Alright guys this chapter is REALLY dark and might be disturbing to some so TRIGGER WARNING. I really don't want to spoil what happens but once you see what mission they're given you'll get the idea, I put the scene in bold for those who want to skip it. I really appreciate all the reads to this story ^-^ thank you guys
Ko was hospitalized for a few weeks after recovering from the electrocution which nearly killed her but thanks to Sakura and Tsunade, she is still alive. Ko was just released a few days ago which she was thankful for. Her team had visited her everyday they could which annoyed the crap out of her since they never stopped talking about the missions they went on while she was hospitalized. Though, part of her was glad they came, she was upset the last time she was in the hospital and no one bothered. As she walked through the village, she stopped when she heard her teammate's voices.
"Hurry Naruto! Lady Tsunade is waiting for us!" Sakura shouted.
"Why? Kakashi-sensei is going to be late and it might be another lousy mission anyway." Naruto complained.
"Quiet dope just keep moving." Sasuke scolded clenching his jaw.
Ko was curious on why she wasn't informed about the mission. She did feel weak from not moving around the past few weeks but if it were a D-ranked mission, she would've been included. She decided to follow them and demand to be put on the mission. When her team entered the building, she made hand signs and touched her necklace completely sealing her chakra making her feel fatigue but she fought through it. She knew Tsunade and Kakashi would be able to sense her even if she tried to mask it. She jumped onto the roof of the building and crept towards the edge where the Hokage's office window was and started to eves drop.
"Finally, you're all here." Tsunade sighed.
"Wait, Ko isn't here." Naruto pointed out.
"That's because this mission could be dangerous and I'm not allowing her to be injured again while she's still recovering. There have been a lot of kidnappings in the Tanzaku village just south from here. Only the women are being abducted and there are rumors that it might be an underground trade. You will investigate, apprehend the people responsible for this, and make sure the women are brought back home safely."
"Why can't I go? I'm part of Team Seven." Ko spoke up as she popped her head down from the roof letting her long hair hang down.
"Because Ko, you're still recovering. Your burns aren't even fully healed." Tsunade scolded.
"Just my face that's all." Ko said as she traced the one mark that went down from her forehead to her ear.
"I said no Ko and that's final! I was also talking about the burns in your body. Your organs need to fully heal before putting stress on them!" Tsunade yelled getting angrier by the minute.
"I think I'm going to go anyway. Sounds like a fun mission." Ko stated and swung into the room.
"No Ko."
"I think you mean yes Ko." Ko said with a smirk.
"Do you really care so little about yourself you'd risk dying over a mission?"
"Isn't that any mission?" She questioned tilting her head to the side in confusion.
Tsunade's grip tightened on the mug she was holding making it crack. "You won't leave me alone if I don't?"
"Nope,"
"Fine but if you die it's your own fault for not listening to me."
"I'll be fine," Ko dismissed waving her hand.
"You're dismissed!"
Everyone bowed and quickly got out of there knowing Tsunade's patience was wearing thin thanks to Ko. Ko walked out of the office with a wide smile on her face knowing that she got her way. Once they were out of the office, Shizune closed the door and looked at Tsunade with a worried expression.
"Milady, may I ask why you gave in so quickly to Ko?"
"There's something off about her. No one was able to sense her presence on the roof that whole time. Three experienced shinobi couldn't sense a genin who was only a few feet away. Genin shouldn't be able to mask their chakra as well especially if they're close by. I don't trust that brat, if she were to parish, it might be a good thing for the village."
"Milady! She's only a child! The Third trusted her and welcomed her into this village with open arms; do you not trust his judgement?"
"I've read over her file many times. The Third said she was found just outside the gates unconscious and wounded apparently by bandits? What kind of bandit use kunai? I've read her medical report and the marks on her body had to have been from ninja. It also said she didn't know where she came from until after the mission at the Land of Waves but somehow managed to use her kekkai genkei to revive Sasuke Uchiha."
"Where are you getting at Milady?"
"During the third shinobi war, the third Mizukage forced the Himura clan to sacrifice themselves to revive his top shinobi. The clan was nearly wiped out so at the end of the war, they decided to make it a forbidden jutsu and make sure no one would be sacrificed again. The next generation wasn't told of the power their eyes were capable of so Ko shouldn't know anything about it. Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision in saving her life. It was my duty as Hokage to save a fellow shinobi, but it didn't feel right, something in me says that I should've let her die."
Team Seven finally made it to their destination after running almost half the day there. When they reached the gates, they were surprised it was only guarded by one person who was a shinobi.
"State your business," she ordered.
"We are here to investigate the disappearances," Kakashi replied flashing our IDs.
The woman nodded and opened the gates for the team letting them inside. They looked around in awe at the structure of the village. They assumed they were in the shopping district judging by the many shops surrounding the area.
"Alright, let's separate and question the villagers. We'll meet back up here then find somewhere to stay to discuss what we found out about the disappearances. Do not, Naruto, engage anyone of suspicion without consulting me first."
"Hey why'd you single me out?" Naruto complained.
"Because you'd be the one to make that mistake," Kakashi told him which made Naruto whine about how he's more mature now which no one believed.
The rest nodded and went their separate ways. Sakura tried to go with Sasuke but he managed to leave before she could take her first step. Naruto stepped up asking Sakura if she wanted to walk with him which she rudely declined. Before he could ask Ko, she was already gone. Ko wondered the streets of the village looking around seeing the small buildings compared to the large ones in Konoha. The mission was something she didn't necessarily care about and was the last thing on her mind right now.
She saw a clothing store a couple stores down and decided to browse. Ko looked around the store spotting a nice black dress. A plan started to form in her head as she stalked towards the petite dress on the hanger. She grabbed it looking at the tag seeing it was in her size then walked around the store looking for matching shoes. She spotted white flats with a black bow to match then went up to the counter.
"Now all I have to do is buy something to tie in this whole look." Ko thought as she put the clothes on the counter gaving the employee the money. "Maybe a necklace. Once we find the kidnappers I'll dress up as a noble to distract them while Kakashi and Sakura look for the girls and the other two take down the men. Perfect plan."
A smirk crept onto Ko's lips as she grabbed the bag and walked out of the store. She walked down the street looking for a jewelry store, but it didn't seem like the town had any. It seemed like she was walking for hours until finally she spotted a store that oddly was attached to a house. She looked around seeing a few other buildings with the same design.
"This town is weird." Ko commented.
She reached the shop and cautiously walked in spotting a woman behind the counter and a man on the other side of shop placing something in the glass case.
"Hello," the woman greeted with a smile. "How can I help you?"
"I'm looking for a necklace," Ko told her.
"Hm anything in particular?"
Ko was annoyed with the woman wanting her to stop talking but she had to calm down and be polite.
"Something that matches a black dress." Ko told her flashing a fake smile.
The woman led Ko to the back of the shop close to the door that most likely led into the house. The man started to walk towards them but only gave Ko a smile and continued on. The woman brought out a box with silver chains and a couple of diamonds.
"I'll take the silver chain with the single diamond."
"Don't you want to try it on? It would look nice on you." She suggested.
"I suppose," Ko answered shrugging her shoulders.
She smiled and grabbed the necklace out of the box and put it around Ko's neck. She struggled to clasp the chains but Ko didn't mind.
"This actually doesn't look that bad. Too bad I still have my chakra necklace on. Green doesn't really...fit." Ko thought mentally frowning.
A sudden force was pressing on her throat pulling her back into the woman's torso. Ko jabbed her elbow into the women's stomach making her loosen her grip on the silver chain. Ko threw her head back hitting the woman's head causing her to stumble back only to be tripped by Ko making her land on the floor. Ko turned to face the woman but was face to face with the man from before. He punched her in the face making her fall to the floor. She wasn't prepared for this, she let her guard down.
The man jumped on top of her and tightened something around her wrists. She started to feel weak and looked up to see chakra cuffs binding her wrists. She tried to kick him off but he was stronger than her; she cursed at herself for not working on strength training. He twisted around to face her legs and put them together cuffing them too then got to his feet. Another man came in from the door behind them and walked towards Ko.
"Help!" Ko tried to scream out but was muffled by a cloth being put in her mouth.
She struggled to break free but it was to no avail, without her chakra, she was useless. One of the men grabbed her long hair pulling her to her knees which made her hiss in pain. He then put one arm under her pulling her up over his shoulder. Ko hoped her team would find her eventually before she is sold or killed, she didn't want to die like this. The man walked towards the door leading into the house but there were two doors, one in front leading to the house while the other was on the left.
He opened the door on the left revealing a staircase which they descended in. The stairs were hardly lit, only by few torches on the wall. Ko cursed at herself for her eyes couldn't adjust to the darkness like they did when she lived at the hideout. Her eyes were use to the sun and the bright lighting of the village but now that she can't see, she felt her heart start to beat faster as negative thoughts clouded her mind.
Once he reached the end of the stairs, he walked down the hall passing some doors on the way which held other woman judging by the silent cries Ko could hear from behind them. At the end of the hall, he opened a door and threw Ko on the floor face first. She groaned in pain as her head started to throb then left in darkness once the door was closed and locked. She maneuvered her body to be on her back which took longer than she expected. Once she was finally on her back, she sat up and scooted around looking for any furniture. Finally, she bumped into a bed and hoisted herself up by her elbows swinging her legs over then repositioned herself to leaning up against the wall.
"Great, what am I going to do now? I can't use my chakra and my limbs are bound. I can't see anything, and my team doesn't know I'm here. I don't know how I'm going to get out of this one." She thought trying to calm her beating heart.
She didn't know how long she was down there, but it seemed like forever. Finally, she could hear footsteps approaching the end of the hall where she was being kept. The door swung open and a different man walked in. She could only get a glimpse of him from the torch right across the hall and could see that it was a different man from before. He closed the door and stood right by the door which made Ko feel uncomfortable.
"So, what is a young shinobi like you doing here?" His deep voice spoke from the darkness and advanced towards her to remove the gag in her mouth.
"I'm on a mission with my team," Ko replied hiding the fear in her voice.
"Hm I'm guessing the shinobi here couldn't handle my men so they had to call the Leaf for some help. How foolish of you to be snooping while flashing your pretty headband." He said stepping forward and tugging at her forehead protector.
"We were only looking around; I didn't expect to find you at the second store I stopped in." Ko retorted.
"Well now you did, it's a good thing I taught my men on how to deal with shinobi or else we would've been caught. Now the question is, what to do with you." He said stalking closer to Ko making her scoot to her left. "Hm, none of my customers could handle a young shinobi; they're not experienced enough to handle you my dear. I must say you are a looker, and that outfit you bought would look wonderful on you."
"Go to hell, I'm not being sold as a prize." Ko spat.
"Hm maybe not but my men and I are pretty lonely in this business, you would be the perfect...entertainer." He said with a seductive tone sending chills up Ko's spine making her want to get out of there even more.
He reached out his arm towards Ko so she moved even more to her left to avoid him, but it only made him angry. He slammed his hand on her throat pushing her down on her back making Ko gag. Ko's head hit the headboard of the bed and took note that they were just bars, not wood. While one hand was on her neck, the other grabbed her cuffs lifting her arms around the bars then dropped them letting her arms fall onto the bed. Ko tried to move her arms down, but they were around the bar and it was too high for her to lift her arms to get free. She struggled against him knowing she wasn't going without a fight.
The pressure on her neck lessened and his hand moved to her face gently stroking it. "If you cooperate, this won't be as bad."
Ko shook her head still writhing her body back and forth hoping for a miracle. She stopped when she heard him pull something out from his pocket then felt something cold being pressed up against her cheek, a kunai. He gently ran it up her cheek to her forehead then back down.
"What a burn, what did you do to receive that my dear?" Ko refused to answer him but tensed when his kunai dug further into her cheek. "It's quite rude not to answer someone's question...especially if they're holding a sharp weapon." He said as he put more pressure on the blade drawing some blood.
Ko took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves, but it was no use. Once he put his hand on her upper thigh, she could practically hear her heart pounding. "Don't touch me," Ko commanded mustering as much courage as she could.
"My dear, what did you think would happen once you were captured? Keep you here all alone with no one to keep you company? That wouldn't make me a nice host, I need to entertain my beautiful guest. Now tell me sweetie, what is your name?"
"K-ko," she stammered which she mentally slapped herself for. She couldn't think clearly, her fear had taken over making her freeze.
"Ah there's that fear." He said as if he were smiling. "I was wondering when I'd scare the big bad ninja." He laughed in her ear making her jerk her head away from him.
Taking a deep breath, Ko tried to lift her legs to kick him away but he anticipated it and hopped up to sit on her legs. She felt the kunai move from her face which she was happy about but a shooting pain was felt in her side making her cry out; she could feel something cold drip down her side. She felt him get off her and move to the other side of the room then walk back. He was near her feet and moved the bars at the end of the bed restricting her feet to it. She tried to pull them close to her but they were stuck Ko knew she was screwed now. He sat back on top of her but this time sitting on her upper thighs.
"Now that was a pretty scream, let's hear it again." He said before stabbing her right thigh just above where he was sitting dragging it up towards her hip.
Ko screamed out again only making the man laugh.
"Don't worry Ko, we have a doctor, so you won't bleed to death. I want to keep you around for a while." He said as his laughter died down. She felt the kunai trace up to the hem of her shirt feeling him grab it pulling it slightly down. "I don't think you need this." Ko could hear the fabric of her shirt being ripped by the kunai making her squirm. Once he finished, he brushed the two halves aside. "Hm bandages covering your chest? Why are you binding them?"
He tugged at the bandages slicing through them exposing her chest and put a hand on her stomach making her shiver at his cold touch.
"No, this isn't happening! I can't be this weak! I was easily captured and now this creep is going to have his way with me." Ko squeezed her eyes shut as his hand moved closer. "Someone please help me."
He started to touch her even more rough making her squirm even more from under him.
"Stop!" She pleaded. "Someone help!" Ko shrieked as loud as she could which only made the man laugh once more.
"You're so cute when you're helpless."
He stopped for a second only to cut her legs once again and her pants in the process slipping them off only leaving her underwear. His other hand cupped her face and brushed his thumb on her cheek.
"So beautiful, you know, I do love leaving something behind, so my sweet women have something to remember me by."
His hand left her cheek and picked up the hand wielding the kunai bringing it to her face. He pressed it on her cheek breaking the skin digging deeper into the layers. She hissed in pain but turned into a scream once he started to slide it up towards her eye just reaching the top of her cheek bone just below her eye. She thought it was over once he removed the kunai but was mistaken when he continued from the top all the way up to her forehead.
"There, now every time you look in the mirror, you'll think of me." He practically sang.
Ko couldn't help but cry as his hands started to roam her body roughly grabbing her in the process. She tried to hide it from him but he chuckled and wiped the tears from off her face then continued to violate her. He leaned over placing his kunai on her throat with the pointed end directly over her esophagus. He roughly kissed Ko biting at her lips in the process making her silently scream and tried to get him off but his kunai dug deeper into her skin. His hand started to venture down towards her legs making Ko squeeze them together not wanting what she knew he was going to do. He stabbed her once more in the arm making her focus on the pain instead of his wondering hand.
"Such a fighter you are Ko. If you were a good girl, you wouldn't have gotten stabbed so many times. It pains me to hurt you sweetheart, but you must learn your place." He said as his hand was hovering over her underwear then gently touched her private over the fabric which made her body jump. "Oh, I see your body is excited. Let's see how long it'll take to break a ninja."
"No please stop! Stop this!" Ko pleaded.
She had never felt so weak in her life; all because she let her guard down. She tugged her arms and legs desperate for a miracle. Ko felt his fingers wrap around her underwear starting to pull them down but stopped and moved one of his other hands. He started to punch her wounds making her cry out even more which made her receive a slap to the face. Ko started to feel weak, the blood loss was starting to affect her.
The man was about to continue where he left off but a bang was heard upstairs followed by footsteps as if someone hit the floor. The man's head jerked upwards and quickly got to his feet briskly walking towards the door.
"I know you are excited sweetheart, but I need to investigate. When I get back, we'll get to the fun part."
He opened the door making Ko finally able to see her captor's face and the condition of her body. Her captor had short black hair with dark eyes that bore into her scarlet ones. Ko broke eye contact to look at her battered and sore body. She forgot her shirt had been torn and was surprised to see the smeared blood that covered her bare torso and legs. She couldn't help but cry more not caring how loud she was.
The man quickly walked out of the room attempting to close the door but left it open a crack before heading down the hall to the stairs. Ko heard the door swing open and thought he finally left but it was followed by someone grunting and falling down the stairs. She heard someone else walking down the stairs kicking someone across the ground. A man tried to speak but couldn't finish their first word and was replaced with a gurgling noise like their throat had been cut.
Footsteps quickly rushed to each door unlocking them followed by the now free women thanking their savior. Finally, they reached her door and swung it open revealing a wide eyed Kakashi who quickly darted from the room only to come back seconds later with a blanket. He rushed to her side throwing the blanket on top of her. He reached into his pocket pulling out a ring of keys which he most likely took from her captor and freed her.
Kakashi put a hand on her back helping her sit up but she cried even harder. He had never seen Ko so fragile and showing emotion, but it wasn't as surprising as the situation she was just in. He felt her arms wrap around his neck and her head on his chest as she wept desperately clinging to him. He wrapped the blanket around her exposed body and held her in his arms. He rose to his feet carrying the broken girl into the hall. She could see the man's dead body closer to the stairs and she looked away when Kakashi went up them. He gently laid her down onto the floor of the jewelry store.
"I'll be right back Ko, I'm going to get Sakura who is right outside to heal you."
He left leaving Ko trembling on the floor gripping onto the blanket as if it would save her from death. He quickly returned with Sakura who gasped at her teammate's condition rushing to her side. Kakashi stepped outside most likely talking to the boys or comforting the other women that were freed while Sakura examined Ko. She tried to pull the blanket off to inspect the other injuries, but Ko wouldn't let go of it. Sakura put her hand over Ko's whose head snapped up glaring at her.
"I need to heal your wounds Ko, let me help you. I can at least stop the bleeding."
Ko stared at Sakura for a few more moments then looked away and loosened her grip on the blanket letting Sakura continue. She managed to close the wounds but Ko had to go to the hospital to be checked over more thoroughly. She helped Ko get to her feet but she started to sway so Sakura wrapped an arm around Ko's shoulder holding her up as they walked. When they reached the doorway, Kakashi quickly scooped Ko into his arms and headed to the hospital while everyone else followed with the rest of the women.
Ko was barely conscious but still managed to see her teammates at Kakashi's side worryingly glancing in her direction. Her eyes focused on Sasuke who was also covered in blood and had deep scratches on his face, arms, and legs. Naruto looked even more beat up but of course Sakura didn't have a scratch on her. They arrived at the hospital which wasn't as big as Konoha's but they were able to take her in right away. Unfortunately, this village didn't have any medical shinobi so she was only getting mediocre treatment.
Cleaning her up didn't take as long as she had thought but the stitches hurt more than when she received the wounds. She laid in her bed with an IV in her arm receiving blood; they said she was lucky she was saved just in time. She would've bled out in less than an hour making her wonder what would've happened if she weren't saved. She shook her head trying to forget the experience, but it replayed in her mind over and over again.
She heard the door squeak open followed by footsteps approaching her. The curtain was moved revealing Kakashi who gave her a sincere look and walked to her side.
"We will be leaving in a few hours to take you to the village. I will carry you the whole way." Kakashi explained. Ko only nodded at his words and looked away staring at the floor. "Ko, you know we have to discuss this with the Hokage. It will have to go into the mission report."
Her only response was another nod. Kakashi sighed and walked over to her with an outstretched hand attempting to pat her head but she flinched which made him retract his arm. He gave her one last look before walking out of the room giving her time alone. Ko only spent this time to stare blankly at the floor but was interrupted by a nurse who took out her IV. She was saying something but Ko didn't want to pay attention to her meaningless words.
When she left, Kakashi was in there right after to get Ko. He walked over placing some clothes on the foot of the bed. "Sakura got these for you." He told her. She nodded once more and tried to get up but once she put pressure on her right leg, a shooting pain ran up her leg making her hiss in pain. She started to fall but Kakashi caught her and helped her to the bathroom. "Just knock when you're ready."
Ko changed into the new clothes as fast as she could which was a lot longer than she hoped because of her injuries. When she was finally done, she looked in the mirror staring with bloodshot eyes at her newly scarred face. Even though she had her chakra restored, she still felt weak. With a heavy sigh, she managed to make it out of the bathroom mostly by hopping on one leg. Kakashi crouched down so she could climb on his back which she did, he walked out of the hospital meeting the rest of the team outside. The team looked at Ko with worried eyes, but she ignored their stares staring at the ground as they walked out of the village. She could still feel the stares, but she closed her eyes trying to catch up on sleep.
"I just want to go home," she thought as the horrible memories flashed through her mind.
So sorry for those who had to skip but I think this made Ko realize she's not invincible and strong like she thinks she is so she really got slapped into reality.