Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

So I posted this chapter earlier on today, but it was brought to my attention that it didn't appear under the chapter scrollbarthing. :| Sorry for those that got two notifications. :(


Chapter 7

Sakura walks up behind Sasuke. The boy that was once the most important person in her life. The boy that she has since sworn to kill. Her love for him has dissipated a year or so ago. In the place where he used to hold, his brother now occupies. However, Sakura can't deny the sense of friendship that she still feels towards the boy. No matter how many times he has tried to kill her, she will always view him as a friend. She can't deny that if she does succeed in killing him, that it will take a toll on her.

"Why are you following me?"

"I can't let you kill innocent people."

"You work for Madara, it's not like any of it actually matters to you."

"It does matter to me. I try to avoid unnecessary deaths."

Sasuke doesn't respond. "When you were captive, who did you meet?"

Sakura isn't quite as taken aback at his question as he thought she would've been. "Besides Uchiha Itachi?"

"Yeah."

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

"Who are you asking for?"

"A pink-haired kunoichi." Now, that took Sakura by surprise. "Yeah, pink."

Sakura quickly gathered her composure. "No, I didn't."

"I see."

"Why? Who is she?"

Sasuke looks up at the sky, calm for once. He looks strangely at peace. "She was my humanity, once upon a time." He continues walking towards the village, ignoring Sakura's reactions. He doesn't care about oversharing at this moment. He has just found out that his brother is alive, after all.

Sakura follows behind Sasuke quietly. She looks at his back, analytically. It's not like him to care about Haruno Sakura. What does he mean, she was his humanity? He didn't care about her at all. If anything, Naruto was more of his humanity. The boy always meant more to Sasuke, didn't he? Naruto was his rival, his best friend and his brother. Sakura? Sakura was just an annoying girl who grew too attached too fast. Before she can entertain her thoughts further, she and Sasuke arrive at the village.

"What are you going to do?" asks Sakura.

"Don't follow me," says Sasuke. "I won't get myself killed."

"I'm not following you to prevent you from dying. I'm following you to protect others from you. You're a ticking time bomb right now."

"You don't know me."

"No, I don't. But you need someone right now. You just don't want to admit it."

"Stop trying to psychoanalyze me."

"I'm trying to help you."

"Well, stop it! I don't need it!" he snaps at her. Sakura takes a step back instinctively.

"You're suffering right now. You're wondering why Itachi hasn't come for you. You're wondering if you meant less to him than he meant to you."

"Stop it."

"No."

Sasuke throws his katana at her. The tip of the blade soaring towards her face. As it nearly hits her, she, again, dissolves into white feathers. Sasuke glares as his katana hits a tree.

"You don't have to kill innocent people, Uchiha," says Sakura. "Just fight me instead. I'm sure I'm enough of a challenge for you to take out your frustrations."

"Fine." He disappears quickly and appears in front of Sakura, slamming a forearm at her head. She dissipates into feathers again. He dislodges his katana from the tree. Sakura watches as the electric currents appear around his katana. She jumps a few feet away from him and watches wearily as he glares. She shoots a small, short glance behind her. They're too close to the village. Other people will get hurt. Sakura looks back at Sasuke. He still hasn't moved, as if trying to decide what to do. After all, all his attacks at Sakura so far haven't hit her at all. Or, more like couldn't hit her at all.

Deciding that they have to be further from the village, Sakura lunges at Sasuke, a fist raised. Sasuke lifts his katana in front of him readily. Surely his chidori would work, right?

His chidori hits her arm. He sees Sakura wince a little. But that's it. No other reaction.

"Not good enough," says Sakura. She smirks at him. She is now behind him. Sasuke whirls around and looks at her. She is standing straight. Her arms are at her sides.

"You're not taking this seriously," says Sasuke.

"I'm not trying to get killed. I'm just being your punching bag right now." Sakura turns and begins walking further from the village.

Punching bag my ass. I can't even hit you. Sasuke glares at her. "You're annoying."

His words surprise her. She pauses in her steps. Sasuke narrows his eyes, sensing her surprise and discomfort. Why do these words surprise her? Sakura recovers her composure. She lets out a low chuckle.

"Wow, that's ironic," says Sakura. She turns around. "You going to attack again or no?"

Sasuke continues glaring at her. "Have we met before?"

"Not if you're counting the time when we worked together a month ago."

"Hm." He raises his katana again. Charging towards Sakura, he decides that chidori doesn't have any effect on this girl. It's strange. He'll have to find out why later on. There is always room for improvement. This girl may be helpful after all. Sakura, instead of turning into feathers again, pulls out her own katana. The metal clash and the two try to overpower each other for a brief moment. Then, they separate.

She's strong, that's to be expected. However, her actual jutsu and fighting style are quite unknown to him. She is always either knocking people unconscious or turning into those damned feathers. He doesn't know her well enough to use anything against her either.

Except...he knows that she dislikes when innocent people die.

"If you don't attack me, I'll go back to that village right now and destroy it," says Sasuke. His voice is emotionless as ever.

"You're resorting to using innocent lives against me?" asks Sakura. She lets out a laugh. "That's smart." She picks up her katana again. "Do you wish for me to draw blood?"

"You said you'll be a challenge." He sees the outline of her lips curl into a smirk. She lunges forward at him, the tip of her blade pointed towards him. Sasuke raises his own katana, a smirk finding its way to his own face.

Metal hits metal at high speeds that the sounds are barely even half a second apart. The two of them aren't even sure who is on the offensive and who is on the defensive. The two of them have their eyes locked on each other. "I'm surprised you're not using your sharingan, Uchiha."

"I'm not aiming to kill." Sakura scoffs.

The two are engaged into another sword flurry. Sasuke looks at the girl's eyes again. She reminds him so much of his ex-teammate. It's uncanny. But at the same time, she is different from Sakura. She uses different means from Sakura. Sakura, who would have begged for him to stop killing innocent people, would never have proven a match for him. He barely has a second to think before the kunoichi ducks and swings a leg under his feet, with her arms up to support her katana from giving way to his katana.

Sasuke feels his back touch the ground.

"You shouldn't get distracted," says Sakura, with her katana at his neck.

Sasuke glares at her. "You shouldn't underestimate me." A giant snake emerges from the ground under her and constricts around her. Sakura glares at him as she, yet again, turns into feathers.

"Likewise," says Sakura. Sasuke already got up. He lifts his katana again. However, instead of using it, he breathes in deeply and when he exhales, small fireballs are hurdling towards her. Sakura forms quick hand seals. A wall of water erupts in front of her. Before the wall collapses, Sasuke is jumping through the water with Kusanagi positioned in front of him. Sakura jumps back from her water wall and lets it collapse behind Sasuke.

Sakura lifts her katana again, but before she can move, Sasuke's Kusanagi is at her neck. He had made a clone.

"Game over," he says. "You're quite susceptible to simple jutsu."

"Yeah, yeah," says Sakura. "I'll consider it your win since it's at my neck." He knows that if he actually tries to strike her, she'll just turn into feathers again.

"Hm," says Sasuke. He wouldn't admit it, but this girl amuses him. He sheathes his katana and walks to a tree. He sits down against the tree. He doesn't have to tell her to join him. She knows without him saying. She sits a foot or so away from him. "Why doesn't chidori affect you?"

"I'm a medic-nin. My chakra control has always been good. Madara taught me how to cut off others' chakra when outside of the body, though, it did affect me," says Sakura. She lifts her arm and unwraps the bandages. Sasuke stares at the injury. Her arm looks almost mutilated. She fought him with her arm in this kind of state? He would have never knew if she wasn't showing him right now. Sakura lifts her other hand and begins healing herself. Sasuke looks up at the sky and listens to the small, barely audible buzzing of her chakra.

I remember tears streaming down your face,

Sasuke hears the kunoichi's voice emit. Her voice is sweet and soothing. Sasuke finds himself feeling calmer than he has in ages. He closes his eyes, listening to her singing. He doesn't question what she's doing. He'll savor this moment of peacefulness.

When I said, "I'll never let you go."
When all those shadows almost killed your light…
I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone,"
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight.

Just close your eyes.
The sun is going down.
You'll be alright.
No one can hurt you now.
Come morning light.
You and I'll be safe and sound.

Sasuke does as the lyrics say. He closes his eyes, enhancing his hearing. He hears her voice clearer than ever. She is no professional singer. Her voice isn't anything special either. It does; however, like a fresh, serene breeze, lull him to sleep. For the first time in ages, Sasuke lets his guard down and falls asleep with no complications. Something about her just lets him trust her, lets him put down his defensive front around her.

Sakura notices her ex-teammate fall asleep. She figures this would be the perfect time to assassinate him. But, she finds herself unable to do it. She doesn't lift her hand to her katana. She doesn't reach for a kunai. She doesn't do anything harmful. Instead, she continues singing.

Don't you dare look out your window, darling,
Everything's on fire.
The war outside our door keeps raging on.
Hold on to this lullaby…
Even when the music's gone.
Gone…

Just close your eyes.
The sun is going down.
You'll be alright.
No one can hurt you now.
Come morning light.
You and I'll be safe and sound.

Tears form at her eyes and she does nothing to stop them. She pulls her knees to her chest as she wraps her arms around them. She looks at Sasuke's sleeping figure as she sings. He looks so calm. So serene. So…unlike himself. Unlike the murderer he has become.

Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
La La
La La
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
La La

She flexes her fingers, trying to get them to listen to her. This is the perfect moment, right? Her tears start forming and falling nonstop. If she doesn't do it now, she won't ever be able to do it. Looking at Sasuke's peaceful face, she realizes that she can't do it. Not when he looks so at peace. Not when he trusts her. She can't betray him like he did to her years ago.

To make things worse, Sasuke tilts slightly and winds up with his head on her shoulder. He is sleeping so well for once that he doesn't even wake up from his head hitting her shoulder. She just can't hurt him. Especially since he's wide open.

Just close your eyes.
You'll be alright.
Come morning light.
You and I'll be safe and sound...

Oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh oh oh.

She brings her forehead down to her knees. She gets a strange feeling that if she does succeed in killing him, she will definitely go crazy. She has had numerous patients over the years who have had to kill their own teammates. They would eventually succumb to mental illness and only view their happy moments with the one they killed over and over again. She gets the strange feeling that she'd become one of them. Sakura closes her eyes as she tries to block out the pain. Closing your eyes, however, does no such thing.

X

Sasuke wakes up to seeing Suigetsu, Karin and Juugo in front of him. They all look surprised. Sasuke sits up straight. But wait, when did he even lean over? He looks to the thing his head was resting on. Or rather, the person. Her brown hair is scattered about instead of it in its normal braid. Her head is lowered so that her forehead rests on her knees. Her arms are wrapped around her. Sasuke finds it hard to believe that the small girl in front of him is the same girl that he had trouble fighting. He finds it even harder to believe that he feels protective of her.

"W-What happened here?" asks Karin. She seems to be in shock.

"We sparred. I got tired," says Sasuke.

"But why are you on her?!" screeches Karin. He can see the hurt in her eyes.

"I don't owe you an explanation, Karin." Sasuke turns away from her and the rest of the group. Juugo and Suigetsu surprisingly haven't said anything. He looks at the brunette. She tenses, telling him that she's awake. She slowly lifts her head and looks at the group in front of her. She slowly turns to look at Sasuke.

"How long was I out?" she asks. Her eyes wide and innocent, though still dull green. Strangely enough, her dull green eyes remind him of Sakura the most. Sakura's however, were much more vibrant and warmer.

Sasuke looks away from Sakura. "How long were we asleep?" asks Sasuke to the other three.

"Six hours," responds Suigetsu.

"Karin, how far away is Itachi now?" asks Sasuke.

Karin, pouting, closes her eyes and focuses. When she opens her eyes, she looks at Sasuke. "He's two days away. He and his team are moving fast. They'll probably be here in another 6 hours."

Too soon. Too soon. Sakura chants in her mind. When Itachi gets here, Sakura will have to try and kill Sasuke. It is either her life or his life. If she succeeds in killing him, he'll be dead. If Itachi succeeds in protecting him, she'll be dead. Sakura feels her heart drop to her stomach. It's painful.

Maybe she should just let Itachi kill her. At that thought, realization hits her.

"If I am correct, Itachi will be sent on a mission to find you. When he does, you will kill Sasuke. We can't have Konoha coming after you again."

He wants Itachi to kill her. Sakura closes her eyes. She hears Sasuke get up and say something, but she doesn't hear what he says exactly.

"Mana," says Sasuke. "Come."

She doesn't respond. He steps closer to her. Reaching out a hand, he places it on her shoulder. Sakura, shocked, looks up at him. "What is it?"

"We're eating," he responds.

"I'll come in a bit," says Sakura.

Sasuke nods. He then walks back to the rest of his team. Suigetsu is looking back at her worriedly. She shakes her head. Suigetsu's worried expression doesn't leave his face, but he nods and follows Sasuke and Karin. Juugo does the same. Sakura looks down at her hands.

"What was all of this for?" she asks herself. Her hands are clean, but all she sees is blood. The blood of others. With some trouble, she gets up. She stumbles away from the village. After a few minutes of walking, she collapses and starts crying. What was the point of betraying Konoha, betraying her friends, betraying Itachi…if she was only going to die without completing her goal? What was Madara's point of training her at all?

He trained her so that she could be one of his weapons, right? Then why is he killing her off all of a sudden? Sure, Itachi betrayed him, but he knew that Itachi wasn't on his side in the first place!

It makes no sense to her.

She lets out a feral scream – as if her pain, confusion and heartbreak could all be poured out in her voice.

She sits there, tear tracks dried on her cheeks as she stares at the sky. This may be her last time seeing such a beautiful sight. Thoughts are jumbled and running through her mind a million a minute. She should at least try to kill Sasuke, right? If she doesn't, Itachi won't kill her. And instead, she'll likely be tortured by Madara again. She can't go through it again. Her mind and body wouldn't be able to take it.

The easy way out is to let Itachi kill her.

She won't hurt Sasuke.

She can't.

Fresh tears streaking down her face, she gets up. It's almost time. She can feel Itachi nearing. Shizune's there too. Shikamaru and Shino as well. They'll break the news to Naruto, Ino, and Tsunade.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, Ino, shishou," she whispers. She walks towards the village.

X

"We're getting close!" says Hana. Her dogs are getting twitchy. Shino nods.

"She's not alone, though," says Shino.

"Madara?" asks Shizune.

"No," says Shino. He pauses and looks at Itachi. "It's Sasuke."

Itachi almost stopped in his steps. "I see."

Shikamaru curses in his head. How troublesome. Why did he get assigned to this mission? Itachi is tactician enough to not need him. Naruto or Ino should've been here instead. Both Sasuke and Sakura mean way more to them than they do to him.

In a few seconds, they arrive at a small village. It is silent. Too silent.

"Where are all the villagers?" asks Shikamaru.

"Not here," says Hana.

"But they're not dead either," says Shino.

"Where's Sakura?" asks Itachi. Hana shoots him a look. She then points a little to the side.

"That way," she says.

"Let's go," says Itachi. They take a few steps. Then, an explosion alerts them. They quickly sprint to the area. Itachi lets his eyes land on Sakura, yet again. As always, it is as if a soft, comforting wave washed over him. She has that effect on people, he noticed.

"Sasuke-kun, look!" says a feminine voice. Itachi looks at her. Red hair. Red eyes. She's on his brother's team, if he isn't mistaken. The ingenious tracker. Itachi sees his brother turn around and look at him. For once, without any hate.

"Itachi," Sasuke says. His eyes are wide and his mouth is slightly agape. He believed Mana before, but seeing Itachi alive with his own eyes is different. Completely different. "How are you alive?"

"We'll talk later, Sasuke," says Itachi, "Hand Sakura over."

Team Taka is evidently surprised. Sakura? Sakura isn't here. What is Itachi talking about? Realization hits Sasuke first. He turns and stares at Mana.

"Sakura."

Sakura lowers her head and brings her hand to her mask, pulling it down.

"Sasuke-kun." He could swear her eyes are teary, but before he says anything else, Sakura lunges at him, her katana unsheathed. With her head next to his, she gets ready to impale Sasuke. Itachi makes his move, knocking her katana out of her hand. Sakura separates from Sasuke and aims a kick at Itachi. Itachi retaliates by grabbing her leg. Sakura twists her body so that he releases her. She lands a few feet away from him.

"Move, Sasuke," orders Itachi.

Sasuke does as told, surprised by both Itachi's appearance and Sakura's. Mana is Sakura? He had his suspicions. All of them did. But…how? Why? Sakura isn't supposed to be like this. Sakura is supposed to be back in Konoha either healing or taking care of the Hokage, right? Sasuke looks at his brother. He is different. Something about him is different. He watches as Itachi and Sakura continue attacking each other. Why isn't Itachi using the sharingan? He's holding back?

"You don't have to do this," says Itachi, trying to convince her. He had strict orders from Tsunade to try to bring Sakura back alive; however, she did say that he is allowed to use whatever means necessary. And, if Sakura is beyond help, he will have no choice but to protect his baby brother. No matter how the kunoichi's death will affect him, if unavoidable, he will have to do it.

"I do," says Sakura. "He killed my grandfather."

Confusion falls over Sasuke. Sakura's grandfather? What is she talking about? He narrows his eyes. Itachi, noticing Sasuke's confusion in the corner of his eyes, continues. "Danzo was a murderer."

"He was also my grandfather," responds Sakura. She barely glances at Sasuke. Sasuke notices. Sakura quickly pulls out a kunai and lunges at Sasuke again. Sasuke almost unsheathes Kusanagi.

This is Sakura. Sasuke hesitates. Sure, he had tried to kill her numerous times before, but that was before the time he spent time with Mana. Like before, her head is next to his. Her arms are around him, but with her kunai in hand, instead of her katana.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun," is all Sasuke hears as he barely recognizes the sound of her kunai hitting the ground. Catching Itachi at the corner of her eyes, Sakura pushes Sasuke away from herself. And before Itachi can stop himself, he drives Sakura's own katana through her chest.

A fatal blow.

Sakura looks Itachi in the eyes. She makes no sound as blood seeps through her clothes. As she falls towards the ground, Itachi catches her. He slowly lowers her to the ground.

She searches his eyes one last time before closing her eyes.

"Thank you, Itachi." The corner of her lips curl upwards slightly into a barely-there smile. He stares at her rapidly paling face. Pain and anguish appear on his own face unintentionally.

It is completely silent. Everyone is surprised. Sakura could have easily killed Sasuke, but she hesitated because she couldn't. Now she is dying, and it is quiet. Itachi finds breathing to be a lot harder to do as he stares at her face. Everyone watches closely as Sakura's chest rises and falls at an unsteady rate.

Then it stops.

Itachi stiffens. Sakura's tense body loosens in his arms. He closes his eyes, willing them not to show any emotion. Sakura's thin body feels colder than ever, telling him that she has passed.

He wishes she had said something else. He wishes she had tried to say something more. She should have said something besides 'thank you'. He would feel better if she had yelled at him, cursed at him, but she didn't. She had accepted her death and it pains him. It hurts him just as the murder of his parents had, after all, he had dealt the final blow both times. He had killed his parents and now, he has killed the first non-familial woman who ever meant anything to him. He opens his eyes again. But with one look at the girl in his arms, he couldn't stop his eyes from getting watery. He closes them again, trying to force back his tears. At least no one could see his face. His hair blocked the way.

He opens his eyes and stares down at the corpse in his arms. Emotionless. Unmoving. Not at all like the person he once knew – vivacious, energetic, warm.

And it is all his fault. Various times of when Sakura smiled at him flash through his mind. He clutches her tighter.

She was only 17.

"Itachi," says Hana.

"Hana, I need you to take Sasuke and his team elsewhere for a while. I will talk to him when I get back," Itachi says. His voice is emotionless, but Hana is able to distinguish the telltale signs of Itachi's discomfort and sadness. She looks to Sasuke. Sasuke looks just as shattered as Itachi feels. Glancing around at the rest of the shinobi present, she realizes that they are all affected in some way.

Shikamaru is silent. He isn't looking at Itachi and Sakura. Instead, he is glaring at the ground. I wasn't able to do anything to save her.

Shino is looking away from them as well. But, unlike Shikamaru, he is looking at the sky. Odd enough, considering Shikamaru normally is the cloud-watcher. I hope you're happy up there.

Shizune is pretty much bawling. Sakura, after all, was much like her own little sister. How am I going to tell Tsunade-sama? Sakura…

Suigetsu isn't well off either. Mana…is dead?

Juugo is looking at Sasuke and Suigetsu worriedly. Discomfort is written all over his face. After all, Sakura was his friend. You were good, Mana…no. Sakura.

Karin is glaring at the dead body. You're not allowed to die unless I say so, Mana. You're not allowed! Sakura was the first person that Karin could have considered a female friend. Sure, they argued, but Karin couldn't lie and say she didn't enjoy the entertainment.

"Let's go, guys," says Hana. She pushes Shino and Shikamaru a little, shaking them out of their reveries. She wraps an arm around Shizune's shoulder. The poor woman's sobs were wracking her body. She is shaking and completely devastated. Hana shoots a look at Sasuke. "You heard your brother, Sasuke."

Sasuke closes his watery eyes, holding back his sadness. He nods and motions for his team to follow. Hana tries to read Sasuke like she does for his brother, but she can't read him. He has an emotionless mask on his face. Hana leads the rest of them away from the scene. She barely sees Itachi lower his forehead to the dead girl's forehead. She doesn't hear his pleas for her to come back.


Song is Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift. :)3

Anyways, this isn't the end! I already have the next few chapters written and ready. :)