Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
The Hush of Mist Above Crimson
Chapter four
-CAPTURE-
Dusk came shortly after Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto arrived on the borders of the small island again, this time accompanied by Ishimaru. After some supper, consisting of rice and fish, they returned their boat to the small shop- Nikko and Nyoko hot on their tails.
The siblings stealth skills were amazing, the exact reason why Yukio assigned them to the task. It seemed suspiciously easy to the two, finishing Ishimaru off. He wasn't even a ninja. And even though Nikko and Nyoko had worked beside him numerous times, a mission is a mission and feelings had nothing to do with it. They grew up knowing that was what being shinobi was all about.
It was night and the fire blazed. It lit their regular place on the island, piercing the dark with it's hot glow. Bound tightly to a tree, Ishimaru glared at the three of them as they watched him from their place on a log thoughtfully.
"Is this really necessary?" He asked, annoyed. Tugging at the rope around his wrists.
"Of course it is!" Naruto barked. "We don't need you running away on us. Just look at you..." He pointed at him, "you have suspicion written all over you."
"But we still have the problem of food." Sasuke reminded them.
"Yeah..." Sakura said thinking it over. "We can't leave him alone."
Naruto looked straight to Sasuke."I don't see why Sasuke doesn't go get the fish by himself instead of just coming to boss me around while I get wet up to my elbows in ice cold water."
"That is out of the question Naruto." Sasuke stated, keeping his cool.
'What a pathetic bunch...' Ishimaru thought, slumping back into the tree.
Before Naruto could start up again Sakura shared her idea. "You and Naruto go get the food, I'll stay here and watch him."
Sasuke straightened. "But Sakura...what if he gets loose? There are most likely people after him if he was really involved in Azamaki-san's murder. How can you think they won't hurt you as well?"
"Because," she laughed even though inside she felt unsure. "I'll just come get you, I'll be fine."
"Are you sure Sakura?"Naruto asked, standing with Sasuke.
"I'm positive. We've trained together many times so I'm positive I can handle another ninja." She smiled assuringly, "Just hurry back."
After a moment of scrutinizing her, "Alright, come on Sasuke." Naruto called, grabbing onto the rough bark of a branch to flip himself higher into the tree tops. Sasuke hesitated.
Before following he turned to face Sakura, standing close so he could look down into her eyes. "If anything happens...call us, alright." He said quietly so Ishimaru couldn't hear.
"Hai." She answered, staring back at him candidly. They stayed like that for a moment, Sasuke reminding himself that she was only a chunnin. But she would call him. She said so herself.
Satisfied, he nodded, then turned and disappeared into the forest.
.x.x.x.x.
Sakura sat; her face was stern and composed, keeping watch and guarding Ishimaru. He fidgeted uneasily under her suspicious stare and tried to get as comfortable against the rigid tree bark as he possibly could. Eventually, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
She snapped out of her odd trance when she noticed the fire starting to dim. Sakura was running out of wood and needed to get more. Sasuke and Naruto would probably be back within then next fifteen minutes but it would most likely be completely burnt out by then...
She stood up and looked directly to Ishimaru.
"I know you're awake."
He twitched.
"We need more fire wood, I will be back shortly." Sakura still wasn't satisfied with his careless, unspoken response of utter silence. "Try anything and I won't hesitate to kill you."
He opened his eyes and looked at her to search for any trace of bluff-he thought she needed him. Finding none he grunted and tried to go back to sleep, clearly uncomfortable.
Sakura started her walk away from camp.
.x.x.x.x.
Meanwhile, Nikko and Nyoko were watching patiently from the darkness of the surrounding trees.
This was their chance.
They waited a couple more minutes until coming out of hiding. jumping from the shadow, they landed slyly in front of Ishimaru, their feet making no sound when coming in contact with the ground.
"Hello, Ishimaru." Nyoko purred sweetly , turning her rose lips up into a smile.
Ishimaru's eyes shot open and looked up excitedly to the source of the familiar voice.
"Thank-goodness!" He breathed, tugging at the ropes again with a new energy. "Did Yukio-sama finally change his mind? I knew he wouldn't really let the Leaf take me..."
Nyoko stepped back and Nikko took her place in front of him. Ishimaru looked at their expressions confusedly with an uneasy feeling in his gut. He knew those eyes.
"Guys...aren't you going to untie me?"
Now he violently tried to shake his hands free.
.x.x.x.x.
Sakura stopped. What was she doing? Sasuke said himself people could come afterIshimaru and what good would he be dead? The whole point of the mission was to bring him back safely to Konoha. She took wood she had and ran as fast as she could back to the campground. She sensed an unusual chakra as she approached and reflexively slowed her pace. She had felt the same sort of eerie feeling back in the room with the Mizukage and now was curious why she felt it here. Sakura soon found out when she could hear the Jounin talking amongst each other at her campsite. Immediately she took cover behind a nearby tree, masking her powerful chakra. She watched the fires dying flame start to darken familiar faces...where had she seen them? Bone straight red hair...those violet eyes...
Sakura stiffened. What were two of Mist's Jounin doing here? They must be after... She thought worriedly, contemplating whether or not to fight or run and get her teammates. She slowly took out a kunai from from the holster on her thigh and ran her fingers over the cool blade nervously.
"Sorry Ishimaru, Mizukage's orders." Nyoko mocked while her brother pressed a throwing knife to Ishimaru's neck and in a quick motion, slit the young man's throat. Nyoko let her thin fingers off his forehead and let the dyeing's head drop. Blood poured from the wound and his limp body hung forward, his eye lids sliding closed over terrified blue orbs.
She tensed and tried to think clearly through her fear- something she has always had a small problem with, ever since she was young. Sakura trembled slightly. She could fight but, with some effort, both of them would kill- or at the least- injure her to a dangerous extent. The young medic clenched her pale fists, remembering her words to Sasuke- she had to find them quickly.
The mission had failed.
Standing, she prepared to hop down but it was too late. One of them had already seen her. Sakura froze when she heard a cool voice wrap around her name.
"Haruno Sakura." Nyoko said bitterly, eying the forest around her.
How does she know my name... Sakura thought, on guard.
"I take it you don't remember me but it was excruciatingly hard for me to forget someone like you."
Sakura listened, scarcely breathing while Nyoko tried to pinpoint her exact position, violet eyes moving swiftly.
"Do you recall of your earlier chunnin days? When you worked as a medical nin until you finally found the nerve to start real missions? Or at least that is what I assumed you did, seeing you here with those Jounins."
Sakura's face hardened and she could feel cold sweat forming on the back of her neck. How does she know...
"That man you saved from almost a certain death...Uchiha Sasuke." She laughed but it was not a joyous one. It was laced with hate at recalling the memory as it washed, like her sweet voice did, over the heavy clearing. "Well guess what? Even though it was clearly none of your concern you just had to wander out to Konohas border and stick your weak little nose into it didn't you?"
Sakura felt a surge of anger flow through her. That was her? She did that to him? She started to remember that night so long ago...
Sasuke- bloodied and bruised, one arm broken and the other with such a hideous gash in it, it appeared just as immobile. He lay there on the muddy ground, staring into nothing with his blank eyes and unmoving expression- conscious but helpless in the pouring rain. He silently cursed his attackers before blacking out.
If she hadn't found him, he surely would have bled to death.
"Eight chunnin!" She continued, speaking loud so Sakura could hear. "The two of us that survived...You almost got me killed for ruining our assassination!" Nyoko took a fierce battle stance looking straight through the trees onto Sakura's angry face. The medics eyes widened and she readied herself for a fight.
Sakura front flipped off the branch and put her kunai defensively in front of herself after a graceful landing on the ground. Dust rose from around her feet, mingling with the nearly palpable tension in the chilled night air around them. Sakura's words wiped the cocky smile right from Nyoko's face.
"A real ninja would have finished the job, but now that I think of it, you seem stupid enough to take such chances." Sakura watched with a mix of pride and horror as her raspberry lips curved into a snarl.
"Who are you to tell an elite how to carry our her tasks?" She spat before coming at the young woman full speed. Dirt elevated with each step, reacting with the strong amount of chakra surrounding Nyoko's feet. Sakura had little time to react, for in seconds she was in front of her slashing a kunai towards the side of her neck.
The sound of metal against metal parroted through the still wood.
Sakura pushed the kunai away from her neck with her own weapon, slowly loosing confidence as it got closer and closer to her skin. Nyoko effortlessly added more force to her own hand, driving the blade nearer. The Haruno couldn't hold much longer. Her feet slid back in the earth, Nyoko's face a foot away from hers. After a while of struggling, they jumped back, skidding in the soil from the force.
"Stop it Nyoko, you can't kill her! Have you already forgotten our orders?" Nikko yelled to his sister who was busy intercepting her enemy's wild blows.
Agitated by her resistance, Nyoko tightened her grip on Sakura's right fist that she had caught from one of her punches. A sharp intake of breath- Sakura was being held into place. Before she could even think to counter, Nyoko's years of Jounin experience were instinctively put into play. She used her free hand to whip out a kunai and slash at the kunoichi's side. The girl pivoted but couldn't get far. The Jounin watched in pleasure as blood flew from Sakura's waist.
Sakura cried out in pain and in a second, Nyoko had her pulled in her direction to keep her from tumbling back. She spun the kunai twice around on her finger before throwing it into the ground.
As Sakura fell, Nyoko yelled furiously to her foolish brother; "He also said," Nyoko's hair covered her violet eyes for a moment and her face went calm and dark as she brought her free hand back. "no witnesses!" She lunged at the falling Sakura with a fist crackling with chakra and punched her in the stomach so violently she flew against a nearby tree, arching her back painfully upon impact.
She slid down the trunk and didn't move for a moment. Sakura stirred, then tried to steady herself on all fours, spitting up warm blood.
Nikko glanced at Sakura, trying not to panic. Anymore of this and the girl would die- then both of them would have to answer to Yukio. "But we still can't kill her!" He said, his green eyes flashing dangerously at his sister.
'Then what do you suggest we do with her?" Nyoko snapped.
"We take her back to Mist and let the Mizukage deal with her."
'Mist...' Sakura repeated to herself. She took the opportunity of the distraction to rip off her head band and leave it on the ground. She engraved something into the dirt with her finger while Nyoko relaxed slightly, pondering the idea. He had a good point.
"Fine, but she won't come without any trouble and her little friends will be returning soon." Nyoko turned her attention back on Sakura, her purple eyes narrowing.
The girl wiped her mouth drowsily, standing. "Uhn..." She felt a searing pain in her spine, blood oozed from the large gash in her side that held an almost unbearable sting. When she hit the tree, it had opened the wound even farther. She grabbed at her waist trying to put pressure on it to cease the bleeding. Dirt smeared her pale face and her vision blurred. She shook her head to clear it, spitting out the metallic taste of fresh blood.
This time both Jounin came at her and she braced herself for the hit.
Darkness engulfed her vision.
Naruto looked horrified at the lack of Sakura and the trail of blood on the ground that dragged along for just under three meters before disappearing near the trunk of a tree. "Oh no..." Naruto whispered. "Sakura!", he called into the darkness, not thinking or caring that she was most likely dead or gone. "Sakura! Sa-ku-ra!", he yelled desperately.
Sasuke pushed back his fear and refused to believe Sakura was dead. From examining where Ishimaru once sat he could tell whatever wound he received it was fresh and couldn't have happened more than 15-20 minutes ago. He ran his eyes over the rope that lay roughly cut and bloodstained around the tree. 'Sakura couldn't have done this...then where is she...' Marks in the ground told the tale of a body being dragged a bit before lifted off the ground. He looked a bit to the side of him and noticed deep imprints in the soil, the earths way of deflecting chakra. 'There was a fight here.' He stated, thousands of possibilities flowing through his mind.
"Damnit..." He muttered. Sasuke turned to face Naruto when he noticed he had stopped calling her name. "Sasuke...I think you should see this." Naruto kept his eyes glued to something on the forest floor. Sasuke hurried over and his gaze narrowed painfully at the black chunnin headband sprawled on the ground. Small drops of blood surrounded the Konoha leaf and underneath in capital letters MIST was engraved into the dirt. The letters were messy, carved by trembling fingers into the soil.
"She's in Mist." He whispered it like a question into the night, as if the trees would tell him what they witnessed. 'Why didn't she call for us...' he thought, with a mix of anger and hurt. Had it really been that bad?
Before he could ponder it much further he snapped out of it. They needed to take immediate action.
"Naruto," The boy looked up with troubled eyes. "I need you to go back to Konoha and inform master Kakashi that Ishimaru is most likely dead and the mission has failed. Bring more experienced Jounin from Konoha. This is beyond our capabilities now.
Naruto stood and nodded after letting it all sink in.
"I will go after Sakura." He decided.
"Are you sure you want to go alone?" Naruto questioned.
"Considering the circumstances, we don't have a choice right now. To be safe, let's meet in Sun at dawn, it's one of the lower islands." Sasuke said, tired of wasting time. They lost distance every second.
"Right." Naruto said, with cloudy blue eyes.
Sasuke noticed his discomfort. "Naruto, I will bring her back." , he hesitated, " I promise." He assured him.
That meant a lot coming from Sasuke so Naruto forced a smile. After a rushed good-bye, they both ran their separate ways. After tossing their things in, Sasuke took their boat by the shore and paddled hastily towards Mist while Naruto passed through the main village, in search of a fast way back to Konohagakure. Naruto prayed for the coming dawn.
.x.x.x.x.
He banged his fist impatiently against Kakashi's door. No answer. He knocked again, and out of breath he tried to yell. "Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto rose his hand to knock again when the door swung open. Kakashi caught his balled fist fist before it hit him.
"Naruto?"
The boy was exasperated. He had been in such a hurry to get there his strength was almost completely drained from him. Even going as quick as he was, over three hours had already passed. He willed himself to stand and recuperate for a moment. "You need...to come quick." he panted.
"Naruto, do you know what time it is? Where are the others?" He looked around behind him.
"Sakura...she's gone!" Kakashi stopped. Sakura was in trouble?
"Where is Sasuke?" He urged, "Is he safe?"
"He's gone after her, we need to go now!" He tugged at Kakashi's sleeve. He had been watching television before the interruption.
"What happened to Ishimaru?"
Naruto paused, not really sure himself. He had good enough reason to believe he's dead. "He seems dead, there was blood on the rope and a kunai in the ground and guess what? The same people probably took Sakura, come on!"
"Let me get my things, you go tell Tsunade-sama you're bringing me with you."
Naruto released him. "O.k. We have until dawn to meet in the sun village!" He yelled behind him, already running to find Tsunade.
'Damnit...' kashi inwardly cursed. 'we don't have much time.'
Sakura's eyes slowly opened to darkness. She quickly recalled what had happened in the forest and tried to sit up. She winced as pain shot through her body. It throbbed mercilessly and made her pause and catch her breath for a moment.
First thing she noticed was her hands were tied, not with ordinary rope either. She tried to pull them loose but it burned at her wrists. She stifled a cry that threatened to escape her pale lips. Next thing, she felt the rough fabric of a blindfold against her face, closing off her vision. She focused on sound. There was no other sensed presence in the room. Slowly, she hoisted herself into a sitting position with her bound hands and feet being mindful of her wound. Even the small movement made the strings imprint marks on her ankles. She shut her eyes tight as if she was picturing the burning sensation. She had too escape.
A part of her longed for her team mates to come and save her while the other half wanted to tell them to stay away- it could be a trap to lure them here. She cursed herself for jeopardizing the safety of the ones she cared about. Sakura repressed the dull ache in her head and the tingle of the cold air hitting the open cut in her side. It chilled her even further.
That area of her shirt was soaked in her own blood and if it kept up it's profuse flow, she shuddered, she would bleed to death.
The soft noise of candles flickering made its way into her ears. Wait. If she strained her ears- and took the low pounding from her head and the soreness of her beaten body-she could pick up voices. Low voices, coming from behind a thin wall. 'I must be in some sort of storage room or closet...' She inched her way towards the sound until she felt the wall. The voices were more clear now. Moving her tied hands up she roughly dragged down her blindfold with the back of her wrists.
Looking around quickly, she noticed she was up against a door, most likely locked. She was correct as well. Sakura was locked up and bound in some small closet-like room. She shut her eyes again tight trying to blink her vision straight. As tears pricked the corner's of her emerald green orbs, she reminded herself this was no time to panic. A good shinobi was a master escape artist...but it seemed impossible in her condition.
"Urhh." She leaned against the door, pressing her lips together in forced concentration. She had let herself been taken, been kidnapped. A prisoner! Sakura never in a million years had ever thought she would be foolish enough to be taken captive by an enemy, but...she shouldn't be so hard on herself. Two Jounin coming with one intent on a lower rank ninja couldn't have turned out any better. If they didn't need her, they would kill her. After one last glance behind her at her unfamiliar surroundings she channeled her last bit of energy on listening.
.x.x.x.x.
Tabenomaru stood idly behind the government of Kiri no kuni, cloaked in a jutsu of disguise. Blond hair flowed down over her shoulders, tickling her back when she shook her head. "No, they were not followed in here." She tried to keep the same stern tone of the woman she was impersonating- the actual Jounin who took this exact place behind the Mizukage. She was a cold woman and refused to cooperate with her. That was quickly taken care of. Tabenomaru never really thought of herself as a spy but more of an 'information gatherer', Just another duty of the ninja. She was an important asset to Sand.
Nikko and Nyoko waited expectantly in front of their master. It had been almost an hour since they had arrived.
"So...what do we do with her?" Nikko questioned Yukio.
"Can we kill her?" Nyoko asked, glancing hungrily over to the door of the storage room.
Yukio was silent. "Did anyone other than the girl see?" He looked at the twins with a dangerously penetrating gaze. Tabenomaru hoped he wouldn't turn to Akina.
"No my lord." They responded.
"With all due respect master, she will be waking up soon and..." Nikko trailed off, his green eyes looking to his left.
"I am aware of that." Yukio said frustrated. "Akina," He ordered. Tabenomaru straightened in recognition of the name. "go take care of the girl with one of your assassination techniques, then find somewhere to dispose of the body. Do this quickly, there are probably people searching for her already."
'Hah!' Nyoko thought. 'Who would want to save her? She passed out before I even touched her!'
Tabenomaru hesitated. She didn't want to harm any one from the Leaf but she would be foolish to disobey orders. Not after getting this far.
"Demo, I wanted to do it! Please Yukio-sama, let me kill her, I wont make a mess."
"No Nyoko." He silenced her calmly. "We need this done silently, and quickly without disturbing anyone else in the building with the blood curdling screams of a pretty little girl who just happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time. If I let you go, when she saw you she would scream but with Akina, she can calm her down so the death will be more hushed." His lips curved upward in some form of a smile. "That should be easy for you to earn her trust, right Akina? You are a master of deceit."
She froze. It was hard to tell if he was hinting at her fraud or earnestly praising Akina's skills. "Yes master." She answered, bowing so her eyes didn't give her away. She kept composed.
"Good, now go."
She could feel their eyes boring into her back -Nyoko's, burning with jealousy- as she strode to the back of the room and unlocked the door. She cautiously pulled it open.
Sakura fell back in surprise and screamed in fear when she tried to approach her. She squirmed uncontrollably and violently shook her head.
"Shh..." Tabenomaru soothed, closing the door behind her.
'Click'
To be continued...
Sorry that took so long, I've been quite busy, haha. Is the spelling too bad? Thank-you for reading, please review. I need encouragement! I write for fun so flames will be ignored...BUT...
Hmm. where are all of the reviews? haha. If no one is reading the story than I'm not going to bother to finish it :(
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