Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.
&standard dis-cah-laimer is so righteously applied. peace out.
As azure melted into white, then crimson, the colors of the sky reflected off two pairs of half-hidden eyes. In front of the picturesque sunset, the two black forms stood as shadows over a demolished wasteland, their cloaks morbidly resembling vultures hunching over prey.
The gentle swaying of the wind though the broken remnants breezed between the two, faintly chiming the zippers of their cloaks. The smaller one shifted its head in the direction of the other, her shoulders drawn close to her body in light apprehension.
"What now?"
The softly spoken question wandered unanswered, even as it drifted to her companion's ears. Beside her, she felt the air shift when he moved. White puffed out of her parted mouth in concealed impatience; the chilled weather around them bit at what exposed flesh there was as she waited for his decision. His right foot slid across the old wood just slightly before he glimpsed her way.
And like the vultures they resembled, both figures jumped off the tree branch in unison and hunted through the wrecked remains of a once building, still clinging to the shadows that were so much like themselves.
"Is there nothing left?"
"We can go. There's nothing left to find."
"But what of the girl?"
The light patter of their footsteps on the shattered stone walls ceased at the right corner where the forest wall met the ruins, ending the search in a clean break. The man replied with a gruff tone, sneering at the unexpected twist of plans.
"She still has a choice to make; we will inevitably find her soon. How can she evade us when no one will take her in? A refugee without a refuge is no better off than a prisoner."
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R...E...F...U...G...E...
transmission complete.
this is
chapter three!
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March 4
Location- Rain border
Closed eyelids squinted at the unwelcome, entering light. Sakura's pink strands lightly fell across and caressed her face as a deep grimace tore through her features. Clenching her teeth, she hissed at the abrupt pain shooting up and down the sides of her body when she attempted to move. Her fingers and legs twitched with the spasms of her muscles.
Wearily, Sakura opened her viridian eyes and they automatically widened in surprise. Mild disbelief to distorted her expression; she calculated the scene in front of her wary eyes- a damp cave at the base of a thundering waterfall. Droplets of water sprinkled onto her face and dusted her arms and legs. She grit her teeth to control the shiver that tempted to run up her spine from the freezing temperature hitting the raised pores of her skin. Looking upwards, Sakura considered the height of the waterfall and mentally checked herself for all the nearby waterfalls she could recall.
She lifted herself up by her elbows and felt the bare skin on her right hip come in contact with the slick cave floor. Confused, she snapped her head down and saw the peachy expanse of her stomach and legs between dark strips of the cloth draped over her.
Her forehead scrunched lower in surprise; her hands groped the cloak. The smell of old blood filling her nostrils startled her as she moved the covering around. The sudden clink of metal hitting the jagged rocks grabbed her thoughts back to reality with a jolt. Sakura blankly stared at the red ribbon that had fallen out of her hair, with its slab of thin metal that held her village's symbol to proudly claim the front.
I… was in Sand just yesterday; so how did I get…here? she thought.
Letting a low sigh escape past her lips, she looked back down at her body. Deftly, she pulled both ends of the cloak across her torso and noted that she still had her slate gray boots, elbow guards, and gloves, along with her headband. But what was she doing here? Gruffly snatching up her headband, Sakura tried to ease herself up. Her whole body felt sensitive, as if she'd been wounded. And she hadn't had to heal any even remotely severe injuries...
Sakura managed to stand up with the right amount of effort, albeit surprised at how weak her body felt, and peered around at the cave. She raised her head and her vision flashed blank, like the image in front just disappeared all together. Blinking her eyes rapidly, they opened to meet the same cave walls decorated in rotting blood, streaked in patterns printed from hands. Overwhelmed by its strong stench, she felt thick bile creep up the hollows of her throat. She gasped in air as she felt her veins scream in protest at the liquid fire flowing in her body; she began to feel her eyes dilate and her throat close up.
She clenched her watering eyes shut, and the pain just stopped. Quickly opening her eyes, she stared at the walls- free of every trace of blood. There wasn't even the smell of it in the area. It was just gone. Her lips parted at the hallucination, dropping in confusion. She shook her head and vainly tried to pull the cloak over more of her aching body before cautiously stepping through the wall of rushing water, still in a slight daze.
Her boot-clad feet met ice cold, watery soil that sloshed around under the pressure of her weight, and she studied her surroundings- bleak and colorless. Harsh wind bit through her thin cloak, and Sakura felt the information bite just as hard at her single, stunning thought:I'm in Rain.
A sense of hopelessness nagged at the edges of her mind. Rain Country? How was she here? Forcefully channeling chakra into her feet, she-
"Lady?"
Sakura's fogged mind slowly began to clear as she was woken up by someone tugging on her hands. The pressure was uneven and shaky, and she became aware of the cold seeping into her lower body. Her eyebrows furrowed while she made the effort to open her eyes. Black swam in her vision and she thought, that certainly wasn't a pleasant dream.
"Hey, lady?" called out the same quiet voice.
Her head was limp, hanging down onto her chest without effort. Numbness eating at her skin, she lifted her tired neck and identified a shy little boy around the age of eight in front of her, biting his lip nervously. Her eyes squinted in discomfort at the overcast light shining on her face. Who was this?
"Um, here." His small fisted hand placed itself in hers and left smooth coins in its stead. The contact made her start; it felt so oddly unfamiliar.
Contemplatively, she absorbed the dirty child shifting before her, the light chatter of men and women passing by without thought, and her own body foreign in comparison. Distress creeped onto her face, and she glared down at herself, curled up on a street corner with both hands out, begging for money to buy clothes with.
What a noble picture of a ninja, she thought, bitterness dripping off the end.
"That's for you." His sweet brown eyes looked at her with generosity, holding her gaze encouragingly.
Sakura managed to feebly choke out a soft "Thank you" before he smiled lopsidedly, spinning around into a run after a tall, black haired woman in her thirties. A cough worked its way up her throat; her voice felt like it hadn't been used in ages.
The cold settled in on her body. She tightly grasped the money in her hand and pulled herself up. Survival instincts kicked in- who knows how long she'd been out? Too easily, the icy air peeled through the thin layer stretched around her. The numbness deepened into her chest cavity and lashed out at her lungs.
Her vibrant green eyes searched for her first order of business: finding a clothing store.
After taking the first few wobbly steps, Sakura regained her balance and trudged down the almost flooded street toward a couple of stores. Her teeth chattered audibly as she hoped that at least one of them sold clothes. While she slowly made her way to her destination, skeptic thoughts lodged themselves in her curiosity. How come no one was trying to throw her out? This village is neutral… Shouldn't they be desperate for her to leave?
She studied the villagers passing her, and they would merely look her way and continue with their business. The footfalls on the cobblestone never halting or breaking, the groups of men and women alike brushed by her simply.
Did other ninjas find themselves lost here? As she turned her head, Sakura caught sight of a clothing store's red and black sign to her immediate right, and she dismissed her musings for the moment, hastily deciding that clothes were more important for the time being.
The sky entirely black, splashes of pink lighted up between the thick green of the forest. The rhythmic pounding on the tree branches was the only noise breaking the quiet. Sweat tickled down Sakura's forehead and she tried to hold in the shuddering gasps from her lungs. The air burned in her throat and chest, dry and scorching. She felt like she was being slowly roasted over an open flame. A sharp pain shooting up into her lungs, she briefly stopped on a tree branch to catch her breath. She wanted to drop and never get up.
Sakura squeezed her eyes closed shut and tried to control her erratic breathing. Plopping down, she leaned all her weight on the tree behind her, sighing in contentment as cold water seeped through her red shirt, cooling the feverish skin underneath. Snow was quickly gathering on her hood and impulse made her search for the kunais strapped onto her black shorts through the high slit of her skirt.
She half opened her eyes to look through the wall of trees, feeling a faint déjà vu washing over her as she did. Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose and fought the on-coming headache pulsing through her temples. Resting her eyes at the thin snow that covered the branch, she lightly considered how long has it been since she'd been gone. Or if the village had been looking for her.
With her arm propped up on her bent knee, Sakura let her eyes droop; her breathing evened out minutely. Had they been worried? Were Tsunade and Naruto okay? Her hand slipping off her knee and falling onto the snow, her eyes snapped back open reluctantly. She moaned slightly as she grasped the tree to heave her tired self up, the dust of snow grazing her hands generously.
She needed to get a move on or she wouldn't be able to make it back before sunrise. With that thought in mind, Sakura jumped off into the dark trees, heading back home at a high speed.
"What if somehow she comes back?"
"For her own sake, I hope she doesn't… Then again, what do we care?"
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a/n.
thanks so much for the reviews, lovely reviewers. :D
revised 12.26.08 (and MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR, folks!)