"Psst!" Sakura's lips watered after making the sound.
It was one in the morning already, and there were no signs at all from Killer Bee. She debated whether he had betrayed her or not, but it didn't matter at all anyways; it was either this or leaving Naruto to his demise. There was no way she would leave him in jail, even if that meant getting thrown in one.
It was a farfetched plan, but it was the only one she thought could work. She would get all the slaves to work together and free themselves; that would certainly get the police attention and give Naruto and Haku plenty of time to escape. It would also free the slaves in the process, so she was killing two birds with one stone.
"Psst!" Sakura made the sound more urgently this time; it was not exactly a good thing to be so out in the open.
The doors in which she was leaning suddenly opened, and she took a quick look at Killer Bee. He motioned her to enter the house. Sakura quickly got inside and sighed deeply; she doubted that she would ever get used to this type of things. The rush was certainly exiting for her, but maybe it was too much pressure.
Quickly regaining her composure, Sakura took a look at her surroundings and was shocked at the image in front of her.
There were probably more than two hundred people in this small house, if you could even call it a house. It was more of a small building with no walls, sort of like a stable. The only difference was that there were beds all over the place and those beds were not exactly what you would call comfortable. They were made out of straw and old blankets.
Most of these people were so skinny their cheekbones were the first thing you noticed, they looked like skeletons. On the other hand the bigger ones, like Killer Bee, were full of scars and infections all over their bodies. It was obvious they were being used for farming, and whipped whenever they fell out of line.
Sakura could almost feel the pain just by looking at their faces. One of them turned to look her in the face, but Sakura quickly looked the other way. She couldn't make eye contact with the man, and she wasn't sure if it was because she was ashamed or just grossed out. She kneeled down and covered her mouth trying to stop her stomach from returning that sandwich Killer Bee gave her earlier.
"Are you alright Miss?" Bee asked her with a worried face.
Sakura cleared her throat before replying, "Yes. Don't worry about me," she faked the best smile she could offer, "Can you explain me what is happening here?"
"Sorry about all this, we were already sleeping," Killer Bee answered honestly, but obliviously.
"Hey you!" Sakura heard a man yell to catch Bee's attention.
Killer Bee turned his head and answered when he saw who had called him, "what's the matter Omoi?"
"Don't play around with me you asshole, what are you doing with a white girl!?" Omoi asked furiously, "They could kill us because of this you dumbass!"
"Calm down please," Sakura interjected, "I'm here because I want to ask you guys a favor."
Omoi quickly changed attitudes when he addressed Sakura, "ah yes master, but you need not to ask any favors to us" he vowed and smiled, "Whatever you ask for, we will do, no questions asked."
Sakura rubbed her eyes, the more time she spent here the more she couldn't believe it, "first of all, don't call me 'master'," Sakura said.
Omoi frowned confused, "whatever you like ma-" Omoi stopped himself before completing the word, "umm what's your name again?"
"Sakura Haruno, but just call me Sakura" she smiled, "and it seems you already know Killer Bee."
''I don't know anyone called like that,'' Omoi raised his eyebrow.
Bee coughed, "that would be me Omoi."
Omoi laughed, "no way you dumbass, master said you couldn't have a name!"
"Miss Sakura gave it to me, she said it was fine," Bee explained.
''Who are you anyways?'' Omoi asked. Sakura didn't miss the change in his tone of voice,''I've never seen you before, are you like a granddaughter of master or what?''
Sakura was about to answer the question honestly, but she stopped just before opening her mouth. She was actually nobody to them, even if they were slaves they were bound to their owner and not her.
She was now sure that no matter what she did or said, these people would not listen. That fact kind of hurt her, she just wanted the best for these people, but she would be ignored anyways. Not even if it meant their freedom.
''No, I'm not,'' she told the truth, after what seemed to be an eternity.
Telling a lie right now would only get her into more trouble in the long run, and she needed to convince these people. She was not going to be able to if she just lied to them, it would be no better than what their 'masters' were doing. They had a right to be free, but it needed to be because they wanted to.
"I'm here to give you guys your freedom back."
Omoi frowned and looked at her with disbelief. In a few seconds he was bursting out laughing and holding his stomach. Sakura stood there, her face a neutral mask hiding the urge to smack him in the face.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Omoi apologized as he cleaned the tears of laughter off his face, "you've come to give us our freedom? Sorry, but that is not going to fool anyone in here. Master is the one who has the right to tell us what to do. So I suggest you get out before he finds you, and makes our lives even worse because of it," he began to walk away from Bee and Sakura.
''Fair enough, I don't need a wimp who won't even fight for himself or his friends anyways,'' Sakura blurted out.
She didn't mean to make it sound so bad, but she was desperate. A firm stand is what would help her here. She needed to be a leader.
Omoi stopped in his tracks and clenched his fist. He turned to look at Sakura in the eyes.
Sakura could see the anger channeled in his eyes, but there was something more in there. She was not sure if it was pain, anger or sadness. She braced herself for the confrontation anyways.
''You have no right to call me a coward!'' Omoi was dashing towards her.
Sensing the tension Killer Bee intercepted him before he could get any closer, ''calm down Omoi, you know what happens when you get like this.''
Sakura was relieved to at least have someone on her side already or at least that's what she thought.
"A fucking white girl has no right to call me a coward!" Omoi locked eyes with Sakura, he had tears running down his face.
Sakura felt pain in her stomach after seeing Omoi's tears. Contrary to before, the tears in his face were not of laughter; they were of pain and sadness. His body language changed completely as well, almost as if he had a huge weight on top of his shoulders.
"You have no fucking idea what we've went through!" Omoi yelled, "do you know why I don't even try anymore!? Because it's futile, I've already lost Karui and I'm not going to needlessly sacrifice more people for my 'freedom'. If freedom comes at the price of death, then I'll rather be a living slave!"
The exchange brought a lot of attention towards them; Sakura could feel all the looks on her. It seemed most of them agreed with Omoi, some of them nodded in agreement while others just kept quiet. Bee seemed pretty confused himself, not sure on which side to agree.
"We agree with him lady," one of the bigger guys in there said, "we may not like it here, but it's better than the alternative."
"But this is illegal!" Sakura said, "you guys should be free. You have no obligations of living under this circumstances."
''You don't get it,'' Omoi said, ''say we manage to free ourselves; we would just be good for nobodies out in the world. The majority of us can't read, some of us are just fighters like Bee. If we get our freedom we would get neither jobs nor futures because of our fucking skin color.''
''Fighters?'' Sakura asked.
''I fight others for the entertainment of our master, if I win I get rewards and if I don't… well I die,'' Bee explained.
''I can't believe you guys,'' Sakura gritted her teeth, ''this is not life, this is hell.''
"That's what Karui used to say," Omoi looked down at the floor, Sakura noticed he did that every time he said that name, "and now she truly is in hell, so don't try to reason with us."
"How did she die?" Sakura somberly asked.
Omoi did his best to hold back the tears forming in his eyes, "we tried escaping before. Ever since the law decreed that we have the right to be free, Karui did her best to get us out of here. The masters didn't punish us so bad the first two times, but after the third time they lost their patience and…" Omoi didn't finish that sentence, but Sakura already knew what had happened to her.
"Listen girl," the big man talked once again, "I'm not sure what your intentions are, but we're tired of fighting and losing our friends. Nothing you say can change our minds."
Sakura gritted her teeth, this plan was not going as she expected. She scanned the room searching for Bee's face, and when she did, she didn't find the reassurance she was looking for. Bee looked as defeated as any other person in here. It pained her so much, this was not even a matter of just helping Naruto and Haku anymore.
Sakura walked slowly towards the exit in defeat. Omoi chuckled mockingly; he knew this girl was not for real. No one was for real in this world, they only cared about themselves. He had seen enough in people to be sure of that. This girl would just get out of here and do nothing for them. She would not even say another word.
Sakura reached the doors and just before she was about to open them she stopped herself. She could feel the looks everyone was giving her, even if she was not looking at them.
"I believe that Karui girl you're talking about is the freest person in the world," Sakura said, still not turning to face anyone in the room.
Omoi's eyes widened, and just when he was about to lash out again he was stopped by Bee's hand.
"She knew that a life in chains was no life at all" Sakura explained, "she may be gone, but her will is still alive inside all of you. I may not have known her, but I'm sure she wouldn't want all of you to continue like this."
Omoi was left speechless, while others in the room just looked at each other with confusion. The big guy just shred a single tear. Bee simply smiled tenderly and with hope.
"But what do I know right? I'm just a fucking white girl…" Sakura opened the doors and left the house.
Naruto tapped his foot on the floor repeatedly, he was definitely not feeling this escape at all. It had the signs of a mess written all over it. Sakura was not an expert on distractions at all, and even if she was, there was no way possible that she wouldn't get killed before he and Haku could reach her. He hated this feeling, the feeling of leaving everything up to an inexperienced girl.
"Would you stop with that foot tapping?" Haku asked annoyed, "you really need to have some faith in your friends."
"You barely know Sakura," Naruto replied, "if you did you wouldn't be as confident as you are now."
''So you don't trust her?''
Naruto stayed quiet for a minute before he answered, "She's just a young girl."
"She looks the same age as us Naruto," Haku rolled his eyes.
"But she's not like us Haku!" Naruto yelled frustrated, he was not even exactly sure why he lashed out like that. "She's from the east; she might just get killed for nothing."
"Oh I see now. So you're worried about her?"
"Of course I am, do you take me for a heartless asshole or what?" Naruto asked, he felt almost insulted by that question, "this was a bad plan dude, if something happens to her I swear…" I'll never be able to live with myself, not after losing Inari, Naruto thought.
Haku frowned, "wait… do you like this girl?"
Naruto rubbed his temples, "Haku, I swear, you're way too interested in my romantic life. What gave you that impression anyways!?"
Haku shrugged, "I've never seen you so worried about someone before."
"You two better shut the fuck up! I'm not in the mood to hear two pieces of shit blab all day!" a guard furiously yelled.
Naruto noticed him immediately, how could he not? He was the same guard that told him to keep his harmonica away, he was sure everyone hated that guard in particular. The know it all tough guy, always eager to make an impression. Naruto had a name for those kinds, ball lickers, those who would do anything in order to impress their superiors. Not even to improve themselves. They just wanted to get a bigger paycheck.
The prison cells gave an ample view of the guard's stations. Naruto was always on the lookout, checking out on guards and their behaviors. For being a grade 'A' prison, Naruto noticed that the guards were actually not that well trained. They walked around in fixed patterns, they were alone most of the time, and they had very bad equipment. Haku must have studied them as well, maybe that's why he was so confident.
Naruto went through the plan once more in his head.
There were four prison wings inside the building. In front of them stood gate 1 which was guarded by three police officers right now. According to Haku, once you pass gate one you find yourself in a five way intersection. Three of the paths lead you to blocks 2, 3, and 4. The other one takes you to the exit. Once they pick the path that leads them to the exit, they would still have to get through more guards in the entrance gate. Nothing they couldn't handle of course, but they were heavily reliant on Sakura for the distraction. They needed to ease the guards' numbers, or they would get overwhelmed. It didn't matter how good at fighting they were.
It was a well calculated plan; there were things that could go wrong, like taking the wrong path and meeting a dead end in blocks two, three or four.
The major problem was that their distraction was not on time, it was already three o'clock and no signs of any disturbance outside of the building. Meaning they couldn't begin the internal escape, if they did they would only get overwhelmed by officers outside of the prison. They needed Sakura to fulfill her duties, but Naruto was losing hope already.
"Let's talk about my love life another time," Naruto sighed, "the fact is that it's already three and we have no signals. She failed Haku, we better think of another way out."
Naruto waited for his response, but Haku didn't answer. Naruto turned around to see his friend glued to the wall.
"Haku! Did you even he-
"Shut up! Let me hear for a second," Haku placed an open palm behind his ear, waiting for the feint sound his ears caught earlier.
"Sir, we need backup right now!" a guard came through the gate, Naruto quickly noticed how beaten up he was, his face was swollen and blood was dripping from his hands.
"What the hell happened to you!?" the commanding officer demanded.
"Sir, it's… it's…" the officer had trouble speaking up.
"Fucking hell son just spit it out now!"
"The slaves sir! They're fighting our police force, there's too many of them!"
The statement captured the attention of even the inmates, some of them laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation, while others just pretended to ignored it.
Naruto's eyes widened, there was no way this was thanks to Sakura was it? Naruto could hear Haku laugh from his cell. It must be destiny proving him wrong.
"Seems like she did an amazing job if you ask me," Haku commented.
"Maybe it was not her, it could just be a coincidence," Naruto replied.
"Come on Naruto, I've been here a year. Not even once did slaves tried to escape during that time, not even you can believe this is a coincidence."
Holy shit how the fuck did she made it? Naruto thought to himself, he was actually more relieved than surprised. Still there was no way that whiny little girl could get a bunch of slaves to fight for their freedom. How the hell did she managed to convince them to help her?
Haku and Naruto saw as guards prepared themselves. They put on their hats and drew their guns out before going outside. This was now their window of chance to make their escape route.
"It's time Naruto, we need a key from the guards to get out of here," Haku said.
They waited until the guards disappeared outside to make their move. Naruto took out his harmonica once again and smirked, "waaaay ahead of you there buddy," he said as he began to play some quick blues.
This quickly grabbed the attention of the guard that hated his music, "Uzumaki! Shut the fuck up now! We're in no mood for your stupid songs!"
''Loosen up a little man! This is the best mood to play some blues actually!'' Naruto laughed, "Maybe you'll remember the tunes once those 'dirty niggers' beat the shit out of you."
The tone of the guards face quickly turned to a color resembling purple, much to Naruto's amusement, Haku could barely contain his laugh as well.
''You're fucking dead Uzumaki!'' the guard quickly sprinted towards the cell Naruto was in.
Naruto stood at the very back of the cell, making sure the guard was forced to get inside his cell. It took a while for the guard to reach there, but just as he imagined the guard opened up his cell and pointed his gun towards Naruto's head. He made sure he was at a safe enough distance.
''You're going to just stand there without shooting or what?'' Naruto asked after a few seconds of tension.
The guard pulled the hammer of his gun, ''you asked for it pretty boy!''
Naruto dropped his harmonica and in one swift movement kicked it towards the guard's face. The impact made him lose his footing and by extension his aim. His gun fired a bullet towards the wall and before he could position himself to make a second shot, Naruto was already in front of him.
The guard could only see a flash of orange as he was punched in the stomach and subsequently thrown to the floor by Naruto's strength. He dropped his gun in the exchange, but he made no movement to try and get it again, he was already out of breath and heavily confused because of the hit his head took on the fall.
''It's nap time,'' Naruto said before stomping the guard's face with his foot.
Naruto made sure it wasn't a fatal kick, just enough to knock him out of commission, he quickly grabbed the gun on the floor and stepped to the balcony. He located two guards already making their way towards his cell, but he was not going to give them the chance to even get that far.
He took a deep breath and fired the gun, one, two times. Each of those shots hit the target perfectly, right in the knee on both of them. Naruto laughed as he saw the guards falling down the stairs. Both of them passed out and Naruto ran to get the cell keys.
Quickly grabbing the keys from an unconscious guard he threw them right towards Haku's cell. In no time his friend quickly joined his side and took a gun for himself. The other prisoners cheered and clapped, they were now begging them to free them.
"Sorry boys. We hoped you enjoyed the show, but we take no volunteers from the crowd,'' Naruto joked while dropping the keys right in front of him.
The inmates raged and jeered at him, threatening to take his head off. Naruto shrugged and left following Haku closely behind. They opened the gate and quickly made a run for it. Naruto gripped his leg every step he took. The pain was getting worse; it felt like a giant needle pierced through his tight.
Haku slowed down once he saw Naruto falling behind, he took his friends arm and offered him support to run faster. It was obvious to Haku that Naruto hated the gesture, but it was that or getting caught so they had no choice.
They saw four more guards once they reached the main gate, they were way more than expected. And in the way Naruto was shaping up it was going to be a tough fight.
Haku quickly took the first shot once he saw a guard reach his whistle, he hoped the guards in the other blocks would mistake the shooting with the mess going outside. He got the guard right in the head, and then quickly took cover behind a desk.
Naruto dropped to the floor immediately and shot two of the guards in their groin area. They quickly fell to the floor and passed out from the pain. Naruto rolled to take cover behind the desk Haku was in.
"Shooting a man in the nuts" Haku casually commented. "Not exactly the most respectable thing to do."
"Oh shut the fuck up, I'm desperate right now," Naruto said while applying pressure to his leg.
Haku went out of cover to take a quick look, a mistake he almost paid as a bullet barely kissed his cheek. He quickly took cover again. It didn't matter; he already had the guard's position memorized. He raised his hand and took a shot without leaving his cover. He smiled once he heard the guard groan and drop his gun.
They both got up and started running towards the gate, but fate was not going to be so kind to them. They saw one final guard standing in front of the closed gate. He was a big fat one, with orange hair and brown eyes. He was at least twice their size and he didn't look very happy either.
"Just shoot him Haku," Naruto said.
Haku stood there calculating his options. He felt that this guard was not ordinary, but he pointed his gun at him anyways. Haku pressed the trigger in his gun only to find it was empty. Tch figures I would run out of bullets.
"Shit, I'm also out of bullets!" Naruto threw his gun to the floor in frustration.
It was the guard's time to take his gun out, but Haku was surprised to see him throw it away.
"I saw you guys fight the other day in the yard" the guard said. "I'm Jirobo and I want to test my strength against yours."
Naruto's expression hardened, this guy was not like the other guards. And he was damn sure he wouldn't go down as easy either.
"I'll take care of him" Haku quickly said.
"Don't be stupid, we can take him down together. There's no reason t-"
"Your leg is a mess Naruto, you'll just be in the way," Haku blurted out.
Naruto was sure he didn't mean it that way, but it didn't matter. He was furious; Haku was basically saying he was useless even after following the plan to perfection. Naruto stomped his bad leg against the floor, the pain quickly rushed throughout his body. He quickly ran at Jirobo using that adrenaline rush.
Haku yelled at him to stop, but the blond wouldn't listen.
Naruto made the first punch, and Jirobo side stepped it easily. The blond quickly placed his hands on the floor and turned to make a quick kick to his opponents face. The movement was too slow however; Jirobo quickly grabbed his foot and threw the blond away from him. Naruto landed right on top of his bad leg and he screamed in pain.
"Pathetic," Jiboro was about to kick Naruto in the face, but Haku claimed the first punch to Jirobo's face.
The big guard took two steps backwards and wiped the blood off his lips. He hits hard for being such a small guy.
Haku stood in front of Naruto now, he was in his preferred fighting position. Jirobo quickly made a right hook and Haku evaded it with grace. The big guard was not done though; he kept showering Haku with swings. Haku could do nothing, but evade his punches. Jirobo was certainly quick for being such a huge guy.
The punch came out of nowhere and once he saw it there was nothing Haku could do about it. He felt the lights go out for a split second and he fell to the floor. It almost felt as if his skull had cracked in a million pieces. Quickly getting up before Jirobo could take another hit Haku regained his fighting position. He could not get hit again by a punch like that. It would be the end of him if it happened.
Haku began to hop from one feet to another, first slowly and then quickening the pace.
Jirobo smiled mockingly, "you do know that you're leaving yourself out of balance by hopping around right?"
Haku just kept hopping and never leaving Jirobo out of his sight.
Jirobo now frowned, "don't mock me you asshole. You have no chance against me."
"You talk too much. I thought this was a fight, not a complaining center," Haku finally said.
Jirobo was now pissed off. He quickly ran towards Haku and began to throw a barrage of punches. Haku was now effortlessly dodging every single one while still hopping around. Jirobo opened his arms wide and attempted to tackle him, but Haku jumped and climbed on his back.
"Get off me you fucking rat!"
Haku crossed his legs around Jirobo's neck and hit both of the guard's ears with open palms. Jirobo quickly lost his balance and kneeled on the floor. Haku positioned himself just in front of him. Jirobo was seeing a triple image of Haku and he quickly tried to hit him. Haku just sidestepped his attempts with ease.
"That's my demonic mirror style" he told Jirobo.
"You son of a bitch!" Jirobo was about to hit him before he felt a strong punch to the stomach.
The big guard threw up on the floor as his vision was blurring. Haku stood as tall as a short man could look like in front of Jirobo. He elbowed the back of the guard's skull and his opponent quickly fell unconscious.
Haku exhaled deeply after his opponent fell unconscious. He rubbed his cheek and counted himself lucky that the only thing he had was a headache. He walked towards Naruto and offered him his hand. Naruto slapped his hand away and got up on his own, it was clear he was still pissed off.
"Hey fuck you man! A 'thank you for saving my ass' would be appreciated!" Haku yelled.
"I told you we should have taken him together!" Naruto retorted.
"Look at how easily he beat you Naruto! You are obviously in no condition to fight."
"You're starting to sound like Sakura, what the fuck is wrong with you!?"
Haku was trying to contain himself, but his friend was really testing him.
"Maybe it's because we care about you, ever thought about that!?"
Naruto was taken aback with that comment, and then quickly regained his composure, "I never asked you guys to give a shit about me," he said coldly.
Haku was now frowning furiously, "What the fuck is wrong with you? What are you so afraid of?"
The question lingered there for a moment, before both of them heard steps getting closer to them. They quickly fled the scene and ran outside the main gate. Naruto quickly looked for his and Haku's belongings. Once they took their bags they ran towards the exit.
The main plaza of the town was filled with smoke they both noticed. It seemed the slaves were really serious this time. Naruto quickly noticed two figures in the distance approaching them and he got skeptical at first. Sakura was alone so there was no way it could be her. Maybe they were more guards coming back to get reinforcements.
"Naruto!" a female voice yelled.
He immediately recognized her voice. It was Sakura after all; joining her was a tall black man. They were riding the horses they got from Genma. They had two other horses just behind them. It seemed she followed the plan just as they explained no mistakes whatsoever. The black man was riding Kurama, and Naruto quickly realized how much he disliked someone else riding his horse.
They quickly ran towards her direction. They could hear the screams of battle from afar, but it didn't stop them one bit. Haku quickly mounted Kurama, just behind the black man. Naruto lost no time and untied the other two horses from theirs. He smacked them hard enough so they would go running the opposite direction that they were taking.
Sakura quickly extended her arm so Naruto would mount, but the blond didn't take it. Instead he clumsily mounted the horse by himself. Haku sighed and Sakura just brushed it off, there were more pressing issues right now.
They galloped towards the city. So their tracks would mix with the tracks from the guard's horses. Once they ventured deep enough into the streets Naruto gave further instruction.
"This is far enough, we need to get out of the town before they see us," he said.
They stopped, but neither Sakura nor Killer Bee made any attempt to move again.
"We need to go help them," Sakura finally said.
"You must be crazy," Naruto told her. "We would get slaughter in there."
"They helped us; they're risking their lives for us and for themselves. The least we can do is to help them."
Naruto was about to tell her how stupid she was being, but he saw something different in her. There was something in those green eyes, something he was very familiar with: determination. It was the look of a survivor, ironically of course, since they would be walking towards their death if they helped the slaves.
"Haku?" Naruto turned towards him in hopes he could convince her.
"I'll go wherever the group decides," Haku was being of no help at all.
The decision now rested solely on Killer Bee. Naruto knew then that they were going to have to fight again.
"We need to get out of here," Bee said to everyone's surprise.
It especially caught Sakura's attention, "Bee what are you talking about? Your friends are over there, are you just going to abandon them!?"
She saw a single tear rush down his face and right then she understood everything. The slaves knew it was a futile battle, but even then they chose to fight.
"Why would they do that Bee!?" Sakura asked almost pleading him to change his mind.
But Bee just stood there silently, leaving the question unanswered.
Naruto could hear the battle in the background dying down. It wouldn't take long for the police to reach out in search for slaves, or fugitives for that matter.
"It's now or never; if we don't get out of here we'll be caught."
Sakura closed her eyes and made Katsuya go the other way. I'm so sorry everyone, she thought to herself.
Katsuya and Kurama ran through the middle of town, jumping the fences and evading the people in their way. Naruto started sweating bullets; his leg pain was just getting worse and worse. He turned his head towards the front and he saw two very familiar figures.
They were Izumo and Kotetsu, just chilling there in the porch of a young lady's house. Naruto was disgusted; they were such lowlifes that they wouldn't even help their fellow officers. He quickly reached to grab Sakura's gun from her holster.
"What are you-" before she could finish her question Naruto had already fired two bullets.
They both saw Izumo and Kotetsu fall to the ground. Sakura widened her eyes when she saw who they were. Naruto gave back the gun to Sakura and placed his forehead against her back. They kept moving not uttering a single word, until they eventually reached the end of the town.
Sakura was the one to break the ice, "Where are we headed to?"
Naruto took a deep breath, "I know you hate seeing me kill people, but trust me. Those guys where-"
"Assholes," Sakura finished the sentence for him. "Trust me I know… They deserved it."
Naruto was surprised by her admission, but he made sure not to make it seem obvious. The blond just told her to keep heading north east; he had a place in mind for their next destination.
They galloped for what seemed to be an eternity. It seemed no one was pursuing them either, but just in case Naruto told them not to stop until night time. Only when the sun disappeared from the sky and the wind blew cold did they stop for a breather. Everyone dismounted the horses and collapsed to the floor. Everyone except Naruto, the blond just stood there looking at the horizon.
Sakura noticed her blond companion was still standing. He was not moving at all, almost as if he expected an ambush. She sighed and went to approach him, but once she found herself by his side she couldn't think of anything to say.
It was Naruto's turn to break the ice, "Why did you come back?"
The question took Sakura by surprise, "Are you still going on about this? I thought we were over this."
"No!" Naruto furiously yelled.
Bee and Haku quickly turned their attention to the pair.
"We are not friends," stop before you say something you regret. "You are just a girl I took advantage from," why do I keep pushing people away from me? "The truth is both of us would be better off if we had never met each other!" I'm a stupid dumbass.
Sakura stood there motionless, just looking Naruto in the eyes. She eventually stepped back towards her horse. Naruto turned around, not wanting (or rather he couldn't) to look at her anymore. He eventually heard steps coming back towards him and he got angrier.
He turned around ready to throw another speech before he felt a hat being put on his head. It was the same hat he lost back in Hacho. The one Jiraiya told him to take absolute care of. She had brought it back to him, completely intact. He felt ashamed.
Just as he was about to talk again the pain came back and Naruto collapsed to the floor.
"Shit, it's his leg," Haku said.
Sakura quickly kneeled down; she cursed herself for not remembering his infected leg. She tore the prison robes he had and saw his leg already had some yellow spots. She covered her mouth and gasped.
"We have to move now or he'll lose the leg for sure," Sakura was already lifting Naruto up.
The last thing Naruto remembered was seeing Sakura's worried face, before losing consciousness.
Notes
I'm back after what felt forever. I needed a break from writing because of rl issues I had (mainly school and family), but it feels good to be back. I'm not sure how consistently im going to be able to produce chapters, but fret not. I am still going to finish the story, it may just take me a while to do so.
On to the chapter, i really enjoyed writing Haku's and Naruto's escape. Especially the fight against Jirobo. It may feel like I'm making Naruto seem incompetent for much of this chapter, but i think it's a fair portrait. Naruto is a character I feel that is driven by his emotions, for better or for worse. It is evident in this chapter how much he struggles in his relationships, obviously not wanting to attach himself to other people only to lose them after. He still has much to learn.
Sakura on the other hand I feel has grown tremendously, while she is still a weak link she can at least be extremely helpful to her friends. And just as Naruto she has that never give up attitude that makes her push herself to the limits.
The next chapters are going to change focus away from Naruto's group I'm afraid, I need to concentrate with some of the broader issues in the story. I think I did this fic waaay too big for my own good, but i'll give it all to make it worthwhile don't worry.
Till next time then my friends. Don't forget to fave and leave a review if you liked the story, I love to see opinions on my pieces.