Out of Place

Chapter22

Darkness consumed her senses. Her limbs were tense in preparation for the end of her fall. Not even the whistling that told of the speed of her drop provided any clues of when it might end. The weights she bore in hopes of providing her with a speedier descent were gripped tightly as she focused on the void surrounding her. At this point, Sakura wasn't even sure if she was still falling. Perhaps she had already met the ground and was now lost in the dark confines of death. She had at least expected to have come across the flickering light of the fiery beast who had dragged down the one she was praying to find, but alas, there was no such luck.

Perhaps somewhere in the madness that came with her unexpected arrival in this foreign land, she had grown reckless. Throwing herself into a deep chasm that appeared endless certainly wasn't something she could ever imagine her past self doing but maybe if it was one of her closest comrades she might have risked the fall. Going to such lengths to save someone she hadn't even talked to before, however? Well, she couldn't say she regretted it but could certainly see the foolishness of her actions.

She hadn't surrendered herself to the mighty pit with no plan though, she always preferred to be prepared even when she acted in the moment the back of her mind was always calculating, forming plans and working out which had the highest chance of success. She had left the kunai with the Hiraishin seal wrapped around it above the chasm for a reason after all and although transporting herself and the old man would take more out of her, even if they ran into a tricky situation she only needed to touch him and then they would be able to make a hasty escape. 

As she plummeted, her head was released from the confines of the hood that had been constantly tugged down to shield her bright colouring, her pink locks- much longer than she recalled, were held above her by the wind. She remembered the long and tense fall a mistake one of the shorties had made had caused, the loud clattering as bones and iron clashed and clanged against rock. She had estimated that the darkness that encompassed the gaps between rock and the underneath of bridges was deep but now its true size was revealing itself to her. Sakura hoped desperately that at the end of the fall- there was an end right?- was something that would soften the tremendous drop. She had been taught how to fall and land safely from a range of different heights, and had been trained to do so. The thought of the old and admittedly frail-looking man suffering such a blow did not fill her with confidence for she doubted he had the same knowledge she did.

Her vision was without any light to aid it, even with chakra, the kunoichi was unable to make out much. It was a mystery to her, how long she fell and how long her sight was lost to the dark. All too suddenly, she was blinded by a brilliant light that overtook her vision, her eyes watering from its harshness. The next thing she registered was a great heat and her form felt scolding as though the air around her was turning her skin to ash. 

She blinked her emerald eyes, gaze searching as she fought to adjust to the sudden change in lighting, mind focused on finding the old man. It was a difficult thing to do, the great size of the blazing beast distracting and making all in its surroundings appear like pebbles. Sakura spotted a figure that resembled the one she was looking for and managed to shift her form in a way that allowed her to descend towards it.

Upon getting closer to the one she was determined to keep from death, the seventeen-year-old was forced to dodge the flaming talons of the large brute. It seemed the demonic creature was still determined to ensure the death of the old man, or perhaps it had noticed her presence and wished to bat her away like she was an annoying fly. Well, either way, Sakura wasn't going to take kindly to such actions.

Unfortunately, before she could unleash the fury of her revenge, a sound met her ears, alerting her to the end of their drop. It seemed that at the bottom of the chasm, there was water, the quiet splish splash, driving her into action.