Alright so you guys definitely did NOT like the cliffhanger, at all (; I think that my fav was from Shivii-Chan, I thought that it was funny, I apologize for how shity this chapter is, it's basically a filler, sorry!
Sakura's Pov
Land of Wheat
Continue From Previous Chapter
Panic.
That was the only word to describe how she felt. Raw panic. He saw her. He knew that it was her. He knew that she was alive. Alive. Not dead.
Fuck me...
She felt Itachi pull her closer as every figure drew closer. How could this be any worse? Oh wait! It can't! Sakura could only barely see a couple of Shinobi from how tightly she was pressed against Itachi. Was he trying to hide her? To protect her perhaps? Oh god she sure hoped so.
"Sakura?" He said her name again, confusion and hurt evident in his voice. Since when did Sasuke show so much emotion? She could only recall once, that had been to their first mission out of the village. He'd said something to Naruto, just before they thought him dead, the blonde had hugged him quiet intimately after that, calling his name again and again, like that would somehow bring him back to life.
If Sakura didn't know any better she'd say that they were gay for each other.
Had she been like her old self in anyway the thought would've been crushed before it even entered her mind, that much Sakura knew. She was silently proud of herself and how much she'd grown, physically and mentally.
"Is that you?" Sasuke could NOT be serious, this seemed so cliché. The boy finds out that his old friend is alive, then later the female finds out that he had feelings for her.
Ha! How funny would that be!?!
Focus, god damnit!
If it were possible Itachi pulled her closer, squishing her nose painfully against his chest. She almost wished that he'd let her breath, but she knew better. This plan was a failure before it was even formed. Her hair was far too noticeable, Sasuke knew that it was her, there was no hiding the fact.
Yet her instincts screamed 'Run! Get away! RUN!!' She needed to leave. She had to leave. She wasn't ready. She wasn't ready! He saw her. The supposed dead female member of his team! This was a fight of flight situation. Sakura needed to choose 'Flight' because 'Fight' most certainly wasn't an option!
She grasped Itachi's cloak and tugged hard, gaining a little of his attention away from the Shinobi who were coming precariously close to them.
His nudge was a way for her to know that he was listening, but even Sakura knew that he was a little angry at her for interrupting his train of thought.
"I need to get out of here..please.." She was begging, she hated begging. It was weak, and although Sakura had her fair share of weakness, this, in front of him, was not one of those times that she could forgive.
"No." Sakura's head snapped up at that. Had she been a lesser person she might've huffed, but her refusal to do so and their current situation told her that that probably wasn't the wisest thing to do.
"I need you here, you must help me fight. I trust that you've been training?" He wanted her help. HE, the almighty Itachi, wanted her here. To help him. To fight with him.
How could she say no? Sure Sasuke would be an issue, but she could just avoid him. And something, that something was the viscous way he'd said the older man's name earlier, told her that he was going to go after Itachi, before he even cared to glance her way. perhaps she was taking this to lightly? Oh yes, she definitely was, but everyone has ways of dealing with certain issues.
"On the count of three, jump back from me and lay flat on your back." He instructed quietly, the Shinobi were within ten feet now.
"One." He looked left.
"Two." He looked right.
"Three!" He stared at her head on and Sakura threw herself backwards.
Landing on the ground harshly she felt a large rock poke into her back. Then a fire jutsu shot out right above her.
The people that it was shot at avoid it, and Sakura decided to not let a beautiful technique go to waste.
"Water Style: Waterfinder Jutsu!" Sakura screamed, preforming the correct handseals before unleashing a large amount of water onto Itachi's fireball. The small splashes of water were shaped like small dragons. Creating a thick and heavy mist.
Now usually doing that technique was hard for Sakura, but now she was fighting gravity, causing it to be harder to push the jutsu out and towards everyone else.
She gasped and rolled at the left when she her footfalls. Perhaps Orochimaru's Shinobi weren't that great if they couldn't even learn how to run quietly. A large sword hit the place she was moments ago. It was then that she realized what a big mistake that she made. Not only had she put herself at a disadvantage, along with their enemy's, but how was she supposed to fight like this?! She had no special doujutsu like Itachi and Sasuke.
"If you think about what you don't have, Sakura-chan, then how will you know what you do have?"
That's right, don't think about what you don't have, think about what you do have!
As if instinct decided to make its entrance, chakra flowed easily over her fists, surging through them, giving her power she lacked seconds before.
She had this.
She had her Water Style.
She had her wit.
She had Itachi.
She'd be just fine.
And so she leaped into battle crushing the ground in front of her, killing five pathetic excuses for Shinobi instantly.
Itachi's Pov
The ground had shook violently for a couple of seconds, shocking Itachi briefly, before he regained his composure quite quickly. Although he'd said earlier that he was gentle, he'd have to hold off on that for a little, because the current situation held no room for gentleness.
He drew out his hidden tanto from his cloak, whirling on the heel of his left foot he decapitated one of Orochimaru's men. It was then that he little brother decided to make an untimely appearance.
"Itachi!!" He could practically feel the animosity directed towards him. Suddenly his brain gave him an image of the day that Sasuke was born. His father holding Sasuke up high claiming his name loudly.
"He shall be named Sasuke Uchiha!" His father smiled happily while his mother softly sighed. Itachi was left to stare at the little child in wonder.
He straightened up, all of the other rouges were gone, that meant that they had either retreated, or they were going after Orochimaru. He turned to face his little brother, his expression stoic as the day he murdered their clan.
"Sasuke." He replied easily. This seemed to only further anger the younger Uchiha, who at the moment had electricity tingling at his fingertips in pure rage.
"I'll kill you!! I hate you! ITACHI!!!" Sasuke gave a battle cry as he launched himself at Itachi.(A.N. Forgive me! I am NOT very good at fight scenes!)
His first reaction was to let Sasuke kill him. It always had been, because the sooner Sasuke killed him, the sooner he would be able to live in peace. He had always planned to die by Sasuke's hands, that was how it was meant to be.
Unfortunately he felt a little bit of his plan chip away as a picture of a pink haired girl smiling up at him, with beautiful viridian eyes looked at him in happiness instead of malice.
When Sasuke was close enough, Itachi grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm, he felt it snap, he flinched when it did.
He hated this.
He grabbed the back of Sasuke shirt and threw him into a tree. He heard the tree break when Sasuke came into contact with it. His foolish little brother was still no where near his level.
He looked back over to see if Sasuke had gotten back up, only to find him no longer there.
What the...?
Suddenly he felt something slithery grab him around his wrist. He then felt something bite him.
Shit...
"Losing your edge Itachi-Kun?" The voice that sounded oddly like a pedophiles spoke from his left.
He looked over at Sakura only to find Sasuke charging at her.
No!
He violently grabbed at the snake that kept him and Orochimaru connected, he dug his blunt nails into the scaly skin. The snake was still biting him, he needed to get away, quickly at that.
He took out the special kunai that he and Sakura both had a piece of. Relentlessly he slashed at the disgusting creature that had its venom soaking into his blood right this very moment.
When he heard the snap that signified the death of the snake, Itachi lunged toward Sasuke, who was mere feet from Sakura. He saw her kill a full grown man by sending her fist through his shoulder, the initial shock must've ruptured his nerve system, killing him instantly.
Get closer!
"From Kakashi-Sensei."
Do you care?
Hurry!
"From Naruto-Baka."
What is she to you?!
No!
"From the Uchiha-Bastard that thinks he's better than everyone else! I hate them! All of them! I'm hiding from Konoha too!"
Who is Sakura to you?!
Someone special!
It didn't matter. It didn't matter that she was running from Konoha. That she was running from his home. Before he would've returned her to Konoha in a heartbeat. But now his morals had been devalued, here he was protecting this little gurl from the person that he was doing this for.
His plans were changing.
As were his values.
Along with the terrible organ people like to call the heart.
He got there just in time to slam his foot into his brothers stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of him. He then grabbed Sakura, he really didn't want to do this, but he had to.
"I hope that you can play scared Sakura." He whispered at an angle that no one could see them.
"Sasuke." The elder Uchiha started. "I take it that this person is important to you." He gestured to Sakura whom he'd put in a headlock just for good measure. He saw he brother whip his head around to stare hatefully at him, before turning his eyes to the pink-haired pre-teen in his arms.
He saw his brother flash his teeth at him as he pulled his gums back in a growl. He really was pissed. He smirked at him and let his other hand hold Sakura's left hip in his hand, massaging it gently.
"Does this make you angry Sasuke?" He asked as he bent his head down to ghost hip lips over the young pinket's neck, earning him a gasp.
Oh god this was so wrong. So very wrong, yet he continued. St this point he wasn't sure if he was continuing just to spite Sasuke, or because he didn't want to stop holding her like he owned her.
He had done terrible things, but this still made him feel like utter scum. Even after a whole year of trying to get the fact that she was still inside his head, out, but he just couldn't, he didn't even know what to do about this anymore.
Probably best to ignore it.
Are you serious?! That is a joke right!? Do you understand that I am thinking about a pre-teen in such a manner?!
"Sasuke I asked you a question." This time he definitely crossed the line, but he did noting to stop himself from practically jumping over it.
"Does this make you angry, Sasuke?" He said it again, this time clasping his mouth over her neck, sucking gently, then harshly, earning a surprised gasp from the girl he held so dearly.
"You bastard!!" Sasuke shouted, oh yes, he definitely crossed a line!
But it appeared that Sasuke could not move. Had he been too rough?
No! He has to learn hate, do not give him sympathy now!
Strongly resisting the urge to run over to his little brother, Itachi held onto Sakura tighter, finally releasing her neck to smelt faintly of his favorite sweet treat.
"Foolish little brother. Do you honestly think that you can beat me?" He was mocking him again, something that he absolutely revolted, at least when it came to Sasuke, he did.
He heard the growl the came from his brother on the other side of the field, he hated himself so much right now, for multiple reasons. This had to be done though, no matter how he wished it wasn't so.
"Hate me Sasuke, hate me so much that it kills you on the inside. Hate me so much that you want to die.Run, and cling to your pathetic life..." Within seconds he had disappeared from the field.
Seconds ticked by until the hated venom filled call of "ITACHI!!!" Came into the elder Uchiha's ears like a siren, even if he was at least a mile away by more, carrying a shocked girl in his arms.
He was fueled by the fact that he didn't want to be alive anymore, he hadn't;t wanted to be alive for a very long time. Yet here he was, alive, being killed by his past sins and a disease that he could only postpone with drugs that were scarce.
What was the point of living? Itachi was pretty sure that he had no valid reason for living any more, other than Sasuke gaining his revenge. His little brother meant the world to him, even if he could not show it.
All of a sudden Itachi felt the overwhelming need to cry. Huh, when had the last time been that he felt like he needed to cry? He had only cried a few times in his life. The most prominent being when he committed a sin that was simply unforgivable, and just about everyone knew about that.
He then remembered that someone was with him, a person who was under the category 'Special' kami who was he kidding, she was special! He knew that, and the fact that eh was acknowledging it made this whole case seem even wore, and by his standards no less.
Itachi landed in a clearing miles away from their last encounter, once he figured out that they weren't being followed that was.
And then, yet once again, Itachi was left feeling like the scum of the Earth.
But right now he thought that he was somehow even lower than the scum of the Earth.
Sakura's Pov:
Right now Sakura was pretty sure that she must be insane. Like literally fucking insane. Like get thrown in a mental hospital, or just got done with a torture session with Ibiki insane.
Here she was, in the arms of the man who killed Sasuke's clan, the whole reason for her teammate suffering.
No god damnit! He is NOT our teammate, he's the bastard who rejected us time and time again, AFTER we poured our heart out to him! That little prick doesn't deserve our sympathy! Plus who would you rather trust, Sasuke-Bastard, or Itachi-Kun?!
She already knew the answer. She didn't need Inner to tell her. It was clear as day. She would rather be in the arms of a mass murdering rouge-nin, than in the arms of her revenge -obsessed former teammate.
She knew who this man really was. He was kind. He was thoughtful. He was a gentleman.
He was simply, Itachi.
Oh how she would love to say 'Her Itachi' but she couldn't. Because as much as she knew that she wanted it to be so, it wouldn't. Because, and Sakura had figured this out the hard way, reality never came to be the way you wanted it to.
That wasn't the way that things worked unfortunately.
It was then that Sakura realized that they were stopped. In a clearing that was smaller than the last one, it couldn't be more than twenty feet wide.
Before she knew it her feet were on the ground, her own arms had enveloped her in order to keep out the cold chill that flitted across her skin.
She briefly surveyed the area, looking out beyond the trees to see if anyone was here, if anyone had followed them.
When she turned back to Itachi, to properly thank him, she found him on his knees, forehead touching the forest floor.
"I am so sorry for my actions earlier Sakura-San, they were uncalled for, and I have no excuse for them, all I can do is beg for your forgiveness..." He spoke with an edge in his voice, possibly a crack, because if Sakura wasn't mistaken, and she was pretty sure that she wasn't, he sounded like he was about to cry.
She didn't like him like that. On the floor, begging. Begging most certainly didn't mix well with a man of Itachi's status. He was, and perhaps this was her own opinion, but he was to kind to be doing something like that.
He began to speak again, so Sakura hushed her thoughts.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't be your 'Good Person', you have no idea how much that hurt. I know that I am not exactly the best person, and that I have done a lot of wrongs in my life. But I have to know, that you know, that I can be your 'Good Person'..." Ah yes, she'd said that a while back hadn't she? Perhaps the whole fight sequence that was on replay in her head was making her forget.
He continued to ramble until his speech dwindled into soft whispers that idly reminded her of her shy friend Hinata Hyuga.
Itachi was no Hinata though.
She needed him to stop, this was breaking her heart.
Or what was left of it anyway.
She reached out and tapped his shoulder. After a minute of receiving no response she became a bit worried.
"Itachi-Kun-" Not a second after the words left her mouth was she practically being squeezed to death. She was crushed against his chest, his arms squeezed her so tightly, her arms were trapped in between them, she could barely even move her head.
"Tell me Sakura, do you know what it's like to want to die?" His voice was hoarse, she couldn't see anything but the material of his cloak.
"Report Kizashi." The voice of Danzo Shimura echoed throughout the small corridor that Sakura herself was in.
"Do you know what it's like to want so many missions that you don't wake up for days on end?"
"The target was eliminated, Danzo-Sama. What is so important that you needed me here?"
"This task can be trusted with no one else, I hope that you understand that when I tell you this."
"Do you know what it's like to want suicide missions, do you know how low you have to be at, to want to die?"
"Hai Danzo-Sama" Her father had always been so eager, so ready for the next step, Sakura hid around the corner in the ROOT base, wondering what could be so important.
"It is a simple assassination of a female shinobi, no higher than low-Chuunin rank or high-Genin, she is a threat to our Jinchurikki."
"Do you know what it's like to desire death like I do?"
"Hai Danzo-Sama. What is the targets name?" Her father wasn't't fond of killing, she knew that because he told her so.
Danzo didn't hesitate. "Sakura Haruno." all was silent, her father didn't move from his crouched position.
Sakura was frozen in shock. What was a Jinchurikki? Why did he want her dead? Why wasn't her father saying anything?
You know that moment wen you feel like your world comes crashing down, where everything just falls apart as if it was nothing? Well that was the day that Sakura's world was smashed into little pieces.
"Hai Danzo-Sama it shall be done..."
She lost it. Her self-strength that she had been building up for what seemed like forever came crumbling to her feet.
"Yes! Yes I do! I want death so badly it hurts! I want to die with a passion. I don't want to live a lie that cannot be fixed! I want to be free! To others I am dead! But right now I feel so alive that I want to die!!" why did this happen every time they were together. How could he possibly tear down her walls piece by piece so easily? With just a few simple words?
She felt him slump against her, and heard the barely audible whisper in her ear.
"Then aren't I already your good person? I will be here to help you keep living Sakura, I hope that you'll do the same for me..." and then the words died as they ended, and his full weight was put onto her, just as someone came out of the bushes too.
"Well fucking god damnit you guys! Why the hell didn't you tell me that we were moving?!" There in all his blue-fish glory stood Kisame, Sameheda strapped securely to his back.
Sakura felt relief wash over her in waves, it was Kisame! Oh thank god!
A little while later, after some teasing from Kisame about 'Making Sweet Love Down By the Fire" (A.N. If you get the reference please tell me!) they had set up a camp, in which a small fire had been made.
Turns it that Itachi had been bitten by a snake, although considering that he fought Orochimaru, that wasn't too surprising, it was on his left wrist. Kisame actually knew a little about poisons which was convenient, when asked about it he replied.
"Someone who I hold very dear to me taught me about them, she was training to be a medic." He looked up into the sky at that, looking reminiscent.
"So you didn't make 'Sweet love down by the fire'?" She tried to play her best innocent face, but failed when she saw the blue mans skin turn purple in a blush. Kisame was blushing at something like that.
"No you damned brat! I was trying to be trustful to you damnit!" He huffed and turned away from her. She smiled despite the fact that he was a little bit pissed at her witty remark.
She chuckled a little and took a quick glance at Itachi , who now currently laid in a sleeping bag not far from them. if she recalled correctly the poison should be completely gone from his system by morning.
Sighing she also looked at the sky, waiting for the moon to appear, not shortly after did Kisame dismiss himself for guard duty, leaving her alone with a sleeping Itachi.
The fire was dimming, so sakura decided to just put it out with a simple water Jutsu.
"Water Style: Water Bullets!" She whispered softly and then all that was left was the little amount of dying smoke that came out of the dying embers.
She placed her hands on her knees and hefted herself up, slowly among her way towards Itachi, who laid in his sleeping bag, not moving a muscle.
At first she just sat next to him, looking at him, watching him. He looked peaceful right now, not serious, or intimidating, although she'd never really seen him angry, she doubted that she wanted to.
The clouds disappeared, and the moon became apparent, highlighting a sight befit for the gods.
His stress marks were highlighted in the moonlight making them look even deeper than before. His dark hair had a silver tint to it, it almost had a glowing effect. His long lashes casted dark shadows against his cheekbones.
You're just to beautiful to be real...
Sakura sighed as she looked up at the moon, leaning her head on her own shoulder she folds her legs beneath her and watched as her breath hit the cold air, creating a mist that shrouded her view of the moon.
I need to step up my game...
Oh my god I need to step up my game. This is so cringe, I'm so sorry if there are any errors because I got a keyboard that hooked up to my phone through Bluetooth, and it kinda sucks, but oh well! Thanks for reading my filler chapter lol until next time!
-lovesnaruto7