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Snowbows
''A weed is no more than a flower in disguise''
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She jumped forwards, dodging an oncoming kick that was thrown at her side. Itachi swung to the left, back flipping once to avoid the chakra-infused punch that appeared in retaliation. Both of them jumped backwards from their onslaught, breathing heavily and staring at each other competitively, the chain stretching as far as it would allow them.
Itachi watched the pink-haired kunoichi catch her breath slowly, not showing that inside, he was completely surprised at the strength she possessed. He had an awkward feeling in his chest – something that wasn't emotionally related. She had made him out of breath.
He attempted to hide the fact he was breathless, but he was unable to. He leaned forward slightly, breathing heavily and closing his left eye as a dribble of sweat trickled over it. It had been a long, long time since someone had given him such a workout.
When fighting with Sasuke, it was easy to predict his brothers movements as they were blood-related, therefore making the same choices. But with the kunoichi, she had skills that he had rarely seen in his missions as an ANBU. Chakra-infused punches with enough strength to knock down the Hokage Mountain, swiftness in her movements that put Sasuke to shame and logic that could easily challenge his own.
Years, he had figured the female in Team 7 was the weakest – it was nearly always the case with shinobi Team mates. But in this case… he narrowed his eyes at the kunoichi, straightening up as his heartbeat returned to its normal pace.
In this case, she seemed to be equal – maybe even stronger – then her fellow teammates.
"You're quite a challenge," Itachi said levelly to her. Sakura smiled, still out of breath from their spar. Itachi's movements were no surprise to her – he was ANBU after all and his skills were renowned to be some of the best in Konoha. But she knew that her five years of training had paid off. Techniques that she had learnt alone worked better then she would have thought. She had deactivated her eyes for the spar, too. With them, she may even be able to land a hit on the Uchiha.
"You're quite a challenge yourself, although that's expected." Sakura straightened up, blowing a strand of hair away from her face. Itachi's lips upturned into a slight smile, but he froze.
Footsteps were approaching in the distance. He turned, narrowing his onyx eyes before activating the Sharingan. Figures were coming towards them.
He turned quickly, grasping Sakura by the hand and pulling her into the woody depths that surrounded their training area. The chain clinked.
"Wha-"
Itachi pushed her against the tree, placing a hand over her mouth. He pushed a slender finger to his lips and gestured with his head towards the field which could be seen through the gaps in the trunks. He removed his hand, allowing her to move her head and look out.
"Michio, I wasn't hearing things."
"Yagami, you were being ridiculous. See? No one's here." The voices came closer and Sakura saw two figures approach, their backs facing her. They seemed to be low-rank shinobi of the Grass – barely chuunin.
"Kami, look at the size of those craters! What do you think done that?"
Sakura stiffened, although it was followed by a wave of relief. It was obvious they were not sent to find Itachi and her, otherwise they would have known about her special technique. Itachi was still frowning in concentration in the shinobi's direction, his crimson gaze trained on them.
"Come on. Haruhi's probably still waiting for us." One of the figures lifted an arm to pull at his friend, fear tainting his once cheerful voice. Whatever it was that had made the crater was obviously not something to be messed with.
As they began to depart, Sakura sighed. And trod on a stick.
Itachi's eyes snapped to hers and she mouthed an apology, looking worryingly over to see if the two had noticed. They had.
"Hear that? Someone's here…"
Silence followed, and then the conversation continued in a more hushed, scared tone. "Think its enemy-nin?"
"Not sure. I'll go check."
"Are you crazy? If it is, we'll get slaughtered!"
"Stop being such a wimp. If it makes you feel better, I'll go check first."
Sakura's eyes widened. Oh no, the game was up. If she and Itachi were seen, she was sure they would notice that the two were shinobi. Questions would be asked and they would be forced to reveal the reason why they didn't want to wear the headbands.
Quick footsteps got louder as they approached Sakura and Itachi's hiding place. We should run, Sakura thought. Itachi seemed to notice her thoughts and shook his head. It would be too risky…
"Yagami!" The man shouted after his quickly departing friend. Itachi's mind buzzed with ideas, when one came to him.
"Moan," he growled in Sakura's ear. She looked up at him, startled and flushing a crimson colour.
"What?" She squeaked. The footsteps were getting closer. Itachi hissed in annoyance and placed his hands under her thighs, hoisting her up so they wrapped around his waist.
"What are you doing?" She whispered, her face turning a darker shade. Itachi pushed her hard against the tree that was behind her and tightened the grip on her thighs.
"Just do what I say," he ordered, casting a worried glance into the direction the man was currently pursuing from.
Sakura's eyes widened as the reason behind his plan became clear. Itachi pressed his head inwards towards her neck, making it look as though he was pressing light kisses along her pale skin. She couldn't help but partially wish that he DID do it.
She tilted her head back and let out the most convincing moan she could. Immediately, the footsteps stopped.
"Hello?" The scared voice they had heard earlier was now more wary and a little embarrassed. Itachi ran his warm hands further up Sakura's thighs and she gasped – more out of reaction then to convince their spectator – screwing her eyes shut as the Uchiha's skilled fingers brushed small circles on her skin. She shivered when he pushed his body closer to hers, dipping his head so he could brush his lips even more convincingly on her collarbone.
"I apologise for this. It was the first tactic I could think of," he whispered, placing a light kiss to the side of her face. Sakura lifted her arms and entwined them around his neck, pulling him closer.
"I understand," she muttered in reply, noticing that the Grass shinobi had moved closer to observe the two. She tilted her head to nibble Itachi's ear, knowing that she was taking the pretend situation a little too far. "Sometimes we shinobi need to make very… hard decisions."
She felt Itachi's chest move up and down and noticed with surprise that he was chuckling lightly to himself. Maybe he was delirious.
"Hey, Yagami, what's taking so-" The other man froze, seeing the two figures in front of them pressed against the tree.
Itachi was lost in the act with Sakura. His hands moved from the base of her thighs that were entwined around him, further and further up…
Sakura squeaked, feeling two warm hands now placed firmly in a more embarrassing place than her legs. An intense wave of emotion spread through her and she let out a groan again. Itachi didn't fail to notice that this time, it wasn't forced. And that caused a similar flourish through him.
"Let's leave them alone," one of the men said in a hoarse, embarrassed voice. The other coughed and they both fled from the scene, leaving a flustered Sakura and Itachi against the tree. Neither seemed to have the need to move.
"I guess it was a bad idea to train outside," Sakura said in a breathless voice. Itachi's forehead was pressed against the trunk beside Sakura's head, his eyes closed. She noticed almost immediately that something didn't seem right with him – a trickle of blood was journeying down his right eye. She frowned. And his nose, funnily enough.
She untangled herself from him, grasping his hand and interlacing her fingers with his, taking him towards the cave that – luckily – the Grass shinobi hadn't noticed. Itachi seemed to be exhausted, which concerned her. They had sparred for no longer than half an hour and his Sharingan hadn't been activated once during that time.
He was still walking, yet he kept his eyes closed and said nothing. She sat him down, resting him against the wall of the cave.
"Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling too good?" She whispered to him, suddenly feeling that if anything happened to him, it would be her responsibility. Itachi opened his eyes.
Immediately, Sakura was in front of him, one knee on each side of his outstretched legs and her hands pressed to the side of his head.
"Turn it off," she growled. Itachi actually felt a wave of intimidation at the tone in her voice and did what he was told without objection. Chakra immediately mingled inside his head, clearing his blurred vision slightly so that the image in front of him was no longer out of focus.
When she was done, Sakura sighed and reached into the backpack beside him for wipes. She gently wiped the blood away from his face for him.
"It's getting worse, Itachi. You have to stop using it so frequently." Her green eyes moved from his eyes down to his nose. "As for the nosebleed, well…"
Her cheeks went pink and she focused on placing the wipes in her hand back into the rucksack. A hand captured her cheek and her head was forced to turn toward Itachi. A strange, unseen serene smile was spread across his face and his thumb brushed gently over the top of her cheekbones. His onyx eyes were unfocused and it was clear that he had become almost delirious.
"You look beautiful when you blush." He whispered it so quietly, Sakura wondered whether she had misheard him. But before she could ask him to say it louder, his head lopped sideways and his hand fell from her face. He had fallen asleep.
Sakura lifted a hand, brushing back the black strands from his eyes and tucking it gently behind his ear. She couldn't help it – it was as though she felt responsible for him. Like she was his mother, someone to take care of him when he refused to take care of himself.
It goes deeper than a motherly love, Sakura, her Inner self contributed, urging Sakura to lean forward and press her lips against Itachi's thin, silky ones. She shook her head and scrambled off of him, moving to head to the other side of the cave. The chain refused her. Sighing in defeat, she took a seat next to Itachi and looked up at his sleeping face.
Complicated, she thought. Too complicated.
~*~
"Lady Tsunade, we have word of Itachi Uchiha and Sakura Haruno."
The blonde Hokage sat up immediately from her nap, a piece of paper attached firmly to her forehead. She tore it off and wiped away the drool that had formed on the side of her mouth, gesturing for the masked ANBU to step forwards.
"Let's hear it," she ordered. The ANBU bowed.
"They were spotted by the Grass shinobi. It seems they were pursuing the retired medic Akira Watabe for reasons unknown to us. It seems the Grass were harsh when it came to receiving information as Akira has been fatally injured and captured." Tsunade winced, but urged the ANBU to continue.
"Witnesses say that Itachi Uchiha was indeed with Sakura Haruno. Both showed signs of refusal to return to Konoha and several shinobi were killed as a result."
A smash rung around the office. The ANBU remained unfazed at the fact the Hokage's desk was now in pieces, but Shizune – having heard the loud sound – ran in immediately. Tsunade's face was hidden by her blonde hair.
"Get me Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. NOW!" She yelled, looking up and glaring at Shizune. The black-haired woman nodded and bowed.
"Of course, milady."
~*~
"I hate you," Sakura hissed at the black-haired man in front of her. Itachi ignored her and continued to drag her by the chain linking them, gritting his teeth in frustration at her stubbornness.
"If you don't cooperate, I will be made to use force," Itachi stopped walking and turned around to stare at Sakura square in the eyes. He wasn't in the mood for her immature acts. She folded her arms, tightening the chain.
"Where are we going now? Huh? Our last shot to be free of this thing is being held prisoner and we're being hunted by other shinobi. We're screwed, Itachi." Her voice dropped from an aggressive tone to a confused, lost pitch. He watched her mood slowly change and sighed inwardly.
"We're going back to Konoha…" he said, pretending not to notice when she looked up at him like a lost puppy. "…but not to try and feign our innocence."
"Itachi, we don't really have a choice. We really need to tell Konoha what happened – maybe they'll believe you."
Itachi turned away from her, tugging on the chain to indicate that they should continue to walk. Sakura followed slowly behind him.
"No doubt they would have got word of our antics in Grass. It won't matter that it was all in self-defence. We eliminated fellow shinobi and that alone is a punishable by imprisonment."
Sakura's throat closed up. That's right – she had used her new technique to kill the shinobi that threatened to bring them back to Konoha. Why had she done that? If she had left Itachi to do as he pleased, she would still have a clear name.
"You mean, we're technically missing-nin at the moment?" The wind carried her quiet words down to Itachi's ears. He inclined his head over his shoulder to make small eye contact with her.
"It would seem that way, yes."
Sakura swallowed, running a hand through her hair as she stared hard at the floor. He was right – there was no way they could go back to Konoha and explain themselves now.
A heart-wrenching emotion ran through her as she thought of Kakashi. What must he think of her right now? What if the next time she saw him, it was in battle? What about Naruto? Her best friend, her brother. The two were inseparable. Yet as far as Naruto knew, she had skipped off with a murderer. Tsunade, her replacement mother. She had taught her SO much and to her, it must be like Sakura has just taken what she wanted and left. She wondered whether her deceased parents knew about her predicament, about why she felt she needed to stay with Itachi.
Kakashi had helped her through her depression and how did she repay him? It looked like she had left Konoha with his rival, his enemy.
She hadn't even been able to say goodbye to him…
Distracting her train of thoughts, she realised that her fists were clenched and her teeth were grinding angrily against each other. It wasn't Itachi's fault – it was the fault of the person who had linked the two of them together.
She came to a stop. Itachi turned curiously, noticing that Sakura was staring hard at the ground with her pink hair creating an eerie shadow over her eyes.
"That's it. I'm not moving until you tell me who's responsible for this – for us. If it wasn't you, it means there has to be someone behind it." She looked up sharply, her face showing anger and pain. She began to yell.
"Whoever did it took away my life in Konoha! My friends think I betrayed them and my teacher – who is like a mother to me – must be hurting SO MUCH. And it's their fault! Whoever connected us is still out there and YOU won't tell me who it is." Her eyes watered and she hated that she had started to tear up in front of the startled Uchiha. Looking down again, she swallowed. "He didn't just hurt you Itachi. He's hurt me. For once, stop thinking about yourself and think about what your S-rank business has done to me."
Itachi swallowed. The kunoichi looked so… sad. So depressed. It was amazing that she had kept so many feelings inside and instead focused on keeping normal emotions on show.
He turned away, looking up into the sky and watching as the dull blue slowly changed into a bright orange. Sakura waited. And waited.
"My cousin," Itachi said finally, turning around to face Sakura fully. His face showed no emotion, yet his jaw was clenched and his eyes sparkled with venom. His next sentence came out in nothing but a hiss.
"It was my cousin, Shisui Uchiha."
~*~
There was silence. Tsunade held back the emotions she felt as she observed the reactions of the news she had handed to Team 7.
They had been told about Sakura's refusal.
Naruto was staring hard at the floor, his eyes shadowed and fists clenched into tight, curled balls. Sasuke's eyes were wide, as though he had seen something disgusting and shocking. Tsunade brought her eyes to Kakashi.
This was the reaction that hurt her the most. She knew the closeness between the two. The bond that had tied the two together.
And the result of it being broken looked catastrophic. His fists were clenched – clenched to the point where blood dropped soundlessly to the floor after trickling down his tense fingers. His hair had flopped forwards and – even through his mask – the tick in his cheekbone throbbed violently. Kakashi was not happy. He was far from it.
It had been the first time in a long while that Tsunade had seen Kakashi in her office without the infuriating orange book propped in front of his nose. She was so broken at observing Hatake that she actually began to miss the usual lazy copy-nin she had seen.
"What…" Naruto's voice broke the silence. "What kind of monster has he turned her into?"
This question echoed in the eerie quiet. Sasuke seemed unbothered that his brother was the subject of this question – why should he be bothered? He had experienced his parents' death at the hands of his sibling.
Kakashi said nothing. Without warning and without saying a word, he turned and stormed out of the room, slamming it with intense force. Tsunade winced and didn't bother calling after him. Her own eyes were brimming with the pain Team 7 was experiencing. They were a tight family. If one fell, they all fell.
"Your mission is to head to the Village hidden in the Grass. You are to scout the area surrounding it and find any information you can on Sakura Haruno and Itachi Uchiha. If you come into contact with them-" A single tear dropped onto the desk and Tsunade placed her head into her hands, letting out a quiet sob before continuing. "-bring them back by any means necessary."
A/N: I managed to write this in a triple Business lesson, so sorry for any mistakes made. I was intending to make this chapter back to the old 4000 - 5000 word boundary, but found that it this seemed a fitting way to end the chapter. I'm being a little more speedy with my updates too. ^_^
The story will unfold a little more later on and please tell me if I've made any mistakes in the plot, spelling or punctuation.
If any of you are slight NejiSaku fans, I'm also doing a multi-chap fic on them. That's another reason you might experience some mistakes as the two fics are similar and I get confused. x_x;
I've made Itachi and Sakura get close too quick in this fic and I hope that after I've finished this and my NejiSaku fic, I'll be able to make a fic between the two where their relationship won't escalate so fast.
Thanks for reading, please review and tell me what you think.
Oh, and if I don't update before Easter... HAPPY EASTER! :)