The Butterfly: Chapter 9 of 23

[Tea Leaf]

Hey, dorry for taking so long with the editing of this one, I got caught up in this other Naruto fic I'm working on called "Hindsight's 20/20". I haven't posted it here yet, but I will soon. If you're interested though, it's currently up in the Naruto rated R section on fanfiction.net.

Anyways, here's chapter 9. I'm going to go work on chapter 10 immediately, and chapter 11 right after that so those two should be up today as well.

Disclaimer: No Naruto still isn?t mine I?m just borrowing the characters for this story.

The Butterfly: Chapter 9
By: Tea Leaf / Banana Soap

~~~

The rain felt good.

She was resting again or rather her body had collapsed again. She nibbled on some food. She hated it. It was like ash in her mouth but she chocked it down anyway. She couldn?t die from hunger now, not when she was this close.

Tomorrow, tomorrow she?d arrive.

Her stomach knotted as she swallowed another dry bite of some anonymous food. Her gut clenched painfully. It wasn?t used to food.

She felt sick. Her head was spinning. She leaned back against the tree she was ?resting? at. Her left leg was upraised, her left arm resting on the knee. Her right leg was stretched out in front of her; its bonds were becoming painfully tight.

It was swollen.

She suspected she might have broken it more. But she wasn?t focused on that wound.

She was staring at her left forearm. More specifically at the kunai still imbedded in it.

The edges of the wound were full of puss and dirt; the area surrounding it was an angry red. It was obviously badly infected.

Still she didn?t touch the kunai.

The swimming in her head turned to spinning and the blankness turned to fog as black spots obscured her vision familiarly.

She was really sick.

She heaved forward then as her stomach rejected the food it had been demanding from her for days, expulsing the ash onto the ground between her knees.

Dry heaves wracked her fragile frame and her brittle bones rattled with the motion. Her broken rib screamed bloody murder in the form of pain.

Eventually the heaves subsided and she rested with her head between her now both upraised knees. Her elbows rested on her knees as her hands held back the straggly strands of hair that had fallen loose from the braid the nurses at the hospital had given her.

She was so pathetic. She was falling apart.

She wanted to rise, she wanted to keep moving forward but every time she collapsed it got harder and harder to get back up. It was harder and harder to take that first step.

She was so close and she was terrified.

What if it wasn?t him? What if it was? What would she say?

She closed her eyes and leaned back again, grateful for the rain that drowned out the smell of vomit and so kept her from repeating the exercise.

She closed her eyes and lifted her face to the rain.

She had to go.

He needed her; she could feel it in her gut, in her heart, in her mind. The closer she got the stronger the pull. Like gravity.

He was calling her, she was sure of it.

She placed her hands behind her, bracing herself on the trunk of the tree and pushed herself to her feet again. She managed a half step before she crumbled to the ground again.

The black spots were blinding her.

Again she tried to push herself back up but this time she didn?t even make it to her feet before she collapsed again.

The pain was gone now. She?d finally gone blind.

~~~

She smiled suddenly as she pulled a CD out of his extensive collection. Pink Floyd, The Wall.

Her grin widened as she placed it into the elaborate sound system.

Her teacher had pathetically outdated technology when it came to everything else, but his stereo was top of the line.

{Who would have thought he liked music so much?must go well with his reading} her inner self commented, her tone laden with innuendo.

Her outer self chuckled gently as she set the disk to track 5 and pressed play.

She vaguely wondered what his favourite song on the album was.

The chopper sound effects started then the yelling, then the drums, then the bass and the electric guitar.

Her head started to move with the sinister beat as she continued to browse the CDs of which he had hundreds.

?We don?t need no education?? she sang along as the music moved to its signature mellow motion.

?We don?t need no thought control.?

?No dark sarcasm in the classroom?

?Teachers leave them kids alone??

?HEY! Teacher! Leave those kids alone!? she sang a little louder as the band shouted it.

?Well if you insist.? Came a voice from behind her and she turned around in surprise to see Kakashi standing in the entranceway with his arms crossed and his visible eyebrow raised.

?Ah! Kakashi-sensei!? She said in an embarrassed tone as she blushed.

?Umm, welcome home?? she half asked with a nervous smile.

?Hmph.? Was his only response as he came fully into the room and walked over to the sound system.

To her surprise, instead of turning it off, he turned it up.

?If you?re going to listen to Floyd, at least do it at the proper volume? he said as the speakers blasted and he sang along to the chorus of ?Hey teacher! Leave them kids alone!? (now sung by children in the song) and he bopped his head to the beat as well.

?All in all, you?re just another brick in the wall?

She couldn?t help it. She just started laughing.

~~~

He was practically flying through the trees as he made use of all the speed he?d gathered over the years.

His sharingan eyes were activated, heightening his senses and making it easier to spot Sakura?s trail below him on the ground.

The trail was clearer now; he was catching up to her. She couldn?t be more than two days ahead of him now.

For the first time, he was almost glad she was injured seeing as it was really slowing her down and was making her trail easier to follow.

~~~

Shikamaru sighed as he stared at his clipboard.

It hadn?t been easy, it had been downright life threatening to be honest, but they?d done it.

Through a series of conditioning experiments conducted on the butterflies as well as dissection and a lot more biology than he ever wanted to do again, they had finally proven it.

The butterflies did think independently and they were not a typical summoning animal, as in they weren?t part of a separate realm of more powerful and godlike animals. Such as Gamabunta and his various underlings that Jiraiya and Naruto summoned were.

They were just normal insects.

However, it did appear that they were connected in a kind of hive mind sort of way. The thing was though that there didn?t appear to be any sign of one ?queen? butterfly that controlled the rest. It was more like they were once one consciousness that had dissipated and spread evenly throughout all of the butterflies as they reproduced and their population grew.

The mind had dissolved into basic instincts, the most prominent ones being possessiveness, self-preservation and protectiveness.

He had a huge report written up on how he believed that the butterflies must react to something in Sakura?s blood (point figured from the now several dead young butterflies around the puddle of dried blood on the window sill of Sakura?s old apartment).

The new tenant said that even though he?d cleaned the stain with bleach those butterflies kept coming back and so he had to keep the window shut all the time.

He now firmly believed that Sakura didn?t really control the butterflies at all. They had claimed her as their own and were very protective and possessive of her.

Gaara had told him that often when he?d been with Sakura, butterflies had tried to land on him. He?d been protected due to his sand of course but they hadn?t seemed to be attacking. It was more like they were trying to subtly kill him and make it look like an accident.

Shikamaru had thought Gaara was just being paranoid.

Gaara thought the butterflies could act out of jealousy.

Regardless, his mission was over and it had brought the results he?d expected.

{Today is good day} he mused to himself as he made his way to the Hokage tower.

~~~

The last bars of the song faded from her mind, as the fog faded from her brain.

She didn?t move for a long moment after regaining consciousness.

Finally she opened her eyes. It was still raining but it was dark out. She must have been out for several hours.

At least her body was slightly rested now and she could keep moving.

She pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the jarring pain from her arm, ribs and leg, and started walking again.

She had to keep going.

~~~

Tsunade frowned over Shikamaru?s report. This really changed everything.

If anything, it proved that Sakura was even more dangerous than originally thought because she wasn?t even the one in control.

She sighed as she dropped the report on her desk and leaned back.

She had to get a message to Sasuke somehow but she had no idea where he was and the trail would be long gone by now. She?d just have to hope his head was on straight when he found her (and she didn?t doubt for a minute that he would find her) and so didn?t kill her but simply brought her back.

{Phh, you?ve got better odds of Orochimaru coming back to life and apologizing} her inner self sneered.

?Ugh?remind me why I took this job?? she muttered.

?Because in all honesty, you have nothing better to do with your time.? A deep voice answered from the door. She could hear his smirk.

She looked up and glared at him, as was her custom.

Jiraiya grinned at her, as was his custom.

?What do you want?? she asked sulkily.

?Do I really need a reason to visit with my favourite childhood team-mate?? he asked, feigning a wound from her words.

?Yes.? She answered sarcastically.

His face fell and he gave her an annoyed look and sat down.

?Fine. Yes I do have a reason for being here.? He responded in a childish, annoyed tone.

?What is it?? she said also vaguely annoyed.

?About that girl?the little one. Are you sure Gaara?s the right person to take care of her?? he asked.

She sighed.

?No, I?m not sure. But he?s sure and I trust him.? She responded.

?Any word from the Uchiha kid yet?? he asked.

?No, nothing from him or Sakura. Why do you care?? she asked suspiciously.

?Honestly, I don?t. But that blonde kid does and its distracting him from his work.? Jiraiya answered as he stood.

Tsunade sighed again. Even Naruto was off kilter.

~~~

He paused to examine the scene. She?d been here, probably less than a day ago. She?d collapsed under the tree.

There was more vomit. It hadn?t all washed away yet.

She really was sick. He frowned as worry coiled in his stomach.

She?d tried to get up but she?d collapsed again only a few feet away. There was a deep indentation in the undergrowth. She?d lain here a long time; sever hours at least.

She?d lost consciousness.

She was getting worse again.

He took off, forcing his body past its limits as he pushed for more speed. He had to catch up to her. He had to find her. He had to help her.

Worry and fear for her were at the forefront of his mind but guilt was present in the shadows behind them. He couldn?t help but feel that this was all his fault.

~~~

She stood there for a long time. The hospital was ten meters in front of her and her feet were frozen to the spot.

This was it.

She bit her lip and took a deep breath through her nose and finally took a hesitant step forward.

And then another. And another. And suddenly she was running, heedless of her body?s protest.

At the door she hesitated again, but only for a second.

She rushed to the counter.

?I?I need to see?John Doe?869?? she forced out. She was out of breath and her voice felt awkward from so long without really using it. Her ribs ached with every breath.

The receptionist looked at her for a long time as though unsure whether to admit this filthy and infected girl.

There must have been some pleading desperation clearly visible in her face because finally the receptionist consented and gave her the room number.

She limped away from the counter, now that she was here, it seemed her broken leg had finally given up on her. She considered the elevator then took the stairs.

She was stalling, she knew. She couldn?t help it.

She was nervous. She was scared. She was light-headed and her skin felt too warm.

She limped to the sixth floor and eased the heavy door open with great difficulty.

She felt heavy. Her feet were dragging. Her limbs were falling limp. And still she moved on.

She came to the room and stopped. She swayed slightly.

There was something in the back of her mind pleading her to come forward, almost ordering her.

Her hand was shaking violently as it reached for the knob and after several unsuccessful tries, finally turned it.

The door, now unlatched, lazily drifted open on silent hinges.

The curtains on the window were drawn, but it was in the predawn hours so everything would have been dark anyway.

A faint glow came from a few monitoring machines by the bed, they were the only source of light in the room, and a steady beep echoed gently through the darkness. There was a curtain hiding the bed.

She limped over to it and her hand was still trembling so badly she could barely grasp it.

Finally she did and she took a deep breath in an attempt to clear her head and calm her nerves.

She only succeeded in sending a sharp pain through her torso as the breath disturbed her rib.

She pulled the curtain and with a noisy rattle it moved, revealing the bed.

~~~

He didn?t pause, he didn?t hesitate, he just kept running. He burst through the hospital door and ran to the desk.

With one hand he pushed his ANBU mask to the side, with his other he proffered the very worn and now water stained picture.

?Have you?seen her?? he ground out between laboured breaths.

The receptionist looked stunned.

?Yes, she came in about ten minutes ago? she responded.

?Where is she?? he burst out, ignoring the emotions that swelled within him. He?d finally caught up.

?She went to room 689? She started but he was gone before she could finish, already bounding up the staircase, taking the steps three at a time.

He shoved the door open on the sixth floor and paused briefly to consult the signs on the wall for the direction of the room and rushed off again.

The door was open.

He slowed. He walked silently to the door and looked in. He froze.

[amon59]

that was awsome thats all i have to say

[csmlee]

Sakura really has to start taking better care of herself! *weak-kneed at the description of her injuries*

?If you?re going to listen to Floyd, at least do it at the proper volume? he said as the speakers blasted and he sang along to the chorus of ?Hey teacher! Leave them kids alone!? (now sung by children in the song) and he bopped his head to the beat as well.

Kakashi loving rock!

Gaara had told him that often when he?d been with Sakura, butterflies had tried to land on him. He?d been protected due to his sand of course but they hadn?t seemed to be attacking. It was more like they were trying to subtly kill him and make it look like an accident.

That's scary!

Ya know, I do have to wonder about something... Gaara seemed pretty close to Sakura as well as Naruto and Ino. (And speaking of which, how the heck did Sakura end up being friends with Gaara? He almost killed her at one point of her life...) So why did she choose to walk down this path of loneliness when she had so many wonderful friends? She needs a counsellor to help her out of her shell... (Or better yet, Sasuke should be this counsellor. Though I highly doubt she'll listen, or even speak to him. )

And Sasuke... I highly doubt Sakura will acknowledge his efforts of trying so hard to find her. The poor boy... but he kinda deserves it because he was damn right for feeling that everything was his fault! :evil:

Human Interactions 101
Lesson #1: You never ignore a girl you like or you'll be plummetted to the ground by fangirls who like to see you paired up with said girl.