Hello all! I just wanted to preface this by saying that this is my first time writing any kind of fight scene, so I hope that it turned out ok! I'd be grateful for any tips for future reference, but I hope you enjoy! xx

On a particularly warm day, the sun would soon begin to set. Just above the canopy the sky was awash in a deep swirl of blue in orange. For two days, Naruto and Sakura walked on opposite sides of Kakashi. They hadn't spoken about the other night by the river, and conversation was sparse and intermittent. Kakashi sardonically muttered under his breath for the past fifty miles or so, hoping either one of them would eventually mend the tension, yet it was as if he was talking to himself. Far off in the distance, he could begin to make out the thicket of eerie trees that would no doubt be concealing another one of Orochimaru's hideouts.

"That must be it beyond that clearing," Sakura muttered. It had been so long since she had spoken Kakashi had forgotten her observancy. "We should slip into the trees and see if we can find an area that's unguarded for an ambush."

At least one of them is having ideas, Kakashi thought. He approvingly raised his eyebrows and turned to Naruto, waiting for him to inevitably provide his input. Without looking in either of their directions, he nodded his head. "That sounds like a good idea."

"All right then."

…

The three of them crouched without noise beneath the branches and leaves, peering into the distance as they examined the hideout. A cave carved in the likeness of a snake, moss crawled between its distinct scales, evident of the incredible weathering the rock had withstood. Water stains overlapped each other on its snout. Chips and cracks over varying sizes ripped through its surface.

"It certainly looks the part of a villain's lair, now doesn't it?" Kakashi mocked. Naruto laughingly scoffed under his breath, and he eagerly curled his fingers around the branch in front of him. It made no difference whether they went for a silent ambush or crashing in; he was ready to pounce either way.

"Given the time of day, and the nature of their base, an ambush may be hard to execute," Sakura explained. "We may need to just sneak in as far as we can, and deal with the aftermath once we're inside."

Naruto and Kakashi glanced her way slightly taken aback by her suggestion. Sakura had always been the one to thoroughly weigh their options, look for the stealth route, not wanting to blunder and brawl her way through something. She was strategic. Careful. She smiled weakly.

"You know," She mumbled, gesturing with her hands. "Destroy them from the inside out."

While he contemplated her proposal, Kakashi was overcome with a sickly prickle crawling up his back. It was somehow both faint and strong. Perking up his ears and straightening his back, he let the feeling travel across his body, trying to get a sense of where it was coming from. The dense ruffling of leaves behind him immediately alerted all three of them.

As quickly as Kakashi had turned around, a deftly swift kunai split the bark of the tree, slicing Sakura's cheek ever so slightly. She wasn't even aware of the sensation of being injured until her eyes focused. Her breath escaped her as she touched her fingertips to the wound, silently fixated over her own warm blood out of the corner of her eye. I…I didn't even hear it.

Catching only the glimpse of a headband as the shadowy figures danced through the trees, he immediately recognized the insignia: Otagakure. Both Naruto and Kakashi quickly found their balance on the branches, withdrawing their own weapons and bracing for the unexpected.

As Sakura looked away from her blood to the kunai, she was startled once she noticed the explosive tag hastily wrapped around its end. Quickly springing to her feet, she hurriedly shouted, "Kakashi-sensei! Naruto! Move!" and leapt from the trees to the ground down below. The both of them turned to watch her disappear, and hastily followed suite.

A gust of smoke bellowed through the foliage as it ignited into flames; an explosion of fire and ash burst through the air and rapidly swept from tree to tree, sending smoldering embers down below as their assailants took refuge in the cloudiness.

"We walked ourselves straight into their ambush," Kakashi hushed, scanning the canopy. Naruto gazed over at Sakura, feeling the mildest of concern for her. It was a habitual, knee-jerk reaction to seeing her hurt in even the smallest of ways. The skin around the cut had become swollen and red, with a thin trail of blood that smeared near her jaw. His line of vision was interrupted as she readily leaned forward, tucking her hand in her pack prepared to rapidly withdraw her shuriken if need be.

His attention was drawn toward the small clearing in front of them as a gaggle of Oto-nin dropped from the shadows in front of them, many of them looking disheveled and manic with fury. It was apparent that even some of them had been experimented on: missing eyes, skin lesions that resembled lightning across their faces, even missing limbs. "Check out the legs on her," a man in the middle growled perversely. Scattered whistles and roars echoed among them. Naruto's eyes found their way back to Sakura, watching her scour in disgust, clenching his fists alongside her. Whispers among the back to the effect of, "That's it, that's the kid," preceded a gruff Oto-nin up front grumbling, "We've been expecting you." They quickly began to charge toward them in formation, with knives and hand signs aplenty.

Stepping out in front of them before they could react, Sakura promptly began to pull back her fist, let out a familiar battle cry, and unleashed a ferocious blow to the ground, uprooting surrounding trees and sending their lumbering trunks plummeting to the ground, entrapping a few of them beneath their weight; it pummeled the rocky earth below them and sent it rippling through the staggered ninjas.

Both Kakashi and Naruto looked on in surprise as she effortlessly recoiled from the punch, coyly muttering, "Too easy," beneath her breath before designating which splintered groups they should take on. Naruto chuckled to himself, "Finally putting that forehead to work, eh?"

"You know," Sakura teased, tapping her temple. "Big forehead, big brain, right?"

Though there were mere days between when she pleaded with Tsunade to assign her this mission, she spent every one of those days relentlessly training day and night to make up for the time she lost; it was time to take charge. Sakura was determined to prove her worth again.

While Naruto immediately relied on his shadow clones to overwhelm his opponents, her and Kakashi had sights set on two nins who dashed toward them. She coolly ambled between their swings with great dexterity, relying on a gazelle-like nimbleness. For the first time she felt she was truly fighting on the same level as her sensei, though his back was turned to her in defense. She had always felt overshadowed in his eyes, never being worthy of his full attention. She had hoped she'd catch the smallest glimpse of pride in an approving smile beneath his mask before they were through.

Their knives tinged curtly. The sharp noise rang against her ear drums as she lunged forward. Sakura ducked to his side, hoping for an opening. She narrowly dodged a fist that flew toward her head, and in turn grasped it in her palm, wrangling him to the ground.

She held the kunai to his throat, struggling for the strength it would take to cut. He fought back as he pounded against her shaking arms. "Y-you…got some fight…in ya…don'tcha?" he choked out. Sakura flexed with all her muscle, putting her body weight into the kill; she was too focused to think of something witty to say. It was mere inches from his throat. He snarled, "You should…make for lots…o-of fun then." She winced in contempt.

"Sakura, look out!" Immediately glancing over her shoulder, she watched the other ninja rush toward her as Kakashi struggled to regain his footing, turning quick on his heel. He had let his guard down for only a moment.

With all his might he rammed his elbow into her ribs. She barreled over the one on the ground, sliding through the dirt and coming to a stop a full two yards away. Though her brain told her to immediately rise, her body needed a moment to recuperate from having the wind knocked out of her.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw her limp body in the dirt. Preoccupied with his own fight, he was unable to act on his instincts to immediately rush to her aid. She'll get up in a second, he thought. She's fine. When the moment was opportune, Naruto stole glances to her position, watching helplessly as she took a painstakingly long time to rise. Kakashi was impeded by the burly Oto-nin who had since risen from the ground, and putting up quite the fight. As she was struggling to get up, Sakura heard the deafening sound of slow-moving footsteps, and felt the lanky shadow of the man standing over her. She could hear Naruto crying out her name in alarm. The ninja's hand was on the back of her neck. "You'll do just nicely."

He pulled her to her feet, almost tearing the collar. She could hear the slight rasp of fabric ripping. Sakura shook in a breathy panic. He taunted her, whispering, "This'll only hurt a little." The prospect of death caused a surge of adrenaline to pulse through her; with all her weight, she ducked down into a crouch, clasped her hands firmly on his forearm, and pulled forward with every ounce of strength. The man was launched onto his back a few feet in front of her. She aligned her stance and put her fists up. Sakura watched the man leap to his feet. I can't get trapped again.

No matter how quick she was, there never seemed to be a moment to strike. She was stuck in a perpetual loop of blocking his blows, feeling her arms and shins beginning to bruise at his ever-increasing speed and strength. Baring her teeth in defiance, she struggled to tap into her chakra reserves, her breath becoming more shallow and forceful with every moment. I can't even make a hand sign! What is wrong with me? she thought, strenuously blinking away the heaviness in her eyelids. A wicked grin curled across the Oto-nin's gruesome face, and he snickered deeply. Soon, lethargy rattled through her limbs like the slow drip of honey, soft and gooey. The pit of her stomach furled into a tense ball as the rest of her became as supple as water. He hadn't been getting faster; she was slowing down.

B-but…how? she wondered.

The laceration on her cheek stung anew.

N-no…it…it was poisoned!

It was too late to try to heal herself or extract it; the delayed effect of the poison gave it all the time it needed to run its course through her, sapping her not only of her chakra, but her consciousness. There was nothing she could do.

As her vision faded in and out, she struggled to force herself to stammer backwards. Unable to protect herself, the Oto-nin delivered a debilitating blow to her abdomen, and she could only watch herself as she saw stars, doubling over onto his fist. "Exactly as planned," he cackled. Suddenly accompanied by one of his comrades, they quickly agreed to flee, Sakura in tow, and he brutishly hoisted her over his shoulder. With her last moments of lucidity, she looked up to see Naruto and Kakashi quickly scrambling to overcome their aggressors. Her mouth formed the words to call for him, but nothing came out.