Fifth chapter: The Village Lost in Time
Neji was stunned. He had never dreamed that he would meet Uzumaki Naruto in a place like this. In the middle of -well, Neji didn't know exactly where they were now. But there was a whole village around them! How come he hadn't sensed them last night? Even if he had been tired as hell he should have felt that they were in a village. This whole journey to the Cloud Country was getting more and more mysterious.
Neji took Hinata's hand and they got up. As quietly as they could they gathered some chakra to their feet and jumped to a tree limb. From there Neji had more time to observe the villagers before them.
Hinata tugged at Neji's sleeve. "Who is there, Brother Neji?" She tried to concentrate on the sound she heard but it was difficult with the burning pain in her head. Neji had lessened some of her pain with that jutsu he had done last night, but it was little help to a person whose eyes were slashed.
"We're in a village, Hinata-sama", Neji said grimly. He heard Hinata gasp a little and stiffen. He was a bit nervous too, which surprised him.
Hinata once again squeezed Neji's arm. "Why didn't I- you- uh, we- uh, sense them last night?"
That was the thing he had been wondering too. He didn't have the answer so he decided to remain silent. When Hinata didn't receive the answer she was waiting for she knew that he didn't know. Again, the invisible connection between them did its work.
Neji surveyed the village. The houses were small and made of wood. The whole village didn't have more than a hundred of dwellers. There were people of all ages, from the wise and weary old to the freely running and screaming children. It was apparently a very peaceful village but then again, why had they captured Naruto? Maybe they were some fanatics for rules and Naruto being the way he was could have easily broken tens of their rules in a minute.
"Uh oh, don't bring that fire too close to me!" they heard Naruto yell with horrification. His struggles were becoming more furious as Neji watched him. The old man had lighted the fire under Naruto's feet. "Hot! Hot! Hot! It BURNS! Stop the fire, idiot! What're you doing, gonna burn me alive?!" he roared before once more trying unsuccessfully free himself from the ties.
Neji sighed and brought his hand to his eyes. Hadn't Naruto changed at all? Next to him, Hinata let go of his arm and whispered with a stunned voice, "Is- Is that Naruto-kun?"
Neji sighed in exasperation once more, trying to hide the annoyance in his voice. "Yes, it's Naruto." Hinata stiffened and inhaled sharply.
"Naruto-kun…" She fell silent for a while. "I can't believe it." The smoke from the pyre reached her nose and she coughed a little. "What are they doing?" Neji was surprised at this, hadn't she heard Naruto's yells?
"They- They are going to burn him." Hinata's hands clenched into fists and she bit her lip.
"Shouldn't we do anything?" Hinata finally asked turning to Neji. Her face was twisted with pain, for Naruto and herself. Neji could tell that she felt faint because of the terrible headache.
"Like what?" Hinata let out a grunt of frustration at Neji's reply and raised her hand to her lips and bit her finger. She had the habit of doing so when she was nervous. It didn't really help much but the slight pain gave her something else to think about.
"We must help him!" She coughed again. The situation was horrible, simply horrible. How could Neji be so cold? Didn't he care about Naruto's life? Don't play stupid. Hinata gritted her teeth and then she growled silently.
Neji looked at Hinata and he frowned slightly. Was he supposed to do something about this? He was getting angry at her. Why did he have to do what she wanted?
"Save him? How, Hinata-sama?" Neji asked dryly.
"This is no time to be angry at me, Brother Neji! Please, we must save him!" Hinata was frustrated. Neji's frown deepened and he turned to Hinata.
"Do you understand this? If we are going to save him, it'll be me who does it." Hinata opened her mouth to say something but decided to against it. She let out a sigh of annoyance before opening her mouth again, her voice calm and hardened.
"Yes, I know. It would be a nuisance to you, wouldn't it?" her voice dropped into a dull tone. "But you must save him. And that's a order." Her face was commanding.
Neji was astounded at the change of her attitude. Where was the shy and weak-willed woman she usually was? But it was nice to see her acting a little bit stronger. Women with lack of self-confidence were annoying, anyway. Humph, I'm starting to sound like Shikamaru.
"Fine. But what will you do?"
"I- I'll come with you. But not on your back." Hinata refused to be carried around even if she was blind and she didn't want to be in the way.
"Then how are you going to move?" Hinata fell silent at this and Neji was impatient enough to drop the subject. "Do as you want to. Just don't disturb me", he said coldly and snorted.
Hinata gritted her teeth and whispered barely concealed her anger. "I won't, Brother Neji."
Neji jumped out of the tree and quickly ran to the huge tree where the villagers were. They didn't pay any attention to him. He walked to the closest man who was standing a little out of the biggest crowd.
"Excuse me", Neji started politely, "What's going on?" The old man he had asked had white long hair and a beard that reached his stomach. This place is really uneducated. The thought vaguely rang in his mind at the sight of the old man's filthy clothes and hair.
The old man gave him a weird look. "What do you mean, 'what's going on'? We've been talking about this for a week now! You can't have missed it." Neji had the urge to return the look, but he maintained his façade.
On the outside, he looked slightly surprised. "I'm afraid I have. Could you please tell me what's going on?"
"You don't look like you're from around here, do you?" The man continued to avoid answering his question.
"Yes, I'm from a village nearby", Neji lied without blinking an eye. The old man however, turned away from him and muttered something like "Yeah, right" before walking away. Neji didn't like his behavior and walked to him again and pulled at the old man's loose sleeve.
"Don't ignore me like that!"
"I do if I want to." Neji was growing frustrated at the man's stubbornness. He had to do something and quickly or Naruto would be dead. He looked up at Naruto and noted that the fire had spread rapidly. His mind was quickly trying to find a solution and he began to run to the tree.
If he would have looked back he would've seen the old man whispering to another man and pointing at Neji.
Hinata was helpless. What could she do now that Neji was gone? Nothing. That was pretty much it. She could send her chakra to find Neji and that's what she did. When she sensed him she also felt that he was with someone really powerful. Maybe it was Naruto, she didn't know. Maybe he had saved him and didn't bother to return. She waited in silence for a few moments that felt like hours.
Suddenly, the female ninja heard yelling from Neji's direction. Her body tensed as she strained her ears on the voice.
"What are you doing here?!" the person's voice was that of utter disbelief. There was no reply, at least not so loud that she could hear. She drew a deep breath before jumping out of the tree and starting to run to the tree where Neji was.
Neji was standing next to the huge, thick evergreen tree where Naruto was still struggling. Knowing nothing better to do, he jumped to the tree close to Naruto. Naruto's struggles and yells were becoming more powerless as the smoke continued suffocating him. The very old man who had lit the fire was standing beside him, leaning to his staff.
Neji walked behind the old man and asked, "What's going on?"
The man turned more quickly than eye could see to Neji and took him off guard by hitting him in the knee with the staff. Neji jumped away from him and somersaulting in the air landed safely on the thick branch.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the old man demanded. Whoa, what a rude village this is. Neji decided to remain silent and ignored the questions. He had no desire to tell them about his intentions.
He held his hands out to show that was unarmed and harmless. Apparently, the man took the note and rested the staff back to the tree limb he was standing on. He still eyed him suspiciously, though.
Neji walked slowly closer to him. "What's going on?" The old man grunted in reply and pointed towards Naruto with his wooden staff. Neji felt some strange power spreading from the thorny and mossy stick.
"We're burning him, can't you tell?"
"Why?" Neji was growing impatient.
"He insulted the peace of our village and mocked god!" the old man growled, loud enough to attract Naruto's attention. The young man tied to the stilt raised his head and looked at the old man. Fire watered his eyes and he had to cough to get the smoke out of his lungs. Despite his pitiful position he still gave the old man a furious glance, much like the look of the young Uzumaki Naruto who had vowed to become the Hokage one day.
"You won't get out of this alive", Naruto growled. Then he saw the figure standing next to the old man. His eyes trailed over the figure's body and finally met his eyes. Those hate filled, white orbs that made him shudder in spite of the fire around him. His mouth opened and for a moment he just stared at the Hyuga. Naruto's eyes widened as the man did nothing to save him.
"What are you doing here?!" Naruto finally blurted. Neji gave him a quick warning look to silence him.
"What do you mean? Am I not free to be where I wish to?"
Naruto just gaped at him before once again struggling futilely. He coughed loudly and tried to reach for a kunai from his holster.
"That's no use." The old man's eyes glinted madly. "Do you think we'd let you have weapons after insulting our village?"
Damm. What am I going to do? It wasn't probably the wisest thing to do to reveal that they knew each other. The old man was already suspicious enough. The fire around Naruto was spreading rapidly and it would soon reach Naruto. The pyre was huge, he had noted. Maybe it was to scare the victims with a slow death.
The old man, most likely the major of the village, walked to stand in front of Naruto. He laughed at him and said in a low voice, "This is what you deserve, you filth!" Then he spat at his face and turned around.
Naruto's eyes blazed and chakra began to emit from him. Nine Tails wanted out. His pupils shrank and the birthmarks on his face deepened. Neji looked at him astonished and stepped back from him. The huge chakra was making him nervous. If Naruto started playing with the Demon Fox's chakra Neji wished that he didn't have to be around.
But at occasions like this it would make things more difficult. What if Nine Tails freed himself and decided to destroy the village? That would happen with high possibility if Naruto lost control to the fox. Neji just had to hope that Naruto would be strong enough to not lose command over him even after being almost burned.
Naruto continued transforming. His form tensed and his pupils were only thin, pitch black slits in the middle of scarlet irises. The canine teeth in his mouth sharpened and became fangs. Neji was stunned at this. The only time he had seen Naruto this strong was when he fought him at the Chuunin Exam many years ago. The chakra was enormous! Neji reached for a kunai and wrapped his fingers around the hilt to be ready to defend his life if he had to.
Then he remembered Hinata. He cursed himself for forgetting about her and leaving her like this. He was her protector, after all. He had no intentions to get her killed and so he turned to search for her with his eyes. When he looked at the tree where she should have been standing he saw nothing. Neji closed his eyes to send his chakra to look for her.
Even though he was concentrated on finding Hinata he felt somebody moving nearby. The old man walked to stand in front of Naruto again, this time taking his staff in both of his hands taking a defending stance. He pointed at Naruto with the head of his staff and Neji noticed that there was a glowing crystal ball in the end. There was a dragon's fist holding the crystal in its place*. Before Naruto could react, the old man hit Naruto in the stomach with the staff.
"Don't try any tricks!" he growled. Then he hit him once more, this time on the side. Naruto let out a grunt of pain but didn't say anything. He coughed and blood trickled from his lips. The staff had some hidden powers in it for the strike hadn't been hard enough to make him bleed from the insides. The old man smirked at him and snorted.
Then, out of nothing, came something what looked like a white storm and swiped the old man off the tree branch. There, in front of Naruto was a slightly panting Hinata. She held a kunai in her hand. Once again Naruto's mouth dropped open as he stared at Hinata. He quickly regained control of himself and Nine Tails's huge chakra receded. He returned to his normal appearance. With the threat gone, Neji came to stand before the pyre.
Neji quickly grabbed the kunai he had been holding and jumped over the fire to release Naruto from the bindings. This done, he jumped away. Naruto grunted and slumped back against the stilt.
"What're you doing? Get out of there!" Neji yelled at him. Naruto swiped the blood away from his lips and tried to stand up. Pain jolted through him and he held his stomach before coughing up a lot of blood.
"I can't get up." Neji quickly went back into the flames when he heard Naruto's grunt to retrieve him. He jerked Naruto away from the stilt and leapt out of the pyre with Naruto's arm around his shoulder.
Neji set Naruto down against the tree trunk and stepped away. He looked at Neji and then his eyes slid to Hinata. That girl surely has grown, was Naruto's only thought as he looked at her. His eyes traveled from her toes to her face and there he stopped.
"What's happened to your eyes, Hinata?" Hinata's head snapped up at the sound of her name.
"W- What? I wasn't listening", she stammered blushing. Neji frowned. Didn't those two have any idea that they were in a village full of people ready to kill them?
"We really don't have time for this", he said sharply, "Finish your talking if we get out of this alive." Naruto cast a glance around them and raised his eyebrows.
"Crap. I almost forgot about that." He scratched his blonde head. "But I really don't think I'm able to run very fast. That old geezer did something funny when he hit me." Neji had to prevent himself from putting a hand to his eyes and sighing in exasperation.
"Hinata-sama, I think this is your job." Neji walked to Hinata and pulled her to Naruto. "His insides have been injured. Can you heal him?" Once Hinata kneeled beside Naruto she groped her way to find his legs and then she placed her hands on his knees.
"I might be able to", she muttered, "Where does it hurt the most?" She ran her hands lightly from his knees to his thighs and then on his stomach.
She was still in shock for what she had done. She had run past the yelling villagers, jumped to the tree and then out of nowhere a thought had entered her mind. There had been something terribly powerful and evil near her and she had been irresistibly drawn to it. She had tried to stop herself but it had been futile. She had decided to get rid of the nagging feeling and decided to shove it off. Knowing nothing better to do, she had quickly landed a kick to the center of the powerful. The evil presence was gone as she had kicked the human off of the tree.
Now she was here, trying to heal Naruto and still alive. What a strange journey this was turning out to be.
"It's not any separate point, it hurts from everywhere", Naruto quickly answered. Hinata muttered something in return and started the healing process. Not after long, Naruto gave a small sigh of relief and Hinata drew her hands away. "Thanks, Hinata!" Naruto happily grinned at her. Hinata, who didn't see his expression but could feel his eyes on her blushed and stammered a few words in return quietly. Now that Naruto was better they could try to get out if the village.
"Naruto, do you happen to know how we can get out of this village?" Neji asked.
"Let me think." Naruto thought about it for a moment but then answered, "Nah, I don't think so."
Neji raised an eyebrow at this. "Then how did you get here?"
"I dunno, I just woke up in a jail in this place after arguing a little with those guys. I wasn't serious in the fight and they captured me." Neji sighed as he was obviously getting nowhere with the questioning. How could that guy talk so much without saying anything worth listening?!
They were interrupted by furious yells from the villagers. Neji glanced down and saw the mass of people climbing up the tree trunk.
"Uh oh." Naruto gulped. "This is definitely not good," he pointed out the obvious. He looked at the two Hyugas standing beside him and saw Neji looking at Hinata worriedly. The expression was gone in a second but it had still been there. Naruto cast Neji a strange glance and stood up.
"What's the plan B?" Naruto asked.
"Plan B?" Neji repeated blinking.
"Yeah, how are we going to escape this crazy village?"
"There's no plan B."
"Then why the hell did you save me?! Now I'm going to die anyway!" the spiky-haired man cried out. Neji was slowly beginning to get irritated so he decided to keep his mouth shut.
Several villagers had already reached the tree limb they were standing on. Naruto eyed them fearfully, "We- uh, we don't need a plan B! Let's just run!" Saying so, he leapt away to the next tree and halted there. "What are you doing?!" he yelled glancing at them. "Get here!"
Then he remembered Hinata's bad situation and wondered if they'd need his help. Apparently they didn't or at least they didn't say so. Watching the villagers he saw that there were more of them, more than the tiny size of the village could ever hold.
Hinata was having tough time with her pride. She didn't want to be carried around like a baby but if Neji didn't take her on his back she'd slow them down or worse, get them killed. Neji silently looked at Hinata's inner struggle. He didn't mind carrying her but it seemed to be uncomfortable for Hinata. Not that he cared, anyway.
"What are you waiting for?!" Hinata was snapped out of her thoughts by Naruto's furious shout and hastily tried to think for a solution. She was beginning to panic.
Why does she have to be so stubborn at a moment like this?
Then, without warning, Hinata was encircled by strong arms and lifted from her feet on Neji's back. "Took you too much time to think", Neji muttered. Hinata didn't protest. Now that she was on his back she made herself more comfortable and rested her arms around Neji's shoulders. 'I might as well get used to this.
Neji swiftly jumped to the tree where Naruto was standing. "What's the matter?" Neji asked when he saw Naruto's alarmed face. Naruto only pointed towards the villagers. Neji turned around and he, too, was stunned. It seemed like there were thousands of people instead of the less than hundred they had last seen! When Neji tried to focus on looking only at one of them he found it impossible. It seemed like the villagers changed their form with a dizzying speed. Neji shook his head and ripped his eyes away from them.
"Now we really better run", Naruto growled. Turning around, he came to a quick halt. The way ahead of them was also surrounded by hundreds, thousands of people. "Ack. No good, definitely not good."
"I know that already!" Neji snapped. He was really losing his patience with this man! Gritting his teeth he said, "We don't have any other options left but to run. Run as fast as you can." Then, with an incredible speed, he jumped to another tree and then another, soon disappearing from Naruto's sight.
Naruto followed as fast as he could. He held a kunai in his hand to keep the unwanted attackers away. He soon reached Neji and ran beside him. Neji was moving swiftly but still taking care of Hinata so that she would fall.
"If you want to, Neji, I can carry Hinata." Naruto thought his offering would help Neji.
Neji shook his head, "I can take care of this."
"…Whatever."
He looked back and saw that the villagers were following them right behind their backs. It wouldn't take long for them to reach the tree, Naruto realized. "We have to go faster!"
Neji didn't reply but he looked back and saw what Naruto meant. Increasing his speed he tightened his grip on Hinata. "Take out a kunai, Hinata-sama! You have to shield yourself." Hinata reached for a kunai and took it out. How am I going to protect myself? For the sake of all good and evil, I'm blind!
After a short while of running they came to a clearing. Naruto noticed that they were standing beside a deep cliff. There was a wavering suspension bridge that led to the other side. Naruto pointed at the bridge.
"If we run to the other side it might slow those guys down. They won't make it in one piece, there're too much of them." Neji nodded and ran to the bridge.
"This looks very weak. Only one can cross it at time. Hinata-sama, you go first." Neji dropped Hinata down and guided her to the bridge. "Just keep your hands on the banisters." Hinata took a slow step forward and then another.
Proceeding slowly, she hadn't moved far from the beginning when she heard Naruto's yell. "They're getting too close! We have to get to the other side!"
"We can't! The bridge will break and then we'll all die!" was Neji's angry reply
"Where do you prefer dying? Being tortured by those maniacs or falling into water?" Naruto wanted to protest but after looking at Neji's grim expression he decided to remain in his place.
Hinata tried to go on as fast as she could but now she was shaking so hard her legs didn't move. Inch by inch, she slowly neared the other side. Suddenly, she heard Naruto crying out again. "Now we have to get there! We can't hold these down for long!"
Neji didn't answer. Hinata felt the bridge falter and tried to stay on her feet. Then Neji grabbed her waist and took her into his arms running to the other side.
Naruto, Neji and Hinata were very close to the other side when the villagers got to the bridge too. The fragile bridge couldn't take the weight and broke.
Hinata felt herself fall and before she had time to scream, her lungs were emptied by the fall. She was unable to breathe for a few seconds. She had automatically pulled Neji closer to her when they fell and now she clutched at him tighter than ever. Neji curled over her protectively and they formed a tight ball falling to an ice-cold river below them. Naruto yelped and tried to save himself by grasping the banisters but the weak material of them gave away and his hand slipped through them.
A tall man was walking through a small forest. He seemed to be walking absent-mindedly and not paying attention to his surroundings. However, the man was clearly aware of the happenings around him. He sensed every move and presence, not that there were many -the forest was small enough for him to see from the other side to the other. And currently he was the only human being in the place.
The vigorous man breathed out a small puff of air and kicked a stone beside his foot. The sandal-clad feet continued onward, drawing out clouds of dust from the dry ground. He soon reached his destination and ceased walking. He pulled out a swiftly drawn map from his pocket and looked at it. There was also a hurried description of the place he was supposed to be in.
The man looked around him and nodded mentally. Yep, the place matched the description. There was a small arched bridge over a little gurgling river. Aspens decorated the side of the forest he had just stepped out from. Wind blew slightly through the aspen trees and made the leaves murmur in reply. High, green, velvety grass caressed his feet as he made his way to the bridge. The view could have had the character for 'cliché' printed on it. Only beautifully singing birds and colorful flowers were missing.
The man leaned his elbows against a banister of the bridge as he glanced at the sky to define the time. The early morning was passing and it would soon be the time when normal people woke up and began their daily tasks. But no, not him. He had to wake up in the middle of the night to fulfill some idiotic mission he was given. And that wasn't even the thing that made him grumpy.
He was supposed to complete the mission with someone.
The young man didn't know who it was nor did he even care about it. He just disliked company. After being alone so many years he was now going to suffer someone around him for God knows how long. And the person was late. They were supposed to meet in this exact place at this exact time but there was no one around.
"How unprofessional", he muttered under his breath. Over the years he had gotten the habit of talking to himself which annoyed him more than anyone else. But at important times he could keep his mouth shut if needed –he wasn't the type of a guy to give himself away on mission.
He was seriously growing irritated. Why can't people be more precise about their schedule? Thrusting his hands to his pockets he started to walk across the bridge slowly. He turned around when he met the end of the small bridge and repeated the process.
A woman was quickly walking on the streets of a small peaceful village. Her hand ran through her hair as she muttered, "I'm late, I'm late, and I'm late, late with a capital L." Wrapped up in her thoughts she bumped into someone. She almost fell to her bottom when she hit the object before her. As the young ninja quickly regained her balance, she looked at the person she had collided with.
It was a silver-haired tall man who was currently looking down at her with a slight worry in his eyes. "Whoa, watch out!" the kunoichi said hastily taking a step backwards and pulling her hands in front of her, defending.
"Ohohohoho!" the man let out a loud laughter. The woman dropped her hands to her sides but still remained a bit tensed. Obviously a drunken fool. But at this time of the day? Which reminded her: she was already late!
She looked hastily at the man as if trying to define if he could be left alone without taking him to the police. The man did nothing but stood before her, bluntly. He hadn't said a word after his insane laughter.
"Uhh, are you okay?" the crimson-dressed shinobi asked and tilted her head to one side. The man didn't make a response so the woman just let it go. But being the woman she was, she made a mental note: the man was insanely handsome. His strange looks, companied with a long hair made him unnaturally attractive. He would have been very charming if he hadn't been drunk.
The slender girl apologized quickly and walked past him. She was definitely deadly late. 'What a nice first impression. Well, what's done is done. Can't let drunks surprise me too often. She was now running through the streets and after a little while she reached the end of the village.
She broke to a sprint as soon as she stepped through the huge gates of the village entrance. She would've preferred jumping on tree branches but the distance to the meeting place wasn't so much that she'd bother. She hastily pulled out a map where the location was supposed to be marked. She looked at the map to make sure she was heading to the right direction. Yep, she was close, not even half a mile anymore.
The man at the bridge had stopped walking and now leaned against the banister of the bridge, hands in his pockets. His stomach gave a silent grumble, informing him that he hadn't eaten anything good for the last few days. He was thankful that the mission was to be completed in a village -there he could get something edible to eat. If he ever got to fulfill the mission, that is.
Then his ears picked up a faint sound of feet stepping against the ground. The noise grew steadily louder and he faced the direction of the sound. After a moment, he could see a woman running towards him. The woman was fast and had quickly covered the distance between them. When she was about ten meters away from him she stopped to catch her breath. She lifted her head to get a better view of the man in front of her.
The man was athletic, that could be seen even through his loose clothing. The woman's eyes drifted to his face to meet with pitch-black eyes that absorbed everything but gave nothing in return. Locks of raven black hair hung over his face hiding every expression. His face was pale and his dark eyebrows only emphasized the almost milk-white skin.
At the same time the man had been observing the woman. A faint feeling of familiarity touched him. Her eyes -currently staring at him wide open- were jade green and her hair was pink.
Oh no. A thought occurred to him: There was only one woman in the whole world with pink hair. Only one woman with shining jade eyes that could light the place in an unnatural way. He drew in a sharp breath of air and his eyes grew wide at the horrification.
At the exact moment the woman had finished observing the man in front of her. Only one man could be so good-looking and be still alive. Any normal man would be dead from all the women clinging to his legs. But not this one.
"YOU!"
They both cried out, pointing at each other. It didn't take long for them to regain from the shock. Both eyed each other with a horrified and somewhat disgusted look in their eyes. The woman heaved a shaky breath and walked towards the man.
"You, Uchiha, what're you doing here?" She couldn't believe her bad luck. The only possibility why he was here was that he was the person who was supposed to fulfill the mission with her. She eyed him from toe to head with a repulsing look in her eyes. The man addressed just stood in front of her, hands in his pockets, his body appearing to be too lazy to move.
"You know the answer very well, don't you, Haruno?" the man replied sneering. Could the situation get more annoying? The woman before him gritted her teeth visibly and clenched her fists into tight balls. Her body trembled from anger. Then she sighed deeply and closed her eyes, as if giving up.
Fine, fine, sweep all thoughts about strangling him beside. She smiled pleasantly at him -a smile that never reached her eyes.
He snorted at this. "Don't waste your so called politeness on me, Haruno." He rose up from his position of leaning against the banister. He was a few inches taller than Sakura.
"You don't have to spell my name all the time!" the woman snapped. Her hair was short but her temper was even shorter. She looked up at him and thought about their last meeting. That one hadn't been in a pleasant atmosphere. After the years, she still had mental scars of the times when they had been together. Even if it had been for a short while, the time had aroused her hatred and bitterness towards him. Those feelings had been under a stone for a while but now they raged inside her again.
Sasuke observed the fiery woman before him and saw many expressions crossing her face. Disgust, hatred, bitterness, betrayal and even sorrow for a swift moment. Quite a show. Maybe instead of dying in boredom I could survive this.
"We have to work as fellow Ninjas so let's stop dwelling in the past, Haruno", Sasuke said coldly. Sakura snapped away from her thoughts and nodded hastily in agreement.
"What did I say about using my name?" she muttered under her breath. She brushed a lock of pink hair behind her ear and then clasped her hands together behind her back. Don't strangle him, don't strangle him, she kept telling to herself. Her hands clenched into fists to keep them in their place.
"So. The assignment was to kill the man who sells drugs in the village. How annoying."
"Why does it take two ninjas to kill one man?" Sakura wondered. She didn't like this, not the least bit. They were supposed to blend in the people, be as unnoticeable as they could. It would be hard with one having a pink hair and the other one being the mister handsome. She was surprised to find that there weren't any screaming girls surrounding the place already, that's how he affected women and girls around him. He was a woman magnet, if not from the inside then on the outside.
She, too, would probably been a gurgling pool of goo if she didn't know him. Well, not that she knew him very well but the bit she did know was enough for her. One couldn't know a Missing Nin entirely, she thought, rolling her eyes. Yeah, sure. She had to fight to survive in the hard times when the guy in front of her only had to snap his fingers and have all the women in the world to be his eternal slaves.
"Yep, fatally boring." Sakura played with the hem of her crimson dress as wind brushed her hair. "But maybe he's someone with a hundred guards around him all the time. That'd take more time and effort to make it look like an accident."
"You know fairly well that you could assassinate a hundred of men in a minute." Sasuke tapped his foot on the ground, irritated. The mission indeed seemed to have something fishy in it. Why would their master order both of them to fulfill it? Or maybe their master -being a wicked person as he was- was only mocking the both of them by putting them together in this.
"We could as well make our plans", Sasuke said.
Sakura once again nodded. "And let's find a more shadowed place than this. The sun is really pissing me off right now."
They walked to the forest where Sasuke had been and found a big oak tree and came to stand beneath it. Sakura looked at Sasuke questioningly and pointed up. "Will we go up or stay here?"
Sasuke only shrugged his shoulders and given the sign to decide Sakura jumped up to a tree branch. Sasuke followed almost instantly. Sakura seated herself comfortably against the trunk and straightened her skirt. Damn, girly manners are coming over me again. Have to quit doing that.
Sasuke sat in front of her, legs hanging over the both sides of the branch. He pulled out another piece of paper from his pocket and read it silently.
"He says nothing more: There is a man in the town who sells drugs. He must be killed", he stated. Sakura thought about this for a while and then it was her turn to shrug her shoulders.
"Well then, let's go and find the man", she said matter-of-factly. "After that, let's kill him. And I want to avoid unnecessary bloodshed", she warned.
Sasuke didn't reply, only swung his legs slightly. The bark of the branch scratched his legs but he didn't seem to pay attention to it. He tugged the piece of paper into his pocket and then looked at Sakura. She was in her thoughts, biting her fingers.
"What a childish manner", Sasuke commented. Sakura's only reply was a muffled "Mmmphumph", and she did nothing to cease her biting.
"We're really getting nowhere if you just sit all day eating your nails." Sasuke was incensed. Sakura came back to the presence world.
"Oh yeah. Forgot about you already", she grumbled. "I guess we have to make our plans of action." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this.
"Since when did you start making plans?"
"Since a time when I forgot to read the information of a mission and it almost got me killed." She grinned stupidly at the memory. Whoa, watch your talk, young lady, she reminded herself. You're around HIM. He's really not the best person to be letting your guard down. Who knows what he'd do? Murder her before she even knew he had moved?
"Well, as for plans, with this bit of information, we can't do much more but find the guy", Sasuke said.
"Yep. That's right. So let's head to the village." Sakura stood up and jumped to the tree next to this one and then to another. She knew that Sasuke would follow. Like a dog in leash.
They came to the borders of the village and then halted. Sakura looked at the huge gates. "Are we going to wear disguises?"
She didn't receive an answer in a while. "I guess we could try to play a couple in love." Sakura was taken completely off-guard by this.
"Huh? What? Are you out of your mind?" She gave him a puzzled look.
"No. I just think we would be more unnoticeable that way."
"Ahaha. Very funny. What would it look like? Think for a moment", Sakura said sharply. "Two persons looking at each other disgusted and trying to make the least amount of connection as possible. And that would be us in love."
"Hey. I didn't say we should be in love. Only that we should act like ones", Sasuke defended his idea. It might actually work. Two Missing Nins didn't blend in the people too easily but if they wore normal clothes and held each other's hands people would believe them.
"Fine. But we have to find better clothes. Will we rob someone or will we buy normal clothing for ourselves?" Sakura finally agreed to his idea.
"You don't have a kimono with you for situations like this?" Sasuke looked slightly surprised.
"Well, no. I'm sorry if I don't have the time to be hanging in a fashion shop every day", Sakura said sarcastically.
"It's okay, I have one with myself." Hearing his reply Sakura had a strong desire to plant her face to the wall beside her but stifled it.
"Great. I have a fashion victim and a cross-dresser with me. That's all I need", Sakura groaned. "Why do you have it in the first place with you?"
"I- uh, well, you see, these things come in handy sometimes!" Sasuke explained nervously, sweat making its way down his jaw. "Like at occasions like this. If I didn't have the kimono, where would we be?"
Sakura sighed in exasperation and stuck her tongue out at him. Sasuke ignored her childish teasing.
Meanwhile, Sasuke had pulled out a grey kimono with dark red flowers printed on it. There was a black festoon spreading from the hem to the other side of the chest. He handed it to her and then pulled out a hakama and a gi for himself. They were ordinarily colored, the hakama was black and the gi was blood red.
"I'm going to chance. Don't look at my direction", Sakura warned. She walked behind a tree and quickly changed her clothes. When she was finished she walked to the gates to see Sasuke already waiting. She had to admit, he looked drop-dead gorgeous with those clothes and she had to keep herself from drooling. She mentally slapped herself and regaining her sanity she walked to him.
"I guess it begins", she muttered as Sasuke offered her his arm and grinned stupidly. How uncharacteristic. Sakura thought. She took his arm and they entered the village.
***
* The staff of Magius, from the series Dragonlance made by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman