Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. All of it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter Two: The Encounter

As soon as Sakura entered her house, kunai brandished, she swore beneath her breath. Her whole house was in a state of disarray; furniture had been overturned and the curtains yanked down, the kitchen had been raided and food was everywhere, and her closet had been yanked free of its contents. Her axe lay beneath many of the coats and uniforms there, and she bent momentarily to grab it, her eyes still scanning the room.

"Haruno-san, there's two in the training room! We've got them surrounded!" Tenten's voice came over her radio, and Sakura angrily fumbled with it, standing with her axe in hand.

"Be careful, Tenten! Don't underestimate the Akatsuki or you'll be killed!"

"Exactly, Haruno-san. We know, yeah." Sakura's eyes widened as a familiar, yet strange voice came across the radio that she knew didn't belong to any of the ANBU. Leaping into the center of the room and spinning around, she could only watch in horror as the ANBU that had been behind her transformed with a puff of smoke; the man's blonde hair swished and his Akatsuki cloak rustled very slightly as he did so. His bangs covered one of his eyes, and the obnoxious smirk he wore on his face could only belong to one man.

"Deidara!" The name came as a hiss from the pink-haired kunoichi, and she gripped her axe a little tighter, bracing herself. Deidara chuckled, holding out his upturned palm to reveal a tiny clay spider.

"Just try anything and my beautiful artwork will make your face into a lovely sculpture of texture and blood. Now just listen to what we have to say, yeah?" As he spoke, two other Akatsuki emerged from the room next to her, and one from the back door. She couldn't tell who they were, because her eyes were trained entirely on Deidara, but she scowled anyways.

"What have you done with my men?" A throaty chuckle came from her left, and Sakura's head jerked in its direction as she heard two more people coming from upstairs. Kakuzu waved his hand nonchalantly, as if brushing her off.

"Hey, don't worry about them, eh. We just knocked them out for a while, but they had cash on them so I raided 'em too." The figure next to him shook his head, but otherwise remained silent. Hidan had never approved of Kakuzu's greed for money, but he had his own quirks. Lowering his head, he closed his eyes and began to pray, mumbling something Sakura couldn't understand.

"Oy! Don't you ever knock that off? We're on an important mission, yeah?" Deidara's sharp remark brought Sakura's focus back on him, and she began to back away slowly. She bumped into the Akatsuki behind her, and found herself caught, with Tobi's powerful arms wrapped around her faster than she could move away. Struggling, Sakura looked to her right as she heard another chuckle, but this one was rougher, deeper than the last.

"Fiesty one, aren't you? You're just like the Kyuubi brat." Kisame's voice sounded throughout the house, and Sakura growled. Instinctively, she made an attempt to bite Tobi's arm, but to no avail; she couldn't move anything except for her legs and head, and that did her virtually no good at this point.

"What do you want with me? If you're just trying to get Naruto..."

"Of course not, Haruno-san. But of course, you don't know, do you?" Deidara gave her a small look of surprise before turning to his companions, smirking.

"I think we should tell her, but not here, yeah?" Kisame and Kakuzu both smirked at the young woman, chuckling darkly. Sakura's eyes widened as she felt Tobi's arms tighten, forcing the air out of her lungs, and Kisame moved out of her range of vision. Suddenly, Sakura was released from Tobi, and she fell on her hands and knees, gasping for air.

"Why you- aa!" Sakura's cry rang out as Kisame quickly knifehanded her at the nape of the neck, and she fell forward, unconscious, her axe barely touching her hand. Turning her limp form with his foot, Kisame smirked and picked her up, hoisting her over his shoulder.

"Remind me again why we're not just extracting her immediately, Itachi?" The Uchiha in question moved further down from the stairs, casting a glare in his partner's direction.

"I want her to know why we're doing it, that's why. I've been given permission to do so."

"Right then, let's head back to the base. Boss is waiting; he wants to see her before we actually perform the extraction, yeah?" Deidara smirked and calmly walked behind Tobi, who turned to follow him. The giant clay bird awaited them outside, well hidden among the trees as Deidara and Tobi mounted it, before flying off. Heaving a sigh, Kakuzu also left through the backdoor, but began to rn among the trees instead. Hidan followed suit, having finished his prayer, leaving Itachi, Kisame and Sakura. Itachi frowned when Kisame began to laugh, his arm wrapped around Sakura's legs.

"Hey, Itachi-san, how long's it been since you got laid?"

"Shut up." Itachi's remark cut across coldly, and Kisame continued to chuckle, walking out back to the forest.

"Whatever you say, Itachi-san."

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Sakura's head was pounding when she woke up, but she didn't bother to open her eyes. She was too afraid to open them, but she was forced to do so as she felt someone poke the lump on the back of her head. Yelping in pain, Sakura spun around, glaring at the offender and snarling. Kisame crouched next to her, grinning, his finger still in the position to poke her again.

"You!" Sakura's shout rang through the tiny, dimly lit room, and she lunged at the Akatsuki, only to find herself jerked back unceremoniously. It wasn't until then that she realized her hands were bound in chakra-woven restraints. Kisame burst out laughing as Itachi entered the room, the Uchiha quirking an eyebrow as he stood in the doorway.

"Kisame, the boss said we're to begin in a week. He's still trying to get Orochimaru's ring back, as a final test before we try again for Kyuubi."

"What are you talking about! You're gonna leave Naruto alone, you hear me!" Sakura's angry yells made Itachi rather irritated, and he gave her a look of disdain.

"We will, until we're finished with you." The kunoichi's eyes widened and she backed against the wall, her knees pulled to her chest as her arms wrapped protectively around them.

"What do you mean? What're you going to do...?" Itachi smirked, shutting the door behind him as he sat on the tiny bed across from Sakura. Kisame grinned and sat as well, though he remained next to the woman. There was a long silence, and Sakura's patience was rather slim. As she opened her mouth to demand he tell her, Itachi spoke, his sultry tone ringing through her ears.

"You're the Jinchuuriki of Nanabi."

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Author's Note: Forgive me, this chapter's really confusing... but it gets better, I promise! I got my first comment, and I suppose my readers want to know the main pairings. There's only two, and I'm giving you only one for now: Sakura/Sai.