(edited 17/01/2013)

This was inspired by the number of people who had voted Ichimaru x Sakura in my story River of Tears, and I liked the idea, and at the time I wasn't sure if it was going to be a pairing or not (I still don't), so I wrote this instead. I hope it is still liked, though. :D

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach.

ATTRACTED TO TRAITORS
—CHAPTER ONE—

"What the heck happened to you?"

He languidly rolled his eyes over to the entrance of the small cave, seeing the silhouette of a figure that was undoubtedly female. Her arms were crossed over her chest, holding something against her body which he couldn't quite see. The sun behind her was blinding him and he blearily looked away, grimacing.

"Got in a little fight," Ichimaru replied grimly, coughing. His voice was raw and felt coarse against his throat as he spoke; it felt like he hadn't spoken in ages, or perhaps it was the amount of blood he kept throwing up.

"'A little'?" the woman asked. He heard her sigh in annoyance before she approached him – cautiously, he noted – and level herself to his height. He was currently leaning against the wall of the cave, his white robes stained entirely in blood; his blood. She put her bag on the ground beside her and ran her green eyes over his body.

Ichimaru took the opportunity to inspect this brave girl. She had pink hair – a trait he thought only belonged to Yachiru – and bright, green apple-coloured eyes that were currently narrowed at him, or more specifically, his wounds. He watched, interested, as she hovered her fingers over his torso, where the brunt of the attack was moments before. How... did she know?

She slipped into some sort of mode straight away. She rolled up her sleeves and began tugging on his clothes. He hissed, snatching up her wrist and leaning off the wall. "What are you doing?" He didn't want to be trifled with. He was still dangerous, perhaps even more so when wounded, so why was she playing with death?

To Ichimaru's surprise, the pinkette merely matched his glare. He was a little disturbed to see that her eyes, ones that he thought would have held comfort and sincerity, were also brash and strict. "I'm healing you, idiot," she snapped, ripping her wrist out of his grip and roughly pushing him back against the wall.

Gin winced, his back coming in contact with a piece of rock jutting out. His shoulder that she had touched went suddenly numb and he found that he couldn't be bothered lifting a hand to even stop her from tearing off his clothes; not his pants, at least. He tried to ignore her feathery touches and strokes across his abdomen as she worked feverishly on the open wound. He found the sensation of his skin knitting under the green glowing orb below her palm to be quite relaxing, despite it giving him sharp pricking pains as though he was stabbed repeatedly with a pin. And all through the hour she was there, bending over his torso and healing his wound with an ability he found intriguing, he kept his tired lidded eyes on her face.

She was frowning the entire time, in clear concentration, and for his own life, he chose not to harm her; even though it was tempting to toy with her. She'd occasionally wipe her brow and glance at his face, as though checking that he was still awake, and he couldn't help but notice that every now and then her healing process would waver slightly. She was tired.

As soon as he saw his white skin finally knit, and ignoring the smears of blood across his stomach and clothes, he grabbed her wrist before she continued. She flinched at the contact, and he attempted to warm his lightning blue eyes. "Thank you." He groaned as he stretched his back and pushed her hand away. "You didn't need to."

"It's an instinct for a medic to heal those wounded."

Gin raised an eyebrow. "Oh. Even though you don't know them?" She nodded; he snorted. "What if they're… the bad guy?"

"You're obviously not bad enough, otherwise you'd be well-known around here," she retorted, rising to her feet but ending up kneeling onto the floor again, her joints a little weak. She manoeuvred herself to the wall beside him, flicking her fringe out of her green eyes before she massaged her knees.

"Where is here?" Ichimaru asked, propping his head back against the stone wall, wincing when he stretched his torso. She snapped a glare at him, hissing at him not to move just yet.

"Where have you been the last hundred years?"

He tried not to laugh at the question, considering he had actually been around for that number. Instead, he coughed, genuinely choking on his saliva; she sent him a cautious look. "Here and there."

"Then why would you be considered bad?"

"Answer my initial question."

She paused, confused. "You're in the Fire Country, on the border to Wind."

He stared at her in disbelief, his trademark smile completely erased from his face. "What?"

She leaned back, cocking an eyebrow and crossing her arms. "Seriously? Maybe you hit your head." She pressed the back of her hand to his forehead and then retreated back slowly. "Nope. A slight fever from the loss of blood but… seriously, where do you think you are?"

It hurt to even shrug. "I just ran."

"Ran from what?"

He eyed her for several minutes, taking in her pink hair and angelic face once more. "What's your name?"

She huffed, annoyed that he avoided the question. "You think I'm going to tell you that? You state you're a bad person, you have no idea where you are and you have the strangest hints of energy I've ever seen."

"Shouldn't that be all the more reason to tell me? I need a medic, because after all, I'm sick. And I don't know where I am." His grin returned.

Scowling, she turned away from him, crossing her arms over each other and resting them on her bent legs. He watched as she surveyed the cave, her eyes taking in every nook and cranny that the small shelter provided. Why? He looked around quickly too, trying to see what she was thinking or looking at.

"My name is Sakura Haruno."

He raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Sakura."

"Don't say it."

He chuckled but relented nonetheless, resting his head back onto the stone. She was referring to the fact that her name suited her well; very well. Only, she didn't realise that the name reminded him a lot of Byakuya Kuchiki as well.

"I'm currently on a mission, so you will have to reside here until either you are healed or when I have finished." He fought the urge to pout, not loving the idea of having to be stuck in a leaky cave. Instead, he asked her about what type of mission it was. "It's confidential. Can't have you leaking information, can I?" He gestured to his wounds with the nod of his head, as if saying that there was no way he'd be able to give the info anyway. Sakura shrugged. "Precautions."

The two were quiet, and the pinkette would occasionally heal some small grazes here and there on both their bodies. "What are you?" Gin asked, suddenly.

Sakura widened her eyes slightly, leaning back from his chest where there was an assortment of scratches that she was currently healing. "A ninja?"

"You say it as a question. Do you not know what you are?" he teased.

"No! I mean, yes! I mean—I know what I am!" Sakura screamed in his face, fists clenched.

Ichimaru chuckled. "My, my. You've got a nasty temper there. Ow!" He yelped when she punched his arm hard; this only confirmed his thoughts.

"Shut up!" He would have laughed again if he wasn't busy nursing his numb arm again. She certainly packed a punch, that was for sure; unless she added something else to it. "What's your name anyway?!"

He grinned. "Gin Ichimaru."

"And what are you?" she hissed accusingly, healing the chest wounds again, her eyebrows knitted.

The silver-head pondered how to answer the question, thinking back to what had happened mere hours ago. The Captain shinigami had killed many of the opposing hollows, including Tousen and the recent Aizen. He was the only one to survive but not without a price. He had suffered life damaging blows, which he was surprised that Sakura could heal, so he made a mental note to thank her, and somehow, he didn't know how, he escaped. Escaped to here. Wherever here was, that is.

He felt his pride dissolve into dust as he replied monotonously back, "I'm nothing."

Sakura scoffed, not looking him in the eyes yet. "No one is nothing. Wait… well, there are some people who are nothing but I highly doubt you're it."

"Oh really." He frowned. "And who do you know that makes you classify them as nothing?"

She paused, hesitation in her hands and expression as she too pondered how to answer. After a few minutes, she pressed her fingertips back onto his chest and continued healing. "An… old friend of mine. I, um…" she shook her head violently. "No."

"No, you won't tell, or no, you classified him wrong?"

"No, I won't tell."

"Aww, why not?"

"Ichimaru!" He quietened to a smile, his eyes squinting just like years ago as he watched her work. "Far out, you remind me of my teammate. The eyes, the whining, the teasing."

"We're everywhere," he replied sardonically.

Sakura laughed, lines of mirth appearing beside her eyes. "How old are you anyway?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Humour me."

"Over a hundred."

She looked him in the eyes and he half expected her to demand an explanation but she merely smiled goofily. "You look pretty good for your age."

Gin frowned. "You don't believe me."

Sakura waved a hand at him, stretching as she moved back against the cave wall beside him, the wound on his chest almost completely healed. "I didn't say that. I've seen some pretty young looking fifty years old running around and still able to kick major butt."

"It's in your body language."

"Fine. A hundred is stretching it. Try something a little more believable if you want to fit in around here."

Gin sighed in exasperation. "Mid-twenties."

She nodded. "That's better. I'm twenty-two." She gave him that goofy grin of hers again.

"My, my, Blossom." She blushed to the hair roots at the nickname, whether it was out of anger or embarrassment, he didn't know. "For someone who is taking precautions with information, you seem to be getting rather close to me." She scowled instantly, her face going from adorable to scary in seconds. Gin turned serious as well. "So choose, am I your enemy? Or your patient?"

He waited.

"My patient."

Gin's face lit up like a light bulb. "Great!" Sakura laughed, shaking her head and resting it back on the wall like he did before. She nudged her bag with her feet, clearly not bothered to collect it again. He heard the tinkling of metal on metal when she hit the leather carry bag though, and his thoughts went back to what she had mentioned before. "Ninja, eh?"

She nodded tiredly.

"What's your mission?" He only noticed then that her attire was ideal for fighting and wondered what she was up to.

"Classified."

Against her wishes, the next day, when she had left, Gin decided to move about, testing his healed skin. His body was incredibly sore though, which made him debate whether he should get up or not, but the sun outside was more than welcoming and he managed to wobble over to the entrance of the cave without too much hassle. The warm sunlight on his face was like heaven – oh, the irony – so he had spent much of the day outside, looking over the lush forest before him. Sakura wasn't lying when she explained the countries. He could feel the heat come from the south-west where the desert was, carried in the passing wind.

What annoyed him the most, however, was that his thoughts always trailed back to Sakura. He tried constantly to avoid thinking of her when he had caught himself doing it again for around the millionth time several hours before, but she never left his mind. The fact that he was near death not long ago would have made him a little anxious but in fact the very opposite happened.

Gin's thoughts were jostled as soon as he felt another aura nearby. He narrowed his eyes, his smile receding. The stranger was heading straight for him.

His skin was rather tanned, and his pointed face was framed by black locks that shaded over onyx eyes. His hair was shoulder length, tufted up at the back slightly, and he was garbed in a loose black shirt that exposed his chest, along with navy pants and shoes. Gin noted the katana at his side excitedly. However, he was slightly miffed as the man strolled up to him, confident in his steps as he peered into the cave behind the silver-head. Gin blinked. "Something you need?"

The stranger crossed his arms. "She has been here. Tell me where she went." It was a demand, and Gin didn't take too well to them.

He frowned, all signs of mirth and teasing erased from his face. This stranger seemed to know that Sakura was around the immediate area not long ago. But this man… what did he want with her? The grimace remained on his face for a few seconds before he smiled broadly, eyes squinting. The other man narrowed his brow. "Oh. You mean my medic?" No harm in playing a little.

"It doesn't matter to me what she is to you. Where is she?"

"Tut tut. What makes you think I'll yield to your demand?" His wounds… would he be able to fight if it was necessary? He stretched slightly and felt a little pain but not too much.

Yes. He could.

"I will not hesitate to harm you; a wounded man," he responded.

Gin shrugged in indifference. "You seem to be under the illusion that I care." Excitement surged through him as the other grabbed the hilt of his katana, and in reaction, Gin trailed over the weavings of his own at his waist – he, of course, wouldn't move anywhere without it. "Can I at least know the name of the one I am fighting?"

His opponent unsheathed his katana slowly, drawing outs its length and brandishing it in the glinting sunlight. "Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha." He paused. "And what is yours?"

Ichimaru parted his grinning lips to respond.

"Gin! We have to leave now!" Sakura's fearful voice flooded the field and she suddenly burst from the foliage, kunai nipping at her heels and sticking into the dirt as they missed. "Why are you standing?!" She shook her head, sprinting up to him. "Never mind, but we have to go!"

"It would have been smarter, Sakura, if you did not lead your enemy towards him," Sasuke responded coolly, his katana veered a little more towards the trees than to Gin. Said man blinked as Sakura whirled around, yelping. He watched curiously as her fists formed and her lips twisted into a snarl.

"Sasuke."

Kunai and shuriken zeroed in on her once more and she flipped over them, landing beside Gin, her vision still narrowed in on the Uchiha as she helped the wounded man onto his feet. He felt like a ragdoll as she lifted him; she was quite strong all of a sudden.

"I take it your two know each other?" Gin asked, gesturing to the both of them.

Sakura scowled. "There's no time for reminiscing. Let's go!"

An explosion.

The stone wall crumbled around her gloved fist. She heaved as she glared menacingly at the Uchiha who was standing a little to the side, his usual cocky expression on his face.

Rats. She missed.

Gin, who was leaning against the trunk of a massive tree, sighed, pressing his fingers to his throbbing wound. Running was definitely not a good idea, and he relented to the fact that perhaps goading the Uchiha into a fight wasn't one of his brightest ideas before. "Now, now, Sakura. Don't give ourselves away."

"Who is he?" Sasuke asked, flicking his head in the shinigami's direction.

Sakura scowled. "My patient. And while we're on the subject, don't you dare lay a hand on him."

Ichimaru's smile became lopsided. "Shouldn't the man in the relationship be saying that?"

"Shut up!" His grin widened. "Sasuke, what do you want?" she snapped, arms crossed and eyes blaring with fire. However, his eyes were trained on the wounded silver-head against the tree. "Sasuke!"

He didn't move his line of sight as he replied. "I need your help."

"My answer is no."

"Wow, such hostility," Gin sang in the background.

Sasuke growled. "Keep your nose out of this!" He spoke to his ex-teammate next. "Please."

Sakura took a step back, lips tight. "And since when did the great Sasuke Uchiha ever lower himself to manners?" She seemed proud at the fact that she got to the avenger. He had clenched his hands and prepared to swing one at her, only to stop mid-strike after realising that harming her would not help him at all.

"You've become a snarky bitch since the downfall of Konoha's council; the last time I saw you."

"And you're just a waste of space," she replied smoothly. He stiffened, while Gin watched in amusement.

Sasuke shifted, as if ready to turn to leave but decided against it at the last moment. He looked Sakura in the eye. "Why?"

"I may have accepted it before Sasuke, but after many years, I've grown out of it. I don't help traitors."

Gin felt his insides grow cold at her words. She… didn't know that he had betrayed his home as well. He looked away from the two old friends, directing his gaze to the lush grass he was resting on. If she knew… what would she do?

It didn't matter. He had decided. Telling her was not an option. He just… wanted to start a new life. He had a hunch that the shinigami in Soul Society did not know where he went at all, and while they'd be searching for him, worrying that he'd cause mayhem, they'd eventually give in, or in the very least be on the lookout.

He was safe while he was here; in these new, unfamiliar countries. With ninja. With her.

The fact that he was thinking of her in such an… affectionate way made Gin felt like stabbing himself. She had saved his life. That was all. And, now, all he wanted to do was thank her. But how?

At least a week had passed. Sasuke had been pestering Sakura for the first half before he finally had the common sense to leave her alone – but also because Gin was getting much better and was releasing spiritual pressure that gave the Uchiha (and, regrettably, Sakura) bleeding ears, but it was worth it to see him show at least an ounce of fear. And so, therefore, the rest of the week was Sakura and Gin.

To say he didn't like it would be a lie. He found himself enjoying the time she was around but was irritable that she was taking him back to Konoha. He did not want to go to some village that sounded too much like a goody-two-shoes one. Nope. He did not. So behind the scenes he had been plotting.

However, he still wanted to repay her somehow. Someway.

Sakura collapsed onto her bed, still in her work clothes. She sighed in content as she closed her lids, her eyes aching from the lack of sleep for the past six days. She had arrived in Konoha two days ago, feeling disheartened that Gin had suddenly disappeared two days before. She hadn't spoken much to anyone, only muttering a few words here and there and mustering up the odd one or two sentences to Naruto. Otherwise, for lack of better word, she was bleurgh.

The white curtains in her room fluttered in the wind that came through her window, and Sakura shifted slightly, smelling a familiar scent. Smoke. She groggily lifted her lids, her vision blurry before sharpening.

She screamed, recoiling back on her bed so that she almost fell off the side. There, hanging over her mannequin that had her white and red robe on it, was a turquoise green sash. The fine ends danced in the gentle wind, as if giving greetings.

Her heart jolting against her ribcage, Sakura scanned her room frantically, hoping to catch sight of the man who had left her breathless – not that he knew or anything. She was disappointed to find that there was no sign of him ever being in her room but the green sash that he had worn around his lean waist, and the smell of smoke. She inwardly hoped he hadn't set anything alight besides a simple fire.

Smiling cheesily to herself and feeling more awake than she had been two days ago, Sakura crawled off her bed and stole her way to the sash, picking the end up in her slender fingers and marvelling in how the material felt against her skin. She surveyed the tear on one end, giggling to herself when she trailed her fingertips over the cotton line when she saw that he had attempted to sow it back up haphazardly. It was obvious he had given up halfway, as there were some cotton strings still untied. She slipped it off the mannequin and sat down on the floor, staring dazedly at the piece of cloth. It was soft and smooth, and she couldn't help but blush that it belonged to him.

She didn't know what he was trying to say by giving her this but she loved it anyway.