Chapter Four

Sasuke was unusually impatient.

He looked up at the gray skies as he waited for Kakashi at the bridge, growling softly. He wanted to learn more, to become stronger. He needed to get her back, to see her once more and try to turn her from the darkness. It had been 6 months already and he heard of everything she's been doing. How she killed her victims and left the dead roses for those who would find the bodies. How swift and ruthless she was. She either tortured them or killed them with such horrendous methods that it made Sasuke sick. He still believed that he could change her, that he was the light in her darkness. He felt a presence but not the one he wanted.

"Whatcha doin' here teme?" asked the annoying blonde. Sasuke growled in return and Naruto stuck his tongue out at him.

"Ne, you've been training without me! What a friend you are." Naruto was pouting and stood next to him. Sasuke just grunted in reply and looked at the sky before glancing at Naruto. He saw the eyes; it meant that he wanted to talk about Sakura. Sasuke willed himself to calm down as Naruto asked him the question.

"Have you heard what's been going on with Sakura-chan?"

Naruto was worried. She was more powerful than Tsunade and was on the wrong side. He heard of her assassinations and torture schemes. Naruto shuddered at the thoughts. According to Ikibi, they found a victim who was stabbed and beaten ruthlessly before getting healed again and the cycle was done over and over again. He didn't want to imagine a kunai embedded in his skin numerous times before getting healed and having the process start all over. The reason why he was worried was because he was afraid that Sakura had turned herself in to the dark.

"Hn. I know." Sasuke grunted, glaring at the space in front of him.

"If only-" Naruto started before an angry voice interrupted him.

"Stop! Stop with the 'If only's'. It's useless thinking about that." Sasuke growled out as directed his glare towards him and Naruto stood back.

"I'm sorry… It's just… You know…" Naruto said with guilt evident in his tone. Sasuke turned away but he completely understood Naruto. If only he had done things sooner none of this would have happened. Eventually, another presence joined them and it was once again not the presence that Sasuke wanted.

"I knew it. Uchiha would be here."

There was Neji Hyuuga and Tenten clad in their Jonin uniform.

"Tch, what do you want."

"We know and we want to help." Neji stated simply. "We all wanted to talk to her but she just brushed us off. I think she thought we only wanted to talk about Saki or to get closer to her in order to get closer to Saki."

"I really wanted her to teach me some defensive skills seeing as she is a medic but she always walked away. We all want to get her back." Tenten said. "The rest want to help too and we've been training for a good while."

"And?" Sasuke was definitely out of character. He was getting easily annoyed and it usually took more than this to get him irritated.

"Wow, teme. You're so dumb." At this, Sasuke glared at Naruto once more. He just stuck his tongue out at him. "They want to train with you! It's probably better cause obaa-chan would probably send them with you. Better team dynamics and all."

"Wow, Naruto. You know what the term dynamics means? That's a surprise." Neji smirked at him and Naruto was fuming.

"What'd you say ice cube?! Say it again, I dare you!" Naruto was yelling and Sasuke was getting very aggravated.

"I said-" Poof!

"Why hello there. See, I was-" Kakashi started.

"Shut it." Sasuke glared at him and at the two fellow Jonin in front of him. "Where."

And with that, the group walked to the training grounds Konoha 11 was currently at. Naruto was loud and yelling with Tenten occasionally bonking him on the head while Neji and Sasuke had a glare war. Kakashi lagged back and watched the scene with amusement.

'Sakura, if only you didn't leave. They're training hard and catching up. Sasuke is so strong and fast already; I think he's faster than you. And Naruto is stronger too. That idiot can last 10 hours of rigorous training. I hope you haven't succumbed to the darkness yet. Just wait a little longer.'

Sakura grinned maliciously as she cracked the bones of her latest victim; a sex slave trader that betrayed the Akatsuki. The man howled in pain as she applied more pressure.

"Now now, shall I repeat myself?" The man whimpered in response. Sakura laughed darkly before pressing harder, making the man cry in pain.

"Where. Are. Those. Girls."

"T-they're in the basement. H-here's t-the key. S-stop! Please, s-stop!"

Sakura took the key and took her foot off the man. She glanced at him before pausing, acting as if she was thinking.

"Hm, and what do I do with you now?" She put her hand on her chin before grinning evily.

"Well, you did sell someone information on us. Care to enlighten me?"

"I sold it to a man named Ryoku Tagashi! Stop, please! Spare me!"

Sakura got into a thinking pose again before the smile appeared again.

"Nah."

She stomped hard on his ribs and she heard a sickening crack. The man gasped out in pain and Sakura left him there, fully knowing that he would bleed out and die of suffocation in less than a minute. She fled to the basement and let the girls out. The girls thanked her for saving their lives and Sakura directed them to the nearest shinobi.

It was only missions like these that she showed mercy. She would let prisoners go and direct them to the nearest person who could protect them. Sakura watched them before leaving the premises.

A static noise in her earpiece was heard before a voice talked.

"You got the info?"

"You got that right, Takeshi."

"Hurry back to HQ, Leader wants to talk to you. I'm going for my lunch break now."

As Sakura walked into her headquarters, the members of Akatsuki gave her a malicious grin and she returned it. However, she shuddered inwardly.

'They're so evil, even I don't like it.'

'You got that right. I'm sorta glad I get to kill them off. The world doesn't need men like these.'

Sakura was true to her word and did as Tsunade instructed. She only let her evil roam free so that it would be out of her system. Sakura turned a corner and bumped into someone.

"Watch it, hm!"

'Ugh, kill me please.'

'He's so annoying. Why the hell is he my partner.'

In front of her was Deidara, who was fuming and demanding an apology.

"Well, yeah! Won't you apologize, hm?"

'He'll be the first one I kill. It'll look like an accident.' Sakura laughed darkly inwardly.

"Sorry. Now leave, I need to talk to Leader."

Sakura brushed him off and when he yelled obscenities, she flipped him off. As soon as she arrived in front of the door leading to the leader's office, Sakura shuddered slightly before entering. Sakura bowed in respect and waited for the leader to speak. He was standing up and looking outside the window.

"You may relax." Sakura straightened and he turned around.

"You have done a great job. You are a good addition to our group and have instilled so much fear in the hearts of many." At this, Sakura let her evil side come out. She bowed again and smiled malevolently as Pein sat down.

"It's inside me, the darkness. It can never be erased." But deep down, Sakura knew that a year would be enough for her dark side to be gone. All the negative thoughts would be gone by the year was over and she can finally stop.

"That's good. I just wanted to say that you have done well. You are excused."

Sakura left the room and immediately left for her quarters. No one would bother her there except Takeshi, Yuki, and Tobi, who was currently on a mission.

'That idiot is annoying too.'

She laid down on her bed and a person entered her room moments after. Yuki smiled before sitting down.

"You do exceptionally well for our organization. If I didn't know any better, you actually want to be here."

Sakura laughed at this and the two talked until Takeshi came and joined in. He talked of his lunch break, which consisted of fast food and fan girls chasing him. His eyes were a deep emerald unlike Sakura's, which were bright. The girls always fell for his eyes and this annoyed him to no end. Yuki just stood on the side lines and laughed, knowing that he wouldn't leave her for one of those girls.

As the three talked like they usually did, Sakura fell into deep thought.

'I wonder what's going on home.'

'You know boys. They're probably training their asses off.'

'Yeah but…'

'Are you afraid? That no one will accept you even if they know you are a spy?'

'Yes… They can't possibly understand anything. They would probably shut me out because of my power so I was wondering…'

'What now?'

'You're my Inner, you should know.'

'You're stupid. Leaving Konoha and living in 'peace' with these two? What about Sasuke?'

'What about him?'

'He loves you, you know.'

'Impossible.'

'You've seen his eyes back then. They were different… They were softer.'

'Stop. I can't hope. The last time I hoped, it was crushed. Be quiet and let me be. I wish think my thoughts myself.'

'As you wish…'

After her Inner left, Sakura zoned in and realized that the two were still talking and she was on airplane mode but Sakrua couldn't help but think of how life would be later on. If the two realized she had zoned out, they didn't show it.

Sakura honestly didn't want to feel such pain and sadness again and she feared that life would be filled with the people of Konoha shying away from her. She knew that it would hurt as much as the insults because Sakura had proved herself worthy; she was better than Saki physically and mentally. Yet the feeling that they would still go to Saki nerved and hurt her.

'What is it that Saki has that I don't?'

As Takeshi and Yuki bed her goodnight and turned off the lights, Sakura closed her eyes and dreamt a peaceful dream. She dreamt that people loved her as much as they loved Saki. That they accepted her and that she and Sasuke were happily together. That she was finally in peace.

But dreams don't last. And Sakura woke up with the start the next morning. She looked around and remembered where she was.

'Just half a year then I can finally kill these evil people. I may be evil, but I am an angel compared to them.'

And so Sakura started her mornings like she usually did.

She stared outside her window and looked upon the gray skies. She closed her eyes in thought, wondering if Sasuke was seeing the same skies as she. Then she took a shower to wash the tiredness away. Just 6 more months and she can finally stop pretending.

Tsunade was troubled.

The entire Konoha 11 was showing vast improvements but the most noticeable was Sasuke and Naruto.

Sasuke was getting faster and the last time she checked, he was on par with Sakura. Naruto was getting stronger and she saw that boy train for at least 8 hours. The others showed improvements in general: speed, strength, precision, and more. Their team dynamics improved the best and Tsunade feared that Sakura would get captured once she sends them on the retrieval mission.

Tsunade was able to have it set back for four months, meaning that Sakura would have to evade them two months earlier than usual. She didn't doubt her abilities; she heard all about her accomplishments.

Sakura had earned a terrifying reputation. She was known to stab or break bones repeatedly before healing her victims as a torture method. She would also poison her assassination targets or cut them into pieces. For sure she had gotten stronger; she was under Akatsuki supervision after all but Tsunade wanted to limit the chances of the success rate of the retrieval mission so she limited the group amount up to 4.

The main reason why Tsunade was worried was because of the things she had heard Sakura was doing. She heard of the way she killed people and the many different ways she tortured people. Tsunade frowned and rubbed her temples. She needed a drink and she needed it now.

Tsunade could do nothing but hope that Sakura didn't give in to the darkness just yet.