Chapter 3

What it means to be a ninja.

"Through the stormiest weather..."

Had everything gone the way she planned life?

Not exactly and she bitched to Fate the day she ever met another Uchiha.

–

"Haruno Sakura."

She whipped back, tense at the sudden impassive voice that broke the heavy silence of the dark passage. A sudden burst of chakra exploded behind her and Sakura frantically gathered her wits together to survive the situation. Glinting red eyes greeted her and she assessed him, "Sasori of the Red Sand." He moved his fingers as if plucking notes in the air and she went into a defensive position, "Didn't I kill you?" She knew puppets had trapped her escape when the chakra string glinted from the only light. She was surprised when he laughed lowly, a haunting music as puppets danced in front of her.

"Haruno Sakura, you would make a lovely puppet."

"And you are a complete nut-case."

"…"

His fingers stopped dancing and he looked up at, almost curiously. He made no offensive strike, though the air hadn't settled. "Are you worthy to be here, Haruno Sakura?" he said with a hint of enunciation as his puppets continued dancing. "Or shall I make you a puppet? I would hope you choose being a puppet." One puppet with a red dress bowed down to her with flawless curtsey. It was a child. The Leaf nin gasped in horror at the child-like face that beamed at her, "Hello, miss. Would you like to play with me?" One small hand held out in front of her. Sakura growled.

That's when she charged towards him, a chakra infused fist aiming for his face.

–

"That passage is completely broken, you know." Kisame snorted. "She has that crazy strength of hers."

"I don't think so. By now, she should have noticed that we're underground."

"What do you think, Itachi?"

No one really expected a reply from him as he usually remained silent. Kisame and Deidara's constant chatter to the recent battle had begun to interest him. Heh, Sasori just knew what buttons to push. He had been in the shadows and when Sakura entered his trap. A foolish thought she might have thought that she could have escaped so freely. They felt the chakra signature interacting until the new signature; Sakura's gentle but cautious aura had suddenly turned menacingly towards Sasori's chakra before they fused into battle.

"Don't care if she lives or not," Kisame continued, "This is just another way of quickening the seal of the Kyuubi. Leader will kick our asses though."

Deidara snickered, "It'll be fun to see our – no wait, it'll be his doll." He scowled.

And they were dumbfounded when Itachi spoke. "We shall see."

"Sakura."

The youngest Uchiha suddenly bolted up from his bed. His dark eyes alert in the night, scanning his room. He ran a hand through his messy hair and exhaled heavily, another hand on his cheek – she had a habit of placing her hand on his cheek when he was injured, another on his chest, an immediate source of warmth from the pain –Sasuke cleared his thoughts. Sakura wasn't here in Konoha.

She was with his fucking brother.

She slipped from his fingers, confusion etched on her face that was still fresh and will be forever in his thoughts when she was suddenly torn away with no knowledge of the battle. "Itachi," he hissed, "You bastard."

The Sharingan user crumpled his sheets in his tight iron grip, would she be able to resist him? Knowing his brother's cruel mind, he knew he had to go to her. Warn her, talk to her…apologize to her. While she was able to suppress and sham her actual emotions, he knew she would break down in the hands of his brother. Itachi was very good at breaking people.

The younger Uchiha knew it was his fault. Blinded by his rage, gambling the one of the most precious people to him by the source of his ultimate pain. It was a huge risk, he knew, the most important against his most hated. He didn't know what to do but physically show his anger. "Damn it, Sakura. You just had to be in the way."

He couldn't blame her.

She was the source of his comfort.

Now she was gone like the wind, just when they were entering the uneasy line of friends, disappearing and now missing. Sasuke instantly put up his guard.

How annoying.

–

"Give me the full report."

A stack of paper landed on her desk and she quickly scanned them all, locations, time and areas. Tsunade took a glance at some blank, solemn looks of her fellow ninjas. "Did anyone manage to track them after they left?" the tension rose and everyone stiffened. Her blue eyes narrowed, "Answer!" The ground shook when she slammed her palm on her desk.

Neji Hyuuga took a step forward, "…we weren't able to ascertain their whereabouts."

She raised a finger directed to all of them, her voice dripping with venom and authority, "You Jounin didn't even do a simple tracking device?"

Their elders shook their head in dismay.

"How weren't you able to?" her glare directed to the older elite ninja, "Didn't you teach them anything!" they flinched. A hand clamped on her shoulder to see Jiraiya looking down at her, a soothing gaze that calmed her down. She collapsed on her chair, her hands pointing around them, "My apprentice is out there in the hands of the Akatsuki. Uchiha Itachi. She's strong, I know. But I'm afraid she isn't able to handle the mental manipulation. We have to be careful, they are annoying sneaky, those pests," she muttered. " We have to act fast."

"You two Hyuuga's, pair up with another and search the perimeter of where she was last seen. Kakashi, take Shino and Kiba with you, try and see if there is any traces left. Tenten and Lee, search the grounds for anything suspicious. Ino, check Sakura's apartment, I have a feeling this was planned way back. Shikamaru, you're in charge."

They nodded but waited for the final instructions.

"You ANBU will go beyond the border and get information, understand? You are professionals, there has to be something. If you fail, I will personally kill you," they winced but nodded. "Former teachers-that-are-stupid-to-tell-about-no-emotions," they looked away, "Go to other countries to see any suspicious activities and see if anyone's involved. If there is, alert the other countries, especially the Kazekage, and see if they know anything."

Sasuke silently cursed, he knew there was always a very small connection to Sakura and the Kazekage when he was gone. "Gaara is going to kill everything once he finds out," and apparently had high regard of her.

"What're you all still doing here? Go!"

–

Ino held back a sob when she entered the familiar scenery; Sakura's scent filled the arm. Tightly clasping the doorknob, she made her way into the living room. She quickly checked anything out of the ordinary, Chouji already in the kitchen. She huffed, "Chouji! You better not eat at a time like this!" He immediately stilled and started opening cabinets and drawers.

The blonde made her way to her best friends' room, chakra activated for any traps. She shouldn't be so paranoid-

Shing, shing, shing!

She bent backwards when several bladed weapons whizzed past her, cutting through space and onto the wall. Ino groaned when she fell and arched her back, cracking the bones; relief spreading onto her body when she stood back up. Sakura really was stealthy. Her palm rested on the door and she gently pushed, peering for anymore traps. She took out a kunai from her pouch and cut an almost invisible line she saw and heard a collapse of weapons fall to the ground.

Grinning, she pushed her way in. The grin slipped from her lips and a frown formed.

She really missed Sakura…

Sighing, Ino dragged her way onto her bed. "Ino! I think I see signs of a break-in! Looks like somebody has been making their way in the same place, I missed it until I checked a third time!"

Ino shivered, the Akatsuki was carefully watching Sakura. No wonder there were traps. But…wouldn't Sakura tell this to anyone? There should have been a reason that she kept silent. Or she didn't know and thought it was just a random burglar or pervert. Or…did she betray Konoha? She dismissedher thoughts, guilty of betraying her close friend. "Good job, Chouji! Report this on the Hokage once we finish this! Check some more, though, we might miss something!"

She collapsed on Sakura's bed, knowing the room by heart. The window overlooked some houses but could easily see the Hokage's tower. There were no trees by this window; it was in the other side. Ino opened closets and thoroughly checked through everything. Nothing.

The blonde hesitated when she came across a secret box. It was a secret, only Sakura's knowledge and deepest thoughts. But this was a mission. She had to open it. Clues, whereabouts, threats, anything! And she did, unclasping the cover and peered through the letters and small objects. She glanced out at window, 'if the Akatsuki were to watch here, wouldn't Sakura be alert with their chakra signature?

Something caught her eye.

Sakura supposed she was kind of stupid. Not really, but sometimes. But when she had seen that little girl, a forced smile being controlled by a cruel man as his hobby, it crossed the line. Without a thought, she charged towards him. – This is for the little girl, you sick bastard! –he had raised the child puppet upwards and didn't move. She halted, "You low ass, using her as a shield!" she side swept, attempting to land a hit on his side when he had suddenly flickered away and bringing several puppets to surround her.

"It no longer matters. Humans are merely trapped in bodies."

She cried out in frustration as several puppets bombarded her space. She held back, conserving her energy and knew not to destroy the environment; knowing they were underground. She would surely be buried alive. Instead, she aimed at the faceless puppets that tried latching onto her. Pumping a bit of chakra, she punched them face in the face, trying to find an opening that would lead to the chakra string and attack him directly.

"Haruno Sakura, such a shame to be killed."

Screw it. He asked for it!

She let Inner Sakura rage as she pummelled her way through the fallen puppets. They continued to fall and she finally found an opening. She didn't count on how long they continued to dance; he seemed intent on not harming her – probably making sure she was flawless – before he suddenly went onto offensive. Grunting, she dodged, grabbing onto wrist and threw him to the wall. Unfortunately, he brought her with him and they both went crashing into cement. She took the chance for a kick when she suddenly couldn't control her left leg. "What the-"

"You are running out of time."

He had now controlled her right fist and she was unbalanced on the ground. She was sweating profusely, her chakra running in her veins, trying to untangle the hold one her body. She managed to tangle their bodies together, a kunai embedded on his shoulder and another near his stomach. Sakura saw his eyes flicker with interest. "If you were to move…more would be in you."

He knocked her off, frowning when he realized his puppet collection he called forth for the battle had fallen. "Hn." Something was amiss, she noticed. Probably a few hours since they began fighting, but she was wearing out with the limited space and constant limitless puppets attacking her. This was an Akatsuki she was dealing with. She had beaten him before, but with the aid of Chiyo-sama. She punched the ground and cement erupted from the floor, catching him off-guard and Sakura dug a painful hit near his stomach, pushing it deeper.

Her hands were shaky when she rolled away from him. It was not at all easy defeating one. She bet that he was not even fighting her with killer intent. Were they testing her? Was that why Sasori of the Red Sand had hesitated? No. They were playing with her. Growling, she kicked his body that she paralyzed in chakra points. But it would be bad killing him; she didn't want to fight the Akatsuki while she was held captive in their base. That was basically suicide. She snorted, not that she could. If the battle had taken place in a more open field, then she would have a chance for escape.

She jumped to the wall and stuck on it when large, long needles erupted with killer intent. Oh no, he wasn't happy. She remembered the tips were poisonous and the antidote was difficult to make when they probably wouldn't provide the materials.

"Haruno Sakura." She glared at the red-haired Akatsuki. "I suppose you couldn't have beaten me." Even so, the killing tension vanished and she knew it signalled the end of the fight and she survived. "I would have taken such good care of you."

- What the fuck? – He was happy she stabbed him multiple times? A bit disgusted, she stayed on the wall even as the needles retracted. "Asshole." She hissed, seeing the form of the child that collapsed when he cut off the chakra strings. He held out his arms and she raised a brow. "You are very short, Sakura. Allow me to assist you." Was he mocking her? She knew she was short, dammit!

"Hell no, you creep. Get away from me!"

He lowered his arms, not bothered. He turned around walked back into the darkness. She broke the ground slightly, puppets filled the ground and the puppeteer master had disappeared. Just like in the dark room, she remained the same way longer until she couldn't detect any more chakra. She slid downwards and onto her feet. She walked to the same direction, guarded of anymore Akatsuki member that would likely challenge her. She couldn't get off this easy; it had to be a trap. Subconsciously healing small injuries, she paused when she saw a dark silhouette.

"What is this, Uchiha?"

"…"

He emerged from the darkness. Red clouds on his black cloak and wine-coloured eyes watched her every movement. "You are mistaken if you think this allowed your freedom."

Silence reigned and he approached her. She eyes him warily and took a defensive stance. "I will not harm you." He had no weapons on him but Sakura knew better than to underestimate the Uchiha. He reached a large calloused hand to brush a strand off her face and she stiffened. She slapped away the hand, "Don't touch me. Damn you all, what do you want?"

"You."

She took a step back, "I said stop playing around! What's with that fight with Sasori of the Red Sand?"

"You attempted to escape. He stopped you."

"He walked away," she corrected, watching him stare at her. "And you left the door open."

It was then he took another step and she froze underneath his stare. It was heavy and hypnotizing. The kunoichi knew better than continue to gaze into his haunting eyes but his aura was so natural that it commanded anyone's attention. She didn't realize he took a step forward into her personal space. She couldn't move, mesmerized by the elegant spin of the Sharingan that led her to the Akatsuki lair. He reached towards him, cupping her soft cheek and leaned closer. "You wish to know what I want with you."

If she nodded, there was a chance their lips would brush. She didn't move. "I want to own you, Haruno Sakura." The leaf nin knew it wasn't romantic, a deadly intent, "I want your thoughts," the hand forced her to look at him. His other free hand lingered on her collarbone, he could easily kill her – "I want your mind and body." She gritted her teeth as it lowered to her chest, "For me."

And she was forced into darkness once again.

He held her body as it slumped limply on him. He hoister her effortlessly in his arms and walked through the mess she created. Sasori was there again, playing with his little puppet. "She is worthy to be a puppet for you, Itachi. But I warn you that she is incredibly stubborn." The Uchiha already knew that, but it flamed an interest in him to when he caught the various emotions that would play on her face in a single moment. He caught her meditating upside down and didn't move away until she demanded from him of their intentions. That was foolish.

He will teach her.

He stepped through the dark room, illuminated by small light and laid her to bed before disappearing.

–

"Report."

Sasori stood stoically next to the elder Uchiha. "She is very fine indeed." Dainty fingers lifted, remembering the swift motions he directed when she had gracefully broke them. "Such strength…"

"…I will keep watch."

"I hope that this operation will begin soon."

"It will begin very soon."

A sinister smile, "Konoha will never expect it."

"Is our pet sleeping in her cage?"

"She's resting."

"Hmm, she rather lively when she's out of her cage."

"..."

"Let her out every so often and allow her to wander longer. I'm sure she'd appreciate the stroll. Keep the others away from her."

"Understood."

"It's no good being confined to such a room."