Cursed Saint

3 - Determination

"Sakura!" Ryu exclaimed, recognizing her voice instantly. He searched the dark cave quickly, frowning when he didn't see her right away. Then he spotted her in the very corner, the shadows falling over her so it concealed her hiding place. He got to his feet, pausing when he realized what that meant. So Shiro really had taken him. He also noticed the fact that he could now see metal bars through the corner of his eye. It had been blocked by a small bolder.

"Ryu!" He didn't have to go to her. Instead she was suddenly on her feet, running toward him. She flung her arms around him, burying her face into his shoulder. Even if he understood the situation, he blushed.

"It's..... it's going to be okay," he stammered, still a little stunned. When Sakura tensed, he realized his hesitation in his sentence had frightened her. Then, adding as much confidence as he could into his voice, Ryu said, "Even if something bad happens, I'll be here to protect you. Trust me."

To Ryu's surprise, that actually reassured her. He hadn't expected her to trust in his strength too much. Why would she? He never tried in class. Nobody knew how well he could actually fight. Not only that, but they were against rogue ninja who used to be Anbu level.

"I do trust you," Sakura said, finally releasing him from the hug. "I'm sorry. I should have run when you'd told me to." Tears formed in Sakura's eyes, which made Ryu's stomach clench. He hated to see people cry.

"Don't worry," he said. "They're very powerful. They probably would have caught up to you."

Sakura sniffled, reaching up to wipe off the one tear that had managed to escape. "Ryu, who are they? Why did they want you so badly? Why..... why did they take me as well?"

"I'm not sure why they'd take you," he said.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "But you do know why they'd take you." It wasn't a question, but Ryu still avoided it by not saying anything.

If I tell her anything, she might be more afraid than she is now..... Ryu looked away, refusing to say if he did or didn't know them.

Sakura stared at him for a moment before she walked back to the corner and sat down. Without a moment's hesitation, he sat down beside of her. "How long have you been awake?"

"About an hour or two," Sakura whispered, like she couldn't bring herself to make her voice louder.

He felt his heart clench. She'd had to watch him sleep for two hours, fearing someone would come by and kill one of them. He looked out the steel bars, not seeing anything but another rock wall. "I'm sorry, Sakura," Ryu said.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Sorry for what?" she asked.

Once again Ryu held back the answer. Just because he was so close to the Third, Sakura was in danger.

"Well well, you're finally awake," a familiar voice said, making both Sakura and Ryu look in front of them. Standing beyond the gate's bars stood a man that made Ryu's blood boil. Shiro. Ryu watched him with pure loathing as he took out a key and opened the metal door. He walked in, shutting the bar door behind him.

Ryu automatically got to his feet, ready to protect Sakura. "What do you want?" Ryu snapped, taking a step forward so that Sakura was behind him.

Shiro chuckled. "What? Do you seriously think you could stop me if I went for the girl?" Almost to prove his point, he was suddenly right in front of Ryu, his hand reaching around him. He heard a shout behind him, so he knew that his hand was closer to Sakura than he liked.

"Get away from her!" Ryu tackled Shiro without a moment's hesitation, which seemed to be what he'd wanted.

Shiro smiled, grabbing Ryu by the head and slamming him into the wall. Sakura screamed, scrambling out of her corner and away from Shiro. Ryu kicked and punched, but he couldn't get Shiro to let go.