Chapter Four
Sakura followed along silently as they made their way toward the ground floor. Itachi had been somewhat taken aback by her uncharacteristic silence during most of the morning. Something was obviously on her mind and she had been like that after they had finished their 'tour' the day before. Had he actually cared more, he would've asked but for the moment he gave it very little thought. As long as it didn't interfere with her learning ability. Itachi had very little patience for people who wasted his time.
Meanwhile, Sakura was for once not even thinking about the training Itachi-sensei would give her. Instead, she was trying vehemently think up possibilities that would deny what was currently on her mind. There were many going through her head but it they all lead to the same conclusion.
When Kakuzu the day before had said something about Itachi-sensei being in the Bingo Book she had waved it off, not really understanding, but it had triggered her thoughts.
At night the base, being underground was deathly quiet, and she hadn't been tired in the least unlike the night before that when she had just arrived. So, given the opportunity she had thought about Kakuzu's words and had wondered why the Bingo Book sounded so familiar. She also wondered what 'stunt' Kakuzu meant.
She had thought back to when she had first met Itachi. It had been such a short while ago, but she had a hard time remembering things before that. The only thing that came with startling clarity was that there was an S-class criminal that was apparently trying to get into the village. At the time she had not even considered Itachi-sensei because he hadn't fit the description of what she had imagined that S-class criminal to be.
For one thing he had been strolling through the forest where she had bumped into him. He hadn't attacked her. She had the feeling he was a criminal simply because he had wanted her to distract the guards, but she hadn't entertained the notion that he was the one everyone had been talking about. The man who had killed his entire clan.
Now though, it seemed to be the only possible answer. He had come back and maybe killed the other member. She couldn't remember the clan's name but there had been a survivor, that much she knew. It had been a young person around her own age. She had no trouble imagining Itachi-sensei killing people, shinobi did that all the time. But killing one's own clan, one's blood was something taboo, if there was no reason to do so.
She was, for the first time since she had met him, truly scared of what he could do. She had thought he wouldn't hurt her intentionally because so far he had done nothing of the sort. Someone who killed their entire family, though probably didn't care if he killed one more person. It made her tremble just thinking about it.
Of course, this was the only answer she saw, perhaps there was another. Suddenly struck with this nervousness around him though, she couldn't bring herself to ask him outright if it was true. Again he had never shown anger toward her but it might be that she had just never provoked him. Surely asking him would do the job. Still she had no other way of knowing...
They had reached the ground floor, and were passing the corridor leading to the infirmary, library, and dungeons. She had always been a reading person and she had loved the large library filled with scrolls and books. The infirmary had been small, but Itachi-sensei said it wasn't really necessary.
Outside of the base, Sakura had been pleased to see that it was beautiful. There was a diverse terrain, for training purposes, of course. It was truly a beautiful place to live, she thought, despite its isolation. They walked past trees and finally arrived in a small clearing with a lake.
"Before we start," he said rather oddly she thought. "You can't train properly with your hair in your face all the time. You should keep it as short as you have it now. Long hair on a ninja is a hindrance."
She nodded, and then blushed slightly on realizing she had nothing to keep her hair out of her face. She had a ribbon that a girl from the village had given her but it was in her little rucksack. She didn't want to wear it because it made her think more about the village. At the same time though, she couldn't bring herself to throw it away.
"I don't have anything to hold my hair," she said quietly. He didn't look like it mattered though as he took something out of his cloak and held it up so she would take it.
She stared at it for a moment before taking it in her hand. It was a ribbon, simple like the one Ino had given her but black. She held it moving her fingers against it. It was very soft. She looked up at Itachi-sensei, not smiling but her eyes were shining in gratitude.
He looked at her evenly. Then another moment passed as she looked down at it.
"Put it on," he said finally. She felt embarrassed for making such a big deal out of it. He probably didn't think it meant so much.
"Thank you, Itachi-sensei," she said quickly tying it behind her neck. Her bangs were still free but they weren't long enough to cover her eyes.
He didn't say anything in response to her thanks. Perhaps it didn't mean much to him, but to her it gave her resolve to ask him. He wouldn't hurt her, would he?
"Itachi-sensei," she began her voice soft but he could always hear her. "I...Why...Did you k-kill your clan?"
She looked up to see his expression. He jaw looked tense but his face didn't show any other sign of emotion. She was starting to regret asking him, when it didn't seem he would answer.
"Yes, I did. All of the Uchiha clan is dead," he said. She looked up at him. His words seemed to weigh on her. She wondered how many there were. How many he killed in one night, if she went by what everyone said. How young they had been?
"Except my brother," he said almost as an afterthought. She stayed quiet, not sure how to answer this. She wanted to ask why but she knew not to. He wouldn't answer of that she was positively sure. Suddenly in one second a picture came to mind. A boy so much like Itachi-sensei but younger and paler.
"Sasuke," she whispered, remembering the boy at the Academy. The boy who was the best in the class. The boy who now had no family because of Itachi-sensei.
Itachi's eyes locked on hers. "Yes," he finally responded.
"You are very nice to me," she stated suddenly. He didn't say anything but his eyes didn't leave hers. "You were nice to him," she added, because she thought it was true.
His jaw tensed once more and Sakura decided that it would be better not to mention his brother. He didn't seem to like talking about him.
"We have to start training, Itachi-sensei," she told him abruptly. He actually looked surprised in that his face was showing expression. It wasn't much but it was different than other times, where the change was so subtle and quick that she hardly noticed. But as always it was gone in a matter of seconds.
"Yes, we must," he said before sitting on the ground.
She said it not to get rid of the silence but because she knew she had chosen. Itachi-sensei had not hurt her, had not killed his brother. What he had done was something, she doesn't want to think about. At the same time, she doesn't know that Itachi, the one who could kill his own blood. She knows the Itachi that hides his emotion, but sometimes lets it slip. The one who protects her from the others simply by saying she is in his protection. The Itachi-sensei that gives her a ribbon to hold her hair back.
She sat next to him as he began.
"Even the lowest class ninja must begin with taijutsu. This builds up the body's stamina and helps with building up chakra. So basically the first few weeks, you are going to have to train your body."
Training, Sakura decided, was something that you had to dedicate to tremendously. If you didn't, you wouldn't make it. It was a good thing she decided that she was as serious as possible about training.
The first week was simple. Every other day she would train her body the entire day. This involved short periods of light training followed by slightly shorter periods of resting. It wasn't very difficult, she thought, but her body had to get somewhat accustomed according to Itachi-sensei, so they had to start out slow.
The days she didn't train she was sent to the library and given material to read, which she often did in her room. The books were mostly about understanding chakra, and gave information on the different jutsus. Sakura had always been a book-lover so this was enjoyable for her. The books were basic, so they weren't hard for her to understand.
Seeing that she had no problems the first week, Itachi decided to create a better regiment. She had been enthusiastic about this change. Unfortunately she had not known it would be such a drastic change.
For one thing the day started at 6:00 a.m and included jogging for about 2 hours in the morning followed by breakfast and a half hour break. Afterwards she would practice punching and kicking inanimate objects for another hour and a half. A ten minute break and then she would work on flexibility for an hour. She was taught how to do flips and increase her body's fluidity.
The next hour was spent practicing hand seals. She didn't know how to do any jutsus but Itachi-sensei told her to learn how to form hand seals quickly. This was actually rather fun, although her arms hurt after about 40 minutes. Itachi-sensei would yell out signs in rapid succession and she would form them, making sure not to make a mistake. The penalty was adding another 20 minutes, therefore increasing the time of her training.
An hour for lunch and another 20 minute break, before she began the next part. The next hour she practiced with throwing weapons. She was actually rather good at this. Perhaps she didn't always make it on the bullseye on the target but she had never once missed the target.
The next hour was concerned with dodging objects. Itachi-sensei would hide from her, which he found to be relatively easy. The girl would to be trained to be able to increase her senses later on. He would them throw small kunais or senbons at her. Small weapons so she would not be hurt severely and small enough that her eyes would be trained to see small objects at rapid speeds. The first few days, Sakura would finish the exercise with cuts on her body. She was progressively getting better. She still dodged less than half but it was a good improvement for just two weeks of training.
She would take a 30 minute break with Itachi-sensei as he talked to her about random things. Some days he would speak about other countries. Sometimes about different clans and what they were known for. History was usually the topic. Itachi-sensei disliked ignorant people. He talked in relatively short sentences and sometimes used words she didn't understand. However, she liked that in this short time, he was the one talking to her and not the other way around. This was easily her favorite part of the training days.
The day was finally concluded after she jogged for an hour. Itachi-sensei did not watch her while she ran, so sometimes she would take small breaks. She stopped doing this rather quickly though. Partly because she felt she was letting Itachi-sensei down, and partly because she found it harder to stop and then start again.
Once she was done with her training, she would go with Itachi-sensei inside the base and take a bath in her rooms. Often the bath would help with her soreness. If not Itachi-sensei would soother her muscles, by passing a glowing black hand on them. She found this extremely interesting and had asked him if he would teach her this. He had responded that this took very precise chakra control, something which took a long time to get.
She would then go with Itachi-sensei to the dining room and eat. Most of the members were on missions during those 2 weeks. This she assumed to be the reason she rarely saw them. Another was simply that they weren't very social.
Twice Kakuzu had eaten with them. He talked rarely and mostly about investments and economy, things Sakura really didn't understand. Itachi rarely responded, but it didn't matter. Kakuzu didn't seem to like him very much either way, or her for that matter.
Kisame would more often be with them. He talked more and didn't seem to mind that Itachi often didn't respond. Sakura loved hearing Kisame's stories about missions. He seemed to like talking to her, so she warmed up to him rather quickly. It must be hard, she imagined to live in this organization being quite talkative, and having no one to talk back.
She still felt somewhat shy around the other members, especially Zetsu, who they had encountered sometimes while they were outside. He seemed to enjoy being outside. Sakura wondered if his plant-like head needed sunlight and water, but thought it rude to ask. She was afraid she would offend him, but he greeted them when he saw them. He wouldn't begin conversation though and would walk away or simply blend into the surroundings, almost completely hidden.
Sasori as well was sometimes outside, He greeted her too, and sometimes actually talked to her. Not too long or about anything particularly important, but it still felt nice. She felt rather lonely when Itachi-sensei left her during some periods of her training. Sasori had no way of knowing this, but he often showed up during these times, and for that Sakura was grateful.
Sasori never ate any meals with them and Sakura wondered if he too ate in other ways. He wasn't a cannibal, since she was sure Itachi-sensei would have mentioned it. She had a suspicion he didn't eat at all though, but again decided she should leave the members' private matters alone.
She sometimes caught glimpses of Konan, but had yet to speak to her since the day they met. She sometimes thought she saw Leader outside watching them. It made her very uncomfortable, because he always looked disapprovingly at her. It was always for a moment though and then he was gone.
For the most part though, her first two weeks were great. She started getting into the routine. She was still sore after training, but she was improving somewhat. Itachi-sensei didn't compliment her, but he never looked upset at her either. She took this to be a good sign. It would be two more weeks before Itachi-sensei said he would teach her basic ninjutsu, something she was looking forward to.
Everything was going well.
Umimo Iruka sighed as Naruto once again starting yelling at Kiba. Both were loud kids, with a short attention span. He thought they might become friends, given that they had rather similar personalities, but it seemed that it was just the opposite.
"Iruka-sensei, Kiba's dog bit me," he yelled while Kiba glared.
"Akamaru wouldn't bite you. He doesn't even like you," Kiba retorted angrily.
Iruka felt a pang as he saw a look of hurt pass over Naruto's face. Not for the first Iruka felt sorry for the boy. Poor kid. Kiba's words had hit him hard.
"Well, I don't like him either! Or you!" he yelled back. Iruka noticed his eyes show hatred for a moment. Pure hatred, and for a moment Iruka forgot that Naruto was just an 8-year old. Then it was gone though and his face went back to just showing anger. Childish anger, that all children expressed. Still for a moment Naruto had had hatred and Iruka was worried. There was a demon inside Naruto, sometimes he almost forgot.
"Boys stop that," he began sternly. They looked at him faces still mad. "You'll both stay after class, today and any more disruptions and you'll stay for the rest of the week as well."
They both looked dejectedly at him, particularly Kiba.
"I can't stay, Iruka-sensei. My mom will get mad," he said, voice sounding worried. Someone snickered and Kiba looked around the room for the instigator. Iruka knew Inuzuka Tsume's famous temper quite well.
He noticed Naruto's expression once more. No one, Iruka thought, would miss him if he came late. Most of the other children around the room weren't even doing the assignment anymore, instead looking at their classmates' antics. A small few he noticed had the same expression as Naruto. A shinobi village produced too many orphans, a fact Iruka was familiar with. He couldn't help them all, as much as he wanted too.
His attention went to the only child ignoring the commotion Naruto and Kiba were causing. Of course, Uchiha Sasuke was new to this status and in some cases worse off. The kid had no one left after having everyone all of his life. His brother responsible for it and he, the only survivor. His dark eyes seemed concentrated on his work, but his jaw was tense. Kiba's words had affected him too, although he tried to hide it. It had just been a month since he had been left alone. It would take more time to heal, if he ever did.
He sighed before speaking once more. "You should have thought about that before, Kiba. Perhaps now, you'll learn to concentrate on your work and not fight with your classmates."
"He started it," Kiba grumbled.
"I did not! His dog's the one that bit me!" Naruto replied, his narrowed eyes on the pup on Kiba's head.
"Naruto, do you want to stay the whole week?" he asked, his voice slightly raised.
"I don't care," he said sinking into his seat. The words No one will care remained unspoken but Iruka knew them. He knew them well.
The boys were silent now although every few moments they glared at one another. The class having lost their momentary distraction returned to their work. Sasuke was already done, his hands on his chin and his dark eyes narrowed in thought. The boy should be mourning, not in class studying ways to kill.
He took in the silence, looking around the large class. He spotted an empty seat in the second row and his mind drifted to the missing child.
Haruno Sakura, he remembered. She had been a quiet girl. She didn't raise her hand in class and had had no close friends as far as he knew. She had had pink hair, that he remembered vividly. She had only been in his class for about three weeks before she suddenly stopped coming. Disappeared or kidnapped had been the conclusions that most had come up with after the few hours in which her disappearance was reported. Now though the answer was obvious. The girl was dead.
Four guards reported seeing her the day of her disappearance. They had said she had lied to them about a man, presumably Uchiha Itachi at the East Gate. They had left their post, realizing they had been lied to upon reaching said gate and finding out no one had passed through. It had been concluded the child had been placed under a jutsu, so someone could leave Konoha without problems from the guards. The Uchiha murderer was the most likely suspect. It seemed Sakura had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Seeing as she disappeared right after, it was concluded that finding no further use for the child he had disposed of her.
It hurt him that he had lost a student to death so quickly. He had not gotten to know her, but Iruka hated hurting children. It was part of the reason he had asked to be transferred to the Academy. Killing children on missions wasn't uncommon and after only doing it once, he had decided he wouldn't do so again.
He had no blame in her death, but looking toward Naruto who was looking at his paper in some confusion, he thought maybe he could help him. Be there for him the way, no one else was. Naruto had no friends although he sometimes got along with the others, but that wasn't friendship. Naruto needed someone, anyone so he wouldn't have to have that hatred inside anymore. If he could have just one person to be there for him perhaps things would be different for him.
Iruka smiled at the boy, who looked at him, surprised by the gesture. He smiled back uncertainly before looking back down at his paper. Iruka had always wanted to help those children who had no one and Naruto was the person who needed someone the most.
Sakura continued her rather slow jogging pace. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she thought she still needed about 10 more minutes before Itachi-sensei would appear suddenly and tell her that training was done for the day. Her pink bangs were stuck to her forehead, because of the increasing summer heat.
Her mind often drifted while she ran. It was easier to not concentrate on how tired she was, and she went faster if she didn't think about it. Today had gone rather well, she thought. She had struck about 5 of the bulls-eyes from 15 from 10 meters away. It wasn't much, but it was a lot better than before. Not only that but she had made no mistakes with the hand seals, something she hadn't accomplished before.
Sakura loved to think, during these moments. She had always been a more thinking , rather than active child. She blamed this trait of hers when she ran straight into someone. She was knocked back, and for a moment she was scared it was Kakuzu, because the person's figure was quite tall. Kakuzu would no doubt get very angry at her. Itachi had warned her about his short temper.
"What the fuck! Who the hell are you?" the person yelled.
Blushing, she picked herself up. He could've helped, she thought rather angrily. His words though showed that he was quite rude, so she decided not to expect manners from this one.
The words had also clued her in on who this probably was. The missing member, she had yet to meet. The religious man that said bad words. "Hidan-san, I am very sorry."
He stared at her, violet eyes staring at her in disbelief. "How the hell do you know my name?"
She hoped she didn't appear as frightened as she felt. "My name's Sakura, Hidan-san," she replied, feeling stupid for being so scared and nervous. She didn't realize he had asked how she knew his name, and no longer who she was.
"I didn't ask that," he said, violet eyes threatening all of a sudden. His long pale blond hair fell behind his shoulders, framing his face. He would have looked nice if his eyes weren't so scary and his face wasn't in a scowl.
"You did at first," she said, impatiently. Then her eyes widened, noticing her mistake. This man could kill her. On his face though was an expression of slight surprise as well. Either way, she had to tell him about Itachi.
"Sakura. I am Itachi-sensei's pupil, Hidan-san," she told him rather hurriedly. Hopefully this would save her from getting killed. He looked doubtfully at her, but in one movement grabbed her waist and held her under his arm.
"We'll see about that," he muttered, starting to walk off. She decided not to struggle, once she saw he was heading toward the base. Someone would see them and tell Hidan, that she wasn't lying. For the moment she let herself hang limply in his grasp. This was getting less scary, and more embarrassing.
"If you're fucking lying, kid, we'll kill you," he threatened.
"I'm not. I know you're Kakuzu's partner," she offered. Perhaps he would put her down. She didn't want Itachi-sensei seeing her weakly held, under this man's arm.
"I should kill you. Jashin will get mad, for allowing you to live this long," he said, ignoring how she knew about Kakuzu. She froze up immediately, feeling her heart quicken.
She looked up ahead, as they passed near the clearing with the small pond, where Itachi-sensei had taken her, and given her the ribbon currently in her hair. The man walked quickly, but ungracefully causing her discomfort. His hold on her had also tightened.
She glanced at her captor, and was surprised to see some sort of rosary on his neck. He was currently muttering something quickly while his free hand grasped at the beads. He was praying, she realized momentarily stunned. She had known he was religious but she didn't know he prayed. Praying didn't fit with people like him, she thought.
When she caught the words 'blood' and 'sacrifice', she elected not to listen anymore. He didn't even look at her, completely immersed in his praying.
She let out a breath as she looked forlornly ahead. She let her eyes droop, after a few moments. In a way Hidan was lulling her to sleep, with his unintended rocking and soft indiscernible mutterings.
"Hidan, I see you've met my student," a voice said. Sakura opened her eyes blearily. She smiled immediately, upon seeing Itachi-sensei, some feet away. Then she frowned remembering her awkward situation. For his part, he seemed unperturbed by the fact she was being held captive.
"The heathen ran into me. Couldn't fucking believe what she was saying was true," he said. There was no apologetic note in his voice. She took note that he had yet to put her down.
"It is," he said, his voice unwavering. "Put her down."
He didn't and Sakura saw his eyes narrow at being ordered. Itachi's blank face didn't change.
"Hidan," he said, a warning tone had entered his voice.
Again, he kept her under his arm. Slowly he loosened his hold, but he didn't place her down and she fell. Training with Itachi-sensei came in, and she managed to fall on her feet, in a crouching position. She stood up, slightly shaky.
"Thank you, Hidan-san," she said, reluctantly. He didn't deserve it, but it was better to be polite. She didn't want to make enemies, especially one who didn't seem to care much that she was the student of another member. She didn't think he would hesitate to hurt her.
She walked toward Itachi-sensei, until she got to his side. She breathed a sigh of relief. Being next to him made her feel protected.
"Training's over, girl. Hidan will you come with us back to the base?" he inquired, looking toward the other other member.
"I have to speak to the Leader," he said voice thick with sarcasm at the word Leader. It wasn't an answer but he began walking on Itachi-sensei's other side.
It was a slow walk and silent as usual. Hidan was praying again and Sakura couldn't help but stare at him as he did so. He looked so into it. His violet eyes shining, and his lips forming into words, without a pause. She tried to be discrete, but Itachi-sensei looked at her, with a barely raised eyebrow.
"Do you have a problem with my praying, you little sinful heathen," he asked, openly glaring at her from Itachi-sensei's other side.
She blushed, but decided to tell him the truth. "Your praying," she began, aware that his eyes were now slits. "It's fascinating," she said, proud of using a long word, and hoping it might make her sound less childish.
He didn't say anything, but he wasn't glaring anymore. They continued on, until the base's entrance came into view. Leader was there, speaking with Konan. As they approached, Konan suddenly left. She must not like people much, other than Leader, Sakura thought.
"Leader," both she and Itachi-sensei said in unison. He inclined his head slightly before his eyes focused on Hidan. Hidan had yet to acknowledge Leader.
"Welcome back, Hidan," Itachi said curtly, before going through the entrance. Sakura looked back and waved a short good-bye to both of them. Neither even looked her way.
"Itachi-sensei, I'm sorry that I let Hidan-san get me," she told him once they were far from the two figures left behind.
"It doesn't matter. You should just be less careless," he told her.
"Thank you for making him let me go," she continued. He didn't reply.
"Itachi-sensei," she started again. He looked at her, so she knew this wasn't a one-sided conversation. She gave him a small smile. "You're the best."
The words were softly spoken, but he could easily tell she was being sincere. He thought back to the Konoha, where those words had always taunted him.
"I know."
I'll be updating hopefully around once a week. School starts soon, so maybe once every two weeks when it does.
