Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters. I do, however, own my own characters and situations.

Chapter 2

Sakura woke slowly, and felt disoriented. She looked around the small dark room she was in, realizing that it was a hotel room. She pushed her self up to a sitting position, wincing at the pain her whole body was in because of how far she had pushed her chakra.

"It's about time." She heard a deep voice come from the corner of the room. She jumped into a defensive position and searched for a weapon.

"Relax. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already." The voice spoke again with a hint of amusement.

Sakura squinted her eyes to try and make out the shape at the end of the room. She had heard that voice before, it was so familiar. Momentarily satisfied that he was telling the truth, she laid back down to stop the throbbing in her muscles. She was a medic and knew precisely what her body's limits were.

"How did I get here?" she spoke quietly, not trusting her voice not to crack under the pain.

"It seems as if we were on the same mission. It intrigued me that you beat me to the target, and so I followed you. When it became apparent that you were being headed off by Cloud nin, I was forced to intervene. One of the Cloud nin escaped and so I had to leave your forehead protector behind. You are now a missing nin." The man's voice was strangely soothing, despite what he was saying.

"Why did you help me?" She whispered.

"My leader would find it inconvenient if a pink haired young woman started a war between two powerful nations before his plans were to begin." The man said truthfully.

"Your leader?" Sakura turned her head as the man started to approach. Slowly, the outline of a face began to emerge from the darkness.

"You!" She gasped, and tried to move away.

"I told you, if I wanted you dead you would be." He put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her gently back down on the mat. "Rest now, I need you to regain your chakra."

"Why?" She choked out. She was stunned at the face above her. The man she vowed to hate for Sasuke's sake. The man who destroyed his life, Itachi Uchiha.

"All in good time, little one. Rest now." He commanded and walked back to the other side of the room, leaving Sakura with her confused thoughts.

The foreign affairs official for Lightning country sat angrily in front of Tsunade, sipping tea.

"It doesn't look good that your apprentice has suddenly become a missing nin and is wondering around Lightning country, killing entire squadrons. How very unusual that the Leaf village has lost a very loyal medic at the same time that an informant of Orochimaru is found dead in my country. You do realize how suspicious it looks." The man took another sip.

"If you were to have read the file on Sakura Haruno, you would have noticed that she attempted to run away from this village once before, in search of her lost team mate Sasuke Uchiha. It was also detailed how she has been training non-stop since, and yet you find it strange that she runs away and kills an informant of Orochimaru. The same Orochimaru that has been training Sasuke for years now." Tsunade leaned forward and looked the man in the eyes. "It is my guess that Sakura Haruno is on her way to Sound to join up with Sasuke Uchiha, and you will be pleased to know that I have sent two of my best squadrons after her." Tsunade finished her iron clad case.

"You do realize that if we catch her first, she will not be extradited to Leaf for her trial. She will face it in Cloud." The man met the Hokage's challenging gaze.

"If you get to her first." Tsunade emphasized. "Now, I have given you everything that is required. I hope you are satisfied that this is not a cause for hostilities."

"Alright Lady Hokage, I am satisfied. However, if this girl is to return to this village without punishment, there will be cause for hostilities." The man finished his tea and stood at the same time as Tsunade.

"Peace be with you and your village." The man bowed.

"Peace be with you and Lightning country." Tsunade bowed and saw the man out of her office.

Once the man left, Tsunade sighed deeply and sat down at her desk. "Be careful Sakura." She whispered.

"Eat." Itachi pushed a carton of food at Sakura. She looked at it suspiciously. Itachi stared at her impassively.

"It could be poisoned." She stated obviously, pushing the very appetizing looking food around with her chop sticks. Itachi's hand shot out and grabbed her had with the chop sticks. She stared in pure amazement as he lifted a small amount of food with the chop sticks up to his mouth, hand still clutched around her own. Sakura blushed crimson when Itachi released her hand. He had effectively proved that the food was not poisoned.

Itachi looked at the girl with a ghost of a smile on his face, she was very amusing. He was going to have fun pushing her limits.

"So, what now?" Sakura asked quietly, between bites.

"You have three choices. One, you go back to your village and receive a prison sentence that Cloud will demand. Two, you go on your own and get caught by Cloud nin who will torture and execute you. Or three, you come with me, I may have a use for you." Sakura looked up at the renowned mass murder with shock on her face.

"What use could you possibly have for me?" Sakura asked incredulously.

"You are a medic, are you not?" Itachi challenged.

"Oh." She said simply.

"The Akatsuki have been looking for a well trained medic for a long time now. It could be beneficial to you as well." Sakura looked up with doubt.

"How so?" she asked

"You could find a weakness, exploit it and take down the organization. You have thought of it before." Itachi finished his carton and looked at her deeply with his charcoal eyes.

"You would let me get away with that?" Sakura set her empty carton down.

"No, but you could find a way to out smart me. I am only human after all; perhaps you can find a way to take down everything without anyone noticing it. You would be a hero to your village." Itachi gathered the trash and walked over to the trash bin.

"I'm not looking to be a hero." Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"No, but you are looking to test your limits. You are looking to prove yourself worthy of existence. And you are looking to be taken seriously."

"So what, I would be an Akatsuki member. Just like that?"

"There is a ritual, and once you are Akatsuki, you are Akatsuki for life." Itachi knelt back down in front of her.

"How far are you willing to go to protect your village, little one?" Sakura met his challenging gaze.

"As far as possible."

Itachi smiled darkly, "Good."

Sakura followed closely behind Itachi thorough a genjutsu and into a hidden underground bunker. She was adjusting well to her insane situation, and no longer freaked out at every movement Itachi made. It was still strange to be so close to a sworn enemy, but like it or not, he was her ticket to not only staying alive, but to taking down Akatsuki.

"Wait here." Itachi said softly. Sakura nodded and stood up against a wall while Itachi walked ahead.

Itachi walked into a small room and bowed deeply. The figure at the other end of the room looked up from a parchment he was reading.

"You have the documents?" The Leader asked monotone.

"Yes. As well as a new medic." Itachi answered. The Leader looked up; his red eyes glittered in the dark.

"A medic?" The Leader put the parchment down and focused his attention on Itachi.

"Tsunade's apprentice." Itachi clarified. "She just became a missing nin."

"Why is that?" The Leader narrowed his eyes, not particularly believing that a person of such power would give it all up willingly.

"She is in love with my brother. She wants to train with me to become strong enough to become worthy of his affection. You said that you would love to have another Uchiha, perhaps this girl could breed with my half wit brother and produce an Uchiha that would be under my training."

The Leader didn't believe that Itachi was telling the whole truth, but couldn't deny that he liked the idea of having a powerful medic and a future second Uchiha.

"Bring her to me, Itachi."

Sakura sighed deeply as she waited for Itachi to come back; she wondered what the infamous "Leader" was like. She had heard that he had the powers of a God and that had made her a little on edge.

"Come with me." Itachi's voice sounded in her ear and made her jump a foot in the air. Itachi smirked, she was still amusing him.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked quietly as they walked.

"To meet the Leader, but first," he stopped and pushed her against the wall. She panicked and started to struggle. "Be still." His commanding voice halted her movement.

"What…" She started, but was cut off by his sharingan being activated.

"What is going on?" Sakura asked as the world around her spun red and black.

"You must first understand what I have told the Leader." Itachi's voice sounded all around her. She was shown the meeting between Itachi and the Leader, and shuddered at the sound of The Leader's voice.

"Hey! I don't want to be a baby factory for Sasuke!" Sakura huffed indignantly.

"It was the only story he would be likely to believe." Itachi's voice said with amusement.

"But now he is expecting me to pop out little Uchihas!"

"Then you must find a way to take down Akatsuki before The Leader demands the child. Surely, I thought you were smarter than that." Itachi's voice taunted.

"Ok, I get the picture. Now can you let me out of here?"

Sakura's mind was released and she fell to the floor. She held her head, which was throbbing.

"The after affect of the jutsu, the migraine." Itachi stated obviously and held a hand out to her. She ignored it and stood on her own, pushing soothing chakra into her head.

"Come." Itachi walked in front of Sakura to a room that she was shown in her head. She took a deep breath and was led inside.

The room was scarcely lit, and had only a large wooden desk in the middle of it.

"I wonder who the interior decorator here is." She thought with an inner smirk. The Leader was sitting at the desk in front of her, his red eyes bore through her in the darkness.

"What is your name, girl?" The deep voice boomed.

"Sakura Haruno." She spoke with determination, pushing herself to stand straight and meet the scary eyes.

"Is it true, you wish to be strong enough to have Sasuke love you as you love him?"

Sakura took a deep breath before she answered. "Yes it is."

"I have conditions of you living here, and working under me Sakura." The Leader stood. "You will treat all of the medical aliments of the Akatsuki, everything from a cold to re-attaching limbs. You will train under Itachi, and must do exactly as he says. You will go on missions with my Akatsuki, because if you are to stay, you are to be a loyal member. With regards to your personal life, you may seek out Sasuke Uchiha at my convenience, and your union must produce a child. If It becomes apparent that no child will be made from you and Sasuke, Itachi will be fathering your child."

Sakura gulped and discretely looked over at Itachi, who didn't seem the least surprised.

"I will have an Uchiha heir, it is necessary for my plans, as Itachi well knows." The Leader chuckled. Inner Sakura was seething at the position Itachi had put her in. It was originally HIS job to knock up a girl and give The Leader the Uchiha heir he needed. Now that he had Sakura, who had a history with his little brother, all the attention that was pushed on him has now gone on to Sakura. "This is what he means by 'has a use for me'."

"Take care to remember Sakura; you will face a painful death if you defy me." The Leader pointed to a chest on the floor. "Your new wardrobe." The Leader smiled.

Sakura took the chest and bowed deeply to her new Leader. She followed Itachi out the door and down the hall to a room he announced was hers. She walked in and set the chest down on the bed.

"Itachi." She called as he went to leave. She walked up to him with fire in her eyes and smoke coming out of her ears.

"I will never, have your child." She growled. Itachi smirked

"I am counting on that you wont. Get your plans in motion, little one." He flashed his eyes crimson once to remind Sakura of just who she was challenging.

"Itachi, bite me." She ground out and turned away from him. He kept his smirk and left the room quietly.

"Careful what you wish for little one."

A/N: Okay, second chapter! Thank you thank you thank you for all the pretty reviews!! I know I said before that I wouldn't make another Itachi/ Sakura fic, but this popped into my head. And before you ask, this isn't about a baby! Just had to get a circle of lies going round and round and what more would Leader want, but a new Uchiha to manipulate! PLEASE read and review!!