Sakura woke sluggishly, immediately realizing that the warmth consuming her through the night was gone. Itachi had left once again. I wonder what exactly he does when he leaves me in here… I guess it would be best for me to just stay in the dark about it, she thought to herself. She began to stretch, then stilled as she heard the stomping of running feet not too far away from the bedroom door. Oh Kami, not again.
The door burst open and in came a man with an orange mask over his face. He was panting heavily with his hands placed on his knees. "Whoops!" he exclaimed in a rather childish voice. "I hope I didn't break the door! Itachi-San would kill me for it! Maybe I should check… No, wait! I came in here for a reason. Uhmm… Hmm… What was it? Oh yeah! The girl with that candy colored hair! Found her!"
"Are you talking about me?" Sakura asked cautiously. Although the man seemed innocent enough, he still wore the Akatsuki cloak, which meant anything could happen.
"Yes I am! Oh wow, you're even prettier than Itachi-San made you out to be!" the mysterious member giggled out.
"Itachi spoke of me?"
"Oh yes! He told all of us—the rest of the Akatsuki, I mean—about you at the last meeting! I guess he felt like he had to since you had that run-in with Hidan! He can be so mean sometimes. I'm sorry that you had to meet him! Anyway, Ita-San told us that you were under his protection and not to mess with you!"
Did he just address Itachi as "Ita-San?" Is he some kind of a joke? He seems nice, though, which is an improvement around here, Sakura thought. All of a sudden, another man came through the already open door. He had long blonde hair that covered one eye and an exasperated look plastered on his face.
"TOBI!" he hollered, obviously speaking to the masked imbecile. "Was it really all that necessary for you to run ahead and barge into Itachi's room like that?!"
"Deidaraaa-Samaaa! I just really wanted to see her!" Tobi whined, possibly using the puppy-dog eyes on his companion from under the mask.
"Ugh, shut up, Baka," Deidara commanded Tobi before focusing on Sakura. "Hey there, hn. As you should have already figured out, I'm Deidara, and that's Tobi. We came here because—"
"Because Itachi-San wanted us to get you some breakfast! Don't worry, we don't bite!" Tobi interrupted.
"Dammit, Tobi! Could you stop being so annoying!"
"I'm sorry, Dei-Sama!"
"Don't call me that!"
Sakura couldn't help but to giggle. She had been tricked before, but she felt as though she could trust these two. Besides, if they wanted to hurt her, they already could have—not to mention they seemed to be pretty harmless.
"Breakfast sounds great right now," she told the men in front of her with a smile.
At Sakura's words, Tobi began to march out of the door. Deidara and the pink-haired ninja followed. The group made their way down the jumble of hallways that seemed to have no serious layout plan and finally ended up in the kitchen.
"So, uh, I can cook," the blonde haired criminal stated. "What would you like, hn?"
"Oh, just whatever is easiest for you to make would be fine. I don't want to be a burden," Sakura replied.
"PANCAKES! MAKE PANCAKES!" Tobi sang while hopping up and down and clapping.
"If it will shut you up, I'll do it," Deidara spat before he began to get ready to make pancakes.
Sakura sat silently for a while, listening to the two men shoot comments back and forth. It was entertaining and helped her take her mind off of all the stress.
"Here are your pancakes, hn. Eat up. I know that you'll be healing Itachi's eyes, so I figure you need your strength. I don't know much about that stuff, but it seems like a taxing job," the blonde haired man rambled as he placed a plate of fresh breakfast in front of Sakura.
"Wow, this looks delicious! Thanks so much!" she exclaimed and then began devouring her food.
The room remained quiet while the trio ate. It was a pleasant kind of silence—one that Sakura felt comfortable being a part of. After all of them finished off the last bit of their meal, Tobi abruptly broke the peace.
"So, Saku-Kun, how are you feeling?!"
Sakura thought about the masked man's question for a moment. "What do you mean?"
"Well, Tobi knows that your stay here hasn't been very nice! I was hoping that a bit of friendly company would put a smile on your pretty girl face!"
"That's extremely kind of you, Tobi! I am feeling a lot better now, thank you!"
A blush crept its way onto the young kunoichi's face at her new acquaintance's words. She genuinely appreciated the couple's attempt to make her situation more bearable. I wonder if….maybe Itachi has expressed any interest in me to them?" Sakura thought to herself, and then decided to subtly bring up the issue.
"So… What exactly did Itachi say when he told the rest of the organization of my presence?"
"If I remember correctly," Deidara started, putting a hand on his chin, "he said, 'As some of you have already noticed, there is a female ninja in the facility that is not of our organization. Leave her be. She is of importance to me and is under my protection. My eyes have been causing me a great deal of problems and she is to fix them. If she winds up dead or injured, my eyes will continue to become more and more of a nuisance, and I will inflict immense pain on the person who destroys my source of remedy.' That's all I remember, I mean. All and all he said you were his property; you're his to use and do with as he pleases so no one should mess with you. "
Sakura's once rosy cheeks flushed to pale white. She felt her heart pounding against her chest. Her captor had spoken of her as if she were a mere tool, which she understood to an extent. He had shown some special interests in her that she knew he could not express to his fellow members. However, when he addressed them all, he spoke as though she held no meaning to him other than being one of the only ways to heal his damaged eyes. Itachi had not described her as a person, but had acknowledged her as just another instrument at his disposal.
"Thanks again for the amazing meal. I would appreciate it if you could take me back to my room. I should really get back to my research," the devastated girl choked out as normally as she could, forcing a convincing smile onto her face.
"Alright, I understand. We'll take you back," Deidara replied.
The walk back to the room was short, but this made it no less torturous. It was difficult for Sakura to maintain a level of enthusiasm so that her companions would not question her sorrow. When they made it back to the room, the brokenhearted girl was relieved.
"I appreciate everything you've done for me this morning."
"It's no problem, Miss!" Tobi shouted. "We'll come back to check on you some other time! Good luck on your important stuff!"
With that, the two men left, leaving Sakura to herself. She sank down to the floor, her tears reaching the ground before she did. It angered her that she could not figure out why the situation hurt her so much. Maybe it was because she had been rejected by her first love for so long and she didn't want to go through it again; maybe it was because she felt like Itachi had never really felt for her, but had made it seem that way so that when he gave her back her chakra to carry out her duties, she would not try and escape. Regardless of the reasons, Sakura's heart had split in two. She cursed herself for letting herself fall for the man who had captured her. The sooner I heal his eyes, the sooner I can leave and try to move on with my life. I'm sure he won't have a hard time doing that, she thought to herself as she gathered the scrolls and books she had yet to read.
After about two hours of intense studying, Sakura heard the bedroom door open. She briefly looked up to see Itachi entering the room, and then quickly averted her eyes back to the text she was going over.
"I see you have been working hard during my absence. I trust that Tobi and Deidara fed you as I asked them to?" the raven haired man inquired.
The agitated kunoichi hastily nodded her head in response.
"Have you learned quite a bit from your studies today? I have come to take you to Kisame. We will be giving you some of your chakra back."
Once again, Sakura gave the same response.
"…What is the matter, Sakura?" Itachi questioned.
"What does it matter to you? Oh wait, it doesn't. I'll just say that I'll be getting your eyes fixed, so let's hurry up and give me back a bit of my chakra so that I can begin to experiment a bit."
Green eyes glared into red as the rosette haired captive stormed passed her captor and into the hallway.
"Well, let's go."
Itachi was curious about Sakura's erratic behavior, but decided to put the issue aside for later. He brushed passed her and escorted her to what seemed like some sort of training area. Kisame stood in the center, flashing his sharp teeth through a crooked smile.
"If you'll just step over here, I'll transfer some of your chakra back over to you. Don't worry, I'll try not to bite," the shark man chuckled out.
Sakura did as she was asked and stood close to Kisame. She watched as he sped through a series of hand signs, and then placed one hand on her stomach and the other on his sword. She felt a surge of energy as a portion of her chakra flowed back into her. It felt nice to have even a bit of her power returned. The jutsu took no time at all, as they were finished within minutes.
"Thank you," the pink haired teenager muttered under her breath.
"Don't mention it. Be sure to make this worth my while by healing my partner up. He makes it extremely easy to get my missions done, and without him, my work would be a hassle," Kisame responded.
"Yeah, I'll be sure to do that," Sakura stated before following Itachi back to the room.
The crimson eyed criminal closed the door after his medical ninja was inside, and then turned to her.
"It seems that something is bothering you."
"I'm just ready to get this over with; I'm ready to go home."
Itachi's eyes narrowed as he looked over Sakura.
"You will tell me what is troubling you, girl."
"I have a name. I am a person, you know. It isn't really significant if something is bothering me as long as I get your eyes done."
"Obviously, the matter is of some significance if I am addressing the issue."
"What, are you scared one of your 'precious' tools may be broken? I'll be fine!"
There was a pitch change in Sakura's voice that Itachi did not overlook. It was clear that the girl was distressed.
"One of my 'precious tools'? Are you referring to yourself?" the expert ninja raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Of course I am!" the young kunoichi spat back. "At least I can count on being a little more important than some of your kunai—at least for now."
"I do not believe that I am following."
"Let me lay it out for you then. I know that you only see me as another instrument needed to accomplish your goals and nothing more. It's been wrong of you to play like you actually feel for me when you don't. You could have just said Sasuke's name and I would have been driven to help you; you didn't have to put me through all of this."
"Sakura… Is that really what you think?"
"I wouldn't be saying it if it wasn't."
Itachi stared at Sakura for a moment, taking in the issue. There were no words to be spoken and he knew that. When dealing with a broken heart, words prove nothing. He took a step closer to Sakura and put his hands on her face, stroking her cheeks gently.
"Wha… What are you doing?" the girl asked almost shyly.
"I'm not sure. I'm just doing what my heart is telling me to in this moment. I'll forget everything else for now," the raven haired man replied before leaning into a kiss. Sakura struggled a bit at first, but soon relaxed. Itachi very slowly trailed his right hand from her face to the base of her shirt, and then began lightly stroking her side. She shuttered at his touch, but did not stir. Itachi took this as a sign of approval. He gently pushed her toward his bed until she fell backwards onto it. In a few swift motions, he removed his cloak and his shirt.
"Your turn," the raven haired captor stated.
Sakura laid still. She didn't know what to make of the situation. It was all happening much too quickly. Wasn't she mad at him? Didn't she just want to fulfill her job and leave? All of her feelings were coming together in a mad rush of emotion as she leisurely removed her top and then her bra, exposing her proportioned but full breasts.
"Good," Itachi whispered as he took her breasts in his hands and fondled with them a bit, testing out the different reactions he could get out of the girl below him. She would moan as he ran over her nipples and arch her back if he squeezed them. Once he was satisfied with his knowledge of her body, the Uchiha decided that there had been enough playing around. He quickly but smoothly removed the dazed girl's bottoms, ultimately revealing her entire body. He found himself liking the fact that she was so exposed to him not because of her beauty—although it was unarguably there—but because he felt as though he was one step closer to completely comprehending the shy but fiery girl he had brought into his world.
Sakura watched as Itachi stood over her silently, lost in his thoughts. Although her emotions were running rampant, no thoughts were presenting themselves to her; her mind was blank as she lost herself in the moment. Her eyes followed Itachi's movements as he undid his pants and pulled them down just enough to expose his large midsection. He crawled on top of her and then positioned himself appropriately. The pink hair girl impulsively wrapped her arms around him, awaiting his next move. He slowly lowered himself until she could feel him pressing against her.
"You have not done this before. Are you ready? Is this truly what you want?" Itachi's red eyes bore into Sakura's green orbs as he made certain of her desires.
"If I go along with what you are doing and follow my heart, then yes. I am ready and this is what I want," Sakura replied quietly, unable to raise her voice as she took deep, shallow breaths.
At the kunoichi's response, Itachi pushed himself into her, causing a yelp of slight pain to erupt from her throat. He stayed still for a few seconds to let her adjust to his size before he gradually began to move. Her sighs of pain started turning into moans of pleasure as he sped up. The Akatsuki member himself could not contain his cries of longing as the intercourse became more passionate. Sakura grinded her hips against his to meet his movements, driving him to his breaking point. He thrusted into her roughly and rapidly, triggering her climax right before his own.
Once finished, the couple laid as they were, too exhausted to change positions.
"To make my point, I have not been tampering with your feelings, Sakura. I have my own for you. I fear that expressing any kind of interest in you beyond that of needing your help could put you in harm's way, and that is the last thing I would want. I am sorry if I have upset you in any way because of this. Please understand my predicament," Itachi explained while stroking Sakura's rosette hair.
"I think that I should be the one apologizing, Itachi. I guess I'm just so tired of being hurt, that when people actually do care for me, it's hard for me to see it," she replied, unsure of how to properly shed light upon her actions.
"Enough talking. You do not need to explain yourself. I understand, Sakura. A quick nap may do both of us some good. You have been studying rigorously and I have been busy accomplishing my duties."
Sakura did not argue with the man sprawled out on top of her as she completely agreed with him. He leisurely rolled off of her, not bothering to do much else except lay a protective arm around her. She smiled to herself as a thought finally popped into her head:
As angry at myself as I can get sometimes, it's moments like these that make me glad to have such stupid, unpredictable emotions.