She could barely breathe let alone see anything in front of herself, the smoke in the hallway was so dense. She ran frightened out of the great hall as the head of a dragon with a bearded man standing on top of it burst through the wall, the man proclaimed something, laughing hysterically, as the dragon began breathing fire. In a panic she ran, following other guests, but now she didn't know where in the castle she was.
She took a few steps forward and tripped, sitting up she began to cry, frightened that she was going to drown in all this thick black smoke. "Princess Sakura, where are you?" she heard a muffled voice call out to her, but she had no idea where it came from.
"Tsunade?" she called out, coughing.
Without warning, part of the decorative roof collapsed and she was surrounded by flames. Intense heat and a blinding fire consumed her. She screamed out in terror.
Suddenly wide awake, sweating and breathing heavily she sat up, throwing her blanket off of herself. She kept repeating 'it was only a dream, it was only a dream.' Until she was breathing normally again. Still slightly shaking Sakura reminded herself that it had been almost nine years since that dreadful night, it was only with the help of her guard, Tsunade, that she made it out of the burning palace. She glanced over to see the messy blonde hair of the older woman still in a deep sleep.
Once calm, Sakura could hear a shuffling movement outside of her wagon, fearfully reacting, her hand instantly grasped the dagger that she always carried, she never knew when Orochimaru's men would come for her. Slowly easing herself out of her bedding trying not to make a sound, she peered through a gap in the heavy cloth coverings. Letting out a sigh of relief, Sakura realised it was just the elder, Hiruzen, readying himself for the morning chore of collecting firewood.
Sakura heard Tsunade shift in the bedroll next to her, not wanting to wake her, Sakura dressed quickly in a worn grass green tunic and a dark grey pair of breeches. Tsunade rolled away from her as Sakura picked up a tan hooded overcoat, easing herself out of the wagon, she tied the overcoat around her shoulders as she made her way over to help Hiruzen.
Tugging on the hood of her overcoat, "You couldn't sleep youngling?" Hiruzen whispered as Sakura came closer.
Sakura only shook her head as she bent down to pick up one of the little hatchets the caravan used to chop firewood. Her nightmares were a common enough occurrence that no more needed to be said between the pair as they took a donkey and cart then headed out of the camp.
As they trekked further into the forest Hiruzen points to a clearing with a fallen tree. Sakura nods her head in acknowledgement as the pair head towards the grassy area.
Clearing his throat, "So which one was it today?" Hiruzen questions as he began tying the donkey's reigns to a sturdy branch.
Walking over to a large branch from the fallen tree, Sakura checks to see how dried out it is. Bending down, she began chopping up decent sized logs to put in the cart. "The one where the roof collapses." She responded after a few moments. Hiruzen nodded his head but didn't ask any more questions, not wanting to remind her of her fear of fire.
Sakura smiles to herself, glad there was someone besides Tsunade, with whom she could trust with her secret. Hiruzen, being the wise old man that he was, hadn't taken long to approach and confront her about her identity soon after they had joined the Hidden Leaf, a travelling caravan community. At first Sakura had been worried about being found out, scared he would hand her over to the self-proclaiming Hokage Orochimaru, but over time Sakura began opening up to Hiruzen and now the two were close friends.
"Race you back," Sakura playfully calls out to Hiruzen as she runs ahead, his shouts of protest lost in the breeze, a strong gust of wind blows off her hood, freeing her long soft pink hair, it also brings with it the smell of smoke. Sakura's stomach grumbles as she thinks of the tasty breakfast Tsunade must be cooking up at camp.
As Sakura rounds the corner she stops in her tracks, the small bundle of kindling she was carrying dropped to the rocky ground at her feet. "No." She whispers into her hands as they cover her mouth in shock at the sight that lay before her.
"TSUNADE!" Sakura cries frantically running into the ruins of the camp. The smell of blood and smoke filling her nose. "Tsunade where are you?" Turning around in circles, Sakura's heart thumps loudly as she begins to panic trying to find her lifelong companion.
"Hush child," Hiruzen harshly whispers grabbing Sakura by the arm and swinging her around to face him. "They may still be close by" his eyes dart all over their surroundings, looking for any sign of movement. "We must get you out of here."
"But what about everyone else?" Sakura sniffles looking towards an area where it seems like a nasty struggle must've taken place. "What about Tsunade?"
Hiruzen heads further into the wreckage of wagons, pulling Sakura along with him. "We don't have time to search, they could be back any moment. I'm sorry Sakura but you are the Hime, keeping you alive and your linage is more important than theirs right now."
Horrified Sakura breaks free from Hiruzen's grip, as she backs away from him shaking her head. "No!" She sobs, "What about your family, your wife, your children…. Your grandchildren? The Hidden Leaf was your home!" As her back knocked up against an upturned wagon, she realised she couldn't retreat any further.
His head bowed, Hiruzen doesn't speak or move, yet Sakura can see him shaking, clenching his hands, he still couldn't hide his shakes. Sakura sinks down, knees hitting the hard dirt floor, breaking into tears. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault, i-if I hadn't have come… none of this would've happened."
She felt his warm hand patting the top of her head. Looking up Sakura sees Hiruzen with his eyes glazed over from unshed tears and a grim but warm smile on his face. "Child, you have nothing to apologise for. I know you'll make everyone in the Hidden Leaf proud, honour them by living." He helped her stand back up to her feet "You need to reclaim this land and bring it back to peace. You are the true Hime."
Sakura wipes her cheek with the back of her hand, "But I'm only a girl, how do I take back the land? Who would believe I'm the rightful princess?"
"That I do not know." Hiruzen replied sadly shaking his head as he turned away from her. "Right now we have to get you out of here, find a backpack and fill it with as many supplies as you can." Hiruzen walked towards a ruined food cart.
Looking around, Sakura tries to locate her wagon, walking to where she remembered it was, it didn't take her long to find it. Surprisingly her wagon was still in relatively good condition, it was missing a wheel but compared to the other wagons around her it was mostly all together. Making sure it was sturdy enough to hold her weight, Sakura climbed in to start packing a bag with the essentials she would need on the road.
After rolling up a bedroll and attaching it to her backpack, Sakura heads out to meet back up with Hiruzen. Walking back to the food cart, the one she left him at, she finds two sacks ready in front of it but Hiruzen's nowhere in sight. Sakura hesitates, unsure whether to search for him or wait by the cart when she hears the sound of metal clashing against metal. Sucking in a breath Sakura drops her backpack, her feet pounding loudly on the ground as she races towards the sound. It's as she feared, Hiruzen is surrounded by at least eight men wearing Orochchimaru's armour, that harsh purple and tan colour, unforgettable to Sakura from her nightmares.
"Hiruzen!" yells Sakura as she nearly stumbles over a plank of wood on the ground, as she regains her balance, she looks up to see three of the men are already heading towards her.
"Hime! Save yourself! Get out of here!" HIruzen manages to get behind and trip up one of his opponents, in the same few swift movements he throws, what Sakura assumes is a ninja, at one of the men heading for her. "I said get out of here! RUN!"
Sakura reaches for her kunai shaking her head, "I'm not leaving you Hiruzen" adrenaline pumping, she readies herself into one of the fighting stances that Tsunade had taught her. The two men already moving to surround her, Sakura tries to keep her eyes on them, staying on her toes, ready for whatever they throw at her. Her heart pounding in her ears, this being the first time that she's ever faced an enemy alone.
Out of the corner of her eye she sees one of the men shift to the side making his way behind her, blinking quickly, Sakura's shocked when the other lunges toward her, she ducks and backs away, but it's no use, the soldier behind her grabs onto her by her hair, yanking hard, she falls back onto his leg.
She knows she has to act fast or be captured. Sakura looks down at her kunai, a sharp pain runs through her head as the soldier pulls harder on her hair. Without thinking she reaches behind her and slices through her beautiful long cherry pink, silky hair. The moment Sakura feels the last strands fall free she rolls away, getting back on her feet she stays in a low stance, even more cautious than before.
"There's too many," Hiruzen tries to get closer to Sakura but is blocked by one of the soldiers. "Just run! You must live! Live and remember us of the Hidden Leaf!" He urges.
Sakura pauses as she begins to step back, she gazes towards Hiruzen, her emerald eyes full of concern knowing what'll happen if she leaves but also knowing she must do what Hiruzen says. Sakura turns and runs, behind her she hears Hiruzen call out "Long live the rightful Hime!"
She ducks and weaves through the wreckage and chaos around her, pulling any loose objects down behind her, aware that at least two of the men were chasing her. Finally she sees her backpack and the two food sacks, not stopping as she grabs them. Sakura spots the donkey tied to the firewood cart, using her kunai she cuts the ropes, freeing the donkey from the cart, Sakura jumps on and grabs the reigns urging him to take off. 'A donkey may not be all that fast, but at least he's faster than I am running on foot' she thought to herself weaving between trees and shrubs.
At least half a day had come and gone, it was well into the evening when Sakura and her donkey companion, both feeling worn and tired, slowed to a stop. "We need to find a place to set up camp for the night" Sakura voiced to her furry friend. Reaching for her water flask, Sakura tipped it up and shook it until the last few droplets fell into her dry, open mouth. "We also need to find some fresh water" she sighed to herself, feeling worried and completely alone.
Sliding off the donkey's back, Sakura held his reigns with one hand as she pushed branches out of their way with the other. She was sure there was a stream around here somewhere. It took Sakura a moment to realise she'd loosened her hold of the reigns, only for a second, the donkey jerking out of her grip, ran off ahead of her. "Wait! You have all of my food!" Sakura called out chasing after him but it was no use, she couldn't catch up.
A numbness washed over her, she realised she had nothing now, slowly she sunk to the ground and curled her arms around her knees. Feeling lower than low, 'I have no idea what I'm doing or where to go, Hiruzen wants me to take back the land but how am I meant to do that?' Sakura brooded, 'He couldn't even tell me.' She rested her head on top of her arms, staring in the direction where the donkey ran. 'I was only little when the dragons came, I know nothing of ruling over lands. I only know what Tsunade taught me, but that was about survival and protecting myself.' Wiping away her silent tears, Sakura started thinking about what went on at the Hidden Leaf. The thought of being unable to find Tsunade stung like an open wound. Frowning deeply, Sakura mused 'Tsunade is stronger than that, she must've gotten away, that's why I wasn't able to find her.' Nodding her head in reassurance, she stood up. 'She could be out here looking for me, I have to be strong, I'm not a weakling, I have the blood of centuries of rulers running through my veins, I can do this!' Realising that Orochimaru's men could still be chasing her, she readjusted her backpack on her shoulders and began walking in the direction of the donkey.
The wafting smell of cooking meat caught Sakura's nose, her stomach grumbled, realising that she hadn't eaten since last night, she unconsciously started heading towards the mouth-watering fragrance.
She could make out a fire in the darkening distance, it was only as Sakura neared the small clearing that she came to her senses, 'I could be heading right for Orochimaru's troops! How stupid of me!' About to turn and slowly retreat, Sakura froze as she felt the cold, deadly sharp blade lightly pressing into her neck.
"There's been a lot of commotion in this area today, but you're the first person I've come across." Came a deep and spin chilling male voice whispering in her ear from the blind spot behind her. "Who are you and where have you come from?" He scowled.
Sakura turned her head towards the voice, keeping her body as still as possible, she couldn't make anything out other than his silhouette, and gauging from that he was roughly a head taller than herself. "I'm a traveller from the Hidden Leaf, we were attacked this morning." She quietly responded, her hand slowly edging closer to the kunai attached to her belt. "Can you please remove your blade?" She pleaded, slightly trembling.
He seemed to consider it for a moment, realising what Sakura was doing, he grabbed her hand away from her belt as he pressed his sword a little harder. "What is your name?" He demanded.
Terrified, Sakura stuttered out her name, "I-It's Saku, my-my name is, Sakura", she froze with fear.
No longer perceiving her as a threat, he dropped her hand and stepped slightly away from her, his sword was removed from her throat, but was still drawn and at the ready. "Head into the light, I want a better look at you." He ordered her in an authoritative tone. Sakura bit her tongue so that she wouldn't retort back to his command.
Once they arrived at the fire, the scent of the cooking meat assaulted Sakura's nose, making her stomach grumble extremely loudly, embarrassed, she tried to cover it with her hands.
Giving her a strange look, he walked passed. Sakura estimated that he was about her age, maybe a few years older, he was hard to make out in the flickering light, but he seemed agile but still fairly muscular, as if years of swordsmanship had toned him. Sheathing his sword, he plucked one of the sticks with the cooked meat from out of its place in the ground next to the fire, turning, holding it out to her. The cold look in his eyes unreadable, his icy black gaze staring as Sakura cautiously reached out for the meat.
Sakura, breaking eye contact, scoffing down the meat he handed her, he waved the second stick in front of her, "isn't that yours?" She muffled, her mouth still half full.
"They were both mine." He stated, "But I'm not as hungry as you seem to be." Once she takes it from him, he retreats to the other side of the fire, vigilantly looking about, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
After finishing the second piece of meat Sakura threw both sticks from a distance, into the flames. She took off her backpack and crouched down where she was, feeling the warmth of the fire, but not getting too close to it. "So what do I call you?" Sakura asked as she carefully eyed him, noticing he always seemed to be on the lookout.
There was a long pause, like he was debating whether or not he should reveal it to her "Sasuke" was all he said.
The extremely short reply left Sakura pouting, staring into the fire, she'd never dealt with someone so impassively cold before. She wasn't sure if her presence was welcome or not, she guessed it was the latter but as he hadn't expressed for her to leave yet Sakura decided she was going to stay in the warmth as long as she possibly could.
Sitting down with her knees still raised, Sakura propped her backpack beside herself and leaned against it. The flames of the fire danced before her as she watched it, anyone would have thought the sight pretty magical but Sakura had to keep fighting back memories that she wished she could forget. "Hey Sasuke, where are you from?" She asked looking up at him, trying to distract her wandering mind.
Sasuke's stance alerted her that something wasn't right. Gradually easing herself up until she was standing, she waited until Sasuke creeped his way over to her. "No one else from the Hidden Leaf would have headed this way?" he murmurs just loud enough for her to hear. Sakura's mind gladly flashes with thoughts of Tsunade, yet the thought of Orochimaru's men soon replace those of her guard, frantically shakes her head, heart now pounding, her face full of worried concern that Orochimaru's troops may have caught up with her.
Watching Sakura's reaction, Sasuke instantly becomes suspicious, drawing his sword once more he turns towards her. "What are you hiding?" he demands in a harsh no so quiet whisper.
Not knowing what to do or say, Sakura's mouth opens and closes a few times in panic. Hearing noises not so far off in the distance, flinching, Sakura wraps her arms around herself and starts squinting into the darkness around them, "Sasuke, please trust me." She looks back to him, her emerald orbs pleading, her soft voice only a whisper. "I'll explain everything later, ju-just don't let them find me." Tears welling near the tips of her eyes.
His mouth turning into a thin grimace, Sasuke lets out a deep sigh, putting his sword away. "Just follow me" he whispers, grabbing Sakura by the arm and staring into her eyes "and don't make a sound" he says slightly louder. Letting go of her arm, Sakura watches as he picks up his belongings, in a hurry, she does the same, a slight relief washing over her that at least she had some help now, although she was still fearful of Orochimaru's men tracking her.
Sasuke kicked some dirt over the small fire, putting it out. Sakura could barely see now, her eyes being accustomed to the bright orangey-red glow of the flames. "Come on." Sasuke hissed in her ear, grabbing her firmly by the arm and pulling her away from the approaching noises.
Every now and then Sakura stumbled on fallen sticks, grabbing aimlessly around in the dark for something to stop herself from falling, she still ended up on the ground a lot, but Sakura did as Sasuke instructed, and never voiced her pain even when it hurt. Sasuke would halt them occasionally, listening out into the sounds of the night for any sign of the men hunting them, once he was sure that no one was around, he would then motion for them to continue on.
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Hope you all like this new story, I know it varies from what I normally post but I've been putting a lot of work into this one so PLEASE review and tell me what you guys think! It would really mean a lot to me, more than other stories… In the past I just liked writing things but now I'm using writing as a way to deal with a few issues that have appeared in my home life. Even if you feel like telling me it sucks or if there's grammar or spelling mistakes I'll take it all on board!
Thankyou for taking the time to read!
Trunksfan001