Opening her strained eyes, she could see the faint glow of the light from the lamp at the bedside table. She raised her numb hand in level to her face to look at it, just to wonder how she got to where she was now. Wait, where was she right now?
Sakura sat up abruptly, only to receive nothing but pain shooting like daggers into her head. Oh, how she swore to herself never to drink sake again. She hated hangovers! But then she briefly recalled her latest encounter with the sound nin. Oh yes, that stupid medic nin just had to threaten her to go with him to Sound. Oh how she despised him… however, her eyes glazed with sadness in a minute when she recalled what he had said to her… yes… she couldn't forget about it.
'There's no reason to be so caught up with it Sakura. He's only doing this to make us heal Orochimaru's arms.' Inner Sakura chided
Her mouth turned into a grim line, 'Yeah? Do you think he really just wants us to heal his arms? I'm sure Orochimaru has other plans when he's arms are healed and I cannot trust what he's gonna do to Sasuke and to me when I've finished in doing my part of the deal.'
'Well, that's why I'm telling you… do not trust Kabuto. He's one hell of a jerk, you know.' Inner Sakura said jokingly with asilly poseto add to the act
Sakura scoffed at her inner self's childish antics. 'Hey, he did say something about Orochimaru and Akatsuki though… I don't remember it much because of that splitting headache and then what's worse was that I fainted.' She paused in her thoughts, 'Wait a minute, if I did faint at that place, which I know I did, how the hell did I get here?' she asked herself
As if answering her inner question, the door swung open and in revealed a tall man with long raven hair, tied back in a ponytail. He wasn't wearing his cloak, since it hanged behind the door by the hook. He was only wearing his sweat shirt and pants. He removed his sandals by placing them on the left side of the door and she also noticed that he wasn't wearing his hitae-ate either. Skillfully doing it with one hand since his other hand was busy holding something silver...
"Itachi…" Sakura muttered
Itachi placed a tray with water and bread on the bedside table where the lamp was. Sakura briefly wondered why hasn't he said anything to her yet. Maybe a greeting or something like, 'you're awake'. But how could she not forget, Uchiha Itachi was more known to be a silent man… more silent than Sasuke and more unreadable. And that was one of the things she feared about him. She could never decipher what was to come next when she was close to him. And now… what made her fear him more was what he was planning to do to her, that she actually disobeyed him again by running off to meet up with that Kabuto-bastard and not ask permission from him. But hey, who was she kidding again? Yeah… herself. 'Asking permission from your captor to let you meet up with someone alone. Doesn't thatseem suspicious?' She thought with sarcasm
The older Uchiha stood straight as he turned his gaze towards her. Sakura, though, couldn't nudge herself to look up to him and decided that she would look at the ring on his right hand instead, deeming it to be the most interesting thing at that awkward moment. Her eyes widened though when 'that' hand lifted itself up to feel the temperature of her forehead. Her cheeks flushed a color similar to her hair.
"Your temperature has returned to it's normal level." His smooth voice drifted through her ears.
Sakura turned her head to looking front of her when she felt the breathing of air caressing her face. Her cheeks then went red as she found herself face to face with Itachi who bent his back to level his face into her level. She was still sitiing on the bed, upright and her legs were splayed across it seeing as the bed sheet was ruffled in accordance with her movements.
"I-Itachi…" Sakura mumbled
"I wonder… you don't seem to have a fever but you're face is quite red, don't you think?"
Sakura turned her head sideways, causing her bangs to hide her eyes from him and most especially, her reddening cheeks. Itachi paid no heed to her stubborn behavior and continued to stare at her. She knew that he knew she was getting pissed with all the staring and the silence, so she tried to break it off by coming up a sentence of her own.
"Uh…t-thank you… for yesterday…" Sakura said, reminding herself of Hinata on how she stuttered.
Itachi knew that Sakura knew that he was the one who carried her back to the inn. His lips curled into a smirk as his gaze deepened.
Sakura glanced at him at the corner of her and saw that smirk plastered to his face again. She turned her head to look at him fully and her eye twitched seeing his intense gaze and that smirk… it seemed to mock her for pete's sake! Ugh… how she hated this.
"And what are you smirking about, Uchiha?" Sakura asked angrily
Itachi rose a delicate brow at her and his smirk widened. Sakura briefly saw amusement flicker in his eyes but soon disappeared in an instance.
"Sakura… "Itachi huskily whispered
Sakura started to back away from him, going to the center of the bed, holding the sheets to shield him of his access to see her in her undergarments. "W-what is it?" she asked
Itachi kneeled in front of her as his hands cornered her by the sides of her body. Sakura stared at his crimson irises only to be more intimidated with the position they were in.
Itachi lifted his right hand to tuck a stray piece of past-shoulder length hair behind her ear and his face leaned closer towards hers.
"W-what are you doing?" she asked as the raven-haired older Uchiha pushed her to the bed so that she was lying on her back. He hovered over her with his elbows propping him up along with his knees, nearly straddling her hips in place… nearly, yeah right… he was straddling her hips causing her to squirm underneath him.
Itachi ignored her writhing under him and proceeded to answer her question. "So that you won't escape." he whispered to her ear as his lips latched itself onto her neck.
Her emerald eyes turned into saucers as his plan dawned on her innocent mind. He was punishing her!
'Hell yeah! Now we'll get more from him than just his lips on our own.' Inner Sakura cheered
'What the? Are you insane? This is Itachi we're talking about!' Sakura screamed wildly inside her head
"Itachi! Stop it!" she hissed
The missing-nin stopped his…uh… procedures as Sakura would like to call them and stared into her emerald orbs, his onyx eyes filled with amusement and… lust? Itachi was feeling some sort of lust towards her? No way! She dismissed the thought.
"You escaped kunoichi. Do you not have the memory of what we talked about in the cave" He said, a frown on those oh-so kissable lips---wait what? Since when did Sakura think those lips were kissable?
'Since the day you fell in love with him!' Inner Sakura said tauntingly
Sakura shook her head to avoid the rantings of her inner mind and glared at the man who was currently on top and straddling her. "I did not escape!" she said
"Oh? Do tell how you ended up at the border of this town." Itachi said, his frown deepening into a scowl
Sakura knew that Itachi was no fool. He knew about what happened to her and she knew that he wasn't happy with what she did. But hell, why does his punishments seem to go pass the normal punishment? Why can't he just chain her up in some wall, whip her and then leave her alone to eat dirt? Sakura sweat dropped. No, she wouldn't have that. Even just thinking about it made the hairs on her back stand up because of the fear that he would torture her to death. She would just say that she was a little more beneficial when she's in this condition.
Itachi saw that the girl beneath him was contemplating her thoughts. A smirk appeared, replacing his scowl. He wasn't gonna let her go this time… no, he wanted her attention while she was punishing her. He wanted her to writhe beneath his touches… she would suffer with his experienced touches. Call him an alternate sadist but he would choose it otherwise because he was a criminal after all. A well-known murderer who killed his own clan, set aside one.
Sakura was about to speak when she felt her lips being smothered by another. Her instincts told her to push the source of those wonderful lips away but her body moved on his own as she tangled her hands into the silky tresses of hair, pushing that source closer to her to feel more of his lips against hers. Time felt like it died when she felt those lips curl into a smirk. Alarm bells rang inside her head as she realized that Itachi was the one kissing her. She quickly withdrew her hands from his hair and pushed him with all the might she could muster as she crawled away from underneath his well-toned body, sheets clutched tightly by her left hand.
As soon as the older Uchiha survivor raised his eyes to meet her own, she could see that he was still wearing that smirk. Sakura felt the guilt, however. That smirk was so similar to the one her departed teammate would sometimes put on. Tears began to well up in her eyes, guilt shown across all her facial features.
Itachi knew that she was feeling guilty but he didn't show any regret of what he has done to her. In fact that was what he was aiming for. "That's your punishment for disobeying me, Sakura. I expect you to fulfill your part of the deal from now on."
Sakura could not believe it. He was punishing her to make her feel guilty, knowing that she was in love with his brother all along. It became clear… Itachi was aiming for anxiety to swallow her up. What did she expect anyways? Some kind of love to build up between them? No… she knew that it wouldn't happen this way. Not when he only thinks of her as a captive and nothing more.
For some reason, it hurt to realize that fact. But she would not show him that. No, she would try to keep up the façade that she wasn't breaking in the inside. She had a goal of her own and she knew where to start in order to reach it. She now knew that she would have to take the biggest step in her life to achieve that.
Sakura laid on her side at the oppoostite side of the bed Itachi was in as she tried to drift her way to sleep. Itachi didn't like the fact that he wasn't getting those unique reactions. He didn't feel guilty for making her sad all of a sudden, but she was his captive and leader did say to keep her in good condition. A thought suddenly came to him.
The 20 year old missing-nin laid at his side facing the back of the kunoichi and draped an around her waist to pull her closer. His lips finding her neck interesting again as he planted butterfly kisses in it. His captive suddenly went rigid but before he could further his actions to go deeper, she turned around to face him.
The pink-haired kunoichi, dressed in her white undergarments, glared at the man, who only raised an eyebrow at her sudden change of mood. Itachi smirked at her confused face and said in that baritone voice of his, "Sleep."
Sakura, whose eyes were glaring daggers at her captor, made a disturbing frown at him and told him, "If you really want me to get some sleep, then why the hell are you kissing me?" she retorted, "I can't sleep if you keep up with those actions of yours. Besides, you said the punishment is over! Leave me be, Itachi!" Sakura said
"You don't like it?" Itachi asked teasingly
Sakura fought off the blush that was daring to appear on her face and turned her back on him as she tried to drift off to slumber land again, trying so hard to not mind the arm that was across her waist and the breath that was fanning her hair.
Itachi closed his eyes as he let sleep overcome him as well.
It was gonna be a loooooooooooooooooong night…
Miakoda13: Finally done! Sorry for the late update! I had trouble on deciding a few things about this chapter! I was so caught up with it… my mind went black-out all of a sudden.
Thank you guys by the way for the wonderful reviews you gave me! You don't know how happy I am to receive all those! I tell you :D
And now, you finally get to see what Itachi was thinking off by seducing her. He's toying with her for his twisted amusement but he still seems to care for Sakura somehow... I don't know... maybe not? Hehehe, just keep reading guys and thanks a lot for the reviews!
.chie.x.sieka.-oh, you're getting too smart for me! I can't tell you though if there is or there isn't another reason why Orochimaru wants Sakura… it might spoil the plot… hehehehe… And about the deisaku… I'm afraid it will only progress until a hug… which might or might not come out of the story ;P
sky diamond- it's getting interesting? Really? Thanks for the comment!
Animeaddict99-awww… I feel so loved hug As you have read, Itachi did punish her! But I wonder what your reaction will be… do tell!
MisSs005-thanks and sorry for the late update!
Itachi-sama a.k.a. cathrun- good to know!
Sillymail- hmmm… not so sure on whether Sakura will leave or not in the end thinkthink
Hikari Fushicho- hehe, you got that right!
Tsumii- last time the plot was a mere string, now it's a yarn. I wonder if it will thicken to a rope next time…hehehehe… might want to massage your hair from all the pulling, I've already updated:D
KonohaGirl- thanks so much, honey! hug And, I'm really glad you always seem to anticipate the next chapter! That really means a lot to me!
Sweet Assassin- thanks and yeah… I had to up the rating cause as you've read, the scene was kinda heated… and yeah, Itachi kissed Sakura:D
Fluffy101- thanks so much!
Jixnce- Kabuto dead? Nah, might kill him later… I don't know… he seems to be playing some kind of important role in the story so I can't kill him yet… ;
XxShadow-Of-LiesxX- Haha! You couldn't cover your eyes at the heated scene in this chapter, couldn't you?
Midnight-Miko66- chuckles Not gonna tell you what's gonna happen to Sakura but I tell you, most girls would probably do…
XuchihaSakuraX- I'm afraid I do worship the art of sadism, hehehehe, I updated anyways and I hope you like it!
BlackXheart- There's a good kind of evil? Hehehehe… thanks!
JusticeDream- Actually, that was an option for me but I thought about it and deemed this to be more exciting.
NatsuYukili- I did update and I hope you love it!
Animemistress419- Hehe, I hope this update makes you happy! Thanks!
MidnightWolfe- thanks & I'm glad it's alright that I upped the rating! Love the Itachi smiley by the way! Rock on!
Lilly- Hehehe, Kabuto's a fag? Whoa, that got me laughing for quite some time! Hope you like this chapter dearie
Sakura0890-Well, here it is! And I hope the kiss was satisfactory for you! D And yeah… poor Naruto but… (cut! Not gonna tell…)
Gaata killing demon- thanks:D
Nutte- hope you like the update! Thanks!
Pink Spiral- activatesSharinganAmaterasu! stick is burnt to ashes I updated anyways and I hope you love it!
Anime-write-for-life- Oh! You don't know how your comment about my progress makes me so happy! I love you dearie!
Xelagirl2- thanks & yup, I updated!
Lidia- hehehe! It's gonna fly, son to the heavens when it's really off the hook:D
Earwen Telrunya- I did but I didn't! Hehehehehe!
MT Pocketts- I love you so much! And update your story soon okay? Can't wait for that!
GingCat- I hope you got happy for the update!
Wind maker- hihihihi… I'm so evil for not updating so soon, but thanks for leaving a review!
Just Kaye- hey there! Thanks so much for the review!
Fire Kitsune- thanks :D
Sekiryu- thanks a lot for the constructive criticism & the compliments. I'd take it in mind!
Sakurarules- thanks & I like your pen name by the way!
Cherryblossom Princess- Thanks! I'll try!
Limit- thanks! I appreciate your compliments!
Kasaiaisu- Thanks so much! And blush thanks for the compliments! You made my day!
Hao's Anjul- Hehehehe... well, I hope this chapter pleases you...
Xinoria- thanks a lot:D
theoneandonlydarkpowderpuff- thanks a lot for the cronstuctive criticism! It really helps me to improve writing more, and yeah... I don't take it as a flame, so don't worry about it, alright? hugs
HEY GUYS! WISH ME A HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I AM OFFICIALLY 14 THIS JULY 13, 2006!
(this is the other part of the reason I didn't update so fast! I wanted to update when it was my birthday! I want to cherish it with you all!)