Dilemma
A/N: So we've switched between Sakura and Himitsu to represent their skill bases and the mindset that Sakura is in. Himitsu is supposed to be the quick thinker/talker while Sakura is trained under Tsunade (including fighting).
7:15pm, April 19It was a peaceful walk towards the apartment. Getting a taxi would be easy, but at the moment she didn't have any cash. Plus it would be best to sort out her thoughts. The walk was lengthy, but Sakura didn't mind. That was until she ran into trouble. Or more specifically: she was jumped, knocked down, and beaten.
She didn't notice the people following behind her. When Sakura turned the corner that was when they swung and hit her in the gut. Himitsu doubled over and two others behind grabbed him. His legs dragged across the sidewalk as he was led to an alley. "You Akatsuki are gonna regret pissing off the Yami." The 'boy' was unceremoniously dropped onto the dirty cement; which followed by repeated kicking in the ribs in order to keep him on the ground. "You sick fucks were the one's that ratted us out," Sakura saw something flash in the corner of her eye; it was a pocket knife. Himitsu stayed down. "How about to make up for it you give us your ring?" The gears started turning and Himitsu refused to move. "Don't worry about it, we'll just take it with your finger."
There were three people. The one with the knife moved down and Himitsu waited for his time to strike. When the blade touched her fingers, Sakura lurched her arm out and yanked him down. The momentum caught everyone off balance as she skillfully curled her arms around the knife. She turned over and put him in a chokehold with a knife at his throat and pulled both of them up into a standing position. Himitsu spoke. "It's a fair trade right?"
She watched two pairs of eyes widen before a burst of laughter erupted. "Sasori dying wasn't our idea." Himitsu was referring to the throat being slit rather than his fingers, but this sounded more interesting. "In fact, we were gonna kill that leader of yours. But somebody paid a handsome price just to get-" He felt a pinch at the base of his kneck. Just as Himitsu's vision began to fade, anger erupted. She didn't realize there was a fourth person...had they been behind her the entire time..?
4:00pm, December 3"Well then what's wrong with her?" Fugaku Uchiha was getting impatient. His first born was supposed to take control when he died. Marrying someone of a higher status would elevate him even further. Didn't Itachi see that he was only trying his best to help him?
"I'm gay." That was when Itachi looked at Fugaku in the eyes. That was when his mother cried because of him. His brother was somewhat young and even then his parents watched their interaction like a hawk. God forbid he passes the 'Gay Sickness' to his little brother. That was when every Uchiha began to view him differently. His relationship with Shisui was looked at in an entirely different way. Personally, he was glad it was finally out there. The pride must have been the last straw however. Before long, he lost the property along with the money he would inherit once his parents passed away. All was given to Sasuke. Itachi wasn't upset. That money was acquired through murders, dirty promises, and unnecessary violence and he didn't want any part in that. How ironic that he would be doing the very same thing in order to get the medication he needed not too long after his entire family was killed. It was only him and Sasuke; he would protect him with his life.
9:02pm, April 19Sakura opened her eyes and was afraid that she had been raped. She attempted to sit up but let out a whimper when her torso protested. Himitsu quickly glanced around to make sure no one was around to hear that, but the dizziness caused him to collapse back down. It dawned on him that he was still in the alley but nobody was around. Sakura quickly got up in a panic and leaned against the brick wall as everything began to spin. After a good two or three minutes of fighting the urge to barf, Sakura looked around and found no trace of the four people that jumped her. She walked out of the alley toward the apartment.
When she finally arrived, the lightheaded feeling only seemed to worsen. Sleeping seemed like the best option.8:45am, April 20Sakura woke up to the door banging and her phone ringing. She looked at her phone and read the name: unknown. "Hello?" There was a pause at the end of the line and realized that it could be any of the Akatsuki members seeing as she had none of their contacts.
"Hi! This is Jeff is Himitsu nearby?" It sounded vaguely familiar. Didn't Pein say she was supposed to go with Kisame and Itachi?
"O-oh sure." She dropped the phone to her lap and paused for a few moments. Himitsu brought it back to his ear making sure to sound like he just woke up. "Hello?"
"It's Kisame. We're outside of the apartment. Do you need some time to...get ready?"
"I'm sorry yes! Yes! I would!" Himitsu was red. The playfulness in Kisame's voice was not what he expected. "I'll be out in a few." After promptly hanging up, Sakura decided that it wouldn't be so bad to die right now.
8:46am, April 20Kisame and Itachi were both silent. "He had a girl with him?" The seriousness in Itachi's voice and the reality of the situation was too messed up for Kisame not to burst into a small chuckle.
"Sorry! Sorry! It's just so fucked up that this kid just lost someone he loves and still finds time to sleep around." Itachi squinted at the red blob that was most likely a stop sign. "She sounded kinda hot though." It took all his might not to roll his eyes to the back of his head. Before asking how anyone could determine attractiveness based on voice, Himitsu approached the car looking disheveled. He opened the back door and slipped in.
"So what are we doing today?" Kisame snorted.
"We're not moving anywhere until I get to see her face." Itachi practically felt the embarrassment from Himitsu. "You look so red right now!" Kisame laughed again. "Sorry, sorry it's none of my business anyways." Himitsu didn't respond. "Well we're basically going to be out on a little delivery." The car slowly pulled away from the apartment and picked up speed. "Pein probably wants to get a feel on what you'll be able to contribute to Akatsuki. By the way…" Himitsu and Kisame made eye contact through the rear-view mirror, "You got the ring right?" He gave an affirmative nod. "Awesome. You're gonna have to wear that whenever you go out." Silence grew increasingly and déjà vu slapped Himitsu. He had to find out information right now.
"So...You two work together?" Himitsu noticed that it was mostly Kisame with the bright, talkative attitude while Itachi was the silent type.
"Yeah, it's kinda weird. Everyone just works in pairs. It's me and Itachi, Hidan and Kakuzu, Kuro and Shiro, Deidara and," Himitsu was surprised when he heard Itachi murmur something, "Tobi!" He's new too but he used to hang around Kuro and Shiro so he knows the ropes. "We're here!" They arrived at a dock. "Pein wanted me to first warn you about some of our competitors." He pointed out toward a burned down area with police tape. "Basically we got into an little trouble with Yami over that burned down area." Himitsu was speechless.
"I just got jumped by them!" Both Kisame and Itachi turned his head to the side to stare at him.
"Are you okay?" The genuine concern on Itachi's features was enough to evoke a small blush on Sakura's face. He's so sweet.
"Yeah, I got knocked out by one of them and when I woke up they were gone."
"That's...oddly..fortunate for you.." Itachi's concern immediately changed to suspicion. Did he not believe him? He's so accusatory!
"What he means to say is he's surprised that's all that happened. Y'see Deidara was..uhm.." The smile disappeared on his face and Himitsu felt something off about the hesitance, "He was raped by them at one point. It was awhile ago, but it was fucked up. Deidara wasn't the same." Sakura didn't know what to say. "But uh.." Kisame's smile was back but in a gentle way, "Sasori helped him out I think. He was a good guy." Himitsu turned away.
"Yeah...that sounds like him alright." Himitsu would be oddly touched and feel like he was about to cry. Of course Deidara would harbor such a protective attitude about Sasori's questionable relative. This guy helped him out a lot. They probably got really close. Sakura studied the police tape. "So what actually happened at the building?"
"We needed some help, they helped, some information got leaked, they thought it was us, blah blah blah." It seemed too complicated to sum up into just a sentence. Sakura needed to find out more.