(A/N: This story is really hard to follow up on. I read it over and discovered some errors at the end (how embarrassing). Here's my 3rd chapter, hope you like it! I edited it a bit. Those of you who have gotten an update note should take this as a sign of me coming off hiatus.)

Disclaimer: What do you think?

Title: Saga of the Sakura Archives

Entry 2: Hard-Knock Life

Karin… from the looks of things was winning but even if she was loosing he wouldn't have helped. Deciding he was now bored, he turned to go back to his room and wake up Juugo just in case they had to leave, he stopped his upside down trek, however when an explosion sounded from the room he saw Karin in, he turned around to see the chuunin below him rush towards the now imploded smoking room. Karin was clutching her side and stumbled from the extended entrance into the room. A figure was just beyond her and she noticed she was cornered by the two chuunin and the leader it seemed. Sasuke sighed and told himself that if he allowed her to die as she looked like she was about to right now then he wouldn't be able to find the owner of the diary. Irritated that this factor bothered him he inwardly sighed and patiently waited until she'd be helpless. She was doing that a lot lately and frankly was getting annoyed.

"I won't ask you again, you little bitch, where is Uchiha Sasuke? We know you've been traveling in the same group with him for quite sometime now," Karin glared but didn't answer. Sasuke once again bored saw that Karin was preparing an attack that could overpower them if they didn't suspect her plan. So he just stood there waiting for her attack. It never happened as dozens of Mist Hunter nin swarmed the place in an instant. Sasuke had sensed them all 3 seconds before they popped in. Maybe he was getting rusty? He hadn't trained in awhile… Either way it didn't change the fact that he was cornered, as a Hunter nin held a chokuto to his neck and hissed out, "Uchiha Sasuke… what a pleasant surprise." Instantaneously the ones below looked up in surprise. Whoop-freakin-do.

"See?! I told you I felt something!" the female of the duo yelled at her partner, pointing at Sasuke, who had ignored her and asked a hunter nin who seemed to be in charge, "What is the meaning of this? We weren't told that we'd be receiving back up." Sasuke sighed and ignored his stomach's churning. It didn't make a sound or anything. It just tortured him silently and made his eye twitch. The one in charge pointed upwards at Sasuke as well and stated, "Take a good look at this person right here. He's Uchiha Sasuke, an S-class criminal from the Village-Hidden-in-the-Leaves. He's the one that killed his older brother Uchiha Itachi."

The two chuunin gasped in awe when given the information. Sasuke had heard something along the lines of Itachi's infamy within the Mist. Everybody there hated him from his Anbu days and the feelings never went away when he killed his entire family. Honestly Sasuke didn't care but it irritated him that his elder brother had left a legacy behind him. It was as if he was laughing at him from beyond the grave to carry out what he had left in his stead.

Kind of annoyed that he was being ignored he announced, "I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news but," he closed his eyes gently and heard a few of them murmur not to look into them when they opened; "you came here in vain tonight." The one behind him holding the kunai scoffed, "Huh, is that so?" Oh yeah… he would definitely be the first one to go. He grabbed the man's arm and broke it in an instant. It seemed as if it took awhile to register in the nin's mind that his own arm was snapped in half, because it had been done so fast, but Sasuke was finally sated as the man screamed and fell down forgetting his chakra control. That's when Sasuke opened his Sharingan and all the nin shifted or froze in place.

Sometimes being an S-class criminal had its perks… He reviewed all of the fallen nin one by one and found that he'd only left two conscious. The nin he had followed earlier. Karin was nowhere in sight. 'What luck…' he mused. Sasuke lazily strolled over to them lying awkwardly and said, "I have questions regarding early afternoon." The kunoichi was red faced as she scrutinized him looking at her bored and impatient, "Ehm… what happened this afternoon?" she asked, "Do not engage him, Tomo! He's an enemy!" the other warned, but it seemed as if the plea fell on deaf ears. Sasuke ignored him as well and raised an eyebrow in question. "You mean you didn't witness what happened on the border of your own country?"

The girl's face was blank as if she was thinking, "Even if we did know anything about that weird surge over the water we wouldn't tell you, scum," Sasuke's dark eyes shifted to the man from earlier. He looked like he was ready to die but Sasuke wasn't in the mood to spill blood tonight. In fact none of his pursuers were dead, they were knocked out. He was famished. "So you're saying you don't know…" he trailed off leaving an assumption in his words, "You didn't know what happened yourself?" the girl asked him puzzled. He didn't look at her but he nodded, "Well… we know that what caused it were two kunoichi," he turned to her with a deep calculating gaze as if probing if she was lying or not, "Nothing else," she added, aware of the look he gave her. "Thank you for your cooperation, now if you'll excuse me, I must find something to eat."

May 2nd

Dear Diary,

Today is my first official one-man, technically kunoichi, mission. To tell you the truth I'm kind of scared. I haven't had a mission in awhile but that's not what I'm so nervous about. I get to make decisions on my own and without the supervision of an adult nin, not only that but I think that my clients won't listen to me or put their trust in me. I mean, I'm only 13 years old and I don't look very impressive at all. I have pink hair, green eyes, a HUGE forehead, I'm flat as a board both ways and just now experiencing my period. Someone like Ino or even Hinata (a shy girl from a noble clan with a stuttering problem and white eyes), would look more intimidating, I'm a helpless fairy compared to them. I know that with my looks I'll be a target for unwanted attention. It's always been that way ever since I could remember, but I'm a kunoichi now, I should be able to handle anything as a chuunin. SHANNARO Oh yeah, that's right! I never said I became a chuunin. That's why I haven't written for a couple of days.

With Tsunade-sama's teaching I was able to ace the test with some other genin I barely knew. Ino was so jealous that I finally got back at her. I took the test in Grass this time. A lot of weird and creepy boys were staring at me. I honestly don't know what they were staring at. I mean I can handle boys like Naruto and even Lee but not boys I didn't even know. I think I reverted a little into my former self because I didn't have enough courage (or nerve) to tell them to get lost or look somewhere else. As if having all the local lords ogle me wasn't bad enough. They always kept saying that I had inherited Tsunade-sama's beauty and would hope that I gained her strength as well. I'm still not as strong as her and my medical skills are excelling past her expectations, but what do they mean by beauty? Oh well, I think I spotted my client's house.

--Sakura

He guessed his hunch was wrong. It's not like he had ESP, though it would help. Sasuke looked behind him seeing Juugo tiredly trudge along. It was dawn and they had put a good distance away from them and the inn. He was able to eat like he wanted but he had to get it from the bar downstairs and was instantly swarmed with whores. It puzzled him why that area wasn't affected at all by the nin that were upstairs. He stared at the book before tucking it under his belt. Sasuke didn't know why but he felt obligated to find Sakura and their only clue would have to be what he had. They were almost at the shore when he heard, "Sasuke-kun, there you are! I thought you left me!" he abstained from sighing and turned around. Karin.

In less than 10 seconds she latched onto his arm and he could feel his circulation stop. He tried to pry her off to save his appendage, he really did. Why didn't she just go away like Suigetsu? "Didn't think I'd find you back here," another voice sounded. Jinx. Now Sasuke really did sigh. 'They're like cockroaches,' he reflected, "So were you curious too? Or does it have to deal with that?" Suigestu asked pointing at Sasuke's belt. He narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything and felt it snatched from its position on his side. Sasuke's spikes whipped towards Karin who was naive of his killing intent. She held it up with two fingers as if it was diseased.

"It looks like a journal," her face scrunched up, "Like something a girl would own, why are you so fascinated by it, Sasuke-kun?" She held it level with her face and started to open it but he snatched it away in time. All hell would break loose if she read the contents written on those pages. She wanted to protest but when she noticed his death glare, she pouted, "Oh fine." Suigetsu watched the two and took another glance at the book, then out to sea. Now he was really interested. Out of all the times he's known the dark haired boy was never possessive. Not even when people touched Kusanagi. Did he know who it belonged to? And if he did, what was in it that was so important? Sasuke never held any value for anything. "Well are we going or do we have to wait until Juugo finishes his nap?" he asked him, pointing a thumb at the half awake giant, making sure to keep his eyes away from the text in Sasuke's hand. Sasuke stared at the white haired boy across from him and narrowed his eyes. He didn't say anything as he walked on the surface of the water. The rest followed.

"Excuse me? Are you Fujiyama-san?" Sakura asked a woman in her 20's occupied by two small boys. Sakura gulped. The woman was gorgeous. She had dark curly hair that was pulled back but still reached all the way down to her backside and her eyes accented them with a sky blue. Her face reminded her of tragic movie star, as the cheek bones were high but elegantly proportioned and there was a beauty mark under her lips towards the right.

Her figure was amazing, something only Sakura could aspire to, as she walked with her hourglass shape towards Sakura. Who at the moment felt intimidated, because not only of her looks, but because of the way she carried herself. It was almost ethereal. Sakura couldn't hide her deep blush. As soon as the woman reached her she said, "Yes I am. And you are?" Sakura stopped ogling her and said, "My name is Haruno Sakura. I'm a Leaf nin. I understand you've been having a bandit problem?" Sakura kept up her friendly business façade until, "They send a china doll to me?" Sakura could feel her Inner wanting to punch in that beautiful woman's face right then and there.

May 3rd

Dear Diary,

Can you believe the nerve of that woman? I wanted to rip her head off! But I couldn't… that means I'd be no better than Naruto. He wanted to kill the old man we were protecting from our first C-ranked mission because of the same attitude I was shown today. The only thing that kept me from exploding were the two her children. For some reason they looked afraid. I avoided asking where the father was but it still bugged me. I hope I didn't have on a face when I calmly explained that she could put her trust into a toothpick like me. After that she was still rude but told me to come with her. Apparently she came back from the market. I remember looking at a picture of her in the mission scroll and thinking, "Wow she's beautiful," she was even more so in person but her personality was hideous. She acted differently towards her own kids as if she had a split personality. I considered the odds and even compared her to my inner self but rejected the notion. This woman is not me. A shinobi who knows what they're perfectly capable of.

Moving on… she owns a small farm on the outskirts of the nearby town I met her in. About 3 months ago, men have come and raided her crops in the stead of raping her. Those crops are to be sold at the market. She and her sons can't survive without the fruits and vegetables they grow. If the men that she couldn't drive away keep taking more of the food they'll starve for the summer. It's also been explained that they come every 5 nights. I just missed them yesterday. Why it was so important that I was to come in a disguise instead of my kunoichi outfit? She was cooking at the time and facing me, so as soon as I asked, she turned pale and turned around quickly while giving me an answer. The threats that she told me about earlier were to be carried out if they knew she called for help.

That means the town didn't know of her situation. She sent for help by a friend of hers that was driving a wagon to Konoha and that's how I got the mission. We're still short of shinobi from the invasion. If it hadn't been for that factor Sasuke and Naruto would probably still be here and I would have a more experienced Chuunin, an adult no less, in my place but Tsunade-sama told me that I would be able to handle it. So I went and here I am in farm girl's clothing under the guise that I'm the "hired help."

OMG! Her sons are so adorable! They're coloring right in front of me right now. If Kakashi-sensei were here he'd jolt at hearing me squeal every five seconds whenever they came up to me to show me their drawings. I can't help it, I mean… I want to pinch their cheeks so badly but I could definitely remember my grandmother doing that to me whenever she visited. I hated that and I'm pretty much sure they would too so I hugged instead. They've been blushing ever since and showing me more of their drawings. The twins have their mother's hair but have two different colored eyes each. One of them is blue and the other is green. It makes them look just as mysterious as their mother who had her fair share of calling me a fragile flower child but I didn't mind. It's much better than being called "forehead" by someone I barely know. Tomorrow I start helping out on the farm. Wish me luck.

Sakura

Sasuke stopped reading. He ended up in back of his companions because he didn't trust them. They could've looked over his shoulder and see some very personal and embarrassing things written here and he didn't want to exploit them to people she didn't know. Then it occurred to him that a diary was private. He shouldn't be reading it either. But he convinced himself over and over, ever since he started reading it at the inn that he needed to in order to find out why she went missing recently. No matter how many times he repeated the excuse he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Especially when he knew he could just skip ahead to a more recent date, but he didn't want to. He didn't even know why it bothered him that he was being nosy. What did he care if Sakura disapproved?

"Hey look!" Suigetsu called out. Sasuke looked up, discovering that he had stopped walking awhile ago, and was staring down. Ignoring his reverie, he teleported to his group that was a few feet away from his position and looked in the direction they were all looking. On the surface of the water they found a body. Juugo walked up to the floating cadaver and pulled it out of the water. It was a woman with an Akatsuki cloak on. She had blue hair matching her open eyes and apart from that distinction, a lip ring. The blank gaze she gave them intimidated all but Sasuke. So Sakura was able to handle the Akatsuki on her own?

"Why would Akatsuki be way out here?" Karin asked aloud. Juugo was about to drop the woman's body back, that was still intact for some reason, but Sasuke stopped him. He wanted answers. "Suigetsu do you know any doctors that would keep their mouths shut and perform an autopsy?" He turned towards the said boy who was scrutinizing the woman as well. She didn't die like a normal shinobi would have suffered in battle. There wasn't a scratch on her and there seemed to be no cause of her demise. Suigetsu turned his gaze towards his ex-leader and nodded but asked, "Why does it matter to you?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes in frustration. He didn't know.

May 6th

Dear Diary,

Today is the day that I stake out the crops for our "guests." Over the past few days besides performing my chores, I set traps around the perimeter of Fujiyama-san's property and checked them over and over again while scouting at night just in case they sent a spy of their own. I've even had a few slugs go out to shop in human form and collect information on this family. It turns out that Fujiyama-san is a widow. At least that's what everyone thinks since they found a torn piece of his clothing in the mountains covered in blood 4 weeks ago. So far I've been on top of things for a one-man/woman/girl show. Fujiyama-san keeps insisting that I shouldn't take on so many precautions but I don't think I can never be too careful. Suppose they hired a ninja themselves? It was just a joke but she took it pretty hard considering that she was sewing and stuck herself with the needle.

Every time I made a joke like that she always had a violent reaction. I wanted to ask her if there was more to say but every time I tease her like that she's already thermal. For example, I walked over to heal her finger and stop the blood from flowing out but she slapped my hand away and walked over to the sink to wash it off instead. The boys, Jin and Gin, were silent like always but I could feel the tension that came with their behavior. Something's up, but I wish I knew what. So I walked out the house and said sorry, for what I don't know but I said it anyway, and claimed that I had to make my rounds. Three seconds later the boys came out and told me that she sent them to me with some money to get some groceries. I shrugged and thought nothing of it, summoned Katsuko to scout the area while I was gone, and brought them with me to the market. We had a lot of fun but I could tell they were a bit nervous about tonight. I did my best to console them and held back my own nervousness. I mean I was the one that was supposed to get rid of the "pests." What were they worried about?

Katsuko just appeared through the ground… judging by the silence she's giving me something serious happened. I just hope it's not too bad.

Sakura

Sakura sped on the path to the cottage and reviewed the last 10 minutes. Katsuko had burst through the ground just as she was leaving the town with the twins. After a minute of silence, her ninken relayed that she had seen a total of 10 men surround the perimeter and avoid the traps that were set. Katsuko herself had taken out 2 of their scouts that they had sent ahead. She said that they were ninja of the chuunin level from the Village-Hidden-in-the-Rain. Sakura had never liked those ninja ever since she saw them from her first chuunin exam. They all had nasty looks on their faces and short tempers.

A lock of her pink hair released itself from the binding of a red bandana and found its way in front of her eyes. She growled at the tendril and slapped it out of her face, heart beating fast. There were only a few scenarios that could explain why Sakura was so out of it.

1. Fujiyama-san knew that the men were ninja and not normal trash. She probably withheld the information from her because she thought that Sakura wouldn't be enough.

2. Fujiyama-san was involved with this whole scandal. She could be a partner or even the leader of the gang. (but then why would she bother to call for help)

3. There's more than meets the eye here. Maybe a missing factor that Sakura over looked. They probably knew she was here.

She took a deep breath and released it. Nerves weren't going to help. There was nothing to worry about. Katsuko was far away from the cottage with the twins keeping them safe. All she had to do was ambush them one by one. It wouldn't be too hard considering all the training she's had in just one year. Her super-human strength was just starting to make itself known in full bloom. It wasn't as potent as her shishou's but it was enough to knock anyone out and create small craters with. Sakura spotted the landmark that indicating she was 200 feet away from the house and knew that from then on she should be careful. They could've set up other traps while she was gone and be checking to see if she would return soon.

Stiffening for a split second after feeling a chakra come at her fast she jumped upwards with chakra and looked down. A Rain nin had missed his mark with a huge axe in mid air and was looking up at her grinning. She raised a brow. Why was he so happy? Sakura's eyes expanded as she did her best to avoid a couple of shuriken that sliced her a bit. She didn't have to time to recover as two more came from opposite sides. Knowing that she couldn't dodge them in mid air she brought out a couple of kunai and threw it at them. They blocked it with their own but gasped in shock when hearing the clank that came from the metal. Sakura smirked as she landed on a tree branch. They were caught in her newest genjutsu. As soon as an opponent's weapon hits those special kunai the technique uses the vibration and chakra stored in them to infiltrate the ears that amplify a certain frequency messing with their neural systems, causing deliria.

They fell to the ground but still made too much noise, so she got out some senbon needles, and stuck them in their pressure points. Even if they did wake up soon after, they wouldn't be able to move later on. She stood up and looked around. Wasn't there another one? Sakura felt a slight shift in the air behind her and turned around to block the axe if she could, closed her eyes, tightened her muscles bracing for impact, and waited for the sensation of her head lop over her shoulders. But it never came. Or maybe it did? She popped one curious green eye open and looked through her guard. Katsuko was there flattening the man that was struggling under her weight.

Blinking, Sakura crouched down and ended his loosing battle of gravity with another needle. She looked up and raised a brow at the twins that popped over the slugs head. "I thought I gave you specific orders to lay low away from the cottage," she said standing up and folding her arms over her chest. "Forgive me, Sakura-sama but we were ambushed ourselves," Sakura reviewed her ninken's condition. The slug was covered in bruises, "I came to warn you but I couldn't just leave the twins alone and-," Sakura held up her hand. "How many attacked you?" The twins got off Katsuko and ran towards Sakura embracing her legs into a hug. She could feel them shaking. She didn't blame them. "Three."

She thought for awhile and tried to come up with a new plan. It was foolish of her not to be more cautious. There was a possibility that they had spread out and that there were more apart from the four that were counted. Katsuko looked as if she would dismiss herself at any moment and that wasn't good. She needed her ninken and gave her a meaningful look. "I need you to secure the perimeter. The twin's will stay with me." For the past half hour Katsuko did as she was told and Sakura took out 3 extra nin. She asked a couple of them for information but they wouldn't talk much. 'Not until their completely defeated. They must have a leader that's still in the cottage with Fujiyama-san.

Katsuko couldn't keep up her post so Sakura was on her own with the twins. She looked up and thought about ways to counter the leader who didn't know that she had gotten rid of his followers. So far she learned that his name was Ame no Tohru. She remembered that among the paper work that she had to help her teacher with, that he was in one of the files. The profile showed his picture that was none to pleasant to look at. He was in his thirties, balding, dark-skinned, tattooed, and scarred. The profile said that he took delight in women young and old.

Sakura shivered at that part knowing that she would probably have to do something she wasn't ready for. A missing nin from his own village, held a small resistance North of Konoha and was only of chuunin level in the bingo book so Tsunade never thought of him as a threat and neither did Sakura. Big mistake. He was probably doing all sorts of terrible things to the twin's mother and was in perfect health unlike her who had to counter the poison from the shuriken earlier. If Sakura had another comrade with her this would be easy. But there was no one else to help her. She had to do this all by herself and somehow come out victorious.

She was behind a tree several yards away from the cottage that was now visible. Screaming and yelling could be heard making Sakura and the twins a little jittery. Sakura took a deep breath and reviewed all that's happened since she first became a kunoichi. She would not screw this up… even if she didn't have a plan. How could she when she didn't know any of his abilities? The files on him just explained his likes, dislikes, and even a picture as if he was an eligible bachelor. If she ever got out of this alive she'd make sure that she'd stress the importance of finding out what the target's abilities were and not a description of what they're like. She took a deep breath and stood up, "Okay you two stay here. I know it's a bit much to ask since it's scary out here but be brave and stay hidden." She was about to walk off and stealthily make her way into the cottage but two small hands wrapped themselves around her arm before she could go any further.

Sakura looked back and saw the two twins keeping their tears in check. "Take us with you please?" she shook her head with a sincere smile but they added, "We know a way in without using the door," Gin looked at her pointedly and Sakura crouched down to continue the conversation on their level.

"What do you mean?"

The twins stared at each other then back up at her. Jin answered, "Before the bad men came, me and Gin would sneak out the house at night to catch fireflies by the pond. Mommy said that the path was to be used for emergencies."

Now they were getting somewhere, "Show me."

Who would've thought that there would be an underground tunnel leading up to the twin's bedroom? They explained that their great grandfather constructed it along with the house several years ago before passing it on to their grandfather who later passed it on to their father. It was a little over 10 minutes before she decided to ask them about their father. He'd disappeared because he had made a deal with the ninja that were invading their house right now…

When he discovered who they were, and went back to them to cancel their contract, he didn't come back home. Sakura understood everything now when they added that Tohru threatened his wife on two conditions. One was her freedom and the other was her husband's life. She was told that he was still alive but Sakura doubted it. It was no wonder why so much important information was being held back. But Fujiyama's misplaced faith cause so many things to go wrong. She knew she was underestimated but she would have a better chance if she knew what she was up against. 'Note to self: Look more intimidating. Maybe then my patrons will respect me.'

A crash sounded throughout the tunnel. There were other sounds just like it getting louder as they continued. "How much closer are we?" she asked them, "Not far," Gin whispered back. She nodded seeing a dim light appear up ahead. "There it is," Jin said loudly. Sakura hushed him and narrowed her eyes to get a better look. Sure enough something like a door could be seen. She could hear rain falling on their window. It became quiet all of a sudden. No doubt that Jin's shout was heard. She held in a curse and told the boys to huddle around for a plan. As soon as they brought their heads together she hit their pressure points behind the necks. They would only get in the way and it was better if the nin only knew he would be dealing with a kunoichi.

Sakura pulled them with her up towards the exit of the tunnel and kept her breathing low. She laid the twins behind the door of the closet she saw from afar and dumped a bunch of clothes on them to hide them. She closed the door behind her while scouting out the room. It was empty but she could feel the man's chakra next door. He was fanning it out as if challenging her. She gulped aware of how low her own chakra levels were before stepping out her door and then stepped back as soon as kunai almost clipped her nose. She was caught. A deep throaty laugh sounded down the hallway, "Show yourself kunoichi, I know you're there." The bastard even knew what gender she was. Didn't Sakura feel special?

Doing as she was told, she dashed out with kunai in hand and scanned the dark corridor. Her viridian never caught anything until she was slammed against the opposite end with a watery limb. Literally there was an arm of no real physical proportion in the form of the powerful element fusing her to the wall. The pressure it created on her body was almost insufferable. Then she heard the same chuckle fill her ears as she let out a groan.

"It seems that you met a couple of my men. I'm surprised you could still move," Sakura glowered at the darkness as heavy footsteps came closer along with the slight hint of dragging on the floor.

"My, your cute, Konoha broads always are." Her mouth let out another gas. Her neck ached as the pressure increased around it.

He was choking her. "Fuji…ya…ma-san," slowly the light from the twin's room revealed the man as described in the reports.

"Hm? Oh you mean the whore that hired you?" as he came closer into the light she could see that his right arm was holding some sort of jutsu that assumed its shape and acted upon his will. In his left hand, was what was dragging earlier.

The twin's mother was fine, out cold, but okay. She let out one last moan before Sakura looked up at her captor in contempt. He was dragging her by the hair. Sakura herself had grown out her hair again and found it very offensive but she held in her fury a little while longer,

"Husband…"

The guy blinked at her surprised, "Eh? You know about that fool too?" he noticed her unwavering façade and answered, "If it'll ease your worries, the weakling's working for us at the moment. He's not much help though. His wife is the one that's actually keeping him alive," he lifted the woman by the hair higher off the floor.

"Let her go you pig!" He frowned and dropped the woman as commanded. Sakura could feel the pressure lessen around her body and noticed she could breathe easier along with seeing him suddenly hold up a hand sign. Her eyes widened as her voice involuntarily shrieked from her mouth. An immense pain ravaged her body as a tremendous surge of electricity channeled from his arm that was holding her up. Sakura's world went dark for awhile but when she came to she was on the floor and numb. Her hair could be seen spread out around her as she stared at it for awhile. 'Sasuke…I dreamt about him. Why did I…?' her thoughts cut off as she heard something ripping from up ahead.

Her eyes went in and out of focus as they shifted upwards and landed on a pair. It was Tohru and Fujiyama-san. Sakura could feel her pulse quicken as everything came back to her. She was still in the cottage and her mission wasn't done yet. Feeling flowed back into her body as her inner egged her on to kick the man's ass. Her body felt stiff and burned as it shook. She knew why it was so hard to move but didn't understand. Wisdom and knowledge were two different things but they were always thought as one by the misinformed. Sakura was one of them. He seemed to have noticed her movements as he stopped his own. "Wait…she doesn't… they don't deserve this." Words just spilled out of her mouth as he became spellbound by her stamina. "I've…failed… them," the man smirked a bit. "So what are you willing to offer?" he tantalized her aware of her self-esteem dwindling.

Sakura stared up at the missing Rain nin holding the unconscious mother up to him. She looked back down and away to the closet she had knocked out the kids and shoved into. She had gotten his attention… now what? The kunoichi-in-training looked back up at the man who looked displeased at her interference. "T-take me instead," she suggested. Her whole body heated up with adrenaline aware of what its owner was about to do. She gulped and fought to keep her eyes in contact with the man and ignored her loud protesting mind. This was the only way that they'd get out of this alive, never mind her innocence. It was nothing compared to a life or two. Sakura stood up and knew her legs were shaking visibly. The man looked down at those knobby knees of hers and started to laugh showing her his missing rotten teeth.

"Fine, since you want it so much," he agreed once again dropping the farmer's wife. He was crouched down and the twin's mother was right in front of her so it was an upset to her when his lower portion was revealed. He had already gotten rid of his pants and she noticed that they were nowhere to be found on the floor. She sucked in a breath and looked away as he approached. Sakura could feel his amusement rolling off of his adult body as well as the sweat that spilled down her forehead to her chin. "Heh, c'mon it's not that scary sweetheart," he joked, "Just be thankful that I'm so experienced and well endowed," she gasped as he grabbed her crotch and hauled her up from the floor.

Sakura couldn't hold back the deep tremors that ran throughout her body even if she wanted to. She wouldn't lie to anybody. She was deeply terrified. His head rested in the crook of her neck as he ripped off her shorts and harshly whispered, "Relax and enjoy. Give me something to work with." Tohru hefted up her left leg and wrapped it around his waist and it stayed there. Sakura didn't understand the way she clung to him as her arms snaked their way around his torso and her hands found his back. A lump formed in her throat as he zipped down her dress and moaned at the way she stiffened when feeling something hard poke her abdomen. Her nails dug into his back and dragged them down but it didn't seem to faze him. Her body still wanted to hurt him even though it gave up.

Her viridian looked over his shoulder to the one she protected from this horror. Sakura's visualization became blurry as lukewarm tears packed her eyes. Then he grabbed her bottom and shoved her down. His member firmly sheaved into her and she let out the saddest sickening scream into his shoulder as she bit down onto it drawing blood. He only laughed and mercilessly pounded on. She was sure her virtue and honor were gone as soon as her insides felt as though they ripped in two. There was no pleasure like her first partner felt. Only seclusion, discomfort, and apprehension, filled her being as he groaned in her ear, "Ugh, you're so tight. Just the way I like it. The whore would've been too loose anyway." The deeper he went the more she felt vulnerable as her tears finally slipped from the brims of her eyelids. 'I have to do it now,' she told herself gripping him tighter.

Her right hand memorized where his heart was as she stifled a sob through her torment. She didn't know if it was primal or not but she could sense the intruding rod harden some more in her slick folds, signaling him coming to an end. He felt like he was ready to explode. Sakura braced herself for whatever might come and in the next moment something warm really did explode inside of her. She could feel a fluid drip out of her and heard it drip onto the floor as it stung the hell out of her. She hoped it wasn't blood and noticed that he was unexpectedly so worn-out so she ran her hand over his back again, and gazed hard ahead of her in determination. His body convulsed and he sputtered pushing off of her. Sakura grabbed at what clothing was still in tact, covered herself, and glared implacably at the man who grimaced back. "You little bitch… what did you do to me?!"

"Does the term chakra scalpel mean anything to you?" she monotonously retorted. Her gaze was cool but under all that she was really shattering. He could see it in her eyes and laughed. She was confused. Why was he happy that he was dying? "It's because I'll be taking a piece of your soul with me, girl." She flinched back into wall as he fell onto the floor. How did he know? "You'll never be at rest, heh," her lips quivered as she watched him die. Blood trailed out from his lips onto the cold hardwood floor and gaze became distant as she saw her reflection in them. She held both hands in front of her mouth to keep from screaming at him that it wasn't true. But it was. She felt she lost even though she barely won. All of the foreign ninja won.

'Am I still so powerless that I needed something so important to me to be lost in order to accomplish my mission?'

'I still can't do anything without them.'

Their faces popped up one by one in her head. Smiling and then frowning as if they disapproved.

Naruto's warm impish grin… then his disgusted mug.

Kakashi-sensei's proud smile hidden behind his mask… then his disappointed gaze.

Sasuke's amused smirk… then his annoyed scowl.

'I'm still weak… oh kami… if anyone finds out what are they going to say?!'

"Whore," Naruto called out.

"I never knew I'd be so disappointed in you of all people. You //were// weak but…" Kakashi trailed off.

"Worthless you always were. I should know I had to protect you //all// the time," Sasuke muttered out.

'They won't find out…no one will… calm down be in control… control …'

But she couldn't have power over the emotions that poured out as she collapsed and pulled at her hair, silently crying.

Preview: Sasuke closed the book and set it down on the table. He tiredly rubbed his eyes, the spot in between his eyes, and his temples. He couldn't believe she relayed every detail of it in her diary and not her mission report. He couldn't hold her responsible for what happened though he felt something akin to terrible deep down. She was only 13… He slowly opened his eyes and was met with the view of Suigetsu sitting across from him drinking water. "It's that cutie we met awhile back isn't it? The one with the pink hair…" Sasuke's eyes held nothing as he continued to look on forward. He raised a pale brow and shook his head, "She your girlfriend?" Sasuke looked at him in the corner of his eye. He was getting irritated, "No," he answered head strong. The boy scoffed at his leader, "Were you at least attracted to her?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "What do you want, Suigetsu?" The wielder of many swords laughed out, "It's not what I want, it's what you want," the last Uchiha finally turned to his teammate. "I'm listening."

(A/N: It was really hard writing the last part but I wanted her to go through as many hardships as the rest of her team did so she'd come out strong, even if it would take forever to read. I'm sorry about that. From the beginning of the story I wanted her raped, (Does that make me a bad person?) because what better way for her to be more or just as emotionally scarred as the rest of team? Review?)