He looked at his opponent and couldn't help but be amazed at how much she had progressed for the past 6 months. They had talked her throughout those months and they had finally convinced her and made her officially part of the team. Though, it was a sad act that they had to force her to turn her back on her hometown but that's life.
Sea-foam green eyes looked back at her so-called "mentor" who was smiling proudly at her. They had forced her to be part of sound or her family will be at risk, later on they were able to 'convince' her, to the point they trusted her enough, they told her of their plan to take down all the local government units in order to build a new systematic empire that will rule over the lands. Sakura had to laugh at the idea, no matter how bad the government right now is, she had to disagree that a new systematic empire will be as good as the previous. Not with people like him or Danzo.
Sakura glanced at Kabuto who had fully trusted her with the experiments they were soon to release. Sakura felt ashamed for trying to help them with the said virus, but in order to counter it she needs to know all about it and for those 6 months she had been trying to create a cure. She knows she's almost there she just needed to access the laboratory storeroom where she could smuggle one of those chemicals that they had induced in the virus. She smirked at Kabuto and gave him a wink. Kabuto gave her a thumbs up and nodded towards the direction of the laboratory.
Although despite being a doctor who assisted Kabuto in the virus, she was obliged to train since the chemical they injected in her requires to be toned down. After a month with the chemical in her body, she started getting sick while inside the vessel then a month after she miraculously got strong, fast, and agile just when she her estimated time inside the vessel ended. Somehow, Orochimaru had created a potion intended for the military somewhat like the army pills that she created while at the base. Though this potion is much more effective since it has no expiration, it will last as long as you are still breathing making it hard in wars for the other countries.
On the bright side, Orochimaru doesn't know that since he himself said that he had only injected 2 people with it her and the other person that he refused to speak of. As of now, she is trying to act like all the brute strength and agility was based on her training and simply helped them conclude that the potion only lasted for a month and only gave her flu for the whole month. Despite their smartness, they were gullible once trust was embedded in them.
Sakura approached Kabuto and lightly punched his arm. " Great training, four glasses. Say wanna grab some lunch? I heard they're serving dessert right now, the classy one. Creme brulee. " Kabuto only chuckled and nodded. Both headed for the canteen and was greeted by their fellow colleague. Sakura had to roll her eyes at some of them. Women and men here are definitely fucking around, she had to spend sleepless nights since she had neighbors who couldn't keep their sexual activities as quiet as they could. Soon she found out those people were engaged in a group sexual activity. She had to gag at the thought, though she found good people in some, most of her time was spending it with Kabuto and sometimes with Orochimaru so she never really had the time to hang out. The past six months were rather lonely and hard for her. She had to keep her act or she'll die trying her best but doing nothing for her village.
She sighed and looked at Kabuto who was heading to their table bringing her lunch as well as the desert. She smiled sincerely at him and winked. She had felt sorry for Kabuto when she found out he lost his father in one of the missions that the government assigned him in and his mother got depressed and killed herself. The government only sent him a huge sum of money for his loss but never aided him, he was very young back then, the only reason why Orochimaru found him and raised him. Though what he had done right now was wrong, he still had a tragic past. Though she felt sympathetic towards him, she was still not swayed by their plans.
" I heard you had a great time last night, ey " Sakura winked at him and Kabuto only chuckled.
" Yes Sakura-san, we had done 4 rounds but it was not that sexually satisfying. " Sakura made a disgusted face at him and punched his arm.
" Ewe, keep it to yourself, no need to tell me about it. " Kabuto chuckled and finally stood up.
" I shall take my leave, and take a bath, same goes to you to Sakura-san. " Sakura nodded and smells her arm.
" Yeah, I smell like iron and sweat. " Sakura stood up and headed for the other door after waving off to Kabuto. Once the white-haired man was out of sight, she made a turn and headed for the other door leading her to the laboratory. She entered the room and went directly to the laboratory storeroom, she had started the timer, after 4 months of planning, she was able to memorize them and their routine. She had 20 minutes before Kabuto arrives here and 30 minutes before Orochimaru enters the Lab, just 10 minutes ago, the CCTV undergoes its daily maintenance at this time for a maximum of 40 minutes, so it was shut down for the time being, a guard would roam around this part of the building in 10 minutes, so she has exactly 10 minutes to infiltrate the storeroom and 5 minutes to find the chemical and another 10 minutes to exit and head for her room, which was sadly at the other side of the building.
It took her 5 minutes to find the hidden door of the storeroom when she finally found the perfect line she wore her gloves and started punching in the codes and waited for it to open. She looked at her wrist and realized she was 4 minutes early, giving her enough time to search for the chemicals. Once the storeroom door was open she immediately realized she needed that 4 minutes since the place was huge and would probably take her 10-15 minutes looking for the chemical. She breathed in heavily and entered the storeroom. She spent exactly 10 minutes looking for the chemical which was placed at the end of the room and was sadly locked.
She groaned and rested her head on the locked drawer. She sighed and tried to recall the pin that Kabuto may have slipped to her. After a minute of thinking she started punching in the Orochimaru's and Kabuto's birthday which failed.
" What did Orochimaru mean when he said he almost forgot me? I was a forgotten key to a lock? " Kabuto chuckled and smirked at her. She stopped writing on the white board and faced him with an annoyed look.
" Is it a compliment? He's being cryptic again. Ugh! " Sakura sighed and slammed the marker on the table. Kabuto chuckled and shook his head.
" He simply meant what he meant. " Sakura pouted and pinched Kabuto's arm.
" And it means what? Since when did we ever meet before this? " Kabuto handed Sakura her notepad turned his back on her as he approached the door.
" The day where it all started where you lost to us. " Sakura looked up at him and saw him close the door of the lab as he made his exit.
She rubbed her head trying to remember the date they were ambushed and she was abducted. After typing in the pin it failed she stared at the drawer and saw she has 1 last try before the systems goes off and inform Kabuto and Orochimaru of it. She crouched down and bit her lip hard, she already wasted 3 minutes and would soon be found out and be dead as meat.
" When did I lose to them? Was I abducted before? " she thought hard and soon remembered she was indeed kidnapped when she was younger. She tried to recall the date and soon recalled it, she was abducted a day before her birthday. She immediately stood up and punched in and pin and prayed to the gods that she was right. Soon the drawer made a click sound and soon opened. She smiled widely and saw the chemicals in vials. She grabbed 2 and immediately closed the drawer and made a run towards the door.
Once she was out she placed the vials in her boot pockets and exited the laboratory, she made her way to the canteen and instantly saw Orochimaru enter the room. Her eyes widened and went to the line for the meal. Orochimaru raised a brow at her and stared at her suspiciously.
" Sakura-san, Kabuto said you took a bath, why are you here? " Sakura grinned and rubbed her head.
" I just wanna get that creme brulee again, they're too good. " Orochimaru chuckled and patted her head.
" Go take a bath, I'll send someone to deliver you 10 creme brulee if you want. " Sakura's eyes widened and she smiled widely and nodded.
" Okay! Gee thanks snake tongue senpai you're the best! " Sakura stuck her tongue at him and made a dash to the exit and made her way to her room. When she arrived in her room, she immediately locked it and lifted a tile near the entrance where it was hollow filled with important stuff that she'll be sending soon. She put the vials carefully and placed back the tile. She headed for the bathroom and took a shower to calm her nerves cause truth to be told she definitely lost her breath in that shitty mission of hers.
A week had already passed and they had not suspected a thing, she had been keeping an eye on Kabuto and Orochimaru, so far they had been too busy with the experiments to know a vial was missing. She had spent the whole week, making the cure as fast as she could and finding a way to send the ingredients and process to Tsunade or just anyone she knows from Konoha. She just didn't care if people think she's alive or dead, she needs to send this as fast as she could. She paced around the laboratory waiting for Kabuto to arrive.
She looked through the window and saw a group gathered in the training hall. She bit her lip and exited the lab and approached the group. She sighed and realized it was a group of men heading out for a mission. She smiled flirtingly at them and looked around.
" Hey! so watcha doing? " One of them smiled sweetly at her and showed her the document.
" Kabuto-sama sent us a new mission, something about gathering these herbs and buying new equipment. " Sakura nodded and peaked at the document.
" Kabuto-san must have thought your smart to send you to find these. " She smiled at the guys and winked at one kind-looking man then looked around. The guy blushed and rubbed his neck.
" Yeah, maybe. " Sakura giggled and waved at Kabuto who approached them. Sakura smiled widely at Kabuto and pointed the guys.
" You're sending them to a mission right? Is it okay if I- you know have them buy these on my list? It's the ingredients to the new potion I told you about, that we should create for additional support. " Kabuto nodded and took the list from Sakura's hands and read it.
" Actually, Orochimaru-sama plans to send you with them, be their team leader and help them find these herbs at Kiri since they're our ally. " Sakura's eyes widened and nodded at Kabuto.
" Won't you come with us? I mean, these equipment looks foreign to me. " Kabuto smirked and poked Sakura's cheek.
" Sadly no, but it'll take you only a day to do this mission, it'll be fast. " Sakura nodded and sighed sadly then smiled at him.
" There better be sweet dumplings when I arrive. So when will we be leaving? " Kabuto looked at his wristwatch then back at her.
" Tomorrow at dawn, since you'll be traveling an hour. " Sakura nodded and pointed to the Lab.
" So let's go back to the lab? " Kabuto nodded and left a few instructions to the group before heading to the Laboratory.
After her work with Kabuto, she was sent to her room early to rest for her mission. Kabuto handed her an outfit, and wig that she could blend at the city without looking suspicious. She inspected the outfit and wig for any tracker or mic that would sabotage her real mission inside the mission. After inspecting and re-inspecting her outfit and preparing her things for tomorrow she took a long warm bath, looking through her plan if loopholes existed in any corner and setting up backup plans in case of emergency.
Exactly at 4 am she woke up and prepared her stuff before heading out to her mission. She went to the spot where they agreed they would meet up, just outside the base. She inspected the area and just breathed in the fresh air. She have been inside the base for 6 months, and they've been moving around until 3 months ago, surprisingly they stopped moving and just stayed in the same base since then. She guessed Konoha must have stopped their search for her. She smiled sadly and looked at the ground then looked up at the sky.
She saw the sun rising slowly and could hear the chirps of the birds and the sound of other animals in the area. She used the time to inspect nature and just take everything in before she gets holed up again in the base or worst this would be the last time she'll be able to breathe properly. She gripped the letter in the pocket and finally lets a few drops of tears fall to her eyes before wiping it clean off her face.
She looked back at the entrance and saw her group exit, the guy she specifically flirted with yesterday smiled at her and waved.
" Sakura-san? " Sakura smiled and waved at him.
The group approached her and took in her image then they chuckled.
" You looked unrecognizable with that black wig Sakura-san, but when I saw your eyes I knew instantly it was you. " Sakura giggled and touched her wig. She then looked at the guy she flirted with and extended her hand.
" I know you know me but let me introduce myself, Sakura. " The men nodded at her then introduced themselves.
" Ito. " The serious guy with brown hair nodded at her. She nodded back at him and looked at the brown haired young man with yellow eyes who bowed at her.
" Kato " She bowed at him back then she looked at the man whom she flirted with yesterday.
" Sora " The blond man with orange eyes kissed her hand and smiled widely at her. She smiled back at him and waved.
" So let's head out boys? " The men nodded at her and followed her lead.
After walking for an hour they finally arrived at the busy streets of Mist. She looked around then looked at the boys. She grabbed Sora's arm and smiled at him.
" We should split up in this area boys, let's pair up, me and Sora will be heading this side of the area while you both head to the other side and let's meet at that coffee shop. " Sakura pointed her head towards the busy café, the three nodded at her and headed to their separate ways. Sakura clutched the Sora's hand.
" If people asks us, say we're a couple travelling. " Sora blushed and nodded eagerly at her. Sakura giggled and looked down at the displayed herbs that the woman was selling.
" Good Morning, Excuse mam, do you have these herbs? " The old woman looked up at her and smiled sweetly at her.
" Hello! Y-yes I do. " Sakura smiled and bent down to look at the herbs.
" I'll take all of these please. " The old women's eyes widened and nodded at her. Sakura smiled at her then looked at Sora.
" Hey sweetie, why don't you look for the other herbs in the other stalls. " Sora nodded at her then moved to the other stall.
While the old woman was packing up the herbs she bought, Sakura bent down closer to the woman then pointed to her list.
" Do you have other herbs that I have in my list? " The old woman stopped her packing then looked at the list. She nodded then pointed to a specific herb.
" I have this right now, do you want me to pack it with this as well? " Sakura shook her head then looked around then looked back at the woman.
" I need to ask you a favor, I'll come back for that herb later around 3pm, before we leave. But that's not my favor- " Sakura slipped her hand in her pocket then handed her the cash for the herb she just bought and a brown envelope.
" Please, this is very important for me. . . for my family. Please send this to a courier immediately when I'm out of sight, I'll pay you for that favor when I come back at 3pm and I'll take the herbs. P-please. " The old woman looked at Sakura then smiled softly at her.
" I w-will. Whatever situation you are in right now, please take care. " With teary eyes Sakura smiled at her then squeezed her hand.
" Thank you. " The old woman pointed her lips to the incoming visitor, Sakura immediately wiped her eyes then took the bag from the old woman.
Sakura let out a fake smile at Sora then showed him the bag, " I got it, but this woman is generous enough to get this specific herb. " Sakura approached Sora then leaned into him and pointed to the list. Sora looked at the woman then nodded at her.
" But sadly I'll be able to get it around 3pm since my grandson usually delivers that at around that time. It's better sold when it's fresh. " Sora nodded at the woman and bowed at her.
" then we will be back at 3pm, let's go? " Sakura smiled at Sora then smiled secretly at the old woman.
They had spent the whole morning looking for the herbs this time with the whole group, by noon then ate their lunch at a local ramen bar. Sakura looked around and smiled, remembering the knuckleheaded blond who loves ramen. She smiled at the group then listened to Ito explain that a specific equipment will be handed to them at 2pm at the local park. Sakura nodded at him and suggested he meet up with the man and they'll be back up in case of an ambush.
After their lunch they searched for the other equipment and herbs. They had met up with the mysterious man who handed Ito a special equipment. Sakura looked at her wrist then approached Sora who was talking to Kato.
" We were supposed to pick up the herb that we reserved at 3pm, I think we should get it so we could get back to the base earlier. " Sora nodded at her then went back to Kato and waved him off. Kato grabbed Sakura's sleeve and stopping her from her tracks.
" We'll meet up at the gate exactly at 3:30pm, cause I am starting to see foreign faces in here. You two better hurry up. " Sakura bit her lip at Kato's strict attitude and nodded at him. Sakura pulled Sora away from the duo and they walked to the direction to the market. On the busy street of Mist, Sakura was able to steal a few wallet from men and hid them in her jacket. She tugged at Sora's shirt then pointed to the public bathroom.
" I need to pee, is it all right? " Sora looked suspiciously at her. Sakura tried to act as if she was holding her pee then opened her mouth.
" Or you can come inside with me if you think I'm gonna escape or whatever Ito said to you making you doubt me. " Sora sighed then waved her off. Sakura shook her head and pulled him towards the bathroom.
" Or stay here so you can actually trust me, geez, can't a girl pee after drinking that cold lemonade. " Sora chuckled and rubbed his neck.
" Sorry, you can go ahead and pee. " Sakura nodded and went inside the bathroom. Once inside she opened the wallets and took out all the bills and silently asked for forgiveness through her prayers. She stuffed all the empty wallets in the trashcan and slipped the money in her pockets. She exited the bathroom and approached Sora. Sora looked up and down at her then held her wrist.
" Let's go or Ito will get impatient. " Sakura nodded and the duo jogged towards the public market. Soon they found the old woman and Sakura immediately handed the cash and took the bag of herbs from her.
" So is this all of it? " The old woman smiled at her and nodded.
" Yes, I've done what you've told me. " Sora raised a brow at the old woman.
" I plucked all the leaves and separated the stem and leaves and also I doubled the pack so it won't get dried out during your travel. " Sakura smiled widely at the woman and gave her a wide smile.
" Thank you, I really owe you one, for preparing this for me. " The old woman smiled and waved her off. Sakura dragged Sora away from the old woman and directly went to the gates where they found Kato and Ito waiting for them.
The travel back to the base was quiet, Kato and Sora walked ahead of her, while Ito stood behind her, stealing glances at her. Sakura bit her lip in the fear of her recent plan. She breathed in and halted then turned to look at Ito.
" What the hell is your problem? Why are you acting like a leader all of a sudden? And why so fucking cold? " She crossed her arms on her chest and glared at Ito. Sora and Kato turned back to the commotion.
Sora moved to stand beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. " An emergency happened at the base and they requested to keep an eye on you. " Sakura sighed and rubbed her head.
" Well instead trying to slow our asses, why not let us hurry to fix this problem!" Everybody nodded and dashed through the forest until they reached the base.
On the way back to the base, Sakura could feel the fear creeping up to her chest and the most they move closer to Orochimaru, the more she could feel her body become cold.
Once reaching the entrance they saw everyone bundled outside the base, she immediately ran up to Kabuto who was holding an injured Orochimaru.
" What happened? " Kabuto looked up at her with a grim face while assisting Orochimaru to sit on the a wheel chair.
" Someone was able to enter the base and blow up the main entrance, luckily they weren't able to find the secret passage and just left, Orochimaru-sama was unlucky since a boulders fell on him, but aside from that everyone's fine. " Sakura sighed and kneeled beside Orochimaru and patched up some wounds.
" Did they discover us? " Kabuto shook his head rubbed his forehead.
" Probably not, but since the vault was closer to the entrance they must have stolen a vial, we lost one and luckily it was jus one. " Sakura gulped and continued patching up Orochimaru.
" Or maybe someone from the base stole it. " Sakura looked up at Orochimaru. She could feel her heart beating so fast.
" B-but how? " Kabuto looked back at Orochimaru.
" I don't know but we need to inspect everyone's rooms. " Sakura nodded while cleaning up the blood on Orochimaru's skin.
" Including yours Sakura. " She looked up at Orochimaru and smiled.
" It's okay, it's protocol. " Sakura stood up and bowed.
" I'm gonna gather the team and bring the supplies to the lab immediately. " Sakura turned around and bit her lip immediately.
HELLO EVERYONE! Finally, I gave anatha update. Hahaha
Am I late? Well if I am then forgive me, my job is hectic, and overtimes are a requirement. lmao
I edited this only 3 times, so its not as clean as the other chapters. Please don't get disappointed in me. I tried my best. Hope you like it! drop down your reviews since it inspired me to do better. I am open for constructive criticism by the way.
Honestly speaking, I've got a writers block in this head of mine and I'm getting lazy and tired with all my work. So after many ideas NOT related to this story I decided to write a one shot to let this idea out of my head and create new ones for this story.
SOOOOOOOO I'll be writing a sad beautiful tragic one shot of Sasusaku. Please look forward to it!
Take Care
lovelots,
Luna