[fanfic; sasusaku] st. principessa.
- difficult, difficult!
- i fail. i know. XD
o.
“Done already?”
“Pfft. So damn easy.”
“Bo-ringgg. I was expecting something flashy! These scumbags are boring! And you even shot his fucktoys! You’re a scary bitch!”
“Shut up, asshole.”
s is for simple need, e is for ecstasy- click.
“Sup. We’re done. It’s so damn easy it makes me yawn. Nanda? I can’t. I’m leaving tonight for Kyoto. My next mission is there with Brighella. Pantaloon can go with the princess.”
-snap.
“Your next mission is with Red.”
“Na! I’m not going to babysit the princess!”
“Quiet! It’s an order! Red is waiting.”
“Blah! A mission with Red… na, this is exciting!”
“As long as there’s no fucking time magic.”
_
st. principessa.
_
i.
“Neji!”
But no answer came. Only long beeping sound.
“Fuck.” Sasuke snapped the phone close, torn between finding Sakura and aiding Neji.
Hinata.
The eldest Hyuuga Heiress and he weren’t close, only mere acquaintances, due to their families’ long period of friendship and business partnership that went back six generations ago.
What the hell happened? His eyes narrowed into slits. I have a very bad feeling about this… Remembering his own dilemma, he flipped his phone open and dialed Sakura’s number (which he memorized a minute later after discovering it).
He gritted his teeth in aggravation. He told her to stay where she was. Instead of exercising obedience, the annoying woman ran off somewhere. He knew her sense of direction was poor, and delinquents freely roamed the streets of Tokyo. Being a pretty woman, she would, without a doubt, attract unwanted attention from perverts. And what can a tiny woman like her do to protect herself…?
Shit.
His eyes clenched shut in a cringe.
Fuck, I’ll do anything… just-
“Answer the fucking phone.”
The ringing stopped, and the line switched into a voicemail.
(Gomen.
I’m pretty busy at the moment. Please leave a message and I will try to call you back.)
CLICK.
“Shit.” Unnecessarily forceful, he shut his phone with a loud snap, turned his face around, his handsome face ominous with a heavy frown.
Sakura.
Maybe, if he thought about her harder, she’ll pop out of a rabbit hole. His anxiety mounted higher, like bile rising to his throat. Closing his eyes, calming his breathing, he thought of her. Her smiling blushing face, her innocent eyes, her swollen dark pink lips, her pink hair, shaved ice with fruits and her beautiful voice.
He breathed deeply.
Dark eyes opened, clearer, calmer.
“Sakura.”
Determinedly, he turned back to the panic-stricken crowd in front of the club and continued searching for her.
…
…
ii.
Shirtless, Neji stormed off to the hall, letting his mobile phone dropped to the floor with a thud! and ran the length of the wide arching hallway of shoji and expensive tatami, his sword on his hand which he snatched out of its scabbard. Reaching a door, he skidded to a halt viciously, ignored the painful scratch of tatami against his bare soles and slid the door open, so hard that the sliding door rattled for several minutes before staying still. The sight that greeted his pearl eyes made the blood in his veins froze.
Terror came. Next was rage, mingling with terror, thickening it.
Hyuuga Hinata, wearing her sleeping yukata, was in a heap, her back against the wall designed with landscapes. A thin figure with a sword was standing over her. For a moment, he was speechless, either with terror or rage, he didn’t know.
Moonlight filtered through the square window, which was opened. Through the rays of the moonlight, Neji saw Hinata’s tear-stricken face, her eyes wide with horror as she met his gaze.
“Nii-sama…”
Her thin voice woke him up, made him roar.
“STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!”
He strode in, like a bull. As he hurried, he tossed a blade from his holster which he hadn’t removed around his thigh. The knife forced the intruder a few steps back, until the figure stopped in front of the opened window, blocking the full moon. Neji, hard eyes fixed on the intruder, grabbed Hinata by the arm, forcing her to cower in a corner of her room. The trespasser was slender, but it was hard to tell its gender. The attire was a red and yellow (but there more reds) jumpsuit with large hood covering the head, and the katana was…
Neji narrowed his eyes.
…white?
“Ohhh… we have a guest.” A male voice sneered. “You’re unwanted.” Neji narrowed his eyes. Two assassins?! He thought grimly, sensing the additional presence in the shadows.
“…nii-sama…”
“Don’t worry.” She should. “Keep your head down.” But he would not run away. It was his duty, as a Branch member, to protect the Heiress.
Two against one?
His grip on the sword tightened.
Exciting.
“Na, Red! We have to finish this quickly!”
The figure in red didn’t move, sword at side.
“But… two against one?” The man snorted. “This is not your style, Red.”
Neji grunted.
The Red lifted the white sword, which glistened eerily in the moonlight. Neji clenched his fists, waiting, senses heightened, and muscles lax and ready to spring into action. The assassin in red remained unmoving, head tilted to the side.
“Tsk.”
Neji narrowed his eyes.
“Resurgam!”
The shadow moved and out came an assassin in bright yellow jacket, black pants and mask. To Neji’s horror, the man was going for Hinata, who let out a strangled cry and cowered, hands on her face. Quickly, with his big feet, Neji backtracked, thrust out his katana, catching the blow that would have ended Hinata’s life. For a thin man, the attacker was strong with astonishing heavy blow. Neji twisted on his feet and faced the attack fully. They parried; the man was an aggressive orthodox fighter; Neji was in defense, deflecting blows, careful with his moves, and cautious with fear for Hinata, who remained frozen in the corner behind him. Neji managed to land a blow that sent the assassin back. He lunged forward; their hilts locked.
“Red!” The man shouted. “Finish her off!”
Neji growled and hacked forward furiously, forcing the yellow assassin to jump back. Without looking back, he roared to Hinata, “GET OUT OF HERE!”
But Hinata was paralyzed with terror. Her pearl eyes were wide and unblinking, with tears constantly flowing from her eyes. At last, the Red moved- Neji cursed and slid sideward to block Red. The assassin swerved to avoid him, so fast- and graceful. The lanky assassin came forward again, and superbly, Neji fought the two simultaneously. His big feet thundered the floor, teeth gritted, jaw clenched. The yellow assassin was careless, while the other was quick, almost unseen. Being sharp-eyed as he was, Neji managed to keep his head above his shoulders. It was purely his instincts that kept him alive as the red one thrust, jabbed, swiped and made quick practiced moves with the white sword.
Taking advantage of an opening as the yellow assassin pulled back his sword for a better leverage, Neji swiftly thrust his sword forward, made a sweeping vicious slice that wounded the man in the shoulder. The man let out a hiss and a curse. The tip of Neji’s sword caught a portion of the jacket, and blood spurted. The cut wasn’t deep enough to cause massive hemorrhage but Neji made sure he hit an artery. As quick as the lightning- thanks to his instinct - he avoided a blow from the red one, deflected another, and their hilts locked. They were close enough for Neji to gauge the assassin’s height.
Short.
Like a girl.
They hire teenagers! Neji thought dryly, matching the strength of the blows. He felt a movement behind him- his face twisted, his free hand dropping to his holster- bingo! The gods are good- and found a kunai, the last one, and without looking, threw it over his shoulder. He wasn’t an exceptional thrower like Sasuke and Naruto, but the blade found its target.
“Motherfucker!”
The curse confirmed it.
Neji’s sword arched upward to deliver a killing blow, intending to slice the shorter assassin in halves. But he missed. What the fuck- For the assassin flipped up in the air, over his head and gave a vicious blow - both hands gripping the sword- at the back of his head with the blunt edge of the sword. The force sent him toppling over a shoji wall, shattering it and into a stone pillar before collapsing into a heap, his legs buckling under his weight.
…
…
iii.
Landing noiselessly, a red gloved hand on her mask, Sakura exhaled sharply and pursed her lips. In the process, she remembered the way Sasuke kissed her a while ago, before Tayuya and Sakon appeared through the glass ceiling of the nightclub.
Shaking her head, Sakura dismissed her thoughts. She cleared her head with another shake and turned to her target.
The target had long dark hair, perfectly trimmed bangs and clear white eyes. Tears constantly streamed down her cheeks, hands clutching her face. Her body trembled like a fig leaf in the wind, and her expensive-looking yukata was wrinkled.
“Fuck!” Sakura heard Sakon cursed. “Finish her off. Now. Or I’ll shoot her head into pieces.” Sakon was clearly pissed off, Sakura mused, watching him through the eyeholes. Sakon pressed his gloved hand over his wound, which started to bleed profusely. Stain started to spread over the front of his jacket.
“The guy is a fucked off- throwing a kunai over his shoulder without fucking looking.” And hit his pectoral. Right where he was previously injured with the sword tip. “Fuck that long haired asshole.”
“Hmm…” Sakura looked back to the girl, why would Orochimaru-jichan want to eliminate this girl? Realizing that she was questioning Orochimaru-jichan, she squeezed her eyes shut and violently crushed the thought.
No.
She’s a good toy. She’s a perfect machine.
I will never disappoint you, Orochimaru-jichan.
Never.
Sakura turned the blade up. It glistened, like a ray of moonlight.
The target was sobbing.
All targets must be eliminated.
All targets are objects.
No names.
No faces.
With every thought, Sakura stepped closer. She pressed her teeth together, bowed a little, eyes hooded.
I’m-
“…get away from her.”
Sakura stopped.
“Get away from her.”
Slowly, Sakura turned her face. She saw the muscular, shirtless man with long hair. He was tall, as tall as Sasuke, with lean arms and defined jaw. His shoulders were thick with muscles. When she fought him with Sakon, she recognized his strength and talent in swordsmanship. He was a natural, as though he had been doing it all his life. That’s why when she hit him at the back of his head, she had to hold her sword with both hands to put extra force, and to send him flying over the walls. His forehead was bleeding, and blood made thin trails all over his face, neck and chest.
“Red!”
Sakura blinked and felt it. A second later, she saw it. A distorting invisible wall slowly disintegrated into cubes. Her ears caught the ticking sound
(tick tick tick ti…
…ck… ti… ck…).
Hmm, her grip on the sword slackened after a moment of contemplation. The little trick she did in the third floor hallway was slowly losing its effect. Glancing subtly at Sakon and his bleeding pectoral, she contemplated.
Alright.
Sakura closed her eyes, slowed her breathing, and when she lifted her eyelids, the gold pupils of her eyes glittered.
Let’s…
The right eye bulged, rolled sideward and became all-gold.
…kill time.
…
…
iv.
“What the… WHAT THE FUCK, RED!”
A bell resonated from the distance, echoing hauntingly.
…
…
v.
Sakon recoiled, staggering.
It was like being sucked into a life-size painting, as though a giant sponge sucked off the colors off a palette, leaving the canvass blue and gray. A floating, unmoving world…
Sakon sneered at his surroundings. It looked like he was stuck between two worlds, right in the fucking middle: a fluctuating, spatial environment, timeless. A painter’s canvass where the chosen palette was blue and gray. The space was iridescent and irregular, warping into many facet cubes. The objects, including the long-haired man and their female target, were monochromatic, and were reduced into dissolving overlapping shapes, a series of angular, interpenetrating gray and blue planes.
“God…” Sakon hissed quickly. The undulating colors made him sick. “No… not this shit again! I told you-” he snarled with animosity, “do not pull off this shit when you are with me! This shit thing you do-” his eyes looked around the suspended time and space with disgust, “is freaking me out!”
Little Red Riding Hood-Tayuya and Sakon nicknamed her- shrugged as she turned to face him, her hood eclipsing her mask. The two of them appeared normal amongst the warping landscape.
“Just cut this out and-” Sakon felt his stomach turn over. He always got sick whenever Sakura stops time. Sometimes, he morbidly wondered what it would feel like when she turned time back or speed it up.
No.
He would not want to live to experience it.
Hell fucking no.
“I’ll freeze your bleeding.”
Sakon thought there was something wrong with his hearing. “You’ll do what?”
“Freeze,” she repeated, “your bleeding.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. Freaky shit.
“Ah no, no. My wound is fine.”
“But…”
“No, cutie pie. No thanks.” Sakon spat. “Damn. This shit thing is so freaking out of this world.”
Sakura shook her head. “Stop acting as if this is the first time you experience this.”
“No shit! Every time you… whatever shit you do with the fucking time, I feel sick, got it? I feel sick. My stomach made fucking somersaults. My intestines flip. I feel fucking sick.” He enunciated each word with disgust.
“Will it make you better if I freeze the bleeding?”
“Fuck no, cutie pie.”
“But… your jacket…”
Sakon snorted, “you’re cute and I like you. But honest to gosh, keep your shit to yourself. Play with Mr. Second Hand of Time but not with me, got it?”
“Done.”
“Huh?”
The girl gestured to his shoulder with her gloved hand. Sakon gaped, looking down to his pectoral. The wound wasn’t-
where’s my fucking wound?!
there anymore. The bloodstains were there, but the open wound was gone.
“What the shit thing… Cutie pie! I fucking told you! DON’T FUCK WITH ME!”
“You’re welcome.” Her voice held a tinge of amusement.
“Hot damn. What the hell did you do?” Sakon opened his jacket to inspect his pectoral. It was… blemish-free. Where’s the fucking wound?!
“I can control time, you know.”
“I know that fucking shit.” But… hell yeah. Time controls every fucking thing. Of course. Choose a specific space, bend it at her will. Bend time at her will. Either reject it or… reverse it.
Even replace it. With nothingness.
Sakon didn’t like this epiphany.
“What the hell are you, an anti-god?”
A small chuckle emitted from her.
What is she? He knew she was strange. Hell, she was strange and ridiculous. But to actually supersede an event God had chosen to take place? That’s… so shit. Sakon thought with a grimace.
She’s one shitty super gal!
“We have to go.”
“Na, can’t you just finish her off while she’s out of it? It’s simpler that way.”
He saw her shook her head. “No. I’ll eliminate her…” Red turned to face the long-haired stationary man. “When she’s conscious for it.”
Brrr…! Sakon sneered. Scary!
“That’s the way I like it, cutie pie.”
“Thank you.”
The girl turned to the two figures. In a blink of an eye, time returned, space found its ground and Sakon felt a lot better.
Tick, tick, tick, tick-
The long-haired asshole remained glaring.
The long-haired princess remained sobbing.
Tick.
…
…
vi.
“…who sent you?”
The silence was broken by an inquiry from Neji.
Sakon snorted, “Man, are you a fucking retard? As if we’ll fucking tell you.” He turned to the opened window behind him. “I hate to go, you know. I was having fun, but… remember this, asshole. You’re going to pay for my jacket.” With that, he jumped up to the sill, gave a rude finger and jumped off, leaving Sakura.
Sakura soon followed, hearing the approaching footsteps.
“Damn it! Who sent you!? What do you- shit!”
The moment the footsteps arrived, the red assassin was gone. Neji hurried to the windows, looking down to the thick foliages. Again, he cursed. Light flooded as the mansion became alive with lights, footsteps and alarmed shouts.
“Hinata!” A woman, the Hyuuga Matriarch, hurried in, wearing a yukata and cloak. A younger version of Hinata, the second-in-line heiress, Hanabi followed her mother.
“Neji!” The current Clan Leader, Hyuuga Hiashi thundered inside. “What happened here?!” the man demanded, seeing the clutter.
Neji’s jaw was hard as he replied. “Someone tried to kill Hinata-sama.”
“But…!” The Matriarch gasped, clutching her elder daughter. Hiashi’s eyes widened.
“Neji-”
“What took everyone so long to get in here?!” Neji asked instead. “I was fighting the intruder for more than 15 minutes and the fight is loud. Yet, no one comes!”
“We came as soon as we heard the noise!” Hanabi answered. “We are three doors away and we came as soon as we heard Hinata-nee-san’s scream.”
“But…” Neji’s voice trailed off, eyes narrowing in confusion. What the hell happened?
…
…
vii.
“What happened, cutie pie?”
Sakura wore her tinted red and black helmet. “…is there something that matter?” She asked without looking at him.
Sakon snorted. “You know what I’m talking about.”
Sakura shrugged.
“You hesitated.”
“I didn’t.”
Sakon arched a brow in disbelief, leaning against his motorbike, his helmet on his thigh. “Really, huh? I find it hard to believe, Red.”
“Believe what you want. I don’t kill inanimate targets.” She looked at him over her shoulder. “Where’s the fun in that?”
A wide grin split Sakon’s face into halves behind his mask as he laughed.
…
…
viii.
1:34:56:
The library had no lights. Heavy drapes were drawn to the sides, allowing the light from full moon to shine through the French windows. The moonlight hit Little Red Riding Hood’s hooded mask, illuminating a small part of her mask, the jaw area.
“Tell me,” a cold voice asked, hidden by the shadow, “what happened, my child.”
The hood lifted slightly, revealing the right half of the mask, the clown half.
“I apologized, jichan.”
“Ah.” The shadow replied softly. Eyes glittered in the darkness. “That’s what I love about you, my child. You don’t make excuses. You only apologize.” The voice whispered. “Does the idea of killing a little girl repulse you, my child?”
“No.”
“…I didn’t expect this.”
“I’m sorry.” The clown mask seemed to cry and laugh at the same time.
“I am disappointed.”
“I am tired.”
Kimimaro stiffened. Kabuto blinked and refocused his gaze, suddenly wary. The air between Red and the owner of the voice became colder and crispier. The silence was oppressive.
“Sakura.”
Little Red Riding Hood and Kimimaro jerked, a shiver convulsing their spines. At once, both of them bowed low.
“I’m… I’m so sorry, Jichan.”
“Please, Orochimaru-sama.” Kimimaro chose to intervene before matters go out of control. “Studying Medicine and accomplishing missions are difficult and stressful. Please forgive her bluntness.”
A hand waved. “Stand up.”
The two obeyed.
“Leave.”
Kimimaro went out first, opening the door for the girl. She was standing in the doorway when Orochimaru spoke again, halting her departure.
“How was your date?” drawled the slithering voice.
Kimimaro’s face remained carefully blank.
“What date?” Red asked politely. “I went out to see Tokyo. I forgot how beautiful it was at night.” She paused, voice drifting. “I want to remember it.”
The corner of Orochirmaru’s mouth lifted slightly.
“See you later, jichan.”
…
…
ix.
“She’s as young as me, you know.” Sakura started conversationally. “With long dark hair, bangs, pearl eyes. She’s an inch shorter than me, I guess.”
Kimimaro waited outside the bathroom while Sakura sat inside her bathtub which was overflowing with water. She was naked, her hair soaked.
“She was crying a lot.”
Slowly, she rested her chin atop her knees as she hugged her folded legs.
“…she was really crying…”
Kimimaro waited patiently. When he heard her rose from the bathtub, water sloshing, he went inside, a thick bathrobe in his hand. She was standing in the tub, unmoving, eyes hooded.
“She… was crying…”
“Sakura-sama.”
“I will kill her.”
Blank-faced and dripping wet, with soaked hair over her face and between her eyes, which were glowing blankly, she glanced at him.
“…kill her before she could even cry again.”
Her right eyeball rolled backward to flash an unearthly gold eye.
…
…
SCHNEEWITTCHEN
- random: awesomeness.
- i fail. i know. XD
o.
“Done already?”
“Pfft. So damn easy.”
“Bo-ringgg. I was expecting something flashy! These scumbags are boring! And you even shot his fucktoys! You’re a scary bitch!”
“Shut up, asshole.”
s is for simple need, e is for ecstasy- click.
“Sup. We’re done. It’s so damn easy it makes me yawn. Nanda? I can’t. I’m leaving tonight for Kyoto. My next mission is there with Brighella. Pantaloon can go with the princess.”
-snap.
“Your next mission is with Red.”
“Na! I’m not going to babysit the princess!”
“Quiet! It’s an order! Red is waiting.”
“Blah! A mission with Red… na, this is exciting!”
“As long as there’s no fucking time magic.”
_
st. principessa.
_
i.
“Neji!”
But no answer came. Only long beeping sound.
“Fuck.” Sasuke snapped the phone close, torn between finding Sakura and aiding Neji.
Hinata.
The eldest Hyuuga Heiress and he weren’t close, only mere acquaintances, due to their families’ long period of friendship and business partnership that went back six generations ago.
What the hell happened? His eyes narrowed into slits. I have a very bad feeling about this… Remembering his own dilemma, he flipped his phone open and dialed Sakura’s number (which he memorized a minute later after discovering it).
He gritted his teeth in aggravation. He told her to stay where she was. Instead of exercising obedience, the annoying woman ran off somewhere. He knew her sense of direction was poor, and delinquents freely roamed the streets of Tokyo. Being a pretty woman, she would, without a doubt, attract unwanted attention from perverts. And what can a tiny woman like her do to protect herself…?
Shit.
His eyes clenched shut in a cringe.
Fuck, I’ll do anything… just-
“Answer the fucking phone.”
The ringing stopped, and the line switched into a voicemail.
(Gomen.
I’m pretty busy at the moment. Please leave a message and I will try to call you back.)
CLICK.
“Shit.” Unnecessarily forceful, he shut his phone with a loud snap, turned his face around, his handsome face ominous with a heavy frown.
Sakura.
Maybe, if he thought about her harder, she’ll pop out of a rabbit hole. His anxiety mounted higher, like bile rising to his throat. Closing his eyes, calming his breathing, he thought of her. Her smiling blushing face, her innocent eyes, her swollen dark pink lips, her pink hair, shaved ice with fruits and her beautiful voice.
He breathed deeply.
Dark eyes opened, clearer, calmer.
“Sakura.”
Determinedly, he turned back to the panic-stricken crowd in front of the club and continued searching for her.
…
…
ii.
Shirtless, Neji stormed off to the hall, letting his mobile phone dropped to the floor with a thud! and ran the length of the wide arching hallway of shoji and expensive tatami, his sword on his hand which he snatched out of its scabbard. Reaching a door, he skidded to a halt viciously, ignored the painful scratch of tatami against his bare soles and slid the door open, so hard that the sliding door rattled for several minutes before staying still. The sight that greeted his pearl eyes made the blood in his veins froze.
Terror came. Next was rage, mingling with terror, thickening it.
Hyuuga Hinata, wearing her sleeping yukata, was in a heap, her back against the wall designed with landscapes. A thin figure with a sword was standing over her. For a moment, he was speechless, either with terror or rage, he didn’t know.
Moonlight filtered through the square window, which was opened. Through the rays of the moonlight, Neji saw Hinata’s tear-stricken face, her eyes wide with horror as she met his gaze.
“Nii-sama…”
Her thin voice woke him up, made him roar.
“STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!”
He strode in, like a bull. As he hurried, he tossed a blade from his holster which he hadn’t removed around his thigh. The knife forced the intruder a few steps back, until the figure stopped in front of the opened window, blocking the full moon. Neji, hard eyes fixed on the intruder, grabbed Hinata by the arm, forcing her to cower in a corner of her room. The trespasser was slender, but it was hard to tell its gender. The attire was a red and yellow (but there more reds) jumpsuit with large hood covering the head, and the katana was…
Neji narrowed his eyes.
…white?
“Ohhh… we have a guest.” A male voice sneered. “You’re unwanted.” Neji narrowed his eyes. Two assassins?! He thought grimly, sensing the additional presence in the shadows.
“…nii-sama…”
“Don’t worry.” She should. “Keep your head down.” But he would not run away. It was his duty, as a Branch member, to protect the Heiress.
Two against one?
His grip on the sword tightened.
Exciting.
“Na, Red! We have to finish this quickly!”
The figure in red didn’t move, sword at side.
“But… two against one?” The man snorted. “This is not your style, Red.”
Neji grunted.
The Red lifted the white sword, which glistened eerily in the moonlight. Neji clenched his fists, waiting, senses heightened, and muscles lax and ready to spring into action. The assassin in red remained unmoving, head tilted to the side.
“Tsk.”
Neji narrowed his eyes.
“Resurgam!”
The shadow moved and out came an assassin in bright yellow jacket, black pants and mask. To Neji’s horror, the man was going for Hinata, who let out a strangled cry and cowered, hands on her face. Quickly, with his big feet, Neji backtracked, thrust out his katana, catching the blow that would have ended Hinata’s life. For a thin man, the attacker was strong with astonishing heavy blow. Neji twisted on his feet and faced the attack fully. They parried; the man was an aggressive orthodox fighter; Neji was in defense, deflecting blows, careful with his moves, and cautious with fear for Hinata, who remained frozen in the corner behind him. Neji managed to land a blow that sent the assassin back. He lunged forward; their hilts locked.
“Red!” The man shouted. “Finish her off!”
Neji growled and hacked forward furiously, forcing the yellow assassin to jump back. Without looking back, he roared to Hinata, “GET OUT OF HERE!”
But Hinata was paralyzed with terror. Her pearl eyes were wide and unblinking, with tears constantly flowing from her eyes. At last, the Red moved- Neji cursed and slid sideward to block Red. The assassin swerved to avoid him, so fast- and graceful. The lanky assassin came forward again, and superbly, Neji fought the two simultaneously. His big feet thundered the floor, teeth gritted, jaw clenched. The yellow assassin was careless, while the other was quick, almost unseen. Being sharp-eyed as he was, Neji managed to keep his head above his shoulders. It was purely his instincts that kept him alive as the red one thrust, jabbed, swiped and made quick practiced moves with the white sword.
Taking advantage of an opening as the yellow assassin pulled back his sword for a better leverage, Neji swiftly thrust his sword forward, made a sweeping vicious slice that wounded the man in the shoulder. The man let out a hiss and a curse. The tip of Neji’s sword caught a portion of the jacket, and blood spurted. The cut wasn’t deep enough to cause massive hemorrhage but Neji made sure he hit an artery. As quick as the lightning- thanks to his instinct - he avoided a blow from the red one, deflected another, and their hilts locked. They were close enough for Neji to gauge the assassin’s height.
Short.
Like a girl.
They hire teenagers! Neji thought dryly, matching the strength of the blows. He felt a movement behind him- his face twisted, his free hand dropping to his holster- bingo! The gods are good- and found a kunai, the last one, and without looking, threw it over his shoulder. He wasn’t an exceptional thrower like Sasuke and Naruto, but the blade found its target.
“Motherfucker!”
The curse confirmed it.
Neji’s sword arched upward to deliver a killing blow, intending to slice the shorter assassin in halves. But he missed. What the fuck- For the assassin flipped up in the air, over his head and gave a vicious blow - both hands gripping the sword- at the back of his head with the blunt edge of the sword. The force sent him toppling over a shoji wall, shattering it and into a stone pillar before collapsing into a heap, his legs buckling under his weight.
…
…
iii.
Landing noiselessly, a red gloved hand on her mask, Sakura exhaled sharply and pursed her lips. In the process, she remembered the way Sasuke kissed her a while ago, before Tayuya and Sakon appeared through the glass ceiling of the nightclub.
Shaking her head, Sakura dismissed her thoughts. She cleared her head with another shake and turned to her target.
The target had long dark hair, perfectly trimmed bangs and clear white eyes. Tears constantly streamed down her cheeks, hands clutching her face. Her body trembled like a fig leaf in the wind, and her expensive-looking yukata was wrinkled.
“Fuck!” Sakura heard Sakon cursed. “Finish her off. Now. Or I’ll shoot her head into pieces.” Sakon was clearly pissed off, Sakura mused, watching him through the eyeholes. Sakon pressed his gloved hand over his wound, which started to bleed profusely. Stain started to spread over the front of his jacket.
“The guy is a fucked off- throwing a kunai over his shoulder without fucking looking.” And hit his pectoral. Right where he was previously injured with the sword tip. “Fuck that long haired asshole.”
“Hmm…” Sakura looked back to the girl, why would Orochimaru-jichan want to eliminate this girl? Realizing that she was questioning Orochimaru-jichan, she squeezed her eyes shut and violently crushed the thought.
No.
She’s a good toy. She’s a perfect machine.
I will never disappoint you, Orochimaru-jichan.
Never.
Sakura turned the blade up. It glistened, like a ray of moonlight.
The target was sobbing.
All targets must be eliminated.
All targets are objects.
No names.
No faces.
With every thought, Sakura stepped closer. She pressed her teeth together, bowed a little, eyes hooded.
I’m-
“…get away from her.”
Sakura stopped.
“Get away from her.”
Slowly, Sakura turned her face. She saw the muscular, shirtless man with long hair. He was tall, as tall as Sasuke, with lean arms and defined jaw. His shoulders were thick with muscles. When she fought him with Sakon, she recognized his strength and talent in swordsmanship. He was a natural, as though he had been doing it all his life. That’s why when she hit him at the back of his head, she had to hold her sword with both hands to put extra force, and to send him flying over the walls. His forehead was bleeding, and blood made thin trails all over his face, neck and chest.
“Red!”
Sakura blinked and felt it. A second later, she saw it. A distorting invisible wall slowly disintegrated into cubes. Her ears caught the ticking sound
(tick tick tick ti…
…ck… ti… ck…).
Hmm, her grip on the sword slackened after a moment of contemplation. The little trick she did in the third floor hallway was slowly losing its effect. Glancing subtly at Sakon and his bleeding pectoral, she contemplated.
Alright.
Sakura closed her eyes, slowed her breathing, and when she lifted her eyelids, the gold pupils of her eyes glittered.
Let’s…
The right eye bulged, rolled sideward and became all-gold.
…kill time.
…
…
iv.
“What the… WHAT THE FUCK, RED!”
A bell resonated from the distance, echoing hauntingly.
…
…
v.
Sakon recoiled, staggering.
It was like being sucked into a life-size painting, as though a giant sponge sucked off the colors off a palette, leaving the canvass blue and gray. A floating, unmoving world…
Sakon sneered at his surroundings. It looked like he was stuck between two worlds, right in the fucking middle: a fluctuating, spatial environment, timeless. A painter’s canvass where the chosen palette was blue and gray. The space was iridescent and irregular, warping into many facet cubes. The objects, including the long-haired man and their female target, were monochromatic, and were reduced into dissolving overlapping shapes, a series of angular, interpenetrating gray and blue planes.
“God…” Sakon hissed quickly. The undulating colors made him sick. “No… not this shit again! I told you-” he snarled with animosity, “do not pull off this shit when you are with me! This shit thing you do-” his eyes looked around the suspended time and space with disgust, “is freaking me out!”
Little Red Riding Hood-Tayuya and Sakon nicknamed her- shrugged as she turned to face him, her hood eclipsing her mask. The two of them appeared normal amongst the warping landscape.
“Just cut this out and-” Sakon felt his stomach turn over. He always got sick whenever Sakura stops time. Sometimes, he morbidly wondered what it would feel like when she turned time back or speed it up.
No.
He would not want to live to experience it.
Hell fucking no.
“I’ll freeze your bleeding.”
Sakon thought there was something wrong with his hearing. “You’ll do what?”
“Freeze,” she repeated, “your bleeding.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. Freaky shit.
“Ah no, no. My wound is fine.”
“But…”
“No, cutie pie. No thanks.” Sakon spat. “Damn. This shit thing is so freaking out of this world.”
Sakura shook her head. “Stop acting as if this is the first time you experience this.”
“No shit! Every time you… whatever shit you do with the fucking time, I feel sick, got it? I feel sick. My stomach made fucking somersaults. My intestines flip. I feel fucking sick.” He enunciated each word with disgust.
“Will it make you better if I freeze the bleeding?”
“Fuck no, cutie pie.”
“But… your jacket…”
Sakon snorted, “you’re cute and I like you. But honest to gosh, keep your shit to yourself. Play with Mr. Second Hand of Time but not with me, got it?”
“Done.”
“Huh?”
The girl gestured to his shoulder with her gloved hand. Sakon gaped, looking down to his pectoral. The wound wasn’t-
where’s my fucking wound?!
there anymore. The bloodstains were there, but the open wound was gone.
“What the shit thing… Cutie pie! I fucking told you! DON’T FUCK WITH ME!”
“You’re welcome.” Her voice held a tinge of amusement.
“Hot damn. What the hell did you do?” Sakon opened his jacket to inspect his pectoral. It was… blemish-free. Where’s the fucking wound?!
“I can control time, you know.”
“I know that fucking shit.” But… hell yeah. Time controls every fucking thing. Of course. Choose a specific space, bend it at her will. Bend time at her will. Either reject it or… reverse it.
Even replace it. With nothingness.
Sakon didn’t like this epiphany.
“What the hell are you, an anti-god?”
A small chuckle emitted from her.
What is she? He knew she was strange. Hell, she was strange and ridiculous. But to actually supersede an event God had chosen to take place? That’s… so shit. Sakon thought with a grimace.
She’s one shitty super gal!
“We have to go.”
“Na, can’t you just finish her off while she’s out of it? It’s simpler that way.”
He saw her shook her head. “No. I’ll eliminate her…” Red turned to face the long-haired stationary man. “When she’s conscious for it.”
Brrr…! Sakon sneered. Scary!
“That’s the way I like it, cutie pie.”
“Thank you.”
The girl turned to the two figures. In a blink of an eye, time returned, space found its ground and Sakon felt a lot better.
Tick, tick, tick, tick-
The long-haired asshole remained glaring.
The long-haired princess remained sobbing.
Tick.
…
…
vi.
“…who sent you?”
The silence was broken by an inquiry from Neji.
Sakon snorted, “Man, are you a fucking retard? As if we’ll fucking tell you.” He turned to the opened window behind him. “I hate to go, you know. I was having fun, but… remember this, asshole. You’re going to pay for my jacket.” With that, he jumped up to the sill, gave a rude finger and jumped off, leaving Sakura.
Sakura soon followed, hearing the approaching footsteps.
“Damn it! Who sent you!? What do you- shit!”
The moment the footsteps arrived, the red assassin was gone. Neji hurried to the windows, looking down to the thick foliages. Again, he cursed. Light flooded as the mansion became alive with lights, footsteps and alarmed shouts.
“Hinata!” A woman, the Hyuuga Matriarch, hurried in, wearing a yukata and cloak. A younger version of Hinata, the second-in-line heiress, Hanabi followed her mother.
“Neji!” The current Clan Leader, Hyuuga Hiashi thundered inside. “What happened here?!” the man demanded, seeing the clutter.
Neji’s jaw was hard as he replied. “Someone tried to kill Hinata-sama.”
“But…!” The Matriarch gasped, clutching her elder daughter. Hiashi’s eyes widened.
“Neji-”
“What took everyone so long to get in here?!” Neji asked instead. “I was fighting the intruder for more than 15 minutes and the fight is loud. Yet, no one comes!”
“We came as soon as we heard the noise!” Hanabi answered. “We are three doors away and we came as soon as we heard Hinata-nee-san’s scream.”
“But…” Neji’s voice trailed off, eyes narrowing in confusion. What the hell happened?
…
…
vii.
“What happened, cutie pie?”
Sakura wore her tinted red and black helmet. “…is there something that matter?” She asked without looking at him.
Sakon snorted. “You know what I’m talking about.”
Sakura shrugged.
“You hesitated.”
“I didn’t.”
Sakon arched a brow in disbelief, leaning against his motorbike, his helmet on his thigh. “Really, huh? I find it hard to believe, Red.”
“Believe what you want. I don’t kill inanimate targets.” She looked at him over her shoulder. “Where’s the fun in that?”
A wide grin split Sakon’s face into halves behind his mask as he laughed.
…
…
viii.
1:34:56:
The library had no lights. Heavy drapes were drawn to the sides, allowing the light from full moon to shine through the French windows. The moonlight hit Little Red Riding Hood’s hooded mask, illuminating a small part of her mask, the jaw area.
“Tell me,” a cold voice asked, hidden by the shadow, “what happened, my child.”
The hood lifted slightly, revealing the right half of the mask, the clown half.
“I apologized, jichan.”
“Ah.” The shadow replied softly. Eyes glittered in the darkness. “That’s what I love about you, my child. You don’t make excuses. You only apologize.” The voice whispered. “Does the idea of killing a little girl repulse you, my child?”
“No.”
“…I didn’t expect this.”
“I’m sorry.” The clown mask seemed to cry and laugh at the same time.
“I am disappointed.”
“I am tired.”
Kimimaro stiffened. Kabuto blinked and refocused his gaze, suddenly wary. The air between Red and the owner of the voice became colder and crispier. The silence was oppressive.
“Sakura.”
Little Red Riding Hood and Kimimaro jerked, a shiver convulsing their spines. At once, both of them bowed low.
“I’m… I’m so sorry, Jichan.”
“Please, Orochimaru-sama.” Kimimaro chose to intervene before matters go out of control. “Studying Medicine and accomplishing missions are difficult and stressful. Please forgive her bluntness.”
A hand waved. “Stand up.”
The two obeyed.
“Leave.”
Kimimaro went out first, opening the door for the girl. She was standing in the doorway when Orochimaru spoke again, halting her departure.
“How was your date?” drawled the slithering voice.
Kimimaro’s face remained carefully blank.
“What date?” Red asked politely. “I went out to see Tokyo. I forgot how beautiful it was at night.” She paused, voice drifting. “I want to remember it.”
The corner of Orochirmaru’s mouth lifted slightly.
“See you later, jichan.”
…
…
ix.
“She’s as young as me, you know.” Sakura started conversationally. “With long dark hair, bangs, pearl eyes. She’s an inch shorter than me, I guess.”
Kimimaro waited outside the bathroom while Sakura sat inside her bathtub which was overflowing with water. She was naked, her hair soaked.
“She was crying a lot.”
Slowly, she rested her chin atop her knees as she hugged her folded legs.
“…she was really crying…”
Kimimaro waited patiently. When he heard her rose from the bathtub, water sloshing, he went inside, a thick bathrobe in his hand. She was standing in the tub, unmoving, eyes hooded.
“She… was crying…”
“Sakura-sama.”
“I will kill her.”
Blank-faced and dripping wet, with soaked hair over her face and between her eyes, which were glowing blankly, she glanced at him.
“…kill her before she could even cry again.”
Her right eyeball rolled backward to flash an unearthly gold eye.
…
…
SCHNEEWITTCHEN
- random: awesomeness.