Find the Contact!

Asuma curled his lip, though a flicker of agreement crossed his eyes. "Fine, you have a point.

But if there is trouble, I'd like to see what those Sunagakure guys can do!"

His senses were far sharper than most people's. Though he gave nothing away, an inexplicable unease had dogged him ever since they entered the desert.

It felt as though a pair of invisible eyes were silently watching their every move from the shadows.

The three continued on. The desert heat seemed to grow fiercer, and the air carried the dry, earthy smell of dust.

Yuhi Kurenai lifted her cloak now and then and fanned her face, trying to ease the suffocating heat.

Her gaze moved between Aoba and the distant oasis, her brows faintly furrowed all the while.

"Kurenai, do you feel like something's off too?"

Aoba spoke so quietly that the wind nearly swallowed his words.

Kurenai paused, then nodded. "Yeah... I don't have any proof, but something about the atmosphere feels strange.

It's too quiet. Even the wind sounds as though it's holding back."

"Ha! Listen to you two. You make it sound like we're going to war!"

Asuma tried to lighten the mood, but his hand drifted unconsciously toward the pipe at his waist, and his eyes grew wary. "Still, Aoba, your senses are sharper than ours. If something's out there, you'll spot it early, right?"

Aoba smiled faintly. Instead of answering, he stopped, crouched, and scooped up a handful of yellow sand.

The grains slipped slowly through his fingers with a faint rasp.

"The sand is hot," he said softly, "but underneath... it feels a little cool."

"Cool?"

Asuma and Kurenai stared, then crouched together and reached toward the ground.

Sure enough, the surface sand was hot enough to burn their skin, but a