CHAPTER EIGHT

Eyeless-Nin

After school, Sarada strolled over to the park, however stopped when she saw Bolt talking to her half-brother Shimeji. She didn't say anything, but continued to watch curiously. Hoping not to be detected she slipped behind the nearest tree. The ravenette couldn't hear anything, but already the two boys were displaying their annoying superiority complex. She figured Shimeji thought Bolt's need to pull pranks and behave obnoxiously was annoying, just as Bolt probably thought that Shimeji needed to fall off of his high horse.

"He doesn't even go to school," Sarada mumbled to herself as she thought about to Shimeji's tales of living as a wanderer. He didn't have a village he called home. According to her mama, this was the longest Shimeji would have to stay in one location.

"TAKE IT BACK!" Bolt shouted causing her eyes to widen.

Shimeji smirked and took a step back. When he mouthed a kiss to the blonde, Bolt immediately lost the last bit of his composure. He charged at her half-brother with a first ready to strike. In one swift move, Shimeji pivoted on his heel, struck Bolt with his arm and pinned him to the ground, while straddled above him.

"Cut it out," Sarada said as she walked over to the two and carefully adjusted her glasses. "You're causing a scene."

"Not until he takes it back," Bolt growled, causing Shimeji to grab him by the top of his hair.

"Like I said before, make me," Shimeji smirked.

"You two realize that you're both Uzuamkis right?" Sarada asked.

"I'm more Uchiha than Uzumaki," Shimeji stated as though it were a matter-of-fact.

"And I'm part Hyuuga," Bolt argued as he struggled beneath the other boy's grip.

"The point is, you're both…related in some kind of way, so you should stop being stupid," she smirked. Shimeji stood to his feet and held out a hand for Bolt, who slapped it away.

"He still needs to take it back," Bolt grumbled.

Sarada wrinkled her brows and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't mind him, he's only heartbroken," Shimeji scoffed.

Sarada felt even more confused (which was an emotion she rarely admitted to feeling). Before she could ask for him to explain himself, Bolt spoke up. "Shime-whoever says you're his future wife."

"Wait, what?" she questioned before snapping her gaze over at Shimeji.

"Sarada-chan, how else do you think we're supposed to rebuild the Uchiha clan?" he asked. "Even if you'll never have the sharingan, by marrying me you can guarantee you children will."

She slapped him as hard as she could, causing Bolt's eyes to widen. Sarada's brows narrowed as she lowly stated, "Don't you ever act as though I'm lower than you."

"You know it's true," he said as he held his face. "Uchihas inherited powerful eyes, our father has the rinnegan, but you have glasses. Doesn't that bother you?"

"SHUT UP!"

Sarada was shocked to see Bolt standing up for her. The blonde had grabbed Shimeji by the collar of his shirt and pulled him close so their noses were inches from another. "Who cares if she doesn't have the sharingan. Sarada is smart and one of the the strongest ninjas in our class. I'm sure she'll be able to rebuild her clan without having to settle for a piece of shit like you!"

"You have till the count of three to let go of me," Shimeji announced.

"Apologize to Sarada!" Bolt commanded.

"Two," Shimeji counted.

"Not until you apologize!"

"Three," Shimeji said before forcing a kiss on the other boy. As a reflex, Bolt immediately let go and doubled over while gagging. Shimeji laughed out of amusement before glancing over at Sarada's whose face was completely red. Without saying a word, she grabbed Shimeji by his arm and dragged him off.

Once they were closer to the Uchiha residence, he pulled his arm out of her grip.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I'm surprised you're not saying thank you," he huffed.

"Are you serious?!" she snapped.

Shimeji peered his eyes over in her direction, as a sly grin presented itself. "I saw the way you were looking. You liked watching that kind of thing, didn't you?"

Sarada stared down at her feet and said under her breath, "I never saw anything like that before."

"Then you're welcome," he laughed.

"You do realize that gossip is the only thing anyone in Konoha does, right?" she stated while adjusting her glasses. "Literally, no one has anything better to do, and now everyone is going to know that our papa raised a son who likes to kiss other boys."

"I'm pretty sure dad wouldn't care if he knew the circumstances," Shimeji replied with a shrug.

Suddenly they heard the sound of yelling, causing both kids to look over. There in the distance they saw a kid running while holding a large basket. Behind him was a trail of fruit. When the little boy was closer, Sarada slid over so she was standing directly in front of him.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Ninjas," the kid gasped, clearly out of breath. He dropped the empty basket and doubled over, trying to force himself to breathe.

"Could you be, I don't know, a little more specific?" Shimeji asked, causing Sarada to elbow him swiftly in the side. "Ow," escaped his lips, but the girl didn't acknowledge his pain.

"They were wearing all black…and didn't have eyes," the kid gasped, alarming both Uchihas.
"Are you sure?" Sarada immediately asked, hoping she heard wrong.

When the child nodded, Shimeji leaned over and whispered, "Sarada-chan, if he's talking about who I think he's talking about, then this is very bad."

"How bad?" she whispered.

"Might-need-to-let-dad-know-immediately bad."

"Kid," Sarada said when she looked back at the child. "Make sure you find an adult, and let them know exactly where you saw these ninjas."

Without another word both Sarada and Shimeji took off running to their home. Once they were inside, Sarada yelled, "MAMA, PAPA!"

Karin sat up from the couch with a remote in her hand. "I haven't seen either Sakura or Sasuke-kun today," she admitted. "What's up?"

"The Eyeless Ninjas are nearby," Shimeji explained, causing Karin's eyes to widen. The boy continued, "A little kid ran into the village, screaming like he'd seen a ghost. Mom, if they're here, chances are they're after you or dad."

"Wait, what?" Sarada asked.

Karin looked as though she felt torn about whether or not she should tell the girl, however Sarada kept her determined expression. The red head sighed in defeat and tugged down the collar of her shirt to show the reapers mark above her heart. "The Eyeless Ninjas are part of this underground village. They specialize in forbidden jutsus. Your daddy stole a lot of their jutsus and their necklace. Chances are they're pissed and want to take it back."

Sarada stared at the girl in disbelief of how nonchalant Karin seemed. The Uzumaki stood up from couch and ruffled her son's hair before whispering, "I suggest you guys find a place to hide. I'll try to get in contact with Sasuke-kun."

"No, I'm going to help!" Sarada announced.

Shimeji grabbed her hand and tugged her off toward the basement, despite her protests.

Naruto sat at Ichiraku Ramen, his daughter, Himawari sat on the stool neighboring his. "Hi," Sakura spoke up as she walked over to the stand. "Is this seat taken?" she asked as she gestured to the stool beside the blonde. When Naruto shook his head, she sat down and picked up one of the menus.

"Hello," Himawari said with a cheerful smile.

"And how are you, Himawari-chan?" Sakura asked.

"I'm having a happy day," Himawari giggled, "Today is Ramen Day!"

"I'm pretty sure you dad considers everyday Ramen Day," Sakura laughed.

Sakura placed her order and placed her elbow on the table, so she could prop up her chin with her hand. She smiled gently toward Himawari, but couldn't help that her gaze kept drifting to Naruto.

"I'm surprised you're not in the office, Hokage-sama," Sakura teased.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru exclaimed, startling everyone at the stand. "We need you back at the office, ASAP."

Naruto looked over toward Himawari, then back to Shikamaru. "But what about my daughter?" he asked.

"I'll take her home," Sakura announced. "You guys go ahead."

Naruto called out, "Pops, put the meals on my tab," before looking over at Himawari. "I promise I'll make it up to you."

Without another word, Naruto and Shikamaru darted off, leaving Sakura with the little girl.

"What happened?" Himawari asked.

"I'm guessing your daddy was missing out on an important meeting," she told the child before gently petting her hair. This brought a frown to Himawari's lips before she looked back at her bowl of ramen.

"Daddy always has meetings," she said quietly.

"Hey," Sakura said as she stooped down to look the girl in the eye. "Like I told you, for your daddy, every day is Ramen Day. He promised he'd make it up to you."

Himawari's spirits didn't rise any.

"Himawari-chan, if your daddy makes a promise, then that means he won't take it back. He never goes back on his word, so you have nothing to worry about. Mkay?"

"Thank you, Aunt Sakura," Himawari said and wrapped her arms around the pink haired ninja.

"Are you ready to go back to your mommy?" Sakura asked.

When the little girl nodded, she helped her down to the floor, and took hold of her hand. The two walked away from the stand, however Sakura noticed dark clouds beginning to blanket the once beautifully clear sky. Something about the storm clouds gave her an unsettling feeling.

"Do you want a piggy-back ride, Himawari-chan?" Sakura asked with a forced smile.

The little climbed on her back and Sakura started darting her way to the Hokage's mansion, making sure not to let go. She noticed villagers poking their heads out of their shops and homes to look at the clouds. She zipped even faster and landed right at the front door. While making sure not to drop Himawari, she frantically rang the doorbell.

Hinata opened the door, causing a sigh of relief to leave Sakura's lips.

"Naruto was called away to a meeting and he wanted to me to bring Himawari-chan home," she explained. Sakura stooped down so Himawari could climb off her back. Once the child was safely back to he mother, Sakua stood once more to her feet.

"Thank you, Sakura-san," Hinata said. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Oh it's nothing," Sakura answered, however she looked once more at the clouds. She wasn't sure if her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she could have sworn she saw a face. "Are you going to be safe alone, Hinata?"

"Alone…" Hinata repeated quietly, before returning her gaze to Sakura. "I'm not alone. I have my children, and I can protect them. If I need help, then I know without a doubt that Naruto-kun will protect us."

Sakura wanted to press the option of hinata taking her children to the Hyuuga compound, but held her tongue. She knew her place. She nodded her head and left the home. The moment she was in the heart of the city, she heard the village's siren go off. Everyone started scattering, trying to get back to their homes, while ninjas were trying to figure out what was going on.

"Sasuke-kun!" she heard Karin call out, causing her eyes to widen in disbelief. Without wasting a beat, Sakura darted over to Karin and said, "Who's with the children?!"

"Don't worry, I told them to hide," Karin said. "More importantly, where were you? I thought you said you always had time to greet Sarada-chan after school."

"I had something I needed to take care of," Sakura defensively retorted.

"Good, so you can get back to your child. I need to find Sasuke-kun," Karin snapped. "While tracing his chakra, I started picking up on whatever the hell that is up there, and trust me, no one wants to see whatever's coming down!"

"Ok," Sakura said, knowing now wasn't the time to get into an argument with the other. She gave a wave, then dashed off to her home. Along the way, she heard Shikamaru's voice pop up in her mind.

"Anbu is already in a defensive position. All available nin, please be on standby for further instructions. Our information is severely limited, but we have every reason to believe our opponents are dangerous. Make sure the villagers have taken shelter."

Sakura stepped in through her front door and peered around at the living room. She didn't see the children anywhere, but remembered Karin had ordered them to find hiding places. If the battle was going to be as dangerous as she suspected, Sakura was going to need to get back to the hospital to take her position as Medical Lead.

"I can't leave the children here," she said.

"Sarada-chan, Shimeji-kun," Sakura called out. "C'mon, we need to leave!"

No response.

Sakura quickly thought of all of the major hiding places of her home, and hurried over to the basement door. She opened it, and saw nothing but darkness. Out of the shadows a ninja lunged at her. With her quick reflexes, she back-flipped away from him and took a battle ready stance. She didn't have all of her ninja tools, but she was more than confident her strength would be enough.

It was in the light she saw something disturbing about this ninja. He didn't have eyes, but two gouged-out, empty sockets. All he wore was black, minus the red "reaper" symbol on his left shoulder and the upside down star on the other.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The ninja continued to stare at her as he slowly cocked his head to the side. She hated looking at his eyes, so she focused on his covered lips. He extended his hand to reveal his overly long fingers. With a flick of his wrist, his fingers transformed into blades. His movements were quick, Sakura found herself having a difficulty pin-pointing his exact location. Fortunately, her dodging abilities were on point. Each time he swung, she managed to avoid it at the last moment. She focused her chakra into fist. She had to wait for the right moment, but her opponent's bladed finger spins were trying to leave no openings. Punching into the floor would be dangerous, because of the basement. If this thing was hiding down there, there was no telling if any of his friends were lurking as well.

With a yell Sakura grabbed hold of one of his arms and forced him to the floor. He tried stabbing her with the other hand, but she kicked that arm with the side of her foot, before stepping on it.

Her chakra burned within her other hand as she held it up. "I'll ask you one more time, who are you?"

White smoke trailed out of its eye sockets, causing Sakura's own eyes to widen in horror.

"Sakura-mama don't look at the eyes!" Shimeji said as slammed the pole of the floor lamp on the ninja's face. She blinked rapidly unsure of what happened. Shimeji rushed over to her. The moment he was close the ninja reached out to grab his leg but Sakura slammed her fist down into the intruder's chest, crushing his ribs and instantly killing him. Blood splattered up, coating her arm and her clothes.

"Whoa," the teen exclaimed in amazement.

"Shimeji-kun, who are these people," she asked as her eyes remained locked on the now dead ninja. She watched as its body disintegrated until there was nothing but a large pile of ashes on her now cracked floor.

"And…where's Sarada-chan?" Sakura added.

"Don't worry. She's safe," he answered, but quickly added, "And the scrolls are hidden."

"That's good," Sakura said with a sigh of relief.

Shimeji took a deep breath and continued, "About those guys. A lot of people call them the "Eyeless Ninjas". They say your eyes are the windows to your soul. So, if you look too long into theirs, you'll lose yourself. I've heard they steal your life, sanity and soul. I've never seen it happen, but I've heard a lot of warnings."

"Thank you, Shimeji-kun," Sakura said.

"Sakura-mama, you've been so nice to mom and me, so I want to return the gesture," Shimeji replied with a smile.

Sakura ruffled his dark strands of hair and said, "Let's go find Sarada-chan. I need to head over to the hospital and I'm not leaving your guys here."

"Gotcha," Shimeji answered with a nod.

A/N: Thank you again for reading another chapter! I'm currently working on writing the second book of my own personal series "Gifted Chains". Please be sure to give Gifted Chains a like on facebook. It would mean the world to me. Please review, and be on the look out for chapter 9. Thanks again for your support xoxo