Chapter Two: A Cold Horizon

A.N. – Characters may be OOC to fit the plot of the story, but their general attitudes will remain as similar to canon as I can possibly muster. Thanks for reading.

My body was limp over my captor's shoulder; I learned his name was Kisame, and his partner was Itachi, Sasuke's older brother. I did not care though. In fact, I wished for their deaths. I wished for my own death, too. I finally had comprehended what happened last night… and I felt no will to go on. I felt so many different emotions, I thought so much I thought my head would explode, and I just wanted all of these emotions and thoughts to be quieted. I listened to the footsteps of my captors, and their light breathing until I fell asleep.

My eyes fluttered open, but it was so dark I couldn't see. I was propped up against something, and nobody was around. Maybe it was all a dream? I felt the ground—it was dirt, "So, it wasn't a dream, huh…" I leaned back against the tree. I felt empty… I felt nothing. The moon reflected off of something, a piece of metal most likely. I lethargically lifted myself up; it felt strange walking. I wobbled over to whatever reflected the moonlight, and I crouched down. I grabbed the base of the item, and lifted it to the sky. I shrieked, and dropped it. It closely resembled the dagger that killed my father. I began to tremble uncontrollably, but I steadied my hands and grabbed the hilt. I slowly lifted the dagger up, but I was afraid. I breathed out slowly, and forced the dagger towards my chest, but a hand grasped my wrist.

"Sorry Princess," a gentle voice muttered. "But I cannot allow you to do that."

"W-why not," I demanded as I began to cry. It was Itachi, the least scary of my captors. "I just want this pain and misery to stop!"

Itachi removed the dagger from my hands, "I'm sorry, Princess. I thought you were sleeping… I did not desire you to witness King Kazashi's death, and neither did Kisame."

I snickered at Itachi's words, "You didn't want me to witness Father's death? Neither did Kisame? That's laughable. There is no need to lie to me. You probably want me dead, huh? All of the members of your rebellion probably wish it! So, why don't you? Why won't you?! I… I don't understand."

Itachi exhaled deeply, "All members of the Akatsuki wish for different things, Princess—and it is true, some of the members do wish for your death, but Kisame and I do not. Most of the members just desire change. The government King Kazashi developed was…" Itachi paused. "You probably won't believe me if I told you. We'll take a detour through a village on the way to our Boss. Then you will understand. We have a long journey ahead of us, and Kisame cannot carry you all of the way. Please get some more rest."

Itachi handed me a blanket, but I had no idea what to say. I thought the citizens of the Kingdom were happy. I cleared my throat, "T-thank you, I guess…"

"You don't need to force yourself, Princess," Itachi leaned against the tree next to me. "I understand your animosity and your contempt towards us. Despite that, I will care for you and protect you until we can persuade you to help us—"

"Itachi, I found the edible plants you asked for, and I also caught some fish for breakfast tomorrow," Kisame triumphantly held up the fish as the continuously flopped around. "Ah, the little missy is awake finally. How'd you sleep? Did you have any nightmares?" I glared at Kisame, trying to act annoyed rather than miserable. "Sorry, sorry, I probably shouldn't joke around about stuff like that."

"Goodnight," I hissed, and rolled over on the other side of my body away from Itachi and Kisame. Tears began to roll down my cheeks as I thought about Father. I wondered what Itachi meant when he was talking about the government my father developed? I'm sure they were just overreacting. My father was a caring and compassionate leader, and he took great care of Konoha. I closed my eyes tightly, and I calmed my restless mind.

I felt someone shaking my body, but I pushed their hand away. The shaking continued, and I got irritated, "Please stop, I am trying to sleep!"

Kisame stared at me as I huffed and puffed, "Even the little missy has a temper, huh?"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Calling you what?"

"'Little missy,' you shall address me as 'Princess,' and that is an order!"

"No," Kisame stated matter-of-factly.

"No?" I furrowed my brows at Kisame. Nobody had ever told me "no" before.

"Yes," Kisame simply stated.

I felt my eye twitch, "Which one is it?"

"I think I'll call you whatever I want," Kisame revealed his sharp teeth. "Besides, I don't think you're a princess anymore. Nobody even knows if you're dead or alive."

"Will you two stop fooling around? Your breakfast will get cold if you don't hurry up and eat it," Itachi sighed, and handed me a bowl. "Here, this one is yours, Princess. Eat it while it's hot."

"Thank you very mu…" I stared at the contents in the bowl. "What is this?"

Kisame slurped the "food" loudly, "It's fish stew… probably."

"Probably?!" I nearly threw up at the smell of the "fish stew."

"You should eat it," Itachi handed me a cloak. "You'll never survive if you're starving. Put that cloak on."

I reluctantly put the bowl to my lips, and slowly drank it, "Wow… it is not as disgusting as I imagined it would be!" I scarfed down the stew. I was a lot hungrier than I thought I was. Afterwards, I wrapped the cloak around my body, and pulled the hood over my head.

"Are you ready?" Itachi and Kisame asked me simultaneously. I nodded my head. I followed behind Itachi and Kisame, and kept my eyes on the distant horizon.

Kisame and Itachi were silent most of the trip, but Itachi would occasionally stop and unearthed plants. He told me that some were medicinal and some were poisonous, but he didn't know how to use the different plants. Learning about the different plants and their uses was utterly fascinating, and I wanted to learn more. Itachi told me of an old herbalist in the village they were heading to that might be willing to teach me.

We overlooked our destination. It was a small village, but it didn't seem that out of the ordinary. It just looked like a small village to me, "Well, what are we waiting for? I want to meet the herbalist!"

Kisame lifted me up, and put me back on his shoulder, "Let's get going then, Itachi." The two of them slid down the steep cliff, and it was terrifying! I held tightly onto Kisame until they got to the bottom.

"We'll be there in about 30 minutes," Itachi informed us as Kisame put me down.

"Wha—" I stomped my foot. "I'm tired of walking! My feet hurt terribly."

"Suck it up little missy," Kisame teased. "I'm sure the herbalist has something for your poor, achy feet."

I scowled as I watched Kisame and Itachi stroll towards the village, but I needed to learn what Itachi was talking about, and prove him wrong. I lifted up my nightgown and jogged towards Kisame and Itachi, "H-hey, wait up!"

Itachi and Kisame stopped me when we were near the entrance of the village; they had somber looks on their faces, "What's the matter?"

"Be careful, Princess," Itachi averted his gaze from mine.

"And don't touch anyone," Kisame added as he motioned me to follow him. I studied the area—most of the houses and shops were boarded up, and there was practically nobody outside.

"Where is everyone?" I asked as I surveyed the area. I watched as an old man fell over, and I ran over to help him. "Are you okay?" I went to help him up, but I remember Kisame's words.

The old man wheezed, "Okay? How could we possibly be okay?! This village, and many others, is disease-ridden. We're dirt poor, and starving… there's a huge famine, and water is scarce. King Kazashi has forsaken us," the old man laughed for a moment. "He never cared about us in the first place, but I heard that poor bastard was murdered. I thank the Gods, and I pray that the new king… Sasuke Uchiha, was it? I pray that he fixes this shitty government. Then I could die in peace."

"Stay away from that man! He is untreated!" an older woman's voice shouted. I backed away quickly. I stared at the woman—she was quite beautiful. Her blonde hair was tied into two pigtails. Her calculating brown eyes turned to me, "Who are you?"

"Me? Um, I—"

"She's with us," Itachi answered for me.

"Oh, I see," the woman turned to me. "I'm Tsunade, I'd love to chat with you about how you met Itachi, but I don't have time for that."

"I brought the medicinal herbs you asked for," Itachi held out the bag of herbs, and Tsunade snatched it from him.

"Just in time, too," Tsunade sighed in relief. "I was afraid the villagers wouldn't make it, but this is a miracle!"

"Itachi…" the old man began coughing violently. When he pulled his hand away, I saw blood that he tried to hide from Tsunade and Itachi. "I really appreciate you, ya'know? All of us here do."

"Stop with the chitchat, I need to bring you to my office," Tsunade effortlessly plucked the old man off the ground. "I'll see you two around later."

After Tsunade and the old man disappeared from sight, Itachi turned to me, "He isn't going to make it. It was too late for him."

I thought about that old man, and what he said about my father, "Why?"

"He's in the final stages of that particular disease," Itachi turned back to where Tsunade and the old man disappeared to. "Tsunade goes around from village to village treating all kinds of different diseases. She brings food and water, too. She's been to a couple villages where everyone was dead. This is mostly why the Akatsuki formed. This is what we wanted to change."

I watched as Itachi walked away, and I felt so ignorant. There were more villages like this one? There were villagers that were worse than this one? I felt the back of my throat burning as I threw up. I felt extremely lucky—living such a luxurious life without a care. I thought about all the food, water, and clothes that I threw away or wasted, and how all of the citizens of Konoha could've used them. My hands turned into fists, and I could feel my nails digging into my skin. Did my father really cause such despair to this country? I don't think he did, not on purpose, at least. Was our country poor? Were we in a crisis that I was unaware of? I wanted to help my people, but I was only one weak, helpless girl. How could I help my people if I couldn't even help myself?! I bawled my eyes out again. I hated it, I wanted to stop, but I hated this! I hated this situation, I hated the people I was with, but mostly, I hated myself. I wanted, no, I needed to get stronger. I needed to improve myself, I needed to become someone my people needed—someone who could help my people.

"Are you crying again, little missy?" Kisame joked, but when I turned to look at him, he stopped, and grinned. "I like that look, little missy."

"Kisame, I order you to take me to Tsunade," I wanted to help the people of this village first. I'll start small. If I can't save this one village, how can I save an entire country?

"Heh, your wish is my command… Princess," Kisame smirked at me as he led me to Tsunade's office.

When Kisame and I walked into Tsunade's "office," I nearly puked. It reeked of death, and smelled a million times worse than the fish stew, but the sight was worse. Dead people and people on the verge of dying littered the floor. Tsunade and Itachi were at their sides—feeding them, giving them water, changing them. I ran over to one woman who was groaning, and I held her up gently, "What do you need, ma'am?"

"W-water," the woman gasped. I spotted a small pitcher of water next to her bed along with a small cup. I filled the cup with water, and slowly brought it to her lips and poured the liquid in her mouth. She gasped with relief, and smiled at me, "Thank you… thank you so much…"

I wiped the tears from her cheeks, "No, thank you… what's your name?"

"Kushina," the woman blubbered through tears.

"Kushina? That's a beautiful name," I watched as a small smile formed on the woman's face. "Has anything… bad… happened to you, Kohana?" I knew I shouldn't pry, and I might be bringing back terrible memories, but I needed to find out more about the current state of Konoha.

"M-my son," the woman began to sob louder. "T-they took my son away from me, w-when he was just a boy! I had p-promised myself I wouldn't die until I saw him again, b-but my condition is only growing worse. I-I'm afraid I won't be reunited with my son; I've never felt a greater despair. I-I wanted to be here for him, just in case he came back, but—"

I put my forehead to hers, "What is your son's name?"

"N-Naruto… Naruto Uzumaki," Kushina smiled. "He was a big ball of happiness. His hair is b-blonde, and his eyes are blue… H-he looks so much like his father."

"Okay, if I see him, I will surely tell him."

"P-please… take care of my son…"

"I will, Kushina. I promise."

I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder, "Good job."

I turned around, "Tsunade… I have a request."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "Oh? What is it?"

"Please," I placed Kushina's head back on her pillow, and bowed to Tsunade. "Please teach me herbalism! I'm begging you!"

A.N. - I'm really loving this story, and I hope you are, too! I'm going to honest, I'm so salty about the ending of Naruto. So salty. So bitter. I hope Sakura's development is good, and believable. I don't want to give her too much development in so little time or make it unbelievable... I'm also sorry if that character's are a little OOC. Well, I'll either update tomorrow or next weekend. Look forwardto it! Please review, it makes me so extremely happy. QvQ