Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, only the idea presented in this fanfic.
It was done, he was gone.
He was dead.
Sasuke was dead.
And she killed him.
"Sakura."
She looked over at the man who said her name.
"You're trembling."
"Oh…"
She hadn't noticed, it was so like him to point it out to her. He'd consider it a weakness, she knew that, but she knew too that never had he told her she was weak.
Not like Sasuke had.
She concentrated on stopping the shaking in her arms first, until slowly, limb by limb, her whole body was still.
It had happened so fast, he was losing, she knew it. He was wounded before the battle, he hadn't let her fix him, and he had wanted this, death by his hands.
But she was selfish, so incredibly selfish.
Sometime over the course of her capture a mere 5 months before, she had stopped hating him. This man who had made her Sasuke's life a living hell, this man who had destroyed the lives of so many others, who had tried to take away even Naruto.
She loved him.
Of course she hadn't told him that. He was still an S-rank missing nin, traitor to the village she called home. She was always careful not to reveal anything more than respect and mild friendship.
The brief look of surprise when she interfered with their fight was enough to convince her that she had thoroughly deceived him.
"What purpose does his death serve you; did you not waste half of your life intending to bring him back to the Hidden Leaf?"
That was as close as he would get to asking her why she saved him.
And could she answer that? Could she really tell him how much he affected her?
Could she tell him that he was the one who taught her that she has many weaknesses but is not weak?
Could she tell him that she pushes herself seeking his approval?
Could she tell him that Sasuke was her love, but he was her life?
Could she explain to him that in that moment when Sasuke would have dealt the killing blow she couldn't breathe, could think of nothing but his safety.
"Naruto-kun will think you've recaptured me when I don't return."
She could feel his questioning stare, he knew she understood; he never spoke if it could be avoided.
"You must have been more injured than when I last saw you, I was watching the whole battle and still you did not sense me…?" Of this she was positive, yet the idea of him being so off guard was still so foreign to her that she couldn't help turning her statement into an unsure question.
"Hn."
That one word made her smile, and she turned to see his familiar glare directed towards her. Even after admitting that he would've died, he still would not tolerate his weaknesses pointed out to him.
Still though, he was waiting for an answer to his original question. She couldn't make herself say it, would he laugh at her?
So instead she removed her ninja headband. Very slowly she drew out a kunai from her pouch, his eyes on her the entire time. He watched her slash a line through the leaf symbol she treasured.
He was mesmerized, what was she doing? He couldn't take his eyes off of the jagged line until suddenly it was wet.
She was crying.
"Forgive me, Itachi-san, but I must cry to let go of everything I hold dear. Give me a moment to accept my loss."
"…Why are you doing this? You could easily blame it on myself, no one would suspect."
"I wish to keep my life."
"Do you think I want to kill you?" he asked, as if he could in his condition.
"You almost did."
If possible, he was staring at her even harder than before.
"Do you still not understand? I saw Sasuke leap towards you and my future without you in it passed through my mind, and I realized that there would be nothing. Uchiha Itachi, you are my life."
I love you.
She hadn't said it out loud but she knew that he heard her all the same.
"I see. Simply because I was tolerant of you where Sasuke was not does not mean that I can take his place. I am not Sasuke."
Maybe the injuries went to his head; then again he was suffering from a lot of blood loss. Looks like she might have to say it after all.
"Look Uchiha," he smirked, it was her habit to address him as such when she was overly frustrated, "do I have to spell it out for you? I. don't. want. Sasuke. What part of 'you are my life' don't you understand? I. Love. You."
She held her breathe, how would he react?
Sakura didn't know how much time passed before he finally said something.
"Well, seeing as you care so much, might you stop my bleeding? That way we can move on, we'll have to work on getting you into the Akatsuki."
"Oh!"
She ran over to start healing him, how could she have let all this time pass without helping him? It was only as she was almost done that she realized what he said.
'Then…that means…he...accepts my love? And he…wants me to join him?'
She didn't expect him to be as open as her about his feelings but…she looked up at him suddenly, he was…
'He's…smiling…'
She grinned back at him as she finished her job. He stood up rather stiffly, but then he took her hand and started walking towards what she suspected was the location of the Akatsuki base.
Never had she felt as happy as she did when she was with him.
"You can be our medic-nin, we need one. Kakuzu usually keeps all the required medical supplies around but that doesn't mean he knows how to use them."
His way of telling her it was okay. His way of saying she could still do what she loved to do.
Losing Sasuke hurt, losing her home hurt as well, but she knew she would be alright.
It was worth it.
Read and Review! I think the ending kind of sucked, I really liked it at the beginning though, haha.
This is my first mildly happy itasaku, I don't even know when it was I started liking this pairing, I'm more into sasusaku but Itachi and Sakura still make for an interesting couple.