I'm sorry readers for my lack of updates. I want to give you guys the best quality of my writing so I decided to bid my time until I had inspiration.
Please, enjoy!
Sakura flew through the trees, trying in vain to lose her trackers. She pushed herself faster, determined to find a large enough clearing to fight in. Based on the large chakra signatures behind her, her stalkers were not mere bandits and she would need any advantage she could get.
The pink-haired woman sighed in relief at seeing a decent sized clearing between the trees and quickly shunshined herself into it. Sakura immediately fell into a defensive position. The forest seemed to still for a moment before two figures blurred a mere five feet before her.
The pink-haired woman was suddenly very glad for the porcelain mask that covered her features, for she couldn't stop the shock from showing on her face. She recognized the two shinobi immediately. As well as the red and black cloaks they wore.
Akatsuki.
"Haruno Sakura," Sasori of the Red Sands stated. His voice was low and rough, sending chills up Sakura's spine. "You will be coming with us."
Sakura said nothing in return, merely assessing the situation. What could Akatsuki want with her?
"It seems this one will not be coming without a struggle huh, Sasori-no-Danna?" The blond chuckled, his hands digging in his pouches. Sakura eyed him, going through everything she knew about both men and their abilities.
"Shut up," Sasori growled at his partner. He turned his eyes onto Sakura. "You are lucky Leader-sama wants you alive, girl. Surrender now."
Sakura snarled at him but otherwise did not respond. Hands flying through familiar signals, Sakura pushed chakra to her hands and condensed it into water. "Water Style: Water Dragon!" The water took shape of a familiar large dragon and charged towards the two men. Sakura followed closely behind, using the jutsu to cover her form.
She jumped high, slamming her heel into the ground and creating a large crater. Jumping once again to avoid debris, Sakura formed another set of signs. Three shadow clones popped into existence and flew towards Deidara. The erratic blond merely laughed and allowed the copies to chase him into the forest.
Sasori leaped back and away from the dragon. Sakura followed closely, engaging him in a bout of taijutsu. Sasori was fast, Sakura would give him that, however, he did not spend years training under the most powerful medic-nin ever to live. The pinkette charged chakra into her hands, striking out with an open palm.
The pink-haired woman was close enough to see Sasori's eyes widen in alarm before he was slammed back from the force of the hit. Sakura watched warily as his form seemed to crack before a black cloaked figure lurched out from the now hollow shell.
"Clever, brat. You have broken Hiruko and now I am forced to reveal my true body." The figure's head tilted back, allowing the hood to slide down. Green eyes widened. The male underneath was indeed Sasori, however, he did not look a day over fifteen. Which could not be possible considering the man had to be at least forty.
As the rest of the cloak slid free, Sakura took a wary step back. Now she understood. Sasori's puppet-like body was impossible to miss.
"You are experiencing a great honor brat," Sasori drawled. "You are the first opponent to see this form."
Sakura ignored the man, coming to her senses and rushing him again. The red-haired man leaped backward, and in less than the span of a second, he unsealed the scroll attached to his side.
The scroll glowed a soft purple before poofing. Sasori was momentarily gone, causing Sakura to tense, until the smoke cleared away. Sakura nearly gasped Sasori revealed the Third Kazekage. The pink-haired kunoichi narrowed her eyes before she leaped a fair distance away and slammed her hand into the ground.
A small poof and her summons stood before her. "Sakura-sama, how can I be of assistance?"
Sakura quickly informed her of her dire circumstances. "Go directly to Tsunade-sama and request immediate backup." Green antennas twitched and the slug disappeared without another word.
"Enough of this," Sasori said softly, his fingers flickering. "I grow impatient of this battle."
Sakura crouched as the third raced towards her, his arms raised. The arms opened, revealing a multitude of glowing seals.
Hundreds of wooden arms piercing the ground around her, resembling a closing fist. Sakura quickly unsealed her katana, swiping at the arms nearest to her. She cut an opening, quickly escaping. A purple gas exploding from the third's arm and Sakura held her breath before jumping high to avoid the poisonous cloud.
She set her sights on Sasori. Sakura could see the fine little chakra strings attached from his fingers to the Third Kazekage.
Cut him down and his puppets would follow.
She could distantly hear the large bangs signaling that the fight between her clones and Deidara was still going strong.
She shunshined closer to the missing-nin, swiping her katana in a wide arch. Sasori dodged narrowly before swinging the puppet in front of himself. He smirked at her. "You will never get close enough, girl."
The third descended upon her with a flurry of strikes, forcing Sakura backward as she dodged his poison covered blade. She grunted as she felt a dark tendril pierce clean through her shoulder.
Looking down, she recognized it to be the Third's infamous iron sand. She was careless to have allowed it to sneak behind her. It could not happen again.
Evading the sand, Sakura crouched and kicked a chakra enhanced foot at the puppet's open abdomen.
The third flew back, straight towards Sasori. Sakura did not let up, quickly following and pushed off the ground, using the momentum to land an open palm directly on the spot she had kicked.
The puppet paused before exploding, and Sakura smirked at Sasori's dark frown. "Who would've thought you could actually kill the third…"
The pinkette flew at him, her katana aiming for his chest. She held in a scream as twin blades pierced through her back, barely missing her spine. She paused, turning wide green eyes over her shoulder. Another puppet stood motionless behind her, holding the swords.
When did Sasori have the time to unseal another puppet?
Sakura cursed at Sasori's chuckle. "Such confidence, brat." His fingers twitched, causing the puppet to twist the blades. Sakura let out a harsh breath, coughing up blood. She fiercely tore off her mask before she drowned in her own blood. "The poison that was covering those blades were of my design. You will die now, girl."
Sakura focused, kicking sharply at the puppet. She could already feel the burning of the poison inside her. The pinkette stomped her foot, causing more destruction to the already abused ground. The rising ground threw the puppet away from her.
Swords still lodged inside her, Sakura raced towards Sasori. He leaped back but she followed hot on his heels. Her chakra was dangerously low now, she would have to end this fast. The thick black cord in his abdomen unwound, flying towards her. She dodged nimbly, wincing when she felt it slice her thigh.
She snarled at him, showing bloody teeth. "Even if I die," Sakura moved faster than she had ever moved in her entire life, shunshining a foot away from him, she lodged her katana deep inside his chest. She reveled at the shock hidden in his eyes. "I'm taking you down with me!"
Sasori smirked harshly. "You will be dying today girl. I will ensure your death." Sakura stared, uncomprehending until she felt the thick cord pierce her chest. She gasped, stumbling away. Distantly, she could hear the slamming of Sasori's body on the floor, signaling his final demise.
The pinkette dragged her feet over to a nearby tree, using the thick bark for balance. She pushed herself to focus, fighting a losing battle. She grunted as a thought occurred to her. The Yin Seal.
It will not purge the poison, but it might be enough...
Sakura clasped her hands together, struggling to complete the necessary hand signs
Monkey... Rat.. tiger… Ox...
The pinkette collapsed on her knees, her vision going momentarily black. Bloody teeth grit together as Sakura forced herself to form the release seal.
Black tendrils slid down her forehead, traveling to her arms and torso. Sakura braced herself, one hand gripping the thick black cord. Counting to three, she yanked it out, "Gah!" Falling face-down she waited until the hole closed, crying silent tears of pain.
The skin healed around the swords still lodged in her stomach, she didn't have enough focus to possibly heal it properly. In her state, she probably would do more harm than good.
I need… Konoha…home...
Sakura pushed herself to her feet, her eyes dizzy with pain. The poison was proving to be quite nasty and she could feel it burning at her insides.
The pinkette focused just enough to point herself in the direction of her village, then put all of her energy into putting one foot in front of the other.
The pink-haired woman that Team Hawk found wandering towards Konoha were simultaneously so far from what they had expected, and exactly what they had been dreading. Shisui stared with wild, wide eyes as she stumbled forwards, looking as if she didn't know what was around her.
"Sakura!" Completely forgetting ANBU protocol, he flashed a foot away from her, arms spread to stop her progress.
The pinkette snarled, completely unlike herself, and stomped once. The opened beneath her with a deafening roar of stone on stone before dirt and rock exploded.
The ground sunk beneath Sakura's feet, as mighty trees groaned and fell around her. Shisui flashed to safety with only Itachi's hand holding him back from trying to reach her again. The rest of team hawk was stationed behind them, watching the chaos in silence.
The forest around them froze, signaling the start of a low-level genjutsu. The four-man team broke through it in unison. In seconds, Sakura was flying towards them, her palm raised and glowing. They leaped away, regrouping on a nearby tree. Sakura hit the area where they stood, a tree trunk that was reduced to splinters in mere seconds.
Sakura's pupils were dilated with delirium, signaling her high fever. Pink hair was matted with grime and blood, her face pale and cheeks sallow. Her hands shook. She watched them with wide eyes and a fierce snarl, her fists raised in defense.
She was delirious.
And delirious meant dangerous.
Bird, or Neji, spoke silently. "Taichou, Haruno's chakra is nearly gone. If she uses any more she will die."
Their captain nodded sharply, looking to his cousin. "Dog, you will accompany Bear to secure Haruno's battlefield. You two are tasked with the retrieval of the two Akatsuki members."
Dead Akatsuki members. Shisui thought a bit hysterically. They had arrived on the battlefield before they encountered Sakura and had seen exactly how hard she fought. Shisui could admit he was pretty damn proud.
With a, "Yes, Taichou!" the two men were gone. Itachi then turned to the lone Hyuga. "Bird, you will approach from behind while I distract Haruno."
Neji nodded briskly, disappearing into the trees. Itachi then turned his attention back to the gasping woman. She was nearing her end-point, he could tell. His activated Sharingan took in her multitude of injuries, as well as the missing Yin-Seal. He approached slowly, his hands raised.
"Sakura," He began. The woman froze, glaring at him through cloudy green eyes. "I am Uchiha Itachi. Hokage-sama sent me as your back-up."
The injured kunoichi glared harder, completely ignoring his words. He signaled discreetly to Neji while stepping closer to Sakura, gaining her full attention. The brown-haired man dropped silently behind Sakura, giving her no time to react. He quickly knocked her out, catching her in his arms.
With Itachi by his side, he raced towards Konoha, not once looking back.
When Sakura finally came to, she was laying back down on something light as clouds. She tensed and shot up, her narrowed eyes taking in the room. The world spun for a moment and her eyes burned. She fought through the nausea.
Sakura didn't remember being rescued. Meaning she wasn't in Konoha. Meaning she must've been captured and taken back to the Akatsuki's base. Sakura frowned. She pushed off the bed and landed in a crouch on the floor. She quickly ripped the tubes out of her, only Kami knows what they were drugging her with.
The world around her felt off balance and Sakura grunted at the feeling. Suddenly the door to her room was wrenched open and with a loud, "Sakura-chan!" a bright bright figure came rushing into the room. Pupils dilated, Sakura grabbed the unknown person by the neck and slammed him into the nearest wall. She forced chakra into her arm, making escape impossible.
She raised her face close to his and snarled brutally, "Where am I?"
She was vaguely aware that her chakra was rolling around her menacingly, affecting the very atmosphere with its deadly intent. The person beneath her hand froze, not moving a muscle. Distantly she could hear a hissed, "Naruto, you idiot."
Three more people filed into the large room, keeping their distance away from her. She could hear their hushed conversation but ignored it in favor of the man still trapped.
"Can't we just knock her out?" One voice whispered harshly.
"No," Another snapped. "She'll kill Naruto before she goes down."
She pushed down slightly, hairline fractures appearing on the wall. She growled at her captive. "I said, where am I?"
"Sakura." Her head snapped to the side at the voice, and another person appeared in the doorway, someone she would never forget no matter what. He stood regally, staring down at her with stern violet eyes.
The pinkette turned towards him, tears filling her eyes. "Hi-Hiashi-sama?"
"Sakura," The Hyuga clan head repeated gravelly. He took a deliberately slow step closer. "You must cease this unnecessary act. You are home, in Konoha. Clear your mind, girl."
Sakura focused on him, struggling to do as he said. The fog cleared slowly, realization dawning. She quickly let go of the man she had attacked. She turned towards the blond with wide, watery green eyes. "Naruto! I am so sorry!"
The blond coughed, then smiled hesitantly. "Eh, it's alright Sakura-chan. I shouldn't have come on to you like that."
Sakura turned back to the Hyuga to see him eyeing Naruto flatly. She then focused on the three others. Shisui, Itachi, and Sasuke stood there, looks of confusion on their faces.
Sakura smiled brightly, then proceeded to pass out.
I know this chapter was very slow but it was all I could force out of myself at this time. Next update coming VERY soon!