Act One - Curiosity killed the cat

I quietly tightened my headband while looking down at the camp of shinobi below me. Tsunade had specifically instructed me not to engage in combat if I were to come in contact with this group, although something inside me was urging me to approach them. It was a stupid move to say in the least as most of the group were present. It would be suicide if I jumped out of my hidden location to try and attack them. I've been taught expert chakra cloaking techniques and I'm more grateful than ever that Tsunade had included them in my training. The Akatsuki are a dangerous bunch of rogues after all.

"So...what are we doing here again?" I heard someone speak up. I concentrated more chakra into listening in on the conversation.

"One of the medical herbs used in the antidote sample that was near Sasori's dead body is supposedly somewhere within this proximity. We could use Sasori's unique poison for our own purposes. But having an antidote to pair with it in case it is used against us will also give us an advantage." A dull voice bored as I refrained from rolling my eyes. Of course. They wouldn't want to revive Sasori with easy methods. They would rather use his poison for their own needs. Why do I care anyway. The only reason I'm here is to gather more information on Orochimaru after the failure of trying to get Sasuke back with our last attempt. I looked down at my left hand and frowned as I curled it up into a fist. I will get him back this time.

"I'll head North with Zetzu and Kakuzu, Hidan, You go with Kisame and Itachi and head West. The rest of you, go South. We don't have time to waste." There were a few seconds of silence before he dismissed the group while walking away. I knew that there was one ingredient needed nearby for Sasori's antidote so I quietly sped off in the direction of the herb. It took me little less than two minutes to reach the location. There were plenty of herbs here. I jumped down from the branch I was on and hurriedly harvested all the herbs before I heard someone approaching from the distance.

Before I could get caught I darted behind a big boulder. My heart was racing. That was way too close. I tried calming my breath down as I heard footsteps getting louder.

"There's nothing here." One of them spoke up. I smirked and closed my eyes in relief that I fooled them.

"Hidan is right. We better head back to the camp." I heard shuffling about and was prepared to take my leave until I heard a slight cough.

"It appears as if there has been someone around this area. Quite recently too." a dark voice spoke up. More shuffling was heard. "You see," He started. "The stems of the herbs have been left sticking out of the ground, unprofessionally picked. The herbs themselves, I believe, used to be here only moments ago," My eyes widened, how could anybody other than a professional know something like that? "You can tell that they were recently picked as a faint smell of the herb lingers in the air." I cussed somewhat inaudibly out loud as I tried to use a little chakra to mask the smell of the freshly picked herbs.

"I can't smell anything, Itachi." a deep voice spoke up after a while. I started to panic slightly. I am not ready to face three top ranked rogue shinobi.

"That's because whoever picked these herbs are here, and in earshot of what I just said." My heart raced more. How could I have been so careless?

I heard a few footsteps getting louder and louder. It seems to me that they were getting closer to my location. I slowly took out a kunai in preparation of planning an escape route.

"Where are they?" An abrupt voice made me jump slightly and my chakra unwillingly flared out. I cussed loudly as I jumped away from the boulder seconds before a hidden tag exploded, making the boulder shatter in an instant. I could just about regain my balance and jump further backwards as another explosive tag was thrown in my direction. My feet hit the ground again as I stared at the three plainly in the face. I couldn't handle these three guys. I've only just started my Genjutsu specialist training. I can't possibly fight these guys. My breath hitched.

"Who the fuck are you?" The Rude guy, who I'm assuming from the previous conversation I overheard is named Hidan, yelled as I examined my surroundings. I'm so fucked if I can't find an opportune moment to run.

"Haruno, Sakura. From the village hidden in the leaves." Itachi spoke up. I clenched my fist tightly. I had such a strong urge to smash his face into the ground because of the pain he had brought to Sasuke. But with two other Akatsuki members by his side. That was merely impossible. "The kunoichi of team Kakashi. Comrades with the jinchuriki." Just after he finished his sentence I rammed my fist into the ground with pure strength. The ground beneath me shook violently and cracked in all directions before chunks of earth flew into the air. I took this moment to make a run for it. If I don't get to the border of the land of fire soon. I'm done for.

"Don't let her escape." I heard a voice echo from behind me. I couldn't have just left them to it could I? I just had to go ahead and take the herbs so that they couldn't create the antidote. But I guess I shouldn't have been so careless with my antidote needles scattered around the battlefield where Sasori was, otherwise they would have been clueless to an antidote for his poison to have even existed.

I begin holding my breath as I accelerated my speed. I can't engage in battle with them. I knew from Guy Sensei that Kizame, The fish looking dude, had an even more incredible amount of chakra than Naruto and the nine tailed fox put together. I knew from personal experience on how sly Itachi can be in his fighting style and how quick he is in speed. But I currently don't have any experience or knowlegde on Hidan.

I was about to jump ahead until Kisame suddenly appeared in front of me with his sword held in his hand effortlessly. I released my breath and jumped up into the trees to begin heading off over head. My heart started to pound aggressively against my rib cage. I am so scared. This is the worst situation I've ever been in...

I could actually die here.

A.N I'VE STARTED WRITING FANFICTIONS AGAIN ;_; i really don't want to let you guys down so I'll make sure that everyone remains in their character :3 But please tell me what you think of this storyline so far and if you want the chapters to be a slight bit longer ^_^ Thank you 3