Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

The café was a complete wreck: tables and chairs broken, glass strewn everywhere and food splattered messily along the walls and floor. The young woman lay still for a moment, breathing in softly as she tried to get a handle on what was going on. Her heart rose in her throat, threatening to strangle her as she scrambled to her feet, hands slipping before finding perches on the bar counter. She glanced down at them; surprised to see them resting in a puddle of red liquid (Wine?) and followed the scarlet river to a form sitting slumped on a stool.

The girl gasped, stepping back and looking around with new eyes.

Customers, broken and shattered like the furniture they had sat on, waitresses sprawled like litter, their cheerful yellow uniforms torn and blooming with unnatural red roses and Jack, the bartender, pinned by some strange knife to the fractured mirror on the back wall.

But what stood out the most, even with the dead and horror before her, were the still, so still, bodies of the shinobi at the entrance.

She had served them sake, talked with the one with honey hair and twittered about him with the other girls in the back room. He had the warmest brown eyes she had ever seen and a roguish smile to match.

Now he lay bent, the gaping hole through his chest and cold gaze telling her more than she had ever wanted to know.

She gagged, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth and tried to blink back stinging tears.

"Oh my…"

The young woman's knees buckled beneath her, shock turning her eyes wide and adrenaline making the shards of glass that shredded her legs feel nonexistent. She covered her mouth with her other hand, trying to stifle her sobbing breaths and glancing fearfully about the silent room. Distantly, she noticed that most of the liquor bottles lining the counter behind her were untouched and in desperation, she latched onto the simple thought.

It came back slowly; the laughter, the common chatter of the café and the sudden darkness of two silhouettes in the doorway.

It had all happened so fast.

Faster than she had thought possible.

Chaos, screaming, a sharp pain below her ribs and then…nothing.

She just woke up.

Vaguely, the girl recalled strands of blackness leaving her chest, the agony of it pulling at her heart…But no. She was alive and would remain that way.

She ran a hand through her cropped brown hair, unknowingly spreading blood through the wild curls. The girl closed her eyes, willing away panic and getting her breathing back under control.

She had to get some help.

She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, but it couldn't have been more than five minutes. The ice from the spilled drinks still hadn't melted.

And if the people who had done this were still here… she had to get out.

Now.

She moved to stand, awkwardly noticing how the blood on her own yellow uniform looked more like an ugly orange stain in the noon day light than like a blooming rose.

She froze when the sound of raised voices reached her, the crunch of boots on glass loud in her ears.

"What the hell do you mean, it isn't here? This is the drop point isn't it? Man, what a waste of time!"

She flinched, recoiling away from the men coming from the manager's office and trying to make herself one with the floor.

"It doesn't matter. They knew what would happen if they lied to us. Now they will pay for it."

The man who spoke moved quietly through the room, feet near silent despite the broken porcelain and debris. His deep voice echoed in the hollow café and the young woman shivered, the grating undertone of it setting her teeth on edge. His companion moved less gracefully, either unable to avoided the mess or simply not caring.

"Still," A stomp of booted feet and wood cracking, "I told you we should have killed them when we had the chance. Now we have to track them down and then kill them. Sheesh, they're probably half way across the country by now. How annoying."

This one's voice was smooth, his confidence and even arrogant attitude standing out against the others growling impatiens.

The girl curled slowly into a ball, trying to scoot noiselessly under the bar as the sound of moving fabric and heavy breathing came closer. She peeked out through the decretive wood grating, finally seeing the men for the first time.

The older one, (at least, he seemed to be older) had his back to her, his body and head covered with a long dark cloak. His arms were crossed and his features obscured by the lighting, but it was obvious he was staring his partner down. He shook his head sternly, gesturing behind him at the counter.

"We don't have time."

The man opposite him glared back, huffing and crossing his arms as well.

"Come on. Just this one! I'm behind this month as it is!"

He was young, wearing the same type of cloak his companion had, but instead of covering himself like the other one did, he let it hang lazily over his shoulders, the front open and baring a toned shirtless chest. His blond, no, white, hair slicked back over his head, the ends coming to rest at the nape of his neck. Keen eyes, now narrowed in frustration, glared out at his companion.

He would have been beautiful, if he weren't standing so casually on the dead body of one of the shinobi .

The young woman glanced behind her, eyeing the sake bottles on the counter nervously. God she hoped he didn't come over here to get them. She turned back, letting her gaze wander down the younger one's body and feeling herself flinch. Why hadn't he noticed that his clothing and skin were covered in blood?

Silence lingered for a moment before the older man sighed and brought his hands up to rub his face.

"Fine."

He started towards the door, nimbly avoiding damaged chairs and lifeless corpses.

"Kill her already. We have things to do."

The girl felt her blood freeze and swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.

"Don't worry," The other man grinned, manic eyes catching her frightened ones through the wooden slots. "I'll be quick."

AN: So… what do you think? A muse caught me and wouldn't let me go until I got it out.

Review Please!

~Delgodess