Note: I am putting up my stories in a bit of a backwards timeline thing. I may end up bouncing around and stuff. Anyway, the '[dialogue] ' means that the person is thought-speaking (talking telepathically). Please, review so I can work on things that I need to work on. Enjoy!
Why can't I see? she thought. She turned her head to the left, and then the right. Wherever she looked it was black. Then she remembered what had happened.
She had been careless, letting her guard down. Now she's bound up, gagged, blindfolded, and sitting on the cold stone floor. She was leaning to the left, since her bound ankles only allowed her to sit with her legs sideways. The woman leaned back to see if a wall was behind her. She leaned about five inches before the back of her head met the wall. She listened for any sound, even for the quiet scuttling of a rat. Silence.
How long was I out?The girl was just thinking to herself when there was the sound of footsteps. After that was the click of a lock and the creak of an opening door. Natsumi froze and faced the sound. Footsteps were getting closer to her. They stopped about a foot before her, and when she looked up the light was blocked. The faint shadow kneeled to her level and she felt the stare a someone.
After a few minutes a voice said, "Natsumi? Is that you?"
That voice…Could it be…? She struggled with her tied hands behind her back. Come on…break stupid rope. Oh…wait a sec… The young woman directed her thoughts at the man.
'Yes I am Natsumi.' she thought-spoke.
"It is you! I'm so sorry you got into this."
'Sasuke? Is that you?'
"Yes!" he replied. "I didn't know this would happen."
'Could you undo the blindfold? Or the gag? Please, I need to see you.' She felt hands untying the knot for the gag. The cloth was removed from her mouth, and she coughed a bit. "Thank you."
"No problem. Now let's get that blindfold off." Sasuke fumbled with the knot behind her head. After a minute, the blindfold was removed. Natsumi kept her eyes shut for a second, and then she opened them to look around. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light, and she saw a young man standing before her.
He still had the spiky hairstyle that she remembered when she last saw him – a memory she wished was a dream, but it was the painful truth. He had left her, their children (can be explained later), and his sister-in-law (Natsumi's twin, Mayume) – but it was slightly longer. He wore a black V-neck shirt that exposed his pectoral muscles, and a pair of black, baggy pants. His face had a small frown along with sad eyes staring at her.
"Sasuke…" Natsumi whispered. "Sasuke, why did you leave for so many years?" She looked at him in the eyes, searching for the lies he may say when he answered her.
"I…I don't really know."
"How can you not know the reason why you would leave me, my sister, your daughter and three sons for eight years?!" She tried to keep her voice steady, but it cracked anyway. "Why did you leave?!"
Sasuke stared at her for a second more before he turned his gaze to the floor. "I wanted to get--"
"Stronger?" interrupted Natsumi. "You wanted to get stronger?! Is that allyou want to do with your life?" The young woman was very upset, and Sasuke could tell by her tone of voice. He, too, got upset.
"I'm doing it so I can protect you and our family!" he argued.
"You don't need to get stronger. You are already strong enough. Not to mention that our family is made up of shinobi. May and I are Jounin, and Yin is a Chunin. Yang, Hunter and Nhamo are also Chunin. We can take care of ourselves." Natsumi really wanted to stand up and hug him, hold him close. "We miss you dearly Sasuke. Please come back. Everyone is having a hard time without you."
The boy kneeled back down and gave her a hug. "Of course I'll come back." He released his hug and looked at her face closely. "I love you Natsumi." He then kissed her very passionately on the lips.
"I love you too," Natsumi replied. She kissed him back just as passionately.
"I'll get you out of here." Sasuke pulled out a kunai and began to cut at the rope tying Natsumi's hands together. "Almost got it…" Then there was the sound of two sets of footsteps arriving at the door. Sasuke stopped what he was doing and hid the knife in his belt and pulled his shirt down to cover it. His expression became blank, emotionless. The door opened and two men came in.
The first man had long brown hair that reached down to his chin, so it was about 8 centimeters long. His dark eyes were intelligent and clever. The second man had black spiky hair as well as it was bushy. His eyes were dark too, but there was a visible hint of brown in them. Both looked at Natsumi, and then at Sasuke. The man with the brown hair addressed Sasuke, "You are needed for an assignment. Go to the boss for more info about it."
"And you two are going to…?" Sasuke said.
"We're going to interrogate the kunoichi," said the black haired man. Sasuke looked at the two men, and then at Natsumi. Then he nodded and walked to the door and left. As soon as the Uchiha left the room, the men turned their attention to Natsumi. "Alright, girl, we're going to ask you a few questions, and you will answer truthfully."
"And how are you so sure of that?" Natsumi questioned. A flash of a hand, and she got smacked on her left cheek.
"I said that we'll do the questioning, and you will answer."
"Wow, the sissiest routine ever. I guess your 'good-cop-bad-cop routine sucked more, or you two may be new interrogators…" As she rambled on, she was moving her hands behind her back to help break the rope. The rope was tearing slowly, but surely. A few more minutes of distracting, then she'll be free.
The man with the black hair glared at her. "Don't be back-sassing me, you little…"
"Let's just get to the questioning already," said the man with the brown hair.
"Right," said the other man. "Where is the Scroll of Forbidden Justu kept?"
Natsumi replied, "I have no idea."
"Don't you dare try to lie! Tell us where it is!"
"I'm damn serious!" She spoke the next words separately, as if he were a mentally challenged. "I don't know where it is. Got it?" Natsumi looked at the first man who came in, the brown-haired man.
"She's not lying," the man said.
"Ah, so you are a shinobi trained in lie-detecting," Natsumi concluded out loud.
"Hmmm…how does she not know?" the black haired man wondered. "Aren't all Konoha ninja supposed to know the whereabouts of the Scroll?"
"I was never told about where it's kept to prevent it from being stolen by people like you and your buddies." Natsumi was almost free. Just a few more seconds and she'll be able to bust out. The interrogator looked at his partner.
"Truth," he stated. The interrogator sighed in frustration.
"How do you know that she's not lying to us?! She could have trained herself to make everything she says the truth." He glared at Natsumi. "TELL US WHERE THE SCROLL IS!!" he demanded.
"I told you I DON'T KNOW, STUPID!!" Natsumi only had one more tug to go and then she'll be able to fight back. The men looked at one another. They got together and talked quietly to each other for a few minutes. They finished their discussion, and they turned to her again.
"Well, since you don't know anything, you are of no use to us," the interrogator said. There was a click, and the man had a knife. The partner was walking over to Natsumi, preparing to seize her and hold her down while the other would slit her throat, or strip her down to nothing by cutting up her clothes. Both were closing in, and as soon as the interrogator and his partner were close enough, Natsumi swung her legs hard and tripped both of them. She snapped the rope and freed her hands, then she snatched the interrogator's knife, cut the ankle bind, jumped up and over them, and then she ran for the door. The black haired man grabbed her ankle, and she fell to the floor with a yelp.
"Ha! Caught you!" exclaimed the man. He twisted Natsumi's ankle, and Natsumi gritted her teeth in pain. He let go and before she could stand, he grabbed her and stood her up. The man held her in place while the brown haired man came with the knife. Natsumi struggled and squirmed in the black haired man's arms.
"Let me go!" Natsumi demanded. She lunged forward and flipped the man over, making him land on the partner. He lost his grip and she ran as quickly as she could to the door. Suddenly, a kunai flew by her and cut deeply into her shoulder. Natsumi winced, stumbled, and fell down. She glanced behind her and saw that both of the men had a knife in their hand. The young woman crawled to the door, and another kunai cut deeply into her other shoulder. She rolled and fell on her back. The men caught up and loomed over her.
"You have no way to escape, girl," the brown haired man said. "I was going to make your death quick and painless, but after all that trouble I'll reconsider, that is, unless you tell us the location of the Scroll of Forbidden Justu."
Natsumi replied, "I old you I don't know where it is. And even if I did, I would never tell an enemy." The man grinned, and then kneeled beside her. He had the evil look in his eyes. The man placed the tip of his kunai over her heart.
"What if I were to slowly stab your heart, would you tell me?"
"No. What part of never did you not get?" The man put pressure on the knife, and it broke the skin. Natsumi winced. He continued slowly, and the kunai went further and further. Now Natsumi was screaming in pain.
"Scream all you like, said the interrogator. "Nobody is going to save you." He laughed evilly and pushed the knife in a little harder, but making sure that he didn't kill her just yet. The partner was watching the killing, looking somewhat bored. "Would you like to tell us the location of the Scroll?"
"N…n-never…" Natsumi said. She yelped as he pushed the kunai deeper. Her life was flashing before her eyes. All the times with her clan and the Uchiha clan came into her mind, as did other memories, slurring with one another. Her parents' faces were smiling and her twin, Mayume, was laughing at her as she was walking around the Niikyo estate with a piece bamboo strapped to her back for lady training. Then, came the time when Amaroq and his wolf pack accepted her into their family after the Niikyo/Uchiha massacre. The wind was blowing through her mane as she and Silver Fang hunted a doe. Next was the mission to escort Shykio to Konoha. This was when she met Sasuke for the first time after the massacre. She remembered him admitting that he liked her, but he wanted to be with Sakura. After that there was a time skip of two-and-a-half years, and the memory of herself, along with Naruto, Sakura, and Mayume, bringing Sasuke back from Orochimaru. The rest zipped by faster: Natsumi and Sasuke going out; the time that they had discovered that Yin, Yang, Nhamo and Hunter were their biological children, and not kittens. Then the wedding came next. She recalled that whole cake fight, and how messy she, Sasuke, Yin, and everyone else got. That left the most recent things: the three years as a married couple, and then the eight years alone with an incomplete family. The last thing was the most recent memory of Sasuke: him just standing there in black, and then him leaving the room.
"S…Sasuke…Yin…May…boys…" Natsumi whispered as their faces appeared for the last time. It became dark, and then she saw her parents coming to take her to heaven. "I'm sorry..." Then she exhaled her last breath and was dead.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sasuke stopped running and stood in a circle of trees. He sensed that something was wrong. The wind blew past him, whispering in the trees. Natsumi…Sasuke thought immediately. The young man as fast as he possibly could to the warehouse where the organization's headquarters was. Sasuke ran into the building and down the hallway that lead to the room where Natsumi was held. As he was getting close to the room, the two men that told him that he had an assignment were just leaving the room. He stopped before them, and they all looked at each other.
"How was the assignment?" asked the black haired man after some silence.
"Success," Sasuke replied. He noticed the smeared blood on the brown-haired man's shirt, even if it was black. "How was the questioning with the captive?"
"That girl would not say anything except smart remarks in the beginning," complained the brown haired man. "We tried to stay cool, but she pushed it, and we found out that she knew nothing." The black haired man shook his head.
"I bet she knew, but she made it sound like the truth to your lie-detecting ears and to your eyes," the black haired man scoffed. Then he shrugged. "Either way, she was going to die." Sasuke clenched his fists. Now he knew what had happened. Without thinking, he pushed the men aside and opened the door. Then he saw Natsumi lying on the floor with a bloody spot over her heart.
"Natsumi!!" Sasuke shouted. He knelt beside her and checked her pulse. Nothing. He stared at her. "No…This wasn't supposed to happen." The two men came in.
"Why are you acting like…" the black haired man trailed off. Then he smirked. "You had a connection with her? That's just too bad. You should've told her to tell us what we wanted to know." The brown haired man chuckled.
"You're weak," stated the brown haired man. "You break down after the death of some woman. Shinobi must be tough, physically and emotionally. No bonds, that's what makes ninja strong."
"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped. "You have no idea what true strength is. True strength comes from friends, people who care and want you to succeed. It comes from their support, their love…" He looked at Natsumi again. Then he glared at both men. He closed his eyes for a second, and he opened them again to reveal the Sharingan. The men couldn't look away, and they were caught in the genjustu.
They collapsed after a minute of screaming. While they were unconscious, Sasuke picked up Natsumi and vanished. He reappeared in the forest and looked around. He then began to walk toward Konoha. After about an hour, he stopped to take a break. Sasuke set down Natsumi and leaned back against a tree. The young man then began to cry, mourning the young woman's death. He looked up at the sky – it was late in the afternoon. He decided to keep going toward Konoha, and he picked up Natsumi and walked through the trees.
At sunset he reached the edge of the forest. He could see the Niikyo household, and he froze. There was low growl coming from behind him. When he turned around there was a large black wolf, its head reached as high as his waist. The canine bared its fangs and was glaring at Sasuke. When the wolf saw Natsumi, his growling ceased. His ears drooped and his head lowered. The wolf slowly took a step toward the boy. He whined softly. Sasuke laid Natsumi down on the grass for Amaroq. Amaroq sniffed her, and nudged her gently. He whined again.
"I'm sorry Amaroq. I should have been there to protect her," Sasuke said.
Amaroq continued to nudge and whine. Then he looked up, his ears alert. Sasuke turned around and saw Mayume walking over toward them. As soon as she was in front of Sasuke, she shouted, "Where have you been?! Natsumi and Yin were very depressed while you were gone, and the boys really missed you too!!" Sasuke looked down to Natsumi, and Mayume followed his gaze. She covered her mouth. "Oh my God…" She looked at Sasuke, a tear spilling. "What happened?"
"She had died in the line of duty. She was being interrogated, and she had tried to escape," Sasuke replied. "I'm sorry, Mayume."
"And where were you during this?" she hissed. Hot tears were rolling down her cheeks as she glared at him.
"I was away on an assignment."
"You were supposed to stay with her!" Mayume shouted. "You are some husband, Sasuke. You leave your wife and children for many years, and then you actually reunite with your wife, only to find her dead! What happened to the promise that you would always protect her, huh?! You never keep your promises!" The girl was sobbing now.
Sasuke was shaken by the rain of words. Mayume is right, Sasuke thought. What kind of husband and father am I?He looked at Natsumi's twin sister. "I know that I always screw things up, but I did promise Natsumi that I would come back here. So, here I am and so is Natsumi."
"What are we going to do?" Mayume asked quietly. "We can't tell Yin or the boys yet. It's Yin's sixteenth birthday tomorrow, and we shouldn't make her depressed on her sweet sixteen."
"Then what will we do with Natsumi?" Sasuke asked. "We can't just leave her out here!"
"Amaroq and the pack will surely protect Natsumi's…corpse." Mayume looked at the huge wolf. Amaroq barked in agreement. "Then I guess that is what we are going to do."
"Then I'll stay with them, just in case," Sasuke said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Amaroq, do you mind me hanging out with you and the pack?"
Amaroq barked and Mayume translated, "He doesn't mind."
"Okay then, it's settled. I'll stay with the wolves for tonight and you go back to the house."
"Alright Sasuke. Good night, I'll see you later." Mayume took one last look at Natsumi, and then she left toward the Niikyo household. Sasuke looked at Amaroq, who barked, turned, and walked away. When the wolf looked back Sasuke had Natsumi in his arms and was following him. Amaroq nodded, looked ahead, and resumed to walk toward his wolf pack.
* * *
The full moon shone brightly in the starry sky, illuminating the forest in patches of silver light. Sasuke was staring up at the sky while the wolves were in a group. Amaroq howled, and his tone was very sad, miserable. Silver Fang, his mate, joined in on a note a half step higher. The other wolves joined in the mourning song, their sound filling in the quiet night air. Sasuke was only half listening to their song – he was lost in memories of when he and Natsumi were together and the others. As he did so, he wondered how much he had missed in his absence. How old are the kids? Sasuke heard from Mayume that Yin was going to be sixteen, but how old are the boys?
"It's good that you came back home with Natsumi," said a voice. Sasuke jumped and looked to his left and saw Amaroq. The regal black wolf sat beside the man. "You have come back to your loved ones, and so has Natsumi."
"How…can you talk?" Sasuke asked. "You were barking earlier."
"Oh, so you can understand me now?"
"I thought that you knew how to talk like…humans."
"No, it is you who can understand an animal's tongue." Amaroq looked up at the moon like Sasuke.
"And how can I understand you now?" Sasuke looked at the wolf, waiting for an answer. Amaroq was thinking for a moment, and then he looked at the man and answered his question.
"I believe that Natsumi somehow gave you the gift to understand the animals, or at least us," Amaroq said. "It could be a spell or something."
Sasuke turned his gaze away from Amaroq and to Natsumi, who was just several meters away, lying beside Silver Fang and Blizzard. "Why would she give me the ability to understand animals? How did she give the gift anyway?" he wondered.
"She probably wanted you to be able to communicate with your 'in-laws'." Amaroq made a husky laugh. "Well, with the ability to speak and understand animals, you can have an advantage during future missions. She may have just given you this gift to use it as you see fit."
"That explains the why, but what about the how? Do you have any ideas about that?"
"Hmmm...something like this might have required physical contact. Was there any contact during that time you were with Natsumi at that hideout?"
"Yes. We kissed."
Amaroq gave a small chuckle. "Sealed with a kiss eh?" He notcied that Sasuke was not into the humor at the moment. "Er...sorry about that. Anyways, that's most likely how you got the gift."
"I see..." Sasuke said. He looked up at the stars again. "I miss her. After eight years I only got to see her alive for a few minutes."
"We all miss her Sasuke," Amaroq said. The wolf's tail slid to the left a few centimeters.
"I should've killed those men when I had the chance."
"Don't get all bent on revenge again. I don't think Natsumi would like that -- she most likely knew that she was going to die, or have a high probability of it. Plus she had died for the sake of the village, and I think that makes her feel like she accomplished something with her death. Her spirit would not be at rest if she sees that you are not settled."
Sasuke glanced at Amaroq, whose golden eyes were concerned yet still looked serious. "Yeah, you're right Amaroq," he sighed. Silver Fang, the alpha female and Amaroq's mate, walked over to Sasuke. The she-wolf looked at Amaroq, who nodded. He stood up and walked over to Natsumi's body and sat where Silver Fang was.
"Good evening, Sasuke," greeted Silver Fang.
"Good evening," Sasuke replied. The silver wolf sat beside the Uchiha. Sasuke looked at her. "Um...why did you come over here?"
"I need to tell you something," the she-wolf answered simply.
"Okay...and what's that?" Sasuke waited for the wolf to answer. She was staring up at the moon, silent. "Umm...Silver Fang...?"
Silver Fang spoke without removing her gaze from the full moon. "Last night, Natsumi had told me that she had a vision. She said that she saw her death, and also saw you returning back to the village. The next day Tsunade told her that she had a mission, and that was to go to the Kazekage to deliver a message that she had to memorize. As soon as she got there she would've sent a hawk back to Tsunade, telling her that the mission was complete along with the Kazekage's reply."
"So you're telling me that Natsumi knew that she was going to die during the mission?" Sasuke asked.
"That's what I'm saying."
"I guess that's why she wanted to see me so bad...." Sasuke was recalling Natsumi's expression when he found her tied up in the interrogation room. She looked frightened, but was trying to hide it. Her face showed worry then, and she looked like she was going to cry. Why didn't I notice the signs and ask her what was wrong? the Uchiha thought. I could've prevented the whole thing. I could've changed Natsumi's fate...
Poor Sasuke, beating himself up over the fact Natsumi's gone. I am gonna leave off here for now. I'll upload a new chapter soon. Please review to tell me how I did, thanks.