A/N: I'm so glad to have been able to upload this chap so soon. Well, this chap will give you a small hint regarding Sakura's issue with Konoha. Let's just say that it will reveal who's the person involved and of course, more emotions will come.

Thanks for betaing it Lady Hanaka! Much candy to you!

Chapter 4: As the first wind blows

Sakura tried to turn, but she couldn't. Her body was completely frozen; she tried moving her hands, arms and her head, but none budged. Her hand began to tremble and soon her whole body followed suit. Being frightened wasn't something new, but the fear that compelled her at that moment was so great that she thought she'd faint.

She heard as Itachi's footsteps came closer and closer to her; the closer they came the heavier Sakura breathed.

"I thought I told you that you are not to leave your room yet here you are; and in my room no less."

He leaned towards her; he could feel her heavy breaths which even trembled along with her body. He smirked at it.

"You came for your headband, didn't you? I can't give it to you yet." The Uchiha whispered in Sakura's ear. "There are still many questions I need to ask you."

He was so close that not only could she feel his breath on her neck, which felt like small daggers that pricked her skin, but also she felt as his lips roused her ear lobe, making her gasp and stiffen. The feeling everything gave her was as if she was slowly being strangled, suffocated; losing her oxygen by the second.

Sakura wanted to say something, but she felt as if she couldn't emit any words; as if she had no voice. Her mouth began to move, but no sound came out.

Wh-why can't I speak? Am...am I this afraid of Itachi?

Sakura, you need to be strong. You have to say something and face him. You can't really let yourself be too weak as to not even be able to defend yourself verbally.

Her Inner voice commented.

Her mouth stammered a bit before the kunoichi spoke, "J-just…what do you want with me?"

Itachi looked at her, surprised that she even spoke.

"You-you've already captured me. A-at this point I-I should've been ta-taken care of..." She gulped.

"You're mistaken cherry blossom. I'm not done with you; I have plans for you." The Mangekyou wielder returned. "Now, go to your room."

Sakura turned and lowered her head, trying to avoid any eye contact with Itachi, and exited the room.

Itachi watched as she left with solemn eyes, but they narrowed a few seconds after.

Why is she wearing an Akatsuki cloak? And one that is not mine?

Knock knock.

"Come in." Sasori answered.

"I'm curious Sasori. To whom does the cloak that prisoner is wearing belong to?" Itachi inquired.

Sasori noticed the glare he was given. He noticed the unpleased tone of voice Itachi had but he was also aware that he had to be cautious of the answer he gave him. If he told Itachi that Sakura had tried to escape, then he'd surely get angry with her and he had already promised her that he wouldn't tell Itachi; he wasn't someone to break his promises.

"That's Deidara's. He and I noticed that the girl's clothing seemed a bit tattered and dirty, so he lent her his cloak while her attire was cleaned and dried. That is all."

"Hn." With that sound, Itachi exited the room.

Meanwhile, Sakura had yet to awaken. She strained her eyes and stretched, then fluttered them before completely opening them. She remembered the previous night; her encounter with Itachi. It made her shiver as she remembered the way he spoke to her; feeling his breath against her and worse...the way she felt his lips touch her ear lobe, almost tasting it.

I can't stand being near him...I just...I just can't...I'm...I'm afraid of what he could do to me...

Her eyes began to brim with tears. But her Inner voice stepped in and said her share of words.

Sakura I understand that you're afraid, but you must be strong. You cannot sink to the level of inferiority; be strong and stay tall. If you show them you are weak, they will take advantage of it...like Itachi has done. You must show them that you are not weak. Someone who has taken that cannot be weak. So stop crying.

The rosette young girl wiped her tears with the back of her hand and nodded, in agreement to her inner voice's words.

Yes. I have to be strong.

She then noticed a box beside her bed. With curious emerald eyes, she picked it up and opened it.

I wonder what it is. Or better yet, from whom it is.

Inside the box there was a yukata; it was dark colored and didn't had any decoration. On top of it was a letter, it read:

I request you wear this and come out.

The rosette girl narrowed her emerald eyes as she re-read the letter once more.

"He requests? Do I look like a doll for him to dress up? Fine. I'll wear it but I won't look the way you expect me to."

Everyone was in the table in their respective chairs eating their respective breakfast, which was composed of rice, vegetables and fish along with tea. Sasori was at the end of the table with Deidara beside him, while Itachi was opposite to Sasori with Kisame beside him.

"Sasori-danna, when Itachi told Kisame to put an extra chair, did he mean that Sakura-san was joining us?" Deidara whispered.

"Perhaps, but I must remind you Deidara that it wasn't in our place to have known Haruno Sakura's name. So I suggest you do not address her with her name." Sasori replied.

Suddenly, everyone stopped eating when they saw a figure that walked towards the table and sat down in the chair beside Kisame and Itachi.

"Kisame." Itachi looked at him. Kisame quickly understood and with a groan of irritation, he stood up, and got Sakura her breakfast.

Deidara was surprised that Sakura was allowed to go out, and noticed her new attire. Sasori remained unaffected however he had taken a look at the way she looked.

Itachi kept eating his food, not bothering to look at Sakura. However, he had seen the way she had dressed with the yukata he had brought her. The sleeves were torn and she had cut part of the bottom of the yukata making it shorter in length, thus exposing her legs a bit more.

The Uchiha certainly did not enjoy what she had done to the yukata and less the way she was exposing her legs. He had noticed that both Sasori and Deidara had seen her and he did not like it; he did not like for others to see that way what was his property. But despite that, he stayed collected, showing no sign that he cared.

Sakura ate her food as silently as everyone else did and had a solemn face.

"Kisame, could you pass the tea please?" she politely asked.

Kisame looked at her annoyed, "You've got nerve asking me to do something kunoichi."

Sakura flinched a little; however she showed no sign of being scared. She merely just looked at him momentarily and continued with her food.

"Kisame."

The shark-like man turned to Itachi who gave him an obliquely glare. With that, Kisame knew he had to oblige to Sakura's small petition.

"Meh. Fine." He poured the tea in Sakura's cup.

"Thank you."

"I don't believe we've met. My name's Deidara, yeah. And he's Sasori. What's yours?" Deidara said with a grin. He knew he had to say this, or else he wouldn't be able to address Sakura by her name. And, for a reason he didn't understand, he also wanted to.

Sakura looked at him a bewildered. What? But she noticed the subtle sign in Deidara's eyes that told her to follow along.

"I'm Haruno Sakura."

Both Deidara and Sasori finished at the same time thus leaving together. Kisame had left long ago by now. Sakura was going to finish sooner, but something inside her told her to slow down until everyone except her and Itachi were left.

As coincidence she and Itachi also finished at the same time. Sakura was just about to leave when Itachi stopped her.

"Go to your room."

Without a word, Sakura obeyed.

After the confrontation with Itachi and Kisame, the Konoha ninjas stayed at the spot and camped while they recovered from their injuries. Ino was uninjured so she was able to attend her teammates.

At first, she got startled when she saw everyone scattered around. Shikamaru was unconscious, Kakashi was suffering the aftermath of Itachi's genjutsu, and Neji and Hinata were still a bit in pain from Itachi's finishing punch.

At first bewildered, she headed towards Shikamaru first and woke him up. Then, Shikamaru went to Kakashi's aid while Ino tended Hinata and Neji's wounds. After she finished with the Hyuuga cousins, she went towards Kakashi and Shikamaru. The genius boy told Ino that Kakashi didn't respond so she came to the conclusion that he was in an unconscious state due to trauma. With that realized, she told Shikamaru and Neji to lay Kakashi near a tree so that he could rest.

"So, what are we going to do?" Hinata inquired.

"I don't know, but I think we should change our course from Sound to Akatsuki." Shikamaru answered.

"How so?" Ino said.

"Well, think about it. Why would Kisame and Itachi fight us if not because we're after Sakura-san? We don't really have anything that would be a threat to them besides the fact that we are searching for her. If I didn't know any better I'd say that they have captured her and want to prevent us from finding her." Shikamaru explained.

"Yeah, it does make sense." Ino complied.

"The person that should prove this is Kakashi. After all, he's the one that confronted Itachi." Neji said.

"Yes but we need to wait until he wakes up. I don't know what happened to him but he was in a traumatic state. My guess is that it was the doing of some genjutsu…and a horrible one." Ino's sky-blue eyes took a worried look as she looked at Kakashi.

A deep silence came from Ino.

Hinata placed her hand on the young girl's shoulder as she looked at her with her compassionate pearl eyes, "What's wrong Ino-chan?"

"It's just that…I'm worried about Sakura…" Her sky-blue eyes began to sparkle with tears. "If Itachi did this just to stop us from finding her…I…I can't imagine what they are doing to her…wha-what if…they already...dealt...with her…? Then she's…"

"Don't say that." Neji spoke out.

Everyone turned their heads to him. His head was lowered as he enrolled his fist.

"Don't say that. We will find Sakura-san and we will bring her back safely. She's alive. I know it. She has to be." His pearl eyes looked to his comrades with strong faith and determination. So much that it even encouraged the others and lifted their seemingly crushed hopes.

Shikamaru nodded with a smirk along with a grin from Hinata.

A grin slowly painted itself on Ino's face as she looked at Neji's with now sky-blue eyes that shined with a newfound strength and faith.

Even if the odds were against them, they were all determined to find Sakura and rescue her from Akatsuki's grasp. Enemies, pain, and death would not be an obstacle to prevent them or make them tremble.

The sharingan master opened the door, as Sakura stood still and straight. His eyes trailed over her body as he saw what she had done to the yukata once more, but he was also merely contemplating her body. Sakura swallowed uncomfortably. She did not like the way his crimson eyes would look at her; acting by reflex she subtly hugged herself and put her legs together. But as she looked down, she noticed the abnormal way Itachi's left arm was. It appeared as it was lifeless, however she did not think much about it.

"I'll allow you to leave your room and roam freely around the house." Itachi said. "Just do not forget your place."

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"You've ruined my plans."

Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"I...I'm not supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be in Sound at this point." The kunoichi enrolled a fist. "I'm supposed to be in Sound...to rescue Sasuke-kun! I should be there saving Sasuke-kun from Orochimaru and bringing him back! But you ruined everything! Damn you Itachi! I hate you!"

"Sasuke, eh?"

Sakura's emerald eyes widened as she noticed the subtle glare Itachi gave her.

Damn…I just yelled at Itachi, cursed him…and I talked about Sasuke-kun no less…he's going to kill me…

She noticed that he was now in front of her face; crimson met emerald. He cupped her chin and whispered in her ear.

"You honestly believe you'll be able to bring Sasuke back? Sasuke's only goal in life is to kill me; that's his desire; his ambition. Do you really believe a weak girl such as yourself will have what it takes to persuade him otherwise? Even if you force him to return, as long as I'm alive he'll just keep leaving. Your efforts have only been futile and they will always be futile."

Sakura noticed the malicious tone in which Itachi spoke to her; it was as if he was teasing her about the whole issue; mortifying her; making her think that Sasuke would never care for her; that he would never return to her; that she was fated to be alone forever.

"N-no…he-he'll come back…I know it…he…he has to…" Sakura returned with a much lower voice, almost whispering.

"Hn. You really are weak." Itachi commented, as he backed away.

Sakura looked at Itachi, upset by everything he had just said. The man walked towards the door and opened it.

"Remember cherry blossom, do not forget your place." With that said he left, closing the door behind him, leaving Sakura upset, angry and frustrated.

The young girl gritted her teeth and enrolled her fist again. She narrowed her emerald eyes; they gleamed with anger and resentment. Before, seeing him would cause her to tremble; now it made her blood boil. He was the reason everything happened; his and Orochimaru's fault; but mostly his.

I hate you Itachi and I'll keep loathing you for all eternity. I swear it.

Sakura stood in still in front of Itachi's door, staring at it. Although she was full of her newfound confidence and strength, she was still a bit afraid of facing the dreaded man. She felt that her body was beginning to tremble but she compelled herself; she took a deep breath and slowly knocked on the door.

"Hn." Was Itachi's reply.

Sakura understood it as a signal to enter, however she wasn't very sure about it. After all, Itachi said that expression almost every day so it could have meant anything. So she reluctantly opened the door.

"I-uh…I hope I'm not bothering you or anything but um…" Sakura began to move her fingers around nervously as she spoke. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to ask.

Itachi looked at her obliquely. The way she stood nervous in front of him amused him. Again, it showed the obvious domination he had over her, though on the outside he looked unaffected and stoic to the whole thing.

"I-I just…" Sakura began to stammer and the more she did, the more nervous she felt; her heartbeat began to rush and her breathing started to become heavy.

Damn…why can't I just say it? Speak Sakura. Just say it!

The rosette girl closed her eyelids and took a deep breath.

"I noticed that your arm is hurt Itachi-san. Do you mind if I have a look at it?"

Itachi looked at her; emotionless dark crimson eyes, and stayed like that for a while before answering which only helped to fuel Sakura's nervousness.

"What makes you think I'm hurt?"

"Well um…" Sakura swallowed. "When you talked to me I noticed the lack of movement from your arm. Because of the cloak I wasn't able to see what was wrong with it, but the fact that you avoided from moving it much shows me that something's wrong. I can heal it for you and also it would be better or else later on it might get worse."

Surprisingly for Sakura, Itachi took off his Akatsuki cloak silently, leaving himself with his black pants and mesh top. It was the common attire for Akatsuki members. Then, he stoically held out his arm.

Sakura held his arm and noticed the hole in it and the blood that began to flow from it.

Looks like the working of a kunai; it looks a bit deep since it reached the bone.

The medic began to mold her chakra in her hands, and then she softly touched the injured area.

"Luckily for you, you only had a minor fracture in the bone due to whatever object was plunged in you. But it's nothing serious, though you have lost a bit of blood. Still, it's nothing to worry about."

"Hn."

As she steadily sent the chakra, the bone began to mend and heal naturally though it had made the near muscle spasm with pain. Itachi stiffened his hand and arm slightly as reflex, which made Sakura faintly grin. So even Uchiha Itachi reacts to pain.

"It seems that your muscle also got slightly damaged. But it's nothing serious. The object that stabbed you which looks a kunai judging from the depth, did not go deep enough to have damaged your tissues and muscles severely, or else I'd need to reset the bone and knit everything in place." Which it's good for me because then I can get this over with quicker.

"Hn."

Itachi watched stoically as Sakura tended his injuries. She was clearly an efficient medic; perhaps her skills could be of use, which meant that she wasn't completely useless. However, it didn't make her any less weak in his eyes.

He felt her chakra inside him and the way it healed his arm with such easiness. The pain began to slowly fade. He felt awkward though; her chakra gave him a warm sensation, almost a soothing one.

It didn't take long for Sakura to finish. Her concentrated soft emerald eyes hardened as soon as she had closed the wound. Her vulnerable medic side had disappeared in the blink of an eye, as the resentful side of her rose once again.

"It's healed."

Without a word, Itachi took his cloak and put it on once more.

Sakura silently pouted. Well, it's not like I expected to get a 'thank you' or anything. That word isn't in his vocabulary after all; this is Uchiha Itachi we're talking about. The more I could ever get from him is that annoying 'hn' of his…if anything.

"Go to Kisame." Itachi said with a dry tone.

Sakura looked at him with quizzical eyes.

"I said, go to Kisame." the man repeated once more with the same tone.

"Oh…um…ok…" she replied and quietly left the room.

After the young medic had left, Itachi looked down at his covered arm. The feeling of her touch was still present and so was the warmth of her chakra. However, he merely stared with stoic eyes. After all, he was not going to let himself be softened by a mere weak kunoichi. If someone was to warm up, it was going to be her. She was his possession; he had already said so and there was nothing she could do about it.

Knock. Knock.

"Eh? Who is it?" Kisame asked.

"I-it's um…Sakura…" Sakura answered softly as she opened the door and peeked her head inside.

Kisame looked at her with eyes of irritation and annoyance. But more importantly, the same question popped into his mind: why? It had been bothering him since they had returned from Leader's base. He still couldn't figure out why Itachi had lied to the leader.

"What the hell do you want?" he asked irritated.

"Well um…Itachi told me to come. I think that maybe you're hurt and he wants me to heal you. I'm a medic so I healed Itachi's injury. I can heal yours too."

"Well, I don't need your help. Now get out or I'll chop your head off!" The shark-like man said stubbornly.

Sakura flinched a little but somehow she wasn't as afraid as before. Unconsciously, she raised an eyebrow and answered to Kisame's burst.

"Well, too bad. Itachi told me to come. So I'm more or less following his orders. Besides, if you do not let me tend your injuries it could worsen and then it'll be worse for you and will make you less capable of fighting. You may threaten me all you want but I know that you won't hurt me."

Black eyes met emerald as both shinobis glared at each other. Kisame gritted his teeth in frustration. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. He could threaten her but he couldn't hurt her. He wouldn't even dare to lay a finger on her, after all it was clear that she was Itachi's property and when something was his property it was never to be touched.

So he had no choice but to cooperate. He took off his Akatsuki cloak and was left with the same attire as Itachi.

Despite everything, she couldn't help but paint a small grin on her face. He's like a stubborn little kid. She even had the urge to giggle but knew that if she did, she'd only make Kisame explode.

"Where were you injured?" Sakura asked.

"In the abdomen." Kisame answered.

Sakura looked at his black top but saw that it was undamaged.

"Do you mind taking off your top?"

The blue-skinned Akatsuki rolled his eyes in annoyance as he succumbed to Sakura's demand. Annoying bitch…

Once Kisame took off his top, she noticed the injury. His abdominal cavity was clearly bruised. Sakura leaned towards it and began to study the injury. Judging from the bruise she could tell that the damages were internal but she wasn't able to tell the severity of it.

She gently placed her hand in Kisame's abdomen. The latter, in return, stiffen a bit by the touch as a reflex.

"Your damage is internal. I can feel some instability in some of your organs in the abdominal cavity and your muscles. Though fortunately for you, it's not as serious as it should've looked like. In any case, the best way to deal with this is through operation so I can work with the injured organs however we don't have time for that since recovery will take a lot of your time. I'd rather just heal what I can with my chakra from the surface."

Sakura began to mold her chakra in her hand and came close to Kisame's abdomen. She closed her eyes and concentrated as she gently touched her patient's abdomen. Her hand traveled slowly across Kisame as she tried to sense the parts where there were the most injuries; where she sensed them, she could concentrate her chakra and heal it.

Kisame watched carefully and attentively as Sakura tended him. She seemed so different than before; she had a softer look, almost like a motherly appearance as she healed him. It was like a completely different person. Her touch felt very warm and soft; he's never felt anything like it before; it was almost ethereal. And what's more, he actually felt his body responding to her chakra.

Girl's actually good…

However, as he watched her, the same questions came to his mind.

Why did Itachi lie to Leader? I don't get it. Just what exactly does he want with the girl? What interests does she hold to him?

His eyes explored her face. Hm...well, when she's not being an annoying bitch she does look rather attractive.

Then, they went over her chest. The yukata doesn't really help much; still her breasts are average size. I've seen bigger, can't complain about hers though.

After that, they lowered to her legs. This time, en eyebrow rose. Nice legs. Overall, girl has a pretty hot body. I'll never get to see it though, so this is as close to it as I'll get. Still, it's not like Itachi to harbor such interests in a woman and especially someone such as her. Our mission was to find her and bring her to Leader so our plans could continue. Now, Itachi lied to him just so that he can keep the girl. I don't really understand what she has that has captured his interests.

"Kisame…san…who was it that injured you?" Sakura asked. She felt a bit strange as she said his name. Like, Itachi, it was the first time she had addressed him by his proper name.

"Meh, you think I keep a record of the people I fight?" Kisame replied irritably. "All I know is that they were two Konoha brats…"

At the sound of that name, Sakura's emerald eyes opened completely widened.

Konoha!

She felt her whole chakra disappear, as she lost her concentration; her hands began to feel numb.

Sakura swallowed a lump that had suddenly formed in her throat, "Ca-can you at least try and make out who they were?"

"Let's see…from what I remember it was a boy and girl. They looked alike except the color of the hair but both had clear eyes. Almost as if they had no pupil…"

Tho-those were Neji and Hinata! So then…that means…Tsunade has sent them to hunt me down and kill me.

Sakura looked down as her rosette bangs covered her face; her hand began to slip from Kisame's abdomen. He noticed it.

Will…will they actually kill me? Do they hate me so much they'll be willing to hunt me down like the missing-nin I am? Or…do they just want me to return? What about Kakashi, Ino, and the others? Where they with them too?

"Hey kunoichi…my injury won't heal by itself you know."

At Kisame's words, Sakura quickly woke up from her sudden mesmerizing thought and subtly shook her head.

"Um…sorry." The young medic said as she resumed her work.

Sakura once again went over Kisame's injuries to make sure that her work was complete.

"Hm...there's only one problem. Hinata-chan and Neji-san are masters in the Gentle First technique. One of the things this technique does is that when someone applies pressure in the chakra points they can't control the flow of the chakra. In your case Kisame-san, they must've hit the chakra points in your abdominal cavity. I'm sure you must've felt a lack of chakra inside you."

"Now that you say that...I did felt my chakra access become a bit limited..." Kisame said.

"Well, lucky for you I can fix that. Hinata-chan and Neji-san helped me memorized the locations of every chakra point in the body so all I need to do is apply the appropriate pressure in your abdomen and your chakra flow will return to normal." Sakura placed her hand once again on Kisame's abdomen and pressed against it.

"There. That'll do it. And one more thing Kisame-san."

The man looked at her.

"I'd appreciate it if you could abstain yourself from alcohol for a few days."

"What? Are you kidding me? There's no way in hell I'm gonna stop drinking!" Kisame cried.

"I never said that you should stop drinking. I'm just saying to keep from drinking for a few days until I'm sure you've recovered. One of your affected organs was the liver and alcohol damages the liver. I just finished healing it and you drinking will only make it worse. So until you're recovered, no drinking. After that, you can drink all you want. I don't really care what happens to you after that. I just don't want to see my work being ruined. This is a doctor's orders." Sakura gave Kisame a subtle glare while he, in exchange, gritted his shark-like teeth.

"But...if you follow Doctor's orders and be a good patient, I'll reward you. I'll treat you to all the sake you want, how about it?" she winked at him and with that left the room.

Kisame watched and, unconsciously, a small grin was painted on his face. He smirked, "Guess she's not such an annoying bitch after all..."

Sakura decided to go to the bathroom and wash her face; she had taken that habit ever since medic school. She stared at herself in the mirror; her face was damp; the tip of her bangs began to drip water.

As she stared, she began to think about Hinata and Neji.

They fought with Itachi and Kisame. That means that Tsunade has sent them to find me. I wonder if…if they hate me. Do they hate me for leaving them? For becoming a missing-nin? I wonder if…Kakashi-sensei and Ino are with them. What will they do if they do find me? I…I can't go back there. I can't…I…I have to do what I came to do and that is to save Sasuke-kun. Will they hate me for wanting that? I don't want them to hate me…I don't…I'm…I'm scared…

Her eyes began to well with tears, however you couldn't really notice much due that her face was still damp.

I wish I could stay like this…so no one will notice that I was just about to cry…

Her eyes lowered as she saw her attire. She remembered the way the others looked at her, especially Itachi and she certainly didn't like it.

Well, that's what I get for exposing my body. Still, there was no way I was going to let myself be treated as a whore. I don't care what Itachi can do to me. I may be his prisoner, but I'm not going to let him take my dignity away.

Flashbacks of the way his crimson eyes trailed her body haunted her for a moment. She just noticed how lustful his eyes seemed; full of desire and hunger.

That bastard…

She hugged herself in self-comfort; trying to feel secure because even if all he did was look at her, somehow it felt as if his eyes had touched her.

Ino sat on a tree branch as she looked out to the forest. Everyone else was resting to recover emotionally from their previous battle. Her sky-blue eyes gazed with melancholy to the dark green path of the forest as thoughts of Sakura flooded her mind.

"Ino, I need you help please. You have to come with me and help him. He needs our help!" Sakura pleaded.

"I…I'm sorry Sakura…I would but…Tsunade-sama has put me in charge of the critical ward room. I can't leave." Ino said.

"You don't understand…he's alone. If we don't go to him he can die. Please Ino…don't do this to me…please…" Tears began to stream down Sakura's cheeks.

Ino looked at her with regretful eyes; she really wanted to help. "I'm really sorry Sakura. I would do it, you know I would. But…I can't leave the patients that need my help. I'm really sorry…"

She bit her lip as she felt a lump form in her throat. Those memories would always haunt her like a ghost that wouldn't leave; as if they were tormenting her. She felt her eyes begin to well with tears.

If only I had helped her…then maybe…

Suddenly, a voice interrupted her inner thoughts.

"May I join you?" It was Kakashi.

Ino nodded in return as she quickly wiped the tears that had accumulated in her eyes.

"Are you feeling well Kakashi-san?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry if I caused you all to worry." The Copy-nin said.

"Not at all." Ino replied.

A moment of silence came between the two ninjas until Ino broke said silence.

"Kakashi-san, I've been meaning to ask you…"

The silver-haired man looked at her attentively.

Ino bit her lip; somehow her question couldn't come out the way she wanted to. It was if it was caught in her throat, not wanting to get out. Was she afraid of the question, or the answer?

Finally, she managed to speak. "Kakashi-san…what did Itachi tell you when you two fought?"

"He captured Sakura." Kakashi said with a level-headed tone, even though he loathed what came out of his own mouth.

Ino gasped with widened eyes; she covered her mouth with both her hands.

No…

"So….Shikamaru-kun was right…" she lowered her saddened gaze. Kakashi noticed the look in her eyes; they were full of many emotions but the most prevalent one he noticed was guilt, and he knew why.

Ino felt a warm hand on her left shoulder. She turned to look.

"Don't blame yourself Ino. It wasn't your fault." Kakashi said with a gentle and caring voice as he grinned.

It comforted Ino for the time being, as she nodded. "Thank you."

However, it wasn't enough for her. Her feeling of guilt would never leave; she was forever to be damned to feel her heart being torn by what would have been if she had helped Sakura when she had pleaded for her help that day.

Sasori was walking to the kitchen when he noticed Sakura resting her head on the table.

"Haruno-san?" he calmly called out.

Sakura reacted and looked up.

"Is everything alright?" Sasori asked.

Sakura didn't answer at first and merely looked away. Sasori noticed the look in her eyes; they didn't seem as cheerful as they appeared to be when they first met.

The crimson-haired Akatsuki quietly sat on the chair in front of Sakura. Not a word was spoken until Sakura broke the sudden silence.

"I don't understand why…"

Sasori merely looked at her.

"What does Itachi want with me Sasori-san? At this point I should've already been taken to your leader and be dead. Why am I still here? Sasori-san…do…do you know what Itachi wants with me?" the young girl said, almost whispering. The tone of her voice sounded frightened.

"I cannot answer you that because I do not know. No one really knows what Itachi thinks despite the years we've been together as acquaintances. Even Kisame who has been his partner can't really understand him. Because of the kind of persona Itachi is, it is very difficult to tell what are his motives, his intentions and his thoughts. You will just have to find the answer to your question yourself or ask him directly." Sasori answered with a calm and stoic expression on his face.

Sakura's emerald eyes looked down, unsatisfied with Sasori's answer even though she admitted that his words had some truth in them. However, she had already asked Itachi the same question but he didn't really answer her.

"You-you've already captured me. A-at this point I-I should've been ta-taken care of..." She gulped.

"You're mistaken cherry blossom. I'm not done with you; I have plans for you." The Mangekyou wielder returned.

There really wasn't anything she could do but just figure the reason out by herself as Sasori had said. But, thinking of possible ideas as to why caused her goose bumps. It really frightened her to know the truth.

"Sasori-san…where's Itachi?" she asked.

"He left with Kisame. After their confrontation with the Konoha shinobi, they decided to patrol the zone." Sasori answered, again with the same calm and monotonous tone.

Once her short conversation with Sasori was over, Sakura stood up and headed to her room. Sasori made sure Sakura was far enough from the premises when he called Deidara.

"Come out Deidara I know you were listening."

The blonde man came out of the opposite side of the kitchen and entered at Sasori's command.

"Sasori-danna, do you really not have an idea of the reasons Itachi wants Sakura-san, yeah?"

"I can think of a few reasons. But they aren't very pleasant." Sasori replied.

"She's really mortified and tormented about all of this, yeah" Deidara added as he lowered his gaze.

Sasori noticed, "She has all the reason to be. But remember that she brought this upon herself. We do not need to pity her. If this was an injustice I could understand but since this is not the case, I do not see a reason why we should pity the girl. If any, she should be grateful that she's even alive."

Deidara pouted subtly, as he stood pensively. He had adapted that habit whenever he was thinking while worried or unsatisfied with an answer.

"Deidara. Be careful with your comments." Sasori said with a warning tone.

"Meh, you worry too much Sasori-danna. I don't really see what's there to worry about, yeah. I simply just made a comment. You should try and be less serious, yeah." The blonde Akatsuki said and with that he left.

Sasori watched as Deidara departed. He closed his eyelids and sighed heavily. Deidara was a good ninja; he had powerful attacks and knew how to devise strategic plans which almost never failed. Although he was young, he had potential as an Akatsuki.

However, a part of him was always childish and immature. He would get angry over the simplest things and complain or even argue over irrelevant subjects, which really irritated Sasori. In many ways, Deidara was still just a young adolescent boy and Sasori could understand it, which was why he tolerated him.

Deidara…you can be a real handful sometimes…

The young woman decided to go to her room; she needed some time alone. She stood by the window and looked outside at the big tree. It was ironic; the room was her imprisonment and yet for some odd reason it made her feel soothed whenever she would go and stand by the window and gaze at the view.

The big tree outside was the same as the ones in Konoha at her favorite spot. She would go there almost every day and just sit to either read, or just rest. It really soothed her; to be under the shade, feeling the wind caress her face, the way the sound of the wind would resonance with the leaves. To her, there was really no perfect place other than that.

But what truly made it a perfect place wasn't really the place itself, rather than with whom she would be there with. He would always go there with her; hours would pass and they wouldn't notice. Both had suffered a lot, their hearts were still torn and the scars had yet to be fully closed. However, when they were together they would support each other and were like a medicine to one another that would ease the pain; like an ointment for a burn or a bandage for a cut.

If only we could return to those times…

If only I could've stopped the moon that day…

A figure began to appear in the reflection of the window. It was a young blonde man with a huge smile on his face; a unique one; a smile that was so contagious that just by looking at it would make anyone smile back; a smile so bright that it would cheer anyone up no matter what hardships or pain they went through. It was the smile of happiness; Sakura's ray of happiness; the only thing that would always cheer her up and would always make her smile.

A lone tear rolled down the rosette girl's face.

Naruto…kun…

A/N: Yes, Naruto is involved and Ino also feels guilty about not helping Sakura. Any guess as to what might've happend? Sorry to say that I won't be revealing this for a while. hehe Be patience! Sakura's relation with Akatsuki seems to be getting a bit better, excluding Itachi of course. But that's good for her, ne?

Well, chap 5 might be coming soon; await it eagerly! (smiles) Please Read & Review!