giftfic for pockyphoto - when samurai attack; naruto
Fandom: Naruto
Title: When Samurai Attack
Chapter: N/A; complete oneshot
Characters/Pairings: Kakashi, Sakura, Teuchi, Tenten, Moegi, unnamed OCs
Genre: Drama
Word Count: ~2000
Rating: T+/PG-15
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Also, I may have mangled history, for which you history majors have my sincerest apology.
Notes: Holiday giftfic for pockyphoto, who requested Naruto, KakaSaku, feudal Japan AU. You have my permission to tie me up and beat me publicly for the tardiness. I hope you enjoy.
--
The smell of smoke and charred flesh was strong in the air, choking him even two days after the last embers had gone out - and through his cloth mask. He was getting sick of only being able to react to these attacks on his daimyo's people. Kakashi had always been a man of action. He wanted to sink his teeth - or better yet, his blade - into the men behind this.
His skill set was really more suited to subterfuge or outright battle, but Sarutobi-sama had deemed it fit for him to investigate the latest ransacked village. The survivor who'd initially reported the siege stumbled through the wreckage behind him. The man had already thrown up twice, and Kakashi honestly couldn't blame him. There were few whole bodies left - if burnt could be considered whole - most of those tied to posts, and not a single structure was left standing.
He'd already gotten all the details he could wring out of the survivor and now he was trying to determine the original source of the fire. He doubted there was only one.
A new rustling off to one side caught his attention, and he whirled to face it, gesturing to the man behind him to stay put while he checked it out. Before Kakashi could take a single step, however, a soot-streaked figure poked its face out of the ruins of a barn. Bright green eyes, startling smudges of color in the gray, were wary as they took him in and skipped to the person behind him.
"Teuchi-san?"
"Haruno-chan?" the man asked. The figure stepped out of the shadows. "Sakura, it's safe. This is one of Sarutobi-sama's samurai."
Afternoon light hit the small shape, illuminating it for his study, and it turned out to be a young woman. Her clothes were filthy, torn, and covered in bits of leaves. Twigs were tangled in her long, unbound hair. She was barefoot.
"Sakura," Teuchi said again. He was holding a hand out to her. She skirted around Kakashi, never putting her back to him, and grasped the man's hand. He yanked her into him, arms going around her in a fierce hug. He said something to her - something Kakashi couldn't catch - and crumbled when she shook her head in the negative against his chest. He trembled violently.
Kakashi looked away to give them some semblance of privacy in their moment of grief. When it turned into something longer than a moment, he began to walk away, continuing his study of this attack.
--
Sakura barely knew Teuchi-san, but she clutched him tight. She was a little fuzzy on how she'd ended up in his embrace in the first place - all she could remember was a rush of dizzying relief at seeing a familiar face after two days of blur.
"Ayame?" he whispered.
Sakura froze for a moment before shaking her head.
Teuchi's tremors eventually turned into sobs, and his legs seemed to give out. She ended up on the ground, huddled in his grasp with his heaving breaths shuffling her hair. By the time he had calmed down, the sun was just above the horizon and the samurai was hovering.
"Come on, you two," he said. "We need to get back."
She was reluctant to go anywhere with him, despite Teuchi's assurance that he was one of Sarutobi's men. He was in full battle dress, and the last time she'd seen samurai, they'd been terrorizing her village.
"We have food and beds," the samurai said.
She paused even as Teuchi rose to his feet and began to join him.
"You can have a bath," added the samurai, clearly hoping to entice Sakura. It worked. She'd spent the past week in the wilderness. She knew she looked terrible, and she certainly felt it. She stood but didn't make any move to close the gap between them, still hesitant.
It seemed to snap the last of the samurai's patience. He strode forward and snatched her around the waist, ignoring her attempt at flinching away, and slung her over his shoulder.
She froze with panic. The men who'd attacked had taken girls this way. She'd heard them screaming for help as she fled; guilt had flooded her as she'd sped past, unable to help.
"Put me down," Sakura breathed. "I'll walk." She couldn't breathe. Her head felt light and far away.
The samurai dropped her into Teuchi's grip and stalked off. Teuchi wrapped an arm around her, guiding her into a walk a few yards behind the samurai. He led them east for several hours to an enormous estate. It was fully dark by then, and Sakura was more than ready to fall into a bed - any bed - and sleep for a week.
A young woman greeted them in the small house the samurai led them to. She looked familiar, Sakura thought, as she watched her stowing away the samurai's and Teuchi's shoes.
"Thank you," the samurai said. "Take the girl to a room. Bring her clothes and set up a bath for her. Then send someone to the main house to tell Sarutobi-sama that I will report to him first thing in the morning. That will be all for tonight."
"Yes, Hatake-san," the young woman answered. She bowed as the samurai walked away. Teuchi disappeared into the house after bidding a good night to Sakura.
"Come with me, miss," she said, rising to her feet. "I'll show you to a room." She turned down a hallway into the opposite side of the house, leading Sakura to a small, sparse bedroom furnished with a single futon and a chest in one corner. "I'll have a bath sent to--"
"Tenten?" Sakura gasped.
The young woman met her eyes for the first time since she'd set foot in the house. She stared at Sakura for a long moment, tracing her features, lingering on her eyes. Finally, she smiled.
"Sakura," she said warmly, holding her arms out. "It's been so long. I'm sorry."
She stepped closer and hugged Tenten hard. And that was when it really hit - her village was gone. All of the people she'd ever known were dead, including her husband and her parents. The dizziness from earlier returned, with twenty times the force. Sakura felt sick, but tears refused to come. She was grateful for that, if nothing else.
"How did you do it?" Sakura choked out. She was clutching her old friend like a lifeline.
"Do what?" Tenten asked softly, sounding confused.
"Survive."
Tenten was quiet for a moment. "I don't know," she finally said. It sounded like a confession. "I was so young when my parents were killed...I didn't really understand what was going on for a long time. When I did realize what had happened, I just...kept going like I had been. It was all I could do. Hatake-san helped, taking me in the way he did. He helped me focus. He's a good man, Sakura."
Sakura remained silent. There was no way she could see handling the days to come without falling apart, but an eerie stillness had crept into her now. She pulled away from Tenten.
"Thank you," she said. Her voice was empty. "I'd like that bath now, please."
Tenten's mouth rounded for a moment, her brown eyes sad. "Alright." She left. Sakura settled on the tatami floor, her legs crossed. For lack of anything better to do, she began to finger-comb her hair, picking out bits of foliage.
Tenten returned shortly after that, hauling a large wooden basin. A few other girls trotted behind her, each holding a big, steaming pot. Tenten set up the tub in the center of the room and each of the girls made two more trips toting water before the tub was filled enough. Then she helped Sakura undress, setting her ruined clothing in a pile outside the door to be burned. She stepped into the bath.
"Moegi, bring some fresh clothes, please," Tenten ordered. "And some food, if you would. Thank you." She gathered up the soap and cloth as the younger girl left with a nod and a smile. "Would you like me to wash your hair?"
The weariness settling in Sakura's bones told her she wouldn't be wise to refuse, so she nodded.
--
She followed the samurai's movements with interested eyes from her darkened corner of the porch. He was bare from the waist up, missing every bit of armor, and drenched in sweat. He'd been going through sword drills for over two hours now - and that was just the time she'd been watching. He'd been dripping when she came across him.
The samurai moved with grace. He flowed through the movements, made them almost a dance. A longing began to unfurl in Sakura's heart, startling in its intensity. She'd barely felt anything for the past three weeks, drifting through chores in the samurai's house and suffering through nightmares when she slept.
But now, as she watched him smoothly sheath his blade and set it aside, she wanted.
"I know you're there, girl."
Sakura jerked at the sudden sound of his voice. She wasn't sure what to do, but she didn't plan on moving - Tenten had told her to take the afternoon and rest - and she certainly didn't plan on apologizing. Observing the samurai had seemed as good an idea as any. Instead, she stepped out of the shadows and stayed silent.
"Why are you watching me?"
"I had nothing better to do," she replied blithely.
"You're very bold, girl," the samurai said. His tone was neutral.
"I'm very honest, samurai," she almost snarled in return.
"My name is Kakashi." Now the samurai sounded pleased, which bewildered Sakura. "And anger is good. But you need to separate me from the men who destroyed your village. I am not one of them."
Sakura flew at him, fist balled. He sidestepped. She fell on her face.
"I'm going to teach you."
--
The girl's hair was pink. That was, illogically, the first thing Kakashi noticed about her when he saw her the morning after she'd arrived at his house. The next thing he'd noticed was that she had a warrior's spirit, dampened as it was at the moment.
He'd kept her on as a servant, even after the other survivor's offer of taking her in and taking her north, to his sister's. He'd asked Tenten for her name, ignoring her secret smile as she'd given it to him - Sakura. Now she was staring at him, studying his every moment with naked lust in her eyes. But it wasn't him she wanted, it was his skills.
Well. Woman or not, she could do what he did. Tenten had certainly taken to the warrior training like a fish to water.
--
The girl's limbs were trembling when he finally let her rest. He'd worked her hard all day. She would barely be able to move tomorrow, and he would push her twice as hard. She was doing well.
"Why - " she panted, raising a limp hand to brush loose strands of hair out of her face. "Why are you doing this?"
"Someone has to defend this place when the men are away at war," Kakashi answered vaguely. It was true, but it wasn't the answer to her question. He took the few steps to the water bucket and drank from the ladle. The girl stared enviously. Because this was only her first week of training and he remembered all too well how brutal it was, he had pity and carried the ladle to her. "Small sips. Too fast and you'll be sick."
The girl accepted it slowly, taking the water in short swallows. After a few minutes, she let it rest in her lap. "Thank you," she said softly, gaze downcast. "But why are you doing this?"
Kakashi looked sideways at her. "Because I can. And because you need it." That would frustrate her, he knew, but he didn't care. He wasn't sure how to explain his reasoning, and he didn't want to try.
Fortunately, the girl seemed satisfied with his enigmatic reply for the moment. She was stubborn, though, and he knew she would ask again eventually. For now, she just passed him the ladle when he dismissed her and left.
He would need a better answer prepared.
--
Also at FF.net.
Title: When Samurai Attack
Chapter: N/A; complete oneshot
Characters/Pairings: Kakashi, Sakura, Teuchi, Tenten, Moegi, unnamed OCs
Genre: Drama
Word Count: ~2000
Rating: T+/PG-15
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Also, I may have mangled history, for which you history majors have my sincerest apology.
Notes: Holiday giftfic for pockyphoto, who requested Naruto, KakaSaku, feudal Japan AU. You have my permission to tie me up and beat me publicly for the tardiness. I hope you enjoy.
--
The smell of smoke and charred flesh was strong in the air, choking him even two days after the last embers had gone out - and through his cloth mask. He was getting sick of only being able to react to these attacks on his daimyo's people. Kakashi had always been a man of action. He wanted to sink his teeth - or better yet, his blade - into the men behind this.
His skill set was really more suited to subterfuge or outright battle, but Sarutobi-sama had deemed it fit for him to investigate the latest ransacked village. The survivor who'd initially reported the siege stumbled through the wreckage behind him. The man had already thrown up twice, and Kakashi honestly couldn't blame him. There were few whole bodies left - if burnt could be considered whole - most of those tied to posts, and not a single structure was left standing.
He'd already gotten all the details he could wring out of the survivor and now he was trying to determine the original source of the fire. He doubted there was only one.
A new rustling off to one side caught his attention, and he whirled to face it, gesturing to the man behind him to stay put while he checked it out. Before Kakashi could take a single step, however, a soot-streaked figure poked its face out of the ruins of a barn. Bright green eyes, startling smudges of color in the gray, were wary as they took him in and skipped to the person behind him.
"Teuchi-san?"
"Haruno-chan?" the man asked. The figure stepped out of the shadows. "Sakura, it's safe. This is one of Sarutobi-sama's samurai."
Afternoon light hit the small shape, illuminating it for his study, and it turned out to be a young woman. Her clothes were filthy, torn, and covered in bits of leaves. Twigs were tangled in her long, unbound hair. She was barefoot.
"Sakura," Teuchi said again. He was holding a hand out to her. She skirted around Kakashi, never putting her back to him, and grasped the man's hand. He yanked her into him, arms going around her in a fierce hug. He said something to her - something Kakashi couldn't catch - and crumbled when she shook her head in the negative against his chest. He trembled violently.
Kakashi looked away to give them some semblance of privacy in their moment of grief. When it turned into something longer than a moment, he began to walk away, continuing his study of this attack.
--
Sakura barely knew Teuchi-san, but she clutched him tight. She was a little fuzzy on how she'd ended up in his embrace in the first place - all she could remember was a rush of dizzying relief at seeing a familiar face after two days of blur.
"Ayame?" he whispered.
Sakura froze for a moment before shaking her head.
Teuchi's tremors eventually turned into sobs, and his legs seemed to give out. She ended up on the ground, huddled in his grasp with his heaving breaths shuffling her hair. By the time he had calmed down, the sun was just above the horizon and the samurai was hovering.
"Come on, you two," he said. "We need to get back."
She was reluctant to go anywhere with him, despite Teuchi's assurance that he was one of Sarutobi's men. He was in full battle dress, and the last time she'd seen samurai, they'd been terrorizing her village.
"We have food and beds," the samurai said.
She paused even as Teuchi rose to his feet and began to join him.
"You can have a bath," added the samurai, clearly hoping to entice Sakura. It worked. She'd spent the past week in the wilderness. She knew she looked terrible, and she certainly felt it. She stood but didn't make any move to close the gap between them, still hesitant.
It seemed to snap the last of the samurai's patience. He strode forward and snatched her around the waist, ignoring her attempt at flinching away, and slung her over his shoulder.
She froze with panic. The men who'd attacked had taken girls this way. She'd heard them screaming for help as she fled; guilt had flooded her as she'd sped past, unable to help.
"Put me down," Sakura breathed. "I'll walk." She couldn't breathe. Her head felt light and far away.
The samurai dropped her into Teuchi's grip and stalked off. Teuchi wrapped an arm around her, guiding her into a walk a few yards behind the samurai. He led them east for several hours to an enormous estate. It was fully dark by then, and Sakura was more than ready to fall into a bed - any bed - and sleep for a week.
A young woman greeted them in the small house the samurai led them to. She looked familiar, Sakura thought, as she watched her stowing away the samurai's and Teuchi's shoes.
"Thank you," the samurai said. "Take the girl to a room. Bring her clothes and set up a bath for her. Then send someone to the main house to tell Sarutobi-sama that I will report to him first thing in the morning. That will be all for tonight."
"Yes, Hatake-san," the young woman answered. She bowed as the samurai walked away. Teuchi disappeared into the house after bidding a good night to Sakura.
"Come with me, miss," she said, rising to her feet. "I'll show you to a room." She turned down a hallway into the opposite side of the house, leading Sakura to a small, sparse bedroom furnished with a single futon and a chest in one corner. "I'll have a bath sent to--"
"Tenten?" Sakura gasped.
The young woman met her eyes for the first time since she'd set foot in the house. She stared at Sakura for a long moment, tracing her features, lingering on her eyes. Finally, she smiled.
"Sakura," she said warmly, holding her arms out. "It's been so long. I'm sorry."
She stepped closer and hugged Tenten hard. And that was when it really hit - her village was gone. All of the people she'd ever known were dead, including her husband and her parents. The dizziness from earlier returned, with twenty times the force. Sakura felt sick, but tears refused to come. She was grateful for that, if nothing else.
"How did you do it?" Sakura choked out. She was clutching her old friend like a lifeline.
"Do what?" Tenten asked softly, sounding confused.
"Survive."
Tenten was quiet for a moment. "I don't know," she finally said. It sounded like a confession. "I was so young when my parents were killed...I didn't really understand what was going on for a long time. When I did realize what had happened, I just...kept going like I had been. It was all I could do. Hatake-san helped, taking me in the way he did. He helped me focus. He's a good man, Sakura."
Sakura remained silent. There was no way she could see handling the days to come without falling apart, but an eerie stillness had crept into her now. She pulled away from Tenten.
"Thank you," she said. Her voice was empty. "I'd like that bath now, please."
Tenten's mouth rounded for a moment, her brown eyes sad. "Alright." She left. Sakura settled on the tatami floor, her legs crossed. For lack of anything better to do, she began to finger-comb her hair, picking out bits of foliage.
Tenten returned shortly after that, hauling a large wooden basin. A few other girls trotted behind her, each holding a big, steaming pot. Tenten set up the tub in the center of the room and each of the girls made two more trips toting water before the tub was filled enough. Then she helped Sakura undress, setting her ruined clothing in a pile outside the door to be burned. She stepped into the bath.
"Moegi, bring some fresh clothes, please," Tenten ordered. "And some food, if you would. Thank you." She gathered up the soap and cloth as the younger girl left with a nod and a smile. "Would you like me to wash your hair?"
The weariness settling in Sakura's bones told her she wouldn't be wise to refuse, so she nodded.
--
She followed the samurai's movements with interested eyes from her darkened corner of the porch. He was bare from the waist up, missing every bit of armor, and drenched in sweat. He'd been going through sword drills for over two hours now - and that was just the time she'd been watching. He'd been dripping when she came across him.
The samurai moved with grace. He flowed through the movements, made them almost a dance. A longing began to unfurl in Sakura's heart, startling in its intensity. She'd barely felt anything for the past three weeks, drifting through chores in the samurai's house and suffering through nightmares when she slept.
But now, as she watched him smoothly sheath his blade and set it aside, she wanted.
"I know you're there, girl."
Sakura jerked at the sudden sound of his voice. She wasn't sure what to do, but she didn't plan on moving - Tenten had told her to take the afternoon and rest - and she certainly didn't plan on apologizing. Observing the samurai had seemed as good an idea as any. Instead, she stepped out of the shadows and stayed silent.
"Why are you watching me?"
"I had nothing better to do," she replied blithely.
"You're very bold, girl," the samurai said. His tone was neutral.
"I'm very honest, samurai," she almost snarled in return.
"My name is Kakashi." Now the samurai sounded pleased, which bewildered Sakura. "And anger is good. But you need to separate me from the men who destroyed your village. I am not one of them."
Sakura flew at him, fist balled. He sidestepped. She fell on her face.
"I'm going to teach you."
--
The girl's hair was pink. That was, illogically, the first thing Kakashi noticed about her when he saw her the morning after she'd arrived at his house. The next thing he'd noticed was that she had a warrior's spirit, dampened as it was at the moment.
He'd kept her on as a servant, even after the other survivor's offer of taking her in and taking her north, to his sister's. He'd asked Tenten for her name, ignoring her secret smile as she'd given it to him - Sakura. Now she was staring at him, studying his every moment with naked lust in her eyes. But it wasn't him she wanted, it was his skills.
Well. Woman or not, she could do what he did. Tenten had certainly taken to the warrior training like a fish to water.
--
The girl's limbs were trembling when he finally let her rest. He'd worked her hard all day. She would barely be able to move tomorrow, and he would push her twice as hard. She was doing well.
"Why - " she panted, raising a limp hand to brush loose strands of hair out of her face. "Why are you doing this?"
"Someone has to defend this place when the men are away at war," Kakashi answered vaguely. It was true, but it wasn't the answer to her question. He took the few steps to the water bucket and drank from the ladle. The girl stared enviously. Because this was only her first week of training and he remembered all too well how brutal it was, he had pity and carried the ladle to her. "Small sips. Too fast and you'll be sick."
The girl accepted it slowly, taking the water in short swallows. After a few minutes, she let it rest in her lap. "Thank you," she said softly, gaze downcast. "But why are you doing this?"
Kakashi looked sideways at her. "Because I can. And because you need it." That would frustrate her, he knew, but he didn't care. He wasn't sure how to explain his reasoning, and he didn't want to try.
Fortunately, the girl seemed satisfied with his enigmatic reply for the moment. She was stubborn, though, and he knew she would ask again eventually. For now, she just passed him the ladle when he dismissed her and left.
He would need a better answer prepared.
--
Also at FF.net.