Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Naruto.
Hey guys! I'm glad to get constant reviews and right after I upload them too! I hope that you guys aren't too mad at me for taking my time :3 I did update sooner than I usually do, but I can't help but feel that I always take my sweet time...
I'm on spring break this week, so I might update by the end of the week, but i'm not entirely sure. I have a few things to work on like some under sraps stories, I have to work on my online math, and I also might be spending lots of time with friends. I only got to hang out with my oober smart and sweet korean friend this past friday. And by "sweet" I don't mean "I really really like him" He's just sweet to me because he always cares about how I feel. He doesnt' like me that way either, I'm sure. He's just a really good friend to me. He was really tired and only got one night of sleep the night before he hung with me, but he still spent a few hours with me before he went home because I said that I probably wouldn't be hanging with anyone over spring break and I'd be bored the whole break. I never said "lonely" or "alone" but he completely picked up on it, which kinda surprised me. Guys don't normally pick up on that stuff, but that's all the mroe reason why he's a good friend of mine.
Anyway... PLEASE REMEMBER TO READ AND REVIEW! ^(^0^)^ *WOOT FACE!*
Sakura woke up one chilly winter morning. It had been a week and a half and she could swear that she was starting to see stretch marks on the side of her stomach. She groaned in detestment of the ugly streaks as she got up to go to the rest room. She was still on her mission with Shikamaru and Ino in the village. She hadn't heard word from the village at all, but they were finding out new intelligence every single day. She was swelling with pride at the team's progress, but she was hollow inside from Sasuke's absence. She was growing weary every day. She wrapped herself in her simple pink robe. She felt ashamed of herself after looking out her cottage window. The village was rustic and bereft of any modern technology. The people were all peasants and earning a meager living by means of manual labor, while she was kicking it up in comfort with a two bedroom cottage and unblemished clothing and running water. She'd never felt more out of place in her life. Some of the houses had running water, but it was still a rather feudal society, nothing like the leaf village. She sipped her tea while sitting on the window seat. They lived separate from everyone else on a hill overlooking the village. Shikamaru didn't want to rub their accommodations in everyone's faces, he was a kinder man than that, and if he were to gather intelligence from the villagers it wouldn't serve him any good to be perceived as a rich snob.
Sasuke wasn't faring much better. He and the genins had successfully escorted the caravan of merchants, but Akio was still out of it from the poisoning. He would need another few days before he became completely better. Sasuke wasn't so much concerned with his underling as he was with Sakura. He was convinced that she must be heartbreakingly lonely at home. He was in for a shock, that's for sure. He still didn't have a clue that Sakura was sent on an S-rank intelligence gathering mission. He thought that she was on leave for pregnancy at home. When Sasuke arrived back at the desolate compound, he knew something wasn't right. When he walked into the compound everything was neat and tidy. The bed was made, all the dishes were clean, books and papers were sorted and stacked. It was too clean for someone to be occupying it. Sasuke got a bad feeling in his gut as he opened the dresser doors of the closet. Sakura's cloths were gone. Panic suddenly throbbed through his system. He could've sworn that his heart was directly under his throat, a feeling he'd much rather do without. He didn't even bother changing cloths, or doing anything else. He rushed to the Hokage's office. He needed to file a missing person's report. As childish as it was, he knew that plenty of people would be after an Uchiha child. The ocular justsu was infamous. He was worried – no – that was an understatement; he was petrified. He never felt like this since the massacre of his clan. He wouldn't lose the other two people he loved…
Sakura was leaving the cottage with Ino to go down to the market to do their daily grocery shopping. Shikamaru was out working with the villagers in order to gain more trust to gain more information from them. Sakura felt a little better in the company of her friend. Even though she didn't have Sasuke, she at least had someone.
"Let's get these" Ino asked interested pointing to some bananas.
Sakura shrugged then said, "We also need green onions, miso, seaweed, and some bean-curd (tofu)."
"I hate tofu!" Ino shrieked.
Sakura rolled her eyes before grumbling, "Then I'll make you a bowl without it…"
The girls chatted with some villagers as they roamed around the market. Once Sakura got all the food they were about to leave when an old lady tapped Sakura on the shoulder.
"There's someone new in the village, are they with you as well?" Sakura gave the woman a funny look then asked, "Does the man of spikey black hair?"
"Yes, he does" she replied.
Sakura smiled then told the old lady, "Will you do me a favor and tell him where I am? I have to go take these back to the house."
The old woman nodded then waved, smiling as she walked off. Sakura felt nice and warm at the prospect of Sasuke coming into the picture with them. She'd finally have someone to share a bed with again, to keep her warm at night.
Sasuke barged into the Hokage's office standing in the door way before grunting, "Where's Sakura?"
"I beg your pardon?" Tsunade asked with her elbows on the table and her hands supporting her chin with a ravenous glare on her face almost equal to the Uchiha's.
"Where. Is. Sakura?" he asked again in a dangerous tone.
" She's at a village on the outskirts of the fire nation. I sent a squad there consisting of the two pregnant women, Sakura and Ino, as well as Shikamaru. They're on an intelligence gathering mission."
Tsunade handed him a file folder of all the information as well as the intelligence already gathered and sent back by messenger hawk. They were searching for members of Akatsuki as well as the group's whereabouts. Mostly because they would use a rundown town as a hide-out, somewhere rural and unnoticeable. It gave Sasuke an uncontrollable feeling of panic at the rank of the mission. Sakura had no business doing that in her current condition. Sasuke knew that he was supposed to be a man returning from war so as not to blow their cover, but he couldn't help but feel like things were already blown out of the water.
Sakura was chopping the green onions for the miso soup when she heard a soft knock at the door. She put the knife down and wiped her hands on her pants as she walked over to the door. When she opened it she saw the same old lady as before. She smiled and welcomed her, but the lady didn't accept her invitation to come inside.
"Thank you, but I just came to deliver a message.'
"What?" Sakura asked with an incredibly puzzled face.
The old lady shrugged before she said, "He wanted to discuss some private matters with you. He told me to come bring you to him."
Sakura rolled her eyes. It was very typical for him to make her come to him instead of the other way around. She told the lady to wait a minute. Sakura went in to announce that she was going out because she forgot something at the market. Ino offered to go with her, but Sakura shook her head and told the blond to finish making the dinner. Ino was a capable enough cook to make some soup. Sakura went down the mountain trail towards the village with the old lady. There was a knot forming in her stomach at the idea of Sasuke's face. She hadn't seen it in so long. She actually caught herself blushing before they entered the little hut of a building that would serve as their meeting place. Although it wasn't strange to make her come to him, why would he if he hadn't seen her in so long? Wouldn't he want to surprise her and not make it secretive? Did he want to blow their cover? When Sakura walked in however she was unpleasantly surprised. There was a man in an orange mask. He looked to have the same spikey locks as Sasuke, but not the same demeanor. He didn't even wear remotely the same cloths as Sasuke. Sakura had a bad feeling as the door closed behind her.
"You're not Sasuke…" she growled somewhat uncertain.
"You're right" the man snickered as he stood up, "I'm not."
Sakura turned around to see the old woman suddenly turn into none other than Kabuto himself. She knew that this shit was about to get real. She looked back at the man with a scowling face somewhat uncertain of what to do. She didn't know what they wanted from her. Due to her panic induced state, she wasn't about to try and find out. She just had to get the hell out of there.
"Why are you making that face? Have a seat and I'll explain everything to you…"
Sakura knew that if Kabuto was involved there wouldn't be much explaining so she replied grumbling, "Go to hell…"
"I've been there before" then man smirked under his mask (though Sakura couldn't see it), "They kicked me out."
"Well aren't you just a badass" she spat back ready to fight if she had to, even if it meant loosing.
"Well would you be kind enough to give me your given name Mrs. Uchiha?" the masked man asked.
Sakura figured Kabuto already told him so she said, "Sakura, Haurno Sakura."
"Oh! So you aren't his property" the man concluded for himself.
"I am his, don't get any ideas… you never told me your name you piece of scum…"
The man crossed his arms getting tired of this girl's attitude, "Uchiha Madara."
Sakura's eyes widened as she muttered, "What the hell?..." to herself.
Before Sakura could even register what was happening she found herself pinned to the wall of the hut with Madara's hand around her chin forcing her to look at him with the other hand supporting his weight against the wall.
"Listen close and listen well you brat. I will stop at nothing to get the embryo growing inside of you. That child has more value than the shinobi world itself. See, if I take it out of you right now, mid-term through your pregnancy, then it won't do me much good because it will be dead. You're coming with me, and that child will be mine. Got that?" Madara growled, his hot breath fanning her face.
Sakura whimpered as she felt something get jabbed into her side. It was a kunai, but not a normal one; it was dripping with a green substance. She felt herself going numb and racking with pain at the same time.
"You fool!" Madara shouted, "I told you not to go that deep! You'll hurt the child!"
"My apologies…" Kabuto muttered as he tried to heal the wound just a tad so as not to harm that child inside of Sakura, but still keeping the wound open enough to bleed out and make Sakura weak.
Sasuke walked into the village just as the sun was starting to rise. He had to travel all night without stopping in order to make it to the village as fast as he could. He was fatigued, but it didn't faze him. He just had to find Sakura. It was more than a mission; it was like his life depended on it. Sasuke roamed around the town unable to find anyone until he saw pineapple shaped hair.
"Shikamaru!" He shouted (a rare occasion).
Shikamaru turned around from the person he was talking to (who happened to be a frantically crying Ino) and gestured Sasuke to come over to them.
"Back from the war huh?" Shikamaru asked in an attempt to keep his cover.
Sasuke was confused for a moment, but then remember the pretenses of his cover and nodded then asked, "Where's Sakura?"
But at the mention of the pinkette's name, Ino burst out into a whole new set of tears. Sasuke didn't like the feeling snaking around in his gut, especially due to the blond's reaction and emotional state.
"We don't know" came Shikamaru's reply accompanied by a frown on his face.
As soon ask Shikamaru had explained the circumstances of Sakura's disappearance Sasuke was off, his eyes blazing red. He wished that Neji was there, because finding Sakura would be a whole lot damn easier. Sasuke however, would be able to detect her chakra in this state almost as easily. He kept running for what seemed like ages. He had to cover his eyes with a hood though, so none of the villagers could see his ocular jutsu and blow his cover, which made finding her that much harder. When he searched the heart of the village and found no trace, he moved to the outskirts. Only then did he see a very vague chakra, Sakura's chakra. Sasuke moved at an unknown speed as he burst through the door of the hut, reducing the door to splinters. The sight before his eyes was one he never could have imagined. Sakura was leaning against a wall, sitting in a pool of her own blood, tied with chakra bands, and her skin as pale as ivory. Sasuke had so many emotions buzzing around in his head that he almost didn't notice the second presence in the room.
"So I see you managed to find us, did you?" came the over confident voice that soon had a face put to it as he stepped out of the shadows.
Sasuke was slightly taken aback at the strange masked man. What made him more anxious was the fact that Kabuto was soon beside him. Sasuke didn't hesitate in sending a glare their way as he put a hand on his katana.
"Tsk tsk" Madara almost chuckled shaking his head, "You're at a disadvantage. We have two hostages and you're threatening me?"
"You have one hostage" Sasuke hissed back.
"Do I?" Madara asked sarcastically, "Or have you forgotten about your unborn child already?"
Sasuke almost felt like slapping himself for forgetting that. Seeing Sakura in such a dire state caused his brain to partly mal-function. It was almost like parts of his mind were replaced with physical functions and quick abilities instead of memories or common sense.
Sasuke quickly tried to dive for them. He was attempting to at least grab Sakura to take her to safety, but all that happened was he hit the wall. Sakura, along with Kabuto and Madara, disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sasuke cursed to himself as he was left with no trace of her except for the pool of her blood where she was sitting against the wall. Sasuke curled his hands into fists dripping with Sakura's blood as he stood up. Turning to walk out the door of the hut, he had no intention of giving up. He wasn't able to find a single trace of them anywhere, but he knew they couldn't and wouldn't leave that easily. The first thing on his to do list was to find Shikamaru and Ino and send a messenger hawk back to the Hokage to inform her of the situation. As much as Sasuke hated to admit it, if Madara was involved then he would definitely need reinforcements.
"They took her!" he shouted when he slammed the sliding door of the cabin open revealing a shocked Shikamaru and Ino.
"Calm down" Shikamaru tried to tame Sasuke's temper, "Who's they? And who did 'they' take?"
"Sakura! They took her Damnit!" He shouted with his fist clenched.
"Yelling won't get us anywhere!" Shikamaru shouted back as he wrote down a note to have sent to the Hokage, "What happened?"
Sasuke pinched the skin between his eyes before hissing through his clenched teeth, "Kabuto and Uchiha Madara… they took her… and they know about her having my child…"
Shikamaru's eyes widened with shock, but quickly snapped out of it to send the note to Tsunade to inform her of what had happened. After he'd written the note down he handed it to Ino who rolled it up and put it in a tube and attached it to the messenger hawk's back. The only thing they could do now was hope and pray that everything turned out okay.
Sasuke could feel himself mentally cracking as he kept remembering the image of Sakura pale, bleeding, and bruised sitting in a pool of her own blood was burned into his brain. He could never forget the image. Until the day he died he would remember that. He kept blaming himself for not protecting her enough. He felt like if he were stricter and enforced rules for her safety, then none of this would have happened. He decided that enough was enough and he tried to fall asleep, but he couldn't shake her image from his mind.
Tsunade was sitting peacefully at her desk quite bored to be honest. She was stamping papers and review mission summaries. She had recently looked over the escort mission that Sasuke and his genins had been on. It was a typical mission summary. The only interesting thing about it was the poison injury Akio sustained. She had also known that right after he'd submitted his file folder to her, there was no doubt that he'd taken off to the village on the outskirts of the town where Sakura was. She knew that much anyway.
After about half an hour she heard shouting coming down the hallway. She stood up from her desk to see what the racket was when a man from the decoding branch came into her office.
"What is it?" she asked with a stern expression knowing full well it was something important.
The man was dead silent with an anxious expression as he handed Tsunade the slip of paper with a black stamp on it, marking it as not only urgent, but a madder of security for the village. Her eyes scanned over the sheet of paper and with every line she read her eyes grew seemingly wider.
After she'd finished reading the slip of paper she slammed her fist down on the desk as she shouted, "Get me Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai! It's a matter of national security for not only the leaf but the land of fire!"
Sorry for taking a while and having it be so short, but I promise that I'll do my best to make the next chapter even more interesting. I just thought that this would be a good cliff hanger!
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! ^(^0^)^ *WOOT FACE!*