Our Dependence

Chapter Fifteen: Inquiry

Chapter Fifteen: Inquiry

The village he stood in was long abandoned after the Fourth Ninja War. The buildings were ransacked, boards covered the windows and the hollow sounds of the wind moving through the empty buildings added to the ghost town like feeling the place had to offer. Sasuke clutched the bag that hung over his shoulders closer, his eyes narrowed to stop the dusty wind from entering his eyes.

Looking around, he caught sight of a shadowy figure.

He has been travelling for three, maybe four days now, searching for answers to his questions. He's met his fair share of people during his years with Orochimaru, and that roster only grew larger and larger as the years passed. Many of those people were merchants, gossipers, anyone who could tell him what he wanted based on their own observations and life experiences. Some of the harder to find people were old medics, those who practiced the art and stayed silent.

He had no doubt they could also rival Tsunade had they been ninjas, but that was only a guess.

Following the barely visible figure through the darkened alleyways, the sun setting quickly, Sasuke pressed his back against the wall as he moved under a leaning concrete wall. On the other side was a rather intact building that looked as though it was built a few years ago — after the war.

Dusting his hands against his pants, he put his bag down and settled for the night. He knew that they were here, and they were waiting for him. Making them wait a couple more hours was fine [to him], so he made a small dinner and ate before going to bed.

Since the place was practically hidden, and the gloominess of the city warded off any wanderers, he slept easy that night. Only waking up when he felt the soft steps of a small animal, Sasuke opened his eyes to see a rabbit staring at him curiously.

Its fur was white with black spots, its brown eyes watching him as he sat up and stared back. Standing on its hind legs, it wiped its face and wiggled its nose.

"You must be Ryū." He stood up.

The rabbit perked up at the sound of its name, walking closer to him and stepping on his foot before turning around and leading the way to a small crack in the floor. Sasuke looked around but followed nonetheless.

The crack was a hidden compartment that opened a latch leading into a dark underground passageway. Picking up the rabbit, Sasuke made his way down the ladder and closed the door behind him.

The lights in the hall seemed to have sensed his presence, the torches lit up instantly as he began his long trek down the winding hallways. The rabbit stayed cradled in his arms, barely making a sound as it hit his arm to let him know when to turn or not.

In a few short minutes, he stood in front of a larger door, the light illuminating from underneath was very bright. Not being one to knock, he twisted the knob and entered.

He had walked into a completely different forest — or the illusion of one. Setting the rabbit down to run in the meadow, Sasuke looked around, wondering where the little old woman could be.

"Glad to see that you're awake."

The door closed behind him, barely startling him as a short woman walked past him while humming. Her hair was pitch black, although her age was that of the Third Hokage had he been alive.  She turned to him and raised her eyebrow, asking him a silent question as she kept walking.

"What can I do for you?" She smiled her old toothy grin as she picked some leaves off the tree and twisted them into origami pieces.

MeiMei was her name, that was all he knew about her — besides the fact that she had a speciality in medicine.