Oturan
Part ten: Why do they…?
Time seemed to stop. Azami's face was frozen, staring at her limp teammate. Ariana had saved her, jumped in front of two swords for her. But…why would she do that? Ariana's words echoed in her ears, "Don't die." Over and over again. Azami was the only one still awake, except for Kankuro. He was also stunned. The men surrounding Azami moved once more, their hands moving toward Ariana's body. They went to take their swords from her body. Azami couldn't let them do that, she would die! Without any thought, Azami snatched their wrists. "Don't you touch…Ariana-chan." She said, growling. "My friend." The whisper flowed from her lips. Her grip tightened, cracking the men's bones. "Hey!" one man yelled, he swung his other hand at Azami. But a vine sprung from the ground and wrapped around his arm. Azami's grip only got tighter, and more vines sprung from the ground, twisting and twirling. Azami slowly rose to her feet, her head looking at the ground. She lifted her arms, and commanded the vine to toss the man to the floor. "What strength has this girl?" One man yelled to the other. "She was on her knees a second ago!" Azami looked up to the men. There was fire in her eyes, and the glow seemed to spread around her body. Her blue chakra became visible, and she peered at her hands. She clenched her teeth in anger. "Where was this power when I needed it. When HE needed it!" She growled again. The men were still on the ground, but then got up. Azami began making hand signs, one after another. Finally, she stopped. "YUURIN MANIPYUREITO NO JUTSU! DEEP FOREST MANIPULATION!" She screamed. All her glowing chakra moved to her arms as she raised them towards the men. A green tattoo-like mark appeared around her mouth and connected behind her ears, she no longer looked human. A wolf, she resembled a wolf. The anger in her eyes, and the chakra formed ears and a tail. She began twisting and spinning her arms. The vines followed her movements. It looked like she was dancing. She manipulated the vines to make them crawl to the men, and twist around their bodies. "Prepare to meet the same fate you inflicted on my brother!" She yelled in rage. "Mori Shimeru no Jutsu! Forest strangle technique!" The vines around the men grew tighter and tighter. Suddenly, Azami stopped. The vines released the two men. "AAIGH!!" She screeched in pain. The forest was spinning, around and around. Azami fell to the ground, clutching her head. Something Ookami released made her seal stop the flow of chakra. Everything went black, and the only thing she could hear was Ookami's whimpers. She was done for, just like Ariana…and Tusumi. "I'm…sorry." She let out her last whisper.
"Kage Buunshin No Jutsu!" Someone screamed. A girl? Azami heard two thuds, nearby. The men had fallen. She also heard the scuffle of feet, more than just the girl she heard. There were others too. "Azami!" She heard. A man this time, and she felt his hand on her arm. "Anko!" He called. "Get the medic team out here!" "Yes! Right away Hayate!" Anko answered. 'So, Hayate and Anko came to help me…But, what am I to them?' Azami thought to herself, before she blacked out again.
Azami woke up in a plain white room. There were bandages around her arm and head. "Where, am I?" She asked herself. "You're in a hospital room, duh!" A familiar voice replied sarcastically. Azami turned her head to a girl in a chair, even though her head still ached. "What are you looking at?" The girl snapped. "I…know you. You? Saved me?" Azami seemed confused. "Mhm…The name's Sachi, Sachi Kero." Sachi took out a kunai, poking at it. Azami moved her head again, looking back at the ceiling. "You don't even know me. Why do you care?" Softly asked Azami. "Reaction. Any good Shinobi sacrifices their life by reaction." Sachi said, still fiddling with her kunai. "Sachi." Hayate entered the room. "Visiting hours are over, and I have to talk to you." He motioned for Sachi to follow him. Hayate glanced towards the hospital bed and caught Azami's eye. It was full of pain, and also with thankfulness. A smile crept across Hayate's face as he left with Sachi.
Probably about an hour had gone past since Hayate and Sachi had left. Azami was still in bed, thinking about…her friends. She had been alone for so long, fearing and hating love and trust. Eight years, she lived alone in the forest for eight years. Hating, also, herself for not having enough strength. Her curse, her mark…She touched the purple marking on her eyes and forehead. 'The seal keeping It in has left me with little Chakra.' It was the truth. 'The Hokkaido.' The door creaked open as a nurse walked in. She went right on past Azami's bed, to a curtain across the room. The curtain made a scraping sound as it opened. 'Ariana!" Azami gasped. Ariana was in the bed next to her. Bandages around her head, chest, and arms. And she was unconscious, too. 'Oh, Ariana!' Azami thought, tears welled up behind her eyes. "Poor girl." The nurse said, looking at Ariana. "Still asleep." The nurse looked at Azami. "Well, at least you're awake! Right?" Chuckled the nurse. "You are worried, I see. Do not worry! Your friend will be fine soon enough." 'Friend' The word echoed throughout Azami's mind. It meant so much to so many people. "As for you," The nurse stepped to Azami's side. "You can go in the morning, you just have minor cuts and bruises." She tried to be as cheerful as possible.
More time went by, and Ariana was still asleep, with Azami watching her closely. Sleep couldn't reach Azami, she was too worried. Her eyes tried to close to get the most rest as possible, but the patter of feet stopped her. "Hey! Sakura! I-…" A little blonde boy ran in, probably looking for Sakura. Sakura was the pink haired girl, who went with Azami's team on the mission. Azami raised her eyebrow, and the boy was still confused. "Uh…Isn't this Sakura's room?" He asked. "And you may be…?" Azami got frustrated. "Uh…Uzumaki Naruto!" He answered proudly. "Do you know where Sakura is?" Azami shook her head. "She shouldn't be injured you know. Were those flowers for her?" Azami pointed to the bouquet of roses in Naruto's hand. "Yeah, but if she's fine…do you know where she is?" He asked repeatedly. Azami shook her head again. Naruto just stood there, not knowing where to go. "Eh…What happened to you?" He asked, walking over to her bed. "…I injured myself on a mission." Azami faced the wall. So did Naruto. "Oh, that happens to me a lot." He laughed. "Well, if you're the injured one, then maybe you should have these?" He handed Azami the flowers, while rubbing his hair. "Um, thanks." Azami took the flowers from his hand. She blushed. "You may be a knuckle head-ninja, but…you're nice." She played with one of the buds. Naruto nodded, a smile across his face. "Uh…See you later than!" He waved, and ran out the door. The roses sparkled in the suns late light. Azami was now more relaxed, and she closed her eyes again.