Vigil of Sorrows

Author: Lehrain

Rating: T

Spoilers: All

Genre: Romance/Drama

Main Character(s): Uchiha Itachi and Haruno Sakura

Ship(s): ItachixSakura

Summary: Intercepting Konoha's Gaara rescue, Itachi casts genjutsu on Naruto. However, Sakura intercepts & deflects it w/ her inner self. Due to opposing efforts, they are cast into an illusory realm where everything's a reflection of their inner haunts. Journeying through the abstract world, they look for escape, learn from one another, & overcome their own mentality. Collab w/ .Rose

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the Elder Scrolls (mainly the Shivering Isles).

A/N: This is a collaboration fic, in which I take it from Sakura's POV and .Rose from Itachi's. Hers is under the title: "Illusions of
Serenity". Also, Slytherstein is writing a fic, which will be centered around Sasuke during the two and a half years prior to our stories and will be writing
from Sasuke's POV when all three stories meet. Hers is under the title: "Emulation of Apathy" and if you want the full effect of this story, then
you'll have to read all three.

…..

Vigil of Sorrows

Chapter 1

"A Chance Meeting"

…..

A quiet stillness overtook the forest as the sky's light was overshadowed by the darkness that was night. The trees reached up to touch this blackness, but they could never reach it. A lone wolf cried to the luminescent moon while the owls continuously searched for their evening meal. This was the procedure for the forest every time the sun fell through the horizon and nothing disturbed its cycle, except for the four shinobi huddled around a small fire.

Haruno Sakura leaned her back against a tree as she watched the logs burn in the orange flames. She was on lookout while the rest of her group slept. Kakashi-sensei had done this every night and she insisted on doing it this time so he could have a chance to regain his strength. They were closing in on the Akatsuki and would need all their strength if they wanted to be successful in their mission. He grudgingly agreed and now he was sleeping in the grass next to Naruto.

The pink-haired ninja smiled sadly at her friend. She knew he was only pretending to be asleep; he hadn't slept much since they received the news about Gaara. It was obvious Naruto cared a lot about the Suna Kazekage and desperately wanted to save him.

Sakura clenched her fist and averted her eyes back to the dying fire. The Akatsuki would pay for what they had done and one more than the others.

Uchiha Itachi. The man responsible for Sasuke-kun's suffering and the only person he hated and wanted to kill. The man responsible for Sasuke-kun leaving Konoha nearly three ago and joining the evil Snake Sannin to become stronger. Orochimaru was only using him so he could take his body once his current one wore out and she had to stop that from happening. They only had a few months, but she and Naruto were going to save Sasuke-kun together and then, take care of Uchiha Itachi.

Just last week she was in the library researching the Akatsuki and the facts surrounding the vengeance of her former teammate…

Sakura woke early to the sun shining brightly in her closed eyes. She groaned, but decided against staying in bed; Tsunade was going to be busy at the hospital toady so it was the perfect time for her to do some research in her library.

She quickly changed into her favorite pink skirt and sleeveless red top and brushed through her short pink hair before leaving her room for breakfast.

Kizashi, Sakura's father, was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of steaming coffee and reading the day's newspaper.

"Good morning," Sakura greeted with a smile as she descended the stairs.

"Morning, Sakura," Kizashi returned, not lifting his gaze off the page.

"Is there more coffee?" she asked, pointing in the direction of the kitchen.

Her father held up his full mug. "Yep and I just made it so it's still hot. Make sure you save some for your mother."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Like she needs any," she mumbled and walked to the kitchen. She poured the black liquid into a mug and added a teaspoon of sugar. 'Even though it's somewhat bitter, it keeps me awake and that's all that matters,' she thought.

"Sakura, while you're in there can you grab my toast and the butter?" Kizashi called from the other room.

"Sure, dad. Do you want the jam?" Sakura called back.

"You know I hate that stuff."

Sakura giggled and grabbed what he asked. She also made some toast for herself and went back to the table. "Here you go," she said as she placed the plate in front of him and sat down.

"Oh, thank you."

He began smearing the butter on his breakfast while Sakura ate hers.

"Has anything interesting happened lately?" Sakura inquired, referring to the newspaper.

Kizashi thought for a moment and shook his head. "Nothing besides the usual: ninja protecting the village, gossip and the fruits are selling. We are such a simple town, don't you think, Sakura?"

Sakura forced a smile and a nod. 'This town is anything but simple, but I suppose only we ninja would be aware of that.'

"Simple? You think this village is simple when we have a monster living in it?" Mebuki asked, walking up behind Sakura.

Her husband waved her off and returned his attention back to the newspaper.

"You don't?! We could be in danger if that thing attacks and it doesn't bother you?"

"Nope. That boy hasn't attacked us yet and it's been nearly sixteen years. Besides, the Hokages don't seem to be afraid of anything happening so why should I?"

"Because we can't trust him and they don't even know when that monster will finally lash out! It'll be instantaneous and he'll destroy the village, killing who knows how many of us!"

Sakura clenched her fist under the table. No one talked about her friend that way. "You wouldn't understand, Mother, because you don't know him."

"Know him?! Who would want to know that disgusting beast?" Mebuki asked harshly.

"Anyone who already does! Naruto, yes, that's his name, is a wonderful person and he's done nothing but protect this village!" Sakura snapped.

"I don't care if he dies for this village! That doesn't change what he is!"

Sakura sighed and shook her head. Her mother could never understand "I have to go to work." She smiled at her father as she walked past him and exited the house.

The cool morning breeze helped her calm down as she made her way to her master's grand library. Naruto had been shunned by the villagers for a long time, but he always wore a smile on his face as if nothing were wrong. He was very strong and not just physically, but internally as well.

'That's why I decided to become stronger as well. I didn't want to be that weak, little girl anymore who could only watch as her friends fought to protect her. Now, I have the power to protect them and I will definitely use it to save Sasuke-kun!'

These thoughts swirled through Sakura's mind as she came upon the large double doors which led to her destination. She calmly pushed them open and walked to the nearest bookshelf. As she made her way to it, she relayed the information she already knew in her head.

'Uchiha Itachi is Sasuke-kun's older brother and he slaughtered his entire clan, leaving only Sasuke-kun alive. Why did he do that? Someone as heartless as him, who killed his own parents and everyone else he knew, couldn't kill his younger brother? Did he really care or did he have an ulterior motive? Naruto told me Sasuke-kun acknowledged him as his closest friend and said that was why it wouldn't be pointless if he killed him. Could that have something to do with Itachi's intentions? If it does, then he's even worse than I originally thought.'

Sakura found the files she'd been looking for and spread them out across the table. She read their contents aloud, "Uchiha Itachi showed great skill as a ninja from a young age. He was a genius among geniuses, as most would say. The Uchiha prodigy attended the Academy at age seven and graduated that same year with top grades. By eight, Itachi had activated and mastered the use of the Uchiha Clan's Bloodline Limit, the Sharingan. He continued to advance in rank, becoming a Chuunin by ten and an ANBU captain at thirteen. That same year, Itachi murdered every member of his clan, except his younger brother of five years, Sasuke Uchiha. He then left the village and joined the terrorist organization, Akatsuki. Uchiha Itachi has been classified as an S-Rank Missing Nin and an enemy of Konoha. His two elemental affinities are for fire and water."

The young ninja took a moment to take in everything she had just read. He would prove to be a very powerful opponent when they went against him. They had to be ready.

Sakura nodded resolutely and skimmed over the next file. This one was about Orochimaru. Most of it she already knew or had guessed, but the interesting part was that he had previously been a member of Akatsuki. "So if we find Akatsuki, then that can lead us to him and Sasuke-kun .We could finally have a lead on their whereabouts. I have to let Naruto know."

She spun around and made her made back to the doors when an ANBU agent appeared in front of her. Sakura sighed in frustration. "Yes?" she asked, obviously annoyed.

"Hokage-sama has requested your arrival in her office immediately. She says it's of the utmost importance."

Sakura frowned. That was when Tsunade-sama ordered them to go on this desperate mission. She knew it was their priority to save the Kazekage, but that didn't stop her from thinking about what would happen in six months. She tried to shake the thought out of her mind.

"Sakura-chan?"

The ninja tore her jade eyes off the diminished fire and looked into the tired cerulean ones of Naruto. He was sitting up in his spot on the grass and staring at her curiously. "What is it, Naruto?"

"You were spacing out and looked upset. Is something bothering you?"

Sakura slowly nodded, "There's quite a bit, actually."

Naruto seemed to understand what she meant because he moved to sit beside her. "Alright, Sakura-chan. Tell me!"

"I want to rescue Gaara, honestly, and yet, I can't help but…," she trailed off.

"Worry about Sasuke," Naruto finished for her.

"Yeah, but I'm still going to beat the hell out of those guys," Sakura said, grasping her fist.

"That's the spirit, Sakura-chan! We're going to save Gaara and then Sasuke is next in line, but if we don't concentrate on just one at a time, then we'll never do anything. Let's get Gaara!" Naruto pumped his fist into the air with his newfound energy.

Sakura smiled. He could always lighten the mood. "Okay, Naruto, let's go!"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah! Come on!"

"And just where are you planning on going?" Kakashi asked from behind the blonde.

Naruto was slightly surprised by his teacher's sudden appearance but he quickly recovered. "To the Akatsuki hideout! We still have energy to use, Kakashi-sensei, so let's move out!" Naruto jumped to the top of Sakura's tree and grinned. "I'm going to make the Kazekage owe me one!"

Kakashi nodded and followed Naruto's example. Sakura helped Elder Chiyo to her feet and the two of them soon joined them. When they were all together, Naruto turned and started jumping across the trees, everyone closely behind.

…..

The sun was shining brightly through the tree tops as the four shinobi headed in the direction of the Akatsuki hideout. Naruto and Kakashi led and Sakura quickly caught up to them. She turned to Naruto hesitantly. "Naruto."

The said teen turned his head and waited silently for her to continue.

"Can I ask you something? How long has Akatsuki been after you?"

Naruto's eyes widened briefly before he dropped his cerulean gaze. After a few moments, he answered, "I don't know."

Sakura stared at him sadly. 'It must hurt him to think about the fact that they're after him.'

Kakashi broke Sakura from her thoughts by saying, "Two members of Akatsuki once came to Konoha in an attempt to take Naruto. That was three years ago, and now they're starting to move again. I don't know the reason why, though."

"Why would they wait three years?" Sakura asked curiously. 'They could've probably gotten Naruto when they came before. Every member of that organization is an S-Ranked criminal and he wouldn't stand a chance, but now he's been trained by Jiraiya-sama.'

"I assume they wanted to go after him again, but couldn't. Probably because Jiraiya-sama was with him the whole time."

Sakura nodded. 'Jiraiya-sama is one of the three Legendary Sannin and they didn't want to try fighting him to get Naruto. That makes sense.'

"No," Elder Chiyo said from behind the Leaf Ninja, "The information I have gives a different reason."

"A different reason?" Naruto asked.

"It takes a lot of preparation to pull out a Bijuu once it's been sealed into a person. That's why they were delayed," explained Elder Chiyo.

"What's a Bijuu?" Sakura asked. She was mentally recording all this information and adding it to what she had already gathered about Akatsuki. The more they knew about their enemies, the better.

"You're Tsunade's apprentice and you don't even know that? Especially since Konoha has the Kyuubi…" The puppeteer glanced in Naruto's direction.

Naruto and Sakura both gasped, but Kakashi spoke. "In Konoha, everything about the Kyuubi is treated as top secret."

"Well, I guess it'd have to be. The Bijuu are mythical demon beasts with tails. The Sand has had the Ichibi for a long time. That would be Shukaku, who's been sealed within Gaara."

"Ichibi? So there are others out there besides the Kyuubi?" Sakura asked for clarification.

"That's right. There are nine of them total, and they all have unique characteristics and powers. Each of them has a different number of tails. The Ichibi has one tail, Nibi has two tails, up to Kyuubi, each one has a name that corresponds to the number of tails it has. The Bijuu are essentially enormous masses of chakra. During the Great Ninja Wars, each nation's hidden village tried to obtain them, hoping to turn them into weapons. But their powers are far beyond human understanding. They can't be controlled."

Sakura glanced worriedly at Naruto. This information didn't seem to be sitting too well with him.

Elder Chiyo continued, "I don't know why Akatsuki wants their power, but it's far too dangerous. I suppose even during peace, the times continue to change. The Bijuu still exist, scattered across the world."

Everyone remained silent after she spoke; silently trying to process everything she had just told them.

Sakura clenched her fist. 'So that's why Akatsuki are after Naruto and Gaara. They want to extract their Bijuu and probably use their power. Well, I'm not going to let that happen! We're going to get Gaara back and protect both of them from those criminals!' She looked ahead determinedly as they continued on their journey.

When they came to where the tree line ended, they jumped down to the ground and ran forward until Kakashi-sensei stopped suddenly. He held his arms out and ordered, "Everyone stop!"

Sakura halted in her steps and looked around her sensei for the object of his distress. Standing but a few meters in front of them was a strange man wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it. He didn't make any move to attack them; only stood there staring at all of them. She didn't recognize him, but the weight of his chakra was crushing. This stranger must be very powerful.

"Who's that?" she finally asked.

"Already, huh?" Kakashi mused.

"Those eyes…" Elder Chiyo said to herself, but it prompted Sakura to take a closer look at them. The man before them had piercing crimson eyes. They resembled another pair of eyes she'd seen before, but couldn't quite name when.

"You…" Naruto glared at the red-eyed man.

A silence hung in the air as the four ninja glared at the cloaked stranger. A strong wind blew through their hair and shifted the dirt at their feet. Finally, Naruto spitefully said, "Uchiha Itachi."

Sakura gasped. 'Th-This man is…' She stared at him in shock. His eyes were unquestionably the same as Sasuke-kun's which meant he wielded the Sharingan, and now that she knew, their resemblance was definite.

Anger and hatred boiled in her stomach. This man, who was just standing there, staring at them, was their worst enemy! Sakura gritted her teeth and glared at the traitor. 'This man is Uchiha Itachi!'