A/N: I'm back! Well, this chapter took a long time (because i was lazy as usual) I actually wanted to finish this before next week when my exams start. I also would like to introduce you guys to someone at the end! XD
Behind The Cold Eyes
Wide emerald eyes looked at the scene before her. Everything was almost destroyed. The trees were burnt and there were craters and deep cavities covering the ground. There was blood...everywhere. Sakura swallowed hard and covered her mouth with her hands as if she was about to vomit from the mere sight.
Her medic instincts kicked in as her eyes scanned the area for any injured people. Thankfully, she found no one. Her feet carried her further through the horrifying battlefield.
Then something familiar caught her attention, just to the right. The colours of green and silver...Only one person came to her mind.
'Kakashi-sensei!' She sprinted to her fallen teacher laying on the ground. The pink haired Kunoichi knelt down next to him. Panic filled her mind and heart when she saw his closed eyes and several seeping wounds and gashes that he must have received before she arrived. Her fingers felt for a pulse and her eyes flew opened. It was faint, but still there...meaning that he was still alive. There was still a chance to save him, if she could act quick! Gathering chakra to the palms of her hands, the medic began to heal the large severe wounds first. Sweat dripped down from her forehead as she tried to control her laboured breathing. She was exhausted from all the running and healing from previous hours but she could not allow herself to rest just yet. Her teacher and father figure was dying before her eyes and the girl refused to let death take him away from her!
'Come on!' Sakura chanted in her mind desperately. She continued to repair her sensei, having already finished with the most fatal injuries covering his form, she decided to leave the small wounds heal by themselves. The girl still needed her chakra for any unknown enemies she may encounter.
A cough caught her attention as her worried emerald orbs snap to Kakashi's face. Watching with rapt attention, his non-Sharingan eye slowly opened half way to gaze blurrilyaround. Sakura sighed in relief. From the looks of his face, she could tell that he was a bit dizzy and needed time to recall everything that happened.
Sitting back, the pinkette waited patiently for him until he finally realised what was going on.
The silver haired Jounin shot up abruptly, almost causing Sakura to fall back on the ground in surprise. His wide eye looked at his surroundings before the pain overwhelmed his entire being.
He hissed but continued to sit carefully, panting from the feeling of excruciating pain. Sakura moved closer to the injured shinobi and helped him straighten up. The girl gave her teacher a warm and tired smile when he finally decided to look at her.
"Sakura?" he asked in a hoarse voice. The medic nin nodded and inspected his body once more.
"Are you feeling alright now, sensei?" She stared at him.
Kakashi nodded and gripped his left arm, where he remembered having a deep gash before he fainted. It was healed now, but he could still feel the slight throb of pain. The silver haired nin tried to open his other eye that held the Sharingan, only to close it again when he felt undeniable pain. It hurt to even move his left eye the slightest.
"Easy, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said softly. "You over-used it. You shouldn't use it for a while and rest." The medic finishes.
The copy-ninja sighed and nodded, closing his eyes and trying to recall what happened. All he could remember was Sasuke coming here to help them. The missing nin and Naruto helped each other and fought with Madara and the ten tails while he, Gai and Killer Bee assisted them. Then Madara threw them Bijuu-dama and everything went black. He couldn't find Naruto or the others. They were probably somewhere else.
"What happened, Kakashi-sensei?" His only female student's gentle voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He glanced at her face that was filled with worry and curiosity. She was covered in dirt and blood, a sight that he wasn't used to. Usually, whenever he and Team 7 went on missions, Sakura always made it out the cleanest of all of them. He and Naruto would make sure nothing happened to her. Looking at her right now made him realize that Sakura was more than he thought she was. She had grown without him even noticing it. Kakashi opened his mouth to answer but another huge explosion cut him off.
Both of them looked over to the direction that it erupted from, seeing smoke and flames - dark flames, coming up into the sky.
'It must have been another Bijuu Dama.' He thought.
Sakura stood up as Kakashi looked at her confusedly. "I'm going." She stated and prepared to leap off but he gripped at her ankles. The girl looked down at her mentor, seeing him staring at her with a hard gaze.
"It's too dangerous, don't." He said sternly.
Sakura only narrowed her eyes. "I've grown, Kakashi-sensei. I'm not weak any more. I can handle it." She averted her hard viridian gaze from him and looked to where the smoke was coming from. "There's nothing you can do to stop me sensei."
Kakashi sighed at this. In his condition, he couldn't make her change her mind. Everyone knew Sakura was as stubborn as hell. Once she made up her mind, she wouldn't change it. It really reminded him of Rin. He chuckled wryly and saw a look of confusion cross the younger womans face. He smiled behind his mask at her. "Take me with you." Her eyes widened at his request.
"You can't go, sensei! You're in no condition to move and besides I can handle—"
"I can teleport us there." He cut her off. Sakura clamped her mouth shut into a straight line. "I have enough Chakra left to teleport the both of us there. It can save time and your energy." He tried to stand up, almost falling back down if it weren't for Sakura's support.
The pinkette sighed. "Fine...But after that, you're going to hide somewhere and rest, got it?" She ordered in her professional doctor voice she used whenever she was talking to a patient.
Kakashi's eyes crinkled as a smile stretched across his lips. "Yes, Sakura-sensei." He teased.
Sakura rolled her eyes and put his arms around her neck. Kakashi closed his eyes for a moment and in a matter of seconds, they were in another place. The only female member of team 7 blinked couple of times to clear her blurry vision. When she finally regained her normal sight, she looked around. Almost immediately, she noticed her friend...Naruto. It wasn't hard to distinguish him from others, even in battle or when he's covered in blood. His bright yellow hair and orange jumpsuit had always been the center of attention.
Her limping teacher beside her furrowed his silver eye brows as he caught sight of his fallen comrades. He could still see Naruto, helping Gai with Killer Bee next to them. He felt Sakura walk up to the three shinobi while helping him there. Kakashi could tell that the girl next to him was tired, judging by her posture and harsh panting. He couldn't blame her though, she had been fighting and healing for so many days without breaks since the war started.
Naruto's head perked up when he heard footsteps coming his way. The blonde ninja carefully laid Gai, (who had injured his left leg), to the ground and looked up at the new comers. His sapphire eyes widened at the sight that befell him. "S-sakura-chan?" Slowly standing up, he walked over to the two, not hesitating to take Kakashi off Sakura so she could have a break. After laying the wounded ninja down, Naruto stared at his teacher, silently watching as he breathed heavily.
"You okay, sensei?" he asked. Kakashi gave a nod and the Kyuubi vessel turned his attention to Sakura, who had already fallen to the ground.
Quickly rushing to her, Naruto laid his palm on Sakura's back as a sign of comfort, waiting for her to regain her composure before asking, "What are you doing here?"
The pinkette glanced at him with a serious look. "Helping you, duh!" She answered, a little bit out of breath. The blonde gritted his teeth when she said this. "What are you thinking?! This is the battlefield! It's dangerous! You can get hurt and—" He shut his mouth when he saw Sakura throwing him a hard glare, one that he knew she used only when she was really pissed off or serious. He was guessing it was the former.
"Are you saying that I'm weak?" She hissed out. The goofy ninja gulped but remained determined. "I'm not trying to say you're weak! I just don't want you to get hurt! Do you know what would happen if you did?" He was trying to keep his eyes hard but it was difficult with the look that Sakura was giving him.
"So what? You suggest me to hide while you guys fight to death like I always do? I'm stronger now, Naruto. You of all people should know this."
"But—"
"I'm not changing my mind. I refuse to sit back and let you guys do all the work." She cut him off before he could protest. Naruto sighed and looked over at Kakashi, silently asking him for help but the copy ninja only shrugged with a smile behind his dirty mask.
"What a feisty woman." Killer Bee smirked, throwing a suggestive look towards Sakura, who raised her brow at him.
"Her youth is simply dazzling. She should fight a long side us!" Gai tried to encourage, ignoring the painful wound he had. The medic smiled at him in gratitude, which he responded with a thumbs up.
"Okay, fine!" Naruto threw his hands to the air in resignation. "Just make sure to stay near me and don't die, Sakura-chan!" He turned to his crush.
She gave him a smirk. "You too, Naruto. I'd like to see your face when you see me in battle this time." The two team-mates stood and glanced down at the teachers on the ground.
"Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei should stay here." Sakura suggested. Naruto looked over to the Hachibi container. "Bee-jichan, can you watch over them?"
"You can count on me!" Bee grinned. After hearing that, Naruto ran towards the location he knew Madara was at, with Sakura following him closely.
"Naruto?" Said person grunted. "What happened? Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei look so jacked up." She asked. There was a moment of silence. Naruto bit his lips, contemplating whether to tell her or not. Well, she was going to find out anyway.
"We were fighting Madara." He paused, trying to think of a way to summarise the whole story. "He revived the Juubi."
Sakura's eyes widened. "The Juubi?" The girl repeated repeated. She knew what it was. After years of studying under Tsunade she had access to a lot of information, including things that people wouldn't have the liberty to know.
Naruto nodded. "We tried to fight him but he threw us Bijuu-dama." He stopped, purposely leaving the part where Sasuke come and saved them. The Jinchuuriki knew Sakura would be smart enough to figure everything out from here. Confused by the lack of response, Naruto glanced at Sakura, seeing her looking down, seemingly in thought.
The Haruno clenched her fists after hearing everything Naruto said. Part of her was scared at how strong he seemed to describe Madara as. Could she really help Naruto defeat him? She knew she shouldn't be feeling this way. Sakura had sworn to herself that she wasn't going to be the sitting duck this time and would be strong enough for everything that would happen. She was determined not to give up hope so easily like she had done many times before. Sakura didn't want to let Naruto carry the entire burden this time. As a ninja and his friend, she was going to protect him and win this battle...No matter how hard it would be.
Sakura gasped in surprise and stopped just time to avoid a large boulder that flew at them. She looked to where it was coming from and her breath hitched when she saw a giant creature that she assumed was the Juubi. There was a man standing atop the beast with purple chakra surrounding him. 'Madara.' She thought with venom. Sakura and Naruto jumped to where it was. Madara looked at them with unreadable eyes. His orbs focused on the girl who he hadn't seen before, absent mindedly wondering who she was.
Naruto looked around in panic when he couldn't find Sasuke anywhere. Where was he? He thought he was here fighting Madara. Sasuke couldn't have possibly died, could he? His eyes widened when he felt himself being carried over up to a tree by Sakura. He blinked and stared at the place where they were standing previously, seeing a huge crater there.
"Don't space out!" Sakura shouted at him. Naruto shook his head. He didn't have time to be distracted any more. If it weren't for Sakura, he would have been nailed by another tailed beast bomb again. "Thanks, Sakura-chan." He smiled at her and stood up.
The pink haired ninja smirked at him. "You realize how different I am now?" Her team-mate only chuckled and turned to the direction of Juubi.
"So, you just don't give up, do you?" Madara asked in an emotionless tone as his eyes looked over to the two shinobi. He was getting a bit bored fighting them, but he could feel a twinge of excitement rushing through him when he saw the new pinkette. He could feel something interesting in her Chakra. Something hit him. "Hey girl, you're Tsunade's apprentice right?" he stared intensely at her.
Sakura raised her eye brow at him. "How do you know?" She whispered but Madara could hear her. "You're quite popular; I heard a few ninja talking about you on my way here. Saying how strong similar you are to the Hokage." His tone was a bit amused. The thought of fighting with her excited him a little. He was curious as to how much potential this little girl had, seeing as she was the fifth Hokage's student and all.
"I feel honored that a legendary shinobi like you acknowledges me." Sakura smiled falling into a fighting stance. "But it's a shame that we are going to defeat you afterwards."
Naruto looked back and forth between Sakura and Madara, utterly confused by their interactions. The pinkette gritted her teeth and leapt off the tree, heading towards the Juubi and the once dead Uchiha. Naruto's eyes widened at her actions. "Sakura-chan! Wait!"
She dodged the blows that the Juubi used easily. Madara watched in slight interest at how fluid and precise her movement was. "You're better than I expected." He said. The sides of Sakura's mouth lifted as she slammed her fist at one of the tails that aimed at her. She used it as a way to climb over to where Madara was while avoiding the objects that came into her path. When she was close enough to Madara, she aimed her fist at his face, only for it to be caught in his hand. He smirked at her. She clenched her jaw and moved her leg to throw him off balance but he jumped away from her.
Sakura panted as she looked at the smirking man in front of her. Her body was screaming for a break but she couldn't. She needed to finish this.
"You're strong but your strength is not enough to even scratch me." She glared at Madara, who was looking smugly at her. "Weakling." Something inside of Sakura snapped. If there was one thing Sakura hated most, it was being called 'weak'. Without thought, she sprinted towards the enemy, ignoring the Susanoo that he summoned. The only goal in her mind was killing him, with everything around her just a blur.
Naruto was trying to get to Sakura to assist her but with all the attacks the Juubi was throwing at him, he couldn't reach her. He wasn't as good as his pink haired team-mate when it came to dodging. He looked to where Madara and Sakura were and his eyes flew opened at the giant purple hand that was aiming towards his team-mate. He couldn't reach her on time in this state.
"It's over, girl." Madara smirked.
SLAM!
"Sakura-chan!"
Chapter 7: Time
Sasuke's muscles tensed for a minute when he heard her mention it. His eyes moved from the floor to view her face for a moment, noting that she didn't show any sign of embarrassment or nervousness. How could she be so calm when he accidentally almost molested her last night? Sakura cleared her throat loudly and looked at the silent man in front of her. With a sigh, she patted the mattress softly with her palms.
"Sit here, it'll be easier for me to talk to you that way." He scowled at her, although there were still red hues covering his ears in embarrassment.
"I'm fine standing here."
Sakura could only roll her eyes at his stubbornness. She was just being considerate and didn't want the man to have sore feet later from standing too long. She had a hunch that their conversation was going to last for a long time.
"Just stop being an idiot and sit next to me...or on the floor for all I care, I just want to save you from the possibility of getting tired feet." She told him with an annoyed look. Was it wrong to be nice to your kidnapper? If it was, Sakura must have gone crazy. But he was still her ex-teammate and she couldn't deny the fact that she still somehow cared for him, even if she didn't want to.
The young Uchiha grumbled something under his breath before walking over to the bed and sat himself near Sakura, making sure to keep a healthy distance from her.
The pinkette flashed him a smile. "There, that wasn't so bad now was it?" A glare answered her question. "Jeez, stop being so uptight about this. You should be lucky that I'm even letting you near me after what you did last night." Sasuke thanks the gods when the girl beside him doesn't notice the slight wave of emotion running through his eyes when she spoke of his activities the night before.
He turned away from her. "Get on with it." He just wanted to get things over as fast as possible. He did not feel comfortable discussing this.
"Maybe you're the one who should start explaining yourself about last night." Sakura stated calmly, much to his dismay. Why was she the one who was cool headed when he was the flustered one? Had their role completely switched?
"I don't have to explain myself to you." He tried to make his tone as angry as possible but it didn't come out that way with all the emotions he was feeling right now. Sakura blinked a few times and then a furious expression came to her face.
"What did you say?! You're the one who was practically sexually touching me last night!"
Sasuke inwardly grimaced at the word sexual. "Don't be ridiculous, I only hugged you last night because I was cold." He hoped that Sakura would buy his reason and leave him alone. He couldn't tell her that he did it to cover himself with her scent, which would cause suspicion. He hoped that he really did just hug her last night and not like what she accused.
Sakura sneered at his response. "Oh believe me. You did more than just hug me last night!" Her eyes stared into his emotionless depths with something akin to anger in her eyes. "I want to know the real reason, and I doubt you would hug me because you're cold! I know you enough to notice that you're not the type to seek other people's warmth just because of the cold weather!"
Her chest heaved up and down in anger. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and looked away from her face that was moving closer and closer to his during her outburst. He knew this was going to happen, she was smart, almost as smart as him. There's no way she would have fallen for a pathetic excuse like that. He understood why she was angry. She was braless and he was shirtless last night, and the fact that he was holding her close to him against her will added the fuel. It's true though, he was just hugging her last night. But he was also curious as to what he exactly did that led her to be this mad.
Sakura on the other hand, felt a bit guilty that she was blaming him like this. It wasn't entirely his fault. He was asleep and had no idea what he did the previous night. Sasuke didn't mean to do it and it didn't cause any harm to her other than the embarrassment and the lack of sleep that she faced because of how uncomfortable she was with his arms so close to touching her breasts. Then again, it was his fault in the first place that she lost her bra and besides, he should have remembered she was missing that article of clothing since he was the one that was in a rush to leave, which caused her to drop the undergarment back at the last village. Though, that wasn't the entire reason for the conversation. Sakura was also doing this because she wanted the answer that he still hadn't provided her since the beginning of his kidnapping.
The Uchiha next to her clenched his hands and gritted his teeth. "I told you before that I can't answer that." He felt her shifting off the bed but didn't look up to check.
"Quit it with that bullshit! I want answers! Now!" Sakura stood up and glared at him. "Why are you doing this?! What's the reason that you're keeping me like this?! I don't get it!" She snapped, but didn't get any reaction from him. Not even a grunt. "You're confusing me…" she added with a whisper.
Sasuke shifted, causing Sakura's anger to disappear slightly. She watched cautiously as he stepped closer and closer to her slowly, his head hung low so she was unable to see his eyes. Each step he took forward caused her to reflexively take a step back. The process was repeated until Sakura felt the hard cement of the wall hit her back. Cornered between the wall and Sasuke, she tried to control her breathing and the blood from rushing to her face. That however, proved to be useless when the missing nin lifted his arms and caged her head, leaning his bang covered face closer to her.
Sakura watched as his eyes revealed themselves, gasping silently when she saw something different in them, something that she didn't expect to see. The girl wasn't exactly sure what it was, but she felt something hot run through her body when she saw them. These eyes were familiar, not like the ones that she had seen on the Sasuke of the present. It was similar to the ones that she rarely saw during their Genin days...When he was still good and still the one she learnt to call her first love. Still, there was also a certain emotion that she couldn't quite decipher within his onyx depths. She felt like she had seen that look before, but couldn't recall when. The way he stared at her made the woman want to crawl away from him. The gaze was too intense, like it was piercing right through her, and she felt uncomfortable under their assault.
His mouth parted slightly to speak, but closed them in an instant. He was hesitating. 'I can't tell you. I don't know how.' He wanted to say. 'It's hard for me to say so just please, understand me and the reason why I'm doing this. I just don't want them to take you away.'
Though all it came out was, "Just give me time, Sakura." He whispered and in a matter of seconds, he disappeared in cloud of smoke. Everything went silent in the room.
Sakura stared at the spot where Sasuke was standing not too long ago. Slowly, she slid down to the floor, a dazed look covering her face. Her mind was swirling in confusion.
"Just give me time, Sakura."
The pink haired medic closed her eyes and brought her knees to her chest. What did he mean by that? What was that emotion he had in his eyes? What the hell was happening? A million questions came into her mind as she gritted her teeth. The way he said her name back then...the tone of his voice.
It wasn't the monotonous thing he always used, there was something in them. He sounded desperate. Desperate for what? She pulled her pink hair in frustration.
"Sasuke-kun…"
A curse slipped from Sasuke's mouth as he slumped down on the grass, leaning his back against the tree behind him. Things were getting more and more complicated by the day. He didn't know what he was going to do when he faced Sakura after what he did back then. He should have just left.
Just give me time? Yeah. What a great excuse, Sasuke. His mind thought bitterly, as he clamped his eyes shut tightly and let out a long breath, trying in vain to calm himself. Now was not the time to be thinking about this. He could feel the chakra of his pursuers coming at a fast speed.
He stood up and opened his eyes, his mind now in a more calm state. He walked to the destination he was planning to go to since the moment he stepped his foot here. He needed to do something to get rid of the annoying leaf ninjas chasing after him. Thankfully, he knew just the right person for the job. He kept walking until he reached a deep forest. Activating his Sharingan and slowly, a house appeared in front of him. Without hesitating, he stepped to the door and opened it. He never bothered to knock.
Sasuke pulled out his katana and blocked the many Senbon coming his way just in time. His face remained impassive an evil chuckle echoed throughout the hide out.
"Well, well. If it isn't the famous, Uchiha Sasuke." A deep voice reached his ear as someone approached him from the shadows. A man stepped forward with a smirk. His dark green hair swayed with his movement as his brown eyes crinkled in amusement. "Long time no see." He looked up and down at the young man in front him. "What brings you here?"
The Uchiha narrowed his eyes. "I want you to do something for me, Rokusho." He said coldly. He didn't like the guy. He never did. Sasuke was here because he owed him a favor and the Uchiha knew he had the ability to do the things he needed him to.
Aoi raised his eye brow at him. "What's that?" he asked with fake interest.
"There's a group of Konoha Shinobi coming after me. I want you to get rid of them." The missing nin of Amagakure chuckled at this.
"I thought you weren't involved with Konoha any more. Why are they after you?" That earned him a cold glare from the man.
Aoi knew he was pressing matters that didn't concern him and knowing Sasuke, he could be asking for a death wish. The former ninja of both Konoha and Amegakure had been found by one of Orochimaru's men. He was kept in prison and became one of the test subjects that the snake experimented on. But after Sasuke killed Orochimaru, he was released and part of him was thankful to the spiky haired missing nin for sparing him. He was residing near the earth country now, where no one recognized him, working as a hired mercenary.
"That's none of your business. Just do what I want you to." Sasuke scowled. "You owe me."
The brown eyed Nukenin raised his hands up in defence. "Alright, alright." He laughed.
Sasuke snarled and sheathed his sword. Aoi watched as the dark haired man exited his home, the door swinging shut behind him. He couldn't stop the amusing smirk from coming to his face. Not from his behavior, but it was the scent that covered the Uchiha when he entered. A very feminine aroma assaulted his senses the moment Sasuke stepped inside his home.
Now that was strange. He knew Sasuke had never been the type to fool around with women. It was fact that everyone knew. Though now, he was thinking otherwise. Strangely enough, he was familiar with the odor that was all over Sasuke. He had sensed it somewhere before but couldn't quite put his finger on it. No matter, he had a job to do. Rokusho Aoi was always dedicated to his job.
It is one of the reasons why Sasuke put him up to this.
Naruto panted as he jumped to another tree. They had been sprinting for hours non-stop and still hadn't reached the village where Kiba had told him Sakura was currently held. His feet were aching from all the activity and there was no doubt in his mind that others were in the same condition.
"Are we there yet, Kiba?" He asked the tracker ninja in front of him.
The brunette looked over his shoulder at his friend. "Almost there!" He answered.
The blonde groaned. "You said that an hour ago!"
Kakashi couldn't help but smirk at his student. "What's the matter, Naruto? Are you tired?" He teased. The Jinchuuriki responded with a glare. "No, I'm not!" He protested.
Neji stared at him emotionlessly. "Your eyes say otherwise." He stated.
"Fuck you, Neji!" Naruto yelled, causing everyone to laugh. Tenten smiled at her comrades. It was times like this that helped reduce the stress they were feeling. Sure, she was worried about Sakura but they needed some relief so the pressure of mission wouldn't get to them. It would clear up their minds.
Suddenly, Kakashi stopped in his tracks. The others followed suit and halted their jumping. The copy ninja drew his eye brows together and looked around as if searching for something. He could have sworn he sensed a unique chakra signature here. He closed his eyes for a moment to concentrate. After a while, he opened them again and focused his lone eye in front of him, where he could feel not just one but many other presences heading towards them. He glanced at Neji, who had a glare on his face, his hand hovering over his weapons pouch. He must have noticed this too.
"Can you feel that?" The Hyuuga asked him watching as the older nin nods slowly.
Naruto, as well as Kiba and Tenten, looked curiously at the two.
"Feel what?" Kiba scratched his head, before a wave of different scents reached his keen nose. Turning around fiercely towards the direction, he growled. "We got company." As soon as his words left his mouth, an explosive kunai embedded itself on the ground, causing each of their eyes to widen.
Naruto cursed as he jumped away, just in time to avoid the explosion. Smoke covered the forest as he coughed and tried to look for his other comrades. His blue eyes caught sight of Neji perched upon a tree next to him, with Tenten kneeling by his side. The blonde felt a pat to his shoulder and glanced behind him to see Kakashi, already uncovering his Sharingan with a serious expression covering his features.
"Kakashi-sensei?" He called questioningly. His teacher only responded by squeezing his shoulder, signalling him to get ready. Naruto got what he was trying to say and fell into a fighting stance.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Naruto." The Kyuubi container tensed at the voice, he recognized it. Naruto knew who he was! The Konoha hero clenched his jaw and looked around for the owner of the voice, the smoke hadn't cleared yet and he couldn't tell where he was. "I thought you were dead!" He yelled, his blue eyes still scanning the area.
A deep chuckle was heard. "It'd take more than your pathetic jutsu to finish me off, kid."
Naruto jumped down from the tree he had been standing on when he sensed senbon coming for him. He drew the kunai from his pouch. Kakashi and Naruto dodged the tiny weapons with ease.
"Keep your guard up, Naruto. He's strong. I can tell by his chakra." His teacher warned him as they fell into a defensive position, back to back, eyes alert for any attack. Naruto knew his opponent was strong. He had faced him before, but his chakra now was different somehow. It was darker than three years ago and Naruto wasn't sure if he could defeat him or not. Off in the distance, behind his foe, sit many other chakra signatures ready for battle. Naruto's eyes narrow seriously at his senses. He must have brought allies...and each of them was strong.
Finally, the smoke disappeared and he could see clearly now. His eyes widened when someone appeared before him in a flash. Aoi still looked exactly the same, only older. Even his outfit didn't change. Behind him were ten other people, who Naruto could tell were all missing nins judging by how powerful their Chakra was.
He didn't have time for this. They still needed to go and find Sakura. Fighting him now would be wasting time!
Sets of footsteps reached their ears as Naruto turned around to see Kiba, Neji and Tenten approaching them. "What's going on?" Tenten asked when she reached them, her eyes falling on the missing ninjas in front of her.
"Looks like they won't leave us until we fight them." Kakashi said calmly, although the look on his face was different. He was also frustrated by this. He needed to finish this quickly. The silver haired teacher knew that Sakura's kidnapper was going to send someone after them. He didn't want to come himself, which was obvious by how secretive he was with his identity. If his guess was correct, he might be using this time to escape while they were busy fighting this Aoi.
"Why are you here?!" Naruto hissed out, staring heatedly at his opponent.
"Let just say someone sent me here to kill you." Aoi smirked and brought out his umbrella. His brown eyes looked from one Konoha ninja to the other and raised his eye brow when he noticed something. "Where's that pink haired team-mate of yours?" He asked him. Naruto snarled but didn't answer him.
That was enough for Aoi to know what happened to her. No wonder the smell on Sasuke was so familiar. He was smart and now, he knew exactly what was going on. He didn't know what the hell Sasuke was thinking, but he sure found it amusing. He wondered what would happen after this.
Right now though, he needed to finish his job. "Now." He started.
"Let's begin shall we?"
...
..
.
A/N: I know I asked you guys if wanted lemons or not but putting it in here now would be rushing the whole plot. It'll take a few more chapters until we can get there. Though I will promise you, there will be lemons!
Remember that special someone i talked about! She's my beta-reader! I mean, seriously, she's like my savior who's been sent to me from heaven! She also writes a good Sasusaku story, which I'm sure some of you know!
Her name is MerinXD! Check her out guys!
Important: I have a poll at my profile concerning one of hte main plots in this story. It's called 'What gender(s) should Sakura and Sasuke's child/children be?' the story depends on you so go vote while you can. For guests, just put them in the review and I'll count them in too!
Bye!
