Disclaimer: I am a delusional teenage girl, not a delusional Japanese man. I do not own Naruto.
A/N: So here we are again. Let's get down to it. Hold on to your hats and prepare for some serious angst. Remember the rating on this story – young children, hit the "back" button now.
I had the interesting experience of becoming totally obsessed with the famous "My Immortal" fan fiction. It's going to take all of my strength "nut 2 tipe lik dis, PREPZ!". For those of you who don't understand the reference, don't even worry about it. If you do understand the reference, I recommend that you go look up the "My Immortal Drinking Game" – beware of alcohol poisoning.
As an added bonus, since you've all been so patient with my lazy updates, this chapter is going to be the longest one yet.
Without further ado – enjoy the story, GOFFS!
Itachi and Konan raced through the treetops on either side of Sakura, eying her nervously from time to time. Sakura didn't even notice – she was too busy concentrating on watching her step to prevent jostling the fragile creature slung over her shoulders. It took her a moment to realize that Itachi was speaking to her.
"We camp here." was all he said before plummeting down through the foliage. Konan snorted at his dramatic exit, and followed suit. Snapping out of her stupor, Sakura gently drifted through the branches back to earth. She landed a few feet away from the others, and settled her cargo on the ground without looking at either of them.
"It's okay now." She whispered to the trembling Deidara "You're all right now."
Sakura gently kissed his bloody forehead and swept a lock of stray hair behind his ear. She had to get that ring out of his nose. Closer inspection told her it would be difficult, not to mention painful. Dried blood was caked around the ring, and the flesh between his nostrils was swollen and red. Sakura dug out the medical kit she always carried and opened the leather satchel to reveal its contents. This was going to be the hardest surgery she had ever performed, not because of its difficulty but because of her patient.
First, painkillers. She eased a few pills down Deidara's throat, all the while staring into his big, trusting eyes. After a moment or two his eyelids began to droop and a weary grin broke out over his face. Now she had to begin; Sakura knew at once that she had no hope of breaking the ring – it had no seam and pulsed quietly with the chakra of some metal ninja who had crafted it. She would have to cut it out.
With painstaking precision, Sakura scraped off the dark, hardened blood. Then, taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, she balanced a blade on the underside of Deidara's nose and pushed it upwards through his flesh until it bit the hated ring. Stomach wrenching, Sakura tugged the metal device down and out, cringing at the buckling of damaged cartilage. Deidara let out a long whimper. Sakura could not afford time to comfort him, however. Her greatest concert was closing the new wound and stopping the torrents of fresh blood gushing out.
By the time she finished, Deidara was unconscious. Sakura stood up from his side to see Itachi and Konan staring at her from where they sat around a newly constructed fire. With her head held high, Sakura slung Deidara over her shoulder and carried him into the tent. If either Akatsuki saw the tears running down her face, they said nothing.
Inside the tent, the young medic gingerly laid her lover down and drew up the covers around his chin. This scenario was horribly familiar and happening all wrong. Half in a daze, Sakura was surprised to discover blood streaks where her fingers had touched the blanket.
She needed to wash up. It would make an excellent distraction, if anything else.
"I'm going to bathe. We passed a creek a few miles back." She announced to the two solemn figures sitting around the fire outside. Konan slowly looked Sakura up and down and nodded; the girl was covered in blood. Itachi cast his eyes to the sky – sunset was still a few hours away. He too, grunted his consent.
Without staying to discuss matter, Sakura took off into the bright afternoon light, headed for a relaxing bath in the stream.
Sasuke was closing in.
He hit the streets of the capital city around noon. The place had been turned upside down. Armed men combed the streets, women hurried their children indoors, and shopkeepers pulled down blinds and flipped over "OPEN" signs.
"What's going on?" He demanded, seizing a nearby civilian by the collar. The person, a young man, noted the crazed look in Sasuke's eyes and was quick to blurt out " There's been an escape. Some S-ranked criminal. Name of Deirdre or something like that. Blonde…thing, too many mouths. Stolen right from the execution chamber."
"Deidara…" Sasuke mused, dropping the young man who hurried off down the road. It had to have been Itachi. Only Itachi had the skill, only Itachi had a REASON to get that troublesome Akatsuki member back. Still lost in thought, Sasuke scaled the tallest building he could find and scanned the surrounding forest with red, spinning eyes.
There. It was faint, but he saw it. Felt it. A chakra trail, less than a day old. It was unmistakably from an Uchiha, with trace chakras of other people. Sasuke didn't waste time finding out who they belonged to – instead, he bolted off into the forest, slipping between branches at a pace that made his heart hammer and his lungs burn.
Sakura's journey was more leisurely. She leaped gracefully from tree to tree, minding her footing as she went. The panic of performing such an impromptu surgery was beginning to ebb. She had Deidara back. He was alive, and he was all hers. She would come back to camp tonight and he would be right there, right where she left him. She could check his wound and kiss him, if she wanted to. He would wake up and she could talk to him again. The reality of his return settled over her like a sunset and she found herself beginning to relax. At long last she came to the edge of the stream and set herself down on the warm, grassy bank.
The water burbled invitingly. Feeling very much at peace, Sakura removed her weapons belt. She kicked off her shoes and yanked off her socks. Then she slipped her hands under her shirt and slipped it off, over her head. All the while she had no idea she was being watched.
Sasuke was racing through the trees when he caught on to a very familiar chakra. He stopped, puzzled. He knew the chakra, knew it like he knew his own, but he could not place it. Intrigued and maddened, he tore himself off his brother's trail and headed for the source of this new lead. He could feel, deep down, that this person he was following was someone he wanted to see. A blurry picture started to form in his mind as he crept along in the bushes, a picture that came into focus just before the image before his very eyes did.
Sakura.
She was standing before him with her ivory skin gleaming in the afternoon sun. As he watched, she cast off her weapons and quickly began undressing. Sasuke felt something knot in the pit of his stomach at the sight of her increasingly revealed body. It was Sakura. The girl he had come to rescue. The one who had always loved him. Years of abuse in the dark dungeons of Orochimaru gnawed at Sasuke's insides, unleashing sick desire. She had devoted herself to him, thrown herself at him all those years ago. He had come all this way to just to retrieve her. He owed her. He owned her. It would be like payment. Besides, she wanted him. She wanted him. No one else had wanted him like her. He would be practically doing her a favor. He would make her wanted.
Riding on this broken train of logic, Sasuke crept forward, headed for Sakura's back just as she slid her shirt over her head. He tensed, and sprung forward through the air, wrapping a hand over her mouth.
Sakura felt the hand clap over her mouth and started to struggle. Her hand flew to her side, but she remembered with agony that she had tossed aside her weapons pouch only seconds ago. She fought bitterly against her captor, looking for a place to dig in fingernails, but a strong arm wrapped around and held her fast. It was not until her attacker turned her around that she stopped resisting.
Sasuke. Ghosts danced in his eyes and sunlight tangled in his dark hair, exactly as she remembered him. Her breath caught short, until she noticed the evil grin that robbed Sasuke's face of its poetry.
"Sasuke…what…" she managed to gasp around his fingers. His eyebrows lifted and he growled back to her "Shut up. I'm about to make your dreams come true."
Before she had time to panic, Sasuke released her arms just long enough for his hand to dart out and break the hook on the back of her bra. The cotton undergarment shot forward and he tore it away from her body with his teeth. Sasuke proceeded to shove his former teammate backwards, driving her back up against a tree. As he groped and pinched, she could only gasp quietly.
"You like that, huh?" Sasuke murmured, aggression staining his words. His eyes were wide with insanity and memories of abuse. He raked his nails down Sakura's side, leaving shallow scrapes in their wake; he clawed the top of Sakura's skirt and dragged it from her body. Tears started to well up in Sakura's eyes, but Sasuke allowed them no time to fall. Instead, he smashed his mouth into hers, prying her mouth open with his tongue. While she choked and spluttered on tears and hatred, he worked his hands under her cotton underpants and tore them away as well, oblivious to the elastic biting at Sakura's skin.
Sasuke pulled his mouth off of Sakura's soft pink one. Now it was his turn. In a primal frenzy, he seized her hands and forced them under his clothes. He guided her every movement as she was made to strip his own clothes from his body. Even when he was naked, Sasuke was still not satisfied. He was just getting started. Seizing her by the hair, he forced Sakura to her knees in front of him. She tried to thrown herself away from him, but he was too fast for her and held her head steady while he forced himself into her mouth. She tried to push herself away, tried to spit him out but one kick from Sasuke sent her into submission. Quickly, he lost patience with her, and tossed her onto her back.
Thinking it was over, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and pressed gently on the spot where he had kicked her. Her nightmare, however, was far from over. Sasuke flung himself on top of the girl and pinned her arms painfully over her head. She tried to cry out but her words were stopped by Sasuke's tongue sliding into her mouth. Just a short moment later, she felt him hammer into her.
Sakura lay there under Sasuke for what felt like an eternity. This had gone way beyond the fantasies of her girlhood. Her tears dripped on the grass and vanished, along with the last of her innocence. Sakura tried desperately to think of the night she had spent with Deidara but the was no comparison; that night was awkward and gentle, and nothing at all like the violence of this moment.
Sasuke showed no sign of stopping. With renewed vigor, he drew his lips from Sakura's and panted, trying to catch his breath. Sakura knew an opportunity when she saw one.
Summoning all the rage she possessed, Sakura let loose one long, loud scream.
A/N: There you have it, my lovely readers. My longest, angstiest, most graphic chapter yet; my apologies if I offended anyone. Finally, Sasuke has storyline significance! I could cry.
My thanks to all of my readers and fans. If you've read this far, I have one more favor to ask of all of you. Right now, I'm in the process of constructing a sort of…online community for hopeless fangirls and internet geeks. You can find it at ".com". For all of you that would like to sign on and make an account, I would be eternally grateful. Check out my profile, or the site itself, for details.
I'm hoping to get the next update up soon, but with exam season rapidly approaching I can make no promises. Hopefully I have provided enough angst to tide you over till next time.
Ah. One last thing. That review button? Press it. Tell me how you felt about my rape scene; I dare you.