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Chapter 6: Itachi's Revelation

Sakura felt her heart stop…Itachi…had killed her clan. She heard footsteps, so she looked up and saw the blue haired woman. The woman grabbed the twins' hands without a word and pulled them with her as she walked towards the open door, her face emotionless. Noya followed as Sakura just stared, feeling like her heart was on ice needles.

As the woman took the children out of her room, Sakura saw Itachi standing by the open door. She felt pain, sadness and anger fill her already damaged heart as what Inuka had said sank in. Itachi had killed her family…Itachi had killed them in cold blood.

"Why?" Sakura stood up quickly and had to grab the chair so that she wouldn't fall down as the world around her began to spin again. "Why?" Sakura asked again as she steadied herself. Sakura watched as the woman said something to Itachi too quietly for her to hear. Itachi didn't seem to acknowledge what the woman said, instead he walked calmly into the room and the door closed behind him.

Sakura watched him as her heart became a swirling tornado of contradicting emotions. She loved Itachi, but he would never remember he loved her…she hated him for being in the Akatsuki, for killing his clan, for killing her clan, and possibly most of all…she hated him because she loved him.

Sakura didn't know what emotion to feel, there were too many different ones flying through her, cutting at her heart. "Why?" She asked again. His face didn't change, he just looked at her with that emotionless gaze, not saying anything. She felt more stabs of pain as she thought about how he'd not remember her…and then as she thought about what he'd done to her clan. Even if she hadn't known them, they had still been her family. This thought brought her many emotions, but finally there was one that stuck out, one that she could act upon: anger.

She didn't care if it was suicidal, especially considering she was in no state to fight and he was an S-class criminal; she flung herself at him. Her punch was slow, and she knew it would also be weak, but she didn't care. She just wanted all this to end…the pain, the hurt, the anger, the love, the hate, the confusion…she just wanted it all to end. She didn't even care if the end came with her death, she just wanted it to end.

But luck had never favored her.

He had foreseen her movements long before she even made a move. He had seen it all in her eyes, and he knew she was lost in her own conflicting emotions. He had guessed that the way she would try to deal with it would be to do just what she was doing: attacking him. He let her attack, blocking her feeble blows with ease. He could see that she wasn't steady on her feet as she wobbled, but she kept attacking, so he kept blocking, waiting for her to tire herself out.

As she tried in vain to hit him, he kept hearing her ask that same question, 'why'. He would wait until she calmed down some to answer. He knew that in her current state of mind, she wouldn't hear him, or more to the point, listen to him. So he'd just have to wait for her to tire herself out, as would surely happen soon.

She kept attacking him, and he kept waiting for her to tire. As she threw a punch that nearly threw her completely off balance he noticed that she was tiring…she just wasn't calming down. He also noticed that if she kept this up she would get herself hurt, and he didn't want that to happen. So as she threw her next punch, he simply caught her wrist with one hand.

She tried to pull out of his grip, but he knew that if he let her go, she'd most likely get herself hurt. So he held her wrist firmly, just enough to stop her from escaping, but not enough to bruise. He knew she was exhausted, and he knew that her irrational behavior just now was because she had been acting on pure emotion rather than rational thought, which was what she normally acted on.

He had seen it before, with his foolish little bother…the only difference between his brothers reaction and hers was that his brother was set on killing him and getting revenge, where as she was just trying to escape the pain and confusion he knew he'd caused her. That was what made his brother foolish and her not…his foolish little brother was after revenge, something that would never make him content, Sakura, on the other hand, was after understanding and comfort, not revenge.

Sakura finally stopped trying to escape his grip and was now just looking at him with pain and confusion evident in her eyes. Her face was flushed and she looked like she was about to cry, or yell, or both. He just waited, still holding her wrist; he'd let her get all her emotions out before he said anything.

For a long while she said nothing, she just stood there, trying to hide the fact that she was shaking from exhaustion and pain. When she finally said something, her voice didn't betray her emotions, though he already knew them. "Why?" It was that same question she'd been asking this whole time. It was an all around question, specifying nothing and including everything.

He knew, however, that there was only one way he could answer her question. She wanted to know so many different things, including things she'd think he'd remember nothing about. That was the reason that there was only one answer he could give to her that would even begin to answer her questions. And he knew how to get her to see the answer, without him directly giving it to her.

His answer, after all, was still hanging around her neck. He reached up with his free hand and touched the necklace he'd given her all those years ago as he said, "I see you're wearing my present…"

The moment his hand had touched her necklace, her free hand had begun to move into position to make him let go of the necklace and she had begun saying angrily, "Of course I-". But once he said that, her hand, as well as the rest of her, froze.

She was staring at him, her eyes big, her breathing shallow. For a long time, that's all that happened. Then, though she hid it well, he felt her wrist tremble in his grasp. Finally she voiced a small question, her voice shaking despite how he knew she was trying not to show her true emotions, "W-wh-what?" Her voice was filled with sadness and disbelief. In her eyes he could see that disbelief spreading.

He knew that if he didn't do something, she'd try to prove to herself that she'd misheard him, even though she hadn't. He had planned to start off slowly and verbally so as not to frighten her, but he hadn't counted on a few things. One thing was that she would deny verbal proof of his knowing. He'd known she'd have a hard time swallowing it, but he'd been sure she'd eventually take it for what it was. Instead she appeared to be about to deny what she'd just heard.

The other thing he'd overlooked was his own feelings. He'd counted on it being hard on her, but he'd never guessed it would be so hard for him to just watch her deal with it. But maybe that was the problem, she wasn't dealing with it, and it was effecting him. Maybe it was time to throw his original plans out the window and go for plan B instead.

He had never created a plan B, but apparently he hadn't had to, because he already knew what he had to do. Maybe he'd always known it would come back to this. He knew it would most likely not bring forth as good of results as it had the first time, but he also knew that it would still send her on the correct path, it's just that this time it would take her longer to follow it to its final destination.

Her wrist was still in his hand; he pulled it back just enough to make her stumble forwards as his other hand moved from her necklace to her chin, lifting it, and with it, her face, up as he brought his face down. His lips captured hers and for a moment she froze, but then she relaxed and allowed him to kiss her. His hand slipped from her chin to the back of her neck as he pulled her closer to him.

In that moment, he felt better than he had in a very long time, but then the moment ended as he felt Sakura stiffen. She pushed away, and he let her, though he still held her wrist in his hand. She was shaking, her face bright red and the rest of her stalk white. She took a step back, then another, looking like she was scared and confused. She tried to pull her hand from his grip, and he let her.

She pulled her hand to her and held it in her other hand, close to her chest. He knew this was the part where he had to give her time to herself. He turned around and at the door, he said without turning back, "That was my answer then, and it is my answer now." He then opened the door and left.

Once Itachi was gone, Sakura allowed herself to sink to her knees. She held back the sobs that wanted to escape her. This was all too much! What was happening? What was going on? How was any of this possible? Did that really just happen? Had Itachi really just kissed her?

Sakura's hand's went to her head, it was just too much. Against Sakura's will, tears began to blur her vision and fall from her eyes. Sakura swiped at her eyes, but the tears just kept coming. Sakura forced herself to stand up and through the tears, she made her way to her bed. There she laid down and sobbed as quietly as she could into the bed.

Her heart hurt so much. She had been thrown from what she thought was true and now she was lost and bewildered. What was real? What was true? She didn't know anymore. Her great-grandmother had said that no one would remember her, and it had made sense, after all, Kakashi had never even mentioned someone like her and Naruto and Sasuke didn't know about her until they met at the academy. But nothing made sense anymore. Itachi had just proved that he remembered…It didn't make any sense. Nothing was adding up as it should.

Itachi had just kissed her…but Itachi had killed her clan. Itachi had been kind to her…but he had killed many others in cold blood. She loved Itachi, but she hated him as well. Was that even possible? Could one find themselves longing for someone who they detested?

Obviously so, because she was. It tore at her…she loved him, but she knew she shouldn't. She hated him, but at the same time she longed for him. This was just so wrong. She was in love with her enemy. Despite all the bad things she knew he'd done, despite all the pain he'd caused her and others she cared about, she still, for some unknown reason, loved him.

What was she supposed to do? What was right? What was wrong? She wished that someone could just tell her…but she knew that right and wrong weren't always clear-cut paths. She knew that in cases like this, there was no clear answer. But she wished there was. She wished that this pain in her heart would go away.

She wished that things were as simple as they'd been when she was a child. But that was the past, and as she'd learned, even a Time Walker couldn't change the past. Sakura's tears continued to fall as she bit back her sobs. She was being weak, but ever since Itachi…

Another sob broke through her defenses as she thought about Itachi. She hated being weak, but she couldn't stop her tears, and she was losing her battle with her sobs. What was she supposed to do? She was so confused and in so much pain. And she knew it was all her fault…

…after all, she was the one who had messed with time…

I hope I'm getting better at cliff hangers! I think I must be, because people are complaining so much about them (that means they're working)!

I won't be updating this weekend because it's my birthday, so I'll be busy.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome, but flames are a no-no. Now, on to the pretty list!

Thanks to: Purity of a White Rose, tonnora, Rangerette, LadySakuraForest, Sakimi1014, UchihaMarina, Ri-16-Chan, Synogiok, xXBamBOOzledLUVerXx (I'm glad you 'found yourself'), chikarubunny, animelover123456, DemonicAngel08, wickedthunder02, White Wolf Pheonix, CosenAngel, Tsubasa-Angel (I ask that you don't use His name in vein, please), Lenore Hepburn (well, they didn't get much conversation in, but I hope you liked it anyways), xnarutoxrocksx, XxPinkCherryBlossoms4, sakura-angel113 (pretty much), Kagome093, krazykoreangurl, Quiet Moon, magickbendingdemon (I know, but I'm not going to tell you, you'll just have to wait and see), Starlight - Wild Koneko, Cute-killer-Gurl, Makokam (you confused me, but I think I get what you're asking so: The old woman came from a time between Sakura's leaving and her returning to her time, but before the Hoshi clan was killed. She, being experienced, knew how to dictate where in time she went, so she took herself to the time she guessed Sakura would be about to leave. Does that clear some things up?), Chocochip Haruka, bubbleyum, dwango, silverstorm16, won't be the Victim, SpeedDemon315, SnowSkadi (Yeah, I'm doing my best to not add in Japanese honorifics, but it's hard. Since I didn't start with them, I can't just add them in…I just have to do my best to get my point across without them.), Addi-Chan, Chibi-Kat x3, meisi, fallin'sakura-tenshi, Chaerring Trinity, xD, XxKayxKayxX, Itachi4Eva, I-Love-Akatsuki, moonhuntress09, Jax9, Defiant-Crayon, Anilmathiel Greenleaf, Chibi Kabuto, Hao'sAnjul, Kasaru Hatake, Cnguyen456, yourmaster, ., Confuzzled239, Chibi Saku-Chan, Gothic Saku-chan, shadow miko, Hatake Kai, SHILENTERRARA,The Reveiwer known as Name, QueenMeStar, scarletpyro91, Sandlewood996, RyuMiko (It was just a coincidence), dark Alley, Gaara's-Guardian-Angel (I'm glad you liked it so much), Akina-chan, Shadow Ninja, TeenageCrisis (I know, I did say i messed with his age), Mistress Persephone, LilBitzer, & reverse byakugan (Thank you for your input) for reviewing!