DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Nope.

38. Arrival: The Battle Begins

Orochimaru truly wanted to laugh out loud in sheer mirth. She was so close! He could practically feel the killing intent radiating off the younger woman. He wanted to see the feisty little monster come back out and play. He wanted to see her shed blood like she used to. He wanted her on his side. But no, that wouldn't do—he needed her to break first, and he knew how to play with words to do so. He only hoped that she wasn't too far gone that she would start her sensible thinking again.

"Sakura, dear, how can you even plan to start his death when I am still here and alive, standing right in front of you?" Orochimaru asked, spreading his arms out in welcome. Sakura ground her teeth together, seething.

'Crap, he's right! At this matchup, I'm the only one who can face Orochimaru until everyone else finishes off the army he's brought,' she thought bitterly. Sakura didn't like the fact that Orochimaru seemed to know all of this before her and was just simply reminding her of the fact.

Bastard.

Before she could begin to formulate any plans, though, she heard two people—no, three people—approaching the clearing they were standing in. Sakura and Itachi practically sighed in relief when they both saw Jiryiah, Tsunade, and Shizune appear through the thick trees.

"Well, isn't this a surprise," Jiryiah said. He gave Orochimaru a strange grin. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" he said. In another situation, Sakura could have laughed. Despite what was going on around him, Jiryiah always seemed to be the joker of the situation, always putting on an easy smile for everyone. Even for the ones he truly hated.

Orochimaru frowned in distaste and annoyance. "Shut it, fool," he mumbled. "This is nothing like old times." Tsunade stepped forward in a crouch. Her arms were at the ready, her teeth slightly barred. She looked both beautiful and fierce at the same time. It was something that many had always admired about her.

"No," she said, her voice a light growl in her throat. "It definitely isn't."

She jumped forward with all the agility a vampire could ever have, Jiryiah following her quick lead. Orochimaru mirrored their movements, becoming the demon he truly was known for. Somehow the two Sannin managed to lead Orochimaru to a valley in the mountains, keeping him away from anyone else.

As the Sannin faced off against each other, Shizune and Itachi went up against Kabuto. Before any fighting had begun, Itachi whispered, "Bring him back to us," in Sakura's ear. She gave him a slight nod, a bit distracted.

'I have to do this!' she thought darkly. And she was . . . almost excited for what was to come. She could feel a buzzing going through her veins. It was odd, but strangely familiar.

She didn't know where it came from, but she was starting to like it.

Seconds later, Itachi and Shizune had taken Kabuto far off into another direction. Now it was only them. The two apprentices of the Sannin about to face off in battle. Sakura found it almost hilarious. She was there for this kid (man) when his whole world was changing. And now they were going to be enemies.

Irony was a bitch.

She carefully calculated what his fighting style might be. It definitely wasn't going to be like her's anymore. She wanted to take many guesses, but with the relaxed pose he currently had going, she didn't know at all what he was going to do next. It was greatly irritating, not knowing what was to come. Based on how he used to be, Sakura assumed that he would be one to take the offensive side in a battle. Well, so would she.

Thinking things through quickly, Sakura determined just how the battle was going to play out and end.

In the blink of an eye, she rushed forward and lunged at Sasuke, her fist pulled back. To avoid the sudden attack, Sasuke back flipped into the air, landing in a tree several meters away. He skidded to a stop, ignoring the dust fly around him. He noticed that when Sakura pulled back up and pulled her fist from the ground, there was an imprint of her fingers and knuckles in the rock beneath her.

Such power, Sasuke then realized, would have at least cracked his jaw. At least.

Not wanting to waste any time he may not have, Sasuke ran as fast as he could, leading Sakura away from everyone else. As he sprinted through the trees, Sasuke began to worry. He was just now realizing all of the major holes in his plan. His only plan.

He knew how Sakura tended to be. He had spent an entire year with her. She was more hardheaded than him and Naruto put together—and that was saying something. What if she didn't believe him? What if she though he was lying to her to try and fool her?

'No. I can't think like that. Not yet, anyway,' he thought.

"Ugh!"

Being so caught up in his own thoughts, Sasuke failed to notice Sakura gaining up on him. She had quietly sprung forward, knocking him to the ground.

In mid-air, he turned over and grabbed Sakura by the ankle. He swung her into a few trees, the collision making a cracking noise in the quiet forest. Both vampires fell to the earth floor, keeping a cautious eye on each other. Her face was a calm mask, looking like the expression most people would confuse for content.

'She's using the poker face again' he thought suddenly. With that thought still echoing in his mind, Sasuke knew that he was going to have a more significant amount of difficulty in reading any of her following attacks.

Still watching the other vampire, Sasuke and Sakura slowly lifted themselves off of the ground into a standing position. As they circled each other, Sasuke discreetly set his plan into motion. He swiftly shifted his weight cautiously to the balls of his feet. At the perfect and opportune moment, he made his surprise move.

Going as quickly as possible, Sasuke pounced forward and took Sakura to the ground. He had not realized that they were on a lope until they had started rolling down. He kept a firm grip on her upper arms, not letting her slip away while he had her.

They tumbled down the mountain side, still strangling each other, until they came to the edge of a cliff and rolled off. Sasuke grabbed a hold of the rock, feeling Sakura grab his ankle out of sudden desperation.

Hey, they were vampires, but they weren't totally invincible.

"Now that I know you aren't going anywhere, maybe now you'll listen," Sasuke said.

So, it's a cliffy. Literally. And . . . yeah. I'm late on this.

ONE. CHAPTER. LEFT.

AND THEN THE SEQUEL.

Which I won't post until I have more chapters typed and written. So, since school starts on 9/2 (late, right? construction going on) I'll try to start writing more now, and get more typing done when I have the time. I have 8 classes this year, one of them being an independent study, I'm thinking about going for the play, and and I have to keep up in my social life. So, I'm not going to have much time. And considering I'm a sophmore, I'll have OGT's this year (state graduation tests) so that means studying like crazy. -sigh-

Next Chapter: The Truth is Revealed