The next chapter is up! :) I'd like to dedicate this one to XxMidnightMelodyMistressxX. Hope you all like it!

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Madara watched in grim fascination as the sky began to streak with oranges and purples. The sun was slowly setting. It was almost time. All he had to do was rest deeply for a few hours, wake up at two in the morning, and then BAM—

Konoha would be grinded into dust.

Finally, he would get his revenge on that damn Senju Clan woman, Tsunade. He may not have been able to kill the Shodai Hokage, but he had gotten his; and now, to make up for lost time, he would murder the Godaime Hokage. Simple.

He chuckled to himself lowly, a slow twisted smile twitching on his lips.

Oh, yes. He would enjoy this very much.

o o o O O O o o o

Pein walked slowly around the room that housed all of his bodies, examining the other five that were currently not in use. He ran his hand along the machines that preserved them, his ringed gray eyes clearly showing that he was deep in thought. His lips were pressed in a hard line.

For nearly the thousandth time, Pein asked himself a single question:

Would it work?

It was a fifty-fifty shot, by his calculations. Maybe yes, maybe no. Not the best of odds, but he would take what he could get.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he stopped beside the empty machine that usually held the body he was using: the main one, the Tendo body. He gripped the edge of it tightly, his resolve steeling.

Yahiko. he thought quietly. I will not fail you. I will make your dream — our dream — a reality. The world will be peaceful and all war will dissipate. I swear to you; I will not let your sacrifice be in vain. This world will change, and it will start with the kyubi jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto.

o o o O O O o o o

All she could do for the longest time was stare.

It was him. Sasuke. He was here. This couldn't be happening. It had to be a dream. An awful, horrible, terribly realistic dream. But, then, did that mean that Ryuzaki and everyone else was a dream, too?

No. It couldn't be.

Sakura refused to except that Ryuzaki was all a dream.

But, then…

Oh God.

Sakura's heart clenched painfully and her breath left her lungs in a rush. Sasuke was real, and he was right here in front of her. She was frozen in her spot, unable to move. What in Kami's name could he want with her? To kill her?

No. She swallowed silently, turning ever-so-slowly to face him completely. If he's here to kill me, I won't let him.

Sensing that Sakura was about to speak, Sasuke remained silent.

"Sasuke," she repeated quietly, inwardly kicking herself when her voice wavered. "Why are you…how did you get here?"

"The same way you did, I suppose," he replied emotionlessly, flash-stepping forward.

In less than a heartbeat, he was right in front of her. Misa and Matsuda gasped at his speed, and Sakura flinched back slightly. He suddenly snatched up her arm and yanked her toward him. Sakura stumbled, nearly falling, and Ryuzaki made a sound of protest. Sasuke shot him a glare.

"You're coming with me."

Sakura helplessly let him drag her toward the door, frozen in shock. A moment later, she regained her senses and planted her feet down firmly, refusing to budge an inch. Sasuke glowered over his shoulder at her, Sharingan flickering to life.

"Sakura," he warned.

"No!" she yelled back, straining against his grip on her arm. "I'm not going anywhere until you explain what the hell is going on!"

Sasuke whipped around with god-like speed and shot out his hand to hit the nerve on the back of her neck. Realizing what he was planning, Sakura attempted to dodge. He was way too fast for her, though. His fingers struck, missing their mark by barely a millimeter thanks to Sakura's efforts; the blow wasn't enough to knock her out, but her legs collapsed beneath her nevertheless.

Sakura dropped like a brick, slamming into the floor with jarring force. Sasuke didn't even attempt to catch her. He merely picked her up by the back of her collar and threw her out into the hallway.

The rosette struggled to climb to her feet, but a well-aimed kick to her ribs sent her back down.

"Sakura!"

Ryuzaki — not one of the former police officers, like Sakura would have thought — appeared in the doorway and stared wide-eyed at the scene.

Sasuke glanced back at the black-haired detective, and Sakura took that chance to leap up. Just as her former teammate was turning back to her, she slammed her foot into his face with a flying kick. Sasuke staggered back in what appeared to be shock before a dark rage twisted his expression.

He grabbed her ankle and threw her down, glaring black flames of death. Sakura scowled back, and the next thing she knew, he was holding her up in the air by her throat. She struggled against his choke-hold, faintly hearing some of the task force cry out for him to let her go.

"You're still annoying," Sasuke said coldly, to which Sakura spat in his face.

He wiped it off slowly then suddenly back-handed her. Her face snapped to the side, no doubt going to bruise.

"What the hell do you want with me?" Sakura demanded angrily. "Every time I'd talk to you, you would toss me aside and call me useless. And now you suddenly show up and try to kidnap me? If you think I'll just go along with you like some stupid love-struck little girl, then you're wrong! I'm not the same person I was six years ago, Sasuke; not that you would know! You abandoned the village for that snake-bastard!"

"You're still useless," he remarked bluntly. "I'm here because your stupid Hokage wants you back so badly, she agreed to give me everything Konoha knows on the Akatsuki and amnesty from all crimes."

Sakura stared at him in disbelief. "What?' she echoed, not entirely sure she'd heard him correctly. "She granted you amnesty?"

"Are you deaf, you stupid girl?" he snapped. "Yes; amnesty. As in, freedom from all crimes."

"Go to hell," Sakura spat, glaring at him. He snorted.

"Shut up, already," he muttered. "You're getting on my nerves." Sakura opened her mouth to retort back, but his grip on her throat tightened, making her wince. "Don't complain, don't struggle, don't yell," the Uchiha ordered. "I'll return you to your precious village, and then I'll be on my way. If you don't obey me, I may end up handing you over in two or more pieces. Am I clear?"

"I'm not going home!" she screamed and lashed out to strike him in the face, shocking all of them.

Sakura, herself, was the most surprised at this. She didn't want to go home? Since when did this happen? What about Naruto? And Kakashi, Sai, Yamato, Tsunade, Shizune, and everyone else? Was she willing to just leave them all behind? To give it all up and stay here? She hardly knew any of these people here.

Her eyes met Ryuzaki's, and she knew: yes. She was willing to leave them all behind. She was willing to give it all up and stay here with them. With him.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"I wasn't asking your opinion," he hissed, slamming her back against a wall. "Be quiet and do as I say, or amnesty be damned, I will kill you." Sakura grit her teeth at the impact but didn't make a sound. Sasuke glowered fiercely at her, bloodred eyes flashing dangerously. "Don't you dare think that I won't do it," he growled. "You mean nothing to me. Naruto, Kakashi, the village — I don't give a damn about any of it. Hit me again, and I'll tear you apart."

Sakura had no doubt that he was deadly serious. Sasuke was not one to play nice, even with those he was close to; and since he wasn't close with Sakura whatsoever…well, he just didn't play nice. Ever. Simple as that.

"Put her down!"

Sasuke glared sharply over his shoulder at Matsuda, who was pointing a strange object — a "gun", Sakura realized — at him. He looked scared and determined at the same time. Sasuke scoffed.

"Your petty toys don't amuse me, civilian," he said coldly. "Let the adults talk."

He refocused on Sakura, only to find her wearing a shit-eating smirk. He instantly tensed at her expression and turned with unimaginable speed as a painfully-loud explosion rang out behind him. He grunted and dropped Sakura, grabbing his shoulder as blood poured out.

What the hell? he thought. What was that?

He whipped around toward Sakura when he sensed movement from her, easily dodging a chakra-packed kick. His eyes narrowed slightly as he shifted out of range.

That's why her blow was so powerful; she's enhancing them with chakra.

Screeching out a battle cry, Sakura pulled a suicidal move for all shinobi: she tackled him.

Shinobi were taught not to tackle their opponents, as it left them completely defenseless as they threw their entire bodies forward. Even worse, if they missed, their opponent had a perfect target.

But that was why it was so effective for Sakura. Sasuke didn't expect her to pull such a dumbass move, so she caught him off-guard.

The two rolled down the hallway, grappling for control and yelling curses. Sakura used her chakra to force her way to the top, rearing back her fist for a bone-shattering punch. Sasuke surged up, using the entirety of his weight to throw her off-balance, and pinned her down. He hand flew to grab a kunai, but Sakura made a split-second decision to head-but him.

She slammed her forehead into his with all her strength, an ugly sound resulting. He staggered up and fell on his back, momentarily stunned. Stars shot across Sakura's vision and she barely stifled a groan.

Bad idea. she thought miserably. Holy shit, that hurt.

She struggled to her feet, only to have Sasuke grab her ankle and yank her back down. The back of her head cracked against the floor and she felt warm liquid seeping through her hair. Sakura curled up into herself and gripped her head, squeezing her eyes shut against the pain. Sasuke pushed himself up to his feet and stepped down unforgiving on her chest, breaking a few ribs. She growled out and a chakra scalpel blazed in her hand. Before Sasuke could react, she sliced his ankle and he fell instantly.

Chakra scalpels don't cut through skin, but they cut through everything below the skin. So for the next three hours — or before that, if he got his ankle healed — Sasuke would not be able to walk on that foot without extreme agony. Ah, the perks of being a med-nin.

With a low curse, Sasuke kicked her in the face with said foot, ignoring the stab of pain that shot up his leg. Sakura skidded across the floor, holding her now-broken nose. He stood again, but his foot gave out from under him. Swearing again, he placed one hand against the wall for balance and forced his foot to support him, once again ignoring the fiery-hot pain.

Sakura leapt up and dodged the shuriken he flicked out at her, catching the last one and throwing it back. Sasuke barely tilted his head, letting it whisk right past him. He turned suddenly and ducked, a bullet flying over his head as Matsuda shot again.

And then Ryuzaki, bless his soul, stole one of Soichiro's shoes and chucked it at Sasuke's head. If the situation hadn't been so serious, Sakura would have burst out laughing. Sasuke, however, didn't find in funny in the slightest as he caught the offending object. Then, to Sakura's horror, he flash-stepped to Ryuzaki and drew out his kusanagi.

The task force all froze up in shock, Misa starting to cry. With a glare, Sasuke snapped his arm down to slice Ryuzaki's head off.

"NO!" Sakura screamed.

The blade halted barely a centimeter away from the detective's throat. Ryuzaki looked down at it with wide, disbelieving eyes, unable to breathe. Sasuke turned his head slightly, just enough to glance sharply at Sakura over his shoulder.

"Well?" he demanded impatiently.

Sakura's gaze flickered to Ryuzaki, sadness and relief clear in her expression.

"Fine," she whispered in defeat, to the task force's shock. "I'll go with you. Just don't hurt him."

Sasuke sneered. "You always were weak, Sakura," he scoffed. "Unwilling to sacrifice the lives of those who mean nothing. What kind of shinobi are you?"

Her eyes flashed angrily. "One with a heart!" she shouted. "Unlike you!"

"'Shinobi are to never show emotion'," Sasuke quoted in a steely tone, making Sakura flinch. "What happened to all of your academy training? Tch; you aren't even genin level."

Sakura glared. "I can be a good shinobi without killing every person that looks at me the wrong way," she spat. "Unlike sadistic psychopathic bastards like you, I don't have to kill to get respect."

She ducked a kunai.

"Oh, real mature, Sasuke!" she yelled. "Look how much you've grown!"

"So annoying." He pressed the tip of his kusanagi against Ryuzaki's throat. "Hold your tongue, or I'll kill him."

Sakura glared dangerously at him, but said nothing. Sasuke didn't so much as blink.

"Get up."

She grit her teeth and shifted her weight, pushing herself slowly to her feet. Her hands remained suspended in air by her face in a signal of surrender.

"Now walk to me — slowly."

She did as she was told, holding back from saying "Fuck you". Judging by his expression, her face delivered the message. As soon as she was within grabbing distance, Sasuke bound her wrists with chakra bands in less than a second and brought his blade back up to threaten Ryuzaki.

"I said I'd come with you," the kunoichi objected. "I'm tied up with chakra-resistant restraints; let him go!"

"No," Sasuke refused bluntly. "He comes with us. If you try anything, I'll slit his throat, no questions asked."

Ryuzaki's eyes widened slightly. He had never been used as a hostage before.

"Son of a— When are you going to learn, Sasuke?" Sakura snapped. "You think that you can have your way just because you're heartless; well, newsflash! Not everything can be solved with murder!"

"Not for you, maybe," he disagreed icily. "But me? It works just fine. I certainly disabled you with it."

Sakura glowered. "Just get on with it," she hissed. "You're a waste of my time."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he glared back, grunting in reply. He shoved Ryuzaki toward the stairs carelessly, growling at him to get moving. Because he was a civilian instead of a shinobi, he nearly lost his balance and ran into a wall. Sasuke tapped his back with the tip of his kusanagi.

"Down the stairs," he ordered gruffly, sparing a glare at the rest of the task force. "Don't move," he shot at them. His eyes flickered to Sakura. "You next."

Reluctantly, Sakura followed Ryuzaki down the stairs, the bands on her wrists beginning to break through her skin.

"We'll attract attention," she warned lowly. "A man pointing a sword at another man and shoving a girl with her hands tied behind her back? Not very common in the civilian world."

"Shut up," Sasuke said, pushing her shoulder to get her moving faster. "No need to get your hopes up; no one's going to help you."

Sakura and Ryuzaki stumbled down the rest of the stairs, nearly tripping at least a dozen times. When they walked awkwardly out onto the sidewalk, Sakura realized Sasuke was right; he was cloaking them with a genjutsu.

"Odd," Ryuzaki remarked. "The surrounding citizens don't appear to notice us." he glanced at Sakura. "Would that, perhaps, be a result of this 'genjutsu' thing you've told me of?"

Sakura gave a short nod. "You saw how his eyes turned red?" she asked. He nodded in reply. "That's his Sharingan; it allows him to create the most powerful genjutsu known to the shinobi world."

His eyebrows raised slightly. "You mentioned the Sharingan before; a Kekkei Genkai, wasn't it? A bloodline ability?"

Sakura nodded again and Sasuke growled at them to put a cork in it, to which she shot him a glare.

"I'm so sorry about this," Sakura apologized, her eyes straying to the ground. "I never thought…"

Ryuzaki shook his head, offering one of his rare smiles. "Think of it this way," he suggested gently, trying to cheer her up. "I'm going on a temporary vacation to your home."

Sakura snorted a laugh, receiving a hit to the back of her head from Sasuke for "making too much damn noise". She glared again, wincing slightly at the throbbing in her skull. She'd have to heal that later.

They didn't speak for the rest of the journey, and Sasuke led them effortlessly to an alleyway — the same one Sakura had been dumped in when she first arrived in this world. He put his kusanagi away, but Sakura knew she still couldn't do anything; her hands were bound and her chakra was cut off. He formed the tiger seal and forced his chakra out in a thick wave.

The portal appeared exactly like it had before: glowing mist appears, starts swirling, explodes into light, starts sucking everything in, etcetera. Sasuke threw Ryuzaki through the rip violently, much to Sakura's anger. She yelled a curse at him for his rough treatment of her—

What? Her what? She didn't really know.

Nevertheless, she swore at him up and down until he, rather gracefully, kicked her in the back and sent her through the portal after Ryuzaki. He stepped through last, and it disappeared behind him.

o o o O O O o o o

Tsunade sat silently in her office, staring out at the midnight sky. She had to stay up tonight; if Sasuke showed up with Sakura, she wanted to be there. She had no idea when the Akatsuki would attack, but she was certain it would be soon.

The blond-haired woman sighed quietly, leaning back in her chair and looking out at the peaceful village. One would never guess that it housed deadly assassins.

"Tsunade-sama!"

Her head shot up as Shizune burst into the room frantically, looking as if she'd just rolled out of bed. Oh, Kami. Could it be…?

"We have a situation!" the dark-haired woman called in panic.

Tsunade was standing in an instant. "Report!"

Her eyes were wide with fear. "An ANBU reported that he spotted two Akatsuki members — Kakuzu and Hidan — lurking out in the forest! Tsunade-sama, they're going to attack at dawn!"

The Godaime Hokage suddenly felt very old and weary. Dread twisted in her stomach. "Oh, Kami," she breathed, closing her eyes and groaning. "The village…"

Shizune nodded, looking extremely upset. "We need to dispatch a carrier hawk to Suna immediately."

Tsunade sighed slowly, grimacing to herself. "Very well," she agreed. "Send carrier hawks to Suna and Taki, as well." Shizune nodded again. "Also, wake up the village; begin evacuation immediately."

Suddenly, the door was kicked open.

"Don't."

Tsunade and Shizune leapt back, drawing weapons. Sasuke stood before them, a chakra-band-tied Sakura on one side and a stranger — whom Sasuke was pointing his kusanagi at — on the other.

"What the—"

"Sakura!"

Tsunade gathered the nineteen-year-old up in a bone-crushing hug, slicing off her chakra bands. Sakura hugged the woman back happily, smiling and laughing.

"Oh, Sakura," she murmured, pulling back to look her over. "I thought I'd never see you again." She glared over at Sasuke. "What the hell did you do to my student, Uchiha?"

He grunted. "She's alive, isn't she? That was your terms of the agreement."

Tsunade frowned disapprovingly at him before looking at Ryuzaki. "Who is this?" she demanded.

"My close friend," Sakura immediately replied. She shot a fiery glare at Sasuke. "He took him as a hostage and nearly cut his head off."

Tsunade was suddenly glaring at Sasuke again. "Excuse me?" she hissed. "You tried to kill one of my student's close friends?"

"He's not from Konoha or Suna," the boy snapped. "Also your terms of the agreement."

"You need an attitude adjustment, you arrogant little shit," the woman scolded. "You're lucky I don't throw you out of my village."

"That would be in violation of your contract."

She scowled. "Enough with the bullshit, Uchiha," she growled. "What did you mean when you said 'Don't'?"

He eyed her in irritation. "Don't," he repeated. "As in, do not. Is that concept too large for you to understand?" The Hokage clenched her fists in anger. "I meant exactly what I said: don't. Do not evacuate the village."

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Because the village is surrounded by the entire Akatsuki."