Sakura jolted awake, and quickly after regretted doing so. Her body was sore and she was dirty. She looked around. There were three brick walls around her, and a cell door. The room she was in was barren- no objects were to be seen other than some chains nailed into the walls.

Where am I? Why am I here? What happened to me? How could this have happened? Thoughts ran in and out of Sakura's head. She tried to stand up and walk toward the cell gate, but she was bound to her spot by chains. The girl was tired and felt weak. Her chakra levels were extremely low, resulting in her being unable to escape her bondage. She guessed her kidnappers had drained her of her energy.

As Sakura tried to look for any way of getting free, footsteps distracted her from her thoughts. Just outside of the cell door stood Itachi and Kisame. Kisame's lunatic and pure evil look caused Sakura to fear him, but not nearly as much as she feared Itachi. It seemed like the Uchiha was completely emotionless. His eyes held no feeling and even if he was thinking about something, you wouldn't be able to tell.

It was silent for a while as the wielder of the Sharingan stared at the pink haired girl, along with his teammate. The silence was finally broken when the shark man spoke.

"Well, well. You better be lucky that Itachi needs you right now, or I would definitely teach you a lesson. It wasn't very nice of you to punch me like you did. Oh, how I so wish I could rip you to shreds with my shark skin sword."

Sakura waited before replying. She wanted to see if Itachi, or Kisame, would just go ahead and tell her why she was there, but when no one spoke, she finally replied.

"I would be happy to hurt you again if I could. What do the two of you want with me? What could I possibly have that S-ranked criminals need?"

"My pal here is having problems with his eyes, and you're going to fix the issues."

"There are many medical ninjas out there. You didn't have to go out of your way to come after me. Plus, what makes you think I would ever help scum like you?"

The grin Kisame already had planted on his face grew larger.

"I don't think you understand, girl. You don't have a choice. Either you help Itachi, or we will have no need for you, and we couldn't just let you walk away. If you don't help him, we'll kill you. If you decide to be a good little girl and assist him, we'll take you back home."

Sakura had always been loyal to her village, and helping any member of the Akatsuki would be a form of betrayal. She was scared. She didn't want to be killed, and had no doubt in her mind that if she proved to be useless, the two cloaked men would have no problem disposing of her. She thought hard. Tsunade would understand why she had to help an enemy, right? She wasn't left with any other choice.

Sakura sighed heavy in defeat.

"I...guess I'll have to help, but, answer me this one question: why me? Why did y'all travel all the way over to the Hidden Leaf Village, just to kidnap me?"

Finally, for the first time, Itachi spoke.

"You are the only one who can heal my eyes."

The cherry blossom's eyes widened. She didn't understand.

"How could that be? Why can only I do it?"

"I know that your mother and father were murdered a little over a year ago, and that you don't really have any other blood relatives that you know of, but you come from more of a special family than you may think. The Haruno Clan has a special kind of chakra that is ideal for healing and controlling. You learned quickly under Tsunade, did you not? Why do you think that is? Even the Fifth Hogake herself couldn't master healing techniques and chakra control as fast as you did. The point being, your unique chakra leads you to be the only person who can properly and completely heal my eyes."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had always admired clans such as the Uchiha and Hyuga because they were strong and held high status. Now, she was learning that her clan had a specialty of its own. For a moment she couldn't speak. Once she had gathered herself, she continued the conversation.

"I never knew... I have another question, though. What exactly is wrong with your eyes? From what I've heard, your skill and strength haven't faltered."

Kisame's voice randomly broke in after she finished speaking.

"Itachi, I'm getting extremely hungry. I'm going to the base to get food. Do you need me back, or can you handle this on your own?"

The Uchiha glared at Kisame, causing him to tense up. The swordsman knew he had offended Itachi by asking him if he required his assistance to handle one measly teenage girl. He quickly left without waiting for an actual answer, because the glare was indication enough.

Once Itachi heard the door to the outside click shut, he began speaking again.

"The Sharingan is a great and powerful tool, but like most things, this power comes at a price. My eye sight is going, and if I let it go on untreated, not only will I lose the ability to use the Sharingan and the ability to see correctly, but I will also become deadly ill. That is why I cannot afford to waste anymore time. I need my eyes fixed soon."

"Aside from me not wanting to help you, there is one more problem. I know little about the Sharingan, so it will be very difficult for me to help you at all."

"I have books and scrolls that provide almost all information about the Sharingan. I will have you read them so you may perform the task given to you."

"One more thing, Uchiha."

"What is it, Haruno?"

"I know I'm the prisoner, but can I please go somewhere other than this cell?"

Itachi looked the girl over for a moment, and then walked into the cell. He bent down and undid the chains around her ankles and wrists. Sakura could have used the opportunity to fight him or run, but she knew she wouldn't stand a chance of escaping either way. Instead, she stood and waited for the crimson-eyed man to guide her to another place.

"I am no fool. It would be a bad idea to let you walk out of this holding area and to the base without covering your eyes. If you saw the area and we let you go, you may be able to give the Hidden Leaf a clue as to where the Akatsuki hideout is located. I have a cloth. Tie it around your head and make sure it blocks your vision."

With that being said, Itachi held out a thick, black cloth to Sakura. She took it and made sure it disabled her vision, just as he had instructed her to do. She wasn't even going to attempt to trick him.

When Sakura was done, she put her hands back at her sides. She felt the Uchiha's hand wrap around her own. He began to walk and she followed. He stayed just slightly in front of her so that he could watch her as they walked, to make sure she didn't lift the cloth at any time.

The frightened kunoichi was walking too slow for Itachi's taste. She was afraid that she would run into something, since he was more to her side than leading her. Growing impatient, the Akatsuki member let go of her hand and got behind her. She felt him place his hands at her side. Sakura hated to admit it, but she kind of liked it.

Itachi led her the rest of the way to the base this way. Once they were inside, he released her and took off her blind fold. She examined the area. They were standing in a small area that lead to a hallway. She looked to her left and saw people's shoes. She assumed they belonged to the other members of the Akatsuki. The cloaked man beside her removed his shoes and put them with the others. She followed his example and did the same.

After Sakura's shoes were off and in the pile with the rest of the footwear, Itachi led her down a maze of hallways and to a room. He opened the door and stepped aside so that she could go inside. She stepped passed the Uchiha and scanned her surroundings. The room was well sized. Against the back wall was a king sized bed that had black sheets and four red pillows, and there was a nightstand to each side of the headboard. On the far right was a door to a bathroom, and on the near left wall was a door to the closet. All of the walls had painted designs on them. The paintings resembled a field or meadow, and behind Itachi's bed was a cherry blossom tree. Sakura turned to Itachi as he entered the room and closed the door.

"This is one of the most beautiful rooms I have ever seen. It's even better than some high class hotels I've slept in while on missions. These paintings are extremely good. Who did them?"

Itachi looked over the artwork on his walls before answering.

"I did."

Sakura couldn't believe it. She had never seen any art so magnificent, and it had been done by a murderous, S-ranked criminal.

"Wow.. That's amazing, Uchiha. I love it. I didn't know you had any talents other than the ninja skills you obviously possess."

"Well, things aren't always as they seem."

Itachi brushed past Sakura and took off his cloak. He folded it up neatly and put it on top of a dresser in his closet. Then, he took off his shirt. Sakura could feel the warmth rising in her cheeks as a blush graced its way across her face. Itachi was very well built and it was unquestionable that he kept in shape. The girl didn't want to anger him by staring, but every time she would look away, her eyes would return to him. This happened multiple times before he looked at her. The blush grew even redder. The Uchiha gave her a questioning glace.

"What is it, Haruno? Your face is extremely red. Are you hot or something?"

"N-no." Sakura stuttered. "I'm, uh, just embarrassed because... I'm filthy, and, hmm.. I never allow myself to get this dirty."

Itachi stared at her for a few seconds. It seemed like he was trying to decide whether to buy what she just said or not. He ultimately chose just to let it go.

"I am about to take a shower. You may take one after I am through, if you are that bothered by your 'unsanitary' condition."

With that, the kunoichi's captor walked into the bathroom and shut the door. She knew there was still no point in trying to escape. He probably had traps and barriers set up for her just in case. Instead, the pink headed ninja sat on the edge of the bed and let herself drift into deep thought.