Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Contentious Heart ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

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 has been written for entertainment purposes only and without intention of infringing upon any copyright.

 

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, you guys are great. Here's the next chappie. Enjoy…

 

 

The Contentious Heart by elle6778 - Chapter 10

 

 

“Will be traveling to Wind and Waterfall this week. On a more important note, Tea will need some help around the same time. As always, take care. Especially around those spies at home.”

 

Stepping to the window, Sakura went through the necessary seals to release the wind jutsu as her mind went over her words again, making sure that it contained the necessary information without being too specific. As always, a familiar stream of breeze curled around her before it swept out of the window, heading straight for Konoha.

 

She sat next to the window long after her wind message had left her. It was fortunate coincidence that she had gone to speak to Pein without the rest, meaning that she was now able to send the urgent message without the fear of being exposed since they were all occupied in the meeting.

 

Whatever Akatsuki had planned for the takeover, she just hoped that her message would reach Tsunade in time. It would be bad if Akatsuki got control of a country as big as the Tea Country. Pein had not explained their plans in detail to her, but that was to be expected since she was not involved in the actual move against Tea Country. To ask for more detail would raise suspicions, since her role was simply to gather their funds together.

 

The last time she had been there, Tea Country was not as pleasant as it had been during her genin days. Power grappling between the Daimyou and other political factions had turned the country upside down. The head of the Wasabi family, Wasabi Jirocho, whom they had once helped years ago, had been killed, leaving his ex-Konoha ninja ward to fend for himself. But at least Morino Idate had managed to get out of there before he got killed as well.

 

Sakura smiled slightly when she recalled the last time they met about half a year ago. Even though he had felt nothing but hatred towards ninjas when they first met, the circumstances in Tea Country had given Idate no choice but to return to that sort of lifestyle. Their coincidental meeting had resulted in them being temporary partners for a mission in Iwa. Although it had not been the first time she had worked together with rogue shinobi, it was different because that one time, the missing-nin was someone she had known before. Idly, she wondered how Idate was doing. He must be busy, leading a team of rogue shinobi.

 

Come to think of it, she had better get ready to move now, seeing that they only had a week to do retrieve the money. Sighing, she slumped slightly. She had hoped to get a couple of days rest in this place, but that was impossible now. Still, it was good to know that she would be out of Snow Country soon.

 

As she stuffed her just-washed clothes into her pack, she thought of what Pein had said about a temporary reshuffle of partners. Even though she was officially in a team with Itachi and Kisame, she had gone on missions with all of them at some point in the past. They had worked surprisingly well together, and Sakura almost felt as if she belonged if not for the fact that the Akatsuki was a criminal organization that she was currently infiltrating. The whole idea was somewhat worrying.

 

A knock sounded on her door.

 

Without pausing in her packing, Sakura called out, “Yes?”

 

She glanced up when the door opened to reveal Itachi, already dressed in his Akatsuki cloak. Her unbidden thought of what he looked like under the cloak brought their most recent encounter to mind and she glowered darkly at him. If he noticed her expression, he was not reacting to it. Instead he walked calmly into her room until he stood beside her.

 

She gritted her teeth. It was very unsatisfying to glare at someone who refused to react to it. And that very fact annoyed her even further.

 

“Itachi-san. How may I help you?” she asked with exaggerated politeness.

 

The corner of his lips tilted slightly. “Surely there is no need for such formality.”

 

Of course. After he ogled her breasts. “If you say so,” she responded dryly.

 

“Are you prepared?”

 

Nodding, she slung her pack over her shoulders. Then she looked past him to the door. “Where's Kisame?”

 

“He will not be joining us.”

 

So there would be only the two of them? She shrugged inwardly. Money retrieval sounded like a simple enough mission. So one Akatsuki was as good as another, so there should not be any problems, right? She would be fine traveling with Itachi alone.

 

As she walked out behind the Uchiha, Sakura tried to ignore the cartwheels Inner Sakura was performing in her head.

 

 

…***…***…***…

 

Itachi leaned back against a tree trunk, his eyes fixed to the small flickering fire Sakura was currently tending to. They had spent the entire day traveling before they decided that it was best to stop for the night next to a river. Sleeping outdoors was far from luxurious, but considering the distance to the next village, they did not have much of a choice. Besides, it was only for one night as they would reach Waterfall Country in half a day.

 

A huff of exasperation brought his attention up towards the kunoichi. A gust of wind had almost blown out the fire that Sakura was attempting to keep going. Raising himself to his feet, Itachi made his way towards her. She glanced up, surprise evident upon her features.

 

Without a word, he performed a simple fire jutsu and once again, the fire was burning strong.

 

“Thanks,” she muttered before turning back to the fire.

 

He watched silently as she brought the skewers of fish closer to the flames and soon, the scent of cooking fish filled the air around them. It was only then did Itachi realize that neither of them had eaten for the whole day. Usually, Kisame would have reminded him of such things, but like him, it appeared that Sakura was not one to stop for such things either.

 

“It'll be ready in a few minutes,” she announced, turning the fish over.

 

“Were you not hungry earlier?” he asked curiously.

 

She glanced at him, the fire reflecting off her eyes. “I took a soldier pill.”

 

“Aa.”

 

With Kisame around, it had not been necessary to carry soldier pills with him. But Itachi recalled taking them when he had gone on missions as a part of Konoha ANBU. Those days seemed like such a long time ago.

 

“You didn't take any?” she asked, frowning thoughtfully at him.

 

“No.”

 

“You mean you've been traveling the whole day without sustenance, and no pills?” she remarked, sounding incredulous.

 

“Aa.”

 

She peered at a skewer of fish intently before passing it to him. “Here. Eat before you faint on me.”

 

Taking the skewer from her, he raised a brow. “Faint?” As if he would succumb to such a weak display.

 

“Yes, faint. So eat.” She paused to take a bite from her fish, and then swallowed before adding, “I'm planning to do much healing during this mission.”

 

He gave her a questioning look.

 

“Oh, I guess you notice just how prone Deidara and Tobi are to getting injured. I've only been with them only on a few missions but each time, I had to heal them. First was the one in Wave Country, and then there was the one when they got into trouble with my contact.”

 

Itachi stilled. So, this kunoichi had had the opportunity to get close enough to Tobi to study his physical state. In all these years, he had not had the opportunity to do so, or even to view Tobi in a fight. Therefore, he remained uncertain of what the mysterious Akatsuki was capable of. The kunoichi might be able to shed some light upon some of the questions on his mind. However, he had to word his queries carefully to avoid suspicions.

 

“Was either of them seriously injured?” he asked casually, glancing sideways at her.

 

Her brows furrowed slightly. “Not really. It's hard for the enemies to get to Deidara because he's up in the air most of the time. But when he actually gets injured, it's bad. It's a different story with Tobi, though. His injuries are normally just minor scratches.”

 

“Hm.” He knew all he needed to know about Deidara. All he was interested in was Tobi. Trying to lead the conversation back to Tobi, he asked, “You and Tobi fought on ground?”

 

She cast him an odd look as she swallowed her fish. “I can't very well fly, and neither can Tobi.” After a pause, she continued, “Not that Tobi has much to worry about.”

 

“What do you mean?”” he prompted.

 

“Well, Tobi uses some kind of genjutsu technique which fools the enemy to think that he's closer to them than he actually is. So although it looks like the enemy is stabbing him, the enemy is actually stabbing thin air. That genjutsu is almost undetectable and Tobi is unbelievably fast.”

 

Surprise at her level of perception, for it was unlikely that Tobi would have disclosed this to her, Itachi asked, “Tobi told you about this genjutsu?”

 

A grin made its way to her face as she shook her head. “No, I enhanced my eyesight. You know, that jutsu that you told me to practice?”

 

“Hm.”

 

Itachi's attention went to her jade-green orbs, immediately recognizing the mischievous gleam in them. Idly, he noted that she was rather… colorful for a kunoichi, even though the odd mix of green and pink seemed to go well together. She was the oddest kunoichi he had ever encountered. And not only in terms of looks. Her feisty attitude, plus her displays of emotions also made her stand out.

 

His lips twitched slightly as he recalled their conversation after their first mission together. She had not been ashamed of displaying her emotions then, and had not bothered to do so since. Unlike him. But then again, she had not undergone the type of conditioning he had gone through. Nor the type of training he had unwitting submitted to when he was young.

 

Slowly, as his surroundings faded into insignificance, his mind began to replay the scene from the first of the so-called training.

 

 

Something was bothering him. Frowning in discomfort, Itachi rolled over on his futon, his five-year-old body barely making a dent in it. His senses told him that something was wrong. But what?

 

Then he heard the soft shuffle of something against the tatami mat.

 

His eyes shot open to see flashes of red. Stunned, he did not react immediately. Then, when he finally got a hold on himself, he found two dark figures looming over him. Their aura was threatening. Who were these people? He could not see their faces, only their concealing masks.

 

Heart racing, he tried to scramble off his futon. But before he could do so, a large hand gripped his forearm. His eyes widened in alarm when another hand clamped over his mouth. There was no time to protest, no time to fetch the kunai he had left next to the shoji screen.

 

Refusing to surrender, Itachi began to struggle. He sank his fingers into the wrist, trying to pry it from his mouth so that he could call for help. But they were too strong, too big and he was too weak to even break free from their hold. His panic grew as he found himself dragged backwards towards the window. As much as he tried to stop, his bare feet found no purchase on the tatami mat.

 

A fist landed in his stomach, and he doubled over in pain.

 

Then those hands were gone.

 

Horror suffused his features when he realized that he was flying through the air out of the window. Before he could scream, his back hit the ground hard, knocking the air out of him. Soon, he skidded to a stop. Stunned, he could only lay there, trying to catch his breath. What was happening to him?

 

Then they were there again, casting their dark shadows over him, blocking the moonlight.

 

With a strangled gasp, Itachi got to his feet and began to run. It was simply not possible for him to fight them at his skill level. He needed to get away from them to find help.

 

“Help!” he shouted frantically. “Somebody HELP ME!”

 

He rushed to the nearest door and started to pound on it. “Please!”

 

Before he could call out again, he was yanked away from the building. A fist met his jaw, snapping his head back as a string of blood escaped his lips. Then once again, he flew through the air until he hit the solid wall surrounding the Uchiha compound. Sliding down the wall, he gasped at the piercing pain in his side. He must have broken something.

 

His eyes snapped up to find those two figures approaching him slowly. Choking back a groan, he tried to get up, only to fall back down when he realized that his legs were not working. His frantic eyes glanced past them in search of help.

 

“Someone…help me!” he gasped, hating how weak he sounded, hating how vulnerable he felt.

 

He was the Uchiha heir. He was supposed to be strong.

 

Then he saw the movements from the houses. Windows opened briefly and then quickly slamming down again. His lips parted in confusion. They saw him being hurt, but why did they not come out to help him? He felt sick and his vision swam. Rubbing his eyes, he turned to the other side.

 

In one of the open windows, he caught a glimpse of his uncle. Hope instantly coursed through him.

 

“Ojii-san… OJII-SAN!” he called out desperately.

 

To his horror, that window slammed shut as well.

 

“W-Why…” he whispered, hardly noticing the two blurry figures that had stopped in front of him. Why were they not helping him? Why did they slam their windows shut?

 

“Uchiha Itachi.”

 

He glanced up at the owner of the voice, at one of the masked men. They knew him. They knew his name.

 

“Why?” he asked shakily.

 

“A shinobi must always remain alert and prepared, regardless of the time and place,” the masked man said tonelessly.

 

The other man knelt down before him. “A shinobi must also remain independent of others. Remember this lesson well.”

 

Itachi stared at them wordlessly as they disappeared as abruptly as they appeared. Although his entire body burned with his wounds, he could only sit there, as still as a statue as those words sank in. Lesson? That was a lesson?

 

His vision swam further. He needed to go home but he had no energy to pick himself up. So he just sat there against the cold wall.

 

He just sat there numbly as the sun came up.

 

He must have fallen asleep, because when he opened his eyes again, his mother was hovering over him. Her face was twisted in horror as her hand flew to her mouth.

 

“Itachi! What happened to you?” she choked out in anguish, landing on her knees beside him.

 

Pain clouded his mind, but Itachi wondered how she would react if he called out for her aid. Would she ignore him the way the rest had done last night? He was not certain if he could face that reaction from her.

 

So, wordlessly, he averted his eyes and stood up without her aid.

 

He would learn the lesson well.

 

 

Itachi grimaced at the recollection.

 

The entire encounter had been the first to influence his view on the Uchiha clan. Although it had not been obvious then, Itachi now knew that the events that night had not really occurred. Considering that red flash he had seen, the whole thing could be simply a Sharingan-induced genjutsu. Still, the lesson had served its purpose. Without it, he would be as weak as the rest of the Uchiha clan. Without, he would not have gained the power he had this day.

 

A hand waved before his eyes, breaking his train of thought.

 

“Itachi-san.”

 

“Hm.”

 

She peered at him curiously as she threw her empty skewer into the fire. “You spaced out again. What are you thinking?”

 

He did not deem it necessary to respond. And she should know better than to ask, even though he knew that such a thing was too much to expect from her.

 

“You're as curious as a child,” he remarked blandly.

 

She instantly stiffened. Then her eyes flashed in annoyance. “Do not compare me to a child, Itachi-san,” she said in a clipped tone.

 

“Then you should refrain from such curiosity,” he retorted smoothly.

 

“I happen to think that curiosity is a good thing,” she defended immediately. “It's how one seeks to gain knowledge, to learn more and to improve.”

 

His brow rose slightly at her words. Her viewpoint was strangely naïve, and in some ways, too soft for a missing-nin, even though her strength was anything but soft. However, the odd mix was something which defined her as a person, like how his hunger for excellence defined him. Even from the beginning of her introduction into the Akatsuki, she had done many things to illustrate her conflicting traits. He recalled how she had wept over the demise of her ex-comrades, and yet, steadfastly refusing to admit that emotions were weak. And then there had been the incident where she had healed Deidara despite the knowledge that she would weaken herself before the initiation, and later found the strength to complete the process regardless.

 

“Knowledge itself is insufficient to give one strength,” he pointed out levelly.

 

“But it is a start,” she rebutted, her gleaming eyes challenging him to refute her claim. “With knowledge, one can assess their situation better, and then improve as necessary. Eventually, it will lead to increased growth and strength.”

 

“Too slow.”

 

She frowned. “Slow?” A thoughtful pause followed, and then she tilted her head to one side. “Then how should one seek to improve, Itachi-san? What does it take?”

 

“The desire to overpower.”

 

She rolled her eyes at him. “I should have known. You massacred your entire clan after all.” Her tone was dry.

 

He smirked slightly, not denying it even though it was not entirely true. It was not necessary to elaborate further, as it was not something for her to be concerned about. His business remained his business.

 

“So, why did you do it?” she asked, leaning forward towards him, her inquisitiveness clearly displayed across her features.

 

“How does this information concern you?”

 

Her lips quirked. “Curiosity? Thirst for knowledge? Desire to empower myself with this little bit of information?”

 

Itachi felt the most uncharacteristic urge to laugh, but he refrained from doing so. “I fail to see how this information would assist in your development.”

 

Her lips stretched into a grin. “Well, one needs to know as much possible about one's opponent, don't you agree, Itachi-san?”

 

“You consider me an opponent?”

 

She crossed her arms over he chest, her chin tilting up. “Of course. We're going to spar again, aren't we? I'm going to show you that my eye jutsu is good enough to keep up with your Sharingan.”

 

Her optimism was most astounding, Itachi mused. Not to mention she was amusing in her naiveté. Although she would probably offer him a satisfying challenge, she would never defeat him. He would not allow such a thing to occur.

 

“Impossible,” he declared flatly.

 

Shaking her head in disagreement, she pointed out, “It's not impossible. All I need is more practice, remember?”

 

“It may improve your reflexes, but only another Sharingan stand a chance of defeating mine,” he explained levelly.

 

Raising a brow, she said, “Well, we shall see. When I'm done practicing, we'll have another fight and I'll prove you wrong.”

 

“You are too confident,” he declared smoothly.

 

“And you are too condescending.”

 

“Hm.”

 

“And reticent,” she added firmly.

 

“Hm.”

 

She shrugged. “But I guess you won't be Uchiha Itachi if you're any different.”

 

“Aa.”

 

A brief pause followed before she remarked dryly, “I take it that your monosyllabic responses means that you're done talking?”

 

He simply cast her a small smirk, drawing a huff of exasperation from her.

 

“Fine, then.” She stood up abruptly. “I'm going to the river to try to clean up a little.”

 

With that, she began to walk away from him.

 

Silently, he watched as she headed in the direction of the river. Their conversation had amused him, whiling away their time as they rested. He was somewhat surprised that it had lasted as long as it did. It was certainly unexpected, for he rarely allowed himself to be drawn into such conversation. In the past, Kisame had tended to remain silent unless they had to discuss some mission-related subject. Never before had Itachi indulged in the sort of discussion he just had with the kunoichi.

 

Yes, things had certainly changed since the kunoichi joined the Akatsuki. The change was subtle, but it was definitely there.

 

…***…***…***…

 

 

 

It had taken them a total of two days to travel from the resort in Snow Country to Waterfall Country. The journey was pleasant enough, although they had not spoken much since that first night. Sakura got the impression that Itachi did not speak unless it was necessary, and when he did, it was always with that quiet, polite tone. Like Sasuke. She finally figured that the silence thing must be an Uchiha trademark.

 

And of course she was eternally thankful that he had not brought up the incident in the hotsprings, nor the incident where she had walked in on him after his bath. In fact, he had done nothing in the last two days to indicate that he remembered those incidents. Inner Sakura, however, was not content to let it remain that way. On more than one occasion, Sakura had found herself eyeing the Uchiha as Inner Sakura expounded upon his so-called qualities, which was really annoying because that was definitely not the way she wanted to see the shinobi who had murdered his entire clan.

 

Besides, Inner Sakura was wrong most of the time. She had to be!

 

Letting out a huff, Sakura forced herself to stop thinking about it. She had more important things to deal with at the moment. Namely her Akatsuki mission, which had landed her in one of the worst spots she could remember. With that thought, she glowered at whatever she could see of her dark surroundings.

 

As suggested by its name, Waterfall Country was generously graced by numerous waterfalls that lined its mountainous landscape. Under normal circumstances, Sakura would have loved to be surrounded by the beautiful scenery, bathing in the crystal clear water and generally relax. That, however, was not the case right at this moment.

 

Yes, the water was crystal clear and the spray from the waterfall was invigorating.

 

Yes, the way the sun filtered down between the trees made the secluded area in the forest look almost surreal.

 

Yes, the bird's chirping mixed with the thundering waterfall could be described as music to one's ears.

 

She was also cold, wet and utterly irritated.

 

Sakura gritted her teeth as she pushed more chakra to her palms and feet to make sure that she was securely attached to the slippery rock face. As far as she could see, there was no good reason for the Akatsuki to hide their funds in some dark, tiny cave behind a waterfall, accessible only via a vertical shaft. It was also beyond her comprehension how Kisame and Itachi had managed to get the money there in the first place. Surely with his size, Kisame would have gotten stuck at some point. She was so irritated that even the mental image of Kisame struggling desperately to dislodge himself was not enough to cheer her up.

 

Flicking her wet hair out of her face, Sakura grumbled, “Isn't there a better place to hide the money? Why must you hide it in a cave that's only accessible by a vertical shaft?”

 

“It serves its purpose well.” Itachi's voice came up from somewhere lower in the tunnel.

 

“How long more?”

 

“Until you reach a ledge.”

 

Rolling her eyes, Sakura continued to squeeze up the slippery rock shaft, careful to prevent herself from sliding down. She could not really see where she was going, but she supposed she should just continue until she found that ledge. Stifling the urge to curse, she reached up to blindly feel for another handhold. They must have climbed at least ten-storeys up. She did not even want to think of what might happen if she fell.

 

The things she did for Konoha.

 

“That money had better be there,” she muttered.

 

“It will be.”

 

“Yeah, no one is going to steal it, that's for sure. Because no one is mad enough to do what we're doing. Not to mention-” she broke off abruptly when the rock under her left hand came loose.

 

As fragments of rock tumbled down the shaft, she scrambled to find another hand-hold, fighting to keep herself calm. Then a startled squeak escaped her when the rock under the other hand dislodged, and this time, her eyes widened in panic.

 

Vaguely registering the sound of a thud followed by a hiss of displeasure from somewhere beneath her, she frantically slapped her hands further up to find something else to grip. It did not help that she could not see a thing in the darkness.

 

Unfortunately, luck was not on her side. Misbalancing, she shrieked in alarm as she tumbled downwards. Her immediate thought was that she would probably end up spending days healing her broken bones. She was not going to complete this mission on time. And Pein would promptly kill her for the failure. Or make Itachi do it.

 

Then she hit something firm and unyielding.

 

Her breath was immediately knocked out of her. A grunt sounded from her landing pad, and to her consternation, Sakura realized that she had managed to land on Itachi. Her legs were tangled with his and she could feel soft strands of hair brushing her cheek.

 

Mortified, she immediately tried to scramble off him to find something to hold on to.

 

“Do not move,” he instructed tersely.

 

Sakura froze.

 

It was then that she felt his warm breath against the side of her neck. Goosebumps exploded over her skin at the sensation and she gulped. They were pressed way too close for her comfort. The hard warmth against the front of her body could only be his chest because she could feel his steady heartbeat between their layers of clothes.

 

Inner Sakura swooned and nearly melted into a puddle of mindless mess. Irritated by the reaction, Sakura glowered vindictively at her, hoping that she would disappear for good once and for all. The growing frequency of Inner Sakura's appearance was annoying, not to mention distracting. And for some reason, she was ridiculously hormone-driven when it came to a certain Uchiha. Sakura just could not understand why her inner self had chosen these few weeks to resurface after so many years of dormancy.

 

“You are certainly clumsy.” His voice was dry.

 

Her eyes narrowed at the insult. “It was an accident, alright?!” she retorted irritably.

 

“Hm.”

 

Feeling acutely uncomfortable, she began to fidget. “What now?” she asked as she tried to shift her upper body further away from him.

 

“Do not move,” he bit out in an uncharacteristically edgy voice.

 

“What-” Then her eyes widened in realization. If their chests were pressed together and their legs were tangled, it meant that she was sitting on his… um… She swallowed hard as heat traveled to her cheeks. This was beyond embarrassing.

 

“Oh...”

 

“Hm.”

 

Sakura tried to hold her breath. Anything to stop herself from shifting even slightly. Being a medic, she knew fully well how the male anatomy reacted to certain… stimulations, and she fervently hoped that she was keeping still enough that the particular part of Itachi's anatomy would not react in that way.

 

`He feels nice…” Inner Sakura suddenly said dreamily. `And he smells so delicious…'

 

Sakura closed her eyes in frustration. No, not now. She tried to force away the presence of her inner self, but to her annoyance, Inner Sakura was determined to say her piece.

 

Another heartfelt sigh left Inner Sakura. `He's affected too, you know. See how tense he is? I wonder what he's thinking. Maybe he's thinking of what he saw in the hotsprings, hmm? He was definitely looking then.'

 

Eyes snapping open, Sakura hissed, “Shut up!”

 

“I did not say anything, Sakura-san.”

 

Sakura blanched in mortification. Then she let out an uncomfortable laugh. “Oh, I was thinking about something.” Lame, Sakura. Lame.

 

“Hm.”

 

If she was not careful, Itachi would begin to think that she was crazy. Hell, she felt as if she was going crazy with Inner Sakura's demented ramblings. Yes, demented. Because nothing else could explain the direction of her alter-ego's thoughts. Inner Sakura seemed to have forgotten that Itachi was an Akatsuki, an enemy.

 

A moment of silence passed before she heard Itachi's voice. “I am going to shift. When I do, reach to your left and pull yourself up from there.”

 

She nodded, even though he could not see her. Just be thankful that he was not dropping her, she told herself. He could have gotten it into his head that she was a nuisance and simply let her tumble to her death. But then again, maybe he was just being cautious. After all, who was to say that she would not drag him down the shaft along with her?

 

Then he moved. Sakura had to stifle a gasp when he dipped slightly to the left. Stretching her hands out, she grasped a protruding rock and immediately directed her chakra to hold herself in place. Now all she had to do was to move her legs off Itachi. That should not be too hard, right?

 

She just had to do it without accidentally kicking him.

 

Holding her breath, she directed more chakra to her hands and feet and tightened her grip on the rock before she curled her legs away from him. Her arms ached from the awkward position, but she continued to pull herself up.

 

Then her hand slipped.

 

Gasping, her eyes widening in alarm, Sakura jerked her body up to keep from falling. Her chakra-filled foot connected with Itachi, drawing a loud hiss from him. She winced, knowing that such a hit must hurt. But she finally managed to stabilize herself against the face of the rock.

 

“Sorry,” she muttered, now safely clinging to the rock shaft instead of Itachi. “I'll heal you when we both get to the cave.”

 

An annoyed grunt was the only response she received from him, but she was frazzled enough not to care at that moment. So what if he was annoyed? There was no way he was more unsettled as she was.

 

Soon, she was once again pulling herself up the shaft, more carefully this time. She was not going to risk falling on Itachi again, even if it meant climbing up at a snail's pace.

 

Not long afterwards, Sakura found the ledge. Releasing a breath of relief, she hauled herself up and stood upright. It was brighter there, and she could see the mouth of the cave illuminated by shafts of sunlight filtering in through the cracks in the rock wall. Deciding that she should heal Itachi now that she could actually see, Sakura turned around.

 

The Uchiha had just straightened from the ledge, his crimson orbs scanning the area assessingly. Sakura eyed his body, wondering where exactly had her foot landed earlier. It was hard to tell with that billowy Akatsuki cloak.

 

Taking a few steps to close the distance between them, she offered, “Let me heal you.”

 

“It's not necessary.” His tone was clipped.

 

Sakura blinked at his tone. Itachi was normally so impassive that it felt odd hearing how annoyed he was. He must be more hurt than he cared to let on. Plastering a firm look on her face, she insisted, “You just took a hit from me, and believe me, I know that some healing is necessary. Where did it hit? Let me see it.”

 

He held her gaze. To her surprise, a hint of red tinted the area high on his cheeks. Was Itachi actually… blushing? Or maybe he was just angry with the reminder of what had happened earlier when she had landed on him. Unable to hold his gaze any longer, particularly when her mind began to supply her with what he felt like against her, Sakura averted her eyes.

 

“Um… Itachi-san? Just let me see to it, then we can carry on, alright?”

 

His voice was smooth, but there was no mistaking the mocking tone in it. “I doubt you're fully aware of what you're asking for.”

 

Surprise made her spin around to face him. What could he mean? “I'm a medic, alright, so I think I know what I'm asking.”

 

He raised a brow at her. “You hit me in a rather… sensitive region.”

 

Her mouth parted as her eyes rounded in comprehension. Did she really hit him in his groin? The whole thought of it made her groan, especially when she realized that she had asked to see it. How much more embarrassing could this day get?

 

“Do you still wish to… heal me?” he asked in a quietly mocking tone.

 

Sakura clapped a hand to her forehead, mortified by her own blunder. But if he was really hurt, she would have to heal him, no matter where the injury was. It was her fault in the first place anyway.

 

Taking a deep breath, she ventured uncomfortably, “Um… Is it…uh… okay? Does it hurt?”

 

“I doubt my ability to function is compromised,” he replied dryly.

 

She winced. “Ah… That's good… I think,” she mumbled.

 

“Hm.”

 

Knowing that someone had to break the awkwardness, Sakura turned away from him to walk towards the cave. “So, the money is hidden inside this cave?” she asked evenly.

 

“Aa.”

 

“Well, let's go then.”

 

As they began to walk deeper into the cave, Sakura mentally shook herself, trying to keep focused. The whole thing was just a stupid accident, nothing more. But she could not shake the feeling that something had changed just slightly. Some sixth sense told her that things would just get worse because of this change.

 

Stiffening her spine, Sakura inhaled deeply as she reminded herself of the reason she was in the Akatsuki. As natural as it felt to just fall into the routine, she must not let herself be overly involved. She must begin to distance herself without raising suspicion.

 

 

…***…***…***…

 

 

The retrieval of the funds from Waterfall Country had been completed without any further incidences, allowing them to head back to their temporary base to leave the package before moving on to Wind Country.

 

Aside from the minimal communication necessary for their travel, the kunoichi had said nothing to him. Therefore, one-day journey from Waterfall Country to Bird Country had been made mostly in silence, a far cry from their previous journey.

 

They were approaching the base now and the tension emanating from the kunoichi was still reaching him in waves. Usually, such things did not bother him, as he tended to instill such reactions in those around him, whether they were acquaintances or strangers. However, understanding the reason behind the awkwardness ensured that he was just as unsettled. Ever since the incident in the shaft, his awareness of her had increased, and from what he could tell from her behavior, she was in the same state.

 

Truly, she could not have fallen on him at a worst time. He had been climbing steadily up the shaft when he happened to glance upwards. Without the Sharingan, he would not have seen anything in the darkness, let alone how her rounded rear had flexed with each move she made as she climbed above him. It had been rather indecent of him to watch, but it was more foolish to climb upwards without looking up.

 

His situation had turned from bad to worse when she had fallen on him. The shock had almost caused him to release his chakra-infused hold on the sides of the shaft, but fortunately, he had regained his composure before it happened. Until he had comprehended just where she was sitting on. It was obvious that she had no inkling of what she was doing to him each time she attempted to move.

 

Fortunately, his body's wayward responses had been very effectively curbed when her foot connected with his groin. The pain had blinded him momentarily, but it succeeded in redirecting his mind away from inappropriate matters. Up till then, he had been rather concerned that he might be tempted to act upon the urges of his body.

 

The mere memory of it was unsettling, and Itachi shook himself mentally to dispel that particular line of thought.

 

Besides, they were already at the entrance Pein's new base, and it would not do for the rest to detect the awkwardness between him and Sakura. It would pose a problem if Sakura remained as tense as she was when they met with their leader. Pein was perceptive enough to know that something had happened, and Itachi certainly did not wish to explain anything.

 

Stopping just on the outskirts of the compound that housed the new base, Itachi turned to the kunoichi.

 

“Sakura-san.”

 

“What?” she asked, stopping beside him.

 

He took note of the slightly heightened color gracing her cheeks as her eyes shifted away from his. His lips immediately thinned in disapproval. “Calm yourself.”

 

She stiffened abruptly. “I don't know what you mean.” Her voice was tight.

 

Tamping down a spark of annoyance, he said flatly, “Do not lie. Any competent shinobi could sense your discomfort.”

 

Her eyes flashed briefly, and then she averted her eyes. “Fine,” she muttered grudgingly.

 

“Hm.”

 

She took a step away from him, and then paused. When she turned around again, he was surprised to find her smirking. It was a complete turnabout from her previous demeanor that he was momentarily stunned by the change.

 

“Don't worry, Itachi-san. I won't tell anyone that you can actually blush.”

 

Itachi tensed. “I do not blush,” he declared stonily.

 

Her smirk widened before she turned away to continue into the compound.

 

Irked by her words, Itachi glared at her retreating back for a moment before he finally joined her. It was more than obvious that she had recovered from the awkwardness.

 

A short walk and a number of identification jutsu later, Itachi found himself standing in front of Pein's desk in a sparsely decorated study. It was clear that this base was meant to be temporary until Pein found somewhere else more suitable. Konan was there as well, staring absently out of the window as their leader stood up.

 

“You have what we need?” Pein asked.

 

“This is everything from Waterfall,” Sakura said as she placed the bag on the desk.

 

Pein nodded, drawing the bag towards him. “Both of you have done well.” Their leader stepped away from the desk to move towards the window next to Konan. Staring out, he continued, “We need to catch up. Deidara and Tobi are already here as well.”

 

Itachi raised a brow. “We are short of time.”

 

“This will be a quick meeting,” Konan remarked.

 

“What is this about?” the kunoichi asked curiously.

 

Before Pein could reply, the shimmering forms of Kisame appeared before them. And a while later, Deidara and Tobi walked through the door.

 

“Now that all of us are here, we can begin,” Pein announced. Lifting the bag full of money, Pein held it out to Tobi. “Itachi and Sakura got this from Waterfall Country. It should be enough to fund the operation in Tea Country.”

 

Taking the bag, Tobi nodded. “I guess this is enough to pay them.”

 

Deidara flicked his blonde fringe out of his eyes. “We've negotiated with the spies, yeah. And they've agreed to do what we asked. The first wave of rogue shinobi will be attacking in a week or so.”

 

“Good,” Pein approved before sweeping his eyes over the rest of them. “Kisame located hachibi in River Country and will continue to track his movement until the rest of you get there,” Pein explained.

 

“I'll send a message if he leaves that country,” Kisame added.

 

“So all five of us are going, yeah?” Deidara asked.

 

Konan nodded. “The jinchuuriki is not traveling alone, so it's not going to be easy.”

 

“Who are they?” Itachi asked.

 

“Looks like jounin-level missing-nins,” Kisame remarked thoughtfully. “I couldn't get close enough to tell.”

 

“Are we going to make it in time?” Sakura asked with a small frown.

 

“You have four days before you have to regroup at River Country,” Pein told them. “Bring the hachibi jinchuuriki to the border between Rain and River. Konan will prepare the site for the extraction.”

 

“Sounds like it's going to get busy,” Kisame remarked with a wide grin.

 

Deidara smirked. “We had better get going then, yeah.”

 

 

…***…***…***…

 

 

The journey from Bird Country to Wind Country had taken them only a day, and another half day had been taken up by their trek across some sandy mountains to reach the place where Itachi and Kisame had hidden the next stash of money. Finding the money had been less traumatizing than the experience in Waterfall, and Sakura was glad for that.

 

As she trudged across the hot desert sand, Sakura chewed her bottom lip, her brows furrowed in concentration and worry. Ever since their impromptu meeting with Pein, her mind had only been filled with one thing.

 

Now that they knew where the extraction was going to take place, she had to get this information to Tsunade. It would take them another two days to make their way back to the rendezvous point in River Country, which did not give her much time to send a message out before she had to capture the hachibi. Glancing sideways at Itachi, she wondered how on earth she could escape him long enough to find a safe place to contact Tsunade, considering that they had been practically stuck at the hips for the last few days.

 

She fought the urge to groan out loud. This was bad. What was the point of being in Akatsuki if she could not even warn Tsunade about something like this?

 

“Stop.”

 

Sakura froze at Itachi's voice. A quick sideway glance told her that his attention was fixed to something in the distance, and from the expression on his face, it was not something good.

 

Quickly, she touched her fingertips to her eyes, performing her eye jutsu. When she turned to see what he was looking at, her eyes immediately widened at the sight of the approaching Sand ANBU squads. There were eight of them. And knowing what Gaara's training regime was like, she knew that this was not going to be an easy battle. ANBU squads did not carry out regular patrols, therefore they must be there for some specific task. Did Tsunade warn Gaara to increase Suna's defenses?

 

“This is not good,” Sakura remarked apprehensively. “There are too many of them.”

 

“Aa.”

 

 

…***…***…***…

 

A/N: I hope you were entertained by the chapter. The Ita-Saku interactions will continue the next chapter, in which the bijuu extraction plot will be progressed. As always, I greatly appreciate your reviews, so please drop me a few words. Thanks!