Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and I make no money off this, and it is written for creative purposes only.
So, I decided it was a great idea the night I got Mum's laptop, to write like three chapters of Thud, now I've gone back over all of it and it's been totally rewritten. Also, Dad decided to put Doctor Who on and I'm fangirling over Jack and Rose And until a month ago no one decided it would be relevant to tell me that Torchwood was a Doctor Who spin off, anyway my little spiel is over, and here is your new chapter.
Sakura once again awoke to Itachi smelling blankets and warmth seeping into her from her pillow, and light filtering in from the dark curtains. In her half awake, dazed state she reached over and stretched happily occupying the whole bed, yawning as she did so.
"You're awake."
"Good morning, Itachi" She replied roughly. The conversation was becoming increasingly reminiscent of the one a couple of days ago.
"You are feeling better then?" Itachi enquired.
"I think so…what happened yesterday?" All Sakura could remember was eating breakfast, but everything was black when she got through half of her rice. Itachi grinned like a pig in shit.
"You, Sakura, passed out in the middle of your meal, face first in to your rice," She blushed and turned away in the hopes that he hadn't seen, but he had, "and once again I brought you back to bed so you could rest properly. Kisame looked rather offended that you fell asleep whilst eating his cooking." He chuckled at the horrified look on her face. An offended Kisame was never a good thing. Once again, Sakura's stomach decided to remind both of them how little she had eaten and violently yelled at them. Sakura sighed and dragged herself to sit on the edge of the bed to be greeted by the warm early autumn air, and Itachi striding across the room to help her to the kitchen if needed.
When she thought about it, Itachi really was rather caring, and a good friend. She thought back to when she and Sasori first joined the organization she was only thirteen, and Sasori was two years older, it seemed like forever ago, when it was in fact it was only eight years since that first meeting with Pein. Itachi, three years her senior, was civil for the most part, if not a little callous and rude sometimes, at that point in her life Sakura had been an incredibly incompetent ninja and a whiny bitch at the best of times, she still didn't know how he hadn't slaughtered her in her sleep. As the days turned into weeks, and Sakura found herself with Itachi as her new sparring partner. They had trained together for only six months before Sakura and Sasori began the visiting of the hidden villages to learn and share their medical skills, and in most villages only staying a month at a time, that was until they reached Konoha. It was their last stop, and not even Pein had expected the two to stay there for so long, but both nin had learnt valuable skills and met many people who they now considered good friends.
Itachi coughed and Sakura was brought back to reality still sitting on the edge of the bed. It made Itachi nervous seeing her eyes glazed over, and had begun to worry that something was wrong, when he realised she was day dreaming. In her reverie she had been absently staring at Itachi and he was slightly put out that she wasn't actually staring at him like he had first thought.
Sakura and Itachi reached the kitchen with little trouble, and entered to seeing Kisame hovering anxiously over the gas stove top, making sure he didn't burn anything. The fish man turned and huffed as he saw Sakura.
"Are you going to eat my food this time, or are you going to pass out again." Sakura's stomach answered for her and Kisame let loose a toothy grin scary enough to make grown men shit themselves. Sakura giggled as she sat down at the breakfast bar with Itachi and waited patiently for Kisame to finish cooking.
"Dobe. Did you tell Sakura we were coming?" Sasuke asked Naruto, who replied with a shit eating grin.
"Nope! We're going to surprise her." Kakashi could hear the smile in Naruto's voice and hoped to himself that Sakura would not be angry with him; Kakashi knew she liked to be told about things before they happened. The trio had begun early morning at the border of Fire and Sound countries; they had passed through the Valley of the End the night before. Now they were about to reach Otogakure. Since it was morning Kakashi knew they could reach Yugakure, in Hot Springs the next county over before sunset, he didn't particularly want to stay too long in the same place the creepy exiled snake sanin, Orochimaru. Besides, it would be nice to relax in at a resort for the night instead of sleeping on a tree root.
After breakfast Itachi and Sakura began talking, as they usually did during the day, but today Sakura was sprawled out over Itachi's bed, with him lounging quietly next to her, as she studied an aging tome from her library, and asked for his opinion on the effect of optical kekkei genkai on the bearer's natural sight. Itachi began to reply, but he was cut off when he heard a loud knocking at the door. He rose from the bed and opened the door to find Kisame in all his Akatsuki regalia.
"Get dressed, Pein has summoned us," Kisame told Itachi as he scanned the room, spotting Sakura he grinned and added, "you too, Pinky."
Pein sighed and gave the two males sitting in front of him an unimpressed look.
"Where is she?" The three of them had been sitting there waiting for Sakura for the past fifteen minutes, if it had been anyone else Pein would have gone and dragged her back to his office himself, but it was Sakura, and Pein just did not want to have to deal with the repercussions that came with annoying her.
"Probably doing her hair." Kisame grinned in response, which quickly fell because Sakura chose that particular moment to waltz in to the room and take her seat next to Itachi, who was in the middle.
"Actually, Kisame, once again I had the pleasure of picking lint off of my fucking robe. Again." Leaning over Itachi, she gave him a murderous grin as he wilted in his chair, in doing so she missed Itachi sit ramrod straight as the smell of Sakura's strawberry and white chocolate hair wash assaulted his nose.
"You have a mission." Pein said as he finished their conversation for them. "The three of you will go to Kumogakure and find and stop the rogue shinobi that are ambushing the civilians and merchants. I expect you back in one week, and you have half an hour to pack." With that the three shinobi left to gather what was needed for the mission, agreeing to meet in the kitchen in ten minutes for a quick lunch.
Unsurprisingly Sakura only packed necessities. Shuriken, senbon, kunai, vials of poison, bandages, vials of a couple of choice herbal concoctions; one that calmed the drinker and numbed the wound area, and one that was a sleeping draught. This would help her safe on chakra should they get into trouble. Other than that she had three scrolls to store her two changes of clothes, and a full water flask. They would catch any food they needed on the way, and flint wasn't a problem, they had Itachi's fire jutsu.
When Sakura entered the kitchen she found that Itachi was already at the breakfast bar, and that Sasori had already made ongiri and dango for lunch. Sakura crossed to the stool Sasori was sitting on and gave him a hug, as a pre-mission ritual, and also because she hadn't seen him in over a week.
"Going on a mission then?" He asked. She nodded in response.
"Lunch looks good." She smiled and took the seat between Sasori and Itachi, and set two sticks of dango, and two ongiri on the plate in front of her. She saw that Itachi had already devoured a stick of dango and was reaching for more. Itachi caught Sakura's eye as she looked at the left over skewer from the dango, his classic Uchiha smirk was followed by a wink in Sakura's direction; they both knew Itachi had a sweet tooth. Their interaction was interrupted by Kisame stomping down the hallway. He was seething; the murderous look on his face was enough to have Sakura cowering behind Itachi. If Kisame was mad then someone was going to end up with grievous bodily harm. Sasori was brave enough to ask what had happened.
"Fucking masochistic, bastardly, mental, psychopathic, demented, fucking asshole, dick, cock sucking, cock mongering, vagina of a religious fucking wanker." The three at the breakfast bar thought it was safe to assume he was raging at Hidan.
"The fuck face put a goddamn decapitated head in my fucking dresser, and severed arms in one of my robes. Now most of my fucking shit is all fucking bloody. Do you know how fucking long it's going to take me to get the blood out of the wood and my clothes? For FUCKS SAKE!" Unfortunately, Hidan chose this particular moment to stroll casually into the kitchen, about to make another cup of coffee, when Kisame grabbed him by the throat and growled.
"You're lucky you're fucking immortal you fucking sonofabitch." Hidan was slammed hard against the remainder of the wall separating the kitchen and lounge. Hidan grinned.
"Sorry, fishy. Did you not like my present?" Kisame responded by slamming the priest hard enough on the floor to break a few ribs. The medic in Sakura cringed. Hidan cackled and cursed at Kisame before he was thrown through the wall he had previously been slammed against and landed on his ass in the lounge. Kisame reached over and grabbed the remaining rice balls and sticks of dango.
"I'm fucking leaving." He announced and stomped back down the hallway.
Pein was scarily close to chopping the zealot up into little tiny pieces that not even Kakuzu could thread back together. He pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stem his rage.
"You did what?" Fucking idiot, Pein thought. Hidan just grinned. "All expenses will be paid by you. I don't care how much it costs, and you will not be living this house until it is fixed."
"Leader-sama isn't that a bit fucking harsh?"
"No." Zetsu had emerged through a wall.
"Your punishment will be to pay for all damages, and when Kisame returns, he will be given the opportunity to spar with you to release any pent up anger either of you may have." Pein explained.
"He will beat you to a bloody pulp. It will be entertaining." Zetsu cackled and disappeared back through the wall. Pein sighed.
"Leave." And waved Hidan out of the room.
'Fuck' He thought. His task would be significantly easier said than done. The Mizukage's daughter was completely surrounded by guards, even when sleeping. But, he was a patient man. He would do what his master required of him, even though he knew the plan that was being enacted was not his master's, but someone else's. Someone more powerful, who could in turn make his master more powerful, and subordinates like himself, in turn, would also reap the benefits. The grotesque looking man melded back into the shadows. He would wait.
The trio had stopped in a valley, next to a vibrant red and orange maple tree, halfway between the Akatsuki mansion and Kumo. They set up camp just as the sun was setting, and the air was beginning to cool. It was Kisame's turn to catch food, and Itachi started building a small fire, Sakura hummed softly to herself as she began searching bushes for any remaining berries. In luck, Sakura found a patch of new bamboo shoots, and began pulling them out. She hoped one of the other two had packed a small point.
The three settled down for their meal with the clapping of hands and Itadakimasu. Kisame had found a small river close by and caught some fish, and refilled their canteens, Itachi had been the one to bring a small pot, and so the bamboo shoots had been thoroughly cooked and peeled. They were immersed in a comfortable silence throughout their meal, which was a regular occurrence particularly after a few hours of running, and soon unpacked their bedrolls and lay next to the fire. Kisame began telling a story from his earlier years as a teenager, during which Sakura fell into a deep slumber. Both Itachi and Kisame smirked as drool pooled in the corner of her mouth.
She was running down the dank hallway, a small dinner knife in hand, the only weapon she could find. She could barely reach the handle of the door, and had to pause to get it open. It had given him time to catch up with her.
"You can't escape, Sakura." She began to sob, he was right. He had Sasori, there was no way she could leave, and even if she could she wouldn't last without her cousin.
"You're going to come with me." The man cackled gleefully. She didn't want to; she didn't want to go with him. He was evil, and would do evil things to her. She was a scared little girl, and this man would hurt her. The man dragged Sakura back down the hallway by her hair, threw her to the ground in a cell, and spat on her shaking form. She looked up to see Sasori's eyes burning in anger at the man that caused his last living relative pain. Sasori would kill this man for what he had done to them. The man cackled again.
"Try and play hero, boy. I dare you." He spat. Sasori made an attempt to loosen the ropes binding him to the chair. Smirking, the man lowered his face to Sasori and whispered in his ear.
"I will make you watch me do things so horrible to her, that you will wish you'd never been born." Sasori spat in the man's face in reply, Sakura was still sobbing on the floor. The man picked her up by the hair, and she screamed in pain.
"Open your eyes. Or I shall cut them open for you." Sakura let loose another sob and opened her eyes. The man pulled out a katana seemingly from nowhere and thrust forward straight into Sasori.
A violent scream tore through Itachi's veil of unconsciousness and he was up, kunai in hand, as was Kisame with Samehada. The scream had in fact, come from their female teammate, who was currently pressed up with her back against the maple kunai at the ready, with tears streaming down her face. Kisame lowered his sword and knelt down next to the kunochi; he removed her kunai and held her hand gently, rubbing circles into the back of her hand. Itachi followed suit, and brushed the hair off her face as he held her other hand. They knew her childhood before Akatsuki had not been pretty, and she often had night terrors, but they were a rarity during missions. In truth, most of which she had dreamt had been precisely that, a dream, but like most dreams it had stemmed from a memory. When she was five, she and Sasori had been captured by a brutal man in Iwagakure, and had been held a horrible dungeon for near six months, before a group of Iwa shinobi had come to kill him, but not before first severely damaging the blossom and her cousin. Itachi broke the silence.
"We're here, Sakura." Kisame hummed his agreement. Without warning, Sakura launched herself into Itachi's arms, sobbing violently. Kisame sat back and kept an eye on the two from a short distance. Itachi knew all about his past coming back to haunt him, and what had nearly happened was something he was deeply ashamed of, thank Kami-sama that the Akatsuki had interfered when they did, he shuddered to think of what would have happened. Hours passed, as Sakura cried into Itachi's chest, his top soaked in tears. He didn't care. As long as she felt safe, which apparently she did because she dozed off in his arms, snoring softly. Itachi gently laid her down on her bedroll, and when he got up to go to his own bed she whimpered quietly in her sleep. Making a quick decision, Itachi took his bed roll and lay it down next to Sakura's, feeling warmth she unconsciously snuggled into Itachi's chest and he wrapped an arm around her. Quietly wishing her sweet dreams, Itachi finally fell back asleep.
So yes, the majority of the content that was this chapter has been moved later into the plot. I found myself developing Itachi and Sakura's relationship too quickly and it just wasn't believable. I'm happy with my decision, because now I get to play around with memories and whatnot. Until next time Au revoir.