Chapter 5: Warning
Sakura woke up because of the pain rapidly shooting through her arm. She groaned slightly, her head spinning and she felt nauseous. She could hear the murmuring of whispers around her and she forced herself to shut up so she could hear them.
"What the hell did you DO to her?" She heard Kisame say. "She looks like crap. At least, crappier than she normally does." He added, and she clenched her hands into fists, then cried out as another shot of agony sprinted through her arm.
She fluttered her eyes open and bit her lip to keep from crying. "It's ugly, she's awake." Kisame said.
"Shut up, ass hole!" She growled and grabbed her arm with her other hand.
Kisame blinked, surprised at her out burst. Sakura never snapped back. His surprised look turned into a challenging smirk. "You sure do turn into a hag when you're in pain."
Sakura grabbed a random object beside her and threw it at him. Not expecting it, it hit Kisame square in the face. Her jaw dropped. She thought he would surely dodge it! The backpack slid down, and it showed Kisames face, his face pinched up. "You evil Shrew!" he yelled. "If you didn't have your arm hurt I would have surely pounded you by now. Or should I do you the honor of cutting off your arm to rid you of the pain?" he said, an evil glint in his eye as he pulled out a kunai.
"No I can fix it myself." She said, and closed her eyes, concentrating all her chakra on her arm. She did a quick scan, and realized that her elbow was disconnected and her humerus was broken. She concentrated harder and took her chakra, burrowing into her arm and linking the bones, fusing them together. Some of the muscles were torn, but it'd just be bruises, and they were minor, so her body could do it itself. It'd be sore, but she could deal with it. She stopped, her chakra half gone, but she felt loads better. She then twisted her arm, pulling it and wincing, holding back the scream that was threatening to spill out of her mouth and then pushed it roughly back into place. She moved her arm around and smiled at her work.
She looked over. Kisame was staring at her. "What?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
He snapped out of it and grimaced in her direction. "I was just watching you do a crappy job on healing your arm. You know, It's a surprise you were even taught by one of the legendary Sannin." He said, glaring at her.
She returned the glare.
"Kisame, leave her alone." Itachi said in the corner. His whole body was covered in shadow, but his deep blood-red eyes were distinct in the hue of darkness. "I need to talk to her. If you'd leave us alone for a moment." He asked.
Kisame grumbled under his breath and got up, moving out of the cave. Itachi stood up and walked over to her. "Your running away today lowered our trust, Sakura." Itachi said in a monotone voice, his eyes narrowing but still emotionless.
They even had trust in me in the first place? Sakura asked herself. "Sorry." She said, her voice not sounding apologetic at all but sarcastic. She choked as Itachi grabbed her neck, slamming her against the wall of the cave, his face inches away from hers. She squinted her eyes together as she hissed in pain, her arms and legs scrambling for something to hang onto on the wall, because Itachi had lifted her off the ground and the only thing keeping her up in the air was her neck, which ached like hell.
"Don't speak to me like that. YOU are OUR hostage, not the other way around. Don't prance around here like you are more here. We're feeding you, giving you a place to stay and I think you should at least be a little bit grateful that we haven't killed you by now." She narrowed her eyes. His voice held no emotion; he had not even raised his voice once, but she could feel the anger resonating off of him, and it made her frightened, her spine tingling with dangerous excitement.
"Well you haven't been very much welcoming." She growled back. "And I don't prance." She added under her breath. His grip tightened, and he tore her away from the wall before slamming her up against it again. Sakura, you idiot. You just HAD to keep your stupid mouth talking. She thought.
"I don't think you quite understand the position you're in, Sakura. If you wish, I can make it perfectly clearer for you." Itachi said, and his Sharingan started to move. She turned her head to the side, but he grabbed her chin and made her look into his eyes. "Mangekyou Sharingan." He spoke, and she fell limp.
A couple of seconds she woke up, crying. He let go of her and she slid down the wall, hugging herself and sobbing. He turned sharply around and began to walk out of the cave. "I hope you heed this warning." He whispered to her before storming off.
"What happened?" Kisame asked Itachi as he walked out of the cave, looking at the sobbing Sakura in the corner, her crying turning into snuffles as she fell asleep again.
Itachi did not reply, but kept walking into the forest, being enveloped into the trees.
-The Inside of Mangekyou Sharingan-
You will now experience my brother betraying Konoha and leaving you over and over for the next 24 hours. Let this be a lesson for you to never try to escape us or hold a tongue like that against us again. Itachi's voice echoed inside this black and white prison of the Mangekyou Sharingan.
This Mangekyou Sharingan is different… Sakura thought. Last time it was dreamless…
She then felt herself running and she saw Sasuke in front of her. Oh god…not this…please, not this. I can't bear to watch him leaving me again…
After what felt like 24 hours in the Sharingan was like a knife plunging into her heart over and over. By the time it ended she felt almost numb with heartache and hatred towards Itachi for putting her through this. She also thought of something else. He did this to Sasuke. He made Sasuke want to leave. He made Sasuke crave more power. This is his fault. HIS FAULT! She screamed in her head, watching for the final time as it replayed in this hellish torture of her mind and heart.
-End-
She slid down the wall and started sobbing, and she didn't even notice Itachi moving away or hear him whisper his last warning. It's his fault…it's all his fault…Itachi's fault. All this pain and suffering…I suffered, Naruto suffered…the whole village of Konoha suffered and it's all this one mans doing! Her sobbing stifled as she grew tired. She closed her eyes, and her breathing slowed down to the sleepy shudder, but she wasn't sleeping, but rather thinking.
I will kill you, Itachi. I shall kill you and avenge everyone you have caused pain to. Because when I do, perhaps even Sasuke will come back to Konoha…to me. Was her final thought, as she finally grew tired enough and fell back to sleep.
-Itachi's Point of View-
Itachi ran on the ground rather than jumping through the trees. He clutched the letter he was giving to Konoha. He had had a surprisingly difficult time writing it, and he wanted to give it to Konoha as fast as he could; he didn't particularly want to go to Konoha, because he had never really liked it since before he could remember.
He saw the front entrance, and the two guards on either side standing watch. He crept up silently and then walked to the entrance.
"Who are you, and state your business." The guard said, and Itachi could see him tightening his grip on the bow and arrow he clutched inbetween both of his hands. The know who I am from the last time I paid a…visit.
Instead of replying, Itachi pulled out two kunai and flung it at them, each kunai flying through the neck of one of the guards and pinning them to the Konoha gate doors.
He took the letter he had, stating the capture of Sakura and the terms of receiving her back, and put it to the door, taking a shurikan and nailing that into the door to make it stay.
He then turned around, and started to run back to the cave, the sunlight peeking over the horizon from a long nights journey.
-The Next Morning-
-Konoha-
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune yelled, bursting through the hokage office door. "We found this letter, along with two dead shinobi in front of the front gates!" she called, slapping the letter onto the desk. Tsunade quickly picked it up and read it. Her eyes grew wide and she set the letter down, putting her head in her hands.
"Shizune." Tsunade alerted.
"Yes ma'am!" Shizune said, straightening up.
"Alert the dead shinobi's family, as well as Hatake, Kakashi, Uzumaki, Naruto…and- Sak…Sai, please. We need to tell them." Tsuande said, ignoring Shizunes "hai" and thinking of how she had almost said Sakura before catching herself and saying Sai… She was also thinking of how she had felt like she was about to throw up when she read the letter, the feeling of guilt and feeling stupid seeping down her body. How could she have ever thought that Sakura could do it? The council would hear from her and she was to make sure they knew how angry she was. She knew she was not allowed to favor anyone as Hokage…but Sakura was almost like a daughter to her, as was Naruto a son or annoying little brother.
"Sakura…" she whispered, and her grip tightened on her chair arms.
"Tsunade-baachan!" Naruto yelled as he burst through the door, Sai and Kakashi trailing behind him. "What happened? There are two dead shinobi and Shizune said to come, 'cause it was urgent."
Tsuande looked down at her desk spotting the letter. She closed her eyes, sighing and pushed the letter for them to read. Kakashi grabbed it, opening it and reading it his one eye showing narrowing. "What is it what is it!" Naruto asked, looking at it. Sai also crowded around them to see it.
"S-sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, looking at Tsunade. He walked over and banged his fist on the desk. "So that was her mission? How could you let her do something so dangerous, Tsunade-sama!" Naruto yelled, dropping his affectionate baachan at the end. Tsunade noted this, and looked up at him.
"Do not yell at me! I protested almost as much as you did! It was the councils doing, if you want to go complain go to them!" Naruto stared at his fist on the table, his fist tightening so much, blood began to drip down.
"Naruto!" Tsunade said, and grabbed his fist, opening it up and healing it, wiping the blood away with her sleeve.
"We have to go get her, no matter what the cost! This is my fault! They're using her as bait, please I'll take it no matter how idiotic I look! Please, give me the mission to go receive her!" Naruto said, Kakashi and Sai silent in the background.
"No." Tsunade said. "It is regrettable for me to say, but no. We can not afford for the bijuu to fall into the wrong hands. Itachi could destroy the whole Fire Country if he was to get his hands on it, and we just can't afford it, Naruto. I am worried for Sakura's state just as much as you, but…she knows he place and who she's loyal to. She knew the risks of taking this mission, and she took it anyway. I'm sorry…" Tsunade said, choking back tears. She coughed, ridding herself of some of them.
"Kakashi. I want you to be head of a search party for her. Naruto might not go, but I think it might settle our minds if we at least search for her and attempt to help. I want you to take an ANBU team of hunter nins and 4 teams of normal ANBU ranks. I expect results in 2 weeks…if none come…I think we should give up." Tsunade barked, and Kakashi bowed and left the room. He patted Naruto's shoulder on the way out.
"I'm sorry, Naruto. I too have lost another person important to me, but realize this is part of being a shinobi: losing those you care about…" Kakashi said. Naruto put his head down, and Kakashi left, understanding Naruto's silence. Sai followed out after Kakashi.
"Naruto, I-" Tsunade began, but was cut off by Naruto.
"I've already lost one team member…now I've lost another." Naruto said, and stormed out of the room.
-Sakura, with Itachi and Kisame-
Sakura woke up, her head pounding, but she felt better than yesterday. She stood up, Itachi was gone but Kisame was leaned up against the wall, sleeping. She started to the outside of the cave.
"Where are you going?" Kisame asked, his head still down, but she could feel his alertness.
"Outside, only for a bit." She said, blushing at the reason she was not telling him.
"Then I'm going with you." Kisame said, standing up.
"Ew, no you pervert! I'm going to take a bath!" Sakura yelled, grabbing her bag.
"I have to make sure you escape. Don't worry, I won't watch you but I'll know when you start to leave…plus, there's nothing you have that's worth seeing." He added, grinning unpleasantly.
Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "Like there's anything on you in the first place…" Sakura countered, smirking at him and then turning around to go to the river.
"What the hell is THAT supposed to mean!" Kisame called after her before running up to walk behind her.
Sakura stood at the edge of the river when she got there. She turned around, seeing Kisame. He was facing the other direction, and he was leaning against a tree. "Hurry up, I'm not going to look. We have to start moving!" Sakura muttered under her breath and began to get undressed, washing her clothes out as she did. She flung the wet but semi-clean clothes over a branch to dry then hesitated, looking back at Kisame before taking her under garments off.
She walked into the cold water, liking the freezing flow against her skin. She grabbed at her bag and pulled out her soap and shampoo, and started to wash herself.
-Itachi's Point of View-
Itachi was getting worn out from all that traveling, but he was finally getting close to the cave. He wasn't much paying attention to his surroundings, and he stopped at the river, bending down and getting a drink before standing up again.
What he saw next made him step back, surprised. Sakura was in the river.
And she was naked.
I really hope you liked that chapter…I was up all night writing it and then a good 3 hours this morning….I was doing research on both Itachi and Sakura to get a feel of them before I continued writing, and I was busy talking on IM and such, so that's why it took so long as well, lol. XD Well anyway, I liked the outcome of this chapter, especially the end where Itachi sees Sakura naked…… ;D Wonder what will happen? You have to review and wait to find out…muahahaha. ((Don't worry I really like writing so I'll probably have the next chapter out by tonight…I'm such a sucker, lol))
