Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the characters, concepts, names and related indicia. They are copyright (c) Masashi Kishimoto... I haven't looked at this fic for a LONG time. It's so weird to read how I wrote it, and then read part of Walkman, my latest fic. The difference in description is like... WOAH, hehe. Oh, and I have the last two chapters of this (written like the rest of them, not like my Walkman fic) that I'll post soon. :)
The shadowy figure of a kunoichi moved almost silently through the forests surrounding Konoha. She was dressed in a loosely fitted red and black uniform, and her face was covered by a hunter-nin mask. As she passed through the shadows, closing the distance between herself and the hidden village, her movements slowly became more erratic; she had been running for three days straight.
The ninja collapsed at the edge of a small clearing as the moonlight played softly against the hunter-nin mask. The top half of the mask was covered with dried brown blood, and the bottom was dripping with fresh blood. She looked down at the small puddle collecting around her knees, and coughed up some more, before passing out.
When she awoke about an hour later, the moon was still visible, but there was now a small line of hazey-white light coming from the horizon. Oh, shit, she thought. She struggled to her feet and forced her overworked body to stumble foreward. I wonder if they're still following me. I left an easy trail to follow, so I wouldn't be suprised.
Her condition was now easily visible in the approaching daylight. Her exposed arms were covered in serious chakra burns, and the fingers of her left hand all seemed to be broken. Her dark brown hair was tied up into a bun, and some loose strands were plastered to the mask. She was breathing heavily, and with every breath of the early winter morning, it was as if a thousand needles were being run down her throat and across her lungs. But she kept going.
She finally arrived at one of the walls surrounding the Hidden Village, and decided to use what little amount of chakra she had left to jump it. One more time she was forced to use her chakra, and as she landed on the top of the wall, she clumsily skidded to a halt.
Her prescence was immediately acknowledged by four of the Anbu guards, and as she struggled into a crouching position, the captain held a poised katana above her head. Some welcome Tsunade, thought the kunoichi. She held up her hands and slowly removed her weapons pouch, placing it on the ground before her.
The Anbu captain finally spoke up, "What business do you have in Konoha, Hunter-nin?"
The sudden noise drilled into her head, causing her sight to waver slightly. She caught her breath and finally managed to gasp out her first words in days. Her voice came out in a raspy whisper that felt like sandpaper grating against her throat.
"Go...Gomen...Please, I must speak with the Hokage. Please...Please take me to Tsunade-sama..."
The confused Anbu captain watched the shinobi collapse, before sending one of his men to fetch the medical ninja.
As the female ninja slipped away once more, away from the endless pain, her mind brought up a picture of the Hokage. Please...Please... Let me live through this one last thing at least...