Always read the bottom commentary, I answer questions and inquiry there.
Words of the Wolf:
-When the world grows dim, and you feel you have no one to turn to, remember, I got the glow sticks and the techno music. (Tiffany Carr)
-May the Schwartz be with you. (Spaceballs) (Yes, I'm a die hard of Star Wars! )
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the main characters. Some whose name starts with an M and a K does…and dude, I love you for giving me my love of life…Naruto…
Hollow
The moonlight above shone through the dense forest, silhouetting the dashing figures. Their rasping breaths sounded through the dark and silent night, until they reached a camp site, a small fire boiling stew in the pot.
One of the figures had tossed a ragged black ANBU person against a tree, tying the rather limp person tightly to the tree, their wolf mask still on.
Three figures sat around the fire while the others stayed on patrol. A young dark brown haired male chuunin looked at their captive delightfully, while his older red haired jounin instructor just calmly ate. A girl of about 14 stared at their prisoner, no hatred but no friendliness. She asked,
"Do you know any stories? It's getting boring."
The masked woman tilted up, acknowledging the girls question,
"Yes, I'm a story teller at home. One of my favorites is the myth of how Konoha became known as the village Hidden in the Leaves. It's a romantic tragedy. Would you like to hear it?"
The girl nodded enthusiastically, but the boy whined,
"Why hear about a bunch of crap! Why not a great battle or something!"
The hidden voice spoke softly,
"Not all wars are dealt on the battlefield. Most dwell with in a person, and you would never see it."
Their instructor spoke at this, glancing at their prisoner,
"A good observation. And what better way to learn, than through the stories of old. Tell this myth, ANBU."
The mask came all the way up, the wearer's unseen eyes gazing at her audience. Both of the young chuunin shivered inside at the mask. The mask bore mixed expressions that were interpreted by a person by what their circumstance entailed. A sad smile, a hidden smirk, a deadly grin. You could not know what lay behind that mask, until you are on the receiving end of what it gives to you.
My tale is about a young girl. She was smart, beautiful, determined, but not all that brave. At the age of 12, she was the second best of her class in the academy, and she crushed on the top of her class, a boy named Kurohe. He was the coldest, cruelest, but the most beautiful boy she knew, and he was so popular as well. All the girls in her class had the same crush on him.
As this was her first crush, she followed him everywhere she could. And to make life perfect, in her 12 yr old head, she was assigned to the same three man cell as him and another boy. But as in childhood, Kurohe believed he was better than his teammates, and simply could not stand to be with either of them, especially the other boy, Kinkitsu.
He would constantly make fun of Kinkitsu, and not even give the other boy a chance to shine. And the little girl, wishing for approval, followed Kurohe's footsteps, and treated Kinkitsu just as horribly, if not worse. She was not proud of herself, but she desperately wanted her first crush's attention and approval.
"That girl needs a serious head check. No guy likes a puppet girl." The boy stated.
The girl fumed, "You don't understand a damn thing, do you!"
The jounin instructor sighed, wanting the shut up before it gave him a head ache, "Will you two just listen! There is a lesson to be learned from this, and neither of you seem to get the point! Continue, ANBU-san."
The team was rocky at first, but slowly through time, they merged into what a team was really supposed to be. Kurohe's insults to his teammates were spaced out and only when he was really irritated, and Kinkitsu grew up bit by bit, but stayed true to his golden heart and kind self.
But after a fatal incident, Kurohe drifted from his partners. And after a month, he completely left them, and their village. He had betrayed the girl, Kinkitsu, their sensei, their fellow genin, and the whole village. It was devastating.
The girl immediately went to Kinkitsu with this news, and he too felt at loss. His best friend, his brother, abandoned those who cared for him. She cried only once for her betraying teammate. But not because of her love for him. No, it was for her own stupidity, her own foolishness. She had never loved him in the way she had assumed, but rather as if he was an older brother, whom she envied and admired.
She stayed in Kinkitsu's arms, releasing her frustration through these self hating tears. But Kinkitsu interpreted that the tears were of a broken heart. He vowed that he would bring back Kurohe at the risk of his own life, and his own heart. For Kinkitsu had loved this girl since they were young. He would do anything for her happiness, for her smile. Even break his already damaged heart.
"Oh, that is so romantic…"
The boy went off with every intention of returning with his betraying his best friend, his brother, even after all he had done. He returned 3 weeks later, empty handed, hurt, but he would not give up. He just would not, for the sake of his promise to the young girl. She tried many times to tell him that he didn't have to, and that they should go together, to retrieve their friend, to take him home. But he always disappeared when she came near, not wanting to see the disappointment he thought would be on her face.
Kinkitsu…the boy she tormented and forsaken, left on a training escapade. To fulfill his vow to the woman he loved. The young girl decided to become stronger as well. About a year into her training, when she was 14, she finally realized something that she had never denied nor spoke of. She had fallen in love with Kinkitsu. She was shocked at herself, but felt happy that he would return one day, and she would tell him.
She trained harder from then on, for she no longer cared to be in her former teammate's shadows. She was going to be with them in the limelight, if not the one casting those shadows. After 3 ½ yrs of training, she had finished mastering everything she could from her sensei, Ton Ton.
Six months later, Kinkitsu came back from his own training. But he had changed. But it only made the girl love him more. Except she never even got the chance to tell him how she felt. Immediately after his return, he went with a search team to retrieve Kurohe, still trying to complete his promise. But no matter how hard she tried to join, he would not permit her by denying her the chance to even go forth and volunteer for the mission. Every 3-4 months, the team would come back, stay for a couple days, and then vanish again, and she never saw the one she loved.
Only two people knew of the girl's inner turmoil, and one was her old sensei turned to dear companion, Ton Ton. She assigned the girl to long and difficult missions to keep her mind off her troubles, and to increase her skill rank. For about two years, she went along with it. But inside, she was breaking, withering away from this eroding existence.
On a sunny day in the early spring, a message arrived by the retrieval team's mascot and partner, a dog named Aka. He was injured, and the girl did what she could to sustain him. Ton Ton read the message, and how the girl hated everything at that moment.
The retrieval team had been ambushed and presumed dead. The girl, at the brink of womanhood, was uncontrollable inside, while on the surface, she went on with life. But that night when all was quiet and the village mourned the loss of their great ninjas, the girl ran deep into the forest. She tumbled into the clearing where she and her teammates had truly come together.
She listened to the trees as the winds rustled the leaves, swishing and swaying, a low hum against a hollow log. She kneeled to the ground, and stared at the sky, the moon brightening her tear stained face. She had lost. The forest knew this, especially the cherry trees, who surrounded her, caressing her with their sweet scent and dangling blossoms. The forest gazed deep with in her heart, and was shocked at what remained what must have been.
Her heart was shattered, torn by years of pain, but now, there wasn't a trace of the person she had tried to become. A budding blossom, destroyed, ruined. No words could express the forests' reaction. But it knew it must do something.
The cherry trees released their blossoms, floating effortlessly around her, landing everywhere in the clearing, leaving everything covered and unseen. The forest began to absorb her pain with each petal, but discovered that that was all that was left of the girl, this deep anguish and sorrow.
For when a gust of wind blew into the clearing, it scattered the blossoms, including a crimson white rimmed blossom. The blossoms rode the breeze, drifting into the night.
But in the place the girl had been, the girl was no more…
"Oh wow…That was so sad, but beautiful. I bet the girl was that new color of cherry blossom. Hidden in the Leaves…so, her love was hidden in life, and in her next life, it was scattered throughout her home, for she no longer had anything to live for."
The masked ANBU nodded. The boy yawned, feigning he had no interest in the story,
"To girlish for me…but, what was the girls' name? You never said that."
The ANBU stared at the boy, silent. The three waited in suspense for a name that could tie the story together.
Suddenly, cries were heard throughout the makeshift camp, blood splattering across the ground, the clang of metal and grunts of fighting filled the air. But after a minute, the area was quiet again except for the crackle of the fire.
The masked woman had been sitting with out sound or movement, until a shadow came forward, and the light of the fire strong enough to show that the silhouette that loomed over the masked woman was an exact copy, both masks reflecting the same sad smile, the hidden tears, the deadly grin.
Then standing woman turned away, speaking softly as she walked back into the shadows,
"My name is Sakura."
The masked woman sitting against the tree was gone, but in her place, was a loosened rope and a single crimson white rimmed cherry blossom.
But in the place the girl had been, the girl was no more…
And in her place was a true
Kunoichi
Author Commentary:
Edit: This is a fixed chapter of the original. I just intended to fix grammar, spelling, and basically left it alone for the most part. The other chapters will be fixed as well, and I plan on changing a few things here or there. But the story will remain the same.
Technically, this is my 3rd fanfiction, but I've been on hiatus with it for a while.
Note: Sakura is KICK ASS in this story. Sadly, I suck at battle description, so just imagine the kick assness.
2nd Note: This is placed a month or so before Sakura's 18th birthday.
3rd Note: Orichimaru's technique actually takes 7 years before he needs another body. So, Sasuke is at this point, still in his own body.
The title, Hollow, is from the fact that that is how Sakura, and presumably the rest of team 7, feels at the start of this story. And because I was listening to a song called Hollow on the radio that inspired me to right this. Weird, I know. But despite the ominous title, this will have a happy ending.
Rated T for now, but later it could be rated M for graphic…parts.
Translation:
In the story, she uses strange names for the characters.
Kurohe- is actually Kuro Hebi, or black snake
Kinkitsu – is actually Kin Kitsune, or Gold Fox. I would have used orange….but that word is ridiculously huge.
You all know the drill. Read it. Review it. Love it. Later.
Wolf