I don't ask for reviews for "popularity" or so I can gloat.
I really want to know what you guys think.
&& I don't mind criticism as long as it's put nicely and you give me logical reasons.
I don't accept "Itachi sucks" or "I didn't like this"
Let me know why. Do you not like my character?
What's wrong with the story that you dislike?
-Anii
Chapter 7: "She felt a sense of fear as I came near and on my face I drew a tear."
― Guardian Angel by Abandon All Ships
The leaves crunched beneath Naruto's feet. He looked down at the leaves and watched one fly off, carried on the wings of the wind. He looked up at the building he had just left, wishing he could burn it to the ground and take Sakura away with him.
A man in an Akatsuki robe shoved Naruto forward, urging him to go on. Naruto kept his eyes locked on the building housing Sakura. He knew the Akatsuki wouldn't be there for long. But some how- some way...
"I'll find you, Sakura." He whispered aloud as his fingers curled into his palms, forming two fists, at his sides.
••••••••
Sakura lay in the white bed, staring up at the sheer canopy above her. The past few days had raced through her mind over and over but still her brain couldn't seem to process the events.
Naruto's tears flashed before her eyes multiple times, making tears of her own trickle down her temples. The Akatsuki members were getting ready to move on already, Itachi had informed her. Naruto will never find me.
An image flashed in her head of Naruto's eyes, pleading with her. Her promise struck her across the face like a brick. She groaned softly and sat up in the bed, trying to wake her limbs. The door suddenly flew open and Kisame stood in the doorway, his arms crossed and his beady eyes glaring at her. "Come on. You're going with Deidara and I."
"Where are we going?" Sakura didn't move.
"Does it matter? We're going." He answered, turning his back to her.
Sakura slid from the bed and stepped slowly out into the hall, her head bent low. Kisame grunted and shoved an Akatsuki robe into her hands. Sakura stared down at the fabric in her hands, the red cloud glared up at her, mocking her, laughing at her.
She threw it away from her and Kisame slammed her back against a wall, gripping her shirt front. "You belong to Akatsuki now. We damn well could have killed you the moment you got caught in the Uchiha's gaze. We're even being nice and not sending you out to murder your own kind. Learn to be gracious."
"Do you want me to thank you? I'd rather have you kill me" Sakura retorted.
Kisame smirked. "That can be arranged."
"Kisame." I know that voice, Sakura thought.
Kisame pulled away from her but still clutched her shirt in his big fist. Itachi stood, leaning against a wall with his arms folded casually and his eyes straight ahead, not even looking at the girl and shark man. "Please go with Tobi. I will go with Sakura and Deidara."
Kisame's eyes widened and his smirk flipped down into a frown but he nodded, "I understand."
Itachi's eyes flicked over to Sakura. That look told her he wasn't going to let her out of his sight. Kisame grunted and walked past the Uchiha, as if nothing had happened. Itachi turned his gaze to Sakura, who clutched at her own shirt front now. "Put the robe on."
Refusing Kisame had been one thing, but refusing Itachi...? The thought sent a cold chill gliding up her spine. She reached down to pick up the robe from the floor and swallowed down her hatred as she slid the robe on. Sakura looked down at herself and wished with all her heart that this could all just be a bad dream. She was patting away the dust that clung to the robe as Deidara walked up from behind Itachi, jerking the thumb on his right hand over his shoulder, "Why's fish boy so mad?"
Itachi glanced at Deidara, "I pulled him from the mission."
Dediara's eyes widened and darted back and forth from Sakura to Itachi. "No. No. You gotta be kidding, right? You're coming!?" Deidara slammed his forehead into his palm and groaned.
••••••••
Sakura sat in the darkest shadows of the forest, her back against a tree. After hours of running through woods, Itachi and Deidara had stopped and told her to remain behind, hidden. Of course, they kept their reasons a secret from Sakura no matter how many times she asked and after ten minutes of fishing for information, Itachi had shot her a glare that silenced her.
So Sakura hid herself in the shadows of the forest like they ordered, waiting for a sign to move. The sounds of the forest filled Sakura with a certain serenity she hadn't felt in a very long time. Her heart beat slowed and her tense limbs relaxed the slightest bit. Sakura exhaled hard and closed her eyes, absorbing the quiet night and its peaceful sounds.
A warm breeze caressed her cheek and strolled on lazily, sweeping up some leaves in the process. An owl hooted somewhere deep in the forest but other than that the other animals were tucked away in their dens or stealthily searching for food.
She waited for what seemed like a full hour without a single sign that either "team-mate" had returned. A sudden spark lit in her chest, a spark of hope. Maybe they had left her?
This could be her chance to run away from their grasp and back into the loving arms of her home. This was the best moment to run; who knew what the future held? If she had to bloody her hands in the future, Konoha might not receive her so lovingly, especially if the blood were that of a Leaf Ninja.
She straightened herself slowly, making sure to not produce a sound. She glanced behind the tree, her eyes inspecting every shadow, gleam of light, and piece of shrubbery in her sight.
Nothing.
Her heart leapt and she felt a smile break out on her face. That is, until a shiver ascended her spine as her body sensed something move behind her. Sakura quickly spun around, only to come nose-to-chest with an Akatsuki robe.
She brought her eyes up to meet the oh-so-familiar blood-red eyes of the Uchiha and groaned internally, forcing herself to stare into those deadly weapons. Itachi bent down until his lips brushed against her ear. Words tumbled out of his mouth but Sakura was too focused on his hot breath warming her ear to understand.
After getting no response from her, Itachi said again, "Our target is one hundred feet to our left. Deidara is to our right, attacking his own target. Our objectives are to capture the female and kill the men with her- they are of no use to us. Stay in the shadows, there most likely will be no use for you but you should be nearby, just in case."
A lump formed in Sakura's throat but she nodded slowly. Itachi grabbed her wrist and pulled her in the direction of the "enemy." Sakura felt her heart beat increase with every second that passed. Would she have to fight today? Would these "enemies" really be enemies? Or would they be people just like her friends at home? Or even worse, would they be her friends?
Dread filled Sakura and it was hard for her to keep up with Itachi's steady pace. She didn't have to struggle for long, however, because Itachi motioned for her to climb a tree, and disappeared instantly without another word.
Sakura did as she was told, knelt down on the thick tree branch, and caught sight of the Akatsuki's targets. A fire blazed and crackled in the center of a small clearing. Four men sat around the fire, each wearing a grim expression. The girl was standing at the end of the firelight's range, her back to the men and to Sakura.
Sakura's eyes narrowed as she studied the female- the target meant to be kept alive. She wore a tight black short-sleeved shirt and a black mini skirt with slits running up the sides. Underneath her skirt she wore fish net leggings. Her boots rose to knee-length and both her hands were bandaged from her wrists up to her elbows. A purple flower hung in her long brown hair, which tumbled loosely down her back.
She turned to the men and Sakura could see a sand headband covering the woman's forehead. The fire flickered and all hell broke loose. Three bullets of fire shot out from three different locations and imbedded themselves in three of the men's backs. The remaining man stood and threw his arms out in front of the girl.
The girl's eyes widened as a kunai shot out from the darkness and stuck into the man's chest cavity. He fell onto his knees, eyes and mouth wide in disbelief. The girl tumbled down after him, unhurt. She shook the now dead man's shoulder. "Touru!? Touru!?" she shouted, her voice shaking slightly.
Sakura put a hand against the tree trunk and tried to look away. Itachi didn't even need to use some special ninjutsu or anything or the sort. All he did was use a little of his clan's fire and one damn kunai and bam: four men are dead and his mission completed.
The girl howled in rage, bit at the loose piece of the bandage covering her arm, and pulled with her teeth. The bandage came undone and she bit into the other one, repeating the process. The thin strips of cloth slipped from her pale arms and landed gracefully on the ground. The girl lifted her arms out in front of her, hands angled downwards at the wrists.
Sakura squinted; black lines snaked their way up the girl's arms from her hands. The girl bent her head and lifted her bent hands up, revealing her palms, in a swift movement. The black lines on the girl's arms burned red and crawled their way farther up her arms and down her legs.
Her head jerked back up, revealing that the marks had spread across her face as well and that her entire eyes were now nothing but black pits. Itachi darted out of the bushes his fist connecting with the girl's jaw. Sakura could hear the jaw break from where she resided and cringed.
The girl stood her ground but her head jerked to the side from the blow, making her purple flower fly out of her hair. She slowly raised her head to face Itachi and Sakura had to clamp a hand over her own mouth to hold back the scream rising in her throat. The girl's body went rigid as Itachi's eyes did their job. Sakura watched intently as the girl clutched her head and threw it back in a silent scream before falling forward, her eyes fluttering closed.
Itachi caught her before she fell and placed her on her back. His eyes found Sakura in an instant and Sakura hopped down into the firelight. Timidly, she drew closer to the woman. Her eyes were closed as if she were sleeping but her body twitched randomly and her face was contorted with pain. A purple flower caught Sakura's eye and she swiftly swept the delicate thing into her hand and up her sleeve. Sakura had always known that Itachi's eyes were deadly but the reality of it struck her hard. She felt stupid. She shouldn't need to remind herself that this man was capable of killing her with just his gaze. She always stared into those red orbs, not once thinking about the consequences.
Itachi's gaze left her and and Sakuran turned around, Hm? Where there more enemies? Where she going to have to watch more people die? As far as she knew, they were innocent people that had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Before she could sink any lower in her depression, she found Deidara standing in front of her, someone draped over his shoulder. The blonde haired man brushed sand from his hair and shifted the body farther up his shoulder with a grunt.
Deidara tilted his head to the side, his signature smirk already plastered across his lips. "I see you got the girl. Good. Sasori stayed back to fight off some kid with puppets. He'll meet us back later."
Puppets? Sakura's eyes widened and drifted over to the person Deidara had on his shoulder. She suppressed a scream as she saw a crop of red hair on Deidara's victim.
"Gaara." She murmered.
••••••••
Sakura drew in slow deep breaths, trying not to go into cardiac arrest. Each of her shaking hands clutched a fist full of her Akatsuki robe. When Itachi stepped out of the dining room, Sakura ambushed him, trying to force out her words, but only letting out deep rasps. Itachi walked down the hallway, ignoring her.
Sakura, in desperation, lashed out and gripped his robe with both hands. If he had wanted to, he could have kept walking, dragging her down the hallway behind him, but instead he halted.
"Please. Please. Do what you did to Naruto for Garaa. Please." Sakura begged.
"No." The answer was quick.
Sakura's breath hitched, "Why?"
"I have nothing to gain from it." Itachi said simply.
Itachi turned and looked at Sakura, meeting her eyes. Remembering how easily Itachi had captured that girl with those eyes, Sakura adverted her gaze.
"What do you have to lose?" Sakura said softly, still looking away from him.
"Time."
"That's it?! Time!? You can save his life and you won't for time!?" Sakura cried out, turning hysterical.
"You forget who I am. They are not my friends. I had something to gain from saving the boy before. I don't now." Itachi pulled himself away and his robe slipped easily from Sakura's fingers.
••••••••
Itachi threw his robe over a chair in his room and sat on the love seat by the empty fireplace. He leaned back and closed his eyes, sighing softly, before lighting the wood in the fireplace with a simple touch.
That girl wouldn't look into his eyes anymore. She was just like the rest and he hated how much it affected him.
He sat up and rubbed his face with his hands, as if he could erase her from his memory using his hands. When this action failed, he threw open his door and took the long trek towards her room. As he neared her door, he expected to hear crying coming from within but he was only met with silence. He pushed her door open and found it empty.
A little something to make you laugh: my cat got into my perfume and now smells like a pomegranate xD
Anywho! Tell me what you thought! -Anii
