Hallo again my lovely readers! It took a while, but I was finally able to put together my first chapter of the sequel to the Existence of Pain. I hope you all like it, please leave me some feedback on what you think! -GinYuri
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Chapter 1
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On the run.
That phrase never used to mean much to me, not when everything I knew and wanted existed in the place I called home. They were words that referred only to people I used to hear about or hunt on missions, before I returned to my safe village life. They described my assassination targets, those nameless bad people, who needed to be caught for the common good. Even when the boy I used to love left us all to go on the run, where he was, and what he did was while he was gone, were all only vague ideas compared to the concrete knowledge that he simply wasn't there anymore.
Then came the day when I became the target, the escapist, the one on the run, and suddenly everything became much clearer.
* * *
Sakura rolled over in her sleep, turning towards the only source of heat her body could find. Her arm swung over the warmth and she cuddled into it, knowing he was awake and watching. She opened her eyes when the warmth shifted.
The two missing-nins huddled together under the cover of several blankets and the lowest branches of a thick pine. The snow blowing outside couldn't force its way through the boughs, leaving them on a dry mat of dirt and dead needles and out of the storm. Only small patches of light seeped in, yet the wind still managed to reach them.
Pein had made sure Sakura was completely covered from the wind, even going so far as to wrap himself around her to keep her warm under the covers. With the body heat caught between them, both were almost comfortably warm.
"It's almost dusk," he whispered gently. She nodded a bit, not wanting to get up just yet. It was getting colder the farther north they traveled. The chilly but bearable autumn evenings dropped to freezing nights filled with snow and howling wind. That meant more merciless wind burning her cheeks as they would run nightly, seizing her throat and trying with all its might to intimidate her to stop. At first, she had used up all her chakra to hide herself within the first couple days, exhausting herself to the point where she had passed out while running. But since then, Pein had used his own massive chakra reserve to shield the both of them so that Sakura wouldn't run out again.
They always ran at night because if they were recognized, they'd be killed. Mostly they gave all of civilization a wide girth and kept to the thick of the forest that spread from the Fire Country to the northern ends of the Lightning. If they desperately needed food or clean water, they would stop at a shop on the outskirts of some small village, under the illusion of two wanderers with very generic, forgettable faces.
During the day they slept. At least, they slept when they weren't hunting for food or looking for a river or searching for a safe shelter or cleaning their weapons, all the while remaining on guard for an attack. But even while she slept, Sakura knew that sometimes Pein would stay awake to make sure they were safe. The first few days she was sure he got no sleep at all. But the more land they placed between themselves and the Fire Country, the more sleep they were granted.
But running on a few hours of sleep in the daylight, and running all night for weeks, Sakura felt completely run down. Her body ached all the time, and it wasn't helped by the stress of constantly being on her toes, never sure if the next minute might bring an enemy or ambush sent to kill them. It was exhausting both physically and mentally, and sometimes she felt like she was on the verge of snapping. Thankfully Pein being with her was a soothing reminder of the reason she put herself in this situation, and knowing he was with her made it all worth it.
The howling wind began to die down, making the forest eerily silent under the snowfall.
Pein tensed up next to her - something was wrong.
She opened her eyes to the distinct sound of snow barely crunching under light footsteps. It wasn't far away. Instincts had her wide awake in an instant, muscles tightened and heart pounding.
Pein's hand rested on hers to calm her down. He was already up on his elbows and his eyes were fixed on a spot outside their cover.
A bird called nearby. But it wasn't any sort of bird that she had heard before. Another bird sang out not far away, and the nearer one responded. It was definitely a code; there were ninja nearby, probably hunter-nin. They were calling out to contact each other.
The footsteps neared. Sakura had to fight the urge to bolt - every muscle in her body was tense and she held her breath. Her mind raced to all the ways she and Pein could be captured. But the still-falling snow must have erased their scent as well as any tracks, and both of them were cloaking their chakra constantly, so as long as the hunter-nin didn't hear or see them, they could be safe.
She finally saw some movement through the branches. A hooded figure appeared, crouching low. His steps were light and chakra-induced, so that his feet just padded on top of the deep snow instead of plunging into it. He paused just outside their pine, and for a minute the forest was so silent that Sakura could swear her beating heart would give them away. The ninja turned towards them, and instead of a face they saw a white mask with colored stripes painted on. Black eye sockets stared blankly ahead, making it impossible to tell where his eyes were fixed. The figure moved on, his footsteps fading away into silence.
For a few minutes neither of them moved. When it was clear there was no one else around anymore, Sakura turned back to Pein.
"That was a Cloud hunter-nin," she whispered incredulously. The small mark on the forehead of the mask gave that away. "What - how could they be looking for us already? This far north?"
"I don't know," he ran a hand through his hair and looked to the direction where the ninja had left. "I never expected them to be looking for us this far from the Rain."
"Maybe they were looking for someone else?"
"Not likely. The Cloud hasn't had their own missing-nin for months, and they don't get much traffic up here, anyway."
"Dammit . . ." She felt her breath hitch as the realization hit her. After all this time and all the distance they'd traveled, they still weren't safe. "Pein, what are we gonna do? If we're being looked for even here -"
"We'll do the same thing we've been doing, princess," he said resolutely, "We're going to reach that port town and get across that ocean, and live together in a place where no one's looking for us. And they can hunt for us here as much as they want to, I don't care. Because no amount of hunters from any and every country is going to stop us from getting there."
She nodded in agreement. When he talked like that, it was easy to picture whisker-like marks on his cheeks and sky blue in his eyes. Sometimes the likeness between the two was uncanny. They both held such passion in their hearts for what they loved, and once they set their minds to something, there was nothing in the world that could stop them.
He kissed her gently and caught her in his arms with a mischievous glint in his eye. She could almost hear his thoughts now, and since the adrenaline was still pumping through her veins from the fright, she found herself smiling back at him.
"You know, we've got some time to kill before we can head out again . . ."
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Days later, they were still deep in the Lightning Country, and had luckily found an old abandoned temple on the outskirts of some houses. It wasn't more than a shack with some dusty statues of kami and Buddhas on an altar, but it was warm and safe, and a welcome relief from the elements. A few bottles of sake had been sitting there as an offering, but Sakura refused to allow Pein to touch them. They were for the kami after all, she claimed, and although she didn't consider herself a religious person, she and Pein really needed them on their side now.
The snowstorm had come and gone, and the afternoon sun had mercifully melted most of the snow away. It was probably no more than uncomfortably cold now, but that didn't mean she wanted to leave the only man-made shelter they'd had for weeks.
She stretched out on the blanket laid on the floor and almost howled in pain. Her thighs were seizing up fiercely from a particularly long run the night before, and her head felt like a thousand little Naruto's were pounding on her skull.
"I can't run any more today, Pein," she groaned. "I need a break."
He leant down next to her and touched her forehead.
"I don't feel a fever, at least. You're probably just sore."
"I feel like I'm dead."
"There's a town just five miles east of us. Let's just get there tonight and maybe we'll find a hotel to sleep in."
"Really? A hotel?" The word sounded almost foreign to her now. A hotel was a luxury outcasts like them just couldn't have.
He nodded. "A hotel with a soft bed, and cooked food, and running water."
She smiled with chapped lips. Running water meant a shower - a shower! Such an amazing invention, and without it they had to bathe in cold rivers with no soap or shampoo or anything to take away the stench of sleeping outside. The layers of sweat and dirt on the both of them alone could probably give them away.
"Are you sure we can risk it?"
"Probably not. But . . . I know this has all been so hard on you. You deserve a little relaxation." He kissed her forehead.
"We both do," she said gratefully.
He was always so aware of how hard this kind of life was for her. It wasn't like she had never been on long missions before, but even A-class assassination missions seemed like a game compared to actually being the target. Pein had lived this life for a long time – she was still getting used to it. The constant hunger and thirst, the unavoidable smell, evading every other human, not to mention always looking out for trained nin-animals and traps . . . she wasn't sure she could ever really get used to it. Thankfully they had only a few days left before they reached the port town where they would finally leave this place for good and stop running.
She snuggled in closer to him and they waited on the thin blanket until the sun sank behind the treetops. Then they got up, stretched, packed their few things, and took off at a wonderfully slow jog towards the town.
* * *
"Oh, kami. Is that food I smell?"
Sakura almost drooled at the delicious scent that wafted towards them even before they saw the town. How long had it been since she'd had real, cooked food? Seven or eight weeks maybe? She had to actually stop herself from running towards it.
They were walking on a wide dirt road that we ran into a few miles back, having disguised themselves with ninjustu, of course, before they stepped out into the open. Sakura now had long brown hair and gray eyes, while Pein wore a plain, un-pierced face with black hair and dark eyes. She couldn't lie to herself – it was severely disturbing to know it was Pein walking beside her yet seeing an unfamiliar face that could have belonged to anybody. At least his expression couldn't be hidden under a jutsu. Right now he was nervous, although he hid it well. She had come to be able to read the smallest hints of emotion he displayed when he was deep in thought. Right now his lips were drawn in a tight line and his eyes constantly scanning the forest around them. He was anxious, but probably not as much as she was.
"Ok, princess," he said as they walked, "Let's pick our names for this town."
It was a game they played whenever they reached somewhere new. It was Pein's idea to do it, and he said as long as they picked their own disguises, they might as well have new names to match. Sakura liked to mix up the names of famous actresses, trying out each one like a new set of clothes. Pein usually used names of people she'd never heard of, and she often wondered how he came up with them.
"I'll be Yatsunao Hanabi," she said.
Pein laughed. "That sounds like a stripper's name!"
"It does not, it's a pretty name!"
"If you say so, Hanabi. Now, how much for a dance?"
She smacked his arm playfully. "What'd you come up with?"
"My name's Taikyoto Ichi."
"Hmm. Ichi's too plain a name for you," she argued. "How about Izumi, or Masato?"
"I can't help what I've been named, Hanabi-chan. How would my dear parents feel if they knew you didn't like the name they picked?"
"Well, next time we see them we'll have to let them know that their son, a maniacal killer, is too screwed in the head to be named Ichi."
Sakura was proudly getting better at this banter with him, but just as he answered with some smart remark they rounded a bend in the road, and the town of Kaosa was before them, loud and full of life.
There weren't any gates to the town, since it was so small. There was one long main street, full of carts and shops and people who were probably ecstatic at the mercifully warm winter weather. A chilly breeze blew towards them, carrying the smell of pastries and making Sakura's stomach growl loudly.
"I never thought I could crave so many different foods as I do now," she complained.
"Then, shall we, Hanabi-chan?" Pein took her arm and they walked into the town, blissfully and purposefully forgetting the fact that they shouldn't be there at all.
There were more things to look at than she imagined. She pulled Pein from cart to cart, looking at all the things for sale. He didn't seem to mind, and was actually smiling at her whenever she gaped at something new and amazing, like the homemade pastries and little wooden toys. She had never been this far north in her life, so a lot of the food and culture was new to her.
The clothing was different there, too. Almost everyone wore thick cloaks with big rice hats or umbrellas, so one of the first things they did was to stop and buy outfits to fit in. It was a bit nerve-wracking to step into a store and talk to the owner, but they weren't recognized and uneventfully bought two hooded cloaks. It was perfect timing too, because the second they stepped back outside the sky opened and a sheet of cold rain fell.
"At least we have less of a chance of being seen here," Pein said optimistically, as they paused under the awning of a shop.
"Are you doing this?" Sakura asked, nodding towards the downpour.
He shook his head. "Do you really think all rain is my fault?"
She laughed. "Not anymore. Hey let's find someplace to eat, I forgot what real food tastes like!"
They darted around the streets between a walk and a jog, trying to keep under crowded awnings and crossing streets, until they found a small coffee shop that wasn't too crowded.
Sakura winced at the loud bell that rung when Pein opened the door. Inside it was dark but cozy, with a half dozen tables surrounding a center counter. Pein motioned to the back and they sat down at the farthest table from the door.
Pulling down her hood, she glanced absently at Pein and did a double take. At some point he had changed his hair color from black to blonde.
"Ugh, really?" she snorted, "Blonde's not your color."
He smiled back mischievously, and his face changed before her eyes. Suddenly she was looking at the equivalent of a male model, with almost feminine good looks, complete with golden bangs swept over sea green eyes. If she didn't know it was just an illusion, she was sure she'd have trouble keeping composure around him. And judging by that smile he probably knew it, the arrogant idiot.
"Oh, my, you're so dreamy," she batted her eyelashes at him. "Pein-sama finally looks like a god."
He leaned in to her. "Hanabi-chan, if you use my real name again, it might be the death of us," he said with a smile.
"Ah – Ooh. I'm so sorry." Sakura winced. If anybody heard his infamous name, even in the Lightning Country, they could be attacked.
"It won't happen again, Ichi-kun!" she said quickly. "How can I make it up to you?"
He made an overdramatic camera pose. "How about buying a god some coffee?"
She burst out laughing, but a few odd looks from the locals shut her up.
"I can't take you seriously looking like that," she said, "It's like I'm talking to a model!"
"You think this is funny?" he said, way too seriously. He was definitely planning something.
"Can I help you folks?" asked a young waitress, who seemed to appear out of nowhere. Pein pulled off his hood and smiled at her. The poor girl's mouth fell open and her cheeks flushed like tomatoes. Sakura swore the girl was going to fall over with a nosebleed, but she collected herself and managed to smile shakily back.
"I'll have a coffee, please," Sakura said, trying hard not to laugh.
"Do you serve sake here?" Pein asked, not taking his eyes off the girl. She swallowed tightly and nodded.
"How – how much do you want?"
"Well, I don't know. How much do you think I want?"
The poor girl almost fainted on the spot. Sakura's side hurt from holding in a laugh, but she decided to save her.
"We'll take one bottle of sake, too, thank you," she said, and the waitress looked relieved to have someone else to look at.
"Yes, ma'am. Your drinks will be ready in just a minute."
She scurried away and Pein broke into a wide smile.
"Now that's funny," he said smugly.
"Cut it out! What happened to keeping a low profile?" But she distractedly scanned the menu as she spoke. She didn't want him to see that it was difficult to look at him the way he was now. There was such a thing as too handsome, apparently.
"I think we can manage to have some fun without giving ourselves away."
She just grumbled in return. Some hushed voices beyond the counter had caught her attention. Their waitress was talking with two others. She pointed over at Pein and they all looked. Sakura gave them a death glare and they quickly looked away.
"I think I want the kitsune udon," she said, "Do you think-"
"Here's your drinks!" Sakura's coffee was slammed down in front of her and a bottle and glass was placed in front of Pein. It was a different waitress this time, an older and more confident-looking one, and Sakura didn't like the look she was giving Pein.
"Here you go, sir," she said, flipping her hair a bit as she pulled out a notepad. "Now what can I get you to eat? I recommend the kushidango platter. They're my favorite here, they're made very sweet."
The waitress made a sickeningly cute face at him. Sakura took a breath and wondered if a vein was popping out of her forehead. Couldn't the woman see that he was sitting with someone?
"We'll just have two kitsune udon, please," he said without looking at the waitress.
"Yes, sir. So are you new in town?"
"That will that be all, thank you."
The waitress looked dejected.
"Two kitsune udon coming right up," she snapped before she left.
"Princess, I was just playing around," Pein said when they were alone again. He obviously noticed she was pissed.
"You've done this before, haven't you?"
"Ordered noodles?"
"You know what I mean."
He grinned like a kid and sat back in his chair. "Well, a god like me can't go around the world wearing the same face without getting caught for very long. Let's just say I've been doing this long enough to know how to have fun with it."
"Hm. Maybe I'll do the same thing, how'd you like that? Having guys drooling over me as I pass by, trying to get my number, trying to cop a feel –"
He made a face. "Alright! You win. But I don't see how you could make yourself any more beautiful unless you released the jutsu completely."
"You're such a suck-up," she smirked, "But that doesn't excuse the fact that you've probably gotten girls wearing a fake face, just because they don't know any better!"
"I caught you without it, didn't I?"
"Hm. I didn't know any better either, I guess," she sighed dramatically.
Their bowls came from the first waitress again. Sakura looked up to thank her but her voice fell when she saw two burly men staring in their direction. They were seated at the bar and dressed in weather-worn clothing and straw hats, and Sakura could clearly see two sheathed katana sitting on the table in front of them. She held their gaze for a moment before they turned back to their conversation.
"Hey," she said nonchalantly as she stirred her soup, "There's two big guys at the bar watching us. They've got swords."
He didn't even pause as he gulped down his soup. "Just noticed them, huh?"
She smacked him lightly on the head. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't think I needed to. They aren't even ninja, they're just thugs. Nothing to worry about."
"You're not afraid they'll try anything?"
"Can't see why, we're not doing anything wrong. The noodles are pretty good, you should eat before it gets cold."
She wished she could share his relaxed attitude about this. But for the rest of the meal (although interrupted by several flirty waitresses way too often) Sakura didn't catch the pair looking at them again.
Finding a hotel afterwards was no difficult job, since there was only one in the town, and it was the tallest building around. Built in the traditional style, the hotel was a towering pagoda with extensions and a beautiful courtyard out front. But the best part to her was the sign that proclaimed it an onsen.
"Finally! We can take a real bath!" she practically dragged Pein through the front doors. She stopped short when she saw that the two men from the bar were waiting at the front desk before them.
Pein calmly took her hand and led her forward. "Come on, sweetie."
He held on to her as they waited for the men to order two rooms before they were helped.
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The heavy rain had faded into an easy mist when Sakura stepped out back to the hot bath. Pein had gone to the separate men's section, of course, and she had been nervous he might run into those two suspicious men there. But all worry fled her mind when she took in the sight of the steaming white water and hot rocks.
"Aahhh," she moaned in delight as she sunk down in the bath. The warmth was even more wonderful than she remembered. It wasn't often she had the chance to visit an onsen back home, but as far as she could tell, this was a good one. The fencing around it was high, and along with the babbling false waterfall, it blocked out any noise from the other side of the bath.
Sakura placed the kunai she brought with her on the ledge of the water and sunk down to her shoulders. She would have to thank Pein again for bringing her here, but she didn't intend to get out until she was nicely pruned and squeaky-clean. After all, she had a few weeks' worth of dirt and sweat to scrub off.
Humming softly to herself, she began scrubbing her skin and letting her thoughts filter out of her head. It was amazing to be able to unwind after weeks of staying mentally on guard. The melodic babbling of the waterfall was soothing, the water was steaming, and her stiff joints finally began to relax.
Crash!
An entire section of fence flew across the water and shattered against the rocks on the other end of the bath. A very naked man flew along with it and landed on his belly on the water in front of Sakura. He sank down slowly into the bath.
Sakura looked slowly across the water, where she could now see into the men's section. The black-haired Pein was standing in the chest-deep water with a very pissed look on his face, his hands fisted. It didn't take a genius to figure out he had done the damage.
"What the hell, Pein?" Sakura yelled, clutching her towel to cover herself. Thankfully she had kept everything under the water up to her neck, because she could see another man on the other side of the bath standing in shock of his buddy being thrown so far.
Pein looked at her suddenly and she immediately realized her mistake. It was too late to take it back now; she had practically shouted Pein's name. She looked to the man behind him and saw his expression change from shock to recognition to fear.
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Maybe I shouldn't have ended chapter one a cliffhanger.. but I'll update soon! Please review!