Abandonment

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Asuka, I brought you some of your favorite flowers…" He took a quick glance around the room to find it silent and empty. He then went over to Hatsuharu's room to find he was absent too. "Asuka…" He dashed out the window and ran through the village, his destination, Asuka's home. His feet were soaking wet as he ran through the muddy puddles of water and ran through the rain that would soon turn into a heavy storm if he didn't hurry.

He had reached his destination but was soaked to the bone in the heavy rain water. Opening the door to Asuka's home, he only heard the squeaking of the door as he opened and closed it as he had entered.

"Asuka! Are you home? I am sorry for intruding, but you had me worried." He continued to look around the house by following a scent that was foul and distinct. He went into Asuka's room to find her partner in her bed… lying in a stained pool of his own blood that was still wet due to the thickness… the source of the blood came from the back of his head with the hilt of the kunai sticking out…

Hatsuharu.

"No… Asuka… no… you could not have done this." He went over to the wolf's lifeless body and stroked his blood-matted fur. He scanned the room to find a note with his name on it on the bedside table. He plucked the paper from where it laid and read it carefully.

Dear Lee,

I know you will find this… I know this because you're usually the first to check up on me. The reason being why my companion lies dead on my bed is because I sent him to a better place where he will no longer feel pain and be truly happy. Lee, thank you for being a great friend to me. You're the most amazing friend I've ever had, you made me believe I had a family, you made me believe I don't need a family to live on for others, and last, but not least, you are somebody I will always remember.

Don't bother looking for me, I'm running away to start a new life in the village I originated in. The SandVillage. I'll start over so then I wont lose anyone close to me ever again. The pain of losing Hatsuharu was too great for me to handle on my own. There's one last thing. I love you Lee.

~ Asuka

He let the note slide out of his fingers and soak up the thick blood that littered the floor. He whispered her name, treasuring the way the sound of her name tickled his tongue every time he said it. Then reality clicked.

She was gone.

He needed to find her.

Lee jumped out the window and followed Asuka's tracks before they were washed away from the rain. All he had to do was follow a trail of blood.

ooOoO0OoOoo

Asuka was running.

Sprinting.

Dead sprinting through the forest of trees as rain pelted her frail body. Her limp legs were getting weaker with every step she took as she advanced to her goal.

The Sand Village.

Tears streamed down her rosy red cheeks as she tried to forget all of her friends back home. Naruto… he was always fun to be around. Shikamaru, the smartest guy in all of the Leaf Village, despite his young age, he was remarkable person when it came to strategy. Kiba and Akamaru, those two were like brothers, he was there when she needed him to be there, and did all he could to help. Hinata, she was always so shy, yet sweet and kind, she was always nice, no matter what Asuka did to embarrass her in front of Naruto. Neji, one of her dearest friends who was confused about life. He was harsh and cold sometimes, but she knew he did only what he was taught. Last, but not least, Lee. No, she couldn't bare the thought of him right now, thinking about him too much would make her turn around and bail on this. She couldn't do that, not now, she had to keep pushing. Keep moving forward. No matter how hard it was for her to do that.

The mud clung to her sandals the more it rained and made her feet heavier and heavier to pick up. Strands of hair were plastered to her face from the rain and sweat as she kept running. She had a feeling somebody was following her, but didn't dare to turn around to most likely find someone from the leaf village chasing after her. She kept running, ignoring the footsteps that were advancing toward her rather quickly.

She tried jumping into the trees, but her legs fell from under her and she fell back to the ground on her back with a soft thud, the mud had absorbed her fall. Hearing the footsteps that were trailing behind her get closer and closer, she crawled behind the tree and sat up against it while holding her rib cage, desperate not to cough up blood.

Then the footsteps stopped. Right next to the tree she had been sitting up against. She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked up to find someone she wasn't expecting.

Kabuto. The Leaf Genin that dropped out before finishing the Chunin exams.

"Good evening Asuka, running away from the Leaf village I see, now why's that I wonder?" He pushed up his glasses and looked over her like a hawk.

"You wouldn't understand…" She sniffled and brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them.

"You never know if I would understand your situation or not, it's best to talk to people you never really talk to, they may be able to help you when you least expect it." He grinned and squat down next to her. "Now tell me, why are you running away?"
She sighed and looked up at the tree that held most of the raindrops off of her and Kabuto.

"I need to start a new life… I killed my best friend to end his pain and put him in a better place. My friends… They'll never understand, and I can't bare the thought of trying to make them understand. That's why I need to start a new life where I was originally born in, the Sand village." Tears mixed with rain water slid down her cheeks.

Kabuto wiped away the strands of hair off of her face before answering. "I can relate to you Asuka. I can take you to a better place where you'll find salvation and power to become stronger than you ever where. You could protect your friends if you were stronger…."

She lowered her head onto her knees and thought to herself about this subject, thinking about the bad and good stuff that could come. "Yes… I want to become stronger… yet… I just met you, how do I know I can trust you?" She hesitated to ask.

He pushed his sliding glasses back up the bridge of his nose and smiled, "I could heal your wounds, take you to a safe, warm place, and tell you a bit more about your past…"

Her eyes widened and looked up at him in shock. "H-how do you know about me? I mean, about my past?"

He chuckled and placed a cold hand on her shoulder, "my boss… mentor really, knows a lot of things… especially about you, Matsuo Asuka…"

ooOoO0OoOoo

Lee jumped from one tree branch to another as the freezing rain drops started to numb his nose and cheeks. "Asuka… where are you?" he spoke under his breath as he wiped away the drops of rain water out of his eyelashes.

Without paying attention, he lost his footing on a slippery branch and he fell; face first from the trees and onto the cold mud. He bit his lip and slammed his fist into the earth, making a small crater. "ASUKA!" he screamed into the sky then looked back down, "Asuka… where are you… please… tell me…" He got back up and wiped some of the mud out of his face before continuing forward. "I will find you… I promise."

ooOoO0OoOoo

"Well…? My offer still stands Matsuo." Kabuto spoke up after a moment or two of pure silence with a background of the falling rain.

Asuka took a deep breath and exhaled, "I… I can't. You might've been my only chance to find out about my family for a long while… but, I can't. I want to live where I originated from, so if you'll excuse me," she got up while holding her rib cage, "I better get a move on, or else someone else from the Leaf finds me." She stumbled forward and started walking.

"I'm terribly sorry Asuka," he quickly grabbed her bicep and pulled her back to him with her back up against his chest, yet, due to her being so short, she couldn't even hit his chin with her head. "If I were to let you go though, my master would punish me severely. So I can't let you go." He tightened his grip on her arm, making her cringe.

She growled under her breath and attempted to hit him with her other arm, but he was faster and grabbed her wrist then twisted her arm behind her back. She squirmed and bared her teeth with anger as he only tightened his grip.

"Stop your struggling already, your too injured to fight me anyway, so it's pointless for you to fight me, or my offer." He dug his chin into the top of her head and grinned. "You know, the human skull is still soft on top until their twenty-seven years old, which is when the human body fully grows physically; even though you can't feel that your skull is still soft, it doesn't mean it isn't." He continued to dig his chin into her head and started to try moving forward with her.

"Sorry, but I'm not going this easily." Asuka raised her leg and kicked his forehead, knocking his headband off and stunning him for a short moment, making his grip weaken on her, giving her a chance to spin out of his grip and jump a few yards back towards the Leaf. Asuka held her ribs for a moment and cringed in pain, but soon snapped out of it and started running back towards the Leaf.

"I knew they said she was physically strong," he picked up his mud-covered headband and put it back on, "but even in her weakened state, she can still kick… whatever that Might Guy taught her, I can only imagine the physical training he put her though…" He shook his head and ran after her.

The cold rain started to take effect on her damaged limbs, making it near impossible for her to even feel her feet hit the ground, making her lose her footing and fall onto the ground with a hard thud. She took a deep breath and got up once more, but fell as she felt a heavy foot force her back down.

"I won't let you out of my grasp this time…" Kabuto declared as he dug his heel into her lower spine, making her shriek in pain and grip the grass as she tried to endure the pain.

"Get off… or else…" rasped as she bit her lip in rage.

Kabuto chuckled and dug his heel into her. "Or else what? You're weak in your current state and can't do much with my foot on your back."

"Fine… have it your way." Asuka pulled a tag-planted kunai out of her bag and managed to fling it behind her, towards Kabuto, making it explode on contact and allowing the blast to shove them away from each other. Asuka though, used a substitute jutsu in time and only got a brush of the blast, then ran away while the smoke was still thick.

"Someone! Anyone! Help me please!" Asuka ran through the forest as fast as her injured legs could allow her before they gave out and made her fall to her knees in pain as she felt her lower back begin to swell and worsen with pain. She tried gaining her breath back as she got up with the support of a tree, but as even walking got harder and harder to accomplish, her vision was blurry and shaky, making her stumble over nearly every step and fall again and again on her knees to only get up once more to try again.

"Finally… I caught up to you…"

Asuka turned around to only be welcomed by a fist to her face, throwing her back to a tree and pinning her arms there. "Kabuto… you never give up… don't you?"

He was furious with anger as blood dripped from his brow, nose, lip, and cheek; his eyes were wide and insane looking through his broken glasses. "You… you will come with me… whether you like it or not."

"No… I WONT!" She brought her knees to her chest and kicked him away to another tree, then tried running off again, but her vision and legs failed her and let her trip over a tree root and back down to the ground. "HELP ME! PLEASE!" She cried out, "Anyone… please… help…"

"Nobody's coming… Asuka." Kabuto replied as he got up and wobbled toward her.

"Stay away from me…" she started to try crawling away, but Kabuto grabbed her by her matted hair and picked her up, making her feet dangle above the ground.

"You're injuries aren't completely healed… so your brain is merely trying to sleep, but you wont let it…" Kabuto told her as he formed chakra in his free hand. "I'll help you go to sleep…"

Asuka closed her eyes and braced for what was about to come… but after a moment passed, it never came. A giant FWAK sound happened in front of her that made Kabuto drop her and fall back. Asuka sat up and opened her eyes to see someone who was a sight for sore eyes. "Lee… you came."

He turned his gaze over his shoulder and toward her, then smiled gratefully, "I couldn't let my best friend run off without a goodbye Asuka…" He looked back over to Kabuto, who seemed to have disappeared. "Coward, he should have stayed and fight with me!" Lee growled under his breath and was about to set off to find him, but then it hit him. Asuka needs help. He turned back around towards her and cradled her in his arms easily. Then he started to walk back to the village. "Asuka… I need to tell you two things."

She looked up at him, "What is it Lee?"

"One, don't ever scare me like that again, ok?" He looked down at her and let a tear mix with a rain drop slide down his cheek.

She nodded, "Ok… I'll try not to… what else?"

Lee sighed and got a better grip on her. "We need to have a talk."

She looked away and sighed. "Can we do that in the morning… I can't really think well…"

"Yes, I guess we can wait till tomorrow… Just do not run again… ok?" He gripped tighter and sniffled, then started to sprint back to the village. "And, you'll be sleeping in my apartment for a while… until we get things… straightened out, at your place, ok?"

She nodded once more but didn't say anything, only rested her head on his arm and drifted off to sleep.

I'm actually thinking about rewriting this... what do you guys think? starting from the beginning, making a new story and just forgetting about this one, since the writing for it in general is just terrible to me, I'm better now XD I am seriously considering rewriting it though... and I really would like some opinions