[Chapter 3]
The music thrummed beneath her feet as Sakura entered the relatively large nightclub, and each beat of the drum resonated deep within her. Colourful strobe lights were the only source of illumination out on the dance floor, shining down on bodies meshed against each other. It was going to be a nightmare to find Itachi here.
Sakura sighed, and edged her way around the many people who had chosen to come here tonight. The taxi ride hadn't been extremely lengthy, but it had been long enough that the sun had long set by the time she arrived. Sakura walked up to the bar stretched along one corner of the nightclub and took a seat at one of the barstools.
"What can I get you tonight?" The bartender asked, noticing her almost immediately and approaching. His skin was an odd shade of blue under the coloured lights, and with his high cheekbones and gelled hair, he almost reminded Sakura of a shark. This was only reinforced when he smiled at her to reveal pointed teeth.
"Two martinis and the location of one Itachi Uchiha, please," she replied, smiling back at him.
Shark man didn't drop his smile as he instantly retrieved two clean glasses. "Never heard of him."
Sakura watched him pour alcohol with more grace than she would've thought possible from the large man. "What's your name?"
"Kisame."
"Well see here, Kisame," she said slowly, looking him directly in the eye. "I just got out of prison, and today has not been a great day. Now trust me, when I say I would much rather be out there on the dance floor, finding someone to have sex with, but I'm not. I'm here for business, and I would like to see Itachi Uchiha, or whatever you call him here."
The shark-man chuckled, and for a moment Sakura was offended by how lightly he took her words. She was used to people feeling threatened by her, despite her relatively innocent physical appearance.
"We call him Raven. He's out there somewhere on the floor," Kisame told her, gesturing widely to the mass of moving bodies. "Good luck finding him." He handed her the two drinks she had ordered.
Sakura nodded, already scanning the dark setting with emerald green eyes.
"Just a piece of advice, you'll most likely find him wherever the most females are gathered," Kisame added. She laughed dryly and turned towards the writhing sea of dancers, a drink in each hand.
It wasn't easy navigating the mass of bodies while keeping the martinis from spilling, but somehow Sakura managed, working her way to where she saw the most amount of scantily clad girls. Indeed as Kisame had hinted, she found Itachi right in the center, swaying lazily as multiple females danced around and against him.
She didn't think there was any possible safe path to reach him, so Sakura stayed where she stood, calmly waiting for Itachi to spot her. Eventually, he seemed to notice someone watching him intently, and dark onyx eyes met green.
Languidly, the Uchiha made his way towards her, leaving most of his female entourage behind.
"I don't believe I've ever seen you here before," Itachi said smoothly, as he looked down at her. "First time?"
Sakura wordlessly handed him one of the glasses while smirking slightly up at him. "First time," she repeated. "I'd love for someone to show me around."
Itachi took a delicate sip of the martini she had handed him. "I'm Raven. There's not much to know. Just that this is probably the best place in the city to get laid," he replied with a matching smirk.
She delicately raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? I'm not sure I believe you."
The music kept pounding around them and there were bodies pushing from every side, but for some reason Sakura felt like her and Itachi were the last two people left in the world. Everyone around them faded, and the two of them were the only ones who truly mattered.
Itachi moved closer and ran his hand up her arm so that it rested on the back of her neck. He pulled her towards him, and Sakura found herself flush against his chest. She placed her hands on his shoulders.
Gently, Itachi guided them through the masses towards one of the nearby curtained alcoves.
"Curtains?" Sakura asked under her breath. "Seems a bit risky. Anyone could mistakenly walk in."
"All our customers know not to enter a closed alcove. Not that the drunk ones don't sometimes forget, but even that usually just results in a threesome or the like," Itachi said lowly, his voice slightly rumbling.
She spun around and shoved him into an open alcove, before moving in after him and closing the curtain behind her. It turned out to be a small room, occupied by a rather luxurious couch right in the middle and little else. The floor was soft beneath her feet, and looking down Sakura saw a soft carpet covering the ground.
"Must be a hassle to keep clean," Sakura noted.
Itachi sunk onto the couch and leaned back into it. "Probably," he said non committedly. He gestured for Sakura to join him, and she did with a chuckle. Itachi leaned in, inhaling her scent.
For a moment Sakura just wanted to ride it out, to have sex with this handsome stranger, but she'd come here for business after all.
She moved her lips to Itachi's ear. "Uchiha," she murmured, just loud enough for him to hear. Immediately the atmosphere was broken, and Itachi threw her off his lap in a single, smooth motion. She hit the ground painfully and rolled to reduce the impact. Itachi pressed his foot down onto her chest, limiting her movement.
"What do you want?" He hissed. "Did Madara send you to kill me?"
Sakura rolled her eyes. "You must've been really absent from the underground circuit for a while if you don't know who I am. My name is Sakura."
"I've never met you, but I'm not that absent that I haven't heard your name," Itachi said. "You're Madara's partner. So? Have you come to kill me?"
She sighed. "Was. I was Madara's partner, at least before he put me in jail."
The pressure on her chest lessened slightly. "What happened?" Itachi asked.
"I helped him win the election for King, but I knew too much, so he made sure I was caught and sent to jail. He needed a scapegoat, and I guess our partnership didn't mean much," she said expressionlessly, holding all her emotions back.
The Uchiha above her narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, as his mind instantly processed the information. "You want revenge. What are you going to do?"
Sakura gestured to the foot that was still holding her down, and Itachi removed it. She stood up off the floor and straightened out her dress. "I'm going to steal the ten Uchiha blood jewels right from under Madara's nose."
Itachi showed no outward emotion, but Sakura thought she could see a glint of interest in his eyes. "Why?" He asked, his head tilted.
She blinked a few times. "Why?" She repeated, confused. "For revenge mostly, I suppose. The money too, we can sell each of them on the black market for a fortune. An added bonus is that Madara would lose the support of the Uchiha clan, having lost their most precious treasure, and at the very least would be removed from his position as clan head. Is that enough of a reason for you?"
"And what if I want more than that?" Itachi said quietly. "What if I want to see him off the throne as well? What if I want him dead?"
Sakura looked up at him seriously. "We both know being voted in as the King is a lifetime position, granted immunity from all national laws. Madara cannot be executed for crimes, no matter how major, and he will not lose the crown for as long as he lives. What you want is murder."
"I know that," Itachi said, agreeing emotionlessly.
"I am not a murderer, Uchiha. I am a thief," she replied, a bit of venom behind her words. "And I am asking for your help to steal, not to kill. Am I wasting my time?"
There was a moment of silence, before Itachi nodded at her. "You are not. Tell me more."
Sakura opened her mouth, but then looked around. The curtain was cracked slightly open, and provided no soundproofing between the alcove and the rest of the nightclub. "Not here," she said firmly.
"Alright," he agreed, offering an arm out for her. "I have a hotel room we can go to."
She smiled. "Perfect."
The pair walked out the door of the nightclub arm in arm, followed only by a whistle from Kisame, along with a promise to keep things running for the night.
The taxi ride to the upscale hotel Itachi had booked a room at was silent, the only sound coming from the driver's occasional sniffling. Both backseat occupants gazed out of the misted windows of the cab, covered in water tracks from the light drizzle outside.
The car pulled up right outside the main lobby of the hotel soon enough, and Itachi held the door open while Sakura stepped past him. Together they made their way across the room to the receptionist's desk.
"One room for the night, please," Itachi said politely, although not bothering with pleasantries.
"Alright," the lady behind the table smiled back at them, setting down the phone she had been talking into and opening up tabs on her computer. "Will that be one bed or two?"
Itachi glanced sideways at Sakura and she looked down at the receptionist. "One will be fine," she answered with a nod of her head.
A few clicks of the keyboard. "Great. Whose name can I put this under?"
"Futaki Eizan," Itachi said without hesitation. He pulled out a leather wallet from within his coat and slipped out the ID card.
The receptionist examined it for a moment before smiling up at the Uchiha "Credit or debit?"
He took out a relatively plain bank card.
A few moments later there was a 'beep' from the machine and the lady gave it back to him. "I hope you enjoy your stay," she said, handing over a key card. Within moments, she was back on the phone, chatting away with an unknown person.
Sakura nudged Itachi as they entered the elevator together, and raised an eyebrow. "Is the name 'Raven' only for the club?"
"Maybe," he replied non-committedly. His black eyes glinted momentarily as he met her own. "Well Sakura, this is certainly not a cheap hotel, so your plan better be worth it."
The elevator came to a stop at one of the top floors. "It will be," she promised.
The duo stepped out of the doors and paced down the hallway, soon finding the room they had been given for the night. Itachi slotted the key card into the door, and with a click it unlocked.
"Ladies first," he said with a mocking bow, holding the door open for Sakura.
She waltzed into the room, and had to let out a smile. It was the very definition of luxury, with a huge canopy bed in the middle, decorated with plush pillows and lace curtains hanging around it. On one wall hung a piece of art, which Sakura estimated was probably worth more than half the room itself, and even what she could see of the private bathroom was lavish.
"It's one of my favourite hotels," Itachi said, as he walked in as well and shut the door behind them. "They also happen to respect the secrecy of their clients immensely."
Sakura didn't reply and instead practically ran over to the bed, drawing open one of the curtains and diving onto the large mattress. She let out a blissful sigh.
"I forgot how much I missed a soft bed in prison," she said wistfully, patting the bed in a gesture for Itachi to join her.
He raised an eyebrow, but dutifully made his way over, lying down beside her. Sakura rolled over and tangled her body on top of his.
Itachi chuckled. "I thought we weren't having sex, just talking about your masterplan," he said, amused.
She smirked. "Who says we can't do both."