8 - Stage Eight: The Mother
Flecks of lit ash that escaped from the campfire flitted through the air lightly before disappearing from sight. Sasuke's eyes trailed the paths of the flames as they licked the firewood with its hot tendrils. The shadows of the camp jumped and danced around in the flickering light. Though the darkness seemed alive, the team was still in resting. Sasuke glanced around to the figures of his squad mates. The Hyuuga and Kakashi were vigilant as they stood watch. Nara had dozed off against a tree towards the edge of the circle. His own team all seemed to be napping in various spots around him, only comfortable in his presence. Sasuke smirked slightly when he noticed how Naruto was sprawled out in the middle of everyone. He knew that the fifth Hokage wasn't sleeping, despite the fact that her eyes were closed. Briefly, Sasuke wondered why he himself wasn't sleeping. Before he could linger on the thought, everyone jumped to attention when a cloud of smoke appeared into the clearing with a loud noise. Sasuke's hand was on his sword and his sharingan activated, but the rest of the group, save his own team, were at ease. His eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, though his unsaid question was answered once the smoke cleared. The sannin that Sasuke recognized as Jaraiya and a man that he had never seen before stood in the middle of their camp.
"Naruto, we need to talk." Everyone was suddenly on edge at the sage's serious tone. Naruto looked at the other man in confusion.
"Why is Yamato-sensei here?"
"Safety measures." Naruto nodded, but his countenance seem sullen.
"It's bad news then."
"It's about Sakura." The silence that followed was unbearable. Fear leapt into the throats of all.
"Continue." Naruto barely choked out. Jaraiya took a deep breath, readying himself for the incoming onslaught.
"My source has confirmed her safety, but…" Naruto growled.
"But what?" The sannin pulled at he collar of his shirt and looked towards Tsunade for help. She caught his look and furrowed her eyebrows in bewilderment. Within seconds, her face paled and snapped her head up in horror.
"No." She whispered.
"I'm afraid so." Tsunade sighed and clutched her head. The group was turning their gazes back and forth between the two, this only seemed to agitate Naruto further.
"What the hell aren't you guys telling me?" The current Hokage said evenly, but his eyes betrayed worry and fury. Jaraiya sighed and turned towards the blond with a sad face.
"Tell me Naruto, have you ever heard of the tale of The Mother?" He shook his head.
"Then sit down boy, you're in for a story. Back when the sage of six paths and his two sons were alive, there was an ancient breed of women whose powers were bestowed to them by the highest power in the summoning world, the council of summons. The council would select the most beautiful woman in the land to become The Mother. From the time she was born, she was The Mother. The gift that the council granted was that, when she came of age, she would seek the most powerful shinobi in the land and create with him one of the tailed beasts in the womb of her chakra." Naruto looked down at his stomach in awe.
"Woah, you mean the kyuubi was the kid of this mother lady?" Jaraiya laughed at his reaction.
"Heh, not exactly. The bijuu are created the womb of the chakra, not the actual body. The tailed beast is formed with DNA of The Mother and her chosen one's chakra signatures when the two have sex."
"Oh." Naruto blushed at the mention of process of procreation. This only caused the pervy sage to laugh harder.
"You're such a saint Naruto, getting embarrassed at the word sex."
"I am not! It's just, -cough-, a private matter between two people that I wish to respect." The blond pouted.
"What ever you say. Any ways, this so called gift for the woman was really a present for the eldest son of the six paths sage. The first of the bijuu, the one tail, was created by them. Since then, every tailed beast has come from the head or the heir of the Uchiha clan and The Mother." Naruto huffed.
"Yeah that's great, teme's clan has gotten screw everyone of these special women, whatever. What does this have to do with Sakura?" Jaraiya sighed, knowing that the boy's attention span was thinning.
"I was just about to get to that. The only way to tell when a woman is The Mother is that she has one very obvious trait. She has pink hair." Naruto's face visibly blanched, as did the rest of the group.
"Sakura has pink hair." He stuttered out.
"Yes, she does. Naruto, you're going to have to think for a moment, no emotions, just analyze. In past few weeks, has Sakura developed any strange, and I mean strange, behaviors lately?" Naruto scratched his head as he pondered for a while, until he turned towards the sage with a sigh.
"Yeah, I guess she has, about two weeks ago actually. She suddenly has developed this scary, almost sixth sense like, accuracy with her five senses, particularly sight. I mean, she is freakishly good that she can cut through genjutsu! She can cut it! Damn that's sexy when she does. Oh this other thing, it's like really gross. The one time, I was at her house, teme's house, hers and his, it doesn't matter. Anyway, we were hanging out and suddenly she was hungry. She runs to the kitchen and pulls out this big fucking steak and eats it raw. Ew. Though strangely, she made it so sexy. She like exudes sexiness, literally. Like this one time-"
"I think that's enough Naruto, that answers my question." Jaraiya interrupted, annoyed by his incessant banter. Thought the rest of the group were eerily quiet, having been confronted with the startling information, Sasuke spoke.
"Jaraiya-san, you said that The Mother and the Uchiha clan has always had special ties. Just what does that relationship encompass?" The man smirked at Sasuke.
"I was wondering when you were going to ask that, Uchiha. The Mother's chosen one is a title of the highest honor. He is her chosen mate, the one who will create the strongest bijuu and the strongest children. As soon as he sets his eyes on her, the irreversible bond that is created cannot be severed, like a love at first sight. They are together forever. Since the creation of The Mother was technically a gift for first son of the sage, the sire of the Uchiha clan, every chosen one has been the head of the Uchiha clan or the heir to the position. Really, it's the right of the heir or head to be the chosen one for The Mother." Naruto piped up before Sasuke could comment.
"Does that mean teme's brother is Sakura's - oh that's bad." Sasuke immediately shot up from his seat. His body was shaking in rage, his voice barely even as he tried to contain his anger.
"We need to leave, now. Before he lays his hands on her." He made a motion for his team to follow, but as they started to move towards the forest, Jaraiya's gravelly voice stopped them.
"It's too late Sasuke." He said softly. This time the fury of both Naruto and Sasuke were directed at the sannin. Their combined snarls caused all the life in the forest to still.
"What?" Jaraiya signaled Yamato to prepare himself. He took a deep breath before he uttered the words that shattered the boys' hearts.
"I said it is too late, Itachi has taken her." The last thing that Sasuke remembered was red surrounding Naruto and clouding his own vision before being knocked to the ground by Kakashi and being swiftly out cold.
The obnoxious knocking at the door to their room slowly drew Sakura and Itachi out of their slumber. Sakura semi-consciously observed how Itachi's arms were wrapped around her body in an iron hard grip, and their legs were tangled together in the sheets. His chin and much of his face was nuzzled in between her breasts, and one of her arms was snaked around his shoulder with the other around his neck and her fingers tangled in his hair. Briefly she wondered if he was asleep, but when she squirmed in his arms, his grip around her tightened. She hummed lightly before she murmured to him in her hoarse voice.
"Itachi, he's not going to stop until one of us answers the door." His voice was deep and scratchy from the deep sleep.
"But you're warm." His childish response made Sakura giggle.
"Do you really want one of the other members to get an eye full of my boobs?" Itachi blinked a couple of times, and then swiftly got out of the bed, taking the sheet with him. This only made Sakura giggle more as he grumbled while hurriedly wrapping the sheet around his naked waist. The light sounds of Itachi's footsteps bounced off the walls of the room. He flung the door open in annoyance.
"What?" His gruff voice made the person at the door take a step back. Though the figure took in Itachi's disheveled appearance and whistled at him.
"Damn, she really sunk her claws into you this time, ne Itachi?" Itachi glared the man.
"What do you want Kisame?" The shark man chuckled at Itachi's grumpiness.
"Leader wanted me to fetch you two but I can see you're rather busy at the moment."
"Tell him we'll be there in a moment." Itachi stated, but before Itachi could shut the door in Kisame's face, Sakura called out in a seductive voice.
"Ne Ita-kun, do you want me to help you with that morning wood?" Kisame grinned at Itachi, noticing his discomfort. His barking laugh echoed down the hall.
"Go get 'er tiger, I'll tell leader you'll be there within the next hour." Itachi's immediate response almost had Kisame rolling on the floor with side splitting laughter.
"Make it two." He said before closing the door.
Sakura played with the slate blue ring that was now wrapped around her left pinkie finger. It signified that she was a member of the most notorious gang in the nation, the Akatsuki. Hanging loosely around her body was the customary cloak, though she made a mental note to tailor it later for her liking. Mindlessly she continued to twirl the ring around her finger as Pein's voice droned through her ears.
"Now that you are apart of the Akatsuki, I have a specific job in mind for you until another joins and becomes your partner. For now, I want you to be the medic of the group and tend to all injuries of the other members. As for a partner, I will send you out with one of the other squads occasionally, but you will mostly reside at the main base for the time being. If you were listening at all, I suggest you attend the wounds that you inflicted on Kisame and Deidara. Any questions?" Sakura only continued to stare down at the ring instead of returning his gaze.
"No sir." He briefly nodded and then motioned for her to leave his presence as he returned to his paperwork. Eager to get out of the stifling atmosphere, Sakura nearly shot out of the room. Itachi was waiting for her outside the doorway. He took in her nervous countenance and stroked her face in reassurance. She leaned into his touch before sighing to herself.
"Don't worry, it get's easier." His words spoke to her silent thoughts, making her relax slowly. She inhaled a deep breath to calm herself.
"Where are Kisame, Deidara, and Hidan? I need to heal them."
"They are most likely in the living room, seeing as none of us have missions right now in the light of your inauguration. Come, I will show you the way." He pushed himself off the wall and grabbed her hand in leading. She looked down at their joined hands, unused to the sight, before following him. Sakura was glad that she had Itachi to show her around. The many winding halls that they passed threw were like a monotonous blur to her, she surely would have lost herself in many hours of confusion. They stopped when the archway bowed out into a large, open room that seemed to be the communal room. Curiously she let her eyes wander the room, taking in every detail. A billiard table was situated to the far left of the room, where Kukuzu, Hidan, and Kisame were seated playing poker. A few bookshelves, a couch, and many armchairs were clumped into the center of the room. Deidara was sprawled along the upholstery reading a book that Sakura could not identify. In the right side of the room, a rather large table with many chairs around was planted directly in front of an archway that Sakura could only guess that lead to the kitchen. How Sakura managed to miss all of this when Itachi took her to the kitchen, her only thought was that hunger blinded her. A masked figure was the first to notice the pair in the door way. He waved excitedly at them, reminding her of hyper-active toddler.
"Good morning pretty lady! Good morning Itachi-san! Did you enjoy your sex?" Never before did Sakura have such a strong urge to strangle someone before. A voice from the billiard table only reinforced that urge.
"Considering the fact we haven't seen either of them for two days, I'd say they have." Bawdy laughter filled the room, though Itachi's heated glare reduced them to snickers. He turned to Sakura and gave a reassuring look before he walked towards a bookshelf and pulled out a random book. She sighed before she put on an indifferent look. Hesitantly, she sauntered towards Kisame at the billiard table. He ignored her when she stood in front of him. She tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for him to notice her. His gaze only briefly turned towards her before he grunted.
"What?"
"I need to heal you." He only grunted once again.
"I'm busy." Nonchalantly, Sakura reached underneath the table and lifted it above her head with her inhuman strength. This caused a collective exclamation of surprise and disgruntlement.
"Your collar bone is shattered, rotator cuff completely out of whack, ligaments and muscles torn, and shoulder out of socket. I am healing you now." Her tone left no room for argument, but Kisame seemed try to squeeze one in anyway.
"It's not that bad." Her retort was immediate.
"I know the damage because I was the one to inflict it." Deidara's voice from the couch confirmed her victory.
"She has you there." Kisame sighed before he got up and shoved Deidara off the couch to make room for him and Sakura. Before she the table down though, Hidan's snicker made her snap her head towards him.
"Maybe I could get her to play doctor with me when she's done with you Kisame." Her tone was dry but menacing.
"Need I remind you that I am holding a many hundred pound table above my head that I could easily crush you with." He merely flicked her off and stuck his tongue out.
"I'm immortal bitch." She smirked.
"Yeah, but it would be a fucking pain to deal with as it crushed your lungs." She set down the table and turned towards Kisame but Hidan's continual goading stopped her.
"What, you're not actually going to fucking do it? A real bitch you are." Sakura flew at unprecedented speeds towards him and punched him hard in the jaw. It shot up into the base of his skull, effectively rendering him unable to speak.
"You should learn to watch your tongue Hidan." Everyone but Itachi warily stared at her.
"Damn, how are you not dead after spending three days with that Itachi?" Deidara asked the sharingan wielder curiously.
"Lots of sex."
"Itachi!" Sakura gaped at him from across the room. He only smirked at her. She huffed and sat between Kisame and Deidara on the couch.
"Both of you, shirts off, now." Sakura commanded. Though Deidara sniggered at her.
"Usually I would ask how much are gonna pay me, but for you hime, it's free." She rolled her eyes at his comment and poke him in the rib. He hissed in pain.
"Cracked sternum, three or four broken ribs, bruised larynx…judging by your breathing, I would say you don't have any punctured or flattened lungs, lucky there. Maybe a spinal injury, but I doubt it since your lungs are fine." She murmured as she extended her hands to both of the men. One hand on Kisame and the other on Deidara, she started to heal them. After a brief half an hour, both were in perfect health. They stretched and lightly spared with each other before determining that they were happy with the results. Sakura smiled softly when she noticed their enthusiasm.
"Heh, I haven't felt this good in long time. Not bad hime, not bad." "Man I fell better, thanks kitten." She nodded. Turning towards Hidan, she smirked and made her way towards him. Once in front of him, she placed a healing hand on his head and quickly healed his jaw. He rubbed it appreciably before whistling at her.
"Damn, that was fucking sexy. I wouldn't mind keeping you around if you punch me like that everyday baby." She simply ignored his comment and sat back down between the shirtless duo. Reaching across Deidara for a book that caught her eye, he grinned at her.
"How are you not drooling over these two sexy bodies you're sandwiched between hime?" She smirked at him.
"Itachi has an eight pack."
"Damn it! That's not even fair!" The blond yelled indignantly.
Lol, I love my brief bit of fluff. :D I'm happy to bring kick ass Sakura back in this one, I was getting tired of emotional, crying Sakura. Please favorite and Review! :)