Categories > Anime/Manga > Naruto > Kiss Me Deadly

These Words are Not Enough

by Artficial_Sunshine 0 reviews

It's the beginning of a new mission, though Sakura can't help but feel deja vu. She must return to the forests of Sound. With the support of her friends Naruto and Tenten, Sakura thought she coul...

Category: Naruto - Rating: R - Genres: Angst, Drama - Characters: Sakura, Tenten - Warnings: [R] - Published: 2006-05-22 - Updated: 2006-05-23 - 1305 words

0Unrated
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, etc...

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Chapter Two: These Words are Not Enough

Hours seemed like minutes and before Sakura knew it the mission was already under-way.

Her assignment was simple enough, tend to the medical needs of any casualties, but it was the mission in whole that made Sakura weary.

It required trespassing on Sound. The Hidden Village of Sound.

This was the mission, or as far as Sakura knew: An extremely influential individual's daughter had been taken hostage by the rouge Sound village. Konoha-nin had been hired to act as mediators of sorts and help provide her with a safe return. But, even if Sound's demands are met there is still a wide margin of risk, and in the briefing sempai warned her that 'force may be necessary'.

As the team of jonins cautiously made their way through the thick forest of Sound, Sakura struggled to keep her senses heightened. Everything was a fog, too many reminders; too many memories.

As hard as it is to believe, it was almost a year ago she was treading through the exact same patch of forest. Except the circumstances were albeit different.

-F- Her body trembled with sheer terror as Sakura slowly took in her surroundings. Bodies sprawled across the forest's floor, the metallic taste of blood intoxicating the air. It was all too much for one nin to handle.

"Why?" Was all that could escape her lips. Why had her team been ambushed? Why had her life been spared? No, wait, she subconsciously knew why, she just refused to acknowledge the answer. -F-

"Sakura, are you alright back there?" Looking up, Sakura nodded to one of the older, more experienced ninja. No, she wasn't alright, but any sign of emotion is a weakness; - Sakura reminded herself this as she brushed off his question.

"Nothing I can't handle." The jonin continued ahead and Sakura followed, hoping Naruto was too occupied to notice her change in disposition.

"So, what's the deal with this girl anyway? I mean, who gets kidnapped by Sound?" One of her teammates asked aloud.

Sakura was wondering that herself. She assumed the successful merchant they were hired to serve wasn't completely honest in his work, and Orochimaru just took the poor girl out of gripe. Though Sakura's heart went out to the girl, Oto was no where near as civil as Konoha when it came to dealing with POWs or hostages.

Sakura knew this because for a short period of time, she was hostage of Oto herself.

-F- Sakura never classified herself as a claustrophobic, or at least not until that night. The cold, damp, prison floor numbed her tiny frame as she attempted to make sense of her surroundings.

"So you're the hostage from Konoha? Quite a pretty thing." Inching her way against the cell's wall Sakura avoided the sound-nin's gaze.

"Don't lay a finger on her." Sakura's ears perked up as she recognized the familiar timbre. It was the same voice that haunted her dreams.

Closing her eyes tightly shut, Sakura's body continued to tremble; not out of fear, but anticipation. -F-

"We'll set up camp here. Naruto, I'm going to need you to begin surveillance immediately. After about an hour I'll lead half of the team out. The rest will stay behind as backup." Nodding to their sempai, the team of jonin dispersed to start their individual tasks.

"Sakura, do you mind?" Making her way into the makeshift medical station tent, Tenten unwrapped the gauze binding her palm to reveal an unsightly wound.

"This happened while I was training before this mission. I tended to it myself but my hand is still sore, I was hoping a real medic-nin could check it out." Sakura gingerly took a hold of Tenten's hand. "It looks infected, I'm going to apply antiseptic." Stepping back Sakura released the hand and made her way to the batch of medical supplies.

"So, how have you been doing?" Sakura winced at Tenten's question, almost dropping the glass Iodine bottle she clasped. "I.. am...I've been fine." Tenten nodded and Sakura grabbed a few cotton balls from one of the many first aid kits.

Dipping the cotton balls into Iodine, Sakura gestured to Tenten to hold open her hand.

"You may feel some pain." The simple statement Sakura advised to Tenten stirred some suppressed insecurities. 'Did it feel pain?'

As the cotton ball abraded Tenten's skin, Tenten made a expression of displeasure. After cleansing the wound Sakura gave her a bacterial ointment, advising to apply it daily.

"Thanks for taking care of it for me. I can be such a klutz sometimes." Tenten fidgeted with the tube of ointment in her hand while diffidently turning around as if she were hiding something. Just as she was going to step out-through the opening, Tenten stopped in her tracks.

"I know we may not be the closest, but if you ever need to talk, on this mission, or on any mission, I'll be there." Even if Tenten had genuine intentions, Sakura couldn't help but simmer inside. Sure she had been through hell during these past few months, but Sakura hated being considered weak. She was too good of a ninja to be considered that.

"I'm fine. Honestly." Tenten smiled to Sakura sincerely and finally stepped out of the medic-tent. Letting out a sigh of dejection, Sakura tossed the roll of remaining gauze to the side and collapsed onto one of the cots. It would be hours before Naruto's assignment is finished, and sleeping was her only current form of escapism.

-F-"You may feel some pain."

Sakura turned her head away and bit her lip when he gave her the seal. "It's for the prisoners of Sound. It's to track you, nothing more. It's not like my curse seal if that's what's concerning you." Sakura felt dizzy. It was not too long ago that she'd kill to hear his voice just once, and now, there she was, doing everything in her power to avoid his gaze.

"Don't worry. It's a needle prick in comparison to the emotion pain you caused me." Sasuke let go of her upper arm and admired the seal. "There will be a hearing this evening. Orochimaru-sensei will then decide what to do with you." Sakura's body continued to tremble involuntary.

"They're not going to kill me, are they?" Sakura couldn't help but ask.

Sasuke shot his head in reply. "Don't worry, I won't let them." -F-

From the moment Sakura opened her eyes she could tell something was not right. A thickness hung in the air and the whole campsite seemed obscurely still.

Too calm for an A rank mission.

Finally summoning to courage to step out of the medic-tent, Sakura's curiosity greeted her with the gruesome site of blood.

They had been ambushed. Just like the fated mission she attended over a year ago.

Sakura stood in place for a few moments, shell shocked. After sufficiently taking in the scene she quickly darted back to the tent, filling both her arms with supplies. Running to the nearest casualty, Sakura quickly used her perfect charkra control to tend to his wounds faster than any regular medic-nin.

"Who did this?" Sakura asked, with a voice laced with the combination of concern, anger, and fear.

The nin struggled to get the words out, and weakly attempted to explain. "He...he came here and attacked, too fast...his eyes...they were...mesmerizing... red..." Sakura finished healing him and got up from the ground.

She was well aware of the person who dared to attack her team - just not in the mood to deal with him.

Not after everything he put her through.

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A/N: This chapter stayed basically the same to it's edited counter-part, but next chapter will be 'darker' compared to the one posted on FF.net.
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