Sasuke's POV:

I had to prepare myself mentally to meet her face to face again. She was more than a friend from the beginning, even when we were rivals. She was a rival, friend, and then she was something more than a friend in my heart… but that was weakness on my part. That is weakness on my part, I don't know why, but she remained in my heart regardless the situation. I didn't want to fool myself, that's why Orochimaru had sent me to do this task in the first place.

-Flashback-

"Sasuke, a spy of mine has some interesting information regarding Itachi…and Serene…" Orochimaru hissed in his raspy voice. I kept my face down as my stare became colder.

"So? Why should I be interested? As long as it can help me get my revenge, I'm listening, if not I'm leaving, because this is a waist of my time, and I have to train." I said as I looked up, glaring at him.

"It seems, that Serene is a love interest to Itachi." He paused looking at me to check me expression. "So, I was thinking if you want to get Itachi, drag him into a trap, capture the girl and hold her hostage." I accepted his thinking. However, it was for a different reason that I wanted to do this.

-End Flashback-

I needed to assure myself that all my feeling for her had died the day I left Konoha. I remember when I kissed her for the first and only time. She was sleeping under our tree and she looked so content, that I couldn't help myself; I leaned down and pressed my lips gently to hers. I'm almost sure that she didn't notice it. It didn't matter id she did, anyways. That was all in the past now. I took a deep breath as I felt her chakra up ahead.

Her back was turned to me, thank God, but I could still feel the tension between us, the hesitation on my part and the possessive on hers. Possession over Itachi. No, I couldn't let my mind wander. Not now, so I pulled myself together and mustered up all the hate I could possibly have for her and focused on trapping her, or possibly, even killing her. I smiled at the last thought.

"Serene Hatari, long time no see." I said with no emotion in my voice. I braced myself to hear her voice again, to see her again.

"Has it been? I hadn't thought about you for so long, I couldn't tell." She said in a cold voice. That was a lie thought, I could tell. As good as she was at lying; she could never lie to me.

"You think I can't tell you're lying? Never mind that though; you and I have some business to attend to, don't we?" I shot at her.

She took off her robe and hung it on a tree branch near her as she responded, "I believe that we do." I noticed that she had a chokuto, similar to a katana but much shorter. She had excellent kenjustsu skills, and she never missed when she attacked with a sword. However, I was an expert swords master myself now. I waited for her to turn around and actually fight. Then she turned around slowly, as if to taunt me. When I finally did get a good look at her face, it took every ounce of control not to have any sort of emotion seep through me. She was so…beautiful, more so than before. I waited for her to make the first move.

She was like lightning, she moved towards me with her chokuto, which I now recognized to be Jotu, her personalized and fire infused chokuto. It was made to influence maximum pain to whoever got pierced by it. It was extremely painful to be stabbed by it, I know from experience. I was messing around with Jotu once and accidently cut myself on the arm, and it was so painful that even I couldn't help but cry out I pain. It was just a tiny cut then, I have to make sure not to get close to that monstrous blade. But she needed to watch out for my blade as well. Kusanagi was made specially to be run through with my chidori. I could numb my enemy if I stabbed them with Kusanagi, and my cutting range and the sharpness of my blade increased by a lot.

I pulled out Kusanagi and blocked Jotu, just before it reached me. She stared me in the eyes with a glare of fury, and hatred. I swung around and sliced at her. She jumped back and swung Jotu around her with amazing speed. Then she launched herself at me. I stayed perfectly still. Right before she made contact I flipped so I was behind her and wrapped some wires around her arms. Jotu was thrown across the forest. She glared at me angrily and yelled "Damn it! Sasuke now I have to kill you and find Jotu, thanks a lot!"

I glared at her nastily and then spat back, "Well, if you weren't so weak hearted then we wouldn't be here now would we?" Then I scolded myself for saying that. Even though it was completely unfair to say that, I couldn't take it back.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she muttered. Her face gave her away. She knew what I meant she just wanted to hear it from my mouth.

"You know very well what that means. It means that you," I pulled on the wire as it cut through her flesh slightly, "went off with Itachi. That you fell for his stupid act." She froze for a split second, and then she yelled, "Body Lightning Release!" A jolt of lighting spread from her body, similar to my chidori current. I let the wire goad n jumped back. I think I pissed her off. She turned to face me, her sharingan activated. She was really pissed off.

"So are yo saying that you aren't weak hearted? After all you did go and get together with Ikuzai, my sister! So don't tell me that I'm weak hearted!" she fumed as she threw lightning kunais at me violently. She wasn't even aiming at me anymore she was just pissed off.

"Enough talk, let's finish this!" I yelled at her as I got my Cursed Mark to get to its second stage. I flew quickly to where she was and round kicked her jaw. She fell to the ground and spat blood on the floor, then jumped back up faster than I expected her to do and she punched me on the neck. I pulled a kunai out and then I threw it in her direction as she jumped back. It hit her on the leg and she fell when she landed, I smirked. I approached her and she whimpered slightly, when I threw the next kunai on her other leg. It was a pretty deep cut.

She was starting to recover from the pain, when I grabbed Kusanagi and did chidori current. Then I stabbed her stomach. Blood splattered everywhere. She coughed up blood and started shaking. I smiled; she wasn't going to anywhere now. I avoided vital spots on purpose, I needed her alive to trap Itachi. As I tied her ankles and wrists I started feeling bad for her, so I wrapped her stomach injury slightly. But that's when I remembered that whenever I touched her blood I would see what she saw, whether she was conscious or not, which in this case was not. I saw a flash of my face when I was younger before I flinched and pulled my hand back.

We had done a pact when we were younger with her demon, Nagari, when we were sure we'd be there for each other for everything. We mixed our blood and the she bonded us together for life, which meant that we could see what each other thought as long we touched each others' blood. I held her in my arms and ran through the trees to the secret abandoned hideout. When I reached there I ran into my old room to heal her wounds and wake her up. I set her down on my bed and saw her struggle unconsciously. I was curious to why she was thinking of me as a child so I touched her wound again. I was taken into the realm of her mind.

-In Serene's Mind (Serene's POV)-

I was standing in the border of the forest and the hidden entrance to the Village. I stood there fuming as I stared at the two men in front of me. "Itachi Uchiha, what a horrible surprise. I assume the ugly one next to you is Kisame Hoshigaki." I said to them. Kisame looked astonished to hear that I knew who he was and that I had the guts to call him ugly, but like expected, Itachi remained still, with no emotion going through his face. That much I expected, but what came next was completely out of the blue.

"It has come to our attention that you have grown stronger than your teammates and that you are seeking revenge, so the Akatsuki would like to offer you to join this elite group." Itachi said calmly and smoothly. My eyes widened in shock, 'This must be a trap', I thought. Kisame grinned at my expression. "And no, Serene, this is not a trap. This is a genuine invitation; you need only to accept and prove yourself worthy to the leader and you are guaranteed your revenge." Itachi continued.

"That's right." Kisame said, "Though I have no idea why he chose you, you look weaker than Itachi's brother. If I had to choose someone I would have rather of chosen him over you." I was full of rage now, how dare he call me weaker than Sasuke! However, I controlled all my fury towards them and appeared calm.

"Now tell me this, why would I join a group who wants to capture one of my teammates and friends? Why would I join a group full of criminals?" I said softly to them.

Itachi looked up from the ground and said in a commanding voice, "Go on ahead Kisame. I can see she will need some convincing, or to be disposed of…" Kisame smirked at the last thought and jumped into the forest and out of sight. "You know that you won't get another opportunity like this again, don't you? I can see it in your eyes, you want to take this opportunity, but something is holding you back… is it my brother?" I looked him straight in the eyes, something that was not smart, especially since he was a Magenkyo sharingan user, but I ignored that fact and did so anyways.

"You think you can come here and just try and take me away, don't you? Give me a good reason to leave Konoha, to leave my team, and all I've ever known, and I'll leave with you. Just give me a good reason." I told him. He looked at me and then took a deep breath.

"I'll give you a good reason. All of your potential is rotting away here. Do you think anyone here actually is going to help you get your revenge? Answer me this, since you've been in that so-called team of yours has your want for revenge waned? Have you started to forget why you wanted revenge in the fist place? Have you started to fall in love with Sasuke?" He asked me in an even tone.

I was caught off-guard by the last question, but other than that, I realized that what he said was true. I had stopped training as hard as I used to before, my need for revenge had lowered, and I found myself wondering sometimes if it was worth all the trouble to go after Ikuzai. "You have convinced me, but I have one question for you, and if you can answer me this, I will leave as soon as I can. What makes you think that I would team up with you, the source of Sasuke's pain? He and I share a similar past, you might as well of caused my pain. So tell e why I should join this 'elite group'" I challenged him.

He smiled a small smile, "I thought that you would ask me that. Let me answer you with this: would you rather join my team and have your revenge at your grasp, or stay here and never reach your true goal?" I cursed inside my mind, he was right. But what would Sasuke think of this? I stopped myself; he would do the same thing if he was offered a chance to kill Itachi. He wouldn't hesitate, and neither would I.

I smiled slyly, "Meet me in a week a mile northwest from the entrance to Konoha, because Itachi, you have convinced me. Make sure not to bring Kisame, or I will have to kick his… well you get the idea."

"I'm glad I could convince you. I'll make sure to be there, and if you bring anyone else with you, I'll kill you all. Now, I wish you good luck in advance in convincing Pain to let you join." He bowed slightly then jumped and like Kisame, he disappeared. Then things blurred together as the scene changed.

Now I was on the day I left Konoha. I was walking slowly towards the entrance, when I heard a soft thud. I stopped. Was someone following me? No. I walked forward and shook my head. That's when I saw him. Sasuke was gently setting Sakura on a bench beside him, but that's not what startled me, Sasuke was wearing his traveling backpack. He was leaving. I walked with a little more urgency, when I reached him I asked, "What are you doing out here so late?"

He stopped, "Hn, go back to your apartment Serene." Then he kept walking.

"Why do you have your backpack?" I asked him even though I already knew. He stopped and turned around. When he saw me with mine he looked shocked.

"Why do you have yours?" He sounded worried.

"I have to leave this village. If I don't then all my potential will rot here and all my effort to kill Ikuzai will have been for nothing…" I responded.

"I'm leaving too. Come with me, I'm sure that he'll let you stay if you prove yourself worth-"

I interrupted him, "Who?"

"Orochimaru, he's going to train me, and I'll be strong enough to kill Ita-"

"What? You're going with that snake? You traitor!"

"What do you mean?"

"You know that Ikuzai is with that slithering monster! You're betraying me!"

"So what? I'm getting more power, something you lack!

That stopped me. I was planning on not telling him this, but now he left me no choice, " Well, you're leaving with that snake, did you think that I'd leave on my own with nowhere to go? I'm leaving with Itachi to join the Akatsuki. I'm going to true power!"

He looked at me in fury. "What? You're leaving with Itachi… I thought you said I was betraying you? That is the ultimate betrayal!"

The moment those words left his mouth, they stabbed me in the heart. "I have to go. Itachi is waiting," I said," and Sasuke, you do realize this now makes us enemies, right?" Then I ran to him. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him until there were tears in my eyes. Then as I was pulling away he hugged me back.

"I know. So let this be the moment that we severe the bond we had as friends and begin as enemies..." he whispered sadly.

I pulled away and ran as fast as my legs could carry me away from him, from my past.

When I was with Itachi, he smiled slightly and showed me a piece of cloth. I tilted my head slightly to the side in curiosity. He motioned me to turn around. Once I did he placed the piece of cloth against my eyes like a blindfold. I couldn't believe that he didn't trust me enough to take me without a blindfold. Then the ground disappeared from under me. I gasped. He was going to carry me there, of course. I felt his chest against my head and body. It would be much more efficient and easy to carry me if he put me over his shoulder, why would he carry me like this?

"Itachi, why are you carrying me like this?" I asked him.

"Because you need to rest, and it would be uncomfortable for you in any other way. That's why." He answered me coolly.

I lay there in his arms in shock. Was this the same Itachi who murdered his entire clan? I decided to test his patience. "Why do you care if I'm comfortable?"

"I don't, however Pain is not easy to convince and you are going to need all of your energy to prove yourself worthy, so go to sleep." He retorted roughly. That was his limit in talking, I guess.

I sighed and agreed with him with a slight nod. I laid my head against his chest and closed my eyes. The scene fast forwarded to the nest morning when we reached the hideout of the Akatsuki. There he took the makeshift blindfold off and lead me to what seemed to be a large training room. There a group of people, whom I assumed to be the rest of the Akatsuki, gathered in a corner.

"Who is this, Itachi?" An orange headed guy with chakra rods covering his face said.

"This is Serene Hatari. She's who you asked to meet." He responded.

"That's a child! What kind of joke is this Itachi-kun, hn?" A man from the corner shouted.

"Deidara is right, that is nothing more than a child." The orange headed guy asked. I was going to guess and say that was Pain.

"I am not a child!" I yelled. Everyone ignored me as if I wasn't even there.

"Kill her, Itachi." Pain said. When I heard that I went on defensive mode.

"Nagari!" I yelled even louder. She appeared as a wolf-hawk hybrid. Everyone but Pain and Itachi gasped in shock.

"She has the potential to kill off entire villages; we just need to train her well." Itachi said in my defense.

"I'll be the judge of that. Bring out the child Orochimaru sent, Zetsu." Pain said. A guy that was half black and half white disappeared into the ground while smiling. When he resurfaced he was carrying a small child with him. The child was blindfolded and his hands and feet were bound. He was thrashing around wildly. If I had to kill a child that Orochimaru sent to prove myself worthy, then kill the child I would. Pain made some hand signs and there was a chakra force field around the training room, only the members of the Akatsuki were on the outside, safe. I took in a deep breath and the child was set free.

My memories blurred in the blood that shed, the blood of the boy, and then stopped when he was killed, painfully. Pain then said, "Fine, she can stay. Give her the extra rooms in the hideouts. She will be in your team Itachi, and you will train her." Itachi nodded his head and then led me away to my room.

"You handled killing that boy pretty well, almost naturally. Good job, you are now one step closer to achieving your revenge." He congratulated me.

"Yes, well, I would like to know more about this organization and its purpose. Would you care to enlighten me?" I asked him without accepting his compliment.

"Actually, you are not technically part of Akatsuki. You are just here until you believe you are ready to go for your revenge. You will assist when asked, and you will follow all rules, but you are not a member of Akatsuki, officially." He answered me.

"Fine, then, but I since I will be in your team I would like to ask you one thing," I started slowly.

"And what would that be?" He said with a certain annoyance.

"I take it that you are the one who told Pain about me, since you happen to know me so well, but, the question here is, why?" I asked curiously.

He sighed, "When we spied on your team, you seemed the one to never hesitate to gain the upper-hand in all situations. This and we also saw that after I had asked you to join Akatsuki, you had a confrontation with Kakashi Hatake, and also… you are part of the Hatari Clan, the youngest too. This means that you also have sharingan, and that demon. What's her name again? Nagari?" He asked me. I only nodded my head. It was rare when someone knew that the Hatari's had the sharingan, but I already knew how he knew. "Anyway you should be getting some sleep, tomorrow we start training. Oh and one more thing, I find you… attractive." Then he leaned down and pecked me on the cheek and left.

I was furious and happy, but mostly confused. Why had he kissed me, and he found me attractive? He must be trying and mess with my mind. I was not going to fall for a stone cold murdered. Although he was quite handsome, and he could definitely help me get revenge on Ikuzai… perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea to fall for a guy like him.

-Back to Reality- (Serene's POV)

I opened my eyes slowly to find Sasuke holding my wound and that's when I remembered the pact. I was in awe that he even remembered about that. Did he see everything? I hope that he didn't, because he could also hear my thoughts like spoken words. "Why? Why did you decide to touch my blood? My mind is none of your business!" I scolded him. He had lifted his hands from my stomach by now and was sitting down on the bed next to me. Without saying a word he finished bandaging my wounds and then he spoke slowly as if he wasn't sure of his words, "I don't know, exactly. I was just curious. And don't worry about Orochimaru; I'm not taking you to him anymore."

I was surprised at what he said. "Why? Are you going to kill me here? "I was suspicious of him.

"No. I'm not going to kill you; I'm going to let you go." He said coolly. I was even more surprised at that. He was going to let me go? But, why?

"You are acting very odd, Sas-"Then I froze. He had grabbed my hand and was holding it, "Sasuke what are you doing?"

"I am going to be selfish, Serene." He murmured into my hand. I felt his soft, warm lips place small kisses on my hand. Oh, how much I'd wanted those lips to touch me again. I remember the last time he kissed me; he kissed me on the lips, thinking I was asleep. I raised his face with my free hand and said, "Well, two can play at that game." Then I leaned down as he leaned forward and our lips clashed hungrily. I kissed him with even more passion than I ever used when kissing Itachi. I had to get away from here before I said something even more stupid and harmful.

As we kissed I started to drain his chakra through our lips. He hardly noticed until I pulled away. I took us to the world of the Demons, where I placed the scene by our special tree in Konoha. Then I summoned Nagari. "Nagari, tie him up until most of his chakra is drained. Leave him unconscious. An eye for an eye, right Sasuke?" Then I turned my back to him and uttered three words before he passed out, "I'm sorry, Sasuke." I walked outside. I recognized this place; it was Orochimaru's old hideout. I walked in the direction of the battle, so I could find Jotu and get to the rendezvous point with Itachi.

My wounds weren't as bad as I thought they would be, that was good, that way I could do the surgery. My clan had special chakra that allowed a special surgery where a certain Element was injected into the person and if they survived the horrible physical pain, they could control that particular Element and not use up any of their chakra. Ikuzai could use two Elements, Wind and Earth. My goal is to gain control of all five Elements, Wind, Earth, Water, Fire, and Lightning. The only problem is that each Element increases the chances of death during the surgery. Only one person in the Hatari clan ever achieved that goal, but she was murdered in her sleep by her power-craving husband. I would be the second person, and I will make sure that I have gained all five Elements before I kill Ikuzai, so she sees that I am stronger than her by miles.

I arrived where we started to battle and I looked around for Jotu. After I found it, I returned it to its sheath and took my robe off the branch where I had left it. I walked to the rendezvous point where Itachi was leaning calmly against a tree. "You're late, again if I might add." He muttered.

"You're idiot brother, decided to take me to Orochimaru's old hideout, so I had to take a bit longer than expected." I responded evenly. Then Nagari appeared out of nowhere. She nodded. I turned to Itachi.

"The Element is ready, I'm guessing?" Itachi asked. Nagari and I nodded simultaneously. "Well, I guess we can get sidetracked by a little. Kisame can handle the spy on his own. Knowing him he probably was planning on taking him out on his own anyways, so let's go." I rolled my eyes and opened a portal to the Demon World. As we walked in, Nagari led us to a cave were there was an operating table with chains. Nagari led me to the table. She chained my wrists and then my ankles.

"You know you can still back out of this. You can still walk away-"Nagari started.

"No. We've discussed this before. I will go through this, no matter the consequences." I interrupted her before she made me look like a fool in front of Itachi.

She bowed then she spoke up again, "You will experience both physical and mental pain. They will be horrible and you have to withstand it until the Element is in you system completely. I wish you the best of luck." She then shifted to her human form and grabbed a syringe with clear liquid, but was shining. Itachi grabbed my hand and held it tightly.

"Itachi, no matter what I say, or scream, you can't go near me. I will be okay after the implant is done, however, in the process you can't intervene, or I might die." I told Itachi. He seemed shocked for the slightest bit, but then recovered and nodded. I closed my eyes and waited for the pain to begin.