Hi there, I know I'm a little late but it's a nice long chappie. I hope you enjoy it. Any mistake I made is due to pure laziness...I apologise. Enjoy!

AND SO IT BEGINS

I woke with a start and for a moment couldn't understand what had woken me. Then an explosion shook the house and I jumped to my feet. I'd learned my lesson by that point and the first thing I did was put on my jeans and then my most comfortable pair of training shoes. I was pulling my hair up into a ponytail when the door swung open revealing a fully dressed and armed Sakura.

"What's going on?" I asked pulling my hair tight

"The village is under attack. I need to get you to the Hokage. Come on." She said and ran downstairs. She wasn't moving as fast as she could and I caught up with her as she reached the door to the kitchen.

"Sakura, is it the Akatsuki?"

"I don't know yet but it seems likely. Why, did the Hokage say something to you?" we were at the back door now

"Sort of. Are they after me or are they here for Naruto?" I asked

Sakura didn't answer as she calmly jumped her neighbour's back fence. I spared a thought to warn the Shizuka's but their house looked deserted. They were either still in bed, deaf or they had already left. More or less with the same ease, I grabbed the fence and vaulted over, landing on the circular that ran parallel to Sakura's street. Sakura was running sure footed ahead of me...until she wasn't. I barely had time to stop before I collided with her. I glanced around her to see what the problem and froze. Standing in the middle of the street was Hoshigaki Kisame. His smile caught the light and reflected a terrifying amount of white in the morning sun. He unstrapped Samehada.

"Now which of you is first?" he asked

Sakura tugged her gloves tighter on her hands. Keeping my eyes on Kisame, I moved to stand with her. I was terrified but all we needed was to distract him long enough for us to get away.

As if sensing my thought, "No Erica, I'll distract him and you get away." To Kisame she shouted "Don't even look at her. Today, I am your opponent."

"No." replied a sure and all too familiar voice. "I am." Crow seemed to appear next to me. "Sakura-san, take Erica to the Hokage. I'll see to things here."

He moved to stand almost in front of her though where he came from I have no idea. She looked to object but he raised a hand to silence her.

"The Hokage made us aware that something of this nature might occur, I am prepared." He then turned sideways to face us but still see the enemy. "Trust me."

Sakura nodded but I was far from convinced.

"Crow, he's Akatsuki, remember that. If you get the chance, run. Don't let him kill you." I said just as Sakura grabbed me and pulled me unto her shoulder.

We were almost a block away when I started to struggle.

"Sakura stop! We have to go back. Crow doesn't stand a chance against Kisame! He'll die. Dammit Sakura! We need to go back and help him!"

"There's nothing we can do to help him! His job was to keep you safe and that's what he's doing. If we go back, we'll just be a burden!" She said yelling over the wind.

We were passing through the centre of town by then. Buildings had been damaged and rubble lay piled on the street. Villagers scurried away carrying bundles of possessions and small children heading away from where the fighting was occurring. Ninja rushed towards the fight or took wounded comrades towards the general hospital.

There was a huge shudder and the ground rumbled. A blast of air shoved Sakura forcing her to stoop low to the ground and channel chakra to her hands, sticking herself to the ground. It did not stick me.

I flew backwards away from Sakura and collided with something hard, knocking the air out of my lungs. It was a good thing too. Why did this keep happening to me? Why? Zetsu looked down at me and I felt my body shudder in shock and terror. Without a word, he shoved me behind him and I collided with a more familiar figure. Hidan didn't wait for instructions. He pulled his hand back and lay a stunning smack against the side of my head. I heard bells clang as white noise and broken glass filled my head.

When I could think again, I realised that I was no longer standing on the street. I lay on a small bed under a vibrant pink canopy supporting a constellation of silver stars. To my left lay a spindly table overflowing with stuffed animals and dolls. Some small motion drew my attention and I froze. I wasn't alone but I'd known that all along hadn't I? I turned as though my joints were rusty. Leaning against the window (in a pose reminiscent of Itachi) was Hidan. His hair glistened in the light that warmed and gilded his usually pale flesh. He turned hard violet eyes to mine. I scrambled backward, all of my training forgotten drowned in a flood of terror. The sheet tangled under me. I would have fallen if he didn't grab me and pull me back unto the bed and coincidentally against him. Coincidentally, right... We ended up both lying partly on the narrow bed with his hands bunched in the shoulders of my shirt with his face inches from mine. My legs we pressed together trapped completely between the iron of his thighs. Uncomfortable, I turned my eyes away from him and stared instead at his chin. Moments passed and he didn't let go. I tried not to think of our relative positions but even as I pushed the thought away, I could feel him lean in against me.

"Look at me." He commanded.

I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Look at me or I'll cut your eyelids off." He said

I looked at him. For a moment, he seemed to be looking into my eyes and right through me. It was absolutely the most intimate thing I had ever experienced and certainly the most uncomfortable, including his bloody kiss. I struggled and he clutched me tight enough that I could scarcely breathe. It was in those moments that my brain restarted and I realised that I was not helpless. I tried to wriggle my hands to bare skin but he seemed to anticipate this response. Without any effort, he grabbed the long sleeves of my tshirt and used them to tug my arms up and over my head. I kicked and struggled but apart from the erratic jiggling of the mattress, it had no effect.

I grit my teeth in frustration. After all that damn training, I was helpless at the hands of this madman, again! I really hated him in that moment but I hated me more. I could use my ability to attack him but for me to do it, I needed to calm down and focus even if calm was the last thing I was feeling. I forced the air in and out of my lungs, trying to steady myself.

"What do you want?" I asked forcing my eyes to meet his

For a moment I wasn't sure he would answer then his hands tightened painfully on my arms. He growled "I want you out of my head, bitch!"

I couldn't have been more surprised if he'd confessed undying love.

"What?" I asked

He didn't answer. Instead his mouth descended on mine with heated fervour. I had my skin to skin contact but no air and no thought. His hands released mine and slid down to my sides, caressing the whole way. His weight moved from on top of me, to the side. He used his face to nudge mine to the side and proceeded to kiss along my neck to my ear. Holy shit! I thought numbly. What the fuck is happening? Is this better or worse than him trying to kill me? Should I try to use my ability on him now? Why am I even asking that? Of course I should. As I coiled the energy inside me, Hidan who had been happily nibbling at my ear pulled back with a furious roar. As he stood with the light of the window at his back, I could just make out the shift in his expression. He went from heated and confused to absolutely homicidally furious in no time at all. This time I didn't hesitate. I rolled over and backwards, throwing myself off the bed.

"What the fuck have you done to me you demon whore?"

"Huh?" was my witty repartee as I backed slowly to the door behind me.

He was breathing hard enough to hyperventilate; his chest going red followed shortly by his face. Without any warning he flung several kunai at me. I dodged and rolled but when I reached the door behind me, I realised that he had used the weapons to pin the door shut.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck was all that kept circulating in my head. I coiled my chakra within me hoping to God that he moved in range, at the same time hoping that he didn't get close enough the kill me. It was a futile hope on both counts. He threw himself across the room and as I raised my hands to grab unto him, he punched me in the stomach knocking my breath out of me. I crumpled to the floor, gasping and heaving. It hurt so much. Hunched over as I was, I barely felt the blade bite into the soft flesh on my arm. I looked up in time to see him skim his tongue over the blade tasting the blood that coated it. He turned his eyes heavenward

"Jashin sama hear my prayer and accept the offering of your servant." Without hesitation he slashed his own wrist and blood gushed. Still muttering his prayers he flung the bed one handed against the wall and proceeded to draw out the symbol of his faith in his own dripping blood. I glanced at the open window and closed my eyes, slumping over. A part of me was ready to give up and beg for a quick death but the other part, the stronger part began the rhythm of breathing that I had instilled in myself after weeks of practice. I closed my eyes and reached. My shoulder exploded in pain.

It was too late...for Hidan.

I felt my chakra take hold of his just as his stake dug into the flesh of his shoulder. Like tiny hooked mouths my chakra latched onto his. It pulled, wrenching his energy away from him faster and harder in the panic caused by my pain. I forced myself to slow the force to a trickle to avoid overloading my pathways and passing out. I'm not sure how much energy I can take but I pulled enough into my core to bring the Jashinist to his knees.

I got to my feet slowly feeling drunken and elated. The pain of a moment before was gone and I felt as strong as a god. Power was still filtering its way through my core and into my body and I felt fucking great!

Walking over to where he knelt I grabbed the spike he'd dropped during my attack. I moved within reach and kicked him hard across the floor. I felt the impact dully and a small bit of myself filtered through, enough to wonder what the hell I was planning to do. The greater part of me knew. He had kidnapped me, hurt me and threatened me. Above all else, he had frightened me, really and truly down to my bones. I'd felt weak, I'd trembled and even though he lay bleeding at my feet, I was still scared of him.

I kicked him again knocking him over and sending my chakra into him. He screamed and a part of me screamed with him. This wasn't right, this wasn't me. With great effort, I pulled my energy in and took a step back. I looked at the spike in my hand and the man struggling to his feet. I couldn't kill him, I knew. He was for all intents and purposes immortal. I could pull him limb from limb and his pieces would still come after me. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice I was no longer alone. Hidan pulled himself up effortlessly to his feet and threw himself out of the window. He landed hard on the ground, cursing weakly. Behind him stood Asuma's team; Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru and the jounin himself. Shikamaru stood as his shadow wrapped itself more firmly to Hidan's own.

"Well, I guess she didn't need us after all." came Asuma's drawl. "Hey kid, are you ok?" he asked taking out his trench knives and calmly beginning to dismember the S class nin.

"Umm, I'm okay, I think. I can't get down though, the door's..." I searched for a word to describe 'sealed shut by kunai' "fucked up."

"Don't worry, we'll get you down. Chouji, rescue the damsel from her tower." He said as he sliced off Hidan's second arm.

"I swear to Jashin that I will kill every fucking one of you. I will rip your eyes from you worthless heathen heads and ..." He yelled sounding frightened and exhausted. Asuma calmly cut his head off. "You motherfucker! You cut my fucking head off!"

It was so weird that I found myself smirking and then snickering. Poor Chouji must have thought I'd lost it but kind guy that he was, he didn't say anything.

"You need to get to the Tower Erica. The Hokage will be waiting for you. Be careful and stay off the main streets. We have to take him to containment but a unit would have been deployed to you by now. I'd cut across Training Ground 6 and skirt around the city. I would wish you luck but," he glanced down at the dismembered Akatsuki. "I don't think you need it." With a smirk, he and his team vanished.

I can't say that I was thrilled at being left alone again. I didn't seem to have a very good track record with that but I took his advice and began a quick jog around the city headed to training ground six.

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