"You." The words rolled off of her tongue as a growl, a growl that showed she would show no mercy. "What do you want?" Her arms were crossed, in a fighting stance, with kunai in between each finger.
The pink-haired kunoichi, Sakura Haruno, glared at the two men who stood before her. They were all in the Hokage-sama's office, with Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage. Sakura had been discussing something with Tsunade-sama, when these two men barged in. She recognized them clearly. She would never forget their faces.
It was Itachi Uchiha, and his partner, Kisame Hoshigaki. It was almost impossible not to recognize them, Itachi resembling his brother in almost every way, and Kisame with his shark-like features.
"Drop the kunai." It was Itachi who spoke. He didn't move from his spot, though, and his voice was disturbingly calm. He merely glanced at Sakura, like she was attempting to do one of the most impossible feats in the world.
And perhaps she was, fighting members straight from the orginzation she knew as Akatsuki, one of the most powerful orginzations that ever existed. But she was determined.
"Sakura, relax." Tsunade spoke this time. She tried to speak calmly to match Itachi's tone, but her voice shook, ruining it. "It's fine, I can handle it." She turned her head, giving the two intruders the nastiest glare she could manage. "And what business do you have here?"
"Well...it's been four years now, hasn't it? Since my last visit?" Itachi remarked, his voice still as calm as ever, never faltering under Tsunade's glare for even a split second. "I believe the jinchuriki has grown to my liking...I will take him now. I suppose it is a bit of a warning...Hand him over peacefully, and the destruction of the Leaf will be prevented."
This was too much for Sakura. She pulled her fists back, and then released the kunai from her fingers as she flung them forwards.
Itachi dodged them all easily, and his gaze rested on Sakura. "Have we met before?"
Sakura slammed her hands to the ground, ready to perform her taijutsu technique. "You've taken Sasuke from me before. You won't take Naruto!"
"Ohhh, yes. You're that companion of Itachi's little brother, I see. I remember you," Kisame said bored, stepping forward. "How is the little brat doing anyways?" He didn't sound like he meant any concern when he asked, he sounded dull, like he was asking simply to trigger Sakura. And it worked.
She pulled her arms up from the ground and glared at Kisame. "Working for Orochimaru, that's what," she spat. "All thanks to you!"
"Sakura, calm down," Tsunade begged, a hint of desperation coming into her voice. She had been watching the whole thing, and was desperate to stop this upcoming fight.
But Kisame, remembering Tsunade when she spoke, turned his attention to the Hokage. "So your answer is?"
"No," Tsunade spat, suddenly resuming her nasty mood. "I would never give Naruto to the likes of you! Besides, he is not property to be handed over."
"Oh yessss," hissed Kisame. "This is the fun part!"
"Shinobi these days, so foolish and predictable..." Itachi merely gave a sigh before nodding to Kisame. Then, he walked over and picked up Sakura by the neck, slinging her over his shoulder.
His eyes rested on Tsunade, and he said, "I never like doing this, but you really leave me no choice...I will take her as my hostage until you give in. I can't have your ANBU members chasing us wherever we go, you know."
He quickly made a hand seal jutsu, and he and Kisame poofed away.
Tsunade stood there for ten whole seconds then, wondering if what had happened had really happened. Her eyes were wide, her mouth hanging open. And then, she spoke one word: "...Sakura."
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"WHAT THE HECK?!" screamed Sakura, banging on Itachi's back over and over again, trying to make him let her go. Her eyes darted warily around the area, where there were forest trees everywhere. "What are you doing?" she demanded.
Itachi threw her to the floor, and she winced as pain stabbed her like needles.
"I'd rather you didn't do that." His once calm voice had turned cold and stiff.
"I can do what I please," scoffed Sakura, eyeing Itachi carefully. This was him. This was the man. The man who had slayed the entire Uchiha Clan. The man who had hurt Sasuke so badly emotionally. The man who had caused him to stray away from her. She shut her eyes. That's right, she remembered. This is him. The one who Sasuke sought power to defeat. "And don't touch me!"
"...Hn." A meaningless reply came from his lips, and he whirled around. "Kisame, you guard her. I'll have to go look for Deidara. He was supposed to meet us here, but it seems he forgot...again." With that, Itachi walked off. As soon as he was gone, Kisame eyed Sakura hesitantly.
"Umm...Did you just perform some kind of genjutsu or ninjutsu just then...?" he asked, a bit of uncertainty creeping into his voice.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Did it look like I made any hand signs just then?"
"Well...then...Itachi...?" Kisame frowned. "Normally, he would've killed anyone who said that to him."
"Well, he can't kill his hostage!" Sakura said impatiently. This guy couldn't really be as dense as that...
"You're not the only Leaf shinobi, he could've easily taken someone else," he replied, raising an eyebrow.
Sakura paused. "Well, I'm not sure then. What are you guys planning to do anyways?"
A malicious gleam came across Kisame's eyes, and for a moment, he seemed like a whle different person. "The jinchuriki's power...is beyond of that than you could ever imagine."
Sakura's own eyes flickered, and her frosty green orbs glared at Kisame. "And you'd have to go as far as killing Naruto to get such power? The jinchuriki is sealed inside him, it isn't Naruto himself!"
"We are Akatsuki. Such useless things like emotions are not felt. Therefore, we feel nothing as we kill," Kisame said, and he sounded like he was reciting something out of a book with his monotone voice.
"... ..." Sakura didn't say anything at first. She hugged her knees and then said bitterly, "That's right. That's how you took away Sasuke, anyways."
"Still hung up over that?" Kisame mused. Sakura continued to glare at the shark-like creature in front of her.
"Am I interrupting something? ...Yeah," a voice said, and Sakura spun around, ready to bite the head off whoever had caught her in this crappy mood. It was a shinobi, with long blonde hair that was tied up in a ponytail and long sidebangs that hung in front of his face like a curtain. He wore a Iwagakure headband around his forehead, and was dressed in black clothes.
Sakura freaked out and yelled the first thing that came to mind: "AAAAHHHH!!! It's a male version of Ino!!!" She ran around in circles under the tree she was in, and the three Akatsuki members watched her, amused.
"No, no, you're mistaken," the supposed male version of Ino said, covering his mouth in order to hold back a stream of laughter. "I'm Deidara...You must be the hostage that Itachi took, yeah?"
"I have a name," Sakura snapped haughtily. "It's Sakura Haruno."
Deidara froze. "Wait, Sakura...?" Flashbacks started to go into his mind...
Sakura...Sakura...Sakura!!
"Oh...yes. Sakura Haruno...you killed Sasori, my partner, is that correct?" he asked simply.
