Here's the next chapter! Thank you everyone for the awesome response I've gotten so far on this story! I was so surprised with the amount of reviews and alerts and favorites it got already (even one of my favorite authors alerted this story! I nearly cried I was so surprised and happy!) I hope this chapter is well received too! Thank you all for reading and your responses to Chapter One!
Chapter Two: The Dark Room
There were some times where Sakura had free time. Between her job at the hospital and researching her revival jutsu, free time was far-and-few between but it did occur occasionally. Usually, she would spend her time training (by herself or with her friends) or reading up on some new jutsus. And if she didn't want to be social or study anymore, she'd go to Tsunade and help her (more like help Shizune) with documents and such that needed organizing and delivered to the Konoha Archive Library.
This was one of those times. Sakura was exhausted from working at the hospital and working on her jutsu; she didn't want to go home after work and do more research- she wanted a break for a little while. She had been having a higher success rate with her jutsu and had even revived a cat, much to her excitement. Her jutsu was going very smoothly and she figured within a month, she would be ready to acquire a body and revive it. Hopefully.
"Ah, Sakura! Perfect timing! Here, take these files to the file room and sort them out for me!" As it always was, Hokage Tower was bustling with excitement and ninjas, so Sakura didn't take too much offense when her mentor ignored greeting her and instead put her to work. She nodded and walked away, heading towards the Konoha Archive Library.
Being Tsunade's pupil and second assistant, as well as Director of the Konoha Hospital, gave Sakura special privileges in the Konoha Archive Library. She could, for instance, go through any person's record, especially if that person was a patient of hers. Of course, there were some stipulations to her power (that had long been ignored by Sakura and Tsunade- in reality, there were no problems with her exploring the entire Archive Library, as long as the Council didn't find out), but she could still explore the majority of the Archive Library.
The Konoha Archive Library was built into the Hokage Monument mountain, which served to protect it from destruction and invasions. Seals and ANBU guarded the Library from people trying to enter the most valuable room in Konoha. Only upper-ranking ninja were even allowed to enter the Archive Library, and even then, the most sensitive documents were placed in another section of the Library.
The Archive Library was divided into two sections; the first section was where all shinobi personnel files were kept. There were records on every ninja from Konoha, former ninjas of Konoha, and any other important ninjas from other villages, or even missing ninjas and criminals. This area made up three floors, with scrolls and files lining the walls and filling the room. Sakura could only assume that Konoha had the largest archive room compared to any other Hidden Village. Information was something the Leaf Village prioritized, though. All ANBU captains could access this room, as well as many upper-ranking jounins, and in general, most ANBU.
The second section of the Konoha Archive Library was where the more sensitive information was stored (and this was technically the section that Sakura shouldn't have access to). This room included many mission results, treaties, other country information, and Konoha history. There was also extensive medical history, psychological tests, and other detailed information on shinobi that was not included in their regular files. This section spanned at least four floors, each one going deeper and deeper down. This section was protected with several seals, genjutsus, and other chakra-recognizing jutsus so that any intruders would not be able to enter, even if they found the entrance to the section.
Sakura started with the files Tsunade had handed her, reading through some and sorting them into the appropriate places. It was a mind-numbing job and she relished in it, as it calmed her down and gave her time to immerse herself in her thoughts- which were usually about her revival jutsu. That was all she ever thought about anymore.
But for once, Sakura eased her mind with the thoughts on her jutsu and focused on thinking on something else- anything else, really. She had realized by thinking so much about her jutsu, she had exhausted herself with it. So Sakura daydreamed, filling her thoughts of simple and juvenile things like beauty, fame, fortune. She daydreamed of being a mother (though interestingly enough, she could picture no husband with her) and rushing off to and fro with her children. She would have three children: Haruka, Hikari, and Haru. Haruka and Hikari, both girls, would be the older sisters of the baby boy, Haru. Haruka wouldn't have pink hair like her mother, maybe black. But she would have inherited Sakura's jade eyes. Then Hikari and Haru would have inherited Sakura's bright pink hair, much to Haru's displeasure. Except they would both have bright blue eyes.
Haruka would become a great ninja with superb chakra control. Except she wouldn't focus on healing but instead fighting and would be trained by Kakashi and Naruto and...
Sakura pursed her lips, pausing on a file. Who would be someone to train her daughter...?
Neji Hyuuga. Haruka would be trained by Neji and become a skilled fighter, especially mastering in closing off chakra paths, despite not having the Byakugan. Then Hikari would become a master genjutsu user, surpassing everyone in the world. Her genjutsus would become legendary, so much so that the Hokage would fear her. And finally, Haru would take after his mother and become a top medical ninja.
Sakura sighed, putting another file away. She wished she could settle down but yet she also knew once she became pregnant, her career would shift downwards. She was a career driven woman and that always came first, Sakura decided, smiling. So her Haruka, Hikari, and Haru children could wait for a few more years. Anyways, she didn't even have a good candidate for a husband! Really, Sakura thought sighing; she was married to her job.
She brushed a strand of hair away from her face and saw that she was almost done with the filing. It wasn't too late out and for once, Sakura didn't really want to return home. She figured she could probably organize more files that Tsunade had stacked in her office for a few more hours before going home. Getting so wrapped up in medical things had started to wear on Sakura's patience and she just wasn't ready to work on anything else that challenged her mind tonight.
Putting away the last file, Sakura trekked back to Tsunade's office, realizing she had been filing things for the past two hours already. It was nearing seven o'clock and things had calmed down considerably. Tsunade was reading a document as Sakura came in, and she glanced up to greet her student.
"I figure I can help you and Shizune out by filing some more things tonight," Sakura explained, after greeting her mentor. Tsunade nodded, pouring herself a cup of sake. "I need a break from the hospital and my house, and I really don't feel like training tonight," Sakura clarified, scooping up a box of files located on one wall. "What else needs filing?" Tsunade pointed to three more boxes chocked full of documents and all sorts of scrolls.
"Would you like a mission?" Tsunade asked her, sitting down her sake cup. Sakura shrugged, stacking another box on her first one. She stood up and tried to balance it.
"Maybe I should make two trips," she mumbled.
"You haven't been out of the village in some time," Tsunade continued, frowning worriedly as one of the boxes teetered to one side. Sakura steadied it and leaned down to stack a third box on. "Sakura, please be careful." Sakura nodded, and placed the box on top, applying a little chakra to balance the boxes. "I can find an easy mission to send you out on to give you a break from the hospital. Sometimes it's nice to get away from the village. Shizune can cover your duties at the hospital, too."
"I'm okay right now, really, Tsunade-sama," Sakura told her, squatting down and placing her three boxes on top of the last box. She applied chakra again to steady the four boxes and stood up. "Anyways, I'll go home for the night after I finish filing these, so I'll see you later, Tsunade-sama."
"Of course, Sakura. Good night." Sakura nodded and stepped carefully outside the room, delicately walking down the stairs of the Hokage Tower and coming into a special transport room that sent her straight to the Archive Library. She was whisked there instantly after applying a bit of her chakra and was met with the ANBU guards outside the Archive Library. They nodded at her and let her pass, and she walked through the filing room and unsealed the other part of the basement, knowing she'd be going back and forth between the two sections.
Sakura took a deep breath; scents of musk and age filled her nostrils and she closed her eyes, relishing in the amount of knowledge and power that was kept within these documents. So many lives were risked and taken all for the sake of these documents. This was why this room was so important- this was what being a ninja was about: collecting information for the good of the village. After that information was collected, the village would decide on the correct courses of action, whether it would be collecting more information, making a treaty, or assassinating and foiling other villages' plans. Everything came about from the information stored and collected in these rooms.
It was such a sharp contrast to the scents of the hospital, which were either two things. One was sterilization- no matter what happened that scent clung to a person. The second scent that occurred depended on the day, but it was usually a mixture of the tangy, iron scent of blood; the hot, sizzling scent of flesh burning from the overuse of medical chakra; and the stuffy, nervous sweat that covered the doctors because they felt so pressured to do the right task and not lose a life.
The scent in here-this library- represented knowledge and hard work. This was the scent Sakura relished in, the same scent that she found in all libraries. It was her favorite scent, more so than even vanilla infused raspberry and strawberry (which was her choice of perfume). This was why Sakura found this room, this work, so relaxing and calming.
So, she smiled, swept her shoulder-length hair back into a ponytail, cracked her knuckles, and got back to work sorting the documents. This scroll goes there; this one has to do with foreign trade with Mist so it goes over there; this document is about the benefits of a treaty with Cloud so it goes in this pile; this one is an update on the status of Sand so it goes there... One by one, each scroll and paper was taken out and sorted into the appropriate pile, surrounding her on the floor.
Sakura stood up and cracked her back, arching backwards like a cat. She rolled her neck, feeling stiff from not moving in so many hours. Around her were piles upon piles to be further sorted, but she had finally gotten through every box. She picked up one stack and filed it away into the correct folders and other labeled boxes, knowing that she would be here for another few hours. It was a tedious task to sort these. First she sorted them into piles, which she then would pick up and locate the appropriate box or file to place the scroll or document into the correct location. Everything had a specific location and category, whether it would be Uzumaki, Naruto personnel files or Trade Routes with Mist. She could locate anything in here with little trouble.
Sakura was depositing a file but she stopped, frowning. She was at the very back of the lower basement room, depositing something about the Sharingan into Sasuke's file (Tsunade had been regularly checking his Sharingan and making notes) but as Sakura looked through Sasuke's file, she felt like something was... off. It was something about the entire Uchiha file.
She wasn't sure why, either. It wasn't like she hadn't been through Sasuke's files before, or the Uchiha Massacre files, or even Itachi's files, but looking at Sasuke's files, she felt like there wasn't enough information. Sakura looked down at the Sharingan paper and that's when she realized what it was.
This wasn't a complete document. Sakura had examined Sasuke's eyes before; she knew what the Sharingan looked like and how it worked. She had, after all, been the one to sever his chakra connections to it. Tsunade was just as experienced as Sakura was, she would have known there was more to the Sharingan than what was told on this paper. It was like it was missing key features of the Sharingan. But that was odd. Why would Tsunade intentionally leave out valuable information from the documents? This room was one of the most, if not the most, secure rooms in the entire village. Even the ANBU captains couldn't access this lower section. Heck, the majority of ninja didn't even know of the existence of this section of the Archive Library.
After all, despite being in the lower levels of the Konoha Archive Library, this section was so securely hidden and sealed that no one could ever hope to enter it. Besides, even the people that could enter this section were extremely few and knew most of the secrets of the village already. Sakura could count the people on her hand because so little were allowed to enter. Tsunade, the Council (Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane), Naruto, Shikaku Nara, Shikamaru Nara, Kakashi, Shizune, and she were the only ninja Sakura knew that had full access to the room and could come and go as they pleased. From what she understood, there were specific reasons why those that could enter were allowed to enter.
Naruto could come in here because he was actually the successor to the Hokage. Kakashi could come in here because he was named the Sixth Hokage, even if it never actually happened to where he really became the Hokage, and besides that, he was part of Naruto's Council. Shikaku Nara had access because he was the Jounin Leader and sort of like the third council member, since Danzo was dead. Shikamaru had access because he was also a part of Naruto's Council. And finally, Shizune and Sakura had access because they were the Hokage's assistants and because they ran the hospital, so they often needed access to shinobi personnel files (at least, that was why Tsunade let them in; technically, neither of them were allowed to enter this lower section).
That's why Sakura didn't understand why part of the Sharingan document was missing. There were less than ten ninja that could access this room- why would they need to hide part of this? That's what seemed off, Sakura realized, frowning. Important things were missing in Sasuke's file: in-depth Sharingan information, extensive information on what he had told Tsunade after she had interrogated him, and just little things that Sakura realized were starting to add up. The same with the Uchiha Massacre. There weren't as many extensive studies done to explain why Itachi did what he did. Any other massacre would have had loads of documents detailing the theories on why a person killed their family. There was barely anything in the folder.
It chilled Sakura to know that there was possibly so much information being withheld from this room. That meant the village was hiding secrets that not even top-ranked ninjas knew about. Which begged the question as to what these secrets were that could be so dangerous that they had to be hidden away somewhere.
Sakura finished sorting through the documents, though she felt much more aware of her surroundings than she had before. It was almost if she was searching for something to slip up and give her a hint to what was being hidden. She knew the village was hiding something (or somethings) but what it (or they) was (were), Sakura wasn't sure.
It only made her want to know so much more.
She finished putting away her last document and checked the clock on the wall, knowing she had been down in the room for hours. She was right- it was nearly one o'clock in the morning. She yawned but decided before going home, she'd check the room to make sure she hadn't left anything misplaced or left an open file anywhere.
It was when she was approaching the back of the room again that she felt that pin-prick feeling that something was off. She looked around, glancing over at the Uchiha files, trying to see if something was hiding there or there was something wrong, but nothing stuck out to her. She walked a little closer, running her fingers of the shelves on the back wall, feeling nothing out of the ordinary.
At least until she touched the back wall. That's when she understood why she had been having the off feeling around that area. It wasn't because of the Uchiha files; no, it was because of the wall. Or more specifically, the small little gap between one shelf and another shelf.
There was an enormous amount of genjutsus concentrated on that one area. Sakura was thankful she had trained in identifying genjutsus because without it, she would have never noticed. Her curiosity was piqued and Sakura began concentrating, slowly working through the genjutsus (not actually disabling them, but seeing through them) until she realized that there was a special seal on the wall. She completed the necessary hand signs to let her pass through the seal (as she recognized the seal and identified the chakra patterns in it, thus being able to figure out how to counteract the seal. It was a special skill she picked up as a medical ninja when working on Naruto or other ninjas with seals inside them- she had to know how to work around the seal so she could heal them properly. Chakra patterns and chakra control was her specialty so counteracting seals came easily to her). Sakura's hand slid through the wall and ever so gently, she passed through it.
Sakura found herself in pitch black darkness. The wall turned to normal and Sakura suddenly felt trapped inside the room. There was absolutely no light; she couldn't even see her hand in front of her face. Sakura had been in dark areas before but something about being surrounded with nothing but blackness in a room she had never seen before made her heart jump into her throat and fear flood her system. She had never been claustrophobic before but standing in the room, she felt so trapped, which increased her rising panic. If she were trapped, no one would ever find her in here. Sakura took a deep breath and mumbled a light jutsu, thankful for the bright chakra flooding the room. Now she saw scrolls everywhere, thick layers of dust covering them. Sakura bumped into a wall, shifting some of the dust around, making her cough.
She took a few steps in and turned around, amazed at the scrolls that lined the walls in the small room. Softly, as if this would all disappear or she would be caught, Sakura reached out and grabbed a scroll. It was something about Orochimaru and the various experiments he performed on his subjects. Sakura felt a chill run through her as she read the descriptive explanations on what had happened to his subjects. With rising horror, she realized it was Orochimaru's actual notebook that he must have left behind in Konoha.
Sakura quickly dropped the scroll back to its proper position, her hands trembling. This room truly was the room that held all the village's secrets. Some, Sakura was sure, she probably didn't want to know. She held her light out in front of her and walked around the room, reading various titles on scrolls. A lot were about Orochimaru and the Sannin, which Sakura ignored. Others were about previous Hokages and secrets on the village and the founding of it. Sakura ignored those as well.
Some scrolls did catch her eye, though. One of which was labeled Uzumaki, Kushina: Kyuubi Jinchuuriki II. That one, Sakura picked up to read. She was a female ninja from the Land of Whirlpools who became the second Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, after an Uzumaki Mito. Slowly, Sakura realized the Kushina, who was married to the Fourth Hokage, was Naruto's mother. After she finished reading the scroll, Sakura found two others labeled Uzumaki, Mito: Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and Uzumaki, Naruto: Kyuubi Jinchuuriki III. There were more scrolls that detailed Naruto's seal and explained the Kyuubi inside, but Sakura only skimmed those.
The other scrolls that caught her eye were the scrolls about the Uchiha Clan. Sakura looked through a scroll labeled Sharingan and realized that the reason why Tsunade hid some of the Sharingan documents was because she didn't want anyone to access some of the more complex forms of the Sharingan, like the Mangekyo Sharingan, or Sasuke's new Eternal Mangekyo form, and read the secrets about it. Sakura put down the Sharingan scroll and picked up another scroll about Sasuke and explanations of his Cursed Seal and things of that nature. Then her eyes found another scroll that made her stop and her heart freeze, jumping to her throat.
The Assassination of the Uchiha Clan- S-rank
Her fingers trembled as she touched it and suddenly, she knew something was very wrong with whatever she had believed before. She had the feeling that there was some horrendous secret contained in the scroll that would shatter all her previous thoughts of the Massacre. After all, that scroll was a mission scroll that the Hokage distributed.
Sakura unrolled the document, feeling her hands tremble as she read. By the time she was finished reading, she could barely keep the scroll from slipping out of her hands because of how hard she was shaking.
To Itachi Uchiha:
As the information of the Uchiha Clan's rebellion has been processed, and peaceful negotiations have been attempted with the Uchiha Clan Head, Fugaku Uchiha, but have failed, we, the Council of The Village Hidden in the Leaves, have deemed that there is no time left to reconcile with the Uchiha Clan. According to Shinobi Rule Number Two: Shinobi who gather and plot any type of ploy that could possibly harm the village, civilians, or fellow comrades are committing treason, and are considered traitors. And according to Shinobi Rule Number Seven: Traitors to the village are punished by death; therefore, holding the Shinobi Rules to law, we have deemed it necessary for the assassination of the entire Uchiha Clan, in light of their plot to overthrow the village.
The entire Uchiha Clan must be exterminated and wiped out from existence; we will reveal the reasons for this to the village so that you may be cleared of all treasonous charges. The Uchiha Clan will become an example to all who may try to plot against Konoha. All men, women, and children must be eliminated. Failure to complete this mission by the ninth of December will result in revocation of shinobi status and possible death. Failure to kill all Uchiha members will result in revocation of shinobi status. Failure to keep this information secret will result in death.
-Konoha Council, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane; Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Sakura's breath hitched in her throat and everything after that blurred. Itachi was ordered to kill his own clan. The Third Hokage signed the document; he ordered Itachi to kill his own family!
Sakura was about to roll up the document, when she saw an added note at the bottom. She glanced down, reading on. It was the result of the mission.
While, overall, the mission was successful, Itachi Uchiha failed in killing all Uchiha Clan members, sparing his little brother's life- Sasuke Uchiha. The Third Hokage has agreed to keep Sasuke alive and protected, while Itachi has threatened the Council to stay away from his brother. Furthermore, Itachi has threatened to spread the secrets of Konoha to other villages if the truth of the Uchiha Clan Massacre is revealed. In exchange for his ineptitudes to complete his mission in full, he has agreed to leave the village as a traitor and allow the S-rank Criminal title to be placed on him. He understands that all Konoha shinobi will be ordered to kill him on sight, and he will be place in all Bingo books. Itachi Uchiha has left the village as a traitor, thus severing all ties to the village.
Sakura dropped the scroll, her stomach churning. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm down. She didn't want to be in this room any more. The secrets in here- there was a reason they were secrets from the rest of the village. Sakura placed the scroll back where it belonged and exited the room, rechecking the genjutsus and strengthening them, making sure everything was the way she found it.
She left the archive rooms quickly, her eyes burning, her stomach twisting, and chills raking her body. It was nearing two o'clock in the morning and Sakura walked down the, almost ghostly, village. She wanted nothing more than to be home and to put everything behind her, even though she knew she never would. That room was only for the Hokage's and the Council's eyes. Not for her eyes; never for her eyes.
Sakura stopped suddenly and dashed to a bush, retching and vomiting. Her body shook with chills and her head spun. She wanted to cry and scream and forget everything. But most of all, she wanted to find Itachi and apologize and bring him back to the village and declare that he was a hero. He had done nothing wrong, nothing...
Sakura vomited again. She sat back on her haunches, coughing and panting. She closed her eyes, rocking back and forth. Her trembling became worse and she was sure she was going to faint, her head spun so hard.
Itachi hadn't done anything wrong and yet he was hated so fiercely. Sasuke had hated him so fiercely and yet Itachi had saved his life. Itachi was a good guy.
Sakura plunged her head back to the bush, vomiting again, even though nothing came up but bile and stomach acid.
"Whoa, Haruno." Someone squatted down beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you okay?" Sakura turned around seeing Genma. She figured he was probably on guard duty, patrolling the village, and had just happened to spot her.
He probably hates Itachi, too.
Sakura promptly turned back away from him and retched again, gagging and coughing. As she finished, the trembles overtook her body and she felt like she was convulsing, she shook so hard.
"Hey, hey, Sakura!" Genma grabbed her, embracing her close to his chest, trying to calm her trembles. Finally the tears spilled from Sakura's eyes and she turned to Genma, not caring so much who was with her, but just thankful not to be alone. Her trembles subsided and she wiped her eyes. "You okay?" Sakura nodded, breaking out of his hold. Genma stood up, frowning. He offered her his hand and Sakura gratefully took it as she stood, her head still spinning.
Itachi was just doing his job. He was forced to kill them.
"Thank you, Genma," she told him, closing her eyes. She didn't want to look at him or think about anything. "I need to go home now," she whispered, her throat raw from the vomit.
"Do you want me to walk you home?" Sakura shook her head.
"I'll be fine. Thank you very much for everything you've done. Please excuse me." Sakura walked away shivering but guarding her thoughts from Itachi and the Uchiha Massacre, though one managed to stay on her mind, no matter how hard she tried to get it away.
Itachi was innocent of everything. He doesn't deserve the hate.
He was just doing his job.
"Sakura-chan!" Sakura didn't want to open the door. She rolled over in her bed, staring blankly at the wall. She wasn't sure if she had slept last night. She could only remember once she got home how she had to vomit again, how the sobs started and wouldn't stop for hours, and how her thoughts continued in a vicious loop about Itachi and Sasuke and the Uchiha Massacre.
She knew she was late for work. That was why Naruto was there, she was sure. The nurses had reported to Tsunade that Sakura hadn't shown up for work, so Tsunade had called for Naruto to come and find her. But Sakura wasn't going to move an inch from her bed. No, she was going to lay there and feel numb and sick and exhausted.
"Sakura-chan!" This time, the voice came from her window. "I'm coming in!" Naruto slid open her window, hopping into her bedroom. "Hey, Sakura-chan! Genma told me about you being sick last night. Why the heck were you out at two o'clock in the morning?" Sakura remained quiet, closing her eyes. She felt so sick.
Does Naruto know about Itachi? Does he understand how unfair it was for Itachi?
Her stomach lurched and Sakura shivered. Naruto noticed and sat down on her bed, frowning. "Hey, is it a bug? Tsunade-baa-chan wanted me to tell you not to come into work today, though she wants to know if you were sorting things until two." Sakura nodded, feeling tears well up behind her eyes.
Itachi was hated by the one man he gave everything up for. He was killed by the boy he saved.
Sakura flew upwards, leaning over the side of her bed, and throwing up into the trash-can beside her bed. Naruto reacted quickly, pulling her hair back and steadying her.
"Whoa! Sakura!"
Itachi was innocent.
He gave everything up for his village.
His home, his honor, his reputation, his family, his conscience, his future, his life.
He gave up everything.
Everything.
EVERYTHING.
Sakura vomited harder, the tears breaking through finally. She took a gasping breath and slid back into bed. Sweat covered her forehead and her hair plastered to her face. She panted, choking and coughing.
"Sakura-chan, maybe you should see a doctor?"
"I am a doctor," Sakura snapped, finally speaking. She pulled her comforter over her head. "I know what's wrong with me," she told Naruto. He waited but she said nothing further.
"What is wrong with you?" he asked.
"I'm just sick," Sakura lied. "So please, can you leave so I can go back to sleep?" Naruto hesitated but finally agreed.
"Yeah. Get better, Sakura-chan." He could see her nod through the covers. Naruto patted the covered lump and exited through her window, leaving Sakura back to her swirling, nauseating thoughts.
He was just an innocent, little boy.
Only thirteen years old. Only thirteen and he was ordered to kill his mother, his father, his friends, everyone he had ever known...
So innocent.
Just a boy.
He was hated.
He was called a criminal.
He was hunted by his own village; the same village that had ordered him and forced him to kill his clan.
His own brother, the one he gave up everything for, hated him.
The little brother he had betrayed his mission and the village for, killed him.
He was only a thirteen year-old boy.
Just a boy...
Sakura woke up, still feeling exhausted. It was late into the afternoon; she had slept for most of the day. Sakura sat up, rubbing her eyes. They felt swollen and puffy and her muscles, especially her abdominal muscles, ached. Her throat was rough and scratchy and felt raw. Sakura swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up slowly. She shuffled over to her bathroom, stripping down, and got in the shower, turning her spray on full blast and high heat.
Sakura slid down the tiled wall in her shower, resting against the back of the tub. She wrapped her arms around her knees, bringing her knees to her chest. The water pelted her head and she stayed there, just resting.
It was hard to wrap her head around the entire concept of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, but deep down, she believed it. She knew Itachi wasn't a bad guy, which made his situation so much worse. He died a horrible way and he didn't even deserve it. If there was one great ninja, it was Itachi.
She needed the truth about everything. And there was one man that would tell her the absolute truth about Itachi and the Uchiha Clan- Sasuke. Sasuke had to know the true truth by now, Sakura was sure of it. It would explain his hate for Konoha and why he had teamed up with Madara Uchiha.
"I need to see him," Sakura declared, standing up. She finished washing herself and got out and dressed, deciding she was finally going to pay Sasuke a visit again, after eight months.
"What are you doing here?" Sakura expected that. She couldn't really blame him, either. After all, she did randomly show up on a day of no importance.
"I need to talk to you. I want some answers," she answered truthfully. "I want to know about your brother."
"What about him?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "He's dead; he hardly matters anymore. I killed him." Sakura nodded patiently. Sasuke said nothing more to her and turned around, sitting on the edge of his cot. After having lived in the prison for five years, he was slowly given a few more accommodations than he originally had. Like, he now had a softer bed and two covers and a pillow. He also had a better quality toilet and sink on one side of the small cell. The bindings around his hands had been loosened to give him a little more movement, but he still had the chakra seals all over his body and his Sharingan was still disabled.
"He... Why? Why did he do it?" Sakura whispered, looking down. Sasuke shrugged, not saying anything. "Sasuke, please." The tone of her voice made him look back up at her. They were completely alone; Sakura had sent the guards away, saying she wanted to talk to him privately- the guards didn't question their superior and had left them, standing outside the hallway door of Sasuke's cell (Sasuke had a steel door on his cell but he was isolated in a small hallway with two steel doors on either side that were covered with sealing jutsu and ANBU posted outside of each door).
"He told me for power," Sasuke replied finally, looking away. "That's what he told me." Sakura shook her head, her hands resting against the door of his cell. Sakura laid her cheek against the steel door.
"Be honest. The truth, Sasuke. I need the truth." When she glanced back up at him, she was sure Sasuke recognized the desperate look in her eyes. "Why did he do it? Why did he accept the mission?" Sasuke's hands clenched and he glared at the wall above Sakura's hair.
"How do you know?" he hissed, momentarily dropping his guard. His black eyes were piercing and filled with such hate, but not at Itachi, Sakura realized. She took a deep breath.
"It doesn't matter. I found it out on accident," she answered. "I don't know who knows the real truth, besides the Council and probably Tsunade. Naruto probably knows, too." Sasuke remained silent, turning away from her. Sakura clenched her fist and hit the door softly, getting his attention. "Please, Sasuke. He's dead. I just want to know to ease my mind... to remember him in the way he deserves to be remembered." Her hand uncurled and her fingertips brushed against the door. The silence that lasted was tense and heavy. Sakura wasn't sure how long she stood there, listening to her heart beat and Sasuke's breathing.
"He didn't want to go to war," Sasuke finally answered. "I don't know why he did everything he did. I'll never know. I just wish..." He shuddered, looking down. "He's a much different man than anyone ever thought, Sakura. He didn't deserve the end he got." Sakura closed her eyes, swallowing hard. There was a lump in her throat and she felt like she would cry at any second. She knew Itachi wasn't going to have had a nice ending.
"How... What happened? At the end? How did it end?" She knew Sasuke had never spoken about his brother's death. He had only told them he had killed Itachi and no matter how hard Tsunade, Ibiki, Kakashi, and Naruto probed, he would never say anything else other than the fact that he had killed his brother. They hadn't asked him again and he had been here for five years. Sakura had never asked what had happened, so she was hoping he would tell her. "Five years, Sasuke," she whispered, barely audible. "Let him get the proper remembrance he deserves."
"I don't know," Sasuke answered her previous questions, finally speaking with a raw sounding voice, rather than the typical hollow sound she was so used to. "He was going to win. He was so close to winning. Then he stopped, coughed up blood, and came closer. He poked my forehead and it was over." The silence after the story was over became deafening to Sakura. Her hands trembled.
"Just like that..." Sakura whispered. She shook her head. The nauseous feeling returned but she pushed it away. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She was sorry for Itachi dying the way he did, for it all to end like that, but mostly for all the pain they both had endured. "Where is he now?"
"I buried him back where he died; where we fought- the old, abandoned Uchiha Stronghold. It was only fitting to bury him there. Only right..." Sasuke turned away from her. He had finally told someone the truth of his brother's death; the true story, and it happened to be to the girl that had hated him ever since he had returned. It had only taken five years of prison and her desperate pleading to convince him. Sakura closed her eyes and turned away herself, knowing that Sasuke was done with talking.
"Thank you, Sasuke. I had to know the truth." With that, she left him, her head pounding, her stomach churning, and a hollow feeling inside, knowing how much Itachi had to have suffered.
He was innocent.
XxX
To clarify a few things in this chapter (I hope I can remember everything, haha):
1. The dark room/room of ultimate secrets- I don't think something like this would ever exist in the village (but maybe it does? I mean, where else would they keep crucial information? Hmmmmm...) but for the sake of the plot, Sakura had to find out the truth about Itachi, without Naruto knowing that she knows. It doesn't make much sense now as to why that's important, but it will later on! As for who knows of the existence of the room? Probably just Tsunade and the Council. Naruto won't know until he's actually Hokage.
2. The contents of the mission scroll for the Massacre- Itachi being an agent to Akatsuki wasn't mentioned in the scroll; I don't think he would have told something like that to the Council, who could have read the scroll. So Itachi's double-agent status in Akatsuki was probably only known to the Third Hokage. At least, that's what I figured. Sakura doesn't know about his double-agent status to Akatsuki, though.
3. Sakura vomiting- I don't know if it's common to vomit after being distressed or emotionally upset, but I do it. Whenever I'm really upset or nervous, I tend to get really nauseous and vomit (gross, right?) So if you're confused as to why she's vomiting, it's because she's so emotionally distraught.
4. Itachi's burial place- from my knowledge, after Itachi died, his body was not shown again. It is true that Madara had to take Itachi's body for Sasuke's transplant to occur; and Kabuto did have some sort of DNA from Itachi to revive him, but where Itachi's physical body is isn't shown in the manga. That's why I have Sasuke burying him back at the Uchiha Stronghold. And to clarify timeline issues, Sasuke wouldn't have buried him until after Madara's death, or at least after these current chapters in the manga. I think Sasuke is a bit too insane right now to even think about giving his brother a proper burial place, so it would have to be after he calmed down, haha.
5. Finally, that little italicized blurb right before Sakura visits Sasuke- that would be a mixture of Sakura's dreams and thoughts. Even when she's unconscious, she dreams of how unfair Itachi's treatment. All the italicized interjections, besides something that is obviously writing, will always be Sakura's thoughts, I'd say. So all the sentences about Itachi being just a boy and how unfair it was for him were Sakura's thoughts. I hope that was clear.
Next Chapter:
For a break from the village, Sakura is sent on a mission to the Sand Village. Everything is fun and relaxing for the overworked kunoichi, and she is finally able to ease her thoughts on the truth about the Uchiha Massacre. That is, until she finds the burial place of the man who haunts her thoughts. A grave, a body, a revival jutsu... she has all the pieces in her hands, but she has to decide what to do with them.
Chapter Three: Solo
The plot continues...!
Thank you again for all the reviews and alerts and favorites! You all have made my week :D I hope you enjoyed this chapter!