His Gift to Her (Mary Sue Series)

Chapter 47

"There she is," the leader of the group whispered, gesturing hastily to Sakura. The pink-haired girl sidled up to her team leader and stared. There stood a teen girl with the familiar dark blue hair and blank eyes of grief.

"How are we going to do this?" Sakura whispered back anxiously. Sweat and fear gripped her as she stared at her ex-teammate.

Her team leader grimaced. "A sneak attack. We'll capture her first. According to reports, she's not willing to listen to anyone. If we can stop her movements, perhaps she can actually listen to us. Well, at least I hope she' not brainwashed or mind-controlled."

"Alright," Sakura nodded, eager for the worst and possibly the most important moment to be over with.

"No, you stay behind, Haruno-san. As a medical ninja, you have to be ready to heal those who have critical injuries as soon as possible."

"Right!"

Her team leader nodded once then turned to the entire group behind them. "Everyone, B capture formation! Minimize any and all damage as much as possible. Capture the target!"

"Hai!"

Sakura turned her attention to her ex-teammate and watched nervously as the Allied Shinobi Forces cautiously eased their way towards the teenager still standing silently.

The team leader signaled a new order, and the people at the front began to fan out around Qui. Strangely enough, however, Qui didn't move an inch. In fact, when everyone had picked up their pace and completely surrounded Qui, she still didn't seem to be fazed in the slightest.

"How long...do you think will it take for them to realize that this is a trap in of itself?" A soft voice questioned out loud.

Wait.

Sakura's eyes widened and she spun around to see Qui dropping one of the medics on Sakura's team. Sakura frantically looked about herself and realized among the Allied Shinobi Forces who had stayed behind, she was the only one left. Qui had completely wiped out half of the group without notice.

No.

"Qui!"

While anger exploded inside of her and overcame her own fear, Sakura roared and attack Qui with the intensity she never had before Qui's disappearance. Qui physically responded in kind, blocking Sakura's fist with her own attacks. Sakura was thrown back, away from the second group attempting to apprehend the clone of Qui.

"Sakura."

"Why are you doing this? Didn't you want to-to be, a, uh--"

"A historian? Yes. But I have a greater goal."

"What is it? Fame? Power? Money?" Sakura shot back but was met with silence. Qui rushed forward and fought Sakura, reading her movements and predicting her actions.

How is Qui reading my mind?! It's like she knows exactly what I'm doing next!

Throughout their fight, Qui was diligently analyzing Sakura's habits. A favored right fist and powerful left leg. An unconscious jerk of her chin told Qui exactly where she was aiming. But the most revealing habit was her eyes. Sakura's green eyes followed Qui's incoming attacks and the girl was easily distracted if Qui changed moves.

In just three minutes, Qui had won. She pinned Sakura down and rummaged in Sakura's bag and withdrew a poisoned kunai. "This should kill you soon enough. I'll leave you a thirty percent chance to live if your comrades can reach you in time. I'm also giving this chance so you can pass on my message to the Allied Shinobi Forces. Well...even if you don't live to tell my story, I really don't care."

Sakura has been forced down to the ground on her stomach with her own special kunai stabbed into her left arm. She fought against the paralytic poison, but Qui pressed her foot harder against her back, waiting for the poison to sink in and take effect.

"W-why?" Sakura whispered weakly, unable to do or say more.

Qui didn't answer immediately. When she did, however, her voice was soft but stern. "You're very smart, Sakura, but you're also naive. You often see the reason to fight but not often do you think clearly about the consequences in the end."

Here, Qui paused and Sakura strain against her muscles to say, "Your'n...U...chi...yah."

Qui snorted. "I'm a weapon. It hardly matters if I'm an Uchiha or not. If I have potential and power, then my future is already laid out. If I didn't have power or potential, I would have been...maybe killed. Uncle Igo once told me about Uchiha Itachi and his life as a double agent for the Konoha government.

"If the Elders decided my name wasn't worth anything the Uchiha clan claimed, then Itachi would have been ordered to kill me and possibly my mother. Who would want an Uchiha who couldn't awaken the Sharingan? Better to cultivate a child with power than spend money on a lesser child."

Sakura mumbled incoherently, the paralytic poison affecting her whole being. She couldn't find the strength to continue talking.

"Maybe...I should have died. If only I didn't awaken the Sharingan, I wouldn't have to suffer and watch my life taken in the hands of the Elders. Or maybe I would have been spared and allowed to follow my dreams."

Qui shook her head mournfully and tightened her hold on Sakura. "But that... doesn't matter anymore. What is done is done. I can only make the choices I have and let them dictate what my future becomes."

"Come...back..." Sakura pleaded pitifully.

"I can't. No...I won't. Sakura, I'm nothing more than a weapon to Konoha! If I let the Allied Shinobi Forces win this war, I'll be forced into a life of fighting forever! I'll lose my freedom as...a human being."

"Naru...to'n...Ho...ka...ge...will...protect..."

"Sakura, you underestimate how much power the Hokage truly has in comparison to the Elders. Especially if the Elders have secrets. Once the Akatsuki win this war, we'll have ultimate peace and no one will have a need for me to fight. I'll gain my freedom!"

"You...dey...kill...ta git'...wha'...dey wan'!"' Sakura gasped, oxygen beginning to travel through her lungs with more difficulty. 

(Translation: "You...they[Akatsuki]...kill...to get...what...they...want!").

"And how is that any more different from losing shinobi in this war? The Akatsuki only ask for two people, and yet the Allied Shinobi Forces are dying one after another all for the sake of something faulty in the end. I fight for ultimate peace to protect my family. Uncle Igo and my father suffered so much during the Fourth Great Ninja War. My mother was forced to run because she was afraid of her clan.

"This is a world of endless fighting. You call yourselves the Allied Shinobi Forces? Stop dreaming. Once this war is over, say that the Akatsuki lost, you would still want your own spoils. Some want power over others. Others want fame or money. You have temporary peace for now, but what will you say later? Friends today, enemies tomorrow."

Qui got off Sakura's back, knowing the girl couldn't move, completely paralyzed with poison. "Goodbye, Sakura. Perhaps I'll see you alive and well next time. Maybe one day you will understand my vision. I want to be free and live a life with choices I can make."

"Oh, you're not going anywhere, Kurisani Qui."

Qui sighed at the newcomer. "That's what you think."