EMBRACED BY DARKNESS

Chapter 1: Exile

How she got lost in the forest that's she's been in so many times was beyond her. She sat against a tree; the earth beneath her was dry from another hot summer day. But now that the sun was going down at least it would be cooler. Sakura's skin dripped with sweat, her hair sticking to her face and neck. She wanted to believe that someone would come looking for her, even though she knew no one would.

Sakura grabbed a low branch of the tree she was sitting under and tried to pull herself up. She was just getting over a cold and searching for a way out of the forest for so long had exhausted her. She managed to get on her feet but her legs felt like they could collapse at any moment. Still hanging on to the branch, Sakura slowly put one foot in front of the other in an attempt to walk.

She had only taken two steps when her legs gave out. She fell, face first, onto the ground and felt warm blood on her face. Sakura struggled to get up using the branch for support. She felt her nose, confirming that it wasn't broken. The blood on her face was already starting to dry, she made no effort to wipe it off. She laughed when she realized that she had forgotten why she came into the forest in the first place.

Sakura could not accept that her only option was to crawl. But after falling another seven times and getting cuts all over her arms and legs she finally gave in. On her hands and knees she went, stopping frequently to rest. She went on for what seemed like hours until she could see the trees thinning. Her pace quickened until she was at the edge of a clearing. Sakura staggered forward until she reached the stream that was in the middle and dunked her whole head in, drinking her fill. She then collapsed on the edge of the water unaware of the two pars of eyes that watched her.

The first of the two walked over to Sakura and stood over her. "Dead?" he muttered. "No, unconscious…" The man crouched down and took Sakura's head in his hand examining it. Sakura, who was barely conscious, felt his presence and used the last of her energy to grab the man's arm. To Sakura this person was her life line, she would never let go no matter how weak she was.

The man slipped his fingers under Sakura's hand and loosened it from his arm. Sakura then grabbed his hand and squeezed it before darkness washed over her. The man laid Sakura's hand beside her while the taller of the two walked over to them. "Looks like she got stuck in our Genjutsu." Kisame pointed out. Itachi only nodded still looking over the fallen kunoichi. Kisame continued, "I'm surprised she made it out. The illusion is supposed to suck up your chakra."

Itachi didn't reply. He seemed to have taken an interest in the girl. As to why, he had no idea. Kisame drew his sword and reminded Itachi that they were supposed to report back about the Kyuubi. He lifted his sword and was about to bring it down on Sakura when Itachi grabbed the hilt, stopping him. "You go ahead." Itachi explained. "I'll take care of the girl and catch up with you." Kisame nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes and tried to remember where she was. She sat up and took in her surroundings. The sun was high and she was sitting next to a stream she had never seen before. She was really tired and her limbs were heavy. Sakura lay down on her back and closed her eyes. When she opened them she saw Itachi standing over her. Sakura was so shocked that she rolled over and ran into Itachi's legs.

She gasped and tried to push herself away from him. But before she could Itachi had collapsed on top of her. He wasn't moving and Sakura saw that his eyes were closed. 'Sleeping?' she thought. She tried to push him off of her but he was either too heavy or she was too weak. So she laid there and listened to Itachi's heartbeat until he slowly opened his eyes. Itachi pushed himself up and Sakura wiggled out from underneath him.

They sat in silence, Sakura occasionally glancing over at the Uchiha. As she watched him she noticed how much Itachi and Sasuke were different yet alike. She still couldn't believe they were related. She thought about how Sasuke would do anything to kill Itachi, even give his body to the devil incarnated, Orochimaru. She gasped when she realized it's been almost 4 years since he left and that Orochimaru can now take over Sasuke's body.

Her Chakra flared wildly as she remembered how Orochimaru's sound nin had invaded the leaf village and almost burned it to the ground only a couple months ago. Her own house perished along with her mom inside while she was healing the injured. Tears silently fell down Sakura's cheeks as rage and revenge mixed with her chakra. Itachi glanced at her. Her face was perfectly calm but he could see the tears and feel her chakra. He could see her deepest emotions, no matter how hard Sakura tried to hide them. He could look into the deepest parts of her heart and soul if he wished, using his clans cursed eyes.

Sakura stopped weeping and her chakra returned to normal. She had excellent control of her emotions and knew how to use them in her training and battles. If she lost control now she didn't know if she would have control over her actions. To show emotion is to show weakness, Sakura reminded herself, and a shinobi must never show weakness. For the horrific months after her mom died, Sakura lived off of these words. Building a barrier around her heart, to make sure nothing slipped in or out. Never again would she suffer from a broken heart.

Sakura pulled a kunai out of the pouch on her legs and held it in front of her so that it gleamed in the sun. Itachi watched her actions closely thinking that she might try and take her own life. But the kunai never reached her neck; instead she kneeled down and started to cough up blood. Sakura sat back up and wiped the blood from her face. She glanced at Itachi who was still watching her, his face expressionless. His calm attitude made her angry; she would prefer if he had attacked her or at least say something.

However, his eyes showed his true nature, Sakura could see the hunger in them. He was the predator and she was the prey. The very thought frightened her, even though she had drowned most of her emotions. The silence was uneasy; Sakura didn't know what to say to a member of the Akatsuki and the person that killed almost everyone in his clan. And yet this murderer was human, though some may not think so. He had a heart no matter how heartless he may seem.

Sakura had made her decision. She would get revenge on the sound nin for destroying her village and made her life a living hell. But she needed to become stronger so that she could kill Orochimaru or whoever was in charge of the sound shinobi. She wouldn't be able to accomplish this inside the village but that wasn't a problem for her. She had no one left in the village that would come after her if she did leave.

Her mom was dead; Naruto and Jiraiya had to go into hiding because of the Akatsuki; and everyone else could care less. Sakura sighed and looked at the ground. How was she going to get stronger if she didn't have someone to teach her? She cursed and punched the ground with out channeling her chakra so that only little cracks appeared in the earth. Trickles of blood ran down her knuckles when she saw movement.

Itachi had stood up and was looking away from Sakura, towards the center of the forest. Sakura rose too, and when she did Itachi finally broken the silence. "If you seek power, come with me." He had already started walking when Sakura realized what he had said. She quickly grabbed her waist-length hair that she had been growing and cut it off with her kunai. She then threw the hair into the river to symbolize that she had exiled herself from the Leaf.

Sakura ran to catch up with Itachi and followed behind him. They silently walked until they reached the heart of the forest. Once there Itachi handed Sakura a plain black cloak and told her to put it on. After she had the cloak over her clothes Itachi had started walking again. Sakura had no idea where they were going be decided not to ask. After all this was the path she had chosen. Maybe one day she would return to her village but until then she would have to stay with Itachi and learn everything she could from him.

When darkness fell, Itachi's pace slowed and eventually stopped. Sakura also stopped and sat against a tree as Itachi did the same. She shivered, not because it was cold but the forest was creepy at night. The hours went by slowly; Sakura was unable to sleep. When exhaustion finally washed over her she was asleep for what seemed like half an hour before dawn crept in.

Itachi was first to rise. Sakura watched him through her eyelashes and wondered if he had actually slept. She forced herself to stand up and waited for Itachi to say something but no words escaped his mouth. Instead he only glanced at her and started walking again. Sakura followed silently, hoping that their journey wouldn't be long. But she knew she couldn't turn back now. Not when she had sacrificed everything for this one thing.