Sakura woke up in Iwa one day screaming.
She could have sworn she heard that voice, that terrifying voice...
Getting out of bed and pulling on some shorts, she stumbled over to the doorway and called out, "Itachi?"
It was odd how reassuring his presence was.
"Is something wrong Sakura?" He appeared, already dressed in the hall. She nodded. "I thought I could hear voices..."
Abruptly, his expression changed. "I was just talking to Hidan with my phone on speaker. I'm sorry if it was too loud."
That name, it was familiar...
"What does Hidan look like again? And why didn't you wake me? You must have heard me screaming from the next room." Her lips pouted slightly as she frowned and he placed a light kiss on her lips.
"Everyone has their own nightmares," he said calmly and she shivered, trying to ignore the sensation that his private horrors were much worse than her own. She let the conversation drop and returned to bed, realizing only once Itachi had left for work that he'd neglected to answer her question about the only Akatsuki member she hadn't met.
The day when Sakura first declined an offer to go to a party was the day Itachi knew.
Uchiha Itachi knew many things.
He knew she wouldn't stay forever; it wasn't in her nature to be so cruel to herself.
He knew that she would eventually crack.
He knew that some things just didn't last.
And he knew that soon she wouldn't be able to stand the sight of him.
So he did what any normal boyfriend would do; he stayed home as well and ravished her until they were both exhausted.
He felt as though the days were shortening. Minutes stretched beyond their capacity, but weeks flew by. Itachi knew that come summer's end, he wouldn't be able to call her his anymore. So he made the most of it.
Every second was another adventure, every spark of pain or tear shed a new exploit. It got to the point where he hated having out of his sight. He knew that if he stopped watching her for long enough, she would turn to smoke in his fingers.
But slowly, ever so slowly, she turned back into the girl she'd been. She cut her hair again to shoulder length, and she began to wear lighter tones of blues and green. He noticed that she even began to wear jewelry and makeup again. The Uchiha knew time was short, and did all he could to drag it out.
Hours spent curled up together, or drinking, made her progress slow; but he knew it wasn't enough.
Uchiha Itachi knew many things.
He knew that he wasn't enough to make her stay.
The call came in while they were at work.
"Sakura, line three!" Konan had said, holding a button down until her coworker picked up.
"Hello, how may I help you?"
Sakura's brisk business voice did nothing to coax words from her caller.
"Hello?"
Then she heard the sobs. It was pitiful crying, the broken heartedness that made her eyes turn sad. She waited a few more moments, determined to help in some way.
"Sakura..."
She froze. She knew that voice and her eyes shot open, fists clenching.
"Sasuke?" she breathed, already knowing it was him. There were more sobs and breaths gulped down. "They're all gone, Sakura. Mom, dad, everybody..." He dissolved into tears, slumped in the telephone booth outside of the Uchiha compound. "...somebody, somebody killed them all, Sakura, they're all gone..."
Sakura dropped the phone when the line went dead, horrified. She sat there, still as stone until thoughts clicked through her mind.
Itachi.
What if they'd gotten him too?
She pushed her chair back from the desk harshly and practically flew down the hall to Itachi's office, sorrow lining her features as she prepared to face it –
But there he was. Calm faced and peaceful, he looked up from his pile of reports. "What is it, Sakura? Do you need something?" Shivering slightly, she walked forward.
"They're gone," she whispered, eyes glazed in horror. "Sasuke said they're all gone... all the Uchiha's."
His brows arched down sharply. "Well since I'm obviously here, and he's obviously not dead if he can tell you this, the Uchiha's are not 'all gone.'" He picked up the phone and dialed Sasuke's cell phone number. While it rang he looked at Sakura. He could see white all the way around her eyes, and her hands were shaking.
No one picked up the phone, and he left a message on Sasuke's answering machine.
When Sakura showed up for therapy later that night, confused by the unconfirmed reports, she'd been anxious to say the least. Luckily she was alone in the waiting room except for Tobi, who was painting his nails.
This confused her more; why would Sasuke have said all if Tobi was still alive?
"Do you like this color, Sakura? Tobi likes this color!" He was painting his unusually long nails a bright orange color. "Um, yes, it's a great color. Hey Tobi, have you heard anything about the other Uchiha's lately?"
Slowly, he turned to look at her, and she was struck by his unusually sloe–like eyes.
"Which other Uchiha's? There's only me, and Sasuke, and Itachi left now!"
Sakura inched backwards on the bench. "What do you mean, Tobi?" She spoke slowly, carefully, as though she were conversing with a small child. "Why aren't there anymore Uchiha's? What happened to them all?"
Tobi beamed at her.
"Because I killed them, that's why! I was going to kill everybody, especially Itachi because he's a sick bastard and Sasuke because he's a popular know–it–all, but I spared them for you!"
His glowing smiled was the complete opposite of her utter horror.
"I didn't want to make you upset, and I knew that you were friends with them, so I made sure they didn't get slaughtered like the rest of those assholes. Aren't you happy?"
He looked like he was expecting some sort of answer, so she just nodded slowly, mind overcome with shock. Then she stood, slung her bag over her shoulder and took her heels off. Then she sprinted out of the building.
She was almost afraid that he'd come after her. But he'd wanted her to be happy, right? Her logic was a little fuzzy at the moment, especially after hearing that excited mouth spew murderous bullshit into the air.
Sakura ran until she could feel her feet start to bleed. She's crossed nearly half of Iwa, pelting down the sidewalks until she remembered to call Itachi.
"Itachi!" She nearly screamed at him when he finally picked up. She told him where she was; it would be insensitive to tell him over the phone, wouldn't it?
When his car pulled up, she immediately got into the passenger's seat and looked at Itachi. His face was still blank as she dropped her purse in the back and told him to park. As soon as he had the emergency brake on, he turned and looked at her expectantly.
"Well? What's the matter?"
She burst into tears. "Tobi killed off every Uchiha except for you and Sasuke!"
She could feel the water rolling down her cheeks and knew her face was blotchy, but god, all those people dying just because some lunatic had felt like it?
IT'S LIFE. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE FAIR. BUT NEXT TIME WE SEE TOBI, HE IS SO GETTING A TALKING TO.
Sakura glanced up at Itachi, expecting something, anything. She was almost pleading for him to look sad, some sign of emotion...
"Is that all?"
The tears halted mid–sob and she stared at him.
"Are you, are you serious?" she said, hiccupping between breaths.
He nodded, raising an eyebrow. "At least if I'm alive I can still keep the Uchiha clan alive. It's really not that dramatic."
It was like Sakura had been wearing rose–tinted glasses until someone pushed her down on the sidewalk.
"Your whole fucking family is dead and you don't even care?" Her hollow voice matched the expression of dawning horror in her eyes.
He shrugged. "I'll admit that killing my mother was a bit of a waste; she made excellent soup."
Without another word, Sakura got out of the car, slammed the door behind her and walked away. As her bare feet hit the asphalt, she pulled her phone out of her bag and dialed a number she'd known practically since birth.
"Ino, it's me."
