Chapter 28

"We are going to be drawing the bird from its home." Neji said resolutely.

Neither of his comrades looked at him, but the small affirmative nod informed him that his team agreed with his decision.

With that Neji shifted his byakugan to focus on the other team where he saw his little cousin in Naruto's arms, bringing a small pill to her lips before swallowing it.

Unconsciously, Neji's body tensed. He remained silent, intent on observing his cousin's predicament.

"What's wrong Neji?" Tenten asked immediately.

She had been with the Hyuuga for a long time, and his telltale signs were easily interpreted by her trained eyes.

Damnit! Something is wrong! Neji isn't happy with what he is seeing! Tenten's mind frantically began imagining scenes of the other team meeting some horrendous death.

"Neji! What is wrong?!" Tenten insisted louder.

Shino turned to look at his leader.

Is he so entranced that he no longer knows what is at stake? Hinata is the only one precious enough to him for this sort of reaction.

"Is Hinata alive?" Shino's dark voice murmured.

Tenten visibly recoiled, her pace slowed as her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Hinata-chan?" She whispered softly, trying to fully comprehend Shino's question and all of its implications.

At the name of his cousin, Neji tore his attention from the other group and focused on his own situation.

Damnit! She is hurt! I shouldn't have left Lady Hinata in the care of those morons. They are all too driven by ulterior motives to properly care for her!

But even as the dark thoughts formed in his mind, he knew that they weren't true. His cousin was hurt, but she was also a shinobi. In their line of work it was impossible to be unscathed. He couldn't always be by her side to protect her, and her current teammates had never abandoned her in the past, even when he was ready to leave her.

"Damn." He cursed under his breath for his lack of focus. "She is still alive. Lady Hinata has been injured and is being carried by Naruto." Neji's byakugan shifted to inspect the group closely. "They all have minor wounds," he told his team. "It looks as if they got caught by one of the bombs."

"Can Hinata still use her byakugan?" Shino asked.

Neji watched his cousin closely and examined her chakra level.

"No, not at her level she couldn't withstand it fo-" He stopped speaking suddenly as his eyes widened in surprise.

"Damnit Neji! Explain what's wrong now or so Kami help me I'm going to beat it out of you!" Tenten shouted, frustrated at her inability to figure out was happening.

"Her chakra…" Neji began, his voice taking on a tone of slight awe. "Her chakra is suddenly multiplying at an alarming rate. She looks like she will be at full capacity-No, she is at her full chakra level." Neji told them, is confusion over the situation evident in his voice.

"How?" Tenten queried softly.

How did she gain chakra so fast? How did she multiply her chakra at all? How is this-

"No, she is exceeding her normal chakra level." Neji told them, his voice remained neutral, but the slight rise in pitch foretold his curiosity and concern for his cousin. "But, how is that possible?" He mumbled quietly under his breath.

Shino remained silent, absorbing the facts and trying to reason through them.

"She took a pill and it was capable of causing this effect?" Neji murmured to the silence.

The only sound was the soft tap of their feet as their legs carried them subconsciously through the trees at an alarming speed.

"Sakura-san was developing a pill last I heard that had this effect." Shino intoned quietly. "From what she told me, she was having issues balancing the pill to increase chakra levels without putting the shinobi in critical condition."

"Do you think she finally did it?" Tenten asked, facing the bug user.

"No." He answered immediately and that was all it took to send Neji's mind racing.

OoO

Hinata stared at the green pill for a second, entranced by the vibrant color and torn between duty and survival.

Sakura-chan can save me, we just have to reach her and I'll be fine. Besides, Shikamaru-san wouldn't have offered the pill if he doubted that we would get to Sakura-chan in time.

Hinata slowly brought the pill to her lips before letting it slip past into her mouth. It sat on her tongue for a second before she swallowed hard, taking the small pill dry.

Shikamaru nodded his head as he watched the kunoichi take the pill. His gut clenched in uncertainty. Even now, after the fact, he still doubted his decision. There was a chance she would be fine, but if they didn't reach Sakura, or if Sakura was unconscious or drained of her chakra, Hinata's death would have been indirectly his fault. He hadn't forced her to take the pill, but as his subordinate, she trusted his decision and tutelage as her commanding leader. And that fact tore at him to his very core.

Sakura you better be ready to heal, Hinata is sacrificing her life to save you and I'm not sure she can live without your abilities.

Less than a minute later, the group felt Hinata's chakra begin to multiply and grow at an exponential rate. Having seen Sakura's transformation, Shikamaru was unphased by the occurrence, but his teammate's attention was raptly directed to the small bundle in Naruto's arms.

"H-Hinata-chan." Naruto stated softly in awe.

The Hyuuga's eyes grew in surprise at her own developing power and was relieved to see her chakra returning to its normal level. Naruto slowed down slightly, hesitating a step as Hinata jumped lightly from his arms.

Her feet seemed to hang in the air for a second, before touching on the bark. The sudden change of motion caused the kunoichi to falter for a second, but she regained her balance almost immediately and began running next to the men.

Performing a few seals, Hinata's byakugan activated and she watched the development of her chakra surpass its normal level. Her pupilless eyes widened a fraction before turning to Shikamaru.

"H-How…?" she murmured softly to him.

"Sakura would be a better person to ask. She made them, but I borrowed a few…just in case." He replied easily.

"Borrowed?" Naruto echoed in confusion.

"Shikmaru took them dobe." Sasuke's voice intoned dispassionately.

"WHAT?!" Naruto yelled defensively, Sasuke's insult overlooked. "Why did you steal from Sakura-chan?!"

"She knew I took them, but she never mentioned it…" Shikamaru explained. "It was just as well…" He added softly under his breath.

"I agree with Naruto this time." Kiba said, gritting his teeth in annoyance. "Sakura would have given you them if you asked."

Shikamaru sighed heavily. "I did."

This time, Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"If she didn't give it to you, then she didn't think they were ready for field work. Just what risks have you put on Hinata?" Kiba asked, his anger slowly rising.

Shikamaru remained silent…and that was all the answer any of them needed.

The only sound was Hinata's soft gasp as she realized her precarious situation.

"There is no point arguing it any more. What's done is done, now deal with it." Sasuke said annoyed, ready to get back to the mission.

"Shut up Teme! This is going t-" Naruto began ranting before being cut off.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata whispered loudly, catching the blond off guard. "Its –uh…Its alright. Shikamaru-san said that Sakura-san can fix it. So, we just have to get to Sakura-san, ne?" She asked quietly.

Naruto's stare fell on her before he finally relented. He let out a soft sigh.

"Yeah. Sakura-chan can fix everything." He agreed.

"Good, now lets go. This argument has gone on far enough." Shikamaru agreed. "Hinata, use your byakugan and look for Neji's team."

"Hai." She responded immediately and began searching for her cousin.

The Hyuuga located him within several seconds and confirmed the other team's location to Shikamaru.

"Good. Is Neji looking over here with his byakugan?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, he's focused on the Akatsuki." She replied.

"Fine. Naruto, I want you to concentrate your chakra and release it at once. You need to get Neji's attention, so you'll have to put quite a bit of energy into it."

"Hai." Naruto replied immediately.

"Don't use too much, I don't want to have to carry you Naruto." Kiba teased.

Naruto gave an indignant huff before he brought his hands together and accumulated chakra. Keeping his eyes on Shikamaru, the blond continued to gather more of his power until the Nara gave a small nod, telling Naruto that he had enough chakra.

The blond stemmed the flow and immediately pulsed his chakra outward.

"Did he look?" Naruto asked quickly.

"H-Hai. He's looking over at us. What do you want me to tell-no. .. He is sending us a message." Hinata said, surprise evident in her tone.

"What is he saying Hinata?" Kiba asked.

"He…he wants us to continue going straight. They are going to draw the Akatsuki away and create a distraction so we can get Sakura…h-he-"

"He is sacrificing his team's safety to ensure Sakura's. Damnit." Shikamaru finished for her.

"They can't do that!" Naruto responded immediately.

Shikamaru ignored him and looked directly at the pale-eyed Hyuuga. After staring at her for a second he returned his vision to the trees they were running through. His choice was obvious, but it was as good as having Neji's team sign their death warrants.

"Why can't things go back to being simple?" He mused quietly.

Through the silence, Shikamaru listened to the light tap of their feet against the trees they were running through. He could hear the soft rustle of the leaves as the branches bent under their weight. And the echo of the last bombs that had just recently gone off behind them sounded like a bell of death, tolling that their time in this world was limited.

There was no point in delaying the inevitable, he knew his decision as soon as he was informed of the plan. In the back of his mind, some part of him knew that it would eventually come to this, but that didn't make this choice any less painful.

"Tell him that we will proceed with his plan and will back them up as soon as we retrieve Sakura." Shikamaru drawled, his measured tone hiding his unease.

"What? We'd be stronger together!" Naruto shouted in outrage.

"If we can't get rid of these guys, then there is no point. One of us would have had to become a decoy eventually, I was trying to think of an alternative." Shikamaru stated.

"That still leaves the problem that we don't know where Sakura is." Sasuke pointed out.

"That was never a problem, Uchiha." Kiba grinned toothily.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Then why have we been tailing these two?" Sasuke asked curtly, his distaste for being left out of the loop evident in his tone.

"Sorry Teme, but we weren't sure that you wouldn't take the information and race ahead to get to your brother." Naruto told his friend quietly, the pity was easy to distinguish in his voice.

"Che, there still is no guarantee. You'll know where we are when we get there Uchiha." Kiba added.

"I-I'm sure Sasuke-san wouldn't abandon Sakura-san." Hinata defended Sasuke weakly. "I-I mean, Sakura-san believed in him, ne?"

"That's just it Hinata." Shikamaru pointed out. "She didn't."

And with the silence that followed, the group increased their pace and began running west, trusting their comrades to hold off the opposition while praying that the other team would live to tell the tale.

OoO

"Tell me kunoichi, to what length are you willing to go for your comrades?" Itachi whispered in a dark velvety tone that sent shivers down the kunoichi's spine.

"Far enough." Sakura replied monotonously, her anger dissipating.

This has gone too far. I don't know the rules to this game anymore, and I don't think I have any more cards to play. I have to see what he is implying, but if I ask, that means I'm committing to his twisted mind game, but if I don't, what are the consequences of that?

"Explain yourself Uchiha." Sakura finally gave in, her voice sounding weak to her own ears and she felt herself fill with loathing at the man before her as the words slipped off her tongue.

Itachi smirked, her fate was now sealed.

"We will be retrieving Naruto-kun," Itachi watched a small tremor run through Sakura's body as she fisted her hands in her shorts. "That is not debatable. But Naruto-kun has some extra baggage with him."

Sakura's mind was running as quick as she dared. She knew exactly what the Uchiha was implying.

The others with Naruto…damnit, why did they all have to come?

"We could leave his companions, but maybe if we brought you their heads, you would be easier to deal with." A smirk tugged the side of his mouth up.

"You sound like you're overconfident Uchiha. Leaf shinobi won't be wiped out so easily." Sakura stated with certainty as she met the Uchiha's dangerous eyes with an unwavering glare that reinforced her faith in her comrades.

"You sound like you're overestimating kunoichi. These shinobi don't stand a chance and you are well aware of this."

Sakura was about to defend her comrade's strength and teamwork, but was cut off before she even open her mouth.

"Are they not your subordinates? Couldn't you win in a spar against all of them? And yet, you believe your underlings stand a chance against those that imprisoned you. That's cruel kunoichi, sending them off to the butcher. "

Sakura stared in silence, fully understanding the Uchiha's insinuation, but refusing to acknowledge his comments to him.

Let them underestimate the shinobi of the Leaf. I haven't beaten all of them, and neither of us have ever truly gone full out in a spar with each other. And Naruto won't be overcome by anyone, including Death itself.

"I wonder how they would react if they knew you had the chance to save them and refused out of some misplaced confidence."

The sentence was murmured so quietly that it was barely audible. But as shinobi, they are trained to listen for such slight sounds, thus Sakura's attention was drawn to it like a moth to light.

"Don't worry Uchiha-san, my confidence is anything but misplaced. But what would their lives be worth to your organization?" Her politeness a clear mockery to the raven-haired man.

"Your complete cooperation Haruno-san." He replied easily, ignoring her taunt.

"Cooperation with what?"

But Itachi remained silent. A minute dragged by…then two…then Sakura's patience wore out.

"I know your eyesight has been failing you Uchiha, but is your hearing fading as well?"

"Your concern is noted, but your time to choose is running short kunoichi." He answered.

"Che, choose my ass." She murmured to herself.

There is no choice. I'm going to be forced to cooperate no matter what, this is just some false sense of control for me. Despite my answer, I won't be able to ensure he upholds his end of the bargain, nor will I get any closer to helping them. There is no winning, I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't…I'm caught in catch 22…"

Well, this one took long enough. But I swear, no matter what I did, I hated this chapter. I'm honestly still unhappy with it. How depressing…in any case, if any of ya'll are hardcore scary movie watchers, do NOT go see "The Unborn." It seriously sucked, I laughed 70% of the times I was supposed to scream…which is really depressing, because I had really high hopes for that one. Oh well, I'll update the next chance I get, hopefully that will be in the next couple of weeks. Well, until then, ja ne!!

Kai