Chapter 2:
It was hard to imagine the pretty Itachi carrying a dying girl miles upon miles until the group reached a small cave, a very small cave. If you would have asked the kunoichi, she would have laughed and denied even the humor of thought, so she chose to imagine the shark-faced tyrant, Kisame.
The odd-looking man was speaking to her, his razor-edged teeth sparkling with the suns reflection. His small black eyes had crow's feet ebbing from the corners as he smiled. She may have assumed it was a comforting gesture, despite its animalistic appearance.
"Kunoichi?"
That grin in his voice one again was taunting her to speak; however, her throat was sore, her mouth was dry and it seemed as if her lips had been glued shut, Haruno Sakura was dehydrating.
"She will die…"
Jade looked towards the other man, Uchiha Itachi. Despite everything he had done to Sasuke, she could not hate him like she had believed she did in the past. He had a coldness in his eyes that proved he could be a malicious adversary. In spite of the chills and luminous appearance, in her groggy state, she saw the beauty; the sliky smooth look of his hair tied back in a low ponytail and the ivory color of flesh that seemed to coat his structure perfectly. Sakura Haruno suddenly hoped the reason she noticed was because she was dying of bloodloss and dehydration.
She lightly feathered his name in her head as she stared at the shorter smaller man converse with the overgrown shark-hybrid. Her fingers shifted slightly without her knowledge. A twange jerked harshly in her chest and she felt the words trickle from her bloodmatted chapped lips.
"Uh-chii-ha…" The words were spoken so quietly, so softy that they were scarcely heard.
Itachi's gaze shifted ever so slightly, spared her a glance. His smooth façade did not reveal the surprise he felt at her ability to speak, despite it being sluggish and drawled out. He simply flicked a delicated finger in her direction and Kisame took the hint, catching the girls chin in his hand and tilting the cup.
The liquid seeped past her teeth, across her tounge and down her throat.
Heaven, it felt like heaven as it touched the sore muscles in her mouth, the savory sweet salvation of the substance made her want to swoon, however, she was in no condition to move much less be charmed by a mere offering of water from an enemy.
The corners of her lips twitched ever so slightly, but not so much that the Akatsuki member didn't notice. He tilted his head to the side and gave a boyish grin before he refilled the small cup and put it back to her burning lips.
She glared slightly at him.
"Kisame…we will keep her…" Itachi's eyebrows rose in mock-humor as he watched her gaze shift from his partner to himself. Her expression falling from irritation to horror. He leaned forward, his arm extending to grasp her hair and perhaps pull it, or so she assumed. Something slipped from her hair, causing her bangs to fall into her eyes. He was smiling slightly now, his hands holding her preciaous hitaite. The connection that proved who she was a daughter to. Her back went ridged.
"Oneday, you will make your own choice…until then, this is mine." He smirked slightly, placing the forehead protector inside his Akatsuki cloak.
She attempted a growl, it failed as she realized her fatigue and collapsed against the other mans shoulder. Her head was light and her breath felt as if it burned her lungs. The water they supplied had started its breakdown process in order to nutrate her dehydrated body. She attempted to clench her fists, her hands twitched.
Kisame laughed and stood, her body slamming into the uneven floor of the cave. A small noise of pain bubbled from her parted lips as she lay with her face slightly in the dirt. The small pebbles and rocks struck and dug deep into any abused flesh it could find.
A light sound stole her attention from the papers before her. Shifting slightly in her chair she eyed the door, "Come in."
The door clicked and shifted slowly, catching the blonde's attention.
"Lady Tsunade?"
The Anbu officer was before her in an instant causing her to stand from her seat, her fists on her desk.
"Report…"
Something was amiss, she felt the swift formation of chills shiver their way down her spine, making her cringe unnoticeably; something would pose a threat to her current plan for Konoha.
"Mission, failure, Sasuke was not apprehended…he escaped…and…"
She watched the figure before her, noticing him slightly change weight on his feet, shifting ever so often. She silently took in his hidden thoughts from mhis demeanor, not capable of seeing his face through his animal mask.
"And?"
"Your apprentice…she in unaccounted for Hokage…I apologize for the inconvenience…" He had his hands behind his back fiddling with his fingers thinking of anything except the wrath of the female Sannin he was surely about to be on the receiving end of. He was shocked when she dropped heavily into her seat, her head in her hands with her elbows on her desk.
"Hokage?"
"It's nothing…" The darkness in her voice almost made his body freeze.
"What would you like me to do?" He spoke carefully realizing he was on thin ground.
Suddenly, she was out of the stupor, once again on her feet, "File a missing-nin report, and get me Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi. I want three squads out looking for Sakura as well; if she was taken I want to know who by and at what extent."
"Yes ma'am!" With that the Anbu officer was gone, the door closing behind him.
When he disappeared she frowned and dropped back into her chair. Her eyes closed and she put her cheek in her palm.
"Sakura, Sakura, Sakura…Kami. Please Kami, watch over her."
Thunder bellowed and the first signs of rain pelted the the Hidden Village of Leaves.
"Onna…"
Her vision was swimming. She didn't know if it as from the blood loss and dehydration or if it was due to the onslaught of rain outside the slight crevice of a cave.
"Aren't you friends with the nine tails?"
His voice was rough yet smooth like silk and it sent chills down her spine. She refused to answer him, he as an enemy. She was no traitor to Konoha.
"Onna?"
She furrowed her brows; a headache was pressuring its way into her system.
"Oi, its Sakura, Haruno Sakura…"
(A.N. *sigh* am tired…)
