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Sasuke

Sasuke ran as fast as he could. He knew he had him this time. Closer and closer he got until he was able to reach out and touch his brother's largely recognizable cloak with the red clouds. As soon as he realized this, he leaped forward to attack, tackling the figure to the forest floor, only to find that it was another clone of crows. The birds dispersed leaving the raven haired male on the ground, dirt on his face and blood on his arms. He'd hit the ground pretty hard.

Now Sasuke was mad. "Ee eh!" he shouted, growling under his breath.

Itachi had gotten away and now he had to go back to Sound and face the others with the knowledge that he'd failed. He only hoped that he wouldn't see Kabuto, for that's the one who would mock him the most.

[ Did I mention that by the time I got back and realized that four eyes was gone, it was about half a day later? I'd somehow managed to get myself lost in the deep woods and it took me awhile to find my way back. The news that he'd disappeared with Sakura chan was surprising, to say the least. It began a string of chain reactions that seemed to happen all at once. ]

Sakura

"Ah yes..the Uchiha. I think we're both glad to be rid of that nuisance." that annoying Kabuto spit out at her.

I'll be even more glad once I've rid myself of both nuisances...

"As for caring, you misjudge the situation. I don't care about you as a person, I care about you as my possession..". he continued. Apparently he had to try to explain himself.

"I did not accuse you of caring about me as a person, though I am most certainly not your possession...". she clarified.

"And really, you ought to use a more respectful tone of voice with me. I did, in fact, save your life..but I can easily end it right here.".

"If you were going to end it, you'd have done it when Orochimaru ordered you to". she continued.

Baka four eyes....

Sakura was literally shaking in anger from head to toe. So infuriated was the young woman, in fact, that she almost did not notice the small sarcastic comment that was thrown in there when she had threatened to cause him physical harm. Almost. "Very..scary. I am honestly shaking in fear."

That was it. Even though she had managed to slightly calm herself, the fiery kunoichi narrowed her emerald eyes and spat venom.

"You'll be shaking once I'm done with you.." she mumbled in a rage, folding her arms and trying to calm herself down.

Her heart was literally in pain from her anger, and in her still slightly wounded state, she needed to get it under control. She inhaled sharply, exhaled deeply, closed her eyes for a split second, but then snapped them back open in alarm. The cause? Insane laughter, quite literally. For the smallest of moments, Sakura thought she had broken the silver-haired medic and he'd gone absolutely nuts. Scooting away, the young woman cleared her throat and gave a sort of concerned glance in his direction before reminding herself that he was probably laughing at her, or rather what she'd said. That in itself was infuriating.

Suddenly, as soon as it had come, the laughter ceased and there was silence. Kabuto's face turned very serious and he got closer to the young woman, who instinctively backed into the wall behind her, clenching her fists in sheer, unadulterated, raw anger.

"Sakura..let me share a secret with you." a small smile with a hint of anger laced in it slowly appeared as the young man continued. Sakura's emerald hues widened in surprise, but she did not lose the ferocity in her gaze. "You see..if not for me, you would be dead right now."

I would almost rather be dead than to be here with you anyway, four eyes...

"I don't need any words of thanks so please feel free to hold it back."

That certainly will not be a problem, as I have no intention whatsoever of thanking you...

"The only thing I ask is that you respect me a bit more while you live here. You are a guest."

Respect you? You call me a guest, and yet guests are free to leave when they wish...

"Honestly, I could throw you outside into the cold, heartless winter. But I doubt you'd know where to escape to. We are very far from the place you call home. You would simply freeze to death."

I'll take my chances...

"And as we've established..I'm not ready to kill you just yet. But..if you don't show me a bit of respect..well, I have no problem cutting your body up until it is unrecognizable. Do we understand each other?"

The last part left the young kunoichi speechless, but not for long.

"I find myself not able to believe a few of your words. You need not worry about me thanking you for 'saving my life' as you call it, because I have no issue not thanking you. If you were going to kill me, you'd have done it when you had the chance. As for showing you respect, of all people, you really expect me to do that? Go ahead and cut my body, not like you haven't done it before. The thing that pisses you off more than anything is that you know that no matter what you do, I am not afraid of you. You could bring me to death several times over and I won't make a sound. I won't give you the satisfaction of knowing you caused me pain. So, as I said before, 'four eyes' " Sakura put emphasis on the hated nickname, a small smirk forming on her lips as she regained her composure and confidence

"Check."

In fact, just to piss you off further, I am going to only refer to you as four eyes for the next twenty-four hours..Still think I'm afraid of what you could do to me? Ha!.

[ E-Eh...I suppose it's a little late to say gomenasai for the way I acted back then. To be fair, you were being rather obnoxious yourself and it was getting on my nerves. Eto, I'm also sorry for that punch I gave you the next day, demo you had it coming. Daisuki. {Insert nervous laughter here.} ].

Kabuto

The beginnings of a chilly night were upon them on this evening in the land of snow. Despite the cave walls that protected them from the raging snowstorm that was almost a constant in this dreary environment, it did little good in shielding them from the frigid cold that could be felt deep within a person's flesh. Kabuto shivered lightly, as much from the cold as from the surprisingly intense anger that emanated from the kunoichi mere inches in front of him with the distinctive, rather improbable, and highly impractical pink hair. This shouldn't surprise him. Honestly, he expected her rather..for lack of a better word..pissy mood. In fact, he shared that mood, although for a better justified reason. What left him befuddled was that she totally, completely, without a doubt, read him. Dare he say, somewhat understood him. This annoying plaything of his always seemed to know why he did what he did. And damn it, that smirk of hers. Worse, she knew how to bother, anger, and frustrate him to no end. His cherry blossom even wrapped it all up and tied a beautifully twisted bow around the entire package by using that dreaded, god awful nickname.

He did, however, gain a small satisfaction in his own ability to piss her off. If she was so adament on remaining so fearless, or at least acting like so, at least he could leave her practically seething in anger. So although at first he fumed with extreme anger at her words, the emotion soon bubbled over to a cruel, sadistic smile that rivaled even the most devious of people. Why? He realized that he could still have fun. He would have his fun, and when she was all used up he would slaughter her without remorse. And then every small, pathetic moment of weakness he had experienced with her before would be forgotten. He wouldn't have to deal with that any longer. It was the permanent fix to his temporary problem.

He had her back pressed up against the wall, and even better, she was still on her bed in such a vulnerable position. If he were a different kind of person, and if this was anyone but her, his mind might be in a completely different place. All he could think of was the amount of suffering he would put her through.

He leaned closer, pressing one palm into the chilly wall to the right of her head to balance himself properly as well as, essentially, trap her. They were only an inch or so apart now, and he looked directly into those emerald orbs of hers that narrowed with anger. His eyes didn't share that emotion, but instead glistened with delight. His smile grew, undertones of a lurking darkness creeping into each corner.

"Oh Sakura chan.. you truly don't know when to shut up. What a waste. You have so much talent, so many possibilities, yet you waste it all. That is why you're weak. That is why you're going to die.. all alone and by my bare hands."

An amused chuckle escaped his lips. In that very same second, the sharp blade of a cool metal kunai pressed into her neck just enough to barely draw blood.

"Or..maybe not just with my hands. It's so much more fun this way. Don't worry..I wont kill you yet. Originally, I had planned to keep you alive..but you haven't been a good girl lately, have you?"

The weapon slowly trailed her collarbone, breaking the skin in the process.

"Since you so kindly gave me permission to cut you up..well, that is exactly what I'm going to do."

Cut away the problem..cut away the problem and get rid of her. Slowly, of course..do it over a couple of weeks. Make her pay.. he told himself. To any mind reader, he would have sounded quite insane. Maybe a part of him was. But oh, he blamed her. He had to, because there was no way he could blame himself. He had stopped that a long, long time ago. And it was her fault, anyways. She had come in and tempted him to keep around such a nuisance. Her stubborn nature interested him, and kami that pissed him off.

His thoughts only reminded him further of why he was doing this, and he reacted by pushing the kunai deeper in her skin, holding the handle firmly as he twisted it. His body forced its way closer, not for the physical contact that he couldn't care less about, but to stop any of her struggling. He knew she would probably try to fight back any second, really he did, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try to prevent it. The blade continued on its path, this time moving up her neck and to her chin, and he forcibly pushed her head up with it so she would look straight at him

Perhaps this move wasn't his smartest, because something in her eyes made him almost want to stop. He didn't know why, because considering how clearly her hate for him reflected in her colored irises he should be more intent on making her really scream. He shivered once more, frowning slightly, as the cold striked him once more and his hot blooded sadism momentarily disappeared. For a second, the pressure he put on the blade diminished. But no. He would not allow this. There was no way he would let her get to him again. He pushed into her flesh once more, this time with twice the pressure, and watched as her crimson blood poured from the wounds he created along her neck. Knowing that this was his doing filled his entire being with a sense of pride..and just a tad bit of something else. Something he vowed to completely and utterly ignore.

He backed away from her, deciding that this needed a bit of a..change. Cutting her up just wasn't fulfilling the desire within him. He didn't know what else to do..besides change the game up a little. Maybe she had gotten that "check" she so desired, but it was so easy to counter that he had to do something. He had to get her hopes up so he could crash them all down. He calmly backed away until his back met with the door, crossing his arms. He stared at her like this for a moment before using one hand to firmly press his glasses up and the other to very casually toss his kunai at her.

"Consider it an act of kindness towards the enemy, but I really hate to break and beat you so easily." he explained, tempted to feign a yawn just to prove how easy this was, "Although, frankly speaking, you're in no shape to fight me. Considering your legs, you'd have to crawl and stumble over here just to get the chance to attack. So..how about I just let you keep the kunai for a later date. There's no rush." he suggested, chuckling slightly.

He turned his back to her, facing the door. "I hope you don't do something silly like try to kill yourself. Suicide isn't your style, cherry blossom. Please have patience, death will come to you soon. I apologize for such an agonizing wait, but really, its necessary".

Is it necessary because of revenge, or for the fun of it, or maybe because you still can't kill her? he asks himself.

..Perhaps a bit of all three?