AN:
Hello all!
Welcome to my very first fan-fiction. Hopefully this won't flop miserably, and hopefully I don't give up on this. Feel free to message me in the future to give me more ideas, or to usher me to update or something. Please leave a review after you read each chapter! I won't be motivated to continue otherwise. Anyways, have a wonderful day, dolls, and I hope you enjoy. :) (I don't own Naruto or anything are disclaimers required or something)
Oh! By the way- before I leave, I'm at a loss for a good title for this story. Any ideas?
Ignitum: Chapter 1, Blossoms.
The fight was almost over. Fine dust, kicked up and aggravated by combat, rose from the dirt pit, which was smeared with dark crimson trails. The late-afternoon sun beat its last rays upon the spectators before erupting into a bloody sky, casting a warm, feverish glow on the scenery below. Around the dust pit gathered a large crowd. Usually loud and vocal, they were now silent and anticipating, leaning forward with nervous energy. Powdered women wearing drab and worn kimonos waved cheap paper fans to chase away the heat. Young, grimy, children peeked under the skirts of these women. For the citizens of the slums of the Fire Country, the infamous fighting matches between desperate, impoverished street-rats was the most popular form of entertainment.
At the center of the pit, two figures circled each other warily, partly distorted by the wavering heat and the dust. The smaller figure, a young woman with a bright shock of pink hair, limped slowly, never breaking the determined glint in her eye. The other figure was a man at least twice her size who resembled a bear more than he did a human. Both were breathing laboriously, and neither had the energy to do anything more than defensively glaring down the other.
"Give it up, Haruno." The larger man spat. He forced the words out between his hard-pressed teeth. Haruno grinned with the ferocity of a beast.
"In your dreams, Zaku." Dark, clotting blood slowly dripped from her head over her eyes, but her pupils never broke contact from her opponent. She charged forward, bringing her fist backwards for a punch. Zaku's eyes widened slightly before he doubled over from the force of his opponent's hit. He coughed up red phlegm, while clutching his stomach, growling.
Then Sakura collapsed, her legs buckling underneath her. Spectators around the ring broke out in worried murmurs and surprised gasps.
Zaku laughed maniacally.
"Looks like you're all bark and no bite, Haruno, like the bitch you are."
Sakura glared up at Zaku as he approached her. He kneeled down, smiling grotesquely with his bruised and bloodied face.
"You think you can steal my title?" He kicked her in the ribs and she let out a raw, guttural scream.
"I don't think you understand, Haruno. You might just fight for the money, but some of us have a reputation to protect." Zaku kicked her again, and she hissed from the agonizing pain.
"You've embarrassed a lot of us fighters, and I think it's about time someone shows you your place." He spat on her bloodied cheek, but Sakura was too tired to respond. Dark spots danced across her vision, and the adrenaline feeding her earlier was beginning to ebb, revealing the reality of her situation. I can't lose. But her body wouldn't respond to the orders of her mind. The fatigue and the pain burrowed themselves into her bones and locked her muscles in place.
Zaku knelt down again and grabbed a fistful of her hair. He pulled up and brought her limp body up to his eye-level. The dark spots became larger and more intense. A vague humming noise filled her ears; it increased in pitch and volume until it became an unbearable squeal. The sensation of Zaku's fist in her hair made Sakura nauseous and faint. Her mind slipped in and out of reality as she struggled keep herself from blacking out.
"Look at me when I talk, Haruno." He yanked her up like a rag doll, dragging her lifeless legs behind her.
Fuck you. She mustered the last of her strength in forming the words, but her throat was closed up and dry, and her swollen lips could barely move.
Zaku laughed again. "Don't look so good now, do you? I'm gonna fucking finish you, you wrench. I'm assuming you can't afford food this week if you don't win this fight, so i'll just spare you the pain and kill you now."
Sakura's heart palpitated at the words. Was he serious? Kill her? She struggled within his grasp; the combat had turned from a show to a fight for her life.
Her hands felt hot; too hot. They were being burned. She was sure. Sakura lost reality again, her mind slipping into a blank vortex. The scalding sensation of her arms followed, and she wanted to scream. The pain was unlike anything she had experienced; her broken ribs and bruised legs seemed trivial and almost peaceful compared to the torturous agony of her arms. The hum in her ears evolved into a rattling scream. With the last of her energy, Sakura thrust her arms forward, hoping to expel the demonic energy seemingly trapped within her hands.
Zaku screamed. His hands instantly let go of her, and he fell to the ground, clutching his chest.
"You bitch! What the fuck did you do?" He shrieked. Blood was rushing like a river through his fingers. Slowly, his hands fell off his chest, revealing two crimson blossoms seeping through his shirt.
What? Sakura was at a loss. Her arms no longer burned, but still buzzed with energy.
"Weapons aren't allowed."
"But that wasn't a weapon; did you see that? Her hand- it it transformed."
The spectators began talking among themselves hurriedly; a few glanced over at the judge and owner of the pit. He had a shocked, almost frightened expression on his face.
Weapon? Transformed? She glanced down at her hands and saw nothing but her bloody fingers. How did I do such a thing? Her heartbeat slowed, and her thoughts slurred. The adrenaline keeping her conscious earlier faded entirely, leaving her body hollow and beyond fatigued.
The last thing she saw before blacking out entirely was 3 figures wearing white masks leaned over her.
The princess has returned.
"Tsunade" a voice pierced the darkness, calling the blonde woman out in a sing-song tone. "Remember me?"
Tsunade flinched, her amber eyes widening marginally with fear and apprehension. The voice laughed, bordering on insanity.
"You." she spit out the words with venomed menace. Her back straightened as she turned around the face the man who tread constantly in her dreams. Her heart pulsed painfully- hearing his voice and its descent into lunacy was an uninvited reminder of the tragedy from so long ago, and her failure to stop the event.
The man laughed again.
"Yes, me. Are you surprised? You were the one who tried to kill me, if I do recall." He stepped forward, and Tsunade gave a cry of shock.
"Orochimaru." the name that passed through her lips felt like a taboo and a curse- she had not dared to utter it since his disappearance. The syllables dropped like heavy stones in her cold stomach. A slow chill passed through her body with the uttering of the forbidden word.
Orochimaru smiled then, a grotesque sight. His forked tongue slithered outwards, licking his crumbling and pale skin, and his yellow, cloudy eyes turned upwards in a maniacal fashion, contorting his face.
"What do you want?" she demanded, eager to pass the ordeal as quickly as she could.
"I just wanted to have a chat between old friends." Orochimaru stated, still twisting his face with his gruesome smile. "This is no way to treat someone you once considered the world. Do you remember? Once upon a time you admired and revered me. We were the leaders in our field. If only you hadn't betrayed me, lovely Tsunade."
He stepped forwards, and Tsunade flinched.
"I betrayed you? I tried, Orochimaru, but in the end your own greed was your destruction, not me."
Orochimaru's contorted smile slipped off his face then, replaced by a look of disturbing indifference.
"That's almost ironic coming from you, Tsunade."
"What do you mean?" she demanded defensively.
"There's a rumor that you're keeping chakra. You and I both know first hand the consequences of that."
Tsunade visibly stiffened.
"Danzo's men are close." Orochimaru whispered into her ear, his tongue making a subtle hiss at the end of the sentence. The words curled and twisted into her consciousness.
Tsunade's heart began to palpitate loudly; the blood rushed through her cochlea.
Orochimaru smiled again, with a twinge of remorse.
"Sorry, Tsunade. It looks like I'm betraying you again."
Sakura awoke from her reverie, and quickly wished she hadn't. Sleep, after all, was the best anesthesia, and the temporary relief from the repercussions of her fight quickly faded as she regained consciousness. She wanted to groan, but her throat was so dry and swollen that any attempts at sound were met with pain and near impossibility. Sharp, stinging pain from cracked and broken ribs created an unbearable symphony with the duller undertones of her cuts and bruises. She tried moving her legs, but was met with insufferable agony as the tendons and bones protested against the movement.
"I wouldn't move too much if I were you." Sakura jumped at the voice, then realized that her surroundings were unfamiliar, and quite potentially dangerous. She laid in a simple white room with dark wood accents and tatami flooring. The decorations were sparse, with the exception of a small calligraphy painting. She rested on a futon- the design was simple and colorless, but the fabric was silky and soft. A figure leaned on the partially opened sliding door. Sakura tensed.
"Who are you? Where am I?" The questions were intended to be authoritative demands, but came out as weak croaks instead.
The man shifted his gaze upon her with one eye. The rest of his face was covered by an eye patch and a mask. Although he had a tuft of grey hair on his head, he looked no older than thirty-five. In his hands propped a small orange book. He turned the page of the novel nonchalantly. His pose was casual and unguarded, but Sakura knew that these types of men were the most dangerous, because they could afford vulnerability.
"My name is Kakashi Hatake. You are currently in the ANBU base of operations."
"ANBU?" Sakura inquired. The word sounded vaguely familiar, and it piqued her interest.
Kakashi paused for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing together, then he responded.
"ANBU. We're the resistance army to Danzo's regime."
Sakura snorted. Despite the fact that she was in a weakened, vulnerable state, Sakura didn't care for the idealistic, and she couldn't bring herself to sympathize with the privileged men who were unoccupied enough to concern themselves with philosophies of justice and equality. Those men who thought they could speak for the voiceless and the poor were usually just trying to satisfy an innate desire for self-fulfillment and ego. And judging by the simple luxury of the room she was confined in, Kakashi Hatake was no different from the pretentious and patronizing men she knew from experience.
"What has Danzo done to you for you to raise an entire army against him?" The question was half-rhetorical; Hatake looked and dressed like a man of wealth, unlike Sakura, who hadn't properly bathed in months.
Kakashi narrowed his visible eye a fraction.
"Don't mistake me for someone who has unwavering and unjustified ideals, Sakura Haruno. You can find me to be morally ambiguous when I need to be, as your mother knew very well."
Sakura flinched.
"How do you know my mother?" she demanded. Unwanted tears pricked her eyes. Not here. Not now she scolded herself. Her heart expanded painfully, and for a moment, her physical ailments faded in the presence of a much more deep-rooted torment.
Kakashi's features softened with pity and remorse.
"Your mother and I, as well as a few others shared a deep-rooted cynicism and disillusionment for this despicable regime, and we formed this order for very different reasons, but with the same purpose of one day restoring the rule. Your mother's reason was to-"
Here he paused momentarily, and an apologetic expression flashed over his face.
"Her reason was to protect you, Sakura. You were always her priority, and she wanted to create a world where you could be safe."
Tears dripped openly from Sakura's eyes now. She was mortified at her sudden display of emotion, as Kakashi's sudden discussion of the topic she had carefully buried within the crevices of her consciousness had taken her by surprise.
"Sh-she was the only one I had. She's gone now."
Kakashi smiled contritely, then said, "Tsunade was a great woman, but you're not alone anymore. You have a family in us, if you want it."
The idea seemed absurd and foolish at best. If she agreed to the request, her days of self-reliance and independence would likely be over. Sakura had learned at a young age that the only person she could trust was herself, and that it was naive to blindly believe anyone else. Kakashi, sensing her hesitation, added, "Think of it as a fresh start. A way of honoring your mother."
A fresh start. Sakura mused. The tears, mollified by the mention of the possibility of a new beginning, stopped, and an indescribable sense of hope and purpose began to blossom in her chest.
Here's to the future.
AN: Wowee- there goes my first chapter! How exciting! Writing this was immensely difficult, and I know that this chapter was extremely boring as well, but the plot has to be set up somehow, right? Anyways, I'll definitely get around to introducing Sasuke as a character in the next chapter, although I don't think he and Sakura will have a chance to meet yet ): (or maybe they will, you never know). Please please please leave a review. Feedback always means the world to me, and motivates me to keep on going.
By the way, did you notice that I used like 5 different words just to state the fact that Kakashi felt guilty? Hahaha, the trials and tribulations of being a writer. Also, writing the simple message that Sakura is in pain required countless thesaurus hunts.
Feel free to message me with any plot/writing questions you have about this story- I'd be glad to clear up any misunderstandings or confusions.
Anyways, have a lovely day. I hope you enjoyed this chapter (although it was just all plot-revealing dialogue)
(Kill count for this chapter: 2 characters
Overall kill count: 2 characters)