Chapter 4: Illusions
Sakura had grown over the past three years into a beautiful woman. Suigetsu had a point. She grew into her forehead, had pink hair that reached to the small of her back. Her body had the right curves, her stomach flat from constant training, her bust line suitable for her, everything about her seemed flawless. Any man would be happy to have her, yet she wanted no one but a certain black haired, red-eyed boy. No, man. Even after all these years, Sakura has never ceased to stop thinking about him, wanting to see him, show him that there is still hope for him, and vengeance doesn't mean that he has to sacrifice himself. If she were ever to see him, just knowing that he still lived was reassurance enough. Even though she tried to think differently, for her sake as well as her blonde comrade. She would hate to think that just because of a selfish promise made to her he would risk his life for it.
"Sasuke-kun…" she whispered from her full lips. As she came to, she realized that she was thrown over the man Juugo's shoulders, tied with rope made from vines.
'Not very creative or prepared.' She pondered to herself. She was also realizing that she had a massive neck pain when she turned her head to one side. 'Seems as though that hit to the neck was almost critical' she thought to herself. She gave it a thought and assumed that it was the girl that hit her; something about that red-head gave Sakura a thought that if she could kill her she wouldn't hesitate to do so. She looked around and saw her village, close to nothing as the sun engulfed it. She was being taken by force and no one would know it but her, and the 3 that are taking her of course. Sakura began to think about what to do; she had to escape no matter what the cost. She quickly added strength to her hands to rip the vines off her and reached for a kunai as quietly as she could. Without thinking, she jabbed it into Juugo and as soon as her feet hit the floor, she began to make a run for it.
Juugo yelled as he fell to the floor, his shirt being stained by the ruby cimson that was seeping out from where the kunai was embedded.
"Watch over him," Suigestu ordered Karin, "I'll go and get her" and without another word, he departed.
As Sakura was running, and jumping through trees she gazed back, making sure that she was not being followed. But she was wrong. Her eyesight could see Suigetsu right on her tail, quickening his pace as he locked gazes with her. She had to pick up the pace; she was so close to home that she felt its warmth. Sakura continued through the trees, going branch by branch, until one broke, catching her off guard, as she crashed down on the ground, Suigetsu looming over her. He gave her his best cocky smile.
"Come on girlie, why do you have to make this more difficult than what it already is?" he explained. "Who knows? He might just need ya for a sec and then be done with it. You could be all mine if you want. I sure do like spunk in a girl you know." His overbite gleamed in his eyes as she just stared at him with nothing but hatred. He had a talent to make every girl he ever knew despise him indeffinately.
This aggravated Sakura even more. "Im not a piece of meat you know. I am a human being, and I would rather be caught dead than to help him out! He makes everything harder than what it should be! He didn't have to leave! Naruo would have helped him. Hell even I told him that I would help him if that truly was what he wanted! But he left! There is nothing to say to that asshole!" she ranted, "Besides, I don't want to betray my village, that's the last thing that I want. I don't want to be like him." She breathed.
Suigetsu just continued to stare, he didn't say anything to her, he seemed to be at a loss for words. But the grin on his face was still there, and it was pissing Sakura off.
"… whoever said that you were a piece of meat? I personally think you are so much more than that. I kinda like you. You're spunky, just what a girl needs from time to time." He lowered his sword from his back and dug it into the ground. "If you want I'll put you to good use, and that's a scout's honor." He snickered, raising his right hand as if to promise that.
That was her breaking point and her chance. She built up enough chakra into her fist that she could and swung it toward Suigetsu, knocking him to a tree, seemingly beaten.
"Like I said, I'm not a piece of meat." She said triumphantly. As she was getting ready to continue on, she heard Suigetsu laughing. She quickly turned around to see that Suigetsu was nowhere where she punched him too. It was just a puddle of water.
'A water clone?!' she told herself.
He continued laughing at her, but there was something in his laughter that was changing from playful to serious. "It's gonna take more than a simple punch to get rid of me girlie." His voice was different when he spoke this time; it was stronger, raspier as if it was taking him a hard time to talk "There's no turning back Sakura," he wheezed. Just then she knew that voice and placed her hands together to release the Genjutsu that Sasuke was using on her.