Long time no see, eh? Between my job, homework, Sigma Tau Delta (isn't it unfortunate that the English honor society's acronym is STD? *giggle*), editing the literary magazine, and organizing English Department sponsored events on the English Social Committee, you can say that I've been a little busy. I also forgot to mention the most important thing that I've been doing with my free time and that's hitting up the clubs down in Charm City (Lucky's at Power Plant to be precise).
So needless to say, life has gotten between me and my writing. I'm sorry I made you all wait so long, but Winter Break is around the corner. Since Thanksgiving Break is not that long (and I have some final papers that I really should be writing) I might not be able to update again this week, though I will try my hardest! Hope you all had an amazing Halloween and hope you have a delicious Turkey Day!
I want to give a special thanks to Kaysty for giving me some inspiration, you're a peach!
AnimaniacXOX, I hope you get better soon chica.
LadyNorth76, I hope you haven't given up on me!
I know this AN is getting ridiculously long so I'm gonna say one last thing...Happy Belated Birthday to Ville Valo (Love you long time!) and Boris Karloff (Best Frankenstein's Monster eva!)!
Yeah, still don't own Naruto...
So I hope you like and of course, REVIEW!
Swimming with Sharks
Naruto stared at the pink-haired medic in disbelief as she calmly walked in the direction she had sent Kisame flying. This could not be his Sakura-chan. The malevolent chakra that he had sensed earlier had not belonged to Kisame, it had belonged to his former teammate. However, the Akatsuki member's sudden appearance had distracted him until Sakura entered the fight, and now that both were fighting, he could clearly distinguish the different textures of the malevolent chakras. Kisame's felt sharp and grinding, like he was being bitten by the multiple rows of teeth in a shark's mouth. Sakura's chakra was different. Its velvety texture rubbed teasingly against his skin, like the gentle caress that always precedes a painfully erotic blow. This is what he had been feeling as Sakura wrapped her arms around him, a dangerously sexy allure he didn't think she had been capable to possess.
"I think you might have cracked one of my ribs, girly," Kisame grunted, clutching the spot Sakura had punched him moments ago. He glared up at the kunoichi who towered over him.
"Oh you can still talk?" Sakura asked still under the influence of her subconscious. She clenched her fist, forcing more chakra into it. "Let me remedy that by ripping out your throat!" She moved to strike the injured man below her, but he quickly blocked her with the back of Samehada's blade. She cried out in outrage as her fist met cold steel, and she could feel the chakra quickly drain from her body.
"I think Samehada likes the way you taste," Kisame sneered, laughing as Sakura jumped back, distancing herself from the chakra-stealing blade.
"I'm going to make you pay for that," Sakura threatened through panting breath, slightly surprised at how weakened the brief contact with the weapon left her. She cursed herself for forgetting about the sword's special ability and pulled out a kunai and a shuriken. He couldn't wield the weapon against her if he had no arms.
"Do you really think you'll be able to defeat me with such little weapons?" scoffed Kisame, standing and taking a fighting stance.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you size doesn't matter, it's all in how you use it?" Sakura returned, grinning suggestively before lunging at her opponent.
Kisame easily smacked the shuriken Sakura had thrown away with Samehada, but she had been counting on it. Now left open, Sakura slashed at the ex-Kiri nin, nicking his face with the tip of her blade. Kisame quickly recovered, swinging his blade around in an attempt to decapitate the kunoichi before him, but she quickly ducked and rolled away. A few backhand springs kept her comfortably out of Samehada's reach as she smirked at the Akatsuki member expectantly.
"I wouldn't be looking all pleased if I were you," Kisame growled. "It's just a little scratch."
"That's all I needed," Sakura responded. Her smirk turned into a full on grin as she watched Kisame sink to his knees and collapse onto his side.
"What the hell did you to do me?" Kisame growled, glaring up at the slowly approaching kunoichi with hatred.
"I guess I should have told you that my kunais tend to be covered in poison. This particular poison doesn't kill, lucky you." She winked at him as she continued to slowly stalk over to his paralyzed body. "This just incapacitates, but don't worry, it's not permanent."
Stopping in front of him she kicked him hard in his ribs, irritating the already broken bone and rolling him onto his back. She smiled at the sound of his surprised cry of pain. "Oh, I guess I forgot to mention," she began coyly, slowly lowering herself down until she straddled his lap, and ground her pelvis suggestively against his groin, "You'll still be able to feel everything that I'm going to do to you." She giggled as she felt him harden in response. "I'm glad you feel just as excited as I am."
"What is wrong with her?" Naruto demanded, glaring at Sai. Although Shikamaru and Neji also stood behind the artist-nin, Naruto reserved all his anger for the ex-Root member. "I told you to take care of her before I left. I entrusted her to you."
Neji sighed loudly, knowing that it wouldn't take Naruto long to figure out that something was wrong with his pink haired teammate. Naruto always seemed to have an uncanny awareness of Sakura, whether it was her moods or her location. "You don't understand Naruto. Sakura is…unwell. You can't blame Sai for—"
"I'm sorry, Naruto," Sai cut in, unable to meet the Jinchuriki's gaze. "I should have taken better care of her, but I couldn't. I was so angry with her. I couldn't understand why she—"
"Baka!" Naruto screamed, rushing Sai and grabbing him by the scruff of his neck. "I didn't ask you to understand her, I asked you to take care of her! How could you understand her feelings towards Sasuke-teme when you weren't there when Team 7 first formed? Hell, how can you understand feelings at all when you have none?" He screamed the last question in Sai's face before releasing him and pushing the artist-nin violently away from him. The anger flowing through him threatened to destroy all the progress he had made in gaining control over the Kyuubi. He closed his eyes and took a deep, shaky breath.
"I should have taken care of her," Sai acknowledged quietly. "If I had only been there for her, I could have stopped her, and she wouldn't be like this."
"Stopped her from doing what?" Naruto asked quietly, snapping his eyes open and glaring at Sai. He moved threateningly towards him.
"Wait Naruto, Sai," said Shikamaru, stepping between the two in an attempt to stop the fight that he knew would occur if Sai continued speaking. "Sai, I think you've said enough. If you say anymore, Naruto is just going to beat you to death. Naruto, you need to understand something, Sai wasn't the only one who was unable to understand Sakura's actions. Everyone in Konoha, even the civilians, were unable to understand, and rightly so. Sakura's failure of the mission has led to war. It is unfair to be angry with Sai for being unable to initially forgive Sakura for her actions, especially since as you pointed out earlier; Sai wasn't there when Team 7 first formed."
"But he's her teammate! He should have her back no matter what!" interjected Naruto.
"And Sai was your teammate as well. Don't his feelings count for something?" Shikamaru countered. "If you wanted Sakura to be properly cared for, you should have considered Sai's initial viewpoint and persuaded him to understand Sakura's actions better. Or," Shikamaru continued, holding his hand up to silence Naruto as he opened his mouth to speak, "You should have been there for Sakura and helped her cope with her actions first before you left. If she is as important to you as you say she is, you would have made sure she was okay first before you left. You would have made her the priority over Sasuke, but you didn't. You left so you could get stronger. You didn't even say goodbye."
Naruto glared at the lazy shinobi, silently. As much as he wanted to throttle Sai, he knew Shikamaru was right. He should have made sure Sakura was okay before he left. He had assumed that Sai would be able to help Sakura cope with her feelings, but he should have made sure Sai was up to the task first. More importantly, he should have comforted the medic-nin himself. Guiltily, he couldn't recall actually speaking to Sakura when they returned to the village from the Land of Iron. He had instead, requested from Kakashi-sama to be given leave to train with Killer Bee, so that he could control the Kyuubi. He had wanted to become stronger so that when he encountered Sasuke on the battlefield, he would be able to fulfill that promise he had made to his former teammate.
Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but an agonizing scream cut him off. Naruto, Sai, Shikamaru, and Neji turned towards Sakura and her opponent on alert, ready to save her if need be. Instead, they were horrified by what they saw. Naruto ran quickly towards her, hoping he could stop her before she ruined the image of innocence that he associated her with.
"Did you know, Kisame, that most people who become interrogators or torture artists study medicine first? Isn't that strange?" Sakura asked, using the blade of the kunai in her hands to clean under her nails.
Kisame glared up at the kunoichi seated above him, but made no attempt to answer her.
Frustrated with the lack of response, she plunged the blade of her kunai into his stomach all the way down to the hilt. "I asked you a question Kisame." She jerked her hand, twisting the blade, and smiled at the sharp scream of agony she received. "You're going to answer the next question I'm going to ask," she began, leaning over so she could whisper in his ear. "Where is Sasuke Uchiha?" She nibbled on his earlobe to coax a response.
"Fuck you, you pink bitch!" Kisame spat, jerking his head away from her.
"Well that wasn't very nice," Sakura said, frowning down at the shark-like shinobi beneath her. "I really want to cut out your tongue, but I know you need that to talk, and you WILL talk. I think I'll cut off a finger instead." She grabbed his motionless left hand by his side and laid it down on the grass next to his face.
Kisame watched her as she patiently uncurled and spread his fingers. As much as he hated to admit it, the kunoichi was beginning to scare him. She was so different from how he remembered her. He thought back to the time when they had first met. He had been unimpressed with the kunoichi. She seemed to lack skill and confidence, looking squeamish during a fight. She didn't look squeamish anymore.
"Now which one should I sever? Eenie," she pointed the tip of her kunai to his thumb. "Meenie," she pointed to his forefinger, Kisame's eyes following her movements. "Minie," she pointed to his middle finger. "Moe," she pointed to his ring finger. Without hesitation, she plunged the blade down at the base of his finger, where his joint met his palm. Her blade slid through the bone with no resistance. It had come off easier than she thought it would. She picked up the severed digit and tapped Kisame's forehead with it to gain his attention.
"Don't be going into shock on me," Sakura said playfully. "I need you to stay with me until you answer my question. Then I'll—" Sakura was cut off as she sensed the approach of familiar chakras. Her face twisted up into a snarl. Kisame was too distracted to notice though. His attention was drawn to his pinky finger. He had discovered that he could wiggle it again.
Sakura whirled around as she sensed the large group coming up behind her and her prey. She growled when her eyes met Naruto's. "Back off Foxy, this is my kill," her voice was feral and barely recognizable.
Naruto quickly choked back the growl the Kyuubi wanted him to let out. He was shocked by the response of his Tailed Beast. It wasn't a growl of anger, it had been a growl of pleasure. The Kyuubi had actually been turned on by Sakura's actions. Naruto felt all of his hard earned control over the Fox Demon begin to slip. He could sense all the things that the Kyuubi wanted to do to her, all things that he himself wouldn't mind doing to her…
"Naruto-kun," she began quietly, her tone almost innocent, but it was hard to be innocent when you were covered in blood and clutching a weapon. She slowly rose up off of Kisame and took a cautious step towards the Jinchuriki, gazing up at his face with her head slightly tilted to the side quizzically. As if hearing his thoughts, she grinned playfully and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?" She began to take a few more steps towards him, swaying her hips in an exaggerated motion. "What's the matter Foxy? Jealous? Or do you like to just watch and—"
Sakura was cut off as an unexpected scream of surprise and pain tore its way out of her throat. White hot pain followed by the soothing flow of blood brought her to her knees. She glanced behind her and was filled with outrage. There was Kisame in a seated position, wielding Samehada and giving her the biggest shiteating grin he could twist his mouth into. Sakura boiled with inner anger as she watched her blood drip off Kisame's blade and splat messily to the ground. He had regained use of his arms, but not his legs. Sakura vowed to take action before he could use his legs again. She was undeniably pissed with herself for allowing Naruto to get her so distracted. Curiously, she wondered why her subconscious seemed so intent on teasing the poor blonde, but she quickly brushed that thought off.
Worry about my motives later, Inner Sakura hissed, That fucker just seriously wounded us. Make him pay before the shock and blood loss render us useless.
With a nod of her head, Sakura shot to her feet and grabbed Kisame roughly by the hair, pulling back and exposing his neck.
"Sakura! Don't!" Shikamaru shouted. He, Neji, and Sai moved forward to stop the medic, but they were too far away.
Naruto was useless. All he could do was stand in shock as he watched the girl he had always loved die and turn into an unrecognizable and unstable woman. He watched hypnotized as her kunai slid easily across the Akatsuki member's throat making a neat cut. For a minute, he thought that the wound wouldn't bleed, but that thought was soon crushed as blood began to spurt wildly from Kisame's neck. However, Sakura wasn't done. Although he was standing an arm's length away and could easily stop her, he stood motionless and watched as the blade of Sakura's kunai slashed at the ex-Kiri nin's throat again and again, hacking and sawing through the meaty flesh until Sakura had pulled Kisame's head free. Part of him was horrified at what he was watching, while another part, the Kyuubi part, was privately cheering her on.
Sakura looked up triumphantly from her trophy but staggered when she saw her teammates, especially Naruto, eye her wearily. They all stared at her, as if seeing her for the first time. Sakura didn't like it one bit. They were all staring at her, judging her, slowly making their way closer to her. They had surrounded her, like sharks circling their prey. Kisame was dead, but now the real sharks had come out to play. Sakura opened her mouth to defend herself, but was stopped as a wave of exhaustion swept over her.
Suddenly able to move again, Naruto's arms shot out and caught the kunoichi as she lost consciousness. Wordlessly, he lowered the two of them to the ground before gathering her up in his arms and burying his face in her neck. He didn't make a sound as the tears began to fall uncontrollably. He just silently prayed that when she woke up, she would be back to normal.
Review, por favor? Gracias :)
