Shades of Grey

Chapter 57

Itachi had been almost in a rage. Why the hell couldn't he sense either of them? He could see that Kisame was equally agitated by the situation. That was when they felt it, Sakura's chakra. She was calling to them telling them she lived and where they could find her. Without a word the partners altered their course and within minutes were able to see Deidara, the chicken shit bastard, circling high above the roof of a long-abandoned home.

"Where is she?" Itachi demanded.

"Oh, you mean your little kunoichi?" Deidara laughed. "I left her inside for ya, yeah. We had so much fun last night that I figured I could let ya have her back."

"What did you do to her?" Kisame growled.

"Everything, but the real fun was what she did to me." The artist teased. "The funniest thing is that she did it all so I would give the two of you a warning; Pein is on to you. That is one hell of a woman. Enjoy what is left of her. By the way, you have three weeks until Pein needs the nine tails."

"You will pay." Itachi's crimson eyes promised destruction.

"Probably." Deidara laughed. "But not today."

With that he retreated like the coward he was, and the partners were left standing at the door. Itachi had never felt more dread then he did in the moment before stepping in. The house was dusty but other than that seemed to be in fair shape. What unnerved him most was the silence. It was so quiet that it was hard to imagine anything could be here, anything alive at least. When they made it to the second floor only one door stood ajar. Itachi was surprised to find that his hand shook as he reached for it.

When he was able to see into the room his blood boiled. Sakura was there and though she was silent the look on her face screamed of the pain that she was in. The only thing covering her small body as she lay on the floor was Deidara's cloak. The bed gave a bloody testament as to what had transpired here. Without saying a word, he crossed the room and gently gathered her into his arms.

"Is she alright?" Kisame asked.

"Does it look like it?" Itachi bit back as he stepped back into the hall.

"You are going to be alright kid we are going to take you home." Kisame told her when they walked out of the damnable place.

"As soon as we arrive go to the village and get her some things." Itachi ordered.

"I'll be quick." Kisame assured him before the partners cut into their palms and took her to where they hoped she would find some comfort.

When they arrived back at their home Itachi carried her straight to his room and was pleased when her face seemed to relax. It had not taken him long to find her source of discomfort, chakra cuffs on her wrists. They were lucky that she had survived releasing her chakra as she had, but her chakra paths were surely burned raw. Once she had calmed down Itachi decided to at last speak to her.

"Sakura." He quietly spoke while gently stroking her hair. "Sakura please look at me."

When finally she did open her eyes, he was both shocked and saddened. Her beautiful green eyes had always been so bright and vibrant but were left dull and lifeless. It was almost physically painful to see her like this.

"I will not hurt you." He assured her as he made a hasty decision and activated his sharingan.

"You dare declare that you will not hurt her!" The Kyuubi roared. Somehow Itachi found himself not with Sakura, but before the fearsome nine tails.

"Where is she?" The Uchiha asked the beast.

"She has hidden herself, because of your incompetence." The fox growled. "I told you that if you ever harmed her again, I would kill you. Tell me Uchiha are you prepared to meet your fate?"