Sakura, Strong like no other [Editing]

Chapter Twenty Two: Lucky Team 7

I was back at my house, the room was dark but the moonlight that shone through the window illuminated  a horrid scene. 

Two bodies, covered with fresh wounds that left them covered in blood. Their hauntingly familiar features stared at me, their desperation to cling to life slowly fading away as they welcomed oblivion. 

"Mom, Dad..." I whimpered. 

There was blood, the heavy dark red metallic liquid was everywhere. 

On the wooden floors I learned to walk on, on the curtains I used to hide behind while playing hide and seek and even on the lamp my Dad used as his reading light. 

It was all over me, I could feel it weighing me down. It made my stomach curl. I couldn't stop shaking, the images of the torture and the sound of their screams echoing in my buzzing mind. 

I wanted to just fade away-

'GET A GRIP OUTER! ITS NOT REAL! YOU'RE NOT THERE! NO ONES DYING!'

I blink and shake my head. I find myself back in reality. My hand shook from the memory and ran it through my pink hair, trying my best to clam down. I look through the foliage of the trees and stared at the wooden log that was pelted in shuriken and kunai.

'A substitute? But the blood...'

I barely hear Naruto's loud yelling about how Sasuke had gone too far as he wiggled about in the air, still suspended from Kakashi's trap. And as for Sasuke... well, she didn't really know. All I could figure was that he had fled from his previous hiding spot and was now on the run. He obviously realized that after throwing his mini arsenal at our 'beloved' sensei, he had revealed his location. 

But I wasn't paying much attention to that at the moment. 

'Had... I imagined it?'

The thought unsettled me

'There's no time to be worrying about that! We've got some bells to snag and a test to pass! So don't go all PTSD on me!' My inner self explained, her voice left no room for argument.

Right the bells, I had nearly forgotten.

I turned my attention back to Naruto, who was struggling to get himself free from the snare trap he had oh so stupidly walked into. 

'Outer. No. We can't waste time helping Naruto, we have to get those bells or else we'll fail! Do you want to fail? To our parents down again?' 

The last part made me hesitate, Inner just sailed into treacherous waters. And damnit all to hell, she knew that struck down deep. 

'So what? We're just going to leave him there?'

'Yes! Look, don't argue with me. Just go hunt down Kakashi and-'

'No.'

There was a pause, 'What?'

'You heard me,'

'Are you sure? Cause I could have sworn you just denied me,'

'I did. We're going to help Naruto,'

'Are you stupid or something? Freeing that idiot from such a basic trap is a waste of time. Now I let you refuse my other suggestions but this one-' Inner let out a bitter laugh, the sound startled me. 

'THIS ONE IS NOT UP FOR DEBATE!'

My whole head started to pound with a splitting headache, it was like something was making my mind shake like an earthquake. I barely managed to stay on the branch I was perched on.