Hello everyone! I'm so so so so sorry about the delay. This was a really long chapter and my stupid fajer made me study like a crazy chick for these retarded exams…I mean, what kind of school holds finals for middle schoolers??? Wtm…Anyhow, extra long chapter before I end it I guess. That is so right! Only eleven chapters then my sequel will be released!
Disclaimer: So what if I don't own Naruto? Schools almost out.
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Sakura's P.O.V.
Kakashi and Sai froze completely on a solitary branch with their mouths slightly ajar.
As Kakashi began to gather his thoughts and start to speak, Uchiha-san and Hoshigake-san arrived.
Sai and Kakashi stood in attack positions behind my calm body.
"Uchiha-san, Hoshigake-san. What a pleasant surprise." I gestured politely.
"You also Haruno-san," the Uchiha motioned. "May I ask as to why you are here?"
A deep, rough voice interrupted Itachi and mines small talk by a rude comment. "Oh come on Itachi, you know they're trying to get your hopeless brother back!"
Itachi glared slightly at Kisame telling him that he had forgotten his place. "Let them speak, Kisame-san."
"We are after Sasuke-san, but-"
"Sakura-san, should we really be fraternizing with the enemy?" Sai questioned.
On the contrary Sai-san, it will not hurt anyone to inform two Akatsuki members of our mission when theirs is completely separate form ours.
"Indeed." Itachi stated blandly. "Now please, continue."
I nodded once and continued my explanation. "We are after Sasuke-san, but this time, he will not be returning to Konoha. You do not mind, do you?"
"Of course not. If my foolish little brother cannot defeat a few Konoha shinobi, then he is not worth my time.
I caught the insult hidden behind Itachi's words and I quickly let him know I was not very pleased with his attitude. "I will let that insult slide, Uchiha-san. Now if you would please inform me of your own mission."
"I should have expected some sort of exchange," Itachi snorted. "Apparently my brother has conveniently managed to kill Orochimaru. Leader would like his ring returned."
"Of course. Will you be accompanying us to Otogakure?"
Itachi seemed to be weary about answering my question. I knew he would be only because he feared an attack.
"Uchiha-san," I began, trying to piece my sentence together properly. "Do you truly belittle us so much that you believe we would spring an attack on you when we do not know the path ourselves?"
I noticed that Kisame grumbled some incoherent when I stated the truce, but I knew Kisame would agree with anything Itachi said since he was the superior.
"We will," was his final answer.
Itachi's P.O.V.
Our expedition with Haruno-san was relatively silent. This girl always kept me guessing. She was like me I suppose. Dare I say it, but she was strong too. You could tell by the way she held herself; confidence in every step, not a single bit of fear was ever seen. If she were in Akatsuki, I would put in a recommendation to have her place on my team. I have no doubt that Leader would fully agree with my decision. Her prefers strong teams over the uneven.
Kisame was another story. He was so simple to read. The only thought that ever ran through his mind was, 'these people are weak.' On many occasions, he was correct, but in this matter, I was not confident that he was correct.
Sakura must have been able to read him to because she spoke up when we hadn't said anything for at least fifteen minutes. "Excuse me, Hoshigake-san. Do not make the mistake of underestimating me. If you wish to attempt to prove yourself, it would be my pleasure to fight you after we have both completed our assignments."
I knew Kisame's proud attitude was going to shine through if he was not stopped, so I did exactly that. I could not risk losing Kisame in such an imperative mission. I had observed her fighting style once before. Killing him would be like…like fishing.
"Kisame-san," I began in a stern tone to display my authority over him. "Haruno-san is the best shinobi in Konoha. Leader would not be pleased if you were injured."
"And just what are you trying to say?" He snapped back at, forgetting his place completely. I glared at him and began to explain to him who he was toying with, but before I could, the boy Sakura called Sai broke through.
"He's saying you will get your ass kicked, Fish face."
I watched as Kisame's body zapped behind the boy. He was absolutely clueless to what had occurred and as I saw Kisame draw his Samehade, I knew it was over. I had witnessed this scene countless times; was his sword hit, there was no turning back for the victim. He was dead.
Then I saw the strangest color flash before the oversized fish. Two delicate fingers were firmly placed against one of the many azure blades of the Samehade. The sword neither cut her nor consumed her chakra, it simply lay on the base of Haruno-san's fingertips.
"You leave me no choice Hoshigake-san," were the very words that escaped her lips before she applied more pressure to her fingers and threw Kisame off balance. Before many people would have known what was happening, he was tumbling past tree limbs and within the next few seconds, he collided into the ground. I had already made up my mind that I would not assist Kisame. After all, he did deserve such treatment.
Kakashi's P.O.V.
I observed silently as Kisame throttled to the forest floor. I had already foreseen what was to occur next: Kisame would catch himself and Sakura would be there waiting. Sakura had repeated this scene many time in training and in missions. It hardly changed, but if you paid close enough attention to each and ever movement, you could see a slight adjustment.
If this guy couldn't discover Sakura's plans before she made him bleed, well…let's just say we should begin digging his grave. When Sakura sees blood, her chakra immediately starts to pump more furiously into her reserves. It was her type of adrenaline rush. The only person who could stop Sakura from killing someone, is herself. If Kisame wasn't afraid, then he was a fool.
Kisame's P.O.V.
As my body raced to the dirt covered ground, my conscience decided to come back. I was utterly aware of my situation and knew what had to take place.
Using my fantastic agility, I latched on to a passing tree branch in order to redirect my head-first position. Then I landed gracefully despite my lanky, muscular body. Before I could precede, a katana was being held at my throat. It was at that time that I realized who was attacking me; Haruno Sakura, age 16, and ranked as the top ANBU captain in all shinobi countries. I had seen the wanted posters for her in almost all of Konoha's enemy nations. This little girl was an infamous mass murderer.
Both her and Itachi cautioned me about fighting her, but me being a self-centered man, made me attack the boy when he joked about something so serious.
When the katana's sharp edge made an incision on my neck, I felt my body tense up.
"Hoshigake-san, I warned you and you did not heed my word. What should I do about this? Kill you? Or simply teach you a lesson."
She was teasing me…about my own death. I was shaking uncontrollably. I couldn't even call it trembling. I was simply, scared and nothing else.
"I'm not so sure Itachi-san would be happy if his partner as killed," I shouldn't have said that I know, but I had to think of some crude remark to match her own so I would not look as weak as I was feeling.
My shaking ceased for a moment when Sakura's lips came close to my ear and her lips began to vibrate in the familiar pattern of words. "Oh on the contrary, Hoshigake-san, this is Uchiha-san's katana."
My eyes widened to an unimaginable point when I finally realized the hidden secret behind all of Sakura's recent words. I finally realized, she meant to torture me.
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Itachi's P.O.V.
I kept my mask steady. I wouldn't let it falter as I silently observed Haruno-san's cruel method of torture.
She had pieced together a masterful Genjutsu that I had never laid eyes upon, so I suspected she had created it herself.
Sakura stood absolutely still with her index and middle finger pressed against her forehead. Her emerald eyes were a portal to her soul and all it portrayed was nothing. This was no effect of the Genjutsu, this was her true self. Frightening to those who had never witnessed it before, and even somewhat towards me.
Her aura had become stronger throughout the protracted length of the Genjutsu. I had began to notice the small reoccurring cuts appearing out of nowhere on Kisame's azure skin. What started as something small, soon transformed into something huge and large enough to knock a person out from blood loss. The nearly invisible incisions had changed into huge gashes with blood just pouring out.
Kisame was trembling furiously from the loss. Anyone who didn't know him well would think that, but I did and I knew it was from the fear.
I couldn't quite tell what Sakura was forcing Kisame through, but it must have been pretty intense to cause physical, visible, pain.
A loud grunt followed by an even louder thud captured my attention. Sakura had removed her fingers from her forehead and relaxed her body.
"Thank you, Uchiha-san."
I had hardly seen her body's image distort at all when she moved. Before anyone could have noticed her body missing, she was balancing my katana between the two fingers that had nearly slaughtered my partner. Still, I pertained my famous mask.
"Hn. When will my partner be joining me?"
"Depending on his mental strength," was her obvious reply. She acted as if she were avoiding the question by stating something an experienced Genjutsu user would know simply by the status of the person. No one had ever dared to insult me, ever, and I refused to let this girl exceed my reputation.
"An estimate if you would."
I glanced at the young women out of the corner of my eye, searching for some sort of emotion to my reaction…Nothing.
"Of course, Uchiha-san, my mistake. Give him an hour at the least to recover."
"Why so long?" I hissed without blowing my cover.
"He is physically and mentally distraught. If you move his body now, even as he is sleeping, he will die from overexertion."
"Over exertion hardly describes it," the boy who was dubbed Sai mumbled from the corner of my view. I inferred that he spoke from experience.
"Very well, I will go on my own. Unless of course, you will be accompanying me there?"
Haruno-san nodded her head once as a gesture for me to lead. Then I gazed towards the direction of her teammates and gave them the slightest of all nods to show that I only respected her and not them. I could tell the two had caught my motion by the almost furious glint that was quickly stationed into their eyes.
Unlike their squad leader, they were easy to read. They displayed their emotions as clear as day. It made them less intimidating. I supposed they were the ones who interrogated the younger children and women, so no one would be to afraid to speak. Sakura would be the one to question the men, even if she were still a child herself.
I could easily visualize her in an interrogation cell with a man who refused to speak, scared to the bone that if he merely asked for a sip of water, they would receive all the information they needed by the pitch of his voice. She would repeat the exact same jutsu I had just committed. I could picture her with the exact same empty eyes that taunted even me now. Yes, an interrogation by Haruno-san would be quite an entertaining little show.
"Uchiha-san, are we moving on?"
I snapped out of my trance and began to skip onto another tree branch with out warning. Of course, Sakura had foreseen my action and in a matter of seconds, she was beside me. Her teammates, on the other hand, took a longer time to comprehend what had occurred.
………………………………...
After another hour of a ravenous pace, we reached the border line of Otogakure. Before stepping out into the clearing that encompassed the base, we needed to acquire Haruno-san's team. On estimate, they were about thirty to forty-five minutes behind.
"Hoshigake-san has awakened."
Hearing that dead voice caused me to inwardly shudder. I was so stunned by her voice itself that I hardly realized the question arising in my mind.
"How can you be sure?"
Sakura closed her eyes for a moment, as if to gather the scattered fragments of the jutsu's aftereffects.
"I'm sure you noticed my fingers on my forehead all throughout the period of the jutsu. Well, a unique technique allows me to connect my mind with my victims for a chosen amount of time. Depending on your chakra reserves, you may use the actual jutsu for hours on end. The is no limit on the jutsu, just on your reserves. The actual aftereffects of the Genjutsu can be somewhat…beneficial." Sakura paused in the middle of her sentence to ponder on what to say next. When she spoke, I found myself beginning to adjust to her tone of voice. "You see, my mind is still partly connected to Hoshigake-san's, or at least it was until he awoke."
Her explanation of her jutsu was truly intriguing, but we both sensed the two signatures that were frantically searching for their captain's lost chakra signature.
Sai-san, Kakashi-san, we are here," Haruno-san called.
A rustling in the branches near us did nothing to faze either of us. We knew that it was the two slackers.
"Are you both prepared?" The pink haired ANBU captain said more than asked, but the two still proceeded with reassuring her.
I took one last look at the two nuisances that stood so inferior to Haruno-san and began to recall their attitudes during Kisame's torture. A bit stiff, as if they were not absolutely sure of what spontaneous action Sakura would make next, but completely aware of her actions.
I had started to believe that these two knuckleheads would be the best candidates to fight against this impossibly strong child. They knew her styles of fighting and could easily comprehend the complexity of the way her mind functioned without any questions rising. These were the few people who would be a challenge against her. These were the two that were most likely to be able to defeat her.
"Shall we part, Uchiha-san?"
I shut my eyes for a split second as I thoroughly investigated the girl's voice for anything besides words…Still nothing…
"Yes, I think we should."
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Oh yummy. Cliff Hanger. Gotta love those. Once again, last chapter is next, then the sequel will be named "Healing Eyes."
I would be uber pleased if ya'll would give Chiru her reviews too! Because the faster you review, the faster I update. I've already finished the prologue to Healing Eyes and I know you guys are gonna wanna read it, so review, review, review!!!
SachiruNatsu
P.S. I have been notified that url's do not show up on here, so I'm assuming ya'll know the myspace thing. If you don't I'm sorry to say you are an idiot, but if you need it, message me. Anyhow, at the end of the myspace address, just add a slash (/) and write 13thsquad and you've got my fan club/thing.