Shades of Grey

Chapter 26

Once they had reached the mainland, they headed to a safe house that Kisame explained belonged not to the Akatsuki, but to the partners. It was always good to have a safe place that no one knew of the large man had told her. She supposed the fact they shared such a place spoke volumes of their partnership. Sakura had been a bit worried about what a place owned by the pair would look like, but her worries had proved to be false.

There were not many decorations, but the cottage was charming none the less. There were scrolls on a shelf in the corner about chakra natures and a kit for polishing blades on a small table in the living room. The whole place was covered in a thin layer of dust giving away the fact that it had been in disuse for quite a while. It was a little too close to Fire country for her liking, but she could see herself being comfortable here. Kisame excused himself to go chop firewood.

"It is a bit small." Itachi acknowledged as he led her up a staircase. "There is only one bathroom, but it will serve our needs."

"So Akatsuki doesn't know about this place?" Sakura felt the need to reassure herself.

"No." He replied. "Always remember no matter how loyal you are to others you cannot rely on them staying loyal to you. You are a prime example of why such a shelter is wise to have."

"I suppose so." The kunoichi sighed. She was growing a bit uneasy about the list of ways she was like the two S-ranked criminals. "Aren't you a little worried about showing this place to me?"

"If I was you wouldn't be here." Itachi assured her. "If ever you are parted from us and in need of a shelter you may use this place as if it were your own."

"Thank you." Sakura gave him a smile, touched that he would offer to share their haven with her.

"You may use this room." He opened a door for her. "The bathroom is next to it. You may freshen up if you would like."

Sakura did not have to be told twice and jumped at the chance to wash away the dirt from their travels. When she went downstairs, she lifted a brow at the sight before her. Through the window she could see Kisame chopping wood. Itachi had removed his cloak and was raising the windows and attacking the dust. It all seemed so domestic that she could not help but to giggle.

"I am sorry." The kunoichi apologized as he turned to face her. "I just never could have imagined that I would see you dusting."

"It was something I admittedly never did before leaving the Leaf." Itachi acknowledged.

"Well I need to do something too. I can't just leave all the work to you guys." Sakura insisted. "Where is the kitchen? If you guys keep a supply of food, I can see what I could put together for dinner."

"This way." He took the lead. "Take stock of what you need. There is a small village not far away we will go and make whatever purchases that you deem necessary."

"Ok." Sakura was happy to have something to make herself feel useful.

She started looking around and was pleased to see that they had almost anything she could need so far as non-perishables go. It seemed that they kept a supply of just about everything. Finally, she turned from the cabinets to what she assumed must be the pantry. However, when she opened the door, she was shocked to see what was within.

This was no pantry. The small room had a futon against the back wall. The most dominating feature though was an intricate seal that was drawn carefully on the floor. Sakura got the distinct feeling that she was not supposed to see whatever this was. She took a step back eager to close the door, but instead of crossing the threshold she found herself bumping into something warm.

"Do you know what this is?" Itachi whispered from so close behind her that his breath warmed her ear.

"It is a seal." Her voice sounded much smaller than she would have liked.

"Look closer." He ordered as he closed what little space there was between them and his fingers gently traced her jaw and tilted it towards the ground.

"It is some sort of a teleportation seal." Sakura's voice shook.

"Impressive." His voice was velvet. "I would expect no less from the girl who was able to seal the nine tails within herself."

"Itachi, what are you doing?" Sakura took a small step forward bringing them both deeper into the room.

She felt her heart rate quicken as he grabbed one of her hands and he withdrew a kunai. Sakura could sense the power lurking just below the surface of the man pressed so firmly to her. This was the first time she had felt true danger in his presence, even though she knew he would bring her no harm. Before she could react Itachi ran his blade across her palm leaving a trail of crimson in its wake. He held her hand out to allow some of the blood to fall upon the seal. A light blue glow illuminated the delicate design. As soon as it faded, he wiped the remaining blood from her hand.

"Amazing." He took note that the small wound had already healed.

"The demon chakra speeds healing." The kunoichi told him even though she was sure he already knew. She turned to face him, her chest brushing his in the small space. "What did you do?"

"If ever you are in desperate need of an escape you need only to perform your normal transportation jutsu with blood on the palm of your hand, you will be brought here." Itachi explained.

"Are you two just going to stay in there, or are we going to go restock?" Kisame appeared and his presence dissolved the tension in the air. Neither of them knew the reason he had so suddenly arrived. The scent of the kunoichi's blood alarmed him.

"Of course." The Uchiha stepped out of the room as though nothing had ever happened.