Sakura
Sakura listened intently to every word that flew from Kabuto and Sasuke's mouths. She stared through the crack in the door becoming more and more surprised by the minute. The young woman wondered to herself just what exactly was going on. Why were the two in such a frenzy? Clearly, they only talked about her like she were a possession, but Sakura wanted to know why, if that were the case, were they so intent on defeating the other one just to get to her. Kabuto's words snapped the girl out of her thoughts and she shook her head of her previous pondering to watch and listen. "You want her, just like I do. Don't accuse me of caring. They're two very different things, and perhaps if you knew how to use that half empty brain of yours you would realize that. I could kill you right now. I should kill you right now. Perhaps I will.".
Now she was beginning to get irked. Obviously, she was a girl. A human being. But here two men were talking about her like she wasn't. Out of sheer annoyance, emerald orbs took turns twitching as the inner anger started to heat up. It had not yet boiled over, oh no, far too soon for that. The kunoichi was patient enough to let things slide if something else quickly happened after word to sate her utter irritation.
Sasuke accused the silver haired man of being jealous that Orochimaru chose the Uchiha over him. Sakura rolled her eyes. Big ego and a thick skull, as always...Sasuke kun... she thought to herself, pulling back for a small moment to rub her itching nose. Wood could be very itchy when one leaned against it for too long, you see. "You think I could possibly be jealous of you? No. I simply disagree with Orochimaru's decision. There are other ways of gaining power without dealing with someone like you." Clearly, Kabuto san disagrees with Sasuke kun's words...Oh Kami...Are they going to sit there and bicker all day? Go on. Have at it. At least I would be saying that if the damn door was open...I still haven't thought of another escape plan...though I suppose I do have a few days..I promised I wouldn't run away...demo, why did I do that...? I owe him nothing and he is holding me here against my will...And Sasuke kun is a bit scary...At least, he would be if I had to go with him...Which I hope I do-OW! The kunoichi jumped back as Kabuto came flying backward into the door. Her nose had gotten squished and was in a lot of pain. "Itaii, itaii...Kami that hurts.." she mumbled, wondering what was going on. She'd been so lost in thought that she'd not heard Sasuke's groan of pain. "N-Nani?".
Sakura did not get the chance to figure out what had happened because pretty soon, there was a third person in the mix. The laughter as well as the voice sent chills up the young woman's spine and she shivered involuntarily, pulling back for a small moment in the hopes of not being seen. "Heh heh heh.. I had a feeling you would be unhappy, Kabuto, but I never expected this. Fighting over a toy? How childish..At least this toy is useful. As I'm sure Sasuke mentioned, I told him to take her for awhile. You could use the break, hm?" ...If one more person refers to me as a possession or a toy...I am going to lose it... Emerald eyes twitched but anger was soon sated by fear and sadness. Sakura's heart sank into her stomach as those words sunk in. It soon made her realize that she really did not have much of a choice, or really one at all in this situation. Oh Kami, no...I don't want to go with Sasuke kun...I really don't...I'd rather deal with Kabuto ku-...Kabuto san...for the rest of my life than have to be stuck under his care...True, he's awful...demo at least he's not as scary....
"I need you for other things, Kabuto." Silence. A long pause. Then more words. "I am fully capable of handling the girl." Sakura rubbed her sore nose and tried to focus. What was going on? Was Kabuto actually not listening to Orochimaru? This peaked her interest. Kami, just what is going on...?.
"Are you defying me?" More contemplating. More of a pause. "No, of course not Orochimaru sama." "Good. Now come with me." The young woman's heart sank even further into the depths of her stomach. She felt like she was going to be sick. Shimata, shimata, shimata! Sasuke kun is going to come in here any second...Oh hell... She even went so far as to concentrate her chakra waves into her feet and stick them to the floor. No way. I'm not budging. You'll have to break my legs...Which I'm sure you will...On second thought... The hold on the floor was released before she did it again. Nope. Still worth it... Then, there was a bit of a surprise. "I have some unfinished business with the kunoichi. I apologize, orochimaru sama, but Sasuke had rudely interrupted and I had acted rashly. He can have her, however there's something I'd like to do first. May I meet up with you later?" Great...So I get to deal with him for another minute or so before he let's Sasuke kun have me...This is not my day...First my plan backfires, now this....
"You're becoming brave, Kabuto. But go ahead. I don't particularly care either way.".
Orochimaru was soon gone. Sakura could hear his footsteps as the echo got quieter and quieter until it was nonexistent. Before she could pull back all of the way though, the door opened. Half expecting to see Sasuke, she jumped back, a squeak escaping her as she landed on the bed and backed very far up into the wall. Seeing it was only Kabuto though, she relaxed, well, a bit anyway.
"Where is the book?" He asked. "If you don't hand it to me, I will have to tear this place apart. Because if its in here, Sasuke will likely find it You may not believe me, but that is one of the last things you want. There are classified things in there, even to him. Especially to him. So I will ask you nicely once more. Where is it?"
The kunoichi pondered his words. He wanted something from her. He needed it. For a long moment, Sakura pondered on whether or not to give him the book. "You won't find it..." she said simply, mimicking his quiet voice.
For a moment or two, it almost seemed like she wasn't going to give him the book, but then she even surprised herself. Undoing her shirt just enough to reach her hand in, the young woman pulled out a black book and handed it to him. "I will be needing this back..." were her words as a small smile tugged at her lips. However, she soon wiped it away and forced herself to be serious. "The only reason I am giving you this now is out of sheer spite. I don't want Sasuke kun to get his hands on this...So here..."
With that, she closed her shirt back up and leaned back. No sooner had she leaned back before she heard a small sigh and felt her chin being very forcefully pushed upward. Emerald green soon met deep onyx. She tried to pull away and look elsewhere, but to no avail. Hearing only one very oddly reassuring thing. "He wont have you for long. You're mine, don't forget that.".
Sakura stared into Kabuto's onyx eyes for a moment, listening to his words and blinking several times before simply shoving his hand away from her. "I most certainly am not 'yours'..demo..I do hope I'm not with Sasuke kun for long..." For a moment, it surprised even her that she was willing to share that kind of information with him. Still, in times of fear, one could be weak. As much as she hated to admit it, she had a moment of weakness. It won't be happening again....
[ It was very oddly reassuring because I was most definitely not going to admit to being owned like a possession by anyone, much less him. However, the fact that I would not be with Sasuke kun for very long was a rather large relief. My head was pounding. Dull thumping in my chest made it apparent that my cheeks were a slight tinge of pink. It felt very odd to be handled in such a way by another person. Obviously, no one else dared to do such a thing to me. Still, things were getting very interesting. Ano..I won't go into detail about what happened with me and Sasuke kun. That is still sometimes very painful to discuss... ].
Sasuke
[ When I say I was pissed off at the fact that I'd been blinded by my victory enough for that damn Kabuto to get in a punch on me, that is not even close to the right word. That silver haired teme made me bleed. He didn't just make me bleed, he broke my nose. I now knew the first thing Sakura would be doing in my 'care.' I was even mad that Orochimaru had to go and interrupt when I was about to teach the man a lesson. Oh, he may not have known it, but I was planning on doing a lot more to Sakura chan than originally, because he pissed me off...And I knew it would make him angry to see that someone else had harmed his toy. ].
"I want her? I want to toy with her and her fragile mind...Demo if you really don't care for her, why get so defensive, hn? It's not an accusation if it's simply an observation.."
Uchiha Sasuke growled in pain as the punch came into collide with his surprisingly sensitive nose.
"Teme..." he snarled, reaching for his sword and preparing to attack.
Kabuto was in a fighting stance, and this intrigued the young man. Hmph...All of this over Sakura chan...? Pathetic...You can say you don't care about her all you want, but no one is so possessive of a 'toy' that they are willing to fight like this...I can see it in his eyes..He really does mean to kill me.. An evil and taunting smirk formed at the edge of his lips. Perfect.. The young Uchiha ignored the fact that Orochimaru was even there. The only time he even acknowledged him was when he stated that Sasuke indeed was allowed to go in and take Sakura with him. As Kabuto made the excuse that he still had 'unfinished' business, the boy made a sort of 'Tch' sound and leaned against the wall.
"Go ahead. Demo, do hurry. It's my turn to play with the toy a little.." His smirk widened because he knew it would get under the silver haired male's skin, but he also said it to strike fear into Sakura, which it did.
Naruto
"I'm certain that you will do your best, Naruto." Itachi soon sped off in the direction of his partner.
"Oi, matte! Itachi san, you didn't answer my question! Dattebayo!" Naruto pouted after calling the man and not getting a response. "What do we do, Kakashi sensei..?" He questioned his teacher.
The older man sighed as he leaned against the tree. Naruto is reckless...If I let him go in there throwing fists and making threats, Sakura chan might die...Demo...If we stay out here and do nothing, she might still die...We have to consider all of the possibilities...
"Oi, Kakashi sensei! Dattebayo! You there?" Naruto was waving his hand in front of his teacher's face with a concerned and questioning expression.
"Gomen." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head nervously and glanced toward the place he suspected was the Sound's hideout. "Naruto, if I let you go in there, you have to promise that you won't do anything reckless...This is not a game...Sakura chan really could die...".
The realization of this hit the blond boy hard. He swallowed a lump in his throat and followed Kakashi's eyes so he could look at what he saw. "Is that the hideout..?"
"I believe so.."
"I'll be back soon, Kakashi sensei! You can count on me!" With that, Naruto 'stealthily' ran off in the direction of the cave. Kakashi stayed close by, but was very worried. This has 'bad idea' written all over it....
Kabuto
Kabuto's sudden entrance surprised Sakura, making her jump back and squeal in a mixture of fear and anger. He watched as her eyes slowly landed on him, and then her body relaxed. It almost seemed like she was relieved to see him, which didn't make sense. It would make more sense for her to hate me and look at me in disgust rather than thankfulness. He pondered, before realizing why she was acting this way. I see. She was expecting Sasuke. Of course she could hear everything that had happened. That look in her eyes..she seemed very afraid.
After politely asking for the book, he expected her to immediately deny his request. However, instead she was silent. He wondered if she was considering it.
"You won't find it..." she assured, thereby vanquishing any hope of her cooperation. His eyes narrowed in anger. Why must she make everything so difficult? He began glancing around, trying to figure out where it was, when she started to undo her shirt. His attention immediately drew to her and he blinked a couple times, clearly confused. When she reached in behind her shirt, he wasn't exactly sure what to expect. And the book that popped into view was definitely unexpected. He watched her reach out to him with it, and he realized that she was actually giving it to him. "I will be needing this back..."
Her words brought humor to his eyes, and a small grin lurked on his lips. Even now she was playing right back with him. It seemed she wasn't about to admit defeat. He reached out and took the book from her. Even if she was temporarily the Uchiha's..their fun wasn't finished yet. "It seems you're sacrificing your queen. A mere pawn has just given up her most practical piece." he stated, chuckling a bit. However, when his laughter disappeared, a series look crossed is face. He was lost in his thoughts for only a moment, but in that moment many emotions passed his eyes. He was confused, angry, annoyed, and just a little bit of something else.
"Thank you" he said finally. He knew how to be polite, after all. He didn't expect the same in return, however for some reason he felt obligated to say this.
"The only reason I am giving you this now is out of sheer spite. I don't want Sasuke kun to get his hands on this...So here..." she explained, and his words made him realize something. She truly did not want Sasuke to have her. She gave him the book because although he was her enemy, although Sasuke was her childhood friend, she preferred him. He didn't understand why, and he didn't ask. He simply took it to mean that she liked him more than the uchiha brat, that he was better than him. He refused to let this go to his head, although considering it was the first time he had ever been seen as superior to another, it was rather hard to not be pleased.
She was his, and he claimed her as such. And, as expected of the interesting pink haired woman in front of him, she retaliated to his touch. "I most certainly am not 'yours'..demo..I do hope I'm not with Sasuke kun for long..."
Her words only proved his thoughts to be true. She really did like him more than sasuke. And the tone of her words..she seemed reassured, as if she couldn't wait to be back under his control. Although he knew that was only because the alternative to him was much worse, this pleased him. Finally, someone other than Orochimaru tolerates me. he thought, then realized how pathetic his thoughts sounded. Not that I care. he added on, assuring that he in fact did not care what she thought of him.
{Heh, I could be very clueless back then. I still can be. I suppose you couldn't expect me to realize and accept what I was beginning to feel. I believe you were beginning to feel it too, although neither of us knew it at the time. All I could think was that I liked this new toy of mine. I still do. Although now, of course, you're only my toy every couple of nights.}
Itachi
He had caught up to Kisame quickly. As he had expected, his friend had no questions and acted as if nothing happened. Kisame was intelligent and understood why Itachi remained silent, although neither of them talked about it specifically out loud. The trust the two had for one another was strong.
"It shouldn't be much longer until we arrive, no more than a day" Kisame stated, looking straight ahead.
"Hai."
Sasuke..I apologize for doing this to you. he said to himself, knowing he could never say this until his last, dying breath. He know his little brother would refuse to forgive him, and it would pain him too much to hear.
Kabuto
He had left the room without a goodbye. He didn't know the words to say, he wasn't sure it was appropriate, and he felt as if his declaration that he would be back soon was enough. He simply stared into her eyes deeply for a moment, then turned around and stepped outside with his book to see Sasuke, ready and waiting. His eyes narrowed in disgust at first, until he saw his broken nose. He couldn't hold back the laughter that poured from his lips.
"You look more pathetic than I thought possible" he said, pushing up his glasses. "Really, Uchiha, the look suits you. A Bloody and battered broken nose. I'd try the style, but for some reason I don't think it would look quite right on me."
He walked away, a smirk plastered on his face, and went to go join orochimaru with little clue as to what he was needed for.
He had walked out of the snake like mans office, not sure how he should feel. Naruto was coming and he would be here soon. The akatsuki wouldn't be far behind.
"May I ask what will happen to our captive?" Kabuto had asked.
"Why are you so invested in this girl, Kabuto? It is very unlike you, especially because it has affected your devotion and work to our cause. "
"My apologies, Orochimaru sama. She is simply one of the hardest prisoners to break and I am determined to have my way with this one. "
"Ah, well I suppose we will have to keep her around until you do, since you seem to be enjoying yourself so much.
{ There was no way for me to know, at the time, that Orochimaru had been lying. I should have expected it. But I wonder, even if I had known what his intentions were, would it have changed anything? I don't think so. I would have told myself that I could do it, until the very end when I had no choice but not to. But at least you know now that I could never let you die. My feelings made things more..difficult..and ruined a lot of things for me. But you're worth it, Sakura. }