Ch: 2 A Simple Favor

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Sakura threw a dirty medic apron on the floor of her bedroom and scrambled to put her shoes on. After a quick look in the hallway mirror, she dashed out the front door.

Five minutes. That's all she needed.

When she was already sprinting down the street, she skidded to a stop as she suddenly remembered that she'd forgotten to do something.

Shit! I'm so late!

She ran back to her house and frantically unlocked the front door, only to throw herself in front of the hallway again. Her eyes fell to a different target this time—a photograph on the wall.

Sakura calmed her heart just enough to allow herself a moment of ceremonious respect.

In the photo, a younger version of herself held a black graduation scroll secured by a red bow. To her right was a man with one hand placed on her shoulder. To her left, a woman with a hand on Sakura's opposite shoulder. The three of them stood under a tree cheesing for a family portrait.

Thank you for watching over me, mom and dad.

Today—of all days!

She'd openly criticized Kakashi's tardiness for years, and yet here she was, the epitome of hypocrisy.

Sakura was meeting her—technically Shikamaru's—Genin team. He was pulled away for some top-secret mission, sans kids, as he often was, leaving her to try her hand at babysitting. A simple favor for an old friend since everyone else was busy apparently.

But she'd certainly make it worth her while.

Sakura could recall countless torturous "team-building exercises" that she, Naruto, and Sasuke had to endure for the benefit of Kakashi. At the time, the man's laundry, lawn work, office administration, and other chores were well-disguised as a form of "team-building", supposedly critical to the path of shinobi nobility.

It's not like she knew any better back then.

But now she had an opportunity to pay it forward. And it would be fun, she thought while smiling to herself wickedly.

Her running footsteps thumped against the hollow wooden roofs of various buildings to the training field. Idle chatter filled the familiar streets below—among them, Mr. and Mrs. Futsu bickered as they swept the dust away from their impressive display of lucky trinkets, and the cranky fruit-stand man, who always grumbled and shouted expletives at passing kids, took his daily stroll.

The troubles were small these days, and for that, Sakura could appreciate them.

The clearing was close now. She'd be there in just under two minutes.

Sakura looked above her, to where the skies kept themselves clear and the early autumn air bright and warm. It was her favorite time of year, with the summer heat waves gone. Tough start and tardiness aside, it was going to be a good day.

But as she neared the grass—where she expected to find three children eagerly awaiting her arrival—she found only a single buzzing fly and a couple squirrels.

The field was empty?

She leaped down and walked to the center of the wet area, sighing where she stood.

No. Not empty.

…

Whoosh.

From the trees, a kunai flew at the back of her head. She lifted her hand and caught it just behind her ear.

"Take this!"

A boy exploded from the bushes, screaming at the top of his lungs. He attempted to kick Sakura in the face, she supposed, but he wasn't quick enough—she fisted the back of his white T-shirt and lifted him off the ground.

He kicked and punched the air, yelling childish profanities. "Lemme go I swear I'll—"

Sakura peered at him with narrowed eyes.

As he returned her gaze, his body betrayed him, and his adrenaline started to wear off sooner than he hoped. His arms and legs dangled in the air in defeat, like a puppet at the mercy of its master.

"I told you you'd look stupid," another boy muttered as he emerged from the bushes. "She didn't even have to look to catch your kunai."

"Shut-up Tone," said the boy at Sakura's mercy. He folded his arms across his chest, feet still dangling in the air.

"I've already told you." A third one, a girl, also emerged from the bushes, looking at Sakura practically with stars in her eyes. "A kunoichi like Sakura-sensei would never be caught off guard by a Genin like you."

Sakura dropped the first boy on his rear. He sat with his chin up in the air without apology.

"You must be Oishi," Sakura said. He reminded her of Naruto at that age, except he was a bit smaller. She heard Shikamaru talk about the kid before—he was a cute one. She resisted an urge to smile, which she knew would only embarrass him in front of his teammates.

"Wow, for an apprentice to Godaime-sama, you're bright!"

And just like that, not cute. This was probably what it felt like to be a victim to Naruto's petulance. How that blonde-haired idiot was never murdered by shishou, Sakura didn't know.

"OW! Mirai-chan, that hurts! Stop it—" Oishi waved his hands in the air, swatting away the girl's attempts to slap sense into him.

"Idiots…" The third teammate, Tone, stared ahead, disengaged. He clearly didn't want to be lumped in with the other two. "Such idiots."

Sakura closed her eyes as the chaos ensued. Shikamaru hadn't given her a heads up about their… enthusiasm. He was probably laughing now, congratulating himself for essentially winning himself a vacation at her expense.

She would make him pay up later.

When she took on this Genin team, she wanted to show Konoha that she was just as skilled in leadership as she was famed within the village for combat and medic skills. It was her way of proving her dedication and undying loyalty, to show her village that there was no task beneath her—not even babysitting. Failure on this mission would not be a good look.

She had to do something.

Luckily, she had an idea.

She collected a good amount of chakra into her body—just enough to give a good scare—and then sent a chilling wave of battle intent to the kids.

Then she tugged both sides of her mouth until she managed to emulate an artificial smile, showing no wrinkles by her eyes like she would with a genuine one. She held her mouth in that position, as if nailing the corners of her lips in place.

She didn't need a mirror to know that it looked just as creepy as she intended. She had enough experience with Sai to know that it was.

They noticed.

Tone's eyes snapped to focus.

Mirai turned her head.

Oishi lost color in his face. "H-hey… " he stammered. "What is she—"

At full speed, Sakura appeared behind the punk, closely crouching over his shoulder so that he could feel her breath on his temple. She knew the poor babies weren't able to follow her movements at that speed. Good.

"Dearest Oishi-kun…," she said, giving her voice the same sadistic tone that Anko gave to Naruto when they first met. "I wonder how it felt to be held in the air and tossed onto the grass like a sack of rice. Your teammates seem to know something about me that you don't." That was why they were so scared, she insinuated. "Shall we ponder what 'something' could be?"

Beads of sweat collected on Oishi's head. He gulped. Like a scared little rabbit, he dared not move.

Both of his teammates glued their eyes ahead. They'd probably never been that thankful to be anybody but him at the moment.

As the final act, Sakura rested a knee on the ground, positioning herself behind Oishi where he'd definitely be able to feel, but not see, her. She placed a single finger in between his two feet, pointed into the earth. "This is what a broken ankle sounds like through a stethoscope."

He croaked, nervously. "What are you—"

With one flick of her finger, thunder wreaked havoc underneath them. The ground shook and trembled as it split in half, not unlike if an earthquake had erupted where they stood.

Sakura stepped back, and all three of the Genin lost their grounding. They fell to the floor in awe.

"That. Was. So. Cool," Mirai said, looking at Sakura breathlessly.

Tone nodded. "Sensei, please teach me!"

Sakura, now confident that Oishi had a comprehensive understanding of what exactly it meant to be an apprentice to one of the legendary Sannin, waited satisfactorily as he straightened himself out internally.

With that, her job was done. They'd be obedient pups and it would be smooth sailing from here.

All they needed was a little push.

Cha!

"This part of town sure brings back memories", Hidan said casually. "Didn't Kakazu and I fight some pricks close by?"

Itachi saw Kisame roll his eyes.

As a lover of gore and a religious freak, Hidan's version of "a fight" was equivalent to a sadistic ritual involving unnecessary suffering for all involved. Worse, he was a braggart who couldn't admit to his own mistakes.

One time in Fire country, Hidan was outsmarted by Leaf-nin and got trapped under a heap of boulders. Akatsuki had gone out searching for him when he never came back. They found him days later, malnourished and almost dead. The way he spun the story was comical.

"Figures I'd be back," Hidan pressed on, much to Itachi's annoyance. "Took me and Kakazu what, about three minutes for the two-tails? What's it been for you, Itachi? Almost a whole fuckin' decade for the nine-tails?"

Convenient. Of course Hidan would exclude the incident in Fire country where Hidan had to be rescued. From his own stupidity.

While Leader instructed Itachi to include the cultist in his attack on Konoha, their relationship was a professional one only. It didn't matter if they were the only members of Akatsuki left. He and Kisame didn't have to respond to the taunting.

But the silence probably only annoyed Hidan. "Bunch o' bitches," he muttered.

It looked like Kisame wouldn't be able to hold back with a snide remark of his own. Itachi thought it better to preserve the peace. "Once we reach Konoha, our target is Princess Tsunade," he said, reminding his colleagues of their plan. "I'm to cast Kokoro Sabanto when we meet face to face. Her allegiance to Akatsuki will be certain, and there will be no need for further bloodshed. She will send us the Jinchuriki on her own volition."

Hidan smirked.

Itachi knew it was because the plan meant that Hidan would get his blood fix.

Unlike Hidan, Itachi was a pacifist. He liked to be strategic and avoid unnecessary pain. Developing the long-staying manipulation jutsu was a good move. But then Leader requested Itachi tailor it, which had taken years. Now, the stronger the chakra control abilities of the target, the more potent the jutsu—and the more effort required to deploy it.

This meant that the pool of really good targets was reduced to virtually one. And she happened to be the most guarded in Konoha. Approaching her head-on would undoubtedly send many of her shinobi to their deaths.

The plan was utterly terrible. There would indeed be a bloodbath. But because Leader was adamant, Itachi had no choice other than to move forward with incredible tactlessness. It would take a walking miracle to pivot to an easier target. Still, if there was an opportunity, he would take it.

Sakura's team mission was simple enough.

She heard that the kids complained about only receiving D-rank missions. The most recent one left Tone in Konoha's allergy department—something involving a cat.

This one was C-rank. All they had to do was investigate civilian unrest on the outskirts of Konoha. With almost no chance of real shinobi combat, yet a chance to visit an unfamiliar town, Shikamaru's Genin would get exposure to the outside world from a safe vantage point. It'd be good for them.

They would be at their destination soon. It was only a few miles from Konoha, and Sakura could still see the bright red and orange tiles of the Hokage tower from where they stood in the trees.

She occasionally stole some glances to the kids behind her. The three stuck together, falling in line so they wouldn't leave anyone behind.

She began to feel nostalgic about Team 7. It didn't happen as often as it used to, but still she could never shake thoughts about her old teammate. He was still with her, always.

Was he still alive? Did he ever find what he was looking for?

And she couldn't help but compare Team 7 to the next generation following behind her. Mirai came from a respected family of shinobi, but she didn't look down on her teammates whose families were civilians. Her lineage gave her an edge in wisdom, as expected. The boys looked up to her, in stark contrast to how ignored Sakura felt as a Genin. They were clearly more functional.

Wait—what was that?

Sakura stopped in her tracks. She masked her chakra and held up a closed fist.

The Genin followed on high alert.

The air seemed heavy, and it was getting heavier every second, with a thick coat of killing intent suspended around them. There were three incredibly dark chakra signatures heading into their area.

And then Sakura saw them. Three Akatsuki. She knew them all.

Sakura turned to her students.

We haven't been spotted. There's still a chance for them—

"This is bad," she said, desperate. "I need you all to mask your chakra and listen carefully."

They picked up on her urgency and did what they were told.

"This mission has become dangerous. If you don't do exactly as I say, we will die. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sensei."

"Mirai—has your mother ever told you about Akatsuki?"

The boys looked at each other in confusion when their teammate nodded.

"Take the boys and run as fast as you can to our front gates. Have Izumo and Kotetsu warn Hokage-sama that Itachi, Kisame, and Hidan of Akatsuki are on their way to the village. We need to assemble a team and prevent their entry."

"But sensei, what about you?" Tone asked. He must've been really scared, because Sakura could detect the heavy pounding of his heart.

"Konoha has been looking for Akatsuki for a long time. We can't lose them. I'll try to stay hidden and then hold them off until help arrives."

Mirai's eyes hardened in understanding. Sakura probably didn't have to explain what would happen if she was found with no other Jonin to back her up.

The boys' eyes darted between her and Mirai, as if they were trying to read what was being left unsaid.

Sakura tried to give a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine. I swore on my life to protect Konoha, and that includes you three."

Under a different Jonin, probably a no-name Jonin with something to prove, the Genin might've been pulled to their imminent deaths. Then Akatsuki would've moved into Konoha without warning, and people would die.

After years of being the generation that needed protection, it was now Sakura's turn to protect.

"I won't let them win. Go."

She had to do this. They must be kept safe.

"Now!"

Oishi cast one last glance at her and then moved to follow his teammates. The best thing they could do for her was hurry.

This time, Mirai didn't slow down when her teammates started to get tired.

They struggled to keep up. And they'd never seen her this upset before.

"Hey," Oishi whispered to Tone. "What's with her?"

Mirai overheard. Without losing momentum, she turned to look at them.

They realized she was crying. "One of those men killed my father."

Kisame noticed first. He grinned, petting Samehada as if calming a riled-up dog. "Looks like we have a pretty meal hiding in the trees," he said to his colleagues.

"I'll rock-paper-scissors you for it," Hidan countered while licking his lips.

"Leave it," Itachi intervened. "Whoever it is, it's not mission-critical."

Sakura cursed from her hiding spot in the trees. She didn't expect that sword to give away her position so quickly.

Hidan stared at the back of Itachi's head, grinning."If I don't… you gonna kill me?"

He got no response from Itachi. Nor Kisame.

Sakura gripped a kunai in her hand, tightly. She was hesitant, biting her lower lip as she ran countless possibilities through her head.

Should she attack first?

She could hold Akatsuki off for ten, fifteen minutes maybe. She needed to give the backup team at least twenty minutes to get to her location. If she fought alone now, she'd be dead for sure.

No.

It wouldn't be now.

She just had to wait a little longer—

A decision was made without her. A red triple-bladed scythe whirled in her direction, narrowly missing her cheek.

She jumped from her place in the trees to the dirt road in front of her enemies, sizing them up.

"You wasn't playin' about pretty," Hidan said.

Her mouth began to dry. Even if she'd managed to kill one many years ago, it was unheard of to face three S-class criminals at once and live to tell the tale. Especially not these three.

Kisame was the largest, and with his scaly blue skin and beady eyes, his cloaked body cast an intimidating shadow over the road. The best strategy for dealing with him was probably to stop the flow of chakra in certain parts of her body upon contact with the sword. It was only a guess, but it would have to do for now.

She certainly had to be careful not to look at Itachi too closely. Naruto told her about how he was pulled into a genjutsu simply by watching the man point a finger. She kept her eyes unfocused over Itachi's form, trying not to linger on any one particular area. She settled on the highest part of his jet black hair which was being pulled along with the wind.

She was most uncertain about Hidan. He looked human enough, and probably could actually be quite good looking if he tried to be charming, but she'd heard enough about his so-called immortality to know that he was a monster. She didn't like the way he was looking at her, with his dilated pupils eagerly scanning her body like she was a piece of meat.

In any case, it would be smart to procrastinate as much as possible.

"What business does Akatsuki have here?" It was a stupid question, she knew.

Hidan was the first to speak. "To see you, of course!" he exclaimed, chuckling with his head tossed back.

So the man had jokes.

"Lord Jiashin! Look at her—my beautiful kill!"

Nevermind. There it was—confirmation that he was absolutely crazy.

Kisame leaned over and whispered something to Itachi.

Sakura concentrated her hearing so that she could eavesdrop.

"Itachi," he said. "Isn't that the Jinchuriki's teammate? They're close."

x

Itachi knew Sakura, alright.

His kid-brother regularly complained about all the academy girls who giggled at his back and followed him everywhere. The kunoichi's lineage wasn't spectacular, and it was rumored that her Genin parents passed away from illness. The last time Itachi saw her, she was just a teenage Chunin on her way to rescue the Kazekage.

"The one who killed Sasori," he said in agreement. He didn't get a chance to see her in combat that day, but she would have only gotten stronger since then. She was not to be taken lightly.

Before Itachi could relay the intel, Hidan swung his weapon again and aimed for Sakura.

Idiot.

The scythe pierced the ground and a cloud of dust floated into the air above it, obscuring the view of Hidan's target like smoke.

…

…

It was a slow reveal, but eventually everyone was able to see that Sakura's body was not underneath the weapon—much to Hidan's disappointment.

Sakura reappeared. It was missed by all except Itachi, who followed her movements curiously.

Hidan was caught off guard. "What the—"

Sakura's foot made contact with his back.

Itachi could see that his teammate's rib cage had been absolutely crushed, looking like it almost split in half from the impact. The cultist was thrown into the closest tree, breaking and splintering the wood upon landing.

The kunoichi then looked to Itachi and Kisame, her eyes betraying her anticipation as she tried to prepare herself for an attack from either of them.

Itachi honestly couldn't be bothered—like he said earlier, this wasn't mission-critical. "Get up Hidan," he called out, bored.

Silence infiltrated their face-off.

One minute passed.

Hidan instead opted to lay in front of the tree motionless.

It was all a part of his well-rehearsed, melodramatic theater that always prefaced the big reveal of his immortality. But it was only "a big reveal" if the character in question wasn't already in everyone's bingo books, which Sakura most definitely had at least one of.

It was like knowing the secret behind the magician's trick yet being forcibly subjected to watching it over and over again. Just embarrassing.

Itachi wondered if Hidan thought of that. Probably not.

x

To Sakura's shock, Hidan opened his eyes. A strand fell from his neatly slicked back hair, covering his eye as he yelled out unruly. "This fucking hurts!"

Crap, she thought to herself.

She read about his "other" state in Konoha's archives. Immortality was granted to him if he sacrificed others above a religious symbol marked in blood, but as far as she could see, he was in his human state. He wasn't supposed to be able to recover so quickly.

She felt her stomach leap as she watched Hidan clutch his chest and sit up from where he was sitting, haggardly leaning against the broken tree. He looked at her hatefully, chest heaving as he wheezed.

"And you're a fucking bitch! I'm gonna torture you…"

Hidan had to pause and take a slow breath.

"…rape your dead corpse..."

Another laborious breath.

"…and then kill your whole fuckin' family!"

"Hidan, you're the only one who cares about such a small meal when we have an entire village waiting," called Kisame from a few yards away.

Sakura looked to the other two Akatsuki, who hadn't moved to help their teammate at all. In fact, they didn't even look like they would make the first move until she attacked them. It was odd but she wasn't about to complain.

She appeared beside Hidan.

She knocked him backwards beside the tree and pinned his head to one side with chakra-infused footing on his cheek. She threw two kunai to pin each of his hands to the ground beside his body.

Underneath her foot, with a squashed cheek, he was yelling unintelligibly, clearly upset at the unexpected turn of events.

Sakura tuned him out. Out of morbid scientific curiosity, she took her hand and hovered over his chest, using her chakra to form a scalpel at the tip of her index finger. She cut his cloak and shirt like she'd done thousands of times in the field when she needed to heal someone. Except this time, she didn't stop at the clothes.

She dug the scalpel into his bare skin.

And began to dissect him alive.

His screaming intensified as she pulled back a flap of damaged skin and muscle, exposing his inner organs. She peaked into his lung in the area in front of where she kicked him.

As expected, his ribcage was broken in multiple places, with bone shards piercing his lung.

With two fingers, Sakura pulled on one of the fragments lodged into it. The fragment lifted from his lung with stringy bloody mucous attached, and she observed his organ tissue as it began to magically rearrange itself to its proper form. She made a mental note to add this to Konoha's archives, if she ever made it back.

x

Itachi had seen a lot in his life, so he was surprised when he had a reaction at all. He was equal parts impressed and entertained that Hidan had been caught off guard. Despite the ugly sight of his colleague being dissected alive, he couldn't find the willpower to pry his eyes away.

Kisame muttered beside him. "Princess Tsunade created a monster."

That comment gave Itachi an idea.

Sakura's likeness to the Godaime couldn't be denied. The scene presented an interesting twist of events. A new opportunity, perhaps?

Evidently, the kunoichi before them exhibited the precise chakra control abilities that his jutsu was made for.

It could work.

"There's been a change of plans. We're taking her with us," he told Kisame. Come to think of it, Sakura was in a position of immense influence as the common denominator between the Jinchuriki and the Godaime herself. And here she was, alone, in front of them.

No—it would be even better, he thought to himself.

Kisame raised his eyebrows at Itachi's rare act of spontaneity, but didn't reject the idea. "Well there's no point in arguing with a genius," he shrugged.

Together, they turned to regard Sakura with new intentions. She happened to notice them and jumped backwards to her original position, putting distance between her and Akatsuki once again.

Kisame walked over to where Hidan lay and hoisted his body over his shoulder.

"About time, ya fucking prick," Hidan complained.

"You acted recklessly and got what you deserved," said Kisame nonchalantly.

Itachi faced Sakura. She was looking at his feet, avoiding his eyes, trying to predict his next move.

Naive girl. Avoiding his gaze wasn't going to help her this time. He wasn't trying to cast just any genjutsu—at least none that she would be able to feel.

He stared at her with bright Sharingan eyes, as if in a meditative trance, waiting for the right moment to strike.

He saw her furrow her eyebrows in confusion. He could see her gathering chakra into her fist, prepared to retaliate against any surprise attacks. Unfortunately for her, that was the wrong move.

There it is—

Kokoro Sabanto no Jutsu.

Like magic, Sakura dropped to the floor.

To be continued...