AN: Edited June 27th, 2007.

Disclaimer: I'm a slave to Naruto. Doesn't mean I own it.


I Just Wanted To...

Scroll II - Bind


Sasuke laid on the hospital bed as Tsunade, herself, performed the healing jutsus to restore his body. He didn't care why she was the medic assigned to him, in fact, he was glad. She wasn't Hokage for nothing. And he had a few questions for her.

"Hokage-sama."

Tsunade looked up from her work, catching Sasuke's pensive expression. "Yes, Sasuke-kun?"

"Why was Sakura assigned to that mission? It was A-rank."

Tsunade paused, frowning, and returned to her work. "I'm not at liberty to discuss those details, Sasuke." She replied evenly, straightening up. "You're finished. Take it easy for the next 48 hours and you should be fine." Quickly, she turned and left, leaving him staring at her retreating form.

Tsunade massaged her temples as she walked back toward her office. Things were not looking good.


Itachi walked slowly back toward his quarters, his arm resting in the opening of his robe as he recalled his superiors' words. He was allowed to keep Sakura as long as he remained able to continue his work with efficiency. It was a fair trade and he obliged.

He opened the door to see the Medic cleaning up. Turning, the man straightened up to give his report. "Itachi-sama. The girl has been attended to. I've administered an antidote to her, but the poison will leave her left side numb for a few days and her senses dulled. She'll need to stay off her right leg for at least twenty four hours until my jutsu has completely sealed the wound. And she'll need to stay on her stomach for a while. She has severe bruising on her back, and muscles. That is all."

Itachi gave a short nod, letting the man dismiss himself with a bow. Turning, he pushed open the door, and stared at the figure on his bed. She lay on her stomach, indeed, face turned to the side to allow her to breathe. Her upper body was bare and he could see the dark contusions that covered the majority of her swollen backside.

He walked across his room, feet never making a sound on the wooden floor as he stopped in front of his bed, staring down at her. She had been cleaned up to the point he could actually make out her fair skin and the chipped nail-polish on her fingers. His face impassive, Itachi captured a lock of her hair in his fingers, thumb brushing over the strands that needed to be washed. Pink. He wouldn't be surprised if the girl was named something soft and feminine like Sakura or Miyako. Not fit for a ninja. No wonder she was in such a mess. It seemed she preferred her appearance to training. He nearly frowned. Surely his brother wasn't such a fool to be interested in this girl? Unless the quality in Konoha kunoichi had dropped greatly, he could do better.

The girl was also too thin. He didn't know how long she had been without food but it was obvious she wasn't properly taking care of herself. No wonder she was beaten to a pulp. And they let her become a Chuunin? He shook his head, letting go of her hair. Then again, maybe there was something there he couldn't see. He knew not to give a premature judgment of a ninja until he had seen them in battle. It was true he didn't know who she was against. Perhaps she had some skills.

...Perhaps.

However, he knew that this girl would not be happy once she awoke. And if her will to live was anything, she'd be a handful if he didn't do something before she got to the state of consciousness. Besides, it was best to take care of the first stages of his plan while she was sleeping.

Itachi had already formed several parts of his plan, considering the possible actions for each. For every flaw he found, he would alter the idea until it suited him. Calmly, he slid a kunai out of his holster, and sliced through a thick lock of hair. He returned the kunai to its place as he fingered the pale pink hair in his palm.

Moving to a set of shelves across the room, he tucked away the lock of hair for later use. Before returning to Sakura, however, he picked up a bottle of ink and a brush from the shelf. Moving back to where she lay, he sat down beside her, tucking stray strands of his hair behind his ears. Glancing once over her discolored backside, he pushed her hair aside and opened the bottle of ink with his finely manicured fingers.

Setting aside the cap, he dipped the brush into the black ink, saturating the tip, and began his work just below her right shoulder. His strokes were deliberate but smooth and elegant. Nothing less than one would expect from Uchiha Itachi. Finishing the design, he set aside the brush and closed the jar of ink. Already, the markings were drying.

It was not a complex arrangement. A simple symbol that resembled the sharingan, with an opening in the center, and three kanji was all it consisted of. But it would prove more than effective for its purpose. Now nearly complete, Itachi took his kunai and drew it across his thumb as the blood accumulated at the surface of the skin. Turning his hand palm down, he placed his thumb in the design's center and activated his chakra.

The entire outline came to life, momentarily glowing blue as the chakra sealed it into Sakura's skin. In the center where Itachi placed his thumb, a red kanji formed.

It was the kanji for "Bind".

And the seal was complete.

Standing up, he returned the items to their proper places before picking up a book from one of his shelves. Taking a seat in a chair by the window, Itachi opened the book, propped his chin up with his hand and began to read.


That... had to be the hardest thing Uzumaki Naruto had ever done in his life.

In fact, upon completion of the writing exam for Anbu rank, Naruto was actually cradling his head in his hands, murmuring incoherent things.

Now he waited outside the office as his exams and application were being looked over. Already they had tested his abilities, and although he wasn't at his best, he still believed he did a good job.

However, that thought didn't keep him from wringing his hands together as he sat on the chair in the waiting room. His eyes fixated on a piece of lint on the floor as waited. So maybe he was a little more nervous than he was letting on. But if he didn't pass he had a backup plan which involved Tsunade, a lot of sake and a scroll giving him Anbu rank with her signature.

But he hoped he didn't have to use it. That woman was damn scary when she was mad.

However, Naruto's waiting didn't last long as the door opened and the examiner walked out to greet him. The man's face was completely lacking of any emotion and thus Naruto had no idea how he did. In fact, the boy had forgotten to breathe as he waited for the results. Finally remembering he needed oxygen, he took a breath and stood up. "Well?"

The man handed Naruto a paper. The boy looked down at it, his brows arched. Damn, it was in kanji. "What does this mean...?"

"You scored a percentile of 59 on the written exam. One percent below failing."

Naruto's face paled as his hand starting shaking and stared up at the man who didn't even give him a sympathetic look.

"However, on your physical performance test, you scored over 80 even with your injuries. Therefore, given the average, we will put you on a test mission. We will evaluate your performance during this mission then make a decision."

Naruto's eyes widened as he jumped up. "REALLY?! You mean it?" With enthusiasm only the Kyuubi vessel could express, he jumped up, hugged the examiner and ran off.

"...He didn't even ask to see what mission he was going to be put on."


Sasuke had been released from the hospital and was now sitting alone in his house, staring into the depressing shadows of the room. Shrouded in darkness, Sasuke let his pain take over him as he closed his eyes, reliving nightmares and past events.

Yes, he had stopped his mission to kill Itachi. No, it didn't mean if the man showed up, he'd let him live, but Sasuke, after some thorough pounding, realized that killing Itachi was just what he wanted him to do. Sasuke wasn't about to give him that satisfaction. He had to smirk at his thinking. It was so stupid, yet at the same time, it somehow made sense in his twisted, little mind. I'm not going to kill the murderer of my clan because he told me to do so. I'll let him live and suffer. He can be miserable like I am. Stuck in this pathetic excuse for a life.

But there was one thing that Sasuke had that Itachi didn't have.

Friends. Naruto. Sakura. Kakashi.

They had become his family. They could never replace that which was taken from him, but they kept him alive in more ways than one.

And he'd be damned before he let any one of them be taken away from him.

Just hold on, Sakura. We'll find you.


Pain. It was the first thing she felt. Actually, it was all she felt for a good few minutes. She couldn't open her eyes. It hurt, but she kept trying. She wanted to go back to sleep, but she felt that she had been asleep for a very long time. She finally managed to partially open her eyes and just stared. It was all a blur of colors.

She blinked. Again, and again. Slowly, her vision began to clear. It was gradual, but in about five minutes, she could see decently again.

Her body was heavy. She had no strength; it seemed to take every ounce of willpower to just breathe. Her mind was blank. Where was she? Who was she? No coherent thoughts could be processed. Eyelids heavy, she blinked.

She was Haruno Sakura.

She was a Chuunin of Konohagakure.

She was... supposed to be dead.

Visions of what happened played in her mind as she trembled slightly. The blood, the pain, the fear, the fall.

Was this what it was like to be dead? Your body so heavy and your senses so dull? No, the pain was too real for her to be dead.

While she waited for her body to wake up and respond, she took note of her surroundings. She lay on a bed, her head resting on the mattress just below the pillow. Beside the bed was a plain nightstand with a lamp. She looked up with her eyes and saw the entrance to what was a bathroom. She could make out the start of a tiled floor before it disappeared behind the threshold. Her eyes traveled onward, giving her something to think about besides the pain. The walls were plain, wooden, and bare. A door on the wall across from her was pulled shut. It, too, was bare of any decoration. In the center of the room were a set of tatami mats and a low-rise table in traditional Japanese style. Behind her, on the wall right of the door, she could make out the beginning of some sort of closet and desk set. But that's where her line of sight ended.

By now she could feel more than numbing pain. Biting down on her lip, she slowly moved her arm, bending the elbow until her palm pressed into the mattress. Again with the other arm, both palms against the mattress, she pushed. Her arms shook and her joints nearly gave way but determination seeped through her as she pushed her upper body off of the mattress and forced herself to sit up. It hurt. Greatly.

But she didn't care.

Her body was stiff. Dull, tired eyes again took in her surroundings. It was at that time she realized her chest was bare. Her reactions were slow and uncharacteristic of her nature. Reaching out with one hand she grasped the pillow and pulled it to her chest slowly, hugging it to her. It was something to hold on to. She shifted her body until she had turned around to look at the rest of the room. Pain erupted from her body with the movement of any and every muscle but she just winced. The pain wasn't going to subside anyway.

If her senses had not been so dull, she would have smelled the dirt and sweat that clung to her body and felt the chilling air caressing her skin and even the smooth fabric of the pillow she clung to; however, all she had at the moment was her sight, so she took advantage of that.

Now able to look around more thoroughly, she could see the desk from her earlier observations was rather elaborate. It started out on the left as a small wardrobe for clothes before turning into a desk. Above the desk were a set of shelves decorated with random objects, most of which were ninja related. The desktop itself was spare of any items and a plain wooden chair was pushed in under it. On the right was a set of wooden cabinets with glass panels to which more items could be seen, some familiar to her and some not.

The light in the last corner informed her of a window. She shifted her weight until she could comfortably face the window to see the sunlight. Her eyes widened when she saw she was not alone. A cloaked figure sat in a chair by the window. Chin resting in his hand, elbow on the window seal and a book in his lap; one would think he hadn't even noticed her.

She would have attempted to say something had her throat not been so dry. She wanted to see this man's face. He had to be the one who saved her.

However, he spoke first, still staring out the window. "I did not expect you to wake so soon, kunoichi."

Although sounds were muffled she could tell his voice was rich and deep. She tilted her head in an attempt to say something. Her mouth opened, her chapped and blistered lips protesting, but no sound would come out. It seemed that was another one of her functions that was on strike.

He shifted slightly; folding the book closed and turned his head, pushing his bangs out of his face and behind his ears. The dark tips of his fingers told her that his nails were painted. He then looked up at her calmly.

A nearly inaudible gasp escaped her lips. It wasn't the close resemblance to Sasuke that startled her, but rather, the piercing red Sharingan eyes that stared at her through thick eyelashes.

Despite her condition, she managed to raise a shaky hand and point a trembling finger at him.

"U-Uchiha...Itachi...?"

To Be Continued.


AN: What a crappy place to leave off. ::sigh:: Oh well, I know you're all about to kill me for taking so long to update anyway. I had this all so nicely planned out in my head and now it just seems to not do the idea justice. Maybe next time, I suppose. At least writing that one-shot made me get off my ass and finish this chapter.

Been RPing too much on my RPG board. Kin'na forget I have fics to write as well. Haha ::rubs back of her neck::

Anyway, feedback is always appreciated and thank you to those who have reviewed, commented and given me critique. It's all appreciated.

Phoe-chan.