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 had been written for entertainment purposes only and without intention of infringing upon any copyright.
A/N: Big hugs to Kinkatia, Dark Darianna Minamino, ArjunaAnja, Blueberry Babe, Ita-ta, AkatsukiSakura73, sympatheticassassin, TeenageCrisis, midnight000shadow, aznkitty180, Hao'sAnjul, animeismyname, SasukeSakuraxXXx, troublesomefemale, crystal teardrops, Reimei Hoshi, Jester08, kakashininjadogs, monoxidedreams, TT, sadbird, Illidan the Half Demon, Selene98, Leila411, Luka1Sakura, tuffyluffy, Undefined Soul, Saturnalia, sweet-taboos, Goatis, and animal.cracker.assassinator. for reviewing! You guys are the best!
Hope you'll enjoy this next instalment…
The Contentious Heart by elle6778 – Chapter 12
What should she do?
Sakura did not have much time to mull over her predicament because just then, the two fighting shinobi broke apart. Entire body tense, she regarded the brown-haired jinchuuriki warily. This close, she could make out his features better, including his golden eyes. He was as tall as Kakashi, but a little broader. What surprised her was his lack of hitai-ate. Come to think of it, none of his companions wore headbands either. Which village did they originate from?
Deidara landed beside her, a smirk gracing his features. "You're late, yeah."
"Got held up by Suna's ANBU," she muttered absently before turning her attention back to the jinchuuriki.
"Too bad, I was having fun here," Deidara remarked.
"It's miracle you haven't blown yourself up yet," she responded dryly.
"Well, at least you're here to patch me back up, yeah."
She slanted him an exasperated look. "Don't take it for granted."
The jinchuuriki chose that moment to close the distance between them, and Sakura's eyes immediately went to the chained, curved scythe held in his hand. Then he halted, allowing his golden eyes to run over her assessingly, like he was trying to gauge her strength.
"A kunoichi this time, I see." Sneering at Deidara, the jinchuuriki taunted, "Can't handle your own fight, Deidara?"
Surprised that the jinchuuriki knew the blonde Akatsuki, Sakura continued to stare at him. Then she remembered that they had clashed before. The introduction must have happened then, she surmised.
Deidara snorted derisively. "Hardly. But to be fair, the kunoichi should get a shot at you, yeah."
The jinchuuriki turned to her. "I'm Akira. I'd ask for your name but then again, it'll just be a waste of time." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Because you're not going to live much longer."
With that, Akira disappeared in a blur.
Sakura tensed instantly, knowing that Akira had disappeared to wait for the right moment to attack.
"I'll leave you to it, yeah," Deidara remarked as he retreated.
Without responding to him, she quickly commenced an earth jutsu. Just as she was about to complete the seals, the jinchuuriki materialized close to her, his hand extending to release a stream of golden liquid from his palm.
Her eyes widened slightly in alarm. Before it could hit, Sakura finished her seals. In a blink of an eye, she slipped through the parted earth into the ground out of harm's way. Reemerging some distance away, she grimaced when she glanced at the spot where she had been. The earth had been melted into a smoking crater by that golden liquid. What kind of jutsu was it?
"Missed," the jinchuuriki hissed with a frown.
Then he extended his hands again.
Another shot of golden liquid flew in her direction, forcing her to perform a substitution jutsu. Once again, when she reappeared, the log she had used as a substitute was now nothing more than a smoking, melted puddle. This time, she could smell a pungent hint to the smoke, leading her to conclude that the golden liquid was some sort of acid.
Was this the jinchuuriki's bloodline limit? If that was the case, she was truly in trouble. Fighting someone with a bloodline limit was bad enough, but fighting a jinchuuriki with a bloodline limit was worse. And knowing bloodline limits were like, Akira probably has a more powerful one up his sleeves.
"Shame. I was so close too," the jinchuuriki spat in annoyance. "Oh, well. I'll just try again."
Sakura grimaced as she flipped into the air to avoid another spray of the liquid. This jinchuuriki's persistence was beginning to get on her nerves. Did he not realize what sort of danger he was in? Or was he really that confident that he would be able to defeat them all?
Most importantly, how should she proceed?
She did not want to capture the jinchuuriki at all, for obvious reasons. But she had to fight back to make sure that she would not end up dead at his hands. So should she fight or not? What if she accidentally caught him? On the other hand, what if she did not capture him, and the Akatsuki grew suspicious? Or worse, kill her for her supposed incompetence?
"What the hell are you doing, yeah?"
She glanced sharply at the voice to find Deidara flying overhead on his clay bird, his features contorted into a disapproving frown.
From the other end of the clearing, turning briefly away from his opponent, Kisame shouted, "Take him out already, kunoichi. We don't have all day."
"Just keep out of the way, you two," she ground out irritably. "I can handle it."
The jinchuuriki snarled, "You underestimate me if you think it's that easy to defeat me."
Sakura glanced toward the Uchiha to find that he had turned from his opponent to cast her a pointed look. One which she returned with a challenging tilt of her chin. There was no way she would let them to rush her on this.
She inhaled deeply. This was not the time to be indecisive, Sakura, she scolded herself sternly. She had a furious jinchuuriki in front of her, and the rest of the Akatsuki watching her movements intently. It was quite obvious that she had no choice but to capture the jinchuuriki if Konoha's teams did not arrive. The best thing she could do after that was to try out the jutsu she had been researching, and hope that it would work.
So right now, she had to go on the offensive.
Mind made up, Sakura tightened her fists and sprang into action. Retrieving a handful of shuriken, she flung them out at the jinchuuriki, zigzagging towards him.
Fully aware of her approach, he deflected her flying weapons with his kunai and then leapt into the air. Sakura braced herself as his kick neared her. Just before it impacted, she twisted sharply to the side and swung her kunai in a sideway arc at him. Unfortunately, Akira had seen the attack coming, managing to substitute himself with a log at the last minute.
When he appeared again, they met with a clash of kunai. Eyes following his every move, Sakura met him blow for blow as they engaged in a taijutsu battle, all the while thanking the fact that he was not as swift as Itachi because she had not performed the enhancement jutsu on her eyes.
After a long while of trading unsuccessful blows, Sakura decided that she must try something else. With that thought, she flipped backwards from the jinchuuriki until she was a fair distance away.
"Running away so soon, Akatsuki?" Akira taunted with a sneer.
Her eyes narrowed. "Hardly."
Drawing her gloved fist back, she punched down into the ground, instantly creating web-like cracks.
In a blink of an eye, one of the fractures in the ground propagated from where her fist landed straight towards the jinchuuriki, and then with a loud crack, exploded upwards. As chunks of sharp rocks shot up at him, the jinchuuriki tried to deflect them with his scythe, but the sheer number of rocks was too much for him to handle. A hiss of pain escaped his lips as the rocks cut into him and moments later, he crashed to the ground.
Sakura stared at the unmoving form.
Astounded by her success, Sakura stepped closer, wanting to inspect his condition. The flapping sound of wings caught her attention, making her pause. When she glanced up, she found Deidara hovering close to her, observing the jinchuuriki intently.
"He's down."
"State the obvious, why don't you?" Sakura muttered.
It could not be this easy, she thought suspiciously as she eyed the body. There were numerous deep wounds peppering Akira's body, and the ground beneath him was stained red. Even though this was the expected result of her attack, there was something about it that did not seem quite right. Maybe it was because she knew that Akira was not a weak shinobi, and thus, should not go down so easily.
Then she saw it.
Right before her eyes, the jinchuuriki's wounds began to knit together, glowing bright yellow as they did so.
"Impossible," she whispered, her heart beating wildly in her chest.
"That's what happened last time as well, yeah. I blew him up and he just healed like that," Deidara declared from above.
Shooting the blonde an accusing glare, she snapped, "And it didn't occur to you to tell the rest of us?"
Deidara smirked. "I wanted to see how you'd deal with it, yeah."
Before she could respond, Deidara's attention was drawn to an oncoming shinobi, another one of the jinchuuriki's companion. Throwing her a casual nod, he turned his clay bird around to head for his opponent.
Spinning back to face the jinchuuriki, Sakura continued to watch, her medical side itching to study the phenomenon further. It was not everyday that she had the chance to see something like this. The speed of his healing was unreal. Even Naruto did not heal that fast. But it looked like he had to be stationary while he was healing, a weakness which she could exploit.
But did she want to do that?
No, no, no! She already made up her mind to capture the jinchuuriki, so she would stick to the plan unless Konoha showed up. And while she was at it, she could do her best to delay things as much as possible without looking suspicious.
The clatter of rock rubble was the only warning she got as the brown-haired shinobi got to his feet, his entire body fully healed. Then her wary eyes met his golden ones.
"Did you think that it was going to be so easy?" Akira mocked as he brought his fingers together.
"Actually, no. I was rather surprised," she responded dryly, her eyes fixed to his hands.
A bark of mirthless laughter left him. "I know what the rest are capable of, but now that I've seen what you're capable of, it's time to get serious."
Akira completed a series of seals she did not recognize. And then her hair stood on its end at the sheer force of the chakra that was beginning to pulse around the jinchuuriki. He was preparing for an attack, and whatever it was, she had a feeling that it was going to be bad. But not knowing what it was, she had no way of planning a counterattack.
The jinchuuriki's eyes flashed menacingly, and she brought her hands up in preparation.
Then Sakura felt her heart stop as a rain of yellow chakra missiles fanned out from him, its centre heading straight for her.
How the hell was she supposed to avoid this?
Without blinking an eye, Itachi swiftly sliced his kunai across his opponent's throat. As the shinobi slumped to the ground, he could not help but wonder why the hachibi jinchuuriki allowed such weaklings to accompany him.
A heavy pulse of chakra drew Itachi's attention to the kunoichi and his eyes immediately narrowed when he saw the mass of yellow chakra missiles heading toward her.
Without hesitation, he streaked towards her, his fingers rapidly flipping through different seals. All the while, he ignored the small voice at the back of his mind that insisted that his actions were unnecessary. After all, Sakura was the one who was supposed to capture the jinchuuriki while the rest of them took care of the others. Personally, he was not concerned at all if she lived or died, he insisted to himself. It was simply a waste if she was allowed die. After all, her skills had aided the rest of them more than once.
With that thought, Itachi released a powerful water jutsu straight at the oncoming missiles while a clone of his knocked Sakura out of the way. As his water jutsu deflected the chakra missiles, he glanced sideways to see the kunoichi getting to her feet, her eyes not leaving the hachibi jinchuuriki.
"Thanks, Itachi-san," she said tightly.
He glanced sideways at her, surprised to hear the unmistakable hint of annoyance in her voice. His deduction was confirmed when she spoke next, her tone somewhat bitter.
"But I could have handled that. There was no need for you to interfere."
"Hm." He was not convinced.
Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not some weakling who needs rescuing."
"I never said that, Sakura-san," he intoned flatly.
Clearly, something about his action bothered the kunoichi.
However, he had no time to entertain her mood swings for the jinchuuriki was approaching them, his entire form still glowing with the yellow chakra. Without hesitation, Itachi performed the seals for a fire jutsu. A moment later, a large ball of flame shot towards its target.
Itachi's eyes narrowed when he realized that the jinchuuriki made no attempt to counter it. When the fireball hit his shoulder, the jinchuuriki let out a hiss of pain but remained on his feet. After a moment, his expression cleared.
"When are you all going to learn that nothing would work on me? I'll just heal," the jinchuuriki declared with a smug smirk.
Right before Itachi's eyes, the jinchuuriki's burnt flesh began to glow yellow. Then the bloodied flesh began to bind together, until there was nothing but freshly mended skin.
Itachi's eyes narrowed speculatively at the evidence of the hachibi's healing powers. The speed of regeneration was astounding. It was growing increasingly clear to him why capturing this particular jinchuuriki was proving to be such a difficult task, for no matter how many times this jinchuuriki was wounded, he would immediately regenerate.
With this kind of regenerative power within his grasp, Itachi knew that one of his goals was even closer than he had imagined. He no longer needed to wait for Naruto's capture to commence his plan. Which meant that he had to do everything in his power now to ensure that this jinchuuriki was captured in a timely manner.
He glanced sideways at the kunoichi, noting with approval that her chakra level was still high. Neither Zetsu nor Deidara had been able to handle the jinchuuriki by themselves, therefore it would be prudent to aid the kunoichi. It did not matter that she was meant to capture the jinchuuriki on her own, for if she failed, the repercussions was unacceptable, especially in the light of his recent knowledge.
"I'll distract him," he announced firmly.
The kunoichi glanced sharply at him. "What do you mean?
"He will not be able to handle both of us at once."
He watched as her eyes flickered in hesitation. Surely she was not foolish enough to reject his aid. Although she was strong, it was clear that this jinchuuriki's skills put them at a severe disadvantage if they chose to fight him one on one. Or perhaps her hesitation was due to the notion of accepting his aid. After all, she had been rather annoyed earlier.
Seething with barely suppressed annoyance, Sakura clenched her fists tight.
Itachi offering to help her was the last thing she needed right now. Firstly and foremost, what he had done just now reminded her painfully of her days with Team 7, where Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke had always ended up saving her in one way or another. It had made her feel so weak and useless, and she had since vowed that she would not put herself in that position again.
No, she did not want his help. Besides, she needed to be left to her own devices so that she could delay this stupid fight as long as possible to give Konoha more time to get there. If Itachi interfered…
"No."
"You will do as I say," Itachi insisted, his tone uncompromising.
Annoyed by his previous actions and his arrogance, Sakura replied curtly, "This is not your task, Itachi-san. I can handle him."
"Not alone."
Aggravated beyond belief at his condescending words, Sakura bristled. "Are you saying that I can't handle this on my own?" she gritted out, her voice barely controlled.
"Yes."
Before she could respond, he slanted a sharp warning glance at her. "There is no need to be offended. I'm merely stating a fact. His strength far exceeds our individual strengths. Neither of us would succeed alone."
Sakura blinked, suddenly realizing that he had included himself in that statement. She had expected him to say that she was too weak, that she would mess this up. But that was not what he meant at all. An odd warmth washed over her, and at that moment, she understood that he did not help her because he had thought that she was weak.
Furthermore, the fact that he had admitted that he had a limit made him seem more… human.
Inner Sakura took the opportunity to mutter, 'Of course he's human, baka! What else could he be?'
Sakura rolled her eyes, choosing to ignore her inner self.
"Are we in agreement, Sakura-san?" Itachi prompted, his eyes narrowing with impatience even though he kept his tones low.
It was clear that he would not accept 'no' as an answer, so she really had no choice. Exhaling loudly, she finally nodded. "Fine."
"Normal methods would not work on this opponent. You will execute your medical jutsu on my command to render him unconscious," he instructed so quietly that no one else except her could hear him.
Sakura's eyes widened when she comprehended his intention. It was the method she had used when she defeated Kisame for the first time, and Itachi remembered it. The jinchuuriki could heal his wounds all he liked, but if he was unconscious, he would not be able to stop them from capturing him. And if she used the correct amount of chakra, she would be able to knock the jinchuuriki out for a long while.
"Do you understand?"
The moment she nodded, Itachi streaked away towards the jinchuuriki. Sakura watched with slight admiration and a growing envy as he performed seals at such speed that she could not even make out what it was. She only recognized it when he called out the jutsu's name.
"Suiton: Suiryuudan-no-Jutsu."
Two dragon water projectiles appeared from the nearby river while Akira's chakra-infused scythe sped towards Itachi. One of the dragons deflected the scythe, while the other struck a path towards the brown-haired shinobi. The jinchuuriki darted away just before the second dragon reached him, but the jutsu remained in effect, forcing Akira to move continuously to avoid being hit. Then, obviously growing annoyed, the jinchuuriki's yellow chakra flared, pulsing out in a heavy wave.
Itachi immediately dispelled the dragons and called up a wall of water to counter the pulse of yellow chakra. However, that gave Akira the opportunity to close the distance between them.
They met with a clash of kunai against scythe, and then a furious exchange of blows commenced. It went on for a while before Itachi sprung back suddenly, landing close to her.
"Hide yourself in the ground and wait," he intoned quietly before he returned his attention to the jinchuuriki.
Acknowledging his words with a nod, Sakura performed the necessary seals and soon found herself in the dark, surrounded by rock and earth. Sounds of explosions rumbled over her repeatedly, but hidden underground, she was not able to tell what was happening. She wondered how long she would have to wait in there until Itachi found an opening for her.
Her question was soon answered.
"Now, Sakura!" Itachi called out from above.
Teeth gritted in determination, Sakura pushed out from the ground, her hands glowing green in preparation for the attack. The bright sunlight blinded her for a second before she realized that she would end up right behind the jinchuuriki, who was currently up in the air fending off an attack from Itachi which she could not see. It must be some kind of genjutsu.
Then she was behind her target.
Akira tensed as he detected her presence, but Sakura did not hesitate. In a fraction of a second, she pressed her glowing palms on the sides of the jinchuuriki's head, careful to control her chakra precisely. A cry of pain escaped Akira's lips, and Sakura winced at the sound. She knew that the surge of her chakra in his head was agonizing and she hated doing this to him.
Much to her relief, the jinchuuriki soon went limp.
Itachi streaked towards them, catching the jinchuuriki before he could crash to the ground.
When she came up next to them, he gave her a brief nod. Sakura felt an odd rush of warmth at his obvious approval. Then, when she realized what she was doing, she instantly stiffened. She did not need anyone's approval, let alone Uchiha Itachi's, she insisted sternly.
"I can't believe you've done it, yeah," Deidara exclaimed, dropping to his feet beside her, his expression an odd mix of admiration and disbelief.
Hiding her discomfiture, she nudged her head at Itachi. "It was his plan, not mine."
Laying the unconscious jinchuuriki on the ground, the Uchiha cast her an unreadable look. "And yet, it is not achievable without your jutsu."
Joining them, Kisame scowled darkly at her. "I can't believe you used that damned jutsu again."
Sakura grinned at the irritated Mist shinobi. "And I can't believe you're still whining about that little headache."
Kisame's eyes narrowed into slits as his face turned slightly purple. "One day, kunoichi-"
"Let's go," Itachi interjected abruptly. "We've wasted enough time."
With a nod, Kisame bend down to pick the jinchuuriki up before slinging the limp form over his shoulder.
Silently, Sakura followed the three Akatsuki as they bounded from tree limb to tree limb, heading north.
At the thought of what was to come, Sakura sighed inwardly. This was it then. There was no backing out of her untested jutsu now, no matter what happened. She would just have to do all she could to keep the jinchuuriki alive, but it was beginning to look like the Akatsuki would get their hands on the hachibi.
Deciding to prepare while they moved onwards, she ran through everything she had learn in her research. The bands were in the scroll in her pack, and everything else was in her mind, so she was as prepared as she could be.
It was then that a pinprick of awareness urged her to glance over her shoulders.
Eyes widening in recognition, Sakura swallowed a gasp of elation as four Konoha shinobi came into view in the distance. They were clearly ANBU, but she could not make out who they were at this distance. Konoha was finally here!
But they were a little late, weren't they?
Indecision made her steps falter. The ANBU squad was close enough to catch up now. Should she continue to run, or should she try to come up with something to delay the Akatsuki? A quick glance sideways told her that the rest had spotted the Leaf ANBU as well.
"Konoha again!" Kisame growled as he pushed off another tree branch. "Hey, kunoichi, tell your friends to give up. They're just wasting their time."
Sakura cast the Mist-nin a dark scowl. "Why don't you tell them that yourself, Shark-Face? Or are you scared that they'll slice you up into little bite-sized pieces?"
Kisame's only response was a dismissive snort.
"They are a persistent bunch, hm? The same thing happened back when we caught Shukaku." Grinning, Deidara cast her a meaningful look. "At least you're on this side now, yeah."
Forcing out a tight smile, Sakura averted her eyes. For some reason, Deidara's words made her feel strangely… guilty.
"Deidara."
"What, hm?"
"Stay back and hold them off," Itachi instructed. "The rest of us will move forward and cover our trails."
Closing her eyes to conceal her anxiety, Sakura hoped that things would not turn too rough. Itachi's plan to hold Konoha back while the rest of them progressed meant that Konoha would never catch up in time to stop the extraction from happening unless they managed to defeat Deidara.
Deidara's eyes rounded. "There are four of them back there, yeah. How the hell am I supposed to finish them off and make it back in time?"
Frowning at the realization of something, Sakura asked, "We've been fighting for a while now. How exactly are we going to take part in the extraction when we're all so low on chakra?"
"We will replenish our chakra when we arrive at the extraction chamber," Itachi told her evenly. "It's a standard process."
Kisame's steps slowed as he turned to Itachi. Shifting the jinchuuriki down from his shoulder, he said, "Itachi-san, take the jinchuuriki. I'll stay back with Deidara to get rid of the leaf-nins faster."
Wordlessly, Itachi took the unconscious jinchuuriki from Kisame, propping the body over one shoulder. "Do not be late."
"It won't take long, Itachi-san."
"Let's go." Nudging at Itachi before turning to her, Deidara smirked, "Don't let him run off with the jinchuuriki, yeah."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "I can't see why Itachi-san would do such a thing."
When Deidara and Kisame turned around to head back the way they came from, Sakura joined Itachi in the opposite direction. Things were certainly not turning out as planned, she thought worriedly. Konoha had arrived far too late to be of any use. Tsunade would be so mad at the ANBU squad when she found out what happened. And probably mad at her too, for sending the message so late. She just hoped that the ANBU, whoever they were, would survive the fight with Deidara and Kisame. The last thing she needed was more deaths on her conscience.
"Sakura-san."
She slowed beside him, casting him a questioning look. "What?"
"Do you have a blank scroll in your possession?"
At the suddenness of Itachi's query, a frown on confusion made its way across her features. "A blank scroll?" Recalling what was in her pack, she replied slowly, "Yes. Why?"
"I need it."
Her frown deepened. It was not as if she had any immediate use for that spare scroll, but the fact that Itachi was asking for it seemed a little odd. Those scrolls were normally used for the execution of her medical jutsu, even though it could be used for other purposes.
"Why do you need it?" she asked curiously.
He cast her an indecipherable look. "It's… personal."
Personal? Baffled, Sakura blinked at him. The idea of Itachi indulging in something 'personal' seemed a little strange. But maybe he wanted to make some notes or something and she was just being overly suspicious. After all, it was only a scroll.
Deciding that it was not worth making a fuss about it, she nodded. Besides, if would look odd if she refused. Reaching into her pack, she pulled said scroll out and extended it to him.
"Here."
Taking it from her, he gave her a nod of thanks. "I'll replace it with a new one."
A small smile made its way to her lips. "That's not necessary, Itachi-san. It's only a blank scroll."
"I insist."
She sighed in exasperation. "Fine. Make sure it's a gold-gilded one then," she said wryly.
He raised a brow at her, the corner of his lips lifting slightly.
Waving a hand dismissively, she clarified, "I'm charging interest on it."
His eyes warmed a fraction with amusement. "Aa."
With that, Itachi turned from her to resume their journey. Occasionally, her gaze would slide towards the unconscious jinchuuriki propped on Itachi's shoulders, wondering if he would make it. Her jutsu was the only thing which could save Akira at this point, and she had every intention of not failing him, even though he had been hell-bent on killing her just now.
Shortly into the journey, Itachi made them stop. Then she spent the next hour or so backtracking and laying false trails under Itachi's instruction. By the end of it, Sakura finally resigned herself to the fact that Konoha would never catch up to them because this was the first time she had seen such an elaborate track-covering scheme.
"The technique you used isn't covered in the Konoha syllabus, is it?" she asked as they returned to the correct path.
He raised an inquiring brow at her.
She waved behind them before clarifying, "I meant how you covered our tracks. I don't remember learning it during my ANBU training."
His lips twisted slightly, and his features took on a look of disdain. "Konoha's training regime is flawed."
Biting back the urge to defend Konoha, Sakura closed her eyes to calm herself. When she spoke again, her voice was even. "So, it's something from another village?"
"It's mine," he supplied succinctly, his tone inviting no further questions.
Blinking with surprise, Sakura stared at him. She supposed she should have expected it from him. He was the prodigy of the Uchiha clan after all. One who was good enough to make it into ANBU when he was only eleven and two years later, had succeeded in murdering his entire clan. Strangely enough, she seemed to always overlook that little fact. To her, Itachi was Itachi, a member of the Akatsuki who happened to be her partner. Only at times like this would she be reminded of his background. Like a good little missing-nin, she had conveniently brushed aside his past, only seeing him for what he was now.
A little worried, Sakura raised a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. Perhaps this infiltration mission was really getting to her. She was in so deep that the line between reality and acting was getting a little blurred. Then again, she was doing things exactly like the way Kakashi had drilled into her.
Eyes softening, she allowed herself a brief moment of recollection.
It had been three weeks since she had accepted the mission to infiltrate the Akatsuki.
She and Kakashi were sitting under a tree in their usual training ground, while Naruto and Sai were sparring in the next one. Considering the scale of Naruto's and Sai's attacks nowadays, it was simply impossible to train in the same area without suffering some sort of accidental damage.
It was just as well, because she could hardly progress with her so-called 'ANBU training' with Naruto and Sai within hearing distance. And today's lesson was the first one she would have on the topic of espionage. It was the most important thing for her to learn well because she would be living such a life for who knew how long.
His Icha Icha book laid on his lap, Kakashi proceeded to tutor her on what she should and should not do. For once, he was showing some interest in training her.
"Try not to lie outright because I'm sure some of the Akatsuki is perceptive enough to catch it."
"Then what should I do?" she asked.
"Half-truths, Sakura. You shouldn't divulge much in the first place, because missing-nins are generally unwilling to talk. They won't expect you to be open."
"Okay," she replied slowly, not quite sure how she was going to pull it off.
"How good are you at acting, Sakura?"
She blinked. "I don't know. I've not done it before."
Kakashi peered at her assessingly out of his one visible eye. "The good news is, it's not difficult."
"What's the bad news?" she asked cautiously.
"To convince someone else, you'll have to first convince yourself. Once you're out there, you must behave like a missing-nin. And once you manage to convince yourself, you'll fit right in with them, and no one will be the wiser. It is important that you must believe you're a missing-nin or else it'll fail. And you will die."
Sakura swallowed hard.
Then Kakashi's eye creased as he beamed. "Don't worry too much about it, Sakura. You'll do fine."
A scowl made its way to her face. "How could I not worry, Kakashi-sensei? What if I can't convince anyone that I'm a missing-nin?"
"You'll be surprised just how easy it is to slip into the role," Kakashi remarked quietly. "That's not going to be your main problem, I think."
She leaned forward, wondering what he would tell her next. "Then what is?"
His visible eye flickered. "You might end up convincing yourself too well."
Sakura sighed as she brushed away the memory of her conversation with her sensei. As usual, he was right. Perhaps she had convinced herself a little too well, seeing just how comfortable she was around the Akatsuki. But what could she do about it? So long as she did not betray Konoha, everything should be okay, right?
It had to be okay, because she did not have any other option at this moment.
Itachi knew that he had taken a risk in asking the kunoichi for the scroll. It was clear that she had been suspicious of his motives. However, it could not be helped, for he did not carry one and did not have the time to procure one. The benefits outweighed the risks considering the circumstances.
Besides, from what he knew of the kunoichi, she was not the type to be indiscreet, even though she always appeared to express each and every emotion she felt whether it was inappropriate or not. In an odd way, it made her more trustworthy than the rest because she was so easy to read. If she chose to betray him, he would know.
It was then that it occurred to him that the kunoichi had been silent for a long time. He frowned slightly. It was most uncharacteristic of her to do so. A brief sideway glance told him that she was lost in her thoughts. Idly, he wondered what she was thinking. He doubted that she was thinking about their interaction in the past few days, for the look she sported appeared far to somber for it. It was likely that she was thinking about the extraction.
His thoughts were confirmed when she next spoke.
"Where is this extraction chamber?"
"Close to the border between Rain and River."
"We're almost there then."
"Aa."
Itachi glanced at the unconscious jinchuuriki slung over his shoulders. This one had a few followers. Although he was not like Naruto, who had the support of the entire Hidden Village of Leaf, the hachibi jinchuuriki had enough companions to give the Akatsuki more of a problem in capturing him.
Absently, Itachi could not help but wonder how Naruto had done it. From their previous encounters, it was clear that the Leaf shinobi truly treated him as one of their own. They were not there because they wish to use his power. They were there because he was one of them, he was their friend. How had the kyuubi vessel managed to gain the support of so many others?
Why was Naruto not isolated?
Unbidden, flashes of memories long forgotten invaded Itachi's mind.
"Look here, if it isn't Itachi," the elderly woman greeted cheerfully.
Itachi forced himself to smile back. He could not help but remember that time a few years ago that this woman was one of those who had slammed the window shut when he called for help. He understood now that it had been a necessary part of his training, but he could still feel the taste of betrayal on his tongue.
The woman's son stepped out from their house. The boy was only about three years older than him, if he remembered correctly. Used to this sort of reaction, Itachi simply stared at him impassively as the boy glared at him.
The boy's tone was mocking when he spat, "What are you doing here, Itachi? Not practicing any new jutsu to show off?"
The woman spun around to slap the back of her son's head. "Do not talk like that to Itachi! YOU should be the one practicing! When are you going to learn from Itachi? He was only seven when he became a genin. You're now twelve and you haven't even graduated from the Academy!" she scolded. "You're useless!"
"Okaa-san!" the boy complained as he rubbed the back of his head. "Don't compare me with him. He's a freak!"
"Don't say such things! Itachi's the pride of our clan! He's the one leading us all in the future."
There was nothing new about what she was saying. He had heard this conversation over and over again, albeit with different families. But Itachi did not want to listen anymore, so he began to walk away.
A bitter smile crossed his lips. So, he was the pride of the clan, huh? Yes, he supposed that the statement was accurate. After all, they had all played a part in his training, in pushing him towards his current skill level. They needed to do so because they needed someone to stand for the Uchiha name, even though those Uchihas around his age resented him for it.
That was also why he was isolated.
When one was as skilled as he was, isolation was inevitable. Within the clan, he was regarded as a prodigy, the one who brought them prestige, the one who put the Uchiha name above all other shinobi. It may be an arrogant thing to think of, but Itachi knew that it was nothing but the truth. His skills were something they took pride in. He was doing this so that they could hold their heads up high while walking down the streets of Konoha.
He was fully aware of the looks the rest of the genin gave him, even his own teammates. Those looks displayed their envy, mixed with a little fear. They were wise to be cautious, for he rarely held back during training or missions. Why should he? He had learnt from an early age that one needed to be pushed to excel, the way he had been pushed. The group of genin around him had obviously not learnt such a thing, and thus, their skills were below his.
Without him, they would still be doing D-Rank missions, instead of their usual C-Rank or B-Rank missions. Although B-Rank missions were not the norm for genin teams, the Sandaime had seen enough of his performance to allocate such missions to them when he was a part of the team.
Without him, they would simply be another regular, unremarkable genin team.
When the memory faded out of his mind, Itachi found himself standing before the assigned site for the extraction. He glanced down at the deep river, a little displeased that he had to submerge himself because this time, it was a chamber accessible only from an underwater entrance. The entrance itself, of course, was secured by seals.
The kunoichi glanced around, a perplexed frown adorning her brows. "Where's the place for the extraction?"
He inclined his head towards the flowing water. "Down in the river."
Her eyes rounded in incredulity. "You've got to be joking."
"No." His tone was tinged in muted disgust.
"Whose great idea was this?"
"Pein."
With that, Itachi lowered the jinchuuriki from his shoulder as he stepped into the river up to his waist. Knowing that he would not be able to do this on his own, he turned to the kunoichi. "We will pull him along between us."
She eyed the jinchuuriki with a frown. "Isn't he going to drown?"
"Unlikely."
A look of misgiving crossed her features, and then to his puzzlement, her expression changed to one which he could not decipher.
"I guess it can't be helped," she remarked evenly.
Then she jumped into the river on the other side of the jinchuuriki. Much to Itachi's annoyance, the impact of her landing splashed a generous amount of cold water into his face. It occurred to him then that as astounding as it was, the kunoichi possessed the grace of an elephant at times, but when it suited her, she could be as graceful as a swan.
He eyed her suspiciously through his wet lashes. Unless, of course, she splashed him on purpose? Not that it mattered of course, because they would both eventually be submerged in the water.
Giving him an innocent look, she said, "What?"
That look in itself was enough to confirm his suspicions. For a moment, he deliberated if he should counter her childish prank, until he was reminded that he had more important things to focus on now. He would pay her back, but later.
"Wait, let me try something on him first."
Wondering what she had in mind, Itachi simply nodded. Turning her attention to the jinchuuriki, she performed the seals for a wind jutsu, and then her chakra changed to one which glowed green before she held her palm to the jinchuuriki's nose.
At his questioning look, she explained, "It's what medics use sometimes instead of an oxygen mask. Don't want him to die on us, do we?"
"Hm."
Taking an arm each, they exchanged a look before simultaneously submerging themselves into the cold water. Slicing through the water with powerful strokes, Itachi pulled them deeper into the river, directing them towards the underwater entrance to the cavern. He halted at the blocked entrance and released his grip on the jinchuuriki's arm, allowing the kunoichi to hold the limp body by her chakra-enhanced hand.
A quick series of seals later, with a low rumble, the boulder blocking the entrance moved aside to allow them entry.
Treading water, Itachi turned to the kunoichi. Idly, he noted the way her hair was spread all around her in a pink mass, making her look somewhat ethereal. Shaking the random thought away, Itachi reached his hands out to take the jinchuuriki from her.
It was then that a stray underwater current slammed into him from behind, abruptly forcing him towards the kunoichi.
Before he could prevent it, his lips connected with her soft warm ones, and his eyes shot up to meet her widened emerald orbs through the water. Then the current pushed against him again, forcing his right cheek to slide past hers. And when his arm went around her waist in reflex, he could not help but think of just how silky her skin felt against his in the water.
For a brief moment, he contemplated pulling her closer to taste her lips properly.
In the next second, his vision was obscured by a mass of air bubbles as the kunoichi broke from his hold. As the bubbles cleared, he caught Sakura staring at him with horrified eyes. Then she blinked, and the spell was broken. Face reddening visibly, she pushed him away furiously to swim into the cavern.
Slightly disconcerted by what had just happened, but realizing that the kunoichi had left the jinchuuriki to sink, Itachi dipped downwards to retrieve their package. Moments later, he was swimming back up with the jinchuuriki, the feel of kunoichi's lips and skin still firmly planted in his mind.
However, it was not long before his discomfiture eased to be replaced by amusement, especially when he recalled her panicked flight. It had only been a simple brush of his lips, nothing more. Surely she knew that it was simply an accident, and that he had not intended to brush his lips over hers. Still, he could admit that he had been tempted to do more, but which red-blooded male wouldn't?
However, it was something that he could explore later, as right now, he had more important things to handle than his strange preoccupation with the kunoichi. With that thought, Itachi proceeded through the entrance with the jinchuuriki, careful to ensure that the boulder returned into its original position.
Moments later, he broke through the surface of the water into an underwater cavern. Moving towards the ledge nearby, he began to push the jinchuuriki up, only to have a small pair of boots appear before his eyes. Without a word, the kunoichi pulled the jinchuuriki out of the water. Not once did she look at him, but there was no mistaking the tension in her posture.
When Itachi was once again standing on dry land, he turned towards her, finding her just as drenched as he was. He attempted to gauge her reaction to the incident earlier, but she was still not looking at him. Instead, her attention was fixed on the jinchuuriki, checking him over. Then she stood up, and to his surprise, she executed a wind jutsu, bringing a gust of warm wind which swirled around them swiftly, rapidly drying their clothes.
Crouching, Itachi brought the jinchuuriki up to his shoulder again. Then, deciding that he should say something to dispel the tension, he turned to her.
"It was an accident."
The kunoichi immediately tensed, and she did not respond immediately. It was only when they began to walk out of the little cavern to head towards the main extraction chamber that the kunoichi finally spoke.
"It's already forgotten. Like you said, it was an accident." Her tone was even.
"Hm."
With that, they continued the rest of their journey in silence.
Pein, Konan and Tobi's projections were already present when they walked into the chamber. Itachi allowed his eyes to land briefly on the statue of the King of Hell as he brought the jinchuuriki to the centre of the chamber.
"You've both done well," Pein said, his projection moving closer to peer down at the jinchuuriki. Then he looked up at them. "Where are Kisame and Deidara?"
"Konoha caught up with us," the kunoichi replied. "Kisame and Deidara are holding them back."
Pein's eyes narrowed slightly. "They interrupted the capture?"
This time, Itachi chose to respond. "No. They arrived afterwards."
"Kisame and Deidara-senpai should be able to deal with them, right?" Tobi piped up.
There it was again, Itachi noted as Pein nodded absently at Tobi's words. Still, he and the kunoichi had done their part and now, they had other things to take care of. He had other things to take care of. Deciding to leave the jinchuuriki for the rest to prepare, Itachi turned to the kunoichi. To his relief, her features displayed none of her earlier discomfiture. Like him, she had obviously decided to focus on their Akatsuki tasks.
"Come."
She gave him an inquiring look.
"We have to replenish our chakra," he replied to her unspoken question.
He could feel Tobi's eyes on his back as he walked away from the centre of the main chamber, but Itachi retained his calm. It was simply not possible for Tobi or anyone else to suspect what he was about to do, and Itachi wished for it to remain that way.
"How exactly are we doing that?" the kunoichi asked, walking beside him.
"You'll see."
Reaching a small alcove at the edge of the chamber, Itachi focused on a black stone next the opening. Gesturing at the groove in the stone, he instructed, "Press your ring in there and you'll allowed entry."
She blinked at him, and then nodded. Lowering her hand, she pressed her ring into the groove. Right before his eyes, she shimmered out of sight. He followed promptly and was soon standing in a dark chamber, illuminated only by the glowing orb seated on a pedestal in the centre of the space. Like the other times, Pein had summoned the orb to this chamber so that they could use it prior to the hachibi extraction.
"This is the same orb as the one from my initiation?" she asked, walking towards it.
"That's correct."
Her eyes widened in comprehension. "I see. It took a lot of chakra out of me during the initiation. So it's giving it back now?"
"Not exactly." Though he was rather impressed by her quick deduction.
She frowned at him impatiently. "Perhaps you'd like to explain."
"It is capable of multiplying what you left there initially, therefore you should be able to replenish your chakra fully."
She stared at the orb with misgiving. He understood her reaction, for the notion of his chakra being kept in such a manner did not sit well with him either. However, it was something which was necessary. And in his case, it was something that assisted in his own plans.
Deciding that it was time to move on, he said, "You will need to form a simple series of seals."
She eyed the orb cautiously before lifting her gaze to him. "You should go first, then I can watch how you do it."
Needing her to leave first, he deliberately goaded, "Are you incapable of following simple instructions?"
Bristling immediately, she snapped, "Fine. Show me the jutsu then."
As always, it never failed to amuse him how she could puff up like an agitated feline each time she felt affronted. Did she not realize that in doing so, she was simply inviting more of the same? Perhaps this was why Kisame enjoyed taunting her so often. Smirking at her response, he lifted his hands and proceeded to go through the seals as he usually did.
Her eyebrow twitched, and then the kunoichi cast him a baleful look. "Mind repeating that? Perhaps at half the speed?" she bit out dryly.
"You are too slow," he taunted blandly.
Her eyes flashed with indignation. "Itachi-san. I do not appreciate being insulted."
"Hm."
Still amused, Itachi displayed the seals slowly this time, ensuring that she took in all the moves. When she nodded at him, he gestured for her to lay her hands on the surface of the orb.
"The same thing will happen, only in reverse this time," he told her.
"I understand."
With that, she formed the seals perfectly and placed both her palms on the smooth rounded surface. Her eyes fluttered shut as she focused her attention on the jutsu. Soon, the orb filled with cloudy red streaks which signified that the commencement of process and the entire chamber begin to vibrate with the strength of the transfer.
As the kunoichi began to replenish her chakra, Itachi glanced around. The chamber was fully shielded from detection so that its presence remained hidden. No one except those within the chamber would know what was happening within it. It was a double-edged sword, for in protecting it in such a manner, Pein was making things simpler for one to exploit its weakness. A weakness that Itachi had every intention of exploiting this very day.
When the vibration around him ceased, Itachi turned to face the kunoichi. With his Sharingan, he could tell that her chakra was fully replenished.
"You'll return first," he instructed as she opened her eyes.
She frowned slightly. "What about you?"
"I'll join you later."
He watched as she hesitated for a mere moment before she nodded. Then, performing a chain of seals, the kunoichi disappeared from the chamber.
Itachi turned back to the orb. It was time for him to commence his plan. With that in mind, he pulled out the blank scroll and bit hit thumb. In seconds, there were slashes of blood-red kanji written all over the scroll.
Knowing that he had prepared all he could, Itachi laid one hand on the orb and the other on the scroll before he proceeded to draw chakra from the orb. His crimson eyes gleamed with satisfaction when his chakra flowed into his body.
While another's chakra flowed past into the scroll.
A/N: That's it for the battle scenes for a while, you'll be glad to hear, hehe! The hachibi arc will be done soon and the next few chapters will focus more on Itachi and Sakura. As always, please review if you could because I'd like to know what you think of the chapter.
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