They departed at precisely 2:30 the following morning.
Sakura couldn't fathom why they had to leave at such an ungodly hour. They didn't return home until 10 o'clock the previous night so she was quite exhausted. It had been a fun night though. Naruto's movie, Nine Tails, was really well-done. The plot was unique. The special effects were grand and extensive but not overdone. The actors performed splendidly. It was no wonder that the film was a box office hit, garnering more than a billion yen within it's first week.
They had dinner at Wasabi's afterwards. It was rather uneventful, besides the fact that she couldn't stop ogling Itachi the whole night. She fought to repress her growing attraction with logic. He's a criminal and I'm probably only attracted to him because he looks like Sasuke. Besides, I don't think I'm even his type. Nope. I've seen the girls that he hung out with at Akatsuki. They're all big-boobed and gorgeous and...I mean I don't have small boobs but what if he likes really big boobs?
Of course, it didn't help that Itachi seemed quite happy that night. His smile, as the cliche puts it, was to die for. It wasn't a smile of overflowing joy but rather, a shy one. Mostly, however, it was his eyes that expressed his contentment. Just by looking at him, Sakura couldn't help but feel that everything was somehow alright.
Sakura mentally slapped herself. She couldn't. She didn't even dare think about the possibilities. She had neglected her duties long enough.
Wrapping her blanket tighter against her, Sakura watched the infinite darkness through the car's window. She wanted to get some more rest during the car ride but her thoughts plagued her. She wanted him and it bothered her that it was so sudden. Sure, it had been a couple of months already since they first met but the desire to be close to him had never taken her before. Just sitting in the car, less than a foot away from him, she suppressed the urge to hold his hand. It was not quite the same as the longing she had for Gaara or Yahiko. Those encounters had all been for her. They were to satisfy her needs and to comfort her. With Itachi, all she could think about was what she could give him. He was so lacking - lacking in love, in support, in normality...and she wanted to give him all of it.
She wasn't in love with him. No.
Sasuke had made her cautious of that emotion.
However, she truly did care about Itachi and she liked the simplicity of their relationship. There was nothing particularly special about it. They didn't have an instant connection when they first met nor did they discover that they had a variety of similar interests. They didn't even talk much to each other. They were simply content to have a companion.
At the moment, that was all she needed.
She reached out to hold Itachi's right hand. He didn't jump or flinch like she expected. He simply looked at her for a moment, his eyes betraying his confusion, before he was forced to turn his attention back on the road.
"Thanks, Itachi," Sakura told him, feeling the need to justify her actions. "For everything. You're not obligated to do anything for me." And yet you have helped me so much.
Itachi was silent for a moment and it seemed to her that he didn't quite know how to respond. She took comfort in the fact that his face, while mostly unreadable, was placid enough. He didn't seem annoyed at least.
After a bit of thought, Itachi finally gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "You agreed to help Sasuke and you've always stood by his side. That's enough for me."
It was Sakura's turn to look at him. She studied his face which was dimly illuminated by the dashboard lights. Sasuke. It was always about Sasuke. Everything he did was for his younger brother and it bothered her for some reason. It seemed hypocritical of her because she had quite the obsession with Sasuke not too long ago. But maybe it was precisely because she had been in his place that she felt this way. Like her, Itachi had sacrificed a lot for Sasuke. Like her, he had surely endured pain and sadness. Their biggest similarity might have been that they would both go to great lengths for the people they cared about. The difference was that she had enough.
She could only give so much of herself. After all, she had a life to live too. She wanted to get married someday and have children. She wanted to buy a nice house with a big backyard. She wanted to travel to other countries. Most of all, she wanted to fall in love again, only this time, she wanted to be loved back.
She wasn't asking much but she knew that she would have to make changes in her life if she wanted different outcomes.
Whether he thought so or not, Itachi needed some changes in his life too. She didn't want to believe that he was content in devoting the rest of his life to his brother. No, she wouldn't let him.
"What would you want to do, Itachi, if you had the chance to lead a normal life?"
"That's a pointless question. We both know I can't have a normal life."
She disagreed with him, but she didn't voice her opinion. "That's why it's an if question."
After deliberating, he answered, "I haven't really thought about it. It was never an option for me. But I suppose I'd like to settle down somewhere peaceful, out of the city. It gets tiring, all the bustle and business feuds, the constant vigilance...Maybe I'd travel too once in a while."
"You can do all of that now, you know."
"That's wishful thinking."
"Is it? Can you really not see the possibility?"
Truthfully, he never thought that he would ever leave Akatsuki. He really thought that he was going to die before he ever made it out of the organization. And while he liked his new-found freedom, he couldn't let himself enjoy it fully. He didn't know how long it would last and his priority was Sasuke. So sure, he saw a possibility, but there was too much uncertainty in the word alone that he wasn't going to let himself dwell on it too much.
Meanwhile, Sakura waited, but he said nothing else. Eventually, the hum of the car lulled her to sleep.
Her hand remained clasped to Itachi's.
At around 4:15 that same morning, they arrived at Iron City where they were supposed to meet up with their reinforcements. It was in the opposite direction of Akatsuki but it was a safe, neutral ground.
Unfortunately, it was also located in the snow-coated Three Wolves mountains. They parked right at the foot of the mountains because the city was inaccessible by cars due to the heavy snow. Sakura clenched her teeth as soon as she got out of the car and felt the first icy breeze hit her face. She was already dreading their ascent to the city where it would undoubtedly be much colder. She immediately searched the trunk for a thick jacket and hurriedly put it on. She also donned on some gloves and a scarf. Itachi joined her to do the same.
"You know," Sakura forced out, her teeth chattering, "When I think of iron, I think of heat and welders, not Antarctica!"
Itachi chuckled, but in his head he agreed with her. He was not the type of person to be easily discomforted but even he had to admit that the harsh winds and the icy temperature were a bother. "We should be out of here soon enough. It's only a rendezvous point."
Of course, she had been to Iron City a couple of times before and she had expected the cold to bother her less and less with each visit but that had not been the case.
They hiked up a bit to get to the cable cars which took them to the actual city. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by the city's renowned samurais. Or maybe 'greeted' was too warm of a word. As a neutral ground, Sakura surmised that the Iron City attracted many people with foul or questionable intentions. Hence, security was of utmost importance to ensure that no plots envisioned, even those of little consequence, would ever come to fruition. At least, not within their city.
A samurai walked forward to meet them and stuck out his right hand. "Identification please."
Being already familiar with the protocol, Sakura and Itachi handed their separate IDs to the man. A ray of blue light emanated from the man's mask and onto the IDs, signifying that he was scanning them and automatically sending the information to the city's database. The city kept everyone's personal information private, of course, but should anything happen, the city could at least narrow down the suspects.
Once they were cleared, they headed to Ichiraku Ramen.
The smell of hot ramen pervaded the restaurant and Sakura got a whiff of the aroma before she even entered. On cue, her mouth salivated and her stomach growled. After all, there was nothing comparable to a nice bowl of steamy ramen on a snowy day. A smile graced her lips as Naruto came to mind. He would have ordered 10 bowls in one sitting.
Suddenly, she saw the man in her thoughts running towards her. "SAKURA-CHAN!"
"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed in surprise. "Baka! What the hell are you doing here?!"
Naruto was definitely not supposed to be a part of their reinforcements. He was too valuable to the Leaf for Tsunade-sama to risk his life. Sakura's cheeks reddened in frustration.
"Hehe," Naruto began scratching his head, a gesture that Sakura had come to observe as a sign of nervousness. "You see Sakura-chan, Baa-chan was just being really paranoid -
The pink-haired medic hit the beast with her purse. "Naruto! We can't be worrying about saving your ass when we rescue the other beasts!"
"You don't have to worry! I'm gonna get Gaara back! You better believe it!"
"How can you be so sure of that?! Even if-
Itachi, who had opted to simply watch the two, saw that they had quickly gained an audience. He put his hand on Sakura's back and interrupted, "I think it's best that we move along."
At that moment, Naruto's blue eyes widened as he finally noticed Itachi. "You!"
Sensing that their situation could get much worse (and with Naruto, that was a guarantee), Sakura ushered the blonde beast to their private booth. She had forgotten that Itachi was still a criminal in the eyes of her friends and had not thought about how she would explain the nature of their...friendship.
When they arrived at their booth, it was as she expected. Her friends' faces immediately lit up at the sight of her but soon grew grim when they laid eyes on Itachi.
There was silence for a moment.
"Hi guys."
Aside from Naruto, Temari, Ino, Neji, Hinata, Choji, Tenten and Shikamaru were also there.
"What is he doing here?!" Temari barked. Her brother had been kidnapped by Akatsuki so Sakura couldn't blame her for being the first one to express her anger.
She sighed and turned to Itachi for help, but one look at him and she just knew that he wasn't going to say anything first. It seems that they both realized that anything he said would only go to one ear and come out of the other. Anger had a way of clouding one's judgment and it was imperative that she made them understand their circumstances if they wanted the mission to succeed.
Sakura took a seat and Itachi followed suit. "Look, I understand what you guys are thinking, but can you at least let me explain?"
Just then, she was interrupted by a girl of average stature and long brown hair. "Hi everyone! It's nice to see all of you here again! Can I get you guys started with anything to drink?"
"Ayame!" Naruto, as expected, had the closest relationship to the waitress because of how often he frequented their restaurant. "I want some water and miso ramen dattebayo!"
Ayame smiled at the beast's enthusiasm. He really had a such an inviting personality. "Of course, the usual!"
"You know, you guys should open an Ichiraku at the Leaf too!" Naruto suggested fervently. "I'll eat there every day!"
Ayame laughed at the blonde's jest because she knew that he probably would. They had started giving Naruto discounts because of how much he ordered and how often he came by. Plus, he was the only person they knew who didn't mind driving an hour just to get ramen. Although recently, he had discovered that he could actually get it for take-out and ever since, he had taken to ordering several bowls worth of ramen to-go.
After everyone ordered their drinks and meal, Ayame left and the tension within the group re-emerged.
Ino resumed the conversation. "Well, you better have one hell of a good explanation, Forehead."
Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.
"Alright. I'm going to make this as short as I can because we don't have much time, but essentially Itachi is gonna help us."
"How can we trust him? He killed his family and betrayed our city! Or did you forget?" Naruto interjected. "It's because he looks like Sasuke-teme isn't it!"
Sakura's fists clenched. "Naruto! You know that's not why.
"It is because of Sasuke that we're working together, but not because he looks like him. Sasuke came to Akatsuki one day, just out of the blue. I was shocked because I hadn't gotten any information on him. Then, all of a sudden, he was there in my room. Itachi somehow knew that he was there-
"Cameras," Itachi clarified.
- and so he also came to my room and this whole confrontation happened. Sasuke pulled out a gun and things got out of hand quickly so I took a pepper spray and incapacitated him. I sort of froze after that so Itachi dragged me to his car because apparently Sasuke did fire a shot and Akatsuki would have heard that for sure if they hadn't already seen it. We went to Tea City after that. And now here we are."
"Right. That still doesn't explain how it is that we can trust him," said Shikamaru.
"Well, when Sasuke came, he said-
Sakura turned to Itachi. While it was essential that her friends knew what was going on, she also realized that his secret was not hers to tell. His whole life had revolved around it and it was only right that he would be the one to reveal it. He deserved that much.
His eyes grew darker, if that was even possible, and she could tell that he was struggling. She knew how much he wanted his secret to remain just that, but how could they save the beasts or Sasuke if her friends didn't trust him? Judging from his expression, he was aware of that.
Sakura held his hand and squeezed it to reassure him.
This did not go unnoticed by her friends.
"I killed my clan," Itachi finally spoke. "Under the orders of the city council."
His words were met with more silence. Sakura was sure that they hadn't been prepared for that. She sure hadn't been.
"I still wonder if the Hokage had really approved it, but I'm sure the council did. My clan had been planning a coup d'etat and I was acting as a double spy. In the end, I had to choose between supporting my family or my city."
"Wait, what?", "Coup d'etat?", Ino and Shikamaru said simultaneously.
"The council would approve something like that?" Tenten added.
"I'm sure you guys are aware of the longstanding rivalry between the Uchiha and the Senju. The mistrust between the two clans had already been brewing ever since the day the Leaf was founded. The second Hokage created the Leaf Police Force on the pretense of giving the Uchiha more power, but it had been merely to appease us. In actuality, it isolated my clan even more. Because of this, my father planned to overthrow the Hokage and the council. There were those who didn't agree with him, but most of the Uchiha did.
"Is it so surprising then, that when the council heard of this, they wanted to take drastic measures? No one could deny that our clan was powerful enough to take over."
Everyone ruminated on this revelation. It was certainly a shock for them to think that their own city would ever plot such a thing. Unknowingly, their unwavering allegiance to their home had clouded their eyes, making them believe that it was honest and infallible.
"So why did you do it?" Neji asked. "Why didn't you back up your clan?"
Itachi thought about this for a minute. It wasn't as easy for him to reveal his own intentions than it was to merely recount what could be called a piece of history.
"My clan...they are insignificant compared to our entire city. If they are gone, our home will continue to prosper. But if they take over, consumed by their greed and hate, they will only breed more negativity and hostility."
"But you took the lives of innocent people too!" said Naruto, pointing his finger at the older Uchiha for emphasis.
"Yes, I did. But did you think that I could kill some Uchiha and spare the others and everything would be fine? Even if I spared the lives of infants, do you think they wouldn't grow up inquiring about their families?
"I was the only one who could do it and I didn't have too many choices. If I didn't annihilate my clan, there would have been a civil war. Many lives would have been lost anyway but there would be no peace. The Uchiha would have taken over or the city would crumble from all the fighting."
Sakura, who had been holding his hand the entire time, gave it another squeeze. She had been listening closely too, for there were parts that Itachi never told her. His retelling of the story only convinced her further that he deserved so much more than what he was settling for.
When Itachi's onyx eyes met hers, she held his gaze, and in that moment he had a glimpse of what he had missed from leaving home.