Sasuke walked out of the hideout and saw his group waiting for him and Sakura. Karin looked frustrated to see them alone.
"Where is Sakura?" Suigetsu inquired. Sasuke didn't respond and carried on walking. Shortly after, Sakura emerged from the hideout and joined the group, prompting Sasuke to address them.
"From now on, the five of us will move as one, and our group will be known as Hebi. Hebi has one purpose only," he stated, pausing for emphasis, "To find Uchiha Itachi."
As Sasuke turned away and gestured for them to follow, he had a destination in mind. Suigetsu noticed Sakura falling behind and realized she was intentionally lagging. Slowing down to match her pace, he asked if she was okay.
"I'm fine... Just thinking," she replied briefly, before picking up her speed to catch up with the rest of the group.
XXXXXX
Night fell, and the team halted to rest and set up camp. The atmosphere was tranquil. Jugo sat beneath a tree, gazing at the stars. Suigetsu, fatigued from the long journey and burdened by his sword, reclined on the grass not far from the fire. Sasuke remained his usual quiet self, lost in contemplation. Karin, meanwhile, couldn't help but watch Sasuke, lost in daydreams of him making a move on her. Sakura perched on a tree branch, deep in thought.
The peace was short-lived. Karin and Suigetsu soon began to argue, disrupting the quietude. Unwilling to tolerate their quarreling, Sakura snapped at them to be quiet.
"Hmph, don't boss me around," retorted Karin. Sensing Sakura's irritation, Suigetsu opted to stay silent. Sasuke also acknowledged the tension but remained silent.
"Sasuke-kun, why did you bring her along? You just needed me, right?" Karin inquired, directing her gaze at Sasuke.
"Can you please stop flirting, it's annoying. He doesn't like it, we don't like it and most of all no one likes you!" Sakura interjected sternly, standing up on the tree branch.
"How do you know what he likes and doesn't like? You're just jealous that I'm more of a use than y-" Karin's sentence was abruptly cut off as Sakura swiftly appeared in front of her and pinned her throat against a tree.
"Finish that sentence, I dare you. Let me remind you, before you do so. I am strong. In fact, I'm stronger than you. I haven't harmed you until now because Sasuke asked me to be patient. But I'm not in the mood right now. You can flirt all you want for all I care, but not here and especially not now. I can end this so swiftly that you won't have the chance to utter your final words." Sakura growled menacingly, tightening her grip around Karin's neck.
Sasuke intervened, grabbing Sakura's hand and insisting she release Karin. Sakura initially glared at him, then sighed and complied. She attempted to walk away from the camp, but Sasuke held onto her wrist, preventing her escape.
"What do you want now, Sasuke?" she asked, refusing to meet his gaze..
"Your temper needs to die down and I-"
"Right now, you can't calm me down. You might be the only one who can, but right now, you need to let me go, before I do something you don't want me to." She threatened, her eyes locked onto his, conveying her sincerity.
She departed the moment he released her wrist. Suigetsu hastened to catch up with Sakura and asked about her well-being. After a brief pause, she admitted,
"I'm weak..." Her voice quivered with frustration. As her pace quickened, Suigetsu matched it, but she snapped, "Don't follow me!"
Suigetsu halted abruptly, momentarily taken aback by Sakura's outburst, and observed her disappearing into the forest. He then noticed Sasuke's presence and addressed him.
"What did you do?" Suigetsu asked curiously. Sasuke had silently approached from behind and now stood behind Suigetsu.
"It's none of your business what I do." Sasuke retorted.
Suigetsu chuckled, "You really need to learn how to love someone."
Sasuke responded somberly, "I lost that feeling a long time ago, Suigetsu."
Empathizing with Sakura's situation, Suigetsu murmured, "I feel sorry for her."
He sighed before offering a suggestion: "Just be kind to her and protect her." With that, Suigetsu returned to the campsite.
The sound of a tree crashing reached Sasuke's ears, originating approximately 200 feet away. It was evident that Sakura was venting her frustration in this manner.
'I have been doing that,' Sasuke thought to himself.
XXXXXX
The next morning
The next morning, everyone was already awake and prepared to depart early. Sakura emerged from the trees and approached the group, attempting to greet them in a normal manner. She had spent the entire night in the forest, away from the campsite, in order to alleviate her stress; she had even collected firewood by cutting down several trees. After achieving a sense of calm, she decided not to return to the campsite and instead slept on a tree branch.
Sakura noticed Jugo behaving somewhat aloof towards her. It was evident that he still carried guilt from their past interactions. She approached him and spoke softly, attempting to comfort him.
"Jugo, you don't have to beat yourself up. I already told you, it's in the past."
"But....I attacked you when you visited me with Kabuto. I broke your ribs and almost killed you. Kabuto had to drag you out of the room...and just yesterday, I almost attacked you again..." Jugo's guilt was consuming him, nearly bringing him to tears.
"It's okay, Jugo. You weren't yourself. Besides, it was part of my training." Sakura reassured him.
Jugo nodded sadly and wandered off to continue packing his stuff. Sasuke had walked up to the pair while they were talking and had overheard their conversation. He confronted Sakura about it.
"You didn't tell me Jugo attacked you, Sakura."
"Well, now you know..." Sakura replied.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Why should I tell you anything?" Sakura retorted angrily, directing her gaze at Sasuke and displaying hostility, "Just keep your nose out of my business. It's none of your concern."
As the conversation reached its conclusion, Sakura leaped onto a tree branch to distance herself from the group. Sasuke remained expressionless, observing her departure.
'Sorry Sasuke, but payback's a bitch. I remember that night, before I pleaded to join Orochimaru with you. Before I begged you to stay, before I confessed my love for you. I had a bad feeling and I waited there to see if my feelings were correct. You were walking towards the Leaf Village gate. I asked you, why you wouldn't tell my anything....why it was always silence with you....You said the exact same thing I just said to you...' thought Sakura.
"Well, someone is still mad at you." Suigetsu whispered softly.
Upon hearing the comment, Suigetsu quickly stepped back as Sasuke turned his icy glare towards him. Sasuke sighed, jumped onto a branch, and swiftly disappeared from sight, showing no interest in whether anyone followed him.
.
They traveled for several more hours until the forest started thinning, and after another hour, they reached the sudden end of the trees and the beginning of a desolate, brown desert. Stretching as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but sand, with one dune after another extending in every direction except the one they had come from. Sakura couldn't help but cringe slightly at the idea of the sand getting into her clothes. She knew that even after they left the desert, it would take several days of washing to completely rid her belongings of every single grain of the wretched substance.
"Why, you water monster―"
"Enough! We are here," Sasuke interrupted Karin, putting an end to their argument.
Not in the mood for their bickering, Sakura remained silent. As she scanned the desert once more, she noticed a city hazily visible in the scorching sun just within her sight. Letting out a silent sigh of relief, she realized they could probably reach the buildings by sundown, assuming what she was seeing wasn't a mirage.
After taking a brief break and replenishing their thirst from a nearby stream, they ventured further into the hot ecosystem. The soft sand sank under their feet, making walking difficult and running nearly impossible. In fact, their movements resembled more of a trudge than a walk, but after a couple of hours, Sakura wouldn't have hesitated to crawl if it would have hastened their journey. The heat was so intense, and her throat had been steadily growing drier as they progressed. None of them had spoken for a while, though Sakura could hear their panting breaths merging with the sound of their footsteps in a monotonous rhythm.
Sakura soon gave up any attempt at keeping track of time or distance, but the sun was falling closer and closer to the horizon and the sand as well as the air was slowly becoming cooler. Her throat was still dry, but when she no longer felt the harsh sun on her face, she chanced a glance up where she had been staring at her feet.
She almost cried out in relief when she noticed that the city was closer than she had dared to hope. Another half-hour passed, and they reached the first cobblestones of one of the perimeter buildings. With renewed energy, they made their way through the city, following Sasuke as he led them to a well in the town square. They hoisted up buckets of cool water and drank to their heart's content.
As they drank, the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow that radiated from the cobblestones, balancing out the cooling air that was quickly becoming cold in the absence of the sun.
After taking her final sip from the water bucket, Sakura heard Sasuke break the silence.
"Come," he said, and they followed him deeper into the labyrinth of buildings.
They walked through the dark city until they spotted an entrance at the base of a building with stairs that led down to an even darker tunnel. Suigetsu found this arrangement rather sketchy but chose to remain silent.
"A hideout in an abandoned city. I've never heard of it," Suigetsu remarked, his voice echoing off the stone tunnel walls.
"This isn't Orochimaru's. The Uchiha clan used to store munitions here." Sasuke explained.
They turned around at the sudden noise and saw two cats standing behind them.
"It's been a long time, Denka, Hina," Sasuke greeted them.
"Well, if it isn't our Sasuke boy," Denka replied.
"What can we do for you, meow?" Hina meowed.
"We need weapons, medicine, and other supplies for our battle," Sasuke answered.
"Are those..."
"Talking cats" Suigetsu finished Karin's sentence as he approached Denka. He attempted to pet Denka, but immediately withdrew his hand when Denka hissed at him. Sakura softly giggled at Suigetsu's reaction.
"They are ninja cats. Be careful and respectful or they'll rip you apart." Sasuke explained.
"Did you bring us a present?" Hina asked.
Sasuke turned to Sakura and held out his hand. She reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of what appeared to be catnip, handing it to Sasuke.
"Here, a bottle of catnip for you."
Hina jumped up and grabbed it from Sasuke's hand.
"It's my favorite, meow," Hina expressed her thanks.
"Follow me, and I'll take you to Granny Cat," Denka said, walking past them.
The team entered a room where they saw a woman sitting in the middle of the room on a carpet with cats all around her. The woman greeted them and introduced herself as Nekobaa, the Granny cat. She told them to take a look around and ask for what they needed.
Sakura greeted Nekobaa politely, bowed, and asked if Granny cat had some clothes for her. Nekobaa called a girl to come to the room.
The girl rushed in and greeted everyone. She had long brown hair reaching below her waist and hazel eyes. She wore a sleeveless red blouse, light-colored pants, fishnet stockings, and sandals. She also had bandages wrapped around her upper left hand.
"This is my granddaughter, Tamaki. She'll help you with clothes."
Sakura followed Tamaki into another room, leaving Suigetsu playing with one of the ordinary cats, Karin leaning against a wall, Jugo examining the supplies, and Sasuke walking into a different room filled with weapons.
.
In her room, Sakura changed into a red hooded short-sleeve top, black fingerless gloves, low-heeled, knee-high black boots , and black shorts. To complete the outfit, she wrapped a red shawl around her hips.
'This way I can hide my pink hair by putting on the hood when we get to a village.' thought Sakura as she looked at herself in the mirror. Tamaki handed Sakura a black cloak, for which Sakura thanked her, and led the way back to Granny Cat's room.
"Sakura, you look hot!" Suigetsu complimented her. Sakura giggled softly with a blush before thanking him. Karin just glared.
Jugo went next to change his clothes, Karin sneaked into the room where Sasuke was, and Suigetsu continued playing with the normal cats. Sakura sat down and waited for the others to finish. She noticed Denka sitting next to her feet and slowly patted his head.
"Denka likes you? That's very interesting. He doesn't really like to be petted by anyone, human or cat" Nekobaa spoke.
Sakura smiled as she continued petting Denka, "He seems to be enjoying it very much."
"What's your name dear?" Nekobaa asked.
"Haruno, Haruno Sakura." she answered and looked up at her.
"That is a very fitting name for you, dear" Nekobaa complemented.
"Thank you very much, ma'am."
"How do you know Sasuke?" Nekobaa asked.
"We used to go to the same academy when we were kids at the Leaf Village. We also used to be in the same Genin Team," Sakura answered.
Denka jumped up and ran towards a shelf of books. He picked up a black book and ran back to Sakura, dropping it in her lap. Her eyes widened the moment she opened the book; there was a picture of a young Sasuke holding a cat with young Itachi standing next to him.
"They looked so happy." Sakura whispered.
"Itachi would usually visit me for errand he had to run, and Sasuke would tag along with him every time. Sasuke always got bored and gave Itachi a hard time, so Itachi created a game; Sasuke was to collect paw prints from the fast and nimble cats," Nekobaa explained, "I've known them since they were wee little things. I can't believe it's come to this...They used to love each other so dearly, but now...they are the only two remaining Uchiha and yet they must kill each other..."
Sakura stared emotionally at the pictures while listening Nekobaa's story. She couldn't understand it. They looked so happy in the picture. You could even see the love between them. She couldn't imagine the same boy who made up a game for his own little brother was the same boy who murdered his own clan, his own parents. The strong love they had was gone, just like that. Now there was only hatred and the desire to kill each other...
Suigetsu overheard everything but stayed quiet and continued petting the cats. Jugo broke the heavy silence when he came out of the changing room. Nothing was able to fit Jugo, so he had decided to use a curtain. He called out Suigetsu and told him that Tamaki wanted him to go in next.
"I don't need any new clothes, just a cloak." Suigetsu said as he entered the room.
Sakura slowly closed the book and put it on the ground, "Ma'am do you have any medical supplies?"
"Yes, in the room where Sasuke and the red hair girl are. There are some books, herbs and tools in the corner of the room. You can take whatever you like" Nekobaa answered.
After thanking her, Sakura got up and went into the room. She saw Karin throwing herself on Sasuke, who ignored every attempt she made. She noticed some herbs and medical supplies on a table. She walked past them and observed the table.
"Leave..." Sasuke demanded and looked at Karin.
"But-"
"Now..." Sasuke cut Karin off.
"Fine!" Karin yelled and marched out of the room.
"You used to come here a lot, huh..." Sakura tried to start a conversation.
"Granny cat told you..."
"Yeah, she also showed me a picture of you and..." Sakura paused. She hesitated first but said it anyway, "You used to be really happy back then..."
There was a moment of silence before Sasuke responded, but he changed the subject instead, "I see you've changed your clothes."
"I can move freely in this and I can put up my hood in case were are walking through a crowded village to hide my pink hair." Sakura answered.
"Take whatever you think is necessary for your medical stash." Sasuke advised and walked out of the room.
'Changing the subject, huh...It's still painful for him to talk about the past. He must've really loved and looked up to his brother...Itachi...why?' thought Sakura.
.
After gathering everything she needed, Sakura walked back to the main room where everyone was waiting for her.
"We'll be going now. Thanks for all your help." Sasuke spoke and gave her some money.
Sasuke walked with his team out of the room. Sakura bowed to Nekobaa and thanked her. She turned around to walk out of the room, but Denka and Hina stood in front of the entrance to stop her from leaving. Sakura stared, confused at the two cats. She turned back to Nekobaa when she saw that Tamaki had entered the room with a big scroll and had handed it to Nekobaa. Nekobaa stood up, took the scroll and handed it to Sakura,
"It's a summoning scroll" she spoke, "Denka and Hina wants to work with you. You can summon them when you want to see them and when you need their help. But in order to summon Denka and Hina, you must first sign a contract."
"You guys want to work with me?" Sakura asked and looked at the two cats.
"Yeah, meow" Hina replied.
"Normally, we don't like to be summoned by anybody, but we like you and trust you. We can help when you and Sasuke are in danger." Denka explained.
Sakura happily nodded and signed the contract. She used her own blood to sign her name and placed her fingerprints on the scroll.
"Take care of him." Nekobaa and Tamaki both requested at the same time.
"I will." Sakura replied and walked out of the room.
"She's a good girl." said Denka.
"Indeed she is." Nekobaa replied.
XXXXXX
When she finally made it out of the tunnels and back in the abandoned city, Sakura saw everyone was waiting for her.
"Sakura, are you okay?" Suigetsu asked and looked at her bloodied finger.
Sakura looked at her finger. She had forgotten to heal it after she signed the contract.
"I'm okay." she replied and healed her finger.
"What? One of the cats didn't like you and bit you, right?" Karin mocked Sakura.
"No, she signed a contract with them" Sasuke replied back to Karin for Sakura. Everyone looked stunned at Sakura when she nodded in agreement.
"Hmpf!" said Karin
"Cool!" Suigetsu yelled.
"They must have really liked you. Normally they don't like to be bound and summoned by a human" said Sasuke. Sakura blushed a little after hearing all that.
"Let's go." said Sasuke.
XXXXXX
~To Be Continued~
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