It was a typical Saturday morning for a certain blonde haired girl in the Konoha. She did this every weekend; running at least a mile in the forest outside the Konoha, and then spreading her great, white chakra wings in the sky for some aerial practice. Nothing in the world was better than this. Well, except for spending time with her best friend Marissa, or her secret crush, Lee.
Sairah let out a happy sigh, followed by a glorious fit of giggles. Oh how she wished this could last forever, just flying in the great blue sky, soaring like a bird. All this huge amazing space, just hers and hers alone.
Down below, the trees rustled and sounds of the busy Konoha city echoed through the sky. One would be amazed how much sound traveled upward. If birds could understand human speech, the sounds from below would amaze even the dumbest of birds. Not that birds were dumb, but a lot of the times they weren't too bright, as she had previously learned on an earlier flight.
Sairah flapped her wings and set out into a twisting dive, dropping like a bomb in a matter of seconds. A sharp whistling pitch zinged past her ear. "Holy shiz, what was that?" She twisted around and stopped her dive to hover in mid air. Searching the area down below, Sairah looked for anything that resembled a hunter or an archer. This wouldn't have been the first time she had been mistaken for a huge, prize-winning bird. Although, she couldn't quite figure out why anyone could mistake her for a bird, she looked nothing like one. Sairah sighed. I guess if it flies, shoot it is the idea around here. Or, she chuckled, if it moves, kill it!
"I'm probably going to have to be more careful when I fly…." She said, thinking out loud to herself. She couldn't take too many chances; one hit from a chakra-eating arrow and she was finished. A fall from this high in the air could kill even a jonin.
I should probably get down to the ground for now, she thought. It's just not safe for me up here at the moment. Sairah made a low growl as she slowly descended down to the ground. She hated hunters more than anything. As a vegetarian and an animal lover, she couldn't stand animal cruelty or hunting and killing. It was just horrible what people did to animals. Then again, people didn't seem to treat people any better than they did animals, so why was it surprising?
Sairah flew down under the cover of the trees. Sad, really, that she was forced to leave her beautiful, blue sky for the lush, dark, forest floor. Not that she had anything against the forest; she loved the beautiful green canopy of the Konoha woods and the beautifully strong, wooden trees that were connected to them. Plus all the green reminded her of Lee. But nothing, not even Lee's adorable and encouraging complexion could be compared to that of her sky. Nothing. Well actually... Sairah blushed, correcting herself, he can!
Another arrow zinged past her silently, only making the slightest noise when it struck a tree in its side.
The young girl let out a startled cry and spun around backwards to face her hunter, only to find a rope thrown around her neck from behind and another around her middle. "Gahh!" she let out a choked cry, "Let me… go!"
She was pulled sharply down to the ground, banging her head on the rocky undergrowth. "Ow…. Ugh…" Sairah reached to cradle her head only to find her arms were bound too. She tried to kick and flail her way out the now tightly harnessed mass of ropes binding her, to no avail. What kind of ropes were these? She should have been able to break out of such weak bindings easily. Unless…. Sairah felt her body weakening, all energy that was there disappearing at startling rates. These binds weren't just any old shoestrings; they were chakra depleting chains.
"N-no…. why these…? Gotta get… out of… here…" Her head was jerked up by her hair in a sharp upward motion. A rotten smelling clothe was forced on her face, and Sairah slowly felt herself losing consciousness. This could not be happening. No… this could not be happening.
"Gai sensei!" Lee ran up to his sensei with a bouncy gallop. "Have you seen Sairah anywhere? I wanted to see if she would train with me…. But I can't find her." Lee's disappointment was as plain as day on his face.
Ever since the young girl had joined Gai's team as an extra member, things had certainly taken a turn for the better. Normally a team would only have 3 members and an advanced mentor. But remarkably, Sairah was an acception to the rule.
Before Sairah had graduated from the Ninja Academy, she struggled with chakra control and often had strange problems concerning it. Unlike most ninja, who had a permanently wired chakra system, Sairah was able to manipulate where it went in her body, causing weird reactions to the jutsu she practiced and performed. But as everyone later learned, what was thought at the time to be her weakness, turned out to be a great gift and a remarkable strength. She had a will of fire, and Gai had soon become interested in this determined young girl.
Gai had had to pull a few strings, but he had eventually gotten her on his team, which proved to be a great move on his part. She got along great with everyone on the team, even Neji, who she kept in line from being too much of a bully. Being girls, Tenten and Sairah got along perfectly fine, and were on great terms with each other. But Sairah and Lee were especially inseparable.
They both knew what it was like to feel the need to become stronger, to prove something. A never ending struggle for Lee, Sairah's bubbly and cheerful attitude could quickly turn Lee's doubt into pure confidence. Both trained together often when Lee wasn't training with Gai, or Sairah with her friend Marissa who was often hidden in the trees somewhere, biding her alone time with the latest manga.
"Huh, that's strange. I could've sworn she went off to practice her flying. Are you sure you haven't seen her in the sky?" Gai asked.
"No, Gai sensei, I haven't. I even asked around, but nobody has seen her since this morning!" the young boy with the bowl cut exclaimed, his eyebrows flaring with intensity.
Gai chuckled. "Lee, I'm sure she's just having some female alone time. She's a strong, youthful girl; she can handle herself."
"But…!"
"Lee, my youthful young student, you'll understand when you get older!" Gai patted Lee's shoulder, "Women need their alone time, no matter how much we'd rather they spent it training with us. In the meantime, would you like to partake in some youthful training with me?" Gai gave Lee his legendary shining grin.
"Sure sensei!" Lee's spirit was lifted a bit. Gai sensei was right. Where ever Sairah was, she could handle herself.
Lee bounded after Gai to the training ground on a pretty cheerful note. He would have been happier, except for the slight nagging in the back of his mind that maybe for once, Gai sensei might have been wrong.
"Unngnnn…. 5 more minutes sensei….." Bright light shone down from above, right in Sairah's face.
"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey, my precious angel."
Ughh. Sairah's face recoiled in disgust. That wasn't Gai sensei's voice… It was too grimy and slick sounding to be his. Whose voice was that, anyway? Her eyes shot open.
"Hellooo." A tall, sickly looking man with a horribly matted mustache loomed above her, a sly smile spread across his bony face. "I'm glad to see you have finally… awoken."
The frightened girl quickly sat up and scurried backwards, only to find her legs wouldn't follow the rest of her body. She looked down at her legs, and let out a blood curdling scream. Two large, metal shackles were bound tightly around her ankles.
Sairah continued to look herself over from head to toe. She was clothed in what she'd consider a belly dancer would wear; a low cut, white, sparkly, bangled bikini top, along with a matching bikini bottom that had a long, gold belt chain across her pelvis with a long white sash like a skirt that flowed down to the floor. Around her neck was a gold choker with a white diamond in the center, and many bracelets similar to the necklace dragged down her arms, tinkling like metal bells.
"I-I-I'm a- a SLAVE?" she yelled. "What the hell is this? Let me out of here! Get me out of these…. these disgusting revealing clothes!" Sairah stood up quickly and made a lunge for the tall gangly man.
The sickly skeleton of a man calmly took a step back. Sairah leaped, and ran smack into what seemed like nothing, but hit her straight on like a wall. A pulse of electricity ran through her, sending continuous shivers and tremors down her entire body. She recoiled backward and landed on her butt.
"Are you finished yet…?" the mustached man let out a cackle. "In a sense, yes, you are a slave," he took a step backward and drew back a large, heavy red curtain with a gold rope, revealing what really lay in front of her, "A slave… to the public! Welcome my dear, to the wonderfully warped world… of the CIRQUE!"
Sairah's eyes widened as she took in what lay before her. Hundreds upon hundreds of giant bubbles lined rows upon rows under a tall, blood-red tent ceiling. In every bubble was some kind of person or creature, or both; a boy with two heads that seemed to have conversations with himself, or a magnificent tiger that stared at her with two green human eyes. People and animals alike with strange features and abilities all sat with gloomy stares in each of the bubbles.
"This…. This is a freak show…" she shuddered, unable to tear her eyes away from the suffered looks and dead, emotionless faces of the people around her. "I'm in a freak show….. What did you do to these people? What did they do to deserve this?" Sairah stood up and got as close to the grim man's face as she could through the bubble she was in. "What did I do to deserve this? Who are you and what do you want with me?"
"My my, so many questions. Fine. You want answers, you've got them." He mumbled under his breath, "It's not like they'll mean anything."
The man sighed. He hated wasting precious business time like this, but if it'd shut the girl up, he'd have to do it.
"This is the Cirque, the largest collection of human and animal specimens in the whole world. Each creature lives their lives in a pod bubble, much like the one you are standing in. Their existence, their whole purpose for living is to be inside that pod, performing and showing their talents and abilities, or just simply to sit there, letting their viewers gawk and gape at their appearances."
"But…. But that's just horrible! Completely horrible and rotten and… and just plain low!" Sairah spat and glowered at the man with a glare that made even him get uncomfortable.
"I was SPEAKING girl! Don't you have any manners?" This girl was giving him a serious migraine.
Sairah pierced her lips, a snarl curled on her face.
"That's better. Now as I was saying…. Ah yes, the purpose. Each and every one of these… creatures… living here provides money for the Cirque. People travel from near and far to come and see our attractions. And I, Antonious Grim, reap the benefits of it. You, on the other hand, are here to serve me and the customers as another addition to my fabulous collection!" Grim let out a loud cackle. "Welcome to your new home, Sairah Mizutaki!"
"But I don't understand!" Sairah raged, gripping the chains on her legs. "I'm not a freak! I'm a normal human being! I have nothing special or unique about me! I'm just a normal girl training to become a ninja!"
Antonious Grim let out a long, loud laugh. "On the contrary, Miss Sairah, you are QUITE original, and in the least bit normal. A rare specimen if I do say so myself!" He laughed again. "And now, you are mine; the only angel ever to be captured and imprisoned in the whole wide world! Do you KNOW how many people would flock to see you? A REAL LIVE ANGEL? Hahaha! YOU my dear, are going to make me even RICHER than I already am!" He strolled off down the aisle, cackling and laughing maliciously the whole way down until she could no longer see him.
Sairah let out a crazed laugh. "Haha… hahaha! He… he thinks I'm an angel! A real, live, genuine angel!" Her knees crashed down on the hard concrete floor in the middle of her bubble, insane laughter rising with each word she said.
"This is crazy! Completely crazy! I'm just a normal girl, training to be a ninja! Why… why can't anybody understand that?" Sairah started to break down into uncontrollable sobs. "I'm…. I'm not a freak! I'm not! I'm not! I'm not a freak! Someone… someone please believe me… I'm not a freak…" Long forgotten memories stirred and started to resurface in Sairah's head.
"Freak!" " Get out of here! ""You can't be a ninja! Ninjas don't explode every time they use jutsu!" A huge group of children yelled and taunted a young girl in the lot of the Academy. She sat on the ground in the middle of the mob, covering her head as some of the kids kicked her in the stomach. "I'm not a freak! I'm not! I'm not! Just leave me alone!" the young girl let out a cry as their endless taunts attempted to penetrate through her small defense. "Shut up freak!" Another kick to the stomach this time caused the girl to tumble over and let out an airy gasp. "Give up being a ninja! Stupid girl!" "Yeah! The next time you use ninjutsu the whole school will probably blow up!" Their horrible feet jabbed at her side, and stomped on her back. She was helpless and alone. It was impossible to fight back. The only way was to endure it, and hope that someone would come and find her before she was beaten to death.
"Girl! Hey, hey girl! Snap out of it!" a strong, clear voice rang through the memory. Sairah took in a fast breathe of air and gasped, her eyes flying open, the painful trance broken. "Huh…? Wha…?"
"Thank God girly, you had me scared for a minute! You had this dealthly look to your face, and it was just like, holy crap what's wrong with her?" the voice was followed by a mellow chuckle.
Sairah looked around her into the other bubbles, but could not pinpoint where the voice seemed to be coming from. "Where…? Who are you…?"
A loud unmistakable sigh came from nearby. "Girly, are you blind? I'm right he- oh wait sorry! I'm not! Haha!" A young boy suddenly became visible from the bubble that had previously seemed empty beside her.
"How did you…?" Sairah's mouth dropped open. She knew of a jutsu that could make a person practically completely invisible, but not so much as it could cloak an entire life force!
The boy grinned. His eyes sparkled a multitude of colors like a rainbow. "I am Phineas, the Invisible Boy! Or, as people here know me, the Human Chameleon!" He lounged about in his bubble and lay on his back. "Say girly, you haven't introduced yourself yet! What's your name?"
Lee looked out at the village from his apartment with a long sigh. Sairah had been missing for about 2 weeks now, still counting. Not a single trace or lead to her whereabouts could be found. No matter where he and Gai sensei searched…. Where they looked… They could not find her. But he wouldn't give up! Lee's hands clenched into tight fists. He would do whatever it took to find her. No matter what cost, Lee WOULD find her. That was a promise he swore onto himself for the rest of eternity.
It was amazing what losing someone important to you could do to a person. Dark circles underlined Lee's normally bright and cheerful eyes, and his lips were pierced in a determined frown. He knew he probably looked like a mess; from what his sensei looked like after their endless nights of searching, a zombie would fit the description. A hollowed out person without a soul.
He knew it wasn't like himself to feel so... lost. So helpless. But he couldn't help it. Whenever he started thinking of Sairah, of her being so alone and scared and out there SOMEWHERE in the world… it hurt him straight in his heart. It drove him almost to non-youthful tears every time. Because every moment Sairah wasn't found was another moment she might not be alive.
Lee let out a frustrated sigh and punched the banister on his balcony. He couldn't let himself slip into such a depression. Sairah needed him to be strong and determined; he had to believe in her. The black haired boy looked up to the dark night sky, and wondered if Sairah could see the stars from where she was.
If Sairah were here, what would she tell him? Lee chuckled. She'd probably yell at him for feeling sorry at himself, then continue on to give him a hug and say something encouraging. Oh, how he missed her hugs. How he missed seeing her cheerful face every day. How he missed the way she stood up for him when Neji was being a jerk, or how she laughed at his jokes when he wasn't even trying to be funny. Oh, how he missed HER.
Lee turned slowly, and unlocked his apartment door. Once inside, he shut the door and just stood there, resting his back on the door, until he finally sank down to the floor. This was going to be another long, sleepless night.