Disclaimer/ I do not own Naruto. Nor do I own Iron Maiden or it's song Children of the Damned, though I think it's a very appropriate song, don't you?
Please read, enjoy, and review.
Chapter Six
Children of the Damned
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He's walking like a small child
But watch his eyes burn you away
Black holes in his golden stare
God knows he wants to go home
Children of The Damned
He's walking like a dead man
If he had lived he would crucified us all
Now he's standing on his last step
He thought oblivion well it beckons us all
Children of The Damned
Children of The Damned
Children of The Damned
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"I finally found you!"
Sakura looked up, only mildly surprised to see Kakashi standing in the doorway with a exasperated smile showing through his mask. It was well into his first day staying with her patchwork family and she thought he was doing well under the circumstances. Ryu wasn't the only one that didn't like having the older male take up her attention.
"Kakashi...is there something you need?"
"Need? Is it a crime to visit a friend?"
"No...but, I am very busy. I need to get so much done before the day ends," Sakura replied, letting her tired green eyes fall back down to a torn and frayed page in her book.
Kakashi leaned back a bit, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Is that so? And why would that be?"
Sakura looked up, an annoyed look in her jade stained eyes. She was stressed for time as it was. She didn't need any more distractions keeping her from her required work even if it was an old friend. "It just is."
Kakashi nodded, stepping into the room, picking up a discarded book and reading the cover. "Advanced Guide to Human Fertilization." "Damn, these shit heads were a zoo of sick monkeys. I'm glad they're gone."
Sakura flinched, but continued reading through the papers before her. The action did not go unnoticed.
Kakashi sighed, placing the book back where he found it. "Sakura. Something happened that you're not telling me."
She answered without looking up, not daring to meet his eyes. "I didn't have breakfast this morning, I burnt some tost for Ryu kun, I got lost twice yesterday, I had to sew up the runs in a few of my outfits-"
"Something inportant, Sakura." Kakashi cut in, his voice stern. It was that teacher voice he used to use with her when she was a young girl.
"I knew there was something you wanted. Why else would you come to see me?" Sakura murmered, keeping the last part below a whisper, so that he wouldn't know how much the thought hurt her. He was from Leaf, after all. Were they really all the same?
"I came her because I'm worried about your health. You said it yourself, you didn't have breakfast. I heard from a few of the kids that you're not eating anything at all, that you spend all your spare time going through these papers, and that you hardly ever sleep. What's gotten into you? Why are you hurting yourself to such a degree. I know it has something to do with your past actions, regardless of what they were."
Sakura did not reply for the longest time, throwing papers and pre read scrolls over her shoulder and into a half filled bin. But Kakashi was good at waiting, and soon his efforts were rewarded with her answer.
"You're wrong. It doesn't have anything to do with what I did. I regret nothing outside of giving so much to the village that betrayed me without a care in the end. That is my only regret. From now on, I'm working to make a better future for myself and these chirldren."
"By hurting yourself?"
"I've changed...grown stronger... This is nothing compared to the hurt they put me though."
"But it's hurt regardless."
Kakashi heard Sakura make and irritated noise that sounded like a 'tisk' as she grabbed another chart and began plotting a possible path. "Hurt is something you have to learn to live with, Kakashi. Don't try to baby me just because I went a few days without food or much sleep. I'm not the little week girl you're used to anymore."
"I never said that, Sakura." Kakashi tried to explain, his voice still as calm and level as ever.
"You didn't need to." Sakura hissed, looking over her shoulder at the tall silverhaired teacher. Her eyes no long the normal jade green, but a fiery golden yellow, slit down the middle like a cat's. Only a few flecks of the orginal green dotten the outter sides. "You're actions spoke for themselves. I would have thought someone as brilliant as you would have known that."
Kakashi frowned beneath his mask, not liking how her words came out in hisses. And her eyes...this was the first time he really saw them like that. No doubt she went through hell to have them forced upon her. "Sakura..."
"I need to get this done. Please let me be." Sakura replied, closing her eyes and allowing them to fade back to green, a bit ashamed of what she showed to her former teacher. She knew she should be a bit more hospitable, but lately she was very irritable.
"Do you want some help?"
She shook her head. "No, explaining what I'm trying to do would take more time than it's worth. I'll do this by myself."
"I'm sorry... I'll leave you to your work."
Sakura looked up, about to say something more, but was silenced by the very obvious grin seeping though the fabric of his mask. She had expected him to be...something other than happy. She wanted to offend him, as sad as it sounded.
Frustration, lack of sleep, and hunger had driving her into such a bitchy mood. This was another reason she didn't want to be around the children. She didn't want the young ones to see her like this. No, especially not them.
"That's okay, I'll just come back and see you when you're not so grumpy," Kakashi joked slipping out the opened doorway with a half wave and a laugh that caused Sakura to redden and stutter.
"Kakashi!" she called out after him, feeling like she made some sort of mistake.However, he was either to far away to hear her voice or he just didn't care. She had a feeling it was the later.
"Dame old man," she hissed under her breath, picking up a random book, not really looking at the cover.
"I heard that."
She hissed in anger and threw her book at the doorway where his voice originated from, annoyance at being tricked evident in her actions.
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She stood in the middle of the room, a ornate seal drawn on the ground in fresh blood, the wound on her arm dried and healed. Her clothing lay discarded in a wrinkled pile off to the side, leaving her naked to the empty walls. Her wings shivered and slowly pulled themselves out, stretching little by little until they were fully extended.
Sakura breathed in deeply, letting her uncertainty show for only a moment in her emerald soaked eyes before the bled a dazzling gold. Her long pinkish hair began to flutter around her exposed body, shivering ever so slight in the wind that slithered out of the cracks from the seal that was painted on the ground.
She though this was all a bit much for something so simple, but if she was going to have to live with Kakashi in the coming months, this was a necessary step she could not over look.
She shuddered as the wind sent shivers up and down her spin, her hair now flapping like the wings of a dove. Or rather, the wings of a raven. The seal was bleeding it's rips wider and wider now.
Soon her wings froze up then shivered, letting their black feathers fall limply to the painted earth. Another rattle released another shower of black from her wings. Sakura could now see a bit of the bone. Another bolt running through her body shook all but a handful from her extra limbs. Only the most afflictive ones remained. Another jolt, this one the most painful, and the longer feathers were freed.
The process reminded her of the time she was first implanted with the extra limbs. And from there, various memories of past experiments flashed behind liquid gold eyes. Most of the time she was numbly found in a midway dream like state, still a result of the shock. This allowed the men in white to rip her open, sew her up, make her bleed, and change her to their liking without much pain to her.
Her mind wasn't with her body. It wasn't with the pain. It as numbly safe in a distance time and space. Drifting through the thoughts, trying to wrap it's self around the grim, impossible truth.
Still, that didn't mean she wasn't ever in pain.
Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as the seal faded to a dim color, bleeding backwards to change it's pattern. The hard part was over. Now came the painful part. Yes, in her mind they were two different things.
Her shoulder blades shuddered under her skin and shoved themselves upward, riping the flesh on her back open. The cut was long and deep, but her blood was frozen in place so she had little need to worry.
Her right wing folded it's first join and slid into the opening, letting the second join close under her skin as the forced wound was healed. The same went for her other barren wing, void of all it's feathers.
Sakura winced, hearing her flesh hiss as it was knit back into place. It hurt like hell, but she could handle hell. She lived in the worst of hell for years, the exact number she did not yet know, nor did she care.
'It's worth it. With this fixed we can leave in the morning for the mountains. We've been pushing our luck as it is staying her so close to the deadline and his unwelcome visitor. No doubt they'll be searching for us after this.'
Picking up her discarded garments, she slipped on her panties and draped a robe over her shoulders, liking how she didn't have to hide her wings. Still, she should keep her bare back free from exposure. The unnatural bones sticking out would look suspicious to anyone.
Forgetting her pants, she loosely tied her robe at the waist, letting her well devolved bust to show it's self off. If anything good came out of her torture, other than the kids and her power, it was her new boob job. Since she was designed with seduction missions in mind, they had to make her as close to irresistible as possible.
The look Kakashi gave her during their first encounter came to Sakura's mind, making her smile and laugh in a giddy sort of glee. They must have done a good job to make him react in such a way, considering what he read all the time.
"Sakura nee chan!"
Her now jade eyes flickered to the sealed entrance, mentally removing the locks and seals that were keeping it closed. A few burned and sizled as their own fire consuming them.
"I'm in here!"
The door opened to expose an young boy with his twin sister glued to his side.
"What is it, Yani?"
"You said you were going to have our celebration dinner with us tonight, right That old man is already at the table reading some stupid book. He keeps asking these really strange questions about you."
Sakura felt herself pale a little, imagining all the perverted questions a man could come up with while reading smut. Hopefully, he didn't ask Ryuu most of these questions.
"Will you come with us?" the young girl asked, smiling up at the older woman that was a mother and a older sister while a protector and a provider all in one.
"Of course. Allow me a moment," Sakura replied, grabbing the rest of her cloths, slipping into her high heal sandals. She would have to get rid of these in her room before entering the dining hall. She could only imagine Kakashi's expression when he saw her holding onto her bra and pants, asking what's for dinner. Not a good mental image.
"Nee chan?"
"I have to drop these off in my room first, Hitome."
"Ohh..."
Sakura smiled at the young girl, loving how beautiful her child like innocent was coming back into her actions. Before she, as well as ever other child, would question everything she did and said, expecting the worst to be right around the bend. Some still through there was still going to be evils ahead, though not from Sakura.
'How smart they are'
"Let's get going, you two," Sakura called out to the two, walking out of the room, almost skipping down the halls to keep the playful atmosphere present between the three.
They were only too happy to comply, following her to her room and then trailing her to the dining hall, making sure she didn't skip out on them. They almost reminded her of nin dogs.
Kakashi was already waiting in the room for her, and Sakura was suddenly reminded of their last meeting.
"Hakate."
"Sakura chan."
The pale skinned woman hissed at the suffex he added to the end of her name. "What's that for?"
Her gray haired teacher shrugged, smiling wildly behind his mask. "What, I can't call you what everyone else is calling you, even though I've known you so much longer."
"No."
"And why not?"
Sakura sat down at the long table that was piled high with leftovers from the kitchen and gifts from the thankful villagers, happy to have their children back. "You're not as cute as any of them here."
"Ouch, that hurt. You can be so cruel sometimes, Sakura chan."
Sakura snickered, pouring herself some of the dark red liquid the kids were not allowed to have. She didn't care if she herself was technically underage. The wine they had hidden at the bottom of the cellar was some of the best.
Kakashi noticed her lightened attitude and took on a hopeful expression. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"
"For now, but who knows, it could be the wine talking," Sakura replied, knowing she would be in her right mind for a few more glasses. A few sips like this were nothing. Someone had to stay sober when the Hokage took her drinking. That memory made her frown.
"So what's the plan for tomorrow? I noticed the packing these little maggots have been keeping themselves busy with and I would have helped if I had anything to pack," Kakashi stated, interrupting her thoughts.
"There are some caves I mapped after dropping off most of the children with their families. I don't want to keep these guys here in case someone comes back to see how things are going with the experiments. I'm surprised things have been this quiet for so long. I don't like pushing my luck so...Kakashi I'm trying to be serious here!" Sakura turned red with embarrassment noticing what Kakashi's eye was staring at.
"Hmmm, what?"
Sakura picked up an empty goblet and chucked it at his head. "Stop staring at my chest, you pervert!"
"It's not my fault, Sakura chan. You were the one that was showing them off. How do you expect any sane man to look away?" Kakashi whined like a wounded puppy, rubbing the bump on his head.
She pulled her robe around her chest, tightening the sash to keep it in place. Kakashi whimpered a little, reminding the young woman of a dog that lost his bone. This only inraged her more, however, for the kids, she kept her temper in check. "Listen up, Kakashi, this is serious."
"I'm listening. I'm multi talented, you know."
"Don't remind me. Anyway, Tomorrow, bright and early, I want to take off. You'll be ready, won't you?"
"Sure, sure, sure."
"Good, cause if you're not, we're taking off without you. I don't care if you're late," she hissed reminding him of those days when she and the boys on team 7 were gennin and even chunin.
"I won't miss it, ninja scouts honor."
Sakura nodded silently, pulling out a small piece of paper that was hidden in the pocket of her robe. Wordlessly, she handed the charred piece of parchment over to her former sensei. He would be able to make more out of it than she would. "If it's not too much to ask, I'd like to see what you think about this."
Kakashi's mood was instantly grave, even though the entire room continued to vibrate with the whoops and cheers of happy children. Sakura didn't like the look on his face, but suspected it would come out, all the same. "I've heard rumors about Madara Uchiha being alive and active, but the sources were never reliable. If he was active all the way out here it's no wonder our scouts never picked up on his activities."
"So you think it's confirmed?" Kakashi nodded, gravely, handing the piece of paper back to Sakura. "I was afraid of this. There were early signs of maybe Orochimaru starting this crack joint but he defected a long time ago and was killed."
"This is worse than Orochimaru."
"Agreed."
"First thing in the morning."
"As soon as the dawn breaks we'll be out of here."
Kakashi nodded, pouring himself a glass of the red drink. "I only hope it's soon enough. For someone like him, four weeks is too long to let something go. Especially with the status of his group. Sasori, Kakuzu, Hidan, Deidara, Itachi, they're all dead, leaving a huge gap in his defenses. This place is an investment he needs. He won't let you or these kids slip through his fingers so easily."
Sakura's mind froze on her, remembering something once whispered on the other side of her prison doors.
"Death and revival. Will that be the medic's purpose?"
It was right after she was taken, and the only time she was referred to as a medic. So it was something that stood out, only to be forgotten in time. What was their meaning? What did it matter if she was a medic?
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Now it's burning his hands he's turning to laugh
Smiles as the flame sears his flesh
Melting his face screaming in pain
Peeling the skin from his eyes
Watch him die according to plan
He's dust on ground what did we learn
You're Children of The Damned
Your back's against the wall
You turn into the light
You're burning in the night
You're Children of The Damned
Like candles watch them burn
Burning in the light
You'll burn again tonight
Children of The Damned
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I'm so tired.
This is where I'm suppose to talk to you guys and sht. So I'll just give you a heads up warning. My updates, however sluggish and slow they come, and going to become even more sluggish and slow. There is only one computer I can use and it has to be split three to four ways everyday and now that my dad has signed up for this energy saving plan, I can't use it after one until eight at night. So yeah, less time to write. I'm sorry, I really want to do this but sometimes the cards are out of my hands.
I'm aiming to end most of the stories I've started. For this I have six to seven more chapters in mind, Like Moths to the light has two to three. Shakespeare has three chapters left to go, for sure. Ecstasy...I'll keep doing that until I have twenty two- twenty three chapters, so you don't have to worry about her. As for the others, I don't really know.
Ja ne
-Vesper chan