Chapter Three: Prisoners.
The last cell to the right, at the end of the gloomy corridor, seemed empty, compared to the over cramped state of the others. Doing a double take, the green-eyed kunoichi noticed two small children, huddled together, at the back of the cell. She promptly stopped, and Kakashi would have walked right into the back of her, if he wasn't such the skilled jounin he was.
Sakura walked the small distance, until she was stood directly in front of the cell, hands on the jail like bars. On closer inspection, she could tell that they were girls. The smallest of the two looked to be about three years of age, and was dressed in, what looked like it used to be, a pretty pink dress. It was now soiled with mucky dirt and grime, and covered in rips. The blossom-haired young woman's eyes then travelled towards the older girl, who had her arms wrapped around the toddler protectively. Her sky blue clothing was too, soiled and ripped. A tear streamed down Sakura's, now pale cheek, of its own accord. The poor child only looked to be about seven or eight years old; but the fierce way, in which her eyes locked with Sakura's, made her look way beyond her years.. World-weary.
"How could you.." the pinkette whispered, as she rounded on a very unsuspecting Kabuto.
"Now, Now." He started, waving his hands around in front of himself, "Don't get upset, Sakura-chan. Their Orochimaru-sama's most valued little pets. Straight from sky country, they are, apparently from the Arai clan. A few more tests and we'll know just what their precious little kekkei-genkai is."
The pink-haired kunoichi didn't quite know how it happened, but she heard the gruesome snap of the medics jaw, as her fist connected with it. "You sick fuck." she screeched at him, temper flaring. For someone who hardly knew a thing about her, he certainly knew how to push her buttons. Naruto had stopped her before, but this time it appeared he was too slow.
She watched on, face scrunched up, thoroughly ticked, as the silver-haired medic soothed his aching jaw, with his medical-ninjutsu.
"I apologize for my students rash behaviour, Kabuto-san. I would have stopped her myself, but it was a highly unexpected outcome." Kakashi polietly taunted.
"Sakura-chan," Naruto gasped. Collecting himself, he whined, "I should have got the first punch; but I'll let you off, it was better.. No, much more satisfying, to watch."
"I agree with dickless." Sai said with a sneer, his face deceptively blank; though it was probably because he didn't know how to arrange his expression, rather than trying to hide it.
The pink-haired kunoichi grinned at that comment. The dark-haired shinobi was truly clueless, it seemed.
"I'll show you who's dickless!!" Naruto roared.
But no one answered; as the tiny three-year-old -who was no taller than two foot- peered at them through her friends protective embrace, and said in a timid voice, "What's dickless mean?" She stood then, her gaze questioning.
Green eyes widened a fraction as it registered to her, what the little girl had asked. How exactly was she supposed to answer to that? It means when a boy has no bits. No, because then it could raise the question, what's bits? Or if she understood, she might enquire, why doesn't he have bits? And that would be slightly awkward. Of all the stupid things she had to be thinking of in a situation like this, this one had to be by far the worst.
The sound of something banging off of the metal bars, brought her out of her pointless reveries. She was startled to say the least, but instantly became annoyed; when Kabuto opened his dark trap.
"Shut it, now. Before I get Karin back in here!" he shouted, and there was no way of mistaking the malice underlying his tone, with something else.
She didn't know who the hell this Karin was, but she did know that she didn't like the sound of that threat. Especially when she heard the small child start to whimper, tears building up in her eyes as she backed away, to hide behind her friend; who glared at the silver-haired medic defiantly, as if daring him.
Crack!
The sly, malicious medic got another one; a well deserved one at that, Sakura thought smugly to herself. She could see the purple bruising, starting to appear just above his cheek bone; but that wasn't enough for her liking. And as she went to swing at him again, Kakashi caught her wrist; and she silently cursed herself for teaching him the correct way in which to counter her brutal attacks.
"Mou ii, Sakura." his voice was stern, but she heard the slight hesitation in it, and she knew he didn't really want to stop her attack.
"But.. Sensei.." she started to protest, hoping that she could sway him.
"I understand Sakura. And I can honestly say, I disagree with the way things go on around here, as much as you do. But it isn't our place to say.." Leaning in, so he could whisper in her ear, he finished, "..or do anything, yet."
"So desuka.." she spoke slowly and quietly, as everything clicked into place. Her silver-haired sensei had no intention of leaving two poor, defenceless girls, not to mention with kekkei-genkai, in the hands of the enemy. He was probably formulating a plan, in that analytical brain of his, this very second. With the small comfort of knowing this, Sakura visibly relaxed; though she'd be stupid to completely let her guard down, in enemy territory.
As she had a staring contest with Orochimaru's medic, she heard the almost, inaudible whispers, of the two girls.
"But look, she has pink hair."
"And green eyes. Maybe it is her." She didn't sound very sure though.
"It is, it is!!" The excited voice of the three-year-old left her mind in disarray.
Pink hair, green eyes; it was obvious that they were talking about her, but she had no idea why. Did they know her from somewhere, or were they thinking of someone else? Surely they didn't know her; but who else did she know with green eyes and pink hair? ..No one came to mind. Though it really was impossible for them to be thinking about her, after all, Kabuto had said so himself, they were from Sky, the Arai clan.
As the wheels in her mind started to turn, she thought of her Otousan, the Otousan she had not seen since she was a little girl. She remembered the stories, her Okaasan had told her about him. He was born and lived in sky country; the head of the Arai clan. Sakura's Okaasan always spoke highly of her father, leaving it to be her decision if she liked him or not; her mother had always told her that it was her father, and if she wanted to know him, that it was up to her.
Sakura's Okaasan was betrothed to the head of the Arai clan, for alliance purposes, between Konoha and Sora. But after they split up, she moved to her Okaasan's village, Konoha. And there they continued to live happily, among the Haruno clan.
The memories of her parents divorce always upset her, but made her angry at the same time. They split up when Sakura was only four years old; and it was because her Otousan thought her a disappointment. The pink-haired kunoichi had developed no signs of being a carrier to her clans kekkei-genkai, and being the future heiress, it was not acceptable.
- - -
"Sakura is, and forever, will be weak!" Sakura heard her father shout at her mother, from her hidden position on the stairs.
A loud clutter of the dishes made her jump out her skin, she assumed her mother had dropped something in the sink, since she was washing up. It wasn't long before she heard her mothers loud voice, boom throughout the house, "Don't you ever.. talk about my daughter.. like that again!"
"Don't you raise that tone with me!" his voice was clipped.
"Well explain to me, why my daughter isn't good enough." she said a little quieter, the hurt seeping into her voice.
"She does not carry my clans Kekkei-genkai, Akane." he said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. His tone was disgusted; causing tears to streak down Sakura's baby face. "Its unacceptable. She's the future heiress, for goodness sakes; what clan would want to be lead by someone who is weak enough, to not carry their own bloodline ability? Its preposterous!"
"I'll tell you what's preposterous, Daisuke!" she exclaimed, tone fully raised, "Is you not appreciating what you have. Sakura may not have your stupid kekkei-genkai, but she's already in her second year of academy, when she shouldn't have even started yet! Are you forgetting that she's only four years old!"
"Akane, urasai." he whispered through clenched teeth.
"No." she shot back defiantly. "I wont shut up until you learn to appreciate your daughter. She trains hard everyday, in order to gain your approval. But you don't give it her; why cant you give it her Daisuke?"
All of a sudden, the house went deadly silent. All the small child could hear, was the slap playing over and over in her head; as she rushed to her mothers aid.
- - -
The slight pulling on her leg brought the kunoichi out of her long forgotten memories. She was about to snap as well, but as she looked down into the bright brown eyes of the child tugging at her leg, her gaze softened considerably. The three year old was adorable, with her sweet chocolate eyes, and dirty blonde hair.
"Hime-sama, it is you, isn't it?"
At first Sakura was going to deny the obvious. Only Kakashi knew of her past, and as far as the rest were concerned, she was just an ordinary kunoichi of Konohagakure; and she would have liked it to stay that way too.
"Hime-sama.." the older child repeated.
"Hime-sama.." her blonde team-mate echoed, bemused. "Eh.. What are they talking about, Sakura-chan?"
"Hai.. Its me," she admitted begrudgingly. Then turning to her comrades, who were all eying her strangely (AN: for lack of better word.) -except for the silver-haired jounin of course- she said, "I'll explain it all later, okay?"
"The precious heiress has been under our nose all this time, I cant believe it, Orochimaru-sama will be most thrilled." Kabuto sniggered; he then made his way closer to her, cupping her cheek in his hand; his inky eyes roved over her, examining her with a glint of interest in his eyes.
"Get the fuck away from me!" Sakura hissed through clenched teeth, she had had just about enough of his snide comments to last her a lifetime. And how dare he feel he had the right to touch her.
She heard the children's quiet gasps, but her eyes never left Kabuto. The pink-haired kunoichi wasn't quite sure if they gasped at her language, or the fact that they realised the predicament she was now in, but either way she really didn't care. They were as close as ever to getting their team-mate back, and she couldn't afford to get distracted now; she would deal with the situation when the time came, but right now she needed to focus on Sasuke.
".. I have a feeling you'd make a better vessel then our dear Sasuke-kun, what a shame.. its too late.." was all he replied, as his hand slipped away from her face.
"You better leave our Sakura-chan out of this, or you'll have me to deal with." Her blonde team-mate whispered threateningly; clearly ready for more than a verbal match.
The pink-haired medic watched as he turned on his heel and started making his way over to the metal door, around the corner, signalling it was time to leave. But she didn't move an inch; Kabuto's last comment playing over and over again in her mind. Just what did he mean by.. Too late? The way he talked in riddles always managed to frustrate her to no end.
Looking around to see if any of the others were thinking the same thing as her; she noticed the more than blank look on Sai's face, Yamato looked pale, Kakashi looked furious, and Naruto being the blonde that he was, didn't seem to have caught on. It was probably better that way, because if he was anywhere near as worried as she and the others right now, it would be a disaster. Nothing was more challenging than keeping an emotional Naruto at bay; and if the Kyuubi came out, there was no telling what might happen.
And besides, the treacherous medic could simply be pulling their legs; it was possible that he could be using their emotions as a means of distraction, so they would be less formidable if they were to do battle-- but little did he know, team seven were one of the most formidable teams in Konoha, and when they were emotional.. they were ameliorate.
A smirk crossed Sakura's lips then, and it appeared their team leader was on the same wavelength, as a defiantly similar smirk crossed his lips also, the only tell tale signs were the creasing of his mask at the corners of his lips.
"Is your name Sakura-chan?" the three-year-old asked.
A small giggle escaped Naruto's lips, as the children shot him an odd look.
"Iie, its Sakura. You add chan to the end of a persons name, if they are close to you." She explained.
"Close to you?" the older one repeated unsurely.
"Yeah, like friends." Sai answered, wearing a proud smile.
"So like me and Sukai?" the blonde girl asked, pointing at her friend, who had blue hair.
"Are you friends?" Naruto asked them.
"Hai, hai. She's my bestest friend in the world." The brown-eyed girl answered.
"Well then you can call her Sukai-chan, like I call Sakura, Sakura-chan."
"Really.." she sounded amazed.
Gazing at Naruto curiously, Sukai asked, "Can I call Aiko, Aiko-chan?"
"No." came Kabuto's cruel voice from down the corridor.
"Yes, yes you can Sukai-chan. Don't listen to him."
"I leave you alone for five minutes, and your already attached." he stated mockingly.
"Soo.." the blonde didn't deny it. "What's it to you?"
Sakura tuned out of their verbal match when the one named Aiko, if she remembered correctly, questioned, "Hime-sama, are you a medic?"
Not really sure why she was asking, Sakura looked at her confusedly, as she replied quietly, "Hai.."
The one named Sukai's brown eyes took on a gleam that she couldn't discern, "..can you take a look at this for her?" she then inquired.
Sakura noticed Kakashi, who had been listening, look away out of modesty and respect, as the child lifted up Aiko's dress.
It didn't take long before her keen medical eye caught a long slash down the little ones back, she gasped softly, as he emerald eyes widened in shock. She knew the poor children were being experimented on, but she had no idea they got left in a bloody mess.
"Can you fix it?" Aiko asked delicately, as she turned back around. "It hurts."
As the pink-haired medic lifted her gaze, she could see the frightened look behind the child's brown eyes. Were they really trying to find out her clans Kekkei-genkai by slashing up children. Kabuto disgusted her, it was a medics job to heal patients, not hurt them.
"Is everything alright, Sakura." she heard her silver-haired sensei inquire calmly.
"Hai, I just need to heal this."
"Try to do it quickly, it would not do us any favours if Kabuto clocked on."
"I'll use the technique that you taught me Sensei."
He crinkled his eye, and then turned away so she could begin. Naruto was still going at it with Kabuto, whilst Sai and Yamato seemed to be watching, amusedly, as the argument progressed.
Turning her attention back to the children, she softly ordered, "Aiko-chan can you come over here, and turn around for me. Sukai-chan, could you lift up her dress so I can access the damage."
Even though it was them that had asked, she could see the slight hesitation in their steps. "Don't worry, I wont hurt you." she assured them.
Sukai watched unsure, as Sakura's prepared herself. Her recent lessons with Kakashi had been showing her how to cast a jutsu masking the chakra -though it was mainly genjutsu- but she hadn't been able to apply this to her medic chakra yet. There was a fifty-fifty chance; it was gonna work, or it wasn't. She would just have to take the risk.
"Why didn't they heal you when they were done?" Sakura ventured.
It was Aiko who answered. "Karin-san said that if I died because it didn't heal, then I was too weak to stay here with Orochimaru-sama."
Her hands started to glow a soft green, now with the chakra masked, she inched forwards and placed her hands above Aiko's little back; moving them around when necessary.
She didn't reply to the child's answer, because for one she didn't know what to say to that, and two, she was disgusted and angry. From everything she had already heard about this Karin, she deduced that she must be a real bitch. And she was a woman no less. She just coudn't understand how a woman could injure two innocent little girls; whether she was a mother herself, or not. It was just damn right wrong. She didn't know if this Karin was loyal to Orochimaru or not, but what Sakura did know was that even if she was, she still should have told Orochimaru to stick it.
It was a nasty wound; deep and slightly infected. She had no idea how the child smiled through the pain, she was kind of like Naruto in a way, she mused; albeit a different kind of pain, but pain noone-the-less. If you didn't know of Naruto's past, you would never know the trauma he went through as a child; likewise, if Aiko never made her wound known, Sakura had to admit that she never would have known about it.
Realizing that she had to preserve her chakra in-case things went wrong, and she needed to fight, or heal her comrades, she couldn't smooth away the long, jagged scar. Apologizing profusely to the child in her head, the pink-haired medic stood.
"Sugoi. Sugoi." Sakura heard the blue-haired girl say in amazement, as she nodded to her team-leader.
"Arigatou-gozaimasu, Hime-sama." Aiko thanked her over polietly.
Placing her finger on her lips, Sakura turned to the two children and winked, silencing them. It would not do if Kabuto had found out she healed one of his test subjects.
Kakashi directed a discrete eye crinkle at the girls, before giving Sakura a pointed look. It was time to go, and she couldn't agree more. Not able to say goodbye, she took one last look at Aiko and Sukai, before she said in pure determination, "Lets go. He's waiting."