Chapter 4: Rendezvous
"A break?" Itachi repeated
Sakura nodded, "I can hear water east of us…so I was wondering if…we could just take a break."
Sharingan eyes loomed over her form; her cloak was a bit messy and the top buttons were unfastened. Her face was dripping with sweat and her eyes were almost half-lidded.
Itachi was about to answer her when she cut him off, "I know…I know…it would most probably take much more time…alright then…let's go, Uchiha-sama!" Sakura said disapprovingly
Itachi watched her, amusement suddenly filling his eyes as he sighed, "Do what you must…take a bath or so…"
Sakura's eyes widened as she stared back at the Uchiha.
'Did he just say I can do what I should?' she asked herself
'Oh no, he didn't!' inner Sakura said sarcastically
Sakura was not sure how to respond to this, so she just nod her head in approval.
"I will be back in an hour…do not try to escape or else, " Itachi narrowed his eyes at her
Sakura didn't cower back in fear. They already made the deal and seeing as Itachi was being less rude to her—she still won't admit he's polite now—she had to fulfill her part of the deal as to cooperate and follow his orders. So she said, "Don't worry…I won't…"
The water was translucent to the bottom and it scared her to the least bit if someone would be watching her. The fountain was a great way to bathe herself. Sure the pond served to be a nice pool for her to dip in but with the fountain, it would serve as a shower to her, which she would be glad to cleanse herself in.
While she had already washed her clothes when she first jumped into her 'pool' and had hung laid it out flat on the bushes to dry it, she swam to the edge and looked up at the sky. It was getting late, no doubt about that. The skies were darkening and as she turned her head to the west, she could see that the sun was already starting to hide.
Then that memory of her past when she was fighting against Sasori got to her again.
When she had already hit him, with the help of Chiyo-sama, she really did think he was dead. But nooooo…seeing as he and his kind partner, Deidara attacked both Lee and her, she regretted in thinking that. She got stronger…that she was sure. All because of Tsunade-shishou, her mentor. She did admit that it also was because of her determination that has caused her to come this far. If only she had that kind of determination when she was in her gennin days along with Naruto and Sasuke, she would've been able to stop him from going to that tricky-snake-bastard, Orochimaru. Naruto fought so hard to get him back and all she did was cry. Pity her, yes. That's why when they went to that retrieval mission along with Jiraiya
Just thinking about it made her wonder, 'What could've happened to Naruto now?' she thought
"Kuso, it was all a genjutsu! Argh!" Naruto punched the bark of the tree, splintering it's once solid shape.
"Naruto, we all did our best. That Itachi just got the better of us!" Kiba said
Naruto clenched his hand around Kiba's collar, "If we did do our best, Sakura…Sakura-chan would be here right now!" he yelled
Shikamaru separated while muttering 'troublesome' under his breath.
Neji was a disappointed too at the outcome of their mission. Now they were on their way back to Konoha. The only hope for the pink-haired kunoichi they were supposed to retrieve, is on the hands of the hunter-nins and the other ANBU forces.
'I promise…next time…I will definitely find you, Sakura-chan.' Naruto thought determinedly
"How many of us are left?" a white-haired sound-nin asked his companion
"Only four of us are left including you, Kabuto-sama…" the man replied
No doubt the Akatsuki were strong…they killed over twenty-four sound-nins he had taken with him, under the strict orders of his master to complete their mission. What was worse was that, some of the Konoha ANBU's and some jounins have partaken in the fray as well.
"Hmmm…did you find any leads that can lead us to her?" Kabuto asked
"The Akatsuki have traveled to the south, so we're presuming that the girl would be there too." The other sound-nin replied
"I see…"
A wicked smile spread on the face of Kabuto as he adjusted his glasses with his index finger, the reflection of the light making the glasses seem white. "Let's go, then." He commanded
Sakura rose from the pond and dried herself with the dry and warm Akatsuki cloak. She dressed herself, fully understanding that it might take at least 30 minutes more before Itachi would come back. She really intended to end her bath as early as possible, just for safety reasons. But even if there was thirty minutes more…she knew, that even if she tried to escape, he would look for her. Hence, she decided to wait for him.
Sighing to herself, she put the Akatsuki cloak on the ground, neatly folded and then stood up again. The sky was really darkening now…and the stars were beginning to shine. It was lovely…
"Lovely sight, isn't it…Sakura?" a masculine voice said
That voice sent shivers down on Sakura's spine. 'This chakra…I know this kind of chakra…it's a kind of medical chakra…' she thought. Suddenly her eyes widened at the thought, 'Wait, medical chakra?'
Turning around with dust emanating from the rapid movement of her feet, she scowled at the man before her as she spat his name in venom, "Kabuto!"
The man that was standing in front of Sakura gave an amused chuckle when his eyes averted to the cloak that was neatly folded and placed on the ground, "So you're a part of the Akatsuki now, Sakura? I must say that the line on your hitae-ate…" he looked at the band pulling back her hair, "…doesn't quite suit an innocent medic-nin such as yourself, right?" he mockingly questioned
"Why are you here, Kabuto?" Sakura asked, not paying any attention to the former question, he had asked her moments ago.
The white-haired medic snorted at her lack of common sense, and as soon as she noticed this, she glared back at him.
"Seriously, Sakura-chan, with the kind of situation you're in, don't you think other people who would've been in your shoes might've known already as to why I am here?" he said mockingly, once again putting Sakura into a fit of anger.
"I know Orochimaru has sent you here, along with those other three sound-nins that are failing to hide their charkas too well for me to sense. What I mean by my question is why—in terms of why did Orochimaru send you here to take me to him? I don't have any debts or any relationship with that bastard that would let me end up being hunted by him." She retorted
Kabuto thought about it for a moment. 'Didn't the Akatsuki tell her yet about the reason why Orochimaru-sama wanted her? If so…then this would probably be a good chance to convince her, if I can, to come with me…' Kabuto thought
"Are you saying Sakura-chan, that you don't know any of our plans as to convert to having to capture you?" Kabuto asked
Sakura glared at him, possibly trying to kill him with her glare. "Cut the crap, Kabuto. You know very well the reason why Orochimaru is after me, so speak!" Sakura shouted
"Heh. Fine then Sakura-chan. If you would like to know what the reason why we're trying to capture you, then let me tell you why…" Kabuto paused as he tried to read the emotions that were showing in her eyes. 'Fear and fortitude' he said to himself
"Start talking, Kabuto!" Sakura ordered firmly. She readied herself for any harm he or the still hiding sound-nins might do to her, but soon realized that she had no weapons with her.
"You do know the precarious situation Orochimaru-sama is in, correct?" Kabuto asked, the tone of his voice getting even more serious.
Sakura nodded her head. She knew all about it from Tsunade-shishou. She had already told Sakura about Orochimaru's arms that were currently 'useless' all because of Sandaime.
Kabuto lifted up his glasses once again with his index finger and told her, "I am not capable of healing his arms. No matter how much chakra I put, how many days I observe it or research about finding a way to cure it…all had failing outcomes. Then, Orochimnaru suggested to me his former team-mate. One of the legendary sannins as well…"
"Tsunade-shishou…" Sakura continued
Kabuto grinned smugly at her, "That's right…your mentor and the fifth hokage of Konoha. We talked to her about the situation, but in the end she didn't cooperate with us and betrayed us."
Sakura scoffed at that sentence Kabuto had just said, "Kabuto, Tsunade-shishou never betrayed you. If it is betrayal you are talking about, wouldn't it be better if you actually thought on bringing yourself the label too? Orochimaru would not have practically stayed with the deal and would still continue to attack Konoha, once she was done healing—" then Sakura's eyes widened
Kabuto smirked even more, "Jusging by the way you look right now, I'd say you know already what the reason is…seeing as you've just mentioned it yourself."
Sakura glared at him, "That snaky bastard wants me to heal his arms doesn't he?" She already understood by just looking at Kabuto's face, all that she needed to.
So, she was just a measly healing item to Orochimaru, eh? What a bastard!
"Does he really think I would heal his arms? I'm loyal to the people I care about Kabuto, and the people in Konoha is one of them." Sakura stated firmly
"Orochimaru-sama is indeed expecting you at Sound." Kabuto glared
"Well then, I'm sorry but I have no intention on going to Sound and heal his arms." Sakura said. Sweat was already forming on her forehead, even though the sun had already set and the moon was about to shine giving chills to the air. 'I must keep this conversation with Kabuto going until Itachi comes back…' she said to herself
'My oh my…now you're entrusting your life to Itachi now, eh?How come you managed to get along with him now?' inner Sakura asked teasingly
'Shut up! Now isn't the time to have debates!' she shouted inwardly
"Are you planning to come with us Sakura or not?" Kabuto asked, his annoyance and impatience already lingering in his voice.
"As I have said before, NO!" Sakura yelled
Kabuto pulled out a kunai a twirled in his hand as he readied himself to fight with the kunoichi. The three sound-nins took this as a signal and chose to jump out from the bushes and the tree as they aimed kunais in Sakura's direction.
Sakura punched the ground beneath her and grabbed her Akatsuki cloak as she jumped to the other side of the pond where it served as a boundary for Sakura from Kabuto.
The white-haired medic evaded the cracking surface of the ground and managed to leap onto a tree branch as he watched his companions flew around the trees and get hidden by the bushes. He wasn't really happy about what was happening now…Sakura would be carried now going to Sound if only she agreed to this and make things a lot easier.
Her shoulder-length hair flew and tousled itself around her face as the cool breeze swept past the two medic-nins who were ready to fight. Sakura couldn't use any weapons now, so the only choice she has is by knocking some sense into that Kabuto-jerk with her outstanding strength.
"Argh…Sasori, are we getting near to where Itachi-kun and Sakura-chan is now?" Deidara asked irritated at the whole situation, going as far as to leave his trademark side-comment of a 'yeah' in a sentence.
"They're practicallymiles from us Deidara. You know Itachi-san has been ordered to take the girl to Leader and report to him when something like what happened moments ago transpires in our headquarters." Sasori replied
"You mean our pretend-headquarters…yeah! Those sound-nins indeed fell for it and the Konoha ANBU's managed to track it down as well. I'm glad I wasn't there inside when that building crashed…yeah…" Deidara stated "Leader wouldn't dare leave headquarters. Does he love that place so much, he builds a decoy far from it's original one…yeah?" he asked his partner
"Leader knows when to leave headquarters or not…" Sasori stated coolly, "Let's go faster, night is befalling on us…"
A slice to the arm wasn't good, you know? Especially if you had to use that arm in order to punch jerks like Kabuto!
Sakura held her right arm ,that began to bleed profusely from the cut that Kabuto inflicted on her with his bent but sharp kunai, with her left hand. She dodged the incoming punch that was directed at her and managed to kick the kunai out from his grasp.
He held his right hand, where he previously held the kunai to deliver another slice to Sakura. 'Damn that girl for her kicks and punches!' Kabuto inwardly cursed. He was sweating, honestly. He really didn't know that Sakura could've had that much power in her. She did improve much more than expected.
Her clothes were somewhat dirtiedagain and she mentally cursed Kabuto because of it! Her white skirt had dust, while her red sleeveless top had blood splatters. Fortunately, the blood bled with the red of her top…but that wasn't the point! If Kabuto keeps on attacking her like this, she would be screwed soon! 'Ah, where is Itachi when you need him?' she inwardly shrieked
When her mind was drifting elsewhere, Kabuto threw a kunai directed at her chest. She couldn't dodge… Sakura couldn't dodge! It was like she was paralyzed or something…
'Shit, we're gonna die, we're gonna die!' inner Sakura shouted
Just before the kunai had managed to pierce her body, a 'clink' sound was heard and Sakura opened her eyes to see Itachi in front of her holding a kunai in his hand…
'…which he practically used to save us! Damn he's getting our attention too much!' inner Sakura said
Kabuto glared at the Uchiha that was defending his target. First, he was surprised that he blocked the kunai to save her, the second time he was shocked was that Itachi sent a glare to him, which he gratefully returned with his own.
"Uchiha Itachi…" he muttered under his breath
"Itachi…" Sakura said softly
"Hn…" came the good reply of Itachi. He looked over his shoulder to see if Sakura was okay and when he was satisfied she was, he returned his glare on the pet-dog of Orochimaru.
'Did Itachi just save me?' Sakura asked herself
'Well, seeing as you don't have a kunai embedded in any part of your body, I would say, the hell, yes, Sakura! You were saved by Itachi!' inner Sakura screamed as she drooled about on Itachi
'And since when do you drool at Itachi? I thought you hated him?' Sakura asked her inner-self
'Well…I didn't say that I hated him, right?' inner Sakura grinned slyly
'Whatever…' Sakura thought as she dismissed her inner-self and focused on the scene displayed right before her.
"I'm guessing Orochimaru has sent you here for this kunoichi." Itachi stated coolly
'Talk about calling me by my real name…' Sakura scowled
Kabuto chuckled as he ruffled his hair with his left hand, "You could say that…" he replied
"Leave." Itachi said firmly
"Ah…I would come with more reinforcements sooner anyways…" Kabuto said as he disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving the elder Uchiha and the injured medic.
Miakoda13: Okay guys, you can kill me now, if you want to! Hehehehehehehehe! So anyways, I hope you do understand now why Orochimaru needs Sakura now…but some of you might've already figured that out…
I'm very sorry for the late update, but I had many things that was bugging. And another thing is…I might not be able to update for two weeks, because, as I said before, I might go to the U.S. I just squeezed in this chapter before I let you guys waiting on much slow-going time.
Important Notice: Oh yeah! I just want you guys to know that I have my own DeviantArt account! I have many ItaSaku artworks! Visit this website: www.jenazia. or just go to my website and click on the link on it.
Review Replies:
Chapter 1:
Thanks to:
moonlightgirl11, anonymous, Silent Kunoichi a.k.a. Fiona…, Xxaoshi,Clo Clo-chan, sky, Magan, SilverStorm106, blacksheep18, starwishes, Sukarou, sara, Reiyuki Yumikito
CloeyMarie-sorry about the spelling mistakes I'll have them fixed when I have time (My time is limited with the computer…)
Hao'sAnjul-thanks for the lookout on the wrong spellings!
Koruyuu-Thanks a lot! I'll surely continue on with this fic!
KAze-RyU-thank you & yes, ItaSaku rocks forever!
SweetAssassin- the reason she was kidnapped…you'll find it soon!
Sexy-INU-tenshi-to be honest, it goes seem kinda weird but since he has that polite manner, I think he would apologize to Sakura for doing it
MerodiPansa-thanks for the add!
Chapter 2:
Thanks to:
Reiyuka Yumikoto, lightninghime, Roan, Redwillow123, yinyang-sensei, Magan, Hao'sAnjul, EnV, mfpeach, itachi4president, shamanic cherry, Kirdari
Dark-anglez07-the headband they usually wear with the symbol of thwir country is the hitae-ate
MitsukiShiroi-Don't worry, I don't consider it as a flame but a tip to help me improve.
Chapter 3:
Thanks to:
Starwishes, MerodiPansa, Magicians of the Yami, grimreaper sakura, EnV, sessygirl66, Magan, Doctor Meowzie, Hao's Anjul
Sillymail-I live in the Philippines, my friend. Going to the U.S. for a baptism
XuchihaSakuraX-Nope, afraid I don't…wish I could though…
Luv's-lyric-I'll work on Sakura, don't worry! Itachi's hard though…
Jayde-Green07-Deidara's yummy? Why yes of course he is! Sasori's too, you know!
I'm really sorry guys, but here's a present I would reward you for having to review me and support me:
Preview of Chapter 5: Moment
"I-Itachi!" Sakura stammered as he got closer to her face. "W-what are you d-doing?"
Itachi chuckled as he stroke her pink tresses carefully.
All of a sudden…
He kissed her…