Disclaimer: Do I really need to explain…?

Chapter 2: Captured

Itachi easily caught Sakura as she began to fall…he also caught her quietly mumbled question. But she was already unconscious so he knew there would be no point in saying anything. He picked her up, cradling her against his chest as he heard Kisame exclaim angrily, "Finally! It was hard to keep from cutting her to pieces!" Itachi ignored Kisame's comment as he looked down at the unconscious girl in his arms. He could tell she'd been crying.

Just then Deidara spoke, "We should take her to where Leader told us to, Yeah?" Itachi nodded and they set out. As they sped through the forest, Itachi thought about the girl in his arms. He felt better, just being able to hold her. Until now he'd felt like a part of him was missing and an empty hole was left in its place. He'd felt like that ever since he was thirteen, but he hadn't remembered why he felt like that until he touched the burn mark and remembered everything he'd forgotten.

Then he'd known what had caused it. It had been her being torn from him by the old Hoshi woman that had left that empty place inside of him. Now he was holding her for the first time in ten years, and a part of that chasm was filled just by doing so. But there was still much left to be filled, and he knew that only this girl, the only person he loved, could do it. He also knew it would be a while before that happened.

He had seen the look in her eyes when she'd seen him. It had been filled with many different emotions. There had been surprise, anger, sadness, love, pain, loathing, confusion, fear, and even more emotions that he couldn't name. He knew that because of that old Hoshi, she'd be blaming herself for what he'd done. He also knew that she still thought he didn't remember her…and that she would think that that would mean that he didn't love her anymore. But he did.

He still loved her, and he knew she still loved him, but he knew something else too. He knew that though she loved him, she would have a hard time accepting that fact. After all, it had been hard for her to accept it back in the past, when he hadn't yet killed his clan. She had had a hard time accepting it then and she'd have a harder time accepting it now, now that he was once again the S-class criminal she had tried to stop him from becoming.

Knowing her as he (now) did, he guessed that she may not even believe him if he told her he still loved her. She'd think it impossible. He knew she'd think he had become heartless after he'd killed his clan…most people did. He'd just have to prove to her that it wasn't that he was heartless, just that he'd given his heart to her ten years ago, before she disappeared…and that she still had it, as he knew he still had hers.

It wouldn't be easy, but he would prove his love to her. He would take things as slowly as he had to, but he would make her his again. That was a fact.

But so was it a fact that he didn't know why Leader wanted her, only that he didn't want her harmed and that it had something to do with her father. But as long as nothing bad happened to her, he wouldn't interfere with the Leaders plans.

Itachi came out of his reserve when he heard Deidara start yelling at Tobi…something about taking all the credit. Itachi's face didn't change at all as he continued through the forest. He was used to their squabbling, and as long as it stayed verbal he wouldn't do anything about it. But if their bickering put his Sakura in danger, he would step in and settle things himself.


Sakura was in darkness…unending darkness. Her ability to think only went as far as to notice that there was darkness. For the longest time even she was a part of the darkness. It would be a longer time yet before she noticed anything other than the darkness.
Itachi was glad when Deidara finally went quiet. They were already almost to the place where Leader had told them to bring her. Only a few more minutes and they'd be there. He looked back down at Sakura, noticing what about her had changed, and what had not.

She was older than she had been ten years ago, but not by the ten years he had aged. Her hair hadn't changed at all. Her face was slightly more grown up and her body was more developed, but that was to be expected, she was a teenager now. He knew now that she was closer to his brothers age, probably even a bit younger. She most likely wasn't even sixteen yet.

There was one other thing he noticed as he held her. She was very light. It had been the same way ten years ago, he remembered. He had carried her a few times back then too, and had thought the same thing. It was extremely easy to carry her because he could barely even feel her weight.

As he continued to study her, he decided that, if it was possible, she was even more beautiful now than she had been ten years ago.

Itachi slowed to a walk, as did the others, as they came in sight of the place they had been told to bring her. It looked simple on the outside, but looks could be deceiving. The inside was anything but simple. The best anyone would be able to describe it would be as a labyrinth, above and below ground.

They walked inside and headed to the room where they normally reported. They had almost reached the room when a blue haired woman with a flower in her hair, wearing the Akatsuki robe, came into view. She looked like she had been waiting for them. When she saw Sakura in Itachi's arms she paused, then walked forward to meet them.

Her voice was quiet as she said "So, we finally meet her." She then held out her arms as she said, "I'm to take her from here." She looked at Itachi sternly, almost daring him to disobey. Itachi didn't take the bait. Instead he reluctantly transferred Sakura gently to the only female Akatsuki member's grasp. Once she was holding Sakura she said, "You're to go to the debriefing room, as normal, to report."

She turned around and began to leave, but then Kisame asked, "Hey, what's so important about the girl? Do you know, Konan?"

The blue haired woman stopped walking and glanced back as she answered, "Whether I know or not is of no consequence, since I haven't the authority to tell you. Go to the debriefing room…maybe he'll tell you, maybe he won't." She looked away from them and began walking again. As she went, she said seriously, "All I can tell you is that she is important…very important…"

Her voice trailed off as she turned a corner and went out of sight. It was Tobi who reminded everyone what they were supposed to be doing. "Tobi thinks we shouldn't make Leader wait." Everyone knew he was right, so they began walking again, headed for the debriefing room.


The blue haired woman, Yuri Konan, carried the young woman down into the labyrinth until she reached the room that had been prepared especially for the girl. She walked in and closed the door behind her. She then moved to the center of the room where there was a bed and laid the unconscious girl gently down onto it. She then stood back and took in the state the girl was in.

She was wearing a Yukata that had once been nice, but was now tattered and ruined. That had most likely happened during the capture attempt. She had a number of small cuts and scrapes, probably also from the capture. She seemed to be breathing easily, which was good. But there was one thing she was worried about that she had noticed while she had carried her.

She turned and went to a closet and came back with what she needed. These things she put on the bed near the girl. Next she went to the girl and began to take the rags that had once been a Yukata off of her, reveling that the girl's whole back was one massive bruise. That wasn't what she was worried about though. She had noticed as she'd carried the pink haired girl that one of her ribs had moved in a way it shouldn't have. That meant that at least one, maybe more, of her ribs was fractured or possibly even broken.

She'd been told that this young woman was an accomplished medic, but she knew that the girl wouldn't be able to heal herself for a while, not with the condition she was in. There wasn't much she could do about the rib, seeing as she wasn't a medic. But she knew enough to know it would be better to bind the ribs tight, so that they wouldn't cause more damage. After all, a broken rib could puncture a lung, or worse.

She took a linen bandage and set to work. Once she'd done all she could for the ribs, she began to treat the smaller cuts and scrapes. It wouldn't do for the young woman to get an infection just because she hadn't cleaned a scratch. By the time she finished that, the young woman was shivering. That wasn't surprising; not only was it still winter, but they were below ground.

She looked at the Yukata, but instantly looked away. That thing was torn to pieces already; it would do her no good. She returned to the closet, put the medical supplies away, and sighed at how barren the closet was. She had gotten the pink haired girl some clothing when she'd found out that she was going to stay. Sadly there still wasn't much, and now that she looked at it, most of what she'd gotten would be way too big for the girl.

She shook her head and took out a large shirt that would be more like a dress on this girl's body. She returned and dressed the pink haired girl as gently as she could, careful not to hurt her. Once the pink haired girl was wearing the shirt/dress, she couldn't help but find the picture comical.

She frowned, the girl was still shivering. If she had had time to finished preparing the room, she would have put her under the covers of the bed. But the way things were, there were no covers on the bed because she hadn't gotten around to getting them yet. She had an idea and returned to the closet.

She easily found what she was looking for and returned to the girl. She laid the black robe with its red clouds over the girl's small body. Not long afterwards the pink haired girl stopped shivering. The cloak was just a tad bit too big, but it was much closer to the girl's real size than anything else she'd gotten for the girl.

That, in and of itself, could be considered ironic. The fact that something that was made solely for the Akatsuki fit her better than the things that were made for anyone to wear. It truly was ironic, considering…what she knew.

She checked the girl again, tucking the edges of the robe around her petite form. After she did that she picked up the ragged Yukata, planning to get rid of it, when something fell from the folds of the cloth and hit the floor with a small clang. She bent down and picked up what had fallen out of the Yukata, though from where in the Yukata she wasn't sure, she thought she had checked every possible hiding place in case there were hidden weapons.

It was a forehead protector. She turned it over and saw the Leaf symbol that indicated the village the pink haired girl had come from. She thought about taking it with her, but then she decided otherwise and walked back to the girl. She laid the forehead protector near the girls head, then turned her eyes to the girls face.

On that face she saw determination, and though it was hard to tell, considering that the girl was unconscious, she thought her face also looked pained. She turned around and headed for the door. Of course the girl wouldn't be happy, she'd just been captured by the Akatsuki. And she couldn't say for sure, but she had a feeling that the girl wouldn't be finding out why she'd been captured for a while. She'd probably come up with horrible and unlikely reasons for her capture and fret herself sick.

But then again, she couldn't really think of what would be more unlikely than the true reason the girl had been captured. It was because she knew the true reason that she thought that the girl wouldn't be finding out any time soon. It was most likely that they would wait for her to get accustomed to living amongst the Akatsuki before she was told anything.


The hologram of the leader had just finished listening to the report of what had happened. Now he spoke, "Very well…Now that she has been brought here, your mission will be changing. You've said that Sound ninja were after her…I expect that they may not be the only ones after her. For that reason, the four of you will be making sure that no one is able to get to her. You will probably have to make sure, at least for now, that she doesn't try to run away as well."

"I will be giving the other two who were assigned to this mission a different mission. You shouldn't need more than the four of you to stop her from getting out and others from getting in." He paused, then added, "Also, you are to treat her with respect. Her Chakra will be suppressed, but she could still hurt you if you aren't careful."

The Leader paused, and Tobi asked almost childishly, "Tobi still doesn't even know the pretty girls name."

Deidara hit his head and Kisame showed signs of holding back laughter. Itachi kept his face bland, but he wasn't happy with Tobi. To their surprise, the Leader didn't get angry at him. Instead he just answered, bored, "You've probably heard of her…she's Tsunade's apprentice…Sakura Haruno." The hologram flickered off, and the tension in the room eased a little.

The room was silent. Everyone knew the name Sakura Haruno. She was the one who had killed Sasori. Her medical skills were said to be second only to Tsunade's…it was even rumored that she had surpassed Tsunade. That meant she was strong, much stronger than anyone would have guessed. Only Itachi wasn't surprised.

Just then the door opened and Yuri came in. "I'll show you which room she's in. I've locked the door, though I doubt she'll be waking up anytime soon. You can decide who's going to stand watch at her door…" Her eyes hardened as she said, "but you will not be going in." Her face returned to being blank, "I'm going to get her some clothes…even mine would be too big for her. You will not be allowed into her room until she is properly dressed." She turned to leave, then paused and turned back to look at Tobi as she said, "Oh, and don't forget you have something you have to do. I suggest you let the others guard her until you've seen to your other duty." she turned around and left without another word.

Tobi rushed out the door, heading in a different direction, saying, "Oh no, Tobi forgot!" The others followed Yuri silently.


Sakura finally separated herself from the darkness, but nothing happened other than that. She was still in darkness…and she still wasn't aware of anything outside that darkness…but at least she now knew she wasn't the darkness.
I hope you like it. Just a reminder, because school will be starting soon, I won't be updating as much. How often I update will depend on how much free time I have.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome…but this is a no smoking zone, so no flames. Now…on to the (long) pretty list!

Thanks to: Corrupt Blossom, Dreamergirl92813, Hatake Kai, Alone in a Blizzard, SpeedDemom315, animelover123456, Challa, CosenAngel, Hugs4Gaara07, Sage Phoneix (You flatter me), Kiri Yumiko, White Wolf Pheonix, MissSakuraUchiha (I will try), UwIllNevERn0, DemonicAngel08 (It will be however long it needs to be), chester-roxs, Friesenator, LadySakuraForest, SnowSkadi (thanks for the info), SakuraHaruno89, unknown, anime queen420, BlackElement7, inu-babi-00, Wingless Arrow, Suzuki Uzumaki, pinkcherryblossom225, Kasaru Hatake, Jax9, Chibi Saku-Chan, Ri- 16-Chan, Anonymous, xokatherine229, tsuki-kage, Silence, Could-Careless, Snow Wing, sakura-angel113, puppydog20038, Uchihaitachi2007, DragonMaster Reborn, Jess Ishtar, fallin'sakura-tenshi, Itachi4Eva (yeah, I know that it's a mix between past and future…but the way society is run reminds me more of back in the past), baka-chan, Mistress Persephone, Chaerring Trinity (you'll just have to wait and see), badbunny1818, Jester08, Crazy Neko Girl, I-Love-Akatsuki, moonhuntress09, demon-lulu, TheFirstTime, Fallen Love (thanks), Ginny-cry, GreenEyedGrimKitty, TenshiAkki-Chan, scarletpyro91, magickbendingdemon, Starlight - Wild Koneko, xnarutoxrocksx, angelica, xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx, Straight from the Produce Section, LovesXRamenX2Xmuch123, Hitachiru-Chan, OkamiEmi (I did go back and found some of those errors…hopefully all of them), The Reveiwer known as Name, Akatsuki's-Kunoichi, Sunset Sky, fionfee (thanks, though I'm not quite sure I know what you mean by 'I kept it in the same form'), meisi, xo Misunderstood kunoichi ox, inuyasha2847684, LenoreHepburn, changeling child, Perfect Weapon, Krazykoreangurl, (insert), DeidaraAddiction, SakuBlossomOfTheSand, UchihaMarina, Chibi Kabuto, Rangerette, Nekory-Sama, butterfly breeze (Epilogue is like a prologue…just that prologues begin a story and epilogues end it. Both often show things that don't fit in with the main flow of the story, but that are important to know. Epilogues especially tend to be a while into the future so that you know how things ended up. In a sense, they tie up all the loose ends.), XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, oOfunkyrainbowOo, DudettRin101, Kagome093, Chocochip Haruka, Blackmusasabi, Hao'sAnjul, bubbleyum, Sandlewood996, Ilse Montague, chikarubunny, kiwi-kikia, Sailor Silver Moon, Anilmathiel Greenleaf, Sadistic Uchiha, & sailor emerald for reviewing!