The War Angel (A Naruto Fanfic)

Death Fingers

She passed over the threshold with fingers shaking so bad it felt as if it were about to fall off. Her mouth was dry as a desert, and she tried to swallow nonexistent spit but nothing worked. Her nervousness, or more accurately fear, had rid her body of that fluid but seemed to double in quantity the sweat pouring out of her body and the pee that was close to running down her leg.

The room was dark, as it usually was. There was but a lone candle sitting in the corner, coming to its last breath and not nearly enough to illuminate the room any further than its little section. The walls were dark, making the room more eerie. She took another step inside, her eyes darting from left to right, trying to spot a silhouette of the sort.

"Report."

She gasped and whirled around, facing the door she had just came through which was now closed. The silhouette was there, large and terrifying, backed up by another just a little way beside it, larger but not so terrifying. It was because she knew that the smaller figure was the one to be afraid of.

"Well?"

"I - I found her, m-master," she stuttered, holding her head down even though she could not be seen in the dark. It was her habit whenever she was near him.

"If you found her, why was I not reported to immediately? Your instructions were to find her, bring her back and make me know as soon as you two get here."

"A-about that-"

"Are you about to say that she isn't here?" The voice sounded curious, but she knew better. In a split second she could have her head on the other side of the room, separate from her body.

"I-I found her but ... but ..."

"Do you want to die?"

Her head shot up, eyes wide. "Huh?"

"Do you want to die?" The silhouette moved, launching itself from the door and walked slowly over to the dying candle. He stopped just at the outskirts, the light barely touching his face. "I gave you specific instructions. You must have wanted me to kill you since you didn't do what I told you to do."

"No! No ... I met her but ... but she had backup! Yes, that's right! There were ninjas surrounding her. This really old guy with wooden shoes was one. I couldn't reveal myself." The lie felt like poison on her lips but kept going. "I w-wounded her a bit, though."

His face shifted slightly upwards. "Wounded?"

"My needles. I broke her knee bones, pierced through her shoulder joints and cut her skin up, master. I kept myself hidden however, because I was ... I was just trying to send a message." She couldn't say that she had done all that to ridicule her. She would be dead before the words even left her mouth long.

"Fool." She looked up, surprised. "Those won't last long."

"I - pardon?"

The candle finally died, the wax now a sad puddle and the string laying half burnt. The room was plunged into darkness.

"You're a failure." A whoosh past her neck but she didn't stop to wonder what it was. She immediately fell to her knees, fear now racking her entire body.

"No! No, please! My needles! They're poison! They won't kill her but they will render her useless until it passes from her system. I'll go back and get her when she isn't being watched too closely and kidnap her. She won't fight back; she can't."

He was right before her. She didn't know how she knew. She couldn't smell him, see him or sense him. But he was there standing right before her.

After a long while, he finally spoke again. "Make sure not to fail twice or next time, I won't go easy on you."