Into The Night

They work in complete silence. Sakura leads. After all, it’s her mission, Kakashi is simply her back-up (and examiner – but she refuses to think on that.)



Her first kill of the night is a young guard, a boy no more than eighteen, his eyes keener than she would have wished. He saw her and had to die, simple as that. His neck breaks quickly, almost silently, under her strength and she carries him to the roof, hiding his body from view.



They move deeper into the compound, bypassing many more guards, all of them young – younger than Sakura. From the mission details, she knows this is one of the reasons the Mark has to die. The word ‘paedophile’ hangs in the forefront of her mind, willing her on, hardening her heart against what has to be done.



They move silently through a room of sleeping children, her heart beating faster at the sight, and she stumbles at the exit. Kakashi grabs her arm to stop her fall, and his mask turns to hers. She can feel the unspoken question, ‘are you alright?’ in the silence as they stare at each other.



She shakes his hand off and they continue their hunt.



Two more guards have to die on the way – not through fault, but because they stand in the way and there is nothing else she can do. She makes it swift and causes no pain – as a medic, she knows how – hiding their bodies before moving on.



After a short while, her body takes over, muscles memory moving her forward, and her mind drifts. Kakashi’s fingers on her bare skin, his gloves damp with the new rain. His touch gave her pause, he hadn’t touched her since she was a child, not unless he had too.



She knew why. As his student, as a girl, it could have been deemed inappropriate – and despite his lackadaisical ways, he still paid attention to those kinds of rules. Even when she reached woman-hood, he had still kept his distance, contact happening only when forced, by herself or circumstances outside their control.



Her shoulder, where he had touched her, now burned with the sensory imprint of his fingers, the gentle, hesitant pressure.



Another guard died and she knew they were getting closer to their goal.



They turn a corner and pause. Missing-Nin. Not Bingo-Book material, but enough to make them both worry. If he has Missing-Nin as his guards, what are the chances he has Bingo-Book members as well? They are Rock and Sand ninja. Sakura has enough knowledge of both that she feels confident.



Kakashi goes left, after Sand; Sakura heads right, after Rock.



The silence is broken as the Rock-Nin collapses a wall, his earth-shattering jutsu probably waking the whole compound. Sakura feels anger trying to take hold of her, but pushes the emotion back. ANBU feel nothing.



The chunk of ceiling aimed for her head is nothing, her padded fist shatters it to dust and she launches herself at the Rock-Nin. His skin hardens an instant before her fist connects. She still manages to send him through a wall.



Sakura pulls her Tonfa – specially made for her alone, an alloy created to withstand her incredible strength – and he dies. She wipes the metal on his body, clearing it of blood and turns to find Kakashi watching her.



They regroup and continue on their way. The Mark will be harder to find now, the compound has been alerted to intruders. More young guards die and as she slices the throat of a girl no older than Hinata’s younger sister, Sakura finds her mind drifting once again to the touch.



The compound is littered with bodies by now. Not a word has passed her lips since entering, but she can feel them pressing against her teeth. She wants to scream. She wants to weep. She has killed children here tonight and she wishes, silently and deeply hidden in her heart, that she was no Kunoichi, but just a civilian like her parents.



But she continues on. This must be done and it must be done tonight.



She finds her Mark.



He is standing in his room, dressed only in yukata, a child clutched to his chest in mockery of the paternal embrace. The child is no more than four, gender indeterminate, naked. Crying. He holds a Wakazashi to the child’s throat, falsely believing that this will deter her from her mission.



She pauses and he sneers, obviously believing she is about to give in. In a matter of seconds, she is behind him. She grabs his wrist in one hand and crushes it, his bones and flesh turning to so much bloody pulp. The Wakazashi hits the floor and she breaks his neck.



The child has started sobbing by the time Kakashi enters the doorway. Sakura has wrapped it in a blanket pulled from the bed.



He takes a step forward and the senbon miss him by mere inches. They do not miss Sakura.



Before she even knows what has happened, a new Missing-Nin has entered the room, from a hidden door behind her. She turns her head and recognises him – this one is Bingo-Book material. The Village Hidden in Mist lost this one two years ago. He was their best Medic – thus their best Poison expert.



She pulls the senbon from her throat and shoulder, throwing them to the floor, away from the child. She blinks, feeling something crawl through her veins, but nothing she recognises.



Kakashi destroys his disguise, but it doesn’t matter, as he pulls Chidori and the Missing-Nin is dead. Sakura blinks again, there is something off about Kakashi’s body-language. He was far too rash in revealing his most well-known technique, and there is still something in his stride as he pulls her to her feet.



The silence is broken, “Are you alright?”