STANDARD DISCLAIMER APPLIES
Chapter Ten: Unexpected Company
"Shall we?" Sasori whispered in her ear as they ran into his room.
Sakura automatically ripped off her clothes and Sasori practically pushed her onto the bed, his clothes already gone. Without preamble he started kissing down her neck, sending zings of pleasure through her body. The more she tried to suppress the moans, the more it would arouse Sasori.
Her hands found their way to his chest, massaging the straining muscles above her. Sasori himself couldn't stop stroking Sakura, running his fingers across her flat stomach, and even lower, causing Sakura to gasp. He shoved his tongue into her gasp, and she moan into his lips.
When they finally broke away, Sasori returned to covering her body in kisses.
"The things you do with your tongue should be illegal!" Sakura gasped as his tongue licked the inside of her thigh.
When her body arched in pleasure, Sasori caught her back and dragged her against him, grinding into her. Sakura clenched her teeth to mute the scream of pleasure threatening to break through. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled his face towards her.
"The way you make me feel should be illegal." Sasori murmured into her ear, licking it. Sakura groaned, and Sasori's insides were on fire.
Her nails clawed lightly into his back. Suddenly Sasori found himself on his back, with Sakura leaning over him. Straddling his hips, she gently ran her hands up and down his chest.
"You're so handsome." She whispered, tracing a finger on his abs.
Sasori stared hungrily up at her, his gaze devouring her naked appearance. The beautiful woman on top of him leaned down only close enough so that he could feel the heat of her aroused body, but without letting her torso touch him. It was agonizing how close she was, but he didn't move.
Her breath fanned over his neck and she ran her lips from his chin, up to his cheekbone, then to his hairline. Then her lips trailed down his forehead, down his nose, and finally alighting their proper place on his lips. When she did so, Sasori wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down the last inch between their bodies.
~~~The Flower of Konoha~~~
"Can't get enough of you." He said to her as they laid down on his bed long after they had first entered his room.
"I agree." Sakura smirked beside him, her words confusing him.
Sasori sighed and allowed a small smile. He rolled onto his side and kissed her lips. She wrapped her body around him and suddenly they were making out again.
"Sasori…" she breathed. I love you.
Sakura scowled at Inner Sakura. 'Now don't go thinking stuff like that-'
'You love him.' Inner Sakura practically screamed. 'Don't go denying it! Your heart- our heart- has already betrayed Konoha!'
'And just what exactly did you want me to do about that? Just stop loving him?' Sakura screamed back.
'So you admit it.' Inner Sakura stated, calming down. 'Now tell him.'
'Whoa. No way. Hell. No.' Sakura mentally shook her head. 'He's just…'
'A good fuck?' Inner Sakura said sarcastically. 'Don't kid yourself.'
'What will he do then? He's a criminal. It's not like I could settle down with him.' Sakura thought sadly. 'I can't afford to get attached. Even if I already am.'
'At least let him know.' Inner Sakura said.
'Why are we having this conversation?' Sakura thought angrily.
Inner Sakura scoffed. 'You're both ninjas. You know perfectly well that he could die at any given day. So could you. So before fate rips the two apart, at least let him know.'
Sakura kept her outer demeanor calm, Sasori already breathing evenly in her arms. She sat up and got dressed. Then Sakura quietly exited Sasori's room, the hallways of the base outside dark. Everyone was sleeping or out on a mission.
Sakura leaned against a window pane, staring out at the land stretching before her. The moon was just a sliver now. Another month had past. Five months.
Holding up her hand, Sakura stared at her hand for unknown reasons. She had been sleeping with Sasori for two months. Kami. And she was already head over heels for him.
She stared west towards Konoha. Somewhere in that direction Tsunade was probably tossing and turning in her bed or drowning her sorrows in sake. Under the same starlit sky somewhere were her friends.
After just two months of disappearing on a mission, normally a ninja would be announced dead. Sakura wondered how Naruto would have taken that. It made her wince just thinking about the idiotic stuff he would get into lashing out in his anger.
'Every time I make peace with myself for being with Sasori, these thoughts come back.' Sakura thought sadly.
She didn't want to betray Konoha. To her relief, all the members of the Akatsuki seemed to be okay with that, and never tried to get information out of her. But how long would they let her drift here before she was expected to start earning her keep?
Sakura sighed deeply.
She wanted so desperately to go home. She missed working at the hospital, going on missions with her team, bickering with Ino or Hinata. No doubt her skills were severely rusty now, since the Akatsuki would definitely never allow her to practice. Sakura still did some exercises in her room, but for the most part, it was boring.
'I hate being caged like this!' she thought, surprised at how fierce the thought sounded in her head. As much as she loved Sasori, the Akatsuki couldn't keep her like this forever. They might kill her or force her to join their ranks. But Sakura knew for certain that if she had to be kept in this gilded cage for another month she would seriously lose it.
Suddenly a rogue thought entered her mind. It was so obvious since the start! Why hadn't she thought of it before?
Carefully her chakra reached out to the window. There were two seals there, one hiding the window from the view of outsiders, another to protect the window pane from being broken or removed by force. The Akatsuki weren't fools.
Well- except Tobi.
Sakura carefully removed the seal, moving slowly so she could make sure she wouldn't set off any traps or alarms. Once that was done, Sakura carefully removed the glass, setting it carefully on the floor, leaning against the wall.
The fresh air hit her as she climbed out. Almost hyperventilating, Sakura took in large gulps of the air, filled with the scent of trees and dirt and dew. She sat on the ledge, just staring at nothing in particular.
She knew she wouldn't leave. This was her opportunity to escape, but Sasori would never forgive her if she just left. Not like this. And she would never forgive herself for how much it would have hurt him.
Wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on her knees, Sakura watched with detached curiosity as her eyes landed on a mysterious bright dot in the trees. Using her medical skills with chakra, Sakura enhanced her vision, momentarily zooming in as the world lit up in the darkness.
It was a fire.
A campfire.
There were figures moving around it. Sakura suddenly came back to herself. A campfire!
She carefully made her way down the ledges, avoiding the traps the Akatsuki set up for would-be intruders. The darkness of the forest swallowed her as she stepped into the cover of their branches. Glancing back at the mountain (she hadn't realized the base was in a mountain…) she made up her mind and crept through the forest.
Even if her creeping skills were rusty from disuse, Sakura was a naturally silent stalker. Her hearing was alert, and heard the faintest rustling of her movements in the forest. But those sounds were drowned out by the nightly drone of tree frogs, crickets, and the occasional snap of an animal moving in the night.
With each sound interrupting her silence Sakura flinched. She almost fainted when she noticed a pair of gold cat eyes glancing at her through the foliage, the mountain lion stopping to assess whether she was a threat or not. Sakura stayed still, willing herself to watch the cat nonchalantly.
Not seeing any threat in her, the wild animal turned and prowled away, his silent movements eerie. Not that Sakura couldn't take mountain lion, but she was trying to go unnoticed at the moment, and an angry wild cat would most likely give her away. Plus she would have felt bad killing such a magnificent animal.
Nothing else eventful happened as Sakura spent another half hour prowling quietly in the direction she had seen the campfire. It came out of nowhere. First everything was cast in nightly shadows, and suddenly she saw the light up ahead.
Her ninja brain instantly awoke from its long slumber and began advising her. If this camp belonged to ninjas, the perimeter would be larger than just a bunch of travelers. She sent out unnoticeable tendrils of chakra out to check for those on watch. There were two guards walking the perimeter.
Cloaking her chakra signature, Sakura leaped silently into the trees. The watch was still far away from her position, but she couldn't be too careful. As she watched the camp from far away, one of the sleeping figures turned in their sleep. Sakura gasped.
Ino!
She enhanced her eyes a little more, the muscles slightly pained from the added strain. Two figures sitting across the campfire from her direction were revealed by the fire to be Shikamaru and Neji, leaning close and probably talking about something.
Ino rolled over again and Sakura saw Hinata sleeping on the ground next to her. Her attention returned to the two persons on watch, nearing her position. Fingers curling with anxiety, Sakura peered down and saw Naruto- oh hell. No way!
"Sasuke?" Sakura mouthed to herself, so shocked that she forgot her voice, even as her lips formed the silent words. It was a good thing too, because if her body had remembered her voice, she wouldn't have been able to stop herself from screeching in shock.
'!' Inner Sakura screeched in one long word. "Holy Hell! Of all the- What has happened in the past five months back in Konoha!'
Sakura's own thoughts were a dead blank. If her brain had been attached to a heart monitor, it would have gone dead two minutes ago. Suddenly she realized she was in her pajamas (which were really just a pair of trousers with a plain dark blue shirt) and crouching in a tree above what used to be her old team.
And she looked and smelled of sex.
'HOLY HELL!'
'Hawt.' Inner Sakura nodded in approval.
'Shut up. Let's focus on the fact that I COULD BE CAUGHT LOOKING LIKE I JUST HAD SEX WITH THE AKATSUKI!' Sakura snapped.
'But you did.' Inner Sakura cackled. 'Hot and heavy sex. Ooh now I want more.'
She couldn't let them see her like this. And Sakura knew Sasuke would probably sense even her cloaked chakra. Swear words went in one long stream through her mind, amusing Inner.
They were getting closer.
Sakura didn't have time to climb down the tree, so she leaped silently to another tree, wincing with each faint rustle she didn't manage to avoid. She felt the chakra signature of Sasuke and Naruto flare up behind her. They would be alert now, but if she escaped fast enough, they wouldn't realize she had been there and dismiss the rustling for the wildlife.
She didn't notice her tears until she found herself staring up at the mountain that hid the Akatsuki base. She stared up at it and fell to her knees. The sobs rocked her body.
They were so close!
She could have revealed herself and been gone long before the Akatsuki noticed her escape!
Sasori.
Curse her heart. She couldn't leave him wondering if what they had was real. Just thinking of leaving him made her heart constrict.
I love him.
Oh gods have mercy on me. I love him. Oh god I love him so much it hurts.
Sakura swore she felt her heart tearing itself into two parts: a part that loved Konoha and her friends, and the other half just for Sasori.
"I hate you…I hate you…" she whispered to herself. She hated herself. For her weakness for falling for Sasori. For believing she could hide from the choice she had to make.
She hated herself for regretting her love for Sasori.
'Stop that!' she yelled to herself. 'I love him. How can I regret that?'
Without thinking, Sakura let out a screech. The pain and anguish, the guilt that was eating her alive erupted form her, piercing the night. The animals of the forest spooked and Sakura could hear them running through the trees in confusion. The Choice. It was killing her.
I love them both. But I can only have one.
Sakura stood up and brushed herself off. Wiping her face, she quickly bounded towards the mountain. Deftly avoiding the traps and seals protecting the base, she found her way to the window she had opened.
Within two minutes Sakura had replaced the glass and re-sealed the window, then crawled into her bed, crying silently into her pillow. She needed to be alone.
~~~The Flower of Konoha~~~
Naruto swore he had felt a flare of familiar chakra, but had been distracted as Sasuke flared his own powerful chakra just after Naruto had.
"I swore I saw pink…" Sasuke muttered, and Naruto was instantly alert.
"Where?" he gasped, sweeping his gaze around the dark forest.
Sasuke pointed up. "In the trees. Did you feel any familiar chakra? I think I did."
Naruto shook his head in frustration. "It was too faint and was gone before I could focus on it. Almost as if I imagined it."
Sasuke nodded in agreement.
Naruto ran his hand through his hair and growled. He didn't like this. Could it have been Sakura? What if the Akatsuki were just trying to confuse them, or playing with them?
There were sounds of faint movements in the trees in front of the two shinobi, but the movements were headed away from them. Naruto glanced around the area. The forest was quiet again. He lightly punched the nearest tree, his muscles weak from sorrow.
He missed Sakura so much, he though his heart would break. She was one of the most important people in his life. Like a sister, only closer. He knew they would never be involve romantically, even if there were moments in their past where they had almost been more. After Sasuke had left, Sakura and Naruto turned to each other, anchoring the other down.
And now his anchor was gone. Sakura. Was. Gone. Her ghost haunted his dreams, which was why Naruto had taken first watch that night. He couldn't sleep, and if it came, it was fitful and full of nightmares where Sakura was dead or worse.
She was more than a teammate. Family. A mother, a sister, a friend. And in the most hopeless moments in his life after Sasuke had left, Sakura had even been a lover. Naruto and her had never been serious, but they comforted each other.
Glancing at Sasuke, Naruto wondered what Sasuke would think of that if he found out. Which he probably would sometime in the future. Sasuke was being strange on their search for Sakura.
It was almost like the stoic Uchiha actually cared for Sakura. Although Naruto would have liked to think that was the reason Sasuke was with them now, he couldn't rule out the possibility that Sasuke was just doing all this to find Itachi. Naruto didn't care. He would find Sakura.
Suddenly the night quiet was split by an inhuman heart wrenching scream.
The pain and anguish of the sound froze Naruto for a second, his heartbeat thumping in his ears as adrenaline pumped through his veins. He didn't think as he took off towards the sound, branches crashing behind him as other chakra signatures followed him.
He stopped.
Behind him Sasuke and the others skidded to a stop.
"Where did that come from?" Neji demanded.
Naruto shook his head. "It was only one scream. I can't tell where it it came from now that it's gone."
People behind him cursed. So did Naruto. He glanced at his teammates around him, his eyes widening when he saw Sasuke clutching Sakura's headbeand.
"D-Do y-you think…" Hinata started. Everyone turned to her and she shrunk back a little. Neji placed his hand on her back reassuringly, and she stopped hiding.
"I-I don't l-l-like saying this… B-but d-didn't that scream s-sound l-like…" Hinata's voice trailed off.
"Sakura." Ino finished, her eyes wide with horror. Her hand shot out and gripped Shikamaru's. The man in her grip started in surprise and glanced at Ino. But Ino was too busy staring off into the distance to realize she was holding Shikamaru's hand.
In the back of his mind Naruto was amused as Shikamaru tried not to blush at his predicament. "Can anyone here pinpoint where the scream came from? Can anyone sense any lingering presences?"
Everyone shook their heads. Naruto swore colorfully. "If only… ugh!"
"I thought I saw a flash of… pink." Sasuke said aloud.
Tense quiet descended.
"I those bastards hurt Sakura-chan…" Naruto clenched his teeth.
"Please don't say those words!" Hinata pleaded in her soft voice. "I start imagining the worst! Please stop!"
Neji laid his arm across her shoulders trying to comfort her. "Naruto, why don't we return to the camp. Any more of this talk and none of us will be able to sleep. And we are storming a possible Akatsuki base tomorrow, remember?"
Naruto flashed Hinata an apologetic smile as Neji turned her around. Neji hugged the petite girl, then led her back towards the camp. "She'll be okay, Hinata. Sakura is strong." Naruto heard Neji murmur to Hinata.
Ino's gaze was distant, her eyes full of horror.
"Ino-chan?" Shikamaru asked her worriedly. Ino didn't respond, just stared at nothing. Shikamaru sighed and wrapped an arm around her back to guide her towards the camp. As the two began to fade behind the veil of foliage, Naruto heard Ino begin to cry, the noise growing fainter the farther from him she and Shikamaru went.
Naruto turned to Sasuke. His old friend was staring at the mountain looming into the sky. His hand clutched Sakura's old headband as if it would disappear any moment now. Sasuke's face was unreadable, but Naruto saw a mass of emotion roiling in confusing amounts in Sasuke's eyes.
"Sasuke." Naruto said.
The man in question turned towards Naruto. "That was her scream, wasn't it?"
Naruto didn't say anything. Sakura's scream was a sound Naruto could never forget. Yes, it was definitely Sakura's scream. Except Naruto had never heard it in such agony before. And he had listened to her as she was tortured and battered throughout their missions together.
"Answer me." Sasuke's deep voice was so low. Naruto was unable to decipher what emotions Sasuke was feeling, but whatever they were, they were strong.
"What do you think?" Naruto gritted his teeth.
Sasuke closed his eyes. Even after- what was it, five years since he left Konoha?- he could never forget the sound of Sakura's scream. She had lungs.
"What could she have been screaming about?" Sasuke whispered to himself.
Naruto's gaze was sad. "I don't know. Let's not think about it." He clenched his hands into fist. "We'll get those bastards in the morning."
Sasuke nodded. He glanced back at the mountain. Then he turned and walked next to Naruto as they walked back to camp.
Sasuke never let go of Sakura's headband.