Time: 3 years after Sauke's departure, six months after Gaara retrieval misson
Place: Akatsuki headquarters, unknown location
--
Last time...
Frowning, she turned to Itachi. “I look like a prostitute.”
“You look nice.” He began hauling the chain in, and didn’t stop until she was less than a foot from him, his eyes boring into hers. “I like it.” Her eye twitched. Next thing she knew, he’d whip out a copy of Icha Icha Paradise, and start giggling at it like Kakashi-sensei. Instead of pulling out a hentai novel, he reached out a hand and grazed his fingertips over her cheek, his eyes still as expressionless as his face. There was feeling coming through that link that she could not recognize, but it set something in her stomach to squirming. “I suppose that you should meet the rest of the family.”
--
Chapter 2: Doggie Treats
Itachi pulled his feet from the bath and dried them, then yanked his sandals back on. He tugged on the chain, and she followed. The two of them walked silently down the hallway, and when they came to a door that must have been three meters wide and twice as tall, he pushed it open. There was a wide meeting hall, strewn with carpets and cushions. There were several Akatsuki members hanging around, a pair in one corner playing shogi, and others speaking in hushed tones. One approached them. She recognized him as Hoshigaki Kisame, a Missing-Nin from the Mist village.
“Itachi, you sly dog. What have you there?” The fish-faced man licked his lips as he looked at her, his eyes crawling over her in a way that she found most unpleasant, and she instinctively took a step closer to Itachi. Through the link, she could feel slight annoyance.
“This is Sakura. She’s my pet, Kisame. And you know I don’t like when people play with my things.” His normally impassive tone had turned slightly dangerous. She took hold of the chain near her neck, fiddling with it. He was possessive. Frighteningly so. Itachi looked down to her, and said, “Stop fidgeting, Sakura.” She dropped the chain. “There’s a good girl. I’m definitely giving you a treat later.” It took all of her self control, as well as subtly practicing the breathing exercises that Kakashi had taught her not to show her anger with him, though she was sure he felt it.
Kisame nodded curtly, slightly disappointed. He moved away from them, and Itachi walked over to the pair of men who were playing shogi. “Zetsu, Deidara, I would like to introduce my pet, Sakura. She’ll be staying with us.”
“For how long?” Zetsu’s voice sounded strange to Sakura, as if it were two people talking at once.
“Indefinitely.” Itachi’s finger’s caressed the chain, and she got that squirming feeling in her stomach again.
Deidara cocked his head to one side. “She’s pretty. I don’t suppose I could convince you to let her model for a sculpture?” When Itachi shook his head, the explosives expert nodded, “Well, it was worth a try…unn.” He turned back to the game. Sakura caught Zetsu looking at her appraisingly. He seemed to be trying to read her thoughts. Frankly, it was creeping her out. Now, they walked over to a dark corner, where there was a man enshrouded in darkness.
Sakura felt waves of cold coming from this man, and did not try to see his face. There was a darker than black area where she knew his face was, and that was all she needed to know. “Itachi,” A grating voice said, “Who is this young one?” Itachi introduced her. “You know our rules. Even if you use that perversion of science to keep her here, she must still go through the trial.” Her captor nodded. The man said, “Then she will begin tomorrow. I suppose,” he mused, “that it would be good to have one such as her with us.”
The Uchiha pulled on the chain again, and practically dragged her out of the room. There were still others in the room, but after his talk with the man who could only be the leader of Akatsuki, he seemed not to want to stay. She was hustled along the corridors until they reached their room, then he pushed her ahead of him, and slammed the door. Major annoyance, as well as anger coursed through the collar into her. She sat on the bed as he paced. “Ano, Ita—Master, is everything all right?” He did not answer her, and his anger only rose at the sound of her voice. She was the reason he was angry. But why? She hadn’t disobeyed him, had she? He would have punished her if she had. There was a small part of her, which seemed to be growing, that didn't want him angry with her. He was so frightening when he was angry...
“I didn’t do something wrong, did I?” She fiddled with one of the links on the chain, staring at it, and nearly winced at the new rise in his agitation. Then, she was yanked off of the bed when he violently pulled on the chain, and stumbled across the floor toward him as he roughly hauled her in.
“No. You were good, just like I wanted you to be.” His voice was rough. That squirming feeling came though the collar again, and she wanted to back away from him, but couldn’t. “Should I show you what happens when you’re a good girl?” No one had ever looked at her that way. Never in her life. His red eyes focused on hers, and the Sharingan marks moved again, and then she started to feel strange.
Her body started trembling, and her heart beat faster. Sakura’s breath caught as the squirming feeling in her stomach blossomed into something she had only read about. Desire. Pure, unadulterated…lust. Her eyelids grew heavy, and tried to slide shut, but couldn’t because Itachi’s intense stare held her, forcing her to look into the unsettling depths of his Sharingan. [Kami-sama, please make him stop. It’s driving me insane…] But then there was the part of her that was questioning her logic. Why on earth should she want such a wonderful feeling to stop? That part of her mind was quickly silenced. “Ahh…M-m-mast-ter…please…I can’t…”
What couldn’t she do? She couldn’t take much more of this, for one thing. Her body’s temperature was rising, she was breathing rapidly, and she swore she could feel his hands on her, even though he was not touching her at all.
“Please, what? Stop? Continue?” His silky voice only added to the strange sensations that were ripping their way through her nerves, setting them aflame. To her eternal surprise and horror, she found herself wanting him to touch her. Her self control was being tested in the extreme. Sakura's entire body shook with the effort it took not to reach out and take hold of him, but not to hit him. Oh, that was the last thing on her mind. The feeling only intensified, causing her to whimper. Something inside her, which a small and objective corner of her brain observed must be controlled by Itachi, seemed to be daring her to act on these newfound urges.
“S-stop. Please.” The feeling was gone. She blinked, and continued to tremble. “What was that?”
He leaned down close to her face. “That was your treat.”
Sakura stood there, blinking. “I figured that. I meant what was it?” Her confusion was complete. She had never felt that before.
“You really are innocent, aren’t you?” He asked, his face mere inches from hers. She swallowed audibly. If she didn’t know any better, she would have said he was going to kiss her. The anxiety she felt seemed to be all the answer he needed. “I’ll have to remedy that. But not just yet.” [Oh, no. Did he just insinuate that he…Why do I have to be the one who always gets stuck in the shitty situations?] Not to mention the fact that she got the short end of the stick when it came to which Uchiha to get stuck with. Sasuke was cold most of the time, but at least he respected her as a person, and didn’t treat her like a dog.
--
Itachi woke early the next morning. Sakura was to start her trials this day. He knew she would pass, but it would be hard on her, and he would feel her pain. In spite of her ill will toward him, he liked her. He could have chosen one of the other medic-nins to be his pet, but she seemed different. His second choice, Shizune, was far too uptight, and had a tendency to poison people. Sakura had been dealing with Sasuke for long enough that she was used to him, and would adjust more easily to Itachi’s temperament, and also, she was just so damned…cute? No. That was definitely not the right word. In the clothes that he gave her, she seemed more than her fifteen years. She awakened something in him that he had not felt in a long time. He pushed away those thoughts. Sakura was a tool, a weapon. She would be used as such. But if at a later time the pet decided to become willing, he wouldn’t complain…
Her reaction to his ‘treat’ had been amazing. She nearly lost control of herself, he could feel it. Itachi wanted to feel it again, but for the moment, he had to prepare her for her trials. Throwing the blankets off of himself, he rose and walked to the wardrobe, the chain slithering over the bed and pooling on the floor. As always, the stone floor was cold on his bare feet, and his skin pebbled in goose bumps from the chill in the air. They were mere sensations. He was bothered not in the least by them. For the duration of his dressing himself, he attached the cuff to the bed frame. Once he was dressed in full Akatsuki gear, he put it back on, and sent a tiny amount of chakra through to Sakura.
His pet gave a small moan, and jerked under the blanket. The design of the device was exquisite. He could send pain or pleasure to any part of her body, at will. His control of it was still clumsy, but the longer she wore the collar, the better his control, and the better his control, the easier it would be to manipulate her. In less than a month, he should be able to either give her a mental breakdown, or a spontaneous orgasm. While the second would be interesting to watch, he had already decided that he would not do that. Pleasure should be savored, as it was a rare thing, and for it to be over so soon was a waste. Especially with such a fine specimen of a pet.
As Itachi sent more chakra into her body, the sounds Sakura made became more…delicious than he could have imagined. Her movements became like those of a cat stretching; her body lengthening, and then suddenly relaxing, to start all over again. It was mesmerizing. When he walked over to the bed again and sat next to her, he lessened the chakra, and looked down at her. Sakura’s eyes fluttered open, and he saw that they were still clouded by the lovely sensations he had given her. “It’s time to wake up, Sakura.”
“Hai. I’m up.” She smiled lazily at him, and stretched. He nearly laughed at her.
“No, you’re not.” He dropped all chakra flow from the chain, and she blinked. “Now, you’re up. Come on and get dressed.” She had slept in a long black night dress, which, when he pulled the covers off of her, he found had ridden up during the night. She truly had beautiful legs. His mind began to wander, imagining things about those legs and what they could do, until he heard the wardrobe opening, and he turned his head to see her drop the straps of the silken garment she had on, and the cloth pooling on the floor, leaving her naked.
“Master Itachi, could you please not look at me?” She asked this without looking at him. He chuckled to himself and indulged her. Her innocence was wonderfully sweet, and it would be very, very sweet when it was his. In a few minutes, she tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned to look at her. She looked, of course, wonderful. Sakura’s body was all hard muscle and full curves, and he found it quite difficult to take his eyes from it. Annoyance flowed through to him from her, and he looked up to see her raising an eyebrow at him. “I’m up here,” she said, pointing at her face. “Honestly, I’m unsure how you could be such a genius. All you seem to think about is sex.” Itachi let his amusement show, and he reached around her and ran a long finger down her spine, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
“Everyone needs a hobby.” This was said in good humor, but she took it the wrong way.
“So, is that what I am? A hobby? A toy?” She stepped closer to him, and began gathering chakra in her fist. Before she could hit him, he sent chakra into her, and she froze in pain. He leaned down, whispering in her ear as he released the chakra.
“You are my pet, Sakura. Do as I say, and be good, and you’ll never feel pain again. Disobey me, and there will be no end to your suffering. Understand?” She nodded, and he thought he saw tears in her eyes. “Good. Now, we have a busy day. You will have your trials today. This morning will be for training. That will ready you for it. Come with me.” Gathering the chain, he led her from the room, down the corridor, and into small kitchen. There, they had breakfast, and went on to a cavernous space. Here, there were numerous training devices. The largest of these was the pain amplifier. This would be the best place to start.
--
“Naruto, you are not going to go after Sakura.” Tsunade’s tone said that her decision was final. “We have evidence that she has become a Missing-nin. Unfortunately, that means that if anyone will go, it will be the Hunter-nins.” She shifted papers on her desk, not meeting his eyes. A pair of calloused hands slammed themselves down onto the desktop. Her eyes slowly rose to his face. The pain there was incredible. This was a young man who had now lost nearly everything.
“Obaa-san. Sakura is not a Missing-nin. I know her better than anyone. Better than you, even. She would never. Never in her life would she betray the village. Not willingly.” He looked as if he were close to reaching across the desk and strangling her. When she did not budge, he threw his hands up in disgust. “Why? Why can’t I go?”
She felt for him, she really did. Sakura was like a daughter to her. But she simply could not allow Kyuubi’s jinchuriki to go within twenty kilometers of Akatsuki. “We have evidence, as well, that she is with Akatsuki. That is reason enough not to let you go. If they were to catch you, there is no Chio-baba to bring you back from the dead, Naruto. We have to accept that she’s gone.”
“No. We do not.” Tsunade looked up, over Naruto’s shoulder. She blinked. Hatake Kakashi, masked Copy-Nin of Konoha, genius and former child prodigy, was standing in the middle of her office, wearing his old ANBU uniform. The fox mask dangled from his hand, and he wore no hitae-ate over his Sharingan. The contrast of black and red eyes was eerie. It took some control for her not to shiver.
“What do you mean by this, Kakashi? You appear in ANBU gear? I’m sure that the Commander would have something to say about that.” Her threat fell on deaf ears.
“Hokage-sama, with greatest respect, I must protest. I have examined the scene myself, with this.” Kakashi pointed at his Sharingan. Tsunade knew that he could see things that the naked eye couldn’t, that his vision was heightened. “Sakura was bound by thin ropes. They had been cut, and she was allowed to move freely, but she is still in some way bound.” At the confused silence from Naruto and Tsunade, he took a step forward. “There were, on several of the trees, marks from a chain. She’s still being held against her will.”
Pursing her lips, she said, “I have no objection to you going, but Naruto is still a genin. This is beyond A-rank, and he can’t handle it. We would have to wait for him to take the Chuunin Exam again, and there’s still no guarantee that he would pass.” The Copy-Nin stiffened, and Naruto puffed up, opening his mouth to speak.
“He could test for ANBU.” Kakashi’s voiced was low, with a tone that brooked no refusal.
Tsunade bristled. “No genin, however exceptional, has ever passed the ANBU examination. Even when my grandfather was Hokage, and he actually let them, no one passed. I can’t let this happen.” Sakura was like a daughter to her, and this loud boy was like her little brother. Exactly like him. She did not want him to die. All of the people in Konohagakure were important to her, but he was the most special. Naruto squawked half-indignant, half-excitedly.
“I’ll do it!” He ran over to his former sensei, and shook his hand. “Arigato, Kakashi-sensei. When do I take the exam?” Tsunade was being ignored. She despised it when people disregarded her will. A vein pulsed in the middle of her forehead. Her hands clenched the surface of the desk, and she slowly stood, anger building quickly.
“You—will—not—take—the—ANBU—exam. That’s final.”
“With all respect, Hokage-sama, once an applicant has expressed interest, only the applicant is capable of calling off the exam. You know that. It was a policy set up by your grandfather.” Kakashi smiled behind his mask, and his eyes twinkled. This man was devious. He was, after all, a genius. However, she had a genius on her side, too.
“Shikamaru! Get your ass in here!” A moment later, the lazy chuunin was slinking into the room by way of her private entrance. She raised an eyebrow. Well, if anyone could figure out the twenty-digit combination to the lock on that door, it would be him.
Leaning on the side of her desk, he said, “You rang?” Naruto snorted, but otherwise kept his mirth to himself.
“Shikamaru, I want you to draw up papers for me. I want them to contest Naruto taking the ANBU examination.” She looked at him hopefully, and he heaved a sigh.
“Gomen, Hokage-sama, but I cannot.”
“Why?”
“Because. Once the applicant has expressed interest, and I’m assuming he has, the process cannot be stopped unless by him. Those are the rules. Not even you can contest his taking the examination.” Shikamaru put a hand on her shoulder. His lazy gaze turned comforting for a moment, and she smiled back at him weakly. She really would have to raise his pay. He was a good kid. Lazy, but good.
“Fine. But Kakashi, if he dies mid-exam, this is on your head. Got it?” She growled numerous curses and started needlessly shuffling the papers on her desk. The jounin and apparently reinstated ANBU member chuckled and thanked her. When no one moved, she yelled, “Get the hell out of my office, all of you!” Naruto jumped, Shikamaru winced, and Kakashi smiled even wider behind his mask. When they’d all gone, she opened a drawer and pulled out her emergency sake. She really needed it. [Damned Kakashi. He needs an attitude adjustment.]
--
Green chakra glowed around her hand and she healed the cut on her arm. She had been in the pain amplifier for an hour, and Itachi said it was enough. The pain, she could stand. It was the mental effects that she was having trouble with. It was almost like how Kakashi had described being in the hold of the Mangekyo Sharingan was. Itachi strapped her in, and put chakra into the stone chair, then cut her arm with a kunai. It stung, but no more than ususal. Then, the amplification powers of the device kicked in. She hissed in pain as it felt like her arm was being chopped off. Then, she looked down at the cut. It was spreading. Blood, at first oozing, began to gush from the wound. Her breathing doubled in speed, then tripled, and she felt faint. Vaguely, through the pain, she heard Itachi saying, “Sakura, you must remain awake. The pain will help you. Focus on my voice. Listen to my voice.”
She had. Sakura had clung to his low, rolling, silky voice like a lifeline. For an hour, he spoke to her, and she rode out the pain. She watched her body be bloodied by gashes and stab wounds. The pain was intense. It was sharp, dull, and biting all at once. Now that it was over, and there was only really one cut, she panted and shook, and when Itachi un-strapped her, she threw her arms around his neck and cried. He was an unfeeling bastard, really, but she just needed a warm body to cling to. The man simply stayed there, crouched as he was, and let her soak his shoulder with her tears. Later, she wondered why he had let her.
The next form of training was stamina training. This, they would only do for a short time, because she was to start her trials in a few hours, and Itachi told her she would need rest more than anything else.
--
“I won’t lie to you Naruto. The exam is hard.” Kakashi looked over at the boy, who was listening intently. “It is only in two stages. Neither one involves a written test, so you don’t have to worry about that. The first is a demonstration of all of the jutsu you know. The second is a practical exam. You have to fight an ANBU captain, and by the end of the time limit, you must still be alive, and able to stand.” Naruto blinked. Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder. The boy was in for one hell of a fight.
“Will the captain see my demonstration?” The Copy-Nin was surprised. Naruto was looking at the different angles of the situation. Apparently not everything Jiraiya taught him involved brute force. He looked at the blonde boy, and sighed. He felt like he was sending his little brother to the wolves. Those bright eyes would most likely be haunted after fighting with whatever captain they chose. Hopefully, they would find one who hadn’t seen any of Naruto’s skills. However, the way things usually worked, it would most likely be one of those who had been assigned to his surveillance. Those men and women had watched him since he was old enough to walk, unless he was on a mission or with Jiraiya. The entire reason for such vigilance was to ensure that Kyuubi did not take over, and if he did begin to, they would kill the boy. For the simple fact was, unless Kyuubi was drawn out of Naruto just before he died, the demon would share his death.
“No, Naruto. The captain that they choose will not see the first part of the exam. If all goes as planned, the both of you will be going into this cold.” Blue eyes danced in happiness. It never ceased to amaze Kakashi how Naruto’s mood could change so quickly, and the things that changed it. “You can take the test on Thursday, if I can swing it. Leave it to me, kid. I’ll talk to the Commander. He’s an old friend of mine.” There was an air of anxiety and excitement around Naruto, and Kakashi thought that was at least healthier than the way the boy used to be. Before, he would have been jumping up and down, demanding to take the test ‘right now, damn it!’
“Ne, Kakashi, you hungry? I’m really starving. Want to get food?”
The ANBU nodded. “But I get to pick, this time. No ramen.” Naruto shook his head good-naturedly. Jiraiya had been good for him, apparently. When they came to the restaurant Kakashi had chosen (Kakashi had his ANBU mask down, now), they were given a private room in back of the place. Naruto ordered barbeque, while Kakashi asked for miso soup and steamed vegetables on the side of his anticipated plateful of sushi. They sat and waited, drinking green tea, and talking. “So, Naruto. You really that keen on going get Sakura?”
“Hai. She’s like…really the best girl in the world. I don’t want her to get hurt, Kakashi.” At this, the older man thought that it may be a little late for not wanting her to get hurt. If she was with Akatsuki, there was a chance that she might be dead. Itachi wasn’t a very nice guy, and Sakura had a temper. If anything, she would probably piss him off, and he’d kill her just to get her out of his hair. Hatake Kakashi was anything but stupid, and he knew why Naruto wanted to go after her, but there was the slight fear of what would happen if they got to her only to find her dead. He’d seen enough of Naruto’s chakra manifestation to be scared, and he wasn’t keen on seeing more of it. If Sakura was dead, Kakashi feared that the Kyuubi may take over. Emotional distress was what triggered the manifestation, after all.
“Hm. I was just wondering. Because you haven’t tried to go after Sasuke for some time now. What’s different about Sakura?” He wasn’t really fishing for information, but it would be good to have the boy say out loud what was on his mind.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at him. “Don’t you want to go and get her? I mean, she was taken against her will, wasn’t she? That’s the difference. Sasuke went of his own bloody free will. Sakura was taken. And it’s my fault, anyway. She was with me, and I should have kept a better eye on her. Now she’s gone, and it’s my fault.” He was now staring down into his teacup as if he could see how to get Sakura back.
“Guilt isn’t the right reason to do this, Naruto. If you want to get her back to make sure she’s safe, that’s fine. If it’s because she’s a fellow leaf shinobi, that’s cool too. Hell it’s fine if you’re in love with her. But if you’re guilty—“
“Who said I was in love with her?” Natuto’s sudden defensive tone confirmed what Kakashi had known for years. He raised an eyebrow at him, and Naruto looked away. After muttering some kind of oath, he looked back up at Kakashi. “Fine. You got me. Not like I ever really tried to hide it, I guess.” His voice was quiet, and defeated. “Kakashi, you don’t think she’s hurt or something, do you?”
Sighing and rubbing the back of his neck, the man leaned back on his hands. He chose his words carefully. “There’s always that chance, you know. We’re dealing with Itachi and his associates. I have a sinking feeling that it was he who took her.” Naruto’s face suddenly showed alarm. “Calm down. If they have her, she’s there for a reason. There’s not been a ransom note, and there hasn’t been any threat. We haven’t received any mangled body-parts, or any of the other usual signs. I’m pretty sure she’s still alive. Besides, if she’s there for a reason, they’ll want her alive.” Naruto’s fears didn’t seem to have lessened much, but he sagged and leaned his head back, apparently trying to relax.
“I’m going to pass that test, Kakashi. You’ll see.” His voice was determined, and if his eyes had not been closed, the man was sure he would have seen the old fire in them. He smiled, and pulled down his mask again to drink his tea. Once he’d pulled it back up, he spoke.
“I’m sure you will.”
--
Trial? This wasn’t a trial. It was deliberate torture. She was in a small, extremely hot room, and there was no furniture. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, she could feel the stone box leeching her chakra, slowly but surely. The stone was hot, barely burning, and she had to remember her training in the pain amplifier so that she didn’t scream. Her skin was burning. There already wasn’t much left of her mesh leggings. She had long since removed her skirt and thrown it over her shoulder. The collar was still fastened around Sakura’s neck, the chain leading out of the door, which she knew was locked. A fresh blast of hot air came, causing her hair to flutter about her head. She sighed.
If she stood, Sakura knew that she would be too tall to be upright. The room was also too small for her to lay down properly. So no matter how much it hurt, no matter how tired she got, she had to remain sitting. An impatient feeling was coming through the collar, letting her know that Itachi, who was waiting outside, was anxious for this to be over. The air began to thicken, and she thought that she felt moisture. That was a good thing, because she was so dried out right now, she was sure that she was going to die. Then, the small light under the door disappeared, as if the cranny had been blocked, and there was a rushing noise, like wind through leaves. Or water through pipes. Her eyes widened. The sound got louder and louder until finally, she found that water was pouring into the room through what she had taken for air vents. After five minutes, she was crouched chest-deep in water. Sakura began gathering what chakra she could, and formed a barrier around her face. This was the stamina test. For five hours or more, she had been slowly robbed of her chakra. Now, she was expected to stay alive for five minutes under water. Generally speaking, a human being will be dead after four minutes under water. Sakura had developed this technique herself. It didn’t take that much chakra, really. It simply formed a barrier against water around her face, allowing for a small gap, but it allowed for oxygen separation when water begins to evaporate.
She knew it was cheating, but she wasn’t about to hold her breath for five minutes, or even try. Taking in a deep breath, she settled herself down into the water, which was now beginning to chill. They were trying to slow her metabolism so that it would be harder for her to produce chakra. Well, let them. She wouldn’t die so easily. The chakra-snorkel, as she liked to call it, worked perfectly. Until it was just over two minutes before the room would be drained. Her chakra started to fail as her body stopped shivering. Signs of hypothermia were evident, and she willed herself to stay strong, to keep herself focused. At two minutes exactly, her chakra stopped coming. She shut her mouth and stopped breathing just in time.
The water pressed in on her, and after another thirty seconds, her lungs started to burn with the breath she held in, the pressure getting to be far too much. Fighting to keep calm, she released a little of the air in her lungs. At the one minute mark, she was starting to see black spots before her eyes. Sakura released the rest of the air in her lungs, and the spots shrank, but did not leave. Simply trying not to breathe wasn’t working. She felt the pain in her lungs stabbing at her, clawing at her, and the panic in the back of her mind scrabbling to be let loose. She beat it back one last time. Ten seconds. Sakura’s black spots began to grow larger. Five seconds. Everything was black, but she still felt the pain. The water began to drain, much more quickly than she would have thought possible, and when she found herself lying on her back on the damp floor, she coughed and sputtered, water coming from her lungs, though she hadn’t known that she’d inhaled any.
“Tough little bitch,” she heard Zetsu’s voice say. Apparently, at some point, the door had opened, and three Akatsuki were looking in at her. Why were Kisame and Zetsu there? She raised her head and grabbed her skirt to put it back on. Then she got to her feet and followed the chain to where Itachi stood. He smiled slightly.
Kisame’s gills flared. “Still alive, little flower?”
Sakura felt Itachi’s agitation rise. Turning to him, she said soothingly, “Don’t worry about him, Master. I’ll take care of him if he decides to try anything.” The blue-faced man simply laughed, not thinking that she was capable. Smiling sweetly, she stepped toward him. “Kisame,” she said, crooking a finger at him, “come here.” He did, and never saw it coming. She focused her remaining chakra into her fist and punched him with all of her considerable strength. The Missing-Nin flew down the corridor, and skidded to a halt, flat on his back. “You know, a lot of flowers have thorns. Try to learn not to prick yourself.” Her voice had gone soft and low, almost seductive. That was a voice she had been unaware that she had.
Sakura got a small jolt of that pleasing feeling from Itachi. He was happy. Then a strange feeling came over her. [Oh. Used too much chakra…] She began to sway, and when she fell, Itachi caught her before she hit the floor. Cradled in his arms, she felt dizziness take her over, and then she fainted.
--
Zetsu looked over at where Kisame lay, knocked out. Itachi held Sakura in his arms, and he watched the puppet master. The man had an interest in his pet, as well. However, it seemed more like an intellectual curiosity than Kisame’s blatant and open perversion. With Zetsu, curiosity could be very bad. Itachi never really trusted him. He was far too unpredictable. Deciding to keep an eye on those two, Itachi turned on his heel and went back to the room he shared with Sakura. He removed and discarded her clothes, and then put her to bed, without bothering to put her nightdress on her.
She had passed her trial, and had earned the right to be called Akatsuki. It was surprising that the trial was so physically easy. The mental effects were where the hard part lay. As he removed his coat, he remembered his own trial. It had left him shivering in his sleep for weeks. Itachi hung up his coat and looked over at Sakura, who was now covered with blankets. She was a fine pet indeed.
He lay down next to her, and pulled the blankets up over himself. Soon, he became drowsy. The trial had taken a lot out of him, too. The fact that the two of them were linked simply meant that he had been drained of his chakra as well. Sleep took him, and both he and Sakura slept for close to two days.
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A/N: Well. There you go. There's lots of intrugue, ne? Creepy Zetsu, hentai Itachi and Kisame, and Naruto...taking the ANBU exam? Hn. I wonder how I'll do this in six chapters...
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Chapter notes: Hello, again. Second chapter for you! Sakura is now rooming with Itachi...Hn. Warnings for this chapter? Kisame might be a little OOC. I can't tell, since he never really says much in the manga/anime. So if he is, I apologize. For once, I'm actually trying to keep this to character. If my love of OOCness starts to show, lemme know so I can correct it. Other warnings: Hentai Itachi thoughts, hentai Kisame (slight), mild language, and hentai Sakura (oh, no! But it's ok. She's at least trying to restrain herself). Oh, and I know that everyone being hentais is probably a shade OOC, but everyone--don't try to deny it--has that side of themselves. And hey, let's face it. Itachi + collar + leash + Sakura = bondage. Sorry. That just occurred to me. -narrows eyes- You guys are probably hentais too! hehe. That's ok.
Legal Stuffiness: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters therein. Masashi Kishimoto is sole proprietor, and apparently, I'm his slave, too.