Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto, but the new plots (meaning the ones you don't recognize!) are mine. This fanfiction had been written for entertainment purposes only and without intention of infringing upon any copyright.

Title: The Butterfly

Author: elle6778
Rating: M (for violence & sexual content)

Warning: Some elements can be construed as non-consensual.

Summary: Follow-up to 'The Chrysalis'. Itachi finds himself inexplicably drawn to a certain pink-haired kunoichi and when she fails to present herself as he expects, he decides to take matters into his own hands. Little does he know that his fixation will develop into something so completely out of his comfort zone.

A/N: So, here's another multichaptered fanfic from me. You might want to read Chrysalis first before reading this. This is set in a Canon environment but the story itself is AU. Hope you'll like it!

The Butterfly - Chapter 1 - by elle6778

Crouched with one knee on the tree branch, Itachi directed his intense regard upon the hooded figure below. Covered as she was, he should not be able to recognize her. However, he could easily tell that she wasn't the kunoichi he'd anticipated.

An inexplicable mix of irritation and no, it couldn't possibly be disappointment, washed over him.

The last he'd seen her, her tracking skills had improved. After their first encounter, she'd taken an unacceptably long three months to locate him, only to lose him soon afterwards.

Their subsequent meeting had taken her another two months of searching, much to his dissatisfaction. The battle had commenced immediately. As he'd traded blows and jutsus with her, it occurred to him that despite her tracking skills her other abilities had barely upgraded. Therefore, it had not been difficult to defeat her even though she possessed what he now referred to as the emerald Sharingan.

At that juncture, he'd been disappointed at her lack of progress. If she planned to waste the Sharingan, perhaps he should simply kill her. He'd wanted to see the potential of that new power brought to the world of shinobi and so far, he'd seen nothing. That battle had simply been a waste of his time, and he'd wounded her almost fatally before he whispered his words in her ears.

"You're weak, just like Sasuke. I allowed you to live so that you could explore your potential, and thus far you've nothing to show for it," he had murmured. "Pathetic."

Her expression had hardened then, much to his satisfaction. He'd thought that perhaps she'd finally understood what he wished to impart to her.

"Don't patronize me! I'm not weak!" she'd hissed. "I promise that one day, you'll regret saying this."

Smirking, he'd left her in a pool of her own blood at the border between Fire and Wind Country, knowing that the Konoha patrols would soon venture that way, for it was not his intention to allow her to die so easily. With Sasuke gone, she was the only one left with the potential to offer him a worthwhile challenge and besides, something about her sparked his interest. It would not do to eliminate his only source of amusement.

The next time they'd met was in Tea Country.

He'd been tracking down the rumor of a scroll of forbidden jutsu, curious as to what it contained. Rumor had it that the jutsu allowed one to siphon chakra from others for their own use. It reminded him of Samehada, and vaguely he wondered what had become of Kisame. Akatsuki had disbanded about two years ago and he'd not laid eyes on the Mist nukenin since.

His journey, however, had been rudely interrupted when the pink-haired kunoichi landed in front of him, blocking his path. As usual, she'd been clad in full ANBU gear complete with the mask.

In the course of the fight, he'd finally noticed a marked improvement in her skills. The battle had been satisfyingly long, each of them intent on winning. Although Itachi had not utilized his full strength, he had been tempted to. The sensation of stretching himself after so many of dissatisfactory encounters with inferior nins had been exhilarating. Much to his exasperation, the kunoichi had ultimately lost before he could push himself further. It had struck him then that his reaction to the victory was somewhat inappropriate, and at that thought, he'd turned to leave.

Wounded and barely breathing, she'd somehow found enough strength to speak, albeit in a shaky voice.

"Why?"

He'd halted then, turning back slowly to face her. Slumped against a tree with bloody wounds peppering her body, she'd glared at him.

"Why?" he'd queried.

"Why didn't you kill me? Why do you always let me live?"

He'd allowed a smirk to cross his features. "You amuse me."

Her eyes had flashed with outrage just before she gritted out, "I'm not your plaything."

"And I am not playing, kunoichi."

With that, he'd left her.

The event had set the tone for the rest of their many encounters. The kunoichi would locate him and a battle would commence. With each battle, he would study the way she gained stronger and more outlandish abilities. And after each battle, he would find himself anticipating the next one.

Three month ago, these had stopped.

Much to his puzzlement, Itachi found himself wondering about her continued absence. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that the Hokage must have given her a different assignment. This sometimes happened when a target persistently evaded the assigned hunternins. The notion that she was probably no longer focused exclusively on him sent an odd spike of displeasure through him.

Unused to doing nothing about something which bothered him, however mildly, he stared into the distance as he considered his options.

And when he reached a decision, his eyes narrowed and his lips tilted into a small smile.

000

000

It had taken merely two weeks to locate her in the depth of Snow Country.

The surges of chakra and fluctuation of energy pinpointed her location, as well as four other active signatures he did not recognize. They were in a battle and he wondered if she was alone against four, or if some of them were her comrades. Interested to find out what was happening, he kept his presence cloaked with genjutsu and leapt from one leafless tree to another until the figures came into sight.

She was surrounded by four rogue nins, one of which had blood dripping down his arm. Several other nins were dead on the ground which told him that the battle had been sustained for a while. With his Sharingan activated, he could see read every tensed line of her body. Intent on knowing what she would do, he settled himself comfortably against a tree to observe.

In a blink of an eye, the fight resumed with a burst of chakra. The kunoichi utilized her signature move by cracking the earth, sending a cloud of snow and rock shooting upwards to scatter her opponents. Before the obstructions could settle, she caught one opponent in a chakra binding and slayed another with a vicious flash of blade and a spray of crimson, bringing a quirk to Itachi's lips.

A barrage of shuriken sped towards her and she leapt out of the way only to have another nin attacking her from above. Just as her enemy's blade connected with her, she disappeared in a substitution technique. Reappearing not far away, she launched head-on at her attacker, much to Itachi's disapproval. She lacked subtlety and that had not changed since their first encounter. Her volatile temper no doubt contributed to this unacceptable flaw of hers.

The kunoichi met her opponent with a clash of blades. As they exchanged blows, spikes of ice shot towards her from behind. She tensed in recognition of the danger, and spun around to slide out of the way. An icy spike grazed her thigh and she jerked, but did not stop to tend to the injury.

Inexplicably, Itachi found his eyes riveted to the droplets of her blood gracing the whiteness of the snow beneath them. As they continued to fight, more crimson drops fell from all three shinobi. He felt something he could not name, and so he shoved it aside to continue watching.

Dark tomoe spun rapidly in both her eyes and in a breath, she'd caught both opponents in a genjutsu which had them shrieking in terror, a sight which brought a spike of pleasure in Itachi. It wasn't long before her opponents' eyes went blank and their bodies were still.

By this time, she was panting heavily but she could not afford to rest. The final shinobi had just broken out of her chakra bindings and was now circling her threateningly. Soon, they were both ducking and diving in a dance that kept Itachi's attention riveted. She was graceful, using only the most efficient movements but he could tell that there was still room for advancement. He could tell that this time, she was at a disadvantage considering her injuries, but it did not appear as if she was ready to yield.

The battle raged on with a furious exchange of taijutsu and when she finally killed him, she was on her knees unable to support herself. Her breath was a series of ragged drags and her shoulders heaved with the effort of each inhale and exhale. Her white-knuckled grip on the hilt of the katana buried in the body in front of her was the only thing holding her up.

Itachi continued to watch until her body gave out and she slumped sideways to land face down in the snow with a soft thump. Only then did he uncloak himself to move silently to her side. None too gently, he used his foot to nudge her over to her back, revealing her masked face.

She stirred weakly when he knelt down to pull her mask off. Emerald green eyes immediately snapped open and her entire body coiled with tension when their eyes met. If he hadn't pressed a hand down on her ANBU vest, he was certain that she would have jumped up to attack him, despite her ridiculously depleted state. She often displayed a terrible lack of self-preservation, after all.

A hiss escaped her lips as she strained to get up. "Let me go or I'll kill you!"

Mild incredulity made him stare at her a moment before he asked, "Are you so foolish to think that you stand a chance against me in your condition?"

"I-" she broke off and then coughed hard.

Blood sprayed from her lips, splattering her face with viscous red fluid. He frowned when he realized that she was more injured than he'd assumed. She must have sustained some internal injuries. He would be most displeased if she was to die now that he'd taken the trouble to find her.

"Heal yourself," he ordered flatly.

Her eyes flashed with defiance, but when she opened her mouth to speak, another round of hacking cough and sprays of blood interrupted her. The urge to shake her was strong but he refrained from doing so.

Then her eyes rolled back in her head and her body went still.

Itachi froze. His skin felt strange, like it was crawling with something unpleasant and there was an odd prickling sensation to the right of his head. How strange. Even unconscious, she had the unwelcomed power to surprise him.

What to do now, he wondered. She could die if he left her here, vulnerable to human and non-human predators.

000

000

It did not take long for him to find an inn. Ignoring the looks given to the odd sight of him carrying a kunoichi dripping with blood, he procured a room and made his way there. He felt an unfamiliar sense of irritation as he climbed the stair with the unconscious weight slung over his shoulder. Perhaps he should have allowed her to die. After all, as amusing and challenging as she was, what he was currently doing went against every fiber of his being.

It was uncharacteristic of him to help, he thought as he dropped the kunoichi on the bed carelessly. She bounced once and the sight made him wonder if he should have been more careful since he'd taken the trouble to bring her here. Well, now that he had come this far, he might as well complete his task.

With that thought, he methodically removed her weapons from her body and began to slash the blood-soaked ANBU uniform off until she was left in her chest bindings and underwear. Her body was covered with so much blood that it was difficult to catalogue her injuries. He deduced that the worst of the injury would be somewhere upon her torso, seeing that she'd been coughing up blood.

This was far from the first time he laid eyes upon a woman's naked body, but he naturally reacted as a normal male when he cut through her chest bindings with a sharp kunai. Still, it was not an appropriate time to dwell on such thoughts. He might be a ruthless missing nin but taking sexual advantage of an unconscious woman was below him.

His eyes landed on the jagged gash just below her right breast, deducing that it was the most probably source of her internal injury. He pressed around the area and took note that two of her ribs were also broken. There was nothing he could do about the broken bones but he could utilize his basic healing knowledge to ensure that the condition of her lungs did not deteriorate.

A moment later, his hands were glowing with the light green healing chakra. As he pressed them into her, he vaguely recalled how Kisame had always complained loudly about the painful invasion. According to Konan, who had instructed them in the use of chakra to perform basic healing, the knowledge and the ability to heal did not mean one would be good at it. A good medic had the skills to heal with an efficient amount of chakra without causing the patient more pain, but he was definitely not one of those. It was strangely appropriate, he thought. He was always more likely to inflict pain rather than comfort, after all.

It took half an hour and more chakra that he would have liked to expend before he was satisfied that she would not die. The open wound on her chest was now closed but there were mottled red patches all around where his chakra had entered her. Chakra burns, he noted dispassionately. He scanned the rest of her form, deciding that what he'd done would suffice, and then proceeded to throw a thin sheet over her. She could heal the rest of her injuries when she awakened.

To his annoyance, it occurred to him that she would lack the necessary chakra to do so unless he fed her. Something within him balked at the idea of sourcing food for her, nevertheless he found himself venturing to the vending machine downstairs after warding the room. The selection was sparse but it would serve its purpose.

He reentered the room to find her still unconscious, so he laid the chocolate bars and the cartons of milk down at the side table before settling himself on the couch. After he'd consumed some of the milk, he closed his eyes to rest.

A wheezing sound broke his light slumber and Itachi's eyes snapped open.

The kunoichi was pushing herself up with her hand pressed against her broken ribs. Those emerald eyes settled coldly on him as she dragged the thin sheet up to cover herself. He was not expecting any gratitude but her attitude rankled.

"W-what did you do?" she snarled in a broken voice.

He raised a brow. "That should be obvious."

Confusion flashed across her face momentarily and then her guard went back up. With a sneer, she said, "You can't expect me to believe you saved me."

He directed his impassive gaze to the region of her chest, finding it unnecessary to say anything. Her lips thinned as she clenched and unclenched her fists. Dropping the sheet to her waist, she inspected the bruised, mottled skin around the newly healed gash. If she was in any way perturbed by her nakedness, she was not showing it. He could hear her muttering under her breath, categorizing her injuries and she scanned her body with glowing hands while ignoring him.

She had only commenced the healing of her ribs when her chakra level dipped further, putting a halt to her work. A frustrated sound escaped her, and it made Itachi smirk.

"Eat and drink first," he instructed.

She cut a hard look at him, looking as if she was about to say something snide. However, common sense clearly prevailed for she nodded curtly and reached out for the crisps and milk. Pulling the sheet back up, she began to eat while sparing him the occasional wary glance. Her distrust of him could not be clearer.

Two cartons of milk and three chocolate bars were consumed before she spoke again.

"Why did you save me?" she asked coldly.

Why indeed. "I find you strangely fascinating."

Those green eyes flashed again. "I am not an object for you to play with," she said tersely.

"You seem to be very fond of that particular verb."

"Verb?"

"Play." He smirked. "I assure you, as interesting as you are, I have no intention of playing with you. Why are you so fixated with the term? You've used it to describe our interaction more than once."

She looked away and drew a deep breath, as if to calm herself. When she turned back to him, she queried in a measured tone, "Why do you find me… fascinating?"

He folded his arms behind his head and leaned back casually, a not-so-subtle way of informing her that he perceived no threat from her. "Perhaps I wish to measure your potential, and learn what I can about those eyes of yours."

Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the sheets hard. "Dream on. You will get nothing from me," she declared stonily.

She was just as amusing as ever, he thought. "You don't have a choice."

"What are you going to do? Kidnap me?" she snapped. "Hold me in a cell and study me until you find what you want?"

"That's an interesting possibility."

In a blur of movement, she stood up with the sheet around her and streaked to the door. She was fast, but her unhealed injuries were slowing her down. With unsurprising ease, he intercepted her escape and in the next moment, she was wincing in pain as his body pressed hers to the door.

Fingers tightening around her neck, he husked against her forehead, "Foolish kunoichi."

"L-let me go, you sick bastard!" she choked out.

"You're in no position to be demanding."

She tried to break free but it only resulted in her expression blanching in pain. Deciding that he'd had enough of this absurdity, he hefted her up with no regard for her indignant protests and dropped her back on the bed.

Standing over her irate form, he told her calmly, "How about a deal?"

A frown appeared between her brows but she remained silent.

"Heal yourself, and if you manage to defeat me in a battle, I will cease to… 'play' with you."

It took two seconds for her expression to take on a stubbornly resolute air. "Then you'd better be prepared to have your ass dragged back to Konoha."

000

000

A/N: Comments are most welcomed!

:elle6778: