Yay, I only got a couple flames for last chapter, well ha. Silly people, read between the lines!
"Well then, that's that. Congratulations, Haruno-san," Pein remarked. Sakura just stared. The blood dripped off of her clothing, splattering the green grass beneath her. She released the kunai and stepped back, eyes wide with horror. She hadn't killed often and this was the worst of them all. The corpse twitched slightly, then fell still.
Sakura felt her stomach retch. She couldn't handle this, not now. She turned to Itachi, "Uchiha-san, please take me back." Itachi nodded, expressionless; as if his features were carved into stone. Sakura turned to Pein, bowed slightly then fell into Itachi's arms. He picked her up slowly and headed back to the base.
As soon as they were out of sight, he placed her down. "You know, you are a very good actress." It was Sakura's turn to smirk. She did feel that she did a pretty good job.
"Thanks, that means a lot, coming from you," she gave him shy hug, "I can't thank you enough for helping me. If you hadn't told me it was just Leader's technique at work, I don't think I would have been able to go through with it. I had no idea he could make such a perfect illusion."
"It's no problem." He didn't think it was fair to tell her that she did, in fact, kill someone, just not her friend. Pein's technique was quite convincing, only his sharingan can tell when he shape-shifts a person.
Itachi also gave props to the replacement. They had done quite a good job impersonating the jinchuuriki, but Itachi wondered, what did Pein tell him? He didn't tell one of his subordinates that a kunoichi from the leaf village was going to murder him, did he?
Itachi turned back to Sakura and patted her on the back, she did well.
Sakura walked a moment longer, then realized, "they do have Naruto, don't they?" Itachi nodded. "You have to help me get him out of here! If he dies... I don't know what I'd do."
She looked so close to tears, Itachi couldn't help but agree, but I'd be risky... "Are you sure, Sakura? Perhaps we shouldn't take that chance. If they find us, we'd be killed."
"Itachi, I'll do this alone. You just need to tell me where to find Naruto, and I'll do the rest."
Itachi considered this a moment, then shook his head. "No, I couldn't let that happen."
"You won't help me?"
"I never said that. I will help you Sakura, because... I love you."
Sakura paused, then smiled. "I love you too, Itachi." She stood on her tip-toes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. He stared ahead, in shock then smiled. It was a genuine smile, not a smirk or a snarl, a smile.
"Alright, love. Let's plan a breakout." He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into a deep kiss, sealing the deal.
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Kisame was angry. He hadn't actually expected Sakura to kill her friend. It took a special kind of person to be that heartless, well an Akatsuki would fit that description pretty well, but he hadn't thought that Sakura was Akatsuki material. Although, Kisame was known to be wrong.
If Sakura failed, Kisame would have been the one to kill her himself, leaving Itachi as alone as he was. He couldn't get over what had happened over a decade over ago, the event that created his loneliness. The loss of the one person that could see past his bizarre looks and terrible temper...
Flashback...
Kisame wiped the blood from the Samehada, his face grim. It took him all week to find his target, and he was exhausted. He threw himself on his large double bed, located in the hidden shack he called home.
The house was small, consisting of only two bedrooms and one bathroom. It was small, but comfortable.
He gazed around the tight space, noting it's cleanliness. 'Akira must have been cleaning... again,' he thought. Akira was obsessed with keeping things as neat as possible, often spending hours cleaning a day. She was currently out in the garden, picking the vegetables that had just ripened.
Kisame threw his sword down and stretched, 'why not go and see how she's doing...' He picked his way around various buckets of water and packets of sponges to the back door. Sliding the screen open, he smiled.
Akira was bent over, hands deep in the dark soil, frantically ripping out carrots. Kisame called out to her, "Hey, what's the rush, love?" She gasped and leapt up.
"Kisame, oh you're back!" she called, rushing up to meet him. She wrapped her slender arms around his neck and gave him a big welcome kiss. He chuckled and returned the kiss then dipped her low, causing her to giggle.
"So, how'd the mission go?" she asked politely.
"Tediously, I'm actually kind of sick of it all. There's no structure whatsoever. Who knows if next week I'll even have a mission."
"Maybe we should have stayed in the Mist village, if stability is what you desire."
"The mist village, stable? Being a swordsman for that pathetic plot of land was the most strenuous thing I've ever done. I was always watching my back for assassins and mercenaries. Trust me, here is much better."
"Whatever you say, hun," she replied, pouring a large glass of sake for her love. He drank it down greedily. He hadn't had a decent drink in ages.
"What would I do without you?" he asked, pulling her into a tight embrace.
She sighed and buried her face into his shirt, "I love you, Kisame."
"As do I... as do I."
End flashback...
Kisame smacked his head against a nearby tree. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get over her. Every time he closed his eyes, her gorgeous face was there, smiling sadly at him. But she was gone now, he had to remember that. There was no way of bringing her back, but there was a way to make him feel better about it.
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Tsunade was rushing through the streets, hurrying to reach the hospital. Since Sakura was gone, she had to take over her numerous shifts, which did not ease the Hokage's stress. She rounded the corner and ran right into Hinata, Shino and Kiba.
"Hey, you kids watch it. I have places to go!" she grumbled, pushing past.
"Wait, Tsunade-sama! Have you heard any news?" Kiba shouted at her. She turned, sighing loudly.
"No, actually I haven't. Thanks for reminding me of such a painful part of my life right now." She turned to Hinata, remembering her recent injury. "How's your arm healing? Are all the nerves working properly?"
Hinata blushed and looked down. "Y-yes, thank you so much. My arm is much better, thanks to y-you," the young girl stuttered.
"Good to hear, I gotta run now," Tsunade turned away, but shouted over her shoulder, "I'll keep you posted on the retrieval!"
Kiba sighed. This was so much like when Sasuke left, such a depressing subject. Sakura had been the backbone of the village. She was the one who basically ran the hospital, kept Tsunade in order and kept everyone's spirits up during particularly tough missions.
But she hadn't been the same since Sasuke left. She became more fragile, becoming sad over the smallest things. Sasuke had taken a piece of her heart and locked it away.
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Itachi held onto Sakura's hand tightly. She kept wanting to find Naruto that second, but he argued that waiting until the cover of night would be most effective. He was currently keeping her from searching the whole base, with an iron grip on her hand.
"Seriously, Sakura stop it. We need a plan, just barging down there would get us caught for sure!"
"So it's underground? Are we going to burrow in? Come on, let's go get him!" she shouted frantically. Itachi clasped his other hand over her mouth.
"Do you really want us to get caught? They would kill us, is that not getting through to you?"
"If you're so afraid, let me go alone!"
"Sakura, you know I can't be without you. Every second we're apart, I am tortured a little more. If you were to die, I would die as well." Sakura just looked into his eyes, and stopped struggling. He really did love her, did she return the same feelings, to that extent? Would she be able to live without the criminal?
Another look into his dark, trusting eyes gave her the answer, no. No she couldn't live without the Uchiha. He was so much more than what Sasuke was, she couldn't even remember what she saw in that foolish little brother of Itachi's.
They only had a few hours before they would put their lives on the line and they were going to spend them the way lovers should, frantically making a plan to break Naruto out of the clutches of Akatsuki.
How was it? Review!! I bet you're all sorry you freaked out, aren't you? Like I would kill of Naruto, geez.