Title: Sometimes always, Never

Pairings: SasukexSakura, SakuraxItachi

Disclaimer: I don't own. If I did, Itachi (and Deidara) would not be dead. And: There would be more (interesting) female characters...that don't end up dead, disappearing or knocked up.

Warnings: Rated for possible language, eventual character death.

Date: 5/3/2010; 1:07a.m.

"There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul."
-Ella Wheeler Wilcox

What if the truth were buried so deeply in an attempt to ensure that no one would ever be able to find it? Never be able to revive it from it's grave?

What if our reality were built up on the shallow foundation of lies?

What if you killed for what you believed in-

And what if everything you believed in was a lie?

I can promise no resolution. I offer no redemption. The only man I might have saved is seven years gone from me…and the only man who had saved him is three years dead. And the truth, sixteen years buried, cannot be resurrected so easily.

But then, what happens if the world is turned on it's axis? What occurs when the irrevocable actions are overturned? What happens when everything we believed in..turns out to be wrong?

What if he had walked away that night, still, and had embarked on his quest to kill a man so honorable that he was willing to die for the wrongs that were never his to begin with? What if he believed he had killed the brother who he believed had wronged him?
And what if… Uchiha Itachi had never really died?

Always listen to your heart.

Sometimes, reality is a lie.

Never believe what only your eyes see.

For in this place where reality is an illusion and truth is fabricated by ambition, you can trust nothing more than your intuition.

What if everything you knew was a lie, and the truth was nowhere to be found?

I cannot give you the truth. I can only give you my truth, for what it may be worth. I have seen more than many ever will-but I know, best of all, that frequently, what the eyes see is nothing close to reality.

I am Haruno Sakura, nineteen years old. The apprentice to the Lady Tsunade, Hokage, a member of the defunct team seven.

I have loved men that no one else dared to speak with.

I have lost men that no one could ever hold onto.

What if, though, the past could be revived from the grave?
What secrets, I wonder, would it have tell?

ooc; Hello! It's been a very (very, very, very, very) long time since I've written anything of this nature. This may end up being an anthology of scenes telling the story I have in my head, or it could end up being an actual story.

The gist, if you hadn't grasped, is following a little bit of an idea I've toyed with for some time. Uchiha Itachi did not die, not really. Sasuke killed a doppelganger, of sorts. Sakura is left with the knowledge of the Uchiha massacre. Itachi is trying to covertly prevent Sasuke's destruction of Konoha all without letting his little brother know that he is alive. Sasuke, of course, is riddled with the guilt of killing the man that he once (and again) idolizes. The title is an intentional play on words, which you will probably come to understand later. Always (sometimes), never is how it should be read-or always, as scratched out, Sometimes, never.

The premise is a bit convoluted, and not at all going to follow the script of the manga (or anime). I love the story, but I'm afraid I'm a touch too attached to some of the characters to see them actually die! Anyway, if you catch any blatant spelling mistakes (or punctuation errors) hit me up and let me know! I'd appreciate input, at any rate. I really don't know how this will be received, but I hope you enjoy it!

It's good to be here again!
xoxo,

Elle