Good-Bye Days
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, however, I do own Hayashi Riku, my own original character.
Ropes were knotted around her wrists tying her hands behind her back as a noose was brought down over her head. "Do not touch me, you piece of scum!" The woman hissed viciously. "Do you have any idea who I am?"
"Would we really be doing this if we didn't?" A smirk twisted upon the wrinkled face of the man standing off to the side, watching the young female fidget around brutally.
"Let me GO! What do you gain by doing this?" The girl, no more then twenty, squirmed around hoping to break free from her binding.
The older gentleman laughed a humorless chuckle. "We gain the attention of the Daimyo of Konohagakure. This will be the start of a war between our two nations. You're helping contribute to the downfall of the Leaf Village."
"What?" Her brunette colored eyes widened in disbelief. "That is your plan?" She moved forward only to be pulled back by the straps holding her body in place. "Konoha will never fall! We have Uzumaki Naruto leading the village! The shinobi of that village will not EVER give up!" She spat out fiercely.
A yawn was heard after her declaration. "Finished? May we move on?" A cruel smile was placed onto his lips as he nodded his head.
"NO! Wait!" Her head full of blonde locks turned to the right and her angry gaze softened as she looked at a young woman. "My baby, he sleeps where the leaves and grass dance together in the wind. Please take care of him!" She whispered softly as tears filled her large eyes. "My only wish is for you to take care of my son! Raise him to be a strong, faithful man…like his father."
The adolescent girl, no older then seventeen, nodded her head. "Wish granted."
Her brown gaze directed towards the cruel male and her lips turned into a snarl. "As for you. Your plan will fail as time goes on. Somebody will come. She will change the outcome of your supposed war. Just you wait. If not in this lifetime then the next. You will get what you deserve, you monster!"
The lever was finally pulled and the trap door beneath the juvenile mother's feet was opened. Gravity pulled her body down towards the ground but fell to short. A snap was heard as her neck broke and the Daimyo's daughter's head tipped forward.
A younger man took out a kunai and cut the rope that was holding her body up. She finished her fall to the hard earth before another male grabbed the cord that had attached her wrists together and dragged her body across the muddy soil. He continued doing that all the way to Konohagakure.
The messenger that delivered the body to the Daimyo gave him a message as well. "Our village will attack on the first of next month. You have two weeks to prepare." That was what he told the Lord of Fire before giving him the corpse of his daughter. The messenger did not live long after that incident.
The Hokage of the Land of Fire was preparing his troops for the attack on the first. He can honestly say that he didn't expect all his preparation would be futile.
The plan was to get all civilians and children to a safe place with a dozen Chunin guarding them. That wasn't nearly going to be enough incase they would be found out but it's important to have as many shinobi on the main battlefield as possible.
Naruto assigned Hyuuga Hinata and Umino Iruka as the two in charge of the other ten Chunin. Since Hinata can use her Byakugan she'll be able to tell in advance if the civilians are in danger. Iruka has experience with this type of situation so he will be able to take charge and try to keep everybody as calm as possible.
The front battle lines would consist of as little shinobi as possible but also some of the strongest. The other shinobi would be placed throughout the village in hiding so it can be easier to sneak attack.
Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke were placed in the center of the village. With the two of them working together they could battle against the ninja that happen to slip by the frontlines.
Being Hokage, Naruto had created quite a strategy in such a short period of time. He took note of each ability of the available shinobi and placed them into positions that would be suiting them. Of course he also had help from his council, which turns out to consist of his two closest friends.
They thought their plan would ensure them victory and hopefully not an enormous death count. They never anticipated that their battle would start sooner then told.
It started just before dawn.
Branches were lit with fire and thrown through the air. Most landed onto buildings and homes but others caught the ground on fire.
The ninja of Konoha were immediately aware of something bad happening.
The guards at the gates were already dead and the enemy was entering the village. Hundreds of shinobi made their way into the village.
Screams of civilians could be heard and bodies jumping from higher levels of the burning buildings were in sight.
The opponents killed anybody who wasn't part of their village. Not giving a chance to fight.
The Hokage put his plan into action as best as he could but it was impossible. There was too much chaos. The Konoha ninja fought with everything they had.
Blood and screams were seen and heard from every direction. Konohagakure was outnumbered by at least four hundred.
Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke were literally fighting back to back. It was all they could do to fight off the dozens of enemies coming their way.
An explosion was set off and the pair was sent through the air.
A hand grabbed hold of the pink locks on top of Sakura's head but she was stronger then her Chunin Exam days. She reached behind her head and took hold of the hand only to send him flying into the nearest burning building.
She punched as hard as she could and used her chakra to dissemble her opponents' nerves and organs. She wanted to summon Katsuya but if she were to do that then she could harm her comrades. She needed to get into a place with an unpopulated terrain.
"Sasuke-kun!" Said boy looked over towards the kunoichi as he stabbed an opponent. "Let's move to a better location." She yelled over the noise.
The explosion had separated them but they were stronger and could cover more ground if they were together.
"Fine." She heard from him as she fought off more enemies.
She got closer to him but as soon as she did she saw an enemy approaching him in his blind spot. She finished off one last opponent before yelling, "Sasuke-kun! Behind you!"
His sheath had blocked the oncoming attack just in time. He took his sword and sent Chidori out to the few people surrounding him to get rid of them.
When he turned towards Sakura to move location, the Uchiha's eyes widened.
A sword was impaled into her heart and blood dripped from her mouth. "Sa-" He saw her cough out more blood and the sword was cruelly pulled out from within her.
Sasuke appeared before the man who had stabbed Sakura and decapitated the head from his body. He bent down to her level and he stopped. The sword had gone completely through her body. Her medical Ninjutsu wouldn't be able to heal the wound in time.
"Sasuke-kun!" She called out as loud as she could. Before Sasuke could react, Sakura had used up the last of her strength to take a kunai in the back for him. She fell limp into his arms and her eyes became a dull shade of green. A small smile graced her lips as he held her in his arms and her breathing finally came to a halt. Sasuke found himself unsure of what to do but before he could do anything, a dozen kunai had pierced his spinal cord.
Naruto fought off as many of his opponents as he could. He saw many of his comrades falling to their knees and he couldn't help but blame himself.
He was running towards the front of the battlefield to find the brain behind this massacre but his footsteps stopped short.
Tears filled his eyes as he ran in the opposite direction. "Sasuke-teme! Sakura-chan!" He fell to his knees and in front of his eyes he saw the last Uchiha laying overtop of a cold Sakura.
Naruto looked towards the shinobi racing towards him and chakra started emanating from him. "Who did this?" He roared as a tail appeared. "WHO?" He screamed as another tail raced out.
He charged forward towards the shinobi and took them all out with his chakra. "Who was the mastermind behind this plan?" He yelled as loud as he could.
A third tail sprouted from his human body and he raced towards the enemies. As he was chasing after them, his eyes saw dozens of his friends littering the ground.
The last thing that was documented was the Kyuubi had reached seven tails before the battle was even over.
The girl sat the book down and closed it shut.
That incident had happened over two hundred years ago. It was the fall of Konohagakure. It had been the last shinobi battle ever to exist.
She had read the story of the war over and over again. Every time she read it though, the outcome would stay the same.
She stood from her chair and placed the book into her messenger back.
A knock was heard on her bedroom door and it opened gently. A woman walked deeper into the room and bowed down before the young girl. "Riku-sama, breakfast is ready."
Riku brushed her blonde hair into a high ponytail and nodded to her assistant. "Thank you, Sachiko-san."
"Please don't address me so formally, Riku-sama."
"I will stop when you stop." A smile graced each of the girls' lips.
Sachiko's smile turned into a frown after looking over Riku's appearance. "You didn't sleep at all last night did you? Don't tell me you were up reading?"
"I enjoy a good book every now and then." The young girl, no more then sixteen, replied calmly.
"No matter how many times you read it the end won't change."
"But the Daimyo's daughter said that somebody would go and have the ability to transform the conclusion of the Great War."
"That's just fiction. Nobody knows if that old tale is even true."
"I believe it is!"
"Riku-sama, you're so gullible that you'll believe anything anybody tells you." Sachiko stood from her kneeling position and grabbed a hold of Riku's hand. "Let's go eat breakfast then it's off to school for you."
A sigh escaped Riku's lips and she followed her best and only friend to eat.
The young girl clutched onto the strap of her bag as she entered the large school. She ignored the looks of disgust thrown her way as she made her way to the classroom.
"Everybody bow down, her majesty has charmed us with her appearance!" A boy shouted to the students in the classroom.
The class erupted with laughter and some kneeled down mockingly.
"That's enough! Everybody take a seat!" The teacher walked into the room just in time to stop the teasing. "Riku-sama please take a seat."
A light blush colored the blonde's cheeks as she found her seat. She sat her messenger bag under her chair and turned her head to look out the window.
"Just because she's of royal blood means she doesn't need to pay attention." A girl whispered to her friend just behind Riku.
"She probably thinks she's too good for us."
Riku had been use to it all. Her classmates disliked her because she was part of a royal clan that rebuilt Konohagakure. They had never taken the time to get to know her, only making assumptions that she was stuck-up because she was shy. Friendship works both ways though, if she really wanted to make friends then she could try harder but Riku wasn't the most social of girls.
She tried her hardest to ignore the rest of the comments thrown her way as she observed what the village had become.
It was made of nothing but concrete, the only trees in sight were the ones in the forbidden part of the village. The original part of the village was the battlefield for the Great War so it has been off-limits since the end of the fight.
It's said to be haunted. Whoever goes in ends up missing for about a week. When they return they are so shocked or scared that they have lost all ability to speak or move. They literally become a vegetable and nobody knows what the cause is.
"That's the bell for homeroom, you all are dismissed."
Riku quickly stood from her chair and made her way to history, not giving a second look to the ones whispering things behind her.
School had ended ever so slowly for Riku but the day wasn't necessarily over. She still had to attend more classes to help her when the Country of Fire becomes hers.
Her elder brother chose to become Hokage leaving the title of Daimyo to Riku, once her father passed over the crown she would be in charge of the place she disliked so much.
Hokage was a lower rank then Daimyo. Hokage is like a Governor as Daimyo is similar to a President.
Riku was making her way to the Main Building of her father's when she felt hands grab hold of her arms.
"Wh-?" A hand was thrown over her mouth as she struggled to fight against the people pulling her. "Mmm!" Every one of her cries were muffled. She tried kicking the perpetrators but she just lashed out at the air.
"Be still you silly girl." She recognized the voice. She knew for a fact that it was one of her classmates.
"There's no way she'll stay quiet." She struggled as much as she could but it wasn't enough.
A hand hit the back of her neck and sent her into a temporary sleep. "Hehe, why didn't we do that to begin with?"
"She's pretty cute when I look at her up close."
A hand smacked the back of the boy carrying Riku and an angry voice followed, "Don't even think about it, Baka!"
"Just kidding, just kidding."
"Shut up and get moving. She won't go unnoticed for long!" The four kids who had kidnapped Riku dragged her helpless body to a place she never would have expected but probably should have.
"Why won't that girl wake up?"
"Is she dead?"
"Of course she's not dead, Baka! Those cruel kids said they would come back later to pick her up! Why would they pick up a dead body? Might as well leave it here! Kami knows nobody will find it!"
Riku's eyes opened widely to see she had woken up to a nightmare. She was in the cursed village but she didn't see where the voices had come from.
"I-Is someone there?" She called loudly.
"Can she hear us?" A feminine voice asked curiously.
"Hai."
"She can't see us." A darker voice concluded.
"Cool! Let's scare her!"
"Baka! Why would we do something like that? How did you ever become Hokage in the first place?"
Riku stood up slowly and looked around. It was a bit darker then it had been earlier indicating that night was approaching. "W-Who are y-you?"
"Her stuttering reminds me a bit of someone…"
"Dobe."
"Can you see us?" A gentle hand touched the small of Riku's back causing her to scream and jump away.
She looked all around herself as tears left her eyes. "Please stop." She used the back of her sleeve to wipe away the stray drops of water and loud sobs escaped her mouth. "I just want to go home. Please stop picking on me. I'll do whatever it is you tell me, just please leave me alone!"
Only soft cries were heard before a kind voice broke the silence. "I'm going to grab your hand and show you the way out, okay?"
"O-Okay."
Riku reached her hand out cautiously only to feel a warm hand grab it. She couldn't see who was holding her hand but it was very gentle.
Her hand was pulled forward and soon her feet began following at a slow pace.
"If those kids come back I'll give them a piece of my mind!" The voice came from the person holding Riku's hand and even Riku could feel the dark aura radiating from her. "Who do they think they are to pick on a sweet girl like this?"
"Sakura…"
The girl took a deep breath and apologized. "I just don't like people like that."
As the young woman continued to speak, Riku stopped. "Your name is Sakura?"
"Hai." The girl spoke slowly.
"Haruno Sakura?"
"Hai."
"Haruno Sakura the kunoichi who trained under the legendary Sannin, Tsunade?"
"Hai."
"I'm holding hands with that person?"
"Hai."
Sakura felt the hand she was holding slowly pull away from her and the next thing she saw was the blonde girl hit the ground.
"What did you do to her, Sakura-chan?"
"She fainted from shock."
The trio of spirits observed the young maiden silently before hearing rustling from around where the training fields use to be.
"Those kids are back…"
"Sasuke-kun, what do you suggest we do?"
"I'm here too, Sakura-chan."
"What do you think they'll do to her? She is the daughter of the current Daimyo, isn't she?"
"At least that's what we've heard." Sasuke finished.
"I think we should mess with them."
"Naruto, you're such a kid!"
"Dobe."
"Sasuke-kun, I think we should play a few tricks on them to keep their mean beings away from Riku-chan."
"Isn't that what I just said? And how do you know her name is Riku-chan, Sakura-chan?"
"Those kids said it earlier."
"Weren't you listening, dobe?"
"Teme!"
"Anyway let's go scare the crap out of those kids." An evil laugh escaped the mouth of the lone female and the two males stared at her silently. She walked forward and they followed, knowing not to oppose the pink haired kunoichi.
Riku awoke from the sound of screaming. She quickly looked around but couldn't see anything because of the dark. "S-Sakura-san?"
She didn't hear anymore voices. Could I have imagined it?
She stood up slowly and rubbed her head where it was sore. "Anybody?" She started to walk forward hoping it would bring her to an exit.
The night had grown so shadowy that Riku couldn't help but trip and fall a few times, dirtying up her clothes. I wonder if my parents will be mad. She thought while brushing off the muck on her dress.
She had been walking for about five minutes when she saw it. She started to run towards it out of curiosity and stopped before it.
It looked like it was a headband of some sorts but that wasn't the peculiar thing about it. It was glowing.
She bent down and reached her hand down to touch it, only to be stopped by a voice. "Stop!"
She looked up but didn't see anything. "W-Where are you?"
"Don't touch that!" She heard a dark voice call out.
"W-Why?"
Before her question could be answered, something moved in the bushes before her. She fell back and tried squinting to see what had caused the leaves in the bush to shift.
She saw three people. Her eyes went straight to the pretty girl with pink hair, then to the gorgeous dark haired man and finally to the cute blonde with whiskers on his face.
What concerned her most about their appearance was the worried expressions they wore on their features.
She followed their eyes and saw her fingertips grazing the glowing headband ever so lightly. When she pulled her hand away, the leaf on the glowing headband started to spin.
It started creating a whirlpool of some sorts and started sucking everything into it. The young girl screamed as she was pulled into the vortex. She closed her eyes in fear, hoping it would end quickly.
A/N: Part One of the story is finished. My first story so please no harsh words. If you would like me to continue please review or send me a message! Thanks so much for reading!
