Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Frozen: It was like waking up from an eternal sleep, a winter sleep of iciness, thawed open only by the spring. Except, she was no longer the spring, and winter was lasting a very, very long time. One-shot.
Frozen
"Mama?"
Silence.
"Mama?"
Sometimes, the little girl wondered if her mother died, frozen under a spell, never to reawaken. But who had cast her mother such a spell? Who had taken her so?
And then the little girls' thoughts dissolved away, because her mother's jade eyes finally lifted from the window. It was snowing outside, the white speckles crashing down, consuming the scenery, almost maddeningly.
"Mama!"
There was a stifled gasp, and finally the woman turned to her child.
"What is it, Kohane?"
Every fresh snowfall, little Kohane asked her the same question.
"Where's papa?"
There was a renewed raw pain contorting her expression, her jade eyes quickly welling to tears. She whispered, "He's died, Kohane, he's died."
The little girl nodded, but inside, she vowed never to believe her mother. Only last week, had her mother told her that "he had left us," and the week before that, she had said, "He had been murdered."
The little child was tired of hearing her mother's lies about her father's whereabouts, but there was really nothing she could do. Silently, she turned to the window as well, watching the snow fall.
. . .
A raven-haired man stood behind the door to the living room. There, the pink-haired woman rested, and he heard her talk to herself. In his usually ever so smooth expression, his brows furrowed together.
Sakura was going mad.
On the other side, beyond the walls, he heard her sniffing, ready to break out into a sob any moment. Instead, she abruptly started giggling, and his heart flinched in effect.
Wordlessly, he resolved his mind, and finally opened the door.
"Sakura."
Her head snapped up, ready to say the name of the man that had made her so wretched. But hope deflated instantly, and her voice filled with void.
"Itachi-san."
In a protective manner, her hands gestured behind her, as if there was someone there. Under her breath, she muttered sharply, "Come behind me, Kohane."
Inwardly, Itachi flinched for the second time this hour. The pink-haired woman before her was not only hallucinating her child, but she was trying to protect her from him. Sakura saw him as a threat.
Suddenly, her unsteady form stumbled, threatening to slip and crash on to the hard-wood floor. In a flash, the raven-haired man appeared before her, holding her arms firmly, holding only her arms. His coal-black eyes instinctively skittered over to her belly. She had been pregnant for months, and one fall to the floor could ruin her and the child within her.
"Be careful." It was a command, though silently, Itachi added, "Please."
The pink-haired woman snapped up to him, a fierce look blatant on her face, as she growled, "Where did you take him, Itachi-san?"
Calmly, he replied her, "I did not take Sasuke, Sakura."
She flinched upon hearing his name, and her hand rose up to slap Itachi. The patient man stood unmoved, taking the slap, which felt too, much too weak.
Her eyes dared him to continue, and that was just what he did. He wanted to take her out from her miserable insanity, and he had to slap her, not literally, but figuratively with reality.
"Sakura, listen close." This time, Itachi's hands firmly closed on her shoulders. She looked up with huge, wild eyes, shaking her head like a child throwing a tantrum.
"Sasuke died in an honourable battle, and his name is engraved on the Konoha stone now." His voice was too cold, but deep inside, the facts hurt him and pierced him like hell.
"But… he promised me!" Her voice fluctuated between soft whispers and frantic screams. "He promised me he'd come back, Itachi-san! We even named our child before he left!"
"Sakura!"
"He promised, Itachi-san, he did!"
"It was an unfortunate accident."
"An accident?" Her voice shrilled to the highest pitch, incredulous. "You call that an accident, Itachi?!"
The tone of her voice was accusing him, making him feel sick, but he had to put some sense into her. She could not forever stay lost in this deep ocean of denial.
"Sakura, you know well that S-class missions have the highest death rates."
Her eyes welled up, glassy with tears, and they seemed to spit out, "Sasuke cannot be a mere number of that death rate!"
Her mouth opened wide, as if to shriek, but instead, no sound came out. Her erratic breathing calmed down slowly, as she stopped resisting him. She looked down glumly, eyeing the floor, and the welled-up tears fell down.
"It's my fault, Itachi-san." Her words struck him more painfully than any weapon, as Itachi saw her overwhelming blame and guilt.
"I should have made him quit that mission. I shouldn't have let him go to any missions!"
"Sakura," Itachi's voice was thick with sympathy, for he had been tormenting himself as well. He could not help but feel that Sasuke's death seemed to be somehow his fault. "That mission was part of protecting the village."
"But, I'm alone…" Her whisper was barely whisper, and a curtain of silence fell down between them.
"I'm here," he wanted to say, but he was in no place to say so.
However, he did know that she had Sasuke's child, their child, and she had to be strong.
"Sakura," he muttered as he slowly let her go, and walked silently to the door. Before he opened the door to leave, he reminded her, "You have Kohane."
. . .
Kohane came with the spring, almost magically. The little baby brought laughter and joy to the once lonely living room, and Itachi found himself visiting her less and less.
He was no longer needed.
. . .
On March twenty-eighth, Itachi bought a flower and headed to her, for perhaps a final time. He wished it wasn't, but there was just simply no excuse for him to continue visiting her without raising suspicions.
He knocked on the front door and Sakura greeted him amiably, Kohane in her arms.
Wordlessly, he gave her the flower, a daffodil. By the look of her eyes, it seemed that she had forgotten it was her birthday. Though it sent a pang of disheartenment to the man, he supposed that it was better this way.
But then her green eyes enlarged, like a bunny, and she breathed in a sharp gasp.
"Daffodil…" she mumbled. "How did you know?"
Itachi's eyebrows rose up. He didn't know anything.
"Daffodils… they bloom in the spring, enduring the cold winter to wait for the warm season."
There was a forlorn smile, while Itachi felt a rush of panic inside him. He had not expected her to know its flower meaning. She wasn't supposed to… this was supposed to be their final goodbye, but now her words sent new hope sprouting in his heart.
"I had given daffodils to them, too. They were precious to me." Her dazed eyes consumed the flowers, and then she suddenly looked up in realization.
"Oh! Itachi-san…" her voice drifted off, unsure. "Did you… Did you already know the meaning?"
He was supposed to shake his head no, and he was supposed to wave the final goodbye to Sakura and Kohane and walk away, forever and never to return.
Instead, his head nodded, almost unconsciously.
Contrary to his fears though, Sakura did not abruptly back away from him from fear or disgust. Instead, she gazed into him, but her eyes were indecipherable.
Itachi hated gambles, but he always made them anyway. Right now was another time for a gamble.
"Sakura…" It felt as if her jade eyes were piercing straight through his soul, making him feel raw, naked, and exposed. "Sasuke died honorouably because he was protecting you and Kohane."
Something jerked in her eyes, like she already knew that, but she didn't want to admit it.
"Sakura… Can I protect you in his place?"
The pink-haired woman looked startled, and Itachi felt instant regret. He knew he could in no way ever receive her affection. He had no right to even see her. However…
There was one thing he had been hoping he was allowed to do, and that was to protect her.
And then he realized there was only one worry she had. Quickly, he muttered, "I do not mean to protect Sasuke."
Slowly, she nodded, and then finally, after a stretched out silence, she spoke, "Does that mean you'll turn down S-class missions?"
An unbelievably huge, warm wave of gratitude filled his once void heart. She had forgiven him for having caused Sasuke pain years ago, and she had forgiven him for his selfish desire to protect her.
Numbly, he nodded."
. . .
Several years later, Kohane paced around hurriedly in the living room.
"Uncle Ita~chi!"
The addressed man came up to her, curious. Kohane was dazzling like Sakura, her jet black hair strongly reminded him of Sasuke. Kohane was such a fascinating being.
"Guess what I want for Christmas?"
She winked at him as she lowered her head and looked up. Kohane knew which angle she looked cutest.
"I want a daddy!"
In time, Sakura came inside from the kitchen, and her lovely face filled with a blush. "What, Kohane! Don't be so rude!" She hissed, but the little girl kept chanting, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"
Although Sakura merely looked embarrassed on the outside, Itachi saw how her lips turned down in the slightest. Feeling the guilt, the man opened his mouth to stop Kohane.
"Ko –"
"Uncle Itachi! I know what you're going to say!" She outstretched her hand dramatically, effectively silencing her uncle.
"But I have a great idea!" Her green eyes sparkled with excitement. "You can be my second father!"
That was too much for him, because he already received so much, and worriedly, he stole a glance at Sakura. She met his glance with a blank, thoughtful stare.
The little girl needed a father, and though Sakura's heart will forever be with Sasuke, she couldn't deny that Itachi was part of their family now. Silently, and coming to a resolve, a soft smile spread on her face and she gently approved.
"Kohane, I think that is a grand idea."
Notes: The name Kohane was inspired from xxxHolic, and I think it means "little feather," but I only chose that because I had no other ideas... Haha. I hope the ending is okay, because I first planned to cut it off after Sakura agreed to let Itachi "protect" her, but it didn't feel complete. And I mean a pure relationship between them, because, well, Sakura has Sasuke's child after all, so I want to keep her heart for him. I hope that's not too weird...