Illusory
Chapter 4: Rescued
D.A. Nico

"Sakura!"

Visually she couldn't make out the bodies in the doorway at first, but there would never be a day in her life when she didn't recognize that voice. A flood of relief, excitement and empowering emotions that made her legs feel like jello ran through her entire body. A quick noise that was somewhere between a sigh and a breath of satisfaction flew from her mouth. Tears of happiness pricked at her eyes as she dropped her chin to her chest in a completely relieved manner.

"Naruto..." she finally managed to utter out before she felt a pair of rough hands clasp at her cheeks forcing her gaze back up. Her vision met a set of foreboding red eyes that may strike fear into his enemies but gave her comfort.

"Have you seen Kabuto?" Shikamaru questioned instantaneously, his mind noting that she was safe and that they were hunting someone, "he's hurt so he couldn't have gone far."

Sakura nodded her head, "He just went out that door, but to the left." She stuttered before continuing, "He's not hurt anymore." She whispered.

Shikamaru didn't acknowledge the second thing she said either because a question would waste time or because he didn't make sense of it. Instead he grabbed Sasuke's shoulder, "You're the fastest, let's go. Naruto get her down."

There was a stutter in the way Sasuke turned from her that only she would have noticed, but he finally gave in and quickly disappeared behind Shikamaru. A frown crawled over her features, Naruto's presence was the only thing that grounded her.

"Are you hurt Sakura-chan?" he asked quietly, quickly going to work at unclasping all of her limbs and neck. He unhooked the biggest from around her midsection and caught her as she fell forward. She could feel her legs revolting against the weight of her own body, it had been weeks since she'd used them last. Naruto didn't even question her lack of strength but instead shimmied her to his back, his hands clasping around her thighs as her arms went around his shoulders.

"I'm fine Naruto, I just haven't walked at all."

He nodded his head thoughtfully, "Let's get you out of here and back home."

As they made their way to the doorway she sat up a little straighter, "Wait Naruto, go over there." She pointed towards Kabuto's work station. Naruto complied to the order without question.

Stopping in front of the table she looked around before pointing at the biggest syringe she could see, "Take that and fill it all the way up with that pink stuff." She said gesturing to the nearly empty vial.

He turned his back and sat her on the edge of the table before quickly going to work as she had requested. Handing her the final product she eyed the tube in front of her before pulling the needle portion from the tip and applying a stopper so it didn't stick her accidentally on the travel home.

"Come on we've got to go." Naruto urged as he backed up to her and picked her back up before shuttling forward at a faster speed then before. Taking one last glance at the room Sakura looked forward and took in the area outside of her prison. Something she'd been imagining about since she'd been captured. The hallways were much longer then she had guessed and the depth of the entire cave was more extreme then she'd originally thought. However, their escape had only consisted of two or three turns before she found both her and Naruto standing on a ledge overlooking a large forest in the middle of the night.

"We're still in the fire country?" She questioned.

"Yeah, either he couldn't move you far or he didn't think we would look in our own backyard. I guess he was right since it took us so long." Naruto grumbled, the last part of his sentence falling with his voice.

Patting his shoulder in a comforting manner she shook her head even though she knew he couldn't see it, "I'm safe now, and not mortally wounded." She offered positively.

Naruto nodded in reply, his thoughts obviously occupied. Looking over his shoulders she took in the darkness ahead of her, and the realization that she'd finally been removed from that Hell hit her fast and hard. Straining to hold onto Naruto as tight as possible she dropped her forehead to his back and wept quietly.

Naruto, her proverbial brother patiently waited, silently respectful as she emotionally purged herself. When she finally righted herself and wiped at her face she took in a deep sigh and tilted her head up to the sky just as a breeze ran across the landscape. She knew Naruto's continued silence as he started to move forward was in consideration for her damaged ego and she couldn't be more thankful for him in that moment. She held tightly as he leapt down to the forest floor.

"Where are we meeting up with Sasuke and Shikamaru?" She whispered, trying to match her voice to their surroundings.

"We aren't. I was instructed to get you home safely. They'll catch up."

Sakura froze at Naruto's muttered response and tried to mentally will him to stop, "We can't leave them here with him... it's not safe!" She responded beginning to unintentionally flail.

She could feel Naruto's grip tighten as he tried to steady her, "Sakura, they'll be fine. Kabuto is weak, he's not going to best them. They'll be home right after us." He assured her.

As stubborn as a mule Sakura growled out against the plan and finally managed to push herself off his back landing with an ungraceful thump onto the grass below. Naruto turned and placed his hands on his hips as he stared at her with a lopsided grin, "Can we make some kind of deal?" He improvised.

"And what could that possibly be?"

"Well you're useless right now. No chakra, baby calf legs, exhaustion..." he pointed out, ticking her flaws off on his hand, "How about we slow our pace and make our way home, you can walk, get the feeling back into your legs?"

She knew that everything Naruto had just rattled off was true and even if she were able to find Sasuke, Shikamaru or Kabuto she'd be useless and a complete liability to the mission. Dejectedly she agreed to Naruto's terms and held her hand out. He pulled her to her feet, let her balance herself before letting her loop her arm through his and they unsteadily made their way forward. With each step, Sakura could feel the rush of blood and strength, muscle memory working wonders as she made her way forward through the trees.

About an hour after being rescued she heard two intentionally loud thumps on the forest floor behind her. By this point she'd managed to gain most of the control in her legs, they ached from the over exertion but at least she wasn't tripping over her feet every couple of yards. Both she and Naruto stopped and turned to stare at his teammates. Her keen eyes checked over their bodies but no signs of weakness or injury were present. After double checking Shikamaru she turned her attention back to Sasuke's face only to see him gracing her with just as much attention as they made their way towards them.

"Did you get him?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Before Sakura could hear Shikamaru's answer she was caught off guard when Sasuke enveloped her smaller frame and hugged her tightly to his chest. She blinked for a second before wrapping her own arms around his waist. She and Sasuke had been together officially for a couple months now, but he usually shied away from any public displays of affection. The fact that he was hugging her now, so intimately, in front of the other two boys spoke volumes.

Not willing to break the hug on her own accord she dug her nose a little deeper into his collar bone and breathed in the welcoming scent of him, rainstorms and lightning. Finally he released a deep sigh and pulled back, but not before pushing her hair back. She looked up in time to see his eyes narrow dangerously as he took in what she knew was her blackened eye from where Kabuto had struck her yesterday. He didn't need to question who did it.

She offered him a reassuring smile and grabbed at his hand to will him not to obsess over his murderous intentions. The other two boys who had politely wandered off came back over to continue the conversation.

"He must have slipped out the back somehow, he knows the corridors better then we do and we lost him not long after we found you," Shikamaru updated her quickly.

"Slimy bastard," Naruto snorted disgustedly before crossing his arms.

"Why are you moving so slow?" Sasuke questioned.

Naruto huffed out a small laugh before hitching his thumb in Sakura's direction, "You didn't honestly think she was going to let me drag her to far away did you?"

Sasuke glanced between the two and she heard Shikamaru mutter under his breath about how all women were troublesome. Sasuke obviously decided to take this situation into his own hands because he stepped in front of Sakura and gestured that she climb on his back.

Her ego nearly made her fight back before she finally came to the realization that the muscles in her thighs were literally shaking from over usage. Caving to his urging she leaned forward and allowed him to pick her up.

"Are we ready now? Everyone happy?" Shikamaru asked sarcastically, and with a glance around the group he turned and jumped into the trees, intentionally speeding up the pace as the others followed.

"Tsunade, she's turning blue!"

Shizune's distressed calls made the Hokage release her deadly grip on Sakura. Releasing a deep breath she sent a thankful look towards Shizune before smiling back to Tsunade, "I've missed you too."

"Missed me?! Sakura you weren't just gone on some sort of vacation. He abducted you, Kami only knows what he did to you! How can you be so calm about all of this?" She ranted as she paced the room once.

Sakura blinked at Tsunade, "Because I went through it..." She knew that her captivity with Kabuto could have been so much worse. The only physical abuse he'd ever dealt her was her obvious black eye, other then that it had all been a mental game and illusions. Something that all shinobi are trained for throughout their younger lives.

As if she were reading her mind, Tsunade raised her hand to the side of Sakura's face and she could feel the warm heat as her beloved sensei infused her chakra into the bruise. After another moment the older woman pulled back and looked pleased with the healing. Another second later she enveloped Sakura into another, less restricting hug which she returned.

"Tsunade-sama, maybe we can debrief everyone after a good night's sleep. It's nearly three-thirty in the morning," Shizune suggested.

Before the breasted woman could agree or disagree Sakura felt herself pull back and shake her head, "No, let's get this done with while it's all still fresh." She pushed. True that Sakura could likely give an accurate and detailed report of everything tomorrow but she'd prefer to do the verbal portion now and write the formal report tomorrow.

"Are you sure?" Tsunade asked her.

She nodded and Tsunade waved her hand to dismiss the three boy's who had rescued her. Predictably Naruto fought the command, and Sakura knew it was his need to watch over her and his curiosity to know what happened that made him so disobedient.

"They can stay Tsunade, I'll only have to repeat myself later if they don't." Sakura smirked knowingly.

Tsunade nodded her head, "But you keep your mouth's shut!" She snarled the warning before wandering around her desk and sitting down. While Sakura was getting comfortable in the arm chair across, she saw Shizune situate herself on the window seat in the corner of the room. Shikamaru joined her while Sasuke took a spot in the chair beside hers and Naruto plopped down on the floor giving Tonton the attention she almost immediately demanded.

"Right, well first off was it only Kabuto? Or was he allied with anyone else?" Tsunade started.

"As far as I know it was only Kabuto. He was the only person I ever... No there was a boy too, but he isn't dangerous. Wherever he is..." Sakura trailed off sadly, unsure.

"He's here Sakura... he's the reason we found you."

Sakura looked up in shock her mouth turning into a small smile. She'd been so afraid that Kabuto had been right and the little boy's fear of being reprimanded by Kabuto would win over his helping her. After all he didn't know her and he definitely didn't need to risk his life for a girl he'd never met. All she could do was nod understandingly back to Tsunade. Not tonight but soon she'd have to thank him personally.

"We can discuss him fully another time. Let's continue, did Kabuto say why he abducted you?"

Shaking her head slightly she thought over the answer, "He never mentioned a world dominating plot. He talked about how he needed my medical skills and knowledge about research and stuff."

"How was he hoping to accomplish that? Did he torture you?" Tsunade said seriously, her authoritative facade kept her features even. It was a different story for Sasuke and Naruto who both obviously stiffened and shifted under the questions weight.

"Not physically..." She initially answered and she could see Tsunade thinking over the possibilities. Reaching into her waist band she pulled out the full syringe, the pink liquid emitting sickeningly at her. Letting her fingers drag over the glass she finally set it down slowly onto her desk and sat back, "He injected me with this, everyday... maybe twice. It was hard to keep track of time in that cave."

She watched Tsunade stare at the syringe for a long time before she reached forward and examined it a little closer. She shook her head obviously at a loss for what the substance in front of her was, she turned in her chair and held it up for Shizune to see but the short haired apprentice simply shook her head no.

"What is it?" Naruto finally spoke up.

"I've never personally seen anything like it... Sakura?" Tsunade urged.

"It prompts unconsciousness at which point you dream... or have illusions." She said licking at her dry lips, "I don't know the exact qualities of it, he never mentioned what it was. The entire time he had a large cylinder of it and he said once he drained the whole thing I'd be his to use. What you're holding in your hand is the last of it."

She could see Tsunade's knuckles flex a little under the idea that she was holding something that could have permanently messed Sakura up. She never looked away though, and pushed for her to continue.

"Every time he injected me it took about five minutes to start working. I could never tell what was real and what wasn't. When he started the injections all the dreams seemed real, normal. However the last couple ones were always a bit off... something in it was always unrealistic. As if he was messing with them."

"Messing with them?"

Sakura took a deep breath, "Yeah, I was constantly turning him down. Refusing to help him. He'd said if he hurt me to bad I'd be useless so he was using the drug to essentially trick me into helping him." Biting her lip in a nervous fashion she looked down at her clasped hands, "And it worked..." She muttered, ashamed of admitting it.

Tsunade perked up and leaned forward a little, "Sakura, what do you mean it worked?"

At first out of shame she felt like she couldn't even answer Tsunade's question. The idea that she had healed their enemy, the man that had abducted her was revolting; whether it was her free will or not. Now that she was thinking back to the actual illusion that had tricked her, she realized that pinch she felt during the bar scene had been him somehow interfering, either giving more of the drug, boosting her chakra or his own chakra to manipulate it exactly how he needed.

"Before I was rescued, I was dreaming about Ino's birthday. Out of no where Sasuke told me he needed help," She paused for a moment and glanced beside her, Sasuke was staring back attentively. "I thought it was a bit odd because no one else around me was reacting, but I wasn't just going to let him... die." She could tell beneath the depth of his black gaze that he wanted to say something reassuring to her but Tsunade urged her to continue her story. Finally looking away she instead turned to Shikamaru who was watching carefully. She could see the realization come to him when back in the cave she'd told him Kabuto wasn't hurt anymore.

"So I started to heal the dream Sasuke and at some point either I woke up, or he woke me up to rub it in my face. Next thing I know I've healed Kabuto, he's escaping and they appear." Sakura mumble and looked away from everyone else and found interest in a piece of dirt under her fingernail.

"It's not like you did it on purpose..." Naruto suddenly piped up from the floor, "I mean you can't blame yourself. If you'd known it was him you would have never done that willingly."

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing Sakura," Tsunade cut her off, "Naruto's right, you can't blame yourself." Seeming to want to change the topic she continued forward, "Do you think it has lasting effects?" She asked gesturing to the syringe sitting ominously on her desk.

Sakura's only response was rolling her shoulders in a shrug.

The Hokage finally released a deep sigh of her own before sitting back into her chair. "Alright Sakura, I think we're done here for tonight. I'm going to lock up the syringe for safe keeping until we can take a look at it. Boys, how about you take her home?" She suggested.

Sakura stood from her seat with Naruto and Sasuke following suit. She wished a good night to everyone in the room before stepping through the doorway, a yawn escaping her lips and the idea of her bed heavy on her exhausted mind.

Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews, I'm trying not to badger you guys for them but they really prompt me to write faster! :P
Also! Phew the debriefing had to be written and rewritten because I couldn't get it write. Whatevs. Have a great evening loves!