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Note there are three dots, I hope you won't be confused about this! Tenth chapter, hope you enjoy xxx
Naruto sped past the trees, his thoughts drifting to his teammates and he worriedly wondered if Sakura was hurt or not. Nah! Sakura-chan will be fine, she's strong, Naruto thought, reassuring himself that his beloved female comrade was safe and sound and kicking ass. There was a piercing scream, and Naruto paused, walking towards the direction of the scream with a kunai at his hand. He peeked through a door, and his eyes widened as he saw a redhead Sand ninja, his sand swirling around him with blood splattered around the rough ground. Naruto's eyes widened and he watched the mysterious person glance at his direction and he yelped, running away quickly. Scary guy, he thought as he countinued his futile search for his teammates, which showed no sign of improvement whatsoever. The soil crunched agaisnt his soles, and the lingering scent of moss and dust blocked his nose, and suddenly, the forest turned a dark, sickly shade of green and Naruto's eyes widened, wondering where he was. Suddenly, a vine appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around Naruto's body, and he cried in pain. Now is so not the time to be messing with me! Naruto thought, stabbing the vines with his kunai. He didn't notice the vine sneak inside his bag and take out the fake Heaven scroll and the illusion dissappeared, leaving a confused Naruto sitting on the rough ground, he reached out inside his bag to double-check the scroll was in there, and when he realized it was gone, he gave a fake yell of horror.
"No! The scroll!" Naruto cried, before snickering and running away. Ha! Too bad it was fake, he thought as he leapt from branch to branch. Naruto could not be bothered to make any effort in the genjutsu, it was useless-besides, they had taken the fake scroll anyway, so bad karma to them! Naruto scanned the forest, sometimes pausing for breath, before setting out to find his teammates with a determined look in his eyes.
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The man kicked Sasuke from his spine and he was sent hurtling towards the tree trunk, where he screamed in agony. The opponent licked his lips as he grabbed a fistful of Sakura's hair and held her up, delighted at the sight of her tears streaming down her cheeks. Sasuke stood up, overcome with anger as he saw his female comrade being held like a piece of meat, and clenched his kunai so tight, three droplets of blood escaped from his fngertips. He was trembling now, trembling with so much anger and hate as he saw Sakura being tossed aside carelessly, and he lunged towards the man, screaming his battle cry. The opponent smirked and dissappeared quickly, and Sasuke scanned the place, wondering where he was before approaching the fragile Sakura, who was unconscious and lying on the dirty floor with so much scars and bruises. As Sasuke was about to check her pulse, a cold sword was gently placed agaisnt her delicate neck and Sasuke froze, realizing what he was going to do. The opponent smirked, tapping the sharp sword agaisnt Sakura's neck, gently digging it in to make a trail of blood run down her neck. Sasuke panted and he meet his gaze with the smirking Orochimaru, who licked his lips.
"Touch her, and I'll chop her head off and swallow it whole" he whispered harshly. Sasuke shuddered and took two steps back, his gaze never breaking Orochimaru. He needed to save Sakura, he thought as he clenched his fist and memories of seeing her being kicked and a kunai plunged deep in her shoulder while he was tied up in the tree trunk came to him, and he shuddered. Sasuke couldn't allow the closest friend he had to die in front of him, he had lost so many people already. Flashbacks of the massacre came flooding in his mind, and he fell on his knees, clutching his throbbing head as the memories came flickering past. Something sank in his teeth, and pain surged through his bones and flesh, and his eyes became blurry as he helplessly dragged his body to Sakura's weak form, and reached out to hold her hand tightly.
"I'll protect you Sakura" Sasuke said roughly, his shaky hands holding Sakura's cold hands. Soon, he was unconscious and both genin lay on the rough ground, their hands entwined together as a happy Orochimaru stared at them, idly kicking Sasuke's rib cage. He felt another prescence and he turned around, to meet the vicious glare of Naruto Uzumaki himself, his hand shaking as he stared at his two teammates, lying on the ground. The Kyuubi vessel, Orochimaru thought as he lunged in to attack Naruto, swiftly knocking him out. What an interesting team, he thought to himself as he dissappeared within the shady trees, vanishing in thin air.
A sore Sakura blinked her eyes a couple of times and groaned as pain hit her suddenly, making her cry in pain. She noticed Sasuke's finger entwined with hers and she smiled softly, a tear running down her cheeks. She got on her knees and scrambled on her feet, putting both her passed-out teammates over her arms as she walked down a dirty path, realizing the best for now was to create a hideout for her male teammates to rest, and eventually they'd wake up and Team 7 would countinue their search again for the Earth scroll. Sakura realized the scroll was still around her thigh, and she sighed happily, thankful that Orochimaru had left the scroll and her teammates half alive. How very thoughtful of him, Sakura thought dryly as she placed Sasuke and Naruto's body on the ground, sighing. She hoped nobody would try to ambush them, she was in no condition to fight and it didn't seem Sasuke nor Naruto would wake soon. Sakura took out a piece of cloth and dipped it in the nearby stream, before cleaning the bruises on her male teammates gently. She brushed the cloth agaisnt the wounds carefully, not wanting to hurt it or make it even worse than it was. As hours passed, Sakura found it hard not to sleep beside Naruto, but she had to stay awake-she had to protect her teammates. Pain surged through her bones, and the beast was begging her now to use his chakra, tempting her by saying the chakra could heal Naruto and Sasuke, and make her stronger. But Sakura didn't trust the demon, she couldn't even bear to think of the demon's chakra anywhere near her male comrades. She had to keep them safe, from the demon within her and other attackers that might come by.
Sakura's eyes dropped for a second, but she snapped them open again, gritting her teeth at her sleepiness. She stared down at her male comrades and knew she had to keep them safe, they had protected her while she just stood there, wondering if she should use her demon's chakra or not. When are you going to protect yourself? Sakura thought bitterly, looking down at her dirty hands and clenched them, angry and dissapointed at herself for being so weak. I need to protect them, she thought determindly, and the only way she was going to stay awake was to injure herself. So Sakura dug her kunai in her arm, and she hissed at the pain but at least she was wide awake now. The demon was bargaining with her now, saying he could heal her and her teammates, take them to safety of the tower and remain there until the five days were up. But she couldn't, Sakura knew if she used the demon's chakra, he would take over her, ruthlessly killing anybody in his path. The only person that can stop the demon, Sakura thought, is Naruto. Sure, the Kyuubi's power was no match for the great beast himself, but with Naruto's courage-maybe, he could kill the demon within her, to stop her pain and misery. In all her life, Sakura had been bullied by the demon, saying she was the Child of Darkness, that her destiny was to destroy this world with the demon and only one could stop her. Sakura stared at Naruto's form and she shut her eyes tightly, she would never bring herself to hurt her best friend, she would find her own destiny and fate-she would not become the Prophecy Child of Darkness, she will seal her own destiny and fate and break the rules. The demon chuckled inside her mind, and Sakura scowled at his cocky attitude. Ever since the wretched beast had found a way to speak to her without making her fall unconscious, he had been bugging her day and night, sending her dreams of herself killing people with bloodlust in her eyes. She had woken up, crying and sobbing, her sheets tangled around her after the worst nightmares. But she knew one day she would have to use the demon's chakra, but she would use it for the right things, and she would have control over him. If only I had somebody to tell my dark secret, she thought. She could never bring herself to tell Kakashi, no matter how kind he was-Sakura always knew she had to tell somebody else who was older, wiser and had experienced the bloody wars first hand. She didn't exactly know why, but deep in her heart she knew that person might understand her pain and sorrow.
Sakura's ears perked up when she heard the faint rustle of leaves, and she slowly stood up with her kunai twirling around her fingertips, her body tense. She glanced at the sleeping forms of her teammates, and quickly did three shadow clones of herself for extra protection. In the last three hours of sitting down, guarding her teammates, Sakura had stored enough chakra to fight at least a hundred people, one of the many pros and cons of the Yin seal on her forehead, which she always hid with an easy jutsu, enough to make her sensei not realizing one of his students had the Yin seal that took many years to complete, but for Sakura-she was born with it, just like her strange sapphire blue eyes, that would store enough intel about a person with just one look or at the dark side, the equivelant to the Rinnengan. But in all her knowledge, she knew that people who blessed her strange eye technique-which was only her and two other ninjas in the world, who had died-that it came from the stars, a curse for the fallen ones. It was said every billion years, a star would fall and inherit the sapphire blue eye technique, and another strange one which Sakura was yet to unlock. It scared her slightly on how much she knew, and she had never told anybody about her eye techniques or her other mysterious jutsus, because she knew the village would suspect her for her remarkable power. That's why she had to carefully conceal her demon's chakra and her Yin seal on her forehead, because if somebody spotted it-she was going to be in deep trouble and suspicion.
She glanced at the trees, her eyes turning a sapphire hue and she could see three figures hiding, carefully concealing their chakra. Too bad they were going agaisnt her, Sakura thought with a cocky smirk. Though it scared her that she had so much power yet so little control over them, it excited her that she had an eye technique that was so rare, some people really doubted if it was true or not. The demon chuckled darkly, his eyes flaring with bloodlust in Sakura's mind. Sakura shuddered, never getting used to the fact that not only was the demon inside of her, but inside her mind too. It was so invading her privacy, Sakura thought as her eyes turned back into green.
"I know your there. Pity you didn't conceal your chakra enough" Sakura said, instantly regretting it. That attitude will do nothing Sakura, she thought as three Sound ninjas appeared, glaring daggers at her. Three agaisnt one? she thought weakly, Sakura couldn't bring herself to kill people-even though she had done it in the past. She suddenly shook that stupid idea away, realizing that of course she was going to kill them three, it was all part of being a ninja.
...Kill them slowly Sakura, allow them to taste their blood and take their hearts out...
Sakura wrinkled her nose at the idea, and nearly gagged at the mental picture. But she returned her attention back to the three Sound ninjas, and Sakura realized that she'd have to kill the girl as well. Pity, she thought, she has really nice hair. God, what was she turning into? Sakura thought, she was becoming just like the beast, cocky and superior.
"Hand us your precious Sasuke-kun, and we will leave without killing you and your blonde teammate" the boy said in a mocking tone. Sakura narrowed her eyes and shook her head, no way in hell was she going to hand over Sasuke. The Sound ninja looked annoyed at her stubborn attitude and grinned, holding her hands up to do a jutsu. Ear piercing sound waves vibrated through the air, but Sakura didn't flinch, shocking the Sound ninjas at her calm personality. Don't mess with the Yin seal, bitches! Sakura thought, grinning wildly as she quickly did a jutsu. A large sword appeared and Sakura grabbed the handle, her eyes turning a sapphire hue except it was a few shades darker. The Sound ninjas took a step back, and as Sakura lunged in for the first attack, she swiped her sword at the girl but she dodged it, much to Sakura's dismay. Sakura dissapeared and slowly sunk to the ground, leaving some shocked Sound ninjas before appearing behind the girl, swiftly cutting her hair with her sharp sword. The girl yelped and screamed as she stared at the pieces of her hair lying on the floor, her eyes burned with rage and revenge and the Sound girl reached in for a punch. Sakura was about to dodge it when a hand came in, swiftly blocking the punch. Sakura lifted her gaze to see Sasuke, who was wide awake and whoose Cursed Seal was slowly activating, making dark chakra surrond the boy, whoose eyes darkened as he stared at their opponents. Sakura glanced at Naruto, checking if he was awake but he was still sleeping, his eyes shut tightly.
"Sasuke, control it" Sakura hissed, reaching a hand to gently tap the Cursed Seal. Sasuke nodded and with shaky hands, covered the seal and controlled it as best as he could. Sakura wished that she could learn how to make that mark dissappear, which was causing Sasuke so much pain as they fought the annoying Sound ninjas. Sakura panted as she lunged in to attack the person with her first, sure she had enough chakra because of the Yin seal, but she didn't want to waste it for three annoying Sound ninjas her and Sasuke could kill with one flick of their wrists. His holding back, Sakura thought as she glanced worriedly at Sasuke, who took a step back with wobbly legs. Sakura dived in to accept the punch that was meant for Sasuke and was sent hurtling to the tree trunk, and she screamed in pain. I need to protect him, Sakura thought weakly as she got on her feet, panting heavily as she clutched the throbbing bruise on her stomach.
...Use my chakra! Sakura, use my chakra!...
The demon was screaming with rage now to see his vessel so weak. Sakura resisted the urge to use it, and slowly lunged in to accept another blow that was meant for Sasuke, who was having an extremely hard time controlling the seal. Blood and tears mingled together as Sakura collapsed on the floor, a sword plunged in her left thigh, making a large pool of blood. Sakura gasped, her eyes dying to close for a long sleep. The demon was screaming now, thrashing at his chains and the gates, begging her to use his chakra. Sakura felt Sasuke's hand softly carry her and place her next to Naruto, where she held his hand tightly. If I'm going to die, Sakura thought as she clutched Naruto's hand as tears ran down her cheeks, I'm going to die next to Naruto. She watched as Sasuke ruthlessly killed the Sound ninjas, and her thoughts drifted to the third one, who had strangely dissapeared. Her eyes widened as the third Sound ninja stood on a tree branch, his kunai inches apart from a string that kept a big boulder from running down the hill and smashing Sakura and Naruto to pieces. Sakura weakly pushed Naruto away, but it was no use as the Sound ninja cut the string, and the boulder came flying towards her direction.
Sakura clutched Naruto's hand and closed her eyes, waiting for the blow that never came. Instead, she heard hard breathing and opened her eyes to see Sasuke's face inches apart from her, his back and hands holding the boulder, preventing it from crushing Naruto and her. Tears ran down her cheeks as she slowly released her grip at Naruto's hands, and placed them over Sasuke's shaky hands, which was violently trembling from the immense weight. Sasuke's forehead gently brushed agaisnt hers, and Sakura clutched his hands, trembling.
"I'll always protect you" Sasuke said in a hoarse voice. Sakura's eyes widened and she closed her eyes, pushing her hands to push the boulder away. Sakura pushed with all her remaining chakra, her shaky hands grasping Sasuke's as she pushed. The boulder rolled away and collided with the trees, leaving a relieved Sakura and Sasuke. There was a pause, before Sakura slowly meet her gaze with Sasuke's, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, crying on his shoulder. She felt Sasuke lean his forehead agaisnt her shoulder and she broke the embrace, holding Sasuke's hand tightly.
"Thank you" she said softly, hastily wiping her tears away. Her back hurt a lot, but Sakura was happy that her team had made it this far and she gave Sasuke a happy look as she saw the Earth scroll in his hands. Sakura took the Heaven scroll from her thigh and placed it on Sasuke's shaky hands and leaned her forehead agaisnt him, making his eyes widened. Sakura tenderly brushed away his locks, and broke away their gaze as she crawled to a sleeping Naruto. Sasuke watched as their other teammate woke up, looking confused and suddenly made a big fuss about Sakura's bruises, in which she laughed at his worries.
"You were sleeping for ages Naruto!" Sakura said, playfully punching him around the shoulder. Naruto sheepishly grinned and ran his fingers through his hair, looking concerned at Sakura and Sasuke's bruises and eyeing the broken, messy place full of broken trees and a huge boulder with curiosity. As Sakura tried to stand up on her two feet, she fell on her knees and groaned with pain, clutching the deep wound in her left thigh. I can't even stand up! Sakura thought as angry tears formed in the corner of her eyes. To her surprisement, Sasuke knelt down, offering a ride on his back and Sakura weakly protested, before climbing on his back and wrapping her weak, frail arms around his neck. She left her other arm dangling by her side and Team 7 slowly made their way to the Tower, with Naruto holding both scrolls to his chest. Sakura gently tapped Naruto's shoulder and she reached silently for his hand, holding it in a loose grip. Naruto's face softened and he squeezed her hand, he was so angry for himself by sleeping through a battle, in which both of his teammates were injured. Naruto's other hand clenched into a fist and he swore to protect his teammates now, they were the only family that he truly had, and he would not let them die before his very eyes without him doing anything about it.
"Sakura, don't tell Naruto" Sasuke whispered, so only she could hear. Sakura nodded as she stared at the Cursed Seal on his neck, and she shuddered at the memory of Orochimaru biting Sasuke's neck. Soon they arrived, looking dirty and scruffier than the other teams, who eyed them with mild interest. Sakura sighed as she sat down on the cold bench and closed her eyes, leaning agaisnt her knees as she ran her fingers through her tangled pink locks. Sasuke and Naruto stared at her as she stood up abruptly and kneel down in front of Naruto, her hands turning a soft shade of green as she began healing both of them.
"It's the least I could do" she said softly as she healed Sasuke's deep gash on his knee. Sakura was about to heal Sasuke's bruise on his shoulder when he grabbed her wrist, causing her to gasp. Sakura watched as he gently placed her hand agaisnt her shoulder, noticing the soft look on Sasuke's face as he gave her a silent command.
"Heal yourself" he said quietly. Sakura was in no mood to protest and she slumped to the floor, healing the deep wound on her left thigh. She winced at the pain, silently thanking Sasuke for his actions. Naruto and Sasuke stared at their fragile teammate, and they could only watch helplessly as their best friend healed the deep scars in her tiny body. Sasuke flinched every time a trickle of blood ran down and he saw Naruto's gentle look in his face as he stared at Sakura, who quietly mended her wounds. I'll protect you Sakura-chan, Naruto thought as he watched Sakura slowly stand up to sit on the bench in front of him and Sasuke, leaning agaisnt it and sighing as she stretched her tense muscles. Soon, the tower was filled with the whole of the Rookie 9 and some other foreign genins, including the infamous Sand Siblings who arrived with not a single scratch or bruise on them. Naruto tensed as he saw the Sand ninja stare at his team, and he winced when he remembered the damage the Sand ninja had done just to get the scroll. Gaara of the Desert, Sakura thought as she glanced at the Sand genin, who calmly leaned agaisnt the wall, looking blank and expressionless as ever.
...We have the Kyuubi and the Shukaku vessel, how interesting...
Sakura scoffed at his thoughts and countinued to stare at the ceiling, ignoring the looks Kakashi and her team gave her. She tensed when she saw Sasuke wince ever so slightly, and she leaned to whisper in his ear.
"I'm going to tell Kakashi-sensei. No buts" Sakura whispered as she walked to her sensei. Sasuke grabbed her wrist and gave her a pleading look, and Sakura weakly sat next to him as she saw him gripping his neck tightly, his nails digging in to tear his flesh away. Sasuke gave her a pleading look.
"I'll tell him myself, please Sakura" he said quietly in a hushed voice. Sakura sighed and nodded her head, relaxing her tense muscles as she leaned agaisnt the bench. Her mind was racing with memories of Sasuke holding the boulder, saving her and Naruto's lives and she gripped her shirt, vowing that it would be her next to save her teammates lives-she would make sure of it. I'll protect them, and I need to control the demon Sakura thought determindly as she clenched her fist, digging her nails in her palms. Soon, they were ushered into a small arena, lining up in their teams in front of a Konoha Jounin, who gave them a blank look.
"Congrats for making it this far to the third phase of the exams. That board over there-the man pointed at the black board-will say your names and you will fight until one of you forfeits or dies. Any questions, ask later after I've finished. For those who feel like they do not want to countinue for any reason, raise your hand up" the Jounin said. Kabuto raised a hand and walked away, a smirk planted on his face. Sakura clenched her fist as she remembered telling the Hokage in person that Orochimaru was here, and they had done nothing leaving Sasuke with the Cursed Seal. Sakura clenched her fist, realizing they probably didn't believe her-thinking that she was just an ignorant child. Soon, the remaining genins walked up the stairs, waiting for the black board to show the first fight of the third phase. Sakura glanced at an excited Naruto and a pained Sasuke, who meet her gaze with his dark eyes.
Sasuke Uchiha VS Yoroi Akado
Sakura gripped the railings as she saw Sasuke walk down the stairs, giving Sakura a reassuring look before facing his opponent. Sakura could only watch helplessly as the first half of the fight that Yoroi attacked him brutally with no hesitation in his actions. But as the Cursed Seal slowly made marks around his neck, Sakura hung her head, praying that he would be alright. In the end, after Sakura opened her eyes, she realized that Sasuke had won and she glanced at Kakashi, who gave her a glare and beckoned her over. Sakura knew what was going to happen, and she ignored the look on Sasuke's face as she told Kakashi every little detail of their agaisnt Orochimaru, noticing Sasuke clutch his neck painfully as she whispered Orochimaru's name. Kakashi's frown deepened when her story ended and he dragged Sasuke away, leaving a confused Naruto and a scared Sakura, reassuring Naruto constantly that Sasuke was alright. Naruto saw the pained look on her face and he questioned no further and countinued to yell for encouragement for Hinata, who had turned a bright red. Sakura watched the poor girl being devoured by Neji's harsh and cruel words and frowned, yelling encouragement for the meek girl who gave them thankful glances.
"Go on Hinata! Kick his ass!" Sakura yelled. But to no avail, Hinata was going to receive a painful blow when Kurenai, Gai and the Konoha Jounin-Hayate Gekko-lunged in to block his attack. There were gasps as Neji gritted his teeth and struggled to be released from the grip, glaring daggers at the hurt Hinata who was sent away to be treated. In the end, Neji had won and as Sakura eyed him with a disapproving stare (whilst Naruto glared at him, throwing insults in his way) she felt sympathy for the poor Hyuuga girl and wished she could've yelled insults to Neji when he gave Hinata harsh words and cruel attacks. As the trouble died down, Sakura glanced at the black board and her eyes widened.
Sakura Haruno VS Ino Yamanaka
She paused a bit, earning an annoyed stare from Ino who was already on the ground, yelling for her to come. Sakura walked down the stairs, noticing the Sand Siblings eye her with curious eyes. Sakura's eyes turned a sapphire hue, and she noticed a few gasps around the arena. She saw the other senseis of the other teams tense and Sakura could only smirk as she saw fear hidden behind their eyes. Ino, however did not know the dangerous eye technique that Sakura was using, instead she growled.
"As if an eye technique like that could scare me! Prepare to die Haruno!" Ino hollered. Sakura could hear Shikamaru give a sigh and she smirked, knowing how exactly to beat Ino. Killing Ino was rather gruesome, so she opted for the second best chance-humuliation. Sakura gave a dark chuckle as she pierced her eyes through Ino's brain, and Ino in return collapsed on the floor, shaking with fear and pain.
...Her insides are ripping apart, good job...
Sakura shivered at the demon's words but countinued her jutsu as she slowly yanked Ino's hair, her eyes never leaving her brain as she held her hair up, cutting it slowly with her sharp kunai. She saw Ino's team-which consisted of Shikamaru and Chouji-gasp as Ino's hair fell on the ground slowly, making a terrible mess. Sakura let go of Ino's hair and kicked her spine, sending her smashing agaisnt the wall that created a sickening crack. How pathetic, Sakura thought as she walked up the stairs, noticing the looks Gaara gave her. As Sakura watched the medic ninjas carry Ino away and stood next to a bewildered Naruto, she noticed to her horror that for a moment there, the beast had taken control of her.
...That was not me Sakura, it was you. You are the Child of Darkness...
Lies, Sakura thought as she leaned agaisnt the wall, collapsing on the ground because of her shaky knees. Naruto immediatly came by her side, and the other teams surronded her, eyeing her curiosly as she trembled. I'm a monster, Sakura thought as she gripped her shirt, causing it to rip slightly. She stayed in that position after three matches, her mind replaying her and Ino's match over and over again. She wanted to scream so bad, to cry in Naruto's arms and to find that one person and tell her deepest, darkest secret-but she was so used to being silent of her feelings, but the Forest of Death had stripped away her pride and her hard exterior, leaving a softer and more fragile version of herself. Sakura watched Naruto's fight, giving him encouragement, laughing and slapping his hand after he had won agaisnt Kiba so nobody could notice the pain in her eyes. Sakura couldn't bear to watch Gaara as he ruthlessly nearly killed Lee, it reminded her of herself and she tucked her head inside her knees, so nobody would notice the tears that ran down her cheeks.
...You are the Child of Darkness, you will fulfill your destiny...
Quick Poll relating to this chapter!
What did Orochimaru say when Sasuke approached Sakura?
1.) If you touch her, I'll pull her heart out and make you swallow it 2.) Touch her, and I'll chop her head off and swallow it whole 3.) If you dare touch her, I'll kill her in front of you
Whoever is the first to review with the answer gets a oneshot fanfiction story of any pairing they like, but no gay or lesbian pairings because I can't bring myself to do that. Then after you've typed in your pairing choice, genre and the setting, I'll surprise you with a really good oneshot story with a surprise plot! Thanks xxx