Crow's feathers - Naruto fanfiction

Chapter 51 The lost and the lonely

It is said that if two shinobi are close and equally strong, they can read each other’s mind when their attacks collide.

- Ninja history Handbook

 

 

“There!” Kuro pointed, “that tower. That must be the place.”
“Are you sure?” Daro asked.
“Yes I’m sure. Come on.”
Daro and Hiro followed close behind him.
“Uhm… guys…” Hiro called, “Shouldn’t we slow down? How about security?” He came to a halt when he almost ran into Daro who had stopped.
“I don’t think we have to worry about that anymore,” he said.
“What happened here?” Kuro gasped. They stared at the building a few feet ahead. The roof had collapsed and there was a giant hole in one of the walls. It seemed deserted.

Slowly Kuro made his way towards the building.
“Careful,” Hiro said, “what if it’s a trap? What if someone’s still here?”

“Then we’ll deal with them,” Daro said and dragged Hiro with him, ”come on already, maybe we can find some clues.”

“Hey guys!” Kuro called from somewhere inside the building. His friends hurried towards him and found their friend kneeled next to a body.
“That’s a samurai,” Daro gasped, “is he…”
“Yeah,” Kuro nodded, “he’s dead.”
“What do you think happened?” Hiro asked.

“There must have been some sort of attack,” Kuro said.
“Who would attack a meeting with the Kages?” Daro said horrified.
“Criminals obviously,” Hiro said, “you know… missing nin.”
“You mean Akatsuki?” Kuro questioned.
“Do you think Taryn-sensei is in danger?” Daro whispered, “or Kazekage-sama?”
“No one else is here,” Kuro said, “I haven’t found other bodies yet. No blood either, though one of the rooms appeared to be melted.”
“Melted?” Hiro asked.

“Some kind of acid,” Kuro answered, “do you think we should look around?”
The boys looked at each other.
“I’ll summon Kera and her flock,” Hiro said, “they can check the area from above us and warn us for enemies.”
“Okay,” Kuro nodded, “but just to be sure… let’s stick together.”
“Sure,” Hiro said.
“Right,” Daro agreed.

Slowly they made their way down the corridor. When they reached the corner, Daro took out a hand mirror to look around the corner, but the hallway was empty. They shivered when they entered the room where the ceiling had caved.
“Imagine what would have happened if there had been people here,” Hiro muttered.
“Seems like everyone else got out safe,” Daro commented. He turned to Hiro. “Did Kera and the others find anything?”
“No,” Hiro answer, “no one’s here but us.”
They moved upstairs and entered a large room with banners hanging down from the wall. On each banner was a symbol that represented one of the Great nations.

“Well, we found the council alright,” Daro muttered. His friends stared across the room with stunned expressions.

“There’s fighting going on,” one of the smaller hawks, Chavi, announced. He flew down to where Hiro was. “About sixty miles to the North, as the hawk flies.”

“It will take us at least a day to get there,” Hiro said, “longer since we can’t travel in a straight line. We’ll have to take the long road.”
“Let’s go then,” Daro said, “there’s no one here. Let’s not waste time.”

***

Sakura froze in place as she took in the scene she had stumbled upon.  Taryn was there, kneeled beside some girl that was badly injured. And Sasuke… his eyes were so cold. He appeared to be wounded as well. He was so different from the Sasuke she had known.
“What do you want with me?” Sasuke asked coldly.
Sakura took a deep breath. This was it. It was all or nothing now. “Sasuke,” she said, “I will follow you. I’ll leave Konoha!” She moved closer, but still kept a fair distance between her and Sasuke.
Taryn stared at Sakura dumbfounded. What was the girl planning?
“You wouldn’t gain anything by following me,” Sasuke said, “what are you plotting?”
So he didn’t buy her story either.
“I’m not plotting,” Sakura hurried to say, “it’s just… I’ve always regretted not going with you when you left Konoha.”
Taryn glanced from Sasuke to Karin and back, debating with herself if she should get Karin out of here to some place safe.
“I’ll do what ever you want me to,” Sakura continued, “I don’t want to have any more regrets.”
“Do you know what I want?” Sasuke asked coldly.
“It doesn’t matter,” Sakura answered, “I’ll do what ever you say.”
“I want to destroy Konoha,” Sasuke said in a calm voice, “that is what I want.” Sakura’s eyes went wide in shock. “Would you rally betray Konoha for me?”
“Y-yes…” Sakura stuttered, “if you say so…”
“Then you have to prove it,” Sasuke said. He motioned towards Karin. “if you kill her… I’ll let you come with me.”
Sakura stared at him. She wasn’t sure what to do. When she came here, she wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t this. She looked at Karin. There was no honor in killing someone that was already down. She cast a quick glance at Taryn who held an unreadable expression. Sakura still wasn’t sure what the older girl was doing here. She looked at Karin again, more determined now, and drew a kunai knife. “Who is she?” she asked while approaching.
Taryn kept a close watch on Sasuke now, ready for anything. Whatever Sakura was up to, the girl had no idea what she was getting herself into. She was still too innocent. Sakura had never been much of a fighter. She was skilled enough, just too attached to her emotions. When dealing with Sasuke, that was a crucial mistake.
“She is one of the members of my team,” Sasuke answered Sakura’s question, “As you can see, she’s of no use to me now. Sakura, you are healer, aren’t you? You’ll make a good replacement...”
Sakura stared down at the girl at her feet.
“What’s wrong Sakura? Can’t do it?”
Sakura trembled and lifted the knife. ‘If I kill Sasuke now… it will all be over…’ She closed her eyes.
“S-stop… Sasuke,” Karin suddenly rasped.
Sakura’s eyes snapped open and she heard the sound of chirping birds behind her. She turned and saw Sasuke’s hand engulfed in lighting. The next second she was tackled to the ground by Taryn. At the same time, Sasuke’s attack was blocked by someone else.
Sakura gasped. “Kakashi-sensei.”
There was murder in Sasuke’s eyes. Kakashi stated at him coldly. ‘He really meant to kill her.’  “You’ve fallen deep Sasuke.”
The two threw each other away and landed in a crouch.
Taryn pulled Sakura to her feet and glared at Kakashi and Sasuke.
“Heh,” Sasuke scoffed, “one after another. They just keep showing up.”