Kind Soul Frees
By: Unknownred
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Summary: Sakura Haruno goes on a class trip to Yokohama, Japan and gets abducted after her hotel has been bombarded by terrorists. She soon learns that over half of Japan has been taken over and without knowing she had just crossed into the territory of the overruled country. Devastated, Sakura tries to escapes and in return, only gets tortured more. What will happen to Sakura? Will she escape again or die trying? Read and find out!
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Rated: M
Pairings: SakuXSasu
Genres: Suspense/Romance
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Chapter One – Secrets are meant to be kept hidden
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Early March
Unfastening her seatbelt, Sakura stood up; making sure her head didn't hit the head board where her baggage was stored. Leaning back onto the window, she stretched her legs, earning a few bones crack in relief. Smiling, she looked over at her classmates who either woke up from their slumber or was chattering nonstop of their excitement about their class trip. She exhaled a breath and looked out the window, to see the big characters spell out YOKOHAMA AIRPORT.
"Yo forehead!" Ino, her best friend cried out from behind her. Sakura looked over, meeting her sparkling cerulean eyes as Ino brushed away her blond bangs from her eyes and smiled at Sakura, "Ready?"
Ino was lean; she had the body of a model— of course, being 5'11 and having long legs, she could actually try out and definitely get in. She made a fist-pump over the seat as Sakura met her gesture with her own fist. Nodding in agreement, Sakura waited as her seat mate got out onto the aisle and retrieved her bag before moving out the way for Sakura to do the same. After Sakura pulled on her back bag, and set her baggage on the floor, she pushed the handle up and started rolling her suitcase out of the plane and met up with her class mates at the meeting section her teacher had told them from earlier.
"Nara Shikamaru?" The teacher called out, holding her clipboard of attendance in her hands.
"I think he's still in the plane," Ino snickered aloud which made everybody laugh until they heard an audible 'here' from a very drowsy male voice. They turned to look at the person with brown hair which was tied in a stuck-up pineapple style and who was standing adjacent to the teacher; sitting on his suitcase, with ear buds in his ears. He looked up, his eye brow raised in suspicion, "What?"
Ino rolled her eyes and nudged Sakura who returned the push.
"Good." The teacher scratched off his name on her attendance sheet and continued with the roll call, "Haruno Sakura?"
Sakura waved her hand, "Over here with Ino-pig."
Ino playfully smacked Sakura's arm. Sakura faked a hurt expression, and recoils her arm and nestled it to her chest, "Ow!"
"Yamanaka Ino is here, okay." The teacher nodded, scratching both Sakura and Ino's name off the chart and placed the clipboard in her bag before telling everyone to quiet down so she can tell them to follow her to the baggage claim.
Once everyone had settled down, they set off to the baggage claim and waited until the machine started circling and each student claimed their bags. After retrieving their bags, they took a bathroom break before heading outside the airport to find a bus that will take them to their reserved hotel.
Ino shrieked, pulling Sakura aside, "I can't believe we're actually here! It took us forever to get here!"
"It only took fifteen hours to get here, Ino." Sakura said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Plus another ten minutes to get off the plane and claim our bags."
Ino made a pig face, quietly mimicking what Sakura said in a mocking voice. Rolling her eyes, she skipped over to the front entrance where Shikamaru was the last student to walk outside the doors.
"Well, he finally makes his entrance! Took you long enough and I thought girls took longer fixing their makeup." Ino laughed while shaking her head. Shikamaru stares at her nonchalantly. Ino pauses, her fingers touching her lips as she gives Shikamaru a funny look and again, laughs.
He huffs and turns away. Sakura purses her lips, her eyes glazing over the fact that he had taken out his phone and was scrolling through it.
"Anyway, I thought guys were fast, if you catch my drift." Ino snorts, using her fingers to quote.
Shikamaru's jaw tightens as he faces Ino again. He didn't think what Ino had said was funny and was about to make a retort when Sakura interrupted, patting Shikamaru on the shoulder, "Come on Ino, we had a long flight, I think it's obvious that jet lag is catching up to us."
Ino rolled her eyes at her friend's defiant comment, only to turn around and hide her yawn then turn back around with a blasé expression on her face. She exhales loudly and starts to pick at her nails. "Whatever."
Shikamaru glanced at Sakura who locked eyes with his. They knew Sakura was right; of course the saying goes— a person admits defeat when they say "whatever". Ino looked up at the two, and stomped her foot. Pouting, she pushed Shikamaru away from Sakura and hooked arms with her friend. "Sakura lets ditch this loser and go somewhere else!"
"Where else is there?" Shikamaru mumbled, brushing past Ino and strolled towards the airport's columns and leant on it.
Sakura raised a brow, turning to look at Ino, "Well?"
Ino looked back at Sakura, "Well what?"
"Well, where else is there?" Sakura broke into a grin. Teasingly, she wiggled her eye brows at Ino and motioned it towards Shikamaru. Ino blushed.
"Ew! No, Sakura, we already went over this— there is no way!" Ino shrieked, flipping her blond hair over her shoulder and turned her back at the lonesome guy.
Sakura gave her a knowing look, "Uh-huh, of course, there isn't."
Ino growled quietly and suddenly lunged at Sakura who dodged her and skipped over to the supposed 'loser'. Ino paused and watched as Sakura tapped Shikamaru on the shoulder and leaned in to whisper into his ear.
Narrowing her eyes at the scene, she wondered what Sakura was telling him. Seeing can be disbelieving sometimes especially when your friend spills a little secret to someone you have a crush on. That's what Ino was thinking. Widening her eyes at the thought, she gasped aloud and ran forward, "Sakura!" Yanking Sakura's back pack, Ino pulled her a few feet away from the guy.
Feeling her face turn red, Ino glanced back at Shikamaru and widened her eyes even more at the sight of his ears turning red as well. What did Sakura tell him? Ino's mind went on a rampage.
"Okay class, the bus is here!" The trio heard their teacher call out, "Grab your things and file into the bus. I will call out roll once we're settled inside!"
Everyone did as they were told, climbing excitedly into charter bus and picking out their seats. When Sakura climbed on, she quickly found a seat with another class mate, her idea of match making was on the line. When Ino climbed on, her eyes immediately found Sakura talking to another classmate. Feeling disappointed, she sat behind them into an empty seat. She whined, "Forehead, why don't you want to sit with me?"
Sakura turned around in her seat and gave Ino an innocent gaze, "What?"
Ino patted the empty seat next to her. Sakura cracked a grin and shook her head, "Nah, it's alright. You're too loud and I won't be able to fall asleep."
Ino's jaw dropped in annoyance. Sakura laughed, "I'm kidding! Anyway you have Shikamaru sitting—"
Ino's confused gaze turned sideways and was shocked to see Shikamaru actually sitting adjacent to her. Widening her eyes, she stuttered in annoyance, "What are you doing?"
He rolled his eyes, "You don't own the seat. Now shut up, so I can go to sleep."
Ino gave him a hard look and then turned to Sakura who only shrugged and turned back to her seat. Ino huffed as the bus started up and began departing the airport. "Whatever."
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It took the bus fifty minutes to reach their hotel. The students were not as excited as they were when they had flown in at the airport. But as the students reclaimed their bags from the cargo and piled around the front lobby of the hotel, they were again intrigued. Ino, who is extravagant towards prettiness and the beauty of feeling rich, toured with the other students inside the hotel as their teacher informed the desk that they were the scheduled trip and reserved rooms there.
Walking outside once again, Sakura smiled gently at the hotel's architecture. It was indeed beautiful, she thought, running her fingers on the rough edges of the wall and trailed down the small path to the side of the building where it led to a small alley. Captivated by the color and texture of the hotel, Sakura stepped onto the surface of gravel and soft mud. Not caring if her shoes got dirty, Sakura went deeper into the alley, almost forgetting about her school trip.
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Last December
The sound of heavy boots pounding up the metal leader of the steam room sent the small soldier running towards the control room. Breathing hard, he pushed the door closed and locked it. Out of breath, he slid to the ground and silently mumbled a prayer. Turning around, he crawled to the desk filled with buttons and controllers to the operating system. Pressing the transmitter button, he coughed and whispered a message across the building, "S-sir, they're here… and it ain't pretty."
A loud bang on the door drew back the soldier's attention and immediately sent shivers down his neck. He hurriedly whispered a code into the transmitter before he clicked off the button and got in a crouching position. This is the end, he thought to himself.
The door was being hammered from the other side and the small soldier couldn't do anything else but wait. There was no way of escape, all the other exits were sealed shut tightly and no man, not even a single soldier who was small enough to fit in a cupboard could open such a tight-wrench window open. Squeezing his eyes shut, he thought of his family overseas since this would probably be the last time of thinking of them. Whispering another prayer, the loud hammers from behind the door suddenly stopped.
Wondering what had happened, the soldier held his breath, his eyes slowly opening. He stared at the bent door and debated himself from checking out what had happened. Before he could, the door silently creaked open. Biting his tongue, he drew back a small shriek as his eyes stared hard at the space between the open door and the ladder. Swallowing, the silence filled his ears and he couldn't help but feel his eyes burn from the sudden fear tearing him up from inside his chest.
After what seemed like hours, the small man got the courage to stand back up and check out what had happened outside. Dragging his feet to the exit, his fingers stiffly drew the door open wide.
THUMP!
The man yelled out of surprised. Looking down was the big man— a terrorist to be precise, who attacked him earlier, collapsed on the ground, his back stained with blood. The man's heart fluttered as he relieved himself with fat tears, sliding down his face and dripped off his chin.
Instantly, the man gasped, wondering what had happened. Was he alone? Was there someone else? Who killed this terrorist? Was he safe? The question stuck with him as he rounded the man and climbed down the ladder. Looking around to make sure no one was following him, he ran down the small hallway and up another ladder that led to a fork corridor. Picking the one to the far left, the small man ran with all his might until he finally reached a dead end— an exit to the outside.
"I wouldn't go out there if I were you."
The man screamed, flinging himself to the side, his hand reaching for— for what? He had no weapon but he had his legs. But in this dim-lit hall, he was trapped.
"Who are you?" The man stuttered, "Please don't hurt me!"
But the person who whispered to him a few seconds ago didn't reply back right away. The small man slapped his hand across his mouth, preventing another hoarse scream that would echo off the walls and carry his voice to maybe another member of the terrorist group.
"Listen well; I'm not going to repeat myself."
"What do you want from me?" The small man pleaded, sniffling. He breathed unevenly until he finally calmed down a little. "Okay, sorry."
"Retract your steps, and head to the west section of the tunnel. Climb the ladder; you will meet a man with blue eyes. He will lead you to safety."
Feeling another flutter in his chest, the man raised a question, "You're helping me? Why?"
The unknown stranger stepped forward, "Do you want to die?"
Swallowing a deep clump in his throat, the man shook his head. He teetered to the side just in case the stranger was tricking him, "How do I know you're telling the truth?"
The stranger chuckled as the small man asked another question, "How do I know I can trust you?"
The stranger silently turned and pointed back the way the man came from, his voice seeming far away, "See for your self."
Rounding the unknown person, the small man backed away, quickly looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was behind him or if he was being tricked. When he turned back around, the stranger was gone. Gaping at the empty hallway, he retreated back to the fork corridor and ran to the west section of the tunnel.
Having so little choice, he followed the stranger's instruction and climbed the ladder onto a platform. There, like the stranger had said, was a man with blue eyes dressed in black clothes and he wore a hat which didn't do much but cover his blond hair.
"Hello there, I'm here to help you." The blond man held out his hand. The small man hesitated but finally grabbed a hold of the blond man's hand.
"Who are you, sir?" The small man spoke, as the blond man pulled him onto a lift. He pressed a small button and the lift started hauling them upwards.
"Not a terrorist, that's for sure." His whispered-laugh made the small man quietly laugh as well. Finally feeling reassured, the two men escaped the corporation which was later blown up by crazy fanatics. Once the small man had thanked the blonde and flew first class back overseas, he didn't stop and think about the stranger who saved him until he was wrapped in his family's embrace.
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Yokohama Hotel
"Sakura?" A voice called out from behind the occupied girl.
Sakura turned around, surprised. "Oh, hi Temari."
Sakura had become acquainted with Temari two years ago after Temari transferred from overseas to live with her brother, Gaara. Gaara was Sakura's best guy from, aside from Shikamaru. He had always been there for Sakura, cheering her on at her volleyball games even though his 'cheer' was just standing by the door and giving her one of his cool smiles. Sakura had a liking to him for a few weeks but that went away when he had gotten himself a girlfriend, who in returned only dated him for his looks. As time passed by, Sakura sometimes teased Gaara about it but she soon let it go after he got back at her with his turbo squirt gun.
Temari had her hair up in a spunky hairdo matching her crazy fishnet outfit. Sakura grinned, eyeing Temari. How could she not? Temari was just like Ino, blonde hair and had captivating hazel eyes and was also, 5'11.5. Sakura had always wondered what she was missing that her other friends had but not her.
"Did I scare you?" Temari skipped over to Sakura, looping her arm around Sakura's arm. Grinning, she held up her phone and waved the screen in Sakura's face.
"Oh you got a text from Gaara!" Sakura gasped, grabbing the phone and looked through each text, reading it.
"No, there's one for you." Temari cracked a grin and stuck out her tongue as Sakura pouted and held up one finger. Tugging her closer, Sakura followed Temari out of the alley and rounded the hotel until they reached the lobby where their teacher were counting heads so she could give out their room keys; three people per room.
The two girls skipped over to their teacher and got one key. Sakura looked confused as Ino walked forward looping her arms through both Sakura and Temari's arms and pulling them towards the elevators, "Hey there ladies, did you know how lucky you two are?"
Temari, getting the hint grinned, "Oh you must be our rabbit's foot?"
Ino made a face and pressed the elevator's up button, "Uh ew, and no. I'm your jack pot who just happens to be in the same room with ya'll."
Surprised, Sakura gasped, "Really? Cool!"
Ino and Temari looked at each other and then burst out in giggles, "Sakura, you're so gullible sometimes!"
A few seconds later, the elevator's doors slid open as the trio walked in, along with another group of classmates heading to the same floor. Once they got on their floor and clocked in their room card, Sakura called out dibs on the last bed next to the window.
Temari screamed, "I got the middle!"
Ino plopped down on her bed, "Fine with me, I get dibs on the bathroom first thing in the morning… and you know how long I take when it comes to showers!"
The two girls looked at each other and groaned, forgetting about their beautiful friend who happens to like taking two hour showers whenever she has a chance to.
"Oh!" Sakura gasped in realization and turned to her two friends, "Our luggage!"
"Taken care of!" Ino lied on her bed, running her fingers through her long blond hair.
Sakura consciously ran her fingers through her soft rosary hair, "How?" She sat back on her bed.
"While you were off exploring, Miss Dora," Temari laughed at Ino's new nickname for Sakura, "we won a game of paper, scissor, and rock with the boys."
With a nod, Sakura laughed and turned over on her stomach. She glanced over at Temari getting up off her bed and walking to the door. Curious, Sakura asked, "So when will our luggage arrive?"
Temari opened the door after hearing a light knock and stuck her head out. After a moment, she chuckled, "Is that the last of it, boys?"
Surprised on how quick their luggage came, Sakura got up, crossed over to Temari with Ino in the lead and peered around the corner. Temari was grabbing her suitcase from one of the boys. Shikamaru was one of the boys who dropped Ino's two suitcases on the ground. Glaring daggers at him, Ino hauled her luggage into the room.
Sakura bit back a laugh and squeezed through the door. She locked eyes with Shikamaru and winked at him. Averting his eyes away, she reached forward and grabbed the handle to her suitcase and rolled it into the room. Setting it aside, she walked back out and saw Shikamaru walking away.
Reaching out and yanking on his jacket, she pulled him back which only made him trip backwards, "Sorry."
Straightening up, Shikamaru caught his footing and turned his head towards Sakura, "What is it?"
Sakura grinned innocently, "Your room?"
"Oh you didn't hear?" He muttered aloud, and then turned to her to give his full attention, "Our teacher told everyone that the guys will be on the left side of the hall. If a siren goes off, we'd all be close and meet at the designated area of the downstairs lobby."
Sakura cracked a smile, "Yeah, the only siren that would go off is Ino screaming because she saw a bug in the bathtub."
Shikamaru cracked a smile and shook his head at the thought. Sakura tiptoed closer and stood on her toes to whisper something in his ear, "Just a thought, but I think she'll like someone if he offered a bit of kindness?"
She backed away, laughing as she flashed him a wink. He looked away, placing a hand over his face. "Have a good night then. Sweet dreams!"
She turned and only glanced back when she saw his ear burn bright red before she started walking back into her room. Hearing a small 'whatever', Sakura smiled in mischief and closed the door behind her.