Hate at first sight

Chapter 9

Hours passed and Mei lost track of time. She felt uneasy as there seems to be nothing wrong with her body but she knew that she could die any moment now. She doubted that they were lying to her about the self-destruct feature of that seal inside of her. She never knew how much, much worse the ticking of the bomb was rather than the actual explosion. She didnt know when it was going to come and what exactly was going to come but she knew it was going to and it irritated her.

"Hey, cant wait for the grand finale?" The blond man smirked as he came out of the shadows followed by a companions who surprisingly looked 13, quite young to be part of a S-ranked criminal organization, Mei thought. He had black hair that reached just before his shoulders and deep violet eyes. Mei looked at him hard and questioned herself if he knew the boy. He seemed to be familiar like it was someone she knew or someone she doesn't remember. She knew that his face was somewhere at the back of her mind and it was there for a reason, she just couldn't tell why or how.

The blond man held up his right hand and yellow lightning crackled around it. He smirked at Mei and she simply glared at him while preparing herself for the shock that she knew was going to come. Fortunately, it never did as his companion scolded him, "Raiton, we need her."

"I know that Kurai. That's the only reason why I haven't killed her yet." The man now identified as Raiton growled. Mei ignored the man and focused on the boy with him. She couldnt shake of the irritating feeling that she knew the boy. Even his voice was familiar as if she'd heard it before. Having enough of it, she decided that it probably wouldn't hurt to simply ask.

"Do I know you?" I inquired as she tilted her head to the side a bit, looking at the boy, now identified as Kurai, curiously. All signs of hatred and annoyance had left her expression and was replaced by curiosity. The boy's jaw tightened and he seemed to have been upset though there was a ghost of disappointment in his eyes.

Mei shut her eyes and pressed her back hard against the wall as she felt a painful and indescribably pain run through her entire body. It lasted only for a few seconds but it didn't make it feel any less painful for her. It seems that he had released the bomb that was inside of her for a few seconds before having it return to its normal countdown.
Mei then concluded that this was the boy who placed the seal on her and that he would be able to do this to her multiple times but she wouldn't die, not once.

Mei simply shook her head and put that little bit of information aside. She knew there was a bigger problem to deal with and one of them would be the reason why she wasn't dead yet. She was quite famous with the organization already and for all she knew they wanted her dead so why was she still alive? And thats when it hit her, the reason, her purpose to them but instead of being troubled, she was more at ease and a bit amused at the idiocy of the organization.

She supposed she was being used as bait to catch her but if Mei didn't know any better, the moment that kunoichi steps foot into this place, not one of them will make it out alive, not unless we let them.

~*~

Time passed by, more than Mei could keep track off. She was t quite used to being held hostage and though it may seem quite inappropriate at the moment, she couldnt help but feel bored. There was nothing for her to do and she couldn't stand it. She decided she might as well try something.

"Why do you look at me like I ruined your life?" She asked Kurai dully who was the one that was watching over her at the moment. "I don't know if I do know you but you do seem familiar. I don't remember a name "kurai' though."

"I'm not surprised." The boy replied, disdain clear in his tone. He didnt exactly want to reply or talk or even look at the girl that was shackled to the wall before her but he couldnt help himself. He always ended up saying something though he didnt want to.

"Are you sure? It looks as if you half-expected me to be surprised you're here when you came out with your comrade." Mei pointed out. The boy stood up and slowly walked towards her. She could practically feel death slowly coming for her but she remained composed as she kept her eyes on his.

"Are you someone I use to know? Or did I just forget you?"
"Am I supposed to know who you are?"

With that last question, Kurai stopped walking and stood before her while she felt the pain travel inside her body. She thought that she had braced herself for it but she was clearly mistaken as her lip bled from biting it, trying to keep her shriek in. The pai. Lasted longer but she was able to adapt. She opened her eyes and was able to control herself a bit. Even with all the pain she was feeling, she was still able to land a half decent kick on the boy and perform the seal for a shadow clone. Three clones appeared out of nowhere and went for the boy.

"Damn you..." He hissed as he dodged an attack and went to defend himself, causing the pain to stop while Mei collapsed to the ground and gasped for breath. She just guessed that the seal was partially in active or weaker when she was being tortured and so she would be able to use some of her chakra. She was just lucky that she wasn't wrong or gods knows what would have happened then.

Much to her dismay, her clones didnt last as long as she hoped they would considering more rogue ninja came. They kept her clones busy which left Kurai free. He walked towards her and grabbed her hair, pulling it up so she was facing him. "Ive had enough of you. I'm sure you already noticed that I can do this as many time as I want without killing you." He hissed and Mei released a pained shriek as she tried her best to struggle under Kurai's grasp. She knew it was only going to make things worse but she couldnt stop herself. It annoyed her how utterly helpless she looked but it wasn't like she can do anything at the moment. She was dying but she wasnt. She was being pushed to death but just when she thinks itll be over, she's pulled back.

The pain stopped abruptly as something seemed to have caused kurai to let go of her. Soon after that he was thrown back and she fell but she didn't hit the ground. Her vision was blurred and her head spun. She couldn't really identify anything around her for a few moments but she felt like she was lying down on someone. She closed her eyes and composed herself before opening her eyes once more to see that she was lying on someone. Needless to say, she was quite shocked to see that the one she least expected was the one who caught her. She would have argued but she didn't have much time left. She simply shook her head and told the boy to go. He hesitated and scowled at her before standing up and fighting of the rest of the Shinobi that have emerged from deep within the cave.

Mei simply sat up and leaned against the walls. Her hands were free but she still felt a bit lightheaded. The seal was still active inside of her and she was unarmed. She knew she wouldnt do much help so she decided to sit back and stay out of everyone's way until the kunoichi she was waiting for arrived.

"Well well, I see a group of Shinobi came a bit early. I don't see a kid or the scrolls." A voice stated as a figure emerged from deeper into the cave.

"We---" "What's this? Everyone's gathered here...Did I come a bit too late, Mei?" A female voice cut off Kakashi just as he was about to say something, catching everyone by surprise. A kunoichi who was wearing an ANBU uniform without the mask appeared from the shadows on the cave, with a smirk on her face. She had red hair that was let down and emerald eyes like Mei.

Mei shook her head lightly and chuckled. "You can say that, oneesan."