-huddles in a corner and cries-
I knew my first chapter was very weak. huhu... but on the brighter side of things! I'll try to make it more interesting... hopefully that would draw more people in. (Or was it because these chapters are so short?)
To whoever recognizes the talisman-idea will receive a cookie! HAHAHA.
Disclaimer : I own nothing! 'cept for the plot bunny.
Chapter 2
Gentle plucking of shamisen and slow beats of drum echoed throughout the open courtyard as a red-headed oiran sat in the middle of the stage, surrounded by drunk patrons and giddy geishas. Her equally red eyes watching her audiences, with a false sense of amiability on her face.
Their music beat started to pick up the pace of its climax as the red-haired shamisen player looked to the side and her red eyes met with cold onyx eyes. The oiran smiled sultrily to Sasuke as she slowly looked back on her geisha players, and signaled the end of the music. The music started to fade away with an inconsistent plucking of her shamisen to a sudden halt. Another geisha came into the centre to take her place and started to dance on the beat of the drums.
The red-haired oiran excused herself as she bowed gracefully and sauntered towards Sasuke.
"Uchiha-sama, what a pleasant surprise."
Sasuke regarded her and nodded his head, as he reached into his pockets and handed her a thin envelope which the oiran took with confusion. "I want you to keep that, Karin."
Karin walked closer and whispered, "May I ask what this is, Uchiha-sama?"
"Orochimaru's. Keep it safe." Sasuke turned around and was about to walk away when a tug on his sleeve stopped him. "I… still have not changed my mind. Please, be always safe." Karin whispered.
The taciturn male turned his head slightly towards Karin's direction but did not say anything, taking that as another chance to speak up the oiran reached into her black kimono's pocket and handed Sasuke a yellow envelope. "Please keep this with you. I had a monk to write this especially just for you, my lord."
"I have no need for a talisman." Sasuke tried to walk away but the stubborn female tugged him back and slipped the yellow envelope into his hand.
"This would make me very happy, my lord, if you accept my humble wish." The oiran took a breath.
"I had this made with a hope for your safety and happiness. A lowly woman like I have no any other way to hope for the success for your… plan." She smiled knowingly and finally backed off, her hands clasped in front of her.
Sasuke studied the yellow envelop in his as he inserted the envelope inside his hidden breast pocket.
With that he walked away without looking back at the woman, pondering if he was to keep the talisman just to honor the oiran's wish or just rip it in half after he's out of eyesight.
Later that night, Sasuke was on the way to come back from his solo-assassination mission when he was faced with a 2 groups of masked ninjas. "We've finally found you, Uchiha." The man with the white cat mask, the leader of a squad most probably, came up. "We won't hurt you if you come with us quietly."
Sasuke smirked as he drew his tsurugi out, the metal sparking with electricity. "How about you get out of my way?" his onyx eyes turning into a malicious red.
"You leave us no choice. Kill him." The leader ordered as he disappeared and attacked from behind.
The group of shinobi scattered out as they take him on, obviously in sync with one another. Nothing that Sasuke can't handle. In fact, his smirk grew into a grin. He was dancing and hacking, taking down three easily.
Sasuke moved like the lightning, he was not just the fastest in Otogakure for nothing. He was about to slash the kunoichi with the seemingly unlimited weapon arsenal when his leg muscles suddenly became numb which led him to fall on the ground unceremoniously.
On his left, was a shinobi that held an invisible rope that gestured the other ninjas to attack the disabled Uchiha but was shortly killed when Sasuke threw a lightning infused kunai straight into the man's head.
His legs' were slowly coming back to life when barrage of quick attacks came straight at him when he just managed to wobbly stand back up. A kunai almost nicked his throat and a sword almost detached his sword arm if he were a millisecond late in his reaction time.
When he turned to slash the proprietor, a shinobi appeared in front of him from a puff of smoke and went for Sasuke's head but Sasuke disappeared from thin air suddenly, leaving the dazed ninjas.
Hinata Hyuga wasn't stupid, she knew that for a fact. But what she can't comprehend was, how she managed to lose herself in a park!
She just came from her girl-dates with Ino when the blonde was called for a sudden meeting with her manager. The apologetic blonde drove her back to her condominium's front gate when Hinata felt like having a night stroll around the park nearby and left shortly after the blonde was out of sight.
Thus, here she is – lost in a park with nothing but the thick trees as her company. She gulped nervously as her cowardice comes back slowly, but surely. 'No, you may now panic right now! 'Breathe in, breathe out.
Braving herself, she continued to walk the path that she thinks she recognizes before she got lost when suddenly far away, a young man with raven hair materialized in front of her, donned in some hybrid of ninja and samurai-esque attire out of nowhere.
'Wah! Is there a cosplay photoshoot here or something?'
The young man sharply turned his head towards her as he watched her warily, his iris red. "Who are you?" his cold voice rang, his sword gleamed evilly on the moonlight dripping with blood and dirt.
Hinata froze on the spot as she dropped her purse and ran escape plans when two other shinobi clothed figures suddenly appeared beside the young man, who was also surprised when one of the shinobi launched for an attack with a wide arc at the young man, whereas one of the shinobi ran for Hinata and got behind her as his kunai nicked the skin of her throat. The deathly pale Hinata was now officially a meat shield for that guy.
The young man's left hand crackled with electricity as he hit the attacking shinobi with the palm of his crackling hand, leaving the shinobi violently convulsing on the ground. Then he turned and instantaneously dashed for the shinobi that held Hinata with the same crackling left hand as Hinata screamed and clutched her eyes shut, praying goodbyes and sorry to those she failed.
I'm sorry everyone. I'm sorry for being dumb. I'm sorry for eating too much cinnamon buns and…
But what she didn't expect was to even feel the force and heat of the young man's hand grazing her cheek as the hold on her disappeared and the sordid sound of a skull slammed on the solid concrete reverberated loudly throughout the silent forest park.
Sounds of heavy breathing lingered as Hinata very slowly opened her eyes, immediately looking behind her and witnessed the disintegration of the body of her ex-hostage-taker to dust as she stepped far away from the visibly disturbed young man and realized that it was her panting in nervousness all this time.
Shortly after feeling eyes on him, the red iris of the young man locked onto her pale lavender eyes as Hinata's vision swam and eventually blacked out.
The vision of the bizarre red-eyes unknowingly engraved into her memory.
That's for chapter 2!
If I got my research right, oiran are higher ranked than geishas... right?
Read and review~ Reviews are greatly appreciated. ;)
-comes back to her corner and sulks-