Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters.

Chapter Five: The Taming of the Beast

It had now been almost four days since Sakura had eaten.

Starving, tired and weak, the kunoichi had refused all of Itachi's attempts to break her spirit. She knew he was toying with her; she would starve to death, making it easier to remove Nanabi, or submit to him, which would give him the satisfaction of torturing her until she was broken in, like a wild horse that had been forced into captivity. Either way, he would win. Now, on the morning of her third day of capture, Sakura was laying on the floor rather than sitting up; Itachi was due any minute with his breakfast. The sound of the doorknob turning heralded his arrival.

"Well well, Sakura, what now? You look awfully hungry." This was the first time he had called her by her first name, but she could really care less at this point. Struggling to sit up, Sakura managed to give him a halfhearted glare, her hair coming loose from its braid and falling in messy strands around her face.

"Just give me the goddamn rice, Itachi." Her voice was ragged, and Itachi smirked as he pulled out the box, the lid already halfway off. He didn't sit on the bed this time; instead he walked to Sakura, holding the box above her head. The smell of the curry that was also in there was making the kunoichi groan and clutch at her stomach desperately.

"You want this? Fine. But you'll have to pay for it."

"Ugh... with what?" Sakura's hand gripped his Akatsuki cloak as she used it to pull herself up, growling darkly. Itachi simply chuckled and held the box higher.

"I want you to fight me, later; it's been a while since I've had any fun. Eat and rest up, because you'll need to be at full strength... if you can beat me."

"Whatever. Just give it here, dammit." Smirking, Itachi gave her the box, and she set it in front of her, trying to hold herself back. If she ate too fast, she wouldn't be able to fight him, but she honestly didn't see how it would matter; she was going to die either in the fight, or he'd just kill her if she refused to participate. Kisame entered, and Itachi left, giving his partner instructions as he did so.

"Make sure she gets to eat enough, and let her rest. If she can't sleep, then make her." Kisame glanced at Itachi, nodding, then shut the door behind him, giving the girl in front of him an almost sympathetic glance. Itachi sure loved his torture methods; sometimes, even Kisame was mortified by them. Sakura simply continued to eat in silence, her only thoughts directed towards Itachi and the amount of kunai she'd love to stick in him.

She couldn't believe what she had been reduced to.

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Sai had finally reached the land of Kawa no Kuni. Now all he had to do was figure out exactly where the Akatsuki base was, and how to get in without being noticed. Already, the rivers and lakes that dotted the landscape were becoming likely suspects that hid the base; even so, he couldn't risk letting his guard down. There were few ninja in Kawa no Kuni, so he wasn't likely to run into one, but the Akatsuki were far too powerful to just try to walk past and hope they didn't notice you. Scowling, Sai crept towards the trees that bordered the land, bumping into a tree behind him. Or, what seemed like a tree, at first. Turning around, the ANBU found himself staring at the gaping mouth of a great, brownish bird- if it could be called that. Leaping backwards in time to avoid being eaten, Sai drew several kunai and threw them at the bird; though the blades stuck into it, the bird didn't even flinch. Its blank, dark eyes stared Sai down as if it could make him as empty as it with those sockets. A cold laugh rang through the air, and Deidara leaped down from his creation's head, smirking.

"So what're you doing here, boy? You looking for the kunoichi, yeah?" Sai scowled, reaching for his kunai pouch; however, he froze as he saw Deidara's smirk grow into a sadistic grin.

"You don't want to do that. My precious little spider is on your shoulder, and one wrong move... your head goes flying, yeah?" Glancing at his shoulder, Sai noticed that, indeed, there was a little clay spider there. It had been dropped on him when he had bumped into the giant bird; Deidara's skill couldn't be questioned when it came to unnoticed death threats.

"Shit... What do you want?"

"You shouldn't be here, boy. Get out, or you're coming with me. I'm sure Zetsu would love to watch you squirm as he eats you alive." Chuckling, Deidara began idly tossing a small lump of clay in the air, catching it with utmost ease.

"I'm not going anywhere. You have my captain." Heaving a sigh, the Akatsuki gave the ANBU an almost disappointed look.

"Ah, too bad. I suppose you're not as smart as you look. Then, I'll just have to dispose of you myself!"

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Author's Note: Whew, I'm on a roll here! I can't stop writing this stuff! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! (Sorry it took me so long. I was eyeing someone's DA page trying to get a Kiriban. I know, I know... I'm evil.) However, when I kept getting the review alerts, I kind of went 'Holy crap Batman!' Does this mean this story is REALLY that popular? I'm just trying to make it somewhat believable... O.o