Chapter One

~four years later~

Sleep, my child, and peace attend thee,
All through the night
Guardian angels God will send thee,
All through the night
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,
Hill and dale in slumber sleeping
I my loved ones' watch am keeping,
All through the night

Angels watching, e'er around thee,
All through the night
Midnight slumber close surround thee,
All through the night
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,
Hill and dale in slumber sleeping
I my loved ones' watch am keeping,
All through the night

This was once a lullaby my Mom use to sing to me when I had bad dreams or when ever Daddy came home drunk so that I might fall asleep but now I sing it as I do my daily chores around the house that I have been sharing for a little more then four years with my not blood related family, the Akatsuki. The hideout use to be so filled with life when all the members lived here but after my sixteenth birthday Pein thought I was old enough to take charge of house so that he and his group could go on more full time missions. At first I was sad but all of the guys and Konan came to visit me or they would send me little presents when ever they were away. I missed them but I knew it was their job to do whatever missions Pein assigned them.

My job now was to keep the hideout clean and ready for any of the Akatsuki members who might need rest, food, or medical attention. To the great amount of scrolls and books that the different members brought from each of their own villages or from missions I was able to teach myself medical ninjutsu. Not only did I learn medical ninjutsu but also each Akatsuki member also taught me at least one thing. Pein was pleased to how much I had grown by the age of fourteen he started to send me out on missions too but they were just to capture different people that are found in the Bingo Book. Kakusu was also happy that I was able to help support the group finically.

The relationship between me and Itachi grow stronger each day but it seemed like he acted different when he was with the group and then with me by himself. We talked a lot when we were alone. He taught me to be open minded, remember to never be hasty in a situation, and to learn all that I can before I make a judgment on a situation or a person. It was on my sixteenth birthday that Itachi took me aside late that night and told me his complete story from his earliest memories to the present day. It was hard to listen to his story because it was so painful to listen to but then I understood why he left the village and why there was sadness in his eyes when ever he looked at me.

These memories flouted through my mind as I was outside tending to my small garden when all of a sudden I heard the landing of a bird that was near me. Turning to my right I saw it was a black crow with a letter that was tied to one of his legs, at once I knew it was from Itachi and reached to untie the letter. Opening the letter it read:

Dear Sakura,

I am sorry to tell you this in such short notice but you need to come to the coordinates below by tomorrow. Pack anything you need or want because you are never going back to the hideout. I am sorry this letter is short but I will explain once you get to the coordinates below.

Love,

Itachi

Looking at the coordinates at which Itachi wanted me to show up at I realized the meeting place was some ways away so I would need to leave as soon as possible and move through the night.

Within an hour I had packed a backpack with what I needed and a gift from Konan that I received on my sixteenth birthday, it was a piece of plain white paper that would turn into a origami heart, swan, or rose when you touched it but the paper was a special paper that it could recognize my chakra signature so when I touched it would flatten out and appear on the paper was a picture of all the Akatsuki members and me on my sixteenth birthday. Wishing that I could take other things but I knew it would only weigh me down and I wouldn't have room, I slowly got dressed. When ever I left the base I would where the same uniform as the other Akatsuki members except I wore a black skirt and the jacket was black with only one red cloud that was on the back between my shoulders. I also braided my hair, so that it wouldn't get my way, and also grabbing my plain white mask that had black eye slits and putting it in place.

Looking around at my room for the last time sighing because I know I would never see it again but then a silver glint caught my eye on my book shelf. Walking over to it I saw it was my old Konoha headband. Just for being an object there was several good and bad memories that are attached to this one headband. At the last minute I through it into my bag and then ran out of the house and then ran from that same house that held so many good memories without looking back.

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It was late in the morning on a beautiful day as I got to the meeting place. Looking for Itachi I felt a familiar presence as I turned around to see Itachi standing in the shadows of a tree.

"Itachi, why are you hiding?", I jokingly said with a smile. He came out of the shadow of the tree so that I could see his face. Seeing his face my smile slowly disappeared as I could tell there was something bad that was going to happen. Itachi looked so tired and his eyes for some reason looked full of pain, sadness, and exhaustion then usually. I just stared at him with concern as he approached me. He wrapped his arms around me so that my face was barred into his chest. Slowly I too wrapped my arms around his waist. We just stood there in each other's arms, listening to the silence. Then I felt a moister on my cheek, knowing it could not be rain, I looked up into Itachi's face I could see tires falling from his eyes. This worried me so much. I was afraid because now I knew for sure something bad was going to happen.

"What's wrong Itachi? You know you can tell me anything, so please tell me", I begged. He released me from the hug and turned his back to me. Not wanting to bother him I just stared at his back knowing that when he wanted to talk he would when he was ready. It pained me to see him like this.

Slowly he turned back towards me with his eye lids shut. In the next few moment I am not sure if it happened slowly or fast but all I could remember was Itachi slowly opening his eyes to reveal not his usually onyx black eye but his sharingan. I felt the world around me moving and changing colors. While this changing was going on in the distance I heard Itachi's sad voice say, "I'm sorry Sakura and remember I love you". Then everything went pitch black.