A/N at the bottom!

Of Black Roses and Red Clouds:

Prologue

"Damn kunoichi!" a voice screamed, echoing through the dark forest.

Said kunoichi ran ahead as fast as she could in the opposite direction the voice had come from. Her brunette flew free from any band behind her, some stray strands and her bangs slapping against her face as she ran. The moonlight barely showed off the purple that was tinted to the end of her hair and bangs. Her blood-shot, violet eyes squinted in disgust as she ran her tongue over her lips and tasted a dried form of the metallic liquid running down her nose from a wound on her forehead.

"Shit," she panted as she grabbed her side.

The kunoichi landed on the ground with a barely audible 'thud' and a soft jingle as her two small, gold hoop-earrings bounced together at the tip of each of her ears. She untied her ninja headband from her waist and tied it tightly around her forehead in hopes of stopping the wound from bleeding as much as it was. She winced and grabbed her side, leaning against the tree truck behind her, and gasping for air. She slid down the trunk, the bark making fresh blood arise from a wound on her back. Now sitting, she adjusted to the coolness of the wet grass beneath her. Her feet and legs pulsed with relief as she laid them out in front of her.

'Please…please don't let him…find me.'

Don't get her wrong, this kunoichi was not one to back down and just give up. Quite the contrary actually. She just knew her limits…most of the time.

'Damn it!' She cursed as she felt a liquidy substance arise when she gripped her side. 'At this rate, if he finds me, I'm screwed!'

The kunoichi swiftly lifted her pack from around her shoulder and dug through it. She sighed in relief as she felt her fingertips brush against a cotton material.

'Bandages…'

She skillfully scanned the area around her, looking for him or any in-coming shinobi. None. Good. She carefully took off her tattered and torn black shirt and through it carelessly beside her, revealing blood-stained bandages wrapped all the way around her from above her chest to right above her belly button. After taking one more look around, she unwrapped the bandages, exposing her from waist up. She rubbed a burning ointment on her open wound and hissed, rewrapping her chest and upper stomach. She closed her pack and lifted her shirt above her head and bent down in just enough time to have her shirt be flown into the next tree by a kunai. Quickly, and rather painfully, she stood up and turned around to see him. She stared in half horror, and half fury.

'Damn! He found me!'

She shakily took up a battle stance and the figure snickered, stepping out of the shadows and into the moonlight, his smirk making her quake. His silky black hair gleamed and his deathly pale skin radiated menacingly in the light. He clicked his tongue.

"Tusk. Tusk. Do you really think you'll be able to put up a fight with all those wounds?" The figure scolded, smirk still plastered on his ghost-colored face.

She chose not to answer, but sent him a death glare instead.

"Not very talkative right now are we? From what I've heard, you have a very colorful vocabulary."

The figure stepped closer, subconsciously licking his lips. She shuddered as he did so. What was with this man? She stepped back. No, he wasn't a man, he was a monster.

"Haven't you learned your lesson?" she asked, trying not to stumble on her words.

"I'm afraid not," he sighed in a mocking tone. "Care to teach me again?"

She tried not to gag as he licked his lips again, smirking as he watched her reaction. The hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up, as he disappeared from site and she felt his presence behind her. She froze in place as his moist tongue slid across the nape of her neck.

"Well?"

His tongue wrapped around her neck and she gasped for air as it tightened and lifted her feet off the ground. She grabbed the tongue around her neck and tried prying it off, failing miserably.

'I'm in no shape for this shit!'

She let go of his tongue, causing the tongue to choke her even more, and she formed some hand seals.

"Fine. But…rumor has it…that snakes are…afraid of…hawks!" she panted as she performed the last hand seal. "Summoning Jutsu: Storm Hawk, Sartoga!"

She raised her right hand in the air and smirked as a giant silver hawk appeared behind the smoke, landing with earthquake-rumbling 'thud'. The figure glanced at the hawk, Sartoga, with disbelief. Sartoga's icy blue eyes glaring down at the man, the moonlight showing a tattoo of a lightning blot present on her forehead. Sartoga's glare disappeared as she saw her summoner being held by the evil man. She let out a high-pitched cry.

'Mistress! Are you all right?!'

The kunoichi looked up at Sartoga and gasped for air.

'Just peachy. Mind sending him into a tree?'

Sartoga's eyes narrowed.

'It would be my pleasure.'

Sartoga grabbed the man with her clawed foot and threw him into a nearby tree. The kunoichi escaped his grasp on her in just enough time. She landed gracefully on her feet and rubbed her throat, coughing a couple times before reaching up to stroke Sartoga.

'Thank you.'

'You're quite welcome. But we're not done here.'

The kunoichi looked up in just enough time to dodge the man's tongue. She jumped into a branch and noticed his hands in a hand-seal as his tongue chased after her. The kunoichi snorted and performed a few hand-seals and then jumped from the branch. She ran behind the tree as a clone of herself jumped from the same branch and onto his tongue. The regular her came from behind the tree and drove kunai into his tongue, sticking it to the ground. Her clone disappeared in a puff of smoke and the regular her disappeared.

The snake-like man looked around, searching for her chakra finding none.

"Woo-hoo. Down here." A muffled voice said from below him.

He gazed down right as a fist came up from the dirt and punched him hard in the cheek, sending him flying upwards. He screamed in agony as his tongue tore from the kunai and back to his face as he released the Jutsu. Blood from his current wound stained her hair as well as the sky. She lifted her body up out of the ground and watched as Sartoga flew up next to him.

Sartoga lifted up her beak as wind began swirling around it.

'Winds of the Storm!'

She swung her beak down and hit the man with bone-crushing force, as a storm of high winds indulged him, and sent him plummeting to the ground. He landed on the ground, creating a huge crater beneath him. No one moved, or made a sound. The kunoichi took one step forward and was hit with two shuriken in both of her legs. She howled in pain and fell to the ground on her knees, her hands grasping her legs in pain. The man rose from the crater, bruised and bleeding, but a smirk still on his face. Sartoga flew straight at him in rage, but it was proved meaningless as he punched her back with an unspeakable amount of force. Trees toppled as Sartoga landed limply on the ground panting.

The man began to walk toward her, smirking all the while.

"Did you really think you could stop me? You and your puny little bird?"

The kunoichi growled, but tried to remain calm so she could work out a strategy to end the battle. She closed her eyes, blocking out all his words and movements, taking deep breaths.

'Alright. How much chakra do I have left? Not that much. Ugh! What could I possibly do with such little chakra?! Wait…Do I have enough to-? Yes. I think I do! Perfect!'

She opened her eyes and placed her fingertips on the ground, mumbling words that the man could not understand. He stopped where he was as he looked at her. Pathetic was what she was, he declared. The kunoichi smirked as she threw four kunai at the ground, forming a square around the man. The man stared wide eyed as energy lines that looked like electric bolts weaved around the kunai, connecting them into a perfect square.

"What the hell?" he muttered.

"I won't be seeing you for a while," the kunoichi panted, her chakra already draining. "Storm Box Trap Jutsu!"

She enclosed her hands in an unfamiliar seal and the man screamed with terror as lighting shout up from the ground, frying him from head to toe, a fatal wound. The kunoichi jumped into a nearby tree branch and squinted her eyes from the blinding light coming from the Jutsu. The light and scream soon stopped and she watched in agony as the body disappeared from sight, and in place of it, a log.

'Damnit! HE GOT AWAY!'

The kunoichi lay limply against the trunk of the tree and her legs dangled from the branch. She gasped for air, her body in worse condition then it had been. Sartoga stole a quick glance at her mistress before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

'Thank you…Sartoga...'

She looked up as a voice echoed through the woods.

"I'll leave you for now, but I'll be back for you…"

….

…

…..

…..

…..

……

"…Yoshimi."

A maniacal laugh echoed through the woods before fading away completely.

The kunoichi, Yoshimi, cursed under her breath, slowly slipping out of consciousness.

"Damn you…Orochi…maru…"she muttered before her world went black.

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A/N: Wow. That was longer than I expected. Hope you readers aren't already bored. (Although the ending should be a page turner. ) that's why a prologue though. To lead into the real story. Okay, look I know it's a cheesy title and everything, but hey it's fits in with the story!!! You'll see!

In the next chapter: HERE COME THE AKATSUKI! YAY! .

Reviews are much appreciated. It shows me how much you want to read on. And how much you really want me to continue the story!

Until Next Time,

Single Neko