Chapter Eleven

The Best Policy?


Dark eyes studied me quietly until I had awakened. I looked back into those eyes that stared at me solemnly.

"Sakura, last night--"

"Sasuke." I interrupted. His gaze was almost soft as he watched me. It was almost as if he cared and that made what I was going to say so much harder. "I am Itachi's lover."

He moved before I could blink. A kunai was at my neck pressing hard enough to make me bleed. That soft look was gone replaced by the black tormented look that I had grown so accustomed to. I didn't move. I'm not certain why. Was it that blind trust that I had in him so long ago?

"I want to kill you Sakura."

"I know." I whispered. He seemed lost in indecision. Maybe he wouldn't kill me outright. I could certainly wait until later. He stood up and put the kunai away unable to look at me.

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"You already knew Sasuke. Why shouldn't I confirm?"

"I swear Sakura I will kill you for this."

"And he will kill you." I said pointing out the never ending cycle of death "In the end he will win." He looked at me with his beautiful face distorted with rage.

"I will win."

"Are you so sure of that Sasuke? What if I told you that Itachi has visited me twice since I have been with you? He could have killed you in your sleep had he wanted to." Sasuke didn't reply so I continued on. "He's toying with you. This is his game with his rules. If you continue to try to fight this battle you're going to end up in a grave just like the rest of your family." It was a low blow, but he was so stubborn. I had to take my shots where I could get them.

"Stop. I don't want to hear anymore. You're his woman. All this is could be a trap."

"I may be his woman, but it is you that I have always loved." If he didn't believe anything else I said I knew he'd believe that. I stared at him quietly waiting to see what he would do.

"Why did he come?"

"The first time…" I hesitated. I didn't think it would go over well if I told him he came to screw me. "was to ensure my cooperation. The second was to tell me what he wanted me to do."

"Which was?"

"To take you to where we were supposed to meet."

"When?"

"Today."

"I don't trust you."

"You shouldn't. I will probably turn on you in the end."

"What happened to you Sakura? Why are you like this?"

I sighed. It was a question that I had often pondered. I wasn't quite sure of the answer, but I was aware of one thing. "I gave up on you Sasuke. Loving you hurt so much, and being with Itachi helped to dull the pain. He helped me escape."

He didn't say anything to my explanation. Not that I really expected him to tell me he loved me too and that he was going to come back for me. That I should have just waited for him.

Yeah, that was a fantasy.

"Tell me where he'll be."

I shook my head. "Then you can just kill me. I'm sorry, but I want to live a while longer. When the time comes I will take you, but no sooner than that."


"She shouldn't be that much farther away." Pakkun told Kakashi. A grim line formed on his face.

"Well then let's go!" Naruto yelled picking up the pace.

"Wait Naruto. There's something I have to tell you first."

"Kakashi-sensei can't this wait? We need to bring Sakura home."

"I know, but in order for us to do that you need to know about her condition."

"You said she's sick--"

"And she is. It's just not the average sickness. Naruto, Sakura has an addiction."

"Sakura's on drugs? She's a medic for goodness sakes!"

"Not your everyday drugs Naruto. It's a bit more specialized than that. Sakura's addicted to the Sharingan."

Naruto stared at Kakashi's covered eye. "How do you know this?" It was a question that he knew was coming, and didn't want to answer but he had to. Naruto needed to know what they were up against.

"Because she showed me just how addicted she is."

The stirrings of anger started to show in Naruto's face. "And how did she do that?"

"I slept with her Naruto." Naruto leapt at Kakashi swinging. Had he thought about it he should have been able to predict a reaction like that from Naruto.

"You bastard! You filthy pervert!" Kakashi easily dodged his moves, but knew that if he didn't at least let Naruto get one hit then he would only get angrier and possibly stronger. That was Naruto's way. Kakashi knew the guilt was what made his decision but he wasn't sure he cared at that point. So Kakashi stopped dodging and let Naruto's fist connect with his midsection.

It hurt. It hurt a lot more than he expected it to. So he wasn't going to get hit again.

"Naruto that's enough. You're wasting time."

Naruto stopped panting slightly. If looks could kill then Kakashi would have died twice over.

"Let's go Naruto." Pakkun looked back and forth between the two knowing that a rift had just been formed between the two normally close teammates. He wasn't sure whether or not it could be healed.

The rest of their journey was completed in silence.