A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! They're greatly appreciated.
*Disclaimer*: I do not own Naruto. However, Toru Uzumaki is my original character.
Ino paced the room, her hands running through her fabulous, long, blonde hair. Though her locks remained chic, she didn't feel all that fabulous right now. Yes, Toru was fast asleep, but it was only a matter of time until Shika would come in and find an infant in their apartment. And with his insane genius ways, he would figure out what was going on. Sakura had left not too long ago, but hopefully she would be far enough so that Shika couldn't trace her. Ino paced the room, and suddenly that stupid floorboard next to the couch creaked again. She told Shika to fix the damn thing before she moved in. But no, it was too troublesome. In no time at all she heard the slight moaning and fussing rising from the infant boy.
"Dammit…" Ino rushed to the baby, picking him up and rocking back and forth. "Shhh, Toru. Ino's here…" The blonde felt so awkward holding a child. It just wasn't in her nature. She was used to holding older boys—well, men—and not the infants. But she would do all she could to help her friend. But damn, did Sakura owe her big. Spa day—no, spa WEEK, big. Ino rocked back and forth, lost in the reverie of glorious spa days. And soon, Toru lulled back to sleep.
"Ino?"
"DAMMIT!" And the boy snapped right back into consciousness, crying due to the sudden interruption of his slumber. Ino looked over towards Shika and watched his sleepy eyes snap open at the sight of a child in his wife's arms.
The man sighed. "What is it now?"
Oh yeah, Sakura owed Ino big time.
Sakura sped down the street towards her apartment, knowing that if she were to pause even for a moment, she would be spotted. No one was to know that she had come, save for Ino and Shikamaru. And although Shika would eventually know that her son was staying with them for a short time, he would not know the true reason as to why, if Ino stuck to the plan. All that mattered was that Toru was in good hands, and Sakura knew that if anything were to happen—no. She needed to keep her thoughts positive.
Sakura closed in on her apartment, and her eyes scanned the area for any signs of movement. There were a few stray drunkards stumbling their way home, but they would pay the kunoichi no mind. Sakura swiftly made her way into her apartment and snatched up all of her weapons and scrolls and changed into her proper jounin gear. Although it was somewhat of a tight fit, considering she still had the pounds gained from her pregnancy, it didn't cause any discomfort. She knew that once she gained her regular energy back, with the help of the Vigoratus potion, she would be able to burn away any fat she had accumulated. Tama told her that it would at the very least be three days before she could ease off of the drink and maintain her regular training.
The kunoichi was in awe about how much her body was healed by the gypsy's talented potion and magic. She could feel her chakra returning to its normal state little by little, and it was comforting to the medic-nin. She felt naked without her usual thrum of green chakra in reserves. And the way Tama took care of Toru was only more comforting to her. Sakura could have sworn that the little boy's body lengthened by at least three inches. He looked much better, and his skin was developing that healthy golden tone similar to Naruto's.
The pink haired woman strapped her equipment down and winced slightly as her muscles tensed in protest to the weight but she ignored it. There was going to be much more pain from the looks of this mission ahead of her. The time of the pink haired woman sitting back and watching her teammates rise to greatness was over. It was Sakura's turn to raise hell. And she was going to relish in it.
The kunoichi paused only for a second to make sure that the perimeter surrounding her apartment was clear. As soon as this was confirmed, Sakura leapt from her apartment straight down onto the streets in one silent and fluid jump. Her body shivered with that sweet pain of the familiar shinobi actions.
Sakura sprinted down the dark and barren street, making her way to the Gates. She would have to elude the night guards so as not to draw any attention. Otherwise, they would report the sighting to Tsunade—then Sakura would have hell to pay.
Ahead, Sakura could see the men stationed at their usual posts and sighed inwardly in relief. The men assigned were practically falling asleep—it must be towards the end of their shift, she guessed. But these were shinobi, and by no means were they incompetent; Sakura would still have to be cautious when she passed through.
She decided that the best way to deceive would be right under their nose, considering that any basic shinobi would be able to sense an approach during this quiet night. Sakura pulled out her plain, hooded cloak and drew the cover over her head so that her hair and eyes were sheathed. She slowed down her pace and walked briskly towards the gate, nodding to the two men as she passed.
"Mission?" one of the men inquired.
Sakura nodded, opting to not use her voice. It wasn't as recognizable as some blond idiot of Konoha, but better safe than sorry. From under the hood she could see the other shinobi's brow furrow in discernment.
"Where's your scroll, ninja?"
"Burned it."
"Well then, tell us your name so we can mark it down," the other man replied, his eyes scrutinizing.
Sakura growled. Her eyes scanned the two men from under her cloak and determined that they were both of the Chuunin level—this would only take a moment. Sakura rushed towards the two men and pulled the cloak from her face.
"I will be quick and clear, seeing as I am your superior, gentlemen. I am on a classified mission, and neither of you are to speak one single word about what you have seen or heard. And you are to mark absolutely nothing on that sheet of paper. Otherwise, not only will you have to answer to the Hokage—" Sakura's face darkened in thought. "But you will have to answer to me…"
The two men shifted in panic at the thought of answering not only to Tsunade-shissou, but to the infamous fury of her apprentice as well. "Understood?" Sakura laid a delicate hand on the table that they were positioned at and slowly clenched her fist, causing the wood to creak in protest. The two ninja nodded and looked down towards their papers, giving Sakura the clear to go. The kunoichi promptly returned the hood back over her head and sped off, a smile curving her lips. It felt good to be powerful.
If what Tama spoke to her about was true, then she had exactly two days to get back to the village to save her. To hell with that vision of her death! There was no way Sakura was going to let one of her friends die just because it was fate. Sakura was absolutely sick of losing the ones she cared about. And even though Tama had tried to convince her that she saw Naruto in her vision, there was still a gaping hole in Sakura's heart. How could it heal after hearing that the one you loved was murdered?
To all of a sudden find out that it was a lie…so what if he was alive—what if they had captured him? The kunoichi was furious. And Kami have mercy on those who were to cross her.
Sakura looked to the sky to find the sun stretching the tips of its rays from the horizon. She needed to run fast.
He had been tracking them for the past three months, and it was getting on his fucking nerves that they kept getting away. This was the last straw. The last time he had caught up to the small group of men, they had discussed something about snatching a medicine woman from a village nearby. They joked that it would be an easy capture, because what could she do—throw herbs at them?
Naruto Uzumaki growled in frustration and gulped down the remains of his plain instant ramen. His belly groaned in protest, crying for the sweet taste of Ichiraku, but the shinobi would not return until he was successful. Besides, this was his part of the mission. Sasuke was to retrieve Kakashi and, once they returned, declare the Uzumaki dead. Naruto was completely baffled and downright pissed off as to why he had to fake his own demise, but Shika explained it to him months prior.
"Look, Naruto. It is simply much easier for you to move about with The Collector in the dark about you. If he thinks you're dead, you can make your way in much more quickly. And the rogue-nins will not even try to sense for your chakra."
"BUT—!" Naruto was distraught. "Why—"
"Look, Naruto. Now that we know what the Collector'spower really is, you're the only person who can safely infiltrate his headquarters and kill him."
The Uzumaki disposed of his meal and rubbed the back of his head as a sigh escaped from his lips. It was ridiculous how he had to keep tracking the rogue-nin. But it was the only way to find the new place where fat lard of a man was hiding. He changed his head quarters so many times! This was the only way to find out where he was at.
Naruto grabbed his pack and headed out towards the nearby village. Hopefully, he would be able to at the very least meet those men there and kick some ass. The shinobi was in a horrible mood. It had been so long since he had last seen his friends. He couldn't imagine their faces when they found out that the Uzumaki "died." And what about the promise he made to Sakura-chan?
He couldn't think about it. There were so many things he had wanted to say to her. When he finally told Sakura that he knew they had done it, he expected her to be angry. And Naruto guessed he deserved to have his jaw broken. But…since she knew as well… didn't that mean that Sakura-chan liked him? At the very least…didn't find him repulsive? And to have that beautiful woman think him dead broke his heart. She was the one he worried about the most. Because even if she didn't love him the way he loved her, he knew that they were best friends. And she would cry if she were to lose any one of her comrades. Just to imagine those perfect green eyes that Naruto had memorized so long ago filled with tears drove him insane.
The Uzumaki decided that the Collector was going to die by sunset. No matter what, he was going to see Sakura-chan.
Sakura was closing in on the village, but she knew she would have to stop soon to replenish her energy. She only had two bottles left of the potion, and true to Tama's word, it was getting easier to move about. Sakura gulped down her second to last bottle and felt the concoction do its magic. Her chakra slowly thrummed with life once more, and she sped the remaining lengths to the village. She sighed in relief—there hadn't been an attack yet. But that only meant they were coming soon. The kunoichi rushed among the homes and burst through Tama's door to find the woman sitting calmly at her table.
"Tama!"
"Sakura, what are you doing here? You should be on your way to the lair. Naruto will—"
"Right now, you are my charge. I am going to protect you. Once we meet up with that idiot, I'll deal with him."
"But this can't—I did not see this happening." Tama stood up and rushed to Sakura, pushing her away. "You could die here, Sakura! Naruto might die!"
For a fleeting moment the kunoichi's heart clenched in pain with the thought of losing Naruto again—if he was in fact alive. "It's a chance I have to take. Right now you are the one that is in danger. And I will do all that I can to protect you." Sakura took off her pack and began sifting through it. She pulled out several assorted weapons and began to strap them to her body.
"In your vision, was anyone else in the village hurt?"
"I told the villagers to leave. They're not to return until nightfall." Tama said.
The pink haired woman didn't understand it. How could the villagers not fight for one of their own? Sakura would never sit back idly while one of her friends was kidnapped.
"Do you know which way they are coming from?" Sakura wanted to get as much info as she could. Despite how insane this was, and even if this might be some complete fluke, Sakura couldn't chance having her friend killed. Not when there was something the kunoichi could do about it. Maybe she could set up some triggering scrolls so that if someone were to breach the village border…but the village was so small that she would be able to tell if anyone were to sneak in.
"I…" Tama closed her eyes, her brow furrowing in discernment. "I think near—"
Sakura gasped and jumped up. Faintly in the canal of her ears she detected the smallest muffled scream coming from not too far. It was a distinct voice she had learned well over the past few months. The kunoichi ran to the door but came to a screeching halt.
"Sakura, what is it?"
How could she not have sensed them?! "They're here." But this was impossible… Tama said that all the villagers were gone. How did he get caught?!
"Tama, do you know how to use a weapon?"
"Slightly…" she said.
"Slightly might save your life. Here," Sakura said as she handed the woman a kunai, "aim for the jugular, back of their knees, eyes, or ankles. It will knock them down long enough for you to run." The kunoichi would keep the woman right beside her to know that she would be safe. Leaving her here would be too much of a risk. At least, a bigger risk than taking her along…
Sakura tossed her bag aside and looked to the gypsy. "We need to get going. Daisuke's in trouble."
Tama's eyes widened, and she nodded. Both took off running, Sakura's pace adequately faster than the gypsy's, though she tried to slow down to keep Tama in her peripheral vision. The pink haired woman headed west where she had detected the voice's origin. She pulled out one of her numerous weapons and gripped it tightly, her mind set. So help her Kami if anyone were to touch one single hair on that boy's head—they were going to be decapitated right on the spot.
Then Sakura's senses flared. There were about five men—maybe six. She couldn't get an accurate count; her ears were whistling with the wind from her running pace. She was certain they were straight ahead, and the kunoichi could tell that Daisuke was still alive, but… she smelled blood.
Those bastards…
Sakura growled and picked up her pace, darting between the huts and wagons and finally stopping in the herb and vegetable garden near the edge of the western wood. She was right: there were six men. They looked strong; however only a few of them seemed to be at her level. But Sakura had learned long ago that underestimating your enemy could cost you your life. She heard Tama's shaky breath come from behind her and felt apprehensive. Should she have left Tama behind? But she couldn't have risked leaving the woman alone. What if there were others?
"ONEE-CHAN!" Daisuke screamed from one of the stronger men's clutches. The shinobi laughed and tightened his grip on the young boy's arms, resulting in the poor one screaming in pain.
"It's all right, Daisuke. I'm here." Sakura's eyes scanned the men carefully, analyzing the situation. Tama wasn't likely to be a great help in this, so Sakura would have to wipe out the weaker men as fast as possible. But by the time she wiped those men out, Daisuke's neck could be snapped in two. Sakura looked at the struggling little boy; she was going to have to take the chance.
"Well look here, Haruka—a pinky!" Those irritating words came from one of the men on her left. In all of her life, if there was ever a word that completely snapped Sakura's fury, it was pinky. Her eyes landed squarely on the man who spoke—it was one of the weaker men. His chakra looked nonexistent from where she stood. She would have to act fast.
Sakura's hand flicked lightning fast as she shot her weapon towards the man. He went down the moment the kunai connected with his throat. How pathetic. The man didn't even make a move to dodge her attack. She looked to the other men, and most of them shifted in their positions. They obviously didn't expect any retaliation from this village. Sakura might have taken that one man down in a quick rush, but she expected the others would not be the same.
"I see we have a feisty ninja here." The man holding Daisuke laughed, not even perturbed that one of his men was just taken down. "Kei, Ryuu—" he called out.
"Yes, Haruka-sama," the men said, answering in unison.
"You two told me that there were no shinobi in this village. In fact, you said that there was nothing to worry about." The men didn't respond to their leader.
"Look at her…" Haruka's eyes darkened. "Does she look like nothing to you?" The man picked up Daisuke like he was a twig and threw him across the garden.
"NO!" Tama screamed.
Sakura sprinted across the patches of vegetables and herbs, her eyes never leaving Daisuke. She leapt the last few lengths, her arms wrapping around the young one just before his body made contact with the hard packed earth. Her muscles cried out from misuse, but she ignored them. This was not the time to dawdle. She stood up and ran to Tama, handing Daisuke to the gypsy. A low chuckle rumbled from the shinobi.
Damn. He was testing her to see just how fast she could run.
"You see what you've done?" Haruka looked towards the two men, and they shifted uncomfortably. "You let them take away my toy." And in one fluid movement, the man pulled out a dagger and slit their throats. Three men were remaining.
"Haruka…let me play with the pink one."
"No, Ichiru. You and Goru need to get that medicine woman. And kill the boy…we don't want any witnesses." Haruka's dark eyes flickered towards Sakura. "I'll take care of the kunoichi." He pulled out another dagger—a complement to the other he had used to kill his comrades. He twirled them effortlessly in his hands and smirked.
"Ready to play?"
The other two ninja made their way around Sakura and sprinted for the two gypsies.
"Don't you dare touch them!" Sakura leapt from her spot and landed squarely in front of Tama and Daisuke, her hands armed with kunai. The men stopped in their tracks, but neither of them looked worried or even annoyed. The kunoichi knew what a horrible mistake she made in having Tama follow her. If she had left her behind, she could have at the very least wiped these men out without having to worry about Tama in the background. She brought the lamb right into the lion's den.
Naruto or Sasuke would've never made a stupid mistake like this.
Sakura's eyes shifted between the three men, trying to suppress her thoughts. This was not the time to think about that. She was a strong kunoichi of Konoha. She needed to use her own strengths to find a way to win. Sakura looked to the man on her right—he was lightly built, most likely a very fast runner. The man on her left was all muscle, the strongest of the remaining men. One was fast with little muscle, the other strong but slow…How could she use their weaknesses to her benefit?
Then it clicked.
"Tama, on a count of three, I want you to take Daisuke and run. Hide until I come for you," she muttered, slipping her kunai back into the pouch resting on her hips.
"Sakura-chan…"
"Just do as I say." Sakura was banking on something probable, but it was all she had. She began to build chakra into her fists, and she felt that sweet, familiar tension in her muscles. "One…." She pulled on her gloves, fastening them into a tighter fit.
"Two…." She looked towards the two men, and both of them looked to each other, a confused look about their faces. So they weren't all that bright. Good. Sakura felt like beating up some idiots today.
"Three!"
Sakura shoved Tama and Daisuke away, and instantly Ichiru, the fast one, took off after them. Sakura smirked. The man sprinted after them, but before he could pass Sakura, she brought her left fist and hooked it right between the shinobi's ribs. A loud crack vibrated throughout the garden as Ichiru was sent flying directly towards the other man named Goru. Sakura could tell from the pinpoint of where her chakra-loaded fist had hit, that she had shattered his ribs and most definitely had at least two of them puncture his lungs. The lean, muscled shinobi collided with his comrade and bounced off of him, landing on the ground and immediately beginning to cough blood. He was out for the count. Good thing Tama had a head start—and a good one at that. The big one could only run so fast with all of his muscle weighing him down.
"You stupid bitch!" Goru growled.
Sakura growled and sent two shuriken flying towards the big idiot. He caught them, though they pierced his skin. He laughed and licked the trickling blood.
"That tickled." He tossed the weapons aside and looked back towards his leader. "Haruka-sama—"
"Goru. Get the gypsy woman."
"But—"
"Go," he said. Goru's eyes darkened, but he ran off at what Sakura considered a trot. She sighed in relief. Tama would be all right.
"Don't be relieved just yet, kunoichi. Goru has the nose of a dog. He might be slow, but he will sniff out that gypsy woman and bring her back."
Sakura's heart dropped. How long could Tama keep running, carrying Daisuke like that? Considering her huffing and puffing from before, it couldn't be long. Sakura had to go after them. But before that, she needed to take this guy out.
"Why do you want Tama?"
Haruka laughed lightly. "Isn't this the way it always goes? The heroine inquires as to what the evil mastermind's plan is? Well, why don't you ask the big boss himself? I think he'll have a great interest with you and your massive store of chakra." The shinobi twirled his daggers effortlessly between his fingers. "Too bad…I wanted to watch you die while I sliced your silky throat." In a flash he was inches from Sakura, a smile curling his greasy lips. "I guess I'll just have to settle with torturing you."
Sakura spat at the man's feet. "You make me sick, you—" She was interrupted instantly with a hard punch to her cheek, sending her right into the ground. She could feel blood pooling in her mouth, so she quickly spat out the liquid and jumped up, a kunai in her hand.
"Usually people are struck unconscious by one of my punches. You're a strong little girl." He came at her with his daggers, slashing wildly. Sakura swiftly dodged his attacks—but on his last strike, he caught his blade on her arm, leaving a wide, bleeding gash. She growled and switched to offense, aiming for Haruka's ligaments—she wanted to disable him so that she could question him later.
"Well, I should say you're not so little. Shouldn't a kunoichi be thin?" The man chuckled as he jumped away from Sakura's strikes. The pink haired woman growled, her temper flaring wildly.
"That's it, you bastard," she spat, chakra pulsing in her hands. She leapt after him, her fists itching to beat this insulting idiot to a blubbering pulp. He moved to the side, just missing her hit. Instead, the kunoichi's fist cracked the earth beneath them, sending a crackling pulse through the ground like an earthquake.
"You put all of your weight into that one, didn't you?" Haruka laughed. Sakura clenched her teeth in anger and lifted her hand out of the crater she had made out of the garden. This idiot was sending her into a blinding rage. She turned around to see an empty plot—where had he gone? Sakura flicked her gaze from point to point all around her. He had disa—
"Missed me, pinky?" He grabbed her from behind, slamming her body to the ground. The shinobi wasted no time in grabbing her wrists and squeezed them almost to the point of snapping her hands off. The air shot out of her lungs, and she gasped, choking.
"I'm sure the boss wouldn't mind if I played with you a little bit." The rogue-nin's dark eyes scanned her body hungrily, and he grinned. "Besides, Goru isn't back with that bitch yet." He took his dagger and sliced it right through Sakura's jounin top. The kunoichi brought her leg up in a swift kick to the man's groin but was stopped mid-motion by Haruka's hand. She began to build the chakra in her other leg to kick this man's genitals back into his body.
"Play nice, pinky." His eyes drew down towards the kunoichi's chest and sparkled. "A black bra? Well, that could only mean you wanted someone to see something this delicious…" He pinned his leg down on her, and his lecherous hand reached for her chest.
Now! Sakura pulled her chakra powered leg up and connected it with the man's groin. Haruka cried out in pain, releasing the pink haired woman's hands to cup his manhood. Sakura grabbed a kunai that she had strapped to her leg and stabbed the pervert in his stomach. He screamed and rolled to his side, crouching in a fetal position. Sakura yanked out her kunai and rammed in into his leg.
"AGH! YOU STUPID BITCH!!"
"Hm." Sakura looked at the bleeding shinobi. "I missed." She held her blade right above the man's groin. "Maybe one more try—"
"No! NO! Please, I'll tell you anything you want!" The pathetic man gripped tightly onto his manhood, his once menacing eyes now filled with panic. The woman glared deeply at the pathetic rogue-nin that crouched before her.
"Who is the Collector?"
"I…I…can't—"
"Maybe you didn't hear me," she said, her blade dancing across the man's lower body, "but I asked you a simple question. .?" She pressed the tip of her blade dangerously close to Haruka's pelvis. The man began to sweat profusely.
"He's some fat lard who pays us to kidnap people!" His eyes were glued to Sakura's weapon.
"Why?"
"I don't know! He has some sick fetish with powerful things! And…and he does something to them. I don't know what!"
"Does he have any special kind of—" Sakura was interrupted suddenly with a bloodcurdling scream from not far off.
Tama.
"Son of a bitch." The kunoichi stabbed her kunai into the crook of the shinobi's right elbow and took off. That Goru must've caught up to them. She took too long interrogating this asshole.
"You stupid whore, I'll kill you for this! You hear me?! I'll KILL YOU!!!"
Sakura ignored the angry rant and sped through the village with her senses wide open, searching for Tama and Daisuke. With the village surrounded by its gardens, it was hard to distinguish among the scents, so she would have to rely on her sight and hearing.
Where are they?
"Tama-chan!!!!! TAMA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!"
DAISUKE!
Sakura pushed her aching muscles to their fullest and rushed towards the source of the little boy's voice. It led her to an open field directly behind Tama's hut. Daisuke came running towards the kunoichi. Sakura knelt down and grabbed the little boy, her eyes scanning the turf. It was completely empty.
"Onee-chan! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I was supposed to go with the rest of them, but I didn't want to lose Tama-chan and-and-and—" Daisuke was in hysterics now.
"Calm down, Daisuke! Where's Tama?"
"That big man took her!"
Sakura's heart dropped. "Where?"
Daisuke pointed west of their position, and Sakura immediately stood up. "Daisuke, I want you to go and hide in Tama's hut until the villagers get back, understand?"
"No! Onee-chan, don't leave me! Please!" The little one grabbed tightly onto Sakura's legs and rubbed his face into her.
"Daisuke," she said, "I need to go save Tama-chan. You need to be a big, brave boy. And I promise that I will come back."
The young boy sniffed. "With Tama-chan?"
Sakura nodded. "With Tama-chan." Dead or alive… The words echoed in the back of her mind, but Sakura squashed them. She would bring her friend back alive, but she would need to leave now to pick up on that lard man's trail. Daisuke released her from his grip and hiccupped.
"Sakura-nee-chan…"
"I'll be back, Daisuke. Go hide!" Sakura rubbed his head affectionately one last time before she ran into Tama's hut and grabbed as many weapons as she could—along with the last remaining potion. She threw on her cloak and rushed out after Tama and her kidnapper.
Sakura caught that man's scent the moment she breached the border of the forest. His stench was all too familiar, a mixture of sweat, blood, and meat. He was heading due west…which Sakura guessed was directly towards the headquarters of The Collector.
Her energy was slightly waning from battle, but her speed didn't falter. Thankfully that shinobi was slow, so she would easily catch up to them. From what Sakura could tell by their tracks, they were only ten minutes ahead at the most. She could cut them off before they reached the headquarters and—what was that?!
Suddenly Sakura's body was slammed into a tree, and the air in her lungs shot of her. She was so focused on tracking Goru and Tama that she hadn't taken notice of this new enemy.
Idiot!
Sakura inwardly screamed at herself for being so stupid as to let her own guard down and let her emotions get in the way once again. Now she would have to take down another enemy and lose time she could be using to chase after Tama. The pink haired woman reached for a kunai as quick as lightning and darted her eyes ahead of her, towards her attacker. She dropped her weapon almost immediately.
"N-Naruto?" Sakura pulled her hood away from her face.
The orange clad shinobi stood before her, looking slightly worn from travel and wearing a light brown cloak about him with the hood drawn back. His hair was slightly longer, and his skin was even more golden than the last time she saw him. Sakura's eyes scanned him, soaking in his appearance, fearing he might disappear at any given moment. But this wasn't a dream. He was here and alive.
"Sakura-chan?" His sparkling blue eyes widened in shock and he dropped his weapon. "What are you doing here? I thought you were—"
And in an instant Sakura cracked her fist into his stomach, light enough not to kill him, but hard enough to make him cry out in shock.
"BAKA!!!!!!!!!!" She grabbed him by his cloak collar and shook him vigorously. "I though you were dead!!!!! I'm going to KILL you for leaving me!!!!" She pushed him hard to the ground and grabbed the shinobi's discarded kunai. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't skin you alive for leaving me alone after you knocked—" Sakura froze. She almost let it slip. But she should tell him now, right? She had a baby; their son's name was Toru, and he looked just like him—minus the green eyes (and whiskers of the Kyuubi, thank goodness). Just the sight of Naruto brought on so many emotions, ones that she wanted to scream to him while pummeling the idiot into the ground. Besides, it was his fault she felt this distraught. She could release herself of this ridiculous burden by telling him the truth. And she would be able to focus.
Why didn't she finish her sentence?
"Sakura-chan! I'm sorry! I'm on a mission, and I thought you were one of the rogue ninjas running around here." Naruto stood up and held out his hands warily, reaching for the kunai in Sakura's hands. He was all too familiar with the kunoichi's anger, and any weapon in her hands would surely make its way towards his hide.
The kunoichi gasped. "Tama!" DAMMIT! She let her emotions get in the way again! When would she learn that her emotions were a complete distraction during a mission? Her heart was beating so fast just because of this stupid blond idiot in front of her. Why was it that she could never control her emotions around him? Fury, happiness, depression, and serenity: all of these raged within the kunoichi every time she looked at the Uzumaki. It was ten-fold now.
Her mind raced with different plans of action. She needed to go after Tama, that was for sure…but what about Naruto?
"Tama? Do you mean that gypsy lady?"
"Yes. One of the rogue-nins took her! I need to hurry!" Sakura took a deep breath, suppressing the strong desire to scream. She whipped around and grabbed her kunai, strapping it once more to her thigh.
"What are you doing, Sakura-chan?"
"As much as I want to stay here with you, Naruto, I need to go and save Tama." she said, standing.
"You can't."
"Excuse me?" Sakura turned back to the shinobi, her eyes wide in shock. Naruto looked completely serious, but this must be a joke. What the hell was he going on about?
"Where the rogue-nin is going, it's too dangerous, Sakura-chan. I don't want you to go." His eyes dropped down, unwilling to make eye contact with the woman.
Sakura growled and clenched her fists. She was almost thankful that her anger was winning out over her urge to cry. "You know what, Naruto? I am sick of being told that I cannot do something just because it's dangerous. If I was so worried about being hurt, I would have never entered the ninja academy. And may I remind you, I am a fucking adult?! I can make my own damned decisions!! Now if you don't mind, I am going to save my friend!" With that, Sakura leapt from the ground and took off after the fading trail of Goru and Tama. Damn that stupid baka to Hell.
She focused her eyes on the ground and widened her nostrils to the tracks. Thankfully the trail was still there, but now they were farther ahead. In a good twenty minutes, they could very well be at their destination. Sakura growled and cursed the blond idiot for running into her. She was so relieved that he was alive, but so angry that he didn't tell her a thing.
What a hypocrite Sakura was…
"Sakura-chan, wait!"
The pink haired ninja focused her emerald eyes intensely upon the tracks and nothing else. She did not need any distractions right now. And Naruto was most definitely a distraction of massive proportions.
"Sakura-chan, you don't know what you're going up against!" he said, keeping the quick pace of the kunoichi.
"Let me see…The Collector a sick, perverted fat man who likes to collect people with special capabilities? Has around twenty—well, sixteen men in his ranks, and was the one who kidnapped Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura still refused to look at him. She picked up her pace since they were closing in on wherever Goru was taking Tama. His trail ended up ahead.
"H-How did you know that? Well… that's not all, Sakura-chan," he said. "You don't know the sick things this bastard has done. The things he could do with you!"
"Then, pray tell." Sakura finally turned to look at the Uzumaki with a fiery glare. "What can he do?" She looked back ahead of them to find that they were closing in upon a massive fortress, with a wall towering approximately fifteen feet. It was well hidden if looked at with an untrained eye. The two teammates came to a halt a couple hundred yards away.
Naruto took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his head in defeat. "I should've learned by now that there's no stopping you." He turned around and pulled out a scroll from his pack.
"From what that teme got with his Sharingan, that guy is some serious business. He's short and fat, but he has this weird jutsu or innate power that can control a person's body and mind. It's limited, though, because it uses up so much chakra."
"Then it should be easy to take him out," Sakura said.
"I wish. He can also eat someone's chakra and use it as his own."
"What?!"
"He can consume someone's energy and then control their body. For the past year or so, he's been collecting all these poor bastards and making them fight each other. The loser would be drained dry of their chakra and then killed by the Collector's minions while the winner would stay alive for a while longer. If they refused to fight, he would control one of them and force them into combat." Naruto's eyes hardened with anger and determination. Sakura felt her stomach clench at the thought of their opponent, and a lingering memory of her nightmare not too long ago flickered in her mind. She had dreamed of his chakra draining power, and from just the memory of it, it was nothing to be trifled with.
"How can we take him out?"
"Well, there's a flaw with his power. He can only do one creepy mind thing or chakra sucking at a time, and his mind control lasts only for about five minutes. It takes a little under a minute for him to regain his strength to absorb chakra, so I figured I could go in there and wipe the bastard out after one of his sick gladiator sessions."
Sakura chewed lightly on her lower lip, deep in thought. Tama was going to be forced into battle against someone else? But her powers were hardly a weapon! She would be wiped out in no time… And Naruto's idea was completely flawed; it was ridiculous to just roll into the headquarters looking for a fight. First, they needed to get Tama out of there and then think of a way to take out The Collector.
"We need to get through the gates." Sakura looked towards the strong bastion, her mind switching wildly between plans of action. How could they get through that fort without being noticed? And then it hit her.
"Henge no Jutsu," she said proudly. About damn time she contributed something this brilliant.
Simple…but brilliant.
"What?" Naruto was a complete idiot sometimes. Okay, most of the time…all right, all of the time.
"Baka!" She swatted him upside the head. "I said Henge no Jutsu, the transformation technique! We had to perform it in the Academy during our tests." Sakura rolled her eyes at the blond shinobi's forgetfulness. "We can disguise ourselves as their men and sneak in."
It was a long shot, but it was infinitely better than blatantly running in to "kick some ass" like Naruto had previously planned. With this, they could infiltrate the headquarters safely, retrieve Tama, and destroy the enemy. And return alive. Maybe…
Sakura turned to look at the headquarters and then back to Naruto. Despite her internal screaming of having control over her emotions, her heart raced and her stomach jumped with just the sight of the Uzumaki. She wouldn't cry, not with the gravity of this mission hanging over her head. But she knew there was an obvious percentage of danger involved with this, and no amount of planning could be flawless. Sakura's green eyes softened as she looked on towards those striking blue irises.
She took his hand into hers. She didn't know if it seemed affectionate, but it quickened her pulse nonetheless. "Naruto," she said, inhaling deeply. She would no longer hesitate with telling him what she wanted to say. She would learn from the past. "If we aren't able to-"
"Sakura-chan, don't." His hand tightened around hers. "Don't enter this thinking we're not coming back. We're going to kick this guy's ass, save Tama, and then go back to Konoha and eat some Ichiraku ramen, okay?" His eyes sharpened, and the kunoichi could feel his determination pass through between them. This wonderful idiot was Hope incarnate.
"Do you know who you're going to pose as?"
"Yeah," he said.
"Okay…let's do this," she said as she let go of his warm hand. Naruto was right. If she went into this mission thinking that they weren't going to come out of it alive, then there was no hope for them at all.
Both of them stood up straight, their eyes never leaving each other as they began to form the hand signals in complete synchronization.
"Henge no Jutsu!"
The sun had sunk well below the mountains now, and the moon had taken its place in the sky, shining its milky beams onto the forest floor. Not too far away from the headquarters of the rogue-nin stood two men. One of them was fussing with his cheeks while the other looked absolutely livid.
"Naruto no baka! I can't believe after all these years you still can't perform the damn jutsu correctly!" Sakura couldn't believe this Jounin level idiot. He had transformed into Ichiru, and he almost looked completely like him save for one oh-so-obvious factor.
Naruto prodded his whisker marks that so stubbornly remained on his cheeks and sighed. "I'll just have to cover them up with a scarf or something…"
Sakura growled and tossed the man a thick red scarf from her bag. The Uzumaki took the scarf and clumsily wrapped it around his neck. The marks were still visible.
"Come here—" Sakura took a few steps closer towards the shinobi and fixed the scarf so that it covered most of his face, save for his eyes. It almost seemed like an insult to the woman that his normally electric blue eyes were replaced with the dark, muddy brown of Ichiru's. Sakura pulled tightly on the red cloth, making sure it was secure. Her fingers lightly grazed his cheeks, and she felt jolts of energy shoot through her body in excitement. Her skin prickled with the warmth of his chakra pulsing in waves off of his body. It felt so comforting and familiar to her, like home.
"Sakura…" Naruto's voice was low, and it stirred something primal within the kunoichi.
No…not now.
"You have to call me Haruka-sama, remember?" Sakura stepped away almost too quickly. She tugged on the unfamiliar clothes before picking up her knapsack. That was close.
The Uzumaki nodded. Sakura took one more look at the shinobi before they took off towards the fort. They slowed their pace down a few hundred feet from the wall. The men positioned on top looked rugged and worn with scars. They looked down towards the two but said nothing. Naruto spoke first.
"Let us in."
"What's the password, Ichiru?" One of the men glared. Naruto looked to Sakura, his face scrunched up in confusion.
Shit.
Sakura didn't think about a password to enter the headquarters. There wasn't time to deal with something as trivial as some ridiculous password!
"Just open the fucking gates, or I'll have to bash your heads in." The words were out of the kunoichi's mouth before she could think it through. Both of the guards looked stunned for a moment. Naruto looked over to Sakura apprehensively, and the kunoichi couldn't blame him. She might have just blown their cover.
…Until one of the men began to laugh heartily. "Yup, that's Haruka for you. Open the gates, Kaito. I don't want to be on the receiving end of that bastard's beatings."
The other man complied, and slowly the thick gates swung open. Sakura inwardly sighed in relief. Her outburst had been characteristic of that asshole. Good. Now they needed to get through and find Tama.
Sakura nudged Naruto slightly, and they made their way into the headquarters. From what they could see with the light given by the moon, there were a dozen or so small bungalows plotted out into two rows with one main building centered all the way down the path. It was basic, which wasn't all that surprising considering they moved to different locations often.
Sakura spoke under her breath, knowing that Naruto could hear her. "Can you sense anything?"
"No, can you?"
The kunoichi opened her ears wide, listening for any trace of Tama's voice. She growled. "No." She raced over to the nearest building, slowing down before she reached the door. She could smell food and hear lots of voices. Cafeteria. She would need to avoid as many people as possible.
"Saku—um, Haruka-sama, come here." Naruto called her over. He was several bungalows away, but his voice reached her ear. She raced over once she made sure the coast was clear. Despite their disguise, there was no point in drawing attention to themselves. She reached her teammate and listened in to the building. There were no voices coming from behind the door, but she could smell something familiar. It was that shoe-polish smell that shinobi knew so well.
"Trinitrotoluene. This must be their armory storage." Sakura looked at the building and memorized its coordinates. This would only be too helpful in a bad situation. Where could they be keeping Tama? If Sakura were a power tripping villain, where would she keep her most precious items?
Right next to me.
"We had better check out the main building." Before the kunoichi made a move towards the building, she pulled out a small parchment and placed it onto the door of the armory bungalow. Now if the time called for it, she could set off this small seal explosion. Sakura nodded to Naruto and began to make her way over to the building. They took only a few steps when the Uzumaki snatched out and grabbed Sakura's hand. A cold feeling suddenly shot through her body. The two teammates whipped around, their weapons drawn in an instant.
"Why, hello, Ichiru," the real Haruka said, laughing, "and hello, me. So nice to see a handsome face."
Behind him stood Goru; the big shinobi had a sick smile plastered onto his face. "That one smells like honey and cherry blossoms. Just like the pretty kunoichi."
"Really. I'm surprised. And who is this you have with you?" Haruka looked over to his comrade. "Goru? Care to take a whiff?"
Sakura stepped in front of Naruto, her mind coming to a complete halt as her plans came crashing down around her. Of course that shinobi would remember her scent. But how the hell did Haruka haul his incapacitated ass back here?
The large shinobi didn't take one step, but his nostrils flared wildly. A smile came across his face, illuminating his psychotic-looking eyes.
"Jinchuuriki..."
And now they knew Naruto was alive.
Shit.