Sakura would never forget the pain that throbbed throughout her entire body as she felt her eyelids flutter open slowly, letting the green glow of artificial light blind her sensitive eyes.

Her muscles screamed with pain, even lifting her index finger caused her to wince as the muscles in her fingers protested against her wishes for them to be moved. It was as if a burning fire had been ignited inside of her body, a fire that was only fueled by her blood that flowed through her veins, blood poisoned with paralysis.

Her eyelids had been heavy, but she strained against their desire to remain shut by willing herself to stay conscious.

The blurred cave walls of jagged stone slowly focused into her groggy vision, the lime green spots of light swimming around sending her into a dizzy spell. She felt her head begin to throb in aching pain from her efforts to hurry her eyes into focusing the sights around her. She had almost succeeded until the pain had been too great, and her eyes shut themselves on pure reflex.

She felt an icy shudder rush down her spine, sending a paralyzing fear through her body.

"You know, it's funny how things work out sometimes." she heard a voice speak casually, as if nothing in the world had been amiss to begin with.

At this, Sakura's aching body froze up, though she had finally managed to gain control of her eyelids once more, and she slowly opened them to gaze upon her whereabouts.

She was back in the cave, as it had been evident to her from her first attempt at opening her eyes and regaining full consciousness. However, as her weak and blurry eyes traced the un-even lines of the rocks and crystals of the cave walls, she knew that she hadn't been placed in the same cave that she and Fuu had been in previously, seeing that the girls had destroyed it in their attempt to escape..

Suddenly, everything came rushing back to her in an instant.

The escape plan, the golden light of freedom that had been so close to her grasp..

The excruciating and paralyzing pain that prevented her from reaching freedom..

Sakura's heart began to pound as she began to realize the entirety of her dire situation, and she felt another icy wave of dread when that stolen voice spoke again.

"Yes, I may have lost my precious jinchūriki thanks to you, but by the end of the day, not only will I have you in my possession, but two more jinchūriki for my own! It's wonderful isn't it?" the cheerful female voice rang out.

Sakura's body shivered violently, and she let out a gasp as more pain began to take control of her head.

"I know, it hurts doesn't it?"

Suddenly, Sakura felt her chin being lifted slowly from the dirt ground she was laying on, her eyes being forced to gaze up into the glittering stare of her enemy, who had once again taken up the form of Hanako.

Green eyes glistened with malice down at Sakura. "It's best that you try not to move. It'll only make the pain worse. But I'm sure you know that already, don't you?"

Sakura's eyes flared. "What do you want?"

The appearance of a girl who was once alive began to laugh lightly at her, Hanako's laugh captured by a malicious jutsu.

"Why, haven't I already made that clear?" she said, bringing her face closer to Sakura's. "I want you to cooperate with me and help me attain my wishes of detaining the jinchūriki who seem to be very fond of you, Haruno Sakura."

Sakura's eyes widened at the sound of her name being spoken, though she shouldn't have been surprised that Joryoku had learned her name. After all, it's what he did best.

"I'll tell you what." Hanako's voice began, smiling at Sakura. "Since you're going to die anyway, and if you promise you'll behave like a good kunoichi, I'll let you in on a little secret."

Sakura smiled back at her captor, a confident and smug smile. "Are you that confident that you'll kill me that easily?"

Hanako's smile broadned. "Oh, my dear, you were pronounced dead the moment you betrayed your friends."

Sakura's eyes blazed with anger and remorse, her hazy mind dragging her back to the dreaded moment when her body refused to listen to her commands, following orders from someone else.

"I didn't betray them..you were the one who hurt them." she seethed.

"Because you gave up your mind to me." Hanako said sweetly.

"Go to hell." Sakura said, immediately feeling her body scream in pain once more, making Sakura shut her eyes tightly once more to bear the pain.

"Now, now. That wasn't very polite."

Sakura rode out the pain, clenching her teeth tightly until she felt her body become numb, and her eyes angrily fluttered open.

"But, speaking of your mind, I have to say that I'm intrigued." Hanako said, looking to her right, twirling a piece of golden blonde hair in her finger.

Sakura fought to keep her temper in check. "And why is that?"

Hanako looked down at her, and smiled.

That's when Sakura's eyes widened, and her heart began to pound feverishly in her chest as she began to witness Joryoku's mesmerizing transformation for the second time.

Hanako's face began to melt away in a golden sheen of chakra, her entire body became shrouded in the gold liquid-like chakra that resembled the complete opposite color of the personality of the person wielding the special ability.

Her hair remained blonde, however it began to double in length and raise itself into a high ponytail, the golden blonde of her hair dulling to a yellow blonde. Her height increased by only a few inches, and her clothing began to split apart in the middle, revealing her toned stomach between purple fabric. Her lips became plump and perfectly pink, her skin smooth and blemish free. She opened her crystal blue eyes, the green melting away.

The golden chakra vanished, and Joryoku's new appearance glared tauntingly down at Sakura, who had begun to tremble in fear.

"Well, is this better? I gotta say, I like this blonde better than the one you just saw! She's got more character, huh forehead?" the all-too familiar voice sang out.

Sakura's throat became dry.

But…how?

"I-Ino?" Sakura choked out.

Ino's eyes looked tauntingly down at Sakura.

"But..how?" Sakura almost whispered, fearing for the safety of her friend, fearing that Joryoku had somehow managed to use her to kill her friend, or that he had done the deed himself.

No..please no..she couldn't be dead..

Ino's laugh echoed through the cave, making tears drip from Sakura's eyes into the dirt beneath her cheek.

"Your mind," Ino's voice purred seductively, "Has a beautiful array of friends of yours, a whole new set of appearances for me to try out."

Sakura's heart stopped, her breathing began to decrease slowly, realization seeping into her brain.

Ino was alive, her hadn't touched her.

"You see, I have this special ability. Call it whatever you wish, but it's something I hold dear to my heart. If I were to place my chakra into a hostage, or more specifically, into their chakra points near their brain, I can access every memory and every little detail of their lives. My favorite, however, is to make a list of the people that person is acquainted to. From there I can take their forms freely as I wish."

Sakura's fingers dug into the ground as she remembered the countless times that her forehead had been jabbed with icy chakra, the chakra that had been swimming in her brain the entire time.

So that's why she was seeing Ino in front of her, he had gotten into her head using that ability, it was most likely some sort of rare kekkei-genkai.

But as Sakura watched Ino's appearance before her, something didn't feel right. Back in the cave, back when Joryoku had been Koichi, Sakura had felt a chakra signature from his body, chakra that was strongly detectable, clear as day. Even with Hanako; Sakura had felt her light and airy chakra signature in the room.

But, she felt nothing from Ino.

Sakura knew Ino's chakra signature inside and out, she could sense her best friend's chakra from miles away. But from the Ino standing in front of her…she felt nothing, and if Fuu said that Joryoku could easily copy someone's chakra signature, then why couldn't she feel Ino's?

Something was definitely not right.

"You, know, if you're going to copy someone, you could.. at least.. do it right." Sakura sneered weakly, managing to prop herself up on one shaking elbow.

Ino's eyes looked down at Sakura, and she gave her a dark look.

"I mean…come on now.." Sakura said weakly, pushing herself up onto her knees, taking advantage of the temporary absence of pain that once dominated her body. "If..you really can copy someone's appearance down to the slightest detail like you say…and you can't even get their chakra right..then you must be pathe-"

Sakura couldn't even finish her sentence, because suddenly she felt an immense pressure on her throat, Ino's hand gripping Sakura's skin tightly. As her fingernails dug deeply into Sakura's skin, Sakura tried desperately to inhale air.

"Do you think," Ino's voice pounded threateningly into her ears, a pitch of voice so immensely dark and venomous that it shook Sakura to her oxygen deprived core, "That this is a joke?"

Ino's body began to glow violently bright, and Sakura's widened eyes were frozen.

Fresh, new violet eyes bore into her frightened green ones.

"My dear, let me tell you how my ability works." Hinata's voice hissed threateningly, Sakura never imagining that she would ever hear Hinata's voice in such a manner.

"It's true, I can copy appearances better than any clone jutsu in this world."

Sakura felt her feet leave the ground as Hinata lifted her off of the ground and threw her into the wall of the cave. Clouds of dust swirled into the air as Sakura's back slammed into a large sharp rock. Sakura's eyes widened from the shock of the blow, pain blossoming all around her back. She allowed her body to fall to the ground, coughing up blood that formed small pools on the ground beneath her.

Seconds went by before she felt her throat grabbed once more.

Sakura's eyes shot up, and she stared into the black eyes of Sai.

"But it seems that my precious jinchūriki forgot to mention a few details."

And it continued.

Sakura had lost track of how many times she'd been thrown into the walls of the cave, rocks digging into her skin and the metallic taste of blood tattooing her tongue. Each time, she had looked into the copied eyes of her friends.

Shino, Kiba, Lee, Lady Tsunade, Neji, Shikamaru, Ten-Ten, Chouji, Shizune, Kakashi-sensei..

Each time she had tried to fight back, but the immense pain she had felt earlier returned once more, paralyzing her entire body. The hits kept coming one after another, the faces of her friends swimming through the pain in her eyes.

"I can copy whomever I meet. However, there is a way for me to remain in their form, a way to live in it for the rest of my life if I wanted to." Sakura heard Hanako's voice say, her chakra signature flaring.

Sakura was on her knees, blood dripping from a large cut on her cheek. She felt her chakra begin to surge in her body, swelling up in her fists. She had heard enough.

Getting on her feet, she clenched her fists tightly, ready to strike.

That was, until Hanako spoke.

"If I take all of their chakra in their form, their body belongs to me."

Sakura's chakra flow broke, the power in her fists disbanding immediately with what she had just been told, her mind making the connections almost immediately.

Fuu…

"Then that means.." Sakura whispered, dread filling her entire body.

Hanako laughed. "That's right. I took the chakra from this girl who you see standing before you."

Sakura's body hadn't moved, she couldn't bare to move.

"And the interesting part?" Hanako said, looking at Sakura out of the corner of her eye. "The girl had been alive when I took her chakra. Just barely, but she still showed vital signs. It's a shame, really, she could have been saved if I wanted her to be."

Sakura's mind recalled Fuu's story, how she had been tormented at the sight of her dead friends, causing Koichi and Hanako to stop breathing and bathe in their innocent blood. She remembered feeling Fuu's torment in her re-telling of the story, feeling the agony of her friend.

A spark egnited.

The girl had been alive when I took her chakra

Sakura felt her powerful chakra surge into her body.

It's a shame, really

Her body had become hers again.

She could have been saved if I wanted her to be.

Sakura's blazing green eyes bore into Hanako's.

"You killed them."

It was an accusation.

Hanako smiled maliciously. "I did."

This time, Sakura didn't even blink as Hanako's body and chakra melted away, and in her place stood a figure clothed in orange with sunshine yellow hair.

"And I'll do the same to your friends." Naruto's voice said, his blue eyes malicious.

Sakura closed her eyes, and allowed her body to fill up with the power she needed and the fury she had gathered.

And her power had spiked when she heard his unmistakable voice.

"And the one you love."

Sakura's blazing eyes opened to the impostor standing before her, Sasuke's eyes looking at her with that familiar stare that always managed to set her heart into a frenzy.

But not today.

All that affected her heart was exchanged with the rage she felt for Fuu and herself, and no appearance that Joryoku took would stop her.

She smiled. After all, she had been looking forward to a rematch with Sasuke. And this would be perfect practice.

A/N: Merry Christmas! And to those who don't celebrate it, happy hanukkah and happy kwanzaa!

Next chapter will consist of one fight and the Cherry Blossom Rescue Squad.

Leave some reviews, see you next update! (And sorry for any spelling/grammar errors.)

The Last Spoilers:

Anyone else watch spoilers? I actually cried.

And I am not ashamed to say that I watched the scene where Naruto and Hinata kiss about 10 times now, and that's bound to increase.

I can't get enough of those two!