Sorry for the long wait. I'm lazy.

Five: Abduction

Sakura really hadn't expected what was to come next. It was almost infuriating, really, the nonchalant attitude of her temporary guard. Deidara and Sasori had been requested to stay back with the Leader, so, because she still could not be trusted to roam on her own, she was to be watched over by none other than Uchiha Itachi.

They walked in silence, Sakura trailing the tall man. Her walk was awkward—she wasn't used to these sandals and was still learning how to walk in them. He didn't seem to care, though, just continued forward without hesitation.

"Itachi-san?" Who knew her voice would be so…soft…during her confrontation with the man who tore Sasuke away from her.

His head only turned slightly, revealing one blood-red eye.

"I just…" She looked down at the floor. A strange fear overwhelmed her—knowledge, rather, that if she even slipped up just slightly, this man could kill her. And knowing his skill he could make it all look like an accident or a suicide. "Nevermind."

He didn't skip a beat. "Sasori and Deidara are still your guards."

Sakura had forgotten that the Sharingan allowed its user to read the thoughts of the opponent. She'd have to keep this little trait in mind. "So then…why aren't they here?"

"Leader asked them to stay behind." Itachi was probably the first Akatsuki she'd met so far that didn't use an honorific for the Leader. This thought wasn't really paid much attention, though, seeing how frustrated she was at his blunt response.

"Why were they asked to stay, though?"

Itachi's response was delayed. This did nothing for Sakura's present frustration. It was as if he was annoyed by her presence to the point where he began ignoring her. She fumed slightly at this before accepting it with a sigh. Just at the point where she figured her answer wasn't going to come, Itachi proved her wrong. "I don't know."

The silence gripped Sakura once again. It almost seemed like Itachi's very presence was choking the air out of her lungs. Inconsequentially, Sakura felt her hair slipping slightly out of the bun at the back of her head, her feet slipping around in her sandals, the obi remaining unbearably tight around her waist. Every little feeling on her body seemed to be magnified for whatever reason, as if she wanted to seem perfect for this man. He seemed perfect: skilled, handsome, elegant. It only seemed right for her to fit the bill as well.

It seemed her sandal had chosen this moment to catch a groove in the ground.

Her small foot slid forward on the wood, catching the small amount of fabric between her toes as she stumbled. She felt herself tumbling forward, her attempts at regaining balance pointless as the ground neared her quickly. She closed her eyes for impact when, suddenly, she realized she wasn't falling anymore. Her impact had been soft, and somehow had shifted to her back. The smells of mint and of sandalwood flooded into her nostrils instantly. Her hairpins had fallen out, and the intensely tight obi had loosened somewhat. She opened her eyes cautiously; finding Itachi's weren't far from them.

"Take your sandals off." He said bluntly.

Sakura blushed madly before nodding in agreement. She would've stood on her own had she not been pushed up by Itachi's arm. It was the first time she'd seen his hand, to be honest; it had been concealed within his sleeve. The moment must've seemed opportune, though, because he no sooner clicked open the first few buttons of his cloak and hung his arm limply through the opening. He watched Sakura slip the awkward sandals off, then turned and continued down the hall.

Sakura walked silently once again, letting the sandals click softly together in one hand and feeling the back of her head with the other. There were a few pins still in her hair, and she could feel them poking the back of her head annoyingly as she swept her hand over her steadily growing pink hair.

Into her mind, the image of Itachi's face had been engraved. It was…oh, the word…

Stately? No.

Strong? No…

She stared at the mental image with an intense attentiveness, searching her vocabulary for the perfect word. His eyes were large but held at an eased openness, one of indifference, and his eyelashes were long and thick and a near indescribable shade of black, accentuated amazingly by the bright red of his Sharingan. His mouth was softly curved across the lower portion of the chiseled features, just under a well proportioned (if not petite) nose. The lines betraying his age were only subtly defined in the lack of light, but were still there, and traced down his smooth cheeks from just below his thin black eyebrows (however, those were hard to point out under the mask of onyx bangs and his forehead protector). The word came to her quickly.

This man was beautiful.

She looked up from her train of thought, staring at the ponytail waving softly to and fro across Itachi's back. That any man could seem so amazing was—she stopped herself quickly. Itachi? Amazing? No, never. She couldn't be having thoughts like that. Not at a time like this. Definitely not. Especially not when finding Sasuke was of such utter importance.

She nearly collided with Itachi, realizing quickly after that he'd come to a stop. As she neared him she could smell the strong scent of mint and sandalwood again—warm and pleasing to the mind. The only thing stopping her from closing her eyes and losing herself in the smell was the fact that the taller had turned and was now watching her.

"We've arrived." He said.

'And what do you want me to do?' it seemed like her inner self had been dormant until now. For whatever reason, it was like Itachi's presence had awakened her once again. "Alright." She said quietly. After a moment of standing in silence it became apparent that Itachi wanted her to open the door. Slightly angered by this, she pressed her hands against the wood and followed it into the pink sanctuary. She made it to the center of the room before she realized Itachi hadn't followed. She turned to see him standing silently in the doorway, watching her every move. "Is something wrong?"

"I'll enter once you've finished changing."

She started to object; there was a bathroom in her room and he could very easily enter without seeing anything, but he closed the door too quickly for her to say anything. She stood in awe for a moment before moving slowly to her closet, messing with the already loosened obi at her back as she walked. Upon reaching the doors to her closet her obi, all but the final layer of her kimono, her tabi, and her sandals had been removed. They weren't strewn around, no; they were folded respectively and set on a pile in her arms. Once at her closet, however, she found a small hamper in which she set the stack, leaving only the sandals out to be placed on the closet floor. She removed the final layer quietly, setting it into the hamper as well.

"Now…I must have some pajamas somewhere…" She picked at her bra strap uncomfortably, searching the closet for any pajamas. Why they'd be hanging she wasn't sure, but she couldn't put anything against an all-male organization. She then moved over to the dresser, where she found an array of multi-colored bras and underwear in the top drawer, some casual shirts in the second, some casual pants and skirts in the third, and, finally, pajamas in the last.

She couldn't help but feel slightly frustrated with her father. It had been explained to her earlier that this hideout was only temporary. The Akatsuki was, same as Sakura, unaccustomed to such luxurious living, In all reality, they had homes of their own on the borders of the great Shinobi countries, and only met up when extracting a Jinchuuriki or when meeting with their partners to travel. They usually bought their own food, paid for their own hotel lodging, found miniscule ways of making money; they did all the trivial things themselves. This hideout was basically a vacation resort to them.

It had also been explained that she'd be travelling with Deidara and Sasori when they finally left this hideout. So, seeing so many different clothes was a shock. A shinobi was granted one pack to carry their belongings when travelling long distances. There was no way she'd be able to fit all the clothes in both her closet and dresser into one pack. Not to mention all the essentials she'd need. If she was ever presented with the chance, she'd have to remember to ask her father why she was presented with so much pointless garb.

Realizing that Itachi was still outside, she pulled the half-open pajama drawer out all the way, digging through the pajamas to find a pair that suited her. Much to her dismay, the only things she could find were frilly little nightgowns. And by 'frilly' and 'little' one does not imply something you'd see a small child wearing. No, these were definitely intended for someone Sakura's age.

The only decent one she could find was a sleeveless pink tank-gown that extended to her upper-thigh. The end was laced with just that: a frilly pink lace, as was the top around below the thin straps. The extent of the middle was an unfitted pink fabric that wasn't as glossy as satin but wasn't as thick as flannel. It seemed her father was unaware that Sakura wasn't as girly as this outfit made her seem. And she definitely wasn't into the skimpiness of the clothing provided.

It wasn't long before she'd yanked the skimpy little thing off and flung it across the room to land wherever it would. She pulled open her shirt drawer and pulled out the largest T-shirt she could find (a large in size, though fitted). "Itachi-san, you can come in now," she yelled through the door. She wasn't too excited about showing off a good portion of her underwear to the man, but the only thing she could find in her pants drawer were jeans, jean skirts, and large, thick sweat pants that would no doubt fall off anyway due to their size.

Itachi entered, not phased at all by the exposed underwear (or so it seemed expression-wise). He stood quietly in front of the open door before closing it, then returned to his silent position in front of the tall piece of oak. Sakura stood awkwardly in front of her dresser, staring at the man standing across the room. "What?" He finally asked, despite the ability to read her thoughts on a whim.

Sakura noticed that his eyes were now the most enchanting shade of onyx. She could feel a sense of trustworthiness with the Uchiha, now, knowing that he hadn't been peeping. Or at least it seemed like it to her. The thought felt heavy on her mind, but she then figured that Itachi wasn't someone who'd do that to a complete stranger. "Nothing." She said, moving slowly over to her bed and sitting on the foot, crossing her legs and leaning her arms on her shins. Itachi found himself a chair and sat in it smoothly. Sakura found herself staring at the man, and he repaid the gesture.

"Twenty-three." He said suddenly. Sakura blushed; mere seconds ago she asked herself what age Itachi must be. She hadn't noticed, but he'd activated the Sharingan once again.

"Oh," she said meekly. "Thanks…"

The silence of the room seemed new to Sakura. She was so used to Sasori and Deidara's bickering (despite having been there for only a day and a half) that being in Itachi's presence was almost stifling. She could do nothing more than smile when the door pushed open and a familiar redhead found his way into the room. He moved over to the Uchiha and whispered something, his face decorated with it's usual angelic smile. Itachi, however, merely nodded, standing and nodding slightly to Sakura (if anything in the world could be classified as awkward). "Until next time, Sakura-san." And he was gone.

She nodded at the spot where he stood, still somewhat in awe of his amazing-ness. Sasori picked up on this, but took it for fear rather than awe. "You'll be seeing much more of him, Sakura-san." Her head snapped in his direction. "He and Kisame-san often travel with Deidara and myself."

"Why is that?" She asked, mostly to cover the strange feelings she was experiencing. "Doesn't the Akatsuki only travel in partnerships?"

"Oh, no. Most certainly not. We travel however we see fit. Some of us even live with our partners."

"Do you live with Deidara?"

"Heavens no. I have my own home." She could feel the offense he'd taken at that statement—he probably figured she thought he was unfit to live on his own.

"I see." She said, pretending to be impressed. That would no doubt make Sasori feel a little better. She stared at the puppet master for a while. The fact that he was living as a puppet, it almost made her feel a little sympathetic. No, this wasn't sympathy…awe, again? Only this awe was different. It wasn't at Sasori's features. Rather, at his intelligence. Sasori seemed to have all the answers. The brains of the Akatsuki. Or at least of those she'd met.

"Is something wrong, Sakura-san?" For the second time today she'd been called on staring. It was embarrassing, and she blushed in response.

"No, nothing."

It was strange, but a puppet suddenly appeared in Sasori's lap. As such, tools appeared in the puppet's hands and he began working on the puppet with ease, connecting the mangled pieces without hesitation.

A knock sounded pointlessly through the room. Pointlessly because, without waiting for a response, the door flew open and in waltzed Deidara, happy as always. "'Ello, Sakura-chan. Un."

"Hello, Deidara."

Moving quickly, the blonde shut the door, then occupied Itachi's spot from earlier, staring at the pink-haired kunoichi with a wide grin. "How was your dinner? You enjoyed it, I'm sure. Un."

Sakura only nodded. She wasn't sure if she'd noticed it before, but she couldn't tell from a distance what color Deidara's eyes were. The one she could see was beautiful, no doubt, but the shade of his forehead protector had shielded his eye's color. That and the bangs over the left side of his face hid any potential of figuring it out from his left eye.

Without thinking she stood and walked toward the blonde, stopping only when her toes came into contact with the toes of his sandals. Deidara's grin quickly turned into a look of surprise, then one of curiosity. Sasori stopped his motion as well, intrigued by the current situation. Sakura perched herself on her toes, bringing her face as close to Deidara's as she could—oh what tiredness could do to a sane mind. "Your eyes. They're blue."

Deidara was taken slightly aback, but quickly recovered with a slight chuckle. "Yes, thank you for noticing."

Sasori couldn't help but smile—Deidara had forgotten the 'un'.

Naruto wasn't pleased with his current situation. It was past midnight, Sasuke was no where to be found, and the challenge ended at dawn. He cursed Tsunade silently—it would've been smarter to put the two in an arena and make them fight rather than testing their chakra masking skills into all hours of the night. The fight would get nowhere if neither combatant could find the other.

He moved slowly, making sure to keep his chakra masking technique at full potential. Even one little slip-up and—

THUMP.

Naruto cursed himself. If that didn't give away his location, nothing would. But what was it that he'd tripped over? He looked around for the source, only to find an extended leg. A thin, female leg at that, with a tall black boot covering a good portion of the leg itself. The blonde stopped to stare, "Who are you?" He hissed, trying to keep his voice down in case Sasuke was around. He was concerned presently with this girl, but he didn't want to give up his location just yet.

The girl didn't answer, just moved slightly out of her hiding spot. "Uzumaki Naruto, I presume?"

Naruto, despite his confusion, nodded.

The question was pointless, obviously, because the girl had been watching him the whole time. He wasn't sure how he knew this, but he did. "You've made our job so much easier."

Before he could ask what she meant, a large hand cupped his mouth and another gripped him around the waist, picking him up off the ground. The girl stood, pressing her glasses up her nose. And then, what surprised him was that Sasuke appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The large hand moved as Naruto wriggled his head. "Sasuke, help!" The blonde shrieked, paying no mind to the grin on the Uchiha's face.

"Sasuke, help. Oh, help me Sasuke." The voice was different. Without a doubt it didn't belong to Sasuke. It was then that he realized his mistake. How he couldn't see it, how he missed the jutsu…this man must've been extremely talented. Sasuke's face seemed to boil as it changed form into a sharp-toothed, blue-haired head. "Sorry, no Sasuke this time."

A large hand came into contact with the back of Naruto's head and, in an instant, the world went black.

OMGLOVESQUARE.

This chapter was mostly there for as an awkward filler, as well as to introduce Sakura's upcoming dilemma.

shutupmystoryhexorz.

geeker: I'm glad you think the chapters are decent.

Dokami-San: Yeah that happens, and will probably happen a lot. I apologize in advance.

A.D.Grey: The chapters could be longer, in my opinion. I don't know how long this chapter is (writing this in word, btw), but hopefully it's longer.

overlordofnobodies: There'll be more in the Akatsuki…I'm just introducing them slowly. I'm kinda tweaking out who's alive and who isn't though, so don't rely on any set timeline.

Aurora Marija: Hopefully the end of this chapter cleared up any weirdness. Oh the drama to come…ahahahahahahaha I feel so evil.