Cherry Blossoms and Chakra Strings: Venomous Encounters

Shapes and colors whirled past Sakura with no discernible pattern as she was forced to undergo the unique experience of being teleported by a summoning seal. In a single instant that seemed to last longer than an eternity, her body was stretched every which way, her mind contorting and snapping to and fro like a rubber band as her very being was forcefully ejected into another dimension.

It was a uniquely disorienting experience, and even though she only went through it for but a single instant, as Sakura was forced out of the other side, she fell to her knees, doing her best not to pike her guts up on the dirt below.

Now she could see why all the books told her never to try and seal or teleport a human being with her seals. If that was what it was like when it was done correctly, she doubted anyone could ever survive a trip through one that wasn't made properly. They'd probably be ripped to pieces or at the very least exit the deal with less body parts than they entered with. Or more.

Sakura slowly stood up as she finally got her stomach back under control. Wobbling slightly from a keen sense of vertigo, the pinkette groaned, holding a hand to her head, “That was freaking stupid. Next time I get a seal like that, I’m gonna spend at least a week studying it before I even think about activating it. I’m lucky it didn’t spit me out above an active volcano or something.”

Actually, where did it spit her out? Sakura looked around somewhat nervously, taking in the looming trees around her. She was in some sort of forest, though not any that she recognized.

The trees around her were bigger than anything that she had seen outside of the Forest of Death, with trunks so thick that she could probably carve a perfect replica of her house out of their wooden flesh and still not be halfway through the tree itself. Their bark was dark and dead-looking, and yet their limbs still reached high into the sky, like wooden hands reaching for the moon hanging in the inky black above.

And that was another thing. It was night here instead of early evening. Judging by the height of the moon, it was close to midnight, so either she was on the literal other side of the world, or she was in another dimension which was… unlikely, but not exactly impossible.

She looked around at the forest around her, searching for any signs of life. Could she have been sent to the land that the animals holding the contract came from? If so, what kind of creature could it even be? Something that lived in woods this thick was probably some sort of mammal or even insect, a notion that filled Sakura with an equal amount of excitement and fear. What sort of creature could be lurking in these woods, just out of sight? A pack of ravenous wolves? Scores of giant centipedes, as she had suggested to Ino? Maybe it could even be owls, it was certainly dark enough for it.

Sakura held back the shiver of excitement that wanted to come out. She couldn’t wait to try and make a contract with whatever being might be out there waiting for her, but she knew that she had to hold back. There was a not-so-little chance that whatever was out there might also eat her without giving her a chance to even speak. New contracts were notoriously finicky. There was no telling what could go wrong.

“First thing’s first,” Sakura looked at the thick brush around her, “I need to find some shelter. It’s already pretty cold here and I don’t want to be trapped out if it starts raining or something.”

And so began her trek through the strange forests he had found herself in. Being a Konoha native, forests were no stranger to Sakura, even ones as large as these. The trees may be bigger and the brush thicker but it was still a forest all the same, and out of everyone in the Elemental Nations, they knew places like these the best.

Well, maybe outside of the Land of Forest, but barely anyone lived there outside of bandits and crazy people so they didn’t really count.

She walked for what felt like hours, carefully trailing through the woods. She pushed branches out of the way, stepped over fallen logs and rushing streams, and climbed trees to orient herself and hopefully see some kind of end to the seemingly endless jungle she was trapped in. That had been a waste of time. She was utterly surrounded by forest, extending in every direction as far as the eye could see.

She continued on, hoping that she might find a cave or something that she could take shelter in, or even the animal that the contract was supposed to be attached to. As she continued her journey however, and minutes turned into hours, she began to realize something.

There wasn't a single animal inside of this dead forest as far as she could tell. No birds chirped in the trees, no lizards or insects skittered across the floor. There weren't even any mosquitoes! That's how she knew something was wrong.

And yet, even as empty as the forest seemingly was, Sakura couldn't shake off the strangest feeling that she was being watched. As if something was watching her just beyond that curtain of darkness. She looked around and spotted nothing, and the feeling grew even more intense as she stared into the dark around her.

And as she walked into a clearing and that feeling became almost overwhelming, Sakura stopped dead in her tracks, her footsteps softened underneath her to mere shadows of what they had once been. She looked around at the trees looming around her and swallowed dryly, “Well… I guess that clears up what animal the contract belongs to.” She said weakly.

The sight before her was something out of Ino's worst nightmares. Thick white webs covered the trees and ground of the clearing so thoroughly that Sakura couldn't even see the dirt below her feet. Thick white sacks were nestled deeply into mounds of webbing pulsing and bulging like they were alive, or at the very least something inside them was.

Sakura eyed the sacks warily, and that feeling of forbidding that she had felt earlier increased a thousand fold the instant her foot landed upon the thick webs covering the forest floor. There wasn't any doubt in her mind now, something was watching her. And that something was not happy that she had intruded upon this place.

Sakura unclipped her scroll from her hip, looking around her with keen eyes as she searched for any movement. Her heart pumped in her chest as she realized that there wasn't a way out of the clearing apart from the way she came in. The webs had been wrapped far too thickly around the trees surrounding her, boxing her in and leaving only one avenue of escape.

A sound from above made her freeze, and a single leaf fluttered down past her face, swaying in the invisible breeze as it was forcibly dislodged from its place of rest. Sakura slowly lifted her head, somehow already knowing what she'd see.

It was a massive spider, furry and more deadly looking than any Sakura had seen in her life. It crawled down from the trees on massive legs, and as it grew closer, Sakura stepped back as she realized just how utterly massive it was. Its body was easily the size of her house, with bristling black fur and thick orange bands wrapping around each of its legs. If it wanted to, it could probably eat her without even noticing her pass through its massive fangs.

Sakura anxiety grew as even more spiders crawled out of the woodwork, joining the other. Thankfully none of them were as large as the big one, but some of them were easily as large as her, if not bigger.

In a poof of smoke, Teashi was standing in front of Sakura, warding off the oncoming hoard, and as the largest spider settled on the trunk of the tree across from her, it tilted its head, making a hissing noise as it observed her chakra strings attached to her puppet.

And then, in a deep, feminine voice wrapped in dark, chittering tones, it spoke.

“This one can make the glowing threads… How curious.” The spider spoke, its mandibles moving slowly, “Even more curious, is that you have not fled yet. Tell me, what is a human doing within my forest? Do you have business with my colony?”

Sakura swallowed at the silence that followed, realizing that the spider was waiting for her to speak. Looking around at the arachnids lining the trees, each of them more than large enough to eat her, she did just that.

“I’m Sakura Haruno, and yes, I do..” She spoke clearly, putting her fear behind her, “You see, I recently came across a summoning contract and signed it and it brought me here. I assume that you're the leader of this clan?”

The spider tilted her head curiously, “Indeed. You stand before the Broodmother of this colony.”

Sakura smiled, “That's great!” She said, confusing the creatures around her as her tense posture relaxed immediately, ”So does that mean that I'm contracted with the spider clan now? I can summon you guys to help me fight and stuff?”

Her smile immediately left her face as rhythmic chittering and hissing came from the trees all around her. They were laughing at her.

“What?” Sakura demanded, uncertainty and embarrassment filling her, “What's funny? I signed the contract, didn't I? That's how it works, right?”

As the laughter died down, the giant spider's fangs twitched in either amusement or agitation. Maybe both. “Contract? I have made no such contract. The Broodmother before me perhaps, but me? No. I am not beholden to whatever contact you have made with the previous colony, and I will not consign myself and my brood into the services of a child just because you found a piece of paper that let you invade our land unannounced.”

The spiders lining the trees chittered in agreement, and Sakura’s brow furrowed as she stared up at the spider, anxiety filling her chest, “So the contract wasn’t with your clan-I mean colony? But I thought that contracts and contractors were passed down through the clan! That’s how the toads do it! And the slugs too!”

The Broodmother tilted her head, “Toads? Slugs? I see no such creatures here. My colony does not operate based on your misconceptions. We answer to no tradition except for that of survival. Everything we do is to ensure that the next generation will come to pass, and though the previous mother may have sought to ally with you humans to ensure this, her reign has long since passed and now it is I who commands the clan. Why should my children lay their lives on the line for someone who offers nothing in return?”

It was a genuine question, and Sakura relaxed slightly as she began to understand what was going on and more importantly, why she hadn’t been killed and eaten yet. Offerings weren’t standard in the summoning world, but it wasn't unheard of for a contractor to ask for something in return for their services. Nobody wanted to go into battle for someone else just because they asked nicely, after all, and this spider seemed especially pragmatic.

“So I need to have something to offer in order to enter a contract with your colony?” She asked hopefully.

“At the very least, an offering that benefits the colony may go a long way in ensuring your survival and escape from my forest.” The Broodmother said in a hissing whisper, “My brood has not eaten in a fortnight, and though you may be but skin and bones, you shall be more than adequate food for my youngest.”

Sakura scowled at the remark but did her best to ignore it, trying to think of something that she could offer the queen in return for the contract. She thought as hard as she could but unfortunately came up blank. What could a perpetually broke genin with puppets offer a colony of giant spiders?

Wait. Sakura’s mind flashed back to her earlier thoughts, remembering how empty and dead the massive forest around her had seemed, as well as the Broodmother’s own words. The colony was starving, having not eaten in at least two weeks, and on top of that, they were clearly expecting even more members to join the colony judging by the bulging egg sacks that Sakura could see just behind the Broodmother. How would they sustain those numbers?

Sakura doubted they could, at least not without eating each other which, judging by the Broodmother’s words, was probably off the table. They needed a source of food if they wanted to survive the next few generations, and Sakura might be able to help with that.

“I might have something to offer you,” Sakura said, looking at the Broodmother, “though it’s less of an object and more of a… promise of security, I guess?”

The Broodmother leaned forward, “I am listening.”

Sakura swallowed at the sight of those massive fangs, each one as large as her, but she kept her composure, “I know of a place that’s just as big as this, with trees and caves and rivers large enough to suit your entire colony. You’ll be able to grow and spread to your hearts’ content there.”

“You offer a solution to a problem that does not exist.” The Broodmother hissed, displeased by her offer, “My colony has resided in this forest since the Great Sage granted us the will to grow and inhabit it as such. It has held clans far greater than my own and will continue to hold them still. We do not need another place to reside.”

“Not even one with food?” Sakura challenged. The Broodmother froze, her fangs twitching as she registered that statement, and Sakura grinned. Got her. “The Forest of Death has enough prey to sustain you all for generations. Prey that is just as big as you are. You could catch a single animal and have enough food to feed your entire brood, including yourself, for a month. As long as you don’t spread too widely and too rapidly, and leave our ninja alone, I doubt my village would even care. There’s worse things than you in that forest anyway.”

The spiders around her chittered curiously, speaking amongst themselves in clicking speech as their queen took in her offer. Sakura continued, “I offer you this place in return for a contract with your clan. It is large enough that your colony could reside within without issue, and most humans avoid the place like the plague. They wouldn’t bother you there.”

Her offer hung in the air, and thankfully, no laughter followed it as before. The Broodmother stared at her silently, not even twitching as all eight of her eyes remained locked onto Sakura’s two.

“It is an interesting offer, and certainly one worthy of considering this contract you are after.” The Broodmother finally said, making Sakura breathe a sigh of relief. “However, I will need more than mere words to enter such an agreement with a human. Your kind are notoriously fickle and tricky besides. You could very well be lying to my face, so I will have to ensure you are being truthful.”

The spider looked up and something dropped from above Sakura, right onto her shoulder. The pinkette flinched, whipping her head in the object’s direction, and was met with a spider the size of a closed fist. Its fur was black and bristly just like the Broodmother’s, and it had deep purple stripes running along its legs and abdomen.

“My youngest, Kii, will join you for a time so that you may prove that you are worthy of our contract.”

Kii crawled up the side of Sakura’s face, making her flinch slightly as he moved into her line of sight. He tilted his head in a way that was eerily reminiscent of his mother, “This one is soft and fleshy, with no armor to protect her against fangs or even cold. She will not last long.”

As Sakura processed that statement, the Broodmother continued, “Should he find you lacking, our agreement will be nullified and our contract revoked. For now, you may call upon us as you desire, and Kii will be your companion for a time. He may be young, but his venom is the strongest in generations. He will ensure this place is truly as bountiful as you say it is. Until that time, you will leave this place and not return.”

Sakura's grin returned as she realized she had pretty much secured herself a summoning contract with the clan. She sealed Teashi away, bowing low to the Broodmother in thanks, “I promise you'll see that I wasn't lying and I'm worthy of your contract. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”

“We shall see.”

Sakura watched curiously as the Broodmother reached a single leg down onto the web-covered forest floor. Glowing lines spread from the spider's leg, and Sakura’s eyes widened as the spider’s chakra trailed a path through the webs at her feet, twisting and turning in a fashion that raw, unmolded chakra had no business doing.

In a single, an intricate seal had been formed below Sakura with her at the center, and the pinkette gaped at it in shock, moments before the entire array glowed brightly and she was sent hurtling through the abyss once more.

“Goodbye, Sakura Haruno. I pray you do not disappoint me.”