WHEREVER YOU ARE
Haruno Sakura, daughter to one of Konoha's heroes. Uchiha Sasuke, Chuunin, who might just be more of a disgrace to his Clan than his brother. Sakura knew going on this mission with him would be a mistake. That she would fall in love with him all over again, and the worst part was - she was right.
Road to Ninja Universe. SasuSaku.
Chapter 17 – Promise
"Cause you're the only one,
Who stops time from ticking by.
I need you by my side,
Don't let this world die in darkness,
Don't let me drown in this silence,
Never let go of your promise."
Menma leapt to his feet as Shikamaru led the Nara clan in, they combined their shadow jutsu to create a wide-spread shadow, stalling the movements of the Uchiha ANBU outside of the Hokage Tower. Hinata stayed close by his side and Menma saw Kiba and Ino also watching each other's backs. The Aburame clan sent their bugs in, Shino standing behind his father, his face a little twisted in disgust as the bugs flew out of the sleeves of his shirt. The bugs attacked the stationary Uchiha, some cried out as the beetles began to drain their chakra.
Some of the remaining Uchiha ANBU leapt from the windows of the Hokage Tower, avoiding the Nara jutsu entirely.
Hinata grinned up at Menma, "Let's go get them." She spanked him, her hand bouncing off of his butt cheek and she winked quickly before taking off. Menma stared after her for a breath. His heart burning strangely as he stared at her engaging one of the ANBU. Hinata had always been exceptional to him. In every possible way. She was beautiful, yes. But it was more than that. Exceptional as a woman, as a shinobi. And as someone he wanted by his side, always. Menma swallowed. Hinata kicked the ANBU in the stomach and he flew back. She glanced up at him, a cheeky smile overtaking her face. "Not that I mind, but are you going to stand there staring at me all day, Menma?"
"If only I could." He said and Hinata's eyes widened. "I'll stare at you as long as I want later. That's a promise."
Hinata blinked and turned away quickly, but he didn't miss the way her cheeks had flushed prettily. Menma pulled out a kunai and joined the fray.
In the Hokage Tower, Kakashi had restrained Mikoto but she had shown no resistance. Minato, Asuma and Gai had gone to search the rest of the building for Fugaku. Kushina stood guard next to Mikoto. This was hard for her, she'd considered Mikoto a friend. They'd known each other growing up but had grown closer during their pregnancies with Menma and Sasuke. She'd never expected this from her friend. No doubt Fugaku's influence had been too great. Unable to stop herself, she had to ask, "Did you kill them, Mikoto?"
Mikoto lifted a perfect brow, "I've killed many. You're going to have to be more specific."
Kushina stared at her. "The daimyo."
"Oh them." Mikoto's lips curved upward. "Yes. Tsunade too, if you must know."
Kurenai crossed the room. "You'll be executed for this Mikoto."
"And what makes you think you'll have the power to do that? This little victory is an illusion. As you'll soon learn."
Kakashi came closer too, slamming a hand down on the table in front of Mikoto. "What is that supposed to mean?"
The door opened roughly and Gai stormed inside, heading straight for Mikoto, who tipped her head back to smile up at him. "We've searched the entire building." He said, "Uchiha Fugaku is not here."
"Realizing that means nothing at this point. It's already too late." She whispered.
The ground beneath them began to shake violently and something exploded outside, the windows shattered and dust filled the room.
"It's over." Mikoto told them, breaking free of the restraints as if they were nothing at all. Her eyes bled red.
x-x-x-x
Sakura had no time to be suspicious though and time seemed to slow around her. Itachi grunted, a blade suddenly coming out through his chest. Next to her, Sasuke let out a cry, reaching out towards his brother, his feet not moving quickly enough. Hidan jumped up.
But it was too late.
"Take a good look, Sasuke." The blade twisted. "This is was happens when you betray the Uchiha clan.
Fugaku.
Itachi coughed, blood splattering from his mouth. Sasuke's feet stilled on the wet carpet, just a little ahead of Sakura. He was so still, she wasn't even sure if he was breathing. And then Fugaku ripped the blade out roughly. Sakura's hand reached for him, her fingers brushing against his arm but he didn't react.
"You were the last loose end, Itachi." He said, no gentleness in his voice for his oldest son, "And now it's done."
Only, it wasn't. Hidan's laughter boomed through the room. The sound jarring and strange in the tense atmosphere.
And then Itachi's body exploded, the room suddenly swarming with black crows.
Fugaku gasped, his strange Sharingan bouncing around the room, trying to locate Itachi. Sasuke's shoulders caved in relief before he straightened.
The wall exploded inward and Sasuke was there immediately, shielding her. Sakura stared up at him, he had a wild look in his eyes as he held her to him. "Sasuke…" he shook his head once. Silencing her.
An Akatsuki member with fish-like features and a large weapon stepped into the room through the hole in the wall his weapon had undoubtedly made. Itachi was behind him. He looked at Sasuke for a long moment before turning his gaze to his father.
"Sasuke." Itachi said, not looking away from his target as the three Akatsuki members cornered Fugaku. "Take her and return to Konoha. You might still make it in time."
Sasuke was about to refuse but Sakura stepped forward. "In time for what?"
"To save your friends."
Sakura's heart dropped to her feet. "Did the Tsuchikage-"
Fugaku laughed. "That old fool? He's not capable."
"Nii-san…" Sasuke took a step towards his brother and Itachi looked back, pinning him with a hard look. "Sasuke. Please, go."
"Well, isn't this a surprise." Fugaku sneered. "Brothers, together again."
"Yes." Itachi said, "Not that you would understand the word. Since you murdered your brother for those eyes you like showing off so much."
"What?!" Sasuke looked between Itachi and his father.
They ignored him.
"Yes, I did." Fugaku said as simply as if he was talking about the weather. "And that was too much for your sensitive sensibilities to bear."
"Itachi, what the fuck is this?" Sasuke finally snapped and the fish faced Akatsuki member brought his large weapon down on Fugaku, who dodged easily, his katana blocking the weapon inches from his face. "Is that the best…." He trailed off, frowning suddenly and a little unsteady on his feet. Itachi took that moment to jump back, turning to face Sasuke and Sakura.
"Your blade…" Fugaku shoved the weapon away.
"Kisame, you said I could attack first." Hidan complained, a triple bladed scythe in his hand.
Kisame swung at Fugaku again, who now knew to dodge rather than block. "Am I to be held responsible for your lack of initiative?"
Itachi pulled them aside while Hidan and Kisame faced Fugaku. "You need to go. If I'm correct, Konoha is in more danger than a coup d'état."
"What do you mean, if not the Tsuchikage, then who?" Sakura asked, dread heavy in her chest.
"My father was never the one to worry about." He said, his hand coming up with a kunai suddenly to block a shuriken.
"Whoops!" Hidan called back, "Sorry about that!"
"Return to Konoha, Akatsuki will follow." He looked down at his brother. "I will catch up, Sasuke."
Sasuke stood stiffly, making no move to leave. He opened his mouth to speak but Hidan swung his scythe wildly, slashing at Fugaku and hitting the large fish tank instead. The glass shattered, water exploding into the room.
"Sasuke," Sakura reached out, taking his hand. "We need to go."
Sasuke's fingers twitched in her hand. He nodded once. "Okay."
Itachi nodded at his little brother once and then turned his back to them, "Go."
Sasuke and Sakura ran, swiping their gear up quickly, Fugaku attempted to cut them off but Itachi was already there to intercept him. They ducked through the hole Kisame made in the wall and ran.
Sakura leapt out into the rain first, throwing her cloak over her shoulder as she ran.
"Sakura!" Sasuke grabbed her suddenly, yanking her back into his chest as a kunai flew past her, so close that it sliced through her hair. It seemed a squad of Uchiha ANBU had joined Fugaku in Ame. Sasuke released her and they both reached for weapons as the ANBU closed in.
"Sakura," Sasuke said lowly.
"I know." She answered. The two of them couldn't take six shinobi on. Especially since they possessed the Sharingan.
"Any ideas?" Sakura asked, pressing her back to his.
"Got any smoke bombs?"
Sakura felt around in her weapon's pouch.
"Yeah, and a flash bomb."
"Put one of each in my pouch."
Without a word, Sakura stealthily slipped them into his pouch.
"Where is the Hokage?" one of the shinobi asked.
"She's dead, remember?" Sakura said, voice hard.
"As she should be." Another one said and Sakura let her kunai fly towards him. Sasuke let loose as well, throwing his own kunai. The ANBU went to dodge but Sasuke detonated the exploding tag on the kunai, right next to the ANBU's head. He screamed, the mask blew off of his face.
The Uchiha ANBU slumped down into the mud.
"You are a traitor to the Uchiha Clan, Sasuke." One said.
"You will be executed!" Another one spat and Sakura had enough. She let her shuriken fly and made eye contact with Sasuke. He knew immediately what she wanted to do. Sakura leapt back far enough that the remaining ANBU were in front of her. Sasuke moved, throwing his own shuriken one after another in a wide arch, the movement effectively blocking Sakura from view. She formed the seals quickly and slammed her palm down onto the ground.
"Doton: Doryuu Heki!"
Sasuke leapt high as the wall came up between them and the Uchiha, flowers and shuriken were embedded into the wall's design, Sakura's character flair that replaced Kakashi's dogs after he'd taught her the jutsu. Sasuke threw five kunai, each rigged with an exploding tag, but they were decoys. While the Uchiha were getting ready to block, he threw down the flash bomb. It hit the ground at the same time Sasuke's sandals splashed into the mud. The wall protected them from the blinding flash and they didn't hesitate. Sasuke and Sakura took off into the rain.
x-x-x-x
The ground cracked first and then a long wide chasm opened up right in the middle of Konoha. Buildings collapsed and caved in and the ground shook violently beneath them. Menma reached out for Hinata automatically, fingers curling around her arm to steady her. Not that she needed it. He felt her muscles tense underneath his fingers as thousands of white figures climbed from the chasm, filling the streets of Konoha. Hinata's hand covered his. "Menma…"
Konoha's shinobi engaged the creatures, but no matter how hard they hit, the damn things just kept getting up.
"What the fuck are these things?" Hinata's Byakugan activated and she scanned the streets. Abruptly, she spun around, facing the Hokage Tower. Menma watched her eyes grow wide and her lips part, horror setting into her features.
"Hinata? What is it? What do you see?"
The side wall of the Hokage Tower exploded outward and a large chakra cloaked figure stepped out. It looked like some kind of warrior. A solid chakra form with Uchiha Mikoto at the center of it and in its hand…
"Menma! No!" Hinata reached for him but it was too late. Menma took off running and in the chakra figure's hand, Kushina screamed.
x-x-x-x
Sasuke and Sakura had only stepped out of the village when they realized they were being tailed. Things went from bad to worse, it seemed. The Uchiha ANBU following them had doubled.
"There's only one thing we can do here," Sasuke told her as they leapt between tree branches at full speed. Sakura glared at him, "Don't even think about it. We make it out together or not at all."
"Sakura-"
"I said no, Sasuke!" Sakura yelled fiercely. "We will stay together. No matter what."
A kunai whizzed past them, embedding itself in the tree trunk directly in front of them, an exploding tag secured around the hilt.
"Sakura!"
They realized it too late.
"Shit-" Sakura tried to stop herself but there was nothing she could do midair but shield herself. She brought her arms up as the tag went off and the explosion blasted them away. Sakura flew through a branch and hit a tree trunk so hard it shattered underneath her, knocking the air from her lungs. She fell, her body hitting the ground hard. She groaned and unsteadily tried to push herself up, "Sasuke?" she wheezed his name out, her vision blurred as she looked around for him. The sound of weapons clashing sounded above her. She could make out two figures engaged in combat. Feet hit the floor in front of her. Three sets belonging to Uchiha ANBU.
Sakura pushed herself to her feet and faced them.
"The Hokage will award us greatly if we take care of this problem."
"I take it," Sakura ground out, "The problem is me."
"You do not have the right to address us, Haruno Sakura."
"Then I guess I should just take you down instead?"
A figure dropped down beside Sakura and she recognized the Akatsuki cloak immediately, but not the person. It was a blue-haired woman, covered in piercings and incredibly beautiful. "That won't be necessary, Sakura-chan." She smiled down at Sakura, all dimples. "We'll take care of them for you. Please proceed and be careful. More of them are coming."
Sasuke dropped down next to her, blood running from a cut in his hairline. "Sakura, let's go."
Sakura nodded, and they took off again, leaving the Akatsuki members behind.
"We're too exposed out here." Sakura told him as they ran through the trees, "It's too easy for them to spot us and attack."
"Then we find a place to lay low until dark." Sasuke said, glancing at her.
"These woods are crawling with them. There's nowhere we can hide."
"I have an idea," Sasuke said, veering off to the left and Sakura followed.
They left the trees, crossing the road and heading around, farther away from the fastest way to Konoha. Sakura looked back, the treeline getting farther and farther away. "We'll head back at nightfall. Right now we're just targets."
Sakura agreed, but her anxiety about the situation in Konoha didn't lessen.
They ran fast, making sure to cover their tracks so they couldn't be followed. A few small towns over, the same town where Sakura had bought the cloak for him, Sasuke picked an inn. They transformed into nondescript travelers and booked a room. Sasuke hadn't even bothered with pretense, he asked for a single room with a double bed. He'd never taken the lead like this and Sakura kind of liked it.
In the room, Sasuke pulled the curtains shut and Sakura slumped back against the door, letting the henge jutsu fall away. They stared at each other across the room. While Sakura was worried about Konoha, it was more than that for Sasuke. He'd witnessed his father kill Itachi. Even if it hadn't happened like that, the emotions he felt in that moment had been real. Sakura also wondered about the conversation between Itachi and Fugaku. And the Sharingan.
"I had no idea," Sasuke spoke, shame and disgust dripping from his voice. "I had no idea that went on in that clan. Not for a moment."
"You saw what they permitted you to see. They would've never allowed you to find out about any of that. Because if you did you would never have-"
"Is that an excuse, Sakura?" Sasuke had never looked so lost. The guilt in his eyes broke her heart. Sakura closed the space between him and stared up at him.
"The past doesn't matter now, Sasuke." She murmured, reaching up and pressing her palms to his cheeks gently, one hand slid up, healing the small cut in his hairline. "You can't change it. But you can have a say in what happens from now on. And I know you'll stop this."
"How?" he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Because I know you. Because you are good, Sasuke. Your heart is one of the things I love most about you."
Slowly, his lids lifted and he stared down at her. "You are perfect."
Sakura opened her mouth to deny it but he took advantage, leaning his mouth towards her own. Sakura's words died in her throat, her eyes clashing with his, their breaths mingling and for the longest moment in her life, neither of them moved. Blood rushed in her veins and her body burned with a strange need. There was only him and her, alone in this room, in this moment they shared, everything else faded away. Her hands shook at her sides, her body ached for him to reach out and touch her.
Sasuke breathed her name. His chest rising and falling rapidly. Hands twitching at his sides.
"Kiss me," Sakura barely managed to whisper.
Sasuke's control broke. His hands shook as he reached for her, folding around her waist and yanking her flush against him, his mouth claiming her wholly. Sakura's hands slid into his hair, grabbing fistfuls of it. His lips were relentless as he lifted her, Sakura's legs coming around him easily. Sasuke carried her to the bed and laid her down, releasing her mouth to look at her. Cheeks flushed, lips wet and swollen from his kisses, eyes hazy with need. Sasuke's breath refused to come. "I want you to be mine, Sakura."
Those lips parted, eyes searching his face. "I am yours, Sasuke."
Sasuke's hand shook slightly as his fingertips ghosted over the flush on her cheeks. His hand cupped her cheek, thumb brushing over her lower lip. "Mine?" he murmured and Sakura nodded leaning into his touch. Sasuke climbed onto the bed, one leg between her thighs and he moved that knee closer and closer, his eyes never leaving hers and Sakura's thighs parted for him until he leaned over her and that knee was pressed tightly against her. Sakura gasped sharply, a shudder running through her.
Sasuke pressed his forehead against hers, as he squeezed his eyes shut tightly against his own need, rushing wildly down his belly and lower.
"Sakura, I-"
As if she read his mind, Sakura pressed her lips to his, "Don't stop, Sasuke."
x-x-x-x
Thank you for all the lovely reviews!
Here is a preview of the next chapter: Yours –
Her lips moved but he was too far away. Mikoto flipped her blade in the air catching the hilt again and again as she spoke. Menma nearly tripped over his feet, righting himself at the last second and taking off in a dead sprint.
Thanks once again for reading. Please note that the next chapter will start off with some sexy scenes. If you're not into that, please skip to the x-x-x-x
- Zana-Lee