Chapter 3 of EoE. Thank you for the reviews!
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RECAP
Unexpectedly, Sakura came sprinting towards Hinata. Sakura too, stopped, after seeing the four males looking at them with wide eyes.
"No…" Sakura whispered. Their time living in the forest has probably ended.
END RECAP
Sasuke stared at the pink haired girl, standing there like a frozen monument. Could this be the girl he saw earlier?
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Neji's voice snapped Sasuke out of his thoughts. Neji stared intently at the blue eyed girl. (NOTE; Hinata is currently wearing dark blue contacts to hide her identity.)
"Why would you want to know?" Sakura snapped at him angrily. Hinata stood there dumbstruck. She had instantly recognized the pearl eyes as her own clan member that was shining out of Neji's eyes.
"We were sent to investigate the Beneyume Forest, girl and we would like to know where you live," Shikamaru sternly said, steering Fuyukaze to see both females clearly. Sakura glared at each of them lethally with a gaze that could kill. Hinata moved each of her pupils to each person closely, observing them. When both had finished, they gave each other a glance and immediately pounced into the forest. Each boy gave a yell of shock when the two girls disappeared in a flash.
"WHAT THE HELL? WHERE DID THEY GO!" Naruto bellowed loudly into the forest causing all the wildlife near them to run amok. Sasuke looked around wildly, trying to get the sight of the pink haired girl.
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Sakura and Hinata bounded back to their hut. They needed to warn Tenten and Ino to scram. As soon as they came to the door, Hinata reached for the doorknob. But before she could turn it, a blade came hurling onto the wooden door. Sakura turned around rapidly, face to face with the raven haired Uchiha. Her jade eyes straight away were caught into his obsidian eyes. The other three were there behind him, mounted on their horses and panting furiously.
"Where do you think you're going?" Sasuke whispered silkily to Sakura. She shivered at the sound of his voice.
"Bound her, Sasuke. Naruto get the other girl. Neji open the door," Shikamaru commanded his team. They moved quickly. Without hesitation, Neji kicked down the door and held his gun to inspect the house. Tenten jumped from the sound and pulled out her entrusted dagger. She appeared behind Neji's back and held the glimmering weapon to his neck. Ino was at the side of the house, carefully reassuring the horses who were fixed to the side of the house. She stopped at the impact of the door falling down. She too came in a blink of an eye and held her Kyoketsu shoge (A double edged blade) in front of Shikamaru's face. It came within an inch of his eye which scared him frighteningly. Ino herself had hauled herself onto the horse, but Fuyukaze didn't seem to mind that another person was on her back. Sakura took another glance at Hinata who responded with a sign of her own. Both of them turned and kneed their captors in the groin. They groaned falling to the ground and Tenten and Ino struck too. Soon, all four Kuro Tsumis were gagged and unconscious on the floor of the four element wielders' home.
(A/N; Yes, all four of them kick ass and rule. I forgot to tell you that all four of them learnt self defense while together).
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Sasuke woke up with a start. His pelvis hurt painfully, and his head was woozy. He attempted to sit up, but fell down, due to his hand and legs tied up to his three companions. Neji and Shikamaru were sleeping peacefully while Naruto was snoring. Sasuke sighed inwardly and tried to untie the knots that held each of them together.
"I wouldn't try that if I were you," Sasuke looked up to see the pink headed girl walk up to him, holding a wakizashi (A short katana). She over towered him in a haunting way, her blood red kimono free of dirt or scum. It was already morning and the sun shining through the window blinded his eyes as he tried to focus on Sakura.
"Why not? I'm sure I would like to break free," he answered back to her casually, like as though he was having a stroll in the park. Before he knew it, the blade of the sword she held was thrust before his face. He stopped smirking and looked into her eyes. They held fear, and resentment. She lowered the wakizashi and knelt down to his eye level. She stared into his empty black orbs, like as though she was searching for something to help her out of her misery. He gazed back into hers, remembering the girl that fell on top of him in the town. Then, to his surprise, she quickly gave him a kiss on his nose and left the house through the front door.
'Wait a second, wasn't it knocked down by Neji?' Sasuke thought, looking at his friend beside him. His inner self shrugged and went back to sleep.
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Sakura walked out calmly. She couldn't believe she gave into him. She couldn't believe that SHE kissed the complete stranger. Sakura shook her head wildly to get rid of those weird thoughts in her mind and went to the Eien river where her sisters were.
"Hey Sakura. Are they awake?" Tenten's voice came from the offering site where they placed the fruits and flowers.
"Yeah, one of them is," she answered and took her place on the rock Hinata meditates on. Ino was on the other side of the pond, covering the craters she made over the years of training with sand Tenten collected. Hinata stood waist deep in the water, concentrating her orb of water that floated above her hand. Hinata was the most dedicated compared to the others. Her father had abandoned her because she was too weak but now she will be able to prove him wrong. Sakura's parents left her because she was not strong enough to become ninjas like her other family members. Tenten was the same; except she was skilled but her older sisters loathed her and discarded her from envy. Ino's past was the most hidden and forgotten.
"The spiky guy I got was kinda cute," Ino replied, finishing her job by dusting her hands. Tenten looked at her with disgust.
"Cute? They are Kuro Tsumis Ino! Get that through your head!" Sakura told her friend. Ino grinned cheekily before dipping her hands into the calming waters. Sakura began meditating, focusing her fire into an orb like Hinata.
"Interesting power you've got there," Sakura whipped around to see the black eyed boy leaning on a tree gazing at her with interest. She stood up and gave him a snappy punch that knocked him out cold.
"Did you try the punch which makes him lose his memory?" Tenten asked, examining Sasuke. Sakura nodded and hauled him back to the hut, tying his wrists more carefully this time.
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Shikamaru shook his weary head. He'd been awake for a while and his friends still hadn't woken from their nightmares.
"Shikamaru, how long have we been here?" Neji's voice pulled Shikamaru's head to the right, as his friend desperately tried to break free from his prison.
"I don't know…" Shikamaru trailed off; looking at the threshold they were in. The stove looked rusty and the fridge was humming quietly. He wondered how it worked, since they were in the middle of the forest.
"A while," Sasuke was now awake. He couldn't remember what had happened the last time. Naruto continued snoring.
Suddenly, the front door burst open, revealing Tenten, Ino, Hinata and Sakura came in last, shutting the door quickly, waking Naruto up in shock.
"What are you –" Ino's hand stopped Shikamaru from going on and all four sat on their chairs slowly. Tenten pulled out her dagger and held it underneath Neji's neck once again.
"What are you four Kuro Tsumi's doing in our forest?" Sakura interrogated. Sasuke scoffed.
"Your forest? Konoha village OWNS this land, girl!" Sakura kicked down her chair and immediately pulled out her wakizashi. She held it in a threatening way against his neck, pulling out fresh blood.
"We have owned these woods ever since. Do not contradict me, boy!" Sakura whispered, taking away her blade, putting it back in the scabbard. She sat back down calmly and allowed Hinata to take action.
"You did not answer our question. What are you doing in our forest, Kuro Tsumi?" Hinata said slowly, making sure each of them could hear her clearly. Naruto looked at her inquisitively, his blue eyes sparkling at her beauty. Neji saw this right away and replied for him.
"Investigating." That one word hit Sakura and Tenten like a rock. Ino stared on with wide eyes and Hinata began shaking, which none of the detectives noticed.
"Why would you want to investigate these woods?" Ino was the first one to break from the silence. Shikamaru gazed at her, apparently caught in those sky blue orbs of hers.
"We have heard of elements being controlled here and from the looks of it, you four currently live in here, right?" He asked, getting closer to the truth. Tenten and Sakura glanced at each other before looking at the other two. They nodded back until Sakura sighed.
"Yes, we live here. But we have not heard of elements being controlled. How insane would that be?" She said confidently. She hoped to cover up their secret from the detectives and to keep her and her sisters safe. Neji nodded from the information being told while Naruto kept gawking at Hinata. Hinata could feel blood rushing to her brain while she sat down, praying that the princesses could help the idiots believe their story.
"Very well. If you can allow us, we will stay in these forests. Now please unbind us as we shall set up camp. And if you mind, we will visit you from time to time collecting data. Thank you," Shikamaru told them. All four girls gave a sigh of relief in their minds. Sakura came up and cut the rope that connected all four boys together. They sighed from their release, after sitting on the wooden floor in the house for hours.
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"Man that was a close one! That pinky girl is scary!" Naruto said as he tied up the tent he brought along. It was sunset, meaning all of them needed to get ready for more sleep. Sasuke nodded. He had already finished setting up his tent which was a dark colour to camouflage in the dim forest. Shikamaru had chosen a site where it was perfectly flat ground and was free of trees. Tenten had helped them choose the location, clicking her fingers as she went along. Neji had asked her why and she answered that it would scare all the animals away. (Of course, it would clear her path and etc but the idiots don't know that!)
Neji stroked the fire he had made. It wasn't that easy, seeing there wasn't enough dry shrubs to burn. They collected water from the river to cook their food and bath their bodies (Don't think gay). Naruto swore that when he went to get some, he saw a "really pretty girl" stepping on the water with her bare feet. But when he turned back, she disappeared. Neji and Sasuke scoffed, saying it was probably his imagination.
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Hinata bounded through the forest, clutching her clothes to her chest. She stopped on a tall oak tree and began slipping back the kimono onto her petite body. She never expected one of the Kuro Tsumi's to see her. She ran back to the hut as fast as she could. She shut the door in a hurry, startling Sakura who was trying to light the stove with a click of her fingers.
"Hinata, what's wrong?" Sakura asked worriedly, leaving the stove to tend to her panting friend. Tenten and Ino came along too, wondering what Hinata was in a hurry for.
"One of them saw me, but I think he wouldn't think it was one of us," Hinata attempted to catch her breath. Sakura, Ino and Tenten looked at each other dreading what might have to happen.
"Fine. From now on, never use your powers, only in situations and use around the home," Tenten concluded, whisking back to feed the horses. All the other three nodded and went back to their chores. Seems like these detectives have turned these girls' lives upside down.
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END
Thank you for reading