Hi everyone! Ok i know that a lot of you want to laughter me 'cause i haven't updated sooner with my other stories. I have been really busy with schoolwork (CAPE aka caribbean Advanced levels are killing me!) and i took part in this fanfic competition on Live Journal - The Underneath the Underneath Challenger hosted by no other than the crafty nimblnymph. Congrats to all winners! And now i present to you my entry - Prisoner of War.
Prisoner Of War
CHAPTER 1:
It started with a bang. The force of the explosion shook the ground underneath the barracks and upsetting every unstable surface in the main camp. The team of Leaf shinobi woke up, startled by the noise and immediately scrambled out of their tents, kunai in hand, only to witness the second round of paper bomb explosions, completely destroying the large farming village, on the north-western border of Fire Country.
For the past two months, the relationship between the Fire daimyo and the feudal lord, who governed the Hidden grass village, was on tender hooks since The Fire country had stopped trading with the small village.
Amidst the entire explosion, newly appointed jonin commander, Shikamaru Nara, rushed outside with his second in command, Neji Hyuga and Head medic, Sakura Haruno at his heels.
"What the hell is going on?" shouted Shikamaru, as he and his subordinates skidded to a halt at the edge of the cliff, over looking the fire-ridden agricultural land. Screams billowed upwards towards them and Shikamaru's mouth fell open in shock, dropping his partially lit cigarette.
Sakura gasped and pressed her fist to her mouth; her viridian eyes reflected the fire's resilience. Neji's clairvoyant eyes widened in shock and he immediately activated his Byakugan. Shikamaru turned towards him and asked him, "Neji how extensive is the damage?"
"Over 200 square miles," he responded.
Shikamaru shouted to the rest of the eight man squad, mainly comprised of the original Konoha 11 to do some damage control in the valley below. They had been placed on the border, by the Rokudaime Hokage to keep an extra eye out for the enemy. They had all been anticipating this, but the Hidden Grass Village had the jonin of Konoha off guard.
"Shikamaru, do you want me to go down there as well," asked Sakura. She knew there was slim chance that there were any survivors, but it was her job to ensure that the injured were heeled. After all the war was between two obnoxious leaders, whose only main concern was their respective economies and these poor people were right in the middle of an ongoing war.
Shikamaru was about to answer her when a team of ANBU operatives appeared in front of them; their leader was wielding a pair of blood stained katanas and the rest of the team holding what looked like a corpse, wrapped in white bed linen.
"Commander Nara, we have bad news," started the ANBU leader, wearing the cat mask.
"What the hell is going on?" Shikamaru repeated, dumbfounded by the sudden appearance of the shinobi elites. "I thought the Hokage gave you a recon mission in the Hidden Grass Village. You were supposed to report back to the Hokage on your findings since yesterday!" shouted Shikamaru angrily.
"We couldn't respond to the honorable Hokage immediately Commander Nara," responded the leader, the blood from his blades now dripping on the grass. "We were ambushed by the Jonin of the Grass Village and we were forced to fight."
"Are you trying to tell us that that bombing was a result of your screw up?" Sakura yelled over the loud crackling noises the fire was making below.
"In essence, yes."
"What the hell do you mean by that?" Shikamaru shouted at them. "And whose blood is that on you swords?" It was then the sheet was lifted and the corpse's face was revealed. It was the son of the feudal lord of the Hidden Grass Village.
"Oh no," whispered Sakura as Shikamaru cursed and pulled at his hair in madness.
Sakura reached forward and kneeled next to the young boy before her. She pressed her fingers to his wrist to confirm that he was in fact dead for a while now, since his skin felt like ice against hers.
"He's dead, guys," she said aloud.
"We didn't mean to kill him," said another ANBU operative wearing the raccoon mask. "He attacked our leader using some unknown ninjutsu and we needed to protect ourselves. And you should also see this," he added while he flung a mask just like the one he was wearing on the ground next to its owner.
"He was ANBU?" asked Shikamaru and he knelt next to Sakura as she rolled up his left sleeve to expose the black tattoo.
"There's your answer, Shika," replied Sakura dryly.
Shikamaru rubbed his hands over his face. They were all in deep trouble now; the Feudal Lord would probably be out for blood now and it was essential that the Hokage and the Fire Daimyo be informed immediately. He stood and directed his words to the team of elite shinobi in front of him.
"You three are to warn the Fire Daimyo and protect him with your lives. We will send support as soon as possible. The rest of you will send word to the Hokage and tell him that we need reinforcements on the Border pronto."
"What are we supposed to tell them about the situation, Commander?" asked the ANBU leader.
"Shikamaru, you need to see this," called Neji. The Hyuga prodigy was standing close to edge of the cliff, with his Byakugan eyes focused on something in the horizon.
"What's wrong, Neji?" asked Shikamaru as he and Sakura hastened to his side.
The bulging veins around his eyes vanished and Neji frowned. "The enemy has infiltrated the border. They are advancing towards the Hidden Leaf Village."
Shikamaru groaned. "Change of plan then. Those of you, who can reach the Hokage the fastest, give him the red alert. Tell him to send any available jonin and chunin immediately. Tell him we are at war!"
The ANBU team nodded and disappeared just as suddenly as they had arrived. Shikamaru, Neji and Sakura stood side by side over looking the destruction before them.
"Shikamaru, what are we going to do now?" asked Sakura boldly. "We have to do something!"
"We are Sakura. Neji go to the left and gather as much of our comrades as possible and assemble 2 miles away from the border. Sakura, you do the same from the right. I'll do the same from the centre. We'll all congregate and try to head them off. We cannot allow them to reach any closer!"
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Sakura had started moving obliquely to the others and took a route closest to the housing development where most of her teammates would carry any survivors to seek refuge. This part of the area was known for its thick forest and the smoke of the nearby bush fire made the air hazy. The pink haired ninja continued running in one direction until she was met with a dead end.
"What the hell is going on?" she said aloud. She paused and drew a kunai from her pocket just as she heard a scream to her left. She deviated from the path only to find a totally bloodied Genma Shiranui, tied to the trunk of a tree in the middle of the clearing. Sakura ran towards him screaming, "Genma, what the hell happened to you?"
His eyes fluttered open weakly and he started when he saw her. "No Sakura, it's a trap!"
But no sooner had the whispered words left his mouth, Sakura felt a burning sensation across her back like a whip, and like a marionette whose strings were cut she fell; her usually lively green eyes staring blankly into space. And the last thing she saw was glinting metal of Grass shinobi's headband.
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Kakashi Hatake woke up with a start. Sweat ran down every inch of his bare torso; his knuckles starkly white as he clutched at his sheets breathing heavily. It was obvious that he had a nightmare, but it wasn't like his usual ones. This one wasn't about his father of about Obito. Instead it was marred by the image of a pink-haired woman dying by the hands of the enemy during a shinobi cold war.
His pink-haired woman. His Sakura. The same Sakura who had been invading is thoughts ever since she had turned eighteen. The same Sakura who had been sharing his bed for the past six months, in secret; a secret that no one knew, not even the Rokudaime Hokage himself, even though Kakashi and Sakura trusted Naruto with their lives.
Kakashi slid off of his duvet and headed to his bathroom, where he promptly splashed some sold water onto his pale face. He stared at himself in the mirror and chuckled to himself. He had been so paranoid ever since Naruto called her name when he announced the eight-man squad to be stationed close to border to monitor the Hidden Grass Village's activities. She had promised him that she would keep herself safe and she would come back in one piece. After all it was just supposed to be a reconnaissance mission.
The alarm clock chimed to indicate that it was 2 am. Kakashi rubbed his eyes and traipsed lazily back to his bed, where he immediately dropped onto it and sighed. He would ask Naruto if he had heard anything from the barracks. But for the time being he settled for thinking about his lover and the last time they were together.
Her scent of vanilla, her soft skin, her soft lips panting for more…
Knock, knock!
Kakashi snorted in his sleep and sat up at the noise. He was barely asleep for 30 minutes and already someone was knocking at his front door. Grumbling about how early it was, he pulled his mask over is lower face and stalked to his front door in half-asleep.
The front door flung open to reveal ANBU black ops wearing a panther mask. "Kakashi Hatake, the Hokage as requested your immediate presence in his office." And without waiting for a reply, he disappeared leaving Kakashi totally mystified.
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When he entered the Hokage office, he noticed that every available jonin and chunin from the village was all gathered in the office. Noticing that Kakashi had finally arrived, Naruto addressed the crowd of elite leaf shinobi.
"I'm sorry to wake you all, but I have some bad news. The Hidden Grass Village has declared war on Konoha and by extension, the Fire Country."
"Hokage-sama, what as brought this on?" asked Izumo.
"I have received word from Shikamaru Nara that the team of ANBU who were sent behind enemy lines, were engaged in battle with Grass shinobi and had killed the son of the feudal lord, unknowing of his status.
"You have got to be freaking kidding me!" exclaimed Shizune, while others muttered in agreement.
Naruto held up his hand to silence his ninja army and continued, "I am afraid that it is much serious than that. Shikamaru and his team tried to prevent them from infiltrating the border, but their efforts were futile. One amongst their ranks were taken hostage and this letter," he waved a piece of parchment, "was sent to me from the opposing jonin commander." He read from the paper, "Rokudaime Hokage, you should not have interfered with my business with your Fire Daimyo. Since the feudal lord's son was murdered by your men, then it is only fitting that we trade his life with one amongst your ranks. She was taken hostage by my men this afternoon, and she will be assassinated tomorrow at daybreak in the presence of our feudal lord."
Silence enveloped the room and suddenly Kakashi started to cold sweat. He said 'she' but the question that burned his throat refused to come out.
"Hokage-sama, who is the hostage?" asked Kurenai, tentatively.
"It's Sakura," he whispered in return and gasps of horror echoed around the office. And as for Kakashi, he felt as though a ton of bricks had suddenly fallen from the sky and clonked him on his head.