3 - Stage Three: Denial
It had taken a solid twenty minutes to get to the supposed farming village, even with Sakura's break neck speed. Branches snapped and leaves spiraled in her wake. Sasuke's team had lagged behind within the first five minutes of travel, and he himself struggled to keep up with her. This sort of speed Sasuke had only seen once before in his life. Naruto, with the speed of his demon, as ever displayed anything that could match Sakura's pace. Sasuke almost wondered if Sakura could possibly possess such a power inside of her, one of the tailed beasts. He shook his head at the ridiculous thoughts. Sasuke turned his eyes towards the burning buildings along the village street. Smoke curled and ghosted through every crevice of the ablaze structures. The crackling of flames assaulted his ears as they consumed all in their path. Transfixed to the fire, Sasuke watched it dance like devils taunting their pray before swooping in for the kill.
"Something's not right here, people should be screaming in agony." Juugo murmured, shifting from on foot to another in nervousness.
"Haruno-san, I think we've been led into a trap. Oomph!" Karin started but was interrupted when she ran into some invisible force.
"The hell?" Suigetsu muttered and pushed against the unseen wall. Activating his sharingan, Sasuke sought out what was blocking their path. His eyes narrowed at the chakra barrier before him.
"Sakura, there's a barrier blocking our path. We need to dispel it to continue." Sasuke growled. He looked over his shoulder to the figure behind him, only to notice that she was not there anymore.
"Sakura?" He searched the surrounding area for her presence. Sasuke snarled when he found her on the other side of the barrier. Sakura was facing them, seeming hesitant, though not at all bothered about the wall of chakra. Sasuke could have ripped her throat out himself once it clicked that she was the one to set the barrier jutsu off. He hadn't even sensed that she had placed it before it was too late. Then again, Naruto had mentioned that Sakura was incredibly fast at releasing jutsu.
"What's the meaning of this Sakura?" He said evenly, though his eyes betrayed his anger. The tomoe of Sasuke's sharingan were spinning wildly, searching for a hole in the barrier. His eyebrows scrunched together when his frantic eyes found none. Focus now thrown back to the one holding the barrier, Sasuke growled fiercely at the impassive mask.
"Answer me damn it!"
"You will only get in the way," came the cold reply. A guttural snarl ripped through Sasuke's throat. Chidori blazing at full intensity, he flung himself at the chakra barrier and struck it. Ripples cascaded from the point at which he hit. Sasuke uttered another cry of fury and lashed out at the barrier again and again. Each effort was fruitless though for nothing could rip a hole into Sakura's masterful jutsu. Enraged, Sasuke continued his attack with more ferocity when Sakura turned away from them.
"Heh, I've never seen the pup so enraged before Itachi. Seems like this little kunoichi has some power outside of the battlefield. Ha!" All of team Hebi stilled at the voice. Eight figures stood menacingly behind Sakura.
"Hm, quite the reception I am graced with. It never entered my wildest dreams that I would be standing face to face with the entirety of the Akatsuki." Sakura drawled sarcastically. A coughing laugh was all she received.
"This one's got sense of humor on her, I like it." The blond Akatsuki member, who eerily reminded Sakura of her friend Ino, stated mirthfully. The man in the center of the group, presumably the leader, stepped forward as if to speak. His bright orange mane blew wildly about and seemed to be fire itself in the glow of the destruction around everyone. A glimmer of light cascaded off of his many piercings, giving a inhuman glow to his face. No emotion could be sensed from this man in his stance, face, or tone. The only thing that could even be possibly perceived as emotion was the feeling that he was above this world. His voice echoed off the buildings as he addressed kunoichi across from him.
"Haruno Sakura, or as most may know, the Demon of the Leaf. You are to join the ranks of the Akatsuki, whether by consent or by force. There is no refusing us. Now, come my dear, or face the wrath of a god." There was not doubting his words. Sakura bit her lip behind her mask, 'this going to be a tough fight.' Her silence was all that Pein needed for an answer.
"Very well then, by force it is." Sakura flew at them like a hellcat with its claws bared. Her fist smacked full force into ground and shattered it. A few of the Akatsuki stared in awe at the sheer power of this tiny woman. Using the temporary distraction, Sakura landed a kick to Kisame's shoulder. He grunted in pain as the bone broke under the force of her leg. She flipped off of him before the shark could retaliate. The madly swearing jashinist was next in her sights. Hidan grinned when he saw her lightning approach and swung his large scythe. Sakura elegantly jumped onto the hilt of the blade and ran towards its wielder. Expecting a blow to the head, Hidan attempted to fling her off his weapon. However, with the speed of a demon, Sakura came at him with a knee to the stomach causing Hidan to double over at her attack. With her monstrous strength, she sent his jaw into his skull. A spray of blood covered Sakura's torso as she watched Hidan slump over, incapacitated for the time being. Though she did not have long before she was attacked again. Bombs rained down on Sakura's head, exploding all around her. Nimbly she dodged to the best of her ability. The second the bombs stopped, Sakura threw another punch at the ground and shouldered a boulder in her arms. Deidara's clay bird in the sky expertly weaved in and out of the large projectiles being flung at him. Growling that her attack was going no where fast, Sakura racked her brain for a strategy. 'Shit, shit, shit! Calm down Sakura, you can defeat that damn bomber. You just have to fight long range,' her brain screamed. Though her panic was quickly forgotten when an idea popped into her mind. With the chakra control that even a seasoned veteran would be jealous of, Sakura created long strings of chakra from her fingers. She sharpened them to the edge of a blade and made them too thin for the eye to see. Her smirk was hidden behind her mask when Diedara's face contorted into panic once his bird started to fall to pieces. His hands flew up to his throat as her chakra strings wrapped around and cut off his air way. Sakura flung him to the ground. He landed with grunt and dust flying around him. Deidara struggled to get up before Sakura was there with an all to familiar taijutsu.
"Shishi Rendan!" Sakura screamed as she pummeled Deidara into oblivion. Sasuke's eyes widened when she yelled his own taijutsu technique. His gaze could not be ripped from the wild fighting style of his former teammate. The way she tore through the Akatsuki one by one was hypnotizing, and he was all to willing to watch. His blue haired teammate whistled appreciatively.
"Damn, you left that for Orochimaru? Man card revoked!" Suigetsu chuckled. Karin swiftly decked him in the mouth, effectively shutting him up. Sakura continued to fly around the battlefield from one opponent to the next. The shark nin had managed to approach her with meager one armed attacks that Sakura's lithe form easily dodged. Though she barely escaped the tiny paper like daggers thrown her way in the midst of her fight. Distracted by the attack, Kisame took the opening and swung full force at the devilish kunoichi. It hit true to its mark, flinging Sakura quite a few meters from which she was once standing. She skidded across the ground and then readied for the attack from Kisame she knew was coming. His giant sword slammed down onto her arm held up in defense. The two struggled in a match of strength, each being a behemoth in that particular fight. Seemingly locked evenly, Samehada's spikes grew and dug into Sakura's arm. She grunted at the pain and started to waiver. Seeing her weakness, Kisame chuckled and continued his attack with renewed strength. 'If I keep this up, I'll lose,' Sakura quickly concluded. She used his weight against him and slipped underneath the sword before crashed into herself. With his awkward stance, Kisame stumbled forward into Sakura's vicious kick aimed for his jaw. He staggered backwards unable to defend himself from her next attack.
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Sakura screamed as the flames ripped through her throat and out of her mouth. The giant fireball cascaded its way towards Kisame who braced himself for impact.
"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu." The words rang in Sakura's ears, the cold voice made her skin crawl. She turned to the jutsu's wielder who stood impassively only a few meters away. A dark chuckle escaped Sakura's throat.
"You, I have wanted to fight for a long time Uchiha." Came Sakura's venomous words.
"I too have wished to dance with death for some time kunoichi." His deep voice sliced through air like a knife, sending a slight shiver down her spine.
"Then come, let us dance." Sakura threw off her shredded cloak since it would only hinder her. Steadily, they started to walk towards each other, but their pace turned into an all out sprint. In their meeting, the taijutsu battle that ensued could only be seen with sharingan. Each attack was quickly dodged and countered by the other, for both were used the their opponent's fighting style. Sakura's brutish and strong attacks were easily expelled by Itachi, who was used to sparring with Kisame whose strategy was similar to the small female's. Though Sakura's flexible form and years of training with a sharingan user could easily anticipate Itachi's quick and nimble attacks.
"Your fighting style is unusual, I like it." Sakura panted in between attacks.
"A compliment coming from some one as yourself is a high honor." Itachi grunted, he too being occupied with the fight.
"Why thank you." As the battle continued, Itachi was quickly beginning to over power the tiny woman. A cold command came from the center of the clearing.
"Itachi, end this." Sakura's eyes widened for a fraction of a second at the words. Itachi caught her arm as it was coming down upon him and twisted it behind her head. His other hand shot at her throat and latched a collar that was hidden away in his cloak onto Sakura. She fell to the ground when Itachi forcibly kneed her in the back of the legs. He straddled her hips, putting his weight fully upon her. In a last ditch attempt to free herself, Sakura's free arm swung around to punch Itachi in the side. He easily caught it and pinned her arm to the ground. She struggled against him, her spirit unbroken. Pein appeared effortlessly in front of them.
"On her knees." He demanded. Itachi roughly gripped her arms and forced Sakura into position. An animalistic snarl left Sakura's throat as Pein approached her. Once close enough, He punched her across the face. A sickening crack echoed through every ear. Shattered, pieces of Sakura's ANBU mask fell from her face. Darkly, Sakura chuckled and spit out a bit of blood.
"Heh, you have to pin me down so you can strike me? Some shinobi you are." A snarl came from the blue haired Akatsuki member across the clearing. Pein raised his hand to silence them.
"Your words ring hollow kunoichi, I am a god. The petty honor of a shinobi is meaningless to me." He grabbed a hold of her face, turning it towards his own.
"Do you surrender?" Sakura's eyes narrowed and she spat blood in his face.
"Never." She growled. Pein's eyes turned towards Itachi, silently commanding him. The collar on Sakura's neck buzzed to life, readying its sinister powers. Her eyes went wide in fear. She threw her head back and screamed the most chilling sound that could make the strongest of ninja shake in fear. All of team Hebi visibly blanched. Sasuke snarled in fury.
"SAKURA!" Her screams of agony drowned out his yell. Pein turned on his heel to the other Akatsuki members.
"You may stop now Itachi. We are leaving." Sasuke watched in horror as the barrier dissipated and the Akatsuki, with Sakura in tow, disappeared. He slammed his fist into the ground in frustration.
"What do we do now Sasuke?" Juugo asked warily. Suigetsu jumped up in determination.
"We go after them duh! Come on, they can't be that far."
"No." Sasuke's voice rang quietly. Suigetsu huffed.
"And why the hell not?"
"As much as I hate to admit it, we have to go to Naruto." Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache approached. He stood and faced the direction of the leaf village in a silent command to his squad. They all nodded and hopped into the trees for travel.
"What do you mean the Akatsuki have Sakura?" The Hokage growled. Sasuke and his team stood at stiff attention in Naruto's office. Sleep was evident in Naruto's eyes and his hair was splayed wildly having just come from bed.
"How the hell did this happen?" The anger was evident in Naruto's voice.
"An ANBU came to Sakura's door in the night stating that the Akatsuki had attacked a farming village within the borders of our country and you had ordered Sakura to investigate with the possibility of engaging the enemy." Sasuke said evenly.
"I never sent an ANBU, nor did I hear of this attack."
"Then it was a trap!" Karin gasped. Sasuke rolled his eyes and continued.
"When we arrived at said village, all buildings were ablaze though no sound of human life were heard. As my team observed this, Sakura laid a barrier justsu claiming," Sasuke visibly clenched his jaw, "that we would only get in her way. All of the Akatsuki then proceeded to appear within the barrier."
"All of the Akatsuki? Kami this is bad." Naruto interjected.
"The leader of Akatsuki, Pein I believe, stepped forward telling Sakura that she was to join the Akatsuki whether by consent or by force. You know Sakura well enough to know how she answered." Naruto sighed.
"Yes, yes I do. Continue."
"Fighting ensued and Sakura managed to take out three of eight of the Akatsuki. Once she commenced battle with my brother. They were evenly matched, until the command came from Pein to end it. Itachi placed some form of device in the shape of collar on Sakura's throat and defeated her. You can figure out the rest." Sasuke concluded. Suigetsu shivered and muttered.
"The scream that came from Sakura when he activated that thing, it was fucking scary." Naruto's shoulders slumped at the thought of Sakura screaming in agony from torture. He made a quick hand sign and summoned two ANBU into his office.
"Go rouse Shikamaru Nara, Neji Hyuuga, and Kakashi Hatake. They will be needed for this mission. As for your team Sasuke, gather what ever necessary supplies you need for this journey and report back to me in three hours. You are dismissed!" The ANBU disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sasuke's team quickly left the office, but Sasuke lingered. Naruto eyed him.
"Is there anything else Sasuke?"
"What about you? Aren't you going?" Naruto grinned his foxy smile.
"Well of course teme! This is Sakura-chan we're talkin' about!"
A groan echoed in the darkly lit room. The kunoichi slowly sat up and gripped her head in her hands. She blinked warily, taking in her surroundings. Noticing the chain and collar around her neck that tethered her the bed, it dawned upon her everything that had happened. She growled into the darkness. Her head whipped around at the sound of a dark chuckle coming from the corner of the room. Red eyes glowed, and pale skin shown in the light. He sat in a leather chair casually observing her on the bed. Slowly he stood and sauntered towards the bed. She stiffened at his approach. Nonchalantly he leaned on the bed post protruding from the frame. Her viridian eyes narrowed.
"I didn't know you had a kinky side Uchiha." She muttered, prodding at the chain around her neck. He chuckled with mirth. With the grace of a feline and strength of a predator, Itachi pinned her to the bed. Sakura's mouth gaped and her eyes widened at his sudden movement. His eyes were dark as he growled devilishly.
"I'll show you kinky kunoichi."
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