Summary: As everything she had ever known is turned upside down, Sakura strikes out with her newly founded team in a perilous time when friend and foe alike can become complications. AU. MultiSaku. Sakura centric. SakuraHarem. Sequel to "no good gift (goes unpunished)." Multi-chaptered.

Pairing(s): SakuraxNaruto, SakuraxSasuke, SakuraxSai, SakuraxGaara, SakuraxDeidara, SakuraxSasori, SakuraxKisame, SakuraxItachi, SakuraxHidan, SakuraxKakuzu, SakuraxTobi, SakuraxMadara, SakuraxPein, KakashixSakura, KibaxSakura, ChojixSakura, ShikamaruxSakura, HakuxSakura, ZabuzaxSakura, LeexSakura, NejixSakura, ZetsuxSakura, KimimaroxSakura, KabutoxSakura, ShinoxSakura, SuigetsuxSakura, JugoxSakura, ShisuixSakura, IzunaxSakura, KotetsuxSakura, IzumoxSakura, GenmaxSakura, KonohamaruxSakura, YamatoxSakura, BxSakura, CxSakura, DaruixSakura, MenmaxSakura, JiraiyaxTsunade, OrochimaruxTsunade, (implied) AxTsunade

Genre: Adventure/Romance/Friendship/Humor/Angst

Warnings: some cursing (they are teenagers!), general OOC-ness, dark and sometimes suggestive themes

Notes: And the Akatsuki have arrived! Whatever shall we do?

So, the whole thing about Orochimaru's first attack on the Academy mirrors the attack during the exam in the Forest of Death. Many events, places and concepts in this story will be drawn from the actual Naruto universe. However, unlike in the Forest of Death, Sasuke wasn't bitten. I wonder why…

Oh, and someone asked how old Sakura is in this piece. She's seventeen at the moment.

Chapter Summary: In which the Akatsuki are surprised; Team Seven is pissed off in general; Sakura gets a phone call; plans are changed; and trouble hounds Team Seven's every move.

"the gifted and i"
Of Discoveries & Disappearances
-3/26-

Oh shit.

Oh SHIT.

OH SHIT!

Sakura panicked, ducking into one of the nearby concourses, quickly throwing away her drink as she weaved through the crowd of meandering people. Chancing a glance behind her, she noticed that Itachi was still on her trail while Kisame was suspiciously absent. Seriously though, what the hell? She felt her heart began to beat overtime out of nervousness as her palms became suspiciously slick with sweat. Dammit. This was not how this was supposed to go down. She was supposed to be calm and confident but Sakura knew that she would not even be able to make eye contact with the Uchiha prodigy.

Sakura ducked into a small alcove, placing a hand above her heart as she tried to calm her racing mind. She needed to get back to her oblivious teammates and quickly. Sakura glanced down at her hands. They were shaking.

Slowly, Sakura closed her eyes and inhaled, knowing that she was wasting precious time but unable to do anything else. I am tranquil, she told herself. I am a placid pond. I am-

Sakura let out a gasp as a gentle, long-fingered hand wrapped around her wrist. Her eyes flickered opened to meet Sharingan-bright eyes.

-SCREWED.

X

Breaking out of the rather heated argument, Sasuke looked around himself with a thoughtful frown on his face. "Where's Sakura?"

Naruto and Sai immediately stopped bickering and scanned the surrounding area.

"It appears that she is not here," Sai said in that irritating, matter-of-fact way that always made Sasuke want to slam the boy's head into the ground. Sasuke caught signs of Sai's worry though in the creases around his eyes and the minute tightening of his hands.

Naruto looked over at the youngest Uchiha with a look of horror on his suddenly pale face. "Shit."

X

Sakura looked around the red and black world, watching with trepidation as Itachi released her arms. Sakura folded her arms across her chest in an effort to keep them from shaking. She resolutely stared her captor in the eyes, refusing to examine the surroundings of the place she'd visited only once before. Tsukuyomi.

"Was that really necessary?" Sakura asked, cursing her inability to keep the quaver out of her voice. Of everyone in Akatsuki, Itachi had been the one who haunted most of her nightmares. Well, Hidan did too on occasion, but the silent, cold efficiency of Itachi terrified her.

"Hn," Itachi replied, an inscrutable look on his face. It was like he was wearing a mask.

"Well?" Sakura demanded angrily, resisting the urge to stamp her foot.

"I suggest you cease your current efforts, girl," Itachi said. "Your mission is bound to fail."

Sakura's fears were quickly being overridden by anger. "Girl? Are you serious? I have a name, Uchiha, I suggest you use it."

His face twisted and within a blink of the eye, he loomed above her, gripping her arms in irrational fury. Itachi couldn't help it. Even though she had every right to be angry, to hate him, he just couldn't stop himself. "Very well, Haruno," he hissed, throwing her to the ground. "You and your pathetic little teammates are destined to fail. The Akatsuki will insure it." His red eyes clashed with her furious green ones. "I will insure it."

Sakura scowled, slightly fearful of this new, wrathful Itachi. In all the years she'd known him… No, she wouldn't do that to herself. Obviously, she hadn't known him, even back then. She rose to her feet warily, keeping her eyes down in a posture of submission. "Really now?" Her eyes met his determinedly. "Well I will do everything in my power to stop you. I'll tear Akatsuki to its very foundations, brick by brick."

"Are you sure you want to discover the dismal secrets that lie in our foundation?" Itachi sneered. Sakura hesitated. "Oh yes, your naïve little eyes will be open to the machinations that are hidden behind the petty ideals of your precious Academy." He circled her now, watching her shake. Itachi wanted to reach out to her, to ensure that she was real and that she was here with him but there was no time for that. "Everything-" He stepped into her personal space, lips tracing along the shell of her ear. "Everything you love is a lie."

"No." Sakura's head snapped up, cracking him hard across the nose. "I refuse to believe you! Get out!" Itachi's eyes widened as Tsukuyomi began to shake all around him. He stumbled. "GET OUT!" she shouted, ripping her consciousness out of his family's most powerful technique.

Itachi couldn't help but smile softly as he was yanked unwillingly out of his own technique. She was awakening…

Sakura blinked away the spots in her eyes, trying to gain her vision again. Looking up she caught sight of Itachi's eyes, a grey so similar to Sasuke's own, bleeding. Sakura frowned, almost reaching out in concern before thinking better of it. Without warning, Itachi dropped to his knees before her and Sakura sent a bit of her Gift into him to knock him out.

She ran off without looking back.

X

Sakura practically dove behind a family of chatty tourists, rifling through her bag for another of her disguises. She'd been trained to do this sort of thing right? Of course, she'd never thought that the freaking Akatsuki would be tailing her, but whatever. Also Tsukuyomi? Never covered in any textbooks that she knew of. After haphazardly throwing on a black wig and removing her hoodie, Sakura gracefully joined a large group of fast-moving teenagers, starting to talk with one of the stoned looking ones.

Taking a quick glance around, Sakura grabbed a pair of sunglasses from one of the nearby stores and shoved them on her face. She peered around and noticed that she could no longer see either Itachi or Kisame. She wasn't quite sure if this was good or bad. Sakura smiled in relief as their concourse appeared in her vision. So close…

Sakura swerved lithely out of the way as someone stepped in front of her. Looking up Sakura caught sight of pale blue skin and crooked grin.

"Kisame!" she hissed, glaring viciously at the man.

"Little bit!" he greeted amiably, ignoring the fact that they were technically enemies. "What a pleasant surprise!"

His heart fell as Sakura's features twisted into a deep frown. Of course, it was only natural. He, and the others, had betrayed Konoha. Not her though. Never her. In fact...

Kisame was broken from his thoughts when Sakura scowled, whirling away as he cautiously made his way to her. Eyeing a nearby cart of tourist goodies, Sakura shrugged and shoved it into his path before making a quick and efficient exit. She ducked out of sight just as Kisame managed to right himself.

"Shit," he muttered, nursing a bruise on his arm. "Leader is not going to like this."

Sakura swerved around weary eyed travelers as she made her way back to her team, cursing under her breath the entire way. Why here of all places? They were in the middle of nowhere; things like this couldn't just be attributed to coincidence. Akatsuki was on their trail. Every nerve in her body was on alert and screamed at her to get out of the enclosed airport. Sakura sighed in relief as she caught sight of Naruto's trademark orange jacket moving in the opposite direction. They really needed to think about changing that boy's wardrobe...

"Dawn is coming," Sakura said nonchalantly, breezing her way over to them and quickly grabbing her stuff from Naruto's arms. She took in their looks of comprehension and alarm with satisfaction. "I'm feeling a bit stifled in here, how about you guys? I could use some fresh air."

"Of course," Sai said blandly, gathering the contents of his pack. "Dickless, Pansy, let's go."

Hooking arms with Sakura, Sai passed his two other flabbergasted teammates.

"Sasuke," Sakura pleaded, catching the dark, contemplating look on his face. Sharingan red flashed her way. "Don't. We can't. It isn't the time."

Sasuke glared at her with his red, red eyes and Sakura held her breath. Suddenly, his face furrowed as he took in the sight of her arms. His Sharingan whirled wildly. "Did he—" he couldn't finish.

Sakura glanced down at her arms, wondering what he was so worried about. She blanched. Both of her arms were bruised heavily with handprints. In her adrenaline rush, Sakura hadn't felt the bruising begin. "Never you mind," she replied evenly, allowing her Gift to coat her hands lightly as she quickly healed it. "Let's go."

Naruto, who had started frowning darkly when he realized that Sakura was injured, restrained himself and watched the young Uchiha tensely, prepared for anything. After a few very tense moments, Sasuke switched off his Sharingan and roughly brushed past his teammates. "Well?" he grunted to them. "Come on then."

Sakura and Naruto exchanged vibrant grins, linking arms with the irritable boy. Sakura could only hope that this short-lived tranquility and happiness would last.

It didn't.

Sakura cursed under her breath, ducking what could have been a crushing blow from Samehada. She had to wonder how exactly Kisame had snuck it onto an airplane. Sakura had nothing against the sword, honestly, she loved it. Its owner on the other hand...

Sakura's hand lit up with her Gift as she threw yet another punch at Kisame.

Everything had been going as well as could be expected, they'd ducked out of the airport, taken a taxi (to Naruto's never-ending joy) to a rather shady motel, revised a few of their plans and fell asleep. All had been well.

If only Sasuke hadn't snuck out...

When Sakura woke up and noticed Sasuke's bed was unmade and cold, she knew it was going to end badly. She was right. It hadn't been very hard to track Sasuke; his fluctuating Gift immediately told her where he was. They found him in an abandoned railroad warehouse, facing off with his elder brother and Kisame. Despite all his strength, Sasuke had been losing pretty badly. Kisame had immediately engaged her and as she was the only one with a weapon that could match his, her teammates let her be.

Sakura took a glance at her teammates to see how they were faring. Sasuke was holding an epic showdown with Itachi, Naruto was backing him up, and Sai was making his way over to help them. All was normal then.

The sound of metal grating on metal drew Sakura's attention back to her fight. Samehada was bearing down on Aka, Sakura's lovely battle axe, with a ferocious intensity. Sakura immediately felt the drain of Samehada's unique abilities. Sakura quickly sideswiped at Kisame before hopping a small distance away, panting heavily. She was running on fumes, her two week long mission, her fight at the Academy and lack of sleep were definitely catching up on her.

Damn it! she cursed to herself, trying to keep up with Kisame's smooth and precise movements. Her form was lagging and Samehada was taking its toll upon her.

Frowning, Sakura contemplated using her Familiars but realized it would take too much of her Gift. Without thinking, she questioned, "Why?"

Kisame's brow darkened and his dangerous movements increased, bringing Samehada closer and closer to her. Incensed by his silence Sakura demanded, "Why Kisame? Why? Why'd you do it? Why did all of you do it? I was only fourteen Kisame!"

Kisame scowled. "Pinky..."

"Don't 'Pinky' me! You lost that right long ago!" Sakura screamed, swinging Aka erratically now.

Kisame refused to reply, concentrating only on incapacitating her. He knew she wouldn't understand. Not yet. Later on perhaps, he would finally be able to tell her, but not tonight. She wasn't ready unfortunately.

Sakura huffed as Kisame's efforts to decapitate her doubled. Seriously? She was barely keeping up as it was. Sakura tried to shake away the bone-deep weariness that pervaded her body, but it was no good. Sakura fought off a yawn as she parried yet another arm-numbing blow. Why weren't her teammates helping? Sakura began to worry over them.

Distracted, Sakura misjudged the angle Samehada was coming from, allowing the sword to rake its way down the side of her abdomen. Sakura couldn't fight the agonized scream that escaped her as Kisame looked at her with horrorstricken eyes. Well, apparently he hadn't wanted to decapitate her.

She wasn't able to ponder this interesting thought as a blond blur appeared in front of her. Naruto, entering what they had deemed the "Kyuubi State," growled menacingly at Kisame, five red tails waving behind him. Sasuke and Sai still struggled against Itachi, who had suddenly ceased any truly threatening attacks.

With Kisame occupied by Naruto, Sakura quickly juggled Aka around into her other hand before slapping her left hand against her stomach, waiting for her Gift to flare to life. After a few painfully long moments, her Gift slowly flickered green over her hand. Sakura bit her lip as she realized that her Gift wasn't functioning at proper speed. She was almost completely drained.

Shit.

Her horrified eyes flashed over to Sasuke, green locking with Sharingan red. Reading the absolute panic in the girl's eyes, Sasuke reluctantly disengaged his brother, Summoning some of his Horse Familiars to keep him momentarily occupied. Sai followed quickly. Swooping in near his fallen teammate, Sai scooped a rapidly paling Sakura into his arms, watching agitatedly as Sasuke calmed Naruto down from his Kyuubi State.

Sakura blinked hazily, trying to fight off her exhaustion and watch the battle. Deliriously, she noticed that Sai smelled really, really good. Huh. How had she not noticed before? She nuzzled into his chest, staring uncomprehendingly at Naruto's red tails. Red. They were so pretty. Like the Sharingan! Sharingan...

A laugh bubbled up in Sakura's throat and she laughed and laughed and laughed as the world around her was painted red.

Distantly, Sakura heard Naruto scream in fury before everything went black.

Sakura woke with a start, panting and sweating as she looked around her unfamiliar surroundings. She was lying in a well-furnished queen size bed, surrounded by fluffy, soft pillows. The walls were painted a muted green, and all the furniture accented the room with a warm brown hue. Her brow furrowed; this wasn't the motel room, it was too nice for that.

Sakura moved to sit up before biting back a scream of pain. Okay, apparently she wasn't completely healed yet. Sakura looked down at her side, catching sight of the flaring green of her Gift, dulled only by exhaustion. She sighed, allowing her head to fall back against the pillow, knowing that she would be there for quite some time.

She drifted in and out of varying stages of consciousness, startling awake only when the door creaked open. Sakura looked up with wide eyes as Sasuke entered the room, hands shoved deep into his pockets. He looked into her eyes, and Sakura caught a flash of a rare emotion for Sasuke: guilt.

Sakura struggled into a semi-manageable sitting position, preparing herself for the worst. It was rare of Sasuke to display emotions so plainly, even rarer for him to show remorse.

"What's up?" she asked casually, eyes flitting around as she tried to gather clues about his mood and the cause of it. He merely scowled, grunting a bit. Sakura sighed, realizing it was one of those days. "Well sit down!" she declared, patting the place beside her.

He hesitated for a moment before gingerly taking a seat. They sat in silence for a few minutes as Sakura waited him out. Sasuke was never one for uncomfortable staring.

Sure enough, the back of his neck heated as he snapped, "Yes?"

Sakura merely raised an eyebrow at him, giving him the dreaded look. It was the look she gave Naruto when he spent all of his monthly allowance on ramen and the exact same look she gave Sai when he said something completely demeaning to instigate a fight among the boys. It was also the look she gave Sasuke whenever he was being a complete tool. Such as now.

He sighed, breath hissing between his teeth. "You could've died," he muttered angrily, eyes brightening with Sharingan.

Sakura frowned. She definitely had not expected that one. "You could have too."

"You don't understand Sakura!" Sasuke exclaimed, turning to look her straight in the eyes. "I was responsible for what happened yesterday! Me! By pursuing..." he paused, struggling for a word, "him, I almost lost you. It was my fault you got injured." Sakura moved to argue but he cut her off, "It was. There is no point in denying it."

Sakura gave him the look but didn't try to argue. They sat in silence for a few more minutes as Sakura concentrated on healing herself. Finally, Sakura placed a hand on Sasuke's arm. "What you did could have compromised the mission; there is no point in lying to you about that." He winced. "You have to realize though that you can't protect me from everything. It's a risk we take daily and I knew that when I signed up to be placed on an active team. I am upset with your recklessness though." She stared him dead in the eyes. "Why'd you go out of your way to chase down...him?"

Sasuke scowled, clenching his fists. "You know exactly why Sakura! Dammit Sakura what he did broke something in me!"

"Yeah?" Sakura asked angrily. "It hurt me too! I don't know if you realize it Sasuke but-but Itachi hurt both of us deeply! I've never experienced pain like that in my seventeen years of life! I haven't put you guys at risk though in a need to act out my vengeance."

Sasuke turned away, jaw ticking. Sakura sighed, reaching up a hand to brush against his cheek. "I'm not asking you to give up on your revenge; I wouldn't do that to you. Please, think of us before you behave in such a reckless manner again."

Sasuke looked at her, Sharingan red bleeding back to his usual warm grey. Finally he sighed, placing his hand over hers. "I...apologize for my actions today. I'll work on it. I promise. Oh, we've made a few revisions to the plan while you were...recuperating. Obviously, we can't go back to the airport so we'll be traveling by other means." He smiled slightly at her before standing. "I'll leave you to rest now."

And with that, Sasuke left Sakura to the quiet of the luxurious hotel room. She grinned to herself despite the exhaustion, immensely proud of Sasuke for owning up to his guilt. It was a rather large step for him. With a smile, Sakura relaxed into her bed to finally enjoy a peaceful rest.

BZTT!

Sakura jumped in surprise as her phone vibrated against her side. She'd forgotten that it had been in her pocket. Sakura pulled the phone out, smiling despite herself when she realized who was calling.

"Yo," Sakura said nonchalantly as she flipped it open.

"'Yo?' Are you kidding me? After almost an entire month of not talking you answer the phone with a 'Yo?' Kakashi is really passing on his bad habits!"

Sakura chuckled in spite of herself. "Hello to you too, Ino."

"AHA! That's how you greet your best friend after a nearly month long absence of speaking and/or seeing each other!" Ino paused momentarily. "So...what's shaking? Daddy's being really tight-lipped about the recent happenings at the Academy but I've gotten the gist from Shikamaru and Choji."

Sakura bit her lip. If Inoichi, one of the most outspoken leaders in the Clan Council was hiding the betrayal from Ino then it had to be serious. Inoichi didn't have the ability to deny his darling daughter just about anything. Tsunade really didn't want people, Gifted, nonGifted or unGifted finding out. "It really isn't my place to say Ino. I'm sorry."

Ino sighed. "I was guessing you'd say that. I'm also going to guess that the boss-lady has forbidden you from speaking about it as well." They sat in a companionable silence for a few minutes. "Are you doing alright? You sound a bit off."

"Team Seven's having some issues what else is new?" Sakura said in a self-deprecating voice.

"Sakura," Ino started in a warning tone.

Sakura didn't know why, but she started to laugh. Laugh and laugh and laugh. Maybe it was the stress, maybe it was the pain but she just couldn't stop laughing. Sakura felt the blinding burn of hot, wet tears stream down her face as she held herself tightly. Ino hummed quietly to her as Sakura calmed herself down. Finally, Sakura let out a few rasping breaths as she brushed the sting of her tears away.

"That bad huh?" Ino asked.

"Yeah, in some ways." Sakura pushed her hair back from her face. "I think it's just the stress though. I can't handle all the expectations put on me! I'm just a teenager!" Sakura took a few moments to collect herself. "Sorry Ino. I just need to vent and you're the best one for it."

Ino stayed silent for a few moments before replying, "You know Sakura, I've always respected you and your resilience. In a lot of ways it appears that you're this perfect Gifted girl who knows she can conquer anything. I'm sometimes jealous that you're Gifted but you know, I wouldn't be able to handle it. Honestly, I admire you all the more for being afraid and being able to admit it. I think it makes you stronger for knowing you're afraid but still pushing on despite it. Just my opinion at least."

"Thanks for that Ino. I really needed your encouragement. I'll try to stay in touch but you know how missions can be."

Ino huffed. "Yeah, yeah. Go save the world and then we'll just have to get together for a gossip-fest afterwards! All alone in close quarters with your boys? Rawr!"

"INO!" Sakura exclaimed, utterly embarrassed.

Ino laughed. "Though seriously, we will need to catch up when you get back. Shoot me a text whenever you can. Love you forehead!"

"I love you too, pig," Sakura replied with a grin, hanging up before Ino could really get going on a diatribe.

Sakura tossed her phone to the side as she flopped back down, wincing as her side smarted. She closed her eyes as her physical, emotional and mental exhaustion set in. Everything ached in a bone-deep way that hurt even to think about. Exhaustedly, she wondered why exactly the Akatsuki seemed to know that they had been at the airport...

She was asleep within the first two minutes.

Sakura stretched her arms high above her head as she hazily glanced around her surroundings. Team Seven had decided to brunch at Starbucks in celebration of Sakura's recovery. Currently the boys were ordering as Sakura lifted her coffee to her lips. She'd been in a bit of a daze since she'd woken up and she just couldn't seem to kick it.

She picked up a paper in an attempt to awaken her mind. Sakura skimmed over the different ads and finance articles, looking for something that piqued her interest. Nothing much was going on in the world apparently. Then, on the third page, Sakura finally noticed something of interest. She stared uncomprehendingly at the image for a few moments before finally connecting the dots.

Team Seven was wanted. Sakura delved into the article, scoffing at the nonsense about their running away from a boarding school. Please, since when had they been deluded, silly teenagers? This had to be the meddling of the Council. Sakura frowned as she noticed the reward placed upon each of their heads.

"Sakura!" Naruto called out, running up and sloshing his hot coffee all over himself. "Take a look at this!"

Sakura turned around to catch sight of a picture herself and her three boys on a large television.

"The Boarding Academy for the Gifted has just announced that four students, namely Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki and Sai have been reported missing. The cause for their disappearance is unknown but there are many people within the school who are worried for them."

The report cut to one of the Council members, wiping tears from her eyes. "It came as a shock to us all. No one would expect such stellar and exemplary students such as these four to disappear but they have. We aren't sure where they are, but any information would be a blessing in this trying time." She paused, sniffing and dabbing at her nose daintily. Sakura snorted, eyes narrowed. "Please, give us a call at this-" The report continued, but Sakura tuned it out.

Sakura looked at her team, meeting each of their eyes with a worried look.

"Shit."

-3/26-
Complete
-3/26-

And the ante has just been upped!

Anyway, sorry for the rather long disappearance but university is quite busy. I never really understood when other fanfic authors claimed this but now I do.

This story will get written, if God allows it. The skeleton of the story is there, it just needs to be fleshed out a bit.

Well, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter! I make no promises on how long the next chapter will take.

Oh, and quick question: Who all enjoyed the Ino/Sakura friendship dynamic? I thought it was pretty swell!

-jay