Akatsuki no Sakura
Rating: R for violence, sexual implications, and strong language in later chapters.
Category: Romance/Angst/Action
Pairings: SasuSaku and ItaSaku (I decided to drop NaruSaku, it's just a little freaky for this story)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Just Sasuke and Itachi…. Yummy…. Oh yeah, and Inner Sakura is back! Woohoo! XD
Italics: thoughts
Inner Sakura's speech
I'm pretty sure you know the rest….
Chapter Seven: The Hospital
:Sakura's POV:
This hospital is so familiar to me… I know everyone in here, I remember where everything is, yet it all seems so distant and alien now. Naruto and I brought in Kakashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Kisame after I brought Hinata, and right now we have the last two casualties. Itachi-sensei (yes, I still call him that) is being carried by Naruto at the moment, and I am carrying Sasuke. The whole hospital has been bowing to Naruto, of course, now that he is Hokage. But I can still feel that when we have passed them, their hatred is being directed towards me, and I can hear them muttering. So, I think, this is what Naruto went through most of his life. Now wonder he was so protective of us. We were the only ones that truly accepted and loved him. As the nurse directs us to the next open room, I see the others that I have injured. When we pass by Hinata's room, I glance in, and I freeze at what I see. The cold, white eyes of the Byakugan glare at me, burning into my mind's eye. They are hypnotizing me, keeping me in place, scorching me with their coldness. I wrench my gaze away and continue down the hall and into the empty room. Itachi-sensei is already laid down in a bed, so I carefully lift Sasuke and place him on his bed, and cover him up. Wait a minute. I look around the room. This is where I waited for Sasuke to wake up, after he was brought back from the Otonin. I sigh. Too many lonely memories linger here, and I cannot bear it. I go out into the hall and slump against the wall. I can't take this anymore. All the people I've injured so badly, all the hatred I feel around me. I need someone- anyone- to be here with me now, to help me get it all out, to comfort me. I feel so wretched, but I can't seem to cry or anything, I can't even wimper, let alone say anything. I feel so miserable and exhausted, so I fall asleep.
Suddenly, I feel a rough, calloused hand grab my wrist and yank me up. I cry out in pain, as a loud crunch echoes through the empty hall. The hospital is dark and void of life, save the patients, myself, and whoever woke me up. The stranger punches my stomach so that I keel over and begin to fall. Their knee swiftly comes up and catches me in the chest, and I let out a gurgled cry as blood flies out of my mouth, drowning out the sound of another crunch. I stagger back, clutching my chest. I can tell that a few of my ribs are now broken, but to what extent I have no idea. I don't know if they broke anything else either. Who is this person? Why the hell are they doing this? You know perfectly well why, idiot! I scowl. Shut up.
I look up to see my assailant, only to feel their hand ram up against my throat. They lift me up so that my feet dangle, and they keep choking me. I can't breathe… someone please… help… I can't move at all, all control over my body has gone.
"What's wrong, Haruno? I thought you were strong. Why don't you fight me?"
I know that voice…
"If you were strong enough to defeat two of the three Sennin by yourself, not to mention Kakashi and Hinata-sama, you should be able to at least fight back!"
Hinata-sama?
"N… Neji-kun …" I manage to choke out. Neji snarls. "Don't call me that!" He lifts me off the wall and throws me down the hall so that I slam into the wall and slide down so that I am flat on my back. I can't move, I can't even breathe…
"Sakura! What's going on!"
What the hell…?
"Asshole!" I look up as I hear the woman's shout, to see a dark shape rush at Neji and punch him in the face, as another voice, a man's, echoes through the hall.
"Kage Mane no Jutsu!" Neji's body freezes in place, and I hear a snicker behind him. "Here, I'll let you see me." Neji snarls as his head moves to look behind him. "Now then… I think you should get the hell out!" shouts the woman's voice. "Ninpou! Shinranshin no Jutsu!" The dark figure that had punched him suddenly froxe in its place, and Neji begins to walk towards the exit.
Kage Mane…? Shinranshin? Wait a minute…
I hear the door click behind Neji as he walks out, and I can hear him beginning to run towards the forest. Suddenly, a bright bluish light comes through the wall and illuminates the hallway. A dark-haired man is standing next to a blonde woman, who is hunched over on the floor. Her blonde ponytail swishes back and forth as the light enters her body.
Her chakra… It's not weak, but it's not strong either…
"Ugh." The woman stands up, with a little help from the man, and turns to face me. "Sakura? Are you alright?" She crouches in front of me and looks at my face.
"Shikamaru? Ino-chan?" I look at her soft features, her light blue eyes and pale blonde hair, and her ivory skin. Ino smiles at me, a cute girlish smile, and I suddenly feel ashamed of myself. My long, tousled braid, my slightly tanned skin, and my scarred body. But I feel most ashamed when her eyes travel to my ring, and the Akatsuki insignia upon it. I have betrayed her and my friends, and gone over to the enemy's side. I can only hope for their forgiveness.
Ino reaches over and tries to move my arm, the one where Neji crushed the bones, which was resting on my chest. I grit my teeth and snarl a little, and Ino draws back.
"Don't touch me… not now. Wait until I can't keep my eyes open… it hurts too much…" I manage to say, my voice hoarse because he had nearly crushed my windpipe. Ino cast a worried glance at me, then at Shikamaru. He nodded, and he placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Nemuri…"
Sekhimet: This was a painful chapter to think up. Sakura's gotta be hurtin' right about now. But anyway, Neji isn't gone yet! And Sakura will have to face him sooner or later. And what about the others?