"Konoha Twelve is following us," Itachi informed her as they followed Idate who was running towards the forest. "It's eleven since I'm not around," she corrected him. "Hmmm, still bitter that you can't be with them for the time being?" she could sense the smirk in her voice. "You have Shisui with you. I have no one except Lady Tsunade and Shizune," she retorted as she ignored the slight pang in her chest. "Aren't they important to you just as the rest of your team? Aren't we important to you?" he asked her. She let out a long sigh. "You are but it's just not the same," she replied as they both landed on the ground. "Hn." The duo both took out their katanas and watched as Idate took out two kunai. His Curse Mark had already spread around his body, a few minutes away from transforming. Both of them could also sense the Konoha Twelve who were hiding in the trees.

"Our aim is to watch. We are not to engage in any contact with the enemy or the Apprentice and her partner. She might be on a mission," Shikamaru spoke in his earpiece. "Roger!"

"Shisui, where are you?" Sakura spoke in her mouthpiece. "Just behind you Sakura, a little to the left in the trees. I have a clear view of Sasuke and Naruto if they're ever to try to do something stupid," came the reply. She nodded. She looked at Itachi who gave her a nod in return. At once, the two ninjas disappeared in a blur and appeared at Idate's side, coming from the left and right. The katanas came down on him but he deflected them with his kunai. He formed a single handsign in each hand and lightning formed in his hands, travelling from the kunai to the katanas. The Konoha shinobi jumped away from him. Itachi sent a fireball at him midair and Sakura sent a barricade of kunai. At that, Idate transformed, growing four wings, a tail and one horn. He covered himself using his wings and the kunai were useless against him but he did receive burns from the fireball. As soon as he uncovered himself, Sakura was already in front of him with her first cocked back. She punched his jaw and he flew backwards, rolling in the ground seven times before coming to a stop. He struggled to get up as he held his jaw. 'Damn her,' he thought.

"Is that all that you've got?!" he shouted in the clearing. He watched as the female sheethed her katana and cracked her knuckles whilst the male made no movement. "We were just beginning," she replied. In a blink, they disappeared and a katana came flying from above Idate. The transformed ninja grabbed the katana with his tail and tossed both the katana and the user to the sky. He jumped up after him and gave the upside down Uchiha a roundhouse kick. Itachi blocked the kick using his forearms. Twisting midair, he wrapped his legs around Idate's neck and threw him to the ground. The Morino crashed into the ground but was quick to get on his feet. He flashed to Sakura who had been standing at the sidelines. Holding his hands together, he brought them down in a hammering motion. Sakura, being the shorter one, crossed her arms on top of her head to protect herself from the attack. The attack made contact with her, creating a large crater around them. She dropped to her knees, her head dizzy and throbbing. Idate took hold of her neck and slammed her hard into the ground, creating another crater. She took hold of his hands, trying to pry then away from her throat.

"Naruto, do not engage with the enemy!" Shikamaru shouted in his earpiece. "But she's in danger, I have to help her!" he exclaimed as he made a move to go towards her. "She's my teammate," he added as he felt his anger start to grow, watching how Idate repeatedly slammed her into the ground. "She already has a team!" the Nara shot back. "Do not mess this up for her or anyone. Do not engage into contact," he said in a steel voice.

Idate formed a clone which headed towards Itachi who was running towards them. "Die bitch!" he howled. She tried to knead her chakra to overpower him but it was a fruitless attempt. 'N-No, I can't die... N-Not now,' she thought through her foggy mind. She was beginning to lose consciousness. Then she remembered.


"I can't m-move," she said as she struggled to move a piece of the ceiling which was on top of her. 'I'm trying to knead my chakra but the channels wont respond.' Her breaths were coming in short, weak gasps. 'Am I dying, is this the end?' she thought as darkness began to overcome her senses... "Sakura! Where are you?! Sakura!" She snapped her eyes open. 'It's Sasuke. He's looking for me,' she thought. A sliver of hope formed in her. "Sasuke," she tried to shout but her voice came out weak. She looked to the side, noticing the ring on her finger. The one Sasuke had made. 'If I can just channel chakra to my finger,' she thought as a small flicker of chakra travelled from her hand to her finger. "Sasuke," she repeated, desperately this time. Her eyes were closing. Suddenly, the ceiling had been removed on top of her and she could finally breathe. Sasuke's face came into view and she felt herself almost cry in relief.

He helped her to sit. "Ow," she said as he put his hand on her back and pushed chakra."Being in pain means you're regaining feeling," he said as he continued to push medical chakra. "Jiji... betrayed..." she tried to speak but he shushed her. "I'm sorry. I couldn't stop Jiji" she apologized as she felt tears well in her eyes. Why couldn't she be strong? She was holding him back. "I was useless," she finished. "Don't you dare apologize to me when you're in this condition," he told her sternly. He had finished healing her. "How's that? Can you move?" he asked as she wiped tears from her eyes. "Yes," she replied. He took her hand in his and helped her stand up. "Okay, let's do this."


Her eyes snapped open. 'I won't die now,' she thought fiercely as she pushed more chakra in her hands. Both of their hands trembled as they tried to overpower each other. 'Shannaro!' she shouted in her mind as she finally removed his hands from her throat. Using all the force she could muster, she head-butted him, hard. Using his disoriented state to her advantage, she gave him an uppercut which sent him careening into the sky. Itachi appeared above him and blew a large fireball at him. Idate flapper his wings over himself, the wings taking the brunt of the burn. When he retracted them, Itachi was already in front, staring him dead in the eyes and cast him into a genjutsu. He landed unceremoniously on the ground as he fought Itachi in his mind. "His memories need to be wiped out," she said as soon as she arrived beside the Uchiha. He nodded and threw the unconscious ninja over his shoulder. He had transformed back to his human state. Soon enough, the duo disappeared in a whirlwind of leaves.


"That was amazing, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed as soon as the Apprentice and her partner disappeared. "For a moment, I thought she was going to die," Ino said as she released a sigh of relief. They had regrouped in the clearing. "Don't go around underestimating my team," the male blonde spoke. The Yamanaka gave him an eye roll. "I didn't know Idate had a Curse Mark, he must've been given by Orochimaru," Shikamaru said thoughtfully. "From what I know, he was a spineless nobody who could run and was always seeking for his brother's attention," Sasuke replied. "Doesn't that remind you of someone?" Naruto snickered. The Uchiha let out an annoyed huff. "When they were fighting, Morino did something to the Apprentice's chakra. It was as though he had blocked them," Neji said with his Byakugan still activated. "Yeah, I smelled something weird coming from him, like a poison of sorts," Kiba said with his nose scrunched up, Akamaru let out a bark of agreement. "We'll discuss this later. We have an exam to finish."


They had bound Idate and locked him in a room. "What are we gonna do about him? We can't seal him without an Uzumaki," Shisui asked Itachi. "We have to search for Karin Uzumaki. She was Sasuke's teammate during the time he was with Team Taka. She also worked for Orochimaru ever since she was 13," the younger Uchiha said. "All the more reason we should look for her," Shisui sighed. "Where's Sakura?" he asked. "She went back to school, she was in the middle of an exam," came the reply. "But she just got back from a battle, her physical state says just as much," the curly-haired boy said. "She said that she will make a plan. She also said that she recovered a memory from her thirties," Itachi said. "Hmmm, then I guess we'll finally have a meeting after a long time," the older ninja said.


Sakura had arrived a few seconds just before Konoha Twelve made their way into the classroom. She had cast a henge, altering her physical appearance to look as though she hadn't been in a battle. She released the genjutsu and continued with her exam. The exam had been extended by an hour because all the students had been sleeping during that time. After school, she didn't have time to bid her friends goodbye. She was eager to get to her hideout as soon as yesterday. 'I need to tell them my memory,' she thought as she replayed the memory in her mind, Sasuke comforting her at her weakest, assuring her of her insecurities. Her chest constricted as the feeling of gratefulness was becoming heavy for her. She dashed out the school gate and headed towards the hospital.

She crashed into someone as she turned round the corner. She took a step back as she took in the sight of Sasuke. His face was in his usual blank expression. Her breath hitched as the memories came back full force. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked as raised an eyebrow. "I..." she trailed. Sasuke stared at her blankly. "Thank you!" she exclaimed as she bowed, refraining herself from hugging him tightly as though she could transfer all her feelings into her hug. "What for?" he asked. 'She's been acting weird a lot,' he thought with a slight frown. She gave him a full smile which showed her teeth. "For being there for me."


The memory Sakura recovered is from Sasuke Retsuden where she almost dies. Hope you enjoy the chapter. Read and review.

Tozoonana

AfricanFire