TAKEN: UnchainedHeart

Another Naruto story centered around a young girl who's fled from her village as a missing nin. I have the major plot points of this story done, but the in-between stuff is sketchy at best. 

Prologue

Can't... go... much further...!

Her world was spinning, careening out of control in both the literal and figurative sense. Her vision blurred, knees became weak, threatening to give. Something pounded rapidly against her chest, driving away her breath before she could fully take it in - her heartbeat, perhaps? She couldn't be sure; every muscle in her body throbbed.

What was one more meaningly sensation she was soon sure to lose?

She wheezed in a breath, wheezed it back out. Running, running, running - she hadn't been doing much else lately. Her pursurers refused to give her a moment's rest. Fatigue would claim her soon, draw her under the soft cover of darkness. And it would be over.

She would be over.

An ache formed in her heart; she quickly shook her head, casting away the thought. There was no use thinking about that now. She'd be fighting for her life soon. Thinking would only slow her down. Instinct alone would carry her through, if luck was on her side.

It wasn't.

And she knew it.

The world became shades of brown, green and blue, alternating, spinning, shifting whenever she attempted to focus. Nothing settled into her line of sight, only the black spots that teased her as they danced, always just within her reach.

Something shifted in her jacket, poked a furry head out above her zipper. She wanted to be calm, reassuring, but when the small black-furred Ninken looked up at her, glimmering golden eyes wide, the only look she could return was one of fear and exhaustion.

The Ninken lowered its head in resignation.

She couldn't hear them now; nothing penetrated the wall of silence besides the defeaning roar of her blood, and even that, too, was fading now. She tried to push on, stumbled, righted herself.

Just a little further, she urged herself desperately. Just until I... Just until I...

The girl lifted her head, squinting through the blur of motion in front of her. Gates. She saw gates. People. There had to be people. But would they accept her? Doubtful. And yet, there was no other choice.

She held herself tightly, arms wrapped around herself. Dark splotches stained her jacket, a substance that had long since become familiar to her. She didn't notice it, didn't feel it soak through her clothes, trickle down her skin. The warmth had gone.

Her feet, nearly numb with tiredness, could go no further: She collapsed, turning with split-second timing so that her back met the dirt instead of her front. The Ninken whimpered all the same. She drew in a ragged breath, trying to make sense of the mess of colors floating above her. Red, yellow, orange, purple... Familiar colors. A comfort.

Her chest heaved with every intake of breath, but she smiled, closing her eyes. She wanted those colors to carry her into the next world.

Blood loss and raw fatigue claimed the girl as she lay, unprotected and vulnerable to the elements, there among the pale soil and fallen leaves.

Another soft whimper escaped the Ninken before it too gave into its weaknesses and drifted off.

Both the girl and her companion were lost to their unconscious realities, by all appearences dead. They didn't stir, not when the gentle breeze swept down to kiss them goodbye, not when the branches rattled their farewells, not when two pairs of footsteps pounded towards her...

It seemed something would happen before nightfall after all.