Time Since Mission Start: 1 week
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Chapter One: Ascent
Kiba had arrived at the outskirts of Rock with little delay or mishap, which he gave thanks for. He had stopped briefly in a fisherman town or a roadside inn to test for leads, but all had turned up in vain. In a tracking mission time was everything. In a normal hunt the scent would diminish as time passed and the fleer could use any mere moment to finalize their escape. Time was an important factor, and since he could only deduce so much from the scrap of fabric covered in dried blood given to him by Tsunade, he had made haste in his travels. Once there, he found that learning information about the missing shinobi more than easy; she did have pink hair after all. No matter where the Shinobi of Konoha went, Sakura was one of the few with hair that particular shade of pastel. Within days he had gathered enough to get the jist of what she was doing for her mission. She was doing recon. What kind of recon? Who the hell knew, it wasn't like he was given an official scroll.
From a tavern maid in a small village by the name of Leran, he discovered that a woman that matched Sakura's description had spent the night about two weeks prior in her travels back towards the East, back to the Fire Country. Though the information was much appreciated, it was disturbing. It had taken him 4 days to travel from Konoha to Leran, which meant Sakura should have returned home before he had. A lot can happen to a shinobi in 2 weeks; especially in the hands of the wrong people. One could only surmise that with Sakura's amazing medic abilities and her insane chakra induced super strength, her retainers would have to be someone either exceptionally lucky, or someone exceptionally skilled. He hoped for the first; but expected the latter.
With no other need to get any closer to the Hidden Village of Rock, he stayed at Leran in hopes of getting drifts or tidbits of information to help narrow his search down. His investigations tended to lead to dead ends though. Small towns had the habit of gossiping, and though he pressed as hard as he could without breaking faces he often found the topic turning towards how good he would be with so and so's daughter, or how they could use a strong lad like him in the fields. He had decided to take a reprieve from the constant recruitment of his genitalia and muscles to grab a drink. In the end, he found what he needed to know from the very same tavern maid who had told him she had seen Sakura, just a couple days after his first inquiry. He had been sitting at the bar, sipping a mug of some dark mysterious liquid that stunk like high hell, when he had heard the soft repetitive imprints of her feet against the aged wooden floor. He could smell her before she reached him; the scent of cheap perfume and old sex forming a thick haze around her slightly swaying form. Her arm came to a rest upon his shoulder closest to her as she leaned slightly, giving him a view of the ample breasts that plumped up against the front of her simple low cut shirt. He stiffened against her touch, the woman's disgusting disregard for his personal space almost breaking down the thin and cracking walls he had built to house his growing irritation. Don't get him wrong, he was a hot blooded man. He liked women. He liked them a whole lot. Just, right now she wasn't the one he needed to find. Despite that, he did his best to not appear like he wanted to burn a hole through the bar counter in front of him. She didn't seem to care either way.
"So, no luck finding your girlfriend there handsome? Must be lonely." Girlfriend. Funny how he had adopted that as his cover story into searching for Sakura and the old maids of the village had still propositioned him for their own daughters. Kiba found that the girl's voice matched her appearance and disposition; it was rich with the sweet tones of false sincerity and hidden intentions. He liked it just about as much as he liked her musky and overly 'fragrant' scent. The arm that rested upon his shoulder shifted, her fingers plucking innocently at the fabric of his simple black jacket. "Ya know, if you need some attention, I've got some time." And there it was; her hidden intention. Had he been a lesser man, and probably intoxicated by the weak liquor, Kiba would have taken the girl up on her offer. But he wasn't a lesser man, he was damn irritated and fed up over not being able to sleep in his own bed, so he simply shrugged her hand off his shoulder.
"Thanks, but unfortunately I'm a loyal man." Out of the corner of his eye he noted the rather put out expression lining the girls painted lips. It appeared she wasn't rejected very often. It made him wonder how often she propositioned men who claimed themselves to be taken. Oh well, she was lucky. If she had been any other tavern maid, he probably would have made an even ruder attempt to get her to knock off, but being is sole and only link towards Sakura at the moment, he had toned it down to being loyal. Steeling his mental resolve he offered her a half smile before he returned his focus back to his mug of mystery liquor. "But really, thanks for the offer."
She huffed then, leaning back and turning slightly away from him. A pout pulled at her features as she looked at him beseechingly. In what life she believed she could pull that look off was beyond him, but there she was trying to put up the snobby little act anyways. "And here I was, going to tell you something I had remembered about Little Miss Pinky if you had wanted to spend so-"she never finished her sentence, for the next moment found her being led through the maze of tables and people towards the stairs that led to the rooms above by the wrist. Kiba had barely got her into his room when he felt her hands wandering towards his pants. This time, he didn't bother to hide his disgust. Grabbing her hands from his body, he turned her and slammed her into the wall, provoking a delighted and aroused squeal which he responded to with a growl, low and dangerous. He watched as the smug smile and the heated flush started to drain from the woman's face as she looked into his eyes. There was no desire or lust in Kiba's eyes; just the swirls of agitation at having been withheld crucial information. Didn't he already go over how important time was in situations like this? And here he was, with a woman who deliberately had withheld information for her own personal whims. He would let her know very well that he didn't like to have his time wasted.
"Now… I'll ask you once and only once before I tear that make up caked face of yours off." He leaned in close, his nose a mere breathe from the quivering tavern maids, his dark eyes boring into her own. "What did you so conveniently forget to tell me?"
The girl was silent for a moment, her bottom lip quivering as she saw the consequences of her backfired plan. But she was a 'professional' at her business, and quickly recovered. Tilting her head away from his, she offered him only a sneer. "You shouldn't think so highly of that little pastel haired bitch you're searching for. She's playing you like a fool." Her sneer turned into a dark little smirk, as if she was trying to keep face while telling Kiba he was getting exactly what he deserved. "That one night she stayed here, her other boyfriend came to visit. Said that he was here to surprise her, asked for her room number, and then they spent all night in there making all sorts of banging and loud sounds. They must have had one night, because the next day they left, she was passed out in his arms." Other boyfriend? As best as he could remember, Sakura didn't have a boyfriend. Everyone he knew of didn't have the guts to face Kakashi and Tsunade for the young woman's hand; not to mention one over protective teammate and one overly clueless comrade. Not to mention her massive strength tended to emasculate his gender. Typically, a man likes to feel like a man. But that didn't mean she couldn't have admirers. She was attractive, her skills made her a high ticket item to those who wanted to breed their bloodlines with super chakra; she could attract a sicko. Yeah. He could see that.
"What did he look like?"
"What does it matter?" He slammed her into the wall again, this time with a little more force. She whimpered. He didn't care.
"It matters." The tone of his voice seemed to send his message across clearly, because her next couple sentences consisted of nothing else but words to describe the man. He was tall, dressed simply in black, with long blond hair, whose bangs fell over one of his deep blue eyes. Despite his charm, he spoke with an odd accent and smelled of clay. "Anything else? Like a name." His hands squeezed down around her wrists, a silent reminder that she had better tell him what she knew.
"He didn't tell me his personally, but when I passed their room during the night I did hear her say a name." She paused, as if trying to remember. "I think it was… Deidara."
After that incident his search picked up rather quickly. It appeared that the people of the village knew far more then they liked to let on. Also, it appeared that harsh words and actions loosened their tongues a lot better than kind inquiries; his kind of town right there. His actions even doubled as a deterrent for those clucking hens who wanted to offer their daughters like sacrificial lambs. Small victories, left and right. After several broken bones and a dismembered finger or two (he tended to lose track of some details when he got into his work), he found himself at the base of a waterfall about 12 miles from Leran. The sun had long left the sky, stars studding the dark navy sky as the crescent moon reflected upon the rippling water's surface. He inhaled slowly, taking in the scents of the forest around him as well as the sweet and cool water before him. His eyes closed, the scents pulsing through his mind as he dragged through them. Elm, lotus, sap; all scents commonplace and expected. Then, from near the water's edge, he caught the barest traces of something he had hoped to find.
Sakura.
His eyes snapped open focused towards the waterfall.. He stepped slowly over the water's edge and inspected the waterfall, his keen eyes picking out the shadow of a cave or a cavern lurking behind the cascading water. What a perfect little hiding place, this Deidara had found. Water diluted and masked scents; rushing water would near eliminate it. Clever man. Speaking of which; he inhaled slowly again, noting that even though Sakura's scent was barely there, her captor's wasn't there at all. He remembered the man was supposed to smell of clay; a particular scent that was hard to miss, but there was no sign of him being around there at all. Had he missed both of them already? If so, he would have to go back and break a couple more bones. The thought alone brought a small smirk to his lips as he decided to inspect the cave anyway.
It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the dimmed light within the cave; but being the type of shinobi that he was and having the blood of his clan running through his veins, his eyes quickly adjusted. Near flawless night vision was such a perk. Sakura's scent was much stronger in here. And it was fresh. She was still here, that much was obvious, but he couldn't see her. So, deeper into the cave he went. His eyes scanned the moist moss covered walls, tracing from the ceiling down. Then, just as he was about to reach the back end of the cave, the softest sound caught his ears. Breathing. His eyes snapped to the left, and he just stared.
If you had asked someone what was the first thing they thought of when they thought of Sakura Haruno, they probably would have said something rather stupid, such as the words pink, the flower she was named after, or bubblegum. But if you had asked him, he would have answered with springtime. As odd as that would sound, in his mind it made perfect sense. Being naturally rough with words and how to use them, Kiba wouldn't be able to explain to you why he thought of springtime, he just did. Maybe it was something as shallow as the fact that she smelled like flowers, fresh ones, or maybe it was something so deep as the idea that like rays of the sun that melted away the winter into blossom, the medic had the uncanny ability to worm her way into the coldest or most unemotional people; as was proven with her work with Sai. Either way he wasn't quite sure why he made her think instantly of that warming and life filled season after harsh winters; she just did. If you had asked him what he thought how he would find Sakura after being told she was kidnapped; he would have said bound, gagged, brutally injured, or even dead.
But now that he had found her, she wasn't any of those things.
In fact, she was asleep. Wrapped up in a couple light blankets and resting upon a make shift bed of what appeared to be animal furs, Sakura rested as if she were in the safety and comforts of her own home. No marks upon her fair skin, no signs of struggle or strife, no scent of tears or tragedy clinging to her form; it was just her, sleeping. But that didn't make sense; not to him at least. He found his hands running up and down her limbs, checking for broken bones or hidden injuries only to be rewarded with a soft mew from the woman beneath him. Feather light touches against her wrist and her neck, finding her pulse and respiration to be normal. His hand flirted over to her forehead, pulling his glove off during the process as he checked her temperature. It was normal. Everything was normal. What if she really was here with her boyfriend? What if they really were just throwing caution and duty to the wind to have a couple of shared nights together? He found his irritation starting to build, and a low growl unintentionally passed by his clenched teeth.
Then, she stirred and he stiffened, removing his hand from her as if he had touched fire.
She yawned, squirmed a bit, and then shifted into an upright position. One hand reached up to pushed the pale pastel strands from her face as she sleepily opened her eyes. They landed on Kiba, sea foam orbs still clouded with dreams. He simply scowled at her. "Oi… why didn't you go home after your mission? Idiot. Because of you I had to leave as soon as I got home from my own mission. No rest. No food. No women. Just what kind of trouble do you think I went through to fi- hey! What the hell are you doing!" During his rant, the young woman's eyes had cleared and seemed to focus upon his mouth. Suddenly, she had reached out, fingers brushing his moving lips as he talked. His hand automatically came up and wrapped around her wrist in reflex as he leaned back, but she didn't seem deterred at all. Instead, she raised her other hand in attempt to touch his face; causing him to once more clamp down upon her free wrist. She huffed, pouting up at him as she struggled sluggishly in his hold, fingers still outreached towards his mouth.
He frowned, why wasn't she speaking? He knew she was stronger than this, more vocal as well. But here she was, in his hands, struggling and mewing and pouting like a kitten restrained from its favorite toy. Wait. He rethought that situation, finding it insanely inappropriate for him to relate his mouth to Sakura's toy. He had other things to think about. "Hey. Sakura." His voice seemed to snap the girl out of her pouting struggles, her sea foam eyes resting on his face once more. Her lips quivered, parting and closing as if she had just figured out that she had a pair of her own, as she watched Kiba's mouth with keen interest.
Sa… kura?
A question. Not a statement. She said her name a couple more times, before she could say it as a single unbroken word. She then smiled, and began to softly chant it as if it were some sort of treasure.
Sakura… Sakura… Sakura…
Through it all, all Kiba could do was watch her, his mind slowly coming to the ultimate and harsh conclusion. Sakura, wasn't all there. She didn't remember.
A sudden explosion rocked the mouth of the cave and instinctively Kiba pulled the woman towards him, curling around her as he pushed them low to the ground. He muffled her squeak of fear into his chest as his eyes turned towards the mouth of the cave just in time to watch as stone upon stone tumbled down, closing them off from the outside world. Then, something slammed into the back of his head, and in a flash of pain and bright white, the world faded to black.
-End Chapter 1
Time Since Mission Start: 2 Weeks
We are aiming for a 3,000 word count for the main chapters. Hopefully, I can do it. I am sure with the method of writing I am trying to employ that won't be too hard. O_O. Watch me eat my words later.
-Limey
