A/N: First off, Happy New Year. Hope you all have a good 2015.
Onto the story: Naruto finally makes his appearance, as I promised he would.
I personally enjoyed writing this chapter as Sakura finally gets a chance to kick Sasuke's ass.
Enjoy.
Chapter 9: Secret
Sakura collapsed beside the bed, her body shook and twitched uncontrollably as she gritted her teeth to hold back more screams.
The rosette yelped in surprise when she felt strong arms lift her halfway to the bed.
She tensed as her head tilted upwards, forcing her eyes to come into contact with the cursed bloody rubies that stared deeply within her.
Its pattern swirled, and Sakura felt her eyes getting droopy.
"Relax," a male voice commanded gently, though with a stern undertone.
The tenseness in Sakura's body eased as her body collapsed into the arms of the unknown figure.
Despite never having met the stranger before, Sakura felt that she could trust him after the intimate connection they shared.
She told herself it was due to the intense headache and confusion on her part.
Hesitantly, the man placed a smooth hand on Sakura's bare shoulder, and squeezed gently. "What are you doing here?"
Sakura's tongue felt swollen as she struggled to speak. "I was led here," she answered slowly.
"By who?" The stranger asked.
The rosette groaned as she fought back nausea. "I don't know. Something told me to."
Sakura felt a small amount of relief when the stranger placed a cool hand over her burning forehead. "What are you doing in Oto?"
"I was captured after I was attacked by monsters," she said softly.
The man tensed behind her, before he pressed his hand over the chains.
He managed to crack it open, and Sakura instantly felt the swell of energy warm her as her chakra restriction was freed.
Sakura looked gratefully at the man who stared back intensely. "What monsters?" He asked.
The rosette massaged her sore wrists, and looked down. "They're children of the darkness, truly horrifying. I… I could feel their bloodlust within my soul," she replied. "They looked like that big creature from my mind."
With some effort, she glanced up into the figure's changed black eyes. "What was that vision I saw?"
The man shifted Sakura until she sat comfortably on the bed. "It wasn't a vision," he started.
The young woman frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"
The man closed his eyes, and breathed deeply. "You don't know, do you?"
His reply only strengthened Sakura's confusion. "What are you talking about?" She asked.
The stranger let out his breath quietly, before turning his gaze to the rosette. "To think that such a secret was kept from you. It's sad, really."
Confusion turned to anger as Sakura stood up wobbly. "What secret was kept from me?"
When the man remained quiet, the rosette roughly grabbed his collar. "Answer me!"
Both of them were startled when a curt knock sounded on the door, before it opened. "Nii-san, I heard screaming. Are you…" Sasuke halted in his steps at the scene in front of him.
Protectiveness filled the younger Uchiha as he saw the pink-haired prisoner tower intimidatingly over his brother.
Subconsciously, his blood limit activated, as he glared dangerously at the woman. "Get away from him," he hissed venomously.
"Sasuke," the older man warned.
Already agitated, Sakura turned around and matched the younger Uchiha's glare. "Don't test my patience," she threatened through clenched teeth.
Sasuke unsheathed his katana, and held it out in an offensive position.
Excited about the prospect of a fight, Sakura focused her chakra system to send the energy to her fists. The skin glowed with the raw power she was ready to deliver. "You'll regret challenging the champion of the Phoenixes." She said lowly.
A dark smirk plastered itself on her opponent's face. "Why don't you show me what you can do?" He retorted.
"Sasuke, that's enough!" His older brother exclaimed.
Ignoring the man's warning, Sakura and Sasuke bolted towards each other.
Ducking underneath the katana's deadly slash, Sakura aimed her fist for Sasuke's chest, and punched.
The Uchiha yelled in surprise and pain as he was thrown out of the room, and slammed hard against the corridor's wall.
He quickly moved out of the way as Sakura ran at him, her chakra-infused fists left a glowing trail behind them.
Sasuke dodged the punch aimed for his face.
The already damaged wall behind him crumbled as it lost its support.
Neither of the shinobi noticed the ceiling shake as pieces of stone began to fall due to their usage of taijutsu against each other.
Boldly, Sasuke managed to grab Sakura by her arm, and threw her down the corridor.
The rosette grunted as she skidded against the ground, scraps and cuts covered her bare skin.
Ignoring the pain, Sakura stood up, and glared at the smirking Uchiha.
He raised an eyebrow. "What's the matter? Can't handle a little bit of pain?" He mocked.
Narrowing her eyes even further, Sakura waited for Sasuke to be within range, before she punched the ground.
The Uchiha barely managed to avoid the blast as he took off to the newly open air.
Sakura's move caused the corridor to collapse in on itself, exposing the formerly dark passage to blinding sunlight.
Instinctively, the rosette jumped out of the way as an electric stream pierced the ground she stood on seconds earlier.
She flipped backwards, and pulled out a kunai.
For a moment, both shinobi stared at each other wordlessly.
The young Uchiha's dark hair blew around his elegant face. A neutral look was plastered on it as he stared back at Sakura.
The rosette made a point to avoid looking at his eyes, and drew her vision towards his partially exposed chest.
Despite the scratches and flakes of dirt that covered his clothing, the Uchiha took on an amused expression. "Still refusing to stare into my eyes? Afraid of a genjustu?"
Sakura couldn't help but smirk. "Why are you keeping your distance? Afraid of a mere punch?"
The man's amusement turned to annoyance as he narrowed his eyes at Sakura. "I'll admit that your raw strength is the most powerful I've ever come across, but if your enemy isn't within range, it becomes a liability."
"Hmm, guess I'll just have to bring you to me" Sakura said.
Tensing up, Sasuke saw the rosette disappear from view.
Sensing chakra, the Uchiha looked up and saw the woman coming towards him with her fist held forward.
She let out a battle cry, and Sasuke flipped backwards several times to avoid the deadly punch.
He struggled to keep his balance as the ground shook violently from the force of the blow.
Hearing something slice through the air, Sasuke brought his katana in front, and blocked a thrown kunai.
He took a defensive position as Sakura ran at him, her fists glowing a darker blue than before.
Sensing that the changed chakra posed a danger to him, Sasuke brought his katana up each time Sakura attempted to touch him.
Growing tired of the endless tango, Sakura kicked behind Sasuke's knee, and jabbed at his right arm.
The katana fell to the ground as Sasuke's limb hung uselessly by his side.
The Uchiha grabbed a hold of it with his functioning arm, and glared at Sakura. "What did you do?" He gritted out.
The rosette smirked. "I merely cut the muscles in your forearm. Can you fight just as well one-handed?"
Not waiting for an answer, Sakura ran towards her opponent, and swung her leg at him.
Sasuke managed to grab it with his good hand, and twisted it so that Sakura fell.
The rosette tripped him, and rolled over until she straddled the young Uchiha.
She slammed his legs together, and kept a firm grip over his good hand.
As she knelt over the fallen Uchiha, Sakura felt delighted by his vulnerability.
Her hands glowed once more, as she prepared to strike the killing blow. "There's a major artery in your neck that if severed would lead to fatal hemorrhaging. Let's see how long it takes before the life leaves your eyes."
Suddenly, something wrapped around the young kunoichi.
Sakura attempted to struggle, though her strength immediately began to deplete her.
Looking down, the kunoichi realized just what was immobilizing her.
Her vision narrowed in on the silver-haired man approaching her.
Rage gnawed at her. "You… you dare to use my own weapon against me?!"
The newcomer frowned. "You're becoming too much trouble for what you're worth. You're lucky Orochimaru-sama needs you."
Sakura snarled as she continued to struggle.
Seeing her distraction as an opportunity, Sasuke threw Sakura over, and tackled her.
He pressed his katana against her neck to the point that it drew a light coat of blood. "Stay down," he said.
Growling, Sakura slammed her forehead against Sasuke's.
The blow took the young Uchiha by surprise as he stumbled back.
Focused on the silver-haired man, Sakura jumped to her feet, and ran towards him despite having her torso tied up.
Not expecting her persistence, Kabuto stepped back and prepared some seals when he saw the slightly dazed looking Sasuke stand up, and draw his katana outwards. "Chidori stream!" He yelled.
The sound of a thousand birds chirping emanated as a long line of electricity crackled towards the raging Sakura.
Kabuto prepared to brace himself when a flash of orange suddenly appeared, and Sakura vanished.
Confused as to what happened, Kabuto's eyes widened as he saw the chidori heading towards him.
Narrowing his eyes in displeasure, Sasuke canceled the attack before it could inflict damage on the older man.
The Uchiha fell to his knees, and breathed hard. He hadn't expected to spend so much chakra on the fight.
He begrudgingly accepted that he underestimated the prisoner by thinking she was a helpless princess.
Sakura groaned as her head felt like something was pounding it. Kill the Uchiha. Make him pay for his arrogance!
The kunoichi's eyes rolled frantically underneath her eyelids as she struggled to come to terms with what had happened. What is this voice? Sakura asked.
She tensed as she felt herself being lowered gently onto the ground.
"Sorry to jump into the fight uninvited, but I couldn't allow that attack to hit an unsuspecting target," an obnoxious voice stated.
Sakura opened her eyes and narrowed them as she tried to catch a glimpse of the newcomer through her blurred vision.
"Naruto. It's been a while," Kabuto greeted.
Naruto? Sakura mused. That's a weird name.
The newcomer laughed briefly. "You look older, Kabuto," he joked.
Sakura could sense his eyes upon her.
He made a displeased sound. "Damn, looks like someone beat the shit out of her."
Thank you very much, Sakura thought sarcastically.
She groaned outwardly.
"Hey you, don't you have honor? That was a cheap move trying to attack her from behind." Naruto said.
The young Uchiha snorted as he leaned his weight on his katana. "I had to take her down before she caused more damage," he answered smoothly.
"Heh, at least she beat the crap out of an asshole like you," Naruto replied.
Sakura heard footsteps coming towards her.
"Back away, Naruto. The rope is specially designed to suppress chakra, though this Phoenix is dangerous," Kabuto said.
"A Phoenix?" Naruto asked in amazement. "Wow, she must be really powerful!"
"Powerful, and too much trouble," Kabuto muttered to himself.
Sakura was unable to stop Kabuto from securing her better.
She glanced at the newcomer's black shinobi sandals, before slowly glancing up.
The young man was tall, and wore a black and orange tracksuit that fit his slim body snugly.
Sakura let out a muted gasp when she felt someone hit the nerves at the back of her neck.
Her vision began to darken, though the rosette managed to make out ocean eyes staring at her, and spiky blond hair that blew wildly in the wind before she passed out.