Hey! I'm so proud of myself! I just finished the plans for my other other storys. Well, I'm expecting this story to end within the next few chapters. Hoorah! This chapter is probably one of the most important ones so far... Yay?..
So, I guess... Here you go... Oh! And I wanted to thank kammio19 for the uber awesome review! THANK YOU!
Enjoy!
'Sakura! SAKURA, WAKE UP!' I could hear Kofuku call out to me. But where I was, I didn't have the slightest clue. I felt something cold and wet against my back. I shivered and sat up, raising my hands to my eyes.
'What's going on?' I asked as I attempted to warm up my cheeks. The hair on the back of my neck had clung to my skin from the moist ground I had been unconscious on.
'That damn Madara took us! While you were knocked out, I could hear those bastards conversation. They took you so Sasuke would come back to the Akatsuki-' She explained before I rudely cut her off.
'SASUKE?' My eyes snapped open as I looked around. So, Akatsuki really did kidnap me. I sighed and stood up, stretching.
Currently I was in a dark room. It was lighted by a few candles that glimmered off of the slimy walls of the cavern.
"Ahhh. So... you have decided to join us, Sakura..." There was only one voice that smooth and fluid. Other than Orochimaru, HE was the only one...
"Kabuto..." I growled and spun around to face the pale man. He had silver hair as usual, but half of his face was covered in scales and he had both of the purple marks Orochimaru had once wore on the bridge of his nose. To make him any more displeasing to look at, the medic looked as if he was shedding his skin at the moment, strips of dead flesh hung from his cheeks.
"Good, you remembered me!" He smirked. Suddenly a snake flew out of his Akatsuki robe's sleeve and wrapped around me. The snake slithered across the floor, pinning me to a wall.
I whimpered as the reptiles scales slid against my skin, opposite of the plates, and tore apart the flesh of my upper arm. Kabuto began to walk towards me as I writhed in the snake's grasp. His stone-cold fingers slowly cupped my chin, lifting my head to face him.
The snakes grip instantly doubled to stop me from moving any more, I could already feel my legs begin to grow numb as I heaved for air.
"You're such a lovely child... No wonder Sasuke has rebuilt a relationship with you..." He dropped my chin and started to walk away, unraveling the snake as it began to retract into his sleeve. He knew I wouldn't move. Hell, I COULDN'T move. Not only because of my lack of air and my now wobbly knees. What he just said stung. I closed my eyes and leaned against the walls, my legs still shaking from .
"No..." I whispered, bowing my head down as I slid down the slick and moist wall, trying to cover up the newly forming tears. He stopped mid-step and spun around to look at my drooping figure. "NO! Sasuke doesn't like me!" I started to shake my head, no matter how much I wanted it, I knew Sasuke probably never would. "He said it himself! He said I was annoying! He wouldn't like me, it could never happen! He doesn't like anybody!" I started to shake as my sobs wracked through my body. At that moment I knew, I must have looked extremely feeble, weak. I could just imagine that if Sasuke saw me like this, he would be laughing to no end.
"Psh..." Kabuto smirked and set his hand on a dark corner of the wall, pushing it in. Suddenly the rock opened next to him and he walked through, stopping in the middle of the entrance and looking at me over his shoulder. " You foolish girl..." He chuckled, "Can you really NOT see it?.. Sasuke's only remaining goal in life still needs to be fulfilled. Why else would he come back? Who else does he know who would be willing to help him with restoring his clan? Who else would he trust that with but you? That is exactly why we chose to kidnap you, Sakura... You're the only one he will come for, without a doubt..." He walked into the dimly lit hallway as the rock slid back into place.
I couldn't absorb what he had just said. Did Sasuke really trust me like that? Is that really why he came back to Konoha? To use me? Is that really why? Was the whole reason he came back to the village for me? So I would have his children? Did he expect me to have a one-sided relationship? I started to soften my cries and prop my head on my knees.
Even if I could get mad at Sasuke, I wouldn't. Not now... If any of what Kabuto had said was true, Sasuke would be heading to the Akatsuki as soon as he caught word of my kidnapping. He would come here, with or without the rest of team 7 and kill the Akatsuki, just to retrieve me.
My eyes widened at the sudden shock that came through my mind. I had been captured so Sasuke would come and rescue me. Kabuto knew that. He and the other members of the organization would be prepared and ready. Sasuke had more of a chance of dying than living in this scenario. All because of me. If he died, it would be my fault.
I finally cracked, gripping my legs and shuddering. I was crying and sobbing, each gasp for air brought on more tears.
'STOP THAT!' Kofuku yelled, struggling to make her voice louder than my crying. 'By ourselves we can't fix this, bot together, we can win!' I finally stopped my incessant tear shedding and listened intently. I hiccuped and smiled. This is it. I can show Sasuke that I am strong. Now, maybe Sasuke would like me more, it didn't have to be love or even friendship. For All I cared, he could fall in love with somebody else, I just want him to acknowledge me. To realize that I'm there.
With this, I felt Kofuku's power bubbling inside of me. I'm not weak, I'll show Sasuke. I'll show everybody. And suddenly as a bright light filled the once-dark room, a feeling that had been lost for so long, had finally returned. I felt happy. I felt hope...
Xx
All of team 7, excluding Sakura, were lined up in front of the fifth's desk. She was currently shuffling through papers and files that had been stacked on top of her oak table. The whole team looked at her with interest. Well, from Sasuke it was more like he was actually listening. Tsunade shoved the other papers out of the way to reveal a manilla envelope. She quickly opened it and removed the small articles and pictures that were yellowed and crinkled with age. Some even had scorch marks running along the edges.
The busty woman gave a sigh and looked up at the three men in front of her. With a sad expression, she began to tell them the news. "Within the past twenty-four hours, Madara has been sighted in the village..." She observed their faces and continued, "We have no actual knowledge on why he came here. Only that... He kidnapped Sakura." The old woman- who would never admit that she was over fifty- looked down at the snippets of articles.
The whole team tensed. The only sign of shock that Sasuke made was a rushed intake of air, while Naruto verbally showed his concern.
"WHY WOULD SOMEBODY TAKE SAKURA-CHAN?" The blonde smacked his hands on the table, spilling the contents of a few folders onto the floor. Tsunade gave another sigh and bit her nail. She hated to tell them this.
"We have a feeling that we know his motive, though." Naruto quickly backed away and shuffled towards Kakashi as she handed him the contents of the now empty envelope. They were snap shots of a creature. It vaguely resembled the nine tails in appearance and size, but had only one tail-like whisp. The photos were all black and white. Occasionally one or two looked as if they had once been caught in a fire. The sides were burnt and faded. The males rummaged through the photo's and articles.
"A giant beast..." Naruto read out loud as he looked at one caption to an old news paper. "Hey, baa-chan... Why are we looking at these? Does this have anything to do with the Akatsuki?" The teen glanced up at Tsunade's solemn face.
"Yes, Tsunade. I don't see how these are relevant at all..." Kakashi stated as he turned a picture around to look at the writing on the back.
Sasuke, feeling as if he had to give some sort of contribution to the subject as well, looked up from his document page with a faded red 'CLASSIFIED' stamped across it. "It's an fake jinchurriki, right?"
The other members of team Kakashi looked shocked as they glanced at the young Uchiha.
"fake?.." Naruto slowly questioned and gripped the papers in his hands.
"Yes. It is an artificial jinchurriki. In fact, it's the only stable one yet created," Tsunade stated and nodded her head, meshing her hands together and leaning against her intertwined fingers. "So far there have been dozens created. They were, at first, created to aid the Akatsuki in their quest for the jinchurriki. But, the fake ones didn't have the same energy and power as the originals. All jinchurriki react to their hosts emotions. The real ones rely on negative emotions such as stress and anger. But, the newer ones are meant to react on positive emotions like happiness and so on..." The Godaime swiftly snatched an article off of her desk top and stiffly handed it to Kakashi, soon remaining her previous position. "Once the Akatsuki realized that the artificial jinchurriki didn't have the energy they needed, they resumed their hunt for the remaining bijuu. But, the five nations believed that good could come out of the non-defective artificial beings. So, they decided that they would seal the one they believed was closest to competing with the actual jinchurriki and destroyed the rest." Tsunade's caramel eyes drifted over the three shinobi in front of her then settled on Sasuke's passive, yet noticeably tense, figure as he leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. "Sasuke..." Tsunade stated directly to him, knowing the other two were listening and would still absorb any information offered. "Once you joined Akatsuki, the five nations unanimously decided to prepare the sealed jinchurriki in case of a war." This time the hokage's hardened stare came to rest on Naruto. "Naruto, that is what your mission with Sakura, Shikamaru and Ino was about. The scroll you received was the same scroll that held the artificial jinchurriki. Shikamaru and Ino both gave me their mission reports with detailed summaries of what they saw. And... Since the scroll really was gone, Sakura must have unsealed it. That leads me to the conclusion that the fake jinchurriki went into the nearest life source. In other words, Sakura." An audible gasp was heard from Naruto as his eyes remained wide and glossy.
He couldn't believe it. There was somebody else just like him. Immediately he felt a pleasant feeling bubble up in his stomach, but just as soon as it came it was swept out with a feeling of dread and fear.
A reoccurring thought passed through all the males in the Godaime's office. 'If Akatsuki had figured out that Sakura was the container for the artificial jinchurriki, then what was their actual motive?'
Xx
They had been traveling at top speed for hours as Sasuke led the way to Akatsuki base. He assumed that they hadn't moved. They wouldn't have had enough time. In no time they were nearing the stone ruins that disguised the entrance to the despised lair.
Sasuke came to an abrupt halt as they reached the first of many crumbled and wrecked stone columns and walls, Naruto and Kakashi following suit. Suddenly a mass of chakra made itself known as it viciously fluctuated beneath their feet.
"Naruto, Kakashi, stay close..." Sasuke said carefully as he and the other members of team Kakashi made their way to an old stair-well. Naruto quirked an eye-brow as he looked over the pitch black stair case leading into absolute darkness.
Kakashi, being the observant soul he was, quickly shoved the semi-shivering blonde into the black pit. Stumbling on the first few steps as he exclaimed a vibrant string of 'colorful' words, Naruto finally gained back his balance before turning towards the entrance to glare at his sensei.
"Kakashi!" Naruto whined, squinting his eyes and crossing his arms. He noticed the smirk on Sasuke's face instead of the usual frown and instantly brightened. "Well, don't just stand there, teme! Get your ass moving! We have a teammate to save!" Naruto fist pumped as he swiftly plunged into the darkness of the stair-well, Sasuke following with less enthusiasm but still the same glint of determination in his eyes.
As Kakashi witnessed the whole scene unfold before him he realized that for once, since the two boys were twelve, they finally felt like brothers. That, they finally had a permanent bond. He smiled beneath his mask.
As soon as he realized this a deafening crack broke him out of his daze. Without any further haste, the silver haired man dove into the blinding light that emitted from the once dark cavern.
Xx
"Kofuku..." I yelled through the white. In response flashes of color began to burst and retract in the light. "Kofuku!" I tried again to only get another dazzling display of colors. I was lost in it. I was trying to decipher my emotions. I didn't only just feel them inside of me, they were also around me. It was like a blanket. Warm, inviting. Pleasant was an understatement .
Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion hit me. The only thing I could comprehend was how inviting the warmth was. I could feel another presence. Two. For some reason they felt just as inviting and friendly as the warmth that surrounded me. I noticed a cold yet feeling spread over me. I realized sluggishly that somebody had me in a crushing hug. It was somewhat awkward, I could tell whoever was delivering it hadn't given a hug in years. That they just didn't know how to approach the subject of giving affection. I giggled at the arms oddly displaced around me as the light died down. I could barely make out black hair before I was over come with grogginess and snuggled closer to the silky hair.
I couldn't control it, but as I was about to fall asleep a picture of the man I loved- love- appeared in my mind's eye. I smiled into the onyx locks I had snuggled into and sighed his name. "Sasuke..."
I really don't have anything else to say! Ooh. I guess I might be going onto DeviantART at some time. Haven't completely decided yet, though. If I do I will keep my username.
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