Chapter Eleven:
Sakura flipped the page completely entranced by Kabuto's research. It was appalling to think of all the people who had no doubt suffered when he acquired the research, but she could definitely use their sacrifices to try and make something good. The section on regeneration of organs alone would save countless lives that would otherwise need a transplant of heart, kidney, liver, or even skin. The problem seemed to stem from not having a firm grasp on growth of the new cells which could rapidly turn into cancer cells if their multiplication had no set parameters.
The candle light wasn't particularly bright, but it was enough for her to read. She'd been sitting at the solitaire table near the book cases for the past two hours. Sasuke had sat with his back against the wall. She wasn't sure if he was sleeping, meditating, or just what. As long as he was on the other side of the room from her she didn't much mind.
"So..."
"So?" Sakura asked bringing her eyes up from Kabuto's journal. She and Sasuke had been sitting silently for hours now. It was surprising that he'd be the one to break the spell considering her history as a chatterbox back when they were teammates.
"You do realize that Madaara is very dangerous," Sasuke said rising from his side of the cave and walking towards her. He sat next to her at the small table and glanced down at her book and Sakura snapped it shut hoping his Sharingan didn't memorize anything in that brief moment. "What are you reading?"
"You're awful talkative," she said evasively.
"And you're awful reticent."
"It's a medical journal. And yes, I realize Madaara is dangerous. He was the rival of the First Hokage. He's the one responsible for releasing the Nine-tails when we were just infants that resulted in great loses for all of Konoha-including Naruto's parents. He helped Itachi kill your entire clan. He was the one pulling the strings on Pain in the Akatsuki. Any other details you want me to spell out for you so you can trust I know he's a dangerous sort? How about that he's over a hundred years old and is as athletic as Kakashi-sensei?"
"You seem to have given this a lot of thought," he muttered. He reached out to the candle and began to manipulate the flame with his finger causing it to dance alternating between stages of wax and wane in some unheard cadence.
"I don't rush into things. I think them through. I'm very analytical."
He dropped his hand. "You think things through?" he echoed. "I almost killed you earlier. I would have-don't think I wouldn't have. I don't know what stopped me, but you'd have been dead. Did you think that through?"
Sakura's face lost all expression and her eyes were cold and flat. "My blade was poisonous. I would have taken you down with me."
'You know, when you say it like that, I almost believe you,' Itachi's voice whispered in her ear. Sakura jumped slightly at his unannounced entrance. She was grateful he was back even if she was the only one to hear his voice. Maybe she was turning schizophrenic? What if all those people institutionalized for hearing voices were just hearing ghosts? This could be a whole different realm of paranormal science-based medical research. Maybe Kabuto had a section on it in his journal.
"I don't know where your mind went right then, but that's what's going to get you killed. You're unfocused. And you didn't think that through very well. I've been Orochimaru's apprentice. You don't think my tolerance to poisons can withstand anything you might throw at me?"
"I was the apprentice of the Hokage and also the poisons expert of Suna. If anyone had the capability of making a poison specific to you, Sasuke-kun, it would have been me."
"Let's spar."
That was-unexpected. Sakura stared at her new partner dumbfounded by his random request. Even when they were on Team Seven together they never sparred against each other. It was always him with either Naruto or Kakashi. She sparred with both Naruto and Kakashi enough times over the years that she felt confident even if the sparring was limited to tai-jutsu.
"Look, I know I'm still recovering from my battles but I can't just sit around. I'm likely to go mad."
Too late, Sakura thought. "All right. Hand-to-hand, no chakra enhancement and no weapons." Sakura gave a wry smile. "I'd destroy this cave if I used chakra."
'Don't disappoint me.' Itachi's disembodied voice drifted towards her.
Sakura braced herself in a fighting stance with her legs in a back stance ready for defense and her arms raised to block any incoming blows. She waited for Sasuke to make the first move. She'd learned the hard way that defense and patience won most battles, unless you had the stamina of Naruto-he could just rush in and fight until his opponent passed out.
She didn't have to wait long, Sasuke moved faster than her eye could follow and the next thing she knew he was standing right behind her with his chest pressed against her back and one arm curled around her neck and the other clutching her wrist. "Nice stance, but it won't do you much good against me," he whispered in her ear.
Sasuke's move might have been impressive, but since to her it was an old move frequently used by one Neji Hyuga when he used to try and steal kisses from her when they'd dated, it was easy to counter. Sakura turned her head at just such an angle that she would kiss him if she wanted to and she brushed her lips against his. She used his moment of shock to bite down hard on his lip, slam her free hand into his groin and spin out of his grasp.
Of course, poor Neji only suffered that painful fate once when he'd made some comment about foreheads. It wasn't until after she hit him in the groin that she had realized he was talking about his own tattooed forehead and it had nothing to do with the self-conscious worries she had about her own.
The sound of Itachi's quiet laughter brought Sakura out of her reminiscing and she focused on her teammate sprawled on the ground in front of her.
Sasuke glared up at her with venom in his expression and then swept his feet catching her at the ankles and causing her to trip on top of him. She used the momentum of her fall and turned sideways so that her elbow landed in Sasuke's midsection sending his air rushing out of his lungs thanks to the pressure against his diaphragm. She positioned her knee threateningly into his groin.
"Where did you learn that move?" Sasuke gasped red in the face and not moving a muscle.
"Sparring with Neji," Sakura answered. "Are you yielding all ready?"
"I'm thinking I approached this the wrong way."
"He's flat on his back and he thinks he approached it the wrong way?" Itachi asked with amusement lacing his otherwise bland tone. His figure crouched over Sasuke and Sakura's head. "I didn't realize you were dating Hyuga," he added in a voice lacking any inflection.
Sakura ignored Itachi and rose to her feet. She thought about offering her hand to Sasuke to help him up, but then decided against it thinking the odds of him pulling her down and taking advantage in her lapse in guard would be too great. From the corner of her eye she noticed that Bull had his attention riveted toward Itachi's ghostly form. Could the dog see him too?
Sasuke stood up slowly and raised his arms in a defensive stance mimicking her earlier form. "Let's do simple blocks to work on reflexes," he suggested before he started jabbing his fist towards her. Sakura blocked with a down sweep of her hand and blocked with her forearm and repeated the blocks with his successive punches and then kicks.
"So, you're dating Hyuga? Isn't he betrothed to his cousin?" Sasuke asked as he continued his onslaught of kicks and punches. If she didn't know better she'd think there was a hint of jealousy in his tone. "To preserve their precious bloodline?"
"Past tense. We tried dating, but with everything that's happened in the past year it became impossible." She barely caught a high face punch he sent her way. "With him training to join Anbu and me taking various missions with Naruto we never saw each other. The closest we ever got to go on a date would be sparring practices or the few missions we had together-nothing very romantic about either. When war threatens your village its hard to go see a movie with your boyfriend. We spent most of our relationship worrying about each other."
"Just because you don't see someone doesn't mean you won't worry about them," Sasuke said as Sakura started punching and kicking towards him and he started blocking.
"You've never worried about anyone but yourself," Sakura said putting more force behind her blows.
Sasuke continued to deflect Sakura's attacks. "I left Konoha because my worry for you and Naruto was interfering with my revenge." Sakura stopped her punches and angled a turn kick for Sasuke's side. He caught her leg and held it there. "Distance doesn't make worry lessen."
Itachi began to circle around them. "He's right about that, Sakura."
"All worry accomplishes is distraction," Sakura said pulling her leg out of Sasuke's hold. She wouldn't allow herself to worry. She'd drive herself mad if she thought about the precious lives she didn't want to think about possibly losing. Her relationship with Neji had moved at a pace too serious and too fast. Naruto was her priority-he was the hope of all Konoha and her best friend. If it meant siding with a ghost of a thought-to-be-traitor-which-was-in-fact-a-double-a gent-spy and his deranged younger brother then so be it.
"I think we've sparred enough. I have more reading to do," Sakura said moving away from Sasuke and going back to her table. She shuffled through the books she had spread across the area and settled on the one about the ophthalmic system-this particular edition had been a gift from Hinata.
Itachi followed her and Bull trudged over toward Sasuke. The Uchiha teenager reluctantly indulged the large dog in a gentle rub behind the ears.
"I now understand why the Hyuga boy requested you so much in the hospital," Itachi said sitting in the unoccupied chair to her side.
"We're just friends," Sakura muttered ignoring the penetrating gaze he sent her way.
OoO
"This isn't going to work," Sasuke said under his breath. "I never understood anything Itachi did and I certainly don't understand why he wanted us working together." He angled his face so he could lock eyes with her. "If this is some elaborate scheme of his to revive the Uchiha clan..."he trailed off.
"You lost that opportunity long ago. No doubts, Sasuke-kun," Sakura hissed through clenched teeth. "Confidence is key. You play your part and I'll play mine. If nothing else, we're doing this for Naruto. And for the record Naruto and I make a great team and so I think that you and I could make a good team."
They approached a thick copse of trees and Madaara was standing on one of the lower branches wearing his swirly orange mask. His black Akatsuki cloak flapped behind him in the wintery breeze.
"Madaara-sama," Sasuke greeted respectfully by dipping his head in a brief bow.
"Sasuke," Madaara rejoined with his attention focused on Sakura and Itachi's Akatsuki cloak that she wore across her shoulders. "Why do you have a Konoha ninja with you wearing Itachi's old cloak?"
"Karin was useless so I rid myself of her. Sakura is the strongest konochi in Konoha aside from the Hokage. She has and always will be loyal to me." Sasuke moved close to Sakura and slipped his hand inside her cloak to wrap around her waist and draw her against him. He turned his face and brought his nose right behind her ear and drew a deep breath. "She has been mine since we were twelve. We trained separately so that when the time came she'd be of greatest use. And she calms me."
"It is important to keep a calm mentality," Madaara agreed vanishing in a whirl of blackness and reappearing directly in front of Sasuke and Sakura.
'He just manipulated time and space. Only he and Naruto's father, the Fourth Hokage, have been able to do so at such a degree,' Itachi explained. His voice steeled Sakura's confidence and she was able to keep herself from tensing at both the villain's proximity and Sasuke's invasion of her personal space.
"I've seen her fight alongside Naruto. I don't see her betraying him for you, Sasuke," Madaara said in a flat voice.
Sakura pulled closer to Sasuke in spite of herself at the coldness radiating from Madaara. He was right, she'd never betray Naruto for Sasuke-not after everything they had been through together. Could she fool such a master of deception? Itachi seemed to think she could pull it off.
"She was always mine," Sasuke growled possessively.
"I suppose she is pretty enough, but Sasuke you don't have time for one such as her. It would be better to visit the occasional brothel." Madaara flipped his wrist back in a carefree gesture of flippancy. "Less clingy. You know it is unhealthy to have any attachments."
"I can heal his eyes," Sakura said annoyed that Madaara had been talking as if she wasn't present and comparing her to a prostitute.
"Unnecessary. All he needs is a transplant of Itachi's eyes." Madaraa reached out and touched a strand of Sakura's pink hair and rubbed it between his thumb and index finger. "I suppose it would be easier to use a trained medic to go about the transplant. It would be less messy."
"You have Itachi's body?" Sakura asked, unable to stop herself. Sasuke's arm around her tightened in silent warning.
"You think I'd let those Konoha barbarians take it back? They'd dissect it and try to keep his DNA on file so they could genetically engineer more little Uchihas to have at their beck and call. They thought they had Itachi under their thumb. He was always mine to control."
The form of Itachi materialized behind Madaara. The sight of him caused the words of protest that had been forming in Sakura's mind to die before they reached her tongue and could be voiced-thankfully. Sasuke's submissive girlfriend wouldn't defend Konoha after all the village had done to the Uchiha clan.
"Whatever you're thinking of saying-don't," Itachi warned. "Let Madaara think he's in control. That's how I survived all those years. Overconfidence is what defeats the mightiest foes."
"Madaara-sama, did you wish for us to leave or do you want to continue talking in the woods where someone might find us?" Sasuke asked quietly.
Madaara's attention focused on Sasuke. "Interesting how polite and respectful you are now that you've a toy you want to keep." His hands touched a shoulder of Sasuke and a shoulder of Sakura. "Then shall we be off?"
"Wait!" Sakura said when the world started to spin and the sound of a growling dog came from her heel. The sensation stopped abruptly. "My dog, Bull."
"I've only got two hands," Madaara said impatiently. "If you want to bring along your mutt one of you will have to carry him." He glanced down at the large dog and broke out into hysterical laughter. "That's not a dog! That's a horse!"
Sasuke bent at the waist and hoisted the large dog up into his arms. Sakura could tell it was a strain as the ligaments in his neck strained even with his strength. She reached over with chakra enhanced arms and took Bull from him with a twinkle of amusement in her eye at Sasuke's wide-eyed expression. He put his arm back around her and looked at Madaara expectantly.
The hysterical laughter stopped abruptly as Madaara gave Sakura a curious look. "Anything else you want to bring along? A RV perhaps?"
"No, Madaara-sama," Sakura said in as demure a voice as possible.
"Good, because we're leaving," Madaara said placing his hands back on their shoulders. Sakura knew he was manipulating time and space as Itachi had explained. She only hoped that wherever they ended up she wouldn't have any extra body parts or find herself merged with either Sasuke or Bull when their molecular structure was dissolved and then reformed.
The world had shifted into shades of black and grey before it stopped spinning and Sakura could feel the firmness of the earth beneath her feet. Bull whimpered quietly and Sasuke's arm was like a steel vice around her waist.
Madaara's hand was removed from her shoulder and vivid color and stability greeted her as they reached their destination. It looked like they were at the outskirts of a small village deep within the woods. There was a cottage not too far from them and a garden.
Madaara began leading the way toward the cottage and Sasuke released his arm from around her and gestured for her to follow with him. She set Bull down and the three followed after the Akatsuki leader.
The cottage was an elaborate ruse. Madaara led them through to the basement where a verifiable underground fortress was hidden. She wondered if Itachi's body was stored somewhere on the property, but given Madaara's manipulation of time and space she doubted if Itachi's body was even on the planet.
