A/N

Grace: Hello everybody! I'm so excited to finally post something on my new account, even if it's an overly-dramatic prologue. ItaSaku has to be at least a little dramatic, ne? Anyway, though I've set the rating to M, I'm not entirely sure why just yet. There'll certainly be a fair bit of violence and the language isn't exactly PG material, but I have yet to decide if there's going to be any smut. On the one hand, a fair few of the ItaSaku fics seem to be lemons, so a change of pace might be nice for you readers. On the other hand, I'm not sure if their interactions would flow as well if I have the looming problem of trying to write it all with kid gloves, so to speak. I guess it'll be up to you guys, let me know what you'd like to be in here and I'll see if I can make it work.

In other business, I'm sorry to everyone who was hoping that this would be a re-written first chapter of Still Doll or All Is Fair, but I promise that I AM working on them, it's just slow going for me. Also, I've been toying with this whole story for a while now, and cabbage patch (by paws-bells) really got my plot bunnies rolling. I absolutely ADORE ItaSaku, and I love the premise of them knowing each other as children, but I also love the drama of the whole Uchiha Massacre as well as a bit of SasuSaku tension for good measure. I suppose that I should mention that this is just the prologue, and the rest of the story will be covering everything from the day Itachi and Sakura met up to the point that I cut this chapter off. As to whether or not I'm going to actually kill off Itachi as I've seen many – most, even – ItaSaku writers do, I'm not entirely sure yet. The drama from it all – can you tell I love writing drama? – would certainly be fun, but I really do love Itachi more than any other anime character, even more than Sasori and Hei, which is really saying something. Anyway, thanks goes out to my awesome Beta, PhantomPrussia, who puts up with my shit, and you guys' opinions would be greatly appreciated. :)

Phantom: Now to FINALLY start the chapter *lifts curtain dramatically*

Grace: *rolls eyes*

(A quick note to all of you guys who are wondering about Impulse: Yes, I AM going to change it from a oneshot to a multi-chap fic, but the updates will be sporadic and I have no idea when the next chapter will be out.)

[DISCLAIMER: If I owned Naruto, ItaSaku would be canon and Itachi would have a shirtless scene every other episode. Given the lack of cannon ItaSaku and Itachi's unfortunate – for the fangirls – habit of wearing a shirt, I do not own it.]

Prologue

"Don't you dare close your eyes!" a sharp female voice screamed, startling a sleek black raven from it's perch amongst the shadowed branches of a tall pine tree.

Silence descended for several long minutes, broken only by the muffled sobs of a young woman. She knelt over a mangled body, ignoring the jagged stones from the broken wall digging into her knees. Bits of the structure she crouched within crumbled around her, what was once a proud testament to the power of the mighty Uchiha clan now reduced to little more than rubble and ash. Tears gleamed in the girl's eyes, emerald irises set aglow as her chakra flowed through the battered body. Blood was smeared across her face and clothing, her cherry blossom-colored hair pulled into a haphazard ponytail, and her hands were burned by her own chakra as she continued to force the energy into the man's form.

He was breathing in short, rasping gasps, each more ragged than the last. Charcoal eyes were narrowed to pained slits as blood flowed down his face and matted in his ebony hair. Wounds littered his body, crimson fluid seeping to the dusty ground even as the green energy rushed to repair his skin. He struggled to lift his arm in an attempt to push the girl away. She responded with a teary glare and a strangled sort of growl, face setting with determination.

In any other situation, the man would have smiled at the pink-haired girl's response. She had developed quite a temper over the years, and he was proud of her. Gone was the timid and bullied child that he'd found hiding behind a tree so long ago. Yes, Sakura had grown to be a strong and unyielding woman with a nearly unrivaled strength and power that she never would have dreamed to attain. Her continued presence was an ever-present reminder of the skills she had proudly mastered, and also of her too-kind heart. For so long he had worried over her, for there were far too many people in the world who would gladly take advantage of such a caring woman. Even now he found himself wishing that she had learned to walk away and let an enemy die. After all, he was the enemy, no matter how much he wished that it wasn't true. He had chosen his path, and this was the hill he would die on, if only the girl would let him die!

"Stop struggling, I'm not going anywhere and neither are you!" Sakura snapped as she pressed both hand's against the man's chest. Her tears had stopped now, and her instincts as a medic had taken over. The first rule that her Shishou had drilled into her mind seemed so simple, and for the longest time it had been. . . until now.

'No personal feelings. No personal feelings. Don't let it affect your judgment. Don't- FUCK IT!' her mind screamed as she pressed another wave of chakra into the body before her.

How long had she trained for this? The weeks and months had quickly blurred into years, and time had quickly lost its meaning in Sakura's mind. All that had mattered was getting stronger, working and studying until she dropped – the librarian was threatening to charge her rent if she fell asleep slumped over a table one more time. Yes, she had poured blood and sweat for so many years into a single goal, and now she had done it, she had found him. The moment was so very bitter sweet, a sickening mixture of those joyous memories from nearly two decades ago twisting with the horrible, gut-wrenching fear at seeing the broken and near-lifeless body of the man she sought out for so long. The ever-present feeling of betrayal had worked itself into the raging torrent of emotions, yet Sakura wasn't sure which Uchiha had truly betrayed her.

So many promises had been broken since that first day. . . so much heartache and pain. She was afraid to think of how many tears – her tears – had been shed throughout the whole ordeal. At one point she had made a vow to never cry over an Uchiha again, and for seven years she had kept that vow. For seven years she foolishly thought that it could have all been forgotten, that she could finally move on with her life. Sakura had watched all of her friends fall in love, marry, and settle down, yet she had remained alone. Contrary to what Ino had believed, she wasn't waiting for an Uchiha to come back and sweep her off her feet, reality was always to firm in her mind to even entertain such fantasies. The simple truth was that no man could ever live up to the image in her mind of who she would fall in love with, who she would marry. . . who she would settle down with.

Love.

Yes, the word still left a bitter taste in her mouth. Twice she had confessed her love, both times at a young age – and ironically to brothers. It was a word that Sakura hadn't used since she was twelve years old, and she had planned to keep it that way until he showed up again. Already it was circling through her mind like a horrid mantra; love, love, love.

A wet, hacking sort of cough pulled the woman from her thoughts and back to the bleeding man splayed across the rocky ground. He was a mess of cuts and bruises with dirt and blood caked across his skin, even his seemingly-perfect hair had become tangled in the fight. . . and yet he was still beautiful. The defined muscles, sharp jaw, and high cheekbones were still prominent even in his current state, yet what truly drew Sakura in was his eyes. Those eyes – even now a gentle grey color – brought back every happy moment, every little smile, and every warm feeling. Reading the eyes of an Uchiha was an art, and not an easy one to master, especially when one's subject was him, and yet Sakura could still catch a glimpse into his mind. He was definitely frustrated at her – not entirely surprising since it seemed as though he was determined to die and she was determined to make him live. There was also a glint of regret, though very fleeting, which left Sakura to puzzle over what he was regretting.

"You're going to get through this whether you like it or not." she whispered with a slight smile, ignoring the black spots dancing across her vision from chakra exertion.

"D-don't. . ." his voice was weak and pained, little more than a hiss, but she heard him just the same.

"There's no way I'm letting you get off this easy, Uchiha." Sakura said with a smile. It was a feeble effort to lighten the mood and they both knew it.

Anything he may have tried to say was cut off by another body-wracking cough that sent a spatter of blood across the ground, a few flecks catching Sakura's cheek. She knew he was horribly, deathly ill, and had been for a long time. Frustration quickly set in as the man's body shook with another coughing spasm, sending blood pooling into his lungs faster than she could hope to heal. It was a losing battle, and Sakura was painfully aware of it. Her chakra reserves were dangerously low, a fact brought painfully to her attention as the world seemed to tilt and spin. She didn't have the supplies to patch up the rest of his wounds, and there was still a horrible, jagged gash down his chest. The internal damage was probably something beyond her repair with proper facilities and all of her chakra combined, there was little to no hope the way things currently were.

Bitter, angry tears pricked at her eyes once more. There was nothing – nothing – that Sakura Haruno hated more than feeling helpless, and not once had she felt so very helpless. She had promised herself to become strong, so that she would never feel loss or pain again, so that nothing would be beyond her control. Now it seemed that everything had been so very pointless. The man who had given her encouragement, confidence, and hope. The man who had saved her life on more than one occasion. The man who had been a parent, a brother, and a friend. . . the man she loved was bleeding out beneath her hands, and nothing she could do would stop it. When it all came down to the wire, Sakura had found herself more helpless than the day he had found her.

She could feel his erratic heartbeat begin to slow beneath her hands. No more coughs or gasps left his mouth, nor a single breath. Pale lids and blood-matted lashed slid shut on soft charcoal eyes. His grip on her wrist went completely limp as his hand fell to the crimson-stained dirt. But she could still feel his heartbeat, he still had a pulse.

Thump-thump.

Thump-thump.

Thump. . . thump.

Th-

It stopped.

"Itachi!"