Hello everyone! School has been keeping me busy, and during spring break (which was about 2-3 months ago) I was pretty much at my friends' house! And school is so busy; I've got so many projects, and I have a bad habit of procrastinating. It's just the way I am.

The Announcement

Chapter 6

Sakura knew something was up. Her gut feeling practically screamed it. She slept lightly that night, and woke up when Toji and Ashitaka did, and quietly followed them. They went to New Iron Town, and then just stood behind trees, hidden, but watching. They watched a huge bird land gracefully near Lady Eboshi's place. The giant bird tilted it's head skyward, and let out a piercing screech. They could feel the forest flinch; it made everyone feel uneasy, alert. They wind even blew with caution. They could see a shadow of a man came out of Lady Eboshi's cabin, stroke the bird, and it vanished, with the same piercing screech. Sakura covered her ears, but took the opportunity to move to a different spot, so when Toji and Ashitaka went back they wouldn't see her.

Finally, as the sun came up, Toji and Ashitaka went back home. Toji suddenly said that he wanted to take a bath in the stream nearby, and Ashitaka left him behind. Toji went to the stream, and Sakura was left with the decision: Should I stay and watch, just in case he does something weird, or is he really gonna take a bath?!

"Sakura, you can stop hiding." Toji said, practically answering her question.

Sakura came out, blushing a little. "Good morning Toji." She felt like a little sister following her older brother wherever he went, just so that there might be a chance that he'll acknowledge her presence.

"Good morning, Sakura." Toji said, with an almost too pleasant smile. Sakura weakly smiled back. Has Toji always been this cute?! Sakura thought embarrassingly to herself.

"So, I noticed you followed us the whole way, and you saw everything." Toji said, cupping his hands and taking a few sips from the stream.

"Um, yeah. But how did you know?" Sakura said, sitting down.

Toji chuckled. "I could tell by your breathing. People usually breath deeply and calmly when they're asleep, but when I got up and moved around a little, I noticed you stopped breathing, and slowly let it out and slowly let it back in, trying to keep as quiet as possible. Which worked for a little."

"Well? What do you think?" Toji said, wiping his mouth and looking at Sakura.

"Something is definitely going on, and you nor my father will tell me." Sakura admitted.

"You're definitely right." Toji said, chuckling a little. "But I can't tell you now."

Sakura raised her eyebrows and her voice. "Why?! I want to know what's happening! No, I deserve to know what's going on!"

Toji laughed. "You'll see. Tonight, actually. Just be patient."

He laughed, and rubbed Sakura's head just like he would to a dog. Sakura felt so much younger and felt a fiery anger in her. Toji treated her like a kid! But instead of punching him (like she wanted to) she took a deep breath and walked away.

She decided to go to her favorite spot, and meditate. That way she could pass the time and relax a little...Lately she had been so tense, which is unlike her. She breathed deeply, got into the correct posture, and relaxed, blocking everything out...

Breath in, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and out 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8...

She repeated this process, and relaxed more and more, until you would think she was asleep...

"You look so peaceful." Came a soft, deep voice, shattering her concentration. Sakura jumped, and whipped around, and found Toji behind her on his knees, looking at Sakura.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura questioned. She noticed a slight chill in the air and that the sun was setting.

"I came to get you. It's nearly nightfall, and I'm sure you're anxious to hear the announcement." Toji said, grinning. He offered a hand to her, and Sakura took it, pulling herself up, holding his hand a second longer than needed. Toji's hands were big, easily covering Sakura's hands. She slowly let go of Toji's hand, then started patting herself off from the dirt.

"Well, let's head back then."

As they were going home, they met with San, who was gathering wood for the fire that night.

"Sakura, where were you all day? I could have used your help today." San said, in a motherly like way.

"I was meditating, you know just trying to pass the time." Sakura answered.

San sighed. "At least you had a good day. I spent the day making and repairing our winter blankets."

Sakura sighed. She didn't like winter. She didn't adapt well to winter, it was too cold for her. She usually had to sleep with her mom or brother (when she was little) to keep warm during the night. But winter seemed a bit late this year, it was November but was still a bit warm.

They arrived at the home, and found Ashitaka and Sasuke already there, describing what they had done that day. Sasuke apparently spent the day trying to catch the fish that were coming upstream, but Mika was splashing around in the water, ruining it all. Sasuke started complaining about how Mika was too spoiled and that he should have trained her better.

"Well, it's your own fault." Ashitaka replied, preparing the food for dinner, which consisted a bit of meat that they scavenged off some other animals and the last of the bread that Ashitaka brought home from his trip. (AN: Sorry if the food seems wrong, but I don't really know what they eat...Any suggestions?)

San, Sakura, and Toji sat down with Sasuke and Ashitaka, and had dinner. Sakura was very anxious, but everyone else seemed quite calm.

What if everybody already knows the announcement, and I'm just the last one? She pondered this thought throughout the dinner.

"Well, I believe this as good as any time to tell you guys this."

Everyone stopped talking, and looked curiously at Ashitaka. Sakura's eyes widened. I'm finally going to get to know! She thought.

"Lately, strange things have been happening at New Iron Town. Toji, a ninja, has heard of a man named Masashi. He could be in New Iron Town, and he poses a serious threat to the world. He is a shape shifter, so it is difficult to track him down. If he in New Iron Town, then he must be taken down."

Sakura couldn't move. That was so much information in one breath; she didn't know how to react.

"So, with Masashi as a threat, Toji and I decided that we need to train during the winter."

"Toji and Sakura will go together, and Sasuke, me, and San will go somewhere else."

"We'll all be leaving tomorrow morning."

Sakura was even more shocked. Alone, in the winter, with Toji? Training to fight against some guy they couldn't even recognize? Now how weird was THAT?! She didn't know how to react.

Well, that's chapter 6 for ya. I probably won't get another chapter in until after school is out, sorry guys.

But, if absolutely no one reviews, well, I'll take down the story. I don't want to use up the data-base with something that no one reads. So review, please.