Someone Screaming
Ayane Selznick
Three days later, the pink haired kunoichi signed a waiver in which stated that she could leave the hospital. The medical Nins told her not to go but she insisted, telling them that she must explain herself to their Tsuchikage to shorten this issue. In the end they've agreed but requested her to not to do anything drastic because she has yet to fully recovered. The woman just nodded and told them that she knows exactly what she has to do.
I'm Tsunade-sama's apprentice long time ago. I know better than you.
Before she could make it to the exit some ninjas appeared by the doorframe and told her that they were ordered to escort her to the Tsuchikage's office. She nodded at them making a silent appreciation for their kind offer as to save her time to fulfill what she must fulfill. The ninjas knew exactly where they have to position themselves and that she would not look like she's a captive. Walking down the stairs of the hospital, they immediately headed the exit and welcomed the warmth atmosphere by their village in which on the other hand, a strange place for a Konoha Nin.
For her, the place really looked different than any other villages. In fact, the village names were dependent on what the place really looked like. Anything she saw was nothing but rocks, stones, pebbles and anything that concerns stones. Even the houses are also made of stones. It must have been cold when one stayed inside and maybe that was the reason why most people tend to go out of their houses to embrace the heat of the sunshine.
Walking on the streets of Hidden Stone does make a big difference when she was walking at the streets of Konoha. Back then the weather was always calm even though the sun had its rays piercing the very grounds of the earth. There were lots of trees, too. The wind was cool and everybody were busy doing their own things. There was never a time that the streets were empty. It has full of life. Just like her when she was in her teen-age years.
When she still knew how to flash her bright smile.
She slowed down in to a stop.
There is no way she would bring that topic again because it always made her sentimental. Always making her too sensitive at things.
Always bringing her back to what she was.
...To who she was.
Reminding herself to resume in her job, she strengthened herself and started walking again, not minding if the convoys felt her movements when she was thinking about herself.
Right now, she was of age and even if she could turn back time...
She can't.
Because it's impossible...
Few more steps had made her reached the door of the Tsuchikage's office. One of the convoys told her that the Tsuchikage expected her so all she could do is knock on that door and brace herself for her explanation. She better spit out a reasonable excuse as to why she was here.
You've got the nerve to threaten me?
Ignoring the empty threats and knowing that she could even slit his throat in one magnificent movement, she slowly faced the door in front of her with a cold look on her beautiful white face. Reaching her hand to the wooden material, she used her backhand and gently knocked three times. After a voice from the other side told her to come inside, she felt satisfied.
She clutched the golden doorknob on her lower right.
Hearing a click on the door, she gently pushed the door away as she made her way inside the office.
Right in front of her were two large shelves on both sides, where piles of folders and scrolls were arranged. There were also comfortable couches facing each other and on the center of it was a large brown furnished desk where piles of paperwork lay neatly on top it. Tracing where the Tsuchikage would be, she stared at the wide glass window and there was a person standing in front of it with his back facing hers.
Looking back at her position after she closed the door, she was just rooted in her place; standing ever so silent while letting her eyes do the roaming inside the room. Seconds later, the man from the window finally acknowledged her presence by greeting her "Good morning," and turning his attention fully focused on her.
She bowed politely, her head lower than the said higher ranked person and she will only resumed her position after that man told her so.
"Do you want some tea?" The Tsuchikage kindly offered while the pink haired kunoichi gracefully resuming her position.
"No, thanks. I'm here to explain my assignment." She answered, slowly nearing the desk where the Tsuchikage had taken his seat.
Exhaustion has taken place on one's body after all the difficult training he had done. He had, once again, forced himself to do something harder than the last training. Implying a self-impose rule was not part of the plan, but, thinking of the possibilities that might occur during his long awaited fight, he will do everything to make himself stronger.
And he will surely kill him...
In his own devilish way...
He never noticed that the time had passed by so quickly. He was already there after taking his breakfast and he even skipped lunch to perfect his newfound technique. Or rather, practice the new technique he had copied from one of the stray ninjas who had tried to kill him months ago before he had arrived in this place. It was quite a powerful technique, but the Chidori was his most powerful Ninjutsu that he learned from his ex-sensei. Thinking back the old lesson, when he was just a kid, he could only execute the said technique twice. However, during the years of hard training, not only he could excel his normal Chakra reserve but he also upgraded the times where he could execute the Chidori more than twice.
Other than that, because he was trained as a tool, he could kill so many ninjas that tried to kill him. He was never the man who will just pick someone and be his training partner, where in the end, that training partner of his would be buried six feet under. He had become stronger, he assumed, because of his experiences in battle and how he was spoiled by that snake-freak.
He never talked to him except when they were training. He never told him what he was thinking and that Sannin was always giving guesses, which in turn annoyed him like hell. Training so hard was his priority and not some sick techniques of that sick ninja who happened to experiment on another body because his body wasn't fully powerful yet.
That made him smirked.
Because that thought was a stupid decision.
It will just prolong Orochimaru to take over Sasuke's body.
It did.
And that made the young prodigy thought of a splendid plan. He secretly trained even harder to take this opportunity to make himself stronger than any others so that he could kill that snake-bastard before he could lay his finger on his well-built body. During that time, he remembered the blonde's words, which echoed in his brain for thousand times.
"He just wants your body to use as his container!! You might not come back!! You might get killed!!"
Which provoked him further to commence his solo plan.
...There's no way he will give in that snake-bastard's purpose.
Because he must stay alive and conscious to fight off his damned brother...
So what was he doing right now? Taking another step to become strong? Was he really determined to kill his brother with his fetish desire to become strong?
Finally, he shifted his position after grumbling and was now sitting on the rocky surface that lie near the village where he was staying. The hunger for power sought him for further enhancement of his own body, of his own ninja skills, of...
Himself.
It felt strangely cold when one was staying outside the border of the village, or maybe his body had weakened their defense which why he was feeling cold. Whatever the biological reason may be, he didn't care. Moving his legs, he slowly changed into a kneeling position and then later into an upright position. He was ready to leave and go back to that village and take a good rest. After all, that's what a ninja needed after a tiresome day.
His hazy eyes faltered for a second, a feeling of weakness had finally reached his state. He felt his body heavy but it seems he had controlled it before he finally dropped to the ground. Indeed, he had overworked himself.
Just to forget the incident and gossips I heard on the way here...
But no matter how upset he was that he had undergone this kind of training just to forget what happened, he could not forget it. He didn't understand why...
And so he slowly made his way back to the village.
He could already see the traces of night-lights that sparkled in the buildings. And like Konoha, there were some stores that already closed and there were some that opened a while ago. Business never sleeps, he once thought, and walked over to a restaurant where he could have his dinner.
Even though his age permits him to drink sake, he didn't allow himself to taste a little of it. Or hang out with those flirtatious girls, or even buy that perverted book that he had always seen in the hand of his Sensei. In all honesty, he still carried the rules of the ninja. The basic rules...
It was just a bright morning a while ago and now it's already dark.
Walking the village for almost whole day tired her out already. Well the reason maybe, she wasn't fully recovered yet and to think she was a medical nin, she was a little reckless herself. She already wanted to go to a bed and lie there and then sleep. She had gone somewhere else to have dinner and asked the waitress where she could stay. The kind black haired lady listed names of inns within the village and it is for her to choose what inn she would like to stay. Most inns have full book already and there's only three left. She hoped that she could take one room at least for one night.
Sighing, she approached a man standing outside a restaurant and asked him about where she could find White Stone Inn.
"Turn left from here, then just go straight until you find white curtain that says white in black color."
She bowed and said, "Arigatou."
Following the direction she heard from the man, she did turn left and was now walking on the street straight to where she could finally see a glimpse of black curtain. Praying in herself, she hoped that there would be an empty slot for her.
"Good evening. How can I help you, ma'am?" Said the innkeeper with her beautiful smile gracing on her lips.
Sakura walked to the desk and smiled at the innkeeper. She first asked if this is the White Stone Inn and the innkeeper said it is. Soon she asked for a vacant room, to where would be staying.
"There's only one vacant room, ma'am." She replied as she was extending the guest book in the desk for Sakura to write down her name and temporarily own the said room.
"I'll take that one." Sakura replied, wrote her name down on the book and paid for the room.
In a moment, the innkeeper called out another name and told Sakura that the person will lead her to her room right away. Sakura nodded and as soon as she felt someone approaching them, she tilted her head only to be welcomed with a lady who's probably ten years older than her. The lady bowed politely and told Sakura to follow her. The kunoichi followed the old lady with silence while they reached the stairs.
However, once they reached the second floor, the old lady started throwing questions at her like where did she come from, how was the village, and the like. Save for one like what would be the reason as to why she was staying at Hidden Stone because that would probably be an unanswered question. Besides a citizen such as herself shouldn't be discussing something like that with a ninja.
After several minutes or so, the lady stopped in front of a door with golden numbers etched on the wooden material. The number says 209. Sakura then wheeled her head from one room to another, observing and feeling the people around her. When she's contented that no one, as in no one will certainly budge in her room, she looked on the opened room and felt the old lady's movements as she started walking inside the room.
"There's the bathroom over there, a closet with towels and bathrobes, then..." She pointed on the single bed with one small table that had a lamp beside it as she continues, "That would be your bed."
"Mm."
When the old lady stood by the doorframe, she observed the pink haired kunoichi entered the room while taking a good look on her room. And when she felt like the customer was satisfied in his or her room, that's the time she has to leave so that she would be able to have a good night's rest.
"Enjoy your stay, ma'am." And she left, also leaving the key on the keyhole.
After settling down, she found herself sitting on edge of the bed while watching the stars faintly twinkling in the midnight blue sky. She switched off the illuminating light on the ceiling, which leaves the lamp to aid her vision. She felt the cool air from the open window. It wasn't a freezing air, though.
She had this frowned expression in her face when she recalled what happened back in Hidden Grass, before she settled down in her current place. Just like what happened yesterday, she was ambushed by Jounin-level ninjas which somewhat made her desperate to fight them off and left her necessities behind.
That's the reason why she only had her red cheongsam and some Hunter-Nin equipments.
Fortunately, though, no one had ever heard of her clan's symbol and clan's specialty. No wonder, her clan was never told in history books. And maybe...
Just maybe...
It's time that she would make a name appear in history books. Even in one page, she would. But that's not important now because she should recover for a little while so that she could start her mission.
Other than her assignment...
Yawning, she removed her ninja sandals and crawled on the pillows on top of the bed. Tiredly, she picked up the white sheets on the bed and tucked herself in.
A good night's sleep will make me recover...
A loud crash could be heard from the other side of the window.
Startled, she immediately opened her eyes and sat upright from the bed. Then she heard that crash again. When she spotted something to her window, her eyes slowly widened.
Hidden Stone Village was ablaze!
A Leaf kunoichi such as herself, does not know anything about this current situation. Other than knowing how to get in this place, the present Tsuchikage and the basic details, she doesn't seem to understand what's going on in this place. Soon after, she heard the rumbles inside the inn. The customers may have been awakened due to the loud crashes from the outside. Hastily, she grabbed her things and walked out of her room.
She wanted to find out what's going on in this place.
When she saw the innkeeper panicking after she went out of her private room, Sakura immediately held her shoulders.
"What's going on here?" The kunoichi looked at the panicked expression from the innkeeper.
"They're here... the missing nins!!" Finally, the innkeeper shook herself from the kunoichi's grip to find a place where she could hide.
Dammit. Of all the places, why the main village? The Tsuchikage did not warn me about this, knowing I'm a Hunter-nin.
When she skidded out of the inn, she leapt from the ground to the rooftops of the nearing buildings. She did not need to analyze the situation or how the missing Nins ruined the city, all she has to do is to find them and stopped this nonsense.
But who was she to include herself in this kind of work?
The ninjas of this village would have noticed them anyway; besides, they also have their own Hunter Nins.
Still, the safety of the villages here, like her village, is the most important matter to deal with. And for her to ensure their safety, she will stop these maniacs from ruining the village. Hastily, she jumped from one rooftop to another. Narrowing her eyes, she spotted a wild maniac chasing all the women at the street. The said person grabbed one of the women and was thrusting his katana to her head.
Before the katana could have reached the flesh of the woman, it was tossed away from the grip of the killer. The woman who was pinned down on the ground did not cease shaking, although she felt safe when she saw the pink haired kunoichi standing beside them. However, the thing that made her scare a little was the kunoichi's intense, steel-cold eyes directly gazing at the eyes of the killer.
With fast reflexes, the kunoichi delivered a swift kick on the killer's side of the head that hurled him distance away. The woman who was lying on the ground was immediately commanded to hide. Nodding at her savior, she escaped on fours and hid to the nearest place. Resuming the fight, she icily looked at killer who was approaching her with two katanas on both hands.
Engaging in a sword fight... what a poor decision.
When she noticed a good distance with her opponent, she immediately grabbed her katana on her back and blocked the first attack. When their blades clashed, the other hand of the opponent, which carried another katana, swung to her side. She pushed the first katana and turned around to block the coming attack from below her side with one hand. Her other hand had clamped something below her other side. The opponent smirked at her, sending her the next attack he thought would be her death.
Noticing the coming attack, she immediately pulled herself away from the opponent and threw several shurikens. The opponent, instead of attacking, ended up blocking every shurikens that came towards him. Thinking the kunoichi would be standing in front of him, he felt himself sunk in horror.
The kunoichi was gone!
Swerving his head around his surroundings, he could not believe himself that the woman disappeared in a blink of an eye. He made a mental note that the shuriken throwing she just did was to make himself busy blocking every single shuriken and that made her stall time and hide somewhere around the battle field. Then something felt utterly strange he looked down the ground, he saw his shadow already widening. Likewise, his eyes widened. When he looked up, he saw the kunoichi diving at him with her hand gripped on the handle of the katana and the other, open palm, supporting the near-edge of the blade. It was such a quick movement and that he said to himself wouldn't be able to avoid. And so he decided to use his twin katana to block it.
But...
There was no sound of clashing swords when he tried to block himself from the attack. When he opened his eyes, the diving kunoichi was gone again! Releasing the blocking position, he was greeted by a roundhouse kick that connected to his jaw. Startled and dizzy, he found himself connected with a series of Taijutsu combos.
The last blow would be your end.
After sending the opponent in the mid-air and was sure that he will sink in a matter of seconds she made a final turn and grabbed her katana.
Slash!
She could feel it.
The blade slashed the flesh and reached the spinal cord of the opponents back, creating a bone-cracking sound.
The kunoichi smirked.
She just killed another missing nin, a low class, that is. Now, resuming her ninja-job, she leaped, once again, to one of the rooftops. When she examined the places and spotted something, distant away...
She could not believe herself...
Slowly, her eyes widened as she could feel her heart thumping so loudly in her chest.
As if her time momentarily stopped...
Her vision to the fire, they were blazing in slow motion...
Especially to the person she was looking at...
Spiky hair...
Black clothes...
Wooden arm covers...
Pale skin...
Although the appearance had changed, she knew, she could feel it, that it was the person she had been waiting for... waiting for seven years.
Sasuke... Uchiha Sasuke!
To be continued
Author's Note: Ok so this is not a short chapter, right? (smiles) I'm very sorry that I took a very very long time to update this one. (sniffs) But you know? My best friend, Hareta, already knew the whole story of this one. She's like a beta-reader, err, listener. Anyway so much for the introduction, I don't think this story would go so long... hehehe. Hey, to add the drama here, might as well listen to any battle music for the battle part and the character's theme for the other parts. Arrgh, the next chapter is already in my head, and I don't know how to start it. Hehehe.. So, how's Sakura? And Sasuke, of course? (grins)
Now to my dearest reviewers!!
kiki tameishi - now you know what happened in Stone. (smiles) Now let's see how you react when Sakura saw Sasuke (smiles cutely)
Lady Light - ohh thank you so much (wink wink)
kira-924 - aww... thank you so much
inu-chan 613 - what do you mean Sasuke will run for what? Ugghh sorry, I don't have my brains lately :P
Fuurin-hime - that's so much for the comment!! (hugs Fuurin). They weren't much of an OOC? Really?
Maya Amano - you know why most writers like you? You sure have a lot of words to say and that means you're really reading!! How I love you so much!! (hugs Maya) And you said I'm improving? (blushes) Ahh no I don't think so.. :P And it also seems that you're not used to me, writing a very long chapters, ne? Another thing, thanks for the suggestions! :P
broken down wolf - I'm so happy that you're still here with me!!! (hugs you) And yes, Sasuke is still the powerful kid you guys knew.
izumi-17 - kilig moments? Nah, that would be later... thanks for being there!! (hugs izumi)
hime-chan - here goes sweety, an update for you
SilencedDreams011 - ah my new friend from Thanks a lot for staying with me and even reviewed this. I'm so touched when you said you liked this one...
Padfoot da Darkwolf - Ohh my newest reviewer (smiles) Thank you for waiting and you sure are lucky because you didn't wait for too long (although after this, I think you have to wait.. hehehe) Thank you!
Akira-kun - although your review did not appear in my list, I thank you for commenting about SS in your fic. I thank you so much
On a side note, I have finally posted the newest story I created. Based on true story. It's called Where should I go? It's a drama and since I've only uploaded the prologue there's nothing much to be understood right ahead, but then, if you would kindly wait for the next chapters, I think it will help you. And your reviews will help me, too (grins)
Err, are you guys following the manga? I think Sasuke had gone really really insane, don't you think? And Akatsuki (ITACHI!!!) has finally showed themselves although behind the shadows. This fic will not follow the next chapters of the manga. You see, I only have few things that came from the canon, so expect a little changes. Ok? (smiles)
P.S. I reposted this page because the last one didn't have a horizontal line to separate the scenes. I'm sorry about that...