I could only fear my eminent end.
I had avoided death during battle and
instead been branded with a curse.
I had been denied an honorable shinobi death
and was going to die pitifully—
the harbinger being the brother of the boy I'd loved.
I felt abandoned.
Jashin-sama wasn't answering my silent pleas for help or guidance and even the birds were quiet. Despite my ongoing attempts to become stronger, I had fallen for a simple trick. At one point, I thought I'd been the smartest member of our genin team. Wrong. Sasuke wouldn't have ended up marked for death. Naruto would have fought. Kakashi would have fought. Why couldn't I ever get it right?
I considered cutting off my arm for a second, but remembered that I needed it. Sure, I was a medic, but not even I could grow limbs. Impossibilities. But…hadn't I already overcome impossibilities? I was alive. I'd killed an Akatsuki. I was stronger than I could have dreamed at twelve. This mark was just one more obstacle I needed to overcome.
I swore I would.
Sending healing chakra through my system to check for anything irregular, I found nothing but the foreign chakra humming under the mark. Itachi's chakra didn't feel dangerous, but, if it wasn't poison or ill intent that slowly killed me over time, how was the mark going to kill me? Sighing, I sat down and crossed my legs, bringing my fingers to my temple to think. The catalogue in my head of jutsu flashed, but nothing looked right.
My thoughts were interrupted by an exploding tag landing before my form. I should have figured that the back-up squad wouldn't be far behind. Stupid, stupid me. I grasped the black blade, swinging it around. It beheaded what turned out to be a clone and a kunai slid into my ribs. Looking down to my right, I glared down at the shinobi crouched there. Faster than I'd ever been, my hand reached down and wrapped around his throat. The strength from my hand allowed me to pick him up and throw him away.
"Now is not the best time, boys. I am in a horrible mood."
"Confirm location of target. Eliminate target," the cat mask spoke, taking out senbon dripping with poison.
Was that what the mark did? It gave off my location to anyone looking for me? Great, just great.
The small group immediately launched their attack. A fire jutsu burst from the trees and I dodged before it could hit me. As I dodged, the cat mask threw more senbon at me. Using my sword to deflect the blows, I tried to think of ways to fight. These were Konoha shinobi and if I used any of my patented moves they would be sure to know who I was. If they lived to tell Tsunade, I'd lose my anonymity.
Note to self: Don't use super strength obviously.
Another shinobi attacked from behind, his fingers flashing through signs before I could decipher the jutsu. The trees near me grasped my body and dragged it back against their bark. The natural strength of the tree held me there. However, as far as I knew, wood jutsu were impossible. Therefore this could only be a genjutsu. I was sick and tired of illusions!
Slowly leaking chakra into my blade, I waited as the man approached me. He brought out a kunai for the killing blow and as his arm arched toward my throat, I broke the illusion and brought my own blade forth. It swiftly cut through his kunai and the hand that held it. His screams of pain echoes through the copse of trees and his comrades appeared to help him.
"Monster!" the man screamed.
Honestly, I had no idea how I'd cut through his hand, but it got the job done.
The fire user started another jutsu and, moving swiftly, I stabbed my katana through his chest. Blood spattered out of his wound and landed all over me. Some fell on my lips and, unthinking, I licked them. The sweet copper ran over my tongue and, despite feeling inner disgust, I almost groaned. Who knew blood could taste so sweet? A rush of adrenaline overcame my body and I turned toward the other two. The cat mask looked calm, but the other was shaking, his bleeding stump nestled in a wrap of cloth. He kept murmuring the word 'monster' over and over.
Calmly, I pulled the black blade from the corpse and dragged it across the dirt toward my next two sacrifices. Cat mask moved quickly and flashed through the signs of an earth jutsu. Tired of the shinobi's antics, I put more chakra into my blade and stabbed forward. The cat ninja barely managed to dodge, but the tip of the sword buried itself in her hip. She quivered and screamed, her body falling limp. The comrade had been hastily filling out a scroll and attaching it to a summon while I'd been distracted. I sighed. He never learned. I buried the sword into the bark above his head and leaned in close.
"Ne, shinobi-san, your comrades are dead. Why don't you just give in?" I mocked, my lips inches away from his.
"Never," he whimpered.
"Fine with me. I'll just give you a gift for being last."
I leaned in the final inches and gently pressed my lips against his. Of course, he didn't kiss back, but his body went slack and fell. Sighing for what felt like the millionth time, I moved to make the killing blow but noticed that he was already dead. Either he'd died from shock or my kiss had done it.
'Chastity is a virtue, Sakura Hana-chan. You are mine. Remember that.'
Obviously that answered that question. I etched Jashin-sama's symbol upon their chests and watched as the skin fell away from the bones. Oddly though, the cat mask didn't have any bones. All the was left when her skin was taken was white dust.
I cleaned my sword on the cloak, noticing the new layers of blood kept adding to the horror of what I was becoming. However, despite knowing I should continue on my way, I also knew that I desperately needed a bath. Gathering the rest of my weapons and supplies, I vanished from the blood-soaked battlefield and jumped through the trees.
Several miles away I found a small pond. Shedding the clothes as quickly as I could, I jumped into the freezing and water and gladly scrubbed off the dry blood. Humming to myself, my eyes came to rest on my reflection. I screamed.
Below me was a skeleton. The face that I'd seen in the mirror for the past sixteen years had become a skeleton. The pits around my eyes, my nostrils, and chin were all black. Moving my bangs, a small black hole rested on my forehead.
'Jashin-sama, what's going on?'
'This is your death mask, dear. It comes to you after consuming blood.'
'I- I look like a monster.'
'I think you look sexy. Ah yes, the clear water hides nothing from my eyes…'
'Pervert!' I mentally screamed, drawing my arms around to cover my breasts. I sunk lower in the water, my head bobbing above it. When I looked down again, my face had returned to normal. Happily sighing, I ordered- zap- kindly asked Jashin-sama to look away. Feeling his presence leave me, I got dressed in another set of clothes and left the pond.
My mind blurred through questions and answers. I still hadn't figured out what to do about the mark. Now I had an idea of what it did, but still no clue how to get rid of it. Maybe I should start at the source and do what I dreaded even thinking of. I'd have to find Itachi Uchiha and beg him to get rid of it.
Focusing my chakra and expanding it, I searched for Itachi. The hint of him inside of the mark was enough for me to find a glimmer of his presence. He was several miles ahead and I could only hope they either ran into trouble or stopped for the night. The sun was beginning to descend in the sky, and once night fell I'd be in more trouble than I already was.
Trees passed by as I sped up. Masking my chakra, I ran faster. Not even Kakashi had made me go this fast. It showed how much they held back for me. Weak, little Sakura. I wasn't that girl anymore. Already I'd killed more people in a week than I had my entire life. Tsunade said I hadn't been cut out for assassination missions. She'd know what a mistake that was now. I felt stronger than I ever had.
Up ahead, I spotted a thin line of wire and dodged it. A kunai whizzed through the air and I grasped it and threw it away upon seeing the exploding tag attached to the end. The giant, wrapped sword flew down upon me and I was barely able to avoid it in time. A few strands of my hair came off and fluttered down to the forest floor.
"Itachi-sama, take the damn mark off!" I shouted, dodging another attack from the Mist shinobi.
"Kisame, cease."
"Ah, Itachi-san, I was beginning to have fun with the girl," he complained, pulling the sword back.
"Kunoichi, I told you that should we ever meet again I would kill you. It's foolish to seek out death," Itachi said, his eyes blankly staring at mine.
"Yeah, but you failed to tell me about the tracking mark you'd left," I burst, holding up my arm in defiance. He gazed at it, almost smirking, and drew out a handful of shuriken. I backed up, and he merely threw them into the bushes. A sharp squeal, followed by a thump, was the effect.
"Kisame, cook the swine. I will discuss a bargain with the kunoichi."
Kisame muttered something about Itachi getting all the girls before disappearing into the brush. Itachi pulled out his katana and began sharpening it in front of me. If there was anything more threatening, I couldn't think of it.
"So…"
"You will not speak, kunoichi," Itachi glared. "In exchange for the removal of your tracking mark, you will heal my eyes. You will tell me how you know of the Sharingan and, if I like your answer, I will not kill you. However, if at any time you show ill intent I will dispose of you without question. Understood?"
"Crystal," I squeaked.
"Your chakra levels are low. You begin tomorrow," he said, standing and going back to the camp they had made. Since he didn't invite me to join them, I assumed I was going to stay right here and not move any closer for fear of death. Sitting quietly, I brought a few scraps of dried meat from my pack and munched on them. More water from my canteen dried my lips. My only regret was not having a toothbrush. Or a hairbrush. Or a personal care item of any kind.
'Go to sleep, my sexy follower.'
'I thought you stopped it with the sexy follower stuff. I was liking this side of you,' I thought, yawning.
'I can call you whatever I wish.'
'Whatever.'
My eyelids fell slowly over my green orbs and I really hoped that Itachi didn't change his mind and kill me during the night. That would suck.
Luckily, when I woke up the next morning, Itachi was merely sitting ten feet away watching me.
"Itachi-sama, watching a girl sleep is kind of creepy, you know."
"Did I give you permission to call me by that name?"
Great, another dominating male.
"No, Uchiha-sama. I apologize."
"At least you know manners. We are leaving in five minutes. If you are not ready we will leave you behind."
"Understood," I replied, splashing my face with some of my water and shouldering my pack and swords.
Five minutes exactly later, Itachi and Kisame took the trees and I followed closely behind. While I knew that the Akatsuki was composed of S-class criminals I hadn't really got what that meant. Now I did. It meant that they could go for hours at top speed without a single break. Long, tiring hours of traveling in silence. If their speed hadn't got me, it was the quiet that did. I was used to Naruto's blabbering on the whole way or Naruto arguing with someone or, at least, Kakashi asking how I was. Nothing of the sort happened while I traveled with the Akatsuki.
An unsettling five hours later, they stopped in a small village to eat. Again, I was left on my own to eat. With some of the money I had left, I bought a cup of ramen and happily consumed the whole carton. Weirdly, Itachi was eating dango. Never would I have imagined dangerous shinobi sitting contently in a sweet shop eating. Everything I knew about the people I'd hated was wrong.
After lunch, we continued the mind-numbing pace. I started counting squirrels to pass the time. By the time we stopped again, there had been twenty-seven squirrels on the trail. Kisame set up camp as Itachi motioned me forward. My moment to shine.
I kneeled forward in front of the Uchiha and, for a brief moment, felt a flicker of guilt. If killing those Anbu hadn't been betrayal, this sure was. I was going to heal Sasuke's brother's eyes. The brother that he desperately wanted to kill.
"Is there a problem?"
"Uh, no, Uchiha-sama. I'm going to examine the damage first before I can begin treatment."
"Hn."
The Uchiha form of consent.
Sighing, I calmed my mind and gently brushed away the stray strands of hair. His hair was surprisingly soft. Focus, I reminded myself. Closing my eyes, I sent chakra into his temples and got to work. several of the nerves surrounding his eyes were burned out. The majority of the chakra paths were destroyed. In other words, he was almost blind.
"Uchiha-sama, I'm going to begin healing now."
He didn't say anything. My hand glowed green as I brought it to his eyes and gently placed it over them. I worked on the nerves first, knowing they were easier to heal than the chakra paths. For the next hour, I healed the nerves, managing to undo most of the injuries.
"I'm done for tonight. You should not use your Sharingan so much. It would benefit you more."
"I am aware."
"As a medic, I am telling you that if I had not come along you would have gone blind in about three to four months."
"Hn," he replied, rising and walking back to their camp.
I sighed and pondered my situation. If I hadn't died and I'd been in this predicament, I would have tried to kill Itachi by now. However, killing him now would only kill me. No matter how much Sasuke would hate me for this, I had to do it. Maybe it was time to stop being so selfless and start being more selfish.
'My needs come before your own.'
'Of course, Jashin-sama, anything for you.'
'I will pretend that wasn't sarcasm. I demand retribution.'
'I haven't got any bodies handy.'
'Then give me your blood.'
'Itachi will smell it if I start cutting myself!'
'Then…show me something.'
'Something?'
'Open your kimono for me. Show me that luscious skin.'
'Jashin-sama, you pervert! No.'
Zap.
'Not happening.'
Zap.
'Still not working.'
Zap!
'Fine! Damn, stop burning me.'
Sighing, I carefully untied my obi and let the fabric slide from my shoulders. A quick flash of my breasts was all he needed to see. I lowered my top and heard the chuckle of appreciation from Jashin-sama.
'Pervert.'
'I merely appreciate what I possess.'
'Sure.'
'I am sated. Rest now.'
'Okay.'
Falling asleep, I barely thought to recover myself. It would suck if Itachi found me in the morning indecent. Not to mention the embarrassment I'd suffer from if Kisame found me instead. Oh, he'd never let me live it down.
As sleep overcame mea subtle realization of what I'd done
occurred to my mind.
I had cut the last bond that
tied me to my village, my home.
Maybe even the last bond
that tied me to
Sakura Haruno.
Rayne Says: I brought back perverted Jashin-sama. Makes me happy. Makes you happy too?