Okay, now this story will be a very special one. In chapter two, Sakura's way of thinking will change GIGANTICLY! It's hard to explain, but I hope you will still like it. This will be mainly Sakura loving Sasuke. But there will only be sexual stuff between Itachi and Sakura, the reson for this... you will read it in chapter two, once it's done. Anyway, I decided to do it like this, prehaps I'll change it sometime, but for now, there only will be ItaSaku moments.
Enjoy.
Chapter 1
Konoha, winter
It had been one year since Sasuke had returned to Konoha. After killing Orochimaru, he returned. But unfortunately, he yet had to kill his brother. Team seven had been reunited. Akatsuki still hunted for the kyuubi and the other jinchuuriki.
Today was an unfortunate day... Even though Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi were together and one of the strongest team, the three 18 year-olds and their sensei could not conquer every danger. They were on a mission...
'Sasuke, where are you?' Sakura's voice was heard in her teammates ears through the radio.
'Location B, how about you?'
'Near C, I think I just saw someone already...'
'That might be possible, but it's still a bit early, the criminals would arrive at two. If you're right, they're an hour early.'
'Ah.' Sakura lands on a branch. For a second she pulls of her Anbu mask and wipes some trails of sweat off her upperlip. The fact that it's after midnight, gives the woods a threatening impression. It's freezing cold, yet she is sweating a lot. They have been moving like this for about three hours. Sakura scratches her skin underneath her long glove. With a quick move she hides her face again and moves towards location C: The location which is nearest to the place where their targets will arrive.
An S-class mission, assassinate unranked criminals. These criminals aren't noted in the bingo book, yet. Konoha did not possess a lot of information about them, Tsunade-sama was only able to tell them that: they travel in a group, eight criminals to be exact. That they have been quiet famous in the past days. Robbery, slaughter, raping... No single detail, only one conclusion: these guys are no joke. An unnamed criminal ''group''. Not big enough to be called an organisation.
Sasuke and Sakura are supposed to do the job, Naruto and Kakashi will stay back, in case they need back up. Naruto was enormously annoyed that '' Sasuke-teme'' was allowed to have all the action, and that he had to stay behind.
Ten to fifteen minutes later, Sakura arrives at location C. She quietly sits down on a high branch en hides herself. Her gloved hand moves up to the button of the radio in her neck. She presses it.
'I've reached location C. Repeat: I just reached location C.' she whispers clearly.
'Understood.' Sasuke's voice replies.
Now all she needed to do was to wait for Sasuke to reach location D, because he would attack them from the opposite side. Together they would surround them. Then the messy job would start: the assassination.
S-class missions like these never were her favorite, but the money is hell good. Killing for living... That sounds bad, yeah. Well, she was doing a right job, these guys were a threat!
Sakura waits five more minutes, still hidden well in the shadows. She is calm, yet very alert, very aware of every sound in these woods. Then suddenly, they are here.
They're thirty minutes early...
Of course she could not contact Sasuke now, they would hear. Hidden behind the leaflets, she looks down upon the men. Things seem to be getting worse.
Sakura watches all of them, they seem to be jounin-skilled nins. One by one she observes them and tries to calculate their strength. Because that's her first job in this mission; calculating from a distance, then working out a plan. She tries to see if there is a possibility that she can handle them alone, since Sasuke will not arrive for another fifteen minutes. She will have to wait, unless they leave before he comes. No, that would be bad... That would mean she would have to attack them on her own.
She observes them.
One, two, three... God that number three has a lot of chakra. Four, five, six, seven... he seems to be the strongest, number seven.
Sakura observes them for another few minutes, until she realises...
Something is wrong.
They were just standing there, they weren't doing anything, just a little talking. But according to their information, an exchange in stolen, secret scrolls and forbidden jutsu's between the members would be planned for the night.
Wait a minute... her eyes widen. Where's number eight?
The moment she realises, a kunai is pressed on her throat. She knows now, that number eight is far beyond the strongest.
Definitely the strongest. I didn't even sense him.
Of course two thoughts rush through her mind, the two thoughts are her two only options: contact Sasuke, it didn't matter anymore if they heard her now, or draw her katana.
She didn't have time to make a choice, because the criminal behind her reaches for her neck and rips the communication-equipment off. Also his other hand closes around the tsuba of her katana, which is tied on her back.
No way to draw it now.
Sakura feels the painfully throbbing of her heart in her ears, she feels more cold sweat drip down her temples. The girl cannot deny that she is scared, mostly because even now she does not feel the person's chakra and also... the kunai is slowly making a small cut in her skin. Adrenalin pumps through her veins.
Hurry up Sasuke!
The man pushes her roughly off the high branch, but Sakura lands easily on her feet, with him close behind her. All the other men turn to Sakura, the nin behind her throws her radio to one of the others. The shortest member catches it and replies: 'It seems you were right after all.'
Sakura's eyes widen, this cannot be... They knew about her, the man behind her knew about her. About her presence? Since when? Since the very start? That could not be... This was being way too dangerous.
Who is he?
But more importantly, she is in big, utterly deep shit! Sasuke doesn't know about a thing and she can't even contact Naruto or Kakashi. She needs time and her radio! The criminal behind her pushes her forward to his teammates.
'Well done Takashi, you're really great.' number seven, whom seemed to be the strongest to Sakura earlier, speaks.
A smooth low voice behind the pink haired girl answers: 'Don't mention my name in front of her. Also... there might be more.'
'Chill man! Loosen up a bit, we've got everything under control!' the shortest member yells.
The man with the large chakra amount looks at 'Takashi' behind her and nodds. She watches that man carefully. Brown hair and blue eyes and a hell of a lot chakra. Definitely larger than hers. He tells Takashi that everything indeed is under control. But he is being too careless. Judging things now, the man behind her is the brain behind the group, the one with the large chakra amount seems to be the leader.
'Please give me the scroll, I'll read it while scouting the area for more hunter nins. Make sure you get rid of this girl.' he speaks muted, the voice sounds strangely familiar to her. Sakura turns around, trying to see the man's face, but she soon notices that the nin wears a black mask and a black hood. The only things that's visible are his eyes, dark eyes. They look at her coldly. Looking in them causes chills to run through her spine.
He has such unpleasant eyes...
The blue-eyed man a.k.a. their leader throws the obviously stolen scroll to the masked criminal. Said catches it with ease and disappears immediately into the trees. They all fix their attention on Sakura now.
'So... let's get rid of you then, little girl.'
Sakura had just enough time to wonder why the man whom had caught her seemed a bit familiar, before she was forced to focus on the other seven.
The leader and another blonde haired one with a tattoo in his neck, slowly approach her. But she is not going to let them get rid of her that easy.
With a quick move, she draws out her katana. Sakura finds it very foolish that the man behind her had just left. Almost as if he didn't care whether or not she would escape. As if he did not care about his teammates.
Strange...
She slams a fist full of chakra to the ground, to distract them, and immediately sprints to the short man whom is holding her radio, evading the other two.
With a quick swing of her deadly sharp sword, she slashes right through his side. Sakura feels her katana cut through him, effortless splitting his bones. She has already realised so often what this deadly beautiful katana could really do. It was an instrument, made to kill, made to slash limps off, made to torn hearts, to penetrade bodies. Using a sharp katana, made killing so frightening easy. Yes, it could scare her, how mighty, how dangerous this instrument could really be. But now she was only grateful for possessing one, it would save her life and kill all evil.
Sakura kills him, the short man. And as his lifeless body falls to the ground, she fetches her radio with shaking gloved hands.
She turns around, only to find the two she evaded just a second ago and the other four, coming at her. Shuriken, kunai, exploding tags and more are flying at her. It's owners coming right after them.
'Kawarimi no jutsu!' she screams, while making handseals. But before disappearing, a shuriken burries itself deep in her upper leg. She gritts teeth, but doesn't waste her breath on screaming in pain, no instead she runs and after a while she jumps up.
Back on the high branch, she used to hide earlier, she uses the time to contact Sasuke.
'Sasuke! Sakura here, I need back up! Location C. I repeat, I need back up, location--'
Stupid, she didn't pay attention. A knee slams in her stomach, small drops of saliva and blood leave her mouth.
Shit..
Sakura rams her fist against the jaw of the man with the tattoo. She jumps another few branches away, as she hears the blonde yell in pain, she knows that she has broken his jaw. She decides to run again, for the other criminals are coming too.
'Sasuke, I need backup, Sasuke!' she cries. The girl dodges some kunai, while being chased by... she didn't even know how many were chasing her. Poor Sakura starts panicking, desperately trying to reach Sasuke. With her leg's condition, she won't be able to keep this quick pace up. They will definitely catch her. That only panicks her more, and panick usually causes her to get clumsy.
Come on Sakura, calm down. Calm down... You're a trained Anbu, you have been through a lot worse...
'Sasuke! Answer dammit!'
It's no use, she'll have to call for Naruto. While jumping and running the fast she can, her furiously shaking finger presses the button again.
'Naruto, Sakura here, I request backup near C! Come as soon as possible, I'm injured and under attack!' she pants.
'Understood Sakura, how's Sasuke?'
'He's not here, he doesn't answer me!'
A short pause. She keeps fleeing, keeps jumping from branch to branch. Cold sweat drips down the girl's forehead. She is so scared, so scared to get caught, so scared to get rid off. She keeps going and she keeps panting. Sakura feels slightly comforted when she hears Naruto's warm voice.
'Alright, Kakashi-sensei will look for him. Hold on, I'll be there in a moment!'
'Hurry!'
That moment, right when she said that, her wounded leg gives in. She collapses on a large branch, almost falling down to the ground. She tries to get up, but her leg won't move. It hurt's like hell.
The girl can hear them, they are so near.
One more time she tries to get up, but she can't even feel her leg anymore. A thrown kunai burries itself in her lower back, and that is what it takes. She falls. From a very high branch, she falls all the way down. There is no way she could have stopped herself. She can only close her eyes and wait for the impact with the ground. Luckily her body meets bushes, they break her fall a bit. Bushes with lots of thorns.
For the next few moment she cannot move anymore. The bushes did break her fall, but it still hurted.
She whimpers softly as the thorns burry themselves deep in her skin. She quickly pulls the kunai out of her lower back. She gritts teeth, but is relieved when she feels that it wasn't that deep. The girl crawls through the bushes, thorns cutting her skin open. Ignoring that pain too, Sakura hides underneath them. Hoping that the green will mask her pink hair, hoping that they did not see her fall in here. Hoping that she would not have to fight.
Tough luck, again, like always. Strong hands pull her out of the bushes, she shivers in horror, but is very surprised to see it's...
'Naruto!' He smiles happily at her.
'How are you, Sakura-chan?'
'Not good, they're still around!'
'Are you injured?' he asks worried. Just when she was about to answer, Naruto hushes her. His ever blue eyes scan their environment. They scan the environment, before fixing on her green ones again.
'They're coming...'
--
Kakashi jumps at high speed from branch to branch, off to location B, where Sasuke was when he spoke to Sakura last. If he wasn't there, then the copy nin would check location D, where Sasuke was supposed to be.
The wind rushes through his silver locks, both eyes exposed to the world. Perfect vision is required in these kind of missions. S-class mission... He sighs. S-class missions always were dangerous. He knows about it, he has done them very often. He hadn't liked Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto going on one, but there was nothing he could do about it. They were eighteen now, considered as grown-ups, and the only thing he could do, was to join them.
Suddenly Kakashi feels it, Sasuke's chakra, and another one.
His unmatched eyes widen, and then in the same second, narrow in anger. Of course he knows both of their chakra's, he has felt them both before.
'Sasuke and... Itachi.'
With even greater speed, he goes left, to where two brothers are in the heat of battle. Kakashi's mood darkens even more when he realises... that Sasuke failed to answer to Sakura, probably because this kept him busy. Kakashi could already imagine Sasuke finding fighting Itachi more important. He gritts his teeth, and feels anger boiling up deep inside him.
Sasuke must have ignored Sakura's cries for help, because he was chasing Itachi. His fists clench, the black copy wheel of his red eye spins dangerously.
--
'Why are you even here?' the raven-haired male pants.
'Is it really necessary for you to know, little brother?' Itachi sends his fist to Sasuke jaw, it hits hard. His young brother flies backwards into a tree. After a grunt of pain, he continues:
'Would I ask if it wasn't?' voice raw, while standing up and straightening his back.
'Fine.' the elder Uchiha sighs 'I was here to collect a secret scroll, if you really must know.'
'In the forest? You came to a forest to collect a forbidden scroll?' sarcasm dripping of his voice, he stands still, recovering from the punch.
Itachi sighs again and throws a shuriken to Sasuke, whom easily deflects it with his kunai. Okay, Itachi knew that that shuriken wouldn't hit, but hey... he had to keep the fight exciting, didn't he? Fighting with his brother now is just a burden to him, no challenge at all. They both know it, but only one, Sasuke, refuses to face it. He could only sigh again, oh how this fight tired him. He wanted a fight in which he needed to stay sharp, but hell Sasuke was no match for him.
'I infiltrated in a criminal group. I faked my identity, so I could get some scrolls which are useful for Akatsuki.'
'Ah, so that's why you were wearing that mask. And now you're running from them or something? How stupid, do they even know?'
'Why are you so interested?'
Sasuke smirks, 'Just showing some interest before killing you.'
Itachi's brow lifts, finding it very interesting how his brother could still be that arrogant, when they both knew that at this rate, he was going to lose. 'You should know, I really don't have time for you now.'
Sasuke's mood darkens. 'Then you shouldn't have kept me alive! If I'm such a burden to you now, why didn't you get rid of me then!?'
He screams in anger, his powerfull scream resembling his chakra flow. He runs at Itachi with his Chidori screaming along, both loud, both full of power. But suddenly, in his strong attack in which he wanted to kill Itachi once and for all, he is being pushed away, some force send him flying through a tree.
Kakashi lands on a rock and looks angrily at Sasuke, but not forgetting that the other dangerous Uchiha is there too. Itachi takes this chance to head to Akatsuki Headquarters, leaving his yanked-off mask and hood behind.
Sasuke stands up, the glowing Chidori slowly fading away. The sound of thousand birds slowly dies. Sasuke's Sharingan glows furiously, he looks at Kakashi, but his crimson eyes meet with the same furiously glowing Sharingan.
'You would let Sakura die, in order to finish a fight with your brother, Sasuke?' Kakashi speaks lowly.
Sasuke does not reply, he keeps looking angrily at Kakashi. He does not answer, but they both know that the answer to that question is... yes.
--
'I'm sorry Sakura...' Naruto drops to his knees, blood purring out of his wound. She curses the nin with the tattoo for having the ability to temporarily seal up chakra. Exactely what he did to the kyuubi's chakra, which Naruto tried to use. He tried to use it to protect her. She curses the leader of the gang for having stabbed that kunai into her friends chest. She curses Sasuke for not have helped her when she needed it. But above all, she curses herself for not being strong enough, to protect Naruto, her most dearest friend.
'N-naruto...' she whispers before she blacks out herself.
--
She woke up in a cottage, after being tossed on the ground and being locked up. Immediately after waking she had healed both herself and Naruto. He had almost been gone... he had almost left her alone in that cottage, left her to be the only prisoner. Yes they were now prisoners.
She cried the whole time, while healing him. She couldn't stop the tears, she couldn't stop sobbing. And she cried even more when he opened his eyes and smiled softly at her.
But now, both Naruto and her are sitting at a table, both tied up. Both some fresh bruises, but nothing serious anymore. No Sakura took care of that earlier. But now she had no chakra left, she cannot fight. They do no longer possess a radio or any sort of weapon. The criminal took them away.
The two friends just stare into nothing. Two males entered the small room in the cottage. They look threatening at their hostages. Interrogattion has started... and Naruto and Sakura both fear what has yet to come.
--
'Let me go!' Sasuke yells, trying to pull his arm out of his sensei's iron grip. He has been dragging him along for almost twenty minutes and has been ignoring him for more than an hour.
After one last hard pull of the black haired shinobi, the silver haired one releases his grip instantely and with a sudden move, punches the younger one in his cheek. Sasuke lands back on his butt, rubbing his cheek. He remains quiet, his dark eyes looking at his knees.
'Now...' Kakashi starts 'Would you just shut the fuck up and come along? Sakura and Naruto might be in danger, and you and I are going to help them. I am very pissed off at the moment, but I will save that for later, when we're back in Konoha. Now's not the time. Understood?'
Sasuke doesn't reply, but when Kakashi turns around and sprints of in the direction of location C, Sasuke follows him, with no complaints, no yelling, no pulling. No, now that the chance of killing Itachi has shattered, he will try to save Sakura and Naruto. He will try to fix his mistakes.
--
'What are you saying? You can't find Takashi?'
'I'm sorry Sir, it seems he disappeared. We searched the whole area, but he is gone, we only found this.' a dark haired member shows his leader Takashi's black mask and hood. 'And he still has the scroll, we think he stole it form us.'
Yes, Sakura and Naruto can hear the conversation that's taking place in the other room. The girl's mind wanders off to the man named Takashi. It's obvious that he's a traitor. Now that she thinks about it, he did seem too strong for just a small criminal group like this one.
The leader gritts his teeth. 'That bitch inside killed Kohta and bbroke Mineo's jaw and now Takashi has betrayed us... Alright, just scout the area and don't let your guard down, there are probably more hunternins around. We need to find those and kill them.'
'Of course, Sir.'
'That will be all.'
'Just repeats the question, bitch! How many more teammates of yours are there left?' a man with bwon hair and green eyes yells.
Sakura's head shoots up, she didn't even hear the man asking her a question, she was too concentrated on the conversation outside the room.
Not that I was going to answer anyway... She thinks as the leader enters the room now too.
The other man asks the question again, but Sakura and Naruto keep their mouth shut. They have been doing it for quiet some time now. First Sakura's temper got the best of her and she came up with some very bold answers, but a few punches in her face had calmed her down.
'Well well, it seems we have some stubborn hostages here.' the leader speaks, his blue eyes watching Sakura intently. Right what he was thinking, still no progress in the interrogation. These were hunternins afterall. Well, he would have to come up with a different way then. He walks to the table and bows over to Sakura. He knows females are often weaker than men, both physically and mentally.
'I know more ways of getting information out of you.' He breaths in her face. Sakura however keeps staring forwards, hands and feet still tied, itching to beat this man to death.
'I know more ways.' his hands touches her upperarm.
Ripping his tongue out...
His hand slides in a slow motion down her arm, and reaches her thigh. Of course the leader does not fail to notice Naruto's narrowing eyes. He starts rubbing her thigh.
Cut his hands off, castrate him...
He turns to Naruto, after seeing no reaction coming from her. 'How would you feel, if something happened to this girl? Still wouldn't say a thing?'
Naruto keeps quiet. The blue eyed leader starts to get impatience.
'Are you friends, is she your girlfriend? Then don't you care about her getting hurt?' the man's voice is low, dangerously low. His patience is at it's limit. Naruto's blue eyes shoot up at them. 'I don't give a damn about anything you'll do to her.' he replies softly.
Inwardly, Sakura smirks, but her face remains stoic, emotionless. This is exactely how they were taught to act. Never show the enemy that you are friends or that you even know each other. It will only cause trouble. But unfortunately things don't go according to their plan..
The man laughs. 'We'll see about that.'
With a sudden move, he pulls Sakura roughly to her feet and he nodds to his partner. The leader drags Sakura along.
Fuck! Now Naruto really has to keep quiet!
She knows him, she knows her good friend. She knows that he won't be able to keep the act up, when they threaten to do things ''like this'' to her,
'S-Sakura-chan...' Naruto's blue eyes wide in shock.
'Shhhh', she breaths, as she tries to resist the strenth, pulling her away, as long as possible. But she can't her hands and feet are tied.
'B-but they're going to...Sakura!' He gritts teeth.
'Don't tell them, damn it! Don't you tell them a thing! Naruto!' she yells as the strong male hands pull her out of the room. Naruto closes his eyes in horror.
'Sakura-chan, don't you care about what they are going to do with you?'
Phew that was long, the reason for my story's title will get ''obvious'' in the next chapter!!
I think I made some grammar-errors, please Beta me in this!
REVIEWS ARE HIGHLY REQUESTED!