Okay all, here's the next chapter of The Prince and The Slave. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and added me to their alerts and faves lists. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
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The Prince and The Slave.
Chapter Twenty-Nine.
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(Sakura's P.O.V.)
I looked in the mirror that was in my bathroom. I'd just washed my face, waking myself up, after a night of little sleep. My worry for my brother, Sasuke, and the others, kept me awake most of the night. I had probably fallen into a doze, but had jolted awake after, what felt like, only moments. I felt my hands clench into fists, as I looked at my long hair. It was too long. It was a hindrance really. I thought about what was to come and I made a decision. I went into my bedroom and picked up a kunai. Going back into my bathroom, I looked in the mirror, and pulled my hair back, clenching it all in one hand, like I would if I were tying it into a ponytail, before slicing through the strands. I looked at myself in the mirror, and liked the change. I looked like a real warrior now. I looked like I belonged. I dropped the long, cherry blossom pink strands, into the bin, and brushed my hands off. Then I decided it was time to head to my training with Tsunade.
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(Ino's P.O.V.)
I was confused when I saw Sakura walk into the training hall. I didn't know what to say, as Sakura took her place beside me. "What did you do to your hair, Billboard Brow?" I asked her. She looked at me and smiled.
"I cut it. I'm a warrior. It's about time I started acting like one." Sakura said. I looked at the uneven ends, before Tsunade barked out that training was beginning for the day. But when Tsunade let us stop for a quick break, I nudged Sakura to sit down. "What? What are you doing, Ino-Pig?" Sakura asked me.
"I'm evening out the ends. Even warriors, style their hair." I told her. She grinned at me, and I couldn't help smiling back, as I evened out the pink strands, glad that Sakura seemed to have found something to give her confidence. I just hoped that I would find it myself.
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(Ten Ten's P.O.V.)
I saw Neji was still breathing, and I couldn't help but be relieved. I wanted to believe that he would make it, but I still felt the niggling doubts in the back of my mind. Lee had regained consciousness, and was looking at me sadly. I hated to see him look so sad. "I wanted to help him Ten Ten-Chan." Lee said softly.
"I know you didn't just let this happen Lee. You don't have to be sorry. This wasn't your fault. You were all ambushed." I said firmly. Lee nodded, but I knew this would weigh heavily on him. He was so loyal to his comrades, and seeing all those people in pain, I knew, would make him feel terribly guilty. He'd feel like he could've done more. I can't blame him, when I feel the same way.
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(Sakura's P.O.V.)
I found myself standing in front of Mikoto, who was pouring over the maps. She was determined and concentrating for everything she was worth. I couldn't help but be glad that she was. We couldn't afford to be sloppy on our new mission. As soon as Mikoto was finished with the maps, I would hand them to Shikamaru and he would make a strategy with the help of his father, Naruto's father and Deidara. I hoped that everything would go well. I also hoped that everyone was alright so far. I knew they would be tortured but I had no idea whether they would be allowed to survive the torture. "Sakura?" I found myself looking straight into Mikoto's eyes.
"Yes Mikoto-San?" I replied. I felt a sense of nervousness. In spite of her kindness, Mikoto was still the Queen of Fire Country, and she had all the right manners and stature to be a Queen.
"I know my son loves you. I know he's told you. If you choose to go on this mission, all I can ask is that you try and be safe. I don't want to see my son lose someone that he cares for so much." Mikoto said gently. I couldn't help but nod. I could understand what Mikoto was saying.
"I shall most definitely try to be safe, Mikoto-San." I said. She gave me a kind smile, and I wondered how she could smile like that when things seemed so dark and dire. Of course, the answer came to me straight away. If you can't smile, then you might as well cry, and as the Queen, Mikoto couldn't have been allowed to cry very often. I wondered if I could ever have the strength to smile in the face of my own pain. I also wondered how Mikoto had managed to, for all these years.
"I see you've cut your hair." Mikoto said. I found my fingers playing with the short strands, for what felt like the millionth time that day.
"Yes. I think it may well be a hindrance in the coming battle, and I just felt it needed to be cut. So… I cut it." I said. Mikoto smiled at me again.
"I don't know if I would have the courage to cut my hair. I was always told that I must keep it long, when I was a child. Long hair was said to be the mark of a true lady, according to my Father. The very idea of cutting it, was out of the question, and now… I suppose I'm so used to it's length, that the idea of cutting it has never crossed my mind." Mikoto said. "But it suits you well, Sakura." She added. I found myself blushing under the praise, hoping that this would not be the last friendly conversation I had with the Queen.
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(Hinata's P.O.V.)
I helped Ten Ten to tend to Neji's injuries, and then I went to go and get a few hours of sleep. I passed Naruto's room and I heard sobbing. I could see Kushina-San sitting on Naruto's bed. Minato-San was with her, along with Kyubi and Amaru. Who both stood near the other end of the bed. "Why didn't you two keep an eye on him?" Kushina sobbed. Both Kyubi and Minato-San looked down at the ground. I couldn't blame them for feeling so awful. I made a decision to go with Sakura then. If I didn't go then I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. I needed to see Naruto again, even if it was one last time. Even if I died in the process. It was the only thing I could think about.
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(Ino's P.O.V.)
I was sat with Shikamaru when I saw a young girl pass by the room. She had long carrot coloured hair tied into pigtails. Something about her felt familiar. "I'll be right back Shikamaru." I remembered saying, but I didn't wait for his answer. I followed, after the girl, and saw her sitting with Karin. I knew she was one of the girls we'd rescued from the brothel. I'd seen her briefly before, but hadn't noticed her really, until now. There were so many people, that I rarely got to spend time with any of them. I couldn't even think about how awful it was, for such a young girl, to be used in a brothel. I couldn't help but think that this girl wasn't a stranger. Her hair and eyes were so familiar. I couldn't put my finger on it but I knew I'd known this girl before.
"Moegi have you eaten anything today? Remember what Tsunade-Sama said, you have to start eating more. Even if it's only some soup." Karin said to the girl. I felt my eyes widen. It couldn't be coincidence, could it? That this little girl had the same name as my little sister. I bit my lip nervously as I approached the pair. I saw Karin run off somewhere, maybe to find Moegi something to eat. I approached Moegi and sat next to her. She jumped when I sat next to her. It was as if she was scared of me. But she soon relaxed.
"Hi." I said to her.
"Hi." She said back.
"We haven't spoken before, I don't think. My name's Ino." I told her. The girl looked at me strangely.
"I had a sister called Ino once. But I don't remember much about her. I was just a little kid when slave raiders attacked my home, and took me away from my father and sister. I was maybe three. I don't really remember." Moegi told me. I felt my stomach leap into my throat.
"Did you have a Brother or Mother?" I heard myself ask.
"I don't remember a Mother. There's a blurry face in my mind, but that's all I can recall. I know I had a Brother called Deidara. But he wasn't there. I don't know what happened to him." Moegi answered. I couldn't help but feel happy. I'd finally found my little sister. I decided to tell her exactly who I was at that moment, because it felt like this might well be my last chance.
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(Naruto's P.O.V.)
I was sitting in a chair after another one of Mizuki's torture sessions. I was becoming immune to them. After the first time, Kabuto had decided to have Mizuki trying to interrogate me. He was busy with Ibiki. Mizuki was using more awful methods to make me scream in pain. I wanted to hit back at him. I'd never really known what hate was until Mizuki had started interrogating me. I knew that my hate for the little bastard, would keep me from opening my mouth. He was pulling off one of my toe nails, as the realisation that I had the power, dawned on me. Everyone always assumed that I wasn't smart. I admit that I don't always have the brightest ideas. But at that very moment, when I was in complete agony, when Mizuki was ripping off my nails, or sticking large, heated bamboo splinters under them, I realised that if I didn't give Mizuki the information he wanted, then I had the power. I would be kept alive, as long as I had information that they wanted from me. Today, Mizuki was mangling my hand with thumbscrews, as he crushed and mangled my fingers. I screamed bloody murder. I screamed until no sound came out of my throat, but I never said a single word. "All of this can stop Naruto. All the pain, the torture, and I can even make sure you're healed and have something to eat and drink. But you must give me the answers to the questions I ask." Mizuki told me. He tried to sound kind. I remembered smirking and spitting in his face. I heard him curse. I didn't bother looking at him. "Bring in the cat's paw." Mizuki yelled angrily. Great, more torture. I knew I would have to make myself stronger. I couldn't give up now, I'd already come too far.
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(Pein's P.O.V.)
It was close to that time again. I heard Naruto screaming in his cell. I couldn't help but admire the boy. After all, I had heard him screaming in agony for the past few days of our capture, but he never said a word. I knew he was tortured horribly. I was tortured as well. But I knew that I had been interrogated before and Naruto hadn't ever had to suffer this kind of pain. I knew that soon, King Fugaku himself would arrive at the cells. I'd heard him vow he was going to use a head crusher on me today. I knew if he got too carried away with it that I'd die. After all, the head crusher used to be a form of execution, and could most definitely kill someone. The idea of someone taking my head and squeezing it with that device, until my eyeballs popped out of my head, and my skull fragmented, along with the squashing of my brain until it was on the ground, didn't really sit well with me. I hoped that I'd either die soon, or that I would be rescued. I hoped more for death. I didn't want Konan, or Sakura, coming to rescue me. I didn't want them to be captured and tortured the way I was being tortured. There was talk of public executions. They had thought of using the cradle to execute me, but Fugaku had determined that all of us would face the executioner. We were going to be beheaded. He'd already set a date for it from what I heard from passing guards. They wanted us to talk but they wanted to make an example out of us more, and I knew that Ibiki wasn't talking. After a few days of realising that torturing Idate wouldn't get Ibiki to talk, Kabuto had stopped torturing him. I heard they had thrown him into a small cell and left him there to rot. I heard a lot from my cell. Now I heard Ibiki's screams as well. It had taken the last few days, but Ibiki had eventually started screaming. But even so, he didn't talk. I wasn't sure if I was glad that I didn't hear Sasuke's screams or whether I was scared. After all, I was hoping that we would have heard of Sasuke's death, if it had happened. But I also worried that Sasuke may just have betrayed us to forgo any torture. Then I also thought about Sakura, who I knew he loved. I could tell what his feelings for my little sister were. I knew he couldn't have given her up, or any of his other friends, to his father. But I wondered what they had planned for the younger Prince now.
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(Sasuke's P.O.V.)
I had sat in this cell for days. From dawn until dusk, I often heard Naruto screaming in pain. In fact, most of the time the screaming went on well into the night. That was like being tortured all by its self. He was my best friend, and listening to him screaming in pain was horrible. I wanted to scream too, I wanted to at least have the same treatment. I knew that if I were tortured myself, that I'd suffer, but I didn't want to listen to the others screaming and know that all I did was sit in this cell and listen to them. I wanted to be treated equally, or at least know that they weren't suffering alone. In another thought, I knew how stupid that feeling was. If they tortured me, I may not be as tough as Ibiki, as strong as Pein, or as brave as Naruto. I may crack under pressure. I knew I should be grateful that I wasn't being tortured. But I felt like a traitor when I heard the screaming start. I felt like this whole situation was unfair. Itachi came into my cell that moment. "Sasuke. It's the fact that you carry royal blood that stops you being tortured. There is an ancient law that stops our father torturing you for information. As long as you carry royal blood he won't send his interrogators in to torture you." Itachi told me. It was almost like he was reading my mind.
"Itachi I need to know what's happened to them. I hear Naruto screaming every day, every night. He's my best friend, Itachi." I heard myself beg my brother. Itachi sighed.
"He's a lot stronger than anyone ever thought he was. You should be proud of him Sasuke. He hasn't said a single word. That's why they won't stop torturing him. Father interrogates Pein, himself. He intends to use a head crusher on the man today." Itachi told me. I felt sick. When I was nine years old, my father had made me watch a man be tortured by a head crusher. I remember the man performing the interrogation went too far, and the man's eyes had popped out. My father had yelled at the man to stop, but it was too late. His head had been crushed and I had vomited at the sight of the man's brains, that had squirted on to my tunic. My father was angry. Not because I had witnessed a man die so barbarically, which he and my mother argued about later that night, but because he had wanted information from the prisoner, and his interrogator had messed up and killed him. "Don't worry Sasuke. I will be there. It's not something I enjoy, but I will make sure father doesn't go too far. Pein will be in a lot of pain, but he will live. If I can, I will try and convince father to use thumbscrews, or something that's less likely to kill him." Itachi said. Then he left the room. I couldn't help but feel sick. I then heard Naruto's screams increase and dreaded what was happening to him at that moment.
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(Ten Ten's P.O.V.)
I saw Sakura talking to Hinata and Ino later that night. I looked at Neji, who was amazingly still alive. It was a miracle, according to Tsunade-Sama, and I was grateful. Lee was sleeping peacefully. His arm was healing well apparently. If he was lucky, or so he said, he might be able to join the rescue mission. I walked over to Sakura then. I needed to join the mission myself. I couldn't just sit here and do nothing. I wanted to avenge Neji and help our comrades. I couldn't do that if I played it safe and stayed here.
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Okay all, that's the end of this chapter. Please R&R and tell me what you all think. Also if any of you are interested in knowing about the torture instruments I mentioned this chapter, here's the link to one of the internet pages I used to research them.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chappie. See you all next chapter.