𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐤𝐢 | ɴᴀʀᴜᴛᴏ

Survival Test: Threatening Failure

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'Where did he go?'

Right after that thought, a high-pitched scream echoed throughout the forest.

✧˖*°࿐

Sakura was a sobbing mess when she clung tightly onto Kazumi. The kunoichi repeated the words: "he's dead!" multiple times whilst she broke down against her.

Kazumi merely stroked the back of her head awkwardly, her attention focused on the forest around her. After hearing that high-pitched scream, she tracked down Sakura's position. The Haruno was trapped in a cruel genjutsu.

Kazumi had detected it with ease, releasing Sakura from the illusion. And for the past minute, she was dealing with a hysteric female.

Her mind was elsewhere from the jounin's words she'd repeatedly recall inside of her mind, "Looks like I'll deal with you later." She then bit the inside of her cheek.

That 'later' could be at any moment now...

"Kazumi, are you okay?" Sakura then asked softly, now wiping the tears that began to dry on her cheeks. 

She significantly calmed down, mostly due to Kazumi's laidback aura.

Kazumi snapped her head back down to Sakura, "Uh—Yeah." Her focused look turned up into a halfhearted smile.

"C'mon! We've got to find Sasuke-kun's body!" She suddenly grabbed Kazumi's hand, pulling Kazumi along with her as she ran ahead.

Kazumi was too far back into her deep thoughts to process this.

It would probably be best to stick close together, right?

She then had the idea of teamwork, though that was immediately waved away from her brain when she was reminded of her teammates' personalities. 

They'd instantly shut her down before she could even get the chance to explain. This made her tiredly roll her eyes back down from the clouds, now lifting a brow once processing her current situation.

Wait—Why is Sakura acting as if Sasuke died?

Kazumi's eyes diverted away from the ground and towards the kunoichi that tightly held her wrist.

"Sakura, I promise it's just an illusion —" Kazumi cut herself off when Sakura abruptly skidded to a stop, almost making the blonde collide her chest into Sakura's back.

She screamed bloody murder upon seeing Sasuke's body stuck inside the ground, "His severed head!!" Her grip on Kazumi was released when she dramatically collapsed — knees first — before falling completely unconscious to the ground.