Ch. 2

Know Nothing Else

Sakura awoke that morning with a sick feeling in her stomach. Itachi had not finished what he had started, and Sakura didn't know why. She stumbled out of bed, tripping on the long sweatpants. She decided that, if she was to live here, then she would at least accommodate herself a little, so she searched the drawers for a kunai to cut the bottoms off the pants. When she finally found one, it was quite dull, and she was surprised it cut the thick fabric. Shit. They were still too long for her, and now with very uneven edges. Oh well. At least they're something

Sakura noticed that a brush, foundation and mascara had been placed on a small wooden table next to the door to the bathroom. She walked into said room and applied her makeup, taking extra time on her hair just because, for once, she had time to.

When she had finished her quick cosmetics session, Sakura exited the room, closing the door softly behind her. By looking out the window Sakura could tell that it was still very early, because the sun was just beginning to rise. She padded down the hall in sock-feet, trying to be as quiet as she could. She didn't know where Itachi had gone; he had not actually slept in the room last night. But, glaring at the nothing in particular, she realized that she didn't care.

If he wants to act like a child and run off and never come back that's perfectly fine with me.

Sakura found herself wandering through the Akatsuki compound, completely lost. So she decided to sit and think, retrace her steps, and try to find a kitchen where she could quietly make breakfast. So she plopped down silently on the wooden floor of a small hallway and sat up against the window. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the way she had come.

When she thought she had gathered herself a little bit, she opened her eyes, only to attempt a scream. In front of her was the blonde woman that she had tried to cripple the night before at the inn. But she now felt slightly embarrassed at thinking exactly that; after further inspection, what she saw before her was a very well sculpted man. But before she could make a sound, the man placed his hand over her mouth, muffling her cry.

"You wanna wake weasel-boy, yeah?"

Sakura just blinked.

"Um, no…it's just, well, you startled me…"

"Hush. Kitchen's this way, yeah."

So Sakura followed close behind the blond man, puzzled at his peculiar speech.

"Oh, and by the way…I'm Deidara, yeah."

She nodded and introduced herself as well.

When they arrived at the kitchen, Sakura saw that two other Akatsuki members sat at the table. She recognized one of them as Kisame, the rogue ninja originally from the village of the mist. The other she knew as Sasori the Puppet Master. Deidara told her to sit, and Sakura picked a spot at the table. She saw that there were five places set; two for Kisame and Itachi, two for Deidara and the man with the dark red hair, who she supposed was Deidara's partner, and, to her great surprise, one for her. But since there were only four others, there weren't as many Akatsuki as she thought.

"There are more Akatsuki other than us, yeah. Some just don't live here."

Sakura started. She didn't know what to say to somebody who apparently knew what she was thinking.

"Don't worry, yeah. I can't read minds. We Akatsuki are rigorously trained to anticipate the reactions of our opponents in battle. It helps outside of battle some too, yeah."

Sakura couldn't stop a small smile from gracing her face as the peculiar man let out a soft chuckle at his own words. It seemed that Sasori had noticed, because he commented.

"Sakura-san, I am struck by your smile. It is truly beautiful."

Flustered, Sakura said thank you and was surprised at how deep the small male's voice was. It did not suit his size. But a man whose size it did suit let out a low rumble of a laugh that Sakura recognized, and she turned to see Kisame eyeing her curiously.

"Well, Sasori sure likes you, blossom. It's not often that he speaks. For him to talk to a complete stranger without being spoken to first is a goddamn miracle."

Sakura giggled and turned again to Sasori, waiting for a reaction. He merely sighed, closed his eyes, and finished his tea. When he was done, though, he calmly threw the cup at Kisame's head. When it made direct contact, a small grin replaced his normally stoic line of a mouth, showing his triumph. Kisame cursed, and Sakura laughed. She also happened to look up, but gasped slightly when she saw that Deidara was gazing at her, half smiling, caught up in thought. He spoke when he realized that she had noticed his impenetrable gaze.

"Sakura-san, your laugh is as clear and as refreshing as summer bells. It is truly beautiful."

Sasori glared at Deidara for stealing his line, but decided that it was alright, now aiming his anger towards the bored writer who couldn't think of anything else to type. He then glanced up at the doorway, nodding his head as a good morning gesture to an unknown recipient. Ignoring the obvious, Sakura turned around to see who the interloper was, and she nearly choked on the eggs Deidara had just set out in front of her.

"Wow. Attractive, yeah. Egg would be a good look for you, Sakura-san."

Sakura merely shot him a cold glance. But Itachi, having just walked in, turned to look at Deidara disapprovingly, and told him to get out.

"I need to speak with the girl alone."

Sakura swallowed the egg hurriedly, glaring at the tall man in the doorway. She let out an irritated groan.

"Excuse me, Uchiha, but I'm quite sure you remember my name, because—surprise surprise—I do have one. As a matter of fact, if I recall correctly you said it many, many times last night."

Itachi stood, stunned at her comment, she and him being the only ones in the room that knew it was not true. Deidara and Kisame blinked in silence, then burst out laughing, but exited the room nevertheless. Sasori picked up the broken shards of teacup that had made successful contact with Kisame's head and then left as well. Sakura knew that Itachi was waiting until he could no longer sense their chakras before he made any noise or movement. And when chakra could no longer be sensed, Sakura knew Itachi would speak. She closed her eyes, waiting for a few moments, but no words ever came. Sakura looked up at the eldest remaining Uchiha and expected to be met with the deadly sharingan eyes that so many fear, but she found that Itachi was no longer in the kitchen. She heard a soft thud on the wall behind her and turned to look, seeing a kunai sticking out of the wall seemingly where her head should be. And a second later she saw some of her hair drifting to the floor and felt her cheek burst open, spurting blood everywhere. She drew a shaky breath, knowing full well that it was only luck that had kept her alive.

And again, Sakura was alone.

Sakura still sat dazed at the table, staring down at the floor and clutching her cheek, when Deidara and Kisame reentered the room. She did not make any notice of their presence, but only looked up quickly to see who it was, then looked back down at the seemingly intriguing floorboards. She also noticed that Sasori was no longer with them. When Sakura sat unmoving for a few minutes more, Deidara could not remain silent any longer. He and Kisame took their places at the table and tried to talk to her.

"Uh, Sakura-san, are you alright?"

Sakura looked up, and Deidara felt his heart sink just by looking into her eyes. When she spoke, Sakura sounded so feeble, so delicate. He wondered how anyone, even Itachi, could allow themselves to hurt and disgrace something so innocent and pure. The mere sight of her threatened to break his heart. He also noticed that she had fresh blood running down the right side of her face. He suppressed a sorrowful sigh.

"I just don't understand…Why does he hate me so much, what bothers him so much that he has to take it out on me…?"

Deidara leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, sighing deeply. When he answered, he spoke slowly, as if he was choosing every word carefully.

"See…Itachi lives in constant misery. He's desperate for someone to overlook his past and see through his hateful and malicious exterior. When he saw that you may be capable of such a feat, because of your apparent affection for his brother, one who harbors many traits of Itachi's, he jumped at the chance. Your telling him that you did not want to stay here, especially with him, crushed him inside. Now even the slightest trace of hope has been banished from the poor guy, yeah."

After a few moments of thinking over what Deidara had said, Sakura felt as if a hammer was pounding on the inside of her skull relentlessly. God, what's happening to me…?

She started to breathe quickly and erratically. All of the emotions she had felt throughout the past few days—anger, terror, lust, hatred, sadness, indignity, and now terribly intense regret and remorse—were now boiling over, and she did not know how to handle it. Her eyes grew wide and they rapidly filled with tears that overflowed almost immediately, and she crossed her arms over her chest, clutching her shoulders and doubling over in the chair, trying to make herself as small as possible. She vomited on the spot, and she grimaced as she tasted a mixture of bile and salty tears fill her mouth. Her vision was starting to blur, and she was about to fall out her chair until Deidara appeared at her side almost immediately, picking her up and running with her to Itachi's room.

Kisame sat stunned at the scene. He did not think such an insignificant revelation such as this would have such a huge effect on the poor girl. But he supposed it was a mixture of lack of sleep, Itachi tormenting her constantly, Deidara's food and the foreign surroundings that had finally gotten to her. Add the fact that she had completely crushed a man's hope right on top and you have one hell of a panic attack.

Kisame got up and left the kitchen, but stopped right outside of the doorway.

"Bastard."

Kisame heard a soft "hn" from the opposite wall a little further down the hall.

"So you'd been hiding in the shadows, as usual. Watching as yet another innocent person collapses under the strain of your hellish persecution."

Itachi was not actually surprised at his teammate's response. He decided to dismiss it. He began to walk away, but right as he was out of sight, he called out, "He was wrong, Kisame. I harbor no hope. I harbor nothing at all."Kisame shook his head at Itachi's counter.

He said softly, "If only you could see past your small world, my friend. If only."