A/N:

masayume here,

It's time for the newest update of Catching Fire.

Happy Reading!

Chapter 5. The Old Sanctuary

Team Aino

A cool breeze caressed Shisui's face as he rowed steadily in smooth strokes. He was sitting in an old yet sturdy rowboat, his hands moving the oars in rhythm. The water of the lake appeared calm and murky, only leaving Shisui to wonder about the depth of the lake. The size of the lake was no laughing matter either. It sprawled across on each side, and when one looked towards the land, it was barely visible in the distance. Within the rowboat, Tenma was sitting opposite of him — his face was leaning on his hand, his eyes closed and his breathing steady. Sasuke rowed alone behind them, in a separate boat, following the same smooth pattern of strokes in the water.

The overly cautious team remained silent, unsure of what to expect in an unknown territory. As team captain, Shisui opted to not use chakra to simply walk across the lake — they did not know what they would encounter at their destination and therefore it was wise to preserve chakra until the situation called for it.

They were rowing for what seemed over an hour and they were yet still to spot the old fishing village when the first drops of rain fall onto the lake's surface — a few more land on Tenma's nose and left cheek, startling the shinobi awake. His eyes glance over to the lake just as the rain begins to intensify — a deluge of water hitting the water in almost a playful pattern.

"Great, just what we needed — rain," Tenma commented grumpily.

"What are you complaining about? I don't see you rowing us closer to the village," Shisui replied. His eyes shifted from charcoal to red. He gazes ahead, noting the small pier barely visible in the distance. "I can see the village pier. We're almost there."

"Come on, hurry!" Tenma ushered, as they were nearly at the dock.

All three shinobi were soaked thoroughly, their boats retaining extra water as they finally reached their destination. Tenma hops off first from the rowboat, grabbing the soaked rope that was hidden under his seat and tying the boat against the pier's piling. Then, he threw the second rope towards Sasuke, tying the second boat to another piling. With both boats secured, the three men moved away from the pier and finally entered the village.

The pier's entrance was part of the village's market. The male trio came to a halt, taking shelter under the old, rotted roof of the market's entrance. As they waited for the storm to pass, they glanced around their surroundings. Shisui's eyes traveled from the abandoned food stalls, still filled with rotted food — the sight of the worms sticking out of the moldy peaches was making his stomach turn. Even the wooden entrance under which they currently stood carried an unpleasant stench and the rainfall only intensified the smell of decay.

"We need to move," Sasuke said.

"This whole place smells like a shithole. We should head back. We're not gonna find anything here," Tenma commented.

"No, we have to search the whole place. When we exit this marketplace, Sasuke go left, Tenma you go right. I will check the area straight ahead. It's imperative that we meet back at the pier in twenty minutes," Shisui commanded.

"Understood," Tenma and Sasuke agreed.

Then, without any delay the three men ventured quickly deeper into the abandoned village. As they exited the former marketplace, Tenma turned to the right, taking in the sight of various small homes just waiting to be explored. Sasuke turned to the left, his eyes fixating onto the abandoned stables with its roof caved in — and the young Uchiha could only wonder, what caused this village to come into such disarray in such a short amount of time. If he recalled Sakura's words, the village was a prosperous place. It thrived from fishing and its marketplace by supplying the capital city across the lake. And yet, the place looked abandoned, as if no one has been here for decades. The only visible sign of an actual presence here was the fetid stench within the marketplace and the decaying food that could only be a couple of weeks old — definitely not years. He stepped forward towards the stables, his red eyes aiding him with his vision through the never-ending rainfall. The stables were vacant, no traces of animals left behind. Sasuke stepped farther inside, his hand automatically reaching to touch the old wood frame, only for the wood to cave in. With quick feet he jumps away from the stables, watching at the whole structure falls to the ground.

"Rotted. Everything has rotted," Sasuke mutters under his breath.

He glances towards the left, ready to explore the smaller buildings past the stables. There were more places to search — or perhaps it was Sasuke's sliver of hope that they might find something in this forsaken place that might give them an answer to what was happening in this land. The idea of a supernatural presence almost seemed ludicrous if only he had not witnessed the ghostly samurai atop the horse disintegrate into nothing. He was in the unknown and that fact left him restless.

He takes a step forward, his red eyes narrowing as he notices a blur of white between two small partly destroyed houses. His breathing increases as a chill slithers down his spine — the endless downpour was making it harder for him to remain calm as he walks closer towards the vacant houses.

"Ha…ha…ha"

In an instant, Sasuke comes to a halt — his feet firmly planted on the ground as his red gaze travels around his surroundings, attempting to locate the source of the laughter. It was odd to hear a child's voice in a desolate place such as this. Even more curious was the echoing presence of the child's laugh — this was a place of death not merriment. Eager to solve this mystery and not easily deterred by a mere rainstorm, Sasuke steps forward towards the dilapidated homes, his eyes focusing on a blur of white that seemed to hug the edge of the building — as if it were peeking around from behind a corner.

"Only a coward hides," Sasuke calls out into the deluge.

The white blur becomes clearer, revealing a small boy dressed in white. For a moment, Sasuke freezes, remembering the tales of the boy and his deathly song. His eyes remain fixed on the supposed apparition, as if he was carving his image into his memory, remembering all the visible details of the ghostly child — his charcoal hair that was pulled back, his pale white skin that seemed to almost merge with the old white hakama he wore. The old clothing reminded him of the old funeral garbs the dead would be dressed in prior to being placed in their resting place. But the most memorable part of the boy were his large white eyes: vacant and lifeless. The boy's gaze rattled something within him, as if the boy was attempting to steal all warmth from within Sasuke and leave nothing but dread behind. He watched intently as the boy's lips curved into a large smile.

"Ha…ha…ha…you found me"

Completely dauntless, Sasuke takes a step towards the young child. He could not detect a speck of chakra within this small spectre and yet Sasuke hoped that whatever this child was — he was nothing more but a figment of his imagination. As he took another step towards the grinning child, his almost piercing gaze shattered as Tenma's brusque, booming voice resonated through the dilapidated village.

"OI! SASUKE! SHISUI! I THINK I FOUND SOMETHING!"

Sasuke turned around, his eyes fixating on Tenma standing in the distance of the main road. There upon his shoulders he carried another human as if he were a sack of old potatoes. From the distance, Sasuke could see Shisui rushing out to join Tenma. But Sasuke, turned back to the little curious apparition, only to find the child standing right in front of him. Startled, he jumps back a few meters, and the child laughs once more.

"Your turn…Ha…ha…ha…I'm coming for you."

Without giving the child another moment to spare, Sasuke rushes towards his teammates. His feet are light as he runs towards them, trying his hardest to remain calm, and yet his once pristine control was loosening. He did not dare to look behind his back, and yet he could feel something creeping up on him with equal speed — the sound of rainfall partly muddled with the neigh of a horse, followed by a rapid gallop.

"RUN! RUN! BACK TO THE CITY!" Sasuke screamed.

At his urgent words both men stare at Sasuke, and then past Sasuke's shoulders — the sight that would haunt them for a long time. A wave of old samurai atop horses with their katana swords extended in the air, readying their aim to swing. Without further delay, Shisui looked to Tenma, and mouthed a silent "run." They run towards the pier, Sasuke finally catching up only to recognize the nearly lifeless man on Tenma's shoulder — it was their missing nin Yamato, the one taken by the boy's voice. The man seemed unresponsive, his eyes wide as if they were petrified by fear, and yet he was still breathing.

"Go! I will hold them off," Shisui stated.

"How are you going to stop something you can't touch?" Sasuke urged.

Shisui glances over to his young cousin and his red eyes shift into a greater form — revealing the mangekyo sharingan.

"I'll be fine. You need to get Yamato to our medics! Go! That's an order!" Shisui commanded.

Tenma urges Sasuke as the young Uchiha helps him with the unresponsive Konoha nin on his shoulders. As Sasuke and Tenma share the burden, they begin to run across the lake, their feet equally portioned with the perfect chakra amount. Sasuke glances over as Shisui becomes engulfed in a large green chakra that slowly began to form a skeleton extending itself upwards just as the first of the samurai riders swung its blade against Shisui.

Itachi

It only took a second for Sakura to disappear from his sight. Now, he was walking in the haunted woods alone, taking a cautious step followed by another step as he quickly adjusts to the muddy terrain caused by the rainfall. He is focused, he needs to locate his teammates. And yet, his eyes are unable to shift into red, as if the powers of the haunted woods were draining him of all his strength. He continues on – each step harder than the previous one.

"Ita-Itachi," Sakura calls out.

The familiar dulcet tones of the rosette's voice fill him with hope. He follows the sound, breathing steady as he struggles to see through the intensifying deluge of rain. When it seems that all hope is lost, he comes upon her, and a wave of relief washes over him. She is only a few meters away from him. Sakura kneels in the mud, her breathing ragged and harsh. Her wet clothes stick to her body, thoroughly soaked from the rain.

"SAKURA!" he calls to her.

The rosette looks up, her emerald eyes meeting his onyx ones. A sliver of hope shines in her eyes as a small smile appears upon her lips. Then, from the fog that still nestled around them, emerged a tall figure – a samurai warrior, his features hidden by an elaborate mask. In his right hand he holds a blade and with a perfect execution his pierces through Sakura's torso.

"SAKURA! NO!" he screams.

Itachi stares in horror as the samurai withdraws the blade from the pinkette, and he watches in disbelief as her lifeless body hits the ground. Life vacant from her once lively emerald eyes. The samurai fades into the mist and Itachi forces himself to move towards her, his feet no longer feeling as if they were weighing a ton. His charcoal eyes shift to red, and then proceed to change shape even further. It was as if a different power surged within his bloodline eyes. His eyesight was sharper, and he felt a strong surge of chakra building behind his eyes. It was then when he noticed that the lifeless body of his dear Sakura was missing – the spot where just mere seconds ago he saw Sakura meet her end was vacant. For a moment, he exhaled deeply, realizing that it was nothing but a cruel trick by the forest – nothing more than a hallucination that played on his worst fears. Anger wells up within him and the proud Uchiha captain rushes forward, without hesitation, throwing himself deeper into the relentless forest in search of his loved one.

Naruto

He stood alone within the blanket of thick fog, unsure of his current surroundings. It was only a moment ago when he came to a stop, realizing that he could not feel Sakura's or Itachi's chakra signature anymore. How long did he walk by himself, not realizing that neither Sakura nor Itachi were present? Was he even heading in the right direction anymore? His instincts told him to run, to save himself from the same fate that befell Yamato and all the others this forest had claimed. And yet, he did not run. His vision focused onto the haze before him. Although they were to stay silent, to not awaken whatever this thing was, Naruto had no choice.

"Sakura! Itachi!" he calls out into the fog.

And then, out of nowhere, he hears a call for help.

"HELP! HELP ME! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY!"

The woman's voice echoes around him, enveloping him just as much as the thick forest fog. And yet the familiarity of her colourful tones force him to move from his spot. So, he walks. He follows the call for help, disappearing amidst the haze as he barely calls out the woman's name. "Tomoe."

Sakura

She ignored the sound of small branches cracking beneath her feet as she ventured forth. With each step she was either stepping on old small branches that broke with ease under her weight or her feet sunk in the sodden earth. Her steps carried her deeper into the forest, as if the haunted nature itself wanted to claim her. The fog had long dispersed, only to be replaced by a never-ending deluge. The sudden downpour soaked through her clothes and blurred her vision allowing her to see only a few meters in front her. As such, she hugged the right side of the path, ensuring that she was still following the path of trees.

Sakura remained vigilant, her eyes traveling from each bent trunk of each sycamore tree as she walked alongside them. The wet leaves on their branches were browned — the emerald green of the leaves that she saw at the entrance were no longer present. It was as if deep rot and decay had settled upon this land, finally exposing its true face before her.

As she stepped further down the alley of bent sycamores, the terrain began to shift downward, leading down a steep muddy slope. Her hand reached towards the tree trunk, holding onto it as her feet began to slide in the mud. She had to keep going — besides, it was only a little bit of mud. Sakura removes her hand from the trunk, and she glances down the slope, calculating every move before she decides to slide down to the bottom.

She steps forward only to hear a neigh of a horse in the distance — the speed of the hoof clatter increasing by each passing second. Startled, she slides down the slope, losing her balance, causing her body to roll down faster. With fear grasping her tightly, she focuses her chakra just enough to manage a soft landing on her backside.

The rain is still falling, mottling her features. Her breathing is hard. Her vision hazes over as she glances over to her right. In the distance, nestled among the fog she sees a tall wooden structure. The vibration of hooves press against her back. Her vision fades to black.

A/N: Until next time. Don't forget to review.