Chapter 8 - Fight or Flight

Sakura sat quietly, trying to ascertain what she had just agreed to. What on Kami's earth possessed her to agree to give them a chance?! Sakura new just one thing. Nothing good was to come of this. Her eyes pondered in the low light of the room, carefully inspecting every inch of it. The room was windowless, the only way out was through the very door the mad man had been using. Sakura was known for her intelligence as well as her ninjustu. Kakashi had spend many a session training her in the art of strategizing. It was now time to put that training to use.

The kunoichi staggered to her feet once more. In order to create the perfect strategy, she knew she needed to know her surroundings. Her feet padded to the door, and carefully she placed her ear against it. She listened for a short while, to hear whether anyone was around; upon fulfilling her need to ensure the coast was clear, she gripped the door handle tightly and as quietly as she could she opened it, just a fraction, just enough for a peep outside. The coridoor was long and narrow, just as dimly lit as this dust hole in the wall they called a room. This was exactly what Sakura didn't want to see. She wanted to see twists and turns, furniture, anything that she could use to quickly hide if the need arose.

Butterflies are usually used as an expression to describe the feeling a person has when they are entirely uneasy. Sakura could honestly swear an oath, that she in fact had a whole kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttering within her ravenous stomach. The pinkete stepped out, her mind focused on but one thing: escape.

Pein was sitting quietly, reading this morning's intel and readying the various missions he would be sending his subordinates on for the upcoming week. He carefully read each report and assigned the various members to the various tasks which would be better suited for them and their skills. As the morning progressed - which felt pretty rapidly for the concentrating leader, one by one the notorious members began to emerge from their rooms. Pein found it harder and harder to concentrate as the growing number of people surrounding him began to chatter and torment each other. The ringed eyes found themselves protectively scanning the room for a certain masked man, who he trusted just as much as he trusted Zetsu to become a vegetarian. As long as he was in sight, the ginger haired man could feel a little more at ease.

There was also a feeling in Pein's stomach. It was similar to Sakura's, but this feeling was different. It was a sickly feeling, making his stomach feel tight and giddy. One could only describe this feeling as uncertain guilt. In his eyes, the pinkete was pure and innocent, something he was the entire opposite of; and once again the guilt of bringing her to this place just to fulfill his selfish need to see her again caused him to become once again distracted. He stared ominously at the masked man, fixated on him. The almighty rinegan weilder was also plotting. He realised he couldn't simply let the pinkete go free, even if she decided after the week was up that she wanted to leave; he knew the fake masked man was all too curious with his 'leaders' interest in the pinkete. Letting the lady go, would be like releasing a rabbit before a hunting dog. Pein knew Madara's sick mind would want to turn her into a sport. 'This is a predicament...' he thought to himself.

Small feet were scurrying across the floor, as gently and quietly as they could move. Sakura was at the end of the first two long corridors. At the end of each corridoor was a one way turn, which she had followed. On the third coridoor, there was as before the usual turn, but at the end of coridoor number three there was a difference. There was a large open archway, decorated with a flickering candle either side. The gap was dark and draughy, offering no in site as to what was inside. Her heart began to pound in her chest, there was just one thing preventing her from sprinting to the mysterious arch; and that was noise. And lots of it... She could hear loud, booming, dominant voices, echoing down the hall. The source appeared to be from a room, with the door left open, approximately half way down this hall. She stared intently at the candles, the flickering symbolised a profound movement in the air, which could in turn lead her to the outside. Sakura new that the idea of running straight to the exit sounded too easy to be true, but everything in her was urging her to try. All previous thoughts of planning were now vacant from her otherwise clever mind.

Not many people know what an item of prey feels like, when it is facing perilous danger. Usually they don't have time to think, almost every time the only thing that crosses their scared mind is the fight or flight instinct. In Sakura's case, she had to decide very quickly whether to chance it and run for what she hoped would be an escape, or whether she would stay and try and fight her way out. She had a brief moment in time to think. She thought it was highly unlikely she would be able to fight all of the Akatsuki, and escape that way... Which simply left one option. Run.

Pein could detect something, the others were too busy rambling to notice. The lava haired figure carefully rocked his sight to the opposite side of the room, and stared silently at the gloomy hall way which bordered behind the very walls he sat within. He smirked, his pearl white teeth glowing gently in the light. He knew exactly what he could sense now. Ringed eyes peered carefully into the darkness, almost daring the figure to continue in the direction it was currently steadily easing towards.

Little did he realise, was that one Akatsuki member was missing from the room, and two other bored members which were sat in the same four walls that he was, also now sensed the unfamiliar presence. A single red eye, belonging to a masked man was eagerly awaiting for the appearance he was so desperate for; in his mind the game was about to start. Another pair or eyes, -ones in which possessed no prowess, was staring casually in the same direction as the masked nin and his leader. He smirked and licked at one of the tips of his triple bladed scythe.

'Oh blossom... why couldn't you stay put?' The powerful man mused to himself quietly.