Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Catch a Thief ❯ Prologue ( Chapter 1 )

[ A - All Readers ]

Disclaimer: The characters of Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I’m just borrowing them to play with. I’ll put them back just as they were, promise.

Warning: This story is AU. Though I will be sticking to the original as far as certain aspects of Naruto are concerned, I will be changing others to better suit the storyline.

Catch a Thief-

Haruno Sakura did not know which terrified her more: the razor-sharp edge of the kodachi brushing her throat or the ruthless glare of the man who had shoved her against the trunk of the tree with the words, “Scream and I’ll cut your tongue out.”

The glare, she decided. The young man it belonged to did not seem inclined toward mercy, either given or received. He moved quickly, stealthily, as though accustomed to making his footsteps as noiseless as possible to avoid discovery.

A think diagonal scar marred his otherwise unblemished face. While it failed to detract from what might have been a handsome face in upper levels of society of Konoha, here in the dark forest, it perfectly accented the most frightening entity she had ever encountered.

The young man had covered his head with a dark blue scarf which dipped to cover his left eye; his silver hair stuck out at all angles from the scarf. His clothing was nondescript- of the sort she had seen her father’s servants or various lower-level ninja wear.

His sole visible eye belied his youthful appearance and hinted at a life that had known little except hardship. In spite of the heat, chills erupted along Sakura’s spine and caused her to shiver. She would not plead mercy. She knew compassion was not in his nature. By all appearances, he was as ruthless as the barbaric raiders who had attacked their camp.

He was, after all, one of them.

Sakura had been traveling through the forests of Konoha with her father. The current hokage had recently promoted him to position of ambassador to the Sand Village and assigned him the task of entering peace negotiations with the village. The hokage had suggested she go with her father as there would be no mistaking the peace talks for what they are- a good precaution considering the not too distant and often bloody history the two villages shared.

Sakura was fine with the suggestion, particularly when she found that as ambassador, her father would have to make the Sand Village home for the next few years to ensure the negotiations ran smoothly. Also, she and her father were still reeling from the unexpected death of her mother who had recently died in childbirth. Sakura was grateful to have an excuse to leave behind Konoha and her memories.

Despite her sadness, she had been looking forward to this adventure. As daughter to a high-ranking official of Konoha, she had never traveled very far outside the city walls. She found the journey satisfied a hunger she did not even know she needed filled. She fell in love with the clean, crisp air and soothing sounds of the forest. She had found a measure of peace.

That was before the raiders attacked. Sakura had heard the men in the camp talking about the different bands of raiders in low voices of obvious dread. The bank they most feared was the one led by Aka Shippei, a ruthless a man as ever roamed the forest. It was debated where he got his name from, but the popular theory was from his ghastly penchant for relishing the blood of his victims.

With the first attack, her father had shoved Sakura into a copse of trees where she was sheltered from most of the eyes of the raiders. She had wanted to defy him, but knew she would be no help in the fray. She knew only that the pointy end of the kodachi was the dangerous end.

She had scurried into the copse, located a short distance from the campsite, and crawled inside, pulling a few branches behind her. Hidden in the dark copse, hearing the sounds of battle, the crack of splintering wood, not knowing her fathers’s fate became too much to bear. Leaving the safety of the trees, she was ten feet from the clearing when the young raider came.

She had barely time to take a breath before he grabbed her and pushed her against the trunk of a tree, one hand clamped over her mouth.

Now, the distant sound of battle settled into an ominous hush. A heartbeat later, yells of triumph echoed through the forest. Sakura knew the fighting was over. Her heart sank with the knowledge. The raiders had won. All that remained was the pillaging, the looting, the destroying. She heard thuds, the crashes as the plundering began. All would be demolished.

And what of her father? Had they killed him? She had to know. If he was alive she wanted to feel his arms around her. And if he was dead or dying she wanted to wrap her arms around him, to offer what little comfort she could.

“Please-“ she began.

“Silence. I’ll not say it again. Hold your tongue or lose it.”

Slowly his gaze roamed over her face, almost as though he was trying to memorize it. Did they take women captives? Would they sell her into the slave trade or worse the pleasure slave trade? She had heard of such things, but she did not know if anything could be worse than being wedged between the tree and him.

His gaze dipped to the silver pendant that hung just below her throat. With his free hand, he slipped his fingers around it.

“No, please, I beg you. Have mercy. Don’t take it,” she said quickly, desperately, overcoming her fear of his threats to cut out her tongue. “It’s cheap, worthless.”

His gaze shot up, his eye boring into hers. “You dare defy me?”

Swallowing hard, fighting back tears, she shook her head. “I only wanted to explain.”
“You don’t want your tongue?”

“I want the necklace more.”

Her answer seemed to surprise him.

“Kakashi!” a far-off voice shouted.

The raider’s attention darted toward the clearing. Light peeped in from the heavy canopy of tree branches overhead. She could see the concentration in his face. She thought she might even have a chance of escaping. But before she could take action, he shifted his gaze back to her, and seemed more menacing than before. “I have to take something up or Aka Shippei will be down here himself. He’ll take far more than a worthless trinket.”

“Here,” she said breathlessly, holding up her right hand, showing him the ring she wore on her third finger. “Take it. It’s jadeitite, much more valuable.”

He narrowed his eyes as though hi did not trust her. She suspected raiders trusted no one.

“Why offer me that?” he asked, voice laced with suspicion.

“The necklace was my mother’s. She died recently and it’s all I have left to remember her by.”

“You want to remember her?”

It seemed an odd question.

“Of course. Why not?”

He looked on the verge of providing an answer before shaking his head and appearing to think better of it.

“I don’t believe you. If you want to get out of this with everything,” here he paused and raked his eyes up and down her body in a suggestive manner, “still intact, you’ll have to give me something with it.”

She swallowed hard at the thought of losing... anything, but she could not deny the truth. “I have nothing else.”

He grinned revealing beautifully even teeth. A grin more terrifying than his eyes or his dagger. “Oh, but I think you do.”

Before she could protest, he lowered his head and kissed her. Hard. On the mouth. She had never before been kissed like this. To her surprise, his lips were warm and eager. He tasted of... apples. Tart and sweet. She wondered if he’d been munching on one before the attack.

Then the kiss grew more passionate, more demanding. Her knees weakened and she found herself clutching him, in fear of falling.

For a moment, she almost forgot he was a raider.

“Kakashi Hatake! Where are you? If you were careless enough to get yourself killed, I’ll be drinking your blood with my supper to night!”

The raider drew back, grabbed her hand and yanked her ring from her finger. Chuckling as though he were privy to some immense joke, he stepped away from her, backing toward the clearing.

“A fair trade, mistress. I’m content with it.”

Pressing her trembling hand to her moistened lips, she stared at him. His laughter abruptly ended, his expression turned solemn and harsh.

“Now, hid until we’ve left,” he commanded.

He turned on his heel and disappeared back into the clearing. “I’m here, Aka! Nothing of value over there!”

Somehow, Sakura made it back into the copse without her quivering legs giving out. Once inside and with the branches pulled back securely over the entrance, she curled into a quivering ball. Tears burned her eyes.

She flinched every time she heard a crash or a bang. And she prayed desperately for salvation.

She did not know how long she waited, but eventually she became aware of the silence. And it terrified her. What could it mean? Had the raiders left?

She had just begun to peel back the branches to her hiding place when she heard footsteps crashing through the underbrush.

“Miss Haruno! Miss Haruno!”

She recognized the voice. Rock Lee. One of the younger ninjas in her father’s employ. He was not exactly handsome, but undeniably sweet. Although he seldom spoke to her, several times she had caught him watching her from afar when she was strolling through her mother’s gardens.

“Here! I’m here!” she shouted.
She was pushing back the last of the branches when they were thrown back for her and Lee’s face was in front of her, his expression serious. His clothing and face were streaked with blood.

“Your father sent me to fetch you,” he told her as he helper her clamber out.

Immense relief swept through her. “Oh, thank goodness. Is he all right?”

“He’s hurt but alive. The raiders set the tents on fire; we’re trying to put it out. Come, your father is anxious to talk with you.” He grabbed her hand. His legs were longer than hers, and she had a difficult time keeping up with his frantic pace as he tugged her through the trees. When they reached the clearing, she thought she might be sick. Mangled bodies lay everywhere.

“Don’t look,” Lee ordered.

How could she not? If she did not, she would trip over them.

He urged her to the north side, where her father was standing. When she finally reached him, she would her arms around him.

“You’re safe,” she whispered brokenly. “Thank goodness, you’re safe”

“They took the ivory chest, Sakura. The one the Hokage entrusted to me. She won’t like that.”

She knew the healing scrolls inside were to be used to help start peace negotiations between the Sand Village and Kohoha. The Sand Village was skilled in many jutsu, but in the art of healing, Konoha excelled.

Sakura pulled back. “What choice did you have? Surely she’ll understand, Father.”

But her father did not seem to be listening. He stared straight ahead, as though deep in thought.

As the men gathered what they could salvage from the campsite and prepared to push on toward the Sand Village, she thought of raider who had accosted her in the forest.

Kakashi Hatake. She would remember his name. And his face.

And worst of all, she would never forget his kiss.