Chapter 1 - Healing, Torture, and Dedication

The Land of Herbs.

A land of vegetation, as the name might suggestion. Ironically, it was a cold place. The herbs that grew here were unique to the land. The soil was rich, except for the soil that grew the sandy herb known as Yurakuri. This herb was used in countless medicines, and was very important to almost every ninja culture.

“Kora-chan, please don’t forget to check the Jinsei herb before you leave!”
Kora gave her mother a mocking rolled-eyes look.
“O-kay! You don’t need to remind me!” she called back, smiling widely. She and her mother enjoying the friendly bantering.
Kora’s mother smiled back and waved as her daughter raced off. She’s such a good girl, any mother would be proud to call her ‘daughter’. She even made breakfast this morning, how sweet of her!


Kora was a girl of 10. She had a burning desire to become the greatest gardening kunoichi ever. Her mother held the title for now, but Kora was already close to surpassing her. Kora’s long black hair was drawn into two tight buns on either side of her head. Despite that, there was enough long hair left over to fall down her back in a ponytail, tied with a blue and white checked ribbon that matched her school uniform. Kora was the girl everyone boy wanted to be seen with, and the one every girl wanted to be friends with. Somehow, her big brown eyes could light up a room, and even the tiniest smile would melt the heart of even the coldest teacher. Most teachers already adored her. She always tried her best, and had never once gotten detention, or even a reprimand.

Kora looked at her schedule. She sighed loudly. Today, they were to learn inside the castle. That meant down in the dungeons with Koori-sensei. She hated the sessions with the tall, thin man. He was too old and too mean to teach. That, at least, was the opinion of many of the students. His long brown cloak, his gold-rimmed spectacles, and his two tufts of white hair gave him the look of an insane old man. Which, the kids agreed, he was. Kora was always nice to him, though. She felt a little sorry for him, truth be told. He lived by himself, and this job was really all he had. Supposedly, all his relatives were dead. After the death of the Koubakage, Koori had reportedly been so distraught that he disappeared into his home for ten years, never once leaving. Of course, that story had to have been exaggerated by time and word of mouth.


The day FELT wrong. But Kora shrugged it off. Nothing EVER happened in the Land of Herbs. There were no ninja to wage war with, and everyone needed their harvests. That meant that if ONE Village tried to attack, they would be destroyed by all the other villages, who needed the precious herbs that this land heralded.

But even Kora knew something was wrong when Koori-Sensei grabbed her arm and took her aside, into one of the dungeons.
“Good morning Kora. How are you today?” the old man asked.
“I’m great Koori-Sensei! How are you?” Kora replied, smiling her biggest smile. Something’s wrong, sensei never goes out of his way to talk to anyone. Maybe me being nice to him is working!
“Never better…” Koori told the girl, returning the smile with a mixture of yellow, black, and missing teeth. Then he grabbed her.
“Hey! Help! Someone! Mmph!” A piece of cloth was shoved roughly into Kora’s mouth.
“Can’t have that Kora-chan,” Koori said mockingly. “Not until you agree to tell me the secret of the Yurakuri herb. Come now, I know you know. Tell me, and we’ll forget this ever happened…”
Kora shook her head. She had already been told to never speak of the herb.
“Fine. Enjoy your stay!” Koori shouted, his voice echoing in the cavernous stone room. He bound the little girl to a table with cold, black chains.
“Soon the fires of hell shall envelope thee!” Koori yelled. He ran one yellowing finger down Kora’s face, his long, claw-like nails cutting a small line down her smooth cheek. “The fires of hell will ingest thee, and turn thee into the charred husk of thy ancestors!”



Lady Tsunade looked grimly at the scrolls piling up on her desk. One caught her eye.
“Request for an expert medic-nin and a task force…to the Land of Herbs…Kidnapping…town injured…” Tsunade’s head snapped toward one of her aids.
“Go get Sakura Haruno! This is urgent!” Tsunade snapped. The medic-nin in her hated the thought of people dying…
The Land of Herbs? Nothing ever goes wrong there, there’s not even a place to get a drink! Aside from that healthy s*** they serve up. That’s one place that won’t be hounding me about debts anytime soon…


Sakura listened while Lady Tsunade explained the mission.
“Take Kakashi and Naruto…plus two others. This sounds like a major issue, and I really would like to send more people, but this is the most I can spare,” Tsunade said, flustered with the piling-up paperwork.
“I understand Lady Tsunade. I know just the two…” Sakura told her, her voice echoing the seriousness of the situation.


“Well, you’ve decided on ANBU Torture and Exam Proctoring, until you’re experienced enough to have your own squad? Good for you…IF you have what it takes.”
“Put me to the test Ibikki,” Ekyt replied to the drill instructor routine. You’re NOT going to crack me, sensei. But if it makes you happy to try… Ekyt thought highly of Ibikki, but couldn’t help wondering if his ‘hard @$$’ deameanor was just an act, or if the man really was that way.
“Your genjutsu has worked on our prisoners…but I can tell your heart isn’t in it. You don’t WANT to torture, to ruin minds…you might be a natural, but your heart isn’t hard enough yet. You haven’t killed your first opponent.” The last comment was a challenge on Ibikki’s part.
“Crippling is more cruel. Killing ends their suffering,” Ekyt responded.
Anko, who had just joined them, laughed outright. “You got that right kid! Well, here’s the deal: You’re best suited toward teaching, but you don’t have the mission experience yet. We’ll just categorize you as a part-time torturer, even though you’re a natural. You seem the like the type to protect more than anything. So, take what missions you can. Hopefully, you’ll be proctoring the next academy exams. Man, I’m so tired of those kids mouthing off to me! I’ll stick with the chunin exams, those are fun! Weeding out the weak, watching the strong piss their pants! Those maggots never know what to expect!”

“Well, you’re done here for the day. Feel free to take the day off, or take more missions. Whatever it is you normally do. Considering how many missions you have under your belt already, I think I know the answer,” Ibikki told Ekyt.

“Alright. Thank you.”

“How are you not a jonin yet? Or even a chunin?” This had been on Ibikki’s mind for a while now. If the kid was ANBU, he should be jonin, or was jonin-level in skill.

“No squad, and Ebisu-sensei doesn’t want me to take the exams,” Ekyt replied. His gloved fist clenched at the name of the pompous private instructor. He and Ekyt had clashed over a number of issues, not least of all Ekyt’s friendship with Naruto Uzumaki.

“I THOUGHT there was something going on there. I’ll have to talk with Ebisu. You’ve been ready to test for damn near three years. I think you’ll find Ebisu is cooperative this time around,” Ibikki said, smiling with the same smile that was the last thing most prisoners saw before going insane.

Anko heard a knock at the door.
“Hey, Ekyt, this one’s for you! Looks like a kunoichi’s finally come calling!”
Ekyt shot Anko a fake glare, but shook his head tolerantly. On his way out, Anko gave him a swat on the butt. “Go get ‘er tiger!”



“Ekyt-kun! Great to see you!” Sakura exclaimed.
“Sakura-san, it’s good to see you, too. I never got to congratulate you on becoming a chunin.” Ekyt almost always spoke in a solemn whisper, and never spoke unnecessarily.
Sakura waved his congratulations aside. “Everyone knows you should be a jonin by now! But thank you! Listen, I was hoping you weren’t busy, because I’ve got a mission, and I’m picking out my team.”
“I’m in,” Ekyt said instantly.
“I haven’t told you the mission yet!” Sakura exclaimed, giggling.
“I don’t believe in turning down a mission,” Ekyt replied. His eyes were smiling. Sakura shook her head. Mercifully, she didn’t notice how her swaying pink hair captured the young Shinobi’s attention.
“Nice to know you haven’t changed. Come on then, just have one more to grab. Where IS your sparring partner at this time of day anyway?” she asked, knowing that Ekyt would have the answer.
Ekyt was clearly grinning under his mask.
“Where else- training in the woods. And all of you call MY training insane!”
“Well, it is…” Sakura told him, laughing playfully.



“998, 999, 1000! Guy-sensei, I have done it! 1000 kicks!” Lee announced, throwing a couple more by way of celebration.
“Great job Lee! Ahhh, the power of youth! Now, 1000 punches! Go to it Lee!” Guy replied with the same vigor. He seemed to have a natural, never-ending sugar high.
“Yes, Guy-sensei! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…”


Ekyt held a branch aside for Sakura, then stepped in himself.
“Pardon me, Guy-sensei?” Sakura asked.
“Oh, Sakura, Ekyt! Two hard workers! What can I do for you?!” Guy exclaimed.
“Well, I was hoping Lee could help me on a mission,” Sakura explained. “I need to a task force, apparently, and Lee would fit in perfectly!”
Guy nodded, then turned to Lee.

Guy: Lee…
Lee: 21,22,23
Guy: Lee…
Lee: 24,25,26
Guy: LEE! (Punches him!)

Lee got up off the ground, shaking his head.
“Yes Guy-sensei?!” He said, adding a crisp salute.
“Lee, you’ve got a mission. Sakura and Ekyt here will brief you on the way. Make me proud Lee!”
“I will Guy-sensei!”
The two hugged.

Ekyt and Sakura (With big sweatdrops) watched the strange display. No matter how many times they had seen it, it still struck them as strange that a sensei and his pupil could be so in tune with each other.
“And he wonders why I wouldn’t date him,” Sakura muttered.
Ekyt nodded silently, trying not to laugh.
Sakura looked over at him, trying to gauge his reaction. Inner-Sakura had a few words, though.
Cha! Look at him! He never shows any emotion! Why don’t you comfort him? He’s a nice guy, and he’s done a lot for you!
Sakura had to stop thinking about that when a slug started to ooze it’s way up her leg. She grimaced, always hating the feeling of a slug’s ‘saliva’ on her. But this was Tsunade’s summon, and it only showed up when something major was going on.


“Sakura, I’m sorry, but Naruto and Kakashi can’t go. The chunin exams are coming up, and Naruto needs the training, and only Kakashi can give it. Or so he says. Personally, I think he just wants to read his stupid perverted book. But whatever. So, it’s just you three,” Lady Tsunade informed the group of three.

“What’s the climate?” Ekyt asked.
“It’s cold. Not quite freezing, but very cold.”
“Terrain?”
“Hills and plains. A regulated amount of water, and good roads,” Tsunade informed them.
Ekyt didn’t question anything else, and neither did Sakura or Lee.
“Alright then. You’re dismissed. Good luck.”



Back in the Land of Herbs…

Kora struggled against the chains, but gave up after a few minutes. The thick black chains weren’t moving, and neither was she.
Koori looked over at her and said mildly “Thank God you stopped that infernal racket. I was just going to kill you.”
Kora’s eyes widened. She didn’t move a muscle.
“Let me see…ah, here it is…the cross symbol is made in between the eyes with the dried soot of hell’s newest member…”
Koori looked over at a man bound and gagged against the stone wall.
“So thee shall meet thy end…perishing, suffering in the eternal flames of damnation. I deliver thee to thy final place of rest! Your soul will grace the table of Satan, your body the bread of his minions, and your blood, the wine of the damned souls!”
Koori drew a short dagger. It was sharpened at the tip, the hilt, and the pommel. He made a cut at a just-so angle in the man’s chest with the tip. He then raked the butt end across the man’s face, slowly, agonizingly, creating a deep well of blood that flowed from between his eyes. He used the two points on the hilt to puncture the man’s kidneys. Even then, the man was alive. Koori opened the man’s mouth, his old gray eyes staring unblinking into the innocent mans’.
His old, yellowed fingers grabbed the tongue of his prisoner, pulling it out slowly. Then his dagger slashed down. The tongue fell onto the dusty stone floor, lying there as though it had never been alive.
Koori forced the man’s mouth shut. The blood filled his mouth, and then his lungs. He had drowned in his own blood. Koori used his thumb to wipe some of the blood off of each spot.
His hands still dripping with the plasma, he walked over slowly to Kora, muttering his strange sayings, but now in an alien tongue. Lightly, he made a strange shape between Kora’s eyes. It wasn’t a cross, but a circular, swirling shape.
Then, on her forehead, Koori painted obscenities. He then bent down and kissed it gently, blood staining his lips as well. The old man walked away, muttering again.
Kora would re-live this scene many times during the night. She would wake up, horrified, drenched in a cold sweat, her hair becoming unraveled and matted, sticking to her face and forehead. Her screams were silent. She wished Koori was silent. His laughing and chanting was scaring Kora. She had never heard something so eerie. Her little body shivered in fear and cold, until she finally vomited and passed out…



“OK, winter wear…My old outfit would have been good…but I’ve outgrown that…” Sakura was thinking aloud.

Lee’s normal gear was suitable for a cold climate, but he pulled on a warmup jacket over it. Green with yellow-orange cuffs.

Ekyt silently grabbed his trench coat. The rest of his gear would suffice. He pulled it on, checking to make sure the coat wasn’t too long.


The three met up at the appointed time. Lee and Ekyt, as per usual, were early, which left time for Lee to talk with Ekyt. Or try to. Lee was one of the few who could get a full conversation out of Ekyt. It was a show of trust on Ekyt’s part, as a lack of trust normally was all the incentive he needed to keep his mouth shut. Lee nudged Ekyt in the ribs.
“Come on Ekyt-san. You know that you like Sakura-san,” Lee taunted.
“Of course I do. She’s a good friend,” Ekyt replied immediately.
“You know that is not what I meant. You liiiiiiiikkkkkeeee Sakura-san,” Lee stretched the word out, annoying his friend.
Ekyt raised an eyebrow. “You have better sources than I do, Lee-san.”
Why the hell did I just deny that? Ekyt thought to himself. Because you don’t want to get hurt…again. He also answered himself. Then he wondered if it was a normal thing to ask yourself something like that, and then even more so to get an answer.


Sakura came running back. Lee poked Ekyt.
“Do not forget to blink, Ekyt-san,” he snickered.
Ekyt was worried he had forgotten just that. If possible, Sakura looked more beautiful than usual, but in a different way.

She had decided on a pair of long blue pants, similar to the short pants she typically wore. On top, she had pulled on a long-sleeved pink shirt. That was covered by a red coat. Her pink elbow pads and black gloves were still in place.

“Ready to go?!” she asked brightly.
Ekyt nodded, feeling stupid. Lee was right, apparently. He DID have it bad for Sakura. It was probably the most well-kept secret in the Leaf Village, except for the two that knew. Lee had ‘threatened’ to tell Sakura how Ekyt felt about her. Ekyt warned him that he should have his next of kin notified if he did. It didn’t matter if Ekyt never beat Lee in a taijutsu sparring match, he said. Ekyt would KILL him.


The three journeyed out that night, reaching the summit of the mountain near the Land of Herbs.
“Why is it a land, and not a village?” Lee asked suddenly.
“Because it’s independent. Everyone needs the medical herbs it grows, so it’s one of the wealthiest areas. It doesn’t need to associate with any one village, it’s powerful on it’s own, even without ninja,” Sakura answered. She had read about the village before, when studying with Lady Tsunade. She had wanted to go, to meet some of the medics there. She wondered if she would get a chance on this mission.
Ekyt tossed a log on the fire. It’s orange-tongued flames leapt higher into the air, crackling merrily.
“What bothers me is why such a peaceful place is suddenly ridden with crime and illness,” Ekyt scowled.
Sakura shivered suddenly, staring into the fire almost longingly. Suddenly, there was a coat being held out to her. She followed the arm up to Ekyt.
“I can’t do that! What about you?” she protested.
Ekyt dropped the coat on her lap.
“You’re the mission, not me. Besides, I’ll live,” he said, trying to force a smile into his voice. But he thought his dark whisper hid the smile pretty well.
“But” she started to protest.
“Sakura-san, I would not argue. Ekyt-san believes in chivalry, and he will not take “no” for an answer,” Lee said, shooting Ekyt a look that plainly said ‘Told you so’. Ekyt returned with a glare that said ‘if you keep talking, I’ll kill you’.


The three would have to have their wits about them tomorrow…

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