[20-2-2016 Edit: this prologue has been through the spring cleaning process and re-uploaded. The pre-existing author notes is a casualty of my inner war.]

A/N: Smack me I'm naughty... Sooo many ideas, not enough fingers to type them with. ;P

Forgiven? Good, now enjoy! ^_^

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Prologue.
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A light rain trickled down her face, mixing with her tears, and washing away the taste of salt on her skin. Sakura Haruno was in no position to wipe the tears away, regardless. Her body was as good as completely broken: she had felt the bones crack, and the muscles contort impossibly. The blood caked her skin so quickly, and cemented, even in the rain. She was lying amongst a sea of dead Shinobi, made up of both friends and foes; they came from multiple villages, but there were only three main allegiances between the great Shinobi nations. Their blood filled her nostrils, and Sakura felt nauseated. She was a medic, so blood, gore, and dead bodies didn't bother her.

But this was different.

She wasn't supposed to be here. She wasn't supposed to enter the fray. Not with this battle. It had been a long time coming, the final conflict of this war playing out here of all places, and Sakura had planned to be far away when this went down. She didn't want to see this, this senseless violence; she had no control when it came to avoiding it. In light of recent events, Sakura had resigned herself to returning to Konoha and trying to pick up the pieces of her broken life, when she was ultimately drawn back into the middle of this.

She should've known better than to think it would be that easy.

Sakura squirmed slightly, gasping when another sharp renewed pain ran through her body, reminding her of the predicament she was in. She was alive, for now; closing her eyes, she tried to think about something other than the stabbing ache in her side. She was terrified of what lay beyond her when these wounds finally took their toll. Sakura didn't have enough chakra left to heal herself, and several vital organs were bruised from that last attack.

But it wasn't her imminent death that bothered her, no…

'I'm going to die a traitor.'

No-one could blame her for being captured by the enemy, tortured, beaten, and killed for her insolence. But instead, she was considered the enemy because she let him seduce her. She let him into her heart, and then proceeded to make a mockery of her Kunoichi training by choosing not to let an innocent man die. How could she be expected to watch him writhe and scream without at least trying to help him? It made no sense to not care that another human being was in pain.

Fat lot of good it did her now.

Sakura twisted her head onto its side at the sound of something moving nearby. If the ominous noise had turned out to be the clip-clop of a horse, there would be nothing to worry about; only civilians and the foot soldiers to the many daimyo used domesticated animals (of different kinds) for travel. But this sound was subtle, light enough to be walking without disturbing the ground like an animal, and moved carefully – definitely a ninja. A moment later, she recognized that distinctive chakra signature, and Sakura froze; the growing fear in her heart turned her into a statue.

What was he doing here?

The pinkette move her head again to find the man staring down at her, the all too familiar look of lust in his eyes. But instead of making her heart miss a beat as one might expect from his expression and position, it was instead racing in fear. She tried to move away from him as he leant over her, his face mere inches from hers; the pain from her sudden movement wouldn't let her get any further away, and his proximity coupled with her sudden attempt to move sent renewed spasms of pain throughout her body.

She cried out.

"Don't worry my cherry blossom," he said softly, a smirk twisting his lips. "I'll take good care of you."

And she wished she'd died. She wished that this had truly been her end.

…

XXX

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A/N: Like to be teased? Me too. This fic is bringing out my cheeky side, so be prepared. ;)
This prologue is just a little taste: a bit of a teaser. There's more if you like it. Like… chocolate. Mmmm, love chocolate. And strawberries, and yoghurt… and GaaSaku. ;P And of course, the chapters will ultimately be longer than the prologue, by FAR...
You love me, you know you do, otherwise you wouldn't be here. ;)

R&R

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