The world is dying right before my eyes. Demons are overrunning the lands and turning everything that is good and beautiful into dust. A whole village may disappear in the span of a single merciless night, leaving only death and sorrow behind. In the midst of all this chaos, people are turning into savages, killing and destroying as much as they please. The line between humans and demons blurs each day. As much as I want to leave the life of demon hunting behind, I cannot. I am bound to this life by my guilt.
/
Sakura-
I am sorry for leaving you behind, but I am going on a mission that I alone must complete. If all goes well, expect me back at home in a month. If I do not return within a month, do not look for me. I will most certainly be dead.
-Tsunade
Sakura Haruno, the young woman to whom the note had been addressed, abruptly stood up from her sitting position on the floor. With a cry of frustration, she withdrew a kunai from the pouch attached to her pants and threw it at the note. The weapon struck the middle of the paper and its tip embedded itself into the table that the note was lying upon, splintering the fine wood. To those who did not understand Sakura's situation, it would seem as if the girl was overreacting over the content of a single note.
Sakura could not count the number of times that she had read Tsunade's note since the veteran demon-hunter had left it for her. The cause of Sakura's anger was not that Tsunade had decided to carry on a mission without her; Sakura was angry because Tsunade had asked her apprentice not to look for her.
Exactly four days ago, it had been five and a half weeks since Sakura had woken up to an empty house and that infernal note, and she'd be damned if she didn't go looking for Tsunade. Sakura left the modest home that she shared with Tsunade, taking all of the weapons and supplies that she could comfortably carry. Although she had no leads on Tsunade's whereabouts, she figured she'd come upon one eventually. Until then-
Her thoughts were interrupted by a slight tap on the screen of her room, and an older man, whom Sakura recognized as the owner of the inn, entered. He was carrying a tray with her dinner. The pinkette stared absently at the ceiling, lost in thought about the task ahead of her.
"Hello, Miss. I've come with dinner for you." The innkeeper moved to set the meal on the table, then frowned as he observed the damage that Sakura had done to the piece of furniture. "Um…Miss, I regret to inform you that I must… charge you for all damaged property."
At this, Sakura finally acknowledged the presence of the man. She furrowed her brow and lowered her glance to look the innkeeper in the eye. There was an annoyed look in her bright green orbs. "Excuse me?" she asked, with a tone that suggested that the old man was clearly out of his mind.
"Well, um, unless someone else threw that kunai into the table, I can only assume that you were the one who damaged it."
Sakura didn't mince her words in her reply. "I'm not paying to buy you a new table."
"B-but I'm already letting you stay here free of charge! You forget that I've even included meals for you!"
"And you," Sakura retorted, "seem to forget that I'm the reason you're still alive. I risked my life to save your sorry ass from a demon. Are you really so ungrateful that you'd charge me for scratching a piece-of-crap table?"
Never mind the fact that Sakura had more than scratched the piece of furniture in question.
"No! Of course not. I'm sorry miss. I…I'll replace it on my own." With a defeated look on his face, the man set Sakura's meal down onto the "scratched" table and abruptly exited the room, slamming the screen.
Ignoring the innkeeper's gesture of anger, Sakura sat down and began her meal while reading Tsunade's note once more.
Damn that Tsunade for not telling me where she was going! Even if I had just the smallest lead…
Sakura had spent her four days on the road hunting demons before stopping at this inn. For every demon that she encountered on her expedition, she asked if it knew the whereabouts of Orochimaru. He was the aforementioned demon that Tsunade had probably gone after.
Thirty years ago, Orochimaru killed Tsunade's little brother Nawaki and her lover Dan. The snake-like demon had an unhealthy obsession for beautiful young boys and young men, and unfortunately for Nawaki and Dan, they fell into either one of those categories. Orochimaru was a sick bastard, but then again, all demons were.
Demons, akuma, devils, trolls, oni, monsters. These terrifying creatures were known by different names in all the different lands, but despite their proliferation, nobody knew exactly where they came from or even how they had come into existence. There were many theories that existed; some believed that demons were an ancient species that had recently been awakened by the violence in the lands, while others who held religious beliefs claimed that the demons, drawn to all of the blood being shed in the human realm, had escaped from Hell to wreak havoc and add to the carnage.
Knowledge of demon anatomy and physiology was virtually non-existent; it was impossible for scientists to get their hands on demon corpses, due to the fact that demons immediately turned to smoke as soon as they were killed. Studying a live specimen was considered too dangerous, though the truly desperate had undoubtedly committed such research, suffering from deadly consequences.
What everyone did know was that these monsters were slowly consuming the land. In the course of a single night, a band of demons could easily destroy an entire village and blacken all of the land surrounding it. Every village trained shinobi, elite fighters who specialized in techniques powerful enough to kill demons, but the number of these demon-hunters was slowly dwindling due to constant demon attacks. Many feared that all the countries would soon be destroyed.
But Sakura didn't care about this. She only cared about finding her master, Tsunade, the woman who had made her into the formidable demon killer that she was today.
After finishing her dinner, Sakura placed the empty tray containing an untouched bowl of rice outside of her room and then unrolled the sleeping mat. Lying in bed, Sakura devised her plan for tomorrow. She would head south to the Tanzaku Quarters, a bustling town. The pinkette figured that she would be able to find some information on Tsunade there, due to the fact that the old woman often stopped there during her travels in order to gamble. Sakura grimaced, remembering the copious amounts of money Tsunade had lost in those casinos.
"She might have been a great a shinobi, but she was a shit gambler," Sakura murmured to no one in particular, and then paused, realizing that she had referred to her master in the past tense. Sakura reminded herself that she hadn't confirmed if Tsunade was dead or not. But in the back of her mind, she knew that there was no way that Tsunade could be alive and not have contacted her after all this time.
/
The young shinobi opened her eyes as a shadow illuminated by the moonlight moved across the screen. She had been expecting a nighttime visitor. Clutching the kunai hidden under her pillow, Sakura slowly maneuvered herself until she was facing the screen. As a figure silhouetted by the moonlight began to slide open the screen, Sakura readied herself to pounce on the intruder. With her weapon in hand, she leapt from the covers and dashed towards the figure as soon as it entered the room. The intruder hardly put up a struggle as Sakura tackled him (Sakura could guess his gender by the cry that he uttered) and thrust her kunai to his throat. She had landed directly outside of her room and was on top of the man. In the available light, Sakura could make out his face as that of the innkeeper's.
"What the hell are you doing outside my room so late at night?" Sakura asked menacingly.
"I…I was just ch-checking up on you to see if you were okay!" the man stuttered, completely beside himself with fear. Sakura turned her gaze from the man's sweating face to the knife lying inches from where they were. Recognizing the object of her gaze, the innkeeper quickly provided an explanation for the weapon. "It's not safe these days to go wandering around without some sort of weapon for protection! I only brought that knife with me for that reason, I swear!"
Sakura was not buying his explanation. Digging her kunai into the soft folds of the man's throat so that a little blood was drawn, Sakura repeated her query once again. "And tell me the truth, or else I won't hesitate to slit your throat," she added.
Judging by the look in her eyes, Sakura was not lying.
The innkeeper decided that it would be best if he finally admitted the truth to her. Trembling with the fear of what was to come, he revealed his true purpose for visiting her room. "That demon you saved me from was one of Kabuto's underlings. I accidentally… angered Kabuto, so he sent one of his lackeys to rough me up. But you killed that demon, so Kabuto sent me a message saying that if I took care of you, he'd let me off the hook." The innkeeper quickly switched to a more repentant tone of voice. "I'm so sorry miss! I should never have gotten involved with Kabuto!" At this point, the innkeeper was sweating bullets. Sakura furrowed her brow as she processed the information she just forced from the now sniveling man. Kabuto…the name sounded familiar to her, but she wasn't sure where she had heard it. And why had he specifically wanted her dead? Plus, she was a bit suspicious of the reason why the innkeeper had gotten involved with demons in the first place.
"This Kabuto…he's a demon, right?"
The old man nodded his head.
"Why would a simple innkeeper like you be involved with a demon?" Sakura's tone was laced with venom.
Very recently, she and Tsunade had come across people who worked under demons, doing their dirty work such as luring unsuspecting travelers to a demon's hideout or assassinating a shinobi. These people were the lowest of the low, and were always involved with demons for their own personal gain. It disgusted her that people could sink so low.
What was more unsettling, however, was the fact that demons had become smart enough to be able to command both demon and human underlings. According to Tsunade, when demons first appeared they had been mindless killing machines. However, they began to involve not only in ability but in intelligence. This was truly a disturbing trend among the demons.
The innkeeper confirmed Sakura's suspicion that he had been working for Kabuto, but refused to elaborate on the work that he did for the demon. Sakura quickly changed his mind by giving him a blow to the nose. The man writhed in pain, reflexively trying to clutch his now-broken nose.
"Ok, ok, I'll tell you! Just, promise not to kill me after I tell you, ok? Kabuto…he sends me a list of shinobi passing through this town that he wants dead. So, I offer them a place to spend the night, free of charge. And when I bring them their dinner…well, I slip a sleeping drug into their food, and I…I kill them at night, while they're knocked out. After, I give the bodies to Kabuto's goons to dispose of…please, you've got to understand! I never wanted to continue doing this! I only accepted the first job because my wife was sick, and I needed the money for her medicine! But after, I told Kabuto that I wouldn't murder any more people, and he threatened to kill me and my wife I ever stopped. Oh, please, please spare my life!"
The man felt the girl's body tense, and then relax. With an unreadable look on her face, she said to him, "I understand. Just tell me where Kabuto is and I'll take care of him for you."
The man could barely contain his relief. With huge tears rolling down his cheeks, he revealed that Kabuto's hideout was located in Tanzaku Quarters, and then Sakura promptly slit his throat. He barely had time to register what had happened before he bled out. The pinkette coolly sat up from the dead body and searched for the demons that had been sent to collect her body. When she finally discovered the two creatures, the three of them battled until all that remained were a pink-haired girl and two wisps of smoke.
/
To say that the residents of the inn were shocked when they found the innkeeper's body, lying in a pool of blood out in the open for all to see with a red slash across his throat, would be an understatement. They were horrified and began to panic at the thought of a demon roaming the very inn that they were staying at. It was not until Sakura, who had slept in due to the eventful night before, spoke of what had really happened that everyone calmed down. The dead body was recovered and Sakura was commended by the residents of the town for her help in putting an end to the innkeeper's murderous operation.
His widow was beside herself with grief. How could she handle the knowledge that the love of her life had killed in cold blood, all for her sake? Was she to blame for turning her husband into such a monster? What was she to do with herself, now that her husband was dead and the inn had been tainted by the blood of so many dead shinobi?
There were two demon-hunters who were staying in that inn, and they thanked Sakura for saving them from such a gruesome fate.
"But how were you able to withstand the drugs in your food?" asked one of the shinobi.
"My master, Tsunade, is the only person ever to exist who has been able to poison even the sharpest of shinobi. I, as her apprentice, am able to recognize every poison that I encounter, especially types that have been mixed by amateurs like that innkeeper. You two should brush up on your knowledge of poisons, unless you want to end up dead."
The two shinobi frowned; they were annoyed that such a young girl was lecturing them. Sakura decided not to waste anymore of her time talking to the two buffoons and retreated to her room, where she packed up her supplies.
"Tanzaku Quarters," she said to herself. "My instinct was correct. Now I've just got to find this 'Kabuto' bastard."
/
Sakura was not sure of how long she had been walking. To her, it felt like she had been traveling in a straight line for days, never getting any closer to her destination. But in reality, she had only been trekking along the road for half a day. Sakura could have hitched a ride for free on a merchant's cart or paid for a wagon service to take her to Tanzaku Quarters, but she hated traveling with other people. Most travelers would be inclined to talk to her along the way, and Sakura was not a loquacious person at all when in the presence of others. In fact, she wasn't very social either. Her interests lied in learning new and deadly skills, not making new friends.
Still, she possessed a curious streak and loved exploring each new town that her and Tsunade's voyages would bring them to.
Sakura was tired and in desperate need of some food. Spotting salvation in the form of a rest stop by the road, Sakura quickened her pace and then collapsed upon one of the wooden benches outside of the mini-restaurant. A kind waitress immediately handed her some water, and Sakura greedily gulped it down. After ordering some anko dumplings, she sighed in frustration.
"How long will it take to get to that freaking Tanzaku town?"
"Are you lost?" asked a blonde young-man who was seated next to Sakura and whom she had just noticed. Upon turning to face him, she did a double take. He and another who must have been his travelling companion were dressed in the most unusual outfits. They both wore pitch black, high-collared cloaks printed with clouds as red as blood and conical straw hats that concealed the top half of their faces. The high collars of their coats concealed the bottom halves of their faces, save for their noses and the top of their mouths. "If you are," continued the cloaked man who had just spoken, "we could show you the way, hmm. My friend and I also happen to be heading to Tanzaku Quarters."
Sakura regarded these two travelers suspiciously. "What business do you have in Tanzaku?"
"The two of us are shinobi, but we're not headed to Tanzaku town on shinobi-related business. We're just taking a simple vacation, hmm."
"You two look a bit too showy to be shinobi," Sakura replied, referring to their outfits. This was a valid opinion; shinobi generally wore very simple clothes in order not to attract attention. They needed to be able to blend in with crowds.
As a young girl, Sakura used to wear red clothes, but as she got older (and wiser, she thought to herself) she had switched to her current, more practical outfit that consisted of black pants, a long-sleeved black shirt, and a green flak jacket. She couldn't think of any demon-hunter that she had ever seen that wore an outfit as eye-catching as that of the strangers'.
No, she remembered, there was, in fact, one shinobi that she had met who wore a ridiculous bright orange jumpsuit.
"You're one to talk, little girl," spoke the previously silent stranger. "That pink hair of yours really stands out."
Those words seemed to trigger something inside Sakura. She was instantly transported to the darkest corners of her mind, where the most painful memories resided. These were the memories that she had tried, in vain, to forget. These were the memories of her past.
The door is torn from its hinges, and the figures stalk in. She is torn from her hiding place and she feels a sharp pain as blood begins to bloom from a deep gash in her chest. Her body lies motionless on the floor. Lips press to her ear, and the last thing she hears is-
Sakura was broken from her stupor by a voice. "Hey? Are you still listening, hmm?"
Having quickly gained her bearings, Sakura decided to refuse the young man's offer. "I don't need your help to find Tanzaku Quarters. The road will lead me straight there." Sakura abruptly sat up and tossed some coins onto the bench. She had only progressed four steps from the rest stop before she felt the presence of the two strangers behind her. The young woman turned around and told the two that she had no desire for a pair of traveling companions. "Besides," she added, "I can't even see your faces due to those ridiculous hats that you're wearing. It wouldn't be smart for me to travel with such suspicious 'shinobi'." She spoke word with a fair amount of skepticism.
"Sorry, but we like to keep a low profile," the blonde one explained. "Anyways, it would be a lot safer for us to travel together. You can trust us, I swear."
Sakura snorted. There was no way that she would need any protection. Not only would she be able to handle any random bandit or demon that would be unlucky enough to attack her, but the sun was still up, which meant that it'd be unlikely for her to be attacked in the first place. Demons tended to attack when the sun went down, due to the fact that the sunlight weakened them.
"Believe me, I don't need you two to look after me."
"And why is that? Wait, could you be a shinobi?" asked the more talkative stranger, feigning surprise.
Sakura fell for the bait. "Of course I am you idiot! Just because I'm young and have pink hair, it doesn't mean that I'm not an accomplished shinobi!" In her anger, Sakura had broken one of the most important rules that Tsunade had taught to her: never reveal to anyone that you are a demon-hunter. This would only invite the unwanted attention of the very beings that they hunted. The two unconventional strangers, however, had flat out admitted that they were shinobi. "Shit, look what you made me say! If you want to travel with me, just keep quiet, ok?" The young demon-hunter had neither the patience nor the energy to deal with her unwanted companions.
/
As the three travelers continued on, Sakura couldn't help stealing a few surreptitious glances at the two cloaked men. After all, they were just bizarre.
"Admiring the view?" asked the non-blonde one.
Ignoring the remark, Sakura asked them if they belonged to an organization. She figured that that could be the only reason why they dressed alike. Her curious nature would not allow her to leave this supposition unanswered.
"Yes, we do, hmm. These cloaks mark our allegiance to the Akatsuki."
"The Akatsuki? I've never heard of them."
"That's what we're going for."
Sakura narrowed her eyes. The blonde one's partner was really starting to piss her off.
"And those cloaks? Why the red clouds?"
"These clouds represent the rain of blood that falls over the land due to the demons that are currently running amok. It serves to remind us of Akatsuki's goal: to eradicate all demons."
"You think that one organization will be able to stop the demons?" an incredulous Sakura questioned.
"We won't know until we try, hmm."
Sakura's conversation with the Akatsuki members was cut short by their arrival in Tanzaku Quarters. The bright red sun hung lazily in the sky, filling the sky with a hazy orange glow. It wouldn't be long until night fell.
"Well, I guess that this is where we must go our separate ways. It was a pleasure meeting you, miss….?"
The pinkette wasn't about to bother herself with learning the names of the two shinobi, much less with telling them her own name. She brusquely uttered a simple "bye" and went on her way.
"What a rude little girl," the Akatsuki member remarked. Hidden behind the high collar of his coat, a smirk played upon his lips.
"Hmm."
/
And that's a wrap!
I was inspired to write this after reading the chapter where Sakura owns that Zetsu clone. I love how ferocious and merciless she was! In this story, Sakura wears that same outfit and wears her hair up; although, she is a bit older (she's nineteen).
Another source of inspiration comes from the fact that I love stories involving a mysterious, wandering main character who suddenly appears to save the day/solve all problems. If you like these kinds of stories, I highly recommend the anime Mushishi and Mononoke. The main character of Mononoke has the same VA as Sasori ;)
I was going to introduce the Akatsuki way later but I thought, hey, why the hell not put them in now! Next chapter will involve Sakura's search for Kabuto!
Thanks so much for reading this and hopefully taking the time to review. (I know that you can't see it, but I'm wiggling my eyebrows in anticipation õ_õ)