The Wicked Ones-
Chapter 1- Now Is the Time (to open your eyes)
"You must understand Haruno-san, it's not often we consider women for this position. Your skills are unique though, and you would make a great asset should those skills be honed into even more lethal weapons than they are already." The older man said in a kind; even tone, his voice matching his appearance perfectly. His thick rimmed glasses and slicked back hair added to the facade of office assistance that Sakura knew he was holding up.
She could sense his every move and how deliberate each was, his chakra was surging through him and she knew that he was probably a Hunter-Nin himself, with a soft side that seemed to lure everyone in. He was a lethal weapon.
"I understand, Karasu-san," Sakura nodded, speaking in a polite monotone, "I realize what an honor it is to be receiving such an invitation. I am utterly grateful to you and the HNA committee."
His smile was weak, but it was genuine and Sakura couldn't help but smile back at him as he handed her a stack of papers she needed to fill out. Then her training would start. It had been a long time since she'd actually been trained in something, nowadays; it was she who was doing the training. More and more young shinobi were becoming interested in medical careers and Sakura was only more than obliged to help.
It was a career she'd chosen for herself, and one she loved, but she couldn't pass an offer such as this one. To be one of the only female Hunter-Nins would be an accomplishment even her old shishou could look up too.
She took the papers and bowed to him respectfully before leaving the underground office with a transportation jutsu.
Karasu watched as snow white petals drifted to the floor in a neat spiral before turning to his door and making his way to his desk. He pulled his glasses off and set them on the desk, his hand moving to rub at his tired eyes. His other hand flexed and grabbed katana that rested across the length of the wooden desk, securing it at his side.
With Sakura, he knew he would have to call in a trainer that knew what they were doing when they were doing without a second thought, not that the other members of HNA didn't make those requirements, some people were just fit for the job more so than others.
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Sakura tapped her pen against her chin, looking over the papers spread before her with an aggravated sigh.
The qualifications were high-set, and the required information on her was almost like writing an autobiography. Even she had problems remembering the small things, like what the name of her fourth mission provider was, how much had she earned, when was your very first mission or perhaps her favorite question, had she been forced to use extreme measure while on D and C ranked missions.
It made her think to the good days when life had been easy and everyone seemed to just…get along. The first time any of them had used any extensive force had been the mission with Tazuna against Zabuza and Gato.
She'd gotten to see a side of everyone that she hadn't known existed. Kakashi was infact one of the coolest people ever, as he so fitfully claimed, Sasuke had been proven to work well under extreme pressure and Naruto wasn't as stupid as he was made out to be. It seemed she was the only one who hadn't had anything overly important to do.
That was okay though, she told herself. Now she was an accomplished woman. She was one of the world's most renowned medics, and she was stronger than even her shishou. She'd worked so hard to make those achievements and she didn't regret anything.
She scribbled in her best answer to a question and moved on to the next and so on.
Sakura finished late but was able to send out the paper work before anyone left the HNA office. Now all she could do was sit back and hope that they got back to her soon. Soon was sooner than expected. A small crow tapped on her kitchen window with its black beak.
Sakura made her way into her small dinette and opened the glass pane. The small bird stretched its leg out as it hopped onto her sill. Sakura took the small scroll attached to it's leg and patted it on the head before sending it on its way and closing her window.
She unrolled the paper, and read the message quickly:
Meet H002072.07 Ookami in field twelve to initiate training
What the hell was that supposed to mean? She looked over the strange code and name and tried to piece together its possible nuance. Field twelve she mused… She dropped the small paper as she darted out the door, hoping and praying that she reach the field before her instructor.
She ran into the field, barely breaking a sweat. She stopped and looked around, only to find no one in sight. She couldn't sense any one either; so she started pacing, thinking to herself what it would be like if she was actually to make it in the HNA.
The HNA was the elite of the elite; they were the ones ANBU called in when they couldn't do something. They were shadowy, questionable and completely off the radar. They were un-traceable, undetectable and lethal, literally human weapons that never missed their marks.
Sakura had no time to react as a cold, sharp blade was pressed to her throat, dangerously close to her trachea. She breathed in deeply and blew out a slow deliberate breath before jerking backwards and down, slipping between her attackers legs, only to be jerked back around as she tried to make a break for it. An arm snaked around her waste pulling her flush against a hard, very masculine chest covered with the thick, flexible material of an ANBU vest.
"Rule number one: never let your guard down." A harsh, breathy voice hissed the instruction in her ear.
Her surprise made itself known with a small gasp escaping her lips. She'd know that voice anywhere. It had saved her more than once and put her through hell as well. "Kakashi-sensei?" She mused aloud as the grip around her went slack.
"Hello, Sakura-chan." Kakashi said with a warmer tone than his previous one, his eye creasing with a sickly-warm smile.
Sakura rubbed at her throat where his kunai had been, "You're serious about this aren't you?" She asked with a grin and light laugh, his undertone completely missed.
"HNA is serious, Sakura. As a member myself, I must take the job seriously." A lie told straight through his teeth. He only did the job because he wasn't stupid enough to challenge the council.
Her brows rose in question, "You're my initiator?"
He nodded as he untied a katana from his belt and handed it to her, "Yes, in the field I'm known as Ookami." He told her miserably, biting back words of warning. "Your first assignment; figure out what's so special about that blade. It's yours to keep, and especially made just for you. You have one week."
She tied it to her side and peeked up at him from underneath her pink lashes, studying his body language. She leapt into the air, sending herself into a backwards round-off and hand spring.
When her feet hit the ground she lifted her forearms in defense as her opponent moved forward, moving at a speed that her eyes couldn't keep up with. She caught flashes of his person moving about the field towards her. She ducked low shifted forward and whipped around on her heal, her elbow grazing her attacker.
Either she'd gotten slower, or Kakashi had gotten faster. She couldn't remember a time when he'd moved this fast, and he was known for his unnatural speed. Sakura fell to a low defensive crouch and allowed her eyes to move about the field, studying for anything that could hint her to where Kakashi might be.
He made no appearance and she cursed silently to herself, dispersing in a spiral of white petals to the edge of the clearing hoping to find some sort of protection within the tree line. Her hand itched at the handle of the blade he'd given her, the sword tied to her waist. She had a week to figure out its real purpose but for now, it served as a great improvised weapon.
She unsheathed the blade, and fell backwards, barely dodging a barrage of senbon laced with Kakashi's own concoction; an almost lethal neurotoxin that shut down almost every system in the body, save for the vitals such as breathing, within three minutes. She knew well enough that it would only actually kill you if he used a chakra release, but should she somehow be scathed with his weapons she knew it would be the end of her fight.
She looked around quickly and ran up the round trunk of a tree, the braches providing her coverage and a better view of the field. He could see her, she knew that much, but she couldn't see him. She needed to get an angle on him and fast.
She let her hand grip the hilt of the katana firmly, trying to get a feel for the long blade. She'd never used such a long weapon, and it was awkward for her as she left the cover of the tree and moved further into the forest.
A branch behind her snapped and she turned on her heel, bringing the sword up to protect her torso as Kakashi came at her, kunai in hand. He darted forward moving quickly, she skirted backwards, moving faster.
He lashed out at her, and she moved the katana in defense, blocking his attack before leaping into the air and landing lightly on a branch, only to take off again as he followed her movements. She swung around, hoping to land a blow, only to find Kakashi not behind her any longer.
She didn't struggle when a sharp blade was pressed to her throat once again, another at her back. Unless she wanted to have a few extra holes to breathe from, she wasn't going anywhere.
Kakashi pulled his kunai from Sakura and enclosed them in the holster attached to his thigh before speaking to her. "You lasted longer than I though you would. A whole twenty minutes longer."
"You thought I was going to be taken out in the first five minutes?" She asked, not amused by his estimation of her.
"That's usually how long the other recruits last. You're something special."
"Yeah?"
"Mmhmm, there were six other Hunters placed through out the field, allowed to intervene if you came within ten feet of them. You avoided all six. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a rookie fall into at least one of their radii." He ruffled her hair with a fake smile, "I think you'll be a good asset should you pass. You need to work on your speed though, let your chakra help you, not hinder you."
"What do you mean?" His warning going over her head.
"I mean, your have a particularly dense kind of chakra and you need to find a weigh to expel enough so that you can run faster; your movements however are very fluid and precisely timed."
"Are you praising me or chiding me?"
"A little of both, but the training will get harder, this was only a test to judge how far you already were." He rubbed at the back of his head, "What do you think Karasu?"
The man Sakura had met earlier that day approached them from the shadows of the forest, this time clad in the same specialized uniform as Kakashi. Their outfits were those of ANBU soldiers, but she knew that Kakashi was retired from that particular organization. There had to be something in the uniform unique to the HNA, but she hadn't figured it out yet.
Karasu propped his hand on his hip and cocked his head, "I think she's promising, one of the best rookie performances I've seen in a long time."
Sakura smirked at the kind words. This was going to her head later, she told herself, but for now she needed to keep her composure. "Thank you Karasu-san."
"Yes well," he muttered, "Be prepared to start training with Kakashi-san tomorrow at dawn."
"Huh?" She asked looked to her former teacher, "He'll be training me?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
Kakashi's glared made her rethink her choice of words. "No…"
Karasu nodded, "Good. I'll see you later then, Miss Haruno." And he was gone.
Sakura turned to Kakashi and cocked an eyebrow. He shrugged, "Karasu knows you're my former student, he and I go way back, and to be honest neither of us trusted anyone else to teach you. The others were close by, and they aren't aware of our previous acquaintance."
"But you trust the porn addict?" She bit back a laugh.
"I feel I did alright before despite my lack of guidance. There wasn't much I could do for you, but I taught you the basics and your still here because of the basics, am I wrong?"
She shook her head, "No, you're right." A tense silence filled the field around them. "I'm going to get some sleep; I'll see you at dawn."
"Good-night." He told her as she walked away from him, towards the gates securing the field. He rubbed his hand along the back of his neck and said a silent prayer for her, in hopes that she would realize what a mistake she was making.
There was no leaving HNA once a member always a member, and should you be one of the lucky ones allowed to have their memories erased, the scars of what happened always remained. Sakura had no idea what she was getting into, and he couldn't even warn her against it. It was against his orders, and while he could take two or three Hunters by himself, there was no getting past an entire platoon should he reveal what went on within the complex group.
He just hoped the hardship she faced through HNA were the kind that would help shape her to be an even better shinobi, instead of breaking her into pieces only to be picked apart further by the council on that failure of maintaining composure.
He sighed, his fingers running along the tattoo hidden by his hair, H002072.07. His member code, his identification when hidden behind the mask. The one scar he was glad he couldn't see.
Sakura pulled herself into a sitting position as she struggled to catch her breath and slow her heart beat down. Kakashi had to have gone easy on her last night, she thought, that or he'd been right about how hard the training was. She could barely keep up with him, between the chakra-less pushups, two-hundred to be exact, and the sit-ups, three-hundred of them, and the two-hundred laps about the field also chakra-less; she was turning out to be an out of shape Hunter-Nin.
What was she thinking?
Kakashi tossed a rope at her as she picked herself up from the ground. She caught it and held it out, looking at it and then him with a skeptical defiance. "What the fuck is this for?" She panted out.
He raised a brow with a cocky defiance similar to hers, "Why it's for jump roping…" His voice was sweeter than honey and smoother than molasses and made Sakura want to throw-up. "Five-hundred consecutive jumps, Sakura, no chakra."
"You're fucking sick…" She hissed as she positioned the rope, "How the hell are you keeping up, aren't you like forty?" She normally wouldn't play the age care, nor swear like a sailor but he was pissing her off.
He smiled at her, "Go." He started jumping with her, swinging his rope at her pace. "Perhaps it's not my age we should be questioning, but your ethics of exercise?"
She snarled to herself, keeping her words in line by not saying anything. She just focused on her jumping, trying not to miss a step. After this, she promised herself, she was going to strangle him with his jump-rope or at least tie him up, cover him with honey and leave him for the wolves.
"Two-hundred," he said after a while and she nearly stopped, she knew they were farther than that, she'd been counting to herself.
"No, three-hundred seventy-six, seven." Sakura growled at him as they continued jumping through the swinging rope.
"Are you sure?"
"More than sure." She told him matter-of-factly.
He said nothing after than, leaving her to her thoughts. She needed to figure out what was so special about that sword that he'd given her. She thought back to the night before and she through their short discussions, mulling over his words. Then she smiled as they hit five-hundred.
"I figured out the katana." She told him, whipping the rope in his direction. "It's made to channel chakra, that's what you meant by me needing to expel more chakra, it was a subtle hint, no?"
"You always were the smart one, Sakura-chan." He wrapped the ropes up. "Sometimes you need to be smarter though."
Her eyes narrowed on him, and he packed his equipment into his duffle-bag. What did he mean by that? "I'm plenty smart, Kakashi."
"Yes, and you need to be smarter." At this rate, he thought, she was never going to catch on to his hints, and it would be too late to save her. He crossed his arms over his chest, "Bring your katana tomorrow, at noon. I'd suggested doing a few of those work outs every morning to get in shape. You have one week to be ready for your exam."
One week? She needed more time. There was no way she could be ready in such a short amount of time. Especially if she was learning to master a new weapon. She needed to learn so much, if she were to pass it would be a miracle.
"Damn…" She scratched at the back of her head. "So soon?"
"Mmm," He hummed in response as he threw the strap of his bag over his shoulder and pulled his green book from his weapons pouch. "That's just the induction, you receive your ident-number, and name even sooner. Like in three days sooner. You've started training which means there is no going back, Sakura."
"Ident-number?"
"Identification number. You already know mine, H002072.07, and my name is Ookami."
"Oh…" She wrapped her arms around her torso as the chill of the breeze traipsed over her sweat covered skin. "Ookami is the ANBU half of it, right?"
"Yes, HNA is a sort of sub-division to ANBU. Only, ANBU calls HNA when they can't hit their mark."
"Because HNA never misses?"
"Exactly." He told her as they passed through the gates. He offered a quick wave to Izumo and Kotetsu who sat lazily at their post as they walked by. "The number however is your Hunter-Nin code. Unfortunately once assigned a code, that number stays with you for the rest of your life, tattooed to the back of your skull."
Her steps faltered, "What?"
Tattooed? She did not sign up for a tattoo to the back of the head. She could put up with the crazy workouts, but wanting to tattoo some number to her skull? Hell no, she was not going to do it. That was a bunch of shit.
He nodded again, "Yeah, the person that does the job is so good that you don't even need to cut your hair, trust me."
"I didn't sign up for some needle-happy fuck to tattoo my head!"
He glared at her, "I'm friends with that needle-happy fuck, Sakura. You are too. What would Anko think of you saying such things about her?"
This time she stopped, "Anko?" She asked with surprise.
"Yes." He told her, "She did mine, and every other Hunter-Nin except her own, but we won't go into detail about that."
"She's a Hunter?"
He smiled, "M4091099.04."
"Wow…" She breathed. "So three days?"
"Yes, try and be up early and you might want to take some pain killers before hand, something strong. You'll want it afterwards." He rubbed at his neck, where his code lay hidden. "It's not too late to get out, you know."
"Get out?"
"Get your memory erased, drop from the group. What I'm telling you can't leave us, Sakura."
Viridian eyes focused on his face, "I'm listening."
"HNA will never go away, no matter what you'll have those numbers tattooed to your neck, and should the situation call for it, you will be called into action. This is something you can't run away from, it's not like ANBU, I've seen this break some of the strongest shinobi, Sakura, I'd rather you not remember the training and never be called into action except by chance than to see you fight a battle as you shatter inside."
Her brow creased and stepped closer to him, her hand pushing against his chest, "Let's get something straight Kakashi-sensei. I am not a little girl; I will not be broken by this, are you so sure I won't succeed that you tell me not to do it? Yeah I'll keep it to myself, but consider this your warning Kakashi, that if you tell me never to try for something again, I will snap you like a twig."
She turned on her heel, whipping her hair over her shoulder as she stormed off in an angry stomp. "I'll be ready tomorrow, Kakashi, make sure Anko knows."
Kakashi pressed his palm to his face and sighed, that had not gone as planned. She was supposed to go to Karasu, get her memory wiped and move on with her life. As far as he was concerned, she'd might as well have just signed a contract against mental stability.
Just an Idea I've been playing with, so let me know if you guys like it!