Chapter Eleven
"Gone?!" Hoshi yelled, distraught as she fell to her knees.
"Rikku, were there any clues around?" Their sensei asked. Rikku nodded and said,
"Yeah, there was pink strands of clothing. Cmon guys, i'll show you." And they ran to their suite. Although Mizuki thought
'I'm watching you, Uchiha.'
Team two found themselves sprinting up the mountain, following a trail of strands of pink clothing. It was snowing lightly, and their feet were cold as they ran through the already accumulated snow on the ground, but a mission is a mission. Rikku was warm, considering he had fire chakra, and Akaru was used to in-climate weather, having been on countless missions, being a prodigy. Hoshi and Sayuri were warm blooded, but Mizuki was struggling with the cold weather.
"I'm f-f-f-freezing!" She chattered out, shivering but still pushing on.
"Don't worry, we're almost to the top." Akaru reassured her. As they neared the top, with Hoshi in the lead, her and Sayuri following the faint scent of the clothing. Akaru was next, with Mizuki behind him, barely keeping up, and finally Rikku bringing up the rear, although he was ready to go. He wouldn't accept failure. Soon they reached the peak of the mountain and was met by a hooded thin figured. Hoshi was the first to speak up
"Give us our package back, creep!" She yelled, her Inuzuka blood boiling.
"Take it, mutts." The figure said in a smooth, feminine voice. That sent Hoshi over the edge an and she rushed at the mysterious figure recklessly, ignoring her sensei's order to stop, throwing a punch. The figure moves backwards, avoiding it, then sent a punch into Hoshi's gut, knocking the wind out of her (along with some of that spunk) and knocked her back to her team's feet gasping for air in pain. Akaru scowled and started devising a plan with Mizuki, but before he knew it, Rikku was charging in as well. He went to drop kick the hooded figure but she grabbed his leg and slammed him into the ground with stunning force. Everything around him went black.
When he came to, Hoshi was receiving a bone rattling heel kick, she blocked with her arms but still screamed in pain and was thrown back by the force, in a heap. He gasped and ran to her side.
"I'm okay..just help sensei and Mizuki.." She struggled to get out. He nodded and ran through handseals as he caught sight of his target.
"Fire style: Fireball jutsu!" he yelled and shot a fireball at the female but she jumped above it and unsheathed three senbon, her sights set on Rikku. In a flash, they left her hands and all embedded themselves in his right leg as he gasped in pain, falling to one knee. She started after him, taking full advantage at his weak state. Suddenly Mizuki jumped in front of him, and yelled
"Shadow Possession jutsu!" As her shadow screamed after the pink haired figure. She went to turn, but ended up going towards the speeding shadow as she saw Akaru whipping up a wall of wind behind her. She was trapped. Akaru rushed to Hoshi and helped her up after Rikku stubbornly insisted he was okay with three needles in his leg. They all stood around their team strategist as she made the motion of pulling a hood down, forcing her adversary to do the same, revealing a pale face, emerald green eyes, and a head full of pink hair, slightly past her shoulders.
"So, you caught me. Good job, Naruto told me you had good genin, Akaru. He just wanted to be sure. Your mission is complete." She said.
"The world's greatest medic nin..it's been a while Sakura." Akaru said with a bow as his three students processed the information.
"Yeah, we pass!" Hoshi yelled out and Sayuri barked, expressing the same elation.
"Yes, you do. You can let me go now, Mizuki. I'm good friends with your father." Sakura said with a smile. Her eyes then fell on Rikku.
'So, that's his son. Well, he looks like him. Let's just hope he doesn't go down the same path.'
They all warmed up with hot-cocoa, compliments of Sakura. She wore a tight red button-down shirt with the Haruno symbol on the shoulders and a black three fourths length tights, with pink stripes down the side of both legs, and black open toe boots.
"I've been here on a mission helping a friend of Naruto's he met on one of his missions..with..a fatal disease." Sakura explained to team two, the air around them darkening with this topic. Suddenly there was a loud, assertive knock on the door. Sakura got up to answer it, excusing herself and leaving the room. Team two were still warming up but all dropped their cups when they heard Sakura's muffled gasp and ran to follow her. A big burly man in pale blue robes had his huge hands around Sakura's neck who struggled against his iron grip, surprisingly. When the man saw them, he scowled and threw Sakura across the room, sliding into the wall behind team two.
"Okay, Sakura sensei. We know this is another test, just stop the act." Rikku said nonchalantly, despite feeling the force of her body's crash behind them.
"I wish this was a test. But I don't even know this guy.." She gasped out as she healed a probably bruised rib. Suddenly her assistant, Haitaro burst in to assist, but froze at the sight of the man.
"Don't know him? Well then, fire style fireball jutsu! Rikku said and subsequently spat fire at the robed man who didn't move, simply choosing to be engulfed by the Uchiha's flames. When the fire dissipated, however, he was still there, unwavering and unaffected. In the blink of an eye, he rushed at Rikku who was still in shock, like the rest of his team. Even though all the man did was extend his hand to Rikku, Haitaro dashed in front of him, defending him.
"Stop, Dorari!" Haitaro warned but the man still advanced forward, his hand finally grasping Haitaro's head. At first, nothing happened, but soon, Haitaro's hair stood on end, and skin became paler. Akaru, not wanting it to go any further, rushed to separate Dorari from the innocent assistant ninja, but it was too late. Haitaro's skin turned pale blue, his eyes glazed over and closed and his lips, ears and fingers were all a deeper blue. He fell to the ground, lifeless as Dorari, leaped backwards from Akaru's strike.
"Sakura!" He yelled as he prepared to fight this foe.
"On it!" Sakura replied rushing to a limp Haitaro with green chakra around her hands. The burly man rushed at Akaru, arm extended. Akaru, stood firm, just as Haitaro did but this time, a gust of wind suddenly sent Dorari right out the door on his rear. Team two rushed out, not planning to let this opportunity go to waste. When they did, he was already getting to his feet. Hoshi, distraught, as was Sayuri yelled
"What'd you do to him?!" While Rikku pulled out a kunai, Mizuki already forming a plan in her mind and Akaru preparing his next assault.
"You might want to go see. This won't be the last time we meet." He said in his deep voice, made a handseal with one hand.
"Hidden blizzard jutsu." He whispered deeply as a frigid, blinding blizzard enveloped the area. Akaru sent a gust of wind to offset it, but by the time he cleared it, Dorari was gone.
Team two finally rushed back in to Sakura's form leaning over Haitaro's motionless body.
"He's gone..froze to death, by just a touch.." She said clearly still shaken up over the loss of an innocent inhabitant of the Valley village. Everyone in the group stiffened. Rikku began to tremble.
"To think, that would've been me if he hadn't saved me.." He breathed out, eyes closed, in fear.
Criticism welcomed. Hope ya enjoyed.
