Chapter 2

Itachi blankly stared at the ceiling of his hotel room. It had already been a few days since the meeting had been called but it hadn't yet been concluded.

He resisted the urge to sigh. He could be doing important things with his time right now back in Japan. Things that required his attention and his alone, yet he was forced to stay here waiting for a meeting that he really felt didn't need his attention.

He closed his eyes as he heard his partner bumbling around in the bathroom.

He had been a little relieved that their meeting would be held at Beijing.

At first.

He had a few loose ends to take care of but it was business that hardly required much effort on his part. It had taken less than a day.

So here he was, laying in bed, not quite relaxing yet looking just so, wasting away his time while they waited for the time to draw closer to the start of their second meeting.

He felt unnaturally irked at their present situation.

"Oi, Itachi! Did we use all the damn towels or something? I can't find any!" The muffled sound of Kisame's voice grew clearer as he opened the door, completely unabashed at his open state of dress.

"We put the 'do not disturb' sign on the door."

"That's inconvenient," he mumbled, inwardly scowling at the fact that the maids hadn't bypassed the clearly stated sign just to hand deliver his much needed towels. "Can you pass me one of my shirts then?"

Itachi made no move to do so.

"You're a bastard," Kisame said casually, not really having expecting him to do as he had asked. "It's almost 5."

His eyes opened just enough to flick to the digital clock on the bedside table. So it was. Hauling himself up, Itachi grasped the cloak that hung neatly over the headboard and stood to don it. It was patterned with deep crimson clouds on a black setting. He looked to his partner who had done the same.

As they walked toward their destination, he fell into deep thought.

He really hoped that this meeting would conclude their stay in China and wondered if their were any orders he and his partner would have to execute. He wasn't shy to say that aside from his family, he'd killed many more. He wasn't quite as sadistic as Kisame in terms of murdering - he made sure to do a quick, clean, cut - but if that was the job assigned to him by the Akatsuki organization, then he would do it.

For now, his purposes would be served through serving this group of notorious criminals. After all, it's the ends that justify the means.

Another bland day at the hospital.

Sakura noted that this was probably the thousandth time she'd gone through this routine. It wasn't that she hated working here, per se... she just sometimes might have trouble finding the fun in a repetitive schedule.

Sighing loudly, she leaned back in her chair, staring hard at the unappetizing salad that her assistant had gotten for her.

She'd been trying a new diet to slim her figure a little bit. Not too much, but just to trim a little of the fat around the edges. She snorted at her thoughts. Good idea that's been with how unfaithful she'd been sticking to her dietary regimen.

She pushed the salad further away and rubbed her temple. It was her lunch break and all she wanted to do was go home, maybe catch some sleep, and read a book.

"Haruno-san?"

Sakura eyed the interruption and straightened before plastering a kind smile on her face. "Yes?"

Her secretary looked a little unsure of herself. "Well, um... I know you're on your lunchbreak but there's someone here to see you." Before Sakura could ask why she didn't turn this person away like she was required to do with all others (unless it's an emergency), she heard her squeak, "He insisted."

Sakura cocked her head and frowned, drawing her brows together in slight confusion. Who would wanna see her so urgently? She didn't have a very high ranking in the hospital, just one of many doctors who worked there. She didn't have much power or influence in the world, much less the place she worked. She was usually consulted by peers and patients. All she really was noted for was her uncanny ability to absorb medical knowledge and apply it to practical use.

"Let him in," she relented uncertainly.

Sakura grabbed her untouched lunch and placed it carelessly in the top drawer to her right before straightening out her desk in some semblance of order.

The door opened just as she ran a hand through her short, messy locks and she raised her eyes to study the figure who'd waltzed in with a kind of noticeable grace which she immediately found herself envying.

"Ah, Haruno-san I presume?"

He gave a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, his round, thin glasses doing nothing to hide the sharp features of this person. Although he looked quite young, perhaps around her age, the mop of silvery hair atop his head made him look more older. He was donned in a crisp, white lab coat that weighed down his flimsy frame. She could only assume he was a doctor of some sort.

Yet, despite how meek he looked, Sakura wholeheartedly understood the reason why her secretary had looked out of sorts. He gave off a disturbing aura. He didn't hunch his back in fear of the world but had exuded an air of confidence that spoke volumes of his personality. He held himself like a person who knew his place in the world and just from that knowledge alone, it seemed his fears fell away like melted butter.

She decided she didn't like him. Not at all.

"Yes that's me. Can I ask who...?"

This person seemed to brighten at the unfinished question and took a seat in one of the chairs across from her. Uninvited, she noted unpleasantly. "Ah yes, My name is Kabuto."

Puzzled, Sakura asked, "Can I have your full name?"

"Just Kabuto," he responded with the same smile. "Not many know my last name and I'd prefer to keep it that way."

Her heart skipped a beat but she ignored it. "I see. What brings you here today?"

He raised a foot and rested the ankle on his knee as he clasped his hands together. "Well, I have a proposition for you."

"Oh?"

"My... benefactor," at this he made an odd face, "is looking to hire individuals with exceptional talent or skill in the medical field. He is working to bring to life a theory of his that is just on the brink of success."

"Can I ask what this project is for?"

His face turned crestfallen. "I'm afraid I can't give you much detail in terms of this particular project until you agree to be a part of it. The information I tell you is really all you'll get."

"What about the theory? What theory is he trying to... well bring to life, as you say? I'm well-versed in some of them."

He gave a tight-lipped smile. "That, too, is confidential."

"Is there anything you can tell me then, doctor?" she asked, quite irritated at this lack of information. "You're not making a very persuasive argument if you're trying to acquire my cooperation."

He leaned forward then, a guarded smirk on his face. "What is the one thing your heart desires most, Haruno-san? Once this project is made successful with your help, my benefactor can give it to you. Money, power, happiness. It could all be in your reach."

Sakura opened her mouth then closed it, slightly flustered. "I- wh- Excuse me?"

Kabuto straightened. "You're one of the few people I've chosen to come to with this proposal. You are the apprentice of Senju Tsunade, correct?"

She stilled, her breath caught on her throat. That shouldn't be common knowledge... it wasn't common knowledge. "What?" she asked breathily.

"I've done my research on you, Sakura-san," he grinned and this time, it did reach his eyes. She shivered at the predatory gleam he directed at her. "It's actually something I am quite good at. Collecting information."

"Stop," she whispered, pinning him with a horrified glare.

"Tsunade-sama usually doesn't take on students. From what I'd gathered so far, the medical prodigy had sworn off of healing. I'm guessing that because not many know of Tsunade-sama's protege, a.k.a you, she made you keep this pertinent information a secret and in return she'd promised to train you. Although, I feel that was a bit selfish. To say that you actually trained under her tutelage would've brought you more prestige than your current station in life." He gave a cursory look around her office.

"Get out."

Kabuto tilted his head in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"Get. Out. And don't come back," she hissed. Who this person was, she did not know but he'd raised multiple red flags already.

He didn't seem to look phased at her vicious statement and only took out a business card from the inside pocket of his lab coat. He placed it neatly on the desk in front of her and gave one last smile. "Do think about what I've said Sakura-san-"

"It's Haruno. You don't get the privilege of referring to me by my first name." Sakura grit her teeth as she said that and willed herself not to lose her temper.

"My apologies, Haruno-san." He gave her a patronizing stare. "I'll be waiting for your call and you will call," he said with certainty. "I'll be taking my leave now."

Sakura glared hard at the back of his head until he disappeared behind her door. She stood, turned to look at the time, and huffed angrily. Her lunch break was nearly at an end. She looked down at the card that had been placed in front of her and she picked it up. It only held a phone number and a neat, cursive K at the top. Grinding her teeth at the infuriating man, she threw the card into the trash and promptly gathered her things. She would forget this ever happened.

She paused for a moment, staring down at her desk with a thoughtful frown. He'd known about my teacher. No one knew, save for Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke-kun would never... and even with Naruto's loud mouth, he would never betray my secrets so easily... so who...? How?

Sakura shook her head after a moment of thought. She wouldn't get anywhere with questions to which she had no answers. He was a curious man. An infuriating curious man. She'd forget he'd ever stepped foot in this office and erase the conversation from her mind. With that mindset, she strode out of her office and greeted her secretary, only pausing to instruct her not to let this man in should he ever appear once more before going on her merry way.

She was convinced she'd never see the Kabuto figure again.

Itachi, indeed, let out a rare sigh of frustration. Here they were again, arguing in the same circle, running the same lap over and over again.

A chorus of voices rang out around the bare, concrete room.

"I can take this mission, Leader-sama! Me and my partner are more than capable-"

"You'd just bungle it up like you do with every oth-"

"This is a goddamn waste of my fucking time."

He agreed with that last sentiment.

"We've grown deeper roots," came a deep, succinct voice. It rose above all the others with its command for attention even though he had spoken quite softly. "The first phase of our plan is almost complete."

"It's pretty much done, un. Leader-sama we can go on to the second part of the pla-"

"Don't get your panties in a twist, squirt," laughed Kisame. "Patience is key to everything."

"Like you are the most patient out of all of us?" retorted the man sarcastically.

Kisame shrugged. "You gotta be if you're teaming up with Itachi."

Itachi stared at the other members, vexed at how long this simple meeting was taking.

"That fucktard never says anything. I don't know why that little shit was even allowed to join anyways."

"Hidan," sighed a gruff voice who sat in a seat next to the crass speaker. "He's probably more useful to the organization than you."

"Oh shut up old man!"

"This is a waste of my time," came a small voice next to Itachi and he turned his head to eye the young boy. He didn't take any note of his surroundings, seemingly interested only in the puppet he manipulated in his hands. His crimson eyes rose to meet onyx. "What?"

"In any case," came the overpowering voice. "I feel as if we've done much more in the span of the last 10 years than was originally planned. We've grown connections, notoriety, and risen to a place of power. People are starting to whisper about us."

There was a murmur of agreement.

"We need a course of action."

"How about information." Itachi finally voiced before any of the other annoying assholes could say anything. "We have Zetsu," he nodded toward the quiet, bulky figure in the corner, "and it would be premature to rush years and years of hard work, especially when we've just barely started. We should finish phase one while prepping for phase two."

There was a pause before indignant talking erupted at once. And this is why we can't get this concluded. Itachi thought peevishly.

Some could only scowl and disagree wildly while others stewed in their silence. He would've been one of them had it not been for his impatience to return home.

"I agree," Sasori stated, the redheaded teen still playing with the tiny marionette. Nobody bothered to listen. "Let's just do what Itachi said and conclude this meeting. It's a waste of my damn time," he shouted louder, this time an edge of irritation present in his voice.

"But Sasori danna, this is dumb, un. We already know who our targets will be. Leader-sama just has to assign each team with one and we can just beat our targets into submission before bringing them back. It's not hard. My art is supreme, un!"

"Childish bombs are nothing short of a disaster, you li'l brat."

"Who're you calling brat? You're fucking younger than me, you idiotic tween!"

Sasori didn't grace that with a response and stayed silent, pulling at the strings of his puppet with agitation.

"Aw, c'mon assholes! I hate to say it but girly-brat Deidara is right."

"You-!"

"Hidan, don't be an idiot," his partner muttered beside him. "Itachi is correct in his thinking. Besides, it's efficient and probably doesn't cost quite as much as whatever half-baked ideas you concoct."

"Oi, Kakuzu. You better shut your fucking ass or I'll sacrifice your unworthy shithead self to Jashin-sama."

"Is that a threat, you simpleton?"

Kisame could only boom with laughter. "Look at the shit you started Itachi!" he said in excitement and Itachi could sense the bloodlust coming into play at the prospect of a possible fight.

"Zetsu," came the leader's voice. "Gather the information. You know who our primary targets are. Observe them, bring back periodic reports."

"Of course, Leader-sama," came an airy voice. "We'll be sure not to disappoint." The second voice had a gravelly undertone and one of the figures seemed to melt into the darkness of the shadows.

"Everyone else, back to your posts. For now, we'll wait. Meeting concluded."

Itachi made to stand from his seat and ignored the others who quickly disappeared one by one.

Finally, he inwardly rejoiced. This needless meeting had taken too long.

She couldn't sleep that night. It wasn't anything new, really, but what made it different was how restless she felt over the day's earlier encounter.

Sighing for the millionth time, she checked the time. 2:07.

It was a bad habit of hers. She couldn't help it. Somehow, knowing what time it was kept her sane. It made her feel like she could control a lot by simply knowing the time. It gave her room to think of where she had to be in however many hours, or however long one action/event would take in the span of whatever amount of minutes.

Finally, she picked up her phone and dialed a number but before it could get past the first ring, she hung up.

She shook her head tiredly. Sasuke-kun wouldn't care. He wouldn't want to bother. She didn't want to be a bother yet the need to lessen this lonely existence increased with each passing second... She could go to Naruto. But she couldn't do that either. She knew he would come over in a heartbeat should she ever say so but the same reasoning with Sasuke engraved its insistent words into the back of her mind.

She was a burden, a weight constantly being carried. And if she were to be completely honest with herself, that was by far one of her greatest fears.

Sakura looked toward her digital clock once more. 2:14.

Groaning in frustration, she finally got up and made her way to the kitchen, deciding to brew herself a nice cup of tea to calm her frazzled nerves.

At this point in her life, she didn't really have much she could want for. She had a comfortable income, her dream job, her two best friends who always found a way to make her smile... the only thing that was lacking was a love life.

She shook her head at this as she placed the kettle on the stovetop. Somehow, the more she thought about it, the more she was confident that even if Sasuke-kun miraculously returned her feelings in any way, she would be as unsatisfied with her life then as she feels now. She worked so hard to achieve the things that she'd wanted, except for romance yet even so she was left with this pit in her stomach each night that reminded her she was missing something.

It wasn't sex. She knew that at least. She knew what arousal was and how it should feel. She'd been with a few herself.

No... she thought to herself as she took out a small teacup from the cupboard and stared at the variety of tea she had to herself. This wasn't the crave for another man's physical presence. This was something else.

She took a bag of Earl Grey from the box and set it into the cup. The whistle from the teapot blew shrilly and she turned the stove off, mechanically willing herself to pour the hot water in. She placed it back on the stove before grabbing her tea and making her way to the couch in the living room. She sat in her little corner, looking out toward the city lights as she sipped the brew gently.

Her thoughts circled back to the growing ugliness that she couldn't seem to get rid of, nesting in the deepest corner of her heart. After a little thought, she finally found a name to put to the darkness in her mind.

It was despair.

Despair was more than just a word to her. It was the mother that birthed people's darkest fears and insecurities. It was the hate that good people fought. It was the war that peace strived to overcome. But with all its worse qualities, it would never be washed away.

She couldn't pinpoint why. She should be happy. She should be happy with her life because what did she have to feel upset about? Why did she deserve to languish in this dark depression when her situation could very well be much worse? She could be homeless, cold, starving. A criminal. Traumatized... Dead... Was it for attention? Did she want attention from others and utilized these forms of attention-getting as a way to feel less alone in this world?

Perhaps.

But her lips were tightly sealed on the matter. No one knew how twisted she felt on the inside so even if this all sprouted from her desperate want for attention, she knew she would never get it.

Was this what it was like to be left alone with your thoughts? Haunted by imperfections and flaws on her part. Unhappy with the things she'd gained, ungrateful for the things that she had.

Yet she was grateful. So the problem couldn't be that she was narcissistic or egotistical. She didn't think herself better than anyone.

Then it dawned on her. It wasn't that she was unhappy with her situation, her thoughts, or even the darkness that kept her up at night.

She was simply... unhappy with herself. And after coming to that conclusion, Sakura found that she couldn't bring it in herself to change that. She'd already perfected her life. People already knew how she acted, what she laughed at... They didn't perceive the unsure feelings about her impurities.

It was exactly how she'd wanted it... but she had to admit to herself, she was disappointed with the results. She'd constructed a mask so carefully, even unknowingly, but even though the prospect of shedding it from her face scared her, she discovered that in her heart, she did want someone to see, to be strong enough to fracture the mask she had so meticulously to see just enough of herself and not judge.

Sakura finished off the rest of her tea and laughed a lonesome sound.

But no one could do that. No one she knew anyway.

A/N: okay that was confusing even for me but i feel like the last part from Sakura's pov really captures how a person thinks. Many people are really back and forth in their thinking and sometimes it doesn't even make sense to the host. I feel like the mind is beautiful in the way that it's complex and I wrote her thoughts from mine. A lot of this pairing's really dark thinking will come from me as I said this story is a form of venting for me.

I kind of slapped this together but in a good way? lol I winged it basically but i tried to make it turn out good is what i'm trying to say. I really do hope people like this fic. I'm trying to work past my writer's block. Hopefully it's not too confusin? But maybe that's just wishful thinking. If you guys have any questions i'll try to answer it but i can't promise anything. It's purposefully supposed to be as vague as it's specific sometimes.

Anyways! Thank you for reading. Please review!

Until next time :)