Learning to Manipulate

Alrighty, so this is my first attempt at a multi-chapter fic, so sorry if is sucks. Anyway, this is just a prologue, setting the scene, to see if it attracts any interest. So, I won't bother publishing other chapters if it gets no response. Please review. D

Rating: Pretty frequent coarse language and adult themes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Sakura sighed. They were at it again. And in her room. With the door locked. It was hell.

"Can't you leave me in peace?" She growled from her sitting position in the corner of the dark room, her back up against the cold wall. "If I leave you alone, he wouldn't." The blonde Deidara replied, shooting an angry glance at the other in the room. "You shouldn't talk." Itachi spat back at his fellow Akatsuki member. "I see the lust in your eyes, man. Won't be long until you rape the poor girl." They seemed to forget her presence, each intent on crushing the other. Luckily they never fought physically. Sakura leaned her head back until it hit the wall with a faint thump. At least when they fought in the day she could get away from them.

Akatsuki had been holding her captive for nearly a week now. A move against Naruto to get Kyuubi, perhaps? She was little more than bait. But she was used to Itachi and Deidara's fights over her. In the first few days, she noticed their odd looks, registered their interest in her. It scared her. They didn't seem like the type to care about a teenaged girls' innocence. Luckily, neither had touched her yet- they were both territorial beasts, keen to secure her as their own before they did. Now they did little to hide their obsession with the little pink girl. It was pretty obvious anyway, and none of the other members seemed to care. Much to Sakura's annoyance. Though she was grateful for the little freedom she had, being allowed to wander about two or three different rooms as she pleased, confined to her room only at night.

"Why are you here anyway?" Itachi asked the blonde suspiciously, his crimson eyes narrowed. "Her dinner, un." He pointed at a tray of uneaten food sitting next to Sakura, where she had shoved it moodily. "What about you?" Itachi didn't answer, instead striding sullenly over to the door and unlocking it, turning back for a moment. "I don't think you should be left alone with her." He glared at the artist. "Come." Deidara followed the Uchiha out the door, pausing for a second to wink at Sakura with his one vivid blue eye.

"Huh… Just kill me already…" The kunoichi muttered to herself after they were leaving. She looked at the food hesitantly and picked up a piece of fruit. She didn't really want to eat it. Who knew what they had put in it? But her stomach protested loudly, reminding her that people needed food to function properly. How could she expect to do anything against Akatsuki when she was starving herself to death. She nibbled at the fruit, not really tasting it. As usual, her mind was elsewhere. She fervently hoped Naruto didn't fall into the trap set for him, she hoped Tsunade had more sense than to let him go. Since her nights were pretty much devoid of entertainment, Sakura walked slowly over to the bed on the other side of the room. It was alright- nothing special but nothing horrible. At least they're taking care of me. She thought. But why? The question stuck with her as she turned out the light and fell onto the bed. I need to start thinking about how to get out of this hellhole… Sakura thought hopelessly. Before Naruto comes running straight to his death... She felt sorry for the blonde. Always targeted because of something that was no fault of his. It must have been hard for him. Sakura was startled out of her thoughts as she heard the creak of hinges. The door opened a crack and Sakura sat bolt upright in her bed. She wished she had left the light on in the now dark and forbidding room. She squinted to see who had opened the door, through the yellow light spilling into the room. Her breath caught in fear as she saw Deidara silhouetted in the doorway. Men are like dogs. She told herself. You can't let them see your fear. "What the fuck are you doing here again?" Sakura growled. "Little girls shouldn't use that sort of language…" He chided, a sly smile on his face as he made his way around to the bed. "You didn't answer my question…" She glared at him. "Tell me." Deidara shook his head at her like a mother scolding her child. "I don't think you're in any position to demand such things from me." He said, sitting next to her on the bed. "Shut up…" She muttered, annoyed that he was true. Anger boiled up inside her and she brought her hand up to slap the calm, cool, condescending look off his face. He grabbed her wrist before it connected. "I see you're strong. But you haven't got the speed to match. You haven't got the finesse." He brought his face closer to hers, a satisfied smirk on his face. "Shut up bastard." She aimed a punch at his face with her other hand. Again he stopped it. "Again, the same thing." He moved closer still, and then pressed his lips to hers, holding both her wrists tightly. Before she had a chance to protest, the blonde forced his tongue into her mouth. "Leave me the fuck alone!" Sakura yelled and pulled away as her anger erupted. "If you stick your tongue in my mouth again, I'll bite the fucking thing off!" She literally shook with anger. "Was that your… first kiss?" Deidara teased, seeming utterly pleased with himself. "Fuck off." The kunoichi mumbled. "I'd say that's a yes then." He let her arms go and stood up. He had had his fun. At least for the time being. He shut the door and Sakura curled up on her bed, as small as she could, trying to cut off her anger so she could at least get some sleep. But just as she was about to sleep, she'd hear a slight sound, like a door opening and would be pulled suddenly back to consciousness. "Stupid gender-confused retard…" She muttered, blaming the blonde shinobi for her insomnia.

Eventually she may have got an hour or two of sleep, but all Sakura knew was that as light crept through the small windows, she was as tired and angry as hell. So when she heard the door opening, she was ready to give Deidara a piece of her mind. "I bet you think last night was really funny, eh, bastard?" She growled without even glancing at the doorway. "I don't remember anything last night…" The kunoichi heard back. Shhhhit. She thought. That wasn't Deidara's voice. That was Itachi. "So. What was it that you were doing last night?" He asked, walking in and placing the tray of breakfast on Sakura's bed. "With… Deidara?" He had guessed it… It was like he could see into her very mind. It was disconcerting. What would he do if he found out that Deidara had taken a step towards her already? Try to go one step further? Or just kill her for it… "He… he was just playing a joke. It was annoying." The girl lied with conviction. Well it was kind of a joke… and it was annoying. "That's good…" Itachi turned his back. "If he did anything else I'd have to kill him."

Maybe the statement was his idea of a joke, or maybe he really was serious, but whatever it was, it sparked an idea in Sakura's head as Itachi worked out. If Itachi would kill his fellow member just because of something she said… She could use this to her advantage. Sakura could use this to escape. She would learn how to manipulate.

So what did you think? Should I start writing a new chapter or just give it up…

And there won't be any lemons in this fic. Sakura isn't a whore.

That's all for now.

s2- Envy