Fourteen -
Due to the content that is to come ahead (language, etc.) I will be changing the rating to M.
On another note, thank you for all the reviews. I appreciate all of them alongside the favorites, alerts, and all else.
You're all great!
"Who are you?"
The figure hovered before her, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Sakura was not sure whether to stay and await his answer or shove the door shut in his face.
"Sakura."
"Who?"
Sakura fought valiantly to fight the urge to scream at him, anxiety building inside of her. Depending, this man could be less or more dangerous than he actual Deidara…
Wherever he happened to be.
It surprised her that a fake could have slipped undetected into the home of the world's most skilled assassins. The probability that it was one of the other inhabitants was good…
The man staggered forward, forcibly causing her to stagger back. She grabbed at the door to slam it between them, but missed altogether and found herself deeper into the room. He pushed the door closed himself, inching his way closer.
"Who? Who the hell are you?"
"Shh, Sakura." The voice had changed; no longer was it a deep, masculine tone, but a higher tone. "It's me."
Sakura stared as the figure disappeared into a cloud of smoke before reappearing as an all-too-familiar figure.
"Naruto?"
There before her stood her longtime friend and teammate, cocky smirk on his lips and a frantic look in his eyes. He approached her, one casual step at a time, before coming to stop before her and offer her his hand.
"Come on."
Sakura hesitated; nothing felt suspicious in this scenario, but it was safest to be doubtful. Naruto held a look of genuine concern and determination in his eyes, just like he always did when something even mildly interesting arose.
It had to be the shock keeping her at a standstill, but Sakura could not bring herself to move any closer to her friend. If it was him - truly, him - how the hell did he manage to get in here? Naruto had the ability to do a lot of mischievous and dangerous things, but this…didn't seem possible.
"Sakura-chan?"
Her hesitation was ultimately her downfall; Sakura watched in a mix of curiosity and horror as the door behind him slowly opened, seemingly on its own.
"Naruto…"
Each step she took was methodic, afraid for her life and his. Sakura knew, especially as an adolescent, that she had been a weak shinobi, but she would have never figured the thought would come about at a time like this. Was she still weak? Weak, because she had failed to release herself from the confines of this ward?
The door was only ajar enough to peer into the hallway, but closed enough to conceal any figure who chose to stand behind it. Sakura attempted to ignore that fact as she made her way over to her teammate, praying for their lives.
"For someone who is so revered, you made a mockery of me, un," a voice admonished from the other side of the door.
No…
Naruto grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the window, leaping through it as a small bird trailed them, exploding after they distanced themselves by a few yards.
Sakura hadn't the faintest clue where they were going or how to get back to civilization, so she found herself wholeheartedly relying on the blonde. Naruto had a furious look on his face as he dove through the trees, occasionally looking back to make sure she was keeping up with him.
Both of them had failed to see a caterpillar inching its way up a tree before them, only becoming aware of it when it blew. The tree's bark cracked in various places and a large branch came flying off, almost taking out her right side.
It was a battle neither of them had prepared for; of course, Sakura had to question how Naruto had been unprepared when he had infiltrated a highly regarded assassins' organization.
The explosions continued around them from an aerial attack, and Sakura caught sight of something that unnerved her more; a figure, darting in front of them, keeping their pace.
Shit.
"Naruto!"
The blonde took a fleeting glance back to see what his companion had cried for, and dove down with her, taking refuge from the aerial attacks. They still hit, of course, but it bought them some time.
Sakura hoped it had also bought them time from the unidentified figure that had also been trailing them.
She could still see it; black and red.
Sasori?
Her insides churned as acid rose in her throat, a powerful taste that she did her best to will down. Now was most definitely not the time to get sick.
Through the sound of explosions, Sakura heard a maniacal cry as the figure appeared before them, wielding a long scythe.
"Surprise, fuckers!"
Sakura watched in horror as the wild man swung his weapon forward, catching Naruto dead in the abdomen.
"Naruto!"
The explosions had stopped, but a thud behind her alerted her to the second presence.
"Nice job, un," Deidara congratulated from behind her in reference to Hidan's dead-on hit.
The silver-haired man chortled, a wide smirk sprawled on his face.
"Shit. So much blood…Jashin would be proud."
Blood. Sakura watched Naruto cough it up, watched it leak from his abdomen as Hidan forced the triple-blade further into his gut and twisted it a bit.
How could a boy, once so foolish but now so wise, make such a cruel error?
Tears welled in her eyes, threatening to break. Holding them back to keep from prompting further injury to the boy, she balled her fists and sneered.
"Bastard! Let him go. I know what you want, and killing him won't get you any closer."
Hidan looked up; Deidara's visible eye burned into her back. Despite her attempted bargaining, Hidan ran his tongue along his lips and eyed the blood soaking through the fabric of Naruto's shirt.
"I don't know…what's better? Blood lust or just lust in general?"
His eyes scanned her frame, holding the blade in place. At any moment he could withdraw it or shove it further into the already-torn flesh which was bleeding profusely.
"I don't know about you," the deep voice from behind her hissed, "but I would rather a female body, un. You can't fuck a corpse - at least a man's."
Hidan eyed the figure behind her before forcefully pulling his weapon from Naruto's gut and letting it fall to his side, still dripping blood. Naruto coughed again, propelling more blood from his mouth as well as his gut.
"Naruto…"
Fingers ran through her hair.
"You are the one who made the offer, un. You want him to live? Give us a reason."
Hidan laughed and eyed her lustfully.
"Hell, we could take both, but I'm willing to let him die on his own if you're willing to keep your mouth shut unless you're screaming my name."
Sakura wanted to hurl. She couldn't tell if Sasori was allowing - encouraging - this punishment or was blind to it altogether. She was also unable to decide whether - assuming he was unaware - he would go after his partner and Hidan or spare them.
Which was worth more, the life of a loyal shinobi girl or that of a man who could match your force?
Naruto…
Sakura did not know who to pay attention to; her teammate, who was crippled and on the ground, clutching his torn stomach, or the two men moving in from either side of her. She was praying, dearly hoping something would come up. Her foresight - whatever she actually had of it - told her she was merciless this time.
Tears began to streak her cheeks, though she managed to keep her composure otherwise. The crying was involuntary; the tears slipped from her eyes without so much as a blink.
What would they do with her after they…finished? Kill her? Let her go? Drag her back and leave her at Sasori's disposal, hopeful that she wouldn't run her mouth?
It was agonizing to contemplate it all, but it was nearly impossible to shut the thoughts out. She felt as if her life should have been flashing before her eyes, like she was facing death head-on.
In an essence, she was. The Akatsuki was death; all nine members of them. Although she had only truly encountered three of them, witnessed five or thereabout, Sakura knew better than to assume the others were any less.
Orochimaru had been a member at one point, a cynical manipulative bastard that ended up on his own, pulling strings on people like Sasuke.
Sasuke…
Even if he were here, he wouldn't save her. He was just as cold as every member of the Akatsuki was.
Things had changed, and the circumstances she was under were too. Sakura didn't know who the real predator was anymore; the man who had originally begun tormenting and captured her, or the rest of the organization who was desperate to ravage her body and presumably leave her for dead.
It was sick, wanting a girl so young. None of them cared; they were all shunned from society as it was. No other illegal act could hurt their reputation any more than everything else they did already had.
Sakura kept her gaze on Naruto, who was now writhing on the ground, struggling against the pain. Behind her, the fingers tangled deeper into her hair, and another arm slinked around her waist as a face buried against her head too.
"I bet you taste good, un. Don't you?"
"Hey, shitface. Want to back the hell off? I called dibs on the bitch too."
Deidara wouldn't back off; nor would Hidan. They both wanted her for what they could get, and with Naruto down and from what she could tell, no one coming to save her, it looked to be quite the possibility.
Hidan approached her from the front as Deidara held her from behind. His hand - covered in blood from the substance dripping down his scythe - reached out to stroke her face. The feeling was more than she could stomach; blood - Naruto's - wet and warm as he rubbed it into her skin.
"The girly man's right - you look damn well delicious. I'm sure Jashin wouldn't mind tasting you either."
"Fuck Jashin," Deidara spat from behind her. "I don't give a shit what your god wants, un. I want that flesh."
The blonde leaned closer, his hair brushing her neck and breath warming her skin.
"I bet you're a virgin too, aren't you?"
Hidan howled at this, and leaned forward until he was in her face.
"I get you first, if that's the case. I'll tear you apart until you are screaming."
Tears continued to slide down her cheeks, over the blood now smeared there. Sakura kept her eyes on Naruto, who had turned enough to look at her through hazy blue eyes. The flow quickened as she watched him struggle, wishing he would get up and tear the man before her apart instead, then the one behind.
How had he fucked up so badly? This boy, he wanted to be Hokage, and there he was, bleeding to death before her eyes.
How? Had he underestimated them the same way the Third had underestimated Orochimaru, his own student?
No…
You can't die. I need you, Naruto. Konohagakure needs you…Naruto…
"Quit staring at your fucking boyfriend," Hidan snarled, backing up and raising a hand, looking as if he were about to hit her. "You see him? That piece of shit can't get up, let alone save your ass. Your ass…maybe that's where I should start! What do you think, princess?"
"Hn…fuck off," Deidara growled at him softly, face buried into her neck. "You'll get my sloppy seconds, if that."
"Yeah right, you damn female. I bet she'd rather have a real man anyway, wouldn't you baby?"
The tears wouldn't stop, as much as she wanted them to. Sakura wanted her will to strengthen, to throw them from her and run to Naruto and heal him as best she could. She contemplated pleading with them to let her heal him somewhat, but knew that increased the chance of him getting hurt again all the more.
"Come on, precious," the blonde cooed from behind her, tugging her by the waist. "Leave him, un. Let's go somewhere more secluded."
Sakura quit fighting the tears and began blinking them out as she backed away from Naruto, guided by hands that were now biting the fabric of her blouse. Through her tears, she could see Naruto staring at her with apologetic eyes. If either of them had the time, she should have been the one to apologize. If Sakura had heeded the early signs, she would have never been kidnapped, let alone have to watch one of her closest friends potentially dying before her.
Where the hell was Sasori? That devil was gone more than he was around, and he was the one who had wanted her, pursued her until he had her. Now he was gone, and she was being led to do more grim things than she had ever imagined he would have had in store for her.
Who could she pray to come save her now? Naruto, to miraculously recover his strength and come charging after them? Sasori, to realize his hostage was missing and go searching for her? Kakashi-sensei? Sasuke-kun?
There was no one. Sakura was being led to a fate worse than whatever she could have encountered were she to take on the responsibilities of an ANBU one day.
Truth be told, she would have rather been violently killed in any inconceivable way than be raped by not one, but two S-ranked criminals.
Her tears turned to sobs. How the hell was she going to get out of this? Nothing had ever seemed so impossible.
The arms behind her lifted her onto the clay bird she had been transported into the area on when Sasori had wanted her taken hostage. There, she sat, staring at the receding figure of her friend as he failed to pry himself off the ground.
Naruto…
"Don't get any funny ideas, you got that asshole?" Hidan demanded, staring up at Deidara. "Just because you're taking her doesn't mean you're gonna be the first to touch her. Get that through your head."
"It isn't as if she's yours, baka." Deidara snickered as he wrapped one of his arms tight around her waist. "I'll do as I please, un."
Through her peripheral, she could see Hidan looking at her.
"What do you want, darling? Unless you're too excited about the whole experience that you can't damn well speak."
She couldn't speak, nor would she if she found the words. Words wouldn't save her; there was no point in wasting her breath.
"See, un?" Deidara challenged Hidan once more. "She has nothing to say, which means it's fair game. You can have her first if you can keep up."
"You bet your ass I can keep up. You aren't evading me on that piece of shit." He gestured wildly at the bird.
"We'll see."
The bird lifted off the ground, thick wings flapping as it elevated. Deidara's arm tightened around her, ensuring she wouldn't try to leap off.
Through the foliage, she could no longer see the blonde. Her sobs continued, silent now, as she stared at the spot she believed him to be.
Naruto…
I'm so sorry.
My most valiant attempt at making a longer chapter. As always, I have to cut it at what I feel is a decent cliffhanger though.
I love suspense, let's put it at that.