Categories > Anime/Manga > Naruto > Hiasobi
Chapter 4
17 reviewsSakura has escaped her captors, but they are hot on her trail. Will she manage to avoid detection, or find herself once again within Itachi's clutches?
5Exciting
A/N ~ I haven't gotten much of a responce from this site. The ONLY reason this chapter was added was because I got a review requesting it. Future chapters will only be updated on a "On Request" basis only.
Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto-sensei. I receive no gain from twisting his characters for my personal pleasure.
A/N ~ A huge thanks goes out to Leafygirl for being my beta and muse on this story. Without her, this story would be a mess!
In this chapter I attempted to delve into Itachi's mind. I am twisting some of the facts from the manga/anime to suit my needs for this story. But that is the freedom I reserve as a fanfic author. I will probably twist more facts in the future too.
Thanks to all my reviewers!
Chapter 4
Sakura hummed happily to herself. The town was larger than she originally thought. Having several gambling houses, which kept the town bustling twenty-four hours a day; it was no surprise to find an open bank. Of course there had been high fees for making a withdrawal after normal business hours. Leeching bankers will nickel and dime me to death.
But she had been able to get enough money to buy herself some new clothes, some weapons, rations, and various other supplies including bug spray in case she needed to spend more time hiding in the forest. I'll just keep that a secret from Shino.
After, she checked into a hotel above one of the casinos. The rooms were luxurious, more luxurious than what she typically indulged in. But what the hell, you only live once. What had primarily drawn her were the advertised whirlpools in each room. She was going to soak until she turned into a prune. When finished putting up defenses just in case, Sakura laid out her change of clothes on the bed and happily began filling the whirlpool.
Back in Konoha, she owned spare outfits exactly like the one she had been, so she opted to just throw the mangy clothes away. The stains would be too much of a hassle to try to get out anyway. Seeing her reflection in the mirror while stepping into the bath, she frowned slightly at her haggard appearance before the welcome heat of the water enveloped her aching limbs.
After washing thoroughly, she laid back, and turned on the jets to allow them to massage all the aches out.
The jet's automatic shutoff woke her some time later. She hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep. Taking her time getting out, Sakura noticed that her reflection looked much better even if she still had bags under her eyes. She was just happy to have fresh clothes to put on. Sakura flopped down in the middle of the king size bed, bouncing twice and smiled that she would get a comfortable night's sleep.
MMMMMMM
Looking upon the moonlit walls from the comfort of the bed, Sakura noticed that they appeared more traditional than what she thought the hotel's walls were. A glance to the side showed a shoji screen which stood open on one wall, allowing the warm spring breeze to flow in, and cause the gauze hangings on the bed to flutter. The sound of running water diverted her attention to the serene landscape just outside the door. A time-honored Japanese garden was visible and the relaxing clank of bamboo hitting bamboo as it spilled its contents into the waiting pool below momentarily covered the sounds of birds singing gaily.
She was so entranced by the scene that she hadn't realized that someone else was in the room with her until she felt the bed dip with his weight. His masculine scent invaded her senses and she felt the tickle of his long hair against her cheek as his weight settled over top of her, pinning her down.
His hair brushed her cheek again, causing her to jerk awake. Sakura stared bleary eyed and uncomprehending into the red sharingan eyes hovering above her face.
Sharingan! She moved to jump from the bed, but Itachi quickly flipped her to her stomach, her arm twisting almost painfully behind her. He firmly pinned her down, and she quickly realized the futility of her struggles. Blowing a wayward strand of hair out of her face, she glared at the clock she was now facing and idly noted the time, 4:23am. One more hour and she would have been gone. Damn!
"You led quite a little chase," Itachi's deep voice rumbled as he spoke, husky with fatigue.
"I'll say," Kisame agreed. His form disconnected from the shadows, moving into her line of vision, "Shove over, I'm tired." He plopped down on the bed next to Itachi and Sakura. How the hell had she gone from happily escaped to being in bed with two lethal ninja?
"I'll just, uh, take the floor." She struggled to push Itachi off of her and Kisame grinned.
"What's the matter kunoichi, don't want to be a sandwich?" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Horror filled her at the meaning behind his words. "No!" she shouted, "I promise! I won't try to escape, just please..." she trailed off in embarrassment, wild-eyed with fear. Why would they believe me after the way I took off yesterday? The memory of Itachi's actions-- which had caused her to run in the first place-- flashed through her mind. At that point, Itachi was hard pressed to keep his hold on her. Oh god, I've got to get out of here!
Both men chuckled at her reaction; Sakura was not amused, especially since she was still wedged under Itachi in a forceful hold. She felt him shift to the side; another fissure of fear coursed through her and her heart galloped in her ribcage. A quick glance showed him settling in the bed on the other side of her, his arm still wrapped around her midsection.
A movement on the other side of her caught her attention; Kisame was pulling his shoes off with his toes. The noise set Sakura's already shattered nerves on end. His (Kisame's) gaze locked on hers as he turned towards her in the bed. The panicked Sakura could do nothing but stare back at him in fear, awaiting his next movement. She was shocked when his eyes drifted closed.
Behind her, she could feel Itachi's breath, puffing into her hair, evening out as he also drifted off to sleep. Sakura moved slightly and his arm tightened around her midsection in warning. She knew how lightly he slept, she hated that his arm was around her, feeling the tremors coursing through her like a frightened rabbit.
An hour passed, her fear had settled and Sakura fought the mind numbing weariness of having used up all her adrenaline from that fear. Both men were asleep. She had studied the shadowed visage of Kisame's face while she contemplated how to get out of this. The tattoos on each side of his face, which looked like gills, reminded her of the similar whisker tattoos on Naruto's face. He still wore the tape across his broken nose. No matter how she looked at him, even when she squinted her eyes, he was still the ugliest man she had ever had the misfortune to lay eyes on.
The room started to go from pitch black to a deep grey, and she shifted slightly in an attempt to rise from the bed. Itachi's arm tightened again around her midsection, pulling her flush against his chest.
Sakura's heart hammered in her chest, not entirely from fear. Given no choice, she settled back into his secure embrace; there would be no escape. The warmth of his body pressed up to her back began to lull her back to sleep.
MMMMMMM
Itachi woke at the sound of Sakura's yelp and her body slamming into him. He almost let out a grunt and had to stiffen all his muscles to prevent her from shoving him the last couple of inches off the bed. The only thing worse than waking from a dream where he felt like he was falling was waking to find he actually was falling. She stiffened against him, breaking their contact, and he reached for her a second too late. Before they knew it she was out of the bed. The click of the lock followed the bathroom door slamming shut with finality and both men glanced at one another, Kisame's scowl still firmly in place.
Itachi almost let out a sigh before rolling to his feet. He found a small coffeemaker and decided to start a pot brewing rather than mourning the extra hour worth of sleep he could have gotten. He eyed the bathroom door wondering how long she would lock herself in there for; Kisame obviously thought it would be awhile because he began running the whirlpool. At least they were several stories up, so the windows did not open.
Itachi waited for Kisame to finish bathing before ordering breakfast for three from room service. They spoke in hushed tones, deciding that Kisame would go meet up with Zetsu to report their findings. Itachi would wait there until Kisame returned, and then they would head to one of their safe houses.
Once the food arrived, the smell wafted through the room. The two men placed a small wager on how long it would take Sakura to emerge from the bathroom.
Upon finally returning, Sakura glared when she saw Itachi smirk while Kisame handed him a few coins.
While they ate, Sakura noticed a light bruise on Itachi's neck in the shape of her hands and felt some of her anger ease.
Sakura's gaze landed on Kisame, she hated that she felt almost obligated to make sure he was healing ok. It wasn't like he hadn't deserved the broken nose. She made her way over by him, and he quickly stashed the weapons he had been working on before the 'little minx' could get one. He didn't bother to hide the look of abject mistrust on his face.
"May I?" she queried softly, gesturing towards his taped nose.
He nodded, allowing her to check it, and was surprised that she was very gentle today. After probing around with her chakra for several minutes, she seemed satisfied that it was healing well.
She smiled.
Her grin from right before she ripped the tape off of his injured nose flashed through Kisame's mind. He leaned back a little in a defensive posture. He didn't like it when she smiled. She certainly had an evil streak.
"You should be able to remove the tape in 2 or 3 days," she told him professionally.
He nodded, acknowledging her warily, but waited until she moved away before regaining his normal posture.
Sakura was glad that she was good at hiding her reactions, she had almost laughed at his reactions to her. At least he was learning to respect her.
MMMMMMM
Kisame left with a curt nod, which Itachi returned. Itachi sat down on the floor and meditated. He showed no signs of moving any time soon, so Sakura chose to ignore him. She meandered over to the bed at a leisurely pace, sinking into its softness when she sat down. Letting out a soft sigh, she lay back and flipped on the TV, not noticing her eyelids getting heavy. Eventually, she slipped off into a light doze.
Sakura awoke with a jolt, senses on alert; she looked around quickly and reached for a weapon. Unable to find one, she jumped to her feet, ready to perform a jutsu. Itachi eyed her for a moment before wandering into the bathroom. The door closed with a click.
Sakura scanned the room as the import of what had just happened sank in. Kisame had left hours earlier, and Itachi was in the bathroom with the door closed.
Her bare feet slid to a stop in front of the front door, trying to decipher if any traps were present. Not detecting any, she tried the knob. It began twisting in her fingertips.
Slowly...
Slowly...
Time seemed to stop; she was on the verge of freedom, heart hammering in her chest. Then her whole body wracked with a tremor when Itachi's smooth voice rang out across the room, "Going somewhere?"
Turning around guiltily, she saw he was leaning against the bathroom doorframe a definite smirk on his face. Damn damn DAMN! inner Sakura raged.
MMMMMMM
Night had fallen and Kisame had not come back yet. Sakura had been closeted in the hotel room with Itachi for hours now, and it was beginning to feel like an eternity. The man had the personality of a tree. Scratch that, trees were more interesting.
A knock sounded at the door, it was room service bringing up a meal for them. Well, at least it would alleviate some of this boredom.
She sat across from Itachi at the small table, careful to keep her knees far away from his. Dinner was a simple beef pot with some vegetables mixed in. Each took a bowl of rice and began to eat. They both reached for the same piece of meat; looking up, their eyes met, and in an act of total childish resentment, Sakura snatched it.
/Hell Yeah! Beauty wins! /Inner Sakura crowed.
MMMMMMM
She and Itachi were once again shrouded in silence. Sakura stood at the window, watching the night sky. Lost in her thoughts, she completely ignored Itachi.
Itachi took this time to covertly study her. Her short pink hair brushed her shoulders; her green eyes looked clear from this angle, and her slim figure curved in all the right places. She exuded an aura of hidden power that tingled Itachi's senses. He found himself wondering why he found her so interesting for the thousandth time.
Her fingers traced the cool glass of the window, leaving trails in the slight condensation her breath had caused. Itachi shifted slightly, reclining against the wall, one leg stretched in front of him, the other knee bent, with his arm on it; light glinted off his ring. His cloak lay draped across the bed.
His hair hid his eyes, so she could not see that he was observing her, even if she glanced back at him. He seemed lost in deep thought.
How had this petite ninja been able to break the sharingan's hold? Surely the vessel of Kyuubi had played a part in it, that much was obvious, but he hadn't done more than call out to her. Was there a deeper relationship between the two? Or was it simply that they brought out each other's strengths as with Kisame and me.
The light caught his ring again, and he turned his attention to it. He had allied himself with Akatsuki after turning rouge. With the Akatsuki he did not have the expectations that had been placed on him in Konoha. He did not have the hindrances either.
There had been so much pressure in Konoha. His father--he hadn't thought of him in so long. A bitter taste found its way into Itachi's mouth at the thought of that man. But even though he hated the memories, like now, they could flood his mind.
"Itachi, you are the Uchiha family head, and gifted with the bloodline limit. You have to be stronger than everybody else; there is no room for losers in this family!"
Prodigy.
After slicing open his arm at 4 years old using a kunai, a scar which he still carried, his father admonished him, "Suck up those tears! It is only bleeding a little. Uchiha do not cry, no matter how much it hurts."
Genius.
"Obito died because he was weak. He was a fool. There is no room in this family for weaklings or fools."
Prodigy.
Itachi stood with his father, the other children his age were running around playing while the parents talked. His father took him aside, "Don't fiddle, Itachi. Uchiha are a prestigious family, and have an example to set. Have some pride in who you are."
Genius.
"I heard that Hatake boy made Chuunin at age 7. You are the Uchiha prodigy. You have to uphold the Uchiha name. Stronger, smarter, younger, faster, better."
Prodigy.
"What do you mean it was a mistake!? Uchiha don't make mistakes!" his father yelled at him, backhanding him across the face, throwing the young Itachi off balance, sending him crashing to the floor. He carried the bruise across his face for more than three days after that.
Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius.
The words and thoughts haunted Itachi and that familiar feeling of rage boiled up inside of him.
His father had been such a hypocrite. He had urged Itachi to be stronger, harder, better. And when Itachi had surpassed all living Uchiha, his father still had higher expectations of him.
But when Itachi had sought out a means to be stronger, he had been surprised with what had been required of him to achieve the next form of sharingan, Mangekyou. He had held off; he wasn't going to follow through with it. He could feel all of them urging him on, not knowing what they were asking of him.
Sakura broke into his thoughts, and he turned from the window, his attention immediately on her. "I'm going to sleep," she quietly said, as if not wanting to disturb the quiet of the room. Not bothering to wait for his acknowledgement-- which she doubted she would get anyway-- she snuggled into the bed and made herself comfortable.
After a few minutes, Itachi got up and turned off the light. He resumed his meditative position, falling asleep while sitting up.
MMMMMMM
In the secret Uchiha room he had gone and read the sacred hidden scrolls. He was fascinated. When he found a scroll speaking of another form of sharingan, he wondered why nobody ever spoke of it, so he had read on. "...To obtain the final form of Sharingan, one must kill their closest friend. This is why so few Uchiha have been able to achieve it..."
Itachi remembered the face of Shisui. The warm smile and laughing eyes; could the words closest friend really sum up the relationship they had? Shisui had been someone to spar with, to add some levity when he got overly serious, confide his dark inner thoughts to, his frustrations with what was wrong with the Uchiha clan. In one of their conversations, Itachi had told him about the secret of the final sharingan, Shisui had made a joke, as was his nature, and both boys had laughed about it. Shisui was the only one who could make him laugh, given that there was so little to laugh about in his life. Itachi valued Shisui for it more than he would ever know.
MMMMMMM
Shisui and he had been on a mission together. They had managed to escape, but only just. Shisui had taken a hit for him, and even now his lifeblood was spilling out.
"Itachi, you know that I am dying."
"No, be quiet. You are going to live," Itachi said fiercely. If his best friend died, what would he have left? He had always tried to keep Sasuke at an arm's length knowing the secret of how to gain the mangekyou sharingan, and the rest of Uchiha were a bunch of fools too wrapped up in formality and ceremony to even realize that they were forgetting that which was most important.
"You know that's not true," Shisui managed to gasp out between gurgling coughs, cutting off his thoughts.
Itachi realized the truth of Shisui's words even if he didn't want to admit it. He'd seen enough death to know Shisui's wounds were fatal.
"Hurry! Kill me before I die!"
"What? What kind of delusional shit are you spewing?"
"Itachi, the final form of sharingan..." he faded off into another coughing fit.
Realization dawned of just what it was that Shisui was offering him. He was going to die anyway, so if he allowed Itachi to strike the killing blow he could achieve the final form.
Their eyes met, and understanding passed between the young men. Itachi pulled out a kunai and hovered it over his friend's heart but found himself hesitating.
"Do it!" Shisui screamed, startling Itachi into action.
Itachi plunged the dagger into his closest friend's heart, unaware of the tears coursing down his cheeks. Itachi watched as the light slowly left his eyes, a smile on his dying face.
Itachi roused from the disturbing dream, which had awoken him hundreds of times over the years. The one death he could say he really felt regret for causing. The one kill that he had not earned, or even wanted, even killing his parents had not pained him in such a way.
MMMMMMM
Sakura woke to sunlight spilling gently into the room. A peaceful feeling filled her in those first seconds of waking, and she stretched lazily, cuddling back into the comfort of the bed. The sun warmed her face and felt so good that Sakura was not willing to immediately climb from the bed.
The sound of running water filtered into her senses, and she realized just where she was and whom she was with. There was no time for lounging in bed. Quickly assessing the situation, she found an exploding note attached to the door, but could easily disarm it. Surely he did not think her as inept as this? There had to be more to the trap than this alone.
How long had he been in the shower? How much time did she have? Not enough. She heard the water turn off. In a rush, she ran to the door, pulled the exploding note from it with one hand, stomping it out before it had a chance to detonate, while the fingers of her other hand were already turning the knob.
Slightly crouched to flee, she heard the bathroom door fly open and a wet, naked Itachi flew towards her. Sakura's eyes widened in surprised horror, and before she had a chance to recover from her shock, he tackled her to the ground.
Having regained her senses, she pushed at him, but her hand slipped on the water on his bicep, sliding along the taut flesh instead of pushing him away. Flustered and frustrated, she began to rain blows on him; he grunted several times before he gained control of both her hands.
She tried to bite him when she found her legs also pinned. She looked at him in utter frustration and fury, and noticed that he had activated his sharingan. She immediately screwed her eyes closed, refusing to open them, which left them in an extremely awkward position.
"Couldn't you have put any clothes on before chasing me?"
"You didn't give me time."
She knew her face was flaming. She had seen Naruto and Sasuke both nearly naked, but this man was completely naked and pressed against her from head to toe. There was none of the desire which her girlfriend's had spoken of when in the presence of a naked man, only total mortification. It could have to do with the fact that he was her enemy.
Sakura turned her face to the side, and let her body go limp. Itachi remained where he was, savoring the small victory before rolling off of her. He kept the door open while he finished dressing, but Sakura kept her eyes averted.
Once he was fully clothed Sakura let out a small sigh of relief, which did not go unnoticed by Itachi.
An uncomfortable silence settled in the room. Itachi walked over and flipped on the TV, settling in to wait for Kisame's return. He hoped that they were in for a long break before the next mission; he was looking forward to being able to start his research.
Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto-sensei. I receive no gain from twisting his characters for my personal pleasure.
A/N ~ A huge thanks goes out to Leafygirl for being my beta and muse on this story. Without her, this story would be a mess!
In this chapter I attempted to delve into Itachi's mind. I am twisting some of the facts from the manga/anime to suit my needs for this story. But that is the freedom I reserve as a fanfic author. I will probably twist more facts in the future too.
Thanks to all my reviewers!
Chapter 4
Sakura hummed happily to herself. The town was larger than she originally thought. Having several gambling houses, which kept the town bustling twenty-four hours a day; it was no surprise to find an open bank. Of course there had been high fees for making a withdrawal after normal business hours. Leeching bankers will nickel and dime me to death.
But she had been able to get enough money to buy herself some new clothes, some weapons, rations, and various other supplies including bug spray in case she needed to spend more time hiding in the forest. I'll just keep that a secret from Shino.
After, she checked into a hotel above one of the casinos. The rooms were luxurious, more luxurious than what she typically indulged in. But what the hell, you only live once. What had primarily drawn her were the advertised whirlpools in each room. She was going to soak until she turned into a prune. When finished putting up defenses just in case, Sakura laid out her change of clothes on the bed and happily began filling the whirlpool.
Back in Konoha, she owned spare outfits exactly like the one she had been, so she opted to just throw the mangy clothes away. The stains would be too much of a hassle to try to get out anyway. Seeing her reflection in the mirror while stepping into the bath, she frowned slightly at her haggard appearance before the welcome heat of the water enveloped her aching limbs.
After washing thoroughly, she laid back, and turned on the jets to allow them to massage all the aches out.
The jet's automatic shutoff woke her some time later. She hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep. Taking her time getting out, Sakura noticed that her reflection looked much better even if she still had bags under her eyes. She was just happy to have fresh clothes to put on. Sakura flopped down in the middle of the king size bed, bouncing twice and smiled that she would get a comfortable night's sleep.
MMMMMMM
Looking upon the moonlit walls from the comfort of the bed, Sakura noticed that they appeared more traditional than what she thought the hotel's walls were. A glance to the side showed a shoji screen which stood open on one wall, allowing the warm spring breeze to flow in, and cause the gauze hangings on the bed to flutter. The sound of running water diverted her attention to the serene landscape just outside the door. A time-honored Japanese garden was visible and the relaxing clank of bamboo hitting bamboo as it spilled its contents into the waiting pool below momentarily covered the sounds of birds singing gaily.
She was so entranced by the scene that she hadn't realized that someone else was in the room with her until she felt the bed dip with his weight. His masculine scent invaded her senses and she felt the tickle of his long hair against her cheek as his weight settled over top of her, pinning her down.
His hair brushed her cheek again, causing her to jerk awake. Sakura stared bleary eyed and uncomprehending into the red sharingan eyes hovering above her face.
Sharingan! She moved to jump from the bed, but Itachi quickly flipped her to her stomach, her arm twisting almost painfully behind her. He firmly pinned her down, and she quickly realized the futility of her struggles. Blowing a wayward strand of hair out of her face, she glared at the clock she was now facing and idly noted the time, 4:23am. One more hour and she would have been gone. Damn!
"You led quite a little chase," Itachi's deep voice rumbled as he spoke, husky with fatigue.
"I'll say," Kisame agreed. His form disconnected from the shadows, moving into her line of vision, "Shove over, I'm tired." He plopped down on the bed next to Itachi and Sakura. How the hell had she gone from happily escaped to being in bed with two lethal ninja?
"I'll just, uh, take the floor." She struggled to push Itachi off of her and Kisame grinned.
"What's the matter kunoichi, don't want to be a sandwich?" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Horror filled her at the meaning behind his words. "No!" she shouted, "I promise! I won't try to escape, just please..." she trailed off in embarrassment, wild-eyed with fear. Why would they believe me after the way I took off yesterday? The memory of Itachi's actions-- which had caused her to run in the first place-- flashed through her mind. At that point, Itachi was hard pressed to keep his hold on her. Oh god, I've got to get out of here!
Both men chuckled at her reaction; Sakura was not amused, especially since she was still wedged under Itachi in a forceful hold. She felt him shift to the side; another fissure of fear coursed through her and her heart galloped in her ribcage. A quick glance showed him settling in the bed on the other side of her, his arm still wrapped around her midsection.
A movement on the other side of her caught her attention; Kisame was pulling his shoes off with his toes. The noise set Sakura's already shattered nerves on end. His (Kisame's) gaze locked on hers as he turned towards her in the bed. The panicked Sakura could do nothing but stare back at him in fear, awaiting his next movement. She was shocked when his eyes drifted closed.
Behind her, she could feel Itachi's breath, puffing into her hair, evening out as he also drifted off to sleep. Sakura moved slightly and his arm tightened around her midsection in warning. She knew how lightly he slept, she hated that his arm was around her, feeling the tremors coursing through her like a frightened rabbit.
An hour passed, her fear had settled and Sakura fought the mind numbing weariness of having used up all her adrenaline from that fear. Both men were asleep. She had studied the shadowed visage of Kisame's face while she contemplated how to get out of this. The tattoos on each side of his face, which looked like gills, reminded her of the similar whisker tattoos on Naruto's face. He still wore the tape across his broken nose. No matter how she looked at him, even when she squinted her eyes, he was still the ugliest man she had ever had the misfortune to lay eyes on.
The room started to go from pitch black to a deep grey, and she shifted slightly in an attempt to rise from the bed. Itachi's arm tightened again around her midsection, pulling her flush against his chest.
Sakura's heart hammered in her chest, not entirely from fear. Given no choice, she settled back into his secure embrace; there would be no escape. The warmth of his body pressed up to her back began to lull her back to sleep.
MMMMMMM
Itachi woke at the sound of Sakura's yelp and her body slamming into him. He almost let out a grunt and had to stiffen all his muscles to prevent her from shoving him the last couple of inches off the bed. The only thing worse than waking from a dream where he felt like he was falling was waking to find he actually was falling. She stiffened against him, breaking their contact, and he reached for her a second too late. Before they knew it she was out of the bed. The click of the lock followed the bathroom door slamming shut with finality and both men glanced at one another, Kisame's scowl still firmly in place.
Itachi almost let out a sigh before rolling to his feet. He found a small coffeemaker and decided to start a pot brewing rather than mourning the extra hour worth of sleep he could have gotten. He eyed the bathroom door wondering how long she would lock herself in there for; Kisame obviously thought it would be awhile because he began running the whirlpool. At least they were several stories up, so the windows did not open.
Itachi waited for Kisame to finish bathing before ordering breakfast for three from room service. They spoke in hushed tones, deciding that Kisame would go meet up with Zetsu to report their findings. Itachi would wait there until Kisame returned, and then they would head to one of their safe houses.
Once the food arrived, the smell wafted through the room. The two men placed a small wager on how long it would take Sakura to emerge from the bathroom.
Upon finally returning, Sakura glared when she saw Itachi smirk while Kisame handed him a few coins.
While they ate, Sakura noticed a light bruise on Itachi's neck in the shape of her hands and felt some of her anger ease.
Sakura's gaze landed on Kisame, she hated that she felt almost obligated to make sure he was healing ok. It wasn't like he hadn't deserved the broken nose. She made her way over by him, and he quickly stashed the weapons he had been working on before the 'little minx' could get one. He didn't bother to hide the look of abject mistrust on his face.
"May I?" she queried softly, gesturing towards his taped nose.
He nodded, allowing her to check it, and was surprised that she was very gentle today. After probing around with her chakra for several minutes, she seemed satisfied that it was healing well.
She smiled.
Her grin from right before she ripped the tape off of his injured nose flashed through Kisame's mind. He leaned back a little in a defensive posture. He didn't like it when she smiled. She certainly had an evil streak.
"You should be able to remove the tape in 2 or 3 days," she told him professionally.
He nodded, acknowledging her warily, but waited until she moved away before regaining his normal posture.
Sakura was glad that she was good at hiding her reactions, she had almost laughed at his reactions to her. At least he was learning to respect her.
MMMMMMM
Kisame left with a curt nod, which Itachi returned. Itachi sat down on the floor and meditated. He showed no signs of moving any time soon, so Sakura chose to ignore him. She meandered over to the bed at a leisurely pace, sinking into its softness when she sat down. Letting out a soft sigh, she lay back and flipped on the TV, not noticing her eyelids getting heavy. Eventually, she slipped off into a light doze.
Sakura awoke with a jolt, senses on alert; she looked around quickly and reached for a weapon. Unable to find one, she jumped to her feet, ready to perform a jutsu. Itachi eyed her for a moment before wandering into the bathroom. The door closed with a click.
Sakura scanned the room as the import of what had just happened sank in. Kisame had left hours earlier, and Itachi was in the bathroom with the door closed.
Her bare feet slid to a stop in front of the front door, trying to decipher if any traps were present. Not detecting any, she tried the knob. It began twisting in her fingertips.
Slowly...
Slowly...
Time seemed to stop; she was on the verge of freedom, heart hammering in her chest. Then her whole body wracked with a tremor when Itachi's smooth voice rang out across the room, "Going somewhere?"
Turning around guiltily, she saw he was leaning against the bathroom doorframe a definite smirk on his face. Damn damn DAMN! inner Sakura raged.
MMMMMMM
Night had fallen and Kisame had not come back yet. Sakura had been closeted in the hotel room with Itachi for hours now, and it was beginning to feel like an eternity. The man had the personality of a tree. Scratch that, trees were more interesting.
A knock sounded at the door, it was room service bringing up a meal for them. Well, at least it would alleviate some of this boredom.
She sat across from Itachi at the small table, careful to keep her knees far away from his. Dinner was a simple beef pot with some vegetables mixed in. Each took a bowl of rice and began to eat. They both reached for the same piece of meat; looking up, their eyes met, and in an act of total childish resentment, Sakura snatched it.
/Hell Yeah! Beauty wins! /Inner Sakura crowed.
MMMMMMM
She and Itachi were once again shrouded in silence. Sakura stood at the window, watching the night sky. Lost in her thoughts, she completely ignored Itachi.
Itachi took this time to covertly study her. Her short pink hair brushed her shoulders; her green eyes looked clear from this angle, and her slim figure curved in all the right places. She exuded an aura of hidden power that tingled Itachi's senses. He found himself wondering why he found her so interesting for the thousandth time.
Her fingers traced the cool glass of the window, leaving trails in the slight condensation her breath had caused. Itachi shifted slightly, reclining against the wall, one leg stretched in front of him, the other knee bent, with his arm on it; light glinted off his ring. His cloak lay draped across the bed.
His hair hid his eyes, so she could not see that he was observing her, even if she glanced back at him. He seemed lost in deep thought.
How had this petite ninja been able to break the sharingan's hold? Surely the vessel of Kyuubi had played a part in it, that much was obvious, but he hadn't done more than call out to her. Was there a deeper relationship between the two? Or was it simply that they brought out each other's strengths as with Kisame and me.
The light caught his ring again, and he turned his attention to it. He had allied himself with Akatsuki after turning rouge. With the Akatsuki he did not have the expectations that had been placed on him in Konoha. He did not have the hindrances either.
There had been so much pressure in Konoha. His father--he hadn't thought of him in so long. A bitter taste found its way into Itachi's mouth at the thought of that man. But even though he hated the memories, like now, they could flood his mind.
"Itachi, you are the Uchiha family head, and gifted with the bloodline limit. You have to be stronger than everybody else; there is no room for losers in this family!"
Prodigy.
After slicing open his arm at 4 years old using a kunai, a scar which he still carried, his father admonished him, "Suck up those tears! It is only bleeding a little. Uchiha do not cry, no matter how much it hurts."
Genius.
"Obito died because he was weak. He was a fool. There is no room in this family for weaklings or fools."
Prodigy.
Itachi stood with his father, the other children his age were running around playing while the parents talked. His father took him aside, "Don't fiddle, Itachi. Uchiha are a prestigious family, and have an example to set. Have some pride in who you are."
Genius.
"I heard that Hatake boy made Chuunin at age 7. You are the Uchiha prodigy. You have to uphold the Uchiha name. Stronger, smarter, younger, faster, better."
Prodigy.
"What do you mean it was a mistake!? Uchiha don't make mistakes!" his father yelled at him, backhanding him across the face, throwing the young Itachi off balance, sending him crashing to the floor. He carried the bruise across his face for more than three days after that.
Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius. Prodigy. Genius.
The words and thoughts haunted Itachi and that familiar feeling of rage boiled up inside of him.
His father had been such a hypocrite. He had urged Itachi to be stronger, harder, better. And when Itachi had surpassed all living Uchiha, his father still had higher expectations of him.
But when Itachi had sought out a means to be stronger, he had been surprised with what had been required of him to achieve the next form of sharingan, Mangekyou. He had held off; he wasn't going to follow through with it. He could feel all of them urging him on, not knowing what they were asking of him.
Sakura broke into his thoughts, and he turned from the window, his attention immediately on her. "I'm going to sleep," she quietly said, as if not wanting to disturb the quiet of the room. Not bothering to wait for his acknowledgement-- which she doubted she would get anyway-- she snuggled into the bed and made herself comfortable.
After a few minutes, Itachi got up and turned off the light. He resumed his meditative position, falling asleep while sitting up.
MMMMMMM
In the secret Uchiha room he had gone and read the sacred hidden scrolls. He was fascinated. When he found a scroll speaking of another form of sharingan, he wondered why nobody ever spoke of it, so he had read on. "...To obtain the final form of Sharingan, one must kill their closest friend. This is why so few Uchiha have been able to achieve it..."
Itachi remembered the face of Shisui. The warm smile and laughing eyes; could the words closest friend really sum up the relationship they had? Shisui had been someone to spar with, to add some levity when he got overly serious, confide his dark inner thoughts to, his frustrations with what was wrong with the Uchiha clan. In one of their conversations, Itachi had told him about the secret of the final sharingan, Shisui had made a joke, as was his nature, and both boys had laughed about it. Shisui was the only one who could make him laugh, given that there was so little to laugh about in his life. Itachi valued Shisui for it more than he would ever know.
MMMMMMM
Shisui and he had been on a mission together. They had managed to escape, but only just. Shisui had taken a hit for him, and even now his lifeblood was spilling out.
"Itachi, you know that I am dying."
"No, be quiet. You are going to live," Itachi said fiercely. If his best friend died, what would he have left? He had always tried to keep Sasuke at an arm's length knowing the secret of how to gain the mangekyou sharingan, and the rest of Uchiha were a bunch of fools too wrapped up in formality and ceremony to even realize that they were forgetting that which was most important.
"You know that's not true," Shisui managed to gasp out between gurgling coughs, cutting off his thoughts.
Itachi realized the truth of Shisui's words even if he didn't want to admit it. He'd seen enough death to know Shisui's wounds were fatal.
"Hurry! Kill me before I die!"
"What? What kind of delusional shit are you spewing?"
"Itachi, the final form of sharingan..." he faded off into another coughing fit.
Realization dawned of just what it was that Shisui was offering him. He was going to die anyway, so if he allowed Itachi to strike the killing blow he could achieve the final form.
Their eyes met, and understanding passed between the young men. Itachi pulled out a kunai and hovered it over his friend's heart but found himself hesitating.
"Do it!" Shisui screamed, startling Itachi into action.
Itachi plunged the dagger into his closest friend's heart, unaware of the tears coursing down his cheeks. Itachi watched as the light slowly left his eyes, a smile on his dying face.
Itachi roused from the disturbing dream, which had awoken him hundreds of times over the years. The one death he could say he really felt regret for causing. The one kill that he had not earned, or even wanted, even killing his parents had not pained him in such a way.
MMMMMMM
Sakura woke to sunlight spilling gently into the room. A peaceful feeling filled her in those first seconds of waking, and she stretched lazily, cuddling back into the comfort of the bed. The sun warmed her face and felt so good that Sakura was not willing to immediately climb from the bed.
The sound of running water filtered into her senses, and she realized just where she was and whom she was with. There was no time for lounging in bed. Quickly assessing the situation, she found an exploding note attached to the door, but could easily disarm it. Surely he did not think her as inept as this? There had to be more to the trap than this alone.
How long had he been in the shower? How much time did she have? Not enough. She heard the water turn off. In a rush, she ran to the door, pulled the exploding note from it with one hand, stomping it out before it had a chance to detonate, while the fingers of her other hand were already turning the knob.
Slightly crouched to flee, she heard the bathroom door fly open and a wet, naked Itachi flew towards her. Sakura's eyes widened in surprised horror, and before she had a chance to recover from her shock, he tackled her to the ground.
Having regained her senses, she pushed at him, but her hand slipped on the water on his bicep, sliding along the taut flesh instead of pushing him away. Flustered and frustrated, she began to rain blows on him; he grunted several times before he gained control of both her hands.
She tried to bite him when she found her legs also pinned. She looked at him in utter frustration and fury, and noticed that he had activated his sharingan. She immediately screwed her eyes closed, refusing to open them, which left them in an extremely awkward position.
"Couldn't you have put any clothes on before chasing me?"
"You didn't give me time."
She knew her face was flaming. She had seen Naruto and Sasuke both nearly naked, but this man was completely naked and pressed against her from head to toe. There was none of the desire which her girlfriend's had spoken of when in the presence of a naked man, only total mortification. It could have to do with the fact that he was her enemy.
Sakura turned her face to the side, and let her body go limp. Itachi remained where he was, savoring the small victory before rolling off of her. He kept the door open while he finished dressing, but Sakura kept her eyes averted.
Once he was fully clothed Sakura let out a small sigh of relief, which did not go unnoticed by Itachi.
An uncomfortable silence settled in the room. Itachi walked over and flipped on the TV, settling in to wait for Kisame's return. He hoped that they were in for a long break before the next mission; he was looking forward to being able to start his research.
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