OK I don't own. Now on with the show!

Sakura woke one day and found herself face to face with a red eyed man, much older than her, looming over her. He had dark hair that was pulled back in a pony tail and he wore a black cloak with red clouds sewed on it. Itachi...

"Ah, so you're awake. Good." He turned away from the pink haired girl and repainted his black nails. Sakura tried to move her fist, but found both her arms chained above her on the soft bed. Damn…at least I still have my clothes. She glared up at him.

"Why am I here? You tried to kill Gaara and went after Naruto twice, but why am I here?" She spat. Really, she had no idea how she got there. All she remembered was…

Flash Back

"Take a day off, Sakura. You earned it," her teacher smiled at her. She nodded and left for her now empty home. Her parents died a while back, so she's been sharing a place with Naruto and Kakashi. It wasn't so bad; she learned both of their Justus and perfected them. Naruto said she was a good rival for him when he became Hokage.

A hawk had come and dropped a message on the ground in front of her door. Startled, she opened it and saw a chilling message. The black ink was smudged in a few places…

Ah, Saku--. I am ever so pleased to see you got this message and even more that you took time to read it. Sasuke is doing well and Orochimaru isn't --. He seems to have had an over dose in poison…and it seems it has killed him rather --. I do hope you understand, my dear, that I have taken his place. And, unlike that old fool, I see who is REALLY the strongest of your little squad.

Sasuke will be coming back. He still wants to kill his brother, yet he still doesn't --… It looks to him Orochimaru is no longer a power source. He will be back…and you will get a BIG surprise when--.

Oh, one last thing. Beware of the fire in --. Do not test me, Girl; I will not have my plans fail me! Now, see the little tear? Good. You must not -- it. Uchiha sent that warning.

Your soon to be --, Kabuto



Sakura looked at the little rip in the bottom of the page. Curious, she stroked her finger over it. The rough paper sliced her finger and a single drop of blood fell to the worn out sheet. She looked at it for a moment, puzzled. Sure, she had paper cuts before, but did they always burn?

Her whole finger burned! She tried to heal it, but it just didn't work! Her hand felt like it was on fire, and it soon crept up her arm. Her neck felt increasingly painful, especially above her left shoulder blade. It hurt so very badly…she blacked out.

End Flash back

Itachi looked down from his emo nails.Red met green and it sure as hell wasn't Christmas. To her surprise, he smiled. A real smile! It was small, barely there, but it was there all right.

"Why, protecting you of course. That is one nasty curse mark… Worse than my brother's. Where did you acquire such a thing?" Sakura looked at him in disbelief. Protecting her? Curse mark? Acquire? Who said that anymore?!

"Ah, your face tells me everything. You have no idea what is going on, do you, Haruno?" Itachi blew hot air onto his nails. Sakura yanked hard on her chains, only hurting herself in the process.

"That doesn't make any sense! And why would you protect me? You tried to kill some of my best friends! AND even if you were, WHY the HELL am I CHAINED TO A BED?!" she yelled, and then winced as her neck burned. Itachi looked amused. Silently, he undid her chains and handed her a mirror. Grudgingly, she accepted it. She looked at her neck.

What's with THIS?!

I don't know…how long have I had this tattoo?

Curse mark. The inner self corrected. Sure enough, a mark in the shape of three claw marks was on her once unmarked neck.

"Hn. Itachi, she can look at herself all day and it won't change a thing. Kabuto put a seal on her, you know that. Stop acting like a Big Brother." A dark voice said from a corner in the room. Sakura looked around the dark gray walls, seeing no doors or windows. Just a few shadows, a table, a few beds, Sasuke Uchiha, a mini fridge…wait what?

"S-Sasuke?" She hated how her voice sounded. So shrill and girly. Isn't that why she trained so very hard? To stop all that wining and crying?

"Stop it now. I know what you're thinking about yourself right now. No, I don't think you are weak or pitiful anymore. In fact, you're very powerful now..." Sasuke's jaw met Sakura's fist.

"How dare you! It never crossed my mind what you or Itachi think of me! I just wanted to make sure it was you." She rubbed the blood off her knuckles. Hey, he needed a demo, right?



"Ah, damn you ARE strong. Even I can't throw him THAT far." Itachi nodded his head, clearly amused by her violent behavior.

"So Sakura….why are the Uchiha brothers with you? Care to explain?"