So so so close to the end. I hope y'all will stick around for it! Love all of you!

Chapter 26: Sakura and Ino: The Power of Friendship

INO POV:

Ino was surprised that she'd made it out of the station tonight, but the police had much bigger problems to handle than throwing a tipsy blonde in the drunk tank. She'd promised Captain Hatake she'd take an Uber home, but she cancelled the pickup and walked towards her car. It would be better to take the Uber home.

If she was going home.

Her mind must be soaking up that alcohol, because instead of going to her place, she followed the instructions she'd just given the police to Hidan's hideout. She parked a ways down, pulling off the road and using the trees as camouflage. No way she'd have the guts, or be stupid enough, to do this if she was in her right mind.

Ino wasn't into true crime documentaries like Sakura, but she'd seen a few. Enough to know that it could take a long time for the police to get here. They had to follow the law, wake up a judge just to get permission for a warrant or something, and then there was the issue of getting everyone on the same page and setting up a strategy. Too many bad things could happen to Sakura before they pulled into the driveway.

'Ino, you idiot, do not get out of your car.' Ah, there was her sobriety. Too bad she wasn't listening. Barefoot, she got out. She closed the door slowly so it didn't make a loud noise, then navigated through the dark forest by using her cell flashlight. It was important to point it at the ground so they wouldn't see her light. She stopped once she had a good vantage of the mansion, using the thick foliage to her advantage. It looked like any ol' mansion that could be on the front of a magazine, but the big lugs outside guarding the place was off-putting.

Ino groaned. What did she expect, to stroll through the front door? This was insane, but she couldn't leave Sakura. Even if she didn't have a plan to get in, or out for that matter. Sakura had been there for her through thick and thin. Back in college, Sakura had once protected her from an asshole. A guy tried to force himself on Ino, and when he grabbed Ino's ass she slapped him. Turns out the guy didn't think he was above hitting women, but thankfully Sakura came up behind him and smashed a beer bottle over his head when he pulled back for a wind up.

SMASH

They both ran behind the bar and the bartender called the cops. The bartender let them hide out in the kitchen until the police came incase the guy woke up or his buddies found him and came lookin' for blood. Ino never experienced another pig like that again, but she'd never forget that night.

This was a bit more complicated, though.

Lights flashed, highlighting the long driveway as a car approached. Ino ducked back, hoping the police were here already. There weren't any flashing lights, and it was a single vehicle. Not the police. A white limo drove up to the mansion and parked close to where she was hiding. The chauffeur climbed out of the driver's seat. One of the goons out front came up to greet him. He had the nastiest smirk on his face as they talked. The goon handed over a wad of cash. The chauffeur thumbed through it with lightning speed, then tucked it into his jacket with an equally unsettling smirk. He opened the back door of the limo.

Women stepped out, one by one, dolled up with bold makeup and tall stilettos. They were full of false giggles, too high pitched to be real. Most of them were dressed in revealing dresses in bright colors, and some just wore corsets and mini skirts. They didn't care that underwear was sticking out and garter belts hung. The main goon's eyes lit up, taking time to admire the women's boobs. He even reached out and squished a couple tushies. The women just giggled, probably to disguise their discomfort.

It wasn't hard to discern that this was a transaction and the women were hookers.

Ino had seen too many hookers while working to judge them. Most of the time, they were just manipulated girls from a man who profited from beating them down with insecurities, drugs, and fists. She gawked. One of the women wore the SAME top as her, just a different color. This gave her an idea that she knew she was going to hate. 'This is gonna suck so hard.' Ino hiked up her skirt, fluffed her boobs, and hoped that no one asked why she wasn't wearing shoes. Sneaking up, she came in behind the women and joined the group. None of the women noticed an extra that hadn't shown up in the limo with them. Ino molded in seamlessly. Almost. The one wearing the same top as her turned around and did a double take. 'Shit.' Caught already. The girl blinked, her brown eyes buggy and red. Then she turned and went back to her conversation. Ino let out a long breath.

"Hey, are you new?" Another woman asked, coming up to Ino. "I didn't see you in the limo, but it's so cramped and everyone's prepping, it's hard to see anything." She said. Her curled hair rivaled 80's glam style, and her brown eyes were heavily lined with eyeliner in an attempt to hide the bags under her eyes. But her smile and eyes were welcoming. "Yes." Ino said quickly, playing along.

"I'm Jewell." The woman said, then pointed at the other girls. "That's Sapphire, Crystal, Amber, Diamond, Emerald," Her eyes rolled, "Derek isn't very original, if you couldn't tell. What did he name you?"
Ino was appalled; Jewell asked the question like it was normal to name someone like a puppy dog. They weren't pets, they were human beings. Yet, she had to play the part if she wanted to get in. Unfortunately, she was having trouble coming up with a name. She had limited knowledge of shiny rocks.

"Aquamarine." She responded. That was some kind of stone, right?"
Jewel pursed her lips in a motherly way. "That's kind of long. We'll call you Aqua."

The group of women were herded toward the door. Ino hesitated. Once she was in, there was no going back. Jewell mistook her hesitation for newbie nerves and looped her arm through Ino's.

"Don't worry, just go with the flow and you'll be fine. And don't go overboard with the coke; it's for the customers." Jewell leaned in and lowered her voice as they passed by lewd stares.

"Derek will treat you ok if you can satisfy without smoking up his product and stay in control. Sloppy girls cause issues."

Ino gulped. Trying to ignore the leering goons, she studied Jewell. She'd seen the bags under her eyes earlier, but now she was noticing that Jewell and the rest of the girls were gaunt and way too skinny. Jewell hid it well with makeup, but up close her skin was unhealthy color and coverup hid her acne. Yet they still had a young energy around them.

"Jewell," Ino knew she was going to regret asking this, "How old are you?"

Anger flashed over Jewell, and she gave Ino an offended glare. "Don't ask that!" Jewell snapped. The inner walls around Jewell came down long enough to see a young, lost kid looking at her. Ino's question had caught her off guard. Jewell shook her curls, collecting herself. "Geez, you really are new. That's one of the most important rules. No personal questions. Ever." Ino nodded. She felt bad for upsetting Jewell and hovered close to her as the men herded them into the foyer like cows. A man roughly grabbed Jewell by the arm, twisting her to look at him. His other meaty hand went to a breast and squeezed. Jewell whimpered, but didn't stop him.

"Easy on the merchandise, sweetie." Ino said sickly sweet. "If you like it rough, I'll come find you later." Adding a wink, she pulled Jewell with her back into the group. Ino knew her way around flirting. But, this wasn't what this was. Jewell's eyes turned frightened, and Ino realized that she fucked up. Hookers were murdered at an atrocious rate, and this guy looked like the type of man who didn't like women talking back.

Before he could do anything, the head thug came up behind the guy and slapped him upside the head. "They're not for you idiot, we still got shit ta do."

The goon that molested Jewell straightened up and nodded. He watched his boss stalk off, then turned to her. Well, to her chest. He looked up at her face and smirked. She resisted gagging, and let a smirk rise to her face.

"Make sure you do. I'm not a patient man." He flirted, and it made her want to puke in his face. Instead, Ino only winked again and pulled Jewell with her down the main hallway. Some of the women and men were already breaking off into groups.

"Nineteen." Jewell said quietly. Ino looked back.

"What?"

"I'm nineteen." Jewell said again, looking at the ground. "Derek picked me up about four years ago."

Ino wanted to cry; Jewell had been hooking since she was fifteen. Human traffickers and pimps liked the young ones. They were easier to take, less chance of them being able to defend themselves, and kids were easy to control. Looking around, Ino wondered how old the other girls were. She had to be the oldest; even though she didn't look like it. Drugs aged people horribly, and a lot of pimps got kids hooked on drugs to keep them in line. Too often she'd taken care of 'suspected' prostitutes when they were beat by their Johns (clients) or by their pimp. All of them were young, too hungry, and too frightened to file an official report. Betrayal meant death. There were some that were just lost in the drugs and didn't care, too far gone for reasoning. But Ino tried anyway. Almost always, they were gone before Ino could officially release them or get a chance to talk to them. They stayed just long enough for treatment.

She never wanted to see Jewell in the emergency room like those other girls.

A man came up behind Ino and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"How 'bout you two join our little party?" He drawled, and her faced scrunched. His breath reeked of alcohol. He stuck to her like glue, and as much as she wanted to shove him away she knew she couldn't. What was she even doing? The plan was just to get in. The man led her with a group into a lounging room, full of men.

Shit; how was she supposed to find Sakura?

SASUKE POV:

Sasuke sat there quietly as men gathered in the conference room. Kakashi barked orders, a characteristic that only unveiled in high stress situations like this. Still, Kakashi was in control and his voice was trained to a cool demand. The men would listen to a captain that wasn't panicking. As much as he appreciated it, Sasuke knew Kakashi's tricks and they didn't work on him. He was quickly losing patience, which he knew was irrational. The best chance at success was a well organized and strategic plan. It took time to orchestrate a raid and hash out the details; the secretary was still calling officers cell phones, trying to avoid the scanners, to get more personnel in the station. Everyone needed to be on the same page. If Sasuke ran in guns blazing or, better yet, sneaked in trying to be a vigilante hero, he could get someone killed. Going rogue would only hurt their chances of extracting Sakura safely.

It felt like time dragged on, but everyone worked quickly. 'Not quick enough.' They'd have to go in with the small group they currently had and then wait for backup to gradually come. Kakashi would stay on the perimeter to intercept the swat team driving in from the city. Kakashi placed Sasuke in a supportive group. He understood the message; he would stay in his lane and listen to orders. Sasuke trusted Kakashi and respected his authority. His captain annoyed the hell out of him sometimes, but Kakashi had earned his title through grit and hard work.

"Last chance Sasuke." Kakashi came up behind him as he snapped on a vest. Checking his gun, Sasuke didn't even look up to respond.

"I'm going." He said with resolution. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Kakashi shift behind him. No doubt contemplating on how to handle Sasuke properly.

"You don't know what we're going to be walking into." Kakashi tried again. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Anger threatened to surge, but he taped it down with thick duct tape. That was Kakashi's point; that Sasuke couldn't control the turmoil in him even if he hid it well. Nothing got past Kakashi. Anger couldn't get the best of Sasuke. He'd get pulled from the squad and left behind if he showed the wrong emotion. Kakashi stared him down with a firm, but understanding gaze. Sasuke broke eye contact. He squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. Kakashi would pull him if he felt Sasuke would be a liability, regardless of their relationship.

"No one would blame you if you sat this one out." Kakashi said in an understanding voice. How was it calming and frustrating at the same time?

"I have to go."

It was Kakshi's turn to sigh. "I know. But I had to ask."

"I know."

"Don't go all Rambo, Sasuke. It could go very, very badly."

"I'm not stupid," Sasuke snapped, turning to fully face Kakashi. Ever since Sasuke was young, Kakashi had been a sort of mentor for him. For a period of time Itachi and Kakashi were partners, detectives in the homicide unit. Groomsmen at Itachi's wedding. He was at family cookouts, Sasuke's graduation, and teased that someday he'd weasel his way into Sasuke's wedding too. He was almost family and cared about Sasuke. In his own Kakashi way. But damned if Kakashi was gonna stand in Sasuke's way.

'Breathe.'

Getting mad wouldn't help, and Kakashi had that weird look in his eye. The wise-uncle-that's-not-related-to-you look that said Kakashi knew that Sasuke wasn't really mad at him. Sasuke was mad at himself. Ugh. He hated that look. It made him feel like a child every time he was on the receiving end of it.

Sasuke wasn't going to fuck this up; he knew better than that. Kakashi moved forward and squeezed his shoulder. Nothing else needed to be said. Sasuke finished up and moved to join his squad. As they loaded out, Sasuke tried not to think about Sakura. There was a smaller chance that he'd do something stupid if he wasn't thinking about those big green eyes, and how that lovely smile could shatter in less than a second.

Sakura's POV

Sakura tried not to physically cower. The ghost she'd only known as a picture was standing in front of her. Her instincts had been written off as doubt and paranoia, but from now on she was trusting her gut. If she got another chance.

Hidan hooked his jacket on the doorknob as he closed the only door in the room. It was incredibly bare, with the giant floor level bed she was on as the only furniture. He looked like he was coming home from a long day from work, rolling up his sleeve and relaxing his shoulders. Who knew, maybe this was him coming home from work. That made her think about his gang, or was it a cult? Everything she read about Hidan and his 'religion' flooded over her.

They'd captured the maiden. The next step was the sacrifice.

Hidan carried a bag with him as he strolled up to the bed. She wanted to be brave, but she couldn't stand being near him so she scooted to the wall. The chains restricted her movement and made it difficult. He didn't seem to notice. His face was neutral, with a slight smirk on his lips, and he was about average build and size. None of that was scary about him. It was his eyes that freaked her out. Those shark eyes were locked in on her, lapping up her fear. He fed on it. Those were the eyes of a sociopath. A cold blooded killer. He pulled something out of the bag and threw it at her. She flinched, closing her eyes, but only fabric hit her skin.

"Put it on," Hidan ordered, crouched in front of her. Her eyes snapped open but her body didn't move. The smirk on his face fell. "Or I'll do it." He said, as if it was casual. A voyeurs' smile spread across his lips. Sakura struggled to find her voice, and grappled to clutch at any piece of control she could get in this situation.

"Can I have some privacy?" She dared to ask. Some sharpness came out in her tone, and she bit her tongue trying to stop it. Would he be mad? She had to tread carefully here. Mentally, she prepared for the backlash. The man in front of her with dull eyes didn't lash out at her, he did something worse. Instead, he smiled. The bed shifted as he moved away from her. Hidan inched his way to the edge of the bed and laid on his side, staring at her.

He lifted his hand and gestured for her to continue.

'Guess that's the most privacy I'm gonna get.'

Sakura lifted the garments he tossed her. The material was crushed velvet and baby pink, and there wasn't much of it. Sakura raised her cuffs hand to get a better look at the outfit. It was basically undergarments; a bralette and high waisted booty shorts. In this circumstance, the outfit felt demeaning. The disgust must have shown on her face, because Hidan said, "you can either put it on yourself, or I put it on. Either way is fun for me."

He was enjoying this too much, but what did she expect? Her fingers trembled. She hated this. She hated playing his game, but what she wanted didn't matter. This was survival. From his reaction it looked like he enjoyed a little banter and sass, but that was a dangerous line to tread. She pulled her wrists, showing him the chain.

"Can you at least uncuff me? Otherwise I can't get it on."

Hidan shrugged. He was enjoying her struggle. Like a vampire, he glided off the bed and across the room to grab a key hanging off a hook near the door. Once he reached the bed, he slowly crawled towards her. Her back pressed painfully into the wall. She wanted to vomit at his smolder and the touch of his fingers that lingered too long near her wrists and down her leg.

The cuffs dropped, giving her instant relief that was short-lived. Now she had to strip in front of him.

Her body shivered as she put on the shorts first, but her mind was going a mile a minute. Stall, she needed to stall. Use his arrogance against him.

"It doesn't make sense." She stated. Hidan happily took the bait.

"What?" He goaded.

"Why me?"

"ahhh, is this supposed to be my big moment?" He started. Hidan stood up, chuckling. "I divulge my 'big bad plans' to you?" He questioned, using air quotes. Rounding the bed, he patted her leg gently. His body was close enough for her to kick at, but she knew that wasn't a good idea. Sakura hated that he was teasing her and enjoying it. When he didn't continue, she said, "I'm not an innocent. I'm not a virgin."

He barked out a laugh. "I know that. You think I'm stupid enough to think that your cop boyfriend was staying the night on the couch just to watch over you?" He tut-tutted her. "Jashin doesn't care about literal virginity, a flimsy piece of flesh. Especially in the times we're in now. I mean sure," He shrugged, "the group used to think that virgins were better cause they guaranteed some virtue and attributes that maidens need, but do you know how hard it is to find virgins?" Hidan shook his head. "Even teenagers are rampant with sex these days, you would have to dip into the preteens. Not everyone in the group was comfortable with that."

If she wasn't disgusted with him before, she was now. Sacrificing children was abhorrent. Hidan didn't seem bothered by it, more like he was annoyed at the restrictions put on him. 'Obviously he wasn't one of the members that was uncomfortable with butchering kids.' It was truly evil. Was he even human?

"Then why me?" She repeated with a clearer voice.

"Why not you?" He retorted back. "When Hido showed that video to me and pointed you out, I knew that I had to have you."

So Hido hadn't been lying about finding her, Sakura realized. Hidan continued, enjoying the banter.

"You're a sweet doctor that takes care of people. Selfless, caring, and virtuous. This is an honor, and very few people get this opportunity." He reached out to brush her cheek. She couldn't stop the shiver; his hands were icy cold. Just like his heart...If he had one. "We live in such a world of corruption, don't you want to be released?" He whispered.

"The world isn't as bad as you think." She retorted, jerking her head out of his touch.

Hidan waved off her comment. "You sound like Sarah. She spouted all kinds of nonsense at first when she was chosen."

Sarah sounded familiar to Sakura, what was the connection? 'oh my god, Sarah was his girlfriend. She was supposed to be a sacrifice?!'

"That girl in Walmart…"

"Yes, Sarah. She was such a sweet girl too. When I first met her she was working as a kindergarten teacher. Loved children." He shook his head. "She was easily corrupted. A shame really."

Sakura gaped. "So you murdered her?"

A slow smile grew on his face. "I threw her away. Someone had to take out the trash eventually. At least that way she was useful."

"She was a human being!"

"Bah! Why does everyone use that as a term of endearment? Like humans are so innocent. We're monsters!" He shouted. Crossing him arms, he breathed in through his nose to calm down. Like he was talking to a child that just didn't get it.

"Jashin accepts those who know the realities of this world. We accept the nasty, evil world we have," He said more calmly. He leaned down till he was eye level with her, "And release those who are too pure for this world. Jashin will be pleased with you. And with me." Flashing a smile, he straightened the collar of his sheet and moved around the bed. He was circling her like the shark he was. He flicked his wrist at her dress. She had yet to take it off and put on the top he gave her. She gulped as she grabbed the hem of her dress. He turned to pace again, and she quickly shimmied off her bra.

"What about Hido?" She asked, shoving the velvet bralette on.

"What about him?"

"Arent you afraid he's going to expose what your doing here?" She asked desperately.

Hidan snorted.

"That idiot? Of course not. He's been undermining my authority for a while now, but he's true to the cause. He won't betray Jashin. I was furious that he was trying to intervene, but it was a blessing in disguise. He got caught, arrogantly wanted all the credit, and ultimately got the cops off my back."

She wanted to cry. All those times she felt like she was being watched, but convinced herself that the threat was behind bars.

"So, is the interrogation over? You got everything you wanted out of me?" He said, and reached out once again for her. This time she pulled her legs tightly to her chest. It didn't phase him. He pulled something from behind his back and put it on her head. Her teeth grit. After, he tilted his head to admire her new headband.

"I'd like to go home." She croaked.

"You are going home." He said with a frown. "You're going somewhere better. You're real home. Don't you see that?"

Everything he was telling her, he truly believed. She could see it on his face as tried to convince her that what he was doing was right. She turned her head away, tears pricking at her eyes. She heard him sigh.

"I need to go. The ritual will begin at sunrise, so you don't have to wait long."

Her head spun back around. 'No!'

"Wait-" She needed to keep him here longer. All she could hope for was that someone was coming for her. Ino must've noticed by now that Sakura was missing and told the police. Hidan held up a hand to silence her.

"No, I've entertained you long enough." Hidan strode to the door. He put on his jacket, then turned to face her. He smiled, and gave her a bow, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. "Next time I walk through that door, I will be your savior. Be ready."

A little explaining, but I was having a hard time writing this last part. Just hard to imagine than interpret into words. PLZ R&R! It helps a lot.