Equinox – an Itachi & Sakura story
By: MitsukiShiroi
Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter VII – Summer's ending
A gasp of delighted surprise escaped her lips as she realized what was happening. Her disbelief and hesitance faded fast as his left arm wrapped around her waist while his right arm fisted in her short pink hair. Every nerve in her body felt like it was coming alive as she eagerly parted her lips under the demanding nudge of his. His tongue slipped into the warm cavern of her mouth and her tongue rose to meet it, pushing and stroking against his boldly, helpless in the onslaught.
Somewhere in the back of her mind it registered that they were standing on a balcony out in the open, but all thoughts of propriety and correct behavior left her as he tipped her head a little further back and continued his thorough exploration of her mouth. His hands dawdled over her body unhurriedly, leaving a white-hot trail wherever his fingers would connect with her skin. He pulled her in closer, the dip and curve of her body perfectly aligning with his lean form.
Itachi relinquished her mouth when they ran out of breath, pressing a sweet yet heated kiss to the line of her jaw, just under her ear. Sakura sighed blissfully as she ran her hand through his silken ponytail and hoped the blush that stained her cheeks would fade away before he got another look at her.
She gazed wonderingly at him as he pulled back and observed her with his inscrutable midnight blue gaze. "I think that line between subordinate and captain has now fully been breached…" she said. "Unless you do this sort of thing with Naruto and Shikamaru too."
Sakura could see the tell-tale sign of his eyebrows twitching and the right corner of his mouth dipping before he even started laughing. She couldn't help but smile herself when he tilted his head back a little and laughed heartily, his deep sounding voice calming her. He looked at her, the dimples in his cheeks still visible when he pulled her in close and held her tightly. "Thank you, Sakura," he whispered softly into her ear.
She said nothing in return, just wrapped her arms around him and smiled as she listened to his heartbeat, steady and strong. He stroked her pink hair gently as he led the both of them into the apartment again. 'Now he remembers we're in a rather public place,' she thought, almost giggling out loud.
He sat down on the couch, maneuvering her so that she could sit in his lap and bury her face in crook between his head and his shoulder, inhaling the heady mixture of fire and his own masculine scent. His strong fingers curled around her leg, gently stroking her knee with his thumb while his right hand kept stroking her pink hair. "Thank me when he's back," she whispered, pressing her nose against the tender skin under his ear.
Itachi didn't reply, but words weren't necessary. As Sakura held onto him, she wished they could live in that moment for an eternity.
July turned into August, increasing the sweltering heat and Sakura had found herself wishing they were in the cool and breezy Water Country by now instead of having to do several repairing jobs in Konoha where the humidity and temperatures had reached its peak for the year. She welcomed the gusts of strong winds blowing from every possible direction and the way the leaves could change color from green to brown, yellow and scarlet when September finally came.
Sighing a little, she opened up the window next to her desk in the ANBU headquarters and leaned back in her chair, inhaling the strong earthy smell of autumn. Unable to concentrate on her report any longer, Sakura glanced up to where she knew Itachi was seated, poringover reports and other information.
Just after the attack on Konoha, the Sixth had called Team Uchiha to his office and promoted Itachi to Captain-Commander of a special subdivision of ANBU who would dedicate themselves to hunting down Akatsuki members and any information related to them. Ever since, they had been meeting up with ANBU from each of the great shinobi villages and collected any information they had on the remaining Akatsuki members.
The Captain-Commander was now talking to Shikamaru, pointing at one of the scrolls he was holding and, as if feeling her gaze on him, turned his dark eyes to her and beckoned for her to come. She nodded, immediately abandoning her tedious work and grabbed Naruto when Itachi signaled for him to come too. "Yes, sir?" she asked, keeping the smile off her face.
Though they had been extremely busy over the past couple of months with rebuilding Konoha after Pein's attack and Itachi had been working with new ANBU members, training them while Sakura spent most of her time at the hospital to replace the medics who had died during the raid. Whatever little time they had, it was spent together. Most days, Itachi would slip into her bed when she was already asleep and she would find him there in the mornings, but there were days that they had time to go off for training together and they'd spend their time talking and eating lunch in some secluded part of the training fields.
Her loneliness, once so overpowering and painful, had finally been replaced with happiness.
"According to the reports I've been receiving, Akatsuki's Deidara is hiding himself near the border of Rain and Grass," Itachi explained briefly, pointing at a scroll that contained the world map and several crosses near the aforementioned border. "These are locations where he has been spotted. I've already talked about this to the Sixth and we're leaving to investigate the region tomorrow."
"Finally," Naruto said under his breath and Sakura couldn't help but agree. Staying in Konoha was nice but she missed going out on missions. Itachi glanced at Naruto for a moment, seemingly unsurprised by his statement and turned his gaze to Sakura next. "Sakura, with the information we have on Deidara, I'd like you to form a tactical plan in case we have the chance to take him out."
She swallowed but nodded dutifully. Itachi had been working on their tactical skills for the past couple of weeks now. Shikamaru had always been their number one tactician but as more and more ANBU members entered, the need for more ANBU captains grew and developing their skillset in that particular area was critical. It had been Naruto's turn a couple of days back and despite the fact that Naruto was more a fighter than a tactician, their plan had succeeded marvelously, taking the ANBU team they were practicing with completely off-guard in a way only Naruto would think of. 'But that was a practice run and this is the real thing,' she thought a little nervously. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down. 'Shikamaru and Itachi are there too. And so is Naruto. It'll work.'
"Take the rest of the day to read up on his file trek to the border will take two days. We're assembling at the main gate at seven a.m. tomorrow."
"Yes sir," his three subordinates replied.
Itachi nodded and stood from his chair. "I have a meeting with the Sixth and the advisors," he said, pocketing his Bingo Book. "I'll see the three of you tomorrow."
With that, he nodded and walked away.
"Deidara huh?" Naruto said, grabbing the dossier. "It's been a while since I've fought him." He glanced at Sakura inquisitively. "You saw him during the invasion, right, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura shrugged. "He was only there for explosions. I didn't get a chance to fight him and he escaped from Captain Uchiha too."
"An explosion specialist from Rock," Shikamaru summarized. "Used to be a part of the Explosion Corps. After defecting from the village, he was recruited by Akatsuki and is one of its youngest members, if not the youngest, right?"
"Right," she said, glancing into the file as Naruto opened it. "His Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Intelligence, Speed and Stamina are all estimated to be incredibly good. His Genjutsu is good enough to par a Sharingan user, which is how he got away from Captain Uchiha in the first place and his strength should be above average too."
"And then there's that bloodline limit of his," Naruto said, grabbing the picture Rock had sent them from the file and eyeing the blond on the picture warily. "After sealing away Gaara and having to fight him first, he hadn't had much time to recover so I'm sure what he demonstrated against Kakashi-sensei and me wasn't the full extent of his power."
"You've got your work cut out for you," Shikamaru said, raising an eyebrow at Sakura.
She sighed. "Don't I know it?"
"You'll do fine," Naruto beamed at her, squeezing her hand. "I've got faith in you."
"Thanks Naruto," she smiled back at him. "Read through the file, I'll take it back to my place and figure out a strategy there. I'm getting tired of sitting in this stuffy office."
"Sure thing."
Hours later, Sakura was ready to pull out her hair in frustration. Deidara was a ninja from Rock which meant that it was likely he used Earth elements, but she couldn't know that for sure until they were standing in front of him and Itachi would be able to confirm with his Sharingan. Either way, even if it was the Earth element he would use to form his clay, the only thing strong against Earth is Lightning and none of them possessed that element.
"Shikamaru is Earth, Naruto is Wind, Itachi is Fire and Water and I'm… well that's a good question," she muttered to herself. Chances were that Itachi might know some Lightning jutsu after years of using his Sharingan. She made a mental note to ask him about it.
'Sasori used to be his partner… Did he get another partner or is he operating on his own now?' she wondered, looking at the man on the picture again. He was undoubtedly handsome with his up-slanting sky-blue eyes and his long blond hair. Though still young on the picture, he looked into the camera with his lips set in a thin line, making him look more serious than she had ever seen him. 'Perhaps he's happier now that he's in Akatsuki?'
"Strategizing?" Itachi's soft voice came. Surprised, she looked up from her place at the coffee table and noticed Itachi standing in the hallway, pulling off his sandals and unclasping his green flak jack, discarding it over the chair as he sat down beside her. She smiled, noticing how at home he felt nowadays.
"Yes," she answered. "He's just a tough nutto crack."
He nodded, leaning forward to peer into the file. "What are your thoughts?"
"Well, since he's from Rock, I can almost safely assume he uses Earth techniques, though I can't be completely certain about that until we battle him and you can confirm it… Thinking back, he seems to be a younger and more impulsive member," she pointed at a statement the Fourth Kazekage had sent them about him, explaining his character traits and how he stopped the attack long enough for Gaara to move a massive amount of sand away from the village before continuing.
Itachi said nothing and waited for her to continue. "I think the best way for us to battle him is to move in directly for the kill. If my assumption is correct and he is using Earth style techniques, none of us have a Lightning element to counter him and that would increase the battle difficulty tremendously." She eyed him momentarily and Itachi picked up on it.
"I copied some Lightning element techniques," he said simply. "They're nowhere near the level of a Chidori though. Some simple techniques."
"That's an advantage in any case," she bit her lip. "I'm not sure what to think of in any case. It was easier during training sessions because we knew all of our opponents' abilities and strengths and weaknesses. This is operating on a whole other level where we can only guess how things will turn out."
His dark eyes were still trimmed on the file up to that point, but he turned them to her and smiled, brushing a few stray strands of hair from her eyes. "Let's just focus on the first attack."
"I thought of it and thought attack formation G would be our best possible option," she said, tilting her head a little so he could continue his gentle caresses. Formation G was one of their standard but most effective moves. Shikamaru would pin the enemy with his Kagemane, allowing either Itachi or Sakura to move in and use a powerful genjutsu on their opponent while Naruto would be able to finish it off using his Rasengan. So far, it had proven to work ten out of ten times.
"It's up to you," Itachi said calmly, tipping her head a little further to brush his lips against her furtively. "We'll have your back."
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Sakura registered this mission would take at least three days. Three days of not being able to kiss or touch him or even sleep in his arms—that would be a first since they shared their first kiss together. Though their relationship hadn't progressed further than the kisses and embraces, Sakura was satisfied. He was taking it slowly, determined to completely chase away the loneliness and sadness she had felt before moving ahead.
Though sometimes, there were moments she couldn't ignore the burning sensation of longing for him. This was one of them, as he lifted her from her seated position; his long fingers splayed over her waist and pulled her in a little closer while his thumbs ghosted over her ribs. She giggled a little when his touches tickled her and felt his reciprocating smirk as he pressed his lips against her again. Sakura kissed the dimples in the corner of his mouth she had come to love so much and pulled back a little. "Are you staying here for the night?"
Fighting the disappointment when he shook his head minimally, she smiled. "It's okay, I understand."
She got off his lap and walked to the kitchen adjacent to her living room. "Do you want something to drink?" she asked, opening the cupboard. When he responded positively, she took two glasses and filled them with the fruit juice she kept in her fridge, putting it on the table beside the file for him.
"Do you think it'll come down to a fight?" Sakura asked, seating herself beside him.
"Perhaps," Itachi replied. "If we find an opportune time, this would work well to take another potential threat out."
"True," she said, watching him with a smile as he leaned forward to grab his glass. She watched with surprise as he accidentally hit the glass and tipped it over, quickly rushing to the kitchen to grab a towel and pat Deidara's dossier dry. "What's wrong?" she asked, concerned when he blinked a couple of times with his eyes.
"Nothing," he answered calmly, shaking his head. "I'm just tired."
"Okay," she said hesitantly. Refilling his drink, she handed it to him this time and noticed he kept it in his hand until the glass was completely drained. She listened to him as he talked about Akatsuki and other mission details and was distracted from her thought-process when he leaned in for another kiss and told her he had to go.
She trailed behind him when he made his way to the hallway and watched him put his sandalsand the flak jacket on. Her lashes fluttered to her cheeks and a stifled moan escaped her as his mouth claimed hers.
Several passion filled seconds ticked by before their lips parted. Breathing heavily, she let Itachi gather her close and brush his lips against her temple, allowing himself to linger just a moment longer before pulling away, tucking an errant strand of bubblegum hair behind her ear. "See you tomorrow."
"Bye," she sighed when he relinquished his hold on her and turned around. He hesitated for a moment longer and looked over his shoulder.
"You have company," he said softly before disappearing into thin air.
Raising an eyebrow, she listened and heard footsteps coming up to her door and someone knocking. 'Good thing his hearing is better than anyone else's,' she thought and moved to open the door, revealing Shikamaru in the door opening. "Shikamaru," she said, a little surprised.
"Is it a bad time?" he asked.
"No, no, come in," she said, opening the door fully.
He excused himself as he walked in and pulled his sandals off while Sakura quickly walked up to the coffee table and disposed one of the glasses in the sink, hoping he hadn't noticed. Shikamaru was far too sharp for his own good and proved that point once more as he sat down on the couch and looked at the coffee table, noticing the two drink rings on the dark wood. "Looks like I just missed Captain Uchiha," he said, a smirk playing on his face, his intelligent eyes never leaving hers.
She felt herself stiffen. "He just came over to check the strategy," she fibbed calmly, thanking her shinobi instincts.
"You have got to give me a little bit more credit Sakura," Shikamaru leaned back, his grin increasing. "I'm not blind."
Sakura glanced at him and sighed. "How did you know?"
"I didn't have anything to confirm it until just now, so thank you," he said, almost making her face palm. "But I noticed you held his hand under the table a couple of months back. It seemed a little too intimate for a captain and his underling."
"Naruto?"
"Naruto was too blind to even see Hinata's adoration, much less someone else's," Shikamaru replied. "But don't worry. I know when to keep my mouth shut. I'm not here to tease you in any case."
"Oh well, that's good news," she said sarcastically, taking a seat in the chair across from him. "What is it then?"
"I'm worried about Naruto," he answered, leaning forward a little. He let his arms rest on his thighs, folding his long fingers together. "I know you've been in his team a lot longer than I have and you have more experience with him transforming… But I can't lie, I saw him transform and lose control. I just want to know if there's anything…"
"You can do?" she finished for him, eliciting a nod from the Nara clan member.
She exhaled. "I don't think there's anything we can do to stop him when he's like that, except for sealing him immediately. Captain Uchiha is working on learning how to do that as we speak since Tenzou or the Sixth won't always be close by and neither will Jiraiya."
Shikamaru fiddled with his fingers a little longer and his russet eyes turned even more serious. "Listen… Naruto is my friend. I care for him and I want him to succeed, but I'm worried that if he continues to transform without learning how to control his temper, he might unleash the whole thing one day."
Her mind flew back to a mission they had done many years ago, before Itachi, before ANBU, when they had gotten information from Sasori about a spy he had sent to work for Orochimaru. Naruto had lost control when he saw Orochimaru back then; blaming him for Kimimaro's last ditch attempt to get cured from whatever it was that ailed him. Kimimaro had left the village because of the cure Orochimaru had offered him and subsequently died before he reached his goal. Far away from Tsunade's medicine and the machine that forcefully kept him alive.
Four tails had come out then, Naruto's skin was torn to shreds and he had even attacked her, not realizing who she was anymore. "I'm scared too," she confessed softly. "But, I think he's going to be alright. He's working hard to harness the Nine-Tail's power."
"Is there something we can do?" Shikamaru questioned.
"Not right now," she sighed again. "I'm not so talented in sealing jutsu myself."
"Okay," Shikamaru answered. "I guess we'll have to be prepared for anything in that case."
"Try not to worry about it… He used to be a lot more temperamental but he learned to control that part of him a lot better over the years. I think Captain Uchiha's composed demeanor is rubbing off on him," she smiled. "He has only lost control once over the time we've been in ANBU, right?"
"Because he thought you were dead," Shikamaru smiled briefly. "I still can't wrap my head around that one too."
She laughed softly. "I'm just full of surprises."
"I guess you are," he said, standing up. "But, I'm glad you're still here, so keep those surprises of yours coming."
"Will do!" she laughed harder and walked him to the hallway. "I'll see you tomorrow," she waved when he opened up the door.
"See you," Shikamaru replied, disappearing from sight as the door closed behind him.
She locked up the apartment and walked to the bedroom, lying down on the bed. Opening the window with one hand, she pressed her nose into the pillow that Itachi always used, inhaling his wonderful scent and listened to the sound of the owls that circled around her house, heralding the night.
Had it been so long since she put on her ANBU uniform?
Sakura admired herself in the mirror, drying her pink hair off before pulling it into a low ponytail. She put on her shin and arm guards and tied her forehead protector around her hair. 'Two months and it feels like an eternity,' she thought, taking her mask and stroking the crimson lines lovingly. Carefully, she tied it behind her head, took her pouches and attached them to her pants and wrapped her cloak around her.
Satisfied that she wouldn't be able to get recognized by anyone, Sakura disappeared from the apartment and reappeared outside, making her way to the gates.
It had been raining throughout the night, the tossing lights of the still lit lanterns shimmering on the wet pavement. The rain had ceased when dawn broke but the leaves covering the dark, high trees were still wet with the morning dew, showering her whenever a breeze passed by. Sakura couldn't help but love it.
She reached the gate in record time and smile behind the white porcelain when she noticed the figure already present—Itachi stood in the middle of the abandoned road, not wearing his cloak, only his ANBU uniform, his weasel shaped mask and the long, royal blue scarf he had worn during one of their first missions to the Water Country. "Good morning," she said when she landed behind him.
He looked over his shoulder and she could imagine the gentle smile behind his mask when he replied in kind. Within seconds, both Naruto and Shikamaru reached them, both of them completely unrecognizable.
Itachi looked at her, cocking his head ever so slightly and she swallowed away the nervous lump that had formed in her throat. "Our mission today is a reconnaissance mission, which can possibly end as an assassination mission should we find any opportune moment," she started. "Our target's name is Deidara from Rock, known member of Akatsuki. Our mission is to scout the area he has last been seen in to see if we can gather any information about his whereabouts or other useful material. Should we encounter our target, we're totake him out."
Her squad leader nodded encouragingly and she continued. "Deidara uses explosive jutsu, is a long-range fighter and is thought to be impulsive, yet incredibly talented. I propose we movein formation D throughout the mission. Should we encounter the target we'll be using attack formation G."
Naruto, Shikamaru and Itachi all affirmed they had understood and Sakura smiled behind her mask. So far, none of them had stopped her, confirming her strategy was one they understood and could go along with. "Naruto, I'd like you to lead the way, Shikamaru and I will take the middle, Captain, if you could take the rear?"
"Yes," Itachi replied.
"Once we get to the destination, we'll be splitting up into two teams," Sakura said confidently. "This will increase our chances in finding any intel or the target himself. Naruto and Captain Uchiha, you'll be team one. Shikamaru and I will be in team two."
'Naruto's impulsive behavior can be monitored by Itachi and Shikamaru can be my backup since I'm the better fighter,' she rationalized in her mind. Still, the idea of three to four days without touching or showing affection almost clouded her better judgment in favor of being on Itachi's team and having some spare moments together with him. 'Get a grip, Haruno.'
"Yes ma'am," Naruto said enthusiastically. Shikamaru and Itachi both affirmed once more they had understood.
"Let's go," she called out, sprinting to the gates and into the forest. Naruto quickly took the lead while Shikamaru caught up with her and Itachi trailed a little behind them, keeping his eyes on their backs.
They passed the first ANBU outpost quickly and Sakura smiled as she recognized Akamaru standing next to an ANBU member with short, brown hair. Kiba, no doubt. Naruto and Shikamaru seemed to recognize him too, greeting him and getting a wave and a bark from Akamaru in return. "He seems to be doing fine," she said to Shikamaru.
The man chuckled, his mask muffling the sound. "He's part of the patrol corps these days. He gets to walk Akamaru all the time—that's heaven for Kiba."
She couldn't help but laugh a little herself and as they passed the second outpost and reached the grasslands that stretched in front of them to the horizon, Sakura couldn't help but feel elated, loving the crisp scent of summer's end and the feeling of freedom that came with going out on a mission again. It truly had been too long since she felt this way and despite her apprehension and her doubt as to whether she was truly suited to lead a mission of this caliber, in that brief moment of time, she was happy.
"Let's rest here for the night," she called out to Naruto, who abruptly stopped and turned around.
Looking up to the sky, she gazed at the fiery colors of the settling sun as it melted into a moonlit, star studded canvas. Sakura grabbed her cloak and stretched the fabric on the grass; the usually green grassland underneath their feet looked almost black in the night. They were in the middle of nowhere, no trees or any other shrubbery to camouflage their presence, but it would take a whole lot longer for them to get back into a forest. This would make scouting the vicinity easier though.
"Let's refrain from building a fire tonight," she said calmly. "We'd be too much like sitting ducks. The moonlight will be plenty of light for tonight."
They nodded and sat down in the grass, each one of them reaching into their backpacks for some food. Pushing her mask up her face, she glanced at the other members, satisfied to see they were a little fatigued but still had plenty of energy left. Her estimation on when to take a break had been correct then. 'Way too many things to think of when you're a squad captain,' she thought, gazing at Itachi for a brief moment. 'I can't believe you've been doing this since you were thirteen.'
"It feels good to finally be outside again," Naruto sighed, falling back into the grass as he munched on some rice balls. She smiled. After all this time, she sometimes would still forget how much the both of them resembled and understood each other. Naruto had been feeling the exact same things as she had—serving Konoha from within its walls was great, but going outside was so much more fun.
"The both of you suffer from wanderlust," Shikamaru said out loud.
"Yes but our dream isn't to be an average ninja with an average house and aver—what was it again?" Naruto laughed loudly.
"You came close," Shikamaru retorted, making her laugh.
She glanced at Itachi again who was now leaning on his elbows with his long legs stretched out in front of him, watching the night sky as he listened to them bicker with a slight smile curling his lips. He caught her staring at him and smiled such a warm smile at her, she felt her knees go weak. Itachi closed his dark eyes and got comfortable in the tall grass. "Who is taking the first watch?" he asked without opening his eyes.
"I'll take it," Naruto offered.
Shikamaru yawned beside her, pinking away a couple of tears from the corners of his eyes. "I'll take the second shift," he said, falling back into the grass with his hands folded behind his head.
Naruto stood again. "I'll go scout the area," he said energetically and not for the first time did Sakura wonder exactly how much of his energy stemmed from the Nine-Tails and how much of it was his. He waved and with a large grin, took off.
She smiled and looked up at the sky once more, admiring the perfect silvery orb in the velvety sky with specks of silver and white decorating the sky majestically. Sakura stretched in the grass, loving how it ticked her toes and exposed arms. Beside her, Shikamaru's soft snoring broke the evening's silence and she glanced at him briefly before turning her gaze to Itachi again, catching him looking at her for once.
His dark eyes were impenetrable, his face lit on one side by the moon, the rest of it covered in shadows as he stretched an arm and gently, softly, caressed her cheek. A tremor of excitement ran through her as she gently turned it palm up, and then bent her head to nuzzle the inside of his wrist with her lips boldly. As she did so, her roseate hair spilled forward, covering their joined hands. His fingers slowly uncurled under the silken onslaught, entwining his fingers with her hair. She closed her eyes, loving the sensation of his calloused fingers on her skin and silently apologized to Kimimaro. 'I'm sorry Kimimaro, I think I love him.'
A rustle in the grass alerted her to Naruto's nearing presence and Itachi withdrew his hand, but turned to his side, facing her, like he would always do when they ended up in bed together. It was his little way of showing her the comfort she longed for and still wanted and needed from him. Sakura couldn't hide her delighted smile as she mirrored the gesture and curled up like she would always do in his arms.
"Our little singing bird revealed a lot," Shikamaru said to Itachi and Naruto as they reached both men. They sat outside of a small tea house, sipping their drinks and snacking on some food. "Deidara does live in the neighborhood."
Itachi nodded. "We received the same information."
"Still, we have to be careful," Sakura said, seating herself across from Naruto and stealing one of his dango, adding a wink when she noticed his outraged expression. "Deidara might just as well be paying the informants to send us into a trap."
"Captain Uchiha kind of put a stop to that," Naruto laughed softly. "He used a genjutsu to make it look like we were never there."
"Using genjutsu is really convenient isn't it?" Shikamaru sighed. "I wish we had that ability."
"It's fine," Itachi said, taking another sip of his tea. "Any informants in this area won't be shinobi. If they were, Sakura would've caught up on that." He peered at her. "This means Deidara most probably comes here a couple of times a week to check if there's any new information."
She agreed with him. "Deidara's house is said to be located in the cliffs around the border between Rain and Rock."
"We'll have to go around Rain," Shikamaru said, beckoning for the waitress. He waited patiently while she wrote down the orders and watched her walk away before continuing. "Rain is impossible to get into right now and if our intelligence is correct, it's supposedly the base of Akatsuki. It won't be a good idea to enter through there."
"The cliffs are about an hour or two away from here," Sakura said, calculating. "We can scout out the area to see whether we can locate his house and whether he is really there or not. If possible, we're going to ambush him to end the fight as quickly as possible. If not, we'll retreat to Konoha with the information we gathered."
They nodded in acquiescence and finished their lunch hastily. Getting back into formation, the four-man cell moved quickly around the border of Rain and into the Earth Country, circling back to the border where Deidara would be located.
She pulled out her map just before reaching their destination, the rock face dead ahead of them. "Captain, Naruto," Sakura started, pointing at a place on the map. "Check the area here and here," she moved her finger to a different point. "If you find him, Naruto, send us a messenger frog."
The blond nodded.
"Shikamaru and I will be checking these parts," she waved at the map again. "If we find him, we'll be sending out a messenger too. If you cannot locate him within three hours, rendezvous back at this exact location. We'll rethink our strategy if necessary."
They saluted and split up.
"What are we going to do if Deidara finds us first?" Shikamaru said as they neared the bluffs. Jumping from one rock to another, they entered what looked like a forest made from stone. "I don't think your slugs are fast enough to get to Naruto and Captain Uchiha fast enough to convey a message when we're under attack."
"Our opponent uses explosives," Sakura answered. "They'll hear us."
"Okay," Shikamaru said, turning around a corner carefully. "Can you sense anything?"
She stood still, tuning into the chakra levels around her. In the distance, she could feel Naruto's and Itachi's, though they had suppressed most of it, using only a little to get around. To the west, she could feel a massive chakra source that seemed oddly spread and realized it came from the general direction of Rain and was still quite some distance off. Raising her eyebrow a little, she tried to focus to pinpoint the source of that chakra, but it seemed to be all over the place. 'That could be a barrier… Rain is one of the most secluded villages out there.' Making a mental note of it, Sakura returned to the task at hand.
And then she felt it—a faint chakra source, little more than a kilometer or two ahead of them.
"I think so, follow me," she said, stealthily making her way through the labyrinth of stone and craggy rocks that reached high into the sky until they finally came across a tiny cabin sheltered by stones and a large cave. "I feel something coming from that cabin but I can't distinguish whether it's Deidara or not," she said softly.
Gathering chakra to her hands, she bit in her thumb, drawing blood and quickly summoned a smaller version of Katsuyu. "Sakura-sama," Katsuyu greeted.
"Katsuyu, Naruto and Itachi are in that direction, about one kilometer away from us," she said, pointing. "Can you tell them we've possible found our target and we're waiting here for them to show up?"
"Yes, Sakura-sama," the slug replied and set off.
"During times like these, summoning dogs would be a whole lot more convenient," Shikamaru said, crouching beside her.
"Remind me, are you able to summon anything?" she asked jokingly.
"Ahh," he sighed. "Forget I said anything."
"Will do."
She kept a close eye on the house, ignoring her leg as she felt something tickling against it. When the tickling persisted, she brushed it thoughtlessly until Shikamaru put his hand on her shoulder. "Easy Sakura… stay still for me," he said, drawing her attention to a small albino centipede that had wrapped itself around her leg. It reared its little head and Sakura wasn't sure whether to quicklypull it off and toss it away or keep very still.
"Shikamaru," she said, stretching her leg minimally.
"Keep still," Shikamaru repeated, slowly reaching for his kunai.
"Wait," Itachi's voice sounded, grabbing Shikamaru's wrist. "It'll most likely go off when you touch it."
He crouched down beside Sakura and looked at Naruto as he arrived breathlessly. "Be still, Naruto," he whispered, pointing at the cabin. Turning back to Sakura, he tilted his head behind his mask. "You think it's an Earth jutsu, don't you?" he asked.
"Yes," she nodded.
"I can try to turn it into a dud with my lightning element attack but I need you to start the healing process already, in case it explodes anyway," Itachi said. Sakura nodded, assembling chakra to her leg.
Itachi formed some seals and carefully brought his fingers to the bomb. Lightning exploded in a tiny fragment from his fingers, electrocuting the bomb with as little chakra as he could manage. It fell limp around her ankle and she hastily removed it from her leg, healing the damage Itachi had done to her while using his lightning element attack. "I guess that proves it," she hissed.
"He's onto us then," Shikamaru said.
"Not necessarily," Itachi susurrated. "But there's a good chance he is. Stay on your guard."
"We should move to the cabin in pairs of two and strike from both sides," Sakura murmured.
"Not necessary," Naruto chimed in, pointing.
As four pairs of eyes looked around the corner, Deidara stepped out of his cabin, a trademark smirk plastered to his face as he stuck his hands into his bags, apparently preparing for battle. "Shikamaru, distract him," Sakura instructed. "Captain, flank him from the right, I'll take the left. Naruto, we need you to finish him as soon as Shikamaru has him bound, alright?"
"Yes, Sakura," the three men answered and dispersed.
She hid herself behind a rock, crouching closer to Deidara until she noticed Shikamaru's shadow moving behind him in an attempt to trap him. Deidara seemed to be on to him though, and jumped out of the way, avoiding the blackness that stretched over the mountain floor. A second attempt proved successful as Shikamaru managed to catch him just as Deidara landed, eliciting a loud curse from the blond. Immediately, Itachi and Sakura jumped from their respective hideouts, Itachi reaching him first, capturing him in an illusion while Sakura used her medical jutsu to cut the tendons in his leg. Deidara simply grinned at her and promptly turned into clay, the substance molding itself around her hands.
Fueling her strength with her chakra, Sakura broke free just in time to see Shikamaru using his shadow techniques to push what seemed to be the real Deidara back into Naruto's direction.
"Now, Naruto!" she called out.
Naruto came flying from the sky, holding a large Rasengan in his palm while gritting his teeth, looking positively victorious as he landed on top of the blond, piercing the Akatsuki member's body with his jutsu.
Their victory was short lived however when Naruto stood and brushed some clay off his uniform. "Clay replacement," he called out, scouting the vicinity while pulling his mask back over his head.
"If he's a long-distance user, he has to stay away from us," she rationalized and a thought hit her, causing her to look up into the air. A large, white bird circled the perimeter and Deidara was looking down at them, his smirk visible even from where she was sitting. He flew in a little closer to observe them better.
"Konoha ANBU after me, hmm?" Deidara called out, letting his bird land on top of the cottage. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Being an Akatsuki member, attacking our village, chasing Uzumaki Naruto, take your pick," she answered coolly, calculating the best possible route to take from here.
"Ah yes, the Jinchuuriki," Deidara said loudly, looking directly at Naruto. "If this is your ANBU squad, then the shadow man must be Nara Shikamaru, the medic Haruno Sakura and your Captain should be Uchiha Itachi. Am I right… hmm?"
'He knows exactly who we are,' she thought. 'This'll only complicate things further.'
"Tell me something, Uchiha; don't you have more pressing matters to attend to?" Deidara's grin grew wider while observing their squad leader. "Your little brother is still out there… yeah."
She felt herself grow cold.
Itachi's masked face betrayed nothing though and for a moment, she cursed it, wanting to know exactly how he reacted to this. Deidara apparently noticed his words hit home as he threw his head in his neck and laughed heartily. "Ahh, you don't know yet? Word travels slow to Konoha… hmm?"
"Know what?" Naruto piped up just as he formed a Kage Bunshin.
Deidara glanced at him, tilting his head in amusement. "I think it would be more fun for you to figure out from your Hokage, yeah."
'Did something happen to Sasuke?' she panicked, her heart drumming incessantly against her chest as if it would simply fall out at any given moment. 'Did he do something? Is he dead? No, Deidara said he was "still out there"… what then?'
"Enough," Itachi said softly, though all four of them heard him. He lifted a finger into Deidara's reaction, pointing at him. "Deidara-kun, we're ending this today."
'Kun… Always polite huh, Itachi?' she thought, holding back a smile as she accumulated chakra to her hands. It occurred to her then that the rather talkative Akatsuki member had stopped chatting all together and was now simply staring at his chest like he had spontaneously sprouted another head before he started screaming. 'He already captured him in a genjutsu?'
"Nice job, Captain!" Naruto shouted as he dashed forward, another Rasengan spinning in his palm. The rambunctious ninja sprinted to Deidara but before he could reach him, Deidara had apparently freed himself from the genjutsu, pulling the scope he had covering his left eye off and took off on his bird, hovering just out of reach.
"Your brother is also quite the genjutsu user… hmm," Deidara called down to Itachi. "I've been training myself to counter that annoying eye technique of his. I figure it should work for you too… hmm."
"Not quite," Itachi replied. Just as he finished speaking, black flames erupted from the clay bird, burning fiercely like a great famished beast devouring everything in its path. Deidara quickly abandoned ship with a slight curse, landing on top of the cabin while staring at the flame consumed bird with surprise filtering through his cocky expression.
She took the moment to signal to Naruto, who quickly picked up on it and retreated, catching Deidara's attention. The arrogant smirk returned to his face as he looked at the retreating form of the Nine-Tail's vessel and he shouted out, "Are you leaving me already, Kyuubi? You just got here… hmm!"
Picking up on what was happening, Itachi moved in between Naruto and Deidara just as the blond fired off a clay bird. The Uchiha stepped back and hit the bird with a lightning jutsu. Deidara was already preparing for the next attack, gracefully avoiding Shikamaru's Kagenui attack as the shadows rose up to pierce his skin and ducked when Sakura moved in to punch him, retaliating with a kick.
'Come on, there's three of us. He's strong but he can't possibly keep this up,' she thought in frustration, punching the ground and causing the cabin to collapse as the mountain floor cracked. A fire jutsu immediately followed her attack, the large fireball hurled to where Itachi anticipated Deidara to go to next. He guessed right and the blond stared at the fireball in shock, though Sakura knew better than to think it would be a direct hit.
As the fire vanished, the last of Deidara's clay clone melted to the ground. He appeared right behind her and she turned around, blocking his kick and grabbed him by his ankle, whirling him around and tossing him into the mountain wall. He accumulated chakra to his feet, landing on his toes and made a chakra-infused somersault when Itachi came in with another fire technique.
'He's not going to fly anymore since Itachi used Amaterasu. This will definitely help us. He's forced to mold his clay while dodging our attacks and won't have much time for that,' she thought, a smirk forming on her face. In the distance, she could see Naruto sitting against the mountain wall, completely still. 'Good Naruto, keep going.'
She glanced at Itachi for a brief moment. 'He's not using his Mangekyou. Usually during missions like these, he likes quick endings, using Tsukuyomi to trap and incapacitate someone immediately. Is it because he's taking a step back from being a Captain and wants me to come up with a solution, or because he can't?'
She gasped when a small bird raced midair towards Shikamaru, who was barely able to dodge it, rolling away from the following blast. Itachi retaliated on Shikamaru's behalf, a beam of lightning shooting from his fingertips to where Deidara was standing. The Akatsuki member dodged and jumped back as Sakura's chakra laden punch came flying at him. Another explosive was thrown at her and got shot out of the air with another ray of lightning. 'I was right, it's an Earth technique,' she thought triumphantly. 'Itachi must've spotted the hand seals.'
Just as she was about to make her next move, Naruto appeared next to her, his mask abandoned. Orange circles around his eyes and the toad-like eyes showed to her that he had completed his accumulation of natural energy.
"Letting the Jinchuuriki near me… exactly how far are you underestimating me, huh?" Deidara called out, tossing his Akatsuki cloak to the side. He grabbed the shirt and tore it from his body, revealing a something that resembled a seal on his chest, near his heart. She squinted and tried to make out what it was before Deidara moved his hand to the chest.
"Oi, watch it!" Shikamaru called out. "He's opening something up!"
Deidara grinned at them as he pulled at the stitches on his chest, yanking the thread out in one swift movement. She took a step back in disgust when the cavity opened and a large tongue rolled out, surrounded by rows of teeth. Her disgust was mirrored in Naruto who shouted out some profanities and Shikamaru who quickly took a step back. Only Itachi stood there calmly, watching the scene as if he had all seen it before.
The Akatsuki member's laugh only increased as he fed the mouth on his chest some clay. For a moment there, she thought nothing would happen, until she saw the dark lines forming on his skin, starting from his fingers. They trailed all the way up to his chest and his face, his skin turning transparent. With a huge grin, Deidara sat up straight. "This is my ultimate technique. I'm going to explode." He tilted his head back and laughed in vigorous enjoyment. "I shall die and become art itself."
"We have to stop him!" Shikamaru yelled, panic that matched Sakura's lacing his voice. Her mind was working at full-speed already, thinking of ways to stop him when Naruto put his hand on her shoulder.
"Leave it to me," he said confidently and disappeared the next moment.
He reappeared right in front of Deidara, grabbing the blonde's hand and crushed it in his own. With his other, he made to punch Deidara in the face, but his punch was easily deflected. Deidara moved to punch him back but Naruto used his elbow to create some room for another punch and missed again—or so it seemed.
The nauseating crack of bones breaking filled the air as Deidara was blown back by something she couldn't see, the right side of his face bleeding and swelling. Summoning another two Kage Bunshin, they formed the Fuuton: Rasenshuriken in his hands. Sakura quickly moved back along with Shikamaru and Itachi when he threw the technique at Deidara, the latter screaming for just a brief moment, chilling her blood… and then it was over.
Naruto landed beside her, the orange fading from his eyes and exhaled deeply. He glanced at her and looked over his shoulder at Itachi and Shikamaru as they examined the corpse. "It's done," Itachi said then, taking the Akatsuki ring from Deidara's finger as proof. Even from this distance, Sakura could see his body had returned to normal—he hadn't been able to gather enough chakra to detonate himself before Naruto's attack.
Itachi strutted towards their little band and showed the ring. "Blue," she read, the dark kanji starkly contrasting against the teal color of the ring. He handed her the ring and pushed his mask up his head, looking at her with that intense crimson stare of his.
"Well done, Sakura," he said as crimson bled into midnight blue.
"Right! Good job Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, a big infectious smile on his face as he squeezed her shoulder. "Good thinking too, using my Sage Mode."
Shikamaru offered her a compliment too and she smiled as she removed the mask from her face. "Thank you," she said sincerely, a blush crept up her face. She looked over her shoulder. "Let's bury him."
Burying your assassination targets wasn't exactly standard procedure. Most ANBU members just went in for the kill and would leave afterwards without cleaning up. It's what they had expected when they joined ANBU, but Itachi has his own rules and morals. In the ten months that they had been his subordinates, his behavior rubbed off on them—they never underestimated their enemies anymore and always treated them with respect and they always buried their victims and said a little prayer.
To other teams, they might look like they're crazy or oversentimental, but to Team Uchiha, it was just proper conduct these days. Sakura calmly rearranged his arms and straightened his forehead protector before letting the men toss dirt and rocks over his body, covering him up in front of the little cabin he had called home and clapped her hands twice in prayer, hearing her gesture echoed thrice.
With a deep bow, they set off.
"Naruto came in, used his Sage Mode and ended the fight quickly after," she concluded. Sakura looked at Kakashi who leaned in closer, his hand supporting his head on one side as he looked over his student with his lazy, onyx eye.
"This was your first time acting as Captain, Sakura?" he asked, his deep voice calm and tranquil.
"Yes, Kakashi-sen—Hokage-sama."
His sole visible eye crinkled with amusement at the slipup. He truly hated being called Hokage-sama all the time and for her to forget his position now and then and slip back into the role of teacher and student was a breath of fresh air. "Job well done," he said, his eye trailing to Itachi for confirmation. The Uchiha simply dipped his head once.
"We retrieved his Akatsuki ring," she continued, fumbling in her kunai pouch until she found the small piece of jewelry and placed it on Kakashi's desk, allowing the latter to pick it up and roll it between his fingers. "So far, the rings have shown no special properties and seem to be just proof that someone is an official Akatsuki member."
The Sixth leaned back in his chair. "Itachi, send out word to the other villages that Deidara is no longer a threat and that the Bingo Books can be updated." He looked his Captain-Commander of the ANBU Akatsuki subdivision over. "How are your eyes doing?"
"They're fine, Hokage-sama," Itachi said softly, but Kakashi didn't miss the surprised look Sakura gave him before she raised her eyebrow at her former teacher.
"Let Sakura look them over for you," Kakashi said calmly. He knew nothing could be done against the blindness that was slowly but surely taking over Uchiha Itachi's life as it was taking over the eye Obito had once given to him, but secrets within a team simply wouldn't do.
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Itachi complied.
"Okay, good job. You're dismissed," Kakashi said, laughing inwardly as Naruto practically bolted from the room with Shikamaru following closely behind. Sakura and Itachi remained though and as the pink-haired kunoichi closed the room again, Kakashi's interest was piqued.
"Something on your mind, Itachi, Sakura?" he asked, raising a silver eyebrow.
Sakura remained quiet and waited for Itachi to speak up. "During our mission, Deidara-kun mentioned my – Uchiha Sasuke. Have there been any developments?"
The Uchiha chose his words carefully and deliberately but couldn't hide the slight slip-up. Apparently Sakura had noticed too but she didn't speak, just gazed at Kakashi first, then at Itachi and back to the silver-haired Hokage. If he hadn't been wearing his mask, surprise would certainly show on his face—he had been working with the Uchiha ANBU captain for years now, even when he himself was still a part of ANBU but although he knew Itachi was always looking for his younger brother and looking for information about his current whereabouts and activities, Kakashi had never once see him bring in someone else.
'Learning the importance of comrades, aren't you? Even the best ANBU Captains need friends sometimes,' Kakashi thought to himself, thinking back at the stubborn silver-haired boy he himself had once been.
He stood from his desk and opened a window, ignoring Sakura's confused stare as he stuck his head outside. Finding what he was looking for, he waved a little. "Your turn, Jiraiya-sama."
Jiraiya reappeared in the Hokage's audience room, saluting them with a quick 'yo'. He turned to Kakashi who had seated himself again. "Wasn't he supposed to be alone?" he asked, slight confusion lacing his voice.
"It's fine, Jiraiya-sama. Sakura has taken an interest in Sasuke and would like to know the latest developments," Itachi answered calmly.
"Alright," Jiraiya's face turned stern. "You're not going to like this though, Itachi."
'Oh no,' she thought.
"It seems there were a couple of rifts between Akatsuki members. As such, Sasuke apparently realized that Akatsuki's ideals didn't match his anymore." Jiraiya waited a brief moment before continuing, "That in itself would have been good news for you. But, as you know, Orochimaru had his eyes set on Sasuke from the moment he joined the organization, going as far as to get himself teamed up with your brother to learn more about him. Sasuke might have been the reason for Orochimaru's defection from Akatsuki, but that hasn't deterred him from seeking him out from time to time to offer him that which he wants most."
"Power," Itachi said calmly.
"Precisely," Jiraiya said, and then his stern look turned to what seemed like pity as the older man regarded the genius standing in front of him. "Sasuke defected from Akatsuki a week ago and took up on Orochimaru's offer to give him training and more power. In return, he has promised Orochimaru his body when he is ready to transfer again."
The ground felt like it was about to fall away under her feet and she could feel her knees buckle under her weight. 'He's going to give up his body, his life, for power? What for?' she glanced at Itachi, panic clear in her sea foam colored eyes, yet the Uchiha was remarkably calm.
"When can Orochimaru transfer again?" Itachi asked softly.
"He'll be able to before the year is over."
A/N: One more chapter of the first arc left! Still not sure whether to continue with a second or even a third arc, but we'll see when we get there.
Apart from Itachi, Deidara is my favorite Akatsuki member, so killing him is killing me, but I guess it had to be done! The story takes on its own route in my head sometimes and I truly can't do anything but follow it diligently, haha!
Again, thank you for all the amazing reviews! You guys fuel my passion and keep me going! I can't even begin to explain how much it pleases me that you like this story! And a special thank you goes out to CeeKim for her diligent checking of my mistakes and grammatical errors! :)
Hope you enjoyed it and till next time!
Mitsuki Shiroi