I do not own Naruto - VZ
Sakura couldn't sleep that night; she ended up falling off the bed twice and hardly getting any shuteye at all. She knew her lack of rest was due to her nervousness for her upcoming battle with Sasori. What if he had come across newer, stronger puppets? Would she still be able to stand a chance then? Thoughts and worries buzzed in her head like a swarm full of bees.
So here she was, walking towards the training facility with a pair of kunai, courtesy of Kisame. The pinkette allowed her self to smile at the thought of the mist-nin. Who did nothing but comfort and ease her concerns whenever they arose.
She twisted the kunai with her practiced fingers, feeling jittery just thinking about her impending spar with the puppet master.
Unfortunately, Sakura had arrived at the training grounds of Akatsuki. With a sigh she threw open the door and stepped into the area. Surprised to see every Akatsuki member (except for Pein and his partner, they were out on a mission or so she's heard) waiting inside.
Shock must have been evident on her face because Kisame walked up to her and smiled his signature sharp-toothed grin.
"There wasn't anything better to do kid." He gestured to the remaining shinobi behind him.
"Don't worry though, the only reason I came was to watch you win." He said casually, sending a smirk towards the red head. Who rolled his eyes and made his way to the other end of the room, but not before eyeing Sakura.
The medic-nin smiled at Kisame and thanked him for his support; this earned her a pat on the head.
"Hey, why do you still do that? I'm not a child anymore." She stated, indicating her fully-grown body. Which was currently garbed in another yukata. This time, the dress was blood red, the lining was black and a white obi sash was tied around her waist.
Suddenly, the easy-going expression on the mist-nin' s face disappeared. A different, much more heated look replaced it.
"No, you most certainly are not." As opposed to his cheerful voice, his tone was instantly deeper, huskier.
Green eyes widened after registering his words.
But before Sakura could ponder on Kisame or his actions any longer, Deidara' s voice interrupted her thoughts.
"You better hurry up yeah, he doesn't like waiting." The blonde said, observing the exchange between his fellow member and the resident blossom with apprehension. Although he made sure to mask it with his lighthearted smile.
"Oh, right. Thanks Deidara-kun." Sakura replied and hurried to her spot across Sasori. She moved so fast, she failed to notice the red that stained the blonde's cheeks. Deidara was surprised she had said his name with such an intimate honorific. Considering the fact that they were enemies and she had stayed with them for barely a month. Spending even lesser time with the blonde artist. To say he was overjoyed when seeing Sakura back in her real form was a severe understatement. The second he saw the short pink hair, graceful neck and her brilliant green eyes just the day before, he knew he was damned. No, he was not positive and totally sure about his feelings concerning the pink haired medic-nin.
But thankfully, he wouldn't have to feel like he was committing pedophilia. Not that he was, technically. The bomber justified that she was actually a grown woman, trapped in a ten-year-old' s body thanks to an age defying jutsu. And now she was back, back to her older form. In all honesty, it wasn't just her body that called out to him, but also her personality. Her fiery side on the battlefield and her cunning, intelligent thoughts on many things, art was coincidently one of them, attracted him to her. Deidara shoved his hands into his pockets, hiding away their matching grins at this thought. Although, he couldn't conceal the goofy grin plastered on his face. Exactly like how he couldn't help the warmth that spread throughout his body, or when he shifted his gaze to stare appreciatively at her rump. Behind him, a very irritated Uchiha silently fumed at this occurrence. So did the remaining members of Akatsuki.
Meanwhile, a particular red head was having fun with a certain pinkette.
"Are you ready Sasori?" Sakura asked while commanding chakra to her limbs, as a precaution.
"For you Haruno-san? Of course." He replied easily, bringing up a hand and curling a finger in her direction. It may have looked like a taunt of some kind between opponents, but to Sakura, It looked rather…. suggestive. As if he wasn't summoning her for a fight, more like inviting her for other, intimate affairs. She was grateful for his distance, because blush was steadily forming on her cheeks.
Sadly, he had seen her reaction and was now reveling for eliciting such a reaction from her so easily. His lips tilted up into a sly smirk when he turned her won question against her.
"And you Haruno-san, are you ready?"
Although his words were formal and polite, his voice and gaze openly disagreed. Again it was as if he was speaking to her under different arrangements. Not in a combat zone but in other much more private settings.
The blush came back, this time redder than before.
Sakura even noticed the way he said her name, slowly and alluringly. His hazel eyes were sparkling with mischief.
Then it hit her, he was doing this to rile her up! This piece of information angered the pinkette. She assumed he was playing coy because he wanted to get her unfocused, effectively ruining her concentration and fogging her clear mind. She was made aware of his clever and cunning mind on the battlefield thanks to their fight before. Either that or he simply wanted to flirt with her. Which was a possibility that was very much unimaginable, let alone feasible.
Well, two can play at that game. She thought wickedly.
"Born that way Sasori."
The red head immediately noticed her change in behavior, observing the way her eyes darkened upon saying his name. He could've laughed at her nerve.
So she wanted to play did she?
Well, who was he to deny such an appealing request?
Especially if it was asked by a beguiling woman.
"Excellent."
Then, being the impatient man that he was, he brandished a scroll, a wicked glint in his hazel eyes.
Sakura skillfully handled her twin blades, readying herself for his upcoming attack.
In a puff of smoke, a gigantic puppet appeared. His body was huge and incredibly daunting, it's beady eyes were zeroed on her form. The medic-nin observed her opponent, taking note of his structure and all the possible weapons he has hidden inside himself. His wooden figure looked strong and thick, most likely reinforced with some kind of hard material. So that she would have trouble crushing it later on.
All in all, the puppet looked like a buff, heavy man. No blades, scorpion tail like she expected. But nevertheless, she would remain on alert. There's no telling how many surprises Sasori has got hidden underneath his creation's robe.
Sakura decided it was time to begin their spar, so she charged. Both kunai were gripped tightly in each hand as she ran towards the puppet and its master. Sensing her presence, the monster's jaw dropped. To her dismay, it released dozens of blades. Ranging from kunai to senbon needle to shuriken. Already adapted to his fighting style, she moved with grace. Arching her back to dodge a well-aimed kunai and avoiding each weapon with ease and dexterity. She also used her own weapons to deflect a few of his. Sparks erupted each time her kunai clashed against his, the sound echoing in the large room.
This went on for a while, until finally, he ran out of blades to throw at her.
Sakura then took this opportunity to throw her own, targeting the puppeteer instead of his toy.
With agility, Sasori moved his fingers and commanded his puppet take the hit for him. Unfortunately for him, his line of vision was blocked because of his puppet's size. So he didn't see the pinkette heading straight for him, a blade ready to end the battle.
Just as she was about to bring a close to their spar, Sasori summoned another puppet. One to hold her body so that he could have the upper hand. The medic-nin snarled at him, frustrated for not thinking ahead. Of course he would take caution and have another of his wooden tools to protect himself.
Suddenly, the wooden arms around her tightened, constricting her movements and blocking off her air supply. Sakura willed herself to move, to escape from her timber prison. Sadly, it was quite impossible when her body was not only restricted from movement thanks to the puppet, but her yukata as well. Now that she thought about it, it was extremely silly to fight in a dress. The kind that limited her movement and options.
The red head lowered the puppet he used as a shield down, commanding him to stand upright once more. He then made his way towards her at a leisurely pace. This infuriated the trapped girl even more than before. As if he didn't even have to worry about her breaking free.
Sakura looked around, searching for any feasible escape. Once again, she cursed herself for wearing such awful battle wear. Green eyes surveyed the blood red yukata with disdain. Yes, it was very pretty and most probably worth a lot of money. But if only it wasn't so long…An idea struck the pinkette like lightning.
She eyed the red head in front of her, leaning towards her with a mischievous grin on his boyish face.
"I like you like this Haruno-san, writhing and begging for release." He said hungrily, aware of its double meaning.
Her jaw almost dropped at his obvious implication.
She kept her lips sealed, not giving him a reply. Even when he stepped so close and the only thing separating them were wooden arms, she didn't utter a word. Not willing to give him the satisfaction of her discomfort. Sasori sensed this and his eyelids drooped slightly, perfecting the look of seduction. Sakura hated herself for the blood that rushed to her face, thinking it was impossible. For him to feel that way about her and that he only did this for the sake of riling her up.
"I bet I could make you scream your heart out."
Most would think his words were a deadly threat, maybe it was. Yet his voice was so low and his expression so intimate she wasn't so sure.
The medic-nin knew she had to get out of this sticky or rather, heated situation.
She looked ahead and saw Sasori, only less than centimeters away from her. If she was going ahead with her plan, she had to do it now.
And so, Sakura commanded her chakra to pool at her right leg. Filling it with strength for what she was about to do. After bending her leg at the knee, she jerked it forward. Effectively breaking the confining embrace the puppet held her in and shocking the red head that had to step back unless he wanted to suffer a painful blow to the head. After which she executed a back flip in mid-air and retreated a few yards away from her opponent, who looked rather surprised at her course of action.
Sakura was glad she had broken free, but at a price-her yukata had a ghastly rip that started at the hem and ended above her knee.
The pinkette turned her attention to the mist-nin and his partner briefly, knowing that they would be watching. She mouthed a quick sorry and flourished her kunai, continuing the rip and slitting the dress up till upper thigh. That way she could move much more freely and much more efficiently.
Sasori smirked and called both his marionettes back to him using his chakra strings.
Sakura then curled her finger to him, mocking his earlier action.
She then, spread her legs into a wider, much more stable stance. Indicating that she wasn't going anywhere and that she was far from beat.
Sasori looked absolutely feral that she was able to escape his puppet's grasp.
"That all you got? Oh great Sasori of the red sand?" She tsked, attempting to push his buttons like he just did to her.
"Tch….not even close." He snarled.
To be continued! hehe, anyways, it would mean a lot to me if you read my other story. It's the reason I've haven't been able to update recently. All righty then, as usual, Lots of love and thanks to my reviewers! I'll type in the replies with the next update. I hope you like this one :) Till' next time! - VZ