A/N: Here's chap 2! This first chaps will be uploaded fast because I've already written them. I just wanted to make sure that they were perfect before uploading them. In any case, enjoy!

I forgot about this on the first chap...special thanks to Lady Hanaka who's my wonderful beta for this story. Much candy to her!

Chapter 2: Laws, Fate and the Rain

Sakura was sitting in her bed, hugging her legs. She looked around the room; the walls had no decoration, there were no shelves or drawers or desks, not even chairs; it was just the bed and a window. It was so empty that the room appeared big even though it really wasn't, and the emptiness of the room only added to its depressing atmosphere.

But all was interrupted when the door opened by none other than Itachi. Sakura gulped as she saw the man enter; how could she ever forget that face? Just seeing him made her flinch.

"I've come to tell you the rules that will determine whether or not you keep your life…so listen well." He said with a monotone.

"I know you plan on escaping so I'll tell you right now that it will be futile. I've got a keen lock on your chakra so even if you are this weak I can still sense you. You are not to leave this room unless I tell you otherwise which will be for the necessary business such as bathroom use. Your food will be brought to you by Kisame. That is all. I'll repeat this for the last time: following these rules will determine whether you keep your life or not."

Sakura couldn't really do anything besides hear his words and tremble at the very sound of each of them. His voice was so dark, monotonous, stoic and deep; you couldn't really tell through his words what he was thinking.

Itachi's crimson eyes did not leave Sakura's emerald ones even for a second. If she were to say what really scared her the most of Itachi, she'd say it was his eyes; his crimson sharingan eyes; eyes that had such a deadly look in them; eyes that had the word "death" written in them. After all, she wasn't new to the fact that Itachi had the Mangekyou sharingan and she knew the power it had and how the victim of such was to enter a world of pain and even death.

She feared falling victim to those eyes.

Itachi could easily notice her fear and he enjoyed it. It only showed how weak she was.

"Hn. What a weakling." With that he merely turned and left.

Sakura began to breathe heavily; as if she had no energy left in her.

What am I gonna do? I don't think I can stand being here…with Itachi…

She shivered as she remembered the way Itachi stared at her.

That man…how will I be able to handle living with him…? After all, he's the cause of Sasuke-kun's pain…and if he hadn't done what he did…Sasuke-kun wouldn't have left and then…that wouldn't have happened…

The expression in her eyes changed; now they had a melancholic look in them. She had remembered the pain that she'd never be able to forget nor ease; a pain that hurt her immensely in her heart.

"Hurry up you guys! We have to get to Suna as fast a possible!" Ino said desperately

Ever since the mission had begun she had been hurrying everyone up, and Shikamaru was starting to get irritated.

He gritted his teeth and sighed, annoyed, before stopping.

"Come on! We—" Suddenly, Ino felt like her whole body freeze; she couldn't move.

"What the hell…?" Ino strained. "I-I can't move…"

Everyone looked down and noticed that Ino's shadow had an unusual length that reached all the way to Shikamaru's own shadow. He had used the Kagemane Jutsu.

"Che. You're so troublesome."

"Wha-what's your problem Shikamaru? Release me! We can't waste time!" the blonde medic-nin cried.

"That's exactly the problem." Shikamaru returned.

"Shikamaru." Kakashi called softly.

The boy looked at him.

"Release Ino." The Copy-nin turned to Ino. "Ino, listen to what Shikamaru has to say."

Both of the quarreling ninjas nodded in agreement; Shikamaru released Ino from his jutsu and Ino's shadowed return to its normal size.

"Fine. Talk." Ino said dryly.

"Listen Ino, I understand you are frustrated and worried about Sakura-san. We all are and I hope as much as you that she is safe and we get to her safely. But you have to stay calm. If you don't then you'll lose focus on what really matters, which is to get to Suna. After that, we worry on finding Sakura-san but we can't lose time worrying about things that are not our priority right now. Understand?"

Ino's sky-blue eyes glared at Shikamaru; scoffed and looked away. She knew he was right; and she hated it when he was right because it was almost every time.

"Well, now that that's settled, let's keep going." Kakashi said.

The Konoha shinobi resumed their journey throughout the forest; quickening their pace.

"Um…Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata softly called out.

"Hm?"

"Do you think Sakura-chan will be alright?"

"I don't know. I hope so. Sakura's strong, she can defend herself." Kakashi answered grinning. However, his eyes lowered and took a more worried expression.

Unless she meets with Akatsuki…I don't think she'd be able to handle them, let alone Uchiha Itachi.

"I do hope Sakura-san is safe. However, we still must keep in mind that if something does happen to her she brought it upon herself." Shikamaru added.

Ino stopped right in her tracks. As soon as the rest of the team noticed that she had halted, they did the same wondering why Ino had taken such an action.

The young woman turned and glared at Shikamaru with angry and upset eyes. She walked towards him.

Slap.

Hinata softly gasped.

Shikamaru had his head turned, eyes wide and his left cheek began to take a red color. He looked straight at Ino's sky-blue eyes which began to brim with tears.

"How could you say such a thing?"

"It's the truth Ino. We need to be realistic here. Like I said, I hope she's safe but we must also consider the possibilities that she could have been abducted by Akatsuki. And if she was, it is a shame but you perfectly know it was her own fault. After all, there was no need for her to take such a rash and dangerous decision as the one she did. She knew the dangers that lay by taking such action." The genius boy replied with a solemn face.

"Don't say that! Shut up!" Ino cried and was about to slap Shikamaru again but someone clutched her hand before it connected with her comrade's cheek.

"That's enough Ino." Kakashi said seriously.

"Kakashi-sense is right Ino. You need to calm down. And I agree with Shikamaru. In a way, Sakura-san did bring this upon herself. If she hadn't taken that decision then she wouldn't worry about Akatsuki and probably our worries would just be to find her safely. But that's not the case and we need to be real and consider the possibilities that Akatsuki has already found her." Neji spoke.

Ino pouted and glared at him, "How can you all say that? How can you blame Sakura for making that decision? It's…it's not her fault! It's not! She…"

Ino began to sob, "She…she wasn't thinking…she…Sakura...that idiot wasn't thinking…"

Kakashi released her hand; Ino covered her face and began to cry.

Hinata waked towards the crying Ino and hugged her, "We understand Ino-chan. We're also upset about Sakura-chan's decision which is why there is a possibility that she could've been captured. But also, she could still be free. And that's why we have to get to Suna so then we can find Sakura-chan; don't worry, we'll surely find her and bring her back."

Ino wiped her tears with the back of her right hand and grinned; content about Hinata's words; she was absolutely right. "Thank you, Hinata-chan."

"Ino-san, we will find Sakura-san. Even if she was captured we'll find her and get her back. Whatever fate brings us we'll fight it and save her." Neji added.

"See Ino? We're all with you on this. We all want to save Sakura." Kakashi said as he smiled at her.

Ino nodded, relieved that her friends supported her in this issue. She realized she had snapped and that her preoccupation towards Sakura's well-being and her friends' rationalization about the issue had gotten the best of her. She agreed to what they all said and she was also as determined as them to bring Sakura back. She'd die for her best friend.

"Well…now that we've all come to an apparent agreement let's hurry up. We've wasted enough time." Shikamaru said.

"Um…Shikamaru…" Ino called out.

The boy turned.

"I'm sorry…" Ino was looking away as she said that.

"Don't sweat it." He smirked at her.

And thus, the Konoha ninjas resumed their journey to Suna. All eyes were determined, strong and focused into their one true goal; they were all prepared to face everything that stood in their way; even if saving Sakura meant death, they would all gladly and without hesitation welcome it. They were Sakura's only true and real friends in Konoha and they would certainly not make her lose faith in them nor betray her.

"Here's your food kunoichi. Eat!" Kisame ordered; ever since Sakura was abducted Itachi had put him in charge of giving Sakura her meals. However, Sakura had refused every single one of them, thus making Kisame's patience shorten.

"Hmph. I won't." Sakura looked away with a proud face.

Kisame growled, "Why you…you're really stretching my patience more than you should kunoichi…"

Sakura looked at him, giving him a challenging shine and looked away once more.

"Alright that's it! I've had enough with you!" Kisame threw the metal tray a loaf of bread, and fruits salad; making a clanking sound and stormed outside the room, slamming the door.

"Sheesh…as if I'll take food from them." Sakura scoffed.

The young kunoichi stood up from her bed and walked towards the small window; it was a sunny; a prefect day to be out. The birds chirped; the wind blew against the grass and the huge beautiful tree that was near her window making them sing along with the birds; all of that made it seem as if the world outside the wooden walls in her room was an unreachable dream.

Sakura gently placed her hand against the glass window; her emerald eyes shining with a nostalgic look.

Will I ever get out of here? I have no chance of escaping. If I do, Itachi and Kisame will notice quickly and get me, but…if I don't escape soon then… I might be too late to save Sasuke-kun…

Frustration compelled her once more. She cursed herself for being as weak as to not being able to defend herself from Itachi and allowing herself to be captured. If she had been stronger then probably she would've been able to elude him and manage to reach Sound. But now, she was far from her destination in a place she didn't know, among people…no…among murderers where her life was continuously face-to-face with death.

Itachi noticed the way Kisame entered the kitchen mumbling and cursing.

"Did the girl eat?" Itachi asked; however there was no sign of care in his tone. It was merely just a question.

Kisame opened the cupboard and took a bottle of sake and a small cup, still with an annoyed expression.

"Damn bitch refuses to eat. I've already lost my patience with her! You take care of her Itachi!" With that said he sat on the chair opposite to Itachi and began to drink.

Itachi quietly stood up, and left the kitchen without a word.

He headed towards Sakura's room which was the last one in the hallway at the right; his room was right in front.

Itachi opened the door and saw Sakura in front of the window, lost in thought. She hadn't heard him enter, which surprised him because every time she would hear footsteps come closer she would get paranoid.

"Enjoying the view?" he asked.

His impeccable voice startled Sakura, making her gasp, turn, and lean against the wall, frightened.

"Thought you might want to know that there will be two more Akatsuki's to come." Itachi smirked. "So you might want to be careful when you sneak out at night to get some food."

Sakura emerald eyes widened and softly gasped.

How…did he know?

"No one in their right senses would refuse to eat after 4 days. Besides, you may have lost most of your chakra but I can still sense you easily." He added again with the smirk; the smirk that only showed amusement in the domination he had over Sakura.

"Now, I'm going to bring you some food and you are going to eat it whether you want to or not."

Itachi was just about to turn away when Sakura's words stopped him.

"I won't eat it."

The elder Uchiha slowly turned.

Sakura flinched a bit at the glance of Itachi's sharingan eyes but she swallowed her momentary fear away.

"I may be your prisoner but I refuse to lower myself as to look like a desperate, helpless creature whose only hope is meal time."

She glared at him with shinning and challenging emerald eyes though she didn't have the slightest idea as to how she even dared to look at Itachi like that. Any glare is a sign of challenge to Itachi and she had just done it.

Shit…now he's going to kill me…

But to her surprise, Itachi instead walked towards her. Each step Itachi took forward was a step she could take backwards; however it didn't take her much to be cornered at the wall.

The more Itachi came closer, the more frightened Sakura would feel and the more she trembled. In fact, he was the only person that had ever caused this much fear in Sakura. It was just something Itachi had in the atmosphere that surrounded him that would make him look so big, dark and dangerous which made her only shrink, insignificant and weak.

He came closer to her face and cupped her chin; he looked into her wide opened and frightened emerald eyes; he then leaned; his cheek brushing against hers. She felt that chill crawl up her body; her blood began to flush as well.

"I suggest you stay quiet if you're only going to be like this whenever I come close to you cherry blossom." Itachi softly whispered in Sakura's ear.

She hated the sensation his breath would cause in her body; she wasn't really sure what it was exactly but it was unpleasant and it made her feel uncomfortable.

"Now…you will eat what I'll bring you." Itachi continued. "Don't forget that I hold your life in my hands."

Then, he backed away and gave her a malicious smirk before leaving her room.

Once more, Sakura felt weak and cold. She slid down to the floor and hugged herself, trying to recuperate the warmth in her body.

Dammit…why…why is it that I end up feeling like this every time he gets near me? Why…why am I so weak when I'm with him…?

The Konoha team finally arrived in Suna. They were greeted by the guards and escorted to the Kazekage's tower by Temari and Kankuro, where Gaara was waiting for them. They quickly informed him of the present situation.

"I can't believe Sakura-san would run away from Konoha…" Temari commented, gaping.

"Yea. She's not the kind of person who would take such an action." Kankuro added.

"This is grave indeed." Gaara said. "You say that Sakura's destination is Sound, correct?"

"Yes. That is correct Kazekage-sama." Kakashi answered.

The Kazekage stood pensively in his chair, thinking of what could be done to aid Konoha. He did not want to help just because Konoha were allies, but also because he appreciated Haruno Sakura; Gaara also wanted to help because his friend was in danger.

"Very well, I'll send a team to look for Akatsuki hideouts. If Haruno-san has been abducted and we find her, we'll let you know of her location. I'll also have a group of ninjas to be on the lookout in nearby areas for any suspicious movement or if Haruno-san is spotted."

The Konoha ninjas bowed in gratitude, "Thank you Kazekage-sama."

"May I suggest we stay the night here and think on how we are going to approach Sound? That way we can rest to recover the time we spent getting here and we'll be in much better shape to deal with what lies ahead of us." Neji suggested.

Ino wanted to object since resting here would only mean that their search for Sakura would be delayed for a day but she saw the truth and reason in Neji's words.

Both Shikamaru and Hinata nodded in agreement.

"Yes. We should stay." Kakashi commented.

"Well in that case, I'll escort you to a place you can stay." Temari said with a grin as she opened the door and the Konoha team exited the office.

"Gaara, do you think Sakura-san will be found?" Kankuro asked once everyone had left.

"I hope so. I do not blame her for taking such a decision. I know I will feel that way as well if something like that ever happened to me. Besides, she will not be at peace unless she accomplishes what she left to do, which is to find Uchiha Sasuke. All we can do is hope that she will be safely found and that she can be saved from her pain and loneliness." Gaara answered with a gentle voice.

Itachi was in his lying in his bed; hands behind his head. It was night; the moonbeams went through the window in Itachi's room, illuminating it. It wasn't as empty as Sakura's. It had a bed, a drawer opposite to the bed, and a shelf with some books.

He lay pensively thinking about a subject that he still couldn't believe himself: about Sakura.

He remembered the way she looked when she was looking outside the window. For some reason, and a reason he didn't know nor cared to know, that specific image was carved in his mind.

The way the sunrays worked in favor of Sakura's appearance as if they were made for her. Her rosette hair looked so glossy when the sun shined in them, her skin looked white and smooth, but her eyes where something that caught his peculiar interest; they seemed to shine and gleam like a gem. It was as if she were dreaming, hoping; about what? He did not care. But there was one thing he did know: it made her look innocent.

And that innocence popped into his mind another question that was troubling him: how can someone as her be the one?

But his stream of thoughts came to a stop when Kisame knocked on his door.

"Hey Itachi. I think we should go now."

"Hn." Itachi replied.

He closed his eyes as he remembered his thoughts regarding Sakura. But this time, he considered them an eye sore.

Foolish thoughts.

The wooden door slowly opened; not a sound was made.

Itachi quietly entered the silent room; it wasn't dark because of the moonlight that shined through the window.

He walked towards Sakura's bed; she was sleeping soundly. His crimson sharingan eyes stared at her. Gently, he removed the sheet from her. It was still for him difficult to believe that such a weak person was not only the one they've been searching for but a missing-nin as well.

However, despite her obvious weakness he could not deny that she roused some interest in him. He had a lot of questions, and she was the person that held all his answers. But truthfully, what Sakura had the word 'contradiction' in herself.

Weak, and yet strong enough to be the one; interesting and yet…not worth anyone's time.

His eyes traveled across her body; studying it. He noticed the bulge that formed in her chest; her arms looked skinny, perhaps because she hadn't eaten properly these past days. Her legs had now taken a more woman look, they were certainly not skinny; and her top was tight enough for her curves to be noticeable; the way her face look when she was sleeping was...angelic, if anything. As if she was at peace; no one would suspect that she was being held against her will here.

She had indeed grown physically, he could not deny. The first time he had seen her she had more of a child-like appearance. However, two things remained the same: her innocence and fragility. She may have been able to grow in many aspects of her body but these two things were apparently ones that she would not be able to change.

But as he kept thinking about her innocence and the fact that she was his prisoner, it made him grow a strange feeling inside of him; a feeling of possessiveness.

One thing that consoled him was that she'd never dare to escape. She was aware of her situation and he had her in the palm of his hand. He could make her do whatever he wanted and she knew better than to refuse. He liked the domination he had over her and wanted more. Just thinking about it made him feel the desire to want her. That thought however, started to become more desirable to him. Of course, how could he forget that this was the same girl his younger brother was so infatuated with?

I'm curious to know…how a cherry blossom tastes like.

A dark smile appeared; Sasuke didn't have to be the only person to steal her heart away.

Cherry blossom, you are my property and you will be mine one day. The plans can be postponed for a while. I will steal you heart and I will take possession of it. Just you wait and see.

Sakura strained her eyes before waking up; but something inside of her jolted making her gasp and sit straight in the bed.

Something inside her felt strange, uncomfortable. She wasn't sure what it was but one thing was for sure, she didn't like how it made her feel. Sakura took her sheet off her and looked at her body. Seeing that it was the same as it was when she went to sleep made her sigh, relieved.

However, she felt as if someone had been watching her. Immediately, only one name came into her mind.

I-Itachi...?

Just thinking that Itachi could've entered her room and done God knows what made her shiver. All the possible things Itachi could've done to her flooded her mind; just imagining them gave her goose bumps.

She hugged herself.

I-I don't understand…he has already captured me and yet…I'm still here. They should've already dealt with me.

Just…just what would he want with me…?

The rosette prisoner gently placed her right ear against the door.

Silence.

Not a sound signaling movement outside her prison door was heard.

Strange; then...Kisame and Itachi aren't here? Wait. If they aren't here then...maybe I could try and escape.

Yes. I have to. This is my chance. If I don't then God knows when I'll have another chance.

Finally, now I can continue to look for Sasuke-kun.

She slowly and cautiously opened the door. She peeked looking around the hallway. No one was in sight.

To be safer, Sakura decided to conceal the little of her chakra she had left. She had regained a bit more than when she arrived here, but it was still not enough for it to help her in any kind of combat.

But she suddenly heard some noise that came from the kitchen; it sounded like clanking metal.

Damn! Someone's here!

Desperately looking for an escape, Sakura entered a strange room.

But the room wasn't as empty as hers. She had expected from her own room that hers was a preview of what every room in the house was. Obviously, that wasn't the case.

The room was small however. It had a small bed, a drawer opposite of it and a shelf with some books. She couldn't make out whose room it was. But what caught her interest was the window.

She walked towards it and noticed that it wasn't like the window in her room. Unlike hers, this window could be opened.

Perfect.

Sakura smirked; she lifted the window. It was lighter than she could've imagined it to be. Lucky for her, the gap of the opened window was big enough for her to go through it.

Once free from her prison, she looked behind it.

Good riddance. I do hope I never get to see those bastards again, especially Itachi.

She quietly walked through the short grass, making sure that she didn't make the slightest noise.

Once she thought she'd reached a reasonable distance from the house, she began to run. However, she suddenly bumped into someone and fell down.

"Ow..." Sakura rubbed her backside. But her emerald eyes widened as she realized what had happened. She turned her head frightened as she saw the figure in front of her. It had the dreaded attire that was the source of Sakura's present fear: a black cloak with red clouds.

A thunder roared before rain began to pour.

A/N: Yay! The first cliffy! Don't worry...this won't be the last one. (smiles) So what you think? I'm really liking the tension between Itachi and Sakura. Hey...Itachi's our "bad" guy (I don't really consider him bad or evil...), we can't really have the atmosphere to be all calm and peaceful. But I'll say this much, the sexual tension will be greater as the story progresses. This is nothing. lol Well...still wondering why Akatsuki really wants Sakura? Well, keep wondering. I won't say just yet. So yea, I hope you all enjoyed it! Please Read & Review! Thank you!