I'll save my comments for the end of the story since I know a lot of you have been waiting for this story.
Regular
Thoughts
"Talking"
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Naruto is not mine, unfortunately.
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Enjoy
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A horse as black as night pounded across a large empty field as it lead a pack of seven other horses. Their riders were shroud in black cloaks flowing behind them in the wind like smoke. Their hoods were up, obscuring their faces from the outside world, keeping their scarred, nightmarish features a mystery.
As they rode across the field they blended in with their surroundings, the moon overhead disappearing behind the dark clouds.
The eight riders stopped on the far side of the field. A red horse the color of blood stood to the right of the black horse, a white on the left, the last an ashen color which stood to the left of the white horse. Their horses pawed at the ground with their hooves, matting down the dead grass impatiently. The riders turned to each other and murmured among themselves. Their voices were low with a hard edge like nails scratching on glass and one shrieked with laughter, as mad as the rest and yet madder.
The night grew colder and darker the longer the pack stood there, the silence pervading every crevice of the area. As the riders talked, their voices carried like whispers over every surface, breaking the silence. There was pain in their voices from the centuries of haunting memories which had made them that way. The years had been hard on them in their imprisoned role as the Four Horsemen.
The Horsemen turned their steeds towards the far end of the field as a figure appeared from the fringe of trees and headed for the Horsemen. Kabuto lifted his pale hands, the nails sharp, as though he was reuniting with old friends.
"Ahh, I thought you would never arrive," he said with an eerie smile. His glasses glinted as he lowered his hood. His silver hair was slicked back into a low ponytail, drawing the skin taunt across his face.
The Horsemen's voices grew louder until it filled the field like a thousand screeching birds. Their words were foreign, but Kabuto understood every word. His head bobbed lightly as he nodded and laughter burst from between his lips, short and choppy as though it wasn't something he did daily. One of the Horsemen joined him, its laughter echoing in the silence which followed after Kabuto's had creased.
"I have come for a favor," Kabuto told them and lifted his glasses off the bridge of his nose. He cleaned them on his robe calmly as though he had no other place to be and no other task to accomplish.
"Open the Gates of Hell and bring Orochimaru back."
The Horsemen's voices rose again, but this time it was a chant. It grew as they came closer to a growing mound in the ground, their horses turning uneasy even as the monstrous beasts they were.
The stone figure rose to its full height and cracks bled into its surface, hot as molten iron. Slowly the stone fell away like broken pieces of clay.
"Orochimaru, so nice of you to join us," Kabuto greeted him, his eyes meeting Orochimaru's.
Orochimaru brushed off small stone pieces stuck to his bare skin. He reached out a hand and Kabuto quickly slid off his cloak and handed it to Orochimaru. He shrugged it on, covering his naked body, and looked at the four Horsemen.
"I owe you great thanks," Orochimaru said to them and nodded. "I hope you bring good news Kabuto?"
Kabuto nodded as he said, "That is the only kind of news I ever bring."
Orochimaru chuckled and his eyes flickered to Kabuto for a moment to signal him to continue.
"They've crossed over. They will be kept busy until you arrive."
"Wonderful." Orochimaru whistled and a gray horse galloped from the trees and stopped at his side. He got onto the horse and grabbed the reins, steering the horse towards the eight hooded figures at the edge of the field. "Unfortunately, there is one last favor I must ask of you. Join me?"
"We shall," the Horseman on the ashen horse declared in a voice which would have resounded in the bones of the bravest human, which could make the dead shake in their graves because it sounded like death itself.
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Endeka.
11.
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I could have laid there for hours taking in what we had just done, but I knew we couldn't waste time sitting there and marveling at our feat.
As though Sasuke had just read my mind, he stood and kicked Naruto's leg with his foot.
"Get up," Sasuke demanded and kicked Naruto again when he didn't get up. "We've got to keep moving."
I stood and glanced up at the sky, guessing that it was somewhere near noon here. Time must be opposite in the dimensions, not that I was complaining or anything. Being able to see clearly was far better than being in the pitch dark with no idea of where we were.
Hinata got to her feet and stood over Naruto, urging him to stand.
"Can't we just lay here for moment and enjoy this?" Naruto groaned as he sat up. "We made it guys, and we didn't need to sacrifice anyone to do it!"
I gave him a funny look. "What sacrifice?"
Naruto shrugged and looked up at me, his eyes seemingly bluer under the cloudless sky. "I just assumed we would need to do something special to get through and the only thing that came to mind was a sacrifice." After much huffing and sighing, Naruto finally got to his feet. "And here I was, all sad because I thought Sasuke was going to die so we could get through."
"You're at the top of our kill list," Sasuke retorted as looked around, taking in his surroundings. "Dead last."
Naruto charged at him, trying to tackle him. "I thought you had grown out of that nickname you jackass!"
Sasuke sidestepped him but didn't expect the elbow which got him in the back. He turned just in time and grabbed Naruto's wrist as he went to smack him upside the head. "Try that again, I dare you."
"Is that an offer?"
As they continued to verbally attack and smack each other in the head, I surveyed our surroundings. The surrounding forest seemed the same, the clearing carpeted in grass as green as ours in the other dimension. The only difference was the trees. They loomed over us like skyscrapers, safe from the dangers of expansion in our dimension.
On the far side of the clearing are three trees with leaves that appear white in the sunlight. The middle tree is thicker than the other two and its bark is a golden brown, twisting in a circle towards the sky. The other two trees are slender and curve. There are two holes on each at the same height, and when I squint it seemed as though there was something glassy in the holes.
I looked away because I didn't want to think about the idea of the trees having eyes. The thought freaked me out and I feared that all the trees have eyes and are watching our every move.
Naruto shrieked and I turn in time to see him duck out of Sasuke's reach. I shook my head and pulled my backpack off to get out the map Auntie had given us. It was old, worn at the edges with creases and wrinkles in the paper from so much use.
"Okay, so there should be a path to the Northeast which will lead us to the village Auntie Tsunade told us about. Once there, we need to find the town leader and give them her letter with the official seal on it." Sakura glared at Naruto when he started swatting at the air. "Naruto, listen."
Naruto's arms dropped. "This fly is trying to rape me, I swear."
Sasuke rolled his eyes and elbowed Naruto sharply.
All of a sudden, Hinata's eyes rolled back into her head as she fell sideways. Naruto grabbed onto her arm at the last moment and gently lowered her to the ground.
"Hinata?" he shook her lightly before he fell silent. I had never seen him this quiet, this patient before and it both impressed and shocked me.
We all waited for her to come back and when she did, her eyes were wide.
"We're going to run into a trap," she said through barely parted lips.
"What?" I asked and hoped she was not about to say what I thought she was about to say.
"Someone knew we were coming," Hinata explained as she got to her feet. "They're waiting for us. The path is a trap. We can't go on it."
Sasuke ran a hand roughly through his hair and sighed. "Then we'll have to avoid the path. Simple as that."
I looked down at the map and tried to gauge how far it would take to get to the village. "That's not the problem. Whoever they are, they're not stupid. They figured out we were coming and we don't know if the path is the only trap. We're in foreign territory," I said frustratingly and fought the urge to crumple up the map in my hand.
No one responded when all I wanted were answers, but I knew they couldn't give them to me. They were just as lost as I was and yet here we were, taking on a mission far greater than any of us could have dreamed of and everyone was expecting us to succeed. No pressure or anything, right?
Sasuke slid the map from between my tense fingers and looked at it. He pulled out a compass from a side pocket on his backpack and turned until he found north.
"If we find the path we can walk along side it at a distance," Sasuke concluded as he folded the map up and stuffed it in his pocket. "We'll have to be careful though. Everyone will need to keep an eye out so we should prepare now so we don't have to stop later."
I nodded and took off my backpack, carefully pulling out the armor. I walked off a little ways behind some of the trees and changed, reveling in how smooth and movable the leather pants were. I had thought it would be stiff and uncomfortable, but it felt like I was wearing something made of liquid. I slid on the chest piece which was a bunch of tiny pieces of material sewn together into one piece so I could move easier. The front piece covered my chest and stomach and was made of metal with minuscule swirls which looked like waves carved into it with dark blue metal in the center of each curve. The sides were a hard leather which became thinner as it went down my arms towards my wrists. The back and shoulders was made of the same metal as the chest piece, but didn't hinder my movement. Lastly, I slid on the leather boots over my socks, wondering how they did it centuries ago without socks. I redid my pony tail, making sure it was tight enough and then walked back into the clearing.
After I stuffed my clothes into my backpack, I stood and waited for everyone else to come back. Hinata appeared first, her hair tied back. She walked over to her backpack and quickly shoved her folded clothes in, her face red. She had on the same thing as me, the same leather and boots, but the metal was different. It had swirls too, but they didn't look like waves. At first I couldn't figure out what it was, but the horizontal curves reminded me of wind made out of silver specs.
The sound of branches breaking caught my attention and I looked up. I watched as Naruto stumbled into the clearing, his hands holding the clothes carelessly. His armor had light colored leather and circles which looped all throughout the metal with small gold flecks. The circles overlapped like a thousand splendid suns just coming over the horizon and when he turned, the gold caught the light and shined as bright as the sun itself.
Sasuke came up to me from out of nowhere and held out the map. I took it and put it in my boot, looking at him from the corner of my eye as he went over to his backpack and knelt down over it. The leather on his armor was a pure black, matching his hair and eyes perfectly. The back metal plate of his armor at first seemed to be on fire, the red pieces so vibrant in the rays of light that they resembled flames. As he stood, the red dimmed down and I saw that the carvings were jagged, mirroring a real inferno.
He looked different than in my dreams and part of me was relieved. If things started happening like before, would the bad things happen also, like my death?
The thought jolted my heart into a beating mess and I inhaled deeply to calm down. I had never thought about what it would feel like to die or if I was scared of death and my life being over, but now, it was constantly in the forefront of my mind. Now that there was a likely chance of me dying, even with all of my friends around, it terrified me and made the hair on my arms stand on end.
"Should we leave our bags here?" Hinata asked as she strapped her katana to her back. She bent down and stuffed a dagger in a leather pocket in her boot.
"We might as well," I said and picked my pack up. "Everything we need we're wearing."
I searched for a place to put it and settled on a hole beneath some gnarled roots. I knelt down and dug out the leaves and sticks in it before I placed my bag in it. I piled dirt around it so no one could find it and hoped I would remember where it I put it when I come back to the portal…if I come back.
"Stop it," I scolded myself and turned, heading back into the clearing. I checked to make sure the map was in my boot, then felt for the weight of the locket under my armor. I secured my armor and reached over my right shoulder, then my left, making sure I had my katanas. The leather hilts sent a jolt of calm through me. I was not completely unprepared for this journey. I could fight, had been fighting for years, and those skills would help me when nothing else could. And then I remembered the powers I had and how dangerous they could be, if I could get them to work.
Before I could contemplate that thought, Sasuke came back into the clearing. He looked at me, his gaze penetrating my armor and my skin and making me feel like even my mind was unsafe.
"Are you ready?" I asked him, breaking the silence and hoping he would look away. He didn't and nodded, his eyes focused on the katana hilts over my shoulders. He had two katanas also, but the leather was darker, almost black like the leather on his armor.
"Are you?" he asked quietly as he walked closer.
I tried to breathe normally, to ignore the harsh beating of my heart and jolt in my stomach, as I responded, "As ready as I'll ever be."
"You're barely ready," he told me with a deep frown. "We've been training for this for years, since we were kids. You've only had a couple of months of training—"
I glared at him and felt my fists clench in anger. "My father taught me how to fight Sasuke so don't pretend like you know me. I've been fighting just as long as you have."
Sasuke went to grab my arm as I turned away from him, but I shrugged it off. I expected him to try again, to use more force, but he stayed back. I glanced up from the ground and saw Hinata and Naruto walking towards us and wondered what Sasuke would have done if they had not been there. I quickly erased the emotions off my face before they could see them.
"We should get going," I told them and lead the way into the forest, ignoring Sasuke. His words hurt because it felt like he thought I was weak and that he was a better fighter than I was. If I remembered correctly, I had beaten him in a spar, but he had probably erased that from his mind because he liked to win. He always had to be on top.
We trekked through the woods at a steady pace. Hinata walked behind me, then Naruto, then Sasuke. As we walked, I felt my anger fade until there was a steady calmness in me. I took in my surroundings and kept waiting to find something different like trees that light up or birds that talk, but this dimension was exactly like ours.
A wind played softly with wisps of my hair and I was grateful for the breeze. I was starting to get hot walking in all of this leather, even in the shade, and I could feel the sweat gathering on my skin.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw that everyone else looked a little worn down too.
"Maybe we should stop and rest for a while?" I asked them as I stopped.
Hinata wiped the skin above her lip but did not say anything. Naruto dragged a hand through his blonde hair and shrugged before saying, "We could stop now and then when we found the path we could continue up it at a faster pace until we found the village."
I looked at Sasuke who was leaning against a tree, his arms crossed as he took in what everyone was saying. Finally, he nodded once, his eyes finding mine.
"Okay then, let's rest."
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"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Sasuke asked quietly from above me.
I kept my eyes closed and pretended like I was really sleeping. I did not feel like dealing with this right now when we were about to set off for the path and whatever dangers lay there. Who knew what he would say? If it was something harsh and blunt, I would be angry and would make brash decisions. If it was coded with hidden meanings, I would be sidetracked trying to figure out what he really meant.
He sighed and walked back to his spot, sitting against a tree the size of three men side-by-side.
Hinata was sitting on a log with a faraway look in her eyes, her thoughts having taken over. Naruto lay a few feet away from her, his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling slowly as sleep overtook him.
I was amazed at how fast Naruto could fall asleep. It was almost as if he could will himself to sleep whenever he felt like it. I had even seen him sleeping in class a couple of times.
I frowned as I thought of class at the University. It seemed so far away and like it had been forever ago since I was last sitting in one of the lecture halls listening to a Professor talk about calculus and the biology of pigs and the history of the American Revolution. And yet somehow I had gone from being a normal college student to a girl who could control water and who was supposed to end a war.
With a sad smile I sat up and looked at Naruto first, then Hinata, then Sasuke. "I think we should get going guys," I told them as I stood, brushing off my backside.
"Dang, I was just getting to the good part in my dream," Naruto exclaimed as he bounded to his feet, a leaf stuck in his hair near his ear. No one bothered to tell him.
Hinata smiled at him and got to her feet. Sasuke followed suit as he strapped his katanas to his back, a frown on his lips. He seemed to frown so much I wondered if it was permanent sometimes.
We set off at a steady pace. Everyone was silent and part of me was grateful because then I could think about things I had not had time lately to ponder. I reminisced about the past, about how it had been when my parents were still alive. Everything had been easy as a child. The weight on my shoulders had been which ice cream I wanted from the ice cream man because I was never sure when he would come back down our street.
"I think that's the path," Hinata stated and we all stopped and looked. We were on a hill overlooking the path which was just a narrow dirt road where the trees had been cleared.
"It looks harmless and a lot easier to walk on than freestylin' it," Naruto said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. It felt as though it had gotten hotter even though our surroundings had become darker from the shade. I looked around, suddenly noticing how dim everything was. The shadows loomed closer and became darker by the minute. I glanced up at the sky and searched for the clouds but found nothing but an unmarred blue plain.
"Something's off," I told them as my eyes roamed out surroundings. They stood in front of me, waiting for me to explain. I bit my lip, unsure of what it could possibly be, but knowing the sick feeling in my gut was not just nerves, but instinct.
"What?" Sasuke asked and I looked at him as I tried to find the words to express this gut feeling. My eyebrows creased.
Suddenly, there was a glint over Sasuke's right shoulder.
"Get down!" I screamed as I reached over my shoulder and pulled out my right hand katana. Sasuke dropped to one knee as the silver dagger flew over him and became buried deep in the bark of a tree.
Hinata screamed as her feet were pulled out from beneath her, a vine wrapped tightly around her ankle. It started to pull her away from us and Naruto shouted, reaching for her. Quickly, Hinata pulled out the dagger from her boot and slashed at the vine. It fell away from her ankle and Naruto pulled her to her feet and they rejoined us with their katanas out and ready.
A silver dagger flew at me from the side and I deflected it with my katana. I felt my heart beat pick up as adrenaline coursed through my veins, the danger evident and setting off warning bells in my mind.
"I don't understand," Hinata whispered beside me, her eyes wide and her face pale. "I didn't see it coming. I always see it coming."
"We did our research," Ami said as she appeared from behind a tree. "We knew you had a fortune teller with you so we set up that first trap so you would walk into our other one."
I gritted my teeth and suddenly felt like a fool for not seeing it sooner. Out of the corner of my eye I saw another figure appear and I turned, taking in the black hair and blue eyes. What caught my eye though was the way the shadows crept up her legs and arms. It looked as though the shadows were strings attached to her fingers, like she was the puppet master and the shadows were the puppets. She caught my eye and grinned darkly.
I turned to face her and saw another figure out of the corner of my eye. She had light brown hair and even lighter brown eyes, her skin fair. If I had seen her in a crowd I would have never noticed her or even remembered what she looked like, her features being that normal.
We're surrounded, I whispered to myself in my head and tightened my hold on my katana.
"What do you want with us?" Naruto asked and growled under his breath as another figure appeared from the trees. She looked exactly the same as the girl I was facing, except her eyes were a rich green like the leaves in the trees overhead. A vine was wrapped around her right arm.
Ami's cold, amused eyes found me and I did not need an answer to know. They wanted me. They were the Satanists my Auntie had briefly mentioned a couple of times.
"You're not taking her," Sasuke told them icily, his eyes narrowing as Ami's laughed. It felt as though it filled every crevice and space and I cringed.
"Watch me," Ami snapped back airily and a stream of silver snaked down her arm and into her hand. It materialized into a sword with a jagged edge. "Luna, if you will?"
Sasuke settled on the balls of his feet and sprinted forward. I inhaled sharply as Ami stepped to the side, the girl with the black hair and blue eyes appearing out of the shadows behind her and rising a katana to meet his. The katanas locked and black smoke came down the girl's blade and up Sasuke's. He pulled back before it could reach his fingertips and a lighter appeared in his hand.
Naruto growled and charged, his footsteps feather light and the whiskers dark on his cheeks. The brown haired girl slammed into his side, knocking him off balance and into a tree. He stood and squared his shoulders, his opponent chosen.
I turned to Hinata, but she was already moving, her katana blocking the double daggers in the black hair, green eyed girl's hands.
My eyes widened and I turned in time to see Ami charging at me. I raised my katana and blocked the edge, feeling my katana lock with hers. I shoved my katana against hers with all my might and she stumbled back. Seeing the opening, I kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying backwards. She fell onto her back and slid.
I glanced over my shoulder and took in Hinata's angry face, Naruto's bloody lip, and Sasuke's flaming katana. They appeared farther than I had thought and I could already see how successful our enemies were at splitting us up. Relieved that none of them were seriously injured, I turned back to Ami. She was getting to her feet, one hand on her stomach.
"That actually kind of hurt," she mocked and sneered at me, spitting out blood. She wiped her mouth before she wrapped both hands around the hilt of her katana and formed it into a chain.
I opted to not respond and firmly planted my feet. She came at me, the chain swinging high over her head, and I ducked as it came at my face. I jabbed at her stomach with my katana, but the chain wrapped around the blade and pulled, jerking me forward. I felt her hand meet my cheek, but did not feel the pain at first, Slowly it started to throb. I did not let go of my katana and she clutched at my neck with strong fingers, choking me. I tried to pull out of her grip but her hold on me remained firm and slowly the need to breathe became more desperate.
I pulled my katana back as far as it could and pushed it forward. The chains around it melted away as my katana struck something soft. The fingers around my neck disappeared and I opened my eyes, forgetting when I had closed them.
"You bitch," Ami stammered as she stumbled backwards. I pulled the katana out of her stomach, the blade stained crimson. "But not good enough. You can't kill me. No one with powers can kill me, not when I am made from the clay and rock of Hell—"
I watched as her eyes widened and her fingers felt the wound. The bleeding continued and her eyes rose and met mine in shock.
"You're…the Chosen Guardian."
She fell to her knees as a light erupted from her wound. It seemed to spread inside of her for her skin started to glow and when her lips parted in pain light shone from between her teeth.
"No, no, no, I can't go back," Ami screeched as the dirt started to come up around her and pull at her, sprouting thorns which tore at her clothes and skin. She fell forward and the ground under her split, drawing her in. She clawed at the ground, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Please, don't send me back. I'll help you. You can beat him alone! YOU CAN'T," Ami screamed and then she was gone, the ground coming back together as though it had never even separated.
I stood shakily and turned, sheathing my katana. Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were nowhere to be found and I wondered how we became so separated. Silently, I hoped none of them were dead. With that thought, I set out find them.
A shock of blonde hair caught the corner of my eye and I spotted Naruto. He ran forward and slashed at the brown haired girl who disappeared in a puff of smoke, a thick log in her place.
"Dammit, stop hiding you coward!" Naruto roared and turned slowly in a circle. "Fight me, Naziki!"
His eyes met mine as he faced me.
"Hold her down," I mouthed to him. "I'll finish her."
He nodded and closed his eyes, waiting.
Naziki dropped from a tree to his right, her katana aimed at his heart. He moved at the last moment, his left hand reaching out and grabbing her wrist. She cried out as he swung her around and grabbed her other arm, holding her still. She struggled and eyed her katana on the ground.
I walked up to her and she glared at me before it dawned on her.
"Where's Ami?" her eyes widened in fear. "No, NO! I can help you! They can't save you!"
I bit my lip hard and pressed my katana into her stomach, looking past her into Naruto's eyes. I could not look down at what I was doing.
Naziki screamed and I pulled the katana out. Naruto let go of her and we both watched as she dropped to the ground. Once again the dirt rose up around her and the ground parted, pulling her into the depths of Hell.
"How did you do that?" Naruto asked in amazement.
"I honestly don't know," I replied. "Ami mentioned something about being the Chosen Guardian."
"Maybe you can open the Gates of Hell?"
We heard a yell and looked at each other before running to find it. We found Hinata and Naruto sprinted forward at the sight before us.
The green eyed girl's arm was wrapped around Hinata's neck, her dagger poised at her chest. Hinata grunted and flipped her katana backwards in her hand and stabbed it backwards into the girl's thigh. She stumbled forward when the girl released her and swung her katana at the girl, catching her in the side and sending her to the ground.
Hinata stood over her like a lighthouse covered in vines.
"Sakura, quick!" Naruto demanded as he kicked the dagger away from the girl. Hinata knelt next to the girl and held her down.
I knelt on the other side of the girl and unsheathed my katana. I raised it over my head and at that moment I felt like a savage. Up until this point I had not understood what it meant to kill or be killed.
"I'm sorry Kudza," Hinata whispered before I brought my katana down, the sharp tip burying into her chest easily. She screamed as the dirt came up around her, pulling her into the crack in the ground like it was quicksand.
Hinata did not move for a moment, her face hard and emotionless. Naruto grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet gently, pulling her to his chest in a hug.
"I've never had to kill anyone before," she muttered into his armor, her forehead pressed against his neck.
"None of us have had to," he replied solemnly. "Although I have wanted to kill people many times for taking my ramen."
Hinata giggled and pulled away. She turned to me suddenly with a worried look.
"Sasuke…"
My eyes widened and I darted off to find him, Hinata and Naruto hot on my heels. We came upon a small opening void of trees, the edges shroud in darkness. In the center stood Sasuke, the blade of his katana still lit in fire.
"Sakura, no!" Naruto shouted as I continued running. I slashed at the shadows and it parted like gauze, letting me pass, before it sealed back up. Naruto tried to follow, swiping at the shadows with his katana, but it would not let him pass. He stood on the outside and cursed at the shadows and the girl who was giggling from somewhere in the darkness.
Sasuke glanced over his shoulder as I turned my back to him, protecting his blind side.
"You shouldn't be here," he told me and I brushed off his words as though they were water. "Luna is dangerous."
"And Ami wasn't?" I countered and pulled out my left hand katana, wielding both. Luna appeared from the shadows and slashed at me, but I blocked and stabbed at her neck. She dodged out of the way and backed up into the shadows, disappearing.
Sasuke grunted as Luna came at him, going for his knees. His katana caught hers and slid it out of the way, his fist connecting with her shoulder. She glared at him and backed up into the shadows.
"Got any plans?" he asked and for a moment I was surprised that he was asking for my help, but I shook it off. Now was not the time for useless thoughts.
"When she comes at you, move out of the way."
"But she'll hit you."
"Trust me," I told him and I did not have to look at him to know he had nodded.
We both waited for her to appear and when she did, it was on Sasuke's side. I turned around and raised my katanas, ready. Sasuke did not hesitate in dodging out of the way and I thrust my katanas forward.
Luna's katana dug into my shoulder, but I ignored the sharp pain and warm blood running down my shoulder and pierced her chest. I pressed them as deep as they would go. She gasped and pulled back, the katana sliding out of my shoulder and falling to the ground.
Slowly the shadows dispersed and the sun shone through, blinding me for a moment. Naruto and Hinata came up behind Sasuke, watching. I sheathed my katanas and stood, standing next to Sasuke.
Luna fell to the ground, her hands clutching at her chest as though she were trying to keep the blood in. She looked up, her eyes staring unseeingly at me. Slowly, a smile crept to her face.
"I succeeded," she murmured as her eyes cleared and she looked at me. Her smile grew. "You're done for, blossom."
I stared at her as a growing dread filled me. I had heard that name before, from a girl with silver hair and black eyes who could read minds.
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked her calmly, his nostrils flaring in anger when she did not respond. "Tell us!"
But it was already too late. The dirt was already dragging her under, pulling at her like greedy hands.
"You're hurt," Sasuke informed me and I glanced down at my shoulder. I could feel the pain, but it barely hurt. It felt like a paper cut and I reached up to touch the wound. My fingers came back covered in red, but when I pressed on the wound it merely stung. I probed the hole in the leather and felt the skin, my fingers shaking when all I found was smooth skin.
"It's gone," I told him, still feeling for the wound. "It's not there, but I know I got stabbed. There's enough blood to prove that."
I looked up and stepped backwards. My heart jerked in fear and my hand reached for my katana.
Before us stood a man with long black hair and snake-like eyes. His pale skin appeared even whiter in the sunlight. He grinned at me, his eyes never straying to the others.
"It's been a while, blossom," he greeted me, his black robe billowing around him as the wind suddenly picked up.
Sasuke grabbed my arm and jerked me behind him. His eyes flickered to me as emotions swirled in them.
"Run," he demanded, reaching behind himself and pushing at my shoulder gently.
"What? And leave you guys here with this creep? No!" I told him and stood my ground.
"Sakura, you have to. He is the reason we have been training for so long. He is behind all of this. He is the enemy. The others were his minions. Please, listen to me. You have to get to that town," Sasuke pleaded, his shoulders tense.
I looked at Hinata. She smiled at me and nodded. My eyes found Naruto and he winked at me and I knew he was trying to tell me they would be all right.
Sasuke's hand found mine. He squeezed it and for the first time I realized Sasuke might actually be afraid. I sheathed my katana with one final decision.
And with that realization I turned and ran. The trees passed by in a blur and I forced myself to keep running, even when I heard the screech of horses in the distance, back where Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata were. A sick feeling settled in my stomach, but I kept running even when I felt like I was betraying my friends because this was what they has asked me to do, they has asked me to leave them behind and save myself.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I stood in the middle of the clearing, my chest heaving from running. The surrounding forest was silent, giving off an eerie feeling. Desperately, I wanted to run back to my friends and help them, but Sasuke's words resounded in my head.
The hairs on my neck stood up, an uneasy feeling forming in my stomach. Long ago I had learned to trust my instincts, and countless times they'd saved me when nothing else had.
The grass shifted before a snake started to slither up my leg. I forced my muscles to freeze as I tried not to move. Any movement might cause it to bite me, and snake bites were always the nastiest.
The snake continued to slither up my leg as I slowly drew one of my katanas. In a quick movement, the snake was headless and on the ground in a dead heap.
Just like the last, four more snakes came out of the grass and tried to slither up my legs. With a flick of my katana the snakes were also dead on the ground.
My hair continued to stand at end. What was going on? It was unlikely that all these snakes lived in one place, just waiting for a prey that was too big for them to handle.
"I'd prefer it if you didn't kill my snakes," I turned around in time to dodge a blow aimed right at my stomach. "And I'd prefer it if you came easily with me instead of making me bruise you up first, blossom."
"I'm not going anywhere with you," I told Orochimaru firmly, my katana poised and ready to defend myself and all of the people I was fighting for in this war.
Orochimaru chuckled under his breath and pulled at the hilt over his right shoulder. His katana slid free and he pointed it at me. "Last chance."
I pulled out my katana and steadied my feet. I cleared my mind and waited.
Orochimaru shrugged. "You'll regret it." He ran at me, his katana poised to slice me in half.
I slid my feet a foot sideways and felt the edge of his katana fly past my arm. He was so close I could see the waxy parlor of his skin and I swung at his side quickly. His katana met mine and we locked in both blades and eyes.
"Give up, Chosen Guardian," Orochimaru told me as he applied more pressure to his katana. "Tell me where it is. Where is the Holy Grail?"
"I don't know where it is," I answered and felt my arms start to shake from the strain. "And if I did, I wouldn't tell you."
Orochimaru yelled and pulled his katana back, his eyes wild and ferocious. He swung at me roughly and I ducked out of the way, raising my katana in time to counter his second attack. I stumbled backwards and grunted when he backhanded me. One of his rings tore into my skin and I could feel the blood rolling down my cheek and taste the metallic in my mouth.
I wiped at my cheek and watched Orochimaru carefully, waiting for his next attack. His eyes roamed my face, searching for weakness or fear, and froze on my cheek. A grin slowly came to his face, growing with each passing second until I thought it would crack his face in half.
I reached up and felt my cheek. My heart lurched when my fingers found only smooth skin. There was no trace of the cut from his ring except for the blood drying on my cheek.
"All this time it was right in front of me," he remarked as he stepped closer.
Suddenly, everything clicked in my mind. I took a step back and then turned, running for the forest as fast as I could. I made it to the tree line, but skidded to a halt when the girl with silver hair and black eyes emerged from behind a tree.
She stared at me, her face emotionless and I knew she was reading my mind, predicting everything I would do.
I focused on clearing my mind and glanced over my shoulder. Orochimaru had not moved and his eyes watched her closely, a smirk on his face. I turned back around to face the girl.
"Move," I demanded and raised my katana. I did not want to hurt her, but I would do what I had to do to get to that town.
The girl raised an eyebrow at me. "You will not kill me."
I tensed and rocked forward onto the balls of my feet. I was just about to attack her when a sharp pain tore through my mind. As I fell to my knees, I looked up at the girl and knew she was the one doing this. Mentally, I tried to build a shield to keep her out of my mind. It worked for a couple of seconds, the pain fading instantly, but then shield crumbled as my mind grew tired.
"See?" she mocked me, stepping closer until she was standing over me. In her hand was a dagger and I wondered if she was going to kill me.
"Don't worry, you'll live for a little while longer," she responded to my thoughts. "But after that…"
It felt like there were a thousand needles stabbing at my skull and I dropped my katana so I could clutch my head. My forehead pressed against the ground, the grass cool against my heated skin, but the pain would not go away.
A shadow covered me and I saw Orochimaru loom over me. He nodded to the girl.
The pain spiked higher and I fell to my side. I wanted to tear my mind out and make it stop. And finally, like a bittersweet haven, the world spun dizzily and then faded, leaving me falling in pitch blackness.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I am sad to say that this story will be coming to a close soon. There will probably be two to three more chapters and then that will be the end of Sangreal. It has been a good story to start with on here and learn from, especially when it comes to grammer and proper English, but I think it's time I do other stories. As much as I love this story, I'm ready for something new. Of course, I'll stay with Sasuke and Sakura, but I have other ideas I would like to work on.
So I spent all last night and this morning trying to finish this and proofread it—yes, I actually proofread it!—and get it up. Hopefully everyone likes it because I spent a lot of time on it.
Check out Gravity Happens, a story about Camille and Moose from Step Up 3. They're so cute and I really want this pairing to grow hence this advertisement. :D