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The Edge of Rage

Chapter 5

Twenty-four hours ago...

Sakura managed to keep the smile on her face and walked without hesitation even as her mind furiously tried to process this new information.

Shinobi, he's shinobi. But is he rogue or part of a cell from another village?

She knew him to be shinobi because she could sense the reserves of chakra in him. It was one of the requirements to be qualified as a medic nin, to be able to sense to levels of chakra in a patients body.

Sakura sent a fervent prayer to all the gods that her civilian clothing was made from the same material as the black ops uniform and therefore masked her own chakra.

"Welcome to the Blue Diamond, I am Aiji. Can I help you?" the shinobi asked, polite curiosity in his voice.

"Yes...well, maybe." Sakura gave a false laugh and pretended to nervously fluff her hair, "I was sent here by a gem seller named Hiroto. He said that my friend was staying here. Am I in the right place?"
Sakura saw the predatory gleam in his amber eyes flash in his eyes momentarily and knew for certain that this shinobi was working with the merchant.

"We have many guests staying here," he told her, " why not tell me the name and I will check our records."

Sakura gave him the name as though she suspected nothing. She knew damn well Kana would not be in the hotel, but she wanted to what he was up to.

Surely they don't plan to abduct me here at the hotel? That would draw too much suspicion especially if he is telling the truth about having legitimate guests.

"Ah, yes it seems we do have a Kana staying here. But I am sorry to report you just missed her, she left not too long ago." He looked up at he with such a contrite expression that had Sakura not known him for what he was she would have been utterly fooled.

"Missed her? Did she just leave?"

Aiji nodded quickly. "Oh yes, I saw her leave with a young male who claimed to know her family from her village. I think I overheard him ask her out for lunch."

She gave him her best startled look and then quickly bit her lip. "Really...because I am sure that Kana told me she wasn't meeting up with anyone else. Perhaps I should go look for her, just to make certain?"

Sakura was not surprised with the shinobi gave her an equally startled look. "Do you think she might be in danger? In that case let me accompany you."

Sakura shook her head and gave a protest that sounded weak even to her own ears. "Oh...no I couldn't ask you to leave your job and ask you to help me. I'll be fine."

But the young male shook his head and came around the desk. "Nonsense," he insisted, "I was the one who let her leave thinking she was in safe hands. Please, you must let me come with you. If you think she is in danger, wouldn't it make sense to have someone else along to help?"

Sakura pretended to think about his offer when in actuality all she wanted to do was beat the living shit out of him and demand answers.

But I cannot, I have to play the weak female or I will blow my cover and then we may lose our people for good.

"I...guess that makes sense," she replied slowly, giving him a worried look, "you won't get into trouble helping me find my friend will you?"

But he waived her off and gave her such a charming smile that Sakura realized how they managed to abduct these women without any suspicion.

He even went to far as to offer her his hand to take.

But Sakura was not willing to push her acting that far. If she so much at touched him, she would have to kill him.

Slowly and with a great deal of blood and pain involved.

Instead she shook her head and motioned for him to proceed before her. "I will follow you," she told him with what she hoped was an expression of worried innocence, "you know this city far better than I do and you did say you knew where he was taking Kana?"

Aiji nodded his head, "Yes, it's not far from here. I am sure you will find your friend very soon."

Sakura's hand itched to drag a kunai across his throat, instead she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her duster and followed the shinobi out of the hotel, quite certain that she probably wouldn't be coming back anytime soon.

Sasuke I hope to hell you are either getting all of this or following close behind.

There was no way she could tell him that this man was shinobi and prayed that she wasn't leading them both into a trap.

Sakura was not surprised when Aiji led her down one of the dark alleyways that led away from the shopping district. Sakura wondered how long she should give him until she pointed out that they were moving further away from the city, not closer.

She waited exactly five minutes, long enough for him to get her away from the crowded public but not so far away that she could make a good show of trying to get away.

"Excuse me," she called out to him, stopping in the middle of one of the dark alley's, "but I thought you said Kana was not far away? I don't see any places to eat either. Are you sure we're going in the right direction?"

The male turned back to her and gave her an oily smile. "Oh not to worry, we're taking a short cut. I promise once we leave the alley you'll see."

Sakura gave him an unsure-but-game smile and allowed him to lead her past the alleyway. A few minutes later he was as good as his word and they left the alley, only to come to an abandoned street that was bereft of people.

Sakura decided now was as good a time to play the frightened girl. "I think we took a wrong turn somewhere. Maybe I should just go back to the hotel and see if she came back already." She turned and saw that the entrance to the alley was already blocked by two more men.

Both shinobi.

"But we want you to stay."

Sakura didn't have to feign the shiver that ran through her. Both males were dressed in the black-on-black garb favored by the ninja clans. They did not bother to hide the fact that they were not civilians.

Either they don't care who see's them, or they don't expect me to be able identify them after this.

She was betting on the latter rather than the former.

"I...I don't want to stay," Sakura continued to back up away from the advancing males, "I...should go. My father is in city and he'll be looking for me real soon!" She allowed her voice to get higher and faster as she talked.

Two hands clamped down on her arms from behind her. "Wrong," hissed Aiji, dropping the good Samaritan act, "We know all about you, Yuuki. You came here all alone. No father, no brother's. Not even a boyfriend to miss you when you don't come back to the hotel."

Sakura turned her head and as much as she wanted to snarl and break his hands for touching her, she didn't. Instead she forced her eyes to widen and hoped that he would mistake the gleam in her eyes for fear and not the anger simmering in her veins.

"H...how do you know that?" she whispered, even as she tried weakly to free herself.

"Pretty girl like yourself should be careful who you talk to, you never know who's listening." He told her with a rapacious gleam in his eyes and abruptly forced her against him, pinning the back of her against his harder body.

Sakura didn't have the fake the revulsion in her eyes as he stroked a finger down her skin. "Such lovely skin," he murmured, his hot breath in her ear, "like ivory. You will fetch a fine price."

"P-price? What price?"

"Why you'll have the great honor of being a wealthy man's pleasure slave. I know many who would pay red-gold to own beauty such as yours."

So I was right, they are stealing the woman for sexual slavery.

The fact that she had guessed correctly brought her no joy. She had wanted to be wrong. She had wanted the women to be victims of kidnapping, the only motive money.

She was so angry at being right that she was visibly shaking, trying to suppress the rising tide of outrage at the thought of these men touching the other women the way this one was touching her.

"Look at that, she's shaking." smirked the male with the black eye patch over his left eye. He was one of the males guarding the entrance to the alleyway, "quivering just like a frightened rabbit. Makes me want take a bite out of our little bunny."

The male holding her tightened his around the front of her shoulders, thinking his superior strength would hold her at bay. "Now, now Gerdo you know the rules. No touching the merchandise until after she's been...examined. The boss prefers virgins."

Gerdo, the one with the eye patch, shrugged his shoulders. "So what? It's not like I'm going to throw her on the ground and fuck her right now. Just a little nibble, to see if all the soft looking skin is really tender."

Sakura decided she had heard enough. It was time for her to make her 'great escape'. "Noooo!" she screamed and began wiggling in captor's arm, as though terrified that the one called Gerdo was going to actually bite her.

"Stop that!" the male holding her growled, but Sakura turned enough that she stomped on his foot with her chunky heel with enough force that he actually yelped and loosened his grip. Acting like any other woman on the verge of panic, Sakura shoved him away and then deliberately turned her back on her would be-captors and began running down the deserted street.

"Help me! Somebody help me!" she yelled, knowing full well that nobody could hear her.

"Stupid slut, you ain't going nowhere!"

Sakura didn't even bother to look behind her but kept on running, turning down alleyways that she figured would either lead her to a dead end our circle her back around.

"Usuru-san," she hissed into the transmitter, even as she let out another blood-curdling scream for help, "I've made contact. Proceeding with plan."

Sakura turned a sharp left more focused on how she could prolong the run to give Sasuke more intel on the shinobi than actually being chased.

So she had no time to react properly when Aiji appeared before her and jabbed a needle inside her neck.

Pain exploded where the needle buried itself in her skin and then just as quickly all the strength left her limbs and she literally fell to the ground, unable to move.

Shit, drugs! Why didn't I...but her mind was already shutting down and darkness pulled her into oblivion.