Chapter 3:

Sakura sat rigid in a state of surprise. She was sharing a bench with Itachi as he conversed with Kisame who kept shooting her smug looks. If she wasn't scared out of her mind she might have been listening and blurting out questions right now, but she was scared out of her mind and could honestly say she didn't give a damn about what they were speaking about.

After all, not many people take finding out they're a demon lightly. It was an event that changed you forever, and seemed to put a giant weight on your shoulders. You couldn't take 2 steps without realizing the weight was there and feeling it crush you.

Sakura honestly didn't know the details of her demon; she hadn't bothered to ask. The most she had been plainly informed was that she was a container, and that's possibly all she really wanted to know at the moment.

She scanned the room with her emerald orbs completely unaware of the looks she was getting from the 2 men. Kisame leaned a bit closer towards Itachi to speak with him in a lower tone of voice.

"What does leader expect us to do with her for 3 months?' He asked shooting Sakura another strange look. Itachi's crimson eyes landed on the pink-haired girl's profile and a flicker of interest darted across them.

"Drag her along with us I suppose," he plainly answered taking a small sip of water. "We're to watch over her until the demon chakra is extracted." Kisame's face contorted in annoyance and disgust.

"We're actually expected to take her everywhere?" He clarified. "Even on missions?" Itachi gave a curt nod and peeled his eyes away.

"Unless you have some other suggestion." The shark man leaned back and pondered for several moments. He finally gave a sigh and scratched the back of his head.

"I suppose I don't."

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Naruto darted through the trees, only taking the time to pause every several miles to catch his breath; Kakashi was always directly behind.

Kakashi had requested joining Naruto in the search for Sakura. After all, they both were his former students, and he still felt a sense of duty to protect them. Besides, over the years he can honestly say they've grown on him.

Naruto paused on a swaying tree branch and looked over his shoulder.

"Where do you think they are?" He asked. Kakashi stopped as well.

"Who knows where Sasuke might have taken her," he answered truthfully, looking around for any possible trace of the pink-haired girl.

"Maybe he took her back to sound." Kakashi shook his head.

"That can't be it," he denied. "Why would Sasuke want to bring Sakura back to sound?"

"Well…he seemed different," Naruto reasoned trying to come up with possible reasons. As Kakashi thought his eyes widened.

"I don't think that was Sasuke," he blurted out looking over at Naruto. The blonde's head snapped in the silver-haired nin's direction.

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Think about it, why would Sasuke ever come back from sound? After all, he should be there gaining power from Orochimaru, or have his body taken over. Either way he shouldn't be out of Sound."

"So what are you suggesting? That, the man in the cell was simply an imposter?" Kakashi nodded.

"That's exactly what I'm thinking." Naruto frowned.

"Then…who was that in the cell?" Kakashi's shoulders relaxed in defeat and he felt a sense of being outmatched.

"I'm…not sure."

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Itachi lead Sakura through a narrow hallway and gently pushed a door open and gestured for her to pass. She nervously nodded and entered the small bedroom. She looked around in curiosity; it appeared to be a normal bedroom. She had imagined them locking her in some sort of musty cell, but this was the complete opposite.

The walls were a creamy beige and the floor a polished mahogany, and a white oval rug was position by the small box spring bed against the left wall. Against the back wall was a small dresser with a digital alarm clock resting atop of it. As she walked further into the room she saw a small walk-in closet and a simple wooden door.

"That's your bathroom," Itachi told her as he followed her gaze to the door. Sakura jumped forgetting that he was there and gave him a small glance over her shoulder. The eldest Uchiha simply glared back with an unwavering poker face; his crimson orbs followed her every time she moved.

"Its…cozy," she pointlessly commented in the hope that maybe she'd gain some brownie points with this cold man; his expression remained unchanged.

"Supper's at 6," he said and gently closed the door with a click as he exited the room.

When he had left, Sakura plopped down on the edge of her bed. The springs in the mattress made a small creaking noise from the added weight. Her jade orbs looked down at the floor as she desperately attempted to organize all the rampant thoughts in her mind. So far, the only thing she knew everything about was that she had been kidnapped by the Akatsuki, anything besides that was just mush in her brain serving no real purpose, other than blocking out any rational thoughts.

Her eyes traveled up to the digital clock; 5:32, she sighed. First Sasuke comes back and then this…wait- Her eyes widened as Sasuke crossed her mind.

"What happened to him?" She whispered to herself. Had the Akatsuki killed him? Or was he a prisoner like herself? If that's the case, he should be around here somewhere.

Sakura nervously stood up from her bed and crossed the room to the door. Taking a deep breath, she twisted the bronze handle and gently pushed open the door. She poked her head around the corner, looking up and down the hall; no one was around.

She turned around and gently shut the door to not attract any attention. Her bare feet made a soft padding noise as she crept down the hall keeping an eye and an ear out for any approaching Akatsuki members.

When she rounded the corner to the next hallway she saw that it was empty as well and continued her journey.

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15 minuets and 5 identical hallways later, Sakura paused with a frustrated pout on her lips. She scanned the surrounding area carefully for the person casting the Genjutsu upon her; the halls were empty. The realization of the chilly silence finally struck her. The only sounds were the breaths she took, and the rapid heartbeat in her chest.

"Who's there?" She called out nervously, her eyes darting about. The Genjutsu was dropped and she opened her eyes; she was still in the first hallway. She cursed herself for being so vulnerable and for not realizing the genjutsu sooner. Using the wall for support she stood up with shaky knees and looked over. Itachi was standing there plainly; his eyes showing no emotion.

"What are you looking for?" Sakura couldn't help but blush with embarrassment from being caught snooping around.

"I-um…the bathroom?" She managed to answer, but her nerves made it sound more like a question. Itachi didn't comment as he turned and began walking away. A look over the shoulder told Sakura to follow him, which she hastily did.

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As the red-hot sun sunk below the horizon a squad of ANBU wearily set up camp. Naruto finished propping up his tent and stepped back to observe it while wiping off a few beads of sweat on his brow. His fox mask hung loosely around his neck and flapped in the breeze. Naruto looked over to Kakashi who had just finished setting up his tent as well.

"What's for supper?" He asked. Kakashi looked over his shoulder at the building campfire and shrugged.

"Anything fast and cheap I suppose," he answered looking back over at Naruto. The blond shrugged this off as he pulled out a cup of instant ramen from his pack.

"Know where a stream is?" Kakashi pointed through the trees.

"I think one's through there." Naruto nodded and grabbed his empty canteen from the ground.

He reached the small trickling stream so clean he could see the bottom as clear as day. He unscrewed the top of the green canteen and swiftly dipped it in. Small bubbles burbled to the surface as water rushed into the empty space and pushed out all the air. The snapping of a twig from behind him caused him to suddenly spin around on guard; it was just Kakashi with his own canteen.

"You scared the crap out of me," Naruto mumbled as he turned back around and finished filling his canteen. Kakashi crouched beside him and began filling his canteen. After Naruto screwed the cap back on he pulled of his sweaty gloves and dipped his hands into the cool water. He took a handful and washed his grimy face. Kakashi finished his task and did the same.

"Do you think we'll find her?" Naruto asked suddenly, a look of uncertainty was etched onto his face. Kakashi observed the fact that he'd never seen his former student this serious before, not to mention so out of hope.

"We'll find her," he answered confidently standing up and stretching his back. Naruto got up from his crouched position as well and stared intently up through a small hole in the canopy of trees and at the starry sky.

"It was a night like this when Sasuke left," he commented. Kakashi wasn't interested in stars and didn't want to be reminded of his other student, so he simply kept silent and walked away.

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Sakura nervously chewed her food as she sat beside Itachi on the long wooden bench. Across from her ate the strange looking man who's name she has been informed to be Kisame. A gag wretched at her as he made loud chomping and slurping sounds as he ate. She honestly couldn't blame him for it though. She imagined it must be hard to eat with razor sharp teeth. A sharp look from him caused her to quickly look back down at her tray with a blush at staring.

A question ate at her, but she was afraid to ask it. But it finally bubbled its way to the surface.

"What am I the container to?" She blurted out. Kisame looked up surprised at the outburst and with a mouthful of food. Itachi simply glanced over with chopsticks still in hand.

"The Kyuubi," he bluntly answered and took a bite of food. Sakura's eyes widened, but she suddenly remembered one fact.

"That's impossible," she denied, receiving another curious look from Kisame, and a bored glance from Itachi. "Naruto-he told me all about the Kyuubi, and how its sealed inside him. I can't possibly be a container; no way." She felt confident in this fact. Kisame rolled his eyes, 'arrogant,' he thought, and then looked to Itachi. The Uchiha simply nodded which was enough for Kisame.

"Do you honestly think one little boy can hold all of a demon's infinite chakra?" He questioned, not even trying to hide the humor in his voice. Sakura's heart skipped a beat and her confidence deflated. She hadn't considered that fact. "16 years ago the Kyuubi's chakra was evenly split between two babies." Sakura frowned.

"But the Yondaime died sealing the Kyuubi in Naruto," she interjected. Kisame took a noisy bite and swallowed.

"You were the first to receive the seal," he casually answered smacking his lips. Sakura's eyes dropped to the table and a frustrated feeling engulfed her. She was out of possible excuses.

"So, you're planning on extracting the chakra from me as you're planning to do with Naruto?" She asked softly with a tinge of venom. Itachi curtly nodded as Kisame gave a muffled "yep," through his mouthful of food. A feeling of misery hit her as she realized one fact; she was going to die…and so was Naruto.

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I have major writer's block, so sorry if this chapter wasn't very good. Thank you so much to all that reviewed. For all you diehard SakuIta fans, don't worry. It'll come up…eventually .

-RP