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Path of thorns by Yukimiya
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22/09/2008
Path of thorns [Chapter 18]

Chapter Eighteen

 

Ambush

 

Everything went so fast, the next thing he knew, he was attacked by shadow figures. Kakashi and Sakura took different directions. He was confused of why these shadow nins followed them. But as of now, all he could think of was how he will be able to end this ambush and travel fast to Konoha.

 

Standing in the middle of the crowd, Kakashi gave a long suffering sigh and said, “So, you’re not pining for the Kazekage after all.” One of the nins stepped up and pointed his sword. His eye narrowed and observed the intricate depiction carved on the hilt. Snakes? I hope I’m not right. There’s only person he could think of who’s involved with such, vile, sly animal. “Who are you and what do you want?” his blatant show of ignorance towards the sword pointed at him irritated the nin.

 

“It is best if you stay back.” he said then turned his head towards the others, “Give him a hand from getting the girl. I don’t think this will be an easy prey.” Two nins nodded and then disappeared.

 

Sakura? What do they want from her?  The mystery of their intentions made it more difficult for the copy-nin to comprehend the situation at hand. “I’m afraid I won’t allow you to take my comrade away.” His tone was deep, indicating his sincerity. He stood straight and regarded his enemies with a sweep of his glare. Being outnumbered wasn’t an issue to him before. What difference does it make now?

 

“Oh,” the bolder nin replied, “But we’re already at it.” The enemy nin barely had a time to finish his sentence when Kakashi already rushed towards him and swing a blow towards his face. The enemy toppled backwards from impact and the fight was on. The rest charged at him after that alarming assault he did.

 

Swerving to the side, he circumvented balled fists aiming his sides and sternum. Bending his legs and jumping up in the air, Kakashi formed seals, “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! Dropping to the nearest branch, he watched his clones distract the enemies below. Turning his head, he searched for the direction where Sakura ran off to.

 

-

-

 

“Someone’s here…” he whispered, still trying to track down where the rustling came from.

 

Trying to be helpful with the situation, Sakura looked around as well. Who…

 

Just then, a black figure jumped from the bushes and swung his sword towards them.

 

Shocked, the two moved apart, jumping from either side of the area as their assailant sheathed his sword and stood calmly. He didn’t move for a minute until he had the need to side-step away from the kunai knives thrown at his direction.

 

The black clothed nin looked up and saw his target by the tree, preparing another batch of knives. He raised his hand and signalled someone from behind. Then another four nins appeared, circling the two.

 

They were slightly outnumbered. Six against two innocent Konoha travellers. Kakashi wondered they had done that caused this.

 

“Take care of him. I’ll get the girl.” And then the chase was on.

 

-

-

 

Sakura… Jumping to the next tree, Kakashi went off to find that one, bubble-gum haired girl who saw the face of his father.

 

**

 

Her lungs burned as she continued to run, hesitantly looking back then looking forth the path she was taking. Turning she jumped towards the trees, hoping that in this way, she will be able to lose him. The drizzling snow however made it ultimately hard.

 

This was acting quiet cowardly but as of now, this is the only thing she could do.

 

The enemy had just recently thrown her against boulders, trees, even to the rough texture of the frozen lake, leaving her badly bruised and limping. She couldn’t perform seals for after that particular attempt of strangling his neck; he used poison needles and burned the nerves of her arms, giving temporary numbing effect. She felt like Orochimaru running around with flailing arms.

 

This is bad. So bad. Kakashi, where are you?? She hated to admit it, but she was losing right now. It was a shame only for a minute she defended her capabilities and now she’s hoping that Kakashi saves the day for her.

 

Sliding down the overhung snow, Sakura took refuge against the small cliff covered with snow, hoping it would somehow deceit her hunter. She observed her numbed arms, hissing irritably as she closed her eyes, praying that the mild poison wouldn’t disperse through her bloodstream. I only need a few minutes. Taking a few deep breaths, Sakura opened her eyes with newfound determination.

 

She knew the concoction that was used on her. It was one of those toxins used as anaesthetic in the hospitals in times of dire need. The reason why it was referred as poison is because if the patient get overdose by it, the patient may eventually turn vegetable or worse, dead. That bastard… who is he? It amazed her that her enemy’s needles had precise amount just to numb her arms and not totally inflict harm. But why would he do that? Why not overdose and kill me? It seems her assailant had no intentions of killing her. He’s only too eager to capture his prey.

 

“One… two…” silently she counted in a hushed, desperate whisper. She only needed a minute to gain the function of her arms back.

 

And then she heard something snap, emerald eyes carefully looked up. The sounds of muffled footsteps were clear as the daylight now.

 

Collecting saliva inside her mouth to relieve her parched throat, Sakura swallowed then bit her lip from making any sound that may eventually cause the end of her.

 

Snow fell down her face, causing her to close her eyes and imagine her enemy standing just above her.

 

Forty… forty-one… forty-two… Her heart banged like mad against her chest. Her lip bled from the torture her teeth were causing but she paid it no mind. Crunching like an unborn fetus, she vainly tried to blend with the whiteness of the snow behind her.

 

Fifty… fifty-one… fifty-two…

 

The nin stood just above where she sat. He looked down, suppressing his laughter from erupting. Really, he was expecting more from jounins of Konoha. Especially this one since their client seems to take deep interest at her. This poor attempt of hiding however changed his views.

 

It took them a lot to finally get to this moment. They used one of the most powerful villages, entered the Wind country’s border without permission, threatened numerous people, killed and tortured some. And by torture means the spread of the parasite epidemic.

 

Luring their prey wasn’t so easy, so he sort of expected much only to find out that their target was nothing but a coward, medic, pink-haired girl. With a scoff, he jumped back and stood on a tree branch, arms crossed as he glared at that particular lump of soil.

 

(1) “Kireji Butou no Jutsu!”, nine black cloths sprang out from the roll in his back, spreading out wide and then forming sharp edges as it went to strike the land beneath him.

 

Fifty-eight… fifty-nine…

 

There was an explosion, soil, gravel, snow setting off to the air, creating a dusty fog of white and earth tones. The nin waited with crossed arms as the black cloths sprang back to the roll he’s carrying.

 

As the soil and snow cleared, he noticed a rather surprising yet interesting sight before him.

 

The large lump of soil was gone alright, but gladly, their target wasn’t.

 

It was miraculous how she escaped that explosion in the nick of time. She was done with sixty when she rolled off away from the quivering soil she took shelter with.

 

Just as what was expected, she regained the power of her arms and balanced herself from falling further down the hill.

 

With great difficulty, she pushed herself up, testing the endurance of her legs as she slightly swerved. She stood there, facing her enemy, wiping the blood from her mouth with her thumb. Her breathing was ragged but she still kept that smug look on her face intact.

 

“I’m not that easy to deal with.” As she looked at him, the first thing she noticed was his deep breathing. So, trying to keep up with me wore you out. Good. Even if she haven’t successfully inflicted great damage of the nin’s body, the fact that his breathing pattern changed and that his blood seeped from his open wound her kunai knife caused, made her feel triumphant somehow.

 

“I told you, running was useless.” The nin said trying not to show weakness from the deep wound he had on his leg. Their boss was right. She’s quite feisty for a medic nin.

 

Opening and closing her fists, Sakura confirmed the slight recovery of her arms. Satisfied, she planted a hand on her hip, putting her weight on that one leg as she glared at him. “But it made you happy one way or another.”

 

The nin this time chuckled, “An impressive show of cowardice… but playtime’s over.” Wasting no time, the nin attacked with his sword drawn out. Sakura, despite of the heaviness of her body was able to snatch her kunai knife from its holster and inhibited the sword from slashing her torso. The slashing motion continued with Sakura incessantly avoiding each attack. The enemy moved forward with her hastily pacing backwards while trying to maintain her grip.

 

Turning, she kicked him straight his chest, making him lurch backwards. Taking the opportunity, Sakura bit the hilt of her knife between her teeth and prepared sets of shuriken each between her fingers. She knew her limits and she knew she wasn’t doing well with taijutsu. So she had to just settle with genjutsu and long range weapons. Throwing them however ended useless. The nin expertly avoided it with his sword.

 

“Shit.” This time, she took smoke bombs and threw them at his direction. Taking this opening, she climbed up the tree and started to mold her chakra. She had used a lot and would probably the cause of her sudden weakness. He fought me alone… but he still remained triumphant. Who is this guy? He’s too strong. She had faced a lot of battles before. But the technique this person was using was different. It was like he wanted to direly kill her yet holding back because he’s asked to take her alive. It’s as if he himself couldn’t decide what to do with her.

 

(2) “Kireji Kiritsukeru no Jutsu!” It was too lat before when she heard that familiar cry. A single black cloth emerged from the shadows and made a slashing motion that made Sakura fall off the tree.

 

Before she could land ungracefully back to the ground, the black nin appeared from the thick fog of smoke and pinned her against the tree behind her, his hand gripping her neck quite hard.

 

**

 

“Sakura!”

 

He heard the explosion and immediately followed. Unfortunately, the other nins heard too and followed suit. He ended up fighting the same group he left a few minutes ago.

 

Swinging impeccably underneath the fist that was about to deliver a rather painful blow on his gut, Kakashi sprinted quickly towards Sakura’s side. But a bunch of three vetoed his plan, launched smoke bombs and threw kunai knives. Taking a side step, Kakashi evaded a few swings from the kunai wielder as he delivered a series of punches on the one who dared to stab his back.

 

It’s Sakura they want… I should have seen through this! Flesh was cut and blood easily surfaced on the patch of exposed skin on his face. Too caught up with his thoughts, he didn’t notice one black nin manage to scratch him. Seeing that dodging will not solve his problem, he quickly took his own kunai from the holster on his leg. Clashing metals were heard and sparks flickered through the fog the smoke bomb caused. He heard a scream, a bloodcurdling scream coming from Sakura’s direction and that frightened him. Sakura, I have to save Sakura. He told himself and at the same time finding it more hopeless to win this battle.

 

Two against… who knows how many black nins.

 

It was utterly, completely, absolutely unfair.

 

**

 

“Kakashi!” she cried as she noticed him surrounded and outnumbered by their assailants. Her situation wasn’t too easy as well. She was clawing mercilessly at the arm holding her firmly against the tree. Her back ached from the pressure and friction it’s causing, expecting bruises and blisters to form. Moaning from the deprivation of air to her lungs, Sakura tried to raise her leg to kick the bastard but failed miserably when he expertly caught it. Now her neck and leg's under the mercy of the enemy’s hands.

 

“It’s no use.” Her attacker spoke in a voice muffled by the cloth covering his mouth.

 

“What…” she was chocking, “… do you want?!” it was amazing she could still form words under her cruel situation.

 

“Not us.” The man said, “But as transporters we’re to deliver you to our boss by morning.”

 

Boss? Just like any crime made in this world, someone’s always behind it. The godfather of the group. Why me? She couldn’t think of anyone who has a grudge on her. Why would someone send transporters to kidnap her? “Who?” she asked in a strained voice. She was half thankful the man somehow loosened his grip, allowing small air to pass through her trachea.

 

“Don’t know, don’t care. Now all you have to do is to obey and we will not harm him.” His head cocked towards Kakashi’s direction who was still trying to sort his way out.

 

Sakura nervously spared Kakashi a glance and then back to her assailant. “How about removing your hand?”

 

The man looked hesitant for a moment but did remove his hand from her neck. “Come with us and don’t try anything funny or he dies.”

 

Sakura slipped the poison needles back on her palms and gritted her teeth. The enemy’s eyes were sharp despite of the black cloth covering his eyes. Again, she turned to look at Kakashi who by now finished almost half of the men who attacked him. He was now rushing towards them. His face showed determination even though another batch slowed him down again.

 

They were ambushed, outnumbered, and posed Kakashi as blackmail to her. They were hopeless as of now. But if I submit myself and let Kakashi escape, he’ll be able to tell the Hokage and get help. I will be rescued. He will come for me.

 

Finding no other choice, Sakura submitted by lowering her head and muttering, “Alright.” She felt the man move towards her side, “But don’t hurt…” her eyes went wide for a moment as she felt something sharp penetrate her skin. After that, her surroundings swirled and her world turned black. The last thing she heard was Kakashi calling out her name.

 

**

 

He didn’t know how he ended up on the ground, spitting soil out his mouth while trying to remove the heavy foot off his head. Hatake Kakashi lost focus when he saw the sight of Sakura falling unconscious to the arms of the enemy. Pain shot up through his spine as the enemy’s knee kicked him on the side, causing him to fall unexpectedly to the ground. “Sakura!” As he looked up, he saw no more of Sakura and the black nin’s leader.

 

But before the leader and Sakura disappeared, he heard one command coming from his lips, “Let’s go.” And then they were gone.

 

Why? Kakashi knew he shouldn’t have resisted from the start. He should’ve killed them before they had the moment to take her away.

 

Distraction, all of them. He was beyond angry right now, his blood boiling to the point that the he wanted… no, needed to hurt something. The mission’s over. I have no right to do anything beyond the mission. But Sakura… No… I have to do something... He told himself as he stood from the ground. The scratch on his face didn’t hurt but there was blood trickling down his cheek.

 

The incident only left him two choices.

 

That is to run back to Konoha and inform the Hokage.

 

Or summon Pakkun and find her.

 

He chose the latter.

 

“Kuchiyose no Jutsu!”

 

**

 

“This is… unexpected.” Gaara said as he reviewed the report he received. Both Shikamaru and Neji shared a look and then back to the confused Kazekage.

 

“I agree with you. They’ve been trailing Sand for so long. Why would they leave just like that?” Shikamaru said; distrust clear within the shinobi’s voice.

 

Gaara looked over Neji’s direction, “Are they really gone?”

 

Neji nodded, “Aa. I checked all areas. All clean.”

 

Despite of the absence of Gaara’s eyebrow, a frown could be seen on the powerful man’s face. “And the army disappeared too?”

 

“Hai.” Neji went to Daikon that morning and learned that the soldiers moved out. As he went back and discussed this with Shikamaru, everything fell into one piece. The sudden attacks… the intrusion… the army in a near village… the Daimyo being unaware of this situation… it cracked the mystery altogether.

 

“It was planned perfectly.” Shikamaru rubbed his chin and looked away.

 

“And we didn’t do anything to stop it.” Gaara felt he failed everyone on some point. He wanted to end this catastrophe so bad, everything didn’t turn out right. The enemies went to god knows where.

 

Shikamaru shook his head, “No. It doesn’t end here.”

 

“Do you think Orochimaru has something to do with this?” Gaara evenly asked.

 

“Probably.” Shikamaru thought it’d be difficult if ever Orochimaru’s involved. The man had been hiding for years without doing anything. There’s always a possibility that the snake bastard already formulated the perfect plan that’s ready to be unleashed.

 

“They’re after something else.” Neji supplied, he too trying to figure out the situation at hand.

 

“What could possibly—” Shikamaru’s eyes widened in realization, “Oh no…”

 

Gaara narrowed his eyes, “What is it?”

 

“As far as I know, Orochimaru’s arms are still…”

 

Neji then suddenly knew where Shikamaru was going, “The medics…” both shared a look, remembering that one night on their last mission when Sasuke told them that Orochimaru’s still suffering under the incapability of his arms and would do anything to get it healed. If Tsunade refuses to heal his arms, he’d probably settle to the next one on the list.

 

“Sakura…”

 

“Shit.”

 

TBC

 

(1)    Dancing Cloth

(2)    Cloth spear

 

… simple huh?


Posted by yukimiya at 5:09 PM JST
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