Chapter 16: The Hostage

All my breath was forced out of me, jolting me up from my sleep. "ELLE WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GO?" Naruto screamed at me from his position on my stomach, his eyes blazing with anger. "just 5 more minutes mom." I responded in my dazed state. "I'M NOT YOUR MOM. WAKE UP!" I opened my eyes slowly to see a furious Naruto sitting on top of me. I looked behind him seeing Sakura and Sasuke supporting Kakashi's unconscious form. When I saw how battered they were, guilt sparked in me. I'm too tired for this, I'll tell them later. I spread a smile on my face, trying not to show my exhaustion. "sorry guys but I need to sleep. let's not talk about this now." Naruto growled angrily and got off me. He was making his way to the door but he stopped turning to look at me. "You're nothing but a coward, hiding in the bushes while your comrades fight for their life." with that said, he left the room. My eyes widened at his comment. He doesn't know anything. I swear it's for your own good Naruto. One day you'll understand. Even though I knew I was doing this for the best, it still hurt to see them like that. I didn't know what to do or how to deal with all the different feelings rushing inside me, so I did what my first instinct told me to do. I went to back to sleep.

I was only planning on sleeping for a couple of hours but soon a couple of hours turned into 28. The only thing waking me up from my short comma was the feeling of Kakashi's chakra fluctuating beside me. I got up tired and looked around only to see him training. "Look who's finally up." I smiled feeling slightly disoriented. "How long was I asleep?" he seemed to be thinking for a second before he spoke again. "about a full day." My eyes widened as I jolted up. I rushed to the bathroom to make sure I looked presentable. After about 5 minutes, I came back, running out, all showered and cleaned up. I looked out the window to see that the sun was starting to set. Oh no, I'm behind on my plans! I need to finish the next part now! "Elle, is something wron…" he was cut off before he could finish. "THE LETTER. I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT IT." He looked at me like I was insane as I rushed from the window to my bag. I took out a paper and a pen and started scratching things down. "What are you writing?" he walked over confused and looked at my writing. If I don't reach on time then the whole plan will be a failure. All my efforts will be wasted. I folded the paper and was about to jump through the window when Kakashi caught my ankle causing me to fall down. My teammates rushed into the room at the sound of the commotion, ready for a fight. No, I don't have time for this. "Kakashi let me go, I don't have time!" His eyes hardened and he shook his head. "I can't let you leave. You're on lockdown until I deem you trustworthy again." a pang of hurt rushed through me but I ignored it. I tried kicking his leg off but it didn't work. His grip wouldn't budge. "I have to go, please!" I begged frustration making tears well up in my eyes. His eyes softened for a second before they went back into their cold state. "Not before you explain." I shook my head struggling harder against his grip. "I can't. Not now. I need to go!" I screamed the last part, my frustration getting the best of me. He isn't going to let me go. What do I do now? I looked around the room trying to find an answer when my eyes zeroed on Sakura. The weakest link… I put my hands in the hand signs for the substitution jutsu behind my back so that Kakashi wouldn't see. Before he knew it, he was holding Sasuke's ankle instead of mine and I was standing with a kunai to Sakura's neck. I will never win if I fight him. Sorry Sakura but this is my only chance. Before Naruto realized what's happening, I slammed my hand into Naruto's neck making him fall unconscious. "I'm sorry Kakashi but I need to leave." I slammed my hand into Sakura's neck as well making her fall in my arms. As quick as I could, I bolted out of the door running into the forest. I can sense them coming close. I need them to lose my track and fast. I took out multiple kunai and wrapped pieces of my shirt on them, charging them with chakra and throwing them as far as I can. That seemed to slow them down but not enough. They're still gaining on me. like an angel sent to me, Haku popped out of the trees in front of me. "Remember that favor. Give this to Shikamaru of the leaf village. I promise you my team won't cause Zabuza any harm until you return." He seemed hesitant but after seeing my tired form he nodded and took the letter out of my hand. Part 4, late but check!

A smile made its way to my face as I fell to my knees panting. Running that fast while carrying Sakura turned out way harder than it seems. I could sense the rest of the team catching up. I give them about 40 seconds before they're here. better lay Sakura away from me so that I don't get attacked. I put Sakura under a tree and I crawled away, resting my head on one further away. my chest was heaving, still out of breath from all the running. Without warning, Kakashi and Sasuke burst through the trees, weapons in hand, standing defensively in front of Sakura. "looks like you found me." I was still smiling even after I saw their harsh angry faces. "throw your weapons on the floor and keep your hands in front of you. Any signs of resistance and I won't hesitate on killing you." I sighed and did as I was told, the adrenaline of my success running through my veins.

After tying me up, we went back to the old man's house. They were taking turns standing guard on me while the others trained. The adrenaline was finally beginning to leave my system and what I had just done started dawning on me. WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING? I AM NOW CONSIDERED A CRIMINAL. THERE'S NO WAY HE'LL BELIEVE ME NOW. I could feel the panic rising in me. my breath started becoming restrained and I knew what was coming. "Sasuke, I need you to get me the candle from my bag." He didn't even bother looking at me. He completely ignored my voice like he didn't hear it in the first place. "Sasuke, the candle." This time he looked at me. He was glaring more than anything but he didn't show any signs of cooperating. The only way this will stop is if I get that candle but Sasuke obviously wasn't going to give it to me and the only other person home was Kakashi. My breath became tighter and a jolt of pain rushed through my chest. There's no other choice. I took as deep of a breath as I can before I screamed out. "Kakashi, the red pen!" Sasuke looked at me confused before I heard footsteps coming over to the door. The door opened and Kakashi walked in colder than ever. His chakra seemed to seep into my senses making it even worse. I slammed my head into the wall trying to snap myself out of it. "Sasuke, I'll take it from here." My eyes were squeezed shut, trying to calm myself down. I heard the door close and someone walk over. The chakra seemed to become more overwhelming as he got closer. "your chakra, make it stop." I said with a rough voice trying to regain my composure. At this point my chakra started flowing out of my body. "Why should I help a traitor?" tears were rolling down my face, as I started banging my head harder on the wall. "I'll explain everything. Just make it stop." the ropes seemed to get tighter around me but the feeling of cold electricity rushing through me stopped. "I need my candle." I said finally opening my eyes again. The candle smelled like green apples and lemons. To anyone else the smell might have been weird but to me, it smelled like home. Its strong scent washed over me. I focused on the scent ignoring what's around me, calming my raging brain. Breath by breath, breathing got easier and thankfully I could feel my chakra outflow stop. After taking a couple of seconds I looked up at Kakashi to see him looking at me expectantly. "Thank you Kakashi. I guess I have to explain now, right?" He gave no reaction what so ever. He just stood there looking at me. I cleared my throat and went on but in English this time to prevent anyone hearing anything. "The night before the mission started, I had a vision." He seemed surprised at the sudden language change but he didn't interrupt. "I saw the rain ninjas attack. I saw the battle with Zabuza and I saw people that I care for dying." His eyes widened at my statement, like it all clicked in his brain. "that's why I tied my head band around Naruto's hand to prevent him from getting poisoned and that's why…" he interrupted me before finishing. "you gave us chakra before Zabuza's battle." I nodded smiling. He might actually understand why I did it. This might not be so bad after all. "but that doesn't explain where you went and why you kidnapped Sakura." I chuckled awkwardly at the last part. "You see the kidnapping wasn't a part of my plan, but I was late to something and you wouldn't let me leave. I didn't have time to explain properly and I couldn't fight you so I saw no other way. I would've never hurt her." he looked at me blank faced but I could tell that questions were rushing through his head. He was about to open his mouth to ask but I didn't let him. "I had to send a letter to the leaf and if you were going to ask how, I have a guy delivering it right now. When I disappeared during Zabuza's battle, I was looking for him. Any more questions that I didn't answer?" he nodded slowly, like he was hesitant. "Who died in your vision?" my smile became sad as I answered, "People the world misunderstood." He didn't seem satisfied but he also looked like he didn't really want to know the real answer. "Why should I believe you on all of this?" I thought for a second before answering. "There was another part of my vision. I saw the tree climbing training and the throwing up." Kakashi looked convinced but confused at the second part, "throwing up?" I giggled and said an oops.

After a couple more questions, Kakashi seemed to trust me again and he let me go but not without threatening my life if I do it again. We went downstairs and were met by the Genin sitting down about to eat their dinner. Sakura looked up at me and smiled since I may or may not have whispered something in her ear before I knocked her out. Sadly, the boys' reactions weren't as friendly. Sasuke was glaring daggers at me and Naruto almost tackled me to the floor but thankfully Kakashi stopped him. "Easy guys, Elle just explained to me everything. She was sent on a side mission. She never meant any harm." I smiled awkwardly from beside him, looking at the confused Genin's faces. They eased their glaring and the rest of the night was spent with Naruto and Sasuke throwing up their food, Sakura scolding them and me laughing at Kakashi's reaction.