Chapter Three: Survival

Disclaimer: I don't own Trinity Blood or Naruto!

She buried herself in her studies, the same way she had when Naruto and Sasuke left. She devoted herself entirely to learning the codes of conduct, to memorizing the proper ways to greet high ranking humans and Methuselah (she learned quickly not to use the word 'vampire' to avoid insulting them); to training with the various mentors they sent her. She ate little, choosing not to partake of the social experiences that accompanied meals…experiences that might bring back the memories she tried so hard to suppress. And having done it once before, she found it easier than an outsider might believe it to believe. And sometimes that scared her more than the Methuselah.


Sakura woke to a beam of sunlight streaming in through her window. Groaning, she pushed her sweat damp hair aside and pushed herself into a sitting position.

Sleep alluded her often…because to sleep was to give up control to your subconscious…to let things surface that were better left buried beneath consciousness. It was like giving her memories free restraint to rape her of what little control and feeling she still had.

She shook her head, fearing her train of thought might lead her down a path she didn't want to go. She got up, knowing that the best way to get over something was to work it off. The sooner her day got started, the sooner she could forget.

But maybe, one day, she could remember without the urge to tear open her own chest.

She pushed her hair away from her face.

It was longer than it had been that day, five months previously, when Abel had saved her. The people she had cut it for were dead now…no reason to hold onto the past, after all.

She crumpled to her knees, burying her face in her hands as she sobbed.


Sakura eventually picked herself up, the same way she had every day for the last five months, and showered and dressed in the same order she had for the last five months.

Routine kept her from going crazy, the thoughtless habits that filled her day and stopped her from thinking about anything too profound. It was routine that saved her: get up, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, study the arts of diplomacy and rhetoric, learn the proper use of a gun, study hand-to-hand, memorize the hierarchy of the Empire and the names of important figures, train with various teachers, eat dinner, shower again, go to bed, wake up, shower, get dressed…

She snapped up at the sound of a bird outside of her window, singing quietly to its friends. Her eyes widened as she pulled the curtain back slowly, letting sunlight flood her room again.

She already knew she couldn't continue living in such ordered numbness forever…but she didn't know what else to do.

But she almost wanted to break…because she wanted to feel something again.


Sakura smoothed the black outfit across her hips. They had been surprisingly accommodating in her desire to maintain her older tastes. In this case, a black skirt with fitted shorts, slit up the front and back, and a black, high-necked, sleeveless shirt. Her hair was suspended in a ponytail, much like Ino's hair used to be…

'No! Don't think.' She told herself, shaking away the sentiment as she jogged across the field.

She jogged right into Tres. Naturally, the blow only fazed her, sending her stumbling back with a slightly bloodied nose.

"Father Tres." She stated in mild shock, her hand over her nose to staunch the flow of blood.

"The Duchess Milan wishes to see you." He stated simply.

"Oh!" Sakura replied, muttering a quick good-bye before she started down the next hall, which opened onto the training area.

Thankfully, the Duchess' office was close and it was short run before she reached the massive double doors.

She rapped lightly on them, received the okay to enter, and did. Slipping inside, she gently closed the door behind her and took her place beside, of all people, Father Nightroad.

"Good to see you, Sister. I assume you studies are going well?"

"Yes, thank you, Lady Caterina." Sakura replied.

"Now, on to business: Lately, there's been a rash of Methuselah and Terran disappearances in and around Istvan."

"Istvan?" Abel muttered, hoping he had heard wrong.

Being the buffer city between the vampire Empire and the Human world, any, even seemingly small, shift could result in full out war between the Vatican and the Empire. That was something he was quite eager to avoid.

"Yes." Caterina sighed, "I want you two to find out what's happening over there and stop it."


"Hurry up!" Sakura yelled irritably as she dove for the closing train doors, dragging the protesting priest behind her as the doors slammed behind them.

"You can be so impatient sometimes." He stated as he collapsed back against a seat.

"We wouldn't be late if it wasn't for your obsession with milk tea!" She snapped back.

He pouted, averting his eyes and she didn't know if she should feel guilty or victorious.


It was late night when they finally stepped off the train, the faint hiss of the closing doors fading behind them with the dying roar of the train itself. A white fog had settled over the platform and it was eerily quiet.

"Well, it would appear our greeting train has failed to arrive." He stated, hauling his suitcase up.

"Do you think something happened?"

"Well we won't know until we get there, now will we?" He replied enthusiastically.

She sighed, bowing her head and following after the prancing priest.


"I am so sorry! I completely forgot I was supposed to meet you!" The nun cried out when they reached the church, were admitted, and explained the situation.

"There, there, it's not a big deal." Abel smiled.

"It's so embarrassing." She replied, hiding her cherry red face.

"We're just glad you're safe." Abel insisted.

"Well, at least let me bring you some food. You can rest in the rooms upstairs while I prepare it." She said, hurrying back down the hall and into the kitchen.

"Well…uh…that was…" He began but by then, Sakura was already half way up the hall.

"Hey! Wait for me!" He cried, scurrying after her and consequently tripping.

Sakura huffed in aggravation; she wasn't even sure what had annoyed her so badly—just that he was a suitable target for her rage. And she was immediately sorry for that thought and made up her mind to make it up to him later when she was less irritated.

She found a room, as the nun directed, and laid her stuff down on the floor, listening briefly to Abel and the Sister converse. Then she went to her window, opened it, and let the fresh air in and sunlight in. Istvan was really quite pretty…but it was the blatant corruption in its people that took away its luster.

She heard a cry and glanced down below to see the police beat against a helpless man…she hadn't even heard a charge read against him…

"Hey! What exactly do you think you're doing!?" She called down to them.

"Oh…Sister…" One trailed off.

"Leave him alone." Sakura stated, watching to make sure the man put some distance between him and police before she pulled herself back inside of the window.

"That was a noble thing to do."

She turned to Abel, who had at some point or another materialized in the doorway.

"No. It was right." She replied, turning her back on him again.

"True." Abel responded thoughtfully.

"Well, in any case," He continued, "We should get down to investigating."

"I was thinking about that. And I think I have a plan." She replied with a smirk.


She shifted uncomfortably in the bench, feigning fear at being a single female alone on a street in the middle of a city like Istvan.

"Hey there, honey."

She didn't look up, instead cowering slightly in the bench, pulling herself in close.

"Now, now, don't be afraid. We ain't gonna hurt ya…much."

A hand tore away the hat that hid her hair and eyes and another came under her chin, forcing her head upwards.

Sakura knew from the files Caterina had given them that people of moderate skill and interest were taken, while those who were completely ordinary or weak were left.

Her hand came up, wrapping around his wrist.

"I'd suggest you let me go." She stated simply with a smirk.

"Little bitch!" He yelled, attempting to back-hand her.

Sakura's left hand came up, catching his fist and twisting as she brought her knee up into his stomach just hard enough to wind him. Then she extended said leg, shoving him back against the ground.

His friends growled, coming at her; Sakura kicked up as high as she could, sending the first reeling into the third. The second managed to grab her arm, but it was an easy matter to shove him away.

"Ah, you'd make a fine specimen."

She turned on the voice, instantly knowing that this wasn't a common street walker. She may not even be able to take him…

Then again…she wanted to be taken, not the other way around…

She saw his fingers move and for a brief second, she wondered what he was doing. It wasn't until a net of incredibly fine silver strands came around her that she realized he was likely a version of puppeteer, like Kankuro.

She writhed weakly, unable to position herself in the net appropriately. This was bad…even if she wanted to, or needed to, fight she wouldn't be able to move with any range of motion.

"You might as well stop. I don't want my newest toy beaten to a bloody pulp before I ever get around to it." He smiled, appearing suddenly in front of her and running his fingers along her jaw and down the curve of her neck.

Sakura resisted the urge to smirk as she bit into the trace in her mouth, activating it.

And somewhere close by, Abel's positioning unit lit up.


Sakura let herself be stuffed into the cattle compartment of a train along with probably fifty other humans. It was a sign of his confidence than none of them were bound or gagged in any way. But it was also undeniable that they had given up: no one even screamed for help or even attempted to get at the doors.

Sakura watched as the panic set it and they began to fight among themselves, at one point even knocking the nearest women around. That was when she stood up.

"Stop." She stated as she caught a man's wrist and pushed him back gently.

The glare she sent them got all but one or two to sit back down immediately, but even they complied when their peers went down.

She knelt down beside the female, eyeing the tear along her eyebrow for a moment before she brought her glowing hand to the wound and sealed it.

"T…thank you." The woman stuttered.

Sakura shrugged, sitting back down and keeping an eye on the compartment. She desperately wanted to tell them that she was with the Vatican and there to help them. However, she already knew they were likely watching her every move and taping her every word. She had already jeopardized them in healing that female.


Sakura didn't even know what time it was when the train finally pulled to a stop. However, she knew more than twelve hours had definitely elapsed because the sun was just setting behind them---meaning the compound was in the East…

She was suddenly shoved forward but something that she took to be a Methuselah. She wasn't quite sure: it wore a helmet and goggles but no armor aside from that. Its bare chest was draped with a cloak, and an ax was strapped to its back.

Privately, she felt revulsion rise up in her throat but suppressed it and followed in line behind the other captives. They were funneled into a dark room the size of a gymnasium, where several hundred other humans were.

No lighting, very little air flow…a single, windowless bathroom…

It was only because of her keen, trained eyes that she saw the faint lines in the gym that marked a door, and one that bolted so heavily, even she would have had a hard time breaking it in, let alone a bunch of frightened humans…but even so, they were all taken for a special or rare kind of skill they possessed…so why hadn't they rallied?

She didn't have those answers…


Sometime several hours later, several of the guards appeared carrying, of all things, tubs. It took her a moment to realize why everyone was converging on them like lions on a wounded antelope: they were filled with a kind of thin gruel.

Quite literally, the guards dropped the tubs and disappeared again as the people began, of course, to fight over them. Sakura even saw small children, taken for their abilities several weeks earlier, shoved aside.

"Everyone calm down!" She finally screamed, standing up and drawing herself up to her full height; admittedly, it wasn't much, but she was counting on the fact that she was the only one willing to do it that would prevent them from contradicting her. Still, to her surprise, they did in fact back away, as if scared…

Sighing, she stated, "I'm not going to hurt you. But we can't act like animals."

There was a quiet mumble of approval.

"Good. Now, line up: the ill first, then the children, then the women and then the men. Eat only what you need and save the rest for the hungry."

In an act of almost single-minded obedience, they did as she asked.

But even she had hoped for a little more fight from them…she wanted someone to stand up and challenge her and prove they hadn't been broken completely.


Sakura quickly took control: she regulated everything from shower use in the morning to the line-up for dinner in the evening. She synchronized how the limited blankets they received were used and how water was rationed. Everything passed by her for an okay before it was done.

But even she couldn't protect them when every so often one of them was hauled off and didn't return.

She glanced up and an outward as another was dragged silently from their throngs and hauled through the single door, which bolted audibly behind the guards.

Almost two days had elapsed; not surprising…they had arrived on train. It was unlikely back-up would come the same way…


Abel climbed over the ridge, scanning for any sign of a potential enemy. Finding none, he scrambled into the next set of brambles and down the hill.

There he found the set of train tracks that technically didn't exist on the maps he had. It was quite ingenious, actually; a set of rails that split from a side branch that had been mostly abandoned and was no longer in use. It was so far from the main city and tracks that it was highly unlikely anyone would have discovered it if not for the tracking unit Sakura was signaling him with.

And he knew of only one organization that could fund that kind of endeavor with the type of secrecy necessary for its success: Rosenkruez.


Sakura shivered involuntarily when a pair of massive hands came across her arms, hauling her off her feet.

"No! Please!" One of the children cried, running forward.

"Stop!" Sakura screamed and the child froze, "I'll be alright, just remember what I told all of you, okay?"

Several heads bobbed and then she was hauled through the door and down a hall. She heard the door bolt behind her, the footsteps of the guards returning to their posts.

It was a single hall, leading to a single white door under bright, fake white lights.

She couldn't suppress the cry that rose from her throat as the door was opened.


Abel's keen eyes filtered out the static darkness and focused on the three vague figures hovering around the shanty-like compound. But even with the appearance of the place, he knew not to underestimate the horrors that lay inside.

"Sister Kate?" He whispered quietly into the radio in his ear.

"He's there, Father, awaiting your signal." She replied faintly.


Sakura's eyes widened in horror, the cry still in her throat.

"I'm sorry, does this offend you?" A male asked, tossing his coppery hair back as he rose from the bloody work on the nearest table and walked over.

There were literally disemboweled bodies hanging from the rafters, organs in a preservation fluids, human spine and bones sharpened and cleaned, hung on the walls, there were scalps in trays, and exposed skulls on surgical tables, bodies linked to life support systems even when their skulls were split and their frontal lobes absent.

Sakura's teeth bit into her lip as she met his gaze, her green eyes blazing.

He smirked, wiping his hand on the apron before proceeding to turn her head, as if inspecting her jaw line and neck. And then his eyes roved down, past her breasts, stomach, and thighs and back up again.

"You will make a particularly beautiful puppet." He smirked.

Her eyes narrowed and her nose crinkled as it did when she was angry.

"I don't think you realize what I could do to you." He told her in a sinister whisper, so close to her ear that she felt his lips brush against it, "Your nervous system is my playground."

She snapped her head back violently, forcing him back a full step.

"Do you know the kinds of torture I could inflict on you? Or the pleasures?" He asked.

She didn't reply, her eyes still on his.

He smirked again, motioning vaguely with his hand. His guards complied, slamming her against a table and tying her down so tightly she could barely breathe.

'If these were a quarter of an inch looser…' She thought, unable even to writhe against the bounds. Her strength was reliant on being able to move the body in tandem with her chakra…if she couldn't do that, she was physically as weak as any other…

"Don't worry, I'll make it as fast as possible." He told her, brandishing the scalpel in his hand.

Gunshots rang out from down the hall as the door suddenly flew open, colliding with the first guard.

A brown and black blur sped in, rounds going off in a blaze of bullets and sparks. Several blasts ripped through the straps binding her.

Dietrich's eyes fell on her, his hand pulling back.

"I don't think so!" Sakura cried as she rolled off the side of the gurney, kicking it back up at him. She heard the bones in his wrist give as the table struck him, the surgical blade skittering across the tile floor.

She never even saw his free hand flex and the lines whip towards her, only a blaze of gunfire that saved her.

"Stand down." Abel ordered, his gun still giving off a fine trail of vapor.

Dietrich smirked at him, slamming his fist against the wall. A series of explosions racked the roof, sending massive chunks of concrete and steel on top of them. All of their effort went into dodging the slabs and they forget entirely about him.

When the dust finally cleared, he was gone, as usual…


Sakura helped the last child onto the transport and waved as the platform rose and the ship pulled away, bearing them back home.

"Excellent work." Abel told her, appearing behind her.

"Not really. He still managed to escape." She replied, her hand dropping to her side.

"True, but all and all, the outcome could have been much worse." He said.

She nodded in a kind of half-agreement, her fist clenching at her side.

"Master, permission to inspect the corpses?"

Abel blanched, hesitating. But eventually he nodded.

Sakura nodded back in recognition, tying her hair back as she stepped back into the destroyed compound and knelt beside the nearest corpse.

Chakra flowed from her hands and into the body, gently inspecting it.

The results horrified her: the Methuselah had been dissected alive and then implanted with an electrical device that kept the cells alive without bringing back higher brain function and its self-preservation instincts had been severely suppressed.

She shivered, realizing how close she had come to be one of those things…

She turned away, opaque tears running down her face.

She would stop him, because she had to. What he was doing was an abomination of nature and its very principles. If he thought he could play God, he had another thing coming…

And her name was Haruno Sakura.

TBC