Haruno Sakura stretched lazily, yawning loud in her make-shift hammock
Haruno Sakura stretched lazily, yawning loud in her make-shift hammock. It was hours after sunset and the moon sat high and dazzling in the night sky, like a silver Sun. The Stars were bright little lights on the midnight back-drop, sparkling in the heated night air. The heat would have been unbearable, had it not been for the slight breeze that tingled her hot flesh and tickled the trees' green leaves, making them sway and glisten as they merged into the shadows, then back into the moon's brilliant radiance.
She sat up; resting on one forearm as her other hand rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The heat in the air made her sweat and she felt sticky and uncomfortable all over. Her skin ached for a cold shower and she decided she was going to do just that when her team finally headed back to Konoha. She was knackered, not to mention at the end of her tether. Being out here on the boarder in this humidity for a five-day shift was not exactly fun, or restful.
Her hammock was suspended between two precariously thin-looking trees around a small clearing. There were another three hammocks along with hers and one was already occupied. An amber fire crackled in the centre of the clearing, casting splashes of rich gold and orange on the black trees framing the clearing. It didn't help with the heat.
Sakura slipped languidly from her hammock, still not properly awake yet. She swayed like the trees in the cool wind, her eyes half closed. Drowsily, she glanced around the campsite, looking for whoever had stayed behind to keep watch. Sakura couldn't see or feel anyone at the moment and presumed they'd nipped to the stream just behind the trees for more water.
Aaah… water… Just thinking of something cool and soothing gushing down her parched throat reminded her she was dehydrated. God, for a Medic not to realise she as parched as that… She really was screwed.
A thumping headache started at her temples as she searched the camp for her water canteen. The camp was a mess. It certainly had not been a mess when she had been awake…
Sakura glared distastefully at mound of bags and blankets. Silently, she stepped over the odd bit of debris that had fallen from the mounted collection of her team's belongings. She crouched down, hands rummaging through the mountain of belongings.
"Damn… stupid… messy…" Sakura mumbled under her breath as she searched the heap of their… stuff in vain "Nicked my canteen… self-righteous… pigs…so damn lazy, expecting me to-"
"Who's a pig Sakura-Chan?" A voice pined from behind her.
Sakura yelped in surprise; she'd never even heard him coming! She really needed more sleep…
She whipped round, eyes huge and suddenly wide-awake.
"Naruto!"
A wide, pearly grin beamed, meeting her shocked expression, his sky-blue eyes were as cheerful as ever and he didn't even seem in the least bit fatigued, despite having spent longer awake than anyone else so far.
"The one and only," The blond chirped, his hand extending towards her, holding something bulky and shiny in the moonlight. It was her canteen. "I filled it up for you, Sakura-Chan,"
Sakura blinked at him stupidly for a second, then glanced at the canteen and took it.
"Ta," She mumbled and drank greedily. She felt better after that. She watched Naruto slyly as the spring water appeased her sore throat.
They were all nineteen now, she, Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke had been back just over a year and a half ago… after a huge assault on the rouge country, both Sand and Leaf Nins had prevailed and the Land of Sound was divided equally between them both. Despite their best efforts, both Orochimaru and Kabuto were killed. Kabuto, by an arsenal of numerous Jounin that included Hatake Kakashi. Orochimaru, quite rightly, was killed by Tsunade and Jiraiya.
Sakura had been shocked at how quietly Sasuke had conceded. He didn't say much, nothing at all the first few days. He would only speak to Naruto, Sakura and occasionally Kakashi. He had looked so sad; his dark eyes lacked their fiery lustre and appeared always so miserable and depressed. For Tsunade, Sakura remembered it had been almost enough for the Hokage to feel sorry for him, almost.
However, thanks to Naruto's big, cocky mouth their rivalry had been reinitiated and he was back to his brooding self. To Sakura's dismay not much had happened between her and Sasuke. He seemed reluctant to start anything relationship-wise. Not yet- anyway.
One day, She would reassure herself. It's not like he never looks…
"Sakura-Chan!" Naruto wailed, jerking Sakura from her inner ramblings.
"Yeah?" She said, walking round to the other side of the fire.
"You want anything to eat before you take over from Sasuke?" He waved a rice cake in front of her eyes, whilst stuffing another in his mouth.
"Nah, no thanks, save it for Shikamaru," She said and gestured towards the sleeping friend in the hammock opposite hers. "He's always moodier when he's hungry."
Naruto shrugged and placed it back in the cooling bag. He had changed so much over the years, his sudden growth-spurt and muscle development had made him a surprising favourite with the young women of Konoha. His face lost its boyish immaturity and now when he grinned there was always a hint of flirtatiousness rather than stupidity. His hair had grown slightly and his eyes had kept their warmth and kindness.
Now, as Sakura observed him in his ruthlessly sexy ANBU uniform, she could just about bring herself to admit his late gorgeousness.
Sighing, she plonked herself next to him in front of the fire. Naruto grinned, baring a mouth full of rice-stained teeth. Sakura laughed and he followed suit, choking as the rice went down the wrong way.
Still a dumb blond, though.
The trees rushed beside her, their leaves a meridian green blur in the Sun's first morning light. Above the tree-tops, the sky was a pale fusion of pink and gold. The soft breeze cooled her heated skin as she leapt across the moss-covered branches.
Just her shift left now, and then they could go home. Simply the thought of that wondrous cold shower after this torturous humidity was enough to lift her spirits and make this round semi-enjoyable.
Sasuke had arrived back to the camp shortly after Sakura woke up. She noted the annoyed look on the Uchiha's face as he spotted their slagheap of belongings in the corner. Before he got nagged, Naruto dived in his hammock, wrapping himself in the blanket as Sasuke started after him.
Sakura had decided to sneak off on her shift, not bothering to intervene with their childish squabble. They wouldn't listen, anyway. She had learnt over the many years that they had been teamed together that interfering with their bickering was worthy of any A-rank mission and more. Even Kakashi was hesitant in trying to stop those two. It was like letting the cockerels loose in the ring. They'd cool down by the time she arrived back; they always did.
Urgh, She rolled her eyes as her hand almost slipped on a mud covered rock. ANOTHER FOUR HOURS OF THIS.
ANBU hadn't been that interesting at the moment, what with the Sound being eradicated and all. Relations with Sand were as solid as cement and she was pretty sure Tsunade has mentioned that associations with the other ninja super-powers were improving.
Times were good.
Well, all bar Akatsuki, who were still roaming the Five Countries, although since the fall of the Sound, they seemed to lessen their activities.
Sakura perched on a high branch, unscrewing the top on her canteen as she surveyed the waking forest around her.
Weak sunlight shone meekly through the leaves, casting tiny shadows on the forest floor below. Birds sang high in the canopies, some already weaving through the thick vegetation in search for ripened berries. Bats darted through the shrubbery to their nests in the tree hollows, squeaking and fluttering in the fresh air.
Sakura poured a little water in her cupped palm and splashed it over her hair and face, refreshing her senses and skin. She screwed the top back on the canteen and leapt from the branch.
An hour later, and Sakura was still snaking through the rich Konoha foliage. It was only when she sighted something out of the ordinary did she swing herself onto a branch and balanced with her knees bent against her chest. Her feet perched on the side of the branch and her arms held her in place. She craned her neck to the side over her shoulder, her brow furrowing.
Beside her, the remnants of what appeared to be the stone ruins of a Shinto temple stood entwined with creeping vines and overrun by wild flowers. The white petals and sweet scent of jasmine perfumed the crisp air. Spindle grew through the stones, swamping the ruin in vibrant green. Wisteria grew through the temple floor and up through the ceiling and tiny lilac flowers hung from their chunky branches like curled ribbons.
Sakura released the branch, somersaulting to the forest floor. She landed with barely a sound and wandered towards the neglected building, consumed by the twisting, green creepers. She halted only a foot away from the temple steps, her bright eyes peering up at the once magnificent building.
Wow, to think a temple like this was in the middle of no-where.
Curious but cautious, she paced towards the steps. She moulded her chakra to her hands and feet as she crawled along the wall; the steps were too dilapidated and steep to climb. One hand let go, wiping away the hanging vines as she clambered along the stone wall. She emerged at the top, her wide eyes peeping through the maze of shrubbery. It was huge; all the walls were open plan pillars, surrounded by a dense cage of leaves. Inside, the wisteria had twisted its grey branches though the stone floor, all the way up into the ceiling, like crooked pillars. Her senses of smell and sight were overwhelmed by the kaleidoscope of coloured petals and each flower's own heavenly fragrance.
The temple must have been spectacular in its day, with high ceilings and exquisitely painted wall panels of golden phoenixes sitting in golden trees on scarlet backgrounds. As Sakura explored this little temple of wonders she noticed some weathered statues, each wrapped in a blanket of greenery. Squinting, she attempted to identify the deities but failed and gave up. They looked more like topiary than statues. She glanced around, furrowing her brow in confusion as all she glanced upon was an endless row of these stone deities. The room seemed to stretch on forever, into the shadowy darkness at the end of the room where no light managed to reach.
Weird… Sakura mused, spinning slowly so she could take the whole place in. Bizarrely, she felt quite comfortable here, despite it being a neglected temple. The air that blew through it held a certain clarity it didn't hold outside. So fresh, so pure…
She silently agreed not to tell the boys about the temple. They wouldn't appreciate it, anyway…
She swung her arms around and pivoted on the spot, grinning and giggling to the temple, there was something so contenting and soothing about this temple and she was lapping it up. She stopped, stumbling a little because of the dizziness. As the dizzy feeling subsided and her eyes came back into focus, Sakura noticed another deity she had not seen before.
It was a cat, a cat on its hind legs and dressed in an elaborate kimono. Its eyes were huge and round, its pupils a pair of tiny, feral slits. It looked deformed without its silky fur, its bald and odd appearance making it seem grotesque and impish. Her fingers traced along its triangular ears, realising for the first time that it was not made of stone, but carved out of smooth jade.
Sakura stared at the cat.
Eeerrrrr… It really was quite ugly, nothing like she had imagined all the others to be. The colour was beautiful, though… It must have been worth a fortune…
Something strange happened next as Sakura examined that cat. She had sensed it; her shinobi training warned her as it came flying through the air, leaping over its likeness. She barely moved in time.
A shriek, loud and strangled echoed through the temple. Sakura launched herself away from the cat statue, barely missing a huge swipe of the beast's paw. When she glanced up, the animal, her attacker, had disappeared. She slipped two kunai from her holster, holding one in each hand and stood ready for a second attack.
Her heart pumped hard against her ribcage, the blood pounded in her ears and the adrenalin rose as the atmosphere thickened with the impending fight. All fatigue had left her, all she could do now was focus her senses to this massive thing that had assaulted her. As far as she could tell, it did not use chakra as freely as a human. She did not catch a glimpse of it, but by judging from the giant paw she concluded that the creature was large.
And strong.
Sakura strained her ears, only to hear nothing but the rustle of the leaves beyond the temple. Only when it padded across the floor for the second attack did it give its position away.
Sakura threw the first kunai as it leapt towards her on the right, hitting the beast on the shoulder. The hit was deep, but was too late to deter the crazed animal. The animal came crashing down, its razor sharp claws missing her by inches. Luckily, the animal stalled with the pain in its shoulder, allowing Sakura to plunge her other kunai hard into its chest.
The thing screeched, its claws scrabbling at the stone floor, barely missing her for a second time. She wrapped her arms around her head and tucked her knees into her chest still under the animal. Gradually, she felt the beast become smaller and smaller, its ghastly shadow dissolving until she peered up through her protective arms and saw the animal finally for herself.
Before her was a fully-grown domesticated calico cat. It wobbled uneasily as the blood from its wounds leaked out onto the stone floor. Sakura stared at it, confused and shaken. The cat stared back at her, with the intensity one should not see in an animal like a cat. Its amber orbs of fury locked onto her wide green orbs of confusion, and Sakura was unable to look away, as if she were caught in the snare of a doujutsu. Something passed between her and the cat before its eyes rolled in the back of its head and the poor creature toppled over. Sakura almost fainted the feeling was so heavy, as if something had forcefully sprang into her consciousness. Sakura was knocked back, by what and who she did not know, but she did not care at the moment, as she could not think of anything other than leaving this place as quickly as possible.
Terrified, she scrambled to her feet and bolted towards the temple entrance. Moulding her chakra to her feet, Sakura ran parallel to the ground along the temple wall rather than down the steps. She stopped when she reached the forest floor; craning her neck back when she heard a loud creaking noise from behind her. The forest grew and engulfed the temple with vines and twisting wisteria; the flowers spread and sheltered anything else from view with their delicate little blossoms.
Sakura's heart thumped like a drum against her breast and her breathing was ragged. The temple was gone, only a wall of pretty flowers and impenetrable foliage stood there now. She grabbed her canteen, her eyes never once leaving the spot where the temple had previously been. She gulped down the cool liquid, saving a little in case she needed some more later. Then, still keeping here eyes focused on the exact same spot, Sakura backed up towards the forest. Finally, she turned her back and disappeared into the thick mass of giant Konoha trees.
The trip back to the hidden village was uneventful. Sakura was quiet, unusually quiet, and a little temperamental but the others put this down to her lack of sleep and "PMS", as Naruto had so knowingly whispered to Sasuke and Shikamaru, his face straight as a post and seemingly understanding.
The other two had exchanged awkward glances, both looked sceptical.
Sakura only just controlled the burning urge to smack him over the head. Naruto could be such a dick sometimes, even if his intentions were for the greater good. Having been glued to Jiraiya for so many years seemed to morph his already little knowledge of the opposite sex to complete and utter tosh. No wonder Tsunade wanted to pummel Jiraiya into the nearest wall whenever she saw him.
Naruto was, however, right bout something. Sakura felt incredibly tired. Her eyes were heavy, the lids threatening to close and the pack strapped to her back was weighing her down as if she were carrying a boulder instead. She was so fatigued that she had practically forgotten about the odd little shrine and its furry guardian. Her mind was cloudy, and she frequently missed the boys' questions and jokes, undoubtedly making her more irritable.
SHUT. UP. She wanted to scream the words into the unbearable heat, but wisely decided to bottle them up. Her head was hazy and the headache it caused was about to mutate into a migraine. Holding her hand to her head, she pumped some healing properties into her skull. It helped, but after twenty minutes it was completely useless.
Dazed and head throbbing, she struggled on.
When Sakura had reached the safety of the hidden leaf capital with her team-mates, never had she been more relieved to lay eyes on her marvellous home town.
They slinked through the rooftops, faces masked and mysterious, over the hustle and bustle below towards the Hokage building. Shikamaru offered to drop in the report, seeing as he was in charge of the mission.
"Later," He said and slunk off.
Sakura was about to announce her impending departure, now as desperate as her hideous headache and longing for the comfort of soft sheets. Only Naruto and Sasuke scrutinised her, both pairs of eyes watching her with slight concern.
Obviously, her attempts at subtly had failed…
"Sakura-Chan, you look like crap," Naruto said bluntly, not quite thinking about the words before they slipped out. Quickly, he admonished himself and re-bounded. "Not that you always look crap- because you don't,"
He was lucky she didn't give a damn at this current moment in time.
Naruto stumbled over his words, attempting to reassure his friend that she did not always look like shit, but Sasuke threw him an exasperated glare to shut him up.
"Sakura," He said, studying her pasty face. "You don't look too well, you didn't look right when you came back from your shift… Maybe you should see Lady Hokage?"
Whaaaaa? Sakura stared at him blankly for a second, her sharp mind taking unusually long to process the Uchiha's words.
"No- naah, it's okay," Sakura waved them away, smiling weakly. "I just need some rest, that's all…"
Sasuke and Naruto exchanged worried glances, before Naruto moved towards the edge of the rooftop they stood on.
"I'll go notify Tsunade-Baa-Chan and Sasuke'll walk you back," He said quickly, too quickly for Sakura, and was gone.
Sakura lifted her dulled eyes meekly, her ability to stay awake hanging on tender hooks.
"Are you sure you don't want to see-?"
"Yeah," She snapped, her voice a little more annoyed than she had intended.
Sasuke nodded, and turned around, leading the way to her apartment.
Sakura followed, hardly noticing where they were heading. Frankly, she now cared so little, the temptation to curl up into a tiny ball in a shaded side street was far more apealing than her comfy bed, a whole… five hundred yards away.
Sakura curled her warm toes into the satin soft mattress. It was night again and the moon poured its silvery radiance through the open curtains. She sighed, rested and contented that her migraine had melted away with the warmth. She felt cosy and smiled to herself as she tugged the thick duvet over her head.
She was unaware of the low purr she produced so slow and steady, that her skin was prickling with a new velvety smoothness and her contorting body was changing shape. In her mind, she felt like she was cradling something, something warm and breathing; something so precious she would never let it go. In her mind, her eyes opened and she gazed upon the tiny creature spooning its sleek body up against her own. It was the cat, the cat Sakura had stabbed and killed earlier that day. Its calico coat of amber tabby ran along back and sides, and covering its left ear as well. Its white stomach and paws stood out pure and clean compared to its other tortoiseshell colouring. Its tail was tabby right to the tip, where a tiny bit of fur looked as if it had been dipped in white paint. The creature was adorable, purring just as contently as she was. Its huge, round eyes fluttered open and Sakura was faced with her own eyes, just the pupil had expanded so there was only a thin rim of bottle-green framing the dark centre.
Immediately, Sakura's eyes snapped open. First of all, she realised with some unexplained excitement that her night-vision was considerably better. Every grey outline she could see perfectly, all in more shades of grey and blue she could never have imagined existed. Her ears prickled as the sounds of the night-life outside her apartment filtered through the double-glazing. She heard snippets of conversations so acutely, so perfectly she could relay them word for word.
She emerged the rest of her lithe body from under the covers and padded softly across the bed. She had not noticed how she was now moving four-legged and the way her new tail flicked as she skipped along the bedcovers. She leapt effortlessly to the window, absorbing in the sight of the people stumbling along the lamp-lit streets, drunk as skunks and laughing like idiots.
Her front paws rested on the warm glass, her inquisitive eyes darted from one person to another as they went about their nightly business. She recognised some, but through this new, acute vision, it seemed as if some part of her were seeing these familiar faces for the first time. Her vision picked up little shudders of movements she had never seen before, like the twitchy movements of a mangy rat hidden in an ominous alleyway across the street. She watched from yards away with an animalistic fascination. The way it moved, twitched, scurried, sniffed the air, jerked its pointy little head and darted away from any drunken feet had Sakura riveted.
It was only when someone in the apartment next door crashed in through their door after their binge-drinking excursions, did her attention to the window cease. She could hear them, as clear as if she were in the room itself. There were two of them, a man and a woman, their conversation stammered by breaks in which Sakura recognised as a kissing sound.
She wanted to hear more, so she removed her paws from the window and leapt across the table to sit next to the wall. Her ears stood alert on end and her tail swished high above her head.
Without realising it, Sakura wandered across the path of a mirror.
She stopped.
Sakura stared back at what was supposed to be her reflection, only her reflection was that of the same calico cat she curled up against in her dream. Its ears were flicked downwards, as if glued to her head, her sharp green eyes were full of shock and horror, an expression most would say was too intense, too knowing for an animal. She was crouched low to the wooden surface, her tail still half way up in the air.
Sakura thought she was dreaming. Surely she couldn't be a cat? Could she?
No, of course she wasn't, she was human.
Human. The word echoed in her logical mind, but when she could not see her human form in the mirror, inner Sakura panicked.
I'm not a cat! Her mind wailed, whilst her new retractable claws dug into the soft wood dressing table. A feral hiss escaped her jaws, revealing a pair of pearly white canines, sharp as needles.
She kept hissing at her appearance, her claws digging deeper into the wood until it hurt.
Then Sakura caught a glimpse of the picture next to the looking glass. The picture showed three young people smiling and waving about their cups of Sake, Sakura immediately recognised the boys, and the cat learnt their names. Naruto; blond, blue-eyed; tall; well-built; wide grin. Sasuke; tall; slender; uncommonly good-looking; dark eyes, dark hair. In between them sat, a very attractive girl with long, candyfloss-coloured hair and wide-set bottle green eyes, face grinning at the camera.
Sakura stared hard at the girl in the picture.
Yes! That was her, that girl in the picture was her! She wasn't really a cat was she?
Slowly, as her human memories over-flowed her tremendous heightened senses of the cat, Sakura felt a ripple of cold seep through her as the fur retracted and her once supple, lean and flaccid joints hardened and grew heavier.
When the transformation had finished she gazed back in the mirror, squinting to confirm her reflection. Yes, she was human again. Her senses had returned to humanly normal and there she sat in a white string tank-top and tiny white cotton shorts.
Sakura sat in perpetual silence. The voices of the night life were drowned-out by the double glazing and she could no-longer hear the two next door.
She shook with apprehension of what had just happened, unable to explain it. Her head was light as a feather now and her joints shuddered with a new sense of power. She knew something had not been right when that cat had glared at her, moments before its death. There had been some exchange and the spirit of the cat had leapt into her as it died, she sure of it.
But why does it have my eyes?
Oddly enough, she had enjoyed the experience and so had the cat. She felt the cat purr in the back of head, appreciative of the release and insight of the new world it was to become accustomed to. When it purred she felt like purring, and so Sakura did too, only this time she did not feel a transformation taking hold of her.
Suddenly exhausted again, Sakura crawled back into the bed sheets. The cat mentally arched beside her, warming her stomach. Sleep took her over as soon as her head hit the pillow and so she dreamed, both human dreams and animal dreams.