Beginning notes: Back with another chapter. Hope you like it. I'm worried that this story may be progressing a bit too slow.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto.
Wicked Irony
Scroll Four: Being Used
Uchiha Itachi noticed that Sakura was unusually quiet throughout the various training sessions that now reached the two-week mark. He and Kisame decided the day before, after much discussion, to send a hawk messenger to Konoha within the month, alerting them of Sakura's capture. There would be nothing else in the letter; Itachi knew that Naruto would come for Sakura no matter what the Godaime said. Once again, people nowadays were too predictable for their own good. The Uchiha estimated that it would take the Leaf ANBU at least another week before they found out their hiding place.
However, as Sakura hammered a tree with a powered fist, Itachi noticed the quick improvement in her taijutsu. She might even pose a challenge every now and then if she really tried.
He sat back and watched her attempt a complicated sequence of moves that required chakra balance and great speed. Her speed still lacked to pull it off perfectly. He could see the tiny beads of sweat that trickled down the side of her face and down her neck. One particular drop slowly, very slowly, made its way down from the end of her jaw line to pool at the middle of her collarbones. He watched it settle perfectly between them, tremble, then drop out of sight into her shirt. A far away part of his mind desired to carefully unbutton her shirt to see the rest of its journey down her body.
"Stop looking at me like that."
Itachi closed his eyes and a smirk flickered on his face. "If I don't watch you, how will I tell you what you are doing wrong, Sakura?" She had no answer for him. "Push off more with your right and shift your weight further on it as you kick. The momentum will supply with the speed that you need for now."
Sakura breathed in deeply before nodding. She tried again while he went back to observing her. He found himself more and more attracted to her fluid movement, her grace, and the precision of her chakra. He found himself watching her out of interest instead of the simple glance of a trainer. She was intricate, complicated, and he wanted to know more about how she worked.
The kunoichi took a break after another attempt. She sat down heavily on the grass with her back against the tree next to Itachi's. He had already memorized all of her habits and the rhythms of her heartbeats. It was always useful to memorize everything about the people around him if he could. That way, he could synchronize his own movements in order to accomplish whatever he wanted. Always, someone's habits came to aid him soon or later.
She panted, her chest rising and falling rapidly, and she closed her eyes to rest them against the glare of the sun through the tree tops. The birds chirped with delight all around them, calling to each other and singing lovely melodies for the forest. However, all of this went unnoticed by the Uchiha; he only trained his ears to follow the distinct whistling of a robin due west of his position.
"The birds sound lovely, don't they?" She asked with her eyes still closed.
Itachi raised a thin eyebrow. "I didn't notice."
Sakura smiled softly. "Listen, do you hear them? The sparrows and the jays?"
He smirked and whistled, perfectly imitating a sparrow. He held out his hand and a tiny sparrow drifted down from the treetops, eagerly chirping and flapping its wings as it landed on his outstretched index finger.
Sakura made a noise of delight at the sight of the little bird. It gently pecked at the gold ring on Itachi's finger and happily hopped down from his hand to the ground. Itachi watched the glow of contentment taint her cheeks and she seemed to have forgotten that she was in the presence of a dangerous criminal. She laughed as the bird took flight, letting its wings brush past her chin.
A dangerously pretty laugh.
He stood and unzipped his black Akatsuki cloak and tossed it against the tree he was resting against. Itachi stepped to Sakura and held out his hand. She looked at his hand and then into his eyes. "Let's see how you fare in battle."
A grin of satisfaction brightened her face and she took his hand. Electricity pulsed in his entire arm at her touch. He had to suppress a shiver. Itachi helped her up to her feet and they took their places on the opposite sides of the clearing.
"Attack first. I will respond."
Sakura sprang towards him, using the balls of her feet for balance and agility. Itachi was impressed at her improved speed, but he easily blocked her kick with his forearm and he reached for her with a fist, but she dodged quickly with a back flip. His heart was already pounding at the closeness of their bodies.
The kunoichi went into a flurry of kicks and punches, and Itachi's eyes were able to see every one of them coming his way. She tried to use her speed to disappear and reappear behind him, but her efforts were futile. His eyes quickly spotted her and spun around to lash out with a kick. His foot made solid contact with her side.
In a flash of pain, she flew against a tree. She hit it hard. Itachi took the opportunity to launch towards her, his fist drawn back. Sakura rolled out of the way before it smashed into her face, and stumbled towards the middle of the training area. The Uchiha softly landed his feet against the tree and flipped himself over gracefully.
"You're too reckless." Itachi said dully as he approached a kneeling Sakura. She was breathing harshly, tired from the exchange of taijutsu.
She managed a weak smile when he was standing just above her, his red eyes spelling out their invincibility with each spin. "I keep forgetting how slow I am."
"You shouldn't overlook your own weakness."
Sakura sighed and got to her feet. "So, did I pass at least?"
Itachi felt his eyebrows rise in surprise. "Pass?"
"How did I do against you?" She said while laughing.
His stomach seemed to disappear at the sound. Itachi held his impassive look and turned away. "Your speed has improved. But, your moves are still too clumsy. Combined with your strength, you remind me of a blundering elephant."
The laughter died from her eyes.
Good, at least he won't have to listen to that laughter for now. He was tired of feeling his stomach disappear.
The past week, he had been gruelingly training her with an intensity that exhausted her after each session. However, much to his surprise, she never complained. And that made him want to push her harder, to make her admit that the training was too difficult. She didn't. She also absorbed all of his dry, sarcastic criticisms and indirect insults with determination and respect, or whatever she had of it to give to a wanted criminal on the run.
"I know I still have long ways to go." She said. Her voice was soft but firm.
The Uchiha picked up his cloak and threw it back on. "What are your plans after this? Do you really wish to find Sasuke?"
She was silence for a full minute, and when she spoke, her voice was suddenly uncertain and hesitant. "I think so. When will you stop training me?"
Itachi smiled calmly as he turned to face her. "You still seem to believe that I will allow you to go."
"In exchange for your training and care, I won't give away your position." She said solemnly.
A chuckle almost burst from his throat. "Things aren't always so easily negotiable."
Fear flickered in her magnificent eyes. She bit her lip—he watched it turn white at the pressure point of her teeth—and she lowered her gaze.
Suddenly, she began to chuckle. It got louder until it turned into full pledged laughter, but this one was different than the others. This had a menacing vibe ringing in it.
But still beautiful.
She tried to stop laughing, and she seemed to make a valiant effort in doing so, but to no avail. "Why did I even think that you would consider such a thing?" She managed to say between her laughing, "I mean, you of all people as part of Akatsuki, letting a prisoner go without torturing them! The thought is just so ridiculous that I can't stop laughing!"
Itachi frowned. Really frowned, purely out of intense displeasure.
Soon, her laughter died out into a series of giggling. When the Uchiha spoke, his voice reflected his displeasure too much for his own liking. "You are right in not expecting anything from me."
Sakura's smile disappeared behind a sarcastic sneer. "It's hard to change people."
He didn't like that sneer on her face, which was becoming more and more pretty to his sharp eyes. Sometimes, he caught himself wondering why he hadn't noticed the slight wrinkles at the corners of her eyes when she smiled or how her green eyes varied in shade depending on her mood.
And by the darker hue of her eyes, he could tell she was angry.
Itachi usually liked how he could tell what she felt. It amused him to do all the things that made her irritated, but this time, her anger was real and for some reason, he didn't like that kind of anger directed at him.
"I want to be alone." She said abruptly. She turned away to face the forest.
He carefully controlled his face to look unemotional. "I can't allow that."
Sakura tossed a derisive look over her shoulder and said, "Give me an hour. If you come back and I've run away, you can come kill me."
His eyes narrowed automatically in suspicion but turned around, his cloak flaring magnificently. "An hour is all you have."
The Uchiha swiftly carried himself out of the clearing. Until he was a safe distance away, he turned back and silently leapt into the treetops toward the training grounds again. He couldn't risk her doing anything unexpected. This was no time to lose track of her.
He landed on a branch high from the ground a few yards away from the clearing. He could see her pink hair. Itachi went closer and made sure she was not a clone. She wasn't. There were no tracks leading out of the forest nor were there remnants of chakra left that were always left behind if a clone had been formed. With that security, he leaned against the heavy trunk of the tree and continued to watch her, his curiosity awakened again as to what she would do.
She lay on her back, her arms and legs spread wide, with her eyes closed and a smile on her face. The sunlight spilled down to bathe her in its warmth, and a part of him vaguely wondered how her skin seemed to shimmer in its glory. Her long hair was undone from its usual ponytail and splayed out on the grass, and each hair gleamed like they were silk strands. She was a picture of unearthly beauty, one that he had missed because he had found her caked in dirt and grime in a dark forest meant for nocturnal creatures like him.
Sakura remained still in that position for the entire hour until he somehow remembered that the hour was almost up. Itachi jumped down from the tree branch and landed beside her. He looked down at her smiling face with a dull feeling of hatred and strange admiration.
"It's been an hour." He said quietly as if he didn't want to disturb a fragile illusion.
"I realize."
"Let's go."
The smile did not waver from her face. "What's the rush?"
"I have wasted time because of you."
"You could have done something else besides watch me do nothing." She said with a shrug. She still had her eyes closed.
Itachi let out a smile that she couldn't see. "I couldn't risk you running away."
Her smile grew wider and her eyes opened, the sunlight making them a brilliant sea-green color. He almost lost all thought.
"Are you that attached to me, Uchiha-san?"
He dropped his smile and put on a look of coldness. "Think what you want. We must return."
Sakura stretched a little and got to her feet to stretch again. She followed him out of the forest, trailing behind his silent demeanor. He was aware that she seemed all too comfortable with him, something that puzzled and irritated him.
"Why are you keeping me here, Uchiha-san?" She asked casually as she bounded to him eagerly to catch up.
Itachi ignored the question to pointedly tell her that he refused to answer it. Her gait suddenly changed from the happy attitude to a cold one, and she swiftly went ahead and then turned around stopped to block his walk. Her face no longer held her smile; instead, an impassive face replaced it. Itachi stopped right in front of her, his imposing stature almost daring her to continue to obstruct his path.
Her emerald eyes looked up at him. "What is the purpose of keeping me hostage?"
Her voice was like firm and stony, and he was impressed with her ability to actually hide some of her emotion. Itachi met her glare and stared into them for a full minute before slowly looking above her head.
"You are an intelligent kunoichi, Sakura. It would be too easy for me to just tell you."
"No one knows I'm here. It's normal for me to be gone for months at a time."
Itachi smirked and watched her anger dissolve into confusion. "All in good time, Sakura-chan."
Her cheeks burst into color and she looked away. "Don't call me that."
He slowly walked past her flustered form and grazed a long index finger along her jaw. "As you wish."
The birds still chirped above them in the trees.
"Why are you like this?" Her soft voice carried with the wind. Itachi stopped but didn't turn around.
His mind was triggered by something that was in her voice, something that he had not heard before. An earnest tone? A pleading tone?
"Why are you confusing me like this?" She asked again in that same voice. He turned around and Sakura imitated him, her eyes now glistening with moisture as he gazed into them.
"I am doing nothing."
"You're supposed to be unfeeling, ruthless. Why do you keep giving me freedom?"
Itachi wanted to walk away, but found himself unable to even move from where he was standing. He was entranced by her eyes, stilled by the raw emotion shining from their depths.
"I just don't understand why you keep breaking all of the expectations that I had of you."
"You're mistaken. Don't assume too much about the intentions behind my actions. They are much simpler than you make them to be." Something in his stomach jerked but he willfully ignored it.
Sakura raised her face skyward and blinked back the tears that pooled at the bottom of her eyes. She sniffed and chuckled sarcastically to herself. "Of course. Uchiha Itachi is a simple man."
The last word almost made him flinch for a reason that he couldn't place. He started to walk away. He felt a strange feeling that he never had the privilege of feeling before. He didn't know the name of it.
"I'm being used, aren't I?" Sakura said.
Once again, his feet refused to move. The defeat in her voice was evident, and it was intriguing and disturbing at the same time.
Itachi breathed in the fresh air. "Yes."
Suddenly, her chakra vanished and then reappeared right behind him, and she reach for a kunai hidden under his robe in a speed that rivaled lightning. Itachi whipped around and caught her by the wrist, just in time to stop her from plunging the sharp blade into her stomach. They were face to face, each breathing hard, and he gripped her wrist tighter when she struggled, drawing her closer to him.
"Trying to end your life?"
She wouldn't raise her eyes to meet his angry, crimson Sharingan. "I can't bear the shame of being used like a tool." She whispered.
Itachi leaned in and put his mouth next to her soft earlobe. "Bear it for a little while. When it's over, you may end it." The corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. "I need you."
Her grip on the kunai slacked and he slowly pulled away, but not before planting the softest of kisses along her jaw line and breathing in her scent. He felt her shiver and he gently took the kunai from her hand.
Sakura fell to the ground when her knees gave out from underneath her and Itachi stood looked down at her, partly wondering what to do and partly wondering what would happen if he held her against him. He crouched and gathered her in his arms. She curled against him—her eyes fluttering shut—and allowed him to carry her all the way to the inn room.
Kisame was not present in the dimly lit room when the Uchiha arrived with the human bundle on his arms, its long locks of pink gently swaying with each step. He put her down on the futon to rest, and he sat beside her. Her eyes were still open and staring, blank and empty as they seemed to eternally count the amount of dots on the ceiling.
"Do you believe in free will?" She asked softly. Sakura sat up and rested her weight back on her hands.
Itachi decided not to answer that dangerous question. It would be foolish to give her an answer now than later. It would keep her guessing at the least. He turned his head to look out the small window. Only the sky was visible.
"We will train again later. Your emotions kept us from investing another full two hours in your training."
Fortunately, Kisame returned with food so the Uchiha did not have to bother with going outside to feed her again. He disliked having to mingle with the villagers, and he disliked it even more that he had attracted unnecessary attention from many women. The trio ate in a strangely comfortable silence in their little room, and Sakura only ate a few mouthfuls before gazing out the window.
Itachi sharpened several of his kunai while Kisame did the same with his enormous sword to pass the time. The night would be an ideal time to train now; the dark was where he thrived, and he would have fun training her without much visibility. A ninja operated mostly in the night, and it would become the ultimate test for Sakura and the taijutsu that she had learned.
As night fell, the Uchiha got ready for another training session. He placed all of his sharpened kunai back into a black weaponry pouch, and headed out first towards their little patch of clearing.
"Wait fifteen minutes after I leave. Come prepared for anything." Itachi warned her solitary figure in the room. She nodded in silence.
The grass whispered under her feet and fell quiet when he leapt up into the branches again. His hand brushed by the roughness of the bark as he pinned a kunai into it to secure it in place. The slippery texture of chakra string tickled his fingertips as he tied a knot around the hilt. He proceeded to carefully judge the distance between all of the trees around him, and his alert senses picked up the scent of an animal nearby.
Itachi finished setting up his trap with routine ease in ten minutes and waited in the tree directly across the spot from where she would predictably enter the grounds. Sakura would trip the trap, and he would have to see how well she did with surprises. He liked surprises, but he couldn't say the same for many others.
The animal scent grew stronger.
He let his gaze sweep the outer edges of the forest, but he did not see a creature that had any potential to mess up his training. Then, as if cued, he saw Sakura cautiously enter the dark clearing. Only the moonlight penetrated the black night, giving the grass a strange glow of silver. Itachi's keen ears picked up the sound of the grass whispering under her footsteps. The air was still, and there was no audible sound when she stopped to check for traps.
In anticipation, he watched her spot his thin strand of chakra string and carefully follow it to the kunai lodged in the tree trunk. She quickly and ably disarmed the entire trap. She was smart; he had to give her that. He felt the pit of his stomach twinge with an odd sense of eagerness as she successfully made her way through the entire maze of chakra strings.
A sudden black mass, huge but nimble, lunged at her from the right and tackled her to the ground. She rolled with the enormous momentum of the force to get out of the lethal embrace of her attacker, and a hungry growl reached his ears. She was leaning heavily on one knee, and the moonlight sparkled a dark red on the dribble of blood that ran down from a wound above her eyebrow. The huge bear stood to its towering height and let out a low roar.
Itachi took immediate action. He leapt down from his hiding spot and landed right between the bear and Sakura. "Get out of here."
"It nearly took off my head and that's all you can say, jackass?" She snarled angrily. "I'm staying."
He glanced back at her angry, fiery eyes and smirked.
"Are you all right?"
In front of him, the furious bear bellowed its challenge for the pink-haired prey. Of course, Uchiha Itachi had to accept.
Sakura was his and his alone.
Ending notes: Review please! Thanks a bunch to those who reviewed! I'm glad you like it so much!
