Romeo's Juliet
When Itachi's loyalties to Akatsuki are brought under scrutiny, she's the one to sacrifice everything for him.
"This is bigger than us, Itachi."
SakuIta
The first time the suspicion struck the tallest blue member of the organization, he had to laugh at himself. How absurd his thoughts tended to be once he let his mind wander. So what if Itachi didn't want to kill as much as the next guy? It's not like he was refusing to kill or holding any of the other members back from doing so, right?
But like an itch he couldn't scratch, that horrible nagging in the back of his head kept coming back every time he went out on a mission with the Uchiha. Kisame didn't want to believe it, but the more he looked, the more he saw how soft and spineless his partner really was.
Then there were those horribly long absences of his where he went away and came back days later. He never did tell anyone where he had been; claiming it to be of a time of personal reflection others need not concern themselves with. The guise of a cruel older brother was starting to fall away. Kisame was starting to see Itachi for whom he really was…and he was concerned.
So, like any concerned member would, he went to Leader sama and reported his findings. Pein and Konan got involved in the investigation, and things were not looking good for Itachi. It was like a genjutsu being lifted. Once you knew it was there, it was easy to see reality from the fiction.
Pein brought his findings to Madara and the older Uchiha took it all in with a grain of salt. He had, after all, been the one there on the day of the great and glorious Uchiha massacre. It was hard to imagine that killing machine to be anything other than a brutally cold murderer. Still, it would be unwise to simply brush this matter off as a phase, there was too much Itachi knew to be anything less that the ultimate model of a trustworthy subordinate within the Akatsuki.
"There is no need to jump to such a conclusion so hastily. Every member of the Akatsuki is put through a test of initiation before being granted membership, no? Itachi shall be put through a review of this exam. If he can bring back the head of a truly great and loyal ninja of Leaf, we will no undoubtedly that he is one of us. If not, you know how our trash is dealt with."
Konan, never being one for mindless killings herself, shot her partner a concerned look, but was only waved off as another annoying woman. Seeing, but not caring enough to condemn Pein for his treatment towards Konan, Madara took Pein into his room where the two began to develop a list of shinobi who could be deemed important enough to harm the infrastructure of the hidden leaf village. Left outside with her wounded pride, Konan did something she knew she probably shouldn't have. She went to warn Itachi.
A part of her heart was cursing her for betraying her love, but she was doing this for someone else who was also in love. Yes, she knew that Itachi was secretly seeing someone that the organization would not approve of; the signs were all there. His sudden loss of interest in the grizzly kills that seemed to never faze him, the long absences, the far off looks and sudden like for fresh cut flowers of all things. That could only be love, and she knew these things because she was also a victim of the curse.
She didn't join because she shared the same views as the organization stood for, but because the man who held her heart chose to.
When she told Itachi about the turn of developments, she saw how scared he looked, not for himself, but for the lucky girl that owned his heart. To anyone else, they wouldn't be able to see any change in expression, but Konan knew how to look underneath the underneath. Itachi was scared.
"Thank you Konan, but your concern is poorly rooted. I am loyal to Akatsuki, there is no reason for such a test to shaken my nerve. I will retire, then," and with a sweep of red and black, he was down the hall, locking himself in his room to worry and pray for her beloved.
The next day, Itachi was called into Madara's quarters. He was given a piece of paper with twelve names. One stood out more than the rest.
Madara watched his younger descendent with spinning eyes beneath one of the many masks in his collection. Today's model had two slits in place of one for the eye and was painted white with red. "You have the next three weeks to bring back the body of one of these shinobi. If you do not, you will be branded as a traitor and adequately dealt with. Do you understand, Itachi?"
Masking his emotions better than he ever had before, Itachi nodded with the face of an obedient solider, never betraying his true emotions. "Of course. I shall set out at once if so pleases you."
"See that you do. Most of those names belong to top level ANBU. You will have a hard time finding any of them."
Itachi simply bowed, lips shut, and exited the room the way he came. He wasted no time in departing, not because he was eager to renew his loyalties, but to warn the woman who's name was at the top of the list.
Konan was the only one to watch him leave.
-
Sakura was busy knitting up the flesh on a seven year old when Mai came to her with a message from the Hokage. It seems Tsunade wanted to speak with her. That was odd. Waving off her suspicion, she wiped her hands on the towel hanging beside the three-person basin styled sink and made sure she was presentable before heading towards her teacher's office. Four feet from the door, the feeling of his chakra seeping through made her heart jump and her lips curve upwards.
"Excuse me," she softly murmured, entering the room with her head bowed. Itachi and Tsunade both looked up at the sound of the door closing shut. Itachi was no longer dressed in the black and read cloak of the Akasuki, and stood off to the side of the room with a plain black shirt and standard shinobi pants. He smiled once he saw her, but let that fall as quickly as it came, so as to not alert the Hokage to his true feelings. Heaven knew what she would do when she found out he was sweet on her adopted daughter.
"Sakura, I am glad you could make it. I didn't interrupt surgery, did I?"
The medic shook her head. "Not at all. What was it you wanted from me?"
Wordlessly the blond woman produced a white sheet of paper with a few lines printed across the top. Itachi crossed the room to stand by Sakura's side when she reached for the paper, watching over her shoulder as she read what was put down.
"Names?"
"What do you notice about these names, Sakura?" the Hokage asked.
Sakura took another look, her eyes narrowing as it hit home. "These are important people to Leaf…no, not just important, they are vital to our survival in the coming months. Ambassadors, ANBU, Lords….if any one of these people were to disappear it would mean chaos for the village. What's the story behind this letter?" she asked, her voice now sharp like steel.
Tsunade wasted no time softening the blow for her apprentice, knowing well enough the situation they were now in. "Our link into the Akatsuki will be severed unless one of these people dies by Itachi's hand."
"What? But these names…"
"I know Sakura-" Tsunade interrupted.
"Then what are we going to do?" she asked, looking back at Itachi who held her eyes for a moment before looking down at the desk. She felt his hand brush against her own where Tsunade couldn't see and felt a little better.
"We could try a doppelganger body, designed to resemble one of these people, but knowing Akatsuki, they won't be fooled by something so simple. Nothing short of the original will satisfy them and if we don't produce one, Itachi will be excuted."
Sakura's heart skipped a beat and for a moment, she though she was falling. Itachi must have noticed, since his hand wrapped around her own to give her an encouraging squeeze. He wouldn't let them be separated.
"It seems my time with the organization has come to an end. I could take up a civilian position and disguise myself. If they come for me, I'll know how to handle myself. Besides," here he turned to look down at Sakura. "I won't be totally alone."
Tsunade shook her head, unsatisfied with that answer. "No, you are too valuable the way you are. We need that link into the Akatsukie and that is an indispensable role for the village. As sad as it may seem, one of these names will have to be sacrificed. I will talk to a few of these ANBU and see if any of them are willing to volunteer. If not them, I have a lord in mind from this list. This isn't as grim as you two make it out to be. We will survive, don't worry."
Sakura glanced over the names once more and bit her lip, knowing that there was only one name on this piece of paper that the village could do without.
Her own.
"Sakura, I want you going over some of these files on the Lord Hatorie and his company. If he is out-"
"Tsunade." The blond looked up, surprised at being interrupted.
"Can I speak with you about this…privately," she asked, looking over at Itachi, who was watching her with disapproval. "I think I have an idea for the doppelganger theory of yours."
Tsunade looked from Sakura to Itachi, who did not look happy at the turn of events. The hokage had a feeling she would know what Sakura was planning and she had a feeling Itachi knew as well. She was old, but she wasn't senile, so of course she knew about Itachi's feeling for her little Sakura. Of course he would be defensive over something like this. Just the fact that his lover's name was on the list was enough to set him off into another bad mood that seemed to leave everyone he met sulking.
"Itachi, will you leave Sakura and I for a while? You may wait for her in her office if you still have business to discuses."
"Of course," he replied, masking his displeasure with a perfect mask. He bowed as elegantly as any other man before dissolving into a pile of raven feathers, leaving the two women to wonder if he were ever there.
"Now Sakura, what was it you wanted to tell me?"
-
Itachi was waiting for Sakura in her office when she came to see him, two hours later. He didn't seem bothered too much by the wait, being used to going weeks and months without seeing her. A few hours were nothing for him when the reward was so assured.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." The door closed quickly behind her so as to not let any wandering eyes peer inside and see a S class missing nin sitting in her swivel chair. Just to be sure, she locked the door behind her so that no one rude enough would walk in without knocking and see Itachi.
At the sound of the locks falling into place, along with the chakra masking seals, Itachi was beside her, arms around her shoulders, head in her hair. "That's fine…" he breathed, his voice a husky tone in her ears. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the brief moment of rapture. Being by her side was like being in the eye of a storm in his life. Everything was chaos compared to the calm she brought his soul with her simple presence. He would be mad at her in a minuet, but first he needed a dosage of his favorite drug.
"What did you talk to Tsunade san about?"
He felt her stiffen in his arms and pull away. Naturally, he followed, his expression no longer blissful.
"If it was anything I could let you know about, I wouldn't have asked you to leave. You'll know, I promise, but not now. I don't know if it's even possible, but I wanted to bounce some medical ideas off of shishyou."
Itachi was no fool, far from it. He knew what Sakura wanted to ask her teacher about was something dealing in the medical field. What he had a suspicion about was whom she wanted to talk about in such a manner. Sakura was the sort of person that would forever doubt her self worth, especially if she saw her name being compared to those of ANBU, ambassadors and lords. It was a side effect from being put on a team with such legendary members.
Grabbing her shoulders from behind, he pulled her back to his chest and buried his face in her neck, ticking her skin with the sensation of his breath ghosting out and over her body. "Sakura, don't run away from me," he ordered, his voice as husky as ever before he started to trail kisses across her shoulders.
"Itachi, she hissed, her face turning red at his actions. "Wer-we're still in my office for heaven's sake!"
"Then tell me what you were talking about with the Hokage."
"I can't, least not yet. I just told you that."
He kissed her ear, her cheek and her forehead before turning her around to face him so that he might catch her lips in a chaste kiss. "Won't you tell me now?"
She huffed, reaching up to tangle her fingers in his hair, pulling out the tie that held it all back so that she might have free reign with his tresses. Likewise, his hands reached up to cup her face and play with her hair. Sakura was the one that kissed Itachi this time, smiling at how much their current situation reminded her of the first kiss they shared. He was mad, she was frustrated, and they were alone.
"Itachi, I love you dearly but you will have to wait for this one, just this once." She pulled back to look him in the eye and he saw how serious and unmoving she was on this subject. "And you need to trust me, above all else I need to know that you trust me. You do, don't you Itachi?"
"Of course," he replied, stroking her face with the back of his hand, letting the feeling of her put his whole essence in an euphoric peace. How could she do that to him? It looks like he will never know. "Will you promise me you will be safe? Promise me you won't try anything stupid."
She chuckled, letting her head fall against his shoulder. "Of course. I promise that in the end of this whole ordeal we really will be together, safe and sound. Are you satisfied with that?"
He slipped a hand under her legs and lifted her up into his arms, carrying her over to the couch where he sat, his love in his arm. "If you say so, I will trust you. Please just keep in mind that I become so hopelessly fragile when it comes to you. Keep me in mind when you put yourself in danger. If anything were to happen, you would in essence, be condemning me to a horribly cruel fate."
Sakura smiled drunkenly against his side, playing with the beads of his necklace. "Don't worry, Itachi, I love you too much for that."
"You had better."
-
And so for the next two weeks, Itachi remained by Sakura's side, waiting and trusting her with her plans. She spent a lot of time with Tsunade and a lot of time behind closed doors that even he wasn't allowed to pass beyond. This, of course, unnerved him a good deal, but he kept himself from asking too many questions for her sake.
Soon his days were almost up and he still didn't have anything to take back. Considering how far away the base would be he needed to kill someone soon and bring the body back. Apparently an insider in the organization was worth all this for the good of Leaf.
He was about to voice his concerns when Sakura sent him a note, telling him to meet her in the field filled with Lilly of the Valley that she seemed to really love. It was a secret spot for them that had a lot of meaning to them, so it didn't surprise him too much that she wanted to meet him there. What surprised him was the worn torn condition she was in when he arrived.
"Sakura?" he asked with concern, looking her over. There were tears in her shirt and cuts all over her body. Dirt and dust stains on her fabric and knots in her hair. She looked like she had been in a great fight without the physical exhaustion part. She was breathing normally as far as he could tell, and his skin was a healthy shade of peach.
She turned his way once she heard him utter her name and smiled, her eyes bright with a mixture of feelings. "Itachi, you're here!"
He took her at an arm's length and looked her over more closely, not likening what he saw meant. "Sakura, what does this all mean? You promised me you would be safe, you promi-"
She cut him ff with a quick kiss, only to have him push her away.
"Sakura don't," he said, trying hard not to let his voice waver. Sakura could see that he was angry with her, angry about her decision.
"Itachi, you're out of time for anything else. This is the only way."
"Did you lie to me when you told me everything would work out. Did you lie about us being together?" he asked, his tone sharp and accusing.
"No I didn't." She pulled out of his grim to produce a syringe. "This coupled with the natural reaction I've trained into my body will revive me after three days of death. You don't have to worry about killing me, because I don't plan on staying dead. Tsunade and I have been working on this for years, but only recently have we perfected it. You have to trust me on this. We'll be like Romeo and Juliet."
"Romeo and Juliet both end up dead in the story, Sakura."
"Only because Romeo was a prick and didn't wait for her to wake up."
Itachi looked at the blue green liquid swishing around inside the needle and frowned, not liking too many pieces of this plan. There were so many things that could go wrong….too many for his liking. "Have you even tested this drug yet?"
"Only on animals."
He was liking this plan less and less. Pushing the needle down, he looked down at Sakura and frowned. "I don't want to take that risk with you Sakura. My loyalties to either party are not worth it."
She stoked his face, keeping his eyes locked on hers. "This is bigger than us, Itachi. There are too many lives riding on your decision to give up now. I've already laced my blades with poison. Like it or not I'm going to die in a few minuets."
He grabbed her and took a steep towards her, his crimson bled eyes spinning in rage. "You didn't…" the words were barely a whisper and came out like the growl of a wild beast. This was the most mad she had ever seen Itachi. "Damn it, don't you dare leave me now. Don't you dare!"
She was starting to slip in his arms, her legs giving out on her. She reached up to stroke his face, fingertips brushing over his skin like kisses. "Don't worry, I love you Itachi."
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"O my love, my wife! Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty."
- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 5.3
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"Tempt not a desperate man"
- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 5.3
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"For never was a story of more woe. Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."
- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 5.3
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Itachi brought back the body of Sakura Haruno, poisoned and cold one day before his deadline was over. Madara saw it and approved. Pein saw and was satisfied. Kisame saw it and was sorry for having doubted in the first place. Anyone else who was involved with Itachi and his investigation quickly returned to whatever they had been working prior to the whole ordeal. No one wanted to be blamed for having tested him in the first place.
Once alone, no one saw he remove her body from the cooling chambers within the base. Itachi then went to Konan and gave Sakura's body to the blue haired woman, asking her if she would do one favor for him.
"Take her body to the shrine and hand it over to the monks there who would take care of preserving her."
Konan didn't ask why he wanted to preserve the body of a leaf medic, since she already knew, but replied anyway. She was, after all, the only one who would understand him and his reasons for doing things. She was just as much a slave to the feelings of the heart as he was.
Itachi watched her leave, his hands still tingling with the sensation of carrying his dead lover for such a long way. He wanted to wash off that feeling, but no amount of water or disinfectant would remove the vial feeling that continued to linger. When Konan kame back the next morning, all alone, he seemed to feel a little bit better.
Disjointed from the rest of the members in the base, the lonely Uchiha would sit underneath a window, looking out towards the east while playing with a black cord that wound around his neck. A green bead the same color of her eyes hung next to a crimson colored one. No one dared interrupt him when he was on his own like this, and he preferred it that way.
Two days after he had asked Konan to take Sakura away, Itachi went to visit the shrine. It was cool and muggy in the morning when he left, but he was there before midday, standing a the base of the never ending staircase. His heart caught up in his throat as he began to ascend the many steeps that led into the clouds, one at a time.
He stopped climbing once his eyes fell over the shadow of a person before him. A pair of delicate feet stood in front of his line of vision and he looked up to see whom it was, smiling.
"Didn't I tell you everything would be okay?"
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AN: Yeah, so this is my first published fanfic on this site. I hope it does well. If you read it and liked it, I ask you please review. If you read it and hated it, please review and tell me what you didn't like about it.