Chapter 36
"Where are we?" Sakura enquired.
"The place where we will find the scroll." I raised myself from my seat as the engine slowly died.
I eagerly made my way through the thick leaves and stems that stuck out everywhere. Sakura was close behind me.
Soon enough, as expected, it started to cloud. The temperature dropped and I could feel a shiver of excitement run down my spine.
We now hauled at a stop when we came to a clearing. It was cold and foggy at first but my eyes adjusted fast.
"Wow!" Sakura beamed, "What is this place?" She said, looking around at the lush green grass and the colorful flowers that bloomed in the hidden place.
"It used to be a plave where I came to kick out my frustration." I smiled. "Last time I came here, I was with Tis--" My heart skipped a beat. Even before I could take her name, a voice interrupted.
"What about me?" A black, slim shadow appeared from behind the mist. It came from the direction where my small cottage was. Could it be? My mind shouted. But how?
Sakura tapped me on the shoulder and gave me a questioning look. "What happened?"
"Sh-She doesn't remember us." I managed to whisper.
Sakura gave me a look of sympathy and shock but didn't say anything. It was good that she was so understanding.
"Who are you guys?" Tisha asked us, folding her arms. There were scratches all over her body, even on her face. My jaw dropped. "What happened to you?"
She seem to recognise me from before and chuckled. "Oh, you are the one I met in school day before." She said in a surprises tone, "But, how did you find this place?"
"N-no! First tell me what happened to you?" I exclaimed, rushing towards her.
"Don't! Don't touch me!" She shouted taking me by surprise. My eyes widened as I tried to hold back my tears.
She must have seen me holding it back because she suddenly changed her tone, to a more gentler one. "I am sorry. If I offended you, you must be someone who knew me well in the past." She half questioned.
Sakura opened her mouth to say something but I interrupted her As I said, it was best if she didn't know.
"Nu-uh." I shaked my head in denial. "We just met one on a vaccation! Can't expect you to remember me." I feigned a smile.
"Did we?"
"Yea; don't worry about it. I just have a good memory to remember everything."
"Oh... I see." She sounded unsure.
"So," Sakura said breaking the silence, "what happened with you?"
"Me? Uh..." she said looking down at herself and sighing, "This happens with me each time I come here." Tisha started walking back from where she came. "I recently met with an accident and am suffering from amnesia." We followed her.
All the way back to the cottage, she explained to us that she couldn't remember a thing from the past but just this place which kept flashing in her mind. "And a voice which said that I was welcome to this place anytime."
I remembered saying that to her as we sat down on the porch.
"It is faint and I cannot see her face, but there is always this girl in my memories who leads me here." She said looking at the epmty space in front. "But each time I come here, I tend to forget my way, or even if I remember I somehow get diverted to another path..." She moaned, "and end up falling here and there."
"What do you mean by being diverted?" I imposed.
She just shook her head and pressed her body to her legs, hugging them.
"I knew it!" Sakura whispered in my ears, "When we were coming here, I felt a presence of chakra which is protecting this place."
So that is how it was. Why no one ever came there and why it was such a safe place. But who put such a barrier here? I wondered.
Suddenly shot them a question asking them why they were here. The answer was quite simple, they were wandering here and there and got lost.
"You know what?" I said, "she may.not look like it, but she is an excellent doctor!" I exclaimed pointing at Sakura, "She has got some medicines which can heal you in less than a minute, wanna try it?" I winked at Tisha and Sakura gave me a bewildered look.
"Really? Thanx!" She gleamed and her eyes glinted, "Lets go inside first."
When Tisha turned to go inside, I pressed my eyes close and clapped my hands in front of my face, gesturing Sakura to please heal her.
She just folded her arms, rolled her eyes and then went inside, ahead of me.
I wanted to go with them but controlled myself. This was the right time to find the scroll, without getting Tisha involved.
According to the manga, the scroll was deep inside water in a dark hole. I went straight to what I believed was a hot spring. Remember I told you it was always hot? Even in such cold surrounding.
I removed my shoes and stood barefooted on the edge of the water. Then I took of my jacket and my lowers.
I was standing almost naked, only in my undies and a thin under shirt. I removed the rubber band and the hair accessory and took in a deep breath.
Okay, here I go. I knew I would need a helping hand from Sakura but we didn't have time. Also, I didn't want Tisha to see anything and ask questions.
I dipped my legs into the water and let the warmth rush through me. I stepped further and further aeay from where I previously stood. I had never tried to come that far before and so, I didn't know how deep or shallow it was at the centre.
Finally, my hair started floating behind me and I dipped myself fully underneath, taking in as much air as possible.
Under the water, evwrything was calm and dark. I couldn't see all the way to the bottom so I swam.
It wasn't as deep as I thought and I reached there pretty quickly. I turned my head left to right, searching for the similar hole I saw in the manga.
It wasn't enough. I illuminated my hands with a little bit of chakra and moved about. The small blue light did very less to help me. I had to look around, straining my eyes. It was even growing hotter and hotter as I stayed there, ocygen level in my lungs decreasing.
At last I found what looked like an starking odd stone around the other dull ones. There was a hole behind it too, but it was too small. Just as expected.
I inserted my petit hands in the hole, dreading not knowing what else could be in there, and took hold of what felt like an old parchment.
I smiled to myself. Heh, it was easy...
I tried to pull my hand out but I couldn't. I felt as if some kind of chain bind me there, crushing my arms.
Ugh.
I pulled myself with all my might and grunted with pain. I had never experienced such a pain ever in my life. It felt as if my arms were being crushed.
At one point, I let go of the scroll and the bindings were off. My heart wanted me to run away, leaving it behind but my mind had something else to command.
I grabbed the scroll again and immediately concentrated all my chakra in that arm. I was running out of oxygen and was started to feel dizzy.
I grunted under my breath and screamed as I gave myself a last pull with all my might. Blood gushed out of the marks left by the gripping substance. I was cushioned because of the water and unknowingly I had opened my mouth, screaming in agony.
Water rushed its way into my trachea and I kicked my feet to reach the surface.
Once my head was safely out of the water, I coughed and wheezed. I was heavily panting and breathed as fast as I could. Finally.
I tightened my grip on the scroll and started moving out. But as soon as I let myself become carefree, I saw the water around me start to swirl.
It drowned me inside it by gripping my legs. It felt as ig strong pair of hands were seizing me and pulling me underneath.
I was shoven in water once again and I gasped. I felt as if someone had closed in on my neck and was ready to choke me. My eyes widened as I brought my hands to my neck and tried to pull myself free.
I screamed and choked. The water was gushing inside my lungs, the scene before me was blackening out and my kicking became slower.
I let go off the scroll.
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A/N
Thankyou readers for supporting me. As you all know, the story is at its end, I would like to request you to leave any type of question down here (for any character) ^_^
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~Sassy