(13)
When she came to, the light of the afternoon sun shone through the opened slide doors. The greenery outside shined after the early summer rain and in the middle of the wet garden stood a man. His dark hair was a mess. His eyes dark and haunting. He stared at her with a hidden curiosity, a mocking smirk stretched across his face.
"Had the best beauty sleep of your life, Sleeping Beauty?"
She remained silent, but stood up gracefully and smiled at him. "No. Just overthinking."
She stood beside him. He toward over her. "Let's go Sakura."
And they both walked away from their home leaving their family and name behind to find something worth fighting for.
(14)
Sakura looked up startled awake from the vision she had. "Did you have a vision?"
"Yes."
"Was it important?"
She paused, thought about it, and then answered, "No."
(15)
She is inside complete darkness. Everything was numb and dull with no meaning at all.
Her senses were watered down. She couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything, and couldn't even smell anything. All she could do was remember.
.
.
.
"You okay?"
She smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine, it's just," she clutched her aching head with both her hands. "These visions are getting out of hand."
He stared at her for a minute, lips pressed together in a firm line, balled his fist, and couldn't help but add more to the devastation he felt at that moment.
They were currently trapped inside one of the secret rooms he had installed in the tower walls. There were men scouting the whole area for them, while civilians burned the compound he had built for them.
If the situation continued as it was now, he would soon lose her too.
She looked down biting the corner of her lower lip knowing she could do nothing to help him. He knew that. They both knew, but...
"I won't let it end like this," he spoke determined.
(16)
She was embraced. Held close to his chest. He clutched on to her like it was his life that was going down the drain.
She lifted her hand to touch his face as she looked down at nothing but her vision, as the fire crackled and burned around them consuming both corpses and their home. Blood cascaded down from her lips, smoothly tracing her chin as it dripped on her chest.
She could see a boy. His hair bright like the summer sun and pearly white teeth.
Her lips twitched.
She could see a man. Silver hair and a lone dark eye. An orange book in his hand as he ruffled the yellowed haired boy's hair never taking his eye of the book.
Her eyes were drifting close.
And her heart skipped a beat. Her body seemed to have forgotten how to breathe.
She could feel…she could feel the pain and love that was mixed with such intensity as a dark haired boy made his way into the picture. Both the yellowed hair boy and the man turned towards the new member calling him by his name. The shorter one of the group stomped on the ground throwing a tantrum, flailing his arms in the air while pouting. The man had his eye closed and his hand raised, the book nowhere to be found.
The boy halted, his hands shoved inside his pockets, and looked at her way. His lips moved. The others smiled and grinned. And the vision shook as though someone was running.
She felt…
Happy.
(17)
The sound of war was muffled by the veils on top her head. It went through the enemy like a sharp blade, spilling blood left and right tainting the dull ground with red, and the smell of iron reached her nose.
Her expression was that of abhorrence as the stench of blood and decomposing bodies hit her like a bag of bricks.
She slashed threw her opponent then threw away the katana she had taken away from the Konoha civilian, nailed it on the rock ground under her feet, and pressed her hands together weaving hand signs.
Her soldiers were made out of the earth itself, compressed tightly, allowing it to take form, but even though they were just earth puppets they contained a surprise inside. It just needed a little push.
'What are you doing?'
She ignored the voice and kept weaving.
'Silly girl,' it spoke. 'You don't need those cheap tricks.'
'You have me.'
Her hands halted on their own. They shook as she tried to fight against the veil, but the fabric let out a shushing sound and glowed sending a pulse of energy that set off the warriors, causing them to blow up in dark energy. Killing them and the enemy.
(18)
When she awoke, she had been thrown onto one of the hollow floating circles that were stationed behind the burning compound. She reached out to her brother, blood dripping from his face hitting the thin layer of water beneath them creating small ripples.
Her hand was slapped away and she looked at her brother stupefied at what he had just done. He kneeled a few inches away from her, jaw clenched as he stared at her with despair radiating out of him.
They stared at one other, Sakura soundlessly shedding tears and him looking at her with a blank expression as her vision turn to static and blurred out of existence.
"Goodbye."
(19)
The ground was covered by a decaying blanket of corpses. The gray sky shined bright illuminating her walkway towards the wooden gates of the town. Screams of terror and panic rang throughout the forest.
Her pink hair had splashes of white and red; the veil tattered and burned covered her shoulders.
(20)
"Sarada."
Sakura looked at her husband surprised at his words.
"Sarada?"
"Aa."
She showed him her pearl white teeth before redirecting her attention to the child in her arms, and he followed her actions gently placing his index finger on their baby's small hand and smiled.
.
.
.
Sakura had control now.
(21)
She bolted through the mass of green. Slashing and ripping apart anyone who interfered, jumping and slamming onto the ground with ferocious strength causing blocks of earth to fly into the air.
"Many of us were send off to battle unwillingly."
He could hear her war cry from his spot as he sliced and stabbed the enemy, protecting the gates that Yamato had created with his wood style to hold the enemy while the rest of Konoha escaped to the Village Hidden in the Sand.
Sasuke could hear Naruto stupidly making action noises as he took on the enemy before he was slammed onto Sasuke causing them both to fall of the hill they had stood on.
"Naruto," Sasuke snarled.
"Fuck," Naruto groaned as he rubbed the back of his head.
From behind them a female cry lashed out at them, "Get your asses back here! We're at war—behind you!"
Both men jumped out of the way as a gray clad man slammed onto the spot they had been in with a heavy chakra cloaked sword.
"Either you serve or become a disgrace. Both choices end to the same result."
Naruto stood baffled mouth open, "the ground."
The ground where the sword had impacted disintegrated leaving only a trail of smoke that rose into the air and a huge hole.
The warrior smirked. Naruto and Sasuke glared charging at the man.
"Death."
(23)
A thin glass window floated in the middle of a water filled cave with images of the war outside his world. Konoha had found a way to recruit new shinobi although most of them were aged and gray.
He sighed closing his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose taking of his glasses and throwing them across the rock table he was leaned on.
"Stupid people," he whispered tilting his head up, eyes locked on the unknown.
.
"Show me," he spoke eyes glowing, "Sakura."
The window flickered through many places until it found what its master had asked for. She appeared on the glass screen covered in blood, cuts, and bruises. Her armor had been burned he concluded when he saw the charred sides on the obi around her waist. The veil was nowhere to be seen.
She was out of breath.
"Sakura!" A man chased after her extending a yellow arm successfully catching her.
"Let me go!"
(24)
"You don't understand. Go back! You have to go back."
Naruto balled his hands into fists and screamed at her, "NO! You don't understand."
"What do you think you're doing? Leaving with the enemy like that. Did you not see what he did to our home!?"
She looked at the night sky and the reflection of her eyes appeared signaling that it would be all over soon.
"You left us. You left your family… You left your daughter."
"You helped kill us Sakura…"
"I had no other choice, Naruto." Her face showed regret and pain.
"You don't understand Naruto. You'll never will."
"Then tell me!"
She looked down on him her eyes blazing with fire, crackling like the fire they used to huddle close to on missions. "I'll show you instead."
(25)
He stood unmoving staring at the empty spot that she had occupied not long ago as the rain fell on him like needles. He frowned grinding his teeth and squeezing his eyes closed, shaking his head left and right.
"Not you. Not you. You weren't supposed to be like this, you were better—you were supposed to... Not you, Sakura."
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.
.
She ran through the rain, jumping over obstacles, skidding to a halt using her hands to push herself up from the wet rocks when she fell. She turned franticly searching and then continued to run.
.
.
.
We lived inside caves throughout our whole lives. We were known as 'The Killers Hidden in The Caves'.
We were constantly watched. We had no rights. We were animals to them.
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.
She sucked in air, heaving. The ground opened and a cave surfaced.
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.
I was... 23 when brother decided to leave the caves and took me with him.
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"Sakura," her brother stated.
"Brother," she answered.
They stood under the cold rain with the sound of cries and screams echoing throughout the area as the moon wickedly smiled down at them.
He towered over her his presence dominating over her own, "What have you done Sakura?"
And she stayed silent allowing herself just one more glance at the forest behind her before turning to her brother faking confidence.
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"Naruto."
The man flinched, turning to his adopted brother.
"I know."
Sasuke made a move to turn back to the fight, but was stopped by Naruto with just the name of his wife.
He turned to face Naruto completely, his eyes narrowed in anger as he demanded answers.
.
.
.
I can't say I was forced to leave with him, but I can't say that it was what I wanted to do.
It was the human instinct to survive that led me to go with him.
Our clan had many superstitions just like any other, and just like superstitions they also had their defects.
We were all caged in together, but men and women were kept separated from each other.
.
.
.
Sakura skidded on the ground. She hovered her hand over her stomach sending healing chakra.
Her brother took small steps towards her and she jumped back up, inching away from him trembling, ignoring the pain, and licked the iron of her lips.
The cave started heating up, cracks formed and spewed lava, enclosing them both in a death trap.
.
.
.
I never knew my father nor my mother.
The children were also separated from their parents even the newborns. Whoever was the eldest in the group was the one who had to take responsibility over the smaller ones.
My brother was one of them and luckily he was able to meet his baby sister.
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.
Her knees shook and the breath was taken away from another swing of his fist.
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Women in our clan were despised.
We were only used for repopulating and then disposed of.
They would kill us Naruto. A woman from my clan wouldn't get to see past the age of 20.
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.
.
"I saved you!"
She gasped.
"I took care of you!"
He kicked her.
"I vouched for you. I took you with me!"
He grabbed a fistful of her hair dragging her across the burning ground.
"YOU owe me, Sakura," he snarled as he threw her onto the scalding water.
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Author's note:
I'll take this note off later, but just wanted put this up because I'm not sure if I'll be able to update this week. If I do then I'll be adding more to this chapter.
Anyway, thank you for reading and review, yes?