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 & Flashbacks)
Narrator's POV
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Another day; Another Tragedy
She opened her eyes and all she saw was complete blackness. Was she blind? She could not tell. Her body felt weak. When was the last time she ate? She did not know. It was terrifying – the darkness. Screaming was impossible – she had no voice.
"Mama?" she tried to call, but came out as a mere whisper. She knew that no one could have possibly heard that.
'Is Mama mad again?' a five year old Tenten questioned herself. The weak child tried to stand up and when she succeeded, she moved forward as much as possible. Tenten did not know where she was going, but she kept walking…in the dark. She kept moving forward until she met what seemed to be a wooden door…
Tenten's eyes opened slowly, revealing rich, chocolate brown. It had been years since she had those dreams of her early childhood. They used to come and go…not so often. Even before she was trafficked, Tenten had a rough childhood. She preferred not to linger on those memories. The past was the past. Now, the present and the future were of more importance.
She looked over at the clock. It was 7:00 a.m. She turned to the spot where Neji rested – he had stayed in bed…or so she thought. No, she did not know about Neji's little problem earlier. Neji had already informed Sasuke of the success of their mission. Their flight out of Japan was scheduled for tomorrow.
Neji grunted as he got off the bed and then made his way to the bathroom. Last night had indeed been a long one. He planned on meditating after a very cold bath. He needed to settle his thoughts which seemed to strangely be on the woman he shared the bed with last night.
Ino was up all night, reading every bit of info in the file. So far, she had not come across Onikage's location. She was not too worried about that – Kakashi was already working on that. Last night, they both agreed to let Genma in on the case. She and Kakashi knew that without the help of certain people, this mission would never be a success. Genma and Anko were the reasons Sakura and Tenten found Onikage's residence. Anko was dead but there was a high possibility that information was passed on to Genma of the Surveillance Department in the FBI.
"I just got off the phone with Genma," Kakashi said, walking into the room, "He said he'd be more than willing to help us."
"Okay…is that all he said?" Ino asked.
"Do you have your laptop on you?" Kakashi asked instead of answering.
"Yeah…I do," Ino answered with a questioning look.
"He'll send us the Onikage's address and pictures via email…now," Kakashi said as Ino walked over to her bag and pulled out her Apple laptop.
It did not take long for the email to arrive; and in a matter of minutes Ino and Kakashi got their response. Grabbing their coats, the two adults headed out…
Tenten rummaged through her clothing in her suitcase in search of her pack of tampons. It was that unfortunate time of the month again. Feeling around for it, she came across a crumpled piece of paper. She unfolded the creasing of the little document which seemed vividly familiar – it was the letter Sakura had given her a few days ago (A/N: Chapter 10, for those of you who forgot). Once what was written became legible, Tenten found herself reading the letter…again…
Dear Tenten,
I hope you get this in time. Ever since you got appointed to accompany Neji to Japan on the mission to retrieve the disk, I've been doing a lot of thinking. When Sasuke gets his hands on that disk again, what do you think he'll do? Isn't he still going to complete the nuclear device? When the Russians get their hands on this device, what is going to happen to the world? America will have to engage in a third World War. The Russians will be invincible with that weapon. I know you have probably thought through this as well…so what do you think? I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to stop Sasuke…even if it means betraying him…
If you decide to help me, then it'll make this plan far easier, though still risky. Wouldn't it be easier to cautiously hand over the disk to the CIA or some other agency? With the disk gone, the bomb will be incomplete and that would buy us some more time to get rid of the part that's here in Oakwood. I'd like to further discuss this with you in person…
There's something else as well…
Tenten did not bother to continue reading the rest. She was stupid enough to keep the letter in her suitcase. What if Neji had found it? Neji was still in the bathroom so she was able to throw the letter out as trash without being questioned about it. Not longer after that, Tenten found her packet of tampons and was thankful that soon after; Neji was finished in the bathroom…
Neji left his hair to dry naturally. He shut down the computer systems which he had earlier used to spy on Doragon and packed them in their respective cases. He removed the documents from the table and sorted them, keeping what could be of further use. As he proceeded to dispose of the unwanted papers, he took notice of the crumpled piece of paper which was already in the bin. Nothing was in that bin before…
'Tenten must have put that in there…'
He knew exactly where she was. The snake's lips curled into a sly grin.
'How stupid of her,' he thought, 'to think that she could hide…from me.'
Orochimaru took another sip of his Sake before pulling out his cell phone and dialing a few digits.
"Have you arrived in Tokyo?" he asked the person on the other line.
"Yes…Orochimaru. I'll meet with you soon," the man answered. Orochimaru chuckled.
"That's good…I think she'd be more than honored to meet you, considering how much she knows about you already…" Orochimaru told the man.
"Oh…she's found out that much already? I'm quite impressed…" said the mystery man. Orochimaru took another sip of his Sake. Things were about to get interesting…
Tenten fastened her bra before pulling the straps onto her shoulders. Then, she threw on her bathrobe over her wet skin and under garments and after, proceeded out the bathroom to get her new change of clothes before going back in again. As she stepped out of the bathroom, her body was fiercely slammed against the wall and a firm grip was kept around her neck. Tenten stared, dumbfounded, into Neji Hyuuga's pale lavender, angry eyes.
"N-Neji? What's going on?" Tenten questioned.
"Funny – I was about to ask you the same thing," he said, his tone icy.
"What are you talking about?!" Tenten asked, still not getting where Neji was coming from.
"Did you honestly think that you could deceive me? Or even Sasuke? Hn…pathetic," he said, his grip getting tighter around her neck.
She figured that Neji had read the letter – her mistake.
Breathing was become impossible and Tenten could help but feel completely helpless in the situation. The lack of oxygen was causing her body to go numb – she could not move her arms or legs. She could not speak. Tears were now forming in her eyes. She tried to will them away but her efforts were futile. She closed her eyes tightly, thinking her last thoughts…
'I didn't think it would end like this…I'm sorry Sakura…'
Sakura walked through the doors to the kitchen. The mouthwatering aroma of baked chicken and potatoes was in the air – Tsunade was cooking. There were no lights on in the entire house, though.
'Strange,' Sakura thought…
"What are you doing here?" asked a very familiar voice.
"Good evening, Tsunade…" Sakura greeted.
"What are you doing here?" Tsunade repeated, sternly.
"What are you talking about, Tsunade? I live here – you're my foster mom!" Sakura answered, still confused.
"You shouldn't be here…you're all in danger. Get out! He's coming…he'll find you! GET OUT!" Tsunade bellowed…
Sakura's head shot up – it was just a dream. She was panting. The sunlight was seeping through the curtains of the bedroom. Something was wrong. The feeling she had gotten from that dream was so queer. For some reason her mind chose to believe that some was clearly wrong.
"Sakura?" she heard Sasuke call her name beside her.
"Something's not right," she answered, her voice shaky.
"Hn, it was just a nightmare Sakura," Sasuke said, pulling her onto him and wrapping his arms around her waist. Sakura's nose was nuzzled on the crook of his neck. She breathed in, taking in his scent.
"Something is wrong. I just can't tell what it is…" Sakura said to him. Sasuke did not answer. The truth was – he did not know what to say to her…
Tenten pulled the jersey over her body – the last bit of clothing. Inside, she was panicking…
Neji scoffed and released his grip on Tenten's neck. She fell to the floor, gasping for air.
"I'm giving you five minutes; five minutes to get dressed and be gone. If when I return, you're still here, I will not hesitate to kill you," Neji said to her in a cold tone.
"Leave Sakura out of this please!" Tenten begged. Neji said nothing and instead grabbed the disk and left the building.
Tenten scrambled to her feet and hurriedly scampered around for clothing. Never in her life had she felt so afraid. Judging by his tone of voice, Tenten knew that Neji meant what he said. She was quivering; she was scared for herself; she was scared for Sakura. Tenten was tempted to pick up her cell phone and call Sakura right away but then she remembered Neji's words…
She did not hear when the door clicked open nor did she feel the presence of the other being in the room – her mind was too preoccupied; time was running out. How much time had passed by already?
She only became aware of the other person when she felt a strong arm pin her back against his chest and his palm which covered her mouth, preventing her screams. Was five minutes up already? She got a chance to take in the scent of her captor. No, this was not Neji. Though, the smell of this person did seem familiar. She did not care to retrace to whom it belonged to. She needed to get away. Tenten began frantically moving about in the man's tight hold but stopped when he chuckled.
'That laugh…so familiar…' she thought. Then she remembered…
'Orochimaru…'
Sasuke was getting tired of feeling the bed shift. It was becoming rather…annoying. He lifted his body with his elbows to get a better view of Sakura. He observed her – her eyes were shut tight and her eyebrows were knitted together – she was having another nightmare. It reminded him of when Kagerou had dire dreams in the middle of the night. It annoyed the hell out of him – just like Sakura. He hated having to whisper comforting words…in fact he never did. He would just tell her that they were just dreams…
Slowly he shook Sakura, trying to wake her in the calmest way possible. But unfortunately, that was not successful. He brought his arms to pin her shoulders in order to keep her still. And then he said in a low tone, "Sakura, wake up." She moaned but did not open her eyes. Sasuke let out a low growl.
"Sakura you're having a pathetic nightmare…wake up!" Sasuke snapped and Sakura's body jolted upwards as she screamed out, "Tenten!"
She ran her hand through her silken hair and sighed when she realized it was only a dream. Underneath her eyes were dark due to the lack of sleep for the night.
"What the hell is wrong with me?!" Sakura asked herself. Sasuke, on seeing her frustration, pulled Sakura into a warm embrace and lay back onto the bed, her upper body on top of his. No words were spoken…
Ino and Kakashi stood before the entrance to the Onikage compound, well away from the cameras. Both were debating on whether or not they should barge in but Kakashi decided, in the end, that it would not be such a good idea without reinforcements.
"This will have to be done professionally," Kakashi said. Ino knew by that, Kakashi meant they would need to do in depth planning – gaining access to the surveillance cams in the Uchiha estate in order to get to Sakura unnoticed.
"We could do that…or we can simply call her," Ino said.
"No –"
"Kakashi, we can trust her. If we want to help her, we must trust her. The man at The Diner said that her name is Sakura Uchiha – she's somehow married to either Itachi or Sasuke Uchiha."
Kakashi nodded.
"I know that girl better than any other agent besides Tenten and Tsunade…" Ino said.
Kakashi knew that Ino was right about the two things – the only way Sakura would open up to them would be if she found that she could trust them. He trained Sakura at the FBI Academy and assisted her and Tenten in most of their first missions as FBI Agents. During that time, a strong bond had developed between them; a strong one connecting Kakashi to them in a special way.
"Fine," Kakashi answered, "We'll give her a call…but not now…tonight." Ino nodded in agreement.
"It's nice to see you again…Tenten," Orochimaru said into the brunette's ear. He chuckled once again, causing her to shiver with disgust. Simultaneously, an idea occurred to her as her gaze darted across the room. She looked at the large mirror ahead of her. From the reflection, she saw a big, black vase behind Orochimaru. Without warning, Tenten forcibly jolted backwards, causing Orochimaru to crash into the vase. They were both cut causing their blood to stain the carpet.
"You bitch!" he cursed as she got up and made a run for the door. A part of her wished that Neji was here. Her legs were slashed horribly from the shards of the thick vase, making the act of running harder and more painful. As she was about to make it to the door, Orochimaru caught up with her, yanking her wrist with his hand.
She tried to scream but once again, her cries were muffled as he pressed a rolled fabric to her mouth and nose.
Blackness overtook her…
Ten minutes later, Neji returned to the suite at the hotel. He decided to give Tenten some extra time, knowing that she could not possibly make it out in just five minutes. A part of him wanted her to be there; to kill her, slowly but the other half of him felt otherwise. He also did not expect to see what he met at the suite – a trashed, bloodied room. Tenten was no where in sight.
He noticed the broken vase covered in blood. What had happened here? Did Tenten do this? Was this her blood?
Out of all those questions that flooded through his mind, only one he was sure about – most of the blood did not belong to Tenten. It was far thicker than hers. Neji looked around at the room once again. It seemed that someone else was there.
'It's obviously Orochimaru,' Neji thought, 'and Tenten put up a fight.'
'Hn…why should I care…Orochimaru has just made my life easier – so to think.'
But no matter how hard Neji tried to convince himself that he had no concern for the woman, he felt uneasy and it all came down to one thing – he did care, for some reason. Without wasting anymore time, Neji made his way down to the lobby and requested to see the surveillance tapes of the floor on which he and Tenten stayed.
After confirming that Tenten's kidnapper was Orochimaru, Neji began working on other means of finding out where the snake must have taken his prey. Neji knew two things for sure – finding Tenten would take time and he could not do this alone…
As he drove out of the hotel's garage, he took out his phone…
"Naruto, I need your assistance with something but you must not allow Sakura to know," Neji said.
"Sure…what's up?" Naruto asked.
"Tenten has been abducted from our suite here in Japan. It's Orochimaru," Neji answered.
"Dude, I think Sasuke should know about this. Does this have anything to do with the disk?" Naruto asked.
"You can inform Sasuke but Sakura must not know – she might screw things up. About the disk – maybe; maybe not," Neji responded, "I have no lead on a location – all the equipment used for tracking is in Oakwood."
"Neji, do the traffic lights in Japan have cameras too?" Neji asked.
"I suppose…why?"
"I know someone who can get the equipment you can use with the traffic light cams to find Tenten," Naruto offered.
"How long will it take?"
"Less than a day…you should wait at the airport. The guy's name is Shinta."
"Then, fine," Neji said, "I appreciate your help Naruto."
The call was disconnected. All this time, Neji could not help the guilt boiling inside of him. Maybe; just maybe if he was not so reckless, this may not have happened. What if Orochimaru used Tenten to get to the gang or anything of that sort?
Then a question occurred to him – was he worried about Tenten or the gang? He pushed himself into believing it was the latter of his theories. And maybe he was right…
End of Chapter 17…
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Chapter 18 – 5th August 2009. (Chapter 18: Awakened Depression)
Sorry about the lines earlier...(for those of you who saw it before I made the change)