Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ AB Type ❯ Smile ( Chapter 6 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: I don't own NARUTO series or any of its characters. They are property of Masashi Kishimoto
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Morning found Itachi changing his clothes because he needed to prepare himself for their journey. The recent practice served more as a test of confidence than as an act of bonding with his new partner. Itachi needed to know if the girl would be of use or slow him down. Better to find out now than in real battle.

The importance of their mission has set a heavy tone for the new partners. Itachi, though he will never voice this aloud, felt the girl was rushed to his side. That it was premature to trust her with anything, let alone this. But what is done is done and Leader is never questioned.

Itachi looked around the small room he temporarily called home. Home, what does that really mean to an Akatsuki? They are bound to no village, no country, only to a goal. And when you live only for a goal, borders fade into meaningless lines on a map and villages no longer have names or importance. There is no time for a home. Akatsuki are always moving, and when they do stay in one place it was never long. For if they do stay long, borders crop back up and villages start to have names, they have people you remember. You start to become attached and next thing you know, you have a home. And then you become weak. So, to keep that from happening, Akatsuki never stay. In order to meet their goal they needed to travel around the world seeking new techniques, new abilities and above all, power.

Of course they were common clients of inns and hotels, and often returned to some once again. Even some bars and pubs they may revisit. Suddenly the image of Kisame all drunk on a bar one night came to Itachi. Disgusted with the memory and the time he wasted thinking about it, Itachi resumed his task. There was much to if they wanted to finally catch the Kyuubi.

But the image of a drunken Kisame came back and Itachi thought about the man’s love for sake. He, himself, did not like to drink too much. A cup of sake once in a while, but nothing more, it slowed his movements and diminished his alert state. Thinking about that, he was reminded of his training session with Mia. She had gotten a shot in on him. Further proof to his distaste that he was, somehow, becoming weak. Maybe he was not training hard enough? Itachi made a mental note to train harder.

This mission needed him to be in the top of his game. The mission was no different from before. Well, except from one thing. He had a female partner. At least he had seen her abilities and had an idea of what she could do.

His sparring session had turned to be very interesting, even more than previously thought.

The new girl was indeed strong, not as much as he wished, but she had the potential he needed in a partner.

The session had given proof that it was true that she had memorized some of Orochimaru's powerful techniques. Itachi rubbed a sore muscle in remembrance of being a witness to such proof. The girl was indeed something. She somehow was able to even create her own powerful techniques off of what she had stolen from the snake traitor. However, even without the techniques, her physical strength was beyond human comprehension. He still could not understand how a thin girl of no more than eighteen years old could break down a whole stone wall with just her fist and do it so effortlessly. She had even managed to hurt him a little. Just a little.

The thing that bothered Itachi was that for such a thin girl who couldn’t scare a cat nor a fly, who did not fit the rest of Akatsuki appearance wise, could actually be intimidating and overwhelming.

Mia had shown such ferocity when fighting, such determination in her eyes that he couldn't deny that Leader had been right.

She had totally proved him wrong.

She was very useful in combat.

"Itachi-san, I'm ready" Her feminine voice called from the other side the iron door of his room. He finished buttoning his cloak and walked across the cold room. The high shriek of the heavy door opening pierced his delicate ears, earning a disgust expression on the always collected Uchiha.

At least he wouldn't be here for much longer.

The freezing hallway made his muscles tighten in protest at the sudden change of temperature. He thought it was uncomfortable, but of course, he paid no attention to it.

The kunoichi was leaning on the wall next to his door with a little bag placed on the ground beside her.

She seemed to match the cold environment in an odd way. Her dark hair and pale skin made her look like a creature from the underworld, hiding from light and life itself. That was until she opened her eyes and its green brightness shattered the dark scene. Itachi closed the door behind him and again the infuriating screech made him want to blow it to pieces.

"Let's go." He said shortly and walked with calm steps toward the outside.

Sakura followed, mentally cursing her luck for having him as her partner.

Her objective had been the Leader, of course. That would have been perfect for her mission. But when was life ever perfect? Not for her at least. The only component in her life that she could call 'perfect' was Naruto. And she had gone on this stupid mission, miles away from him.

The sudden thought of the loud blonde reminded her of her mission as an Akatsuki, hunting him down. She needed to inform Tsunade about this and fast.

Sakura did not know if she even could stop Itachi from taking Naruto if she wanted to. Not without blowing her cover. But what are the odds of her completing her mission and saving Naruto at the same time? She had never once saved his life during her time with him. It had always been him who saved her. She felt helpless even now when he needed her saving. But this time it had to be different, it would be different. They were both much stronger and no matter what, she wouldn't let Itachi or anyone hurt him.

Sakura was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice Itachi’s sudden turn to the left, instead she continued straight towards the exit. His sudden absence awoke her from her thoughts.

"Where are you going?" She asked timidly.

"I have to take care of something before we leave." Itachi replied with that deep, quiet voice of his. Sakura nodded and silently followed him.

After some time they stopped in front of an iron door similar to the rest. Itachi searched in his pocket for a key. With a scrape of metal the iron door was opened. Without a word to her, Itachi entered his figure disappearing into the darkness of the room. Sakura preferred to stay outside, but from time to time she would steal a look into the inky darkness. The poor lighting in the hallway provided no help to her eyes. It was all so dark that she could barely see that a grate with thick iron rods divided the space around the door Itachi had entered. Realization sank in, before her was a cell for prisoners. A cell that was now open.

Itachi's figure immerged from the darkness as he exited the cell. Sakura could see another form being carried over his shoulder.

'Must be the one he held captive.' She said inwardly.

Itachi's eyes did not meet hers; instead, they looked down at the dirt floor. His appearance was out of place. It did not fit the Uchiha who always held his chin high and his eyes arrogant and determined. He crossed the threshold and turn swiftly, as if the man he carried was not even there, to close the door. He did not bother to lock it.

The unconscious man had long, black hair that showed he must have been in that cell for a very long time. Dirt matted his hair and clumps stick together due to oil collected from not washing. His body was a shell of a man. Body covered with festering wounds and dried blood. His skin hanged on his bones as loosely as the torn and tattered excuse of an outfit did.

'Poor guy' Sakura thought but she had to kill that compassion from her. Mia cared for no one. But still, Sakura or Mia, she definitely wouldn't like to be in his place.

The urge to know who he was killed her. But her better judgment told her to remain silent. The Uchiha made a sound as he adjusted the man on his shoulder, a flash of irritation showed in his eyes when he looked at her. Sakura did not know if his irritation was towards the man or her, but she knew better to leave the Uchiha to himself and ignored it. She did not want to push her luck.

Sakura waited for him to pass her before falling instep with him. They moved as if Itachi held nothing, the poor man probably weighed just that. With a few more steps they had returned to the main hallway. Sakura wondered why none of the members where bind from such a living condition as they continued down the dark hallway. Soon though they came to the end and a light can be seen. Sakura could not help but feel that she was witnessing what people must see when they were about to die.

A little chuckle escaped from her. It was so funny.

Through the light they exited the hallway and entered the main hall. This was a large circle room with a high cathedral ceiling that disappeared into darkness at the top. Doors lined around the wall, it was a common thing in a ninja hideout. Some doors were phony and others lead to traps. Only member would know where to go. The hall held a sense of intimidation. The atmosphere was dense, cold, and made the body tingle with a sense of doom around them. The colossal statue placed in the middle of the hall didn't help the feeling either. It had been explained that this was some sort of God of Death and that it served to extract the jinchuuriki from the user's body.

They moved passed the statue and exited through a door on the far side. Once outside, Sakura thanked all the gods for the sunny and beautiful day that greeted them. Sakura had feared her skin would be pertinently blue thanks to the lack of sunlight and the excessive coldness of the cave. Her skin hummed with warmth as they continued their walk. The landscape was exactly the opposite of what was the cave. This was bright, shiny, and happy, it filled her soul.

The trees were leafy and the grass high and very green, hiding some flowers that enjoyed the sun as much as her. The air felt pure and refreshing, it carried the scent of those same flowers. The sound of flowing water mixed with the birds' song and the wind; all crowned with a sky as blue as her best friend's eyes.

It was so beautiful...

But when Itachi came into view, all the grass and flowers seemed to wilt, the song of the birds was no longer pleasant and the wind carried a strong scent of blood.

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A soon as they arrived to the river that marked the start of the Fire country, Itachi stopped. There were always ANBU patrolling around, so it would be prudent to drop Sasuke here.

He concentrated on his surroundings to confirm that they were alone before continuing to cross the river. Once across they came to a memorial that marked the border between the two countries. Itachi would leave his brother there. The ANBU would surely find him and take him back to Konoha.

Itachi glanced at his silent partner. Mia had been very quiet during their trip here. She had not spoken to him since they left the cell. He did not mind her silence; it was that with once having a partner like Kisame, Itachi had grown accustomed to having someone trying to initiate a conversation with him. This Mia, her silence was a drastic change.

Mia was a strong fighter but no one would be able to tell with the way she spoke. She would ask him some things here and there, expected for someone new. But once Itachi had answer her question she would fall silent.

Itachi felt her hesitate when they were approaching the statue. He looked to her to see her eyes shine with question and distrust. Smart girl.

"Why are we stopping here?” she asked him.

"We will leave him here." He simply told her. Mia nodded and looked off to check the area. Very smart girl.

Sakura was looking into the thick forest she knew so well. It had taken them a complete day to get here. The sun was setting and the sky was painted in a series of orange and yellow shades.

They should find somewhere to stay for the night she thought. And then maybe she could get him to talk about his plan to get Naruto. He still had not told her how they were going to capture him. She needed to know in order to warn Konoha.

The elder Uchiha unceremoniously dropped the body on the stone floor. The force of the drop stirred the young Uchiha awake.

The thump of the body hitting the ground gained her attention. Sakura glared at the back of Itachi at his coldness.

Itachi bent down to the body and sat it up against the memorial. A groan came from the man, his head was looking down, and so she couldn't see his face. Curiosity took the best of her and she walked to him. She bent down on her knees and saw him move. Slowly he lifted up his face.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Suddenly the oxygen wasn't enough to breathe.

'Sasuke!'

Her eyes filled with tears and she couldn't control her mind that was racing with thoughts, emotions...

She gasped and that caught both Uchiha’s attention. Sasuke was slowly regaining consciousness, everything was blurred and every movement hurt. But those eyes, those green and shining eyes...he recognized them immediately.

"Sa..." He couldn't finish his sentence. Suddenly the emerald eyes he loved to look at turned to red.

Blood red.

His head dropped and his body went limp. He fell asleep again.

"Who is he?” Sakura rapidly cut him off. He had recognized her and was about to unmask her in front of Itachi.

She couldn't let that happen.

Even if her heart was falling to pieces.

Her back was facing Itachi, so he couldn't see her face, or her eyes.

She dispersed the sharingan after using it on Sasuke and swallowed hard her tears before she looked up to Itachi.

"He is my little brother." He replied narrowing his eyes. What had just happened? He heard her surprise, did she know Sasuke? Itachi watched Sakura slowly stand up and looked toward the forest again, dismissing both men. A chilling silence surrounded the three.

"He is about to die. Why don't you kill him?” She muttered out without looking at him.

‘Why was he keeping him alive? Why did Itachi have him? What happened to him?’ Screamed Inner Sakura. Dammit it all! She needed to know.

The tears were about to return.

"I need him alive." His dull answer came slowly from his mouth, almost like he was darning her into action.

‘Damn, can't you be a little MORE vague?!’ Inner Sakura screamed.

God, she hated this man and his stupid simple answers. At the end he never really answered her questions. His ability to answer a question without really saying anything at all amazed her. He never gave a satisfying answer. And Sakura was sick of it. But Mia pretended she didn't care.

"Whatever. There is a small village about a mile from here, we should hurry." She tried to keep her voice as cold as Itachi. Mia looked at Itachi before heading toward the direction of the village. Sakura sent a silent prayer to Sasuke.

Itachi said nothing.

Sakura didn't wait for him and jumped on a tree. She needed to rest, to think and be alone to cry and release all the pain that was piercing her heart. She felt him move closer to her as they moved through the trees. Sensing his closeness she speed up.

Itachi noticed her attempt to get away from him. He looked at her from behind and wondered why. Was it to do with Sasuke? He needed to ponder this later. Right now they need to rest and prepare for the capture of the Kyuubi container. They needed to gather information about Naruto's whereabouts. It was just the start of a long and tiring process.

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The multi-colored lights gave this village a happy and bohemian appearance.

There were tons of discothèques, pubs, stores and gambling places. There was also a casino that displayed beautiful neon lights next to a house of prostitutes.

This clearly wasn't a residential place.

Sakura chuckled when a prostitute invited Itachi to her room.

"...come on big boy...don't be shy!” She insisted in vain. Itachi paid no attention to her. His indifferent face reminded her so much of Sasuke.

Sakura couldn't contain the laugh when lots of prostitutes called Itachi to go with them.

He grunted, visibly annoyed and hurried the pace. They were all showing their bodies and making very funny faces to the young man. If only they knew who they were selling to.

The whole situation however, had started to annoy her. It was slowing them down as they tried to find an inn. Sakura growled as one woman pushed her to get closer to Itachi.

What was with them? They were acting like he was the last man on Earth! Ok, she had to admit that Itachi was handsome, but give the man some room!

She felt the symptoms of claustrophobia take control of her mind with the growing crowd of women. So she desperately searched her surroundings for a place to stay on her own since Itachi was to busy with the cat calls.

In the next block she could see an inn that was somewhat hidden, like a shadow in the middle of all these lights. Perfect!

Sakura was sick of these women so she hurried toward the inn.

"We can stay here. . ." Sakura didn't finish talking when she noticed Itachi has already headed toward the inn. He somehow passed her without noticing. By the time she caught up with him he was talking with the receptionist.

Itachi seemed somewhat relieved now that he was inside. Maybe prostitutes where his weak spot? Did he have some trauma or something?

The man gave Itachi a key with "104" imprinted on the turnkey. He took it without words and moved toward the stairs. Sakura decided to observe the place, taking notice that it was in a terrible state. But it was cheap and a roof over their heads so it suited them quite fine.

Sakura headed toward the way Itachi went, eyes scanning the area as she went. To their right was a dark hall that ended in a stairway. Next to it was a glass door that leaded to a little garden. She supposed that in its best years, the garden should have looked beautiful. But now it was covered with overgrowth, dried grass, a little pound that was full of garbage and pieces of broken furniture.

'Yuck'

They went up the stairways to the third floor. The walls had a moisten wallpaper, all dirty and rotten. It once had a tiny flowers pattern with a plaid green background, but now it was faded and all that was left were pieces of paper, hanging from the walls.

Not a pretty place indeed.

They finally, thankfully arrived to the "104" door. His dreams of not hearing those iron screeching doors again broke like glass, when he heard this wooden door make an even more annoying sound as he opened it. Somehow, the entire world had conspired against him on this day.

Sakura was surprised by the neatness of the room; she would have thought it would be a mess like the rest of the place. It contrasted dramatically with the rest if the inn. It was clean, tidy and nicely decorated. Very simple, but nice.

She couldn't be happier to stay here tonight. Sakura would have added some flower decorations, but it wasn't relevant.

Sakura was about to enter the bathroom, when she realized that she had been too slow, as she watched Itachi close the door. Sighing, she walked to the window as she took off her sandals and cloak. Sakura looked outside the window to see a bright village that refused to sleep.

The noise outside did creep into the room now and then but it was bearable. Much better than camping in the middle of the forest, with bugs and wild animals that may enter the tent. And she wouldn't have to share a bed with Itachi, which had been one of her worries since the start of this journey. She had a whole bed for herself.

The sound of a door opening made her turn around. She was greeted with the vision of Itachi dressed in black pants. And nothing else.

She tried not to seem too obvious, but it was so hard not to look at THAT body...

For a second she understood all those prostitutes that were fighting to get him as a client.

Her face went totally red so she hurried to the bathroom.

'I hope he hadn't noticed.'

She quickly closed the door behind her and leaned against it. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down her teenage hormones.

'Calm yourself...you have to be calm and controlled...collected, cold...'

...Sasuke...

Damn! Why did she have to think about him?!

His half dead face came to her, and she could do nothing but feel hurt. She left him there.

Sasuke had been in front of her all this time and she hadn't seen him.

Sakura had been in that cave for almost four months and didn't notice he was there. And it never occurred to her that he could be there.

Again a mixture of emotions revolved her stomach.

Hate for hereself for being so stupid not to realize before.

Guilt for not to save him.

Sadness for all the time without him.

Sakura felt shame for searching for him all this time while he was right under her nose. All this time, she was an idiot.

Hate for him, for being such a selfish bastard.

He really was a fool. But her heart twisted at the memory of his broken body. Those eyes . . .

"Screw you!" She blurted out, not able to contain so many emotions anymore. A river of tears made its way down her cheek.

She felt so stupid!

She had promised herself that she would never again put herself aside in favor of Sasuke, that she wouldn't be stepped on again. She was more important. But he was the reason she had accepted this mission in the first place, not that she openly admitted that though.

She had gone through all of this shit, through pain, cold, fear and tiredness for about two years and it was all because of him...and her foolishness.

STUPID!!

Her eyes, red from anger, moved to the mirror and stared at her reflection.

They saw black hair instead of pink.

Sakura felt all the weight of the cursed blood running into her veins.

'All because of you...'

She clenched the sink with her hands, supporting herself.

'Someday you'll regret your foolish choices'

'What...what are you saying, Sasuke-kun?'

'You won't understand that now'

'Why are you always so mean?'

'I'm neither mean nor nice, I'm always the same, but you've created a wrong image of me. An image you wished me to be'

Stupid for not listening to that...for believing in fairy tales.

Her breathing raced up.

Her heartbeat accelerated.

'Stupid Sakura!!'

Without thinking, her fist smashed against the mirror, breaking her image in thousands of little pieces that fell to the tile floor like a rain of glitter. Her knuckles' skin broke and hot, cursed blood ran down her arm.

Her body went limp and she fell backwards, sitting on the floor and leaning on the tile wall opposite to the mirror.

She sobbed.

She convulsed.

And cried.

Her shaking hands rose to grab her head which seemed like it was going to explode. Her face stained with the blood from her hands and her fingers entangled with her hair.

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"Screw you!” Itachi heard. What was happening in that bathroom?

He was comfortably resting on his bed that was next to the window, when this sudden scream broke his peaceful moment.

A few moments later, the sharp sound of glass shattering made his curiosity take the best of him. So he got up and calmly walked to the bathroom door.

When he opened it, he saw a pitiful Mia, thrown on the floor, and with her nerves absolutely collapsed. He just stood in the threshold, staring at her.

The pieces of broken mirror were all over the floor. She was leaning on the wall with her head bent down; leaving a curtain of midnight hair that hid her face from the world.

She was sobbing.

"We don't want to call attention, so please, don't do that again." He said void of any emotion.

"Shut up!” She screamed annoyed. He stepped toward her. Then he kneeled down to her level, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"You can't tell me what to do." His voice was a dangerous low tone.

"Just...go...” She whispered, not wanting to start a fight.

When she heard nothing more she looked up. She was alone again with the door half opened.

'Damn, good start with Itachi' Inner Sakura said ironically, berating herself for having such a stupid crisis the first day of their mission.

She needed to recompose herself. And fast.

Sakura stood up, carefully trying to avoid the glasses under her feet. Her body craved for a warm bath and she complied. She undressed herself and turned on the hot water. Soon the tub was full and she entered it. What was left was to empty her mind and relax. She threw her head backwards and closed her eyes. Her thought seemed to melt with the steam from the bath. But the memories, they never seem to leave her. So many memories...

The soothing bath gave way to clear thinking and Sakura found she was better prepared to reassess her situation. Lately she was discovering that she seemed to get angry easier. And that anger seemed to build itself up into a tight ball. The tiniest thing would set her off. Example would be what just happened. But thanks to that, she felt lighter. It was easier to breathe and think over things. Bit by bit her mind relaxed and her body filled with a peaceful sensation. There was nothing wrong with that right?

At least Sasuke was safe in Konoha now. She hoped.

The thought that he might not deserve it gained strength in her. Everybody had been so worried; shed so many tears because of him. And he, as the egocentric, selfish pig she knew him for, went to Itachi thinking that he might have a chance in fighting him. He made everybody believe that he had returned to be the old and good Sasuke. What a lie. Her anger slowly returned.

No. She can not get mad again. She needed to be clam and collect. Right now she needed to figure a way to warn Naruto after discussing their plan to capture him. Maybe send a messenger bird to Konoha reporting it? Yeah, that would work. But right now . . . warm bathwaters were so soothing...

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One hour and a half later, Mia exited the bathroom. He was so thankful, because his bladder was of the size of his head. So, needless to say, he practically rushed to the bathroom.

Mia just wandered around the room, looking from time to time outside. She looked to the mini bar in the corner and decided to serve herself a dry martini.

Itachi came out of the bathroom and gazed oddly at her when he saw her drinking.

He sat next to her on the little bar and poured himself a cup of sake. It had been a while since he drank his last cup, so now was fine.

After the drinks Itachi explained his plan and the process of gathering information on the location of the Kyuubi.

She agreed to almost everything he said and gave some good ideas. Even if her nerves were as unstable as his respect for life, she was smart.

"Up until now, we know that he is an ANBU." Itachi stated.

"Captain, he's an ANBU captain." Mia corrected.

"Yes, which means he will be away from the village often."

"Right, so we need to know his schedule. Find when he will be on a mission and where. It would be best to pick one where he is either alone or with a small group."

"How do you suppose we get his schedule? It wouldn't be wise to enter the village right now."

Konoha knew he would be searching for the kyuubi so they could easily recognize him.

"Why not to make clones? We can mask them...” Mia spoke again. At first he thought it was stupid, nonsense, like an idea taken from a child in his first year of academy. But then it just seemed obvious. They could make clones with just the twenty percent of their strength and make them go to the village. In the night they would steal the documents they needed, and if any problem occurred, they could simply disperse them. It didn't waste their energies and they wouldn't have to move and risk themselves.

'Don't prejudice' He reminded himself.

Sakura, on the other hand, was afraid that her idea had sounded too childish. Mostly because of his face. He surprised her when he agreed with a nod of his head and gave nothing but an 'Hn' in response.

"Be prepared by tomorrow. We will start the jutsu at seven o'clock." He commanded.

She felt the fulfilling sensation of usefulness. Before she had always been a burden, all the ideas she could give were most of the time rejected. She had always been left in the shadows. But the warm feeling in her belly told her that she was starting to enjoy this period of her life.