Lost [Yahiko & Natsumi]
continued from here [x] @lavafed
Yahiko had navigated the merciless deserts of the Land of Wind before, but that had been years ago, and in a country whose landmarks shifted by the hour, he should have known better than to rely on previous knowledge - no matter how confident he was with his memory. The ever-shifting sands had eroded even the stone outcrops over the last decade so that the unfamiliar looked familiar, and the familiar seemed altogether new.
But this mission’s failure did not rest entirely on his arrogance. Konan and Nagato had talked him out of traveling by his own memory before a team had even been decided, so Yahiko had selected a tracker from their little group to lead the procession through the desert. What neither of them realized though was that trackers in Takigakure had a different skillset that didn’t quite work when it came to traversing kilometers of sandy dunes.
They were wasting time and energy wandering beneath the unforgiving sun, they weren’t planning rests efficiently, and their supplies were beginning to run low. Had it not been for the recent terrorist attack on Sunagakure, Yahiko would have sent a request for an escort to guide them to the village, but all of Suna’s manpower remained on guard duty, to protect against anyone who dared try to take advantage of their weakened state.
Yahiko couldn’t blame him, but his frustration was steadily growing the longer he spent in the oppressive heat. When one of his comrades suggested that they take advantage of the shade from a statue sunken deep into the sand, he nearly opposed the idea simply to make up for their lost time, but the weary looks on the faces of everyone on the team begged him to reconsider. So he complied, and his own legs were grateful when he finally found a place to sit in the shadowed, but still-hot sand.
The wind had begun to quiet, but sweat along his brow and temples had turned sticky, and gritty dirt browned his cheeks. He had always hated the constant rain in Ame, but had he grown up in the Land of Wind, he would have hated the sand so much more, he realized. The cold river that ran through the land of rain was more tempting to him now than it had ever been in his life.
A voice pulled him out of his fantasies and he cracked one eye open, then the other, and sat up from the base of the statue, against which he had been leaning.
“I’m fine.” He offered Natsumi a tired smile. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in the Land of Wind though. I forgot how exhausting this would be.”
The other three members of their squad were reclining to various degrees, all with eyes shut as they tried to take advantage of their brief respite. Yahiko looked out toward the dunes, noticing what Natsumi had mentioned - that there were shapes peeking out of the sand in the distance in some sort of line.
“I hope you’re right. We can’t afford to spend much more time out here.” His eyes swung back to her and he looked her over. “What about you? Not dried out yet, are you?” A good-natured, albeit somewhat weak laugh. “I never thought I’d miss the humidity in Amegakure.”