Title: Hanami
Author: paws-bells
Characters/Pairing: Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi
Type: Continuous (InComplete)
Genre: General/Romance
Word Count: 6834
Rating: M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.
Summary: She saved his life out of compassion, and he took advantage of her kind heart. Before she knew what was going on, he had bound her to him in a way she had never expected, and what scared her the most was that he was never going to let her go.
Chapter Last Revised on: 22/04/08
Chapter 4
Sakura was warmly greeted by the mother of all headaches when she finally woke up.
Cloudy emerald opened to a hazy view of a darkened room before quickly closing again. Sakura emitted a pitiful whimper. Her hair was all tousled and wild from last night and she felt as if something had crawled into her mouth and died there. The dehydration was very bad, and Sakura just felt like curling up to die. Her head felt as though someone had just used it for a pincushion. It throbbed painfully, her lips were dry and slightly cracked, her mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton and she could not seem to form a coherent thought other than pain and nausea. Worst of all, the persistent ache on her shoulder seemed to be pounding in tandem with the drum-like beats in her head, doubling the misery for her wretched self.
Good god, she was never going to get drunk again.
At least, not this drunk.
Lying stilly on the bed, Sakura battled the worst migraine she had ever suffered from as the events of yesterday unfolded slowly in her mind. Unlike Naruto who would be blessedly oblivious to all his often embarrassing antics when he woke up sober the next day, Sakura was not that lucky. Her sharp mind recorded every single detail down to be processed later even when her current inebriated state could not. The pink-haired kunoichi has yet to decide whether if this was a good thing or not. There were just some things that she preferred to forget.
Like her blatant flirting and very suggestive invitations to various males in the bar, said group of males inclusive of her very amused sensei Hatake Kakashi and even the feared, if not slightly bewildered Morino Ibiki of the ANBU Torture and Interrogation Force.
Sakura winced. She was going to have to do some serious apologizing for her absurd behavior later.
She also remembered challenging the girls to a drinking contest, not that they weren't plastered enough as it was. Sakura lost count of the number of martinis that she had downed, and in good sport both Ino and Tenten had followed her, drinking to their hearts content and celebrating Ino's engagement to Shikamaru. It was a good thing that at least Hinata had the good sense to stay sober, and since no one had dared to mess with the powerful Hyuuga heiress with her even more powerful Jyuuken style of combat, the girls were safe from any harassment of the masculine kind whatsoever.
Sakura remembered enjoying herself (far too much) and that somewhere along the line Hinata must have called Shikamaru and Naruto down to the pub. The males had been astounded by the overall smashed state of the three girls, what with them all flushed up and giggling and still asking for more liquor. Shikamaru had refused flatly in a rare display of authority and after the tab was settled had muttered his usual catchphrase of 'this is troublesome' before hauling his dazed fiancée into his arms and escorting her homewards, ears tinted red as an enthusiastic Ino threw her arms around him and announced for the world to hear her affections for the Nara male.
With the couple gone, that left Hinata, Naruto, Sakura and Tenten. Hinata had coaxed Tenten, the less drunk of the duo, to stand whereas Naruto had gingerly pulled his pink-haired teammate up, all the while nimbly avoiding chakra-infused fists as the female loudly resisted his attempts to bring her home. Somehow Naruto managed though, and before long had deposited the singing Sakura on her doorstep with his girlfriend and Tenten in tow. Then they quickly left; no doubt to deliver the weapons specialist to her home as well.
Sakura had managed to find her way into her house, and then she had ran into—
The door creaked open.
Sakura's form stiffened at the sound. Her eyes flew open and she regretted it immediately, slamming her lids close before the damage became too great. It was too late though; the lights hit her optic nerves and screamed a most painful message to her brain, a message that she should have received the first time she opened her eyes.
This was not her room.
Her eyes opened once more and she winced inwardly as light jarred her head, but not as badly as before. She glanced around her quickly, or rather, as quickly as she could given her current state of being. Thankfully, she was still dressed. She was on a futon that wasn't hers and the room that she was in was large and simple, the colors dark and the theme masculine. There were no windows whatsoever to alert Sakura to the time of the day and she gaped at the rich furnishings of her surroundings and wondered where in the seven hells was she. Then she remembered the creak of the door that had alerted her to an intrusion and she almost did not want to find out the identity of the person whom she now sensed was standing by the doorway of the room.
For the memories of last night had clicked with the memories of four days ago, and with a sense of pure dread Sakura lifted her eyes to meet glowing crimson ones.
Itachi looked almost amused by the look of horror that graced her hung over self.
Sakura squinted, narrowing her eyes to allow the minimum amount of light into her painfully over-sensitized optic nerves.
He was dressed entirely in black. A fitting shirt clung to his lean, muscular physique, and he wore loose pants that emphasized his narrow masculine hips and long legs. Long ebony hair tied at the nape lingered down the side of a collarbone and down the front of a well defined chest. He was casually barefooted, but there was no relaxed air that accompanied the male. The slight tenseness of his shoulders told Sakura without words that this Uchiha was always on the alert and ready.
Sakura quickly blinked once, then twice, hoping very optimistically that the mirage that was the deadly Akatsuki would disappear.
Nope, it wasn't working. He was still there, leaning indifferently against the doorframe and staring blatantly at her.
This wasn't a dream, Sakura was dismayed to realize.
"Itachi."
Sakura winced inwardly at the hoarse croak that she had managed. It hardly sounded menacing at all, and her throat ached from having to forcibly spit that one word out. Once again she vowed never to overindulge on alcohol again. Sakura quickly pushed herself up slowly to a sitting position. It wasn't exactly the best idea, for the sudden movement drained all the blood from her head and made her feel even weaker than ever, and she weaved dangerously in her seat, blinking furiously to dispel her dizziness as she did so.
Itachi watched her in silence, and Sakura scowled at him. A morning person she was not, and combined with the deadly hangover she wasn't exactly in the mood to cower and simper before the deadly Akatsuki.
"Where am I? Why am I here?" She asked indignantly. A wave of nausea descended upon her then, and she quickly closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she grimly waited it out. He continued watching her.
"Heal yourself."
She opened her eyes to stare at him. Of all the things she expected the Sharingan user to say, this was clearly not it.
"Why do you care?" She retorted as she gingerly lifted her hands to massage her head.
Sakura's next breath was expelled in a squeak when he appeared before her suddenly, the deadly crimson eyes bearing into hers and not allowing her to pull away from his gaze at all. The dull ache on her shoulder spiked abruptly to an intense longing, and Sakura gasped, clutching onto the scar with her hand. Dazed emerald eyes stared bewilderedly at the enigmatic male crouched so silently nary a foot away from her, not understanding at all the reason why her breathing was suddenly so shallow and why her heart was fluttering frantically like a dove's wings.
She only knew that he was the cause of her pain.
"…it hurts, doesn't it?"
He was looking almost curiously at the cursed spot on her right shoulder, and Sakura stiffened. To admit the existence of the mark would be to admit her involvement in healing him, and that would not do.
"I don't know what you are talking about."
He cocked his head slightly at her clipped answer.
"I know your identity, little girl. Have you really forgotten everything that had transpired between us last night?" Crimson eyes narrowed imperceptibly, then swept down to a lazy half mast. "Have you really forgotten it all?"
Sakura reddened. She remembered all right. Lips, tongue, scent. Low chuckles, soft purrs, mewling need.
Emerald eyes widened.
He could take the ache away.
Sakura bit her lips as the throb on her shoulder intensified, heating up with impatience. Her breath hitched softly at the sensation; it didn't hurt in the physical sense, but the longing was doing weird things to her body. Increased heart rate, shortness of breath, increased sensitivity of the skin, high adrenaline. Emerald eyes turned smoky, low pants escaped pouty pink lips, soft silky skin were tinted with a delicious flush, and the hangover had all but disappeared.
She was getting aroused by his nearness.
Sakura was frantic beyond belief. This should not be happening! And right in front of him too, of all people! Long dense lashes hid her eyes from his gaze as she looked quickly to the floor. She did not like the dark gleam in his crimson eyes; it told her that he knew exactly what was happening to her—and was enjoying every moment of it.
It had to be the seal on her. It had to be.
Sakura wasn't stupid. She was slowly beginning to understand why this seal was employed on the brides and the concubines. It made one… extremely uninhibited in the presence of the person who had evoked the seal. Sakura gritted her teeth as she fought the increasing tendrils of unnatural attraction towards the dark-haired male crouched enticingly before her. It took all her will not to listen to Inner Sakura's husky urgings to go to him, to rub herself against him in that scandalous manner that she had done the night before, to touch her lips against his strong pulse point once more, to lick his neck in that lazy feline manner, to touch his lips with her own.
Sakura squeezed her eyes shut tightly and shook her head fiercely. She had to fight this! She had the excuse of alcohol yesterday, but there was simply no justifiable reason for her to hide behind if she went to him now. She growled softly. She needed to fight this!
Itachi appeared amused by her determination to resist the urgings of her raging blood. She was trying so desperately not to fall against the powerful onslaught of the enemy, and he silently awarded her points for sheer tenacity. It wasn't easy for most to deny the pleasures of the flesh, and utterly impossible for those who were afflicted with the binding seal.
"Kunoichi." Wild emerald eyes burst open at the lazy purr. She stiffened. She had not even noticed that he had shifted so near to her now that his mouth was just millimeters away from the sensitive skin of her ear. His scent enveloped her hazily, and Sakura's resolve began to crumble. She clenched her fists to keep from whimpering an answer to his low voice, and tried to scoot away from him.
That he could not allow, but he did not make any move to touch her either. It was imperative that she came to him this time, on her own will.
She stared at him, her gaze misty and despite all the emotions that were inundating her person now he could still easily detect seething anger, anger directed purely at him. Her feisty nature impressed him; not many could work up the will to be enraged at the very person hormones were dragging you towards.
"Remove…this…seal…"
Her voice shook.
He looked at her.
"This seal is irreversible."
Emerald eyes widened with horrified shock.
"…what?!"
"Come to me." He said simply. Sakura shook her head jerkily.
"No…!! Tell me more…about this…seal…"
Blood-red Sharingan orbs drew her helpless gaze towards it. Unrelenting. Merciless.
"Come to me, and I will tell you." A calculated pause. Then,
"Sakura."
She trembled finely at the way he said her name. The low tone, the lazy roll of his tongue, the languid purr. She bit the insides of her cheek to keep from whimpering a response.
"Stop…that!" She hissed, enticing emerald eyes wide and slightly glazed.
"Stop…what?" He was so near, so very near that she could feel the heat radiating off his lanky body. Sakura forced herself to still, forced herself not to close the last few millimeters before them.
"Stop doing this to me!!" Emerald eyes cleared quickly, quickly filled with impotent anger. "Let me go!"
Crimson eyes hardened.
"No." Itachi looked at the shivering form of the petite woman before him. The ache would increase the longer she denied him, and it has already been four days since he had sealed his chakra within her. She needed to accept him, soon, or there were going to be consequences to pay.
"You are going to die if you continue your path of obstinacy."
Sakura sneered.
"Yeah, like you give a damn about my wellbeing or lack thereof!"
He looked coolly at her. "It is my duty to look after what is mine."
Sakura was sure that she would have slapped him if she wasn't certain that she could bear touching him and not react to the feel of him against her hand. As such she could only gape at him in blatant disbelief.
"I'm not a piece of property and I am sure as hell not your anything!" An angered pause, then, "I don't even know why you are targeting me in the first place. I didn't do anything to you!"
He gave her a long look that told her without words how very much he believed her hasty words, and Sakura had to clench her fists as she fought not to react visibly to his crimson gaze.
"Would you like for me to prove you wrong, little girl?"
Sakura stiffened at the silkily delivered pet name that slipped out from Itachi's lips. It had been the same one that he had used on her when he had been blind, feverish, and half dead.
He knows.
It couldn't be.
Itachi withdrew something from the pocket of the black pants that he was wearing. It was a strand of hair, silky and long. Feminine. Pink. Sakura's eyes widened.
"You-"
"I was blind when you came across me during the snowstorm." The Akatsuki cut in quietly. He wasn't ashamed of his vulnerability, and showed no embarrassment or resentment towards it. He merely spoke factually, pointblank and simple.
Sakura's eyes widened with shock.
"...you were blind…?"
Itachi smiled humorlessly at her stunned tone.
"The frequent usage of the Mangekyo Sharingan comes at a high price."
Mangekyo Sharingan. The ultimate doujutsu of the Uchiha clan. Sakura stiffened.
Uchiha Itachi had probably used it to murder men, men with wives and families, men with children and sweethearts waiting for them back home. Sakura's hazy mind worked overtime to digest the facts.
He had been blind. His eyes had been that shade of dark onyx in the cave, glazed and slightly cloudy. Understanding occurred to the female medic. No wonder the cells in his optic nerves had felt so…depleted…when she had blocked off his nerves with her own chakra. It hadn't been energy exhaustion from the fight that she had assumed Itachi had been embroiled in that had caused his injury. The dying cells had been caused by the overuse of chakra, and fool that she was, she had allowed her chakra to slowly mend and repair those cells during the seventy-two hours that she had blinded him.
Sakura stared into those deadly crimson eyes as the true ramification of what she had done finally hit her, and hit her hard.
She had unknowingly given his sight back, and with it the ability to use the Sharingan.
Blood drained from Sakura's face.
"I…"
He stared at her aghast face with a dispassionate mask.
"You were the one who healed me. There are only two women in this world with the trademark inhuman strength as well as the perfect chakra control needed to recover my sight. The Godaime Hokage of Konoha and her prodigious disciple." Sakura gazed blankly at the incriminating piece of her hair that he was absently stroking between his thumb and forefinger. "You were careless, Kunoichi. You left a calling card on my person before you ran off, and that confirmed your identity."
Sakura was still brooding over the fact that she had all but single-handedly 'brought back' one of the most dangerous killers in the five countries. It was going to be on her conscience every time he kills from now on, and Sakura felt even more like fainting when she thought of the consequences awaiting her if Konoha ever learns of this.
The deathly pallor on her face did not go unnoticed.
"Do you regret what you have done?" The taller male asked with dark amusement.
Sakura weaved dangerously in her seat on the futon but she did hear Itachi's words loud and clear. She narrowed her eyes at him, and he merely raised a lazy brow in return.
"No." Sakura spat out at last. "I make it a point not to dwell on things that have already passed me by."
He looked at her almost curiously.
"That's not what I asked, little girl."
Sakura gritted her teeth. How she hated that condescending nickname! The pink-haired kunoichi trembled as she kept herself from doing anything rash, like jumping on him screaming and scratching, or kissing him into promising never to call her that again.
Inner Sakura was extremely helpful and immediately provided her counterpart with a very carnal mental image of Sakura and a certain elder Uchiha doing the exact same thing.
Sakura was immediately appalled, but even she could not deny the increasing ache the mark on her shoulder was causing on her being. She shut her eyes for a little while to gather herself together before opening them again.
"No. I don't regret healing you, Uchiha." Sakura whispered at last as she lifted truthful emerald orbs to stare into his Sharingan gaze. "It's true that you may be the biggest bastard that Konoha has had the misfortune to produce-"
Itachi narrowed his crimson eyes imperceptibly at her insult but Sakura forged on undauntedly. "-but luckily for you the choice of whether you live or die does not lie in my hands." The pink-haired kunoichi smiled softly to herself, unaware that the rueful tilt of her lips made her even more beautiful than ever, and that the amazing change had attracted the utmost scrutiny of the male nary a feet away from her. "I am only a medic-nin, sworn in to save lives. Besides, what kind of human would I be if I were to do nothing in the cave that day and watch you die a slow death?"
"You would have been a smart one." Itachi observed. "Your meddling in the business of strangers has caused you to be abducted away from your village, and bound to an S-class missing-nin for life."
At this point would be where he had predicted that she would hiss and curse at him and finally learn the hard lesson that being a Good Samaritan wasn't always as rewarding as most make out to be. As usual, she just had to surprise him.
Sakura shook her head slowly, obviously disagreeing with him. "No, I would have been a selfish and heartless person if I did not extend my help. Selfish, because I would only have been thinking of my own convenience; and heartless, because I would have to be totally unfeeling to leave a man with a massive chest injury to die all alone in the freezing cold."
Clear verdant eyes stared unflinchingly back at him even as her body shook slightly.
"I guess that I can blame no one but myself for this current predicament that I have landed myself in." Sakura smiled deprecatingly at her own folly.
"I was stupid to have left my guard down around you even when you were injured and delirious from sickness. I was foolish to have believed that for all your intelligence you would have been able to grasp the very simple concept of gratitude but clearly I have confused you with someone with a conscience."
Sakura had been speaking softly at first, but by the end of her tirade she was clearing yelling at the dangerous male before her, body trembling from both her fury as well as from the effects of the seal.
Itachi appeared hardly affected by the kunoichi's passionate speech.
"You are angry with me." The male had a slightly odd look on his face as he said that, but Sakura was too fired up to notice.
Glittering emerald eyes narrowed at his arrogance.
"You think?" Sakura's voice shook with anger. "You were supposed to be recuperating in the cave that day! I didn't expect you to feel gratitude for what I have done but you didn't have to go and attack me! Why did you perform that binding seal on me?"
"You were a threat."
That was an answer Sakura did not expect at all. She was so surprised that the wind behind her sails deflated a little. She gaped at him.
"I was a threat?" She parroted dumbly. "I was the one who dragged your ugly backside back from hell, Uchiha. Why the hell would I want to kill you after I depleted almost all of my chakra to bring you back to life?"
Itachi looked coolly at the foul-mouthed little kunoichi, his poker-face revealing none of his surprise at hearing her words. He had known that his injuries from those hunter-nins had been extensive, but he certainly hadn't expected that this famous and well-respected healer from Konoha would risk everything to pull an Akatsuki from the brink of Death.
Carefully, Itachi filed away the piece of information to be further analyzed later.
"You fought me."
Her eyes flashed, and he found himself increasingly intrigued by this passionate little female.
"In case you forgot, you were the one who started strangling me against a wall for no reason whatsoever!" Sakura winced minutely as the mark on her shoulder started to heat up with her agitation. Her small gesture of discomfort did not pass unnoticed.
"You blinded me."
"I healed you!"
"Exactly." Itachi sat down on the futon, one long leg bent casually as he continued looking at her. Sakura was too focused on the conversation to even notice that he had moved, let alone the fact that he was now nary an inch away from her. "If you are powerful enough to channel your chakra thusly, you are a threat."
Her jaw dropped at his totally illogical answer. She scowled at him.
"You kill those who are less powerful than you are; you kill those who you think are too powerful. You have this odd obsession for power. Are you trying to make up for something?" Sakura sneered. The Sharingan user looked at her amusedly.
"I'm sure that you will find nothing of me lacking, Sakura." The pink-haired kunoichi stiffened at his soft purr. "Perhaps you would like to check it out now, hmm?"
It was all she could do not to gape at the Akatsuki in shock.
Was he flirting with her?
Sakura turned a dull red.
He smirked slightly. She truly was innocent in all manners.
Sakura's embarrassment was quick to fade when she saw the curl of his lips. She would never admit it, but that enigmatic smile made her heart beat even faster and that made her even angrier than ever. The Uchiha emblem on her shoulder flared once more with her volatile emotions.
"Uchiha! You-"
"A binding seal can kill the vessel if the one who evoked the seal choose not to accept the vessel." Itachi cut off the kunoichi easily.
Sakura froze quickly at the implication. Stunned emerald met detached onyx.
She wasn't stupid, and it didn't take her long to figure out what the Akatsuki had premeditated. It was a brilliant plan considering the fact that he had been half-conscious and badly injured when he had thought of it. Sakura could only applaud his genius and wonder why on earth she hadn't suspected anything before. Of course someone like Uchiha Itachi would have repaid kindness for something worse, but deep down she hadn't really believed that he would…
"You are going to let me die."
He kept silent, and that was an answer in itself.
Shock was wearing off quickly, and Sakura's mind was running into overdrive.
She felt desperate fear. She was only twenty! She certainly didn't want to die yet, but even she knew that there was no way to escape a binding seal other than death. Worst of all, Sakura could not imagine what her friends would do if they found out. The thought of worrying Naruto and the rest did not sit well with her at all; she loved her friends too much to want to put them through this, not to mention the possibility of her death...
The cursed mark on her shoulder throbbed painfully as if reminding her of its presence, and immediately dazed emerald eyes quickly cleared with determination.
She cannot die.
There must be a way to destroy this seal; she just had to find it! She was through playing mind games with the Uchiha. To hell with him!
Sakura got up to her feet blearily. Itachi made no move to stop her, crimson eyes easily tracking her movement.
"I don't believe that there is no way to remove this seal." Sakura determined obstinately. She started to move away from the Uchiha. "I-"
Sakura hissed suddenly when the seal on her shoulder burned. Tears sprung to her emerald eyes as her knees buckled involuntarily and she fell back onto the futon besides Itachi once more. It was as if someone had just poured the most potent of acid onto her shoulder, and it was literally eating her flesh. The mark seared painfully and Sakura could feel the raw wound throbbing through her shirt. She bit her lip to stop the whimper of pain from escaping her mouth and tugged down the side of her collar to reveal the red and angry Uchiha crest pulsating on her shoulder blade. A soft gasp escaped from Sakura.
The seal would not allow her to leave his side.
Itachi shot the petite female a long, measured glance.
Sakura never felt more like crying than at this moment.
"I am…stuck with you?" She whispered then, the look on her face aghast.
He did not take his eyes off hers.
"Come to me."
Sakura shook her head immediately, her eyes suspicious and starting to shoot furious emerald sparks at him.
"No."
With a determination that clearly surprised the Uchiha, Sakura got onto her feet once more and tried to edge away from her captor. She ended up on her knees again, the pain even more intense than the last one had been. Her petite body shook with the pain, and it took her longer to recover this time. However undaunted, Sakura tried once more as she braced herself for the pain, shakily climbing to her feet and forcing herself to move.
One feet.
Each, small, anguished step felt like it took an eternity for her to accomplish. The burn was so much stronger than ever, but Inner Sakura had decided to help and was effectively numbing away the worst of the pain. 'We are together, I can't have you fainting like this and embarrassing me, right?' Her alter ego had huffed gruffly, and never was Sakura so glad to have her inner self than now. Two personalities meant double the willpower, and they would not give up.
He watched her, eyes cool and calculating, wondering how far she would go before she would break down to beg him for her life.
She did no such thing.
Two feet.
Sakura breathed quick and shallow breaths as she reminded herself repeatedly not to focus too much on the agony; there was after all, only so much Inner Sakura could do, but it was almost enough. Blood started to flow from the raw and smoldering mark, and Sakura forced herself not to pay attention to the pain as well as the sickening smell of metallic rust that accompanied it. Her stomach churned and the pink-haired kunoichi was inwardly glad that it was empty. If she didn't manage to survive this day at least she wouldn't have to meet her Maker with vomit-stained clothes. Only the ironic humor of the situation and sheer willpower was keeping her upright now.
He found himself reluctantly impressed with the amount of inner strength she possessed.
Three feet.
The scent of charred flesh inundated the air, and Sakura felt as if her skin was slowly being peeled from her. Sakura's lips bled as she bit them in her effort to stop herself from screaming in pain. Failure was not an option, and she did not want to be bound to the deadly Uchiha for life. This pain would be worth it, the pink-haired kunoichi convinced her self. There was bound to be a pain threshold, Sakura was sure of it. She was bound to possess a pain threshold. The medic-nin kept telling herself to push on; once she passed that limit it wouldn't hurt anymore, but until then, she had to go on.
He knew she had to be in sheer agony, and yet she forged on with a stubborn determination that he had seldom seen in others whom he had met. It was oddly fascinating, and a part of him was immediately possessed with the curiosity to know what made this little female tick.
Four feet.
She was crying. She hadn't cried since she was thirteen, but now she was crying. It hurt so damned bad. She hadn't even been aware of the saline tracks making their way past the bridge of her nose until she had tasted the salt mingled with the drops of crimson fluid that escaped her badly bitten lips. Agonized nerves twitched and spasmed violently, but still Sakura forced herself onwards. The Uchiha crest was almost worn away to nothingness. Anytime now. Sakura refused to believe that the seal would not disappear. Failure was not an option.
He was beginning to realize that she had less common sense than an average housefly, and that irritated him.
Five feet.
The burning intensified; became so bad that even Inner Sakura could not prevent the pain from being felt by her alter ego anymore. Sakura was weeping openly now, her shoulders shuddering violently with her pain. Blood stained the entire side of her right arm, slick and wet. It was a morbid testimony to what the petite female was bravely going through. Sakura vowed to herself that if she ever managed to survive this, never would she ever forget this day, and what she had pushed herself to do.
The raw wound on her shoulder glowed a fierce fiery orange, exactly the color of steel when being forged in the strongest of fire.
Crimson Sharingan eyes widened imperceptibly.
The seal flickered slowly, and then increased in speed, almost like a dying flame desperately holding on to its last vestiges of life.
Then it disappeared.
Sakura gasped with sweet relief. The pain was gone. She collapsed onto the wooden floors with a limp thump, but her mind worked quickly for her to realize what was going on. The seal had opened. Now was her time. She gathered the remnants of her chakra to eject Itachi's energy, energy that he had used to bind her to him from her body, barely able to support her own weight with her arms.
He was by her side in an instant. Sakura tried to edge away from the enigmatic male but was too depleted from her physical exertions to do so. She focused all her energy on forcing his chakra out of her body instead, emerald eyes hard with determination.
"Look at me."
Sakura lowered her head and centered her gaze on the floor. He gripped her by the chin and tilted her head up. Half of his chakra was out now. Her breath hitched as the remaining energy within her body reacted to his touch. She squeezed her eyes shut. He shifted his stance, the almost undetectable movement an indication of his growing impatience.
One third left, Sakura chanted to herself resolutely. One third left.
"Little girl." He whispered. "You try my patience."
One quarter.
"I won't let you go so easily."
An almost gentle caress against her cheek had her stiffening with shock, and the feel of warm lips against hers caused her eyes to fly open.
Indescribable crimson met stunned emerald, and Sakura could not draw her eyes away from his at all. Instincts told her immediately that he was going to use the Sharingan on her; she needed to let out all of his chakra!
Sakura pulled herself from the daze that pair of mesmerizing red eyes was doing to her system, and tried sluggishly to pump out the rest of Itachi's chakra. He knew what she was doing and his arms snaked around her waist quickly, the sleekly muscled limbs easily dragging her over to his lap. She squeaked into his mouth, and it was the opportunity that he was waiting for. He slipped his tongue skillfully into her, eliciting a strangled whimper from her.
His addictive scent, the taste of him in her mouth, the hazy warmth that his proximity was emitting was more than enough to stop her from doing whatever she was doing at the moment. Already dazed by the ordeal that she had gone through earlier, Sakura was beyond bewildered. She did not know why he was kissing her suddenly, and worst of all she did not know how to respond to this entire situation at all. Was she supposed to struggle, was she supposed to fight her way out of his tight embrace?
The treacherous Inner Sakura whispered then that staying within the circle of his arms wasn't all that bad.
Itachi swept his tongue against her teeth, coaxing her wordlessly to open her mouth for him, and at the same time, his hands rubbed slow calming circles against the small of her back. Emerald eyes fluttered shut at the unexpected sensation, and Inner Sakura sighed. Sakura wondered vaguely what it would be like to kiss him, really kiss him.
It must have been the fact that she was still painfully dazed, it must have been the fact that she wasn't thinking properly at all, but she darted her tongue out shyly, and was immediately greeted by an approving purr.
Itachi quickly took over, pressing her body even tighter against his and forcing her mouth to open even wider for him to plunder. He explored her sweet mouth meticulously, and quickly showed her how to rub and twine her tongue sensually against his. It was electrifying; it was as if there were delicious slivers of ice running up and down her spine and Sakura had never felt this way before. She had never allowed any males to come so close to her before Itachi had forced his way into her life, and she had no idea what this was all about.
It did make her wonder what else she had been missing out on, though.
Sakura mewed blindly when he withdrew from her roughly, hard crimson eyes harsh as they bore into hers.
"Accept me, Sakura."
"…wh…what?" The pink-haired kunoichi murmured thickly, not understanding the sudden sense of urgency that pounded in the air.
"Accept me."
He wanted her to complete the seal again.
Sakura shook her head blindly. If she exchanged the bond with him she would be irrevocably tied to him for life. She would have to be dependent on his affections to prevent the mark on her shoulder from acting up and it was a frightening thought. Sakura was a free spirit; she didn't want to rely on anybody for her survival. Besides, after all the agony that she had went through to open the seal, there was no way that she was going to close it back this easily now.
The strong arms around her waist tightened minutely and Sakura's attention was immediately brought back to Itachi. She shook her head once more.
"No…"
She wanted to be free of the seal, and she was so near to doing so. Determination filled the pink-haired kunoichi once more. There was only a little of his energy within her left. She could do this!
Sakura was so weakened by now that she was literally relying on Itachi's support to keep herself upright. Gathering what's left of her chakra, Sakura quickly continued to purge her system of his energy.
Crimson eyes narrowed at what she was doing. Didn't she understand the workings of a binding seal?
"Foolish little girl!" Itachi hissed as he shook the petite female in his arms lightly. He hadn't been this angry for a long time. She whimpered. "My chakra is permanently merged with yours; you are draining out your own energy. Desist immediately!"
Cloudy emerald eyes widened. She stopped immediately. Sakura's frame shook from the exhaustion. No wonder she felt so depleted.
"I…"
"Accept me now, Sakura." It wasn't a request; it was a command to be heeded.
"…why?"
He knew what she was asking.
"You are mine."
"No!"
Crimson eyes stared at hers unyieldingly.
"Sakura."
The pink-haired kunoichi struggled weakly in his arms. "Let me…go…I'm…not yours."
Sakura stiffened when he trailed his lips down her collarbone, slowly flicking his tongue against her fluttering pulse as he passed her jugular.
"You will be…soon."
Emerald eyes slipped shut.
"No…"
He flashed his teeth against her soft skin, scraping the side of her neck. Her eyes burst open and her breath hitched painfully.
"Pl-please, why are you doing this? I saved your life!"
He lifted his head, and she was vaguely surprised when she saw that he had deactivated his Sharingan. Calm onyx met confused emerald. He was so near that she could see the slivers of cobalt blue that surrounded his irises.
"I'm returning the favor, little girl."
Her eyes widened.
"You aren't going to…kill me?"
It was obvious that she was fighting to stay awake. He cocked his head at her.
"I don't need the seal to kill you."
Sakura did not understand. "Then why-"
"I protect what's mine." He interrupted her smoothly, and Sakura gave up. All his answers were doing nothing but leading her round and round the same point. It was very frustrating and she was currently too weak to even try to contradict him. Sakura deflated; the bloody wound on her shoulder was hurting something fierce, she felt disgustingly lightheaded, and worst of all Uchiha Itachi wasn't even acting like the unfeeling and bloodthirsty killer that he was. It was confusing her, and damn it, she just wanted to get out of this situation alive.
She decided to take a gamble.
"If you are planning to use me to capture Naruto, forget it. I will kill myself before you can even execute your plan, Uchiha." Sakura spoke tiredly. There was no bravado behind her words, merely the truth. Sakura would sooner die than to have any of her friends in danger because of her.
His eyes gleamed. Her fierce loyalty was commendable, but that wasn't what he was feeling so triumphant about. She was slowly caving in to him, and they both knew it.
"I don't need you to take on the Kyuubi Jinchuriki."
She glared balefully at his arrogance.
"I still don't like you."
A small, derisive curl of the lips.
"I know."
Sakura heaved a shaky sigh, then stiffened her resolved. She had made this choice already, so she was damn well going to stick to it. She might as well get it over with as soon as possible. The pink-haired medic-nin probed her clotting wound carefully with a hand before turning her attention back to the irritatingly smug Uchiha. Oh, his face was still as blank as ever, but Sakura could see that amused glint in his eyes, that bastard.
She sighed shakily once more. This should teach her never ever to help strangers, though she highly doubted that she would heed the lesson. Damn her soft heart.
"What…do I have to do?"
:tsuzuku:
Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:
I have never had a hangover before, but to be perfectly honest a hangover is just a form of dehydration of the body. If you had overindulged with the liquors, make sure that you are well hydrated with lots of water before you conk off for the night, and I guarantee that you won't pay that badly for your indulgences the next morning.
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--paws