The Last Fight

Chapter 1

She hated it. She hated she couldn't have the ordinary life that common people had. She hated to wake up in a cell, lying on the ground and not in a room over a warm and comfy bed.

She hated her routine, her life quality and her job. Her job was one of the things she hated most, but she was forced to do it. Being a girl from illegal combats had its cost: she struggled for her life every day. She was strong enough and trained to survive, but every day the challenge increased. She did everything she could to win, because if she ever lost, the punishment would be worse than the combat. She didn't have any bonds with anyone. After that day, she had some problems to communicate with other persons who weren't her owner.

—Hide, honey, quickly, daddy's coming— her mother used to tell her. It had been a while —11 years to be exact— since her mother's face was erased permanently from her memory.

She ran as fast as her tiny legs allowed her to —she was 5 at that time— through the hall until she reached her room, where she hid herself in her wardrobe full of fluffy dresses and coats.

The sound of the car's engine made her hearts beat faster. The worst was coming.

Her father wasn't the most affective person, and she was happy that he was absent from home for a long time. She only enjoyed her mother's company.

For a long time, the only thing she could hear were strong noises and screams from the kitchen, which were moving to the room next door: her parent's room. She was used to that, but she had a small feeling that this time would be different.

Her mother's screams were tormenting her ears, so he covered them with her tiny hands. Stronger blows could be heard.

Silence…

Some firm steps were approaching to her hiding place, which made her heart beat so strong that it seemed it would come out from her chest. The closet door was opened showing her father's snake face full of blood.

A punch removed her from her memory, from her nightmare. It was time, time to go to "work".

—Are you ready, Grumpy Bunny?—. She had forgotten another thing; she also hated that stupid nickname her owner gave her. Her father had sold her to the black market where people and kids were dealed. The man who bought her was just another employee from the disgusting organization of illegal combats, and Sakura had achieved some fame as one of the strongest women in the place, although she still had a delicate body.

—Shut up— she replied harshly— Who's today's dead man?—.

—Correction: dead woman— her coach replied. She didn't hate him, but she neither loved him, she liked him in a certain way because she spent most of the time training with him. —And we've got… Uzumaki Karin, known as Laba Girl—. She laughed because of his dramatization, and the name. "Laba Girl", couldn't she be more original? —Go and get dressed, they're waiting for us.— Now she'd go into the lobby.

It was a place as dark as the cells. Her coach opened a locker that had her stupid nickname —as she used to call it— and took out her fighting clothes: a black short with a bunny on the hip and a pink sport bra, which was the same color as her hair. In one side, she hated the color, but on the other side, she loved it because it reminded her of her mother.

She stepped out from the dressing room and went to put her wrist bandages on. Shoes were not allowed because the leader of the bloody organization said it should be a fair combat. She didn't have any problems at all with fighting bare-footed.

Once she finished stretching, she walked with her coach directly to the fighting area. She had no problems to fight a woman, she had fought with them before, but she had been recently fighting with man slightly taller than she.

The advertiser took the microphone and stood in the middle of the area, and then he began to relate:

—With a weight of 111.5 pounds, we've got… Laba Girl!— And the woman who will be fighting with Sakura came into the light. She was a girl like her, a little taller, with black glasses, and red scarlet hair and eyes. Sakura ignored the girl's insults and faces.

—And with a weight of 111.12 pounds, Grumpy Bunny!— After this, Sakura stepped out from the darkness and went under the reflector.

People were shouting and making their bets based on the two fighters. It was a pretty well organized place, although it was illegal.

Before the match began, the fighters should shake hands. When Sakura extended her hand, Karin simply rejected it and spit. At the same time the bell rang.

Karin would pay for that. Without waiting, Sakura struck the opponent's left cheek with her right hand. The shouts began to get higher. Karin stepped backward while Sakura was approaching in a defensive way. Grumpy Bunny got exasperated by Karin's delay and started to strike her with both hands, avoiding Karin's useless strokes.

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—Shall we get in? I'm sure it's here— A boy with deep black eyes and hair said. Sasuke.

—That's why we came, you idiot! — A blond boy with blue eyes and tattoos that seemed whiskers on his cheeks replied. Naruto.

—I-It would be better if we hurried up— a shy girl with dark long hair and white eyes with no pupils said. Hinata.

—Come on! Go! — This time a blonde girl with long hair combed in a ponytail with a loose lock over her left blue eye spoke. Ino.

The two boys jumped off the van and went into a kind of stadium or warehouse where, according to the news, illegal combats were organized involving men, women and even children.

When they entered they weren't noticed because there were already two fighters. They were surprised that the fighters were women, and it seemed that the pink-hair one was winning, because she was sitting over the other woman and punching her face. The red-hair one didn't move.

One of the boys, Naruto, went out silently from the warehouse and told the girls inside the van that the plan had to start: close the place, free the persons who were forced to work there and put the owners of the place and organization to jail.

The group of boys was part of the G.O.I.C.P.T: Governmental Organization against Illegal Combats and People Trafficking. It wasn't an easy job; you had to pay attention to the gossips and news.

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She didn't want to keep punching her, but the last time she didn't, Laba Girl hit her pretty strong on her mouth which started bleeding. Her coach told her that if she didn't leave her Knock Out in the ring, they could punish her because they'd consider she lost the combat. And to lose a combat meant to lose money, and her owner didn't like to lose money.

When the combat was finally over, Sakura's hands were full of blood and she was exhausted. People were saying Grumpy Bunny in a chorus.

When she less expected it, the doors were demolished. A party of armed men wearing police uniforms entered, and was willing to shoot anything that moved or tried to escape.

She started to look at everyone out of the corner of her eye, and her eyes landed on a boy's dark eyes, which were looking at her carefully.

She stayed paralyzed in that place, completely still. She didn't know if the thing that was going on was whether good or bad, so she just frowned and ran into a special cell.

—Hey, Konohamaru…—Sakura whispered loud enough so only he could hear her.

Konohamaru was a young boy, approximately 6 or 7 years old, small and with coffee hair and eyes. He was wearing a scarf that he claimed it had belonged to his father. Apparently he didn't remember his mother.

—Hmm...Sakura-chan? — He whispered with a sleepy voice because he had been resting after a day full of job. He was forced to work in a plantation which was some miles away from the warehouse.

—Konohamaru, wake up, they've come …—Sakura told him with a happiness she hadn't felt for a long time.

—T-they have come? – He replied with the same joy. Sakura hadn't seen him smiling in that way for a long while. He used to give her little smiles every day, which made her day happier.

—Yes, they're interfering on the front; we've got to hurry up.—said Sakura. She realized she didn't have Konohamaru's cell key, but it wasn't a problem for her.

Sakura had tried to escape thousand times, and she would have done it if it wasn't because they caught her on the back door with Konohamaru. She knew the consequences of escaping: punishment, which implied physical and psychological torture. And they didn't punish Sakura alone, but they also punished Konohamaru. But she always asked them to punish her because it wasn't Konohamaru's fault.

She took a hair clip she had hidden in her bra and twisted it so she could open the lock.

When she finished opening it, she moved the iron bars and Konohamaru climbed on her like a koala, and they went to the front to see what was going on.

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The girls inside the van, when they received Naruto's indication, called all the available units to stop the crime that was going on the warehouse.

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Approximately five or six vans surrounded the place from the front, back and lateral doors. The whole place was surrounded; there was no way a person could escape. Dozens of armed men went inside the place.

—I just hope that everything goes right— said Ino, looking through the window.

Hinata just nodded and kept watching quietly the building.

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Sasuke was looking carefully at the pink-hair girl that was standing and looking at the other fighter who was lying on the floor with her face full of blood. He was surprised of how strong that girl could have although she had a fragile appearance.

And when she least expected it, the door were brutally opened and dozens of armed cops entered into the warehouse.

Nevertheless, Sasuke was still watching the girl, who gave him a thoughtful and quick look. Then she took her eyes off him and ran to the inside of the place.

Sasuke went to the place where Naruto was standing.

—Hey idiot, from the girls who were fighting, the read seams dead and the pink one went to the back part of the warehouse—. After this, Naruto said that it would be better if Hinata and Ino took her away.

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Hinata felt her pone was vibrating, and it was a call from Naruto.

—N-Naruto-kun? — She asked

—Hinata-chan, there's a girl that was fighting, and the idiot saw her going to the back part of the warehouse, we wanted that Ino and you go to look for her.

—S-Sure, now I'll tell her—. After this, she told Naruto's request to Ino and they went to the place where Naruto had told them.

They entered into the warehouse; the air was heavy and smelled rusty: blood. What they saw impressed them a lot: a half dead girl lying on the floor, she was one of the fighters.

—Where did she go? — Ino asked the boys.

—To the back part— said Sasuke while he was pointing a huge door that lead to the rear of the building.

The girls went there and found her.

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Sakura was still running through the halls trying to find the room with the keys. When she found them, she ran to the back door.

When she reached the door, she unlocked it with the key but it was too heavy, so she dropped Konohamaru in order to move it. When she was doing that, some girls appeared at the end of the hall, about five meters away from their position.

There she saw the girl; she was wearing shorts and a sport bra. They also noticed she was bare-footed and full of blood, splattered over her hands, arms, legs and face. Her hair was…pink? Yes, it was pink. They had never seen anything like that.

When the girl noticed their presence, she stood in an attack position in front of the small boy who was with her.

—D-Don't worry…We just came to help— said Hinata nervously

Sakura didn't calm down yet.

—They are already arresting the people out there— said Ino, pointing outside.

Sakura stood straight, analyzing them. She still didn't trust them, but as they didn't have any offensive objects, they seemed harmless.

—What are you going to do to us? — was the only thing that Sakura said.

—For now, we'll take you in a van to a hospital to give you medical attention and then we'll see what you decide— Ino answered with safety.

Sakura was ok with that, but she still had doubts. The only thing she did was to open the huge and heavy door, carry Konohamaru and go outside for the first time in 10 years to the daylight.

She had some problems with getting used to the light, but that was the least thing. When she managed to see properly, she saw some van and the boy who had seen before at the stage next to the blond boy who was smiling.

Konohamaru was a Little nervous so he hugged Sakura, and hid his face in her neck.

The girls told Sakura to go inside the van, and they gave her a blanket and something to drink and eat. Sakura was happy that someone had finally taken them from that dark place, but she didn't allow herself to smile in front of other persons who weren't Konohamaru.

The van started to move. Sakura was looking only at the floor, and when she looked up, she saw the persons with her who were smiling warmly. At last, she looked at Konohamaru, the only person she cared about.

What she saw relieved her as if they had taken a huge weight from her shoulders: she saw Konohamaru happy.