-Prologue-
-Let the Games Begin!-
Please, please forgive me,
But I won't be home again.
Maybe someday you'll look up,
And, barely conscious, you'll say to no one:
"Isn't something missing?"
Sakura stifled her sobs, she mustn't, she wouldn't cry, she had promised that she would never shed a single tear. They weren't worth it, she told herself like a chant over and over again, but the moment she caught a glimpse of their picture when they were genins, she felt a lone tear slip and fall onto the paper.
'I wonder if they'll ever notice I'm gone...' She thought sadly as she grabbed the picture frame and held it fondly in her hands, this was the last reminder of her bond with them, that she ever existed as a teammate of Cell 7, that she had once been smiling, that she once was innocent. Slowly drawing out her kunai, she placed an x mark on her face and left it on the bed, along with a note that she had made for her shishou to read. She had placed a genjutsu atop it so that nobody could read its real contents, it would only reveal the words she had written once the hands of the Hokage had touched it.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Shishou, Shizune-chan, otou-sama, okaa-sama, Ren-kun but I have to do this." She whispered to no one in particular, the moonlight that shone clearly was covered by dark clouds, a sign that had occurred and appeared before the tragedy that befall Konoha.
'Saki, we must depart...' Sakura stared slightly at her room before opening the window and jumping out gracefully. She didn't dare looking back at her old house, she had broken her bonds, and only time can restore them. As for now, the wheels of fate has started turning and they have broken her, them beyond repair.
'Your blood sisters are waiting for you, they too have suffered the same fate as yours and they have broken their bonds as well... If there were any other ways to do this...' Sakura smiled to herself before looking ahead, where five distinct figures stood, waiting for her.
'This is the only way, Yoru... Besides, it wouldn't have had to come to this had they been careful, sensitive and understanding. But they opted not to, they chose this path and I have chosen mine, it is time to forget about the past, as that person had said before, bonds will only weaken you...' Sakura turned to look at the guardhouse, they were asleep and she knew who was capable of doing something like this. She looked up at the sky, her eyes glinted, it is time...
"I am sorry Konohagakure, this is the only way, to prove that even I can be of use... Goodbye for now..." Without further ado, she, along with her blood sisters and the two mysterious figures disappeared in the dead of the night.
You won't cry for my absence, I know
You forgot me long ago.
Am I that unimportant...?
Am I so insignificant...?
Isn't something missing?
Isn't someone missing me?
Hinata fingered the pendant gingerly, it was the last memory she had of her mother who died when she was little. And it was the last bond that connected her to her family, to her friends, to everyone. Her eyes were sad, this was it, the moment she let go of this was the moment she ends it. A lone tear escaped her eyes as she watched her imouto snuggled on her pillows for warmth, so innocent yet not.
"I am sorry Hanabi that you had to deal with the tasks otou-sama gave you. It is because of my own incompetence that you had to suffer, I am truly sorry." She said before giving her a light kiss on the forehead and leaving the pendant on her bedside table. She looked at the direction of her father's room but she decided against it, she couldn't bear to see the disappointment present in the man's eyes every time her name was mentioned. They had broken her, and she was beyond repair, healing here would be impossible, she had to go... Nobody would miss her, not Neji, not Kiba, not Shino, not Kurenai-sensei, not her father, not her sister and surely, not Naruto...
'Hina, you are not insignificant, they view you as such because they have never seen past your abilities... You're blood sisters are with you, the bonds you all have broken will be restored when the time has come.. For now, let it go, this is the path that they have forced you to take, the wheels of fate has started to turn, the games will begin soon, you must be ready...' Hinata nodded before silently slipping out of the compound where everyone were sleeping, soon, she would be gone, and will anybody remember her?
"I am sorry, to have been a disgrace to the Hyuuga clan, to have failed to do my duty as a shinobi of the village, to have been a failure and a burden... Goodbye, Konoha and may we meet in better terms where I am no longer weak..." Without glancing back to the compound, she walked stealthily towards the village gate. She heard the chatter of men who were resisting the urge to fall asleep.
"Yume: Lavender dust." Saying this, a lavender-colored flower drifted towards the guards on duty who fell asleep the moment the flower erupted into dusts, but not before taking a glimpse of the pearly eyes of a Hyuuga.
Hinata breathed a sigh of relief, she was free, finally... As she looked at the bench that seemed so familiar, two figures sat, waiting for her, for them and for fate to start moving...
Even though I'm the sacrifice,
You won't try for me, not now.
Though I'd die to know you love me,
I'm all alone.
Isn't someone missing me?
Please, please forgive me,
But I won't be home again.
I know what you do to yourself,
I breathe deep and cry out,
"Isn't something missing?
Isn't someone missing me?"
Tenten stared at the kunai holster she had received as a gift, that was when she was eleven, two years ago after her parent's learned she had passed, they gave the holster to her, but now, it was nothing more than a painful reminder of who she was, of what she had become...
"I am truly sorry to have failed all of your expectations..." She bowed before heading out to the dark night, her hand griping the backpack's handle tightly as she moved about stealthily, this was it. Just a few more steps and she would soon be gone, she wouldn't suffer anymore...
"Tenten?" The familiar voice of her mini-Gai teammate made her stiffen, she turned around slowly as if trying to test if what she had heard was truly real or if it was just an illusion created by her mind.
'Ten, remember…' Tenten tensed again, this was unexpected, she knew that her teammate trained, but she didn't know that he still trained this late at night much less this far from the training grounds. She should have picked a different route to prevent this from happening.
'Darn it, this shouldn't be happening!' She said, her voice panicking a bit while Lee looked at her confusedly as if trying to read her mind, but she was a fast thinker and she looked up at Lee before smiling, a forced smile if I must add.
"Oh, hi Lee... It's such a surprise meeting you here, you know, I thought you always liked training around the whole village." She tried to sound casual, without car, but the strain was there, seeing him was enough to send her to tears, he was her best friend, only male confidant and even if he had unintentionally hurt her, she still cared.
"Tenten, where are you going this time of the night? Hokage-sama wouldn't send you out on a mission this late, she would normally let you guys rest." Tenten grimaced, this was taking much of her time, she needed to go, even Akira was reminding her.
"I... I'm sorry Lee, this is for the best..." She said quietly before moving swiftly behind her teammate and hitting a nerve that could cause one to fall unconscious. She looked down, tears threatened to spill but she wiped it with the sleeve of her clothes. This wasn't permanent, time would lead them back here, she knew...
'It is done...' She looked away from the slumped body of Lee before jumping over the fence, the last connecting bond has been broken and no matter how much she denied that they never did her wrong, they were all lies, they had pushed her to the limits, intentionally or not.
As she reached the other side, she noticed the four forms so familiar and she felt a smile creep up her face, well, at least she had them, and that was all that was important.
And if I bleed, I'll bleed,
Knowing you don't care.
And if I sleep just to dream of you
I'll wake without you there,
Isn't something missing?
Isn't something...
Ino laid the kimono and shogi pieces she had received from her friends, or rather ex-friends. Her parents were asleep in the next room and she had already told them she was leaving for a mission, the easiest lie to tell in the situation they were in. Not only that, perhaps, even if she disappeared, nobody would notice, they would assume she just died during the mission. She held the backpack's handle tightly and she couldn't help but feel butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
'Was this what Sasuke-kun felt when he left? Is this what forehead, Tennie and Hinata feel, or is it just me again?' She couldn't help but wonder as to what the others were feeling, homesick, sad, angry, frustrated? What could it be?
'Ino, this is no time to be thinking about that, you are doing this for your improvement and the protection of this wretched village you call home. You shall return, remember that because whatever you may do, this is where the games will be held, so be prepared...' Ino sighed again, this was getting troublesome and she was sounding like Shik- that lazy back-stabbing, cheating and hopeless bum.
"I'm so sorry minna, I have to go... I hate this, but everyone here seems to reject me, even the flowers refuse to bloom in my presence anymore." She said before running silently into the cover of the night, unaware that a pair of eyes that belonged to a lazy back-stabbing, cheating and hopeless bum.
As she approached the gate of Konoha, she took one last look before completely turning her back. This was it, they had pushed her beyond her limits and she could only contain so much, she was bound to break, and break she did. Had it not been for those three, she didn't knew where she would be by this time.
'Probably six feet under the ground, considering that you nearly hit an artery when you slashed your wrists.' She didn't answered back, after all, Hime was right, she would be dead by now if they weren't there. She had always been weak with dealing with depression, and that was one of her weakness. As she reached her destination, she noticed three figures in the dark, and she felt a smile, a real smile creep up her face, finally...
And with such circumstances, in the darkness of the night, four of the most capable kunoichis of Konoha disappeared, along with the turning of the wheels of fate, the games had begun, it is just a matter of time before everything reaches the end...
Author's Notes:
So, I couldn't get this out of my mind and here it is. It's just the start but I hope it's a good one. Anyway, I hope to hear from those who read this soon, it would be a pleasure to me ^-^
Disclaimer: Since I was unable to do this at the start, I'll do it at the end. I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden, they belong to their rightful owner.