Raising Hell
"It does not matter how brief of an encounter it is. When two people meet, they affect each other. The meeting will change their lives in some way and form ties between them."
- Yûko from xxxHolic
There was no doubt in Uchiha Itachi's mind that the pink-haired kunoichi had undying loyalty for the Leaf Village. In fact, he witnessed it every day when he visited her in the holding cell that barely withstood her strength. It always managed to impress him when it came to just how far its limits would stretch.
"I will not eat that food." Sakura remarked from her sitting position across the room. "It could be tainted." Then, she glared at him with a mixture of anger and annoyance.
Ignoring her refusal, Itachi proceeded to set the tray of food down onto the floor. "And if you starve to death?" He murmured as he made his way towards the door once more.
"Then I will die as a Leaf Shinobi!" Sakura's voice held a tone of defiance and determination. "Unlike you, I am loyal to my village. I will never betray them!"
Glancing back once, Itachi scanned the bare room before his gaze settled on the pink-haired woman. "We shall see, girl." With those words said, he closed the door to her cell, locking it with an echoing click.
xxXxx
A low rumbling sound woke Sakura the next morning. She frowned, realizing her stomach was unhappy without its normal meals. Not yet opening her eyes, she allowed a yawn to escape.
Her limbs felt stiff from sleeping in a sitting position. Sakura had never been used to this kind of sleeping arrangement, but she had to remain on guard. There was no way she trusted that Uchiha man. He was the root of all evil, or so she had learned to believe.
Suppressing another yawn, Sakura lifted her arms to stretch them, finally opening her eyes. Only a few more days before reinforcements would burst through the door...Right? Her eyelids lowered for a moment, mood darkening slightly. That was no way to think, especially in a dangerous situation like this.
Sakura would have to have confidence in her village...Not doubt. She nodded to herself at that conclusion. She just had to trust them. Her loyalty wasn't going to fade away yet. Or ever, Sakura silently added to herself.
Drowsily looking about the room, her eyes immediately halted when something new peaked her interest. She stared at it for a few minutes, pondering why such an object lay there. It was very confusing...and even more so, frustrating.
Her hands clenched with great strength as she struggled to stand.
It looked like there was yet another reason to be violent today.
xxXxx
At the sound of loud tearing sounds, Itachi glanced up at the door from his post far down the hallway. His eyes narrowed as he left the corner and made his way to Haruno Sakura's holding cell. The noise was growing louder as he drew closer.
Cautiously opening the door, Itachi raised an eyebrow when the first sight was feathers floating in the air. He then pushed the door open more, his calculating eyes taking in more of the mess.
Hearing the door creak open, the pink haired woman glared at him before throwing a ripped pillow case down at the floor.
"Sleeping mats? Pillows?" She hissed at him. "I don't want anything to do with something that you might have used!" Sakura folded her arms in an angry manner.
Itachi glanced over the floor, wearing an indifferent expression. The teal sleeping mat was lying in chunks on the floor, scattered into many different pieces. Feathers from the pillow already littered the floor, some still wafting in the air.
He then looked up to Sakura again, noticing several feathers sticking out of her hair. Itachi asked in an amused tone, "What if you die of sleep deprivation?"
"I intend to die a Leaf Shinobi. If it is to be of hunger, so be it. If it is to be of sleep deprivation, so be it." Ignoring the white feathers that drifted towards her, she then added, "And whatever you offer me will never be enough to change my mind!"
A few days passed and Sakura's attitude did not change in the slightest bit. She still held to her hunger strike, not allowing her growing weakness to show. Itachi knew that the medical nin would be no use to them if she continued to struggle with their efforts. He intended for that ruse to end and for it to end this day.
"Kisame." Itachi murmured in his soft voice. He watched the wind gently blow the leaves throughout the nearby forest. His partner grunted in acknowledgement from behind him. "Drain the prisoner of her chakra and bring her outside in restraints."
Kisame simply retreated into the small stone building without another word. As he waited, Itachi closed his eyes before shifting into a meditative position. Fortunately enough, his quiet waiting did serve purpose.
"Get your hands off of me!" Sakura's muffled voice was loud enough to reach him through the walls of the building. The metal door leading into its interior burst open with a slam. He didn't flinch at the noise of the slam or her struggles.
When Kisame plopped her down a few feet away from Itachi, he muttered a few vulgar words before departing for his patrol.
"...and stay away from me!" Sakura growled in a threatening tone. Her breathing was harsh from her fight against Kisame. It was the only noise Itachi could hear other than the softer sounding wind.
"Why am I out here?" She demanded. He said nothing to reply. When a minute passed, she asked, "Why aren't you answering me?"
His eyes opened to reveal the familiar crimson iris. "When you calm down, we'll discuss that." He carefully watched her reaction as he said those words. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she turned her head away from him, focusing on her restraints.
Sakura mumbled a half-hearted protest, testing the strength of the restraints as she tried to pry them off her wrists. She then breathed a sigh of annoyance, halting her meddling for the moment. "Go ahead."
"You are not calm yet." Itachi remarked softly, clearly not fooled by her antics. She shot him a glare, but said nothing because of his words. In a few minutes, she was fairly reasonable. However, her patience was quickly dwindling.
Finally, he said, "Would you eat if we took you to a local market place?" Her eyes widened in surprise. She glanced down at her restraints once before sighing.
"Do you really plan to take me to somewhere local in this condition?" She lifted the chakra-infused, linked arm bands that restricted her chakra flow to prove her point. "I don't believe the villagers would accept this very well."
"Answer the question, girl." He murmured softly, his patience still not wavering. "Yes or no?"
She bit her lip in frustration. If Sakura went to a local market, she could scream for help and increase her chances of escaping. However, if she went, it would seem as if she were giving in to the men who held her captive. And she couldn't allow that to happen. No, she wouldn'tallow that to happen. She wasn't going to show her weakness, not even at the very end.
"No." Sakura whispered in a bit softer voice than she intended. Her eyes that had once been unfocused, zoned in on Itachi with a fiery defiance suddenly. "Never." She repeated with a stronger voice that not only convinced herself, but him as well.
Itachi merely blinked at her words. He nodded in understanding, not seeming to be surprised at her answer. After glancing at her once, the Uchiha looked above her head before standing up.
"Take her back to her cell, Kisame." He ordered in a voice that held no emotion.
Sakura growled at the shark-like man as he approached. She sprang to her feet, backing away as he drew closer. "Stay away from me, you monster."
Kisame ignored her insults before pushing her down to the ground. She gasped out as he grabbed for her shirt collar. Sakura began yelling and cursing as he dragged her back into the building.
Kicking and screaming, she insisted on shouting as loud as she could. "I will die a Leaf Shinobi! I won't give in...Not ever!" As she was dragged through the door, her eyes made one last glance at Itachi, her eyes boring into him with a heated glare. "At least Ican promise my village that!"
xxXxx
"Leader-sama won't be happy about this." Kisame grunted as he heaved his massive sword onto his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at the Uchiha in a displeased manner.
"It's better for our organization if this is dealt with immediately, Kisame." Itachi stared into sparks as he sharpened his katana. "Set backs are not needed."
As Itachi became silent, Kisame had the feeling that the Uchiha had much bigger things in mind. Something did not seem right. Yes, Uchiha Itachi was distant as always, but there was some small detail he felt he was missing.
"A medical-nin is not worth anything if she is dead." Kisame stated from afar. He was very wary of the darkening atmopshere.
Kisame sighed as he made his way out the door. Okay, maybe he was over thinking things. After all, he was supposed to be the muscle of the two, not the brainy partner.
"That girl is feisty as hell." Kisame murmured, not bothering to wait for him as he stepped into the hallway. "I hope you can end it quickly so we can move on."
xxXxx
When Sakura awoke the next morning, she noticed that two things were different.
For one, there was no food tray right next to the door as it normally was each morning. And two; Uchiha Itachi leaned against her only exit with a katana in hand.
What a horrible man, she mused. Instead of killing her while she slept which had little, if no pain, the Uchiha had chosen to make her feel some pain by killing her while she was awake. There was no mistaking it. This man was probably the most sadistic person she would ever come across - and most likely, the last.
This was her death sentence and she knew it.
He stepped closer as if he was already aware she had awakened from her slumber. His Sharingan eyes bore into her emerald ones.
"It seems that you will die a Leaf Shinobi." Itachi said with nonchalance. With those words, he rose the katana in a skillful motion. She watched with narrowed eyes, determined to stare at him with the strongest hatred known to mankind.
He would live on remembering those defiant eyes that stared at him even in death. She would make sure of that.
"That's the only way I'll ever die." Sakura responded without missing a beat. "Unlike you, Uchiha Itachi, who will die as a traitor to my village."
"I think I can bear that burden." Itachi murmured as his muscles tensed to accommodate his next movement. Even as his arms moved in a graceful style, Sakura kept staring with that powerful hatred.
And even as that same katana came down upon her, she stared at him, without trying to avoid the weapon. If it was the end, then so be it. Her fate was sealed at that moment and although she could have attempted to change it as she normally would with her hellish antics...
She didn't.
Kisame didn't turn around as Itachi silently exited the building. He merely waited until his partner caught up with him before walking again.
He seemed unusually quiet. He would have at least confirmed that the deed was completed, but he didn't. This logic sent Kisame's mind on a mission to figure out the reason why not.
As his eyes scanned the Uchiha, he noticed there were no bruises or blood that coated his body. And even though Kisame knew Itachi would never adorn those things, he still wondered.
"What a waste of a hostage..." Kisame grunted as he walked a bit faster in impatience. He didn't agree with Itachi's decision...Not at all.
However, what he especially didn't agree with is that his partner had left behind a very powerful katana...No, the master swordsman definitely did not support that.
xxXxx
Her eyes remained wide with surprise. And her body lay still as her breathing slowed to a stop. Everything in her body felt like it was operating in slow motion.
Thiswasn't supposed to happen.
"Why...?" Sakura whispered in a quiet voice. She couldn't stop staring at the katana that was embedded into the wall next to her head. There was no possible way a foe such as Itachi could miss. As far as she had always known, he could hit his mark without a slight chance of failure.
Itachi took a step back, his hand slipping away from the hilt of the katana.
"You will die as a loyal shinobi to your village." He murmured as he observed her reaction.
Sakura felt her mouth quivering as she tried to grasp for words. But as she found out, there were no words she could find to describe what kind of questions filled her mind.
Taking the silence in his favor, Itachi reached slowly into his cloak. As he finally gripped what he was searching for, he withdrew it before her eyes. Her mouth fell open in surprise at the object in his hands.
He threw it to her before starting towards the door. Sakura fumbled with the item as she caught it. Brushing a thumb over the Hidden Leaf symbol of her newly acquired headband, she looked up at him with confusion.
Her headband had been taken when she was first captured, but here, it was already back in her hands. Not a single scratch or mark adorned the headband. In fact, it was practically untouched since the last time she had it in her possession.
"Wear it proudly." He opened the door with an expression that could not be read. It was heavily clouded with deep thought and maybe an emotion around the lines of wistfulness. The latter emotion was so faint that she questioned its existence in the Uchiha man. In fact, she was questioning so many things she was probably imagining it because her mind was working in overdrive...Or was that what she wanted to believe?
Sakura struggled to her feet with a terrible, shaky balance working against her. Using one hand to clutch the headband and the other to support herself against the wall, she struggled to find words to say. She had to stall him, that's all she knew. She had to find out what exactly had motivated him to do this...to release her, to let her live.
"W-wait!" She shouted as he started into the hallway. The door began to close behind him, but she would not have none of that. Sakura rushed forward, holding the door open with the hand holding her headband. Her legs cried out in agony from the fast movement after all those days of stiffness from lack of training and exercise.
"Just...Just tell me..." She fumbled with the words as she spoke them. Her grip on the headband tightened.
Sakura wanted to ask why, why had he let her live when her usefulness was drawing to an end, why was he allowing her to escape...Just why. So many questions tied into that one word. So many questions that the thought of them sent her mind into a whirlwind of confusion, trying to make sense of each one as it flew past her in a fury.
But then one seemed to surface amongst all and her mind felt a bit clearer. At that moment, Sakura knew this question was the one she wanted answered the most. One question that could put her mind at ease, more than the other ones ever could.
She lifted her head to see he was now farther down the hallway, making great progress towards the exit. The blinding light from the glass entrance momentarily stunned her for a second. However, Sakura knew just how much time was left before he completely disappeared and bolted for the departing Uchiha.
She stumbled a few times, but kept picking herself up again in a frenzy. Her free hand reached for him as she drew closer.
"Wait!" As she shouted for him to halt, Sakura lost track of her feet and plummeted to the floor. She was close enough though to grip his ankle, holding onto it with her remaining strength. "You need to answer my question, damn it!"
Itachi stopped once she grabbed a hold of him and turned to glance down at her. She stared up at him with the same familiar defiance in her eyes.
"I won't let you go until answer me..." He was convinced that her words were true. The way in which her voice held such need for his answer. There was no doubt in his mind she was desperate.
He tilted his head slightly. "Do you wish for me to change my mind?" His inquiry made her body freeze and felt suddenly inclined to turn her head to look beside her. His gaze had guided her to the Leaf headband not too far from her. It had been lost in the process of stopping him.
She lay there, stunned at what he was inferring. Her hands still gripped onto his ankle although her first thought was to let go.
"But..." Sakura tried to begin, but couldn't force herself to continue. What was she trying to argue for? This man spared her life! Did she really want to convince him that she did not deserve it? ...Did she really deserve it for this mishap?
Her eyes moistened in frustration. "But..."
"You've killed all other loyal Leaf shinobi..." Sakura whispered in a hushed voice. "Shinobi that may have been more defiant and loyal than me."
"You are wrong." Itachi replied smoothly, his gaze still boring into hers. Sakura could have scoffed at his answer, but then she saw that his words were genuine. His crimson eyes held nothing to betray what he had said.
Her mind searched her memory banks for shinobi killed by Itachi. But instead of shinobi killed by him, she found shinobi that had survived Itachi. Sasuke...Naruto...Kakashi.
Me.
"Why did you let them go free?" She asked, her mind still trying to hold on to the other, more important question. "You could have easily killed-"
"Kunoichi." Her mouth stopped in mid sentence, but then fidgeted. She didn't want to be silenced.
"No, Uchiha Itachi." Sakura let go of him temporarily to reach the headband to her side. She clenched it tight, bringing it to her heart. "You listen to me. I don't care if you kill me right here, but you better damn listen to what I say."
Uchiha Itachi said nothing. He merely watched her as she stood to her feet. The aura of the pink-haired kunoichi was surrounding her with its fiery flame. The hellacious determination and endurable strength was returning.
"You can keep trying to hold up that cursed front of yours, but I've been able to see through it." Sakura daringly stepped forward once. "You portray yourself as some hardened criminal and yet you let all these shinobi live." Her eyes shifted to meet his, a knowing glint residing there.
"And I've noticed you only let Leaf Village shinobi live."
As she revealed her theory, Sakura felt the pulse of her heart through her chest. Was she doing the right thing now? Calling this man something other than a criminal?
Itachi's body remained still. His breathing was normal and he appeared unfazed. The crimson eyes were shifted to the exit. She quietly wondered if he was eager to leave.
She waited for an answer. Sakura knew there would be one. She just didn't know how long she would have to be patient.
Five minutes passed. Maybe, it had been ten. Sakura honestly thought the time stretched on for eternity. However, as she had thought, her patience paid off.
His quiet, velvet voice held a strange tone as he spoke. Itachi's eyes never left the door leading out of the building although his voice was directed towards Sakura. She assumed he desired a departure from here. Later on that day, Sakura realized it was more than a desire. It was a need.
"A shinobi should not be killed when they have a great purpose before them." Sakura stared at him, feet rooted to the floor.
"What?" Her sound was barely above a whisper. What is Sasuke's purpose? Naruto's? Kakashi's?
...Mine?
"What is your purpose, Uchiha Itachi?" A chill was surrounding her body. Something about his tone was dousing the fire in her attitude.
To this day, the words he spoke still cause a chill to run down Sakura's spine.
"To serve the Leaf Village."
For once, the loud Haruno girl found herself speechless. She couldn't even begin to think of words, let alone an actual sentence. Her beliefs on the concept of a loyal shinobi had been thrown into question.
Uchiha Itachi...still served the Leaf Village?
Sakura blinked several times, feeling dazed. Her eyes ran back and forth between her head band and the Uchiha man. He stood quietly, still staring at the door. He almost seemed like a statue, frozen or bound in place.
Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle of her mind came together. Uchiha Itachi was serving the Leaf Village by spying on the Akatsuki. Uchiha Itachi let his fellow shinobi live and prosper. Uchiha Itachi...was...loyal.
"It-Itachi." Sakura struggled with his name. She couldn't believe she was about to say the following words, but felt compelled to:
"Thank you."
Itachi said nothing in response. He started walking towards the exit. Sakura watched him from afar, clenching her headband to her chest tighter than before. The man who was leaving now was more loyal than even she was to the Leaf Village. He was sacrificing everything to serve the Village even if it meant being a hated outcast.
He glanced back as he opened the door. His eyes met hers with an understanding that only the two shinobi could ever share. Sakura's lips twitched slightly in hesitation. Her mouth then formed a half-hearted smile towards him.
He stared at her for a moment. His lips twitched once as if he debated smiling as well. However, he decided to nod in farewell before departing.
Sakura stood in her spot for a long time after she sensed the two Akatsuki members' chakra leave the area. She gazed down at her headband, then around the hallway. She wasn't sure what she was looking for.
With a quiet laugh, Sakura started crying and sunk to the ground. She promised herself that she would become as loyal as a shinobi as Uchiha Itachi. For he was the most loyal shinobi of his time, Sakura would strive to become just as he had. He had taught her a lesson that would remain in her heart for the rest of her life.
She remained on the floor of the abandoned hideout for a few hours. In those few hours that passed, a Leaf Village squad found her and tended to her. The shinobi noted that the pink-haired girl did not have any wounds. She was only starved, dehydrated, and weak from the lack of physical activity.
It was as if she had done everything to herself.
Several Years Later
"Uchiha Itachi!"
The Akatsuki member turned to the one who called his name. The shinobi who emerged from the tree line into the clearing was unfamiliar. His eyes immediately fell upon the Leaf Village headband that was wrapped around the shinobi's bicep.
"I'm here to kill you."
Itachi acknowledged this statement by turning around and walking away at a slow pace. This man was not a threat to him. Neither were the fellow squad members that hid within the bushes. Itachi didn't even bother analyzing the chakra signatures of the squad members.
However, when a chakra signature intentionally spiked to gain his attention, Itachi's eyes widened a fraction. His pace slowed to a halt. He recognized the chakra signature. He had been around it a few years ago when he dealt with a pink-haired girl.
Itachi turned his head to glance back. As he had sensed, Haruno Sakura stood by the shinobi who had called out to him. Her striking emerald eyes burned into his crimson ones. The determination in her eyes was stronger than it had been several years ago.
She wore her headband proudly around her waist. Although Itachi did not show it, he felt a bit of pride rise in his stomach. It would seem that her loyalty to her village had increased tenfold since their last encounter. He wondered if it matched his own.
The shinobi beside her raced forward to attack Itachi as he was observing the new, improved version of the pink-haired woman. Itachi easily dodged the punch that the shinobi threw at him. His focus was on the girl.
Her mouth then moved slightly, providing one syllable quietly. Itachi immediately followed what she had commanded so softly. The same understanding that had been exchanged so long ago was still intact. With a fluid motion, Itachi jumped back several meters.
Sakura had a hand by her side as she walked a few steps forward. Her index finger moved only a fraction. As her finger moved, the shinobi that had been attacking him dropped to the ground. He sensed a genjutsu's prescence in the air. His eyes shifted towards the girl as she walked towards him.
The shinobi on the ground shouted out, "I killed Itachi! I killed him!"
Itachi's head actually snapped towards Sakura. What did this mean?
"You're free, Itachi." She smiled as she motioned towards the shinobi rejoicing quietly on the ground. "This entire squad thinks that you died right on this spot."
Sakura shifted all her weight onto her heels as she leaned back with hands on her hips. She held a carefree attitude about the entire ordeal. Itachi continued to stare at her as she laughed at him softly.
"You need to leave, Itachi." She murmured quietly. "This genjutsu will not last much longer. You still have a mission you need to complete."
Itachi blinked at her in response. He then smirked half-heartedly.
"Your loyalty has grown." Indeed, it had. Sakura was paying another Leaf shinobi a favor. In her eyes, he was just another teammate.
Sakura's eyes lit up at his observation. She smiled a little wider as she reached out for him. With a hand, she ushered him towards the end of the clearing on the opposite side from which her team were positioned. As they reached the tree line, Itachi turned to glance at her one more time. Both Leaf shinobi understood that this would probably be their last encounter.
"They will realize that you let me escape." He murmured.
"Perhaps." She shrugged with indifference about the subject. "If they realized my reasoning behind it, then it would not be seen as a betrayal. I do not care though. My mission is finally complete."
"You will become a traitor." Itachi countered softly.
Sakura cocked her head to the side and glanced up at him with another smile. His eyelids lowered slightly when he discovered that she was fine with this.
"I am more loyal to my village than people think." She laughed for a moment at what she said. "As long as I know where my loyalty lies, then it does not matter. I just want you to know something, however."
She poked his chest with her index finger lightly.
"I support your cause, Itachi. I respect what you are doing for the village. I hope that you are able to destroy the Akatsuki." Itachi stared in shock at her. He hadn't meant to let his emotions seep through his indifference. He had not expected to hear her to say that. "Now, go."
With a quick turn, Sakura left him to retreat to her side of the clearing. Her teammates were starting to awaken as she reached them. She didn't even glance back at Itachi as she dropped down to the shinobi in the clearing. Her crouched figure blocked the shinobi's view of Itachi.
Itachi accepted the opportunity to escape provided by Sakura. He sprang into the trees just as the shinobi started shouting.
"Where did he go? His body was just there!"
He smiled briefly as the voices faded away behind him. The pink-haired girl had definitely proven that her loyalty was akin to his own. She was following the same path as him now.
In time, he had the feeling that she would find him once again and show off her crazy, hellish antics. She might also help him with his mission someday. After all, both of them were traitors now. It would only make sense that they would join forces.
However, if they didn't join together, that would be fine as well. Itachi was content with the fact that Sakura simply had the same understanding that he did. She was becoming the shinobi of her generation that he had been for his own.
xxXxx
A few months later, Itachi heard his name once more in a local bar. He had been slowly undermining the Akatsuki's plots against humanity. He was surprised that someone knew his name in a bar that was created for complete strangers to relax and ignore one another.
However, the 'stranger' that found him was very familiar.
He glanced over at her, observing how she walked over to him.
With a sincere smile, Sakura looked at him, totally oblivious to how he stared at her. She then hopped up onto the seat next to him and ordered a drink. Itachi found himself able to relax more with her prescence.
"We strike tomorrow." He murmured quietly in her direction.
As if it she had been apart of the plan from the beginning, Sakura merely turned her head towards him and said,
" Then let's finish this together."
(A/N: I actually liked this story pretty well. It took me months to actually be able to finish it. I wasn't sure if I wanted to end it where Itachi left Sakura alive in the hideout. I decided that to support the quote at the beginning, it would be best to continue on. How does everyone else like it?
I appreciate everyone's patience with my fanfiction stories. I hope everyone can enjoy this short story in the meantime. Again, my spelling and grammar check is very primitive right now. I do hope that the story flows well with any mistakes.
Thank you again!
SharinganAnbuSakura