The Butterfly: Chapter 5 of 23

[Tea Leaf]

Same nots as always apply, for details see chapter 1. This chapter is a little shorter unfortunately but the next one will be of normal length. The lyrics used as from "Round Here" by The Counting Crows. Enjoy and R&R, thx ^_^

Disclaimer: Nope, I don?t own Naruto. Please don?t sue.

The Butterfly: Chapter 5
By: Tea Leaf / Banana Soap

~~~

The sky was that inky blue black of midnight. A small spattering of cold stars peeked out from behind the dissipating storm clouds.

It had been raining again.

The moon was missing from the sky; she guessed it was renewing itself.

Alone, she sat outside of the lingering light of the campfire and the noise of the tribe. A thin piece of charcoal was in her hand, a faded sheet of thick paper rested on her knees. Her eyes were numb as the words flowed to the page.

//Step out the front door like a ghost
Into a fog where no one notices
The contrast of white on white//

She couldn?t tell if the words were hers or if they were from something long forgotten. All she knew was that she felt relieved to write them.

//And in between the moon and you
Angels get a better view
Of the crumbling difference
Between wrong and right//

Her inner self sneered slightly now, too cynical for the imagery of angels.

//And I walk in the air
Between the rain
Through myself and back again
Where? I don?t know//

She looked up to where the moon should be. There was only darkness but it was a quiet darkness. She felt calm.

She folded the paper, stashing it back into her pack with the charcoal. She then leaned back, untroubled green eyes watching the sky.

There were steps coming from her left. She didn?t look; she didn?t want to talk to anyone right now.

?Ah, new girl!? Came a slightly slurred voice.

She didn?t react.

?You?re quite the pretty little thing you know. A little scrawny but you?ll do.? The voice continued as a hand reached out towards her.

She caught it and pushed it back until there was an audible snap.

The man cried out in sudden pain.

?You bitch! You?ll pay for that!? He roared as he tried to lunge at her.

He passed right through her shadow clone, reducing it to mere wisps of smoke. The real her sat undisturbed in the tree, simply waiting for him to leave.

She didn?t like fighting the gypsies.

The man looked around in a rage and then sudden fear, as he believed she had disappeared.

She sighed.

{Well, at least the men won?t harass me of they think I?m a witch?} her inner self commented.

Her outer self simply watched as the man with the broken wrist ran back to the camp then she turned her eyes back to the sky.

~~~

Gaara walked slowly down the trail. He always walked slowly; he didn?t believe in haste. He was a young man with all the time in the world on his hands and so he used it.
He was heading to the leaf village, he had a feeling that Sakura could use some support around now.

Last week had been the anniversary of her parents? deaths. Next week would be the anniversary of Kakashi?s disappearance.

She tended to get a little desperate around this time.

~~~

He glared at Hinata as she apologetically force-fed him some ramen. Naruto had him in a body-lock hold and was plugging his nose so that he had to open his mouth to breath.

?Well, if you could just be bothered to eat on your own we wouldn?t have been brought to such drastic measures.? Ino said tartly from the door.

He simply glared. He didn?t want food.

?Man, this is such a pain. I should be training not baby-sitting Uchiha.? Shikamaru muttered under his breath.

Ino gave him a swift kick in the shins and a ?smarten up? glare. Shikamaru kept his muttering to himself.

?So Sasuke-kun, have you heard anything from Sakura?? Ino asked brightly.

Sasuke?s glare deepened and he clamped his mouth shut before Hinata could shove the next bite in his mouth.

?Heh, I swear Ino, sometimes you?re such a blonde.? Shikamaru said snidely with a smirk.

Flames flared in her eyes and this time she gave him a swift kick somewhere a little more painful.

Hinata tried her best to keep a straight face, Naruto looked traumatized and Sasuke was turning blue.

?Ah, Sasuke! Open your mouth, you?ll suffocate!? Hinata exclaimed, her voice slightly louder than usual.

Sasuke simply glared.

?Open your mouth you moron!? Naruto piped in.

Sasuke continued to glare, turning bluer and bluer.

?Oh Naruto, just let go!? Ino said crossly, still stinging from Shikamaru?s comment.

Naruto held on for another second before finally relenting and letting go.

Sasuke?s colour returned to normal as he took deep breaths from his nose.

Hinata sighed; they wouldn?t be able to get any more food in him now.

?Well, I guess that?s enough for today. But we?ll be back tomorrow to check on you!? Hinata told Sasuke sternly.

He rolled his eyes and looked away.

Naruto glared at him and punched him in the arm. No one rolled their eyes at his girlfriend, not even Uchiha Sasuke. Hell, ESPECIALLY not Uchiha Sasuke!

Sasuke bit his lip to stop from reacting, the bastard had charlie-horsed him.

Finally Naruto let go of him and he collapsed on his bed again, easily finding the deep groove his body had formed after days and days of immobility.

The group sighed collectively. At least Sakura had put some effort into living, Sasuke was just wasting away.

Hinata stood and cleared up the dishes from the food they?d been forcing on Sasuke.
Naruto went over to Shikamaru to help him up now that he was recovering from Ino?s kick.

?Remind me not to crack blonde jokes about Ino again.? He muttered.

Naruto chuckled ?With the amount of pain she?s put you through because of them, it should be conditioned into your brain by now.?

Shikamaru grinned ?Well you know me, I like to live dangerously.? He commented sarcastically.

Hinata laughed softly, Ino rolled her eyes. Sasuke ignored them.

?See you tomorrow Sasuke-kun? Ino called as they left.

{Finally, some peace and quiet.}

~~~

Rafael bit his lip. He was torn. The fellow members of his tribe had come to him with legitimate complaints against Sakura. She didn?t do the women?s work that was expected of her and she?d injured several of the men who had tried to make her comply, they also seemed to believe she used witchcraft.

But the fact of the matter was, the only women?s chore she wasn?t helping out in was something women like her weren?t expected to do. She was from a society where women were people, not items as they were in this tribe. In her world, she was perfectly justified in defending herself against the male tribe members? advances.

But this wasn?t her world, it was his tribe. She?d joined it and she should have to abide to the same code of conduct as everyone else.

He sighed and looked over to where she was helping with the laundry. Her hair was pulled back into a braid; there were a few stray soapsuds on her cheek. Her skin had started to gain some colour from being outside and she was starting to get back to a healthier weight. She looked content participating in the menial chore.

He sighed again and turned back to the men he was conferring with, the most adamant faced him directly, his wrist in a split and a vicious gleam in his eyes.

As much as he didn?t want to have to sacrifice her like this, if he didn?t there?d be anarchy in the tribe and probably a violent revolt. It was the physical well being of one versus the physical well being of many.

With a pained expression he nodded.

The men grinned evilly and he already regretted having made the decision.

[csmlee]

Here comes the storm... *cringes*

Reading this fic is like riding on an emotional roller coaster. :-? You get one happy, or at least funny, scene. And then it jumps to a scary and angsty one next. One minute, I couldn't stop snickering when Sasuke is being force-fed by his friends. And then the next minute, I was sitting on the edge of my seat, hoping that Sakura gets out of whatever trouble Rafael's men had planned for her.

[Tea Leaf]

ah, I love hearing people's reaction to this stuff!

The rolelr coaster is half intentional, I don't want the whole fic to be dark because then it becomes too depressing and difficult to read and can turn people off reading it. Its difficult to write nothing but darkness too, it starts to feel unjustified to me after a while. So I like to toss in a little humor to break the monotony and make it more fun to write too.