Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Contentious Heart ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto, but the new plots (meaning the ones you don't recognize!) are mine. This fanfiction had been written for entertainment purposes only and without intention of infringing upon any copyright.

 

Spoilers: The story follows the canon storyline until the part shortly after the Sasuke vs. Orochimaru battle (approximately chapter 353). After that, I took liberties with the facts.

 

A/N: Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year everyone! A great big thank you to lindajrjt for reviewing!

 

And now, here's the next chapter. Please enjoy!

 

 

The Contentious Heart by elle6778 - Chapter 2

 

Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame.

 

Sakura studied the shark-like features of the Hoshigaki before her eyes swept over the shorter shinobi. Wary of his Sharingan, her eyes flicked past his crimson ones before she quickly diverted her gaze further down. Seeing Uchiha Itachi close up like this instantly brought back memories of Sasuke. This was the man that Sasuke had vowed to kill. This was the man that drove Sasuke to his mad quest for power.

 

Sasuke. As always, the name brought forth a mix of feelings within her. Was he still a friend? Would a friend attempt to kill another friend without even blinking an eye? Because she was sure that that was what Sasuke had tried to do the last time they met. It had happened during one of their missions to hunt him down. So much for protecting his important people, she thought dryly.

 

She gave herself a mental shake, forcing herself to focus on the present. Sasuke was not important now. What was important was the two Akatsuki in front of her. Her eyes not leaving them, she grabbed a kunai in readiness. There was no telling what they were planning to do.

 

The Uchiha did not react to her move, but the Hoshigaki bared his sharp, jagged teeth in what looked like a smile.

 

“Well, what do we have here? A Leaf kunoichi all by herself,” Kisame remarked. “A missing-nin, are we?”

 

Instantly riled by his tone, Sakura lifted her chin to glare at his blue face. “What is it to you?” she snapped.

 

“We don't see many Leaf missing-nins around, do we, Itachi-san?” Kisame asked without taking his eyes off her.

 

“It's none of your business.”

 

This was definitely not how she pictured her encounter with the Akatsuki. Come to think of it, she did not know what she expected in the first place.

 

“Why are you here?” the Uchiha prodigy spoke in a quiet voice.

 

Sakura shifted her eyes back to him, aiming her gaze at his hitai-ate. Anything to avoid being caught in those eyes. Not that she could not escape it if she had to, but caution would serve her better.

 

“Like I said before, it is none of your business.”

 

The Uchiha raised a brow. “We are simply curious, kunoichi. After all, you're quite aware that we're interested in your kyuubi friend.”

 

Sakura's lips thinned. “Then perhaps you should search for him instead of wasting my time here.”

 

Kisame's eyes narrowed. “Itachi-san, I say we grab this kunoichi and use her as bait. Konoha must be looking for her, right? We could use her to distract the ANBU while we capture the kyuubi. What do you think?”

 

Before his partner could reply, Sakura snorted derisively. “Your confidence is as empty as your head. What makes you think you could kidnap me, huh?” If this wouldn't infuriate him into a battle, she did not know what would.

 

As predicted, Kisame instantly flared out, “Why you little-”

 

“Kisame-san,” the Uchiha cautioned, only to be ignored by the furious Kisame.

 

A grin broke out on Sakura's face. Her main aim was to somehow demonstrate her skills to the Akatsuki and Kisame was handing her the opportunity on a silver platter. A part of her, the inner Sakura which had been suppressed over the years, was hollering a victory cry. The Akatsuki was made up of the strongest shinobi she knew and now she would get to pit her strength against one of them. It was time to kick some blue shark butt. Hell yeah!

 

Kisame swung his large weapon forward. “It's feeding time for Samehada,” he growled threateningly.

 

Readying herself for the fight, Sakura flexed her gloved fingers and crouched lower. She had studied the profile this particular Akatsuki more than a year ago, and she knew that Samehada would absorb her chakra if she was not careful. She had not wasted her wandering time doing nothing between jobs, so she had found a way to counter it.

 

“Bring it on, Fishy,” she goaded gleefully.

 

The Uchiha flicked an indecipherable look at his partner. “Kisame-san, we are wasting time here.”

 

Eyes not leaving her, the Mist shinobi replied, “This won't take long.”

 

It was time to start, she decided. Drawing her chakra-infused fist back and then slamming it down, she cracked the earth with her trademark attack. Vaguely, she registered out of the corner of her eyes that the Uchiha had leapt some distance away. Kisame's footing destabilized momentarily before he jumped out of the way. Without a pause, he streaked swiftly towards her. She waited for Kisame to close in on her before she made her next move.

 

“SHANNARO!”

 

She launched high up in the air, the force of her lift off shaking the ground beneath her. Eyes widening slightly before he righted himself, Kisame brought up Samehada just as her fist descended towards him. Having anticipated his move, Sakura immediately twisted her wrist, allowing only the back of her gloved hand to come into contact with Samehada before she flipped her body away from him.

 

When she landed some distance away, she found Kisame staring at her with an incredulous look. It was as if he could not believe that her chakra had not been absorbed. She smirked. It was easy, really. The back of her gloves acted like a chakra repellant, a barrier, while the rest of the gloves allowed her to perform her usual chakra-based attacks.

 

“Enough of playing around,” Kisame growled as he ripped the white wrapping off his Samehada, revealing the sharp scales.

 

Sakura lifted a brow. “Oh, getting serious now, are we?”

 

With a snarl, the blue-skinned Akatsuki zipped towards her in a blur. Sakura's eyes widened. For someone so big, he sure moved fast. She barely ducked out of the way, leaving a substitute in her place as the gigantic blade landed. The substitute log split into two just as Sakura reappeared behind him. That was close, she thought, her heart thudding rapidly.

 

Kisame spun around. At the same time, she darted forward, determined to land a hit this time. The Mist shinobi dug Samehada into the ground, using it to propel himself upwards. His feet barely touched the ground when he pulled his blade from the ground to swing it towards her.

 

Knowing that she could not escape fast enough, Sakura skidded to a halt and yanked out two kunais to block the attack. Unfortunately for her, she misjudged the distance and Samehada grazed her exposed left arm, drawing a choked cry from her. He managed to force a portion of her chakra out of her before she leapt away from him.

 

Landing a safe distance away, she inspected her arm and hissed out a curse when she realized that her skin was scraped raw. She raised her eyes to meet Kisame's smirking face. Gritting her teeth, she quickly healed her wound. Damn it, more chakra wasted!

 

Kisame laughed. “Samehada likes the taste of your chakra.”

 

Sakura's eyes narrowed in irritation.

 

Then, just as she finished healing her arm, Kisame began a series of seals.

 

A water-jutsu, Sakura realized in alarm. Earth-based jutsu, which could defeat water-based jutsu, was not her primary element and she was not particularly adept at it. But she did not have any other choice now.

 

Hurriedly performing the hand seals that Yamato had taught her, Sakura hoped that she would not mess this up like she had done so many times during her training sessions. This was one of the Third Hokage's jutsu, one which was useful only in defense. It was perfect for this type of situations, if she could just pull it off correctly.

 

“Suiton: Suikoudan-no-Jutsu!” Kisame shouted.

 

Sakura slammed her hands down on the ground as she yelled, “Doton: Doryuu-Jouheki!”

 

Her earth wall shot up between them just in time for Kisame's shark-like water projectile to crash into it. The earth wall was not as strong as Yamato's, but at least she managed to bring it up in time. Trembling with the effort, Sakura forced herself to hold the jutsu intact as the water exerted a large pressure behind it.

 

After what seemed like forever, the pressure behind the wall eased, allowing her to release her own jutsu. The wall crumbled into the puddle of water, leaving them to glare at each other across the muddy mess.

 

Damn it! Reading his profile was nothing like battling him, she thought as she panted heavily. Scolding herself inwardly for her earlier smugness, she slowly straightened, all the time keeping her eyes fixed on her opponent. At least Kisame was not doing any better than she was, considering rapid heaving of his chest. But she knew that she would run out of chakra if this went on for much longer.

 

It was time to finish this. There was no other option but to use a method she preferred not to use to knock him out. The problem was, she had to actually get near him to do it, and that meant putting herself in Samehada's path.

 

Her eyes sharpened when she saw Kisame's feet shifting. Then they sped towards each other in unison. Zigzagging as she neared him, Sakura dodged the spiky Samehada, her smaller form helping her movements. Closer, she repeated like a mantra as she weaved between Kisame's limbs and weapons, her muscles straining at the effort of precision control. Kisame was not allowing her to get anywhere near his body, and her shorter arms were not helping.

 

Then she saw an opening.

 

Her right hand snapped out and her chakra-filled fingers grazed the side of his head. With a shocked gasp, Kisame reared back and fell to his knees. Dropping his weapon, his hands flew to his head and a pained hiss escaped him.

 

Panting heavily, Sakura staggered back, her wary eyes not leaving her opponent. It was not the full attack, seeing that she had only grazed the side of his head, but it was definitely enough. She did not have enough chakra to perform the full jutsu after all. The attack was something she had discovered by accident during her medic training. Insert a certain intensity of chakra into someone's brain and one could induce anything from a headache to a complete mental breakdown.

 

From the looks of it, Kisame just received a temporary head-splitting migraine.

 

“That's enough.”

 

Still choking in much needed air into her lungs, Sakura spun towards the owner of the voice, her entire body tense. She was so caught up in the battle that she had almost forgotten that the Uchiha was watching. And right now, even though his expression betrayed none of his emotions, his posture told her that he was wary of her.

 

Good, she decided. She only hoped that he would not decide to fight her. The amount of chakra she had left would not be enough to hold this particular Akatsuki off. And anyway, she had done what she had set out to do.

 

She got their attention.

 

 

…***…***…***…

 

 

He, Uchiha Itachi, was hardly ever surprised.

 

But today, he admitted that he was surprised by this particular kunoichi, this missing-nin from Konoha who had once stood by the kyuubi's side. The last time he had seen her was back when he and Kisame were sent to intercept their team during the Shukaku extraction.

 

Itachi glanced at his partner who was still clutching his head in obvious pain, oblivious to his surroundings. Kisame was not one to be defeated easily. In fact, Itachi could not recall when was the last time his partner had been defeated. Then again, they hardly ever battled medic-nins, and it was clear from her final attack that this kunoichi possessed advanced medical skills.

 

Kisame truly brought this upon himself. When they had noticed the kunoichi earlier, Itachi had simply remarked that she was with the kyuubi at one time. It was Kisame who had insisted on taking the short detour.

 

He caught a stealthy movement out of the corner of his eyes. Instantly, he turned his full attention to the kunoichi. She was backing away in an attempt to leave them. Their eyes met briefly before she quickly shifted her gaze to land on his hitai-ate. Itachi smirked inwardly. It was obvious that she was familiar with the Sharingan.

 

“He will be fine in about half a day,” she said quietly.

 

“Is that so?”

 

She took another step away from him, her anxiety clearly displayed in her tense posture. “It's just a bad migraine.”

 

Wordlessly, Itachi simply continued to watch her retreat slowly until she deemed that she was far enough from them. Then, with a series of hand seals, she seemingly disappeared into thin air. Knowing that it served no purpose to pursue her, Itachi walked towards his partner and knelt down. Still on his knees, Kisame's head was buried in his large hands.

 

“Kisame-san.”

 

A groan escaped the Mist shinobi. “That kunoichi… Damn it! I will… ugh…”

 

“Kisame,” Itachi called out in a firmer voice. “We have to leave. Can you move?”

 

Slowly, his entire body straining in pain, Kisame removed his hands from his head. His beady eyes were unfocussed as he turned to look around. “W-Where is she? I'm going to kill her.”

 

“You're hardly in the state to do so,” Itachi remarked dryly as he handed Kisame his hat. Then he stood up. “Let's go.”

 

Cursing loudly, Kisame raised himself up unsteadily and began to walk.

 

As the kunoichi had informed him earlier, half a day passed before Kisame's pain receded. By that time, they were already crossed the border into the next country.

 

 

…***…***…***…

 

 

Rocks, rocks and more rocks. Earth Country was made up of rocks mostly, but there were small patches of forested area which she tended to walk alongside of. As she trudged across the undulating landscape, Sakura grumbled under her breath at the heat. She had passed a couple of villages in the last few days and to her dismay, found not a single interesting job. Those she had spoken to mentioned that there might be some in the next village. Maybe all the jobs had been taken up by rogue shinobi. After all, this was a shinobi country.

 

It was just a bit of a let down after what she had gone through with the two Akatsuki a few days ago. Even now, she could not help but smile at her success. She could hardly believe that she had pulled it off with her entire body intact. Maybe Kisame had not employed his full power, but who cared, right?

 

A light shimmer between the trees in the distance caught her attention. She squinted to see better, and then her eyes widened. It looked like there was a waterfall in there.

 

Beaming in anticipation, she quickened her steps.

 

It was not long before she arrived at a beautiful scene. Water cascaded down the rock face, ending up in a pebbly stream which threaded between the tree trunks. A light mist dotted the air, catching the rays of sun which shone down on them. The rippling water was inviting and the thundering sound from the waterfall was strangely relaxing.

 

After washing her face to cool herself down, Sakura laid down on a flat piece of rock. She was so relaxed that she could not help but groan out loud. Alright, maybe it was time she stopped traveling between the villages. The fact that those villages were scattered over the vast Earth Country meant that she almost always had to spend one night in the wild. And anyway, it really did not look as if there was anything interesting out here.

 

Closing her eyes, she let herself doze off a little.

 

After a while, her eyes snapped open as she sensed the unmistakable approach of a shinobi. Cursing inwardly, she quickly pushed herself to her feet. At least there was only one. What was it this time? Another hunter-nin?

 

Glancing around swiftly, she spotted a groove in the rock face to one side of the waterfall. Masking her chakra, Sakura sprinted over the water until she neared it, and then leapt up. Sliding herself into the groove, she waited for the shinobi to appear.

 

Soon, a tall slender form stepped into the area. But what really caught Sakura's attention was the cloak covering her body as the person walked closer to her hiding place. Sakura gaped in disbelief. What was the chances of coming across not two, but three Akatsuki members in the same week? Her luck must be changing finally. Or maybe this one was here because of what happened to Kisame.

 

“Haruno Sakura,” the female voice called out without looking her way.

 

Sakura blinked. This woman knew that she was there, not to mention her identity. Sure she managed to get herself into practically every Bingo book in existence over the last one year or so, but one had to be actively tracking her to find her here.

 

Deciding that it was time to reveal herself, Sakura stepped out into the open. The woman immediately turned to her. To her surprise, Sakura detected a polite smile under the wide rim of the bamboo hat. It did not look as if this shinobi has any hostile intentions, at least on the surface.

 

“So, you're Haruno Sakura,” she drawled.

 

“And you are?”

The woman removed her hat to reveal a young face, with what looked like a stud under her lower lip. Her dark hair was decorated with a flower. “I'm Konan.”

 

This was one of the Akatsuki that Konoha knew nothing about. Which meant that she did not know what power this woman possessed. Tilting her head to the side, Sakura looked at her thoughtfully before she spoke. “You're the third Akatsuki I came across this week.”

 

A dark brow lifted. “Really? Who were the other two you encountered?”

 

Sakura reined in her surprise. So this Konan was not here because of what happened to Hoshigaki Kisame. Keeping her voice level, she replied, “Uchiha and Hoshigaki.”

 

It was Konan's turn to look surprised. “I see.” A pause followed before she continued, “It sounds like you're quite familiar with our organization.”

 

Sakura smirked. “I know that they're after Naruto.”

 

“Your kyuubi teammate.” Konan gave her a contemplative look. “But you're now a missing-nin and he is no longer your teammate. I wonder how that happened.”

 

Sakura shrugged noncommittally. Missing-nins did not normally disclose their pasts, and she was not about to start, especially considering the truth of her own situation. But this conversation was certainly weird. It was obvious that Konan wanted something, and Sakura could not help but wonder if she was finally going to get her break.

 

Konan took a step closer.

 

Sakura instantly tensed.

 

Shaking her head slowly, Konan said softly, “I'm not here to fight.”

 

Narrowing her eyes to convey her suspicion, Sakura retorted, “Then what are you here for? As far as I know, I have no business with Akatsuki.”

 

“That could perhaps change.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I'm extending you an invitation. We would like you to join us.”

 

Sakura did not have to pretend to look shocked, but she knew that she could not accept right away or it would look suspicious. So she adopted a cautious look. “Join Akatsuki? Why?”

 

“There is an opening. And you are skilled.”

 

Sakura released a bark of humorless laughter. “There are plenty of skilled shinobi out there.”

 

“Not of your caliber. After all, you were the Godaime Hokage's apprentice.”

 

Sakura held her tongue while she stared at Konan contemplatively. She had to give the impression that she was thinking it over. Over-eagerness would only make things look suspicious, even if she was actually ecstatic at the offer.

 

“What do you say?” Konan prompted.

 

After a while, Sakura shook her head. Frowning slightly, she said, “Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'm quite alright being a lone missing-nin. I have no reason to join your organization.”

 

“You will have a selection of places to stay when you're not on a mission, and the pay is generous. You will have access to much more funds that you currently do.”

 

Sakura's eyes twitched. Did she give off the impression that she was money-hungry? Perhaps she did, considering the sort of jobs she had taken in the past. Those high-profiled, dangerous jobs usually came with a substantial fee after all. If the Akatsuki had researched her, they would know that.

 

“I don't think so,” Sakura finally said. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

 

Konan's pale eyes flickered in what looked like annoyance. “Perhaps you should think over it. Our missions require exceptional skills which would suit one such as yourself. You would be able to stretch your capacity, instead of carrying out mundane, routine jobs.”

 

Before Sakura could say another word, Konan spun around to walk away. Then she paused and said over her shoulders, “Joining Akatsuki would be worth your while. Consider our proposal carefully. We will speak again in a week.”

 

With that, the Akatsuki burst into what looked like shreds of paper butterflies and dispersed out of sight.

 

Still rooted to the spot, Sakura waited a long while before she exhaled loudly. Closing her eyes, she sank down on the rock surface. Her tension subsided slowly to be replaced by a sudden sense of exhilaration. Finally! Finally she was getting somewhere. She just received her invitation to join the Akatsuki.

Hell yeah!

 

Jumping to her feet, she began to walk away from the area. She had to find some place secure to get her message to Tsunade.

 

 

…***…***…**…

 

 

Sprawled over the desk in the most inelegant manner, the fifth Hokage choked softly on her own snores, instantly waking herself up. Blinking back her grogginess, Tsunade lifted her head to scowl at the scroll which had served as her pillow. It was ruined now, not that she cared.

 

The door burst open suddenly, jolting her into instant alertness. An orange blur entered her office uninvited.

 

“TSUNADE-BAA-CHAN!”

 

Tsunade gritted her teeth at the address. “Naruto…” she ground out. Just what she needed, a hyper shinobi in her office just a second after she had woken up.

 

Grinning widely, Naruto announced, “We just completed the last mission. It was a success. Do you have another one for us?”

 

Tsunade bit back a sigh. He had just finished a mission and he wanted another one already? She supposed she should not be that surprised. After all, Naruto had been like this since Sakura left. It was as if he was trying to fill up all his time with missions to make up for his friend's absence.

 

“Where are the rest?”

 

Eyes crinkling in a sheepish smile, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. “Heh! Neji, Tenten and Lee are on their way.”

 

Tsunade closed her eyes in resignation. Naruto must have run ahead of them and left them behind as usual. So much for teamwork. At the rate Naruto was going, she wondered how much more his temporary teammates could take before they cracked under pressure. No one has as much stamina as the boy in front of her. It was best to wait until Sai was back from his ANBU Root re-training before assigning Naruto any more missions.

 

“So, any more missions? Maybe an A-Rank one.” He paused to think, and then continued, “But of course an S-Rank one would be better!”

 

Shaking her head firmly, she gave him a stern look. “Go get some rest, Naruto.”

 

Naruto simply carried on, changing the subject this time. “Baa-chan, do you know why my application into the hunter-nin division got rejected?”

 

Tsunade stilled. Everyone was aware that Naruto wanted to become a hunter-nin so that he could traipse all over the place to search for Sakura and Sasuke. Knowing how emotional Naruto was, that was just the last thing they needed him to do. So, although she knew the reason behind the rejection, she had no intention of disclosing it to Naruto, at least, not if she wanted any peace.

 

“I don't know.”

 

“I think I'm qualified enough, so I don't understand why they won't let me join.”

 

“You're already an ANBU, Naruto,” Tsunade pointed out, her patience waning fast. “Isn't that enough?”

 

His expression sank visibly. “But Tsunade-baa-chan…”

 

She held a hand up. “That's enough, Naruto. Now go home and rest.”

 

Grudgingly, the blonde-haired eighteen-year-old left her office. But Tsunade knew that this would not be the last of it. Naruto would continue to hassle her until one of them cracked.

 

Straightening, Tsunade stretched and released a long-drawn yawn. It was time to take a walk outside the office to wake herself up, and maybe stop by the shop to restock her supply of sake.

 

Before she could get to the door, the window behind the desk rattled violently.

 

Recognizing the signs, she instantly spun around and rushed towards the window to open it. A gush of warm air slid through the opening and then twirled a few times around her. It felt as if Sakura was giving her a hug, she realized, blinking back the sudden sting in her eyes. Then Tsunade immediately chastised herself for her stupid sentimentality.

 

Knowing that the wind would follow her until she acknowledged it, she lifted her hands and performed a series of seals. The only other two in Konoha who knew this jutsu were Kakashi and Shikamaru.

 

“Sakura…” Tsunade whispered softly as the wind slowed down.

 

Then she heard the quiet whispery voice, meant only for her ears and another two.

 

“Contact made. Job offer under consideration. Phase 1 complete. Phase 2 pending. Left info in pickup point 4. Watch over everyone for me. Take care.”

 

The message was rather cryptic as usual, but Tsunade understood exactly what Sakura meant. Rushing to the door, she yanked it open and yelled out to a bewildered chuunin, “Get Kakashi and Shikamaru here immediately!”

 

Slamming the door shut with complete disregard to the fact that the building actually shook at the impact, Tsunade strode back to her desk and sat down. All their planning and preparation were finally showing results. Sakura had done exceptionally well in her task to capture Akatsuki's attention, what they had dubbed Phase 1 of the mission. Kakashi, Shikamaru and herself had been astounded by the speed her reputation had traveled over the different countries.

 

Still, she could not help but worry about her favorite student. Part of her was concerned that things would get out of hand, that Sakura would lose her soul along the way. But from what they had heard so far of her activities over the last one year, even though there were plenty of bloodshed, Sakura had only killed less than handful of people, which was a feat in itself considering the type of jobs she had undertaken.

 

Now that Akatsuki had approached her, things would only get more complicated. Tsunade fervently hoped that they had not made a mistake in assigning Sakura to this mission. She did not want the girl scarred irreparably.

 

Not to mention that Naruto would not forgive her once he found out. The boy had changed ever since Sakura left. Nowadays, his cheerfulness was less real and more of a façade. It was to be expected, but in a way, it was something Naruto had to get used to. A shinobi's life was fleeting, and Naruto could not expect to have all his friends by his side all the time. He needed to understand this feeling, even though he was not aware of the truth behind Sakura's supposed defection.

 

The rapping on her door drew her out of her contemplations.

 

“Come in.”

 

The door opened to reveal Kakashi and Shikamaru. They closed the door before stepping up to her desk.

 

Kakashi raised a hand in greeting. “Yo.”

 

Tsunade went straight to the point. “She made contact. It seems to be going according to plan.”

 

Kakashi's visible eye widened. “It was sooner than I'd expected.”

 

Shikamaru looked thoughtful. “It's good though.”

 

“She left some information for us in Pickup Point 4.”

 

“I'll send someone to pick it up,” Kakashi offered.

 

Tsunade nodded. “We should keep our eyes and ears open just in case something goes wrong and she needs to be extracted.”

 

Shikamaru rubbed his chin. “Things will get more troublesome for her now. But I think she can handle it.”

 

Eye creasing, Kakashi said confidently, “That I have no doubt.”

 

Tsunade smiled. “Of course.”

 

 

…***…***…***…

 

 

It was raining in Rain Country when they set foot in it.

 

Itachi glanced up at the sky, feeling somewhat irritated that they arrived just in time for one of Pein's showers. It appeared that the place was aptly named. Dipping his hat lower, Itachi continued to make his way to his destination, a temple-like building at the edge of the village. Kisame was beside him, his light steps splashing through the puddles displaying his pleasure at the weather.

 

It had taken them three days to pinpoint Kabuto's exact location. And after a furious battle with the bespectacled medic, they had finally obtained the ring. It had not been an easy battle, considering that Kabuto had somehow managed to absorb some of Orochimaru's power. But it had ended before he or Kisame sustained any major injuries. They had commenced the journey back after a few days of rest to regain their strength.

 

It was not long before they stood at the threshold to Pein's abode. Pein was there, staring up at the sky, seemingly enjoying his masterpiece. Without a word, Itachi approached him. When their leader looked down, Itachi held out hand and uncurled his fingers to reveal Orochimaru's ring.

 

Reaching out to accept the offering, Pein then lifted it to his eyes. “Orochimaru,” he mumbled before returning his gaze to the pair. “Is Kabuto dead?”

 

“Aa.”

 

Kisame smirked. “He's no longer a problem.”

 

Whilst it was not something Itachi would do, Kisame had mutilated the medic-nin's body, ensuring that Kabuto would never be resurrected. Itachi preferred clean battles, with minimal exertion on his part unless it was necessary.

 

A small smile tilted the corner of Pein's lips. “You've done well. With this ring, we can now progress with the initiation.”

 

Surprised, Itachi asked, “The shinobi is here?”

 

Pein nodded. “Since last night.” Inclining his head towards the inside of the building, he continued, “Come. It is time you're formally introduced.”

 

Formally introduced? That was an odd way to put it. Deciding not to say anything further, he followed Pein into the building and continued into the living room. There were already two people at the far end of the room.

 

Itachi's steps faltered slightly as the figure standing beside Konan came into view. His eyes instantly widened in recognition. Next to him, Kisame released an angry hiss as the pair walked towards them.

 

Pein inclined his head the newcomer. “Sakura, this is Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. But I believe you've met before?”

 

It was the kunoichi they had met in that village a few weeks ago. What was the meaning of this? Could this pink-haired kunoichi be their newest member? Was she the one Pein wished to take Orochimaru's place? On second thoughts, perhaps he should not be too surprised at her presence, considering what he had seen of her. A medic-nin with her type of strength was rare. Therefore, he could understand why Pein wanted her skills.

 

A growl escaped Kisame's lips.

 

“Aa,” was the only respond Itachi gave.

 

The pink-haired kunoichi's tone was level when she said, “Yes, we have met. But we haven't been properly introduced, Uchiha-san, Hoshigaki-san.”

 

Konan shook her head. “There is no need for such formalities.” Tuning around, the dark-haired kunoichi gave Kisame a pointed look. “Is everything alright, Kisame?”

Kisame grunted.

 

Knowing that he was expected to say something, Itachi inclined his head at their latest member. “Welcome to the Akatsuki, Sakura-san.”

 

“It might be a little early for that. I'm only here to discuss the offer, Itachi-san,” she returned genially.

 

Itachi reined in his surprise. So, she had not accepted the invitation. He turned sideways to catch the look given to him by Pein. There was no need for words. If the kunoichi failed to accept the invitation, she would then be persuaded to do so by the Mangekyou Sharingan, or be relieved of her life.

 

Unaware of the unspoken exchange, the kunoichi turned to Kisame. “I trust that you're well, Kisame-san?”

 

Kisame glared at her. “Cut the crap, kunoichi.”

 

Obviously unperturbed by the Mist shinobi's tone, the kunoichi grinned. “I'm just concerned about your welfare, that's all.”

 

The kunoichi seemed to enjoy antagonizing his partner, Itachi mused inwardly. No doubt this latest development would provide some amusement to the rest of them. Idly, he wondered how long it would take before either Kisame or the kunoichi end up in another battle.

 

Pein placed a restraining hand on Kisame's shoulders. His tone was dry when he remarked, “I see that you're already getting along well.”

 

“Obviously,” Konan muttered.

 

Releasing his hold on the glowering Mist shinobi, Pein declared, “We will wait for Deidara and Tobi before we commence. They found their target a couple of days ago and said that they should be back sometime today. In the meantime, you can all take a rest.”

 

Itachi nodded.

 

The fact that their leader wished for the presence of the other two meant that Pein fully expected to commence the initiation process. He wondered how the kunoichi would react to it, considering that she was under the impression that she was merely there to assess the offer. Pein would not be pleased should she choose to reject rather than to accept.

 

It was up to her to make the correct decision soon, if she did not want her life to end.

 

 

…***…***…***…

 

A/N: I hope you like the story so far. Please review if you can - it'd be greatly appreciated. Thanks!