A/N: Longer chapters now, that's pretty good at least!
Part 2 - "The Rain Falls"
The swirling depths of the Sharingan morphed swiftly to the Mangekyo Sharingan as Itachi prepared to question her. If she didn't comply, he would torment her slowly with the Tsukiyomi. Her jade green eyes widened with fear at the prospect of what Kakashi had warned her about. He had been lost in Itachi's Tsukiyomi for the equivalent of three days, though in the real world it had taken but a second. Bloodshot vessels around his swirling irises spread as the Mangekyo sharpened, the specks of the Sharingan changing to blades. His poise was calm and collected, but her breathing quickened and her heart raced as the impending doom towered in her thoughts.
"Kunoichi... Where is the jinchuuriki now?"
She glared at him from her spot on the wall. He had taken the liberty of chaining her up to a wall in another cell, possibly made for this exact purpose. Her silence persevered and his mouth turned down ever so slightly. Just before his patience could sever, she answered. "I don't know."
He knew she wasn't lying. Chances were good that she truly didn't know. She was on a solo mission and wouldn't need to keep tabs on the boy. Slowly, he approached a bit closer, his captivating glare never ceasing to hold her gaze. The hypnotizing effects of the Sharingan, especially the Mangekyo, were hard to fool. "Leader was kind enough to offer you the chance to aid Akatsuki. He doesn't do this lightly, you know. You would be foolish to pass up such an opportunity."
She struggled against her bonds and bared her teeth angrily. "You bastard... I would never join your sick little organization!"
"Sick?" He almost smirked. His eyebrow almost raised with amusement.
Her expressions were more easily read, quick to anger and never feeling any remorse about showing this vicious side. "Sick! Twisted! All you do is hurt innocent people! You killed your clan! Don't you understand what that did to Sasuke? And the rest of you... all you do is cause misery!"
"Of course. All shinobi kill the innocent. All are subject to missions that cause misery."
"I was never given an order by my superiors to kill a whole clan!"
He held back a retort that he HAD been given such an order. She couldn't understand. Not now. Perhaps not ever. Something like this would go completely over her head. He wasn't here to make her understand the reasons behind his own goals. All he was required to do was force her to aid the Akatsuki, whether she was willing or not. He wasn't unnecessarily harsh, most of the time he wanted things to go as smoothly as possible and with as little effort as needed. If talk was all that was required to gain her trust, then perhaps it was talk she would get. "And what if you were given such an order? Would you follow it? Or would you defy it?"
Her brow contorted angrily. He couldn't understand the way she believed. How could he? This ruthless bastard who killed with no remorse, killing without need, going to great lengths to cause misery with unnecessary measures. "Of course I would defy it! I would never do such a horrible thing!"
His eyebrow raised with amusement. "Not even if your own Hokage told you to?"
She hesitated, taken back by such a difficult thought. "Yes, even if she told me herself, I would never do such a thing."
"So you're saying that instead of completing your assigned mission, you would defy orders and become a missing nin. That is all that could happen after such a bold action, you know. Going against a direct order would label you with treason and you would be banished from the village. And you're saying that you would give up your life as you know it to save a clan? Would you do the same to save a clan of enemy ninjas?"
"Of course not. I would gladly kill enemies of the village!"
"Is that so? Even the children?"
She hesitated again. "If that was necessary... yes. Children of our enemies grow up to become enemy ninja, after all."
"And what if the clan within your village was considered a threat to the village? Would you so easily turn against your former friends and loved ones? If they were considered your new enemies, would you take the order?"
"Aren't you supposed to be asking me questions that get somewhere?" Her mouth contorted into a sneer.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "It's just a hypothetical treachery. I was merely curious. Answer me."
She was silent for a long time, and he awaited her answer patiently. "If I were told to kill an entire clan within the village... if it was proven to me without a doubt that they were enemies of the village... I would follow orders. However..." Her eyes drifted to the floor, breaking the stare. "If I were also given the chance to save my closest friends, to run away... I would take that as well."
It took a good portion of his willpower to not raise his eyebrow at that remark. "As well? So you would execute the proven enemies, and save the ones that you saw fit to survive. That's very cold."
She glared back up at him again, her defiant gaze piercing. "Where do you get off calling me cold? You're the one that killed without looking. You're the one that left only Sasuke alone and enraged, never again knowing the love of his family, never being the same again. What right do you have to criticize me like that?"
"I might ask that same question. You know nothing about what you're saying. You are cold because you see yourself as being a suitable judge of character. You would spare the ones that you saw fit, but who are you to judge what's right and what's wrong?" He had to admit, she was intelligent, but for all that mental power, she had no substance to back it up. She had no idea about how incredibly jaded she has been all her life.
"You have no right to judge such a thing either, you bastard!"
"No, I don't." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "And yet that is what you as a shinobi do for a living. You are given orders by your superior to judge the lives of other shinobi and execute them accordingly. Not only that, but you are paid for services rendered. Shinobi are little more than a transportable court, providing judge, jury and executioner. Who tells us that what we know is right? Your Hokage tells you what to do, and the feudal lords of the fire country are the ones that order these things. When it all comes down to it, we are told what is right and what is wrong by those that hire us. We are not allowed our own personal views or feelings. We are only allowed the mission and the goals of the organizations we work for."
If she chose to look at this objectively, he was completely right. However, an objective outlook wasn't one she was willing to embrace immediately. "You're seriously screwed up."
"Am I?" He came close enough to look her full in the face. "Look at this objectively." He had no idea that this is exactly what she had been struggling with internally and kept on with the tangent. "What do you suppose that civilians in the non-shinobi countries think of us? Do you suppose they only see Akatsuki as the evil organization? Tell me... how many casualties have you caused in non-shinobi countries?"
She winced. "A few..." He had a good point. Sometimes casualties in neutral countries were unavoidable when two rival nations met there in a fateful twist.
"They probably see your group as evil ninjas, stirring up trouble in an area that should have been untouched sanctuary. Akatsuki is no better, of course, we've had our fair share of unsanctioned trouble when hunter nin come after us. Whether you believe that you are good or not, you will always be evil to people outside the shinobi world." He paused, turning off the Sharingan as he edged away from her slowly. "We're through for now." After a moment of hesitation, he turned to her. "Come." He released her bonds with a flick of his hands, his glare beckoning to her. Though she remained untied this time, she knew it was useless to try to escape. Something was still causing her concentration on chakra to elude her.
She followed silently through the hallway, the beveled pillars curling up into an arch. This time he took a different path, not heading for the staircase but to a new hallway. The new hall had been made of stone but had been overlaid with rough plaster and painted a cream color. Small lanterns dotted the walls from time to time, better lit than the dank office of their leader. Heat wafted from an unseen source, chasing away the chilly fog that seemed to cling anywhere that the leader's influence often touched.
The hall turned into a corner at the end, leading to a small kitchen and dining room. At first she hadn't expected the evil, ruthless Akatsuki to have rooms that seemed so... normal. Well, what was she thinking, though? Just because they were an evil organization didn't mean they didn't have the same needs as any other person. Someone had gone to the trouble of painting an enormous mural on the far dining wall, a scene filled with water dwelling birds and mountains. Three other Akatsuki members had been sitting at the table already, meals in front of them and chattering loudly until she entered. She recognized Kisame, then the man next to him as Deidara. The third man was one she didn't recognize, though something about that swirly orange mask seemed oddly familiar. Something to do with the color orange maybe...
Their silence quickly returned to soft chatter when Itachi stared at them nonchalantly, the others still curious but not questioning him. Well, Leader had told him to do as he pleased with the girl. What did they care if he let her wander around? Itachi turned to Sakura and glared, his dark eyes forceful enough even without the Sharingan. "Sit." She glared right back at him for a good minute, the chatter around the table ceasing again as the new show started. Nothing happened in that long, tense moment, both staring patiently at each other, daring one of them to budge. Her stomach interrupted the silent contest, its hungry protests causing her to falter slightly. He took the opportunity to glare harder. "Sit, kunoichi."
She grimaced, her teeth showing. "I'm not your dog to order around!" Even so, she was hungry, and he had probably intended to find something for her to eat. With a huff, she seated herself across from Deidara and Kisame, right next to the stranger. The orange masked man looked her over briefly, though she refused to meet anyone's gaze. He bounced in his seat eagerly and waved at Deidara.
"Deidara-senpai! Who's the pretty girl?"
Her eyes widened with surprise and she turned to stare at this seemingly childish man, a completely baffled expression on her face. Deidara groaned and leaned his elbows on the table, resting his head in his hands. "Tobi, don't you remember? Leader wants to recruit her, yeah."
He turned to look at her again. "Ohhhhhh! Yes, Tobi remembers! Tobi's a good boy." His hand suddenly grabbed a lock of her hair and he turned again to Deidara. "Senpai... Why is her hair pink?"
Deidara's lone blue eye glared up at him maliciously. "How the fuck should I know, yeah?"
Sakura was about to punch both of them out, chakra or no chakra, but they were saved at the last minute by Itachi arriving with two meals. He glared icily at her once again before passing her a plate, seating himself at the end of the table between her and Kisame. The moment she started on her food, Tobi's shenanigans started up again. "Senpai... Where do babies come from?" She almost choked on her mouthful of food and she was coughing and gasping while Deidara's eye bugged out of his head, Kisame gaped, and Itachi's eyebrow twitched. Kisame tried hard to keep from gaping but all it did was make his mouth open and close rapidly, looking more and more like the fish he was. Deidara was currently trying to kill his partner through eye contact alone though it wasn't working. Itachi went back to eating his noodles silently, though the twitch of his brow said everything.
Kisame suddenly recovered and grinned mischievously. "Oi, Tobi, why don't you ask the little medical ninja here? I bet she knows all kinds of things about that, doesn't she?"
Sakura nearly choked yet again and glared at them all scathingly. "Would you all just leave me the fuck alone?"
A new male voice sounded from the hallway as he approached. "Konan, how many times-" The silver haired man paused in the doorway as he saw who it was that was cussing. Someone new? "Who the fuck are you?" His partially opened cloak revealed more skin than most of them were comfortable with and his rosary dangled as he leaned forward curiously.
Itachi answered him softly. "This is the kunoichi you were told about before. Didn't you read the mission report like you were supposed to, Hidan?"
He leaned back up with a cocky tilt of his head, sneering. "Fuck no, Kakuzu takes care of shit like that. What the fuck is up with her hair?"
Deidara thudded his forehead on the table. Honestly, this was too much for him. Sakura had had it with all of them and turned to glare at Hidan, her fiendish expression complementing the words that followed. "What the fuck is up with YOUR hair, you fucking greased back prick?" She could easily match him blow for blow, her anger overwhelming her usually calm demeanor in an instant.
He glared back with just as much hatred and anger, though internally he was amused by the prospect of a good match of words. "You fucking little pink haired bitch, I don't need your damn sass, I just came for some FUCKING TEA ALRIGHT?"
She watched as he huffed and quickly passed behind her to the kitchen, grabbing his tea. With a smirk, she picked up her own cup of tea, eyes closed and hand over her cup thoughtfully. "Well put a damn shirt on next time, you're going to make everyone blind."
He opened his mouth to say something but huffed instead, grimacing and storming out of the room. His cloak fluttered loudly as he exited and Deidara watched after the man, his eyebrow raised slightly with amusement. "You made Hidan speechless, yeah. Hey, what was your name again?"
She finally looked at him. "Sakura."
"Well, Sakura-san... Do you think you can make Tobi shut up too, yeah?" His look was one of an almost desperate pleading, his eyes wide and hopeful. Not that she could blame him. She had been in the room with Tobi for barely five minutes and already she couldn't take it anymore. He frowned, biting his lip nervously.
Speak of the devil... "Senpai... Tobi's a good boy, I'm not doing anything bad. All Tobi wants to know is where-"
Sakura hit him on the head swiftly, her brow furrowed angrily and her form towering over the downed man as she rose from her seat abruptly. "Shut up!"
Deidara sighed with relief and leaned back in his chair, exhausted from the mental stress. Kisame leaned forward on the table and frowned with disappointment. "Aw... What did you go and do that for? Just when things were starting to get fun around here."
Her fiery eyes turned on him accusingly, her fist ready to fly. "Don't make me have to-"
Another Akatsuki member entered abruptly, his brow furrowing as he glared at them. "Hey, shut up, you guys. It's pay day." All of the Akatsuki knew well what pay day meant. It meant don't mess with Kakuzu. Don't blink, don't talk, don't even think. "Itachi, good work." He put a large stack of bills in front of the Uchiha and then another smaller pile in front of Kisame. "Kisame, try to follow the mission objectives a bit more carefully next time. Deidara, you get a bonus from the last mission." He put a stack that was larger than Itachi's down with a touch of remorse, sad to see such an amount go. "Tobi..." He set down a very small stack in front of the final member. "Better luck next time."
Tobi looked down dejectedly. "Tobi was bad?"
Kakuzu merely shrugged. "Well, you've been letting Deidara do all the work, it's only right that he gets the bonus for the three-tails." His glowing green eyes looked up at the last person at the table, remembering her from the mission statement that Hidan had neglected. "Haruno-san." He was neutral and polite, ignoring the fact that she was still standing with an angry look on her face. Tobi did that to people, after all. He waved casually to the group as he exited, leaving to find the rest of the members for pay day.
As soon as the man left, Deidara snatched up his pay eagerly. "Hey, I got a bonus! That never happens, yeah. I haven't had a bonus since the Ichibi, yeah."
Tobi glanced again at Sakura, remembering her punch and trying to be more careful. "Sakura-san, will you come visit Tobi again?"
She choked back a "Not if I can help it" and changed it to "I'm sorry, I don't think I can."
Itachi spoke up, his voice quiet but always so intense. "There's no reason why you couldn't. Leader-sama said that I may do with you as I please. If you wish to visit Tobi sometime, it could be arranged."
Tobi jumped up from his seat anxiously. "You really mean that Itachi-senpai?"
Itachi replied calmly. "She can't escape. The bonds on her chakra usage will remain in place, and there is always someone here to keep an eye on her. There's no reason she can't be free to come and go through the compound. She could visit you any time she wants."
The annoying man glomped Sakura suddenly, hugging tight. "Tobi is so happy, Sakura-san! Now you can see Tobi whenever you want! Tobi wants to see you every day!" She glared at Itachi, really wishing SHE could use something like the Tsukiyomi. His face was completely blank but she could have sworn that there, ever so slightly, was the tiniest grin. Oh yes. He was going down.
A/N: Gotta love hilarity!