Can you feel it?
What?
My heart, it beats only for you.
Mine too.
This is forever.
Yes, forever.
Crimson liquid coated the hands and arms of a young girl, barley older than thirteen. The black hair that framed her face was matted and tangled with blood and mud. The Kunoichi was kneeing on the forest floor transfixed at the sight before her.
"Sensei?" the shaking whisper slipped out of her trembling lips. Hands shook covered in blood that was not their own, the bright red staining her pale skin. A rasping cough was her answer.
"Sensei? Ar-are you o-okay?" Wide blue eyes were filled with unshed tears as she leaned over a man. He was very tall and muscular and would have been handsome if his tan skin wasn't coated if injuries and his dark red hair matted with blood. His grey eyes were staring into the girl's as he fought desperately for breath against the gaping wound in his chest.
"Y-yea, I'm f-fine." His words were fragmented with gasps and trailed off into more coughing. The girl glanced over to a spot a few feet to the right of the man, there lay two boys her own age. Their bodies ripped and fragmented as they two gasped for breath, she did not go to them as she knew they were whispering their final words of love to one another. The larger one had brown hair and held his hand to the slightly more feminine, tear stained face of the boy with blue hair. This one had closed his eyes and despite his tears was smiling as he listened to loving words the other spoke.
Tearing her eyes away she looked back down at the bleeding man,
"I'm so sorry, sensei. I should have been-" She was cut off,
"No!" more coughing, he smiled at her, "No, you did beautifully, Satomi." he brought his bloody hand to her face and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She caught his hand and held it there.
"Thank you sensei but I-" again she was cut off.
"Call me Morio, just this once."
"Hai, Morio." she uttered his name in a quiet, almost reverend voice as though she'd been waiting her whole life to say it. The man smiled once more, but coughs over took him once more. Blood came up and he chocked on it for a moment.
"Morio?" she lurched forward in concern.
"Don't worry, Sato-koi." she blushed but he did not stop, "I don't have long left but I just want you to know that I will always love you." he paused before adding, "Always." as if scared she wouldn't understand what he was saying. He took another shuttering breath, struggling to keep his eyes open.
"I love you you too, always." her breath caught and a few tears escaped her eyes. The young girl's confession brought a small, sad smile to the man's face,
"Yes but Satomi I want you to promise me something."
"Anything." was her hasty reply.
"Promise me that you will be happy."
"But-"
"Promise me! I won't be the cause of your unhappiness." he lurched forward in desperation.
"I-of course Morio, all you had to do was ask it of me." she smiled sadly at the dying man who breathed a relieved sigh,
"Ah, t-thats g-good." he didn't speak again but instead gave into death.
Tears flowing freely down her face Satomi turned away from the dead body. Her sensei, her love. Her gaze fell upon the two boys who were also taken into death's embrace. A heart-wrenching scream tore from her throat and she fell on the corpse sobbing.
She would never know how long she stayed like that, but soon the night around her fell away as the sun began to rise and with it Satomi. With renewed strength and purpose she walked over to the body of a sound-nin. His name was Jinta the head hunter, a bounty hunter feared across the shinobi lands for his cruelty and determination. She didn't find him as threatening with a sword sticking through his head.
The katana had a polished black handle, the blood splattered on it nearly covered up a name engraved in sliver. It read Morio Wakahisa. Grasping the handle she ripped it from the skull with a sickening squelch. Barely flinching at the sound she reached a hand into one of his pouches, pulling out three scrolls. One was to be delivered to the Hokage as it contained important information on sound. The second was a regular storage scroll which she spent several minutes sealing their mission supplies and anything useful she found on the battle field.
Finally the third scroll was a special type of sealing scroll, one for dead bodies. Trembling she sealed her team mates first, nearly vomiting as she realized one of them was missing half a bloody leg. Then turning to her sensei she pressed her lips to his one final time before his body also disappeared into the scroll. And with the sword still clutched firmly in her hand she took off through the trees.
The sun was setting by the time Satomi saw the gates to Konoha. She had run nearly sixty miles non-stop, all day. slowing down to a walk she forced her exhausted muscles to keep moving. By then the only thing that kept her going was her desire to finish the mission that her team had died for and sheer force of will.
Soon she stumbled into the sight of the on-guard chunins who rushed forward to help her,
"Shit! What happened to you, we need to get you to the hospital." A part of her wanted nothing more than to be lead away and healed, to be taken care of. But another part felt it would dishonor her friends not to finish the mission that had taken their lives. And another part whispered from the shadows that she deserved the pain.
"No." she stopped herself from being dragged away and started in the direction of the Hokage tower. "I have to see Hokage-sama. I- the mission, i have to finish the mission." the two men shared a hesitant glance. Sensing her determination they took to the rooftops, supporting Satomi between them.
Jumping into the hallway outside the Hokage office via the window Satomi walked to the door, the chunin following behind her. She burst into the office without knocking, which as it seems is not always a good idea. Judging by the twenty or so jonin Satomi had just interrupted a important meeting. However she wasn't particularly concerned. Ignoring the stunned silence her blood soaked appearance had caused she turn to face the fuming Kage,
"Dammit Satomi! What hell do you think you're doing?" and with all the dignity and calmness she could muster she replied,
"Team 14 reporting." Tsunade was a bit put out by the blankness of her voice and what she had just said.
"What do you mean? Where are Morio, Jishin and Fuyuki?"
"I-" she stopped, fighting tears she had not expected, "th-hey didn't m-make it." She gasped, somehow saying it aloud made it all the more real. A sob that she'd buried earlier escaped. She sank to her knees, tears broke down the walls she had built up and sobs racked her thin frame.
"They're gone!" by now she was all but screaming in her grief. A male jonin stepped forward as if he wanted to comfort the young girl but didn't quite know how.
"What? But how could-I mean Morio was so strong." this came from one of the younger shinobi who was apparently perplexed as to how someone could take down Morio. Satomi only sobbed louder, clutching the sword to her chest.
"Daisuke! Hold your tongue, can't you see she's in pain?!" the Hokage moved from behind her desk to kneel in front of the crying genin,
"There you go, come on let's get you to the hospital."
"No! I- the mission, the scroll." her words were fragmented as she tried to make her point.
"Don't worry, it's okay we can always try again. I'm sure you barely got away from them with your life." realizing the Hokage had believed her to have run away from the sound-nin, Satomi grew angry.
"What?! No! I have it, I have the scroll." She reached into her pouch and pulled out the small green scroll. She was briefly hit with that fact that so many lives were gone from desire of this little object.
"But how could-? I thought you didn't- I mean," apparently this was not at all what she had been expecting. Sniffling Satomi handed it over to the older woman, who could only stare in amazement at the bloodied and sobbing young girl.
And with her mission finally completed Satomi gave in to the blissful nothingness of sleep.
A/N: Umm this was a really annoying plot bunny that was bouncing off the walls screaming "Write me! Write me!"
At first I was going to write it as one-shot showing the lives of other Konoha ninjas but then the rest of it came to me and if I leave it like this my head would most likely explode. It gets lots better than this, I actually feel this is a little shitty but so are most beginnings.
Lots-of-Love, The Captain