Chapter 2 – Shit Out of Luck
For Sakura, the ten minute break seemed to take hours. Her guard was up and alert was on high. Ravens don't belong in this forest. They don't belong anywhere near Konoha, whose boundaries her group was still well within. That could only mean one thing. Itachi Uchiha. With Itachi, naturally came his partner, Kisame Hoshigaki. They were both incredibly lethal and that was not a fight that anyone in her team was ready to engage in.
Finally, the ten minutes ran out and everyone rose to begin traveling yet again. The next three hours were filled with silence and the sensation of fear permeated the air. Another four hours went by with no sign of danger. Only two more hours until they hit the boarder. The tension started to relieve itself once they were 3 hours into Suna. Small chat began between Temari and Sakura and pretty soon, the whole group joined in. With only 6 hours to Suna, Temari called for another break, this time it being her who had to use the restroom.
The same procedures were taken as the last break, this time with no disturbances by the ravens. Sakura sat with Natsu and Katoru and Ino went with Temari to relieve herself. Five minutes passed and Sakura removed her mask and set it down next to her. After rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes, she began digging around in her pack for food of any sort. She leaned back against the tree and let out a loud sigh of disappointment when she didn't find anything.
"Hey, do either of you guys have food? I'm starving!" Sakura asked, glancing over at the two chatting boys. Natsu frowned, his stomach growling loudly in the brief silence.
"Nope, but now that you mention it, I'm freaking hungry too!" Natsu laughed, peering over at Katoru. The sand ninja reached into his pouch and pulled out a partially eaten fruit bar.
"I already had some of it, but if you don't mind that then it's yours." He smiled kindly, handing it to Sakura. Her mouth began to water a bit as she reached over to grab it. Within inches of touching it, Natsu lunged forward and nearly tackled Katoru's arm to get the food. It disappeared into his mouth in two bites. Burping happily, Natsu rolled onto his back between Sakura and Katoru, who looked at him with a mix of shock and anger.
"You asshole, that was for me!" Sakura scolded, punching Natsu in the arm. A small scuffle began between her and Natsu. Sakura eventually ended up sitting on Natsu, ready to give a victory speech, when she heard Katoru talking quietly.
"Yes, it was intended for Haruno-san. Too bad, I really wanted a bit of a challenge, but looks like I don't get that anymore." He mumbled, standing up and brushing his pants off. A look of pure confusion crossed Sakura's face as she turned her attention to Katoru.
"What are you talking about?" she questioned, her guards still quite low from the laid back atmosphere that she was previously indulged in. Katoru merely smiled and nodded down at Natsu. Following his gaze, Sakura realized that the man she was sitting on was no longer conscious.
"NATSU!" Sakura yelled, her hands flying to his throat to check for a pulse. She relaxed a bit when she felt the slow throb against her fingers. "What did you do to him?" She asked coldly, looking back at Katoru. The man shrugged.
"Just some sleeping pills, it'll wear off in a couple hours. They were meant for you though, it would have made this all a lot easier." Katoru looked up at the trees and brought his hands up to cup around his mouth. He let out a loud, intricate bird call that echoed lightly in the forest. Sakura pulled Natsu to a tree and leaned him against it, crouching protectively in front of him.
"What do you want?" She spat out. "Who are you?" Katoru only chuckled.
"It's not what I want Haruno-san. It's what THEY want. I am merely a pawn." Sakura reached into her kunai holster and pulled out two kunai, holding one in each hand and taking a defensive stance.
"I'm warning you Katoru, whatever you are planning, you better stop now. You're outnumbered and outmatched!" Sakura glared hard at him.
"Outnumbered?" Katoru asked, looking around with fake confusion. "Really now? I count only one conscious member on your side." Sakura paused, scanning the area not only visually, but for chakra signs. Her scan came up negative on both.
"Where are Temari and Ino? I swear if you lay a hand on them-"
"Haruno-san I've told you this already. I am merely a pawn. I haven't touched your precious friends. The dirty work is left to the Akatsuki." Sakura's breath caught in her throat.
"You – you're working with the Akatsuki?" She asked cautiously.
"I am working FOR the Akatsuki. They pay well, provide alibis and promise power. How could I refuse?"
"So what do you, what do the Akatsuki, want?"
Katoru paused and smiled. "YOU, Haruno-san."
Sakura scoffed. "Well good luck with that. I don't go down without a fight and I damn sure wont lose to you."
"It's not me you'll be fighting." Katoru chuckled and stepped aside. Through the trees behind him approached two dark figures. Both large, but the one on the right was of massive size height. 'Oh no.' Sakura though to herself. 'Shit, shit, shit. How the hell am I going to get out of this?'
"Hey Pinkie!" The man on the right shouted in a deep, booming voice. "Long time, no see." As the two men stepped into the light, Sakura's fears were confirmed. Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. "Ohhhh look Itachi" Kisame said in wonder as he leaned down a bit "You can actually SEE the fear in her eyes!" Itachi looked over at Katoru.
"You did well Tomogaku-san, but you're presence is no longer needed. You're pay will be waiting for you at the residence previously discussed."
"Yes Uchiha-san." Katoru bowed and took his leave quickly. "Now Haruno-san, we can do this one of two ways…the easy way, or the hard way."
"Let me guess," Sakura spat sarcastically. "The easy way is I do what you want and nobody gets hurt. The hard way is this turns into a fight that nobody wants?" Kisame let out a loud chuckle and Itachi even smiled.
"No Pinkie. The easy was is this turns into a fight, we beat the shit out of you until you surrender, kill your friend mercifully, and then take you with us. The hard way is we beat the shit out of you to the brink of unconsciousness, wake up your friend, I hold you down and make you watch as Itachi puts him through the Mangekyou, leave him half brain-dead in some part of this forest for wolves to pick off, and then take you with us." Kisame's smirk grew larger as he progressed through their plans and Sakura merely paled.
'I have to try and make a run for it…Suna isn't too terribly far. If I could cause a distraction and get a head start, I have enough chakra left to outrun them and make it to Suna in just under 2 hours.'
"And if I chose to surrender without a fight?" Sakura asked, slowly setting her kunai down on each side of her.
"I think we both know that won't happen Haruno-san." Itachi smiled.
"No…I supposed not." Sakura mumbled. In a flash Sakura pulled three kunai with exploding tags from her holster and threw them at the feet of Itachi and Kisame. As they exploded, she threw down a few smoke bombs and threw Natsu over her shoulder. In a matter of seconds, she was on the run.
As she jumped from tree to tree, she would occasionally try to tear them down to try and slow down her pursuers. In all of her panic, she nearly missed a branch and stumbled onto it, taking less than a second to recover and keep moving.
'This isn't happening. This can't be happening. Naruto, where are you when I need you!' She though. 'I just have to make it to Suna…or close to it. The ninja there should be able to sense the Akatsuki chakra from at least a couple miles!'
"It's no use Pinkie, we will catch you! Especially with that added weight you have there." Kisame shouted from not too far behind her. Sakura threw down more smoke bombs and pushed as much chakra as she could into her feet. Once she got to a couple minutes ahead of them, she realized that he was right, her plan was flawed. Sakura hadn't taken into account just how much Natsu had weighed. The added pounds would put wear and tear on her muscles and so she'd have to reserve some chakra to constantly heal that. They would catch her.
Sakura threw down here last couple smoke bombs, as well as a few more exploding tags. 'Plan B…the transportation scroll. It can only move one person though. Fuck. I don't want to die. Oh god I really don't want to die. But I've caused two deaths already. I won't be responsible for a third!' Sakura thought, dropping from the tree's and onto the ground. She sat Natsu down and pulled the emergency scroll from between her cleavage. Inner Sakura snorted, laughing at how boobs finally came in handy.
Unraveling the scroll, Sakura bit the tip of her finger and drew blood just at the two Akatsuki landed down a few feet in front of her. "Don't be doing anything stupid now Pinkie, you're friend's life is on the line here." Kisame glared at the scroll, trying to figure out what it said.
"I won't have another death on my conscience." Sakura yelled, wiping her blood on Natsu's forehead and then smearing it across the scroll. He poofed away in a cloud a smoke as Kisame lunged at Sakura. He caught her by the throat and slammed her hard into the ground.
"Where did you send him!" Kisame growled.
"To a place where you cannot reach him." Sakura choked out, a small smile on her face. "Back to Konoha." Sakura moved her hands from trying to pry his off of her neck, to reach down to her kunai holster. Her fingers brushed the casing when a foot was suddenly pressed against her arm with a pressure that made her cry out.
"You sent him, but not yourself as well?" Itachi asked, pressing down with his foot so hard that Sakura though her arm would shatter.
"The scroll only carries one." She gritted out from between her teeth.
"You made a noble choice." Itachi said and Sakura paused, turned to look up at him with surprise. "A noble choice…but a wrong one." The last thing Sakura saw before she blacked out was a foot coming very fast towards her face.
When she awoke, it was due to the feeling of a sharp jab into her rip cage every couple of seconds. It was a dull pain, like poking a bruise, but it made her groan nonetheless. She opened her eyes, but still saw nothing but never ending darkness. It suddenly hit Sakura that the familiar weight of her headband was no longer on her head, but instead it was balanced on the bridge of her nose. 'So they used my own headband to blind fold me. I must admit that is quite clever.'
"Oi Itachi, I think Pinkie here woke up." Kisame chuckled. From the proximity of his voice, she guessed that he was the one carrying her.
"Well then Kisame, put her back to sleep." Sakura heard Itachi grumble. If not for the current situation, Sakura would have laughed. Itachi sounded like an annoyed mother who just told her son to do the most obvious of tasks.
"Sir, yes sir, Sgt. Stick-Up-The-Ass." Kisame replied sarcastically. Sakura has just started to giggle when she felt a small pressure at the base of her neck. In an instant, Sakura returned back to the realm of dark, ignorant, bliss.