Secrets in the Dark

When she woke up--lord knows how long she'd been in and out of consciousness--Sakura took a good look around her and discovered she had no idea where she was, and her head hurt so badly that she was nauseous even lying down.

Wonderful.

"Damn it," she winced, slowly drawing her reluctant body up, her weight supported by her forearms. Her stomach protested at the change of position, threatening to give her a peek at the last meal she'd eaten, but she sat still for a moment, and the vertigo passed. "You idiot," she admonished, closing her eyes. "So much for the mission, genius."

Her lids lifted, and it was dark, dank...damp, so damp she could almost taste the water when she breathed.

Caught in a fishbowl, and she had no gills. Shitty way to die. Granted, she never dreamed a glorious death for herself, not with this job. If she had a choice, she'd rather go in her sleep, nice and easy.

Fat chance of that.

"Where the hell am I?"

She was merely talking for the sake of comfort, because she hated the oppressive silence. It made her feel as though there were walls all around her, moving closer and closer and closer until there was nowhere else to go and she was caught between them.

So when she recieved an answer, she really believed she was going crazy.

"You're awake."

Her brow furrowed. She hadn't noticed it before, but someone had started a fire near the middle of this place--a cave, she realized. They were in a cave--and the flames, while small, made warped shadows dance on the walls like fanatics engaged in an ancient voodoo ritual. Squinting, she made out a figure crouched by the fire, the light throwing his sunken face into eerie relief.

The shadows on the walls were nothing to the shadows that lurked beneath his eyes.

She knew exactly who he was. She had met him before the failed raid that landed her here.

"Itachi." Her voice was flat, betraying no hint of fear. This man preyed on fear, and she wasn't about to become a victim.

Sasuke's brother did not spare her a glance when he said, "So you remember."

Sakura could have laughed. It was kind of hard to forget the guy who knocked you senseless.

"Yes, well, your reputation precedes you." She grimaced again when her head began to spin. She must've gotten hit pretty damn hard. It could be a concussion, which wouldn't do her any favors if she wanted to get out of here soon. Fighting Itachi wasn't an option in this state; he'd finish her in seconds.

She wasn't happy about it, but right now, prudence was her best strategy. She knew the stories, and she knew that if she gave him a reason, he wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

There was the barest hint of amusement in his voice as he replied, "I suppose it would. I'm not what you call...a moral citizen." Bent low, he held a kunai by the blade in one hand, and used the sharp edge to scrape at something in the other. "Are you afraid?"

Asshole. He still hadn't looked at her. Apparently, his task was more important.

He made no sense.

"Sure." She chose her words carefully, not wanting too much power to slip from her grasp. May as well be brutally honest and prove she could keep her wits at an enemy's mercy. "But it's a natural state of mind for a human, isn't it?"

Scrick...scrick...scrick...

The kunai moved back and forth at a rythmic pace. There were flakes of violet scattered on the floor near Itachi's feet.

"For a human," he agreed dryly.

Scrick...scrick...scrick...

Sakura couldn't take much more of this. Woozy or no, she scooted closer to the fire, ignoring the way the cave spun as she did. Bile rose in the back of her throat, but she swallowed it.

"What are you doing?" She asked out of genuine curiosity. Yes, he was dangerous and was as good as holding her hostage, but he was all the company she had. And besides, the more she gleaned about his personality, the better prepared she'd be when their paths crossed again.

For the first time that night, his eyes flicked in her direction.

They were ebony. Sasuke's eyes.

Wordlessly, he showed her his fingernails.

On impulse, despite her common sense, Sakura reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling it near so she could see it clearly.

Itachi's muscles went rigid at the contact, yet he did not recoil. This girl...intrigued him. Foolish, perhaps, but at least she had spine.

Her features were blank as her brain processed what she glimpsed.

Akatsuki members all wore nail polish, she had noted before, however the reason for it escaped her then. She figured it was some sort of weird fashion statement much like their cloud-print capes.

"Oh my God," she whispered, astonished, awed...

Itachi's gaze was penetrating.

"I'm not human anymore," he told her.

His fingernails were stained red.

"That's why," Sakura murmured, mostly to herself, but Itachi understood.

"That's why."

Gently, he pried his hand away from her stone grip, trailed the pads of his fingers over her cheek. "Go back to sleep, healer. We leave at dawn."

And that was it. The spell was broken, and Sakura remembered how terrible she felt. She didn't know where they were going in the morning, but she no longer cared. Crawling to her blankets, she collapsed, asleep as soon as her head hit the pile of leaves that was her pillow.

By the fire, Itachi picked up his kunai and resumed his work.

Scrick...scrick...scrick...

KAH. I told myself I wasn't going to do this and keep posting drabbles here from my LJ, but...this is my first ItaSaku, and...I COULDN'T HELP IT. XD Written for another friend (roark28) who asked for the keyword "nails." Whee. Hope you enjoyed!