La vie est belle
by Hiwaga ng Tala

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in this story.

Chapter 1

Unfortunate Souls

"At times the world may seem an unfriendly and sinister place, but believe that there is much more good in it than bad. All you have to do is look hard enough. and what might seem to be a series of unfortunate events may in fact be the first steps of a journey."
- Lemony Snicket

Itachi gently sighed in exasperation, trying to resist the urge of letting his annoyance take form in his features.

It hasn't even been an hour since he has returned to their village and the clan elders have already called him in for a supposed meeting in regards of his bachelorhood. It has been the third time within the month alone that he was summoned only to listen to the elder's relentless rants, saying that he was getting too old.

Itachi considered that maybe their sense of urgency was rooted from the rumor that roamed around the clan three months ago, stating that his obvious lack of desire to get married was due to his interest in men. He personally thought nothing of it but ridiculous. Being the man that he was, he neither confirmed nor denied it, for he believed that even if it was true, his sexual preference was really none of their business.

The Twenty-three-year-old genius knew that any other day, his sense of responsibility towards his clan would outweigh his discomfort, but right now, he wanted nothing more than to transport himself in the comfort of his loving bed. The desire to use a jutsu to teleport himself was overwhelmingly tempting.

"It has come to our attention that you are purposely evading your responsibility of searching for a suitable spouse, shunning off potential partners for personal reasons that are quite unknown to us," one of the elders started.

They were wrong. He wasn't avoiding it, he was just not making an effort to go out of his way and look for it.

"Itachi," he continued with a sigh, "we have been very patient with you, but your disobedience cannot go on. That's why from now on, we are taking matters in our own hands."

He knew what it meant. Arranged marriages were not an unusual thing in his clan, especially for him since he is the heir. He knew that it was only a matter of time before they would suggest it. He just hoped that they would pick someone decent enough.

Handing over a scroll to him, the elder finished, "we won't keep you much longer, we suggest that you look through these tonight. We believe that she will be good for the clan given her reputation and prowess. She will breed powerful heirs with you."

Itachi took that as his queue to leave. With a quick jutsu, he vanished without a word.

Freshly out of shower, Itachi dried his dark locks with a towel as he went about the room to change in his sleeping attire. Fully dressed, he sat on the edge of his bed - definitely more than ready to sleep.

A glimpse of the intrusive piece of parchment on his bedside table stopped his pursuit of letting his exhaustion overcome his senses, reminding him of his orders to look over it as soon as he got home. He contemplated of letting it be for the night but his instinct won out. Knowing that with the rate the elders are going, they would call him in once more at the break of dawn.

Picking up the scroll, he mentally readied himself, silently praying whomever that woman might be, she wouldn't be too bad. He would not turn it down, by any means unless it was absolutely absurd. He always knew of this as one of the burdens of being clan heir - and his loyalty towards his own family cannot be overshadowed by his aversion towards this arrangement.

Haruno Sakura

The mental preparation Itachi underwent seemed to be deficient.

Itachi contemplated the level of sanity his clan elders held, that maybe countless years of relentless work has somehow affected their judgement - maybe even their brains.

Either that or he grossly underestimated the extent of their desperation.

For a moment, Itachi thought it was worthy to be deemed 'absurd' because she is Sasuke's teammate - not to mention - the one he brought home every week for lunch since he was 12. Itachi almost considered having the elders 'think it through', but given her records, he also knew within himself that she was 'the' reasonable choice - even for his clan.

Prized apprentice of the Hokage, respectable kunoichi, and chief medic of the Hospital.

He knew of her.

Even though not in an overly-familiar way, they were acquainted. He also acknowledged that she was one of the few people that he found tolerable to be around, given that she never fawned over him (which was really near the top on his very short list of 'no's). In fact, she had been nothing but polite every time they would pass by each other.

He genuinely had nothing against her - he would even go the extra mile by admitting that, from a purely aesthetic point of view, he found her attractive - but she was too young, too promising to be tied to the ways of his clan.

For the first time in a long time Itachi felt the slightest bit compelled to not think of his clan and be selfish. He wasn't completely sure if it can be labeled as such but by all means he wanted to express his dissent over this matter.

He was a bit bothered by the uncertainty of how she will take all of this, but more so by the expected violent protest from the people around her - namely her mentor and even from his brother.

The trouble of messing with one pink-haired kunoichi was just way too much, but perceiving that his father already knew, if not agreed to this already, any attempt to dissuade him or the clan would be futile.

He exhaled a vexed mass of air as his head throbbed in thought over these trivial matters.

Done for the day, he put aside the scrolls. Gracefully, Itachi let himself completely be drowned in the coolness of his sheets, finally putting his aching muscles to rest.

Needing as much rest as he could have, Itachi said a momentary farewell to consciousness as he prepared himself for the burning war that was about to unfold.

"No."

With steel in her voice, the Hokage's golden orbs glint with deadly resolve as the wooden craft below her fist trembled and cracked under suppressed pressure.

"With all due re-"

"I said no!" The desk shattered in force under the slam of her now open palms that echoed throughout the room. The slug sannin's once neutral expression was now replaced by a scowl that indicated that she had had enough. The room was filled with suffocating tension as both sides were unwilling to stand down.

"Tsunade-sama," a cold voice broke the silence. Tsunade's eyes narrowed, recognizing the one who spoke as Uchiha Kane. One of the Uchiha's head advisers and a royal pain in the ass.

"If you think for one moment that I'm going to hand my student - who is one of, if not already the best in her field just for you to tie her wings so she could be a proper Uchiha wife and become a breeding machine of 'powerful heirs that you so intently desire - then you are completely mistaken. Get off your high horses, I didn't train her to be the best just for her to be robbed out of her potential."

"Tsunade-sama, must I remind you of all the things that the Uchiha clan have done and sacrificed for the good of the village?" Uchiha Kane spoke with an air of complacency that the blonde Hokage wanted nothing more but to punch the daylight out of him.

"Are you threatening me?"

The room's temperature dropped further making it more frigid than it already was. People watched in obvious restlessness, waiting for the Hokage's famous temper to bury them all.

Unfazed, the Uchiha fixed his eyes with a calculating stare, further aggravating the Senju.

"I am merely reminding you. We have been there from the foundation of this village and it would be quite a waste if we pull out our support just because of your insubordination to marry off a clan-less girl to our heir. If it wasn't for you she would be of no name. It should be an ho-"

"Enough." Unrelenting Tsunade fixed her eyes on Kane with equal determination.

"Pull out your resources for all I care. I have other important things to do than listen to your constant whining. I will think about it, but if I hear one more insult that comes out of your mouth towards my apprentice, I will make sure you'll die exiled from your own village, you arrogant piece of shit. Now get out and come back in two days. Get out!"

Tsunade lost all sense of care and the Uchiha were all stunned to even mutter a word. The village council members held their tongues as well, knowing that it is useless to reprimand her in this state. Her being physical was typical, but for the Hokage to lose formality in her speech means you really must have done something.

Everyone did as instructed, except for Shimura Danzo, one of the Village's council members and another pain in the ass.

He stood in front of Tsunade's broken desk. "Do not let personal matters affect the greater good of this village. Do not forget your role, Tsunade."

Tsunade merely narrowed her eyes in response.

After Danzo left, the blonde Hokage finally let out a defeated sigh, breaking the facade of confidence and rough exterior that she strongly held over the duration of the meeting.

With a 'tsk', Tsunade cursed having to buy another worktable, breaking the sixth this month alone.

Feeling much older than she already is, she needed something to loosen her up, and alcohol seemed to be just the perfect answer.

How fitting.

"SHIZUNE, BRING IN THE SAKE!"

Sakura knew the moment an unidentified ANBU appeared at her apartment at two in the morning for a medical emergency, that her day was going to be so screwed.

Sakura let the water run, staining it red as she removed the blood from her hands. The blood of the child she failed to save.

She turned the tap closed, setting her hand on the rim of the sink as she looked at her reflection from the rectangular mirror. She was covered in blood, her clothes - stained and ruined - reminded her once more of the life that slipped through her fingers.

Sakura felt hot tears blur her vision. It wasn't her first loss on this field but this one was too young.

The ghost of his mother's screams echoed still in her ears as she remembered her desperately clutched his dying son in her arms, begging the medic to help her.

He was an eight-year-old academy student who stumbled upon an abandoned training ground full of mines. Night patrols found him, but it was already too late. The moment she saw the holes in his body, she knew that he was beyond saving, but she didn't stop trying.

The operation lasted for 6 hours, but the result was still the same. She knew it wasn't her fault - his body was too small and the damage was too severe- but no matter how logical everything was, she still felt like a failure.

Sakura wiped the stray tears that had fallen on her flushed cheeks.

After gathering her coat from her office, she went on her way to her apartment until a summoning scroll from the Hokage stopped her in her tracks. Quickly making her way to the tower, she knocked on the wooden door that separated her from the office. She took the shout of acknowledgement as her queue to enter.

"Tsunade-sama, you have called for me?" her voice coming out weaker than she willed it to be

"Ah, yes. Take a seat, Sakura."

Sakura found her master's attitude strange, knowing how straight to the point she usually was. Without a word, she obeyed despite the growing questions in her head.

"Rough day, Sakura?" Tsunade said finally looking up from her stack of paperwork.

"Hai, Shishou. And it's not even noon yet" Sakura said attempting to find humor, yet it came out even more depressing.

"It's not your fault."

She knew her too well, knew that something was wrong from the way her downcast eyes was jaded, her shoulders slumped, and her posture hung in defeat. Her hair was lined with dried blood, making it look crusty. Something must have gone wrong in the hospital.

"I know," Sakura's voice betrayed her as it slightly cracked in an effort to keep herself from breaking. Her smile was wavering but she kept it on as an assurance of how strong she was.

Tsunade pulled out a bottle of sake from her drawers. The Hokage popped the bottle's lid open then poured its contents into the cylinder-shaped shot glass. Sakura gave her master a wary look as she guided the glass of alcohol towards her student. Tsunade remained mute, pushing it further to her.

"Shishou?"

"You had a bad day, and what I'm about to tell you will only make it worse. Trust me, you'll need it Sakura."

Any other day she'd flat out refuse and would reprimand the Hokage's alcoholic tendencies. But she also knew that this day didn't qualify as 'any other day'.

Sakura downed the first glass in one gulp. She felt the burning sensation work its way down, yet it wasn't something that she couldn't handle. She might have inherited everything but her master's alcoholism, but it doesn't mean that she wasn't exposed to it either.

It was only when she was up to her fifth glass that Tsunade decided to speak.

"I suppose that you have kept in mind the proposal the Uchiha had offered three months ago but to refresh your memory, it is about the marital arrangement between you and a member of their clan."

Sakura didn't like where this is going but she kept her mouth shut, urging her master to continue.

"I never did inform you who was the certain individual they are setting you up with because when we talked, none of it was set on stone yet. I didn't want to add more things for you to think about."

Her teacher took a breath, taking in a glass of sake herself as if preparing herself for the next words that were about to come out of her mouth.

"The Uchiha have been sending me follow up letters every week, but it was only yesterday that they came in for another meeting regarding that issue. Those old bags have been so insistent on me marrying you off that they even went as far as threatening to withdraw any form of support when I refused."

Sakura was baffled. To make this into a huge matter that Uchiha person must be of extreme value.

"Shishou, who-"

She didn't even get to finish the question when the Hokage spoke, already answering her question.

"Clan heir. Uchiha Itachi."

'Ah'

Sakura already felt so bitter knowing already that this was a battle they could not win.

'Sakura, I need you to understand the responsibility that I carry on my shoulders. The village council is already on my back, seeing that they frown upon my disapproval. The loss of financial and military support would be of great damage to the village's standing. As the head of Konoha, I am obliged to give you away for the greater good."

She stopped for a while, pausing as if going through her thoughts. Tsunade had her gentlest expression on her face as she continued.

"I maybe Hokage, but at the same time you are my daughter. If you really don't want this just give me one word, Sakura. I promise that I will fight for you."

Sakura fought the urge to scream, she wanted to get away from this responsibility - from this choice - but she knew she couldn't.

A melancholic smile graced her face. Her mind was made up.

Squeezing the hand that unconsciously took hers, Sakura looked up to her mentor with glassy eyes and spoke.

"Shishou, I don't want it but it is my burden to bear for Konoha. If you fight for me, I am sure they'll use this as an excuse to kick you out of position and I don't want that."

"Sakur-"

"Shishou, please," Sakura interrupted. "I've made my decision."

"Sakura are you sure about this?" Tsunade said in an almost whisper.

"Hai. I rather be the one to carry the weight than see people suffer on my expense," Sakura responded as a single tear escaped from her weary eyes.

"You have always been too good for all of us."

Sakura simply smiled in response - knowing just how many times the goodness of her heart brought her in a tight situation.

"Report back tomorrow. The Uchiha have been asking for your presence for quite some time already."

The Hokage dismissed her not too long after and Sakura found herself making a beeline towards the training grounds outside the village. Her exhaustion paled in comparison to the feeling of emptiness and helplessness. Her mind was in a daze, in shock caused by the overwhelming events that happened within the span of 12 hours. It was too much.

Reaching what seems to be training grounds 24, Sakura did the only thing that she knew would help.

She screamed.

Birds flew in in hurried pace, mistaking her shout for what seemed to be a signal of danger as her voice echoed throughout the trees, reverberating all over the silent field of terrain.

Her fist found an unfortunate tree and it disintegrated into nothingness, the pure force of her chakra so potent that the surrounding greens within the 20-meter radius left nothing but wooden ash in their wake.

Sakura punched and punched until there was no more.

Her booted heels found earth, breaking it so severely that it left the grounds useless and unfit to ever train on again. She leaped from ground to ground, pulverizing anything that was in her way. Adrenaline rushing so rampantly in her veins it left no room for ceasing. Sakura didn't know how long she went on like that but only when she did that she realized the extent of the damage she has done both to herself and the field.

Breathless, Sakura fell to her knees as her body gave in to exertion from to the arduous streak her mind was putting it under to. She was a bloodied mess. The skin surrounding her knuckles seems to have teared up under immense strain. Her nin-boots mutilated while her clothing torn from the stray branches that survived the impact and flew off. Cuts decorated her body as well as her face, leaving multiple trails of blood dripping all over. She didn't really mind though, because somehow, she thought that maybe how she looked like finally reflected how she felt inside.

Sitting on the middle of the broken field, Sakura analyzed her reserves and as expected she was borderline sucked dry.

Great.

Not bothering to heal herself, Sakura laid back, surrendering herself to the cold hard ground because she mainly didn't have an ounce of energy to go home, especially with how far this training ground was from the village.

Tears blurred her vision once more as quieted sobs choked her - begging for release.

She started to question herself if there was anything she did to deserve this.

Blood, sweat, and tears were her investments to never again be a pathetic and useless weakling yet here she was: helpless and crying.

Compared to this moment, Sakura has never felt so exhausted of her life.

Restrained whimpers kept on involuntary escaping Sakura's mouth until there was no more. She inhaled her deepest breath as she closed her eyes - finally losing consciousness.

She drifted into the peaceful world of slumber. Untouched by the cruel hands of life.

Unbeknownst to her, a dark figure hid behind the shadows as obsidian pools watched in unwarranted concern and slight confusion.

AN: WOOSH! so here's chapter 1!

I'm quite nervous about this since I'm still relatively new to writing but with all that's within me I do hope that you like it :)

Reviews are really really really appreciated!

Special Thank you to La-moonlight-lily for being one of the kindest and beta-editing my work.