Okay, here's the next chapter of The Prince and The Slave for you all to look over. (nods) I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks to all of you who reviewed and added me to their faves and alert lists. I appreciate it immensely.
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The Prince and The Slave.
Chapter Twenty-Four.
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(Ino' P.O.V.)
I was sat with Shikamaru as Ibiki explained the mission to us. We were to find Idate Morino, who happened to be Ibiki's little brother. We were to get information from him that would be written in a bunch of notebooks, and held in a backpack. Of course that would be when the hard part began because we would have to bring it back to the base without being captured, followed or losing the pack. Shikamaru was already planning a strategy on how we could do this. I could tell as he placed his fingertips together and sat quietly. Ibiki had given us a picture of Idate and the password to talk to him. Shikamaru wouldn't forget it, I knew that I could rely on him. Soon we were off, wearing merchant clothing and mixing in with a caravan of people that we caught up to on the road. They were on their way to the slave market as well and they seemed friendly enough but I couldn't help but feel like they were as bad as the people that had bought me as a child. A few days on the road, and we'd finally got to the slave market. I couldn't help but feel revolted by all the fear that I saw around me. Large men whipping children with horsewhips, old men slapping at the legs, arms and faces of young men and women, to see if they were healthy. I wanted to scream, but I felt a hand grasp mine and looked to see that it was Shikamaru who'd taken hold of my hand. I felt warm inside at the thought that Shikamaru was trying to offer me some comfort. He squeezed my hand a little and I squeezed back. Now all we had to do was find Idate.
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(Sasuke's P.O.V.)
I was sat with my mother as she was sewing. She was mending clothes and she often helped with anything she could. I knew she didn't want to be a burden. Neji, Naruto and I were all worried about Shikamaru. It had been a few days since he'd left with Ino to complete a mission. I could see Sakura, Ten Ten, Hinata and a few other girls, training with Tsunade. Naruto's grandmother had an extremely well-known reputation for being tough on recruits. Even when she had been a part of Fire Country, she had often been thought of as 'The Dragon' because of her tough training techniques. "Sasuke I know you're worried about Shikamaru. But you know he's very intelligent. He'll be fine and he'll come back safe and sound." My mother said gently. I couldn't help giving her a smile. After all, she was always trying to make me feel better when she knew something wasn't right with me. I know my eyes travelled to Sakura frequently. She was so much more than a friend now. But what our boundaries were, I couldn't quite say. We'd been skirting around each other for a while and sometimes I just want to tell her exactly how I felt. Of course I hadn't, because generally, whether you were a man or a boy, it was hard to let out your feelings. I certainly wasn't an exception to the rule. I watched as Ten Ten's cousin, Lee ran over to the girls as they stopped for their break. He handed a few of the girls, bottles of water. I stood up and made my way over. I took one of the bottles and handed it to Sakura. She gulped it down gratefully and gave me a smile. I smiled back and we started one of our small conversations. Of course it didn't last long as Tsunade called them all back to training and I was left to watch again.
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(Ino's P.O.V.)
I was walking with Shikamaru when we came across an auction. I saw a little girl brought on the stage and made to turn around and around again so that everyone could see her from every angle. She couldn't be much older than six. That was when I saw him. The man who had owned me, before Shikamaru and his family. He was bidding on that little girl. She had big olive green eyes and coppery brown hair. She looked so lost and desolate. I looked at Shikamaru. "Can't we do anything?" I asked him. He looked at me.
"We can't save everyone Ino." He replied.
"The guy who bought me, before you owned me, he's going to buy that little girl. He's here bidding." I told Shikamaru.
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(Shikamaru's P.O.V.)
I couldn't help feeling angry when Ino said that. When my father had bought Ino to our home I'd heard him telling my mother exactly why he'd chosen to buy her. I was intelligent enough to understand what was said, even if I didn't know all the implications. As I got older I understood better. When Ino pointed the man out, I was almost tempted to forget how lazy I usually am, and go and give him the beating of his life. Ino had become family to me and I knew that this little kid meant something to her. So as troublesome as it was, I started to bid.
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(Ino's P.O.V.)
I couldn't believe that Shikamaru was bidding for the little girl. He went pretty high. Amazingly, he won. We went to the stage to collect the little girl and walked away with her. Shikamaru paid cash. "Where did you get all that from?" I whispered.
"Pein gave it to me so that if we needed to bid we could. You know, to look like actual buyers. So troublesome." He whispered back. I couldn't help but laugh at his typical 'troublesome' on the end of the sentence. I was glad we wore hoods. It wasn't likely that anyone recognised us at all. Once we were far enough away from the stage, I knelt down next to the girl.
"What's your name sweetie?" I asked. She looked at me with big, tearful eyes.
"I'm Kali." She replied. Her voice was so quiet I barely heard her. But she had a name. That was all that mattered.
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We found Idate a few hours later. He was sat in a tent, cleaning up some shackles. He looked at us warily. "If you're looking for the slave trader he's not here at the moment." Idate said.
"You're Idate right?" Shikamaru asked. Idate narrowed his eyes at us.
"Who wants to know?" He asked.
"Strangers who work with the new dawn." Shikamaru replied softly. Idate visibly relaxed.
"Come in." He said. We came in and sat down. Idate handed us some food. "You'll need it for the journey back." He quipped before we could say anything. "What happened to my brother?" He asked.
"He's fine. But he might be recognised." Shikamaru replied quickly. Idate nodded and handed Shikamaru a large pack. It was sand coloured.
"That's everything I've got at the moment. My suggestion is to do whatever they're going to do soon. There's rumours of the market being moved totally." Idate quipped. Shikamaru nodded and we ate and drank. Especially Kali. After that we left quickly and kept going. Kali looked up at me after a little while.
"Where are we going miss?" She asked. She looked so frightened I couldn't help picking her up and hugging her.
"To a place where you'll be free Kali." I told her. She hugged me back and we carried on into the desert, following another leaving caravan. All we needed now was to not be noticed and to get back to base as quickly as possible.
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Okay all, another chappie finished. Please R&R and let me know what you think. It's always appreciated.