Empty Bliss
Summary: Her hand clenched over her heart, her other arm holding her up, her palm flat on the wooden floor. "What you saw…you do not repeat. If you do, I will kill you." His whisper was deafening to her ears, as if he had shouted. The resounding anger in his voice made her flinch. ItachixSakura
This story is dedicated to a few very important people to me. Manon-chan, Sakura-chan, Mel-chan and Lie-chan! 3 Lots of love!
Notes: Thanks to Manon-chan for helping me with ideas! I am currently making a soundtrack for this story…it will probably be out in a while! XD If anyone wants to get in contact with me, or would like to talk to me, my MSN is that is also my email.
IMPORTANT! I wrote the first four chapters like a year ago, and I'm a bit stuck half way through the fourth chapter…so hopefully, I will find some ideas!!
Warnings: Bad language, fighting.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything if I did I would have Itachi and Sakura together in the anime…with a bit of Sasuke! ;D
Thoughts in italics
"Speech"
Like the fading moon,
Ruining the darkness,
That paleness of my lips.
Of what do I sing?
Of what do I sing?
You are my setting sun.
Kagen no Tsuki v01
Chapter One
Field of Fireflies.
Sakura excused herself quickly and politely from the Godaime and chairmen. She needed to think alone, without interruptions or noise. Of course, she did love the festival they held every year…but thoughts had been plaguing her a lot lately.
Ever since Sasuke left for power, she had the same nightmare. Orochimaru dead, Sasuke dead…and Uchiha Itachi always stood above both of them.
It always shook her up.
Shaking her head of those thoughts, she gracefully walked in the wooden sandals she was wearing. Tsunade had demanded she wore the best kimono around. It was pure silk, pink, the colour of her hair with little flowers all over it. The jade clips keeping her hair up brought out the green in her eyes, too.
By the time she slowed down her pace, she was in what they called, the firefly field. There were always so many fireflies around there, it was truly beautiful. She smiled, breathing in the fresh air; all she could hear from the festival was the drums being played.
She moved along elegantly with the beat of the drums, moving around as if she was made to dance. Her mother had been a geisha, and had taught her a lot of their ways when she was a child. She was so entranced by the music and her dancing; she didn't notice someone watching her, or the sudden mist that had swirled around her.
Yes, she was definitely a beauty. Even he admired her grace and elegance. Her beauty radiated off of her as she danced the dance of what they called, the Eternal Winter. It was a truly magnificent piece about love, betrayal and despair. She danced it beautifully, as if she herself was feeling the emotions.
As the drum beat softly faded away, she finished with a slow twirl, suddenly feeling very tired. She opened her eyes slightly, confusion clouding her mind. In front of her stood a man with long, inky black hair, and red eyes. She gasped, and just as she was about to fall to the floor, he caught her.
"Sas…uke-kun…?"
Worried eyes searched the crowd for a head of pink hair, but she found nothing. Sighing, she gulped down some more of her sake. Sakura had been gone for longer than she would normally be. The chairmen were probably starting to think her apprentice was quite rude.
"Don't worry too much about Sakura. A lot has been plaguing her mind lately; she'll come back when she's ready. She always does." A familiar, reassuring voice whispered next to her. His one eye curved up, showing he was smiling. Tsunade rolled her eyes at him, "Let's hope you're right, Kakashi."
"She can look after herself; she's a strong girl, thanks to you." He murmured lowly, taking out his dirty book. She smiled freely, then. "Yeah, she is a very determined, strong willed girl. I'm sure she will pass the jounin exams with flying colours." She stated proudly. "I'm sure." He answered and with a nod of his head, he had vanished within a puff of smoke.
Sakura awoke, dimly aware that she was in what looked like, a very nice bedroom. Not very familiar with her, though. "What the fuck?" She mumbled croakily, looking up sharply as she heard a door being opened.
Uchiha Itachi walked through, staring at her with passionless eyes. "Good evening, Sakura-san." He said politely. "You're in Akatsuki headquarters, and as you can see, a bedroom…my bedroom, to be precise." He commented, looking around, poker faced. "Why did you bring me here?" She asked, trying to hold back her anger and confusion.
He stared at her, his eyes piercing. They made her want to flinch and look away, but she kept strong, staring right back at him. "I do not think you are in any position to be asking questions." His tone had turned from polite to the 'don't ask questions unless you wanna die!' tone. She gulped best she could with a dry mouth and throat, and looked away, bottom lip jutting out slightly.
"Kisame will probably be down to see you at some point during today, and I warn you, you shouldn't bad mouth him. He has already drained you of your chakra, you have little left. I must say, you had quite a bit, I even had to put a chakra container on you." He murmured blankly, before turning around and walking out.
"What a prick." She said to herself, scowling. But, even though she had a temper to rival Tsunade's, she also was very intelligent. She would have to tread carefully.
Especially when dealing with a pack of insane S-class criminals!
She didn't know how much time had passed since her visit from Itachi, but it had been enough time for the sun to go down and for her to count how many scrolls he had on the table near her. And then she heard someone walking outside the bedroom. A girl, probably around the age of 9 peeped around the corner and smiled warmly at her.
"Hi!" She said, coming over to the bed. "My names Hanako, what's your name?" Hanako asked sweetly. "Haruno Sakura." Sakura managed to say. Quite baffled at the fact that this cute little girl was in Akatsuki, she was rather friendly!
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Haruno-san! Please, follow me! I have been instructed to get you something to eat and a nice bath!" She stated cheerily, walking ahead of Sakura. "Please, call me Sakura." She smiled, walking slowly, cautiously.
"Oh and…um I know you probably know this already, but the bracelet you're wearing, it depletes your chakra so you can't fight; you'll also get tired easily as that is the highest voltage one. Once Itachi-kun can trust you enough, he'll give you a lower one so that at least you don't get so tired so easily!" she took in a big breath of air, before she turned blue from lack of oxygen.
Sakura giggled softly, liking the little girl already. "Yeah, I kind of guessed. But thanks," She answered politely. They walked down many candlelit corridors before they came to their destination. "First stop, kitchen!" Hanako skipped into the room, followed by Sakura. It was quite a large room. Big enough for a table of 10 to fit in, as well as your normal kitchen attire.
Sakura sat down, and waited to see what Hanako brought her. She didn't have to wait long though, the girl came over quickly with a plate of sushi and miso soup; followed by a large glass of water. Sakura gulped it down in record timing, forgetting her manners for a minute. When she had finished, she looked at Hanako in question. "Oh my, you can eat quicker than Deidara-kun!" She laughed nervously, before beckoning Sakura out. "Quickly now, we must hurry. Itachi-kun wants you ready for tonight!"
"What is going on tonight?" Sakura questioned. Hanako's smile never failed as she ignored Sakura's question. That slightly annoyed Sakura, what had she done to be here anyway? Soon enough, her thoughts turned to the sound of water running. She was dieing for a bath, she absolutely stunk. Even if she had only been there for…oh, she didn't even know how long she had been there! She had only woken up that day, and Itachi didn't tell her how long she had been knocked out for.
On top of it all, she hadn't been able to get in any of the other rooms, so she was stuck in his bedroom all day! "Well here you are! I'll be waiting outside for you!" Hanako ushered her inside before closing the door. Sakura looked at the large bath tub, and then to the beautiful dark blue kimono that hung by the towels. She had to gasp at the beauty of it. It looked so smooth and so soft…yet so simple.
Quickly taking her clothes off, she got in the bath and sighed in contempt, letting her whole body go under the water. Once she was done and dressed, she opened the door to little Hanako, who stared in amazement at her. "You look…beautiful." She breathed. Sakura blushed, muttering a small "thank you".
They started to walk down the corridor again, at a quicker pace this time. Hanako didn't want Sakura to be late. Hanako stopped in front of a large door; she knocked twice and then moved out of the way to let Sakura go in. "Enter," a dark voice came from in the room. Sakura opened the door slowly, looking around. It was the bedroom she had sat in for the past day.
He was sitting at a small table, looking at scrolls. He beckoned her over, looking at her with no emotion. She sat down across from him, looking around; she laid her hands in her lap gently. "You look better now, Sakura-san." He commented, with a smirk. "Thank you, Uchiha-san." She answered, trying to hold back from telling him to go fuck himself.
"Would you please tell me why I am here now?" She asked, as polite as she could. She didn't want to die so young. He looked back down at the scrolls he was studying, not answering her. Sakura held back her aggravated sigh, instead, she watched him silently. Finally he looked at her. "You are second best medic-nin to Tsunade, correct?" At her hesitant nod, he continued.
"You see, Akatsuki has been having…problems, lately. For the past couple of years we have always gone to a local medic-nin in the nearest village if we have been injured. But these days, it is hard to find a medic-nin that doesn't seem suspicious or asks questions. That's why we have decided to find our own medic-nin. And of course, it cannot be any medic-nin. It has to be one of the best, our injuries aren't exactly minor." He explained slowly, long, elegant fingers linking together as he sat forward, intensely staring into Sakura's eyes.
"…You want me to be Akatsuki's personal medic-nin, basically?" She asked dryly. With his nod, Sakura laughed. "For one, why would I do that so willingly? Two, what could you possibly offer me, in return of betraying my friends and family; my village?" She said, venom showing in her voice. "Hn, I will give Konoha Orochimaru's whereabouts. They can get Sasuke back…and kill Orochimaru. It's been going around Orochimaru and Konoha are having a secret war. I'm correct, ne?"
At her silence he nodded his head. "Yes, and Orochimaru is confident that Konoha does not know where his hideout is. And, because Akatsuki still has some ties with him, we know where he is. So what will you choose, Sakura? Will you be selfish, and tell me no, let Sasuke stay there just to die a very painful death? You go back to Konoha and get on with your life, no Sasuke. No, I don't think you'd be able to live with yourself. I think you will choose to stay here. Imagine how happy the people of Konoha will be to have Sasuke back, the genius?" He chuckled.
What a fucking manipulator!
Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and pursed her lips. He knew her well for someone he had only just met. "I take it you will stay here then? Excellent. But for the time being, I will keep you under watch and you will be staying in my room until I know you are trustworthy. You would still be in that cell if Hanako hadn't persuaded me. But, if you ever do try to betray us or runaway, make no mistake…Konoha will pay for your mistakes, and so will Sasuke." He murmured dangerously, the flickering candle light making shadows dance across his face.
She nodded her head slowly, looking away. What have I gotten myself into? But…at least Sasuke-kun will be safe…I'll get away one day and see him again.
Itachi slowly got up and walked towards his window, staring out of it with lifeless eyes. "My brother really is a fool. He has ignored you and your love all these years, and yet, you are still trying to protect and help him. Hn, maybe you are the fool." He looked at her then, tilting his head slightly to the side, his bangs covering one of his eyes.
Her breath caught. No matter what happened, he truly was a magnificent being. The dangerous aura he had about him, elegance that no one could compare to…and the beauty you only dreamed of.
Already, she was quite tired, and Itachi could see that. "There are some pajamas for you in my bathroom put them on and you can get in my bed." He waved towards the door to her left.
"It has been confirmed that my apprentice, Haruno Sakura is missing. Now, I want your team, Naruto-kun to go out and bring her home!" Tsunade's fist slammed into her desk. She gritted her teeth, eyes showing concern.
"Yes Tsunade baa-chan! I will bring back Sakura-chan within no time!" Naruto confirmed, disappearing. He had to go pick up his ANBU team and then he would be off.
I'm coming to get you, Sakura-chan!
Back in Tsunade's office, the Godaime herself was rubbing her temples, trying to get rid of her migraine. She was terribly worried about Sakura. Over the past years she had become like a daughter to her…
"Where are we going, Itachi-san?" She asked curiously, walking beside him. She hadn't been at this part of Akatsuki hideout before. "We're going to the main dining room, where all the Akatsuki go to eat."
Great, I'm gonna be surrounded by a load of fucking loony bins watching me eat!
Once they got to the dining room, Sakura was quite surprised to see a blond who looked a lot like Ino, a couple of weird looking ones and…yeah. They all turned to look at her, the room suddenly quiet. "What? Never seen a woman before?" She snapped before she could stop herself.
"Well, never one as radiant and beautiful as you." One man came to her and took hr dainty hand into his own, kissing it softly.
Ohh, a charmer!
"Kakuzu," Itachi said with warning. Kakuzu let her hand go immediately, walking back to his chair.
"I see; yours?" Kakuzu smirked at Sakura's horrified look and the slight movement of Itachi's lip. "Now now, stop this nonsense Kakuzu! Come, sit down and eat, un." The blond said, smiling. "I'm Deidara, un!" He stated enthusiastically shaking Sakura's hand quickly. She smiled back, sitting down between Deidara and Itachi.
"Haruno Sakura." She introduced herself slowly. Deidara's eyes lit up with recognition. "You're the one who killed Sasori, un." He murmured. Everyone paused, looking at Deidara and Sakura. Sakura nodded nervously. "You were his partner, right?" She said softly. "Yes, Sasori-danna and I got on well, un." He said with a small, sad smile. "But, alas…it happens, un! You're going to be part of Akatsuki soon anyway."
Soon, Sakura had spoken to all of the Akatsuki, but Itachi had stayed silent. She started to laugh and make jokes with Deidara, and sometimes even Kisame, though she could tell he didn't like her much…yet.
They aren't all that bad…they're quite funny.
"Are you finished, kunoichi?" Itachi asked impassively. She smiled and nodded, trying not to laugh at Deidara's teasing towards Kisame. He got up and took her out of the room. "I have some things for you to do."
When they got to his room, he gave her some scrolls to look at. "Try and sort them out." Really, he could have done it himself but he wanted to see how could she really was. The scrolls were mostly about genjutsu's, so she should have no problem.
Just then, Sakura heard something that sounded a lot like a meow. She looked over to Itachi to see a very fluffy black cat licking his hand.
…Itachi has a pet!? Of course it had to be the frickin' animal of the Devil!
"His name is Taka." He answered her unasked question. He looked out of the window while stroking Taka. The cat quickly got into his master's lap and purred happily. Half an hour later and Sakura was finished with the scrolls. She handed them back to Itachi and looked at him expectantly. He glanced up at her and smirked approvingly. "I'm very impressed, Sakura." He complimented her, neatly putting the scrolls away.
"I can see now, why Leader would want you in Akatsuki."
"Thank you," She smiled at him excitedly. She didn't think Itachi would ever compliment her like that! Maybe he wasn't so bad…sometimes. "Now, here is the true test." He stated, touching her shoulder he made them both disappear and reappear in the forest next to the HQ. Sakura looked at him with confusion, "What?" She muttered, shivering slightly. She didn't have the right clothes on for this! A silly tank top and long shorts, it was pretty damn windy too!
Itachi stood in front of her, his smirk fading. His eyes turned from onyx to crimson red right before her own, scared eyes.
…No!
She squeezed her eyes shut, and then she felt it. He had moved behind her, his hot breath fanning over the side of her neck. The hairs at the back of her head were standing on end when his soft lips brushed her earlobe.
"Run," He whispered darkly. And she did just that. She ran for her life. She ran so fast every time she nearly went into a tree, she barely dodged it, some of the branches nipping her sides, scraping off her clothing and cutting into her skin.
She was so confused, why did he tell her to run? She thought Akatsuki had wanted her to work for them!?
"What the FUCK is going on!?" She yelled to herself, dashing through some bushes quickly.
1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10
Here I come, kunoichi!
AN: Yeah….um cliffhanger? Haha yeah well…I hope you liked it! XD I'm trying my hardest on this…and I want to make sure I update this…but yeah, I'm not really reliable blush Reviews ALWAYS make my days…I can't write without reviews!