Wanted

Sesshy's Mistress

Summary: He was everything that she wished to be. She had something he did not and it intrigued him from the first moment he met her. Both want what the other has, but cannot have it. For some, their wants really will hurt them…

Disclaimer: I do not own either series. If I did, I would so not be in the financial trouble I am in now. So, unless you love pocket lint and animal hair (have too many animals), do not sue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...

…

There was only one thing she wanted, to be like him. Why? He was everything that she wasn't. Everyone aspired to be like him, struggled to catch up to his strength, intelligence, and influence in the community. His talents were almost as never ending as his mission success rate.

He had a gracefulness that never failed even as he killed. Unlike her - never her. She was so small and clumsy, barely able to stand on her own two feet. He was calm and collected, never faltering in his emotions. She could never hide them, giving the enemy an advantage over her – not that they needed any others. They had plenty.

His family was very influential and of a great lineage. Hers? She was a no named orphan without any memory of where she came from or who she truly was. She had no home, but kind people had found and nurtured her back to health. Now she was left waiting for someone to want her, like people wanted him. She envied him because he was perfect and she was not.

His handsome features only helped to attract more attention to himself. His admirers were many and they grew in numbers every day. She was plain but she thought nothing of it. She had one friend, one admirer. He was a small boy with the same coloring of the hair and eyes as her. She called him her little koneko. He would complain that it was a girly name, but she paid him no mind. His little whisker like markings always reminded her of a cat.

A small laugh threatened to break free from her lips as she recalled the name he had blessed her with in his anger. Odango Atama, meatball head. If it had been anyone else, she would have blown up in their faces. But she would never do that to her little koneko. He was precious to her.

She shook her head to clear them of her thoughts. Concentration was a must! She could not fall behind. Her small fingers struggled to gain a better hold on the sharp kunai in her hand. The black metal glinted in the morning light, blinding her if she did not hold it right. Her blue eyes narrowed onto her target, a tree approximately ten yards away. Her grip tightened as she prepared to imbed her weapon into the bark of the tree.

"You're stance is wrong," a deep monotone voice floated through the air, riding the wind that washed over her body. She froze instantly, dropping the kunai to the ground. A faint blush blossomed across her face and started to grow.

"T-thanks," the simple word took a lot of effort to get out, but it still managed to feel weak, uncertain, and questioning. Her face felt hot as the blush consumed her. She sent a silent thanks to whatever god was watching over her. At least they had been kind enough to allow her face to be hidden from his view.

"You've been staring at the tree for twenty-three minutes," the voice was closer. She could not help but to steal a quick glance over her shoulder. Her blue eyes connected to a green vest and they soon traveled up to meet eyes of obsidian. As soon as her eyes connected with his, any and all coherent thinking abilities were lost to her.

She took an unconscious step back, dipping her head down to stare at her shoes. "I'm sorry, if you need to use this training site, I'll leave," her throat tightened as tears threatened to spill; it was just like her to screw up in front of him.

His eyes easily picked up the nervous twitch of her hands as they clenched together and the shake in her body as she struggled with some inner turmoil. Though he did not know the exact thought that caused her distress, he assumed it was due to her faulty stance and loose hold on her kunai that brought on her reaction. He had no idea just how close he was to the truth.

He started to reject the offer, but the small female was able to escape quite easily. He had been slightly impressed with the speed in which she used to gain distance from the scene. He pushed the thoughts of the young kunoichi out of his mind when he heard the distinct sound of someone sneaking up on him.

A soft smile gently graced his defined features as he pretended to be unaware of the attacker. Only when the air shifted did he move, turning to reach out and grab at the small body lunging towards him, kunai at the ready.

"Aniki," the little boy whined with a heavy pout. His face fell into a scowl when he realized he was unable to pull free from his brothers strong and firm hold.

"Sasuke-kun," Itachi greeted while setting his brother on the ground. He slowly knelt in front of his younger brother, bringing a hand up to ruffle the raven locks atop his head. Sasuke grumbled under his breath, complaining to Itachi and demanding he stop.

"You are training with me today, right? You promised," Sasuke sent a weary glance up towards his brother. Lately, Itachi had been so busy with his training, the Uchiha clan police, Anbu, and other responsibilities that he had no time for Sasuke; it was a sad fact that left the child feeling unwanted. Itachi smiled and nodded an affirmative, watching as his brother's face broke out into a huge grin.

"Hey," Sasuke's tone was once again very disgruntled. Itachi blinked down at his brother, wondering what had caused the change. He followed the line of Sasuke's eyes, finding several kunai and other weapons sprawled on the ground.

"You started without me!" The little boy's shoulders slumped but the scowl remained on his face.

"These are not my weapons. You know that," Itachi had to chuckle at his otooto's affection. Sasuke took another glance at the weapons scattered around the training area before they fell on a nearby kunai. He reached down and picked it up, examining it carefully. Unlike his oniisans, the kunai he held was not as sharp or well cared for like Itachi's.

"You were training with someone else?!" The jealousy was easily detected, but Itachi laughed it off once again.

"I have just arrived shortly before you. I have had no time to train with anyone else and I promised to train with you," Itachi took the Kunai and stood to collect the other weapons. When he had collected them all, he put them in a pile next to the tree he had recently vacated.

"Promise?"

"I promise, Sasuke."

Just like that, Sasuke's anger and jealousy faded away to be replaced by admiration and eagerness, "So what are you going to teach me today?"

…

Three hours had passed and both of the Uchiha brothers had found themselves back in their home. Sasuke had decided to help his mother with some chores while Itachi carried his weapons into his room. After sliding the door shut, he turned and walked to the bed, easing the sharp blades onto the comforter.

His hands reached to his night stand, opening it and pulling out the proper tools for sharpening and caring for his weapons. He lowered himself to the bed and prepared to start on the simple task. His blades were easy enough to tend to since the training session had been light and mostly scroll based; however, the other weapons not belonging to him took more time and care.

When Itachi had called it a day for training, he was prepared to leave the training grounds the way he found them. For some reason, however, he could not help but look one last time at the pile of weapons left by the girl. Sasuke had begun to beg for a ride on Itachi's back, but that was a promise for another day. Instead, Itachi had collected the other weapons, planning to care for them properly when he and his brother had made it home.

Once he finished with her weapons, his eyes flickered out his bedroom window, judging the time by the sun. The sky was just beginning to bleed red. Dinner would be ready soon and it left him no time to return the weapons, for now.

Itachi drew himself up and walked to his dresser, pulling out an extra satchel for the other weapons and then carefully placing them inside. He moved them to his night stand and left them there for the night.

…

"Usagi-nee-chan!" A little blonde boy with three whisker marks on each cheek cried out loudly while running towards a blonde haired teenager. Usagi smiled and bent down to catch the young boy, picking him up and spinning him around and around. His bubbling laughter made her smile wider.

"What have you been up to, Naruto?" Usagi questioned after setting him down and taking his smaller hand. The little boy blushed and averted his eyes from her questioning gaze.

"Koneko…" Usagi stopped and pulled the now blushing boy in front of her. She fell to her knees in front of him, right in the middle of the street. Thankfully, no one was around to chastise her or try to abuse him. No, it was midday and everyone else was busy with something or another. Soft hands cupped the little boy's cheeks, raising his head and forcing him to meet her eyes.

Guilt rode his features and unshed tears burned in the back of his eyes. He did not want to upset his onee-chan, so he tried to hide his face again.

"Does it have anything to do with the Hokage Monument?" The little boy blushed harder, unknowingly admitting to his usual prank.

"Has Iruka had a chance to find you yet?" Usagi questioned while struggling to hide her laughter. The pranks truly were not funny, but Naruto's sense of adventure was to her. He shook his head and quickly glanced around, afraid the mention of his other idol would make him appear.

"I guess we best hurry and grab some Ramen before he finds you," Usagi winked down at the shocked face of Naruto. It was obvious that he had not expected that reaction, not at all.

"RAMEN!" Naruto grabbed a hold of Usagi's hand and started to drag her towards Ichiraku's, a store solely for Ramen, Naruto's favorite food. Usagi could only laugh at Naruto's antics while pulled her along.

It was usually a ten minute stroll to reach Ichiraku's Ramen stand; however, this time, it only took two! Naruto practically lunged into the nearest stool at the small bar, placing his regular order. Usagi climbed into the seat next to him and ordered the same with barely contained laughter.

"So, Usagi-nee," Naruto leaned over to the other blonde as they both waited for their ramen to finish cooking. "Can we train later on?"

Usagi was about to promise him a quick training after supper, but she had yet to replace her lost weapons. It had taken her a good two hours to calm down enough to remember she had left all of her weapons with Itachi Uchiha's sudden appearance. Given Itachi's well developed and honed skills, it was safe to assume he would be occupying the field for a while. Just to be safe, Usagi decided to wait until morning before retrieving her weapons.

Unfortunately, her weapons were nowhere to be found when she went back to get them. She left confused and very upset. Weapons were not cheap or easy to come by, and all of hers would have to be replaced. To replace them, she would need money, but she didn't have enough. The bit she did have tonight was going to Naruto and it was worth it. Ramen was the only thing that kept his spirits up while he tried to fit in and survive.

"I can't tonight, Naruto," Usagi finally admitted while turning her head away. She couldn't stand to watch his expression fall.

"Why not?" Naruto's spoke lowly while he stared at the clean surface of the counter. His chubby face looked up at him in the reflection of the counter.

Usagi cringed and tried to think of a way to explain her losing her weapons in a more dignified way. Nothing she came up with would work. She stole a quick glance towards Naruto, noticing his gaze focused solely on her, and it made her heart hurt. Usagi wanted to lie and tell him something that wouldn't make him be disappointed in her. Nothing she came up with would be good enough.

She would just have to admit the truth: She had made a complete and utter fool of herself in front of a prodigy ninja four days ago and left her weapons behind. What kind of kunoichi was she? Oh yeah, a pathetic one.

"I-I need to help you hide until Iruka gives up his search," Usagi sighed mentally bashed her head against a wall at the lame excuse. Thankfully, it proved effective with the help of their orders arriving.

"If I behave, can we train tomorrow?" Naruto questioned after downing his first bowl in less than a minute. Usagi swallowed the mouthful she had and slowly nodded. Maybe she could borrow some weapons from Iruka. He would understand. He wouldn't like to hear what happened, but he would help.

Naruto was on his fifth bowl by the time Usagi pulled herself from her thoughts. She pulled her wallet from her pocket and peeked inside, she would have enough for Naruto's regular Ramen intake, but not enough for any more than that. When questioned if she wanted seconds, Usagi shook her head and settled for watching Naruto. She was still hungry, yes, but she'd rather he had his treat for the day.

…

Itachi watched silently as the kunoichi known as Usagi walked the Fox to a apartment building. The two disappeared into one of the apartments on the upper levels for a while, so Itachi sat back in his hiding place and waited. He had watched the girl for a while, curious of her and her circumstances.

She was obviously a no name ninja, having been found and brought to the village and raised in the orphanage. There were no known special talents, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, or Kekkei genkai, or Ninjutsu of any kind. Her skills were almost non existent and her grades were the same way. Through all of it, he was baffled as to her way of life. Why would someone as weak as her want to fight? Why not simply be a citizen, an option that Kohona offered instead of forcing it's people to fight.

Thus, Itachi found himself watching the girl whenever he was not occupied with other responsibilities. The more time he spent doing so, the more confused he grew. She had no family, only a boy and a Chunin, Iruka Umino, as a friend, and hardly anything to her name. What she did have was in very poor conditions. Even the Fox had better living arrangements than her.

So Itachi was left to ponder how she could be so happy and appear so grateful for her condition. Any normal person would be cursing a higher power, demanding to know why life was so cruel to them, or leeching off of others pity. She did neither or anything else he expected of her, and that intrigued him.

His eyes caught on to movement in the apartment, Usagi was trying to leave as quietly as possible. Once she was out of the door, she turned and started off, only to trip on the welcome mat and fall.

Yes, she had no grace or talent for fighting. Her ability to trip over anything proved this point within the first half hour of observing her. She needed training, extensive training. Itachi sat back and watched as Usagi picked herself up and walked towards her own home.

…

Usagi collapsed onto her bed as soon as she made it into her room. Her whole body was aching in places she had never known existed before today. The stress and worry from the incident days earlier had worked her nerves to their end, making her less aware of her surroundings than normal. The past four days had been hell. She tripped over everything, jumped at every sound, and was more self conscious than normal.

Usagi pushed herself to her feet, deciding a shower would help work away the pain and ease her mind. She had only made it a few steps from the bed before a shadow slipped in through her window. Had it not been for the gentle wind blowing outside, she would never have known of the presence that had disturbed her humble home.

She spun around, fist clenching and preparing to fight with all she had; it was pointless and she soon found herself pinned painfully into the wall. Shadows fell across the face of the intruder, making it impossible to recognize them. From the size of the hands, however, she knew it had to be a man, but who was unknown to her.

"You are weak," the voice was a whisper and the man's warm breath tickled over Usagi's face, sending goosebumps to trail down her body. Fear gripped her heart tight, squeezing it painfully and making it hard for her to breathe normally.

"W-who are you?" Usagi struggled to speak through the fear that pumped through her veins, clouding her vision. Her small hands struggled to pull the hand at her throat away from her. Her nails bit into flesh, scraping it until blood was drawn. If the intruder felt pain, he didn't show it or make a move to prevent her 'attack'.

"Why do you fight if you are so weak? Surely you know you have no chance of winning against an enemy?" His voice was even and flat. There was no hint of disgust or accusations in it. He was simply stating facts which is what hurt the most and cut into her the deepest.

"I fight so to protect the people precious to me," Usagi answered while doubling her efforts to escape.

"How can you expect to protect them when you can't even protect yourself?"

"I'll die before I let anyone hurt them!" Usagi's body cried out as she continued to struggle, but she didn't stop. She wouldn't stop. She couldn't.

"What would you do to guarantee their safety?" His grip tightened on reflex, cutting off some of the air flow in her body.

"A-a-anything," Usagi gasped. The lack of air was causing her to grow dizzy and her body to grow weak. With no oxygen to reach her brain and other vital organs, her body was shutting down.

"Anything?"

Usagi nodded but even that small move took a great deal of effort and strength to complete. Her vision was beginning to feel with spots when, suddenly, the figure released her and she crumpled to the floor. A hand flew to her throat, rubbing it as she gasped for breath. Once her vision cleared, she tilted her head back, trying to see through the shadows that hid the face of her attacker. She was concentrating so much on his face that she failed to notice his hands. A loud thump sounded beside her head, leaving Usagi to stare wide eyed at the Kunai now attached to her wall. The sharp tip of it was imbedded into the old wood of her bedroom wall, and it held a large pouch. The blade had come so close to her face that a few strands of hair fell into her lap.

Usagi gulped and turned her gaze back to the front of her, expecting to see the towering figure, but he was gone. Usagi's heart skipped a beat and she quickly went for the light's, flicking them on to see the room empty. She went through her entire apartment, checking to see if it was safe. When she found herself back in her room, she walked to the kunai and pulled it free. Her other hand caught the pouch that began to fall to the floor; it was heavy and filled with several objects that clanged against each other.

Usagi gently opened the pouch and stared at the familiar sights of her weapons. She reached into the bag and pulled one free, examining it. The blades had been sharpened and the weapon polished to perfection. Usagi quickly looked through the rest of her returned weapons to find them all the same. When she reached in for the last weapon, she found a note attached to it; it read:

Be at training field number six tomorrow at noon

…

Usagi had not managed to get much sleep that night. Instead, she stayed up replaying the events that had occurred that night over and over in her head. Before she knew it, noon was just around the corner, and she had to make a mad dash for the training grounds.

She had yet to decide if it was a good idea to go through with what the note …… asked? Demanded? Requested? Common sense told her not to, but she could not help but feel that if the man had wanted to kill her, she'd be dead already.

So, Usagi made her way to the meeting place and was surprised to see Itachi Uchiha standing there waiting for her. Her hand fisted around the sheet of paper after she reread it to make sure she wasn't in the wrong place. She wasn't. Gulping loudly, she walked up to him with her head bowed.

"Uchiha-san," Usagi bowed, showing her respect to the ninja that was better than her in every sense. Said ninja did nothing but stare at the kunoichi before her, assessing her up close with his gaze.

"Do you know why you are here?" He questioned her with an empty but heavy gaze. The stiffening of her posture made it quite apparent that he had surprised her with his question.

"I – you – I just…"

"You are weak and have no hope of succeeding at your current level," Itachi supplied when she failed to complete a coherent sentence. "You wish to protect the people precious to you and yet you cannot even defend yourself. You will get yourself killed before you even have the chance to protect the ones you care for," His voice cut into her faster and deeper than any blade could ever hope to do.

"I know," Usagi whispered softly in defeat, body sagging and almost collapsing from the weight of his words.

"If you have any hope of amounting to anything, than you will accept my challenge and offer to train you – "

"Why?" Usagi's gaze shot up to meet his, connecting her sapphire orbs with his obsidian ones. "Why would you want to help someone like me?"

Itachi was quiet and did not answer at first. He was unsure of the answer just as much as she was to the idea. "It is for the best of Konoha." It was the truth, a fraction of it, but the truth nonetheless. "I challenge you to become better and prove yourself useful to the village that took you in and the people in it that are most precious to you. If you should accept, I will personally see to your training. If you do not, I suggest you quit now before you get someone else injured or worse."

Usagi was stunned and, unbeknownst to her, so was Itachi. He had not planned on offering to help her; it would provide him with nothing to gain – nothing except a better understanding of her and how she could manage to stay sane and happy through everything.

"I want to protect them," Usagi straightened her shoulders and her stance. With that simple sentence, she began the path to better herself. She now had the opportunity to have what she always wanted, to be like him. And, he had the opportunity to learn from her, whether he was aware that he wanted that or not.

It was a start; a start to gaining what they both wanted. Usagi – to be able to protect those she loved and held most precious to her. Itachi – to understand what it was like to be everything he wasn't and to be content with it.

They say, "Your wants won't hurt you"; however, nothing is ever easy and this task was no difference. Neither would give up in the quest to achieve what they wanted, regardless if it cost them more than they could gain in the end. Question is, how long would it take and how much would it cost?

…

...

Totally random idea that popped up after reading some Naruto/SM crossovers and listening to For Your Entertainment by Adam Lampert. It is a Itachi/Usa crossie with subtle hints that allow you to make up your own ending. I might make a sequel, might not. If you would like to see one, just let me know.

Sesshy

PS: I spent four hours typing this and it is now almost five am in the morning. So, yeah, too tired to proof read, will later; however, if you see any mistakes that stick out, please let me know!!!!!!!!!!!!