Wild Flower Blooms with Blood
YeHua stood behind the counter of her quaint, little shop. The days had gone by smoothly. She sold herbs to the poor by day, and scrubbed counters by night. That particular day, the sun shone brightly overhead, giving the snow a glistening sparkle. Birds chirped cheerfully as denizens of the Snow walked briskly past, minding their own business. YeHua smiled inwardly. The naive girl drifted into a daydream, thinking about how joyful her life will be. Soon, I will be out of debt, and be able to buy this shop Then Grandfather and I will live happily ever after.
Ding! The bells installed on the front door rang as the door swung open. After a few moments of silence, a vociferous voice demanded, "GIRL! Where's that GIRL!" The voice was so raucous that nearby pedestrians turned their heads.
Yehua's eyes widened. She recognized the person No. It couldn't be. One month was not up yet. It couldn't be the nobleman's intention to come here and collect rents. He must be here to just buy some herbs. Keep calm. Keep calm…YeHua…Breathe in … Breathe out. She tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ears and smoothed out her tunic, trying to look presentable. "May I help you sir?" She asked in a sweet voice as the man wobbled towards her. Don't make him mad. Don't make him mad.
The man got closer. His toothy grin widened, contrasting the prior rage that he showed when he first entered the shop. YeHua tried not to cringe at the bits of green stuck in his yellow teeth. A meaty and pudgy hand came up and rested upon the counter. "How have you been, my darling?" The words were like smacks upon her face. "Are you prepared for your entry into my lovely family?"
Gulp.
YeHua fumbled for words to say. "Um, Sir, how do you know I don't have enough money to pay?" Please…Please don't let him make this hard for me and Grandfather.
The nobleman's eyes twitched, but his grin didn't waver. "Well then? If you have then money, then pay…" He paused, enjoying the pale expression on the girl's face. "Now."
The words echoed in YeHua's ears. "What? No sir, I can't possibly. It's only been three weeks." Tears stung. No, this can't be happening…This was her worst nightmare. Her world began to spin, and she had to grip the counter tightly to keep her world steady. Deep down, she knew the man wouldn't let her go easily, but YeHua didn't think he would lie.
"Three weeks? No, I remembered it had been four weeks." He gloated. Clearly, he knew he was wrong, but it was almost his son's birthday. What present could be better than a girl, not to mention a decent looking one. Sure, the girl was too skinny and pale, but she was free.
"No, please sir. Just give me one more week. Please!" YeHua pleaded. In this town, whatever a nobleman says must be accounted as the truth. There was no arguing because the poor citizens would always be the one wrong.
"Girl, you couldn't pay the rent. Thus, now you're my tract." He reached his plump hands over and grabbed her waist, pulling her out of the counter.
YeHua struggled frantically as the nobleman dragged her across the floor of her shop. She pulled hard, trying to free her arm. YeHua was not a ninja, nor did she have strength. The only thing she could do then was to scream. Scream she did. Her cry pierced the air. Despite of her obvious effort, the fat man's grip was strong.
"Stop it. What are you doing!" Shouted a voice from the back of the room. It was her grandfather. He, still in his undershirt, had just woken from his nap. Quickly, he figured out what was going on. "Let her go! Let my granddaughter go!" YeHua's grandfather latched his scrawny self onto the chubby hands. As hard as he tried, age depleted his strength, leaving him with only enough vigor to live. Thus, it is safe to assume that the old man's efforts were futile. Nevertheless, the two struggled as the vile man dragged YeHua onto the street.
YeHua began to panic as they reached the streets. No, I'm supposed to live happily with Grandfather, not a fat man's son. NO! As a last valiant effort, she gathered her residual force and sank her teeth into the man's hands. She felt the flesh give as her teeth attached itself. A bitter, metallic taste entered her mouth. Blood. Her breathing sped up. Images of this revolting word flood her mind. Blood. There is blood in my mouth. So vile. So disgusting. Promptly, she unlatched her teeth, feeling her breakfast threatening to rise up her throat.
"ARGH, you little!" screamed the nobleman, smacking YeHua across the face. In the process, he also managed to hurl YeHua's grandfather off. Enraged, the man grabbed YeHua by the hair and rammed her head against the ground.
Adrenaline pumped through her veins. For a moment YeHua forgot about the horrifying images of blood. Instead, she trusted her instincts. Her whole body shook as she tried to jerk free. Her vision swarmed. Still, she saw two black cloaks approaching. Thump. Thump. The hands, holding to her hair let go. She felt the hard cement against her cheeks. Tears poured forward stinging the wounds on her face.
A hand grabbed her shoulders and lifted her up, gently. Shakily, YeHua stood up. Her heart was still pounding fast, but she managed to observe her surrounding. The fat man lay at her feet, unmoving. The two men, whose names were something like Isame and Ktachi, stood over the dead man.
GRANDPA! Where's Grandpa. The sudden thought hit her like a wave of icy, cold water. YeHua turned, ignoring the throbbing headache. She scanned the surrounding. Frightened faces. Bushes. Trees. No grandpa. Suddenly, she saw it. A lump lay on the ground, motionless. She walked over, despite of Kisame's attempt to stop her. "Grandpa?" Her voice was barely a whisper. People walking on the streets stopped and encircled her grandfather. Please. Please. Let Grandpa be okay.
As YeHua got closer, she froze. No, it couldn't be. Tears stung. There, on the ground, lays her grandfather. Her heart shattered. On the surface, Grandfather looked like he was just asleep. His face was calm and peaceful. However, YeHua saw the blood red gash along his forehead. Thick blood oozed out onto the pavement. Blood. Once again, the word struck her. Her stomach did flips. She suddenly felt light-headed. Oh no, I'm going to pass out. Something moved in the back of her head. Abruptly, a blinding white light flashed. Without warning, images appeared. They were not scenes she had never seen through her own eyes. They were scenes of death, panorama seen through someone or something else's eyes. So much death. Men, women, children, elders were being killed. Shrunken flew everywhere. YeHua wanted to stop watching, but she couldn't. She could not close her eyes. Screams and shrieks of terror filled her head. The noises were so loud that she thought her ear drums would burst. So much blood. YeHua turned, trying to escape. Yet, no matter where she looked, there was blood. Then…then…she saw her hands. They were red. Crimson red. A high pitched sound erupted from her throat. Flash. The images were gone.
YeHua could see again. She saw her grandfather. Still dead. Her body felt cold…so very cold. The world began to dim. A curtain of red washed over her eyes. They rolled back as she slumped backwards. Falling. Falling into never-ending pitch darkness.
…
As the girl walked towards her dead kin, her body had suddenly tensed. Kisame looked over at him, silently asking for command. Itachi said nothing, but only watched, curious. Something didn't feel right. The girl obvious was not a shinobi, but a dangerous essence leaked out from her. It was not Chakra. He was sure of it, although even he did not know what it was.
A few moments later, Itachi saw the girl's mouth open, but nothing came out. Her eyes rolled back, while her lids twitched. Something was definitely wrong.
Before anyone could do anything, the girl crumbled. Just like that. Her whole body hit the ground, going limp. What had happened? Kisame tried to walk towards the girl, but Itachi lifted a hand up to stop him. If this essence was so dangerous, then even S-class missing-nins could have a hard time with it. Cautiously, Itachi walked forward. The people on the street backed away, scared. Slowly, he reached a hand forward and touched the girl. A white light erupted inside his mind. A slideshow of death danced across his vision. Itachi clenched his fist, knuckles white. He calmly closed his eyes and had to use an enormous amount to Chakra to suppress the quintessence of fatality. So this was why the girl passed out. She couldn't handle it. The corner of Itachi's mouth turned up a bit. He still didn't know what was going on with the girl, but at least, he had a hint of why Akatsuki wanted her.
Itachi stood up, feeling a bit light-headed. "Kisame," he called. "We're leaving."
"What about the girl?" asked the shark man.
"Take her," said Itachi.
Lily: YES AN UPDATE! YAYY YAYY! HAPPY HAPPY! HAHA…ok…not to work on Icy Hearts…sob sob…I'm so behind…sorry sorry…I have so many tests…cuz I'm taking health in the summer just to get ahead…soo hard…WHAA…ok…bibi