We were quite for a long while. I was hoping that by actually moving that my nerves would calm, but they seem to be getting worse with each step. It was like I gained weight as I moved. It only got worse as we passed into territory that I had not been into. I furrowed my brow and shook my head. Four more days. How heavy was I going to feel by the time we get to the gates?
"Have you ever left the inn before?" Sakura asked. She is trying to break the tension, I know. I take a deep breath and shake my head.
"Well just for supply runs and fishing trips. I have been far away on the water, but never all that far on land, not since I was taken in." I say as I run my hand through my hair. It was long now, well past my shoulders and was beginning to tangle as it was blown in the wind. Perhaps I should cut it? No... I should leave it long. It was one more thing that would make recognizing me a little more difficult.
"Wow, so never been far from the coast." She said, I think it was mainly to herself. I shook my head again.
"Well I wasn't originally from this area. I was born inland. Noni adopted me when I was thirteen." What. The. Fuck. Why was I telling her this? It was like I just couldn't stop my mouth from moving. Was this the nerves?
"Oh, I just assumed that you were there when you were younger." I purse my lips and shake my head. Don't word vomit. Actually it would be best if I just stopped talking. "How did you come to be with her?"
"She found me when I was injured. She healed me then offered me a place to stay." I shrug. Ok seemed that I was not going to be able to shut up. Be vague then, that would work.
"Is that when you lost your eyes?" She asked softly. I bit the inside of my cheek and nod. "Did you lose your family then also?" Her voice was even quieter, almost soft enough to be carried away on the wind.
"In a way." I murmurer and pick up the pace a bit. It seems that she understood that I was not going to go into any more detail and that this line of questioning was over. While it made me uncomfortable talking about it, it did help distract me from my nerves.
"I know that you will miss everyone, but my team is pretty psyched to meet you." She laughed. I just turned my head in her direction and smile.
"You've been talking about me to your teammates?" I ask as I raise my brow. I can only imagine what has been said.
"Well yeah. I already told you that I was impressed with you." I stumble a bit as she hits my shoulder. I think that she meant it as a friendly tap, but it had a lot of force to it. I rub my shoulder as I straighten myself and shake my head.
"So what did you tell them about me?"
"Oh well that you are blind and you almost bested me twice. My one teammate, well he is actually the one that is really excited to meet you. The others are interested also, but just wait. You are going to be bombarded by Naruto. I apologize in advance." She laughed, but this time I could tell it was a nervous laugh. "At first he refused to believe that you are blind. Said that there was no way. Luckily I had Sai to back me up." She took a deep breath. "Anyways I am pretty sure that he is going to challenge you to a spar right away. The other two played it cool, but I know that they will want in on it too." She snorted. I furrowed my brow and licked my lips. Just how large of a team did she have? Normally it was four. So it should have been her Sai and two others.
"How many teammates do you have?"
"Weeellll technically five. Though one is off, and Kami-Sama knowns when the hell he'll be back. Then we have two captains, and Naruto and Sai. We don't always work together but we are all under the same team." Well that was weird. I had never heard of a team having so many, and two captains? Have formations really changed that much? And that name...
"Naruto? Are you talking about..." She cut in before I could even finish the question.
"Yes Uzumaki, Naruto." She sighed.
"His team..."
"Yup."
"So you are?"
"Yeah."
"The New Sannin."
"Mmmmhmmm."
It was quite for a few moments while I took in what had just been said.
"Well shit. No wonder you don't like loosing." I smile at her. She laughs and I am surprised to find that it no longer grates on my nerves. No It was actually pleasant.
"You know it was nice not being recognized. It can be a bit overwhelming." She sighs. I just nod my head. I am so fucked. I am entering the village with one of the most famous shinobi around. Then there was the fact that she was intertwined with Sasuke. I know that he is not in the village. It was common knowledge that the last Uchiha was traveling the world. Which was kinda disappointing that I would not be able to see him. It was probably for the best though.
I was hopping to gain as little attention as I could while I was in the village, but that does not seem possible. There will be much more attention on us then I had anticipated. Flying under the radar is not an option. I could turn back right now, forget that there was ever an offer. My steps begin to slow. Just turn around. Just say that this isn't going to work. Thank you but no thank you. I could go home and pretend that none of this had ever happened. Yeah I would have to deal with a bit o fall out, but that I could handle that. That seemed like the best option.
"Are you getting tired? It will be sunset soon we should probably make camp." Sakura asks next to me. I turn my head in her direction and furrow my brow. "Sui? Are you ok?" She reached out and grabbed my arm. I purse my lips and just nod at her. Well even if I am going home, there is no way that I would make it back till late tonight or early tomorrow morning. So setting camp was probably a wise idea. "OK let's go over here to your right and find a clearing." I nodded as she took my hand and lead me off of the road. We walk for a few moments before Sakura finds a space that she deems acceptable and she sets off to find firewood. I set up my sleeping area while she is gone. Just as she walked back into the area I begin to take out the kit to clean and buff my feet with. I can hear her hitting flint together and I let out a sigh. I send my chakra out and locate exactly where she is. Pulling myself up I walk to the wood pile. Placing a hand on her shoulder I pull her back gently. I reach out feeling where the wood is in front of me, then breath out a small fire ball. I hear her snort next to me and I just smirk at her.
"Showoff." She mutters. I just shake my head and go back to the spot that I was sitting earlier. "Ok, well I have ration packs and instant ramen. What delicious dinner would you like?" I frown at her and shake my head. Leaning over I open my pack and take out a scroll.
"I don't know what is in there, but Noni and Yosh packed some food. I am sure that there is going to be too much, and it will be better then a ration pack." I toss her the scroll, before going back and taking out a bristle brush and begin to brush the dirt off my feet.
"Yosh sent meals! Good deal." She laughs as she pops open the scroll. I can hear her ohhh and ahhh over what ever is in it. There is a clank of some pots and pans and soon the air smells like the kitchen back at the inn. I continue to scrub my feet. After I get most the dirt of I begin to run the pumice stone over the area's that are callousing. I pause for a moment, I can feel her staring at me. I lift my head in her direction and just cock a brow.
"How did you know I was watching you?" She laughs nervously.
"You can't feel when some one is watching you? Even some one with eyes can normally feel that." I shrug as I continue to work on my feet.
"True." I can hear her moving the food about in the pan. "I just have never seen a man take such care of his feet. Hell trying to get any of my teammates to understand proper foot care, it's like trying to teach a crow how to swim." She laughed. I just shake my head.
"Crows are actually very intelligent birds, who take good care of their feet." I give my foot one last run with the stone and switched feet. "I really don't have an option. Well I guess I do, but if I want to be able to "see" clearly I have to make sure that the skin doesn't get too calloused or thick."
"You know you never really explained to me how you can fight or move around with out a problem. " I could hear the clank of plates. I move faster wanting to have my foot care and washing up done before the food was ready.
"Ummm.. Well, I never really had to explain it before. I see through my feet, the vibrations around me. It gives me an idea of my surroundings. If I want a clearer picture then I use my chakra. Though if I don't take care of them, it's like trying to look through a heavy mist." I put the stone back into my pack and pulled out the salve that Noni makes for me and begin to rub it into my skin. I arch my brow as I turn my head in her direction. "Does that make any sense?"
"Actually yeah it does. It's kinda crazy that you can be so sensitive to that. How long did that take to pick up?" Her voice dripped with curiosity. I sigh as I pack the salve back into the bag and take out my canteen and begin to wash my hands. I hum as I try and figure out her answer.
"Well, I would say it took about two years until I was confident in my abilities. I mean I am still learning and becoming more sensitive as I go, but at the two year mark was when I could defend myself easily against most." I shrug as I shake the water from my hands.
"Two years? That's all?" She walks over and hangs a plate under my nose. I shrug again as I take the plate and begin to eat the rice with my hands. We sit in comfortable silence while we eat. I am happy that Noni thought to pack food. I remember what ration packs were like, and I think that I would rather chew on rocks then eat them. Ok, so I may have been a bit spoiled by always having Yosh's cooking.
"You know what I am really looking forward to?" Sakura takes the empty plate from me and walks a few steps away. I can hear the water hitting the metal of the plate as she rinsed the food from it. I shift and scoot back so I am leaning against a tree trunk and stretch my legs out in front of me.
"Hmmm?" I hum as I let my head lean back and rest against the rough bark.
"Sparing with you when you have your eyes. I have a feeling, that while you are impressive now, you would be a sight to see." There are sharp clinks and clanks as she placed the dishes together on the scroll then a pop fill the air. "Not that watching you fight isn't anything other then beautiful." I turn my hear quickly and snort at her.
"Beautiful? I will remind you that I am a deadly well honed weapon." I raise a brow as she laughs.
"Well even weapons are beautiful. It's like you dance when you fight. Light on your feet. It reminds me of my Sensei." That made me purse my lips and furrow my brow low.
"Dance? You think I dance when I fight?" That was not something that I have heard before. Yeah I had been told that I was hard to keep up with, but dancing? Really? Sakura laughed a bit as she walked over to me.
"It's not bad you know. It reminds me of a cat, graceful. Take it as a compliment, I have been told that I fight like a drunk rhino. When has anyone seen a drunk rhino? Anyways, It's ok to be thought of as beautiful ya know?" I cock my head slightly and purse my lips. I really don't know what to say about that. Beautiful is not a word that has been used to describe anything about me. Yes, Hisako would often tell me that I was handsome, but that was it. Not that appearances meant much to me anymore. I just took a deep breath and shake my head.
"What?" I can feel the warmth radiating off of her as she takes a seat next to me.
"Isn't that something that a man usually says to a woman?" I ran my hands on my chin and cock my brow as I roll my head in her direction. I can feel her shoulder lift as she shrugs.
"No. A man can be, and do, beautiful things. I am just telling the truth." I just let out a small grunt and rest my head against the tree.
"Hey, I was wondering if we could start your optic nerve therapy? It will take a few weeks to cultivate your eyes, but I don't know how long or how many sessions that it will take to get your socket prepared for them. I think that it would be wise to start sooner then later." I should tell her no. For all intents and purposes I intent to turn back tomorrow morning. The word just refuses to come out of my mouth. Instead I just nod, knowing that she was looking at me. Why was I letting her do this? It was a waste of her chakra.
I jump as I feel her shift then suddenly I can feel her straddling my legs. With out thinking my hands quickly reach out and grab onto thighs. My grip is tight and she lets out a small surprised yelp at my touch. I don't move, I don't breath. I have no clue how to respond to this. It had been a long time since I have had a woman straddling me. I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks.
"I am sorry, I should have told you what I was about to do. This will be the easiest position for me. It may take a little bit, and I don't want to strain my back from twisting." She says sheepishly. I can feel the warmth of her breath as she speaks. I clear my throat and remove my hands.
"Yeah, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting it." I rub my hand over my cheek, trying to stop the warming that I was feeling. I jump when I feel her hands on my face. Let's just say jumping in the position that we are in... Well, it is a little awkward. She then shifts her weight as she scoots closer to me... Her body rubbing against my groin, my hands grab onto her thighs once again. I bit back a groan from the friction. Her hands that were pulling my blindfold off still.
"Please don't move too much." My voice came out low and rough as as I furrow my brow. I notice that my breathing became shallow also. Really? am seriously getting turned on from her innocent action? I shouldn't be getting turned on at all. I have to remind myself that it was just from the touching and friction, it was completely natural. Natural, but embarrassing. I hear her take a sharp breath in as she figured out what I was implying.
"Sorry," she whispered as she finished taking my blindfold off. I clench my jaw as I feel her fingers brush my temple softly, then begin to circle the socket. After a few feathery touches her fingers began to apply more pressure as she released her chakra into me. It was odd. I could feel her searching for my optic nerve, then I could feel as her charka wound around it. There was a small pulsing sensation that spread from the back of my eye socket to the front. It also seemed to be tricking into my head. This was the weirdest thing that I have ever felt in my life. I nearly jump again as I feel her thumb slowly roll over my lashes. "You have the longest lashes I have ever seen." She murmurers and reposition's her hands once again. I just swallow not knowing what to say, or even if I should say anything. It was probably best to stay still, after all I could feel her chakra in my brain at the moment, I really didn't need her to slip up. "You'll have to be careful in Konoha, I have a feeling that the girls are going to follow you around like lost puppies. Even more so when they see you lashes." She let out a sigh. "Why does it seems that all the guys get the long beautiful eyelashes?" I just hum at her and run my tongue over my drying bottom lip. She was kinda making me feel uncomfortable. Telling me that I dance when I fight and now saying that I will have girls running after me. I honestly don't know what to do or what to say.
She finishes her healing session in relative silence, which was A-OK with me. I just sat under her and tried to ignore the heat coming from her body, or the soft breath that I felt on my face. I tried to think about anything that wasn't the woman who was sitting on me. I thought about barn duties, washing dishes, cleaning the bar after we had rowdy sumo's pass through. Anything that was far away from the situation that I was in now. I am pulled out of my domestic musings when Sakura pats my cheek a few times, her hands then go over mine and pull them off of her leg. I grimace as I realize that I was holding onto her thighs the whole time. She shifts her weight as she stands up and begins to walk away.
"I think that we are good for today. I don't want to use a lot of chakra, especially since we are camping. The sessions may be a bit longer once we are home though." I turn my head in the direction that her voice goes to. I let out a shaky breath. She said "we are home." I know it was just a slip up, and she didn't realize what she said to me. Konoha was my home. Well at least it was a long time ago. To actually hear some one say something like that, it was nice and heart wrenching at the same time. I grimace as I shake my head. What did it matter? I was turning around in the morning. And that village was not my home. It stopped being my home after it ripped the rug out from under me.
We sit and have idle chatter fir a little while. She seemed tense as she talked but I just let it go. Perhaps being so close made her feel the same way also? After a while she decided that it was time to turn down. She offered my the first shift to sleep and I didn't fight. I curled myself into the bed roll that still smelled like my home and let myself drift off.
Sakura woke me by shaking me a bit with her foot. She yawned that it was my watch and walked over to where she had set up her bed roll. I pull myself up slowly into a sitting position and yawn as I run the heels of my hands against my sockets. If there was one thing that I never missed about missions was the watch schedule. It was a pain in the ass, and it was even worse when there were only two people. You would barely get any sleep. If I had to choose between a one man mission and a two, I would always choose the one. At least then you could sleep the whole night and not have to worry about splitting up shifts so you could watch over your partner. Even a full night of light sleep was better then only having four hours or less in a deep slumber. I snort as I realized how very spoiled my civilian life has left me.
Standing I stretch, making a multitude of joints pop and crack and let out another long yawn. I meander to my pack and take out the water canteen and drink greedily. Feeling a bit more awake I sit down at the base of the tree where Sakura started my therapy. I begin to send out my chakra in timed waves, searching for anything that could be deemed a threat.
So nothing really happened while I was on watch. Just a couple of animals passing by and that was about it. I begin to feel the temperature change slightly, as the sun was beginning to come up. I honestly had no idea how long I let Sakura sleep for, I just know it felt like eternity. It was not often that I was bored, but now I was almost in tears because of it. I decide that I was going to pack my supplies and once I was finished I would go and wake up the snoring girl.
Before I was even finished packing my attention was drawn to the sky. A flock of birds must have gotten spooked by something, they flew urgently out of the trees, chirping wildly. I furrow my brow and begin to send out chakra to investigate. I jump and grab onto a kunia from my pouch as I hear an ear piercing scream. I flare my chakra, but I couldn't feel anything around us. The screaming continues and I hurry over to where Sakura was sleeping. She is the one that was screaming, when she stops the sound of cloth rustling takes over. I kneel down next her her and place a hand onto her shoulder. Her screaming intensifies as I give her a shake.
"Sakura." I say as I give her another shake, I know that it isn't working since she replies with another blood curdling scream. I tighten my grip onto her should and shake her hard. This time I yell out her name. The screaming stops, and she begins to shift under my hand as she attempts to sit up. She is gulping for air and her body had started to shake. "Remember what you told me. In through your mouth." my hand trails from her shoulder to the side of her face. Cupping her cheek with one hand I let my thumbs make circles on her skin. It was soft and warm to the touch. After a few moments her breath began to even out. Her hand goes over the one that I have on her cheek and she squeezes it.
"Are you ok?" I ask in a soft voice. She nods her head into my hand and lets out a rough hum. With out even thinking my fingers begin to trace her jaw, letting me know a little of what she may look like. When I realize what I am doing I still my hand and begin to pull away from her. Her fingers grip tightly on to mine and I can feel her shake her head.
"It's ok. Go ahead and take a look, it's only fair since I know what you look like." Her voice is rough from the screaming, but she pulls my other hand and places it on the other side of her cheek. I find myself wetting my lips with my tongue and swallowing as I let my fingers move over her features. I hesitate a bit, honestly this is far more intimate then I have been with many people. The only people that ever had me look at them in this way were Hisako and Yumma.
I first let my touch go back on her jaw, until I felt her ears. I then run them around her hairline, her face was a bit fuller then I had expected it to be. Once I at the crown of her head I trace the slope of her forehead and feel her brow bone. Her eyes seemed to be large, and I don't know what she was rambling on about with lashes, hers felt long and thick. My fingers glide over her lids as I begin to trace her nose. It was small and there was a small upturn at the tip of it. As my fingers began to trace her lips I could feel her breath hitch. I fought the smirk that wanted to spread on my face, instead I just focused on what I was touching. Her top lip was a bit thinner then her bottom, but still seemed full. They also felt soft. I stilled as I touched her bottom lip, this mouth that let out laughs that sounded like Hisako, also felt so much like hers. I frowned a bit as I let my thumb pass over the soft skin. Her mouth parted at the touch and I could feel her let a breath out. I missed feeling this. I missed this kind of touch.
Shaking my head I dropped my hands down into my lap and just take a deep breath. "You are pretty." I try to smile at her. She lets out a breathy laugh.
"Thank you Sui." I nod my head at her.
"No problem. Just telling the truth." Well most of it. I thought that she was beautiful, but I just couldn't bring myself to say that. I had not said that to anyone in over two years.
"Well that was more intense then I thought it would be." She laughed, she began to move out of her sleep sack and the rustling sound of the blankets moving filled the air. I just shook my head and began to move back to the area where my belonging where. "We should get going soon. I saw that Yosh packed some buns of some sort, we should just eat those on the go. Does that work for you?" She asked as I could hear her gather her belonging.I sigh as I begin to to roll up my sleeping roll.
"Actually I wanted to talk to you..." I stuff the roll and the traveling scrolls that where next to it into my pack.
"Are you ok?" She must have stilled, since I can't hear any movement. I grimace as I try and think about what I needed to say.
"I am fine. It's just that... I just.. I think that this may not be the wisest idea." I frown as I hear her take a deep breath.
"What do you think isn't the wisest idea?" Her voice suddenly got a bit louder, she was walking towards me.
"Going with you."
"What? Why?" Now she was right next to me. I can feel her eyes drilling into my face. I scratch my head as I let out a long sigh.
"It's just that I am not the type of person that likes attention. You, well you are a legend and very famous. I just don't think that I would want to be pulled into something like that." I bit the side of my cheek as I purposely turn my head in the other direction.
"Wait? this is because I am well known?" I just nod my head. "There is nothing to worry about there." I snort a bit and furrow my brow. "No I am serious. I get the most attention when I am out of the village. When I am at home no one minds me any more attention then they would do for anyone else. You don't have to worry about it. I can promise you that there isn't going to be a scene. Well that is unless you make one. I mean if you walked up into Konoha and yell something like: "Hello Village of the Hidden Leaf. I have come to see the medical genius that is Sakura! She has figured out a way to relieve me of my blindness." She mockingly lowers her voice as she talks. "I mean you were not planning something like that. Are you? Because even if that is the truth, it may be embarrassing for me also." She laughed and nudged my shoulder with hers.
"No." I shake my head as I regain my balance.
"Listen people will only be interested in you if you give them something to be interested in. So if you don't make a scene, you will go unnoticed. Also, I get more people on the road that are interested in me then I do at home. At home they are use to seeing me, and seeing me with a lot of different people." I can hear her start to shuffle away. I just let out a dry laugh and shake my head.
"Because no one is interested in some on that will be having new eyes places in their head."
"Oh, well... The only people that know about that are the Hokage, since she was helping with the research, and my team. The only reason my team knows is because we talk about everything, and my everything just happens to be a lot of medical stuff. I am pretty sure that they don't really care one way or another." She stated with a sigh. "You are over thinking this. Do you want to see again?"n I frown at the question, she knew the answer.
"Yes."
"Then all you have to do is come with me. I promised Yosh that I would look after you, and I keep my promises. It's a part of my ninja way. If you want to I will make sure that you will not be made a spectacle. I know you don't know me very well, but I want you to trust me." She walked back to me I hear her clothes rustle as she more then likely adjusted her pack.
"Why? Why are you going so far out of the way for me." Besides the family that I had at the inn, I have found it rare that people were nice to other people for no reason. Yes she seemed nice, but to offer everything that she was with no payment on my part. That question had been bothering me since she had left the first time.
"So I will admit that it is a bit selfish. I saw something once and quite frankly it pissed me off." She huffed then grew quite for a moment. "On my team I am the medic. That was the one thing that set me apart. Made me equal to them. Well during the war, Naruto... Well he gained all this power and new abilities. Our sensei, he lost his eye, and up comes Naruto and replaced it. Like it was the easiest thing to do. As a medic, and a top rate on at that, it made me jealous. And I am not trying to brag, but I know I am good at what I do. Anyways, after the war I got it into my head that I would be able to replace some one's eyes. That I would prove that I could do it also, it may not be instant, but I could do it. So I have been researching it for two years and basically figured it out. The only thing that was left was to find some one that needed it. There was no one in my village, then I decided to take a break and travel gathering things we needed back home. That was when a blind man attempted to kill me." She chuckled as she placed her hand on my shoulder and squeezed. I couldn't help the smirk that pulled at my lips. "As I spent time with you, I realized that you are a good person, and that I could give this to you. That I could possibly help you. So I offered. It is a win win if you think about it."
"So you asked me because you needed a lab rat." I raised my brown as I turned my head in her direction a teasing tone in my words. She let out a sigh then poked me in the chest.
"I asked you because I thought that it is something you might want." There was a pause. "Do you want it?" I pursed my lips and took in a deep breath.
"Yes I want it." I breathed out. She brought her hand to my face and patted it gently.
"You are moody." I could hear the smile in her voice. I just raise a brow as swat her hand away. "No it's true. I don't really know how to read you. I mean one moment you are flirty, the next aloof, the next joking, closed down then you open up. It's like a roller coaster with you, ya know." I just stand there. I really don't have a good explanation for her. I can't tell her really why I was acting so random, so I just shrug.
"Yosh said we can be emotional." She snorts then begins to walk away.
"Well we should get going Sui-chan. We have a lot of road to cover today." She raises her voice as she shouts back at me. I frown... ok so maybe I pout, in her direction. Chan? Really? I walk quickly to catch up with her.
"You just suffixed me."
"That I did."
"You just suffixed me, with chan."
"You are correct."
"Chan!?"
"Aww because you are soo cute Sui-chan." She bumps her shoulder into me again as we walk. I scowl at her, but then begin to smirk.
"Awww thanks Sakura-Kun." I laugh as I hear her scoff.
"Well that backfired." She mumbled to herself. I just lift my head as we walk, the smirk still on my lips.
"Well you did say that you were like a rhino, and those aren't really as chan type of animal are they?" I can hear her growl lowly and speed up her step. I just hum and follow.
The next few days that we traveled went smoothly. The only hiccup seemed to be when there was a large flock of birds in the morning. For whatever reason it always set her off when she is sleeping, she would awake with screams. I tried to ask her about it, but she would always brush me off saying that she was fine. There was also few times I was prepared to turn around, to say fuck it all, but Sakura always talked me down and some how got me to keep moving forward. Of course I wanted to see, wanted it so bad that i could feel phantom eyes under my lids. That was a feeling that I had for years, and now it was back. I had to remind myself that I could do this. I could face my past... and my future. Come what may.
"We are coming up on the gates." Sakura chirped next to me. I swallowed thickly but kept my feet moving. This was it. This was what I had been dreading for the past few months. Just keep moving, just keep moving.
As we walked into the village she steers us to the side. Ahh, yes she is checking in. I just stand besides her and try not to shift on my feet. The biggest thing that I notice was that it was loud. So much louder then I had remembered it. There were birds happily chirping, the sounds of people all around, the screams of children playing. I thought that it would be like the village by the shore, but it must have been tiny compared to here. I really felt the urge to look around with chakra but I reigned in the feeling, probably wasn't wise to do so in a village full of ninja. No, so instead I try to focus on the vibrations. It was overwhelming. Not like when Sakura shattered the earth, but there was so much motion. It was only early morning and already so much motion.I hardly notice that I was frowning and my brows were knitting together.
"Hey you doing alright man?" Some one said, I turn my head in the direction on the voice and give a curt nod. "Alright, well I just need you to sign this paper." I just stand there and lift my hand. I stay there for a few moments waiting for the document before I hear a huff, then the paper was in my hand. I felt a pen pushed into my other hand that was on my side. I just stand there dumbly. I never had to sign for anything since I had lost my eyes.
"Seriously Izumo, you are suppose to be the smart one." Sakura huffed. "Here just sign here." Sakura said as she lifted my hand to the paper. I scratch out what I think was my nick name and Noni's surname. Thought I am pretty sure that it just looked like scribbles. "He can't see you idiot. All you do is stand there and stare." I take a deep breath as I try and calm the overwhelming feeling that he recognizes me. Because I remember him. He was the gate guard when I left. I turn and shift a bit closer to Sakura.
"Sorry Sakura-chan. I got distracted." The man sighed. I could hear her shift a bit before her made one of her oh so lady like snorts.
"You were watching Tenten jog weren't you?" Her voice dripped with contempt.
"Ummmm." There was a light sound of feet dragging on the road as Sakura let out a drawn out sigh.
"Pervs. I swear all of you are such pervs. Come on Sui lets get you to your inn." She said as she grabbed onto my upper arm and began to drag me away. I sighed in relief as we walked away from the gates. One person who didn't recognize me down. Maybe it wasn't going to be as bad as I thought.
Sakura lead me and grumbled as we went. There was a moment that she dropped her hand from my arm. I reached out and took her hand. It was hard for me to see in with the cities constant vibrations on not wanting to use my chakra. I could tell that she was a bit taken back by my movement as she stopped for a second.
"Sorry, having a hard time with the new environment." I mutter, she just gives my hand a light squeeze before she began to walk again.
We walk silently through the village. It was so odd that it felt so incredibly foreign to me. The smells, the sounds, the vibrations, I could not put them together with the village from my memories. Though I would not have noticed those details when I was younger. Well not enough to put them into my memory it seems. Suddenly I felt a massive vibration wave. I tense and grip onto Sakura's hand a bit tighter. She slows her pace a but. The vibrations just keep on rolling over and over.
"Are you ok?" I can hear the confusion in her voice, suddenly the air is filled with muffled booms that cause me to jump a bit.
"What is that?" I ask as I shift my feet to see if the vibrations are all over.
"What?" She takes a step closer to me, I just furrow my brow and frown.
"There are strong vibrations, and didn't you hear the noise?" There was a pause as she listened. A moment later there was another muffled boom.
"You can feel that?" She asked surprised.
"Yes, everything is vibrating. More so then when we walked in." I run my free hand through my hair. "It's like when there were strong storms rolling on off of the sea." I muse.
"Well, the noise is from the training grounds, and more then likely the vibrations also. It's around nine, that is when team seven usually spars. It can get a bit out of hand." She laughs as she begins to pull my hand. I follow after her, distracted still by the vibrations. "I can't believe that you can feel that all the way out here. They have to be a good five miles from here."
"This whole village is vibrating. The moment we were close I could feel all the movement. It's going to be hard to move." I say as my frown deepens. It had been a long time since I needed help moving around. It was not something that I wanted to return to. I did not like the feeling of helplessness that was washing over me.
"I'll be here to help you out." Sakura breathed. She lead me for another ten minutes or so. We walked into a building an the smell of mildew filled the air. I turned in her direction and raised a brow. Where were we?
"Hello there, I have a reservation for Hurano Sakura." She said in a cheerful voice and dropped my hand. Oh no, this isn't were I was staying was it. I breathed in deeply again as the mildew smell filled my nose. I scrunched it as I took a step back.
"Ahhh yes. This is the last open room." A gravely voice said. "402, here is the key. You have it booked for at least three months." I hear a tapping noise and a grunt.
"That would be correct." There was something sliding against a surface. Sakura thanked him and led me to a stair case. We climbed up to the fourth floor. My head felt light as we climbed further and further away from the ground. The last time I was this high had been when I fought Yasha. It still didn't feel good to be so elevated. We walked down the hall, stopping not far from the stair well, then I heard the sound of a key going into a door. Then there was a few moments of door jiggling before a high pitched screech filled the air. That was before the smell. If I thought that the lobby was bad...
"Oh gods." Sakura breathed as she let go of my hand and walked in. "What the hell is this?" I just stood in the doorway. I know that a puzzled look was on my face. I could hear her walking around the room, then there was the sounds of cloths shifting. "What the hell?" She was becoming more irate the more she moved. I took a hesitant step in, the smell just got worse. I don't even really know how to explain it. Mildew mixed with the smell of stale body odor, add a bit of alcohol, with smoke on top... Then the mystery smell that I could not place, and I don't think that I wanted to know what it was. "You can't stay here." She threw something down with a thud. "All of these places were built less then four years ago. How can it be this... like this?" she huffed. I just placed a hand over the shoulder strap of my pack and shifted it a bit.
"I'll be ok." I said with a bit of a grimace. No I didn't want to stay here, but I didn't want to burden the girl anymore.
"Ohh no you can not!" She stomped over at me. "No you will get some type of infection here."
"I thought that the surgery wasn't for a while, I mean I can find another place by then."
"It isn't for a while, but the therapy for your optic nerved and eyelids are going to make them raw, and I need you to have pillows that have been washed more then once a year. I am pretty sure that these did not start out brown." I cringed at that. "I also am pretty sure that there is some type of small bug infestation." She sighed as she walked up to me. "This was the only place that had a vacancy for three weeks. The village is going to be full for the festival." I chewed the inside of my cheek as I took in the situation. There had to be something.
"You checked all the inns? There has to be something."
"No there isn't. The inn I wanted to set you up with was right near my apartment, this was the last place. Which now I know why." There was a pause and I could hear her tapping her foot out of frustration. "This is not ideal I know, but you'll just have to stay with me." I frown and I furrow my brow. I don't know how to feel about that. "I know, I am sorry. But it will just be till I can find another place. Perhaps some one will have a cancellation, but for now you can stay in my spare room. I mean it won't be that much different then the inn. Just you'll be staying where I live." She offered a dry laugh. I tried to think of the options that I had, and unless I wanted to camp out in the training fields, this was it. I sighed and I nodded at her. Hopefully she wasn't on the top floor of her complex.
We walked down the stairs and I decide that I would wait for her outside. The smell was beginning to make my head ache and my stomach turn. I was leaning against the building when I started to hear yelling coming with in. Shortly after there was a tremble in the building, I shook my head a bit. The door next to me opened then slammed shut. Sakura grabbed my hand and huffed as she stomped away from the inn.
"He didn't want to refund me the money! Can you believe that! Slum lord, that is what he is!" Her hand began to tighten on my fingers, I grimaced as I started to feel popping in them. I was well aware by now that she was known for her strength, but it was still a bit shocking that small person can break bones with just gripping them.
"That is beginning to get painful." I tried to pull my hand our of hers just to have her grip harder, now my hand is beginning to pulse.
"Oh shit I am sorry." She loosens her fingers and slows down "I am really sorry I wasn't thinking." I nod at her and try to ignore that aching of my hand.
"It's fine, just no more pressure please." I laugh and she lets out a breathy sigh.
"Sorry." She leads me farther into the village and into more densely populated areas. I can't remember the lay out, and I have no clue were it was she was taking me. Even if I could feel properly with vibrations and chakra, I would be lost. I don't know if the village is laid out different, or if I had really forgotten. I shake my head to clear my thoughts. I should be focusing on learning my surroundings, not reminiscing on past memories.
After walking for ten minutes I all but give up on learning the lay out. No she was zig zagging and turning so much that I couldn't follow. The vibrations were really also not helping at all. How was I ever going to figure this out? Then I had to remind myself that it will be very different when I had eyes. Then again it will probably be months before that happens.
"Forehead!" I jump as a shrill voice yells from behind me. Sakura stops and I nearly bump into her. She lets out a sigh as she turns to face me and who ever was behind me.
"What do you want Ino Pig?"
"Jeeze wake up on the wrong side of the bed billboard brow?" I frown at the voice behind me. Forehead? Billboard brow? I didn't think that Sakura had a large forehead, at least it didn't feel that way when I touched it.
"No, just some slum lord tried to swindle me." She huffed. "What can I do for you pig?"
"Oh, nothing for me. Though Tsunade said that if anyone ran into to tell you that she was looking for you." I try to shift out the way, feeling awkward being in the center of the two girls conversation. Sakura sighs again and drops my hand.
"I just got in the village." She growled out.
"Well it isn't my fault, so let's not jutsu the messenger. Though she did just start drinking so either you go now before she is too drunk, or you could wait till she is smashed.." The other girl laughed. I just raised a brow. I mean I had heard that the Hokage was a bit of a drinker, but I just thought it was silly gossip. How the hell can you run a village while drinking in the beginning of the day? Sakura let out another annoyed sigh.
"What are you doing now Ino?" All annoyance was dropped from her voice as she asked her friend the question in a sweet tone.
"Nothin right now. Though I was going to go out with Sai later after your team destroys their training field." She replied in a bored tone.
"Can you do me a favor."
"Depends."
"I'll buy you mochi."
"I am on a diet."
"Diet mochi then."
There was a pause. This was beginning to feel really awkward for me. I didn't know what to do with myself so I just shifted a but and acted like I was distracted by a noise off to the left of me.
"Fine." The other girl sighed.
"Thank you. Ino this is Sui. He's going to be staying with me for a while. Can you possibly take him to my apartment and show him where the spare bedroom is and help him get settled." There was another pause in the conversation. I could feel their eyes on me. I smirked and lifted my hand to out to her. She took it in a firmer grip then I was expecting and gave it a shake.
"Aww Forehead! You didn't tell me you were going to have a friend staying with you." I could hear the smile in the girls voice, especially when she put emphasis on friend. i don't know whether to smirk or scowl as Sakura scoffs at the innuendo.
"Yes Ino, a friend. He was going to stay at the double dragon inn..."
"Oh no, I wouldn't even put the Akatsuki in that place."
"Yeah I didn't realize it was that bad.." Sakura trailed off for a moment. "Anyways, so can you? I would prefer to deal with a semi sober hokage. If she has too many she always makes me have a drinking competition with her, and I don't think that I am up to it." Her clothes shifted as she shifted her weight. I just stood there. I don't really want to go off with some strange girl, but who am I to make any demands?
"Fine, but you owe me." The other woman bit out. Great, not only a stranger but one that doesn't really want to help me. Perhaps the dingy inn would have been a better choice at this point.
"Yeah some Mochi." Sakura grumbled. "Sorry, Sui-chan. I'll try and be back soon, then we can get something to eat." She softened her voice. I still scowl at her for the suffix but I nod my head to her.
"No problem Sakura-kun. I'll be there when you get back." I smirk as she snorts at my reply. She really should give up the chan.
"Thanks Pig." Thought I guess chan isn't as bad as that nick name. "I'll see you soon Sui." I can hear her feet thumping quickly on the ground as she begins to run off. I turn in the direction of the other girl and give a weak smile.
"Alright let's get going." She says as she begins to walk away. She walked away with out me holding onto her. I try and catch her, but I bump into several people and I can't tell who is who. I stop and try and sense her. Nothing. Fantastic the girl has seemed to disappear and I have no clue where I am going.
"Fucking fantastic."