~Scroll 18~
Hiding behind the brushes, Team Asuma watched on as the Oto easily beat Rock Lee.
"Running away sounds like a good plan!" Choji quietly whispered as he looked at his other teammates, "Those guys are getting creamed!"
"There's something wrong with Naruto and Sasuke…" The Nara teen mumbled, knowing that at least Naruto would not have allowed Sakura to fight alone against the Oto shinobi. The brunette looked at his blonde teammate, "… the famous Lee's obviously had his butt kicked, and Sakura's all alone… what are you going to do, Ino?!"
"Why…" She hissed, "why are you asking me?"
"She's in deep! We can't just leave her…" He frowned, "Can we?!"
Ino began abusing her lower lip as a memory began teasing at her forethought. It was the day when Ino and Sakura had ended their friendship and became bitter rivals. Why am I remembering that now?
"Ino." Shikamaru whispered, "What's it gonna be?!"
"There's nothing we can do." She was trying to convince herself more that actually protesting, "If we blunder in now… we may just make things worse!"
But the blonde continued to watch the pinkette as she tried to protect not only her teammates but Rock Lee as well.
Sakura defended herself from her own shuriken when Zaku deflected them with just a push of his hands.
"OW!" The pinkette exclaimed when someone grabbed her hair and savagely pulled her down.
"Lovely hair…" Suddenly Sakura remembered the female Oto-ninja, who up until now had pretty much stayed in the background, "So much more bounce and shine than mine has! What ninja technique is that - the art of deep conditioning?
"You're a disgrace to all shinobi… fussing with your looks when you should be concentrate on your training!" The female brunette sneered with bitter jealousy as she gave the younger girl's hair another vicious yank.
"Zaku…" She called out, "why don't you finish off Sasuke or one of her other fallen heartthrobs… right in front of this lovesick little pig?" Sakura gasped at the coldness in the other kunoichi's voice, "The least we can do is entertain her!"
Both Zaku and Dosu cheered at their teammate's cruelty.
No! They wouldn't… The pinkette mentally cried as she struggled against her capture.
"Hold still!" The female brunette ordered.
Tears stained her dirty cheeks as she cursed her own uselessness, Sakura cried at how she was the burden of the team, always protected… even Lee, an outsider, protected her… she just wanted to protect her precious people, much like her otouto.
"All right." Zaku jeered, "let's do it."
At the shinobi's cold laughter, the Konoha nin reacted. She did not know where she found the kunai, but there it was in her hand.
"Your tricks are useless against me, little girl." The Oto kunoichi taunted.
Sakura gave her a half smile.
Suddenly the female brunette lost her balance and had a fist full of pink hair.
The pinkette was a few steps away from her captures, standing tall and feeling lighter - both physically and spiritually. As if she had just cut herself free from her doubts. She had watched her teammates fight from the safety of the background. She had watched as those she cared about risk their well-being and lives to protect her… but enough was enough.
Now it's your turn… Sakura thought with absolute resolve, to watch my back!
"What…?!" The long-haired brunette gasped in realization that the little girl had willingly cut her hair in order to escape.
"Kin!" Zaku snapped at his teammate out of her jealous daze, "Finish her!"
Kin pulled out four senbon and charged at the Konoha's back, stabbing the pinkette's back.
"The art of substitution!" Kin gasped when the illusion dropped, revealing a log instead of a dead girl.
Zaku sneered. Zigging when I zagged… she's making a mockery of this, trying to deceive us with such a rudimentary technique!
Sakura, armed with eight kunai, charged the male brunette.
The nerve of her coming right for me!
"Give it up." He spat out, rebounding her throwing daggers, "Zankuha! The Blast that Slices the Air!… just a one-trick pony." Zaku stated when he saw that his target was another log.
Looking up, he saw another illusion charging at him.
"Try it twice…" He mocked, "Try it thrice… that trick will never work on me!" He then grabbed his own kunai, "My smallest skill is more than enough for you!"
His daggers hit their mark.
"Heh heh…" The brunette chuckled, "Come out, come out, wherever you… eh?"
He paused when he felt something wet drip on his face. Looking back up, his eyes grew wide in realization that this time… it was real.
Sakura crashed on top of the Oto-nin. She plunged his own kunai that she had pulled out of her thigh into his right arm.
Zaku tried to pull his free arm away in order to blast her away with another Zankuha. Suddenly he let out a painful yowl as the pinkette clamped her teeth into the Oto brunette's left forearm.