DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any other characters belonging to the Anime series. However, I do own the characters that were created by me – they will make their appearances in the later chapters.
Summary:Sakura and Tenten – both FBI Agents – are on a vital mission to eradicate one of America's largest and most feared Mafia Gangs. Sakura has no memory of her past. What happens as she finds the missing pieces when she encounters the mesmerizing, drop-dead attractive, Sasuke Uchiha, leader of the gang?
WARNING: This Fan-fiction contains VERY explicit content in later chapters. If sexual content, mild violence and aggressive language bother you, then it is advised that you discontinue reading this fiction immediately.
NOTE: 'Inner Sakura
'Thoughts' (Except for the short preface at the beginning of each chapter)
Narrator's POV
WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS VERY VIOLENT MATERIAL! IF MILD AND BRUTAL VIOLENCE BOTHERS YOU, THEN IT IS ADVISED THAT YOU SKIP THIS CHAPTER AT ONCE! HOWEVER, YOU WILL BE MISSING OUT ON SOME IMPORTANT THINGS WORTH KNOWING. IF INTERESTED IN THE IMPORTANT INFO, PLEASE CONTACT IzWinchesterDevil VIA THE PERSONAL MESSAGING SYSTEM. IF OTHERWISE, THEN DO ENJOY THIS CHAPTER!
Note: At the end of this chapter, I would like to make a toast.
CHAPTER NINE
Sanctuary
Sanctuary – a Sanctuary is considered a chapel or holy place. Our Sanctuary is our own safe heaven – a place where our fears and sins and any other thing that burdens us just ebb away. It is a peaceful place where one can escape to whenever the darkest times are amongst them; a place in which no one can enter and every beautiful spectacle is yours and it is open to you at any time. Having your own Sanctuary gives you hope and enables you to have faith; it helps you think and develop your own thoughts peacefully which also make your mind stronger; your will stronger and your self restraint stronger. Turning to your Sanctuary is better than turning to suicide as an answer; even if it is just your imagination…
In the morning, Sakura awoke to find that Sasuke was no where in the room. Kagerou was awake, but was busy playing silently with her doll, Ririn, on her father's rumpled 'futon-bed'.
"Good morning, sweetie," Sakura said to the girl, planting a kiss on both of her soft cheeks. The little girl looked up and returned the greeting in her soft, velvety voice before continuing with what she was doing. Sakura then got up and grabbed her towel.
"Hey, if you're dad asks where I am, tell him I'm in the shower," Sakura said as she opened the door to the bathroom and Kagerou nodded.
Sakura had spent almost fifteen minutes washing up and was now changing into her clothes. She was still in the bathroom, though. Sasuke's bathroom had three rooms – one for the toilet; another for the bath tub and another one for just a shower and taps alone. Yes, it was huge. As she was about to pick up her hairbrush to groom her silken, pink hair, she heard a knock on the door.
"Sakura…" It was Sasuke.
"What is it?" Sakura answered and opened the door to find Kagerou with a towel in her hand.
"Oh…you want me to give her a bath?" Sakura said as she took her daughter up and into her arms.
"Hn, both of her sitters will be out so I need to take her to school. I expect her out in half an hour. Bring her to the garage," Sasuke said before leaving the room. He always referred to the day care center which Kagerou went to everyday as 'school' but it really was not one. Of course the toddlers did educational activities but it was too lenient to be called a school. Sakura filled the tub with warm water and then helped remove her daughter's pajamas. Then she lifted her off the ground and put her into the tub. Sakura then walked across to the towel-rack and hung the towel which was not needed at the moment. But when she turned around to face Kagerou, she was faced with the most horrible sight.
Her eyes widened in horror and the only words that managed to escape her lips were, "Oh my God…"
Sakura walked over to the girl in the bath tub quickly, her hands over her mouth and her eyes widened in shock. There, on the child's beautiful skin, were the most gruesome looking cuts which were embedded into the flesh of her back. Without even bothering to finish washing her up, Sakura took Kagerou out of the tub with shaking hands, and wrapped the towel around her wet body. Kagerou gave a confused look, seeing that she was not properly bathed. Then, Sakura lifted Kagerou and took her outside where the bed was. Gently, she put her down on the mattress and said, "I'll be right back, okay? And do not answer the door if it's one of your father's friends or anyone strange. If they enter, I want you to run into the bathroom and lock the door. Okay?" Kagerou nodded.
"Can you reach the doorknob?" Sakura asked and the child nodded once again. Sakura then stormed out of the room. It was no wonder Kagerou never communicated properly. Sakura was right from the start – her daughter was not an emotionally normal child. Sakura walked down the corridor and across the large living room, in the direction of Neji Hyuuga's room. Sakura had not known anyone's personality from the gang thoroughly to trust them. But she knew that she could definitely trust Tenten. From the looks of the wounds on Kagerou's back, Sakura could tell that they were not self inflicted. Someone definitely did that to her. But as people said – assumption kills you. That was why she needed to fully investigate the matter carefully; with someone she could trust.
Tenten sat up on the bed and looked around the room. It was empty – as usual. Yes, she was sharing a room with Neji Hyuuga, but that did not mean they shared the same bed – although there was only one bed. For the past couple of days, Tenten tried to read Neji – his personality through the way he handled things and anything of that sort. Usually, Neji would meditate throughout the night in the porch, outside his room. Sometimes he would fall asleep in the coldness of the night – this made Tenten feel both a bit guilty and offended. She got up, with a blanket in hand and walked out into the porch. The morning was chilly and it was definitely unhealthy to sleep in such a temperature without some form of covering, even if clothes are being worn. Gently and slowly, she wrapped the thick covers around Neji's sitting; yet sleeping form, hoping that she did not wake him. His position at the moment seemed a bit attracting to her eyes – Neji was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall and his right knee was brought to his chest and his right arm was thrown over it. His head was slightly bent forward, causing his few, dark brown locks to adorn his beautifully pale skin, the strands tilted. The locks were covering his eyes and made it impossible for Tenten to figure if he was asleep or awake. She turned around and proceeded to enter the bedroom when a calm voice harshly said, "I don't needyour hospitality."
Tenten ignored that comment and continued walking to the entrance to the bedroom. Tenten shuddered at the change of temperature as she walked into the room. She wondered how Neji could withstand that coldness without getting hypothermia. Tenten grabbed her towel and walked to the bathroom. As she turned the doorknob, there were three knocks at the door. She sighed before leaving the bathroom door.
She answered the door to see Sakura, wearing a very distressed and worried look on her face.
"Good morning," Tenten said. Sakura did not even bother to return the greeting and got straight to the point.
"There's something you need to see," Sakura said to her. Tenten dropped the towel and followed Sakura back to her room. Kagerou was sitting on the bed when the two women entered, still in her towel. When the door had clicked open, she had positioned herself to run to the bathroom like her mother said to. She sunk back down onto the bed when she saw that it was just Sakura and another lady with loose, brown hair. Sakura beckoned the child to come to them.
"Tell me what you think of these," Sakura said as she lowered the towel on Kagerou's back. Tenten gasped and touched the wounds. To her, it looked as if someone had beaten Kagerou with a corporal punishment instrument or something similar to it – it looked as if she had been whipped. Surely, Sakura thought the same thing as well.
"There're still fresh," Tenten said, noting that some were still a bit moist, but not from the water during the bath; there was still some fresh blood over the cuts. "This happened recently," Tenten said, "and by the looks of the dried ones (A/N: she means the wounds), this has been going on for a long time."
"Did she say who did this?" Tenten asked Sakura.
"If she had, then I would not just be standing here now would I?" Sakura said in answer to Tenten's question and got down to Kagerou's level.
"Kagerou, I know that you think that if you tell anyone, the person who did this to you will hurt you again, but I'm telling that I won't let them," Sakura said to her child in a serious tone, "You need to tell us who did this so we can deal with that person." Kagerou shook her head. Sakura sighed.
"Please?" Sakura begged the girl, brushing away the few strands of hair that were covering Kagerou's eyes.
Kagerou did not answer.
"Was it Sai?" Sakura asked but the child did not answer. Sakura took that as a 'no'.
"Was it Naruto?" Sakura asked but Kagerou remained silent.
"Was it…Shikamaru?" Sakura asked; silence.
"How about Neji?" she said and yet again, the child did not answer.
"Was it…was it…Sas-your father?" Sakura said in a slightly trembling tone. She was hoping strongly that it was not him, but to her utter surprise, Kagerou's eyes were welling up with tears. Sakura wanted to believe that this gesture meant 'no' as well but another half of her chose to believe otherwise.
"Tenten, get Kagerou dressed. I need to have a nice chat with that dear husband of mine," Sakura said in a stern tone. Even Tenten was surprised at the child's answer and gave Sakura every right to beat Sasuke shitless for what he had done…
Sakura left the room, slamming the door behind her. Yes, she was very enraged. She walked in a swift pace to the garage, where Sasuke had told her and Kagerou to meet him. When she got to her destination, as expected, Sasuke was impatiently awaiting. On hearing Sakura's rapidly approaching footsteps; he turned to see her, her eyes slightly teary and red with rage.
"Where is Kagerou?" Sasuke asked sternly.
Sakura said nothing and lunged towards him, motioning her hand to slap him, but he caught it just in time. He was wondering what had gotten into her.
"What's your problem?!" he asked harshly as he squeezed her wrist tightly. She was pained by his action, but showed no sign.
"I'm afraid Kagerou will not be going to Day Care today, Uchiha," she said dully.
"What?" he asked.
"HOW COULD YOU?!" Sakura snapped at him.
"How could you do that to your own daughter?!" she yelled in anger. Sasuke was now gripping both of her hands.
"What the fuck are you talking about, Sakura?!" he inquired, frustrated.
"Oh, you know very well what I'm talking about, you sick, sadistic, cock-sucking, mother fucking, BASTARD!" Sakura yelled. Sasuke turned around, slamming Sakura's body on the white-painted wall.
"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, Sakura!" he said roughly into her ear and Sakura's expression ebbed from enraged to shock. His words seemed to be mixed with a tone of slight confusion
"What? What do you mean…all along…then who?" Sakura stated confusingly.
"Hn," Sasuke said and released her after noting that she had become calmed.
"So you didn't know…but still, how can you be so blind?" Sakura asked the man whose eyes were widened by a small fraction. Sasuke was confused.
"All this time…I can't believe you just completely ignored her behavior, Sasuke – Kagerou's abnormal behavior. All this time you couldn't see that our daughter was being…abused!" Sakura said angrily. Sasuke's eyes widened again in shock. Long before he and Sakura had reunited, Sasuke had taken note of that – Sasuke could not deny that back then, he had felt even a slight amount of concern about the behavior of his daughter. But, shrugged the feeling off as he thought it was merely due to the fact that he told her about Sakura – her mother and the fact that she 'died' and how her death happened. He remembered that there was a time when she would constantly ask questions about Sakura and the nights that she would cry because of the fact that everyone at the Day Care School had their moms; but not her. All of this contributed to the reason as to why Sasuke had no suspicion of Kagerou being abused.
"Show me," Sasuke ordered. He and Sakura both made their way into the house.
In one of the rooms, away from the rest of the gangsters' rooms, a very important phone conversation was going on. The room was dark and the windows were shut, allowing no one to possibly eavesdrop. Surely whatever these two people were discussing meant business.
"I made sure to deliver the disk to Tayuya, Sir," a woman spoke into her cell phone.
"Yes, I received it this morning," Orochimaru's voice answered on the next line, "I was impressed – you smuggled the program out with ease."
"Well, I was trained by the finest, Lord Orochimaru. You have taught me well," the woman said, "However, the program still needs to be encrypted."
"I have already arranged for that to be dealt with. I must attend to other things. Kimimaro wants to see me for some reason," Orochimaru said.
"Do I still get Sasuke?" the woman asked.
"Of course! You had him once didn't you? Then you can have him again…" Orochimaru said.
"Oh yes, I forgot to mention – there is a special package addressed to Senju Tenten and Sakura Uchiha. Be sure that they get it and make sure that they understand that I know where they are," Orochimaru said or more like 'hissed'. The call was then disconnected…
Karin sighed and walked out of the room.
Sasuke knelt at Kagerou's level and said one more time, "Show me the wounds." The little girl clung on to her mother's pants tighter as her lips began to tremble.
"I think you're being too harsh, Sasuke," Sakura said to him and he sighed.
"Hn"
Then he repeated the same statement in a more fatherly, but not too gentle tone. Then, Kagerou slid up the part of the T-shirt which covered her back for Sasuke to look at the wounds. Sasuke did not have to look for more than five minutes until he was fully infuriated.
"Why didn't you tell me about this?!" he snapped at the little girl who went back to gripping the right side of her mother's pants, tightly.
"Maybe if you spent a little more time being a father and if you had been a little less selfish, then maybe she would have opened up to you!" Sakura snapped, defending her daughter. Sasuke growled under his breath.
"Just shut the fuck up, Sakura!" Sasuke shouted. But his response did not mean that he thought of himself as wrong.
"Watch your mouth, Sasuke! I don't want her to turn out to be corrupted like you!" Sakura shouted back.
"Guys, stop it!" Tenten said to both quarreling adults, but they paid no heed to her commands. Sasuke and Sakura kept arguing about things unknown to Tenten.
"How the fuck am I selfish?!" Sasuke said and Tenten covered the child's ears. When she saw that Sasuke's hands were balling into fists, Tenten turned to the little girl, swept her off the ground and headed towards the exit. There was just way too much commotion going on – certainly not healthy for a little girl who had been physically tormented, to see.
"I DON'T WANT HER OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Sasuke yelled at Tenten who mustered every ounce of confidence she had and said to the man, "I don't see what sense it makes, letting her see this upsetting dispute between her parents." It was then Sasuke realized that Kagerou was crying. Though, his angry eyes never softened.
"Hn," Sasuke said. To Tenten, it sounded like 'fine then'.
"Remember what I told you, Kagerou – emotion is weakness. Behave," Sasuke said, glaring at the child who immediately forced herself not to cry. She knew how angry he usually would be. To be honest with her, Kagerou was scared of him. Even so, she loved him; she loved him dearly. Yes, he would usually get angry, but that anger was not directed to her. During the short times they had spent together, Kagerou was able to experience the hidden, fatherly affection Sasuke had for her. He never showed it directly, but it was implied. Kagerou was now sniffling in order to force the sobs to die before they even reached her throat.
"Don't let her out of you're sight. If anything happens to her, I'll have your neck for it," Sasuke threatened Tenten. So it seemed that Sasuke only spoke in complete sentences when he was angry and threatened people.
"Don't speak to my sister like that!" Sakura spat.
"Don't worry, Saki. He won't touch a single strand of hair on my head," Tenten said, glaring daggers at him. Only Tenten knew the trick up her sleeve which she was hinting by that statement. Then, without waiting another minute long, Tenten left the two adults to sort out their business.
"You still haven't answered my question, Sakura," Sasuke said, unkindly.
"Why do you even care?" Sakura bellowed.
"Answer me!" Sasuke growled, slamming Sakura onto the wall. She grimaced slightly at the pain.
"You are selfish because you don't care about other people's feelings. You are selfish because that night you carelessly fucked me, not caring of how I was feeling before; you took advantage of me; you just wanted to satisfy your needs," Sakura stated.
"That's a stupid answer," Sasuke said, releasing her slowly, "You have no idea what 'selfish' means…" With that confusing statement, he left the room, slamming the door behind him and leaving Sakura to ponder on his unexplained words. She slid down the wall to a sitting position, her back against the wall.
Sakura should have known not to expect good things when she chose to stay at the Onikage's residence. Right now, she just wanted to forget – forget about her emotional pain and suffering; the flashbacks which contributed to that pain; she wanted to forget about everything, even just for a little while – for her mind to be at peace for at least a minute or two. She felt like escaping into a different atmosphere – her own world – her…Sanctuary…
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Sakura…" It was Tenten.
"Sakura I know you're in there. Look, you need to come out. The gang needs to see us for something," Tenten said, "And Kagerou wants you to hold her." Sakura hesitated for a while, but after five minutes, she got up and opened the door. Tenten was still waiting for her with Kagerou in her arms. Tenten saw the dull expression on Sakura's face, but did not think that it was right to question it just yet. As soon as she saw her mother, Kagerou stretched her short arms out, towards her mother. Sakura took her in her arms, wearing the same dull expression. It was amazing how she had gotten so attached to Sakura in such a short space of time.
The two women made their way down to the Assembly Suite where everyone was assembled. Sakura felt Sasuke's presence in the room as well, but never made eye contact; but Sasuke on the other hand was glaring daggers, boring holes at the back of her head. Sakura did not see Temari. She guessed that she was probably sleeping after traveling for long hours in order to get to Oakwood Canyon. However, Shikamaru was present and was now walking towards Tenten and Sakura.
"This came in this morning for you guys," he said to them both and handed Sakura a large, brown envelope. Sakura tried to put Kagerou down who only gripped on to her mother's shirt tighter. For some reason, she did not want to let go.
"Sweetie, I need you to stay with your dad until I'm finished with whatever's in here," Sakura said referring to the envelope.
"No," Kagerou responded softly and held on tighter to her mother.
"Kagerou…please –" Sakura was cut off. "Kagerou," Sasuke said sternly which clearly meant 'come here now!'
Kagerou hesitantly let go of her mother and, with her short legs, she quickly ran to her father. Sakura looked at the envelope. It was addressed to her and Tenten. But thing strange thing was – how did anyone know where they were? She looked at Tenten whose eager eyes were fixed upon the envelope. She was probably thinking the same thing as Sakura. Sakura tilted the envelope and a thick pile of glossy documents fell into her hand. They were…pictures. At the sight of the first picture, Sakura's hands went numb and the entire pile hit the floor, scattering so that everyone could see them all.
Tenten and Sakura clasped their hands over their mouths as they stared in shock. Lying at their feet were captions of three people after they had been slaughtered – Tsunade, Kurenai and even the baby – Hiroshi. Tenten's eyes were already welling up with tears as was Sakura's. In the first photo, Tsunade's nude, dead body was lying on her bed, her hands bounded together with pieces of barbed wire; her wrists were bleeding profusely and her body was covered in bite marks which were undoubtedly made by human teeth. What was more horrific was that her upper and lower lips were stitched together as was the folds of her womanhood. Sakura and Tenten assumed that Tsunade had been raped before being brutally tortured. The next picture was Kurenai's. She was still in clothing which was drenched in a pool of blood and water in an overflowing bathtub. Through her neck, a knife was stabbed upwards and the blade was visible in her opened mouth. The last picture was one that tore both Tenten and Sakura's hearts to shreds. Lying in his crib was baby Hiroshi, his vest bloodied from a deep, vertical cut from his chest and trailed downwards. At this point, Sakura and Tenten were endlessly and helplessly sobbing. Seeing Tsunade's face that pleaded for mercy and Kurenai's horrific expression was just too much to take in. No, they could not look at those two pictures any longer. But Hiroshi's was different. Sakura picked up the picture of the baby boy who looked as if he was sleeping peacefully; his face so innocent. Anytime Hiroshi's eyes were closed, he looked beautifully peaceful. Seeing this picture delivered the final blow to Sakura and Tenten's hearts – it stabbed them with more than a thousand knives. Sakura dropped the picture, reaching her breaking point and after letting out a loud sob, she said, "I…I…I t-think I-I'm go-gonna be…sick." And without saying another word, she stormed off into the direction of her bedroom to find the toilet.
Kagerou looked to her father and asked, "What's wrong with Mommy?"
"Hn."
Tenten on the other hand, fell back onto the couch and buried her head into the palms of her hands, sobbing painfully. Her eyes were bloodshot. No one made a move to approach her for they feared her reaction. Then slowly, Hinata moved toward the tearing woman and wrapped an arm around her, pulling Tenten closer to her. Hinata hushed her and whispered soothing words. Naruto then loudly walked over to where the pictures laid, picked them up, and said, "You guys should have never had to see this, believe it!" before ripping them into a million shreds. "Who does this guy think he is?!" the hyperactive blond continued before walking over to Tenten, who was now in Hinata's arms.
"Don't let this guy pull you down, Tenten!" Naruto said to the woman who sniffled.
"Shikamaru, where did you get that envelope?" Sasuke asked sternly.
"I found it in the mail," Shikamaru responded before yawning.
Sasuke felt his phone vibrate in his pockets…
"Uchiha," Sasuke answered.
"We have arrived…" was the voice of none other than Uchiha Itachi…
Sasuke tried to put Kagerou on the ground, but again, for some reason, she did not let go of him; just as she had done with her mother. Was it because she knew the person who beat her was near? He did not know, but he vowed to see into that matter when the meeting with Akatsuki was over; he would not stop searching for that person until they met their death. Sasuke just sighed and allowed her to stay in his arms. He never wanted her to overhear anything about the Mafia. After all she was a child, and children had tendencies to brag; brag about things that did not concern them.
Sakura entered the room and sat near Kagerou, who was at the side of Sasuke in the Assembly Suite. The rest of the main members of Onikage were also present. Hinata had taken Tenten back to her room, where – as Sakura was told – she rested. Sakura made no eye contact with the other men around her. Her mind was far too preoccupied with the gruesome, inerasable pictures which played over and over in her head.
"It's good to see that you're alive and well, Sakura Uchiha," said a low tone. Sakura snapped her head up to meet an onyx-eyed man with jet-black hair which was tied into a low pony-tail. He wore a smirk which was much like Sasuke's.
"My brother has told me about your condition," he stated, "And for that, I shall re-introduce myself. I'm Itachi Uchiha."
'So this was the mysterious, top ranking Mafia man, Itachi Uchiha, huh?' Sakura said inwardly. She noted that Sasuke and his brother looked very much alike, but it was clear that Itachi spoke on a more regular basis; or if he too never spoke much, at least when he did, he would speak in a proper sentence.
"Yo, Sasuke, what's that mutt doing in here?!" snapped a man whose face was so pale, it looked almost blue. Sasuke glared at him.
"Watch your mouth, Kisame," Itachi said in his low but stern tone, "that mutt is my niece."
"Sakura, I think I should introduce you to these losers!" Naruto said loudly. Naruto began his introduction after he cleared his throat. He pointed to the guy with long, blond hair. Sakura had mistaken him for a girl at first. He reminded her of Ino.
"That is Deidara," Naruto said then pointed at the 'blue-faced' man. "That's Kisame."
Sakura was then introduced to the members: Hidan, who abused very colorful language; Kakuzu, who completely freaked her out; Pein, who was referred to as 'Leader' and had a variety of piercing on his face; Konan who had unusual blue hair and was rather pretty; Zetsu, who wore his hood up so it was almost impossible to see his face; Tobi, who, even though was mysterious under his orange mask, Sakura could tell that he was quite childish…
"You should know that is rude to point, Uzumaki," said a dull voice from at the far end of the table. Everyone turned their heads in the direction of the voice. But then Sasuke's attention adverted to Sakura who let out a low groan. He saw that she was clutching her head tightly.
"Sakura…"
Sakura sat at one of the unoccupied tables at the café. The doctor had informed her that she would go on maternity leave when she was seven months. While waiting for her order of tea, Sakura looked around at the surroundings. Across the road was a bar. On the inside, figures of people dancing could be seen. But her yes widened in shock as she spotted a raven-black haired man, groping a blonde's ass. He looked a lot like Sasuke.
'That man could be anyone,' Sakura thought, knowing that Sasuke was not one to cheat on her. His sense of pride was far stronger than that. But she took that thought back when a clearer view of his face was revealed. It was…Sasuke. Sakura wanted to confront him right then and there, but she did not know if the words would come out correctly; maybe Sasuke might have made her look like a fool. Confrontation did not make any sense to her right now. Sakura held back her tears. It would draw too much attention to her if she completely broke down. Quickly, she walked back to her car which was in the parking lot of the hospital. It probably was a strange thing, seeing a pregnant woman moving quickly because many people seemed to be starring.
Home was not too far away from the hospital. Sakura opened the door to her house and then slammed it shut when she entered. Sakura's legs felt like giving up. She knew that she could not afford to lose this baby. Sakura wanted to move towards the sofa, but her feet just did not budge. Rapidly, the tears began to fall.
"Here, let me help you," said a voice behind her. Sakura did not even turn around to see who it was; she did not know the person, but she was sure that it was not Sasuke. No, this man smelt different; different, but familiar.
"S-Sasori?" she asked.
"How did you know?" he asked. Many would think that his question was utterly stupid, but in Sasori's case it was not. You see, Sasori rarely even spoke, so it was hard to identify him by voice.
"Your cologne," Sakura answered. Sasori chuckled. The Akatsuki were staying at the Uchiha manor for a month due to some Mafia business which Sasuke had seemed to be involved in as well.
Sasori was now sitting next to her, his arms wrapped around her shoulders. He did not seem to have any flirtatious looks on his face; he merely wanted to comfort her. The feeling from this comfort was so good; so warm; so new. It had been a long while since she had felt this way. Sasori was much different from Sasuke. The only time she would feel comfort from the Uchiha was whenever she felt physical pain. Sasuke usually ignored her emotional suffering. He often said that soft emotions were weaknesses. Sakura was on the verge of falling asleep. When Sasori noticed this, he positioned her body properly on the sofa, so that she would not fall of and endanger the baby. After that, he made forward to leave the living room, when Sakura grabbed his wrist.
"Please stay," she asked kindly.
"Sakura, that wouldn't look to good now would it," Sasori said in a form of declination.
"Please," she repeated, her eyes welling up with tears. Why did she want him to stay? That she did not seem to fully know. Sakura just did not want to feel alone.
Sasori had no choice but to give in because if he refused, she might have had an emotional breakdown which was stressing; and there was something he overheard from women about too much stress being bad for the baby's health. She sat up. Sasori sat near her.
"Tomorrow, I'll be visiting one of my favorite places around here. Would you like to come?" he asked.
"Yeah, that would be great!"
"But don't you have to go to the hospital tomorrow?" he asked.
"I'll just call in sick. They'll understand. Besides, I do need a break," Sakura told him. That night, Sakura found that Sasuke had not returned home.
'He was probably with that hooker,' she thought as she soaped her skin. Sasori would be taking her to the place he was talking about very soon. She did not hear when the door slid open, but became aware of the other human presence in the bathroom, when a pair of masculine arms draped around her waist and then on her swollen tummy, possessively. For a moment she thought that it was Sasori, but then, after analyzing the way she was being held, she realized that it was just Sasuke.
'Wait a minute…why was I hoping that it was Sasori?!" Sakura thought. And then, it clicked – the hands around her now were the same ones that were all over another woman's ass yesterday!
"Sasuke, get off!" she said, shrugging off the man's arms before grabbing her towel and heading out into the bedroom. Sasuke grunted.
'I'd rather Sasori's hands on me than your filthy ones!' she spat inwardly. Little did she know of her level of selfishness and how far it would lead…
An hour had passed and Sasuke left the house again. For the past couple of weeks he had been busy, leaving Sakura alone and feeling unloved – or at least that was what she believed. After Sasuke left, she and Sasori was able to leave the house peacefully. The place he had taken her to was Evans Hill, which was the largest park in the area. Everything about it was natural – the trees; the flora; the luscious, evergreen grass. It was totally peaceful and she certainly enjoyed it. She was quite disappointed when it was time to leave and pouted a great deal – cute ones though. Sasori seemed to like it. Sakura definitely enjoyed Sasori's company; and she definitely wanted more. These new feelings were tempting; tempting her for more.
"Come on Sakura…It's time to leave," Sasori begged playfully. Their faces were very close to each other and Sakura was able to get a perfect study of his eyes. Unconsciously, their lips began to slightly brush against each other; then slowly they found themselves kissing each other fiercely and uncontrollably…
"Sakura!"
The pain in her head eased little by little and when it was finally gone, she remembered where she was and was able to pull herself together. Sakura looked up to see the worried faces of both Akatsuki and everyone of Onikage excepting Hyuuga Neji and Sasuke.
"I'm sorry…I just-excuse me," Sakura said before rising from her seat and exiting the room. She could not believe what she had seen in the flashback of a bit of her past. Then, Sasuke's words resounded in her head…
"You have no idea what 'selfish' means…"
She had called Sasuke 'selfish'; it was true – she had not known the meaning of it. How could she call him that, when it was she who had been selfish all the time. Everything from her prior flashback had made sense now – Sasuke was on a mere mission. It must have killed him to touch that other woman. All Sakura cared about back then, was how she felt and what she had wanted. Now, Sakura felt guilty; very guilty.
After the Akatsuki meeting, Sasuke, as planned, arranged a meeting with Kagerou's baby sitters. Surely the one who usually bathed her would be the one who physically abused her. The two women answered honestly. Sasuke did not find any signs of defiance. Sasuke was enraged when he found out who it was. In swift rage, he made his way to Karin's room and banged on her door.
"Karin! Open this FUCKING DOOR!" Sasuke shouted. No one answered. Then, from behind him, a pair of womanly arms was flung around his neck. Karin planted a kiss on the man's cheek. Sasuke violently broke free of her grasp and pushed her, painfully against the wall.
"You scarred her, didn't you?!" Sasuke asked furiously. The red head did not answer.
"ANSWER ME!" Sasuke bellowed.
"You can always get another (child)…who carries my blood and not that wench you picked up at the side of the road," Karin said with a grin. She was enjoying it all – Sasuke's harshness; the fact that his face was close to hers; the fact that his arms pressed her against the wall. Yes, Karin enjoyed this, a lot. Sasuke growled… He just wanted to rip this bitch into shreds. And that was exactly what he would do…
"Hey Ugly!" Sakura heard Sai call but she did not answer. She wanted to be left alone in her Sanctuary, to think.
"Sasuke's got the woman behind Kagerou's beatings. They're in the Interrogation Chamber," she heard Sai say in detail. Then, she forgot about thinking and opened the door, letting herself out and Sai led the way to the Chambers. Sakura wanted so badly, to see the character that violated her daughter; Sasuke's daughter; their daughter – the fruit of their…love. When she and Sai arrived at the room – which had large glass screens so that one would be able to view from the outside – she saw that Tenten was present as well. In the room was a woman with a pair of black-framed glasses and badly cut red hair. She was wearing a baggy, black shirt and a pair of long pants. Her hands were bound together and she was staring directly at Sakura.
"Who is this woman?" Sakura asked to any random person.
"Karin," said a firm, voice from behind her. Sakura scoffed at the name. It certainly did not suite her. Her name sounded womanly and intelligent, but Karin's face was just screaming 'bitch'. Sasuke proceeded to enter the room, but stopped when Sakura said, "Wait!" He turned to face her.
"I want to deal with her," Sakura said sternly as she removed her jacket and shirt, leaving her with only a white vest as a covering for her upper region. The other guys looked at her actions with a dubious expression. All except for Tenten. Sakura did not bother to explain and walked into the room.
"Oh, believe me – when Sakura's in an interrogation session, things can get pretty heated," Tenten said, filling in with the explanation.
"Hm…you bitch, I wanted Sasuke as my interrogator; not you!" Karin said and sounding sluttish.
"Well I guess you're out of luck, don't you think?" Sakura said deadly as she paced around the other woman's sitting and bounded form.
"Acting tough, huh, Cherry-head?" Karin said, "You should have seen your face when you saw those pictures! Ha! I ensured that I was there to see that! Weakling…"
On hearing the woman's last remark, Sakura's head whipped around and she walked swiftly towards her.
"What did you just say, bitch?!" Sakura asked harshly, grabbing a handful of Karin's hair and pulling her head backwards, tightly.
"Are you deaf?" was all Karin said. Engulfed in wrath, Sakura punched Karin on her left cheek with much force, making her face twist in the opposite direction. Karin spat out some blood.
"Yeah," Karin chuckled sadistically, "I had the honor of binding that busty bitch and watching her bleed as Lord Orochimaru fucked the life out of her." Sakura was enraged and shocked. Karin was involved in the assassination of her family. She knew Tenten was just tempted to storm in there and beat the life out of Karin.
"Oh, yeah, I hope you got the message," Karin began to talk again, "Orochimaru said to ensure that you know that he knows where you are. As does Kimimaro –" Karin was unable to continue as she was kicked in the stomach and fell backwards. The backrest of Karin's chair was against the ground. Sakura threw her foot over Karin's body and across to Karin's left and then knelt down, gripping her shirt color. "You just don't know when to shut up, don't you?" Sakura growled. Sakura got off Karin and pulled her upwards so the chair was at its normal position once again.
Sakura took a deep breath in to remind herself that this was an interrogation.
"Do you have anything to do with the stolen program for the nuclear device?" Sakura asked. Karin said nothing and merely smirked, which Sakura took to be a 'yes'.
"Where is it?" Sakura asked.
"Now why would I tell you?" Karin asked. Sakura reached into one of her pants pockets and pulled out a stiletto knife. Then she walked over to Karin once more and pressed the knife to Karin's skin on her right hand.
"This is me," Sakura said, creating a cut on the far end of Karin's hand; Karin gasped at the burning pain it caused.
"This is you," she said, inflicting another of the same mark about eight centimeters away from the previous one.
"And this," Sakura said, engraving one last mark with the same distance as the others, "this is the disk." "Now, you can make my life easier and tell me where it is," Sakura continued, engraving a line into Karin's skin to meet the middle mark, "or, if you refuse, I'll just have to…kill you!" Sakura ran the knife through vertically up the other two marks, applying more pressure as the knife dug into Karin's flesh. Karin screamed at the pain – her hand was covered in blood now.
"You bitch!" Karin said looking at the blood stain on her shirt. "This is the shirt Sasuke gave after our last fuck session!" Karin screeched. Those words stabbed Sakura in her most vital organ – the heart. Then, she shook off the feeling for what Karin was saying could have all been lies.
"Shocked aren't you? To think that Sasuke wouldn't have gotten tired of you…he is a man, you know; a man with needs," Karin said, chuckling idiotically. Sakura clenched her fist.
"Of course, your stupid daughter had to ruin it when she walked in on us, claiming that she had a fucking nightmare," Karin prattled on. Sakura's eyes widened…in heated rage.
"I wasn't able to clima-" But again, Karin was unable to finish. This time Sakura violently pulled at Karin's hair, with brute force, managing to uproot a handful. Karin screamed as hot tears trickled down her cheeks.
"HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!" Sakura bellowed before launching a blow at Karin's face, hearing the cracking of her right jaw. Sakura noticed the tears in Karin's eyes.
"How is it that a monster like YOU IS EVEN CAPABLE OF CRYING?!" Sakura shouted again. Karin managed to scoff. Without hesitation, Sakura wrapped her palms around the woman's neck and began to compress it with a great deal of pressure and force. Sakura just wanted to kill this bitch; this cold-hearted slut. But she felt that strangling Karin was just too easy. Sakura wanted her to feel the pain; she wanted Karin to feel the pain that she had cause her. Sakura let go of the woman who was now gasping for air and looked around the room. In the corner, a long piece of barbed wire caught her eye. Sakura got a flash memory of Tsunade's hands being bounded together by the gruesome-looking object.
"Yeah, that's right – take in all the air you can get from the atmosphere, because this is going to be your last breath," Sakura said before violently wrapping the wire around Karin's neck. With her bare hands, Sakura began to pull both ends, causing the material to sink into Karin's skin painfully. Screaming filled the room, echoing down the halls and blood pitched from the cut veins. Sakura's hands began to bleed from clutching the sharp edged wire with her unprotected hands. Not caring of this, Sakura pulled the wire harder and harder until Karin's head was completely disconnected from her body. Sakura looked at her hands. It hurt, but that did not bother her even the slightest. Her gaze adverted to the headless body from which blood constantly was pitching from its torn vessels. Then she looked at the lifeless, human head on the floor and said, "Go to hell bitch…"
Tenten bandaged Sakura's last hand, wrapping the cloth between her fingers several times before taping it down. Sakura was able to do a great deal of thinking as her wounds were being taken acre of.
"Oh, yeah, I hope you got the message: Orochimaru said to ensure that you know that he knows where you are." Karin's words echoed in her head. That was what precisely what Orochimaru wanted – for her and Tenten to run; to run clinging on to their lives; for them to run away just like little children. He wanted them to be afraid. Sakura had forgotten that this is what Orochimaru looked forward to. This is what made things interesting for him. Sakura did not feel even a tinge of guilt for killing Karin.
"I'm sick and tired, Tenten," Sakura said audibly for everyone to hear, "I'm sick and tired of running away, helpless!"
"Sakura, what are you talking about?" Tenten asked dubiously.
"I mean that we shouldn't run away from him – Orochimaru," Sakura explained. "We won't be able to end this if we keep running away. We need to head towards him!" Sakura explained clearer, seeing that Tenten was still confused.
"Don't be stupid, Sakura," Sasuke said. She noticed that Kagerou was no longer with him; she was not with him from since they were at the Chamber.
"Where is Kagerou?" Sakura asked.
"Asleep," Sasuke replied in monotone.
"At least Sasuke agrees with me," Tenten said, adverting back to the original topic.
"Actually, what Sakura suggests, is sensible," said a calm voice from behind them all.
"How dare you influence her, Hyuuga!" Tenten snapped.
"I agree that's too reckless, but then again, a lot of sense can come out of it once the plan is thought through logically," Neji said. Tenten groaned and Sakura yelped in pain. Tenten realized that she had been squeezing Sakura's hands tightly and immediately let go, apologizing under her breath.
"We'll have this discussion later, Sakura," Tenten said sternly to her sister. Tenten knew that a lot was on Sakura's mind at the moment and decided that it would not have hurt to let the topic go for a few hours.
Just then, Shikamaru entered the Assembly Suite with news for the rest of the gang.
"Akatsuki was able to identify the persons who stole the program," Shikamaru said as he entered the room. "They go by the boring names of Tayuya and Hotarubi," he said.
"Details," Sasuke ordered.
"Well, the disk was originally stolen by Karin, who delivered it to Tayuya, one of Orochimaru's subordinates. Tayuya then delivered it to Hotarubi, who is a well known member of one of the enemy Mafia, Doragon," Shikamaru explained.
"Hn, I guess we'll just need to retrieve it, right Sasuke?" Itachi said.
"Hn," the other Uchiha brother said, "Where is Doragon's current location?"
"Japan," Shikamaru answered.
Sasuke assigned Neji to lead this mission. But Sasuke needed one other person to assist Neji. He did not want to send out the others because the other gangs were already very familiar with their faces. Neji was an exception because he usually did his work in furtiveness; suppression. Sakura volunteered to go with Neji, but Sasuke told her, "No." He had a point – Sakura was injured. But that was not the real reason he did not want her to go.
"Senju Tenten," Sasuke said. Tenten nodded in agreement.
Sakura protested strongly against this because the thought of her losing Tenten as was excruciating. And even though told her, with words of certainty, that she would be alright, Sakura, not for a moment, wanted to believe it.
"Why can't I go instead?" Sakura asked.
"Because you're injured," Sasuke answered in monotone. He was trying to refrain from telling her the real reason.
"I'm perfectly capable of handling myself," Sakura contradicted, "So why?"
"The Mafia, Doragon, is recruited elites of previous gangs which have fallen apart. We haven't chosen you for another reason besides your injuries – your father. Riku Haruno is one of those recruited members in that Mafia. Your presence might just complicate things," Neji Hyuuga said in his signature tone.
Sakura remained silent. So it seemed that her father was still alive. Yes, she did have a slight urge to see him; to see what he looked like. But then again, she wanted to find Orochimaru. Thinking of all these things made Sakura's head hurt. She needed to rest; for now at least…
OKAY: Here's a toast to all those who, like me, hates Karin with a passion!
Sorry for the late update. Like I said I'm really busy…
Alright! There's a new term – I want at LEAST 15 reviews or you won't get an update at all. Thanks to all of my reviewers and to all those who subscribed! I hope you continue to support me until the end of this story (which isn't anytime soon).
NOTICE: There's a very important poll on my profile – please take it.
PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING WHEN YOU REVIEW:
Would you read my next fanfic if it were an Ita/Saku pairing? (I plan on writing it when I'm done with 'Quantum of Memory')
Have you seen Naruto Shippuden Movie 2?
~~Isabella.