Wonderland Chapter 3, a naruto fanfic

lost | (lôst) | v. No longer in existence; vanished or spent; lost youth.

Chapter 3

The Raven

The smell of dread

And burning heads

Is a sure sign

That you're in town

Land

Sunlight assaulted Sakura's eyes as she stepped through the door.

A dry, barren landscape surrounded her; a thick fog swirled through the air obstructing what lay in the distance. A stone path lazed beneath Sakura's feet leading into the obscured unknown.

"One, two, three, four, five –
Once I caught a fish alive"

Turning around, the door vanished in a flurry, the path ending just short of where it once stood.

(RedRedRed)

Sakura felt her panic return. She wasn't sure if that fox boy was here, or if he could even help her return back to Konoha, assuming she wasn't anywhere near her home town anymore. Sitting on the ground and crying felt like her only option.

"No," she whispered, wiping at her eyes, "I won't be helpless anymore."

Something within her, the space where Dinah used to occupy, seemed to open. "The only way is foreword," Sakura stood straighter and clenched her fists, determination flowing through her as she walked into the gray fog that swallowed her.

(We will all be eaten alive)

Naruto had never been very suspicious.

His foxtail swished back and forth behind him as he contentedly walked along the stone path.

But during his whole journey from Earth to Wonderland, Naruto kept feeling the nagging sensation that someone was following him. Even now, crossing into the White border, it was as if something was behind his tall blond form.

Out of uncertainty he quickly turned around, only to feel foolish when there was no such presence in sight.

The blonde sighed, knocking a rocking-horse fly out of the way, and continued his trek foreword, speeding up as he thought of how much trouble he was already in.

Gradually the more Sakura walked, the more the landscape around her started to shift.

The fog became almost nonexistent, the murky gray now replaced with blue. The dry, course ground turned into fields of grass and flowers, and even the pathway underneath looked less worn.

(WhiteWhiteWhite)

Sakura grinned in satisfaction as she realized how far she had currently journeyed on her own, adding a swell of confidence to her step.

(Silly little worthless girl)

Around her, fields of grass soon turned into trees, shadows providing shade from the vivid sun above. She continued to follow the path into the forest, unaware of the pair of red eyes that watched her.

When I was nine,

I killed my pet rabbit.

His whitepirstineperfect fur-clad body huddled in the back of the black wire cage that he arrived in on my eighth birthday (a present from flawlessmommy and sprucedaddy). Always huddled. Always timid. Always not wanting to play.

But I wanted to play.

Even as my hand stretched into that black wire cage toward the whitepristineperfect fur, even as he turned his fluffy cotton head, even as he bit my finger, even as the redredred dribbled from my retreating hand.

I held my hand to my chest, redredredderthenmommieslips coated my index finger.

His tiny little body buried deeper, trying to disappear, while his blackroundglasscoldbeady eyes laughed at me.

"The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts"

Laughing at me.

She snatches his whitepristineperfect fur, grabs it in bundles, and hauls him out of the cage and into the kitchen. His body is squirming and kicking and writhing in my grasp.

"The Knave of Hearts, he stole the tarts"

My other hand pulls out the kitchen drawer. The cutting knives, all aligned, looked pretty under the glint of the light above.

The rabbit screams.

"The mad Queen said,"

Flawlessmommy runs into the kitchen, "Sakura, what are you do-"

Flawlessmommy screams.

"Off with his head"

His whitepristineperfect fur-clad body is redredredderthenmommieslips.

Red over White.

"Off with his head"

"Mommy, I don't want a rabbit anymore."

His blackroundglasscoldbeady eyes are still laughing.

Red over White.

"Off with his head"

The pink haired girl inhaled a breath of pine-scented air from the forest around her.

"Six, seven, eight, nine, ten –
Then I let it go again"

With or without Dinah, she wouldn't be weak. Part of the pinkette knew that maybe she shouldn't have entered the little door or followed the fox boy to begin with, but she couldn't simply deny the pullingpullingpulling urge in her chest that tempted her forewords. It had felt right, especially with Dinah's urging.

Something rustled the canopy in Sakura's peripheral, bringing her out of her thoughts. She turned and studied the leaves. Green foliage sat on the branches, giving no indication that it had moved.

The pink haired girl sighed, "You're just imagining things, Sakura."

(RedRedRed)

Another rustle of leaves sounded behind her.

She turned toward it, now doubting her previous statement.

"Hello?" Sakura called out at the still branches, "Is someone there?"

Fear began to grip her as she stepped back. Dinah wasn't here to protect her. The empty part of mind throbbed.

(RedRedRed)

A loud caw echoed from Sakura's right, causing the pink-haired girl to jump.

A raven perched innocuously on a branch. Its black wings were folded at its sides, while its redroundglasscoldbeady eyes stared at her.

Sakura relaxed. It was just a bird.

"Why hello there," the pinkette said to it, leaning towards the bird slightly.

The raven simply blinked.

"I don't suppose you could tell me where I am?"

It blinked its redroundglasscoldbeady eyes again.

She sighed, blowing a stray pink lock out her face, "Of course not. Well it was worth a try."

"Why did I let it go?"

Sakura started to turn around when the raven suddenly bellowed an alarmingly loud screech. It sounded eerily human.

(Their screams shall echo in your blood)

Black feathers were suddenly everywhere, obscuring her vision. Sakura quickly lifted her arms to shield her face. The raven's human-like screams rang in her ears while its talons raked along her hair, and wings beat along the sides of her face. Sharp talons tore down the front of her hand as Sakura repeatedly tried to turn away.

(killitkillitkillitkillitkillitkillit)

Something whipped through the air.

And then silence. The screams and black feathers gone.

Cautiously, Sakura lifted her head from her arms. Pinned to the tree in front of her lay the raven. A black diamond-like knife proudly protruded from its chest.

"Who are you?" demanded a voice from behind her.

Sakura quickly turned around, only to come face to face with a similar looking knife pointed at her. The owner of the strange weapon stood behind it.

"Who are you?" the voice asked again.

(WhiteWhiteWhite)

Sakura looked up from the weapon to its owner. An older girl stared back at her. On her head perched two twin brunette buns, her eyes matching pools of brown. She wore a white cheongsam top with black pants that hugged her legs, and white slippers on her feet. A black diamond embroidered the white fabric on the left side of her chest. On her back was strapped a giant scroll, and a variety of different weapons hung in pouches around her torso.

"Because it bit my finger so"

The girl frowned.

Another voice spoke from behind Sakura. "Are you deaf or something? Who are you?"

Sakura didn't dare to turn and look again. Her eyes glued to the girl and weapon pointed at her.

The sound of feet walked towards the pinkette until they stopped next to the weapon-clad girl.

Sakura jumped in surprise, causing the girl to shift her dagger closer.

The other presence was an exact replica of the girl in front of her. The same brown buns, same brown eyes, even the clothing with the scroll and weapons matched.

Sakura swallowed nervously, realizing twice as many weapons were against her.

"Sakura," she breathed shakily.

The girl lowered the dagger a little and tilted her head, "Really? How fitting." Her replica only nodded in agreement.

The other continued, "Where are you from, Sakura? Red-"

"Or White," the one standing to the side finished.

Sakura frowned, not quite understanding the question.

The girl in front only sighed in irritation as the other said, "It's not that hard. Just tell us if you're from Red or White-"

"And we'll let you go depending on your answer," her twin finished once again.

The pinkette shifted her weight a little, incase she would have to run for it.

"I don't think I'm from either," she tried to elaborate carefully, "I'm from Konoha."

The two girls blinked in surprise. The one in front finally putt away her weapon, which made Sakura release a breath of relief.

The one in front asked again, "How did you get here?"

"Uhm, I followed a boy," Sakura answered, and realizing how silly she sounded, "A boy who had a fox tail, but I don't know where he went."

The two twin girls visibly relaxed, the one to the side even smiling. They both joined hands, and before Sakura's eyes they morphed into each other, until only one stood in front of her.

"My name is Tenten," she said.

Sakura blinked her eyes trying to decipher what she just witnessed. Tenten gave no indication of Sakura's confusion as she tore the bottom part of her shirt off and reached across, grabbing Sakura's right hand.

The pinkette squeaked in surprise as she realized the hand Tenten now wrapped in white material, was bleeding. A brief memory of the raven flashed through Sakura's head.

"Which finger did it bite?"

As if reading her mind, Tenten said, "That raven got you good. Reds don't usually come in this area, so it's better if you head to the White queendom."

Sakura frowned, "Reds?"

"The Red queendom," Tenten replied as she finished tying the material. "Unfortunately, you're in the middle of a war zone between the Red and the White."

"War? But how am I supposed to get back, to Konoha?" she asked, now thoroughly confused on what to do.

Tenten stepped back and admired her makeshift bandage. "The White Queen will help you."

Sakura frowned,"But I don't know how to get to her?"

The brunette looked bemused as she stared at Sakura. "Just keep following the path."

She reached into one of her many weapon pouches and brought out a diamond shaped badge, similar to the one embroidered on her shirt. She stepped forward and clipped it to Sakura's hospital shift.

"Keep walking along the path and you'll eventually see white walls. Head towards them," she flicked the metal surface of the badge, "This should help you get to the White court. Tell them Tenten sent you, and explain your story."

Tenten then walked away from Sakura, "I have to get back to my post. I wish you luck."

Sakura looked up from the diamond badge on her chest, "Thank you-" but Tenten was already gone.

Unconsciously, she stroked the white material that now wound around her right hand. It was the first act of kindness Sakura had ever received from another being.

(No one will ever love you)

Sakura brushed a stray tendril of pink behind her ear, and set off down the path again, remembering Tenten's instructions.

"The little finger on the right"

The raven's redroundglasscoldbeady eyes glinted humorously as the dark red of its blood stained the tree.

(Red over White)

disclaimer: i do not own naruto, alice's adventures in wonderland, "fish story" nursery rhyme, edited queen of hearts poem from pandora hearts, or "tsietsi" by the middle east.