Sakura

Sakura continued to sit there in silence as she felt even more furious by the second. Kabuto's words were helpful in some ways, in others, they were infuriating.

"You will be more free here than you would ever be in Konaha. You are bound by so many rules, but here I have few. Escaping is a very logical thing for you to do, however you should have picked better times and techniques in doing it. If you had managed to knock me out before leaving, and had been more stealthy so Sasuke had not found you, you could have escaped. You've got to think of every possibility in your head and have a plan for each. Use your brain more."

Now the young woman was pissed off like no one would believe. Who in the hell does he think he is that he can just sit here and tell me to use my head more?! I didn't ask for his 'advice' and I have a feeling he's only telling me this so that if I try to escape again he can continue to point out my mistakes and things I overlooked in the process! Ugh! Kabuto may or may not have known it, but if she had not been in so much pain, Sakura would have pulled back with her good arm and nicked him pretty good in the face with her angry fist.

"You say that I'd be more free here than I ever would be in Konoha...and yet, you left it. How would you know?"

It really was just an honest question that she was curious of, but the poisonous tone made it very clear that he should stop while he was ahead.

"I must say I'm glad you see that Sasuke shouldn't return. As for the book..well I'll need that back of course. But since I don't plan on letting you leave any time soon, I suppose that can wait."

"I don't plan on giving it back anytime soon, so good luck with that...and don't talk about Sasuke.." she mumbled under her breath, annoyed and badly wanting to hit him in his smug face.

The nerve of him! I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You. Teme! When I get out of here, you'll be in so much pain that you'll be begging for death! CHAAAAA! Inner Sakura put in her two cents, causing the outward Sakura to roll her eyes and glare at the wall so she could at least say she spaced out and didn't have to have her ears lectured off. I'm not a child, dammit...Stop treating me like one....

"Your arm is in bad shape." he said.

Really? I hadn't noticed...

"Of course, you already know that." he continued.

Yeah, now you figure that out? Aren't you a smart one...

"I have some medicine that is already made that can help numb the soreness once you're done taking care of it. If you're a really, really good girl and do what I want, I'll give it to you. And what I want is for you to stop running away..at least for a couple of days. The break would be nice."

...You have got to be kidding me.. Sakura looked up at him when he said this, sarcasm emitting off of her like pools of water as she spoke, though she did at lest try to make it sound polite. After all, she was in no condition to really fight him right now, much less make him mad.

"You have 'got' to be kidding me..."

She started, having to clench her teeth together so it didn't sound rude while she continued. "I...You..."

The kunoichi twitched as did her right eye as she tried to find 'some' words, 'any' words that wouldn't sound 'exactly' how she was feeling towards him right now. She was trying to play it smart, but oh it was hard when he kept pissing her off.

"I..er..Do not..ever...say that...again...f-..." Sakura stopped herself from calling him his 'beloved' nickname as she again tried to find nicer words.

Kami this is hard... "Don't sound so weird..." she finally choked out, literally having to force her mouth closed so the venom she wanted to spout did not get free and cause her more trouble than it had already caused.

"Now then..would you like something to eat? You haven't had food in at least a day." he dared to ask her.

So livid was the young woman by now that she was about to let all of her frustrations out on this boy. In her opinion, he was talking to her like a child, making her feel small in every way, and pushing buttons that he did not really want to press with her. However, as she opened her mouth to release the hellfire that waited within, she stopped. No way... That smile, it was so familiar.

Kami, why did he have to do that?! That damn smile of his had reminded her once more of the Chuunin Exams and how he had even managed to catch her attention away from Sasuke for a short while. When Sakura started to think back on it, however, getting lost in her thoughts, she shook her head as if mentally stabbing herself as punishment for her traitorous reminiscing mind. No way, I'm not giving in that easily! However, she had an idea, a strategy if you will. Hm, on second thought, maybe I can make this work...

She cursed herself in her mind continuously as her body betrayed her by making her seem less upset, having a sweeter tone and being much less hostile. Her mind seemingly started to give way to this little game of theirs, but the pink haired kunoichi now knew what she was going to do and what she was doing right now.

"I'll...be good...at least for a few days...but no, I'm not really hungry...However, it's nice of you to ask considering how rude I've been.."

The young woman hovered her uninjured hand over her broken arm and a light green aura emitted as it started to mend the bone back together. It was painful as hell, but she'd dealt with worse.

Sakura's inner self was twitching and ranting and oh so very angry. Inwardly, she was beating the tar out of herself for even 'thinking' it was a good idea to just play it his way, at least for now. Chill out. I've not submitted myself, okay? I'm playing it smart...When he lets his guard down, he'll be sorry..The only issue I honestly think I would have is getting past Sasuke..and if I plan that right, he won't be around when I escape...

[ My inner self was..not happy with me..to say the least. I knew what I was doing and yet, at the same time, I did not. I knew Kabuto probably knew what I was doing considering my sudden change in attitude, but it mattered very little to me. Wouldn't that just make the game more fun for the both of us? I wanted to say or do anything that would cause me much less trouble, and that was what I did. Yes, I felt as if my pride had been shot, yes, I felt weak, but in a situation such as this, what was I to do? What would anyone else do? It was a game of chess and chess was a strategic game. If he wanted me to play the helpless and obedient damsel, I could do that. My strategy was bound to work over his. He may or may not have known that I'd listened very well to his 'advice' from earlier. It wasn't exactly how I planned on getting out, but new ideas were forming in my head at the time and the second that he or Sasuke felt they had broken me, that would be the time to strike. I'd be the winner of this game even if it killed me. Check, and soon, Checkmate, Kabuto..].

Kabuto

"You say that I'd be more free here than I ever would be in Konoha...and yet, you left it. How would you know?"

How was he supposed to answer? Both the malice in her voice and the question which she asked left him momentarily speechless. He was not expecting such a personal questions, and he doubted she understood that it even was. She was probably expecting another sarcastic comment, but memories of the reason why he left popped in his head. He refused to reveal what he was thinking, and his facial expression remained emotionless. He was, however, deep in a thought he didn't usually explore. He was glad to be gone, and knew he never wanted to step foot in that village again. That disgustingly pathetic, backstabbing village he had first believed to be full of happiness, proved to be a facade of lies. Besides, he found much more happiness here. There was no point of even thinking about the matter.

"And you've never given a chance to any other place. How would you know Konaha is better?" He questioned, avoiding a lengthy and pointless explanation about why he knew Konaha was worse.

Of course, he knew she didn't plan on giving him the information she stole. But he planned on getting it back, so he knew he would. "We'll see.." he said, and could easily tell just how pissed off she was. It seemed like she wanted to crush every bone in his body and disfigure his appearance badly. He almost laughed imagining it. Almost.

The more he spoke, the more he was infuriating her. Part of him liked the feeling. He rather enjoyed pissing her off. There was nothing she could do to him, no way she could hurt him, and so toying with her was amusing. Even more fun was when he suggested she be a good girl. Her face twisted up in disgust and he swore one of her eyes was twitching, which meant he had definitely hit a nerve. It wasn't that he was rude, or even mean to her. He was, in fact, being very kind. Maybe that helped disturb her even more.

I've always been generous, it shouldn't come as such a surprise. She's probably wondering how I'm being so vicious and cruel yet manage to do so pleasantly at the same time. Of course, that's because our ideas of evil are much different.

"I..er..Do not..ever...say that...again...f-..." she was finally able to spit out. His eyes narrowed as she was about to call him that ridiculous nickname, and she seemed to get the hint because she never finished those words.

"Don't sound so weird..." she said, looking as if she was about to be sick.

Oh, he knew he was sounding weird. That was the whole point, and he didn't plan on stopping now. Especially since the smile he gave her seemed to trigger her memories in a way he rather liked. She seemed to be collecting her thoughts and trying to calm down. Now it's her turn to be left speechless..

"I'll...be good...at least for a few days...but no, I'm not really hungry...However, it's nice of you to ask considering how rude I've been.." she told him, kindness dripping from her words.

For a moment, he was stunned. But then he realized it couldn't have been that easy. Still, whether she was truly grateful, or just forcing herself to be nice so that he would leave her alone, it was going to be much easier to deal with an obedient Sakura. He watched her heal herself, and thought about how although she was weak, she was an excellent medic nin. Not as good as him, obviously, but still good.

He then began to wonder..why did Orochimaru want her alive? He didn't think her medical skills were needed, considering Kabuto was devoted and still useful to him. Maybe they were just keeping her alive in case she was needed for some reason. It was possible, but it didn't feel right. Hm..I have a bad feeling about this.

He walked over to the door, but before leaving he turned around to face her. With one hand, he pushed up his glasses. The gleam in the lens hid his eyes, but he smirked.

"I'll bring you your food anyways. If you wait to eat it, it will be cold. You wont get any more food until you finish the first dish" he stated.

Although the tone of his words were polite, the message was clear. He left, sealing the door back up. He didn't need to say it out loud to her. He was sure this one time she could practically hear what he was thinking.

To be a good girl, you're going to do what I want, when I want. And if you don't, you'll be punished.