Inspiration: -Apology- Safetysuit

"It's all my fault today, I'm sorry for the way I was to you. It's all so wrong, you see, and I'm sorry for the words I say to you"

Pairing: Sasu/Saku, Kisa/Saku, Naru/Saku, Ita/Saku

Notes: Simple chapter. Mostly character/story development. Nothing outrageously sexy in this chapter. That'll be later. This is only chapter 6. Also, sorry there was like 4 days between this chapter and the last. It was my birthday week, so I was busy. Chapter 7 shouldn't take so long to finish and upload. I'll be free to work on it. I start classes again in like 2 weeks, so the uploads will start spacing out a bit then. But hopefully, not too much.

Theme: Romance/Drama

Rating: M for Mature: following themes are or will be present in this chapter or throughout the fic: some vulgarities such as language, sexual themes, humiliation, drugs, and other dark themes.

I wanna see what you see, see what you see in me

Kisame was giving her the strangest, enigmatic gaze. His strong, dark eyes were boring into her and Sakura couldn't figure out what he wanted.

Careful to ignore his steady eyes, she gave her attention to the act of rocking back and forth with her arms wrapped around her knees. Even this seemed enough to elicit his entire attention. She could see him from the corner of her eyes, even without looking directly at him.

"If I choose to trust you enough to leave you here," He began the sentence with a low, smooth voice. She thought he sounded so masculine and that was very nearly strange. Deep, and powerful "-you cannot attempt to leave this room." He sounded severe. Very strict and serious.

She watched in wonder as he transitioned from his more casual position of leaning back on his bed, to sitting forward with his elbows perched on his thighs. She thought that since he was much further forward, even slumping, he should seem small. Yet Sakura felt like he seemed even more intimidating. It was a very intense and impressive pose. She considered his words. "Why are you leaving?"

Her question seemed to amuse him. After a moments pause in which he sent her a grin- a grin that made her chest buzz with anxiousness as she wondered immediately where it came from- and he shook his head in a good humored nature. "Food." He chomped out the words and she raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Gonna go get myself something to eat."

She pressed her lips together.

Would she try and run if he left? It would be the second time she was alone since she'd been taken hostage. The last time, as soon as she'd woken up she was walked in on and then taken off to a room that was much worse than Itachi's room. Even though Kisame's room was proving to be just as safe as Itachi's room was, she still wanted to go back there. To be in the presence of the Uchihas that she both couldn't trust and yet felt compelled to trust.

It was moments later before she answered him.

The whole time he seemed to be gazing at her openly. With no shame and nothing but general observation. Her voice seemed very small.

"I'll stay."

He sniffed and lifted a heavy, sharp hand up to cut through his hair. A deep breath came out in a sigh. "Fine, then I'll leave you here." He stood rather instantly after his words and in spite of the fact that she knew it was coming, she still jumped at the sudden movement.

Even that seemed to make him chuckle. "You're an interesting girl. Maybe that's why Itachi put his nose in someone's business other than his own." His mild comment made Sakura's stomach drop to the floor.

"Itachi..." She breathed his name unintentionally. She couldn't help but wonder if Itachi was looking for her or if Sasuke was worried about her. She wondered so many things that it was almost impossible not to feel instantaneously overwhelmed.

Kisame was walking towards her, his skin picking up the flickering candle light in a way that made all the lines on his face look stout and strong. He looked very angular and she would have maybe called him handsome at one time but that was before she was taken hostage. Before the gray haired Akastuki had frightened her so.

Rather, seeing all of those hard angles and those too black eyes, she was frightened on instinct.

He halted his approaching her. Frozen in spot a few steps away as if she had taken over his mind to make him do so with a mind transfer jutsu. His fists at his sides were still, his back was straight, and his eyes were peering down at her with a sort of astounding, questioning in their depths.

"I'm not gonna hurt ya, girl." His words were quieter than they had been since she'd met him. He seemed a little gruff but not all together unaffected by her. She could tell that her apparent suspicion of him had offended him.

She turned her face away from him with embarrassment and also still some lingering stiffness and fear. She didn't even know what to say to him… how to explain that it wasn't him, per-say. It was all Akatsuki. It was especially the grey haired man. It was this whole situation.

This man before her may have been considerate to her but she couldn't forget the fact that he was an Akatsuki.

It seemed, even without her words of response, he pressed forward. Where previously he was coming towards her, now he was making very obvious his intention not to touch her. He went out of his way to stay out of her personal space. The wide space he left to walk around her only hurt her feelings worse. She had apparently offended him far worse than she had meant to.

She didn't get a chance to explain or apologize before she heard the creak of the door shutting behind him and then she was alone in his room; Which should be noted was exactly the same as Itachi's, only messier.

He had clothes laying positively everywhere.

Sakura felt the darkness pressing down upon her in a deafening way. Spreading over her, worrying her.

She hoped he would return soon. He may not have been an Uchiha but she did believe that he wasn't intending to hurt her. She needed that reassurance.

Sasuke's room was very near Itachi's, the door directly across from his brother's door. It was something he had appreciated once. During times like this when he was annoyingly resentful of his brother, it was annoying.

Annoying that he had to think about how close his brother was. How easy it would be to bust through and ask Itachi just what he thought he was doing.

He sat darkly on his bed with his fingers twisted together and sharingan activated. He was staring blindly in the direction of Kisame's room which was several halls over. To anyone else he would have been staring at a wall but he could imagine it. He could imagine the door. Could even imagine the mess of Kisame's room. He could just picture Sakura lying on the giant blue mans bed. Sasuke could practically imagine the things Kisame would do to her.

Kisame had been one of the Uchiha's only real friends in the Akatsuki. Sasuke knew that Kisame and Itachi were rather close. They trained together often and were often partnered up on missions together. The two had a sort of strange rivalry that felt less hostile than usual rivalry. He could almost say that he sensed the respect between them.

He figured that they got along so well, that he would try and give the shark man a chance and he did. They even got along fairly.

Yet now, thinking about it, he didn't trust Kisame with Sakura.

His ex-teammate. That stupid girl. She shouldn't be with anyone but him. Not even Itachi. It was beginning to seem like he couldn't trust her with anyone but himself. Only Sasuke was safe for her to be around.

Every time he left her alone she got herself into more and more trouble.

It was fucking annoying.

How was he supposed to keep her from getting tortured and save himself from the weight of his guilt, while she kept getting into more and more trouble? And what was even worse somehow was that Naruto was here somewhere. He still hadn't found the blockheaded once-best-friend. He knew that Naruto was resilient so he wasn't worried that the kid wouldn't hold up.

But really, that idiot was in just as bad of a place as Sakura.

Here his two friends had gotten themselves into some real bullshit and he was becoming obligated by his guilt to help them.

Sasuke Uchiha, obligated by guilt.

He never thought he'd see the day.

He sneered at the wall which he was staring unseeingly towards with his spinning sharingan.

Stupid fucking old teammates. Old scars. Old ghosts that were making a fucking mess in his life.

If only he really left them behind the day he left Konoha. He wouldn't have to worry about seeing them again and be tethered by this unknown weight on his conscience.

Sasuke stood abruptly, his body working without any prompting and glanced openly around his room. Without reason, cursing to no one in particular. It was suddenly like he was a different person. Not Sasuke Uchiha who worked so hard to appear serious and calm.

The scowl upon his face didn't drop as he flew forward, opening the door without hesitation. He snatched it open and rolled out of the room like a thunder storm. Dark and furious.

His immediate intention was to go into Itachi's room and take his anger out on his brother. Mostly, he wanted to confront his smug, calm and cool brother about what happened. Why would Itachi let Kisame take Sakura away?

He didn't bother knocking. Breaching his brothers room, in what he assumed would be unexpectedly to anyone else. Anyone who wasn't Itachi.

Instead he met a casual, knowing gaze on the other side. Black eyes with no Mangekyou active. His brother was perched on the edge of his bed sitting stiffly, straight back and an even line for lips.

Slamming the door behind him, Sasuke gave his brother a resentful glare.

Once in the room, however, he was struck by a sense of thoughtlessness.

What would he say?

A mild, short silence settled over them that was too strained to be normal. Normally, he and his brother got along amazingly. They were similar in certain ways and Sasuke looked up to the older Uchiha.

But he was too hot-headed right now. Itachi must know that handing Sakura over to Kisame was unreasonable.

"I see," His brothers voice was to be expected, yet it still caused a ripple of discomfort to pass over Sasuke's skin. He drew his fingers into fists against the sensation. "You've decided to make things difficult."

Sasuke scowled. "I don't know what you're talking about." He found that his voice was unimpressive.

"You can't handle the responsibilities of what you hope to achieve." Itachi's smooth voice was not unkind but it still bounced against the walls of the room in a cold manner. "If you're going to act this foolish, little brother, we should stop this hopeless mission right now."

His hands were shaking notably as he responded, his voice hostile. "You don't know what you're talking about." It was a weak retort but he was just barely holding himself together as it was.

"I recognize how difficult this is for you," Itachi remained seated on his bed, his hands braced on either knee in a stiff, proper posture, "but you cannot help the girl if you cannot accept that sacrifices must be made."

A sneer came to Sasuke's face. "I know."

That was all he could say.

He felt rather sick that the said sacrifices would be Sakura spending one on one time with Kisame.

"You do not trust my judgment. It seems we may have a bigger problem at hand, little brother, than your teammates."

"Ex." Sasuke correctly immediately, defensively. "Ex-teammates, and I don't know what you're talking about." He quietly retorted, for the second time.

A small, very trademarked Uchiha smirk touched Itachi's lips. "You seem to be confounded by many things since entering this room. Rather than confronting me, perhaps you should take some time to rethink the thoughts cluttering your intelligence."

He was instantly self-conscious.

What exactly did he want to accomplish by entering this room?

Itachi was doing something annoying. Getting under his skin and making all of his words hard to process.

"Sakura is alone with him." Sasuke said after a moment of quiet that pressed upon him heavily. "You have to know what he's doing to her."

Itachi regarded him with more silence, like an anchor to keep Sasuke anxious. "We can't be sure of anything except for the fact that she has to do this." For a moment, they both remained still before his brother stood in an effortless graceful motion and walked a few steps closer. They were within normal conversation distance, and Sasuke was almost grateful for it. He gazed up at his brother evenly. Itachi's words were a black hole of disciplined sensibility. "We cannot draw attention to ourselves or to her. She must spend this time with Kisame." After a moment he lifted a hand and sat it heavily on Sasuke's shoulder.

Though he made no move to toss off his brother's hand, the weight of it was mildly smothering. Frightening. It made Sasuke question his judgment.

"I'm sorry about Sakura, little brother." His words seemed sincere.

They made a bad taste bloom in Sasuke's mouth which made swallowing difficult.

His brother probably thought he was being foolish for worrying so much. Especially about two people who weren't even his teammates.

He often repeated that fact to himself; Naruto and Sakura were no longer his teammates.

He had outgrown them and any friendship they may have offered once. Long ago he had accepted that he wouldn't be friends with those two ever again and he was only helping them now because he owed them a debt for their loyalty.

Somehow it was serious to him that they were still so loyal to him. So even if it was only this once, he'd repay them. Then he would tell them to leave him alone and stop looking for him, because he would never return to Konoha.

Sasuke Uchiha would never return to his family compound where those jerks were always making him feel insecure. As if he was the weakest of the Uchiha brothers. His father made him feel ashamed for being younger and inexperienced. Here, in the Akatsuki, they valued him just as much as his brother. He didn't have to live in Itachi's shadow but rather he could live by Itachi's side.

Therefore he would never go back to living in his brothers shadow, not good enough for his perfect father.

"They were a good pair, Sakura and Naruto." Itachi added, a mildness coming over his tone that might have been appreciation. "They were a good pair of ninja to be placed on a team with."

Sasuke considered it. Of all the other rookies he could have been paired with, Team Seven consisted of the younger, disappointing Uchiha, Naruto the blockhead, and Sakura the try hard. Three people who were undervalued.

Sakura was so weak to him back then. He barely made time for her, considering she was always falling at his feet. Never training. He didn't like Naruto at first but at least his idiot friend tried. The blond tried so hard it was a wonder he ever recovered from chakra depletion. At least Naruto tried. All Sakura had going for her was her loyalty and her book smarts.

But after he left them behind he was told often about Team Seven, minus himself, and their progress. He kept tabs on them and from what he could hear, they had grown very much. He thought it was good that they weren't dwelling on his loss too much. Even if they did vow never to stop trying to return him to the village.

He aimed an unseeing gaze just over Itachi's shoulder. "That's in the past now."

All that mattered was that he paid his debt to them and got them out of here.

He stepped away and his brother's hand fell slowly away.

"I'm trying to say that she can handle this. I don't know many girls who would be able to handle this much sacrifice but I think she can." His voice was calm and bland but somehow it was very supportive.

Sasuke turned his whole body away from his brother as a numbness washed over him. "If they were more careful, she wouldn't have to. Those idiots shouldn't have been captured. They should have given up when I told them to last time."

He could hear his brother's steady breathing. "You have a misconception about your former team, little brother."

Sasuke didn't glance up from his spot, gazing at the floor. His knuckles were beginning to grow sore as he squeezed them into an even tighter fist. "Whatever."

He didn't want to talk about them anymore.

He didn't want to think about his team at all.

His ex-team.

There was a lasting, strangling silence after Kisame left the room. Sakura spent every moment of the time alone, jumping at every sound. Worrying constantly that someone else would come and try to take her away.

That the gray haired Akatsuki with the vulgar language would appear and take her away. She couldn't purge the thought of his hands touching her. The unbelievable, rough edge of his hands as they bore into her skin or the way her teeth broke into her neck, bruising her flesh.

She lifted a ginger hand to touch the heavy marks that darkened her flesh, the imprint of his mouth. She took in a shaky breath and withdrew her hand in a daze.

It was the first time she'd ever been so close to a man.

A sudden quiver overtook her, and she wrapped her arms around herself. She took a moment to try and gather herself.

As she did, she heard the door open behind her.

She couldn't manage the grace not to jerk around, her mouth agape and her limbs tensing uncomfortably. Her arms came up in front of her as if she could punch whoever it was, regardless of the fact that she almost zero chakra.

She was confronted by an expression torn between mild amusement and insult. Kisame drifted into the room and shut the door behind him. In his hand was a large wrapped package and she gazed at it for a spell. The awkward, frightened chills left her skin and she relaxed infinitesimally.

Kisame hadn't moved towards her and she thought it was considerate of him.

In thanks she attempted a weak smile.

It was apparently all he needed. He moved forward with a neutral expression, his hands holding onto the package gently.

"Hope you like tempura." His voice was cautious and low.

She awkwardly nodded and as he approached her, she reached out to grab the wrapped package. After she had taken the food, he withdrew immediately and was walking around her towards his bed.

He was clearly uncomfortable about how wary she was towards him.

She unwrapped the tempura and gazed down at it with a sudden rumbling in her stomach. Lifting the sticks and shoveling the rice and shrimp into her mouth without mercy. Most likely resembling Naruto.

From in front of her, she could see Kisame carefully, slowly eating while watching her.

Sheepishly, she slowed herself down. "I'm sorry; I didn't realize I was so hungry." She admitted.

The statement seemed to amuse him. "The suppressant probably doesn't help with that." He nodded and lifted a piece of shrimp to his blue lips. He munched on it for a moment before giving her a small grin.

He was casually sitting on his bed, leaned forward over his food as if he needed to concentrate on it in order to eat. "Eating is good. You'll get some strength back but I doubt you'll be getting enough chakra from it to do anything with." He sounded a little distant as he said the words. As if he was assessing the situation very carefully.

Sakura considered it. How long before she got enough chakra to feel normal? She wondered if she'd ever get any of her strength back. If she could just get a little chakra, she'd be able to at least defend herself. Even if it was only for a few minutes.

Her eyes lifted to Kisame who was calmly eating and at this time, for the first time, he wasn't looking at her. Rather he was staring at a shrimp at the end of his chopsticks.

"Thank you." She gave him a tentative grin.

For a moment, a thoughtful heaviness touched his face before it was gone. His shoulders loosened, and his posture was very clearly relieved. "Don't mention it, kid."

She sat down her nearly empty tempura tray by her side and turned her attention on him. She leaned back, bracing her weight on her palms. It would no doubt get her hands dirty but she didn't really care about that now. Rather she wanted to take the time to look at the tall man before her closely. "Why are you being nice to me?"

A minor, uncertain kind of silence tucked in over them. Kisame continued eating shrimp almost as if he hadn't heard her but there was a sudden hardness in his back. As if he was trying to conceal his discomfort at the question. She regarded him carefully. There was no reason for him to treat her this way. He was an Akatsuki just like the rest of them were. She didn't think any Akatsuki would be nice to her, spare the Uchiha brothers.

Yet, this creature was being nice and seemingly, without getting anything in return.

It was a moment later that he answered. Just before she was about to ask him another question. His voice was very low. "I have known Itachi Uchiha for years," He began the sentence and Sakura was already entranced. She chose to sit forward and in opposition, he sat down his tray and leaned back. Mirroring her previous pose. "When we were placed as partners, I didn't like him. But I came to realize that he does things differently than most. All the years he's been my teammate, I've never once seen him defend anyone who wasn't that little brother of his." He paused for a moment and gazed at her. She looked into his hard black eyes and thought that they were beautiful. "It's intriguing." He gave a shark-toothed smile. "Besides, kid. You've got spunk. The strong survive around here. The way you turned your back on Pein. Well, that's not just confident strong, that's just plain stupid strong. I like that in a woman." He chuckled then moved quickly, in one motion scooping up his tempura and inhaling it at the same speed she had.

She wanted to smile at him to show him how much she appreciated it but for once he wasn't looking at her.

This Akatsuki wasn't what he seemed to be.

For once Sakura thought that if Sasuke and Itachi had to abandon them, at least they found someone to stand by their side like this guy.

Beta Note - I must say, Kisame is such a lady killer in this chapter. Seriously. I love that blue fishman. Especially with Sakura. EBard, what have you done to meee?