Darkness.
Sakura's eyes were wide and searching, but she knew it was futile. No matter which way she turned, it was pitch black.
She couldn't see anything. But she heard it…a faint wailing. A child?
Sakura listened for the origin of the sound, but it seemed to be coming from all directions.
She continued to walk blindly using her hands as guide until she realized that she hadn't touched anything on her way.
Only cold air.
Aside from the child she had heard, she was utterly alone.
Then for the first time, she saw splashes of dark red and decided to follow it.
The crying child was also getting nearer…
Nearer…
Sakura stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the child…a tiny baby.
It was drowning in a tub… flailing…crying…choking on the blood bath.
Sakura was about to rescue the baby when she saw her self start to walk away.
As if the baby hadn't been there at all.
As if she had completely forgotten about it.
However, her panic was short-lived when she saw her self turning back.
She sighed in relief.
But then she saw her self walk away again. Without the baby.
Her frustration grew as she watched her self come to retrieve the baby several more times only to continually forget about it.
The baby's desperate cries of help agonized Sakura as it echoed endlessly in the darkness.
Sakura awoke gasping for air. The baby. The blood.
Deliberately, she came back to awareness. It was blinding but she welcomed the sunlight that poured into her room. She felt as though she had emerged from an icy abyss and the warmth had melted the horror.
It barely registered on her that someone had been knocking at the door. She would have to ponder over the dream later on. Hastily, she slid her arms in her satin robe and checked herself in the mirror before answering.
Kisame stood regally in his Akatsuki robe, arms crossed, with a devious grin that showcased his razor-sharp pearly whites. "Morning lil cherry."
"Ya. Come in," Sakura replied rolling her eyes.
Kisame settled on a burgundy settee as the cherry head disappeared into the bathroom and then her walk-in closet. She came out dressed in white jeans and a lavender halter top, her hair left in messy waves. As she put on some fragrant lotion, she asked, "So what's the schedule today?"
"Breakfast. We do whatever you want. Go back."
"That's it?"
Kisame nodded. "Tomorrow's the busy day. Boss's birthday party and all."
"Birthday party?" Sakura looked incredulously at the blue man. A picture of the rigid Akatsuki members all wearing colorful party hats and singing Happy Birthday Big Boss popped into her mind. She laughed at the comical concept. Kisame looked at her as if she had gone crazy.
"So how exactly does Akatsuki celebrate birthdays?"
Itachi always reserved his free mornings for hours of quietude at Cafe Akatsuki.
In this particular morning, it was much needed.
Absentmindedly, he sipped his tea as he peered out the glass window onto the bustling city. Gradually his thoughts shifted from the miniscule figures to the events of the previous night.
He let out a soft chuckle as he thought about Sakura. He had yet to find out her purposes for working in Akatsuki. His only guess was that she had been ordered to an espionage mission. Regardless, the woman was fascinating and he looked forward to seeing her again. He remembered her from his childhood. The pink haired girl in Sasuke's class. He did not see her around much but whenever he did she was always following his little brother.
She had grown up to be quite a beautiful woman. Aside from her physical appeal, it was her confidence and feisty personality that truly attracted him. But he supposed the real reason why he had accepted her so easily was because they both hailed from the Leaf and he felt some sort of kinship towards her. On the contrary, he had sensed antipathy from her and he doubted that it was solely due to the fact that he killed his family. There was a stronger underlying reason which he intended to find out. In the meantime, it was too early to form fixed opinions.
Then there was Konan.
After he had left Kisame and Sakura, he found the blue haired bassist packing up her instrument. She looked up upon seeing a flash of black on the corner of her eye.
"Itachi."
"You heading home?"
"In a minute."
"I'll take you."
Konan broke from his gaze and closed the case of her bass. "It's fine. I was gonna go with Yahiko and Nagato."
"I'll take you," Itachi reiterated.
Konan sighed at the persistent Uchiha. She had been mistaken to think that rejecting his affections would be enough to discourage his advances. He was Itachi after all. And although she was grateful and even touched that he liked her so much, she didn't feel the same way about him. Not anymore. Had he confessed to her two years earlier instead of two months before, she might've said yes. But even then, her attraction had been based on his looks and skills. His personality wasn't rotten. It might have been that they were too alike.
"How have you been?" he asked once they had settled into his black Audi.
"The same."
"Anything new?"
"Itachi -
"I just wanna know."
"Nothing's new. Look, you didn't have to take me."
"I wanted to."
"I know. But you gotta stop doing this."
Itachi paused for a moment and she saw that he seemed to be in a thought.
"I thought you'd know me better, Konan," he finally said.
"I do. You want to be with me."
"So you know."
"I don't want to be with you."
He kept brooding over her words. I don't want to be with you. And why wouldn't she? All those women had told him he was good-looking. She was witness to his skills in fighting and killing. He had always treated her with respect. They shared many interests, particularly in music. He refused to accept her sorry excuse; that it wouldn't work out. If anything they were perfect for each other.
...was there someone else?
Note: Sakura's dream isn't redundant or random. Some say that people's dreams can reveal a lot about their past, personality, feelings...themselves. There are three important things in Sakura's dream: darkness, blood, and the forgotten baby.
