(01.12.2021)
Paintball/Shot Through the Heart
Paintball - A competitive team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called paintballs that break upon impact... What could possibly go wrong?
Shot Through the Heart - A feeling of heartbreak so severe that it is as if one was shot through the heart.
"All right, boys, this is the last leg. It's 5 on 3, we've got this."
Nodding silently to himself, Sasori adjusted the rifle on his shoulder and listened quietly to Itachi's orders. Taupe eyes scanned the battlefield below through his scope, focused intently on the pile of sandbags and barrels located at the corner of the old garage roughly 400 meters away.
"Our target is in the East quadrant. Nara and Kisame will head in first, I will cover you six. Sasori, do you have a visual?"
Eyes narrowed, Sasori leaned slightly to his left, pressing himself against the wall as he readjusted the angle of his gun through the open window. He knew they were there, hiding just out of sight. One hand holding his gun steady, Sasori raised the other to turn on the microphone of his headset.
"No, but they're together," he replied calmly, his gaze trained on the makeshift barricade their enemy was hiding behind. He waited patiently for them to make their move.
When he caught a flash of yellow, just barely hidden beneath a dirt-brown helmet, dart out from behind the barrels only to disappear a moment later behind one nearby parked cars, he spoke again.
"The fox has left the den and is heading south. Get moving."
"Roger that. Kisame take the left, Nara, the right. We're going in."
Rifle at the ready, Sasori peered through his scope, watching as a second figure slipped out from their hiding spot to head in his direction. He followed them closely, growling under his breath as they moved closer, staying low and hiding from his view behind a line of wooden crates. When they reappeared behind the corner of a dumpster 100 meters away from the base of his lookout and fired at him, Sasori hissed.
"Itachi, I've been made, I need to move."
"Stay where you are. I'm on it."
Holding his position, Sasori watched his assailant quickly retreat back behind the dumpster just as Itachi came into view. The sound of gun fire soon filled the air as the Uchiha heir bore down on his target. However, just as the dark-haired captain confirmed his success over the radio with a soft, "got him," movement caught the corner of Sasori's eye.
Shit.
Swiveling his gun around and pulling the trigger, Sasori shouted, "Itachi! It's a trap, get out of there!"
But he was too late.
In the second that it took for their captain to come back around the corner of the dumpster and raise his gun, he was hit, a large splatter of red painting his chest as their enemy hit their mark.
"Shit." Sasori cursed again, this time as he pulled his rifle from the window ledge and dropped to the floor of his 3rd floor hiding spot. A second run of gun fire filled the air.
POP-POP-POP-POP
"Kisame, Itachi's down. Where-"
Before he could finish his sentence, the another series of loud pops erupted into the air.
"POP. POP. PO- FUCK!" Sasori flinched slightly as Kisame's shouts blared through the earpiece. "Fuck! They got Nara, too! We gotta regroup. Deidara, where are you?"
"..."
Sasori frowned, arms raised to protect himself from the debris falling from the ceiling as the building took the brunt of the enemy's attack. "Deidara, do you copy?"
"..."
"Oi, blondy, answer us!"
"..."
"Looks like it's just me and you, Akasuna."
"Head to the base," Sasori replied as he crouched down out of view. "I'll meet you there."
"Rog-GAK!"
Hearing the line go dead, Sasori grit his teeth and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He was the last one left.
Their enemy had taken out everyone else on his team.
It was 2 on 1, now.
He needed to be smart if he wanted to come out of this alive.
Securing his rifle over his shoulder, Sasori pulled his pistol from the holster on his hip and moved swiftly towards the trap door in the floor. He could hear the battle raging on it the distance as he placed his hand on the metal rung and pulled opened the wooden hatch in the floor. Then, moving as quietly as possible, he walked carefully down the ladder, senses on high alert.
When he reached the ground, he quickly turned his attention to the open doorway at the side of the room, the softest squeak of footsteps ascending the decaying stairs alerting him to the enemy's position.
Pistol raised, Sasori stood firm and aimed his gun at the enterance, waiting with bated breath for the first sign of another human.
And when a pair of hands clutching a pistol breech the threshold, he fired without hesitation, watching with satisfaction as crimson liquid sprayed into the air and his enemy stumbled backwards down the stairs. Sasori moved into the doorway after them. Then, when he found his target laying in a groaning pile on the ground, he silently raised his gun and fired the finishing blow.
Only one left.
He just didn't know where they were.
Eyes narrow, Sasori scanned the ground below him.
Not knowing the location of his last enemy made leaving the safety of his lookout post risky, but his position had already been compromised so he also couldn't stay for too long.
And so, he would wait just long enough for his target, if they were indeed waiting to ambush him, to grow impatient. Then he would move.
Several seconds passed, the still air disrupted only by the soft puffs of his breath as he waited patiently for the sound of movement below him.
When several minutes passed without a single noise, Sasori took the opportunity to take descend the stairs, movements slow and cautious. Upon reaching the bottom, he found the man he'd shot laying in a motionless heap. He stepped around the body carefully, making sure to keep his back pressed against the wall.
However, just as he shifted his weight and rounded the corner, he felt the warm muzzle of a recently fired gun press against the back of his head.
CLICK
"Hands up and on your knees."
Heart stopping, Sasori carefully turned his head to look over his shoulder at the woman standing behind him.
"I wouldn't tell you twice." She hissed, emerald eyes narrow, gleaming through the dirt that covered her face and matted her pastel hair.
"So," he said with a bitter laugh as he faced forward and lower himself into his knees, hanging his head. "It's come to this, huh?"
"Are you really that surprised?" She asked humorously as she held the nose of the gun firmly against his helmet with one hand and relieved him of his pistol with the other. Then, as she reached around to unclasp the strap in his rifle, she whispered, "We both know you did this to yourself."
Once he was unarmed, the woman tossed his firearms aside before stepping around to face him. The nose of her gun was repositioned against his forehead as she unclipped the chin strap of his helmet. It joined his guns on the floor before she took a half step back.
"So, how does it feel?" She asked, her gaze cold as she stared down at him, "to be bested by me after you threw me to the dogs?"
Chest tight, Sasori stared up the barrel of her gun desperately. "I'm sorry that I abandoned you, Sakura. But we can start over, I promise." Lifting his gaze, he met her gaze beseechingly, "So, please, just put the gun down."
Green eyes flickered with uncertainly as she stared down at the love of her life.
"Sakura..." He said gently, watching the conflict dance in her gaze as she stood before him. "You don't have to do this."
"Yes. I do." She said softly between gritted teeth, tears coming to her eyes as the wind picked up around them. "I'm sorry, Sasori."
Watching as her grip tightened on her pistol and she lowered the gun to place the muzzle over his heart, Sasori felt panic leap into his throat.
"Sakura, please, it doesn't have to be this way!"
But it was too late.
Smiling at him through her tears, Sakura pulled the trigger.
"I wish that were true."
BRUUUUMP!
"YEAH! WE WON! WOOOHOOO!"
Looking over her shoulder as Naruto came sprinting back into the paintball arena, Sakura had just enough time to remove her helmet and laugh before she was scooped up into the exuberant blonde's arms and hoisted onto his shoulders.
"Naruto! Put me down! I can walk on my own!" She shouted, laughing loudly as the man let out another loud whoop before grabbing the sore Sasuke off the ground by his shirt collar and taking off in the direction of their less energetic but equally excited teammates waiting by the picnic area.
"No way! A battlefield hero deserves to be carried!" Naruto shouted back, as he scampered up to their waiting friends, the younger Uchiha having found his footing and sulking after them. It was only when they had arrived at the set of tables located a good distance away from the paintball field that the blonde kneeled to set the pinkette back on her feet. He accepted his beer from Kiba before shoving one into Sakura's hands as well.
"Hero or not, she was cutting it pretty close there at the end." The Inuzuka commented with a toothy grin. When he met the watery gaze of the green eyed victor, his smirk widened teasingly, "What? Did shooting your boyfriend really get you all choked up?"
Rolling her eyes, Sakura removed one of her gloves to wipe at the tears leaking from her eyes.
"Of course not. The damn course was so dusty that it was making my eyes water," she replied, blinking rapidly to try and rid her eyes of the irritating particles.
"Eh? But isn't that what our goggles are for?" Naruto asked, reaching up to tap the pair he had sitting atop his head.
Letting out a sigh, Sakura unclipped a pair of paint-splattered goggles from her belt and held them up for the others to see. "Kisame nearly took my eye out earlier in the match. I didn't have the time to clean them, so I just took them off."
"Ah, yeah, sorry about that, kiddo."
Looking over her shoulder as the older half of their group approached them, she spotted the tall, blue haired man and smiled.
"It's no big deal. Just try not to do it again, please." she said lightly, clinking her bottle against his before peeking past the man at the sulking red head that was bringing up the rear. "Even though it did add to the dramatic effect."
Sasori glared faintly at her. An expression that Kisame was more than happy to exploit.
"I gotta give you credit, kiddo," the man said with a hearty laugh, "letting your teammate take the fall and then staying out of sight until your enemy to came down… that's something else… not to mention the little performance you made of it!"
Giggling softly at his praise, Sakura turned to face the man with the bright pink paint splatter located directly over his heart. "Well, it helps to know you enemy."
"Ha ha, very funny," Sasori replied, rolling his eyes as he came to stand beside his girlfriend. He slipped an arm around her waist as she leaned against him, amusement dancing in her emerald eyes. "Sneaky woman."
"Impatient man," she teased back, gently patted the spot of dried paint on his chest for emphasis. "You should have stayed in your little hideout."
"Ugh, you wound me," Sasori said with a soft gasp, placing his hand over hers in a rare show of dramatics just for her.
She giggled again, "Literally." Gently stroking the mark on his chest, she frowned slightly in concern. "I hit you at close range... does it hurt?"
Caught between amusement and appreciation for her concern, Sasori lowered his head to whisper in her ear. "If I said it did... would you kiss it better?"
Green eyes widened for the briefest of moments, darkening for a split second at his innuendo, before sliding closed as the owner took a deep breath. Then, when they opened again, she whispered back, "And if I said yes?"
His breath hitched. Then, after pulling back to look her in the eyes, he groaned at the mischief he found there.
"You're going to be the death of me," he complained at last, a small smile creeping onto his lips as the girl in his arms snickered.
"Til death do us part, then," she replied, leaning up and kissing his cheek.
Ignoring her taunt, Sasori gently pried the beer bottle from her hands and took a swig. Then, after handing it back to her, he asked the question that had been on his mind since Sakura's team had ambushed Itachi.
"What I want to know is how you snuck by without me seeing you."
Sakura raised an eyebrow at him. "And why would I tell you that?"
"Because you feel bad for shooting me?" he replied playfully, earning a few snickers from their surrounding friends.
Sakura snorted softly before taking a sip of her beer. "You'll have to try harder than that to guilt trip me into spilling my battle secrets."
"What," Sasori said, "is it one of those, 'if you tell me, you'll have to shoot me' kind of things?"
"Too late for that," Sasuke chimed in as he approached, taking a seat at the nearest picnic table and pulling open a bag of chips. Shifting his gaze from the sour redhead to the pink-haired victor, he sent her a stern look, "Don't you even think about telling him, Sakura."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Relax, Sasuke." She stole a glance at her boyfriend and smirked, "He still wouldn't be able to beat me if I did."
"Now, that's quite the proclamation."
Looking up from her teammate, Sakura smiled at the older Uchiha brother as he approached, his chest painted red.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to see how things play out next week, won't we?" Sakura replied with a grin before turning to meet her partner's gaze, her eyes glittering with challenge.
"I won't fall for it a second time," Sasori replied, speaking both to the Uchiha siblings and his companion, despite his eyes never leaving Sakura's.
Sasuke made a faint gagging sound at the sight of their obvious affection before his attention was drawn back to the rambunctious crowd of their friends that had moved on to stand around the nearby bonfire.
Placing a hand on his young brother's shoulder, Itachi gently nudged the boy in the direction of their friends, nodding to Sakura and Sasori as he went. "Come join us whenever you're ready."
After sending the brothers off with a smile and small wave, Sakura set down her beer and turned to face her boyfriend, enjoying the feel of his gloved hands as they rested on her waist. Draping her arms around his neck, the pinkette leaned forward and rested her forehead against his, humming softly as he gently rubbed his hands up and down her sides.
"I'm never going to live this down, you know," Sasori complained softly, gazing down at her calmly as she gently rocked them from side to side.
"Mmm, and I suppose I should feel sorry for you, right?" she replied with a small grin.
There was no heat behind his scowl. "Probably."
"Well, in that case..."Giggling softly, Sakura gave Sasori her best pair of puppy-dog eyes as she whispered. "Will you ever forgive me, Sa-so-ri-kun?"
Raising an eyebrow at her sudden cutesy act, Sasori pulled his girlfriend closer and hummed. "Maybe."
"Maybe?"
Sasori smirked. "Maybe."
Leaning up, Sakura placed quick kiss on the redhead's lips. Then, she asked, "How about now?"
Lips still a breath away from hers, Sasori hummed thoughtfully before answering, "Mmm, nope."
Sakura smiled playfully before kissing him again, this time pulling him closer with a hand on his shoulder and weaving her fingers into the short red hairs at the nape of his neck. "And now?"
Sasori breathed out a huff of amusement before pulling the feisty woman in for one last kiss, his arms around her waist flexing as he held her flush against him and he kissed her breathless.
After a few long moments, he pulled away from her lips to nuzzle her cheek, purring softly as he savored the feel of her warmth against his body. "That should be good enough."
Giggling softly, Sakura felt her cheeks warm as she pulled away from the affectionate redhead. "You're unbelievable," she mumbled quietly, shyly, nevertheless taking his hand in hers before leading them in the direction of their friends. "Come on, they're probably waiting for us."
Smiling at her flustered response, Sasori happily let the pinkette pull him back towards their companions.
Kiba was the first to see them, shouting loudly as he caught the pair coming their way. "Ah! There she is!"
"It's about time!" Naruto cheered, perking up at the sight of his best friend and her boyfriend approaching them.
"Damn straight, now we can really start to celebrate!" Ino shouted, raising into the air the cold beer in her hands. "All hail, Queen Forehead, the best assassin this paintball field has ever seen!"
"Ino!" Sakura hissed as she and Sasori came to halt amongst their friends, glaring at her best friend for toasting the annoying nickname.
That is, until the other obnoxious blonde in her life threw his arm around her shoulders and raised his beer with a shout, "To Sakura and her bad-ass ninja skills on the battlefield!"
"To Sakura!" their teammates replied, plastic cups and beer bottles clinking and clacking together above their heads.
Giggling as she watched her friends throw back their drinks, chatting loudly as the sun began to set and the sky darkened, Sakura leaned her head against the paint-covered shoulder beside her with a content sigh.
Yep. Life was perfect.
A/N: To be honest, I couldn't decide on the title of this chapter... I also wasn't sure how to finish it either (sorry if it felt awkard)... Pretty sure those were the main reasons it took so long to post this. lol
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed!
~Smash41KMF
