Well, be happy. I almost didn't post this chapter because I have too much to do, but I promised I would if I received reviews, which I did, so here. Enjoy.
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The tree words, said so calmly, had the effect of a thunderstorm. The ANBU operatives tensed immediately.
"Well, if you want anything else, I could tell you that I sent one of my foxes back to Konoha with my report or that I sent a message to Minato-san to keep him from sending anyone after me or to negotiate with the Kazekage. And I'm not really in top shape, either," she added as she took a couple of careful steps.
She smiled a painful smile, closing her eye then opening it, and they could see that her lone bright emerald wasn't fixating on their eyes, but simply in the general direction of their faces. It took a lot of observing to notice it, for she was quite good at making it seem as though she really was looking at them, but as ANBU, their observation skills were sharper than most. It could only lead to one conclusion.
"I'm blind," she said even as they gasped.
The trek back to Konoha hadn't taken as long as Sakura had thought it would. Of course, that may have something to do with the ANBU showing her the way, though their constant worry about her well-being had been really annoying and getting on her nerves. She was blind, not incapacitated!
All in all, she had managed not to fall flat on her face nor miss tree branches when jumping, which was, she thought, rather great of her. She had then crossed the gate and entered the village, going straight to the Hokage tower.
Of course, her appearance had elicited curious glances from the villagers, as she had been stripped of her gear, staying only in her tight black ANBU pants, not even wearing any sandals, and having only chest wrapping covering her breasts, along with several bloody bandages on her abdomen. Her white hair whipped behind her as she walked. Unbeknownst to everyone, while most of the sand protecting her had stayed behind in the desert, a fine layer of it still covered her body, ready to jump into action at any time to protect her.
She thought, with a mental chuckle, that Shukaku was being rather protective of her. It had to do with being a demon's mate and becoming a demon herself, as she had learned that demons were like one big family. In fact, Shukaku was protective like one would be of a sister or a close friend–she didn't want to think lover–and she wondered whether the demons were really as blood-thirsty as people said they were. She had already confirmed the "insanely powerful" part of the rumour.
She stopped her thinking when she came to stand before Minato's secretary. Giving her a feral smile just for the heck of it, she used a deceptively innocent and kind tone to tell her that she wished to speak with the blond Hokage. Having already seen what she was capable of, the secretary quickly opened the door, announcing the visitor with a squeak.
Sakura quickly entered and was promptly engulfed in a giant bear hug. She stiffened, before patting gently the distressed man, shushing him.
"There, there, Minato-san, I'm not dead yet, now, am I? No need to worry this much about little old me. I escaped safely and even managed to buy a puppet for Kyouya-kun."
Minato released her slowly, regaining his composure. He looked at her with perplexed eyes.
"Bought? With what money?"
She waved off the concern.
"Ah, I just put the bill under the Kazekage's name. No big deal."
Finally noticing the ANBU were still there, Minato cleared his throat and dismissed them before giving once again his full attention to Sakura.
"I sense something wrong with you, Sakura-san. Please tell me what it is."
The white-haired woman hesitated, but a painful cough erupted from her chest, answering Minato's question. The hand she had put in front of her mouth was speckled with crimson. She met the blonde's concerned blue eyes and gave him a small, sad and painful smile.
"I wish I could see your eyes right now. Did you know I always thought you had captured a piece of the sky in them?"
Minato was stunned and didn't know what to say.
"Sakura-san, what…"
Said woman, who had walked to the window, closed her eye. She didn't turn back to him when she announced to him that she was dying.
She had had to beg Minato not to tell anyone her condition, assuring him that her blindness was only temporary due to her sickness. It had taken her even more convincing to get him to keep her among the ninja cleared for missions. As much as she liked being in a hospital to help people, she had things to do outside the village, such as finding a certain nine-tailed demon.
She had been greeted warmly by the six orphans who now lived with her and had played with them for a bit before whipping up something to eat, somehow managing to keep her blindness a secret from them. No use alarming them unnecessarily. Thoroughly exhausted, she had crashed down on her bed, surrounded by the furry summons she had left at home to watch over the children.
As she fell asleep, playing with the ring on her finger, she couldn't help but remember being in the same position, only with very much human males.
"This is your initiation, if you will," said Pein. "This orb will absorb some of your chakra and store it. Whenever you are low on chakra, just put your hand on the orb. It will replenish your chakra."
"Is it able to recreate chakra?"
"If you give it a sample, it can."
She looked to the orb filled with red mist that occasionally agglomerated in a shape resembling clouds and put her hand on it without any hesitation whatsoever. Immediately, she could feel her chakra being sucked away rapidly. It was as though her hand was glued to the orb. It was excruciatingly hot and painful, but she did not yell, however much she wanted to. The red mist swirled dangerously. With a bright flash of light, she was thrown away brutally, tossed aside like a mere puppet. She would have landed painfully on the stone floor, but her body was caught in a pair of arms and brought close to a warm and muscular chest. Through half-lidded eyes, she saw a blue face look at her with concern before passing out, not realizing mostly-naked men were appearing around her.
When she regained consciousness, she noticed that she was still in the cave where she had touched the glowing orb. The men were either sprawled on the ground or sitting up and rubbing their heads. She was on a very masculine lap, which made her tense automatically.
"Hey, guys! She's waking up!" called the man whose lap she was currently occupying.
Immediately, all heads turned to her. She had to refrain from gasping and gaping and chose to close her eyes, mumbling about stupid dreams in which she saw half-naked dead people. The man laughed, the deep rumble in his chest making her wonder how a dream could feel so real.
"No way. No fucking way. I'm outta here."
With that said, she got to her feet and left the cave, all the while muttering to herself. The Akatsuki members were left staring at one another in mild confusion.
"So…That's the one who's responsible for bringing us to life, un?" said Deidara.
"Seems so," shrugged Sasori.
"What a babe!" exclaimed Hidan. "I'd fucking say yes to a piece of that ass!"
Kakuzu punched him into the wall. The others looked at Hidan, who was moaning in pleasure from the induced pain, then at Kakuzu, who gave them a bleak look.
"He was annoying."
He, too, left the cave, leaving the others looking at him bemusedly.
She was in one of the most unsavoury parts of the town, where a girl was in danger no matter what time of the day it was. Sitting on a stool in a bar, she gestured for the barman to get her another bottle of sake and felt a hand grope her breast at the same time. Immediately, she stilled, anger flashing in her eyes. She would have turned around and punched the pervert through a wall, but someone did it for her. The man went flying across the room, crashing on a table and thoroughly drenching everyone around it in alcohol.
"Don't touch her," came Itachi's cold and monotonous voice, Kisame standing next to him with an arm around Sakura and the other still outstretched from his punch.
The drunk man spluttered angrily and tried to antagonize the Akatsuki members, but fortunately for him, a few men around him restrained him, looking warily at the S-class nuke-nin.
"That worm is not worth it, Itachi-san, Kisame-san. Let's get out of here before I decide to kill him," said Sakura as she lightly touched Itachi's tense shoulder.
Both men nodded. Kisame took their sake bottle and followed Itachi out of the grimy bar while keeping an arm around Sakura. They were crossing the threshold when they heard the drunk man once more and went still.
"Che, what a bitch. Dunno wha' they see in'er. Wonder how much they paid 'er t'stay wit'em."
Everyone stopped breathing, waiting for their reaction. A kunai flew toward the man and embedded itself in the floor next to his crotch.
"Next time, I won't miss," warned Sakura without turning around.
Once they left, people helped the stunned, drunk man stand up.
"Baka! Don't you know who they are?! Be thankful they let you live! That woman, even though you insulted her, saved your fucking life! Fortunately for you, she's got them wrapped around her little finger, because if she didn't, you'd be wishing for death right now!"
"Yeah! Every one of them protects her fiercely, even though she can be fucking dangerous herself! They're all merciless! She doesn't fight much, but when she does, ya better get the hell outta her face! That's what you just escaped! If she wasn't as calm, she'd have cut your balls off and made ya eat'em, ya understand? Baka!"
"Ne, you don't have to be so careful, Zetsu-san," admonished Sakura as he bandaged her arm. "I'm not made of glass."
"We know you aren't, Sakura-san. But we'll still protect you. Flowers are fragile. Here. I put one of my special ointments, so it should heal faster. Be more careful. We don't want to eat your corpse so soon."
"Aww, so sweet," she said, sarcasm dripping from her words. "But really, thanks, Zetsu-san."
Sitting at the dining room table of the main Akatsuki lair, Sakura and Kakuzu were conversing on which mission to take to gain the most money as fast as possible with minimal effort.
"I still say we should do that one in Rice country. It pays a little less, but danger is minimal compared to the other ones. That way, we won't be tired and we'll be able to do that other one at the border."
"Hm. It makes sense, but Hidan would be a pain in the ass, 'cause it's not an assassination mission, but a covert one."
"We'll have to restrain him to keep him from killing anyone, then. No problem," she said, waving aside the problem as though it were as fickle as a fly.
"The hell it's no problem! I need my fucking sacrifices, babe!" yelled Hidan as he strolled up to them. "And besides, I'm sure it would make you fucking horny–"
Sakura punched him through the wall, where he ended in a heap. Kisame, who'd been passing by, looked at the man moaning in bliss.
"Nice punch."
"Thanks," answered Sakura without looking away from the scrolls strewn on the table.
"Aaah…So fucking good…Hit me again, babe!"
"Damn you, masochistic psycho. I'm working right now! Stop disturbing me! And I won't wear that pathetic excuse for a nurse uniform you put on my bed!"
"Art is a fleeting thing, un. It's best that way."
"Iie. Art should be eternal, that's the only way it can be art."
"Fuck your art, un! Sakura-chan, what do you think?"
"Forget it, I'm not getting involved in your fight. Be men and resolve it by yourselves. And stop moving so I can heal your broken tibia."
The sky is red. Everything is red, especially the blood flowing from her wounds.
"I'll kill you. I'll break you, and then I'll kill you and all of your friends."
Sakura woke up with a start, sitting up abruptly. Her breath was coming in pants as she put a hand to her face, only to find that she had shed tears during her sleep. The foxes around her purred gently to ease her.
Memories…
A small child poked her head through the ajar door. Sakura looked at her, surprised to see that she had regained her sight during her sleep.
"What is it, Haruka-chan?"
The little girl hesitated, looking at the moon-bathed woman with wide eyes. She was so beautiful, so strong. Maybe she could help her?
"Onee-chan…I had a bad dream. Can I sleep with you?"
Sakura smiled gently and threw the covers off in a silent invitation to join her, which the girl did. As she looked at the child in her arms, she only had one thought, eyes already beginning to close.
I must be strong for them all…
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So. This gives you an idea of Sakura's relationship with the Akatsuki members. Does it show that I love Saku/Akatsuki fics? She may be a bit out of character, but keep in mind that by that point, she's already undergone torture for seven months and that changes people. She has to be strong not to be eaten alive by the organization. Time to review, 'cause reviews make my day!
