Hiya! Welcome to my first ever ItaSaku fic, Alone!
It issss a one shot. Not my first, hopefully not my last :)
This is an ItaSaku story (as stated before) , maybe I'll add in some other slight pairings, too, who knows. I kindah just wrote this on a whim, and I wasn't very precise or anything with the planning of it.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this! Please review!
Disclaimer: Naruto is not and NEVER will be owned by me.
Alone. One Shot.
Where was she? She had no clue. Wandering in the forest along the border of Konoha? Or had she possibly ventured farther than she thought previously?
Sakura didn't know. What had started out as a simple find and retrieve mission had become so much more complex...
How was she supposed to know that there was much more advanced security than they had been informed? She wasn't supposed to know that, apparently. She had unfortunately realized it the hard way... Probably the way someone had intended her to find out. It was too bad for whoever that was, however, because she had survived. God, someone Sakura had survived.
Sakura sped up a bit, licking her lips, tasting raw blood. She spit. It was extremely lucky for her that she was a medic-nin, or else she would have been a sure goner. Sakura still felt weak and bruised, but she ignored her body's screams of telling her to stop. She needed to get home with this scroll.
"I should know where the hell I am... for god's sake, I'm not twelve anymore! Come on, I need to focus... Focus. Calm down. Deep breaths. Check my surroundings." Sakura whispered to herself, giving herself a pep-talk of some kind. What else was she supposed to do, there was no one else around to talk to. At least, that's what she hoped. Sakura seemed to have an ominous feeling that there indeed was someone around her.
She didn't like that feeling very much. Was it just paranioa? Or was it just pure instinct to be alert at this time? Was it even real?
Her head darted towards the left of her when she swore to god she heard a rustle. Sakura laughed weakly and nervously as she saw there was nothing at all to the left of her. Nothing but trees, grass, and darkness.
Darkness. How Sakura hated the dark. Having one of your five extremely valuable senses being taken away was not something she liked. She felt vulnerable in the dark. You didn't know what your surroundings were, and you couldn't see what was coming at you. She felt like a worm to a bird, just waiting hesitantly for something to happen.
Oh, how she wished she had a nose like Kiba's at this moment. That wonderful, ultra-sensitive nose. It could sniff out the smallest scent...
Sakura nearly fell from the tree branch she was jumping from when she heard another noise.
Or, at least, she thought she heard another noise.
"W-who's there?!" Sakura cried, sounding more afraid than intended to. She mentally scoffed at the sound of her voice. Way to go on attempting to sound brave and strong...
There was no response, which was what she expected. Why would a perfectly hidden ninja give away their location, after all? That was one of the primary rules she learned in school... never give away your location. If there even was someone following her, he or she wouldn't come out saying 'Right here! It's me!'. Though, there wouldn't be much holding her stalker back... she was all alone.
Alone. Sakura despised lonelyness. Everything about it made her sick. No one being there to help you... no one being there to hear you... no one else to laugh with when completely destroying enemies. Sakura nevered liked lonelyness, and most likely never would. She honestly had no clue how people enjoyed alone time, what did they do? Read a book or something? Sure, being alone was nice every once in awhile, but there was no way she'd be able to handle it for too long. Especially in her condition. She was more likely to go insane at the moment than enjoy this lonelyless.
Perhaps she had already gone insane? It wouldn't surprise her very much. Hearing noises... She would probably start seeing things after another hour or so. After that, who knows. All she knew was that if she did go insane she better get her psycotic ass home to hand Tsunade the scroll she stole. Konoha seriously needed that scroll, for the village had seemed to be in a bit of a slump lately...
After Sasuke left things never seemed to be exactly the same. Tsunade was much more uptight about the shinobi, and making sure to keep a much closer eye on them all. All Sakura could say was that she supposed Tsunade was making a good decision, they didn't want another extremely skilled ninja becoming a missing-nin in only a few days.
No, that would not be very good for the village at all.
Crack.
That was it. Sakura was sure she had already gone mad, and had just figured that her mind was trying to keep her alert. That had to be it. She was subconciously tricking herself into becoming more alert of her surroundings.
While she tricked her concious mind into believing that she was in fact tricking herself, Sakura utterly failed to take notice to her surroundings.
And that was the second thing she did wrong.
The first fault was after she cried out 'who's there'. Sakura should have immediately gotten out of the area, she was weak and wounded, she would have a very hard time picking a fight now.
But, it was too late to make up for those two faults. She just had to be more careful now was all. She had to suck it up and keep going, for she had to deliver the scroll to Konoha. Or else.
In fact, now that she thought of it, Sakura had no clue what was in the scroll. She was half-tempted to open it, but after thinking about it and remembering what happened in the Forest of Death in the Chuunin Exams, she thought it would be better to keep it that way.
'Curiousity killed the cat...' She thought to herself in disdain. So yes, she ultimately decided that opening the scroll would naturally lead to bad things. And that's all she needed, was even more misfortune than what had already occured. Sakura winced at the pain in her right arm, switching the scroll hand carefully.
"Dammit." Sakura muttered, feeling the pain engulf her body, begging that it would just numb the hell up already and leave her alone. But, of course, it wouldn't. At least not anytime soon. At least not until she got home.
That is, if she ever did get home.
From what was going on at the moment, Sakura sincerely doubted she would make it home anytime soon. What would end up to herself, in her opinion, was a split between starvation and kidnapping. As much as she didn't want either of those to happen, she was going to be realistic. Not optimistic.
Overly optimistic people were sickening to Sakura. Sure, it was nice to be positive... But sometimes you just have to face the problem the way it was. If there was no hope there was no point in pretending there was.
Sakura's breath hitched.
She was damn sure that time she heard a voice. A sickening voice erupting from the dark shadows to the right of her... What was it saying? Could she make it out? Did it sound like... Her name?
Why the hell was there someone out here who knew her name?
"Naruto, that's not funny." Sakura spoke purposely, attempting to make herself sound more in control than she actually was, while truthfully, it was the complete opposite. She was scared shitless.
But whoever seemed to be following didn't need to know that. In fact, it would be very good if whoever was following her didn't know anything that was going through her mind.
There wasn't any technique to do that, thankfully. At least from what Sakura knew.
And if a technique to read minds was never invented, hey. She'd had absolutely no problem with that.
Unfortunately for Sakura, whoever seemed to be stalking her did not reply. It was quite obviously not Naruto. Sakura was merely trying to calm herself down by believing that it just may have been him... But, alas.
Whoever was to the right of her did not have good intentions. He or she was not friendly, and he or she was probably trying to either kill her, or at least give her a severe heart attack which would most likely kill her in the aftermath. Either way, it was a lose-lose situation for herself. That was a given.
A chakra string found it's way against Sakura's lean figure, bringing her close to the tree she was standing upon only moments ago.
Crack.
There goes her back...
She was now sitting rather lamely on a branch against her own will. Whoever that person was, he had no clue who he was messing with. Plus, putting her in such a compromisable position? The bastard!
Yet, Sakura realized that maybe talking to a dangerous stranger might just keep her sane for a moment or two longer, and her sanity was certainly something Sakura was keen on keeping. If she lost it now, after all, she'd be in some deep shit with Tsunade once she got back. No, Tsunade would not be very happy with an insane kunoichi. She probably would not appreciate that very much...
"Who are you?" Sakura asked loudly and almost tiredly. She was getting more and more exhausted by the second, and she knew that if she even tried to escape she'd probably drop dead about a hundred yards or so from here. And Sakura did not really wish to drop dead right at this moment.
The stranger effortly stepped out of the shadows, showing himself to the sitting girl only a mere ten yards away. Sakura's mouth dropped for a second, but she quickly regained her composure.
"Itachi." She stated blankly. What could she say? Seeing an Akatsuki out in these dense woods wouldn't exactly be much of a surprise. She honestly should have figured it would have been an Akatsuki member, but she supposed she hadn't really thought of that while she was more focused on staying alive. Still, stupid of her to make that comment about Naruto... Who was she trying to kid?
The eldest Uchiha brother made no movement except for a small twitch of the head. Could that possibly be a greeting of some kind? Sakura took it as one.
The rosette nearly scowled in response. She wasn't going to go down without a fight... Even if it was a pathetic, half-assed attempt. No, Haruno Sakura wasn't going to be killed to be only used for information or for some other ridiculous reason. She was not getting used.
"What, aren't you going to ask me where Sasuke is or something?" Sakura barked, sounding more harsh than intended. She had still never fully understood why the two brothers seemed to dispise each other so... Weren't brother supposed to be kind and love each other? If Sakura ever had a little sister she was pretty sure she'd be kind and caring to her.
Then again, it was the Uchihas. Perhaps their family was just... Different. Very different.
They had certainly grown up in very different atmospheres, that was for sure. The Uchihas; rich, powerful, brave, important, the list goes on and on. While the Harunos... Were just humble townfolk. Sakura would hardly know what it would be like to grow up as a Uchiha male... Struggling, fighting, clawing for power...
"I've no need to." Itachi replied calmly, keeping his eyes on Sakura with every word stated. Sakura's eyebrows furrowed.
"And why is that?" She replied a little too quickly for her own tastes. It wasn't everyday one would be able to sit down, with or against their own will, and have a little chat with Itachi Uchiha. In fact, Sakura doubted this had ever happened more than a handful of times in history. Could that be some kind of an honor of some sorts? Who knew.
Was that... A chuckle? No. It couldn't possibly be. Sakura must have begun loosing it or something. There was no way in living hell that Itachi Uchiha would chuckle. She was just merely going mad was all. Completely and utterly mad.
"He'll come looking for me." He concluded with a shine in his eyes, as if he knew something that Sakura obviously did not. It was exactly that look that had aggravated Sakura at that moment. Why the hell was she being detained, anyway? Torture? Inquisition? Exacution?
Why couldn't Itachi just do what he needed to and let her go? But, Sakura knew she was being far too optimistic to think that this man would let her go at a time like this. He would most likely use her and kill her. Hopefully in that order. Thinking about it made a mixture of pain and shivers run up and down Sakura's spine. She realized she must have somehow injured her back as well...
"Why would he do that?" Sakura asked, dumbfounded. She did not understand the brotherly relationship the two men shared at all. It was rather annoying, actually.
Sakura was now staring down at Itachi's shoes. Or rather, she was somewhat forced to. A sharp pang of pain shot up in her neck, she gritted her teeth while trying adjust her neck to a more comfortable postion. This position seemed to be on a 45 degree angle. Nontheless, Sakura was still staring at Itachi's muddy, worn shoes. Oh, how she wanted to spit on them.
That would just positively make her life.
Just to be able to somehow run free, heal all her wounds, hand the scroll to Tsunade, and tell Ino that she had spit on Itachi Uchiha's shoes... My, Kami. She would be one happy young woman.
Yet, there seemed to be no escaping from her current position. Sakura heavily doubted that even if she'd manage to break away from the chakra string confining her to this tree hell, it'd be simply impossible to run away. Even with a headstart... No. There was no use in even thinking about it. Haruno Sakura was essentially done for, and that was all there was to it. It was the complete and painstakingly obvious truth in Sakura's eyes.
"Sasuke simply needs me. He has spent his entire life training and exerting his pure power and energy for one thing; to kill me." Itachi said, his eyes not averting away from Sakura's even once. Those black eyes were beginning to get to her. How many times had he looked into someone's eyes like that and killed them?
Most likely... an uncountable amount.
Killing was natural to Itachi... It had to be... Wasn't it?
Though with the way things were going, it didn't seem as if he was really one of those fierce killers. If he was, he probably would have ripped her head off already, or at least tortured her.
Sakura couldn't say she was dissapointed with that. In fact, the less torture the better, honestly.
"Why though?" She spoke in a near whisper. She seemed to be asking a lot of questions, and Sakura wasn't exactly sure what the whole point of being stuck like this was. Was there anything that Itachi honestly wanted from her? By the ways things were going so far, it didn't seem as if that was the fact.
Maybe he was just playing with her.
Itachi blinked. Sakura stared on at the man, interest carved into her emerald green eyes. It was as if he was predictable and spontanious at the same time. Perhaps spontanious wasn't the right way to put it... Dangerous was percievably the better way to put it. He was predictable yet dangerous.
Would he go on answering her questions in this almost easy-going way? Or would he simply gut her alive, decapatating her in the process? For one thing Sakura was sure of. Whatever he did, he would do it quietly, efficiently and emotionlessly.
"Power. Hate. Wisdom. Who knows anymore. It's just another petty game us Uchihas seem to be notorious for playing." He uttered, beginning to circle the tied up girl in a very dog like manner, though with an excruciatingly slow pace. What in the lords name was he doing, exactly?
Sakura was simply speechless. Was this the reason why Itachi had destroyed all of what his clan had built up after so many years in just one single night? Was this why he left Sasuke alive? Was this why Sasuke had seemed so bitter about his past, keeping all of his cynicle emotions to himself all this time?
Possibly.
With each answer Itachi had answered, although they may not have been many, more and more questions sprung up in Sakura's eager mind. Questions that she wouldn't dare ask because she knew Itachi wouldn't dare answer. Questions that were so irrelevent and absurd that if she inquired the Akatsuki member about them he probably wouldn't even bother replying.
Sakura's breath hitched yet again when she saw Itachi take another insufferably slow step closer to her; the circle he once stepped around the rosette becoming unbearably small.
What was he doing?
The young woman's eyes tore open when she felt Itachi's numbingly cold fingers on her soft cheek. An Akatsuki member was quite obviously invading Haruno Sakura's esteemed personal bubble, and she hadn't dare say a thing. She hardly dared to breath, being able to say anything at all would be a bliss.
She was completely and hopelessly breathless.
Her mind seemed to tear open at the seams when she felt a presence on her lips, slowly pushing closer and closer; harder and harder. Had Sakura been too busy daydreaming about his mere hand to realize that he had become this close to her? She was far too shocked to respond in any way to the kiss, and before she knew it...
Thump.
She was out cold.
XOXOXOXOXOXO
When Sakura had finally woken up, she found herself safe and sound on the very firm, very damp forest ground. It was to her great luck that she had magically appeared a mere hundred yards or so away from Konoha's front gates.
The only problem seemed to be that the scroll Sakura had went through all the trouble of getting had disappeared...
Because what Sakura didn't know was that the scroll had in fact stored very important information on not only the Uchiha's prestigious past, but also the infamous present.
And weither Itachi had realized it or not, he had given away much more information than needed on the whole Uchiha brother matter. Sakura had luckily picked up on this little fact and had smiled to herself.
She already knew the scroll was most likely long gone by now. It wasn't even worth the trip back through the forest to find it. Yet, Tsunade would be happy on the tidbits of information Sakura had heard that night.
Though she couldn't help but feel somewhat confused about the kiss earlier... Even though, she had to admit, it was a nice kiss.
Sakura smiled warmly before walking towards Konoha's territory in the bleak, terrifying and somewhat comforting dark.
With the scroll now gone, Sakura knew that she had not simply dreamt the whole thing up. That yes, she had faced an Akatsuki member, S-class criminal and missing-nin to some extent and lived. That perhaps she had not completely lost her mind.
'Maybe not all Akatsuki members are so bad after all...' Sakura thought to herself, looking behind her to see if she could just catch a glimpse of red somewhere in the darkness. When she spotted a crimson shade, she nearly jumped.
"Oh... a plant." She spoke quietly, stopping where she was for a moment before hesitantly taking off towards Konoha's gates.
Beacause it wasn't the physical torture Itachi had aimed for that night. He wasn't trying to kill her or physically hurt her.
He knew that with just the right bit of attraction and desire, Sakura would simply drive herself insane.
And that was much more entertaining to watch compared to genjitsu.
I'm not quite sure of how I feel about this one shot... Not really rushed, but idk. I don't think I did Itachi very well xD
Ended a little sadistically, ne? Eh, I was in the mood for something bitter-sweet. In case you didn't really get it, Itachi was torturing her because Sakura is going to go slowly insane with her new obsession, which is him... Mwahaha. Does it make sense? Eh. That's why you review :)
I hope you enjoyed!
Please review! It makes my day and will persuade me to write more :3
-iiMNOTOKAY