*poof* *pops up in kakashi cosplay* "Hey. Sorry I'm late... heh heh heh" *poof*
I have no excuse for myself other than my laziness and procrastination. Hope you all don't hate me. :.(
A shadow flitted through the dense forest, stirring up leaves in its wake. The cloaked figure darted from branch to branch, hurtling towards the chosen destination at break-neck speed.
Hidden beneath the hood was the face of a silver-haired young man, contorted in fury. He cursed inwardly. Obito and Madara dead, and the Jyuubi, defeated. In a single day. How pathetic.
Though, he wasn't in any position to talk. He most surely would have been defeated, too, outnumbered as they were. But he preferred to stick to the sidelines, letting the Uchihas pull out all the big moves while he struck from the shadows. It was cowardly, he knew, but he was alive, while the others weren't.
At least, two out of three were. What happened to the youngest? He didn't remember seeing Sasuke fall. The last he had seen of the boy was when he clashed with the Kyuubi brat. And he honestly doubted that Naruto had the guts to finish off his ex-best friend. Which led him back to the question; where was Sasuke?
He earnestly hoped the brat had not stumbled off and gotten himself killed. He wanted that particular luxury.
Kabuto smirked to himself. If, and when, he did find the last Uchiha, he would make sure Sasuke would meet an excruciatingly slow and painful death.
Do not worry, Orochimaru-sama... you will be avenged yet.
Ino stumbled past tent after tent, her mind reeling with the news.
Her best friend was missing.
She had not seen her friend since the beginning of the war, and was looking for her when she stumbled into Shizune, who was coming out of the tent to her right. She had asked the dark-haired medic if she had seen her fellow apprentice, and the woman gazed at her with sorrowful eyes and related Sakura's missing status.
The tall blond had immediately denied it as the truth, but Shizune's eyes did not lie, and Ino turned tail and ran, a stricken expression on her face.
More tears welled up in her baby blue eyes, and she wiped them hastily.
She made her way to the outskirts of the tent village, towards the wood beams that were to be used to help with rebuilding. The Konoha 12 had chosen that spot as temporary hang-out, and she knew for a fact that was where most of them were.
Sure enough, they were all there, including her, except for Naruto, Neji, and Hinata. Naruto was still recovering, and the Hyuuga clan was out on the battlefield, helping the search for survivors.
Ino trudged over to where her boyfriend was standing and buried her head in his chest. Still not used to handling his emotional girlfriend, Sai awkwardly patted her back.
"Sakura's missing.", she stated in a tired voice.
All but Shikamaru looked at her in surprise. He had already heard from his father, who had attended the meeting between the Hokage and the elders.
"...Tsunade is trying to convince the elders to let her send a search squad after her..." the young strategist supplied.
Kiba snorted. "She's arguing with a brick wall."
The silence articulated their unspoken agreement.
Finally, Shino spoke up. "Sakura may not be the best, but she is still a capable ninja, and an effective healer. She's strong. She'll be fine."
No one said anything after that, the quiet broken only by Ino's muffled sobs.
For a rogue, he was a surprisingly good cook. At least, she assumed he cooked the meal. Whether or not there were others here was not specified. She wolfed it all down quickly, and then washed it down with the water.
Mmm. That was tasty.
Setting the empty glass down on the desk, she opted to sit there and wait.
It hadn't even been five minutes before she got up, retrieved her boots, and tugged them on. Sasuke wasn't coming, so she would come to him. Steeling her nerves, she walked over to the door and tried the knob, expecting to find it locked. To her surprise, it turned.
Well, she certainly wasn't complaining.
The door opened with a crreeaakk, and she hesitantly peered outside, as if wary that something would jump out at her at any minute. When nothing happened, she fully stepped outside and took in her surroundings. She appeared to be in the middle of a corridor, dimly lit by small torches here and there.
Both ends looked identical, and she would probably have a hard time finding her way back to her room, since she had nothing to mark the halls and leave a trail of proverbial breadcrumbs, because she didn't have her pack, courtesy of a certain someone.
Oh well, she'd just have to memorize the passages as best as she could and hope she didn't get lost.
After a moment, she decided to go right, scanning her surroundings for signs of life. She felt nothing, which meant Sasuke was either deliberately hiding his chakra, as was anyone else in the vicinity, or simply out of range.
The latter was unlikely, since she wouldn't have been left here alone, unless he had been holding her in case he needed a hostage, at least until he got far enough away to ditch her.
She didn't know quite where they were, but she was pretty sure she and Sasuke hadn't gotten that far away from the battefield, and besides, that theory didn't add up with his behavior earlier, anyways.
She was drawn from her thoughts by a shadow on the left-hand side of the wall a few yards ahead of her that looked like a doorway. That conjecture was proven correct when she walked up to a closed, wooden door.
With her hand enclosed upon the handle, she went on the defensive, (in case there was someone hiding in there) and opened the door a crack.
She was met by silence. Swinging the door open wider, she searched the wall for a switch and was mildly surprised to find one. The light came from a flickering lightbulb in the middle of the room, which turned out to be a bathroom. Like her own room's minimalist style, it consisted of a toilet, a sink with an adjoining cabinet, a small, cracked mirror, and a shower stall.
Upon closer inspection, there was an old, off-white towel hanging from a hook on the back of the door.
Being in there reminded her that she had not relieved herself in a while, so she shut the door behind her and locked it (she always locked the bathroom door when not in her own house).
The toilet paper holder was barren, and thus the hunt for toilet paper began. Luckily, she found a few rolls in the cabinet. They were old, but would have to do for now.
After she was finished, (she had half expected the toilet not to flush), she washed her hands in the sink (she was glad it was functioning) with a dry, cracked bar of soap. As she dried her hands on her shirt, it became evident that she needed a shower, as her clothes were filthy with blood, dirt, and dried sweat.
Based on the functionality of the other appliances, the shower likely worked, but she didn't have a set of clean clothes, and she didn't enjoy the thought of walking around in nothing but a towel.
Somehow she'd have to muster up the nerve to ask Sasuke for some spare clothes today.
Or tomorrow. She still didn't know what time it was.
Sighing longingly at the shower, the still filthy kunoichi exited the bathroom and turned left, exploring further down the hallway.
There were no more doors, which was odd, but what was even odder was that when she reached a corner and turned, she saw nothing but darkness. Not even a little flicker or ember in the distance.
The wall sconces had been lit every other place, alternately on each side, affording just enough light to see, and no more. This was deliberate. Sasuke did not want her going any farther.
Coming back the way she came, she made it approximately 200 paces past her room until the sconces tapered off into darkness.
He was boxing her in. He had her pack, which contained her flashlight, which meant she couln't leave.
Oh, she could brave the halls using touch and sound, but she was near defenseless in the face of whatever booby trap or someone (or something ) she happened upon.
But if Sasuke had ditched her...
she'd just have to take her chances.
He tracked her chakra signature as she inspected her parameters, watching from his position three floors above. He was glad this place had been near, for though it was debilitated and dilapidated, it was forgotten and abandoned, which meant no witnesses. The nearest people were at a village a few miles south.
Rising from his meditative stance on the floor, he stretched, wincing as his wounds burned. He had managed to heal some of the more serious ones, but his chakra was low, even with the added boost of the chakra he had siphoned from Sakura.
Sakura.
She was currently doubling back, no doubt cursing him that very moment. Smirking, he exited the large chamber, moving torwards the stairs leading to the lower levels.
When he arrived, she was waiting in her room, perched on the bed.
She had begun listing the symptoms and effects of various neurological diseases out of boredom when she was suddenly startled by Sasuke materializing out of the shadows. She had left the door open, so there was no creak to announce his presence. Judging by the raised eyebrow and amused spark in his eyes, he had seen her jump.
One of these days, she swore to herself, I'll stick a bell on him.
The person in question was simply standing there watching her, so she decided to ask him and get it over with, before she lost her courage.
"I need new clothes." There. I said it.
He stood silently for a few seconds, appearing to mull it over, before stepping forward.
Sakura immediately tensed as he came closer, shaken out of her stupor only when he reached for her. She shifted away, but his fingers came in contact with her shoulder, and the world was shrouded in blackness.
How cruel of me, to update after all this time, and then leave you all with a cliffhanger! Well, never fear! There's more coming! Mwahahahah-hack-cough-cough-
Ahem.
I was going to write more, but it felt right to cut it off there, if that makes sense..?