Chapter Title: Clash of Demons

Chapter Rating: PG-15

A/N: Sorry for updating seven months later, been busy lately. Thanks so much to those who reviewed. I really like reading them J. So after this update I will work on the third chapter of Full Circle, and add another story I've been working on. I actually have five or six stories I'd like to publish eventually, but one thing at a time, ne? Thanks again, I hope everyone likes it. The next chapter will be really intense, so forgive me if you think this chapter is slow.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the lyrics to Truth by "Seether".

If I gave you the truth would it keep you alive,

Though I'm closer to wrong I'm no further from right,

And now I'm convinced on the inside

There's something wrong with me

Twelve days had passed since her joining Team Kakashi, and every step of the way Sakura kept a wary eye out for the Akatsuki. Every crunch of a twig, foreign scent, and jerk movement sent her flying for cover. This made her look so much more suspicious, but she guessed it was better than being taken unaware by her old captors. Nekomata called her a witless fool, and said it made her seem untrustworthy, but she didn't care. She would never go back to that cage, she'd rather die.

Her traveling companions were amusing, and as much as she hated to admit it she had grown rather attached to them. Particularly Naruto, albeit a bit annoying at times, he knew how to keep a conversation interesting. He had more stamina and energy than she would have imagined any one person possessing. He was kind and happy, and though both his teammates demeaned his wit in one way or another, Sakura could tell he was smarter than what he put out there. At least he wasn't dumb enough to try and hug her again.

The one true problem she had with him was Nekomata despised him for some unknown reason. The bijuu would spit and hiss hatefully anytime he would get too close. Nekomata's fury would light a fire of loathing within she couldn't describe or explain, it was actually painful. Sakura felt terrible, for Naruto was the only one she felt truly welcomed by, and now she couldn't stand to be near him for too long.

The other two were still complete enigmas to her. Kakashi was all smoke and mirrors, you could never really tell what was going on in his head. He would say one thing but really mean another, his only motive was to throw you completely off. Anytime he spoke she felt as if she were answering trick questions, or leading him to answers she couldn't afford him to find. He was too cunning to have a real conversation with, so she resigned herself to nodding and shaking her head, or shrugging her shoulders in feigned ignorance.

Sasuke was a dark room, and about as emotionless as they came. Completely apathetic, even callous she would dare say, and she was completely fine with that. It meant he never really spoke to her, and that meant she didn't have to come up with more lies or excuses. The only one to pull any kind of reaction out of him was Naruto, and even that was kept to a minimal insult, maybe a sour face. So Sasuke wasn't a complete stone wall, just mostly she supposed.

Despite her constant guarded state the days passed uneventfully. Kakashi led them southeast towards the Wave Country, where he was convinced he would at least find Koji, if not Ichiro and his brother. From what Naruto had told her Koji was a missing-nin from the Village Hidden in the Mist, but he still held a multitude of connections there.

It was agonizing watching them try so hard to find someone already gone, someone murdered by her own hand. She didn't feel guilt, or regret, just emptiness. This void begging her to fill it by telling them the truth, to stop them from wasting their time, but then they would hate her. They would never understand why she did what she did, they probably wouldn't try to. They'd only see the murderer of their beloved teammate, and it would break her heart if they hated her, especially Naruto. So she would keep it her secret as long as she could, as long as she lived if it could be helped.

A mist had begun to creep around them and with each new leap from branch to branch it grew heavier and thicker. The vapor stuck uncomfortably to their clothing, making breathing difficult and seeing nearly impossible, even her night vision wasn't helping much. For Sakura it was literally a leap of faith each time her foot left a branch, she followed Naruto closely. Following him was easier due to his bright clothing style, an orange beacon against the grey smog. The other two were practically invisible, which she supposed was sensible considering they were ninjas and were suppose to be stealthy. It made Naruto look a little ridicules now that she thought about it…okay really ridicules, but she was glad for it at the moment.

The trees, so claustrophobically close when they began their trek into the woods were now dispersing. Kakashi eventually dropped onto a traveled road, "We'll walk from here." Was all he said, and for the first time Sakura realized everything had gone eerily silent. Everything except Naruto's noisy plopping footsteps through the mud and his constant whistling, so much for stealthy ninja.

Sakura paused.

Listen, can you hear their breathing? She could, if she concentrated, it was labored, excited. She could smell them, they were so close. Hiding in the undergrowth to her right, poised and waiting for a kill. Nekomata purred, not the kind of purring a normal housecat makes, but a kind of morbid sound that made her queasy. I smell their blood, their life force calls to me.

Sakura took a shaky breath to control herself, she couldn't go psycho-demon girl with the Leaf Shinobi nearby. It just wouldn't look good to go on a murdering rampage, they already distrusted her. They'd probably try to kill her if they saw her other side.

Instinct had her leaping backwards into a pine tree, hidden amongst its needles. Sakura felt more than saw the duo that sprang from the mist's edge. They were weaker than she had originally suspected. Despite their frightening and dramatic appearance she wasn't worried for anyone, except maybe Naruto. So when they picked their first target to be Kakashi she nearly laughed, they'd soon regret that decision. She had come to respect the captain of their little team, he was quick thinking and powerful. Much more powerful than the fools currently encircling him with their spiked chains linked to a pair of gauntlets, attempting to create a trap. She sat back on her haunches ready to enjoy a show of pure kick ass proportions.

However something unexpected happened, her masked mentor didn't move out of the deadly trap, didn't move at all. In fact he just stood there, a stupefied distressed expression in his eyes. He was going to move, he had to, she couldn't get to him in time if he didn't. The spiked chain tightened, impaling and sticking Kakashi, and it tightened and continued to tighten until the pressure sliced him to pieces. All the little pieces fell with stomach churning fleshy plops.

Kakashi…No! Why hadn't he moved? Had she overestimated him? She didn't have time to analyze what exactly had happened. One of the assassins appeared right behind Naruto, while the other went straight for Sasuke. Not that either made it far enough to do any real damage. Sakura was gone before the first piece of Kakashi had hit the muddy ground.

Tackling the first assassin away from Naruto she sent him flying straight into a large pine tree. She ripped his spiked chain from the gauntlet-ignoring the spurs shredding her skin-and cracked it violently towards his accomplice. The chain wrapped around his neck, and before he could react Sakura pulled with all her strength. Warm crimson liquid rained down as the assassin's head was ripped off. It rolled a few feet from Naruto who stared in mute shock.

The devil-cat was laughing. Sakura could feel her chakra darkening with his demonic power, her mind was going numb and losing all inhibition of control. Why hadn't Kakashi moved? Her breath was ragged with grief and rage. She should have helped him, should have killed the enemy shinobi when she had the chance. Now he was gone, and it was her fault.

"S-s-sakura," She turned to see everyone watching her in awe and horror, her now violet eyes stared back blankly. Raw seething hate and anger quickly dissipated replaced by disdain and revulsion for herself. What did they see when they saw her? A monster? A killer? What was happening to her?

"Sakura!"

It was too late, and she didn't even care. The assassin was already there behind her, and she would do nothing to stop him. Kunai raised for the kill, aimed straight for the base of her skull, and all she did was hope she'd never see Naruto look at her that way again. Let it be quick. Nothing came though, no pain, no bleeding, no sweet darkness to take her away. A breeze, an ever-so-subtle shift of the wind, and the smell of a…dog.

"Kakashi."

"Sakura, never turn your back on an enemy." He wasn't dead, he was alive. He was alive! Tears of relief and disbelief sprung and spilt, running freely leaving salty stains on her face. She felt like slapping him. "Sorry I'm late." He stood there, so coolly with the shinobi tucked unconscious under one arm, acting for all the world like she hadn't just ripped off somebody's head.

"You're alive," Was all she could think of to say, her mind still refusing to believe the proof before her. "You moved."

His visible eye crinkled, and despite not being able to see two-thirds of his face she somehow knew he was smiling at her. "Of course I moved." He pointed with his free arm to the spot she thought she saw him die. "Replacement jutsu," Was his explanation.

Sakura nearly fell to her knees when she saw scraps of the wooden log clever Kakashi had

used, but she ignored the intense emotions threatening to overwhelm her. Pure stubbornness kept her on her feet. "Here let me see that," He dropped the assassin carelessly, kneeling down to get a closer look at her bloodied hand. The chain was stuck, the spikes digging painfully into her skin. Carefully he pulled them out watching in amazement as each wound healed itself right before his eyes. Her skin was alarmingly cold, even through his leather gloves the supernatural chill bit at him. "There all better."

Sakura jerked her hand away hiding the healed cuts, feeling self-conscious. Maybe he hadn't noticed. Mentally she rolled her eyes, of course he had noticed, Naruto would have noticed. The lacerations were mending before he had even grabbed her hand. She thanked him lowering her eyes so he wouldn't see the darkness clouding them.

"Of course," He ruffled her pink hair in what she would almost call a loving gesture, except he was tense when he did it, as though he was testing her reaction to being touched. Maybe he was hoping she would attack him so he could kill her. Sakura swallowed her hurt, stuffing down the feelings of betrayal. Could she blame him, really? She'd brutally ripped a person apart without even blinking, did he think she wouldn't hesitate to do the same to him or his students?

'I wouldn't, would I?'

Kakashi turned away from her, satisfied she was in control again. He had known she was strong, he had suspected she was savage in some ways, perhaps even bloodthirsty, but that had been…inhuman. She had lost all inhibition at the drop of a kunai. He had never seen somebody go from being sweet and quiet to cruel and ruthless in a matter of seconds. The feeling of that wicked chakra swelling in potency was tangible, he could have reached out and felt its demonic essence.

What was she? He had a grim suspicion, but he needed to confirm it with the Hokage. For now though he had to keep her under control, he had to keep her convinced she was a part of this team, just until they reached Konoha, then he could hand her over to the authorities and not worry about it anymore.

Kakashi turned his attention to the remaining shinobi who was beginning to stir. Taking the bloodied chain and dragging him to a nearby tree he wrapped it tightly around the unconscious ninja, leaving little room for breathing without cutting himself. Kakashi slapped him hard inciting a groan, he hit him again and this time an eye opened, then another. "Wakey, wakey."

His black eyes opened wider when Kakashi spoke, studying each of his captor's faces until they settled on Sakura. A flicker of recognition before his face went blank, almost too subtle to see, but Sakura noticed as did Kakashi. "Who are you?" To her teammate's surprise it wasn't their sensei who asked, but Sakura.

"Where is Gozu? Let me see my brother." Something heavy and sticky was dropped into the captive's open lap. His brother's face stared lifelessly back up at him, frozen forever in a shocked expression, openmouthed and wide-eyed. "Gozu…You bitch! You'll pay for this!"

Sakura smiled sadistically, kneeling beside him. Kakashi moved accommodatingly letting her take center stage, curious to see what she would do next. "Yes, yes tell me more please. Nothing I haven't heard before." She leaned in closer, pouring her frozen aura over him like ice water. "Now tell me where you remember me from, I saw the way you looked at me. You'll have to forgive me, my memory isn't quite so sharp."

He laughed a little, a bitter mocking sound that irritated her. "You wouldn't remember me, not after what he did to you. No, you wouldn't remember much at all would you?"

Sakura snarled, reacting before she even knew what she was doing. A clawed hand grabbing his throat and choking the life out of him. She slammed his head hard leaving an indention on the tree. "What was that? You'll have to be a little more specific than just 'he'. A name would help your situation a lot."

Naruto moved to stop her, but Kakashi held out an arm shaking his head. They needed to know what or who was after Sakura if they were going to protect themselves, it might give them more insight into just who this girl was. That is if she managed to control herself long enough to not kill him…or them.

Sakura eased her choke hold just enough to let him breath with effort. "Tell me, now." She growled, the demon-cat hissed audibly just for effect.

The shinobi's black eyes bulged a bit from fear or lack of oxygen, she couldn't tell which but it appeared her interrogation tactics were working. He attempted to mouth a word and Sakura relented a little more on her vice grip. "Orochimaru," His voice was just a hoarse whisper but she heard the name perfectly as though he had screamed it in her ears.

She froze, Kakshi barely managed to strip her hand free from the dying assassin. He slumped over coughing blood, mumbling some incoherent things but went ignored. "Sakura?"

She made no response other than clenching and unclenching her fists. Orochimaru. Him, the worst of the Akatsuki, the one that had caused her the most pain and suffering. He'd performed so many experiments on her, she'd lost track of how many times he'd cut her open. She hated him most of all, so she'd make him suffer most of all. The unspeakable horrors he'd made her go through, she shuddered with burning anger. He was more of a monster than she was, than any of the Akatsuki were.

"Sakura." Kakashi gently shook her, "We need to go, now." She nodded in agreement. "We are abandoning this mission," He announced once they were both standing and facing their teammates.

"What?" Everybody stared surprised, even Sasuke looked mildly shocked. "What about Ichiro? We can't just leave him! He's our teammate!"

"Naruto, do not question me. We are going home to Konoha. Ichiro chose to disobey orders, I am not putting everyone at risk because of his defiance. This mission is too dangerous for me to drag all of you along." His voice had a final tone to it that no one would dare argue with, not even Naruto who was sporting a hurt look.

The masked sensei took off into the forest without a glance at any of them obviously expecting obedient students to thus follow accordingly. "This is stupid." Naruto announced before launching himself onto a tree branch.

Not if you knew who is chasing us, Sakura thought grimly. She knew why Kakashi was in such a hurry to leave for the protection of the Leaf Village, Orochimaru was sending assassins after them if not tracking them himself. But, she wondered, why now? Had he heard of her grand escape and wanted her for himself? She hadn't seen him in at least a year, and she remembered very little. Most of it she'd blacked out from the pain or terror. What did he want from her? Whatever it was, he wasn't getting it. Not ever.

They didn't stop except to eat and sleep for a few hours at a time. A day passed before Sakura noticed a change in the weather, the humidity dropped and the ever-present mist faded a little more with each mile. On the third day the sun shone with all her shining radiance lifting the team's downtrodden moods. Sakura though remained distressed and worried, she was constantly on guard even when Kakashi told them to rest she stayed awake listening and searching with her enhanced senses. Not that she could sleep anyway.

They were all still uncomfortable around her, she could see the wariness in their eyes and how they stared when they thought she wasn't looking. Probably expecting her to snap and attack them at any moment. Sakura took it all in stride as best she could, hopefully, maybe, someday they would learn to trust her; first she had to learn to trust herself.

Kakashi stopped them for one last break before they reached Konoha. They divided the last of their rations, mostly dried meat and fruit, and ate quietly. "We'll reach home by tomorrow afternoon if we keep a good pace. I want everyone to rest for the night, it's going to be a long day tomorrow." The masked teacher gave a meaningful look to Sakura before leaving the trio to backtrack and make sure they hadn't been followed.

Once done with her meal Sakura rolled out the grey wool blanket Kakashi had insisted she take and lay down. Though her tired jade eyes closed her mind raced with nervous excitement and fear. The famous Hidden Leaf Village awaited their arrival tomorrow, she'd read its history, knew its origins, Kages, downfalls, and success's. Of course she had read of all the other villages, but for some reason Konohagakure had fascinated her the most. In her opinion it had the most tragic past of all the villages, and yet it remained one of the strongest Hidden Villages.

Kakashi had referred to it as home, home was not a term Sakura was familiar with. What was a home? Was it merely the place where you slept and ate? The term seemed much more personal than that, there was a certain ring to it that made her feel almost warm inside. A small ray of heat from a dying sun desperately trying to push its way from behind heavy rain clouds. Had she known what a home was before she lost her memory?

Grey light had just begun to illuminate the forest when a whisper came from behind her. She sat very still waiting for him to finish speaking, "Sakura, we need to talk." Just loud enough for her to hear. She lay there for several more moments after he left to be sure neither Naruto or Sasuke would stir, then with silent grace left her place and followed after her new sensei.

He hadn't gone very far, just enough distance to be out of ear shot should the other two wake. She left enough distance between them to be sure he was comfortable, not that it would seem he cared. He seemed very relaxed leaning against a great oak, hands in his pockets with one leg crossed. Silvery locks sparkling in the morning light, his one visible eye closed. Sakura's presence went ignored for several minutes before he sighed and looked straight into her drained eyes. A whirl emotions stormed through her in that second, she wondered if the Kage had denied her entrance to Konoha, or maybe Kakashi had changed his mind about letting her become a part of his little team. Salty tears blurred her vision, but she held the dam up, looking down away from him to hide her hurt and disappointment.

What would she do now?

"As I'm sure you've guessed I've informed the Hokage of our arrival today," Here it comes… "I notified him of your presence in our group. I asked for special permission to allow you to come with us to Konoha, and last night I received his response." He paused, and some Starlings began to sing in his place. Sakura felt the flood rapidly building, inwardly she begged for him to get on with it. "He gave the go ahead for you to have temporary residence."

Her breath caught in her throat as she finally looked up through a watery visage in mute shock. A stiff smile broke out awkwardly across her pale face. The blood stopped pounding in her head and she felt faint for several seconds. "I can go?" Her voice croaked from a suddenly dry throat.

Though his face was covered Sakura could see Kakashi's grin. "Yes, you can go. However there are rules-"

"Of course," She interjected, blushing at her interruption. "Sorry…"

His look sobered, and his eyes grew serious. "Listen Sakura, this is no joke. If you break the rules you will be terminated."

She could feel Nekomata's mocking laughter tremble through her. How dare he think I could actually be destroyed by mere mortals, perhaps we should show him the power of the Death God's favored. It took a minute to relax her tensed muscles and let the deadly freeze of his chakra wash over her, he'd been so shy as of late she had begun to get used to his silence.

'I can not kill him, I do not think I could even if you told me to do so.' She felt his cold anger blow through her like a wild blizzard, but it didn't stop her resolve. 'I can't explain why, but I just can't.'

The great demon cat snorted, clearly not amused at this declaration. Little fool, you don't even realize what they have done to you. You have developed feelings for these weaklings, you are becoming soft and vulnerable. Disgusting.

Somebody was saying her name, slowly she pulled out of her reverie, still stunned by the suddenness of her demon's appearance and disappearance. "Sakura?"

"What?"

Her teacher sighed, "You need to listen to me, it is very important."

Sakura nodded trying her best to look attentive, "I'm sorry, I'm listening now."

"Good, now some things are going to happen when we arrive in Konoha, some things that may seem scary at first." Her expression went from intent to confused to leery, what exactly did he mean? "You must at all times remain calm, you can not afford to lose control, if you do there will be nothing I can do for you."

Her lime-colored eyes narrowed suspiciously, "What do you mean by 'scary' things?" He spoke as though he were dealing with a child, and even though she was only thirteen she was matured past that. She had done and experienced things most adults would never encounter in their long years, how could she or anyone else for that matter think of her as a child?

"Listen before you decide you will not trust me. Everybody who wishes to become a citizen of Konoha must go through a certain process, no exceptions. The village can not afford to make mistakes, many lives are in the balance." Sakura nodded slowly, weary but accepting. "It is simply a series of interrogations to make sure you can be trusted."

"And if I am determined not trustworthy…"

Kakashi's face grew solemn, "You must pass."

So it was a test of sorts. A test of trust? Or perhaps a test of how good of a liar she had become in the past few weeks. Lies, lies, and more lies, did it ever end? Once you started building the sticky web of deceit you had to continue to build and fix any damages along the way.

"I will pass, you have my word." For whatever her word was worth anyway.

He nodded his approval, "Good, let's head back we need to start moving if we hope to be there by noon." He disappeared the only trace of him was the slight rustle of the spring grass. By noon they would be in Konoha, by the end of today she would know whether or not she could stay.

'I said I would pass, but what if I can not? What will happen then?'

Sakura could feel Nekomata's feral grin as it spread across his dark face, her mind's eye pictured the glinting of those lethal fangs as they dripped acid in the coolness of his lair within her.

Then we shall annihilate them.