Restoration: Book 2/3

Chapter 13

-Sakura's POV-

I hurried back into the house after realizing what Matsuri was sprinting towards.

"Everybody, let's go! Right now!"

Almost everyone was present, either in the kitchen scrounging for food or sitting at the dining table, and they all turned to look at me in shock. My eyes locked onto Naruto's and I grabbed his arm and pulled him up, "Right now! It's Hinata! Come on!"

That's all I needed to say. I didn't turn back to see if everyone else followed us, but he and I hurried back outside and started sprinting as quickly as possible toward the burning facility down the road. From where the house we'd stayed at was located, we approached the backside of the asylum.

Naruto was about to run right into the ablaze building and I was tempted to follow him, but Matsuri yelled at us from a small patch of forest a dozen or so yards away, "Over here!"

My heart was beating so quickly. We didn't come all this way just for her to die a terrible death like being burnt alive. '

My eyebrows rose in half-relief when we caught up with the short girl and saw that she was crouched next to an abandoned was open and its contents had spilled slightly out onto the muddy ground. I tried not to get my hopes up too far, but made myself say something reassuring for everyone's sake, "It could be hers! She could be outside somewhere."

Matsuri picked up the bag and dug around in it to see what all it held, "Why would she leave it, though?"

Multiple quick footsteps were heard from behind us and we turned to see everyone else catching up to us. Ino handed me my shoes and coat. I looked down at my bare feet in disbelief. My toes were blue. I'd been so worried that I completely forgot about my boots. Kiba handed Naruto his winter gear as well and we put everything on.

Just as Shikamaru was handing the Uzumaki boy one of the handguns we'd swiped from the dead security officers back in Konoha, Kiba sniffed the air before frantically turning in the direction of the more crowded residential area, not in the same direction as the house we'd stayed the night at. "Follow me." We did as told and followed the boy as he jogged with his nose slightly raised so he could hold onto whatever scent he'd caught.

After less than a minute, he swiftly stopped and picked something up off the ground before turning to face us. My heart sank in my chest. It was a dark brown coat, with multiple holes and blood on its back.

"Is it hers?"

Kiba nodded,"It's her blood, but there's someone else's on it, as well."

Before anyone could respond, gunshots could be heard in the distance, in the same direction we'd been traveling. My feet were moving before anyone could give instruction and I noticed Naruto was running, too. We ran for multiple minutes, past a couple of residential blocks, before I spotted a body in the distance. I yelled for my blonde friend as I rushed over, terrified it was Hinata, but was overcome with relief when I realized it was a man instead.

A disgusted gasp escaped me when I realized the dead man's neck looked like the orange-haired man's from the car dealership in Konoha. The only difference was that it was black where it oddly protruded up from beneath the skin.

Naruto shoved the body onto its back and both of us stared in surprise at the sheer amount of blood on the man's clothes. I looked at the ground where he'd been laying. There wasn't a puddle, which meant the blood had left his body while he was upright. He'd been running around like that.

My eyes shot over to see how Naruto was taking things and felt my brow furrow when he looked overcome with despair, like each second not knowing if she was safe or not was killing him.