Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto, but the new plots (meaning the ones you don't recognize!) are mine. This fanfiction has been written for entertainment purposes only and without intention of infringing upon any copyright.
A/N: Thank you for all the reviews for Chapter 9! Sorry it took so long for me to get this posted. My baby seems to be growing more demanding as he grows older (shakes head). I'm trying my best to get the chapters out, though, so I hope you'll be patient with me. All that said, please enjoy this chapter!
The Centerpiece by elle6778 – Chapter 10
Sasuke flattened himself against the nearest tree trunk, darting his eyes left and right. His opponent was somewhere nearby. He could sense it.
He also knew that this battle had dragged on far too long. If he estimated correctly, they had been fighting for the last hour, although most of the time, it involved seeking out one another. Kabuto was no slouch when it came to sneak attacks, and Sasuke had a couple of close shaves earlier. It was only because of his Sharingan that he had been able to deflect the attacks.
An odd hum was the only warning he got before Sasuke saw a flash of something. He cursed under his breath as he leapt back, knowing that he was not fast enough. A burning pain high on his left arm made him suck in a sharp breath. He had been careless, allowing Kabuto to get a blow in. When the pain quickly receded to be replaced with an alarming numbness, Sasuke looked at his opponent, gritted his teeth in anger.
Kabuto now stood before him at a safe distance, wearing a small smirk on his face. Too late, Sasuke recalled what Sakura had said about Kabuto's chakra control. Kabuto's glowing hands were some kind of scalpel, which explained why his left arm was now all but useless. His nerves were severed.
"There is no need to fight, Uchiha-san. Just let me walk away," Kabuto said pleasantly.
Sasuke bit out, "Who are you and what are your intentions?"
"Intentions? I'm not sure I understand. I'm Kabuto, the owner of the herbal store. That's all."
The hell it was, Sasuke thought. The guy was obviously a shinobi, one who was quite skilled. It was clear now that Kabuto must be involved in the unsolved mystery of the poison. His reason for doing so, however, was unknown.
"You created the poison which affected Konoha shinobi," Sasuke accused. "Why?"
"That was merely an order from…" Kabuto smiled slightly. "A benefactor."
Sasuke was surprised that he did not bother denying it. "Who?"
"That, I'm afraid, is not something I can share with you."
Sasuke grimaced inwardly. Kabuto clearly had no intention of elaborating further, and Sasuke was a little uncertain of his next step. With one arm out of commission, he was at a disadvantage physically. So, the only thing he could try now was his doujutsu.
"You're merely the minion, then," Sasuke taunted.
Eyes narrowing at him, Kabuto returned in a cold voice, "Do not underestimate me."
With that, he charged.
Quickly forming a one-handed set of seals, Sasuke murmured, not breaking eye-contact with his opponent, "Ninpou-Yamiyo."
The sky groaned as the clouds shifted to block the sun. The whispers of the leaves silenced, and the forest stilled in an instant. In seconds, the whole area was enveloped in darkness.
At least, that was what it should look like to Kabuto. To Sasuke, the midday sun was still shining brightly upon them. He saw Kabuto pale momentarily, and then the bespectacled shinobi smiled.
"A genjutsu, I presume."
Yes, it was a genjutsu. One that gave Sasuke the opportunity to attack. He tossed out a handful of wires just as Kabuto called out a release.
"Kai!"
Sasuke smirked as his wires wrapped around Kabuto. "A Sharingan-based genjutsu is not so easy to dispel," he pointed out.
Kabuto's jaw tightened as he yanked on the wires.
Then, much to Sasuke's annoyance, Kabuto disappeared in a puff of smoke. It was only a clone, which meant that the genjutsu had not connected with the real target. Where was he now, Sasuke wondered, his eyes darting warily left and right as his hands clenched around his kunai.
It was then that he sensed a rapidly approaching presence.
"Teme!!"
Sasuke winced at Naruto's earth-shaking volume, just before the orange-clad shinobi appeared with Kakashi not far behind.
"Dobe," he muttered. "Stay away."
"Behind you!"
Sasuke spun around to see Kabuto charging towards him with a pair of glowing hands. However, just as he was about to move, four Narutos streaked past him, each pair carrying a glowing sphere of chakra.
Sasuke's eyes widened. "Don't kill him!" They needed to bring Kabuto back to Konoha for questioning.
"Rasengan!"
A bright flare lit up the forest as a cry of pain rang out.
"Stupid Dobe," Sasuke hissed as he raced forward until Kabuto came into sight. He was lying prone on the forest floor with a beaming Naruto standing over him.
When he came up to them, Naruto exclaimed with a careless wave of his hand, "He's alive. I just took out his arms."
Good riddance, Sasuke thought as he considered his own limp arm. He hoped that Sakura would be able to fix this, because it was quite inconvenient to lose the use of one arm.
The sound of a page turning caught his attention then and he turned to see Kakashi stepping closer to them, face still buried in his book. Sasuke scowled at the sight, wondering how could their so-call team leader could be so relaxed during a mission. He only lowered the book when he reached them.
"Yo!" Kakashi greeted, peering over Naruto's shoulder at the unconscious Kabuto. "Who is this?"
"Kabuto, the guy at the herbal store. He was acting suspicious, so I thought we should take him in for interrogation," Sasuke explained. "Turns out that he knows about the poison."
"Good job."
"Bet you're glad we came in time, huh, Teme?" Naruto exclaimed with a wide grin.
Sasuke simply glowered at the blonde. It was true but he was not about to give the blonde the satisfaction by confirming it. Then, as he glanced around, Sasuke immediately realized that something was amiss.
"Where is Sakura?" he asked.
Kakashi darted a sharp look at him. "She is not with you?"
Sasuke's blood turned cold at the Copy-nin's words. Sakura was not with him and not with the other two. So where was she? "She went to find you," he ventured slowly.
"What? When?" Naruto asked, looking bewildered. "We haven't seen her."
Growing increasingly disturbed, Sasuke turned to Kakashi. "Something is wrong. She must have been intercepted before she reached the two of you."
"What?" Naruto yelled, his eyes wide in shock.
Kakashi nodded thoughtfully. "We didn't see her on our way here, though. Someone might have taken her."
"What are we going to do? Sakura's missing!" Naruto cried out, alarmed.
"Let's not worry until we find out what happened, alright?" Kakashi said. Forming the seals for a summoning jutsu, he called out, "Kuchiyose-no-jutsu!"
A cloud of smoke appeared before them, and then Kakashi's summon materialized. The small canine nodded his greeting. "You summoned?"
"Pakkun. I need you to find Sakura."
000
000
Itachi was on his way to meet Shisui to confront him about his odd behavior when a shinobi rushed past him, wearing a grim expression.
He recognized her as one of those who operated from the communications tower. An urgent message must have arrived, he surmised as he continued to watch her rush towards the Hokage Tower, only to be intercepted by Shizune. A heated exchanged ensued, but from that distance, he could only hear snippets of the conversation.
Itachi was about to move away when her words stilled him.
"… from Hatake Kakashi…"
"… she has not returned to them?"
Itachi's eyes narrowed as a flash of what he recognized as concern shot through him. Something was clearly amiss.
"… split up… can't find her…"
"… what do you mean… Sakura can't…"
"… explosions… decoy…"
"What!"
At this point, Itachi had heard enough. It was clear that something had gone wrong in Kakashi's mission, and it appeared to involve Sakura. The thought that something might have happened to her sent a pang of unease through him, and it pushed him into action.
His confrontation with Shisui would have to wait.
Swiftly, he strode towards the two shinobi. They immediately stopped talking when they saw him, but he was having none of it.
"What happened?"
Shizune looked worried, but she simply shook her head at him. "Confidential."
"It involves Sakura, does it not?" Itachi pressed on calmly.
This time, Shizune averted her gaze. "I'm sure you understand that I can't tell you anything. If you'll excuse me, I have to report to the Hokage."
Her words were deliberate for it was not unknown that the walls of the Hokage's office were not as sound-proof as they should be. So, Itachi waited until Shizune had disappeared into the building before he looked up. It did not take him long to scale the walls, entering the tower via a window one level below the Hokage's office. And not long afterwards, he was outside the Hokage's office, leaning casually against the wall.
It was not hard to overhear the conversation between the Hokage and Shizune. In fact, half of Konoha probably heard the Hokage's bellow of rage when Shizune told her that Sakura was nowhere to be found. Her teammates had searched everywhere they could, to no avail.
He continued to listen as Tsunade discussed the options with Shizune. It appeared that Team Kakashi would not be able to commence with the tracking because firstly, the nin dogs could not catch Sakura's scent. And secondly, they currently had a shinobi under arrest, waiting to be brought back to Konoha for questioning. The only option left was to assign another team to meet them, either to bring the prisoner back or to track down Sakura.
Itachi's lips thinned when he realized that Daisuke had put his plan into motion. This was what the older Uchiha had been talking about yesterday. Daisuke had orchestrated everything in order to kidnap Sakura to use her as a bargaining chip until he got his hands on the scrolls.
Considering the situation, Itachi knew that he had no choice but to tell the Hokage the truth now.
With that thought, he raised his hand to knock on the door. There was a brief pause before he heard the Hokage's voice.
"Come in."
He pushed the door open and walked in. Tsunade and Shizune were both staring at him, the former wearing an impatient frown and the latter a slightly guilty look.
"What is it, Uchiha?"
He went straight to the point. "I have some information you may wish to hear."
Tsunade's brows furrowed. "Speak then."
Itachi darted a quick glance at Shizune before returning his eyes to the Hokage. "It is a matter best kept confidential."
An impatient huff escaped the Hokage. "Is that everything, Shizune?" she asked as she handed the pink piglet to her long-time assistant.
The dark-haired kunoichi nodded. "Yes, Tsunade-sama."
"Get me the ANBU roster," Tsunade instructed, just before Shizune walked out of the door.
"You may wish to hear what I have to say first," Itachi cut in smoothly.
The Hokage tensed at his words. "This has something to do with Sakura's disappearance?" she asked in a chilly tone.
Itachi nodded once, feeling a stab of unease at Tsunade's narrowed eyes. She would not be pleased to hear what he had to say. Her knuckles were already white with strain, he noticed.
"Uh… Tsunade-sama?" Shizune prompted nervously. "You still want the roster?"
Eyes not leaving him, the Hokage shook her head. "Come back in half an hour."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama." With that, Shizune backed out of the room, taking the piglet with her.
Tsunade's eyes were flinty when she next spoke. "I do not approve of your eavesdropping, Uchiha. What is it you know about her kidnapping?"
"I believe she has been kidnapped to be used as leverage against me."
Surprise flashed across her eyes. "I presume this is because she's supposedly your girlfriend?"
"Aa."
"Outsiders wouldn't know about this." At his look, she added cautiously, "You think there are spies in Konoha?"
"I suspect so."
"Start from the beginning."
Itachi nodded. "I assume that the Sandaime had told you about the Uchiha battle which happened a decade ago, when Uchiha Madara and his supporters attacked the compound for the purpose of obtaining the forbidden scroll. Following Uchiha Madara's death at end of that battle, I've secured the scroll and hidden it. Since then, I have been approached by a number of foreign shinobi who wishes to know the location of the scroll."
"Scroll?" Her jaw tightened. "This is all because of the scroll?"
"Aa. All of those shinobi were working under orders, and all have been eliminated except the most recent one. The conversations we had led me to believe that they have at least one spy in Konoha."
The Hokage pinched the bridge of her nose as she hissed in annoyance. "I take it you know who is behind this, so carry on."
"There is no concrete evidence, but I have a suspect in mind." Not wishing to disclose Shisui's identity until he has spoken to him, Itachi diverted the topic, "I only realized who was involved further up the chain when I was approached by Uchiha Daisuke recently."
"Daisuke," Tsunade muttered thoughtfully. "The one who was loyal to Madara to the very end in that last battle. I thought he was dead."
"I thought so myself."
Tsunade's expression darkened. "So, Daisuke wants the scroll."
Itachi nodded. "His words made me believe that he intends to use Sakura to gain my cooperation." Ignoring Tsunade's hiss of annoyance, he continued, "This is one of the reasons why I did not wish to take a wife, despite my clan's insistence, choosing instead to have Sakura pretend to be my love-interest. She is… capable… of taking care of herself in the event that these situations occur." Even as the words left his mouth, Itachi felt a shot of concern for the pink-haired kunoichi.
"I see," Tsunade gritted out stonily before pinning stern eyes on him. She was growing increasingly angry. "You said you've been approached prior to this. How long has this been going on?"
"A few years."
Tsunade's eyes widened. "A few YEARS? You mean to tell me that you've been keeping this to yourself all this time?" she bellowed, jumping to her feet as she glared at him. "Not only that, you saw fit to put Sakura in danger without so much as a warning to us?"
Itachi stood his ground, even though part of him was a little unnerved by the Hokage's red face and shaking form. "Yes, Hokage-sama."
Tsunade reached out for her sake, swigging it straight from the jar, as if to calm herself. "You realize that I could toss you in prison for this?" she snarled.
Itachi kept silent, his eyes remaining on the ceramic jar still clenched in the Hokage's hand.
"Answer me, Uchiha!"
The sake jar flew towards him, and Itachi sidestepped in reflex, allowing the jar to crash into the wall. As it shattered into pieces behind him, Itachi kept his eyes on the irate Hokage. He had seen her in this state before, but at that time, her ire had not been directed at him.
"Don't you dare avoid the next one!" she snarled.
"Yes, Hokage-sama," he murmured, hoping that she would calm down enough to discuss the situation properly soon. "About Sakura…"
Exhaling loudly, the Hokage sank back in her chair. Her eyes shut as she pinched the bridge of her nose. And when her eyes opened again, Itachi was glad to see that she had regained some control over her fury.
"You're not down for any missions, are you?" she asked.
"My squad has no immediate assignments for the next few days."
"Then what are you waiting for, Uchiha?" she asked impatiently. "I'm sure you know enough from your eavesdropping to brief your teammates. Now go meet up with Team Kakashi. They have a prisoner with them." Her eyes narrowed. "Find out what is happening and get Sakura back."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
In moments, he was out of the building and making his way to his next destination. It did not take him long to round up his ANBU squad, giving them only the briefest of instructions. There was no time to waste.
Soon, all kitted up in their ANBU gear, the three of them streaked across the forest, in the direction of Team Kakashi. It was only then that the most vocal of their group spoke.
"What's really going on, Taishou? Who the hell took Sakura?" Genma asked as he sped forward, sounding worried.
"I do not know," Itachi responded quietly. Whilst he knew that Uchiha Daisuke was involved, Itachi was certain that there was someone else behind him. Daisuke was a follower, not a leader. But who could it be? Who was currently powerful enough to gain the Uchiha's loyalty?
"We will get her back," Shino declared evenly.
"Hm."
As they drew closer to their destination, an odd tension grew within Itachi, something he had rarely felt in the past. The thought of Sakura being hurt because of him was… unacceptable. Especially since he could have prevented such a situation by simply not commissioning the mission for her to act as his love interest. Then again, her strength was the reason he had chosen her, he reminded himself.
He was certain that if anyone could survive this, it would be Sakura. Even as he told himself that, his anxiety did not diminish. The urge to find her, to make sure that she was unharmed, was still pounding strong in him.
And it occurred to him then that the level of his concern for her was much more than what he usually felt for a mere colleague.
Strangely enough, that did not bother him.
000
000
Sakura woke up with a groan.
That was the least of her problems, though, for the moment her eyes opened, she found herself in an unfamiliar bedroom, laid on an unfamiliar bed. When she shifted her gaze, the view out of the large window opposite her immediately caught her attention. Her jaw dropped as she stared unblinkingly at the rocky outcrops scattered over the landscape. It was definitely not a place she recognized.
Where on earth was she?
Then everything came rushing back. The mission, Kabuto and the explosion which took her away from Sasuke. And last but not least, the battle with that blonde shinobi. Annoyance coursed through her at the realization that she had truly lost the battle to him, and was now most likely his prisoner.
A quick glance downwards told her that she was bound securely to the bed frame. Normally, that should not be too much of a problem, but she sensed that these ropes were chakra enhanced. She tried to move her arms and hissed at the pain the movement brought her. Yes, she was probably injured from that explosion, she thought grimly.
A quick scan told her that she had a dislocated shoulder, several patches of burnt skin and a deep gash on her left thigh. Tied up as she was, there was no way she could even heal herself.
The almost imperceptible sound of footsteps outside the bedroom door was the only warning she had before the wooden door swung open. Sakura's eyes immediately narrowed at the sight of her smirking captor.
"You! What the hell-" she began.
"Awake at last, hm?" he interjected blithely, striding towards her. "I was beginning to think I've overdone it, yeah."
She ground her teeth together, before asking, "Where am I?"
"Earth Country."
Her eyes widened. That sure explained the view outside the window. "Why the hell did you drag me all the way here?" she snarled.
His brows furrowed. "What's wrong with here, hm?"
She seethed. Was this guy really dense or was he simply annoying her for the heck of it? Glaring at him, she jerked her head towards the window. "What's wrong is I don't want to be here. It would be better if I was outside. Unbound. Free to return to Konoha."
A smirk made its way to his lips. "That's not going to happen, yeah. At least not on my watch."
There was something about him that annoyed the hell out of her. Perhaps it was his ridiculously long and feminine blonde ponytail, or that smug expression he wore. Or perhaps she was simply not amused by her current situation. Yes, that must be it, she thought dryly. Still, the whole situation was rather mystifying because she truly could not see why someone would bother to kidnap her, let alone carry her all the way to Earth Country. It was bizarre.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked.
"Because I was paid to do so."
"What?" she exclaimed incredulously. "Why the hell would anyone want you to kidnap me?"
"I don't know, yeah." His smirked widened, and he let his eyes run over her. "But I can't imagine why one would pay anything for you."
Was that an insult? Sakura's fury grew. Not only she had lost to him and ended up being kidnapped, now she had to take THIS from him?
"Shut up!" she snapped, jerking forward even though the painful movement almost brought tears to her eyes. "When I escape, you'll pay for this, you jerk!"
"Escape? How, yeah?" he taunted.
"I'll find a way," she shot back.
"Well, I'd advice you not to bother trying, because as well as those chakra ropes, I have chakra-enhanced seals placed around this room. You'll only burn yourself." He smirked. "Not that I care, of course, but my client probably wants you intact, yeah."
She glared at him. "And who is this client of yours?"
He shrugged. "I don't know who he is and I don't care."
"You're unbelievable," she hissed. "How could you work for someone without even knowing who they are?"
"Simple, yeah." He grinned. "I need the money and the mission provides an outlet for my art."
"Art?" she scoffed. "You're just some freak trying to justify your crimes."
His eyes narrowed instantly. "I don't need to justify anything, yeah. My art is a blast!"
She snorted. "This art you keep talking about is nothing but destructive jutsu."
His fists clenched. "It is ART!" he declared heatedly.
"Enough with all that talk about art already. They are simply clay explosives." Her tone was dismissive. "You just play with them like some kid and then toss them around."
Her words obviously hit a nerve, for the blonde standing over her reddened visibly in anger. "Listen, I don't get paid enough to take this shit from some second-rate kunoichi like you, yeah," he spat.
He insulted her again! Bristling, Sakura shot back, "Who are you calling second-rate, you freak!"
"A freak?!" he echoed incredulously.
The jerk had the nerve to look offended. She directed her gaze down to his hands. "Those hands…" she ground out. "Freak."
"These?" he exploded, holding out his palms to her. "THESE create the most beautiful work of art, you ignorant harpy."
"There we go with the art again," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Freak."
"I have a name, yeah!" he bit out. "So stop calling me a freak."
She raised a brow. "Tell me your name, so that when I get out of here, I'll make sure that Konoha hunts you down."
The cocky bastard actually smirked at her words. "Deidara. That's my name, and you don't need to bother telling your village about me. I'm already in the Bingo Books. S-class nin and all that shit, yeah," he boasted.
Pushing down her unease at the revelation, she stared at him unflinchingly. If he was fishing for a reaction from her, he was not getting it. She would show no fear and no weakness. She was a Leaf kunoichi and she would make her village proud, even though the fact that she was being held prisoner by an S-class nin did pose a serious problem.
"When will your client come for me?"
He shrugged. "Who said he will come, yeah? I might be bringing you to him."
His answer was designed to confuse her, and she knew it. Deciding that it was pointless to continue probing, she simply looked away from him to stare out of the window again. After a while, she finally heard the shinobi who called himself Deidara walk out of the room.
Only then did she allow herself to relax a little. Slumping back on the pillow, she released a heavy sigh and closed her eyes.
Her situation was disturbing. Someone had paid this Deidara to kidnap her, but why? She was not an important figure in Konoha, nor did she possess some highly-coveted Kekkei Genkai like the Hyuuga or the Uchiha. So what did they want her for? Her medical skills? Surely that was a daft reason to kidnap someone. They could not force a medic to heal, after all, because they would leave themselves vulnerable to her instead.
She groaned out loud. The reason for her current situation was probably less important that the need to get herself out of it. By now, Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke would probably have realized that she was gone. As far as she knew, Sasuke had no idea that this blonde even existed when she had gone off. Her team would figure out that she had been taken, but they would have no idea where to start looking for her, let alone who had taken her.
So, instead of relying on her teammates to rescue her, she had to come up with a plan of escape.
But how?
What was her greatest advantage over her enemy?
000
000
The ANBU squad sped to their destination, generally sacrificing stealth for speed. However, when they neared the rendezvous point, Itachi signaled his team to move into stealth mode. It was a standard procedure because none of them knew the situation they might encounter further ahead.
Not long afterwards, he noticed a number of familiar protection seals planted around the perimeter, which told him that they were on the right track. Carefully sidestepping the seals, he signaled his team to move forward.
The first person they came across was Hatake Kakashi, who obviously expected them, for he showed no surprise at their emergence. Sasuke and Naruto were not there, but Itachi could sense their presence nearby. They were probably securing the area further up.
"You're the tracking team, I presume," Kakashi remarked.
Even though they were masked, Itachi was certain that the Copy-Nin knew their identities. Nodding, he confirmed, "Yes. We are here to provide search and rescue."
"The Hokage briefed you?"
Genma interjected then, "Perhaps you should explain what happened. Just so that we don't miss anything."
Kakashi nodded. "Sure. We are here to investigate the recent poisoning of two Konoha's shinobi teams. The intel eventually brought us here, and we've been speaking to the villagers since we arrived to gather information." A pause followed before Kakashi added slowly. "I think that you should know that there is also something odd about the village. It seemed to have sprung up overnight, and now populated by the people from another village."
"Why?" Shino asked.
"Their previous village was burnt down. Kurenai's team was the one involved in that mission. There was something suspicious about it, but I can't remember the details. Any of you don't happen to know, do you?" Kakashi asked.
Itachi shook his head. He did not associate much with other shinobi outside work. He turned to Genma and Shino, only to see them shaking their heads as well.
"Ah, that's just too bad."
Sighing, Kakashi rubbed the bridge of his nose. The Copy-Nin was clearly disgruntled by Sakura's absence. But there was no time to dwell on such a thing. The important thing now was to find Sakura.
"When was Haruno Sakura taken?" Itachi asked.
"We separated into pairs for the investigation yesterday, and Sakura went with Sasuke to follow up on the leads they found the day before. They split up, and that was the last Sasuke saw of her." A dark shadow crossed Kakashi's face. "It is a little farfetched, but it is possible that the mission we've been assigned was simply a cover for the kidnapping."
Itachi was certain that it was. Daisuke had orchestrated the entire thing to get his hands on Sakura, no doubt intending to use the kunoichi as a bargaining chip. It irked him that he had not caught this in time.
Kakashi gestured at the unconscious shinobi bound to a nearby tree. The silver-haired, bespectacled man was not someone Itachi had seen before. This must be the prisoner Tsunade had referred to earlier.
"We also need to get him back to Konoha for interrogation, so my team needs to split up if you need us," the Copy-nin explained.
"Hm." Returning his attention to Kakashi, Itachi shook his head. His team worked best as it was. "That would not be necessary. We can track her down on our own. Your nin dogs could not find her scent?" he asked.
"No. They did not go on foot, that's for sure."
Itachi nodded. He suspected that Sakura might have been transported by air to avoid detection. It fitted well with what he knew about the blonde shinobi who had attacked him in the past. Gesturing to Shino, he assured Kakashi, "We have the means to track her."
"I need something of Sakura's," Shino said.
"Thought just as much." Reaching into his backpack, Kakashi withdrew a rectangle of folded fabric. "She has her belongings with her, but this is the pillowcase from the bed she slept in a couple of nights ago."
Taking it from Kakashi, Shino nodded, "That's sufficient to draw out the residue of her chakra signature."
At that point, Naruto and Sasuke made their presence known. Turning towards the direction they were coming from, Itachi waited until the two of them appeared from the surrounding forest. Unsurprisingly, like the Copy-nin, Sasuke recognized him even with his mask on.
"Ah, you ANBU finally made it here!" Naruto exclaimed, clearly ignorant of his identity. "What took you so long? We need to find Sakura!"
"Naruto," Kakashi chided wearily. "That's enough."
Ignoring the other two, Itachi caught his brother's expression before Sasuke could turn away. Instantly comprehending the reason behind it, Itachi gestured to his brother to come with him.
"Hey, where are you going, Teme?" Naruto began.
"Shut up, Dobe. I'll be back in a while," Sasuke muttered as he turned away.
When they were a short distance away from the others, Itachi spoke with a low voice. "Sasuke."
"Nii-san."
Itachi wanted to hear what had happened from him, since he was the last to see Sakura. "What happened?"
Sasuke inclined his head at the unconscious shinobi. "That's Kabuto. He's somehow involved in all this. We were at his store when we heard an explosion in the direction of the forest. That was where Kakashi and Naruto were scoping out, so Sakura grew concerned. She wanted to go to them to make sure they are alright, but Kabuto was trying to run away."
Somehow, it did not surprise Itachi. It was typical of Sakura's behavior. "Then?" he prompted quietly.
Wearing a grim expression, Sasuke said, "We split up." A pause followed as Sasuke's eyes dropped. "I should have gone with her."
"You would have lost Kabuto, then," Itachi pointed out.
"I know." Sasuke nodded, brows furrowing. "I just don't understand who could have taken her."
Itachi felt a stab of remorse. Sakura would not be in this position if he had not asked for her to act as his love-interest. However, this was not the time to broach the subject to Sasuke or the others. "The Hokage will explain once you return to Konoha."
Sasuke glanced sharply at him. "What do you mean, when we return to Konoha? What about Sakura?"
"Leave that to us," Itachi said calmly.
"But-"
"Hatake-san," Itachi called out, effectively cutting off his younger brother. "We are ready to proceed."
Kakashi turned to him and nodded. "Naruto, Sasuke, let's get our package back to Konoha."
At his proclamation, Naruto stiffened. "What?! I want to go save Sakura!" he cried out indignantly. "Why-"
"Naruto," Kakashi cut in. "We have our own mission to complete."
A scowling Sasuke added, "You could bring Kabuto back and Naruto and I could go with the ANBU."
Kakashi's tone was hard when he spoke. "Don't question orders, you two. I'm still the team leader. Now, go get Kabuto. We're returning to Konoha now."
Both Naruto and Sasuke were obviously reluctant, but they eventually nodded. As they went to Kabuto to pick him up, the Copy-Nin turned to the ANBU team.
"I'll leave you to find Sakura," he said. And then, in a harder voice, he added, "Make sure she gets back to Konoha in one piece, will you?"
Kakashi's tone did not sit well with Itachi, but he understood the other nin's concern. "We will not fail," Itachi assured mildly.
After a single nod, Kakashi turned away to join the rest of his team, leaving Itachi to his mission. Knowing that they had no time to waste, Itachi directed his attention to Shino, their tracker with a single instruction.
"Locate her."
000
000
Sakura swallowed a groan of frustration when her quick scan revealed the chakra signature of her captor. He was moving around downstairs.
When would he leave?
She had been there for at least twenty-four hours, Sakura thought as she eyed the sun rising in the horizon. And so far, she did not have a chance to put her plan in motion. That damned freak never left the house, and that posed a problem because she needed him gone before she could do anything. There was no point in trying if he was around because he would only stop her before she could escape.
It was fairly safe to assume that Deidara knew about her medical skills, but no one but Tsunade knew her level of expertise. After all, with her time mostly taken up in field missions nowadays, she had very little opportunity to use her more advanced medical abilities. This meant that no one would suspect that she could even do what she was planning to do.
She heard a loud thud from downstairs, followed by a colorful string of curses. Ignoring him, she focused on her plan. The chakra she had been deliberately building up and then storing within her body over the last one day would soon overflow, and she really did not want it to happen until her captor was away. Otherwise he would simply put a halt to her plans.
Closing her eyes, she hissed in frustration, resigned to the fact that she would either have to wait it out, or come up with a new plan. She had to focus on controlling her chakra levels in the meantime.
Another half a day passed, and it was almost evening when she realized that her opportunity had arrived.
Unsurprisingly, Deidara had not said a word about leaving. But it seemed that he had placed a clone or something downstairs, Sakura noted as she sensed the chakra from below. She only realized that it was a clone because of the lower level of chakra, not to mention it was slightly different from Deidara's usual one. It told her that the real Deidara must have masked his before leaving. She also suspected that he would release his chakra mask once he was a certain distance away from the house. After all, most shinobi would not be able to sense it at such a distance.
Sakura smirked. Deidara obviously did not know who he was dealing with. He was underestimating her abilities when it came to chakra detection. With that thought, she focused hard and turned her attention outwards, away from the house.
Almost immediately, she found it.
Deidara was some distance away and was currently moving further. She held her breath as his chakra signature grew more and more indistinct with time. Her heart thudded in anticipation as she waited for it to disappear completely.
When she could no longer sense it, a smile grew on her lips.
She waited another half an hour before she tensed in preparation to execute her escape plan.
The whole thing would only take moments, and she would need all her focus for it. Taking a deep breath to brace herself as she knew that this would be unpleasant, Sakura released a large portion of her stored chakra to her wrists and her ankles.
A bursting, burning sensation enveloped her appendages as her chakra flared out, instantly cutting her loose from her chakra-enhanced bindings. The overflow of chakra had exited as she had planned, burning off the ropes as her chakra overwhelmed Deidara's, but it also burnt her wrists and ankles.
She stifled a cry of pain as she shook away the ropes and stood up. For a moment, she swayed unsteadily on her feet, breathless from the exertion. It was important that she did not delay. Any shinobi would be able to sense the chakra surge from miles away, let alone Deidara's clone.
Still, her injuries needed to be taken care of, and she tried to heal the worst of it, leaving the minor ones for later. She had just enough time to snap her dislocated shoulder back into place before the clone appeared.
"Hey! What the hell, yeah!"
Sakura turned, launching herself at him. They grappled for a few seconds before her fist met his chest, sending him away with a puff of smoke. She knew that with his clone's disappearance, Deidara would be alerted to her actions. So, it was imperative that she moved into action before Deidara could make it back. Her other injuries had to wait.
Sakura spun around, searching the room. Her pack was nowhere to be found, but she could not afford the search the rest of the house for it. Much as she disliked the idea, she would just have to leave without it.
She shifted her attention to the far end of the room. Her target was the external wall surrounding the window. Yes, there was a chakra seal around it, but without a physical body to contain the seal, it would be useless.
Calling forth her chakra, Sakura drew her glowing fist back and let loose a punch.
Her fist hit the wall with a loud crack.
To her dismay, the stone wall only fractured, but held together. She could sense Deidara's chakra pulsing from it, still an effective barrier preventing her escape. The damned thing was stronger than she had expected.
"Come on," she hissed as she gathered more chakra into her fist.
Her second attack fractured the wall further, but to her frustration, it remained standing. Knowing that she could not stop now, she continued to attack the wall with all that she had. She would probably be out of chakra by the time she broke through, but she would worry about that later.
A rumble sounded before the wall finally gave under her assault, causing the roof to creak and droop from the loss of its support. Knowing that she had only seconds to escape before the building crashed upon her, Sakura jumped out of the hole she had made.
As she landed with a pained gasp on the stony ground beneath, the building groaned loudly. The landing was far from perfect, but after being tied up for so long, her limbs were a little out of shape. She turned around just in time to see stone after stone hitting the ground as the building began to collapse behind her. A cloud of dust soon enveloped the area, and she knew that it was her cue to disappear. Deidara would be here any moment now.
With that thought, she ran as fast as she could away from the partially demolished building, heading towards the furthest outcrops of rocks which could provide her with some cover. Considering how low her chakra level was, it was not too hard to hide the remaining from detection until she could find her way back to Konoha, which was, if she remembered correctly, was somewhere southeast of Earth Country. She would have to cross another country to get there, and she guessed that her best hope was to go through Grass Country.
Once she was hidden behind the rock outcrops, she stopped and scanned her surroundings. Her vision blurred suddenly, and she shook her head to clear it. Ignoring the pain coursing through her body, Sakura forced herself to focus. She did not have time or chakra to do much, but if she did not make an effort, Deidara would find her in no time at all.
Bunshins.
That was what she needed to throw Deidara off her tracks until she regained enough chakra to heal herself.
000
000
It had taken a day and what seemed like thousands of Shino's bugs to locate Sakura's trail. When the report came back, Itachi had been surprised to find that she had been taken to Earth Country. Without wasting time, they had immediately departed in that direction, arriving only a day later.
Now, standing in front of a stone building typical of this area, Itachi stared at one side of the building. That section of the building had been reduced to a pile of rubble, a sign that Sakura had been there. However, it was also clear that she had left a while ago. Whilst he was relieved that she was no longer in captivity, it also meant that they no longer knew where she was.
Shino stood beside him, a recently-arrived bug lifted on his hand to eye level as they communicated. When the bug had delivered the message, the Aburame turned to him. "They found four trails, spreading in all directions."
Itachi's lips tightened as comprehension dawned. Sakura had laid false trails, no doubt in order to avoid her captor. What was worrying was that she could have been recaptured by now. No one knew.
"Are there signs of other shinobi here recently?" Itachi asked.
Shino communicated with his bugs, and then turned to him with a nod. "One. Male. High chakra level, A-class or above. Distinct scent of clay. He is following the trail towards the south."
Itachi nodded in acknowledgement before he faced the building again. "Shiranui," he called out.
Genma stepped away from the rubble he had been inspecting, holding Sakura's familiar pack. "Taishou?"
"You will go with Aburame. Follow the male shinobi. He might have found Sakura. Either way, apprehend him." This shinobi might have further information on Daisuke. Itachi looked around, and then quickly created three kage bunshins. "Aburame, direct your bugs to lead my clones to the other three trails."
"Understood, Taishou."
The two members of his squad streaked away, and his three clones separated in different directions, following the bugs while Itachi remained there. He suspected that none of them would actually find Sakura. After all, this technique was something he had taught Sakura a few months ago.
Recalling what he had said to Sakura about not moving until she was certain that her clones had led her enemies away, Itachi glanced around the area. There were a number of rock formations nearby, but it was too close to be safe. Then, catching sight of a rocky outcrop further in the distance, Itachi decided that she would most likely hide somewhere there.
It took him almost half an hour to reach the area. Once there, his senses were on full alert. He stepped soundlessly around the tall, jutting rock formations, trying to locate Sakura in the shadowed crevices and underneath rock overhangs. She would have masked her chakra, which made it almost impossible to find her.
Activating his Sharingan, he scanned the area again.
Then he stilled when he glanced past a section of rocks. He thought he saw a glimmer of something. A swift flash of something. It was a seemingly innocent piece of rock, but something drew Itachi to it. Silently, he made his way there.
Then he saw it.
He would not have noticed anything if not for his Sharingan. A visual wave rippled over the rock, giving away the fact that it was some kind of genjutsu. It was a familiar technique, one which he had taught Sakura during one of their lunches.
She was here.
Stepping towards it, he quickly performed a series of seals.
"Kai," he called out evenly as he placed his hand on the so-called rock.
The genjutsu immediately dissolved, revealing what was behind it. Itachi sucked in a sharp breath, eyes widening when he caught sight of the injured form slumped against a rock. Unconscious.
"Sakura…" he breathed out, darting forward to crouch before her.
His heartbeat sounding strangely loud in his ears, Itachi put his arms around her shoulders to shift her upright. It was then that he noticed the numerous burns covering her body, visible through the burnt patches of fabric, swallowing hard as he did so. Injuries were nothing new to him, so why did he feel so sickened by the sight of the red, raw skin adorning Sakura's form?
He inspected her condition further, noting that in addition to her injuries, she was probably dehydrated. Also, her almost non-existent chakra told him why she had not healed herself. The clones and the genjutsu must have taken the last of it.
"Sakura," he called out again, louder this time. "Wake up."
Her eyelids trembled, and then her eyes fluttered open. The emerald orbs were unfocussed.
Then she lashed out abruptly, forcing him to release her.
"Get away from me!" she yelled in a hoarse voice, clearly not recognizing him.
Itachi jerked back his head just in time to avoid a punch to his jaw. Even without chakra, he knew that her punches were not something to be looked down upon.
He pulled down his ANBU mask, revealing his face. Reaching out to renew his grip around her shoulders, he held her still, even though she tried to struggle away.
"Sakura, calm down. It's Itachi," he intoned firmly.
Her struggles ceased as her eyes finally focused on him. A myriad of emotions crossed her face. Suspicion, confusion and lastly, relief. At the sight, Itachi released the breath he had not realized he was holding.
"Itachi!" she cried out, flinging her arms around him. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you!"
Sakura pulled back slightly and then surged forward, planting a kiss on his mouth, surprising him. Her lips were dry and chapped, and it was not the most pleasant kiss they shared thus far.
But it was the most heartfelt one.
000
000
A/N: More ItaSaku interaction coming up soon. Hope you've enjoyed this. Please review if you could. Thanks!
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