-1Warnings: rated M for language violence and sexy situations ; )

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Sakura tensed and immediately took to the trees. First priority was the feudal lords. her feet alighted on the nearest branch and she wrapped her fingers around a kunai. through the darkness she sensed a sinister chakra signature. it felt vaguely familiar but she didn't waste time trying to remember. with deadly precision she launched the kunai in the intruders direction and fled in the opposite direction. her mind was racing. I've got to get whoever this is away from the lords...Hanabo, and Yuki are in trouble, I hope they're okay..

She banished these gut wrenching thoughts and concentrated on running. finally when she felt it was far enough away for a fight she dropped down from the tree tops. it was a small clearing, not suited for full scale battle but good enough.

"I actually thought you were worth fighting."

Sakura fought down a choking desire to gasp as a dark cloaked form emerged from the trees. she couldn't see his face, only blood red eyes that glowed like embers in the darkness.

The figure regarded her and spoke again in a deadly smooth voice, "Only a coward flees from battle in such a way, your teammates were much more interesting." at this point she lost control. "Bastard what have you done with them?!"

He moved aside slightly and in the full moon's unforgiving light she saw the bloody corpses of her teammates. Upon seeing this her reserve shattered and she pulled out her katana from it's sheath with a satisfying, deadly sound. "Oh please", he said, "If you actually remembered who I was you would know I am more skilled with a blade then even you could possibly hope to imagine." He stepped forward and as the moon's light fell upon his face cold realization hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Uchiha Itachi."

This was bad, really, really bad. Even with her years of training, and recent ANBU expertise, there was no way she could survive a head on battle with the elder Uchiha. Well if I'm going down I'm at least going down swinging.

She moved to the left and his Sharingan eyes followed her every movement. "Why them? Why us?" she shouted at him.

He cocked his head to the side, "It was not them I'm after it's you."

She didn't waste time. Her sandaled foot came down to the hardened ground and an earth-shaking crack moved with blinding speed toward him. As the ground opened at his feet however, the red-eyed man disappeared.

Sakura made to turn around but it was far to late. She felt his presence right behind her. His cloaked arm snaked around her throat and she felt the cold metal of a kunai against her sensitive skin. That's probably the one I threw at him the bastard!

Before she was killed, she had to know one thing: "Why me?" she whispered hoarsely.

"The Akatsuki requires your…expertise."

Then she felt strong fingers press down on a nerve in her neck, and the world went black.

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Let's see…head pounding, body aching, and tied up…I'm in deep shit…

Blearily Sakura opened her eyes to take in her surroundings. Her jade eyes squinted against the sunlight pouring in through a window nearby. Experimentally she wiggled her body and looked down. No serious injuries, but rope bound her legs and arms tight to her body. She saw that she was in a room, probably underground, that had that one small window, and a dirt floor. She surveyed the exits, the window and the heavy metal door, both with strong seals on them…well there went that plan.

Slowly she sat up and wriggled her way against the wall.

Memories of the night before swiftly came back to her and fear enveloped her. What would a group of S-class criminals want with a medic from Konoha?

As if to answer her inquiry the metal door swung open and man in the Akatsuki attire entered. She recognized him from the mission to rescue Gaara all those years ago. "Your that guy with the freaky hands."

His one visible blue eye glared at her. "And your that chick with the freaky strength."

Sakura snorted. "Touché. What is your name again? I seem to have forgotten." He raised an eyebrow. "The name's Deidara."

"Sakura."

The blonde psycho-bomber, walked over to her and grabbed her by the her shirt. "Well now that we've gotten to know each other you have job arrangements to discuss."

She blanched. "What the hell? Are you fucking serious? The reason that sociopath kidnapped me was to convince me to join you?"

"Pretty much yeah."

"Fuck off and die."

"Oh now that's not very nice, I could just kill you now…"

He pressed a kunai to her throat, but brought it down again. "But that wouldn't be any fun."

Without a second thought he slung the bound girl over his shoulder and left the room. She didn't fight, her chance was coming…

Finally as his body shifted under her, her mouth was near enough to his neck. Her teeth lightly nicked the nerve and he collapsed under her. Wasting no time, she wriggled into an upright position, and focused the chakra to her fingers. As they brushed against the rope, it fell away and she was free. Lightly stepping over the unconscious bomber Sakura made her way down the hall toward a staircase. Her chakra was masked and steps stealthy, if she was careful she just might make it out of here alive.

Her pace quickened as she ran up the stairs and met a door. It was locked and sealed but no matter. Her skilled fingers shattered the lock, which cut off the seal. She grinned wickedly to herself and swung open the door.

Her eyes met red Sharingan ones and her hopes were dashed. Still, she wasn't done yet. Her foot moved with blinding speed toward his feet and he leaped backwards to avoid the bone cracking, blow. That was her opening. She ran throught the doorway and past the Uchiha. Her feet pounded across what felt like carpet and her eyes saw only a corridor. She could hear his unenthusiastic pursuit behind her and quickened her pace. Finally she reached the end of the corridor, but again her way was blocked, this time by none other than, the shark-nin, Kisame. He leered down at her with a pointy-toothed grin, and beady black eyes.

"So you finally got out did you?"

"Like I told your friend: Fuck off and die!"

Itachi finally closed in behind her. This was not good. In one direction, there was a Sharingan user and genocidal maniac, and in the other was a shark man with a chakra stealing sword.

Well like all great ninja say: 'When in doubt improvise'.

Her chakra enhanced fist landed directly on the right wall's support beam and a sizeable hole appeared there. Through the dust and debris she ran through the gap and immediately froze. Through pure rotten luck she seemed to have stumbled upon every S-class Akatsuki member, eating lunch. A man with a plant for a head, another with an orange spiral mask encasing his face, a man who seemed to be shrouded in a shadow, and another with grey hair and piercing blue eyes. And all were looking at her.

She gulped and stepped backward. She felt her back run into something, and turned to see Itachi glaring down at her with vicious Sharingan eyes. Not ready to die yet she landed a punch to his gut and dodged Kisame's sword swinging toward her head.

"Come now you little vixen, surely you know resistance is by now futile."

Sakura glared at the shark with, animal ferocity. "I am a Leaf Shinobi, do you really expect me to lower myself to your standards?"

She gasped as she felt thin cold wire wrap around her body. Itachi looked at her shock maliciously. His hand twitched the wire and it tightened, cutting into her shoulders and causing blood to flow down her arms. "One wrong move and I cut you to ribbons."

The shadowed man looked at her with power hungry eyes. "We have been watching you for some time now Haruno Sakura. Apprentice to the Fifth Hokage, student of the Copy-Nin, and a cold-blooded murderer."

She flinched but did not speak.

"Oh yes we know. Last year, you directly disobeyed Tsunade's direct orders, fled the village and killed this important political figure, merely because he wronged you.

She let out a hollow laugh. "I killed him because the sick son of a bitch, killed my parents, and raped my mother before hand.

"So it was revenge then."

"Yes"

"After you fled, you were immediately declared a missing nin and no less then six ANBU squads were sent after you. You evaded them all. "

"Yes."

"Then you killed him in cold blood."

Sakura had begun to tremble. "How do you know all this?"

"We have our ways. So you returned to your village, were punished, almost banished, and became ANBU. Quite a smeared record for such a renound medic."

"Let's cut to the chase, why do you want me?"

"Because, you have the skill we respect, the medical skills we need, and more importantly, you have tasted the cruel injustice of the corrupt government."

She smiled. "And what makes you think I'll join this corrupt organization instead?"

"We'll give you time to think it over."

"And if I refuse?"

"You die."

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Oooooh! Cliffhanger! don't worry ppl there will be ItaSaku in the next chapter, this was just a pivotal point in the fic. Ill update soon I promise!