though he watches Ashley from the corner of his eyes. ".......That's not a good e-expression."

"....It's a pretty deep wound" Ashley comments, taking a deep breath and placing her hands together. "I don't know how much I can fix, but I'll do my best to heal you Kiba."

Green chakra beginning to glow around her bare hands, Ashley places her palms over Kiba's wound, making sure to keep from actually touching the injury. Kiba bites his lip at the sharp sting of Ashley's chakra, though he manages to keep his groans in, not wanting to discourage the girl.

Through hooded eyes, the injured brunette watches Ashley's face intently, focusing on it to try and distract himself from the pain. Though Ashley can tell that he is staring, she maintains her focus on Kiba's wound, wanting more than anything to be able to help him.

Her brows furrowed and her face stiff with concentration, Ashley continues to heal Kiba's wound in silence. She knew better than anyone that she wasn't an expert in Medical Ninjutsu and while shallow stab wounds weren't too difficult to heal, Saffire had really jammed her dagger deep into Kiba's side. He'd need to see a real doctor even after Ashley was done with him.

"Hey" Ashley suddenly says, her voice cutting through the silence and catching Kiba by surprise. "I can see your eyes closing. Don't fall asleep."

"Why not?" the Inuzuka asks, blinking a few times to try and rid himself of his weariness.

"....You should know the answer to that" Ashley replies tightly, not wanting to think about it. "If you fall asleep in this condition, you probably won't wake up."

"Yeah I know, but I feel tired" Kiba sighs. "I know it's probably from the blood loss though."

"Yeah, so stay awake" Ashley commands, her eyes focused intently on Kiba's wound. She feels sweat beginning to form on her brow.

Healing injuries took up a lot of her chakra and despite having a Tailed Beast sealed inside of her, it's presence hadn't affected the amount of chakra Ashley had stored in her body.

"How am I m-meant to do that?" Kiba inquires, scrunching his eyes closed in pain. "It's not like I can m-move around."

"I don't know. Talk or something."

"About what?" Kiba presses.

"I don't know" Ashley repeats herself, trying not to get annoyed. "Anything."

Kiba seems to think about that for a few moments, pondering how to have such a forced conversation, when something catches his attention.

"H-Hey" he begins, raising one shaky hand to point at Ashley, "How'd you get that burn?"

"Probably when I got blown up by a bunch of paper bombs" Ashley mutters, flicking her eyes down to her left arm for a moment, before concentrating back on healing Kiba. "I wasn't paying attention because I was following the blood trail you left behind."

"You set those off?" Kiba asks, sounding horrified. "Ah, I'm r-really sorry. Akamaru set them up a-ages ago, to try and protect us f-from those soldiers."

"It's fine" Ashley assures the brunette dryly. "My injuries aren't that bad and at least I found you in the end."

"Y-You were worried about me?" Kiba asks smugly, despite the situation.

"Of course I was" Ashley snaps back, her head whipping up so she can narrow her eyes at Kiba. "You got stabbed and hours later, miles away, I find your blood. I was expecting to find you dead."

Kiba returns Ashley's glare with a look of surprise, both Genin not saying anything for a few seconds, when Ashley sighs quietly and lowers her gaze, shaking her head.

Seeing that she is now focused on his wound again, Kiba releases a low breath, though he keeps his eyes on Ashley. He hadn't expected a reaction like that to his little tease.

Ashley didn't often react to Kiba with much emotion, except for anger, so to speak to him like that and glare the way she had, Kiba realises that the girl must have been really worried about him.

"......Are you alright?" Kiba asks, feeling a little bad for teasing Ashley.

"I'm fine" Ashley responds robotically.

"You look tired" Kiba informs the blonde. "What have you been d-doing this whole time?"

"Same as everyone I imagine" Ashley says, shrugging slightly. "Running, hiding from Sirius' men. Aside from your paper bombs, I've managed to avoid any drama. I imagine at least someone heard those explosions though...."

"...Are you o-okay to be using all that chakra on me?" Kiba asks hesitantly. "I-I don't want you to overexert-"

"If I don't use it" Ashley interjects, dismissing Kiba's concern, "You'll die. I'll be fine."

"........You're really stubborn" Kiba sighs dramatically, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the tree trunk.

Ashley lets out a small breath of amusement, a faint smile on her face at that comment. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Ashley pauses and raises her head, having seen Kiba's body noticeably relax.

"Are you feeling better?" she asks lowly, eyes dropping back to focus on the wound.

"It doesn't hurt as much anymore" Kiba confirms, nodding as he opens his eyes and wiggles around slightly. His face brightens at this, a grin spreading across his face. "I can actually move now."

"Well, stop moving until I'm done" Ashley instructs, brows furrowing again. "I think I've stopped the bleeding, but now I have to try and fully close the wound. If you keep moving, it'll open again."

"Right, sorry" Kiba apologises sheepishly, reaching one hand out to pat a relieved Akamaru.

"Arf arf" the Ninken comments, his tail wagging as he looks to Ashley.

"Yeah, she is pretty awesome, huh boy?" Kiba replies teasingly, to which Ashley just rolls her eyes.

Internally however, she is extremely happy to hear Kiba saying stupid things, despite them being somewhat embarrassing. If he could make jokes, that meant he really was feeling better.

Seeing that the injury seems to be closed now, Ashley allows the chakra to fade from her hands. She stares at the entry point of the dagger, seeing a red line where the injury had been, as well as some raw red skin around it. Kiba's internal damage had been somewhat healed by Ashley, enough to keep him alive, but as soon as he could, he'd need to go to the hospital. At least he wouldn't bleed out now.

Heaving a sigh, Ashley closes her eyes and allows her shoulders to sag. She reaches up to rub at her eyes, suddenly feeling very tired. Before she can allow herself to rest however, Ashley reaches into her backpack and pulls out a roll of bandages.

"Sit forward" the blonde instructs, only for Kiba to reach out and gently take the bandages from her hand.

"Thanks Angel" he smiles, "But I'll do it. I can move a lot easier now. You rest."

"But-"

"Just relax" Kiba interrupts, wagging one finger at Ashley and winking at her. "You've done enough."

Ashley pouts slightly, though she isn't exactly unhappy at the thought of relaxing. Not that she'd really be able to, given the situation they were all in.

"Hey, help me out Akamaru" Kiba requests, holding one end of the bandage to his stomach and handing the other end to his Ninken.

Akamaru takes the roll in his mouth and begins to run around Kiba, until the whole bandage is wrapped neatly around the boy's torso.

"Ta-da" Kiba says jokingly, securing the bandage in place before he and Akamaru look to Ashley for approval.

She places her hand over her mouth and stifles a giggle, looking at the two through hooded eyes. Kiba's bright grin and Akamaru's wagging tail make her smile under her hand, appreciative that they are trying to keep her mood up.

"You did a good job Angel" Kiba compliments, twisting back and forth slowly to test if he is still in pain. "It barely hurts anymore. Thanks a lot!"

"You're welcome" Ashley says quietly, lowering her gaze. ".....I'm glad you're alright Kiba."

Ashley concentrates hard on the ground, embarrassed by what she's saying. It was true, but for some reason, saying it to his face like this made Ashley's heart beat faster.

".....I'm lucky you found us" Kiba answers, his voice just as quiet as Ashley's, as he pulls his jacket back on. "I probably would have died if you hadn't."

Ashley lifts her head at that and looks to Kiba with a concerned expression, her eyes still half lidded. They waver at the thought of Kiba dying, a pang of sadness in Ashley's chest.

Kiba sees this expression on Ashley's face and tilts his head to the side, not understanding it, but feeling his heart rate increase at the sight of it anyway. Why did it make him feel so warm to know that Ashley worried for him?

"Come here Angel" Kiba instructs kindly, holding out one hand. "You need to sleep, but you gotta stay hidden."

Ashley's eyes widen when she realises what Kiba is insinuating. Not only did she not sleep, thanks to Hakuba, but Ashley could see that he wanted her to squeeze into that tiny space in the tree with him. They would be so close if she went in there with him!

"N-No, it's fine!" Ashley stutters, shaking her head. "I don't need to sleep!"

"Huh?" Kiba asks, raising one eyebrow. "C'mon Angel, you're probably even more tired than me and Akamaru."

"Arf arf...." Akamaru argues sleepily.

"I'm telling you, it's fine" Ashley denies again, sweat dropping as she waves her hands back and forth in front of her. "I can sleep up in a tree if I get really desperate anyw- Ahh!"

Ashley can't help letting out a squeak as Kiba takes hold of both of her hands and pulls her into the hollow with him. He shuffles over as far as he can, gently pulling her down in the spot next to him.

Ashley sits frozen in place, knees pulled up to her chest, her shoulder pressed against Kiba's. As the Inuzuka is sitting with his legs crossed, his knee is touching Ashley's leg, their closeness making Ashley feel incredibly nervous.

The memory of Kiba leaning in and kissing her in the rain suddenly comes rushing back to Ashley's mind, causing her face to burn bright red with embarrassment. Even if she wanted to sleep, she didn't think she'd be able to in such close proximity to Kiba.

Kiba, also feeling his heart thudding at Ashley's closeness, tries to focus on Akamaru instead. He watches as the Ninken crawls into his lap and lets out a yawn, the cute action immediately causing Kiba to smile to himself. Hearing the small squeak escape from Akamaru's mouth while he yawns, Ashley risks a peek over.

"Aww" she can't help cooing, at the sight of the sleepy Akamaru curled up in Kiba's lap.

After a brief pause, Ashley raises her eyes to meet Kiba's and the two of them immediately look away from each other, blushing profusely. Ashley balls her hands into fists and scowls at the ground, inwardly cursing herself for acting so stupid.

Since when had she begun acting so foolish around Kiba? He'd think she was an idiot if she kept this up!

Ashley blinks, feeling Kiba reach around her and take hold of her shoulder. Before she can protest, she is pulled into Kiba's side, her cheek resting on his shoulder.

"K-Kiba" Ashley begins, only to look up and see that he is staring straight ahead, avoiding looking at her.

"Please try to sleep Angel" Kiba asks softly. "I know you probably hate being here like this, but you really need to sleep if we're gonna be able to get out of this."

Ashley watches Kiba for a few more seconds, before tilting her head back down, cheek still on his shoulder. She hoods her eyes, pouting a little at the ground.

She obediently closes her eyes, if only to make Kiba happy. She wasn't going to allow herself to fall asleep of course, but she could at least rest her eyes and body for now.

Ashley suddenly sits up at the sound of distance voices, her heart catching in her throat. She instinctively grabs onto Kiba's jacket and activates her Katsuryoku.

"How many?" Kiba asks, his eyes wide.

".....I think there's seven of them" Ashley says slowly, her voice barely a whisper. "They're coming this way too."

"......Dammit" Kiba growls lowly, glancing down at Ashley from the corner of his eye, before rising to his feet. "You're in no shape to fight. I'll see if I can lead them aw-"

"No!" Ashley cries out, grabbing onto Kiba's hand and pulling him back down beside her. He looks at Ashley in surprise, not having expected to see such fear in her eyes.

"You're not going out there alone you idiot" Ashley hisses, stilling clinging to Kiba's hand to keep him from leaving.

"Well, what are we gonna do?" Kiba asks, running his free hand through his hair. "They'll probably see us if they come this way."

Ashley glances around, trying to think of something, fast. Her eyes land on the edges of the hollow they are nestled in, an unpleasant thought coming to mind. A pained expression settles on Ashley's face, as she wonders if it's even worth it.

While the hollow certainly covered their back and sides, the front was wide open, leaving them extremely obvious to anyone who walked past and turned around.

Troubled at her idea, Ashley looks to Kiba and Akamaru, only to see them looking back at her earnestly. If she didn't do it, that idiot Inuzuka really would leave her behind to try and distract the incoming soldiers.

While Ashley was sure that Kiba and Akamaru were strong, she didn't like their chances against seven soldiers out for revenge. Especially since Kiba had barely recovered from such an extensive injury.

Ashley didn't like it, but her idea was worth the bad feeling it would cause within her if it meant protecting Kiba and Akamaru.

"......Wood Style" Ashley whispers, nose wrinkling in distaste as she places her hands together, "Tree Wall Barrier."

Ashley grits her teeth as she places her palms on the ground, her whole body trembling as a small number of branches grow out of the ground. They intertwine themselves around each other and writhe up into the air, closing up the front of the tree hollow like a wall.

As Kiba, Akamaru and Ashley are cast into absolute darkness, hidden within the tree, Ashley leans back and lets out a deep sigh. She holds her hands out in front of her, palms facing up. She glares down at the space where she thinks her hands are, feeling angry and a little sick.

She hated that power. Even more than she hated having Hakuba trapped inside of her, Ashley absolutely loathed this power that Orochimaru had forced on her. It wasn't natural for her to have such an ability and now that Orochimaru wasn't here to make her use it, Ashley didn't want to. But....

"Good work Angel" Kiba whispers, his warm breath hitting Ashley's cheek and snapping her out of her thoughts. "Those trees will blend in perfectly."

Ashley smiles faintly at the praise. If only he knew how much she hated using that Jutsu. Ashley had only done it to protect Kiba and Akamaru from getting hurt. She never planned to use that horrible ability again.

Still feeling sick to the stomach, Ashley closes her eyes and leans down, resting her head back on Kiba's shoulder. He pauses at the touch, not having been expecting Ashley to lean on him of her own free will.

Concentrating on the ground now, Ashley grabs onto Kiba's jacket again, sensing the soldiers coming closer and closer. Despite the danger, Ashley feels a strange sense of security as Kiba places his arm around her again, his grip on her shoulder tightening slightly as the soldiers run past.

The two Genin sit in silence, both holding their breath, as they hear the sound of numerous pairs of feet pounding across the ground just outside. Akamaru crawls back into Kiba's lap, shivering nervously. Kiba places a comforting hand on the Ninken's back, eyes staring straight ahead despite the utter darkness.

"......They're going away" Ashley whispers after a minute or so of silence. "They're running further and further away."

Kiba and Ashley both heave sighs of relief at this, glad to have avoided detection. Neither of them had wanted to engage the soldiers in a fight, though Kiba had been willing to if it meant protecting the tired Ashley.

Feeling Kiba's grip on her shoulder relax, Ashley closes her eyes, still hanging onto the Inuzuka's jacket, but with both hands now. Her legs still slightly bent out in front of her, Ashley turns towards Kiba a little more, nestled into his side. Akamaru stretches out, resting both front paws on one of Ashley's legs, something that makes her smile to herself.

"......I never said I hated it" Ashley murmurs sleepily, something that makes Kiba laugh quietly.

"Go to sleep" he instructs, amusement in his voice, as he tilts his head to the side to rest on top of Ashley's.

Trying to hide his heavy breathing, Sasuke peers down at the man on the ground as he slowly stalks around, head turning from side to side. Hidden behind a thick cover of leaves, Sasuke watches the man carefully, his Sharingan activated and revealing the man's low chakra supply.

"Where'd you go kid?" the man asks tauntingly, quickly spinning around, only to see nothing behind him.

'He's scared' Sasuke thinks to himself, smirking.

This soldier was the only one left out of a small group of three soldiers that had been tailing Sasuke for awhile. The Uchiha had been sitting high in a tree, trying to get a little rest in the early hours of the morning, when someone had suddenly appeared in the tree with him and had attacked.

The fights had been quick, but Sasuke had used up a lot of chakra and he wanted to end this last soldier quickly. It didn't seem like this man was very good at fighting however, as he kept summoning animals to do the fighting for him. Clearly close combat was going to be the way to defeat him. Unlucky for this solider, Sasuke was quite good at Taijutsu.

Turning his head, Sasuke sees that the Tiger the man had summoned is quite a distance away, searching intently for him. Feeling that this is his opportunity, Sasuke silently drops down from the trees and lands behind the soldier, a kunai in each hand.

As Sasuke darts forwards, the soldier suddenly whirls around, a large piece of parchment held between his hands.

"How stupid do you think I am?!" the man bellows, as a Tiger leaps out of the paper with a ferocious roar.

Sasuke's eyes widen as the large animal's paws hit his shoulders, the weight of it pushing him to the ground. The Tiger's claws extend and rip through the flesh of Sasuke's shoulders, causing him to shout out in pain.

"You think I'd be so stupid as to only carry one summoning scroll?" the soldier scoffs, standing behind the Tiger as it clamps its sharp fangs down on Sasuke's neck. He can just make out the agony on the boy's face in the darkness of the morning, blood spurting out of his mouth.

Sasuke had used his Fire Style to incinerate the soldier's summoning scroll earlier during the fight and clearly, this soldier had a trick or two up his sleeve.

"Do you think I'd be so stupid to attack you directly, without knowing that?" a voice asks from behind the soldier, just as the Sasuke beneath the Tiger disappears in a puff of smoke.

The soldier's eyes widen as he is slammed in the back with a powerful kick that sends him sprawling forwards. The Tiger hisses madly and whirls around, bounding across the ground towards Sasuke. The soldier holds out his summoning scroll as he stumbles to the ground, allowing another more Tiger to leap out of the parchment.

Annoyed that there are now three Tigers, Sasuke throws two kunai at the soldier, before spinning on his heel and sprinting in the opposite direction.

The Tiger that had been farthest away now joins the other two and follows as Sasuke leaps into the trees, the soldier now lying on the ground, groaning in pain. One kunai had pierced through his stomach, while another had gone through both the scroll and his palm, pinning both to the ground.

"Fire Style" Sasuke shouts, landing on a branch and placing one hand in front of his mouth, "Fireball Jutsu!"

The Tiger that had been right behind Sasuke leaps for him, front legs outstretched and claws ready to tear him apart, when it is hit in the face with a large fireball. The Tiger screeches in pain and falls towards the ground, its fur burning brightly in the darkness.

It hits the ground with a thud and continues to yowl, until suddenly the flame disappears and all falls silent down below.

The remaining two Tigers come to a halt on a nearby branch, having watched what had happened to the other feline. They wrinkle their noses and bare their fangs at Sasuke, hissing and growling angrily at the boy.

Shoulders heaving up and down, Sasuke feels his eyes aching as he glowers back at the large cats. He blinks a few times, before his Sharingan fades away, his body not having enough chakra to support the Kekkei Genkai anymore.

Despite being strong and having a decent supply of chakra, Sasuke had been running most of the night and this had been the third patrol that had engaged him in a fight. He was beginning to run out of chakra and, while he wasn't exactly panicking yet, Sasuke knew that he had to end this fight really soon, or else things were going to go badly for him.

Sasuke suddenly drops down from the trees as one of the Tigers leaps for him, the other disappearing into the tree tops.

Not really wanting to prolong things, Sasuke runs towards the injured solider pinned to the ground, pulling out two more kunai. If he could kill off the soldier, then these stupid animals would disappear.

Just as Sasuke gets close enough to throw his knives, the Tiger that had run off drops down from the trees and lands in front of him. Sasuke skids to a halt and looks at the Tiger through widened eyes, as it lowers its head and growls menacingly, protecting its master.

Sasuke lets out a cry of pain as he feels claws rake through the skin on his back, the cat that had been giving chase swiping at him. Sasuke is sent tumbling across the ground from the force of the hit, before he comes to a stop on his stomach.

He hadn't expected the Tiger to drop down in front of him like that, thinking an animal that large wouldn't have been able to jump through the trees so silently. He'd been momentarily surprised, and that had just cost him dearly.

Sasuke's eyes scrunch closed as one of the Tigers steps on his back, the wound on his back burning as if it were on fire.

"Good work my kittens" the solider praises, smirking despite his injury, as the second Tiger pulls the kunai out of his hand and helps him to his feet. "You're no match for my Tigers and now, I'm going to pay you back for what you did to my fellow soldiers."

Sasuke groans as the soldier jabs his boot into his side and flips him over, blood spilling from his back and soaking into the ground. Trying to climb to his feet, Sasuke finds that his eyes are a little blurry and his body feels weak. Whether it is from the combination of the injuries he'd received through the night or from his chakra loss, Sasuke is unsure. He is sure however, that he is not going to die here like this.

He still had things to do.

As the soldier looms in front of Sasuke, pulling the bloodied kunai from his stomach and holding it up, the man suddenly disappears from Sasuke's sight with a shout.

The man cries out in pain again as he hits a nearby tree with a crunch, before he falls to the ground in a crumpled heap. A lean, grey Wolf stands before the man, looking back over his shoulder through hooded eyes.

The two Tigers immediately charge towards the Wolf, who seems unconcerned with their snarling. He sits down and raises one back leg to scratch at his ear as the Tigers leap for him, only for two huge, jagged pieces of rock to shoot up from the ground and pierce through their stomachs.

The Tigers are halted in mid air, the rocks tearing up out of their backs, before they both abruptly disappear in puffs of smoke.

Sasuke stares over at the Wolf in disbelief, blinking rapidly as he tries to understand what is going on.

"Well, that was like, way easier than I thought" the Wolf says cheerfully. "Although, this guy is like, still alive. We should definitely like, do something about him."

As soon as the words leave his mouth, a large piece of the earth separates itself from the ground and rises into the air, hovering over the semi conscious soldier for a few seconds. The Wolf doesn't even blink as the mound of earth drops down on the soldier's head, causing blood to spray in all directions.

"......Like, sweet" the Wolf chuckles, rising to his feet and trotting towards Sasuke. "You look super terrible my friend. Like, super terrible. Lucky we came along to help."

Sasuke gives the Wolf a suspicious look. While he could tell that it was one of the Minami's Wolves, as he had seen it earlier at the Temple, Sasuke couldn't remember who it belonged to.

"Don't look so like, sus of me man" the Wolf sighs, ears drooping. "That earthwork wasn't even me."

"....Then who was it?" Sasuke asks, turning his head at the sound of quiet footsteps.

Kiyumi steps into Sasuke's view, an uncertain look in her dark eyes as she approaches him.

Ashley clearly hadn't wanted Kiyumi to say anything about Sasuke Uchiha when he had been introduced and while Kiyumi wasn't sure why, she didn't want to overstep any possible boundaries. It had just been her rotten luck when she and Keilor had come across him while looking for any Leaf Ninja.

It seems it had been lucky for Sasuke however.

".....You look very t-tired Sasuke-kun" Kiyumi says softly, her timid demeanour making Sasuke wonder how she had just managed to kill that soldier and his Tigers with barely any effort.

"Oh right, this dude is Sasuke Uchiha" Keilor recalls, his tail wagging slightly. He ignores the urgent look on Kiyumi's face, instead choosing to inspect Sasuke closely, much to the ravenette's annoyance.

"I don't like, really see how you're related" Keilor decides, head tilting to the side. "You both have the like, super dark eyes I guess. And you're both as pale as like, snow. Seriously, I'd be able to like, see you guys from a mile away in the dark."

"....Related?" Sasuke repeats in a low voice, causing Kiyumi to freeze in place.

Sasuke's eyes narrow at this reaction, as Keilor begins to chuckle with glee.

"Naruto!" Sakura whispers urgently, shaking the blonde's arm. "Naruto, wake up!"

"....Unghhh....." Naruto grunts back sleepily, rolling onto his side and swatting Sakura's hand away.

"Naruto, get up!" Sakura orders as quietly as possible, despite her growing irritation. ".......Can you please just bite him? He's not waking up."

"It would be my pleasure" Jet replies, crouching down and biting Naruto's ankle. His golden eyes sparkle with rare amusement, as Naruto leaps into the air, screeching in pain.

"Good morning boy" the dark Wolf greets in a flat tone, with Sakura giggling behind him, one hand over her mouth.

"What the heck?!" Naruto demands to know, jabbing one hand in Jet's face. "You bit me!"

"You wouldn't get up when I was trying to wake you" Sakura says accusingly. "I thought a little bit of pain might motivate you."

"A little pain?!" Naruto repeats, incredulous. "Sakura, he almost bit my leg off!"

"I apologise kid" Jet says unapologetically, sighing.

Naruto glares at Jet, his hands balling into fists, when Shimei suddenly steps into his line of sight and offers the blonde a large, red apple. Naruto stares at the apple for a few seconds, his brows furrowed in confusion, when his face suddenly brightens and he accepts the offering.

"An apple!" Naruto cheers, his belly rumbling loudly. "Thanks Sh......uh.........Shimmy!"

Shimei stares at Naruto for a few seconds, head tilting to the side, the corners of his mouth pulling up into a tiny smile.

"Shimmy?" he asks in a soft voice, before turning around and walking towards Sakura.

"It's Shimei, Naruto" the girl states pointedly, only to smile cutely when the Shimei hands her an apple as well. "Oh, thank you!"

"You both need to be quiet" Jet reprimands, standing behind Shimei and looking over his head, as the Minami also starts to eat an apple. "Unless you want to alert the search parties to our whereabouts. Now, keep your mouths shut and follow us."

Naruto and Sakura obediently follow as Jet and Shimei begin to walk away, leading the two Leaf Ninja.

"Hey Sakura" Naruto whispers loudly. "Where are they takin us?"

"Back to the Minami Temple" Sakura explains. "They both arrived just a few minutes ago, while you were still sleeping. They told me that Saffire and Fang made it back to the Temple last night and alerted the other Minami to what happened. They're all out searching for us now, so we can all be guided back to the Temple safely."

"Won't it take ages to find everyone though?" Naruto questions, concerned for his friends. "This island is huge and we're all totally split up. What if....What if some of us didn't make it through the night?!"

"Don't say stuff like that!" Sakura scolds, grabbing onto Naruto's arm, a scared look in her eyes. "We have to think positive......Everyone will make it."

As Naruto is about to respond, Shimei suddenly tackles both Leaf Ninja to the ground, just as a sharp spear flies over their heads.

"What the..." Naruto trails off, seeing the spear stab itself into a tree.

"I knew we'd find you little brats again" a voice seethes from behind them. "I didn't think we'd find you with one of the rogues and their dog though...."

"....Koira?...." Jet growls in annoyance, lowering his head to bare his teeth at the newcomer.

(....A dog?....)

Shimei allows Naruto and Sakura to climb to their feet, although he stands in front of them protectively, shielding them from the soldier.

"Oh, not him again!" Naruto complains, seeing that the attacker is Nio. "How do you keep finding us?!"

"You're not hard to track" Nio smirks, cracking his knuckles. "If you think having one of the rogues on your side will help you beat me, you're wrong."

Jet turns his head to the side, nose twitching, when his ears prick up.

"There's another" he informs everyone, unable to see the soldier but able to smell him. "Over to the left."

"Kabu...." Sakura mutters, feeling apprehensive.

"This is perfect" Nio laughs cruelly. "Not only do I get to dispose of you traitorous Leaf Ninja, but I get to kill off another Minami as well."

At this, Shimei glares dangerously at Nio, flames beginning to form around both of his hands. He didn't know whether Nio was telling the truth or not about killing any Minami, but it was true that some of them had been murdered by Sirius' soldiers in the past.

Before Nio can so much as move to attack, Shimei throws both arms up into the air, causing a pillar of fire to suddenly appear at the soldier's feet. It immediately climbs into the air with a deafening roar, the sound causing Naruto and Sakura to throw their hands over their ears.

The powerful red flames rage up into the sky, incinerating Nio in mere seconds. With an emotionless face, Shimei lowers his arms, a movement that causes the flames to die down and vanish completely.

In Nio's place now sits a pile of ash, the ground around it charred a deep black colour. Small wisps of smoke rise from the ground, a cool breeze blowing the smell through the air.

Naruto and Sakura stare wide eyed at Shimei's back, not having expected him to be so powerful. He had seemed so calm and quiet back at the Temple, so to possess such frightening power was extremely unexpected. Shimei was dangerous.

"I've never seen Ashley-chan do that" is all Naruto can think to say, as he stares at the pile of ash.

"Milady was never trained in her Katsuryoku" Jet explains, now turning around to face in the direction of the hidden soldier. "She has also practised with multiple elements, while Shimei has focused all of his time on honing his skills with fire. Milady is strong, but she is a jack of all trades and a master of none."

Sakura and Naruto exchange questioning looks at this. To them, Ashley seemed incredibly strong but it was definitely true that Shimei's Kekkei Genkai was much more powerful. Not that either of them fully understood how the ability worked.

"Hmph" Jet scoffs, rolling his eyes and sitting down. "It would seem he has run off. His scent is getting further away."

"Coward" Sakura states, crossing her arms and scowling. "He doesn't even want to get revenge for his friend?"

".....We must go" Shimei says quietly, glancing down and giving the two Leaf Ninja a kind smile.

Sakura and Naruto both sweat drop as the red head places another apple in his mouth and begins to walk away, with Jet beside him.

How he could go from incinerating a man in mere seconds, to smiling in such a friendly manner, the two Leaf Ninja weren't sure. One thing was for sure though.

Shimei was terrifying.

I have always said that I hate fluff. I still pretend that I hate fluff.

But in secret, I love fluff. I like a good, wholesome, fluffy story. I want more fluffiness in mine.

Don't tell anyone.

Also, I am NOT looking forward to rewriting the Super Chapter......It's going to take me 8 years....