A/N: This chapter is pretty long. Sorry about that, I had a lot to tell.

Enjoy and leave me reviews, please. :)

What had transpired last night with Deidara was just a mistake, a silly mistake. Yeah, she could just keep telling herself this over and over and soon enough her mind and body would accept it…right? She was tired and he was comfortable. Yup, makes perfect sense! Sakura quietly brooded to herself in the corner of her cell. It wasn't like her to just give in that easily, and to an Akatsuki member, nonetheless. It wasn't just Deidara that had been bothering her either. Strangely enough, Sakura couldn't get her mind off Itachi, and the hallucination she had of him. The two men were entirely too much for her to deal with right now. They were damn criminals! At that moment one of those men opened the door to her cell and walked in, a big blue man in tow. Sakura's whole body tensed. She didn't want to see him right now, or ever for that matter.

"Change."

Was all that he said, throwing her normal attire at her feet. She stared at the clothes in bewilderment. They were clean of all the disgusting blood that had been caked on it. Although they still had cuts and tears everywhere they were at least wearable. Her boots, shirt, shorts, skirt, and even her gloves were all intact. But wait? Where was her forehead protector? She picked up the clothes piece by piece and shook them, trying to find the red band.

"Where is it?"

"Where is what?"

Kisame was the one who answered, his brow lifting slightly at her question.

"My forehead protector. I had it when you…captured me. I want it back."

"You really don't expect us to give you that thing, do you? Two Akatsuki members walking around with a girl from Konoha. For one, we don't need the extra eyes staring, and two, do you really want word to get back to your village stating you've been seen walking around perfectly fine between two Akatsuki members?"

Kisame gave her an evil smirk after he stated all of this.

"But if you want it so bad."

A red ribbon flew her way, landing on the cement with a tink! When Sakura picked it up she was horrified at what she saw. The metal plating with the Konoha symbol etched in the middle had a crudely drawn line scratched all the way across.

"What the hell?"

Sakura growled out between gritted teeth, throwing the protector down and standing quickly. Itachi glared at her and Kisame just gave a dark chuckle.

"Calm down, kunoichi. You won't need it anymore."

"Get dressed; we are leaving in a few minutes."

Itachi announced and walked out of her cell with Kisame. Leaving? Where were they going? As she quickly changed back into her normal clothing her mind went wild. If they were leaving the headquarters this would be a good chance for her to escape again! Out in the open she would easily be able to escape them! Stupid Akatsuki! Just as she was pulling on her last boot, Itachi walked back in with a cloth in one hand and rope in another. Shit!

"W-what are you doing with that?"

He didn't answer, but instead approached her. She scooted back on the ground until her back met with the wall, her heart pounding in her chest. Itachi leaned down to her level and held out his left hand towards her.

"Give me your wrists."

"What? No way!"

Itachi glared at her and she wondered where in the hell she got the confidence to back talk Itachi. His eyes slowly started to spin and her wrists quickly shot out in front of her. When his fingers brushed her skin a chill was sent down her spine. After all he had done to her he could still make her body react to him. Damn Uchiha's! She cursed silently to herself as she watched his fingers place themselves rather oddly on both of her wrists. Pointer and middle finger rested on the very sides of her wrist while his other fingers wrapped around her whole hand. What was he doing? He didn't even have to mumble a word, which surprised Sakura when she saw the black lines forming on her skin like a tattoo. Her heart stopped, they were damn chakra seals! Once he let go she quickly retracted her arms and scratched at the markings. Nothing happened. She then licked her fingers and rubbed viciously at the black markings. Still nothing happened. Her breathing had increased as she now realized she had no way of escape.

"Get up."

Itachi demanded, holding onto the rope and cloth again. Looking to the side of him she noticed he had left the door open.

"Don't, you won't get far if you try."

Her eyes turned back towards the man in front of her. He was dead right, again! Slowly she started to stand, her heart now empty. Itachi placed the cloth around her eyes and the rope tightly securing her wrists behind her back.

"Where are we going?"

No answer.

"You ready yet?"

It was Kisame's voice and she felt as a hand rested on her left shoulder. The presence of Itachi's body could be felt next to her right side as he guided her around.

"Here."

The sound of cloth rustling could be heard as Kisame seemed to hand something to Itachi. The weight of his hand left her shoulder as he reached out and she suddenly felt the bulky material of a cloak around her shoulders. His hand returned back to her shoulder and he led her out into the hall. As they walked, Sakura tried to mesmerize the path they had taken, but it was useless. Turn after turn, incline after decline, it was a complete maze! She felt the hand on her shoulder tighten and pull her to a stop. The soft tinkle of bells could be heard and she wondered where it was coming from. Fingers traced at the top of her neck and the bulky material of her cloak could be felt on her head now. Those fingers again moved to her shoulder and started to push her forward once more. A loud groan from a metal door was heard and the smell of rain hit Sakura's nose instantly. The pitter-patter of the droplets upon her cloak was loud. It must have been raining hard wherever they were.

As they walked through the rain Sakura's thoughts turned to the soft jingle of the bells. Surprisingly they could be heard over the loud rain, which was seriously putting a damper on Sakura's already annoyed mood.

"I think it's safe to take the cloth off now."

Kisame stated and Itachi pulled her to a halt. Her hood fell backwards and the rain quickly claimed her hair, soaking it within seconds. Thin fingers worked with ease at the knot behind her head, pulling the cloth away from her eyes. The first thing she noticed was that they were walking down a street, a desolate street, but a street through and through. So they must be in some sort of city? The next thing she noticed was the dark and ominous feeling the city seemed to put off. She seemed to cringe as she felt Itachi pull at her hood, covering her head from the pounding rain. After that, they continued on and Sakura couldn't help but gawk at everything around her. This place was weird. Something scurried across the street and disappeared into a gutter. Did anyone even live here?

"Hmm?"

She questioned as she squinted in the dark. Some cloaked figure was stopped on the side of the street. A person! Somebody to help her! Her mouth started to open, but Itachi's fingers tightened around her shoulder. If she spoke, he could make sure she never spoke again. Quickly her mouth snapped shut and she watched as they passed the unknown person and continued on out of the city. Even as they neared the outskirts the rain never let up.

"What country are we in?"

Sakura decided to break the silence, looking between the two men. She had finally figured out where the bells were. They both sported a funny looking straw hat, white strands of cloth hanging down the sides and a thread holding onto a couple bells.

"Now that would just ruin the surprise, now wouldn't it."

"Seriously, Kisame, it's not like I'm going to be able to just run back to Konoha and tell. I'm pretty confident that you will kill me once you get the desired information you want, am I right?"

"Hmm, you have a good point, kunoichi. However, I'm still not telling."

She could see the white flash of his pointy teeth grinning at her from behind the straw hat. Silence once again pressed upon the group as they walked. It was good to note that the farther they got from the city, the lighter the rain became.

"Where are the others?"

"Hmm, you sure are full of questions today, aren't you?"

"Well being a prisoner and suddenly being uprooted from said imprisonment kind of makes me wonder, so yeah."

Kisame let out a small chuckle, thinking about whether or not he wanted to answer her.

"We were the last to leave, so the others have already gotten a head start on us."

"I see, and where are we going?"

"Somewhere."

"Why won't you tell me?"

"Because, I don't have too."

"…Kisame?"

"Yes?"

"You are an awful road companion."

Kisame's booming laugh shook the air around Sakura and she could have sworn she heard the Uchiha next to her let out a small, almost unnoticeable, chuckle.

By now Sakura's feet were aching. They had walked for Kami only knows how long. She remembered when they first started out it was dark in the city, and when they got further the light in the sky had turned a soft orange color, like the sun was rising. As they continued the sun had made its rounds in the sky and was now on the opposite side. A soft orange and purple color mixed in the sky as the sun was setting. They had walked ALL DAY!

"Let's stop here, Kisame."

Sakura looked towards the direction Itachi was looking. A small town stood off in the distance. There were definitely no shinobi in the city, Sakura could sense that and as they approached the villagers that still walked the streets gave them odd looks. Must be an odd sight to see any shinobi walking through here.

"We'll catch up with the others at the rendezvous point in the morning."

Sakura kept quiet as they strode through the town and came up to a small building. There was a beautiful pond out front with fish swimming peacefully in the water. A wind chime tinkled in the background adding to the serenity of the surroundings.

"Good evening, travelers."

The hostess's voice was a bit uneasy as she took in the look of her customers. She wanted no problems.

"We would like one room."

"What? One?"

Sakura squeaked and in return received a scowl from Itachi. She blushed and quickly looked away.

"One room for the night."

"Sure thing…"

The girl gave Sakura a look of sympathy before writing something in a book and handing Itachi a key.

"Enjoy your stay."

The Uchiha snatched the key up and walked down the hall to a wooden door. He unlocked it and Kisame pushed the girl in. Two clicks sounded behind Sakura. One confirming the door being shut and the other a lock being set into place.

"Well at least we got two beds."

Kisame walked over to one of them and seemingly kicked it, testing the sturdiness.

"I'll take this one."

It was the one nearest to the door. Obviously he would be there; in case she decided to bolt he could easily wake and stop her. Suddenly her eyes moved towards the last bed in the room. She hadn't slept in a bed since she had been captured. Oh how she wanted that bed! An evil thought came to her mind. Maybe she could trick Itachi into giving it to her? Put on some of her girlish charms? Turning to her side she looked up at the stoic male who was giving her a blank gaze in return. Heh…yeah good luck with that one. She could open up her blouse and show him all her goods and he probably would still be an emotionless slate.

"Well I'm going to get some food."

Kisame announced, tossing his straw hat upon his bed and unbuttoning the top part of his cloak for a more casual look. Itachi made a 'hnn' sound in response and Kisame left the room. Shit! She was alone with him now!

"Umm, may I have my wrists unbound now?"

Sakura muttered, wondering if now was a good time to ask. He nodded and turned her towards him. His hands worked at the buttons of her cloak. Fingers brushed slightly at the underside of her jaw and she had to quickly think of something else to stop the blush that was trying to form on her cheeks. The cloak fell to the ground with a soft thud and Itachi moved around her towards her back. He pulled out a kunai and sliced through the rope with ease. Sakura brought her wrists to the front and softly rubbed them.

"Thanks those were really—"

She was cut off as she turned around and noticed he still had the kunai in hand. The memories of the Tsukuyomi pressed hauntingly against her subconscious and she stumbled backwards, not noticing the hitch in her breathing. Itachi gave her a strange look before noticing the kunai still in his hand. Quickly he pocketed it back in the kunai pouch at his side. However, this didn't seem to ease the girl. She stared at him with wide emerald hues.

"Would you like to shower?"

His question brought Sakura back from those horrid thoughts and she stared at the male for a second. So he was going to let her shower here too? Her gaze moved towards the bathroom in the small room all of them shared and noticed how very small it was. Did he expect to be in there with her? Watching her like a hawk like when she showered at the Akatsuki headquarters. Well she had been walking all day, and the muscles in her legs really did hurt. A nice hot shower would do her good, and she wouldn't have to worry about wasting water here.

"…yeah, I guess."

Her eyes never left his as she slowly made her way into the bathroom. Holding onto the door, just about to shut it, she gave the Uchiha a questioning look. Wondering if he was going to follow her in. When he made no move to she shut the door softly and turned towards the shower. Finally! She would be able to wash in peace!

A full shower! She had taken at least thirty minutes, if not more under the beating pressure of the water. Kami did it feel great! Nobody pounded on the door to tell her to hurry up either. As she walked out she took her time drying off and getting dressed. She kept her shirt and shorts on, but picked up her boots, gloves, and skirt as she walked out of the bathroom, a cloud of steam trailing behind her.

"Sure did take long enough, you're food is getting cold."

Kisame remarked from the small table that was in the room. He had his cloak off and his feet were both on top of the table, one crossed over the other. In his hands was a pair of chopsticks and a bento box filled with what smelled like delicious food. Itachi was occupying the other chair. He too had his cloak off, but his feet were placed firmly on the ground. He set his chop sticks down and pushed the third bento box towards her. She walked over and picked it up. There were no chairs left so she decided to sit on the side of the other bed. Inside were sushi rolls, a side of veggies, and chicken. Sakura sniffed it. Garlic chicken even! Her mouth started to water as she broke her chopsticks and dug in. The only sounds in the room were that of chewing. Sakura observed her two captors. Kisame picked around his veggies, going straight for the chicken. Itachi casually ate some of each. She wondered if she should ask now and get it out of the way…

"Where shall I sleep tonight?"

There it was, out in the open! Both males stopped eating and turned to look at her.

"You are to take the extra bed."

Itachi said it almost like it was normal thing for her to take the bed. In all reality, she had expected him to take the bed and she would get the floor, shackled to something sturdy so she would not run. Yet, he was actually letting her take the bed.

"Oh, umm, thanks."

The words felt weird coming out of her mouth. Thanking Itachi Uchiha was never on her list of things to do before she died, or any list for that matter. Everyone continued eating and when all the food was gone, aside from Kisame's veggies, Itachi picked up the bento boxes and threw them away. Sakura had guessed he was a pretty clean guy and didn't like clutter.

"Well, I'll sleep first. Itachi you can take first watch."

"W-watch?"

Sakura sputtered out the words. How the hell was she supposed to sleep with a pair of Sharingan eyes staring at her all night? And then after that a pair of beady shark eyes looking down upon her like she was some sort of meal!

"You didn't think we'd just sleep peacefully while you snuck out of here, did you?"

Kisame chuckled as he pulled his shirt off and tossed it next to his bed. Sakura really couldn't help but gape at this man's body. From his neck up he looked anything but a man, more of a mutant than anything. But underneath he had a rock solid body, all muscle. He pulled back the sheets and settled in for the night, turning his back to her and seemingly falling asleep right then and there. Then her eyes turned to the Uchiha.

He was sitting in a comfortable looking chair, his leg crossed over the other and his gaze never breaking from hers. Seriously, she was supposed to sleep how?

"You better get some rest, we leave at dusk."

Great, they were early risers…

"Okay then…"

She got up and pulled back the sheets, looking over at Itachi once more before she climbed in. As she snuggled into the warm sheets she quickly pulled them all the way up to the bottom of her chin. For some reason she felt exposed. Like Itachi could see under the sheets. A few minutes passed and she was more awake than ever. Currently she was staring at the back of Kisame. He was breathing softly, obviously catching some much needed sleep like she wanted. Was he still watching? Carefully, as to try and not make a sound, she peeked over the side of her blankets. She was quite surprised to see that Itachi had been looking out the only window in the room. A full and bright white moon was sitting in the sky. She wondered what he was thinking, then the glowing red of his eyes glanced over towards her and she quickly looked away, embarrassed for peeking. More minutes passed and she still could not fall asleep. Her eyes strained, feeling dry and heavy. Kisame stirred and stretched. Was it time for his watch already? Sakura tightly closed her eyes to look like she was asleep.

"Eh, Itachi. You want to switch?"

"Are you well rested?"

"As I'll ever be. I'll take a shower real quick and we can switch."

"Hnn."

She could hear the bed strain against the heavy male as he got up and walked towards the bathroom, a soft click announcing he had gone in. She could somehow feel Itachi's presence move from the chair and walk in between the two beds. A few seconds of rustling and then there was silence once more. How long did it take him to fall asleep? Her eyes slowly opened to see if he was sleeping yet. Ahh, dammit! Those red eyes! He was lying on his side, his shirt disposed of and his eyes ever so watchful. Then, almost painfully slow, he closed his eyes. Oh good, finally. But wait, his eyes slowly opened again and instead of the glowing orbs of red, they were a dull obsidian. She gasped slightly. This had happened during her hallucination just last night. Was he real or was this another image? Under the sheets she pinched her hand and felt the pain. She was awake…hopefully.

"You need to sleep, Sakura."

His voice was quiet.

"I can't."

She whispered back, trying to hide under the sheets even more from his gaze. He sighed from her answer.

"Would you like me to put you to sleep?"

He had placed more emphasis on the put, meaning he could use his Sharingan and knock her out if need be. She definitely didn't want that. Her head shook at him.

"Then go to sleep, Sakura."

"I don't know if I can."

"What do you mean by that?"

You hurt me and placed me in such a dark place that now I can't even tell reality from imaginary.

She couldn't seem to speak the words, so she turned on her side facing the wall.

"Never mind, Itachi."

He never pressed her for an answer and after a few more minutes, Kisame had emerged from the bathroom and taken Itachi's spot in the chair. Escape was inevitable with these two. When they met up with the other Akatsuki members she was sure the serum would start again. There was no use in trying to fight anymore. Why bother? Nobody was looking for her, that much was clear. Silent tears lightly splashed upon the pillow she was laying on. She hadn't fallen asleep that night. Scared of both the images that haunted the dark corners of her mind and the male that had caused them only feet away from her. What she didn't know though was that Itachi too didn't sleep that night. His eyes were focused upon a certain girl so close in reach to him. He knew why she didn't sleep; he didn't need her to tell him, it was obvious. It also occurred to him that Deidara had helped her find peace last night, but he could do nothing. Surprisingly, the thought frustrated him to no end.