Perception

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

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Perception by Cynchick
Chapter 9: A Question of Lust

When Sakura awoke the next day Itachi was gone. She noticed that the other side of the bed looked un-slept in. Did he sleep in the chair? She remembered what he had told her during their strange conversation last night, and guessed that he probably hadn’t slept at all despite hours of hard travel. Was it really only last night that they had talked over tea and he’d almost kissed her? So much had happened since then it seemed like days ago to her strung-out mind.


She wondered what time it was. There was no window in this room so it was impossible to tell. The only light was coming from the crack under the door. Also, she wondered where everyone else was and why they had left her alone in here. She figured someone was lurking around nearby to keep an eye on her. Still exhausted from the multitude of events yesterday, she yawned sleepily and drifted back to sleep.


It seemed she had just barely fallen asleep again when she was woken by the soft click of the door opening. She turned her head toward the dim light coming form the hallway and saw Kisame’s looming bulk outlined in the doorway.


“Hey! You awake?” he barked loudly.


Sakura sat up in bed grumpily. “I am now, thanks to your bellowing.”


Kisame grunted in amusement. “You sound like Itachi. Get used to it, princess; I’m not the delicate type.”


She rolled her eyes and reached for the light next to the bed. “Never would have guessed. Did you want something?”


The shark man entered the room and stopped at the foot of the bed. “I don’t want anything, but I’m sure you want this.” He dropped the paper bag he’d been carrying on the mattress.


Her lower half still under the flimsy covers, she leaned forward and grabbed the bag. Rolling it open, she saw several containers that looked like another take-out meal. Her mouth began to water at the thought of food, but then a thought struck her and she frowned. “…This isn’t from here, is it?” she asked warily, meaning the bar downstairs.


Kisame chuckled in understanding. “Don’t worry; it’s from another part of town.”


She nodded and began removing the containers to her lap. “Thanks. What time is it?”


“Sometime after two.” Sakura raised her eyebrows. She couldn’t believe she’d slept so late. Then again, she hadn’t gone to be until dawn.


She looked at her food thoughtfully. “So does this mean I’m not allowed to leave the room?”


“You can leave the room, just don’t go downstairs.”


Sakura frowned at the rule. “Why not? I already told you I wasn’t going to run away.”


“Yeah, but you’re still our hostage, princess. This isn’t one of our bases. Someone might recognize you and try to start something with us. Then things would get ugly around here.” He gave her a pointy-toothed grin.


She scoffed. “Yeah, I’m sure that’d be a real disappointment for you. Anyway, I thought you guys wanted to be found?”


“By the Kyuubi brat, yes. Not by the hunter nins from last night and not by some Leaf ally who knows you’re missing.”


“I don’t think any random Leaf or Sand ninja would be this far north in Stone territory. They’re not exactly friendly to either of us.”


He shrugged. “We don’t take chances like that, princess. How do you think we’ve survived this long?”


“I guess.” She shrugged dismissively.


“Besides, this is a rough town even in the nicer areas and you’re deceptively cute and innocent looking. You’d just get yourself into all kinds of trouble and we’d have to come and get you before you wound up destroying half the town.” He snickered at her.


“How chivalrous. You know, I could always play the part of the damsel in distress so you’d have an excuse to pick a fight.” she teased.


He grinned wickedly at her. “Maybe we’ll try that sometime, once were out of Earth country. But then again, it would look like I was coming to your rescue like a gentleman, and that would ruin my reputation.”


“Well, we can’t have that, now can we?” she laughed and rolled her eyes at the shark nin.


He turned to leave the room. “Eat up, clean up, wander to the other room if you want. Someone will be around to keep an eye on you so don’t get any ideas, and don’t go downstairs.” he reminded casually.


“Yeah, yeah.” She said flippantly, and began to eat her lunch as Kisame left and closed the door.

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After she finished eating, Sakura locked herself in one of the upstairs washrooms to clean up and wash out her only change of clothes. If only she was allowed to leave the inn then maybe she could get some new ones at a local shop, but she wasn’t, and she didn’t think asking one of the Akatsuki to go out and buy them for her was a very good idea.


After she was done in the washroom and her clothes were dry, she made her way back to her room. She debated whether or not to go into the other room across from hers, but decided against it in the end. She wouldn’t know what to do once she got there anyway. In the end, she settled on staying in her room the entire day. She was almost glad she had slept so late into the day so there wouldn’t be too many hours to wait through until nightfall when they would ultimately regroup and company would find her rather than her awkwardly seeking it out.


To pass the time, she sat on the bed with her weapons spread out before her and gave them a good sharpening and rudimentary maintenance. As she worked, the continuous scraping of metal on stone and the repetitive motions lured her into that semi-meditative state that was common during this type of activity.


She knew that Konoha must know about her kidnapping by now, and she was sure that her team was scouring the countryside of Grass looking for her. Perhaps they’d followed the trail to Earth country already. Was it possible they had already found the farmhouse? She knew her captors had been forced to cover their tracks completely after Deidara’s stunt at the farm, and she was worried and relieved at the same time that her pursuing teammates would lose the trail for several days at least. If only she had a way to let them know she was unharmed and – for the moment - safe.


Sakura’s heart wrenched with what almost felt like guilt. What would they think if they knew that right now she was sitting here alone and unguarded on a hotel bed, in possession of all her weapons including her chakra, not even contemplating a way to escape? She forced the guilty feelings back down. She had a perfectly calculated and legitimate reason for staying put, and it was to protect the lives of her friends. If she managed to get away, which she almost certainly wouldn’t, she would not be able to backtrack and find her team but they would continue on and find her captors eventually. If she was gone, alone in the wilderness of an enemy country when the two sides did meet up, she would be unable to help her friends at all. She would be unable to heal their wounds, unable to fight beside them, unable to protect Naruto from Itachi. She was doing this –playing the part of nonresistance- for them.


If she became hostile with her captors, or tried to escape, they would be forced to tie her up, blindfold or gag her, beat her into a weakened state and drain her chakra making it just as impossible to be of any help when her friends arrived. As it was now, she was at full strength and ready to do what was necessary to keep the people she cared for alive, and she had a rare opportunity to learn things about her enemies in the most subtle ways. She had nothing to feel guilty about, right?


Still, they must be out of their minds with worry for her safety. Especially Naruto, who would only blame himself and tear himself apart with worry over her. Kakashi too, as he also had a deep-seated fear of losing people he cared about and a tendency to blame himself for things that weren’t his fault. A pang of sadness replaced her niggling guilt. She missed them terribly. It had only been a week, but it seemed like ages since she’d seen her boys and heard their voices. She missed Naruto’s bright eyes and even brighter smile, the way he made you feel like everything would be alright with only a cheesy pose and overused catchphrase. She missed Sai, with his quiet brilliance and dark eyes that held so much mystery in their depths. She even his missed his insensitive attitude, and the way he relentlessly terrorized Naruto. She smiled sadly, wishing she could see them fight over something stupid and knock them both silly again. And Kakashi…she missed him so much it nearly brought tears to her eyes, and she had to pause in her sharpening before she cut herself. She missed him the most, because of all her ‘boys’, she got the most comfort from the stoic silver haired man.


He was the one she went to when she needed someone to understand. Sai never really got what the big deal was when she got emotional. Naruto, for all his compassion and wanting to help, didn’t know how to handle her when she broke down. But Kakashi was always there, mostly silent, but always listening. He never told her she was crazy like the artist, and never asked her if it was ‘that time’ like the blonde. When she was angry, he listened to her tantrums, sometimes offering sage advice, and would ruffle her hair like when she was younger. She hated it and was comforted by it at the same time. When she was sad, when she needed to cry, he was the rock she broke against. He would drape an arm over her shoulders and pull her in and just be there. She could really use that now, after everything she’d been through this last week and with what was sure to come in the days and weeks ahead.


After a while, she returned her gear to its proper place and lay down on the bed as it all caught up to her and a deep melancholy set in. She’d been so strong the entire time she’d been held captive, believing in her rescuers and refusing to show weakness in front of her captors. But her captors weren’t here now, and neither were her friends, and sometimes one just needs to mope. Hot tears leaked freely from the corners of her eyes and soaked the pillow as she lay there on her side, staring into space. Fear for her friends, dread at what would happen when they found her, what it would mean to see Sasuke again and what might happen when she did, the strange guilt she was beginning to feel by being here like she was, confusion about the nature of her relationships with her captors, about Itachi and what was happening between them, all of those things pent up inside began to overflow now, and Sakura was powerless to stop the flood. And this time there were no strong arms to hold her, no silent presence to comfort against the tide of her emotions. She was all alone here, in the most complicated situation of her life, and could do nothing but let it all out as she cried herself to sleep.

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She awoke some time later but continued to stare at the wall with her back to the door. The tears had stopped, but the long string of depressive and sometimes morbid thoughts continued as she lay there. She had stopped feeling sorry for herself some time ago, and was carefully going over any possible ways she could improve the situation or just do something useful instead of being a helpless bystander, when she heard the door open and recognized the soft footsteps and quietly powerful presence of Itachi.


She slowly rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows to look at him. He regarded her with his usual blank calmness, and if he could see the redness of her eyes and tearstained cheeks he didn’t show it. He didn’t say anything, just quietly closed the door as he watched her.


“Is it nighttime?” she asked, brushing her sleep-mussed hair out of her face.


“Yes.” he answered in that voice like velvet, shifting an arm out of his wide sleeve. “Have you recovered your strength?” he asked impassively.


Why do you care? She sat up a little more and watched him as he slowly popped the clasps on his cloak to open it. “Yes.”


He didn’t respond, just removed his cloak gracefully and began to un-strap his katana. Sakura sat up and crossed her legs under her as she watched him openly. He set the katana down against the side of the armchair and turned to face her again. “Deidara has gone for dinner, and should return soon. When he does, someone will let you know.” He turned back to the door.


“Itachi…” she said cautiously. He turned to look at her again.


She spoke carefully and deliberately, determined to go through with what she had decided during her hours of solitude. “I’ve been thinking…” he continued to look at her as he reached for his cloak. “and if you if you want me to…I will heal your eyes.”


He’d gotten one arm through his cloak and stopped abruptly at her quiet words. His brow furrowed and his crimson eyes seemed to pierce right through her. He could see she was being genuine and there were no signs of deception or mal-intent in her calm, clear eyes. “Why would you offer this?” he asked, his composed voice laced with suspicion despite what he saw in her face.


“Because…” She breathed deeply. “Because I care about Sasuke, and…this is the only thing I can do for him right now.”


The older Uchiha’s brow twitched, obviously not following her logic. He slid his other arm into his cloak. “You would willingly make it even harder for him to defeat me? How would that help him, Sakura?”


She shifted her legs beneath her and sighed softly. “Because I know him, and he could never be satisfied with his revenge if he only achieved it because you were not at full capacity. He needs to know he beat you truly and completely, or he will never move on. I’m the only one that can give that satisfaction to him. It sounds strange, believe me I know, but you can understand can’t you?”


He could and did, more than she knew. But he didn’t answer her question. “How do you know he is even aware of it?” he asked instead.

She smiled wistfully. “He knows. He has the Sharingan too, and he is very smart. He’s figured it out, I’m certain of it.”


He continued to watch her closely for any sign of deception. “You are aware that doing such a thing would be an act of treason to your village.”


She closed her eyes. “I know,” she looked at him again, her expression resolute. “But who will tell them?”


His brow twitched minutely again. “You would betray your village for my foolish brother, who has never shown you the same loyalty?”


Something hard and determined flashed in her vibrant eyes. “Yes. I would. I would do it for any of the people I love.”


His lips twisted in a slight smirk as he pondered her offer, her heartfelt vow, and the meaning behind it for a long moment. Never had he looked at her so intensely, and she knew he was weighing the options and making the decision that could change her –no, their- lives forever.


He stared at her long and hard for what seemed like forever, before he blinked slowly and his expression changed to something not blank but still entirely unreadable. “I accept.” he said in a near-whisper. Sakura closed her eyes again as the weight of her decision settled over them both. She breathed deeply and nodded. “When would you like to begin this inquest, Sakura?” he asked.


Her jade eyes met his crimson ones again. “I’ll need some time to prepare and work out the details. We can start later tonight if you want.”


Itachi pulled his cloak further over his shoulders but left it open, and turned once more for the door. “After dinner, then.” he agreed, and left the room as quietly as he’d entered.


Sakura had thought through all of the ramifications of what she offered earlier in the day, but she still felt the weight of her decision like an invisible hand. Now that she’d spoken the words aloud, the deal was sealed and there would be no going back. She didn’t feel regret or guilt, but she knew that in these last few minutes, something had changed within her that could never be unchanged. Perhaps she had lost some of that naïve optimism Itachi had talked about. With a sigh, she lay back on the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.

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Sakura was unusually quiet during dinner. Tobi had come to fetch her not long after Itachi had left the room, and she went with him to join the others in the room across the hall. This room had two beds, she’d noted, and wondered absently if that was why Itachi had given the key to this room to his partner and how he had known.


The Uchiha wasn’t there for their meal, which she was slightly thankful for, and she tried not to think about him and where he had gone after their conversation. The deal they had made would have a huge impact on him as well. There was far more to this than what was on the surface, for both of them. Sakura would be committing what would be considered an act of treason, something she would never have thought herself capable of, and Itachi would have to trust another person with something very precious to him, perhaps the only thing precious to him.


Sakura sat silently next to Deidara on one of the beds, not really listening to the three’s conversation. She reflected back on the choices she had made over the last few days. She had already betrayed her village; by healing Deidara’s arm, by not trying to escape, and several other little things she had said and done. What was one more added to the list? No one would know, and it wasn’t directly hurting anyone. Deidara was perfectly capable of blowing things up with one arm, just as Itachi was no less dangerous when half blind, so what did it really matter? It frightened her that she could justify her actions like that, but there was no point in lying to herself; she did indeed think that way.


Her true loyalty lay with the people she loved, and until now that had always gone hand in hand with the interests of her village. But she knew that cracks had begun to appear in that sentiment when Sasuke left, after all she had pleaded with him to take her into the dark life of a missing nin with him, however naïve she had been about the consequences at the time. She was no longer naïve about the consequences of her choices, but she felt like the line between right and wrong was beginning to blur for her. She realized that she really would do anything for the people she loved, and she was beginning to understand how people could justify certain actions in the name of love and friendship.


She thought of Haku for the first time in a long while. What happened on her first mission all those years ago had left a lasting impact on her and her teammates. There was a lesson to be learned there that she was only now beginning to understand. Haku had been a good person. He didn’t always agree with the things he’d done, but he did them out of love for Zabuza. He had been their enemy, but he’d had reasons for his actions that he’d believed in with all his heart and had come from a place of love, and she hadn’t been able to hate him because of that. In fact, she’d cried when he died, and cried even more at Zabuza’s touching last words when he met his end as well. So had Naruto, though he’d tried to hide it. Even Sasuke hadn’t been able to remain unaffected. She also knew that what happened to Haku was one of the only times Kakashi had regrets about killing an enemy.


The point was, things are not always as simple as they seem, and almost anything could be justified when looked at from a certain perspective. Sakura knew she would never completely turn against her village for any reason, would never willingly go along with something that would hurt or kill people she had grown up with and cared about, but neither could she be a blind soldier any longer. And she wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Kakashi had done things in his past that were not looked upon kindly by the elders and their rigid laws. Naruto had disobeyed direct orders several times, and had been a hair’s breadth away from committing treason more than once when it came to dealing with Sasuke. And Sai, who was pretty much a blind soldier to begin with, had also done things to undermine orders and laws in the interest of what he was told was for the greater good of Konoha. Even her shishou, the Hokage, had come very close to crossing that line when she was asked to heal Orochimaru’s arms, and had only decided against it in the end because she knew her reasons were selfish and ultimately unjustifiable.


Her reasons were not selfish, she told herself over and over. She didn’t feel guilty for healing Deidara’s arm, and she didn’t feel guilty for offering to heal Itachi’s eyes. And it was the fact that she didn’t feel wrong about it that was unsettling her. She knew something was changing in her, but she didn’t know if it was because of what she was currently going through or something that was bound to happen eventually. However she had come to this point, it was done and there was no going back now.


When she got up silently and headed for the door no one questioned it, either because they didn’t care or to say something would indicate that they did care. So they merely glanced at her, almost curiously, and continued their conversation as she left and closed the door.

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An hour after Sakura returned to her room, Itachi returned from wherever he had been as well. She was sitting in the armchair with her legs drawn up to her chest, and she didn’t look at him as he removed his cloak and laid it on the bed. He didn’t look at her for a long moment either. When he did, his crimson eyes were like fire burning through her foggy mind.


“Are you ready to begin?” he asked quietly.


She nodded slowly. “I’ll need you to lay down on the bed.” she said in a quiet, professional tone.


He watched her another moment, then did as she said, lying back on the bed and crossing his legs with arms folded loosely over his stomach. Sakura rose slowly from the chair and walked to the foot of the bed. She crawled across and sat next to Itachi, tucking her legs under her as she settled, her knee touching his upper arm a little. He watched every movement she made as she settled next to him. His body was slightly tense, he was obviously more than a little wary of this, and she figured if Uchiha Itachi was ever capable of getting nervous, this would probably be the time. “How long will this take?” he asked as he stared up at her face.


Sakura slipped into ‘medic’ mode, and her voice was low and firm. “Well, I’ll have to diagnose the extent of the damage and where it’s located first, which may be a bit uncomfortable for you by the way, but probably not as bad as the pain it’s already causing you. The actual healing process shouldn’t take too long, maybe a few sessions over a couple days. The good news is I’ve done this before, with Kakashi, so all the research was done on him and I can do this pretty easily.” He showed no indication of what he thought about her healing the Copy Ninja’s transplant Sharingan, merely gave her a small nod that he understood her explanation. “I asked you to lie on the bed because this could take a few hours and it’s best to be in a position that’s mutually comfortable. Also, I’m letting you know ahead of time that once I begin to examine the damage you may temporarily lose your vision.” His eyes narrowed. “It will only be for a moment and won’t do any harm. I understand how wary this makes you, but if you freak out and snap my neck or something, I won’t be able to bring your sight back and you’ll be stuck that way forever, so just try and relax.”


His jaw clenched a little, but he nodded that he understood. Sakura took a deep breath. “Turn the Sharingan off, please.” she instructed softly. He did, and as always, she was fascinated by the way the colors bled together until the red was gone. His deep, ebony eyes were breathtaking, and she got lost in them for a second. She snapped out of it when he spoke softly. “Are you fully prepared for this, Sakura?” she knew he didn’t just mean the task at hand, and her eyes fell from his to her hands in her lap. “If you do this, there can be no going back. Are you ready for what could happen because of it?”


She continued to stare at her hands, and she frowned a little at his heavy words. “I’m surprised you would say such a thing, like you care.” she muttered.


He smirked. “You know better than that. As I said before, this will be taken as an act of treason to your village, and even those you love and claim to do this for may not understand your logic or forgive you. It makes no difference to me what you make of your life. I’m simply pointing out that decisions like this will change things about you, and lead you to a path you may not be ready to go down.”


She listened to his quietly profound words and realized that he was being slightly introspective, that he said these thing to her out of experience, and it made her wonder about him. But now wasn’t the time to ask. She fixed her gaze on him, and once again there was that hard fire in her eyes that burned as deeply as his own. “I’m fully aware of the possible consequences for this, Itachi. I was resolved in my decision before I ever brought it up to you. You should know I wouldn’t offer to do something of this magnitude on impulse, just as I know you didn’t agree to it on impulse. This thing we’re about to do will affect your life in more ways than one as well. Are you prepared?”


He smirked softly and appeared to weigh her words. She saw he was far easier to read without the Sharingan active, possibly another reason he always had it on. In order for this to happen he would have to trust her, be vulnerable in front of her. Essentially, put his very life in her hands. All things he had never done with anyone since he was a very small child, and she was in reality his enemy.


He knew what was implied by his agreement to this endeavor, and knew as well that in a way it was showing weakness. But her brilliant eyes were clear and determined and showed no deception. He was better at reading others than anyone, and he knew she was genuine in this. Also, he knew that if she killed him here, Sasuke would hate her forever, and may even try to end her life for taking his revenge from him. She would never risk that. He could trust in that fact, at least, if not completely in her. “Let’s begin then.”


She nodded, bringing her hands up to his face and gently placing her fingertips at his temples, brushing his hair aside as she did. The dark strands were surprisingly soft, and she felt a little awkward and strange because she had never willfully touched him before. All of his messing with her the day before, for all its sexual undertone, somehow didn’t feel quite as intimate as this. Forcing herself to concentrate, she slowly and carefully began her task.


She worked for several hours, at first diagnosing and then beginning the slow, complicated healing process; clearing chakra buildup from the retinal pathways, and relieving tension and repairing damage on the optical nerves. His condition was far worse than Kakashi’s, as she’d fully expected, but was a bit surprised to learn the full extent; that he’d been operating with only half of his eyesight for at least several years. He must use the Mangekyou quite often for deterioration this advanced, a fact she didn’t want to think too much about. She also noted that the chakra buildup gave him acute pain and that his nerve endings were far more damaged than Kakashi’s. She was amazed really, that he could still be so lethal when he was literally half blind and suffering constant migraines.


Several times she asked him to switch between the forms, turning the Sharingan off and on again, and from regular to Mangekyou form, and he complied without question. The Mangekyou form scared the hell out of her, just by being aware of what he could do-and did do, quite often- with it. She had looked without fear into Kakashi’s Mangekyou, which was just as deadly, though somewhat less…sadistic, in its abilities. But that was because she trusted Kakashi completely. The man on the bed next to her was an entirely different story, and though she knew he wasn’t going to use it on her, she didn’t feel comfortable looking into it for more than a second or so.


Just as she’d warned before they began, at one point his vision went out completely. His entire body tensed visibly and the alarm showed clearly on his handsome face, but he remained still though his fingers twitched once or twice like he was resisting the urge to reach out and grab her. Sakura knew that was a dangerous moment, and it made her pulse quicken. She made sure to keep talking to him during that short time in an effort to pacify his agitation. It was almost like trying to calm a cornered animal, and the thought made her want to giggle. Just as she promised, his sight returned in less than a minute, and after that he slowly began to relax.


Eventually he seemed to relax completely, or as much as he was ever capable of doing, and stretched out more comfortably on the bed, tucking an arm behind his head. Sakura shifted her position as well, absently moving until her thigh rested lightly against his side. This time she didn’t think about the contact, too engrossed in her task to really notice how close they were. He didn’t react to it either, just laid there with his eyes closed, probably enjoying the first feelings of relief his eyes had in years.


For the first hour or so, she worked on him in silence, but eventually they began to talk about small things. Nothing too personal, just quiet, simple – if somewhat awkward – conversation to pass the time. Just as she’d discovered with Deidara, Itachi was actually an interesting person to talk to. He was intelligent, surprisingly cultured, and though he wasn’t as humorous blonde, she found that he was actually almost pleasant when he wanted to be, and as long as they stayed away from subjects that were touchy or overly personal she didn’t mind talking to him. She wondered why he and Deidara didn’t talk more, if maybe there was something between the two men she didn’t know about. She knew by now that neither of them were particularly open or sociable people, and figured that was probably it. Although, they both seemed fine with talking to her, but that raised a whole new set of questions she didn’t really want to examine too closely.


She worked on his eyes until she was too tired to continue, and had used up a good portion of her chakra. She told him to keep his eyes closed for now to give them a bit of time to heal and adjust on their own, and he nodded and complied without argument. She removed her hands from his temples and ran her fingers through her short hair tiredly, removing her hitai-ate and tossing it aside. Itachi didn’t move from where he lay on the bed, with his arm still behind his head and his breathing slow and even, and after several minutes it appeared he’d fallen asleep. She wasn’t surprised; he probably couldn’t even remember the last time his eyes had felt no pain, and the removal of so much strain after so long had relaxed him into unconsciousness.


Sakura watched his sleeping face for several minutes. He looked so different this way, so unguarded and so young. In fact, he looked a little too much like Sasuke when he was asleep, and she looked away with a small frown. Emotionally and physically exhausted, and too drained to care about much of anything, she reached over Itachi cautiously so as not to wake him and turned off the light before laying down on her side of the bed and quickly falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

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Naruto sighed heavily and ran a dirty hand through his unruly blonde hair. Looking around in the gray light of early dawn, he took in the dismal sight before him and kicked in frustration at one of the still-smoldering beams that surrounded him. Hearing a small shuffling sound, he looked to his left to see one of Kakashi’s ninken dogs pass by, nose trained to the ground as his keen senses worked diligently. “Anything?” the blonde asked wearily.


The dog, Naruto had forgotten this one’s name, didn’t raise his head but continued sniffing. “Nothing.” he replied gruffly, and went off in a different direction.


Naruto let out another heavy, frustrated sigh, kicked another beam out of spite, and began to walk back to where the others were. If the dog didn’t find anything over here, there was no point in him searching that area anymore either.


Their team had found the smoking ruin that had once been a house just before dawn. Alarmed because this was directly where the Akatsuki trail had led them, Kakashi had immediately summoned his dogs and they had all searched frantically for quite a while. Naruto wasn’t the only one with burns on his hands from trying to move beams and planks that still smoldered and broke apart, showering them with embers. After a while, the dogs assured them that one, it had been at least a full day since this happened, and two, there were no bodies among the debris and whoever was here had gotten out before the fire started. Extremely relieved, they had set to searching for the escape trail, but the dogs were having a hard time because of all the smoke and char.


They were also not the first to find this place after it burned down; there were numerous footprints crisscrossing all around the area. Kakashi and Yamato had agreed that the sole imprints in the mud were made by standard issue ANBU boots. Unfortunately, the Stone nins’ investigation had made their job harder, with their tracks covering any that may have been there previously and their scents mixing in with everything until the dogs couldn’t distinguish what was underneath them.


He found Kakashi, Yamato and Sai several yards away from the charred debris in what had once been the back of the house. The two older men stood together discussing something in low voices, and Sai was sitting on what had been a stone wall, picking absently at crumbling pieces of concrete and tossing them aside. All three men looked his way when he walked into their line of sight, but soon returned to what they were doing when his body language and demeanor told them that he too had found nothing.


As he joined his teammates, there was a shuffling sound some distance away and they all turned to see Pakkun trotting quickly toward them. Kakashi squatted down to the little dog’s level as he stopped in front of his master. “What is it?” he asked the pug.


Pakkun made a sound almost like clearing his throat. “I was searching the north area of the house, and I found a scent. It wasn’t Sakura.” he added quickly, seeing the expressions on the humans’ faces. “However, it was strangely familiar, so I followed it and found that it wasn’t leading away from the house but rather going towards it, and I was backtracking. Once I got farther from the smells around the house I was able to distinguish it and stopped.”


“What did you find, Pakkun?” the Copy Ninja asked roughly.


The little dog looked at Kakashi pointedly. “It’s Sasuke’s scent.”


“Sasuke?” Naruto blurted in shock.


“Are you certain?” Kakashi asked, his tone nearly as shocked as the blonde’s.


The pug frowned. “Am I ever wrong about these things, Kakashi? Yes, it is Sasuke’s scent. It’s been a long time, but I remember him. His scent is a little different, darker I’d say, but I am most certain. There were two others with him, a male and a female.”


“What do you think Sasuke was doing here?” Naruto asked.


“It could be coincidence; he may have seen the fire and came to see what happened.” Yamato offered thoughtfully.


“Hmph. That bastard doesn’t go out of his way for things that don’t involve him.” Naruto answered with a huff.


“It’s more likely that he heard about the events in that town and once he figured out his brother was involved, he followed the same trail we did.” Kakashi explained.


“Do you think that means he knows about Sakura-chan?” the blonde questioned almost hopefully.


“Probably.”


“Kakashi.” the little pug began, and the silver haired man focused on him again. “Do you want me to keep looking for Sasuke’s departing trail? Perhaps we could follow it if we don’t find Sakura’s.”


The older man nodded. “Let me know what you find.” Pakkun grunted in affirmation and trotted off in the direction he had come.


The four men were silent as they processed this new information. Naruto scuffed his toe absently at the dirt, no doubt thinking about his lost friend and that because of this, they were closer than ever to finding him. Kakashi remained where he was, crouched easily on his haunches with his elbows on his knees. His soot-covered, gloved hand kept clenching and unclenching into a fist as though he was stretching his fingers, but his one visible eye was dark and troubled.


Naruto, who was never any good at hiding what he was thinking, was watching his team leader with concern. It was clear he wanted to say something to the older man but apparently the presence of the other two was preventing it. Yamato, who was always amazingly perceptive, decided to give his two teammates some privacy. “I’ll go and help Pakkun and the other dogs again. Sai, you want to come along?” he asked tactfully.


The artist was pretty intuitive himself, and he nodded to the older man. Digging one last semi-large chunk of concrete out of the ruined wall, he chucked it lightly at Naruto’s head with a smirk and hopped down to the ground. The blonde grunted in annoyance as the piece hit him with a thunk, and punched his teammate in the arm with a half-hearted grin as he walked by. The two men soon disappeared around the bend, leaving Naruto and Kakashi alone.


Naruto sat down on an un-burnt patch of grass near the still-silent Copy Ninja. “I’m sure we’ll find the trail soon, Kakashi-senpai.” he said, trying to sound positive. “At least we know Sakura-chan wasn’t caught in the fire.” The older man’s only response was a slight nod as he continued to stare at the ground in front of him. Naruto frowned in concern at his friend and team leader. “You told me not to tear myself up, Kakashi-senpai, the same goes for you too.” Kakashi looked at him strangely, turning his head only slightly in the younger man’s direction.


Naruto sighed; he knew this wasn’t going to be easy, but the reserved man was obviously going to make it as difficult as possible. “It’s like you said; Sakura-chan is strong. I know what she means to you and how worried you must be, but she’s alright; I know it.” he smiled softly.


Kakashi glanced at the younger man again, his dark eye conspicuously blank. “Sakura means a lot to all of us.” He said vaguely.


Naruto returned his ambiguity with a knowing smile. “Yeah she does, but I know it’s different for you. Believe me, I understand how you must be feeling; if those Akatsuki had taken Hinata I’d be losing my mind over it.”


The older man frowned a little and turned his head to stare off into the distance. The lightening skyline was dark and cloudy. It was going to rain today, and if they didn’t find a trail soon, it may be covered completely by the downpour. “I don’t know what you’re implying by that, Naruto. It’s not the same thing at all.”


The blonde was becoming a little weary with his obstinate former sensei. “You know damn well what I mean, Kakashi-senpai.”


Kakashi still didn’t look at him, and it took him a moment to answer. “I do, but your point is off. Your relationship with Hinata is completely different. Sakura and I are not nor have we ever been romantically involved. It’s not like that.”


“Kakashi.” The blonde snapped exasperatedly, making the other man turn his head sharply to look at him when he heard his name spoken without the usual ‘senpai’. “Even I’m not that oblivious. I know you and Sakura-chan aren’t together like that. But that doesn’t mean you don’t love her. I mean, we all love her, but you’re in love with her, and when something like this happens you can’t hide it, so don’t sit there and play mind games with me. I’m trying to be a friend, damn it.”


Kakashi stared wide eyed at the blonde. When did Naruto get so damn mature? He looked again at the ground at his feet. He figured that since the knucklehead was likely going to be his Hokage one day, it was probably a good thing that he could be perceptive and wise at least some of the time. Damn him anyway. There was no use denying it now, and he sighed wearily. “Is it that obvious?” he muttered dejectedly.


The ‘knucklehead’ gave him a lopsided grin. “Only to anyone who sees the two of you interact on a regular basis. Sai knows. Hell, I think even Yamato-senpai knows, and he isn’t around much anymore. I think the only one who doesn’t know is Sakura-chan, but that’s probably just because she blocks out those kinds of thoughts about her teammates because of the whole Sasuke thing.” he finished sagely.


Kakashi was silent for a long moment. “I thought you’d be angry.” he said quietly.


Naruto frowned in surprise. “Angry? Why would I be angry? I think it’s great!” he ended cheerfully, and the older man looked at him again. “I’ve known you both for a long time, and honestly, I think you’re perfect for each other.” Kakashi emitted a short, dismal laugh at the enthusiastic words. Naruto’s expression sobered somewhat and he tilted his head curiously. “Why haven’t you told her?”


“It’s complicated.”


The younger man frowned again. “How is it complicated?”


Kakashi huffed in exasperation at his optimism and looked away again. He was not about to get into a heartfelt conversation about love and the nuances and complexities of relationships with the boy. Not now, and probably not ever. “It just is.” he replied tersely.


Naruto waved dismissively. “No, it’s not, Kakashi-senpai. No one’s better at getting in the way of their own happiness than you, except maybe Sasuke-teme, but anyway, it’s time you cut that shit out, man. When we get Sakura-chan back you’d better find a way to tell her.” he finished pointedly.


Kakashi just stared at Naruto strangely, somewhat awed, and not really knowing how to respond or if he even wanted to. He was still in the process of finding his voice when one of his dogs let out a long, baying howl from the direction of the woods. They’d found something. The two men instantly jumped to their feet and exchanged mutual looks of alarm and anticipation. Without another word, they both ran toward the woods.

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Once again, Itachi was already gone when Sakura woke up. She rolled over and saw the rumpled bedcovers. Did he sleep next to her all night or had he gotten up after she fell asleep? She guessed it didn’t really matter. Though, she was sort of relieved that she didn’t have to go through an awkward wake-up moment with him. She couldn’t help but notice that as soon as they’d arrived here, he had stopped the flirtatious little game he’d started. He also hadn’t called her kunoichi since she snapped at him about it. Not that she was complaining. In fact, the main reason she’d been wary of sharing a room with the Uchiha was because she was sure he would use the situation to mess with her some more. But there had been no teasing, no innuendo, and no intimate invasion of personal space. It seemed he’d either grown bored with it, or nearly kissing her on the dining room table had startled him more than he let on.


It was a good thing, she decided, because all that business was way too troubling to think about. She rolled onto her back and stared at the dark ceiling, taking her time in waking up. Again, she had no idea what time it was, and no idea how late she’d stayed up working on Itachi’s eyes last night. She sighed, remembering all of the events of the day before. Her acceptance of the changes in her point of view was what ultimately led to this situation. But what had she done, really? More importantly, what was happening to her to make her not only agree to but initiate such a thing? She had already violated several laws of her country during her bizarre captivity, but repairing the deadly weapon of the Uchiha clan killer topped them all. Uchiha Itachi was the number one most wanted criminal in Konoha, now that Orochimaru was dead. If the authorities found out about their deal she would be in big trouble. And they weren’t going to accept that she did it out of some obscure and morose sense of love for Uchiha Sasuke, who also happened to be a wanted missing-nin.


No one was going to find out, she told herself harshly. Except perhaps the other Akatsuki, but they certainly weren’t going to tell anyone. As for her teammates, they may not agree, but they would understand that she did it for Sasuke. That was, if she told them, which as of yet she still had no intention of doing. Which brought up the question again; what was happening to her to make her feel this way?


She wondered vaguely if it was that rare condition some people got when held in captivity, where they became attached or even fell in love with their captors no matter how cruelly they were treated. She shuddered at the thought. No it definitely wasn’t that. Her relationship with the Akatsuki holding her captive had so far been one of respect and even a sort of bizarre amity, but that didn’t mean she was getting attached. People with the syndrome she’d read about tended to begin to identify with their captors and even side with them against their rescuers in extreme cases, and that was most definitely not happening to her. She had every intention of protecting those she loved and returning home with them when this was over, no matter how morbidly chummy she got with the s-class criminals holding her. She was well aware of the dangers of humanizing one’s enemy, but she was far too smart to let it twist her thinking like that. Whatever was going on with her right now, the seed had been planted a long, long time ago, and had just needed something drastic like this to begin blooming.

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Sakura got up groggily and went about her morning routine. Afterward, she didn’t stay in her room like the day before, but made her way to the room across the hall. After knocking and hearing a jaded voice granting entry, she went in and found Deidara and Tobi sitting around looking for all the world like a couple of bored teenagers. Tobi, who she’d correctly guessed had been forced to sleep on the floor due to the room’s lack of beds, was lying on his sleeping bag and reading a manga of all things. He greeted her enthusiastically, and she gave him a small smile. How he could read anything in the dim light while wearing that stupid mask with only one eyehole was a mystery to her, but she smiled at the odd picture he made.


Deidara was looking slightly less juvenile with a pile of kunai and other sharp instruments spread out before him on the bed. It looked like he was getting ready to sharpen them, and she sat on the bed next to him and offered to help. He told her he only had one whetstone with him, but she could prep them if she wanted. She agreed, and set to cleaning and removing any buildup and dirt from the various items with the wet rag he’d set out. Fortunately, he hadn’t been in any fights lately-not counting her, when he hadn’t used any weapons- so she was spared from working out any dried blood or other icky stuff. Not that she wasn’t already jaded to such things; having done it quite often with her own weapons.


They talked about little, insignificant things as they worked. Tobi piped up here and there but was too engrossed in what he was reading to really join in. Sakura noticed that Deidara was less hostile and far more tolerant of Tobi in private. She guessed the reason was that he didn’t hate Tobi, he just hated to be embarrassed in front of others and his partner had a way of doing that without realizing. Also, he was egotistical and got mad when Tobi didn’t pay attention to him. The blond Akatsuki was a bit sensitive like that, but then so was she.


Sakura finished her pile and put the last kunai into Deidara’s pile to be sharpened, and then lay down on her stomach with her head resting on her arms, watching him work as they continued with the small talk. After a while the topic of their conversation turned to art, as it usually did when talking to Deidara. Although Sakura didn’t really know much about art, she found that if she thought about it enough she actually did have opinions and theories on it, and he seemed to like what he was hearing, so she ran with it. He became particularly animated in discussing his favorite subject, but his partner obviously didn’t feel the same because shortly after the topic was brought up, he left.


He returned a while later with food for them, so Deidara paused in his weapons maintenance and the three of them had lunch as Tobi told them a funny story about some random thing he’d seen while he was out. Afterward Deidara went back to his sharpening, Tobi picked up the manga again, and Sakura lay back down with a shinobi gear and weapons catalog she’d found at the foot of the bed. They passed the time like that, with Sakura occasionally pointing out particularly interesting and cool gadgets to the man beside her, until she got bored and eventually fell asleep.

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She woke up an unknown amount of time later, still on what she assumed was Deidara’s bed, with her head at the foot of the mattress. Deidara and Tobi were gone, and Kisame was sitting in the armchair reading the same magazine she’d been looking at earlier. She found it strange how she so easily fell asleep and let her guard down around these dangerous men who were her enemies, but she knew that they weren’t going to harm her so in a warped way, she guessed she trusted them…to an extent.


The shark nin looked up from his browsing when she stirred, and he teased her snarkily that she sure liked her beauty sleep and that Itachi wanted her to go back over to the other room when she woke up. When she woke up? Why didn’t they just wake her up if they wanted something? It was odd that they humored her so, no matter how unconventional of kidnappers they were turning out to be. Not that she was complaining. She assumed that Itachi wanted to continue their healing session, and was probably waiting for her. She got up, and with a comment to Kisame to check out the cool stuff on page thirty-two, she left the room and went back to her own.


She was right; Itachi was waiting for her when she came in, sitting in the armchair with his cloak open and his hands folded in front of him. He appeared to be meditating, but he opened his eyes and fixed his crimson gaze on her soon after she closed the door. He asked if she was ready to continue, and she told him that she was but if he continued to use his bloodline limit when it wasn’t necessary he was just going to damage it again and there was no point in doing it at all. He smirked and didn’t respond to her scolding, but when he lay down on the bed to start round two she noted smugly that the Sharingan was now off. And with that, they began their second session.


They talked again over the next couple of hours as she worked on him, this time their conversation turned to more philosophical subjects, and tonight she found she was actually enjoying herself. She knew he was highly intelligent, but he was surprisingly intellectual as well, and had interesting, well-informed opinions on many things. He was raised in semi-high society and had traveled much of the world, she reminded herself, but she still wouldn’t have believed such a sociopath could be so well rounded.


She didn’t work as long tonight as she had the night before, not wanting to exhaust herself to the point of passing out again. Like before, she told Itachi to rest his eyes for a few minutes to let the healing take full effect, so they continued their discussion as he lay there with his eyes closed with Sakura sitting next to him on the bed. After several more minutes she told him he could open them. He did, and his dark eyes immediately began to wander rapidly as he was finally able to see the effects of the healing after tonight’s session. His eyes traveled to Sakura’s face, and he stared at her for a long moment almost like he had never seen her before. She couldn’t help but smile at the enlivened look in his deep eyes. After another moment he got up and began to walk around the room, eyes searching everything he saw as if it was all new. Sakura was proud of her achievement, despite the tiny voice in the back of her mind that whispered she’d just unleashed a monster.


She supposed that giddy enthusiasm was not within the range of capable emotion for Uchiha Itachi, so she contented herself with the expression of almost-excitement on his face. She got off the bed and moved next to him at the center of the room. He turned at her approach, and she could see his eyes scanning the tiny details of her face that he had never seen until now. She felt a little insecure under his scrutinizing gaze, and was about to turn away when he reached out and gently grabbed a lock of her chin-length hair with his fingers. Her eyes widened as he began to softly play with the ends of her hair, twisting the ends around his knuckles, his gaze intently focused as he splayed the strands between his fingertips. She knew his rapt fascination was simply because he could see the individual strands now when he couldn’t before, but she still felt that somehow it was far more intimate than that. That was ridiculous; Itachi wasn’t capable of such an affectionate gesture. But then she remembered when he’d pinned her to the table, and how softly his fingers had trailed along her jaw and cheek She felt the hot blush rise to her cheeks at the memory as well as what he was doing now, but she couldn’t force herself to pull away.


His gaze moved to lock with hers then, though his hand stayed intertwined with the strands of her hair. His eyes still held a hint of excitement at their rediscovered capacity, but she could also see a tiny bit of that confusion he’d shown the other night, as if he himself didn’t know why he was doing what he was currently doing. He looked as though he was about to say something when there was a sudden knock on the door, and his hand quickly fell away.


“Come in.” he said flatly.


The door opened and Kisame walked in, followed by Deidara and Tobi. Sakura hadn’t felt their chakra outside in the hall. Itachi seemed to have a way of making her forget anything else existed when he did things like that. Bastard. She made herself look as un-guilty as possible so no one would think they had just been doing something…well, anything really.


“Yo. We’re all going to hit the bar downstairs. You coming?” the shark man asked casually.


Itachi merely nodded in reply and walked toward the door and his comrades. Sakura followed right along after him. All four of them turned to regard her with bemused expressions. Sakura looked at them all petulantly. “What? I want to go too.”


“Is that so? Are you even old enough to drink?” Kisame asked with an amused grin.


Sakura scoffed. “What the hell does that matter? I’m a ninja. Nobody’s gonna tell me not to drink alcohol when they’ve been telling me to fight and/or kill people since I was twelve years old. Don’t be such an uptight grandma.” she replied hotly, her words making them all laugh. Even Itachi smirked. Sakura continued her indignant tirade. “I told you I wasn’t going to try and run away, and I’m not going to scream for help when I’m around people, like any of the lowlifes in this shithole would help me anyway. Besides, I like to drink as much as the next shinobi.” she ended smugly.


“I wouldn’t say that if I were you, yeah. You haven’t seen this guy put away the bottles.” Deidara laughed, jerking a thumb in Kisame’s direction, who looked quite pleased at the assessment.


Sakura raised her brows. “Psh. How about a drinking contest then? Just you and me, sharky.”


The two men laughed again. “I think someone is too big for her britches!” Kisame smirked.


The other Akatsuki looked to Itachi expectantly, since he was the one calling the shots. The Uchiha looked at Sakura for a moment, and then made a small gesture that he didn’t care one way or the other and walked off down the hall.


Sakura smiled triumphantly, and Kisame gave her a toothy grin. “Ok, you’re on, princess. But no one’s gonna hold your pretty pink hair for you when you’re puking your guts out.”


Sakura tossed her hair and grinned wickedly. “Remember those words when I’m using you as a footrest after I drink your blue ass under the table.”


Kisame smirked, Deidara and Tobi laughed, and the four of them left the room and headed downstairs after Itachi.

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The bar downstairs was crowded and noisy. Apparently though the inn itself only offered ten rooms, the little tavern attached to it was quite popular in the rough neighborhood. There was a band of traveling musicians here tonight, gypsies, Sakura soon figured out. No wonder they were playing in a place like this; there were many prejudices against their kind among more ‘civilized’ people.


The five of them found a table in a dark back corner and ‘persuaded’ the rough looking men there to let them have it. Before they left, however, one of the drunker ones decided to make a leering pass at Sakura, reaching out wobbly to grab her around the waist. Sakura didn’t take that shit from anyone, especially not scum like this, and she promptly kicked his chair over with him still on it. He hit the floor with a loud thud, and the other occupants of the tavern- including the man’s comrades- wisely pretended not to notice as he crawled away with an unintelligible grumble.


Once they had successfully bullied themselves a table, they all sat down and Kisame waved for the attention of the barmaid. He grinned at Sakura. “You always that friendly with your suitors?”


Sakura snorted. “Slimy bastard’s lucky I didn’t break that wandering arm of his.”


The shark smirked at her. “Good thing I don’t find you attractive then.” he teased, and Sakura just rolled her eyes in response.


They placed their orders and settled in. When the sake arrived, they began to drink. Heavily. These guys sure knew how to throw down the liquor, and Sakura soon began to immensely enjoy herself, laughing at crude jokes and mutually reminiscing about some of the ridiculous things that happened on past missions. Tobi had the lowest tolerance after an hour was passed out with his head on the table, snoring. Deidara, who was getting pretty fuzzed himself, kept smacking his partner on the head but to no avail; the snoring always started again shortly afterward.


Sakura however, was only just getting started in the drinking contest with Kisame. She kept up with him easily, and was even starting to outdo him. Itachi had given them a knowing look and smirked, knowing full well what she was up to. Kisame hadn’t figured it out yet, much to her amusement. As a medic, it was only too easy to speed up her metabolism and liver functions, rapidly burning off the alcohol. Though due to the large amounts of drink the shark was making her consume in a relatively short period of time, she wasn’t able to burn it off fast enough without damaging her organs and was therefore becoming more and more intoxicated. Though not nearly as drunk as Kisame, who was beginning to sway in his seat.


Deidara and Itachi hadn’t had nearly as much as the other two conscious ninja at the table, though the blonde was looking considerably worse for wear than the Uchiha. “You’re so tiny! How the hell can you drink that much and not be on the floor already, hmm?” Deidara slurred at her in amazement.


“Practice.” She grinned and downed another cup of sake while looking smugly at the shark man across from her. She was warm and flushed, and she felt extremely relaxed and just a bit lightheaded. The music of the band changed as they switched to a new song, this one more native to their tribal culture, with heavy hand drums and a wood flute. Sakura could feel the heavy exotic beat begin to flow through her intoxicated veins, and she soon found herself swaying along to the rhythm. She closed her eyes to better feel the music flow into her and didn’t see the way the eyes of the others at the table turned to watch her. After a moment Sakura stood up a little unsteadily and began to move toward the band.


“Where you goin?” Kisame grunted, sloshing his head as he tried to follow her movements too quickly.


“Nowhere.” she answered dismissively, and continued walking to the center of the tavern where a makeshift dance floor had been cleared. Some of the patrons were attempting to dance drunkenly with the barmaids, and Sakura soon found her own little space and began to dance as well. She began to sway and move her hips sensually in time with the exotic music. She didn’t notice that several of the men in the tavern were beginning to watch her hungrily, though none had the balls to approach her after seeing what she did to the last guy who tried. Not to mention the dark wave of pure intimidation coming from the back corner where her companions were sitting. It was quite clear that any man who came near the dancing pink-haired woman would die before they got within five feet.


Sakura was oblivious to it all as she moved her lithe body in the same sensual rhythm as the music, her head occasionally swaying to the side, hips swirling in a fluid snake-like motion. She was feeling quite warm and ran her hands through her sweaty hair, trailing her palms down her neck before dropping them to her hips again. She glanced in the direction of her table and noticed that Kisame had finally succumbed and was out like a light with his head thrown back over his chair. However, the two men who were still awake were staring at her very, very intently, and not just to make sure she didn’t run off. They watched her swaying form like predators, and she felt a sharp thrill at their obvious interest. Too tipsy to feel uneasy about their stares, or the fact that she liked it, she turned her back to them again and without thinking about what she was doing, began to move her body just a tiny bit more sensually than before.


When the song ended, Sakura slowly made her way back to the table, finally noticing all of the leering men watching her from dark corners. She knew that the sinister aura coming from her table was the only reason they hadn’t swarmed her. Loathsome as those men were, she was secretly pleased; she wasn’t used to feeling attractive and drawing men’s attention. That distinction was usually reserved for her busty blonde friend. She concentrated on walking steadily back to her seat and sitting down with a slight flop.


Both Itachi and Deidara were still staring at her, and the blonde gave her a sly smirk. “Have fun?”


“Mmmhm” she drawled, and since Kisame was out of service and beginning to drool, she reached for the sake and drank straight from the bottle. This made Deidara chuckle, and they started up another conversation. The entire time she remained at the table, Itachi’s eyes never left her, and she could feel their smoldering intensity no matter how much she tried to ignore it. When she drained the last of her bottle, stood shakily and told them she was going up to bed they didn’t question it, and she felt those dark eyes follow after her as she left.

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Sakura slowly and carefully ascended the stairs and made her way down the dark hallway toward the bathroom. She locked the door and turned the faucet on, running cold water over her flushed face and neck for a minute to wake and refresh her. She stayed with her arms braced against the sink rim and head hanging for several minutes after that, trying to clear her head. She had won the bet against Kisame, though it was too bad they didn’t bet anything substantial. On the other hand, she couldn’t believe she had acted deliberately seductive toward two members of Akatsuki, even if it was only dancing by herself. She hoped she wouldn’t regret that little intoxicated impulse later on.


She had no idea how long it had been since she’d come upstairs, or how long she’d been in the washroom. She opened the door and entered the hallway, feeling much better though still quite tipsy. She rounded the corner to head back to her room when a dark shape appeared in front of her. She didn’t jump because she knew instantly who it was, and she looked up into those smoldering dark eyes that had been watching her the entire time downstairs. She could barely make out his face in the dark, but his eyes gleamed with that same predatory glint as before, and she felt another thrill run through her body, accompanied by something darker and more primal. He was very close, so close she caught his scent mixed with the sweet smell of sake. She closed her eyes briefly at the rush of sensation brought on by his nearness, and in that brief moment she suddenly found herself pinned firmly, but not roughly, against the wall.


Itachi’s hands moved to grasp her around the waist as he pushed her further against the wall with his body. She gasped a little as one hand gripped her hip and the other one slid suggestively up her side. He leaned in closer and she could feel his hot breath on her neck, the strands of his dark hair tickling her ear. She raised her hands instinctively to his chest, feeling his body heat underneath her palms. All thoughts of pushing against him flew out of her mind and she closed her eyes with a sigh at the combination of hard muscles flexing under her fingers and the way he brought his face to the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent.


Her fingers curled slightly into his chest as his hands continued to move over her stomach and ribcage. “Itachi…” she whispered, having trouble finding coherent thought to form words. She could feel the light, one-day stubble of his chin scraping the tender skin of her neck, giving her a chill.


He pressed his body even closer as she whispered his name, leaving no space between them and grasping her around the ribs with his thumbs just below her breasts. His nose brushed against her neck, lips ghosting over that place where her neck met her ear. “You started it, Sakura.” he murmured, his lips moving against her earlobe.


The way he said her name in that incredibly sensual deep voice made her shiver, and he noticed it; she felt his lips curve in a smirk against the shell of her ear. She had started it, and she knew it. With the way she had danced in front of him, she was practically asking for this to happen. She couldn’t question if she had subconsciously done it deliberately, because just the way he was breathing on her ear and neck like that was making her heart flutter and her pulse quicken.


As much as she knew she should be against this, she couldn’t bring herself to think of anything but the erotic feelings happening inside her as his entire body pressed into hers. Her hands gripped into the fabric of his shirt and she couldn’t prevent the small mewl of pleasure as his mouth closed over her earlobe, sucking lightly. She let her head fall back against the wall with a sigh as his tongue flicked over that sensitive spot where her lobe connected with her jaw, tilting her head to give him better access as she felt his teeth gently scrape over her lobe and then again on that same spot his tongue had been.


Without thinking, her hand slid up his chest to his shoulders, her fingers twining into the long soft hair at the base of his neck. He breathed harshly in what was almost a growl and slid one hand up her side and arm to grasp the side of her neck as his mouth trailed down the other side, sucking and nibbling gently as he went. When his teeth closed over her collarbone she moaned, and he threaded his fingers into her hair tightly in indication that he liked her reaction.


Some small amount of clarity reached her intoxicated, passion fuddled mind and she realized where they were and what she was doing and with who, and her hands slid back down to Itachi’s chest, though she still couldn’t bring herself to push. “Itachi…” she whispered again, the uncertainty in her tone juxtaposed by the clouded desire laced with it. He didn’t answer, just continued his ministrations with that amazing mouth of his. “Itachi…we…we can’t do this.” she whispered brokenly, though her head was still tilted to give him access. Her body was craving it, but her mind was whispering that this was wrong. Wrong place, wrong time, and most definitely wrong man.


“Mm.” he murmured against her neck. “Why not?” he asked, his hand in her hair moving to her waist again as his mouth worked over her throat and he began his sweet torture on the other side.


Because you’re you, and I’m me! Her conscience screamed. She gasped again and almost lost her train of thought as he gently bit her pulse point. “Because you’re drunk.” she managed to say.


He made an amused sound. “Do you really think so?” he whispered over her ear. His hand slid over her waist again and she felt his fingers begin to tease the hem of her shirt. She realized then that he was probably not drunk, because Itachi wouldn’t get drunk and become vulnerable around other people, especially not around strangers.


It was getting harder and harder to think. If only he would stop doing that! And that. Oooh God. “Because…I’m drunk.” she tried again. He murmured something unintelligible against her neck, and when the tip of his tongue delved into the hollow of her ear she lost the ability to breathe, let alone think, and she arched her body into him unconsciously. His warm hands moved under her shirt and began stroking her bare sides and stomach, and his lips began to move in a hot, open-mouthed trail along her jaw line, closer and closer to her mouth, occasionally pausing to suckle the sensitive skin underneath. He was going to kiss her, and she was dangerously close to giving in. If she didn’t stop him now…she would soon stop trying. “Itachi…” Her body was refusing to listen to what her mind was telling it. “Please…not like this.” she panted, realizing too late what she’d just said.


He’d caught it as well, and his mouth stopped its exploration just as it reached the corner of her lips. He pulled back slightly to look in her eyes, his as clouded with lust as her own, and there was a devious smirk on his features. “Not like this?” he repeated huskily. His smirk widened. “Like how then, Sakura?” Too late to deny what she’d just freely admitted and insinuated, she closed her eyes and waited. After a moment he slowly slid his hands down her soft stomach and out from under her shirt, trailing over her hips lightly. She still couldn’t open her eyes and look into those dark, smoldering depths that effortlessly turned her into a weak-willed little puddle, but soon she felt his body pull away and her hands dropped to her sides, and after another moment when she opened her eyes he had disappeared down the dark hallway.


Sakura quickly entered her room and crawled into the bed, her head spinning from more than just alcohol. What just happened? She’d just been felt up in the hallway by Uchiha Itachi and she’d enjoyed it! She’d craved for more, there was no use denying it any longer, either to herself or to him since she’d slipped and just flat out admitted it to him! What was she going to do now? She desperately hoped he wouldn’t come back to the room tonight; she wasn’t so much afraid of what he might do, but that she might not try to stop him again if he did.

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A/N: Holy crap! Almost 13,000 words in this chapter, I hope you’re all happy and enjoyed it! : )

Was that hot or what? Please review and let me know!