A/N: Gah, I don't even know what I'm doing with this. I just had a lot of frustrations to take out so I just wrote and wrote and this somehow became a thing. Anyway, I guess I'm pretty frustrated that after all this time, Sakura still doesn't know the truth behind the Uchiha clan massacre. So here's a what-if scenario where she did, and she confronted Itachi about it ('cause everyone needs some ItaSaku, brotp or otherwise). Anyway, this does have major SasuSaku hints, and some ItaSaku sibling-esque angsty fluff. The setting is during Sasuke's search for Itachi, but before Konoha got involved.
Disclaimer~ As usual, I don't own Naruto.
Her blood ran cold, her breathing became erratic, and her whole form started trembling as the papers slipped out of her hand.
Her whole reason, her whole drive had been for naught.
So she did something she vowed to never do again.
She ran.
"ITACHI!"
Sakura's screams echoed through the forest. All her tracking had led to here, near the edge of a secret Uchiha base. While she herself couldn't get in due to protective seals, she was sure he could hear her. So she was currently screaming her head off, tears rolling down her cheeks.
She tried once more, her voice cracking, before she collapsed on the ground. She fell forward on all fours, squeezing her eyes shut as her tears became full fledged sobs.
"Why are you calling me?"
Her head immediately snapped up, taking in the sudden appearance of the man she had sought, and she did something she would have never done a week ago.
She stumbled up and towards him, taking him into her arms.
Sakura embraced him, not caring about her tears soaking his black cloak with the Akatsuki's signature red clouds, not paying mind to the fact he had stiffened up and wondered what the hell she was doing, his arms hanging limply by his side.
When she had calmed down enough, she pulled away and looked down.
"I'm sorry," she murmured, stepping back. "I.… 'A shinobi must never show their tears.' But I can't help it...sometimes, I'm just so…."
Itachi looked her over, face impassive as ever.
"You were in my brother's three man cell," he stated. "Disciple to the Fifth Hokage."
Sakura nodded, still refusing to look up.
"You must be loyal to Konoha, willing to lay down your life for your village, then. Yet, you ran into a forest no doubt unauthorized in search of an S-rank criminal who massacred his whole clan and you embraced him instead of killing him on sight as your orders should be," he said, all in one breath. He wasn't guessing, he knew. His eyes saw through her.
"Why?"
She finally looked up, looking right into his eyes despite the risk of being put into a genjutsu. And she spoke, her words chilling Itachi to his core.
"I know the truth. I know about the coup d'état, about Danzo. I know about your sacrifice."
Sasuke punched a tree trunk near him. He had no doubt Konoha would soon be searching for him once they got the news about Orochimaru. He wouldn't mind going...'home'. But he needed to finish his business with Itachi first. Konoha could wait.
But in the meantime, he was starting to have doubts. Itachi could be anywhere, and his last source had lead to yet another dead end. This was starting to get annoying.
His team waited behind him, waiting for his orders. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke stood up straight, but still didn't turn around.
"Karin, check again," he nearly snarled. "Are you sure he's not here?"
"I'm sure," she replied, tone slightly flirtatious.
Sasuke rolled his own eyes, imagining her face behind him. He was starting to have doubts he could trust her. While a rational part of him told him that she had promised to help him, another part kept whispering that she might just be stalling for more time to spend with him. He knew she was a deceiving woman and he wasn't sure what lengths she'd go to just for some time with him.
It was disgusting.
However, he decided to go with the part that said to trust her. What other choice did he have after all?
"Fine, we'll retrace our steps and go back about ten miles. If there's an inn, we'll stop for the night, or we'll set up camp," he said,
They set off, but before they were even halfway across, Karin gasped.
"What?" Sasuke said irritated.
"Just ignore her," Suigetsu said. "She probably forgot her perfume or something at the last stop, crazy bitch she is."
Karin jumped forward to the branch he was standing on and punched his head which immediately dissolved into a splash of water.
"DON'T TALK ABOUT THINGS YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, YOU...YOU PSYCHO!"
"We don't have time for this." Sasuke sighed. "Unless it's something important, quit fooling arou-"
"Someone seems very distressed about thirty miles southeast, and they're being joined by another chakra signature soon...someone is traveling towards them. The one who's traveling...their chakra seems darker…" her voice slowly faded as she eventually stopped talking.
Sasuke stared ahead. While the dark chakra did interest him, there was no way of telling it could be Itachi. And if it was, who could he be traveling towards? Akatsuki did travel in partners, so maybe it was one of them? And Itachi was going to help them? But that would mean that the one in distress had to be facing an enemy shinobi or had just battled, meaning there was someone else. But Karin hadn't sensed anyone else. It might have been because of a trap they had set off, but that would require at least a slight trace of chakra that Karin should have been able to detect.
Sasuke shook his head. He was thinking too much into a theory that might not even be true. But then again, if it were Itachi, this opportunity would slip out of his hands. Making a decision, he turned to Jugo.
"I already sent some birds ahead. They should be back soon," the orange haired man said before Sasuke could even ask, nodding his head southeast.
"We don't have time to wait," Sasuke growled, ignoring Karin's purr at the huskiness of his voice. "We'll start moving southeast, and hopefully meet your birds on their way back. Depending on their reports, I'll decide whether or not we continue."
And so they set off again.
Sakura blinked her tears back as she saw the conflicting emotions flicker across Itachi's face, too fast for herself to follow. She wanted to cry for him, for his pain, for Sasuke's pain. All of which had been caused by their wretched village. But she was a kunoichi, and as her master had once told her, her kind endure, even more than male shinobi.
"Explain," he struggled to get that one word out. "How?"
"I-I had a mission to deliver something to D-Danzo." Thinking of how pathetic she must have sounded, Sakura cleared her throat before continuing. "Not really a mission even, just walk across town and give him a scroll. When I got there, he wasn't home yet. I was told by one of the members of his organization to take a seat and wait. While I waited in his study, I noticed he had some papers skewered about. Out of habit, I went to pick them up...and I saw your name. I thought of Sasuke-kun, and…I-I'm so sorry!"
She looked back down in shame.
"I'm sorry," she whispered one final time. It was all she could do.
"Haruno-san, p-"
"Sakura. Don't call me Haruno-san. It sounds wrong."
"Sakura," Itachi said, cocking his head slightly. "Please, don't apologize. It wasn't your fault."
"I know it wasn't," she said, looking back up at the sky that was rapidly darkening, trying to avoid look at his face. "But I spent all these years hating you for what you had done to Sasuke-kun, not knowing anything. But because of you, we're all alive and safe. I might not have even made it this far if you hadn't...oh gods."
"You shouldn't know," Itachi replied sadly. "I should kill you right now for even finding out. I'm surprised that Danzo hasn't yet. Although he might have simply decided to use a sealing jutsu so you could never speak of what you know, as you are something like a gem in Konoha."
"I ran away before he or anyone else found me," Sakura said. "No doubt there are troops coming after me. Shisui might even be the one sending them."
"Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't kill you right now."
But even as he said those words, he knew he could never hurt her. She must have been someone precious to Sasuke for him to leave her and the rest of Konoha. She must have been someone his brother still cared for, because once love had wormed its way into an Uchiha's heart, it could be his greatest strength or his greatest weakness.
That's why Itachi found himself caring for Sakura, too. She didn't need to give him a reason for him to spare her. But he wanted to hear what she had to say. What would she do with this information now she had it? Would she go rogue? Or would she still love Konoha?
"I...will bring you back to the village."
His head snapped up. What? Was this girl out of her mind?
"I'll bring you back, and tell everyone the truth. I'll make them see how corrupt the Council is. I'll make sure you're reinstated. I'll make sure Sasuke-kun finds out so he can have his brother back and he can come back to Konoha. I'll make everything right again," she said, ending somewhat tearfully.
"What if I refuse to go back? " Itachi said, his words powerful, controlled, yet harsh like a whip. "It might have been orders, but what if I was glad to take them? What if I wanted to kill my clan members? What if sparing Sasuke had just been on a whim?"
Sakura laughed dryly. He was trying that old trick again.
"You expect me to fall for that?" she said, eyes flashing, as she turned to face him, challenge him. "Sasuke may have been a gullible kid back then, but I know better. Do you want to know what Sasuke said to me the first time he truly opened up to me? He said that that night, he saw you crying. I didn't understand what he meant then, but I sure as hell know now."
Itachi mentally cursed her.
"I still can't," he said stoically. "You must understand it's not as easily done as said. No one will accept me, and you'll be counted as an outcast soon enough."
"Then take me with you!"
Juugo listened intently to the bird before turning to Sasuke.
"Itachi's there," he said. "Bu-"
It was all Sasuke needed before he shot off. His teammates tried to keep up with him, but they were quite a few feet away.
"Wait! Sasuke!" Juugo shouted. "There's something you should know! Someone else is there!"
"I don't care!" Sasuke shouted, not stopping. "I'll kill them too then, if they get in the way! Nothing will stop me from killing Itachi. He won't get away this time."
Juugo looked back at the others. Karin looked shocked, most probably from Sasuke's flaring chakra, and Suigetsu's eyebrows were raised. They all shared a look before following their leader.
Sasuke cursed under his breath as they got closer. They were headed to a secret Uchiha base. Why was Itachi there? Did he really have the gall to call himself an Uchiha after all he had done?
He was getting closer when he heard voices.
Must be that other person, Sasuke thought.
"Heh," he turned around. "Juugo, to my left, Suigetsu, right. Karin, behind. Whatever you do, don't kill him. I want some answers first, and I want the final kill."
"Aw, Sasuke," Suigetsu cried. "That's no fair. I want in on the fun, too!"
One look from Sasuke shut him up.
"We wi-" And for the first time in a while, Sasuke was cut off. It was strange, really. Most didn't get away with it, or ever did it again.
The voice wasn't from his teammates, though. It was from the small clearing in front of the gate of the base. Where Itachi was with that other person.
But hearing that voice made him realize that the other person wasn't just some other person. It was Sakura. His voice caught in his throat and he stumbled a little, eyes wide.
How?
He knew reinforcements from Konoha would be after him. Maybe they had sent them after Itachi since they knew that's who he was after. But why would Sakura be alone?
He heard her voice once again, and for a second, he was back to that night. Her words were...painfully familiar as she spoke.
"Then take me with you!"
Was she saying that to Itachi? What?
"Sasuke, what's going on?" Karin whispered.
"Shut up!" he snarled. "There's been a change in plans. Let's get closer, and observe what's happening. After we gauge the situation, we'll attack."
He rushed forward and hid up in the trees, cloaking his chakra. The others followed his lead, and they looked down on the scene.
Sasuke wanted to scream at the strangeness of it all. Sakura was standing there, looking like an utter mess, yet more beautiful than he remembered. Her pink hair was in disarray, and there were obvious tear streaks on her face. Her bright green eyes, however, seemed to be dry, indicating that the tears were from earlier. Her hands were knit together and close to her heart as she pleaded to his brother. Itachi, on the other hand, was facing her, his own eyes filled with longing, regret, and sorrow.
Sasuke's sharingan activated by itself in his frustration as he watched them. The scene was so familiar yet so foreign. Why? he wanted to scream. Why go so far for this scum? What happened? Why are you with him?
It was all once for him, and now, it was for his brother.
"If you were to go back to Konoha with me, there would be no regrets!" Sakura was yelling. "Everyday, I'd try to make sure you were happy! I can't bring your family back from the dead, but I can be your family! We'd be happy, I swear!"
Promises of happiness for him.
"I'd do anything! So, please, come back with me! And...if you can't, take me with you!"
Willing to drop everything and leave with him.
"I'd join the Akatsuki, do whatever you say, and I'd even kill someone if you asked me to. Anything, you ask it, and I'm there in a heartbeat!"
Giving anything for him.
"Itachi-san, please accept me!"
Acceptance from him.
Why had she decided to choose his brother? Had his leaving sparked that much of a change, that she went after a rogue nin? The one who had caused all of his suffering? The one who took everything from him, and now, was also taking the one person he was sure wouldn't abandon him? It was so unfair. Life had been so unfair. And he couldn't take it anymore.
Without thinking, he hurtled a kunai at her back.
Itachi sensed him the second he had jumped on that tree branch. His little brother. His foolish, little brother.
But he pretended not to notice, and kept his attention on Sakura.
Her promises were tempting, and he knew from that glint in her eyes that she would keep her word, but it was too risky. Far too risky.
He looked at her, trying to convey whatever he could without words, when their guests made the first move.
A kunai came hurtling towards Sakura, and in an instance, he sped forward and caught the kunai with one finger, only to push her behind him.
"I could have handled that," she grumbled, her sensitivity gone as she got in her battle ready stance. "And just so you know, I don't like being manhandled."
Itachi ignored her as his little brother jumped down, obviously anguished. But surprisingly, the look wasn't directed towards him, but towards Sakura.
Behind Sasuke were three other nin. A white haired boy baring his teeth with a sword almost as huge as Kisame's - he must have had some relation to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist. A larger, orange haired man followed, exuding a large amount of chakra. A girl was at the absolute back, with her glasses slightly askew and untamed red hair framing her face. An interesting ensemble.
Itachi turned towards Sakura, who looked surprised. He knew she had probably sensed them earlier, but she must have been shocked to see who it was. Her mouth was slightly open and her eyes were wide.
"Sasuke-kun…" she trailed off, her voice cracking near the end.
"You know this chick?" the white haired boy said, looking at her up and down, toothy grin in place. "Why didn't you take her instead of Karin? Pinky would at least have been a sight for sore eyes instead of causing them, unlike someone."
"Sakura," the avenger greeted, ignoring the angry whispers of his arguing team behind him. "Get out of the way."
"What?" she replied, still a little dazed by the fact that he was here.
"Move," Sasuke snarled, not trying to cover up his rage this time. "I won't give you another warning. You've always known that killing Itachi was my dream, Sakura, didn't you? So move out of the way. Let me fulfill my ambition!"
"NO!" Sakura shouted, suddenly aware of the situation. She dashed forward and placed herself in between Itachi and Sasuke, her arms spread wide. "I won't let you hurt him! You'll have to go through me first!"
"Sakura!" Itachi hissed. "What are you doing?"
"Returning the favor, Itachi-san," Sakura said, not turning back, keeping her eyes on Sasuke. "Please, run while you can. I probably don't stand a chance against all of them, but I promise to hold them back. Besides, maybe I won't have to fight. You may be under oath, but I can speak freely. I can tell Sasuke-kun the truth."
"Sakura…" Itachi looked at the girl. She was definitely stronger than she looked. But this wasn't her battle. It was his, it always was, from the very start, all because he had always planned for Sasuke to be the one to kill him. "I'm not leaving. Please, do not get involved."
She ignored him. "Sasuke-kun! Please, you don't want to do this!"
The red haired girl walked forward. "Sasuke, there's someth-"
"Karin, fall back," Sasuke said, completely stoic.
"Sasuke-kun, please listen to me!" Sakura tried again. "You don't understand, you don't know the truth!"
"No, you don't know!" Sasuke shouted back. "You weren't there! You didn't see as he killed my- our parents! Our entire clan!"
"Sasuke!" 'Karin' tried again. "List-"
"He didn't do it for the hell of it!" Sakura yelled. "You have to hear me out!"
"We can talk afterwards, Sa-ku-ra," he mocked. "I need to finish this first. And I won't hesitate to run my sword through you if you get in the way."
And with that, he rushed forward, just as she started to circulate chakra into her hand. Only for them both to freeze.
"W-what? I can't move!" Sakura cried out.
"Shadow possession technique, success."
It wasn't the all out battle Naruto had expected. He was expecting Sasuke to be screaming about revenge, Itachi to be cool and composed but pulling some intense genjutsu at the same time, and one very important detail: Sakura would be on their side.
"Sakura-chan!" he shouted, catching up to Shikamaru. Shikamaru had, by this point, had extended his jutsu so everyone on the field was trapped.
"Karin!" Sasuke growled. "Why didn't you sense them!"
"I did!" the red haired girl shouted. "You didn't listen to me cause that pink haired freak kept talking to you!"
"What did you call her?" Ino immediately jumped in, defending her friend.
"You heard me!" Sasuke's teammate shouted back. "She's a pink haired freak!"
"Why you-"
"Tch, Ino, shut up, will you?" Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes. "Troublesome women."
"Been there, buddy!" Suigetsu called out as Juugo sighed, exasperated.
Naruto ignored everybody and stared at his two best friends.
They had been ready to hurt each other, maybe even kill, if need be. Sasuke, he could understand, but Sakura was in love with the damned Uchiha! She would never...
Yet there she was, clear as day, poised to attack and protect...Itachi.
"Sakura-chan," Naruto repeated. "Why?"
The pink haired girl forcefully looked away despite Shikamaru's jutsu being placed on her. Her eyes were brimming with tears that were burning to spill over her cheeks. Yet, her face remained dry as she hardened her expression. She turned back to his team, and looked him dead in the eye.
"You, of all people, should stay out of this, Naruto."
And all hell broke loose as Sakura punched the ground and Shikamaru lost his jutsu.
"SHANAROO!"
Ninja scattered everywhere, the force of that single punch blowing them away. Fights started in all different directions in the crater that resulted as a force of Sakura's blow, none evenly matched.
Ino was against Juugo, and she had already used her jutsu to enter his mind. However, his special kekkei genkai was torturing her inside, leaving neither of them with the upper hand.
Her body lay slumped behind Shikamaru, who was attempting to protect her and fight Karin at the same time. While this normally would have been quite easy, he had already lost a lot of chakra holding so many strong shinobi in place. In addition, he had an injury on his dominant arm, hindering his ability to work with weapons. All that on top of protecting Ino was becoming quite a drag.
While it had bugged him at first, it made sense, Shikamaru concluded, that Sasuke's team would fight them despite having a common enemy. After all, Itachi was Sasuke's kill. They would want Konoha to stay out of this. But this was troublesome.
Chouji, locked in his own fight as well, was fighting Suigetsu about twenty meters away. However, every time the Akamichi tried to flatten him, his opponent turned into his liquid state. Chouji considered himself lucky to have even avoided Suigetsu's sword up till this point.
Deeper into the forest and far from the new clearing (courtesy of Sakura Haruno), Naruto stood beside Sasuke, willing to back the younger Uchiha up at any given second. It seemed that for the moment, they had silently agreed that Itachi was more important and they would cooperate, leaving their own feud for another day.
Sakura, on the other hand, was far from cooperating.
Her tears were flowing down her cheeks, but she made no sound, her expression cold. She wouldn't let Itachi past her, keeping him behind her so no one could attack without facing her first.
She scanned the area for any additional chakra in case back up had arrived or Naruto had made clones to sneak up on them.
Apparently, the Uzumaki hadn't. Would he try to talk her out of this?
Sakura almost snorted. That would be so like him.
"Impressive strength, Sakura," Itachi said. "I might just rethink your request to join the Akatsuki."
Even though it had been mostly a joke, Naruto was visibly shocked.
"S-Sakura-chan? What's he saying?" He looked her dead in the eye. "This is a joke, right? You wouldn't... You would never... You're just... This is genjutsu again, right?!"
"Dammit, Naruto!" Sasuke shouted. "Don't fucking lose it now. She's with him, that traitor."
He spit the words out, disgusted to hear his own voice say such a thing about the girl who claimed once upon a time to love him forever. Disgusted with the same girl betraying him for his scum brother.
Disgusted with all the shit people in his life who he had to put up with. All those who promised to love and be there for him forever, where were they now?
"You're one to talk," Sakura spat.
"Sakura, move now," Sasuke ignored her jab, instead choosing to burn his sharingan into her. However, she avoided his eyes.
"Itachi, go," the kunoichi said after a beat, not turning around. "I'll be okay, hell I'll even join you in a few moments. If you'll wait for me, that is."
Itachi was about to retort, but then realized the determination in her voice. It was strange, but for the first time in years, he felt the want, the need, the ability to trust someone other than himself.
His priority was to get Sakura and himself away from here unharmed. And if that meant letting her fight while he called for reinforcements, then so be it.
Shit, he couldn't help but think. Damn her for getting into this.
"Of course," he said before he could change his mind. However, he mentally vowed to himself that he'd be back in a heart's beat if he sensed her in any true danger.
And with a short teleportation jutsu, Itachi transported himself into the Uchiha grounds. Then, he tried to mentally establish a connection with Kisame, or at least Deidara and Tobi. Whoever the hell was closer.
Sakura was proud to say she was holding her own so far. However, as the fight went on, she was became more and more hysterical, and she could see that both Sasuke and Naruto were trying to hold back.
"DON'T YOU DARE DO THAT!" she screamed. "DON'T HOLD BACK, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"
She threw another chakra filled punch, and this time managed to get the actual Naruto's ribs. He went flying back, and almost all the other clones disappeared with a 'poof'. She turned her attention to Sasuke, drawing chakra scalpels out. The Uchiha on the other hand, was already racing towards her with his katana drawn. It was obvious he wasn't aiming to kill, but that just went to her advantage. She aimed for vital points, but he managed to dodge each time. This went on for a while, until she noticed that he wouldn't even swinging at her anymore. That's when it hit her.
"You're just trying to tire me out!" she accused him. "You're not even taking this seriously! What, am I too fucking weak for you?!"
Sasuke chose not to dignify her with a response. A part of him kept screaming that she could still be saved, that she might just be under Itachi's influence. But the way she was acting was too real. There was no haze in her eyes indicating any type of mind control and he couldn't sense any irregularities in her chakra indicating that she was under a genjutsu. And Itachi had said earlier that she was the one to come to him with the request of joining the Akatsuki. There was only one possible conclusion.
"Sakura," he said, voice low. Sasuke just had to try. "Please, don't do this."
"Yeah, Sakura-chan," Naruto weakly coughed from the background as he got up. He took some shallow breathes, wiping away the blood dribbling down the side of his mouth. "Even teme can see you're on the wrong side...Why are you defending Itachi anyway?"
It was like a sudden blanket had been dropped on all of them, muffling any and all noise. Team Ino-Shika-Cho's fight seemed miles away now. There was nothing but silence.
And then, it broke.
Sakura laughed. She laughed and laughed, feeling every part of her rip into shreds. How oblivious could they be? Did they honestly believe she would do this without reason? Couldn't they trust her? Of all people...she had to be the most loyal...
"You don't understand!" she screamed. "Konoha hides it's true colors, hides their discrimination and past, and those who know are either the cause or have been put under oath! But you know what? I haven't!"
And she laughed some more, tears leaking out as her howls of laughter slowly ebbed into sobs.
"I-I'll tell you all of it," she cried out, sinking to the ground. "I'll tell you the t-"
Before she could say more, a hand was put on her mouth.
"No, you won't," Itachi said, holding his his hand over her lips firmly despite her slowly weakening squirming, licks, and bites. He winced inwardly at the last one though. How sharp were her teeth? He picked her up into his arms, causing her to still for the time being, but he still kept her mouth covered. Her eyes flashed, but the fight was drained from her.
"I see you're back," Sasuke snarled. "Ready to face me like a man and stop hiding behind a weak little girl, brother?"
He charged his chidori through his arm and into his hand, and Naruto walked up behind him, a clone helping him prepare his rasengan.
"Sasuke, I'm helping you whether you like it or not," he said with a tone of finality,
"Hn, fine by me, dobe," the younger Uchiha said. "Just don't get in my way."
Before they could attack however, two other figures appeared from the trees, landing in front of Itachi and Sakura, shielding them.
"Heh, about that."
A blonde young male donning Akatsuki robes was riding on top of a clay white bird. Next to him was another person wearing the same cloak, but his face was covered with an orange mask. The one wearing the mask stumbled off the bird.
"That was such a cool entrance, senpai!" he said, his voice high and childish.
Naruto let his rasengan fizzle out, staring at the familiar face on top of the clay figure. Sasuke did the same to his chidori.
"Well, it isn't now that you ruined it, un!" Deidara shouted back. Massaging his temples, he turned back to the shocked faces of Sasuke and Naruto, though the Uchiha managed to hide it better than the Uzumaki.
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!" Naruto screamed. "We saw you, even Kakashi-sensei with his sharingan did!"
"Oh, that, un?" Deidara said, waving it off as if it were nothing. "A little explosion like that couldn't take down someone like me, especially before I unveiled my true masterpiece!"
Naruto growled, starting to prepare his rasengan once again.
"Well this time, I'll make sure you stay dead!"
"Nuh-uh! We can't have that!" the new Akatsuki member intervened, walking forward and swinging his arms. "We're not fighting today, just picking up the cherry blossom!"
"Who are you?" Sasuke said, slightly annoyed at the orange-masked guy's nickname for Sakura.
"My name is Tobi!" Tobi said, extending his hand. When he only got a look of disgust from Sasuke and one of absolute bewilderment from Naruto, he huffed. "You're both so rude, unlike Tobi. Tobi is a good boy!"
"The Akatsuki must have seriously lowered their standards if they are taking this joke," Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Don't underestimate me," at that moment, Tobi's voice suddenly grew deeper and ominous, and Naruto swore his visible eye had glinted red. Sasuke seemed to have noticed as well, but within seconds, it had passed.
"Anyway," Deidara spoke. "We'll be taking your friend with us for the time being, un."
The blonde jumped down from the bird to inspect Sakura.
"She's cute," he said, a sly smile spreading across his face. He then noticed her headband. Slipping it off her head, Deidara smirked. "Ah, but you won't be needing this anymore, will you?"
He took out a kunai, and when Sakura made no move to stop him, he slashed through the insignia of her once home village. He handed it back to her, and Sakura took it, fingering the scratch.
Naruto gasped, and even Sasuke grit his teeth.
"Sasuke," Itachi spoke after so long.
"What, dear brother?" Sasuke spat, the tomoes in his blood red eyes spinning wildly as he faced Itachi.
"I will be waiting for you," Itachi said as he deposited a protesting Sakura into Tobi's arms before dissolving into a bunch of crows.
"Yay, Tobi gets to hold the pretty girl!" Tobi said after a beat, climbing back on to the bird. Sakura made him let her go with a punch, and she defiantly stood on her own, despite her shaky knees, muttering curses under her breath the entire time. "Ow! You hurt Tobi! You're s-s-s-s-scary!"
"C'mon, we're leaving," Deidara said, his visible eye clearly rolling as his bird's wings slowly started to flap its wings and ascend to the skies. "Too bad I couldn't show you my best piece of art, un, but I did leave a little present that will make you go BOOM! Ja ne!"
"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto repeatedly screamed, but it was too late.
As the bird got further and further away, they could do nothing but stare.
And then, Deidara's words slowly sunk into the duo remaining on the ground.
"SHIT!" Sasuke yelled as he grabbed Naruto by the collar and ran as fast as he could, trying to summon a hawk or Manda.
Luckily for him, his hawk appeared under his feet and without command took to the skies, just as dozens of landmines exploded right where they had been standing a few seconds earlier.
Naruto was breathing hard, laying face up on the back of Sasuke's summon.
"Not again..." he kept muttering. "Another...friend I...I couldn't save...not this again."
Sasuke's expression didn't change, as if the blond's words had no effect on him. But inside, he was reeling. He tasted bile and copper in his mouth, and felt really heavy all of a sudden. He plopped down next to the boy, but sat instead of lying down. "Snap out of it, Naruto. What did the village do to her? Why...?"
"I couldn't..." Naruto shook his head. "I don't know."
Silence passed between them as the two emotionally exhausted boys swooped down to where the other battles were occurring.
"Hebi, fall back!" Sasuke commanded as they touched the ground. His team immediately dropped their fights and flanked him as Naruto dutifully went back to his own comrades.
"Naruto, where's Sakura?" Ino said, eyes wide when she saw Sasuke and Naruto, but not her pink haired friend. The Yamanaka had retreated to her own mind only a few moments ago, and although she was still shaky, the thought of her friend gave her enough strength to get up and walk to the other blond.
Naruto didn't answer her, opting instead to look away. His eyes were shut tight as he tried to hold back his tears, and his fist clenched as his shoulders started to shake.
Ino knew in an instant that her best friend hadn't come back. She broke out into sobs of her own.
Why is it, Sakura? Ino thought. Why did you choose this?
She backed away slowly, and eventually her back hit the rough bark of a tree. She slid down, hiding her face. Chouji put a hand on her shoulder, as Shikamaru tried to think of a new plan. If not for Naruto and Konoha, then definitely for Ino.
"Ino..." The Akimichi let the girl lay her head on her shoulder as she sobbed. He tried to say something to comfort her, but nothing would come to mind.
"Please, Naruto," Ino begged. "This isn't her. She wouldn't act so irrationally, she has to have a reason! You can't let her go, you just can't!"
Naruto didn't answer.
"Naruto," Shikamaru whispered. "What should we do about Sasuke, at least?"
Once again, Naruto refused to look up. His tears never fell, but he was too scared to open his eyes. To face the reality that he hadn't lost one, but two friends...two family members.
Sasuke sighed. He walked forward and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, ignoring Shikamaru and Chouji's defensive positions at his approach.
"Dobe," he said, trying not to meet him in the eyes. "They need you now. I'll be back soon, and we'll get Sakura back together. I just need to kill Ita-"
"THAT'S ALL YOU PRETEND TO CARE ABOUT!" Naruto finally spoke up. "ITACHI THIS, ITACHI THAT, THE BOND YOU HAVE WITH YOUR BROTHER! IF THAT WAS TRULY THE ONLY BOND YOU HAD, WHY DO YOU KEEP SPARING ME? YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME TODAY, YOU COULD HAVE KILLED SAKURA-CHAN, BUT YOU DIDN'T! SHE WAS OUR TEAMMATE, OUR FRIEND! SHE WAS A PART OF US, TOO! YOU CARE, BUT YOU KEEP RUNNING FROM US, AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TODAY! STOP RUNNING AND HELP ME BRING HER BACK!"
"I want to!" Sasuke shouted back, however less forcefully. "I wish I could more than anything make her my priority...but Itachi is more important right now...besides...if I find Itachi, I'll find Sakura, as well."
Naruto was silent. He took harsh rapid breaths, trying to control the beast inside that had been constantly threatening to come out since this entire affair started.
"Fine," he said, trying to smile, but failing. "Fine. But when you find Sakura-chan, you have to promise not to kill her. You might have to hurt her, but don't kill her. I can't lose my sister."
"I would never willingly hurt one of my precious people," Sasuke snarled. "I'm not like I-"
"Itachi, I know, I get it," Naruto waved him off with a small, forced laugh before turning to his own teammates. "Shikamaru, any ideas?"
The Nara genius had been in his trademark pose for the last few minutes, trying to figure something to do, anything. He had digested every bit he could, and tried his best. But with so many unknowns... Whose side was Sasuke on? He was against the Akatsuki it seemed, but Orochimaru had been as well. Would Sasuke take over Sound? Yet he seemed to care about Sakura as well...
"What do you intend to do?" he looked the Uchiha in the eye.
"Kill my brother," Sasuke snarled.
"Then go," Shikamaru said, despite the vague answer. As long as Sasuke didn't plan to go against them, they could let him go and consider him on their side- for now. "We'll go back to Konoha and relay these developments. Eventually we'll catch up with you again, and we'll work together to get Sakura back if you haven't."
"What's so special about that bitch anyway?" Karin walked forward, ignoring the multiple glares directed at her, even from her leader. She had stayed silent up till now, but she couldn't help her jealous flares when she heard this other kunoichi get so much attention from Sasuke. And to think, he had even called her a 'precious' person! "Why don't we leave her to just die? We all know where that slut's loyalty lies an-"
"Karin," Sasuke's voice was strained. "Shut up now or else I will not stop them from attacking if they were to do so."
Karin's eyes widened before settling in an angry glare. She huffed loudly before turning on her heel and walking away, pushing Suigetsu aside as he snickered.
"Aw, c'mon," he said, snorting. "You're just jealous boss obviously has a thing for pinky."
Naruto extended a fist just as Sasuke was about to turn around and face his team.
"Sasuke," he said. "Just this once, for Sakura-chan."
Sasuke looked at the blond's hand, smirking as he remembered the times they had worked together.
Maybe, after his brother was killed, there was a family he could return to. Maybe there were...other bonds. Because somewhere deep inside, he knew that he could never fully sever them.
So he extended his own arm, hitting his own fist against Naruto's.
"For Sakura."
A/N: Well, you guys like? I thought it was pretty well-written for something I used as an anger ventilation system. I know there were some OOC moments, especially for Sakura, but I think considering circumstances, she might react like this. I'm pretty proud of this one though. It's the longest and most well written story I've done up till now, including multi-chaptered fics.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and please favorite, follow, and as always, review!