It's been a little time, but I am getting there. I have quite a plan for this and my other works, so I will finish this little piece that has come so far. I want to thank all the reviews that I have gotten these last few years, good and bad. I am determined to finish this and continue to write all the ideas I have and will have soon.
I have also updated the previous chapters, so they make a lot more sense now!
Thank you, readers, and as always, please enjoy. Remember to R/R!
Her head was pounding; she felt groggy, tired, and nauseous. Her breath came out in uneven pants. She licked her dry, cracked lips and very slowly opened her eyes.
Quickly she shut them again; the light was unbearable, her stomach clenched in a tight knot, and she almost dry-retched.
Suddenly, she felt the hard, rough floor beneath her. She tried to cover her face with her hands to try and block the light, to avoid it blinding her again, but her hands were tightly bound.
She tried to wiggle her fingers to her wrist to try and feel what bound her tightly.
It was a rope.
Strong and rough.
Panic coursed through her, but then determination and courage. As if the switch suddenly changed its mind quickly, she would not be the usually weak, scared little girl she usually is.
No.
She was going to fight.
She was no longer going to allow herself to be weak. She was Sakura Haruno.
But that name will now have meaning; gone were the days of weakness, and a timid nature would ever be in the same sentence as her name.
She huffed and opened her eyes again but looked in another direction to prevent the light from blinding her again. It worked. However, she found she was in a tight space with little wiggle room.
She realised; she was in a trunk. Sakura was facing directly in Infront of the light of what she presumed to be the trunk of a car, and she was finding out that she had little room.
She knew her arms were bound tightly in front of her, but as her brain began processing more information, she found out her legs were also bound tightly against one another.
Great.
Fantastic. Sakura snorted as if my luck could get any worse. She thought ruefully.
Suddenly, she was against the roof of what she was still only presuming, the trunk none too gently.
In anger, she kicked the back of the trunk with her two bound legs, although that was not an easy task. When that didn't satisfy her, she thrashed into the box to make as much noise and annoyance as possible.
She heard a throaty chuckle and another in a laughing fit.
"I believe our Blossom has woken up!" Someone called from wherever they were.
"Indeed, it seems so." Someone replied, their voices icy, just like the sound of nails scratching a board.
"She can wait a little longer; we're near the drop-off point." A smoother and far more enduring voice response.
"What do you think, leader? What's her for?" the same raspy voice asked.
The voice gave Sakura shivers down her spine; she felt like the voice was like nails scrapping against a blackboard.
She could hear plastic tightening as if someone were holding something tightly angrily.
"You know why Kisame… my little brother is still missing." She could hear a sneer, "And his wounded, gravely. As much as he is an embarrassment to my family, he's still my little brother and my blood. No one touches my blood and is allowed to get away from it."
Sakura's eyes were wide in disbelief. She mentally slapped herself in her head; she should or recognised those voices from earlier when she was at the warehouse with Gaara. It was the two characters she met just after she was fixed from Sasori.
It was Itachi and Kisame.
She should have remembered Kisame's creepy and ugly voice; he was not one to forget.
Itachi.
She had wholly forgotten Sasuke Uchiha's older brother; she had often heard enough of Sasuke bragging about his older brother and family, how he was telling his older brother all about what he had done to her or had planned to do with her.
It gave her shivers just remembering the awful and vile things Sasuke and his groupies would say to her, and sometimes they even followed through with their threats.
She shook her; no, I made a promise to myself. I will no longer be weak! I will no longer allow Sasuke or any damn bastard out there to make me feel inadequate or useless! I am the new Sakura Haruno!
She was determined to be strong and forget the awful feelings of weakness.
But Sasuke was still missing?
No, he couldn't be. Gaara almost ran him over and nearly killed him. But he didn't.
Did he?
Sakura shook her head as best as she could, still confined to a tight space. Gaara had left Sasuke alone, in pain and as a disabled person.
Wasn't that what Sasuke deserved?
Wasn't that enough?
This was strange news to her. Had Gaara not kept his word? Had he gone and looked for him again without her knowledge and actually gone ahead and kidnapped Sasuke or worse… Kill him?
Sakura breathed out as evenly as she could; this was why Itachi and his creepy partner had kidnapped her in the first place. One person's life for another.
A trade for a trade.
"Hm." The creepy voice of Kisame began again, "He wasn't in the greatest shape the last we saw him. He will never be the Sasuke that you or I will ever remember. He can't re-populate the line of Uchiha's either. A broken boy that went in over his head."
"Kisame…." Itachi said dangerously, "He'sHe still my brother-"
"And your blood, I know, I know." Kisame sighed.
"Gaara and his lot will pay dearly for his disfigurement and… if it is true, his murder as well." Softly Itachi spoke as if imagining the torture of her lover and her family was a calming thought.
Sakura began to kick with both legs at the back of the trunk to make as much noise as possible.
"Careful now, little blossom, we are coming up to where we are." Kisame chuckled.
Sakura heard the car's tires screeching before she was jolted into her spot in the trunk; they had stopped abruptly and none too gently for her in the back. They chuckled when they heard her groan in pain.
"Do not worry, blossom; we have much more planned for you."
The trunk was opened abruptly, and the light blinded her sight for a few seconds. She was hurdled out of the trunk and in a pair of muscle arms. The gag was placed over her mouth again, but they did not blindfold her, thankfully. She could see who was holding her and the surroundings around her.
She was in the arms of a grey-haired man slicked back with a funny smell, a gel, she presumed; she wriggled her nose in disgust. He had crazy eyes, and his lips were curled in a sickening smirk.
She quickly looked away; she did not want to seem weak in front of him either. He already made her feel ten times more uncomfortable than Gaara ever did. At least Gaara was far more handsome to look at than this brute.
"That's okay little Blossom. You can look away for now, but we have much time to acquaint ourselves. I also can get a new recruit for my religion. Also, some fresh blood is needed!" A throaty chuckle came from the man holding her; his voice sounded raspy and young.
"Calm down, Hidan, we don't want to scare her off… yet" She looked to her left to see an attractive man in the doorway.
Her breath was caught in her throat, he had orange hair with pierces all over his face, but that did not differ from his looks; it only enhanced them, with six pierces along the bridge of his nose and then two on his bottom lip.
"Yes, Pein. This one is adorable, and she has a fierce look; I can use that to my advantage! But I always need to play with the others.
"Not till we have a meeting first." He looked to Itachi and Kisame, "I assume you both have some idea of what we have planned? We are doing this favour for you, Itachi. I expect a clean result; Gaara's gang might be a new, young, and smaller group, but I still don't like going to war with Juveniles." He looked towards Sakura, eyeing her intently, "No matter how much this young blossom has caused so much trouble to your little brother."
Sakura could do nothing but stare; he was breathtaking. Everything about him just screamed sex magnet. She had never felt this way, not even to Gaara. She loved Gaara, to be sure. At least, she thought she was sure.
Wasn't she?
Gaara was her saviour.
Her hero.
She was nothing without Gaara.
But she was also nothing before Gaara.
Her head was pounding.
Was she beginning to have second thoughts?
How could she? It wasn't that long ago she fell so intensely in love with Gaara; he consumed her every thought and every emotion. How was it that just one look at this man before her, one she had never even met before, was making her have doubts about her first lover?
This didn't make any sense.
Gaara is the one she needed, the one she had to get back to. He was her lover, her best friend. He protected her and took care of her.
But he hasn't, really.
In fact, he's been horrible to her. The first time he met her, he bumped into her and didn't even bother to help her back on her feet, just left her on the cold pavement. And then, he stole her headphones and fractured her wrist.
He terrified her.
Yet, she was madly and unconditionally in love with him. But she couldn't place a finger as to why. One more, she was terrified, and then the next, she was hanging off his arm and didn't want him out of her sight.
But then, Gaara took her to that doctor.
Sasori.
He gave her the creeps and even said some questionable things to her.
Did someone change her so much?
Change her so much that she was madly in love with a psycho, and change her appearance to make her more attractive and confident. Make her far more different from the girl she was not too long ago. A weak-minded and weak body individual.
So, why was her mind still reeling? Why did the pit of her stomach feel so heavy? She could barely breathe, a mixture of fear and agitation, the new surroundings and the new and frighting people who looked at her with questionable looks.
She didn't want to be in this position anymore; she had to get out and escape.
Even if it would cost her life.
She would be free one way or another; she didn't really care which at this point. Sakura Haruno will not be a weak woman anymore.
"I have plans, Pein. I would not come here wasting your time. I thank you for your generosity. My family have, unfortunately, turned their backs on this matter and do not want to stain their reputation after my father and now, my little brother has gotten themselves into." Itachi sighed, "This will not tarnish your reputation. To be sure, I do not expect this to go on longer than necessary."
"Let us hope not." Pein nodded and then signalled for someone else in the room, there were many people in the room, but they stuck to the darkness in which Sakura could not see, "Tobi, Hidan took the little girl to her room and then came to the meeting room for the discussion."
"Little blossom, little blossom!" the weird man with the orange mask bounced around the room.
Hidan clicked his tongue in annoyance as he eyed the overexerting man; however, Hidan was not the only one watching the man with disdain; many of the others looked annoyed or bored when they saw Tobi bounce around the room.
"Settle down, Tobi." Pein warned, "Follow Hidan." He then indicated to the rest to follow him to another room.
While the others followed suit, Itachi stared at the pink-haired girl momentarily. Eyeing her up and down as if he were trying to dissect her. His eyes travelled up and down her body, sending her shivers she never even experienced from Gaara's intense stare.
In retaliation, she glared at Itachi. Giving him her best death stare, not that she knew it would help much, but she wanted to appear as strong as possible. Even if it meant she had to stare directly at the enemy.
Itachi gave her a very rare smile, but not all too warm. It didn't quite reach his eyes, but it was small nonetheless.
Hidan laughed, "What a rare sight you got indeed, little blossom." He licked his lips, "But I can assure you there are many more sightings you'll want to see!" He winked at the girl in her arms.
Sakura scoffed as she quickly looked away from the raven-haired man.
Hidan scoffed back and walked the opposite way, "Let's go, Tobi!" He yelled.
Tobi walked in stride with the two, dancing as they went and singing awfully out of tone and quite loudly. It made Sakura want to close her ears with her hands, which were still tightly bound along her legs.
The hallway was dark and small; she felt minuscule in Hindan's arms as he held her. The two men seemed to not mind as they walked in a line, Hidan in the front and Tobi behind.
No escaping this quickly.
After an eternity, Hidan and Tobi stopped before a door and walked inside. It was still too dark to see, and it felt icy. Hidan seemed to know the way as he walked into the room with practised ease and settled her on an uncomfortable bed.
"You'll stay here until we decide what to do." Hidan chuckled, "But don't get any ideas of escaping; I'm keeping you bound and in the dark till I know what needs to be done, so sweet dreams."
She heard him chuckle as he walked away from her; Tobi was chanting 'blossom', which began to echo around the room before she heard the door slam shut.
There, on the bed, tightly bound, and in the dark.
She was alone.
Gaara paced around the room as everyone else was either on the phone or tapping away on their computers. Clicking of the keyboards and chatter around him did not ease his mind racing a million miles an hour; it only enhanced each time he heard Sakura's name.
His Blossom.
Anger coursed through his veins as he thought more of Sakura.
How could he have been so stupid to leave her in the room by herself when she had offered herself to him again in the shower? He shook his head at his own stupidity. She was finally under his thumb of control, and he blew it. He pinched his nose in frustration and tried to conceal the growl that threatened to escape his lips, but his anger boiled over, and he could not contain it any longer; he started to punch the wall in retaliation.
"Gaara, buddy. C'mon, we'll find her!"
But he continued to attack the wall in frustration.
"Yeah, Gaara, we got this; we know who took her!" He felt a hand on his shoulder; in anger, Gaara turned around and glared at the person who dared to lay a hand on his shoulder while in his prime feral mood.
Naruto.
Naruto softened his gaze at his young friend and whispered lowly, "We'll get her back, Gaara. Even if it's the last thing we do. We're a family, and we don't abandon the family." He then gave Gaara his trademark Naruto Uzumaki smile.
Gaara relaxed slightly. But it was not enough to keep the anger and worry at bay. Sakura was still missing, and no matter knowing who took her, it was the case where they took her. Itachi's gang, the Akatsuki, were far more notorious gang and very powerful. Only a few people know the exact location of their operations, but it was rumoured to be an underground warehouse if the rumours were true. Therefore, pinpointing the gang and launching a surprise attack made it far harder.
"How are we supposed to find them if they keep their hideout a secret like their operations!" Gaara sneered, "They are feared throughout the bloody country! Their the biggest operations besides us!" Gaara screamed.
"Exactly!" Naruto countered, "Besides us, we can do anything and everything they can, which means we are the ones to keep them on their toes! We are building an empire that can rival them! This just might be the means to overthrow them, or at least cripple them to the point they'll have to give Sakura back and maybe even work with us!" Naruto chirped. "As long as we have each other, we can do anything!"
Gaara sighed; there was no point in arguing with Naruto about good points. They have been trying to build a name for themselves, becoming just as much a feared organisation as the Akatsuki. Slowly but surely, they began to have a name that could potentially overthrow or dominate the Akatsuki.
"Let's talk about why Sakura was taken in the first place and the person who took her." The spiky-haired man and the most intelligent man in the room proposed to Gaara's potential brother-in-law Shikamaru Nara.
"Yes, this makes far more sense, and perhaps get an idea of where Sakura might be or what they want." Lee agreed.
"Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki." Shino said plainly.
"Mhm." Gaara nodded, "Sasuke Uchiha's older brother." He spat.
"Question then", Kankuro piped with a finger in the air, "Has anyone seen Sasuke as of late? Besides the funny thing, Gaara did to him of almost running him over." Kankuro laughed.
"No, I did not even hear anything that happened to him afterwards." Shikamaru stated, "This is strange; Itachi did nothing when he found out his brother had been injured. He suddenly wants revenge for the damage to Sasuke. Or could it be that Sasuke is now missing?"
"And he thinks it was us that took him?" Naruto scratched his head, "I wouldn't want that bastard anywhere near me, the biggest bully in the school, and he wasn't exactly pleasant company either."
"Regardless of if we liked him or not to have, Itachi must think we do," Gaara said through his teeth. Sasuke had caused nightmares and grief for him and his Blossom, and now his even causing more trouble by missing.
"So, we must prove to them that we do not have Sasuke!" Lee said with a bright smile.
"I don't think it'll be as easy as that." Shikamaru shook his head, "Even if we could prove that we didn't take him or have him, his still missing. And the last person we know of that had seen or been in contact with Sasuke is Gaara and Sakura."
"Our best bet is still to find the bastard," Kankuro said dismally.
"That would be our best bet." Shino agreed.
"Which means…" Shikamaru looked gravely at Gaara, "We need to call off the search for Sakura for now. We need to find Sasuke so that we can at least have some leverage or trade for Sakura's sake."
Gaara clicked his tongue and scoffed at the men in the room; how could they propose this as an option? Although it made the most sense and was a far better alternative. He didn't like holding off the search for Sakura; he didn't know what state she'd be in. His mind was racing with all possibilities, whether physically or mentally. He didn't like this plan, but it was the only thing making sense.
Find Sasuke.
Get Sakura back.
"It's the best we can do for now." Naruto smiled warmly at Gaara, "They wouldn't dare hurt or damage Sakura anyway; they want Sasuke, so she can't be damaged goods."
No, they wouldn't dare.
Hell would not even be a better alternative to what Gaara can do.
And he can do so much worse.
Reluctantly, Gaara nodded his head and sighed, "Do what we must."
"We'll find her, we promise." Shikamaru looked Gaara in the eyes, a promise the boy would keep to the end, even if he killed him.
Gaara nodded gravely.
They'll find her.
The broken man lay on the cot; he was cold, hungry, and confused. He was lying on his broken and sore shoulder, his legs hurt, and his head ached. His lips were dry, and he couldn't even move to shift in a far more comfortable way.
Everything ached.
He hadn't had his pain relief in so long; he felt like he was going crazy because of the pain.
There had been no one in the cold, lonely and dark room. He didn't know how long he had been stuck in the room or whether it was day or night. Only the whispers of moans and screams echoed throughout the room.
The cot was uncomfortable and wet.
He had released himself so many times he felt wet sores form along his legs and backside. His faeces laid hard against his back; he felt so disgusted that he lay both in urine and shit.
No one had come to clean him; no one came to help him. He was all alone.
Suddenly, Sasuke heard whispers, and a light vaguely entered under a doorway; he still couldn't make out the room, nor could he see who was outside, but he now knew where the door was.
"Is he still alive in there?"
"He has been talking to himself, mostly about his family and the pain. He seems to be a tad delusional, screaming and talking to himself. I think he even realises it himself. But what can you expect when you're in a room disabled and all by yourself." A man laughed coldly.
"Yes, sad. But a worthy experiment."
"Indeed, his last as long as he has been in such a cripple state. Far more eligible for the plans.
"Oh, yes, my dear Kabuto. Far more enduring now." Sasuke heard a laugh that made his inside turn to jelly; he shivered in fear.
The door opened, and the light blinded him.
"Well, well dear Sasuke Uchiha. We have some very fun games for you." The figure bent down to Sasuke so he could see the person's face.
Sasuke screamed.
Please, R/R and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. It has taken me a little bit, and I've already started on the next chapter; I have reviewed and updated the previous chapters, so they make a lot more sense now. Thank you so much.
