Wilted Efflorescence

Chapter 2

When she woke, she was parched.

Not a normal parched, that you would feel after not drinking for a short amount of time, but a more desperate version that tetered on the edge of dehydration.

Her stomach clenched in its emptiness and twist with nausea.

Not that any of that was anything new.

Her head ached. Her muscles felt torn. But none of that mattered.

None of it mattered, because while she lay there with dust swirling around her and the night sky twinkling without a care in the world, her last friends ceased to exist.

It wouldn't be hard to claim her village destroyed.

Her village died with Naruto.

Yet she still lived.

She lived against her will.

She lived because it was his last wish and even though there was a gaping metaphorical hole where her heart was she had no choice but to continue.

Grimacing, she sat up. Slowly taking in everything around her and trying to view her newfound situation objectively.

Not being objective hurt too much.

Her limbs were shorter.

Extremely short.

She scowled as she realized that the process had reversed the rate of cell death.

Her body wasn't even made of the same cells as before.

The smell of fresh air, untainted by the blood of an unknown amount of corpses filled her nostrils along with the scent of decompositon covering her form. Her shorts and skirt no longer fit. Her shirt was more of a dress, so she hurriedly discard most of her clothing before rewrapping her chest. Her undergarments were too loose as well, so she took a Kunai and cut the sides before tying the material on the sides to her body for a better fit and slid the shirt back on. Her gloves were too large, but she was attached to them. They were a gift from Tsunade... her eyes watered at the thought of her shishou.

Quickly, she shoved the gloves into her Kunai pouch before using the excess material from her shorts to secure the pouch around her waist now that her thighs were too small.

She ignored the grime covering her from head to toe and reached for a ration bar and her canteen, filling herself up before looking around again to head out.

She looked down at her feet with a scowl. Her shinobi sandles would no longer fit either. Grabbing the excess bandages and ignoring the fact that they were a red brown color, she wrapped her feet. Leaving her toes to peak out slightly, she tied the material off at her ankles. Satisfied that her lower appendages were at least somewhat protected, she made her way. Determined to make it to Konoha as quickly as possible. The faster she fulfilled her word to Naruto, the quicker she would no longer have to suffer. She purposefully ignored her memories.

It had been three days before she actually reached the edge of the land of fire. Many times she had to hide her chakra and herself as to not be discovered. Years of war had mostly made that a subconscious thing, but she still put in the extra effort when she knew danger was near. She had not slept since she woke from the jutsu. She pushed herself at an extremely unhealthy limit. Forcing herself to practice and train while she ran. She ran and she did not stop.

She was scared to sleep. All of them had been. Her dreams were not dreams, but nightmares, filled with rotting corpses, loose intestines hanging from tents. Maggots squirming over and through exposed and rotting muscle. Shinobi of all ages missing limbs.