The Burning Snow (A Naruto FanFic)

Chapter Eight; Finally Home.

What will happen to Phoenix now that her demon is out and about? What caused her to turn against her own team and village? Will she come to before it’s too late?

Read on and find out what happens!!

I hope you enjoy, everyone!! (:

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Phoenix yawned some as she laid on her new bed, all of her things in a trunk at the foot of her bed for easy transport. Humming softly, she laid there, her hands behind her head as she heard a knock at her door. Frowning some, she looked at the door before shaking her head. “Come in.” She called out, sitting up on her bed as the door was opened.

Orochimaru opened the door and stepped in, grinning some with a flash of mischief in his golden snake eyes. “I just got word that a village near by that there is an enemy threat somewhere nearby who is out hunting wolves. White wolves.” He said and she just stared at him. She had no idea what this had to do with her, but she got up anyway, tying her hair back as she shook her head.

“You two are really useless…” Snow murmured before changing into all black and put her hair into a black cap. Disappearing, she walked into the village and looked around, frowning some as she yawned a bit and rubbed her eyes. This was boring and she didn’t see how someone hunting wolves had anything to do with her. Walking, she grunted when she felt something hit the back of her head, causing her to black out. Not again… She groaned.

When she came to, she was bound and gagged, tied to a metal post with her hands above her head. Growling some, she yanked at the bindings as anger started to rise in her. Her nails extending, she clawed at the bindings, she freed herself and quickly stood up, looking around. Growling, she stalked around, looking for her captor. Could she not trust anyone anymore? She wondered. Howling in pain, she looked at her arm where blood was running down her arm from a deep cut.

What the hell was this and who the hell was going this? Cut after cut and gash after gash, Snow soon fell unconscious on the ground from the loss of blood and pain. She couldn’t figure out who was attacking her since all the attacks came from different directions and it confused her greatly. So, as a result, she passed out from the intense pain running through her and the amount of blood lost.

Even with that, she soon woke up, groaning as she stood up. Her wounds were all healed, but her body was still sore from the attack. Grunting, she pushed her hair back and sighed, looking around again. Frowning, she limped out of the clearing she was in and out of the woods, looking around. Snow would never trust anyone after what had just happened and just wanted out of this town and area. If she saw Orochimaru again, she would rip his throat out.

Walking into the next village, she stood there, crossing her arms over her chest as she waited. She forgot about the little thing she was told to do and Orochimaru wanted to find someone here as well. As if on cue, Orochimaru appeared beside her and linked his arm with hers, tugging her into town. Frowning some, she pulled away from him and crossed her arms over her chest, walking through town with him.

“You really are a creep, Orochimaru…” She murmured, just getting a laugh in return for it. Sighing, she continued through the village and looked around some to try and figure out who they were looking for. This was kind of pointless in her eyes, but she said she would help. Stopping at a shop, they went inside and Snow stopped dead in her tracks as she looked at Kimimaro, one of Orochimaru’s followers she was told. She didn’t expect him to look so cute and it made her freeze up a bit.

Shaking herself free, she walked over to him and Orochimaru and sat there, listening to them talk. She wondered why she was even here, seeing as she had no point in being here. And she realized she asked herself that quite a bit. Frowning, she shook her head and looked at the others when she heard her name being called. Raising an eye brow, she blinked some. “What?” She asked, glancing at Kimimaro, then at Orochimaru.

“I was just wondering what you thought of Kimimaro and his fighting styles.” Orochimaru said simply, making Phoenix blink and look at Kimimaro. “I’ve never seen him fight, so how I can tell?” She wondered before hopping up and giving a slight bow. “Excuse me for a moment, I am going to go for a walk.” She said before turning and walking out the door and onto the street. Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair and leaned against the building, taking in the somewhat fresh air.

Hearing a sound to the side of her, she looked over quickly to see Kimimaro standing there, his hands by his side. “I thought you could use some company.” He said, standing by her. Phoenix shrugged some and looked down. “Even with company, I still feel alone.” She said, crossing her arms over her chest. Kimimaro looked at her, blinking some before looking up at the sky.

“You, too, huh?” He wondered, leaning back against the building as well. Phoenix looked at Kimimaro and nodded some. “What’s your name?” He asked after a few moments, looking at Phoenix again.

“Phoenix.” She replied, receiving a smile from Kimimaro and a nod.

“I like that name, it suits you.” He said. Phoenix watched him, wondering how anyone could fear him. In battle, she could understand, but other than that, he was just looking for someone to be with. Smiling, she looked up at the sky and sighed some. Then, Orochimaru came running out, laughing as he took off. “Time to go!” He said, making the both of them blink and run after him, wondering what he did to cause him to run so quickly. Sighing, Snow shook her head, following them, easily catching up to Orochimaru.

“What did you do this time, Orochimaru?” Phoenix asked as the other still laughed. They stopped a ways away from the shop and Orochimaru told Kimimaro to go back to the base and check on everything. Nodding, he disappeared, rushing back to base. Orochimaru looked at Phoenix and smirked, moving closer to her. “This is what I did.” He said, grabbing her ass and yanking her close. Phoenix gasped, her eyes going wide when the other kissed her. Anger exploded through her as she shoved him back.

Growling, her sight went to a red haze as she glared at Orochimaru. “You are dead.” She growled out, her demon aura surrounding her, making Orochimaru’s eyes go wide. He started to run through the town, trying to get away from Phoenix as she completely and totally demolished the town. When she came to, she was standing face to face with Orochimaru in the middle of the town, the whole town on fire now from all the explosions she caused.

“You ever do that again, and I will kill you myself.” She said, making Orochimaru laugh. He had no doubt she could do just that, but he was not going to let her. It was then that her team appeared, along with Kakashi and the ANBU who were sent to rescue her. Upon seeing Shikamaru, something in her burst open and tears filled her eyes. Taking one last look at Orochimaru, she ran toward them, her appearance changing back to normal. Half way there, however, she felt a sharp pain in her neck.

Screaming out in pain, she felt the fangs dig in deep as another sharp pain filled her body. When he pulled away, he disappeared before Phoenix could even fall to the ground. She never felt the ground, though, only someone’s arms around her. She felt herself being picked up, but the pain coursing through her body was too intense that it caused her to faint. It was as if something was ripping her apart from the inside out and it was excruciating to bear.

Quite a while later she woke up in a hospital bed surrounded by her team who were all asleep in chairs around the bed. Sitting up, she winced and quickly put her hand on her neck. That fucking Orochimaru gave her a Cursed Seal and she was not happy about it in any way. She was glad, however, that the damn seal didn’t kill her. Shikamaru woke up then and looked at Phoenix. He quickly got up and went over to her, pulling her into a close embrace, burying his face into her hair.

“I missed you…” He murmured as she held onto him tightly, sniffing some. Smiling at his words, she pulled back a little and kissed him lightly, looking into his eyes. “I’m here now.” She said, getting a laugh out of him.

“I didn’t expect the kiss to feel that good outside of a dream.” He said, making her laugh and pull him close, kissing him again. They laid there together as the others continued to sleep. It felt good finally being back in Shikamaru’s embrace. She missed him terribly, along with the rest of her team, Naruto, and Kakashi. And there was Guy and Lee, of course, who she saw sitting there as well. Smiling, she closed her eyes and fell asleep again, happy she was home.

When she woke up again, still in Shikamaru’s arms, she yawned and stretched some, shivering some. She felt much better now and wanted to go home. Shaking Shikamaru gently, she woke him up and told him to go and get the nurse and she was ready to go home. Smiling, he nodded and got up, going out to get the nurse. When he came back in, the nurse checked her to make sure she was ok to go before going to tell the doctor. As they were out, she got up and stretched, yawning, glad she had something covering her body. She didn’t expect it to be a bunch of bandages, but that was alright with her. Grabbing her clothes from Shikamaru, she smiled and slipped them on, wincing slightly from the pain, but ignored it. Once in her clothes, she sighed softly and waited for the nurse to come and take the needles out of her arm.

Once the needles were out and her arm was bandaged in that spot, she took the crutches Shikamaru got for her and moved over to the wheel chair. Sitting down, she put her feet up on the little foot holders as Shikamaru rolled her out of the hospital. Everyone was there to greet her and she smiled, nodding to everyone and saying hi. Shikamaru lead her toward the Hokage’s office now, Kakashi, Guy, Lee, and the rest of her team following.

Once there, he brought her into his office and stopped her in front of his desk, the others sitting or standing around her. The Hokage was about to tell them to go when Phoenix shook her head. “No, I want them to stay.” She said, giving a weak smile as she leaned her head on Shikamaru’s shoulder as he sat next to her, holding her hand. The Hokage nodded and smiled over at Phoenix, his pipe in hand.

“You are a strong one, Phoenix, I can tell that much.” He said, taking a puff from his pipe. “But I am worried about your Curse Seal and the fact you have a Tailed Beast inside of you. I know you are in control of it most of the time, but for your safety and so it doesn’t happen again, we sealed the Curse Mark and your Tailed Beast. You can still activate the powers of the Tailed Beast, if you need to, but she will not be coming out again for quite a while.”

Phoenix just sat there, trying not to scream about him locking away Snow. She never did anything wrong and was only trying to protect her. Still, she couldn’t do anything about it now and would just have to figure out a way to cope with it for now. She tuned out whatever else he had to say as she closed her eyes, not liking how closed off she was now from her true self. She didn’t realize she had fallen asleep until she woke up in her bed. Staring up at the ceiling, she sighed softly and got up.

After getting dressed, she headed down stairs and blinked when everyone she knew jumped out of hidden places yelling “Surprise!”. Phoenix stood there for a moment, just staring as Shikamaru came up to her and hugged her. “I thought you could use some kind of party with all your friends to loosen up a bit.” He said lightly, kissing her cheek. Phoenix smiled and nodded, leaning against him as she looked at everyone.

After a while, she walked outside to get some air, the crowded area making her feel a little dizzy. Looking at Shikamaru as he slipped an arm around her waist, she smiled some and rested her head on his shoulder. “What’s wrong, Phoenix?” he asked, rubbing her arm as she sighed some. Shrugging, she looked down and frowned some.

“I’m not sure. I don’t exactly feel myself today is all.” She said, then looked at him with a small smile before sighing again and just holding him close. She was glad she fit so perfectly and comfortably against him, it felt right to her. Closing her eyes, she just let her mind wander for a while, wondering what to do now. When she opened her eyes, her and Shikamaru were sitting on the couch in her house, everyone now gone and the house clean.

“What happened?” She asked as she yawned and rubbed her eyes. Shikamaru smiled and kissed her cheek, tapping her nose lightly.

“You fell asleep, so everyone went home to let you rest. You can see them all tomorrow, if you want.” He replied, holding her close still. Smiling, Phoenix nodded and yawned again, closing her eyes and just resting against him. She hadn’t slept much while with Orochimaru, seeing as she thought he was going to try and touch her in her sleep, which he tried a few times, but never got close enough before she lashed out at him.

When she woke up again, she was in her bed, Shikamaru lying next to her. Smiling, she shook her head and kissed his cheek before getting up and going to the bathroom. Then, she got dressed and brushed out her hair before Shikamaru woke up. “Morning, sleepy head.” She said, smiling over at him as he stretched. He smiled and sat by her. Getting behind him, she took his hair tie out and let his hair fall loose around his face, smiling at the silky strands running through her fingers.

“You should keep your hair down more.” She suggested, getting a shrug from him as she brushed out his hair. Once she was done, she put his hair back up again and hugged him from behind. “Now, it is time for some easy training to get my body used to moving like it used to.” She said, laughing as she took his hand and rushed to the training grounds. She seemed well enough, but her movements were off, she could tell.

Taking a deep breath when they got there, she closed her eyes and shook herself out before she started to train. After a few hours, she was back to her old self, glad she had decided to do this today. She felt as if she had so much more energy now and could keep going for twice as long, but Shikamaru stopped them for lunch. After eating, they returned to training, seeing as exams were in a week or so, from what they’ve heard.

Stretching when she got home, Phoenix smiled and laughed at Guy and Lee. Shaking her head as they fought over something, she started on dinner. Lee came up to her while she was stirring the broth.

“You seem to be doing well now, Phoenix.” He said, making her look at him. Smiling, she nodded and laughed again.

“I am, thank you, Lee.” She said, ruffling his hair some. She got a blush out of him as he rushed off again. Once dinner was done, she set their bowls up and poured the soup she made for the night into the bowls after setting up the little meats, fish, and vegetables on the table. As they ate, they nibbled on some of the meats and things, laughing and talking about everything and nothing.

After dinner, Phoenix headed up to her room after taking a shower. Once she was ready for bed, she slipped under her covers and quickly fell asleep, still healing her body from the immense chakra she used the other day. She slept peacefully, though, thinking of the exams that were the following week. She would have to train twice as hard this whole week to be able to get up to her normal levels.

That wouldn’t be too hard, though, and she knew she could do it. So, when morning arrived, she started her intense sessions of training her body and working it up to its normal fighting status. In no time at all, she was up to her original self and strength.

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It’s the end of the chapter, oh no!!! What will happen next during the exams, I wonder? Read on to find out!! :P

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I’m sure the next chapter will be very exciting. Haha. xD