I have no excuse. :( And just in case everyone has forgotten: no, I don't own Naruto.
I do just want to say, though, that I'm surprised Rainy Days still garners attention. Guys. Guise. You're makin' me blush. *fwaps* Stop it. :) No, not really. Seriously. Thank you. You have been fantastic.
Enjoy?
—CHAPTER TWENTY—
To The Dark
The coming evening had Team Seven ready to depart. It had taken nearly five days for the council to come to a decision, and Jiraiya was glad for it when he informed the team that they could leave later that night. However he moaned about the fact he had to remain with the civilian diplomats until further notice.
At the Sunagakure gates, Sakura looked out of the vast expanse of the desert. The sun fading down behind the horizon set the sand aglow with warm colours of red, orange, yellow, and then a white, creating so many sparkles it was like they were stepping into a land of gems. A cool breeze met them, and she turned back around to gaze up at the towering walls of the village. She hadn't paid proper attention to how big the place was when they first entered, but now she soaked it in.
Layers of stone reached high into the sky, where rows of ninja were stationed with their hawk eyes set about everywhere, covering all angles of the seemingly endless golden land. She could see a torch being brought about to light the braziers for the night, and on ground level, through the narrow tunnel leading straight into the village, she could see someone else doing the same.
The Sand Siblings, Jiraiya and the two civilian diplomats came to bid them farewell, and Sakura got her last chance to see Gaara. He stood taller, and didn't look as hung over as he sort of had when they spoke earlier that day. He did, however, lean a little closer to Temari beside him, as if drawing comfort from her presence.
Apparently Sakura held her gaze too long, as soon she was looking into his sea-green eyes and then he was approaching her. Judging by his expression, though it was always very slight when it came to him, he had something he wanted to talk about but hesitated to begin. Sakura prodded him by crossing her arms in a display of moodiness and saying, "I can't stay here forever, you know?"
His eyes narrowed. "You have a quite... informal way of speaking to those around you."
Sakura bowed her head like a kicked puppy. "Part of that is me, the other part is habit."
"It's a habit to treat those around you with disrespect?"
She flinched, glaring. "No, it's a habit for me to treat those around me as friends."
He stared. She wondered what was going through his mind.
"Perhaps... someday we can be more than friends," he suggested monotonously.
"Ah!" Sakura held up her hands, fighting back the heat rising to her cheeks. "When I told you about pick-up lines or flirting, I didn't mean to try them out on me."
Gaara shrugged in a way that somehow told Sakura he enjoyed saying that far too much and was actually quite happy with himself. "I was unaware of this other meaning," he explained. "But, as you said, maybe I am a natural; like Sasuke."
Sakura felt like digging a hole and burying herself in it when he said that, even more so when Sasuke peered in their direction at the sound of his name. She settled with a gentle face-palm and shake of her head.
She wished she hadn't used Sasuke as an example of someone who naturally did or said things that made females swoon when she was explaining 'dating' to Gaara earlier that day. Having to further clarify that she was not attracted to the Uchiha romantically was one of the hardest things to do, especially since Gaara didn't believe her. And the fact that the Sand-nin did seem proud of the fact that he could quite possibly be a future lady-killer (not literally, of course), Sakura wondered if she had accidentally set on Sunagakure something bigger than they could handle; especially his siblings.
Being blamed for corrupting their little brother was something that amused and scared Sakura, and she fought back a smile as she looked away from both of them blinking at her expression in confusion.
Sakura awkwardly patted Gaara's shoulder. He watched her with hawk-eyes. "Just... promise me you won't grow up too fast, okay? The world will need to catch up."
He frowned. "What...?"
He's actually kind of cute confused, she thought, tapping him a final time and saying goodbye. She ignored how Kankuro was giving Gaara a friendly elbow nudge and a voiced "wink wink" behind her back. She stopped by Sasuke who was waiting for everyone to say everything necessary, and looked in the opposite direction to avoid his scrutinising look.
"Sakura, tell me you didn't..." he began.
She turned to him, eyeing him in confusion. "Didn't what? I don't know what you're talking about."
Sasuke's expression was one she thought she'd only see in dreams. Ambivalence was certainly wonderful. "You're not... getting a boyfriend, are you?" And his voice; his voice conveyed the myriad of emotions that had flashed over his face; too many to name.
The problem was how Sakura should react. There were so many ways, and a huge part of her wanted to tease the Uchiha even further, because he had shrunk to his proper adolescent self with just a simple expression and question.
"What's stopping me?" she asked innocently.
Sasuke huffed in shock, turning away from Sakura and missing the gleeful smile that appeared on her lips. He really didn't notice that she hadn't said it was Gaara specifically, nor when - if ever - she was getting one. She honestly hadn't even thought about dating, but, boy, was it fun to tease Sasuke. Except that he might let Naruto know, and Naruto, being Naruto, would let everyone know, and then - and then Sunagakure might find out and it'd be a huge pain to explain that she was just joking!
Fear drenched her and she threw an arm around her dark-haired teammate, pulling him back in and smiling awkwardly. "Hey, Sasuke! You didn't take me seriously, did you? I only have eyes for you!" She internally cringed. Laying it on a bit thick there.
To her surprise, Sasuke sighed heavily. "A shame. I was ready to give you away and everything."
Sakura pushed him, sending him stumbling. "That would be my dad's job, idiot. You and Naruto would be lucky to be even invited to the service!"
"So we'll have no part in your wedding?" he asked, managing to keep a straight face despite the words coming out of his mouth.
"Not unless you're my Bridesmaids."
"What! Sasuke's gonna be your Bridesmaid?!" Naruto burst out.
"Of all times..." Sasuke muttered, rolling his eyes and turning away from the few people watching them in amusement. To his annoyance, Sakura didn't even deny it.
After that, it wasn't long before they left, the sun at their backs.
Their journey to the dividing mountains didn't take as long as it had in the company of the convoy, so by dawn the next day the team entered the Land of Rivers and took this time to finally take camp and rest. It was the way Kakashi said there was a lot to do on the way home that made all three genin eat and go to sleep as soon as possible. At midday he roused them from their sleep and let them prepare themselves before explaining that their journey back would be extended on the count of more training.
He had wanted to take advantage of the wildlife outside of Konoha to test them and improve their skills in an environment that was not home. Sasuke and Naruto looked positively thrilled at this prospect, and Sakura was curious to see what exactly he had planned on their schedule.
Kakashi began with a simple test of escaping danger. The next village was a four hour run away, and all three genin had to get there and avoid being captured by Kakashi until they booked a hotel and claimed sanctuary. This meant using the environment to their advantage, blending in, disguising themselves. It was going to be hard, and they knew it.
At one o'clock, sharp, he gave his students a twenty second head start. They sped into the trees, leaping from branch to branch close together. Plans were quickly made to throw their sensei off their scent, but it didn't take long for Kakashi to catch up to them, and it was then they learned he wasn't pulling any punches.
He was fast and brutal in capturing them, sparing them no luxuries as he sicked his dogs on them too to hunt them down. He hadn't held back at all, and with startling satisfaction, all three genin understood that he was taking them seriously as ninja. From then on they were to learn hard and fast or fall behind.
They walked the rest of the way to the village, but only after Kakashi had given them all small tasks to do along the way, and if necessary, for the rest of the journey. He turned to Sasuke first and stated that he was going to divide his time with him and Sakura; with Sasuke it was pointers for the Sharingan, plus more. He started another game only for the Uchiha when they were on the move. To test how acutely he could predict movements with his Sharingan and thus increase its performance, Kakashi would be tossing kunai and shuriken at random times at Naruto and Sakura, and Sasuke had to catch them.
Naruto was perturbed by this, not trusting the Uchiha to grab them in time. But Kakashi had faith, and said that it would therefore also keep them on their toes in case Sasuke ever did miss.
Aside from that, Kakashi gave Sasuke a few other small exercises that he whispered to him to. At the narrowed eyes from both Naruto and Sakura, he shrugged, stating that every ninja needed their ace.
Naruto was simple. He was given a water balloon and told to make it burst with only his chakra, Kakashi proceeding to show him how with his own. As soon as it popped, Naruto quickly set to work, not noticing how vague the jounin was.
When it came to Sakura he declared that she'd be upping her genjutsu skills. Medical ninjutsu was not his forte, and so she had to train further with it in her spare time and with books, considering she had learned most – if not all – she could from Tsuande in her past life. Actively practising all of said techniques was not quite possible yet, as her body still had to grow and there were some jutsu that needed more from her than she could provide, but she knew the theory and could get a definite and positive headstart again, as well as perfecting what she already knew; in other words, repetitive jutsu and muscle exercises.
He said that when Sasuke was busy with his own private training that he would become Sakura's guinea pig to test the strength of the illusions she'd cast. He'd dispel them without the aid of the Sharingan, and then inflict the same upon her. He encouraged that she and Sasuke also train together with genjutsu.
For the next two days they wandered in and out of villages, taking breaks when necessary – and when forced by Kakashi so that they still had strength for any ambushes – and overall focusing on what their sensei suggested. Naruto had managed to go to the next step of his training, growling at Kakashi that it better all be worth it at the end when he found it being much harder than before with a rubber ball.
Sasuke was getting faster at catching weaponry being tossed at his teammates, and Kakashi got progressively harder too, throwing more frequently, then in greater numbers, then in traps none of the genin had even seen him set. Naruto had begun to trust him a bit more, unlike the first time they set off and chewed Sasuke out for letting him get nicked by a kunai. His private training wasn't as well known, but Naruto and Sakura had seen him holding a stick at one point and glaring at it like he was trying to burn it to a crisp for some unspeakable crime it had committed unto him.
Sakura was at ease with her own simple training, often sitting and centring her attention on maintaining the few earth jutsu she knew to increase their performance, and other times expanding the use of the Mystical Palm Technique on thin air. Occasionally she and Sasuke would have a small genjutsu war, although the first time had gone terribly. A panic attack nearly seized her when he cast his jutsu upon her and an image of the old him flashed across her mind; she had almost struck him down in reflex. Luckily she didn't, and a simple twitch of her hand was all the evidence.
Not long later they reached a small village two days from Konoha. Its main bedding establishment was a combined hotel and hot spring garden that had Naruto grinning in excitement the entire time they booked for a room and called dibs on a bed in their shared room. Kakashi left them to their spare time with nary a word, other than a simple recommendation to take this time off, but they didn't listen as they continued with their tasks; Sasuke and Sakura dabbled with their genjutsu together again.
It was Naruto that startled the two genjutsu users out of their practice, by slamming the rubber ball hard against the wooden floor. It bounced off, shooting at Sasuke who leaned back calmly and caught it.
"What's wrong, loser? Given up?" he taunted.
Naruto growled. "You've got it easy. At least you know what you're doing. I have no idea where this is leading me!" He grabbed his head in frustration and tussled his locks.
"Kakashi knows what he's doing," the Uchiha answered. "Sakura. Again."
Sakura groaned out loud and dropped back into her pillow. "No more!" she cried.
"Ha! She's getting tired of looking at that face all day!" Naruto said, pointing at Sasuke with a cheeky grin.
Sasuke glowered. "Hn."
The blond cackled in delight. "He had no comeback! I am the Awesome!"
"Yes, you are. Our very own Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja," Sakura recited with a smile.
"Don't encourage him, Sakura."
She stuck her tongue at the Uchiha. He rolled his eyes.
"Sometimes I miss the days you would do anything I said. Well, nearly anything."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I thought we already established how glad you were that I'm not."
"Aa."
"Hey, hey!" Naruto dropped down on the floor beside them from his bed, a deck of cards in hand and a Cheshire grin on his lips. "A card game? Please?"
"There is a festival going on about now," Sakura recalled. "Don't you want to go to that?"
Naruto's joy dropped. "But-but… I haven't beaten you guys at this game yet! Come on, just one round and then we'll check it out. And get dinner while we're at it."
He received two similar sounding 'fines', and with an excited whoop spun back around to grab his pillow and stuff it between his legs to settle.
"Bring it on, you losers!"
Naruto grumbled, slapping down a card and hissing when Sasuke calmly took it. "This is so lame!" he cried. "And what is Kakashi-sensei even doing out there?"
"It's Kakashi," Sasuke said as if it was the answer to everything. He tapped the corner of two of his cards in thought before discarding one. Sakura sighed in disappointment.
"I didn't realise he was like Pervy-Sage," he muttered. "Sure, Kakashi-sensei reads his books, but I doubt he's that perverted to go peeking in at naked girls. What's so interesting about them anyway?!"
Both of his teammates ignored him. Sakura placed a card down.
Naruto groaned loudly and slammed his head on the floor loudly. "Sakura," he whined. "Give me something I need!"
Sasuke smirked.
The hyperactive boy huffed, the wind shuffling some cards across the table. "I'm still on lousy number two," he said, taking another look of his cards. A knock sounded, and Sakura put down her hand to answer it.
"You're such a loser," Sasuke told him. He then slapped Naruto's hand when he tried to peek at Sakura's cards, making the boy yelp in surprise.
Sakura shook her head as she opened the door and then—instinctively punched the person there, slamming the door shut. Red clouds on black pulsed in her mind, and she spun around, eyes wide. Sasuke and Naruto had risen, confusion on their faces.
"Run," she whispered.
Cards were abandoned as all three leapt for their ninja gear and slipped through the apartment window just as the door was knocked off its hinges. They landed on a tiled roof a floor down, and Sakura sprinted to the end, looking back to check the boys were in tow before jumping up into some power lines leading towards a larger, circular building. They hopped and jumped from roof to roof, ignoring demands for them to get down, until eventually they hit the main street and landed on the ground, submerging with the crowd of a late November festival.
Sakura pulled her hair into a tight bun and clipped her fringe back before changing the colour with a simple henge. When she turned, Naruto and Sasuke had taken off their headbands and the former had changed the colour of his hair to black.
Silently they filtered in properly with the thickening crowd, keeping tabs on each other until they reached the largest open area in the village. There were more people here than anywhere else, and in such a small amount of space it made moving through them all somewhat difficult. It was so thick that it was nearly hard to breathe, and it was loud, the air filled with noises of screaming children, idle chatter, and sweet and savoury smells of the stall treats. They met at a nearby collapsible store selling noodles, the red flaps of the building hiding most of their body as they sat side by side at the counter.
"What's going on, Sakura?" Sasuke asked in a whisper.
Naruto ordered a large meal for all of them to share, a concerned look in his eyes. Sakura was sweating in fear, staring ahead at the back wall of the store that showcased all the cuisines the restaurant made. She had no idea what to do. She had honestly thought that they would have evaded the Akatsuki by now, but apparently she was wrong.
She was fully aware of her abilities and that of her teammates, but she wondered if they could even be able to take them on long enough for Kakashi to assist or – or something! The biggest problem was Sasuke, though. She hadn't seen their faces, but her gut told her it was Kisame and Itachi, and to be honest, she did not want to risk it.
Finally turning to her worried teammates, she realised she was at a loss of how to explain the situation. They were staring at her expectantly, Naruto looking like he was ready to shake it out of her.
"Missing-nin," she said eventually.
"How did they know we were there?" Naruto asked, tapping his chopsticks on the bench.
Sasuke grabbed his own wooden utensils. "I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry. Most missing-nin probably won't engage with Village Ninja without first gauging them, so you're right in thinking that they had our room in mind. If they thought it was empty, they wouldn't have knocked."
"Maybe we'd have been able to take them head on!" Naruto said.
"No!" she half shouted, surprising both of her teammates. "I… I… I had a bad feeling about them."
Naruto tutted. "You worry too easily, Sakura."
"I don't want to bite off more than I can chew," she reasoned.
"I guess that makes sense…" the blond said unsurely, nodding in thanks to the chef as their food was delivered.
Sakura sighed. If she didn't tell them who it was and they did end up engaging them in combat, then Sasuke would be furious she didn't tell him. If she did tell then who knows how he would react, and she couldn't rely on the hope that if she didn't tell them that they'd never meet the missing-nin again soon.
Casting her eyes over her shoulders, there was one thing for sure she knew. If they stayed in a crowded area, they shouldn't coerce them into a fight. Then again…
She looked at Sasuke filling his mouth with hot noodles, Naruto slurping them in haste next to him.
If Itachi showed his face at all, then Sasuke might just follow him into an open area willingly.
"Shakuwa!" Naruto shouted through a full mouth. "'Avshome!"
To satisfy him she shovelled one load into her mouth and chewed slowly, feeling a little sick to her stomach when she swallowed. It was the fear of Sasuke leaving that she realised was scaring her the most, not fighting them. She was confident in her abilities but the circumstances…
A minute later and the large plate was clean, Naruto leaning back in his stool and grinning with satisfaction. "Who's paying anyway?" he asked, looking between his teammates as he patted his belly.
"I will."
Sakura froze at the voice, and then a black-sleeved hand moved past her head and Sasuke's to put down a few notes. She watched with wide eyes as it dawned on Sasuke who exactly was standing behind him, and with an enraged glare sent in her direction, he stood sharply, only to have another hand shove him back down into his chair. Naruto was lost. Sasuke was shivering in barely controlled fury.
"It's been a long time, little brother."
He twinged, fingers snapping his chopsticks. Naruto's eyes widened as they rested on the tall, black-haired man standing behind them. "'Little brother'?" he whispered to himself. Sakura couldn't tear her gaze from her hands folded on the counter.
The elder brother's hand tightened slightly around Sasuke's shoulder. "I wouldn't do that," he warned. "There are a lot of people around, you see, and I'm sure you don't want to harm all of them."
Sasuke's finger nails were digging into the wood now, curling up into his palms. "Itachi," he snarled.
"Sasuke. Now that greetings have been exchanged, let's take a walk. Shall we?"
He let go of his shoulder and instantly Sasuke shot to his feet, pushing aside his chair to follow after his brother already walking under the flaps. Naruto, though horribly confused, instinctively raced his teammate, and after unclenching her hands, Sakura did the same, splitting her attention on Kisame who appeared out of nowhere behind them and the two Uchiha brothers.
She could see Sasuke's hands clenching and unclenching and his pace hastening as they weaved through the thick crowd and then eventually trailed down an alley way. Sakura's heart was pounding, knowing that she had been right in Itachi luring his brother out with a prospect of fighting him, and the further they got from all the noise, the faster her heart ran.
It was suddenly colder when they reached outskirts, where some stone construction work was going on to extend the village. Sakura instantly surveyed the area, but as soon as she entered the area, Sasuke attacked, sweeping up beside his brother with his special black glove ablaze. Fire nicked Itachi's cloak when he dodged then kneed Sasuke in the stomach, grabbing him by the collar and smashing him headfirst into the wall. He bent down beside him, near his ear, and whispered a few words that Sakura couldn't hear.
She did feel Naruto rise in chakra, and instantly grabbed his hand. Kisame behind them moved.
"Sakura, what are you doing?" Naruto hissed, tearing his arm from hers.
"Don't," she pleaded, but the boy had already put his hands together and blue chakra coated him, lighting up the dark street. Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, Sakura spun around just as Samehada was coming down, and with startling speed punched Kisame in the stomach.
He crashed into another wall, Samehada dropping from his grip, and Sakura turned to see that Itachi had now risen to his full height. His eyes turned red.
"Sharingan, Naruto!" she shouted, looking at the Uchiha's feet.
"I know, I know!"
Sasuke flailed wildly, but with eerie ease Itachi twisted his brother's arm behind over his back. The younger stopped moving.
There's no stopping it now, Sakura thought to herself, slipping on her gloves. "You ready, Naruto?"
"Hell yeah."
Clones suddenly swarmed the immediate area and launched upon both missing-nin. Kisame dodged, engaging in hand-to-hand until he could reach for his blade, but Sakura was closer. Recalling the details of the large weapon, she knew she couldn't pick it up, but with a furious kick she sent it flying into the forest. The look she received from the blue missing-nin was livid, and yet instead of igniting the pumping fear in her chest, exhilaration flooded her.
Naruto kept him busy with his clones, and Sakura could see Kisame's budding anger the more he had to destroy them. His sharp teeth were bared and gritted, and his taijutsu speed was increasing rapidly.
Itachi was forced to spring away when the clones ascended on him, setting a furious Sasuke free who massaged his neck and activated his Sharingan. Itachi evaded then kicked a Naruto clone, punching one coming from the side then flipping over another in the rear, tripping it into two others advancing. Each exploded into smoke, and more kept coming.
Sakura kept her sights on the real Naruto to protect him as Kisame swung recklessly. Even without his signature weapon it was difficult to get close to him, and the longer they were separated the more frustrated his swings got until eventually he clapped his hands together and exploded into water. She leapt back onto a construction wall, watching as multiple Naruto clones began bursting, shrouding the area with smoke that she lost sight of the real him until she realised that he had escaped the explosion and wasn't there.
Fire spun out from the smoke and Sasuke propelled out from the mist, spinning in the air to land squarely on the wall beside her. His hair was singed, wisps of smoke disappearing into the night air. His red eyes snapped to her. "You tell Naruto that you both stay out of this fight. You understand?"
Sakura narrowed her eyes. "By all means, take on both of them by yourself."
"Don't get smart, Sakura. You two handle the big guy but Itachi is mine!"
"And your life is mine, so take better care of it!" she shot back. His response was an aggravated growl before he disappeared. A moment later and she saw Kisame come back together through the smoke. With a short grunt, Sakura jumped back and kicked the wall. It sailed across the ground and smashed into the taller missing-nin, crushing him against the opposing building.
She heard a roar and stone exploded, and instead of seeing a furious Kisame, his lips were pulled back in a tight smile of amusement. Sakura shifted a foot back and exhaled, steeling herself for the next few minutes. He wasn't going to underestimate her – or any of them – now; she could see him reach that conclusion in his eyes, in that flashing eagerness.
He took a step, another, and then he started for her. Sakura clenched a fist and kicked the ground, and the earth rose and spread out like a wave, backed by a sudden gust of wind that came from behind. She breathed in relief at Naruto's signature move, but it was quickly snuffed when Kisame rose above it all on a surge of water. The wave arced and then hit the ground, water rushing towards her. She jumped back and rebounded against a wall, flying above Kisame and witnessing suddenly twenty figures explode from beneath him. The Naruto's startled him and he slaughtered three on instinct before they submerged him.
Sakura, for that split second, darted back, coming up behind the shark-man and raising a fist. She swung it down towards his back as he grappled with the Naruto's when a shuriken whizzed out of nowhere and slashed across her face. She gasped, blood stinging her eyes, and she fell to the side, hitting the ground hard.
"Sakura!" Naruto yelled.
She shifted to all-fours, a hand to the slash, the blood slipping through her fingers. Her vision distorted.
"Sakura, move!"
On instinct she rolled out of the way just before Samehada destroyed the ground beside her (when had he gotten his weapon back?) Through one blurry eye she could see the blue man towering over her, and the fear reared its head at last when she witnessed his excited smile stretch to a maddening grin.
He faulted, and suddenly catapulted into her. Both of them went flying, smashing into the walls and then rolling apart. Sakura coughed and wheezed as she rose to her knees, wincing when her lungs pinched with the inhalation. Her sight was still blurry, but she could see Kisame stirring and rising back to his feet, and quickly she did the same.
As a medic I'm only supposed to be support, and at worse, back up the fighters. But Kisame... he's gunning for me. He knows that he has to take me out first. Her eyes flickered to Sasuke. If we remain separated then this won't end well.
She met Naruto's eyes and tilted her head to the Uchiha brothers. A curt nod and she left Kisame behind, sprinting towards Sasuke. Several Naruto clones bombarded the brothers, and there was a cry of frustration from someone when orange submerged them. Smoke clouded and Sakura ploughed through, punching wildly, recklessly, stupidly, at the nearest solid body and once her fist sunk into flesh she sent the person away.
She watched through the thinning smoke and her teary eyes to see Itachi skid to a halt, his hand raking the ground to keep his balance. He shook his head, shaking off the hit that rattled his senses, and then just as he was raising his head, red glinting through dark tresses, her arm was grabbed and she twisted, looking into Sharingan eyes.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Sasuke screamed. His eye was swollen, his lips and cheeks bleeding from cuts, and his hair was singed. In comparison, Itachi was untouched.
Sakura opened her mouth to retort, brow furrowing, but Naruto barrelled through, grabbing the Uchiha by his collar and shoving him, making the smoke swirl away in a hurry. "We're trying to save our asses, you prick!" he shot back. "And we can't do that if we're split! We're a team, remember?!"
Sasuke growled. His teeth were bared. His eyes flickered over their faces, but he said nothing, instead turning his attention back to Itachi, who was now joined by a smiling Kisame. With the lull in the battle, Sakura realised she was panting for breath, and could hear the same for the others. She pressed her fingers to the cut above her eyes and winced, streaming enough chakra into her skin to staunch the bleeding. She needed the energy for the fight.
"This is personal," Sasuke muttered.
Naruto glanced at him in disbelief. "Have you even been paying attention? You're trying to kill your brother, and even I can see that none of us are ready for these guys."
"That's never stopped you in the past." Sasuke scowled.
"In the past we had teamwork. We didn't need to kill; just survive. Now you're fighting to kill. And that's something I can't respect."
Sakura fought the smile emerging on her face, but felt it slip from her face at Sasuke's next words.
"Stow that 'Ninja Way' crap, Naruto."
The blond turned to his teammate, fists clenched. "You never would have gotten this far if you didn't believe it all."
"I got this far because I'm an Uchiha!"
She couldn't see Naruto's expression, but knew exactly what he was thinking, what he was feeling, and at the same time she felt a similar sense of dread at where this was going. Her senses tingled with the knowledge that Itachi and Kisame were letting this argument drive them apart, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.
"Fine," Naruto suddenly spat, spinning on his heel. Sakura began panicking. "We'll let you deal with them by yourself." And he started to walk away.
"Naruto!" Sakura called, worry clenching at her insides. "We can't abandon a teammate. You know that. You told us that. You taught us that."
"He's an Uchiha, Sakura. I'm sure he'll be fine."
Confusion trickled in, and she frowned at the blond's back. She couldn't understand why he was saying such things. Was he simply just trying to prove a point? Forcing Sasuke to learn the hard way that teamwork was necessary? After everything they had done together, experienced, this is what they really thought? What will really be? It wasn't right. Something wasn't right.
"He's right, Sakura. I will be fine," Sasuke told her. She couldn't believe her ears. "I don't need your help. I don't need you or him or Kakashi at all. You'll just get in the way."
Clarity hit her, and then fury, and her insides and body coiled like a snake ready to spring and she looked over her shoulder at Itachi Uchiha watching her placidly. "Kai," she whispered.
The Genjutsu whirled away in a stream of garbled words and colours and she landed in reality hard, panting for breath, stinging eyes instantly soaking in her surroundings. She smelled brimstone and smoke, tilled earth, salt water and the odd odour of something burning; a burn from electricity.
The next she heard was Sasuke's wail and she found him, trapped behind Itachi and Kisame gripping a dark red shoulder, blood spreading like spilled water. Smoke wisped from Itachi's sleeve, and she saw more red liquid sliding down his left arm and dripping from his fingers. His eyes were on her, and in a moment of fear she stumbled back further til she found Naruto looking torn between her and Sasuke.
It took her a few seconds to make sense of what she was seeing, smelling and hearing. Sasuke had used Chidori and somehow, she had no idea how unless Naruto aided him, managed to swipe his brother, but then Samehada got him. She could see his shredded clothes on the ground, the blue residue of the stolen chakra dispersing from his wounds.
She needed to help him. She needed to. That wound looked dire. He could bleed out in minutes if she didn't get there in time.
A single step, however, and Kakashi pelted in out of nowhere, erupted into smoke from an attack she didn't see, and suddenly his dogs burst from the ground, clamping their jaws tightly around the Akatsuki. Itachi melted into water and she heard Kakashi scream her name before a plume of fire spiralled towards her. She darted back, senses struggling to catch up to her instincts, and then plunged to her left, evading a swipe from a kunai.
She watched Itachi's feet as he moved, dodging a few more attacks until he disappeared and pain exploded in her back and she sailed forward. She gasped, anticipating another assault from the right and managing to blindly punch in that direction, only for her wrist to be caught and his hand to grab at her throat, lifting her off the ground. She groaned in pain.
He'd been going easy, Sakura realised as she struggled, eyes hovering at his feet.
He was so close she could smell him; ash, sweat and pine. And blood.
Water.
Stone.
Itachi morphed slowly into Sasuke, older, roguish, dark eyes wide with gleeful intent narrowed solely on her struggling. His lips, smeared with dirt and blood, pressed tight together, ends pull back into an excited smirk that sent fear skyrocketing in Sakura's chest. His hands, calloused from so many years, this time gripped tightly around her exposed neck, so that she could feel every single scar he had on his fingers against her skin.
Her heart pounded as she watched this Sasuke hold up the kunai that was in her grasp, and then grin, bearing his teeth and chuckling, his fingers clenching that little bit tighter around her windpipe. She gasped, clawing at his covered wrists, feeling herself go light-headed but unable to tear her sight from this psychotic Sasuke; so wild and miserable and lost and lonely and a complete fool.
"Nice try," he whispered.
No. Please, no. "Sasuke, don't," she pleaded, vision blurring from tears.
And then he swung, and Sakura could remember the gust of wind from that moment when Naruto had saved her, but this time her eyes focused back in on the present, on Itachi still holding her up by the throat. Air was thin, harder to breathe when her chest burned with the urge to sob.
Just a memory.
However the memory had shaken her. So sudden and intense was its appearance that maintaining control of her chakra as oxygen vacated her was so much harder than it should be. The emotions she felt in that old memory of hers – of the fear of her team splitting that Itachi had unintentionally uncovered – surged through her again and again and again without abandon, showing the same images of her teammate and stopping her attempt at concentrating on the matter at hand.
It all became harder when Itachi's thumb tensed around her jugular. For a brief moment Sakura thought she might've been able focus enough again, but then darkness came up and smothered her.