Perfunctory Pestilence
Just A Penniless Writer
Disclaimer: not mine.
Spoilers: Up to recent chapters in the manga... around 264
Author's Plea: eh... Don't know where this will lead, but wherever it goes, it will be Itachi/Sakura. 6.22.05-edit
The First: The Necessary Introduction
Itachi took another look at his unconscious captive before closing his eyes with mute frustration. The entire situation had become unduly complicated. The girl should never have been an issue to begin with, let alone an opponent, let alone a hostage. Still, he could not pass up an opportunity given to him, regardless of Kisame's rather loud protestations against it.
For all his silent complaints at the unusual turn of events, the Uchiha could not deny the current of energy running through him for the first time in years. Challenges were few and far between, even with Akatsuki membership. Orochimaru, for all that even the Sannin was aware of his shortcomings when compared to Itachi, might have provided some entertainment had he not turned all his concentration on defeating Konoha and training Sasuke.
Suffice it to say, after so long without a serious threat to his life, Itachi was more than surprised to find what he sought in the mind of a pink haired girl.
For as long as he allowed himself to remember, he had sought power. Power was the great equalizer. Right and wrong meant nothing without power to back them up. He had been lucky, born a genius to an already very powerful family. Fate gave every indication that it was working in his favor, gifting him with great power, and he had exalted in that knowledge until he had discovered the truth. Fate was a bitch.
Still, that didn't mean he couldn't accumulate as much power as he could in the time he was allowed. Just because his life was doomed to end tragically short didn't mean he couldn't become the most powerful being he could. It was only then that he truly saw that everything in his life was holding him back from what he was truly capable of. He'd taken care of that with little hesitation.
However, power is useless without an opponent. Thus it was that he, good brother that he was, allowed Sasuke to live so that eventually he might have a worthy opponent that would spur him on to even greater heights.
Sasuke, as it turned out, would have been better off dead. For all that his little brother was a skilled ninja far ahead of his companions most of the time, he lacked that certain drive. There were still things he found sacred in the world other than the search for power. Because of that, Sasuke would never be able to defeat him.
'But,' Itachi mused, 'he might still be able to give me some sort of challenge to break up the monotony of my life.' Since Saskue's defection to Orochimaru's side, Itachi had been looking forward to a new meeting. Surely the annoying snake man could teach the boy something useful.
It was part of what made this entire situation so humorous that the key to a relatively fair battle between the brothers had been in Konoha the entire time. Itachi, in his search for a challenge, had completely overlooked it. Sasuke, in his search for vengeance, had pushed the perfect weapon aside.
Of course, neither brother was really to blame for this. Who would have ever considered the girl to be such a perfect tool? Who would have ever imagined she alone would be naturally skilled with a way to defeat the undefeatable? Who could have possibly guessed that she, Haruno Sakura, could ever be so powerful?
He searched his mind for what little he had taken it upon himself to remember about her. Quite easily he recalled her medic-nin skills, and it seemed as if someone had mentioned she was being trained by the present Hokage herself. So, yes, she did have some power.
But he was Uchiha Itachi. His defeat would require a bit more than above average chakra control. She had not been deemed a challenge, and thus, he had completely bypassed her in favor of her far more obvious teammates.
The kyuubi container did give him something challenging occasionally. However, until the kid learned to tighten his moves and expand his repertoire, he was little more than an irritating mass of annoying, stamina-strengthening chakra. The kid could really take a beating.
Their sensei… well, fighting Kakashi was always something he looked forward to in a rather offhand way. However, it was also always a let down. Anything his fellow sharingan user had improved or perfected was shown up quite easily. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the effort Kakashi put into their battles… it was just disappointing.
Sasuke… there was not much he could say about Sasuke. His emotions always got the better of him, and Itachi had the distinct feeling that he would never see his little brother at his best purely because of the intense hatred he had planted in him.
Whenever he had previously come across the girl, she had been content to remain to the side, helping people out of illusional techniques and cleaning up the mess when all was over. He'd never had the opportunity to truly see her in action, and, before now, he'd never had the urge to.
He supposed it was Fate's will, a gift from the All Powerful, that he had come across her. From what he could tell, she had been returning from a long stay in the Hidden Sand Village where she was part of the medic team taking care of a still weakened Gaara. A year after the demon's expulsion from the Kazekage's body, and the boy was still weak. It would almost be sad if Itachi had the inclination to care at all. He supposed he was fairly disappointed that someone who would have made a powerful opponent was out of commission, but then the insomniac brat had been defeated by Deidara so perhaps he wasn't worthy after all.
Which of course, only made the present situation all the more interesting. Why the girl and her ANBU escorts decided to pay him a visit, he did not know. The guards had been easy to dismiss. The girl, with her outrageous pink hair, bright green eyes, and decidedly non-ninja scream, had just been asking for his tsukiyomi.
He had known exactly how to torture her. Acknowledgement of her weakness was easily exploitable, and with images stolen from her own mind, he had begun mentally killing everyone she loved while she looked on helplessly.
It had worked perfectly, taking very little effort… until he had been blindsided. Suddenly, there were two of them, and while the one he remembered was still tied to the cross weeping like the scared little girl she was, the one loudly insulting him was overwhelming and psychotic.
The new Sakura proceeded to do what none before had succeeded in doing: throw off the technique by ruthlessly attacking him. There was good reason why the occupants of the tsukiyomi were kept emotionally or physically immobile: it took enough energy just to project without fighting every step of the way.
Of course, once they were both firmly back in the outside realm, it had taken less than a second to knock her out. She really was too slow to be anything truly special. Her skill set was rather limited. Still, when faced with the options of killing her, leaving her to whatever fate befell her, or investigating her odd gift further, he grudgingly spared her life and took her into his custody.
Kisame, upon finding Itachi somewhat rumpled (which was cause enough for shock) and carrying a pink haired girl, had instantly regretted leaving his partner alone to slaughter someone he perceived had insulted him.
"Unless that girl has a demon inside, they are not going to like this," the shark man mentioned indifferently after some time spent loudly demanding her immediate death.
Itachi remained silent.
"Who is she, anyway?" the annoying man continued, undaunted.
"A source of information."
"What information?"
"My defeat."
And that had been all Itachi had deigned to explain to his partner. Of course, one look made it obvious that the concept was far beyond the man's ability to comprehend. As smart as he was in technique and brutality, he really had but the faintest idea concerning higher motives such as Itachi's. The question plaguing him was so obvious, it almost caused Itachi to feel as if he might possibly, eventually be inclined toward humor.
'Why not kill her if she knows how to defeat you?'
It was a question every Akatsuki member would consider when they learned of the circumstances surrounding their unexpected guest.
AN: I can't fix mistakes if I can't see them. Drop a note if you see an error.