Belladonna, Ace, Jitterbug
Chapter Five: Belladonna, Ace, Jitterbug
"Please please please."I remember begging in my mind. "Please stop." I was terrified. I was walking home as fast as I could. I told my parents I would be okay to make it home on my own from the bus stop. But it was late, I was young and this guy was a creep!
I was shaking the entire way home. I was so tense and I tried to stay in the light but even the streetlights could only go so far. He continued following me and I was too afraid to walk up the street to my house. I wish my parents had gotten me a phone. They said I was too young.
Tears stung my eyes and I felt him grab my arm. My body felt like ice.
"Please no." My eyes squeezed shut.
I heard the screeching sound of tired. When I opened my eyes, a man climbed out of the car. He was beautiful. His eyes were glowing red, but I wasn't scared or anything. I felt safe. He was here to save me. He answered my prayers.
I saw him punch the creepy guy that was stalking me and the man fell over.
"Are you okay?" His voice was smooth, deep, angelic, even.
"Y-yes." I nodded and he frowned and tilted his head slightly.
"What are you doing out by yourself? You look about my brother's age." He said and I couldn't really answer.
"Um. Bus stop. Parents said ok." I don't even know if that made sense but he nodded.
"Let's get you home." He said and gently put his hand on my shoulder. I saw his eyes flash for a second, he smiled. I felt at peace. He was calming me, how I wasn't sure. It was nice to feel though.
He walked me all the way to my driveway and I thanked him for protecting me. He just gave a small smile. He looked troubled. I hoped he would be okay.
He left and I didn't even ask his name.
The next day, I saw him on the news. He was arrested for the murder of his family. My heart stopped. There was no way! He must've been framed!
I found out his name. Uchiha Itachi. They said they brought him into custody.
I never heard of his trial. I called so many prisons they said he was apparently in and all of them said the same thing. He was transferred, and this was an endless loop.
I didn't know where they were keeping him, but he saved my life and I intended to find out.
***
I started an online forum about him. The mysterious stranger who would show up and save people. More people added their own stories. He was a hero!
All of them said it wasn't him who killed his family. There was no way. All of us wanted to do something about it but no one could figure out what. I was the one who decided I would find him.
We named him. We gave him the name Seraphim. It means angel in Latin. I don't know, it just suited him! Everyone agreed and that's how he became him.
My parents were quite wealthy, we own a chain of very popular flower shops. This came to my advantage.
Some years later, I began ordering the most dangerous and poisonous plants I could find. My parents didn't realize. I rented a small office space in the heart of the city. My best friend, Shikamaru came over one day with me and was amazed by all of the plants thriving in the space. They were beautiful. And all of them could kill you.
Shikamaru was a genius. Really, he was. Even just in high school he could do things I didn't even know were possible. Only issue was he's very lazy so it takes some time. Shikamaru is a long-term thinker. I look at him as a chess player. He's always 10 steps ahead. He always wins.
When Shikamaru started coming with me to the office more and more, he started spending more time with the plants. He knew of my plan to save Seraphim. He thought it was dumb, but friends are there to help. And he was there to do just that.
We started working on a plan. He was quite good with chemistry and different elements. So, when he began to bring over his lab equipment, I didn't mind. The office was big enough, even had another room for him to have his setup.
He composed the most intricate poisonous things. There was a ball that when you threw it, it would shatter and knock the person who smelled it out. He had darts that could be used as tranquilizers. There were just so many tiny inventions he did with his spare time. It was fantastic. Everything was beautiful.
So, we got to work more.
This is where our other friend came in, Shino. He was pretty strange, but he had a knack for computers and that was something I needed right now. A few conversations, some sweet talk, and he was right next to Shikamaru in home base.
It was like a strange family we had. I would get more plants, I would take care of them, Shikamaru didn't know how, he would use them for experiments and create things from them and Shino... Shino helped with a lot more.
When I first met Seraphim, I was amazed with his ability to just try and do the right thing by helping others. While I had Shino look for Itachi's brother, I would also have him check things out for me which I would then follow up on in person. I always had them with me in a device in my ear.
Shino never did tell me why he relented finally. He did give me something else to play with.
Bugs. Not really a fan but whatever. They came in handy, especially for spying. And right now spying was the main thing I had to do to find Seraphim.
***
Ino stood on the rooftop next to Sasuke for a while that night just watching his charge. It had taken her a year of searching just to get a glimpse of Sasuke. They called him Mortaseraph. He was an angel, but he died. He has different abilities than Seraphim did. Ino was curious about them. So was Shikamaru and Shino. If they could actually get their asses in the field and not sit behind a computer while Ino did all the manual labor, they probably would have had an endless number of questions.
"Here." Ino handed Sasuke a slip of paper. He looked at it curiously. "My office. It's home-base with my team. We help people. As much as we can, anyway. If you ever want to stop by, feel free. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you. Isn't that right Jitterbug and Ace?" She asked with a smile.
"Tell him we said hi." Shikamaru said into the microphone and Ino giggled.
"They want to tell you hi." Sasuke looked over at her with an expression that made her laugh harder.
"Can you ask what the afterlife is like?" Shino asked and Ino blinked. Morbid.
"What's the afterlife like?" Sasuke shrugged.
"I don't know. I never been. I died, yeah but they just talked to me and sent me back. Don't you have somewhere to be?" Sasuke asked suddenly.
"No. Why?" Sasuke smirked at her.
"Cause I thought you did." He poked her forehead and when she blinked again she found herself next to Shino and Shikamaru. She scowled at the air.
"Very funny Mortaseraph!" She yelled to no one. At least she knew a new superpower he had. The ability to teleport.
Shikamaru and Shino just stared at her wide eyed and she pouted with her arms crossed. She knew she would be fighting next to him, just a matter of time. Then they would save Itachi. They had to.
She had to.