Chapter 5

Don't pick the shattered glass

"The clock tells her that time is slipping…"

-U2

She shouldn't have interupted what they were doing. Lashing out hadn't been good either. That foul mouthed man riled anything around him.

Sakura grasped her bloody hand to her broken shoulder. All those times she had scouted, planned and finally acted on, she was being chased like a cat to a mouse. 'Damn it!' she ranted, 'they shouldn't have returned for 2.7 seconds more!'

The blast of the bomb and the kick to her ribs robbed her hearing and sighting. Narrowed green eyes frantically searched for a silhouette and shape. Smoke smothered her vision. The scythe grabbed her, tearing into her skin by throwing her forcefully down. Her head smacked on the floor, pain freezing her body.

Weak. Worthless

Hidan clicked his tongue, nudging the body with his foot, "Damn this bitch! I could have ripped out her throat with my teeth if she didn't break my fucking nose," he snarled. He spat blood. He crouched to her level, still poking at the unmoving kunoichi, "Oi, oi. I'll snap your bones if you make a move. Come on, weak ass, give me a reason." Sakura spat a curse. He pressed his fist down on her open wounds but she didn't cry out. Her chakra wavered, thinning when its course to her wounds were disrupted until the green flow faded. Kazuku sighed, about to interfere when their captive breathing slowed to uneven coughs. It wouldn't do good if she was harmed further.

Just as Kazuku looked up, he saw a dark figure.

Itachi Uchiha stood ominously.

Hidan ignored him, hands busily drawing a symbol with mixed blood –((a strong female's blood near death)) – on the ground. He dropped his hold on Sakura, occupied with the task of preparing to please Jashin. Their blood fused together until he'd run out of the woman's blood. He frowned. Hidan turned back, reaching for Sakura's side and squeezed hard. She cried out. "Let…go…stop!" Just a little more…

A heavy hand settled on Hidan's shoulder. The Jashin worshipper stilled, recognizing the threat. None of them were friends, but they had a common goal. So there shouldn't be a reason why the Uchiha was throwing off furious energy. Fuck it, he was just performing a simple ceremony of offering blood. Hidan couldn't even finish the last script. "What the hell is your problem?" The reflection on his scythe showed the sharingan swirling slowly, chakra flaring menacingly around him though he did not move. Not good. His hand flexed tighter when Hidan didn't let go of his grip. "Look, man, I don't see what crawled up your ass and died a thousand times."

"…"

Displeasure lined the Uchiha's mouth. Hidan cursed harshly, shrugging the hand away, "I did my damn part!" he shouted, walking away, "Leader would have ripped us apart if the bitch got away!"

The older shinobi stood silently. Narrowed eyes tracked the silver-haired man until he disappeared. Blood – ((Sakura's blood)) – lined his path. He turned to the other figure. Kazuku raised a brow, raising one hand placation. Then he followed his impulsive partner. That Uchiha always freaked him out. He'd been glad Hidan, that asshole, was his partner instead. At least Hidan opened his damn mouth no matter what came out of it.

Itachi finally turned his attention to the unconscious Sakura. Eyes scanned her figure. Then he lifted her in his arms and walked away.

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"Pein … we have yet to capture the eight-tailed vessel…"

"It will be soon."

"And afterwards…?"

"We already began the prepartions of the capture of the Kyuubi."

"The likelihood of this mission could backfire if not executed properly ."

"…I know."

"Itachi is on the move."

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Sakura thanked all those grueling hours of training with blood, sweat and tears. It prepared her for the worst. So far, she only gathered bits and pieces of worthless information that didn't point any direction of what the Akatsuki was planning. She'd give her life for Naruto and her village. She only knew that their goal had been slow-going to achieve. Sakura couldn't exactly threaten them for information. She was in a standstill. For now, she relaxed back on the hot spring she'd been allowed to wander upon. Her injuries from Hidan would slowly heal.

No mercy.

Your fault.

Their gathering den had been larger than she had imagined. It would take hours to locate a room.

She rested her head on the smooth rock, her hair floating apart. Stress clearly showed around her eyes. - ((Keep sane. Don't fade)) - The kunoichi in her focused on the details on the sudden appearance of the Akatsuki that day. While they had killing intent on her comrades, they had been aiming solely for her. Why? Naruto was a clear target for them. Bits of the last encounter surfaced and she recalled that the two men had a wide formation, distracting one side while she carelessly let fear freeze her movements. Sasuke had been violently provoked, Naruto reacting the same but no attempt of interest was directed to the vessel. That meant they had ditched the effort of a direct capture. So how would they plan to use her…

Using her loyalty was out of the question. Her important people were safe so she had nothing to lose to a bargain. Force would mean taking her own life. But her friends and family wouldn't accept the fact she would kill herself. Another route then.

Pink brows furrowed. The least she could do is get vital information –

"You look ugly when you do that."

Sakura withheld her desire to scream and break things.

"You don't look like you have any soft spots on your body."

She resisted the urge to sink lower to the water.

"Are those really your breasts?"

She held her arms stiffly by her sides.

"Damn, woman. "

Sakura casually gathered water in her hands, tipped her head back, and let the hot water flow down. There was a sharp intake somewhere. There was grim satisfication in knowing it. Training for a kunoichi meant seduction and using all assests. She doubt it would work here, but teasing wouldn't be any harm. If it did give her a chance, she would kill. She tilted her neck to the side, getting rid of the kinks. "I guess this is your first chance seeing the opposite sex."

There was no answer but Sakura prepared herself.

The water rippled when a pair of feet landed a few feet away from here. The blond Akatasuki member. Him again? She'd be damned if he would cut her hair again. She steeled herself. He strolled towards her, flicking his gaze up and down. "Hidan isn't gentle at all." He purposely kept quiet before lowering to her level, invading her space. Sakura glowered. He caught the fist aimed for his face and pressed it back to the rock. She was vulnerable already. "Trust him to damage any form of art. That idiot."

"Don't you have someone to kill?"

His lips twitched, "Not until later."

"You killed Gaara."

"He came back to life."

He was appreciating the curve of her breasts, lost in the form. He still had one hand free though. This was an artistic man, obsess with shapes and texture. Creating it lovingly before destroying it. No point in modesty now. She tugged her fist back but he increased the pressure. She kept her words vague. "You're going after the last jinchūriki?"

He had nothing to say to that. He brought her closed hand to his other and she saw the sharp teeth salivating within its mouth in his palm. She tensed, horrified and slightly repulsed. The tongue licked her palm once and disappeared back to his side. "Why?" He turned her palm, positioning it near her knee, tugging at the slim fingers. Before his eyes could fasten at her thighs, she closed and bent them. He looked annoyed, but focused on her hands and chest instead. It was very unusual she was ill at ease with her naked body. He'd submerged in the water, spreading their hands on her stomach.

"We don't have to."

Sakura immediately took the small information and analyzed all angles. 'We? He didn't say 'I' He'd messed up. He didn't seem to care, tracing her collarbone down to the middle of her breasts. She slapped the hand. 'They don't plan to use Naruto? No. Something else…who else would…' The medic didn't like the direction of her thoughts. It was the same train of thought again and bothered her. But it didn't seem like the style the Akatsuki would go for. So what were they aiming for with her? They hadn't interrogate her so far. A mind control? Couldn't last that long, that was the Yamanaka's clan specialty. They just kept her alive. She knew they needed Naruto and they didn't have Sasuke.

Deidara was now using two hands to stroke her waist, memorizing the lines – ((so easy to break)) – before Sakura forced herself back to reality. She pushed him away with her monstrous strength but he came back again and yanked her hand up to his mouth.

There was a dark glint in his eyes.

"How unlucky. I wouldn't have minded getting you."

He looked over her.

"All of you."

Body and soul.

Mind. Thoughts.

Control.

"No teams will be sent out." The Hokage announced firmly.

As expected, Naruto burst out, "Why the hell not?! Sakura is out there with the Akatsuki!"

"Precisely. I will not risk, especially you Naruto, a team to infiltrate."

The Kyuubi snarled at that, churning more of its flame chakra through its vessel emotional high, "Tsuna-"

"She's right, Naruto." Kakashi said grimly, "You know the risks of being a shinobi."

"That's not fair! What's going to happen to Sakura? Don't you care about her at all?"

A fist pounded on the dest, cracking its surface, "Naruto," she said softly, quietly, "There are no leads. A rescue team for one kunoichi who has the least chance of survival at enemy hands would result in more lose in numbers. It's my decision as Hokage." Her words her final. Sasuke was extremely angered, following Naruto's exit. He shut the door with force, keeping back the chidori rapidly forming. Sakura was not coming back. Staying in the Akatasuki. Dead or alive. With his brother.

Tsunade sighed, leaning back on her chair. There was no doubt they would disobey her. They needed to be restricted. Kakashi and Anko caught her eye in her thoughts, nodded and disappeared. She rubbed her forehead. She needed that sake now, except it was empty. Damn it. Shizune just entered with the records of Sakura's missions. Every detail to research.

"You're helping me with this."

There was bound to be a loophole, a hint. The teams were still searaching the village.

"Sakura should have said something."

Amid the disaster of her life, the violence and blood, the chaotic and manipulative inhumane shinobi that ruled her life in the Akatasuki; there was one constant Sakura relied on. She hated it. It was what kept her grounded and sane. ((Liar, liar, liar!))

Itachi.

A rustle of silk distrupted the silence.

Sakura didn't bother to open her eyes. Her muscles felt weak and her head throbbed with the mental pressure of the day. 'Naruto would have brought me ramen,' she thought distantly. The enthusiastic blond would break open her door, slamming its hinges and announce loudly that ramen would be the cure for everything. Her lips tugged into a small smile. Then again, her mighty fist would somehow miss its target when Naruto held ramen. 'Strange.'

'Eh, Sakura-chan?'

'Keep quiet, Naruto! I need – achoo! – actual food,' she tried to reason. 'No, no, no. Not that again-!'

'Oh. Scowling ruins your complexion, Sakura.' Ino teased, 'Bad enough you got more muscles.'

'Out!'

Naruto. Ino. Ramen. Hokage. Konoha. It was her mantra nowadays. But it was always faltered when that now familiar, heavy gaze would rest on her. It never was comfortable no matter how much those black eyes pinned her - ((watching)) – and so still. Yet she always reacted subtly. She had felt those large hands, the steadiness of his body and heat of his body despite the circumstances. Sakura tensed. Uchiha Itachi was definitely male and that consuming gaze always shifted her attention.

A small exhale. Her eyes fluttered lightly and the small shift of light hurt her eyes. 'Should have broken that bulb. They could have replaced it anyways!' she whined weakly in her thoughts. Konoha-nin that she was – ((is!)) – she bit her mouth to keep from groaning at the dull throbbing of her body. He's here.

Sakura absolutely hated, hated, hated the anticipation of realizing the man was there. Her heart would beat out of rhythm, her hands curling. Would try to wash away the dirty part. He was the enemy. Every night of being alone, searching, exploring and in pain, that S-classed shinobi would always be there. In the late hours of midnight, silent, his constant presence was familiar, the weight of his stare passive. It was her lullaby to sleep, the only thing she knew to expect.

And then came the nightmares.

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She was humming a haunting melody.

Each step on the wooden floor creaked.

The voices echoing around her slowly faded as she navigated her way through the blood spattered room.

Crimson.

Like his eyes.

The one who understood her. Was there for her through the darkest hour. Her saviour.

Traitors! They should have come for her. Left her instead. Now it's their time.

"…house is on fire…and your children are gone…all except for…"

See how they feel. Try to survive it.

The multitude of shrieking voices came back full force when she left the room. Her hands curcled around a kunai, breathing heavily and searching for another prey. Empty. She violently broke the wall, sensing the masked prescene and smiled happily.

Long, messy hair framed blue eyes. Looking just like the man in the Akatsuki whom her saviour did not like seeing with her. Punishment. Only her saviour could touch her like that. Her smile faded.

"…who hid beneath the …"

A desperate last cry of war. Then red splashed across the white walls in a messy arc.

Red.

Just like the eyes of the one she loves…

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"Why did you leave Sasuke alive?"

Her eyes were a dull shade of green. It didn't shine with fury or reveal the mad genius behind it this time. It was fading but it would return again when she regained her strength. Itachi blankly looked on. Small step by step, this pink-haired kunouchi was backing away the rope of her existence to Konoha. She would cut ties with them willingly. His mental calculations were correct. Give little by little and the woman would always react. Affect her social starvation by appearing in her room after the Akatsuki members purposely crossed her paths. Staying with her at night would somehow calm her; light green eyes seeking the shadows for him. And he would always be there. ((Give everything.))

Murdering his clan was easy. The shinobi needn't even physically harm her.

It was all mind games.

He was a notorious specialist.

She knew.

Again and again and again.

"Say something. You could pass as a mute."

Her soft voice was strangely intriguing and he listened intently to the tone and ignored the words.

"You're bad as your brother and he's beginning to be a pain in the ass."

She sighed, turning to her side to face him. "Is there privacy here at all?" Lies. She liked having him here. "I like bathing without anyone looking." He stiffened. "Honestly, I bet that if you can watch , you wouldn't even –mmph." She adjusted her form, but he caught it before she could hide.

Her skin had darkened near her neck and her arm was at an odd angle. Sakura had been hurt. Again. His mouth turned downward slightly. Slowly, crimson invaded black until three curved tomoe appeared. Itachi searched for more marks. The damn blankets covered her and she clutched them to her body tightly when he stepped forward to the bed. It was a nuisance. The woman's eyes widened. This was a breach of their usual routine. "What are you doing," she gritted out when he blocked all the exits. He took one step forward, disappeared and materialized inches away. "Get the hell away from me!"

Itachi looked down at her. Sakura noticed that he was too preoccupied and distant to listen to her warnings. In fact, she might as well be screaming. The man didn't even look at her, knowing full well he could counter her every move. Her treacherous body thrummed in excitement at this new development. This. This was what she didn't feel with back when she bathed when Deidara invaded. - ((Traitor, traitor, traitor)) - The thrill this shinobi made her feel. 'Now is not the time!' she thought, almost hysterically, 'He's going to-'

He was staring at her blankets intently. 'What…?' The Uchiha looked ready to rip it out of her hands and contemplated a more productive way to release it. He stilled, giving her a chance to remove it herself. She didn't move. Fuck it. That was the fastest way. Her hands steadied when his hand reached out. 'Now!'

Linen flew midair, obscuring their view and Sakura acted on the oppurtonity. Her leg kicked out, hands supporting and twisting to land another hit before jumping above to – she didn't have any choice. Hands secured both her ankles and her back slammed back to the wall. Her vision flickered at the impact and knocked the breathe out of her. A sharp sting raced through her wounds. She regretted not healing herself and now the warm, glow of chakra seemed to choppily make its way to the bruises.

Itachi crouched in front her, almost looming over her that she could see nothing but him. His frame was large and he had pinned her bodily. He had lowered his dark head, and though she sweated, she met his gaze straight on. This was the predator side of this man. Through black eyes, she saw the conflict and barely unleashed violence in them. It fascinated her. Two fingers slowly traced down her cheek with the lightest touch down to her bruised neck. Sakura hissed. He paused, looking back at her. She ignored him.

Then his fingers continued the path down, noting everything. Her reaction, the twitch of her body, the tightening around her eyes and the muscles stiffening. Not once did she make a sound. The angry black and blue skin screamed out against her pale skin. The internal damage must have struck deeper than the surface. He pressed down slightly and she made a faint noise. There was no warning when she felt his chakra accumulate in his hands. She immediately countered with what's left of her strength but it wasn't enough. His blood limit awakened threateningly and she started when she began to really notice his physical existence close to her.

His presence was overwhelming, demanding her obedience. Sakura gave him a defiant stare. She wouldn't last long, but at least she was still resisting. But she had the sick feeling that it was fading in the background – ((Konoha)) – her inner self shrieked at that unspoken change. It pounded over and over, head throbbing until she shut it all to the back of her mind. The accusations were still there. She strengthened her chakra flow against his invading ones. Sakura had an idea of what he was going to do, but be damned if she would allow it to happen. Even though her innards were clenching painfully, she wouldn't give it up.

The dark-haired shinobi watched it all. Pride ruled her foolish actions. The barrier of her village was slowly crumbly. A dark, primal satisfaction was beginning to form. If she kept this up, she'd passed out from chakra deprivation. Her hand shot out to his shoulder and the movement forced him back. His eyes narrowed and – ((enough this meaningless game)) – forced a tremendous force of chakra, overflowing and pushing back hers. It raced through her body, prickling at her skin. Sakura inhaled sharply, whole body stilling at how quick he had forced his chakra in large amounts. It was uncomfortable. It felt wrong. She struggled against it and his hand hovering over her neck kept her motionless.

Their eyes met. He ruthlessly kept the onslaught of his chakra into hers. Then Sakura felt true fear; Itachi made sure for her to see, to feel, who was the one who controlled the outcome. The one with power. The kunoichi weakened, trembled once before finally giving in.

Itachi eased back, making sure she was unconscious. Her chakra was almost depleted so foolishly just for honor and pride. He lowered her back down and parted her clothing, noting with indifference at the wounds. His chakra caressed her, almost soothing, with his hands lingering upon the smooth, soft skin.

Long lashes shadowed her cheeks, exhausted. The Uchiha took too long observing her parted lips before his sharingan swept her body thoroughly for any hidden injury. How careless of him. The injuries on her body were inexcusable. It was his responsibility for breaking her. Not theirs. There was a rush of fury as he traced his fingers over her bruised hip.

He rested his other hand on her stomach to lean over to whisper in her hair.

"Sleep. Dream of this."

She did.

For once, there was no nightmare.

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It was all in motion.

She'd been forgetting now...

Letting it all fall with blind eyes.

Close.

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There was an emergency.

Had a lesser man been there, he would have been suffocated at the amount of massive chakra filling the dark cave. Two large hands emerged from the ground, chains binding them together, and ten figures stood atop each finger. The tense silence didn't bother any of them. It was the hunt that affected them all. Then a voice announced:

"Pet escaped."

"Who let her out of the cage?"

"She hasn't been fed yet. Maybe she got cranky."

Someone grunted. "Pet wouldn't have gone far. Let her play her games."

"Ah. If she were my puppet, she wouldn't have run."

Pein finally gave the order. "Let the hounds loose."

The Akatsuki members jumped down.

"Don't let her go."