The Uchiha Patriarch, Tajima, did not protest my company on his mission. He offered little more than a grunt of acknowledgement when I showed up the following morning. Madara smiled at me, something that elicited an immediate smile from me.
I did not miss the way Tajima's eyes narrowed when he saw the little exchange. It was not a glare, or reproachful; rather, there was a thoughtful gleam in his eyes. It was a rare show of honest emotion from the patriarch and it was gone in the next moment.
"We travel quickly. One break before the capital," he said. "Keep up, Doctor."
"I will," I assured him.
We left the compound before dawn, and we traveled in silence for hours.
My young body had better developed when I first woke up. Since becoming aware of my reincarnation cycle, I could not help comparing body types. There was a fundamental difference that could not be ignored, no matter how many years I had already lived inside it.
While this body had more chakra than Sakura's, there was a strange frailty to it. It was not a body that came from generations of shinobi–like Miwako's, Nao's, or Naasica's.
Not for the first time, I wondered what kind of life the body had led prior to my awakening.
There was a dark void in my memories. I went to war as Sakura, then abruptly woke up as "Sasori" with a sword rammed into my gut. I didn't even remember my death as Sakura.
We stopped a few hours into our journey. I took the opportunity to take a little potty break.
Or tried to. Madara followed behind me.
"Why?" I shrewdly asked. "There's no one around."
"You don't know that. You're not supposed to go off alone, no matter the reason," explained Madara.
"You're just trying to see if I have a dick or not," I accused.
"Wha–I am not!" Madara hotly denied.
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!" the pre-pubescent snarled. He lashed out and stomped on my foot, hard. "Go take your piss, then. Hope you get ambushed mid-shit!"
"Thanks," I said cheerily, pleased to have won my privacy.
H̰̝̔̓͐ͧ̚e͙̫̭̣̭͑̒ͣ̚l͙̣̬̈́̃͒̄l̩̱̮ͅo̪̩͑ͯ̀ͬ,̩̖̬̜͐͋ ̬̥̳ͯd̪͂ͫȍ̺̩͓͔̮ ̘͒ͩy̆̒̑o̖̦̘ű̝͔̱̙̄ ͙̭̫͕͗͂̓̾r̜̟͇̠͌̐ͭe̱̺̺̝m̰̭ė̮ͤ̑̐̀mͮ̄b̪̟̭ͧͭ̇̓ͅẽ̯̤͕́r̖ͫ ̗͒̀̍̂̉m͉̜̊ͯ̃̒͆e̱͉̊́̉̇ͧͅ?̟̝ͬ̓ͥ͗͗ͅ
Tajima left us upon reaching the city. We could not assist in his mission, he only offered the chance for Madara to join him so Madara could get used to visiting the city.
The city was... loud.
Shivers ran up my arms.
It had been a long time since I had been in such a heavily populated area. So accustomed to living in the forest, I was hyper aware of many sounds. Everything was too loud and smelled awful. In an era without plumbing (yet), the streets reeked of literal shit and piss. Human or animal, it was hard to say.
Overtop the foul stench was the overpowering odor of food stalls. They all cooked something different so the smells clashed.
I didn't have a sensitive nose like
Miwa, but it was still nauseating. Coupled with the loudness and sheer volume of people–
Madara must have noticed something in my expression. He wordlessly took my hand and gave it a squeeze.
"Stay close," he murmured quietly. He tugged me along, pulling with a firm but gentle amount of force.
Made me want to tease him some more.
"I feel safer already," I said lightly. "Who would dare approach such a cute little princess?"
Madara glared at me. "I'm not taking the bait. Stop trying to get a rise out of me."
"But nothing makes me happier than seeing your cheeks turn rosy," I cooed. "It's so precious."
"My cheeks do not turn rosy," he snapped, his grip on my hand tightened.
"Why are you so upset?" I teased. "It's a compliment any princess would be happy to hear."
He headbutted me and then stormed away.
I rubbed at my broken nose, giggling to myself. His explosive reactions were always so amusing to me. I knew they wouldn't last. Once he was out of adolescence, he would have a handle on his hormones and emotions. In their place there would only be cool confidence and cold patience.
With my escort now gone, I decided it was time to roam the city more freely.
Adults hustled and bustled with purpose, and children ducked in and out of sight between them. Alleyways were dark, cramped, and had an ominous aura. It was easy to spot the shinobi-for-hire. They stood out in the crowd with their intimidating presence and barely restrained chakra.
There was an energy to the city. A vibrancy I had not felt in a long time.
Beautiful. Bright.
Dangerous.
This was a city before the villages were formed. Before order was established in the countries. Before many, many laws were formed.
Kikyo's words echoed in my head.
"You're too pretty, slavers might want you."
I regretted not bringing my mask along.
I could probably still try to find Madara. I knew if I apologized he'd take my hand again and show me around.
That would be the smart thing to do.
But—
I lifted my head up to that blue sky and took a deep breath. Memories intermingled together.
Are you all watching me now? What would you have me do here?
The moment was interrupted when someone bumped into me. I felt a hand brush over my waist where my money had been kept.
I had a small pouch of coins forced upon me between various adults. I did not take payment for my healing because I did not see a need to. If I wanted something, I could forage it or steal it.
It wasn't like I lived in a technologically advanced world. There were very little materialistic things that I wanted that were available for purchase.
My gaze whipped to the one who had bumped into me.
He was a boy, not much older than me. There was an odd scar on his nose–it made the shape of an x. I only had a split second to look longer because in the next blink he was gone.
Even with all my training, he had somehow escaped my attention.
I didn't feel any genjutsu or chakra–that's impressive.
I looked up at the sky, wondering if I would ever meet the thief again.
I had a funny feeling I would.
H̰̝̔̓͐ͧ̚e͙̫̭̣̭͑̒ͣ̚l͙̣̬̈́̃͒̄l̩̱̮ͅo̪̩͑ͯ̀ͬ,̩̖̬̜͐͋ ̬̥̳ͯd̪͂ͫȍ̺̩͓͔̮ ̘͒ͩy̆̒̑o̖̦̘ű̝͔̱̙̄ ͙̭̫͕͗͂̓̾r̜̟͇̠͌̐ͭe̱̺̺̝m̰̭ė̮ͤ̑̐̀mͮ̄b̪̟̭ͧͭ̇̓ͅẽ̯̤͕́r̖ͫ ̗͒̀̍̂̉m͉̜̊ͯ̃̒͆e̱͉̊́̉̇ͧͅ?̟̝ͬ̓ͥ͗͗ͅ
Wandering around the city, I listened to idle gossip and mindless chatter. I browsed the shops in case there was anything I wanted. Even if I did not have money, that didn't mean I couldn't steal something. In the grand scheme of things taking money from a wealthy merchant or noble mattered very little.
To my surprise, I did find something.
It belonged to a blacksmith that did not have a grand stall, and so I was reluctant to steal from him directly.
Instead, I climbed to the rooftops and moved over to the wealthier district of the city where I guessed the nobles lived.
It was quieter there, although I still heard whispers and rumors as I stole bits and pieces of money from a variety of homes.
"—The daimyō killed another—"
"—another girl? Noble?—"
"—No, a slave—"
"—Thank goodness!—"
Noble men and ladies were whispering about a tragedy last night. Although they used the word tragic none of them seemed to mourn the girl apparently murdered by the daimyō.
"—A slave consort, what can we expect?—"
"—Hopefully the next one will last longer—"
"—that's the tenth—"
"—always so young—"
"—The daimyō should hurry up and conceive an heir—"
"—did you hear he already bought another one?—"
A monster's in the palace, whispered a familiar voice.
I won't indulge you, go back to sleep.
Once I had stolen just enough money I returned to the blacksmith and made my purchase.
H̰̝̔̓͐ͧ̚e͙̫̭̣̭͑̒ͣ̚l͙̣̬̈́̃͒̄l̩̱̮ͅo̪̩͑ͯ̀ͬ,̩̖̬̜͐͋ ̬̥̳ͯd̪͂ͫȍ̺̩͓͔̮ ̘͒ͩy̆̒̑o̖̦̘ű̝͔̱̙̄ ͙̭̫͕͗͂̓̾r̜̟͇̠͌̐ͭe̱̺̺̝m̰̭ė̮ͤ̑̐̀mͮ̄b̪̟̭ͧͭ̇̓ͅẽ̯̤͕́r̖ͫ ̗͒̀̍̂̉m͉̜̊ͯ̃̒͆e̱͉̊́̉̇ͧͅ?̟̝ͬ̓ͥ͗͗ͅ
When the sun had dipped down, I met up with Madara at the inn we were supposed to stay at.
"Surprised you didn't get lost," he snidely remarked.
"I did," I answered. "It was fun. Don't worry, I'll always find my way back to you."
"Hn."
I held out my gift. "For you."
Madara accepted it, unwrapping the cloth to reveal chest armor. Thin enough he could wear under his clothes, but sturdy enough it could block plenty of kunai.
"Why are you giving me this?" he shrewdly asked. "Do you think I could die?"
"No," I answered. "I know you're strong enough you won't die. But I still don't want you to get hurt." I smiled at him. "I do adore you, you know?"
His cheeks turned that rosy shade I so loved.
I ̥̳s̿͆t̲̬̪̊ͫ͂̚i͌͊̚l̰͇̙̝͇̓̃ͫl̬̫͙̤͉̾͒͛͋̐ ͓̣͓̿r̝̮̰̙̽eͨͅme̯͖̭̲ͨm͍̮̖͕͔̈́͛b͙͖͎͖̈́̆ͭ͌ͪe̺̥̩͔͕̎r̪̬̝̔ y̘ͨ̍͊o̲͇̝̲̱̒̃͋̒̊u̗̮ͣ̎̏
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Answer: Wind
Question: Favorite color?
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