“Uchiha Itachi, we’ve been waiting for you.” Sharp, white, fang-like teeth gleamed in the night as the owner bared them into an evil smile. Itachi regarded him calmly, no expression showing on his taciturn face.

            “Orochimaru.” Itachi’s eyes swiftly scanned the surrounding area for danger. “This had better not be a waste of my time.”

            Orochimaru laughed a cold, mirthless laugh. “I assure you, Itachi, this will be quite worthwhile.” His snake-like eyes glinted in the moonlight. “You and I will both benefit from this venture.”

            “What are you saying?”

            “I know how to capture Naruto.”

            Itachi’s face still betrayed no emotion.

            “The demon fox’s power, it’s what the Akatsuki are after, isn’t it? I’m offering a way to bring him out. Willingly.”

            “Don’t play me for a fool, Orochimaru. What do you stand to gain from this?”

Orochimaru watched Itachi carefully as he answered.

“You’re little brother. Uchiha Sasuke.” Itachi was hardly surprised. During his fight with Sasuke at the inn, Itachi had noticed the cursed seal on his brother’s neck.

“What would you want with a weakling like him?” asked Itachi with contempt in his voice.

“It’s true, he doesn’t match up to your standards, but with the proper training, he can be made into a fine-tuned lethal weapon. Swift and deadly and powerful. He could be made into your equal.”

“If we agree to your proposal, what do you plan to do to lure out Sasuke and Naruto?” Itachi noticed the smirk creeping across Orochimaru’s pale face.

“They have a weakness, the both of them,” replied Orochimaru airily. “A quite surprising one, in fact.”

Itachi’s eyes narrowed slightly. “And what weakness would that be?”

“Take a look.” Orochimaru handed an envelope to Itachi. Itachi opened it and withdrew the photograph inside. His eyebrow rose fractionally, almost imperceptibly.

“Ah,” he said.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sasuke awoke to the sunlight streaming into the room. He raised his head off his arms on the windowsill and massaged the circulation back into his numb arms. Sakura was still sleeping peacefully behind him. Quietly, he stepped into the adjoining bathroom and brushed his teeth and showered. When he stepped out clean and fully clothed, she was awake, leaning on her pillows. He sat down in the chair beside her bed.

“Good morning, Sasuke-kun,” she said genially.

“Ah.” He acknowledged her greeting with his customary monosyllabic answer.

“Did you sleep at all last night?”

“A little.” They lapsed into silence. Sakura broke it first.

“Sasuke-kun?” she asked tentatively.

“Ah.”

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, but I didn’t want to bother you with it before.”
            “What?”

“Well…it’s just…It’s not that I don’t appreciate it or anything, but…” Sakura hesitated. Her fingers were toying with the bedclothes. “Why have you stayed with me this past week in the hospital when you’d normally be training?” The question came out in a rush and she blushed.

His face grew uncomfortably hot. Sasuke quickly turned his head away so she couldn’t see the crimson blush staining his cheeks.

“Why do you want to know?”

“I’m curious…that’s all.” Sasuke stayed silent as he thought.

“Sasuke-kun?”

He sighed. “It was my fault you’re in the hospital in the first place. If I’d been stronger, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Sakura looked up at him, surprised. “But, Sasuke-kun, you can’t blame yourself. It was my choice in the first place.”
            “You shouldn’t have had to make that choice,” said Sasuke fiercely.

“Sasuke-kun, stop it,” said Sakura gently, laying a hand on his arm. “You can’t change the past, but you can look to the future. I’m still alive; I’ll be fine. It’s not always possible to emerge from a fight unscathed. And besides,” she said softly, “I don’t blame you and isn’t that what counts?” Sasuke’s head snapped around to look at her with a mixture of surprise and gratitude. But before they had a chance to say anything else, what seemed to be a yellow bomb exploded through the door and nearly crashed into Sasuke.

“Rise and shine, Sakura-chan! How are you feeling today?” an ecstatic Naruto pranced around her bed. Then he stopped, noticing Sasuke glaring at him with the intensity of a laser beam. “Oh, morning, Sasuke-bastard,” he said grinning wickedly. “Didn’t see you there at first.” Sasuke’s eyes narrowed.

“Idiot,” he said calmly.

“Hey, who’re you calling an idiot?” Naruto exclaimed, ready for a fight. “Huh? Huh?”

“Hold it right there, Naruto,” said a voice from the doorway. Cell 7’s sensei, Hatake Kakashi, stood in the doorway, his one showing eye glued to the latest version of Icha Icha Paradise. “I don’t want any fights breaking out here.” He looked pointedly at Sasuke and Naruto, both of whom had once fought on the rooftop. As he walked in, he closed the perverted book and stowed it away carefully. “Ah, good morning, Sakura,” he greeted his student.

Sakura smiled radiantly at him from her bed. “Good morning, sensei.”

“Sakura, I have good news for you. I spoke to the doctor and he said that by the day after tomorrow, you’ll be released from the hospital.”

“Really?!” Sakura gasped happily.

“Hooray! Sakura-chan can train with us again and Sasuke-bastard won’t get her to himself all the time!” Naruto performed a little joy dance.

“Naruto, you’re such a clown,” said Sakura. Sasuke heartily agreed inwardly.

However, unknown to the Cell 7 and Kakashi, perched in a tree close to the hospital room were two disguised ninjas. They hid their chakra and were carefully observing the occupants of the room.

“You heard that, Kabuto?” asked one of the ninjas.

“Of course,” replied Kabuto, pushing up his glasses with his right forefinger. “What do you want to do, Itachi?” Itachi was silent.

“We wait,” he said, “for the right opportunity.”

“Ah,” he said.

The picture in the envelope was one of a girl around fifteen years old. The forehead protector nestled in her pink hair marked her as a Konoha ninja. Her bright green eyes twinkled in an attractive face and emphasized her rosy-cheeked smile. And standing on either side of her were Sasuke and Naruto, the former looking relaxed with a slight smirk on his face and the latter grinning so wide it was almost abnormal.

“That girl is Sakura Haruno,” said Orochimaru. “She’s a fifteen year old Chuunin and she’s on the same team as both Sasuke and Naruto. The picture was taken by Kabuto here after they were all made Chuunins.”

“I see. You’re proposing to hold this girl hostage in order to lure Sasuke and Naruto out of Konoha?”

“Yes,” hissed Orochimaru.

“How can you be sure they’d come?”

Orochimaru laughed again. “The three of them have formed a bond with each other. Sasuke and Naruto are always looking out for Sakura. If anything should happen to her, they’d be on the spot ready for action.”

            “And you know this because…”

            “I recently conducted a small test to prove my theory. Sakura saved Sasuke’s life. There were other incidents, of course, in the past.”

            Itachi looked back to the photo of the innocent, smiling girl. Maybe it was worth a try.

            “I have a plan,” said Itachi. “But first, we wait for her to get out of the hospital.”

To Be Continued…

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