Hallucinations. Part 2.
Chapter 9
Sakura pulled her hooded cloak deeper acrpss her face. Slouched down in her chair, watching from the corner of the bar she hid, waiting. It was a filthy, run-down shop with dim candles hanging from the ceiling in slitted brass trays. She ignored the men glancing at her, burly with tangled beards and scars down their faces. She only had eyes for the two men sitting in front of the bar tender. She could hear their soft voices as they spoke to him.
The one man twisting in his chair impatiently. He wore an orange mask that hid his face but he spoke everything that was one his mind, making him as easy to read as a book. He was loud and careless. Saying whatever nonsense entered his mind and whined at everything that displeased him. The second man was more rational than his counterpart, in comparison of the two. Sakura remembered the blond haired Akatsuki that was partnered with Sasori.
They were asking about Orochimaru, or more specifically, the Uchiha working under him. Sakura felt nothing when his name was mentioned. What she didn't understand was why Akatsuki spoke about Orochimaru in the past tense, like he was dead.
The two Akatsuki thanked the bartender, having heard all the information they needed, and Deidara dropped a few coins on the counter. The bar tenders face twisted into a ugly smile and hastily pocketed the money, turning to his other customers. The two Akatsuki strutted out, Deidara kicking the door open and the masked man scolding him. She waited half a minute and followed them out.
It was the middle of the day and Sakura merged into the crowd as the two Akatsuki worked their way through the throng. The orange masked Akatsuki, Tobi, she believed his name was, detoured away from Deidara to look at some trinket or food in the stores lining the streets. Deidara would huff, looking worn out from Tobi's childish ways, but would say nothing, and when he did it was to call Tobi back when he would start to wander too far off.
To remain undetected Sakura walked far behind them, moving closer and back, never staying a consistent distance from them. Their guard was down, Deidara distracted by Tobi and Tobi hardly looked like he cared about being aware of his surroundings.
"Hey Deidara-sempai!" Tobi suddenly shouted as Sakura walked as close to them as she dared, pretending to look at a display of jewels in a shop. "There's a girl that keeps following us!"
Sakura dropped to her feet and scrambled around the table of the shop. The shop keeper, a young man looked at her sharply and started to lift a bronze sword from his waist.
"Please, I'm a Konoha ninja. I'm on a mission." She whispered franticly, trying to listen for the two Akatsuki voices. The man tightened the grip on his sword and she flashed him her headband, tied around her arm, and only noticeable if she removed most of her cloak. The man was still, his eyes firm. He nodded to her and bowed to him in thanks.
Sakura cautiously peered over the table. Scanning the area quickly, her eyes darting from face to face. The two Akatsuki were gone, but they were no doubt on their guard. She stepped around the table, lifting the hood from her eyes. No black cloaks stood out from within the crowds.
How had that man, Tobi, had known she was following them? He had the attention span of a goldfish but still noticed her constant presence. She had wondered how a fool like him had gotten into the Akatsuki, but it wasn't them with their guard down. It was her.
She left the main road and stalked through urban alleys, moving through the shadows until she reached the edge of town. She scaled the stone wall surrounding the city and jumped on to the highest branch of the nearest tree.
She had followed the two Akatsuki for two days now. Maybe Tobi remembered seeing her the first day and by chance saw her again. Either way to was too risky to follow them like that again. She tore off her cloak and let the black fabric curl through the air until it landed softly on the ground.
She learned enough through tracking them to predict their destination with some accuracy, the next town over, to the west of this small town. They had mentioned the town several times before, either to each other or their informants. It was the most probable place they would be. She traveled further into the woods and found a wide tree with thick branches to serve as her bed. It was a while until night but she needed to rest. She had stayed up the whole night before, paranoid that the two Akatsuki knew she was there, and following them.
She settled down on her branch and a something slipped out from the bag hanging by her waist. She looked down and saw it was her book, Hakon of the West.
"This is real." she whispered. "No more dreams."
"Sakura... I've been to your house."
"What!?! You have no right to do that! You said you'd be confidential!"
"Yes, I said that Sakura and I never broke the promise. I only wanted to understand. Its rare but sometimes people have dreams when in coma and these dreams can be perceived as real. You're dreams were influenced by your life Sakura. I found these books in your room, you talked about a man named Hakon."
"He's from the country beyond the desert in wind."
"Sakura, you know that that country dose not exist. There's only ocean beyond the desert."
"It is real! I was there! I lived there!"
"Sakura, see this map. Its a real map of our world. It shows it right here, after Wind country there is only open ocean."
"I don't..."
"You were in a coma for a long time Sakura."
Sakura snapped out of her daze. She had better things to do. She had to find the Akatsuki again. She grabbed a kunai from her bag and waited in the branches of the tree till night, dozing off for a half hour at a time, ensuring rest before her trip tonight.
When at last night came and the forest was shrouded in darkness did Sakura stir from her perch. Waisting no motion she effortlessly lept through the trees at top speed. She knew she was being careless. Speed meant noise and her presence could be alerted so any unwanted person but she had to take that chance.
The trees thinned out as a road cut through the forest. She stopped, an unusual smell lingering in the air. The smell of smoke and ash. Alert she jumped to the ground and walked forward. The old dirt road, wide enough for a horse drawn carriage was covered with circle singe marks. A tree, further down the road was toppled, a ring of black ash around it's base.
'The Akatsuki have been through here.' Thought Sakura, 'this is definitely the work of Deidara.'
With her confidence boosted Sakura speed down the road, the town only a few miles away. It was a warm summer night but a cold chill ran down her spine. She thought she felt no fear when she followed the Akatsuki but now her fear was renewed.
Akatsuki should not be taken lightly. She had to be prepared, for if the Akatsuki ever became aware of her presence, they would not hesitate to kill her.
It was too late when Sakura reached town the next morning. She scoured the whole town but found no Akatsuki. She found plenty of evidence that they had passed through. An inn sitting innocently at the edge of town lost five rooms in a mysterious explosion. When she asked the owner about two men wearing black cloaks the owner told her, rather crossly, that two such men had stayed the night. Their rooms the epicenter of the explosion. Sakura thanked her and continued into town.
She visited the local bars and found few people willing to proffer the information she needed. She doubted that most of them actually knew anything, they were all jobless drunks looking for some fun. Her last chance was with a man named Hayato.
While no bar tender or drunk gave any information on the elusive Akatsuki one man gave her the name Hayato. Said that Hayato was a subordinate of an Akatsuki member.
Hayato's hangout was a lively bar in the center of town, off to the side of a business road. Sakura walked through the open doorway and was overwhelmed by the noise. Hordes of men drinking in liberal bliss. Sakura pushed her way through the throng of men, and their lady friends to the smiling bar tender.
"Can I do anything for you miss?" The young bar tender smiled at her, looking no older than twenty Sakura doubted he could be the owner of such a place but the way everyone treated him, calling him by the respectable Eagle-sama, she knew he was real.
"I'm looking for Hayato."
"You're looking at him." He smiled, resting his elbow on the counter top, he looked very relaxed and open. His almond shaped, dark green eyes and ebony hair gave the appearance of a sly raven.
Sakura got down to business. "I'm looking for the Akatsuki."
Hayato made no move, his smile never faltering but there was an edge to his words. "And why would you do that?"
"I have business with them" She replied. The people around them had edged away, their expressions of shock and anger setting her on guard.
"You're going to have to be more specific than that... Sakura."
She jumped but he was faster. He grabbed her wrist and jumped over the counter, landing behind her, his hand slid up her back and she curled away from him. Cold metal pressed against her neck and he whispered into her ear.
"Let's talk in private shall we?"
The bar was silent except for a few men, drunken beyond reason, causing a riot. Everyone looked ready for a fight, some with knives clutched in their hands. Sakura gave in and let herself be lead off to a side passage, one easily missed unless you looked for it specifically.
He took her into a wide room with a low ceiling, the room had a odd shape to it, like a pentagon with one side on the closest right, longer than the others. The room was furnished with low couches smothered in blankets and pillows. Pictures and screens, drawn and painted by various artists decorated the pale yellow walls. The red carpet soft under her soled shoes.
"Sit." Hayato pointed to the closest couch. She sat and he took the seat opposite of her. There was nothing between her and the one exit out, she could make a dash for it. No, he would be expecting that. He wouldn't have made such a mistake unless it was a trap. She was already in his trap, to blindly enter another one that she didn't know of was foolish.
"You know my name?" She stared speaking, her voice calm. Hayato smiled.
"Yes, It's not often that a kunoichi defeats an Akatsuki."
"You are very well informed."
"As I should be. I am curious though. Why would someone who has already bested an Akatsuki look for the others? Are you trying to wipe them all out? By yourself?"
Sakura thought before answering but decided that she didn't need to speak at all. Her hand slipped down the front of her shirt and she pulled out a small pouch hanging from a thin leather strap. She opened it and pulled out the black right.
"That's...." Hayato breathed sharply, his eyes lighting up in surprise. Struck speechless, he said nothing for a long while. Sakura carefully put the ring back into it's pouch and the pouch in its special spot.
"Tell me where the Akatsuki are."
Rage flashed through Hayato's eyes and he pulled a katana from underneath the couch. Sakura shot forward, her fist already in the punch. Hayato lept back, jumping on the couch. His sword slid smoothly from it's sheath and swung down. Sakura blocked with her kunai and deflected the blow over her head. Hayato anticipated her to punch jumped back again, distancing himself from her.
Sakura punched the ground with her chakra punch and the floor crumpled away. Hayato cried out in shock and lost his balance. His sword flung from his hands. Sakura was on him before he could think and pushed him against the wall.
"I'll ask you one more time." She whispered into his ear, pulling her kunai against his neck, drawing beads of blood. "Where are the Akatsuki?"
Sasuke. Why did Sasuke have to pop up all over her life? Why did he have to be so powerful? Hayato told her just more than the two Akatsuki's whereabouts but also their mission and other secrets of the Akatsuki.
Hayato ran up behind her, looking very smug with himself. She slowed her pace to match with his.
"And what are you smiling about." She asked sharply, watching him from the corner of her eyes. Hayato's smirk grew and said that he thought of something funny. Try as she might he would not tell her what.
She didn't know why he decided to come with her. At his bar he said that he was "captivated" by her, but she didn't trust him.
"You were on a team with Sasuke weren't you?" Hayato questioned but he knew the answer, she could see it on his face.
"Yes."
"And the Kyubi?"
"Don't play innocent, you fool. Ask any more dumb punches and I'll send you back to your village, flying."
He smiled and they ran in silence.
The noon sun was beating down on them when Sakura and Hayato saw smoke and explosions in the distance. They bee-lined to the battle, Sakura jumping through trees at a dangerous rate. Branches scratched her skin and more than once she lost her balance or slipped. A quick look behind her to see if Hayato was keeping up. He was far behind and looked none to happy with her.
Sakura poured chakra into her next step and rocketed through the trees and into an open clearing. Two sets of eyes fell upon her. She meet their eyes as she flew through the air, and touched ground. Hayato landed ten feet behind her, looking off into the distance. She followed his gaze and saw the second Akatsuki member. Tobi.
"Wa!" Tobi shouted, pointing at Sakura. "It's the girl Sempai! The girl that was following us!"
"Are you serious Tobi!" Deidara shouted from the sky. Sakura saw the horrible dragon-like thing, one giant bomb, waiting to explode. Deidara's blue eyes scoured her and then Hayato. Sakura ignored him and focused on the person that mattered most.
"Long time no see... Sasuke."
Unlike how she had imagined he would be when they meet again Sasuke was not his calm, stoic self. His eyes blazed with a fiery fierceness that exposed his anger. He watched her for only a few seconds before turning to face Deidara.
"Great, a friend of yours Uchiha!" Deidara shouted from the dragon.
Sakura turned to Hayato, looking from him to Tobi. "Remember what we discussed."
Hayato nodded and carefully approached Tobi. Sakura faced Sasuke, the tension in the air rising, making her skin shiver in anticipation. The chakra gathered in her fist and from the corner of her eyes Deidara prepared to attack.
Sakura's fist pounded into the ground and rock and earth flew in all directions, creating a wide split in the ground aimed right at Sasuke. Sakura distinctly heard Tobi shout something about bombs and the ground before her erupted in fire and smoke.
A wave of searing heat smacked her, and she was flung back. Her momentum stopped by a tree, Sakura fell to the ground. She staggered to her feet, holding onto the tree for support, and her eyes fell upon the fresh crater thirty feet away. Deidara was on his clay dragon, safe from the explosion. She saw Hayato and Tobi emerge from the forest but she didn't see Sasuke.
There was only a second warning of his attack. The soft ruffle of fabric and the glint of his sword. She pulled a kunai and blocked his blade. She threw another kunai with her free hand and he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Sakura was open, he could attack from anywhere. She tried to perform a substitution, giving her a chance to hide and plan her next attack. Sasuke was on her before she could finish the jutsu. Blue lightning, the sound of chirping birds. Sakura wasn't fast enough to dodge his chidori.
Suddenly everything was inverted. Her vision spiraling into a single point. A tug, starting from her navel and moving up her torso and down through her legs gave her a feeling of being pulled through a thin tube. The next thing she knew she was standing between Hayato and Tobi.
"That was a close one." Said Tobi, laughing cheerfully. Far off Sasuke stood still, his arm stretched out as his chidori slowly fading away.
"Let's end this Tobi!" Shouted Deidara, his dragoon swooping down to the ground. The blond smirked, cocky of an easy victory. Sasuke bit his thumb and two twin snakes were summoned. The mouth of Deidara's dragoon opened and a clay pigs slid out. The pig bombs hit the snakes and fire and smoke erupted, filling the clearing with ash and dirt.
When the smoke cleared, Sasuke was gone.
"Oooh! Deidara-sempai!" Tobi shouted to Deidara, the blond had jumped off his dragoon and walked to them. "Itachi's brother ran away! This means we win right? Right!?"
"No you idiot, we didn't win. He ran away, the coward. Theirs nothing worthwhile in winning by default." Deidara looked at her with mild interest. Tobi took it upon himself to explain Sakura to him.
"Oh Deidara-sempai! This girl is Sakura-chan! She's the old teammate of Sasuke and the Kyuubi! She's going to join us!"
"What!?" Deidara looked between Tobi and Sakura in surprise. "No way, yeah. Hows a brat like her supposed to get into Akatsuki."
"I'm more than qualified to join Akatsuki." Sakura jumped in, narrowing her eyes at him. "I defeated Sasori did I not?"
"Well... yeah... but-" Deidara hesitated. He didn't know if he hated this girls guts or that he respected her for being stronger than his old master.
"And." Sakura pulled out the pouch around her neck, showing off the ring inside to Deidara. "I have Kakuzu's ring."
Deidara was silent as he thought things over. Sakura was worthy of being in Akatsuki, he could try to fight it but it would have pointless. On the other hand, if he could get Sakura into the Akatsuki then he could switch her out as his partner instead of Tobi. He'd say that since she's beat his old partner they should be paired together.
"I guess you have what it takes... having Kakuzu's rings means nothing but you did beat Sasori... so I guess I can talk to Leader-sama for you, yeah. Wait here, yeah." Deidara turned and walked into the woods, out of their sight.
"I'm totally in right?" Sakura said seriously.
Tobi nodded slowly. "Pretty much yeah. You're defiantly going to get in."
"You're joking." Hayato added, aghast at the two's casual conversation/
"I'm not joking." Sakura and Tobi said together. They both laughed and Tobi boldly hugged her tightly, swinging Sakura around in circles.
Tobi's mouth, right by her ear, shouted. "You could be partnered with me and Deidara sempai! Or you could be with Itachi and Kisame-san but I wouldn't like that."
Sakura pulled out of the hug stepped back. "I almost forgot! I need to tell you something really important, I know where Hidan's body should be! He's immortal right? So he should still be alive."
"Hidan-sempai?" Tobi cocked his head to the side. Hayato sighed deeply.
"Kakuzu's partner? Purple hair? Believes in jashin?"
Tobi remembered, "Oh him! Yeah, he was a bad boy. He swore a lot! So Hidan-sempai is still alive huh? I should tell Zetsu that and he could go get him! How'd you know that Hidan was immortal Sakura-chan?"
"Easy." Sakura shrugged. "Before I left Konoha I read all the files on Akatsuki, it wasn't hard to skim through the files on Kakuzu and Hidan, nor was it hard to get Kakuzu's ring from his body. When Konoha claimed Kakuzu's body they put all of the things on him in one place, his ring included."
"That wasn't smart." Said Hayato.
"I had a feeling that the rings Akatsuki wore were special. I just didn't know why, and apparently Konoha didn't either so it was just pushed aside."
They couldn't discuss about Hidan or the rings anymore as Deidara came trekking back through the woods.
"Leader wants to meet you, yeah." Deidara told Sakura right away then turned to Tobi and Hayato. "We gotta take her to Ame Tobi, and Hayato, you're coming too..."
Hayato clenched his fists. "Hmpf, I'm an Akatsuki member too Deidara-san, not in the same rank as you but still a member."
Deidara gravely nodded and Tobi did to. Without a word they started off through the woods to Amegakure.
"Hello Sakura, my name is Yuumi. I'm going to be your psychiatrist."
"I don't need a psychiatrist! I'm perfectly fine!"
"Calm down Sakura. I'm sure you're right but Hokage-sama ordered you go under a psychoanalysis for at last a week. She is concerned that being in a coma state for such a long time could have... changed your perceptions of things..."
"I fail to see the sense in that..."
"It'll be easy Sakura, all you have to do is talk we me for an hour a day three times a week for one week. Can't get simpler than that right?"
"Whatever."
"Just pretend that I'm one of your friends. You're friends with Yamanaka Ino right? Just pretend I'm her."
"I shouldn't have to be going to a psychiatrist. It's so stupid."
"We'll talk more next time, right now. I want you to relax and feel more comfortable with me."
That night Sakura slept far away from the other Akatsuki. Hayato offered to sleep by her for better protection but she rejected his offer. She needed time to herself. She told her psychiatrist long ago that she could tell between reality and dreams but she hasn't been so sure of herself lately.
Sakura curled onto her side, her back away from the others and kept a kunai hidden under her shirt, her hand ready to grab it at a moments notice. It wasn't just the Akatsuki she was wary of but Sasuke as well. He could come after them and she would be ready.
Tobi had saved her last time. She didn't know how or why but he did, there was definitely something strange about him. She couldn't think of any motive behind his actions but he had this feeling to him. A feeling none too different than Sasuke, before he left Team 7 for Orochimaru.
And then there was Hayato and Deidara. Both were so eager to help her, they could be trusted lest of all, but she had to depend on them. They were her keys to joining Akatsuki.
Sakura closed her eyes and for a moment, forgot her struggles and pain, and only thought of Sasori. It was only a matter of time after all.
Tally Mai-chan: Whew! My gosh this took me a while to write. It's a bit boring now but I gotta set up the later chapters and this is the only way to do so. So please put up with it and REVIEW! Yeah! I'm going to try to finish writing this story rather quickly and reviews give me a big morale boost.
Until Next Time! See ya!
