Posted on: 30/12/16
A/N: So here's the second chapter of ACaR. Hope you guys will enjoy! Please Review to let me know what you think...:)
"By every passing second,
I'm drowning more into the dark...
Is this how it feels to be alone?
Is this how it feels to hate?"
-Sakura Haruno
Chapter 2: Her Fallen Soul
An hour had elapsed in the moments that the two girls spent in shedding tears over their broken self. Neither one spoke but silently wiped their tear-streaked cheeks. Sighs and moans of deep sadness were the only sounds that they could use to communicate. Naruto was gone...and so was Sasuke... The reality is so easy to understand yet the girls can't find it in their hearts to give-up. Few more tears traced their path down the young women's cheeks.
The door to the room creaked-open and in came the 14-year old younger sibling of the Hyuga heiress. It looked as if she was about to speak but stopped when her pale-white irises landed on the lovelorn condition of the older girls. Fortunately, the awkward quiet of the room did not last long as the kunoichi with emerald orbs glanced at the young teen and shakily stood-up. Her mental stature was not completely healed but physically, she was ready for whatever the younger girl had to say.
"Sakura...um..you and nee-san-"
Hanabi began but was interrupted by the pink haired female.
"What is it, Hanabi?" She asked.
"Um..are you two fine?" Hanabi asked hesitantly.
Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"What is it?" She asked the young girl again.
"Erm..there is a message...from Neji-niisan." Hanabi was hesitant but continued, "He says both of you are to report at the HQ right now."
Sakura nodded at the news and turned her head slightly to take a glance at the midnight-black haired Hyuga princess. She was still sobbing, unable to contain her emotions. Slowly, she tilted her head up so that her pale white irises met the gaze of the equally gloomy emerald ones. Hinata didnot speak but her eyes were more than enough to convey the message to the medic.
Sakura nodded and started walking out of the room.
"I'll catch you guys later." She said.
"But" Hanabi began as she glanced back and forth between Sakura and her older sister, "Both you and Nee-chan must go. He has ordered for this."
Hinata's sobbing came to a halt and she looked at Sakura's back, awaiting her response to her younger sister. She wanted to do this. She knew it was necessary for her to join this meeting of the FoK but..she found it difficult to control her emotions. After all, shinobi must not show any signs of emotions as emotions are a weakness and can even lead to death. But still, in her heart, she wished that Sakura would say something convincing to her sister and let her be.
And that is exactly what happened when Sakura spoke.
"No, I don't think it's the right time for Hinata to meet-up with the others." She retorted.
"But he said-"
Sakura didnot pay any heed to Hanabi's words and left the compound after putting her henge back on her form.
.
.
.
Exiting the Hyuga Compounds, she began her walk towards the more secluded regions of the village. Many citizens passed by her, some recognising her as the hospital medic Ms. Minamoto while others just brushing past her. She even heard some of them whispering about their sufferings amongst each other. But amidst all this chatter, her ears caught on a particular sentence.
"You know...I heard that someone saw her." A woman whispered to her husband.
"Who?" The man asked casually.
The lady looked around and then whispered quickly, "Sakura Haruno, the last member of team 7. She was seen at the Yamanaka Flower Shop.."
The man was surprised, "..but I thought she disappeared after the war?"
Sakura did not wait to hear anymore of their gossip and increased her pace. This is what she hated the most. When she worked hard and did her best, no one even cared to take a glance. And now, when everything has been shattered, people are taking her name like a goddess. Like she holds the solutions to all their problems. Like she can actually end all of this misery.
She took a long breath to ease the tension in her mind.
On reaching her destination, she lowered the level of her chakra and hid behind the foliage of bushes. It were the special grounds owned by the Nara Clan. The leader of their rebel group decided to set this place as their HQ for all the important meetings as it was secluded and was only monitored by two Anbus. And lazy as Shikamaru is, he agreed and permitted the members of FoK to enter these special premises that must only be used by the Nara clansmen. The place was very quiet and soothing, she thought. But this is not the right time for her to relax and recline, so she did what she was supposed to do. She watched the guards taking rounds after a break of every two minutes.
After a duration of five hours, all of these coward sycophants of Madara, switch their guarding stations in a short time of about four minutes. It is these four minutes that she'll utilise to enter their HQ.
There were still some minutes left before the next change of stations, thus, Sakura waited patiently for the right time to make her entry into the HQ.
.
.
Soon the guards moved out to switch their position with the guards of the nearest neighbouring station. She wasted no moment and jumped out of the bush she had been hiding behind. From their she jogged towards a bush to her left and on reaching it, she made a round from the tree next to that bush. Lastly, she counted the ten steps of her feet to another bush towards her right and turned her head to the side to check if anyone had seen her or not. Having been sure of no presence of any chakra signatures, she jumped into the hole that was concealed beneath the bush by a genjutsu.
Her body slid down and she did a front roll to keep herself in balance, thus landing in a crouched position before a wall of rocks. Sakura scanned the wall and found a small door camouflaged within the wall. She gave three quick knocks to it and waited. The knocking was used as a password to check whether the person is a trusted member of FoK or one of Madara's underlings. It was suggested by Shikamaru himself for the safety of his clan's special grounds and this underground safe-house.
The door cracked open and out peeked a youngman with dark shades that made him look mysterious.
"Hey..Shino" Sakura greeted awkwardly.
He ignored her palm waving at him and asked, "Where's Hinata?"
Sakura's eyes rolled down towards her feet recalling the mentioned girl's tears of pain. She shook her head and answered, "She didn't want to come."
The bug-lover was quiet for a split second but then he pulled the door wide enough for her to enter.
She walked in and dropped her henge.
The place was not much furnished. There were only a few chairs, stools and cushions to sit on and discuss their plans and priorities. Plus, the whole area was dimly lit by torches placed in the hooks at the corners of the wall. She looked around all the familiar faces present their and moved to sit down next to her childhood friend with blonde hair. Ino gave her a small smile but felt confused about the absence of Hinata.
"Alright, I presume that no one else is gonna join us?" A manly voice asked from the shadows.
Everyone turned their heads towards the centre of the room and nodded their heads to the silhouetted figure of their leader.
"So let's begin this meeting with the recitation of our motto." The man said.
A girl came out from behind the silhouetted man and stood before the small group. She had the normal height of a nineteen year old girl and lovely short, pale-yellow tresses. The most striking thing about her wasn't her ample bosom but her unusually tough behaviour for a girl. She placed a hand on her hip and counted the number of members present in the room. Sakura recognised her as Samui from the village hidden in the clouds.
Giving a small disappointed look to Sakura, Samui began with the motto of the FoK, "We, the members of Fire of Konoha.."
"We, the members of the Fire of Konoha." Everyone repeated after her.
Samui continued, "...are the flames that unite and make this fire blaze. We are the Fire of Konoha."
"...are the flames that unite and make this fire blaze. We are the Fire of Konoha!" Everyone finished.
As the recital of the motto ended, everyone quieted down and waited for the commencement of the important discussions.
FoK, this is the rebel group that Sakura was asked to join by her friends. Surprisingly, the idea of this group was suggested by Shino Aburame to Sai, who agreed and asked a few of his willing acquaintances to join(Sakura being one of them). Soon after two months of Madara's victory, a small, stable group of a few members was formed. This group consists of the deadly trio Ino-Shika-Cho, the sensory specialists: Kiba, Shino and Hinata and even the students of the Beast of Konoha, namely Lee, Neji and Tenten joined in. Sometimes later, a few shinobi from the other nations joined in to help for a greater cause.
The credit for the recruitment of members from other villages goes to Sai, who is currently acting as a double-agent and trying his best to gain more and more intel on the Uchiha's activities. It is because of his exceptional skills as a former Root Member that he was approved to enter the anbu black ops without any questioning from the government.
"Okay", began their conspicuous leader, "before we get down to business, where's Hyuga?"
"Right here", answered Neji and stood-up.
"Not you", the leader said, "I meant your sister."
All the heads present in the room turned to face the silent pink-haired kunoichi of their team. Their questioning glances made the girl feel more uncomfortable than she already was. It's not like it was her duty to bring the Hyuga Princess along because Ino had merely asked her to pay a visit. But looks like Neji had told about his little request to every member of the FoK.
"Why didn't you bring her with you?!" Samui yelled.
Sakura shook. She averted her gaze away from the blonde woman and stared into space. It is happening all over again. First those ladies at the Yamanaka Flower Shop, then those murmuring civilians and now even the members of her own rebel group. Her very own friends. No one ever bothered with her abilities in the past but now all of a sudden, everyone expects so much from her. And this too, all because of the fact that she is a member of the team 7. She is not in the state to handle this. If she hears anymore of this, then-
"So much for the last remaining member of the incredible Team 7." scoffed Samui.
"Enough!" Ino shouted at the cloud kunoichi and pounced at her.
Samui fought back, "Hey! Back-off! You leaf bitch!"
"Leaf Bitch? Stop offending the lovely breeds of dogs in our village!" Kiba yelled and jumped in.
Everyone eyed the three adult ninjas who were busy bickering like four-year olds. Shino stared at them silently, wondering if he must jump in to help Kiba whilst Chouji kept on munching down his chips. Shikamaru shook his head in disbelief. Too troublesome for a rebellious team.
"Quiet down you three. If somebody happens to hear you then our rebellion will be dead even before it actually begins."
The three shut their mouths and immediately stood up. It was their very own leader who had intervened. He finally came out of the shadows concealing his dark, tanned skin. Passing a hand through his off-white hair, he sighed after pulling out a lollipop from his mouth. Seriously, mutual cooperation is the most important part of this rebellion and these guys don't even know the C of this Cooperation. How is he going to handle these everyday quarrels? But most importantly, why did he even accept to be the leader?
"Stop being so childish." He ordered.
"But Darui, she-"
Darui cut Samui off, "She was not assigned on a mission to bring the Hyuga's sister. Hyuga was supposed to do it on his own and yet he imposed his work on her."
"Correct", Shikamaru piped-in, "And also, Sakura is not the only remaining member of Team 7. We still have Kakashi sensei."
At the mention of the silver-haired jounin, everyone turned pale, recalling their own team mentors. Sadly, they can't be of any help just like Kakashi as Asuma had died in the fight against Kakuzu and Hidan while Kurenai is due to deliver her baby any of these coming weeks. And to everyone's dismay, Guy sensei is not yet found.
"Kakashi Hatake is still in a state of coma. So he's not even a part of the team." Samui spoke curtly.
"Whatever! It's not Sakura's fault that Hinata didn't come." Ino defended her friend.
"Oh yeah? Then why not just let your pink-haired bitch explain this whole deal!" Samui demanded.
Everyone turned towards Sakura, who was shaking her head as if lost in a traumatic past. Ino quickly went over to her and hugged the girl, trying to soothe her terrified friend. As if the village civilians are not enough with their accusations. Now this cloud village girl has too started blaming Sakura. And who knows, soon enough the other members of this crew will do the same. Why can't they settle with the fact that none of it is Sakura's fault?! Why is it so hard for them?
Before Ino could speak-up for her friend, Shikamaru did, "Let her be...okay. Even I could not bring Temari to the meeting."
If anything, Ino hugged Sakura even tighter on hearing the name of their friend from sand. Temari's condition is very much similar to that of her pink-haired best friend. After the war ended, she lost both of her beloved brothers. Gaara's body disappeared along with the other kages while Kankuro was captured and who knows what was done to him later on. Ino felt bad for the girl but was quite irritated with the fact that both Hinata and Temari are allowed to skip meetings like these when actually Sakura needs this the most. Are they biasing their behaviour with her? If yes, then why?
"Since you failed to bring your sister, our mission to Kumogakure will be delayed." Darui cut in and looked seriously at Neji, "Also, next time try doing your works on your own instead of dumping them off for others to do."
Neji sighed and turned towards a weeping Sakura, "Forgive me."
She bade no response to the Hyuga prodigy and continued with her silent sobbing. It's always like this with her. People hurt her and then ask for forgiveness. It's like they're trying to sympathise with her but are actually pitying her. But it isn't their fault that she is so pathetic. After all, throughout her life she has done nothing but stand behind other's backs, waiting for them to finish-off the real challenging matters while what she did was patching-up a few scrapes and abrasions post-mission. She is, she was and will always be a weak, useless, cry baby of the group. If only she is given a chance to do something worthwhile for the sake of mankind, she will willingly put her life on the line.
"Okay, lets focus on the matter at hand." Darui clapped his hands to grasp everyone's attention.
The tension between the members eased only slightly but Darui was thankful that atleast his position as a leader can maintain peace amongst the members of this group.
This tension isn't caused because of any sort of differences that they share but because of the tyrannical leader of the five shinobi nations. Madara's rule has affected everyone in some way or the other. The villagers are suffering with the loss of occupations as most of them used to be ninjas. The less amount of everyday necessities required for a normal living have also added to their condition. On the contrary, people like him and the members of FoK are frustrated at the loss of their dear ones and at their inability to save them. No one was spared after the victory of the Uchihas. All the prominent clans were only spared on the condition that they won't attempt any kind of mutiny against the Uchiha members. But exceptional cases are everywhere and in this current situation, it were the Hyugas that were paying. The Hyuga Clan is the only remaining clan that can actually pose as a threat to the Uchihas after the elimination of the few left members of the Senju and Uzumaki clan.
Darui feels somewhat lucky to be born in a normal family without any special bloodline. It saved him from the situation that the Hyugas are facing at present. As a member of the Anbu, Sai was told about a classified mission that will be put into during the night of this coming week- The annihilation of the Hyuga Clan. All the Anbus are supposed to eliminate each and every member of the Hyuga Clan, be it a child or not.
Two days of this week have already passed which means that they only have five days to plan on how to tackle this annihilation. Sai has already tried speaking with his anbu captain but to no avail. And it is completely impossible to transfer more than 600 members of a clan to a secret hideout without being noticed by the Uchiha government. This leaves them with only two ways to deal with the matter, one: a battle on the spur of the moment with all the anbus or two: a cleverly executed ambush of all the anbus. This will not only save a clan from extinction but will also decrease Madara's man-power.
There was also this third way which included an attack on the village by their allies from the sand and cloud village. But for that, Hinata Hyuga is supposed to guide the group using her ocular capabilities.
Their original course of action was to send Hinata with Sai to rendezvous with their members of FoK present in Sand and Cloud Village and begin their Coup d'état at night. The Hyuga girl would've easily guided them to the village without being noticed by Madara's men patrolling the village at night. With Hinata leading the FoKs from the outside while Darui and Neji attacking from the inside would've been an excellent strategy to tackle and defeat the Anbu Division and thus, save the Hyugas from their elimination from the face of this world.
Unfortunately, Hinata did not show up and most likely will not be coming out of her rat hole any time soon. So now, they are left with nothing but their rash secondary plans which Shikamaru thinks won't even stand a chance.
"Hinata won't be coming out. So, what do we do? Any suggestions?" Darui asked his crew.
"Shikamaru can use that big brain of his to plan a flawless ambush." Tenten suggested instantly.
"I agree with Tenten-san! It is much better than blindly attacking them head-on." Lee who had been shockingly quiet for such a long time spoke up.
"No!" Neji retorted, "Our night coup d'état can still work. I'll go rendezvous with the members from other villages in place of Hinata-hime."
"That would be quite reckless." Shikamaru disapproved.
"True. Even if you manage to complete the task from the outside, we won't be able to do the same. With you gone and attacking from outside, our forces on the inside will weaken." Darui explained, patting Shikamaru's back in agreement.
"Then what should we do!" Tenten yelled.
For the past few weeks, Tenten has been trying to have a good spar with Neji but he keeps blatantly refusing. She is trying her best to distract him from the problems that he is currently facing because of his clan's condition. It really irks her to see a stressed out Neji Hyuga. She wants to help him out of it in some way but she can't. When she heard about their midnight Coup d'état, she was relieved that at least now Neji wouldn't feel bad because they won't back down without an actual fight. But no, something had to happen and spoil their chance. Hinata didn't come and who is to blame?
"How hard can it be to bring a girl with you?" Tenten questioned Sakura.
"I was asking the same thing." Samui added.
"What's wrong with you guys? Can't you leave her alone?" Ino screeched.
Sakura has been tolerating these false accusations for so long without any complaints and it is unbearable for Ino to see her childhood best friend suffering without even fighting back. It is about time they leave her alone and let her be because none of this is her fault. Why make someone the culprit without even reproaching their own selves? This negative behaviour towards the pinkette will only lead to the spreading of wrong views for her best friend.
"There are more than 600 Hyugas living in the new compound. Can't someone replace Hinata?" Ino questioned everyone present in the room.
"You know it, Ino." Shikamaru spoke, trying to remind her and everyone else, "We have not informed even a single soul about our Rebel group. If we do, then unlike supporting us for our struggle, they will oppose us. They won't see the bright side of our hard work. Instead, they will only see more problems for their family and friends. And amidst all this panic, some of Madara's minions will hear out about us. So, in the end our small group will be wiped-out because of our own dear ones. Therefore, we cannot and must not inform about our group even to our family, friends and clansmen for their own sake."
There was a pregnant moment inside the base as everyone went back on thinking about their own actions. It is true that they have all been frustrated and so, are trying to impose their mistakes on others and particularly on Sakura. It is also true that talking about these matters to their own family and clansmen will not provide any support but will lead to more chaotic situations. It is best for all of them to take a deep breath, sit down and work on a new plan with a fresh mind.
"Okay, since none of us are in our right minds, I postpone this meeting. It'll be held two days later from today." Darui announced.
"...in the mean time, think of a good plan to tackle this annihilation of the Hyugas." He added a second later.
"..A-A-And..."
A crooked, broken sort of voice stuttered. To everyone's surprise, it was Sakura who had spoken. She pulled herself away from Ino's consoling arms and shakily stood-up to face the lollipop-loving leader of their group. Chouji, who had been quietly munching on his potato-chips all throughout the discussion, continued chewing but this time even faster than before. He could see a flicker of determination in the medical kunoichi's emerald irises and that made him a bit nervous. A wailing soul can only tolerate for so long. He knows that hearing all those hateful remarks from the members of FoK must be really painful. And this is exactly why she has decided to stand-up against the insult and protect her pride.
"I will...during the next meeting you'll see Hinata Hyuga right before your eyes." She promised not to anyone but herself.
"Relax Sakura, you don't need to do this. It's not your fault." Shikamaru protested.
Here it comes. The fake consolation that people give her after every argument and after imposing every blame on her is making her sick. It's gnawing at her skin like an eagle's claws. She is not going to accept any of these indirect apologies anymore. It is about time she stops weeping like a pathetic lamb and starts working on her flaws to prove herself.
"It's okay...I will bring her.." She said and made a beeline for the exit.
Opening the door to their underground HQ, she looked around for the concealed stone, stairway to walk-out of the place. A feeling of nausea had began crawling at her neck. If she doesn't gets out now then sure as hell, she will end-up vomiting out the orange juice that she had taken for her breakfast early in the morning. People from inside kept calling her but she paid them no heed. Ino and Sai even came out to get her back in to the room but she refused and started climbing-up the steep stairs to escape the clutches of their sympathy. She doesn't want it. All she needs is their approval of her as a valuable asset to the FoK and she will do her best to gain their recognition.
Taking another long sip from his pack, the white-haired man walked-out of the public hospital that he had been searching through for the sake of his leader. He snickered distastefully at having considered that dark-haired guy of his age-group as his leader. No one can boss him around, not even the merciless Hokage of this village. To be honest, he was the least bit of concerned about what the Hokage might do to him on his failure at accomplishing his current search-mission. He is more worried about how a certain younger version of the Hokage will take this same failure. Will he be angry or simply disappointed like any other normal 18-year old guy? But wait, considering the temperament of the man in question, nobody can guess what his reaction will be at hearing this piece of news.
"Did you find anything?" A strong voice pulled the white-haired man out of his troubling thoughts and his violet irises gazed up at the taller man.
"Nope. No signs of her. It's like she never even existed." He told his fiery-haired buddy.
"But I saw her during the war. She was there. She even had that weird shade of pink hair that everyone keeps murmuring about." The tall guy explained.
"Murmuring? You heard someone murmuring about her?" The white-haired guy asked in shock.
The man with orange shade of spiky hair shook his head, "Suigetsu, it's not important. Plain murmuring will not help us in our search."
The lean guy named Suigetsu looked disbelievingly at his pal.
"You saw someone murmuring about her and let the person go?!" He asked.
The taller guy only shrugged in response.
"Juugo, I can't believe you let them go! If they were murmuring then they surely know something about her." Suigetsu explained.
He then took a quick sip of water from his small pack and turned around.
"Let's go and talk to the civilians. Who knows maybe we'll get to hear some of that murmuring that you mentioned about." He said and started walking down the lane.
Juugo sighed and followed his lean partner on the street. It has been six hours and two days since the beginning of their search for a pink-haired, 18-year old kunoichi. The request for this search was made by none other than their dark, angsty leader. Madara too was interested in this certain pink-haired girl. Why she matters so much, none if them knows. But for some reason as soon as she is found, she is required to be taken to the Hokage Tower.
For this same reason, they began their search from a few houses in different streets. Juugo had also heard about her being an apprentice of the fifth Hokage, who was a specialist in medical field. It is said that the girl herself was very skilled in medical ninjutsu and so they decided to check for her identity in the Konoha Medical Hospital. But the doctors present there told them that she hasn't been spotted anywhere around since the ending of the war. If she went missing right after the war then either she is dead or she is smart enough to obscure her distinctive identity from the eyes of the commoners and the Uchiha government. Still, he trusts his ears enough to accept the fact that some village citizens were really murmuring about having seen a pink-haired girl. They also mentioned something about a quarrel amongst some old ladies and a blonde, flower-seller. He is not sure if these rumours are true or false but he is damn sure that their search is not going to end anytime soon...
A/N: So, what do you think?
Did you like the FoK?
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
Leave a review, eh? :D
~Manika
