DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of Kishimoto's characters. I do not own the song.
Okay, so I had to force inspiration. I sat here and started writing to see what would come out and I must admit, I was happy that it worked. Enjoy.
Thanks to my reviewer(s) : withloveagain, UchihaTragedy, Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha, pen007, dark angel vs. light angle, ylfrettub, craizypet, ToraNoKo123 and sin may.
As always, enjoy! - laydee kai
A Traitor's Heart: Self Inflicted
Chapter Ten
The trio of ninja made their way back to the small single room shack that was hidden just barely within the borders of the Land of Fire.
Sakura's eyes were fixed in front of her as they trekked onward. She wanted nothing to do with the two men that were holding her captive. She wished with all her heart that they would both just vanish from her sight and she would be home in bed and this would all be a dream. She kicked herself for allowing herself to feel anything for these two. Ridiculous banter with Kisame and butterflies for Itachi, what the hell was she thinking? She didn't know where it came from, but was satisfied that it was gone now. Their words had shaken her from her stupor.
Miserably, the more that Kisame thought about it, the more he realized that his silent partner was correct about the moody kunoichi. Her behavior, which he knew was a reaction due to his own behavior, was eating at him. With each branch that she snapped while walking was like a tree being brought down against him with full force.
"Damnit, Pinky!" he growled.
She paused and met his glare with one of her own. Her thin pink eyebrow twitched as her mouth was set into a scowl, but not one word crossed her lips.
"Will you just talk already?" he boomed.
Again, she said nothing to him.
"What the hell is your problem? You can't shut up for the first part of the trip and then I have a bad day and run my mouth off, now you won't even whisper a damn word? Are you on the rag or something?" he continued.
The color in her pale cheeks began to darken as Kisame kept ranting. This man was really starting to anger her. Sakura closed her eyes as the blue man continued on with his tirade. She inhaled deeply through her nose and let out an annoyed hiss through her teeth.
Kisame closed the distance between them. "Seriously, say whatever the hell is on your mind because your silence is worse than hearing your shrill voice bitching all the time. Say something!"
"Kisame-san." Itachi warned.
"No!" he snapped back. "She's being a bitch and I am sick of her shit."
Sakura's eyes snapped open and her fist flew forward. There was the all to satisfying crunch of his nose breaking when she made contact. It wasn't enough to ground the large man but it was enough to catch him off guard. She dropped to the dirt and swept his legs from under him. Kisame twisted his large body so that he landed on his hands ready to spring back up. Sakura had already launched herself in the air and came down harshly on his back. The force caused his arms to give out, effectively winding him when he connected with the hard earth. Her hands snaked around the hilt of his mighty sword and snatched it from his back. She flipped away with surprising grace as she hefted the sword and stood waiting.
Kisame started to laugh as he stood up. He ran a hand under his nose to wipe away the blood. "That's your ass now, Pinky. Samehada will suck you dry."
"I'm not using any chakra, asshole." with that she ran at him and swung. The flat part of the blade made contact like a bat to a ball. She used the momentum of the swing to drag it downward effectively shredding the bandages and Kisame's arm that he used to block.
Out of pure shock, he fell to the ground again with her on his chest, pressing the blade into him.
"Watch your mouth, Hoshigaki. Kami has blessed you today. You are lucky I have no chakra, but remember this… just because I don't, doesn't mean I can't kill you. Do I need to remind you who took out Sasori?" She hissed at him, hardly winded.
With a final push of the blade, she was off of him and silent again. Her eyes closed once more as she tried to push the anger back down. After a moment her eyes flashed back to the blue man who was back on his feet. He was covered in blood and had a wild look in his eyes.
"Heal me, damnit!" he demanded.
She didn't budge.
"No." Itachi answered in her place.
Her green eyes snapped to Itachi's amused form. He had watched the entire exchange and had a small smile pulling at his lips. Kisame looked at his partner.
"And why the hell not?" he shot back.
"For one, you said you didn't need her medic abilities a day ago, and two, I can't give her chakra."
"And why not?"
"Look what she did to you without it." he said evenly. He turned on his heal and continued onward.
Sakura briefly caught Itachi's eye before he took the lead. She couldn't help but let a smug smile cross her face at what just happened. She felt much better for putting Kisame in his place. She sighed heavily as she reached into her medic bag and pulled out a roll of bandages. She tossed it to him before she followed Itachi.
"You got lucky, Pinky. That wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been injured." he mumbled.
"Whatever, Hoshigaki." she answered without turning around. "Oh, and the bandage is for Samehada, not you."
His mouth gaped. He didn't know what to say in response as he watched her small form walk away from him. He admitted, albeit only to himself, that he was slightly impressed with the way she wielded the Samehada. He nodded to himself, she was alright.
After another days travel, they had made it to the small house. Sakura looked unimpressed when Itachi went through a rapid succession of hand signs and the place shimmered into view.
"You know the rules, Haruno-san." Itachi said as he moved to the side so she could enter.
"Hn." she answered.
His eyebrow arched at her answer. He turned to look at Kisame who laughed.
"Don't like it, do you?" he chuckled.
Itachi studied his partner. "You seem to be in a better mood, Kisame-san."
"Pinky's got balls. I think I misjudged her." he said with a slight bob of his head. "Maybe she can replace Sasori instead of Tobi."
"I'm sure Deidara would love that."
"I know, wouldn't it be great?" Kisame continued laughing as Itachi left him outside alone. In the middle of his laughter, his stomach let out a large gurgle. He stuck his head in the house to announce he was going hunting and then vanished.
The tension between the three of them had lessened dramatically after Sakura's outburst. But when Kisame left, the tension was just as great between the two of them.
"Sakura-san?" Itachi questioned as he hung his cloak.
"Yes, Uchiha-san?" she answered.
He paused for a moment, taken back by the unremitting formality in her words before continuing. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine." she answered in a clipped tone.
"I think you are lying." he answered back.
"I know I am, but why are you concerned?" she bit out. "There is nothing for you to worry about, you will be healed and I will be on my way and out of yours as soon as I can be."
"I am concerned because even for what this is, it doesn't have to be unpleasant."
"Oh, don't worry, I haven't deluded myself to think other wise." She cut away from him and went back to getting everything ready for the procedure.
Itachi's voice dropped. "You overheard us."
"Yeah, you know eavesdropping is sort of in the drop description so you should have at least expected it." she snapped.
"I thought you were bothered by Kisame-san's words."
"I was. But he wasn't the only one who said something hurtful. But you know what? It doesn't really matter because it was me who was slightly deluded. I thought that there just might be more to the feared Uchiha Itachi, but you're just an Uchiha. You are an emotionless void… you're… you're just an Uchiha."
Sakura looked at her hands for a moment before setting back to work. She poured a white, grainy powder into a small glass and filled it with water. She turned back to Itachi and handed him the glass.
She swallowed hard when she saw the anguish in his eyes. His Sharingan flickered out and his onyx eyes bore into hers. Her mouth dried out as his fingers brushed hers when he took the glass.
"Sakura…" he started softly.
"Itachi, don't." she stopped him with a small shake of her head. She licked her lips before she continued. "That base is stronger than the last. The pain killers will last well into tomorrow. We will start the first procedure in the morning. I need some rest." she paused, unable to tear her eyes away from his. "As do you. Tomorrow will not be pleasant."
"It's not now." he answered softly.
She reached out and placed a hand on his forehead to feel for a fever.
"You feel fine, but the base will help with the pain."
"No, it won't." he said with a sigh before downing the glass. He set it back in her hands. "I apologize for my words. They weren't as I meant them."
"It's not necessary."
He took a step closer to her. She could feel the warmth of him. Her breath faltered as he took another step. He reached out and brushed the side of her cheek with his hand before tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"But it is." he answered as he looked at her.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to beat you up like Hoshigaki." she laughed in a breathy nervousness.
He smiled a really small smile as his fingers brushed her cheek one more time before falling back to his side. "I'm not worried."
So… Sakura and Kisame are better… sort of. She is still a little sour, hence the use of the last name instead of Guppy. But I think she has made progress… I know this one is a little short… but I hope you liked it. -l.k.
