Naruto

Future Paths

Prologue: Meeting

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masahsi-sensei, not me, which should be obvious. If it did the art would be a lot worse as I can't draw to same my life and Hinata and Tenten would get moer appearances. No porfit is being made from this and if you feel like suing my, tough, I'm broke and that doesn't look to change any time soon.

Haruno Sakura scratched her head in confusion as she looked intently at the map and then up at their surroundings. It simply didn't make any sense, but to be absolutley certain she checked the scale and ran the calculations in her head for what felt like the hundreth time. The still fell out the same and even at the most conservative estimates they should have reached Maki Town at least an hour ago. And it wasn't like the town was hard to miss as it was a large town and overlooked by by Castle Maki which perched atop the largerst hill in the vicinity and should have stuck up over the surrounding forest. With a sigh she was forced to admit defeat. "That's it!" she declared to her teammates. "We're lost. Completely and utterly lost. We should have reached Maki Town over an hour ago but we've obviously missed it and I unless someone can find some sort of landmark, I can't find where we are on the map."

"How can we be lost?" Naruto demanded grumpily, jumping to his feet from where he had been sitting on a fallen log. "There hasn't been a fork in the road since we started out this morning, so its not like we could have taken a wrong turn."

Much as it galled Sakura to admit it, but her loudmouthed teammate had a point. Both the map and their own experience showed that the road didn't branch anywhere between Horai City where they had started from that morning and Maki Town. There wasn't even any markings for side trails or game paths. She wasn't about to give Naruto the satisfaction of telling him that he was right though so she turned her attention to the third member of their team. "Sasuke-kun, can you see anything?" she called out to Uchiha Sasuke who was currently standing atop the tallest tree they could find and looking for any sign of their destination, or any landmark that they could use to locate themselves.

"Nothing!" he called back, turning down to face them and jumping lightly from branch to branch to reach the ground. "It's forest as far as I can see."

Sakura sighed and wondered what else could go wrong. The mission had been plaugued with problems from the start. First they had been ambushed only a few hours from the walk from Konha by a pair of Mist-nin and if it hadn't been for Sasuke's intervention both she and Naruto would have been dead. Then when they finally reached the Wave Country they were attacked again and this time by a Missing-nin from the Village of the Mist. And not just any Missing-nin either, for Sakura recognised the blade he carried as one of those belonging to the Hidden Mist's Seven Swords. Once again they barely escaped alive, this time courtesy of some admittedly quick thinking on Naruto's part. Then they had been attacked again while guarding the bridge and Sakura still wasn't sure of all that had happened as most of her view of events had been completely obscured by the mist that Zabuza had conjured up. And now, to cap it all off, one their way back to Konoha they got lost in the middle of nowhere.

"Kakashi-sensei do you have any idea where we are?" Sakura all but wailed, turning to Team Seven's Jounin-sensei.

The elder Leaf-nin looked up from his book, 'Icha Icha Paradise,' and shrugged. "You're guess is as good as mine," he said laconically. "If you can't find where we are on the map, I don't have the faintest clue as to how to get back to Konoha.

Sakura wanted to scream in frustration at Kakashi's laid back attitude, but she knew that losing her temper would be counter productive. Besides she was half convinced that Kakashi's apprent lack of skills at navigating were feigned so that the three genin would be the ones forced to find a solution. "Looks like we have only two options," Sakura said. "We can try and retrace the path to Horai City, but there's no telling where we'll wind up then since we have no idea how we got here in the first place. Our second option is to wait for night and use the stars to navigate while we travel overland."

"My, my. Such a serious tone for one so young," a new voice interrupted, making all four shiobi look up in surpsise. Emerging from the trees was a woman older than anyone the three genin had ever seen before. Her back was bent almost double with age and the fine, wispy hair that surrounded her head had passed through grey and silver and was no completely white. Her face was a maze of wrinkles, broken only by a rather prominent nose that showed the red blush and broken veins on one who had knocked back a few too many drinks in their younger days, a toothy grin framed by a pair of thin lips and two eyes, unclouded by age that were so dark that they almost seemed black and twinkled with a hidden mirth. One wrinkled hand, swollen and thick with athritis gripped a polished wooden walking stick while the other twitched the nondesript grey shawl that sat over her shoulders, almost seeming to blend to with nondesript brown kimono that she wore.

"Though you're probably right to be worried child. That man you call your teached couldn't find his way out of a wet paper bag without a map and written directions."

"Charming as ever I see Mai-donno," Kakashi said, rising from where was was seated and putting his book away. "I never expected to see you again."

"Few ever do you young rascal. Still reading those dirty books I see. They'll rot your mind, mark my words!"

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were all looking between Kakashi and the woman, presumably Mai, looking for all the world like spectators at a tennis match until Naruto voiced what they were all thinking in one way or another. "Kakashi-sensei, you know this old woman?" Naruto asked with his habitual lack of tact.

Mai snorted. "Old woman! Watch your tongue you scamp. I may be old but I'll wager I can still put you flat on your backside if I've a mind to."

Naruto looked scpetical but held his tongue and Mai nodded.

"That's better. Now as it so happens I do happen to know rooster-head here and as I said he couldn't find his way out of a paper bag without help and its getting late. So unless you want to spend the night out in the rain, you'd better come with me."

"Rain?" Sasuke asked. "There wasn't a cloud in the sky just a few minutes ago."

Mai snorted again. "Don't believe me boy? Take my word for it. The weather around here can change faster than you'd think, especially this time of year." As if to confirm the accuracy of her words far off in the distance a rumbe of thunder sounded and already the afternoon sunlight was growing dimmer. "Now as I was saying, unless you want to spend a night out in the rain, you'd best come with me. I live nearby and while its not much, there should be room for everyone and it will keep out the wind and the rain."

"We would be delighted to accept your gracious invitation," Kakashi said, very formally.

"Hmmph. Your tongue's still as glib as ever I see. Still I don't often get company and I'll not leave anyone out to face the sort of the weather that's on its way."

With that she turned and headed back into the trees the way she had come, Kakashi close on her heels, leaving the rest of Team Seven no choice but to follow. They threaded their way through the close growing trees and shinobi or not, all three genin were hard pressed to follow on the difficult trail and even Kakashi experienced some difficulty, though Mai just walked calmly through it, never seeming to make a single misstep and barely having to duck to avoid stray branches.

For all her sure footedness, Mai didn't move all that fast and as she was the one setting the pace it took them several minutes to reach the clearing. When they did finally emerge in the clearing, it was easy enough to see the small cottage that Mai called home, even in the growing gloom. Small was the operative word, for just looking at it it couldn't contain more than two or three rooms. One one side of cottage smoke drifted lazily out of a small terracotta chimney, while from the other emerged an enclosed walk way that led to what was presumably the outhouse. "Well, come on then," Mai said, urging them on as yet more thunder rumbled in the distance. "Don't stand around staring all day. We've got to get this place closed up before the rain hits."

The three genin nodded and rused ahead of the old woman. The thin bamboo and rice paper shoji were already closed, but they were no protection against wind and rain so they all raced around the exterior of the house and pulled across the heavier wooden storm shutters, a task so simple that even Naruto couldn't even mess up, though true to form he was the only one who had shutters that stuch on their rails. By the time Mai hobbled up the step all the shutters on three sides of the cottage, bar one that had been left open to allow entry, had been closed and the fourth side, from where the chimeny emerged, was stone and brick. "Such obedient children," Mai said with a smile before turning to look at Kakashi. "Which is more than could be said of you and your teammates."

Kakashi just shrugged and though it was hard to tell under the mask he wore, he seemed to be smiling.

"Well, you'd best come in," Mai said to the three genin. "I've got a meal cooking right now and it shouldn't be too long now."

Naruto perked up immediately at the mention on food but to her eternal embarrsement, it was Sakura's stomach that rumbled. She blushed, but Mai just laughed and went inside, Naruto and Sasuke trailing right on her heels. Sakura followed a bit further back though Kakashi was still the last to enter. The inside of the cottage wasn't spacious by any means. The entire front half was taken up by a combination living room and kitchen. The stove was set againt the far wall, at a slightly lower level on a tiled floor, while the rest of the room was covered with tatami mats. There were three doors, exluding the one they had entered through. One was set in the outside wall and presumably connected to the walkway that led to the outhouse while the other two led presumably to the Mai's sleeping room and a spare room of some description.

"Well it looks like dinner is almost ready," Mai said, hobbling over to the stove and lifting the lid on the pot of something that smelled absolutley heavenly. "I'll just get some bowls out and…"

"I'll do that," Sakura offered, intercepting Mai before she could bend too far. "It's the least I could do."

Mai smiled again. "Such a sweet child," she muttered as Sakura removed five ceramic bowls from the small cupboard. They were all a little chipped, but still servicable, as were the bamboo chopsticks sitting next to them.

The stew was served up in short order and Team Seven found themselves sitting around the table that occupied a large part of the room, Kakashi and Naruto on one side, Sakura and Sauske on the other and Mai at the head. "Itadakimasu!" the all chorused and the picked up the chopsticks.

Rather than helping themselves to the stew infront of them though, all three genin turned questioning gazes on their jounin-sensei. Kakashi returned them levelly for several long moments and then sighed. With his free hand he reached up and pulled down the mask that covered the lower half of his face. "Happy?" he asked his students, who just nodded, a little dumstruck.

"Why Kakashi, you've been keeping secrets," Mai cackled. "I never knew you were such a good looking young man."

"That's why I wear the mask," he replied, a little sullenly, picking up his bowl and beginning to eat.

The sudden revelations of their sensei's good looks was not enough to quell three teenage appetities either, and once they shook off the surprise, they too began to eat, or in Naruto's case, devour. The rest of the afternoon and evening seemed to pass in a blissful lassitude with the only thing truly standing out being Naruto's devouring of several more bowls than the rest of his teammates. Sakura had tried to reprimand him, but Mai had waved her off, saying that it was a joy to cook for young appetites. Other than that, time seemed to pass with an almost dreamlike pace until, the storm outside starting to reach its height, Kakashi stood up and declared that it was time for the four shinobi to turn in.

Sakura was given the spare room all to herself by virtue of being the only female in the group, while Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke pushed the table to one side and spread out the spare futons that Mai had provided on in the living/dining room. As Mai hobbled into her own room after pointing out the door to the outhouse and Sakura retired to the spare room Kakashi and the two male genin curled up into their blankets and soon drifted off and Sakura was not far behind. In her room Mai sensed her guests dropping off to sleep and smiled. All she had left to do was wait.

Author's Notes:

Here endeth the prologue.

Its not long, but its not meant to be and the individual chapters won't be much longer than this either, or at least so I hope. For those of you who didn't pick up on it (and if you didn't why not, I was trying to make it as obvious as possible) this takes place after the end of the whole Wave Country Story Arc but before the Chunin Exam starts.

Next Up: Mai's intentions are revealed and Sakura takes centre stage. You'll see what I mean.