Juxtaposition

Chapter 7

Sakura did not want to wake up.

Unfortunately for her, her strands of long pink hair did not share the same view as she did. The kunoichi was determined to remain deeply asleep but her hair kept flying into her face and tickling her nose no matter how hard she tried to evade them. It was enough to make her consider chopping off those troublesome waist length tresses of hers.

With a soft exhalation of irritation, the pink-haired kunoichi started to turn to her side only to find that she could not. Eyes still closed in sleep, her brows furrowed together in confusion. She can't move? Blindly she turned her head to the side and succeeded in nudging her nose against a warm surface. Hmm. Curiouser and curiouser.

Still Sakura couldn't seem to bring herself to open her eyes, and so she remained as she was, body slightly curled up and head turned to the addictive warmth. She inhaled deeply and pressed her cheek against the hard surface, nuzzling her nose lazily against it in the process. Odd, but the scent of rainwater was so strong. Somewhere in the fuzzy recesses of her mind Sakura wondered just what kind of detergent the inn uses on their bed sheets; the smell was deliciously pleasing.

Then her hair flew into her face again, and Sakura forgot about that train of thought. The kunoichi huffed softly and tried to burrow her face deeper into the warm sheets. She took a deep breath again and relaxed at the wonderful scent once more. Inner Sakura was trying to tell her something but she was feeling just too contented to bother with her alter ego's petty concerns. Her stomach growled with hunger and Sakura ignored that too; she was just too comfortable where she was to even open her eyes, let alone to want to move about to look for food. Utterly contented she started to sink even deeper into slumber.

Belatedly she thought she heard masculine laughter.

How odd, Sakura thought blearily even as she slowly descended into the welcoming arms of blissful darkness, who was laughing in her room?

"She's as affectionate as a little kitten now, un? I wonder how she would react when she knows that she's in your arms, Uchiha."


Sakura was beyond mortified when she finally awoke a couple of hours later.

Her little nap had been a good one, only slight shadowed by the nagging memory of the sentence that she had last heard before she fell asleep. She hadn't bothered to decipher the meaning earlier; she had been too tired to care or even move, but the moment she woke up now, well rested and ready to go her mind quickly presented the problem to her.

And it was a big problem.

Inner Sakura laughed evilly at her other half.

The pink-haired kunoichi could still feel the sleek, hard warmth against where her cheek was resting and now that she was fully aware of her own body once more it quickly occurred to her that she was being carried in an astoundingly intimate manner. She could feel what must be an arm under her bended knees and another supporting her shoulders. They were pressing her against what she now realized was the muscular chest of a man. Even without her eyes open she knew that they were on the move. She could feel his muscles bunch and relax as they traveled speedily, the wind blowing her hair all over the place.

Sakura was praying with all her heart that she wasn't in the arms of Uchiha Itachi.

Timidly, the kunoichi opened her eyes. Light filtered into her retinas slowly and Sakura was immediately presented with the sharp, angular features of her captor. While Sakura gaped with dismay, the Sharingan user ignored her alarmed stare and instead continued looking forward like she was below his attention. They were traveling on the dense forest canopy once again, and Sakura was too preoccupied with her shock to notice anything else.

She was in the arms of Uchiha Itachi.

Her small form started to stiffen in his arms, and Sakura had only one thing in her mind at the moment.

"Crap."

She didn't even realize that she had blurted out the blasphemy loudly until he fixed his crimson stare on her. Sakura looked at though she was about to faint as his detached gaze met her stupefied ones, but then he turned his attention back to the surroundings once more, leaving her to her own devices and completely ignoring her once again.

Sakura didn't know what to do. Her mind still felt as though it was stuffed with cotton wool and for the life of her she could not even form a plan to get out of this very surreal situation. She stiffened even further and started to tremble faintly despite her best efforts. This was seriously scaring her.

"Kunoichi. Don't make me drop you."

Hearing his soft, tenor drawl vibrate from his chest was a very odd experience, and Sakura could only look dumbly at the Uchiha, who was once again, not looking at her. She didn't know what to make of his short sentence. Was it a threat or what?

"Oh, the little pet is awake." Deidara came into view beside Itachi and easily matched his pace. Sakura flickered a glance at the cheerful blonde, then fixed her wary gaze back at the silent Uchiha.

"Let me go." A little intimidated to be found in the arms of her enemy, Sakura's request was hardly audible. And her voice cracked pitifully. The pink-haired kunoichi winced inwardly. Just for how long had she been asleep?

She vaguely remembered walking out of the inn in the middle of the night and healing the injured wolf and barely anything else. Sakura quickly decided that she must have fainted outside and one of them had found her. She was actually quite surprised that they haven't questioned her about her motives for leaving their temporary lodging.

Deidara made a soft sound of derision. "You are too weak to keep up with us, pet." The blonde spoke kindly. "You have not eaten for two days. Does your head still hurt?"

Sakura, who had been determined to harden her heart against all the members of Akatsuki, could not help but respond to the mild concern in his voice. She turned her gaze to the Iwa missing-nin and for the first time since leaving Konoha, Sakura acknowledged the blonde. The pink-haired kunoichi shook her head slightly.

"It doesn't hurt anymore." She hesitated a moment before continuing politely, albeit a little stiffly. "Your concern is appreciated, Deidara."

The blonde Akatsuki grinned boyishly at her. "So you remembered me after all, un. I thought you forgot."

Sakura was actually surprised that he recognized her even after five years. The look on her face must have revealed to him her astonishment, for his grin widened.

"You managed to take down Sasori when you were only a Chuunin, pet. It wouldn't be…wise to forget you." Sakura did not know what to say about that, and so she kept quiet. Then Deidara continued, turquoise eyes twinkling. "Besides, your unique hair color makes it very hard to misplace you in my memory, un."

Sakura grimaced inwardly at the reference to her accursed pink hair. She nodded weakly.

Deidara took pity on Sakura. The poor kunoichi looked so green in the face that he wanted to laugh. He supposed that there was a reason why Uchiha Itachi did not make it a habit to carry around sleeping females. The bastard was so damned intimidating that his current captive looked as if she was going to fall unconscious again when she woke up and saw his scary face.

Sakura was pondering hard about how to get Itachi to let her down when the he suddenly descended from the canopy without warning. She inhaled sharply and instinctively grabbed hold of his robe. It was a sheer drop down and Sakura felt more than a little dizzy when he landed softly on the forested ground with Deidara beside him.

"Please…let go of me." Sakura muttered haltingly to her unresponsive captor as her stomach lurched queasily. "I think I'm going to be sick."

That got a reaction.

Sakura was lowered to stand on her own feet immediately. Unfortunately for her, her limbs were still asleep and she crumpled silently to the mossy ground. That was perfectly alright for the kunoichi, however. Sakura got on all fours and quickly turned away from the two Akatsuki. The kunoichi started to gag and because her stomach was empty, she only managed to dry heave, much to Sakura's relief. It was bad enough that she had fallen asleep in their presence, it would be even worse if she had to embarrass herself again before them.

"I will backtrack and scout the area, un." Sakura vaguely heard Deidara speak above her misery. She didn't hear Itachi's reply though, but she was feeling too miserable to care. Her stomach protested and roiled and she had to breathe slowly through her nose to ease her discomfort.

Sakura felt her stomach settle eventually, and drew a shaky breath before sitting down exhaustedly. A pair of booted feet came into her line of vision and Sakura lifted her head up. Wretched emerald met dispassionate crimson. Itachi lowered himself to a crouch and Sakura eyed him warily.

She tried her hardest not to be surprised when he held out a small flask as well as a couple of apples. Then her eyes flew up to his, as if searching for an explanation. He offered none, and after some careful contemplation, Sakura lifted her hand and took the container from him. She didn't think she could eat anything and keep it down yet, so she rejected the fruits.

She unscrewed the thermos slowly and poured some of its contents onto the cup cover. It was plain water, and Sakura was inwardly relieved. Water was easier to check for poison then any other beverages, and her throat suddenly began to ache fiercely for the sweet, thirst-relieving liquid. She didn't dare drink yet though, didn't even dare to sniff the clear water for any scent of poison. Why? He was still in front of her, less than a foot away and in the same crouching position. The apples were now sitting on the ground between them, and he was looking at her with those unrevealing eyes. She lowered the cup and stared cautiously at him, wondering to herself what he was trying to prove by unnerving her.

Seconds ticked by and he still didn't say a thing. She was starting to want to fidget, and quickly losing her patience.

"What?" A mere thirty seconds after his silent scrutiny, she could not take it any longer and burst out in question. He eyed her impertinence blankly, and a dismayed Sakura was about to think that he was going to spend the rest of this little rest break analyzing her like she was some alien creature suddenly dropped upon the face of this earth. Then he blinked, and that intense, probing stare of his was shifted to their surroundings and Sakura almost wilted with relief.

The pink-haired kunoichi lifted her cup slowly and took a discreet sniff. It was odorless. But then there were a lot of other poisons that produced no smell with reacted with water-

She squeaked when his hand came up to hers and relieved her of the cup. Then making sure that her attention was fully on him, Itachi raised the cup to his lips in an elegant motion. Sakura watched as he drank, his tilted head revealing a long expense of throat. The pink-haired kunoichi became strangely entranced by the way his Adam's apple moved; her emerald eyes watching intently as it slid up once, before lazily returning to its original position. Having proved to Sakura that the water is in no way poisoned, Itachi lowered the cup and held it out to her silently.

Sakura was so dazed by his actions that she took the cup cover from him without thinking. His attention was fully focused on her once again, and the pink-haired kunoichi grimaced when she realized her situation. Great, so the water wasn't poisoned, but he had drank from the cup and was she expected to finish the rest of the water left within?

A part of her wanted to pour away the rest of the water thanks to the childish belief of cooties and whatnots, but with the Uchiha so near her and staring at her blatantly she really didn't dare, not to mention that it really was a childish action. And so Sakura lifted the cup to her mouth and took a sip.

The water was tepid from the heat but she didn't care at the moment. The dried membranes in her mouth soaked up the life-giving liquid gratefully, and Sakura quickly forgot the fact that she had been sharing a cup with Uchiha Itachi. She quickly took another mouthful of water, then another and before she knew it she had drained the entire cup. It was not enough though, and Sakura reached for the flask to pour herself another helping.

Once again, before she could bring the blessed liquid to her mouth that is, Sakura found the cup wrested from her fingers and quickly replaced by an apple. She stared at the fruit for a good three seconds before shaking her head at the Uchiha.

"We are moving out after Deidara ascertains that we are not being followed. You need to keep something substantial in your stomach or you will be sick again."

He made perfect sense, of course. But Sakura looked at the hard, unappetizing apple and couldn't seem to summon the appetite to eat it. Then she lifted her eyes and saw his dispassionate, unyielding crimson ones, and knew instinctively that she would be eating this fruit in the end whether she wanted it or not. She slumped slightly and brought the shiny apple to her mouth.

The first bite was hard on her. The malic acid made her grimace as it spread in her food-deprived mouth, but she forced herself to chew and swallow all the same. The second mouthful was a little better, and by her third mouthful she thought that the apple didn't taste quite as bad as she thought and her stomach was starting to growl with hunger once again. Before she knew it she had polished off the fruit, setting its core carefully to her side and picking up the next fruit to bite into, all under the watchful gaze of the Uchiha.

Sakura was still working on her last apple when Deidara finally returned, and the blonde raised his brow at the way he found his traveling companions. Sakura was sitting cross-legged on the ground doing her best to ignore the Uchiha, who was crouched less than a foot in front of her.

Itachi turned his attention to his partner, and silently tossed the flask to the blonde.

Deidara caught the water bottle easily and shook his head once before he unscrewed the flask and drank from the bottle. The simple affirmation was enough for the Uchiha. His cloak whispered as he got soundlessly to his feet, attention now fixed back upon the kunoichi.

"We will leave now."

Sakura nodded silently and set aside her apple core. Then she stood up slowly, limbs still a little rubbery from her long sleep. Deidara eyed her hesitant movements and exchanged another glance with the Sharingan user, one that Sakura missed. The pink-haired kunoichi stretched a little and tested her chakra. She was almost full up from her rest but still a little fuzzy. Healing the wolf must have taken more of her energy than she had thought possible.

Nonetheless Sakura believed that she could move on her own already though, and waited for the two Akatsuki to lead the way. She was slightly disconcerted to find the two pairs of eyes staring at her.

"Is there a problem?" She asked hesitantly. Sakura promptly winced inwardly at how cordial she sounded. Oh, she knew that she should be snapping and growling and showing hostility towards the two Akatsuki but she was emotionally exhausted and it took a lot out of her to show aggression towards others. There was a reason why she was a better medic-nin than a kunoichi, and it was really the truth that her Jounin status had been earned more from her exceptional healing abilities than her less combative side. Oh, she could protect herself sufficiently of course, and even carry out some A-rank missions but when it comes to no-holds barred; full out fights of savage aggression Sakura just could not do it.

Deidara was amused by how polite she seemed. Two days ago she had been so angry- and so determined to stay angry but he was beginning to realize that this little female seemed to lack the ability to properly hold a grudge. The bewildered kunoichi probably did not know how to react to them now that the hard edge of her fury had dulled.

"With your current condition you won't be able to keep up with our speed, pet." Deidara drawled out for Sakura when she still did not seem to realize that she was the problem. "You should spend the time resting-"

"Nobody is going to knock me out again." Her sudden outburst had the blonde blinking at her in surprise. The poor girl was looking suspiciously at an indifferent Itachi as if expecting him to come after her again. Deidara was in desperate need to laugh at the situation.

"No." Deidara agreed pleasantly. "We won't have to knock you out again- if you would just go along with our requests."

In all honesty, Deidara wasn't normally this nice to captives. He wasn't nearly as commanding as Itachi or even Zetsu of course, but he could be just as intimidating and as cruel when the need arises. Being part of the organization wasn't all fun and games, but Deidara simply couldn't find any pleasure in deriving pain from a kunoichi whom he had just learnt from Itachi was only here to protect her friends and family. Besides, she possessed character and a huge dollop of courage, a little too much perhaps, but she had struck a chord within him, and it didn't hurt the least that she made for extremely entertaining company as well.

Even as he was thinking said thoughts, the blonde could see the fire in her emerald eyes flare at his words. Yes, the amused Akatsuki mused inwardly, definitely too much foolish courage- and guilelessness. She was so expressive that it didn't take much to decipher the emotions written out so plainly on her face.

"I have my own pair of legs; I can travel very well on my own, thank you very much." Sakura had to work to keep her voice stable, but it was obvious from the utterly indignant look in her eyes that she was unhappy with Deidara's not very veiled threat. Belatedly it occurred to Deidara that she was probably the only captive in this world who would dare argue with them. Somehow the urge to grin became grew, and shrugging mentally the blonde gave in to said urge.

Sakura did not know what to make of Deidara's odd behavior. Why, he was smiling at her like she had done something very amusing, and unfortunately for him she really could not see anything funny with this situation.

"My chakra level is up to normal now." Sakura tried to make them see sense. She really had no intention of being carted around like a sack by either of the Akatsuki. "I am sure that I can-"

Itachi had enough of this situation. She was wasting away their daylight, and he would not allow anymore of this nonsense.

"Kunoichi." His lilting tenor, though soft and almost inaudible, completely cut through her attempted explanation like knife on butter. She fell silent immediately, and turned her gaze to him, her emerald eyes wary. It was obvious that she was frightened of him, but her emotional wellbeing or lack thereof was not his concern. If anything, he approved of her apprehension. It would certainly make dealing with her a lot easier for him.

"Come."

A single-worded command, and it was as if she had just been administered a shot of pure adrenaline. Still, Sakura was angered by his arrogant order. It was at the tip of her tongue to retort to the bastard Uchiha that she was not a pet dog but the hard look in his crimson eyes quickly put a stop to her defiance. Sakura had no choice but to keep her frustrations to herself, and with nary a whimper the pink-haired kunoichi started over to her tormentor.

Deidara thought that if looks could kill Kisame would be looking for partner by now. Sakura had 'obediently' made her way to Itachi, of course, but the look in her fiery emerald gaze told all that she was not happy about it at all. The kunoichi came to a stop right before the bored-looking Uchiha, her jaw clenched together and her eyes spitting fire. As usual, Itachi couldn't care less about her sporadic mood swings.

Sakura gasped when his hand came out suddenly from under his cloak and grabbed her by the wrist. Her anger quickly replaced with shock, she offered no resistance when he pulled her to him and in one swiftly executed maneuver Sakura found herself somewhat horizontal once more, and so snugly tucked against the apathetic male that her face burst into flames. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out.

Deidara could not help himself; he laughed at her. The damned blonde was still chuckling to himself when they started to move out, easily hopping from tree branch to tree branch as they ascended back to the dense canopy.

Sakura wanted very much to scream. She stared hard at the cloaked covered chest of Itachi and tried her very best not to think of her embarrassing position. She failed miserably and ended up glaring at the uncaring Uchiha.

"Let me down now, Uchiha." Sakura demanded when she had regained her composure. She wasn't very surprised when she found herself ignored. It made her even madder.

"Uchiha." The pink-haired kunoichi ground out. "Let me-"

She squeaked when he glared down at her with those fearsome crimson eyes.

"Silence, woman." His voice never rose beyond his normal pitch but even she could detect his irritation. She stared at him, wide-eyed. She was not the only one. Deidara quit laughing to stare at his partner with something akin to amazement in his turquoise gaze. Itachi completely disregarded the blonde, his attention fully focused on this loud, infuriating female who did not seem to possess a shred of common sense. Did she not realize that he could easily tear her apart within the blink of an eye?

"Make any more noise and I will carry you over my shoulder like a sack of rice, is that clear?"

Sakura's mouth snapped shut at his quiet threat, still a little stunned by his startling display of annoyance. She could only nod.


It had been mid noon when they stopped for Sakura earlier, and they had been traveling for more than four hours now. Dusk was setting in, and in a little while the velvety darkness of night would settle over them like a thick blanket.

Sakura wondered if they were going to stop for the night. As ninjas she was aware that all of them were more than capable of traveling even in the darkness but it would certainly be more dangerous and S-class missing-nins or not, they were still human and definitely needed to rest to recharge their energy.

The pink-haired kunoichi wasn't about to ask though; she hadn't spoken to any of the two since the Uchiha's startling outburst and she wasn't planning to start right now. It had certainly been awkward for her at first, to have to keep quiet and behave docilely in the arms of one of the most wanted criminals in the five great countries but she quickly learned that she had no choice. She was their prisoner in all sense of the word, and fighting it wasn't going to change the fact anytime soon. Besides, she was bound to the deal that she had made with the Uchiha, and she was sensible enough to know that trying to resist the inevitable would do nothing but cause her more trouble in the end.

And so Sakura resigned herself to silently staring at the quickly passing scenery and trying her best to guess the direction in which they were heading. She found that they were heading west, though the terrain was unfamiliar to her and she didn't know exactly which land they were in now. They were certainly no longer in Konoha, that's for sure, and that thought sent a twinge of dismay straight to Sakura's heart.

Sakura divided her idle time between staring at the greenery and trying to analyze the two Akatsuki traveling with her. She had been inwardly impressed by their speed and stamina, and Sakura thought that they resembled a matched pair of thoroughbreds; strong, elegant…and impossibly alert. Without the need to wait for her to straggle after them they had moved even faster than she had thought possible, their faces expressionless and showing none of the fatigue that most men would have felt by now.

She also noticed that once every hourly she would see Deidara fade away into the trees only to reappear beside them fifteen minutes later. It didn't take her long to realize that the blonde had been backtracking and circling their trail to ensure that they were not being followed. It quickly occurred to Sakura that these Akatsuki were very good in what they do, and very, very cautious in all of their actions, which really explained why they were still alive even after being listed in the infamous Bingo book for so long.

And she was about to help one of them regain back his deadly prowess.

Sakura shivered inwardly and tried not to despair over her decision- and the consequences it would bring. She tried not to think of the lives she would be killing indirectly with her hands by helping this merciless, cold-blooded Uchiha. She tried not to think of her unwitting betrayal to her country, the stain to her honor. She really tried- and she failed miserably.

The poor kunoichi fell asleep worrying about her foolish bargain with the devil.


Sakura found herself roughly shaken awake a little while later. She jerked with surprise and struggled ungainly against the firm hold on her, forgetting for a moment that she was in the arms of Uchiha Itachi. His silent warning to halt her foolish behavior was to literally knock the breath out of her, and she coughed and gasped when he finally relaxed his hold.

She did not appreciate his way of waking her up at all, but it was effective. When Sakura's watering eyes cleared sufficiently for her take note of her surroundings once more she saw that it was so dark that she had to squint to see her own hand, and that Itachi had come to a stop, standing stilly on one of the many thick branches on the high forest canopy. It didn't take Sakura long to realize that Deidara had disappeared again.

She frowned with confusion. Why weren't they moving?

"Take off your hitai-ite."

Sakura immediately lifted her gaze to the Uchiha, surprised by the odd request. She could barely glimpse of his pale face, and only saw with clarity the crimson Sharingan eyes. She wanted to open her mouth to ask why but he cut her off even before she could form her words.

"Now, Kunoichi."

His voice was barely a whisper, but Sakura sensed his growing impatience. Quietly, she lifted her hands to the back of her head and swiftly untied the knotted cloth, slipping her precious headband from her forehead. She quickly folded the clothed ends of the hitai-ite together before laying it on her lap. Her ready obedience satisfied him, and she found herself let down to stand on her own feet, much to her growing bewilderment. Have they reached the Akatsuki hideout already? Sakura looked downwards to the ground and around her but for the life of her she could not see anything that even vaguely resembled a dwelling.

"We have reached?" She whispered back, utterly baffled. And why did they have to speak in such low tones anyway?

"Suppress your chakra."

Yeah, his short and concise reply did wonders to soothe her confusion alright. Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly at the impassive male before her but what do you know, he merely stared back blankly at her.

Sakura gave up.

She obeyed his instruction and within a second he could no longer detect her energy signature.

Upon her acquiescence to his demand he motioned for her to follow him, easily descending towards the ground with the ease of a jungle cat, quick and noiseless. Sakura furrowed her brows and trailed after him a little slowly, her limbs slowing gaining back strength with use. She landed on the forest ground at the same time as he did, albeit not as graceful looking as he.

He turned on her so fast that she was taken aback, hard crimson eyes all but drilling holes into hers.

"Listen well, Kunoichi. You will stay hidden until either Deidara or I come for you. Conceal your hitai-ite. You are not to reveal your presence to anyone and you will not interfere in anything that you see. Is that clear?"

Sakura did not understand.

"But why-"

His terse one-word reply was more than answer enough.

"Hunter-nins."

Sakura could only stare at the Uchiha in shock. Hunter-nins? Hunter-nins?

"Hunter-nins?" She whispered bewilderedly.

Itachi took one look at the staggered kunoichi and narrowed his eyes. She was not going to be of any use to him if she were clam up now at the slightest provocation.

"Girl." His hiss was impatient. Contemptuous.

And it worked to return her attention back to him. Her glazed emerald eyes cleared somewhat and focused on him.

"Hide. Now." His smooth tenor was whisper soft, but it might as well be as loud as a gunshot to her. She nodded, quickly snapping out of her shock. Sakura still did not know where she was nor was she aware of the combative aptitude of those oinins but even she knew that it was imperative that the bounty hunters did not see her in correlation with the Akatsuki. She would be deemed a threat and dealt with thusly, and would not be allowed to explain until it was all too late.

Gods, she was now a part of them, in a manner of speaking. As long as she was stuck with Itachi she was going to spend the rest of her short life being hunted down like a dog.

Her realization hit her like a heavy blow to the head, but her instincts refused to give her time to go into shock. The implications of her revelations were quickly pushed aside to be analyzed later and Sakura forced her mind to operate in automatic mode. The most important thing now would be to vacate the area, everything else be damned.

Rapidly recovering her senses, Sakura stared at the expressionless Uchiha. How the heck can he still stand there and look so calm? Then it quickly occurred to her that this must have happened to him so often that they were old news already. He probably saw those hunter-nins as nothing more than a nuisance. Sakura felt oddly angered by his nonchalance.

"I hope they get you this time." She whispered fervently before she could stop her lips from moving. Sakura immediately wished that she could take the words back.

Itachi didn't react to her vicious statement for a long moment, and morbidly Sakura decided that he was probably thinking up the best way to murder her in the most painful manner possible.

Then he did the scariest thing that made her mouth drop open.

Itachi smiled at her.

It wasn't even an I'm-going-to-kill-you-die smile; no, this one was much worst, and looked so odd on him that she did not know what to make of it.

It was the merest upwards tilt of his thin lips, and the slightest look of amusement that cracked the icy veneer in his frigid crimson gaze, but Sakura was struck dumb by it.

Wow. The bastard could smile.

She wasn't even aware that she had blurted out her thoughts again until she heard Itachi make a small noise in the back of his throat. If it was coming from a lesser man Sakura would have said that it was a snort.

Sakura quickly turned bright red, but the color was quick to fade when his Sharingan gaze froze over once again and it was as if she had imagined that look of amusement in his detached gaze. God, this guy has got to be the queen bitch of mood swinging, though Sakura did not say it out loud this time.

"You don't mean that, Sakura."

His lilting tenor was rich with sardonic humor despite the apparent emptiness in his eyes, and the poor kunoichi was shocked once again. This guy is…unbelievable…!! And she didn't mean it the good way, too. The kunoichi was about to open her mouth to snap angrily at the Uchiha when he reacted suddenly.

As if he sensed something she did not, Itachi lifted his head, then cocked it slightly as if listening hard for the disturbance. Before she could ask him what was going on the crimson eyes snapped to hers once more, the three Sharingan tomoe starting to whirl and swim wildly in each of his pupils.

"Go."

The single word shattered the odd moment, and urged by the urgency of the situation Sakura snapped into action. Without another look at the Uchiha she stepped away from him then turned and loped into the darkness, merging completely with the shadows within the blink of an eye.

Itachi watched her disappear.

Then he continued standing in the middle of the clearing, and he waited patiently for them to come to him.

"Will you walk into my parlor?" said the spider to the fly.


::tsuzuku::