Sleeping outside wasn't something I could ever get used to.
Its hard texture brought a discomfort that I hadn't been accustomed to yet. Not that I needed to anytime soon, but as all things it'd be nice to- to at least get a good nights sleep. Being the last to sleep as well didn't help either.
I opened my eyes without much resistance. Getting up was not as easy. My body felt heavy. My mind felt like butter. Everything felt normal besides the apparent grogginess, which is to say wasn't normal, but couldn't be helped with the lack of sleep.
I tried to get up again, but my body felt like concrete. Heavy, almost like something was holding me down-
A groan made me halt. The shift of weight enough form a sense of urgency only experienced by those who have profoundly and undeniably screwed up beyond repair. The only thing that I could say with certainty is that I needed to-
"Move!" A voice shouted far above me, yet it barely even tickled my ear. The shriek of something sharp cutting through air and sound sounded clearer to me than whoever screamed. The weight on my chest almost entirely disappeared much to my happiness.
I didn't get a chance to move however as a thin string wrapped around my wrist, pulling me away from where I laid. The scream of the sharp object came to a grounding halt impacted where I laid. I jolted in panic at the near death experience suddenly registered in my head, causing me to fully grasp the situation.
I was in grave, grave danger. Double graves, emphasis.
I rolled with the momentum caused with being pulled by the string, righting myself, coming to a stop before jumping back as more knives impacted where I was. I was left dangling in the air, given a moment to breathe and analyze the situation.
To my left, looking a bit troubled, was the one who saved me. Her pink hair almost as long as she was tall, the red dress bearing a symbol of a tear drop. I couldn't help but notice the blood coming from her broken nose. Otherwise, I couldn't imagine a more beautiful woman out there. If it wasn't for the life threatening situation I may have stared more, but I couldn't spare the time.
Looking up, I could see a figure who I assumed was my attacker. His white hair making him easy to pick out from the thick of trees far above our heads. Fortunately he seemed to be distracted by another person far beyond my eyesight. Again, I didn't have time, I had just a second to get my bearings, so I continued to assessing the situation.
Finally, my eyes landed on another girl, her short hair ending in a curve. Her white jacket was torn, revealing chain mail underneath her attire. The symbols of clouds hung on her coat, no doubt a signifier of who she sided with. She wore a headband around her neck like a choker. Her short attire making her seem weak, but I could already tell I needed to stay away from her.
I landed.
"Stay away from her!" The pink haired girl yelled at me, speaking the obvious. I didn't have the heart to tell her I already know. I just muttered a 'right, right' as a way to speed this up, catch my breath. The pink haired girl hopped back to me without taking her eyes off the girl in front of us, standing directly to my side so close that there was barely any room to maneuver.
I felt like this was natural for me at this point, so I clung to her too.
"What's going on?" I asked crouching low, ready to jump at any given chance. The girl next to me hadn't removed the string, which I felt was the right choice. Security in uncertain situations was always welcomed. I raised my fist, "Thank you by the way, Sakura!"
That was her name right?
It had to be. Why else would I have said it.
"Shut up and focus," Sakura responded, her tone more aggressive. It must have been the stress of the situation. At least I hoped, sort of stung being told to shut up, "We were ambushed, you were taken out first so I can't blame you for forgetting. We got one of them," Sakura glanced up with her eyes, "and Sasuke is fighting the second, but this isn't looking good."
"Why!? It's 3 on 2! We can take them easily!" I shouted with certainty grinning. I almost charged at the girl in front of us, but Sakura's string tug held me back. I glanced at her, "What's wrong?"
"You idiot!" I could almost instinctually tell that if we weren't side to side and fighting opponents, Sakura would have hit me. "We can't take her on, we need Sasuke, we can't do this alone."
"So what do we do?" I asked, I would have offered up suggestions but the girl in front of us flinched. She struck a pose, one I wasn't too familiar with, and both Sakura and I crouched low, ready to bolt if need be.
"We defend the best we can," Sakura said, as the girl before us yelled a word that I felt was wrong to say while bearing the symbol of the Cloud
"Byakugan!"
"Wake up!" The kick to my gut was the first thing to greet me. I gave a quick screech of pain. I got up as quickly as I could.
"What was that for!?" I yelled at Sakura, who looked annoyed as usual. I glared at her a bit.
"That's for sleeping in! It's been over an hour! Sasuke and Kakashi had to go ahead cause of you dumb shit!" Sakura yelled back at me. I noticed that, as she said, Kakashi and Sasuke wasn't here. In fact, it looked like they hadn't been here at all. No camp fire, no traces of footsteps, nothing. Like we hadn't spent the last few night sleeping in the same spot.
Well, we weren't ninja's for nothing.
Sakura sighed, looking up at the sky, the tree line blocking our view. She looked back at me, her gaze showing a hint of fondness. "Why didn't you just stay home Naruto? You're sick beyond belief. Normally you're much more proactive than this."
"I am active!" I claimed back, throwing a thumb back at myself, "I'm the most pro-active person you'll ever me-"
I was interrupted by a cough.
Sakura didn't miss a beat, she was on me in a second, her hand feeling my forehead, me finally noticing I didn't have my headband thought that was a more pressing concern. Sakura shook her head.
"You need to go back to the village Naruto," Sakura said, "You're getting worse. It wasn't right of me to kick you, I'm sorry, but if this gets any worse we won't be able to make it for the Chunin Exams."
I shook off her hand, as well as concern, "I can't, I need to be here, I've waited forever to see this place!"
"You've waited forever to see everything," Sakura said. She wasn't wrong, I did always say that. I laughed, rubbing the back of my head sheepishly. I shoved my embarrassment away however.
"Yeah, but I can't miss this, this is the-"
"Great Coastal City, yeah-yeah you haven't shut up about it since we were assigned," Sakura said, sighing. She stood there, arms crossed, for a good minute before looking me in the eyes. "I'm not going to win this am I?"
"Nope!" I claimed, proud to have won her over. The cough scratching my throat however interrupted my happiness. It did hurt, and I wish I could quit, but I didn't waste years in school just to miss out on seeing the world. Sakura looked at me with a modicum amount of concern, but relented. She just shook her head and started to walk away.
"Come on we can see the city from here," Sakura said, pushing past the bushes before I could say anything. As she said, on the Cliffside we stood on, was the Great Coastal Line. Over a million Kilometers of pure sandstone, brick, wood, and life.
The city was beyond anything I could dream of. A pure white land, starting small on the edges building into a magnificent spire of pure soapstone. A land of opportunity, where lands meet, bridging into the lands far beyond the Sea, to us. Boats littered the crescent landmass, docking and leaving as they pleased. One in particular was massive ship that wouldn't have been able to fit anywhere else besides here.
It was like it was ripped straight from a book or a show or a movie.
I could feel Sakura's gaze linger on me, turning to nab a quick smile before she turned away. She moved forward, standing on the cliffs edge. She turned back to me, "Well, we can't keep Sasuke and Kakashi waiting forever! Lets go!"
"Yeah!" I cheered. Sakura hopped off, bouncing from one small ledge to the next. I took one last look at the massive city before departing myself. Unsure of what was to come, but too happy to care.
Thanks for reaching the end. I have more or less the story planned out, but a lot of it is going with the flow. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I know this was a rough first chapter, but I needed to get this out of the way. Either way, hope you enjoyed it and hope to see you next time!
