Sakura gritted her teeth and gripped at the blanket. She felt a sharp pain in her stomach, "agh! S-Sasuke!! It hurts! Ah, stop! Stop!"

"S-Sakura...!!"

She winced at the pain, but she didn't know where exactly it was coming from. She only gripped tighter at the blankets as she felt something warm on the bed sheets. Is this a dream?? She internally screamed, but it wasn't. It was real.

Someone was stabbing her.

She glanced over to where Sasuke was, next to her, and he was badly injured, too. He was clutching his side, which was covered in blood, and trying to reach to her, but he was too weak, as he'd lost too much blood. Then she looked up at her attacker and tears formed in her eyes, "A-Aka..."

"Sorry, Sakura." Akane smiled as she held two blood-covered kunai in her hands, "I poisoned the food. But since you didn't eat it, I needed this alternative. I didn't want you to die painfully like this, but oh well."

"B-but... Why?"

"Because you." She pointed at Sasuke, "you're Sasuke Uchiha, right? You're one of the strongest ninja, and your wife, the strongest Kunoichi from the Land of Fire, aren't you? We're all after you, you know. For your power, your Rinnegan, and your chakra control."

"'We'?" Sakura choked on her own breath.

"That's classified." Akane continued to smile as she took one of the kunai and stabbed it into Sakura's lower abdomen, making her cringe, "you know, I could hear your conversation from outside. I recognized you both the minute I saw your faces. I knew all along. So guess what?" She twisted the handle of the kunai, making Sakura cry out, "can't have children now, can you?"

D-Damnit... Sakura felt tears stain her eyes. She was helpless. The pain was too much. She tried to reach at the kunai, she tried to fight back, but it was all too much. She turned her head to look at Sasuke. The horror in his eyes as he watched this ten year-old slice her open made her feel worse, made her hurt more than the physical pain she was experiencing. He couldn't do anything to help her, either. So she only squeezed her eyes shut and swung.

Because of the immense pain, her chakra control wavered, but it was still enough. The punch sent Akane flying back into the wall.

"S-Sasuke..." Sakura coughed as she tried to sit up, her hand at her stomach.

"Heal yourself, first." Sasuke ordered, "forget me."

She pursed her lips as she started healing her own wound first, then they glanced over to Akane as she started getting up.

"Heh. You really are stronger than I thought." Akane muttered, "but... Not strong enough."

Sakura watched in horror as Akane dropped the kunai and lifted her hand, only two fingers up. Is that...?!

From that only hand sign, she opened her mouth and blew out a stream of fire. If Sakura and Sasuke hadn't gotten off the bed, they would've been scorched right then and there.

"I'm sorry, Akane." Sakura muttered as she ran up to her and, with full force, sent a hard blow to her face. Her skull smashed against the wall behind her, and the girl laid passed out on the floor. Sakura panted as her hair stuck to her face, matted with sweat.

"Sakura..." She turned to Sasuke, who had gotten up and stumbled over to her, "is she dead?"

"No. Badly injured, though." Sakura muttered under her breath. She continued to hold one hand over her stomach, healing the gash that was still there. She moved her other hand to Sasuke's side and immediately began to heal him as well, "I'm... I'm so sorry... You were right earlier... About children--"

"Sh..." Sasuke stopped her as he pulled her into a hug. He felt she was shaking and knew that she was still scared, "it's okay. We're both alive, that's all that matters."

Sakura let out a muffled sob into his shoulder, but never lost contact from their wounds, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"Sakura. It's okay." Sasuke repeated, then glanced over at Akane, "... Did you see..."

"She's an Asekatsu, Sasuke! A ten year-old!" Sakura cried, "how?! Why would they do this to an innocent child?"

"They didn't do it to her. She chose to become one of them." Sasuke peered his eyes at the unmoving child, "we need to stay to question her. She could know about the group."

"Okay." Sakura wiped her eyes as she and Sasuke sat on the bed, looking down at her, "I feel so bad..." She knelt down on the floor next to her, "I think I'll heal her."

"Wait." Sasuke went to his pack and pulled out a rope, "we still need to be careful with her."

"Okay."

Sasuke tied Akane's hands behind her back before propping her up to sit straight against the wall. Then Sakura held her hands over Akane's bloody face and began healing her. Within minutes, Akane started regaining consciousness.

"Wh-what..." She shook her head, "agh, my head..."

"Akane. You remember us?"

Akane looked from Sakura to Sasuke, then huffed, "yes."

"What are you, an idiot?" Sasuke peered his eyes at her, "did you really think you could kill us?"

"Yes." Akane's smile was gone, and all her face displayed was coldness and evil, "I knew I could."

"But Akane..." Sakura held her hand over her heart, "why would you do such a thing?"

"It was orders." Akane lifted her chin in defiance, "and I'm a loyal follower of my Sensei, so I do what I'm told."

"A loyal follower of the Asekatsu." Sasuke scoffed.

"It is the true way." Akane told him peacefully, "and Sasuke Uchiha, we're just trying to fulfill the mission that you failed. To destroy the Hidden Leaf Village."

"Why?" Sasuke yelled, "do your parents know about this?"

"My parents..." Akane's eyes lowered as she smiled a crooked smile, "I killed them a long time ago."

"You..." Sakura whispered, "you're insane, you know that?"

"Who gives a crap?" Akane screamed in response, astonishing both Sakura and Sasuke, "they were in the way! Tried to keep me from joining the greatest organization on the planet. They told me I needed to get that so-called 'evil' out of my life. But what I really needed out of my life was them."

Sasuke stared in horror, "and how are you coping with that, now?"

Akane chuckled, "I feel free. The moment they stopped breathing, I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders. It was amazing."

Sasuke shook his head, "you morbid witch. The Asekatsu has completely transformed you."

"I know." Akane giggled, "and it's wonderful. I'm so glad it did, I would never have become this strong."

"'Strong'? We beat you." Sasuke crossed his arms, "and Sakura just healed you, even after what you've done."

"And I appreciate that." Akane shut her eyes, "but you're both adults. There's no way I could ever work for any of you. Only my sensei."

Sasuke glanced over to Sakura, whose expression hadn't changed, then he turned back to Akane, "listen. I need you to tell me where your group's hideout is in the Hidden Valleys Village."

"I've been given orders to not tell you anything."

"Akane, please." Sakura whispered.

She looked at Sakura, who still knelt beside her, then sighed, "I thank you for healing me." Suddenly, she kicked her legs up and leapt to her feet.

"Akane!!" Sakura yelled as she got up to catch her, but the girl had kicked her foot through the glass of the window, jumped out, and ran to the ledge of the cliff overlooking the water. She was ready to throw herself off, until Sasuke had used his Rinnegan to get from where he was in the house to Akane as he stopped her from jumping.

"Where are you going?"

"Move!" Akane yelled as she held up her two fingers, and she blew more fire at him. He used his cape to block the flames, and once he did, he threw his scorched cloak over the side. Then with his Sharingan activated, he quickly grabbed Akane and held her so she was staring straight down at the boulders.

"Now..." Sasuke said slowly, "I'm not going to let go, but only if you tell us where the hideout is."

"Let go!" Akane screamed.

Children... Sasuke's eyebrow twitched with annoyance, "Akan--"

Akane used her leg to kick Sasuke's arm, and having caught him off guard, his grip slipped, and Akane fell off the edge of the cliff.

"Akane!!" Sakura ran out to the edge, but her body had vanished in the waves that crashed below them.

"I..." Sasuke stared in horror at what he'd just done.

"Sasuke..." Sakura looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "Akane... She's..."

"Yeah..." He pursed his lips, "we need to go to the Hidden Valleys Village."

"But..." Sakura wiped her eyes, "we don't know where we're going..."

"I just had a thought, and no wonder most of them are down there." Sasuke shook his head in disbelief, "how did I miss it after all this time?"

"So where?"

"They're at the Akatuski's old hideout."