Sightless - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Chapter 03

Sakura woke to cluttering and hissed curses.

"Well done, Dickless."

"Shut up, Sai," Naruto snarled. She opened her eyes and saw him crouched, picking kunai off the floor.

"Hey Sakura, hope I didn't wake you." He smiled sheepishly, kicking the bag of kunai behind him.

"If she can sleep through your snoring, she can sleep through anything." Sai goaded.

"I DON'T SNORE." Naruto thundered.

"You do. It's like sleeping with a chimney."

"Go to Hell."

"It's probably quieter there."

"You didn't," Sakura interrupted, "Wake me up, I mean." She stood up and fished her toothbrush from her bag. "Where are Kakashi-sensei and Captain Yamato?" She squirted water from her bottle, before squeezing out the toothpaste.

"They already left, since they have the most ground to cover. In fact, we were about to leave now," Sai replied.

Sakura realised that Naruto already had his cloak on.

"Yeah, I was supposed to leave before Sai, but he said he'd carry me part of the way me on one of his ink birds, if I waited," He beamed. (It's a wonder he didn't get whiplash from how quickly his emotions changed.)

She nodded and went to wash up at the lake. It was still raining, but the sun peeking through the clouds made it less miserable than it had felt the night before. Her hair had dried awkwardly as she slept, but it wouldn't matter. The rain had already molded it to her head. Tying it back, Sakura spat out the toothpaste. It had been almost half a day since she'd eaten anything, yet there was a persistent nausea she couldn't shake.

"See you later, Sakura!" Naruto bellowed. He was already getting ready to swing one foot over a massive, ink bird.

"Wait!" Her voice was was warbled by the drumming of the rain. "Wait, Naruto!!" She ran at him.

"Sakura, wha--?" She squashed him in a hug. Naruto hugged her back, like a reflex, and he didn't question it, either (girls were too confusing to try and figure out, anyway). It was over almost as soon as it had begun.

"Just be careful," She began, "I have a feeling." She squeezed his shoulders reassuringly.

He stared at her suspiciously. "If this is you declaring your love for me - I'm sorry to say that I'm a taken man. And that ship sailed age--"

"For God's sake, Naruto!" She punched his arm and he recoiled. "Don't be reckless, okay?" She glared at him, as if willing him to listen - just this once. If anything happened to Naruto, she wouldn't be able to cope. The world would end.

"Fine." He rubbed his arm. "Jeez, Sakura. Learn to take a joke."

"You too, Sai." He looked up from his canvas. The inky lines were smeared all over it by the rain, but he didn't seem to notice.

"You say something?" he smiled.

┗━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━┛

She watched the two, white birds fly away. Despite the reassurances, she felt they were still unprepared. Kakashi and Yamato were long gone - who knows what sort of things they've encountered already?

The journey was condescendingly short. Not even an hour later, and she was standing knee-deep in dense foliage, in front of a mossy stone. Since there was no one in there, she didn't think there was a point to wait till nightfall. She touched its surface. Judging by the plant growth, it had been left undisturbed for decades, at the least. However, she had noticed snapped twigs and unnatural growth patterns of the leaves - as if someone had hacked away at them as they approached. It could still be a coincidence. She was just looking for signs that weren't there. However, Sakura wasn't stupid enough to think being scared was a liability. It meant she was smart. She just hoped Naruto was being smart, too.