Loyalty

"Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice."

Woodrow Wilson

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Prologue. Spoilers from recent manga chapters mixed in. A lot of this is PURE FICTION ON MY PART. Don't believe all that you read, none of it has happened. 'Tis fanfiction. Anyways, I don't own Naruto, etc. Pairings will depend on what I want. I'm thinking of Deidara/Ino/Itachi but I'm not sure yet. I guess there might be a little Naruto/Sakura too. Depends. Enjoy.

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Her nails scraped hard stone as blood dripped from her temple. She was shaking, hard, and she felt salt in her dry mouth as tears mixed with blood.

They left me...how could they leave me?! How long, how long...She thought, sobs racking her body. The dark had become her best friend, the cold her blanket. It had been long since it had happened...could she even remember what it was? What was it...a battle, she knew that much...was it a war? What is war? Where did she come from? Who is she?!

A door opened. Cold eyes met her own, red burning into her. The same red that had told her things part of her believed, part of her screamed not to. Her body shuddered in pain as she remembered what had happened to her.

What was it he had done? A place...dark...red moon. Torture. Interrogation? What was it!? Why couldn't she remember?! She stared in fury down at the ground.

"They left you to us. They hated you. You're a monster for your skills. We're your only hope for survival. We'll destroy them. We'll be happy." Was that what they had told her all along? It was, she knew it. Had her home...Was that what it was called? Home... The word lay on her lips. She looked up at the man, still shaking from the migraine she was developing.

"Who...am I?"

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Sakura stared out at the field before her, spread out like a blanket of red. Tears fell from her dull eyes, seeing half her village blown apart. This was reality, wasn't it? She couldn't find anyone. All she knew was that Naruto was chasing Sasuke to god-knows-where. And she knew probably only one would limp back to what was left of their lives.

Was this how it was supposed to end all along? Was this fate, as Neji would put it? She couldn't be last. No. But...

"Sakura..!" Came a pained voice, scratching through her thoughts. Her head flew around, her bloodstained cherry blossom hair floating behind her.

"Shikamaru?!" She said, her voice full of relief. "You're alive. Oh my god, we're alive." She cried, tears mixing with the blood dried on her face. "Who else?! Is there anyone else?! Ino. Please, she's my best friend." She sobbed, burying her face in her hands. Shikamaru was laying on his back, eyes half closed, his chopped short hair falling over his face. It must have been cut by an enemy.

Civil war...how could Konoha tear itself apart like that? Sakura's tears racked her body, and she hugged herself, shivering.

"Sakura...Ino...She's been captured." His voice came slowly. Her eyes widened and she looked up.

"By Root?!" She cried hysterically. "Why?! She was in Interrogation...why would they need her? Oh my god, she's going to be killed...why her!? Why not me?!" She shrieked, falling to the ground, the dirt pooled with Shikamaru's blood.

"Not Root...towards the end of the battle..." He coughed, blood falling from his face. He weakly wiped it away from his mouth, then let his arm fall limp. "Akatsuki...they were watching all along." He spat with venom.

"Akatsuki?! But, don't they have their own problems?!" She cried, fury lining her voice. "They took Ino?! But why?!" She realized, eyes wide, tears falling even faster than before. "They must have taken more..." She stared behind her, seeing some shinobi rise, spitting out blood, cheering for their bitter victory.

"Only her." He said slowly. "One Akatsuki...Sharingan...only her." He whispered, pain dripping into his voice. Tears were now lining his own eyes. "This life is troublesome...leave me here. Please. Let me join them!" He cried, now hysterical himself.

"Shikamaru! Don't!" She screamed, putting her shaking hands to his chest.

"No! I want to join them! My dad...mom...dead!" He said furiously. Sakura whacked a fist to his head, knocking him out easily with her strength. She then began to heal his cuts. This...is...fate, huh...

Suddenly a voice came from far off. "Sakura." It said, carefully. She turned, still healing Shikamaru. Her eyes brightened with new relief.

"Kakashi-sensei!" She cried, seeing him limp over. He kneeled down beside her.

"Naruto is..." He looked at her, calculating how much she already knew. She looked away, new tears in her eyes.

"Naruto and Sasuke...this is the finish, right?" She said, smiling bitterly. "This is the end of Team 7. Only one will come back, right? It's all over. What's the point anymore?!" She said sadly, fists now clenched.

"Akatsuki were spotted ambushing us during our weak point. They took one person from Interrogation—"

"Ino."

"So you know already." Kakashi said, his voice slow and calm. Sakura nodded slowly.

"They'll pay...as soon as we can...Tsunade-shishou will send people for Ino!" She cried. Kakashi closed his eyes in pain, and Sakura blinked at him. "What is it?" She asked, her voice shaking.

"Tsunade is dead...Sakura. Her age finally got to her. She's shortened her lifespan too much." Kakashi said calmly. "As she stated firmly before we found out about Root's intentions...as the last of the sennin...I am Hokage." He said firmly. Sakura looked at him, astonished.

"But...Naruto!" She screamed, narrowing her eyes at him. "How dare you take this away from him! It's his dream, and you don't even care!" She cried, tears racking her body. "You don't believe in him, do you?!" She yelped. Kakashi closed his eyes, understandingly.

"He will obviously be next." He said, staring at her. She blinked.

"If he—" She whispered, choking on the words 'comes back'. Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder and smiled under his mask.

"He'll come back." He said, nodding, as if to assure himself. "And the first thing we need to do is take tolls. Try to heal as many people as you can, but don't tire yourself out. We'll rebuild this part of Konoha...and we'll attack Akatsuki as soon as we become united again."

Sakura's tears lessened, and she looked at the barren wasteland before her.

"What will happen to us?" She asked to no one inparticular, and went off to finish healing as many people as she could.

Fate...is a bitch.

A/N: This is the prologue. Regular chapters will be longer. Next one coming soon, thanks for reading, and please review. ;)