Author's Notes: I'm a little surprised you all immediately thought that Orochimaru was going to rape Sakura at the end of the last chapter. Of course, I have been writing him as despicably as I can so maybe it shouldn't have been as surprising as it was. ;D Needless to say, there is no rape in this story as I don't like writing that sort of thing, so no worries on that account. There is a fair amount of torture in this chapter though, so please use your own discretion when reading.

THE FORTUNETELLER
Chapter Eleven

Sasuke let the little Hyuuga lead the way down to the prison, his mind suspended and still. In his mind's eye he had already killed the guards, snapping the neck of the first and then taking his weapon to stab the second clean through. They would fall with little more than a gurgle, not enough sound to alert anyone. The door would go next, a pathetic wooden thing that was no true barrier. Then he would be inside – with Sakura.

He would get her out, of course. She was a liability for him, a distraction, and he could afford none with his plans so close to fulfillment. What could she have been thinking, coming to the temple? She had to know that she couldn't change anything.

His clan was dead. Nothing she could say or do would bring them back.

She had tried before, begging him to stay in the Leaf, stay with her. And if he couldn't do that, to at least take her with him. She loved him, she said, always had. No matter what he did, she would follow. She promised.

In the end, he hadn't stayed. He had already made up his mind. He'd left her with a bruise on the back of her neck and lying on her bed, unconscious because that was the only way he could stop her.

Sasuke snorted. Apparently he hadn't hit her hard enough.

"M..my lord?"

The soft, shaky voice brought him back to the present and he glanced at the girl in front of him, the maid's strange gray-white eyes large in her pale face. They were at the bottom of the steps leading to the prison and Hinata had stopped to look back at him over her shoulder. Her hands were buried in her skirts to still their shaking, but that did not immediately alarm him. The girl was a timid thing at the best of times.

He frowned, moving down another step. "What is it?"

Wordlessly, she stepped aside and he tensed, rushing forward with an intense look on his face. The small outer room of the prison was completely empty. There were no guards, no bar on the door. He ignored Hinata's small cry and burst through into the prison itself.

Sakura wasn't there. The cells were empty.

Sasuke swore.

"I..I don't u..understand," Hinata said, coming up next to him, apparently deciding it was safe. She looked about the room. "I heard S..Shikamaru say she was to be taken to the p..prisons."

"She was here," he said grimly, eyeing the lit lantern. There would have been no need for that if the place had been unoccupied. "He's taken her somewhere else."

Hinata flinched. "L..Lord Orochimaru?"

He nodded curtly and tried to swallow the sudden anger that bubbled up in him. There was no telling where they were. The War Lord could have taken her completely out of the temple. He could be interrogating her at that very moment, hurting her, touching her…

Coldly furious, Sasuke pivoted and ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time. He spared not a thought for Hinata. He only knew that he would not let Orochimaru win this round.

He was taking Sakura back.


Sakura sagged against the chain binding her wrists, sending the links jingling as they twisted upwards into a beam in the ceiling. Her knees couldn't hit the ground so all her weight rested in her shoulders and arms, the muscles there screaming in protest. Come on, Sakura, stand up. STAND UP! Her shackled ankles refused to work and a thin line of pain blazed down her thigh, cutting through her soft leather breeches. She cried out, her voice ringing clear in the lavish chamber. Orochimaru had no need to gag her. He wanted everyone to hear what he was doing to her there in his chambers.

He kept saying as much himself.

"A little louder now, girl," the War Lord murmured, flicking a small leather whip at her. It looked like nothing more than a riding crop but there were very fine blades on the end that left very fine cuts. Sakura knew that well, she was bleeding from more than half a dozen of them. "A little louder and he won't be able to help himself."

Sakura got her legs underneath her, panting slightly, hot blood running down her leg. Pink strands of hair kept falling into her eyes but she couldn't brush them back, her arms held high above her head. She felt worn out and hurt but nowhere near broken. She had trained as a medic for six years and she had a very high tolerance for pain. It would take more than a few cuts to bring her down.

"He's going to kill you, you know," she said, gasping as the whip cut down her side like a striking snake. "Not because of me, but because you're a monster." She grabbed the chain above her, shook it. "Only a monster would have something like this in his room."

The whip flicked out again and this time she screamed as it ripped across her collarbone and down over the top of her right breast. The material of her shirt parted, stained red, and Orochimaru chuckled.

"Very good. Just one more, I think, and—" The rest of his words were cut off by a low booming noise, a slight vibration running through the temple floor under Sakura's feet. Orochimaru paused briefly, listening. There was a long moment of silence and then it came again, only louder. This time Sakura's chain jingled in response.

The War Lord frowned. "That sounds like—"

The door burst open to a harried Shikamaru. "My lord, we're under attack. It's…" He trailed off as he caught sight of her and his expression grew tight, almost disapproving. "What is going on here, my lord?"

Sakura thought it was rather bold of him to question Orochimaru but the War Lord barely seemed to notice. "Attack? By who? What army?"

Shikamaru visibly brought himself back to the task at hand. "It's Hyuuga Neji, my lord, and it's your army."

Sakura had never seen anything as priceless as the look on Orochimaru's face then, a mixture of incredulous surprise and anger. He unconsciously tightened his grip on the whip, the blades cutting into his fingers. "He's taken the garrison?"

Shikamaru nodded. "He's got at least a thousand men. There are only about four hundred stationed here at the temple and most of them are out on patrol."

"CALL THEM BACK!" Orochimaru shouted, striding towards him. "I want them all back here within the hour. Form a defense around the temple and have the Fortuneteller brought to the sanctuary. The Hyuuga will want her most of all."

"Yes, my lord." Shikamaru bowed stiffly and left. She could hear him barking orders to the guards outside as he went fulfill Orocihmaru's will. The War Lord turned back to her, restless and enraged at the sudden turn of events. He strode to the window to glance out at the city, his face twisting with whatever he saw. He threw his whip across the room.

Then, to her shock, he left the chamber without a word.

She supposed she shouldn't have been so surprised. Chained as she was, she couldn't exactly go anywhere. He was probably on his way to the sanctuary, hoping that Tenten would be able to tell him how to divert the coming battle and emerge victorious. Sakura hung her head, her wounds burning. Had the Fortuneteller foreseen all of this? Would she be forced to help Orochimaru escape his fate? She hoped Neji got to her in time. If Orochimaru was allowed to win…

"Sakura."

The voice pulled everything inside of her into a tight string of hope, dangerous and addictive. She lifted her head and green eyes locked on to dark, dark black.

Sasuke was in the doorway.

She couldn't move. She couldn't speak. She could only hang there, dripping blood into the carpet as he moved towards her, his face as hard as she had ever seen it. His hands were curled into fists.

"Sakura, who hurt you?" The words were grated out with a rumble of restrained fury. She felt her skin break out with goose bumps from the sound and she shivered from the chaotic energy she felt around him. "Tell me. Who was it?"

The temperature in the room was going down. She felt the air cool as something black crept across Sasuke's neck and jaw. Inky whorls crawled over the bridge of his nose, his forehead, his left ear. Sakura's mouth went dry and her heart hammered in her chest, her eyes widening to their fullest.

She could only stare as he reached up and gripped her chain, squeezing his hand until it broke suddenly, the links beneath his fingers completely pulverized. Freed, she dropped to her knees, choking as her body protested the harsh movement. Above her, Sasuke's voice came again.

"Who hurt you?"

She looked up into a face she no longer recognized and felt weary tears gather at the corner of her eyes. Using all of her strength, she got to her feet, weaving with pain and dizziness. Carefully, she leaned into him, curving her arms around his neck in a gentle embrace, her mouth tilting up to his ear.

"Sasuke," she whispered sadly, "What have you done to yourself?"

He did not answer and he did not move as she hugged him, his arms lax at his sides. His eyes followed her though when she stepped back, full of power and purpose. It was magic, whatever he had done. Some sort of spell or charm, she could feel it radiating off him in waves.

He was watching her, waiting. Anguished, she could only answer.

"It was Orochimaru."


"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Neji glanced at Lee as he put on his cloak, pulling it closed over the glint of his armor. Behind them, another volley of stones flew from the catapults to crash against the temple, crumbling marble pillars and archways. "It's the only way, Lee. He knows I won't attack the sanctuary and we can't win unless it falls. I must go in." He checked the knives at his waist and hefted his spear. His shield was already slung over his shoulder.

"He'll be waiting for you," Lee cautioned, "and he'll have soldiers. You'll be outnumbered. Let me go with you, Neji."

Neji shook his head immediately. "No, I need you to stay and direct the army. Keep pushing the War Lord's men. If you can break through, meet me in the sanctuary." His expression eased slightly. "Then we will fight together."

Lee's eyes shone and he clapped a fist to his chest. "I will see it done, Commander."

Neji watched him go, calling orders to the men at the catapults. They had wheeled the big war machines down the very streets of the Sound, preceded by troops of soldiers ordering the city folk to stay in their homes. Neji's army had martial control now but they did not have the advantage. Somewhere in the domed building ahead was the War Lord and with him, his oracle. There was no move he could make that she would not expect. He could only follow his fate till the end and hope.

He turned and moved into an easy lope towards the temple. His men had already secured the steps and the upper hallway, some of them cheering as he passed. They believed that what they were doing was right, their goal – to bring down the reign of Orochimaru.

"Take the inner corridors," he ordered one of his captains. His white eyes flickered to the dome. "Surround the antechamber. There must be no way out for him but through us."

The War Lord could not be allowed to escape. Either he would die or Neji would.

That was one vision even Tenten would not be able to change.


Hinata lifted her skirts with one hand and held onto the Fortuneteller's arm with the other, both of them half-running down the hall towards the sanctuary. The handmaiden had lost track of Sasuke and had been headed towards the heir's rooms when Orochimaru himself had come upon her, immediately ordering her to bring Tenten to the sanctuary.

Hinata had heard the barrage of the catapults and knew that they were under attack. She could barely contain her joy knowing that Neji and Lee had taken control of the army and were headed for the temple. The War Lord of the East's dominion was coming to an end and the only person who could save it was running along side of her, blank-faced and trapped in an endless dream. Hinata was tempted to turn around, take her lady away from that awful place. The temple was in chaos, servants and staff running and shouting, carrying supplies and gathering weapons. She could escape with Tenten, maybe surrender them to the advancing army – to Neji.

But, she could not.

From the very first moment the Fortuneteller had spoken to her, Tenten had been guiding her to stay within the temple. In the last few days, Hinata had thought a lot about her own fate and she knew now that she was destined to take the oracle this last distance, to hand her over to the tyrant that kept her a prisoner. Tenten had come back to the temple knowing what would happen in the future, Hinata was sure of it. She already knew what Hinata would do, what Neji would do. The handmaiden could only place her faith in the Fortuneteller, praying that everything she was doing, everything she would do – good or bad – would end in victory against Orochimaru.

Hinata believed and so she hurried through the crowded corridors towards the sanctuary, urging her mistress to keep up.

The antechamber was teeming with Orochimaru's soldiers. Men shouted that the enemy had entered the temple and weapons were drawn and shields lifted. Shikamaru was there, snapping commands irritably. He waved them through when he noticed her and Hinata led Tenten through the busy antechamber and into the sanctuary.

The War Lord was inside. Two of his men were putting on his armor – greaves, shin guards, shield all lacquered black with a sinuous design that resembled snakes. He jerked a finger at her as they entered, pointing a spot next to him in the center of the room.

"Put her there. Quickly!"

Hinata jumped at his harsh tone and hurried to obey, getting the Fortuneteller to kneel on the carpets and arranging her heavy skirts. Tenten folded her arms serenely, the gold circlet she wore glittering in her chestnut hair. Orochimaru waved away his attendants and came to stand in front of her, yellow-gold eyes narrowing.

"Tell me what you see."

Hinata moved back a little, hoping he would not dismiss her if she wasn't in his immediate field of vision. Before them, the Fortuneteller tilted her head up slightly, looking somewhere over Orochimaru's left shoulder.

"The soldier comes," she said, her voice chiming in the circular room. "His army will raze this place to the ground, sow the ground with salt. It ends."

Hinata weaved her fingers together to steady her nerves, wetting her dry lips with her tongue. The soldier had to be Neji and the fact that Tenten's voice did not waver over him made Hinata a little nervous.

"How do I stop him?" Orochimaru growled impatiently. Outside, another catapult volley shook the walls, rattling the gilt furnishings. "How do I kill him?"

The Fortuneteller's reply was immediate. "You must kill me."

Orochimaru actually leaned back a little and Hinata gasped, frozen in disbelief. The War Lord's voice was angry and uneven.

"What do you mean, I must kill you? I must do no such thing!"

Tenten did not waver. "The only way for you to destroy him utterly is to kill me."

The War Lord would never do it, Hinata knew that right away. He would never destroy his
own source of power just to be rid of Neji.

"You said 'for you'," Orochimaru said slowly, "Is there someone else who can defeat Hyuuga Neji in a different way?"

The Fortuneteller's answer was a moment in coming.

"Uchiha Sasuke," she answered.

TO BE CONTINUED.