…I do Not own Naruto…

Chapter Two: Unbridled Fury

"What are you thinking, Uchiha?" Kisame shot his partner a quizzical glance. "Do you want me to take care of the kunoichi?"

"No. We need to form a new plan. Besides," his eyes turned toward the clouds that moved in to block the stars, "it looks like its going to rain."

"You want to leave the nine-tails?"

Itachi nodded. "There's no way to approach right now without raising an alarm. The girl was the one weak point I had hoped to exploit. However, there's more to her than meets the eye."

"Alright." The blue man shouldered Samaheda. "Let's get going then. All this sneaking around annoys me."

Itachi silently agreed with his partner. While observation was an intricate part of a mission, he disliked the inaction that inevitably came along with it. They were men of action. It was their way of life.

As they turned to leave, something snapped the Uchiha's attention back as a dark form barreled out of the brush at them.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura hopped down out of her tree.

Something was out there. She couldn't put her finger on just what it was, but she was not the only intelligent being awake within the parameter of camp.

I wonder what kind of animal it could be. She ran through the possibilities of it in her mind. Only something predatory would have been able to change the atmosphere so suddenly.

Maybe it's injured and needs help. She frowned. Whatever it was, it was on the move. She would have to pick up her pace.

When she finally felt as if she'd closed the gap, she flung herself through the wall of brush that separated them.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

For a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, the three shinobi stared at one another.

Shocked emerald eyes were mirrored in red sharingan. Even Kisame was so unprepared for the intrusion that he momentarily dropped the hold he had on his sword.

Sakura froze under the Uchiha's gaze like a rabbit caught within a snare. Her mind barely registered the men before her while her body screamed at her to move. Go! Back to camp! Get back to camp!

But her limbs were frozen.

Itachi hide his surprise well. He hadn't sensed the chakra of the medic as she'd approached. How foolish—she ran off into the woods on an instinct. She could have been on the trail of anything.

In that briefest of moments, he analyzed her. The look in her eyes went from complete and utter shock to muted anger. Her stance was strong. Everything about her screamed determination, but there was an apparent uncertainty about her that he couldn't figure out. Logic was telling her to run.

He couldn't allow her to wake up the rest of her party.

But instead of bolting as he expected her to, Sakura's eyes narrowed. The word, when it came out of her mouth, was so full of primal rage that she almost growled it.

"You!" She snarled at him…

…and expertly jumped to the side as Kisame's sword swung down.

The shark-man chuckled. "Next time, kuinoichi, I will not miss."

Her eyes remained on Itachi, and she ignored the other Akatsuki completely. That's him. That's the man who ruined Sasuke-kun's life. That's the man who is hunting Naruto. That's why he's here. HE WANTS TO KILL NARUTO!"

Itachi glided backwards, dodging Sakura's swings as she came at him. He made no effort to retaliate, aware that his indifference was al the more infuriating for her. His sharingan watched her chakra-infused swings. She had no hope of hitting him as long as he was able to read her motions.

But Itachi was also smart enough to avoid carelessness. He wasn't about to ignore the threat a punch from the pink-haired woman posed.

With speed that was almost impossible to track, Itachi went from being in front of Sakura to being suddenly behind her. He caught on of her arms loosely and twisted it behind her back. The point of a kunai touched the small of her back.

"That was rather unimpressive, Sakura-san," he said quietly.

She ignored the ominous pressure of metal on her back and spun around, aiming her elbow at the sharingan master's head.

Without the effort of blocking her attack, he simply moved ever-so-slightly and hit her square in the chest with the butt of his hand.

A whoosh of air erupted from the stunned medic's lips as she slid backward. Unable to catch her breath, she slumped to her knees; hand clutched at the site of where he'd fractured her breastbone. Her green eyes bore into Itachi as the calm Akatsuki watched a small line of blood run from the corner of her mouth down her chin.

"She's quite pissed at you, Uchiha." Kisame stepped up beside his partner. "Have you two met before?"

Itachi shook his head.

"Want me to finish her off?"

"You!" Sakura's whispered declaration brought their attention back to her. She had regained her stance, the broken bone already mostly healed. A line of blood still shown on her mouth, and her eyes burned with an even fiercer determination.

Impressive. Itachi regarded her thoughtfully. Her hatred for him was palpable. He could almost taste the bitter tang of her anger. He'd only felt that one other time in his life.

"Sasuke." Itachi said his brother's name as a statement of fact. The medic's anger had something to do with Sasuke.

"Eh?" Kisame hefted his sword. "I've got this one, Itachi. You need to rest up for that Kyuubi brat."

The look in Sakura's eyes instantly changed at the mention of Naruto. Itachi saw it—saw the look of hatred melt into one of fear, and then harden into anger again.

He held up his arm, stopping Kisame. "Wait."

Sakura felt a chill go through her. Pain still radiated from her injured chest. She ignored it, and readied herself for their attack. She kicked herself mentally for being so foolish. If Kakashi knew she'd gone off alone, he'd have sent her back to Konoha. All it had gotten her was a less than honorable death at the hands of the man she hated most in the entire world.

"You're four-man cell was after me, was it not, Sakura-san?"

Her emerald gaze lifted to the red sharingan and then dropped back down to the ground. She wouldn't betray her teammates even in the face of death.

Itachi frowned slightly. "It is against Konoha law to kill a surrendered shinobi isn't it?"

Her brow furrowed. What is he up to?

"Well then, in that case," Itachi spread his hands, "we surrender."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sasuke ignored whatever Karin was yammering about. Something Suigetsu said was bothering him.

"You did something to Sasuke al long time ago, didn't you Karin?" And then the black haired woman punched the aspiring swordsman with all her strength.

Karin had done something to him years ago. The memory of it was foggy. He barely remembered the first time he'd met her, but he did remember that Orochimaru had brought him to meet her for a purpose.

But he just couldn't remember what that purpose was.

He glanced over at Juugo. The man was calmer now, but he was still more on edge than Sasuke would have liked. It was a shame having him along when he adamantly did not want to hurt anyone else.

But then again, Sasuke didn't have him along because of his fighting ability.

His hand subconsciously rubbed the curse mark on hi neck. Whatever the science behind it was, the curse seal was originally created from Juugo's genes. Orochimaru and Kabuto conspired together to create the curse seal.

And the bottom line was, if it was something they could create then it was something that could be cured.

Perhaps, when all was said and done, Tsunade would be able to use Juugo to create a remedy for Sasuke's curse mark.

He sighed inwardly and increased the distance between him and Karin. It annoyed him that she felt so familiar to him. It was almost as if he'd known her his whole life. She'd invaded his thoughts. It seemed, almost too coincidentally, that she popped into his mind whenever he was tempted to think back on his ex-teammates.

Someone else used to be on his mind. But again, he couldn't think of who it was.

Sasuke frowned.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kakashi rarely got mad. Especially at Sakura.

But now, as he watched the two Akatsuki sitting in the midst of camp, he was so furious he couldn't find any words.

Itachi let the barest hint of a smile touch his lips. He was aware that Kakashi was debating whether or not to just kill them. He was aware of the loud ranting that came from the Kyuubi container. He was aware of the silent scrutiny of the pale youth beside Naruto. But all of his attention was on Sakura.

The medic did her best to ignore their new prisoners. She could feel eyes on her, and it was making her incredibly angry. Part of her felt as if Itachi wanted her to lose her temper again.

Whatever the reason for it, she certainly could do without the attention of the sharingan.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Coming soon: Chapter 3: Female Enigma