Okie… Finally updated. Sorry for the wait people!
SPOILER WARNING IN HERE! I'm sorry but I had to put in the new character. It was driving me mad. But don't kill me for doing it! I'm making it more realistic! I dunno if he dies or not! I'm only on chapter 294! And that's as far as it got for now! RAAR!
If ya don't wanna know the character, when you see the scene with Tenten freaking out at Lee and calling him an idiot, skip over that scene and go to the next. Simple enough?
And people wanted to know the ages of the characters:
Naruto – 16/almost 17
Sakura – 16
Sasuke – 17
You get the idea. I wanted Sakura to be a little more 'mature' for this plot and I wanted Sasuke to be trusted again. That would take years for Konoha, so here you have it.
Chapter 7: Worry
Hikone and Sasuke stood facing one another in the dingy warehouse. Gray eyes clashed with raven and not a sound could be heard.
Hikone chuckled and shed his trench coat, revealing black attire that consisted of mesh, leather and buckles. The clothing contrasted with his pale blonde hair which was still tied back in an almost graceful way.
Sasuke shot the older man the most despicable look that could be mustered from an Uchiha. Sakura was propped up at the far side of the room facing the fighting area while Gaara stayed hidden in the ceiling beams above them. Neither Kakashi or Naruto had arrived yet and still no word had come from Kankuro.
Hikone chuckled, his silvery eyes flashing with malice. "Shall we begin?"
Sasuke growled as his eyes became their piercing red. "Anytime…"
And then Hikone was gone. Sasuke's eyes widened in realization. So THIS was the speed that Gaara had warned them about. He was even faster than Lee!
It would take a while to actually predict his actions… Sasuke knew this well. He glanced around quickly, giving the area a fleeting glance before ducking as the hairs on the back of his neck prickled. Sure enough, a fist flew over the direction where his head once was. He glanced up and smirked. Was this all he had to offer? With a twist of his body, he swung his legs out and tripped the blonde man, sending him to the ground. Hikone grunted as his hands made contact with the floor and flipped himself upright.
"Not bad, Uchiha…" he mused as he glanced over his shoulder. Sasuke stood up, his black hair falling into his eyes. Before he realized what had happened, Hikone whipped out a short bladed katana and swung it at him. He just barely dodged, but escaped with a small cut to his cheek. Sasuke smirked and whipped out his own weapon of choice: the Windmill Shuriken and spun it out into full bloom. He ducked another blow from the katana and slashed the blades at Hikone's leg. The blonde man winced and took a step back, keeping the now injured leg away from his attacker. Sasuke jumped back as the sword swung down once more and jumped again as a shuriken aimed for his torso flew towards him. Sasuke stood up from his crouched pose and chuckled.
"Is this the best you can do, Shojin?" he drawled. "I knew kids when I was TWELVE that could move faster than you." Hikone smirked.
"You haven't seen anything, Uchiha."
Sasuke spun around, swinging his foot out to trip the older man. His eyes could only widen in shock when he felt nothing. He looked over towards Sakura, relieved that he hadn't appeared there either.
"Pretty thing isn't she…" said a voice behind him. Sasuke turned to elbow him, but found nothing but air. He could hear Hikone's laughter as Sasuke swung another punch at him, only to find him gone again.
"She's beautiful… perfect form…" he dodged another kick. "Perfect shape…" A kunai flies past the area where his head once was. "And that perfectly innocent look…" Another deep chuckle rang through the room, making Sasuke cringe in disgust. "I wonder if she's as innocent as they make her out to be…"
That was it. Shojin had crossed the line. Sasuke's eyes were shut tight and his teeth were clenched.
"You sick BASTARD!" Sasuke cried, his eyes snapping open to reveal the Sharingan. Hikone's movements had slowed down for him now. He glanced up at Gaara quickly, who nodded and vanished.
He just needed a little more time…
Tsunade opened an eye when she heard a knock on the door. She called them in, arching an eyebrow when she saw who entered.
"Hyuuga Neji?" she blinked. "And Hinata too…" She smiled wearily, lifting cup of tea to her lips. "What can I do for you?"
"We want to help out with Sakura's problem."
Both Neji and Hinata were fortunate that they were far enough away. Tsunade choked and tea sprayed out of her mouth. Neji gave Tsunade a blank look while Hinata looked sort of bewildered by the Hokage's actions.
"Uhh… T-Tsunade-sama?" Hinata piped up. "Are y-you okay?"
Tsunade coughed a bit and nodded. "Yes…" she managed to say. "Are you sure you want to?" both of them nodded.
"Lee and Tenten are outside waiting as well." Tsunade winced as Lee's name was said. "Don't worry, Tsunade. He's better now."
The fifth nodded in understanding. "So what did he destroy?" she asked. Neji hesitated.
"I think its best we get back to the subject at hand." He replied. Tsunade nodded.
"So… Haruno Sakura?" both Hyuugas nodded. "Well… I want to have another look at the publishing records… maybe you can do that for me."
The door suddenly burst open and Lee leapt in, Tenten literally hanging on to his ankles in order to restrain him. "Anything for Sakura!" he cried his eyes ablaze with emotion. Neji glared and put his hands on Lee's shoulders and began to push him out of the room.
"We'll get to that now, Tsunade." He grunted as he finally got the green beast through the doorway. "We'll report to you if anything comes up." There was one last cry from Lee and a shriek from Tenten before Hinata stepped through the doorway and bowed politely before sliding the door shut.
"Idiot!" Tenten snapped, causing Lee to wince. "You don't burst through the door in front of the Hokage like that! Hell, you don't burst through the door in front of ANYONE like that!"
Neji sighed and placed a hand on Tenten's shoulder. "Let him be." He said calmly. Tenten huffed, but obliged.
"I'm sorry Tenten, Neji, Hinata…" He said quietly. "But my fears of what people have done to Sakura make me…" Tenten sighed and shook her head.
"If we're going to see the publishers, you can be the distraction. The rest of us will be the stealth." She glanced over at Hinata and smiled, earning a small smile back from the silent Hyuuga.
"I'm surprised that through all this hell, not one of the members of Team 7 managed to get a chance to look in the publishing studios." Tenten frowned. Neji glanced over and nodded.
"It does seem a bit odd…"
"T-then again… they w-were called away immediately after…" Hinata piped up.
"And in the end we're left with a mess…" Lee finished.
"I can only help but feel bad for Sakura…" Tenten sighed. "I would hate to be in her shoes right now…"
"What's this I'm hearing about Sakura?"
The four shinobi looked down the hall to see a lone figure clad in black walking towards them. His eyes scanned over the small group and a tiny smile reached his lips.
"Sai…" Neji said as he stood up to face the other teen. Sai smirked, his drawing hand absentmindedly fidgeting as if longing to be used. "What brings you here?"
"I was summoned." He replied flatly. "Tsunade wished to see me about something important. She has yet to explain my use." Neji frowned and glanced over his shoulder at the door.
"Something tells me you're here for the same reason we were." He said as he turned back to the raven-haired boy. The boys likeness to Uchiha Sasuke irked Neji in a way, but he did not mention it in front of him. Sai flicked his now shaggy hair out of his eyes and placed a hand on his hip.
"So what's this I'm hearing about my old teammate?" he finally asked.
"Tsunade will explain to you." Neji said quietly, brushing past the lean boy. "I suggest you go inside. She's waiting for you."
"Whatever you say." Was the only reply he got. He heard the door slide open followed by three sets of advancing feet as the rest caught up with him.
"His likeness to Sasuke never ceases to astound me…" he heard Lee say. "Sometimes I wonder if it's actually his sister!" He heard Tenten choke and Hinata's muffled squeak. He, himself had to force himself to contain his laughter at Lee's words.
"Let's just go…" he said, not letting anyone see his smile.
"Pathetic!"
Sasuke snarled and spun around, taking a kick at Shojin. He just barely grazed the older man's head as he bent back. Hikone smirked.
"What? No weapons?" he taunted. Sasuke glared.
"Well if you'd stop using Sakura as a shield, I might just try and fight."
It was true. Hikone had taken a liking in standing in front of Haruno Sakura to avoid any long range attacks from the raven-haired shinobi. Hikone frowned and flicked his hair aside.
"It sounds to me like you're calling me low…" Hikone drawled. "But one must play dirty when it comes to winning such a valuable prize."
"WHAT DID HE SAY!" Naruto cried on the other end of the speaker. Sasuke winced. He had forgotten to take out the earphones. "I swear to god I will beat the living SHIT out of him when I get there!"
"Shut up, Naruto." Kankuro growled. "It's that warehouse right over there."
Sasuke smirked. "Be lucky I'm not Naruto." He said. "He'll give you a fight to remember for saying that."
Hikone quirked an eyebrow. "You mean that fox from the leaf?" he laughed.
"Damn right!"
The door burst open to reveal a very irritated blonde shinobi. Hikone looked over in surprise as Naruto pointed a finger at him. "You hurt my friend! I will never forgive you!"
Sasuke couldn't help but roll his eyes. Same old Naruto. At least his entrance wasn't too overdramatic. He glanced over towards the spot where Sakura lay to find her gone.
"Don't worry. I have her." Gaara's voice reassured. "Finish Hikone off and bring him back."
Sasuke glanced over to see that Naruto had already begun to fight with Hikone. "I don't think you'll need to worry about that." He finally said. "Naruto, we need him alive."
"Does it have to be in one piece?" Kakashi asked as he walked in, Kankuro following close behind.
"Keep his voice box in at the least." He said. Hikone dodged another one of Naruto's attacks and laughed.
"You're pathetic, Uchiha!" He cried. "Do you really care about that whore enough to walk away from a fight and leave a little fox as your replacement?"
He wasn't sure what happened, but something inside him snapped. The pain on his neck began to pulse and his eyes became dangerously narrow. His thirst for blood grew even more as his gaze locked on Shojin's face.
"Never…" He said darkly, turning around to face the offender. "NEVER call my friends those things!"
There was a cry of pain and a sickening crack as Sasuke sped forward, grabbing his wrist and snapping it under his hold. He then took the man's head and sent him backwards into the steel wall. Hikone cried out in pain as he stumbled to his feet. Blood trickled down his face and the back of his neck and a crazed grin spread over his face.
"Fool…" he breathed. "Do you seriously believe that your little Sakura will be the same by the time this is over?" he began to laugh. "Sakura will end up in situations that you couldn't possibly imagine…" he grinned. "She will be a toy to them. A beautiful… delicious toy…"
His words ended there as Sasuke grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. Red eyes were glazed with bloodlust and clenched teeth seemed to grow into fangs.
"Sakura is not yours!" he snarled, his hand becoming tighter on his neck. The feeling of stress against the vertebrae became great and small pops rang through his ears. He was going to enjoy this man's death… and nobody was going to stop him.
"Sasuke no!"
A firm hand grabbed his wrist. Sasuke released his hold a bit and glared at Naruto.
"Don't kill him." The blonde pleaded. "We need to use him to get more information!
"There are plenty more where that came from!" the Uchiha shot back. "This prick deserves to die!"
"I know that." Naruto said sternly, his eyes never leaving Sasuke's. "But…" A grin spread over his face. "There's more than one way to get revenge…"
Sasuke looked over at Hikone, whose face was beginning to show shades of blue. "I guess this will keep him still for the time being…" he mumbled as he dropped Hikone to the ground. Naruto grinned and gave Sasuke a good hard pat on the back. Sasuke let his eyes return to their normal colour and the throbbing pain on his neck immediately stopped. Kakashi walked over and glanced down at the man that now lay stunned on the ground.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm not carrying him back."
Gaara's eyes opened as he heard the door close. Naruto had made a couple bunshins who dragged Hikone in with a rope. Sasuke walked in looking absolutely murderous, Kakashi looked a little tired and Naruto looked annoyed.
"So he's alive?" he asked. Sasuke snorted and glared at the man on the ground.
"Unfortunately, yes." He muttered. Naruto scowled.
"He nearly snapped his head off." He added. "I can't blame him though… after what he said about Sakura…"
Gaara nodded in understanding, already knowing what he had said. "Sakura's in the next room over there." He said, pointing towards another sliding door. "I'm sure you'll want to see her. She's beginning to get her voice back, but still can't move her limbs." Sasuke nodded and headed to the door immediately. Kakashi glanced over at Naruto when the blonde ninja made no move to follow.
"Aren't you going to see her?" he asked. Naruto shook his head.
"I think she and Sasuke need some alone time." He replied, scratching the back of his head lazily. Kakashi smiled at Naruto's maturity in the situation.
"Do you want some ramen then?" The Jounin inquired. Naruto grinned.
"Sure! But… just one bowl though… I'm still full from the meal Sakura and Temari made us." Kakashi chuckled.
"Let's go then."
Sasuke closed the door silently behind him and let his eyes adjust to the darkly lit room. The only light that shone was from the moon, giving the room a soft, hazy glow. Sakura lay on the bed, her eyes closed and breathing softly. Sasuke pulled up a chair from the desk near the foot of her bed and set it at her bedside. He sat down and looked at her with a solemn gaze. Her face looked pale in the soft light and the right side of her face seemed to shine even more as it faced the moon. Pink hair was now slightly paler, but looked beautiful as it was sprawled out on the pillow. Sasuke couldn't help but admire these features as he took his seat beside her.
"I'm sorry…" He breathed. Sakura's face scrunched up a bit and her eyes opened as she turned her head to face him.
"Sasuke?" she mumbled. "What are you…?"
Sasuke let a small smile appear on his face. "We beat him." He replied. Sakura smiled a bit.
"Sorry that I worried you…" she said quietly. "I think he spiked my drink with that stuff…" a lock of hair fell over her face, causing her to frown. She shifted a bit and tried to blow it away, but failed miserably. Sasuke bent over her and brushed it away himself, leaving them both a small shade of pink.
"Well nobody was expecting it…" He replied quietly. "Don't trouble yourself." Sakura sighed and turned her head to the ceiling.
"I haven't felt this weak since the academy…" she finally said. Sasuke blinked and looked down at her quizzically. "I could never fend for myself back then… I was just the brains of the class… right?" Sasuke frowned at her words.
"Sakura… things like that take time and practice… I'm sure you know that…"
"It took me too long to learn." She replied darkly. She turned her head again to face him. "I'm sure you remember how I could barely do a thing before… I was beaten to a bloody pulp at least three times a week if I was lucky."
"Shut up!"
Sasuke stood up, now towering over her. His glare made Sakura feel even more vulnerable as he placed his hands at either side of her head. He bent down so that his face was now much closer to hers. His bangs swept across her forehead and a small tingling sensation spread through him.
"You're not like that anymore…" he breathed, causing Sakura to shiver. He felt her breath on his face as he knelt closer. Their noses were now touching and he swore he could hear Sakura's heart beating like mad as she looked up at him in shock. He himself was having problems keeping his pulse under control.
"Hey, Sakura!" Temari called as she opened the door. "I brought you some… oh…" She watched in amusement as Sasuke quickly straightened himself up and Sakura turned her head away in embarrassment. "Whoa… sorry…" She laughed nervously. "I really didn't think you were in here, Sasuke." Sasuke glared as he tried to force down the blush on his face. "I'll just… go…"
The door quickly closed, leaving both Sasuke and Sakura in an uncomfortable situation.
"So… when are we…" Sakura began.
"Going home?" Sasuke finished. "In a day or so… but we need some more information from Hikone." Sakura nodded in understanding.
"Well don't worry about me…" She finally said. "I'll be alright."
Sasuke couldn't help but frown as the smile on Sakura's face spread. He knew that she was lying to herself, but he didn't make a point of it.
"You better be…" He said after a moment of silence. "I don't want you getting hurt again."
"I told you I'll be okay!" she huffed. Sasuke chuckled and took his seat beside her again.
"Are you scared Sakura?" he finally asked. Sakura tilted her head towards him.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you scared about what might happen? I mean… you were nearly lost today…" he averted his gaze as not to reveal the signs of worry on his face. "Sakura smiled.
"Don't be stupid… I've been in worse situations than this…" Sasuke turned to her.
"But if we lose you… it won't just be death." He finally turned back to her. "You'll be used as a sex icon, Sakura…" His eyes narrowed a tiny bit, but no anger was behind them. "I… I don't want that."
Sakura gazed at Sasuke with a deep sadness. "Sasuke, I…" she sighed. "I know that you won't let anything touch me… neither will Naruto." She then grinned. "And I can take care of myself just fine too."
Sasuke smiled and brushed the hair out of her face once again. He looked over his shoulder towards the door as Naruto and Kakashi walked inside. Naruto grinned and ran over.
"Hey Sakura!" He said happily. "Glad to see that you're awake." Sakura laughed at his words.
"I'm fine, Naruto." She reassured him. "I'm just numb all over." Naruto scowled.
"That sure as hell doesn't sound fine." Kakashi pointed out as he scratched the side of his head. "But… from what I heard, you should at least be able to move your arms tomorrow morning." Sakura's face lit up immediately.
"How long will it take for my chakara to return?" She asked.
"Unfortunately… due to the overdose… that might take a couple of days." He replied. "You can spend that time at Sasuke's when we return." Sakura's smile faded a bit and she nodded.
"That's fine…" She mumbled. "Too bad I don't get to beat the living shit out of that Shojin guy…"
"I believe that he won't be in any state to be a punching bag for the next couple days…" Kakashi started. Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, Sasuke nearly snapped his neck right in half!" Sasuke glared at the fox-child.
"Can we just forget about that?" he asked hotly. Sakura giggled, but quickly stopped as she opened her mouth to yawn.
"I don't know about you guys…" She mumbled. "But I'm beat. I'm going to rest now if you don't mind…"
Naruto and Kakashi bid Sakura a good night before exiting. Sasuke, on the other hand, decided to stay behind and keep a watch over her as she slept.
She needed to be guarded still… right?
TBC…
DONE! dies
I can't believe how long this ended up being! GOD!
Well it should keep you happy for now
Sorry for the lame-ass ending. I'm working on it.
ART LOVERS! I NEED IDEAS FOR STRIKING A POSE FANART!
I want to draw something, but I have no idea what to make! If you could give me ideas or even make your own art, I'd really appreciate it!
For ideas, send them in a note to me at www.demoneyes14. a lot!