Haruno Sakura and the WotW

by Inner Self

A while after the Kage Summit, Sakura goes after Sasuke and tries to kill him-canon. In retaliation, Madara throws her off a bridge. She is transported into another world. How? By whom? Her body never recovered, what will Naruto do? HIATUS b/c i hate my own work.

11. The Unbreakable Vow, Part I

Chapter 11: "The Unbreakable Vow, Part I"

Healer Headley, you are needed in the Life Support Ward…Healer Headley, you are needed in the Life Support Ward.

To Sakura, the words are garbled. Sakura moved lazily under her clean pressed bedsheets. She opened her eyes. The room was dimly lit. Her eyes focused in on the white ceiling above her. She looked around the sterile room. A pink, well-tended hibicus was set on the table at her side. Sakura gathered that she was in a hospital. Sakura heard the door open. A man and a petite woman entered.

"Shizune-san?" she asked deliriously. The man took a wand from his pocket. With a swish and flick, the room brightened. Standing before her were the doctor, Healer Headley, and her school acquaintance Hermione Granger. "Not Shizune-san," Sakura mumbled to herself. The healer flicked his wand again and the head of the bed rose to an incline. Sakura could now comfortably take in her visitors and the environment.

There was a patient on her left and right and three on the other side of the room. The room hummed with activity from the (magical) life-support devices and monitors.

"Miss Sakura Haruno, is it?" asked the Healer.

Sakura nodded in acknowledgement. "What time is it?" she asked.

Jovially, he said, "Oh, about eight-twenty. Miss Granger visited just in time to greet you."

"Sakura," Hermione interjected, "today is the 31st of July."

Sakura nodded, a little surprised. Her chakra regeneration had improved somehow over the past year. She expected to be out cold two to four weeks longer.

"Miss Haruno, can you tell me how many fingers I am holding up?"

"Two," said Sakura.

"And who is this at my side?"

"Hermione Granger. Healer, I have not suffered from brain damage," Sakura paused. Hermione was giving her a pleading look. "Er…have I? I do not feel…abnormal."

"Do not worry, Miss Haruno. I am just going through the post-comatose protocol. You look perfectly fine! Not to worry. Miss Granger, could you wait outside for five minutes?"

"Professor Dumbledore will want to know she is awake. He can explain the accident to her when he arrives," Hermione replied, mildly stressing the 'accident' part. "The others will be so happy to see you awake. Excuse me." Hermione headed downstairs to the floo network and made a floo call.

Meanwhile, Healer Headley notified Sakura that she was fully restored to her pre-hospitalized condition. Smiling, he said, "Drink this potion and we can ship you off once your feet will carry you." Sakura took it. It tasted like peppermint, a pleasant surprise. A mediwitch came in as he walked out. The mediwitch took Sakura off the life-sustaining spells. Sakura questioned the mediwitch about them.

"Please, call me Dorris. The process is simple…" she went on to explain. "Anyway, you can find the manual in any bookshoppe, dearie," she replied. Dorris then handed Sakura a change of clothes.

"I hope they are not too muggle for your liking. Then again, children these days like them sort of clothes."

Dorris left the room, and Sakura began to dress. Sakura spent a couple minutes in the wiggle-your-big-toe process of reestablishing her motor movement. Once Sakura could stand and walk, albeit awkwardly, Sakura changed into a sports bra, since she was not wearing one, and a painfully orange T-shirt. Her foot caught awkwardly in the pantleg of the jeans when Itachi spoke. I am ready to be awakened, Sakura. I am close. She struggled with them as she replied. Your body is in this ward? How did it get here? Itachi-san, have you been here before? Sakura threw on the rest of her clothes, a red zip-up hoodie and pink flip-flop sandals at her bedside.

Of course. My doujutsu is similar to apparition. How could I bring you into another dimension without knowing its location?

I discovered this world long ago. Rather, my Sharingan did. This can be discussed in person. Come find me. I'm somewhere in the Life Support Ward.

Sakura examined the patients in her room. They were all female. She sought out the room next to hers. The door was open a crack. She could see a male patient. She opened the door. Her eyes widened. A mediwitch was in the room. Her back was to Sakura. She was re-administering life-sustaining spells to her patient. Sakura backed out of the room. She checked her chakra levels. Sakura had made a full recovery. She formed the seals for a notice-me-not genjutsu.

Next, Sakura did what she should have done first. She went to the floor registration counter. She found the patient directory and dragged her finger down the patient listings. "Bingo," she whispered, "Room 409."

[End scene]

"Mrs. Weasley?" called Hermione into the fireplace at Grimmauld Place. "Have any of you seen Mrs. Weasley?"

Tonks and Remus replied in unison that she was in the kitchen. The kitchen was two rooms over. Remus got up to fetch her. Mundungus sat in the corner polishing a golden watch. Mad-eye Moody sat in a wingback chair, his magical eye trained on Mundungus. Molly's children were still sleeping in the upstairs bedrooms.

All the Weasley children had for entertainment was exploding snap and the morning newspaper rush. And when they could, the children would spy on Order proceedings. Each Weasley started sleeping longer and longer as the boring summer rolled on at Grimmauld Place. The Weasleys and Hermione took turns watching Sakura at the hospital. It was their one saving grace from cabin fever. Remus, Tonks, or Mad-Eye escorted them to and from St. Mungo's at every change of shift.

"Wotcher, Hermione. Has the girl awakened?" Tonks asked.

"She made a full recovery," said Hermione, sounding extremely relieved. "Mrs. Weasley and Professor Dumbledore wanted to know the minute she awoke."

"Strong girl, that Haruno," growled Mad-Eye. Vigilant of listeners on Hermione's end, he cryptically remarked, "Could use one of her..."

Remus came back into the room with Molly in toe. Molly was practically fluttering with joy. Within the halls of Grimmauld Place, the Department of Ministries incident was a perpetual topic of conversation. By now, Molly would almost think she witnessed the frightful confrontation herself.

"Oh, that is wonderful news, Hermione, dear! Start from the beginning. Tell me everything!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. Hermione opened her mouth to speak before Mrs. Weasley bellowed, "Boys! Ginny! Hermione has news!" They all stumbled downstairs to the fireplace.

"Well, it's not much of a story," Hermione said, but recited it anyway. Immediately after the tale, Mrs. Weasley flew into the kitchen to start up breakfast.

"No, no, no, do not touch that toast Mr. Ron Weasley!" said Mrs. Weasley as she slapped Ron's hand away. "We will be taking it all to go. That girl must be starved for a good, home-cooked meal. The worst part about visiting St. Mungo's seven times in my life was the food. Food? What food? It was all nutrition spells. Tonks, be a dear and close the floo. Tell Hermione we will be there shortly."

Tonks returned to the floo to inform Hermione of the meaning behind the ruckus coming from her end of the floo call. "…So we'll be there shortly. I suppose now would be a good time to floo the Headmaster, yes? Ol'Snapey might want to pop in, too, though he does well to hide his concern."

"Thanks, Tonks. See you soon."

[End scene]

Sakura quietly closed the door to room 409 behind her. Two mediwitches were going through the day to day chores. Sakura averted her eyes. Once they left, she searched from bed to bed for the body of Uchiha Itachi. His curtains were drawn shut. Sakura drew it back enough to walk through. The curtain fell back into place.

Sakura stood at the foot of the bed of the infamous Uchiha Itachi. Her situation felt surreal once more. She woke from what she had hoped was a bad dream, but Hermione Granger's face greeted her. Not Shizune. She was stuck in this world with a repentant murderer. Uchiha Itachi did not bother to comment on the thought.

Do you remember the jutsu I used? Do you remember what I did that day in the forest?

The day he impeded their rescue of Gaara, Uchiha Itachi cast a genjutsu on Naruto and she. He could have killed her. "I saw this in a dream," she remarked. The next time she met Uchiha Itachi, she trusted him. She trusted him with her life. He showed her their meeting when Teams 8 and 10 tried to take him into custody. He had asked her to go into hiding. "So you meant the Wizarding World?"

You met Madara a few months later. You chased down Sasuke from the Five Kage Summit. I used my Mangekyou to transport you to the Wizarding World. Using up that chakra set back my recovery a couple of months.

"And you bit me!"

I used a seal similar to the one Orochimaru used on Sasuke. This one, however, utilized your free will and lacked maleficent intentions.

"So do I have to bite you?" Sakura's eyes glazed under the influence of genjutsu. Itachi asking for her help. Itachi brushing her hair from the base of her neck. Only two pinpricks of pain, then warmth dripping down her neck-

You could…but there is a more pleasant way to transfer my spirit and chakra to my body. You could kiss me.

Sakura's jaw dropped. She quickly closed it. Then why bite me? Her cheeks warmed. She placed a hand over her lips. She shifted her focus from the mental conversation to his pale visage, which lied before her. Faintly, she asked, "A kiss?"

At the time, I thought you would be more comfortable with receiving pain from an enemy. You are a kunoichi. You should be able to kiss someone like it is not great consequence. However, this kiss is important. You need to focus on the flow of mind and spirit chakra from your body to mine, either through a bite or a kiss. You need to end the unsealing as soon as my spirit chakra transfers. My mind chakra can always regenerate. What is important is that you keep your own spirit chakra during the process.

"Alright," Sakura said clinically. She did not fancy trying to bite Itachi with her dull canines. She knew a couple of people who could use fang techniques, but they had never shared their secrets with her. Sakura did not want to look foolish in front of her cohort, so she put on her medic personality and focused on the unsealing aspect of the soon-to-be kiss.

Sakura felt a little hot in the cool, sterilized room. She took off her hoodie and tied it around her waist. Sakura lowered to the side of his bed, leaning on one hand and putting the other on the side of his head. It was cool to the touch. Her fingers brushed back his smooth ebony locks. She touched her lips to his. Before Sakura began the procedure, she could not help thinking that they were the perfect shape for a man.

Her chakra channels flared up like she was rushing through a healing session. She separated her spirit chakra from Itachi's, but their mind and body chakras seemed so similar, as to be expected. If they were not, every patient Sakura encountered would reject her healing chakra. Sakura realized that her "patient" was Uchiha Itachi. She wanted him awake, but did she want him fully recovered? Sakura funneled his spirit chakra ahead of the mind and body chakra. By the time the unsealing was finished, Sakura gave him roughly fifty-two percent of his mind and body chakra. Fifty percent of his chakra was sequestered and blocked by his second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth chakra gates. Only two percent of his chakra could safely be accessed for shinobi techniques. It could take days to replenish.

Sakura quickly formed the release symbol "Kai." The chakra exchange halted, as well as her notice-me-not genjutsu. The man under Sakura was noticeably warmer than at the start of the healing. His complexion was no longer deathly pale but it still lacked the light tan of his former muscle tone. Sakura broke her contact with his lips. She opened her eyes.

"Thank-you," was the first thing Uchiha Itachi said to her. His ebony eyes bored into hers.

Sakura blushed. Her medic mode failed her under his scrutiny. Sakura realized that she was now laying half-way on his chest to support herself. The hand that once supported her cupped the side of his face. The other still formed the "Kai" symbol. Sakura's blush spread to her ears. She quickly (and ever so gracefully) rose.

"What time is it?" he asked hoarsely.

Sakura thought about it. She woke at eight-twenty, but now she hadn't a clue. "I don't know. I asked Hermione earlier. Right now, I'd say it is nine o' clock, maybe ten." She sat in the visitor's chair facing her sworn ally, sworn being the key word.

"Hermione?" Itachi asked.

"A girl from school. She must have been taking turns watching me with some other students. The Headmaster will want to know that I am awake." Sakura clapped a hand over her face. "The Headmaster…!"

"I will wait here," Itachi told her with a hint of jest. Sakura held back a smirk.

Not one to argue, especially after their "chaste," "clinical" kiss, Sakura headed back to her room. Itachi wasn't going anywhere on his own, at least for a couple hours. After all, he had been comatose for a year and a half.

[End scene]

"Ron! Do. Not. Drop. That. Oh, Remus, be a dear and carry this through for me?" Mrs. Weasley packed a full English breakfast to share while they visited with Sakura. She packed some extra for Professor Dumbledore and whoever he might bring along. Mrs. Weasley handed each of her children and the Order members their portion in brown paper bags and sent them off. She carried hers and the extras in a basket. She stepped through the floo and disconnected it from Grimmauld Place.

"Don't mind me," growled Mad-Eye after they left. "I'll guard the Deatheater in the cellar." He found a biscut that Molly had dropped, sniffed it for poison, and then popped it into his mouth. With a content growl, he lied down on the sofa, his magical eye quietly, diligently being put to work.

Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were already waiting with Hermione when Molly, Fred and George, Ron, Ginny, Tonks, and Remus arrived.

"Arthur wanted so badly to see the poor girl," Mrs. Weasley thought aloud as they walked to the circulation desk.

Hermione, who had thought ahead, called Mr. Weasley after her chat with Professor Dumbledore. "Mr. Weasley said he would visit during his lunch break. He will take lunch early and meet us in thirty minutes."

"Assuming the mediwitches let the ten of us stick around until then," Mrs. Weasley wondered.

Professor Dumbledore ran his fingers through his snow white beard. "I am sure the hospital will allow some sort of arrangement."

The Order reached the circulation desk and signed in. They had been to St. Mungo's many a time the past two and some weeks to check up on Sakura. They walked up to her room without escort.

"I do hope she loves the biscuits," said Mrs. Weasley.

Ginny gave her a quizzical look. "Mum, since when have biscuits been considered a breakfast food?"

"Don't question it," Ron interjected. "Mum gave us a few of them. Look in your bag."

They entered the room talking. The other patients were all comatose. If their chatter woke the patients, the healers could only be thrilled.

"Did she switch beds?" asked Ron. Sakura's bed was empty. The covers were pulled back. A pair of flip-flops lay on the floor at the foot of the bed.

At eleven o' clock in the morning, Sakura was not in room 402.

"I will go alert the nurses," said Remus calmly. Mrs. Weasley sat down in the visitor chair to hold off her soon-to-be panic attack.

Professor McGonagall pulled out nine metallic beads and transfigured them into nine cushioned chairs. Professor McGonagall sat down calmly. To her right, she saw Molly begin to fan herself. At that moment, the door opened. Remus walked into the room with Sakura.

"Found her," he said. The room practically sighed with relief.

Sakura smiled through her embarrassment. "Sorry." She replaced her embarrassment with shock. "You came to visit me? All of you?" she asked, sitting down comfortably on her bed.

With a knowing twinkle in his eyes, Professor Dumbledore said humorously, "We have become fast friends with your roommates."

The Weasley twins grabbed their sides as they laughed heartily,

"Mum nearly—"

"—hyperventilated."

"You gave her quite—"

"—the fright," before falling back into peals of laughter.

Molly Weasley 'shushed' them. The room was far too small for uproarious laughter. Sakura fingered the petals of the get-well plant. "That dear Neville boy sent it," Mrs. Weasley told her kindly.

Sakura caught Tonks' concerned gaze. Tonks asked her, "How are you feeling, darling?" in a motherly voice that made Tonks look her age. Her hair morphed into a cool, rich chocolate and eyes a bold light blue.

Sakura leaned back and relaxed into her pillow. She sighed. "Well, I feel fine, but I have a mild case of homesickness. When Hermione walked into the room, I mistook her for Shizune-san, a friend and mentor back home. Before Healer Headley turned on the lights, I thought I was back in the Konoha hospital."

"What is your home like?" Remus asked conversationally.

Sakura sighed. "Home is… fast-paced. Home is where all my precious people are. Frankly, that's the only thing I miss. If I could move all my friends to the Wizarding World, I would. I worry about them so much."

"Sakura," Remus said, "your friends are safer where they are. Our country is on the brink of war."

"Oh, the brink? Really? I couldn't tell," Sakura said darkly. Her mood changed so quickly it almost surprised her. She cleared her throat. "Sorry… that question was off-putting. Sorry. My country was also approaching a war against a terrorist organization. The war has been brewing for a long time. So much can happen in a year. I wonder if the terrorists have made their move. Meanwhile, I am stuck here. In hiding. We all have our problems."

"Konoha?" Remus asked, puzzled.

"Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. It is part of a world with shinobi nations of various sizes. My world has no fancy title."

"Well," said Fred or George (whichever).

"…Since you dared"

"…to take the great voyage"

"…to the land across the horizon"

"…we deem you"

"…the proper candidate to"

"…christen your homeland."

She thought for a second. She thought for a common trait among the shinobi nations. Finally she settled on the Land of Shadows, to which the Weasley children replied, "Wicked." Even Ron agreed. Ron warmed up to Sakura's presence after all the time he spent monitoring her from the visitor's chair.

"The warriors of the shinobi nations wield the elements: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Metal. We wield them against eachother. Peacetime is like a gift from the gods."

Tonks's eyes lit up. "The boy you fought was from your world."

Sakura bit her lip. Ten pairs of eyes bored into hers. "He was from my village." She did her best not to get angry or cry or both. She did not elaborate. Her bed sheets wrinkled in her fisted hands.

Mrs. Weasley timely exclaimed, "Oh, dear. How could we forget the brunch!"

"I haven't," Ron interjected from behind his egg sandwich. Sakura laughed half-heartedly. Anything to better her mood.

So they all tucked in. During the brunch, Sakura felt a twinge in her gut. She continued to eat without thinking more of it. "Kuso," she cursed and immediately stopped eating. "Bucket!" she said urgently. Professor Dumbledore quickly conjured one and handed it to her. She held it to her mouth and… expelled.

Half the room stood up in alarm. She gestured with her palm for them to leave her alone. At the end, Professor McGonagall handed her a napkin and disappeared the sickness.

"Bless you, child!" she said frightfully.

Sakura wiped her mouth. Specks of blood were in the napkin as well as pieces of her barely digested lunch. If Sakura were her twelve-year-old self, she would have buried her head under the covers in shame. Instead, Sakura poured green chakra into her abdomen for the next half-hour. It was second nature to her.

"I suppose the mediwitches didn't bother to feed me? They gave me glucose through an intravenous needle?"

The muggle words confused all but Hermione and Mrs. Weasley, who's mind raced with guesswork.

"The process is similar," Hermione said.

Mrs. Weasley, confidant of her answer, replied, "We have spells that supply all life-sustaining nutrients. The spell is a miracle really. It works much better than disgusting energy potions. Still, nothing beats a homecooked meal."

"I wish the Healers had known to check my vital organs. I didn't have a chance to mend them properly. My stomach lining was too weak for solid food. Does anybody want my egg sandwich?"

Ron readily accepted her offer, though his mum scolded him.

"It's okay, Mrs. Weasley. I don't feel like eating right now. I can eat the rest later, but the egg would spoil."

Professor Dumbledore questioned her about her healing abilities.

"Well, professor, I used chakra, magic if you will, to promote rapid cell growth. I didn't need to do much. There wasn't a hole in my stomach lining. It was just weak—my opponent burned me from the inside. I could have easily healed the burns, but I had a more pressing injury." She lifted her orange t-shirt to expose her abdomen. Light pink scar tissue ran at most five centimeters vertically and half of one across her upper abdomen. It rounded into an irregular oval shape. "There is a similar mark on the other side." She pivoted on the balls of her feet to show the scar tissue on her back. "Can anyone guess how I was injured?" she asked wryly in a Snape-like lecture tone.

Hermione half-heartedly raised her hand. Sakura lied back on her propped up pillows and called her name.

"One of the scars is an exit wound; one the entrance. You were stabbed. The avenger had a sword. It burned you as well. Somehow, he obtained an elemental weapon, a rare artifact in our Wizarding World."

Sakura smirked. "Five points to Gryffindor. The weapon, in fact, was not imbued with destructive magic. Sasuke can manipulate fire and lightning chakra. He can make any sword an elemental weapon."

"That's horrific," whispered Hermione. The others voiced similar distress.

"It is dangerous. Magic is just as destructive. I wanted you to know your enemy. I promise I have a plan. So please do not think about the future anymore during our visit. Besides, I do not think the Dark Lord would share his secrets with an outsider, ally or not. So you have your own advantage." Sakura smiled apologetically. She must have frightened them something awful. Sakura vowed that she would protect them from Sasuke. He would not become their problem.

"Sakura…," started Ron, but he was interrupted by a knock at the door. They were greeted shortly by Mr. Weasley. Professor McGonagall conjured a cushioned chair for him. Before he sat down, he handed Sakura a milk chocolate frog.

"A little something I got you on the way here," he said. Sakura thanked him. Ron started his question again but with less confidance.

"What I meant to say… bloody hell, what I wanted to know was…well, your fight… we all took off like you said, but I can't imagine how you survived."

"Ah," she commented thoughtfully, "I would rather tell the full story once. Can I tell you back at Grimmauld Place?"

Quickly, Ron said, "Absolutely, sure."

"Besides, I need to address a more important matter. Professor Dumbledore, I understand you do more than run a boarding school. You could have been Minister of Magic, but you declined the position. Minister Fudge fears you. Professor, there is a man I need you to meet."

"Do you consider the man dangerous?" asked Professor Dumbledore.

"He is an asset to our cause, but he is also a wildcard."

Sakura pondered her strategy. "I am going to escort him to this room."

"Alright, children. You lot are leaving with me," replied Molly. Her children heard the unspoken 'Order business.' They grumbled but complied. Fred and George cursed the short range of their extendable ears. Fred dropped one in the room and tried to run off to the floor below, but Molly Weasley grabbed him by the arm and led him to the floo network.

The Order members left in the room were the Headmaster, Professor McGonagall, Mr. Weasley, Tonks, and Remus. "Have any of you ever performed an unbreakable vow?" she asked quietly. Sakura read somewhere that it was a technique frowned upon by the Ministry.

"We all know the mechanics," answered Professor McGonagall vaguely.

Sakura sighed. "Remus, can you transfigure some clothes for me out of my bedsheets? They need to be about your size."

Dumbledore cleared his throat and instructed, "We will soundproof the section of the room around your bed. You can take your vows when we return. Then we will give you a key to the house, and you can give him a copy once we trust him."

She returned to the Uchiha's room after performing the notice-me-not jutsu again. She produced a chakra scalpel and kept the hand controlling it down at her side. Sakura notified Itachi as calmly as possible that she did not trust him. "You could have killed me the two times we met in our world. You saved me from Madara. Still, I just recently completed our bargain. The Uchiha Itachi I have read about would see me as expendable. So I cannot trust you. I know a way, however, to put my mind at ease. Your chakra levels are drastically low and your coordination momentarily stunted. Uchiha Itachi, you would do well to follow my orders."

Itachi smirked. He said in an amused drawl, "As you wish, Sakura."

Sakura growled, "You will refer to me as Haruno-san; Sakura-san at the least. I heard you were as much a gentleman as you are a genius shinobi."

Itachi followed her. He was still mildly amused. Like there was some joke she just didn't get.

Sakura threw his arm over her shoulder and carried him. He was still wearing a hospital drag and his feet were bare. Sakura could feel his body heat escaping through the material, and she could imagine how embarrassing it was for him to walk around with a slit going down his back to his butt. Wahoo!

'Urusai,' she told herself. She was a medic. She had more control than that…! Well, except around Neji-san… If she recalled correctly, he had one of the cutest butts she'd ever seen. He was tan, but that butt—white as the moon!

Sakura shook her head to redirect her thoughts. She glanced at his face as they limped along. His hair was tied back and six inches longer than Sakura remembered it, but surprisingly well-kept. Sakura had no doubt about where the mediwitches spent their free time. He was quiet, but not his usual imposing self. Itachi seemed calm and comfortable with his surroundings. Sakura stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. Remus tossed her the clothes.

"Thank-you, Remus-san," she said with a nod. Sakura sat Itachi on the bed and told the others to wait outside. She helped his feet into the pantlegs and pulled them up enough for him to grasp. She modestly turned her face away and helped him stand so he could pull them up. Next, Itachi discarded the hospital gown and Sakura sat him on the bed. She handed him the articles one by one: a white t-shirt, a white hoodie, and white sandals. Remus was a pro at transfiguration. At least the most important aspect, the fit, was nearly spot on. The pants were an inch or two long though.

Sakura opened the door for the Order members. She told Itachi to sit on her bed and stood at the foot of it with her arms crossed. Sakura could almost picture Morino Ibiki's interrogation room. Itachi would be seated on a metal stool. Handcuffs would link him to the seat. She would be inspecting her captive through glass, thought to be a one-way mirror.

Itachi smirked at her before he greeted the others properly with his gentleman's etiquette. To the headmaster, he said, "Dumbledore-san, it is a pleasure to see you again."

Sakura felt as if Itachi had slammed that metal stool into the one-way mirror. Her illusion of control shattered. "How the hell do you know him?" she spat. She momentarily looked into his ebony eyes and immediately dropped her gaze to something that could not harm her-his lips. All she could think was, 'Damnitdamnit—damn it!' She closed her eyes.

Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkled after a moment of confusion. "Oh, you are that boy I put into Gryffindor nine years ago. Bill Weasley would remember you better, I am sure. He was either prefect or Head Boy at that time."

Itachi calmly grasped her wrists. "Sakura. I will still take the oath. Shall we begin?"

"Hai," she whispered, ignoring the informal way he said her name. Sakura shook herself of her astonishment. She realized where her hands were and tugged them out of his hold. She looked to Professor Dumbledore. She asked, "How does it work exactly?"

Professor Dumbledore instructed, "With your right hand, reach out to grab his right arm. Link your arms. I will be the Bonder." They did as told. Itachi and Sakura locked gazes. Her eyes narrowed. He lightly smirked. She did her best not to let it bother her.

Professor Dumbledore touched the tip of his wand to their linked arms. A golden flame weaved around their joined hands. Sakura was stunned by the beauty. The golden light flew lithely around their linked hands like the dragons of shinobi fables that once ruled the sky.

"Miss Haruno," said Professor Dumbledore, "take a moment to think about the phrasing of the words."

She did. She said, eyes still locked with Itachi's, "Do you, Uchiha Itachi, swear not to… kill me?"

Seriously, he said, "I do. Not only that, I swear to protect you from death by unnatural causes."

Perplexed, she said, "What? Why? No, you cannot do that." The others wondered what the point to increasing the stakes of the contract could do for the man.

"Because I am foolishly putting my trust you," he quipped. "It is done. Professor Dumbledore, please unbind us now."

The golden string of light dissipated. Sakura and Itachi dropped their hands. Sakura stared at him like he was mental. Itachi smiled, creeping her out again, so she dropped the topic. "Thank-you, Sakura."

"I told you, Uchiha-san, not to call me that," she futilely growled.

"It is only proper. We have been so intimate, afterall, this past year or so. Our bond would make lovers jealous." She blushed furiously.

"How did you create that bond?" she asked, holding back her embarrassment.

"I call it the Body Flight technique. I used it to fake my demise during my fight with Sasuke. You kept my soul alive. The healers sustained my body."

"Would you wait for us outside?" Itachi asked the witnesses to the oath. He turned to Sakura as the door shut once more. She barely noticed the others had left.

"Your sensei taught you to look underneath the underneath. You had the chance to. I know you witnessed a couple of my memories while I was separated from my body, while you were my host. One of them appeared as a lucid dream. Did it ever lead you to think I was more than a ruthless killer?"

"I thought it was a nightmare," she consented. "I remember crying."

"You dreamed about the slaughter of my clan. Do you remember?"

Blood. Blood on her hands. So much blood. She put her head in her hands. The memory renewed. She didn't want to think about it. She could remember killing those people. Itachi had killed those people nine years ago. Sakura plopped down onto her bed.

"So I got to look underneath the man in the bingo book. Big whoop."

"Sakura, did Sasuke ever tell you why I killed my clan?"

She shivered. "Naruto told me after Sasuke left. He said you did it to test your limits."

"What do you think?"

"I don't know. If I were able to figure it out, I'm sure Tsunade-shishou would know. Kakashi-sensei would definitely know. I wouldn't have to ask you to tell me." His stormy black eyes bored seriously into hers. He never looked away as he spoke the truth of that night.

"When I was four, I witnessed the kyuubi attack. It nearly destroyed Konoha. Madara convinced my family ten years ago to plot a rebellion. I learned of his involvement shortly after I joined the Akatsuki. The Uchiha would have taken Konoha through brute force. The Uchiha clan believed the kage's seat was ripped from them by the Senju clan. I wanted to prevent the horror I saw at such a young age. I thought I knew what had to be done. I met Madara in the forest during training a few months before I made my decision. He said he could make my decision easier. He promised to take care of my immediate family for me. He said, 'A boy should not have to go so thoroughly against his nature.'"

"Thank Kami-sama that Sasuke envied me. He stayed late at school to practice. I killed the clan. It was… painful. I wanted to go back on my mission. I ran home. Madara had already completed part of his task. He was waiting for Sasuke to return home. I told him his part was finished. I followed Sasuke home, to make sure Madara did not kill him in his state of bloodlust. I told Sasuke of what I had done, told him I did it to test my abilities. I taught him how to hate and grow as a shinobi through hate. I went to the Elder council and threatened to expose their coup should anything happen to Sasuke. Then I went into exile."

Sakura stared at him with haunted eyes. "I will need time to process this, but I believe you, Itachi-san." She thought about Sasuke. Did Itachi really teach Sasuke how to hate? Was it all his fault? Sakura tried to remember Sasuke prior to the massacre. She remembered a smiling boy trailing after his nii-san. Oh, God.

That same Sasuke tried to kill her in the Department of Mysteries. He took pleasure in watching the light leave her eyes. He killed Danzou without qualm. Perhaps he was wronged by the people he thought were good and honest. Perhaps if they were good, he had to be the monster. "I tried to kill Sasuke after his battle with Danzo," Sakura confessed. "In the Ministry, I thought that was the reason he had so much evil intent toward me. But it was all your fault."

"You are Konoha," Itachi answered quietly. "He believes me dead. He believes Konoha killed his family. Sasuke needs to discard his vendetta, or he will never be happy."

"He will never give up on revenge. Naruto and I have tried."

Itachi bent his head. He would not look at her. "Keep trying."

"The others are waiting." Sakura did not see his demons resurface. She was too busy fighting her own.

[End chapter]

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I have a great Naruto part planned, but I think I'll put it in the next chapter. This one was longer than expected. (Hooray!)

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