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PROLOGUE
A Glimpse of the Present
"…I won't be coming back."
"But you'll be safe..."
It was more of a statement than a question for reassurance.
She brought a hand up to her face to flick brunette locks away from emerald eyes. With a rueful parting smile to the injured man stretched out on the futon, she lightly descended the staircase; a multi-layered genjutsu weaving behind her with each step. She always took care of her own.
Her face settled into a cold, indifferent mask - weight distributed evenly between both feet - as she reached the empty foyer.
It wouldn't be empty for long.
The tinkling of bells announced their arrival. They wanted her to know they were coming.
Mere seconds later they appeared; black cloaks strewn with blood-red clouds billowing in the wind, jingling bells dangling from straw hats that kept the rising sand from blowing into their eyes…
A tilt of a hat. A knowing smirk.
Metal clashed with metal.
-o-
They were seated around the kitchen table in a silence weighted with anticipation. Blood red eyes glanced up first and the others followed suit, watching as a petite figure emerged first from the doorway.
She stood there in a casual stance, much to their surprise; her limbs and chakra unrestrained. A battle had had to have broken out – of that there was no doubt – yet here she was unscathed and relaxed in their presence as if she was certain that they would or could not hurt her. That was startling in itself.
A smirk played boldly on her lips as she stared fearlessly into the crimson tones of the Sharingan. She inclined her head gracefully, brown bangs slipping across a rather wide forehead into an intense emerald gaze as she acknowledged him. "Uchiha."
Bewilderment flitted through his eyes for a split-second and was gone; well-hidden underneath a placid mask. Where had he seen those eyes before? Those bright viridian hues.
The very second he had his answer brown hair flickered under a brief henge giving the illusion of long, flowing pink hair, then reverted to its original dyed colour.
Hands slammed the table violently as the furious blonde beside him registered it too. "The bitch who killed Sasori-danna!"
Her smile widened.
"I'll kill you…!" Deidara sprung back, hands deftly moulding clay as he fixed her with an outraged glare.
Itachi's eyes narrowed imperceptibly when the two Akatsuki standing behind her - the two that had brought her there - made no move to intercept the fight.
Haruno Sakura. The would-have-been kyuubi-bait. His otouto's weak little teammate, now the Legendary Sannin's medic apprentice. Naïve and compassionate...he had never believed the rumours that she had become a missing nin. But here she was.
She had been so terribly weak the first time he had seen her, crying and watching fearfully as her teammates fought in her defense. A mere burden, he had concluded. He wouldn't have been surprised if she died a couple weeks later in battle. Was Haruno Sakura still so horribly weak?
Why then did cool confidence roll off her posture in almost tangible waves? Was it folly, arrogance or knowledge that allowed her to adopt such a casual stance in the presence of her enemies?
She was needed alive. She was brought here for a very special reason after all...
The little white clay bird was launched straight at her yet no-one was moving.
Neither. Was. She.
It was shock that kept Deidara from detonating his creation. Pure, unadulterated shock.
Was she stupid or just fearless?
Then Itachi was boring holes into the ceiling with his intense gaze, where the air had been distorted by a layered masking genjutsu that was deliberately becoming undone.
Delicate, precise and skilful.
Something akin to admiration registered itself in his mind as he counted the few opportunities she had to perform the substitution jutsu.
Bright peals of laughter rang through the air as she revealed herself from her perch on the ceiling, taking most of them by surprise. Samehada, however, must have picked up the faint stirrings of chakra for Kisame barely batted an eyelid and merely appeared amused.
Thin chakra strings ran from the tips of her fingers to various control-joints on her clone at the doorway.
Then blue eyes dilated in dawning realisation that it wasn't a clone – but a wooden girl puppet that was standing in the path of his clay bomb.
"H-how…?!" Deidara exclaimed.
Fury warred with confusion.
"Sasori." She said simply.
She offered no further explanation as she dropped lightly to the floor, mere metres away from the blonde's baffled face, leaving him to ponder whether his partner was still alive, or whether she was even speaking the truth in the first place.
But Haruno Sakura was fraught with secrets - secrets that she'd rather carry to her grave.
Sasori had indeed taught her…
She had simply refrained from telling them that he had taught her long after she killed him.
To be continued...
Source(s) of Inspiration
A Ripple in the Pond Trilogy by Lady Hanaka
A/N: Yes that was a rather long prologue. Don't worry if that raised so many questions which made it too hard to follow. Chapter 1 will give you some answers so please stay tuned xD. The beauty of planning a story is that you can do a lot of foreshadowing and flashbacks etc. Hopefully this will keep you guessing and on your toes. For now, I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse of the present. No pun intended. xD