A light tapping on her window woke her from her deep sleep. She knew who it was but humored him anyway. Slowly, she opened the window for him and he slipped right in. Off went his cloak, shirt and sandals - all discarded neatly on the little cove by the window. He moved fluidly to her bed and lie there as though it was the only place he wanted to be. As if he were home. Another restless night brought him to her. Another night filled with screaming ghosts of Christmas past and a guilty conscious.
He waited as she lie beside him and cuddled against him. She didn't ask questions and he didn't offer answers. He was glad she never prodded and allowed him to talk whenever or should he ever want to. As she drifted off to sleep, so did he, and it was a sleep he so desperately yearned for, the kind that came from the comfort only she could give him.
The mornings were like all the ones before it, except recently they would share heated looks, a poke on the forehead and a quick, sweet kiss on the lips before he made his departure . Itachi didn't care much for them to get caught, but he wanted her reputation to stay intact and he didn't want her mother to worry about a boy trying to take advantage of her daughter - which he would never do, regardless of how is body responded to hers and vise versa.
As of late, it had become harder and harder to leave, and he left later and later. They kept things innocent, as she was 13 and he 17 and while that didn't really mean much to shinobi, some people would frown upon it. Not that he cared much, but once again he wanted to keep her reputation intact.
He made sure to challenge her during trainings, never giving her a break because he knew better. Shisui would take it easy sometimes and he could see it in Sakura's eyes that she hated it. He also noticed the respect her teammates gave her when she pushed herself. He never, in anyway, played favorites. What they did behind closed doors did not impact them on the field and he was grateful that Sakura had the same line of thought.
Sure, it was becoming common knowledge that the two spent time together and there had been a ton of speculation - his own family (brother and cousin included) which of course out right just asked him what the hell was going on, but he had a deep seeded feeling that they would approve of whatever he said - except Mikoto would probably be upset if he told her nothing was going on between himself and the Rosette, his mother loved her to death and his father respected her, it was a hard thing for that the happen.
He also knew that Naruto and a few of her friends, especially a blonde haired girl, she was a Yamanaka he knew, dogged her for answers which she never gave. If Sakura was curious herself, she never said anything. He himself was a bit confused, but wouldn't mention it. He figured if she was comfortable with what they were doing now, then so was he. They would take it as it came.
That's what he enjoyed most about Sakura, she wasn't demanding. She didn't ask him hundreds of questions, she didn't feel the need to constantly keep their comfortable silence filled with talking. She knew when to give him time and space and when he needed her. They talked about so much and yet they enjoyed the silence as well. There had been plenty of times where they would just sit somewhere and read or relax, no words exchanged.
She didn't see him as a shinobi. She didn't seem him as the monster he saw himself. She didn't ask him about his past or what he thought his future would look like, although it had been something he offered to talk about. She was supportive and kind, never asking for what she herself wouldn't give.
Then it dawned on him..
What was this feeling?
He didn't know, and part of him was terrified to ask. To know. They say ignorance is bliss and he never for one second ever believed that, but for this one instant, he could understand the saying. Itachi was never terrified, and it was a rather bold feeling, not one that he was sure if he hated or not. It made him feel human.
She made him feel human.
*.*.*.*
"I did it." Sakura said softly, "I did it! I did it!" Sakura cried, jumping into her Shishou's arms. Tsunade smiled warmly at her pupil as the girl jumped back. There, placed smack in the center of her forehead, was a purple diamond. "I am very proud of you.."
Sakura cocked her head to the side, "But..."
"But, I have taught you all that I can. You know everything I know and then some. Your strength has increased to maybe one day over power my own. Your medical prowess outshines my own. Healing is in your blood, Sakura, it isn't a surprise that you would surpass me so easily.. You have mastered two of my sacred techniques, there isn't much else I can teach you. Congrats, Sakura, you have surpassed a Sannin."
Sakura gave a watery smile before launching herself at her Shishou. "Thank you, for everything. You came back home just to teach me. You have stayed beside me through it all... Thank you." Sakura said softly.
"Just so you know, this isn't goodbye. I've decided to stay a little longer. I have invested too much time in you to just walk away. You're stuck with me, kiddo. We will still train, of course, I need to make sure you stay grounded. Can't let all this power go to your head."
"I couldn't think of anything better." Smiled Sakura.
Slowly, the two walked back from the training grounds.
"So tell me, what is happening between you and the Uchiha?" Mused Tsunade.
Sakura blushed deeply, "That is a very good question."
"Oh?"
"Ah.." Sakura glanced away, "We are close friends. We talk about everything and anything. I can be myself around him and he doesn't fear me. He doesn't take my kindness for granted. He doesn't baby me. Kakashi-sensei, he used to baby me. I know he did it because he didn't want me, or any of us, to go too deep too fast, but …" Sakura shrugged, "And Shisui still does it time to time, he takes it easy on me, maybe not consciously, but I can feel it. Shikamaru and Neji both know better than to pull that shit.. But Itachi, he's consistent." Tsunade remained silent as she listened to the young girl. It did not surprise her in the least that the two would find each other. Sakura was an old soul and so was Itachi. Both painfully faithful to the village and their precious people. Both pacifists. Both kind souls, regardless of what Itachi allowed other people to think.
"Well, speak of the devil, and he shall appear." Tsunade smirked. Sakura looked at her puzzled, only for her to follow the blonde's line of vision and see Uchiha Itachi patiently waiting. Sakura couldn't imagine what or who he would be waiting for. "Well, he ain't waiting for me. Go get em' tiger." Tsunade said, giving Sakura a push forward, giving the Uchiha a sly wink before heading the opposite way.
Itachi cocked his head to the side as he watched the rosette walk his way. "Hey." Sakura beamed, "I did it!" She cheered, mostly out of nerves. Itachi's lips lifted into a smile when he noticed the purple diamond on her delicate forehead (which she thought too big, but he thought was adorable).
"I see that. Congratulations." He said softly. A light blush dusted her cheeks, "Thank you." Sakura answered softly, looking off to the side.
"I wanted to see if you had dinner already."
"I uh... No, I've been training with Shishou all day. Did you have something in mind?" Sakura asked, her blush a little brighter. She felt like a little school girl most of the time now, ever sense she and Itachi had been hanging out more and more, she slowly grew fond of him in more ways than one. She grew attached in both platonic and not so platonic ways. Something told her, though, that if Itachi had different intentions, he wouldn't act the way he does with her. He seeks her out, they can barely sleep without each other at this point. They were used to seeing each other at least one time a day, and when they didn't, people could tell it right away. They snuggled, kissed, hung out doing absolutely nothing at times, but it always felt natural and real. She didn't have to pretend, she didn't have to hide or hold back.
"Mhm, there's always ramen." Itachi mused as he watched the pinkette go from a blush to a hue of green.
"Dear lord, no... I get sick just thinking about it. Ugh, how does Naruto even eat that so often?" She grumbled.
"Hn, we can go elsewhere. Come." Itachi said softly. Sakura nodded and followed behind then walked beside him. As they walked amongst the people lingering around the village, Sakura watched them with a smile on her face and was pulled from her mindless wander when she felt a soft warmth engulfing her hand. Glancing down, Sakura blushed once more as her head popped up. Uchiha Itachi was holding her hand.
In public.
Where everyone could see.
Another smile threatened to pull at his lips, he knew she was blushing, he could see it in his peripheral vision. He enjoyed how easily she became flustered and how his mere presence made her warm up. He would be a liar if he said he didn't feel it too. The electricity in the air between them. The yearning, the secret need and want. The hunger that came from friendship and became something of its own all together. When he looked at her, she wasn't a Sannin's apprentice, she wasn't a Haruno, she wasn't a girl with massive strength or amazing abilities – yes, those were all things he truly enjoyed about her, but when he looked at her, when he saw her, she was this ball of light. She warmed him down to his bones and soul, she lit up the world around him from the time she entered his life. From the moment they would have to say their goodbyes to when they said hello again. After a hard day's work and before a long day, on the sunny and rainy days – through it all, her warmth clung to him. She was like a security blanket for him, there to keep him warm and secure. She kept him grounded. She kept him coming home.
It kept him waking up with an optimistic mood. When he couldn't sleep, or when his mind was a mess, he found comfort in her presence – and even though he could find such a thing with Shisui (the comfort), he found it more so with Sakura in a way that Shisui couldn't. Although Sakura never said anything in so many words, well not in those exact words, he knew she felt the same. She was always so willing to comfort him. To allow him into her room and snuggle with him in her bed, regardless of never did anything more. He would hold her and she chased away the dreams he had. She chased away the pain, the blood on his hands. The filth of a dirty conscious. She gave him the rest he could never achieve alone. She was a drug and he had no intention of stopping the high she gave him.
Somewhere in his mind, he knew he should walk away.. He knew he should end whatever this was, for her own good. He knew he should disengage, but the idea of hurting her only made his chest tighten and his heart ache. Maybe he was being selfish. But then again, weren't they both indulging? Weren't they both in this? She wanted him as much as he wanted her, there was no denying that. Yes, there was an age difference, but he could barely bring himself to care. He was 17 and she 13, and although some would frown upon such a thing, the shinobi world (especially jounin) did not take into account one's age. Everyone died the same.
So, why not be a little selfish when all his life he has done nothing but give his time, life, soul, body, blood, sweat, and tears for his village. He wasn't truly being selfish, not when he was giving himself to someone who gave just as much to him. "Shishou... asked what was going on between us, and I wasn't sure what to say."
Ah, so she finally asked.
To be honest, he wasn't sure either. He had never really been in a relationship – he turned away any possibly match the elders would give him for possible future brides and dedicated his time to his duties for the village and helping his clan in every way but that way. He had sex, that was unfortunately something he couldn't experience with her for a first. Well, it would be the first with someone he actually cared for and had a connection with.
Wait.
What?
Itachi mentally shook his head.
Either way, Itachi realized she was waiting for a response, rather patiently mind you – that was another thing about her he admired. She was straight and to the point, never beating around the bush and yet had great amounts of patience, anyone who had to deal with his foolish little brother and the kyuubi container and Uchiha Shisui had to be patient, and he was glad she was.
"I think they call it a relationship, if that's what you would like to call it." Itachi finally answered.
"So... We're... dating?" Sakura asked, struggling to string a sentence together. A slight nod fell from the man.
"Only if you'd like to." He added.
"I mean, I would love that. But what do you want?" She asked.
Itachi smiled this time, a real smile. He looked down at her and held up their intertwined hands, "I want this. Whatever you want to call it, I want us. You. This.. That's what I want, and I don't care what it's called as long as it means having you by my side."
Sakura blushed once more and nodded, "I do too." She smiled and she had no idea of the fluttering in his stomach or how bright she made his world. Whatever this was, was still young and growing, but he wanted to see where it led. He needed to see. And he wanted/needed to see it with her.
*.*.*.*
"Soooooo, do you think if you gave him a little pudding before training, he'll give us a break?" Smirked Shikamaru. Sakura cocked her head and stared at the pineapple haired male.
"Mhm, how about I show you just how monstrous my strength is?" Sakura deadpanned. The Nara went pale and looked away. "I was just joking.. troublesome.." He murmured under his breath, an embarrassed blush creeping up his neck. A light chuckle came from beside them. Hyuuga was leaning his back against a tree with his eyes closed.
"What are you giggling about over there?" Nara groaned, Haruno clicked her tongue, stifling a laugh of her own.
"You shouldn't talk to her like that, you might end up doing worse than any better. You would probably face both of their wrath. Haven't you realized? Haruno and Uchiha (both of them) are sadists."
"No idea what you're talking about." Sakura shrugged, "I would never enjoy punching Shikamaru into next week."
"I can hear the sincerity in your voice." Hyuuga smirked. Nara shook his head, "Troublesome."
"Well, if you are done speculating Haruno and my private relationship, I think a spar would be needed." The new voice made all three jounin jump to their feet. Nara's embarrassment shot up ten times fold.
"I was just.. joking.." His voice was small as his eyes landed on his shoes.
"Mmmm.. I wasn't." Itachi deadpanned before launching at the Nara, who was able to barely dodge the hit.
Sakura and Neji nodded at each other and started sparing with one another.
When it was all said and done, Haruno gathered onto Uchiha's back as per normal. Her mother was at the hospital, also per normal, when he brought her inside. Haruno's mother had left food in the oven for them, she was more than aware that the young man frequented her daughter, and it said much about her trust for him as she did not stop such nightly visits, his presence at most of their meals, nor of him taking her daughter away so frequently if she was not at the hospital, training, with Sasuke/Naruto, or on missions (which also included Itachi more times than not). To be honest, if there was anyone Mebuki trusted, it would be Itachi. Mebuki also knew that Kizashi approved of the pair as he said so himself within one of his many letters to the two Haruno women. They sat down and ate before taking turns in showering. Once they finished and were dressed in clean clothing (which Uchiha now had his own drawer while Naruto and Sasuke had a place in her closet), the two relaxed in the living room and read amongst themselves. Sakura's head popped up, her eyes darkening.
Itachi noticed the rosette's sudden movements, his eyebrow raising in question. Sakura got to her feet slowly, a look of focus on her face. "Sakura?" Itachi asked, slowly rising as well. It started suddenly; suffocating and a tad bit painful – Sakura's chakra shot out from her body and shrouded around them, wisps of orange swirling around them. "Sakura.." Itachi's voice sounded more urgent now. Before he could even blink, Sakura was running out of the house. Itachi didn't have to think before he was running right after her. He followed her as she made a beeline right towards the hospital.
*.*.*.*
When you die, you don't know you're dead.
You don't feel the pain of those around you.
You don't see the anguish.
The tears.
You don't see or feel anything, just the darkness that comes after..
But in the darkness, a whisper comes and it's..
Beautiful.
A ray of orange slowly ripped through the darkness and grasped at him.
There was a pull, and then suddenly he was yanked into a world he could have sworn he had left behind.. And beside him, with eyes glowing orange and orange wisps of chakra swirling around the room, stood his only daughter. His blood on her hands and on her clothing.
"You said you'd be back...
You said you'd come back...
You promised!"
A scream ripped through the air, the girl slowly collapsing towards the ground, falling into warm arms as he stared at the girl...
"Kizashi!" The words were muddled in his ears, muffled with the confusion as to what just happened.
"Kizashi!" The voice shot through and soon the world was moving at normal speed.
Realization suddenly dawned on him and he shot from the bed his body once lie on, cold and broken. His eyes glanced over his own body, all the wounds that shrouded his body were now wiped away, as if they'd never existed. "Sakura..."
"There's going to be consequences, but we're not sure what those may be." Came Tsunade's voice from the sidelines.
"Does anyone mind explaining what just happened to me?" Itachi asked, his patience running thin.
*.*.*.*
Rewind
Sakura ran as though the devil was nipping at her heels. She ran over roofs at a break neck pace, Itachi running right behind her. She shot through the doors of the hospital and ran up several sets of stairs before she shot through another set of doors. When she got to the room, she froze on spot. Her shishou stood over a body, the heart monitor flat lined, but that hair.. And that body..
"No." Sakura whispered. Behind, Itachi broke through, Mebuki right beside him. The three stood there, frozen as Tsunade turned to them, pale. She didn't bother to yell at them for entering an OR, she didn't say a word, the sight spoke for it's self. "No...No...no!" Around her, the world slowly crumbled and faded away. She stood in a darkness, calling out for him. Calling for him to come back. Outside, everyone stared at the rosette, orange chakra was flaring at a deadly rate, raking its fingers across the room and growing every second. Her eyes were nothing but orange, no iris, nothing.
"Sakura! Stop! Don't do this!" Cried Mebuki. There was a twitch. Then another. Then another. And suddenly, the body that lie broken and cold on the table shot up, gasping for air. Albeit in a daze, he slowly turned to those in the room. Realization was evident on his face, shooting from the bed and staring at the girl in the Uchiha's arms. "Sakura.."
*.*.*.*
"We don't know what she's capable of." The words were soft, "No one knows what our elder was capable of. No one knows what power she had. She created and destroyed, and it seems she has finally been reincarnated."
"Is she dangerous?" Itachi asked, his eyes staring at the girl resting in his arms, he refused to let her go. He sat on the bed with her cradled in his arms.
"I don't know.." Mebuki answered honestly.
"What are the repercussions of what happened in there?" Itachi asked now..
"If it's anything like the rebirth, it can take time off her life span. That's if its like that." Tsunade sighed, "But I haven't a clue. I honestly don't know. She... she brought a man from the dead. The only thing I've ever heard of close to this is when the person gives a portion of or all of their life force to the person they're bringing back. I don't think that's what's happened, usually the person dies or very least goes into a coma, obviously, neither of which has happened." Both the Uchiha and Haruno nodded, both stuck in silence.
"How is Mr. Haruno?" Itachi finally asked.
"He's resting, there is some shock there and while all his wounds are gone, his body must still be dealing with the effects of being brought from the dead. " Tsunade answered. "I'm going to go fill the others on what has happened. Your brother and cousin, Naruto, the Hyuuga and Nara are all in the lobby hassling my nurses about her." Tsunade shook her head, giving Sakura one last long look before leaving the room. Mebuki decided she aught to go check on her husband, leaving Itachi and Sakura alone.. And then the damn broke. "Why.. Why would you do it?" He whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. "What if we lost you.. We wouldn't... I wouldn't know what to do.." And for the first time in a really long time, a tear escaped his eyes. Crimson stared down at the heart shaped face of the woman in his arms, tracing every curve and outline of her face, committing it to memory. "Please, please.. don't leave me, I need you.." He whispered. A small smile graced her lips, "I need you too.." Her voice was small and tired.
"I didn't mean to do that, I don't even know how that happened." Sakura admitted, "I''m sorry, but I'm not sorry about bringing my dad back... God, he was dead. I didn't feel anything.. and then I felt everything...And all I knew was I needed to bring him back.. And then he was." Itachi leaned down and kissed her deeply, pulling her closer to him. Sakura pushed her fingers into his silky hair, pulled his head closer to her and kissed him back, just as passionately. Their kiss said everything words couldn't and they knew.
"Well then." Someone cleared their throat, "Good to see you're awake." Sakura glanced over her shoulder and smiled at her father. "Dad.." She said softly, slowly crawling off of Itachi and walking over to her father. They embraced and tears spilled from both Harunos. Itachi got up and walked out of the room, leaving father and daughter alone. "We will have to talk about it, but not right now. God, not right now.." He whispered into his daughter's hair, "I love you so fucking much, I am so sorry..."
Sakura nodded, "I love you too..." She whispered into his shoulder, "Don't be sorry, I'm not."
*.*.*.*
Author's note: Tada! A new chapter! I am so sorry my responses are taking so long lately, just have a lot going on and I am lacking inspiration lately. I will be updating Voices as soon as I can, I just need to get a few things taken are of.
AmethystWind95: I'm unsure what you mean, I did mention that Kakashi knows who Naruto was. He mentions that he is the Hokage's son. I guess I should go more in depth of their relationship, seeing as Naruto barely knew Kakashi before that point. My idea is that since Kakashi is a jounin, he rarely was in the village hence why Naruto barely ever met him, if at all. Maybe I'll do a chapter dedicated to their relationships with each other. Thank you for the review!
Lunaerfaerie2010: Don't worry, I have 0 intentions of killing Minato and or Kashina. Poor Naruto had enough heartache in the real anime, I'm not gonna do that to him.
Enjoy!
Much love.