Clay Roses

Prologue

(Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto. But I do own the original characters.)


The day was dark...

The surrounding forests, now sporting their new green leaves, were being thrown about recklessly. Twigs and large branches alike were strewn across paths and thrown into roads, hindering people of their destinations.

The fog was heavy...

Dull and empty, the full moon hung lazily in the air, seeming to be too heavy to stay in the sky. It cast a pale light over the land below, creating dark shadows in every bend in the earth and under every canopy of trees.

A storm was brewing...

Five shadows flittered through the tree tops, keeping themselves hidden from the view of any unwanted passers. As the shadows passed through a shaft of pale moonlight, one could see that they all looked the same, save for hair color and their varying masks. They were ANBU.

A pink haired ANBU led the group, running through the trees at a rapid pace, four others following suit. "It's getting late... we should set up camp." came the feminine voice of the pink haired kunoichi.

"Hai..." four other voices answered in unison.

There was a moment of pause before the leader dropped down sharply, the others following not shortly after, vanishing from sight and into the thick underbrush of the forest...


"Sakura," a violet haired kunoichi came up to said girl. The pink haired kunoichi removed her mask and shook out her blush-colored tresses. "is this where we are going to set up camp?" the young voice wavered up again. The violet haired ANBU removed her mask as well and mimicked Sakura's movements, brushing her long her out behind her.

Sakura, the pink haired leader, spoke, her wise and feminine voice strong, "Yes, Hinata. Did you bring the tent?" She walked over to where the others had made a small yet sufficient fire. The three around the fire had removed their masks as well and had been warming themselves on the chilly spring night.

"Hai..." came the soft reply.

Sakura turned to a brown haired man sitting next to the fire, "Tancho, help Hinata set up the tent, if you will." Tancho nodded his understanding but reluctantly stood up to help the younger girl set up their living space for the night. Two others remained at the fire, looking up at Sakura's flat face as if expecting orders. "Shino, you stay here and keep the fire going, but keep it small. We don't need any unwanted guests." Shino nodded his understanding as well but stayed where he was, "And, Mai, you can help me collect some water. Hinata spotted a small river a few meters south."

The bleach blonde woman nodded and smiled at her squad leader, "Love to, Darling."

"Good... we don't have much to carry it in, but we'll find a way."

A few minutes later, Mai and Sakura made it silently back to camp, each carrying a small jug of water. They were ninjas after all. Ninjas had their ways of completing their tasks.

"This water is for drinking only. Tomorrow morning we can wash up at the river." Sakura spoke lightly but clear. Placing her and Mai's jugs down near the fire Shino was feeding, the pink haired kunoichi walked over to the tent Hinata and Tancho had set up. "Good work guys, we'll set off tomorrow and find the meeting point. We have until noon to make it there so we'll be able to make it." That said, Sakura walked into the tent, motioning Hinata to follow.

The girls walked into the tent together and a rather large sigh emitted from Sakura as she lay down. "What a day!" she exclaimed, letting out a humongous yawn and plopping down in the spot where she would sleep.

Hinata giggled at her friend's antics, "You're right, we ran all day today. It'd be nice to at least take a break once in a while." she sighed, leaning her head on her gear.

"As long as everyone has their soldier pills, I'm pretty sure we'll be all right."

They sat there quietly, neither making a sound as they listened to the crackling fire outside.

"There's just one thing I would like to change right now..." Sakura spoke, her eyes closed in fatigue. "I'd like to have two separate tents!" Hinata could practically hear the pout in her voice. "Not to be rude or anything, but Shino kinda creeps me out with all those bugs of his. I'm going to be paranoid about that all night." Her small frame shivered.

Shino, like Sakura, hadn't changed much in the six years since they were genin. He still wore sunglasses, though they were a little thicker, and sported a new jacket that covered more than his previous ones. Shino was always one to stay hidden. As an Aburame, he still had his kikai bugs, crawling through his body. A fact that Sakura found absolutely revolting.

The shy kunoichi let out a matching laugh, "Shino's bugs won't escape him. They understand that he's basically the boss of them."

"That doesn't help much."

The two kunoichi laughed quietly to themselves but looked up as Mai suddenly entered the tent with them.

Mai was a beautiful woman to say the least. Her hair was obviously bleached blonde from a darker color... most likely a dirty blonde. But the way she wore it, it just looked good. Her face was coated with makeup, a little too much for Sakura's taste, but whatever Mai did just seemed to be perfect. She had ordered her ANBU pants a size too small, claiming that it would help her move more efficiently... but Sakura knew it was just to attract boys, or Tancho. She and Tancho were now 'together' from what she had observed.

"You guys seem wiped. Already turning in?" she giggled, taking off all of her weapons and gear, setting them on the spot she would be sleeping.

"Naturally." Sakura answered with a hint of sarcasm. It may have seemed like Sakura and Mai weren't on good terms, but they were actually good friends. She didn't compare to Ino of course. Not even close. Mai became her friend once she entered ANBU, since Sakura was her squad captain.

The pink haired girl turned toward Hinata once again, "So you aren't one bit against sharing a tent with two other guys?" she asked carefully.

Hinata blushed a light red, "Um... I know Tancho won't do anything, he's with Mai. Shino..." she started, blushing harder, "He's my friend. We were teammates!" her dark locks fell in front of her face as she looked down in her embarrassment. Since Hinata joined ANBU, she became less timid and lost her nervous stutter. It seemed that the more people she assassinated, the more strength she seemed to posses. Her personality hardened with both physical and mental scars; and when Sakura thought about that, she sometimes pitied the younger girl.

Sakura smiled up at her, "I guess you're right, Hinata." She fell back once again on her travel pack and rested her eyes. "As long as you're between me and someone else, I'll be fine." She ended with a giggle.

The bleach blonde woman nudged Sakura's left hand with her foot. "Make room, little kunoichi. Five ANBU will have to fit in here. We can't have you taking up all the room, now can we?" She laughed heartily, plopping down next to Medic Nin.

Sakura decided to ask, "Why couldn't we invest in two tents?"

A deep sigh came from her left, "Because, dear Sakura, ninjas are about stealth. It's a risk even bringing a tent in the first place. Enemies could spot us and ambush us in an instant."

Sakura rolled onto her stomach. "I guess..." her voice muffled by her arms.

After the boys came in from their watch, Mai and Hinata went out for their own. Sakura drifted into a dreamless sleep.


A shaft of sunlight made its way into the tent, waking Mai, Tancho and Sakura. The younger kunoichi rubbed the sand out of her eyes and sat up groggily, stretching her sleep laden muscles. To her left, Mai and Tancho simply stayed still, though they both let out identical yawns. Sakura let out an annoyed sigh and got up grudgingly.

There was no food to eat, nor was there time to eat it, and glancing at the horizon, Sakura could tell that it was at least six in the morning. They took some time to wake themselves up and get a drink from the water Mai and Sakura brought back the night before, and after cleaning up headed out.

The sky had opened up slightly by the time they headed out for the meeting spot Tsunade-dono had sent them to. Before the five of them set out, Tsunade had received an anonymous note, apparently knowing some information on one of the Sanin; Orochimaru and his little 'pet' Sasuke. Tsunade had thought of this as 'too good to be true', as did Sakura, but when she heard Tsunade talking to her about it in the hospital, she immediately jumped for a position on the team. Tsunade had agreed, though reluctantly, and sent her, Hinata, Shino, Mai and Tancho out as her team. She had the team as a mixture of healing, genjustsu, and close, distanced and mid-ranged fighting styles.

The team was to be traveling to Iwagakure; The Village Hidden in the Rocks. The very same country that had fought with Konoha. They were taking the southern route and passing through Takigakure; The Village Hidden in a Waterfall. There, they would presumably meet up with the people who sent the mission request.

They were just on the border to Takigakure and they could already feel the humidity hanging lazily in the air. This village was famously known for its gigantic waterfall, as the name suggests.

The five ANBU landed in a clearing, a small stream had branched from the main one and they all stopped to get themselves a drink. "Okay," started the squad captain, "We are just going to stop here for a while. We still have plenty of time left to get to Iwa... We'll take a rest and continue as soon as we're ready."

As soon as her words were spoken, Mai and Tancho slumped comically to the ground. "Finally! It's so humid here, it's messing up my hair..." at that, everyone turned to stare unbelievably at the vain blonde. Though, everyone thought better of saying something and continued with their previous activities.

Tancho was splashing water on his face, his mask discarded to his right along with his hitai-ate. His dark brown locks fell into his face and he brushed them aside with a wet hand. Tancho... was one person Sakura could say she didn't like. To her, he was rude, lazy, and never treated her with respect. It was as if he didn't care whether or not she was the Hokage or some shinobi-in-training at the academy. But since he started going out with Mai, he seemed to become nicer to her. For instance, the night before when she asked him to help Hinata with the tent... she was surprised when he had agreed. Normally he would ask what her problem was and he could make his own choices without being told what to do.

He was just a 'punk', as Tsunade would put it.

His eyes always seemed to be tired and his dark brown hair was cut to the middle of his neck. His eyes were an unusual shade of green, the same color as Mai's actually. Though Mai's were darker in shade.

Overall, Sakura just didn't like him. It wasn't hate... but definitely not like.

After a little break, the five of them were getting ready to leave. They gathered up their masks and were just about to leave when an odd sound came from the bushes to their right. All five ANBU threw several shuriken into the same bush and heard the sound again... though more pronounced.

"Hinata," Sakura made her silent demand.

A confident nod came from the violet haired kunoichi as she closed her eyes. Hinata made a hand sign and opened her eyes harshly, veins surrounding her temples, "Byakugan!"

The rest waited silently as their Byakugan user searched the bushes.

Four heads turned as Hinata gasped suddenly, "Aka... Akatsuki!"


A/N- Okay! Please tell me how you liked the first chapter of my new story! I don't have an editor and I have really bad common sense. Hehe... Well, please tell me how I did. No flames please, they are really unbecoming.