Eye for an Eye

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters and make no money from this.

Chapter Thirteen:

The small group had sprinted through the thick forest almot until the sun was setting, casting an eerie orange glow on all of them. Usually, this would certainly be a great sight, but right now everyone was too on edge to enjoy any of it. There were no signs of them being followed for the moment, leaving them comfortable enough to set up camp at the edge forest. The dark and abundant leaves and large trunks of the trees provided effecitve coverage, at the least.

Sakura had agreed to take the first shift of watch. She didn't feel like she could sleep so soon anyway, no matter how exhausted she felt. They'd lost the safe haven that Kumo had been for the past few weeks. It was to expected, in the end. Having so many missing nins gather and roam freely in a single city was due to attract attention somehow. It was a miracle they'd been prepared. Obviously not enough, though... Hinata wasn't there with them. Who knew who else had been caught.

Thankfully, the fact that she carried Naruto's child would surely protect her. They could try and lure her friend inside the city by threatening his girlfriend's safety. Everyone in their little group didn't believe any harm would come to her as long as Naruto evaded them. But they still had to get her back one way or another. She'd start thinking of a plan the next day, after she had rested a little. For the moment her head was throbbing, overwhelmed by everything that had just happened.
She turned around to take a good look at everyone who was sleeping on the ground. They all wore a strained expression, as if ready to jump to their feet the next second. In fact, they probably were.

There was still a good chance the Konoha nins would show up tonight. She had to keep her senses sharp instead of wasting her time examining every last detail of the men who accompanied her. She frowned as she felt a bug bite the side of her shin and bent down to flick it away with her fingers. It seemed the little critter had long escaped already. She inspected the tiny bloody spot closely and gasped, scrambling to stand up. This was no bug bite, it was a senbon puncture!

She groaned in frustration as her body went limp and she started falling down, only to be caught by what she assumed to be a root agent. Barely a second later, the man grunted in pain and blood spilt abundantly from his neck. She shut her eyes quickly, a wave of nausea hitting her as a good amount of the red liquid stained her cheek. It took her a minute to be able to see who was her help, as her view was completely obstructed by the corpse of the man who had tried to capture her.

"Wake up, dumbasses! We're being ambushed!" She heard Sasuke's voice boom. So it was him. She heard bodies shuffling around quickly behind her, surely everyone getting up. Jade eyes widened as she saw the incoming enemy, at the least fifteen from what she could see from this angle. There was no way they were taking them all down. They were trapped!

Once more, Sasuke's voice made itself noticed as he shouted a fire jutsu, setting the whole place on fire. She tried to crawl away from the intense source of heat that appeared what she assumed was a few feet behind her, but she was still completely paralyzed. She was the poison expert, how the hell could she have let this happen?

"Sakura!" Kakashi called out in frustration, obviously caught behind the wall of fire Sasuke had created. It blocked their enemy effectively, but also cut her off from the rest of her group. A silent scream was trapped in her throat, no matter how many times she tried to call for Kakashi.

"Make a run for it! I'll take care of Sakura." The Uchiha roared, appearing at her side and picking her up with ease. It was hard to be relieved. He might be helping her get away from the Konoha ninjas, but she sure as heck didn't feel safe being alone with him. She could clearly see the fire right now. It was insanely big. They were really cut off from their friends. There was no way any one was getting around this without being caught.

"Go! Hurry the fuck up or they'll catch us!" He shouted again, taking off only when he heard the footsteps of Naruto, Sai and Kakashi leave in the opposite direction after what sounded like the two boys convincing their sensei to leave the petal-haired girl to their ex-teammate. Her captor lost no more time and made a dash for it as well.

It was a long while before they had stopped again. She counted four hours, but she might have been wrong. She had no reference for time right now. Her head had rolled against Sasuke's chest and that was all she could see. Why did he have to wear an open shirt? It was awkward enough to have him carry her, but to have her cheek pressed against his skin was just too much. He smelled strange. A bit like earth, and a lot of something she couldn't identify. Maybe sulfur. Maybe it was his fire ninjutsus that caused this.

"We'll stop here for a while." He declared lowly and placed her carefully on the ground. She could see him several hand signs. Probably a couple of genjutsus to hide them from their enemies' view should they pass by. They were only two so it shouldn't be too hard to hide them. A whole group was another thing.

"Can you move?" He asked, staring down at her. Her total lack of movement seemed to answer his question. If only she could speak, she could tell him which pressure points to hit to restore her natural chakra flow. Normally she would have broken down the poison within the first half hour, but it seemed they knew who they were up against. Their paralyzer had also contained a chakra blocker. She wouldn't be able to do anything for the next hour or so if she wasn't mistaken.

Something bothered her. She'd spent a while thinking about it, and it didn't make sense that he only acted after she'd been poisoned. If he had been conscious and able to kill their attacker so quickly, then he'd had to have known they were coming. He let them ambush them. His fire jutsu couldn't be random either. He had meant to seperate her from the group. She tried to push down the feeling of dread that threatened to overwhelm her, but to no avail. What would he do to her? She was completely incapacitated right now.

He kneeled down at her side and pinched her chin between two fingers, turning her head so she would be looking at him. Her breathing picked up immediately, her heart beat undergoing the same reaction. The smirk that manifested itself on his shar features made her stomach churn. Was that his plan? Let the enemy paralyze her so he could do anything he wanted with her? She closed her eyes immediately, trying to block him out of her senses. When she didn't feel his breath blowing on her cheek anymore, she dared to open her eyes once more. He was sitting by her side, a bit too close to her liking, but his position was completely innocent. What?

The next hour was excruciatingly long to Sakura. As soon as she had felt the soft tingle of her chakra spreading through her system, she had worked at flushing the rest of the poison out of her and she was able to move within the next few minutes. She lost no time to stretch her stiff muscles and groan in relief. Oh, that felt good. She was still surprised that Sasuke had made no attempt against. That must have been one heck of a deal that Kakashi had made with him.

"You can finally move." He stated, not bothering to turn back to look at her. She hummed her response as she sat up. She didn't dare to get any closer. A little distance between them was a good thing.

"Come here." It was an order, not a suggestion. She obeyed him, hating herself for it, but unable to figure out why she couldn't stop herself.

"So you guys want to take down Danzo." He let out, twisting his neck just enough to look at her. She swallowed the saliva she had not noticed had accumulated in her mouth and nodded hesitantly.

"Kakashi already told you." She let out, biting her lip softly.

"He did. Looks like you're entirely dependant on me to accomplish that." He snickered, now staring up at the starry sky. She didn't want to openly admit it, thus remained completely silent.

"It's been almost four years. Don't you think it's a little late?" He inquired, inching close enough to her so he could nudge her shoulder with his. She quickly turned her head away from him, still refusing to answer him.

"Huh, you guys never give up." He chuckled before taking a hold of her chin to push her to look at him again. She whimpered when his gaze locked with hers, their faces far too close for her comfort.

"A few years back you were dying for this to happen. Now I scare you?" He was smirking again. She used to love it when he did that. Now her stomach churned uncomfortably. It was frightening to be able to predict your teammate's reaction.

"You tried to kill me." She said bluntly, as if he was unaware of that fact.

"Did I have a choice? I kill for my ideals. So do you. You wouldn't hesitate to strike me down if I was after Kakashi." His voice was even and warm. Thick and smooth. It surprised her a little. She obviously hadn't spent much time with him since he'd deserted. She'd had the time to fawn over Naruto's growth, but certainly not Sasuke's. He was a grown adult now, as they were all. Her head was still filled with images of the little boy that continuously impressed her as a child. Was there really nothing left of him now?

"What happened to you, Sasuke?..." She whispered, watching him closely for any sign that her teammate might still be in there somewhere.

"Does it really matter?" He breathed out against her cheek as he leaned closer, his nose poking against her cheekbone.

"Would you ever take me back if I had a good reason?" He continued as he pushed on her shoulder until she was laying on her back and he hovered above her, a hand on each side of her head and a leg between hers. Her breath hitched and she held it, stilling under him. He could feel her tense.

"S-Sasuke..." She whispered, her eyes avoiding his. Her hand reached for his shoulder when he placed an innocent kiss on her cheek

"I told you. I'm with Kakashi now. I can't take back what happened with him." She explained, trying to sit up and push him off of her but he held her firmly in place.

"Yet you can with me. How nice of you." He spat, his eyes not glaring at her own with anger she hadn't seen coming.

"We were kids, Sasuke! If you hadn't left, things might have turned out different but you didn't." She whispered, struggling against him to free herself. She only managed to turn away from him before his arm wrapped around her torso and pulled her back, crushing her back to his chest.

"You're right. It's too bad I have the advantage now, hmm? I know that poison depleted your chakra. You're defenseless against me right now." He whispered in her ear, an underlying threat obvious in his voice.

"W-What do you want from me?!" She shrieked, gripping the arms that wrapped around her torso and held onto her shoulders.

"I'll give you what you want, Sakura." He started, nuzzling her hair affectionately, if he was even capable of such a thing.

"But you'll have to give me something in exchange." His tone made her cringe. She had no idea what he possessed that he could possibly want. She wasn't rich, she wasn't powerful, she was worthless to him.

"I know all about Danzo. All his plans, all his little treacheries. Hear me out and we'll see if I can make this worth your while." Her ears perked up at his offering. He really did have invaluable
information on their target. But what could she give him that was of equal value to him?

"He's got the daimyos at his feet, that man. You know what he hides under those bandages, hmm?" He questionned as he brushed his lips against the shell of her ear. She struggled against his hold again, but it was useless. She was drained of any energy and chakra.

"Sharingans. Many of them. All from my fellow clan mates who he had my brother kill for him. Incredible, isn't it? And you know what he did with them?" She tried to avoid his question, hoping he would just continue on without forcing her to partake in the conversation. He openly disagreed though. One of his hands grasped her neck tightly and he bit down on her ear, making her gasp in pain and surprise.

"N-No, I don't know!" She rasped, trembling slightly against his body. He smirked and chuckled before kissing her ear and blowing on it, easing the sting a smidge.

"He put our great daimyos under a powerful genjutsu thanks to his eyes. That's how he was able to convince the other Kages to accept him. They all voted for him, all swore he was a great man and the only candidate they'd consider for the position. What a rat, don't you agree?" He continued his little story, stretching his neck a little further to get a better look at her face. She was squinting her eyes and biting down on her lip.

"Who doesn't hate Danzo..." Her voice was faint, but she didn't dare remain silent.

"That's what I thought. I even have a little more dirt on him. I think you'll enjoy this one. Turn around." He ordered and she obeyed, her chest now flush against his and their eyes aligned together.

"Tsunade's not in a coma." He let out bluntly, watching her reaction intently. His female companion's eyes widened as much as they could.

"W-What? But I saw her!" She exclaimed, her hands reaching up to his chest and pressing against it in disbelief. That couldn't be possible. She and Shizune had visited her a few times before their escape. They'd seen her.

"Only a decoy, Sakura. It's easy to cast such a genjutsu on a body when you have a sharingan." He let her absorb the shock for a little while before running his fingers through her hair slowly.

"Looks like Danzo has you well tangled in his web." He murmurmed, his gaze never leaving her eyes. He was definitely freaking her out. There was nothing normal to his demeanor. He knew exactly what he was doing. He had her right where he wanted her.

"I can help. I'm your only hope." He added, grinning widely. He was right. So painfully right. She was well aware that the genjutsu the daimyos were under wouldn't be dispelled so easily. They'd need him. He certainly possessed the precise set of skills needed to not only undo their illusion, but create a new one that would push them to bring Danzo down.

"You are..." She whispered hoarsely, her voice much more desperate than she wanted it to sound.

"And how can I get you out of this sticky situation now, hmm?" He pondered out loud, expecting her to come up with a plan to infiltrate the daimyos' estates and get him to turn against the precious Hokage.

"I know only you would be able to dispell the genjutsu with your own sharingan. You'll have to create a new one that will make them side with us, instead." She answered slowly, gauging his reaction.

"What a great idea. I guess I can do that. How do we get so close to the daimyos then?" His voice flustered her. It made her insides tighten with anxiety. She couldn't tell if his words flowed like honey to trap her in it like a poor fly or if he was honestly trying to coax a plan out of her.

"I-I guess we could... Come in as the rich people attending one of the parties they throw monthly to keep good relations with the merchants who bring in so much money for them. It can't be that hard to fool a bunch of merchants who can't even recognize a ninja when they see one." It took a few minutes for her voice to come out, taking her time to come up with an idea that made a least a little sense.

"That sounds like a good plan. I can see how we can make this work." He didn't move an inch. Only his lips moved. It was strange to see the Uchiha so still when he was pratically in your face.

"But you won't do this for free." She said matter-of-factly, causing his chest to rumble with a short
laugh.

"How clever you are. Of course not." He replied, his hand caressing her hair once more. She didn't know what Kakashi had told him to get him to come with them, but it clearly wouldn't be enough to make him act for them. What he had offered was worth information, but not the risk implied with joining them in the plan. He was taking the front row in it after all.

"I want a child." He stated bluntly, his eyes searching her for a reaction. That was it. That was too much. He was clearly crazy. She flailed her arms and legs against with all the strength she could muster but he overpowered her easily, rolling on top of her and grasping a fistful of her hair. He pulled on it hard, forcing her head to roll back and a shriek of fear and pain to emit from her throat

"It's an easy bargan, Sakura. If you don't, you'll never see Konoha again. The hunter nin won't take much longer to kill off your pityful renegade group. How long do you think it will be until Naruto surrenders himself for his wench, huh? You're all dead then. You have no more leverage, too little manpower. I'm pretty sure they won't let Kakashi get away with it so easily. Danzo is quite fond of torture..." His voice remained even all along, making a chill run down her spine. She knew he was right.

Konoha was on their track now. Who knew how many had been killed or caught in the ambush. They might even catch up to them this evening. Somehow, it seemed as if only Sasuke had been able to sense them coming. She didn't know why, but it made it clear that they needed him to survive right then. They'd been lucky for the past three years. He'd been a rogue even longer, learning from the best. He knew how to survive here. He was her only hope to see a thriving Konoha again.

"And killing Danzo is all it takes to make you forget about destroying Konoha?" She rasped, trying to free her hair from his grasp but only causing him to tug harshly at it. She gasped in pain again, closing her eyes to try and escape the situation as best as she could.

"No. But if I know I have a child waiting to be born in that village, I could consider sparing it. My clan is my first priority. Rebuilding what Konoha destroyed comes before its annihiliation." He explained cooling, finally letting go of her hair but only to sit on his knees above her, trapping her between his thighs and hands.

"So, how about it, Sakura? Doesn't that sound like a fair deal?" He sneered, another grin plastered on his lips. How bad she wanted to rip it off, kick him off her and maybe even kill him on the spot. But she couldn't. Not if Kakashi's fate resided with him.

"F-Fair." She mumbled, her eyes shutting close as warm tears freely spilled down her cheeks.


Chapter Fourteen: Click Here