I just wanted to fill you all in on where I placed this story. It's after Their first run in with the Akatsuki and all that jazz but it starts before Sai and those people show up. The whole scene where Sakura, Naruto, Yamato, and Sai see Sasuke again never happened. I'm just telling you that before you get really confused. And If Karin and Sasuke hook up in the show I'll be pissed… just so you know.

Anyway. Thanks for your reviews! There is violence in this chapter! It's the "I'M GONNA BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT" kind. It jumps right in. And I'm hoping that Deidara isn't too far OOC…

Do Naruto Disclaimer Not I Own . (DisclaimerIDoNotOwnNaruto)

Faded Cherry Blossom

Unexpected Intrusion

Sakura leaned against the tree. Her body was still trying to settle down from the illusion and her vision kept failing slightly. Abruptly she lifted her head. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as her eyes flickered around. The stillness was intense and a nervous sweat gathered on her forehead. Suddenly she felt something crawl across her hand and she screeched as she jumped away. She looked at her hand and saw a centipede. She sighed angrily and looked as it moved around on her hand. Now I'm just paranoid… But immediately she noticed something was wrong. The centipede was an off white-color and so with her other hand she felt the back of it. It felt unlike a bug to her. Then Sakura's eyes widened in shock. It's… clay. She quickly scraped the bug off her hand and as it fell Sakura bounded away from it. Too late! The centipede abruptly exploded and sent Sakura flying.

The cloud of smoke and fire caught up to her and she shut her eyes just before she impacted into the ground. Instead of the rough landing she expected, she collide into something a lot softer.

"What did you do this time?" She heard a calm voice chuckle into her ear.

Sakura's eyes shot open and she looked over her shoulder at her perfectly relaxed teacher. "K-Kaka-sensei!? How did you know I was here?"

"I ran into Ino. I just had a hunch that you would be here." He gave her a grinning eye as he pushed her up. "And I couldn't let the Akatsuki kill my student."

The smoke in front of them cleared. "Akatsuki…" There at the edge of the forest stood two figures in black cloaks. One was in a crouched position playing with a blade of grass.

"Deidara… she's still alive." Tobi tilted his spiral face and looked innocently at his partner.

Deidara's mechanical left eye, hidden behind his blond hair narrowed in on Tobi as if he was the next target. "I can see that Tobi!"

Sakura starred at the one armed blond for a moment. "Oi…" Her expression was wide with surprise as she pointed at Deidara. "I didn't know there were girls in the Akatsuki…!"

Suddenly he twitched and his posture collapsed a little. Then a growl bellowed from him. "I'm a guy!" his arm flailed out and in the back ground Tobi snickered. Deidara threw out his palm at Sakura where the mouth on it was chewing furiously.

Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector to reveal his Sharingan. "Not good."

"You'll pay for that!" Suddenly white clay birds, smaller than his palm, started flying out. "KATSU!" Kakashi and Sakura leapt away from the birds as they increased in size and exploded all around them, loosing sight of each other in the blasts.

Kakashi slowly pulled out a hand full of shuriken. The Sharingan peered through the smoke when suddenly a rain of shuriken streaked past him. He whipped around to see Tobi slicing at him with kunai in his hands.

Sakura had her katana at hand. She went into shadow as the vicinity came in and out of the shade of the clouds. She looked around, plotting his next possible move. "Right… Above… left…" Her eyes widened as she whipped around. "Behind!" Shadow enveloped her and a giant clay bird knocked away her weapon with its talons, wrapped its wings around her, and cut off her breathing.

Out of the haze she saw Deidara on top of a giant owl in the sky. He shouted back to the imprisoned Sakura. "You messed with the wrong guy." Just before her eyes were covered in the beast's wings she saw him disappear even further away.

She struggled blindly and thought it was all over until she heard a crackling sound. Then a strange static sensation entered her and the sound became unbearably loud.

She was being torn from the clay.

Her body was covered in sparks of heat and her breath was recovered. Her lungs took in the air greedily and before she could fall to her knees she felt a strong arm grasp around her stomach. Sakura was pulled away from the clay, which still hadn't hit the ground, at an incredible speed. Her face harbored both surprise and fear.

Deidara's eye widened menacingly. "Boom."

An intense light, followed by a fiery wind, enveloped everything within 100 feet. Then a shockwave flattened the forest. Sakura was blown off her rescuer and onto the ground. She covered her head as the wind threatened to send her flying. Then it stopped and, with her hair thoroughly blown, she looked up at the mysterious shinobi.

Above her stood the unmarred Sasuke with his body was half covered by the black seal. "Sasuke…!"

The young Uchiha glanced at her briefly. So this is how you stay out of trouble, Sakura. He turned away as she got up.

In a rustling of leaves, Kakashi emerged from the trees and stood feet away from his former student. "Sasuke…" Sakura looked at him worriedly. "I'll deal with you later." His Sharingan narrowed on the missing nin. Sasuke ignored it completely and was instead starring ahead with murderous intent in his eyes. Kakashi followed his sight and there near the explosion sight another black robe appeared.

He clenched his fist. "Itachi…" Sasuke glared as his brother stepped into the clearing and stood by the fallen cherry trees. There were petals everywhere and Sakura's illusion regrettably came to mind. Sasuke took a step up with waves of hate rolling off him.

His black hair blew around his face. "I was wondering when you would show up little brother. I hate waiting."

Tobi's silhouette was barely noticeable until his shriek sounded from behind the new arrival. "Itachi!!" The Akatsuki member made himself known and in a trail of smoke he slashed at the Uchiha.

Deidara, who had just landed, cried out to his stupid comrade. "Tobi, no!-" Before he could finish Itachi had reappeared behind the swirling faced man and sliced across his neck with a kunai. Tobi's head turned at an unnatural angle and a loud crack echoed among them.

Itachi stayed still, blood splattered across his face. As the body crumpled onto the petal covered ground the giant owl of clay flew down onto the Uchiha. Kakashi's Sharingan flashed to the side to Deidara.

The blond held out his lone arm as he shouted in fury. "Katsu!"

Itachi's red eyes remained calm as he leapt away, only to be shrouded in a white light. The explosion sent another burst of wind and Sakura covered her face as more debris flew at her. When it stopped she looked around. Sasuke was gone.

Deidara smirked at his work and slowly put down his hand. Kuso… I'm running out of clay- Suddenly blood splattered into his arm. Deidara's eyes grew faint and distant as he looked at the sword sticking through his torso. Blood dripped onto the ground and he started shaking all over.

Another pair of red eyes glistened in the shadow of a nearby tree. "He is mine to kill. Don't get in the way." Sasuke retrieved his sword by slicing it out of Deidara's side. The oozing liquid followed the blade's path and soiled the ground. The blond toppled lifelessly onto the grass, his eyes wide and empty.

Sakura and Kakashi starred at Sasuke in total shock. "He's so fast. And he killed Deidara without even trying! Gaara couldn't even do that…" You're stronger, Sasuke. But what reason do you have now?

Itachi chuckled as he stepped back into the clearing, completely unscathed. "Good job, Sasuke. You've grown a little."

Sasuke whipped around to face him. Now the three ninjas partially encircled Itachi. "Don't speak to me so familiarly."

Itachi tilted his head down and looked over the collar of his cloak with new violence in his eyes. "Fine. Let's just see what Orochimaru has taught you." Then his red eyes swirled, creating the Mangekyou Sharingan. Sakura and Kakashi tried to look away but they were already being pulled into the illusion.

Kakashi and Sasuke stared into the red and black world. Ripples developed where their feet touched and they both looked around calmly.

Sasuke scanned the perimeter, and then looked at Kakashi with a hidden fear in him. "Where is Sakura…?"

Sakura locked her knees nervously. She had seen this before. The cherry trees surrounded her again. Their dead blooms fell to the ground in an unfelt breeze. She frantically looked around. This isn't good. I can't see Kakashi or Sasuke. Then a pulse tore her from the inside. Instead of trees, she was surrounded by thousands of Itachi's. All were holding a katana. Sakura tried to leap into the air away from them but her legs refused. She, instead, ran through the crowd of them as they slashed at her body. She panted as she continued running through their attacks. Her legs were like jelly and resisted the ground beneath her. Blood matted itself to her body and the attacks only grew more numerous. The ground almost slanted into the air and the swirling sky laughed at her suffering.

Another pulse knocked her down. She was on her knees in pitch black. Her shadow was white and her wounds were gone.

A monotone voice echoed around her. "You can't escape." Another army of Itachi's encompassed her. "I control this place." They pulled out their katana. "Your mind is mine." Sakura starred at them and tried to stand. A fury grew in her and boiled her blood.
"No…" She knotted her hair in her hands and started to shiver uncontrollably. "No…!" She lifted her head. Here eyes were full of rage and power and a black aura developed around her. "This is my mind too…" The black chakra began to take form. "This is…" It grew taller and large white eyes opened on the chakra's face. "My mind too!" A giant shadowlike Sakura rose in within the Sharingan and placed her arms protectively around her. This was the second consciousness that Sakura had created in her younger years. She had been locked away long ago when this Inner Sakura and Sakura had become one. Now she was here to take charge. And she was pissed.

The clones around her slowly faded until only the origonal was left. "This isn't possible." A burst of energy from Inner Sakura blew him back.

"Get the hell out of my head!" Her voice boomed inside the illusion.

"I can't hold on…!" Itachi cringed "Kai!" He put his hands into a seal and the world went black.

Sakura put her hand on her knee to sturdy herself as she panted profusely. Itachi stood a few feet away, standing tall but breathing heavily all the same. Kakashi and Sasuke looked at them curiously. Suddenly Sakura growled aloud as she charged Itachi. Before he could react she landed a chakra induced punch on his cheek. She fell further, barely standing, as flew into the broken stump of a cherry tree.

"Don't fuck with me…" She bellowed hoarsely.

Itachi quickly stood. His red eyes were crazed in anger at her impudence. He walked forward as if to come back at her and at the same time Sasuke stepped protectively in front of Sakura.

She attempted to catch her breath and looked at him deeply. "Sasuke…"

Kakashi didn't let this go unnoticed. His eyes narrowed and a light suddenly went on in his head. That bond. It's just like years ago, when they were just kids. Sasuke…

His train of thought was broken when the quivering Sakura spoke again. "Do it Sasuke…" Sasuke looked over his shoulder at her. The seal on his body was crawling over him again. "…kill him."

Sasuke smirked at her as his skin tone turned a grey color and black made a "T" across the bridge of his nose and from the tip of it up to the middle of his forehead. His hair grew longer and turned a lighter color. Sakura's mouth gaped slightly at the change in his appearance and he turned to face his opponent.

He pulled out the Kusanagi and started to charge Itachi. "Chidori Nagashi!" The sword was suddenly enveloped in lightening that thrashed around dangerously. Sasuke's eyes held pure hatred.

It ends now, brother!

There's another one down! The brother's fight will continue in the…

…Next Chapter! - Bonds and Binds