Disclaimer; Don't own Naruto. Just this story about it... Enjoy!

Chapter 5; Lightning Strikes

There was no point in trying to avoid the attack. Sakura knew that Sasuke had his sharigan going right now. He could read even the slightest movement and tell exactly what any opponent was planning on doing. Nothing Sakura could do would help her evade this attack. There was no point.

Sasuke's red eyes fixed firmly on her blank face as his arm swung towards the kunoichi. She stood unwavering, prepared to take the full blunt of the blow. She knew the true power of this jutsu… She had little hopes of surviving the blow.

"Sasuke! What are you doing?!"

The voice distracted Sasuke enough that in his haste to glance back and see who it was that was yelling at him, he miscalculated and his blow surged just a hair to the right. Instead of impaling Sakura, Sasuke ended up crashing into the wall. Rocks crumbled under the power of the Chidori. Sasuke turned and stared at the doorway with his wild eyes.

Kabuto stood in the entrance of the cavern, his onyx eyes flashing in shock and a touch of rage. "What the heck are you doing?! You almost killed her!"

Scowling at him, Sasuke exited the cell without a second glance at Sakura. He shouldered his way past Kabuto without a sound and disappeared in the hallway. Sakura stared after him, infuriated by his inferior attitude.

The ninja ran up to Sakura. "Are you ok? Sasuke almost killed you!" He glanced over her. "You don't appear to be hurt… What was that about?! Why did he attack you?!"

Sakura looked away. She refused to say anything. This was of no concern to this medical ninja. She ignored Kabuto and just stared after Sasuke.

A sigh rattled in Kabuto's chest. "Oh, dear. This will be of great concern of Orochimaru…" With that, he turned and raced out of the room. Sakura stood there, blinking after him. Even in the chaos of Sasuke's attack, Sakura's chain had stayed in place. So much for an escape attempt…

After a while, several Sound ninja raced into the room. They took Sakura and led her to another room, but she had no visits to or from Orochimaru.

Sasuke stormed through the halls, smothering on the inside. The fact that Sakura had the nerve to say something like that to him… He could hardly believe her stupidity.

Several Sound ninja tried to approach him in the halls, but his icy glares scared them off. He just continued to travel the halls. He had no destination of any sort, just wandering. It wouldn't be long until Orochimaru called for him. After all, it wouldn't take long for word to reach him about what had just happened. But Sasuke couldn't care less. Sakura's infuriated words only put him in a terrible mood, and he felt like he had no reason to hide his anger.

Before long, three Sound ninjas approached him. He tried to shoulder his way past them, but they stood firm and just glared at him. "You need to come with us." They're cold gaze met his.

"Oh, shut up. I'm not interested in going to see Orochimaru. Get the heck out of my way."

They all refused to move. "Uchiha, this is not a choice. Orochimaru desires to see you, and you are not going to resist." One of them put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't try and resist."

His onyx eyes narrowed dangerously. "Fine." He hissed.

The three squad team led Sasuke back the way he came. They eventually arrived back in Orochimaru's room, where he sat in his chair and watched with narrow amber eyes. Sasuke was herded in and stood in the center of the room. They both stared at each other for a while and said nothing.

Finally, Orochimaru spoke. "Sasuke, you are not allowed to run off and do whatever you want. There is a reason I had Kabuto make an effort to capture Sakura. She is of great interest to me and you know that. But you still tried to kill her."

Sasuke said nothing, his eyes unreadable and dark.

A sigh escaped Orochimaru. "I don't get what is going on between you and her. I can tell she hates you, but I have no idea what the details are. But this gives you no excuse to attack her and attempt to kill her."

Snapping his eyes shut, Sasuke snarled, "She deserved what I gave her. I have nothing to say."

"You do not have free reign here, Sasuke. I am still your master." His amber eyes flashed.

Sasuke stayed true to his word and didn't respond.

Another sigh. "I am not going to punish you, not now. But if you keep on messing with Sakura, I will. I gave you power for far more than just this." Orochimaru closed his eyes and growled, "Go. I do not feel like dealing with you now."

Sasuke was gone hardly before the permission had escaped his master's mouth. Orochimaru exhale noisily. Shaking his head slightly, the sannin blinked softly. Nothing he really did helped tame Sasuke. He was ambitious and didn't like to take orders from anyone. This mess between Sakura and Sasuke was far from over.

Sakura sat in silence in her new cell. This time, she wasn't chained to a wall, but the cell was as small as last time. She could pace in a small circle if she wanted, but the kunoichi wasn't back to her full strength yet. It would be better if she rested for a while longer.

Footsteps approached from down the hall. It wouldn't surprise her if it was Kabuto who was coming to fetch her or any other Sound ninja who was doing the same. After all, Orochimaru no doubt knew about what had happened between her and Sasuke. He might want to ask her what really happened.

But it wasn't someone who had come to pay Sakura a visit. Whoever it was didn't even think that she was worth as enough trouble to come in. They must have been out in the hall for some other reason, then.

Closing her eyes again, Sakura let out a sigh. This mission just stunk. She was captured, away from the comforts of the Leaf Village. Orochimaru was pressuring her into joining him. Even worse, the one she hated the most had tried to kill her… Again.

This mission was, as Shikamaru would say, a drag. What fun this was… Sigh.

Her eyes opened and Sakura examined the room. The walls were dirty rock, carved roughly into a bowl shaped room. There were several openings, each leading to small cells blocked off by steel bars. A few torches lit the side of the main branch, but in the cells all they achieved was casting long shadows in the already dim area. These were nothing more than holding cubical.

Sakura stood up and leaned her head up against the cool bars. The longer she waited, the more impatient she grew. Nothing about this was improving her mood.

She had no clue what time it might be, but she could feel in her muscles that it had to be night. Despite doing almost nothing all day, she still felt heavy fatigue. Her muscles slumped, and Sakura crumbled to the ground; she was fast asleep.

Outside of the Sound ninja base, things were heating up. The others had to retreat back from their position due to Sound ninja attacks on their makeshift base. They had been spotted for sure, and it was all they could do to stay in the region while avoiding more ambushes. The sooner they could just show the reinforcements where Sakura was, the sooner they could get out of here. But they still were waiting.

Neji, Tenten, and Lee had gone off to try and distract any Sound ninja in the area, which allowed Shino, Hinata and Kiba to keep watch near the base. Crouching tense and nervous, those three ninja watched from the bushes for any sign of the enemy. They were only a little ways from the Sound ninja base, which would make it quick and efficient for them to show the reinforcements… If and when they came. But for now, Squad 8 was in hiding.

A soft growl came from Akamaru, announced the arrival of a passing patrol. The three enemies on this patrol either weren't very observant or weren't looking too hard because they didn't even notice the slightest hint of the hiding ninjas. All three watched quietly until the guards left.

Hinata closed her eyes for a second, her long, dark blue hair falling into her face. "Byakugan," she whispered, which activated her kekkei genkai. The veins around her eyes bulged out slightly, which enhanced her vision capabilities. She scanned the nearby area, her Byakugan allowing her to notice any living creatures of a certain size. But other than the retreating patrol, no other humans were within her sight.

Kiba shot her a hopeful glance, but she just shook her head. He looked away, fighting the urge to sigh. He scratched Akamaru's head gently while the dog sniffed the air tentatively. He looked at his master with gleaming black eyes. They smelled nothing.

Shino watched the two scan the area, his eyes hidden as always. No sign of an enemy patrol or their back up either. They still had to wait.

As they waited in stillness, the squad studied the surround forest. A few birds dotted the sky, landed on branches or swooping through the leaves. Shino was easily able to identify a myriad of insects crawling along the ground. A few squirrels even felt it was safe enough to come out and scavenge for food.

The waiting was growing tedious, but still the three lingered. They had to. It was their mission, their part of the plan. Hopefully the others would be able to do theirs.

Gentle fist! Neji shoved his open palm into the attacker's stomach, hitting one of the main chakra points. With a gasp, the attacking Sound ninja crumbled to the ground. Byakugan. With the same kekkei genkai as Hinata, Neji scanned the area carefully. He could see multiple advancing enemies, not including the ones that Rock Lee and Tenten were busy finishing off. These battles weren't necessarily… Challenging, they were just draining. Especially with so many enemy ninjas… It would only be a matter of time until they couldn't keep on delay the tide.

Tenten turned away from the enemy she had just knocked out and raced towards Neji. "How many more," she panted, a kunai in hand.

"More than we want," the ninja responded. The kunoichi's brown eyes gleamed as she nodded at her comrade, and then gestured to Lee. He had just planted his fist in his opponent's cheek and stopped, his black eyes fixed on the opponent. With eyes rolling into his head, the ninja crumbled to the ground, leaving Lee to stand triumphant over him. The ninja smiled to himself and raced over to join his comrades.

"The next wave is here," Neji hissed. The other two beside him tensed, prepared to meet the next group of attackers.

Four more Sound ninjas leaped out of the bushes with a battle cry. A grim smile lit the Leaf Village Shinobi's faces as they leapt back into battle.

Tenten sent a couple kunai soaring towards the incoming attackers. Lee raced up with his extreme speed and landed a powerful kick right in one of their chests. Neji used several gentle fist attacks, each striking a vital chakra point. The four enemies were soon out of the fight, but it didn't take long for them to be replaced by even more enemy ninja.

The three ninjas fought dangerously and tirelessly, but too many kept coming. They fought and fought, grim but refusing to give up.

As the battle continued, the Leaf Village ninjas grew tired. They kept moving constantly, trying to keep all of the Sound ninja from finding the others. The longer they lasted… The longer Kiba, Hinata, and Shino would be able to wait.

But the tide of Sound ninja just kept on coming. Despite how many enemies fell, there were more to come and replace them. It wasn't that there were an extreme number of enemies. It was just that it came to the point that they were fighting more than they could handle, especially because the drain on their strength.

Lee stumbled while trying to perform a roundhouse kick. Tenten threw one of her last weapons. Neji was running low on chakra from each of his gentle fist attacks. They were spent.

The three Leaf shinobi tried to take off to find a better location to fight, away from all the enemies, but the Sound had caught onto their pattern. With a clever sneer, all of the Sound ninjas drove the squad back, until they were pressed back to back in the center of the clearing.

One of the Sound ninja spoke up. "I don't know what Leaf Shinobi think they are doing here, but I hope you weren't planning on just leaving. Oh, no. We can't let enemies waltz away like that. I think that you've fought long enough. Time to rest… In the afterlife!"

At that exact moment, all the ninjas hurled three or four kunai each. Neji said, "Get close to me!" The other ninja raced next to his side, realizing what he was going to do.

Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven! Neji instantly starting spinning at a rapid speed. A blue shield of chakra surrounded the three Leaf Village shinobi and every weapon was tossed aside, plus any nearby enemies. Once the danger had passed, he landed, drained from his attack. He had fended off one attack, but that wasn't really going to be an option for the next. Neji Hyuga just didn't have enough chakra to do again.

Tenten and Lee had worked with Neji before, as they were a squad. They were fully aware that his defense was only a onetime thing. They had nothing more they could do.

This time, the Sound ninja pulled out an array of weapons; some swords, some kunai, some shuriken. They all aimed once again at the cornered ninja.

They was nothing that Rock Lee, Neji, or Tenten could do. They just stood bravely as they waited for their fates.

"Rasengan!"

An orange figure flashed right in the center of the group of ninjas, and once it impacted the ground, huge clouds of rolling out of the impact point. In the confusion and chaos, the Sound ninja were unable to do anything but cover their eyes and crouch down.

The dust clouds cleared, only to reveal three missing Leaf shinobi. Growling at himself in anger and frustration, one of the Sound ninja, the apparent leader, scanned the area quickly. But they were gone.

The four Leaf ninjas stopped and landed a ways off in the trees. Naruto turned and smirked at the others. "Came just in time, didn't I?"

It was true. Naruto had turned up at the last moment, and using his rasengan, distracted the Sound ninja long enough for the others to escape. Now, Naruto had led Neji, Tenten, and Lee to the other ninja of his patrol.

"Took your time, didn't you?" Neji muttered back at him.

"Oh, whatever." Tenten just shook her head. "It doesn't matter." She looked at the other ninja of the patrol. "Not very many with you, huh Naruto?"

Shrugging, the shinobi answered, "Grandma Tsunade sent me with them. What was I suppose to do? Run off and complain because these were the only ones available?"

Lee lifted a fist and crowed, "Let us continue on to glory, no matter the size of our patrol!"

One of the Leaf shinobi blinked at him. "Let's just go. We need to find the location before the rest of the Sound ninja catch up."

Neji nodded. "Follow me," he stated, and then took off towards where Kiba, Shino, and Hinata were keeping watch.

A little while later, the ninjas grew near towards were the others were keeping watch. Tenten took off alone to get the others. They came back and with great happiness, were able to show the Leaf shinobi where the base was and at long last, leave for home.

But all Naruto really wished for was to stay and be involved with whatever mess Sakura was in.

Sakura had been summoned once again. Orochimaru really must have made her his project, considering how much effort he was putting into this. And there was a good chance that it would have something to do with Sasuke. Just what she wanted.

A sigh rattled in Sakura's chest as she was led once again through the narrow corridors. They entered the same room that Orochimaru lurked in before. He was sitting in his chair, amber eyes flashing. This time, Sasuke was nowhere to be found. Kabuto leaned up against the wall and watched as well.

As the kunoichi came to a stop, Orochimaru spoke up once again. "I think I've given you more than enough time to think about my offer." The snake-eyed sannin narrowed his eyes dangerously. "I want an answer. And you know which one."

Biting her lip, Sakura allowed her green gaze to fall on the ground. She knew exactly what he was demanding of her, but she really did not want to give it to him. It was one of the last things she wished to do… But it would be necessary.

In her silence, Orochimaru made the split second decision to pounce again. He stood up and started circling her again, his eyes fixed firmly on her face. "Sakura, how much longer will it take you to realize the truth? They've abandoned you to my mercy. Not even willing to send a party out to save you. Since Naruto ran off during your first battle to 'get help,' there hasn't been a single sign of a Leaf shinobi. Give it up. They don't care."

Blinking slowly, Sakura met the sharp gaze of the sannin. He knew about Naruto… But that shouldn't have surprised her. After all, the first ninjas she fought had probably reported it… But it couldn't be true about how there weren't any signs of the Leaf Village… Right?

"I know that you know it's true… Wake up. Enough of this foolishness. Your only choice right now is to trust me."

"That will never happen," Sakura murmured, but it was more to herself than to Orochimaru.

Despite her last comment, Orochimaru continued in his seductive purr. "Oh, don't be such a fool. Don't you realize? This is your best-your only-option. After all, you'd hate for something to… Happen."

Sakura froze when she realized exactly what he was implying. "I… I…" she stammered.

"Well? I want an answer. Now."

"I…" Sakura closed her eyes for a moment. At last, her emerald gaze returned to Orochimaru. "Fine. I'll… I'll do it."

"Oh? What's this now?" A cruel smirk appeared on his face. "We can't hear you when you're mumbling, dear. You'll do what exactly?"

With an outraged glare, she hissed, "I'll do it! Alright? I join you!"

A/N; I've gotten a little behind with updating... I actually am on chapter 7 right now, I just forgot to post this one... Oops. Sorry!

Got Questions?

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

Review, if you please!

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Hope you loved it! Have an excellent day!

-Cynder7777