Kiss The Rain

A/N: Just to let everyone know, the worst has come to pass.....my computer has decided to crash and is currently on life-support. Let us all pray for it, because if it doesn't make it, I'll have to buy a new one. Anyways, I've got a couple of computers that I can use in the meantime, and I'm working on the next chapter, but hopefully this will hold you over until my next posting. Please read and review.

~!~


Sakura sighed for what had to be the tenth time in less than fifteen minutes. Itachi was completely aware that she was tired of being carried around, but ever since he and Kisame had found her by the small stream, he was not comfortable with allowing her any more freedom than necessary.

While her explanation of why she had sought out the stream made sense, she should have waited for them to return to camp before attempting to walk there by herself. Her feet were still a mess, even with the small healings that she did upon them, and if she was to be ready to face the leader, she should not expend more of her energy than necessary.

Kisame watched as the pink-haired woman allowed her eyes to fall shut. While he had been angry over finding that she had wandered off, he was glad that the heavy scent of her blood was gone and his poor senses could rest. Even with the bandages, he could smell the sweet aroma of her blood.

Now, as they made their way through the forest, it was clear to both him and Sakura that Itachi was not just annoyed, he was mad as hell. The stupid girl could have gotten herself hurt, or if there had been hunter nin in the forest, she could have been killed.

She softly tried to explain, but Itachi simply was not going to hear it. Instead, he quietly told her to be silent and to not speak until he spoke to her. Kisame knew what that meant. Sakura had angered Itachi so much that he did not wish to say anything in the heat of his anger. He simply needed time to calm himself down and would speak to her when he was ready.

As the kunoichi slumbered, he glanced over at Itachi and asked, “Do you need a break? I’ll carry her if you want.”

Itachi gave one harsh jerk of his head and Kisame fell quiet. Of course Itachi didn’t want him to carry the girl. After all, he was the only person he trusted; and despite being partners for so long, he wasn’t going to trust the girl with him.

That was how he had survived for so long.

The forest began to grow quiet, and Itachi suddenly came to a halt. He tilted his head slightly and then narrowed his eyes. Kisame sniffed the air and allowed a feral grin to light up his features.

“We’ve got company,” the shark said, his tone thick with anticipation.

Itachi nodded. “From the amount of chakra, I would say that there are only five nin, but there could be others who are masking their chakra. Be careful,” he warned, his eyes lowering down to Sakura’s form.

Kisame nodded and watched as Itachi moved towards a large tree. After setting the girl down, both Akatsuki members waited and were suddenly surrounded by several nin. Glancing around, Itachi said, “You are not from one of the hidden villages. What do you want with us?”

One of the men, the leader from what Itachi could tell, stepped forward. “There’s a price on your head, and we want it.” he sneered, and then glanced behind the two Akatsuki to see Sakura, who was slowly awakening. “Well, looks like we get a bonus too. The girl is mine to deal with; the rest of you are to kill these two bastards off.”

Itachi’s eyes narrowed dangerously and he moved back so that his body was blocking Sakura from the eyes of the men before him. As the first two nins came flying at him, it was almost with no effort that he pulled them into his mangekyo and allowed them to experience terrors that would scar them for the rest of their lives.

Sakura watched, confused, as Itachi and Kisame fought the strange men and then frowned when she noticed that one of the men had moved closer to her. His yellow teeth and beady eyes made her want to shiver in disgust. Instead, she took in a deep breath and slowly stood up, despite the pain from her feet.

The man moved even closer, but stopped when Itachi suddenly appeared before him. “Sit down and tend to your feet,” he ordered, not looking back at Sakura.

She slowly lowered herself back to the ground and watched as Kisame gleefully ripped the men surrounding him apart with his beloved sword. Even with his sword arm out of commission, he had figured out a way to use Samehada with his good arm; from the look of things, he was having a grand time.

Itachi and the leader stared at each other. For several seconds, neither man spoke. Finally, Itachi said, “It is not my wish to harm you, so you will either leave or you will die. I leave the choice in your hands.”

The man barked out a harsh laugh. “Well, isn’t this sweet,” he sneered, and motioned towards Sakura. “I heard that you killed your entire clan, and yet, you stand here and tell me that you don’t wish to hurt me. I see that the girl has made you soft. Give her to me, and we’ll leave you and your friend alone.”

Kisame, who had finally stopped swinging his sword, watched as Itachi’s mouth formed a thin line. Oh, he knew that look too. That was the expression Itachi used when he felt that he had been disrespected. Kisame’s eyes moved to where Sakura sat, and he watched as she grimaced as her chakra healed her feet.

Lifting Samehada to rest upon his uninjured shoulder, he stood back and watched as his partner dealt with the fool. It was going to be entertaining.


~!~

“And so, with the white ribbon clutched tightly, Junko turned to gaze toward the night sky and said, ‘For as long as I live, I will never forget,’” Kakashi said as a tear ran down his face and into the fabric of his mask. He snapped the book shut and closed his eye. “I must say, this book is one of the best to come out of this series.”

Naruto growled and snapped, “Can’t you do anything else besides read that trash?” He ignored an outraged cry from Kakashi and said, “I know that Baa-chan told us that she believes that Sakura is going to be all right, but how can she be sure?”

Kakashi stood up and sighed. “If everything that the hokage said is true, then Sakura is not in any danger—at least, not from Itachi. As we speak, she is going over his entire file with a fine-tooth comb to see if there is anything in there that will help us in dealing with him,” he explained. “Besides, Sakura is a very smart girl, and she will be fine.”

Naruto crossed his arms and scowled. He knew Baa-chan’s intuition, and knew that it sucked. Behind him, he could hear Sasuke grumbling underneath his breath and knew that the dark-haired Uchiha was angry about being denied the chance to go and look for his brother. In fact, before they left the office, Baa-chan had told them that until further notice, both he and Sasuke were confined to the village.

He watched as Kakashi took in a deep breath before closing his book and placing it into his back pocket. “Listen, Naruto,” Kakashi said, his tone serious. “We need to trust in Lady Tsunade. She knows what Sakura is capable of and is already thinking of ways to get her back. Just relax and try not to get in her way.”

Gritting his teeth, Naruto gave a harsh nod of his head. He knew that Sakura was a very strong kunoichi, but he’d seen Itachi fight and knew that Sakura would not stand a chance if she were to fight him. If something happened to her, he would not rest until he had Itachi’s heart within his hand.

Fuck Sasuke and his revenge.


~!~

“So, Naruto is becoming a pest,” Jiraiya murmured and then shrugged. “What else is new?”

Tsunade took a long drink and before saying, “I hate confining him to the village, but knowing him, he would go running after Sakura the first chance he got. I am also concerned that if he found her in a less than satisfactory condition, his control over the kyuubi might slip. No, I made the best decision.”

Jiraiya nodded. He, too, knew how his student felt about the pink-haired young woman. However, he also knew that the Akatsuki would not simply capture Sakura just to use as bait for Naruto. He had heard from one of his sources that the Akatsuki were curious about the young lady, and he was fairly sure that until she satisfied their curiosity, she would be safe.

“Am I wrong, Jiraiya?” Tsunade asked, her eyes saddened as she looked up at him. “Am I wrong not to go after her? The day we brought her in here to question her about breaking out of the mangekyo, I waited until everyone had left and told her about a hunch that I had regarding her situation. I think that perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut. After all, every time I have a hunch, I end up losing big.”

“She is a younger version of you, Tsunade,” Jiraiya replied, his voice soft. “She has all of the qualities that you have, and she has become a most formidable opponent on the battle field. You have given her a foundation of strength that she has continued to build on, and I think that this time, your hunch was right on the money. Besides, you’ve never let anyone beat you, and I don’t think that she is going to let anyone beat her.”

Tsunade took in a shaky breath and smiled. When her former teammate left her office, she allowed the smile to fade and quietly said, “Thank you, Jiraiya.”


~!~

Sakura’s eyes were wide as Itachi and Kisame quickly disposed of the bodies. When they were done, Itachi moved over to where she sat and quickly looked her over, his eyes moving over every inch of her skin as he searched for injuries. He gritted his teeth as he silently cursed himself and Kisame for not sensing the hidden ninja. While he was dealing with the leader of the group, Kisame had turned his back; it was at that time when the hidden nin slid from his hiding place and quickly appeared before Sakura.

However, the nin was not expecting for Sakura to fight him, and despite not being able to use her feet, Sakura proved more than enough trouble for him. But the nin neglected to keep his attention on his surroundings, and when he backed away from Sakura, he bumped into Kisame. The shark allowed a grin to cross his lips, and before the nin could utter a sound, he was dead.

Now, as Itachi’s hands smoothed down her shoulders, she watched as his eyes moved back up to hers. For a moment, she thought that she saw concern. But just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. His hands moved to her feet and he nodded in satisfaction.

“Your feet are nearly healed,” he said, his tone approving. Standing up, he glanced at his partner and said, “Scout around. If there are more nin in the vicinity, kill them. We cannot have any further distractions.”

Nodding, Kisame took to the trees and was soon out of sight. When they were alone, Itachi knelt down beside her again and reached out to run his thumb across a tiny cut that was on her cheek.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

Sakura nodded. “He didn’t hurt me,” she said as she looked straight into his eyes. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of looking away. Not now, and not anymore. Uchiha Itachi was not going to use her for his amusement.

He regarded her quietly. The fact that she did not turn her eyes from his gaze fascinated him. Of course, part of him wanted to grip her shoulders and shake her for getting them into this mess, but another part of him worried for her, knowing what was about to come.

“Do not fight me.”

Sakura’s eyebrows lifted. “What?”

Itachi turned his eyes towards the forest. “When we arrive at Akatsuki headquarters, do not fight me,” he said, his tone neutral. “If you do, it will not help either of us.”

Before she could reply to him, Kisame returned, and Itachi took that opportunity to disappear. Kisame cocked his head at his partner’s sudden departure, but then looked down at the kunoichi and smirked.

“Well, now that we have some time to kill, let’s talk about apples.”

Sakura paled. Perhaps hitting him in the head with the apple hadn’t been such a good idea after all.


~!~

Deidara snorted, watching as Tobi did his best to engage everyone in a conversation. The only two who responded to him were Zetsu and the leader. He did try to engage Konan, but the woman mainly kept to herself and would only offer him a small, polite smile.

When the orange mask turned his way, Deidara rolled his eyes and snapped, “What?”

“Tobi is so very excited, Deidara-senpai,” Tobi happily gushed. “Itachi-san and Kisame-san will arrive tomorrow with the lady. Tobi will have someone else to talk to.”

Deidara shrugged and turned his attention to his dinner. As long as it kept the loud-mouthed brat away from him, he could talk to the pink-haired girl all he wanted. His attention, however, was quickly upon Pein when the man stood up.

“When Itachi and Kisame arrive, you will take Haruno Sakura from them and escort her to where she will be held until the following morning,” Pein said, his tone even. “Deidara, explain to her that she will be allowed to rest and recover, and will be fed. If she questions you about why she is here, you are not to answer her.”

“What if she tries to escape?” Deidara asked, his blue eyes upon Pein. “She is well known for her strength, yeah.”

“That will not be a problem,” Zetsu said, his tone even. However, his darker side began to chuckle. “After she devours her meal, she isn’t going to want to do anything other than sleep.”

“So you’re going to drug her, yeah,” Deidara replied thoughtfully.

Pein slowly moved away from his seat and calmly said, “It is a milder version of what Itachi gave to her. The drug that she will ingest will aid her in recovering her chakra and allow her body to heal after such a long journey. After all, we want her in top shape when she comes before us.”

Deidara knew what that meant. The pink-haired girl was going to be fighting for her life; should she lose, it would mean an end to their leader’s fun. It was well known that he disliked Itachi and was looking for any way he could find that would knock the sharingan master off of his pedestal.

Despite everything he had done in his life, he didn’t like the idea of seeing the young woman fighting for her life. But then again, this had nothing to do with him, and all he himself was trying to do was survive.

When he turned his attention back to his dinner, he found that he just wasn’t hungry.


~!~

“Do you think…?”

“No.”

“But if I could just…”

“No.”

“Why are you being such a bastard?”

“I’ve got to be me.”

“Can’t you just compromise?”

“No.”

Sakura glared at Kisame and he glared right back at her. She knew that he was just doing it to anger her, and damn him, it was working.

Kisame was currently holding the small bag of grapes, and had been taunting her with them for the last half hour. Apparently, he was getting even for the apple incident. But damn it, he had deserved what he got.

Taking a deep breath, she calmly asked, “Could I please have some grapes?”

Kisame pretended to think for a moment, but then leaned forward. “No.”

He began to laugh as her face twisted into a scowl. But when his partner returned to where they were sitting, it was clear that Itachi had heard their entire conversation. The younger man moved over to his pack and silently pulled out a small bag that contained slices of oranges.

Handing them to Sakura, he turned towards Kisame. “We cannot afford any more delays,” he said. “We have until tomorrow morning to return to headquarters.”

Growling, Kisame shoved the grapes into his pack and said, “That means we are going to have to run all night.”

Nodding, Itachi turned to look at Sakura, who was shoving an orange slice into her mouth and watching them at the same time. He moved to where she sat and said, “Be ready in ten minutes. This is the last time we will be stopping, so prepare yourself.”

Sakura swallowed the orange slice and then slowly stood up. Once she had taken care of all of her needs, she allowed Itachi to arrange her on his back. When his grip on her tightened, she took in a deep breath and tightened her arms around his neck.

As the two males ran through the dark forest, Sakura allowed her eyes to close. She could not help but wonder what awaited her at the Akatsuki headquarters. From what Itachi had said earlier, it was clear that she was expected to fight him, but she really did not know why. Was it to show the other Akatsuki members her weaknesses, or was it to show them Itachi’s failure to keep her subdued?

Either way, she had a feeling that life as she knew it was over, and she had better figure out a way to make sure that she came out of this ordeal alive.


~!~

He threw his pouch of kunai across the room and scowled. Here was the perfect opportunity, and it was being denied to him. All he ever wanted was to kill Itachi, and now he had a way to do so. And the fucking hokage had basically grounded him to the village.

He knew that he should be concerned over the welfare of his teammate, but this need for vengeance had been with him for too long to simply be pushed aside for anything else. He had denied himself a life of friends, of a lover, of a family, and all because he was scared that, should Itachi find out about them, he would repeat the past and wipe those he loved away once more.

Yes, he was friends with Naruto. He supposed that he was friends with Sakura also, though he did tend to keep the pink-haired woman at arm’s length, due to the fact that she had once been one of his fan-girls. He just could not bring himself to allow her to become anything more to him.

At least, not yet. He could not deny that she was beautiful. It was true that she had grown into that forehead of hers, and she had filled out in places that he knew that his eyes should not stray to. But he did not need her to become a distraction. He needed all of his attention to be on Itachi.

But now Itachi’s attention was on Sakura, and that did not sit well with him. It should be him, Sasuke, that Itachi was concerned with, because he was going to be the one to kill him.

It just wasn’t fair.


~!~

Sakura’s weary eyes opened when she felt Itachi finally come to a stop. They had been running for nearly ten hours straight, and she was sore as hell from having to ride Itachi’s back. Lifting her head from his shoulder, she blinked a couple of times and then frowned. The two men were staring at a large boulder expectantly, and for the life of her, she could not figure out what in the hell they were doing.

Before she could voice her question of what was so interesting about a rock, the boulder quivered. Suddenly, it rolled to the side, and she found herself staring into a lit corridor that seemed to slope down into the earth. Kisame snickered and asked, “What’s the matter, kunoichi? Were you expecting us to live in a village?”

“Actually,” Sakura drawled, “I was wondering what the rock that you crawled out from underneath looked like, and now I know.”

Snorting, Kisame moved forward and said, “That’s right, Princess. Just keep on cracking jokes. I like my women feisty.”

“Too bad all of your women are of the blow-up variety,” Sakura replied, nastily.

Kisame whirled around, but froze when he heard Deidara’s bark of laughter. Itachi stopped in his tracks, watching as the blonde appeared with a large grin upon his lips.

“Leader wants to see the both of you, and I am to take the kunoichi off of your hands, yeah,” he said, his tone amused. “From what I’ve heard, Kisame and our guest could use a break from each other.”

Kisame muttered underneath his breath about how he’d like to ‘break’ something and began to walk away, his head held high. Itachi narrowed his eyes at Deidara, but then slowly allowed Sakura to slide off his back and onto her feet. He heard her sharp intake of breath, but did not turn to acknowledge her.

“Where will you be taking her?” he asked, his tone brooking no room for arguments.

Deidara shrugged. “We’ve prepared a room for her, and she is to be fed. After that, I don’t know, yeah,” he replied. “You’d better get going. Leader is not very happy with you.”

Itachi’s eyes darted over to the blonde and clearly told Deidara that he couldn’t care less if the leader was happy or not. Without a glance at Sakura, Itachi disappeared down the hall, leaving Sakura in the care of the explosive artist.

Sakura did her best not to wince at the pain of her feet. She looked up at the blonde who had been staring at her and huffed. “What?” she demanded irritably.

Shrugging, the blonde said, “Let’s go. I don’t have all day, yeah.”

Soon, Sakura found herself in a large room that had a bed and a small table with a plate of chicken and rice upon it. Her stomach growled as the smell hit her senses and her companion chuckled. “You need to take a bath first. You stink.”

Glaring at him, Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and snapped, “Well, you’re an asshole.”

“Ouch,” Deidara said, his right hand moving up to cover his heart. “Such hurtful words, yeah. How will I ever move on, knowing that you think I’m an asshole?”

Sakura rolled her eyes at the artist’s dramatic performance, but then sighed. “Look, what do you guys want with me? I barely have enough chakra to heal my feet as it is, so I can’t be of any help to you or your organization,” she said, her tone soft.

Deidara allowed his gaze to sweep over the girl, and he sighed. “I can’t tell you, yeah,” he muttered, his hands folding into his long cloak. “Just be a good girl and go take a bath. You’ll find a change of clothing in the bathroom. When you’re done, eat your dinner. You will feel much better once you are clean and full, yeah.”

Turning, he exited the room and took a hold of the doorknob. “By the way, don’t try to escape,” he warned. “Zetsu has spies all over the place, and if one of them catches you, you won’t like the consequences, yeah.”

Once the door was closed, Deidara quickly went through the needed seals to places a sealing jutsu over the door. Before turning to walk down the hall, he listened quietly as the door to the bathroom closed and the water began to run. Nodding, he was thankful that she had not put up a fight. Then again, he supposed that she used up all of her fighting spirit with Kisame.

From what he had heard, it was clear that Kisame made himself a new friend, Deidara mused as he walked towards the entrance to the headquarters. It was certainly going to be an interesting few days with the kunoichi around.


~!~

“Explain to me why one tiny kunoichi held the two of you up for so long,” Pein demanded, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “Do not even think of trying to pacify me. I am not in the mood for excuses or half-truths.”

Kisame glanced over at Itachi, and nodded when Itachi calmly said, “The kunoichi’s feet have been damaged. Due to the harsh traveling conditions, she was not able to replenish her chakra as she thought that she would. I carried her, and we stopped only for her benefit. This is the only reason why we are so late.”

Pein stared at the two nin before him before finally giving a brief nod. “Make no mistake,” he said after several minutes of silence. “I am very displeased. The next time you fail to complete a mission within a specified period of time, you will both be severely punished. Dismissed.”

Kisame gave a curt bow and quickly left the office, Itachi trailing after him at a more leisurely pace. When the office door closed behind them, Kisame slumped against the wall and grumbled, “I knew I should have carried her.”

Itachi gave Kisame a warning glance, but then moved down the long corridor. He continued to walk until he came to a door, and then frowned. He lifted a brow when he felt the effects of the sealing jutsu, and quickly dispelled the jutsu before reaching for the doorknob.

He entered the room quietly and found Sakura in the middle of the large bed, asleep. He allowed his eyes to move over the room and saw that her chair had been tipped over, and that the glass of water had been knocked over as well.

It was clear to him that Sakura’s slumber was the handy work of Zetsu, and from the look on the pink-haired woman’s face, she was content. Her deep, even breaths told him that she was finally getting the rest her body needed in order to recover her charka; once she was fully rested, she could heal her feet easily.

Then it would be show time for the Akatsuki. Walking over to the chair, he silently picked it up and placed it back on its legs before quietly making his way out of the room. Just before he closed the door, his eyes moved back over to Sakura. He silently praised her for making it to the bed before Zetsu’s sleeping herbs took full effect.

Once the door was closed and the sealing jutsu was back in place, he made his way to his own chambers. As he walked, he silently hoped that Sakura found peace within her dreams.


~!~

“The girl took to the herbs better than I had hoped,” the man said, his tone thoughtful. “In her exhaustion, she failed to detect them and is now sound asleep.”

Pein nodded and then leaned forward. “How long do you think that she will be out?” he asked, curious.

The man gave a short laugh and moved away from the wall. “The fact that she didn’t even notice that I had picked her up and moved her to the bed tells me that she won’t be waking up for a while. But we can look at this as an opportunity for her to be at her best when she faces Itachi.”

Pein sat back in his chair and watched as the man moved to sit down before him. Pein’s eyes narrowed when the man said, “The girl is certainly unusual for a ninja. Even in the short amount of time I spent with her, I could feel that there is something about her that makes her…interesting.”

“Are you thinking about studying her?” Pein asked, knowing that if the man was thinking along those lines, then the girl would become a permanent fixture around the headquarters, and she would be underneath his protection. At least, until he had grown bored with her.

The man was silent for several minutes, but then said, “I will reserve my answer to your question until after I witness her skill with my own eyes. Until then, make sure she does not come to harm, Pein. I would be most displeased to find that I have been disobeyed.”

There was clearly a threat hanging in the man’s words, but Pein forced himself to nod, and then watched as the man stood up. Within seconds, he was alone and found himself frowning.

Haruno Sakura was becoming more of a problem, which he simply did not want to deal with. And he knew just who to blame for this mess.

Uchiha Itachi.