The sun was still rising when Sakura awoke. She rolled over, burying her face in her sleeping bag and pretending she was
already home. It would be so nice... However, she knew she needed to rouse herself, so with a sigh, she slowly sat
up.
The sun here at the edges of Fire Country filtered down through the trees. They'd set up camp in a shallow clearing near
a brook. The area had obviously been used for the very same thing multiple times before, despite the previous nins' effort
to conceal their passing.
When she glanced around, Itachi was still asleep, Sai was gone and Shikamaru was stirring. The princess was snoring away
in her bedroll, looking just as uncomfortable as she did every morning since they'd picked her up from Shadow country two
days prior. Sighing, Sakura knelt beside the other female and began the healing.
xXx
"Are you certain there is nothing between you?" Nina asked Sakura suddenly.
It was later that morning and the two were braving the freezing waters of the brook in order to get clean before they arrived
in Snow around midnight. Itachi had insisted they just run the rest of the way; he didn't want to be around Sai for any longer
than absolutely necessary, and Sakura kind of shared the sentiment. Itachi, Sai and Shikamaru had all left to retrieve food
for the group while Sakura was on princess duty- which only made sense, due to her gender and the activity.
The kunoichi gave her companion an exasperated look. "What? Seriously? I've already said that there's nothing!"
Nina gave an embarrassed smile. "So you did. I'm sorry. I just... there isn't much time left..."
Immediately, Sakura felt a tiny bit guilty. All Nina wanted to do was talk. Sighing, the kunoichi shrugged. "Well... It's
fine, I guess. Sorry, I'm just tired of this already, you know? I want to go home and-" But the look on Nina's downcast face
stopped her short. Nina can't go home. The thought stung. "Oooh, you know, I bet Itachi-san will be willing to carry
you later tonight! Since you'll probably be tired by then."
Nina looked up, surprised. "Tonight? We're not sleeping?"
Sakura shook her head, tendrils of pink hair swaying. "No... I'm sorry. Itachi-san and Sai have been... uh..." She paused,
then decided - on the off chance someone was stealthy enough to be listening without her knowing... like any of her teammates
could be doing - not to finish that sentence and shrugged. "You know..." Nina nodded. "Well, 'cause of that, we want to finish
this soon, and get you to safety."
Thin black brows pulled together in confusion, and maybe a bit of concern. "I am not safe with your team?"
"Oh, no, you are!" Sakura hastened to assure her, reeling. Damn! This girl... "But anything could happen, you know? We're
erring on the side of caution, I suppose."
Nina nodded slowly. "I understand," she said, and turned away to pick up her soap.
Sakura also turned, though not completely away, and grabbed her shampoo. Man, she hated bathing in rivers! It was
such a pain, especially this close to Snow! The water was always so cold, and it made her toes feel numb, and then afterward,
when they were warming up, they got so sensitive, and-
Nina's high-pitched scream of terror broke into her thoughts. Sakura whirled, automatically reaching for her kunai holster...
Only it wasn't there. She was naked, and standing on the bank was a smirking black and red-cloaked criminal. He eyed her breasts.
Sakura saw red.
With a burst of chakra and a heave, she pulled a good-sized boulder - one that she'd been using to sit on when her feet
got too cold - out of the river soil, lifted it above her head and threw it. It crashed into the guy with a satisfying multitude
of crunches and came to a grinding stop.
Sakura dove for her pants. Where there was one Akatsuki, there was another; there was no telling how long she'd have 'till
the next one showed up. She had just managed to drag on her pants when she heard a grunt and the sound of something heavy
thumping to the ground.
Sure enough, when she turned around, kunai pouch in hand, the guy was getting back to his feet, cracking his neck back
in place like- It clicked. "Hidan," she gasped. "Nina! Get over here!"
Shit, shit, shit, where were the others when she needed them!
Nina had been backing away slowly from him- not due to caution, but because she was too stiff to move much faster than
that. At the sound of Sakura's voice though, she turned and stumbled through the icy waters to her protector's side. She was
shivering and gibbering, and Sakura hissed for her to shut up. Nina couldn't do much else, so her mouth snapped shut. Sakura
tossed her cloak over the girl, and withdrew a kunai from her pouch.
The guy was wiggling his fingers, each popping a few times before he'd focus on the next. Finally, he lowered his arm and
leered. "Nice rack," he said.
Sakura almost heaved another rock at him. It might not kill the bastard, but it sure as hell would hurt like
a fucking ton of bricks... well... that was the point, though. "Fuck off, asshole." There was no way she could take
this guy in this situation. No fucking way. But maybe she could hold him off until help came.
"I would love to," he said suggestively. "But you know... that fucking hurt!"
xXx
Some time previously, on the outskirts of Konoha...
Naruto. Was. Pissed. The rumors had had some basis in fact, in that Sasuke had been spotted in the town before.
But that had been five. Years. Ago. Not recently. So, either Tsunade was misinformed... or she'd lied. Now Naruto
was angry, and feeling irrational.
So what does an angry and irrational boy do when he's mad at someone? Spite them.
He was going after Sakura.
xXx
Now...
Sakura darted to the side when Hidan leapt at her - across the damn river. Did the guy have no sense of self preservation?
She lifted her hand, blocking his insane, unaimed strike and then grunting when his other hand - also containing a kunai -
sliced at the flesh of her stomach.
Something brushed the bottom of her left breast, but she sucked in her tummy to avoid the blade and jerked backwards. She
pulled back her fist, he looked at it, and she knocked him back across the river. This time with a broken nose.
"You BASTARD!" she shrieked, covering her breasts. "You felt me up!"
He rolled to his feet, coughing. "Damn, that's a mean right hook... Where the hell'd you learn that shit?" He popped his
nose back into place, making a sound that closely resembled a whimper.
"From a really bad tempered medic nin," she retorted twisting around. She grabbed the closest tree within reach, dragging
it from the soil.
"I see her right hook wasn't the only thing you got from her," he said, diving to the side this time, the tree crashing
down where he'd stood. "You also got her temper!" He cackled, looking far more excited than he should have been. "Did you
get her rack too? "
Sakura snarled. The only thing that kept her from dropping him into a rocky pit was that Nina might get pulled in too.…
Oh, right. Nina.
Sakura dragged in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Now was not the time to lose her temper. She needed to disable
him and get Nina away from there. Maybe she could pin him somewhere... Though, if his actions earlier were any indication,
she wasn't the only one to enhance her strength with chakra.
She cast a quick glance toward Nina, and that was all he needed. He leaped right across the bank, tackling her to the ground.
One hand was on her breast; the other, around her throat. Her kunai fell from her fingers from the impact, but she had no
time to worry about it.
She had enough room in that split second to shift her leg just so... and when they thudded to the ground, him on
top, she jerked her knee upwards. Hidan went cross-eyed, a soft sound of pain slipping through his lips.
He didn't, however, loosen his grip. Which was bad. Very, very bad. As soon as he was able to manage the pain, which didn't
take as long as she'd hope, his fingers tightened on her throat. "You," he panted, "are a Bitch. With a fucking capital
B."
She sneered, but held as she was, she was literally under his mercy. Though... her hands were free.
And, with a chakra-enhanced shove, he was away and rolling across the ground. He rolled right out of it, inches from falling
into the river. "Oh, c'mon, the mighty Haruno Sakura's being gentle! You've got better than that, right Bitch? Or do
I gotta grope you again?"
Sakura narrowed her eyes. "What."
"You heard me!" he crowed, and cackled. "Gimme some o' that sweet pain!"
"You're a lunatic," she retorted, but scooped her fallen kunai from the ground. Grinning, he pulled his staff from his
back as she darted forward.
The staff swung, Sakura jumped and flipped backwards, barely avoiding its blades, landing in a cat-like crouch. The bottom
of her foot stung, but she ignored it. She'd probably stepped on a rock. He flipped it and swung back towards her. She kicked
off the ground with chakra as her aid and landed on the staff itself.
His eyes widened at the audacious move. "What the-"
Sakura grinned and darted along it to plant her heel against the top of his head. She swung her kunai down and into the
base of his neck, severing the spinal column. Even though he was immortal, that would immobilize him for now.
"Nina!" she called, leaping off him. The force sent him sprawling on his face.
The princess started, staring at the kunoichi as she ran to her side. "S-Sakura-san?" she stammered. "Is it over? Is he..."
She swallowed.
"No," Sakura replied. "Hurry. We have to leave-"
Manic cackling cut her off. It was hysterical, it was insane, it was annoyingly gleeful. "Fuck! That fucking hurt!"
he laughed excitedly.
She turned around, staring in shock as he slowly got to his feet, body shaking with the force of his loony laughter. She
shook her head, feeling the blood drain from her face. That should have stopped him! He shouldn't be able to move! Was he
just not human?
He finally got to his feet, trying to keep his balance with some effort. His laughter wasn't helping. Then he lifted his
staff, and blood dripped from the end. "Lookie what I got!" he cheered. "I've got-"
"RASENGAN!"
xXx
Meanwhile...
Shikamaru wasn't a very happy person right then. He'd been minding his own business, trying to out-hunt Itachi and Sai,
looking for a deer. And he'd found one. It was a male too, and he usually felt bad about killing females, since they were
kind of important and all.
He'd been just about to kill the guy when, for absolutely no reason, a bird landed on the deer and exploded. A bird.
A very colorless bird, yes, but a bird nonetheless. So, of course, Shikamaru was then hungry, frustrated and
annoyed.
… Or something like that. It didn't help that he was covered in deer guts, of course.
"Hey, pineapple head!" A voice above shouted in greeting.
He looked up and twitched. He'd read files, and maybe seen pictures, but a combination of the physical description of the
guy, combined with his unique style of attack made it easy for Shikamaru to identify him.
Deidara. What was it with blonds? Did they always have to be so... so, flashy? Was it some sort of cosmic requirement?
Shaking his head, the Jonin made a quick chakra scan, searching for the teammate. He was mildly surprised to find that
said teammate had already engaged Sai not far from Shikamaru's location. There was also someone fighting Itachi further away
and- and someone fighting Sakura (for some reason, she seemed pissed), but he couldn't figure out if the chakra signatures
were familiar.
Why? Well, short, blond and girly was pelting him with tiny bird bombs. Oh the shame.
Shikamaru had to keep dodging, and as such, he needed to focus more on the matter at hand, trusting his teammates to take
care of themselves. There was something a bit odd about this whole thing, though. What could they be after?
A larger explosion - barely missing him - brought his full attention back to the fight. Shikamaru threw a handful of shurriken
at the blond, but Deidara simply took them out with a few more miniature birds.
Shikamaru darted up a tree, leaving a kunai about halfway up, stuck in the bark, and jumped to another tree. He had to
dive from that one, because Deidara tossed another bomb at him. He scrambled along another one, throwing shurriken at the
blond, and left another kunai.
Deidara didn't seem to notice what he was up to at first. In fact, he seemed to be just toying with him. Or... or buying
time. Shikamaru grimaced, left a kunai in another tree and tossed a kunai at Deidara.
Deidara blew it up.
Shikamaru, clinging to a branch, stiffened when something landed on his arm. He turned his gaze, staring at the small,
white butterfly clinging to the fabric of his sleeve. He gulped, calculating quickly.
Arm or plan? Arm or plan? Oh shit, it was too soon!
But Deidara was floating lower now, grinning. "Like her? She's gorgeous, ain't she?"
Shikamaru glared at him, then pulled a new kunai from his pouch with his free hand. He tossed it and another, in two different
directions. One sailed for Deidara, the other for a tree. The butterfly exploded, and Shikamaru cried out in pain.
He tumbled from the tree, feeling like his arm was just sawed off. Well, it might even be gone... if he wasn't who he was.
As it was, it'd take months for it to heal. Most of the limb was damaged, burned and bleeding, and a big portion of the muscle
was gone. The bones were even shattered. He was never happier to be a good friend of Sakura's.
At any rate, this all passed through Shikamaru's head in the split second as he hung in the air about to fall. Then he
plummeted, activating the tags on the kunai he'd planted. He landed on his back on the ground, drove one final kunai into
the soil and lay there trying to catch his breath.
Deidara, however, was blown up. Or that's what it looked like. With a series of pops, a thin line of chakra ran from each
kunai to the next one, and then finally to the one in the center, all the way on the ground. Then they connected across the
circle, like lasers almost, cutting through anything they touched. Including Deidara.
Deidara, though, hadn't lived as long as he had by being stupid. He, in his own right, was a genius as well- albeit, a
psychotic pyromaniac one. When he realized what was happening, he tossed a few birds up into the air with specific instructions.
When the 'laser' like chakra passed through him, it only burned for a second before his birds blew up every kunai... aside
from the one on the ground, though this was perhaps a bad thing. For Deidara.
This interrupted the flow of chakra, and didn't take Deidara out like Shikamaru had been hoping for. But oh well. He still
had his kunai.
And Deidara was distracted saving his life.
xXx
And with Sai...
Sai was perhaps having a bit more trouble than his companions, in that his opponent didn't want to stay. Still.
More than once, Sai had the urge to reach up and rub his eyes, or close one, because no matter what happened, his masked opponent
didn't ever seem to actually be standing in the spot that Sai saw him standing in.
The only time Sai got in a hit was when the guy got close and Sai sensed his proximity. Tobi hadn't done it again.
Sai had of course quickly reached the conclusion that this 'Tobi' person used genjutsu. Frequently. However, the Root nin
never saw any sort of hand signs, and he couldn't tell if the guy was perhaps using an eye technique, so aside from bleeding
himself out - which was out of the question - he had no way to combat the genjutsu.
He didn't even have a teammate with him to use their own chakra to cancel the effect. So Sai had to be very cautious.
Fortunately, Tobi didn't seem concerned with actually taking the fight seriously. He was just playing around.
A shiver travelled down Sai's spine at the thought of Tobi getting serious. Still, he needed to get to Sakura. She seemed
to be having trouble with her own opponent but- oh, nevermind, there was dickless.
Sai perked a little at this, and offered his opponent a slight smile. "Wanna see a trick? I heard 'little boys' like those
sorts of things."
Tobi shifted, tilting his head, and it was impossible to tell what his expression was due to the annoying mask. "A trick?
Oooh, Tobi wants a trick!"
"Good," Sai said, lifting his hand. It was in a 'kai' seal. "Now that Sakura-san has assistance, I can stop worrying about
hurrying this up."
Tobi stilled. "... What?"
And the ground opened up beneath him.
xXx
Hidan was attacked from behind, Rasengan tearing through him. He popped and turned into smoke.
"A shadow clone," Naruto growled, landing in the middle of the river. Then his eyes landed on Sakura. "Oh..."
Sakura was tempted to punch him. "You jerk! Focus on your fight!" she yelled at him.
"My fight? It's your fight!" he protested, eyes glued to her chest.
"I'm going to kill you!" she roared, and looked around wildly for her shirt. Nina had at some point fastened Sakura's cloak
around her shoulders, so she didn't have that. So- ah! Sakura spotted the red garment across the river, near the remains of
Nina's shampoo bottle. "My shirt! Gimme!"
Naruto didn't move.
She threw a rock at him. Luckily for him, it was a fist-sized rock, not a boulder. He toppled over into the water. He just
as quickly got out of the water and grabbed her shirt. "Eeeh, sorry Sakura-chan," he said, red-faced.
She snatched it from him and wriggled into it. "Where is that dumbass?" she demanded, very pointedly changing the subject.
He shook his head and looked around while he climbed out of the freezing river. "I don't know... Why were you fighting
him naked?"
She glared at him. "Not. Important."
Naruto gulped. "Right. Uhh..." He quickly set to looking around, searching for any sign of the Jashinist, but came up empty.
"He's just... gone."
"That's... not good," Sakura said, feeling the color drain from her face.
Some ways away from them, Itachi, Sai and Shikamaru were fighting unknown opponents. And Itachi wasn't faring too well.
His power spiked, and then floored. Sakura froze to the spot.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Nina's voice broke them from their stiff staring contest. Naruto shook himself out of it and gave Sakura a grim look. "C'mon.
We have to see what's going on. There's no point waiting around for that loony dumbass."
xXx
There was a bomb half an inch from Shikamaru's nose, his arm was bleeding too much, and his opponent was about to win.
Then something happened. Shikamaru couldn't sense Itachi anymore, though at the distance, it could just be that Itachi had
been knocked unconscious.
Deidara was withdrawing. "Oh, looky! Kakuzu's all finished!"
Kakuzu? … That meant Hidan as well. Shikamaru felt a surge of fury roar through him before he remembered that Hidan
was totalled, if not dead. He'd done it himself, but...
"We'll just be going now. Be a good boy and bleed out, un!" Deidara flipped him off and flew away. He was barely injured,
since Shikamaru had been at such a disadvantage. Shikamaru was better at ground combat, but Deidara was a fighter better suited
in the air.
Shikamaru stared at the bird and then allowed gravity to drag him from the tree branch, and none too soon. The bird exploded,
shattering the upper half of the tree. Shikamaru landed and rolled, grimacing, as the debris rained to the forest floor. Then
he lay there staring up at the sky. For whatever reason, Deidara was leaving him alive.
Hopefully, he wouldn't be coming back, because Shikamaru was in no position to fight.
xXx
Sai was beginning to realize how proficient Tobi was with ninjutsu as well as genjutsu. The masked man used clones more
often than Sai could keep up. Was this guy running on unlimited chakra?
Sai's hand flickered over the scroll before him, sketching and then bringing to life five Chinese-style dragons. They roared
and set upon his cloaked opponent, only to go right through him, prompting Sai to curse.
It was another damn clone.
"Ooh!" Tobi said suddenly, standing a good ten feet behind the clone. "Kakuzu-san's activated his trap! That means I don't
get to play with you anymore... but Tobi will come back another day! Then it's twice the fun!" He giggled and vanished into
the forest, just as Itachi's chakra plummeted.
Sai quickly rolled up his scroll and ink, put them away and darted after. He needed to find out what had just happened.
