Unfortunate Soul

A/N: This fanfiction was LOOSELY inspired by "Poor Unfortunate Souls" from the Little Mermaid but it is NOT a songfic! However, the actual "song-inspired" portion does not come until later. Enjoy! :)

Chapter One

"Come out, come out where you are..." The darkly clad man smirks as he passes below her hiding spot for the fifth time. He knew she was close...

Sakura closes her eyes, taking a silent breath to steady her. Where are they? She demands. Come on you guys...I distract him forever!

The rouge ninja paces below her again and he started chuckling as he, lazily, scans the shadows for signs of movement. "Are you scared, little girl?" He calls. "Why're you hiding?" A kunai twirls on his finger as he glances behind a stack of crates against the wall of his warehouse hideout. He had no idea how these Leaf ninja had managed to find him. The place had been abandoned for years.

The kunoichi glares at him from her perch on the ceiling. It's a good thing I'm the distraction and not Naruto...he would just get angry if someone taunted him like this...then who knows what would happen.

Almost as if her teammate had heard her, the door suddenly bursts open. Twenty, long beams of wood pour inside and soar straight for the rouge. He, somehow, manages to dodge them, landing against the wall opposite from Sakura.

He's too far. She decides. I won't be able to reach him. Still, she pulls a kunai and tenses to attack. But she doesn't get the chance.

From somewhere in the inky darkness, a high pitched whirling noise breaks the air. A blinding blue light severs the shadows as an orange flash zips past Sakura. "RASENGAN!" The swirling blue sphere of chakra slams into the rouge's chest, sending him flying into the opposite wall. Blood trickles down his chin before he goes limp.

Sakura drops down from the ceiling, grinning at her teammates. "Took you two long enough." She says.

Yamato nods, apologetically. "We got a little held up. We met another enemy in the woods on the way here." He explains.

Immediately, her inner medic kicks into full throttle. "Are you hurt?" She asks both of them.

"No." Naruto strolls over to them, casually rotating his shoulder.

"That's a first." Sakura says, smirking. Earning her an annoyed glare from the blonde.

"I don't always get hurt!" He protests.

"Yes you do."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Okay, okay you two. No time for fighting." Yamato sighs. "We should get this man back to the village before he wakes up."

"Right." Sakura says. "If you'd like, I can sedate him."

"That won't be necessary. Naruto's attack did a number on him."

The blonde sticks his tongue out at her and jumps away to avoid a blow of her fist to his head, giggling childishly. But suddenly, a thought occurs to the young Jinchuuriki. "Hey, Captain Yamato..." He begins.

"Hm?"

"Didn't Granny Tsunade say there was a bunch of rouge ninja hiding out here. We only found two..." He says, folding his arms. "Shouldn't there be more of them?"

Just then, a ear-shattering scream wrips from Sakura's throat. Her head snaps back in pain and she sees stars before her eyes. An odd warmth trickles down her back from where the kunai has sunk into her skin.