Chapter 2
"No way," Naruto breathed out.
The other members of Team 7 peered into the dark room with calculating eyes. The room was stone from the floor to the ceiling. There were no windows, no furniture, and only one torch was lit near the door giving an ominous glow to the room. The metallic scent of fresh blood was mixed with the scent of mold and something else. But what? Sasuke's eyes drifted to the far right corner of the room. There he noticed several shackles haphazardly thrown to the side.
'hn…there seems to have been more than just this girl who took residency in this room,' Sasuke thought as he slid his eyes to the wall directly across from him. It would explain that other smell he couldn't pinpoint earlier. The lingering scent of old corpses.
Sasuke stared at the girl across from him. She seemed to be around seventeen.
'Same age as me,' he silently remarked. "How the hell could that chakra come from something so small?" Sasuke said barely above a whisper.
He continued to analyze the girl. Her hands were chained above her head and ankles chained to the floor forcing her to assume a kneeling position. She wore a white short sleeved dress that stopped a few inches above her knees. It looked too small, like she'd worn only that article of clothing for years. It was stained with blood and was furiously tattered and torn. It was a pathetic excuse for clothing but it kept her modestly covered. However it couldn't hide the deep bruises that littered her body, suggesting previous torture.
Her head was dipped slightly forward causing her long hair to obscure her face from view. She hung limp against her chains signaling that she was most likely unconscious.
Kakashi was the first to move into the room, slowly approaching her, sharingan activated. The boys approached her just as cautious taking note not to pass Kakashi. Upon further examination, Sasuke's earlier observation proved to be true. She was unconscious. Kakashi worked to gently remove her shackles. Once they were all successfully removed he slid his arm around her waist lifting her up bridal style, careful not to move her more than necessary.
It was then that they all got a good look at her face.
Her skin was deathly pale from lack of sunlight. Dry blood caked several areas of her face and successfully matted some of her hair as well. But underneath the grime they could see that she truly was a beautiful young girl. She had small pouty pale pink lips, thick luscious lashes that nearly touched her cheeks, and her facial features soft and angelic.
Sasuke absentmindedly wondered what her eyes looked like open.
"Okay you guys. Let's go," Kakashi abruptly said as they made their exit.
"Hokage-sama," Shizune prompted.
"What is it?" Tsunade asked lifting her eyes to meet her assistant.
"Team 7 has just returned with the girl. They are headed this way as we speak."
"Good. Thank you Shizune."
Shizune bowed slightly before making her exit.
Tsunade shuffled the papers on her desk piling them onto the left side of her desk to look over later. Sighing she placed her elbows on her desk lacing her fingers together as she rests her chin on top of her hands. Just as she closes her eyes the doors to her office burst open revealing the loud blonde member of Team 7. The others quietly trailing behind him.
"Hey baa-chan we're back!" Naruto said enthusiastically.
Tsunade brought her hands up to the side of her face beginning to massage her temples. Irritation seeps into her voice as she addresses the blonde.
"How many times do I have to tell you to knock? AND STOP CALLING ME BAA-CHAN!"
Naruto simply snickered in response. With a huff Tsunade glanced toward Kakashi to see the small bundle in his arms. Her eyes widened a fraction.
"That's the girl?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama. We had a similar reaction," Kakashi stated slightly amused his eyes crinkling at the corners. He moved toward the center of the room so Tsunade could get a better look at the girl. Tsunade stood to meet him and peered down at the girl currently sleeping in his arms.
"Not exactly what I expected," Tsunade quietly pondered to herself. She surged green chakra through her hand as she rested it upon the girl's chest to asses her condition. The girl had two broken ribs but nothing serious. It was obvious though that this girl had sustained a large amount of injuries from her captors and went untreated. Many of her injuries were not properly healed. Tsunade then went to assess the girl's chakra storage but felt a sharp searing pain shoot through her body when she tried. Quickly retracting her hand Tsunade noticed her hand took on a slightly black tint.
"That's troubling," Tsunade said eyes narrowing. Luckily the tint was only temporary because her hand eventually regained its color after a few moments.
"What the hell?" Naruto said.
Sasuke, Sai and Kakashi were looking at Tsunade with suppressed alarm. After all they had all felt first hand some of what that chakra's capable of, albeit none had come into physical contact.
"Looks like I'll have to wait till she wakes up to do any further assessments. For now take her to the hospital. She has a few broken ribs and other injuries I would like to attend to." Tsunade said.
"Is that really such a good idea Hokage-sama?" Sai asked skeptically. "Isn't she a threat right now? It doesn't seem like mere chakra suppressing bands will do us any good assuming we use them. Is it really in our best interest to have her fully healed?"
"I understand where you're coming from, but don't worry. She will be placed in one of the rooms far from our regular patients and it's very secure. Plus she is not here as a prisoner, but as a refugee. As you can see she was not with those criminals at her own volition."
"Yes, I understand Hokage-sama. Please excuse me."
"Now Kakashi if you would please."
"Yes ma'am," Kakashi said as he teleported out of the room.
"You three are dismissed," Tsunade stated addressing the three remaining boys. They bowed slightly before also teleporting out of the hokage office.
As Sakura's conscious slowly began to surface she could hear a faint beeping noise coming from her left. Its steady pulse lulled her yet made her uneasy. However she had no idea why it set her on edge.
Her body felt heavy, like she was made of lead, and it was difficult to breathe. It was as if the air in the room was pressing heavily against her chest. As the seconds ticked by she became painstakingly aware of where she was at; the thick scent of antiseptics assaulting her senses. It was something she would never forget.
A wave of panic racked her body as her eyes shot wide open, her body tense. When she jerked she noticed her wrists and ankles were restrained to the bed. That was when all hell broke loose. The rapid acceleration of her heart beat echoed in the room as the heart monitor's beeping became frantic. The frightened girl thrashed against the bed desperately trying to break free.
In the midst of her panic the distant sound of quickly approaching footsteps registered in her mind.
'They're coming!' She screamed in her head. Her previously bruised wrists and ankles now began to bleed as she thrashed harder against her restraints. 'Wait….whose they?'
Then she suddenly froze, her blood going cold, as the door to the room was thrown open. However a different face than what she was expecting appeared through the doorway.
The woman standing before her had honey colored eyes, was well endowed, and had long blonde hair that was pulled into pig tails. A small purple diamond adorned her forehead. Sakura's brows furrowed in confusion. She had never seen this woman before. Tsunade caught this look on the girls face.
"Relax. I'm not here to harm you"
Due to Sakura's state of distress she never took the time to properly observe her surroundings. She took this moment to scan the room. It wasn't hard to figure out that she was not in her usual medical facility. Although this room also contained no windows, the presence of furniture was defiantly a contrast. In the far corner to her right there were two cushioned chairs facing opposite of each other while a small coffee table stood in the middle, a few magazines scattered on top. As she slid her eyes left she noticed a small bed side table was right beside her. The overall atmosphere of the room was totally different.
Tsunade watched the girl intently noticing the way her body relaxed slightly after registering her surroundings. Tsunade slide the door shut behind her as she slowly approached the girl in front of her.
"I'm Tsunade," she prompted, her professional tone kicking in. "We are currently in the Hidden Leaf village, Konoha. I assume you've heard of Konoha." She was met with a blank stare from the young girl.
'So she hasn't heard of it. Just where is this girl from?' Tsunade's eyes suddenly widened as a thought crossed her mind. "Mind if I ask you a few questions?"
The girl continued to stare at her, so she took this as an okay to continue.
"What is your name?"
"Sakura….Haruno Sakura"
"Do you remember how you got here?"
"No."
"Why did those men want you?"
"I-I don't know."
Tsunade's eyes hardened, scrutinizing the girl.
"You don't know?"
Sakura tried to shake her head 'no' but flinched instead as it sent a sharp pain through her chest. Now that her adrenaline was gone the pain she caused from thrashing around earlier suddenly began to register. Tsunade noticed this and gathered healing chakra to her hands before placing them on the girl's chest. Sakura jerked away from her frightened, but as the soothing chakra coursed through her body, she began to relax into Tsunade's touch. The pain was soon replaced with this gentle warmth.
"Two of your ribs were already broken when a team of Konoha ninja retrieved you," Tsunade said as she moved her hands from one side of Sakura's ribcage to the other, "I'll also heal the deep bruises littering your body."
A small smile crept onto the beautiful girl's face as all the pain in her body subsided.
"Sakura, do you remember anything before you were with those men? How long were you with them?" Tsunade continued as she retracted her hands, now finished healing the girl.
That question took Sakura by surprise.
"I don't remember anything before I was with them," she said her eyes glazing over looking distant, "and I was only with them for a little over a week."
"If that's true, now come you were so panicked when I first arrived?"
Sakura's eyes widened her lips parting in a silent gasp. Her previously expressionless face replaced with one full of shock and confusion.
"Why did I react that way?" she mumbled to herself. "All I know is when I first woke up, the smell of this room frightened me to no end. A-and when I noticed I was tied to the bed…." She said glancing at her wrists lightly tugging at the restraints. "I felt like something terrible was going to happen to me if I didn't free myself," Sakura finished, closing her eyes tightly, wishing desperately that the restraints would disappear and she could wrap her arms around herself.
Tsunade's eyes softened. She didn't know what possessed her to do this but she gently began to take the restraints off of Sakura. Something about this girl made Tsunade want to put her at ease. Sakura's emerald eyes shot up to meet Tsunade's honey colored ones. Sakura's lightly watering in silent gratitude.
This caused Tsunade to freeze in her tracks, her hand hovering over the last restraint on Sakura's wrist. 'What am I doing? This girl may look innocent but she's extremely dangerous.' Tsunade stood up straight, a stern look on her face as she stared at the young girl before her.
"Sakura." Tsunade's hard voice startled Sakura. "You have to swear that if I take this off you, you won't do anything dangerous."
That line totally confused Sakura.
"What do you mean don't do anything dangerous?"
A surge of anger pulsed through Tsuande as she thought the girl was testing her pactience, feigning complete innocence. However, upon further inspection she saw that Sakura honestly had no recollection of that dark chakra. So Tsunade finally released her allowing Sakura to sit straight. This caused the gown to slightly slip off her left shoulder giving Tsunade a quick glimpse.
Tsunade's hand quickly shot out and grabbed the girl. Sakura jumped at the sudden contact. She looked at Tsunade to see a startled expression on her face.
"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.
"What is that on your shoulder?"
Puzzled Sakura gazed over her left shoulder to see markings of some sort. She tugged hard at the collar of her dress to reveal a large seal on her shoulder blade.
"What on earth..." Sakura trailed off inspecting the drawing. It looked like one large cherry blossom flower with five petals. Each petal had a symbol on it but she couldn't tell what it meant.
Tsunade brushed her fingertips over the markings. She knew that this seal held the answers to a lot of unanswered questions.