Haruka (character appearing in chapter 5 or 6) is now renamed: Kanao Tamaki.
Chapters 1-11 were edited (mostly typo, grammar, not content) if you reread the whole thing after this date (17.07.2023), it would be really appreciated if you could let me know if it's better than before.
12
About twenty men were surrounding them inside the smallest office he had ever seen. They had all unsheathed their katanas and tantos, ready to use them if the situation called for it. Their dear boss, a grandiloquent man whose fancy look inspired distrust, was sitting behind his desk, right in the middle of the room, while his underlings were trying to make the scariest grimaces. They looked anything but threatening to Itachi, who was actually more concerned with being asphyxiated if one more man entered the tiny room.
"I advise you not to try anything foolish, kunoichi," the grey-hair man started, gaze fixed on Haruno. "How disappointing! After everything I did for you, this how you express your gratitude? Causing trouble in my establishment? Bringing unwanted attention? The last thing I need!"
"You tricked me," her composed voice said.
He grinned, "No darling, just business. I made a desperate man happy by leading you where he wanted you to be and seeing as you went down there all by yourself, I don't see how I am to blame."
"We made a deal too," she reminded him, showing more restraint than expected, "I even paid you."
His eyes flickered, "I called it off as soon as I heard about a kunoichi of Konoha stabbing a man in cold blood. Do you think you can come here as you please and murder anyone you wish without consequences? Especially someone like you. A foreigner. An enemy."
"The man tried to kill me."
"Maybe, but I didn't make any deal involving murder, and," he grinned, "unfortunately for you, the man isn't here anymore to explain himself. Only you. So, what are we going to do with you now, hm?"
"I won't leave until you hand me the mask you promised me. And I want my things back. Your men took them away from me."
"Ah, will you look at that," he glanced at his men, "this foolish woman believes she can just ask for things like she's in any position to do so."
"I'll destroy your market if you don't."
They all started laughing, "Ha, ha... I should just deliver you to the police! You'll be made into an example, executed in a public place for everyone to see!"
"I could use someone like her," the matron interrupted him. "The woman stole one of my clients! She owes me!"
"Who's this man?"
"We found him with her."
"Search him."
"Don't," a voice said, "Give her what she asked, boss."
"Tenzo!"
Itachi looked at the newcomer, from his grey attire to his face. His very familiar face was wearing the remnant of a life altering-event that occurred a long time ago, back when Itachi used to be undercover within the Akatsuki, a terrorist organization seeking blood and destruction. One side of his face carried the mark of a severe burn caused by an inferno nobody should have been able to escape from. Yet, Tenzo had somehow managed to survive. Itachi was not the kind to miss his targets, even if only one lucky man out of hundreds was still breathing.
But it was a long time ago, and the faint note of hysteria he could see in Tenzo's eyes was telling him enough about how insignificant he had become.
"They must leave," he pleaded with urgency. "You don't want them here. You don't want them around anything alive . Let them go, boss. The police will deal with them."
"Are you out of your mind, Tenzo? Do you wish to get fired?"
"I'm saving you, boss," he said with more confidence, "I'm saving us all."
Fear was just like a poison spreading everywhere in the air, penetrating the mind of both the weakest and strongest, intoxicating them with visions of doom. As more angry eyes became filled with doubts and unease, irrational voices started to rise.
"Boss, I've never seen Tenzo-san like this, maybe we should listen to him—"
"Aye! The whore paid us already anyway, we can afford to give up one mask!"
"The police will soon be on our ass! They're going to think we're doing business with Konoha's shinobis, how are we going to justify ourselves if we keep them here?"
Tenzo rose his arm, "Easy, we didn't see anything guys. There was no shinobi of the leaf. Just...just a mad woman. We'll deny everything. Where's the mask?"
Tenzo didn't care anymore about hierarchy, which coming from him, was rather unexpected. He remembered the man as being extremely influenceable, lacking character and intuition. But again, years had gone by since then.
"Here," one of the underlings came forward and pushed Haruno's white coat and bag into her arms, then another one gave her the precious mask.
The man in charge sighed in defeat, understanding he had lost against his own men, "You've just ruined my night, boys," he rose up from his chair, "Kunoichi, I wish you good luck. The police won't be as merciful as me when they find you."
The weight of the last events, combined with the heavy rain falling on her as she climbed the metal stairs of one of the many buildings of Oirase, was starting to wear her down. She didn't know what luck made them escape the den of wolves this easily. Despite this, she was no fool, and understood that if she had demons, someone like Itachi Uchiha must have ten times as more. Whatever he had done to that man did not matter to her, and thus, Sakura followed the Uchiha heir blindly, content not to have to do any thinking for a while.
They climbed in silence, higher and higher, and when they reached the top, she took notice of a contingent of police officers running down the street beneath them, heading straight to the black market, as if their life depended on it. Seeing as everyone here seemed to fear them, doing the necessary to avoid crossing their path seemed like the wisest choice.
Rain pounded heavily onto the top of the grey building, thunder noises were rumbling in the distance, making her feel like she was really in the Rain country after days of drought. The howling wind made the relentless onslaught even more chaotic, slowing down her already unsteady steps, as she tried to follow the dark shadow in front of her. Now that the adrenaline was gone, the flaring pain in her shoulder made her realize something was wrong. Although she could still move her right arm, every motion made her feel an agonizing pain. She bet on a fracture or a minor dislocation, seeing as the man didn't go easy on her arm after all.
After jumping from yet another roof to another one, they ended up finding a narrowed spot, between large gas pipes, sheltered enough from the ongoing deluge. The Uchiha heir sat nonchalantly, he hadn't uttered a single word since their glorious exchange inside the underground bathroom, not that she was complaining. She imitated him, squeezing herself between metallic pipes. She got out of her cloak, and checked her belongings, including her new acquisition. A bitter success. Remembering that there were still two masks missing was even more depressing.
She unzipped her crimson blouse carefully, taking in the sight of her pale skin and the many bruises she expected to see. Fortunately, her chakra had made them disappear already. She felt her chest, imprisoned under tight white bandages, and ended up finding the right spot, just a bit below her shoulder, where she had been stabbed.
The skin's tender, but it's all healed up.
Sakura gave a glance over her quiet nemesis, thankful that he had the self-awareness not to look at her like he usually did, instead his attention was on the narrowed passage they had taken, and the threats that could come from it.
She then proceeded to examine her arm, applying pressure in search of any abnormality.
Not a fracture then.
She let out a deep breath, knowing that she was going to need more hands. Not wasting time, she went on her feet, and sat right in front of her companion, offering him her half-naked back.
"Put your hands on my left shoulder and under my aisle."
There was no room for discussion in her voice. Yet, a few seconds passed before she felt his hands close tentatively on her bare skin.
"Hold tighter."
The increased pressure brought her momentary relief before she started manipulating her arm, putting it carefully in the right orientation for what was to come. The quicker it would go, the sooner it would be over, and thus, she put back her arm in place in one decisive and swift motion. The sharp pain took her breath away, just like when she had been stabbed. If it was not for the hands holding her still, she would have jerked forward.
She breathed deeply and closed her eyes, letting the pain in her body fade away slowly, not without remaining aware of the man supporting her.
"Killing him was the right call," she heard him whisper.
Eyes wide-opened, she turned her head to face him, feeling a spike of dopamine hit her brain, making her forget all about his wrongdoings. If this was how it felt to receive approval from the great Itachi Uchiha, then, it made complete sense why Sasuke cared so much about his brother's opinions.
"The man had been following you ever since we crossed his path inside a small inn on the outskirts of Ginza," he let go of her shoulder," He might have been waiting for you to come out of the village ever since then."
Even though she still could not remember meeting this man during the war, she could now perfectly recall one strange man staring her down that time, a few weeks ago, when she had been looking for water.
Solving this mystery, however, was the last thing on her mind right now.
She moved away from him at once, "You knew of this? You knew this guy was... stalking me, looking to harm me."
"You're correct."
"Yet, you..." she gulped, gathering her thoughts becoming challenging with all the conflicting emotions she had felt in the last hour, "Why...why didn't you say anything then? Why didn't you warn me?"
"I had no reason to partake in this conflict."
His words felt like receiving a punch in her guts.
He's doing it again.
"A conflict?" she repeated, remaining calm, "The guy wanted me dead, Uchiha-san. I...I didn't even know who he was. He even threatened to kill Sasuke. Your own brother."
"My brother's fights are not mine's. He can handle himself."
She went on her feet quietly, "I... I don't want to argue with you," and moved back to the spot where her belongings were, "I think we shouldn't speak to each other until we return to... to Konoha."
When she put her shirt back on, he did not avert his eyes this time. She had all his attention now. She hated this. How he treated her like she was the most insignificant thing, and yet, at the same time, the most dangerous threat worthy of his time, so much that he did not mind neglecting his own duty. As much as she wished to ignore the floating truth in the back of her mind, if she wanted to put an end to this, she knew that there would not be any other way than to acknowledge it. But it was not the place nor the time for such talk.
I'm so tired.
"You're upset."
"Please, don't. Just don't," she shook her head in exhaustion, "I'll keep my end of the bargain, but until then, just don't speak to me. I promise I'll tell you everything... and after that, we'll be done ."
"What did you do?" Sasuke snarled into her ears while walking by her side.
She felt infinitely relieved that her teammates had somehow managed to find her by accident, even though it was not uncommon for shinobis to navigate through roofs. Naruto had naturally invited her to join them, to her other teammate's dismay.
"Do you have to scream in my ears like that?" she asked him. "It's only been five minutes, and you're already tired of me."
"Don't play stupid with me, what happened? Why was my brother with you?"
"I don't know!" she raised her arms." Maybe he was sick of the rain and looking for shelter, just like me. Why would I even be in his presence in the first place?"
"Why indeed?"
"Kami-sama! One second I was alone and the next he was there, weren't you sheltering from the rain too?"
"No. You did something Sakura."
"Guys, guys," Naruto shouted to them, "Don't you know it's rude to whisper behind someone's back without including them!"
"Shut up," Sasuke groaned.
It didn't take more incentive to make the blond spawn in front of them. He grabbed his friend by the head like an unruly kid, "Really Sasuke? That's how you want to play?"
"Fuck off idiot," he got away from his grasp.
"What's wrong with him," Naruto asked her.
"His unhealthy obsession with his brother's whereabouts."
The blond chuckled, "I'm glad you weren't by yourself Sakura-chan. If someone like Itachi-san's nearby, nothing bad can happen to you, I tell you!"
Sakura let out a nervous rictus.
"Anyway, while you were arguing, I noticed that tall building over there. Let's see if we can find a way to reach its top."
He started walking towards the tower with his usual enthusiasm.
"We're not done," Sasuke whispered, as he passed by her.
After the last hours, she wasn't sure anything could move her anymore, especially her teammate's threatening behavior. As she followed her friends, she shut all undesirable thoughts out of her mind, taking in her surroundings, the sinister alley and dark building, shining from the recent torrential downpour.
They reached the foot of the huge tower shortly. Since there weren't many options to consider, they went inside the first entrance, judging it would not be as suspicious as climbing the building in plain sight.
"Here," Naruto beckoned them, as he found a stairway.
And they climbed quietly, time turning into eternity inside the cold building. Sakura was grateful for the silence that remained during the whole ascension. Emerging from the top felt like breathing again, even though the air was corrupted both by the evil curse from outside the gates, and the sullen village.
She found herself a spot against the whole, where she could wait while her teammate was doing their job. Eyes closed, she shuddered as flashes of the man's face, the one she had killed earlier, appeared in her mind. As much as she wanted not to remember him, there was not anything else to distract her mind with. Something hit her leg after a while, making her leave her painful memories. She looked between her knees, finding a snack bar waiting to be picked.
Despite not being that hungry, she welcomed the gift under the watchful gaze of her teammate.
"What's with the holes in your shirt?"
"Got into a fight."
"You? Did you forget you were supposed to lay low?"
"Drunk people looking for a fight don't care about that."
His eyes narrowed, "Did you drink?"
" No, Sasuke-kun," she gritted her teeth. "I didn't drink. I did my part, got the job done, just like the Captain wanted."
"Guys, guys!" Naruto shouted suddenly, catching their attention. "Bring your asses here! Quick!"
"Go ahead," Sakura said, "I'm not supposed to be involved in your mission, remember?"
"You could have been," he muttered, as he left her.
"You too, Sakura-chan!" the blond waved to her, "Come on, hurry up!"
Groaning in protestation, Sakura got on her feet and went after her brown hair teammate. Out of the ten Naruto that were scanning the town from the large roof, only one was gesticulating like a crazy man.
"Naruto...do you really need more eyes?"
"You saw one of them that night, right?" he spoke quickly.
"Briefly."
"Well. Look down there, there's a bunch of folks with grey cloaks. They could be our guys!"
Sakura's eyes looked for the culprit, "I don't know Naruto, they —"
"They look suspicious to me, "Naruto continued. "Look at the uncovered woman in the middle, she's not dressed the same way as them."
Sakura carefully studied the group. There were five individuals dressed in dark coats, and among them, a tall woman dressed in green, with brown hair tied in a single braid. She looked somehow familiar.
"I... I know her!" she suddenly exclaimed, finally remembering where she had seen such a haircut. "The woman, back when we were in Ginza. She's the one who came back to me with a picture of Ryuu and the baby!"
"Why would she be here?" Sasuke asked.
"I don't know, but it can't be a coincidence."
"That would be one hell of a coincidence," Naruto commented. "Besides, doesn't it look like she's being escorted? Like she's being—"
"Forced to," Sakura finished. "Yes, you're right. We must do something!"
"Agreed," Naruto nodded furiously.
"No," Sasuke said, hostile to their enthusiasm. "We're not supposed to engage with them."
"Unless you don't have any other choice," Sakura continued. "This is the best opportunity to gather information."
"Why are you being so involved now, Sakura? I thought it wasn't your mission."
"I'm not remaining passive when I could help someone in danger."
"It's two against one, Sas'ke."
He sighed in resignation, "They must absolutely not see us."
Naruto clapped his hands, "We've been trained for extraction procedures. It'll be a piece of cake!"
"Wait, look who's coming. The police..." Sasuke started, "they could become a problem."
The blond grimaced, "What're they even doing? Are they following them or somethin'?"
"Could be."
"No," Sakura said, "they're looking for someone," she turned to the blond, "Naruto, I think I may have a way to distract them! Gather you clones!"
Red shades were going in all directions, followed by enraged men, unable to understand that they were being played with. As for the unknown group hidden by their dark cloaks, they had disappeared, spooked by the sudden commotion.
Sakura was rejoicing inwardly when the door burst open suddenly, letting appear her friend and her very outraged woman.
"Let me go at once!" she kept screaming, as several iterations of Naruto were trying to make her pass through the rooftop's door.
Rushing to them, Sakura caught the attention of their prey, "We're not going to hurt you! Look at my face! Do you recognize me?"
Upon hearing her voice, the woman stopped resisting, "You... Haruno, isn't it? Tell them to let me go!"
"Do it," Sakura nodded towards her teammate, noticing fingernail scars on Sasuke's face. She looked at the brown hair woman, "Look, we were just trying to help you."
"Help me?" she repeated while rearranging her attire. "You just ruined weeks of work! Weeks of being constantly on edge without knowing when it would end. They almost trusted me! Almost! I was so close, so close-!"
"But it looked like you were in need of assist-?"
"No!" she shouted. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to return to them, I might still find a way to save the situation."
She went for the door, but Naruto blocked her path, "Hmm, sorry ma'am, but we still have questions for you."
"Hun! Not going to harm me, you said? Yet, I'm a prisoner now."
"The people you mentioned," Sasuke inquired, "Who're they? What're they doing here?"
"I'm not sharing anything with Konoha," she said firmly, "Listen, we're going to be here for a long time if you don't let me go, and my men, innocent men, they'll die. They'll get killed by these people and you'll be responsible for their deaths. Is this what you want?"
"Help yourself then, "Sakura urged her, "Help your friends by telling us what you know."
"You're no different than them. Do you think I ignore what you're seeking here in this forsaken place? Rabid wolves who'd destroy everyone in their path, all for the sake of power!"
"What of you woman , why would you associate yourself with the wolves you despite so much?"
"They work with the family you protected, they're threatening my people in our own land! When I spotted them in Ginza, I took this opportunity to approach them, to learn about their doings."
"They didn't recognize you?"
"Just like there're thousands of your people belonging to all kinds of upbringing, they too are in numbers, and they weren't the same group threatening my folks."
"Not a clan then."
"They come from the Land of Ash."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "You're lying."
"Everyone knows there's nothing in this place, ma'am."
"I'm merely repeating what they told me, but I'm not surprised by your arrogance in believing the whole world revolves around the five Nations."
"What would they be doing here, so far from their home? And above all associating themselves with strangers?"
"Who knows... We so happen to know how to read old languages, which was exactly what they were looking for."
"Translators?"
"Aye."
"She's not telling us everything."
"I've told you enough ."
"They weren't taking her somewhere; she was the one leading them."
"Was she?" Naruto repeated, thoughtful. "Where were you heading then?"
"It doesn't matter anymore, 'cause they'd never trust me again."
"Do they need to?" Sakura inquired, "You're going back to them for your friends, aren't you?"
"Of course, I am."
The blond stepped forward, "Then, you're going to need us. What's your name again?"
"Kanao Tamaki."
Despite how many times Sasuke had voiced his disapproval of their new plan, he went quiet, like the rest of the group, when they forced open the door of an Izanami shrine, one of the goddesses his clan worshipped. The very old building was empty and full of dust saturating the air. There was a huge statue of the deity, circled by a couple of lightened torches.
"They must be here," Naruto whispered. "These lights don't look normal," he tried to touch the flames with his fingers, "Why does it look blue?"
"Don't touch it," Sasuke warned, "It's mugen fire, its flames never die."
A reddish shade on the ground caught Sakura's eyes, "They've definitely been here," she grabbed the hair strands, and showed her discovery to her friend.
"Odd," the blond pointed out. "Who loses a bunch of hair like that?"
"People fighting each other," Tamaki spoke while studying the statue. "I remember some words from the abandoned outpost's relic. The one they stole from you before you could even take it."
Sasuke made a displeased face upon hearing her innuendo.
"It was something about being willing to sacrifice a part of oneself," as she spoke, she took a senbun out of her pocket and cut a bunch of her hair.
They look at her expectantly, and then around them, waiting for something to happen, alas only more silence welcomed them.
Sakura, who was still holding the red hairs in her hands, studied her finding once again, hoping to find the key to their predicament, when she suddenly realized the obvious, "Guys, the ends, they got burned!"
Understanding what they had to do, their new ally walked to one of the torches and let the flames ignite a bit of her hair. A yellow light appeared on the ground followed by sounds of rocks being squeezed against one another, confirming what they had suspected already. A kind of seal barrier technique had been used here. They looked around, discovering a square opening had appeared on the ground, next to one of the torches.
"Well," Naruto said, as they all looked into the abyss of the strange hole.
Their guest jumped in first without hesitation, like she had done this many times before.
Sasuke groaned, "Send one of your clones to Captain Hyuuga"
"Who do you take me for? It's done already!"
"Good," he jumped in, disappearing into the darkness.
"Sakura," Naruto said, getting impatient.
She walked forward.
Once she hit the bottom of the conduit, the sound of water splashing against walls made her regret coming here. There was a small bottom of backwater, from which a horrid smell was emanating. This place had to be connected to the skewers of Oiroise.
She heard someone fall behind her.
"It's completely dark, Naruto. Can you see anything?"
"What the hell is that smell? It stinks!" he whined.
She made a few steps, "I'd rather not know actually."
"Wait, Sakura-chan!" he shouted, "There's a strange light over there."
"Probably Sasuke-kun. Why can't he just wait for us? Was he going on his own way too during your training?"
"Hm... sometimes. You know how he gets when he's annoyed."
They kept walking for a while, the only sound being heard was the sound of their feet hitting the thick water and their occasional coughing, even the air seemed foul. At some point, they started hearing voices, hushed whispers.
"What's going on, Sasuke-kun?"
The Uchiha turned to her, the small flames on each tip of his fingers lightening his angry features, "She was trying to get away."
"Wrong," Tamaki crossed her arms on her chest. "I thought you were behind me. I was waiting for you here, at this crossroad."
"Don't you know where to go, woman? You were their guide, weren't you?"
"I've never been here, remember?" she turned to Sakura, "Is he always like this?"
Naruto stepped forward, "Maybe we should split up."
"No, they went this way," Sasuke knelt over a couple of water footprints, which lay on the only path that was not invaded by the still water.
The team started to move, except for their new friend, "Wait, I cannot follow you further in."
Sasuke glared at her, "So you were planning to ditch us."
"As much as I want to find what power lies ahead, I fear for my friends, I fear that we won't be able to reach them first."
"If they're in, they'll need to get out," Naruto remarked, "They're basically trapped."
"Not if there are other ways out."
" We're wasting time ," Sasuke turned around and resumed his initial plan, regardless of their wishes.
"Wait, Sasuke!" the blond yelled.
Sakura grabbed his shoulder, "Send one of your clones to her people", she then turned to the worried woman and spoke with confidence, "If you go on your own way, you'll be in danger too. Naruto will find your friends, trust me. Just tell him where to look!"
Tamaki nodded with reluctance, and after she told Naruto everything he needed to know, they darted through the narrowed tunnel in search of both Sasuke and what secrets this place held.
When they caught the shape of a shadow, standing still like there was a threat ahead, they stopped beside it. Sakura was the first to speak, "Sasuke-kun, do you see anything?"
His focused eyes were sporting red flames and black dots. It was a mesmerizing sight for the ignorant and a doom for the wise. Sakura didn't look away, being unsensitized to the sight of her teammate's sharingan, but above all, trusting her friend.
His lack of answers made everyone more nervous and aware of their surroundings. Sakura tightened her fists, getting ready to fight off whoever was coming to them, but as looked behind her, she caught her flick of light. The light started flickering more and more until it grew like a giant white halo.
She could not see anymore, her sight blinded by the radiating light. She felt motions around her and suddenly her feet were not touching the ground anymore, like she was being pulled away forcefully into the air. When she regained the ground, she felt a painful ache constricting her heart, like she had jumped off a giant cliff. The light disappeared then, leaving her stunned at the realization that she was no longer inside the tunnel.
The first thing that she noticed was the green marble everywhere around her, from cold ground to high walls reaching heights only gods could reach. Then, she saw a door, its small size somewhat grotesque in comparison to the size of the chamber.
What's this place?
Sasuke and Tamaki were arguing right in front of it, just like earlier, except there was something off with his teammate's expressions.
Fear.
Out of instinct, her eyes moved swiftly, scanning every corner of the room, in vain, until she had no other choice but to ask, "Where's Naruto?"
"Both of you, sit down," Sasuke ordered.
Their guest rushed to her, "Your friend refused to let me go! I must do something, I can't just wait here while my people are in danger!"
Sasuke put his fingers around the handle of his katana, "Nobody's leaving."
"You're scaring me," Sakura muttered, as she came closer to him, "What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?"
"We're stuck," he burst out coldly, "Sealed inside a place where no human should be."
She considered his words, without understanding what had set him off in such a way, when the solution seemed obvious to her," Then we must find a way out"
"Do you see Tozen around us, Sakura? The only seal-jutsu expert on our team? No. Because you thought helping a stranger," he glanced at the woman, "an enemy, was more important than our mission."
"You can't seriously blame me for this."
"Why not? None of this would have happened if you had obeyed orders. You weren't supposed to be with us."
"Really? When it's actually Naruto's fault, he's the one who must have sensed how sick I was of waiting with your psychopathic brother as company!"
"What did you just say?"
"You heard me all right, Sasuke."
"Why are you like this again," he complained. "I thought you settled everything."
"Settling something with someone like him?"
"What did you do?"
Not this again
She sighed, her friend's frustration getting to her, "I killed a man."
"You?" he repeated, bewildered.
"I swear I was being careful, but I still ran into trouble... A distraught man, claiming I was responsible for his daughter's death, came upon me in search of revenge. And I... I had no other choice than to... kill him .
"Do you know how many people Naruto has killed since he joined the Anbu?"
A deep sigh escaped her lips, "I knew you'd bring up this subject again..."
"Answer me."
"I don't know!" she yelled.
"None."
"He threatened you! What else was I supposed to do?"
"What of my brother?"
"Hun! He saw everything, how this man strangled me and stabbed me. Yet, he didn't help me. Not even once."
He appeared skeptical, "My brother isn't like that."
"No, he's exactly like that."
"You don't get it, Sakura." he shook his head. "If you had truly been in danger, he would have helped you."
"I froze for a long time because I...," it was difficult to admit her weaknesses when he had seen her fight by his side so many times in the past, "I couldn't defend myself. A long time during which he could have done something."
"But he was there, wasn't he? You weren't alone," he told her like it changed everything.
No arguments would make her teammate listen to her when it involved his holy and perfect brother. Sasuke was simply incapable of being objective, too blinded by the perfect image he had of his sibling, to the point he took any criticism as a personal attack.
There was no point in arguing. Sakura eye's widened when she gave a glance to Tamaki, "Sasuke-kun! Tamaki, she's gone!"
He looked around, refusing to believe what was happening, and ended up rushing to the door that he had been guarding.
"I'm coming with you."
"No."
When a scream echoed through the alternate realm they were stuck in, they both rushed to the door without hesitation and ran through the dark halls like death was at their doorsteps. The gates were still far in front of them, yet they found the woman on the ground, terrified to her bones. There were sounds of growls, ones belonging to an enraged beast, becoming more and more potent, pushing their most animal instinct to run away. Sakura recognized this very unique feeling of dread, but she managed to force all thoughts of it away from her mind.
They picked up the scared woman by each arm and dashed back in the direction they had come, as far as they could from the gates and from the hellish sounds chilling their bones to the ground.
Once they were back inside the room, all breathing loudly, as they tied to catch their breath, the woman's panicked eyes looked at Sakura for answers, "What, what the hell was that? Was this...was this a god?"
Sakura let out a nervous laugh, wondering if there were such thing as Kyuubi worshippers, "You can say that."
"I feel...I feel hopelessness, I feel like I want to...die. What's wrong with me?"
"It'll pass," Sasuke assured her, his eyes stuck on the door, "Nobody's going through this door this time."
"My friends need me, we cannot remain here any longer."
"We're stuck, Tamaki," she took Sasuke aside and spoke in a lowered voice, "We're...we're inside..." Sasuke nodded, "You've been here before, right? And Naruto can access this place too, surely there must be a way to let him know we're here?"
"No, not ever since he stopped talking to...you know who.
"You could—"
"Sakura, you freed me years ago, and now you want me to go back to prison. Just to save a few strangers?"
"I know you killed one of my own, Uchiha," Tamaki put herself between them, "but he was already a troubled man... My companions are not bad people. They're innocent."
"So are the people in this village," Sasuke hissed, "This discussion's over. I'm not meddling with Kyuubi. Tozen's a seal expert, he'll figure out something when he finds Naruto."
"Kyuu...Kyuubi? Did I... did I hear right?"
Sakura nodded, and sat on the ground, holding her head between her hands while massaging her forehead. She could not believe that they were inside Naruto's seal. There was no way out of this situation, or at least, none that would not jeopardize someone.
"What if...What if nobody figures it out. I, myself, wouldn't have imagined someone could trap us like this. Even the most powerful seal expert."
"I'm not taking any chance, Sakura."
"You just need to make him see you, Sasuke-kun , to rile him enough...and maybe, maybe Naruto will then understand something's off with his seal."
He groaned in capitulation, "If something goes wrong, it'll be on you."
Voices shouting unintelligible words were swarming her mind, forming a loud rumbling becoming stronger and stronger, making her feel like her head was going to explode. When she opened her eyes, Sakura groaned, an awful pain flaring in her head, like she had overslept. She saw the grey sky, whose light rain was falling on her face. Was it dawn already? How long had she been out? Memories of a dark room, red flames, and a demonic smile suddenly made her jerk off the ground.
The commotion was coming from a group of people a couple of steps away from her. She darted to them, feeling instant relief when she recognized her teammate. The plan had worked. They were safe. Tamaki was on her knees, in front of the Captain, while Zamaru and Inuzuka were holding her. Tozen and Inose stood guard nearby, accompanied by Inuzuka's dog.
"I'm not lying!" Tamaki shouted desperately, her eyes widening when she noticed Sakura, "Haruno! You must help me! Your people won't listen, they—"
Captain Hyuuga shifted, "You! I don't remember asking you to join us," her fingers circled tightly her right arm, only to lead her away from the interrogation, "You'll wait here, and you won't move nor speak until I tell you to. Do you understand me, Haruno?"
"Hai, Captain."
Sakura watched with frustration the obviously very pissed-off captain return to the group, wondering how much she knew about the last events. No matter how unfair it was, she did not mind taking the blame for her teammates, especially with what Sasuke might have done to save them.
I must speak with him.
She kept observing them from afar, trying to read their lips and interpret their motions, despite knowing her efforts were vain. They were right outside Oirose's walls, on the barren land that used to be exploited by farmers. Water was flowing down next to them, forming a thin stream going in the forest's direction. Its source came from a hole on the wall, a vertical squared sewer hole, whose metallic hatch happened to be wide opened.
So that's how they got out of the underground tunnels.
She took one of her magic pills under the watchful gaze of a shadow, one that she refused to acknowledge. She ignored where Sasuke's brother was exactly, but just like her, he was watching the scene. Eventually, they seemed to come to an agreement when Naruto suddenly spoke, his eyes showing worry. Tamaki went back on her feet, not as a guest or an ally, but as a true prisoner this time.
Captain Hyuuga strode towards her, "Haruno. Did you manage to get masks?"
"I got...one," she answered her captain.
"Ah," her eyes didn't blink," you should've tried harder instead of disobeying my orders by joining one of my teams ."
Sakura opened her mouth, "This isn't— "
"I don't care," she cut her short, "Just like I don't want to know why you thought you had any right to invite an enemy to our mission. History just repeats itself with you. Don't you ever learn?"
Sakura understood with relief that the furious woman did not know about the incident at the black market. Uchiha Itachi had kept his word after all.
"From now on, do what you came here for, and do not interact with our prisoner," she turned to the group gathered behind them, "Let's go!"
She met Tamaki's desperate eyes when she passed in front of her, squished between Inose and Inuzuka, and then, her dark hair teammate appeared, "Sasuke-kun," she whispered, eager to get more information.
"Not now," he cut her off, going on his way without stopping.
Unphased, Sakura looked for her blond teammate, who had been left behind. He was sitting cross-legged, with his eyes closed, ready to enter into a deep meditative state. As soon as she noticed his red glowing whiskers, she felt guilt rise within her.
"I'm so sorry, Naruto."