Crashing Currents

Defection

Sarah sipped on a coffee cup as she admired the scenery around her. She was currently in a quaint cafe located somewhere outside the Land of Fire. The village was small and cozy, merchants and vendors outside selling products as civilians went around and did whatever tasks they needed to get done for the day. Nobody batted an eye to Sarah - she was practically invisible to them.

Wearing a large tan cloak and covering her Byakugou seal with her bangs, Sarah was contempt with her temporary disguise. She'll have to dye her hair soon and get out of these clothes - a simple collared purple qipao top with white accents and long sleeves, baggy hakama pants that were mostly shoved in the insides of her shinobi footwear. Her short purple hair cascaded down her face, blocking her gaze as she stared down at the cup of black coffee in her hands.

It's only been a day since her defection from Konoha. Soon they'll get the news of her defection and she'll be in bingo books all across the great shinobi nations. Byakugou no Sarah, former Konoha medic-nin and ANBU member; wanted for treason against her nation.

She knows her former team would try everything in their power to bring her back to the village. Naruto never gives up; he sees the good in everyone, including their enemies. Sasuke and Kakashi would just go along with him despite their and her bonds being severed a long time ago. They probably want to hear her reason behind her actions. Sarah doesn't mind telling them... when the time is right.

Setting her cup of coffee down on the table, Sarah shunshinned towards the outskirts of the village. She headed towards a nearby inn and gave the keeper some money, swiftly snatching the keys from his hands as she made her way up to the room. It was just a simple one bed-one bathroom. The walls were cream colored and the floors were made up of some wood...oak, she believes.

Sarah dropped her cloak on the bed, the fabric crumpling as she took in a deep breath. She had been running ever since her defection, and though her body could handle the physical exhaustion, the mental strain was another thing entirely. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she let her bangs fall in front of her face, uncovering the Byakugou seal that she had carefully hidden from the world. A part of her knew it was only a matter of time before the village discovered her betrayal. The minute they knew, the hunt would begin—ANBU and ROOT alike. Danzo's eyes would be on her, hungry to eliminate the threat she posed. She was too dangerous to remain alive, too much of a liability. Konoha would either kill her or imprison her for treason, the crimes too significant to be ignored. She had crossed too many lines, burned too many bridges.

She couldn't let that happen. Not now, not when her plans were just beginning to unfold.

"What's your plan?" Nemuri's voice echoed in her mind, her ever-present companion, a voice that had comforted and urged her forward when she was teetering on the edge of doubt.

Sarah stood up, stretching her limbs as she answered, "I'm going to lay low for a while. Let the heat die down. Bide my time."

She walked toward the window, gazing out at the quiet village below, the shadows of the night beginning to creep in. "I need to get stronger—master this new ability of mine. I can't act until I know how to fully control it."

"And Zabuza and Haku? What do they have to do with your grand scheme?" Nemuri's tone was playful, curious.

"They owe me a favor," Sarah said simply, turning away from the window. "And I intend to cash in now. Traveling alone is dangerous enough, but traveling with two S-rank shinobi will make my movements more secure. I can trust them, at least for now."