Painful Pleasures

Chapter 3) Unfortuitous Fortune

The sun had started to set on the third day of reconnaissance, leaving orange and pink rays of dusk light to guide Sai and his little friend through the town looking for the bar that they call 'Seven', the team's assigned meet up location.

Daichi had said that he knew the way, his cousin giving him adequate directions, but after an hour of following him blindly, Sai decided to be the one leading. The town's layout was not confusing and meant that the bar they were looking for should be easy to find, yet making their tenth time around the village square they could not find it.

Sai sighed before he finally stopped, giving Daichi the silent treatment. "What were the directions?"

Daichi snapped out of his depressed bubble and answered his pissed team leader. "He said it would be to across a place with bright neon lights and that all we would have to do is follow Main Street."

Taking a moment to ponder what was said; Sai almost smacked himself with annoyance. The directions sucked, Daichi was an idiot boy with a woman's faces who did not belong in the ninja world, and neon lights were hard to see in the twilight.

It was hardly getting dark and a good half hour remained till the street lights went on. Moving his hand, Sai made rubbing circles on his gut- attempting to subside the wave of rude remarks he was wishing to share. He decided that they should get some rest and wait till night had fully taken over the city.

Already knowing the layout of the city from their continuous circles, Sai lead them both to an inconspicuous looking restaurant.

It was almost useless breaking the genjutsu. Sakura didn't give herself the upper hand or reveal any magical solution to her predicament. It did clarify how utterly useless her situation currently was, Hibari's too.

She supposed it made her better informed when sharing information. That information being nothing, she would be tortured and killed. That was decided. There was no way she would reward these monks for this capture.

"Do you believe?"

Sakura idly watched the Jashin Monk sharpened his sword. His intimidations tactics not being lost on her, Sakura felt sick with the preparations to the sacrificial rituals. She had seen the handy work on Shikamaru's teacher, and felt the sensation of ripping flesh from invisible forces on a personal level.

"Do I believe what?" Sakura snapped, anger and dread causing a higher pitch in her voice. A pitch she didn't like; it made her feel weak.

Poor little Hibari was to be the first participant towards the Jashinist vindication. She had a small cut on her cheek and was left drained of all her chakra. Her limbs were not bound, but she was held in place by another invisible barrier.

"In Jashin."

Sakura wanted to answer yes. Yes I believe, you cannot kill a supporter! But the cowardice, even thinking it, made Sakura feel ashamed. It would not save her life, or her comrade's life. It would humiliate and humble Konoha. Sakura identified herself as many things; female, happy, loving, determined, and a country woman. She would not disgrace her heritage- not willingly.

So she remained mute.

His eyes flickered, the flickering light making his eyes look dark red - filled with malice.

"So, do you follow any religion," His interest oozed from his words "or do you follow any types of beliefs? I hear it is common for Shinobi or Kunoichi to follow that path of the death god."

Sakura always had a down side to all her talent and big brains, and that was defiantly her temper. It flared and caused her to be bluntly honest.

"No. I do not! Only people afraid of death seek its master!"

A murmur infected the silence, every skeleton making his snide remake. And, as if bringing all their shared opinions together, the leader monk asked;

"What, please explain, is the misfortune of knowing your fear and seeking it out?"

Sakura was fast and ready to talk. "You are not seeking death, you are trying to concur it! Rule it!"

"Explain what the damage would be in controlling death!?" His answer was cool and calm. He certainly felt in control and had no troubles in sharing.

"We have a life cycle that sustains the order of life; why break it for selfish gains? Anyone seeking immorality, in my experience, is not the type of person anyone would want around for a longer time."

Sakura starred at the leader monk, her eyes unwavering regardless of the tears glittering the edges of her lids.

"I think, judging from you current state, that we should go ahead with explaining the procedures. No use in delaying. We will start with the tattooed girl."

Sakura had always had an interest in fate. She assumed that some things in life always had to be deemed inescapable destiny by the god of misfortune. It was one of the reasons she still loved Sasuke. And sometimes even if you avoid the destined path, one will never be rid of its haunting ghost.

That is how she calmly (or what she hoped was calmness) regarded the man in front of her. It was fate that she meets another Jashinist. He was just another piece of her haunting puzzle.

Two years ago when she was found injured and bleeding to death, many people thought there wasn't a point in trying to save her. Being attacked by Hidan meant death. He didn't leave people alive, and he never spared lives.

But he had left her alive. And here she was, with her teammate, discovering the possibility of her future.

"Please pay attention young woman."

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted again.

"We are going to perform a Jashinist test on you. If you are found worthy, then we will summon our prince. If you are unworthy, you will die."

He paused, passionately flinging his arms in front of him, acting like his words were a picture image explaining everything clearly. Sakura remained in her flabbergasted state. They were looking to convert 'non-believers'! The idea felt ludicrous.

"Look!" His hand reached into his robes and shuffled around somewhat. When his hand came out of the folds of fabric Sakura felt queasy.

In his hand he held a dirty silver necklace round in shape with a half completed triangle.

"I'm the second highest rank bestowed from Jashin. You could be granted this privilege!"

The leader monk looked completely insane. His smile was wide and demented, his eyes wild and frantic. They were going to perform death rituals on Sakura and Hibari, and they were hoping to fail at killing them…

Sakura's heart beat was so fast that her chest was sore. Everything was cloudy and pained.

Hibari was dead; she did not pass their test.

Her delicate body was broken into segments. The monks were fighting over what pieces they wanted to keep. It sickens Sakura to see them fondling the lifeless breasts on the torso of her dead teammate. She could hardly contain the building lump in her throat.

This was all wrong.

A physical fight breaks out among the ranks when fighting for her genital area. That is when Sakura did throw up -hard and noisy. The smell, the blood…

Things were out of control. This was out of control.

The leader monk walked towards Sakura and made a motion with his hands. Behind her, other skeleton monks appeared and unbound her from the table. Sakura was so weak from witnessing Hibari's painful death that she didn't register the removal of her clothes.

They peeled away her red dress, and it felt like she was being skinned alive. The boots, the under armor, and her under garments; all taken away. Sakura wanted to struggle. She wanted to run and hide.

But her eyes wouldn't leave the fragments of Hibari's body, she could not turn away. Watching so many men writhe in sexual ecstasy. Even her head was used in the twisted orgy. Sickening…

The monks who undressed her pulled Sakura forward into the center of the room. A circle with a triangle was painted where they intended to leave Sakura. The same spot where Hibari was delivered the killing blow.

"No, please no. Just kill me!"

She finally found her voice again. Being dragged forward intensified the smell of death, decay, and excrement.

"JUST KILL ME!"

They threw her onto the ground. The same force field that held Hibari now held Sakura. She stayed on the ground, and pulled herself into a tight ball. Naked and exposed and very desperate, Sakura did not know what to do.

She started to cry. Tears of hot and messy angry ran down her face.

"Girl, stand up or be tied up again. We need to see the inflected wounds."

"No… no!" Sakura wept harder, her body shaking with fear.

No, please no. Not this again.

Two monks came forward and passed though the shield unhindered. They grabbed her arms and pried them away from her body, and then hoisted her up to standing.

"Please…"

"Feed her your blood gentlemen."

"No, get ah ah away from mee!" Sakura weakly turned her head, moving away from the wrists and fingers that they shoved at her mouth. One of the two men who held her up grabbed her hair. His grip was strong and unyielding, pulling her hair out at the roots when she tried to struggle.

Hibari went through the same process. Five men gave her their blood, and the leader licked the wound on her cheek. Afterwards, the same leader monk wounded himself. Konoha's mouse looked shocked when her skin ripped and tore away from no weapon. She cried out and grasped at her leg, pushing the flesh together and stopping the bleeding.

The five men displayed their legs, there flesh completely intact.

The leader monk looked depressed at this bit of information, but he stepped out of his ritual circle and allowed the members of ritual to rush forward and cut Hibari apart. The screams lingered in the air, echoing off the walls. Sakura felt, that she too, would soon be torn apart by necrophilic abbots.

Gagging on the foreign blood, Sakura processed the looming death. The head monk came forward and licked the fresh cut on her cheek. As he drew away, he let his tongue remain visible. Sakura could see her line of blood, stark and vibrant against his pink tongue and black lips.

This was it, she was going to be wounded, and then ripped apart. And afterwards her body would be desecrated and raped and she could do nothing.

The holy man walked back into his ritual circle. His hands signaled the others to their positions.

Sakura was going to die. No more waiting for it to come. The gleeful smile on his face as he unsheathed his sword sent a wave of sadness throughout Sakura's nervous system. And in the moment of utter desperation, Sakura did something out of character; she put her hands together and prayed.

It was a mumbling mess; she didn't know what to say.

Please forgive me for failing you Hibari, forgive me Sai. I love you Naruto.

Her mind was reeling on all the things she had to say, and with only seconds she couldn't organize what she wanted to say properly.

Then her arm ripped open.

And Sakura promptly fainted.

11/12/12- Updated. Story line has changed and from here on only new material will be submitted.

Truly,

MoyE