Chapter 19:

Keep her mouth shut.

Well this is unexpected. Sakura thought as she blinked up at the blank mask of the anbu.

Sakura almost rolled her eyes. The Root member was positioned on her balcony, a light tap on the window was what alerted her to his presence.

Sakura will be honest, she did not sense him. Even staring at him, Sakura could feel nothing coming from the blank slate of a mask.

Frowning Sakura opened her window, acting casual. She wasn't supposed to know the difference between actual anbu and Root.

Accepting the scroll handed to her by blankie she quickly reads over it.

Sakura almost snorted out loud when she saw the request from Danzo. That greedy old fool. Played right into her hands.

See a young aspiring shinobi improve bounds and leaps in a matter of months. He wants said shinobi.

Sakura saw the surprised quirk blankie made when she started snickering. Blankie must think she's suicidal.

Sakura turned to get dressed. She didn't bother with full on gear and what not. Hes probably only going to give her a little inspirational speech on why to join him and diss the Hokage.

Danzo is a classic example of a condescending control freak. All Sakura has to is make him believe she is as submissive and responsive to his orders as possible. That'll be easy right?

Sakura followed blankie all the way to a traditional and minimalist home. The grounds holding a disturbing sparseness that Sakura knows reflects Danzo's cold demeanor.

Blankie leads her to a room sliding the shoji door aside to reveal a bandaged figure, sitting with a straight back. Blankie bows at the door announcing Sakura's arrival.

Danzo lifts his single eye to her form and nods his head, inviting her to sit across from him. The low table between them is adorned with one tea cup and a teapot.

It's not for her. This is the first sign. She is not deemed important enough to offer tea for. Disposable. No need to charm her if he can have his pick. Ass.

Sakura's thoughts however do not reflect her thoughts. No on the outside she's the definition of calm and controlled, maybe a tad bit aloof.

Nonplussed.

Danzo sips his tea. A quiet surrounds them. For her suffocating. For him a light spring breeze.

Sakura wants to yell at him and ask what in Hecks name does he want… but she stays still. Showing Danzo she can be submissive.

After what feels like an hour Danzo smirks. "How did you manage to copy Tsunade chan in all her jutsu's and specialties in the matter of 6 months, and still be able to show for it?"

Uhh. Sakura froze. 'OF COURSE YOU IDIOT. SHISHOU WAS WIDELY KNOWN FOR HER BEING THE ONLY OME TO BE ABLE TO OERFORM SUCH TECHNIQ-'

Sakura shook her head, blocking inner-Sakura's ramblings from her mind. Sakura sat in front off Danzo, frozen in place, she doesn't know how to answer him.

Danzo leaned in, eyeing her like he has some big secret. "Excellent chakra control. I believe you have the world's best control."

Danzo leaned back into his seat, smugness wafting from him. Sakura almost threw up. Almost. How naïve can one fucker be.

Sakura, knowing better, just smirked. Sure give the guy a bone. Sakura knows that he knows that that is not the true reason.

He's trying g to play dumb to win her trust.. so she's important enough for that apparently.

This is all mind games and manipulation. Sakura can play for a little while. The next thing Sakura knows she's in a dark room. Quite large, the walls adorned with a multitude of weapons and gear.

Danzo calls upon blankie, and they stand opposite each other. No seal is made no agreement that this is merely training. Danzo wants to see her true power. And so he shall.

Fot the next hour Sakura gives it her best against blankie. Pulling out all the stops. From her super strength, healing abilities, her dodging, her excellent taijutsu, measly about of ninjutsu, poor genjutsu and lastly but not least her newly acquired ninjutsu.

Sakura doesn't have any scrolls with water in them with her but that's not all she learned. Sakira smirked as she planted a bomb with her hands using a chakra pulse, when blankie got close enough for her fingers to graze his mask.

Blankie's chakra spikes and Sakura wants to laugh at his quick reflexive response to yank of his porcelain mask an hurl it in her direction like a frisbee.

Sakura's laughter dies in her throat though as she sees who her opponent is. Honestly Sakura doesn't know what to do.

How do you handle knowing Sasuke still ends up broken.

XXX

Somewhere else in the village….

"Tou-san. Have you seen Sasuke-kun?" an impassive Itachi asks his father.

Fugaku nods, "Yes I believe he mentioned going to the training grounds to work on a new technique."

"Ah." Itachi moves to leave but hesitates. Itachi wants to speak to his father, he doesn't know about what, he just has this urge to bond with him.

Fugaku notices Itachi's hesitance at his office door. "If that is all you can leave." Fugaku states as he stares at his oldest son.

For the first time in forever Itachi thinks that his life is unfair. He always ends up getting the short stick in everything. For once he wants a big stick.

Frowning Itachi scolds himself for being so childish. Staying silent he leaves, closing the door behind him with a soft click. He sighs. Maybe it's best this way. This way there's little chance of him being disappointed in something.

This time was supposed to be better. He could stay in the village. Keep his little brother safe. Not be known as a criminal and feared for having done such horrible deeds.

Now the same thing is happening. Only difference is that this time it's the Uchiha clan that feels that he has done a horrible deed for ratting them out to the fifth Hokage. It's his own father that now holds a deep hatred for him not his little brother. It's his own clansmen that avoids him like the plague.

He's still lonley after all this time. Things were supposed to be different yet ultimately it's still the same. For him.

XXX

TBC