Transcendence

by RisuBento

Transcending into a divine entity was never on her to do list, but when the darkness threatens to take away all that she hold's dear, is she will to change herself and fight or continue to be the weak, forgotten princess she'd always been? With the close aid of a tall, dark, and handsome shinobi…she may just take a leap of faith into the unknown. AU

Transcendence

By RisuBento

Disclaimer: plot is mine.

Rating subject to change!

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It was nearly a decade before I was allowed to open the window of my prison. It wasn't so much as a prison but a tower with no door—well there was a trapdoor on the floor, which I wasn't allowed out of-hidden away deep in the mountains. Some probably called me "Rapunzel" like that girl from the fairytale with the really long hair, but by no means did I have THAT long of hair. It sat at the middle of my back and that's where my grandmother wishes to keep it.

But enough about my hair. I'd been stuck in this tower for nearly my entire life. The door to get out had been sealed away, not allowing me to run away and live a normal life. Why am I in this predicament you ask? Well…

The day I was born, from what Kaede had told me, I was begot a gift of formidable power by a powerful sorceress named Kaguya. She was from the moon. When I'd first heard the story of the Moon Kingdom I laughed. How could someone live on the moon? It was a ridiculous thought but the more I read the stories and histories I'd soon come to realize that this Kaguya and her supposed Moon Kingdom was in fact real. And I had been given the greatest honor any mortal could receive—The Will of Light.

My grandmother explained to me that the Will of Light was seen as powerful white magic that gave its user the ability to heal and bring life to all that was around that person. And so…that was the reason I was imprisoned in the tower in the middle of the densest forest in all of the land. Surrounded by poisonous brambles and the kingdom of my mother's best shinobi on duty, there was no breeching those perilous vines. It was funny. I didn't feel powerful. I didn't know if it was even a true thing that I had powers they say that I had, or if this was cruel joke that someone felt the need to get a few laughs out of.

Apparently, there had been attempts at kidnapping me when I was a tiny babe. There were those from surrounding kingdoms that wanted my powers. For good or for bad, no one knew. After the last attempt, when I was 5 years old, my mother decided with a heavy heart that it was best for me to be hidden away.

At first, when I was old enough to understand from my grandmother, just why I was stuck in a magnificent desolate tower, I had been furious. How could my mother have thrown me away like that? Didn't she love me enough to protect me herself? There had been a time that I actually hated the woman who'd given life to me. She'd send me letters by hawk and small presents for my birthdays but I was too stubborn and too furious with her to even open them and I would throw them in a trunk in the back of my wardrobe and forget about them.

It wasn't until I was sixteen years old that I finally decided to stop being a prude and open them and read them. What could it have hurt? I was nervous when I'd opened the first letter. As I read the solid gold, beautiful cursive on the paper, I began to cry. This woman…she truly loved me. She was sorry…every letter she was apologizing and she said how much she hated herself for hiding her only child away. I'd begun to understand just why she did what she did. She'd said that it was a gift from the gods that I had received these powers only they hadn't realized that there was no possible protection from those of this world, when the mortal world itself wasn't capable of holding a powerful being such as myself. She hadn't foreseen the dangers of having what other's saw as a powerful weapon in her kingdom and so she had made the ultimate decision and that was to hide me away so no one would take me. It was funny. I didn't feel powerful. I didn't know if it was even a true thing that I had powers they say that I had, or if this was cruel joke that someone felt the need to get a few laughs out of.

When I had wiped my face of my sobbed tears, I'd opened the gifts—sixteen in total, one for each birthday. The first ten were small hairpins and beautifully embroidered handkerchiefs—I'd never seen such exquisite stitching before—and the last five were beautiful brooches and bracelet pendants. They were beautifully crafted, sterling silver cherry blossoms with diamonds glinted back at me from the center. The final present that came to my on my sixteenth birthday was larger than the others. The solid white barn owl had swooped into the tower through the window—the first time the window had been open in well over ten years—and dropped the neatly wrapped brown paper parcel upon my bed and continued on its way out the window. I'd lunged from my embroidering chair and tore the parcel open. Inside that was a small note and a wooden engraved box.

The letter was written quickly, I could tell, and was very short.

'My dearest cherry blossom,

When you receive this I may no longer by alive. Inside the box is the treasure of the Leaf kingdom. Guard it well, my darling.

Darkness is coming. Trust no one.

I love you, Sakura.

Mother.'

Needless to say I was stunned. Dead? My mother was possibly dead? What had happened? Why did I have to be damned to this tower when my mother needed me most? I knew my mother was a strong woman—grandmother had told me stories of my mother's inhuman strengths. She had the ability to create earthquakes and smash mountains with just a swing of her fist. Grandmother had also told me that my mother was prolific healer as well. Imagine, the ability to destroy and save all in one fist. I'd always wondered if I'd inherited those traits from her as well, yet I'd never been allowed to test out my theories in fear of relinquishing my location.

I'd noticed that my breathing was short and I was shaking as I'd pried the box open. I gasped at the sight. Sitting on a royal purple colored bed of satin, was the most gorgeous necklace I'd ever laid my eyes on. The silver chain was long and at the end rested what looked to be the largest diamond I'd ever seen. It was the size of a small plum and it was inlaid in intricate carvings of sapphires and rubies.

What was I supposed to do with this? This was the great treasure of the Leaf kingdom? Why did she give this to me? What did it do? I shook my head. It must be extremely expensive and my mother probably wanted to hide it from someone who wanted to steal it. That was probably it. For the first time in my life I felt useful. My mother, the Queen of the greatest kingdom, had bestowed upon me the task of keeping this precious trinket safe. I felt like I couldn't tell anyone. Not even my grandmother who was due to return from getting food any moment. I quickly placed the necklace back into the box along with the note and tucked it away in the back of wardrobe along with the rest of the letters and gifts from my mother and went back to my embroidering table. When my grandmother returned I had acted as if nothing had happened. I knew that the woman I called grandmother was indeed not my grandmother by blood. She was the wisest and most tenured aid to my mother and was entrusted with raising, protecting, and educating me. To have my mother say that I could trust no one was something truly hard for me to grasp.

How could a sweet old woman, such as Kaede, with her soft wrinkles, kind eyes, and bright smile, be someone I had to be wary of? Kaede was the only person I'd ever known my whole life, from what I remember, and to even think that I couldn't trust this lovely old woman, at the heed of my mother's words, was difficult. I found it difficult and soon I'd forgotten what my mother had written and continued to love and trust the woman who gave her life to keep my safe.

How foolish I was.

Fast forward to the present. It was my twenty-first birthday and I was disappointed once again to not have a present or even a letter sent from my mother and yet after five years of not receiving any after my sixteenth birthday I knew there was certainly something wrong with my mother and our kingdom.

It had started as a bright and sunny day, the 28th of March was always burdened with either spring rains or warm sun. It didn't matter to me whichever the weather decided with, although I secretly loved the smell of spring rain, it was nevertheless sunny and surprisingly warm. I could see beyond the darkness of the brambles surrounding the tower, the haze of pink of the cherry trees blossoming. Sometimes, if the wind was strong enough, their scent would carry to my window and I would inhale deeply at Mother Nature's wonderful smells. I liked to think that She was blessing me for my birthday.

I was doing my usual tasks of schooling and then embroidering and when I knew Kaede would be gone for only a half hour longer, I'd dug out the box I'd not dared to open in five years. I sat down on my bed and cracked the lid open. The diamond, in its brilliance, still shone its prisms splendidly in the sunlight. It was beautiful. I had forced myself to not think upon it, because I was afraid of doing exactly what I was doing now. I stood before my mirror and slipped the necklace over my head and rested the jewel between my breasts. I frowned. It would look much more grand if my breasts were bigger but alas…that was beside the point. It looked wonderful on me and I twirled this way and that to get a better angle of it, holding my hair up and away from my face. I was too engrossed with looking at it that I hadn't heard the trap door unlatch and open, and with Kaede gasping behind me I jumped and whirled around.

"Sakura! What on earth are you-oh my!" She had been about to scold me for twirling around in a 'most unlady-like' manner only to stop when her eyes met the diamond hanging from my neck. I gasped and clasped the jewel out of sight into my hand and backed away.

"Where…did you get that?" She asked, after a moment. I swallowed. I didn't know if I could tell her. She had such a calm look on her face, her bags of food forgotten next to her on the floor. As usual, I was always taught never to lie and so before I could stop my running mouth, I spoke.

"It was gift from my mother…for my sixteenth birthday." I said quietly, clenching my fist tighter around it. Kaede stared at my fist and then slowly looked up at me and her calm face contorted into a maniacal grin. She let out an equally maniacal cackle that erupted into a full-blown screeching howl of laughter. It sent chills racing across my body and I could feel a cold sweat coat my skin.

"Oh my god! All these YEARS! It's been right under my nose the whole time!" Kaede continued to laugh. She took a step closer to me.

"Kaede-baachan? What's wrong with you? You're beginning to frighten me." I spoke while taking a step back, my back hitting my full-length mirror. Kaede sneered at me.

"Foolish girl. I am NOT your grandmother. I was tasked by your silly mother to protect you, not even realizing that she was sending you right into the enemies clutches." Kaede sneered at me, her teeth shone in the sunlight, glinting.

"What?" I asked. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Hand over the jewel, little princess and I might just not kill you. You are, after all, nothing without that pendant."

What?! But she…

"Ne, Kaede…you're not serious are you?" My mother was DEFINITELY right. But then again it wasn't my fault for trusting Kaede. She was the one who pretty much raised me! She was the only person I'd know for at least sixteen years of my life!

"Oh, little birdy, I am very serious. Do you have any idea how long my people have been searching for that amulet? Do you even know what power it holds?" She asked, walking towards me.

I gasped and moved to my left, only to trip on my dress hem and I tumbled to the floor. She was on me the next second, her nails scratching my skin, drawing blood; trying to pry the diamond from my closed fist. I was terrified of this woman fighting me. She was hissing and snarling curse words as she attacked. She wasn't the sweet, patient Kaede I'd grown to love as my own grandmother over the course of my life. And what did she mean by 'power'? Just what was this jewel?

I was slapped across the face and I saw stars and out of reflex, something I'd never experienced before in my life, I flung my hand up and slapped her back. Kaede let out a small shriek as my hand made its mark, with a burst of blue light emitting from my palm, and her head jerked to the side and I was greeted with a sickening snapping sound. I gasped when the old woman slumped on top of me, not moving.

"K-Kaede-baachan?" I asked, trying to move her off of me. I didn't know what had come over me. What was that light? I didn't know that I had it in me to slap someone so hard, or even to slap someone at all. Kaede still wasn't moving and I finally pried her weight off me, enough for me to slip out from under her. She was motionless, her body slumping further onto the floor.

"Kaede!" I nudged her with my hands and she shifted under my push but she made no moves herself. Then it dawned on me. I reached forward with trembling hands, remembering the medical books I had read over the years, and pressed on her neck looking for a pulse.

"Oh…oh my god. I…" Kaede was dead. I looked down at her in great fear; the cold sweat on my body was amplified and was running down my face. I had killed someone. I had killed a person. This wasn't some random spider I'd found crawling across the floor this was a human being. I took someone's life. What kind of monster was I!?

I looked down at her face; her mouth was open as if in mid-scream and her eyes were open and glazed over, staring at nothing.

I felt my breakfast beginning to return and I lunged away from her in time to empty my stomach onto the floor. I wiped my mouth with a curtain next to me and I was tempted to look back at Kaede but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I began to cry. I couldn't believe it. How quickly things went downhill. What was I to do now? There wasn't anyone around for miles. The only thing I could think of was to send a carrier bird to one of the shinobi guardsmen, but…then they would probably question as to why I'd killed her. I would be tried as a criminal! Who would believe me if I had told them it was in self-defense—I couldn't bring myself to even believe that it was in self-defense. I wasn't even positive that she was trying to kill me even though she'd practically said she would if didn't hand over the jewel.

I looked down at the sparkly rock and held it up in my hands. What is this thing? Kaede said there was some kind of power within it. Is that what she was after? And how did my mother not know that Kaede wasn't who she said she was? My mother had been betrayed and if I had any knowledge of this when I had received the necklace five years ago, maybe I could have done something. I didn't even know if my mother was alive or dead.

I wiped by face and glanced back at Kaede, who was still motionless. What now? I couldn't leave. I didn't know the first thing about living on my own, Kaede had made sure that I had been dutifully taken care of as the princess of the Leaf Kingdom. I glanced towards where Kaede had always locked the trap door leading out of the tower and felt a jolt run through my body. She had left it open! Maybe…maybe I could leave…but where would I go? And how would get through the miles of surrounding poisonous brambles? I would surely die before I'd even get a mile in. I sighed and choked on my own breath.

Amidst my pondering, an acrid smell caught my attention that I had only smelled during lighting of candles. A burning smell. I glanced around and looked at the numerous candles littered around the room. None of them were lit. Where is that smell coming from? A sudden boom sounded and the tower shook from the tremors. What in the high heavens was that? I stood and ventured to the largest window in the tower and glanced out and gasped.

Everywhere I looked, the miles and miles of brambles were alit with flames. Fireballs were being cannoned into the deadly vegetation from an unknown source. What was causing this?! Who was causing this? If what happened to Kaede betraying me moments before had any relation to what was happening now, I knew it wasn't good for me. I should have heeded my mother's words sooner:

"Darkness is coming. Trust no one."

Is this what she was talking about? Were there terrible people after this necklace?

I needed to get out of here. If I didn't try and leave now, the tower would possibly be consumed by fire or I would die from the clouds of smoke wafting towards me. But…I was frightened. I never had to think for myself before. Where was I to go? Surely there was a village or city within walking distance. How else did Kaede get food and supplies on weekly basis?

Just as I stepped towards my wardrobe to grab a travelling satchel, a fireball struck the side of the tower, sending convulsing tremors and flames exploding into the room. I was launched forward and I hit my head on the bedpost. I saw stars and raised a hand to my forehead, finding blood on my hand as I pulled it back. I looked to my right as my vision grew clear again and saw that the curtains had caught fire. I felt panic begin to bubble in my belly. I had to leave now or risk going down with the tower and its entirety. I moved to stand again and wobbled a bit on my feet before making it to my wardrobe. I grabbed my satchel and tossed the necklace on the bottom before throwing in a spare dress and shoes and my favorite book. It was a tale of great adventures and love and everything I had always hoped to experience myself one day. I had read it through so many times I'd lost count. I couldn't part with it. I wrenched open the lid of the trunk that held the gifts from my mother and emptied them into the bag as well.

Just as I reached for my cloak, another explosion rained its fury upon the tower and the roof caved in. I screamed and dove into the wardrobe. I had almost made it entirely, but a beam that was ablaze with fire, caught my leg, singeing through my dress and scalding my leg. I cried out at the furious pain and whimpered as I huddle within the wardrobe. I could smell my flesh burning and I felt light headed. I'd never felt such pain before and I knew that I was going to die here. The room was completely on fire; I couldn't even see Kaede's body any longer. The smoke was suffocating, making my lungs feel full and hot and on fire. I coughed and wheezed. There was no way out.

"I'm sorry mother…" I cried to myself, curling my body together, the pain in my leg screaming. I closed my eyes and welcomed my premature death only to suddenly be yanked by the arm by an unknown force. I shrieked at the burnt skin on my leg and looked up.

A hooded figure, someone with dark hair and the palest skin I'd ever see stood before me, the flames of the room licking at our feet. They held a strong arm around my waist and my hands were upon their chest to steady myself. The fire in the room caused shadows across this person face and I was unable to see anything except their mouth. I had no time to process anything else, as this person suddenly pulled my closer to him, my satchel crushed in between us. We were suddenly on the ledge of the main window of the tower overlooking the burning fields below. I looked up at this person. The trap door of the room had no doubt been buried beneath the tower's roof and I came to the crashing, horrifying conclusion that this person planned on jumping.

"You're insane!" I shrieked. "We're over a hundred feet from the ground. You'll kill us both!"

This person looked down at me, the shadows still casted across their face. I saw them grimace and shake their head.

"Fucking annoying…we're not going to die. Hold on tight." They said—who turned out to be a man judging by the deep, melodic voice. I wasn't given another chance to protest as he took that moment to take the deadly leap from the ledge. I latched my arms tight around his neck, probably strangling him and screamed my throat raw. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't see us hit the ground.

This person was insane! There's no humanly possibly way anyone could survive a fall like this! I'd rather die from too much smoke inhalation, then to have my body rupture itself at all joints, on impact. I felt the smoky air whooshing around us and I waited for the hit—only to realize moments later that we weren't moving. I whimpered into this strange man's chest, it was the only thing my raw throat could muster at the moment.

"See? Not dead." Came the response to my eternal burning question. I cracked my eyes open and gasped. We had landed! Somehow we were still in one piece! How in the world—

"Let's go, princess." The man spoke turning away and crouching down. I felt my heart in my throat at the title he had called me. How did he know who I was? Did he work with Kaede? I shouldn't trust this man. I didn't know him! He could be after the necklace as well!

He could sense my hesitation and he shifted his cloaked head to look over his shoulder, his ebony hair covering his face, his mouth the only thing visible.

"Either you get on so I can get you out of here, or you can die here in this burning forest. Your choice." He spoke heatedly. I swallowed. He was right. I shouldn't be questioning this. I certainly didn't want to die and he seemed to be valiant enough to tread into a burning landscape to rescue a pathetic girl like me. Maybe he wasn't a bad person. Maybe I could trust him.

I threw my satchel over my back and climbed onto his back and with a startling jerk, he took off running as if I weighed absolutely nothing. I'd never been around a man before. Heavens, I'd never even SEEN a man before, at least from any that I could remember. Only my stories of charming princes and medical books did I know OF men. I laced my arms around his neck, not too tightly so I wouldn't choke him, and notice how broad and much more expansive his shoulders were compared to my small structure. Were all men built this way? The human anatomy in the medical books I'd read had gone into great detail of the male structure. Surely he was in capable athletic condition if he was able to carry me and run as if I was nothing more than a sack filled with feathers.

"Close your eyes." He called over his shoulder, as he darted into the burning bramble. I didn't question him and I shut my eyes, pushing my face into his back. I could hear the brambles splitting and crackling violently from the fire and the heat they gave off was blistering; making me sweat. He was darting to and fro, dodging blocked paths, and taking giant leaps to avoiding the burning waste that rested itself on the ground.

I wanted to open my eyes so badly to see the carnage around us and yet I knew that my eyes would probably scramble like eggs from the intense heat. It was so daring of me to put my absolute trust in this stranger. For all I knew he could be leading me to my demise—which seemed to almost happen quite a lot in these past moments—and I was allowing him to do so. But I had to admit, he was correct that I would die if I had stayed in the tower.

I could still feel the aching burn on my leg and I knew that I would have to bandage it soon to prevent infection. How long would it be until we were in safety's hands? Just how large was this forest? After what had to have been a half an hour I heard him curse, I opened my eyes and immediately squinted from the smoke and heat. Ahead of us was a group of masked men, weapons at the ready, waiting for this man and possibly me. How was it that they were able to withstand the heat and smoke? Was it their animal faced masks? Did those masks somehow block out the acrid smoke?

I was suddenly shifted off the man's back, his hands dropping from my thighs, and I slumped to my feet. My damaged leg gave out and I dropped with a cry into a heap. I looked up at the men and then at my savior.

"Hand over the princess, Kage. There's no escaping from us." One of the men shouted above the roaring fires, pointing menacingly at the man guarding me. "She has something precious that we need."

This man, Kage, shifted slightly and withdrew a large katana from his back, which I hadn't even noticed before. He held his sword before him in a defense stance. There was no way this man was able to take on twelve men. He was going to die if he tried!

"No! You'll die if you attack them!" I gasped, my voice hoarse from the smoke.

"Awww would you look at that, Kage. The little princess wants to protect you! But," One of the men, he had a wolf face painted on his mask, laughed, before also drawing a katana, "She's right about us killing you. You don't stand a chance against us. So hurry up and hand her—GRAAAAGH!"

In, literally, the blink of an eye the wolf masked man slumped to the ground, blooding spewing from his split neck. I gasped as the quickness. I couldn't see what was happening, my dark haired savior was faster than I could register. Each of the men dropped one by one; one had been decapitated entirely and two fell with their innards spilling out on the ground. The rest were slewed quicker than the rest, their blood also spurting forth from their necks. I felt my stomach revolt again. I watched, as this Kage appeared before me again, pausing to shake the men's blood from his blade in a quick swing before sheathing it once again. He didn't waste a moment and gathered me into his arms before taking off at a break neck speed once again.

I didn't know what to say. There were no words for what I had just witnessed. I had never seen another person's death before. Well…unlike Kaede but I had never known death like I did now. It was awful and gruesome and I never wished to see it again. It was horrible and no one should have to suffer a fate such as the one dealt to those moments ago.

I looked up at Kage and wondered if killing others bothered him. It didn't seem so. From the stern set of this mouth, death wasn't new to him and I couldn't help but shudder at the thought of how many people this mysterious man has actually killed before. What have I gotten myself into?

As if he felt my quaking shudder, he glanced down at me with a continuous hooded façade and spoke.

"Don't worry, princess. We're almost out of this hell." He seemed so sure. I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure we were ever going to escape this burning inferno. It was as if I was living the most realistic dream and I was going to wake up at any moment and I would be in my tower with Kaede, safe and sound.

I noticed that the smoke and flames were growing thinner and sunlight was filtering more prominently through the trees above us. Perhaps we were finally reaching the end of this perilous escape. I glanced over my shoulder ahead of us and I saw a bright light. It must be the edge of the smoldering forest. Sunlight! I couldn't wait to feel the sunlight warming my skin, if only even for a moment. Just a few more leaps and we'd be there!

My hopes were dashed sooner than I had hoped as we broke through the brambles and teetered at the edge of a spiny cliff. I screamed and threw my arms around his neck, burying my face into his smoky smelling clothes.

"Shit." I heard his grumble. I glanced up at him before looking back over my shoulder and over the cliff.

"There's no where to go!" I yelled my voice attempting to carry over what I was sure was the roaring a grand waterfall near us. He set me down and I latched onto his arm in fright. One false move and I would slip and fall to my death. He was looking to his left and right, as if contemplating his next move. He stopped and took a deep breath and I noticed briefly that he wasn't even panting. After that run and fighting, how was he not even tired? Was he even human?

He looked down at me and then at my arms clutching his arm. He seemed to want to yank his arm away from me but I held steadfast. As if I'd let go of this crazy person, who happened to save me from certain death numerous times, now.

"Ready for another jump?" He asked, his deep voice rumbling close to my face. My eyes flew open and I stared at the hooded face I'd yet to even truly see.

"Are you nuts?!" I yelled.

"No. It's the only way. There's bound to be more ANBU on our trail. It's either stay here and get dead or jump and hope there isn't rocks sticking out of water at the bottom." He said.

My eyes were probably bugging out of my head at this point and I'm surprised I wasn't laughing like an insane person by now. This had to be some sick joke. There's no way I was going to jump off a damn bloody cliff and hope for the best! As if! His voice broke my thoughts.

"Will you trust me?"

I was taken aback for a moment. It wasn't a "do" you trust me, like I was supposed to trust him from the get go. It was almost like he was asking my permission for me to trust him. It was startling and I questioned it. I had no reason to not trust this man. He had entered Hell to save me and had carried me through it without any question. He had never given me a moment to where I couldn't trust him. And, certainly, if he had ill intentions towards me he would have left me for dead in the tower or even with those ANBU—is that what he called them?—people. He could have even chosen to take my necklace and thrown me off the cliff. But no. He was asking if I would trust and with all that had happened so far…

"Yes. Yes, I'll trust you." I said. There was no other choice. He didn't waste a moment. He nodded and he took hold of my hand. I gripped his hand in a bone breaking crush, I would not let go now and he stepped back a few paces. I mirrored him and then before letting me know, he ran forward, dragging me with him, and jumped. And then we were falling. I couldn't hold back my screaming as we fell into the thick cloud cover, obscuring whatever lay below.

It felt like any eternity, falling and not knowing what awaited us at the bottom and my screams had gone hoarse as the last of my throats strength left me. Suddenly, like an explosion, we had submerged into freezing water. Out of reflex I gasped and water flooded into my lungs, causing them to burn. Here I was, in another death trap, with no sense of direction and I had become separated from Kage. I flailed my arms and legs, I didn't even know how to swim—how could I when I lived in that stupid tower my entire life!?—and hoped to any god watching over me that I was kicking my legs in the right direction. So much water was entering my lungs and stomach, I was certain I was going to sink to bottom completely waterlogged. If not death by a tower collapsing, or by fire, then clearly some god was laughing at me and I was going to die from drowning. And let me tell you—it was a terrible way to go.

I was growing weak and my arms and legs hand no energy left to kick when my cloak was grasped by the back of my neck and I was begin pulled upwards. I broke the surface and took in the greatest, most luxurious gasp of air I'd ever received in my entire life. And in doing so my body revolted and water was purged from my stomach and lungs in great amounts. An arm was holding me around the waist and I was being dragged towards a sandy bank. When I made land, a body, I was hoping it was Kage, stooped over me from behind, I was on my hands and knees, and he looped his arms around me, his hands making a fist. I was about to question what he was doing when he pulled back his fists into my stomach causing, what normally would be knocking the air out of me, water to lurch itself once again from me. It came out in such large amounts that it escaped my nose and I was having a hard time breathing in between his backward stomach punches.

When I finally felt nothing let within my body, I pried his hands off of me and collapsed onto my back.

"Are you all right?" He asked, crouching down into the shallow water next to me. I cracked open my eyes and saw him, without his hood for the first time. My breath failed me for a moment at the handsome, yet equally waterlogged, man before me. He was beautiful. He had the most wonderful alabaster skin. His hair was deep ebony and his eyes…his eyes were as deep as the onyx stones I used to keep in my jewelry box. It was like I was looking into the sweetest oblivion.

"Are you all right?" He asked again, his hands on either side of my face, brushing and wiping my wet hair from my skin. I broke from my reverie of staring and fluttered my eyelids, ridding my eyes of excess water. I nodded.

"I believe so." I moved to sit up and he put an arm around my back to hold me. I looked around us. We were situated on a sandy bank along a wooded forest. Great, more trees. The cold water of the lake we'd fallen into was the resting place of the roaring waterfall further down from us. I hadn't the slightest idea as to where we were and still taking some deep breaths, and wondering just how horrible I looked, I asked him so.

"It's called the Valley of the End. And I don't think we're being followed any more. I don't sense anyone nearby. We need to get out of the water." He said moving to stand up. He helped me up and I questioned him by what he meant by "sensing" anyone else.

"Don't worry about it. We need to make a fire or you're going to freeze." He responded, sounding snappish. I didn't have the energy to frown at his tone as he steered me towards the beach. He plopped me down and began gathering driftwood littered all over the beach, creating a big pile before me. I watched him, not having any energy to do anything else and was shocked, when he finished piling the wood, as he made some strange symbols with his hands and then flames erupted from his mouth. The pile of dried wood ignited instantly and despite the sudden aversion I had to fire—no surprise there—I gladly welcomed the sudden and wonderful heat.

I was about to ask about how he had done that when I saw him walking away and off into the trees. I wanted to shout at him, to ask him where the hell he was going but my body protested with weakness. I slumped over on my side and closed my eyes. Sleep. I needed sleep. Maybe NOW I would wake up from this nightmare.

0

---

0

It was dark when I awoke. I was still in the position I'd laid down in when I fell asleep and my entire right side ached beyond belief. Actually my entire body ached and I had a migraine creeping itself behind my left eye. I sat up, a yawn eliciting itself from within me and turned to stare at the fire. It still blazed strongly since he'd lit it and I found myself wondering just how long I'd been out. I looked down and noticed that my cloak had been placed over me at some point and it had been dried. I looked up again and swallowed when I found the very man in my thoughts staring at me from over the flame tops.

"How—" My voice croaked. It was completely raw from all my screaming, and from the continuous smoke inhalation. I tried again.

"How long have I been asleep?"

He was seated on what looked like a beached log of driftwood, his elbows resting on his knees. He was playing with a leaf in his fingers. He eyed me for a moment, without speaking, and then tossed the leaf into the fire. I gulped.

"Almost six hours—"

"Who are you?" I blurted out, unable to hold my tongue. I had to know.

He paused and looked at me again, his obsidian eyes stern and yet so expressive at the same time. He was contemplating his answer, which made me uncomfortable. Just who is this man that I had trusted my life to in more ways than I could count? Was he going to reveal an ugly truth? Was he taking me somewhere to die? Is he…going to kill me and then take the pendant?

With that thought I panicked and I began to search with my eyes for my satchel. I hadn't given it a single thought when we had jumped the cliff and hit the water.

"My satchel!" My panic was bursting from me and lifted myself to my knees, lifting my cloak to look under it. "Have you seen my satchel?!"

He gave me a weird look before pointing to my left. I snapped my neck in that direction and saw my red, leather travelling satchel placed where my feet had been while sleeping. I lunged to it and grasped it into my arms, holding onto it for dear life. I hoped nothing had fallen out. Thinking that my mother's gifts to me had somehow been lost to the bottom of the lake created a pit of sheer anxiety in my stomach and I felt sick at the thought. I turned away from Kage and opened the clasp and flipped the flap over and began to draw out the bags contents.

My extra change of dress was soaked and I pulled it out and it hit the sand with a dull flump, before reaching in again and rummaging through the hairpins and brooches from my mother. I let out a relieved breath of air I hadn't even known I was holding and fell onto my backside in elation when my hand grasped the plum sized jewel I'd been seeking. I made sure I was covering my bag from his sight—can never be too careful—and I pulled it out.

It glinted beautifully in the moonlight. Still all together, although damp from the water at the bottom of my bag it was still in good shape. I held it up to my chest and looked at it and it gave off a glowing aura from the moonlight. How lovely. I had to keep this from prying eyes and so I reluctantly wrapped it up in my discarded wet dress and shoved it all back into my bag. I closed the clasp again and turned and my face bumped into something soft. I paused and looked up and found myself staring at a thigh and pant leg. I squeaked.

"What're you hiding?" He asked. I hadn't even heard him move and then he was suddenly behind me. He crouched down before me, his dark eyes and blank face looking at the bag in my arms before glancing up at my face. I swallowed.

"N-nothing." I breathed, hoping he would drop the subject. I moved to slide back away from him—he was too close for comfort, almost leaning over me—only to have my leg drag across the sand and pain shot up my thigh. I hissed and whimpered. I'd forgotten about my burned and lords only knew how it was probably infected now, after being exposed to the lake water.

I moved to lift the hem of my dress but a hand shot out, grasping my wrist to stop me. I gasped and looked up.

"What happened?" He asked, moving my hand out of the way and carefully lifting the hem, revealing my leg. I looked away as I felt my stomach flip. The burn was covering most of my calf and shin, blistering and pus was beginning to leak out from the cracked angry epidermis. I knew it was as bad as I thought it was and he must have thought the same thing from the sharp intake of breath he made.

"What happened?" He asked again, sounding impatient. I tell you this man truly needed to learn manners. And patience. Possibly both.

Now in normal circumstances, I should have protested greatly to a man lifting my dress—as I had been taught, it was considered ungentlemanly for man of no relation to do as this man was doing now—but I found myself entirely not caring for the cool night air did wonders to the burned skin.

"When the tower roof collapsed, a burning beam caught me as I leaped into my wardrobe. I hadn't realized how bad it was until now." My voice kept cracking as I spoke and he shifted to grab something behind him and he moved back with a canteen in his hand.

"Drink." He spoke and I complied taking large gulps, some of it dripping down my chin and absorbing itself into my dress top. I handed the bottle back to him and he immediately started to pour it onto my leg. I hissed at the contact stinging and tried to yank my leg away from him but he held fast to my ankle.

"Need to flush out the sand and other crap that's in there. Do you have any medical supplies with you?" He replied, not looking up at me. He was concentrating on pouring the water slowly over the blisters and raw skin. When I didn't answer, he looked up and hopefully understood my "are you seriously asking me this right now?" face I was giving him. He shook his head and capped the canteen closed when the water was gone.

"Tch. Figures."

I gaped at him. "As if this ENTIRE situation is my fault. Oh yes, I chose to have my home destroyed and I chose to run through a damned burning forest like a crazy woman and YES let's not forget how I decided that it was the grandest idea to jump off a cliff, hoping that I wasn't going to die when I hit the bottom. Excuse me for not thinking to pack a medical kit when I woke up this morning when the only that was on my mind that it's my birthday!" I snapped. Wow. I didn't know where that came from but I kind of liked it. And I had completely forgotten it was my birthday. Some birthday.

His head snapped up and he stared at me obviously startled at my small outburst. I wasn't used to the feeling but I certainly enjoyed relishing in the fact that I startled him. He moved to stand up; leaving my leg exposed to the air and crossed his arms, his figure towering over me.

"Hn." He said, more like grunted, at me. I frowned and watched him move back towards the fire and he threw his hooded cloak on and then strapped his impressive katana over his back. Wait. Was he leaving?

"Hey! Are you leaving me?" I asked, moving to stand. He appeared in front of me in the blink of an eye and grabbed my elbow when my bad leg gave out. I stood up straight and wrenched my arm out of his strong grip. Goodness. I can say that I didn't know I had it in me to act this way towards someone. Granted, I'd never been around anyone but Kaede for the greater part of my life. Ugh. I'm going in circles. I felt my stomach sour at the thought of Kaede…and how I killed her. He was looking at me strangely, probably at the amount of emotions running a million miles per hour across my face. He must think I'm bipolar.

"No. WE are leaving." He paused, taking in the look on my not-so guarded facial expression, as unwanted tears gathered in my eyes. "What's wrong?"

I looked up at him and then slumped my head down, putting my face into the palms of my hands.

"I killed her." I said. I don't why I was telling him this. I shouldn't tell anyone this. I could be arrested. But I couldn't help it. Kaede's unmoving form and frozen death face was constantly showing itself across my mind. She'd always told me that it was better to talk about how you feel than to keep it bottled up, or, she said, every worry would give me wrinkles.

"What?" He asked.

I sighed. "I don't know why I'm telling you this. I don't want to get into trouble." I said, hesitating before I continued. I glanced at him, wiping my tears and saw that he looked annoyed and impatient.

"Kaede. I killed my personal maid. Just before you showed up, she was returning with food and supplies for the week and she caught me—" I stopped slightly. I couldn't tell him about the diamond. "—Twirling around in my dress in an unlady-like manner (good lord I am a terrible liar) and she grew angry with me."

He was looking at me with no expression his face. Not even the annoyed one he was wearing earlier. Good heavens…he must think me an idiot. I SOUNDED like an idiot. I had to come up with something more plausible and believable.

"I was trying on one of her hairpins (lie) and she didn't like that. So she attacked me." I finished. That was so terrible. Hopefully he bought it. He looked like he didn't. Then again I couldn't tell what he was thinking at all. He was standing so close and looking so…so…not amused?

I shook my head and took a step back. "It's nothing. Forget I said anything. Don't tell anyone please." I pleaded to him, praying that he was nice enough of a man to consider this dire request from a woman—a princess for that matter.

"How did you kill her?" He suddenly asked after a moment of silence. He seemed annoyed—again—at having to talk to me. Didn't he hear what I said? I didn't want to elaborate. But then, he probably wouldn't let this go either and I definitely wanted to get this off my chest. I cleared my throat and crossed my arms, shifting my body weight to my good leg.

"She attacked me and was scratching at me (I glanced down at my hands, having completely forgotten about that part and noticed horrible raw claw marks on the tops of them. Thankfully they didn't look infected.), to get her hairpin back. She turned into this feral beast. I was frightened of her. She slapped me across the face and out of reflex I slapped her back." I decided not to mention anything about the blue light that emitted from my hand. I didn't even understand what that was, so how could he understand it? Best to keep the story simple. But deep down, I knew it wasn't so simple. I glanced at my satchel, knowing full well how dangerous it was to be carrying around such a hidden treasure. I don't know how or why I was entrusted to such a job of protection, but my mother must have had her reasons and for her…for her I would do anything to make sure the diamond never fell into the wrong hands.

I cleared my throat again; I could feel his vexation growing at how much I was pausing. I continued.

"When I slapped her back, her neck snapped." I finished. Might as just tell it bluntly.

"Her neck? You snapped her neck with one hand?" He asked, looking at me with a deadpanned look on his face. I sighed and turned away slightly. I couldn't explain it to myself either! I know that I didn't imagine the blue light enveloping my hand when I'd struck her but I also knew that I couldn't just tell him these things either. He, more than likely, already thought I was nuts.

"I can't explain something I don't understand myself." That was the truth and he'd have to live with that, at least until I could figure out how I did what I did.

He continued to stare at me for a moment, and I grew uncomfortable, before he turned away. I watched him douse the fire with another water canteen before grabbing a side bag I hadn't noticed before. He turned back to me.

"We're leaving." He said again, moving to head into the dark tree line of the forest. I panicked. Wait what?!

"Hey wait!" I called, racing to throw my cloak on and putting my satchel onto my back. I limped quickly towards where he'd entered the trees and paused. I couldn't see anything. It was so dark and the moonlight couldn't breach the canopy. Where did he go?

"Hey! Where did you go?" I yelled as loud as I could. I'd heard about what beasts that lived in the Fire Country's forests, especially the ones that lived nocturnally and I wasn't about to venture into a creepy dark forest without a guide and he just so happened to pull a Houdini and disappear.

I let out a muffled shriek when a hand suddenly covered my mouth from behind. My heart was pounding in the back of my throat.

"Don't yell. You'll give away our location." He breathed into my ear quietly and I shuddered. Then, as if he couldn't help himself, added for good measure. "Idiot."

I flung my foot back and it connected with his shin. He grunted and let me go. I whirled around on him; I still couldn't see anything but blurred blobs of shadows.

"Now see here, you pompous jerk!" I whispered, vehemently. Seriously, where was this side of me coming from? "You can't just walk away and leave me to wander after you, a total stranger I might add, into a creepy dark forest and expect me to know where I even am! I can't see anything!"

"Sasuke." He quipped quickly.

I paused briefly; I was going to continue my rant since there wasn't anything that was going to stop me but this idiot, yet quite handsome stranger, in front of me.

"What?"

"My name is Sasuke. Now we're not strangers." He spoke. He sounded annoyed again. I found that I didn't like him annoyed because it made me annoyed. I cleared my throat.

"Well then. My name is Sakura. Now that we're officially acquainted, might I ask where we're headed, and the pitch of dark too?" I should really be asking him where he was taking me but I felt that if he had been trying to kidnap me from the very beginning, I would have been bound and gagged and left somewhere in some dirty cave, as he posted a ransom note to someone important—who would miss me? My mother? I didn't even know she was even alive. Ugh. I grimaced and berated myself. I read too many adventure books. I sounded like an idiot even to myself.

He sighed and shifted the back over his right shoulder.

"I'm taking you to Tea country. I have…friends there." The way he said friends made me frown. The only friend I had was Kaede—and boy did ever that turn out great—and a random bird that would swoop in from time to time during the spring and summer seasons. I felt like he wasn't telling me everything.

"Friends? How do I know I can trust you, Sasuke?" I asked as I backed up briefly, gasping when my back connected to a tree trunk. I couldn't see a thing!

He scoffed. "Well, I haven't killed you yet." He answered as if it was the most obvious answer. "Let's go. I'll have to carry you since you can't see anything. We'll make it to Tea country in about a days run if we leave now."

My arm was yanked away from my body and in a whirl I was thrown onto his back. I began to let out a protest that turned into an involuntary shriek when he took off sprinting.

"How can you even see where you're going?!" I called above the rushing wind flying past us. I was getting whacked in the face left and right by leaves, leaving my face stinging slightly. I hugged my arms tighter around his neck and rested my face as close as I could into his hair, anything to shield my face from impending branches of spite. I felt his head shift and if I could see he was probably smirking. I felt my throat clench at the sudden intrusion of red, where his eyes were. I blinked and they were gone—he must've turned forward—or maybe my exhaustion has laid waste to delirium and I was completely imagining it.

I rested my head back down onto his shoulder. I never even asked who he was. His name is Sasuke. Okay, but who IS Sasuke? Was he mercenary? A rogue? A knight? From his fighting moves, I could give a safe guess that he was trained in the shinobi arts but that was only a wild guess. I didn't know anything about today's world's occupations. The books that I'd had in the tower were decades old, written well before I'd even been born, although they were nonetheless fascinating.

I sighed into his back, feeling myself grow weary. I needed some rest and his running was surprisingly relaxing. Maybe, just maybe, I needed to trust this man. He DID after all safe me from certain death on more than one occasion. I didn't have anywhere else to go. I didn't know anyone. All I knew is that I needed to keep the pendant safe. Safe from what, though?

I shook my head slightly and closed my eyes. My thoughts continued to spin in vicious circles and it was making my head hurt.

A little more sleep couldn't hurt.

00000000

I was jolted awake by a sharp clap of thunder, and flew up from my prostrate position and fell, to what I realized a moment later was a floor. A rather hard floor. I groaned and sat up, rubbing the spot on my chin where it had connected to the floorboards.

"You're awake." Came a low rumble to my right and I gasped, jerking my head in that direction. Sasuke was seated at a small table; a candle burning low next to him.

"Where are we?" I asked, mentally smacking myself at the less than graceful tumble I'd just allowed him to witness.

"We're in Tea. In a small village just outside the capital." He answered, putting what looked to be a scroll down, before standing. He moved towards me and I leaned back out of reflex when he extended his hand to me. I hesitated before grasping it and he pulled me up to my feet. I noticed that my feet were bare and I was still in the same dress I'd been wearing.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked quietly, not looking at him and trying to smooth out the creases in the fabric on the front. He was standing so close and I noticed that he smelled clean. A fresh scent, probably from herbal soaps, wafted off of him, mixed with something I wasn't familiar with. Was that his natural scent? I flushed, suddenly realizing that I was analyzing how this man smelled.

"About 12 hours, give or take." He answered, moving swiftly away. He threw his cloak on and strapped his sword over his back. I realized that he was leaving.

"Wait—where are you going?" I asked, moving forward on impulse and grasping an edge of his cloak. Seriously—where did I ever have the audacity to grab onto a strange man's cloak randomly like a sissy? I certainly didn't want to be alone—what if more of those strange masked men showed up again? I had no way of defending myself.

He paused and looked down at my hand clutching his cloak. Pulling the fabric from my fingers, he turned and nodded towards my left. I glanced over briefly and saw a door before looking back at him.

"Get cleaned up. I'm going downstairs. " He saw my panicked look and looked like he wanted to roll his eyes. "We're safe here. I'm getting some food. I won't be long." He paused and added as if it was an afterthought, "Don't turn any lights on."

With that, and without me so much as getting a word in, he disappeared out the door. I heard it lock behind him and then his heavy footsteps drifting down a hallway before it was silent. Lightning flashed briefly followed by a low rumble of thunder. I gulped and turned back towards the room. The candlelight was the only source of light in the room and it gave it an eerie feel to it. Long shadows danced on the walls as the flame flickered. I walked over and grasped the base of the candlestick and turned towards what I could only assume was the door that lead to the washroom. I walked in and set the candle down on a small sink before taking in my surroundings. It was a small washroom, a latrine was situated by the right wall and next to that the sink. To the left was a small washtub that, to my delight was already filled with steaming water. I walked to the sink and looked into the mirror and gaped at myself.

I was a total and complete mess! From all the dirt smudges and small cuts, no doubt from getting slapped repeatedly by rogue leaf branches, and soot from the fires, I probably looked like a total ragamuffin. Falling into the lake had done nothing to wash anything off. I huffed and moved to run my hands threw my hair—getting nowhere entirely from all the knots that stopped my fingers every inch. This would not do.

I reached up and unclasped my dress bodice in the front, letting it fall the floor and then worked on my dress bottom. I paused in horror at taking off the dress, mid thigh, when I remembered that I didn't have a spare set of clothing that was wearable. The one dress that I'd brought with me was probably still soaked and in a sour, crumpled heap the bottom of my satchel. I groaned audibly and stood up straight. That's when something caught my attention sitting on the toilet. I took a step over and found some folded clothes neatly placed there. Were these for me? Sasuke had taken a bath before me and had changed, so they had to be. I lifted up the first article of clothing and found, from what I could see in the dim candlelight, that it was a light beige tunic with laces in the front. I grabbed the next piece of clothing and held them up. I frowned. Breeches?

I'd been taught that a lady never wore pants, as it showed more that what a man should ever see on an unwed woman. I set the clothing down and put my hands on my bare hips in thought. He must've gone out at some point and bought these for me. I shouldn't be rude and not wear them. He didn't have to do that for me. But to wear such revealing clothing-! I turned back towards the tub and ran a hand through my hair, absentmindedly, fumbling for too long of a moment trying to pull it free from the tangles.

I smelled like smoke. I had cuts and burns all over me and I no doubt smelled like I hadn't showered. Sasuke had been kind enough to procure some clothing for me and it would be completely rude of me to put up a fuss about anything. I tested the water, it was scalding and I found that I didn't care, and I slowly lowered myself into the water. I hissed when my burnt leg submerged and I lifted it out of the water to rest it on the edge. It looked about the same as before. Blisters were beginning to grow larger. I'd have to find a medicine woman or a doctor soon to heal it. I groaned loudly as I sunk further into the tub, my muscles basking in the soothing heated water. I didn't waste any time and began to scrub myself with an herbal soap bar I'd found on the tub edge. It smelled of lavender.

I dunked my head under water I don't even know how many times, furiously scrubbing my sooty smelling scalp, and then leaned back closing my eyes. A knock suddenly sounded at the door and let out, what you could translate as an 'EEP!' before moving myself underwater further and covering my chest.

"You almost done? We need to talk." Sasuke's voice vibrated deeply against the wooden door and it made me shiver, despite the heat coming from the bath.

I cleared my throat. "Y-yes! I'll be out in a moment!" I flushed and it wasn't from the water. I was naked and so close to a man! A man I had only known for less than two days! Okay, so he was the first man I'd ever seen since I could remember but that didn't change the fact that he was a man and I was a woman. On any other given day, for an unmarried woman, this situation was HIGHLY inappropriate.

I reached up and grasped the towel hanging near the door and climbed from the tub. I dried myself in record time and tugged the clothing on and grimaced at how tight the clothing was. These breeches were made for a woman and they certainly fit every aspect of ME, as a woman. I threw the tunic on and tucked it into the pants and then began to towel dry my hair. I so wished I had my mother-of-pearl hairbrush with me. Why didn't I think to pack that? Kaede would spend at least an hour brushing my locks, after my baths, stating that a thousand strokes on each side made the shiniest of hair. My stomach soured once again at the thought of Kaede.

Another knock at the door, a little more impatient sounding I might add, sounded and opened the door. He was moving away from door and headed towards the small table he'd been seated at when I'd first woken up. I grabbed the candle from behind me and entered the room and gasped when I saw a small flame erupt from his lips, as he lit another candle. He set it down and then rustled around with the scattered scrolls on the table.

Completely in awe I moved towards him. " How did you do that!? That was amazing!" I'd read about shinobi and the different abilities they executed but I had NEVER dreamed that I'd see it happen before me!

I moved to stand next to him, the towel drying my hair long forgotten in my hands and was about to open my mouth to ask again, after he frustratingly didn't say anything, when a knock on the door to the main room was heard. Sasuke suddenly, and surprisingly silent, whirled around and threw a hand over my mouth. He held a finger to his lips to enquire that I also be silent. My eyes grew wide. What if—what if we'd been found!? What if more of those masked men found us?! I held my breath as he released my lips and moved silently towards the door. He motioned for me to crouch down by the table and didn't waste a second. I dropped as quietly as I could to my knees and crawled under the table, hugging my knees to my chest.

I watched as Sasuke pressed his hands and ear to the door, before reaching back and slowly withdrawing his katana. I gulped and held my hands over my mouth to try and stifle my erratic breathing. In a flash, Sasuke wrenched the door open and swung his sword down in a streaking flash.

"Oi oi oi! What the hell, Sasuke!?" Came a shout followed by someone other than the person shouting, snickering. Sasuke let out his breath and dropped his sword by his side.

"You fucking idiots. You were supposed to message me when you were coming. I almost killed your asses." Sasuke snapped, sheathing his sword angrily and stepping out of the doorway.

I continued to hold my breath as I saw a pair of legs followed by another pair enter the room. Sasuke closed the door behind him.

"So where is she?" The one who shouted asked. He sounded impatient. I gulped when I saw Sasuke's feet turn to where I was hiding. Are these the 'friends' he'd been talking about?

"Oi." He spoke. "Come out. It's safe." I hesitated for a moment before moving to my hands and knees and crawled out. I stood up and held the towel I'd been drying my hair with and clutched it to my front, almost as if to hide myself further from their scrutiny. My eyes landed on men wearing matching outfits. The first one, who had a bored look on his face, had narrowed, almond shaped eyes, a strong jaw line and his dark brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail. He seemed, from his slumped posture, that he wanted to lie down and take a nap. How strange.

The other man next to him was the complete opposite. He had darker skin, almost tan, and bright blond hair. His electric blue eyes glittered in the candlelight and he had the biggest grin on his face. Looking at them both they were the same height as Sasuke, which meant they were all easily a foot taller than me. Suddenly I felt really tiny.

The blond man shoved the bored looking man to the side and stepped towards me, grasping my hand before I could protest, shaking it wildly.

"Hi! I'm Naruto! We've been looking for you for a really long time, ttebayo. Wow! Your hair is really pink and you're really, really pretty-!" He said, his cheerfulness betraying the thundering storm outside and the gloominess of the dark room inside. He was suddenly yanked back by Sasuke, pulling him away from me. I pulled my hand back to chest; it had been shaken to and fro like a jump rope.

"That's enough idiot. You're gonna pull her arm off." Sasuke snapped, looking more annoyed with Naruto then he ever did with my incessant questioning.

"Meh, Teme. No need to be all jealous and shit—"

"Oi!" Barked Shikamaru when Sasuke had grasped the front of Naruto's vest, ready to pummel him. "As much as I know you guys like to beat the crap out of each other, remember that we're in the presence of her highness."

"Oh no I…" I started only to stop when I saw Naruto stiffen and he followed Shikamaru's suit and dropped to one knee, a fist to his chest. They were bowing to me! What in all the heavens…? Sasuke hesitated before also doing the same thing.

Before me I had three grown—and might I add very handsome to boot—men, kneeling down on the dirt floorboards as if I was their queen. I was certainly no queen. I certainly never felt like a princess either, having never actually grown up in the Leaf Kingdom. The queen was my mother—she has to be alive!—and I was just a forgotten princess. These men owed nothing to me.

"Please get up." I managed to get out quietly, just above a whisper. Naruto flipped his head up and stood, a grin still plastered on his face. Shikamaru stood up next followed by Sasuke, who looked uncomfortable.

"Who are you men?" I asked, my eyes shifting to Sasuke. He had said that he was meeting up with friends in Tea Country, so these men had to be it. But why was he meeting with them in the first place? Where were they taking me?

"My lady. We've been instructed as your escorts to take you to your mother." Shikamaru drawled.

"M-my mother?! She's alive?" I asked. My heart clenched. She was alive!

"Yes. She's been hiding out safely in my father's kingdom since the Leaf Kingdom fell five years ago. We've been searching for you all this time." He continued.

I was so happy to hear that my mother was still alive and that I was being taken to her! Would she still recognize me? Would I remember her? I'd only had grasps of blonde hair and almond colored eyes in my dreams but that was all I could remember of her. I never even had a picture of her.

"Searching for me? No one knew where I was?" I asked. Naruto piped up next.

"Nope! Tsunade-obaachan had the maps of where you were stashed away destroyed I guess so no one knew where you were except for the shinobi guarding the forest."

"A lot of good that did." Sasuke scoffed. When Shikamaru looked at him pointedly he continued. "Obviously someone had found out, other than us, and had taken out all the guardsmen easily. They were all dead when I got there, and had set the entire defensive forest Yamato constructed on fire."

I gulped at that knowledge. Men had died because of me. Because of their assigned duty they had died. I felt my mood drop through the floor a bit. How much more death will there be? And because of me, how much more will there be?

"How did you find the tower if all the maps were destroyed?" I asked.

"Fortunately your mother had a brilliant idea of placing a tracking beetle—courtesy of the Aburame's—when you were young and Sasuke here followed its mate until he found you." Shikamaru breathed, looking at the bed like it was a lover waiting to be loved.

A beetle? Insects could do that? I shuddered at the thought of a bug being somewhere near me when I never saw it. Kami's knew that I killed any spider that dared showed itself in the tower. That beetle was lucky it never popped out otherwise I'd probably never be here now. How did beetles do those things anyways? I had so many questions and I guess I must have looked super confused because Shikamaru held a hand up and spoke as if he read my mind.

"I know you have questions and they will of course be answered in due time, your highness, but for now, we have to leave."

"Leave to where?" I asked, not liking the idea of more traveling. As much as I had dreamed of one day traveling the world, seeing endless sights and people, having a bum leg and a tired brain really was taking it's toll on me. I was about to take a leaf out of Shikamaru's book and hop on the bed and sleep for days.

"To my family's kingdom. Moon country." Shikamaru sighed, moving to crack his knuckles.

I'd read about all the countries before and Moon Country had always drawn me in the most. It was a crescent shaped island located due east of Tea Country. I'd never seen the ocean and the prospect of going to a tropical island surrounded by the salty water intrigued me greatly.

"Are the boats ready? Has Kakashi messaged you yet?" Sasuke asked. A loud grumbling noise interrupted us and all eyes shifted to a bashful looking Naruto.

"Eh-heh…I haven't eaten anything yet. Sorry…" He chuckled, scratching the back of his head and patting his stomach. At the mentioning of eating, my stomach betrayed me as well and grumbled loudly. I realized then that I hadn't had anything to eat in well over day.

Sasuke scoffed and Shikamaru rolled his eyes at Naruto before looking at me. I gave a small smile.

"Sorry…I guess I'm hungry a bit too." I flushed when Naruto came up to me and took my hand again.

"Neh, your highness. They have ramen downstairs. It's probably not as great as Teuchi's back home but ramen is ramen! Wanna go get some, ttebayo?" He asked. He was so closed to me I could feel the heat coming off of him. I flushed even more red and shifted away slightly.

"Ramen? I-I've never had ramen before." The look on Naruto's face was priceless. Happy morphed into shock in the matter of seconds. His eyes grew wide and his jaw fell open.

"Eeeehhhhh!?" He squealed. "You've never had ramen before? That's just wrong!"

"Tch, idiot. She's be stuck in tower for sixteen years. You really think she was eating ramen at all?" Sasuke looked at Naruto like he was dumbest person on the planet. I giggled slightly before slapping a hand to my mouth. I shouldn't be laughing at the expense of others and yet I couldn't help myself. I looked at Naruto who went from shocked back to grinning. He took both of my hands in his and pulled me in close.

"Ne, your highness…you're pretty when you laugh…" He whispered to my face. I grew even redder at the sight of his flashy smile and handsome face before he was yanked away from me again.

"Hands off, Naruto. She's the princess." Sasuke growled, tossing Naruto onto the bed behind him before turning back to Shikamaru, ignoring Naruto's protests.

"I got her some food. Find out if Kakashi has the boats ready. We'll leave when they are." He said, before moving towards the table behind me and gathering up his scrolls and rolling them into a tube. Shikamaru nodded and left the room, leaving a starving me, an annoyed Sasuke and a grumbling Naruto. I watched with fascination as he tapped a cloth band on his wrist and the scrolls disappeared into the wristband. I felt my eyes grow wide. I wanted to ask him so badly how he did that! There were so many things I wanted to know, and yet I knew it wasn't the time to ask. Food. I needed food.

I noticed a small bag on the table as well and reached forward and opened it. There was a small block of cheese, two apples and a healthy sized looking roll of bread. I felt my mouth water at the sight and I took a bite of the apple. It was delicious. I had never felt so grateful to have such meager food before in my life. I wanted to make it last; I didn't want it to go away and yet my stomach was screaming otherwise. I was finishing the apple, moving onto the cheese and bread when Shikamaru came back in.

"Kakashi had one of his dogs waiting outside. Everything's ready." He said, moving over to lend a hand to a quiet Naruto and pulled him up.

"So hungry…can't Kakashi wait a little longer so I can eating something?" He whined slightly. I grinned. To see a grown, strong looking man like that complaining was rather comedic.

"No. We need to leave now, while the storm is still going. It'll help us lose our scent to any tracking animal ANBU has." Sasuke growled out. He was strapping his sword back on this back. I looked at Naruto, who was grasping his stomach as if in sheer agony. I looked back down at the other uneaten apple in my hand before holding it out to him.

"Please eat this. I wouldn't want you to feel faint on my behalf, because of lack of food." I held the apple out to him and at first he didn't move. He only looked at the apple in my hand before looking at me and then back at the apple and then back at me. He launched himself at me, suddenly, wrapping his arms around me in a bone crushing hug and had even twirled me around.

"Your highness! You're so cute!" He admonished brightly.

"Oi oi oi!" Shikamaru had moved forward, as did Sasuke and pulled Naruto from around me. "What part of hands off don't you get, idiot?"

Sasuke placed me back onto the floor and I had to hold fast to his cloak when my bad leg nearly gave out. He looked down at my covered leg. He must have forgotten about. I nearly had as well. I needed to find someone to bandage it soon.

"Let's go. Naruto, eat the damn apple and quit getting handsy with her highness." Shikamaru said, sounding rather demanding. He looked quite handsome and domineering when he spoke like that.

He looked at Sasuke, yanking Naruto by the vest with him. "We'll meet you both downstairs." He looked at me then and gave a short bow.

I shoved the last of the cheese into my mouth and chewed as I threw my cloak on. My calf length boots were situated beside the bed and I sat myself onto it. I pulled on my left one just fine only to hiss and grimace as I tried to pull the right on over my injured leg. Sasuke took notice as he was putting on his side satchel and he sauntered over—I couldn't even hear his footsteps—and knelt down in front of me.

"Hold on, let me, princess." He said, taking hold of my boot top. I paused and let go of the shoe and sat back. I swallowed and flushed at the proximity of him. He twisted the boot gently and despite the agony I'd put myself through trying to yank it on, it hadn't been as painful when he did it. He admired his work before looking up at me.

Our faces were so close to each other's and I could see in the candlelight at how truly lost, if I wasn't careful, I could become in the dark pits of his eyes. They looked so black and full of so much mystery. He was staring right back at me in silence. A moment passed and he came to his senses and cleared his throat. He stood and coughed slightly turning away from me. I could feel my heart thudding erratically in my chest. Goodness…what had come over me to feel this way?

Sasuke knelt down before me and took that as a sign that I was to climb onto his back again. I grabbed my satchel and threw it over my back before winding my arms around his neck. He took hold of my thighs and stood.

Shikamaru and Naruto were standing outside underneath the awning of the inn to avoid the rain and both their eyebrows shot up when they saw that I was on Sasuke's back.

"She has an injured leg. We should leave as soon as we can so she can get it treated." He said, probably rolling his eyes at their looks. Shikamaru nodded.

"Let's be off then."

Thankfully, I'd had a mind to throw the hood of my cloak up, as the rain was unforgiving and relentless. Sasuke was booking it so fast, every building we passed looked to be a blur. I noted that Shikamaru and Naruto, respectively placed on either side of Sasuke and I, were keeping up with the break neck speed.

A loan ship came into sight when a flash of lightning streaked it's way across the sky. A group of people was flanked on the docks and I could hear the water churning beneath us from the storm. When we reached the group they all nodded to us and then disappeared in the blink of an eye and Sasuke made his way onto the ship.

I was brought into a nicely warmed cabin below deck. Sasuke set me down onto a cot and I threw my wet cloak off. He was leaving and he paused for a moment to look at me over his shoulder.

"I'll be back."

Well, all right then. I guess I'll just wait here then. Again. Doing nothing. Again. I fell back against the cot and hugged my satchel to me, not caring that it was wet. I saw a small metal box near the door and saw that coals were glowing bright within it. No wonder it was warm in here. It was nearly the same heater that I had in the tower. I used to love to stoke the coals when I was younger; watching them flame up for a second, the heat cascading fiercely across my face, before they diminished back to their glowing warmth. I could hear the thunder rumbling outside, albeit muffled by the winds and the ship's structure.

So here I was. Sitting in a nicely warmed room…heading off to an island in the middle of the ocean. My mother was alive! I smiled and stretched my arms and legs before rolling over and clutching the pillow beneath my head with hands. I couldn't wait to see her and yet I was extremely overwhelmed at the same time.

In what felt like years, only to be a day, my world, as I had known it, was no longer. The dawning of my twenty-first birthday had begun like every other only to be twisted into a fight for my life. If the burn and aching on my leg didn't make me feel more alive I don't know what would.

Everything had happened so quickly in the past 24 hours. I'm on a boat heading to my mother in an unknown country, on a ship full of strangers no less! She'd told me to not trust anyone and yet…there was something about Sasuke—and Shikamaru and Naruto as well—that I felt that I could trust. He was mysterious yes, and certainly didn't talk much at all (and his manners! Ugh!) And yet he'd never given me a reason to question him. He'd kept me safe and alive when, if I'd been alone I would have most certainly gone down in that desolate tower in the middle of a burning hell.

I sighed into the pillow, feeling my eyes grow heavy. I could hear muffled voices outside the door and boot fall above me on the deck. A knock sounded and I sat up, running my fingers through my hair.

"C-come in!" I called, clearing my throat. The door opened and in walked Sasuke followed by an even taller man. He had silver, unruly hair, and a mask covered a lower portion of his face. A headband with a shiny silver plate covered his left eye, leaving his right eye exposed and if Sasuke hadn't come in with him I would have thought this man to be a bandit.

They both stopped before me and knelt on one knee, a fist to their chests. I wasn't comfortable with them doing this but I couldn't find the words to tell them so. I was to care at this point.

"My lady. It's been years since I saw you last. It pleases me to see that you've grown into a fine young woman." The silver haired man spoke before standing. Sasuke did the same.

"Do I know you?" I asked.

"Hatake Kakashi, my lady. I am your mother's personal advisor and general of the once accomplished Leaf Kingdom shinobi." He said.

Kakashi… that was an interesting name. I nodded to him.

"Please, call me Sakura. I'm not comfortable with formalities."

"As you wish, Sakura." He said. He must have been smiling under his mask because his right eye crinkled slightly. I smiled back at him. He shoved his hands into his pockets and slouched.

"I suppose you're wondering what's going on." He said. I nodded to him again. He was right of course. I wanted EVERYTHING to be explained to me.

"All I can say right now is that you're safe in our hands. We're taking you to her majesty and what little we have left of our people. All of your questions will soon be answered." He said, calmly.

He made me feel comfortable. Despite his roguish appearance he was certainly a timid sounding man and I couldn't help but feel safe and at peace before him. He was definitely someone I could trust. I didn't know how I knew that, I just did.

"There is one question I must ask of you." He said, breaking my train of thought.

"Yes?"

He looked suddenly to my satchel and out of reflex I grabbed it tighter against my chest.

"Is it safe?" He asked. Sasuke looked at him like he'd just asked if the sky was yellow and I gulped hard. Was he…talking about the pendant? How did he know? He was my mother's advisor after all…so there was a strong possibility that he knew that my mother had sent it me five years prior. I hesitated a moment longer and held in my breath, my gaze moving from a confused looking Sasuke to a patient looking Kakashi. I hadn't anything else to lose except maybe my life and this jewel…and I KNEW that I could trust this man…so I looked at him straight in the eye and nodded.

He seemed to relax even more so and he clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

"Well then. Sasuke, let's leave her highness—my apologies—Sakura to rest and go and rest ourselves. We have a long ship ride ahead of us." Kakashi sounded cheerful which made Sasuke look even more confused. Sasuke never spoke up about what had just transpired before him and allowed himself to be ushered from the room. Kakashi stuck his head back in.

"Sleep well, Sakura. We'll speak more in the morning." He said before shutting the door with a soft click.

I sank back onto the bed and let out my breath. I had no energy left. If Kakashi knew about the jewel then my mother had possibly spoken to him about it. To me, though, it felt like it was still one person too many who knew about it. Sasuke had been present as well and was no doubt questioning what we'd been speaking of. I wasn't going to tell anyone about it…at least not until I was in my mother's strong arms again.

With that I shifted until I was under the covers, not caring that I was still wearing my boots and drifted to sleep; dreaming of obsidian and what my brain registered ramen to be.

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31 pages and 15,316 words.

Okay so it took me like 3 weeks to finish this on my computer. I kept coming and going from it so many times and finally tonight I finished this chapter. HOLY SHIT. This is by far the longest chapter I have ever written in my entire life. I felt that it had too many important plot points to split up and so this monster was born.

I'm curious if there are any people who would be interested to read some chapters from Sasuke's POV? I sort of want to, I'm just not sure if it'll disrupt the flow of the storyline at all.

Oh well. More to come. I think this is going to be my golden baby. I have such a plot in my head that it's overcrowding me and I have to spill it out.

Also! I have so many fricking plot bunnies popping out left and right. I have at least 6 more stories that I want to write so if at any point I don't update on this story for a while it's because I'm writing and posting other stories.

Oh! And the Kaguya in this story doesn't have anything to do with canon. I want to cross it over with the Japanese fairytale of Kaguya with a little bit of Sailor Moon (which I'm totally marathoning once again!).

Please read and review and let me know what you think.

:D