Into the Night (ItaSaku)

Chapter 1

"Where are you going?" the voice asked echoing in the hall of the small apartment.

"It's none of your business, Ino. Go back to sleep." another one answered in a rough tone.

"Sakura, you cannot roam free around here. We're in a mission after all." the atmosphere felt heavy, as Sakura knew that her best friend was right. The mission had too much of an importance for her to screw up when they were so close to finish it. Still she had to leave for a while. She needed time alone to think.

"Enough Ino." saying these Sakura left the apartment and headed for the nearby pub. She thought
a drink might make the feelings of angst go away. Maybe the rain would wipe away the memories. 1 cup, 2 cups, 3 cups of sake went down her throat as if she drank water. However it was not enough. The man behind the bar kept glancing at her between servings. But there she was, drowning herself in sake. Then she left the bar towards the forest near the village. The Village of Rain (Amegakure) was filled with thieves, murderers, madness.

Sakura kept the hood from the cloak above her head not wanting other people to recognize her. It would ruin the plan. The plan to catch Nagato, Pein and Konan. One person to recognize her or Ino and they would be dead. For good. She knew that the chances for someone to recognize her were from slim to none because of her long black hair. She kept her mask right under the hood in case she had to hide her face.

People passing by didn't share her any attention which was just perfect for her. She wanted to be left alone, not even one bit disturbed. Sakura arrived at the forest and kept going until she reached a far enough place inside it so she could relax herself. But she decided she was wrong when she heard sharp sounds of kunai hitting themselves. She took a step ahead silently in an attempt to see who was there through the breath stopped when she felt a sharp shuriken under her chin on her neck. She froze on the spot as she didn't hear anyone approaching her. She was supposed to be carefull and she wasn't.

"Such long hair should be tied behind, instead of leaving it brush the ground carelessly. It could be used as a weapon against you." the voice behind Sakura said. The sound of the husky rough voice made Sakura shiver. For some reason she felt herself in danger. But the smell of the man behind her made her think of Village of the Leaf (Konohagakure), of death. The village she lost after the Kyuubi went berserk and destroyed everything in its way. Since then Sakura had hated Akatsuki for instigating the attack on Konoha.

"The issue of my hair doesn't concern you at all." attempted Sakura in a low voice. She slowly reached after a kunai in her pouch when her arm got caught brutally by the man behind her. She couldn't also lower the mask on her face and she sworn.

"Damn you." Sakura was forcefully turned around when she met dark onyx eyes. Sakura gasped at the sight of them he mind going blank. She stared at the man pinning her to a tree not being able to move an inch. She froze under the stare of the man holding her, no other than Uchiha stared coldly into emerald eyes blazing with fury and pulled her hair off the ground holding it above her head. Sakura's knees felt wobly ah he began to see a glimpse of scarlet in her captor's eyes. Sharingan.

"Don't look at me with those eyes!" she said shakily attempting to turn her head..

"So I suppose you know who i am?" Itachi asked with a rough voice.

"Who doesn't know Uchiha Itachi?" Sakura made another attempt to release herself from his grasp, but he only did release her only he heard her cry of pain because of her hair. She stepped a few steps back trying to run away from him.

Itachi didn't go after her but remained still thinking about the girl just now. She felt familiar but he couldn't tell from where. But he was sure of one thing: she was not afraid of him. No. Her eyes didn't betray fear but fury. Sakura ran as fast as she could her thoughts in a mess. Unable to think of what to do or where to go, she kept thinking about the man just now. It was Sasuke's brother and he most likely recognized her. Or he didn't?

Just when Sakura was about to jump in a tree, she heard the sound of a kunai thrown behind her to find it's target. kunai scratched her arm cutting through the dark black material of the coat then he appeared out of nowhere his attacks directed at her. They kept fighting each other with kunais and shurikens in the forest until Sakura began to feel body numb. The few scratches that Itachi gave her where not that alarming only the fact that the blades where poisoned. They stopped in a clearing inside the forrest. He saw that she was breathing heavily but also noticed that she was not a usual ninja. He could take a glimpse of small green auras around the wounds that he did to her.

"So you're a medic-ninja? No wonder you're so weak." he said huskily.

"I am not weak." her response was surely with no strength.

"Of course you are. You can barely feel your limbs now, am I right?"

"Shut up! You know nothing about me." she shrieked at him.

"Why should I know something about you? You're nothing. Merely a medic-ninja."

(huf huf huf) Sakura noticed she was losing her conscience. Her vision became blury and she could barely see Itachi. Now was the perfect time to kill her. Itachi took a few steps towards her and just when he wanted to give her a last strike he saw her colliding with the ground. He waited a few more seconds to make sure she was not faking it, only then did he get near her. Itachi stared at her for a second. Instead of killing her, he bent and put a pill inside her mouth.

"You will not die today." Itachi whispered to himself. When he studied her more closely he noticed a necklace around her neck.

"It can't be..." he raised it swiftly so that he could see it better. He'd recognize that necklace anywhere. It was an Uchiha necklace. Just like his. Itachi dropped the necklace and studied Sakura a while longer. She had the specific Uchiha black hair but her eyes were not.

"Why would she have something like this?" his thoughts went rambling trying to remember anything related to the clan that he killed. He didn't leave anyone out except for his brother, Sasuke. That was now dead. Itachi sworn to himself that he would find and kill the girl who killed his brother under his very eyes. He would find her and make her feel the same pain that she felt when Sasuke died.

"I am not weak." these words kept coming in his mind not leaving him in peace and reminded him of Sasuke and the girl beside him. He moved his eyes back to the sleeping corpse beside him and saw the same green aura that he saw earlier. "It's as if her body is regenerating itself." he mumbled. It was not going to take long until her body annihilated the poison inside and she would wake up.

Itachi waited. He waited a few hours when he saw her coming to conscience and began gathering her surroundings. "I wouldn't have imagined such a thing. I would say that you are an apprentice of Lady Tsunade." he told her. When she finally caught the sound she looked at him fiercely and surprised at the same time.

"Who are you?" he asked her.

"Nobody." Sakura attempted to get up but she fell back on her knees. She saw a thin thread of chakra leaving her ankles and ending on Itachi's little finger.

"I am not your prisoner." she raked at him.

"Of course you are. For now." he mumbled. "Again. Who are you?"

"Why do you keep asking me? I told you. No one." Sakura kept glancing to sides hoping that someone would arrive, but at the same time that no one would see them.

"Well then we'll continue the discussion somewhere else." Itachi gave Sakura a hit behind her head sending her to sleep. Sakura lost again her conscience but somehow she could feel his arms covering her with the cloak and felt the breeze of the air. He was running with her through the forest.