Summary: You're not supposed to fall in love with your captor, especially if he is a high-ranking member of the yakuza. Things just never seem to follow that law, however. Completely AU. Mainly Sasuke/Sakura. Rated for violence and language.

Pairings: Sasuke/Sakura, more will be revealed as the story progresses

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, at all. All the characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei. The only thing in this story that is mine will be the OCs and the plot itself.

Conspiracy of the Heart and Soul

Chapter Fifteen – The Climax to the War

Sakura felt her chest tighten, that she could no longer breathe, as Ino pressed the metal blade lightly against her neck. A small wound opened as crimson blood dripped from her neck to the white sweater she was wearing. A small patch of sticky crimson liquid was evident against the colorless material of her sweater. Blood trailed the sharp edge of the dagger. Her jade eyes paled as she saw the blood. She could not stand seeing it if it meant a life would nearly be lost that night. She was going to become a doctor, a pediatrician, to help save lives, especially those of little children. She would not allow herself to die this night, for her sake and for Sasuke's. However, she could not think straight as Ino began to speak once more.

"You have lovely blood, lovely blood," said Ino happily, "That's what Dag's saying to you. He's smiling! Aren't you happy Sakura, happy that you're making a friend smile because of your sacrifice?" A maniacal grin appeared on Ino's face as Sakura backed away even further, trying to get the knife away from her. She gripped her neck, trying to stop the blood from flowing from the small wound on her neck. It wasn't deep, at least. Ino made another wound on Sakura's left palm, though it was a very shallow wound. Despite that, blood dripped from the thin wound. "Come back, Sakura! Dag's still not done inspecting your blood!" said Ino in a sing song voice, the maniacal grin still on her face.

"Ino-san! Get a grip of yourself!" shouted Sakura, shutting her eyes tightly. She was trying not to be affected by the way the blonde woman was thinking. Honestly, all she could say was that Ino was crazy, that all sanity had left her. "Ino-san! Please!" shouted Sakura once more, trying to knock some sense into the woman in front of her, her jade eyes focused on Ino's cerulean ones. The blood on her left palm was still flowing freely, the wind nipping at the wound, a stinging pain on her palm. "Think rationally!" she pleaded as she managed to get away from the hysterical woman, one who had fallen off the brink of insanity.

"He was mine, bitch! Always mine and mine alone!" shrieked Ino as she held the dagger as if she were going to stab the pink haired woman in front of her. Her cerulean eyes burned a darker blue as she pressed her lips into a thin line. She hated the existence of the woman before her! Her life would have been complete if she didn't appear. None of this would be happening. Nothing was going to be in complete code red. She would have a chance to lure Sasuke into her clutches and finally be in his arms where she truly belonged. "He was mine!" shrieked Ino once more as she brought down her arm, the dagger on its plunge to Sakura's body. Without thinking, Sakura's hands met the sharp side of the dagger, pushing it away from Ino, blood flowing softly from the shallow wounds. "What the hell do you think you're doing!" hissed Ino as she glared at the pink haired woman before her, her fists clenched and her knuckles white.

"Trying to get you to become sane, Ino," hissed Sakura, no longer attaching an honorific. She feared for her life, as she feared for Sasuke's. She promised him a new life, a life away from all this. How could she fulfill that promise, if she was dead, her cold, lifeless body on the floor of the laboratory with Ino laughing over her corpse. Not only that, she feared for the life of Shikamaru, Kotoe and of course, Ino. If she died, who knew what sort of havoc, what sort of anger Sasuke would unleash to the three of them for letting her die. She, of course, had already seen Sasuke killing in cold blood and not particularly caring about his victim. "He was never yours, Ino. He was truly never yours," spoke Sakura coldly, however extremely against her nature it may have seemed. Ino was outraged. She managed to grab the dagger that had fallen to the floor and tried to attack Sakura once more who was fighting the blonde woman off. Suddenly, a sound could be heard. Click.

"Put the knife down, Ino," said Shikamaru, his knees still slightly wobbly, "Whatever you threw at us is highly effective but doesn't really last for long. You should have a bit quicker." Shikamaru's coal eyes glimmered darkly as he steadied the laser pistol in his hand. Ino dropped the dagger, a metal clang resounding in the entire room. Her burning blue eyes focused themselves on the hacking prodigy, a dark look on her face. Sakura crumpled to the floor, trying to steady herself as Kotoe rushed forward to comfort the pink haired woman. "Unlike you, I'm not hesitating to just kill. I've done this before. You were never in the shadows of this organization. You were up front, working in the company. When this is all over, I'm not going to be surprised if Sasuke fires you and leaves you homeless," he said blandly, the gun facing her, "And really, I'm not afraid."

"Shikamaru, put that thing down!" demanded Ino, her lower lip quivering as she faced the hacking prodigy, "You might hurt someone!"

"Of course. It's a weapon, after all. And, you're afraid that someone is you. Damn right it's you, Ino. I've had enough of your silliness," he said, the gun poised for attack, "You're not in love with Sasuke. You never were. You're obsessed with him. You know what it is, right? Knowing the way you're acting, you don't. Obsession, when you will kill to get what you are obsessing for. You will do absolutely anything, thinking the whole world was made for you and whatever is in it is yours for the taking." Sakura and Kotoe looked at Shikamaru with fear glazing their eyes. They had never seen Shikamaru act like this. He was always lazy, saying virtually everything was troublesome. "Sakura, she loves Sasuke, she truly does. I have never seen her trying to hamper Sasuke. She was always worried about him ever since this has all started. You, you know nothing of love, you know everything of obsession."

Ino was already crying, shaking her head at everything Shikamaru was saying. She was not obsessed with Sasuke! She was merely stating the truth, the cold, hard facts to the one who stole her rightful love. She started walking, slowly, towards Shikamaru, with small steps as she raised her hand, as if trying to reach out to him. Shikamaru only stepped further away from Ino with every step the blonde made, avoiding her touch, her grasp. He was by no means afraid of what she was going to do. She didn't have the will power to hurt him. Her spirit was already crushed with what he had to say as to how she felt about the younger Uchiha. There was no real reason for her to continue loving in vain or simply obsessing. She had to get over Sasuke before it ruined her life.

"I am not obsessed!" she shrieked as she continued walking towards Shikamaru who was avoiding her, the gun still aimed to her heart. Her tears were burning hot as they slid down her cheeks. Her eyes were read and puffy, a stark contrast to her burning cerulean eyes. "I'm telling you the fucking truth!" she shouted once more as she clenched her fists. Her knuckles were already turning white and her nails were digging so deep into her skin that it started to bleed. "Let me kill the goddamn bitch then, I promise you, I will leave you alone! I will leave you! Won't that be good for you? You hate me, after all," said Ino simply as her maniacal self started to take control over her, "Isn't that what you've always wanted, Shikamaru?" Shikamaru shifted uncomfortably but still kept an even gaze at Ino as he shook his head. "Then what the hell do you want, bastard!" she shrieked as she stared at him, enraged.

"Well, first off, I actually want to get out of this life and go into college. Secondly, I just want Sasuke to finally be happy. You have no idea how rough his life has been," said Shikamaru simply as he kept his even gaze. "I mean, how long have you been involved with the yakuza? You're only nineteen damn it! Your life could have meant so much more than this. Go to fucking college, like me, for all I care after this is all through and done with but don't go blaming your fucking damn luck on others like Sakura. She never wanted this life. You chose to live this life around three or four months ago. Thirdly, no matter how much my brain refuses to acknowledge this fact, this fucking troublesome fact, you've grown on me and I kind of like you. Nothing official, of course, nothing true but why not give the fucking feeling a shot," hissed Shikamaru with the slightest notion of embarrassment devoid from his face.

Ino looked at him like her heart stopped beating. The hacking prodigy actually liked her? "You… what?" she asked, her voice lost and her emotions confused.

"I fucking like you, okay? Happy? Never really thought it possible but your fragility, it just… drew me in. I don't want another person to die because of what that person never understood. My best friend died because of me, he died because he didn't understand what I was involved in. You, you might die because you don't understand the truth on how you feel about Sasuke and you don't understand that Sasuke and Sakura really do love each other and will readily die for each other, am I right, Sakura?" The hacking prodigy looked at the pink haired girl who slowly nodded. "See what I me-!" Suddenly, Ino tackled him, her tears soaking his shirt. "What the hell, woman?" shouted Shikamaru, trying to get out of her grasp.

"You are probably the worst person to date," said Ino bluntly, her normal attitude coming back to her. "You've managed to ruin my life, to destroy my morale, to threaten my existence on this Earth and manage to bring me back my sanity. You are crazy but that's what makes you different, as you've said, from all the other fish in the sea." Looking at Shikamaru, she forced herself to look straight at him in the eye, her lips barely apart from his. With all the courage left in her body, she pressed her lips to his, her final act of relinquishing her obsession for Sasuke, now that someone had finally shown his true feelings for her. Shikamaru was surprised at first but made no motion to pull away from her. Surprisingly, he found himself kissing her back. He hated her annoying attitude, he hated the way that she was obsessed with Sasuke, but it seemed that he loved her as well; he damn loved her as well.

The Core Group

He had refused to move when he heard Sakura's screams, when he heard Ino's mad words. However, the others had forced him to move, saying Sakura could take care of herself and that Shikamaru and Kotoe were there to help her. Reluctantly, he moved forward. He could still hear the words they were saying, his soul wrenching in guilt as Sakura remained in the background, Shikamaru ruthlessly attacking Ino with his harsh words. In the end, the weight on his shoulders lessened significantly when Ino finally gotten over her obsession with him. The guilt of not being able to keep Sakura safe was still there, but the fact that she was no longer in danger outweighed the feeling.

"Just two more floors," spoke Neji calmly as they moved forward. There were less people here, as most of them were trying to suppress the outbreak below. However, they did not take their chances. They moved silently and swiftly in the shadows, trying to make it to the place Itachi was in. Surprisingly, the older Uchiha made no motion to move. Perhaps, he had a plan of his own, but knowing him, Itachi probably deemed it as a distraction and was waiting for them to meet him where he planned to be. Otherwise, he was just really stupid and refused to look into the matter himself, calling it too trivial for the likes of him. "Are you sure about this, Sasuke? It seems too quiet for me," spoke Neji as they pressed on.

"You know him, always full of surprises," hissed the onyx eyed male, his black irises glinting despite the lack of light. It was true. No matter how perfect, how flawless a plan seemed to be, if it had anything to do with being against Uchiha Itachi, then, there was always that small chance of uncertainty that lay. "You can never be sure if your plan will work but you hope for the best, if you're working against him," he added as they pressed forward, as if ninjas moving in the shadows. The others nodded slowly before silence reigned once more. It was so quiet that you could hear the rise and fall of everyone's chest without much difficulty.

They remained that way as they moved forward, various thoughts whirling in their mind. Neji was thinking of how to deal with whatever Itachi would dish out at them when they reached wherever he was staying. No one could ever fully comprehend the way the mind of Uchiha Itachi worked. People just knew that he was a genius, as very few people could ever surprise him. It was as if he had eyes all over the place. More so that they were within the building of Sharingan wherein Itachi could see whatever happened within with a snap of his fingers. He was a man no one should mess with, without proper preparations. Even with the proper preparations, Itachi had the uncanny ability to be able to ruin even the most well thought out plan.

Itachi's Private Practice Area

The six most trusted cohorts of Itachi watched as the Uchiha practiced using the various guns on the floor. He had rifles, pistols, sniper rifles, revolvers, machine guns and hand guns galore. In front of him were dummies riddled with so many bullets that one had to pity their existence as dummies, despite the fact that they weren't alive to begin with. The Uchiha's eyes were blazing as he continued to shoot, the cartridges filled with bullets lying uselessly on the floor. He simply could not believe that his brother was this much against him that he'd risk his life to save that pink haired girl. He was supposed to be loyal to the yakuza, one of the most powerful yakuza Clans in Kyoto yet possibly the most unknown for they liked to work in secret.

"Itachi-sama, your orders?" squeaked Tayuya as she knelt down, slightly behind the enraged Itachi. It was uncharacteristic of her to be so demure but in front of Itachi whose hand her life was in, she had to, especially in his current state. Itachi said nothing as he continued to shoot the dummy with the bullets left in the revolver he was holding. He did not particularly care he was wasting bullets; he had so many after all. Sakon and Ukon were busy refilling the guns that lay uselessly on the floor. He still had five more guns to use besides the revolver in his hand. "Itachi-sama," pressed Tayuya, risking her safety by looking up, "Your orders, Itachi-sama. We have not been given any and I'm sure they're nearing this place."

"Tayuya, you will be behind them all, as you have your hypnotic flute," spoke Itachi as he stopped shooting, letting the revolver in his hand drop to the floor with a heavy clang. "Sakon and Ukon, you will both go against Tenten and Kenta in a match you should have the advantage of. Zabuza, you will go against Ayumi. I know how much you've longed to see your blade clash against her Thanatos. It will be a match to remember. Kabuto, you will fight against Neji, as your sly and cunning tactics will overthrow him. Haku, you will fight against Sasuke for your talent is as good as or better than his." All of them nodded slowly as they received their assignments. "Go out and greet them there for they will be here soon." In silence, they walked out of the room, one of them full of doubt and turmoil.

Itachi balled his fist as he slammed it to the marble floor, blood seeping out, his knuckles a stark white. His eyes burned with such intensity that one would melt if they dared to meet his gaze. This was the maddest he had ever gone in his entire life, an even angrier feeling compared to when he had staged that ploy three years ago to gain control of Sharingan and do away with their parents. Then, he only had a feeling of hatred for them because they made him grow up like this, as well as an insatiable greed for power and control. For his younger brother, he had a feeling of anger for Sasuke was about to betray him. "Just who the fuck do you think you are, Sasuke!" shouted Itachi, enraged at all of this.

Tsuzuku…

We're nearing the main points of interest in this story. Not only that but we're also nearing the end of Conspiracy of the Heart and Soul.

Again, after this, I'll be taking a slight break from the yakuza series before continuing with Reaching Out to You which I now have defined as seven chapters long.

Didn't expect the end of the Ino thing, right? Well, neither did I. It just came on impulse and since there are a lot of you, most likely anyway, who are ShikamaruIno fans, might as well put that in there.

About Naruto and Hinata, I don't know if they'll appear at all in the yakuza series. If not, sorry to disappoint. But there might be a reason for them to be in Reaching Out to You. They won't be playing as quite a major role compared to Neji, Tenten, Kenta, Ayumi, Kotoe, Shikamaru and Ino but they'll be there, I suppose.

I hope this has satisfied your need for CotHaS and by the looks of things, I'll be able to finish it in April.

If any of you are also Rurouni Kenshin fans, please read my fanfic Cryptic Faith!

And before I forget, happy birthday to Haruno Sakura!

As usual, here's the chapter preview!

Next Chapter: Chapter Sixteen – The Denouement to the War

Chapter Preview: They were hiding behind a wall as Kenta occasionally peered out to see if they had gone yet. No, Sakon, Ukon, Zabuza, Kabuto, Haku and Tayuya just wouldn't leave the outside of Itachi's practice area. His dark hazel eyes caught sight of Tayuya's infamous flute which could hypnotize them or confuse them, depending on what melody escaped from the metal pipe. Looking towards Sasuke, he mouthed to the younger Uchiha what was there and the fact that Tayuya had her flute. Her danger with her beloved flute was known throughout the entire yakuza. "Shikamaru, block out all flute sounds from entering the headset, or expel something through it to make sure the sounds of Tayuya's flute don't reach our ears," spoke Sasuke lowly into the mouth piece. The hacking prodigy made a response. Seconds later, they had all been given the go signal that it was safe. "It's show time."