A/N: This is my very first fanfic, so don't be to harsh, English isn't my mother tongue. I'll try to write every chapter as long as this. Updating comes as soon as possible, but I'm literary drowned in schoolwork and examine performance.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.Chapter 1
Facing it
It was an unusually hot day of a long, warm period, maybe the warmest in the history of my hometown, Konoha. Every river had dried up and became holes of mud and mouldy fish.
Other places were the lakes like the shrinking, sand-coloured wrinkles of an old woman. The sun was sizzling, the beams of it too brilliant, too bright.
Mirroring the ground in waves of heat, mirages appeared everywhere I focused my sight. When I threw a look at the sun, the strong light nearly blinded me, causing my green eyes to sting in pain.
My big forehead wasn't any better, if I'd some eggs, I could easily heat them up, even boil them hard-boiled on it. I also was certain of finding my red dress covered in spots of sweat.
My half-long and pink hair resembled new-showered hair, but was in the reality bathed in the same smelly and salt liquid that streamed out of the pores of my clammy skin.
"Shit!" I cursed loudly as my patience reached an end. I'd got enough of this weather and the need of showering after each time leaving the outward door-sill and as if that wasn't worse enough my beloved pair of sunglasses was sadly gone forever.
Not that I used them often, but obviously had an unwarily and seemingly innocent-looking Naruto had to break them into thousand pieces, by just sitting innocently on a chair.
Unfortunately, my glasses were placed at that chair at the wrong time, then he'd done it, as so many times before. He was just so.. so.. I didn't know precisely how to describe him, so annoying in a way that made him seem like he didn't even knew how irritating he was himself.
The way he way he looked would adore any mother who didn't new the true "him", the spiky blond hair, those huge, begging and sea-blue eyes, the wide grin when he was pleased and the enormous ramen-appetite.
Things were changed a lot in the time passing by, he'd grown, grown until he was higher than me and some of his childlike ways to behave seemed to be gone. But individuals like Naruto doesn't change easily. Most of his old personality was well-kept.
It wasn't that it wasn't a good thing, but sometimes one could forget how noisy he at times could be when he was trying to make up for things he'd done wrong after his sense, when he generally in reality hadn't.
How could I avoid to just hate it when he more or less begged on his knees while whining like a child repeating himself. 'Sakura-chan, I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan. I won't do it again. I promise!'
And he wouldn't stop and truly believe my "forgiveness", before being told it was okay and nothing was done wrong more than hundred times.
I was on my way toward the marked which found place next to the favourite ramen-restaurant, Ichiraku Ramen Bar, of a known, irritating, blond boy whose used to spend most of his time there, when he not was out training.
I'd some things to fix and a new pair of sunglasses to buy and wouldn't allow the weather nor Naruto to stop me.
As I passed the restaurant after several heavy steps on heated and desert-like streets and many wishes of just turning around and stay inside my cooler home, I experienced an odd thing. Today didn't appear to be a "ramen-day'", which meant every, single day, in the kyuubi-boy's eyes.
Maybe today is one of those rare days when not even ramen-addicted boys like Naruto dare leaving the house even for eating ramen? I don't think he'll suffer.
If I knew him right, he always stored one or several packages of ramen, at places so secret that he most truly forgot where he hid them himself, in spare at his kitchen in case of situations like this.
I had to fought a giggle as a strange picture of Naruto in pyjamas searching desperately for ramen in a messed up house showed up in my mind. It shouldn't surprise if that was the reality.
Suddenly feeling an empty, sad and lonely mood threaten to spread trough my body, I knew I would break down sooner or later. It had been that way ever since the day he just left, only leaving a simple 'thank you' after my confession of love. It was too much and I often got rapid mood shifts because of him, Sasuke…
Ever since the night he knocked me unconscious, leaving me on a cold bench and Naruto promised me to find him, but failed after successfully tracking him and loosing after a breathtaking battle of life and death against him, I'd been thinking of him, wondering what he was doing, even almost cried tears for him like a foolish child.
The memory of him suffered, years of not seeing him hade made their consequences. I was forgetting how he was and it felt unimaginable for a person like me whose used to spend a lot of time in loving him.
If I just could know for sure if there still was any hope, if he at least was alive, if I could get a ever so short glace to heal his suffering memory, but not as a "body-container" of Orochimaru.
Almost certainly, I would never know anything for sure at this rate. No one had succeeded in finding him after Naruto's loss against him. I felt the sweat ran rapidly down my forehead, wet and overheated. My hair was clammier as well.
Breaking my thoughts, a yell, that only belonged to one certain person at this planet, called at me, Naruto. "Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!" He ran excited toward me, ignoring the people watching funny at him, hands sprawled in the air and a wide grin adoring his face.
He almost ran into me, almost soaked me in his sweat, but luckily managed to stop in front of me just in time with one of his sheepish expressions and his right hand itching his back.
"Old granny Tsunade asks for us." Removing the hand from his back. "And here.." He reached out his left hand and showed me two tickets?
"These ones are for you. You'll get ten free portions of any optional ramen with each of them." I stared at the tickets he now waved in front of my nose and damp eyes, Naruto really wasn't that annoying all in all.
"Of course I mean ten bowls of ramen eaten at the same the very same meal, or you'll have to pay for those you ate if you didn't manage to reach ten." I stared at him in shock, my mouth wide open. The words he then said was more than a little more annoying. "I think you'll have no problems in eating ten bowls!"
Inner Sakura exploded and started cursing wildly. I guessed Naruto would surely faint if he met my inner-self face to face. 'Bastard! I'm not fat, lacy non-stop-eater!' Inner Sakura yelled in my mind.
"Naruto! What's wrong about you, you're crazy if you think I can it ten, huge bowls of ramen! My stomach will explode before I've even managed to reach three bowls!" Naruto seemed to pale, while getting one of his common panic moods.
"S- S akura-chan, I didn't said that you had to eat ten bowls. But if you feel sad for not being able to eat that much ramen, I'll gladly teach you how you can make it!" He suddenly got new ideas, turning me pissed off.
'Naruto! I hate you and your stupid ramen! Go to hell!' Inner me continued to curse, while I myself was resisting the urge to punch and kick Naruto and tried to go back to Tsunade for her message. As guessed, he started to whine and beg as so many times before.
"Naruto can you just shut up. Your begging is annoying, it makes my brain ache and turn into nothing!" Once again continued Naruto pleaded, eyes looking sad, hands folded. "Listen Naruto! It's okay!" I tried to sound like I actually meant it, smiling at him as if to show him I wasn't angry anymore.
"Let's end this "ramen-thing" and instead go discussing with Tsunade-sama about whatever she wants, before she gets impatient of waiting." Naruto walked beside me, while staring at the sun with his deep-blue eyes..
"Isn't the weather nice today, so hot. I can smell it, fresh ramen served hot in a bowl!" He muttered warmly, causing me to laugh, he was just so funny in an odd way that only he could. It turned to early afternoon, thirstiness was threatening me with their appearance, the air was dry and sandy, no dampness. I stroke my pink hair and sighed dryly, feeling slightly like breathing sand.
"I wish it would snow right now." My words made Naruto smile enthusiastically and dry some of the sweat on his own forehead away by using the back of his hand.
"Yeah! Then I could throw balls of snow at the others like when we were younger." We reached the Hokage's headquarter, a huge tower in red-brown bricks, after a longer walk in the sunset. The air and the sun got cooler now and the sky was coloured in any tones of red, orange, crimson, pink and purple, similar to a younger child's first painting.
"Did Tsunade ask both of us to come inside?" I asked wondering while staring at the sun. "Hmm... Granny Tsunade said something about a mission. Maybe we both should go inside…" Naruto didn't knew much himself. I watched the ground while thinking of the solution.
"That would probably be the best since none of us knows." Naruto reached out a hand opening the door to run inside the building, slamming the door in my nose like he forgot I walked right behind him. And I who thought he was attempted to act like a gentleman.
Tearing the door open, I slammed the it angrily and harder than him shoot after stepping inside, and sneered in a high, but calmer voice. "Thank you very much for smashing a door square in my face! You could at least left it open to me!" Naruto's face withered meters away from me as he took some steps away from me in the long corridor with many, many doors.
"Sakura-chan, a-are you okay?" I approached him like I was a pissed off bull whose saw blood-red. 'You won't dare acting like an idiot when I've finished you!' "Naruto stop acting like you are three years old!" I shouted, all that boiling of my brain wasn't any benefit of him, he let out a small scream in fear.
"Sorry!" I thought he'd grown up after spending two and a half year with that pervert Jiraya. But still he'd gone back to his foolish acting after seeing me focus chakra to me fists and punching the ground with force enough to make an earthquake.
The long corridor which led to Hokage Tsunade's office, to be more correct, cleaning-cupbroad, was quite long, but I wasn't focused at the environments at all, my attention was at a known blond-haired boy whose tried to escape my wrath by running away like a chicken.
When he reached the stairs, my anger was starting to fade and turned into lighter frustration caused by Naruto's stubborn escaping. He hurried up the stairs with me grabbing after his heel. But he quickly shook me off and continued against the door of wood with a familiar nameplate.
"Let me in!" Naruto knocked desperately at the door while jumping up, down and running around in circles.. "Old granny Tsunade, please!"
Tsunade-sama opened the door looking quite upset. "Naruto! Stopp running in circles now!"
Immediately, Naruto was dead in his moves. I locked the door behind me. "Sorry for being late, but the boy standing beside you delayed me…" My expression was innocent as if everything was caused by Naruto. "Hey! Sakura-chan was the one to scold me!"
Tsunade-sama hit her desk hard, making a loud noise. "Stop arguing, both of you!"
Both Naruto and I bowed ashamed. "Sorry, we didn't have any intention in disturbing you…"
Hokage-sama sat down at her chair and searched through stacks of papers and documents which was covering her desk. "Where did I place that document and that..." She muttered strained to herself. Every drawer was emptied in her frantic search of the paper. She was hopeless, just leaving important papers and documents fluttering everywhere. I sighed, it would take a long time to find anything in this mess.
Focusing my view at a crack in the dusty and white-painted ceiling, I wondered why she called for us without even having any mission-papers ready.
A loud noise of shattered glass caught my attention. Maybe the hurried Hokage lost her cup of coffee, most truly sake, into the floor. Making me wrinkle my nose of her hopelessness, I turned to lower my view slowly and bored toward the source of the sound, expecting to see a broken bottle.
To my shock the noise wasn't coming from any clumsy Hokage, but from right behind Tsunade-sama, and what I then saw made every limb, every muscle tense, my jaw clench, my teeth bit my bottom lip, eyes grow wide open in fear, cause now, there was standing to individuals dressed in black robes covered with red clouds in front of us. Both had purple-painted nails and rings that witnessed where they belonged, Akatsuki.
I wanted to scream, run away, flee, but my entire body felt like a stiff log. I was incapable to move any part of my body, even my breath stopped. The only sounds I could hear in the silence was my own heart beating as ever before in panic and the sound of small bells clinging, bells that hung in the enemies hats.
Naruto was already in his fighting-position ready to fight the enemies in the blink of an eye, while I just stood there doing nothing. Paralysed of fear, fear I never knew existed until now, I tried to get ready for an eventual fight.
But I knew that this was a battle I certainly not would win, I simply wasn't strong enough, though I was obligated to protect my dear ones, especially the Hokage.
I knew I was outstanding in healing wounds and cure deceases, but when it came to combat against an Akatsuki, I was chanceless. It was then I met a pair of dangerous red crimson, almost glowing, eyes with a spot looking like a pinwheel.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Tsunade-sama sounded deadly grave and struggled visibly with the handling of the situation.
Removing the covering hat to reveal his identity and Sharingan, the first awareness hit me, it had to be the Mangekyo Sharingan. I only knew one person with that kind of Sharingan.
Uchiha Itachi, the man who betrayed Konoha, the cold-blooded, careless Uchiha, the man Sasuke had swore to kill, Sasuke's own big brother. I wanted to cry, he reminded me too much of Sasuke the day he left me cold and sobbing.
The gush of memories weakened my ability to stand against the urge to scream or escape like a mouse caught in the corner, desperate trying to run away from the paws of a cat.
Next to him was another tall man standing, with something looking like a brush for cleaning covered in old, white shreds or bandages on his back, he'd blue hair and grey skin, the companion of the terrifying Uchiha, Kisame.
"What do you morons want?" Naruto growled angrily, not showing any trails of fear. He knitted his tensed fists ready for a battle to protect Tsunade-sama and me. Tsunade-sama acted swiftly and strategic, placing her right palm at her wooden desk, and with a fast and powerful jump, she slid herself over it, holding a bunk of sealed documents with her left.
I finally managed to clear my head for a short moment, utilizing the chance to run in front of the Hokage to protect her before I felt the chill creeping back into my veins.
"In any case, never look into the Uchiha with the Mangekyo Sharingan's eyes!" Both Naruto and I turned or gazes at the red, carpeted floor, afraid of being caught in the fearsome illusion, Tsukuyomi.
Without being capable to know what our enemies would do next with their hands, it would be easier for them to act and do their moves now, since we all was handicapped by our sight.
"What are your intentions?" Tsunade-sama's voice was steady and flat, she never walked in front of me nor moved in any directions. I guessed she wanted me as her protection-guard.
I felt coldness gush trough my back, my hair froze into pins. "What do you want?" Ordered Tsunade-sama again, never letting her eyes leave the carpet.
No one did anything in a moment which felt longer than an hour. Torturing my patience and death in our steps, Kisame approached us. But nothing more than two steps closer.
"Give us the documents you are holding Hokage-san, and we'll leave in peace." The voice sounded as nasty as he looked, and he wasn't beautiful. Taking a solid grip of the papers, Tsunade-sama pressed them forcefully against her chest and shouted furious at the strangers
"I', The Hokage of Konoha, will never let an Akatsuki touch any secret documents!" From the look of Kisame's legs, he appeared to be shaking of anger or enjoyment. Getting a look of the tip of his razor-sharp weapon reaching the ground, he was going to stab one of us.
"So, you want it to turn out the hard way?" I heard him laugh hard and evilly. 'Sadistic shark' How much I hated him, thinking of killing as amusement, a hobby.
I had to save Tsunade-sama, our Hokage, from the fate of a S-criminals chakra-draining sword. Even tough there was a less chance for all of us to get away unharmed, maybe some of us would get away in one piece if we were lucky.
She gave Naruto a worried look, things were getting serious and the documents would become a threat against the whole country in wrong hands.
Mimicking to Tsunade-sama, the letters for run, she slowly reached for the doorknob. "And where do you think you're going?" Kisame asked chuckling, taking another step toward us.
'Keep eyes at the carpet' Now I had to struggle against my own sight, curiosity threatened to allow myself a short glance at the enemies. But the risk of unfortunately meeting the Sharingan-user's view would be disastrous. Tsunade-sama stopped in her attempt, never allowing her arm to loosen it's grip of the knob.
In knowing that fast and unexpected moves would be asking for dieing, she stared at Naruto again to find a new strategy. "Run" he mouthed without making any noise.
Blue eyes gleaming of self-confident was enough to trust his plan. I moved my sight an inch to watch out for signals. The security of the Hokage came before Naruto's and mine.
I heard a deep, husky chuckle. It couldn't be anyone, but the Uchiha. Chills raged trough my nerve-system, how was it possible to sound so cold, like enjoyed toying with feelings, yet never showing anything? "Pathetic." Itachi seemed bored and careless, as expected of a murderer.
After the word was said, all appeared to be happening in high speed, every detail rushing too fast for my brain to capture it clearly as a memory. I heard Naruto shout the keyword.
"Now!" He ripped the door open and made Tsunade-sama run in front of him, as fast as her old body allowed.
"Delay them from reaching us, Sakura-chan!" The order cleared my head and only one thought was in mind, to protect both Naruto and Tsunade-sama form being finished of by Akatsuki.
Understanding that I was the only one they didn't wish to hunt down, I focused and molded huge amounts of chakra in my balled fist, not straining or letting anything disturb my concentration, not even my enemies.
Soon, there was an enormous amount of chakra charged in my hands, more than I ever before had stored. I felt the trembling the chakra made in my fingertips, just waiting for being released from my body.
"I'll never allow you to steal those documents or Naruto!" I screamed, shutting my eyes, before planting my fists into the carpeted floor.
Nothing happened. All went deadly silent as I felt a sharp pain in my arms. Opening my eyes slowly, I saw the blade of Kisame's sword lightly dug into my skin. What the hell's going on? My inner self cursed.
"It's not possible, you dodged me…" The voice of mine was weak and low than a whisper, my hands were shaking and crimson-coloured blood appeared around the scales of the sword blade.
"Obviously, you haven't fought an Akatsuki before." Kisame chuckled evilly while removing the blade. Warm liquid of blood streamed out of my now gaping wound in flows. I fell on my knees, panting heavily, never letting my eyes leave the carpet. All of sudden I'd felt drained of chakra, and hope, my mind was starting to dazzle and the small amount I had left refused to reach my injured hands.
Not caring for what they might do to me, I stared up at Kisame, he was even scarier when he was close, towering above me. The gills made him look like a fish and his eyes where mad and bloodthirsty, like the eyes of Garaa's Shukaku when he almost had killed me. My whole being was shaking in panic, those eyes, this person, he wasn't human, though he was.
I saw Itachi appear in the very corner of my vision as a blurry shadow, aware of the danger I now was facing. But I couldn't force my eyes to look in another direction, I was caught by his sadistically grin and stare. Why didn't they run after Tsunade-sama or Naruto? Why me?
"Do you think the same as me, Kisame-san?" An impassive, yet drawing and dangerous voice interrupted Kisame's stare. My view was heartlessly drawn towards the other Akatsuki, the one I feared most, Itachi. I wanted to stop myself, but I was too frightened. Widening my eyes in panic, I instantly was trapped within his piercing glaze.
"You're useless in fight, kunochi." That voice startled me again, making me paralysed against my will. My entire situation seemed hopeless in seconds, he'd such a control over me.
I hadn't recognized how he looked like before getting a little more adjust to the Sharingan's constant glowing. He was dangerously similar to Sasuke, but this Uchiha had longer hair, matured features and bags under the eyes. I narrowed my eyes, successfully gaining some of my willpower back, enough to at least say something.
"You both failed! You didn't succeed in getting those silly documents nor have you got Naruto!" Itachi laughed flatly. "You're wrong, kunochi. Maybe the easiest plan failed, but there's always a plan-B which is a little more tangled, but gives us more in merit." I was shocked, did this plan-B include me? I felt my emotions being pressed to an end, a border. Tears was threatening to erupt any second, though I knew it wouldn't help me the least.
"Bastards…" Muttering angered and frightened, I just wanted to rise up and escape the whole thing. "Don't be so ugly in word-use, kunochi, unless you want me to clean that filthy mouth of yours." I bit my bottom lip hard in embarrassment, this Uchiha had such a great ability in making people weak. H
e really scared me, he was so icy and nothing he said or did witnessed that he actually was a human. I refused to let either him nor Kisame control my confused mind again, though I knew it was an impossibility.
I was too weak to even touch them now. Staring blankly at the floor, I knew this could be my very last moment alive, but I rejected to give in without trying everything. I forced myself to leave the warm, comforting ground, to use my very last energy in an last attempt before my body would collapse of the loss of chakra.
"I wouldn't overdo my body if I was you." The Uchiha seemed to turn even colder, even more unpredictable. "Just flee, kunoichi." He smirked wickedly at me.
How could he seem to be so full of emotions, when there wasn't any? I continued to stare at carpet, while balancing on my feet. Stumbling solemnly away from them, I felt how injured I actually was.
A sense of stiffness and lactic-acid threatening every muscle. No! I can't give up now! Sadly, my last power drained out as I struggled to take another step away. Once again I fell t my knees, frustrated attempting to crawl further toward my only goal, the open door of wood with the nameplate.
"That kunochi truly has willpower…" Kisame laughed quietly and amused, Itachi strolled calmly and gracefully after me, hazardously aware of my desperate attempt.
"I don't think it will drive her further away than this door-sill, maybe shorter." The voice was husky and manipulative. Placing himself in front of me, blocking my path, I was engaged to meet the red Sharingan I wished I never had to face again.
"Feeling discharged, empty or hopeless, young kunochi?" He smirked in an uncaring way, while lowering himself to look me straight in the eye. It smothered me to know that he read me like an open book, anticipating my next move, which seemingly didn't surprise him. I wanted the question he asked to remain unanswered.
"I'm not going to answer." I sneered like a prey doing a brave, but useless attempt to protect itself. "I see." The two words was emotionless as expected, his eyes pity and capturing. "Would you if forced you to do so?" I started shivering again at the freezing effect of his voice and eyes.
"I don't like repeating myself." Now I tried to make myself even more angered to show them I wasn't a small, crying girl. I frowned and gasped heavily as his expression went into a stiff, deadly glare.
"Neither do I." He grabbed my left foot and dragged me across the floor, back to Kisame. "No! Let go of me!" Itachi didn't bother the least.
Enforcing myself to dig my nails into the carpet, making a sickened ripping-noise and causing them to bleed and get sore. I refused to let his word affect me in any way, kicking frantically after him with my right leg.
I felt him stop and tighten his hold of my left leg, making me moan pained and press my nails deeper into the fabric of the carpet without caring for the pain throbbing in my already bleeding nails.
"Stop fighting, you know it won't make any good" I answered his conclusion by kicking even harder, making him sigh I rage. "You begged for it." I felt an extreme and torturing tightening around my left leg, ending up with the most disgusted sound of my life, my own ankle breaking diagonally, causing me to scream in utter pain and terror.
My eyes widened, my mouth broad and open, as the shock and the ripping throbbing made my consciousness fade away. Why? It was my last thought in a flood of evil laughs as I drifted into eternal darkness, away from this world.
A/N: Cliff-hanger. I know, they are irritating for the readers, benefiting for the writer. Keeps the intensity and makes readers long after the next chapter. Hope you liked the first chapter. Review, I'm open for new ideas and tips.
- Gaupe