"I know when to stop. I know when to let things go. I know when to move on. But 'I know' and 'I can' are two different things." ~unknown
I don't care to look over her face, because her bangs are stuck there, covering it. After I'm sure they've left the clearing, and carefully remove her ambrey-styled sunset orange and white tank top. I have her laying on her belly, expecting most of the damage to be on her back. She has some welts and bruises, from what seems to be a whipping, maybe a few days old. I heal the worst ones, wanting to save my energy in case there are other, more serious injuries. I slowly turn her over, wincing at seeing I was wrong. I have a hard time finding skin that was healed, let alone without scarring. She was sliced in every direction, across her stomach and her breasts. Some parts of her stomach, neck and sides were swollen with bruises. Her breathing, I now noticed was ragged.
I again did the best I could, before moving to her pale legs, which were barely covered by a pair of ragged shorts. Her legs had deep gashes, from what I cannot tell. They run up and down her legs, almost looking like claw marks. I shiver, only imagining what she had gone through. I stare at her face, which is hidden by bangs, then glance towards the blood red fox laying by her side and something clicks. I slowly lift a shaking hand, shaking from exhaustion or fear of the discovery, I don't know. Lightly brushing the bangs from her cheeks, I stare at the beauty who lies broken before me.
She had pale alabaster skin, which complimented her dirty blonde hair well. Her eyes were large, taking up a majority of her angular face. Above a finely pointed jaw sat a set of fluffy pink lips. The most amazing thing about the unfamiliar and battered face is the whisker marks that ran off her cheeks.
I almost burst into tears right then.
Healing as many of the wounds as I could, with any chakra I had, I clothed her again. I couldn't resist the tears that fell from my eyes at the condition Naruto was in. In comparison to how she used to be, this was just...
I called out to my teammates, telling Sasuke what I discovered when he states,
"I knew from the moment I saw her hair. Have you really forgotten that unique shade?"
I shake my head and sigh.
"Our mission is complete, and she needs to get some real medical attention, let's go home," Sai says, and I take no offense to the words. Instead, I lift my arm, asking him to help me up. He decides to carry me, swooping me into his arms.
"Sleep, ugly. It's time for you to get some rest." I also take no offense to the name, and close my eyes after making sure Naruto is safely in Sasuke's arms.
POV change
I don't know where I am when I awaken, the pattern of the ceiling is like nothing I have ever seen. It seems to be an upside down staircase. I shrug and try to stand up.
Upon doing so, I get light headed and fall over, ripping out several needles that had been attached to my arm. I start yelling and flailing about, alerting a person, whom I hadn't been aware was in the room, to my conscious state. She jumps to her feet and shushes me.
"Naruto, calm down, you're safe. Remember me? I'm Tsunade, your Baa-chan." The blonde, busty and familiar voice speaks in a somber tone.
"What happened to you out there? You were gone for over a year and no one could find you!" She says, seemingly desperate for answers. I sigh, and quickly make up and memorize a story, that is only partly the truth. Not trusting my voice, I motion towards the nearby paper and pen. She gives them to me and I wish I could just remain unresponsive.
"The akatsuki captured me and erased a bit of Jiraiya's memory. They have held me captive, stealing memories of my training and interrogating me for information. they have also been trying to gain access to the kyuubi. I've been trying to escape since the first day, and finally made it with the help of Itachi Uchiha. He was the only one who did me no harm. You will find that he is held captive there too, but only for the sake of his brother. We sent Rukia ahead, and I ran, up while he stalled them catching me. I'm glad those three came when they did, or we would both be goners." She nods, after reading the note, seemingly accepting the explanation.
"Has anyone besides them been told I'm here?" I write, remaining quiet and emotionless, as I have learned to be in these situations.
"Not outside of those three. I made them swear not to say anything. Would you like to see anyone? I believe you are well enough for company. Don't stress yourself though." I nod, then think. I need to thank them, then talk to Jiraiya. A thought hits me again.
"How long have I been out, Baa-chan?" I ask, finally ready to speak, and to lighten the mood.
"Four days." The Akatsuki would be back at the hideout by now, and torturing Itachi for his betrayal. I wince. He was such a good person, I couldn't stand to see him in pain because of me.
"Send Team seven in please," I whisper. Seemingly hesitant, probably noting the uncharacteristic quiet, she nods and leaves. This would be a long day.
I spent my time waiting for the three who rescued me, two of them my former teammates, to arrive by imagining how the encounter would go. I can't quite picture my replacement's reaction, but Sasuke would probably be the aloof asshole he always was, and Sakura would be slightly worried, but also quite angry that I hadn't written. I chuckled at the thought.
It hadn't gone how I had expected in the least.
A strange couple came in cautiously, the male with black hair and black vaguely worried eyes, the woman with pink hair and green eyes. Her eyes burned with a fire of anger.
"Why didn't you tell us you were leaving?! Or write to us to tell us you were ok? I have been so worried." Sakura started off yelling, but broke into a whisper as she spoke the last sentence. My heart stirs with guilt, then sorrow.
"Because I wasn't."
Her eyes snap to mine, and she remembers the situation she found me in. Another man had walked in whilst she spoke, and caught my reply with suspicious eyes. It's funny, he looks just like another young Sasuke, with those black emotionless eyes of his. Said look alike chooses now to speak.
"Why weren't you ok?" In answer, I roll up my sleeves revealing the scars from numerous torture sessions over the past year.
"I was 'ok' until a few days before Jiraiya came back to the village. I was a prisoner under the Akatsuki for the rest of the time I have been gone. They tortured me..." My voice cracks and I can't finish the thought. Sakura had been an ok friend to me since we were placed on the same team. Apparently she had thought I was a real idiot, when the truth was I just didn't put the effort in to work hard. Something that I had turned into a strategy of deception for myself.
She moved forward to comfort her second best friend, me.
"What has happened to us all over the last three years?" She asks and I again notice how different we all, of the original team seven, are.
Sakura's aura and smell tells me she is no longer a weakling, but someone of immense power. I recall that before I left she was apprentice of Tsunade, a sannin and a Hokage. She must have gained the same monstrous strength as the old woman.
Sasuke, as he moves to put his arm around the pink haired kunoichi, has began to trust people. Not only that but he is less vengeful, seeing how he didn't attack his brother in the clearing. He is even showing emotion, hell, kissing Sakura's forehead to comfort her, something the old Sasuke would never do.
Then there is me. Covered in scars, physically and mentally. Stronger than any other jounin out there, but stuck at the level of chunin. I was pushed to my limits, then held captive. I went from a talkative playful child to this... cold bitch in three years. I have seen things most thirty year olds, even ANBU haven't seen, all by the age of sixteen.
I sigh, then nodding in agreement to her.
"I need to speak to Jiraiya, but will you all come back tomorrow?"
"Of course!" Sakura immediately replies. "Would you like us to bring you anything?"
"Could you get me a new set of clothes? These hospital gowns are so uncomfortable..." I trail off. She and Sasuke nod and leave, but the other man stays behind.
"I'm Sai by the way." He tries to give me a smile, but I can tell how fake it is by looking into his eyes.
"Is something wrong?" I ask him cautiously.
"I could ask you the same thing," he states cryptically and leaves.
What is up with these men?
I spent a few hours, laying around after Tsunade came back. She keeps going in and out of the room, so when she leaves I try to stand. The problem with that was that she keeps walking in right as I get my feet over the edge of the bed. This time when she leaves I don't bother.
She walks in, sees that I stayed put, and smiles.
"I have already sent for Jiraiya, but didn't tell him why. I wasn't sure if you wanted him to know."
"Perfect, I can be really dramatic about this," I say.
"He is on a mission right now, but should be back soon. That should give you some time to plan." I nod at her words, then shift around a bit where I lay, trying to stand up. I manage to get to my feet before Tsunade notices my intentions. I take a step as she leaps from her chair, and fall to the ground cringing. Something starts dripping down my side and seeping through the shirt and Baa-chan sighs.
"Will you please just stay still! Those wounds will never heal if you don't stay in bed," She scolds me, but stops and stares at something over my now bruised shoulder, which I had slammed on the metal railing of the bed as I fell. I turn to see a red marked face staring back at me, his eyes a swirl of emotion.
"I'm not on a mission right now, and don't plan to be until I wake up from this dream." He pinches himself a few times, then in a desperate attempt to awaken himself bites his hand. I chuckle.
"You always were a day dreamer, huh, ero-sennin?" After hearing my voice, he realizes he is awake, then snatches me up in a bone crushing hug. I yelp in pain, which he must have taken as a yip of delight, because he clutches me tighter.
He pulls away when my blood seeps onto his arm.
"Kami, Tsunade! Why haven't you healed her yet? She is still bleeding this much?" Tsunade sighs.
"I did heal her. Multiple times. From the state she arrived in, even I ran out of chakra from healing her worst wounds. I don't trust anyone else to heal her, because some of the wounds have highly concentrated poisons, which only myself and Sakura know how to heal."
"What do you mean, 'the condition she arrived in?' What happened to her?"
"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" I shout in frustration. Everyone in the room pauses to gather their thoughts and calm down. During which time Tsunade lifts me and lays me back on the bed. I look at Tsunade, and decide to let her give a report on my injuries.
"She had three broken ribs, two fractured ribs, lacerations to her wrists, sides, and back, bruises everywhere, the newest ones were around her neck, probably from an attempt to strangle her," she says, gesturing to my neck.
"What is the last thing you remember happening, before I disappeared?" I ask, so I don't explain more than I need to.
"We had just left Sunagakure for the second time, and were deciding which way to go."
"We had stopped to camp for the night out in the forest, when you suddenly told me to hide..."
We lit the fire and began roasting some squirrels we had caught. Jiraiya suddenly leaned in close to me.
"I want you to go sit in that tree," He says. pointing to a tall tree in the distance. "Wait for me to come over before leaving." I nod, knowing not to question him. I shun shin to the tree, then watch our clearing from above. Jiraiya has discreetly drawn a knife and hides his hand as two figures enter the clearing.
Both sport the same clouded black and red cloak, the mark of the Akatsuki.
I recognize them immediately, because of the information we have gathered on them over the years. It was Konan and Pein themselves.
I quickly set up a line of foxes to relay the conversation to me.
"We know you have the girl hidden out here with you. Our other agents have gathered that she left the city to train with you. Where have you hidden her?" Pein asks, before glancing at Konan. "Go find her."
She nods and vanishes from my sight.
"I think I'll leave you alive, for now," he says, then, with lightning speed, hits Jiraiya's neck, in a way that would render him unconscious. I knew that would happen now.
I disperse the foxes, not wanting them to get hurt.
I pulled out a scroll and quickly summoned a small toad. Gamakichi appeared and I made a sign for him to be quiet. I quickly scribbled a note asking someone to escort my sensei home, and to tell them not to look for me.
"Take this straight to Gaara, he will know what to do with it. be sure to tell everyone I will miss them. Now hurry!" He nods, seemingly catching my urgency. The little guy disappears into the distance as I hear some footsteps approaching my tree. The last thing I see in the clearing is Pein completing the hand signs to erase Jiraiya's memory of the encounter.
"Gaara's team went back and searched the area for any traces of you all nearby, but could not find you. They must have covered the tracks. I searched for you for months, but decided you just didn't want to be found... I'm a fool!" He said, slapping his hands up to cover his face as he plopped into the chair on the side of my bed.
"No. I told you to leave me, because it would be foolish to try to take on the whole akatsuki on your own. Don't beat yourself up ok? I'm alright now, and that's all that matters," he nods seemingly unconvinced. I knew it was because my voice hadn't been to sure at that last sentence.
He stayed there in silence studying my face, but I couldn't stay awake for much longer. I fell asleep in exhaustion, knowing he would still be there when I woke up.