…No Naruto for me… he is owned by someone else…

Chapter 3: Female Enigma

Sakura didn't realize she was glaring at him until Itachi inclined his head toward her in recognition. Instantly, she stiffened and looked away. It was bad enough the Uchiha's attention rarely wavered from her in the first place—she didn't need him to think she was returning the interest. Her only thought for Itachi was one of pure and utter hatred.

As she stood, Kakashi shot her a warning look: she was not to leave camp. But as much as Sakura wanted to, she just couldn't feel remorse for what she'd done. Even though she'd put her life on the line, the ending had justified the means. Now Konoha had Itachi, and soon Sasuke would come to them in order to get his brother.

All the loose ends were coming together.

Kisame and Itachi watched the medic walk across camp to take a seat next to Naruto.

"She's a pain in the ass, that one." The blue man grinned. "Never thought I'd meet my match for strength in a teenage girl."

Itachi remained silent. Haruno Sakura intrigued him. She was so determined to hate him, and yet she carried the emotion as if it were the most foreign concept in the world to her.

She was his complete opposite.

"Kunoichi." His summons rang out across the camp. Sakura went rigid, refusing to turn around. The rest of the Konoha shinobi turned to look at the sharingan master.

The calm voice of Kakashi was loud enough for only the Akatsuki members to hear as he leaned against the tree next to them. "You'll be dealing with me. Do not address any other members of this team."

"Ha!" Kisame nudged his partner. "You hear that? We're full fledged prisoners now."

The sarcasm in his words was echoed in the deadly reply from Itachi. "You misunderstand the situation, Hatake Kakashi. As a willing prisoner, I will deal only with the person I choose. I really don't think that you want anyone to die."

Red sharingan turned to bore into the copy-nin. Kakashi held his ground well, but he understood the implications of what the Uchiha had said.

They'd gotten lucky. The odds were that more than one of them would have died in a battle against the two Akatsuki. For whatever reason Itachi wanted to be among them, he could just as easily fly off the handle and kill them all.

And if allowing him to talk to Sakura would avoid bloodshed, it was a small price to pay. The pink-haired young woman was fierce enough in her own right. Kakashi doubted that Itachi would be able to faze her much.

Without a word to them, the former ANBU walked over to his medic.

"Ah, Sakura," he sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Your prisoners would like to speak with you."

Her emerald eyes were unreadable. She remained where she was.

Kakashi frowned behind his mask. "I'm not asking."

"What!?!" Naruto's shock was more than enough for all of them. "You can't be serious! Have you seen how they've been watching her? Send me instead. I'll tell those bastards…"

"No, Naruto. They requested Sakura."

"But…"

A raised, gloved hand stopped him short. "It's okay, Naruto. I'll go see what they want."

Eyes on the ground, Sakura walked over the where Itachi and Kisame sat. She stopped a few feet in front of them, her green eyes still trained on the ground.

Kisame smiled, revealing rows of sharp teeth. "Ah, little medic, come over to visit for a while?"

Itachi watched her jaw clench, and she ground her foot into the dirt subconsciously.

She took a steadying breath and asked, "What is it you want?"

Silence was what greeted her question.

She bit her lip to quell the anger she felt brewing inside. Sakura knew Itachi would wait for her to look at him before he would tell her what he'd called her over for. A part of her rebelled against this slight form of control the Uchiha had over her. Another part of her reasoned that the sooner she dealt with the situation at hand, the sooner they could get back to Konoha.

Itachi watched the conflict rage within the healer. When she finally lifted her defiant gaze to meet his, he felt a chill go down his spine under her stare. But a chill of fear, it was not.

"What…do…you…want?" she repeated.

The sharingan master's expression was blank, and he took a moment before offering her an answer. "I wanted to see, up close, the person who failed to keep Sasuke in Konoha."

Her stunned silence didn't last long before Sakura lunged at him.

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Karin grumbled to herself as she walked behind Sasuke. With everything she'd done for him, he still treated her like she was just another teammate. She'd done so much…done so much to him… changed his memories…all for his own good. And he still remained indifferent toward her.

She almost bumped into him as he stopped abruptly.

"Well?" Sasuke asked.

"Eh? Oh." Karin hadn't realized he'd said something to her.

"Looks like you're losing your touch," Sugeitsu chided her. "Not even paying attention anymore you're so enamored."

She shot him an angry look before turning back to the young Uchiha. "Sorry, Sasuke. What was it you asked?"

"I wanted to know if you are able to locate Itachi's chakra."

"Well," Karin looked thoughtful, "It's not that easy. I haven't ever met Itachi. I need something to go on. It can even be just an emotion." She sidled up to him again. "You know, like love."

Sasuke hid his annoyance. "And hate?"

Karin nodded.

"Well then," red sharingan flared, "let me show you Itachi as I remember him. Let me bring you in to one of the worst days of my life."

Before she knew what had happened, Karin was sucked into a memory.

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She'd surprised him.

Her hate had gotten her farther than he'd anticipated. Itachi could still feel the impact of her warm flesh as she'd barreled into him. He touched the small cut on his neck. She'd even gotten a kunai to his throat.

He'd let her get as far as she could. He'd offered no resistance. In fact, it was her own teammates that had pulled her away from him.

Now, as he gently touched his throbbing neck, he noticed her approaching again.

Kisame laughed. "Come to finish him off? Have at it, kunoichi."

She looked slightly embarrassed and pointed to Itachi's neck. "Will you let me heal that?"

The Akatsuki glanced at one another, surprised again.

Itachi regarded her coolly but he did not refuse her offer. Wounds to the neck, no matter how small, could prove to be deadly. Infection, if it happened, could go straight to the brain.

He went still as stone as her hand gently touched his neck. The healing was warm and soothing. It was unlike the chakra medicine Zetsu preformed. The green Akatsuki was efficient and anything but comforting. Sakura's touch was more skilled and more oriented to patient ease.

When he realized that she was done and stepping away, he grabbed hold of her arm. "Why?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

"Because," she said softly, "your words were true."

With that said, he released her and she walked back over to where her blond companion sat, watching.

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Coming soon: Chapter 4: A delay

Author's note: I just wanted to say "sorry" for all the minor typos in the previous chapter. They really annoyed me. So … I do know they exist, and trust me a missing letter bothers me more than a badly formed sentence.