A small pool of wax formed at the base of a candle, which flickered as the young woman sighed. The shadows wobbled, creating the illusion that there was movement in the silent, still room.
Sakura sat hunched over in a rough wooden chair, elbows resting on her knees, face in hands. The strange turn of events was whirling about like an out of control storm. Itachi, who had gotten dizzy just from sitting up, had lain back down and, though he appeared to be sleeping, Sakura couldn't be sure because of the way his bangs covered his upper face. The sky was now black, and crickets were chirruping softly outside the window. In the hour or so more that she had been sitting in the room with him, Sakura could imagine quite clearly fate laughing at her. All she had wanted to do was pop an eye back in place, get handed some cash, sleep here a few days, and then waltz away from this dingy seaside village. Alas, not only did Itachi want her to heal his vision, but he would most likely force her to figure out a way to restore the Sharingan when his sight returned. What if she refused, or couldn't? Everything about her situation had gone from easy as pie to dangerous as hell. If she walked away now, another job was not just going to jump in her path. If only Sasuke had know that his brother still lived, then he may not have returned home, and Sakura would be enjoying the evening with her old friends instead of a clan killing Akatsuki member.
Of course, leaving Konoha had been optional, but if Sakura wanted something better than life there, she was going to have something better, damn it. However, this situation was not better, and currently Sakura was trying to decide if it was actually worse or just as bad.
Itachi, meanwhile, had his own distressed thoughts to keep him quiet. If the woman in the room with him was indeed Haruno Sakura, he might be screwed. But where was her team? Any knowledgeable leaf nin would have killed him in a second, with no hesitation or regard for the situation. Of course, Itachi could not see the long gash that ran across her forehead protector.. A thousand questions rose to the surface of Itachi's thoughts, but most of them could be summed up into only one:
"Why are you here?" He'd shattered the silence and Sakura's own thoughts, and she presently sat up. His voice gave her the fleeting impression of a panther; it was smooth, and powerful. She thought for a moment about how to go about answering, and then spoke in a low voice.
"I could ask you the same thing." She paused for a moment to let him think that she wasn't going to give anything away, but continued,
"I have left my village for good. So you don't have to worry about your location being given away, because I'm only here for the promise of money. And last time I checked the records, you were dead."
"You've abandoned Konoha?" He asked in a mocking tone, a most familiar Uchiha-ish smirk passing across what was visible of his features. Unbelievable. Here he was, suffering and blind in an old bed as helpless as a newborn, yet he still had the audacity to try and shame her. Sakura would die twice before the other Uchiha got to her.
"Yes, I've left, only I didn't kill hundreds of people before doing so." She spat the words venomously. Her tone was dangerous and icy compared to Itachi's own, and the smirk fell a bit from his face, which reminded Sakura what she was there for. Standing up, he set the little candle that lit the room closer to Itachi's bed and sat down to see what she could in the poor lighting. All she wanted now was to get this over with and leave asap. Not waiting for approval, she leaned over him and pulled his long bangs aside. He did have eyes to speak of, thankfully, half lidded by scratched and torn lids, but until the mess of skin and dried blood was washed away she wouldn't be able to start healing of any sort.
"Can you see at all?" She asked seriously.
"No." His tone indicated he was not at all pleased with her touching his head so suddenly, and if his future plans at living hadn't all relied on this woman, he'd have her pinned against the wall with a blade at her neck in moments. It was really incredible that you could be with this man for weeks and not know a thing about him, yet with a single syllable all his motives could be revealed. Sakura sighed and stepped back. The aura he was giving off made her skin prickle.
"I can't see in this light at all, but as soon as it's morning I'll have to wash off all the blood and take a closer look. But for now, tell me how you sustained the injuries and how long you've had them. Don't leave out details." She added. Itachi considered her words carefully. If this were a trick, everything he said would find its way in the Hokage's hands in a few days time. However, revealing anything about Akatsuki was not much of an issue to him anymore. After all, they had dumped his body in the middle of nowhere, hadn't they? But now that Sasuke had returned, Konoha would know everything about the Sharingan by now anyway. Well, well.
"I'm waiting, Uchiha."
"I'm thinking, kunoichi." Itachi's refusal to even address her properly did not go unnoticed. Sakura folded her arms and shifted her weight.
"The injuries to my eyes have only one probable cause at the moment. It is my guess that it is from extensive testing done by people working for Akatsuki. After the fight against my stupid brother," Sakura tightened her jaw, realizing she'd just consciously agreed with Itachi Uchiha, of all people.
"I was most likely taken to an Akatsuki sponsored facility, remaining there for several years, where they recorded any information they could about the Sharingan and it's effects of fighting against another Sharingan user. I was then probably dumped somewhere in the woods when they realized my sight was a lost cause. However, it is also possible that they purposely damaged my sight, thus hindering my abilities to function as any sort of shinobi. Why they would do this and not kill me does not currently have a clear answer."
Sakura combed through her dark, tussled hair while calculating the difference between eyes that have been used for testing and eyes that are simply injured. He seemed to be giving her more information than she really needed, but it was also a hint that he may or may not consider himself part of Akatsuki, if he was willing to let so much information go. Well, it wasn't so much information as it was speculation.
"Right, and how long have you been like this?"
"At most, a few years. At least, a few weeks. My memory of recent events is clouded. It is my guess that they hoped to restore me to full health and exploit my abilities for Akatsuki a little longer, but unable to do so I was discarded." Sakura nodded and rubbed her eyes.
This, she thought to herself, was exactly what she had run away from. The way Itachi spoke, the tone he used… everything grew from the fact that they and all other shinobi were tools. 'Discarded' he'd said, as if he were a kunai with a chipped blade, and had been thrown out. It made Sakura want so badly to push against the very walls of the world she and Itachi had been born into. But here she was, being paid to stay alive and repair yet another chipped blade.
"I see, so the damage to your eyes could be widespread, or contained to a single area." Itachi didn't respond. Sakura glanced at him once more before turning on her heal to the door.
"Well, Toshio has been kind enough to let us stay in this house while he stays with Gramps. Apparently he doesn't have parents so the house belongs to the boy. I'll speak with you again in the morning." Itachi said nothing as she walked away, but before she closed the door has spoke quietly, sounding very much as if he disliked not knowing something she did.
"How many years has it been since I fought my brother?" Sakura paused and rested her hand on the door.
"It's been a while... four and a half years, about. " She looked over her shoulder. Predictable, there was no reaction. And she left the room, closed the door, and stumbled through the dark, over to a long since used futon Gramps and Toshio had found in the tiny house. Sleeping in bumpy wagons can do a number on one's butt, which made it a little harder for Sakura to fall asleep. But it wasn't the soreness that kept sleep at bay; it was the avalanche of thoughts that tried to piece themselves together in her weary mind. Of course, she had given Itachi much to think about as well, and he lay awake with ideas and guesswork constructing a plan in his head.
Before falling completely asleep hours later, Sakura's last thoughts marveled at the resemblance of Sasuke and his brother, and at how different they were at the same time.
Unknown to the slumbering medic, however, was the biggest difference that currently lay between the two Uchiha. One's goal was to regain sight, while the other's was to carefully and slowly develop a plan that would bring Konoha crashing to the ground. And that was exactly what Sasuke was doing at that moment.
--
Instinct was screaming at Sakura to wake up. She snapped her eyes open and her hand jerked towards the weapon pouch beside the futon. Her fingers had barely brushed against it when Sakura realized it was merely Toshio, sitting just inches to her right, watching with innocent curiosity.
"Oh, Toshio… Sheesh, you scared me!" Groaning, she rubbed her eyes and looked around. It was probably almost noon. So much for getting up at first light. She looked back at Toshio, who now looked very worried that he'd done something wrong.
"No, no, it's fine. I should have been awake sooner. How are you feeling?" Toshio's fearful expression melted into a grin.
"Way better! Gramps' wife fed me a ton. She said I didn't have enough new-tree-ents." He pronounced his newly learned word carefully, to make sure she heard it. It had been such a long time since Sakura had been around a child, that she'd forgotten how endearing they could be. After smiling briefly at him she stood up, inspecting the room much closer this time.
"So you live here by yourself?" Toshio nodded and followed her into the kitchen area
"But not very often. I mostly stay with Gramps and his family." Sakura was opening cupboards and drawers, but at this she stopped and turned to look at the boy.
"Because it's hard to maintain a house at your age?" Toshio planted his feet firmly on the floor and pouted.
"No, I can do that myself! But sometimes people help out. It's because I don't like this house…" He trailed off, and Sakura felt the atmosphere tighten slightly. She easily remedied this by casually returning to her search for bowls and clean towels.
"Toshio, did something happen here? You can tell me." Sakura smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring expression, but it had been such a long time since her last smile and she couldn't be sure. Toshio looked at his legs.
"Mom and dad were killed by ninja. They were hiding a scroll. That's what Gramps told me." Toshio continued to shuffle his feet. Sakura felt like being very quiet all of a sudden. This surprised her, but Toshio's story was not uncommon. Rogue shinobi often killed recklessly, and the ransacking of unimportant villages wasn't uncommon for lowlife, rough shinobi either. Sakura was sympathetic nonetheless, and frowned sadly at the boy.
"I'm sorry Toshio. It must have been very hard." She knew her words were the sort of generic thing one would say in this situation, but he was still young and couldn't know this. Sakura inspected a pile of folded towels in the back of a tiny closet.
"Toshio, do you have any rubbing alcohol in this house?" Grateful for a different subject, the boy looked up and shook his head.
"Nope, but I'll go check at Gramps' house." And he flew out the door. Sakura picked up a large metal bucket and set it in the sink while she compiled a list of medical supplies she would need from her pack for Itachi's eyes. Clean towels, gauze, scalpel, tweezers, water… some of these things were already in her pack, but in small and limited amounts. She rinsed out the pail thoroughly and gazed at the door to Itachi's room. He wasn't going to like the news she had for him. Soundlessly holding the strap of her bag in one hand and the now clean pail in the other, Sakura crept over and slowly pushed open the door, peeking around the frame.
"Why have you taken so long?" Itachi was wide awake and frowning in her direction. Sakura kicked the door open the rest of the way and stomped over.
"I overslept. It that ok with you, your highness?" She set the bucket of water down and dragged over the chair she'd sat in the previous night. Before he could respond to her sarcasm, she folded her hands and spoke in a very businesslike tone.
"Before I even begin to examine you, it's important for you to know some things. No matter how light the damage is on the surface, if any harm has come to your optic nerves, you might not ever see again." It was out of politeness that she paused to let this sink in before continuing.
"I say 'might' because I don't know how many nerves are damaged, or if the damage is repairable. However, if you still can't see after I've healed you, I might be able to do a transplant and reconnect the nerves to a new pair of eyes. But I assume that's out of the question, seeing as the only other Sharingan eyes in existence are Sasuke's. Am I right to assume that in the case of you still being blind afterwards, that no other eyes but Uchiha eyes will do?"
Itachi was silent for a moment, and then he nodded slightly.
"You are correct." If he couldn't have his most powerful weapon, he was nothing more than an extremely skilled shinobi. Sakura could relate to this. It would be like trying to wield a blade with no hands. Her bad news now out of the way, She leaned back in the chair and clasped her hands behind her head, a habit she was developing swiftly. When Itachi tilted his head in her direction, she answered his silent question.
"I'm just waiting for the boy to come back with some rubbing alcohol. I only carry a little bit on me, along with some other medical tools. Just enough for myself, really." They were both quiet for some time. Sakura found that she was quite uncomfortable with the silence. Village deserter turned assassin or not, she was still a social person. Being deprived of good conversation for so long had taken its toll. Sakura cleared her throat quietly.
"So… Maybe you didn't hear through the door, but Toshio said his parents had been killed by rogues in this house. Something about a scroll they were hiding." She glanced at him, but he was silent. Obviously, he thought there was some point she was trying to make, and he didn't understand the concept of small talk. Or maybe he did, but was just ignoring her. She sighed and returned her gaze to the window. Seagulls called to one another and swooped low over the docks. She watched two fishermen haul ropes and nets into a boat, while their wives carried crates up and down the deck. The window had such a charming view, she thought.
"I recall his grandfather mentioning that to me, I don't remember when." Sakura was startled by him speaking so suddenly, but she grasped on to his words and built a conversation.
"Oh, Gramps isn't Toshio's grandpa, at least- that's what he said on the ride over here. He said that's just what everyone calls him." She stopped slouching backwards and sat up.
"I see." Itachi said. Sakura wondered if that was it, but he continued,
"How did the old man find you? I doubt you were advertising your skills, given that your name is fairly well known amongst shinobi." Sakura knew he didn't mean to do it, but she was secretly quite flattered at this. Akatsuki had always felt like a whole different level of skill, even after she'd killed Sasori. To find that even ninja like Itachi had heard of her and acknowledged her strength was a compliment indeed.
"Toshio collapsed in a market square from fatigue, and Gramps found us later and I explained it to him. But you're right; I haven't purposely drawn any attention to myself. I can easily blend in with the younger crowd, so I've just been acting like a civilian during the day, mostly." And then Sakura remembered that he couldn't see her at all, so she elaborated.
"I've just been dying my hair and wearing cheap fashionable stuff, you know, like nail polish and what not..." Itachi tilted his head to the side slightly, trying to recall anything he might have heard about Sakura Haruno's appearance. There was one thing that stuck out…
"Isn't your hair light pink?" His smirk contrasted Sakura's scowl. She huffed loudly.
"No, not anymore it isn't. I just dyed it yesterday, since it stands out so much. Now it's a dark, lovely, pale rose color." She said in mock girlishness, flicking a strand of hair off her shoulder. She examined him closely. He was wearing only a black undershirt with mesh sleeves, typical of most ninja, and dark pants. Sakura could find nothing to pick at in return, so she turned the tables on him.
"Perhaps we should cut your charming strands off, Uchiha, they might get in the way of surgery." The idea of anything sharp, save for a medical tool, getting that close to Itachi didn't amuse him, but he reached up to feel his hair. Despite the wounds on his face, Sakura could still detect surprise from his features. Itachi leaned foreword, and Sakura was suddenly shocked as well.
His straight black hair had not been cut in over four years, and it showed. It was at least three and a half feet long, flowing over his back and shoulders. Itachi ran his hands through it and continued to frown.
"I suppose I could trim it if you'd like…" Sakura mumbled quietly. If cutting his hair was one less thing to make him uncomfortable during a medical procedure, then so be it. It may even make the blind Uchiha trust her with something sharp in such close proximity. Itachi was silent for a while, as usual, but he stopped slouching and turned his head away from her.
"Fine. If that will make things easier for you." Sakura leaned over to grab her pack. Oh boy, today's fun activity was called: doing your hair with a traitorous killer who's tortured people before! Yay, girl time.
Sakura arranged some scissors and wet towels on the bedside table before fishing around the bottom of the bag for a scrunchie. She grinned devilishly and pulled out a bright pink one. 'Oh sweet Kami, thank you for allowing this man to be blind.' She thought, and stood over Itachi, scrunchie in hand.
"Well, I'll just tie it back first, then I'll wet the scissors and cut from there. Of course, it'd be easier if your whole head was wet, but it'll still be a fairly sharp cut." He merely nodded, but she could see him tensing up. Sakura bit her lip, trying not to smile as she very gently put his hair in a ponytail about a foot down from his neck with the vibrant elastic material. Sakura did all this without even touching him, afraid the contact might set him off. They both knew quite well that blind or no, he was still a dangerous man.
"Uh, could you maybe tilt you head back a bit..?" He obliged, and Sakura realized something about medics. Trust was such an important necessity of being a nurse or doctor. With her mood lightened, Sakura wouldn't be giving off waves of malice like Itachi expected her to be, and such waves would immediately make him suspicious. She'd never had to act trustworthy in Konoha, because everyone trusted her already. But she couldn't get away with fake cheerfulness in her current situation, so the violet hair tie had been a blessing indeed. And with Itachi sticking his chin up with a pink scrunchie… Well, Sakura was using a lot of self-control to keep from laughing. She put a dry towel on the pillow behind him and rested the blade against his hair.
Snip, snip, sniiipp.
"Why did you leave Konoha?"
Snp snp snp.
"I really hate admitting this to you, of all people, but the main reason was your brother." Sakura tried to cut vertically, to avoid choppy ends. Although his head remained still, she wondered what sort of facial expression Itachi would have right now, or if he'd have one at all.
"Ah. But you were so eager to get him back before."
"Yeah, only that was before I could bring myself to admit your brother's an asshole." Sakura's tone darkened. If he hated his brother so much, why did this topic interest Itachi?
"I can't imagine what he could have done to make you flee Konoha." Sakura frowned. 'He slept with me then ignored me for weeks, you stupid Sasuke look-a-like.'
"It's really none of your business." She continued snipping at his hair "Why so interested? You don't care whether he lives or dies." Itachi dodged this and moved on.
"You said my foolish brother was a partial reason. What is the other half?" This time it sounded like a genuine question. Sakura cut one last piece of raven black hair and set the scissors down. She stood up with the towel of hair and yanked the window open, letting the warm air flutter into the room.
"The other reason I left," She held the towel out the window, and the strong sea breeze whipped the hair from it, carrying it towards the ocean, like black feathers etched onto a blue canvas.
"Was because I needed a brand new reason for living. Unbound by shinobi laws and traditions. I wanted absolute freedom." Sakura turned to look at him, and even though he was blind, she had the feeling he could see her standing there by the window nonetheless.
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Aww hell yeah. It's so frickin' late! I wanted this out by, like, Friday. But exams are almost done and then I'm free to type to my heart's content. Thanks for the reviews so far!
Ok, I'm aware this is going slow. I know it is. But it's about to pick up so hang tight and don't getcher panties in a wad. XD
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