This is a 'tie up loose ends' chapter…Just another day in the life of an Akatsuki member. Even though this chap is of little importance, I really like it.
I don't own Naruto.
Thank you so much to everyone who has added me to their favorite authors! You have no idea how much that means to me, because I always thought I was an awful writer & I never thought I would get so much feedback.
Enjoy!
XXXXX
Goddamn meetings.
It was the tenth this week. The subject? Akatsuki, of course. Why the village elders kept having meetings about the same thing, Tsunade really didn't know. She was sitting behind her desk, all jounins present, while that old broad rattled off about the importance of security. Did she think Tsunade didn't know?
Sigh.
When she felt the familiar sensation of a slug crawl up her leg, she had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing—a distraction!
It's about time.
Knowing what it was, she bent down as nonchalantly as possible to retrieve the message. Smiling slightly, she opened the browned paper.
Just received intel on 6th. Have not yet taken. Osaka St, Mist. No word yet on 9th. Will send word as it comes. My love.
Good job, Sakura, she thought. This must have taken at least a week to get to Konoha, so unless something happened in the past seven days, Sakura was fine.
The only problem was that Akatsuki knew where the six tails was, which meant they wouldn't waste any time in retrieving it. In fact, they were probably on their way already.
She caught Kakashi's eye and gave him the signal that they received a message from Sakura—putting her hair behind her left ear with her right hand. She saw his eye grow worried, but she nodded slightly and smirked.
She's okay.
The tension in his shoulders relaxed and he nodded.
"—Therefore Uzumaki Naruto must be kept under watch at all times. Akatsuki cannot control the nine-tails, as the effects would be disastrous—"
No shit.
It was only a matter of time until Sakura's true mission would be put into effect.
XXXXX
Sakura's head pounded as light filtered through her room and into her squinted eyes.
What the hell happened last night?
She sat up, running a hand through her hair—which was a bit damp for some reason.
Oh yeah! I took a shower…and I was drinking sake in the shower…? Why?
Sakura stifled a laugh…she remembered drinking—something about a game and Itachi—
"Oh stop acting like you have stick shoved up your ass and come drink with us."
Sakura blushed and covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. Shouldn't have said that…
And then it all came rushing back. The game, Itachi playing, the questions—the anger.
"How many times did you fuck Sasuke?" Played over and over in her head. How the hell did he know? Why did he care? Sakura remembered the fury in his eyes. What did it matter to him who she slept with?
But then she remembered the way his entire face softened when he said, 'People are never what the seem…that's why I killed them.' For a fleeting moment, she actually felt bad for him. There was more to the story—but with him, there was always more. He was the perfect example of 'shinobi should learn to look beneath the underneath.' But she also remembered that he was pissed. And if she knew anything about Itachi, he had a long memory. He would be subtle about it—but she knew that he'd still be angry.
Not all emotions were hidden from her.
He was a complex man—he did 'save' her from becoming a Jinchuuriki, didn't he?
Shit!
She had to write Tsunade. Running over to her desk to get out a piece of paper, she quickly wrote,
Sixth is dead. Unsure of consequences. No news on ninth. My love.
What would happen now that the six tails was gone? Was her purpose gone because she no longer had a demon? Would Pein keep her for medical purposes?
When would they move into get Naruto?
…
People are not what they seem…that's why I killed them.
She didn't want to think of how Itachi would react when he found out that she was not what she seemed.
Summoning one of the slug children, she whispered, "take this to Tsunade-sama."
XXXXX
Last night was a mistake. One large, foolish mistake.
He shouldn't have argued with her. He shouldn't have listened to her when she asked him to drink with them. He shouldn't have helped her out of the shower. He shouldn't have kissed her. He shouldn't have touched her.
And he damn well shouldn't have enjoyed kissing her and making her moan—
And want to do it again.
Itachi raised his hand to rub his eyes, hoping the action would dull the pain.
Tonight, she would continue healing his eyes. And they would maintain a professional relationship.
…
He sighed because he knew that was impossible. If he thought that she wasn't attracted to him, then he would have been able to leave her alone. But now that he knew she had feelings for him, now that he knew what she tasted like…there was no going back.
Or in her words, there was nothing left to wait for.
XXXXX
After getting dressed, she walked into the hall just in time to see Hidan walking into his room with a pleasant "Fucking Orochimaru." He closed the door before she had the chance to ask him if something happened. Not that she cared about him, but was Sasuke still alright?
Walking briskly into the kitchen, she spotted a grumpy looking Deidara drinking tea for breakfast.
"Hello Deidara." She said brightly, taking a seat in a wooden chair across from him.
"Sakura." He nodded.
"Do you know anything about what's going on with Orochimaru?" She folded her arms in front of her.
His gaze darkened. "Just a bit. Sound, as you probably know, has been trying to destroy Konoha for a long time."
She nodded.
"Well, apparently, he wants Akatsuki's help, yeah." He sighed, resting his chin in his hand.
"What?" She asked incredulously. "Why?"
"He said he'll hand over the Kyuubi kid." He waved it off as if it was a ludicrous idea.
"In exchange for our help? We're only nine people…" Sakura was genuinely confused.
"I doubt that's all he wants." He muttered, more to himself than to her, taking a sip of his tea.
"What do you mean?" She asked, not liking how hard her heart was beating.
Something angry and resentful passed quickly through his face. "I don't know, yeah. I was just saying that I have a feeling that's not all Orochimaru wants. He's always been a selfish, arrogant bastard, and I'm sure that there's something else he wants, yeah."
"What gives you that feeling?" Did Sasuke have something to do with this?
"When Orochimaru was part of Akatsuki, it was no secret that he wanted Itachi, yeah." His gaze was serious.
Sakura shivered. "What do you mean…'wanted' Itachi?"
"Orochimaru wanted Itachi to be his new vessel, but Itachi was too strong, yeah."
Of course! That made sense. He would never be able to get Itachi…so go for the younger brother. The one that can be easily manipulated… the perfect plan. Promise him power, and in return, take his power.
She tried to resist the urge to vomit. Orochimaru was a disgusting freak. She hoped one day, she would get the chance to kick his pedophilic ass.
But that still didn't make sense. Why would Orochimaru still want Itachi? Didn't he have Sasuke? If he couldn't get Itachi when he was younger, there was no way in hell he was getting him now. Maybe…Sasuke had something to do with it. Was he fighting back? Did Orochimaru think using Sasuke's body as a vessel wouldn't be as easy as it seemed?
Sakura had no idea. But she did know that something wasn't right.
"Do you know when Sound will invade?"
Deidara shook his head. "Soon, yeah."
"Are there any other villages that are going to help him?"
He shrugged. "No clue, yeah. But I do know that he won't be alone. He is planning on totally wiping Konoha off the map. Many of the smaller villages resent Konoha's power, so they might try and join in on the massacre, yeah." Sakura tried to suppress a shiver.
Looks like there will be more to tell Tsunade.
She stood up to leave. "Thanks, Deidara, see you. And uh…thanks again for last night."
"Sure, Sakura-chan." He smiled.
"Oh by the way, I've been meaning to apologize for the…er…lap dance I gave you a while ago. I didn't mean to embarrass you." She said guiltily.
He waved it off. "It's no problem, yeah. Trust me, if there were a next time, I wouldn't stop you." He winked at her, and she smiled and left the room.
XXXXX
As soon as she was out of Deidara's view, she sprinted down the hallway, into her room, and closed the door quickly. Running to her desk, she whipped out another piece of paper.
Sound will invade Konoha soon. Not sure of specific date. Other villages might be involved.
She didn't like how helpless she felt. If she were here, she obviously couldn't be there fighting alongside of her friends. They would need her help…but there was nothing she could do.
But Naruto needed her help here. The safety of the entire village depended on the sacrifice she was making here.
Would Sasuke be fighting with Orochimaru? Was he really that different? Was he really that cold?
Then she remembered the night at the club, and she knew the answer.
No, there was no way he was that cold—it was all a front.
She and Naruto were still his best friends—his only friends. He might have severed the bonds between them, but there was nothing he could do that would make him forget them. No matter how hard he tried.
Deep down, the trio all knew how they felt about one another.
XXXXX
After a bit of light training and a shower, Sakura walked into the kitchen to have some lunch.
"Hello Sakura." She heard a voice say. She turned around, and unsuccessfully hid the fact that she just spilt her cup of tea all over the counter.
"Oh! Sasori. How was your mission?" She busied herself with trying to clean it up with a towel.
"Fine, thank you." He coughed slightly. "Everything is fine here, I presume."
"Ha!" She laughed nervously. "Yes, of course!" She was too enthusiastic. As she said before, it was unfortunate she was a bad liar at times.
"Ah. Good. That explains why you spilled your tea when I said your name." He coughed again.
Shit.
He had a smug smile on his face, that told her he would not be easily fooled.
"Um…" She began, her eyes darting to the door, "Well, actually, there was a bit of an…altercation last night." She could see Sasori trying to hide his amusement.
"An 'altercation'? Between…?"
"Me and Itachi." His brow rose, his face turning serious.
"Did he hurt you?" He asked in his normal soft voice, all traces of amusement gone, but somehow managed to still sound unconcerned.
"No, of course not! We just had an argument." And then I drunkenly attacked him in my room wearing only a towel.
"Ah." He went to get himself a mug for tea, covering his cough with a hand. "Dealing with Itachi-san is a tricky business. You have to know when to speak, and when to…what is the expression? Ah, 'shut up.'"
Sakura laughed lightly. "I don't think I've ever heard you speak more truer words."
Sasori smiled slightly. "It's none of my business what you fought about, but just remember: with Itachi, 'less is more'. Or perhaps, 'silence is more'."
Sakura sighed. "I think you're right." She turned to finish cleaning her spilt tea.
"Have you eaten yet?" She asked, wondering if Sasori might want some lunch. But when she turned around, he was falling to the floor, seemingly unconscious.
"Sasori!" She yelled, letting go of the tea on the counter and rushing to his side. She dropped to her knees. Checking his rapidly declining pulse, she knew she needed her medical bag from down the hall.
"Deidara! Itachi! Someone!" She yelled as loud as she could, bending over, trying to listen to his heart and lungs to check for fluid.
Thump, thump…thump…thump.
"Shit." She mumbled. Where the hell is everyone?
"What's the matter, Sakura— Holy shit, yeah! What the hell happened?" Deidara asked, his face betraying his shock.
She raised her head from his chest. "Deidara, go into the closet in my room and on the left side, on the floor, is my medical bag, get it now." She commanded. He nodded as she heard his quickened footsteps on the wooden floor in her room.
He was back before she could blink. "There should be a small Petri dish in there, get it." He nodded and pulled the zipper.
Her hands glowed green as she tried to assess the damage. There seemed to be liquid in his lungs. Using her chakra to dig deeper, she could see in her mind's eye that the fluid looked dark in color and was shaped like little tiny beads—
Her eyes opened wide as she pulled away from him and gasped.
"Oh no…"
There was a slight pause in which no one moved expect for Sakura. She closed her mouth, fisted her hands, and leaned forward once more, her eyes glittering with determination.
"Deidara, get the largest bowl out of my bag and fill it with water." She heard the water running, but she didn't look up. "Hold his mouth open." He did so immediately.
But she didn't move.
"Why are you hesitating?" Itachi said, not indicating it was a question. It was the first time she realized he was standing there.
Her brow furrowed as though she didn't want to tell them the truth.
"This is going to hurt." She said quietly.
"Can you give him morphine or something?" Deidara asked.
She looked at him sharply. "It's not going to hurt him." Her face was expressionless, but on the inside, her heart was pounding.
She reached up and tied her hair behind her.
Tsunade had talked to her about this poison once, and it was not a fun exercise. The problem with this poison was that it usually killed because no medical shinobi wanted to endure that type of pain to heal just one person.
She sighed, and closed her eyes, hoping that it wasn't as painful as Tsunade said it was.
"Fuketsu is a dangerous poison, Sakura. It is extremely rare, so pray that you never come face to face with it."
"Why is it so dangerous for medic-nin?"
Carefully, she molded her chakra into a long string, and inserted it down his throat. Not knowing how long the poison had been in his system, there was a chance she would endure this pain for nothing.
But she had to try.
"Because not only does it act quickly, it is extremely painful to both parties."
Sakura's eyes widened. "Both parties?"
"Hai. You will need to absorb the poison into your own body and destroy it from within you. It is impossible to get rid of otherwise."
"So then how can I destroy it?"
Guiding the chakra string into his esophagus, she led it to his lungs. Fuketsu is an inhalant, therefore was most likely to have the largest build up in the lungs. It was also known to clump together like little beads. She needed to thread the chakra string, then start the transfer.
"You will need to absorb it into your own body. Get every ounce of poison out of their bloodstream and gather it all into the lungs. Then, suck the breath out of the person, clearing the poison out of their passageways."
"Then what?"
Sakura fished the poison out of Sasori's bloodstream, which luckily didn't take too long, but she was already sweating from the tediousness of the procedure.
"The comes the pain. When the poison is transferred to you, you will immediately feel the affects of it. You will become groggy and sweaty, you will probably feel sick. You need to block the poison's electrical messages to the brain otherwise you will faint. You know how to slow down your nervous system, correct?"
"Hai."
"Good. After you cut off the impulses to your brain, you will need to fight the poison. And believe me when I tell you that it's not as easy as it sounds. It's extremely painful and you will need perfect concentration."
All the poison was gathered in Sasori's lungs, and gradually, she started to remove the chakra string, careful as to not hit the walls of his throat, incase of scarring.
"Have you ever done that, shishou?"
"…Yes."
"And? How did it end?"
She bent over and put her hands on either side of Sasori's face, as she inched closer until she was about three inches from his lips.
"What are you doing, yeah?" Deidara sounded nervous.
Not moving her head and inch, she answered him quietly. "Please no one speak until I am finished."
Taking a deep breath and exhaling completely, she pressed her lips to his and sucked out the poison.
"…Not well."
Breathing in the poison was like breathing in water; it was suffocating. She desperately tried not to cough, in fear of not getting the entire amount out of his lungs. When there was no more breath, she pulled back, her mouth clamping shut in order to stop herself from screaming out in pain.
Ox—Tiger—Ox—Horse—
Her hands were clasped together in an attempt to keep her hands from shaking. She fell back onto the floor, unable to keep herself upright.
"Mmm." She groaned in pain, her mouth still not opening. Itachi watched as she turned a sickly shade of gray and looked like she was going to vomit. Was this supposed to happen?
Her legs were shaking now, and she was breathing heavily, but her face was still contorted in concentration.
After what seemed like hours, they heard a quick intake of breath as she eyes opened suddenly, and her hands hit the wood hard, as though she was looking for something to hold onto. Her eyes met Itachi's first, and his eyes held the same look of relief as he did after that meeting with Pein.
She tried to slow her breathing and push herself into a sitting position.
"What—the hell—just happened?" Deidara said, kneeled next to Sasori, a look of disbelief on his face.
"I—I had to suck…poison…lungs." She closed her eyes trying to stable her mind and clam down from the adrenaline rush. Taking a few deep breaths, she pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to calm her now roaring headache.
"There was poison in his lungs, I had to suck it out and defeat it myself. That's the only way to get rid of it." She was still panting slightly, but was stable.
"What—"
"He'll be fine, Deidara, but he needs to sleep it off. Speaking of sleeping—" she rose, shakily, but still managed. "I need to take a long nap," she groaned.
Deidara nodded and grabbed both of Sasori's arms to drag him into the living room.
"Deidara!" Sakura exclaimed. "What are you doing? Don't drag him you idiot!"
He stopped. "Well how else do you want me to get him to the couch? You want me to carry him?" He asked as though it was the most ludicrous thing ever.
She rolled her eyes. "Of course not. How foolish of me to think that." She said sarcastically, and continued to her room, which luckily wasn't far.
"That was a foolish." She would recognize that voice anywhere. She looked up, and he was sitting in the corner of her room.
"How did you get in here so fast?" She asked as she closed her door. She knew he wouldn't answer, so she fell onto the bed.
Silence.
"What was foolish?" She asked, exasperated.
"Inhaling that poison." It was amazing, how no matter what he said, it still sounded like he didn't care.
"Well, did you have any other ideas? Because that's the only way to do it."
He didn't answer.
"I wasn't going to let him die Itachi."
"Hn."
She rolled onto her side, her back facing him.
She was just about asleep when he stood and said from her dorrway, "I will come to your room this evening."
Her response was a sleepy, "Hmm…"
XXXXX
When she woke up, moonlight was filtering in through the slightly open window. She had no desire to wake up from her nap, as she was groggy—a feeling she strongly detested. Covering her yawn, she sat up was suddenly overcome with a coughing fit.
"Foolish." She heard him say to himself.
"Itachi!" She saw him sitting in the corner again, looking sexier than she thought possible. She fought the rising blush to her cheeks when she realized how awkward this was going to be…with him in her room…alone…dear God, help her.
He just sat there and stared, no care in the world, apparently.
"Would you like to begin?"
Sakura was surprised at her confident tone—she was incredibly nervous. She desperately wanted to look into his memories again, but if he ever found out, he would kill her on the spot. Of that, she was certain.
He continued staring with onyx eyes.
She began to fidget under his stare. Why wasn't he saying anything?
"I would first like you to tell me why you were shocked last time." He said smoothly and she noticed his hair was not tied.
She sighed—and hoped she was a good actress.
"There is a something in your chakra passageways that is black in color. I think it is coming from your eyes, but I think it may also be decaying your overall health. The dead cells are not passing through your body, rather they are acting like a disease, spreading throughout your passageways."
Inwardly, Itachi was caught off guard.
"The extent of the damage took me by surprise."
…
"…I would say that you seemed deeply saddened by this."
It took everything in her not to start hyperventilating.
"It is just strange to see someone who is one of most powerful shinobi in the world be affected so negatively by his greatest strength." She said quietly. Well, this part was true. He was in overall bad health. And she was surprised that his Sharingan, his trump card, was affecting all of his organs.
But what shocked her most of all was that night, she felt panic run through her veins. The infamous man sitting in front of her was no longer invincible.
His expression was unreadable, but there was curiosity in his eyes. He seemed to find it strange that she was afraid for him.
"…And I was worried." She admitted quietly.
Damn, this supposed lie was turning to be more truthful than originally planned.
"Worried?" He questioned as he stood from the chair and started to walk towards her, not taking his eyes off her face.
She looked at him, her gaze softening.
"Hai. Worried." She whispered.
"Explain this." She thought she heard a bit of softness in his tone, but she knew she imagined it. Itachi was anything but soft. Did she admit this to him? He would probably chastise her for her weakness. But hell, he already thought she was weak…so a bit more wouldn't hurt.
"You are in much worse health than I thought. I was worried for your…safety. In my eyes, you had gone from the Uchiha Itachi to…just Itachi last night. You have not noticed any difference in your body's performance?" She was trying to change the topic, he noted as he sat down on the bed.
He was concentrating not on her question, but what she had said just before that.
"Just…Itachi?" He asked quietly.
Her eyes widened when she realized the familiarity in which she had just spoken to him.
"Er…yes. 'Just Itachi' meaning that I had always viewed you as someone who would never be beaten in battle, and the other night I saw that you are just a regular human being that could be taken down by your own body." She wasn't sure if she was talking herself into a deeper hole by damaging his ego and pride.
He continued studying her face.
"I know that sounds incredibly stupid, but…that's what I thought." She finished lamely.
He wasn't quite sure how to respond without betraying his confusion by her statements. So she had never seen him as normal before? Well, he supposed he wasn't normal, but he was a human being…not a machine as so many people told him.
When he didn't respond, she raised her fingertips to start the healing. He didn't seem to notice, and he didn't stop her.
Pushing her chakra, and her heart hammering against her ribs, she pushed her searching chakra to his brain passageways once more.
I watched as he wept on the floor. For a moment, I was fascinated by his weakness. But I quickly dismissed that thought. He would not want me thinking weakness was acceptable. Sasuke didn't see, but as he looked at his parents' bodies, a tear silently made its way down my face. I looked at him, and hoped, prayed that one day, he would end this.
End me.
Then, perhaps he could finally live in peace.
Forcing herself to not panic, Sakura continued to pump healing chakra to Itachi's eyes to dull the throbbing. His last thought as ringing through her ears. Did that mean what she thought it meant?
He wants to die.
That thought sounded strangely foreign. How could someone want to die? She couldn't imagine that feeling.
Putting it aside for now, she continued to try and repair his damaged cells.
He wanted me to practice shuriken training with him again. I suppose that is the duty of a brother…but I cannot do it.
I will not do it.
If I did, it would only make Sasuke a better ninja. Then, he would gain the approval of my father…and if that happened, there would be no telling what my father might do. I don't want him to be brought up like me.
But maybe I'm looking about this the wrong way. If I do train him, perhaps my father will think better of him. That way, his future will be secure.
But the pressure will be too great.
"Why are you not breathing?"
Sakura's eyes opened. "What?"
"You are not breathing."
"Oh. I tend to do that when I am concentrating." Lies. She smiled and tried to ignore the way Itachi's eyes flickered to her lips.
He 'hn'ed as if he weren't listening—his eyes still on her mouth.
"Do you feel any better?" His eyes slowly made their way up her face. She fisted her hands, trying to ignore the way he was looking at her hungrily, and trying to keep herself from doing something stupid.
Do not attack him again. Do not attack him—
"I feel…different." Whether he meant to sound like there was a double meaning behind that, she didn't know. But the look in his eye caused her legs to squeeze together in an attempt to ignore her sudden urge to straddle him.
"Oh." She sounded breathless as she let her gaze drop to his lips, then down to his shirt that left little to the imagination where his chest muscles were concerned.
"Continue." Her gaze snapped up to his, and she didn't miss the slight amusement that was present.
Continue what?
Healing? Or something else…
She nodded and raised her hands, but his eyes caught the slight shaking of her arms. Traveling to her face, he noticed the slight sheen of sweat—she was exhausted.
Activating his Sharingan, he saw how low her chakra was—dangerously low. Why was she not saying anything?
"What are you doing?" She asked when he caught both of her wrists. She ignored how hot his hands were on her chilled skin.
"Stop." His breath ruffled her hair slightly. Too close, too close…
She pulled back and breathed a sigh of relief. "That's all I can really do for tonight, anyway. I am drained from healing Sasori." She said, thoroughly exhausted. He nodded, stood up and began to walk out of the room.
"Itachi, I wanted to…talk to you about last night." He stopped walking, and she had to settle for staring at his back. Why did he wear that damn cloak around the base?
"Hn."
"I just wanted to apologize for my behavior." She sat back into her bed, in the spot he had been occupying seconds before.
"Hn?"
You know what I'm talking about…"I apologize for…kissing you." She finished, slightly embarrassed.
He didn't move, and the silence stretching longer than it should have.
"…There is nothing left to wait for." He said, as if it were the simplest situation in the world.
She was so shocked, she merely continued staring at the door long after he closed it.
…
Then, she smiled.
OOOOO
Sorry for the filler. Next chap, things start picking up. Does anyone get annoyed by my notes? I just realized that they are really long for each chap. Lol.
One more thing, I'm not sure how many of you read my bio updates, but the 'argument' I was referring to between Itachi and Sakura was not the one from last chapter. But it is coming soon! Just incase anyone was wondering.
Hmm…what's going on with Orochimaru?
Until next time.
