Dumbbells—Chapter One
Haruno Sakura emerged noiselessly from her hiding spot and dispelled her infamous illusion technique, looking down at a huge pit in front of her with a content smile. Her gaze roamed around the couple of unconscious bodies lying inside, groaning and looking very much disheveled, before she pulled something out of her sling bag.
Soft ringing sound of bells filled the foot of the mountain as she dived inside the five-foot hole.
"This is so easy."
O.O
"I know you want it," Sakura winked as she walked pass a drooling female customer.
"How much?" the lady eagerly asked, tugging the merchant's sleeve.
Sakura smirked before she stuck her fingers out. "Five sacks of rice and it's all yours."
"Five sacs! That's ridiculous!"
Sakura turned to her customer and tapped her shoulder, talking the hesitant lady onto buying it. "What are you talking about, Ikeuchi-san? You practically own a rice stand by the market—you can really afford it. And look." Sakura paused and pulled her merchandise closer for scrutiny. "I found it by the foot of a far away mountain from the south—probably a hunter. It's the best among its group—c'mon, look at its built. Those nice and firm muscles are surely one of a kind. And I can assure you that his obedience wouldn't be a problem. It can cook, wash your clothes, help you out on your farm and can give you cute little children in the future. It even comes with a one-month warranty," Sakura explained, nodding congenially towards the interested customer.
The lady paused thoughtfully, biting her lip and sparing the product shy glances.
"Are you sure it's the best among the rest?" Ikeuchi inquired, poking her index fingers together in a shy manner.
Sakura grinned. "Of course! Trust me, I'm a trader, Ikeuchi-san. I've been to many places and I've seen every one of them in the wild. I can say that it's quite exceptional—never seen something as good as it since my last trip away from this village," she answered professionally. "I think you should get it before someone else could," Sakura persuaded. "I bet your friends would be down-right jealous of it—it's a hunter, may I remind you."
"O-okay, five sacs of rice!" the lady yelled out.
"That's more like it," Sakura cheered as she stepped up on a make-shift stage in the middle of the market—the spot she rented for her business purposes. She waved her hands on the sea of faces gathered in front of her before she yelled out "five sacs of rice for Ikeuchi-san! Anyone else?"
Sakura smirked when none objected. For God's sake, five sacs of rice? That's her highest bid ever since she started out her trading occupation—all for a stinky dumbbell, Sakura thought inwardly. Amazons nowadays are sure becoming more and more irrational—save for herself, of course.
Ikeuchi looked up anxiously, clasping her hands on her chest.
"None? Going, going… GONE! Congratulations, Ikeuchi-san!" Sakura exclaimed as she hopped down. "It's all yours! Very, very, nice choice!" Sakura grinned as she handed Ikeuchi a metal tag. The sold merchandise let out a grunting noise as it was pulled ruthlessly from the railing.
"What the hell? What are you talking about?"
Sakura's grin dropped a few watts before she placed a hand on her hip, turning to the owner of the voice.
"You've been bought," she replied as-a-matter-of-factly, turning into a male in his early twenties with both of his hands bounded by a metal chain. "For five sacs of rice."
"What the fuck? You can't sell people!" the guy yelled out hysterically.
"What's this? I thought I won the bidding?" Ikeuchi asked, turning to the pink-haired trader.
Sakura held out her hand in front of the freaking out customer, telling Ikeuchi wordlessly to leave everything to her. She then turned towards the panicking guy, her eyes narrowed and her teeth barring in annoyance. "Where do you think you are, idiot?"
The guy hesitantly looked up, sparing the market place a glance. Upon seeing the people on it, he immediately blanched.
"Yes. That's right—all girls," Sakura pointed out, pulling the guy's metal chain closer to her. "I caught you back in the south of this village. And now, I sold you. Welcome to the Amazon village, poor guy, where unlucky bastards like you will be marked as dumbbells, sold and will serve your master for the rest of your life," she added in fake sympathy. Sakura lifted the guy's chin and turned him towards Ikeuchi. "You're such a fool to fall in one of my traps and now you're a slave. To her." Sakura pulled a metal tag with a bell and looped it around the sold guy's neck. She poked the bell for added effect, seeing the paled face of the guy, before smirking mischievously.
"A—are you serious?"
Sakura scratched her head in annoyance before she smacked the back of the guy's head. "Stop being stupid. That lady bought you. You're her slave now, you get it, you stinking lowlife! Tch. Boys are so stubborn," she murmured before she turned to Ikeuchi with a friendly smile.
"Don't worry, Ikeuchi-san, it just needs coping up. And it won't even think of escaping," Sakura paused and narrowed her eyes towards the guy. "We all know that dumbbells who'll try to do so are burned in the palace, with some of their body parts fed on the vultures in the outskirts of the village."
Something on Sakura's evil voice made the sold guy cringe visibly.
"With their heads placed on stakes in front of the palace gates," Ikeuchi added humorously, unaware of the guy's psychological torment. "That's good to know."
The guy swallowed hard, dodging fearful glances on the two female in front of him.
The evil glint on Sakura's eyes disappeared as she handed Ikeuchi the metal chain connected to the bounded hands of her merchandise. "If there're any problems, don't hesitate to bring him back on this place same time every Monday. I'll be here to take care of it."
Ikeuchi nodded. "Drop by before you leave on my rice stand for the sacs of rice."
"Thank you very much," Sakura replied and waved towards the lady and her newly-bought dumbbell. "Dumbbell, take care of your new master, okay? Bye!"
She then turned swiftly towards the closing market, noting that the sun is beginning to set. With a sigh, she picked up her metal chains from the railings and abandoned her spot, taking the trail towards the whore house.
O.O
"You called for me, Anko-san?"
The ominous-looking lady then looked up to the visitor, noting the newcomer's anxious frame. "Haruno Sakura."
The trader took a delicate gulp. "Yes?"
Anko shifted from her couch and pulled out a scroll. "Your debt is due today, right?" Anko asked, looking down at the details of the young trader's numerous debts. "Fifty gold coins, correct?"
Sakura nodded and placed a small bag in front of her debtor. "T—that's just half of it, Anko-san. I'm still saving up for the rest," she reasoned out, eyes downcast.
Anko raised a brow before gesturing the young merchant closer.
"Then I have a mission for you," she started out.
The trader exhaled in relief. "Anything for you, Anko-san."
Anko nodded before she placed her hands in her lap, her face morphing to seriousness. "I need you to find someone for me."
Sakura nodded efficiently.
"I need you to find a man."
Sakura gasped and looked startled.
"What? You hunt for men, right? There's no difference in finding a specific one," Anko pointed out, appearing affronted on the young trader's reaction.
Sakura looked down considerately, weighing her chances. It is true that she hunts men with her illusion techniques, hold them captive until she get to sell them to the highest bidder. After all her dumbbells were bought, she sets out for another hunt, and the cycle goes on again. But then… "I've never pursued for a single person before."
"Are you saying you're willing to spend the rest of your life inside prison bars?" Anko asked impatiently, gesturing towards Sakura's debts. "You are still indebt with me, don't you forget that, Haruno."
Sakura winced at the mention of 'prison' and hesitantly looked up to meet Anko's steely glare. "I know, Anko-san."
"Then take the mission and we're even." Anko stood up and handed a small scroll to Sakura. "The mission details are inside. I'm giving you three months to complete it. And oh, I hired two more for that job but they all returned empty handed. If the same happens to you then you leave me no choice but to kill you."
Sakura took the scroll and placed it inside her sling bag.
"You can take your money and use it for the mission," Anko said and tossed the small bag of money to the merchant's direction. "Three months, okay?"
Sakura bit her lip and sighed, accepting the fact that she really doesn't have a choice.
"Hai."
O.O
"Are you serious? Sakura, the North trail is dangerous!" Ino warned, tossing the scroll back on Sakura. "Besides, the mission details are vague. And you're practically engaging on a suicide mission," the blonde added.
Sakura sighed and looked down at the scroll. "Either way, my life's still in the line, Ino. You know that I can't disobey orders, especially from Anko-san. I owe her my mother's life. Without her, my mom would've made it alive from her illness."
Ino shook her head and pulled her hair out in annoyance. "Sakura, the woman you're calling mother has abandoned you again. I caught her last night on the whore house, flirting with another dumbbell," Ino pointed out. "That woman never acknowledged your existence and wasted her life by falling in love with a lowly dumbbell and now you're throwing your life for her? Sakura, your life's too precious for that."
"Do I seriously have a choice? I live to earn money, nothing else. And my life is a mess. There's nothing special about it," Sakura argued, standing up and walking towards her closet. She pulled a small duffel bag and began filling it up with much needed clothes for the upcoming mission. "And I promised Anko-san that I'll repay her kindness, there's no way I'll betray her."
"You can just leave this damn village and start a new life. Anko will never know," Ino teased. "Then probably you can actually fall for a stupid guy and live a happy life—if that could be possible."
"Are you crazy? Ino, this is my home. Besides, living a new life is very much complicated. And I don't have plans on engaging on what the outsiders call as 'marriage'. Men for me are slaves, nothing more! And I'm sure people will freak out if they ever find out that I'm from this village, let alone know that I sell men for a living. You know how the outsiders treat Amazons like us if caught. Men can get very much… scary when they join forces with each other." Sakura shuddered at the thought and dumped her mission scroll inside her bag. "All I need to do is to find this certain man, bring him here then I'm free from my debt," she casually stated.
"Whoa, Sakura, I think it won't be that easy. You said so yourself that no one ever completed this mission successfully. They all probably ended up dead before they even had the chance to do so."
Sakura then turned to her blonde friend with a grin. "That's why I'm asking for your help!" she exclaimed, eying Ino expectantly.
Ino sighed and leaned back on her couch. "You know I'm still a dumbbell trader, too, and I'm leaving tomorrow for a catch. I'm running out of supplies back home."
"You can always meet me up North, at the Fire Country, right? Your information gathering skills are legendary and you are an exceptional Amazon warrior. You've been to north numerous times and you even reached Konoha in one of your travels. I'll probably get myself killed by doing this alone but with your assistance, I might just make it out alive," Sakura explained, clasping her hands in front of her and began pleading.
"But Sakura…"
"What? What happened to all your concern awhile ago?" Sakura teased, pulling her boots under her bed.
Ino groaned loudly. "You know how I can get temperamental in front of men. I might just snap out and strap them all with a metal collar and sell them to a nearest Amazon."
"And that's the second problem, Ino." Sakura walked towards the blonde and felt her temples. "I don't exactly know how to act in front of other people—let alone men. The only ones I've met were the ones I sold. How should I know the proper way to treat them without them… getting offended or something—not that I care, of course? And how do I stop them from pointing their arrows on me if something bad happened? And I don't know how to treat a man without smacking him at the back of his head for being so constantly stupid and stubborn."
"What's the problem of hitting them from time to time? That's just normal," Ino exclaimed, shrugging her shoulders.
"Well, they look angry whenever I did that so I assume they weren't used to being bossed around," Sakura argued. "And some could really be so… moody. How do I stop myself from getting in further conflict around them?"
"Honestly, Sakura, I don't know. We're basically the same. We were born in this village where men are nothing but slaves. We don't pay that much attention to them practically because they were off no use to us than to provide us more money. Besides, I've been used to men bowing down on my feet from time to time," Ino replied, sparing her pink-haired friend a glance.
"A fellow dumbbell trader once informed me that men act very much different from the ones in the whore house. She told me that could get so… dangerous because of their ranging hormones, whatever that means. Though I can't imagine them not acting so obedient and all." Sakura pulled out a thick black jacket and swung it on her shoulder. "I guess this mission is harder than I thought," she mumbled, pulling her potion bag from the closet and strapping it on her hip.
Ino sighed before her gaze traveled towards Sakura's duffel bag. "Y—you're leaving already?"
Sakura nodded in defeat. "I have to. Anko said I only have three months; I can't waste any time."
"Well, I just hope you can survive," Ino aspired, flipping her blonde hair. She looked away from Sakura and felt silent for a while.
"So, see you again!" Sakura yelled out as she exited her hut. "Whenever that could be…" she added in slight remorse.
"Hey, Sakura!"
Sakura smirked as she turned to Ino; she knew her longtime best friend wouldn't let her down. She saw Ino leaning on her doorframe tiredly. "I'm not promising you that I can show up to help you up but if I do I'll be waiting at the Fire Country's Hokage tower. You'll get to know where that place could be upon reaching Konoha." Sakura smiled genuinely and nodded to her appreciatively. "And be cautious to men, okay? Take care of yourself!"
"Okay, okay! I'll see you there in two weeks! Bye!"
O.O
Sakura scowled tiredly and sat on a nearby tree, massaging her temples. She never knew that when Ino told her that the mission details were vague—it could be this ambiguous. She pulled her scroll out and read from it that the person she needed to find is a citizen of Konoha, a village north from her hometown. For one thing, Sakura knew that it's a male she's pursuing but the only description the scroll leaked was a picture of three black tomoes forming a small circle, with a scarlet backdrop.
"Could this be an emblem?" Sakura asked uncertainly to herself, twisting the picture to another angle. "Or maybe this could be the sign of the place where the guy could be found. Or probably the symbol of this person… Or maybe it's a tattoo. A birthmark?" Sakura burrowed her brows and scratched the back of her head. "It can't be. Who in this world has red skin?" Sakura sighed and dumped the scroll in annoyance to her sling bag, tired of the guessing game. She should've gone back to the village to ask for more specific instructions from Anko, but she'd been halfway on her journey. "And she might just kill me," she murmured under her palms.
She then began wallowing in self-pity, cursing her twisted luck.
(creak)
Sakura stiffened before she eyed the dark forest trail, positive that she heard something above. Her senses went haywire upon sensing a couple of presence, lurking above the tree she was sitting. "Shit." She had let her guard down—not good.
She immediately stood up, missing a sharp kunai aimed at her head. It burrowed deep into the trunk with a 'thud' as she leapt away from it.
"Kunai?" she hissed, identifying the piece of weaponry.
"Shit. Missing-nins."
O.O
So. First Naruto story. The plot was based on a movie,
though it seems like I forgot the title. Silly me. Just
wanna try out something new, and well, this is what you
get! I just want to hear what you think about it. good?
bad? okay? delete it? HAH! c;