Ablaze: A Sakura Haruno Crossover Fanfiction Book 1

The Girl Who Knew When to Back Down

"We can't stay here Sakura. We have to rejoin the others." Sakura hadn't realized she had been frozen in place and staring at the skies as if Superman would somehow come back. It was a bout of foolishness that she couldn't help but indulge in because it kept her from falling apart, which was something she didn't have time for.

Sakura slowly shook her head. Inactivity bringing results weren't how things worked and she knew that. They would have to rescue him. The problem was she didn't know how they would accomplish that feat. She didn't even know where he was. "Are you ready?" Sakura looked at the Flash and decided to pull herself together before he started treating her like some damsel in distress.

Sakura nodded and allowed Flash to take her into his arms. She felt like she was wrapped in some type of bubble because nothing, at the moment, felt real to her. So when the Flash started running she barely took note.

The others were just rising to their feet by the time they got back. Barry put her down and said without preamble, "They took Superman!"

There was no question as to who took him, so the Batman asked the next pertinent question. "Why?"

There was an answer to that immediately came to Sakura's mind. She thought of Naruto and why people wanted him—for the power he contained. Rage burned brilliantly within her, but she held her tongue and tried to regain control before she did something reckless.

"Let's ask him." Aquaman suggested and Sakura felt a grim smile grace her lips and allowed her hands to glow green and turned her body in the direction of the dark overlord.

"I'll be happy to." GL said and glanced her way when he saw her nod in approval.

"I'm not with you guys." The robotic man said and Sakura chuckled grimly before replying.

"I don't really think he cares."

"Then what are we going to do?"

Green Lantern stepped forward and placed a hand on the Cyborg's shoulder. "Don't worry kid. Green Lantern's got this."

Before Sakura could blink Green Lantern was in the air with several mace and chains in his hand aimed at the one who called himself Darkseid. With a swing of his arm, he aimed downward at Darkseid's head, but judging by their enemy's face and him not moving an inch his attack was laughable. The mace and chains crashed down upon Darkseid's head shattering the Lantern's light into millions of pieces.

After Green Lantern's failure Darkseid graciously took his turn in an attempt to inflict damage upon his enemy. Darkseid raised his arms in the air and swung his arms down in a quick motion. Blazing hot energy came from his swing and rushed in Lantern's direction. Green Lantern raised a shield to protect himself, but it wasn't strong enough to keep him from being thrown backward and hitting the ground so loudly that Sakura could hear it without the aid of chakra to her ears. Sakura made a move to run to his side to check him over and but Green Lantern, she was learning, was ridiculously stubborn.

"Is that all you've got?" The Lantern wiped away the blood from his mouth and charged once more. "Cause it's not all I've got."

When Sakura saw the grin on Darkseid's face it sent chills down her spine and she ran to intercept Green Lantern but she was intercepted first.

"Wait." The Batman said.

"If I wait then—"

"You won't let him die."

"You don't know that. You don't know me."

"I don't. What I do know is that Green Lantern wouldn't appreciate you interrupting right now. Not to mention he's giving us all an opportunity to access what we're up against."

"I don't sacrifice people for the greater good. We either all make it or none of us do."

"It's a nice philosophy, but it's an unrealistic one. We'll wait. We'll access, and then we'll strike."

Sakura thought about ignoring him, but there was something about him that made her hesitate. It wasn't the fact that if she did ignore him that he would forcibly attempt to stop her. It was more than that. Something about him was familiar and unsettling...

A loud cry of pain caught her attention. Sakura swung her head to the side to see Darkseid crushing Lantern's arm to pieces with just his hand. Then he raised the Lantern's body and discarded him as if he were mere trash and walked away. She waited a moment to see if he would turn back but they weren't currently on Darkseid's list of important things.

Sakura and Batman exchanged looks. Batman nodded at her and the two of them walked together to Green Lantern's side. Sakura could hear him coughing and saw him spit blood upon the ground. Batman grabbed her arm to keep her from running to him and she didn't understand why.

"Where are you going?" He obviously wasn't talking to either one of them as he hauled himself back to his feet. Frankly, Sakura was amazed that he was even capable of doing it. "I'm not done yet."

"Lantern." It was as if he had just noticed they were there. He turned his head in their direction and blinked several times before finally focusing on their faces. Sakura took a step forward silently certain that this time Batman wasn't going to stop her, and began accessing the damage to Lantern's body and thereafter healing what she could. "He just leveled the rest of this block. We need to regroup and form a plan."

"Get out of my way Batman. I don't need you or anyone else. I can handle this."

Batman looked at Sakura and she realized he was telling her something and trying to show her something, but she didn't know what. Sakura sighed. She wasn't able to read minds, but with the lot she was currently with she was surprised that no one else did.

"Your lungs were damaged, but I've healed them. Your arm is broken in several places and that's not something I can fix without surgery that I can't perform here and now."

"I don't care. The ring is still working and that's all that matters. Now get out of my way." Sakura watched as Green Lantern formed a brace for his arm. She approved of his actions as far as bracing his arm went, but not his words.

Batman grabbed Lantern and grimly told him the words that were going through Sakura's head. "You're going to die."

"Then. I. Die."

Before Sakura could think it through she smacked him, thereby drawing his attention to her. He was stunned, but he shouldn't have been. He deserved that strike and much more.

"What are you trying to prove?" Sakura yelled. "He just broke your arm with his bare hand! You can't fight him single handedly with no knowledge of how to defeat...him." Sakura slowly turned and looked at Batman and suddenly she understood where he was coming from, what he was trying to tell them, and what she had been doing.

She let her fear for Superman's life cloud her judgment. In her effort to not behave recklessly she hadn't realized that she was on the precipice of doing just that. Fighting an unknown enemy who was without a doubt stronger than she was with no Intel on how to defeat him. It was madness.

During Sakura's reverie she took no note of how the Green Lantern was looking at her. If, perhaps, she had it would have given her a foregleam of what would or could happen in the future if she so desired it.

"I'm not trying to prove anything."

Batman placed his hand on Sakura's shoulder and guided her back and behind him. Sakura didn't fight him on it. He was more intelligent than she gave him credit for. She'd follow his lead.