AN: Hey y'all, Cinnabunnbunn here.
So, here's another chapter. I know, a little late, but its here. And let me tell you, the plot is becoming so much bigger than I first planned. At first, I planned for a very linear story, but now the web is so much more complex. Everytime I open my journal, it feels like a new plot hole is staring me in the face and I need to make the story more complex to fix it.
Anyway, you'll see all this as the story progresses. For now, enjoy.
'You are different'
That's what Sakura was told when she was merely three years old. The woman she called her mother, all shiny hair and shimmery smiles, held her close to heart, streaks of salt rolling down her cheeks.
She didn't know at that time what she meant. But as she was tucked away in a corner of the run down house, told to stay quiet with a hush and had to watch her mother get dragged away from her hidden corner, she knew what she meant.
She stood by the burnt stake after everyone has left, staring at the sizzling wood with dead eyes that no three year old should have. What has her mother done that deserved such punishment? She does not have an answer. There wasn't even a body to bury. She wanted to cry, scream, break down and never get up. But something broke in her.
She later realized it was her soul.
She felt things no three year old should feel. Even though she was technically three, she has been alive for way too long. Her bloodshot wide green eyes looked beyond the charred pole, seeing a cloak swish away in the darkness of the alleyway.
"You can't stay alone here."
She turned around to see the much older woman with hair like sunrays and eyes like hard ambers. She couldn't even remember the last time Sakura saw her, it has been too long.
"What do I do?" Though Sakura's voice was childish, it was breaking like a glass. The more she thought of what happened, it was like a dam broke. Her eyes glazed over, the back of her throat and her nose burned as she tried not to cry. But she couldn't stop.
The woman, Tsunade, looked at the stake, putting a hand on Sakura's shoulder to urge her to turn away. "You will be okay. Your mother always believed that you are different, your fate would be different. She was a Peridot witch, so I'll take the chances."
Sakura was still at a loss on what to do and her feet only felt rooted to a spot. "What do I do, Aunty?" She called the woman aunty, even though her mother and the woman were never related in any way. But she was still the only person Sakura could call a relative.
"You will stay with me." Tsunade urged her to walk, away from the mount, away from her young past. "You are a viridian witch by nature, you would do well on your own." She opened the door to the stack of bricks she previously called home. She smirked a bitter smile, putting her hands on her hips.
"It's been a while since I've taken anyone under me. But you should be okay."
Decades over decades passed, hidden from the view of the world until they found a place where they can move in the light instead of hiding in the shadows. Sakura was young, looking like she was barely at the cusp of adulthood, but she has seen rise and fall of empires, the desperation of humanity when hunger becomes too much to handle and enough death and destruction to last her near infinite lifetime.
But the day when her mother was taken away from her was the day when hatred and rage took its abode in her heart, shutting it down to any hope or life she might gain from the world. Because she knew she wouldn't.
She was witch in the sorcerer's world.
She was a woman in the man's world.
And it's never kind to her people.
Sakura was restless and exhausted as she sank down into the plush mattress of her temporary bed. The more time went by, the more she felt tired. It was as if her very soul was drained.
It probably was, considering the emotional toll her stay at the Uchihas was taking on her. She couldn't bring herself to eat their food, sleep in their bed, bathe in their baths. She found herself spending the most time at the greenhouse, whether that be tending to her plants or reading the books she had with her.
She sat up from her bed, looking out of her window to the still lightless sky. It wasn't dark, but the sun wasn't up either. Her feet touched the cold floor, sending a shiver up her body. She missed walking bare feet on the grass the way she would mostly do around her house, but the sorcerers' estate was all cold marble and polished jewels.
One of the Uchiha cousins were supposed to be taking her for the tour around their woodlands. She flicked her wrist at the almirah beside her vanity table, expecting it to open on its own for her before remembering that it's not charmed with her spell. Heaving a sigh, she opened it normally, looking at the variety of dresses, contemplating which one will be the best for the stroll.
They would probably go via a horse or some other carriage, but just to be safe she took one of her outfits with pants. She struggled through soft white pants, thankful that they didn't fit too snugly against her legs and instead hung parallel to her legs down her hips, and then she stuffed a pastel lavender shirt into the waistband of her pants, buttoning up until the first two buttons where her collarbone peeked out.
She dug for the coat she always wore with the shirt. She could ditch it completely, but the early dawns were still quite chilly. She finally found the lilac-colored jacket, sliding her arms through the sleeves and clipping the belt around her waist where her jacket collar ended and the long skirt billowed behind her. She ran her hands over the white beads and jewels designs on the shoulders and vines of pure pearls and rhinestones creeped up the bottom of the jacket skirt, feeling a bit better in herself.
It was one of her loved jackets, and she almost thought of it as a waste to wear it on a morning stroll with the Uchihas of all people.
She brushed a comb through her rosy locks, tying them up into a ponytail at the crown of her head, letting her bangs drape across her forehead and frame her face. She contemplated puffing some powder on her face, if nothing else then to cover her visible exhaustion, but then thought better of it when she would just sweat it off her face.
No sooner than she finished drawing her silver locket around her neck did a knock rapped on her door. Itachi's face greeted her with a small smile when she opened the door. "Good morning, miss Sakura." He inclined his head, taking a step back from the door, "Ready to go?"
She hesitantly nodded, stuffing her pants through her cream boots. Looking at Itachi, garbed in a black shirt with gold trimmings down his collar and shoulders and black riding pants held by a red sash like belt where his medallions hung, he looked much like shadow morphed into a human, all slender face and elegant beauty. His usual cloak was draped over one shoulder, held up by the chains attaching it on his collar.
Standing beside him, she looked like white snow against dark night sky. Like light and shadows, white over black.
He led her down the silent stairs toward the open garden. "Where are we going?" She asked him when he diverted from the route toward main gate, going deeper toward the open training grounds.
"We are going to the Elderwoods, one of the oldest and more flourished woodlands under the Uchiha estate." He answered while leading her off the stone walk and into the grassy grounds, toward the large stable. "There are some plants you might find useful, and it's also good to get familiar with your surroundings where you're staying."
"And we're going there by horse?"
"Yes." He looked at her from her side, tilting his head ever so slightly, "Is there a problem?"
"No, not at all." Sakura sniffed a little. She was still a little uncomfortable with the idea of walking around with a pair of Uchihas with more or less unknown intentions, away from the place where her mentor resided in unknown territory. Even though those two had the least nefarious actions against her, Sakura was nothing if not careful.
Itachi told her to wait by the fence surrounding the stable as he went inside to fetch the horses. She heaved a sigh, feeling the air leave her lungs long and heavy, her form slouching against the white fences that reached up to her waist. She wanted to do nothing more than curl up under her covers and fall into the blissful abandon that came with sleep.
But soon, she heard the slow trot of hooves against the soft grass. Itachi was leading two horses, one with black fur and the other an almond color. He handed her the almond one, adjusting the saddle on its back. "Her name is Oko." He provided her with a small smile, absentmindedly stroking the brown fur before pointing toward the black furred animal, "And his name is Shirou. He has been with me since he was a fawn."
Sakura mirrored his action of raking her fingers down Oko's long mane, smiling to herself as the mare neighed. "You two must be very close."
She saw Itachi sliding up to help her to her saddle, one hand already out for her to take, but she managed to heave herself on the seat, untucking the skirt of her coat from under her to let it drape freely. "I'm ready."
Sakura assumed that they would racing through the grassy fields toward the forest, but was pleasantly surprised by the leisurely stroll of her horse. The dim sunlight peeked in and out from between the canopies of tall birch and oaks and beech. The calm, undisturbed silence between the pair was only punctuated with the chirrups of early birds and some woodpecker on some tree.
Sakura closed her eyes, taking a deep breath of the fresh air and feeling some of the tension leave her shoulders making her chest feel less crowded. One of the things of beauty in the land of sorcerers were their forests it seemed, lush, dense and green as little light filtered through the crowded leaves.
But as beautiful as it was, raw magic swirled through every particle of dust and leaf in the woodlands. She was keenly aware of it pushing against her, aware of the rings of small white mushrooms that caught her eyes once, of the trickle of enchanted waters that lead to the realm of merrows, of dangerous glowing eyes that hid in the shadows.
"Miss Sakura."
Sakura slid her eyes to the Uchiha trotting alongside her and found him already affixed on her. She hummed in response to let him know he has her attention.
"I would like to apologize." He spoke softly, voice little above a whisper and apologetic. At her questioning gaze, he hesitantly lowered his face, "For Sasuke's behavior yesterday. He was wrong in the way he regarded you."
Sakura felt some of her ire melt, turning her face forward on the road. "I don't want the apology from you on his behalf, if he feels bad he needs to apologize himself." She sniffed a little when the memory from the night before let some anger trickle in her veins, "He is quite ignorant in his ways."
"He is." Itachi sighed silently, looking at her profile view again, "but I would still ask you to not hold that against him. You are justified in your anger, but I would still ask for your grace." His eyes were a soft red instead of flaring crimson when Sakura looked sideways, his lips quirking up minutely, "I'm sorry."
Sakura felt the anger beneath her skin abated, curiosity and interest taking its place. This one is a peculiar sorcerer.
"Say, Itachi Uchiha," when she saw his attention completely on her, her head cocked slightly to the side, "Your clansmen do not treat us very well, kind of like your brother, why are you straying away from them?"
Itachi seemed to think over his answer, carefully picking his words. He pursed his lips, red eyes trailing over her face. "I am aware of the slights my kind, my clan, had committed against you and your kind in the past."
"Oh," Sakura asked in surprise, eyebrows raising high, "So you are aware."
"Yes." He swallowed, averting his eyes away from her jade pools, not being able to look at the swirling magic in them for long, "Sasuke has followed my father's ideals and mentality almost religiously, which are not the fairest. And while he might be ignorant and biased in his way of thinking, he is not ill-intentioned."
Sakura looked him over suspiciously, looking for any cue that would tip off his lies if there were any. She was a little, or quite, shocked to find that he seemed genuine. "You said he follows your father's ideals, who do you follow?"
"I don't follow anyone, I only look at artifacts from the past and make my thesis from there." His voice was quieter, but still firm and velvety all the same, "I was once regarded a prodigy of the clan, but that got stripped away from me when father found out I would not be a blind follower to their parade of lies. I am aware, however little, of the injustice our kind did to the witches, and I know my apology does nothing to rectify that, but I would like to extend my companionship to you."
Sakura, for once in a lifetime, was rendered silent. She truly did not know what to say, or if she was even hearing him right.
It has been close to a week since she has stepped her foot into the house of Uchihas, and this was the first time she was having an actual conversation with a sorcerer, which in on itself was no less than a miracle. And not only did he acknowledge the wrong doings toward her and her women, he also apologized.
The sky must be crashing down, the world must be ending.
"Miss Sakura?"
Sakura shook out of her stupor, clearing her throat in response, still slightly at a loss for words. "You know, Uchiha, this is the first time any of you has ever come close to being decent."
Itachi chuckle was a purr of velvet, his crimson eyes creasing slightly in mirth, "I can see why you would think that, and I can't speak for the whole clan but Shisui is not so offensive, it's something he shares with me. And Sasuke does not mean to offend you, whether he does or not is something left unknown."
"Oh he does alright." Sakura sighed before her thought turned to the curly haired Uchiha. She has noticed that little time after their first meeting, he was justly at the very least. "What's your clan's history with the rest of the magic users?" She tried digging for some information that she did not get in her books. The Uchiha clan's history was nothing if not hidden and locked away.
"That, I'm afraid, I cannot tell you much about." The quirk on his lip was again apologetic, "But I will let you know that it's something much more twisted than just the black and whites, it's all gray. And I'm not just talking about the sorcerers, it's everyone. The curtain draped on truth is better for maintaining the harmony amongst us all.
His words were cryptic at best, but his eyes cast her the all-knowing look that begged her to understand him. He cannot tell her anything, something was stopping him, but he wanted her to look for the clues and uncover the truth for herself. His words recited like a parrot fed the same input too many times, and his voice laced with desperation for understanding contradicted each other.
"Are you not for your clan?" Sakura asked in a voice almost below a whisper, the more she talked with him, the more the web interconnecting the realm of sorcerers and witches seemed to expand and tangle.
What did he mean by everyone falling in the grays? What did he mean by the curtain maintaining harmony? Were the sorcerers not the only responsible for the downfall of the witches? And why was he telling her all this?
Itachi's eyes hazed over, the day of his clan's betrayal still fresh in his mind. All he wanted to do was read tales of his clan's glory, but was instead met with the dark and disgusting lie that was the foundation of his palace. He knelt by the throne of lies, unknowing that it was built on nothing but blood and ash.
He still remembered how he was cast aside in less than a minute upon the discovery of his consciousness, cast aside by his family, his mother, his brother, made into a joke and a caution tale to be told to the future generations to come. This is what happens when you attempt to lift the curtain, you become a pariah.
He was stripped of his rank of prodigy, made into the black sheep of his family. Maybe the reason of him still holding the rank of high sorcerer was the clan leader, and his own unmatched caliber.
But was he no longer the heir.
"I am for my clan." He answered after a long pause of his contemplation, his chest felt a little lighter after letting the pink witch be made aware. "I am just for what my clan was, not what it is."
There was a long, pleasant silence between them and they were both aware of the slow blooming tentative trust between them. It would be long before Sakura could fully trust him, but it was a start.
"You know Itachi," She addressed him nonchalantly, and he almost went slack jawed at the way his name tumbled from her lips. It was the first time she has addressed him to casually and lightly, and by his name. He felt something warm blooming in him. He watched with great attention as her pink lips curled up in a soft kind of smile, making her face oh so lovely.
"You are not all that bad."
The warmth in his body was making him feel hot and chocked as redness creeped up his neck and ears, but he still kept it from tinting his cheeks, more out of embarrassment than anything. But he would not deny the jump of delight in his heart. His own mouth curved up in a genuine smile, a little stumped to see the start of the Elderwood just ahead.
"I hope I will impress you more from now."
"We shall see about that."
The pair lapsed into a silence as the horses neighed restlessly and slowed to a stop just a little shy of the forest where birch and oak disappeared and Ginkgo, redwood and Quaking aspen took their place, making the filtered light falling on the forest floor a warm color.
"Are they not going forward anymore?" Sakura asked the Uchiha when Oko and Shirou refused to move forward anymore.
"Any sort of domesticated animal doesn't like to go inside the Elderwoods, they are scared as well as unable to step inside the Ginkgo circle." Itachi provided her while jumping down from his horse, offering his hand for her to take support as she dismounted as well.
Ginkgo circle was the Ginkgo trees with golden leaves that surrounded the Elderwoods circumference, containing the inhabitants of the woods inside during the night, as well as potential unfortunate preys outside.
"But why do they not go in?"
Itachi hesitated a bit, considering his answer, "The night foragers."
Sakura felt her heart skip a little at his response, mouth falling open in disbelief.
Night foragers were the giant beasts that inhabited the darkest parts of the enchanted forests. Sakura has encountered a couple night foragers on the shadowy outskirts of sage meadows, but she thought the sorcerers would be immune to such threats.
Was it wrong for her to feel betrayed that he would drag her out into the territory of the beasts without her knowledge.
"You did not tell me that we were going into their territory." Her voice was an urgent whisper, ire leaking out through her pores. Itachi pursed his lips a little nervously, tying the reins of their horses onto one of the oak trees.
"I did not want to needlessly scare you."
"Well now you did." Sakura breathed out in exasperation, trying to shake off some of the nerves out of her system. It's okay, she's with the Uchihas, and while they are not the most trustworthy, they're her allies for the time being, and she's under their protection, nothing will harm her.
'I hope so.'
"And what do you mean by 'needlessly scare me'?"
"Night foragers should be sleeping right now." Itachi took out two small chain bracelets, a peculiar spell made its copper body glow a faint blue, "The foragers of the sorcerer realm are completely nocturnal, so as long as we keep quiet and don't make too much noise, we should be fine."
"What are these?" Sakura asked when Itachi held one of the thin bracelets toward her. He held out his palm, asking for her left wrist, which she hesitantly put out. "These wristlets are charmed with scent masking spell." He locked the small clasp on her wrist and the bracelet looked like nothing but a thin thread of copper on her skin, the blue glow all but faded and a cool sensation against her skin.
"Shall we get going?"
Sakura breathed out low before nodding, her feet falling past the circle of ginkgo trees, and the change in atmosphere was certainly very noticeable. As beautiful and surreal as the golden ginkgo and aspen leaves looked scattered on the forest floor hanging from the tree branches, the air felt just as stifling.
The sinisterism in the air was palpable, almost as suffocating as the stillness hanging over their head.
Somewhere to their right, a bush rustled making them flinch and reflexively reached to collect magic on their fingertips. The bush rustled again, before something, or someone, rolled out.
"Shisui?"
The older Uchiha groaned slightly before his eyes lightened up at the pair in front of him. "Hey dove." He grinned at her wide even when his voice was not above a whisper. He was quick to jump up, dusting away the pieces of leaves and grass from his clothes. His outfit was a little similar to Itachi, but looked more suitable for combat and active wear.
A stretchy black shirt with the same gold detailing as Itachi covered his chest and neck but left his arm bare shoulders down. Fingerless gloves and metal protectors covered his forearm. The same training pants, red sash belt and combative boots covered him waist down along with the gold medallion shining in the morning light.
"Are you done with your patrols?" Itachi asked his cousin, stepping closer to the pinkette ever so slightly. Shisui shrugged a little, pulling out a small roll of parchment. "The merrows were quite restless for a few weeks now. They said there were some intruders in their kingdom."
"Intruders?" Sakura asked with an eyebrow raised. Shisui nodded, scratching the base of his curls where a twig was stuck, "The merrows said that someone went past their gate into their realm. They didn't find out the identity of the intruders but it's starting a lot of buzz around there."
Itachi looked down in thought, rubbing his fingers on his chin. "I'll inform the leader. He'll dispatch a team to look into their kingdom."
Sakura was getting more and more confused as she heard the patrol reports. "The merrows are under your rule? The sorcerers? I thought they were independent species."
"They are." Itachi replied, gesturing her to move along with him, "Under our protection. In a sense that we provide them with protection against foreign magic users, and they give us their water crystals for spells and such."
"A trade, if you will." Shisui provided from her other side, lacing his hands behind his head.
Sakura hummed, her eyes a bit foggy in thought. Something about the situation seemed fishy when she thought about all the things that seemed to be happening around them and out of the sorcerers' realm.
"Do you think that this might have something to do with Orochimaru and his posse?"
The pair of Uchihas turned to the witch walking between them, eyebrows raised in surprise. Sakura cleared her throat before averting her eyes from both of them, "I mean, isn't it too much of a coincidence that some people are diving into the merrow waters right after we got the news of Orochimaru crossing off the locations for Darklore."
A look crossed between the two Uchihas as the wheels in their heads turned. "We need to send the troops as soon as possible." Shisui whispered to no one in particular.
"But you will show me this area first." Sakura parted them away before stomping forward between the trees. "You said that there are wisteria trees around here. Where are they?"
They led her deeper into the golden forest, hours escaping her as she as minutes rolled by just as the uncountable trees did. The more she walked further through the trees, the forest became denser, and so did the silence. Not a whistling of the wind ruffled a single falling leaf and every crunch of dried leaf was loud beneath their foot.
"It's just a bit further away from here." Shisui informed her quietly after a while. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "Unfortunately, that area is off-limits for us sorcerers, so you might have to go there yourself."
"Off limits?" Sakura raised an eyebrow at the pair, "Why's that?"
"That's the area for the faerie realm gateway." Itachi informed helpfully, "They don't like us going there too often, so they like to keep us away with wisteria and stuff. It's doesn't work, but it's still inconvenient to be there."
Sakura 'oohed' silently, nodding in wonder as she stored that information away for later use. 'Wisteria keeps away sorcerers.' It might be useful. Another thought rooted in her mind suddenly.
"Wait, when you two went to my house to pick us up, how did you find us?"
Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly at the nervous glance passed between the two sorcerers. "Well?" She encouraged an answer when they were silent, "I'm pretty sure the location to a former high matriarch isn't just available to the general public, and especially the sorcerers. How did you two know?"
"Well," Shisui rubbed his hand through his curls, facing the leaf scattered ground but still glanced up at her through his lashes. "We had to snoop around the towns a bit. The people weren't really keen on hiding your identity, so it wasn't that hard to find you."
Sakura narrowed her eyes further in suspicion at his bashful expression. "I don't know why but I have a feeling that you're lying."
"Why would we lie to you?" Itachi tilted his head toward her, "We have no reason to lie."
"You actually do have real reasons to lie." Sakura deadpanned at him before sighing and turning away, "I have a feeling I'm probably not going to get my answers from you anyway, so I don't even know why I try."
"We don't want to lie to you." Shisui murmured under his breath in dejection. He really does not want to lie to her, but he isn't sure how sane she will think of him if she found out how psychotically he had looked for her. He felt his cousin's disapproving gaze on him and discreetly pouted.
It wasn't his fault that he was with Itachi when they found Sakura, even if it was in the smoke vision. She was way too enchanting for her own good, what was he supposed to do.
"This is the road at will lead to the wisteria sanctuary." Itachi ignored his pouting cousin as he pointed to the dirt path lined by distinct purple petal scattered on the golden leaves. He lit up a small blue flame which floated off his palm like a will o' the wisp. "We will wait for you here. This flame will show you the way and lead you back to us. If you encounter any danger, just fire a signal up, we'll be there."
Sakura looked at the floating ball of flame that circled her like a happy will o' the wisp, nodding at him before following the road of the purple petals.
Shisui watched her walk away with her long coat swishing behind her when a smack landed on his head. "What the hell man…" He hissed, giving Itachi a glare when he gave him a deadpanned look.
"Stop being so weird with her." Itachi sighed at his cousin's antics, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "She's going to be turned away so early on if you keep rubbing yourself on her leg every chance you get."
Shisui's pout only worsened as he longingly looked at the road she disappeared to. "I can't help it." he sighed wistfully, "She's just too cute and so pretty. I feel like I shouldn't be myself around her, but every time she's with me it feels like I lose any control. It's miserable."
"It is." Itachi agreed, "It's even more painful to have to watch. Honestly, I'm positive now that showing you her smoke vision was the worst idea ever."
"Stop making me feel worse than I already do."
"Then do better."
"I'm trying." Shisui whined pitifully, plopping himself down on the ground, cupping a hand on his cheek. His cousin won't understand his devotion, it's useless to try to reason for his obsession. "Just stop poking at me. You just see, she'll love me by the time we start taking her to expeditions."
Dried leaves crunched beneath Sakura's feet as she slowly trotted behind the flame ball. She puffed out a breath when a drop of sweat started rolling down the nape of her neck and looked up through the towering canopies. It was getting warmer since the sun was well up in the sky, though the forest floor still stayed mostly shaded.
She stumbled slightly when the flame ball halted to a stop, circling her three times before taking off the dirt path and through the trees. "H-hey what?" She took off hot on its tail as it weaved through the bushes off to a completely different route.
After she started chasing it, she got the tell-tale scent of the wisteria vines amplified tenfold. 'It's this way!' She increased her pace when she saw a small clearing up ahead. The flame halted once again at just the edge of the oak trees, bobbing slightly in the air as Sakura slowed down to catch her breath.
"Damn this thing is fast." She grumbled under her breath when the ball floated away again, past the bushes and low hanging branches blocking her way. She parted the branch in front of her to step over the bush and stumbled into the clearing.
"Oh my ..."
Sakura sucked in a breath as her eyes widened at the boundary line in front of her. A small stream flowed from the short rocky waterfall, flowing from in-between the wall of wisteria vines. The small clearing, which started from the oak lining and ended in just a few steps with the waterfall, was choked with the hanging branches of white and purple flowers. It was like the walkway to a greenhouse, where one wall was a waterfall, one was the quaking trees and the rest was the wisteria, including the roof.
"The faeries are really serious about keeping away the Uchihas." Sakura mused out loud as she looked at the breathtaking sight in front of her, stepping over the fallen petals toward the silent stream running downhill to who knows where. She stared into the clear water, seeing her own face staring back from the green depth of the stream when she dipped her hand in it.
Something patted the back of her leg, and she looked down to see the blue flame butting head on her calf. "Yeah yeah, I'm going." She rolled her eyes, looking up at the vines hanging just barely above her head and snapped a branch off, sealing it as a charm on her bracelet until she gets back.
She followed the flame back the road she came from until she could distantly hear the low murmurs coming from the pair of sorcerers waiting for her.
But then something in her chest dropped. She couldn't pinpoint what happened, or what caused the sudden wave of anxiety that choked her chest and made goosebumps rise on her neck, but she found herself taking in ragged breaths as she struggled to keep up with the flame.
But when the deafening silence descended over her like the calm before storm, she realized what it was.
"Shit." She whispered to herself when the first crunch of leaf sounded too close to her and she managed to roll out just in time to avoid the claw swiping at her throat.
"Hell no."
She looked up to see the flame nowhere in sight, rolling around on the leaves to avoid another claw before jumping up, face to face with mad red eyes and muzzle smeared with drool.
It was a night forager, a wolf, way larger than her, large enough to dwarf a full grown human. Its fur was long and as dark as the midnight, eyes aflame like red coals and teeth bared as drool dripped down its chin. A low guttural growl permeated the still air surrounding her, setting a chill deep in her bones.
She held herself steady on her feet, her knees bent and ready to run at the drop of a hat. The wolf put one leg forward, Sakura put one foot back, her fingertips glowing green behind her back when she heard the snap and the wolf lunged.
Sakura brought her hand out to summon a scalpel in her hand when something struck the beast on its neck. A whirring golden blade.
"I was hoping they would all be sleeping."
Sakura looked over her shoulder to branch of the quaking where the crouched form of Shisui held the other blade. Another shadow landed in front of her and she saw the long ponytail of Itachi fluttering as he drew up a long shadow sword.
"Stay behind me Sakura." He kept an arm out, keeping Sakura pressed behind him as the wolf staggered up, a loud growl snapping its teeth. Shisui dropped down beside Itachi as the second blade shot back into his open palm.
It lunged again, managing to avoid the blade Shisui threw at it and going straight for Sakura only to get blocked by Itachi, barking to the sky as Shisui kicked its back legs, grabbing a hold of its long mane and pulling hard. It howled in pain as Itachi knocked its leg from beneath it, knocking it down on the ground as he kept a foot planted on the head as the beast struggled beneath them.
Sakura gasped in horror as Shisui dug his blade to its side, the forager howling in pain as blood gushed from its wound before its head dropped on the ground, reverberating against the mud as it stilled.
Shisui panted on top of the wolf as the blade dematerialized, pushing his hair back and looking the frozen pinkette over. "Dove, are you okay?"
Sakura opened her mouth, before she closed it. "You killed it?" She whispered in shock as Itachi and Shisui released the still form of the wolf, "Did you really kill it?"
"Unfortunately, no." Itachi wiped his palm as the sword fizzled out in thin air in a whiff of smoke. "This isn't enough to kill a night forager. It's still alive, just a little wounded and tired."
Now that Sakura looked at it clearly, she could see the slight rise and fall of its body. She cautiously took a step forward, looking for any negative reaction from the lying wolf. When it refused to stir, she took another step closer, seeing it's eyes half open and breaths leaving its mouth in painful pants.
A splash of red caught her eye. A small pool pf blood, not from the wound on its side, but from its leg. "It's injured." She whispered quietly to herself, crouching down a safe distance away from it before reaching out toward her leg. From her lying down, it was easy enough to tell that she was a female wolf.
When Sakura's finger came in contact with her leg, the wolf flinched, retracting slightly from her touch. "Careful Dove." She heard Shisui's warning as she reached out again, this time attempting to hold her leg when a low growl ripped through the air. The beast glared at her in warning, teeth bared as another low growl rose up its throat.
Sakura cautiously held up her hands, attempting to show she was harmless. She shushed her again when the glare still didn't relent. "I won't harm you." Sakura tried again, her voice barely above a whisper and as soft as cotton, "I'm not here to harm you. Let me help you."
The wolf flinched again when Sakura touched her again but the growl got caught in its throat when Sakura's fingers glowed green, coating the bleeding wound in her magic. Wide red eyes watched her stitching the open flesh as the skin wove back into a light pink, the area still devoid of the long black fur.
When Sakura saw the wolf unmoving and unhostile for the time being, she cautiously moved her glowing hand to its side where Shisui's blade dug deep into its flesh, to knit the open ends back in place, leaving the skin in a similar state to her leg.
When she saw the wound closed, Sakura backtracked to stand next to two sorcerers with their blades drawn to jump in another combat if necessary. The forager staggered slowly into a standing position, giving the Uchihas one last glare before turning her back to them, limping slightly in her first step before she parted the bush to walk away, throwing cautious glares over her shoulder.
A breath of relief escaped Sakura when the large form disappeared behind the bushes, but curiosity took its place when she heard small whimpers from somewhere where the wolf disappeared to.
"What was that?" She asked to no one in particular as she walked around the tree, peering out from behind it toward a small cave a little distance away. Itachi and Shisui looked out from beside her too, withdrawing their blades.
The cave was small and dark, hardly comfortable for a beast as large as the forager, but it was unmistakable when the wolf bent down to part the bushy bed-like bundle pf leaves and twig inside it. Small bodies like puppies, huddled together inside the bundle as the wolf laid down, curled around them like a protector.
Sakura gasped slightly when she saw the bundle. "She just gave birth." She whispered to her two companions as her eyes stayed trained to the slow rise and fall of the slumbering beast. "She thought we were here to harm her babies." She suddenly felt way more terrible about the fight that ensued between the beast and the Uchihas.
Itachi hummed slightly, drawing away from the tree. "The good thing is that the mother is okay now." He looked knowingly at his cousin when Shisui tilted his head at the pinkette, "So, that thing you did. When your fingers glowed green and you healed that wolf." He scratched the back of his head, a sheepish smile playing on his lips, "Do you always do that?"
Sakura didn't suppress it when her eyes rolled at his words. "I'm a viridian witch." Was all she replied as if that would answer all his questions.
"Yes but, do you always do that?"
"What the hell do you even mean?"
Shisui sighed in dejection before stuffing his hands in his pant pockets. "I just always thought that healer witches carried around potions and balms for wounds and all. I never realized that you could heal directly with magic."
The ire cleared up in Sakura's head before she huffed. She had forgotten that it wasn't normal for magic users to harness magic in its raw form to work with living bodies. She has become so accustomed to always using raw magic to heal wounds and illness that it escaped her memory that most magic-users use incantations and spells to do the same work.
"Not everyone can." She shrugged nonchalantly, dusting off her coat of stray mud and leaves. "I learned from Shishou how to do that."
Itachi nodded, "What else can you do with your raw magic?" Sakura raised an eyebrow defiantly at him, "Why do you want to know?"
"Nothing, I just-"
"He doesn't want to know." Shisui waved him off, urging her to walk back to where their horses were tied. A grin spread on his lips as Itachi grumbled incoherently in the background. "Let's get back to our compound, it's almost time for breakfast. I heard we're having apple pie."
When witches are born, they are given one insignia on their spine that categorizes their kind.
There are many categories and sub categories of her kind, but the three main classes are; The protectors, the healers, the destroyers. Just like every side of creation and destruction, light and dark, yin and yang, witches have two sides of the coin as well.
The Amethyst witches; the swords. They are the soldiers that stand on the frontlines when darkness strikes, ready with their swords and spears to attack. Offence magic courses strong in their veins, and so does raw power. So when the war struck the witches, the first kind to get eliminated were the amethyst witches.
The Amber witches; the shields. They are the fortifying walls that make castles into fortresses, and when war magic bombards from the enemies, they are the first to take the impact. Shield magic makes up their body and mind, hard and sturdy and ready for every attack. To destroy the ambers would mean to demolish the fortress walls.
Lastly, The Viridian witches; the healers. To harm the healers would mean to destroy an army from the inside. When no one will be left to reverse the damage, it would mean ultimate defeat. An irony it is, to be the most protected but also the most targeted.
Branched out from these classes are other sub-categories, arriving out of crisis and time of need of invaluable power. But none of it was ever enough it seemed.
The peachy sheets on the plush mattress rumpled up when Sakura tossed against the bed once again. A sigh of frustration escaped past her lips when she the feeling still didn't abate. Moonlight washed her bed from the large window, lightening up the dark night sky outside.
She was getting increasingly irritated and aggravated as the seconds ticked by. The feeling of pins and needles felt amplified as her eyes started feeling heavier and heavier, as if the walls had eyes.
And maybe they did.
Sakura sat up abruptly when the weight in her bones started feeling like too much. She picked up her night robe to throw over her night dress, tying the sash around her waist before digging in her large bag of herbs and plants.
She cursed silently under her breath as she rummaged around for a bundle of dried leaves tied together in one place. Her wrist clanked against the glass jar when her fingertips felt the sage leaves sitting in the corner of the bag, the ones she picked up from the meadow the morning she left for the Uchihas.
She fetched it out, shaking it for good measured before she collected half of it in a bundle. She searched for a small wooden box, opening the lid to bring out a small rosewood incense.
"Just one more…" her eyes slid to the wisteria charm dangling from her bracelet. She broke it off, the branch of wisteria materializing in her palm. She broke off the smaller branch from the bush, tying it together with the sage with a jute thread. The incense let out smoke when she held the lit matchstick at its tip, the smoke doubling in amount when she held the lit incense under the sage bundle.
Sakura carefully covered her nose when the smoke curled up in the air, the leaves of sage turning black from being lit up, the dark smoke filling every corner of the room when she felt it.
It was a small spark at first, almost unnoticeable but then it got amplified. A crackle of electricity, a streak of blue, from the walls.
"Oh hell no." Sakura hissed as she held the incense under the sage once again. The smoke curled up faster, blocking up almost all of the light and making it almost impossible to see anything, but it was better for her to actually see.
Another crackle rose up, then more blue streaks of electricity formed against the screen of black smoke, fighting against the hold of wisteria. Sakura held in her breath as the walls around her seemed to scream with angry lightning, streaking around her but never at her.
Something hot rose up her chest making her face flush red, what she realized once again, was rage. But this time, it was bigger.
'Magic shackles.' Her mind sneered, 'Figures.'
She threw down the burning bundle on the marble floor, letting it reduce itself to ashes as she tightened the sash around her waist and threw open her room's door, storming out into the hallway without even picking up her sandals.
She wasn't just mad, she was pissed.
All these days, her magic was being drained out of her own body, in her own room, and she was unaware. She wasn't wrong when she felt the thousand eyes on her, the pins and needles digging in her back. She was right on the money.
Sakura didn't stop in her way until she was the furthest away from the cold walls. Her feet continued past the gardens, past the gold fountain, past the training ground straight to the last clearing amongst the towering trees where her glass sanctuary sat on the overgrown unused training ground.
The glass door to the greenhouse opened before she even reached it as she stormed inside, the door falling shut and shielding her away from the dark eyes she always seemed to feel on herself.
Her body fell against the soft clover growth covering the floor near the hibiscus plants, the tiny grasses tickling her skin. Tears burned behind her closed lids as she wrapped her arms around herself, biting her lips to fight down the sob.
Utterly helpless and alone, that's how she felt. Like it was her against the whole world.
And maybe it was.
Her eyelids fell down, enveloping her vision in darkness, but she failed to see the figure looking out of the candle lit library window.
AN: Hah, here it is. Finally.
Tell me in the reviews what you thought of this chapter, see you in the next chapter.
Bye bye!
