'Crimson droplets of blood rolled off her lips; landing on the ground in a thick pool. "I'm sorry...Aoi." We the last words she managed to choke out before landing on the ground with a heavy thud. I was left without any protection. Before this day; I would have said that I could have easily defended myself. But now; seeing this and living this experience I found it all to be a lie.

Groaning softly; I watched as the tiny rivulets of water trailed down the window. My forehead stuck to the glass; my never ending puffs of air fogging up the surface. It was raining; but I didn't mind. I prefferred it when it rained. For; it usually matched my mood. Depressed; sad; angsty. I was not one of the happiest people who lived in my village. Compared to Saeya.

Saeya and I had known each other since Saeya was four; Saeya being a young servant working in the KuroKages tower; and myself being the daughter of the Kurokage. At first; we didn't exactly get along seeing as I acted like the pampered princess I'd been raised to be. However; it was a friendship that destiny inevitabely created. And I wouldn't give up Saeya for the world. She'd been with me through all the bad moments in my life; from the month I had sobbed after my mother had died; to when I messed up my first mission as a ninja. Over time; we grew up and changed into the people we would be for the rest of our lives and somehow still found ourselves to be friends. This amazed me. I was no longer a brat; Saeya had changed that. She had taught me that you can attract more flys with honey compared to vinegar. And despite the fact that Saeya was more than two years younger than me; I felt as if she was my superior because apparently she knew a lot more about the cruelty of the world than I did.

I found myself thinking about this; my hand pressed against the glass of the window in a flattened position when Saeya decided to enter. Opening the door quickly; and striding into the room she poked me in the shoulder. This action; caused me to jump. I had always scared easily; Saeya knew that. Explaining why Saeya laughed at my response; before speaking up her voice cheery as usual.

"Aoi-hime." She announced with a low bow; indicating that she respected me. Which she shouldn't respect me; or at least in my opinion. I didn't want respect. I wanted friendship; I wanted to be normal. Anyways; she continued speaking. "Aoi-hime; your father has called for you. The ANBU are ready to travel; and we should probably leave before the heat tires them." I nodded; curling my fist into a ball and removing it from the window. Why were we getting ready to travel? You may be asking. Well; that question can recieve a simple answer really.

A month or so before I was born; my father promised my hand to the son of the Tsuchikage. I had never met the boy; and yet we were betrothed. I knew from rumors; most told to me by Saeya that the boy was arrogant and had no idea how to rule a country. Hearing these rumors; I felt myself ostracizing the day that I'd meet him more and more. Then finally; here it was the day of my seventeenth birthday the day that I was going to meet the start of hell. The day my life would surely end. The wedding was not for another month; that was true. But within three days I would be permantely living in Iwagakure. I didn't want to leave my home; and worst off I didn't want to have to leave Saeya.

I'd only discovered my engagement a year before hand; and sadly took my anger and frustration about the situation out on Saeya. She remained there for me though; and told me that if I went through with the marriage I would help keep the alliance between Kuro and Iwa stand firm.

Biting my lip; I walked past Saeya hearing her soft footsteps behind me. As soon as I exited the Kurokages tower; my new life was beginning. I knew that. Explaining why I wanted to return to my room and hide under the covers. Refusing to come out. Nonetheless; I made the final steps until I was standing outside in the humid heat of a rainy day in Kurogakure.

Now; despite the fact that it was raining cats and dogs I did not get wet. This possibly being because Saeya was busy holding an umbrella overtop my head and leading me towards the 'carriage' that I was being forced to ride in, Precious cargo indeed. Holding my kimono up a bit; so that the bottom did not get mud caked all over it I frantically dashed across the wet ground attempting to dodge all puddles. At the moment; I was overdressed or at least in my opinion I was.

I wore a light red kimono; with a small winding dragon sewn on the sleeve. This complicated symbol; signified that I was royalty and engaged to be married. I hated that symbol already; and wanted to rip it off the fabric. Better yet; I wanted to remove the whole robe and walk around in my undergarments. The bow was heavy and tight; making it so I could barely breathe. I for sure; felt like an over-dressed poodle at the chuunin exams.

Once more caught up in my thoughts; I hardly realized that we had made it to the carriage until I was poked by Saeya for the second time today. "Aoi-hime." She said softly; causing me to abruptly stumble out of my thoughts.

"Hn?" I inquired; my eyebrow cocked still unsure of what was going on. It took me a second after that statement to notice the carriage. "Oh." Nodding; I ducked and entered sitting on the mounds of pillows made of silk. This kind of treatment was going to be the death of me; if it already hadn't been. I felt Saeya sit next to me; and then the carriage was lifted up and we were off. In under thirty minutes of traveling; I was yawning. My butt was asleep and so was the rest of my body. Laying down; I shut my eyes eventually falling asleep to the occasional jolting of the carriage.

I awoke when the carriage was set down; the silence for the most part indicated that it had stopped raining giving the ANBU a good chance to stop and rest. Looking at Saeya; I saw that she was asleep. I did not want to wake her; so crawling past her sleeping form I slid the door of the carriage open and stepped out. The ANBU currently sat helter-skelter in a clearing chatting amongst themselves and munching on snacks that their wives; husbands; or mothers had prepared for them. Most of the ANBU there were young; I felt bad for them having to protect me. I could have easily enough traveled by myself. I was strong enough for sure.

"Aoi-hime." One of the ANBU announced; noticing my presence. The other ANBU in the clearing; copied the first and every single one of them symultaneously started bowing. I found myself getting frustrated with their behavior.

Now; my situation might be a little hard to understand without a little bit of a history lesson. Kage's have always been and probably always will be extremely respected. They are most respected; in villages such as mine where the kages are treated as if they are a king or queen. Explaining the bowing; and the name attatchements; and the riches. And the bowing. These actions; oftentimes ticking me off as being demonstrated now. Why did people not understand that I wanted to be normal? N-o-r-m-a-l.

Realizing; that the ANBU would not remove themselves off the ground which was rather muddy I bowed back to them before taking my leave and returning to the carriage. With a slight; hmph I plopped back down next to Saeya arms crossed and glaring at the wall of the carriage. I really hated today; really and truly.

Fifteen minutes or so later; I heard a loud yawn from next to me. This noise; instantly told me that Saeya was in fact awake. "Ohayo." I greeted her; my voice seemingly not happy. Sitting up; Saeya did not respond to my statement. Apparently; she knew that I was not in a good mood and made the better choice to not talk to me. I applauded her.

"How long have we been stopped for?" Saeya then questioned; I shrugged. "About an hour I guess." Saeya nodded.

"I'm going to go check on the others." Crawling out of the carriage; she quickly shut the door so that the bamboo frame made a clapping sound and I was left to wait. This bad feeling creeped up my stomach slowly. I heard no noises except for occasional footsteps which I figured to be the ANBU and Saeya. There were occasionally a few muffled cries but I disregarded them.

I did not figure them to be what they really were. Silence then ensured around the clearing; sweat trickled down my forehead and the bad feeling gradually got worse. I heard footsteps approaching where I sat; and a hand set upon the door. I only expected it to be Saeya so I did not raise my guard. The door was opened; and I looked over my scream muffled by someones hand.

-In Shock- HOMG. What's going to happen to Aoi? LOL. Well; because of what the summary said you already know it's got the akatsuki in it so you can make SOME assumptions about what happened.

-Ponders- I do not think; I will continue the story unless I get one review so I you liked it review and I'll add more.

Thank you for reading; please flames are unappreciated.

Sincerely;

Dattebayo-Ramen