Chapter Thirty-One: Shatter My Heart, Sasuke.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

The call to arms came early--a blaring siren that told them the enemy was near.

Sakura woke to it, feeling the space beside her. It was cold and empty.

But she smiled nonetheless. Wiping herself with a wash clothe to wash away the smells of their passion, she threw her clothes on, gathering every weapon she could find and clipping a bag of medical supplies to a holster on her right hip. Her left hip holster held explosive tags, shuriken, smoke grenades, kunai, and poisons.

As she ran from her house a messenger called to her; telling her she and her cell were on the front lines. She nodded, not bothering to look back.

There was a palpable tension as Sakura took her place among the rows of shinobi that lined the battlements of the gate, the roof tops of the homes, and the trees surrounding Konoha.

For a moment there was nothing but silence...and then all hell broke loose. Moulding her chakra around her feet, Sakura leapt over a row of shuriken. Twisting, she released a spray of senbon at the offending Oto shinobi. Flipping around, she brought her legs down on top of another with enough force to shatter the unfortunate ninja's chest.

Kakashi had already loosed his ninken and their growls were just as prominent a sound as the resounding clang of metal meeting metal and the cries of rage.

Seeing a row of Byakugan holding shinobi coming at her, Sakura called to Sasuke and Naruto.

"Ready?" She asked as they landed beside her.

The nodded, each biting into his or her thumb. Forming the seals in tandem they slammed their hands down, a seal forming around them.

"Summoning! Katsuyu!" Sakura yelled.

"Go, Mandara!"

"Gamabunta!"

The massive summons erupted from beneath them, lifting them far above the Oto nin.

"Take them down." Sakura said, releasing an explosive tag.

Katsuyu nodded, spitting rivers of noxious acid at the enemy. Beside her, Gamabunta was carving valleys with his sword and Mandara was breathing flames upon Oto's forces.

"I'm going after Kabuto!" Sakura said, seeing him slip behind their lines.

Without waiting for them to argue, she sprung onto a nearby roof and pursued her most hated enemy.

Sakura tossed a kunai only to have it parried by his. But she still had the high ground.

Running along the roof tops, she released weapon after weapon--all of which he either parried or evaded. But he couldn't get a hit in on her, either.

He leapt at her, his hand glowing.

But Sakura pushed him back with her own Mystic Palm, letting him fall back to the street while she continued to toss senbon and liquid poisons at him. They were nearing the gate that surrounded Konoha's rear flank. They would either finish it there or in the forest behind it.

"I'm going after Sakura!" Sasuke called.

Naruto nodded, ordering Gamabunta on.

Tsunade weaved through a sea of senbon, drilling her fist into the offender before tossing his body over her shoulder and into a knot of his comrades.

Thrown, they had no time to parry her next attack.

Kabuto leapt over the gate. Sakura crouched, ready to do the same when Sasuke called to her.

"You're needed on the front lines!" He said.

She bit her lip, reluctant to let the nin'i escape.

"I'll take care of him." Sasuke assured her.

She nodded, turning on her heel and sprinting back towards the fray as Sasuke cleared the wall in one bound.

Naruto turned to see the attack coming at his blind spot too late to stop it. The gleam of the kunoichi's blade blinded him and he waited for the pain.

"Die!"

But that was a familiar voice...as was the resounding sound of bone cracking under Sakura's unwavering fist.

"Naruto! Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yeah. But Shizune and Ino aren't." He replied.

Sakura nodded, sprinting towards the makeshift medical tent. Kneeling beside Ino she knit her friend's wounds back together, turning to Shizune an instant later. She lost herself quickly in her work, one hand on one patient, the other on another...moving so quickly she was a blur of green chakra. She didn't know how long she had been there before she was called back to battle.

"Hey, Ugly!" Sai yelled, landing hard beside the tent, "We need help."

Sakura wiped the sweat from her forehead, nodding to Shizune to take over now that she was back on her feet.

Sasuke cornered the nin'i, his blade gripped tightly in his hand.

"Good. I had hoped to get you alone." Kabuto sneered.

Sasuke didn't reply.

"I thought you might be interested to know that I have thousands of kekkei genkai holders now."

Sasuke's eyes widened almost imperceptibly...but Kabuto didn't miss it.

"I have a deal to make with you." Kabuto said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Sakura cried out, fighting not to fall into the Mangakeyo Sharigan.

'Pull it together, Haruno!' She screamed as she brought her hands together in the seal of the Tiger. "Release!"

She felt reality come rushing back disarmingly and had to hesitate for a moment. A moment that would have been fatal if Kakashi had rammed his electrically charged fist through the Sharigan wielder at that exact moment.

"Sakura, pull back." He said, pushing the corpse off of his forearm.

She shook her head.

"You're almost out of chakra. Pull back."

"No." She replied blatantly, standing and pulling a weapon from her holster. "I'm a kunoichi--and I will fight and die as any other shinobi."

"I'm going after Sasuke and Kabuto." She added.

Kakashi nodded and--knowing she wouldn't be detoured--handed her a military rations.

She smiled gratefully, throwing her head back to force the pill down her dry throat as she sprung into a nearby tree and sprinted in the opposite direction.

"What kind of deal?" Sasuke asked.

"The kind that ensures the ones you love live." Kabuto replied vaguely.

Sakura found the forest scarred...remains of a battle that continued into a nearby valley. Burned trees, leaves cut instead of ripped by a chakra blade, craters where their feet had landed to hard...

Taking only a second to catch her breath, Sakura ran into the desert valley.

"Work for me and I'll let them live. Naruto and Sakura."

Sasuke swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. If what the nin'i said was true...this was her only hope.

He nodded, dropping his blade and approaching the medic.

"Sasuke!"

He turned to see Sakura breaking through the dust veils and freezing when she saw his extended hand. She shook her head in disbelief.

"No...please...please don't..." She muttered, bringing her hands over her heart.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, turned back, and took Kabuto's hand.

And Sakura felt her heart break all over again.

TBC