Title:
Picture Trends of Black and White
Author:
Hiko Mokushi
Pairing:KakashixSakura
Rating:
R
Warnings:
Language, adult themes/sexuality, implied rape/sexual abuse, torture,
human trafficking, and character death.
Disclaimer:
Do not own at all.
Summary:
Shizune froze. "What?" The blonde woman held her hands out in
front of her, trying to work things through her fingertips that she
couldn't with her mind. "What would you do to get Sakura back?"
VI. Nevermore
Nine dark shadows waited calmly, perched upon the precipice of the Chikireme Chasm.
One of the masked shadows knelt on one knee directly at the edge of the cliff, peering over it carefully. Blue eyes narrowed behind the porcelain fox face. "I can't believe that jutsu works that good, Ichigawa-san," he muttered, shaking his head as he glanced over his shoulder. "It's here, right where you said it was—the ladder. It goes down about twenty feet to the bridge."
Naruto watched silently—three guards were stationed at the entrance to the cave. They milled about, joking and laughing. One leaned against the right wall, another dangled his feet over the edge as he laid against the ground, palms cupping his head; the third paced slowly back and forth. The one leaning against the wall lit a cigarette, blocking it from the wind with his hand. The one that paced tossed a closed silver pocketknife back and forth between his hands.
"What're we gonna do about them?" The kyuubi container asked, inclining his head in the direction of the guards.
Kakashi, face covered with his ANBU mask, let his eyes slide from Naruto to Genma, who slouched lazily beside him. "They don't seem to have noticed us yet. Genma, want to dispose of them?"
The ninja's brown eyes narrowed gleefully. "With pleasure," he murmured, slipping a kunai from his pack. His dark form flickered for a second before it disappeared completely.
Kakashi turned back to the Sand-nins, inclining his head slightly. "Once Genma's done. . . that'd be a good time to implement your strategy. How many so you think we'd need?"
Taizo nodded, face heavy and serious. "We should be safe with six explosives. We don't want to overload the entrance and cause it to cave. But we need it large enough to make it easier to move. Three on either side should be enough to break it open."
The young man grinned, twirling two different types of kunai on each index finger; he held them out slightly, titling his head to the side to peer at them. The only difference between the two was the paper seals dangling from their finger-holes. The one in his right hand was marked with a red tint and written on with kanji. The one in his left was marked with an orange tint, also written on, but with different kanji. "Tenka-no-Jutsu or contact explosion?"
"Better go with the Ignition jutsu, Nara," instructed Arashi calmly. "I know you're good and all, but we don't need you making a mistake and missing your target—even if the probably is only like seven percent you'll miss. You may be a genius, but even geniuses make mistakes."
"No trust. No trust at all." Shikamaru sighed, twirled the kunai on his right hand once more before pocketing it in his kunai pouch.
None of them paid any attention to the distant exclamations of surprise from the guards across of the chasm.
None of them were surprised by the way their shouts were cut off with almost silent grunts and gurgles.
He tugged five more of the red-tinted kunai from the pouch. He paused for a few moments, tossing a kunai into the air lazily. Genma was back at Kakashi's side, wiping a bloodied kunai on a thick rag; he returned the clean weapon to his pack and then continued to rub his hands on the rag. Shikamaru smirked, giving one last toss of the kunai and catching it swiftly. He aimed. "Throwing one. . . two, three. . . four, five, six." In quick succession, the kunai left his hands and landed almost silently across the way. Three kunai each, almost symmetrically, lined the bottom portion of rock on either side of the entrance.
Taizo glanced over his shoulder at Kakashi. The silver-haired man paused for a moment, and then nodded. Shikamaru's fingers formed quick seals.
The explosion was like fireworks to their eyes, all sparks of yellow, orange and red.
Naruto slipped backwards towards the group, staring appreciatively at the scene before them. Rocks exploded outwards, falling down into the chasm. "Nice shooting," he snickered, watching as Akamaru barked loudly at the falling debris. Kiba slid his hand against the dog's neck, calming him. "Can we go now?"
Kakashi stepped forward. "Arashi-san and Gaara-sama are staying at the entrance," he explained, glancing about the Konoha shinobi seriously. "Kiba, I'd like you and Akamaru to stay there as well. Your skills are better put to use when you have more space to work with. The confines of the caves won't work well with most of your attacks." He glanced over his shoulders towards the other two men who stood near to each other.
The man watched Naruto, Lee and Shikamaru hesitantly. "Remember, there are also innocents inside," he reminded. "We don't want them injured or killed as well."
The blond rolled his blue eyes. "We're not children."
"No, but you get carried away just as quick as children do," snickered Genma, who was currently twirling his famous senbon between the fingers of his hand almost as though it was a little, miniature baton.
Kakashi nodded wisely. "Taizo-san will accompany us inside, as to show us the way." He turned to the Sand shinobi, glancing almost hesitantly as he took in the other man's stature. However, he needn't have worried—Taizo uncrossed his arms and smirked, nodding slightly. His gaze tipped to Gaara. "Kazekage-sama, if we don't come out within forty minutes, expect that we're having difficulty and come in after us."
The red-haired man inclined his head and nodded slightly.
"Alright then," murmured Kakashi, slipping his hand into his weapon's pouch. He tugged out a kunai and twirled it into his grip. "Let's get our girl back."
Gomimaru shifted awkwardly back and forth on his feet.
His dark eyes flickered between Sakura and Joushi. The former was lying on the floor, half-sprawled across her mattress. Despite her bloodied face and bruising body, the woman was shaking profusely with laughter; her amusement bouncing off the stone walls. The latter was tugging at his hair, pacing before the woman's prison.
The guard patted at the drying blood on his cheek, grimacing slightly. "Joushi-sama, what do you want us to do?" he prompted, trying to get some response from his boss.
Sakura laughed harder in the background, clutching at her stomach. Her broken ribs pressed painfully, spasming slightly, as her diaphragm convulsed with laughter.
"You're wasting your time," she breathed; heaving, gasping.
Her pink hair fell in front of her face, floating up and down when she breathed. She stared through the fringe of pink at the men, her green eyes reflecting strangely amongst the pale color. "You don't know what you're dealing with here. Merely Ninja? You remember Higarashi Ami? The woman—the spy—you murdered in cold blood?" The woman grinned, laughing again despite the blood gathering in the corner of her mouth. "The Sand-nin are coming to avenge her. And you'll deal with crazy strong shinobi. . . like Gaara-sama. . . and Temari-san and Kankuro-kun. They're murder you."
Joushi bit his lip in a snarl. "You won't live to see them. Stop dreaming foolishly."
Sakura's grin never faded. "Maybe. . . but they'll send my body home. To Konoha. Where I belong."
The man laughed now, harsh and grating; it didn't reach his eyes. "Not if we burn your body 'til there's nothing left!" He took a deep breath to continue his speech, but another set of explosions roused more screaming.
Gomi tugged at Joushi's arm-sleeve as though he were a child. "Please, Joushi-sama, leave!" he implored, glancing back at Sakura. "If you wish, I'll stay here to make sure she dies."
The man chuckled and bent, picking up a small stone that had fallen from the roof of the cave. He lobbed it into the cell, catching Sakura on her chest—she broke out in another fit of coughs at the impact, her chest flaring with pain. "Don't bother, she's broken. She won't be going anywhere." He lifted a lip as he watched the young woman roll over. "Let's make ready our escape." The man hurried down the hall, grumbling softly to himself.
Almost as an afterthought, Gomimaru turned and glanced down at Sakura. "If we'd met under different circumstances I find I could have probably called you friend," Gomi murmured somewhat wistfully.
Sakura spat blood on the floor. "If I'd met you under different circumstances I still probably would have kicked your ass." Rolling onto her side, she clutched her chest as it constricted painfully. "Get out of my sight. You disgust me. I hope Gaara-sama sand-coffins you."
The man narrowed his eyes. "Enjoy your last few hours." They didn't even bother putting the sand back up. They just left her there.
Sakura pushed herself off the bed the rest of the way, fingering the hitai-ate on her forehead. She shifted it as it slid down over her eye out of habit, tightening it so that it stayed in place. Once finally supine along the floor beside her bed, she pressed her open palms down on her abdomen. The pressure caused something to snap beneath her fingertips, and she gasped; her eyes flashing wide before fluttering shut.
She gathered her breath back, allowing the dark spots to fade from before her eyes.
"C'mon, Sakura," she coughed to herself, trying to breathe through her nose instead of her mouth, as Shizune had taught her. Breathing through the nose made sure that not only did she regulate the balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in her blood, but she the air she inhaled was cleaner. The type of breathing she had to do, however, differed a bit. Normally, she would have been doing Lamaze-type breathing—quick, short; like the staccato of a song. For concentration she needed long, soothing deep breaths. It hurt; with her chest burning so much—but it was the quickest way for focus. Her throat was terribly sore, more than normal; it was more an annoyance than anything. "Think! How did Tsunade-shishou say I had to activate it?"
The jutsu was complicated, she remembered, but it would help tremendously if she could remember how to do it. Or. . . if she could remember how to do it without killing herself.
Amusing, Tsunade had once remarked to her. A jutsu Kabuto had perfected being taught to medics of Konoha so that they might save more lives.
She screwed her eyes up. Focus, she told herself.
"Now, Sakura, what you need to remember is that this is not a jutsu to use unless it's a last resort."
Tsunade's voice finally found its way into her mind. It came as both a blessing and a curse. For years, those terrible five years she'd spent there in that cell, she could not recall the sound of her shishou's voice. All of the emotions, the love, for the strong, hard-assed woman warmed in her heart. But it also reminded her of how utterly weak she was. She was a disgrace—to her friends and her teacher. "Do not ever try this; not unless you are so close to death, you'll never regret if it should cost you your life."
Sakura's eyes leaked tears—they fell in streams down her cheeks—but she was too tired to blink them away. Too distracted. She needed to focus.
"This jutsu is dangerous. It is complex and intricate, and even I have difficulty executing it properly if I'm not concentrated enough. Until I can watch you perform it with enough skill to impress me. . ." The woman in her mind closed her eyes and sighed. A cool hand against her sweating neck.
Fingertips against her forehead.
Tsunade smiled inside her memory. "You should perfect it easily enough. But you know how I worry. It requires a great focus, and you must remember to complete the opening and closing the gates before ever using this technique. Your chakra will burn out quickly, only lasting you about forty minutes if you're at a relaxed state. Depending on your stress and level of physical activity, that number can increase or decrease. The fastest I've ever seen it burn at is fifteen minutes." Memory Tsunade glanced at the scroll the young woman held in her hands.
"Your body will become exhausted, what with no remaining chakra in store. You can become faint, black out, or even slip into a coma should you push yourself too hard. The strain on your heart is enormous. You muse try to remain calm at all times, no matter what your situation."
Sakura took a shuddering breath. I won't die here, she thought. Not in this cage. I'll let them kill me like an escaping wild animal than a pet that needs to be put to sleep.
Tsunade's voice echoed instructions in her ears. The young woman opened her eyes—lifted her hands. They shook uncontrollably, almost until the point where she had to lower them back onto her stomach. Calm your breathing, she said to herself as she let her hands lift into the air again. Her fingers curled awkwardly, but after breathing in and out for a few minutes, she managed to contort her them into the right seals.
For a moment, after she finished the opening seals, nothing happened.
Then something inside of her burst—or at least, that was what it felt like.
The shudder of power was almost physically painful. Cool like ice and hot like fire, all mixing together at once inside of her. Her teeth chattered as she tried to finish the closing hand seals.
She'd opened the gates, now she needed to close them. This was the hard part. Her vision wavered so that she couldn't see straight, her fingers shaking so much she could barely work them. The pounding of her blood, hard in her ears, was enough to drive her crazy. Once again, she understood why this jutsu was so dangerous—and why she had never perfected it yet. The surge of power was difficult to control on normal circumstances, and in a weakened state, near impossible. The high levels of chakra coursing through her network were enough to stop her heart if it wasn't accurately controlled. As she struggled to close her chakra gates, she was eerily reminded of a time, during the chuunin exams, when Lee had burned himself out doing just what she was trying to do.
A harsh intake of breath was the only sound she heard as her shuddering fingers formed the last seal—and her world shattered.
She shook furiously; and she closed her eyes against the way the walls around her spun. Her head banged sharply against the concrete floor beneath her, and she bit down on her tongue. And as suddenly as it had begun, the shaking came to a stop.
Slowly, Sakura got calmly to her feet.
"All we want is answers!" Naruto held a skinny, decrepit man by the front of his shirt, shaking him fiercely. "Why the hell is that so difficult? Do you people want to die or something?"
Shikamaru, who was much calmer than Naruto, glanced at the blond while he made his guard bash his head repeatedly against the wall. The guard shouted loudly at first, but soon went quiet as the repeated pounding chipped away at his skull. "As none of them are talking, I would assume so." The shadow-master released his jutsu on the guard when bits of grayish-pink brain matter started slipping down the front of his face along with his blood. The body slumped to the ground, unmoving. "Should we try to find some of these women that are supposed to be here? It might be a good idea to get them out before the roof starts caving in."
Propped against the wall, lazily watching the others wail on the guards they could find, Kakashi shrugged. He glanced at Taizo, who seemed more than a little distracted. "Busy?" the silver-haired man asked of him, twirling a kunai between his fingers.
"Slightly." Taizo's eyes narrowed, the wrinkle in his brow deepening severely. His fingers worked another complex set of hand seals, not bothering to notice when Lee suddenly flew past him, leg outstretched—foot hitting a guard with dark, burgundy hair in the chest. Several of the man's ribs cracked with loud, echoing pops as he flopped against the wall. "Shit."
Taizo's eyes opened, and he glared about him. "They've used the sand to move the walls around," he explained, when his fellow shinobi glanced at him peculiarly. "My jutsu has no affect if the surroundings have changed. There are walls where hallways are supposed to be. I'm useless now."
Naruto swore loudly. Genma tapped his white mask in annoyance. "I don't know," he grumbled. "There's supposed to be women around here—that's why they kept Sakura, to heal them. Shouldn't one of them know where she might be? Find the girls, find Sakura."
The Sand-nin's eyes narrowed. "Find the girls. . ." He paced towards the wall directly to his right, spreading his hands, palms down, against the concrete. The man closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, turning his head so that his ear pressed against it. He listened, unaware of the men's stares. When he pulled back, he smirked. "Lee-san, do you think that you could break this wall down without causing too large of an explosion?"
The taijutsu-master glanced at the wall, walking towards it slowly. He glanced up and down the wall, smirking broadly. "Of course."
Taizo smirked, backing away. He brought his hands to his face, cupping them around his mouth. "If you can hear me," he called loudly, voice magnified by his hands, "then back away from this wall." He glanced at Lee then, lowering his hands. "Okay, now go ahead."
Lee took a deep breath, closing his eyes in concentration much like Taizo had only seconds before. When he opened them again, he lifted his foot off the ground. Lee spun, jumping into the air, coming back down and landing on the previously lifted foot to propel himself. His other foot hit the concrete wall with a resounding thud that shook the entire cavern. For a moment, nothing happened. Then there was a loud crack that split the wall before them. It splintered, a myriad of cracks growing from the original. They watched the concrete fracture for a second longer before the stone crumbled, betraying the cold, steel bars the seemingly innocent walls had hidden.
Kakashi felt like his stomach was bottling out from a long roller coaster drop. It twisted angrily inside of him as he took in the scene before him. He was thankful once again for his mask. He knew he would be unable to hide his expression.
"These. . ." Naruto's voice was unusually hushed beside him, causing him to start slightly. The kyuubi container lifted his mask, not caring who saw. Kakashi's dark eyes drifted to the blond, finding his own feelings reflected on the young man's exposed face. "These people are sick."
Standing behind the bars in front of them were at least two dozen young women.
The prison smelt of sickness, thickly coated with urine and death. The hopelessness he could feel was almost tangible. The fear. . . Kakashi had expected apprehension and confusion. But the fear emanating from the women before him was so strong he was almost positive he could smell it, taste it; even cut it with his kunai. The Copy-nin glanced expectantly at Taizo, but the man had hardened his face.
"Hey!"
Naruto leapt forward, hands grasping at the bars. Kakashi flinched slightly at the loud holler. Shikamaru scoffed behind them. "Naruto, you don't just. . ."
The blond ignored the both of them. Peering into the cell unabashedly, he watched the women back away, frightened. Some of them were even cowering, sitting on the floor and staring with wide, fearful eyes. Others looked anxious, wringing the end of their ragged clothes in their hands, pulling fraying strings away from the fabric nervously.
And then a few even looked angry. A tall, lean young woman with dark eyes and short, choppy hair stood closest to the bar. She cradled her fist in her opposite hand, eyes narrowed almost threateningly as she peered at the ninja.
"Do any of you know Sakura?" His voice was excited, filled with hope. He even strained slightly against the steel, his face shoved between two bars, hands clutching them so that his lightly tanned skin turned white with the pressure. "Haruno Sakura? She's. . . she's here, she. . ."
Kakashi cleared his throat slightly. "Do any of you know a Mitsuharu Rin?" he interrupted, including his head slightly to peer into the prison through the slits in his mask. His breath was hot and stifling against his skin behind the mask. Naruto glanced over his shoulder at his ex-sensei wonderingly.
"Did you say 'Rin'?"
From the back of the enclosure, a short young woman with cropped blonde hair slowly made her way forward. Her brows were furrowed suspiciously at the ninja, taking in the guards lying sparsely around them on the floor. She took her time, interrupted slightly when the angry blonde grabbed her arm as she started to walk past her. The woman that spoke gave her a look and then kept walking. She stopped a foot or so away from the bars, just out of reach of Naruto's arms, before she spoke again. "Rin-chan, the medic? How do you know her?"
Naruto's blue eyes flashed with fresh excitement. "You know her?"
"Yes, but who are you?" she asked again, crossing her arms anxiously, eyes flicking to the side to make sure her friend was still standing close behind her.
"We're here to rescue her." Kakashi took a deep breath as he watched the woman, his blood pumping loudly in his ears.
"Pretty long time you took." The woman eyed Kakashi coldly, her voice even colder. "I'm glad to see you care now. She's only been stuck here for half a decade."
Shikamaru groaned. "Kami, are women always so troublesome? Enough, lady! We're here now!" he exclaimed, his voice rising higher than normal from the stress. Genma and Lee glanced at him, surprised at his fervor. "Can you help us get to her or not? We're not running on a lot of time here."
"Sure, I can show you the way. It's not that difficult, they only have so many different patterns for the walls. Once I figure out what one we're dealing with, I can lead you." She glanced at the bars, expectantly asking, "You wanna get me out first though?" Then she shifted back and forth on her feet. "I'm Kari, by the way," she added as an afterthought.
"Yes, of course," murmured Taizo, glancing around slightly. "Lee-san, you want to have the honors?"
Lee walked forward, attempting to smile reassuring at the women. "Could you please all back away? I do not want any of you to be injured."
Kari watched him warily, backing up a few paces until Lee nodded his head approvingly. "That's fine. Arigatou." Drawing his fists back, he punched the bars fiercely. The loud smack reverberated on the metal, but Lee pulled hi fist back, cradling it in the palm of his other hand. "I'm sorry, but the metal must be reinforced. I do not think I will be able to break it."
"That's fine, Lee." Kakashi waved to Shikamaru, who walked forward slowly, pulled a large, metal object from his pocket. "Shikamaru, I expect you should be able to?"
That shadow-mast chuckled. "Affirmative."
Slipping the fingers of his right hand into the contoured grip, he clenched his fist tightly and gave an experimental thrust. The trench knife glowed blue as his chakra bled through. "Even though I normally use them for Kagemane, I did work on learning the Flying Swallow." He lifted his hand to the bars and sliced at them, about the same height as the top of his head. The chakra-enhanced knife slit straight through the metal—the bars slacked slightly in the air. When he repeated the action a few feet below, several hollow bars gave way and fell to the ground with loud rattles. He smirked, holding his hand out to Kari, who—taking it—started through the opening Shikamaru had made.
"Okay," she murmured, walking away from the group, once she was through. She approached the far wall. Glancing down at the guard whose brains were splattering the floor close by, she gulped before glancing around. "Hmm, okay, then." Kari started down a side tunnel, stepping over the guard's dead body delicately. "Follow me, Rin-chan's down here—" A hand closed over her mouth.
Kakashi swore, retrieving four kunai from his pack. He shot off three of them, careful to avoid Kari's frozen form—he watched as the shadow avoided all three. His hand clenched around the fourth kunai, holding it close, like a knife.
"Another step, ninja, and she dies."
The man before Kakashi was almost too ugly to imagine. He held Kari's arm twisted behind her back, a wakizashi to her throat. Two more guards—ninja by the look of them—stood behind him. Gomimaru's wide face broke out in a smile.
"Shit, Kakashi-sensei!"
Kakashi growled, eyes straying to the young man. "I told you no names!" He stared, silently cursing his luck.
Genma whistled as he spotted the other ninja that had flocked around to block their exit. "Fuck. Surrounded." He sucked annoying on his gum, or his teeth; Kakashi wasn't sure. "Damn it, I hate these stupid games."
For a moment, she merely stood there, swaying like a tall tower in a strong breeze. Her legs felt weak, unable to support her body, though she stood. It took a while to get over the dizziness, the rush of blood to her head; for a millisecond, she was sure she was going to pass out again. Her stomach nauseated. It churned furiously, and she lurched forward, falling to her knees. She vomited bits of apple, toast, flem and blood. Her head pounded, coughing afterwards and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
And then Sakura raised her head, and the world bottomed out for her. It shook, shuddered and quaked, but then it came to a slow, steady halt. She shakily got to her feet again.
Her legs quivered underneath her as she took a slow—almost an unbearably slow—step forward. Breathe, she sighed to herself. Just breathe.
When she reached the bars, she grasped them to steady herself, laying her head against the cool metal in an attempt to calm herself and balance her heart-rate. If she struggled too much, too quickly, her heart could stop—or explode, if she recalled her lessons correctly—from the stress. There were loud shouts from somewhere down the corridor, but try as she might, her eyes weren't strong enough to spot anyone.
That was okay though.
As long as there was noise she could be sure the battle was still going on. It was when things got quiet that it would be time for her to panic. When everything got quiet was when she had to worry who won—not that she would live long to see it.
The lights swinging over her head only made her head ache worse, but she refused to stop. As she clutched the bars, she realized that for the first time in five years, she could fully feel her chakra coursing through her veins. It felt exhilarating, freeing; for the first time in five years she felt alive. She drank the feeling in. She wouldn't have the opportunity to feel anything like it again, Sakura knew, and she refused to miss any part of it. For the first time in years, she could breathe.
The woman wrapped her fingers about a pair of bars directly next to each other, gripping them sturdily. She tugged furiously, closing her eyes in order to concentrate more fully.
The metal resisted, straining against her pull before finally giving. The bars bent, curving to where her hands wanted them to go. She took another set, directly behind the first pair, and repeated the process. These two gave easier than the first.
Sakura smiled, though her body stumbled awkwardly through the opening.
She bit her lip and followed the bars until they met the concrete wall. Her vision swam in front of her slightly, blurring one moment and then sharpening the next. But she could see well enough to follow the tunnel. The wall provided a stable system of support, and though she could feel her legs wobbling furiously underneath her, they never gave out.
Her pace was slow and she staggered slightly, unable to fully control her body.
The jutsu, while probably taking years off her life—not that she planned on living past the night—had released all the pent up chakra she'd been storing. It flooded her through; she felt jittery, almost as though she'd taken too many soldier pills and her body was trying to burn off the excess energy and adrenaline.
She barely felt her wounds. Other than a faint stinging sensation here and there, the tightness of her unused muscles, and the pounding in her head, it was as if her body had gone numb. That wasn't normally a good thing—in any normal nursing situation, Sakura would have been running around, trying to find out why the nerve ends went dead or why her blood had stopped flowing. In this case, Sakura couldn't be happier. It would make her death a whole lot less painful.
She couldn't feel whatever had cracked in her chest earlier, though she kept expecting to feel something shift, like it was out of place. Her jaw didn't want to work right when she grimaced, but there was no pain behind the motion. Only a slightly tug, as though her jaw was a hinge, rusted from lack of use. She was seriously surprised, but not at all unpleased.
She could hear people at the end of the hall.
While there were still the distant sounds of struggle, the immediate corridor before her seemed oddly quiet. She pressed forward, her bare feet sliding along the ground, her hands pressing into the walls to keep her upright.
She wiped absently at the trickle of blood running from a cut on her forehead.
The further she walked the more the hall seemed to drag on for forever. The voices, though, only increased in volume. If her heart hadn't already been pounding so furiously, it would have sped up. She was close. Close enough that instead of intelligible murmurs, the voices almost started to sound like words.
She picked up her pace. She needed to be quicker.
She was pretty sure her body could only maintain its present state for fifteen, maybe twenty minutes. By her recollection, she'd been walking for nearly five full minutes, maybe even six or seven. Her perception had been off since the day she'd woken up, cuffed and in the dark. She hadn't been able to see a clock, a sundial, anything; not even the rise or set of the sun.
From up ahead, there was a loud shout, and Sakura's head snapped up. She reacted on instinct.
She shot herself forward, falling down in an attempt to avoid the kunai that shot down the tunnel. She was not used to moving this fast, or having the strength to compel her body into such sudden movements. Her body felt as though it wasn't her own—jerky and uncoordinated. She bit her lip as one of the kunai cut her faintly on the arm.
All of those feelings that had been gone moments before, leaving her in blissful unawareness, abruptly returned—and increased tenfold. She tried to hold back the tears that threatened to fall as she hunched, bracing herself against the cold floor. The sudden jolt had jarred something, probably the broken rib. She allowed her form to sink fully onto the ground, rolling slowly onto her back as she raised her hands over her chest.
For a second, they glowered green, and relief spread over her face as the healing chakra achingly mended the break.
She panted quietly, tilting her head back until she stared at the ceiling. Can't use too much, she thought to herself, retracting her hands as she cut her chakra supply off with a sharp inhale. She couldn't afford to spare anymore, only enough to get her through the next hour without total exhaustion. With the massive amount she was giving off, chakra depletion was a definite.
Forcing herself to her feet, she braced her back against the wall until she could find her footing again.
The guard was rank—unwashed clothes, dirty hands, stringy black hair and watery eyes. It almost made Naruto sick to look at him. Fortunately, that was rather difficult, as the disgusting specimen of a man had the young ninja in a headlock. Struggling, Naruto attempted, with no avail, to throw his captor off him.
"He's a feisty one." The man juggled his arms slightly so that he twisted Naruto's head back and forth. "I like'em feisty."
"Don't get any funny ideas, Udo," Gomi chuckled, lazily waving his wakizashi up and down next to Kari's throat. The young woman's eyes were locked on the weapon, wide with fear. She did not struggle. She hung there like a rag doll, allowing the man to twist her back and forth. "We were instructed not to shed any unnecessary blood." He spoke calmly, carrying on in a normal, conversational tone.
Naruto struggled against the ninja. "Bastards!" His blue eyes flashed angrily, for a moment fading to a dark red. "I swear I will fucking kill you all—let me go!"
Kakashi glanced at him worriedly, making a face behind his mask. "Calm down. There are innocent people in here too. The kyuubi would be more hindrance than help in our situation." The man's eyes slid toward the side of the room, at once happy his mask was still in place. After removing theirs, Lee and Naruto were in no position to covertly ascertain any sort of escape route. Genma and Shikamaru were surrounded and too far away for him to talk to without everyone noticing. Taizo, however, was close enough.
"There are eight behind us," the Sand-nin remarked quietly, shifting only slightly backwards to align their backs together. "None in front that I can see other than the only holding Kari."
Gomi watched them carefully, his eyes snaking back and forth between Kakashi and Naruto. "You're not all Sand ninja," he murmured, watching as Udo giggled—dodging Naruto's futilely thrashing elbows. "But that's most definitely the Kazekage outside. So what are you here for? A piece of the action? Or maybe a piece of the booty?" His eyes dipped, glancing down the front of Kari's shirt as he spoke. "The Sand-beast promise you a girl or two each if you help shut us down?"
One of the girls scoffed from behind the bars. "Pig." The dark-eyed woman leaned casually against the bars where Shikamaru had sliced his hole, watching it out of the corner of her eye. She barely flinched when one of the silent guards smacked his kama against the bars in front of her.
Naruto flailed, letting out a vicious holler. "Shut your mouth. Don't you ever talk about Gaara like that! Gaara has more honor and dignity than you've ever seen in your lifetime!" He worked himself into a rage, strainging and strugging against the hands that held him. "You're nothing but animals!"
Kakashi watched the young man, noting with grim satisfaction the reaction of the ninja who held Naruto.
"You do not want to anger Naruto," Lee said, glancing at the two ninja that had pulled kunai on him. "He is not your average, everyday ninja."
Genma chuckled, blowing a bubble behind his mask. "What happened to fake names, eh Junko?"
Kakashi shot a glare at the wolverine-faced shinobi.
"Why are you here?" Gomimaru's voice lost its gentlemanly quality. Kari whimpered, a trickle of blood running down her neck as the short-sword pressed against her skin. "Answer me that."
"Well, that's the big question, isn't it?" Shikamaru smirked, pulling his pack slowly off of his leg. He tossed it to the closest ninja—the rebel caught it warily, unsure of what the ninja was doing. Slowly lowering himself to the floor, Shikamaru stretched his legs out slightly, looking every bit like he was giving up.
Naruto paused in his attempt to get away. "Nara, you idiot, what are you doing?"
Raising his head, Shikamaru watched Gomimaru interestedly, interlacing his fingers in his lap. "The ultimate puzzle, after all; who are we,truly? Why are we here? What is our purpose in life?" The man chuckled, getting to his feet again. "Personally, I feel you were put in this world to test my faith in peoples' thinking abilities. You're as much of an idiot as you look. You should never have let me get focused."
His grip on Kari tightening, Gomi glanced at the ninja beside Lee warningly. "Hikaru, what is he talking about?" The ninja in question shrugged, his eyes flickering between Gomimaru and Shikamaru.
"Aw, c'mon, Gomi, he's just—"
Udo's back snapped straight.
"Udo?"
The man let go of Naruto as Shikamaru mimed mockingly in the air. "Not all ninja rely on taijutsu to fight."
Naruto laughed, sucker punching the ninja that once held him. "Idiots." His hand slipping into his pack, he took a kunai in each hand, grinning ear to ear. "Let's show'em what real ninja can do." As if on a command, four more ninja—two by Lee and two by Genma—went stiff-backed as well.
Lee leapt into the air, kicking the ninja on the right as he punched the ninja on the left. Genma's ninja went down even faster, senbon to the throat effectively severing the carotid arteries, cutting off blood supply to the head. He dashed to Shikamaru's side, standing back to back with the younger ninja.
Naruto growled loudly, leaping into the air and slashing wildly at the remaining ninja. Two of them scattered: one running off towards the entrance, and the other taking off down another tunnel. The dark-eyed young woman slipped discretely out from between the bars. The one retreating to the entrance was stopped short by four shuriken to the back from Taizo, while the one running down the tunnel was tackled to the ground by the woman, who snapped his neck, breathing hard. The other faced off against Naruto, whirling his kama before him. Naruto took a shot to the gut, merely grunting as he drove a kunai deep in the man's chest cavity.
Gomimaru slowly walked backwards, dragging Kari along helpless after him. "Come now. . ." His eyes roved desperately. "I can hand you Joushi-sa—" He cut himself off, realizing perhaps too late that addressing the man in a honorable way was perhaps not a good idea. "Let's work this out."
Kakashi's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "You disgust me." He tightened his grip on his kunai, holding it before him.
"So it's going to be like that?" The man shook his head. "I had hoped—" Gomi's words turned into a howl when Kari managed to sink her teeth into his wrist. He let her go, tearing his hand from her mouth. Swiftly, he backhanded her before throwing his sword arm forward. It caught Kari in the stomach. Kakashi caught her as she fell backwards.
"You."
The words were whispered. Her voice was too raw and hoarse to manage anything louder, but when she spoke, the men came to a stop.
Gomimaru turned sharply. "How the hell did you get out?" he screamed.
Sakura walked calmly out of the shadows, her beryl eyes filled with hate as tears streamed down her face. She clutched at the cut on her right arm with her left, leaning slightly against the wall. "Kari-chan didn't deserve this." She closed her eyes and shook her head, wiping at her face. When her eyes opened again, she ran at him. "You fucking bastard!" Gomimaru had no time to dodge as her chakra-induced punch connected with his face.
Sakura stumbled as the guard's body collapsed, falling against him. "You. . . " she growled. "I told you I'd kill you." Her hand closed around his neck as he struggled to get to his feet, pulling him back down to her level as she scrambled to straddle his stomach. She punched him again, shattering his nose. Blood clouded his vision.
She didn't stop punching. His hands gripped at her thighs frantically, straining to tug her from her perch. Blood welled before her. Gomi's hands slowly loosened their grip. His face ceased looking like a face. It began to look like a giant meat pile. Sakura's fists kept pounding. Gomimaru's blood splattered her clothes, hands, and face; the skin on her knuckles split and tore as she punched away at the man's very skull. Her vision blurred. Her breathing grew ragged.
"Sakura."
Inching forward, Kakashi's hand found her shoulder and he shook her slightly.
He almost flinched at the harsh look in her eyes when she turned her head furiously to meet his gaze. "Sakura, it's me." His other hand lifted to slip his mask off his face; it clattered loudly to the floor—Sakura flinched at the sound. "It's Kakashi."
Sakura blinked, confusion setting in as her chakra neared depletion and she hovered on the brink of exhaustion. His face shuddered before her—a jumble of colors and shapes. "K-k-kakashi?" she stuttered, as though in a daze. Her mouth wouldn't work right around the syllables of his name. Then she smiled dreamily, her eyes slipping closed. "You came."
"No, Sakura!" Kakashi dropped to one knee, catching her as she fell and pulling her towards him; off of Gomi's mutilated corpse. He cradled her head in one hand, leaning her back against his upraised leg and chest. He smoothed her pink hair from her face, using his thumb to wipe a smear of blood from her cheek. "You're not allowed to die!"
"Kakashi-sensei! Is that. . . It is! It's Sakura-chan! Is she okay?" Naruto's anxious voice was approaching in time with the loud slamming of his feet against the floor.
Kakashi's fingers fluttered hurriedly against her neck, pressing at the junction of her head and her neck, underneath her jaw. His fingers fell away slowly.
"She's fine," he sighed, closing his eyes as his fingers slid over the hitai-ate on her head, a small smile gracing his face as he recognized it. "She just passed out. Her pulse is still strong." Leaning down, he scooped her limp form into his arms. "Get the girls out. She needs medical care."
At the moment, before I say anything else, I would like to thank those few people that—even though I told everyone I will never ask for reviews—have reviewed every chapter. I'd like to tell you that I actually look forward to posting new chapters, just to see what you guys say.
I hope you stick around for the full ride: Kimeko-28, Jester08, roxnroll, Mateba, amyXD, Norikoko, bones-angel, beautyinsleep (haha, I love you xD), ShipperTrish (another whom I love), and of course, my homegirl, DemonMistress2603—couldn't live without you, Nami.
This one was the longest one yet. And while it took a long time, it was well worth it.
I'm so proud of this fic. I think it's the one I'm the most proud of. Originally, as I said in Chapter I, this was only supposed to be about 20,000 words, 3 chapters long. I now have double that amount of chapters—have up to Chapter XI planned up, and have over 30,000 words. I'm very proud of myself. I never expected to start writing a long story.
I'm posting this without Nami looked at it—mainly because Nami is not feeling well (I'm not feeling very good either, to be honest) and because if any of you noticed, from 10-12, they decided to disable Document Uploading/Maintenance. I wanted to get this up really bad. I literally wrote, just today, over 3,000 words on the fly. I am so happy to be getting this out finally. If you see any mistakes, feel free to point them out. I haven't really looked this over at all. I'm printing out a version for Nami to look over at school.
Hope you're all happy, I know people have been waiting for an update.
- Hiko Mokushi
