Perception

Warnings: Rated M for violence, language and sexual situations/adult themes. Naruto and its characters are owned by Kishimoto.

This chapter is a big update on what’s been happening with Team Kakashi and Hebi since we last saw them. Sorry there isn’t much action happening…but I thought it necessary to fill in the gaps with the other characters and show what they are thinking and doing at this point since they’re all about to meet soon.

Also, fanart #5 is up on my FF.net profile and my LJ!

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Perception by Cynchick
Chapter 15: Convergence


Kakashi let his head fall back against the wall with a soft thump and listened to the howling wind outside. For once his trademark orange-covered book was not doing its job of sufficiently distracting him. In fact it hadn’t been doing much of anything for him lately, and if he wanted to lie to himself he could say that he had finally gotten bored of that particular story and needed a new volume. Unfortunately, even if he was good at lying to others, he had never been very good at lying to himself and he knew all too well what the problem was.


He looked half-heartedly around the small room. Tenzou, Yamato rather, was staring absently at the small central fire, apparently in deep thought. Sai was unenthusiastically drawing on his sketchpad, most likely just for something to occupy himself. And Naruto sat with his elbows hung over his knees and head against the wall much as he himself was sitting, eyes closed but definitely not asleep.


Team Kakashi had been forced to take cover for the night against the sudden onslaught of driving wind and freezing rain. Luckily they had Yamato here to create a small wooden shelter for them or they would certainly be in a miserable situation right now. He vaguely wondered if Sasuke was out there somewhere in that awful weather, for though they hadn’t spotted him yet, they knew he wasn’t too far off, closing in on the same target they were.


As it was, the four of them were relatively comfortable, though there was an atmosphere of quiet apprehension and no one was in the mood for conversation. Including Naruto, who was probably in angst-mode over either Sakura or Sasuke or both, hence the reason for his unusually subdued and withdrawn behavior. They had all been a bit subdued for the last week or more, and the sense of foreboding was growing heavier with each passing day.


For almost three weeks now they’d been following a sporadic, unclear trail that they had lost several times and had only found again by sheer luck. Back at the site of the burned down farmhouse in Earth country they had found the bodies of several hunter-nins in the forest and surmised that they were the reason the Akatsuki had left. The fighting had been done in the woods, not at the house itself, so how or why it had been burned to the ground was still unknown. Perhaps to erase evidence of their occupation, since they had left no trail whatsoever. That was disconcerting because they had assumed that the Akatsuki wanted to be followed, though it was possible they were forced to cover their trail knowing that hunters had found them.


With the trail gone they had nothing to go on but a hunch, and so had gone in a general northern direction based on the location of the dead hunters’ bodies and the assumption that they would want to get out of Earth country but not want to backtrack south again and chance running into their pursuers, in other words, Team Kakashi.


It had been pure luck when after three days of fruitless searching they had stopped in a town to restock their supplies and heard a rumor about an incident in another town a few miles away. They had immediately followed up on the lead and went to the dirty little village on the outskirts of the border where they learned that there really had been an ‘incident’, the incident being that a tip had been sent to Iwa about some Akatsuki staying in a local inn, and when the ANBU had arrived they found the innkeeper who sent the tip dead in his kitchen and the advance scouts dead in an alley not far from the inn. Kakashi had summoned Pakkun and they searched the inn for any more clues about what had happened.


They found the two rooms their targets had been occupying and searched them. They had been hastily exited; beds unmade and random unnecessary items left behind, most likely meaning they had taken flight late at night after discovering the betrayal and killing the innkeeper. The little pug had told him that Sakura’s scent was all over the bed in one of the rooms, and that she had probably been sleeping in it immediately before the incident. He didn’t need to be told that because his keen nose could smell her as well, so familiar was he with her scent. Yet he was extremely relieved to hear the pug say that Sakura’s scent was clean and that it appeared as though she was healthy and uninjured. However he had also noticed, and Pakkun had confirmed it, that there was another scent in the room and on the bed, a male one. It was probably nothing more than the one keeping her under guard since they were unlikely to leave her alone, but there was only one bed here, and both scents were on it, and despite the logic his gut clenched when he thought about it.


Sakura’s scent was also found in the kitchen where the innkeeper had been found with his throat slit, and the dark blackish stain of blood was still caked all over the floor. Had she seen the entire thing? Knowing Sakura, seeing someone brutally murdered right in front of her eyes must have been horrifying. From there the trail had been clear and completely undisguised, confirming their theory that the Akatsuki had made a run for it. They followed it with ease, noticing that they had been chased by at least two platoons of hunter-nins, probably around thirty of forty shinobi. It was amazing they had gotten away at all.


What had surprised them most was that there had been five sets of tracks, one of them small and lighter than the rest, meaning that Sakura was running on foot next to them. It proved she was healthy and unharmed, because they had been running fast and hard as only the elite could do for any long stretch, but it also meant she was unrestrained and complicit, not using the situation to her advantage to get away. He knew that Stone ninja were hostile to outsiders and if she had gotten away in the chaos they likely wouldn’t have helped her and she may have been no better off than the Akatsuki. Even their team had to move with extreme caution to avoid being found by Stone, who would attack first and ask questions later. But it was still strange, especially if one considered all of the other odd clues they had been finding.


At one point the trail had split into two groups, three of the Akatsuki going in one direction, and Sakura and one other heading in another. There was nearly no scent, only faint tracks were left due to the recent rain, and Sakura’s trail disappeared half a mile after the split when they came upon a small river. He sent Pakkun to try and find it again as the rest of them backtracked to follow the other trail. They came upon a battle sight and knew that the Akatsuki had turned and made a stand there, and that one of them had taken Sakura away to prevent her from being killed or taken from them. There was dried blood everywhere in that clearing; it was clear that many nins had died there that night, probably every single one of the pursuing Stone nins. The bodies were gone of course because ANBU would have taken them away or disposed of them. The residue of jutsu and the effects caused by them were also in evidence around the area, and after seeing several scorched spots and signs of explosions Kakashi had started to get ideas about who the rest of their targets were aside from Uchiha.


Apparently the Akatsuki had killed every last hunter because the original three sets of tracks led away from the clearing at a much less hurried pace, and he and the others had been following them when Pakkun sent out a call that he had found something in the same direction they were already heading. A few miles ahead they found the scene of another, smaller battle. Once again blood covered the ground and there was a large gaping crack in the earth. This troubled them because they recognized that particular sign as Sakura’s fighting. Why was Sakura fighting? Who was she fighting? The first possibility was that she had turned on her solitary captor once they were far enough away. But that was unlikely; there was too much blood and too many signs of weapon damage to the trees to have been a one on one fight. The most probable explanation was that the two of them had been found by more hunter-nins and Sakura had been forced into fighting to protect herself, though the thought of her fighting side by side with an Akatsuki was surreal to say the least.


Initial curiosity had turned into full blown alarm when Pakkun told them that some of the blood on the ground was Sakura’s and that a trail of blood led away from the battle sight, along with two sets of tracks. So she had survived the fight, as well as her captor, but she had been injured bad enough to leave a clear trail of blood as they left. What was also concerning was that Sakura’s footprints were the heavier ones this time, and it appeared as though she was helping the other person, her Akatsuki guard, to walk as if he had been injured as well. If her captor had been injured wouldn’t she have made a run for it? They had followed the trail to a cave at the bottom of a small gorge. There was a clear residue of Sakura’s chakra there, and she had obviously healed herself much to their relief, but Pakkun pointed out that there was also a strong smell of illness, most likely poison, and there was no trace of poison in Sakura’s blood trail. So her captor had been the one poisoned and she had helped him get to this cave. The smell of death was not detectable here, so it was fairly certain that both of them had survived.


Did Sakura heal the poisoned Akatsuki? That thought was highly disturbing in more ways than one, not the least of which was the fact that doing such a thing would raise questions and possibly get Sakura in a lot of trouble. Sakura was a compassionate person and didn’t like to see anyone suffer, but why in the world would she do something like that? It was a good thing it was them, Team Kakashi, who were finding all of these clues, or their kunoichi may have a lot of explaining to do when she got home. They were her teammates and they would keep her out of trouble in any way they could, but there were a lot of questions forming in their minds as well and some of them were quite troubling.


The tracks of the other three Akatsuki eventually led to that cave as well, and it was clear that Sakura was still in their custody and had left with all four of them. The trail was not as clear this time but they were still able to follow it with Pakkun’s help. They had crossed the border into non shinobi territory and tracked their target across several miles of open moor and lowlands until they came to the small archaic village of Kanna. Kakashi could tell immediately by looking at the place that persons like the Akatsuki, and themselves for that matter, would stand out drastically and gather a lot of attention, and all they needed to do was ask around. So they had. And what they had learned had been the most disturbing information yet.


According to the locals, ten days before Kakashi and his team had arrived four armed and dangerous looking men wearing cloaks had come to town, and they were guarding a young, pretty female with exotic looks. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who they were. They had been directed to the hotel the group had stayed at, but the old matron had been extremely reluctant to talk to them. She seemed to think they were out to hurt Sakura, and they had had to give detailed descriptions of Sakura and the Akatsuki before they convinced her they were not enemies. What she told them once convinced had pretty much stunned them all.


The old woman had been under the impression that the Akatsuki were Sakura’s bodyguards, and that they had been highly protective and fond of her. This was likely just the old woman seeing things the way she wanted to see them, but logic dictated that there had to be some truth there for her to interpret things so positively. She’d shown them to the rooms but the scents were gone since, unlike the shabby inn they’d stayed in before, these rooms were cleaned daily. But they had learned that Sakura, who the woman kept referring to as The Lady, had had her own room. Then they learned that not only had she been unrestrained, and unafraid, she had been interactive, talking and laughing with her “escorts” and even going on what the matron called “outing”’ with one of them. A couple of local shop owners they had talked to told them that they had seen Sakura in the company of a handsome young blonde man and that the two had been laughing and enjoying each other’s company and that they seemed to be close friends and even a bit flirtatious. That wasn’t like Sakura at all, at least not toward her enemies. The pink haired kunoichi had a vicious temper and should have been extremely hostile even if she wasn’t actively trying to escape at every moment.


Before they left the hotel, the matron had dropped a final bomb on them. On the last night that the group stayed in town, Sakura and her “escorts” had been down in the common lounge relaxing and enjoying themselves until The Lady had become ill and had to retire. Since the “lounge” was little more than a fancy bar, the truth of Sakura’s “illness” was probably that she’d gotten drunk, and the old woman was too old-fashioned and enamored of Sakura to accept what she was really seeing. The fact that she would be calmly sitting in a bar getting drunk with her captors was alarming, but the worst of it had been the information that the same blonde man that she’d been seen around town with had “gently” and “protectively” -to use the matron’s words- carried Sakura to her room in his arms and it was clear to the woman’s “experienced old eyes” that the boy “cared” for The Lady. That little piece of information had set Kakashi’s insides burning and sent Naruto into a full-on tirade of confused questions and angry speculation.

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“What the hell is going on, Kakashi-senpai?” Naruto asked as they walked out of the hotel into the street, his tone a mixture of confusion and outrage.


Kakashi didn’t answer, his mind racing with all of the disturbing images and information they had learned today and over the last two weeks. Naruto took his team leader’s silence as a cue to keep ranting.


“I mean, isn’t it strange that Sakura-chan isn’t being restrained by those bastards anymore? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they aren’t hurting her, but…why isn’t she trying to run away? It makes no sense!” he cried in frustration.


“It does make some sense if you think about it,” Sai said thoughtfully. “Sakura probably knows she wouldn’t stand much chance of getting away from four Akatsuki, and the more she tries to fight them, the more likely they would be to use force to restrain her.”


“Not to mention she would have a hard time traveling by herself with the hostile shinobi around Earth country. Since she’s obviously not being ill-treated, she’s probably playing it smart and waiting, knowing we will be coming after her,” Yamato added.


“Well, ok,” Naruto conceded grudgingly. “But why isn’t she being ill-treated? I mean, I’m glad she’s not, but these are Akatsuki we’re talking about! Those bastards have never had a problem hurting anyone! Also, what about what we found in the woods a few days ago? Sakura-chan was fighting Stone ninja side by side with one of the Akatsuki? I get that they were probably attacking her too and she had no choice, but what about what we found in that cave, huh? Sakura-chan most likely healed that Akatsuki that got poisoned! What’s up with that? She should have used the chaos and confusion and the fact that the other Akatsuki were separated from them to escape…”


Kakashi spoke up finally. “Then she would have been alone and injured and out of chakra in the middle of enemy Stone territory with dozens of squads patrolling every square mile for the Akatsuki. She would definitely have been found and killed. And if she hadn’t then the other three Akatsuki would have eventually tracked her down and then they would hurt her, Naruto. Sakura weighed the options and chose what would keep her safe,”


“But then why did she heal that Akatsuki?” Naruto countered impatiently.


Kakashi sighed irritably. “I don’t know. The important thing is that Sakura is ok. Whatever else happened can be figured out later.”


The frustrated blond was not satisfied. “But then we come here, and people are telling us that Sakura-chan is friendly with those guys and they’re friendly with her? What the hell? And then that one guy…” his eyes narrowed menacingly as he finally realized what his teammates had already figured out. “Hey…there’s only one blond guy in Akatsuki…that Deidara asshole! I still want his fucking head for what he did to Gaara! And now he’s helping to hold Sakura-chan hostage! And…and she’s running around town with him like they’re friends, and he’s carrying her up to her room like he gives a damn about her…. Something really messed up is going on! I mean…what is Sakura-chan doing, Kakashi-senpai?” he asked with a troubled look.


“I said I don’t know, Naruto,” Kakashi said, far more harshly than he meant to, and his former student stared at him in surprise before running his hands through his spiky blond hair and turning away with a sigh.


He hadn’t meant to snap at him, but the boy’s continuous reiterating of the disturbing information was driving him crazy. He knew Naruto still looked to him for advice and guidance when things got difficult; he was his former sensei and had been his team leader for years. But damn it he didn’t have an answer for everything; truthfully he was as confused and upset by all of this as Naruto was. Perhaps even more, considering his feelings for Sakura. They were all thinking the same things, why did he have to go on and on about it? The things they had been learning about Sakura’s situation were already putting them all on edge.


Yamato, ever the natural mediator, took charge of the situation before anything got out of hand between the frustrated and confused teammates. “Let’s find a place to stay for the night, and then we can head out first thing in the morning.”


Quiet and somber, the four men began to walk in search of lodging for the night, the one they just came out of not being considered for obvious reasons.

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That was three days ago, and since then they’d been following the scant trail only with the help of his dogs. The terrain of this country was rocky and bare, not to mention extremely windy, so footprints were difficult to find and didn’t last long. The further they got into the hills they harder tracking became; the thin air at this high altitude made it more difficult for the dogs, and the going was slow with all the backtracking.


The only good news was that the trail had stopped circling and was going in a fairly straight line, and the tracks and scents were getting fresher. They were catching up; they were perhaps two or three days behind from the look of the trail. It had been clear for some time that they were being led to a certain place, away from outside interference from other shinobi and civilians, and it appeared as though the Akatsuki had reached their final destination and had stopped moving. They were waiting for them.


Once again he wondered if Sasuke was out there, somewhere not far off. They knew he was on the trail as well, Pakkun had told him twice that he’d caught Sasuke’s scent, but they had continued to follow Sakura because that was what they had come for. Naruto had been troubled but ultimately understanding; Sakura was more important than Sasuke and their original mission right now. She always would be to Kakashi’s mind. Besides, they were most likely going to run into Sasuke anyway at some point in the near future, either before they reached the Akatsuki base or once they got there. Their goal was getting Sakura back safe, and to keep Naruto from ending up in Akatsuki hands. But after their main objective was complete, if they had a shot at getting to Sasuke they would have to take it or they may never find him again. He also knew there was no way in hell that Naruto, or Sakura for that matter, would turn and go home without doing everything to make sure Sasuke came with them.


The last time those two had seen him he had apparently tried to kill them. What would it be like this time? Sasuke had killed Orochimaru and gone rogue, what could he have become since then? Was there anything left of his former student to salvage and bring home, or had he gone completely bad? He had warned Sasuke before he left Konoha, had told him he knew what people like them, who had such terrible things in their pasts, could become. But his prodigal former student had refused to listen. In a way, he considered Sasuke to be his biggest failure. He had seen so much of his younger self in the troubled boy and had tried to relate to him, tried to turn him from what he knew was a path to darkness, even to the point of disregarding his other two students, which he would always regret doing.


In the end, nothing had gotten through, not even the brotherly bond between Sasuke and Naruto. Would it be any different now? Or would he once again have to carry home a battered and defeated Naruto and comfort a heartbroken Sakura? Not if he had anything to do with it. He still cared about Sasuke, still wanted to help him and get him back on the right track. But if the Sasuke they had known was truly gone, he would intervene, because he would not allow that boy to hurt Naruto or Sakura ever again.


Kakashi continued to listen to the wind howl outside their shelter and couldn’t help but feel as though they were all being moved by some invisible hand, that it was somehow fated to happen like this. They had been heading down this path for three years, maybe longer if one considered that perhaps Sasuke leaving Konoha had also been fated. Now they had three days. Maybe two if they got lucky. And then they would finally bring this to an end. They would get Sakura back and they would all go home together, and just maybe, this time they would be bringing their lost teammate with them.

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Sakura burrowed deeper under the warm covers and slowly opened her eyes. Her groggy, sleep-fogged brain quietly registered that this was not her room or her bed, and a moment later her memory kicked in and her lips curled in a sleepy smile. She rolled onto her back and looked at the space beside her. It was empty. She should have expected as much. Itachi was a light sleeper if he slept at all and he was always up very early, and it was silly to think that he might lay there in bed and cuddle with her until she woke up like a normal man would.


At least he hadn’t woken her up and sent her back to her own room. He had even rebuilt the fire in the stove for her, though her clothes and undergarments were still carelessly strewn about the room. Flashes of the previous night flooded her mind and she rolled to her other side and pressed her face into the pillow with a grin, feeling the slight euphoria that one only felt after a night of great sex.


As much as she wanted to stay there warm and cozy in Itachi’s bed all day she knew it wasn’t such a good idea and she sat up, the cool rush of air on her previously blanket-covered naked skin giving her goose bumps. She got dressed quickly, ignoring the mild pain in the backs of her thighs from where Itachi had gripped them so hard, and threw her cloak on. She made the bed as an afterthought and then cautiously opened the door and peered down the hallway nervously. After confirming the coast was clear she exited the room, closed the door quietly and quickly made her way back to her own room.


What would the other Akatsuki think or say if they saw her coming out of Itachi’s room, clearly just having woken up? Kisame already knew something was going on between them but she didn’t know if he’d said anything to anyone else, and this was a bit more surprising than finding them making out. Thankfully they couldn’t have heard anything because the walls were solid stone and no one had a room right next to Itachi.


She returned to her quarters and grabbed a change of clothes before heading to the bath facilities to get ready for the day. She dressed in a warm, high necked sweater just in case there were any leftover signs, like bite marks, from the previous night. She didn’t really know why she was so nervous about the others finding out that she’d slept with Itachi. She wasn’t ashamed or embarrassed about it, but perhaps because it was so inherently complicated and unexpected she just didn’t feel like advertising it. Especially not before she knew how Itachi was going to act toward her. It was not likely that anything would change in front of the others so she would have to wait until in private with him again.

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After she finished getting dressed she headed for the kitchen to see if she could find something to eat. She entered it to find all four Akatsuki sitting at the table finishing up their own breakfasts. They all looked up when she came in, and Itachi’s eyes lingered on hers for a long, pulse quickening moment before returning to the scroll he was reading.


“Morning, Sakura-san!” Tobi greeted cheerfully. “You sure slept late. Were you awake all night or something?”


She nearly choked at his innocent question and schooled her face into an impassive expression. “Not all night,” she replied nonchalantly. She could have sworn she heard Kisame snicker into his coffee mug. Oh, great. Apparently he knows. She glanced at Deidara, who wasn’t looking at her and whose expression was guarded and unreadable. That meant he probably knew too, and wasn’t nearly as amused by it as the shark. Well, so much for not advertising, she thought sardonically. How the hell did they know? Itachi certainly hadn’t said anything. Did she have a freaking sign over her head or what? Then she realized that even though they couldn’t have heard anything unless they were right outside the door, they may have felt their chakra flaring out at some of their more passionate moments, or even something as simple as one of them going looking for her or Itachi and finding them otherwise occupied. Man, she really hoped she wasn’t blushing right now…


“There’s some food left over on the stove,” Kisame informed her, his lip curling in a pointy-toothed smirk. He was clearly enjoying himself this morning.


She nodded in reply and went to fix herself a plate. She sat down next to Tobi and poured a cup of strong coffee and reached for the powdered creamer, trying to act as normal and unaffected as possible. Her eyes met Itachi’s again briefly and she could see the dark amusement at the situation in them.


After a minute Kisame spoke up again, “I bet you didn’t think a month ago that you’d ever be sitting around the breakfast table with us, eh?” he grinned.


Sakura shook her head. “No. And I’m sure you didn’t either,” she said wryly. “And my guess is that it wouldn’t go over any better on your side than it would on mine.”


His grin widened. “Probably not. But it’s all good in the end. As long as it doesn’t affect our mission, what happens here stays here.”


She looked up from her plate and met the shark nins eyes. She understood his double meaning perfectly and so did everyone else, except for Tobi who apparently still had no idea what was going on. She regarded Kisame for a long moment before giving a small nod. “Right,” she said casually, and went back to her meal.


The rest of the morning was spent sitting around and being generally lazy. There wasn’t much of anything to do anymore, and this place wasn’t meant for recreation, so they sat around in the common room talking about random things until lunchtime. After lunch they went down to the underground training facility and started up some taijutsu sparring matches out of sheer boredom.


Sakura finally got her wish to see Deidara fight without his explosive clay when she was partnered with him in a match. He was a lot better than she’d expected and he nearly knocked her on her ass in the first minute before she belatedly realized that of course he was going to be really good; he was former ANBU and currently an S-ranked missing nin and just because he primarily used long range tactics didn’t mean he was lacking anywhere else. She had nearly forgotten that he was the one who’d sent her flying back several yards into a brick wall when they had first fought in the town square all those weeks ago.


With mild chakra enhanced strength on her part they were nearly even, and though she was faster he outdid her in actual combat experience. After several minutes her chakra enhancement began to wear out and at that point he was far stronger and he eventually overpowered her and pinned her to the ground.


He helped her up again and they laughed it off before sitting down to watch Kisame and Itachi in their sparring match. She was relieved to see that he didn’t seem to be upset with her about Itachi. She had no reason to think he would be, but she couldn’t help but get the feeling that he wasn’t at all happy about it. Maybe it was simply because he didn’t like the Uchiha, but whatever it was she was just glad it didn’t affect things between them.

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She hadn’t had an opportunity to be alone with Itachi all day, and they hadn’t exchanged more than a few words. But he wasn’t as cold and removed as he had been before, and she occasionally felt him watching her and when she met his eyes across the room or table she always felt a slight quickening of her pulse and got the distinct impression that when she did see him alone she was surely going to enjoy it.


However for all the underlying intent she read in that hypnotic gaze, when nightfall came he was nowhere to be found. After dinner Sakura and the other three Akatsuki had sat around the kitchen table as they had taken to doing ever since they got here, and after she said goodnight she had gone to her room without ever running into Itachi. She lay on her bed for a long while and thought about it, and eventually came to the realization that Itachi was still Itachi, and he was probably not going to seek out her company because it would show vulnerability to want to be around her just for the sake of being with her. He was not a social or emotionally open person and no matter how un-cold and passionate he was when they were alone together, some things would still never change.


Deciding to take a chance, she got up and left her room, moving quietly down the drafty corridors until she stood before Itachi’s door. Knocking would make too much noise, so she carefully let her chakra flare out so that he would know it was her and carefully opened the door. She closed it behind her soundlessly and looked around the dark room. Itachi appeared to be asleep, his back was toward her and the low light of the stove flickered and played across his bare shoulders. He wasn’t really asleep, she knew, but he didn’t turn or make any move to acknowledge her presence.


If she was unwelcome he would have said so, so she quietly removed her boots, cloak, pants and sweater until she was wearing only a tank top and her tight mini-shorts. She quickly moved to the bed and slipped under the covers before the chill air could seep into her exposed skin. She tentatively curled up behind him, tucking her knees behind his and resting her forehead between his shoulder blades. She could see the raised and reddened skin on his back and shoulders where her nails had dug in to him last night and she smirked. In some places she had even drawn a bit of blood and small scabs had formed. Inner Sakura giggled perversely and smugly pointed out that it’s what he deserved for stirring up so much sexual tension between them and being such a damn tease for weeks.


There was no way he was asleep, but he still didn’t move or speak to her, simply allowed her to curl against him. Allowing it was something at least, so she gently placed one hand against his side and closed her eyes as his scent and the warmth of his body and the bed filled her senses and made her drowsy.


She was half asleep when she finally felt him stir and the next thing she knew he had rolled over and pinned her beneath him. She opened sleepy eyes and met his dark, smoldering gaze with a tiny smile. No words were spoken between them; everything was said with the contact of their eyes. Itachi’s fingers trailed lightly across her jaw and she slid her hands up his hard chest and clasped her fingers behind his neck. He lowered his head to capture her lips in a slow, burning kiss, and she responded with equal intensity and blissfully surrendered to the pleasure that kiss promised.


When the morning came she was pleasantly surprised to find Itachi still there, apparently still asleep, his chest pressed close against her back and his arm wrapped snugly around her from behind. She lay still, enjoying the feeling of his warm body curled against hers and his breath against the back of her neck. After a few minutes she turned over and he stirred slightly, his arm loosening to grant her movement but not releasing their hold. She looked up at his face and saw that he was awake, had been perhaps even before she was, and she gave him a tiny smile in greeting. His expression remained calm and stoic, but his hand came up and twirled around a lock of her pink hair as he watched her sleepy face.


Sakura didn’t feel the need to say anything and simply let her forehead rest against his chest as his arm settled around her again. Their understanding went beyond mere words, so words would only get in the way and complicate. There was no need to talk about what was happening anymore; they had come to a mutual, unspoken agreement to simply take whatever the other offered and enjoy what little time they had left.

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Sasuke walked to the entrance of the cave and stood beside the concentrating kunoichi. The evening was cold and crisp, and it looked like it was going to snow sometime during the night. He crossed his cloaked arms over the front of his chest to block out the biting cold of the wind and waited impatiently. A few moments later Karin opened her spectacle framed eyes and lowered her hands back to her sides.


He stared at her expectantly.


She turned to face him. “I found them. They are about fifty miles northeast of here. Their chakra is muted and dim…its possible they are underground or behind really dense stone,” the red haired girl explained, looking quite pleased with herself.


Sasuke gave a small nod at the information. “How many?”


“Five. Just as we thought. One of them is most likely the medic by the feel of the chakra.” She pronounced ‘medic’ with slight distaste, not enthusiastic about what she knew of said medic’s identity. The chakra specialist wasn’t happy about anyone from Sasuke’s past resurfacing, especially not one of the female variety.


“They’re up in the mountains, then. That’s what’s to the northeast. Based on the terrain difficulty, and providing the weather doesn’t turn worse, we should find them in maybe two days,” the Uchiha stated, more to himself than anyone else.


After nearly a month since they came across the wreckage in that town in Grass, they were finally catching up. They were close enough now for Karin to be able to detect them, meaning even though the rocky terrain was difficult to track over and would be impossible if it snowed, they would be able to find them anyway with her unique abilities. In the end, bringing her along had been worth the headaches and irritation she caused. Following his brother and the other Akatsuki this far had been quite difficult, and he had to admit, only to himself of course, that he probably wouldn’t have been able to do it without Karin’s special technique.


He turned to head back into the warmth of the cave but Karin’s voice made him pause.


“I noticed something else that was rather peculiar Sasuke-kun…the medic’s chakra is remarkably strong and healthy-feeling for a hostage…especially considering who has her.”


“So?” he asked impatiently. Out of the norm, yes, but it’s not like it was a bad thing that Sakura wasn’t hurt.


“Also, her chakra is moving around and mingling freely with the other four signatures,” she added.


Sasuke considered her words. “So what you’re saying is Sakura is not being confined, and that she is interacting with the Akatsuki.”


Karin nodded slyly. “It seems that way. Strange don’t you think, Sasuke-kun? From what I’ve heard the Akatsuki are not the nicest of people…I wonder what she’s doing mixing with them like that…there’s something strange about it if you ask me.”


Sasuke showed no outward reaction to her words and resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her attempt to be manipulative. He knew what her problem was and what she was trying to do. It was just another of the many things that he found ridiculous and irritating about her. If her abilities weren’t so useful he would have ditched her a long time ago.


What she had said did make him stop and think however. Truthfully he didn’t know much about Sakura’s situation as his brother’s hostage. Whenever they tracked the Akatsuki into a town they followed their tracks and what they could find of a chakra residue and only occasionally asked any of the local population questions to find out how long ago they had left. He didn’t care about what Itachi was doing, only where he was and how long it would take to find him. He realized now perhaps his single-mindedness had been a mistake. He could have missed important information about where they were going or the condition they were in, as well as the identities of the other two Akatsuki with Itachi and his partner. Though he was fairly certain one of them was Deidara by the many signs of explosions they had come across as they tracked them across three countries.


As far as Sakura was concerned, he couldn’t say that he hadn’t thought about her or what she may be going through as his sadistic brother’s hostage. He knew they wouldn’t kill her as long as they needed her for their plans, but he also knew well from being at Sound just how much could be done to a person without killing them. Thinking about it only fueled his anger and determination to put an end to his brother once and for all.


But if Karin was right, Sakura wasn’t being treated like a normal prisoner, and more like an unwilling houseguest. What could she be doing? He didn’t care if she was fraternizing with enemies of Konoha, he was in no place to judge when it came to that sort of thing. But it involved his brother, the man who massacred his entire family and had repeatedly poured salt on the wound for the last twelve years. He didn’t want to think about the possibility that Sakura might be anything other than completely hateful and hostile to his brother.


Would he consider it a betrayal? He didn’t know. A betrayal of what, exactly? Their friendship? He’d thrown that away the day he left Konoha and he’d flat out stomped on it when she and Naruto had come to Sound to find him. Would it be a betrayal of the bond they shared, of their past as teammates? He truthfully had no right to expect her to hold to those bonds or continue to be loyal to him when he hadn’t done the same or given her any reason to think there was even a point in doing so. It was just that she had always believed in him more than anyone else, Naruto too, and deep down he wanted to be able to count on that, it made him feel better to know it, even if he gave nothing in return. He was and had always been a selfish man.


If he survived the battle with Itachi perhaps he would get a chance to rectify some of the mistakes of his past, at least where Naruto and Sakura were concerned. He knew he would be seeing them both very soon. When he had first heard about his brothers plan to lure Naruto to him using Sakura as bait, he had been wary that if he ran into his old teammates again they would interfere with his goal by trying to take him back to Konoha. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go back; it was just that he couldn’t. He could never rest, could never live a real life until his past with Itachi was resolved. The ghosts of his clan would not stop haunting his dreams until he did. But now as that day was approaching fast, he was almost glad that Naruto was somewhere near and would likely show up for the battle, because four Akatsuki were a bit too much to handle with just the three of them. Karin and Suigetsu were good, but not that good. And as for himself; he needed to be free of distractions in order to take on his brother.


Would Naruto even help him this time? Would Sakura? He had always thought they would get in the way or somehow try to interfere with his right to vengeance. But if they hated him now like they had every right to do, they may just stand to the side and watch him die. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He didn’t want their assistance in fighting his brother, that duty was his and his alone. But a part of him still wanted to count on their support.


“It looks like it’s going to be awfully cold tonight, Sasuke-kun…maybe we should sleep together and snuggle for bodyheat…”


Karin’s over-sugared, suggestive tone brought him out of his thoughts and he looked over at the simpering, obsessed kunoichi with a look that clearly said ‘I’d rather freeze’, before turning and walking back into the cave.


“Are you ever gonna figure out that Sasuke doesn’t want you, Karin? And you call me stupid…” Suigetsu sneered at the girl as they reached the back of the cave.


“Fuck you, Suigetsu! I hope you die of hypothermia!” Karin retorted angrily, plopping down on the rocky floor and pulling her cloak tighter around her shoulders.


“Likewise, bitch.”


Sasuke gave them both a dark look and they ceased. He sat down on the opposite side of the fire from the pouting kunoichi and stared into the flames. He would be so glad when this was all over.

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A/N: ugh. I hate transitional chapters. I hope that wasnt too boring for you guys, but it was necessary.