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 NINETEEN

In the Dark

Sasuke was aware of Tenten's situation – Neji had informed him a while ago. Though, he had not said a word about it to Sakura. He, like Neji, understood the harm that would be brought to Onikage by Sakura's careless, probable actions, should she find out about Tenten. That situation was better left in the dark. Currently he was about to take his wife and daughter out to a Häagen Daz Restaurant in the city. This was something Sasuke found himself doing once per month – he would always take Kagerou out for ice cream at that restaurant every month. That was his way of spending time with her even if he never ate anything. Unlike him, Kagerou had a sweet tooth. He figured she must have inherited that from Sakura as she often craved for sweet desserts before she 'died'.

He looked at his wife who was helping their daughter get dressed and decided that now would be the right time to give her the news.

"Sakura," Sasuke began, "Neji and Tenten's flight has been postponed until next week," Sasuke lied.

"Really?" she asked, "Why?"

"Neji informed that the police are running a check on the airport for some top secret reason," Sasuke lied again. He did not like doing it, but he knew that it was for the greater good.

"Okay," Sakura said.

"Did you call Tenten yesterday?" Sasuke asked, trying to sound concerned as well as to hide the fact that he was hiding something.

"Yeah, but Neji said she was asleep," she replied, "Okay…we're ready. Let's go."

She and Kagerou followed Sasuke to the garage…

Neji grunted one more time as he and Izumo waited for a nurse or doctor to inform them of Tenten's health situation. Some members of Neon insisted on staying as backup should Orochimaru or his subordinates show up. Neji tried to convince them that it was alright but they were persistent on staying. The hospital was busy. A few minutes ago, an emergency case had come up with one of the patients and nurses and doctors were everywhere. But Neji did not seem to pay heed to what was going on at all, no. His mind seemed to be elsewhere – thinking was more like it.

He was wondering why he went this far for Tenten. She was no one to him…so why? Neji's reverie was broken when Izumo decided to speak.

"You seem to care for her a great deal," he said.

"Only because she's a comrade of Onikage," Neji countered, "And because I promised her sister that I would at least watch over her…"

"I see…" Izumo stated.

"If you don't mind, can you tell me a bit about Tenten's past?" Neji asked suddenly – Izumo was not expecting that.

"All I know is that she was sexually abused countless of times at the tender age of thirteen – all against her will…" Izumo explained. He did not let Neji in on every single detail as he knew Tenten would not have approved of it.

It was all made clear to Neji now – everything he came across in the diary were just as he suspected. Shortly after Izumo and Neji's conversation, a nurse exited Tenten's ward and approached both men.

"Good day. The doctor is doing a final exam on Tenten," the nurse explained to both Izumo and Neji, "She needs several stitches; her labia have been cut, apparently – that will take some time to heal. It's advised that she avoids moving about once it has been stitched in order for it to be fully healed. It also appears that she has been beaten all over her body. Thankfully she only has a broken rib. The assault seems to have taken its toll on her – she's not communicating very well – she isn't answering any of Dr. Megumi's questions."

"When will she be discharged?" Neji asked.

"As soon as Dr. Megumi is finished with the stitches," the nurse answered before bowing and resuming her post in Tenten's ward.

"Ah! Mr. Uchiha! I see you have come to treat your little Kagerou as you usually do every month," said the welcoming voice of an elderly man, "And who's this lovely young lady might I ask?"

"This is Sakura, my wife," Sasuke answered. Sakura shook the old man's hand before he asked, "And where is little Kagerou?"

Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other before their eyes began to search for the little girl. It was Sasuke who spotted her, eventually, as she was admiring the tulips at the far end of the counter.

"Kagerou," he called out to her, "you know it's wrong to wander off absent mindedly." The child apologized quickly and rushed to her mother's side. Politely, Kagerou greeted the old man whom her father was talking to and then, they proceeded toward a table.

"Good day. I'm here to take your order if you're ready," said the waitress.

"What would you like Kagerou?" Sakura asked her daughter. Kagerou pointed at the ice cream she wanted from the menu card.

"She'll have the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough…and I'll have that as well," Sakura told the waitress. The waitress turned to the male Uchiha next and asked the same question, only that this time, she blushed a little at his appearance.

"Just a glass of water," Sasuke answered.

"Okay, I'll be back shortly with your orders," the waitress said and left with her notepad and pen in hand.

"Sasuke…" Sakura began, but was unable to continue as Sasuke answered her unasked question; almost as if he had read her mind.

"I don't like sweets," he said. Kagerou seemed to find it funny and giggled a bit. Sakura on the other hand just smiled. That was expected from the great Sasuke Uchiha…

Dr. Megumi exited Tenten's ward, gaining Neji and Izumo's attention.

"I take it that she's able to leave the hospital now," Izumo spoke up. Dr. Megumi sighed before answering.

"Tenten will be discharged right away, but there are a few things I need to know and make clear t you."

"And what might that be?" Neji asked, leaning against the wall, his eyes closed.

"Firstly, I need to know who you are – how are you related to my patient?" Dr. Megumi asked both men. Neji smirked as did Izumo.

"I'm her brother," Izumo lied. Dr. Megumi then turned to Neji, awaiting his answer.

"A friend…" he stated.

"Alright then," Dr. Megumi continued, "I've noticed the wound in her vagina – she's been cut with a blade of some sort but she also seems to be menstruating. I don't think my patient could have possibly inflicted that cut upon herself; she seems to be beaten. I refuse to believe that Tenten was in a car accident. Tell me the truth – what happened to her?"

"I believe that is none of your concern, Doctor," Neji said, now getting off the wall.

"Excuse me?" the Doctor said, begging pardon.

"We refuse to state the actual matter but you should know – we have already associated it with the police," Neji lied rationally.

"Okay," the Japanese Doctor sighed, "Because the cut is in such a tender area, Tenten should not be engaging in sexual activities until it is fully healed."

Five minutes afterwards, Tenten was discharged from the hospital. She was asleep for the entire ride back to the hotel. With the assistance of a wheelchair, Neji and Izumo were both able to take her up to her room in the hotel suite. Neji had the passwords changed on the entrance of the suite for higher security.

Neji looked at the woman as she slept and made no sound. He simply stared. He did not know why, but somehow, he seemed to feel guilty for what happened to Tenten. Right now, she had a faint reek of blood due to her several cuts and bruises. Her breathing was calm as she slept.

"I'll be leaving now," said the quiet voice of Izumo, "and I'll return later when she wakes up…just to check on her."

Neji nodded, acknowledging the man's words before he left the suite. Now it was just him and Tenten. Neji heard her murmur something in he sleep but he could not decipher what it was. He did not realize it, but at the moment, Neji's eyes held an emotion – something that never happened before; his eyes were always void. But now, a glint of guilt was in there, slightly visible if closely observed…

Tayuya smiled at the sight before her eyes. She had just gotten an idea; and a very good one too. She never thought that it would have been this easy and she inwardly laughed at how much trouble Kimimaro went through when it all came down to such an easy thing…

When she arrived at her apartment, she hung her jacket on the rack and made her way into the kitchen where she found Kimimaro having a cup of coffee.

"So you're finally up I see," she said to him, smiling. He said nothing at her comment as he continued to sip his tea.

"You got anything on the Uchiha's wife or Tenten?" she asked the man as she scanned the refrigerator in search of the ingredients for her intended meal.

"Orochimaru contacted me. Apparently, he had a hold of Tenten Senju…but then she escaped. He doesn't know how – they had no surveillance cams in the area," Kimimaro replied.

"Well that was careless," Tayuya commented.

"Very much," Kimimaro added, "Though, it appears that Sakura is still here in Oakwood and she's always accompanied by one of Onikage's members. And that's what makes this so fucked up! Not to mention the levels of intelligence we're up against! Even Uzumaki is a problem!"

Kimimaro was infuriated – Tayuya could tell from the anger, burning in his voice…

"Okay…that's enough, Kimimaro," Tayuya said, closing the refrigerator and giving Kimimaro her full attention, "Listen to me. I've formulated a way to get Sakura. I wanted to mention this later but you seem to give me no choice, so be quiet and hear me out…"

8:30 P.M, LATER THAT DAY…

Sakura closed her eyes, thinking back at all that had happened since she was told that she was the wife of Uchiha Sasuke, a Mafia gangster and most wanted criminal. The water from the bathtub was warm and soothing, making it better for her to think clearly. She thought about the disk situation – the betrayal. She felt a slight fear when the thought of Sasuke's wrath came to mind; his wrath if he found out about her plans.

"I've changed…" she said to herself, "I've changed since I found out the truth…" She sighed. She had changed indeed – after being able to brutally torture then take a life, it was safe to conclude that her personality had altered greatly. Sakura passed the soapy sponge over her legs and inhaled the sweetness of lavender. It was odd, because someone else smelt like lavender. She tried to remember…

'Karin', Sakura gave a disgusted look as she remembered the redhead that abused her daughter.

"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.

Sakura clenched her fist at the memory.

'The thought of Sasuke and that bitch together is so….ugh!' Sakura thought with disgust. Unfortunately an image had already formed in her head; a disgusting one. She shut her eyes as if it would help, but the image remained. She began to feel her stomach churn and in a matter of seconds, she felt a liquid substance go up her throat. Immediately, she sprung out of the bathtub; grabbed her bathrobe; covered up and raced to the toilet.

'All thanks to that fucking image!' Sakura thought as she barfed into the toilet. She was too busy mentally cursing Karin that she did not even take notice of the door which had opened, revealing a concerned Sasuke who showed no sign of it.

She only recognized it was him when he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You alright?" he asked. Sakura nodded then stood up and made her way to the sink to rinse her mouth.

"Are you sure?" he asked without emotion – none of concern either.

"Yeah…I just had a really disgusting thought…that's all," Sakura said truthfully and took up her towel. As she proceeded to dry her hair, she felt Sasuke grab her wrist and pull onto his lap.

"S-Sasuke!" she complained, a bit startled by his actions. Sasuke said nothing and only parted his legs so that Sakura would slump down between his thighs. Then he took the towel out of her hands and began to dry her hair.

"You're annoying when you complain," Sasuke said to her in his infamous, unemotional tone, "Tomorrow I'm taking you to the doctor."

"What! No! Sasuke, I said I'm fine," Sakura tried to reason.

"Like I said before – you're annoying…quit complaining…" Sasuke mumbled. Sakura grunted before answering, "I'm not going to a doctor because I know I'm fine!" She tried to turn in order to face him.

"Hn…sounds like you're afraid to see the doctor…as usual…" Sasuke said and shifted her head to face forward with his hands. So it seemed that she always hated to pay the doctor a visit…

"I'm not going and that's final…" she said in a low tone. 'It's nice to know that you care about me…just a little…' she added inwardly. Sasuke put the towel beside him when he was finished and Sakura rested back onto Sasuke's chest and let him snake his arms around her. It felt good to be like that without having to engage in sex. She wondered, 'Was this how Karin felt when he held her in his arms? Why am I thinking of that wench?!'

'Well…Sasuke did confirm on our anniversary that he did sleep with that wench,' Sakura's inner self contributed. Sakura ignored her.

"Sasuke…" she began, "I know I've brought this up before…but, Karin mentioned that you had s-sex with her…and you a-admitted it as well so-"

"Hn…you just don't know when to stop…don't you…" Sasuke cut her off, "…annoying. Fine I'll tell you –"

"No…I don't want to know…not yet…" Sakura cut him off.

"Would you rather be told by someone else?" Sasuke asked her. She could not come up with an answer.

"When you died," he began in a low tone, "I changed. I didn't realize you had such a big impact on me. But when you were gone, I began to feel it. I was completely stressed after that…and I turned to the one thing that could have possibly calm me –"

"You turned to Karin," Sakura completed.

"No…" Sasuke corrected, "…sex – the only form of release. It took my mind off things; kept me in tact especially since I had to raise Kagerou on my own."

Sakura felt disappointed. That could have only meant that Karin was not the only woman he had a fling with.

"Oh…okay then," she said, trying to hide the hurt in her voice, "I'm going to sleep now."

She could feel the heat in her face – she was on the verge of crying. Sakura took a deep breath in, trying to will away the tears. She was not angry at Sasuke; she loved him too much. She did not care if it hurt her. Something about the way she felt was a bit déjà vu. The silence between them was giving off a depressing atmosphere. Sasuke said nothing to her as she changed into her nightgown. He did not even glance at her. He just sat in the same position on the floor, his back propped by the side of the bed.

Sakura got under the covers and closed her eyes, though, she was not asleep. How could she sleep when she had so much on her mind? She did not feel Sasuke get in bed with her, so she presumed that he was still sitting on the floor.

"…but you were always on my mind…" she thought she heard him mumble. Her eyes widened. Had he just said that?

Sasuke was sure that Sakura was asleep, so he thought it was safe to mutter those words. He did not know why it was so hard to say it to her face; when she was awake. It was true, though – she was always on his mind. And that was what made her so annoying. She was annoying, but that was something he could not help but love about her…

She felt sore and the surface beneath her was soft; comfortable. Her body was aching. Then, it all came back to her. Remembering all that had happened made her feel hollow. Her eyes were closed but she wondered where she was. Tenten mustered up whatever little strength she had just to open her beautiful, chocolate brown eyes. Tenten was relieved at the sight she met – the hotel suite. But that did not drive the fear she felt away. Somehow she felt as if Orochimaru would find her. After all, she was all alone in the suite. Was she not? Orochimaru – he certainly lived up to what the agents said about him. He was cruel when it came to torture. And that was why he was well known in the Interrogation Department. Orochimaru was even more fearsome than Ibiki Morino, the Head of that Department.

'A tool,' Tenten thought, 'is that all I really am? I feel…completely…lost…'

Broken…

Only meant to be used…

A mere tool…

The door opened and Neji stepped inside the room with a tray, on top of which was medication and a glass of water.

"I see you're finally awake. How do you feel?" he asked her. Tenten said not answer. In fact, no matter how much she wanted to, she could not. She had no voice. Her throat had become sore after screaming her lungs out as she pleaded with Kabuto to stop his doings earlier at the warehouse.

Neji ignored the fact that she did not answer and put the tray on the bedside table before walking over to her. He helped her sit up. Then he took the pills into his hand and turned to her once again.

"Open your mouth," Neji commanded her and she obeyed. He slipped one of the pills into her mouth and then brought the glass to her lips to help her drink the water. He repeated this action until Tenten had taken every one of the medications. The pills were recommended by Dr. Megumi for Tenten's depression and pain.

"Izumo will pay you a visit later," Neji told her. Again, she said nothing and just simply stared at the ceiling. Though, she wondered how it was that he and Izumo met.

Though she had not admitted it, Neji was certain that Tenten was hungry. She had been at the hospital for most of the day and when she returned to the hotel, she had been asleep for most of the evening.

"I'll get you something to eat," Neji said to her and left the room. He went down to the hotel's restaurant and bought something that she would be able to eat with ease. By now he had surrendered into recognizing his feelings; feelings he could not deny anymore. Why was it that he had gone so far for her? Why was going out of his way, taking care of her – something he would only do for his cousins? Why was it that he could not stand her mere presence before? Why was it that he felt remorse when he learnt of her abduction? And why did he hate her for irrational reasons?

The answer was simple and he knew that he had knowledge of what was going on; he just did not want to believe that it was true. But the recent situation made him think otherwise; made him face it and not run away. Running away was for cowards and he was not a coward. Earlier, she asked him if he was her Guardian Angel; he did not reply but his newly recognized feelings urged him to protect her no matter what the situation was.

Neji knew that Tenten must have felt the same way about him, but though he had fallen for her, he intended on keeping those feelings hidden from her; they were better left in the dark. His life was dangerous and he did not want her to get hurt – not more than she already was.

So it was decided…Tenten would never find out about his feelings. Feelings were dangerous. Even Sasuke refrained from them. Emotions were merely hindrances in their eyes. They caused great danger to a person and his/her companion. If Kabuto were to find out about Tenten, he would use her as bait to lure Neji in. Emotions also made people do irrational things. That was what Neji thought.

Neji walked over to Tenten who was still in bed, and helped her sit up again. He brought the soft wrap to her mouth and she mustered her strength to bite into it. It took a bit long for her to eat the wrap all up, considering how weak she was at the moment. But she was glad that Neji was there. She noticed how he had changed towards her. But she knew that it was only because she was helpless. But another part of her seemed to think that he held feelings for her. If not, why did he not allow her to die at the hands of Orochimaru?

After she had eaten Neji helped her get back into her sleeping position and pulled the covers over her. Then he stood up and proceeded to leave the room when a hold of his wrist stopped him. He turned his head a little to see that Tenten was holding his wrist as if to stop him…from leaving.

"Please stay," she said in almost a whisper.

"I can't…" Neji said, unemotionally and left the room…

Tenten sighed inwardly as she realized that maybe, she was wrong…

Neji only pitied her…

Sasuke knew that it would be pointless to go to bed when he could not sleep at all. Time would be wasted. So, he left the bedroom with the intention of contacting Neji about his and Tenten's return to Oakwood.

When Sakura heard the bedroom door close, she revealed her tears. She did not sob, she just cried, soundlessly. She was glad that her phone rang; she was able to stop and wipe away her tears.

"Hello?" she answered, not even bothering to look at the Caller Id.

"Hey Forehead –" the person said on the other line but was unable to continue because the call had been disconnected.

Sakura knew who the person was – Ino. She began to inwardly panic. And it was only because she was acting upon her fright did she disconnect the call.

Why was Ino contacting her?

Did the FBI find out where she and Tenten were?

Neji peered into the bedroom to be sure that Tenten was asleep before he entered. The only reason he had responded so unkindly to her was for the mere reason that he did not want her to know how he felt. He did not want her to have the slightest clue of his feelings. It would be dangerous; literally dangerous. He decided that he would not act as cold towards her until she had fully recovered. But afterward, he would be his old self…

He soundlessly made his way to the corner of the room and got into his meditation position…

Okay! End of Chapter 19!!

I hope you guys enjoyed it!

This is a shout out to FreakyDeirdre; TheEmeraldAuthoress; TragedyDawl: Hey guys! What's up? I hope you enjoyed this chapter…I'll talk to you guys later…bye!

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NOTICES:

FreakyDeirdre: Good chapter and try not to bash Saki-babe too much at least she reviews...unlike my readers! So Tenten get beat up and Sakura still untouched...yep that's ! It was great the emotions and everything. Gaara! Whoo!

IzWinchesterDevil's Answer: I don't agree with you on the 'Saki-babe reviewing part'. You see, I don't even count Saki-babe's comment as a review. Reviews are supposed to be feedback on the STORY and NOT the AUTHOR'S NOTE at the end of the story and basically Saki-babe's reviews are about the reviews I demand. Anyways, I hope to see an update from you soon!

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+ 15 REVIEWS = 330 reviews!!

Thanks to those who reviewed!!! I'm glad you guys enjoy the story.

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WHEN YOU REVIEW PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING:

What do you guys think of when Sakura stated, "The fool's in love with me…"

Do you think she loves Naruto or not??
What do you think she'll say to Naruto??

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NOTICE: THE MANGA SITES ALL SAY THAT THERE WILL BE NO MANGA UNTIL NEXT WEEK!

AND – There's an important POLL on my profile. Please take it…

Chapter 20: Wed. 19th Aug. 2009…

Please excuse the errors…if there are any…

--Iz.