Dedication: To one of my best friends… Animefreakett, you'll never know what a great friend you have been to me these past couple of years. Rock on.
A/N: Hi, people. This is my first Naruto fic, so, umm… please have mercy… --;;
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…
Large sea foam green eyes slit open in the darkness and stared at an unfamiliar ceiling. The bare room was eerie and silent. The now 18 year old Haruno Sakura shuddered when she felt a horrifically sensational chill travel up her spine. Goosebumps gathered on her arms and legs. She could not tell whether it was the fact that she had no covers to keep her warm, or the fact that she was extremely frightened that made her shudder. Perhaps even both.
Deciding to take note of her new and strange surroundings, Sakura attempted to sit up and look around, only to fall back with pain. She gritted her teeth in pure anguish and shut her eyes tightly. She knew one thing for sure; whoever took her to this place clearly didn't care enough to provide her with so much as a soft futon. She opened her eyes. That explained her pain and stiffness. Just how long had she been sleeping in this godforsaken place? Obviously long enough to make the muscles in her back scream with pain. The cold wooden floor below her wasn't helping, either. She figured that she had been here for awhile, for she felt grimy and her pink hair was matted to her face.
This feeling of unfriendliness and isolation… It was almost nightmarish. To wake up and find yourself in an unknown area? In pain, no less? The thought was terrifying to Sakura and she willed herself to finally sit up. It was then, she noticed, that her chakra had drained out of her body completely. Why, though? She did not use her chakra for anything in particular… How could it have gone so fast?
The door on the east wall that went unnoticed by the girl, now slid open and light flooded into the small dim room. Sakura squinted at the offending light that was now nearly blinding her since she had gotten so used to the darkness. She could barely make out two figures that appeared in the doorway.
"So, it seems our little kunoichi has finally awoken from her slumber." An amused male's voice spoke smoothly. "It certainly does seem so… yeah." A different male voice replied. Sakura tried to speak up, but found that her throat had dried out and was now burning like mad. She realized then how incredibly thirsty she was. She wanted so badly to ask what in all hells was going on. To ask who they were and what they wanted.
The first one that spoke approached her and knelt down by her. Now that he was nearer to her, Sakura could see that he was quite homely. His hair, from what she could see, was a dark shade of blue/gray. His eyes were small and beady with a dark outlining. There was a sickly gray tinge to his skin and her eyes might have been deceiving her, but she could have sworn that he had crooked lines on his face that resembled gills! He seemed so familiar, though…
A disgusting grin spread across the man's hideous face as he cupped her soft cheek with his gray calloused hand. His grin only widened when he felt her shudder. "Pathetic little kunoichi…" he spoke softly. "You have no idea what's going on, do you?" Sakura's eyes widened with hope of finding out where she was.
The repulsive man moved his hand so her chin was between his forefinger and thumb and he tilted her head up and to the side to get a better look at her beautiful features. "Very nice…" he muttered under his breath. His eyes moved down as he examined her body. "Would make quite the whore…" Sakura, extremely shocked at his choice of words, did something he last expected. She slapped him. Hard. The man still in the doorway burst into laughter as the freshly slapped man removed his hand from the rude girl and held his red cheek, too stunned to speak. Slowly, his face filled with rage and he stood suddenly, taking Sakura with him by her collar. "Why you insolent little bitch!" he yelled. He became even angrier when she refused to look at all intimidated. "I'll kill you!"
"Don't, Kisame." The man from the doorway said warningly. "If you killed her now, God knows what Itachi would do… yeah." The man, whose name was apparently Kisame, dropped Sakura on her back, muttering curses under his breath. Realization then dawned on Sakura. Barely muffling a gasp, she mentally kicked herself for not realizing it before. These men were part of Akatsuki! She had seen Kisame before, but hadn't been able to tell it was him, for it had been what-? Five years since she last saw him? Barely recognizable without his Akatsuki robes, he had, if possible, grown even more revolting than before and she tried her best to avoid looking at him.
"Stand up, bitch." Kisame spat. Sakura glared up at him menacingly. As if she could stand! She had not only been in pain when she woke up, but Kisame had also dropped her! "I said stand!" Kisame kicked her in the side, sneering when he got a pained yelp out the insolent girl. So, she was capable of making noise after all, was she?
"I… I can't stand!" Sakura said hoarsely. Kisame suddenly swept her onto her feet with ease, snickering when she squeaked in surprise. "Weak little kunoichi." He laughed. "So pitiful…"
"Eh, cut the wench some slack…yeah." The other man said. Kisame glared at him. "Just why should I cut the girl some slack, after she slapped me, Deidara!" Deidara shrugged. "Well, you were harassing the girl, so she was just defending herself…yeah." Sakura looked from one man to the other, trying to decipher the feelings running between them as they stared at each other. Kisame finally scowled, pushed Sakura into Deidara and angrily stalked out of the small room.
Sakura looked hopefully at Deidara. Maybe he was nicer? When he pushed her away from him and walked off, Sakura decided not to get her hopes up for this one. The problem at this point was that she was alone again, without any explanations as to why she had been taken here.
If only she could regain her chakra… She would be able to heal herself and get rid of the almost unbearable pain that ran throughout her body. Should she exit the room? Was she even allowed? 'Who cares if you're allowed?' Inner Sakura snapped. 'You can do whatever the hell you want!' Sakura nodded confidently and stepped out of the room. She was hardly ready for the bright light that nearly knocked her over. After blinking a few times, she was finally able to see clearly.
Before her, there was a labyrinth of hallways with doors every few feet. The floor was a burnished wood, shimmering without even the faintest scuff mark. Sakura decided to take the hallway directly to her right and cautiously started walking, hoping she wouldn't run into anyone. She suddenly stopped when a floorboard creaked under her bare feet. Standing there for a moment, she blinked and looked down at the offending strip of wood. Her head shot up and she quickly looked around to make sure no one had heard the creak. Carefully, she took her weight off of her right foot, making the floorboard groan once again. She cringed and cursed under her breath. Damned floor…
She continued to walk down the hallway, passing closed doors. This time, she kept her gaze on the floor; just to be sure she didn't step on loose floorboards anymore. Sakura had been doing well, that is, until she bumped into something hard. She slowly looked up. The sight was far from welcoming.
"Mischievous little bitch, aren't we?" Kisame said coolly, a slight sneer on his face. Sakura backed away, her eyes large with panic. Kisame snatched for her, cursing when she ducked out of his reach and turned to run. He scowled and chased after her.
Sakura ran furiously. This had to be her record. Oh, where was the rest of team seven? They had to see this! And Sasuke…! Her imagination was running wild. The idea of her on his mind, even for the slightest second, made her feel overwhelmed with enthusiasm. She sped up a bit.
Deidara sat quietly in his room, nibbling on a dumpling leftover from dinner the night before. He stood up and walked over to his door. As soon as he opened it, he saw a blur of pink shoot past him followed by a shouting and cussing Kisame. He dropped his dumpling, gaping in astonishment and shock. This little game of cat and mouse was interesting. He didn't know the girl could be so fast. Smirking slightly in amusement, he joined in.
Was that Deidara she had just passed by? Sakura couldn't keep running. She turned sharply to the left and was faced with yet another hallway of closed doors. She needed to find some way to hide. What were her options? The sound of Kisame yelling behind her grew faintly softer as she turned another corner to her right. There it was! The answer to her problem! It was an open door. Sakura dashed into the room and shut the door. A few seconds later, she heard Kisame and Deidara run passed the room. She was safe… For now, at least...
Sakura walked further into the room. It was dark and she could not see anything inside of it. All she could do for now was wait until she was sure it was safe to get out and find the exit out of this place. Yet, she was still curious… Why did they take her here? Hell, that didn't matter. She needed to get back to Konoha before the village became too worried. They might actually believe she went out in search of Sasuke. She would have, if it was allowed. Though she loved Sasuke, she would not have been able to save him when she was younger and now, she feared it was too late… Even she would admit that she could not go look for Sasuke alone. It was much too risky, anyway.
Sakura bumped into something. At first, she assumed it was the back wall of the room. Boy was she wrong! The lights flickered on. Sakura blinked and looked up at what she just ran into. She gasped and fell back. This was the last person she wanted to see.
Uchiha Itachi!
A/N: Well, it's a cliffhanger on the first chapter. Don't you all just love me? Please review!
