xXx
Sakura's lungs burned with each drag of breath- she could tell the adrenaline coursing through her veins was slowly fading as the excruciating throb in her right hand pulsed in beat with her heart. The pain was adamant in its rising presence, eating away at all other thoughts and making it harder to think clearly. She didn't dare look behind her, too afraid that the sight of that enormous blade would be the last thing she would see.
But she took note of Sasuke to her right sending quick glances at their tail every few minutes, the activated crimson of his newly awakened kekkai genkai ensuring he would be able to see if their enemy was gaining on them better than her own eyes ever could.
The fact that he had yet to call out warning was comfort enough. For now.
But that left the question of where, exactly, their enemy had gone.
Zabuza had made it clear he wasn't going to let Sasuke get away that easily.
And though they may have initially caught the more experienced ninja by surprise with their seamless teamwork earlier, no one was under any illusion that they could actually overpower the man. Especially not now that he had a partner at his side with unknown abilities.
So what gives?
Were they circling around for an ambush?
Did they decide Sasuke was not worth the effort after all?
Sakura shot another quick glance at her dark haired teammate.
He caught her eyes as he threw another quick look over his shoulder, expression unreadable, before he looked back ahead with his jaw set tightly.
They had been so close to losing him- and he had been so ready to use himself as a distraction for their escape.
Her breath caught at the thought of his body laying lifeless on the ground, not far from that of their sensei…
If Naruto hadn't come just in the nick of time…
She felt moisture collect at the corners of her eyes as emotion began to swell in her chest, and turned away from Sasuke so he wouldn't see, only to be met with Naruto's worried cerulean gaze.
He took in her expression as she fought to quell the lump in her throat, his eyes then flickering to Sasuke shortly after. His thoughts no doubt paralleled her own, and she fervently hoped their close call was a one time deal and they would make it back to their village without further casualties.
But of course, such hopes were childish and naïve.
Her heart drowned in her stomach when she heard Sasuke's sharp "Incoming!", and before she even had a chance to react, he had shoved her- HARD- right into Naruto. Her startled yelp coincided with the blonde's deep Ooof! as they both missed the next upcoming branch and dipped below a layer of foliage. She had felt rather than seen the two deadly kunai that had barely missed her and her orange-clad teammate. She heard a low grunt from Sasuke, suggesting he may not have completely dodged the kunai meant for him.
The short freefall had her heart high in her chest as she scrambled to regain control of her body again. She spotted a branch just within arms reach and threw her hands out for purchase. Catching the bark, she intended to swing her weight up to the next thickest branch available so she could double back for Sasuke, but the unbearable white hot fire that erupted from her right hand upon contact with the rough bark was enough to distract her as that hand immediately recoiled back to her body. Unable to hold her weight alone, her left hand slipped off.
She had thankfully slowed herself down enough that she was able to land on a limb just beneath, the wood creaked as it swayed dangerously under the sudden intrusion of her weight. She heard a heavy thud a bit further down at the ground level, indicating Naruto had not been quick enough to catch himself.
Her eyes darted between the offshoots and leaves above her, searching frantically for the deep blue of Sasuke's shirt- or perhaps the tell-tale light of one of his signature katon jutsu- but the only movement was the gentle sway of branches still recovering from their brush with the two falling genin. The light rustle of leaves tinted the air but it was otherwise silent.
She felt horribly exposed, yet her body was frozen with indecision on what her next move should be. The sound of Sasuke's pained grunt as she fell echoed in her ears, and dread settled in her stomach.
What if the reason she couldn't hear or see Sasuke was because he was already gone?
Her eyes widened in horror at the realization.
Should she jump down to the relatively safer ground, collect Naruto, and continue to run for their lives?
And leave Sasuke behind…? After he had once again thrown himself in harm's way to save you?
She scoffed aloud that the thought had even crossed her mind. Disgust with herself hardened in her chest and eclipsed the fear enough that before she could consciously make the decision, chakra pooled at her feet and she bolted up the trunk of the tree that had caught her.
She passed the layer of foliage they had been traversing through, and upon being met with empty space, continued her rush up the trunk before bursting into the next layer of thick branches and leaves.
There, being held firmly against the thick trunk of a tree a few meters away, Sasuke struggled against Zabuza's grip as the larger man's attention was turned to his pockets. He shuffled through them with one hand, clearly searching for something.
The large blade was thankfully strapped securely to his back for now.
She watched as Sasuke attempted to break the missing nin's grip on him by barreling his forearms down together on Zabuza's elbow, but the joint didn't so much as buckle.
His eyes connected with her's at that moment; the red iris' flickered to black before illuminating crimson again, and she realized he was struggling to maintain control on his chakra as his skin began to tinge blue.
He was running low on energy, chakra and oxygen, she realized. Alone, he was done for.
But he wasn't alone.
Brow set with determination, Sakura withdrew her last kunai and charged.
She didn't have a plan. She just needed to free Sasuke from that death grip. Her focus narrowed on her only goal, eyes so intent on the thick forearm that held her teammate immobile that even when a figure dropped right before her it wasn't enough to startle her from her target.
She sideswept seamlessly and with a grunt, sent the kunai flying with impressive force straight towards the Mist ninja. Even if her left hand was not her dominant, she couldn't rightfully call herself kunoichi if she couldn't display some level of ambidexterity.
She smirked in triumph at the pained grunt that sounded as the kunai hit its mark, embedding itself deep into the crease where a burly bicep met forearm.
Zabuza instantly let her Uchiha teammate go, and he slid a good two feet down against the trunk of the tree, hands around his throat as he coughed and sputtered, gulping in as much oxygen as he could.
Get out of there! Sakura internally screamed just as a hard backhand connected with her cheekbone, sending her over the edge and once again into a state of freefall.
Her fall was short lived as she connected hard with a branch against her ribs. She had curled one arm instinctively around it before she could slip down into a fall again, but the force had knocked the breath from her lungs and left her dazed, her mouth gaping open in a silent scream of pain. She attempted to draw in oxygen, but her lungs stood still, resolute in their unresponsiveness. Her body dangled precariously in mid air as she felt her hand beginning to slip across the smooth bark.
Movement caught her eye as she looked up to the porcelain visage of Zabuza's companion; their right hand boasted four senbon- one between each finger.
"That was foolish. You should have escaped while you had the chance. Now, you will die as well."
Sakura had time to ponder about how the voice sounded curiously feminine as she continued to fight against her own body to draw oxygen into her lungs. Her eyes were drawn to movement to her left, intent on this masked stranger not being the last thing she saw. She watched as Sasuke dropped down to her level about ten trees over, diverting his energy to seamlessly cartwheel along the branch just as a heavy blade imbedded itself within the bark where he had just frequented.
Zabuza stood then, hunched and cradling his injured arm- the arm she had incapacitated- she couldn't help but think with a flicker of pride.
But it was dampened by the dark chakra that rolled off the assassin- murderous and suffocating.
Multiple things happened simultaneously at that moment:
Zabuza raised his massive sword just as Sasuke realized he had inadvertently trapped himself against the trunk of yet another tree. His widened eyes were dark, indicating he had finally run out of chakra.
An inhumane roar echoed amongst the trees. Sakura had never heard anything quite like it and it pulled a shudder from her chest just as she was finally able to inhale again. She gulped hungrily at the air, eyes fixated on a figure that appeared just a few meters from Zabuza and Sasuke.
If Zabuza's chakra was murderous, this new chakra was downright bloodthirsty; she could see it, roiling around the form within it, orange and thick and angry.
Movement from just above her indicated her own enemy had finally let loose their killing blow, the metal singing with the movement.
But Sakura could not take her eyes from the mass of coiling chakra, even as she realized the breath she greedily inhaled would likely be her last.
That jumpsuit… the shock of blonde hair…
Was that… Naruto?
Just as quickly as these events occurred, three more presences instantaneously flickered into existance on the battlefield.
The man standing before the mass of orange chakra held the creature with only vermillion eyes shadowed by a shock of curly black hair; the wild chakra seemed to stiffen and damper under his intense gaze.
The screech of metal against hefty metal rang out as another man caught Zabuza's downward chop with his tanto; his long black hair whipping over his shoulder at the force before a leg kicked out and violently pushed Zabuza's form to stumble backwards down the wide branch.
A ricochet of sharp metallic tinging echoed above her as the senbon meant to put her down were deflected, and as she looked up she saw it had been by the wrist plate of an ANBU uniform. The man who donned it stood slowly, his body shielding her from her enemy. His unruly grey hair sparkled silver in the dappled forest light.
Everything seemed to freeze then- even the leaves stopped their conspiratorial whispering as the air itself seemed to vacate the premises.
Only Zabuza dared disturb the stillness, as his calculating eyes raked across the field from one new addition to the next.
It appeared he recognized them and did not like his odds. His brow drew inwards with frustration before he growled out "It seems my luck today has run out."
The man closest to him- protectively shielding a winded Sasuke- spoke.
"Indeed it has."
The voice carried a menacing undertone with threat of imminent danger. It was so foreign to Sakura that it took her a double take at the man it came from before recognizing him to be Sasuke's older brother, Itachi.
Even upon the recognition, her mind was having a hard time equating the soft spoken polite man she had dined with at the Uchiha household with this daunting powerful man before them now. It was no wonder his name was spoken with such reverence within the village gates. She could tangibly feel his chakra tinging the air- coiled and tout- like a venomous snake ready to strike.
"The hokage will have some questions for you." Itachi continued, his deep purr leaving no room for argument. "You'll both be coming with us."
A scoff.
"Like hell we will." Zabuza's voice, by contrast, was razorblades against concrete.
The Nukenin's young companion moved quickly, releasing more senbon but in the opposite direction- toward's Itachi. The Uchiha moved to block and in that moment Zabuza flashstepped out of the premises. His masked compatriot had left himself open in order to make an opening for the mist nin's escape, and the grey haired ANBU took advantage by throwing a barrage of shuriken.
They hit their mark, but the other nin didn't even make a sound and bounded above the treeline as if unharmed.
"Shit." The man above her murmured before immediately kneeling to where she still clung onto the tree branch with shaking arms.
He assisted her up and as he gave her a once over his eyes landed on her injured hand. His mismatched eyes, Sakura couldn't help but notice. One of which was a sharingan.
Is he an Uchiha?
It was a question that brought forth more questions. Was it possible that an Uchiha could awaken only a single eye?
"We cannot let them escape.."
Her protector must have determined that her wound was not serious as he had disappeared before Itachi had gotten the chance to finish the sentence.
Sakura turned to see an unconscious Naruto being laid against the trunk of a tree by Shisui.
Wait… so that really was…?
Shisui gave a quick nod in Itachi's direction then was gone.
Bounding over to where Naruto slouched against bark with his mouth open and boasting a dribble of drool, Sakura laid her hands against his neck, then across his forehead, unsure of what she was looking for exactly but still wanting to ensure her friend was ok.
Two pairs of sandaled feet appeared in her peripheral vision.
She turned her widened eyes to Itachi.
"What… what's wrong with him? What was that?"
Sasuke glanced askew to his brother, equally eager for answers.
A slight exhalation from the nostrils was all they were going to get, apparently.
"We must return to the village immediately."
His monotonous order left no room for question or argument.
Sasuke opened his mouth despite the warning in his brother's tone but was quickly silenced by an admonishing tick of the head. His mouth snapped shut and he glanced to Sakura instead.
She could see her own worry and trepidation reflected in his dark eyes.
"Sasuke, Sakura. Can the two of you run?"
They both gave a single nod to the affirmative.
"Good." He stepped to Naruto, taking a limp arm and using it to swing the young blonde boy onto his shoulders.
"We're going to run straight to the village of Ine, where we will regroup with the others. Understood?"
"Hai!"
"Hmn."
"If by chance we are attacked or intercepted on the way, do not stop. Do not slow down. Do not engage. Right now your sole mission is to make it to Ine. Understood?"
Again, the two genin nodded their affirmation. Sakura was amazed at the turn around within herself.
Despite all they'd been through- despite barely avoiding death multiple times in the span of such a short amount of time, and even despite the exhaustion she felt- standing there next to Itachi promoted a confidence and surety within herself that surprised her.
The man exuded such authority that she fully believed nothing could stop them now.
She stole a sidelong glance at their emergency captain as the three took off into the trees, taking in the strong jawline, the deadly silent movements even under the addition of dead weight, the purpose and determination set within his eyes…
This is what a true shinobi looks like.
xXx
AnimeEverywhere: Thank you! It's always one of the best feelings finding a new story to read that excites you, so I'm flattered I could provide that for you! Haha, well I'm glad you said you enjoyed my fights because this chapter had a little more to add- though not as much action I suppose. It is hard not getting bogged down in details though! So I feel you on that. Thank you so much for all the time and thought you put into your review! It definitely encourages me to continue! 3
IDeivle: Yeah Zabuza is not a shinobi to scoff at… T_T Poor guy was not ready.
Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha: SMH Fugaku always be starting things one way or another. _
Guest: Yes, so sorry for the long updates! I try to find time whenever I can but it's been a struuuuuuuggle lately. Lol. But I'm glad you're still enjoying the ride!
: I'm glad you think so! Hopefully this chapter still qualifies. ^_^
Kyloren'sgirl213: I'm flattered! And sorry that I may have taken what you said to heart about taking my time. XD
Green Alba: …. Same, man. Dude didn't deserve it. T_T Yeah it's hard to walk the line between canon and this new timeline for sure, so I'm happy you're enjoying the differences thus far. ^_^ Thank you so much for sticking with me this long! 3
Leafshadow2: Yes their bonding is tantamount to what's coming so gotta throw them in with the wolves early. Lol. Gahhh I wanted more Kakashi in this chapter too but there was no time to dawdle. T_T Soon. Soon.
Sunnyflower: Thank you so much! The turn around is it's good inspiration for writing so I suppose I can't complain too much. Lol!
ForgettheStereotypes: Thank you, it means a lot that you're enjoying it so far!
GAwriter: Yeah I like to drop the readers directly into the chaos right off the bat. XD So I'm glad you were up for the ride!
Jesskmemmy: Yes the Land of Waves was going to be the stage for trauma in any timeline. XD Poor kids.
Tam1706:Yessssss I'm a huge fan of both Itachi and Shisui as well! The updates are going to be erratic, and I'm so sorry for that. If I could stick to a schedule I totally would but as my life is currently, I would hate to promise something and make myself a liar. T_T So sorry about that! Truly.
Thanks again to everyone who took the time to read and review! I'm telling you, when I see reviews it's my biggest motivation to NOT take depression naps as soon as I get home and write instead. XD