Naruto 1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: So I had quite a few requests for a sequel to **A Test of Control, **and this is the result. As you will note, this is not a one shot. I do have more chapters coming. You do not have to read **A Test of Control **to understand the story, but I do give a few references. As always, this is rated M for a reason. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, owned Naruto. I just play in their world.**

**Reviews! Reviews! I love ALL my reviews, good and bad. **

The Edge of Rage

"We're almost there," Sasuke's voice rasped out, harsh with worry, "don't you _dare _quite on me now!"

"S-should...have l-left me...," Sakura's voice was no more than a bare whisper, her breath warm on his neck.

Sasuke locked his arms more tightly around her legs, shifting her body closer on his back, her arms nearly dangling uselessly around his neck.

"Never."

_S-stubborn male, _Sakura thought but there was no heat behind it. After everything that had happened, how could she be mad at him?

"_Don't _go to sleep, do you hear me Sakura? _Stay awake!_"

"S-snarly male," Sakura muttered softly, "don't y-you...ever tire of g-giving orders?"

"When it comes to you," he retorted, "no."

He got a breathy chuckle for his quip, which quickly turned into a raspy cough that made his heart pound and redouble his efforts to get them to a safe zone.

_Neither one of us will make it if we run into any more shinobi from Cloud. _

"Save your breath," he told her softly, "I want you alive and well so I can chew you out when we get back to Konoha."

"S-so...that's my inc-incentive to live...h-hearing you lecturing me..." she would have said more but another racking cough stopped her words, and a blood dribbled from her mouth.

_At l-least two b-broken ribs, possible punctured l-lung, _Sakura mentally assessed her injuries, _a-and lets not forget th-the poison as w-well. _

Sakura knew that if treatment wasn't done, she wouldn't have to worry about Sasuke chewing her out. She would be dead.

"_After_ I've chewed your ass out," he continued as though she had not interrupted, "I'm going to keep you in my bed and make _damn _sure you won't be walking for a least a week."

Sakura sucked in a sharp breath and not all of it was due to the pain of her injuries.

"Not...a-a...chance..."

"I wasn't asking."

_If I...su-survive this, _Sakura thought with amusement and not to mention a bit of apprehension, _I'm g-going to have to su-survive him! _

"H...how much fur..." but once more she was wracked with spasms and could only gasp and cough as Sasuke carried her limp from on his back, headless of his own injuries.

"Another mile and we should be pass their border." He told her, instantly knowing what she had been asking.

"D..do you think...they got...away?"

"Yes."

Tears threatened to leak from her eyes but she refused to let them fall. Her mask had been pushed off to the side, as to make her breathing easier. But it no longer gave her the protection of hiding her face.

"G...good. At least...w-we got to t-hem in..."

Sasuke waited for her to finish he sentence but when she did not, he became worried. "Sakura? Talk to me." He shook her very gently, mindful of the blood he could still feel seeping into his back, despite the protective armor he wore.

Alarm kicked through his blood stream like a punch of adrenaline when she did not respond.

"Wake up! Damn it I told you _not _to go to sleep!" He didn't care if he was snarling at an injured female, he was _not _going to let her die on him.

Not after tonight. Not after what happened.

"...y-you...are...loud"

Relief nearly dropped him to knee's as her shaky voice whispered her words to his ear. _She's not dead. _

"I'm going to get a lot louder," her growled at her, "if you go to sleep again."

"wasn't...s...sleeping..."

_I'm losing her, _he thought as ice flowed through him at the thought of her dying. He knew that two of her ribs were definitely broken. Those could be dealt with, it was the poison that had him anxious. He knew when he picked her up that she had over a dozen cuts on her body.

Each one made by a poisoned kunai or shuriken.

Each one his fault.

"Then you were just naturally quiet? I find that hard to believe. You have a comment for everything."

Sasuke counted the seconds between her responses.

"...do...n-not..."

_Five seconds, she must be going in and out of consciousness. _

Sasuke deliberately made a sound of annoyance, just to rile her up. To keep her awake until they passed the border and get them to a safe shelter.

"...I _d-don't!..._"

_Ten seconds. _

"I'm going to pick up speed, can you handle it?"

"...yes...d-don't worry about...me."

He didn't bother with a retort but once more shifted his arms under her legs to make sure he had a good hold on her before he sprang in the air and began moving at speeds that no one outside of a ninja clan could follow.

Sakura never made a sound, not even a gasp as to not give away their position should an enemy be near enough to detect them.

_ Good girl, _he thought even as the silence began to erode away at his control, _but right now I want you to live. _

_W...warm, _Sakura thought sleepy, knowing that if she gave in to the need to sleep there was a strong possibility she would slip into a coma and not wake up.

But Sasuke was warm and despite the blood coating both of them, he still smelled of lightning-struck rain. Of the wind among the leaves.

Sakura inhaled his scent as much as her broken ribs would allowed. She secretly loved the smell of him. After that day in the woods, the day she made ANBU, she had not been able to get his scent out of her mind.

No matter that it had been four months since that day and she had kept her promise and hadn't slept with him.

_Not that i-it mattered, _She thought even as she allowed her head to fall on his shoulder, _I b-barely see h-him. T-this was our f-first mission t-together...m-might just b-be m-my last..._

She was going to have to disobey Sasuke. She couldn't stay awake any longer. She had long since lost any feeling in her legs and her body was trembling so hard she knew that the poison had spiked her body temperature into dangerous levels and was starting to shut down.

_He's talking to me..._her mind was hazing over and though she could hear his voice, the smoke-in-shadows timbre that haunted her dreams, she could not hear the words.

Instead she closed her eyes and let the memories of the past twenty-four hours play over her mind.

_It's...n-not a bad way to die...being h-held by h-him..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes: **Update! I know it's been a while but I want to make sure I get it right the first time! Thank you so much for the reviews! I read and appreciate all of them!

**Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Naruto. I simply play in their world.

**Reviews! Reviews!**I love all my reviews, good and bad!

The Edge of Rage

Chapter 2

_Twenty-four hours ago..._

_There, that looks like the marker. Two tree's growing from one base shaped like a _

_'v' with a polished gray stone at the base, _Sakura narrowed her eyes and confirmed that it fit the description that was on the scroll. _The scroll said to take the path that forked to the left, in two kilometers I would come upon a single hut and to look for the leaf emblem that would mark it as a safe house. _

Sakura adjusted her course and took the path to left that looked like nothing more than a game trail and counted her steps until she estimated she had come the two kilometers.

She was surrounded by thick, wild forests that she hadn't know existed in Grass. She also knew that she was very close to the Land of Cloud border. _So where is that...ah, that must be it. _She had just spied the 'hut'. It was so faded and worn that it completely hidden in the dark foliage of the forest. Had she not been actively looking for it, she would never have known it was there.

She stopped short of the steps and kept herself hidden in the shadows and scouted for the leaf sign. _There, _her eyes found the emblem scorched just above the door frame, _this is the place. So now I make myself known and find out who sent me that scroll. _

Sakura stepped out of the shadows and made her way cautiously to the steps. She sensed no traps, nothing to mark this place as a dwelling of Konoha shinobi. She had made the third step when the screen door slid open of its own accord. The sun had not yet risen in the sky and she could not see into the shadowy depths of the hut.

_It's not that big of a dwelling, probably no more than a sleeping area, bathroom and if the architect was feeling generous, a small kitchen. _

Still she moved slowly, and still she could detect no activity. No chakra, no sense that anyone had been here. Sakura had just crossed the threshold when the screen snapped shut and a blade cut across her throat.

"Password."

Sakura did not fight the blade across her throat, nor make any aggressive movements and instead spoke four simple words. "Where there is Light..."

"...the Shadows are deep. The scroll?"

"Burned, as instructed."

"Good." Abruptly the blade was removed from her throat and several fat candles lit at once, sending a flood of light into the small hut. Sakura turned sharply on her the heel of her boot.

"You follow orders well, Haruno." Sasuke Uchiha told her, as he unwound the black cloth that had covered most of his face and muffled the silken tones of his voice.

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "Why all the theatrics?" He might be her Captain, but that didn't mean she would follow him blindly.

"I see four months in the ANBU have not cured that mouth of yours."

Now that she could see him, she saw that he was dressed in black ops clothing, minus the white armor.

_No wonder I didn't sense him, _she realized, _he's cloaked. _The clothing of the ANBU masked a shinobi's chakra, allowing them to walk 'unseen' before the enemy even knew they were there.

However she wasn't looking at his clothing, it was his eyes that held her gaze. They were not the blood red of his sharingan, but the black pools of drowning darkness.

She knew those eyes well. They haunted her every waking dream, since that day in the woods.

"And why should it?" she retorted, well aware she had been staring at the enticing form of the Uchiha.

"Perhaps you're looking for a repeat experience?" His eyes glittered in the candle light, making him appear like some demon prince.

_A deliciously bitable demon prince, _her subconscious all but purred in her mind and Sakura shoved away that image with a vicious shove.

Somehow she doubted Sasuke had lured her away from Konoha to play mind games with her.

"In your dreams," she muttered and shot him a hard look. "Why am I here and why did you send me that scroll?"

"I didn't send you the scroll," he told her, ignoring her earlier remark, "Tsunade did. Now that you're here, read this." He tossed her a scroll and she snatched it out of the air.

Several minutes of silence ensued as she read the scroll, her face becoming darker with each word she read. "So, several women from the Land of Fire have gone missing and all last seen in the Land of Cloud," she muttered, "Kidnapping? But what could be the motive behind it?"

"Unknown and at this time, I don't care. Our orders are direct. Find the missing women and free them."

Sakura frowned at him even as she handed the scroll back. "Seems straightforward so why send the ANBU? Why not a jonin cell unit?"

Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and studied her for several long moments that under any other circumstances she would have felt like a bug under a glass jar and balked at it.

But not this time. She sensed that he was weighing something in his mind about her and if she spoke about his scrutiny, it would go bad for her.

So she waited and was rewarded for her silence and her patience.

"What do you know about the city of Kuronan?"

It was not the answer to her question but she didn't point this out but answered her Captain. "It is the capital city of Cloud. Two weeks ago the old king died, leaving the crown prince in leadership. His reign has not been contested and his coronation will take place later this week."

"Precisely."

Sakura's eyes widened as she realized she had just answered her own question regarding why the elite ANBU had been called in instead of the usual jonin cell.

"Is the prince suspected in the disappearance of the women?"

"Undetermined," Sasuke told her curtly, "which is why discretion is needed for this mission. Many of our jonin are well known to the five nations."

"And ANBU always go masked." Sakura finished up with a nod of her head. "Kuronan is a big city, at least a hundred thousand people live there. Do we have any other information than they were last seen there?"

Sasuke shook his head. "None of our informants have been able to pinpoint exactly where they were taken. Nor do any of them have anything in common physically except they were all between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two."

Something was bothering Sakura about the information she had read. "Sasuke, can you hand me that scroll again..." her tone was distracted but he still blinked when she used his name and not his title.

Without word he threw her the scroll. She caught it deftly and quickly scanned the contents unaware that her captain was admiring the grace of her movements. Despite the severity of the mission, and the importance, he still could not ignore the impact she made on his senses.

_Focus Uchiha, _he reprimanded himself, _you have a mission. You're not here to play games with this woman. _

Oh but the games they could play together...

"I knew it!"

Sasuke snapped out of vision that had been playing in his mind, of tangled sheets and flashing jade eyes.

"Knew what?" His voice came out more of a snarl than a question.

"I think I know what all these woman have in common and where we can begin our search." Sakura told him, her jade flashing triumphantly.

Sasuke frowned at her. "Explain." Even his spies had not been able to figure out where these women had gone missing in two weeks and in just fifteen, she had the answer.

"This woman, Kana, I thought there was something familiar about her. I saw her in Ino Yamanaka's shop nearly three weeks ago."

"So?" Sasuke did not see where she was going with this. Many women frequented the Yamanaka flower shop.

Sakura frowned at him. "She was telling Ino that her family was sending her to the gem festival. Her family wanted her to pick out a gem for her elder sister's wedding."

Sasuke stared at her, still waiting to see where she was going with this.

Sakura made a frustrated sound, "This woman here," she stabbed at the scroll, " Etsu is from a clan of jewel makers, their work is some of the very best in the Land of Fire. I would wager a month's pay that her family sent her to the gem festival to sell their work."

"How do you know they were going to the same festival?" But Sasuke was already connecting the points, running through his mind all the information gathered on the three remaining women.

"The reason Kuronan was chosen as the capital of Cloud is because of the gem mines surrounding the city. Each year the city holds a three week festival and anyone can come and look and the famous gems that have made Cloud rich."

"And all the women who went were single, unaccompanied by any male." Sasuke murmured softly, remember that piece of intel. It was why the spies could not specify the time frame of when the women went missing. There was no one else in the city who would have been waiting for them to come back to whatever hotel they had rented for the duration of their stay.

"Young women, between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two, alone and at a gem festival..."

Sasuke snapped his head toward Sakura. He had heard the undercurrents of anger threading through her voice. "Haruno? What else have you found?"

"What if this wasn't simple kidnapping for ransom like we thought?" she said softly, her verdant eyes glowing, "what if...these women were taken for something else, say to be sold as slaves?"

_White slavers and if their merchandise is female, then it takes no great leap of logic to presume that these women are being sold as sex slaves. _

Sasuke realized that the pattern fit the motive. What better way to procure new merchandise than from a festival that mainly attracted the female body. _Especially if that merchandise is not from one's own Land._

"We won't know that until we find the missing woman," Sasuke told her, his voice like ice. "Until we have definite proof, do not let your anger get the better of you."

Sakura glared at him and he half expected her to lash out at him. _If she does, I will have to cut her from this mission. This calls for discretion and guile, not emotion. _It was the reason he was glad Naruto was on a mission with Hinata. His partner was powerful, but hot headed. He had a tendency to react first _before _thinking logically about the situation.

But she surprised him. Instead she closed her eyes and Sasuke counted the seconds and when he had reached ten, she opened her eyes and once more she had banked the jade fire in her eyes.

"Agreed," she told him, her voice as cool as his own, "I will not slip again."

Sasuke gave a nod of his head, impressed despite himself. _But then, _he reminded himself, _this is the same female who had the pertinacity to taunt an Uchiha. There is a core of steel in this flower of Konoha. _

He was starting to believe that Tsunade had indeed chosen wisely when she ordered him to take Sakura as his partner for this mission.

"Good, see that you do not."

"Do we have a plan?"

"How much longer will the festival last?"

Sakura did a quick calculation in her head, "four days. We are in the last week of the festival. Why?"

Sasuke nodded his head, "There are provisions here. Changes of clothing, food and medicine. We go in disguised. Someone in the city has seen these women and I mean to flush them out. We have only four days before this festival is over and by then the women will have been moved...if not sold, and should that happen, they will be as good as lost."

Sakura nodded her head and began searching through the clothing when several articles of clothing gave her the perfect idea.

It was insane and risky but if it worked, she would get an _exact _location of the women. "I think I have a way to find these women faster."

"Then tell me. We don't have time to waste."

"Use me as bait."

Sasuke snapped his head once more to look at her. "Say that again?"

Sakura lifted her chin and stared into his eyes, cold and arrogant, but did not back down. "I said use me as bait. If these people really are slavers, then I will fit the profile."

"Not if I'm with you," he pointed out, his voice harsh and cutting as only a blade could be, "they only go after women who are alone in the city."

"Which is why you will stay hidden." she told him, her hands on her hips, "No, listen to me before you say another word. I can find these women but only with your help. I can wear the transmitter disguised inside a jewel. No one will wonder why I am wearing a jeweled necklace at a gem festival. If I present myself as an attractive target, I am sure to get noticed and taken to where they are holding the others. After that it will be easy for you to follow the transmitter to my location."

"And how do you plan on getting 'noticed'? The festival will be crawling with women. Thousands of them, if I don't miss my guess."

"By dropping hints, loud ones, that I am searching for one of the women. A friend who I was suppose to meet up with. I can use Kana, she would recognize me from Ino's."

Sasuke let the frown show on his face, a scowl that darkened his eyes to shards of night and made his face seem of carved marble. It wasn't that he thought her plan ridiculous, quite the opposite.

It was, by all rights, the perfect set up. If it worked, they would find the women and free them and be gone from the city before anyone ever knew that the leaf shinobi were there in first place.

_But these are white slavers and she is willing to put herself in their hands. _He knew exactly what slavers, especially those who trafficked in sex slaves, could do to a woman. It made him clench his hands into such hard fists that had he not been wearing gloves, the nails from his fingers would have let blood from his palms.

Sakura saw the clenched fist and mistook the gesture as a lack of trust in her. That made her angry and an angry Sakura was not a quiet Sakura.

"It _will _work," she snapped at him, "I can do this. Why do you think Lady Tsunade chose me? I have been trained as a medic nin, so if any of those women are hurt, I can heal them. I _am _ANBU, I will not fail."

Sasuke looked at her then, his eyes like chipped pieces of the night sky, and Sakura sucked in a sharp breath. They were devoid of all emotion and he looked more like a shinigami, a death god, than a living, breathing male. "Very well, I will allow this plan. You have twenty minutes to change and then we will leave."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes: **Updates!

**Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Naruto. I simply play in their world.

**Reviews! Reviews!** I love ALL my reviews!**  
**

The Edge of Rage

Chapter 3

_Twenty-four hours ago..._

_ How long does it take a female to change clothes? _Sasuke knew that he had given Sakura twenty minutes to change but as he stood outside the hut, still in his black ops gear, it felt as though hours had passed.

If it wasn't beneath his dignity as an ANBU captain, he would march back into that hut and demand what was taking so long.

_Calm down, _he reminded himself, _you are an ANBU captain not some green genin. You berated Haruno for giving into her emotions, do not do the same. _Sasuke closed his eyes and went into a meditative state to focus his mind.

"I'm ready."

Sasuke opened his eyes what seemed liked hours later but in reality was only ten minutes. His mind felt sharp and once more his anger was sheathed and banked behind the cold steel of his will. He could now concentrate solely on the mission without his errant emotions getting the better of him.

He turned around to look at Sakura and his control snapped. "What the hell are you wearing!"

Sakura was standing on the porch no long dressed in the simple garb of the black ops. Instead she wore a top that was more akin to a bra, except the straps were wider and crisscrossed behind her back. The 'top' molded to her breasts like a second skin, covering everything yet hinted at the creamy swell of each breast. The edgings were etched in gold and nestled in the middle where the two pieces of material met was a dangling gold medallion that looked liked the swirl of a leaf. The top itself was deep, hunter green.

Pants the same hunter green as the top, hugged each and every curve of her body, the top just covering her hips as a large gold-plated belt wrapped around her body, tiny jade pearls embedded in the square plating glittered softly in the early light.

To complete the outfit she had somehow unearthed a pair of fuck-me boots with thick, chunky heels that laced all the way up her calf in unrelieved black with the flaps of the boots turned over just below the knee to show the inner white suede lining.

Her hair, which she had kept back in a tight bun at the back of her head, was now tumbling around her shoulders in flowing _black _ waves. Around her neck she wore a dark green leather choker, complete with tear-drop shaped piece of jade banded with gold.

Sakura frowned at tone. "Civilian clothing. I need to be seen, remember?"

Sasuke swore violently in his head and promised to cut off the first male hand that dared to touch her.

Sakura glared at him and stepped down the stairs and came closer, but still several inches away from the handsome Uchiha. It was then that he realized she had also somehow managed to find make-up. Her lids were dusted in the palest green with just a touch of black eye-liner that made her eyes appear luminous and her lips were a shade darker than their normal coloring and glistened invitingly.

Sasuke added in his head that he would also blind the first male who looked upon her with lust in his eyes.

"Where did you find all of this and how did you manage to change your hair color?" His voice was low and taunt akin to the rumble of thunder just before the storm swept in.

Sakura gave him an edgy look. "I used chakra to change the color. Regular hair dye doesn't work on kunoichi. So long as I don't use ninjutsu any time soon, it will stay this color. As for the clothes I found them in a small suitcase hidden in the closet. I think...maybe...that they might have been left by Tenten on her last mission. We are very close in height and build."

Sasuke raised a winged black eyebrow and pointedly looked at her chest, which was filling out the top rather nicely.

Sakura felt a flush of heat across her cheekbones and turned her head so she wouldn't have to look into his eyes. "I didn't say we were exact," she muttered, "she's just...smaller across the chest than I am."

"So it would seem."

Sakura snapped her head back at the darkly, sensual purr in his voice. "Stop that!" she hissed out.

"Why should I," He murmured silkily and reached out to lift a lock of her hair between his fingers, pressing it to his lips, "when you present yourself thusly before me?"

Sakura sucked in a sharp breath and tried to tug her hair out of his grasp. He refused to let go but watched her with a hunger in his gaze that threatened to take the strength out of her limbs.

"We...we have a mission! There is no time for...this!" Sakura reminded him, trying to sound calm but her voice betrayed her and there was a tremble to her words.

Abruptly Sasuke dropped the lock of her hair. "Tell me you have something to wear over that..." but he could not call the piece of clothing covering her sweet body a top, instead his lips curved into a predatory smile.

Sakura bolted for the hut and came back out seconds later wearing a white duster with the collar turned up around her neck. The sleeves only came to her elbow but the edge of the coat reached to her knee's. It flared out as she walked, giving a quick glimpse of the smooth, creamy skin of her stomach.

_She looks like a rich merchants daughter, _Sasuke realized as he finally got over the shock of seeing her in something other than shinobi gear. _Just the type of woman a slaver would sell his own mother to find. _

The combination of silky black hair paired with the flash of jade-green eyes and lush contours of her body would fetch a high price with the right kind of people.

"Satisfied?" she demanded, tossing her hair over shoulder in an absent gesture.

_Not by half, _Sasuke thought darkly, "Let's go."

"How far to the city?"

"Forty-five minutes if one is a civilian."

"And if one is shinobi?"

Sasuke gave her a smile that would not have looked misplaced on a wolf, "Fifteen."

Sakura nodded her head and took off after Sasuke after securing her pack on her shoulders. Inside was her ANBU outfit that she would leave with him once they were at the edge of the city.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes: **Wow, three chapters posted in one day! LOL, please don't get used to it, this is a rare treat! I hope you are enjoying the story so far!

**Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Naruto. I simply play in their world.

**Reviews! Reviews! **Read, review, post. Rinse and repeat!

The Edge of Rage

Chapter 4

_Twenty-four hours ago..._

Sasuke came to an abrupt stop within the promised fifteen minutes and despite the foot gear she now wore, Sakura managed to keep up with him. They were on the outskirts of the forest and already she could smell the cooked food and many perfumes from the city. The sun was just rising above the edge and bathed the white sandstone walls golden with its light.

Soon the gates would open for the festivities and Sakura would begin her hunt.

"Remember, you are not to engage your target."

Sakura nodded her head. She was posing as a rich merchant's daughter sent by her father for some new wares. She would make a circuit among the gem sellers and hopefully that would flush out the people stealing the missing women and take her back to where they were being held.

"I understand," she told him, the traces of their earlier flirtation gone from both their tones. "Just make sure you are not seen anywhere around me."

Sasuke graced her with the famous Uchiha smirk. "I am Uchiha, I will be seen only when I choose to show myself."

The pure arrogance in his voice did not rankle Sakura but oddly comforted her. _Now here is a partner I could trust with my life. _

Sakura blinked as the thought brushed across her mind. _Where did that come from? This is my first mission with Sasuke. _

"Haruno?"

Sakura shook her head at the question in his voice. "Nothing, I'm fine." she assured him just as she saw the first of many people travel to and from the city.

"That's my cue. Time to go find our missing people."

Sakura turned just as Sasuke pulled with red and white mask over his face. His mask was shaped like that of a wolf.

"I will be watching over you, Nekko-chan." His voice growled out from behind the mask and abruptly he was gone from her sight. There was no disturbance of the wind, no shifting of leaves to give away his position.

He simply disappeared.

_Nekko-chan. _It was what the other ANBU called her, for her mask was that of a cat. It had surprised her, she had not thought he would know of her nickname among the other black ops. Oddly enough it was Sai who had given her name first and others had picked up on it.

_Enough, _she told herself and shook off the warmth his words had caused in her, _time to concentrate. _

Sakura squared her shoulders and without so much as a backward glance, she left her hiding place and sauntered up the trail, slipping neatly in between the early travelers that no one noticed that she had joined their group until she was past the opening gate and already wandering away from the small party.

_Time_ _to flush out my prey. Beware hunter for you have now become the hunted. _

_Two hours later..._

"That is a rather interesting jewel around your neck, my lovely."

Sakura turned to the voice of yet another gem seller. Two hours she had canvased the city, pretending to pick out jewels for her non-existent family, dropping hints that she was looking for Kana but so far no one seemed to have taken the bait.

_It still might be to early, _Sakura reflected even as she smiled at the merchant and walked over to his table, _it's not even noon yet. This could take longer than I thought. _

"Thank you for the compliment," she told the merchant with a flattering smile, shifting her body so the duster flared and gave the man a glimpse of the clothing beneath the coat.

There was a definite gleam to the man's eyes and it wasn't all on the jade at her neck. "Tell me," she continued even as she pretended to look at the gems on his table, "have you been here long?"

"Many, many years lovely lady. Are you looking for something specific?" he asked, though his eyes never lifted higher than her chest.

Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _What is it with males and cleavage? _But this also worked to her advantage. She had found that a suitable distraction allowed her to slip in questions about Kana and the missing women without causing suspicion.

_And while they watch my breasts, I can watch their face to see if they are lying to me. _

So far all the gem sellers she had met had not seen Kana. She wondered if the woman even managed to look through the market before being snatched away.

"Oh well this is my first time to the festival," Sakura replied, fingering a lovely garnet pendant, "Normally my father sends my brother to the festival to pick out our gems but I begged to go this time."

"I can see why your father would wish to keep a treasure such as yourself hidden away but forgive this old man and indulge me my question. Why did you wish so come to our market this year?"

"Oh my friend Kana is here picking out gems for her sister's wedding. I rarely get to see her, though we are from the same village, and I wanted to spend time with her. But I have not been able to find her..."

Sakura trailed off as she sensed a slight shift of focus from the man. He was no longer so avidly interested in her cleavage as he was pretending now.

_Hmmm, perhaps I have found something after all._

Smiling sweetly Sakura bent over his table, as though leaning over to peruse the gems, which pushed her breasts tighter against the fabric of her top. The gem seller swallowed hard, his eyes now glued to her chest.

"You say you have not seen your friend? Well the festival is very large but perhaps I can be of assistance? Do you have a description of this...Kana?"

Sakura kept the smile on her face, even as she clamped down on her rising temper.

_He knows something. He appears to be distracted by my body but his voice is too calm, his tone too smooth to be taken over by lust that he is visibly displaying. _

"Oh yes! Let's see Kana is about this high," Sakura stood up slowly and held up her hand to just barely above her shoulder, "she had long, beautiful chestnut hair that she always keeps braided and lovely hazel eyes and she is as thin as a willow tree. Oh and she has a birthmark the shape of a star on the left side of her neck."

"A tall, willowy woman with chestnut hair and star-shaped birthmark..." Sakura picked up a chunk of amethyst even as she watched the merchant out of the corner of his eye. _There, _she saw the beginning of sweat start to form just near the temple but the day was still relatively cool.

"Tell me did this...Kana, wear the same symbol like your pendant?" The merchant asked, pointing to her top.

Sakura let her eyes widen in delighted surprise "Yes, she would have! As I said we are both from the same village, Konoha, and the leaf is our symbol. Tell me have you seen here? I was suppose to have been here days ago but I was late and I'm afraid she left without telling me!" Sakura put a petulant whine her voice, the same she had heard from other rich daughter's when they wanted something.

"Why yes, I have seen such a woman. In fact I believe it was just yesterday that she was at my stall looking at this lovely emerald."

_Found you, _Sakura thought with concealed triumph. Kana had been missing for over a week. There was no way this merchant could have seen her the day before.

_Unless he is one of the people who 'marks' the victims. Kana's birthmark is unusual enough that he would remember marking a woman like her._

"Really!" She exclaimed, setting the chunk of amethyst down, "Did you speak to her?"  
"At length, was there something you wished to know?"

Sakura picked up a strand of her hair and twirled it delicately around her finger. "Well I left so quickly because I was so late that I forgot to ask my father where Kana said she was staying at. You said she was looking at the emerald? Did she tell you if she wanted it delivered to where she was staying?"

Sakura gave him her most innocent and beguiling smile and immediately noticed when his genial tone and smile suddenly took on a sinister cast. "Why most certainly...but I fear I must ask for your name. I do believe the woman Kana did say she was meeting up with a friend and mentioned her name, so I must be certain you are she."

"Oh, of course! How silly of me not to tell you my name. I'm Yuuki."

"Wonderful! That is the exact name she mentioned to me. But tell me, why do you not ask your father for her lodging? Surely he is here in the city with you?"

But Sakura shook her head, "Oh no! I came here alone. I told him I wasn't a child anymore and warned my brother that if he so much as followed me I would make sure that the woman he has been pining for would know all his disgusting habits."

The gleam in his eyes told Sakura everything that she needed to know. He knew where Kana was, and if she missed her guess, she would be joining her very shortly.

"What a heartless sister!" but the merchant laughed as he said it, as if sharing in the joke, "but for Kana's friend I will tell you so she does not worry. Go to the Blue Diamond Hotel, that is where she directed me to send her package."

_I hope Sasuke is getting all of this through the transmitter. What I wouldn't give to have someone from the Yamanaka clan with me right now! _

But in lieu of a sensory nin she would have to trust in the technology around her neck to relay the information to Sasuke.

"You have been most helpful! Thank you!" Sakura gushed at the man, keeping up the charade of the hapless merchants daughter.

The gem seller waived a hand at her. "Think nothing of it, my lovely lady. Tell me, has anything caught your eye? A certain gem to make a man you favor notice you?"

His tone was light, sounding once more like a gem seller but now knowing his identity, Sakura caught the undertones of the seemingly guileless questions.

_So this is how he finds if a woman is a virgin or not, hmm? Very well, I shall play along. _Sakura forced a blush to her face and fingered the chunk of amethyst once more. "Oh...no," she replied back rather sadly, "My father is _much _to stern and my elder brother scares off any male I might set my eyes on."

She heaved a dramatic sigh, causing the male eye to wander to her cleavage again and this time their was no feign of lust in his eyes.

"Besides, I have been told many a time that I am too plain and my eyes are a strange color and no male wants a female who is so pale, like milk."

The merchant gave an indignant snort. "Nonsense! Your hair is like the finest jet, your eyes the purest jade and your skin like the most flawless of diamonds. You are a rare beauty, lovely lady."

This time Sakura didn't have to feign the blush on her face. "Oh, you are so sweet! Why if you were a younger male I would say you were flirting with me, but no. You must have several granddaughter's by now?"

The seller waived her off. "Be off with you now! You wound this heart of mine looking upon with such young eyes! Remember, go to the Blue Diamond and tell them Hiroto sent you!"

"Oh I will, I cannot wait to see Kana!" With a jaunty wave Sakura left the merchant's table and lost herself in the crowd. She would wait at least half an hour before going the Blue Diamond. She wanted to give the man time to warn whoever was there that she was coming and she wanted to make sure that Sasuke was receiving the intel through the transmitter embedded in her necklace.

Sakura found a quiet spot off the main path that seemed to be crawling with people. Making sure she looked like one more tourist she stopped at the nearest vendor to grab a drink and sat under one of the few tree's in the city that offered shade, looking as though she were resting and getting out of the glare of the sun.

Leaning back against the cool stone wall, Sakura lifted the cup to her lips and making sure no one was watching her, lifted her other hand to her necklace and pressed the underside of the necklace.

"Urufu-san, can you hear me?" she murmured softly over the rim of cup. Since Sasuke's mask was that of a wolf, it seemed a fitting name to use.

"_Loud and clear Nekko-chan. When will you go to the hotel?"_

Sakura's lips turned up unconsciously at the sound of his voice. "In another ten minutes," she replied, "I want to give that fat seller a chance to tell the others to expect me."

"_I agree. I will follow behind. Be careful." _

Sakura pulled her hand away from her pendant and drained the cup before throwing it into the trash. It was time to see if her acting had fooled that disgusting old man. Pushing off the wall, Sakura leisurely wandered through the stands and past more vendors selling anything from food, to drink to cheap trinkets for children.

Once or twice Sakura leaned up against a stall and inquired where she might find lodging for the night and confirmed that she was heading in the right direction. Eventually the crowds began to thin out and there were less vendors and more buildings the further she walked. Fifteen minutes later Sakura saw the hotel.

It looked for all intent and purpose, like any other hotel. There was a sign out front that showed a glowing blue diamond on a white background. She noticed that it was a little further away that some of the other hotels and that there were many alleyways that led to and from the hotel.

With an inward sigh, Sakura made her way to the hotel and walked through the glass door. Greeting her eyes was a white and blue desk where a young man with short brown hair and amber eyes awaited her. He wore a dangling tear drop diamond from one ear. His clothing was nothing more than a plain white shirt with the cuffs turned back to show off tanned arms.

Sakura forced her legs to keep walking to the desk, even as shock threatened to stop her short. The young man behind the desk was no civilian.

He was Shinobi.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **Update! It's been a while but I have returned! I hope you are enjoying the story so far!

**Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Naruto. I simply play in their world.

**Reviews! Reviews!** Thank you to everyone who has reviewed my story! Many, many thanks and thanks to everyone who has added my story as a favorite!

The Edge of Rage

Chapter 5

_Twenty-four hours ago..._

Sakura managed to keep the smile on her face and walked without hesitation even as her mind furiously tried to process this new information.

_Shinobi, he's shinobi. But is he rogue or part of a cell from another village? _

She knew him to be shinobi because she could sense the reserves of chakra in him. It was one of the requirements to be qualified as a medic nin, to be able to sense to levels of chakra in a patients body.

Sakura sent a fervent prayer to all the gods that her civilian clothing was made from the same material as the black ops uniform and therefore masked her own chakra.

"Welcome to the Blue Diamond, I am Aiji. Can I help you?" the shinobi asked, polite curiosity in his voice.

"Yes...well, maybe." Sakura gave a false laugh and pretended to nervously fluff her hair, "I was sent here by a gem seller named Hiroto. He said that my friend was staying here. Am I in the right place?"  
Sakura saw the predatory gleam in his amber eyes flash in his eyes momentarily and knew for certain that this shinobi was working with the merchant.

"We have many guests staying here," he told her, " why not tell me the name and I will check our records."

Sakura gave him the name as though she suspected nothing. She knew damn well Kana would not be in the hotel, but she wanted to what he was up to.

_Surely they don't plan to abduct me here at the hotel? That would draw too much suspicion especially if he is telling the truth about having legitimate guests. _

"Ah, yes it seems we do have a Kana staying here. But I am sorry to report you just missed her, she left not too long ago." He looked up at he with such a contrite expression that had Sakura not known him for what he was she would have been utterly fooled.

"Missed her? Did she just leave?"

Aiji nodded quickly. "Oh yes, I saw her leave with a young male who claimed to know her family from her village. I think I overheard him ask her out for lunch."

She gave him her best startled look and then quickly bit her lip. "Really...because I am sure that Kana told me she wasn't meeting up with anyone else. Perhaps I should go look for her, just to make certain?"

Sakura was not surprised with the shinobi gave her an equally startled look. "Do you think she might be in danger? In that case let me accompany you."

Sakura shook her head and gave a protest that sounded weak even to her own ears. "Oh...no I couldn't ask you to leave your job and ask you to help me. I'll be fine."

But the young male shook his head and came around the desk. "Nonsense," he insisted, "I was the one who let her leave thinking she was in safe hands. Please, you must let me come with you. If you think she is in danger, wouldn't it make sense to have someone else along to help?"

Sakura pretended to think about his offer when in actuality all she wanted to do was beat the living shit out of him and demand answers.

_But I cannot, I have to play the weak female or I will blow my cover and then we may lose our people for good. _

"I...guess that makes sense," she replied slowly, giving him a worried look, "you won't get into trouble helping me find my friend will you?"

But he waived her off and gave her such a charming smile that Sakura realized how they managed to abduct these women without any suspicion.

He even went to far as to offer her his hand to take.

But Sakura was not willing to push her acting that far. If she so much at touched him, she would have to kill him.

Slowly and with a great deal of blood and pain involved.

Instead she shook her head and motioned for him to proceed before her. "I will follow you," she told him with what she hoped was an expression of worried innocence, "you know this city far better than I do and you did say you knew where he was taking Kana?"

Aiji nodded his head, "Yes, it's not far from here. I am sure you will find your friend very soon."

Sakura's hand itched to drag a kunai across his throat, instead she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her duster and followed the shinobi out of the hotel, quite certain that she probably wouldn't be coming back anytime soon.

_Sasuke I hope to hell you are either getting all of this or following close behind. _

There was no way she could tell him that this man was shinobi and prayed that she wasn't leading them both into a trap.

Sakura was not surprised when Aiji led her down one of the dark alleyways that led away from the shopping district. Sakura wondered how long she should give him until she pointed out that they were moving further away from the city, not closer.

She waited exactly five minutes, long enough for him to get her away from the crowded public but not so far away that she could make a good show of trying to get away.

"Excuse me," she called out to him, stopping in the middle of one of the dark alley's, "but I thought you said Kana was not far away? I don't see any places to eat either. Are you sure we're going in the right direction?"

The male turned back to her and gave her an oily smile. "Oh not to worry, we're taking a short cut. I promise once we leave the alley you'll see."

Sakura gave him an unsure-but-game smile and allowed him to lead her past the alleyway. A few minutes later he was as good as his word and they left the alley, only to come to an abandoned street that was bereft of people.

Sakura decided now was as good a time to play the frightened girl. "I think we took a wrong turn somewhere. Maybe I should just go back to the hotel and see if she came back already." She turned and saw that the entrance to the alley was already blocked by two more men.

Both shinobi.

"But we want you to stay."

Sakura didn't have to feign the shiver that ran through her. Both males were dressed in the black-on-black garb favored by the ninja clans. They did not bother to hide the fact that they were not civilians.

_Either they don't care who see's them, or they don't expect me to be able identify them after this. _

She was betting on the latter rather than the former.

"I...I don't want to stay," Sakura continued to back up away from the advancing males, "I...should go. My father is in city and he'll be looking for me real soon!" She allowed her voice to get higher and faster as she talked.

Two hands clamped down on her arms from behind her. "Wrong," hissed Aiji, dropping the good Samaritan act, "We know all about you, Yuuki. You came here all alone. No father, no brother's. Not even a boyfriend to miss you when you don't come back to the hotel."

Sakura turned her head and as much as she wanted to snarl and break his hands for touching her, she didn't. Instead she forced her eyes to widen and hoped that he would mistake the gleam in her eyes for fear and not the anger simmering in her veins.

"H...how do you know that?" she whispered, even as she tried weakly to free herself.

"Pretty girl like yourself should be careful who you talk to, you never know who's listening." He told her with a rapacious gleam in his eyes and abruptly forced her against him, pinning the back of her against his harder body.

Sakura didn't have the fake the revulsion in her eyes as he stroked a finger down her skin. "Such lovely skin," he murmured, his hot breath in her ear, "like ivory. You will fetch a fine price."

"P-price? What price?"

"Why you'll have the great honor of being a wealthy man's pleasure slave. I know many who would pay red-gold to own beauty such as yours."

_ So I was right, they are stealing the woman for sexual slavery._

The fact that she had guessed correctly brought her no joy. She had wanted to be wrong. She had wanted the women to be victims of kidnapping, the only motive money.

She was so angry at being right that she was visibly shaking, trying to suppress the rising tide of outrage at the thought of these men touching the other women the way this one was touching her.

"Look at that, she's shaking." smirked the male with the black eye patch over his left eye. He was one of the males guarding the entrance to the alleyway, "quivering just like a frightened rabbit. Makes me want take a bite out of our little bunny."

The male holding her tightened his around the front of her shoulders, thinking his superior strength would hold her at bay. "Now, now Gerdo you know the rules. No touching the merchandise until after she's been...examined. The boss prefers virgins."

Gerdo, the one with the eye patch, shrugged his shoulders. "So what? It's not like I'm going to throw her on the ground and fuck her right now. Just a little nibble, to see if all the soft looking skin is really tender."

Sakura decided she had heard enough. It was time for her to make her 'great escape'. "Noooo!" she screamed and began wiggling in captor's arm, as though terrified that the one called Gerdo was going to actually bite her.

"Stop that!" the male holding her growled, but Sakura turned enough that she stomped on his foot with her chunky heel with enough force that he actually yelped and loosened his grip. Acting like any other woman on the verge of panic, Sakura shoved him away and then deliberately turned her back on her would be-captors and began running down the deserted street.

"Help me! Somebody help me!" she yelled, knowing full well that nobody could hear her.

"Stupid slut, you ain't going nowhere!"

Sakura didn't even bother to look behind her but kept on running, turning down alleyways that she figured would either lead her to a dead end our circle her back around.

"Usuru-san," she hissed into the transmitter, even as she let out another blood-curdling scream for help, "I've made contact. Proceeding with plan."

Sakura turned a sharp left more focused on how she could prolong the run to give Sasuke more intel on the shinobi than actually being chased.

So she had no time to react properly when Aiji appeared before her and jabbed a needle inside her neck.

Pain exploded where the needle buried itself in her skin and then just as quickly all the strength left her limbs and she literally fell to the ground, unable to move.

_Shit, drugs! Why didn't I..._but her mind was already shutting down and darkness pulled her into oblivion.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes: **Thank you to everyone who is enjoying the story! I know my updates are few and far between but I hope you continue to enjoy my stories.

**Disclaimer: **I do not nor have I ever owned Naruto. I simply play in their world.

**Reviews! Reviews! **I love ALL my reviews, the good and the bad. They inspire me, always.

The Edge of Rage

Chapter 6

_Now..._

"We're almost to the safe house," Sasuke told Sakura, "once we're there, I'll need you to tell me what poison those shinobi are using so I can treat you."

Silence was his only reply.

"Haruno? Answer me, this is no time to keep quiet."

Again silence met his query.

_She's just fading in and out, _he told himself, _she'll answer me soon. _

He counted the seconds and when he reached a full minute, his heart dropped unpleasantly to his stomach.

"Sakura?" He shook her, not harshly but enough to give her a jostle that with those wounds would at least make her tell him to stop.

There was no response, not even a moan of pain.

_Fuck, _he swore, _she can't be dead. I didn't give her permission to die on me!_

Sasuke moved with such speed that even with full moon in the sky no eyes could have followed his movements, except perhaps those of the Uchiha clan gifted with the sharingan.

He was back at the hut within minutes after her continued silence. Gently, as though she were broken, he laid her upon the wooden floor of the main room. Normally the room was used as the common eating area but for right now it would work as triage for Sakura.

His eyes narrowed as blood flowed freely from the slashes on her upper thighs and right shoulder. But what worried him was the scarlet bloom just under her left breast. The white armor should have protected her, but it had not stopped the blade from piercing her body.

Her clothes were tatters, her gloves shredded so that her fingertips were exposed and also seeping blood.

Her skin, a normal luminous glow, was ashen. Sasuke had no idea how much blood she had lost but from the waxy feel of her skin, it could not be good. Abruptly he began stripping her of her armor and shredded clothing.

"Not how I imagined stripping you the second time around," he muttered furiously as each article of clothing revealed another cut. Her mask still lay off to the side of her face, covering her features. In his haste to check the rest of her wounds he had forgotten to remove it.

He did so now and his eyes dilated, a wash of red over his vision as he took in the bruise marring one cheekbone, her lip cut and swollen.

She had hid the marks of her beating from him, using her mask as a shield to his sight.

His hands visibly shook as he suppressed the instinctive need to go back out and find the Lightning shinobi and replicate each cut and bruise that was on her body.

"Later," he promised himself, "much later. Right now Sakura is your priority."

Finally he had stripped her down to just the scrap of black underwear, her skin an unhealthy pallor next to the dark color.

The blade had pierced her through and through, Sasuke sensing that the lung had collapsed from the way blood had bubbled out of her mouth. Her breathing was shallow and ragged.

"Collapsed lung, three broken ribs, a myriad of cuts," taking inventory of her injuries he began to wonder how she had been able to stay on her feet as long as she had. Heat radiated off of her body that could rival that of a small sun. Being so close to the high temperature was starting to make _him _sweat.

"I need to get her fever down." He knew that if he didn't treat the fever there would be no point in worrying about the other wounds and the poison. The fever would literally cook her brain and she would never wake from the coma she had slipped into.

It was at times like this that he fervently wished that his talent was with water and not with fire and lightning.

He remembered that there was a spring-fed well to the back of the hut. The spring was underground and impossible to contaminate which was one of the main reason the safe house had been constructed so deep in the woods.

Sasuke touched the purple bruise marring her face with tender fingers. "I'll be back, so _stay alive._"

He literally disappeared from the room and instantly reappeared at the well. The well went several feet into the ground and there was no way to fetch the water except the old-fashion crank handle.

_She will live. She will live. _

This mantra kept in time of the cranking of the handle and as Sasuke worked the handle, feeling the seconds tick by as he hauled up the water, his mind replaying the events that had led him to this point...

_Twelve hours ago..._

His gloved fingers dug gouges into the branch as he kept his sanguine eyes fixed on the lithe form of his partner. For the past two hours he had done nothing but watch her work her wiles on both merchant and tourist. He had nearly bitten through his lips in an attempt to stop himself from yelling at her the first time she bent over a merchants table, her breasts straining in that laughable excuse-for-a-top,while the two males fell over each other trying to get her attention.

That didn't stop him from wanting to draw his kunai and permanently blind them for staring so blatantly at her body.

Hence the gouges in the tree branch.

However the transmitter was working perfectly and he could hear every word she was saying as well as the replies from the unsuspecting males.

He actually found himself laughing softly as she interrogated them with such ease that they had no idea she had them well and truly fooled.

_No wonder Ibiki was impressed with her and it is damn near impossible to impress him. _

But despite her best efforts and the conspicuous use of her body, no results were forthcoming. Sasuke was beginning to wonder if he was going to have to tell her to fall back and regroup and find another way to flush out their target.

_No, _he decided, _I will give her another hour, the day is still early. _

And he went back to watching her with smoldering eyes. Nekko-chan he had called her, recalling the nickname he had heard bantered about in regards to the newest ANBU. She believed it was because of her mask, the one that Sai had designed.

_But that is incorrect, _Sasuke contemplated even as he moved to a new location, _he had started calling her Nekko-chan _before _he carved her mask. _ He knew because he had overheard the normally stoic young man talking to Naruto about his mission with Sakura and kept referring to her as Nekko-chan.

Annoyed by the almost affectionate tone for the pink haired kunoichi Sasuke had joined their conversation and demanded to know why he kept referring to her as a cat. Sai had actually looked surprised by his inquiry. "_It's the way she moves," _he had explained in that deadpan voice of his, _"she always lands on the balls of her feet and the way she walks, a swaying motion that I think I heard many of the others say that was...ah, yes, sensual."_

That particular conversation still brought a snarl to his lips but he forced himself into a calmer mien as his eyes found Sakura once more.

Her long black hair danced in the slight breeze, a stark contrast against the white duster. _She blends well, _he thought trying to keep his thoughts neutral regarding his partner and the mission, _she could be one of the women from my clan with that hair. _

Oddly he found himself missing her natural pink locks, even though he knew she hated the color because it made her stand out, apart from everyone else.

_Too bad, _he decided, _because after this I will never allow you to change your hair color again. _

"...do you have a description of this Kana?"

Sasuke's focus suddenly snapped back on the conversation and off his sudden obsession with the color of his partner's hair when he heard the subtle nuances of the merchants voice.

_He knows something, _he was sure of it. Now it was time to see if Sakura picked up on it and could get the fat male to reveal what he knew.

From his vantage point high atop the tree's that grew close to the city walls and the precise details that his sharingan could pick up, Sasuke saw both Sakura and the merchant Hiroto as though he were standing right next to them.

He noted that Sakura had once again leaned over a table to better display her charms and distract the male with her creamy, white flesh so she could ask her questions. The oily smoothness of the man's voice as he answered her questions confirmed what he already suspected.

_He knows Kana and now he is marking Sakura for abduction_.

He watched as Sakura bantered with the sly, old man for a minute longer before leaving his table, the illusion that she was going to see her 'friend' right away.

Sasuke did not follow immediately behind but waited to see what the merchant was going to do after Sakura was no longer in sight.

His patience paid off as a shadow detached itself from a nearby wall and walked over to Hiroto's table. The person was covered in a nondescript cloak of pale beige that concealed everything but the top of his head, as he had thrown back the hood to talk to the merchant. Though Sasuke no longer had the audio help of the transmitter, his sharingan allowed him to read the lips of the two men.

_"Follow her," _Hiroto told sandy-blonde haired man, _"she knows one of the women we abducted and I don't want her asking too many questions."_

_ "Shall I take her now?"_

Hiroto shook his head, _"No, I have sent her to the Blue Diamond. Aiji and the rest of the shinobi will make sure she is taken to where the rest of our merchandise is being held._

Sasuke's eyes widened only slightly as he digested that bit of information. Tsunade had suspicions that other shinobi had been contracted to abduct these women but at the time she had no proof.

_Well now I have my proof and can send word to have the retrieval squad meet up. _

He would have to inform Sakura of the change in plans. There was no way he was going to allow her to be kidnapped now that he knew that other shinobi were involved. _Normal humans is one thing, _he thought even as he slipped back into the shadows and followed the lightning shinobi, _but with other shinobi involved this complicates matters. _

ANBU were well versed in the ninpou arts but that didn't make them invulnerable. Sasuke had no way to gauge just how many cell's had been contracted to kidnap these women. He would pull Sakura out and then wait for the retrieval squad. Now that he knew of the other shinobi, he would have a sensory member attached to the retrieval squad to track their quarry.

Sasuke was still following the other knowing that he would lead him to Sakura when a burst of static came over his earpiece that connected to the audio piece around Sakura's neck.

"Usuru-san," Sasuke's lips turned up in a half-smile at her code name for him until her blood-curdling scream came over the earpiece, "I've...contact...proce...plan..."

Sasuke heard the distinct sound of a body hitting the ground and the transmitter went utterly dead.

_Haruno! _Sasuke instinctively went to his mouthpiece to call out to her, but stopped short of speaking. _I can't say anything, those lightning shinobi may be close enough to hear my voice. Right now being inconspicuous is her best disguise. _

Sasuke swore long and hard and with great imagination. He wanted nothing more than to pull those shinobi apart with his bare hands but the mission came first.

Sasuke dropped into one of the many tree's surrounding the city and pulled a long, silver whistle from the inside of his shirt. He gave a short, silent blast on the whistle and waited.

Seconds later a beautiful hawk of golden brown was diving from the sky to his exact location. Sasuke lifted his arm and the bird alighted on the white armor, his amber eyes looking at Sasuke with unnerving intelligence.

"Hebi," he told the bird as he attached a tiny cylinder to its leg, "take this to the Hokage and be swift about it." The bird gave a sharp chirp and Sasuke launched him into the air once more. Sasuke watched his progress until the bird was invisible to the eye and then quickly turned his mind back to the business at hand.

_No time to wait for the retrieval squad, I'll have to track the lightning shinobi to Haruno and the others. _

_ I am coming for you._


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes: **Feels like I haven'tupdated in forever! I give a huge apology to all of my readers who have been waiting **very **patiently for this update. Please, enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I have not, nor will I ever own Naruto. I simply play in their world.

**Reviews! Reviews! **I love all my reviews! Love it? Hate it? I want to hear about it!

Chapter 7

_Twelve Hours Ago..._

Sakura awoke to blinding pain that stabbed at her eyes and left a numbness in her limbs. Her throat felt raw, as though she had swallowed razor blades.

She tried to speak, but it came out hoarse and croaking and she ended with a coughing fit that threatened to split her head apart.

"Easy, take slow sips. The pain goes away eventually."

The words sounded muffled but someone was pressing something to her mouth and she opened her cracked lips to take a grateful sip of lukewarm water. She swallowed another mouthful and felt the tissues in her throat loosen and ease.

"Th-thank you." she gasped as the darkness faded from her vision and she was able to see once again. "How...?" but her mind still felt oddly hazy and she had trouble forming the words.

"How long have you been here? Less than hour." The woman next to her sounded surprised...and suspicious. "Amazing really, most of the women who were drugged and brought her don't wake up for at several hours, if not a day."

"Who..." she tried again and once more ended up with another coughing fit for her efforts.

"That should be me asking questions."

"Aiko! Don't be such a bitch and give her some more water."

Sakura turned her head and saw with muted surprise that it was Kana who was addressing the other woman. Her normally braided back hair was down and full of tangles and there was a bruise that marred her upper left temple, as though she had been struck.

"Hey!" cried out the one called Aiko, as Kana took the cup from her fingers and gave it to Sakura to sip from. "We only get one jug a day! Don't waste it on her!"

Kana glared at the other woman. "Maybe you've been here so long that you don't remember what its like to wake up drugged and feeling like someone shoved a razor down your throat. Well I do, so she's getting the water."

Kana turned back to Sakura, who had put the cup down, still half full. "Drink up, I know it tastes awful, but it will help. My name is Kana."

"I'm...Yuuki. Are you...from Leaf?" Sakura asked, deciding the way that the woman Aiko was eyeing her it was best to keep her false name for now.

Kana nodded her head, a look of surprise in her hazel eyes. "Yeah, and so is Aine and Etsu. Aiko there is from Grass, Laika and Sumi are both from Sand."

"Have you no sense of self-preservation!" The woman Aiko hissed, digging her nails into Kana's bare arm, "she could be a spy for all we know and here you are spilling your guts! No wonder they caught you in a day!"

"Get away from her!" Sakura growled out soft and low, her temper clearing the cobwebs from her mind. Aiko gasped and dropped her hand from Kana's arm, who was rubbing it fiercely.

"Let me see your arm," Sakura told her as Kana held up the arm, the red marks from Aiko's fingers slowly starting to fade, "do you have any other bruises or injuries?"

Kana slowly shook her head, obviously puzzled by Sakura's questions. "No...but most of us were drugged when we came here. None of us remember how we got here or where we are."

Sakura looked around her surroundings and saw that they were in some kind of holding cell. The room was fairly large, with rough blankets lined up in a row so the women had to sleep side by side. She saw that there was only one window and it had thick steel bars on it. She was puzzled for the room was divided. The other half of the room was cut off also by thick, steel bars and held multiple sleeping mats, but she did not see any occupants. There was only one door that led into the room.

Again her eyes drifted to the window, it was large enough to fit a slender body through it, except for the metal bars that ran both horizontal and vertical.

"Forget it, those bars are made out of steel." Aiko sneered at her, seeing where her gaze had wandered, "so unless you can _bend _steel, you ain't going nowhere."

"Giving up so soon?" Sakura asked her mildly. She wondered how the other woman would react if she told her that although she couldn't bend steel, she could certainly break the concrete walls holding them in.

Aiko shot her a venomous look and stormed to the far corner of the wall and refused to speak to anyone else.

"Aiko has been here for two weeks now," a shy voice called out and Sakura turned to see a petite girl, no more than eighteen, with lovely strawberry-blonde hair that also looked liked it hadn't seen a comb in several day and startling amethyst eyes. She wore a torn pink-lace camisole and her white capri pants had a hole in one of the knee's. She wore no shoes and her legs showed several welts.

"_Shut up _Sumi!" Aiko snarled at her, "Or I'll tell the guard you've been hording food again!"

The girl Sumi swallowed hard and Sakura decided then and there she didn't like Aiko.

"Why are you hording food?" Sakura asked softly and Sumi crawled on her knee's to Sakura, seemingly unable to stand properly.

"For the...children." she whispered, looking frightened.

Sakura blinked at that, her eyes becoming confused. "Children? But I don't..." she trailed off as she looked at the divided cells. All those small blankets with no people. "Where?" she asked, her voice harsh against her ears.

"The _prince,_" Aiko spat the word as if it were dirty, "took them just before you graced us with your presence. Probably showing them off to potential buyers."

"Prince?" Sakura asked, wondering if she was talking about the soon-to-be ruler of Cloud.

Aiko rolled her dark, cerulean eyes at Sakura. "What do you have sheep-for-shit brains? Prince _Kisho, _the ruler of Cloud. Gods I swear I am surrounded by airheads and morons!"

"Aiko!" snapped Kana and the other woman glared at her before looking back at Sakura with a malicious smile. "Better pray you're a virgin sweetness, otherwise you'll end up as a plaything for those bastard shinobi before your given to your _master._"

Sakura ignored the woman's cruel words and turned back to Kana. "Why would a prince of cloud want children?"

Kana gave her a pitying look. "Most of them will be sold as slave labor, either to the gem mines that many adults can't fit into or..." but Kana turned her eyes away and began fiddling with a string on the hem of her shirt.

"Or?" Sakura pressed, her stomach already churning at the answer she knew was coming.

"The really pretty girls will be sold into prostitution," Aiko finished, again the sneer of contempt in her voice, "just like the rest of us. There are those who prefer delicate flesh."

Even though Sakura was braced for the answer, it still made her stomach heave but she clenched her teeth together so as not to vomit.

Aiko raised a slender red eyebrow at her. "Huh, usually most of the girls throw up knowing little girls are being turned into whores. Guess you have a stronger stomach...or just don't care."

"Shut up Aiko!" Kana growled at the Grass woman, "Just because you're a cold, unfeeling bitch doesn't mean the rest of us are!"

Aiko shrugged her shoulders, "Hey I'm just looking to survive. Being a man's pleasure slave is better than being in the gem mines."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. The girl sounded...almost content to be sold as a sex slave.

"That's because you were already a whore!" cried out the girl, Etsu. She had wavy, brown hair and liquid chocolate-brown eyes like that of doe, "not all of us want to spend the rest of our lives on our backs!"

"Think you're so much better than me!" snarled Aiko at the other woman, "well you won't feel so high and mighty when a male has you pinned and pounding into you!"

Etsu broke into harsh sobs and the other woman, Aine, put her arms around the girl and and made soothing noises, trying to quiet her.

"If you don't shut up _right now_, I will give you a reason to cry."

All the women looked up and Sakura felt the bile rise in the back of her throat at the sound of Aiji's voice. Sakura noted that Aiko had backed herself up as far as she could in the corner and was playing least-in-sight.

"Now Aiji, is that anyway to talk to a woman?"

Sakura didn't recognize the voice but then Aiji stepped through the door and behind him Sakura could only assume was Prince Kisho by the clothing he wore and the fact that Aiji allowed the male to reprimand him and allowed him into the cell before him.

Kisho had dark, amber colored hair and sharp, golden eyes. He wore a Chinese-style vest of sapphire silk encrusted with gold around the collar and the fastenings. The pants he wore were of high-quality black leather, as were the leather gloves on his hands.

His eyes scanned the cell, until they came and rested on Sakura.

"So this is our newest bird. For once, Aiji, you were correct. She is very lovely."

Sakura hated him on sight, and she didn't bother to hide the look of loathing in her eyes.

Kisho's amber eyebrow raised at the obvious dislike in her jade eyes. "Though I must admit, I am surprised to see her awake. Are you losing your touch, shinobi? I thought you were skilled in poisons."

Aiji was also staring at Sakura with something akin to suspicion in his gray eyes. "She should still asleep," he murmured softly, "I gave her a dose high enough that she shouldn't have awakened until tomorrow at the earliest."

Kisho waved a gloved hand at him. "No matter, she is awake now and I find that I would very much like to inspect my newest treasure."

He waved another hand at the door and much to Sakura's horror, a half dozen children from both genders were herded into the cell. She estimated their ages between five and ten. All of them, except two girls no more than seven, wore dirty clothing and each bore signs of recent beatings. The two girls, however, looked pristine. The one girl had pale, golden hair that hung like a sheet down her back and wore a pure white dress that would have been lovely...if it hadn't been so sheer with pink ribbons on the shoulders that somehow made it seem obscene.

The other girl, with hair like midnight had her hair done in twin braids. She wore an identical dress, except hers was of palest blue with white ribbons. The dresses had no sleeves and barely came to their knee's.

Both girls had looks of utter terror on their thin faces and Sakura wanted nothing more than to wrap them up in her blanket and hide them from the gleaming eyes of Kisho.

"Aiji...put the two _princesses_ with the other females. I believe I have whetted Lord Jamir's appetite, so I shall not need them for the mines."

The children had dead stares as they were herded into the next cell and their odd silence made the hairs the back of Sakura's neck stand up.

The three boys and one other girl were crowded into the cell as Aiji approached where the remaining women were being held.

"I suggest you _ladies _move to far wall, unless you want a repeat experience." He said this with his eyes on Kana and it was then Sakura knew that Aiji had given Kana the bruise on her temple.

_Probably trying to escape...or trying to help the children. _Kana had moved to where the bars divided the cell from the children and the four children had crowded close to her...but did not touch.

"Aiji...bring the new one to me. What was her name again?"

"She calls herself Yuuki." Aiji replied and waited for all the women to retreat.

Except for Sakura.

Aiji, with a malevolent smile, grabbed onto the girl with black braids and had wound her braid around his fist, until the girl was whimpering as she was forced on tip toes to keep her head straight.

"You will behave yourself when I unlock this door. If you do not," he gave the little girl a harsh shake which made her cry out, "_she _will pay for your defiance."

Sakura was shaking with a need to slaughter both men, but she contained her blood-lust when Aiji opened the cell door and shoved the one girl inside.

"Out, now."

Gritting her teeth, Sakura got to her feet and left the cell. Aiji shoved the other girl into the cell, and just as quickly had a kunai to Sakura's throat.

"A bit much for a single female, wouldn't you agree Aiji?" Kisho asked the Lightning shinobi with a mildness that caused blocks of ice to slip down Sakura's spine.

"Perhaps but this one," he gave he a rough shove towards the Cloud Prince, "isn't as meek as she pretends to be. Force will be necessary with her kind."

_Her kind? What the hell does he mean by that? _

However the answers were not forthcoming for Sakura, as Kisho seemed to understand Aiji's meaning quite clearly.

"Indeed," Prince Kisho murmured softly as he walked up Sakura. She could do nothing as Aiji still had the tip of his kunai resting on her carotid artery, she would bleed out in seconds with a flick of his fingers.

So she gritted her teeth and stood there, meek and docile, as the prince reached out and fingered her long, black hair. "Well, there are many ways to break women such as her." The pure arrogance in is voice told her everything she needed to know. This male was well versed in breaking strong-willed females.

Her stance might have been docile, but when she lifted her head to meet his golden eyes, her jade eyes were like living flames that promised death if she ever got free. Lesser males had fled before her eyes, but this one smiled with a look of anticipation as his gazed feasted on her face.

"Aiji, bring her to my room."

"Sir?" Aiji asked, and Sakura heard the confusion in his voice, despite his efforts to appear nonchalant. _Something isn't going right and it has something to do with me. This could be the opening I need to get everyone out of this place. _

She just prayed that she had given Sasuke enough time to get to her. She was tired of playing the weak female and if the look in Kisho's eyes was any indication, she was going to drop the act very soon.

She had no desire to be raped by this male.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Notes: **Oh My! Another update in the same week I must being doing something right! I know it's super short, sorry! I promise more is to come!

**Disclaimer: **I have not nor will I ever own Naruto. I simply play in their world.

**Reviews! Review! **Love it? Hate it? I want to know!

Chapter 8

_Now..._

Sasuke was still cursing the slowness of the well but was back inside the safe-house. Sakura's skin still radiated the heat of a small sun. Her breathing was shallow and the length of time he had left, a trickle of blood had left her mouth and the cloth he had put behind her back to slow the bleeding was soaked scarlet.

Sasuke wanted to snarl and rage but knew that such emotions did not belong in a sick room and so, grinding his teeth until they ached, Sasuke took the water and washed off the grime and blood that coated her abdomen, once more a red haze threatening his visions as the bruises began to bloom on her ashen skin. The sword wound was deep, but it was not ragged.

_I'm going to have to sew up this wound before she loses any more blood. _

If he were medic trained, he could close the wounds by manipulating chakra threads but that took skill and a very precise control of chakra.

At the moment he was more worried about his control than his skill. Making the decision, and praying that Sakura would forgive him later on, he turned to the emergency med kit and took out a long needle and fine, white thread that was used to close up deep wounds.

He would have to hand-sew the wounds closed. _Stay asleep Sakura, _he told her silently as he pressed the needle to her skin, _because otherwise this is going to hurt like a bitch. _

Fifteen minutes later, with bands of white cloth around her abdomen, Sasuke had closed the front and back wounds and bound her broken ribs.

His hands were still shaking.

_Stop it! _He snarled at himself when his fingers continued to tremble, _you can't do this now! I may have closed up the wounds, but that doesn't mean shit. She hasn't woken up yet, so get your ass moving!_

Sasuke moved back to her side and continued to wipe the sweat off of her body. He knew he had to get some kind of medicine in her body to pull the fever down. Once more he went through the med kit and found a white powder that he knew from memory was used to treat fevers as well as pain. Searching the hut Sasuke found a simple wooden cup and mixed a portion of water and white powder until it dissolved.

Very, very gently he shifted Sakura until he slid underneath her upper body and had her in a slight reclining angle, her shoulders and back supported by his upper body. He parted her lips and lifted the cup to them, but the small trickle of water slid out of her mouth.

"Damn it! I am not going to let you die on me."

Sasuke took a drink of water-laced medicine and again opened her lips, cupping her jaw to keep her mouth open, and placed his mouth onto her, forcing the liquid down her throat. Her lips were hot underneath his, her body so very still...

Until her throat moved and she swallowed the liquid.

"Good girl," Sasuke whispered against her lips, "guess you just wanted to make me kiss you again hmm?"

There was no response but Sasuke managed to get the rest of the water into her. He was reluctant to let her out of his arms, but he could no longer ignore the burning of his own wounds. Once more with a gentleness that would have surprised his comrades, Sasuke laid Sakura on the wooden floor and quickly made up his own cup of medicine.

He grimaced as the medicine hit his throat.

"This tastes like cat-piss," he muttered and shot Sakura an evil look, "no wonder people avoid getting sick if you force this foul stuff into them."

Sasuke went to get to his feet and nearly staggered as his legs burned and his eyes began to blur.

"Shit...can't pass out...now..."

Sasuke stumbled through the room and gathered a large, coarse blanket. Even with Sakura radiating heat, she was still practically naked and if her fever went down, she would freeze. Sasuke barely made it back to her side and threw the blanket over her prone body, before his own it the floor.

His blood felt as though it were on fire, and not in a good way.

"Sakura," he rasped out, even as he managed to find her fingers and tangle them with his own, "_live." _

The haze of oblivion covered his mind and Sasuke was swept up in darkness sweet embrace...and new no more.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: **Woohoo I am updating! Probably thought I forgot all about this story, didn't you? Well here is the newest chapter I hope you are enjoying this story!

**Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Naruto. I simply play in their world.

**Reviews! **Like it? Hate it? I want to know! And **yes **I read every review I get.

Chapter 9

_Now..._

Sasuke awoke slowly, his sensory perception telling him that several things were out of place since he had collapsed. First he wasn't lying on a cold, hard floor. Instead something soft cushioned his body and the small hut was no longer freezing from the dropping temperatures, but remained comfortably warm. He was also aware that he had been stripped to the point where the only clothing he could feel on his body were the torn and bloody pants.

There was also the scent of wood smoke, and he could hear the soft crackle of what could only be the noise of a hearth fire.

There had been no fire burning when he collapsed. That could only mean one thing.

_The safe-house had been compromised. Sakura wasn't safe here anymore. _

Sasuke's eyes snapped open but he only saw darkness and he made to lunge out of bed when something soft, yet strong, pushed down on his shoulders.

He found himself shocked at how weak he felt.

"Shhh, easy...just lay back down. Everything is fine, we are still safe."

_That voice..._soft and hypnotic, like a flute among the wind..._there is only person I know who has that voice... _"Sakura?"  
His voice cracked on her name, as though rusty from disuse. Frowning, or at least attempting to, Sasuke once more tried to peer through the darkness... "Why can't I see?"

"So impatient!" a hint of soft laughter but there was an undercurrent of worry, and something was removed from his eyes...and abruptly he could see again.

Sakura, her long hair unbound and flowing around her, was leaning over him. In her hands she held a black cloth that she had just removed. Exquisite jade-eyes filled his vision, luminous with their worry. She was no longer naked, clad only in her silken black underwear. Instead she wore a simple sleeveless, peach colored top and flowing white skirt.

"How is your sight now?"

Sasuke actually blinked at that, not for the words themselves...but for the concern in her voice that she did not even bother to try and hide from him.

"Better," he replied, his voice still sounding rusty. "What..." he began but Sakura stopped him with a simple touch of her fingers to his lips. "Hush," and she disappeared from his sight only to reappear a moment later with a cup in her hand.

"Can you sit up?"

"Of course," he growled out and made to sit up...and nearly fell over as his vision reeled. Sakura braced him with her own body until he felt more steady. "Here, keep your eyes closed and drink."

He opened his mouth to speak, but she had anticipated that and quickly placed the cup to his lips. "Drink or I will pour it down your throat myself."

Sasuke decided it was easier to just obey her rather than have her treat him like and invalid. He took a quick sip...and found the cup held cold, spring-fed water and suddenly his throat was parched and he had the cup emptied in seconds.

"Another?"

He nodded his head and again she was gone and back before he could have time to miss her and once more was placing the wooden cup to his lips for a second drink.

"Enough," he told her, opening his eyes when she would have gone for a third glass. His voice sounded better even to his own ears. He didn't sound so...brittle, anymore.

Apparently so did his companion because she simply nodded her head and set the cup down on a ledge that held a small bucket and dipper. He assumed that was how she was getting the water so quickly.

Sasuke attention suddenly snapped back into focus as he realized she was _up and walking around._

"Sakura...how are you walking? Your injuries..."

Sakura gave him a slight smile and came back over to where, he realized, he was lying on a bed. "I'm...well I wouldn't say I'm in top form...but I'm better. What do you remember?"

Sasuke decided this was the oddest conversation he had had in his life. "You were unconscious, burning with fever. I sewed up the sword wound in your abdomen and then...I lost consciousness..." once more a frown marred his unearthly beauty. "How long was I out?"

It felt like hours.

Sakura gave him a odd smile. "Well...I don't really know...but from when I woke up myself...you've been asleep for two days now."

This time Sasuke did snap up in bed, "Two days! Shit I need," but that was as far as he got because Sakura snarled at him and firmly pushed him back down into bed.

"You need to lay back down and heal!"

Sasuke began to tell her that she had not the rank to give him orders...when he saw the glassy look in her eyes and a single tear slid down her face.

Alarm flashed through him. He was used to seeing Sakura as a strong-willed, mouthy and utterly fearless kunoichi. That single tear seared through his mind and he found himself sliding his thumb across her skin, to wipe away the moisture. "Why are you crying?"

His voice sounded harsh, but he couldn't help it, the sight of her crying nearly undid him.

"Because! You. Are. An. Idiot!" She punctuated her words with a fist to his chest...albeit a gentle fist. "Do you know I had to restart your heart twice! Twice you nearly died on me and now you want to get out of bed like a lunatic!"

Her words shocked him...but not at much as seeing her shoulders shake from the tears she was trying suppress. "I...I thought I had killed you..."

Her voice was no higher than a whisper, yet he heard each word as though she had shouted them in his ear. He head was bowed, her long fall of hair shielding her face from his eyes.

Sasuke did the only thing he could think of and gathered her in his arms and tucked her close to his own abused body and laid them both down on the bed.

"Shhh," he whispered his fingers threading through her hair, "I'm not dead." He kept whispering the words over and over as Sakura buried her face in his shoulders, her relief at him finally waking after two days of torturous waiting finally undoing her precious self-control.


End file.
