Transition
Sakura is perceived from the perspectives of others as she changes during the years into something else entirely. The people near her follows her transition closely and when she starts abandoning everything she held dear - she gets closer and closer to her goal.
/Non-Canon, Sakura-centric
Chapter 7
Through the Eyes of a Man of Shadows, a Widow and a Man Who Has a Name
The Man of Shadows Shimura Danzō
She strictly waltzed inside and bowed her head in respect, then sat on the chair facing him behind the office desk when he had nodded his approval. The chair squeaked when she sat down. Her facial expression was nonexistent and he was pleased with it. It seemed like she had practiced to wipe all signs of emotion away from her face.
"I heard about your S-ranked mission in Snow. Well done, Haruno. It might have earned you a place on the ANBU recruit list of the Hokage." He nodded. Her eyes were perplexed for an instant, then it was gone. He recognised she must have been surprised at his praise. Maybe he was himself, he didn't know. He was not one to offer praise to just anyone.
"Thank you, Danzō-sama. It was easier than what I would have believed at first. Explosives are very useful if placed in the right location. Kagebunshins make for easy decoys. There was not much else to it." She explained. He said nothing in return, gathering a few information papers in his hand. Because of her recent success at the S-rank mission, since however much she tried to make it seem easy; he knew it hadn't been. The Snow Daimyo, now dead, had been very paranoid and had the highest security in all the Elemental Nations.
Danzō had had to reevaluated her skills. She was much more cunning and strong than he at first had thought. He had planned this course of action, The Assassination plan of the Last Fan, for a long time and the recent events of her missions had made it clear to him. He would assign her this mission; the executioner of the plan. She was the perfect one for it, in all truth. She had bonds. She had known him once; and that made for sentimental emotions he knew could be beneficial. He then gave her the information papers and she accepted them, eyeing them right away.
"You are to be put up on a team to wipe out Uchiha Sasuke." He said and watched her expression. Nothing changed. So he continued with the information detail.
"There is a Root member that will accompany you under taken disguise. You will try to make him a part of Team Seven, incorporate him into the team dynamics and make other trust him. It is only the early stages of the Assassination plan, so do not expect to be sent to do it right away. Some plans needs time to be useful in the end." His chair creaked when he changed his sitting position slightly. The pink haired girl in front of him took in the information, no change in her facial composure.
"You won't take the next Jounin exams that are coming up in the next month. You are to go as a Chunin - not Jounin, not ANBU. I still require the secrecy about your position. This plan will be taken into action when Uzumaki Naruto comes back to Konoha from his training with the Sannin Jiraya. I believe they are scheduled to be back to the village within a year from now. Tsunade will deploy Hatake Kakashi, your old teacher, to your team as the leader. A Root member will take the place of the Uchiha so it will be a complete team. Then there is a high probability that Tsunade will send you out on a retrieving mission for Uchiha Sasuke; however, you are to kill him and make it seem accidental. The Root member will help if there is a failure - though I'd recommend not to disappoint me. Because of Uchiha Sasuke's eye capability and the strength he possesses I will personally train you during this year to be able to take him on. Do not expect mercy."
The girl's eyes were so cold. He had never expected that. He was, after all, talking about her killing a former teammate. But she didn't even flinch and he found it strange. He needed to evaluate her feelings about the mission; he was not used to the concept but he knew it was dangerous to disregard emotions. They were precarious and unpredictable.
"Haruno. Will you be able to kill him?"
"Yes. If I am strong enough by then." Even her voice was cold, even, calculating. Her eyes grazed him, as if she observed something interesting.
"Why? I know you were infatuated with the Uchiha betrayer." He pointed out, knowing he must have stepped on a fresh wounded part of her heart. Still, she gave nothing away. It almost seemed like she had expected Danzō's question and the knowledge he had of her love for her former teammate.
"A childhood crush on good looks, nothing more nor less. It was shallow, blind and there was no depth to it." She answered with nothing in her voice to give away what she was feeling. Danzō only waited. The Haruno saw it; he wanted her to elaborate on it. She sighed, then met his eye with green burning pupils. The man of shadows was pleased, there it was; emotions. That determination. The exact same steely shade he had seen in her eyes when she had swallowed the green and the red pill.
"A small part of me misses him, obviously. We shared meals together, went on missions together, went to the Academy together. He was a child then, as well was I and there is always a certain innocence in children. But another, larger part of my conscience sighs in relief at his absence. It whispers that he was always holding me back. Always standing in front of me. And there is no question about his obsession over gaining strength for his own selfish causes. He is the core issue of many problems that has risen in Konoha since he left. He trains under the Sannin Orochimaru - a criminal from our village. A criminal who experiments on sickly projects and cares little for moral standards, even from a shinobi perspective. Uchiha Sasuke is a revengeful man who sees nothing past his goals, he disregards Konoha and most of all; he has broken all ties with the village. This means he is prepared to go against Konoha if it is beneficial for him. That concludes in the fact that he might be a threat to our village, so I can easily see the reason behind your order of his execution. Better to quickly obliterate him before he gains even more strength and will be out of our control."
She finished and Danzō found himself impressed. Impressed with her analytical sense to her explanation, her frozen heart, her calculated conclusion of the order and the plan. He was content with her answer since it made sense to him. He himself would never forgive a teammate if the one proved to be a threat to Konoha; he would kill the teammate if needed. She was similar to him in this, it seemed. Konoha's protection and superiority to the other villages would be insured.
"I see." He said and then produced her Root clothing. "Wear these clothes and this mask when you are inside Root. None is to recognise you, so do something about your hair. Only the ANBU captains knows your real identity, as well as the Root member who will join Team Seven."
"Yes, Danzō-sama." The Haruno took a hold of the black clothes and the blank white mask. It was the same mask she had worn on the ceremonial trial day. There was dried blood splatter on it.
"The Root member who will join Team Seven... Is he the one waiting outside?" She pondered, curious eyes following his movements.
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Oh. It might be rude of me to inquire this, but could I possibly suggest a name for him?"
"That is a strange request. But, yes, you may. What name do you have in mind?"
"Sai." The Haruno answered and smiled at the man of shadows, then left.
The Powerful Alcoholic Senju Tsunade
A flash of pink in the corner of her peripheral vision gave her the knowledge of her former apprentice presence behind her. Tsunade turned swiftly around to see Sakura walking on the street, towards the library. The pink haired girl had a large backpack slung over her shoulder and her beautiful long hair was set in a low pony tail at her neck. Adorning her now usual attire; a black sleeve-less turtleneck and a pair of black pants, with kunai pockets and med kit pockets, and that strange sword strapped on her back. Her expression was muddled with mixing emotions; regret, hate, spite, pity and longing. Tsunade wondered what had happened, seeing as the girl's eyes were fixed on the ground as she walked, but she could only guess what it was. The Godaime knew that Danzō must have made contact with her briefly after her S-rank mission. She must have been assigned to some mission or other. Whatever it was, Tsunade would find out.
"Oi, Pinky!" Tsunade exclaimed and bounced up to her on the street. The Haruno turned around to look at the Godaime but she gave no answer, nor smile. She didn't even greet her. Glinting, menacing sapphires stared back at her.
"Damn. If looks could kill..." Tsunade frowned and shook her head.
"I believe there is a certain kind of bird perched on that house." A whisper, so soft in the breeze of the wind, came to her ears and Tsunade might have missed it if she hadn't been perceptive.
Tsunade knew what the girl meant; Root was probably spying on them. They didn't trust the girl yet, so they watched how she interacted with people and what she did on her free time. The Godaime sighed, then clenched her fist. Her brown eyes glistened in a flash. It was so on.
"You! Infuriating girl! Where are your morals?" She screamed and the girl took a step back in surprise. Civilians stopped walking around them, staring at the Hokage's outbreak. Perfect, Tsunade thought.
"You don't know anything. Old weak hag!" Sakura hissed loudly through her teeth, then turned around and left, hopping up on the rooftops with angry eyes and a scowl plastered on her face. Civilians on the street were left gaping, eyes bulging. They had seen the Hokage's former apprentice actually scream and call her 'old hag'. The civilians attention were fully on the Godaime, awaiting her reaction. Tsunade almost giggled but she had her act to fulfil, and she needed to meet the civilians expectations. With a roar, Tsunade stomped on the ground in frustration, spreading cracks all over the street for impact. The people fell away in groups, screeching as the cracks developed and looked alarmingly like an earthquake. Tsunade then walked away to the Hokage Tower, knowing that the Haruno were waiting for her there. She almost grinned.
When the Hokage arrived in the Hokage Tower and opened the door to her office, she found that Sakura waited in the corner of her room, already having sealed it for uninvited eyes and ears. Tsunade waddled inside and shut the door to her office, checking the seals one time just to be sure and found them perfect.
"None saw you getting in, I presume?" Tsunade asked the pinkette as she went to slump down into her chair with a loud huff.
"Nope. Nice show you put on, by the way. Cracking the ground was a huge plus." The Haruno grinned, but her eyes were distant, as she sat down on the chair in front of the Hokage.
"It was fun, yeah. Now, tell me. What is it?" Tsunade poked the girl on her forehead, gently. Sakura huffed and then told Tsunade of Danzō's plan, the annihilation of Uchiha Sasuke. Tsunade was baffled; the audacity of that man, she grumbled. But she clapped her hands; since she knew everything now it would be a piece of cake to avoid the confrontation.
"Oh. I'll just make sure that Sai is never admitted on the team and I won't send you on the retrieving mission-"
"No. I think we should go along with the plan." Sakura said and Tsunade blanched.
"What?" She sputtered, not quite believing the girl. She couldn't have changed that much, could she? No, it wasn't possible. Tsunade's mind was reeling and Sakura gently tapped the Hokage on her shoulder. Tsunade almost winced. Sakura's eyes were suddenly soothingly gentle and there was a sad smile on her lips.
"I don't want to kill Sasuke. But I have another goal in mind, and that goal would be easier to achieve if we went along with Danzō's plan."
"What? Girl, are you serious? Going along with his plan? But he said that this Root member Sai would finish the Uchiha if you failed!" Tsunade angrily slammed her hands on her office desk, cracking the furniture in splinters. Haruno didn't bat an eye.
"That won't happen."
"What do you mean? Are you going to kill the Uchiha?"
"No, as I said before, I do not intend to kill him."
"Then what are you going to do?"
"Something I should have done a long time ago; follow my goals to their completion. This time it will be different." Tsunade noted a crease of the girl's eye brows, but she didn't frown. Her face was a complex pallet full of contradicting emotions.
"Do I have your trust, Sakura?" The Godaime slid down on her chair, staring into the depths of those sapphire eyes.
"You, if anyone, have my trust. You are one of few that I would give my life for. You should know that, Tsunade." Sakura declared and her eyes never blinked, not once. "I need your trust in my goals in return."
"What are your goals, Sakura?" Tsunade waved her hands helplessly, getting tired of the girl's secrecy.
"They are a few. They are laughable, because how I am now - they are impossible. They are ridiculous. And they might never be achieved."
"What are they? I need to know to approve of this, Sakura. I need to know your plans. How can I trust you otherwise?"
"I see your point. I... I have never shown them to anyone else and I need you to keep them a secret. These goals, this paper..." Sakura produced a crumpled piece of paper from her chest bindings. "This paper... Is a part of me. They matter the most to me. I trust you with a part of my whole being."
Sakura gave the Hokage her paper of impossible goals. Tsunade's eyes blearily looked at the words, then she gasped. Her frown deepened when she read to the last word on the list. The Godaime felt her eyes burn and emotions wash over her.
"I hope that is enough for you."
Tsunade cried silently. She let the tears run down her face and she couldn't remember the last time she had actually cried. Her pity for the girl grew stronger, as well as the astonishment. She had proved to herself that she could grow strong, but she needed more strength for these goals. So this list was the cause of her steely determination, the cause of her climbing the ranks, the cause of her getting submitted to the ANBU, the cause of her plan against Danzō... Everything - because of this piece of paper. Tsunade's breath hitched.
"So these were your goals all along... Oh, Sakura." Tsunade sniffed as the tears dried on her cheek. The Haruno gently took the paper from the Godaime's hands and stuffed it back into her chest binding.
"Now that you know, don't take pity on me. If anyone, I least deserve such. And please, don't discuss the goals with me. Nothing you say can change them."
The Hokage blinked away her tears and tried to focus. Sakura quirked her lip in a slanted smile.
"Have faith in me, Tsunade."
The Haruno girl asked of the Hokage. Tsunade could only nod, feeling her throat swell.
"I will go along with it." Tsunade stated and cleared her throat loudly. She really couldn't believe this girl. She might be even more unpredictable than Naruto.
"Leaving this behind, how is it going with the recruitment to ANBU?" The girl asked, tilting her head in a gleeful way. Tsunade found herself smiling, though it was slightly pained. She had to let that paper go. They were Sakura's goals, and she had to accept that, the Godaime chided herself. Then Tsunade jerked her head back, realising what the girl had asked.
"Oh! Yeah, you're on the list. I'm going to appoint you ANBU tomorrow. Damn, I totally forgot about that." Tsunade chuckled. The pinkette in front of her gleamed and it seemed like suns shone from her eyes. Sparkling.
"Great. When should I come by tomorrow?"
"Six o'clock in the morning. There'll be a small ceremony. You're to be introduced to the other ANBU members, of course with your face covered. And then I'll give you a mask."
"Ah. I already have one." Sakura stated. Tsunade raised an eyebrow at this.
"Really? What kind of mask is it? A tiger? A cat? Or maybe a dragon?" Tsunade inquired.
"It's blank." Sakura said calmly. "And I think I'm going to keep it that way."
The Cloud Watching Boy Nara Shikamaru
She never came by to play shogi with him anymore. All he saw of her were on the streets sometimes, always heading somewhere, always greeting quickly and then disappearing in the crowds. She mostly went on missions, and sometimes to go train with that cursed sword. He knew somewhat that she had a goal in mind, probably a plan as well to achieve that goal, which didn't include himself nor the Hyuuga. She had abandoned them, it seemed almost.
And Shikamaru didn't exactly know how to feel about it, he contemplated, as he strolled on the street. He was on his way to practice with his team, early in the morning, since they were supposed to take on a few missions before trying out to become Jounin. He thought it was a drag, but both his father and mother had pushed him to do it. It was expected of him. Somewhere in his mind, he knew but couldn't really acknowledge it, he did it because of that troublesome pink haired woman. If he became Jounin, he might be able to help her. Maybe help her find a loophole around the sword. Find a way to destroy it without destroying her. But maybe it was pointless all the same, he figured, since becoming Jounin only meant an increase in the pay check, and more responsibility, and more difficult missions. Such a hassle.
He didn't see as said woman flashed past him on the roof tops since he was in such deep train of thought. He didn't see her eyes lock on his form, and he didn't see the pained look in her eyes as she continued to run to the ANBU headquarters. He didn't see how much she wanted to tell him everything.
The Senbon Guy Shiranui Genma
They were gathered in a spacious room within the ANBU headquarters and held the ceremony for the newest ANBU recruit. It was a short ceremony but important all the same. The kunoichi bowing in front of the Godaime and the ANBU ceremonial leader was still and awaited the ceremony to start. Even with the blank mask on, he recognised her. Even with that black bandana covering her head and outrageous hair. Even with the ANBU attire. It wasn't that difficult, really, since he had been on a few missions with her. Genma was a special case, he knew, in recognising people without seeing their faces. He always had problems seeing people for who they were in their faces only; according to him, all faces looked the same and there was no difference. There were eyes, mouth, nose and skin. It was all the same. So he had had to recognise movements and smells instead. So to him, he easily recognised her scent, her light steps and that strange katana strapped on her back.
Genma was surprised she had become ANBU so soon, he would have at least given her another year before she was qualified enough. But since ANBU did not care for age, gender or rank, he guessed it wasn't that surprising after all. The Hokage must have had something special in mind, Genma thought, as he stole a gaze at his Godaime. The busty blond woman stood among the ANBU captains and emanated a strong aura, even in the midst of an ANBU crowd. She did an excellent job of making people notice her and shrink in her powerful presence.
"Since our identities are to remain hidden, what is your given name amongst us?" The ANBU ceremonial leader asked her, as she bowed down on one leg in front of him. Without looking up, she answered without pondering.
"Utsuro Sen." Her voice was low and muffled by the mask, making it sound a lot darker than it actually was.
"Then, Utsuro Sen is your given name. Your mask will remain blank, according to your request. Rise, and you will be called ANBU. To support our Hokage and the protection of our village, we welcome you to us." The ANBU captain spoke, a hint of incredulity in his voice - seemingly thinking the girl too young as well. Only Genma knew she was still a Chunin. She would need to prove herself amongst the ANBU members or she would never be accepted amongst the ranks. The girl rose from her position and bowed first to the Godaime, then to the Captain and then to the rest of the ANBU members crowd witnessing the ceremony. If anything, Genma mused, she was polite.
The ceremony was finished and the ANBU vanished in groups to attend missions, train or write mission reports. The Godaime glanced once at the kunoichi with a blank mask, then turned around and left. Genma had been appointed to show the kunoichi around the ANBU headquarters compound. It was a larger housing complex than what most people would think, so to find one's way through the maze of corridors took some time. Genma went up to the now standing kunoichi. He wore his own mask so she wouldn't recognise him.
"Sen! I'll show you around. Come with me." He cheered and patted her shoulder. The blank mask turned up to him and she nodded. They went into the corridor leading to the dining room, then went to the under ground training areas. The kunoichi seemed to take note of her surroundings and she politely disregarded the map he had offered her of the compound.
"I have the map in my head, no need for a physical one." She said and coughed. Genma noted how strained her voice sounded, but he didn't think more of it. When they reached the weapons storage he noticed that she had fallen behind. When he looked back he saw her shoulders shivering and she steadied herself against the wall while breathing hard.
"How are you, Sen?" Genma asked, concern in his voice. The kunoichi didn't look up at him or answer his question, she suddenly clenched her shirt at the chest and wheezed loudly. Genma was fast to catch the kunoichi when she fell. He felt how her body was burning up and he quickly noted she had a high fever. She shivered in his steadying arms.
"You're going to see medical attention. Right now." He stated and picked her up into his arms, huddling her like a baby. The kunoichi gasped, as if in pain. Genma started running through the compound, towards the hospital. Suddenly, she gripped his shirt weakly.
"Shi-izune. N-not Tsun-nade. T-take off m-my mask." She said meekly and then let go of his shirt. Genma looked at her, the blank mask hiding her face, and sniffed. Why would she want to see Shizune? And how did she know that he had recognised her? From what he knew, Shizune was a proficient medic and a poison's expert only. When they arrived at the hospital, the kunoichi was unconscious and he had had stripped her of her mask as well as the usual ANBU harness. None could see what she was. Now, it only looked like she had been on a mission gone awry and he had saved her on orders from the Hokage, or something like that. Genma called for Shizune and found her on a break in the personnel rest room. The black haired woman was fast to get up from the chair, almost spilling her coffee in the process, and rushed to the two ANBU.
"What happened?" Shizune quickly asked as she guided him to a room and ushered him inside. Genma put the sweating girl down on the bed as he mumbled that he didn't know.
"Thank you for bringing her. I need to focus, so please leave the rest to me." She whirled around and her hands were all over the unconscious girl, searching for the cause of her collapse, and Genma saw the pinkette's breathing slow down. But he understood that Shizune needed to concentrate, so he left with a slight wave of his hand.
The Older Apprentice Shizune
Foolish girl, Shizune thought with acid in her mind. She found that in the girl's blood stream there was several different poisons, spread out into every limb and muscle. Shizune was successfully able to draw out most of the deadly poison, with a small cut on the girl's skin at her solar plexus, and the poison seeped out from the girl's body and gathered in a dark blue ball of chakra containing it in Shizune's hand. She put the poison into a glass container and sealed it, then secured the bottle tightly. She couldn't do more for the girl since the remaining poisons in the girl's body were too difficult to draw out.
Shizune found herself standing besides the bed, staring at the pink haired kunoichi sleeping restlessly, sometimes twitching and gasping as she sweated. Shizune remembered all those months ago, was it four- five months even?, when they had chatted in the hospital rest room on a break. The girl back then had been cheerful and took the work as a nurse seriously. Shizune and Sakura had then started to talk about poisons since a man had just been brought in, he had convulsions and blood seeped out from every opening in his body. Shizune had handled the poison extraction and Sakura had helped as she watched and learned at the same time. Even though Shizune had extracted the poisons, it was too late. The man died from internal bleeding, the collapse of his lungs and because of the poison that had made his heart unable to beat no more. Sakura had written the time of death on the board handed to her.
Shizune knew what had happened to the dead man, since she had had similar poisoned patients before. She had explained to the girl on the coffee break that it existed a hidden village in the south that none knew by name, but it was known for its famous poisons; as well as their Black Widows. The Black Widows were shinobi women, women who had been fed poisons in their food from the day they came out of the womb. Every day of their lives; they ate poisons in their breakfast, lunch and dinner - even in their apples. They were fragile and weak because of the poisons, yet they were known for their unparalleled beauty, shimmering long blond hair, luscious pink lips and smooth skin. The Black Widows, at the age of 18, were sent on their first missions. Because when they turned 18 years of age, their bodily fluids were then poisonous; meaning, if they kissed a man and exchanged saliva, the deadly poison in their bodies made it a kiss of death. That made for perfect seduction and annihilation missions. Even worse was the intercourse apparently, since that way it took a bit longer before the subjugated men died and in that time the Black Widows could extract information from their dying victims with the promise of an antidote - which never came. Their blood, it was heard, was the most lethal fluid of their bodies.
Shizune told the girl that the Black Widows had to have their daily amount of poisons inserted into their food, or the poison in their bodies would turn against them and they would die themselves. Shizune remembered the Haruno's eyes shining in admiration. She had then reprimanded the girl for looking so interested at hearing of their profession, since it meant that the women could have no lovers, no children of their own. The Black Widows were cursed with their fates, since they were born into it. However, it was a rare phenomena and only existed in that certain village of poisons.
The Haruno girl had deliberated, mulled over the fact of the Widows. Then, Sakura's eyes had pierced Shizune's in an instant. The girl covered her mouth in realisation. She had then asked if Shizune had been born in that village. Shizune had denied it and laughed, ruffling the girls hair and reminded her that the women from that village had blond hair and was beautiful. Shizune had black hair and had average looks.
Shizune clenched her fist in that moment of recollection. How perceptive that girl was. The black haired medic closed her eyes as she remembered the last part of that coffee break. The Haruno had apologised that she had asked. But she was still interested in the aspect of gaining immunity to poisons by inserting it into ones food. Shizune had told her that to build up a resistance took many, many years to achieve and small portions of the poison into the food. But the girl had been persistent, saying things about it being useful - something or other. Shizune then had showed the girl a food poisoning schedule which showed just how many milligrams of poison was required each day to not kill her, and Shizune had done this without actually considering the fact that girl might very well, possibly, try it on herself. Shizune had never even thought that the emotional, little pink haired girl would do something so foolish. If one milligram poison was amiss in the portions, it meant instant death.
But the little pink haired girl had apparently done something foolish. Shizune recognised that the poison in the girl's body had been in there for months, festering but fading, yet her body had built up a resistance against it she noted when she found the antibodies. The black haired kunoichi went to the girl, checked her pulse and looked into her eyes as she opened her eyed lid. The girl's eyes were unseeing, as she still was unconscious, but Shizune saw the after effect of the poisons in her eyes. The girl's black pupils had shrunk to a minimal dot, almost eerily similar to a predator's eyes. There was a light sheen of sweat on the girl's skin.
Shizune didn't want to admit that she was impressed with the girl, but she most definitely was. Eating poisons is painful, Shizune knew by experience. Sometimes one could fall ill for one whole week due to one certain poison the body hadn't had much immunity to, but one still had to eat the daily poisons. She understood why the Haruno had done it in the beginning; gaining a resistance to a few poisons would be very favourable to a medic. She would be able to find an antidote easily for those who fell for a poison, and she would be able to heal patients who had contagious poisons inside their bodies.
However, she didn't find the girl amiable anymore. Shizune had seen the pinkette and Tsunade's latest disrupting interactions and there was definitely something wrong. Sakura had had several arguments with the Hokage during the last month, yelling at each other about morals and about being too soft or too harsh. Shizune didn't really know what to make of it, since the two had gotten along really well in the beginning and Shizune had seen the start of a friendship between the two; almost a mother and daughter relationship. But then all had fallen to pieces. It was after that coma Sakura had been in. Shizune wondered what could have changed the girl so much in her sleep.
A muffled moan was heard from the hospital bed and Shizune snapped back to reality, leaving her memories behind. She saw the Haruno's eyes flutter open, still predatory like.
"Sakura?" Shizune asked, feeling the girl's forehead. It was sweaty, but without poison.
"Sorry, Shizune. Seems like I took an overdoes this morning." The pinkette rasped and cleared her throat, eyes swimming. Shizune pressed the girl back into the hospital bed when it seemed like she wanted to get up.
"You're an idiot, Sakura-san." Shizune reprimanded the pinkette and went to get some water to give to the girl. The girl's immune system would take care of the rest of the poisons and so, there was nothing else Shizune could do for the girl in medical terms.
"Spot on." Sakura smiled tiredly, drank some of the offered water and wiped sweat from her forehead. "I need to get home. I have an antidote for the Mamba poison there-"
"The Mamba poison? That's one of the most lethal poisons in the Five Elemental Nations! There's no antidote-"
"I know. That's why it's good to build up a resistance against it, isn't it? And I made an antidote. It took a while though. And it didn't work at first." The girl grinned through the pain visible in her green glassy eyes as she with great effort got up from the bed, leaving Shizune standing speechless beside the bed. The pinkette staggered out of the door and whispered something almost inaudible to Shizune with her back turned away.
"Thank you, Widow."
The Man Named Sai
A few days after the ceremony, when she had been accepted into ANBU, Danzō had sent them on a scroll retrieving mission to Iwagakure to make them used to each other. The retrieving mission didn't require the use for their ANBU attire since they were supposed to be unnoticeable. The girl, Haruno Sakura, met him in the morning wearing civilian clothes but he knew there was weapons stored underneath the fabric. They stood on the rooftop furthest from the center of Konohagakure, in the outskirts of the hidden village. Sai, which was now his name, donned a stomach showing top and black a hakama, and his drawing scrolls were strapped on his back.
"Good morning, Sai." She drawled. "Ready?"
"Yes." He said and they jumped off the rooftop and sprinted into the forest.
They travelled mostly in silence during the short trip to Iwagakure, both keeping the strict pace. The girl was quiet, as if she contemplated something. Sai noted the katana strapped on her back and he felt quiet uneasy. The katana seemed to have some kind of dark chakra induced to it. He didn't ask her about it though.
They arrived and got the scroll in the village - all going smooth and well. On the way back, however, a few chakra presences ahead in the forest alerted them and they stopped.
"How many?" Sakura asked tiredly, as she tucked the scroll securely into her backpack. They had been keeping a very, very strict pace. It was a silent challenge between the two and they had been racing against each other constantly through the entire trip. It was a bit childish, but he found it amusing. They had been very even, but the Haruno had leapt off one time and won the race.
"I believe they are around fifteen. I think they have noticed us." Sai suggested as he tried to count the chakra presences hidden in the foliages. And true to his word, projectiles were shot at them a few moments later. Sai and Sakura evaded them fluently and Sakura was about to wield her katana, but suddenly a large bolt of fire rushed to them. Sai was flung into a tree and he felt how his leg shattered into pieces on impact. Sakura seemed to have fared worse though, as she lay slumped on the ground a few feet away, having burn marks on her body and three large chunks of wood was stuck into her back. Sai wrinkled his nose. This was not good. He couldn't move, and he had hit his head pretty hard as well. He felt blood trickle down his face.
"We got her!" A voice called and a missing nin from Kirigakure appeared behind a bush, flaunting a large battle axe on his shoulder and an obnoxious grin on his face.
"I thought I recognised her! It's Cherry. From the Bingo Books! I was right!" He cheered and sprang towards the kunoichi. Others followed him and they all looked roughed up, as hungry eyes travelled to her form they realised the bounty on her head. The man with the axe bowed down to tie the girl up, but as he did a hand shot out and went through his chest. Sparkling, the chakra scalpels on her fingers were unmistakable. The man coughed blood onto her and wriggled in her death grip, as he struggled against life leaving him. Then he fell, his neck down on his chest, and the kunoichi breathed hard as she retracted her gory hand from his muscles and tendons. The next missing nin was upon her in seconds, as he kicked her in the head. Hard. Sai swore he heard a crack and he hesitantly thought that Haruno Sakura had died as she was flung into a tree beside him, making it shook violently so leaves spread out into the wind.
The missing nin who had kicked her growled and produced chakra restraining chains from his back pocket. He went and roughly tied her hands behind her back and shackled her feet, smacking and beating her at the same time. She was rendered incapacitated. The missing nin coldly broke all of her fingers in anger, even though she was bound. Sai could her a muffled scream come from her mouth, but she bit it back hard. The other missing nin cheered and a few went up to inspect Sai, only to determine that he might sell for some price as well since he was accompanying Cherry. Sai couldn't really think straight, as everything was a blur and he was tied up and he couldn't move and there was pain all over his body, and he felt his leg numbing and he knew that wasn't good. In a moment, he passed out.
When he woke up, he found himself in a dark room, chains binding him to the wall. His leg was bleeding and bones peeked up form the ravaged flesh and he cringed. Sai looked up and saw Sakura on the other end of the room, chained as well to the wall, and those tree chunks still stuck into her back. They hadn't even bothered to take them out. The room was crowded, with the missing nin from Kirigakure, cheering and celebrating the capture of the recently infamous Cherry. One of the missing nin, seemingly the captain, held Sakura's katana in his hands, showing it to the others as they drank saké at a long table in the middle of the room. The captain was about to wield the katana from its scabbard, but a raspy voice hindered him, rupturing the talking.
"Don't touch her. She'll kill you." Sakura wheezed from the other end of the room. She earned an amused glance from the man, who then stood and walked up to her, with the katana swinging at his side, swinging the saké bottle with the other.
"What are you, delirious? Who? It's a fucking sword, Cherry pie." He quipped and slowly drew the sword from the scabbard with a grin, right in front of her face. Within moments, the whole of his sclerae seeped into darkness; his eyes turned black. The other missing nin the room didn't notice, except the one closest to the chained Sakura and the black eyed man. He turned in chair and got up, and as he went to them he saw the captain's eyes.
"What the fuck? What's with your eyes, Katsuri-taichou?" The man asked and backed away from him. The missing nin Katsuri turned to his comrade, a few breaths went by and then the captain violently thrust the katana into his comrade's stomach. The dying missing nin's scream caught the attention of the others. They stared at him in disbelief. Then an uproar broke the silence.
"Katsuri-taichou!"
"What's going on?"
"Must be a genjutsu!"
The missing nin rushed at the black eyed man Katsuri, drawing their swords to make him incapacitated. Katsuri's face was cold as stone and he swiftly killed three of the missing nin in one go, as flowing as water and just as slippery he avoided the onslaught and killed meticulously. However, one missing nin successfully decapitated him from behind when he was busy killing two of his own comrades. Katsuri's head rolled on the ground to Sakura's shackled feet.
"What the hell?" The nin shouted, seeing five of his comrades on the ground, no longer breathing. He looked at the sword in Katsuri's still hands on the ground in a pool of blood and the nin was drawn to it. He picked it up curiously to study it, but in a second his eyes turned black as well. The other missing nin who were left alive screamed as he killed the last missing nin. The bloody mess on the ground and the gory sight seemed to have no effect on the black eyed nin; since he no longer ruled his own body. The missing nin then walked up to in front of Sakura. He cut off her ropes and unlocked her chains, and she slumped down in a heap but was fast to violently pull out the chunks of wood in her back. Then he stared into her eyes as he slit his own throat with a gurgling sound escaping his lips. She looked at the body in silence as it crumpled to the ground.
"I'm sorry." She whispered and then picked up the sword. Her eyes turned white for one second, then they were gleaming green again. As if she had a second voice in her head.
"What? They didn't count? Izanami-sama..." She debated, seemingly to thin air. Sai sniffed.
The shackled man on the other side only stared at the unbelievable scene in front if him. What he had just witnessed made no sense to him at all. Sakura turned to him with a scowl on her face, walked up to him and cut his ropes and chains. He watched the sword warily. As if her eyes would turn black as well.
"This is Izanami. She doesn't like being touched." Sakura saw his defensive sitting pose and explained as she slid the katana into the scabbard. Unknowingly, Sai could breath again. Had he been holding his breath?
"I-I see. So this isn't the first time. Would you elaborate?" Sai asked, blank eyes staring at the katana.
"Well, it's a demon sword. We have a contract and she gets pissed if someone else, whom she calls 'unworthy, touches her. She can overrule someones mind and drench them in bloodlust and make them obsess over the colour 'red'. So, yeah. She makes them into killer machines." Sakura finished and Sai felt how he couldn't do anything else but stare at her. The Haruno wrinkled her nose when her gaze dropped to his still leg.
"That leg looks like shit." Sakura eyed his shattered bones and bent down, positioning herself in front of it. Her left hand searched through the surface of the skin, the ragged bones and flesh. Then, healing green chakra seeped from her finger tips and started to knit the muscle tissue together, reattach the nerve endings and thus stopping the blood flow. Sai only watched as he felt her and his chakra pull against each other.
"I'm going to retract the bone now. It will hurt." She said through clenched teeth and even stronger green chakra whirled around his bone and he felt as if his leg was numbing but was ravaged by fire as well and then it felt like his leg was chopped into pieces and then he felt as if it had frozen and then he could breath. It was over.
"You did good, Sai." The Haruno girl grinned and reached out her hand for his. He stared at it for a second, felt how his leg was now totally fine, and so he accepted her hand and they rose together.
"May I give you a nickname?" Sai found himself asking the girl as they walked out of the dark room and into a dimly lit corridor.
"Sure." Sakura grinned and cracked a few muscles as she unconsciously healed her right hand's fingers.
"Ugly." Sai said and was pleased with himself. He had read in a book on human interaction that it was important to have nicknames... for one's friends. It made them feel 'closer'.
"Fuckface." Sakura laughed and patted his shoulder. "I like how honest you are, Sai."
Author's Note
Hey!
Thank you so much for the latest reviews! You guys just don't know how much I appreciate them. You rock!
And I have noticed I am in dire need of a Beta. I kind of know where I'm going with this fanfic, but it's hard to knit everything together. So as usual, if you notice something that's off, please tell me!
xx fascalia