Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Puppet in Pink
17. Wandering
There are men who have no vision,
And yet they speak many words...
The restless violence of the senses...
Carries away the mind of even a wise man...
-The Bhagavad Gita
The letters were engraved in soulless black on a bronze-plated plaque that gleamed in the yellow rays of the streetlights. The plaque stood out surreally against the stately brick of the towering building. Large enough for a passerby to see, and yet so easy to walk by unnoticed.
.:Sand:.
Museum
of
National and Ninja
History
Slate steps built for little giants slanted up to a large pair of wooden doors. Windows peered down at the empty sidewalk below like so many lightless slits, black that corrupted the honorable dark-red walls.
At the base of the first storm-gray step, the tiniest scrap of papyrus fluttered leisurely, then sank to the ground, ignoring the windless night. It shimmered scarlet as it lay in the building's shadow, reflecting the garish light of the neon "CLOSED" sign on the museum door.
"Like it or not, Sasuke-bastard, you're coming with us! We have to find Sakura-chan before those guys do something to her!" Naruto was hanging by his last nerves. He could practically hear the ticking of the time bomb, the imaginary time bomb in his mind that foretold his teammate's doom.
The noise was getting louder, louder with every passing second...
Sasuke looked almost like a pouting child, leaning against the conveniently-placed streetlight. "I said, no. You heard my reasons. It's a waste of time." His voice was flat, bordering on a sneer. Like he was talking about whether or not he should run down to the store, instead of whether or not he should save his teammate's life.
Kakashi glanced anxiously (dare he say, 'nervously'?) at the two boys. They had been arguing like this for almost five full minutes, ever since Sasuke had made his speech about...about that...
...he couldn't, wouldn't bring himself to even think it. To repeat in his mind what his student had said about the girl.
Because he knew, all along, that Sasuke was speaking the truth.
Or, rather, his truth...
However, truth or not, Sakura was in danger. The more time that was spent arguing, the more time that the kidnappers would have to plan, and plot, and torture. Torture... Kakashi willed the thought to leave.
"However the kidnappers plan to use Sakura against us, we must rescue her," he finally spoke. Naruto gave the teacher a grateful look; sincerely grateful. Then the look was gone, and a comically heroic one rushed in to replace it.
"See? Our teacher says so himself. So let's go!" Without waiting for another word from his teammates, Naruto raced around a corner. Kakashi sighed and looked at his one remaining student. Sasuke only glared in reply.
Maybe he'll reconsider if I give him time to think alone, the silver-haired instructor pondered. And alone the Uchiha soon was, as Kakashi quickly dematerialized in a breath of mist.
The raven-haired boy watched as his quote-unquote 'teacher' faded away into shadow. What do they expect me to do?! he yelled in his head, pleased to feel the hated voices cower in fear. Just sit around here and wait for them to get their asses kicked?! The tables had turned, he noted offhandedly.
This will be an excellent time to show them all just how strong and powerful you really are...
Sasuke was startled to hear the new voice, then soothed by it. This voice was a different voice. A better one.
One that he completely agreed with...
A pink-haired figure stood at the top of the gigantic slate staircase. She tapped the door handle ever so lightly.
Locked.
Her face was blank as she made a quick seal with her hands. It had been the first jutsu she'd learned from her scrolls—the mental lock-pick. And it had been the first jutsu she'd used; time and time again, when Keiko was in a bad mood and decided to lock her out of the house.
That had happened a lot.
As if by magic (and what a cliché that was), the door swung open silently. Sakura stepped inside.
I hope that wasn't too much of a cliffhanger... I'm trying to write longer chapters, but my life has just gotten a whole lot more hectic recently!
It started with my English teacher giving my class a week-long assignment to read a certain book. I finished it on the same day she assigned it, and handed it back in while telling her that. Suddenly I'm deluged in projects. She wants me to publish something, she wants me to do this and do that. Meanwhile, I'm watching her with a terrified expression on my face.
That's the worst thing about being a so-called 'genius' (note the sarcasm): everyone thinks that you're actually willing to work like a slave on meaningless essays and such. I probably shouldn't have said anything (sigh)...now I have even less time to do what I want. (e.g. write fanfiction)
To "Angel-Rosz"-san: I have a million ideas for how to torture these characters...playing with the minds of our friends from Naruto gets to be both a habit and a hobby... (evil laugh)
I have an idea about how to make Sakura gain power but gain problems at the same time...not sure if I should use it though. At any rate, please try to review!