Chapter 8

Iruka was starting to worry. Haruko had left early that morning and it was now starting to get dark out.

Just then Sasuke ran by him. He went out into the woods just past the gates when he saw all of the blood from the earlier massacre. He looked around and saw the bloody trail leading into the trees, "The hell?" He followed the trail to find a curled up heap of Haruko lying in the bloodstained grass. He knelt down next to her, the blood staining his hands and knees, "Haruko?" he said, shaking her a bit. Her eyes popped open; they were full of absolute horror. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized it was just Sasuke, "Wha…?" She started, but he wouldn't let her finish, "What the hell happened?"

She pushed herself up, "Hunter…Nin…" Blood dripped from her wounds and soaked into the ground.

"Lay down!" He demanded, helping her to lay back down, "Don't get yourself all worked up." He laid her head in his lap so that she might be a little more comfortable. She rolled over and coughed some blood up out of her lungs, staining his shirt, "Shit…" She whispered.

Sasuke didn't know what to do, then he remembered passing Iruka on the way, he could only hope he was still there, "Iruka!" He yelled as loud as his voice would carry. A moment later Iruka came out of the gates and followed the blood trail back to where Sasuke and Haruko were.

He nearly passed out when he saw her, 'what happened?' was written all over his face.

"It was a Hunter Nin," Sasuke told him before he could say anything, "She needs medics, go get them!" Iruka nodded and ran back to the village at full speed, somehow managing to compose himself enough to not pass out.

Sasuke looked down at Haruko, "You'll be alright."

"Yeah…Right…" She said, blood trickling down her chin, "Why do you care anyway…? You don't give a rat's ass about people…"

"It's just…you remind me of someone." He couldn't bear to tell her the truth, not right now anyway.

Iruka got back with a small team of Medical Nins. They couldn't believe their eyes when they saw her. Sure they had seen wounded Shinobi before, but never such a young child. They gently put her up onto the stretcher they'd brought with them and rushed her to the hospital.

Sasuke just sat there, staring down at his blood soaked clothes.

"You remember her don't you?" Iruka asked.

"How could I forget her…She was my best friend..." He was obviously upset by the whole experience. Iruka put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, "Don't worry, I'm guessing she'll be alight."

- - - -

Haruko was put into a private room on the first floor of the hospital. Tsunade had done all that she could for her and had declared that it was "up to her to survive now". She had been spending most of her free time in her office figuring out how to break a genjitsu.

Iruka was sitting at the edge of Haruko's bed while Sasuke stood in the corner on the other side of the room, "You know Sasuke, you don't have to hide in the corner."

"I'm not hiding." He said, a cold tone in his voice.

Just as he'd finished speaking Haruko began to stir. Sasuke ran across the room to her side. She blinked her eyes a couple of times, the one that had been hit by the kunai was partially swollen shut, "Am I still alive…?" She whispered.

"Somehow, yes." Iruka replied.

She looked over at Sasuke, "Thank you, Sasuke-Kun…"

He slowly nodded in reply, wondering whether, in the back of her mind somewhere, she remembered him too.

- - - -

That night Haruko was left alone in her dark room. She was kept awake by all of the pain she was in, and just seemed to be tossing and turning, which was pretty hard with her injuries.

The large window in her room had remained open on her request, the cool breeze and the sounds of a distant thunderstorm where comforting. The moonlight was streaming in and making pools of light on the floor, only to go away when a few stray storm clouds momentarily blocked out the moon.

She closed her eyes, listening to the thunder in the distance when a loud creak echoed through her room. Her eyes popped open and looked frantically around the room. It was pitch black, the dark clouds had picked this moment to cover up the moon. A flash of lightning struck and made her jump a little.

A few seconds later the clouds had passed again to reveal a silhouette sitting inside her window, "Who…who's there?"

"It's me Haruko…" He said, as the moonlight reached his face and lit it up.

"Niku-Sensei?"

He jumped down onto the floor, "You dare call me sensei? Oh well…at least they haven't tampered with your precious memory."

"How did you find me…Toushi…"

"He was obviously lying! He was covered head to toe in your blood!"

"Well…he did kinda do a sloppy job…"

He grabbed her by the throat, holding her tightly there, "You know, I was sent here to take your head back to the Mizukage." He picked her up and dragged her out the window, ripping several IVs out of her arms, "Let's take this outside."

He dragged her into the street and tossed her down, "Stand up! I didn't train you to be a coward! I trained you to fight for your life!" She pushed herself up, just barely able to keep her balance, "You're the coward. Coming after a wounded child."

"Oh please. I wouldn't call you a child, you've killed just for the sheer thrill. Now fight me! I will at least give you the honor of trying to fight before I kill you."

She stumbled forward a few steps, but was way off balance and didn't even come close to hitting him. He picked her up by the throat again, "You foolish girl." He swung his arm back, preparing to stab her with a kunai when a hand grabbed his wrist, "Drop the girl." A woman's voice commanded him. He dropped Haruko and turned around. There stood a very pissed off Kurenai.

"Well, hellooooo there." He said, drooling over her.

"Don't talk to me like that you pervert!"

"How bout you fight me then, hm?"

"I was planning on it."

They ran at each other, Kurenai slashed Niku across the throat and he sliced her shirt open in the front. She quickly covered her exposed chest, "You bastard!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. She pushed a kunai, and her arm as well, through his chest. She tried to hold up his dead weight but it was too much and she fell over backwards, Niku's face in her chest, "This is heaven…" He said just before drifting off. She quickly pulled her arm out of his chest and pushed him off.

"Hey, what's going on, I heard a commotion." Someone said. She turned to see Asuma standing there.

"Kurenai? Are you alright?" He helped her up.

"Yes, I'm fine…" she said, completely forgetting about her shirt being all ripped up. Asuma stared at her, wide eyed, "What's wrong with you?" She asked him. Then she remembered, "You pig!" She said punching him in the face. She turned and walked off toward her apartment, holding the front of her shirt closed.

Asuma looked stunned for a moment, then looked at Niku's limp body, "You're one lucky bastard to die that way." He knelt down and noticed a long bloody trail leading away from the scene, "What the..?"

He followed it into a dark alley where he found Haruko sitting against the stone wall. She had her arms wrapped around her chest, blood was pooling around her arms. She looked up when Asuma walked into the alley, "Is he…dead…?" She asked between gasps for air.

"Yes," He helped her up, "Let's get you back to your room…"

- - - -

Okay, I have decided that from now on until my story is done I will limit myself to one or two chapters a day. If I strain myself too hard they're going to get sloppy and I don't want that to happen. So just look for at least one new chapter a day until the end of the story.

Thanks to all of you who have reviewed my story, and please keep 'em coming.