Story Title: Trading Yesterday

Chapter Title: Prisoner of War

Author: Dobbygrl

Type: Continuous

Rating: M (rated for violence and language)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, though it would be nice yeah?

Summary: AU: Konoha is at war with Rain Country. Sakura is captured on a mission gone wrong. She is tortured, beaten and bloodied when she is discovered by two unlikely heroes. "Hope Begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come." Sasu/Saku.

~ Quote by Anne Lemott

Sakura lifted her head up from where her bloodied and bruised face lay against the cold stone surface of her cell. Her lip was split open, blood oozing down her chin, her right eye was sealed shut from the swelling of being hit by an angry fist and her slim wrists were tied tightly behind her back with every single one of her fingers broken and aching. She was in immeasurable pain as she tried to crawl forward across her holding cell to the cup of water that sat teasingly in front of her.

Using her teeth, Sakura tipped the contents of the cup into her mouth, much of its contents spilling down her chin. Coughing from water, she winced and groaned at the pain in her chest. She was almost near certain that she had at least one broken rib, if not more, from being kicked mercilessly by her captors for information.

Rain Country and Fire Country, for the past nine months, had been warring against one another. The Village Hidden in the Rain decided that they wanted to expand their territory into Fire Country. And since that fateful day nine months ago when Rain Nin infiltrated Fire Country borders and set fire to a village near the border, both Rain Ninja and Leaf Ninja had been engaged in a bloody battle for land.

Sakura had been ordered to a recon mission across enemy lines to gather intelligence on enemy movements. As Sakura and her team of three Chunin were using ninjutsu to gather Intel, her youngest subordinate was caught and engaged in battle. Using radio's she was able to locate him and was joined soon after by her other two subordinates. The four of them engaged the enemy, fighting ruthlessly for their lives and to take back the information they had gathered.

The battle did not last long as Sakura and her three subordinate Chunin were overwhelmed by the enemy rain Nin. Grabbing Sakura by her short pink hair they had brought her to her knees roughly and lifted her face as they killed each of her teammates before her.

"Now, Captain," the man she had come to know as Akuma spat out at her as the man holding her hair behind her roughly pulled her head back, "I think we're do for a chat back at camp."

"Neko, escort our prisoner to her cell and ready the interrogation team." Turning back to face Sakura, Akuma smiled with insanity shining in his eyes, before he turned heal and moved forward to carry out his mission against the Leaf.

Sakura had been beaten, broken and bruised. The Rain interrogation Nin had asked questions to confuse her and manipulate her into giving information on Leaf movements. She had not answered a single question, instead throwing a curse at them after curse.

"Go to hell!" She had snarled, blood dripping out of her nose and lip down her chin. "I won't tell you Shits a damn thing so you might as well kill me!"

But kill her they did not. The man known as Akuma had later entered her holding cell and with his entrance she felt the temperature drop significantly just by one glace at his gleaming eyes.

Sakura had already been kicked and punched and beaten bloody, but when that Demon had put her face first on her stomach against the ground and whispered his plan into her ear of her punishments for each unanswered question, she had shivered in absolute terror at what was coming.

He had asked his first question, "What were your orders and what information have you gathered?"

Sakura stayed silent. She was not a traitor to her Country no matter the consequence. Akuma "tsched", took hold of her pinky and shattered it.

Screams of agony were heard echoing off the walls and out to the encampment. Akuma had continued his psychological and physical attack on her person until every last one of her fingers was a broken mess.

Resting her cheek back against the cold stone floor Sakura breathed shallowly from pain. She did not know how long she had been captive with the enemy. One day? Two? A week? Akuma had left, gleaning no information from her, leaving Sakura a sniveling, crying mess on the stone floor of her prison cell. She had blacked out at one point and just recently welcomed consciousness again.

Why hadn't they killed her yet? She didn't understand why she was still alive. She had watched her team, that she had been responsible for, die right in front of her. The Rain Ninja were a ruthless enemy. They were certainly not known for their mercy. Leaving only one logical reason she was still alive, they needed her alive for something or some purpose.

Sakura wondered what lay ahead of her next. She hadn't talked yet and she certainly held no intentions of talking. Especially after what she had already been through, if she could sanely make it through what she had already experienced, she convinced herself she could do it again… Hopefully.

Light broke the bleak dark that surrounded her as the door to her prison cell was opened. She didn't bother lifting her head; it would hurt too much anyways. She heard footsteps getting closer to her person and she groaned quietly in fear.

"Sakura!" Naruto leaned down gently brushing her pink dirty bangs from the side of her face. She was a bloody mess, he noticed with worry in his eyes. She had gone missing three day's ago along with her team she was captaining as Jonin. She had been posted as MIA (Missing in Action) back at camp and word had been sent to the Hokage Tsunade back at the Leaf.

"Naruto, hurry the fuck up!" Sasuke whispered urgently to his teammate. "What's taking so long?"

Naruto and Sasuke had been sent as ANBU to infiltrate enemy camps and destroy food and water supply, gather information, and check the prison holding for any captives as they moved from enemy encampment to enemy encampment. They were the elite of ninja. Their objective was to be silent, their mission was stealth and their motto was 'we don't even exist.'

"It's Sakura!" Naruto whispered with a touch of panic.

"What dobe?" Sasuke didn't think he heard Naruto right.

"Sasuke!" Naruto scream whispered, "It's Sakura!"

Sasuke quickly left his post of watching for the enemy at the front of the prison and hastened to where he felt Naruto's chakra.

"Fuck." Sasuke's breath cursed. Kneeling on the other side of Sakura from Naruto he felt her pulse and knew she was alive. Sakura moaned, her one good eye attempting to open, her exhaustion preventing her from doing much more.

"We have to get her out of her Teme!" Naruto whispered to his teammate and best friend still verging on panic.

"Calm down Naruto." Sasuke ordered. "Untie her hands, we're taking her with us. I'll carry her and lead, you take rear and watch my back."

Naruto quickly fumbled to untie her hands and gasped when he noticed the odd angles her fingers were pointing.

Sasuke felt for strong enemy chakra throughout the whole encampment and he felt only one that could potentially give them a challenge. He would do his best to lead himself and Naruto away from that particular person. They would now be at a disadvantage carrying Sakura.

"Sasuke," Nartuo eyes were serious, "lets go." He had finished untying Sakura's wrists.

Sasuke lifted Sakura into his arms and held her close to his chest. This was the first time he had seen her in a long time and he was definitely not happy about this reunion. Leading the way, Sasuke glided silently out of the prison and out into the open air. It was no surprise it was raining, after all, this was Rain Country.

Sneaking their way through the enemy encampment, Sasuke and Naruto made their way south back towards Fire Country. Ducking behind tents and small buildings, they made their way quietly to the edge of the Camp.

Sasuke had lost the feeling of the big chakra he had felt for earlier as they had left the prison holding, but quickly dismissed any worry. The ninja had most likely left on a mission, there was no way he could have sensed Sasuke or Naruto. They were too good at what they did.

Just as the two ninja were about to take flight through the trees with chakra gathered to the bottoms of their feet, four enemy Nin surrounded them.

"Well, well," a grisly man with insanity in his eyes grumbled in his rough tenor, "what do we have here? Hmm?"

Sasuke and Naruto stood back to back. Sasuke slowly lowered Sakura and lay her back gently on the forest floor.

"It seems we have a couple intruders come to take away our darling prisoner." The grisly man ground out making each word sound like a threat filled with promise of pain.

"Akuma, what is your order sir." A young ninja barely out of his diapers in Sasuke's opinion, asked of his commander.

The man now identified as Akuma smiled broadly staring straight into Sasuke's onyx eyes. "Your pink chit was quite the screamer."

Naruto fists clenched and he started to shake in anger. "Stay calm Naruto." Sasuke muttered quietly, his eyes still trained on Akuma, his peripheral keeping aware of the other three. He could tell by their Chakra who the real threat was, and it wasn't the wet diapers that surrounded them. No, it was the grisly man in front of them that would be the challenge. He had insanity glinting in his eyes. This was a man who had seen and been through one to many wars. He was dangerous.

"She begged for mercy as I broke her," Akuma continued with excitement, "she begged and sobbed and screamed and asked for death as I tortured her. She's weak." Akuma licked his lips as he fed himself excitement with each word he directed at Sasuke and Naruto.

Screaming, Naruto could take no more filthy words about his Sakura. He charged forward as Sasuke screamed at him to stop.

Sasuke, knowing that Naruto had reached his emotional capacity frowned and engaged the other three Rain ninja as Naruto dealt with Akuma. Naruto was annoying. He was great to have as a partner most of the time, but it was times like this when he lost it that made Sasuke wish he could knock his friend upside the head just to beat some common sense into him.

Akuma had been baiting them for sure and Naruto, the idiot that he was, had fallen for it. Now, Naruto being emotionally charged and not thinking, Sasuke had to deal with what was left of the mess. He had to take out three Ninja on his own, protect an unconscious Sakura and keep himself alive and uninjured. He was going to kill Naruto when they got back to camp.

Sharingan activated, Sasuke used his Katana to sliced open the neck of the first Rain Nin. The other two seeing how easily he had taken out their teammate, held back in a deadlock glare with the Uchiha.

The next one ran at him, Sasuke plunged forward with his Katana again and when he hit his target he was met with a puff of white smoke revealing the enemy Nin to have used a replacement jutsu.

Growling, the other came at him and Sasuke decided it was time to use his genjutsu. The ninja in front of him screamed and fell to his knees and just as Sasuke finished with him by plunging his Katana through his heart, he felt the other enemy ninja chakra coming at him from behind.

Turning with inhuman speed, Sasuke sliced up and his last enemy fell to the ground at his feet bleeding out rapidly from his sliced torso. Stepping over the body, Sasuke approached where he had lay down Sakura and picked her up again, nestling her back to his chest.

Naruto was no longer in sight and had taken off into the brush with Akuma. Gathering Chakra to his feet, Sasuke jumped forward into the forest after Naruto and Sakura's tormentor.