BLURRED SOUND

Sasuke Uchiha met Naruto Uzumaki when he was seven years old; a twist in the time line, and he meets her again five years later during the Chunin Exams – as an Otogakure Genin. SasuFemNaru. AU/AT. Dark Naruto.

PART II

CHAPTER TWENTY–FIVE
- - IF WE EVER MEET AGAIN - -

'I came here to tell you to follow the scars,
before you are crushed by the world' – FLOW.

Sakura was wary as they entered the underground halls halls of Otogakure; for one thing, she hadn't expected Sora to team up with Orochimaru. For another, she hadn't expected him to use the Kyuubi chakra.

And she certainly hadn't expected that ANBU to be using her family techniques! If Tsunade thought this was a test of her self control, she was barking up the right alley for once! It had taken all of her concentration not to stab him in the back right there and then when he'd tried to stop Sora.

Sakura sincerely hoped that Naruto's plans weren't going to take much longer, because she was already itching to make an example of the man. She didn't care if he wasn't Senju, or if he had been a test subject of Orochimaru. He was using her family techniques to Tsunade's end, and she was not going to stand for that!

He even had the gall to tell her she wouldn't be able to use it because she didn't have Senju DNA like he did with the first Hokage's! The only reason the Senju clan had the ability in the first place was because they'd stolen it from her family!

That being said, she couldn't risk any false moves after disappearing and trying to taken on that Akatsuki by herself... Dear god, what a mess that had turned into! She didn't really understand how trying to kill a bloke could turn him on, but had damn near jumped her! She had damn near let him!

What was wrong with her? The only way it could have been worse would have been if it had been Sasuke's brother; not only was her cover blown, but he was an Akatsuki. He wanted to kill Naruto. And he stuck his tongue down her throat! Well, one of them. Then he'd been interrupted by his partner, he'd flicked a scroll at her with a 'lets have some ore fun next time Pinky' wink, and disappeared.

Kakashi and Yamato were already suspicious, lecturing her on her lack of teamwork. She'd wormed her way out of it, saying surprise was the key factor considering it was Itachi, so she'd had no choice but to beguile them too. It had worked, but that was just Konoha... If Naruto found out she'd tongued an Akatsuki...

She shuddered at the thought, and continued her progression through the hallways; she already had a lock on Naruto's chakra, she just had to sneak way from Yamato. How she was going to do that when he was tracking her with that seed though... she could have spat it out, but it would have been noticed and then reported back to Tsunade. A clone would be noticed too.

She couldn't afford not to swallow it; now she just had to find a way to ditch Yamato unnoticed. As they were running through the halls however, she began to wonder if Naruto and Sasuke were here at all. Sure, they had tracked them to the bridge, and then followed Orochimaru, but where the hell were they? She was sure Naruto would have detected her by no-

Sakura was cut off mid thought by an explosion that shook the earth they were running through, sending all three of them to their feet. Getting back up, Sakura darted ahead of her watchers, following the sound of the explosion and searching with her chakra, pushing it into the earth and searching for Naruto's.

It was one of the few techniques off of her family scroll that she could use, simply because it didn't involve merging two element. It just used her earth one. It was the base of the ones merged with water but... no matter how much she tried, she couldn't combine the two.

Thanks to all her attempts she did have a very broad range with this first stage of them however; all she did was leak her chakra into the ground through her feet, reconnecting to her own with each step and searching with it. That was a difficult task for most ninja, not having enough control of their own chakra to reconnect with it, never mind continue tracking with it.

She was a Haruno though; her chakra control was far beyond that of an average ninja, and she hadn't even perfected it yet. Thanks to that control, it took only a few minuets for her to locate Sasuke's chakra, but something was strange about the corridors. They just kept continuing... Realization dropping onto her face, Sakura stopped running and dispelled the illusion.

It didn't work... frowning she tried again. It still didn't work. Instead several dark red foxes swirled around her, crawling around the walls of the corridor, appearing murky in the dim light. Their eyes glowed a dangerous read, and they started surrounding her. Sakura realised what was happening long before Naruto's echoed around her.

"Stop that Sakura; if you dispel the illusion we won't be able to chat..."

"Geez, you could have waited for me to say hello before going nuts..."

Sasuke glared down at the idiot monk (who had woken him from his rare peaceful moment with Naruto) from the cliff he had created with his explosion; it was a pity the idiot hadn't been finished off, but no.

He stood below him, covered in the familiar cloak of the Kyuubi's chakra he often saw Naruto using; it was nothing like the one Naruto used though. He was barley controlling it, and he was only using one tail. Naruto had to hit three before she became even a little dubious of her surroundings.

Speaking of Naruto... Where the hell was she? He had barley been paying attention when he blew up the base (result of building frustrations and anger being unleashed), but he knew she had been awake... Was she looking for Sakura? It made the most sense – she needed to talk into her about something, and it was easier to catch her here than head to Konoha.

He had every faith that Naruto would get into the village, but getting out was a different matter with her chakra in the state it was right now. That wasn't his most pressing matter to be concerned with though; this pathetic look-a-like however...

He didn't think Naruto would appreciate it if he killed him before she could get the Kyuubi chakra from him, but he could certainly incapacitate him. An uncontrollable amount of the Kyuubi chakra was just as much of a hinderance as the normal one, but there was something wron with the whole set-up.

"Sora! Get a hold of yourself! You're not supposed to use that chakra without Yamato or Kakashi-sempai!"

Before Sasuke could try anything, a familiar face emerged from one of the hallways into the huge crater below him; Sasuke was mildly unimpressed with Sai's choice of clothing. It was one thing for him to have a bare chest – he used his cursed seal fairly often so the stupid shirt was practical, no matter how much he'd appreciate a zip. Sai, however, had no excuse for that stupid get-up.

"So you survived after all? How surprising..." Sasuke commented as his old team-mate argued with the fake Kyuubi- monk.

Sai froze, then his head snapped up towards the cliff he was standing on; his eyes widened for a moment, before narrowing and raising his hand to the short Tanto on his back warily. Moments later, Kakashi darted out into the sunlight, squinting his eyes as he stared up at him.

"So you're here too Kakashi; I'm guessing that means Sakura's somewhere around here...?" he asked; if Naruto was up to something with Sakura then she'd need the time to get it done.

"You assume correctly; you've been given one free pass back to Konoha Sasuke. Throw it away and the next team to come after you will be to drag you to the gallows" Kakashi intoned, his hand going to his kunai holster warily.

Sasuke ignored him, his eyes trialling over to the boy who had disturbed his rare calm moment with Naruto; he was sweating, and looked as if he was in a struggle to control the Kyuubi chakra. Kakashi seemed to have noticed as well, because he narrowed his eyes at the boy.

"Sora! Control yourself! You can't handle any more of that chakra" he snapped, apparently more out of worry than any real anger.

"I'm sorry Kakashi-sempai... it's hard to control being so close to the Kyuubi..." the replacement – apparently called Sora - muttered under his breath.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as the terminology the boy used to address Naruto drifted up to his ears, but he kept his cool for the moment.

"...and I suppose that one is my replacement? At first I thought he was a real Jinchuriki but... he's really quite pathetic, isn't he?" he sneered, thoroughly insulted that Konoha though they could replace him with such a cheap imitation of Naruto.

He didn't find being replaced insulting, it was the clear lack of skills the fake had that insulted him. It wasn't just him being insulted either; Naruto had been equally disgusted on his first arrival too.

A rumble beneath his feet, one felt by his apparent pursuers, told him that whatever Naruto was up to had taken a turn; bad or good he couldn't be certain of just yet.

Either that or she was just pissed off.

"What going on outside this?" Sakura asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable as the dark, eerie foxes eyed her.

It had been easy to forget how strong Naruto was, but this illusion... it was a stark reminder. Each fox was one illusion, settled on top of another and all working at the same time. Independently moving and flowing with the others in progress; it was no where near as refined as Itachi's, and Sakura got the feeling it had taken some time to set up but...

The amount of chakra in it meant her own attempts to dispel it barley hit the first layer; if Naruto could have managed this in an actual fight she'd be suckered.

"What? Oh, I have you in a choke hold for the benefit of that brown-haired guy. He thinks you're knocked out... Sorry about the foxes; its the only way to talk about things with it being detected, plus I need to work on my chakra control at the moment..." Naruto replied.

Several of the foxes bounded towards her and began to merge together into the body of her best friend; her hair was longer, and she was taller than Sakura was now, she still seemed the same though. Naruto gave her a quick, almost obligatory hug, before turning her attention to the important matters she had mentioned before hand.

"What's the political situation in Konoha at the moment? Naruto asked, jumping to the point.

"Not brilliant, but not terrible; Kumo is still a touch and go subject for the villagers, but Tsunade and the Raikage have been exchanging messages for some sort of treaty – at first I thought it was going to end up a 'Don't bother me and I won't bother you' relationship, but..."

Sakura hesitated, looking to make sure Naruto was keeping up with her as she spilled the information out; it was like a well had burst. She been watching for so long, putting her memory to good use, but it had all been blocked up with no one to pass it on to...

"...Kumo was recently attacked by Akatsuki – they managed to fend the attack off unscathed, but they weren't happy about it since it was Itachi and a missing nin from Kirigakure that attacked them. The Raikage sent messages insisting Tsunade takes greater steps to deal with Konoha's missing ninjas, or he will, regardless of the international laws..."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as she talked, presumably acknowledging the hint to take care about what she did, but she showed no signs of irritation... yet.

"...That's put the negotiations back several steps; he's reluctant to have ties with a village that 'can't deal with their own turncoats', but Tsunade's already taking steps – she's going to give Sasuke one free pass back to Konoha, and that's it" Sakura finished, deciding it not necessary to mention the interaction with the other nations just yet.

Truthfully, there had been talk of a meeting of the five kages, but none were exactly eager to meet up; Akatsuki wasn't considered much of a threat just yet, and there were more concerning things to be worried about... Tsunade's meetings with Danzo being one of them.

"What about Uzushiogakure? There's bound to be more than what I found in the files right? I'll need everything you've got on Sasuke's clan too... especially if that ignoramus brother of his decides to mess things up for me..." Naruto asked, the last part an obvious mutter to herself.

Sakura sincerely hoped Naruto wasn't too prone to stabbing those bearing her bad news; she hadn't been able to find much other than what had been in the Hokage's desk itself on the extinct village. Not that she hadn't found anything at all, she'd just hadn't found as much as Naruto may be expecting.

As for Sasuke's clan... she'd found plenty on Sasuke's clan; it had boggled her mind, that Itachi could have pulled off the massacre of his entire family at all, but on village orders? However, she wondered how he had actually managed it; even for a genius of his calibre, a whole clan was beyond his abilities alone... he must have had help, but from who?

"I didn't find much, but... I have found something else... Konoha is working on a way to completely control the Kyuubi in time for the next search mission; Tsunade and that root guy Danzo have been... talking, and Kakashi has been joining them sometimes. With the addition of that... that fake and his pet dog to the team, I'd reckon it's already being tested... They're really getting serious about catching you, so-"

"Fake? What fake?" Naruto asked, interrupting Sakura mid sentence, the beginnings of a brainwave crossing her face.
"The brown-haired guy; Yamato. He's an ANBU that used to be an experiment of Orochimaru's; he was one of ten to have the first Hokage's DNA implanted him to revive my family bloodline, and he was the only one who made it-"

Sakura stopped, the illusion around her suddenly peaking with what could only be called a feel of... malignancy. The black foxes, opened their mouth,s reveal snarling teeth, their red eyes seeming to glow more ferociously in their anger. Naruto's own eyes had turned to a matching shade.

"That...! That...! That...Snake! That absolute bastard of a snake! I'll wring his scaly white neck! That meddling bastard...!"

Naruto stopped her rage; taking several deep breaths before turning back to Sakura, with a much calmer if still irritated expression; she chewed a thumbnail for a few moments deep in thought, before flicking her still-red eyes back towards the pink haired girl.

"Alright, let's forget that talk for now; I want to talk to you about that bloodline of yours..."she stated,still thinking.

Sakura wondered just how much concentration it was taking her to fend off Kakashi and, maintain this illusion, and think of her long-term plans all at the same time. She didn't pay it much thought though; she was more interested in whatever Naruto had to say about her bloodline. She knew it wasn't going to be an easy job but hopefully Naruto had some headway she could work on too.

"...as far as I can work out, with a bit of help from snake-ass and bug-head, the three different seals should be countered with the antidote I've slipped into your med-pack, but I can't guarantee it however. There was a very specific blood seal locked into yours, and even though I countered it with the DNA samples you gave me, something's still missing from it..."

Sakura wasn't as disheartened as she could have been; realistically speaking, her bloodline had been sealed away for five generations; even isolating the corrupted cells that kept it locked was a huge undertaking in and of itself. She knew that from her own medical studies. The fact that Naruto had managed this much was already more than enough.

"...I suggest you keep a close watch on Tsunade, Sakura; I'll bet my own bloodline the last lock is an external one, a key of some sort. The closer you keep to her the more likely you are to find it. Try to find out what they're doing with that fake Jinchuriki too... Something bothers me about him, but I don't have enough information on him... do you have a summoning contract?"

Sakura nodded; technically, she had two. One was Tsunade's slug contract, and the other was her family contract with the Owls
It had been incredibly difficult just to get her chakra stable enough to summon one of the smaller creatures (no doubt the poison bred into her, scrambling her control), but she had done it.

The small miniature grey owl had taken one look at her, then let out a shrill call; it had called on the majestic snowy white boss summon, an owl only slightly larger than Akamaru. It had been very angry at first, demanding why her family hadn't been summoning them for so many years, but after some explanations, it had been pacified.

Technically she hadn't signed the scroll just yet, she could only sign one at a time after all, and if she signed another summons contract, Katsuyu would tell Tsunade. The owls were very understanding though, and promised their aid, provided she signed the contract as soon as her cover would allow it.

"Good, if you find anything, I'm going to be in Lightning Country if all goes well... If not... Well, I'll probably still be in Lightning Country...Remember Sakura, look for anything you can – the key to your bloodline is probably right under your nose; you're going to need it if you plan on coming with us!" Naruto finished, almost sounding normal with her final words, eager even.

Sakura nodded, and then the form of Naruto dissipated back into those of the red eyed foxes that made up her illusion; the fact the the illusion remained was an indicator the Naruto expected her to fight her way out of it herself. Presuming she wasn't going be getting help from anyone else, Sakura stopped her own chakra as best she could, and noted that some of the foxes disappeared.

Not all of them though; Naruto had said she had her body in a choke hold back in the normal world, so if she was leaking chakra into her, that would maintain it even if she did disturb her chakra. That meant she would have to fight through the illusion itself... Thought in mind, pulling her Kusarigama from its holster above her med-pack, Sakura turned her attention to the growling foxes.

She didn't think destroying the foxes was the right move, but until she had a better idea of how the Illusion worked, it was her best bet. Once she figured out Naruto's real test, it would be a simple matter to make sure she passed it, but she had to figure it out first.

Given how many steps Naruto liked to be ahead of everyone else, Sakura was certain it would take her some time to figure out.

Sasuke had grown rather irritated with his old teacher's attempts to persuade him back to Konoha, especially when the man actually tried assuring him Naruto would get a minimal punishment.

He had been rather surprised by how easily his Chidori Current had taken him by surprise; the only one who'd actually managed any resistance was Sai, but even he had been thrown off by his Chidori, leaving him free to sink his blade into Kakashi's gut. He still held quite a bit of resentment to the man for trying to interfere when he had been in Konoha, so he felt it somewhat justified.

Especially with his blatant lies; if Naruto went back to Konoha it would be for the gallows, for Konoha's use (which would probably still end in the gallows once she outlived it), dead, or to tear it from the ground herself. Konoha knew that full well, as did he. If Kakashi thought he was that stupid, then he was very undeserving of his rank.

Besides, she had helped kill the third Hokage, dealing the final blow herself; if that wasn't tantamount to a death sentence in Konoha, he didn't know what was. He took a smug delight in giving his sword a little twist as he ran his Chidori through the blade. There was another matter to attend to other than Kakashi however.

The fake Jinchuriki; it wasn't hard to break into his mind with the Sharingan, and it was even easier to encourage the small fragment of Kyuubi chakra within him. Whoever had sealed it in him was a very shoddy worker; he was nowhere near Naruto's level, but she'd been seeking to improve that ever since he'd arrived and her bloodline had settled down.

It was a terrible seal, and breaking through it was too easy; back out in the real world a second tail started growing in the orange-red shroud around the boy. Kakashi slumped to the ground when he pulled his sword out, and Sasuke turned his attention to Sai. He was rather surprised he hadn't been the one charged with disposing of him and Naruto. He had been a ROOT drone even as a Genin after all...

"And then there was one..." he said to himself, cracking the fingers in one hand in preparation for one of his more concentrated fire techniques; Sai had never been good with fire for some reason.

Before he could enact it however, one of the walls shattered, and a brown haired man stepped through the hold he had made; the hand-signs he weaved generated curving pillars of wood around him, presumably to trap him. Sasuke quickly replaced himself with a chunk of broken wall, jumping back up onto the top of the cliff.

The faint draw on his chakra behind him told him Naruto was behind him, and a glance from the corner of his eye had her drop her disguise. Feeling another tug on his chakra, and taking a glance at her paler than usual complexion, he slowly draped an arm over her shoulders, brushing the skin of his thumb up against her neck.

She didn't take much chakra compared to usual, but he had to wonder what she had done to use up so much...

Another set of wooden pillars appeared around the replacement, slamming into him and forcing the Kyuubi chakra back into him; the action narrowed his eyes considerably. Not only was that Sakura's bloodline being so easily displayed, he was subduing the Kyuubi chakra...

There was no doubt in his mind now; Konoha had more plans for Naruto than simply the gallows. Those two were probably an experiment into methods of controlling the Kyuubi chakra, making sure it was perfect before they went after Naruto. Where had the brunette gotten Sakura's bloodline from though?

Once the man had finished subduing the Kyuubi chakra, he turned to stare up at them looking unsurprisingly exhausted, and rather angry.

"Where is she?" he demanded, his question directed to Naruto.

"I'm not sure; those hallways are ever so complicated, and I put a very good illusion on her even if I say so myself. Unless she breaks out of it before my clone drains her chakra, I can't guarantee her safety..." Naruto replied in a mocking little voice, one of her more malicious grins coming onto her face.

He took that to mean something good had happened; if he was catching the conversation correctly she was talking about Sakura. She must have given her some useful information. Or maybe she was just reflecting her very heavily buried glee of seeing her best friend again. If he had to bet on it though, he'd go with good information.

Just as the man was about to ask another question, Sakura darted through the hole in the wall he had created, looking rather battered, but still breathing and alert. Her eyes landed on Kakashi first, immediately heading for the wound his sword had made earlier.

"Sakura! You made it to the reunion after all! We were just talking about you!" Naruto chirped in an almost chatty tone of voice.

The pink haired girl froze, her hands still glowing with green healing chakra over Kakashi's abdomen as her head turned up towards the two of them. Sai watched her with... something resembling expression on his face as her eyes fixed on Naruto for a moment, before meeting his own narrow gaze.

Her eyes widened a fraction, and her progress with healing Kakashi stopped.
"S-Sasuke?"

Finally, some movement; Sasuke gets to show off a little even if it is very canon, Naruto gets to show off, and so does Sakura. I also found another summons for her. I have a different set of them in mind, obviously. So far Owls for Sakura, Salamanders for Naruto, and what will Sasuke end up with? I'll let you guess, but it won't be Snakes or Hawks...

I don't think. Hmm... *checks future plot scribbles and ponders*
Title is 'If We Ever Meet Again' by Timbaland Ft Katy Perry.

Hope you liked the chapter :)
Nat.
xxx