Phoenix
Chapter 1She awoke with a start. Panic and confusion gripped her as she squinted her eyes trying to make out her surroundings in the dark. It was cold, wet and earthy, Sakura concluded they had imprisoned her somewhere underground. Her head throbbed as she tried to remember what had happened before she was knocked out. She remembered running, she had been left in charge of a small genin team from a neighboring village and was supposed to escort them back home. That's when they were ambushed. At first Sakura had held her ground but as the number of opponents increased she had known that it was only a matter of time till she was over powered. She then released a chakra filled punch to the ground, as the earth came apart under her she yelled for the genin to run. As the group of sound village ninja surrounded her she saw the genin team zooming farther away into the forest. They had escaped, she smiles feels a sharp pain in the back of her head and then the world went dark.
Sakura noticed when she came to that her hands were bound by special handcuffs that deplete chakra levels. As a result she had less than a third left and was exhausted all over. Suddenly there was movement outside her cell and out appeared faces that filled her with so much hatred.
"Ah so I see you finally decided to join us" Kabuto said smiling meniacly . Beside him stood Orochimaru who stared intently at Sakura. "Release me!" Sakura demanded hoping they couldn't detect the quiver in her voice. She hated to admit it but even after all this time she was still afraid of them. "Oh I'm afraid we can't do that, can we Orochimaru-sama"
At this Orochimaru did something that filled Sakura with a paralyzing fear, he smiled. "You see my little Sakura-chan you were captured for a very specific purpose" He licked his lips and she shuddered, at this his smile grew wider and he continued. "Since your last reunion Sasuke has matured excellently into the calculated monster I need my future vessel to be, however he still holds a piece of humanity with him. You are here to help us eliminate it."
Sakura's heart which was already beating harshly took on an erratic pace at the mention of Sasuke's name. " You've wasted not only your efforts but your time" She replied "Sasuke no longer cares for Team 7,especially me" she said. Orochimaru just smiled wickedly at her as if she were still the simple minded twelve year old she used to be. He took a step toward her and trailed a finger down her face. "My dear with such conviction in your eyes it's no doubt you are Tsunades apprentice. That is why I will enjoy it so much more when he breaks you." With that he pulled his hand away still smiling and both he and Kabuto left her. She allowed herself to release the breath she had been holding and sunk against the wall.
P.O.V. Sasuke
Sasuke knew he wasn't going to like what Orochimaru was going to tell him the second he stepped into the room. It was the expression he had on, Sasuke concluded. That expression that always followed a mission that would push himself to a new limit. "Ah Sasuke so nice of you to join us." As per usual Sasuke didn't respond, simply staring on was the only acknowledgement he gave. "I have a mission for you Sasuke, you see we need you to torture an imprisoned ninja."
Sasuke reflexably glared, he disliked torturing anything. The endless screaming and begging annoyed him and left him in a sour mood for days. "Any sound ninja can do this mission, surely you can give me something more challenging for my training" Sasuke answered evenly. "On the contrary Sasuke this mission can only be done by you. It was constructed specifically for your training and I believe will be a big enough challenge for you" Orochimaru replied. Sasuke lifted his eyebrows at this and felt an all to familiar stir in his stomach he squashed it down however and stared on.
P.O.V. Sakura
Sakura's legs were beginning to grow numb, she tried adjusting herself into a more comfortable position but with her bound hands connected to the wall, there was very little she could do. "What were they planning to do to her? Would they ask Sasuke to kill her? What did she have to do with his humanity? It was obvious at there last encounter with Sasuke that he had broken any ties with Team 7. Sakura was so consumed in her own thoughts she failed to detect the lone figure slowly creeping up to her.
"Sakura"
With a gasp her head shot up and her emerald eyes locked on onyx ones. "Sasuke-kun" she said breathlessly. He looked slightly older from the last time she saw him but his eyes were even more bottomless than she remembered. He wore an unreadable expression as he opened her cell door. She held her breath as he moved toward her and her heart beat so loudly she was sure he could hear it. "Sasuke-kun" She said "You have to help me please. You have to help me escape!" Sasuke wordlessly undid her bounds and started hauling her away. Sakura couldn't believe it he was actually helping her.
But as they kept moving she noticed he was taking her lower and lower into the ground. Panic began to seize her as she recalled Orochimaru's words earlier. "He still holds a piece of humanity with him…You are here to help us eliminate it." They suddenly came to an abrupt halt standing outside of a door. "Sasuke-kun?" Sakura was sure she wasn't going to like what was behind the door. But as her mind conjured up kunais, katanas, and shuriken she failed completely in preparing herself for a different kind of torture. Sasuke hesitated for the first time in his life when he heard her voice. He had hoped she wouldn't talk, it would make everything easier if she didn't talk. She had always been so helpless and in need of protection that he almost faltered but then he recalled Orochimaru's voice "If you fail to complete this mission I will complete it for you." With these words in mind Sasuke hardened his resolve and pushed the door open dragging Sakura in after him.
Sakura's heart skipped a beat at what lay in front of her. A king sized bed in the middle of a otherwise empty room. She spun around quickly to come face to face with Sasuke's stony expression. "Sasuke-kun?" she said her voice shaking. "Don't talk" he said as he advanced on her. In one swift movement he had her pinned to the bed. "What are you!" "Don't talk" Sasuke repeated harshly. He moved so he could pin both of her arms with one of his. With his free hand he reached down and ripped her shirt off in one tug. Realization finally dawned on Sakura and she began to struggle. "Get off me! Stop! Please Sasuke-kun don't!" But her pleas fell on deaf ears and he continued on. Sakura tried all she could to throw him off her but it was futile without her chakra filled strength. Finally she stopped moving all together and cried.
"Do you want me to knock you out?" Sasuke asked quietly. Sakura who had her head buried into a pillow and crying silently managed a slight nod. Right before the world went dark she remembered thinking "This was the final straw, her love for him had a limit and he just reached it.
P.O.V. Sasuke
He stared down at her feeling something breaking inside him at the sight of her. After he had knocked her out he was nothing but gentle with her. As if that would make up for what he was doing. And when he had finished he placed a soft kiss on her closed lips. Sasuke stood up and dressed her slowly in his clothing. He then dressed himself and rolled up the blanket Sakura had lied on. In the middle was a dark bloodstain, his proof that the mission was completed. At first he had thought he could trick the Sanin and simply cut Sakura's arm for the blood but Kabuto had reassured him that there were ways to prove where the blood had come from.
Sasuke then carried her gently careful not to wake her. He had no intention of returning her to her cell instead made his way to the surface of the hideout. As he departed from Orochimaru's lair he reminded himself that he had to be quick otherwise this wouldn't work. He made his way to a small hospital but as he came closer he noticed a familiar chakra scent. Kabuto. Sasuke quickly put distance between them and berated himself. Kabuto often stocked up on medical supplies at this hospital. Losing hope and accepting their return he was about to make his way back when he caught sight of Neji Hyuga's chakra on the outskirts of the village. Sasuke speed up to his location and spotted him along with his teammates moving further away from the village with a scroll in hand. Sasuke made a split second decision and moved farther ahead of the group. When he was sure that he was in the teams path he gently set Sakura against a tree. Sasuke bent down and quietly whispered an "I'm sorry" before taking to the trees.
P.O.V Neji Hyuga
Neji was in a bad mood as it was. They had been sent to escort a lord safely to Konaha but when they had arrived it had appeared to have been some prank since there wasn't any lord there. They had departed after eating and were on their way home when he saw her. He had used his byakugan to double check it was her chakra he was sensing but as her small frame came into view, there was no denying who lay ahead of them. Without warning he took off running toward her leaving a shocked Ten Ten and Lee coming after him. The team stopped at the sight of Sakura's unconscious figure. It was Lee who finally spoke and acted "Sakura-san!" he cried as he moved to hold her. "Ten Ten help me!" Ten Ten seemed to finally snap out of her shock and began to assist Lee. Neji however looked up with his Bykugan and spotted a familiar chakra signature that he hadn't seen in years. "Sasuke" he said.
P.O.V. Sakura
Sakura stared up at the ceiling in her hospital room. Tsunade-sama had just finished treating her and had gone to get her test results. Leaving Sakura alone in her room, she had told her shishou everything and held back her tears even when she retold what Sasuke had done to her. "Sasuke" even now his name filled her with disgust and pain.
Tsunade returned with a paper clutched in her hands, she had to tell Sakura but couldn't bring herself in hurting her apprentice anymore than she already had so instead she asked a question. "Has Naruto been in to see you yet?" "No he has come by but I always tell the nurse to tell him that I'm asleep." Sakura said. "You should see him soon" replied the older woman. "I don't know what I'm going to tell him yet" Sakura answered. "How about the truth" Sakura gapped at her teacher and replied "I cant do that to him shishou it would hurt him so much, he would go after Sasuke and he could…" Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat that had appeared at the thought of Naruto dying. " No he can't find out about this not ever!" Tsunade answered sharply " Sakura you will have to tell him, this isn't something you can hide." "Why not?! Why can't I pretend it never happened shishou why!"
Tsunade looked down sadly at her apprentice and said the words she knew were going to break her. "Because Sakura your pregnant."