A/N: Sorry for updating late, I had to work around a teensy weensy block or else this chapter would have wound up being filler-ish again.
Itachi had had his reasons for saving the young kunoichi on that battlefield, but he certainly wasn't going to tell her what they were. That would be like presenting himself to Sasuke with a pretty pink ribbon tied around his waist and saying, "Come an' get me, my adorable little brother!" and that was the last thing he would ever do.
So, he had no other choice. He would continue to evade the girl's questions and put up with the annoying—and yet oddly enjoyable—antics she liked to perform with the hopes that she would annoy him into telling her why he saved her.
"Why did you save me?"
"A momentary lapse in judgment."
"Why did you save me?"
"Temporary insanity."
"Why did you save me?"
"I plead the fifth."
"Why did you save me?"
"Because your big mouth would make a nice paperweight."
There was silence on her end, making him look up from the book he was reading to see a very thoughtful expression on her face. With a mental shrug, he assumed she was just trying to regroup and find a new tactic to squeeze the information from him. He had every confidence that it wouldn't work and so went back to reading his book.
"I don't believe you," she said in that matter-of-fact way she had.
"Then what will you believe?" he queried, his words only half-registering in his mind since the other half busied itself with soaking in the knowledge the book offered.
"The truth," she answered, sounding a bit frustrated. Not good. He'd hoped he could get her riled up enough that she'd want to fight him. That would have definitely given him an excuse to let off some steam.
"What makes you think that none of the answers I just gave you are the truth?"
"You're already a sociopath, so you can't plead itemporary/i insanity and you're the type that thinks things through thoroughly before following through. You aren't the type to have a 'temporary lapse in judgment'."
That made him stop. He clenched the book in his hands for a moment, then forced himself to relax and closed the book with forced gentleness. Looking up, his expression grim, he told her, "Don't try to pretend to understand me, Haruno-san. I can assure you that it's a mistake you'll wish you never made."
She shrugged.
With a shake of his head, he went back to his book, but then wondered why the hell he was putting up with this. It had been three days since Sakura had awoken in his bed and, since then, the little witch hadn't shut up long enough for him to be able to relax except for when he slept. But he never slept well, anyway. With the hopes that it'd scare her enough to make her go away for a while, he said, "You don't seem to understand the fact that I could easily kill you."
"Oh, I have no doubt about that," she corrected lightly, smiling oh-so-innocently. How many people had she fooled with that cute little smile while her devil's horns were hidden behind it, he wondered? "But I know that you won't."
He quirked a brow at her.
"You won't because that'd make your whole saving me thing for nothing," she told him, "And, I know you don't want me to act like I understand you, but I really doubt you're the type to waste your efforts so heedlessly. You had a reason for saving me and you're not going to change your mind just because I'm a know-it-all."
Had he mentioned that this woman infuriated him to no end and that she was a little bitch? No? Well, now he had.
"So, feeling talkative now?"
"Not particularly."
"Huh, I'd been certain that was a good strategy, too."
"Guess again."
She sighed, tapping a finger to her chin with thought. Then, she hung her head and admitted, "I've got nothin'."
"Good," he murmured and then, finally, went back to his book.
"So... why don't you take me back to Konoha?"
Oh, for God's sake, was he never going to be able to read?! "Excuse me?"
"Well, all I'm doing is sitting here, bugging you, unable to leave wherever the hell we are," she told him, waving her hand around the library for emphasis, "So, I'm just wondering when you're going to get tired enough of my company that you'll just take me back to Konoha."
"You're not going back to Konoha," he stated.
"Oh?" she asked, a touch of puzzlement in her expression and a lot of reluctance in her voice, "Why not?"
"Once we receive word that the rest of the Akatsuki are finished dealing with Orochimaru, it's very likely that you'll be admitted as a member of the Akatsuki," he told her, watching as her face went from puzzled to surprised to horrified.
She opened to speak, but nothing came out. She did this a few times, making her look like a pink-haired fish with legs. Itachi had thought he'd be happy to see that look on her face, to see her actually struck speechless, but he had to admit, he didn't like it. It tugged at heartstrings he'd thought had long since died and the feeling wasn't exactly comfortable.
"What?" she asked, her voice soft, weak, distant. "What are you saying? I don't understand."
"Pein told me the day before the battle," he explained, suddenly feeling like he owed her an explanation... which was odd since he kept telling her that he owed her nothing. "He said that you weren't allowed to leave, that your alliance to us could never be broken ever again. That you were to be the eleventh member of Akatsuki."
"The eleventh member," she murmured softly, her eyes dazing over. "This... can't be possible."
"To the contrary, it's very possible."
Snapping back to where she was, she said pleadingly, "Please tell me that this is all a joke. That you're only telling me this so as revenge for my annoying you? Please."
"I would, but it'd be a lie. I hate games."
"Then what is this?!"
"The truth," he answered grimly and heard the harsh intake of breath, the sound telling him that Sakura hadn't been expecting that. He wished he could have smirked at the young kunoichi and enjoyed her pain, but he couldn't. What was it with her and bringing out his true character?
And he couldn't even give any serious attempt at hating her.
A/N: Sounds like Itachi has a bit of a problem, huh?