The Geisha and The Samurai

by MokaNeedsSleep

What if you were caught at a crossroads? Stuck between two options that could determine the future of your country? What would you choose – love or war? "He wished there was more to this…that he could just give up and carry out a normal life. But if he did that, then the Daimyo would be overrun and the country would fall. Everybody's fate was in their hands."

10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own!

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Kakashi had been quite impressed, and amused, when Itachi had returned with Sakura alongside himself. Both the geisha and the samurai looked happy.
His lone, exposed eye crinkled as he made eye contact with the long haired Uchiha.

"All good, kids?" he asked with a grin.

Sakura looked at Kakashi with a small nod and blush and sat back down at her original place around Shizune's table.

"Better than expected obviously…" mumbled Naruto as he propped his elbows onto the table and eyed the two.

Itachi huffed and sat opposite the pinkette.

"Anyway," said Kakashi, "Since you two were gone for such a short period of time, all Shizune and I managed to prepare, so far, is a plateful of onigiri. So if you can't wait for the rest to be prepared…"

The blonde chirped up and nodded enthusiastically. "Where are they?"

"It's in the kitchen with Shizune. Why don't you take Sasuke and Sakura with you?"

Naruto got up and pulled the two with him towards the kitchen. "Don't expect us to leave any!"

Kakashi made a shoo-ing motion with his hand and looked at Itachi. "Right, we need to talk."

"Hm?"

"I know that you have made up your mind about not pursuing your previous path, but I found out something that you need to know Itachi-san."

Itachi opened his mouth to intervene but Kakashi continued swiftly.

"Although the Daimyo is dead, Tobi and Madara have not claimed the title as yet. It seems the council is going to be holding a meeting of sorts soon… and I have a feeling that that is when they are going to strike."

The Uchiha looked down at his lap and sighed. "Look-"

"I know how you are feeling, Itachi-san. Believe me I do. But if there's a chance to stop Madara and Tobi, now would be the time."

"…"

"We can find out where the meeting is and when it'll be! All we have to do is be there to stop them!"

"We are but three against an infinite army Kakashi-san!" hissed Itachi. Kakashi eyed the younger man and noticed his posture slacken. "… I want to try living a normal life. As much as there is a part of me that says I should fight… I just don't have that in me anymore. I am sorry."

Itachi rose from the table and dusted his hakama's.

"If you will excuse me, I want to try some of those onigiri before they get finished."

"But Itachi-"

"You should eat too."

Kakashi watched as Itachi disappeared around the corner and towards the kitchen. The older man let his head drop towards his open palms.

Neither of the two noticed Sasuke listen to the entire conversation with a look of worry etched onto his features.

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It was around midday when the cicadas began to fill the air with their loud, buzzing sounds. The heat in Tanzaku was intense and the only signs of life that could be seen were insects and the occasional bird.

Itachi and Sakura had retreated under the shade of a tree some distance from Shizune's house.

"So?" asked Sakura with a small smile to her lips.

"So?" echoed Itachi with a hum.

"Tell me about yourself"

"I feel like we have had this conversation before…" mused Itachi.

"We have, but I was slightly tipsy… So I can't exactly remember much…"

"Whose fault is that?" Itachi grinned at Sakura as she lightly swatted him on the arm.

"Baka." The pinkette mock glared at Itachi and collapsed backwards onto the soft bed of grass. "Hey, is Naruto like your brother or something?"

"Not by blood, but you can call him our brother. Why?"

"I was just wondering, since you all seem so close… I was wondering how it felt to have a sibling."

Itachi hummed and stared down at Sakura. "His parents were visiting when… when our family was attacked."

Sakura bit her lip and looked elsewhere. "I'm sorry."

A beat passed between the two and the Uchiha sighed. "I have been meaning to ask. Why did you get kicked out of the geisha house?"

The pinkette winced and then grinned. "Well… See, I finally got a customer after weeks of moping and…"

Itachi's brows furrowed at her pause. "…And? Did he hurt you?"

"… Quite the opposite actually. I may have accidentally killed him…"

At this, Itachi's eyebrows raised and a mixture of shock and amusement covered his face. "Care to elaborate?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and waved him off. "Just know that he said something offensive and I may have lost my temper…"

"Dangerous woman," mused Itachi with a grin. "Remind me never to upset you."

Sakura giggled and smiled. "Will do."

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Some distance away, Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he turned his back to his brother and Sakura.

"Just look at him, Naruto. Look at Itachi!"

Said blonde scowled at Sasuke's outburst and looked in the direction of where Sakura's soft laughter could be heard from.

"Do you see Itachi?"

"Ye-"

"- because I don't! That man over there is an imposter, Naruto. That man cannot be my brother!"

Naruto sighed and placed an arm around Sasuke's shoulders. "Calm down, Sasuke. You know he's not taking this well just… leave him for now."

Sasuke grunted and shook Naruto's arm off him. "Itachi, my nii-san, would never give up that easily! Let alone laugh and smile!"

"…"

"Our families need to be avenged!"

"Sasuke, listen to me."

The young Uchiha looked at Naruto and noticed that his lips were set in a firm, unwavering line.

"Calm down. Even I know that this is very un-Itachi but just give him time. I know Itachi. I know he will come back to us… That he will come back to his senses…" the blonde trailed off and offered Sasuke a lopsided grin. "But… While he has some fun, why don't we visit the geisha house?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Please, you just want to see that long haired woman again."

"…"

"So, shall we leave now?"

A foxy grin pulled at Naruto's lips. "Hai, sounds like a plan!"

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Sasuke and Naruto had been travelling for roughly an hour when they were attacked.

It was a lone bandit. Apparently he had broken off from his group and thought he could take on both the young males.

He had almost succeeded, having snuck up behind Sasuke and hit him at the base of his neck, causing him to pass out. Naruto had immediately ducked low and grabbed Sasuke's katana from his waist and got into a defensive stance.

The blonde had been somewhat scared, yet excited. This was his first real fight!

With a few parries and hits here and there, Naruto was able to pull the bandits hands behind his back. The blonde lightly placed Sasuke's blade to the man's neck and began questioning him, much as he had seen his two brothers do previously. He successfully interrogated the bandit before ending his life.

Naruto's breaths came out in harsh pants as he stared down at what he had done. His body shook and he dropped the blade against the forest floor.

He swallowed thickly, shut his eyes and shook his head.

Naruto picked up the katana with shaky hands and hefted the body up and over his shoulder. He trudged further up and away from Sasuke, where he dropped the body and wiped the blade clean against the nearest tree.

'Sasuke must not know about this…' he thought as he searched the bandit for any valuables. He found a small sack of coins which he took, and then made his way back to Sasuke who was still passed out.

Naruto knelt next to Sasuke and lightly shook him. "Hey… Sasuke wake up."

Sasuke stirred and slowly opened his eyes. "Mm… What happened?"

The blonde put on his best grin and laughed. "You slipped on a mossy rock and passed out! Some mighty samurai you are!"

The Uchiha frowned and shoved Naruto away as he got up. "Baka"

"Teme"

"Baka"

"Teme"

"… Baka, why is there blood on your shoulder?" asked Sasuke as he began dusting his hakama's.

Blue eyes widened and Naruto panicked. "What blood where?"

"On your shoulder," deadpanned Sasuke.

"… Your guess is as good as mine," said Naruto with a hesitant laugh and he inwardly grimaced. He suddenly felt sick and his throat felt dry. His vision wavered. "Sasuke… Can we hurry up and get to Tsunade's? I don't feel so good…"

Sasuke frowned and nodded. "Let's get there before sunset"

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"Where are my brothers?" asked Itachi as he re-entered Shizune's house with Sakura.

Kakashi and Shizune were seated around the low dinner table and looked up. They were having a light conversation accompanied with a bottle of sake.

"They went to visit the geisha house," said Shizune as she picked up her mug and sipped her alcohol. "They actually left a while ago."

Itachi frowned and looked at Kakashi who merely smiled at him. "They send their love"

Sakura laughed at the silver haired man and sat down next to Kakashi at the table. She leaned across and took his mug of sake and threw it back, loving the way it burned the back of her throat.

"Easy there Sakura-chan," said Shizune with a grin. "I last saw you eat at breakfast time, and that was hardly a breakfast to begin with. I've left some sweet bread on the counter to cool. Careful though, I think Kakashi-san burned some…" she said while casting said man a glare.

Kakashi's exposed eye crinkled. "It adds to the flavour"

Itachi had wandered to the counter and brought three buns to share amongst Sakura and himself. He lightly held her forearm and pulled her up. "Come now, before you end up drunk again…"

The pinkette glared up at Itachi and waved to Shizune and Kakashi as she was pulled elsewhere. She took a bun from Itachi's hand and took a bite of it. "It is slightly burnt…" she mused. "Hey, where are you taking me?"

The Uchiha shrugged and let go of her arm. "Anywhere"

Sakura smiled and pointed towards her room. "We can sit on the porch and eat."

The geisha and the samurai headed to said spot and sat down next to each other.

On this night, the moon was hidden behind a thick cover of clouds. There was also a chill in the air.

"It's going to rain soon," said Sakura through a mouthful of sweet bun.

Itachi's eyes softened at his and he hummed. "It has not rained in a while. I expect it shall storm too."

Sakura nodded in agreement and broke the last bun in half. "Today was nice"

The Uchiha let a hint of a smile graze his lips.
After lying in the shade with the pinkette earlier, they had walked through Tanzaku where Itachi had bought Sakura ramen. They had then continued to walk around Tanzaku and the surrounding area where Sakura had come across a wide river. The pinkette had taught the Uchiha how to skip stones across the water surface and she was quite amused to see he could not even complete one skip without the stone sinking to the depths below.
After Sakura had begun to laugh at Itachi, he had scooped up a handful of water and had flung it at her. Thus, a water war had followed.

Itachi was enjoying this new path. He never had time to do all of this in his childhood, whereas Sakura was reliving hers with him.

By now, Sakura had finished eating and cocked her head to the side. "Itachi?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright?"

"Hai… Gomen I was just thinking about today."

The pinkette smiled at him and blushed. "Are we going to do something tomorrow?"

"If you wish… and if the weather is on our side."

Sakura looked up at the sky and sighed. "We could just stay in"

Itachi hummed and joined her in looking at the sky. "I think this is the first time that I've been without Naruto and Sasuke"

"Hey they'll be back, silly!" said Sakura as she bumped Itachi's shoulder with her own. "Don't get sad now"

The Uchiha lightly glared at Sakura and huffed at her antics as he lightly bumped her back.

The pinkette rolled her eyes and sighed. A cold breeze filtered into her room and she shivered. "Some years ago… it was a night quite like tonight. Ino-pig, Hina-chan, Ten-chan and I were in our quarters getting ready. TenTen was busy setting my hair into a bun with this large hair piece… and Pig was putting on Hina-chan's make up when Tsunade appeared."

Itachi frowned, wondering what stirred this on, for on Sakura's face was a look of pure… pain.

"Tsunade-sama had said there had been customers and we were to hurry. All of us were to line up and they would choose. So we did..." Sakura exhaled. "What men they were… Although they were nothing compared to you Itachi-kun!" she added quickly before carrying on. "There were two of them. One had this crazy, wild, messy long hairdo. And the other had short hair. The short haired man had a mask that was hanging against his hip… and he had these hypnotizing ever so dark eyes…"

Itachi frowned further at such descriptions, but continued to listen.

"They picked Hinata and I. It had started off well I suppose. They were both charmers, throwing complements everywhere. Then I'm not sure what had happened…" Sakura trailed off and shut her eyes. "What I remember was one of them pinning me down… Then Hinata was tossed against the wall… I tried to fight back and one of them drew a dagger…"

Itachi watched as the pinkette shrugged off one of the shoulders of the yukata she was wearing. Across the bare expanse of pale skin, he could see the beginning of a deep, old scar. The scar didn't end there; it seemed to continue across her collarbone and under her yukata, further down her front. His onyx eyes narrowed and he reached forward and placed a single digit against the mutilation to her skin.

Sakura hissed and squeezed her eyes shut.

The Uchiha immediately withdrew his hand and his eyes widened. "Are you alright?"

"Hai… I'm sorry… Just no one has touched it before but me." The pinkette shivered and continued. "Hinata had screamed and the girls and Jiraiya-san had come running. The two men immediately got up and fled…"

Itachi covered Sakura's exposed shoulder up again and placed an arm around her.

"We never got to see them again…"

"Bastards… Did you get their names?"

Sakura leaned into Itachi's warmth and held the front of his haori. She shivered and looked up into his eyes. "How could I forget their names? Madara and Tobi."

And suddenly, it felt like Itachi's entire world had frozen over.

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A/N: Thanks for reading!

A big thank you to all that read, fav'd, followed or reviewed the previous chapter!

Till next time!