December 2010--Silent Night

Silent Night

~*~

She tried not to breathe.

This was impossible, obviously. Breathing was an unfortunate necessity, but she tried to limit her soft intakes and slow exhales none the less. This presaged calming her heart rate, subduing her fear, and generally being motionless. As ardently as she tried, achieving a state of complete calm was unattainable. Her heart raced, her stiff fingers clenched around the frozen hilt of a kunai, and she attempted to not freeze to death.

Static, save for the occasional shiver she could not control, she focused on her breathing. The night was silent except the gentle falling of fresh snow. She could not see the stars or the half moon that was out, but she could still see. She never understood why the nights always seemed brighter when it snowed. She supposed there was an explanation with light scattering, but that was not important right now.
Inhaling the piercing air sharply, she regretted the exhale as a plume of vapor rose into the sky. It might as well have been a red flare released into the sky for the enemy. It could not be helped. She knew of no jutsu that could hide her breath. This cold, silent night conspired against her.

Tonight, she hated the dark. She hated the quiet and that susurrus of sleep that beckoned to those who lived in the sun. A ninja embraced the night and the dark that came with it. Tonight, she hated the dark. She had nearly lost track of what night it was; Christmas Eve. Were the others safely tucked away in Konoha, celebrating and warm? If ninja weren't so hardened, maybe they could have a truce for one day…just one where she didn't have to worry. She did not need presents wrapped in boxes…she just wanted to be warm.

Snow blanketed around her, camouflaging her in ghostly tears, but freezing her limbs into permanent stillness. If she stayed this way for too long, she would be unable to prevent an attack if it came. She needed warmth, but a fire was out. She didn't even know if the enemy was out there.

No… she was not going to give into those thoughts. If she believed there was no one there she could convince herself to leave this icy stillness, and that was when the attack would come. Her enemies were faceless, numberless, and patient as any ninja should be. She suppressed another shiver, ignoring her body's protests. She wondered if there was a technique where chakra could be used to heat your body. If there was, she vowed to learn it. The falling snow made her hair look white.

Her sharp senses caught a white rabbit bounding across the snow, a predator in tow. Scintillating sparkles were thrust into the air as the rabbit bounded one direction and the next, kicking up the fine powder with its fevered death dance. She breathed easier, knowing an enemy would be watching the near silent play of hunter and prey instead of her breath.

She looked to her immediate left. He smiled at her, never losing that optimism and confidence that she lacked for so long. She smiled back, but her chapped lips twitched as she struggled to keep her teeth from chattering.

She never associated silence with Rock Lee. He was loud, he was always clamoring for attention, shouting his intentions; always in motion. He was an elastic ball of energy, never slowing down unless it was for a second and then speeding off on the next errand. Even when he had been injured in the chunin exams and they thought he would never recover…he was still trying to return to perpetual motion. Rock Lee was not silent, he was not still… but here he was; silent and still as the night around them.

"Sakura-san?" He mouthed.

She had been staring. She smiled again and turned away. This war had gone on so long that he had been unable to cut his hair into that hideous bowl cut. The eyebrows were still a problem--taking up half of his face--but he definitely warranted a second glance. She could still remember his childhood crush when they were genin. His personality seemed to be the antithesis of ninja. He stated his intentions and feelings without reserve. Ninja were supposed to be deceivers; Rock Lee was not.

The rabbit managed to escape the fox. All was silent once again.

She watched and waited. She did not know where the rest of the team was. They had separated after they had been overrun. She was lucky she had found Lee…although spending a week on the run without much rest save for the stillness could not be considered 'lucky'.

She turned towards Lee again. There he was, still smiling. She hoped that his smile didn't release the amount of cosmic radiation that his sensei's seemed to. They couldn't afford the enemy to see the sparkle off of pearly white teeth. Apparently he was just as devoted to dental hygiene as he was to training.

She made a few hand gestures. They had begun to learn how to communicate without words. Crude hand signals, eye contact, and drawings in the snow were enough to get their point across. He shook his head and motioned towards her. She rolled her eyes; always the chivalrous one. She made a few more gestures and he smirked.

"Can't sleep either?" He mouthed once again.

That was the other thing. She was learning how to read lips. At least something good would come out of this wretched silent night. She shrugged and sighed silently. The snow had made a blanket of white on top of her head. She gently knocked it off and wrapped her hooded cloak around her tighter. Her hand still clutched a frozen kunai, just in case.

Her breath continued to escape her mouth. Sakura looked into the seemingly empty expanse, looking for similar plumes of breath from her enemy. She might have to cover her mouth like Kakashi and other ninjas. That might help. This of course would require her to search through her pack. Too much movement…too much potential noise.

Another rabbit scurried across the white wasteland. Lee's eyes widened and he grabbed her arm suddenly. Her eyes widened, and she raised her arm to throw the kunai. Lee's hand stopped her. She wanted to scream at him. What was wrong with him?! She held her breath as the rabbit took a hop forward and then another. She forced her eyes to stay open as the small animal took one last innocent hop, and was blown sky high.

The explosion broke the silent night. Soon there was shouting, shuriken, and speed as they tried to run for their lives. There were too many to fight. Their cover was blown by a rabbit setting off one of their defensive lines of exploding tags. Sakura could have scared it away with a well thrown kunai, saving its life and possibly their cover, but her companion stopped her. She just might have to kill him for this.

Despite this and the danger, Rock Lee began to laugh. Sakura growled as she tried to match his incredible speed. She realized his laugh and his actions for what they were. He preferred running for his life to hiding in complete silence.

"I'll race you to Konoha." He said loudly and her face twitched.

So ended their silent night.