Child Bride Ch. 4

“Again,” Itachi commanded, without looking away from his spar with Kisame.

Sakura glared. “I’ve already done that taijutsu set twenty times!”

“It is still not correct.”

“How can you tell?” she asked petulantly. “You weren’t even looking!”

Itachi did not bother to respond. He merely dodged a blow from Samehada and brought his foot up into Kisame’s jaw.

The shark man winced and swung at him again. “Can you not take your marital spats out on me?”

“Defend yourself properly and I won’t be able to.” The ex-Uchiha heir made an almost imperceptible gesture and Kisame whirled around to fight someone who wasn’t there. “Now, then, Sakura-san. See if you can complete the taijutsu set before Kisame realizes that he is caught in a genjutsu.”

“Why?” she challenged.

He sighed. “If you can do it, you may rest for ten minutes and watch the end of our fight.”

All right, it was tempting. Kisame and Itachi were both remarkable shinobi, and watching a battle between them was thrilling. It was also terrifying, as she was mentally calculating how badly her teammates would be beaten if they faced these two. “Fifteen minutes.”

“I do not bargain, and you are running out of time.”

Well, at least Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei would have a substantial advantage with Kisame. Despite being partnered with one of the greatest masters, he was terrible at detecting genjutsu – at least, in comparison to his other skills. He would still break free any minute now. She would have to hurry if she wanted her break. With another sigh of annoyance, she began the set again, Itachi scrutinizing her every move.

“Hey!” Kisame bellowed just as she began the last movement. “I’ll get you for this, Uchiha!”

Itachi dodged the blow with a bored expression and nicked Kisame’s hand with his katana. “Five more times, Sakura. Keep your back straight and put more power behind your kicks.”

Kakashi-sensei had never worked her this hard. Itachi had her up at dawn every day that he was in the base to train. She spent the entire morning on taijutsu and worked on genjutsu and ninjutsu until Itachi judged her chakra too depleted to continue. She usually fell asleep the minute she entered their room and had to be woken up for dinner.

On days when Itachi was out on missions, there was always a pile of books and instructions for her to practice various techniques. He only needed to see her perform a jutsu once to know which five errors she most needed to correct. When he returned, she was quizzed on the contents of the books and rewarded with dango if she answered every question correctly. Itachi seemed to be under the impression that she was some sort of exotic pet.

“She’s getting better,” Kisame commented to Itachi. Of course, the sneaky bastard had won their bout, but Kisame was proud of some of the bruises he had given him. “You sure she’ll have enough chakra left to heal us?”

Itachi studied her with his sharingan. “If she uses it carefully. She will need food before her genjutsu lesson.”

Kisame grunted. “What I don’t understand is why you’re putting all this effort into training some kid. Don’t tell me you’re really into little girls!”

He gave his companion a disdainful look. “She is mine. She will become useful.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re grooming her to be your own personal med nin. But why train her to fight?”

“Because she can,” was all the answer he got.

o-o-o-o

Itachi considered the pink-haired girl who was currently sprawled on his bed, making the oddest little murmuring noises in her sleep. At least she didn’t snore. Her strength was building slowly, but he could see a difference. She was gaining both muscle and chakra. If she continued to develop at this rate, he could conceivably take her out on missions within a few years. By that point, she should have developed a sufficient emotional dependence on him to ensure she didn’t run away.

He decided that he needed a cup of hot tea before bed. Accordingly, he strolled down to the kitchen. On the way back, he was surprised to encounter Sasori. The puppet master usually kept to himself. He acknowledged the other man with a simple nod and continued on his way.

“Itachi-san.”

He turned, concealing his curiosity. “Yes?”

“I was watching you train your little bride today.” Sasori tilted his head to one side. “Would you consider parting with her?”

“Why?”

Sasori shrugged. “I feel that my collection could benefit from some added variety. She would make an exquisite puppet, don’t you think?”

Itachi unexpectedly felt a surge of irritation, similar to the one he had felt when he learned of Sasuke’s upcoming wedding. “I do not.”

Sasori lifted an eyebrow. “You have developed an attachment to her? How pointless. I thought we were through exploiting children when Orochimaru left.”

“The nature of our relationship is my business,” Itachi returned coldly. “Regardless, she is under my protection. I suggest you remember that.”

The other missing nin actually smiled. “Pointless.” He turned to leave. “I will see you tomorrow, Itachi-san. Remember, on the topic of exploiting children, we are going to collect my new partner.”

Ah, yes. The mission. He would have to write out a lesson plan for Sakura before he went to sleep.

o-o-o-o

Sakura was on the fourth of the five books Itachi had assigned her when she became aware of doors slamming and someone muttering with occasional bursts of shouting. From what she gleaned in between the various curse words, she was not the only one here against their will and Itachi had something to do with it.

“What’s going on?” she wanted to know when he walked in a few minutes later.

“We have recruited a new member,” Itachi explained succinctly, untying his hitai-ate and folding it neatly.

“Recruited?” she wrinkled her nose. “It sounds more like you used the sharingan and dragged him back here unconscious.” She was growing unsettlingly comfortable with this criminal. If someone had told her just a few weeks ago that she would dare to speak so casually to Uchiha Itachi, she would have laughed in their faces.

“Hn,” Itachi agreed, unbuttoning his cloak. “Return to your studies. I intend to examine your progress before dinner.”

o-o-o-o

At least Sakura was now allowed to come out into the main dining area for meals, as long as she stayed close to Itachi and kept quiet. The Akatsuki subsisted mainly on takeout, but their taste in restaurants wasn’t too bad. Naruto had dragged them to worse.

Tonight, however, proved to be an exception. The mysterious leader of the missing nin called Itachi out of the room and, with a warning pat on her head, he left her to her own devices.

Sakura briefly considered exploring the Akatsuki base, then decided she liked her body in one piece. Kisame had made a few jokes about the other members’ activities that were rather…disturbing. She was munching tempura with an air of resignation when a blond boy just a few years older than her came slouching in. He wasn’t wearing a cloak and did not match any of Kisame’s descriptions of the other members, so she dared to greet him. “Hi.”

He studied her with his one visible eye. “The hell? There’s no way you’re one of these guys, yeah. You a hostage or something?”

“That’s Itachi’s girl,” Kisame snickered, strolling in and helping himself to the food. “Move over, princess. You’re hogging the tempura.”

“Itachi… The genjutsu bastard?” His eye narrowed. “You’re with him, yeah? How old are you?”

“Thirteen,” she mumbled. “And it’s not like that… I think.”

“You think, yeah?”

“They’re married,” Kisame supplied helpfully around a mouthful of tempura. “You should’ve seen her in her wedding dress. Cutest little thing. Can’t blame the guy, huh?”

The blond boy stared. “What kind of freak show is this, yeah?”

“Oh, don’t worry.” The shark man leaned back contentedly in his chair. “You can have a boyfriend instead if you want, girly-boy.”

And that was how the dining room table ceased to exist.