Shortly after departing from Sasuke, Sakura was walking down a road surrounded by trees, before she suddenly heard a distinct muffled cry accompanied by the horrid sound of cruel laughter. She hesitantly followed the noise to where she spotted a beaten and bruised Naruto laid out on the floor, with Ami and an older boy looming over him. Sakura growled, overcome with a horrible burning feeling inside her chest.
"What do you think you're doing!?" Sakura screamed, running in front of Naruto and glaring daggers at the two.
"That's her, Onii-san!" Ami rapidly explained, pointing at Sakura in her haste. 'Ah, her older brother...how gormless.' Sakura thought. "She's the freak!" Sakura growled at the obnoxious girl. Not for the fact that she was insulting her, for she cared not for that, but the beaten Naruto that had yet to be explained by either of the two.
"You're her?" He snarled, his teeth bared. "You were right Ami...she's hideous. Her forehead is huge." He chuckled, taunting Sakura in an attempt to wind her up more and hopefully push her over the edge. Sakura's expression darkened.
"I'll ask you again. What. Were. You. Doing. To. Naruto?" She asked slowly, full of rage and pronouncing each word with careful anger. The older boy pulled something out of his pocket, it's shine glinting in the sun. Sakura quickly identified this as a knife. He tilted his head, analyzing the young woman.
"I heard you were bullying my little sister. I can't let that slide, can I?" He asked, grinning like a mad man. She opened her mouth to retort before he cut her off. "Your friend here was just mere collateral damage. He seemed to approve of you doing these horrendous things to her."
"Ah, so you're one of those types. I know that you realise that what she does is horrible - but you're also horrible yourself, right?" She questioned, staring him up and down with disgust. "Do you think you're tough? And if so, would you like to test that theory?" She asked, clenching her fists open and closed.
"And what are you going to do? I'll slit your throat, and you'll lie there and bleed out whilst me and Ami laugh at your weakness." He sneered, pointing his knife at her. Sakura seemed to sense something off with Naruto's chakra, like it suddenly flared at the thought of Sakura being hurt. It was basically burning.
She quickly shook her head. She had to deal with this situation first. It was her primary focus.
"You seem to like handling blades. Well, that is something we have in common, you see..." She said calmly, closing her eyes and drawing her kunai from her holster that was positioned underneath her skirt. "Have you even ever seen a blade cut someone, before?" She growled in a low voice, pressing her kunai to her hand and slicing it open. He looked at her, freaked out.
"What are you doing, you freak?" He asked, a little frightened, but otherwise stubborn and holding his ground. "Of course I've seen someone get cut before. Who do you think I am!?" Sakura eyed his green vest.
"A chuunin who believes themselves worthy to hold the title 'ninja'." She pointed out, scowling. He narrowed his eyes. "You're not a ninja. You're human trash. I'll be willing show you what a real ninja is, if you're not too scared." She threatened, twirling her kunai easily.
"I'll kill you!" He growled, launching for her, his knife in a weak grip in his right hand. She made a 'tch' sound before beginning to retaliate.
He made an attempt to drive his knife through her gut before she reached out and took his wrist, shunshinning behind him and pulling his hand behind his back, twisting it. She kicked the back of his shin, causing him to let out a grunt and crash onto the floor. She held her kunai to his neck, her breathing steady but her heart pounding from the excitement of a real fight, teeth gritted.
"S-Sakura-chan..." Naruto whispered, and she looked up to him, letting out a breath she didn't realising she was holding. Her gaze fell on Ami, who looked equally as frightened. Sakura growled, her hands gripping the kunai more, repressing her urge to slice his neck open right there and then.
"Just how gullible are you?" She laughed out. Her voice dropped to a low snarl. "If I catch you hurting Naruto again," She leaned down and whispered a growl into his ear. "The outcome will not be the same. I will not hesitate to fucking gut you, scumbag." She released his roughly, causing his face to crash into the dirt as she got up and brushed herself off, looking steadily into Ami's eyes.
"Y-You monster! W-what did you do to him!?" Ami screamed, her hands clenched tightly at her chest, too afraid to move.
"What? Do you want the same thing to happen to you?" Sakura blinked innocently at Ami, who violently shook her head in reply. Sakura narrowed her eyes at Ami. "Get your brother, and get the hell out of my sight." Ami quickly rushed over to help her brother up and they made off, before Ami glanced over her shoulder towards Sakura, clenched her fists.
"What the hell did I just say? Move!" She shouted, throwing her hands out as Ami flinched.
"N-next time," Ami started, regaining her confidence. "Next time I'll get my Outo-san on you. He'll kill you for sure!" She said, overly-confident. Sakura just stared blankly at Ami.
"If you continue to stare at me like an obnoxious dolt, there won't be a next time." Sakura threatened, tilting her head to the side. "If I see you again, I'll kill you. If I see you near Naruto again, I'll kill your brother. If I see you hurt Naruto, I'll kill your whole family." Ami tensed up, grabbing her brother's shoulder and running away. Sakura turned to Naruto, who was staring with wide eyes at her. Sakura ran up to him and enveloped him in a hug. She felt her shoulder suddenly soak, and indicator that Naruto was crying, as he quietly sobbed.
"Shh, shh...it's okay..." She comforted, rubbing circles on his back, something Haname did to her when she was upset - it always made her feel better. Naruto pulled back and wiped the tears from his cerulean blue eyes, gazing into her own emerald ones.
"Thank you, Sakura-chan..." He smiled at her, his eyes closed shut with tears threatening to spill again. Sakura's mouth formed a straight line as she fought the urge to frown.
"What happened? Are you okay?" She questioned. Naruto smiled at her, shaking his head.
"I'm fine, Sakura-chan." He told her, smiling. "Well, thanks to you..."
"What happened?" She repeated, looking a little more serious now. Naruto must have noticed her expression, because his smile faultered a little.
"I was...looking for you. I thought you would be at the park because...Well, I just had a feeling." He coughed awkwardly and continued. "I was walking down this road when I ran into Ami and her older brother. They...asked me where you were. I told them I didn't know, and then they said I was lying. They pushed me over and scruffed me up a bit, mostly Ami's older brother...then they kicked me on the floor for a while before you showed up." Sakura frowned, looking at the floor.
"I'm sorry, Naruto..." She told him sadly. His eyes widened, ready to protest against what she was about to say. "It's all my fault...If I hadn't...If you...They were looking for me, Naruto. Not you. I should've been here. I'm so, so sorry." She said, fumbling for her words.
Sakura quickly stumbled when a sudden chakra signature appeared out of nowhere in the trees, and, against her better judgement, her head quickly whipped to the signature's position. It was one she had encountered before, she was sure, but didn't exactly recognise. Naruto noticed as Sakura became uncomfortable and looked at where she was looking. There was someone in the trees, watching them. It wasn't even one of the masked men, it was someone in a clad black shirt and...wait. Naruto had to squint his eyes to make out the person.
"Is that Itachi?" He whispered, and Sakura cursed under her breath, taking Naruto's hand and quickly turning to get away from him. Sakura heard a soft thud on the ground before a smooth voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Where do you think you're off to so suddenly?" Itachi asked her, raising an eyebrow at the confusing 7-year-old. Sakura's breath hitched as she clenched eyes shut. She had tried her hardest to forget what had happened in the dream, but it was just so hard to get the image out of her head, the look he had on his face, and those eyes. She looked back at him slowly, and it took every atom in her small body to not take off running with Naruto right then and there. She feigned confusion, looking at him over her shoulder.
"When did you get here?" She asked, curiously. Technically, that was a valid question that she actually had wanted the answer to, but she had seen him in the trees, and he knew that.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't play stupid with me. I know you saw me. Why do think I came out of the trees? There was no use staying in there if you had knowledge of my whereabouts." He looked right through her, and she almost shuddered. His voice was like velvet, yet so monotone. His eyes are what scare her the most, though. They seem like they hold many, many emotions, yet the only thing she could sense within those black eyes of his was indifference. She was scared of one minute looking at him and his eyes would be that crimson red colour; the exact same colour as in her dream. Which had also reminded her that she had one more thing to tick off before she could class that dream as something more than a dream.
"Ah, so I did." She responded, rolling her eyes. "But I didn't know when you got here, so you still have the audacity to tell me that." She corrected. Itachi's face did not change.
"I watched the whole thing. I followed you since you left the house back at my compound. I also saw how you have already gained my younger brother's friendship." He said, as almost as if he was surprised. Sakura furrowed her brow. How hadn't she sensed him? "And I also have a lot of questions to ask." He finished. Sakura had nothing to say. Why would she? How was she to respond to that? Sakura knew that this boy was no joke, and he did not take his title of 'Uchiha Prodigy' lightly. He was smart. And that was exactly why Sakura was scared.
"Unfortunately, I believe I have some errands to run. If you happen to run into me again, you may ask me whatever you like." She told him, making sure to keep her voice in check. "However, whether I choose to answer those questions or not is entirely up to me. I am not permitted to tell you anything that I don't want to. I hope I am understood. Please don't follow me again." She told him, as he looked at her like she was a puzzle he yearned to piece together. Before he could ask anything more, she grabbed Naruto's hand and took off. It was no doubt that Itachi could catch up to them if he really wanted to, but she believed that he was a man of dignity, so he would hold her to her word.
"Um, what just happened, Sakura-chan?" Asked a very bemused blonde. Sakura cast a glance towards him, her mouth between a pout and a frown.
"I don't actually understand myself, Naruto." Sakura replied, her gaze falling to the ground. Truth be told, she didn't actually understand, but she had a feeling that Itachi knew more than he let on.
'There is no way I can let him find out about my clan.' She told herself, determined. She suddenly frowned, a question interrupting her train of thoughts. 'Why can't I, again? I know that Okaa-san and Otou-san told me not to tell anyone...but why can't anyone know? We're not even that important, are we?...' She shook her head, instead deciding that she would question her parents in a month's time. She heard Naruto exclaim suddenly.
"Oh!" He said, smiling at someone. Sakura inclined her head towards wherever Naruto was sending his smile towards. Sasuke was walking towards them calmly. "Hey, Sasuke-Teme!"
"Hey, Dobe," He said, smiling at Naruto, and then smiling towards Sakura. "Sakura." He nodded his head. Sakura nodded back, confused. She gestured inbetween the two of them.
"So, um, you two are..." She mentally searched for the right word to explain their friendship without upsetting either of them. "Civil?" Sasuke snickered and Naruto chuckled, patting Sasuke's shoulder.
"We're friends, Sakura-chan." He said, smiling gently at her. "I fight people whether I like them or not. It's nothing personal." Naruto shrugged.
"Even though the Usuratonkachi is the most obnoxious person I know...I suppose he's...tolerable." Sasuke admitted, as Naruto glared at him, pouting.
"I changed my mind. I don't like him, Sakura-chan." Naruto sniffed mockingly, insulted. A short laugh escaped Sakura's throat, a sound that seemed to satisfy Naruto and Sasuke as they smiled, their efforts not going unrewarded. Sakura's expression quickly dropped, her content seemingly short-lived. This didn't go unnoticed by either of the two boys.
"Sakura, what's wrong?" Sasuke asked, and Sakura shook her head dismissively in response, her short pink hair falling into her face, as she made to play with it out of habit. Sasuke frowned, not happy that she was ignoring him. "I asked you a question." He reminded her, and her eyes flickered up to him for a second, morbidly unnafected by his subtle warnings.
"I am aware of that." She retorted, and his frown fell even more. He normally wouldn't care for a girl, but he concluded that this one was different. She didn't seem to be head-over-heels for him like every other girl he knew, and that alone already scored her top points and put her in his good books. "I just need to do something, okay? Nothing's wrong." Okay. That was a lie. Very much was wrong. But it's not like she could exactly explain it, could she? How was she supposed to tell him that 'Hey, if your dad looks like what he looked like in my dream, Itachi's gonna kill your whole family.' without getting thrown into the loony cell? Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest defiantly, looking like a stubborn toddler in the process.
"Don't lie to me, Sakura." He warned, and she narrowed her eyes at him, as he did in return. He gestured to where Sakura was before. "I saw you talking to my Aniki. What were you talking about?" Sakura mentally sighed in relief. 'Okay. That's all he wanted to know.' She told herself.
"He said he wanted to ask me a few things." She explained, shrugging as if it should mean nothing to him. "He noticed that I moved into the Uchiha Compound, so I suppose he was just curious." She said, tugging on a strand of pink hair.
"He's not like that. He won't ask for people's time if it's not important." Sasuke argued, speaking as if he knew Itachi inside and out. "Aniki is an ANBU, so he can find out a lot of things easily. He wouldn't have asked you if he could find it out himself." Sakura's mouth formed a straight line. 'This kid just really doesn't give up...does he?' Sakura mentally rolled her eyes.
"What do you want me to say? What am I supposed to say?" Sakura seethed, throwing her hands on her hips. "I don't know what he wants. Maybe you should ask him yourself!" Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "In the meantime, I need to seek out your Otou-san." And Sasuke looked dumbfounded.
"Why?" He asked her. Sakura felt like wringing his neck and screaming 'Stop asking questions!' but that would surely get her in serious trouble. After a lot of mental debation, she settled for answering his question.
"I need to discuss some things with him." She seethed, trying her hardest to not kill the heir of one of the most powerful clans in Konoha. Sasuke stared blankly at the girl whose words were practically oozing with venom and- oh- if looks could kill. Sasuke could tell she was annoyed with him.
"Ok." Sasuke gave in, rolling his eyes at her. "If you want to find him, you should talk to the Hokage. He'll know where Otou-san is." Sasuke provided her with the necessary information and she nodded at him, smiling.
"Thanks, Sasuke." She said gently. His eyes quickly widened before he huffed, averting his eyes and a tiny blush crept up to his cheeks. Sakura noticed, grinning. She poked his face, causing him to emit a surprised noise. "You're blushing." She commented, and his face grew shades darker.
"No I'm not, Usuratonkachi!" He growled, embarrassed. Sakura just chuckled and shook her head at him.
"That's Naruto's nickname. You'll have to find me something more fitting, seeing as I'm smarter than the two of you combined..." Sakura challenged, still grinning at the boy who looked about ready to tear her head off for pointing out the obvious heat on his face. Before Sasuke could open his mouth to retort, Sakura cut him off. "Anyway, I'll be off. You two will be fine without me, right?" Sakura asked, tilting her head.
"We'll be fine, Sakura-chan! Don't worry about it! Besides," Naruto slyly commented, elbowing Sasuke in the side. "If he's mean to me; I'll just beat him up."
"As if you could, Dobe." Sasuke scoffed, as Naruto pouted and crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing at Sasuke.
"Better believe it, Teme." Naruto mumbled under his breath as Sasuke grit his teeth in anger. His face was back to it's normal, healthy colour by now.
Predicting that they were seconds away from roughing up to eachother, Sakura growled, causing the two of them to whip their heads towards her. Expressions of guilt crossed their features, and Naruto coughed awkwardly, rubbing his neck and Sasuke just looked off into the trees. Sakura just laughed quietly to herself.
"You two are something else." She joked, facepalming. "Don't fight while I'm gone. Please? For me?" She asked, pulling out puppy-dog eyes. Naruto panicked.
"O-of course, Sakura-chan! I would never do anything to make you mad!" He commented quickly, earning a mad look from the raven-haired Uchiha heir to his right. Sakura nodded, smiling as Sasuke agreed.
"Okay, I'll be off then." She finally said, sending a wave to the two boys. She smiled warmly, her features brightening. "Ja ne, Naruto, Sasuke." They nodded to her, as she did to them. She shunshinned away, leaving Naruto and Sasuke to stare at eachother, a look of challenge in their eyes as they grinned, cheekily.
"Hey, Teme... Last one to the park's a rotten egg!"
