The Archangel of the Hidden Leaf

Chapter 3:

Taming the Beast

The creature blocked out the pain in her back as she succumbed to her murderous instincts again. A film seemed to have overlayed her consciousness as she reverted to violently thrashing inside her restraint. To prevent her from injuring herself, Yamato tightened the inside of his wooden cage to keep her stationary. It fueled her fury more, and she decided to latch her many fangs around a branch, staining it in blood and splintering it.

"What is happening?" a familiar voice rang through the crowd. Heads turned and some people stepped aside to make room for the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade Senju. Her brown stare was unreadable as she stepped forward, her plump bust moving with her authoritative gait. But then she saw the carnage, two dead bodies, and blood alike. Immediately her expression changed to horror. "Who did this?" she questioned the crowd.

"A monster!" Izumo Kamizuki exclaimed, pointing to Yamato's occupied cage. "It killed Toneri and Kata. We were too late to help."

The creature hissed, still trying to shred the branch in her mouth. Yamato moved it so Tsunade could get a better look at what would on their hands. At that moment, Tsunade's assistant, Shizune, appeared behind her. The sight of the creature startled her, so she covered the eyes of the little pig in her arms.

"Yamato, take this thing into custody, and don't let it out," Tsunade instructed, keeping her eyes locked on it. She then looked to a few shinobi and pointed to them. "You collect the dead and take them to the mortuary to be evaluated." She glanced at Kakashi next. "Bring your team with me to report about your mission. But Sakura, go with Yamato to keep an eye on it. I'll need any information you get."

"Yes, ma'am," Sakura replied, stepping closer to Yamato.

"Everyone else, go back to your posts if you were at one. If not, clean this up. If you witnessed the event, report to me. That is all," Tsunade finished. She beckoned for Kakashi to follow her as she turned around to head back into the village walls. Naruto got to his feet to also follow along with Sai. But the event was still fresh in Naruto's mind. The creature was so fast when she was in control. One second too late, and he would have been the third dead body.

With Tsunade in the lead and Shizune in the rear, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai made their way to the Hokage's office. There was tension in the air. The situation laying at Tsunade's feet was bad. Two dead shinobi and the culprit in captivity. Word would start to go around the village. Worse, the Hyuga Clan's head, Hiashi Hyuga, would know that Toneri Hyuga has been killed and the creature responsible was still alive. There was no doubt that he would demand the execution of the creature, or whatever it was, but it was not as simple a solution as it sounded. Research had to be done first. Knowing what the creature is was the priority as well as getting the victims justice.

Once in the office, Tsunade rounded the desk and took her seat with a sigh. Shizune shut the door. "Did any of you witness the event?" she asked instead of probing their mission.

"We were too late," Kakashi confirmed. "I smelled the dead animal and then heard the…creature. It was already restrained by the time we arrived."

"I see. Well, I'm not sure if anyone truly saw what happened."

"She talked," Naruto stated.

That by itself made Tsunade focus on the rambunctious genin, who was oddly solemn at the moment.

"She begged for someone to kill her. It happened after Sakura injured her," he continued.

"Is this true?" she directed to Kakashi and Sai, who both nodded. "So, she's human. At least that's proven."

Naruto stayed quiet, but he secretly wondered how something so hideous and vile could be human. He saw her face. It was contorted, unlike anything he has seen before. Something was not adding up.

Sakura sat next to Yamato. They were currently responsible for the creature as they remained in a closed facility. Sakura wondered what Tsunade was going to do. She would not be surprised if Ino's dad was summoned to evaluate the creature's memories, but other than that, how do you deal with something like this?

The creature had not spoken since she pounded it into the ground. Since then, it has done nothing but angrily snarl and try to chew through Yamato's cage. Every time the branch thinned out too much, he would make it thicker. It was pointless to try escaping, but it persisted regardless. It was going to be this way as they waited for further instruction.

Instead of making small talk, Sakura busied herself by watching the creature and taking mental notes. She knew Lady Tsunade would want any information possible. Right now, there was nothing much to report, but she was optimistic. Something was bound to happen.

Maybe if I make her talk again, I can get more answers, she thought.

The medical ninja got to her feet and trod over. "Sakura?" Yamato voiced.

"Let me try something," she insisted, kneeling next to the cage. The creature sensed her presence and halted in her chewing to slightly turn her head and growl. People were dangerous and evil to her, so she was vigilant of their motives even if she had no way to defend herself. "It's okay," Sakura gently assured her, hovering her palms over the center of her back. "I'm not going to hurt you again." Focusing her chakra in her palms, a green hue began to emit from them and interact with the cells from the injured area. The creature momentarily thrashed in response, but when no pain signaled, she relaxed and held back a throaty growl.

"My name is Sakura. What's yours?"

The creature remained silent but kept her gaze locked on Sakura with the black saucers she had for eyes. It was an instance of peace as the spinal column was healed of its fractures. She did not understand the gesture or what Sakura's purpose was. All she felt was the pain ebb away.

Sakura caught a glimpse of her face as the healing reached its end. "How does that feel? Better?" she continued with a comforting tone.

The creature blinked, revealing eyelids that were not visible before. Then Sakura realized how exhausted and weak she appeared. The blackness of her stare betrayed initial signs of emotion and thoughts. But she rested her head on the ground and retracted her fangs, each one individually slipping behind her seamless lips. The sight made Sakura softly gasp. This was progress.

But before she could talk to her any further, the creature closed its eyes and slumped in place, becoming as still as a stone. There was no more growling or thrashing, just stillness, and silence. Sakura remembered Kakashi's warning but chose to take the risk anyway by reaching inside and feeling for a pulse. It was present but weak. Doing nothing would cause more harm to her body.

She's probably used up so much chakra that her life is at stake.

"Captain Yamato, we need to transport her to the hospital. She's going to die," Sakura informed him.

"Lady Tsunade told us to keep her in captivity," he insisted.

"She'll still be in captivity. I'll make sure of it. But we need to go now."

Yamato exhaled, unsure whether to obey his superior's direct orders or listen to her trusted protégé instead. "It could be a trap."

She stood up straight and looked over her shoulder. "Which is why I'm bringing you along. Please."

Without replying, Yamato got to his feet as well and used his Wood Release to cover the cage more to conceal what was inside. Satisfied, Sakura walked with him out of the facility and back into the open of the village. The inside of the cage – now a box – stayed still and quiet even with the new movement. "This way," Sakura prompted, changing course somewhat. The two shinobi tried their best to stay out of the public eye without looking suspicious. The scene must have appeared that they were transporting a dead body.

The route Sakura took them on led them to the back of the hospital, where only staff could see them. She got them inside and had a nurse take them to an unoccupied room, and then asked for certain supplies like an IV drip and a muzzle. Once they were alone again, Sakura had Yamato move the wooden box on top of the hospital bed and then withdraw from the creature's body so she could rest on it. There was not a single ounce of suspicion to Sakura, so she closed the curtain around the bed to undress her of her ragged garments and put on a sterile gown.

"Miss Sakura," the nurse indicated from the other side of the curtain.

"Thank you," she said, opening the curtain enough to take the supplies. The first thing she did was restrain the creature's wrists and mouth in case she tried to go on another rampage. Then she found a vein to connect the IV saline drip to her to start getting fluids in her system. Now all there was left to do was wait until she woke up if she were to ever, but for now, she was on the road to recovery. She just hoped Lady Tsunade would wait in her probing until the creature got some strength back.

Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai were all allowed to leave the Hokage's office and take the rest of the day off after a debrief of their mission. They went their separate ways, so Naruto was by himself. Usually getting a day off from duties was a good way to perk him up, but something was off. Why did that girl not leave his head? Why did it bother him that bad? That one moment of asking to die, convicted of what she had done, struck him the more he thought about it.

Hands in his pockets, the jinchuriki walked the path towards home. He was lost in thought, but it did not distract him enough to ignore a friend of his, who's soft voice sounded from behind. "N-Naruto?"

He stopped and looked behind him to find Hinata Hyuga, the shy shinobi who was the daughter of the head of the Hyuga Clan. She had always been soft-spoken since their days in the academy, but he had seen her fight nobly against opponents, whether it be in the chunin exams or on missions. "Hey, Hinata. What's up?" he responded with a friendly smile.

"…Is it true?"

"Huh?"

"Is Toneri Hyuga dead?"

Naruto thought right back where his mind has been for the past hour, his smile vanishing. He recalled the one victim who clung to life when Team 7 arrived and his Byakugan. As much as Naruto hated to tell Hinata the truth, he knew he had to. "Yeah. I'm really sorry, Hinata."

The confirmation made her eyes avert away. It pained her to know a member of her family was gone so tragically. "Who did it?" she questioned further.

Naruto did not answer straight away. He did not know what to say that would be correct. "It's…hard to say. It was like a monster. Lady Tsunade is probably keeping it somewhere to investigate."

Without looking at him, Hinata slowly turned to the side. "Th-Thank you, Naruto," she sheepishly said before walking in the opposite direction of him. He watched her leave without a glance back, feeling a mysterious pang of regret within himself.

Sakura left Yamato to keep watch in the hospital room so she could report to Lady Tsunade what she had done. She did not think her master would be upset about her decision but informing her was the best course of action as of right now. After all, the magnitude of one's sins should not mean they do not deserve medical care at their weakest point in life.

Making her way to the building that acted as the Hokage's headquarters, Sakura kept an eye out for Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai. She did not think that Lady Tsunade would have kept them in her office for long, so perhaps she was bound to come across one of them. But once at the entrance without a hint, she feared that they were being interrogated. With that in mind, Sakura ascended the inside of the building to the office. She slowed her stride with the closing distance between her and the door. To her dismay, it was closed, which was not a good sign. So, she listened closely to the voices coming from inside by leaning in her ear.

"I just don't understand why you kept it alive. It killed two shinobi, one of which was a Hyuga," a male voice declared.

"We have to evaluate it to figure out what it is and what exactly happened. The next objective I plan to abide by is getting witness testimonies, but whatever comes of it, I do not intend to let the specimen go unpunished, Hiashi," Tsunade promised.

Sakura lightly gasped. Hinata's dad was now getting involved. It could only make things harder for her master. The pressure was running high for her already from the tragedy. Everything would be under control if not many people stuck their nose where it did not belong.

"I will hold you up to your word," Hiashi pledged. The doorknob twisted, forcing Sakura to quickly move to the side of the door to not look suspicious. The head of the Hyuga Clan exited the office with his malignant Byakugan not paying any attention to her. She stared after him in awe, wondering how someone as meek and quiet as Hinata could have a parent that was so imposing and respected.

Sakura appeared in the doorway. "Lady Tsunade?"

The fifth Hokage glanced up from some papers that were about to be stamped, alarmed to see her protégé had left her assigned post. Shizune picked up Tonton from the floor. "Has something happened?" Tsunade questioned.

"Well, sort of–" Sakura walked to her desk "–I was able to tame the creature and heal her back injury, but she fell unconscious. I was afraid she was on her final leg, so I had her transported to the hospital. Captain Yamato is still keeping guard."

Lady Tsunade gave Sakura a long stare, probably questioning her thought process. "What are your intentions?"

"To help her gain back strength before she endures anything else. She may not survive for long without it."

Another long silence ensued. Tsunade had to think of all the factors involved. Hiashi would be impatient in waiting for the creature to be dealt with formally, and the growing rumors in the village would cause insecurity among the civilians. There were serious matters to consider if she wanted to keep this from blowing up in her face, but she also trusted Sakura fully and knew that she was right. "Okay, but you're responsible for her wellbeing and care," she finally agreed.

Relief flooded through Sakura. Her first big responsibility was now at hand.