Hello fellow reader(s), I wanted to apologize for the long wait, it is never easy having to deal with life outside, especially since I suffered a terrible loss of someone I loved dearly (non-related to the coronavirus btw). Also, with some coworkers left my job, I have been working some overtime and double shifts to take care of many things, I'm sure many of you know how that is. Besides that, I was able to spare some time to update this chapter to those who have been waiting for this, which I appreciate your patience and hope you enjoy this update.
ju-hkjv: I truly appreciate your review and your patient for this update it took me to update it with everything that has been going on in my life. So I hope you like this update.
Haruno Resident…
The house is filled with some guest as some women mingle, as well as the young girls, including Ino, Tenten, and Hinata. 'Sakura' appeared to the kitchen as she is gathering some cups on the platter, three women are talking and she started listening to their conversation,
"Have you heard about that restaurant that burned down last night?" the first woman said,
"I have, and they just recently opened the place. Was there an accident?" the second woman asked, the first woman shook her head,
"No accident, a friend of mine was there with her husband on their anniversary when they witnessed two young couples confronting a young busboy after some accidental spill or something. After that, one of them, she doesn't know which, begin to torch the place, and they had to run out of there before the fire started the place down," the first woman explained,
"Oh my, what do they look like?" the second asked,
"From her description, they look like young adults but they're actually teens, they both have very paled skin, almost as white, the boy's hair was short and blue, and the girl's hair was long and red," the first said,
"Wait, red you say?! That sounded like what my brother told me when he and the other Anbus were investigating an attack few nights ago caused by some paled skin girl with red hair, at least that's what he told me," the third woman spoked and explained.
'Sakura' stood silent as she listens to their conversation about those recent incidents that happened, she started pouring some homemade tea in the cups,
"Well I certainly don't want to be anywhere near someone with pale skin, it's so sickening and very unattractive," the fourth woman said with her arms crossed,
"Would you all care for some tea?" the women turned to 'Sakura' as she presented a platter that carries four cups filled with the homemade tea,
"Oh yes," the first said,
"Hai," the second smiled,
"Arigato," the third replied,
"I do feel thirsty," the fourth said as they each took a cup,
"That should shut them all up," Akalra thought as she watches the women drink the tea.
…
At the living room, Tenten, Ino and Hinata are sitting on the couch talking,
"Were you able to find any leads?" Hinata asked Tenten in regards of the mission in search of the missing dog, Tenten shook her head,
"No, my squad and I looked everywhere, even at the favorite parks and fields, but no sign of him whatsoever," Tenten answered before she turned to Ino, who sat quietly yet appeared distraught,
"You okay Ino," she asked,
"Huh… oh, sorry it's just, I'm a little worried about my mom, she's been acting strangely lately and I'm having a hard time figuring out what it is, even my dad noticed something off about her and he's worried too," Ino explained,
"Same with my father," Hinata said,
"Nani?" Ino replied,
"T-this morning… he was different, l-like… he was kind to me and my sister," Hinata explained,
"Isn't that a good thing?" Tenten asked,
"No… it's not. I-I mean… my father was never like that, or rather… my father isn't my father," Hinata said as she is unsure if it makes any sense on what she is saying.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," the girls turned and saw 'Sakura' as she is holding a platter that has three cups filled with tea,
"I thought I bring you all some special homemade tea my mother made," she smiled at them.
Inner Thoughts…
Kyro and Sakura stood by as they watched Akalra about to have those girls drink the tea,
"If they drink the tea, they'll fall under my counterpart's control," Kyro said,
"How can we stop them?" Sakura said as she feels herself panicking,
"In order to do so, you gonna have to withdraw some energy from your chakra to regain control of your muscles," Kyro said,
"I need your help to know how," Sakura said,
"It's a rational technique I was able to learn and practice, though it is temporary and takes a lot of energy to do so," Kyro said,
"I must do what it takes to save them," Sakura stated.
Hokage's Manor…
Many of the Jounins and Chunins arrived as many of them are just talking a mingling in the main room, by then Kakashi, Gai and Asuma arrived,
"Looks like many people are here," Kakashi said,
"It's not often to have this kind of gathering when there is no trouble involved," Gai said, Asuma remained silent as he is ominously looking for Kurenai through the crowd, but no sign of her.
Before they could even set foot in the room,
"Guys wait," they all heard a familiar voice, as they all turned and saw Iruka, as he is slightly hidden behind the corner,
"Over here," they all looked at him strangely before they approached him,
"Iruka, why are you hiding over there?" Kakashi asked,
"There is something I need to show you guys, follow me," he said to them, they reluctantly decided followed him, at least Kakashi and Gai are, Asuma however spotted Kurenai as she is walking with Anko down the hall and they turned to the corner,
"Actually, I'll catch up to you guys in a moment," he said to the buys before in he started to catch up to the women.
Haruno resident…
The three girls grabbed the cup from the platter,
"What kind of tea is this?" Tenten asked,
"It's homemade," 'Sakura' answered,
"I've never seen this type of tea before," Hinata examine the tea,
"It was made by some special herbs given by Kyro-kun," 'Sakura' said,
"That boy you had dinner with the other night?" Ino asked,
"Yes, and he wanted you all to try it, it is divine," 'Sakura' said, urging them to drink the tea.
Inner Thoughts…
"Though we are trapped, our minds are still intact along with our bodies, the trick is to focus on one of our body parts to regain control. When I first tried it, I was able to regain control of my thumb, then a second time my whole hand, and then a few times when I regain control of my whole arm, my counterpart noticed and seized immediate control. It is a very risky technique, and there is a possible chance your counterpart will notice right away," Kyro explained,
"I'll do whatever it takes to stop them, I need to warn them all and quick," Sakura said,
"Try focusing on her arm, gather your chakra enough to feel the sensation to your arm, by then you should gain temporary control. But you must hurry, your friends are about to drink the tea," Kyro said,
Sakura closed her eyes and begin to focus gathering her chakra on her right arm, she can slowly feel the sensation of her nerves and muscle, though at the same time it felt tight and heavy like she is pulling something large and heavy. She opened her eyes to see her friends are about to taste the tea, but…
"No!" Sakura shouted as she swung her arm, which caused…
Outer thought…
'Sakura's' arm to swing and…
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Slapped all three of the cups in one swing, and they all spilled onto Ino, Hinata and Tenten's shirts, which took them all by surprise.
"Forehead, what the hell?!" Ino yelled as she is upset.
"Why did you do that?" Tenten's asked her, as she too is upset, Hinata didn't say anything but rather she was just surprised by what just happened,
'Sakura' didn't say anything as she stood surprised from that unexpected event, she had no intention to do that, and yet her arm suddenly moved and slapped at the teas on its own. She looked at her arm,
"Sakura, what is wrong with you?" Tenten asked her,
"I'm terribly sorry, I don't know what came over me. Excuse me," 'Sakura' said to them before she walked away and left the living room. The girls stood confused by Sakura's strange behavior.
Inner thought…
Sakura nearly collapsed after that one swing but Kyro caught her, helping her stand on her feet while panting, that energy she used slightly wore her off, but she was able to successful prevent her friends from drinking the tea.
"You done it Sakura, your friends are safe," Kyro said to her as he is impressed by her fast learning from that technique,
"Yea… I just hope…. that is enough… to warn them," Sakura replied.
Outer thought….
The girls left the living room to the kitchen to clean up the mess on their shirts, Hinata and Ino used the rags the clean their shirts, Tenten is about to use some paper towels but it wasn't enough for her to clean up the spill on her shirt,
"I'll be back really quick," she said to Ino and Hinata before she left the kitchen and heads to the powder room to get some tissues until one of the women beat her to it and is now occupied, so instead she head upstairs to Sakura's bathroom to get some tissues from there, when she arrived…
"Nani?!" She replied as she immediately noticed the mirror was shattered and some broken pieces are all over the floor.
"What happened here?" she said as she looked around, she looked over to the trash bin and discovered…. a collar, but not for humans but rather an animal, she slowly picked it up for a better look at it, and soon discovered it being a dog collar, and it has the name tag of the missing dog her team was unable to find.
"What the hell?" She whispered as she is shocked and confused.
Hokage Manor….
Kurenai and Anko are walking together through the hallway,
"So you were able to get rid of that Toad Sannin," Anko said,
"It wasn't much of hard challenge considering of how to follow the mind and emotion to a man with such lust," Kurenai stated,
"Kurenai," they heard a voice from behind as they turned and saw Asuma appeared,
"Hello Asuma, I see you were able to make it," Kurenai greeted him, Asuma turned to Anko,
"Can you give us a moment, there is something I need to discuss with her, alone," Asuma asked her, Anko turned to Kurenai,
"I'll see you inside," she said, Kurenai nodded and then Anko left her and Asuma alone.
"Kurenai, what is going on with you?" he asked her,
"Whatever do you mean?" she asked,
"I mean, why are you acting so strangely, you didn't come back home last night, and I was waiting for you all morning until I heard from one of the Jounins that you were helping out of this gathering. Why didn't you tell me yourself? Is it something I did? Are you mad at me? Is it because of that incident last year with your cousin because how many times do I have to apologize for that," Asuma said as it appears concern, though Kurenai appeared unfazed by what he said until she approached up close to him with a small smile,
"There is nothing for you to worry about, if anything, I owe you an apology for making you worry," she placed her hand on his torso and slowly pressed her body against his,
"Why don't we head to the gathering and I will explain everything there," she said before she pressed her lips against, Asuma responded but he didn't bother to close his eyes as he immediately noticed something was indeed off with her. Like any couple, they can always tell how that person feeling between a peck and a kiss, like yesterday when they kissed, it was genuine and loving, which he always enjoys, but this kiss just now, he was unable to feel anything from her, like there is no sign of any emotion to it, which caused him to pull away from that kiss. Then he gazed at her eyes up close, as he never noticed how pale and dull it is, which isn't normal at all.
"Let's head to the gathering," Kurenai said, before Asuma took a step away from her,
"No," he said to her,
"Why not?" she asked, and then Asuma glared at her,
"Because I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what is really going on," Asuma demanded.
Haruno resident...
Akalra stood alone in the hallway as she gazed at her hand, evaluating on what just happened. Those girls were about to consume the tea until at the slightest moment, she lost control of her arm and prevented them from drinking it. Then she remembered what Ibate told her…
(Flashback...
At the hotspring, Akalra and Ibate have the whole hot tub to themselves, marinating while recovering from the citrus injury,
"I have yet to properly adjust to this body as I still feel the nerve of it still intact with hers," Akalra said while sitting on his lap,
"There is yet some things you should be aware and remain alert, although you're in control, there is a slight chance your counterpart may attempt to regain back control," Ibate explained,
"Has yours tried?" she asked,
"He has, but I made sure to he stays where he's at, otherwise, he'll suffer great punishment if he dares interferes," he said. Before he pulled her close to him in his arms, and rest his head on the back of her shoulder,
"Nevertheless, I recommend you try not to let your counterpart regain control, otherwise, any slight mistake could jeopardize our plan," he advised her as Akalra gazed at her hand, examining and feeling the control of it, wondering if what he said is true and that her counterpart will attempt to regain control again.
Flashback over…)
"It would've seems she tried to intervene by saving her friends. No matter, it will take more than that to prevent stop me from trying agai…"
Akalra froze when she picked a familiar scent, she turned around spotted a girl, holding a fruit, but not just any fruit…
A young girl around her age appeared at the hallway, holding and peeling off the skin of a grapefruit, and then she noticed Sakura standing by,
"Oh hey Sakura, didn't see you there," she smiled at her,
"What is that?" 'Sakura' said with her eyes widened,
"Oh, don't mind me, just having myself a little snack is all," the girl smiled as she continues peeling off the skin,
"Why did you bring that?!" 'Sakura' said as she appeared upset,
"I haven't had any vitamin C lately so I brought my grapefruit with me," the girl said while focusing on her grapefruit.
"Get rid of it," 'Sakura' ordered her, but the girl looked at her confused,
"Uh… I'm about to eat it, so it may take some time right after I peel of the skin…" she said, not paying attention to have upset 'Sakura' is,
"Get rid of it right now!" 'Sakura' yelled at her,
"Geez, what's your problem? It's just a fruit? It's not like it's gonna kill ya or somethin'," the girl said before she focus back to her grapefruit, unaware that 'Sakura's' eyes changed from green to paled red, her teeth slowly revealed some fangs, and a growl was made which did caused the girl to turn back to her with a terrified expression on her face.
To be continued…
I hope this update makes up the lost time to those who has been waiting for this update. I will try to update more if I'm not too busy with life and all. Feel free to review and continue staying safe everyone.