Thursday, 19th of October.
Four days after leaving Konoha, they finally arrived to the Land of birds. They managed to get into the cave Sasuke used as a hideout the last time he was there. He was the one who guided them so far.
"This is ridiculous!" even if his voice was only a whisper, he screamed. Sasuke looked at the blonde irked by him.
"What again?" he asked.
"We are known as the two strongest Shinobi on this planet. We go up there, blow up the place and call it a day."
"You don't even realize how stupid this plan is, do you?"
"Shut up. We don't have time! Hinata is somewhere up there held captive."
"Yeah and if you blow up the place you might blow her up as well. Just start thinking, please. Besides, we don't even know if she is there or not. If we attack like this, we will send them the message that we are already here. They can end up hurting her."
"But-"
"No, you stay quiet. I can barely control my chakra Naruto, I won't be able to clean up your mess if you do something stupid. Now get it together."
"If Sakura was the one who-"
"I know what you are going to say. I also know that you would try to calm me down as well. Now," he took out some paper and a pencil from his pouch. "look at this." he drew a map of the island with the necessary locations on it. "That's where we are, the old village where I found the experiment is just up there. Last time, when I got to that village, it was empty so it is safe to assume that they don't live in there. There is a chance that Hinata is being kept there but she is most likely in the main village."
"So we separate into two teams. The first two go to the village to distract the people by making them travel there. While they are away, the second team goes to the village to search the place." Sasuke glanced at his wife with a smile. He was glad that she was here. They were so used to travel together that she knew exactly how he worked.
"Exactly. The first team has the time to search the place, especially if we send Sai there. As soon as you get there, release whatever animals you can to search the place so that even when you are back here, we can still have intel from inside the village."
"It could work. Who is coming with me?"
"I will be with Sakura. We will go to where the villagers live after you two get in that city."
"Wouldn't it be smarter to have you and me in the same team, Sasuke? Our chakra nature complement each other so we're more powerful."
"In normal times I would say yes but I have some problems with my chakra and Sakura is the only one who can land me some." and she is my wife. I want to keep an eye on her. He kept that to himself but he knew that they already knew about this.
"So Naruto and I will go first. I think it is better if we wait until it's dark out. My ink animals will merge with the shadows until they are nearly invisible."
"So we have six more hours until we attack."
"I need to get some sleep. Wake me up in an hour."
Sasuke watched the pink haired woman walk deeper into the cave. He frowned his eyebrows and, without a look for the two dumbfounded ninjas he was with, he stood up to follow her. He sat beside her. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, why?"
"You slept last night for the entire night and I struggled to wake you up. You took a nap just before we took the bird to fly here and you are tired again?"
"What do you want me to tell you? My iron is probably too low, I don't know. Don't worry I will be alert up there."
"I know you will be." she gave him a smile and lay down. He was slightly concerned but he decided to let it slide. She was the doctor and if something was wrong with her she was the one who would be capable of healing it.
He absently watched her sleep thinking about what could go wrong up on the island. There was so many ways that his plan could go wrong but he knew that they had to do it. Sakura shivered in her sleep and he took off his cloak to put it on her. What if Hinata wasn't there? What if she was hurt? What about her baby? Was she going to loose it?
He touched Sakura's face at the thought of it. Sakura might have lost her baby, his baby, was she doing alright? She wasn't speaking about it but if she did lose it it would definitely hurt him. What about her? Will she be as hurt? More? He didn't know what to think of it all. He did feel guilty for not being there when she thought that she was pregnant. Based on what Sai said, she panicked when she realized that hebwasn't around so was it the reason why she felt that pain and lost so much blood? Was he the reason why that future baby may be gone? Did he give her that much stress? Was it why she had her mental breakdown?
"Hey Sasuke, the sun is down! We need to get prepared."
He coughed coming back to reality. "Hn." he shook her shoulder softly and she opened her eyes. "We need to get prepared."
"Ok." he saw her hold her lower abdomen with her hand.
"Are you alright?"
"I don't know... It's painful." he frowned his eyebrows again.
"Is there anything that can be done?"
"Not really."
"Do you want to stay here while we infiltrate the village?"
"No. I'm fine."
The four ninjas sat down and looked at the plan one more time. They were ready to go. Naruto stood up and took a deep breath. "We're coming Hinata, just last a little bit longer."
Sasuke could feel the usual "before a fight anxiety". It was the anxiety that allowed him to react on time and fight. It gave him the energy necessary for a fight. He liked this feeling. He glanced at Sakura who seemed a little bit off. He noticed her hand on her lower abdomen again. What is going on?
Naruto and Sai left the cave after waving at everyone.
Sasuke listened closely to the earphone in his ear for Naruto's signal. He could feel Sakura behind him. Her body was close to his and she was just as ready as he was. He was trying to map the island in his mind to think of where they will need to go first. He had no idea where the villagers were living but he was decided to find it so he could search for Hinata. He heard a voice coming out of the earphone.
"Sasuke?"
"Yes?"
"We're in the village now. Do you want me to send a blow or two to let them know that we're here?"
"Yes, and make sure that they are strong so they send a lot of people there."
"No need to say it twice! I'll let you know when they're here!"
The connection died, letting Sasuke know that Naruto was finished talking. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Sakura.
"Hey... now that no one is here..." she came close to his face and landed a chaste kiss on his lips. He didn't want to let her move away so accentuated the kiss by moving his lips on hers. They danced like this for few seconds before she backed away.
"I think it's the first time that you initiate a real kiss."
"Hn." he wasn't as ashamed for being vulnerable around her anymore. He knew that she wouldn't take advantage of it.
She rested her hand on his waiting for the signal. The atmosphere was tense and Sasuke could feel her nervousness. "It'll be alright. How do you feel?"
"I feel very sad for Naruto. I should've been the one kidnapped, not her."
"Do you think it would've made things different?
"No but at least Naruto wouldn't have to suffer."
"He would still be here. He would be hurt too."
"I know... it's just-"
"Things are the way they are, Sakura. I am the reason why all of this is happening. If anyone should feel guilty, it's me."
"Do you?"
"No. I didn't choose the eyes that I have. I don't feel guilty, I feel angry."
"Makes sense."
"Are you still in pain?"
"A little bit but it's not permanent. It comes and goes."
"Have you ever had that?"
"Yes, once a month." she giggled beside him. He had no idea what she was talking about. "Girl problem. But if that's what it is, then I am not pregnant."
"Hn." he still didn't understand what she meant but he didn't want to show it to her so he stayed quiet.
They heard a series of huge noise coming from above their heads. Sakura laughed. "Did he really have to be this extreme?"
"At least they will send the entire village after him."
"Let's hope that he sticks to the plan instead of being stubborn."
"He will. He knows that it will put all of us in danger if he doesn't."
"Yeah..."
The machine in his ear made a noise and Naruto's voice echoed in it. He was panting. "Well, they're here. Just go."
"Got it." he turned to Sakura. "Time to go." he felt the adrenaline take over his body and the two started running in the forest. They jumped from branches to branches. The idea was to track the team that was sent and just follow their tracks backwards.
Sasuke was first, followed by Sakura. He couldn't risk her getting hurt especially since she was a medic. Once he found the tracks he looked at her and she nodded in silence. They followed their trail and stopped behind a bush to watch the small village in front of them. He pressed the button to talk to Naruto. "We found the village."
He didn't wait for an answer and scanned the place to see if anyone was left in there. Everything seemed to be quiet.
"It's too quiet..." Sakura's voice was a whisper but he heard her.
"Exactly what I was thinking. Let's get into the village from there."
"The trees that cover the house?"
"We will be hidden."
He started to walk there discreetly, Sakura doing the same. His senses were on alert making sure that nothing or no one was approaching.
"What is that that?"
"Hn?"
"There is a weird smell. Can you not smell it?"
"No. What does it smell like?"
"I don't know... I can't even describe it."
He furrowed his eyebrows. He couldn't smell anything but kept what she said on the back of his mind just in case.
He walked between two houses emerging from the forest. He watched the roads and realising that it was empty, he took Sakura's hand and ran towards what seemed like the main building. They needed to search the place and that meant going inside.
He tried to open the door of it and, to his surprise, it wasn't locked. He walked in and Sakura closed the door behind them.
"Sasuke, we need to split and search separately."
"Yes, but let's meet back here in maximum five minutes. You don't have a radio."
"I'll take the left, you take the right. We don't use any stairs, we stay on this floor."
He nodded and went his way. The house was silent, his feet hitting the floor were the loudest thing in here. He walked through the rooms not seeing anything.
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Sakura was quietly going through the rooms. She managed to open every single door as none of them were locked. Her lower abdomen was still cramping and she had no idea what it could be. If it was her period she would have other symptoms but nothing other than fatigue and cramps.
The smell she smelled in the forest was stronger here. It made her grimace. She covered her nose with her sleeve but it was still going through the fabric. She wrinkled her nose at it.
Her hand landed on a door handle and she turned it to unlock it. The door opened and when she looked inside, she saw an altar with an open book on it. It was surrounded by candles, plants and other things. She walked in and approached it.
She was so focused on it that she did not see the shadow that was standing next to the door. She didn't even hear it walking closer to her until it grabbed her and covered her mouth.
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Sasuke was still waiting for Sakura at the door. She was late and he wondered if she simply didn't see that the five minutes had already passed or if she had gotten attacked. He decided to search her part of the house to find her. He didn't find anything in any of the rooms. All of them were completely empty and silent.
He took the opportunity to search for anything that could give him an information about Lb or the experiments made in the village. He was running his fingers on the cover of a book when he heard a muffled scream. His head snapped in the direction of it and he silently rushed towards it. He didn't know if it was her or not but he didn't care, he just wanted to make sure that she was safe.
He ran past a huge number of rooms until he eventually stopped in front of the back of a shadow who was holding something. He watched it until he realised the pink hair moving as the victim was trying to escape. It clicked in his mind and he rushed to the shadow to punch it on the back. He heard a distorted scream come out of it. It didn't sound human.
The creature let go of Sakura and Sasuke jumped in from of her and pushed her behind him. He watched the beast and suddenly he recognised it.
"Sakura, it's one of the experiments! Run!"
"You can't fight it alone."
"I'll bring it to the forest. Run."
"Not without the book!"
"We don't have time, just run!"
It took a few seconds but he eventually saw her run out of the room. Sasuke stared at the creature and when it tried to attack, he ran out of the house. He couldn't see Sakura anymore but he couldn't care less. As long as she was safe.
He turned his head and saw the beast running after him. It looked human but the skin was coloured. Its hands were looking like bird claws. It was fast.
Sasuke jumped on a tree and landed in the forest, the creature following him closely. It landed loudly on the ground not far from him. Sasuke analysed it, his muscles tensed ready to react instantly. It was a human, at least had been human at some point. The hands had transformed into claws and Sasuke noticed the strange shape of its legs. It looked like they had been bent in some impossible angles before putting them back aligned to its body. What kind of monster was that? What were they creating?
His eyes scanned around. They were surrounded by trees and nothing else. He was in an area emptied form any possible obstacles. It was ideal for a fight.
His eyes snapped back at the creature when he saw it approaching him. It ran fast, claws out. Sasuke barely had time to avoid it. He slid on his right, landing from his jump. He needed his sharingan but it was too risky. He would only be able to use for five minutes but then it will be the end of the fight.
The creature took a deep breath and made a combination of hand seals. Sasuke did not recognise it. Suddenly, the beast blew something out of mouth. Sasuke jumped in the air but something hit his leg. He looked at it and saw a small bird on him. He looked as it started to bite his leg. Sasuke wanted to scream from the pain. He watched the floor and saw that it was covered with them. They all looked up and flew towards him. He activated his chidori and moved it through the air. It killed few of them but others were coming his way.
Sasuke landed on a branch and jumped to another one. The creature followed him and sent another blow of little birds. Sasuke had no choice but to activate his Rinnegan. He activated the universal push and pushed all of them away.
When he landed, his wounded leg snapped in half. He screamed and fell on the floor. The creature approached with a demonic smile. It made a noise that echoed in Sasuke's mind. He had to cover his ears and started screaming again. When he opened his eyes, everything around him was gone. He was floating his a purple space. "Genjutsu."
The experiment was in front of him, huge wings had grown behind its back. It was flying. Suddenly Sasuke felt something land on his back. It started only as a hit but it turned into a horrible pain. The air left his lungs and he arched his back screaming. He activated his sharingan breaking the genjutsu. He came back to reality and jumped on one leg away from the beast.
He was loosing the fight. He activated his right eye and created a Susano'o's hand. It slashed the enemy. He watched the beast fly away and land harshly on the ground. Sasuke's heart was beating fast. He fell on the floor, emptied from his chakra. He hissed in frustration.
His wounded leg started burning. The burn moved up his leg. He screamed from the pain. He felt a movement by his side and someone landed next to him. He felt something grab his hand.
"Sasuke! Sasuke, what's going on?!"
"Sa-Sa..."
"Wait a second."
He heard a loud noise and felt the ground shake. He quickly looked and saw a blurry Sakura grab a tree and throw it at the beast. It fell on the floor again and she ran back to him. She grabbed his hand again and stroke his hair. It calmed him down but he could still feel the pain.
"Where are you hurt?"
"Leg."
He felt his body being lay on its back. His eyes were closing on their own. "Stay awake. What happened? What hurt you?"
"Bird."
"A what?"
"I-" he felt his energy leave his body. She activated on his body and his leg felt a bit better.
"I don't know what's going on. I... look it should be ok for a while at least. We need to escape." she said.
He regained a bit of his energy and looked at her. "No, we need to stop it."
"How? Even you got hurt."
"I don't have enough chakra. I couldn't even fight."
His body was in pain but he stopped a scream from coming out.
"I'll give you some but if it doesn't work, we're leaving."
"Susano'o will work."
"Do you need me to release my seal?"
"No."
She pushed him up and he started to feel her chakra in his body. He suddenly felt much better and saw the creature walking towards them. He activated his Susano'o making sure that Sakura was inside of it too. He let it attack it.
The fight lasted five more minutes until the creature fell on the floor dead. Sakura let go of his shoulders.
"Call Naruto. We need to go, now!"
Sasuke did as he was told and watched Sakura bring the body to them. "If I give you chakra can you summon your bird so we can escape?" he nodded. She moved back behind him and he summoned Geruda.
The adrenaline kicked in and he found the strength to put the body on it. Sakura and him jumped on the bird and he realised the book on his right. Was that the book she had talked about?
"Tell Naruto and Sai to meet up with us where we rested before coming to the island."
He nodded once again and told Naruto.
Thanks to Sakura, he managed to bring them back to the continent in one piece. As soon as the bird landed Sasuke passed out.
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"What's going on!"
"He passed out. I don't know what's wrong with him!"
"What happened?!"
"I was attacked by one of the experiments. Sasuke protected me and had to fight it."
"It must have been strong if it nearly killed him."
"Sasuke couldn't even fight back. He has no chakra."
"Is it that bad?"
"He usually doesn't need much chakra to fight but this time was different. Did you find her?"
"No. She was nowhere in this village. What about you?"
"No. I searched the place after Sasuke told me to run. She wasn't there."
"So we wasted four days to get here for nothing."
"It's not for nothing."
Sasuke started to cough and blood came out. Sakura instinctively tried to find what was going on in his body but nothing was showing. Was it some sort of poison that she didn't know of? She was shaking and tears were blurring her eyes. "I don't know what's wrong with him." her voice broke towards the end. She felt something on her shoulder.
"I'll draw a bird to fly us back to Konoha now. He will be there in a day."
Sasuke coughed again and she saw more blood coming out of him. She was crying and she couldn't remember any of the things she had learned. She covered her face with her hands. "No, no, no, it can't happen. Not him, please. Don't take him away. Please-"
"Hey Sakura, we'll get back to Konoah on time. Tsunade will help you heal him, ok? He's tough, he survived Orochimaru you know."
She knew that Naruto was right but it made her even sadder. Once again she couldn't help him. Once again she felt useless just like the little girl in the chunin exam. It was the same, she wasn't able to help him.
She ran her fingers on his cheeks and gasped when she felt how hot his skin was. This was not normal.
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vote time ahah do you want me to make shorter chapters everyday (~2500 words) or the same length chapters (4000 words) every second day?