-J-
12: In Which Our Adversity
Akatsuki's Time: May 17
May's Time: Younger days of a Certain Medic
The water of the large natural hot spring was so warm that I pulled back the finger I'd sent to test the steamy water in haste; the temperature wasn't too the point of burning but still managed to cause a reaction at the first touch.
Trembles racked my shoulders when the light breeze caught hold of the damp finger-preying on its weakness with glee-materializing goosebumps as the finger was rubbed against my pants leg, hoping to stop the upcoming shivers.
Puffs of steamy air shuffled about me, filtering up from the water to swirl around overhead, creating a layer of sweat over my warm cheeks, as if reassuring me that the water wasn't as stifling as it appeared to be. With such warmth all about, the goosebumps were soon history and replaced with more beads of sweat that dotted my skin like a dart board.
Giving a deep inhale, I shifted in my crouched position on the bank and peered down into the misty spring that showed a dim image of myself on top of the rippling surface.
Placing my chin in my hand, the water kept hold of the gaze as I stared back at the girl who undoubtedly was me. . .and yet she didn't seem like me. She held the same blue eyes, short platinum hair, and body weight but this girl certainly wasn't what I'd expected to see when I had delved into the image below.
It never occurred to me just how much someone can change in a few days, but now, looking at myself, I saw the difference. Though being presented a mirror seems insignificant, if one doesn't look at their appearance every once in awhile, a facial structure can change rapidly, especially to their own eye when next they look at themselves. This time-with me-was no different.
Unlike the last time I'd gazed at myself, there was a new look in my eyes, the pupil, and iris held concentration, stress and,when I peered close-my nose brushing the surface-beneath that was pure affection.
I appeared older, my stare and face were mature in a way that I'd never thought achievable. . . what had I become since arriving here? What was I changing into?
Physical traits weren't the only aspects that pointed to maturity, it was in the little things, like how my head naturally seemed to tilt, the slight loss of weight in my face, and just how my body was crouched-as if ready to run in case of an emergency.
Two days had passed during my time in the ninja world and it had already begun molding me, inside and out.
If everything continued to go down hill, what would I be at the end? Would I, May Lawford-the innocent girl who loved the Akatsuki-still be here?
There was so much that I did not know and that scared me, but if only two days had altered me. . . .what would week's do?
Now that was a scary thought.
It felt like many hours passed while my eyes were stationed down into the stagnant water, breathing in the smell that the spring produced, a smell that hinted at various minerals working underneath the surface; it was an appealing scent that made all my bones feel like jelly inside my fleshy skin.
It was so warm and comfortable in this little haven that, for a second, I nearly forgot that this was the ninja world, that I was somewhere in the past, and in the future Itachi and Kisame were still trying to kill me.
Biting my lip, I cast a quick look behind me, first to the left, then to the right in search of prying eyes. I knew very well that Kabuto wasn't watching-he was too sweet and innocent in that way to care for such things yet-but there was something unnerving about stripping in the middle of the woods with only the steam for cover.
When my brain was satisfied that no one was around to see me-I took a deep breath, my bare feet digging into the wet ground nervously-and began to try and work the zipper down the jacket with my right hand. A cascade of dried dirt flaked off with each shift, the left arm swinging in perfect unison, still pulsing with as much agony as when Kisame had shredded it.
Kabuto had been sending glances at the gashed shoulder all the way up to the spring, giving me the impression that it truly was a bad injury, I had yet to fully look at it. A part of me was scared of what I'd see, mostly based on the young medics reaction, but also to see how close to death I was and what one of the men I loved, could do. The thought certainly was silly but if the entire situation hadn't been real before, it was now.
I grunted in pain when the zipper snagged on a thick piece of dirt, the arm shifting back and forth in an unbearable fashion. After a few good yanks, the stubborn zipper finally broke free; the next step was what was truly going to be difficult.
Distributing a small tug to the left sleeve was when I realized that the blood had melded the top of the jacket to the wound.
One deep breath and I'd slipped the right arm out. On the second breath, I waited, placing the palm on the skin where the neck met shoulder, right next to where the gash was.
On the third breath, the right hand shifted over, immediately dipping down into the bloody hole. There was a gag from my throat as the fingertips came into contact with bone, scarred and peeling flesh rubbing against it.
"Don't look at it. . . you'll puke." The stomach sent up a rising sensation in my throat the was swiftly re-swallowed.
Trying to ignore the knowledge of what exactly I was digging into, my fingers found the cloth that had been wedged down; gritting my teeth I grasped onto the fabric and gave a good yank. A tiny squeal came from my mouth as the shoulder spasmed with torment, black filling my vision from such suffering.
Not caring I tore the jacket from me, growling from the discomfort and dry heaving against the hand I rose to cover my mouth.
I was going to throw up, the feeling was growing along with the smell of blood that was emanating from the hand. One by one I counted to ten inside my head, trying to keep myself from puking up stuff that certainly wasn't inside the stomach.
Five minutes had passed when the pain lessened and I straightened up again and continued on, ignoring the arm as best I could.
Just as the bottom of the shirt had reached my bra line the hairs on the back of my neck rose, the salvia disappeared from my mouth and it suddenly became hard to breathe the steamy air.
I wasn't very smart but this sensation was unmistakable.
There was someone here, watching, and it wasn't Kabuto.
"Who in the world would be watc-" A red hot blush slapped itself across my cheeks at the thought of a possible pervert. . . well, ninja were human after all. It truly was a disgusting thought and my stomach gave an unhappy rolling sensation as if it too did not agree with such actions.
Kabuto had left me here in order to give the privacy I needed; my hands were suddenly clammy, I numbly wiped them against the bottom of the shirt not truly sensing the movement.
Blue eyes darted to the right and left before daring to peek behind me, the mist was so dense that the whole forest seemed to move with the steam itself and gave off no signs of human life.
Suddenly aware of just how alone I was, the action of undressing was discarded and instead I jumped, folding my legs up in preparation. The water met me halfway as my form crashed into the scalding water that hissed at the contact with cold skin, burning it without remorse. If there hadn't been someone watching, a cry of pain would have been in order, but the heat was no longer a priority, just as long as those eyes would stop boring holes into the back of my head.
To my relief, that hot stare vanished and I was left with peace as the water shifted around me like it was alive.
The world beneath the surface of the water was silent, the liquid so full of minerals that all vision was obscured to that of a light greenish blue, not even the bottom was visible. Soon that wonderful mistiness was blurred with a dark red the seeped up from the shoulder, pumping lifeblood into the mix.
Hushed and silent, I peered up to where the top would be, but the water was so misty and bloody that it was like I'd fallen into a box with no top and no bottom, complete isolation.
I remained still, allowing the pain to pass and the heat to burn and make my skin accustomed to its warm welcome.
Slowly a straining sensation overtook my lungs. All I needed was to straighten my legs and both my head and shoulders would be out of the water with my feet stationed to the rocky floor as they were now, but the silence of this world was so wonderful that I was not at all tempted to rise up and claim what was rightfully mine.
The throat had evolved from a simple strain to a desperate burning, begging me to open my mouth for a breath of air that certainly wouldn't be reciprocated in this watery environment I'd encased myself in. It's no secret that all humans need air, and yet here I was, feeling torn. All it would take was a simple straightening of my legs and I would be up and gasping for air and yet the other wanted to stay beneath the water that was washing the mud off of me.
Staying in the water meant giving up, letting all the stress melt away into a suicidal attempt. It truly wouldn't take much to stay here, watch the ripples and breath in this mineral water till a drowning scene occurred.
A watery death, huh?
Gritting my teeth, I violently shook my attempt causing bubbles to circle around me; "NO! There's no way that that is gonna happen to me! NOT ME!" The calm water was broken as I broke the surface, gasping for air that gratefully met my lips, instantly chilling the heated skin that had gotten used to the warmth of the water.
Multiple streams of water dripped down my face, plastering the short hair to cup my head as sound was returned to the ears that had gotten used to the dead silence of a drowned world. Blinking away the liquid that caught themselves on my lashes, I stood there listening to the sounds of the water rippling around me and feeling the light breeze whistle over my damp head.
It took a second for me to realize just what I'd been contemplating under those waves and it caused a shiver to trickle up my spine like a spider.
I'd nearly given up.
A small sigh escaped me as arms wrapped around my stomach.
When first coming here I'd expected everything to go smoothly; find the Akatsuki and then come up with a way to take care of Black Zetsu permanently. Never had the thought crossed my mind that everything would go wrong. As soon as the threshold had been crossed to enter this world, all negativity had been shoved into my face, one after another like bullets from a gun. There was such an abundant supply of unpleasantry that it was difficult to see the positivity in it all.
As much as Kabuto brought my spirits up I knew that such pessimistic complications were far from over-"I could always stay." Shocked at the thought I frowned, why is it the mind sometimes supplies such opinions when they certainly weren't necessary? Even so. . .it was a logical thought, if-instead of going back-I stayed in the past with Kabuto then all my problems would cease. Time would go on and the Akatsuki would probably never meet me and it would be like it had never happened, a clean slate. "But would the Akatsuki be better off never having met me?" That was something that couldn't be determined; because of our relationship both the Akatsuki and I had changed and become different people, was it possible that things could be better for them. . .without me?
Leaving them to forget and giving up was the easy way out.
"But, May, it would be so easy."
. . . Damn these thoughts.
"Wait," blue eyes widened as they looked at the edge of the spring where I'd jumped, simply seeing the edge was all it took for me to remember why the jump had taken place.
Someone had been watching me, the nerve!
With a bit of anger and fear, I peered up to where my jump had taken place; to my pleasure, the bank arched in a bowl-like manner that-when in the water-kept me hidden. Still I couldn't hide the suspicion that seemed to grow with each passing second, was it foolish to hope that they'd left?
Trying not to make much noise and be somewhat sneaky, I went onto my tippy toes and glanced over the edge of the spring towards the forest. It was annoying to find out that the mist was still hiding the forest from view, seeming to try and encase me in and make me believe that my world was only made up of this large spring.
Though the mist was exasperating to my current situation-I slid back down until my mouth was submerged-there was one positive aspect, if I couldn't see the forest, then no one could see me even without the bowl-like arch. This thought brought me clarity and calmed all my senses until I felt confident enough to rid myself of the dirty clothes.
Thick amounts of mud came off-mixing with the water-as the pants were unbuttoned, unzipped, and then carefully slid off. Ignoring the muddied water I began scrubbing the fabric until the fingers were beet red, still the cleaning commenced in hopes for it to be worn again. When all ten digits had a hard time bending, the pants were held up and examined; with a smile, they were pronounced clean and laid on the bank to dry.
With the steams assistance, I was feeling secure and confident enough to take off the clinging shirt and remove the bra-freeing the upper torso of all its coverings. As soon as the hot air brushed over the bare nipples I instinctively went to cover them before remembering that the murky water was successfully covering them from sight.
Breathing deeply, one hand was stretched up to the bank in search of the shampoo and conditioner bottles that had been fished out earlier from my bag; never had I been so thankful to have gone shopping before coming to the Naruto world, I had enough clothes and useful products to last awhile.
The instant my wet fingers found the round bottle of shampoo the hairs on the back of my neck prickled with abandon.
I inwardly sighed at the sensation.
I wasn't alone anymore.
Naturally, I thought it was the stalker from before, but there was something about this new gaze that felt different from the first time, it wasn't as intense, more bored. . .or amused.
"You know it's very rude to enter a spring and strip when it had already been claimed for the time being." There was a splash as I wheeled around, wincing at the injured arm. I became frantic, looking around the misted area as the ability to breathe escaped me. "Not to mention you are dirtying up the water, brat." The person's voice was deep, a man.
With a tremble, my eyes were directed to the injured arm that was bleeding into the water. No wonder I'd been spotted, the spring had been practically beautiful beforehand.
Because of the limited sight, the voice was the only hint of where the person was, meaning that they were somewhere in front of me, not close, but definitely not very far away. However, being in the spring was too close for my rattled self to take. Willingly, I pressed my back against the rocky wall, seeking any comfort I could get.
Who the hell was here? If they'd been this silent till now, they had to be a ninja! A lump formed in my throat at this thought. Not to mention that Kabuto wasn't nearby and I was injured, talk about a horrible combo.
Lacking rest and medicine, physically, I was in no position to be battling, even if it was a weak person, and if they'd called out as casually as they had, they were confident in their abilities.
"Well. . . maybe they're friendly? I mean, they haven't attacked. A ninja would have done that by now, and the voice doesn't really sound hostile."
Running was an option, but the thought of making my way up the bank, naked, when the other stalker was up there probably waiting. . . that didn't sound safe.
Taking a deep breath of the thick mist, I decided to call out to the newcomer, trying to leave out the tremble that was coating my throat in alarm.
"Who are you?" A moment of silence met the question as if the other was debating whether to answer or not.
The wind must have been just as anxious as I, as it whipped down into the spring, pulling the mist right up and into the sky above. When it calmed down, the bowl-like spring was free of the murky air, leaving only the two people and the water.
Blinking at the sudden abundance of vision, the man's green eyes honed in on my face, taking in the features I possessed with a calculating look. Those eyes then lowered to my chest-biting my lip-I quickly wrapped my arms around the breasts, the older man boredly flicked his gaze back up to meet mine.
". . .Why should I answer that? I was here first." Before seeing him, I'd had a difficult time breathing, now it had transformed into a dire hyperventilation as I recognized the other.
Here I was, naked, except for my underwear, while, across from me-from what I could see of his upper torso-was an equally nude man. Thick brown hair stopped around his chin, plastered around the sides of his face in wet clumps; unlike me, he was casually leaning against the far wall of the spring. His large tan arms were spread out to lay across the top of the bank in a way that translated just how unconcerned he was at being caught in such a personal way.
I was torn between two emotions. The first was a blissful joy, the second was total horror.
The older man shifted to lean his head against his hand cautiously as his Christmas colored eyes refrained from taking them off of me.
"Oh, Kakuzu. . . ."
