Chapter Five- On the Sidelines: Rogue Ninjas Attack!

The road was as silent as could be. The sun rose high in the dazzling robins egg blue of the sky. Even the mighty trees stood still, with only the skidding of a falling leaf to break the stillness. The line of ninja, grey, blue, pink, orange, and black, were not worried. There was no sign attack; indeed there was no need to be worried of one. It was a standard guard mission. Nothing to worry about.
Keiko was in the back still, regretting her choice of mostly black wear, absorbing every inch of the suns heat. Everyone seemed to feel the tension, and the quiet of the walk was beginning to wear of Keiko. You should be thankful for the peace and quiet. Balki reminded her. It was true; if anything had been learned in the last hour, it was that Mr. Tazuna was a grouchy old man who liked to complain and disliked Naruto quite a lot. They had only shut about an hour before. While Keiko was lost in her thoughts, a large puddle of water appeared on the path. She thought nothing of it for a few moments, but then, remembering the recent weather, was suddenly suspicious.
Kakashi, the pud-she began.
Was a puddle, Keiko. This is a mission based on stealth, so kindly keep your incorrect suspicions to yourself. Keikos lip curled and she let out and audible snarl. Balki walked up to her side and pressed his flank against her leg. She hung her head, feeling the weight of her braid, and fell back into her position. The walk was continued in its original oppressive silence.
As the warmth of the sun beat down and the buzzing of the insects continued, there was a sudden rush of feet pounding, pounding on the ground and through the trees. In an instant, the silence of the days walk was broken as two men clad in black advanced through the line. A black chain was whipped out between the two and was ran around Kakashi, then pulled. A Jonin instantly defeated.
Panic spread through the group. Bits of blood and flesh rained down upon the terrified genins, only to solidify, turning into wood. But no one noticed, they were all too scared. The two ninjas rushed at Naruto, who froze up. Without thinking, Sasuke rushed at them, forcing them to change direction, heading for the bridge builder. Sakura was in front of him, screaming her head off as the black blurs came for her. Sasuke out maneuvered them, pinning their chains to a tree.
Keiko leapt into the fray immediately. She flipped with her hands, gaining momentum, and hit the kunai with her feet. The chain broke, allowing the ninjas to wrench away, claws extended for another try at Mr. Tazuna. At the very last minute, Kakashi appeared, holding them in a head lock.
Sorry I left you all to fend for yourselves. I just didnt think youd freeze up like that, Naruto. Kakashi said, Good job Sasuke. Sasuke smirked a Kakashi continued, You would have defeated them if Keiko hadnt interfered. Keiko blinked. Balki growled, but she hushed him with a quick look, And you, Mr. Tazuna, we need to talk. As the two men and Sakura talked, Keiko found a then scratch on her arm from where the claws grazed her as the ninja went for the bridge builder.
She calmly walked over to the tree where the two mist ninja now were tied. They glared at her, but she ignored them and looked at their large metal claws. After she had studied them for a bit, she was startled to discover they had poison on them. Staying where she was, Keiko serenely placed her mouth on the wound, sucking and spitting to get the poison out.
As she continued her methodical extraction of poison, Sasuke turned towards Naruto, You werent hurt, were you? Scaredy Cat? Naruto winced.
Urr! Sasuke! Naruto shouted, lunging at Sasuke.
Naruto! Keiko said, rushing over, Those ninjas had poison in their claws! If you keep moving, youll die!
Ahhh! Naruto said, thoroughly freaking out now. Kakashi, Tazuna, and Sakura returned from their discussion just as Keiko threw herself at Naruto in an attempt to stop him from moving.
Quit blundering about, idiot! Keiko hissed. Sakura screamed, assumed to be thinking about Keiko killing someone. Kakashi sighed and walked over, pulling Keiko off the small, nervous ninja. He was about to reprimand her when Naruto jumped up and threw his kunai into his injury.
On this blood, I swear, believe it, I will NEVER freeze up again, I will NEVER lose to Sasuke again. He threw his fist forward, blood oozing between his fingers.
Uh, Naruto? That was pretty cool and all&but if you bleed much more, youre going to die. Narutos face fell and he ran around, screaming. Keiko twitched and began banging her head repeatedly into the tree. This continued for several minutes until Kakashi caught hold of him, Let me see. He grabbed Narutos hand. Keiko paused, mid-concussion inducement, and watched as the older ninjas eye widened. Narutos fist steamed and sputtered, healing itself before his very eyes.
Um&youre looking at me really weird. Am I going to die? Naruto asked, hardly masking his fear.
Um&no&youll be fine. Kakashi said, dropping Narutos hand. Lets get going everyone! The ninjas fell into a circle around the two Mist Chunnin.
How? one gasped, How did you know our attack?
Please. Kakashi answered, A puddle? On a clear day? When it hasnt rained in weeks? Keiko silently seethed as she had been the one to point that out.
Wait a minute! If you knew there were ninja, why didnt you stop? The old bridge builder cried
I needed to know who they were after. They might not have been after us at all. Kakashi turned on Tazuna, The question is why you lied about what sort of protection you needed. You asked for standard protection- against highway men and robbers. If youd told us there were ninja after you, wed have made this a B-Rank, instead of a C and charged for a B-Rank.
Mr. Tazuna fell silent and stayed that way as Kakashi finished his business with the ninjas.
Soon enough, they were on their way again, Sakura worrying over Sasuke, Naruto throwing the pair of them angry glares, and a steady stream of mental conversation going between Keiko and Balki,
All of a sudden, Kakashi stopped, as well as Sakura, the bridge builder, and Sasuke. But Naruto, not paying attention, ran into them, Naruto! Sakura hissed, but Kakashi held his hand up for silence.
Were here.
Wha-?! All ready? I cant see anything, believe it! Keiko looked around. It certainly was misty. As she watched, a dark shape began to eerily float towards them.
Get down! Kakashi whispered as the shape came closer and closer. The Genins threw themselves on the ground, waiting for their death.

(ACK! Not the best ending to a chapter. I promise to do better next time! And look at my profile for some info for this, as I am looking for at least two made-up teams for the Chunnin exams!)