Yuuri: Disclaimed!
Chapter 8: Revenge
"Itachi-chaaan~!" Sakura called out. Itachi turned and his brows creased into worry. Sakura glomped him and kissed his cheek. Everyone stared. The atmosphere was dull and miserable. Sakura looked at them, a worried expression on her face. "Something wrong?" she asked. "It's Team 8- Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji" Sasori explained. Sakura looked at them all, still confused. "Sakura… They're the team who killed- most likely buried, Hidan in that really deep hole"
--
"Sakura, you shouldn't…" Itachi muttered. Sakura brushed off his continuous protests and shifted into her battle gear. She pulled on her black gloves and faced Itachi. "Let's go"
--
Sakura was chosen to go battle Team 8, along with Kakuzu. They began their journey shortly after they packed. While they were jumping from branch to branch…
"Oi, Kaku-chan" Sakura called. Kakuzu frowned.
"You want to get revenge for Hidan-kun too, ne?"
"Not even" Kakuzu snorted.
"Pfeh, I know that deep inside your five hearts, you developed a friendly relationship with Hidan-kun"
"Why do you even think that? Hidan's not the person you can actually get along with"
"However much of an ass he was, he has this magnetic personality, ya know?"
"Heh, you mean for girls? I don't swing that way, Sakura-chan"
"Not that!" Sakura snarled. "It's that you can develop a friendly relationship with him once you get to know his true self"
"Heh. You're a sharp one, aren't you?" Kakuzu complimented with a smirk. Sakura grinned and he ruffled her hair. "So, you haven't gotten over him, have you, Sakura-chan?" Kakuzu teased. Sakura looked down solemnly. "Not really…" she admitted. "Just like you said, Hidan has a magnetic personality. Once you stick, it's hard to get away," he said. 'And once you fall in love with him, it's hard to find another one again…' 'Cha! Be strong, girl! At least we have Itachi!' 'True…'
"You still love him, don't you?" Kakuzu asked suddenly. Sakura smiled sadly. Kakuzu stopped, making her halt too. "Let's make camp down there…" he said and she nodded. They each made a tent and made fire. Both of them looked at the fire, deep in thought. Then, Kakuzu stood up.
"Good night, Sakura…" he said and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Sakura smiled and hugged him. "Night…" she mumbled.
--
At dawn, they sensed the chakra signatures of Team 8. Sakura used her Shiorie and transformed into Scarlet. They hunted down Team 8 with the help of Scarlet's summoned wolf.
"Hello, Team 8," Scarlet greeted. They turned to the direction of the voice sharply and readied in a fighting stance. Shikamaru looked at her and observed her, at the same time, trying to catch her with his jutsu. Ino growled at her while Chouji stared at them, half-startled. "Give us back Sakura, bitch" Ino screeched. Scarlet raised an eyebrow. "Why would I? What's she to you? This is just your mission, right?" Scarlet said scornfully. Ino looked away. Everyone knows it's true.
As Shikamaru was about to capture her with his jutsu, the star on her eye started to spin. Shikamaru's eyes widened. "What is it, Shika?" Ino asked. "Shiorie," he gasped. Scarlet smirked and literally grabbed his shadow and flipped it back. Shikamaru was carried away by the grasp and slammed into the ground, right next to Scarlet. "Shikamaru-kun!" Ino cried. Scarlet smirked. So, are they going out now?
"You guys going out now?" she said, smirking. They both scowled at her. Kakuzu sat there, watching the whole thing as he held Chouji with his string-like tentacles. Scarlet quickly disappeared and appeared behind Ino. She held her chakra-stored hand on her back and Ino shivered at the touch. Shikamaru looked at her frantically.
"Shikamaru-kun," Scarlet said in a mocking tone. "Do you know how hurtful it is to lose someone you love?" Shikamaru's brows furrowed. "What are you-" "Now you'll know the pain that you gave me for killing Hidan!" she shrieked. The star in her eye started spinning furiously and her hand glowed in a deep shade of crimson. Shikamaru's eyes widened. He ran towards them and screamed. "Nooo! Ino!" he cried. He stumbled forward, tears stinging his eyes. 'Just like what happened to Asuma-sensei… I'm so weak!' he screamed in his head. Scarlet's hand was sticking out of Ino's bloody chest. The poison in her hand seeped through Ino's body, giving her worse pain than she would've had to experience in death.
Shikamaru looked at her beautiful face, all bloody and hurting. Scarlet turned to face Kakuzu. "Kakuzu-kun, could you hold Shikamaru for me? I want to make him see his lover's painful death. Ino was screaming and moaning and Shikamaru begged them to rid her of the pain. They both refused. Hidan's death felt like this. Like it was their fault that Hidan died. Now, Shikamaru is experiencing it, the pain caused by a loved one's death.
"I'm sorry, Shikamaru, but this is just revenge" Scarlet said, an innocent look crossing her face. Shikamaru's faced hardened as he mourned for his lover's death. "One thing, kid," Kakuzu said. "Don't hunt for the Akatsuki once you killed a member. Just because we're Akatsuki doesn't mean we don't care for our members" Then, they both disappeared, leaving Shikamaru with Chouji, who was blaming himself that he didn't even do anything. As they vanished, Shikamaru caught a tint of pink in the mysterious new member's hair. There's only one person who can have that hair color. With that information with him, he rushed back to Konoha, Ino on his back and Chouji on his side, hoping to get to the bottom of this.
Yuuri: Heehee~!
