As she walks through the forest on the outskirts of Konoha, Sakura can feel someone following her. Being the second in command of Konoha has caused her to be very in tune to her surroundings. At the moment she is just out walking because the night is so nice; not a cloud in the sky.
A loud whooshing sound makes her fly into a defensive stance. A group of three people in long black cloaks drop down and surround her. Sakura can tell who they are from their faces and their black cloaks with red clouds printed on them.
Diedara, Kisame, and Itachi from the Akatsuki.
"What do you want?" Sakura asks, venom coating her voice. She's looking at Itachi but is also keeping a lock on the other two using her peripheral vision and by locking onto their chakra flow.
None of them speak and she sees Itachi smirk at her anger. This man… no… this monster in front of her is the one who killed one of her best friends, Sasuke Uchiha.
"Answer me dammit!" she yells, anger nearly shrouding her common sense to the point where she has to tell herself not to lunge at Itachi.
"A proposition," Diedara says while sending one of his famous cocky grins her way.
"A proposition?" Sakura asks, her attention pricked. "What do you mean?"
"We were sent to offer you a spot in the Akatsuki," Itachi responds sounding a little bored.
"What the hell would make the Akatsuki believe that I would ever join them?" she says a little shocked. "I'd never betray Konoha!"
Once more silence envelopes the group. A look passes between the three Akatsuki members and, after a nod from Itachi, Kisame and Diedara quickly leave. For a long time Sakura and Itachi just stare at each other, Sakura being sure not to look into his Sharingan.
"You know my answer Uchiha," Sakura says in an angry voice. "You can go now."
Sakura expects the attack that Itachi does and she is able to dodge his kick. With a surge of excitement, she spins around and directs a kick of her own at his face but he's able to grab her foot and hold it a few inches from his face.
Damn! … Sakura thinks as she realizes that she can't move due to the pressure Itachi's putting into his hold.
The two glare at each other for a few moments until Itachi sends a punch at Sakura's face. The power of it sends her flying into a tree where she leaves a large crack. She falls to the ground.
With a grunt of pain, she stands up. Almost instantly, Itachi is in front of her pulling back for another punch, Sakura's ready this time, though, and is able to dodge it and send a kick into Itachi's gut. He quickly gets over his pain and spins around to kick her in the side… hard.
She flies across the opening and skids across the ground on her back. She coughs a little, trying to get her breath back. By that time, though, Itachi is sitting on her stomach, his legs on either side of her waist and his hands wrapped around her wrists, pinning her down.
Their faces are merely a few inches away from each other, causing Sakura to be able to feel Itachi's breath on her neck. It sends shivers down her spine as she looks up into his deep black eyes (he stopped using the Sharingan). They seems to be looking right through her.
Both of them are trying to catch their breath since the fight seemed short but very evenly matched.
"You lost Cherry Blossom," Itachi says, tightening his hold on her wrists and smirking down at her.
What kind of nickname is that? … Sakura asks herself as she feels her anger comes pouring back in.
"Get off of me Uchiha!" she yells as she tries to wiggle out of his grip. But he's too strong and with the injuries she has, she can barely keep her eyes open.
"Why wouldn't you betray Konoha?" Itachi asks.
"Because it's the right thing to do," she replies harshly. "Konoha is my home."
"I hear things you know," Itachi says, his smirk widening at her anger.
"And you point is…?" Sakura replies rolling her eyes. She knows that she's playing right into his little mind game but at the moment, with her being defeated and all, there's not much else she can do.
"I hear people talking and they say that you're so powerful that you've become second in command to Konoha; right under the Hokage herself. They also say that your strength and medical nin abilities have made you a favorite to the people. Some go even as far as to say that you would make a better Hokage and that your stronger than me." Itachi smirks at the last one.
The look on his face tells Sakura that he knows the last one is not true.
"What else do you want?" she asks in a stony voice. "You know my answer."
Itachi leans down and quietly whispers into her ear, causing butterflies to fly around in her stomach.
Why the hell does he have so much power?! … Sakura screams at herself.
"Remember Cherry Blossom," Itachi whispers chuckling a little. "Just call my name if you change your mind."
With that he pulls away and disappears into the forest. For a few minutes Sakura just lays there, her heart racing and thoughts flying through her mind. No one has ever been able to defeat her in a battle since Sasuke was killed and now Itachi has in a matter of minutes. And what about what he had said? Could she really betray Konoha?
No way! … she thinks as she stands up, dusting herself off ... I could never betray my friends like that!
But as she starts to walk through the dark forest she has the strange feeling that she's not being completely honest.
The next morning Sakura is woken up by a loud knock on her door. She groans but eventually mumbles something along the lines of, "What the hell do you want?"
"Sakura?" Shizune's voice says from the other side of the door. Sakura sighs, gets out of bed, and walks to the door. She opens it to find a surprised Shizune staring at her with big eyes.
"Who else Shizune?" Sakura asks rolling her eyes. "What do you want?"
"Well," Shizune replies smiling a little, "Lady Tsunade would like to see you as soon as possible."
"Alright," Sakura says. "Let me get dressed first, though."
With that she slams the door in Shizune's face. Turning around, she thinks again about what Itachi said. But she quickly erases it from her mind and walks over to her clothes lying on the chair by her desk. She slips on the clothes and looks at herself in the mirror.
She's wearing her normal outfit that has gotten her more than one check-out. On her right hand she has a long white glove with a pink strips following its length, that reaches up to her long sleeve fishnet undershirt. On top of the fishnet is a dark pink, tight halter top that shows off her rather large breasts. For pants she has on a pair of black short-shorts which go over her knee length fishnets. She's got on her dark pink, high-heeled boots that reach the middle of her calf. Though not seen, she's got tons of weapons and random antidotes placed all over her body.
As she looks herself over, two thoughts cloud her mind. The first one is one that she's thought of every time she looks into the mirror since the day that Sasuke was killed.Would Sasuke have enjoyed seeing me in this?
The other isn't one so normal and, in fact, this is the first day that she's thought of it.Does Itachi like seeing me in this?
Mentally slapping herself, she spins around and heads for the door, grabbing her little bag off of her bed as she passes. Inside the bag is a few kunai, three of her most prized antidotes, her money (around 75.00), and her favorite picture, folded up and tucked neatly into the hidden pocket on the side.
The picture shows Team 7 before all the bad things happened. In it, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke are all standing in regular poses smiling happily at the camera with their sensei, Kakashi, standing above them. Naruto is on the far right with his goofy grin on and one eye closed in a tight wink. On the far left Sasuke has his arms folded across his chest and an annoyed yet happy look on his face, his perfect smile towards the camera. Sakura is in the middle of her two teammates and is smiling brightly, her bright pink hair falling over her shoulders and her eyes bright green pools of happiness from just being with her best friends. Kakashi has a hand on either side of the group, one on Naruto's right shoulder and the other on Sasuke's left, the shadow of a smile showing behind his mask that always covered his face.
Opening the door, Sakura quickly tightens the bag around her waist and fast-walks out of her apartment. The cool summer air fills her lungs and she smiles slightly as she walks through the streets of Konoha, the civilians smiling at her and waving enthusiastically.
Once inside the Hokage's office, Sakura stands at attention in front of her newest sensei and boss, Hokage Tsunade.
She's sitting in her normal fashion; her hands clasped together and set under her chin and her over-large boobs being squeezed together. Her bright blue eyes, framed by a thick things of blond hair, look Sakura in the eye unwaveringly and a small smile plays at her lips.
"Good morning Sakura," Tsunade says in a pleasant-enough tone.
"Good morning Lady Hokage," Sakura replies bowing and then quickly coming up. "Shizune said that you wanted to see me."
At the moment, Shizune is no where in sight, more than likely off doing some chore for Tsunade.
"Yes," Tsunade says, though it sounds more like a sigh to Sakura. "Last night two attacking ninja infiltrated Konoha and killed thirteen people. We were able to catch the attackers thanks to the help of Kakashi and Guy. We have decided that we will execute them."
"So what do you need me for?" Sakura asks. If Kakashi and Guy have already dealt with the situation then why would she be needed?
"I would like you to decide how to execute them," Tsunade says looking Sakura hard in the eyes. "Think of it as a training session."
"Wha-!" Sakura cries out, her voice catching in her throat. Decide how to execute some enemy ninja! But, how could that be? Only the Hokage is able to decide the way to execute someone.
"Would you like to see the two who you will be deciding upon?" Kakashi's voice filters into Sakura's ears from behind her. She spins around and looks into the face of her former sensei.
"You mean you'll let me see them?" Sakura asks shocked.
"Of course," Tsunade says making Sakura spin around again.
Tsunade is holding up a picture of a pair of boys, both with wide smiles on their faces. A twinge of pain stabs Sakura in the heart as she realizes how closely the two look two Naruto and Sasuke when they were younger. The first one has a mop of short, spiky, dark brown hair and bright blue eyes and the other, the more serious one, has long red hair that ties into a tiny ponytail that can be seen over his shoulder and deep green eyes. The two looks like best friends who are just happy to be with each other and it sends tears almost out of Sakura's eyes.
Naruto! Sasuke! I miss you both so much! ... She thinks as she holds back her tears. She looks at Tsunade, now realizing how young the two boys look.
"This picture was taken two weeks ago," Tsunade says in a solemn voice. "These two boys are the ones that will be executed."
Sakura can't move as shock takes hold of her. Her mission was to decide the way to kill two young boys who couldn't be any older than twelve years old! How could she do that?!
"No," Sakura says in a steady voice.
"What was that?" Tsunade asks, though it's clear that she heard Sakura clearly.
"I will not condemn two little boys to death," Sakura says matter-of-factly.
"You dare go against the Hokage's word?" Tsunade says, fuming. Tsunade rarely will ever get mad at Sakura, seeing as she is her prodigy, but when someone goes against her will… that's another story entirely.
"Yes!" Sakura exclaims.
Kakashi reaches out and lightly takes hold of Sakura's arm but she slips away and turns to the point where she can look at both of them with her steady eyes.
"I will not condemn two little boys who are barely twelve!" Sakura exclaims. "If Naruto and Sasuke were here they would…"
"But they're not here," Tsunade says in a stony voice, sending chills up Sakura's spine. "They decided to go against my word and look where that put them! Sasuke is dead and Naruto has gone mentally insane! Is that the path that you want to take Sakura?! I thought you were better than all that!"
"If it means killing two children then I would rather be seen a traitor!" Sakura yells, her anger almost boiling over. How could Tsunade do this?! Sakura never would've thought that Tsunade…. and Kakashi too!… would ever agree to do away with two little boys. It just couldn't be true!
"Sakura," Kakashi says in a steady voice, trying desperately to calm her down, "you do not have to witness the killing. Merely…"
"Choose the way to kill them!" she finishes the phrase for him.
He cringes slightly and the room is left in silence. Not a word is spoken until Sakura makes up her mind in a flash. She calms down, stands up straight, and turns to Tsunade, a strange look on her face as though she's dazed.
"Lady Hokage," Sakura says in a voice unlike her own, "I will not take part in this kind of slaughter. If you wish to stop me I will kill anyone in my way but…. I'm leaving Konoha."
With that Sakura turns around and heads for the door. Opening it, she turns back to her two teachers, now both just stones in her heart, and looks at their shocked faces.
"I'm sorry," Sakura says. "Please tell Naruto that I wish him the best in his recovery."
Then she walks out, the doors slamming behind her, and heads for the outskirts of Konoha. As she walks through the city many people smile and wave at her like before but this time she does not wave back or even really notice anything around her. The only thoughts running through her head are those of betrayal… of her own and of her dear friends.
Sasuke and Naruto would've stood next to me … Sakura thinks as she reaches the outskirts of Konoha ... They would've come with me and they would've been by my side on everything. If only they were here now.
Pushing the memories that come flashing back aside, Sakura walks out of Konoha and into the woods, the words she's about to say repeating themselves in her mind.
"Uchiha!" Sakura yells as she walks farther and farther into the forest; farther and farther away from Konoha. "Uchiha I'm calling for you!"
Where the hell could he be?! … she thinks as she begins to feel frustrated … He said that all I had to do was call his name and he would come!
Then a thought hits her.
"I won't do it!" she yells into the forest, knowing perfectly well what Itachi is waiting for. "I'm not going to say it!"
After a few more minutes of yelling, she sighs and sits down cross-legged on the dewy grass. She twists a blade of it around her finger as she lets her thoughts wonder. Is she really doing the right thing? Should she go back to Konoha and apologize?
No … she thinks … I will not go back to that place no matter what!
With a look of determination, she stands back up and looks around her, taking in her entire surroundings. Something flashing by catches her attention but she doesn't have to turn to know that it's Itachi, taunting her in a way that makes her furious.
She knows that he'll only come out if she says that one thing but she can already feel the pain in her throat. With a sigh, this one of defeat, she looks straight ahead and says in a tiny voice, "I-I-"
Another flash causes her to tremble in anger and stubbornness.
"Itachi!" she yells out in anger. "Come out now!"
"No need to yell sweet little Cherry Blossom," Itachi says with a smirk as he finally materializes in front of her. "I'm right here."
Fuming with anger, Sakura looks up into his deep black eyes and glares full-heartedly at him.
"Why'd you make me do that?" she says in a seething voice.
"What?" he asks, trying to play innocent. The smirk on his face says that he knows exactly what she's talking about and it only makes her angrier.
"Why did you make me say your first name?" she says through clenched teeth.
"Because," Itachi replied lifting her chin up with his hand, "It sounds so nice coming from your mouth."
A few moments pass as Sakura stares up and Itachi, pure hatred seeping out of every pore in her body. He's trying to get a rise out of her and it seems to be working. Her breathing is speeding up to the point where she can barely breath as she tries to contain all the disgusting names and curses that she wants to scream at Itachi.
"Let's go," Sakura says pushing his hand away and starting towards the way she was originally heading.
"Don't be so brash Cherry Blossom," Itachi says grabbing her arm and holding her in place. "No one has ever angered me and survived."
"Is that a threat Uchiha?" Sakura replies going back to her original name for him.
"Possibly," he replies, his grip never loosening.
"Well I'm not big into threats but if you ever try to lay a hand on me, I'll kick your fucking ass!" she says and slips out of his grip.
She returns walking, a sudden burst of self-confidence after seeing Itachi's surprised face at her words. More than likely most people have never talked to Itachi like that before and lived to tell the tale, but then again….
Sakura isn't a "most people" kind of person.