In the darkness of a room deep within the caves not even Akatsuki members cared to frequent, green eyes fluttered open. Within the depths of those dizzying emerald orbs, hints of red sparked for dominance. The eyes shut again, momentarily blinded by even the dim lighting in the cell. Slowly however, Sakura managed to push herself up to a sitting position. As she did so, her hair fell over her shoulders in wet clumps. The red in her eyes finally dissipated completely as she touched the blood-red strands in confusion. Somehow she couldn't remember anything from who she was to how she'd gotten to be there. Glancing up, she noticed for the first time just how strange things really were.
The cell wasn't the cold stone room she thought prisons would normally be composed of. Instead, there seemed to be a film covering the entire floor, including where she was. It was some sort of liquid. The lighting was far too dark for her to tell what, but it didn't smell bad at all. It was drying though, so she had no interest in it. In addition to the pool surrounding her, there were odd shapes lying about closer to the one side of her cell that was open to the outside.
That was another oddity. Where normally one would expect to have another wall, or bars at the very least, there was open air. Sakura didn't try to walk out. She could see nothing beyond a certain point – a point at which everything seemed to simply spot. Maybe, after she'd thought about everything a little more, she would see what was wrong there. For now though, she had bigger problems. Biting her chapped lips, Sakura focused on herself. Every muscle in her body was aching as if she'd had them in constant use for eons. She couldn't remember that. As she worried her already raw lips, her tongue flicked out to catch a drop of blood seeping out through the cracked skin.
She froze.
Hesitantly, she touched her fingers to the pool she was sitting in and raised them to her mouth. Although she didn't know why, she licked the wet digits, grimacing at the taste in horror. It wasn't hers – it tasted different – but it was definitely blood. Something within her told her that she'd been the cause of it and that, at the time, she had enjoyed the killing.
The genin glanced across the cell to the bodies on the floor. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, it became painfully obvious that they belonged to men. The way they were laying suggested that they hadn't even been killed on their way out – somehow, Sakura had killed them within seconds of entering the room.
"Sakura, are you awake?"
At the sound of the voice, red flashed across her eyes. Sakura watched fearfully from within her own mind as her body tried to stand, only to fall backwards with a splash when chains she hadn't even known were there tugged on her wrists. With a snarl, she tried again, with the same results.
"Sakura, I won't come in so long as the demon is in control. We've lost enough men to it."
The normally perky girl blinked in confusion as the rage that had consumed her at the voice died down, rumbling in the back of her mind. She licked her lips, tasting the blood there once more, flowing more freely now from the sudden surge of power. Was her name Sakura? She supposed so – no one else was here to answer. She tried to answer, succeeding on the second try with only a few cracks in her voice. "Who are you?" she called out. The sound was barely more than a whisper, but in the small chamber it echoed.
A crack of energy at that place where visibility ended, and suddenly there was a woman standing in the middle of a long hall. Memories surged up through Sakura bringing a headache: a girl of twelve smiling, a man carrying an enormous sword bound in white wrappings, and that same woman spinning, kunai in hand. Sakura fell forward onto the ground, gripping her head tightly to stop the painful images. She cracked an eye open. "Yuki Kaoru," she breathed, staring at the woman accusingly. "You – you did this." Forcing her body to comply with her commands, she stood up, arms straining against the metal binding them. "Whatever . . . this . . . is, you did it. You're the reason I'm here, aren't you? You're the reason I can't remember anything."
Kaoru said nothing for a moment, simply watching the young girl with an undecipherable look on her face. Finally she sighed, and took a few steps forward into the blood. Her face revealed none of the distaste she felt at walking through the remains of people who had once been her companions. She stopped just a few feet in front of Sakura. "It took you a while to finally regain your senses. Much longer than I had anticipated." The woman turned her gaze to the ceiling, where older bloodstains remained. Unlike those on the walls nearest to her, these were from Sakura's blood. "I'm not the one who erased your memory. That was you, most likely in response to the torture others, working under the orders of Akatsuki, inflicted upon your body and mind. I had nothing to do with it."
Sakura snarled, pink and green chakra flickering to life around her, although her eyes remained that pure green that Kaoru associated with sanity. "But you brought me here. I wouldn't have been tortured if you hadn't done that," she said, struggling to keep her voice even through the pain of speaking. It did explain the poor condition of her body and why speaking was so difficult. "How long have I been here?"
"Three years. It's been just a few months over three years," her captor replied, not even trying to defend herself against the previous accusation.
"Why are you here now? After all that time, why would you appear to me now?" Sakura asked, voice rising to a quiet shriek. Within her, the rage simmered coolly, content at Sakura's anger. It understood that Kaoru was here for a reason, and that if it overwhelmed the broken girl again, the woman would leave instantly to avoid death. Kaoru wouldn't return – somehow it knew that. This was its last chance to escape the chakra-enhanced cuffs restraining it.
Kaoru cast a dark glare to the door, where the shadow of a man had appeared. Although he said nothing, she wasn't sure if she should trust him. After all, one became a member of Akatsuki by being untrustworthy. Still, he knew what she was doing now, and that was that. She wasn't as strong as him, so would just have to keep going despite having caught the attention of Uchiha Itachi.
She looked at Sakura, expression grave. "A lot changes in three years," she murmured. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "A man named Orochimaru has risen in power over the past four years. A few months ago, his forces suddenly exploded into the weaker villages, easily overpowering them and turning them into yet more bases for the Sound villages' army. He's gained two newcomers – a girl named Hyuuga Hinata and a boy named Umazaki Naruto. The boy is a demon like yourself. In fact, until he joined with Orochimaru, he had been another target of the Akatsuki." Her lip twisted at the name Naruto. The boy had just recently reappeared, only to be teamed up with a man that could easily take over the world given enough time.
Sakura raised an eyebrow, trying to ignore both the ache from the flurry of images accompanying Kaoru's words and the ache in her arms from being bent so awkwardly. Glancing over Kaoru's shoulder, she frowned. The man standing there reminded her of someone else – someone she thought might be pivotal to her history. "Why come to me?"
The pink-haired girl gasped when, in response, Kaoru came closer and bent over. In seconds the chains were removed, leaving only the thin metal links around her wrists. With a couple additional words, the cuffs shortened to become what seemed like simple bracelets. Kaoru moved back, examining her work for a moment as Sakura rubbed the sweaty and raw skin no longer hidden by the metal bands. Smiling slightly, Kaoru turned around, now speaking more to Itachi than to the recently freed teenager. "Naruto is after us now. If he'd been captured back then, we could have done something about it, but not now. He's become far too strong for any of us to even hope to defeat should he become serious. This is the end of Akatsuki unless we do something!"
Sakura cut in, voice cold with realization. "You want me to go in. You want me to face off against this boy – Naruto – all alone and hope I can defeat him so that your organization can be saved." She laughed, the sound dark and bitter. "Why would I do something like that?"
"Not alone, Sakura. Never alone," whispered Kaoru. The woman bit her lip, turning into her younger form, although she didn't bother to add the sunshine to her expression that would complete the genjutsu. "Akatsuki is allied with Konoha, one of the few remaining strongholds against the encroaching wave and your home. You were born there, Sakura. All your friends remain there." Her expression turned desperate, as if she could hear the ticking of a clock signaling the ever approaching end of her life that would come at the defeat of Akatsuki and Konoha. "I even have two in another room not too far away that we caught trying to sneak in to retrieve you! You'll go with them to battle Naruto and his partner, Hinata. Please, Sakura."
Throughout the begging, Sakura could feel an underlying current in the missing-nin's voice. Although it was true that the woman was anxious, she was not yet to the point of unrestrained panic. She still had an ace somehow. Sakura narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Contempt filling her features, she stalked past the S class criminal with a shrug. "It's not my problem. If I want to, I'll fight as a member of Konoha, not Akatsuki."
She made it only ten steps out of her prison, only five from the shadowy form of Itachi, when she fell to the floor from the pain streaming out of the bracelets still on her arms. Kaoru knelt next to her, helping her up. As she did, she whispered, "You belong to us – you are a member of Akatsuki."
Unconsciously, Sakura nodded slightly, her own murmur joining in with Kaoru's. "I have no will unless it is your will. I will do as you say, and only as you say. My trainer is you, I will do whatever you say."
Patting her head, Kaoru finished the litany. "You are a demon." She stopped, hand cupping Sakura's face gently. "You're not worthless, because you are mine."
Eyes widening, Sakura stumbled away, bumping into Itachi. The man said nothing, only helping to steady her and walking away. Kaoru's gaze followed him until he rounded a corner then returned to the girl before her. She sighed. "Sakura, I try to be nice to you, but you are ours. Do you understand?"
Sakura glared at the woman, recovering from the initial shock of the change in the mantra. "In other words, I have no free will. You only pretend I do." She shook her head, the rage coming back to the foreground and threatening to spill over once more. The demon – she was sure that that was the source of this otherworldly anger – no longer had any use for the woman. Still, Sakura kept it at bay. Memories were slowly returning to her. She knew who Naruto was, and had vague ideas of who Hinata was. Along with Naruto's image came that of another boy, a younger version of the man who'd just disappeared.
Said boy rounded the corner at that moment, accompanied by a gray-haired man. Both were struggling weakly against Itachi. The fight in them seemed to disappear however once they saw Sakura. Kakashi – was that really his name? – simply stood stock still, the haunted look in his eyes intensifying at her state. The younger boy – he was important to her, she knew, so why couldn't she remember his name at all? – rushed forward though, stopping just short of throwing his arms around her and instead settling for a hand-shake. Somehow, Sakura had the feeling that the restraint he showed was more an effect of his brother's presence than of his actual feelings about the matter. It wasn't how she expected him to act though. What few memories of him that managed to filter in illustrated a cold, callous young man with nothing but disdain for her. Maybe that drastic change was what was preventing her from remembering more about him.
Sasuke smiled. The expression was only a slight twitch of facial muscles but was most definitely there. It was a look Sakura was positive she'd never seen on him before. Before she could say anything about it, he began speaking, using a tone of voice that made her legs attempt to land her back on the ground.
"Sakura," Sasuke breathed, touching her softly to make sure she wasn't an illusion. Much like everything he did, he'd thrown so much of himself into finding her that even the sight of his brother failed to make him fly into a murderous rage as before. When she didn't disappear, he sighed in relief. Over the past weeks, the encouraging words of Kaoru had caused him to see countless images of the girl that vanished the second he came near. Finally though, she was real. "Sakura," he said again, voice more sure this time, "you said you could make me more powerful." His voice shook slightly as her face dropped. He hastily tried to make amends for how cold that sounded. "We have to get Naruto back first though. He's trying to get you back – same as me. He just chose to do it in a different way. Once he leaves, Orochimaru will be easy to defeat – Ita . . . that man will do that much." Sasuke hated that he couldn't even manage to say Itachi. It felt weak.
Sakura nodded, glancing over at Itachi. He had on an ANBU outfit. He smirked at her, holding out a pack filled with weapons, much to Kaoru's shock. "I agree with Yuki. Orochimaru will be our first priority. I will find and kill him just as long as you distract Uzumaki long enough for me to do so."
The pink-haired genin's head turned to her sensei's. He nodded slightly, color returning to his face ever so slowly. With one last glance at the bracelets binding her to the will of Akatsuki, she sighed, laughing slightly. "Sure. Let's go get Naruto."
Author's Note: My chapters are slowly getting longer – wheeee! In anycase, just a reminder to all 10 of you reading this story (or 20 – I'll be optimistic and hope there are people reading and not reviewing) if your eyes burn in the next chapter, then you've understood my hints. Please do NOT leave the specifics in your review. If you're a geek like me and want to know if you've gotten it right, then email me, and I'll tell ya. Otherwise, just sit contently and pretend you didn't see it.
knigHtLady – Well, I don't normally respond to reviews, but... I do have to wonder why someone who hates Sakura so much would read a story entitled Sakura Trees. I also have to wonder what Sakura's done to deserve this hate. I hope it's not like the "I hate Relena" thing in Gundam Wing, where the characters are defined by the fanon, not canon (and therefore Relena is evil instead of just occasionally annoying...) Ah well. Each to their own and all that crap. I'm sorry you hate Sakura so much, especially since the entire point of this story is Sakura. I tend to like writing her simply because there's so much I can do with her. You see a couple times in the series that she has the potential to be really cool, and I want to try and bring that out. If you don't see that, that's okay I guess. It's not like it's hurting other people. Just don't start throwing burning torches through the living room windows of people who like Sakura and we'll be fine. - Thanks for reviewing, and have a nice day.