DISCLAIMER: DNON
Sometimes, Itachi wondered why he had ever joined Akatsuki. Its goals weren't his own, he hated—or at least strongly disliked—nearly all the members, and he hated the blood he had to shed to further the aforementioned goals. The only reason he could think of for remaining was to keep Konoha—and, by extension, Sasuke—safe. Now he had a new reason. The girl they had captured, alone, in the wilderness of Fire country.
He tilted his head slightly, watching her sleep—sitting up, bound tightly to a metal chair, somehow in a deep slumber despite the fact that the position had to be extremely uncomfortable. Her thin chest, the ribs visible in the area of her chest revealed by the v-neck of her red shirt—which was a modest cut, but on a woman with a larger bust, it would have been scandalous. Her hair, waist-length and a pastel pink, hid half her face and part of her arm, and it didn't seem to bother her in the least; he marveled at that—his hair annoyed him when it was loose and on his arm as he slept, so he kept it tied back whenever he could. He wanted to brush it off her face even though he knew the sight of the bruises and scrapes and blood on her porcelain doll-pale skin would bother him; he had never liked hurting women.
She stirred suddenly, as if sensing his presence, and her eyes—which he now saw were a bright, glittering green—fluttered open. She blinked slowly, confused, and kept them open. Itachi stood, straightening his long-sleeved black shirt, and crossed the room to examine her more closely. She looked up at him, not in the least scared, her eyes narrowed in intense dislike. For a moment, he wondered what he had done to warrant such a reaction, and then he remembered that she, of all people, would hold a very large grudge against him.
He was responsible for his brother's defection from the village, a member of a criminal organization that had captured the kazekage—a friend of hers by extension of one of her teammates, had tried to capture that teammate on more than one occasion, and, most recently, he had become both her captor and her warden. But—he gave himself a little credit—he was not responsible for her injuries or low chakra. His partner was responsible for those, and he had had little say in the matter when they stumbled across her camp.
"I assume you know why you are here." He told her, his sharingan reading her chakra, which, while low, was circulating throughout her network evenly; he would have to remind Kisame to drain her chakra in a moment. She was dangerous if she had even the minutest of amounts, she had proved that in their battle a few days ago.
She didn't speak, but he took the further narrowing of her eyes as a "yes."
"You are friends with the nine-tails." He said patiently, hoping his use of the demon's title and not the boy's real name would get a response.
He was not disappointed. She spat at him, "He has a name, jackass. It's Naruto."
He—very nearly—smiled.
"You are also an accomplished medic." He said, letting the words sink in for a few seconds before continuing. "Akatsuki has need of your services."
"Fuck off." She said, sneering impressively at him.
Itachi chose to ignore that. "If you cooperate, you will make things much easier on yourself."
"Fuck." She said, deliberately making the word into a sentence. "Off."
Itachi sighed softly, and his red eyes met hers. She looked away quickly, well-versed in exactly what those eyes could force her to do. "I will come back later. I hope your response is favorable."
He turned on his heel and left to her parting words. "Bite me, Uchiha."
He smiled as he closed the door and locked it.
Kisame was in the kitchen of the small base they were in, a farmhouse deep within Rain's borders, and Itachi sat down in the other chair before informing his partner that their prisoner needed her chakra drained again. Kisame sighed heavily, running a large hand through dark blue locks that never seemed to go any direction but up, and set his chopsticks down.
"How the fuck does she get it back so quickly?" Kisame muttered mutinously, pushing his chair away from the table—and his dinner of miso ramen—with a deafening screech.
Itachi did not reply, knowing the question was rhetorical, and went to the stove to make some tea. He heard Kisame clump up the stairs to the second story to retrieve Samehada then come back through the kitchen and to the small bedroom at the end of the hallway where the prisoner was being kept.
He heard the dull murmur of words, Kisame probably taunting the prisoner, the prisoner probably telling him the same as she had told Itachi. He was certain she had when he heard Kisame's booming laugh. Kisame had always enjoyed battling others with words, not just weapons, and Hidan, another member of Akatsuki, was always more than happy to oblige the shark-like man with a few well-chosen insults. A few minutes later, Kisame emerged from the room, a broad grin on his face revealing his sharpened teeth.
"Ferocious, isn't she?" Kisame chuckled. "Told me to go fuck myself when I asked how she was doing." He sat down after leaning Samehada against the wall. "I asked her if she'd help me."
The teapot let out a piercing scream, startling Kisame, and signaling Itachi to retrieve it from the stove burner. "She has a mouth on her to rival Hidan's." he said, and Kisame guffawed loudly at his analysis.
Sakura's head lolled loosely, too heavy for her to hold up any longer. Her eyelids were attempting the same, but she wasn't allowing them the same privilege. She didn't want to sleep. She knew that if she fell asleep he would be in the room when she woke. She hated him. She didn't mind the other one so much, but he she absolutely couldn't stand. She hated him with a passion she didn't even know she had.
He was just as bad as his brother. Arrogant. Cold. Ridiculously smug. She had had to put up with it with Sasuke, had pretty much overlooked it because of her crush on him, but she could not—would not—ignore it with Itachi.
Her stomach growled hungrily, twisting in on itself, and she grunted with pain. The bastard refused to feed her unless she "cooperated"—to use his term. She refused to. If "cooperating" meant helping the most dangerous criminal organization in the shinobi world further their goals, she would rather starve herself.
The key scraped in the lock and Itachi stepped inside, carrying a bowl of ramen noodles and a cup of tea on a tray. The scent of the chicken in the ramen made her mouth water and she swallowed hard, glaring daggers at the man who had come to torture her in another way.
She allowed her eyes to close, hoping that if she couldn't see the food it would go away. No such luck. The smell came closer on silent feet until it was right under her nose. Her nose twitched.
What she wouldn't give for just one bite….
She jumped at the 'snap' the chopsticks made as they split, but refused to open her eyes.
She jumped again when she felt the press of steaming hot noodles against her lips and swore loudly, "Fu—" Itachi used the opportunity to shove the noodles in her mouth. Quickly, before she had a chance to spit them out, he pushed her chin up so that her mouth was closed.
"Chew." He commanded.
She obeyed, then, as soon as her mouth was clear, she shouted, "What the hell was that, you sick, sadistic bastard?"
"Ramen. I presume you have had it before, being friends with the nine-tails. He is quite fond of it."
"Naruto." She said, opening her eyes.
"Naruto." He agreed, quirking one eyebrow.
She looked at her knees, deliberately avoiding the gaze of his activated sharingan, and closed her lips tightly as the lifted more steaming noodles up to her face.
"Open your mouth." He said.
Sakura shook her head stubbornly.
"Open your mouth." Itachi repeated, with more force this time. "Or I shall do it for you."
"Fuck off." Sakura said under her breath. She yelped as the noodles burned her lips, and Itachi shoved them in her open mouth then closed it for her.
"Chew."
Sakura stared at the ceiling, counting the cracks in the white plaster. She was at a hundred and twelve when the door opened and Itachi stepped into the room, holding a book. He looked at her briefly, his sharingan activated as it always was, decided her chakra was still too low to drain, and sat down in his chair. Sakura watched him curiously, wondering what he was reading and then deciding she didn't care. Itachi raised one eyebrow when he noticed her attention.
"Are you curious?" he asked, returning to his book.
Sakura ignored him and forced herself to look at the ceiling again. For a few moments, it was silent in the room, save for the occasional whusp of paper as Itachi turned the pages.
"What are you reading?" Sakura asked finally, tired of trying to ignore the man.
"A book." Itachi replied, still not looking up from the pages. The corners of his mouth twitched, as if he was trying to keep from smiling.
"I can see that." Sakura rolled her eyes.
Itachi did not elaborate further, his eyes scanning the words on the page, completely in his own world.
Sakura huffed lightly, wishing the man wasn't one of so few words. Bored out of her skull, she stared at the ceiling again, but she had forgotten which cracks she counted and lost interest quickly. She tried to find other things to count: the number of spiders in the room (she gave up on that after counting ten—she loathed spiders), how many pages Itachi had turned (she stopped counting when she realized he could sense her staring in his direction), and how many breaths she took (she stopped when she realized how boring it was).
Two hours later—she thought it was, she had no way to tell time in this room because the lone window had been boarded up from the inside and the cracks between the boards had been sealed—she decided to try and make nice with her warden.
"Why did you join Akatsuki?" she blurted out, unable to think of anything else to ask. She regretted not thinking it through when he raised his eyebrows so high that they disappeared beneath his scratched out hitai-ate. He seemed to think on the question, as if he hadn't really considered it himself.
He decided on an answer, "Because I needed somewhere to go." He set the book down on his lap and folded his hands on top of it. "Why do you care so much about a demon?" His tone was curious but mocking at the same time, as if he thought her question was trite.
Sakura gritted her teeth, tired of hearing Naruto referred to as a demon's vessel. "He's not a demon." She said firmly. "He is my closest friend. Not that you would know anything about those." That last sentence she muttered under her breath, so low she thought he wouldn't hear.
For once, she had misjudged her enemy. Itachi's eyes flashed dangerously, and he disappeared, only to reappear in front of her, the kunai in his hand pricking her neck.
"Do not speak lightly of matters you know nothing about, kunoichi." He hissed. Sakura's eyes widened in shock; nothing she had ever heard could have indicated that he would react this way. "You may be the Hokage's apprentice, but you know nothing of your village."
Sakura did not reply; she knew she wasn't supposed to. She was, however, curious about his reaction and his choice of words. What did he mean she 'knew nothing of her village'? She knew everything—or close to everything—about Konoha. She knew its streets, its people, the restaurants, the way it was run. She knew which genin would pass the graduation exam, who would—or would not—pass the chunin exam. She knew she could pass the ANBU exam with ease, but she chose not to because it would mean she could no longer work with what remained of Team 7.
Itachi withdrew the kunai from her neck and left the room without another word, uncharacteristically slamming the door shut. Not a minute after, Kisame entered the room with Samehada and mercilessly withdrew all her chakra until she didn't even have enough to keep herself awake. She slipped into unconsciousness, her mind still trying to process what Itachi had meant.
The pattern of feeding and starving went on, in a cycle of two days no food; one day, food. Sakura tried her best to keep from being fed, but the Uchiha was good at force-feeding prisoners, and she was a novice at resisting force-feeding.
She was only allowed out of her chair three times a day to go to the bathroom. She wasn't allowed to shower, and she stank. Her hair was lank and greasy and in her face constantly and she wished she hadn't allowed it to grow out in the five years since Sasuke's defection. Finally,two weeks later, when she could stand it no longer, "Let me take a shower, Uchiha."
Itachi was in his chair reading a book as usual, the small light fixture in the ceiling casting just enough light to read by. He straightened at the request, given through gritted teeth, and set the book down in the chair after he had gotten to his feet.
"You have not given me any reason to trust you." He said, blinking slowly, letting her know through the tone of his voice and his body language that he was not going to allow her that much unsupervised free time unless she offered him something in return.
"You don't need to trust me." Sakura snapped. "Look at me! I'm filthy as fuck and I have less chakra than even the academy students! What the hell am I going to do?"
Itachi regarded her calmly then left the room.
Sakura spat curses out at him as he left and wished the chair wasn't deadbolted to the floor.
Two minutes later, Itachi returned, bearing a towel, a bottle of shampoo, soap, and a razor.
"You have ten minutes." He said, untying her and leading her across the hall to a bathroom only large enough to hold a toilet, a bathtub, and a sink; she sighed as she realized there wasn't a window. "I advise you not to waste it." Itachi said, shutting the door.
Sakura locked the door and stripped her clothes off before jumping into the shower. The water felt good on her grimy skin, and she exulted in the feeling before remembering her time limit and scrubbing everything down thoroughly and as quickly as she could. At one point, she could have sworn the door opened and closed, but she was certain it was her imagination.
She stepped out of the bathtub five minutes later, feeling much better than she had in awhile, and looked for her clothes.
Gone.
She swore loudly before realizing they had been replaced with a black tanktop, capris, and feminine undergarments—the latter brand new. She squinted suspiciously at them, not wanting to trust anything her captors gave her, but three polite raps on the door quickly turned suspicion into panic.
"One minute." Itachi said flatly, his voice muffled by the wood.
Sakura dressed in record time and opened the door slowly, not wanting to provoke the Uchiha into an attack.
He looked over her new wardrobe, something like approval visible in his eyes.
Sakura wished she had tried to escape when he tied her to the chair again and left her alone in that dismal room again.
Sakura didn't try to start another conversation with Itachi for a week. It wasn't that he had frightened her, but that she had been puzzling over that last cryptic sentence of his, working out what he might have meant. That and he had not given her the opportunity to speak to him for a week; Kisame had been the one sitting in the chair in the corner watching her and feeding her. She ignored him and kept her mind on Itachi. If his joining Akatsuki was somehow connected with his friends—if he had had any—then she might come closer to understanding just why someone would murder their entire family, excluding their little brother.
She decided an apology was probably the best way to ease some of the tension between them when he began to resume his guard duties.
"I'm sorry." She said, looking straight at him. "I was out of line."
He didn't reply but nodded, almost imperceptibly.
Sakura welcomed that nod and decided to wait a little bit longer before she probed into the matter of the Uchiha massacre.
"Are you willing to cooperate, kunoichi?" Itachi asked, as he had every three or four days since her capture.
"You should know by now what my answer is going to be, Uchiha." Sakura snapped. She was more irritable than usual because not only had Itachi tightened the ropes tying her wrists and ankles to the chair, but he had woken her from the first deep sleep she'd had in awhile.
"You are being unnecessarily difficult." He informed her, standing in front of her because he knew it annoyed her that he held her life in his hands.
"No more than you would be if the enemy captured you." She retorted, staring at his nose and mouth and avoiding his eyes.
He smirked at her and Sakura was suddenly reminded of Sasuke.
"Has she agreed to cooperate with us yet?" Pein asked, his hologram shimmering in the cave of sealing. The other members turned to look at Itachi, watching him closely.
"No. She is as stubborn as ever." Itachi said.
"You have had her in your possession for a month now." Pein said slowly. Itachi looked at him, his face wary. Pein was angry. His voice was too controlled, too even. "We could have had the nine-tails by now."
Itachi bowed his head, and Kisame regarded him curiously. He knew Itachi was deliberately trying to keep the girl in good condition—but for what? Kisame hadn't been allowed near her except when necessary, that is, when her chakra levels were getting too high for safety. Itachi was with her the rest of the time, doing, as far as he could tell, absolutely nothing to hurry her decision along. More than once, Kisame had wanted to slam him against the wall and demand to know why he hadn't used Tsukiyomi on the girl, why he wasn't using the sharingan to force her to make a decision. They couldn't keep her indefinitely; even though he and Itachi had contrived a fake battle field with enough blood to convince the other leaf shinobi she was dead, they couldn't be certain they had fooled everyone. The sooner they got her to join them, the better.
"I am sending Hidan and Kakuzu to convince her. You and Kisame are relieved of this mission."
"No." Itachi said suddenly, and there were more than a few startled gasps from the other members.
"What did you say?" Pein asked slowly, narrowing his eyes.
"Pein-sama, with respect, neither Hidan nor Kakuzu will be able to convince her. They resort to methods that will only make her more determined to resist. Allow me one more week. If, at the end of that time, she has not acquiesced, I will remove myself from the mission and allow Hidan and Kakuzu to take command." Itachi said then waited. Kisame gave him a calculating glance then turned to see what Pein's reaction would be.
Pein regarded Itachi carefully, then nodded. "One week. No more than that."
Itachi bowed to Pein, "Thank you, Pein-sama."
Pein jerked his chin up, letting Itachi know he had heard, then turned the conversation toward the next order of business. "Leaf shinobi have infiltrated Rain country. I think it is safe to assume they are searching for her."
"How close are they to our base?" Hidan asked, his hands twitching almost imperceptibly. He was shifting on his feet; he had a lust for blood that rivaled Kisame's and he knew he and Kakuzu would probably be the ones sent after the invaders.
"They are closer to the base Itachi and Kisame are in at the moment. But as they are caring for our prisoner, you and Kakuzu will be the ones to eliminate them." Pein paused. "The group is comprised of Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, a boy who fights using ink paintings, and a man capable of using the first hokage's mokuton jutsu. They have been sent to confirm the death of your prisoner."
"Apparently you didn't do so well faking her death, un." Deidara said gleefully, always eager for a chance to needle Itachi and Kisame.
Itachi and Kisame ignored the blonde arsonist while Hidan and Tobi burst into laughter.
"Hidan, Kakuzu, be sure and eliminate them quickly." Pein said.
With that, all nine members of Akatsuki ended the jutsu that placed their astral bodies in the cave of sealing and returned to their original bodies.
Kisame immediately turned to his partner. "We have a week to convince her to cooperate. You know what Pein will do if we fail."
Itachi nodded. He had already come up with a plan.
Sakura was asleep when he entered the room, an event that was becoming more and more common as she grew used to his and Kisame's presences. He seated himself in his chair and waited, knowing she never remained asleep for long when he was in the room.
Sure enough, five minutes later, she jerked awake. Itachi stood quietly and strode across the room, withdrawing a kunai from the beige pouch at his hip as he did so. Sakura's eyes widened, she thought he was going to kill her; she jerked back and nearly gave herself whiplash.
"Your teammates are here in Rain." Itachi said. "You still have not agreed to cooperate, so I will make you a deal."
"What kind of deal?" she asked, eyeing the kunai he was twirling on his index finger warily.
"I will give you three days. No more, no less. You must find your team in that time. If I catch you first, you must join Akatsuki. If you find them, you are free. If you don't and if I haven't caught you yet, you still must join Akatsuki." Itachi pushed some chakra into his ring. "Agreed?"
"Yes." Sakura said, her eyes glittering with excitement.
Itachi pressed his ring to her forehead, leaving a small chakra seal on her forehead. "This will hold you in place when your time runs out." He cut the ropes binding her to the chair. "Your time begins now. I will allow you an hour's start."
Sakura did not bother attacking him but summoned what little chakra she had and broke the wall out and leaped outside. Kisame entered the room seconds later, Samehada in his hands. "What he hell did you just do, Itachi?!"
"I made her an offer she could not refuse." Itachi said simply. "Wait with me for a spell and then we will go after her. She will not get far in her condition."
Kisame stared at Itachi, his beady white eyes shocked and angry. "If she escapes, Pein will have our heads."
"Then I suggest we do not let her escape." Itachi said, smiling.
A/N: This is my way of apologizing for such a long hiatus (and also a way to procrastinate on homework until school is done and I can start fixing up my otherr stories). You guys wanted an ItaSaku, and here it is—Part of it at least. I'm planning on making this into a two or threeshot. So here's the first chapter :) Read & Review!