Okay, here's the next chapter of The Prince and The Slave. Hope you all like it. You'll learn a bit more about Ten Ten's character in this chapter. You'll also learn a bit more about Neji too.
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The Prince and The Slave.
Chapter Eight.
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(Hanabi's P.O.V.)
They all stared at me like I had grown a second head. "Who's missing?" I asked again.
"Hanabi, if I tell you what is going on, you have to keep it to yourself. You can't tell anyone." Neji said to me. His voice was very calm, even though I could tell the others were nervous. I nodded. It had to be serious for Neji-Aniki to not want me to speak to anyone about it. Like the letters from Hinata Nee-Chan.
"Hinata, Ino and Ten Ten have gone missing, Hanabi, along with Sasuke-Sama's new slave, Sakura. They ran away yesterday. If anyone finds out about that, then we won't be able to find them and give them a chance." Neji-Aniki said to me. I knew what he meant instantly. It wasn't spoken of in my presence, but runaway slaves, that were recaptured, usually ended up beaten to near death, executed or, as I had been told, there were far worse things that could be done to females. Especially knowing what was said about King Fugaku, I knew I had to keep silent, if only to protect my sister, let alone the other girls.
"I want to come with you, when you go on your search. Father won't suspect you're lying if I'm with you." I said. I wanted to see my older sister, at least one last time, if I was never going to see her again after.
"It's too dangerous Hanabi-San." Shikamaru-San said.
"I want to see my sister one more time. I don't care what my father thinks of her." I said. My first memories were Hinata Nee-Chan rocking me to sleep. Our mother died giving birth to me, at least that's what I was told, and Hinata was the one that looked after me. She refused to allow any nurse or governess to do look after me. She made sure I was safe and happy. She made me feel like I was loved and wanted. She hugged me when I cried, and she tucked me in to bed at night. Hinata Nee-Chan had been a mother to me for all intents and purposes, until my father decided that she wasn't good enough. I'm eleven for crying out loud, and he has a governess chasing me around. I would rather have Hinata around at any time. Neji-Aniki looked at me carefully.
"I'll take you with us Hanabi, but no matter what you must never reveal what we've done. You mustn't tell anyone that Hinata, or any of the other girls are alive. If you do, not only will everyone be hunting them down, but Naruto-San, Shikamaru-San, Sasuke-Sama and I, will be in worse trouble. I also don't know how your father would react to you Hanabi. You must understand that we're doing something very dangerous." Neji told me seriously. I felt myself nodding.
"I know all that Neji-Aniki. I know that I'll be in trouble if my father ever finds out. I'll keep the secret till the day I die. I just want to see Hinata Nee-Chan at least one more time. You know she was like a mother to me. I miss her so much. I just want to know she's alright." I heard myself say. I could barely believe I wanted to go against my father's wishes so much, but Hinata was practically the most important person in my life. I wasn't lying when I said I missed her. I wondered more than anything if I would ever have contact with her after this, but I did believe my sister deserved freedom. She deserved the chance to live life the way she chose. I saw Neji nodding at me. "I know father won't let me go outright. I won't ask, I'll wait in the stables when the chaos starts, and you can just say I followed you. I know I'll be in trouble, but not as much, I think, as if I asked to go and snuck off after he refused." I said, planning everything in my head.
"We'll be with our horses Hanabi. You know where I keep my horse. Wait there and hide in the biggest saddle bag." Neji told me. I knew why that was. If I was seen with the boys before they came back, they'd get into trouble too. Also, whatever cover story they have planned may not be believed.
"When are you planning to tell everyone?" I asked.
"Later this afternoon." Neji-Aniki replied. I nodded.
"I'll let my governess see me with you, so Father doesn't worry too much, when he finds out I'm missing. Make sure I'm in the hall before you announce it." I said. I didn't wait for them to answer. I left the room. I knew that, at least, Neji-Aniki would understand what I meant.
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(Ten Ten's P.O.V.)
I bit my lip as I searched for my pack. I could've sworn I sealed it along with everything else, but I hadn't found it yet. I'd unsealed every scroll, but I couldn't find it. I sat down on my bed at Temari's home, and all I wanted to do was cry, like I had years ago. How could I have left it behind? I can't believe how stupid I am! I felt like my heart was torn in two, and the other part was left with my little pack, probably still under the couch that was my bed, in Neji's room at the palace.
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(Neji's P.O.V.)
After Hanabi left, Naruto was immediately asking questions.
"Why would she need to be in the hall when we make the announcement?" Naruto asked.
"So that when she sneaks out with us, they'll know it's because of her sister, and they won't think she knew before then." Sasuke answered. In all honesty I wished that Sasuke would become King after his father, rather than Itachi. Sasuke wanted to rid Fire country of the slave trade. Itachi didn't care. He was quite happy to build up Fire country on the backs of innocent people.
"So we wait for a few more hours, then we go announce that they're gone and take the desert route, make sure Hanabi is in the hall, then we somehow find the girls in Suna and tell them what's happened?" Naruto questioned one more time. Everyone seemed to think him stupid, but I knew better than anyone that he could be extremely clever. Sasuke nodded and we all went back to our rooms.
When I entered my room, I saw Ten Ten's pack lying on the ground, under the couch that was usually her bed. I had always wondered what she kept in there. She took it everywhere, no matter how far the journey or how long we might be travelling, that pack went everywhere. I wondered if she might have forgotten it in her rush. I picked it up, and opened it, deciding it was time I saw what was in it. After all, if she had forgotten it she would be missing it. But it was more likely she had taken anything that was very important to her out of it and taken it with her. I pulled out a scroll, a small book and a locket. I had never known any slave to own a piece of jewellery. It was known that some slaves hid things that belonged to them so that no one could take what had once been precious. For some strange reason I hadn't believed Ten Ten to be one of those slaves. She'd been my slave since we were eleven, and I had been told that she had been captured as a part of a travelling caravan. I had always assumed that she never had anything of value. I opened the locket to see two pictures. One was of a tiny baby with two smiling adults. I could only assume the picture was a family portrait, and that these people were Ten Ten's parents, as the female looked just like her. The other picture held another adult couple, and two ten year old children. One was Ten Ten, even though her brown hair was hanging around her shoulders instead of in the usual odangos, I knew it was her. The other was a boy with a bowl style haircut and bushy eyebrows. His hair was black, and his eyes were naturally wide. I couldn't guess as to who the boy was. He might be a brother, a friend, a cousin, or just the child of the two adults that Ten Ten appeared to have stayed with. The locket wasn't a particularly pricey item. It was probably nothing more than a cheap piece of metal, but there was a heart shaped etched into the front of the locket, and it shined like she polished it every day, even though I'd never seen her with it. The little book seemed worn and shabby. I knew Ten Ten could read and write, it was a rarity in slaves. I wondered what this book contained for Ten Ten to read it so much. I opened it to find neat handwriting inside. I assumed that it had to be a diary of some kind. I decided to see what it said. After all I like to be all knowing. I started from the first page, looking at the neat handwriting, to reveal a story that I never imagined I would know.
Today was my birthday and my Aunt and Uncle gave me a locket, and told me it had belonged to my Mother, who was my Uncle's Sister. They told me that slave raiders attacked my home village, when I was just a little baby. I was one week old when they came and raided our town. My mother hid me, and the locket, in a small basket and covered me with a blanket.
Ibiki Morino, a survivor of my village, told my Uncle and Aunt that he and my Father had fought together to try and protect the village, but there had been too many soldiers. My Father was killed in the village, and he told Ibiki that my Mother and I were at home, alone. He came to the house but found it on fire. He ran in to save my Mother and me, but he found her dead and me in the basket. She'd been killed just like my Father had. Ibiki managed to carry the basket, with me inside, out of the flames. He was scarred because he saved me from the fire. I was lucky I didn't get burned.
My Aunt and Uncle told me that he had looked after me until he found them. I was six months old when my Uncle and Aunt started looking after me. Ibiki took good care of me from when I was a week old. My locket, even if it is made out of cheap silver, is the only thing of theirs that I have. The picture inside is the only thing that even shows me what they looked like. I used to wonder what they looked like, if I was like them, even before I had the picture to see. Now I look at the picture, and I like to think that my Father was a hero, maybe he wasn't a great fighter, but I like to think he was. He must have been brave to fight to help the village. I don't even know what that village was called. I don't even know my last name. No one ever told me. I looked at my Mother's face for the first time today and I wondered if I would look like her. If I would be as pretty as she was when I get bigger. She must've been brave too if she managed to hide and protect me from slave raiders. My Uncle told me that slave raiders kill babies. After all, you have to take care of babies until they can do things themselves. So babies wouldn't make good slaves. There weren't many survivors in my birth village. According to Ibiki, there were about fifteen survivors including me. Eleven of them were taken as slaves. Ibiki was only sixteen when they came and attacked. His parents were killed in the attack, and he had a little brother to look after. His name was Idate and he was a couple of years older than me. At least that's what Uncle and Aunt told me. Apart from them, the only other free survivor was a girl called Anko Mitarashi. The only reason they were lucky enough not to be taken as slaves, was because Ibiki and Anko were near each other when it all started, and he told her to hide out in the small patch of forest behind his house with Idate. His parents were working in the fields that day. They were probably the first people in the village to be killed by the raiders. He got injured, and had managed to sneak to my home to save me, after my Father was killed. We were lucky that we didn't get caught. I don't like to think about what would've happened to any of us if we had been.
I wonder if I'll ever meet Ibiki Morino. Then I can ask him if my Father was as brave as I think he was. If my Mother was a gentle person. Her smile looked gentle. I'd ask him if they were kind people. What they liked and how they acted. I wonder if I get my smile from my Mother or my Father. I wonder if my Mother liked lilies, like I do, or if my Father liked to eat stew and dumplings like I like to eat. I have loads of questions, and I don't think I'll ever get the answers. I know one thing. My parents must have loved me. They had to love me, more than anything else, to protect me like they did. As long as I know that, I guess other questions aren't even worth asking. That's why I have to appreciate the life I have, that they gave their lives up for. That's why I'll keep my cheap silver locket, and look after it, and make sure that the thick piece of string never breaks. Uncle and Aunt gave me another picture to put inside of the locket. A picture of us, as a family, with my cousin Lee, so that I would never have to lose their image either.
I suppose, if I met Ibiki now, the first thing I'd say to him would be thanks. He saved me from being burned to death, and then he looked after me for six months until he found my Uncle and Aunt. He kept me safe, and he must have cared a little bit to go to all the trouble of finding them for me. If I ever meet him I'll definitely thank him. That's a promise that I'll make just for me.
I stopped reading. I never knew that anyone could feel that way. I knew who my father was. I had no brothers or sisters, and my father had died in battle also. Not quite as heroically as Ten Ten's father must have. I knew I looked like my father, and I had my mother's taste in food. She'd died when I was a child, from an illness that couldn't be cured. I had one Uncle, and two cousins, Hinata and Hanabi, even though I was expected to drop everything to protect them it didn't stop me loving them. I skipped a few pages and decided to read more.
Today, Guren-Chan showed me how to seal objects into scrolls using my own blood. I was scared at first, but she promised it wouldn't be hard, and Lee was there watching. I practised all day with her, and I soon got the hang of it. Guren-Chan patted me on the shoulder and told me I was really clever to learn that so quickly. Guren-Chan is the oldest out of all of us children who are in the caravan. She's sixteen, and her hair is always tied up into a high ponytail. It looks all spiky. Her father taught her how to use a sword. She's strong, even Uncle said she could probably match him. I wondered if she remembered her mother. She said her mother died when she was five. They'd joined our caravan when she was seven, so I didn't know anything about Guren-Chan's mother.
I stopped there. I wondered what being a child in a caravan might have been like. Different people around to show you different things. I imagined that it might have been interesting. I skipped a few more pages, wondering if Ten Ten had ever learned how to use weapons herself. I carried on reading.
Today Guren-Chan cut my hair. She used long thin scissors to try and get rid of all the frizzy bits at the end of my hair. She called them 'split ends' and she promised she wouldn't cut too much off. She kept her promise too. I have really long hair. After she trimmed it, she tied it up into plaits and then turned them into odangos. I really like my hair this way. I think I'm going to keep my hair in odangos forever.
I couldn't help but smile at this particular entry. I'd asked Ten Ten why she tied her hair up that way. She had never told me. I decided to skip about a quarter of the book. That was when I found an entry that really chilled me.
A few days ago, raiders attacked the caravan. Lee and I were in one of the wagons when they came. There were other children with us. There was Shion and Temujin, they were brother and sister, they had really pale blond hair and Shion had purple eyes. Temujin had pale blue eyes, and their skin was almost white. Shion was the same age as me and Lee and Temujin was older than us. He was about fourteen. There was also Tayuya, Jirobou and the twins, Sakon and Ukon, they were ten, like me and Lee and Shion. Kidomaru and Kimmimaru were thirteen and of course, Guren-Chan was with us. Uncle was furious. He and the other men tried to fight. I figure my father must've fought the same way. They weren't a match for trained soldiers like these slave raiders were.
I never remembered seeing someone die before. I must have been there when my mother was killed, but I doubt I saw anything with a blanket over my head. This was different. Tayuya's father was the first person who died. I saw a soldier run him through with a curvy sword. I felt numb, like everything was wrong. I thought that I might be dreaming. That maybe I would wake up. The blood just sprayed out all over the desert. I saw Temujin and Shion's father die next. A soldier had bashed him in the head with a mace. I saw one side of his face smashed in from where the mace had hit him, and I remember being sick over the side of the wagon. I also remember Lee rubbing my back. When I looked up I saw Temujin and Shion's mother run to her husband's side, and cry loudly. She screamed at the soldiers, calling them bastards, saying they'd pay for what they were doing, what they had done, one day. I saw a sword swish through the air and I saw a spray of blood, then she fell on the ground.
I heard Shion screaming and crying, and begging Temujin to let her go to their mother. I looked at him, and I know I was scared. I saw tears streaming down his face. His eyes never closed once. I don't think anyone's eyes closed. We were too scared to see what was happening and yet, we couldn't move our eyes away from the horrible sight. Guren's father, and my Uncle were back to back, trying to fight their best, with short swords. But they didn't have the right swords, and they weren't soldiers. They were stopped and tied up like animals. They were the last two men left.
I heard Tayuya crying. Kimmimaru was hugging her. Jirobou, Sakon and Ukon were huddled together, crying quietly. Kidomaru had tears falling down his cheeks, even though he didn't make a single noise. Guren was shaking. I'd never seen Guren look scared before. She'd always been the strong one. She called me and Lee over to her silently, with a shaking hand, and we both moved over to sit next to her. She didn't have to talk to us for us to know what she wanted. One of us, sat on each side of her. She hugged us tightly, and I saw those soldiers glaring at my Uncle and Guren's father. I asked her what they would do now. Guren shook her head and she whispered that she didn't know.
We saw a man with long black hair come along. He reminded me of a snake. He had yellow eyes like a snake, and his face just looked like one. He was so white that he looked like paper. Guren hugged me and Lee tighter.
"I am Lord Orochimaru, the chief raider for King Fugaku of the Fire Country. You two attacked my men. You killed a couple of them. I commend your bravery. Your comrades also fought, but they're dead. Do you think you should meet their fate?" Orochimaru asked my Uncle and Guren's father.
"Please show mercy. We have nothing. You've killed most of our people. Please spare the rest!" I saw my Aunt beg. My Uncle looked at her, and I saw in his eyes that he wanted her to be quiet. But that snake saw the look too.
"Is this man your husband?" He asked my Aunt. She nodded. She looked scared. She was right to be scared. He smiled, and I remember how much it scared me when he smiled. He took out his own sword, and slit my Uncle's throat.
I remember screaming. I remember Lee screaming next to me, and I heard my Aunt screaming too. My Uncle, the kindest man I knew, who'd never hurt anyone unless he had to, was dead. The soldier holding him let him go and he fell on the ground like a sack of potatoes. I couldn't stop screaming. I felt tears on my face, and I felt Guren hugging me tighter, but I couldn't stop screaming. My throat was burning, my chest stung because I couldn't breathe, but I just couldn't stop screaming for my Uncle. After all, he was the closest thing I'd ever had to a father.
"If that child isn't quiet, I'll kill every single child on that wagon." I heard that man hiss. I forced myself to stop then. I buried my face into Guren's shirt, and hid my crying. Lee was shaking next to me and hugging me too.
"Now for you." I heard Orochimaru say. I felt Guren hold me even tighter, and I heard the swish of the sword in the air, and the sound that had happened when he'd slit my Uncle's throat and I knew he'd done the same to Guren's father, when I felt her hugging me tighter and wetness hitting the top of my head. I knew Guren was crying.
"If the rest of you want to live, I suggest you keep yourselves silent, and don't bother defying me or my men." Orochimaru said. We all stayed quiet.
He made the women who were left get into the wagon with us. There were no men, they were all dead. Orochimaru killed my Uncle and Guren's father, and they were the last two alive. There weren't many women anyway. Sakon and Ukon's mother had died giving birth to them. Tayuya's mother had been killed only a year ago when she pushed Tayuya out of the way of a runaway wagon. Kimmimaru was an orphan, and lived with Tayuya's family. Jirobou and Kidomaru had their mothers, and Lee and I had my Aunt. That made three women. So there were fourteen of us. I'm glad that I kept my locket hidden in my shoe.
They hauled us all the rest of the day. We never even got to bury Uncle and the others. Kimmimaru was still hugging Tayuya tightly, and Kidomaru and Jirobou were trying to make the twins feel better. Lee hugged on to his mother tightly. Temujin and Shion were huddled together. Temujin holding on to Shion so tightly I was scared that she might not be breathing. Kidomaru's mother and Jirobou's mother were trying to help Jirobou, Kidomaru and the twins. I just stayed with Guren-Chan. If I moved my eyes up to look at that snake man I knew I would just start screaming again. I didn't want to risk him killing us all.
I felt sick reading this. Ten Ten's diary was just proof of how evil the slave trade really was. I knew why so much detail went into the entry. She didn't want to forget these people. She'd probably been separated from them quickly. When I looked at the dates, she could only have been ten and a half. That left half a year before she'd been bought by my uncle. I could only guess that she wrote to keep the information alive for her. I felt compelled to read the rest of the entry.
That night we were all tied up by our ankles and wrists. None of us could move. We barely slept, sitting up, and I kept wishing this was a nightmare. I wished so bad I would wake up to Uncle shaking me and telling me I had a bad dream. I knew it wouldn't happen, but it didn't stop me wishing. The next day was worse. They untied us and kept staring at us. We never had a chance to escape. That night Orochimaru decided to speak to us again.
"One more day and you'll find out that I'm a gracious man compared to some of the nice people who will buy you." He said to us. He laughed too. He looked at Guren-Chan strangely. She cringed and held on to me tightly. None of us had let go of each other except when we needed to go to the bathroom. That night there was another wagon waiting for us. A wagon with a cage on top of it. We were all dragged up to it and pushed inside. Jirobou's mother had called one of the guards a bastard when he shoved Jirobou into the cage. He fell and hit his head on one of the bars, and I saw blood on his eyebrow. She was killed for it, by Orochimaru. He seemed quite happy to kill us all if he wanted to. One by one we got thrown into that cage. It came to my turn, but I didn't want to be separated from Guren-Chan. She was walking into the cage with me, when Orochimaru made some kind of gesture. They pulled me away from Guren-Chan and threw me into the cage. I saw two guards grab her and take her to Orochimaru's tent. I remember yelling to Guren-Chan over and over again as they took her away. My Aunt and Lee hugged me and moved me away from the bars. I never knew what happened to Guren once she was in that tent. I was scared she would never come back. I couldn't sleep at all. At midnight Guren-Chan did come back. She looked very white, and she shook badly as though she was freezing cold. When they shoved her into the cage she ran over and sat next to me. She was still shaking, even when I hugged her. I asked her what was wrong, but she never told me. She just told me everything would be alright and that I'd be safe. She whispered to me to make sure I hid my locket very carefully. I whispered back where I'd put it, and she nodded. She was still shaking and she held on to me tightly. She made me promise that I wouldn't do anything to get badly punished as a slave. She made me promise to just do what I was told. She also said something weird about fighting to the death if they asked me to be more than a servant and made me promise I wouldn't let anyone touch me in ways I didn't want. I promised, even though I wasn't quite sure what she meant, I promised anyway. I wanted to make Guren-Chan happy.
The next day, we were taken into a town, and Orochimaru sold us all. Except for Guren-Chan. I cried when they pulled her away from me. She told me she loved me like a sister, and that she'd find me one day. She told me to remember what she told me the night before. I promised, and I yelled out that I loved her too, and that she'd better keep her promise. So I lost another person who loved me. I miss her so much already that it hurts. I'll never forget what she told me. Even if I don't understand now, I hope I will later.
I saw them shove Guren-Chan into Orochimaru's arms and he just dragged her away. I saw her crying as she got further and further away, I still tried to watch after her. Even when they were dragging me in the opposite direction. After that, I got to watch as people came to buy us all. Shion and Tayuya were the first ones to be bought. Kimmimaru and Temujin were fighting not to let go of them, but in the end they were dragged away by a fat old woman, wearing lots of make-up and carrying a fan. Her hair was bunched up on her head in a tight bun. She frightened me. She hadn't seemed to want me at all. She said I wasn't pretty enough. That was fine with me. She had poked and prodded at Tayuya and Shion, saying they'd grow in good time. She said they'd be well liked even now. I wondered what she meant. She had asked them if they had any scars, or marks. She even opened their tops to look. It made me feel sick. It made me glad once again that she didn't buy me, but I felt sorry and sick for Tayuya and Shion.
An old man came after that, and he bought all the boys. Kidomaru cried and his mother screamed like she was in pain. I screamed too. This man took Lee away. My Aunt begged and pleaded to the man not to take Lee. He didn't listen. He was worse than the woman who took Shion and Tayuya. He felt their legs, and arms, slapped their faces, and pulled their hair hard. Temujin yelled when his hair was pulled. The man pulled their mouths open and looked at their teeth. He nodded and handed over a giant bag of what I thought must be gold.
Lee hugged me tightly as the others were hauled out of the cage.
"Don't be scared Ten Ten-Chan. We'll see each other again. I'll find you, or you'll find me. Promise?" Lee said to me. I couldn't help but promise. He promised too. He hugged his mother, and then he was pulled away. I cried even more. I don't think I had stopped crying for the last three days. First Uncle, then Guren-Chan, and now Lee. I knew they'd take me away from my Aunt soon. Or that she'd be taken away from me. I felt her hugging me, and I felt wetness on my head again. I had been wishing for days to wake up. I knew that it was pointless but I was still wishing. I still had a little bit of hope. My Aunt was still with me, and Kidomaru's mother. I had hoped we would stay together, but we didn't.
Another man came along and he looked fierce. I hadn't seen someone look so angry. He bought Kidomaru's mother. Like the other two who came before, he kept feeling Kidomaru's mother like she was an animal. My Aunt told me he was examining her, to make sure she was healthy. I couldn't understand what that had to do with touching her legs and arms. He said he needed a new cook, because the last one had tried to run away. I didn't understand what he meant. I didn't understand a lot today. She looked at me and my Aunt as they pulled her out of the cage and handed her over to the man. He made sure they left chains on her. She looked so sad and I looked at my Aunt, hoping we would stay together. I should have known better then to hope.
A rich looking woman came along with her husband. I mean I think he was her husband. She looked very young, and he looked much older, but she was kissing him, so he had to be her husband. They bought my Aunt. I was so frightened when they came in, she pleaded for one minute to say goodbye. I was shaking my head. I didn't want to say goodbye. I wanted to stay with her. She was the only mother I ever knew. She knelt down and hugged me tightly. She promised that even if I never saw her again that she'd always be thinking about me. I promised her I'd never forget her. I promised I'd find her someday. I cried. I think it was the millionth time I cried. But I couldn't help it. Once they took my Aunt away I was all alone. That was when I knew there wasn't such a thing as hoping and wishing. At least for me, and poor people like me who had no one. Wishing was for rich people, like the people who bought my friends and family, or for powerful people, like the snake man who killed my Uncle and took Guren-Chan away.
I'm not sure how long I sat there in the cage. Plenty of people stared at me like I was an animal. I didn't care. I didn't even want to notice them. I didn't even bother wishing that all of what had happened was a dream. I knew it wasn't. I couldn't be a ten year old anymore. No one bought me today. I didn't really care. That was when I decided to write this. I didn't want people to see my diary before. But I knew they could just take it if they wanted to anyway. If it was worth anything they would have taken it away already. I knew better then to think I could do what I wanted anymore. I made promises though. I will keep my promises. I'll see Guren-Chan, Lee and my Aunt again. I'll never forget any of this.
I couldn't believe what I was reading. I knew things were horrible in slave markets. They couldn't be a kind place. That was never going to be the case. But I never knew how degrading it had to be. How children were forced to watch their friends and family being sold. Or how the people were examined like meat. I prayed that Uncle hadn't examined Ten Ten in such a way before he bought her. I felt almost compelled to read more, but there was a knock at the door. I put the book back in Ten Ten's pack, along with the locket, and vowed I'd give them to her personally. The door opened, and Sasuke was there.
"We need to go and make the damned announcement now." Sasuke said quietly. I nodded.
"I need to stop at the stable first." I told him. He nodded. He walked with me to the stable, and I put the small pack in one of my saddle bags. "We should get going to the hall." I stated. Sasuke nodded and we walked to the hall in silence.
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Okay, I hope you all liked this chapter. I thought I'd introduce a few more characters that will be important to the plot later, possibly. Just for reference, Temujin was in the second Naruto movie, and Shion was in the fourth one. Well the first Naruto Shipuuden movie, but the fourth movie altogether. I also wanted to explain Ten Ten's story in a bit more depth.
Also, before anyone asks, Ino is not getting a diary thing. Not because it wouldn't be great to do the same thing, but because she can't read or write (in this fanfic) and I have plans about revealing her past in other ways. If there are any questions, please feel free to ask me in your reviews and I will answer. Thanks for reading, and see you all next chapter.