Disclaimer: I do not in anyway own Naruto and such related items. I will however lay claim to this plot line, but lets face it there's no way I'm gonna make it big with this story anyways so big deal.
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Sakura sped through the forest like the fires of hell were licking at her heels. She had to hurry, not only was she running late returning home from her mission and she didn't want to be in this part of the forest anymore then she had to be. Of course she knew he wouldn't come after her, there was no point. By the time she made it back to Konoha and made her report he would be well out of the country and damn near impossible to trace. But she felt the urge to flee from his presence anyways, to save herself from emotions she thought she had buried long ago.
Sakura shook her head trying to rid the thoughts of him from her mind. He was still as good looking as ever, only now his body had lost any boyishness it had previously had. His body was all lean hard muscle, toned ruthlessly through the training he'd endured under Orochimaru. If he had been eye candy before… she was surprised she was able to keep from oogling him all night. And it pissed her off that after all the effort she'd put into pushing the thoughts of him into the back of her mind she still reacted the way she did. Then she provoked him, allowing her anger and frustration to get the better of her and it only made her angrier as he arrogantly pushed her against the wall in retaliation to her words. She'd managed to annoy him, but the knowledge had given her little satisfaction, hadn't she always annoyed him?
She reached tree she'd originally taken refuge under and sighed at the sight of her poor soaked blanket, pillow and pack. She was grateful for the waterproof material of her pack, it saved all her things from getting wet, but her pillow and blanket were out in the open and exposed to the harsh weather that had graced them last night. Sakura stuffed the wet material into her pack and leaned against the bark of the tree gently for a moment. Those few hours she'd spent in his presence was going to bug her constantly for the next few days and in her mind she made plans to distract herself by any harsh means necessary. 'I'm not going to fall back into that pathetic mind frame again. He is a traitor and a killer you want nothing to do with him Sakura!' She pushed herself off the trunk of the tree and grimaced slightly 'Great, now I'm talking to myself…' She slung the pack over her shoulders and took off into the trees, unconsciously pushing her chakra into her legs until she was moving at a breathtaking speed.
But thoughts of him still trickled through her mind, relentless to her attempts to distract herself and after a while she gave up trying, allowing the words and memories to float though her mind. 'You're still annoying.' That bugged her, although she refused to allow him the satisfaction of seeing it. She wasn't the annoying, persistent fan girl she used to be, she'd grown up, gotten stronger and yet he refused to acknowledge her achievements. Then again, she wasn't sure why she had expected him to in the first place.
'Seems his social skills haven't gotten any better either.' The tension in the little cave had pushed her to a breaking point and she made a desperate attempt at polite conversation. Of course it hadn't worked, he remained silent and stoic as ever but she'd hoped he would relent and at least say something. She knew Orochimaru was dead; a man that evil couldn't die with out the rest of the world knowing about it. She was also sure Sasuke was the one who killed him; such an assumption wasn't hard to make. She wanted to know the story though, she was curious about how he'd managed to kill the man who'd ripped her team apart years ago.
'It's not like this really matters anyway, I'm probably never going to see him again. He's not an idiot, he knows that as soon as I get back into Konoha I'm going straight to Tsunade-shishou and telling her what happened. Any smart person in his position would be high-tailing it out of this forest as fast as humanly possible.' She shook her head slightly and forced herself to focus on where she was going. 'Comon Sakura, forget about this for right now. The sooner you get home the sooner you can have a nice hot shower and get something to eat.' Her stomach growled lightly in response to her thoughts and she bounded forward, urging herself to go faster.
She failed to notice the figure hiding in the shadows as she flew from tree to tree in her haste to get home. Cold eyes glinted malevolently, trailing after the young kunoichi until she was almost out of sight before leaping forward after her.
#
Karin leapt from branch to branch trying to close the distance between her and Sasuke but the pace he moved at was swift and steady; she ran as fast as she could with out tiring herself out and frowned slightly at the knowledge that in Sasuke's mind, this was a leisurely pace. He seemed distracted, his leaps looking mechanic and not at all like the graceful way he usually moved. His chakra too seemed more chaotic, like he wasn't focusing on keeping it suppressed and under control, and Karin wondered vaguely if the source of his distraction was the pink haired woman she had found him with at the cave. It irked her why the girl was there in the first place; it obviously was someone he had known because the Sasuke she knew would kill strangers like that in an instant and not think twice about it. Hell, from what she'd heard he would kill people he did know and not think twice about it, such was the nature of Sasuke. And Karin assumed he had always been like that because she couldn't imagine him acting any other way then the cold demurer that he treated her and the rest of the team with.
It seemed like she was wrong though because he had obviously spent the night with a young pink haired kunoichi and she managed to walk away from the encounter. And it was obvious that they knew each other, but from where, she had no idea. Karin couldn't stop the jealously that knotted in the pit of her stomach; that tiny, pink haired girl had spent the night alone with Sasuke, something she had never had the chance to do and she oh so desperately wanted to. She sighed and focused on keeping up with the deadly shinobi in front of her.
Karin's auditable sigh had snapped Sasuke from his thoughts and he couldn't decide whether he was grateful or annoyed at the interruption. His encounter with Sakura hadn't been anything special, she was there, they fought, she talked and then they slept, or rather she slept while he tried to. It was uneventful, something he would generally put from his mind and forget about within hours. And yet, he still thought about it, playing over the words in his head and remembering little details that didn't mean anything to him. Like how long her hair had grown since he had last saw her, or how it seemed she hadn't grown any taller. Sasuke fought the desire to shake his head, although he wished the physical movement could shake the thoughts from his mind. She represented everything of the life he'd said good bye to years ago and her presence was unwanted in his mind. He could feel annoyed anger bubbling with in his stomach and scowled; even when she was gone she still managed to annoy him.
Coming around a tree he could see the small camp his cohorts had set up for the night and felt a strange relief fill him. He couldn't wait to get out of this place and put everything that had transpired out of his mind. He had a goal to fulfill, a traitor to kill and no one was going to get in his way, especially not pink haired kunoichi he left behind years ago.
Sasuke landed silently on the ground in the middle of the camp, and glanced around at his teammates. Suigetsu, who had been dozing lightly at the base of a tree, met his eyes briefly before standing and stretching lightly. If Sasuke was back then that meant they were on the move again. Juugo stood as well, his quiet calm face displaying no emotion as he gazed at the Uchiha and the red headed tracker. No one said anything they moved around, gathering together the few belongings they kept with them and readying themselves to move out again. Sasuke picked up his discarded pack and slipped his arms through the straps, arranging it comfortably on his shoulders. He took another glance around and seeing that his teammates were ready to move he tensed, muscles tightening in anticipation of the snapping release that would send him flying in the air and into the branches above him. And just as he was about to spring forward a startled gasp made his falter, the momentum sending him spinning around, his body ready for attack.
A quick scan of his eyes told him that there was no threat to them. Karin was standing with her back to him, her red hair blowing around in the wind and she focused on the trees directly in front of them. In the back of his mind Sasuke also noticed that she was staring in the precise direction Konoha lay and Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly, suspicion building in the pit of his stomach.
"What is it?" He asked quietly. His voice was barely a whisper but he knew that she'd heard him because her shoulders tensed up and twitched slightly before she turned slowly to face him.
"I-I can feel a fight taking place…"She said softly. Her eyes darted around, refusing to meet his own and she bit her lip before continuing. "I can feel two very strong chakra signatures, one of them is that girl you were with in the cave this morning and the last one is… Itachi." Karin waited a moment before glancing up, determined to meet the eyes of the Uchiha prodigy.
Problem was he was already gone.
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A prickling sensation on the edge of her senses made Sakura fully alert. She had been so focused on not focusing on Sasuke that she hadn't been paying attention to what was going on around her. Now it seemed that someone was following her from a distance, obviously thinking that they wouldn't be noticed. 'They almost weren't noticed, it's a good thing that your senses pay attention, even when you don't Sakura.'
She concentrated on the faint chakra signature and although she couldn't place it, it seemed strangely familiar but in an unfriendly sort of way. It sent a strange frightened tingle down her spine and she desperately tried to rein in her emotions. Obviously who ever this person was, they were dangerous to her and being so close to Konoha they threatened the security of her beloved home as well. She couldn't let this nameless shinobi get the better of her.
Quickly devising a plan, Sakura regulated her chakra levels and calmed her mind. She needed to be focused if this was going to work at all. Slowly and subtly she pulled a special paper bomb from the small pouch on the front of her vest. She smirked, this little bomb was a creation of Tenten and hers; it could be regulated and detonated using chakra. All it needed was a little blood on the seal and they were in business. Not only that, it had the potential to be 20 times more powerful then a regular paper bomb, depending on the chakra control of the shinobi. This guy wouldn't know what hit him. She poked her finger on the sharp tip of a kunai and smeared the droplet of blood onto the seal of the bomb before placing it between her lips gingerly. As she rounded a small bend her hand blurred in rapid hand signs. She only had a small window of time to make this work so she quickly made a clone of herself, without missing a step she allowed it to take her place moving in perfect time with her as she slapped the bomb onto the tree branch and ducked behind its enormous trunk. She suppressed her chakra, masking it oblivion before doubling back with incredible speed, hoping that her pursuer didn't notice the trap she'd just set. She hid behind the trunk of another tree feeling his chakra pass her. She didn't dare watch his progress, there was too good of a chance she would be spotted. So, she waited for a few moments before edging around the side of the trunk, her eyes following his movement as he neared her bomb.
'That's right… keep moving, just a few more feet..." She curled her fingers into her palms, tensing her fist and allowing her sharp nails to bite into her hand. This had to work. 'Almost there… riiiggghhhhtttttttt-'
"NOW!"
The paper bomb exploded deafeningly and she watched in fascination as the mysterious shinobi was engulfed into the bright dancing flames and smoke that erupted. There was no way he could survive a blast of that magnitude that close to it, as a medical professional she knew that for a fact. A triumphant smirked worked its way onto her features as she watched the flaming bits of branches and other tree debris fall to the ground. She could see the deep gash the blast had left in the poor tree but it couldn't be helped. Sakura just hoped that Mother Nature could forgive her for that.
'He's dead and that's all that matters. God damnit I'm going to be so late getting home now.' Sakura stood slowly, straightening and dusting off her clothing in mild annoyance. 'What is it with people today and bugging me? I cannot wait to get home, lock my door, unplug my phone and have a h-…" She could feel that prickle on her senses a whole two seconds before a great ball of fire erupted behind her, moving at incredible speed towards her. Sakura just managed to get out of the way, coming to land none too gently on the ground and spun around as a cold, nightmarish voiced pierced through her mind.
"You didn't really think that would work, did you?" Itachi smirked as she knowingly as she refused to meet his gaze, staring intently at the collar of his shirt, but never allowing them to waver any higher. "That was a nice little trick you pulled, and it might have fooled someone like my dear younger brother but you're going to have to try harder if you want to live Sakura-chan."
'Oh bloody fucking hell, why didn't I catch on to his chakra signature sooner then this!? Now I have two choices, either run away and have him kill me, or fight him and probably have him kill me then too. If I fight there's a chance some Konoha-nin will come by and send for help. Itachi's good but not good enough to fight a whole team of ninja. The irony of these last few days is starting to become rather startling.' Sakura tensed her stance and glared daggered into the shirt of the man who had caused too much damage to the team she once called family. She would fight him until she couldn't fight anymore, an irrational rage fuelling her and giving her the strength to crouch lightly; her muscles tightened and her chakra flared as she smirked at the traitor who'd ruined so many lives.
"Bring it on asshole."
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AN: AHHHH guys I'm sorry this took so bloody long. Life is distracting, plus I lost track of my plotline for a little bit there, I even went so far as to go back to grade 3 basics and write a plot web. It worked somewhat though; I definitely know where this story's going. This chapter is a little shorter then before, but I wanted to stop it there, don't worry though, next one will definitely be longer with all the fighting and stuff that will appear. We'll see how things go, but I highly doubt it will take that long for me to update again, I'd estimate about a week at the most. As always though review, review, REVIEW! :D