Chapter ten
It disgusted her.
Their blood-thirsty maniatism, or the way their eyes shone with each drop of blood that came from the other, without discriminating woman or man, shinobi or civilian, adult or child.
She hated the way she felt with that cloak on, the scent of dry blood on her hands.
She needed to end this mission as soon as possible.
But still, there wasn't enough information to return to Konoha as of yet. She couldn't arrive there empty handed, after all, her mission had been long enough, even more than necessary, and she couldn't stop the feeling that somewhat, it had been her own choice to stay there just that little bit longer.
In a way, she had been turning into one of those blood-thirsty bastards.
"Itachi-San" She said absent-mindedly, it was like she was forcing herself to return to this world.
The older Uchiha was eating and seated opposite her, so he raised his head a little, just to look at her troubled face, waiting for her to continue.
"I'm curious about something", she said, staring at the food that she forgot she was eating. Inner Sakura wasn't so sure about asking him this, but it was extremely necessary for her mission to come to a close.
"I've been asking myself this for some time now." she continued, a little bit unsure "Ever since I joined this organization, I've been seeking power and improvement. I've been doing this for myself.
But, just like everyone else in the Akatsuki, I'm here to accomplish a common ambition, and I feel uncomfortable with the realization that...I don't know what this goal is about. Leader won't tell me this, but I need to know what I'm fighting for."
Itachi gazed back to his plate as a small smirk appeared behind the big collar of his cloak. He remained silent; the tension began to build.
"To unify this world", he answered mysteriously.
"Unify?" she asked even more confused, her eyes fixed on the elder Uchiha.
His smirk grew, she couldn't see it, but she knew it was there.
"You will understand in time"
Again, she felt the emptiness of his words and made a big effort to suppress the anger that boiled within her.
"I need to know now", she repeated coldly.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" he asked narrowing his eyes.
Her mouth gaped a little. How was she meant to answer that? It's not like she was just going to come out and say it. She began to speak, but her words just got caught in her throat, making her splutter out an array of incoherent sounds.
"You just wait", he replied simply, hinting that the topic was over.
Itachi stood up and left to go and rest, leaving a very annoyed Mia sitting at the kitchen table.
Dammit, she just couldn't stand his attitude, the way his words left her with more questions than answers.
Well, it was always like that with him, she couldn't change his personality. But, at the moment, there was something that she needed to change, a much more important matter, she needed that information now.
The only thing she had was an idea of their plan, but even that was a near complete blur.
Maybe straightforward questions weren't the solution...
The chicken and rice on her plate was cold but her stomach urged her to eat, so she complied and began to eat the rubbery substance that you couldn't possibly call food.
The weather was changing so fast that sometimes she had to stop herself and realize it wasn't summer anymore, that it was already autumn. The trees displayed a beautiful variety of oranges, yellows and reds while the wind made a storm of leaves, bringing in the freezing air of the upcoming winter.
Sakura found herself liking this season. Before she thought it was depressing, after all, it looked like death, but now, she found it to be relaxing and nice.
The sky was gray: like a stone, like a cement wall, like the hair of her former sensei...
...Like the day this whole story began, at the hospital of Konoha.
Yes, definitely, this mission had to stop.
Without reason, she had been staying here for so much time. The cause was obvious to her.
Uchiha Itachi.
Unfortunately, she wasn't twelve anymore, so she didn't have anything to blame it on, it was the cold, hard truth. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, it was true.
She liked him.
Even at the mere thought of it, her cheeks started to flush.
But she wasn't here to make romances, even if her inner Sakura was slapping her for not taking advantage of the situation, but Sakura had already noticed that Itachi had some strange kind of interest in her.
Of course it was because of the Sharingan, it's not like the Uchiha prodigy had something else in mind.
The bloodline limit, that was another thing she had to be careful of. If she made even the tiniest mistake concerning the famous doujutsu, Itachi would see through her fake.
She couldn't lie the Master about his mastered technique.
The glass window next to her was collecting frost more and more and now she could barely see outside. Her reflection was showing and she could see her silky black hair. She thought it suited her.
Sakura really missed Konoha. She thought it would be easier if she went outside, but each passing day she found it more and more difficult. At least she wasn't alone now, but being with Itachi would never compare to what it felt to be with Naruto, Kakashi or Tsunade. They were her family.
Being with Itachi felt like...a cold emptiness; it kind of reminded her of the times she was alone with Sasuke. It was the same chill on the back of her neck; that made her hair rise.
Like now, as she sat there, in a cold chair, looking at the window on a very cold day.
She was alone.
At this moment in time, she even wished for Itachi to be seated there with her.
Many times Sasuke had thought about killing himself. In those anguishing moments, suicide seemed like the best solution.
But then he thought it would be too easy for his brother. He couldn't give him such pleasure. It was humiliating just thinking about it.
Now he was feeling quite depressed. His latest try with Itachi had gone awfully wrong, and took away all his pride and will. It was terrible.
Sasuke felt his world crumble when he saw himself, thrown in the dirt, without chakra nor stamina and the figure of a clean and unscratched Itachi looking down at him, with a blank stare and the redness of Sharingan eyes.
He couldn't even punch him, just like the last time, just like that fateful night.
He felt useless.
Then, what came next was nothing compared to the big amount of damage his ego suffered.
He felt pathetic.
It was after he returned to Konoha, when he woke up in that hospital room with white walls, that he had that idea. But he felt even more pathetic when thinking about suicide.
His life had too much value to just throw it away like that.
Now, more then ever,
He wanted his bloody revenge.
Those were the thoughts of Uchiha Sasuke as he trained on the outskirts of Konoha.
For a moment, he stopped to lay down on the grass. His gaze focused on the night sky, which was deprived of any stars. It was a terribly dark night with an eerie silence that made him think about certain things he was trying to avoid.
Like the eyes he saw in dreams.
He knew whom they were, he just...didn't want to believe it.
A long sigh escaped him; he was tired. A whole week of non-stop training was showing, through the form of his eyes and body. His sleep hours had been very reduced, even more than usual. He needed to rest.
Sasuke stood up and left for home.
Next time he would die, but he would take Uchiha Itachi with him,
That was for sure.
They were on the move again. Last week they met with Hoshigaki Kisame. He had talked some things over with Itachi before separating.
She was walking ahead, while Itachi followed.
Through the thickness of the foliage she saw gray cloud about to release the rain. The forest offered a good shelter, but they would be getting wet anyway.
She felt sad leaving that comfortable inn. In the last few weeks, they had moved from inns to forest to camps. Tonight they were supposed to stay in another camp and in the morning they would reach their final destination; a small training camp where Naruto was supposed to be along with his squad.
It was hidden in the forest where only people of ANBU rank or higher knew its location. Itachi had been the ANBU captain, so he knew this camp and the area surrounding very well, at least, that was what she assumed; he wouldn't say a word about it.
Sakura felt the intense stare of Itachi on her back and it annoyed her to no end, so she slowed down her pace to match his.
Suddenly, she felt a tiny drop fall on her nose so she looked up. Rain started to fall smoothly thanks to the high trees. For some a reason she felt very happy with this situation. In her eyes, it seemed just beautiful. She let a little smirk appear on her lips as she closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation of the soft rain on her face. Her body was warm because of the cloak; it was very comfortable.
Itachi, on her side, looked at her actions and then up to the sky. He stopped by a thick tree and leant on it.
Sakura stopped too and looked at him with doubt in her eyes. She waited for him to talk.
"The training field is hidden to those who only possess amateur eyes. Only highly ranked shinobi can find it. You know why that is?"
"No, I've never even heard of this place", she answered truthfully.
"There are traps set all around in a radius of one kilometer. The camp itself is hidden with a strong genjutsu. I'm positive that even you wouldn't be able to see through it", he said all too calm.
"But, even with Sharingan...?", she asked.
"That's why I'm telling you this. I want you to see through it. You need to train your eyes. By the time we arrive there you have to discover the place by yourself."
That was definitely unexpected. Her level with Sharingan was still basic, and in one day she wouldn't be able to improve it to the point that he was asking for.
"Why are you so concerned about my ability with Sharingan?"
"Isn't it obvious? It's a tool that is very useful for a skilled shinobi such as yourself. Even if you're strong, you need to know how to use it efficiently in battle, this is just a test"
"Then what happens if I don't pass this test?"
"It means that you're not useful as I thought, and you don't deserve to be my partner", he said plainly, but with such arrogance.
She always knew, even before meeting him, that he was an arrogant bastard with a God complex, but the fact that he complimented her by recognizing her skills was enough to take his challenge and do her best.
She looked at his face until he met her eyes. Then she gave him a smile she could only remember giving to Naruto, and then she turned around and started walking.
Itachi thought her smile was beautiful, but he didn't even flinch, instead he followed her, watching the way that her body moved, and the way her hair hung majestically above her shoulders.
Rain fell stronger now, so much that not even the leaves could stop it.
They were both soaked, right to the point where their sandals grew heavier, and each step was harder to give.
"It's going to be difficult to camp here, don't you think?", she said while turning her head slightly to face him, she smirked. It was a joke for her.
Itachi smirked behind his collar too, secretly agreeing with her, but what to do?
Well, they only had one choice.
"We would be able to get there soon, if you'd hurry up", he responded.
"Oh...I knew you would say that", she stated as she jumped up onto a tree branch. She stood there and looked down to where Itachi was, still walking along the ground.
"What, are you lazing off now?" she said mockingly then smirked. Jumping from one tree to another, she started racing to their destination.
Itachi looked at her figure disappearing rapidly amidst the leaves and soon followed her.
He thought he liked her.
"Stop", Itachi's quiet voice commanded.
Sakura froze in place and waited for him to give indications. She looked at him and he showed her with signals, the sets of traps placed in front of them. She was almost stepping onto one. This wasn't a good start, if she hadn't even been able to notice the booby-traps, how was she supposed to undo an ANBU leveled genjutsu?
Sakura started to panic.
'Relax, Sakura, you gain nothing by turning into a nervous wreck, remember what this guy taught you'
She looked side-ways at him, being too ashamed to look at him straight on the face.
She finally closed her eyes and started an even rhythm of breathing. Accumulating the exact amount of chakra on her eyes wasn't a difficult thing to do, especially for her, the problem was the pain she had to bare to be able to control it, so she wouldn't lose control on her chakra leveling either.
That wasn't an easy task at all.
Bit by bit she felt the warm flow of chakra soothing the pain on her eyes as the Sharingan appeared.
Good.
When she opened them, she saw no difference on her environment, so she started to accumulate more and more chakra to rise the level of her doujutsu.
She began to see small things embedded with chakra, objects hidden amidst the grass.
'Relax...'
Itachi was looking at her with real interest. He could tell she was really trying.
He felt terribly proud when he heard her gasp.
She had seen it.
Sakura turned her gaze to him with wide opened eyes; totally surprised by the place they were in and by her own ability to actually see it.
She felt proud of herself too.
It was shocking; they were standing behind the last shrub before reaching a big and bare meadow where the base was located. It was a very old military enclosure, with high walls of concrete surrounded by spike wire.
Itachi was aware of this fact long before they arrived, and when they did, he made sure to stop before the prairie.
On her eyes, the real image faded in and out the genjutsu, for it was hard to maintain the correct flow to her eyes and bare the strain it provoked, but it was a big step anyway.
"The kyuubi is supposed to be here", Itachi whispered.
Sakura's heart tightened painfully.
She hoped Naruto wasn't here anymore.
"Should we infiltrate?" she asked, too shy for her own liking.
He only nodded in return and then they started to move as fast and silent as they could.
They reached a wall and climbed it. On the other side was an empty training field and one open door that leaded to the interior of the building.
They jumped in. The darkness of this starless night played on their side, so visibly they wouldn't have many problems. They just had to mask their presence effectively and be as quiet as a rock.
They entered the building. Apparently it was empty, but it was only one of many other that were left to visit.
The air felt thick and it was hard to breathe, it was dense. It reminded them both of the atmosphere in the cave where the Akatsuki had their head quarters. There was an eerie silence and a cold breeze that bristled the little hairs behind Sakura's neck.
Her heart was beating fast; so fast she was sure it was audible and was even making an echo on the silent walls.
Soon they reached a bifurcation. Sakura knew Itachi knew where each corridor leaded, but he couldn't talk, not even whisper or it would sound like a live concert for anyone in this place. So he indicated her with his finger to go to right and that he would go left.
In a second he disappeared and she was there alone. She hurried but her legs where so shaky that she was afraid to fall in any instant.
'What's wrong with you, Sakura! You have done worst than this many times before!' her inner Mia said, on the other hand was her inner Sakura reminding her that her fear was born on the doubt of Naruto's whereabouts. If he would be here, it would definitely be a problem. It would mean that she would have to get involved on a fight with none else than Uchiha Itachi.
Her heart skipped a beat at that thought.
She couldn't fight him, not even with Naruto on her side. It was impossible and now that she had spent some time with him, she has been able to see the enormous gap between them. He was untouchable.
If she was to find Naruto, she would do anything to get him to leave this dreaded place.
A sound on her right.
Shit.
She hadn't been paying enough attention to her surroundings to realize there was a door on her right side that was about to being opened.
She jumped backwards and hid on a corner, hoping that the darkness would be enough to fool the person who came out from the other side of the door.
'Hide your chakra, dammit!'
The person who entered was a shinobi, and he was quite tall. He wore an ANBU mask with two red lines at each side. He looked in her direction. Sakura froze. Cold sweat started to run and her feet felt like stone, she couldn't move.
What was she going to do, if she just stood here, it was almost certain that the shinobi would find her, and with the Akatsuki cloak that she was in, they would surely try and kill her. If she just stood here, she would be caught and branded as an Akatsuki. But she could take the chance of attacking the enemy, showing herself.
She took a deep breath, Mia then got out from her frozen body and in a second she absolutely changed her stance. Sharingan shone, ready for the fight, already filling her eyes with chakra. She was so full of adrenaline that not even the pain was noticeable.
"Show yourself!" A deep manly voice sounded, and soon, Sakura found herself melting and drowning on her own tears.
"...Na...Narut-to?" she whispered, for her voice seemed trapped on the bottom of her throat. Her knees collapsed and she fell, no longer being able to contain so much stress in her tiny body.
"...Who is it?" he said, now utterly confused. He gave a step forward, getting closer to the person that had just fell.
"Naruto...it's me...", she whispered smiling, with green eyes full of tears.
"Sakura-Chan?!", his eyes grew as big as hers. He rushed to her side and kneeled to see her face close by.
He saw green, glittering, beautiful eyes.
And he cried with her on his arms, as he had dreamed countless nights before.
With shaking hands, she softly grabbed his face and directed it to her.
"Naruto, you must go away now, run as fast as you can without being noticed" Sakura whispered in a hushed tone, with a shade of desperation that she was trying to hide from him.
"What are you talking about?" he replied, matching her tone.
"Itachi, he's here, he's looking for you, Naruto, you can't beat him, go, run", her anxiety was becoming more evident.
"Itachi? Did he do something to you...or...?"
"Naruto! Please, run...please", she cried, and softly, tenderly, she approached his face to her and kissed him on the lips. It was warm and sweet, as she would have never imagined a kiss would be.
She loved it.
"...I want to see you again...I want to be with you, go out on dates, kiss you like this everyday, so please...", she sobbed, "...please run away...", she bowed her head, not wanting him to see her cry like a baby anymore.
Naruto was shocked; it was all happening so fast that he was sure he would wake up anytime soon. It didn't seem real.
But her kiss did.
"Sakura-Chan…" he grabbed her arms softly and faced her. "...Come back", he simply said and left her with a soft kiss on the forehead.
"...I love you..." she whispered so low that even she barely heard herself.
Naruto didn't catch the last part, but he ran as she said.
'I want to go out on dates with you too, Sakura-Chan...', his heart was happier than what had been in years.
He became invisible in this dark night, and she was so happy to have finally met him. Now she was sure he would be safe. She only had to play it dumb from now on and find Itachi as soon as possible.
Sakura stood up, straightened her pose and started walking quietly through the cold corridor.
When she reached another exit door, her tears were dried and her heart in a normal rhythm again. She found Itachi nearing a gate.
They both reunited and kept checking the rest of the enclosure.
By the time they ended, the sun was already showing its first rays on the horizon, they ran out of the camp. It took them about an hour to run to a safe place in the forest.
Sakura was dead tired, so as soon as they stopped, she threw herself against a root of a big tree and made herself comfortable, not caring about bugs or poisonous herbs.
She closed her eyes and felt the peacefulness of the woods. The scent of plants, the sounds of the wind, of the birds and animals. She heard a river.
Itachi was seated on another root next to her. He was tired too and definitely needed a recess.
"Is there a river around here?" Sakura's weak voice sounded.
"Over there", Itachi indicated a route with his finger.
"I think I'll go there to take a bath", she said all too casual.
He didn't say a word, just as she expected, but after being with him for months now, that really didn't matter.
She dragged herself to the river and when she reached it, she took off her clothes without a whit of shame.
The water was cold, and felt even colder with the freezing temperature. She rapidly cleaned herself and got out. Her clothes were nasty; she needed to clean them as well. So she put on her cloak, which was warm enough and covered her body completely and started to wash her dirty attire. When she finished, she left them hanging on a branch and laid on the grass to take a nap. Itachi was near enough to alert her if any enemies were approaching, therefore, she could sleep without worries.
This time, she dreamt of Naruto.
Itachi thought it would do him good to go and, at least, wash his face on the river too. He headed there hoping to find Mia dressed. He was amused when he found her dressed and asleep. Sleeping like a baby, without a sense of alert nor anything. Here clothes were drying near, so she was naked under that cloak.
After a meticulous examination of his surroundings, Itachi undressed and got into the cold water of the river. He didn't care about its temperature, he was only worried of ending up clean.
He washed his hair, body and teeth as much as he could with only water and when he finished some sunrays were passing through the clouds. He felt Mia stirring a little and then babble about something he couldn't understand.
'So careless, she could give any information without even knowing it', he thought. Sometimes he couldn't believe she was actually a kunoichi, she seemed like a normal teenager full of hormones, with a monstrous physical strength and absolutely careless of the world around her. He just observed her sleep.
There were so many of her behaviors that he didn't understand. Even if she could tell everything while asleep, she was very mysterious. There was something about her that still bothered him, but he didn't know what, it was just a hunch.
"Itachi...", she said with a tired voice. Soon after, she opened her eyes.
The first thing she noticed was that a big sun was shining above her, but it wasn't warming her up too much. Then, she looked to the place she left her clothes and to her relief, they were still there. Finally she sensed another presence and looked in its direction.
She found a shirtless Itachi with his hair loose and wet and his pants half open, seated on a rock next to the river.
In a second all the blood in her body went to her head and somewhere else, and she only had time to bury her face on the cloak. She was already missing oxygen.
"You shouldn't be sleeping so carelessly in the woods", Itachi stated, He noticed her reaction when she saw him and found it quite amusing.
"S-sorry!" she said still covering her tomato-red face. He was right, she had been too dependent on Itachi, but in reality he gave her no warranty. He wouldn't lose his time nor risk his life to save her, so why had she trusted him so much...?
'Stupid Sakura, you keep messing things up'
"Your clothes are dry, you should put them or you'll catch a cold", he told her absent-mindedly.
"Yes...", she said too rushed and blushing even more because he had realized she was naked under the robe.
Sakura stood up and went to gather her clothes. She found it difficult to dress without taking off her cloak and with the constant stare of Itachi.
He was doing it purposely, just to make her uncomfortable. She kind of kept him entertained.
When she was ready, she laid on a tree and enjoyed the weak sun. She tried hard not to look on Itachi's direction, but once in a while, she stole some glances, just to look at his gorgeous body. In that moment she felt so attracted to him.
She started shivering when he stood up and walked in her direction. He sat in front of her at a reasonable distance. Still, it wasn't enough distance for Sakura's heated body. Her hormones where leaving havocs on her logical mind.
He adopted a relaxed position, with crossed legs and both arms straight behind his body, supporting his weight. His head fell a little backwards and he looked at the sky and the gray clouds already disappearing of it. For a moment he remained silent, making Sakura die in tension. Then, he spoke.
"The kyuubi wasn't there, so two things could have provoked that situation: one, he had already left the training field to another mission or to Konoha, or two: he realized we were there and he escaped", Itachi stated, still looking at the sky.
"It's very probable that he had already left, after all, this mission was programmed a week ago, and he was supposed to stay only three days, according to the information we have of the schedule.", Sakura tried to seem relaxed, even if she didn't sound too convincing, he could mistake her tension for his half-naked presence a few centimeters from her, so she wasn't very worried.
"He had a mission at Suna after this, but first he should report to Konoha", Itachi continued.
"Then what shall we do?", she asked. She needed to gain time at all costs. Just enough to take information from Itachi.
"We will give him a welcome party in Suna", he said, finally straightening out his head so he was now looking at her.
"You think so...", she said unsure.
"Any compliments?", he asked plainly.
"No, no, is just that...I would like to rest a little first, you know, on a hotel or something more comfortable than a forest", she said more to herself than to him.
"Fine", he simply said.
"How are your eyes doing?", Itachi asked just by curiosity, he wanted to know how her Sharingan worked.
"Ah? eh, good, I mean, they don't hurt anymore", she was startled by Itachi's question, even if she knew that there wasn't a hint of concern in it.
"Then you should practice some more", he said.
Sakura nodded and kept her gaze glued to the floor, because she didn't feel herself capable of looking at the man in front of her.
Itachi noticed her tension, and of course he knew the reason, but he was just in the mood to bother her a little.
"Am I troubling you, Mia?" he said with a deep voice, purposely omitting the "san" suffix on her name.
"N-no, not at all...I mean...well..." she stammered.
'What happened to the "san"?' Inner Sakura screamed.
"Why is that?" he said with an even more sensual voice, now approaching her a little.
"Nothing, r-really...", Sakura was a nervous wreck now.
"Really...?", now he was inches away from her, and his left hand took her chin and lifted it to face his. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her lips.
"What...are you...?", she said, she was way too uncomfortable.
Itachi put one arm on her side, enclosing her and approached even more.
"...Doing? what do you think?", he whispered on her lips that now were almost touching.
"Itachi..." she said, but couldn't say "stop it", because both inner Sakura and Mia were encouraging her to go on. This is what she had wanted all her life, someone who held her, someone who kissed her.
For some reason, his name alone on her lips sounded so delightful to his ears. It was her tone of voice, evidently aroused that made him burn.
Itachi was very good at suppressing his hormones, but right now, he just didn't want to.
With a single movement of his hand, her chin got closer to his face and their lips met. He started the kiss, pressing softly his lips against her warm ones.
Sakura felt a fire on her belly that was filling her with adrenaline and nice sensations.
She responded the kiss little by little, moving her mouth against his, feeling the massaging moves and starting a rhythm. Soon her lips parted as she let his tongue softly brush hers.
His kiss was passionate, lustful, something she couldn't get enough of. It made her think of his body near hers, of his hands roving her, pleasuring her, filling the part of her that after all those years was still missing. It made her want to kiss him like that in return.
She rubbed, licked and even bit softly his lower lip, enjoying the burning heaven she was in now.
They separated a little reluctantly to regain their breaths, just an inch; their lips were still brushing.
Her eyes looked down at his mouth, wondering how was it that that thing could give her such sensations. His eyes moved from her lips to her eyes, and he wondered why he hadn't done this before.
He kissed her again, this time stronger and more heatedly. The hand that was on her chin, moved to the back of her head to press it against his mouth, while his whole body hovered over her.
He needed this right now, and he knew she did too. Why stop then?
His other hand slowly opened the collar of her cloak, lowering it until he was able to touch her shoulder. He caressed it softly, and then went lower on her arm, she pushed her body to him.
She felt his warm body against hers. His muscled chest pressing against her little breasts, his hand firmly on her small back, his lips pleasurably on hers...
She lusted him.
A/N: hi everybody!! new chapter, what did you think of it? xD Some narusaku here AND itasaku (yeah baby!!), finally!!
It took me so much to actually start writing this chappie, just because I was so lacking inspiration...:P, but here it is.
Tell if you liked it or not or whatever.
Thanks again to my beatiful beta SharinganAngel!!
Review, you guys!!!!!!!!!!!