Scroll 1: The Lost Half

Discovered Bonds

·unedited·

Naomi stares down at the shivering body. Her only protection is a worn out cloth not passable for clothing. Naomi shifts her weight forward to help her old friend, but Akio beats her to it. He rushed to Masae faster than he did when Naomi and him reunited after 2 years. A similar feeling of second priority reaches Naomi.

And it hits her ego like a boulder. 

The redhead watches as Akio clutches his obvious beloved in his weakened arms. Roles have reversed. Naomi's eyes are as dry as the desert, and Akio's are drowning in the ocean. His lapsed breathes echo throughout the battlefield. The tears keep flowing despite the icy cold weather, dropping one by one on the corpse of the beautiful brunette.

His fingers find their way to her face. Its covered in dirt patches and bruises, creating new emotions inside Akio. Carefully skimming her skin, he moves the few strands of hair from her eyes, revealing the irritated skin under. "How, how could this happen? Why would you join with the likes of this bastard!?"

No response.

Naomi stands in silence, watching the scene unfold in front of her blues eyes. It's not until the shrilling pleas of help make her swivile her head behind. The two dirt balls remain intact and her teammates remain inside, suffering with every passing second. She sprints towards the spheres, body slamming into it when she comes into contact. 

"Hello, can anyone hear me?!" Naomi yells, slamming the shell with her palm repeatedly.

"Naomi?!"

"Daiza!" Naomi lets go the air she was holding, unaware she was holding her breath. "Is everything okay?!"

"No! It's stealing my chakra. I'm tired, and don't think I can stay awake any longer! Naomi, please, help me!" Daiza cries, smacking on the walls of the dirt. 

Naomi's heart rate rises, then she makes her way towards her other boy. "Neji? Neji?! Can you hear me?" The silence worries her, and she slams her palm on the sphere. "Hold on Neji! I'm going to get you out!"

A small mumble is heard, faint, but clear. That small mumble brings reassurance to her, and thinks of a plan.

Akio cradles Masae in his arms like a mother with her new born child. His grasp only gets tighter and tighter.

Naomi can suddenly feel the pressure pressing down. She turns to Akio who still caresses Masae and totally forgot about his teammates. "Akio! We need to find a way to cancel this jutsu!"

"What? It hasn't cancelled?" Akio turns his head to see the earth ball still intact. "I though jutsus were cancelled when the person is dead!?"

"Well, Masae may not be dead! We need her to wake up or we need to pass her on."

Akio anxiously shakes at the brunette and still no response. "Wake up Masae. You can do it. Do it for me."

Not a even a breath.

"Akio, we need to end her, now!" Naomi pleads, still trying to rip open the sphere.

He looks down at her disturbed face. He is unable to see her chocolate eyes. "I can't do it!"

"It's either an almost dead girl, or our alive teammates, Akio. You rather have 3 dead people or only one!"

"I can't do it Naomi! Don't you understand? This is no stranger to me, to us! She was a great friend, more than a friend for me!" Akio exclaims, throwing one hand towards Naomi. "I can't just kill her!"

"Well then, I... I will have to do it."

Naomi's hands tremble as she reaches for her kunai. The silver blade cannot compare to the fear rising in her stomach. She stares Akio down, decreasing the space between them. And even with the distance, she can also see the fear in his eyes.