A/N: Alright, well, I'm still getting, like, all of three reviews, but I'm not going to quit the story. It wouldn't be fair to those who are actually reviewing if I just stopped uploading. So, these chapters are for you, my lovelies! n.n

Sakura busied herself with packing the last of the few objects she possessed. She wondered briefly if she would have to leave anything behind to make for easier and quicker travelling, but decided against it. All she really had were the "camping" supplies they'd bought at that outpost town before leaving for Waves and a few outfits. And the outfits were light enough that they wouldn't make a difference. So, in the rucksack they went.

She looked around the small, run-down apartment that they hadn't yet paid a single cent for and sighed a little sadly. The place was a dump, it was really, really gross, it was definitely far down in the quality scale than other places she'd lived, but she liked it, nonetheless. It felt like home, the place she could go to for comfort and warmth.

And she would need a lot of that in the near future. Living in a tiny little shack of a cottage with no power, a puny cot and the only heat coming from a wood-burning furnace wasn't exactly the epitome of cosiness. But she would stand by her man even if it meant cold toes and an uncomfortable, cramped bed. She would stand by Itachi no matter what.

Then a crashing sound broke the silence and she turned a surprised glance toward the apartment door. She wondered if she should peek out and see what had happened, but she wasn't particularly interested in mixing herself up in a fight. But still... she was curious to know what was going on and who was disturbing the silence of her afternoon.

So, she walked to the door and jerked it open, ignoring the horrible complaints it made and looked outside, only to pause. Was it just her or was there an Itachi standing outside his door with his boss, wearing an Akatsuki cloak? No, no, that wasn't possible. Itachi had given up the Akatsuki and had discarded his cloak. This had to be a figment of her imagination.

Then, he turned to her and Sakura's breath hitched. That look on his face... she'd seen it before. But where? It looked so familiar, so out of place and yet so fitting there that she couldn't figure out whether this was really Itachi or not. Then, she remembered. The dream... the one Orochimaru had given her where Itachi had actually killed the clan. He had the exact same look on his face then that he did now.

"Ritsu... what...?" What are you doing? What's the matter? Why do you look so dead? Why are you just standing there? Why aren't you saying anything? She wanted to ask all of these questions, but her tongue seemed unattached to the rest of her body. It wouldn't move. She couldn't talk.

What was going on?

"Sakura," Itachi finally spoke, the first word out of his mouth being her name. His voice was just as dead as his eyes and the sound sent her blood running cold. With that tone of voice, her name sounded more like a curse than a greeting.

"What...?"

When his lips quirked up, Sakura didn't feel reassured, quite the opposite, actually. The smirk was cold and full of venom and that's when she knew. Something was seriously wrong.

"Sakura," Itachi repeated a little louder and this time allowed other words to follow the curse of her name, "It's over, this lover's game."

"L-Lover's game?" she repeated uncomprehendingly, "Over? I don't.... I don't understand."

"It is over," he over-enunciated, talking with a tone that made it sound like he was speaking to a slow child with hearing problems, "I have to say, it's been fun, but it's getting a bit old. Time to find other endeavours to amuse ourselves."

And that, dear readers, was when she understood. Something wasn't seriously wrong, everything was seriously wrong. And she couldn't figure out what the hell was going on. Why was Itachi dressed like that? Why was he talking to her with that tone of voice? Why did his eyes look so dead and yet the rest of his face look so indifferent? What was he saying? Why was he saying it? What the hell was going on?!

"Ritsu... why are you..."

He quirked a vaguely amused brow, that dead look remaining, and then asked, "Did you honestly think this would last forever? Seriously, it was fun, we had some good times and your reactions were really quite refreshing, but I really don't think this... this... game can stay enjoyable for much longer. So, I'll go back to Akatsuki, you'll go... wherever you choose to go. Though you may not want to stay here much longer, I doubt you'll be welcomed so warmly when the villagers learn of your true identity."

"Akatsuki...? But they'll kill you!"

The sound that escaped Itachi's throat could have been a chuckle, but Sakura wasn't sure since there was no hint of amusement on his face. "They won't kill me. They've known of my plans for quite a while now. Do you honestly think this was my first time doing something like this?"

Sakura's jaw fell open at that last inquiry.

"No, I've done this many, many times. It's my duty. The stronger the kunoichi, the better. Because now you can't return to Konoha and thus Konoha has lost another shinobi. And, just a couple more times and I'll be able to finish the job that I started all those years ago with the Uchiha clan."

"What?" she whispered, tears welling in her eyes, "But you said Orochimaru killed the Uchiha clan!"

Itachi almost laughed. "So gullible. That's not a particularly beneficial trait for a shinobi to have, but I shouldn't complain. Gullibility is what gives me the ability to do things like this over and over and over."

"If this is some kind of joke, I really need to teach you what funny is," she told him, her voice wavering with each word, her tone not one of resentment or confusion but of fear and hope. Hope that this was some crazy, hurtful, but equally untrue joke. That Itachi wasn't serious. That he didn't mean any of the words he was saying. "If you wanted me out of the way, why didn't you just kill me?"

He must have noticed this, because he shook his head with a sigh, "I had intended our... 'relationship' to be the bait that would send even more of Konoha's most valuable shinobi after you and I've done just that. They're looking for you and I intend to destroy them all. Especially my precious little brother who I should have killed long, long ago. But things grew troublesome. You're much different than the others. You got more involved that the others did. This might actually hurt."

Sakura's confusion and fear were beginning to transform into something more. Her hands balled into fists, her jaw clenched, her lips pursed, her eyes narrowed and her back curved, falling into a stance. She was angry. She was furious. She was not going to listen to anymore of this. She no longer cared if this was a joke or not, he was going to feel her anger. "It'll hurt alright," she growled, reared back and then lunged at him.

Itachi managed to step aside just in time and move a foot forward at exactly the right moment and Sakura tripped, falling forward. She didn't have time to raise her arms to break her fall and so she landed right on her chest, the wind rushing out of her lungs with a choking whoosh. And, before she could find the will to get up, Itachi's knee was at her back, keeping her down while his hands pulled her arms behind her.

"So many times we've fought for fun... so many times we've laughed at each other's injuries... so many times we've made supposed love and now... it's all over," he said and she could hear the chuckle in his voice. Then, she felt his lips at her ear as he whispered menacingly, "Deal with it."

"Why... are... you... you..." she managed to gasp that much out before Itachi pulled her arms back further, causing her to gasp in pain.

"You were on hand," he told her, the words too familiar, "You were there, you were available, and you were attracted to me. What can I say? I have to do my job and you got what you wanted, a good fuck."

"No!" she cried, fighting against him, but only making him hold her wrists with one hand, grab a fistful of her hair with the other and jerk her head up. She cried out in pain and he chuckled, the action sounded slightly forced. It was just her imagination, she decided. "That wasn't it! I wanted... I wanted to feel like I belonged somewhere. I wanted... to really and truly be loved by somebody, to know what it felt like to be with somebody without being afraid of them lying to me."

"You wanted that?" Her imagination made his voice choke slightly, "Then you should have listened to Konoha... because they told you the truth. And now Sasuke will be the first to pay for your mistake." And then the weight was off of her back and she looked over her shoulder to watch as Itachi walked around her toward the door to the stairwell. "Watashi no taisetsu... farewell." And, with that, he disappeared as the door closed behind him.

S... Sasuke was the one he wanted? W-Was that why he'd always asked about him at the base? He wanted Sasuke... and I let him fool me!

Her jaw quivered, the tears that had welled in her eyes escaped, her breaths came and went in ragged gasps. She was vaguely aware that she was on the verge of hyperventilating, but she didn't care. All she could fully concentrate on were those last words. "Watashi no taisetsu... farewell." His beloved? Since when?

She shook her head, whispering, "No..." As she repeated the monosyllabic word over and over, her voice raised higher and higher until it was a loud shriek that would send even the most cold-blooded person's—even Itachi's—blood even colder. "No... no... no...! No...! No! No!! NO!!!" She lowered her head to the carpet and she sobbed as the words repeated over and over again in her head, never letting her forget the love that jad once been behind those words but now only the lies. "Watashi no taisetsu... farewell."

Then, she felt a new presence and she looked up to see Orochimaru kneeling before her. He smiled softly when she looked at him, her cheeks tear-stained, and rested his hand on her head, petting her hair lovingly. "Are you ready? Would you like to go now? I can help you take away all of that pain you're feeling."

Fresh tears welled in her eyes as he offered her his free hand. She took it and he stood, helping her up. He placed a kiss to her forehead and smirked. "We can now consider all of our enemies dead, my dearest Sakura."

"Dead..." she whispered and she nodded as though that was that only thing in the world that made sense. It was the only thing that made sense to her. "Yes... I want them dead. All of them."

Orochimaru nodded. "Good girl. Then we'd best get going." His hand tightened around hers and then he turned toward the door leading toward the stairwell. "Then let us go."

A/N: Aaaaand... now that this is uploaded, I have to go to work! Hope you enjoyed!