Sakura, Neji, and Rock Lee all sat around the fire in silence. After an entire day of travel, the trio was completely exhausted. Neiji had used byakugan for almost the entire duration of the trip, and almost completely drained of chakra. Luckily (or maybe not so luckily), Rock Lee still had an overwhelming amount of energy.
Sakura stared at the fire. She was very apprehensive about this mission. True, it was more of a scouting mission than an actual combat mission, it still made her nervous. Almost all shinobi heard the rumors about the Akatsuki. Not only was the group a viable threat, but Itachi was a merciless, cold-hearted, cold- blooded killer from Konoha. She had taken her other two group members to the place where she had originally encountered Itachi, and had continued the search from there. So far, however, all efforts to locate the Hidden Leaf's own rogue ninja had been fruitless.
"Well," said Neji breaking the silence, "we should probably put out the fire and get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us."
Sakura nodded in ascent and dumped some water from the bucket next to her on the fire. Smoke rose from the now damp earth and disappeared into the night sky.
Neji had already settled into his sleeping area, and Rock Lee was preparing his own space. Sakura remained standing by the fire pit, gazing into the night sky. Something didn't feel quite right, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"Uh, Sakura-san, are you alright?" asked Rock Lee, somewhat concerned.
She snapped out of her reverie and smiled at him. "No, I'm fine, Lee. I guess I'm more tiered than I thought!" She feigned a yawn. "Looks like I better get some rest. 'Night!"
Rock Lee looked at her for a moment then nodded. "Goodnight, Sakura-san."
Lee really was one of the most polite shinobi she had ever met, thought Sakura. Maybe he was a little eccentric with his reverence and devotion to Guy-sensei, but he was a good person nonetheless.
Sakura went over to the tree where she left her pack and lay down. By the sound of their breathing, it seemed that Neji and Rock Lee were already asleep. Neji was exhausted, and Lee probably willed himself to sleep somehow, so she wasn't that surprised.
She turned away from her two sleeping companions and looked into the surrounding forest. Deep in the shadows of the woods, she saw what she thought was a figure move ever so slightly. Sakura sat up with a start and tried to get a better look into the dark forest. She glanced at Neji. His byakugan would be convenient right about now, but decided against waking him. It was most likely an animal, she tried to convince herself. The fact that she was already somewhat unsettled about this mission biased her, and she knew it. Every movement she saw and sound she heard would be credited to Itachi Uchiha. Reassured by her logic, Sakura lay down and closed her eyes.
Sakura's eyes flew open when she heard the sound of a crow overhead. A lone crow flew from a tree nearby over the forest. With all of this paranoia she was bound to get a heart attack on this mission, she thought to herself. But still, something felt…off. The shining moon seemed to almost have been shrouded by a cloth and everything sounded as if it were muffled. Something was definitely not right.
Standing up, Sakura looked around frantically. Enough was enough. She had to wake Neji so he could survey the area with byakugan.
"Neji, wake up," she said, crouching next to the sleeping shinobi. "Neji," she said in impatience when he did not stir. "Lee-san!" she shouted when Neji remained unresponsive. Lee was always reliable, and would surely wake when he heard her voice.
But he didn't.
"Don't bother," said a deep and foreboding voice from behind her.
Sakura whirled around, a kunai in hand before she had even completely turned. She knew that voice.
Standing a few feet in front of her was Itachi Uchiha, dressed in the flowing Akatsuki cloak and looking at Sakura calmly.
"Itachi Uchiha!" was all the stunned shinobi could manage.
"You're under my genjutsu already, haven't you realized?" he asked, nonchalantly.
Sakura cursed in her mind. But when, she wondered.
Itachi looked at Sakura, and almost as if reading her mind answered, "It was the crow."
Sakura remained silent. There was no time for talking. If she wanted to stand a change she needed to act quickly. Without warning, she threw the kunai at Itachi in attempt to catch him off guard. His expression was impossible to read, but she took no time to notice. Sakura ran full speed at Itachi with another kunai in her hand, ready to put all of her monstrous strength into stabbing him.
However, when she went to thrust the kunai at his throat he suddenly vanished. She stumbled forward, her eyes growing wide. The only reason she had achieved her previous encounter with Itachi was most likely on a whim of his. There would not be survival from this encounter. One could not be that lucky twice.
Within a second, she felt hands grab her wrists. With one arm bent behind her head and the other bent awkwardly behind her back, her arms were completely immobilized. Her eyes widened even more. Even her notorious strength could not break Itachi's grip.
"You still have a long way to go if you plan on trying to defeat me," he said, his mouth close to her ear. She winced at the sound of his voice. "However, I'm not interested in fighting you or any other Leaf shinobi at present."
Sakura felt her wrists released from Itachi's grip. Within an instant she flitted several feet away from him, and faced her foe.
"If you're not trying to kill us than what do you want with the Leaf?" she asked.
"Hm? You don't already know?" he replied with a smirk.
Sakura remained silent, and glared at Itachi.
"Now, let's talk, you and I," said Itachi.