01
Sakura jumped in the middle of the clearing, eight kunais held between her fingers. She closed her eyes, and threw the kunais in all directions. When she landed and heard the sound of eight kunais embedding into their targets, a smirk of victory crept onto her features. She looked to the other side of the clearing, where her teacher stood leaning against a tree casually.
"A shinobi should never be over-confident of his skills." Were the only words he spoke without bothering to open his eyes. "You missed one."
"No way! I heard all eight of them!" The kunoichi refuted, going around to check the targets. When she reached the last one, indeed, the kunai missed the target by several inches. "Shannaro…"
"A shinobi should never reveal his emotions." He mumbled, turning to walk away. "That's enough for today."
"You preach like an old man... Wait until I beat you one day." She muttered under her breath, stuffing the kunais into her weapon pouch.
"A shinobi should never underestimate his opponents." The voice rang in her ears. She blinked, seeing the figure disappear and reappear next to her. "If I were an enemy, you might've been dead."
"But you're not. If you haven't killed me in three years, I think I'll be fine for another while." Sakura sent him a playful glare. "Let me go on your next mission with you!"
"Patience is the key. If you try to rush, the only person you will hurt is yourself." A large hand patted her head, as if mocking the height difference between them. She glared daggers at him, but knew that she wouldn't be able to touch a hair on his head even if she tried.
"Why couldn't they assign me as your partner? I'm not as strong as you, but definitely not weak either." Sakura changed the subject as they walked back to the hideout. This was at least the hundredth time she asked this question. "But I guess sharky is better than that bastard snake." There was flame in her eyes as she remembered the snake sannin who defected after attempting to take over Itachi's body.
"Your skills are impressive for your age." He said mindlessly, ignoring her first question. She sighed, knowing that it was as close to a compliment as she could get.
Sakura looked up at the person walking beside her, his cold gaze never changing since the first time they met.
"Get away from me, you murderer!" The young girl screamed. She stared at the person standing at the door with hatred. He didn't seem affected by her constant outbursts, and walked in. As he got closer, she grabbed a kunai and gripped it tightly within her shaking hand. Itachi looked at her pathetic stance boredly, putting down the onigiri next to her. "Stay away! I don't want food from your dirty hands!" Her short arm reached out and swept the plate off the table. She flinched when she heard the porcelain hit the ground and shattered into pieces.
"If you want to kill me, shouldn't you make sure that you have enough energy?" He asked calmly, reaching out and grabbing the kunai effortlessly from her grasp. "How can you kill me if you can't even hold onto your weapon?" With a flick of his wrist, the kunai flew across the room and embedded itself into the stone walls. His intimidating gaze never left her. "If you really want to get revenge for the people I have killed, then you wouldn't be wasting your time and energy on crying. You should take the opportunity to train with me, learn from me, and observe my weaknesses."
The girl turned away from his eyes, remembering what happened the last time she looked into them. She heard the door click shut as he walked out. Eyeing the food on the ground, tears brimmed her eyes once again.
"I will kill that murderer... Sasuke-kun... Watch me... I'll take revenge for you..." She choked through her tears. She reached out to the two riceballs on the ground. Unaffected by the fact that they were on the dirty floor, the girl stuffed them into her mouth as if she's never eaten before.
Before the fight even started, Sakura knew that it was over. Sighing in boredom, the kunoichi looked at the defeated blonde across the large room.
She had been so excited to go on this mission. It was the first time that she received an official Akatsuki cloak and was able to indulge in the warmth of this sinfully beautiful black cloth painted with red clouds. When she saw that they met up with another member, an ugly mass named Sasori, she figured that it must've been a dangerous mission. The thrill and excitement only piled up.
But who knew it was just to recruit a member to replace Orochimaru.
At first glance, Sakura knew that this new member, named Deidara, wasn't going to be on good terms with her. His constant rants about his explosive art and his stubborn personality made him vulgar and easily irritated. For a short minute, she found satisfaction when he fell to his knees after looking into Itachi's eyes boldly.
It was laughable how naive he was to believe that he could win against those eyes.
"You seem to be disappointed by this mission." The shark nin commented as the group made their way towards one of the many hideouts. Sakura had an emotionless mask over her annoyance, and glanced at the blonde explosive user. He felt her gaze, and sent her a glare.
She definitely wasn't going to like him.
"The leader said we have to stay together for a week to make sure our new addition will not betray us." Sasori commented with his freakishly low voice, seemingly irritated by the matter. The kunoichi took a quick look at the big mass, wondering if that was his true form.
When they finally reached their home for the next week, the five sat around the kitchen table.
"Welcome to the group, kid. I'm Hoshigaki Kisame." The shark nin gave his trademark toothy smirk. The blonde snorted in reply, too busy glaring daggers at the Sharingan user. It seems like he was still bitter about losing so quickly to a pair of eyes.
"Uchiha Itachi." The velvet-like voice said, his eyes staring at the walls rather than the other four.
"Haruno Sakura. Nice to meet you." She added, mimicking Itachi's tone.
"Sasori. You will be my partner from now on." With the last person introduced, the five dispersed into their own rooms, calling it an end to their conversation.
Akatsuki had always been an organization where not many words were exchanged. Most of the members disliked each other. However, when it comes to missions, differences were thrown aside and the teams functioned perfectly.
Everyone here was incredibly strong.
"Get up." The battered girl panted, pushing her weakened knees to support her body. Dirt and sweat covered her skin and clothing, and her long pink bangs framed her thin face. "Let hate be your source of energy. Gain power, and defeat me."
Sakura reached out for the tree next to her, using it as a support. She sent the figure standing several feet away a death glare.
"Look into my eyes." For the fifth time, the girl grabbed her weapons and charged at him. She stared straight into his eyes and threw the weapons with deathly precision. In less a blink, she felt the air change the slightest as her weapons hit their target dead on. She smirked. He wasn't going to trick her with this technique again.
"KAI!" The young girl formed a seal and dispelled the genjutsu. The last kunai hidden in her sleeve left her hand and grazed Itachi's cloak, leaving a hole. "I did it! I detected and countered your genjutsu!" She held up two fingers in victory. Just when she took a step from her position, a burning pain shot through her own body, bringing her to the ground.
"You overdid yourself." Itachi walked over and gently picked up his apprentice, bridal style. There was no emotion on his face when he saw her cheeks turn slightly pink despite the pain throughout her own body. However, she could sense that he was amused by her reaction to his touch.
"P-Put me down! I don't need your help!" She finally snapped out of her trance, remembering that this person was an enemy. She struggled to get out of his hold, but failed when another jolt of pain ran down her spine. She gave into her fate and let out a small whimper, curling against his warm chest.
"It seems like you have mastered genjutsu detection." Itachi looked down at the feather-light body in his arms and continued back to their hideout.
"Fine art is the beauty of that single fleeting moment of explosion, un!"
"Fine art is something wonderful that is left long into the future... eternal beauty."
Sakura stood at the side of the clearing as she observed the two argue. Following their statements about art, the two, once again, began their fight. Clay animals exploded as they came in contact with human-like puppets, sending dust and debris into the air. Surely, these two were both strong shinobis, worthy to learn from. Observing their movements, the kunoichi concluded that the explosive user, on many occasions, throws away strategy to show off his 'art'. In contrast, the puppeteer moves around smoothly despite his size.
The real Sasori must be hiding inside his own puppet.
"So early in the morning. These children sure are energetic." Sakura turned to see Itachi's blue-skinned partner walk towards the battlefield. She acknowledged him with a nod and turned her gaze back to the fight. "Hey, girl. I've never seen you fight before. Wanna have a friendly spar?"
"Sakura. In case you forgot my name." She said plainly, her eyes focusing on the battle in front of her. Although she would have gladly taken the offer, Itachi had reminded her numerous times to avoid giving away her abilities unless it was necessary. "And sorry, I must reject your offer."
"Scared to lose?" The shark nin mocked under his breath, turning back to the battle in front of him. It was clear that the puppeteer had the upper hand. Sure enough, Deidara soon lost, pinned to the ground by knives.
"I wouldn't say that if I were you, Kisame." She saw the Sharingan user appear several feet away. Without bothering to hide his hatred, the blonde glared at his new enemy. "Why don't you spar with him, Sakura."
"Then, shall we? Kisame-san?" The kunoichi smirked, itching to give this massive creature a beating for mocking her. She stood several feet away from her sparring partner and looked at him up and down. Since she hasn't seen him fight yet, it was hard to decipher what kind of moves he will use. Judging from his appearance though, she could already conclude that his nature type was water. Certainly, that gigantic sword shouldn't be overlooked either.
"Itachi-san, don't be angry if I hurt your little student here." The shark nin smirked confidently, a hand wrapped around the handle of his sword. "My Samehada is getting hungry."
Samehada. It was deemed as the most terrifying sword of the Seven Swordsman because rather than cut, it shaves and eats the opponent's chakra. Since she was mostly a close range fighter, she will have to be careful to not be touched by that thing, and make sure that it will not interfere with her techniques.
"You don't have time to think, little girl." With that, Kisame began to strike. As if throwing away their hatred for the moment, the other three watched the battle. Despite his monstrous size, his speed was impressive, Sakura noted.
"But not impressive enough." She mumbled to herself and smirked, reading his movements and evading all of his attacks effortlessly. Her hands formed seals at an insane speed, a blur to the untrained eye. The shark nin observed her seals and smirked, knowing what move was coming up. With one swift step, he jumped back to avoid the fire jutsu. But it never came. As if in slow motion, a victorious smirk crept onto Sakura's expression before her body dissipated into pastel pink flower petals.
"They suddenly stopped moving for a while, un." The blonde artist commented, watching the fight in confusion.
The shark nin cursed when his feet were suddenly shackled to the ground by thick tree roots.
"Wood element?" He mumbled, breaking free with some effort. He looked up and cursed, unable to react in time to avoid the dozens of wooden kunais coming down at him with deathly precision. He grunted in annoyance, more than pain, as several kunais embedded itself into his blue skin and managed to escape without any major injuries. "What is this odd feeling…"
Kisame's eyes widened when he was suddenly paralyzed. Deidara's jaw dropped as the massive figure dropped to his knees after a good ten minutes of not moving at all. As if coming back to his senses, the shark nin smirked. The kunoichi stood directly behind him with a kunai at his throat.
"I believe that was my win, Kisame-san." She smiled mockingly, twirling her knife around her finger before putting it back into her weapon holster.
"You've trained her well." Sasori commented and looked at the Sharingan user standing beside him. Itachi revealed no emotion to his compliment, as if it wasn't heard at all. Instead, his eyes were fixed on his apprentice.
"Not bad, little girl." Kisame finally let out a laugh, standing up. "You win. Seems like I underestimated your abilities. Genjutsu was never my type."
Sakura inwardly sighed in boredom, but felt the satisfaction of making the walking fish eat his words. "You were a good match, Kisame-san. Let's spar again another day." She said plainly, dusting off her clothes and making her way back to the hideout.
"That was it? They barely even moved!" Deidara complained at the sudden ending. "There were no explosions, un!"
"You have to learn to pick your battles, kid." The shark nin smirked and patted the blonde on the shoulder as he passed by. "I'm impressed, Itachi-san. Looks like I shouldn't take your little student there so lightly."
"You shouldn't underestimate your opponents. That was a rather pathetic loss." Itachi said bluntly, following him inside. His partner only snickered in response.
After everyone went off to do their own things, Sakura tip-toed across the hallway and knocked on the door. Without waiting for a reply, she slid the door open and walked inside. Seeing her teacher standing next to the window, looking out at the blue skies, she smiled wide and practically skipped over.
"How did I do? Not too bad, right?" The kunoichi jumped on his bed and sat down cross-legged. She grinned proudly, waiting for a response. "Shows that sharky to mock me! I'm gonna turn him into a plate of sashimi next time!"
"You haven't seen half of his abilities. Don't be over-confident about your skills. You were simply lucky this time." He replied flatly without turning to look at her. Sakura pouted in response.
"Yeah yeah. I know. But still, did you see that blondie's face at when sharky fell to his knees? It was priceless." She chuckled to herself.
"A shinobi should never reveal his emotions. You never seem to listen." The Sharingan user turned his gaze towards her, giving his usual speech. She sighed in annoyance.
She sulked slightly. "Can't you get rid of that stinky expression of your's? It's a waste of your gor-... face." The kunoichi hesitated and changed her diction before she blurted out embarrassing words.
"The speed that you make hand seals is still lacking. The reason your genjutsu worked was because Kisame was careless and was tricked by your fake fire jutsu seals." Her comment was completely ignored. Sakura groaned, knowing that this was a hint for her to practice more. "I'm going on a mission."
"I knew it. Why can't I go with you..." She sulked, laying down on his bed and rolling around boredly. Knowing that it was pointless to whine, she sighed in defeat. "You owe me anko dumplings when you come back then."
"Aa."
Sakura smiled and watched as his figure disappeared out of the doorway.
She was all alone inside this place.
"What an idiot. Leaving me all alone." The girl smirked, peeking out of her room's door to make sure there was really no one there. "Didn't it cross his mind that I might run back to Konoha?"
The young girl packed her bag and made sure that she had enough supplies to last for the next week. If she ran as fast as she could, she will definitely get back to the village soon. Slinging the bag over her shoulders, she ran out of the hideout.
Only then did she realize that she had no idea where she was.
"I'll just run and find a town. Then ask where Konohagakure is!" She said to herself optimistically. She looked around, chose a random direction, and began running. "See you later, suckers!"
By the third day, her legs had given away. Her small fingers touched the chapped lips that reminded her there was no water left in the canteen. She knew that she needed to find a river fast, before her body gives out from dehydration.
"Why aren't there any towns around..." The girl could feel the tears blurring her vision once again. She looked around at the never-ending green. "Okaa-san... I want to go home..."
As if the situation couldn't get worse, the young girl looked up and felt the rain drops fall onto her cheeks. Within minutes, she was drenched from head to toe, her feet sinking into the muddy ground with each step. Her salty tears mixed with the icy cold rain, and she finally collapsed into the mud.
When she woke up, Sakura found herself where she started. She looked around the familiar plain room, wondering how she got back. She didn't have to wait long for an answer. The same pair of scarlet eyes stared at her as they neared.
Was she going to be killed for running away?
"I didn't think you would run so far. Your speed and stamina increased greatly." The voice said plainly, sitting down on the edge of her bed with a small plate in his hand.
"Y-You knew..."
"You were unconscious for two days. Drink some water and eat." He reached out his free hand. To her surprise, his warm hand landed on the top of her head, gently giving her a small pat. "After you finish, rest more."
"Why are you being so nice... You're a murderer...!" She called out as he walked away. He hesitated in his steps, but resumed walking. "You killed your whole family..."
"Your training will resume tomorrow morning."
On the wooden table laid a plate of steamy anko dumplings.
When she heard a knock on her door, Sakura quickly closed her notebook.
"Come in." She said. The door slid open, and the blonde artist walked into the room. She looked at him, confused on what he could possibly want. In the past several days, although they haven't fought or argued, there wasn't exactly any progress in their relationship. In fact, she doesn't even remember the last time she said a word to him. "Do you need something?"
Sakura watched as his footsteps stopped several feet away from her. Her gaze trailed up and paused at his troubled expression. When his pale blue eyes caught her emerald ones, his gaze shifted nervously.
What did he want?
"Ahem." Deidara cleared his throat and turned back to her with a stern expression. "You're a genjutsu type, un?"
"I'm better at countering them rather than casting." She replied truthfully.
"Uchiha Itachi's eyes… How do you defeat them… un." He asked hesitantly and carefully.
"You can't." Sakura smirked at his blunt intentions. Getting up from her seat, the kunoichi shoved her notebook into the drawer and walked towards the door. On the way, she pulled her cloak from the hook and slid it over her thin figure smoothly. "Let's talk later."
"Where are you going, un?" The blonde asked curiously, tracing her steps. Sakura paused, without turning back.
"Maybe I'll bring you a souvenir." She mumbled jokingly, ignoring his question completely. With that, her silhouette disappeared into thin air.
A/N: In case it was confusing, the italics are flashbacks~
Thank you for reading!
:)