Sakura breezed through the large wooden archway with a faux confidence even she did not know she possessed. Bothering Itachi to allow her to meet with the leader of the Akatsuki was a waste of time, or so she thought. Even if it was not the true leader she was meeting with in the unknown library then it was his second in command. No one knew anything about the mysterious "Konan", heck ANBU didn't even have a name or file on her. How this woman managed to stay a secret for so long in the ninja world was a surprise to Sakura, but it would be foolish to assume she was harmless; no one in Akatsuki was harmless.
A rare warm draft welcomed Sakura's delicate skin as she entered the scarcely lit room. A fireplace blazed along the far wall casting shadows around the vast bookshelves lining each wall. Scrolls and large books decorated each shelf in an organized fashion, reminding Sakura of Itachi's own collection in his suite. Two lush fabric couches sat close to the fireplace with a perfectly poised figure gracefully standing to welcome Sakura into the room. The bulky Akatsuki, cloak a sign of her status, no longer brought shock to Sakura.
"Sakura-san, I do hope you found the library with ease. Sometimes the layout of this base can be confusing to newcomers." Konan welcomed with a light bow of her head. She seemed older, much wiser than Sakura, but hardened by something. Sakura supposed living with the men of Akatsuki could do that to a woman. She was stunned by the azul hair beauty before her, was it a law that all dangerous shinobi had to be gorgeous? Sakura stepped closer with confident strides, more at ease knowing she was with a fellow kunoichi.
"I was led by Kisame-kun, he was most helpful in finding this. I had no idea the base had such a vast collection of reading material," Sakura smiled as she looked around "May I utilize this room in the future? I grow weary of the testosterone sometimes."
Konan sat back down with a soft smile, her hand waving Sakura towards the other couch in a gentle manner "Of course, I'm surprised you have not come here yet. Kisame-san told me Itachi liked to keep you under observation, but seeing as you've been here for a month, I doubt that will be required further. I shall make a request that he allows you more freedoms, I know exactly how you feel unfortunately. Our men can be…. Suffocating at times, their egos tend to explode before rational thoughts can come to them."
Sakura sat down and perfected her posture, smiling just a tad at Konan's description of the Akatsuki. She made them sound like academy children. "Sakura-san, we must discuss a few things of high importance. I am here on behalf of Pein and he thought it might be best for us to talk without the invasion of privacy that the others tend to bring." Sakura blushed lightly, hoping she was wrong in where this conversation was heading "Itachi-san has been in communication with us and he says you're improving in strides with your training, except in the area of seduction. Might I inquire as to why?"
Sakura made a pitiful gulp and glanced down at her feet, how old was the woman before her? Mid to late twenties perhaps? Surely she could understand as a woman why Sakura was so….apprehensive about her training.
"I apologize for the inconvenience Konan-sama. I am sure Itachi-san's report has included much of my background and details and I find myself…. intimidated with the men here."
Konan regarded her with a soft gaze, her golden eyes seemingly connecting with Sakura's soul. "It is a true burden to be a kunoichi, I understand your situation perfectly Sakura -san. Pein can be rather insistent on things being done a certain way, but he was never a woman and cannot comprehend this moment and how it affects you. I apologize for his insensitivities."
"Do I… need to complete the training?" Sakura nearly whispered, afraid if she spoke too loudly that Pein would burst into the room and destroy her hopes.
"The reason it's taken so long for us to meet is because we've been doing a little digging to further analyze your abilities without pushing you too far into unfamiliar territory," Konan reached within her cloak and drew out a thin manila folder "Your ANBU records and missions are rather hard to come by, I dare say you've done more than this?" She smiled, pleased that Sakura was a talented kunoichi who could hide most traces of her existence when she wanted to.
"Yes, the mission count is within the 40's." Sakura reported, no longer being so secretive about what she did in the past. She had come to terms that the Konoha she loved was no longer there, in its place was a country designed as a prison. Her mission now was to find her few remaining loved ones, not save the country from Danzo.
"Ah, a shame. That's much more than our initial estimate, but I have a half dozen cases here that tell me you are more than capable of operating in risky environments, so to say." She laid the folder on the coffee table between them and Sakura stared wide eyed at the vast information about herself. Pictures of her dancing in the background of strip clubs and dance floors came into focus. Tiny outfits barely concealing anything lay plastered to her skin as she twirled around a pole in one photo, her intense gaze trained on the burly man before her stage. She scoffed as she remembered the mission; he was a pimp who prided himself on human trafficking of minors. His life had ended that night in a haste, something Sakura darkly wishes she could have dragged on.
"You are clever in your actions, I must applaud you on that. I will tell Pein that you are more than ready for your mission, but it is fast approaching. The plans are still being fine-tuned, however, Hidan is a key item in the success." Konan's voice took on an edge of sympathy. Apparently the immortal was renowned for being a prick even with Akatsuki members.
Sakura couldn't believe her luck. She groaned inwardly, but the displeasure must have been on her face. Konan chuckled and closed the folder "Yes, he is obnoxious, but he is a good actor for these missions. Before I release you is there anything else you wish to discuss?"
The pinkette had not been ready for such a question and nearly forgot why she was so excited to see Konan in the first place "Yes, I believe I can save a jinchuriki's life during the removal if allowed research and time for studying your extraction process. Is there any way you could grant me this request? I would be a fool to tell you to stop going after Naruto, but he is my best friend and I know I can save him if given a little time to learn. I'm… I am begging you Konan-sama. I will be your perfect solider if you allow me to save his life. I will never attempt to betray the Akatsuki should you allow me this one favor." Sakura felt the tears well behind her eyes, but she forced them to stay in their place. Konan seemed frozen in her seat, her gaze calculating and cold. Had Sakura just blown her chances? Had she insulted her hospitality? Konan stood abrupted and Sakura jumped, but remained seated.
Konan removed her bulky cloak to reveal a navy-blue high neck, sleeveless blouse and black leggings. She walked away from the couches to a small counter and produced a tea kettle and cups. It seemed this meeting was not quite over just yet.
"Tell me what you know of the process thus far." Konan grinned slightly as she glided back over to where they sat.
Itachi returned to his room to discover the kunoichi was not there and stared puzzled at the small table by the book case. She had not turned the page since she put the book down yesterday, an offsetting observation considering the woman always had her nose in one of the many books here. Glancing around he noticed her training wraps were hanging out of one of the drawers as well, indicating she was not practicing her tai-jutsu as he had instructed the day before.
Just where was that trouble maker?
Itachi frowned somewhat as he wandered out of his room and set his course for the kitchen, one of her favorite spots. He had found her here more times than not, often stealing from his food sources in the pantry. He would not mind so much, but her unfortunate like of sweets was diminishing his dango surplus at an alarming rate. It was a trivial thing to be upset about, but she should be concentrating her daily calories in proteins, not wasted carbs.
Just as Itachi rounded the archway he sensed her light chakra far off in a corner of the base she had not been grated access to. But she was not alone.
The denser chakra with her could be none other than Konan, what would she want with the kunoichi? With long strides Itachi reached the large wooden doors and knocked lightly, knowing better than to intrude on his superior's meeting. Even if the woman did not look like much, her power and chakra control rivaled his own. She had earned her position within the Akatsuki and killed members who disrespected her on more than one occasion, and he did not feel like trifling with the "Angel of Amegakure".
The airy chuckles from the room ceased, "Enter." Konan sounded, her abrupt return to a commanding tone almost made Itachi hesitate in his intrusion.
"Forgive me Konan-sama," Itachi bowed deep, a shock to Sakura "Haruno-san and I usually attend an evening training session around this hour, and I grew worried about her attendance."
Why was Konan not wearing her cloak? She never walked around this casually in the base. Itachi couldn't remember a time when he saw her like this, but she looked unbothered. In fact, she looked more carefree and happy instead of a fearless leader.
"I'm sorry to have kept Sakura from you Itachi-san, we were discussing plans to increase her usefulness to Akatsuki and I suppose time slipped past us. Do forgive me." Itachi mentally raised an eyebrow at the lack of honorifics for Sakura's name. Have the kunoichis met before? Surely Sakura couldn't charm her way into Konan's heart, he hardly thought she even had one at this point.
Konan stood with the tea set and a few papers fluttered around her mopping up unseen spills on the coffee table "I've decided she will require a lab space, her own room for proper storage and privacy, as well as complete access to the library. Would you help me put together the arrangements? I would be most thankful Itachi-san. She should have her chakra within our database now for access to the research facility."
Itachi was stunned but maintained a cool demeanor. "Sasori will not be thrilled with a lab partner, are there precautions we should take to ensure a peaceful transition with these new-found freedoms for Haruno-san?"
Sakura's eyes glared at his red orbs, not fearing his genjutsu with Konan in the room. Itachi glanced back, a challenge in his eyes. Konan returned to the couch and gently waved her hand, the motion sent the make shift paper towels to the waste bin "Hai, please stay out of her way and tell Sasori she is to not be messed with. Her medical knowledge will prove most helpful in our conquest. We hope to have health records and updated medical concerns on all of our members within the next few months." Konan gathered her cloak and began walking to the door, apparently done with the meeting "I regret that I cannot stay longer Sakura, perhaps we shall have tea again later this week? The feminine company is such a lovely change from the usual atmosphere."
Sakura smiled back warmly and stood to leave as well "Yes Konan-sama I look forward to another tea time with you."
The blue haired kunoichi looked back and smiled, a rare occurrence for the Angel. "Arigato, Sakura." And with that she left, assumedly to return to Pein in Amegakure.
The walk back to their room was nothing short of tense for Sakura. She could feel Itachi's eyes on her back, waiting for Sakura to spill the secrets about her meeting with Konan, but the young woman would not cave to his bullying tactics. "Itachi-san, I need to stop by the lab and take a brief inventory. This should take no longer than an hour and then we can begin our training."
She shouldn't have been surprised when her back was roughly pushed against the wall of the corridor. Sakura willingly met his unamused gaze with a new-found confidence. The elder Uchiha gave nothing away, but within those scarlet eyes was slight disbelief and maybe even a hint of anger. "I am your superior, I will tell you when we are training." He leaned forward ever so slightly and that was all it took for the confidence to be sapped out of Sakura. His lean frame exuded power. A hand slowly made its way for her face and Sakura knew better than to deflect his movements. Slender fingers roughly grasped her chin and jaw, but never once did she break eye contact with the raven-haired demon before her. "You have yet to complete all of your training and it would be most beneficial for you to cooperate with me until you are done."
His threat did not go unnoticed and Sakura bristled at his implications. "Threats won't work against me, Uchiha-san. You best speak to your superiors, it seems my past missions are more than enough proof that I can handle myself without your torture. Now back off, we have work to do and I have research to conduct."
Time stood still. Sakura was unsure how many people dared talk back to the legend before her, but she did not feel like taking abuse any longer. He loosened his hold and took a step back after a moment, anger still within those silent eyes of his. "Come, we must talk to Sasori-san and I have a feeling you will need to reserve your energy for that discussion." Itachi tore away from his spot and walked briskly down the hall as Sakura chased after him only a few paces behind his ever-present shadow. After a few tense moments they arrived at a metal door that Itachi gently opened for them. Despite his attitude it seemed the Uchiha was still a gentleman in his dark, twisted soul.
Sasori, looked unaware of the intruders and worked away on rather lively looking puppet in front of him. The bright white tiled room reminded her more of a morgue or butcher shop than a sterile setting for operations and procedures. Empty puppet shells hung in a dark closet near Sasori. Fresh blood pooled on the floor in seemingly random places until Sakura realized that it was actually a trail from a closed door to the workbench the puppet master sat hunched at.
Then she remembered his 100-puppet army she decimated.
"What is it Itachi-san," The red head grunted, his attention still focused on the new puppet before him.
"Konan-sama has unfortunately granted Sakura the privilege to share your work space. She needs to take 'inventory' apparently." The way Itachi said everything sounded as if he did not believe it himself and Sakura glared at him from her position at his side.
Sasori paused in his work and turned around to face Sakura, but her eyes were not focused on him, rather the puppet on the table; Its haunting eyes looked over the side and right at her. She remembers that terrible battle all too well, each puppet that was destroyed by her fists another ten seemed to spring to life and attempt to dismember her.
The men had been talking for a while as Sakura blanked out, but she didn't care. She spent years trying to forget those evil things and now to work in the same lab as them? The light shake in her breathing and the clamminess to her skin told her she was not yet over the trauma from that fight all these years later.
"-don't mess up my organization."
Sakura jumped slightly, realizing that Sasori had just granted her permission to continue her inventory. "Arigato." She begrudgingly replied and set off to get an idea of what she would need to ensure Naruto's life on this earth.
Everything was state of the art, it seemed Sasori either spent his paychecks on this lab or the Akatsuki had a taste for the finer things in terms of scientific equipment. There was a concerning lack of actual medical equipment, but it wouldn't surprise Sakura if these men never injured themselves.
She stood by an odd cabinet and marked down some of the last bottles of medicine in store. It seemed she would need to put in a request for even the simple things such as penicillin and morphine, but the way Konan spoke earlier it seemed Sakura would want for nothing in her medical bay. She skipped over the large glass jars of familiar purple liquid, not wanting to spare too much thought about the memories she had of it. "Sasori-san, I'm sorry to bother you, but I would like to move the poisons to another cabinet-"
"You were to take stock of the lab, not reorganize it."
Sakura huffed and moved a stray hair out of her face "I'd rather not store skin melting, nerve damaging compounds in the same locations as the bandages and medicine."
Sasori paused in his work and turned toward her. His chocolate eyes looked bored, but Sakura knew better than to believe that.
"Very well," and with a twitch of his fingers he maneuvered the puppet he was working on towards her. Its dead eyes looked into hers as it approached her stunned form. The matted blonde hair and blue eyes threw Sakura in a flashback of her most recent nightmare of Naruto. Its creaking joints walked faster than she was prepared for and her heart beat uncontrollably from her chest. Hyperventilation began to set in, and in a moments haste Sakura bolted from the room, not caring if she had just made a fool of herself.
"Very subtle, Sasori-san." Itachi dead panned as he stood from his chair to chase the startled kunoichi. The redhead smirked as the puppet returned with his jar.
"You wished to know her mental state, did you not?" Sasori unlidded the jar and measured out an appropriate amount of the vile liquid "I believe she has a fear of the puppets, you're welcome."
Itachi left without responding. The puppet master was not one to take other's feelings into consideration, much like the rest of Akatsuki. Itachi was still a Konoha ninja at heart and he knew the powerful darkness that PTSD could bring upon a shinobi. His mission was to train the fragile kunoichi and make her a weapon for Akatsuki, as well as a tool to perfect the sharingan. Sasori's careless display of power might just have broken any trust she had for them and this did not suit well for Itachi's plans with her.
A door shut and Itachi headed towards his bedroom. The suit lacked a specific pink haired kunoichi, but the bathroom door was suspiciously shut and locked. Calmly, Itachi walked towards the door and placed his hand on it with a soft knock. "Sakura-san," he said lightly "Come, we have training to do in the garden. You need more practice developing your genjutsu." If she heard him, he did not know. There was no rustle nor noise from behind the shut door she had retreated behind. "Unlock the door now or there will be consequences." Itachi said in a slightly more commanding voice, its deep echo surely got the point across that he was not toying with her.
Just as the raven-haired man was about to forcibly enter, he heard a small, shakey breath. A light click signaled the door was unlocked and Sakura opened it to step out. She kept her eyes downcast and tried to maneuver around Itachi, but he was having none of it. His arm shot out to block her escape from the bathroom and she jumped, started by his movement.
"You are not well-"
"I'm fine," Sakura growled, choosing to pick at a scrape on her skin rather than look at the man before her "I just was startled-"
"Startled people don't sprint from rooms like that. You are troubled by his puppets." Gaze unmoving, Itachi slowly removed his hand from the doorframe "Are you scared?"
"No. I have this terrified look on my face 'cause I'm having so. Much. Fun." She grit out between clenched teeth. She made a move to walk around him but his hand moved to grab hold on her shoulder and keep her in the bathroom. Sakura's flight or fight reaction was obviously not yet over and he'd rather not have to chase her down again.
Mental health discussions with the enemy were definitely not on her list of things to do. She could handle this, she's always handled it just fine without any help. No one knew about the nightmares, nor her fears and she wanted to keep it that way. She was a doctor and could handle this professionally behind closed doors, but Itachi witnessing her 'moment' was certainly a problem.
She braved a glance up at him, emerald eyes steeled. "I am perfectly healthy Itachi-san and I appreciate your concern, however, I assure you I've gotten over Sasori and I's fight long ago; I won, he lost, he's dea-" Sakura stopped herself before she could finish her normal post panic attack routine. It was no longer true, Sasori was no longer dead. She could no longer tell herself this in hopes of stopping her anxieties.
His warm hand moved from the wall and lightly grasped her as she frantically picked at the now bleeding scrape on the back side of her hand. She was embarrassed and he knew it, yet did not gloat over her weakness as she expected he would. "I will request your lab to be moved-"
"No." Sakura would not cower and hide from her nightmares "I have to get over this and I'd rather do it now."
"Very well, however, tonight is not the time. We will postpone training until tomorrow, for now I suggest you meditate." And with that Itachi left the room, leaving Sakura to ponder what just happened.
Did Itachi Uchiha seriously just comfort her?
"He has large, warm hands ya know." Inner mischievously chuckled in the back of her mind "I certainly know of more ways he could comfort us." And with that Sakura threw herself on the bed and groaned as Inner played out her terrible day dreams for Sakura to witness.
The same red sky haunted the landscape Sakura was slowly becoming accustomed to. When was the last time she had a normal dream? Perhaps prior to Itachi's sharingan, but even then, Sakura was unable to remember a peaceful night without blood red skies and snow. The soft crunch under her bare feet was interesting, but at least she didn't feel the cold. Each step brought her more anxiety, yet she had no idea where she was going. She reached a river and stood in front of a massive torii gate leading to seemingly nowhere but the rock cliff behind it.
"I know this place though…" Sakura thought out loud, hoping Inner would voice a helpful comment or two as to why she was here. She broke the rock and walked into the cavern beyond it; this was the sealing ground the Akatsuki used when the removed Garra's Shukaku. Cautiously she stepped deeper into the cavern and looked around. Puppets littered every inch of ground; whole formations of rock were missing and the red sky was above her where the ceiling was missing from a previous attack on it.
"All these puppets….." Suddenly the hair on the back of her neck stood and a chill ran through the air. Sakura spun around just in time to deflect an attack with a poison blade dripping a treacherous purple goo she was all too familiar with. When she glared at her attacker the kunoichi nearly dropped her weapon.
Attached to the glowing blue chakra strings was Inner, her mouth permanently opened in a sinister smile that leaked the violet poison. Behind her Sakura could see that chocolate eyes from her every nightmare.
"I'm not dead, dear blossom. But they are." And with that Sasori attacked her with the puppets laying on the ground. No matter how many she fought off, more kept arriving, until a familiar flash of white caught her attention and she looked into the face of her puppet attacker.
Kakashi flew at her with astonishing speed, using every jutsu in the book that could rip her apart. She created an earth wall to block a water dragon attack only to come face to face with Hinata's dead gaze as her puppet form began striking her chakra points. "You killed Konoha ans walked into a lion's den. You'll be mine once they bore of you."
"I have to escape, I have to wake up!" Sakura frantically thought as she tried to render herself conscious. A blow to the spine threw Sakura across the battle grounds and soft steps reached her defeated body. It was deadly silent as the nightmare Sasori softly brushed the dirt and hair from her eyes. His touch was as soft as a lover's, yet his intentions were much more sinister than anything Sakura ever experienced.
"Not yet my dear doll, fight the poison just a little longer. I want you to see my greatest masterpiece, look."
A new set of hands grabbed Sakura's face and turned her to face them. Sakura screamed at the dead, rotting Naruto puppet before her. His mouth opened and poison poured out as it dripped over her prone body while Sasori laughed somewhere in the darkness that consumed her vision.
Sakura awoke with a scream and immediately regretted it. The warm pile beside her jumped, tanto blade ready while Sakura frantically tried to make her way to the door leading to the hallway.
"Gomen-gomen, Itachi-san, gomen." She hastily drew in a breath and tried to escape the room before Itachi could realize what happened "It was just a bad dream, I-I'm going to get tea."
"No, you are not."
Sakura had half the idea to run in her head, but Itachi was faster and made it to the door before she could even turn the handle "Itachi please," She stubbornly faced the door refusing to meet his glowing gaze "Just this once don't ask any prying questions. I can handle this."
"Obviously not. You whimper constantly in your sleep, now tell me why."
"I need to go get tea-"
"No, you're off to find Kisame. I am your training partner and you will tell me what haunts you at night."
Unfortunately, it seemed Itachi was never wrong and his observations threw Sakura off. "I can't! I can't do that!" Sakura harshly whispered as she attempted to bury her head into both her hands and hide from him. "I had it under control and then this nonsense happens!"
Strong hands gently gripped her wrists and pulled them away from her face, but Sakura twisted her head away. One hand took both of hers while the other lightly guided her chin to face him in a confrontation Sakura desperately did not want. "You can not hide your tears from these eyes, Sakura." She wanted to gasp at the non-glowing charcoal eyes that starred into hers but refrained from doing so by biting her lip. Itachi misread this as a way to prevent her tears from flowing and gently pulled her to the bed in a slow manner. He sat down as Sakura stood shaking from the dream. "Tonight, I am not Akatsuki. Let me help."
And with that Sakura collapsed onto the bed in a tearful fit of a mess, uncaring that her long sleeping shirt had probably risen above an appropriate length. Rivers streamed down her cheeks as she curled into a ball that Itachi maneuvered onto his lap, stroking the tangled heap of pink hair that shook on him. Far away was the Sakura Haruno from the Three-Day War. Tonight, she was a broken shinobi, just like the thousands before her. She mumbled incoherent things that Itachi simply hummed in agreeance to. Minutes rolled by and her panicked cries died off into teary eyed hiccups.
"Don't-please don't tell anyone." Sakura mumbling as she buried her forehead into his shoulder, hoping she never had to look at him ever again. This was her worst nightmare and worst panic attack. She couldn't believe THE Itachi Uchiha got a front row seat to it.
"If Sasori-san causes you this much distress you can not work in that lab. I hardly think that will be beneficial to your health-"
"I'll be fine-"
"Are you always this difficult." It came out more as a statement than a question, one Itachi meant to lighten the mood, but it seemed to draw a darker cloud over Sakura's head.
"I thought I could hold it together, I'm sorry. I know ANBU doesn't cry, I know shinobi don't panic. I- gomen." Her forehead pushed into his shoulder slightly more and he felt new tears on his shirtless chest.
Itachi used one arm to hold her to his torso and twisted around so to lay them down on the pillows. "You are safe here Sakura, I will make sure of that." And with that final thought he gently lifted Sakura's gaze to his own spinning red orbs and lulled her into a dreamless sleep. Almost instantly her breathing evened and the terrified kunoichi melted into the curls of his body around her. Lazily Itachi smiled as he twirled one of the wild strands of pink hair across his bed.
It was mildly inconvenient of Sasori to intrude on his plans, but this couldn't have worked out better. It seems Sakura responds positively to comfort and kindness, even from an enemy. She showed her true self when that pesky mask of hers broke; the apologizes for not behaving as a proper shinobi, the pleading, the drop of his honorific.
Yes, all was going according to plan. It might not have been the original route, but Itachi Uchiha always got what he wanted, and he was well on his way to having this pink haired kunoichi wrapped around his finger.
Ok….am I mean? Yes, absolutely. This has been cooking in my head for over a month now and I needed to get it down on paper. I stayed up until 4am trying to writing out that last nightmare bit and Itachi "fluff"! Is Itachi good? Bad? And whats up with Sasori?! Well I'm pretty sure all the men in Akatsuki like to play mind games with people so I thought why not! Let me know what you think!