"Sasuke-kun, you need to focus," Orochimaru reprimanded as Sasuke once again summoned a large electric eel instead of Manda. "You are always messing up the handsigns. Here…"
Sasuke felt more than uncomfortable as Orochimaru stood behind him and literally moved his hands to form the tiger seal. Angrily, he shook him off. "I know how to form seals," the raven spat as he attempted the jutsu once more. But Orocimaru seized him and forced him to look around at him.
"You need to learn some more respect," he hissed, and Sasuke felt himself immobilized by that stupid fear genjutsu the snake had used that first time in the Forest of Death. He knew it was just a genjutsu, but he simply couldn't release it. He couldn't even get his hands together. "You are inferior to me, Sasuke-kun. You will obey my commands, so that you may train your body to become a better, more suitable vessel, or I may just choose somebody else. And then, you will never kill you brother—you will wither away, useless and without a purpose."
Sasuke drew his lips back in a snarl and tried to shake off the terror, pretending Orochimaru's words had not just hit home. His curse seal burned.
"The Haruno girl had so much more potential." Orochimaru drew a long-nailed finger down Sasuke's cheek, still standing behind him. Sasuke resisted the urge to shudder and throw up. "But you had to kill her, didn't you? But there's the catch. You didn't kill her." The snake laughed. "My sources tell me your ex-teammate has joined Akatsuki. Your brother won once again. You couldn't even keep the girl who was so devoted to you."
How the hell could he know all this? It was like he'd been reading Sasuke's mind or something. Sasuke felt violated and angry, wishing more than anything that he could move and wipe that stupid sneer off Orochimaru's face. He merely clenched his fists and shook, trying to dig his nails into his palms so as to get rid of the pain. Sakura…Sakura joined Akatsuki? No way. Orochimaru was just screwing with his head.
"If you don't like the way I do things here, go back to Konoha. Run, run like the pathetic little boy you are."
Finally, Sasuke got a full-body chidori going, and Orochimaru was forced to jump back. With hate in his eyes, Sasuke glared. He searched for the correct words to tell Orochimaru to fuck off, but they wouldn't come.
So, holding his head as high as he could, he walked away, back into his room.
"So why is a Rain lord's son holding a ball in the Earth?" Sakura asked as Kurasu began to descend.
"He's getting married and will be living here. This is not the marriage, but the house-warming party, if you will. The girl's father insisted that she stay in the Earth, so the Rain lord's son, Dai Tochigi, is becoming a bit of an ambassador, I suppose. It will help smooth over any tensions. And everybody loves a party." Itachi added the last part dryly.
Sakura snickered.
"Tochigi and his fiancée will be staying in the largest building in this small village—the girl's father presides over this one town. Naturally, the Tsuchikage has more influence, but he can't be everywhere at once."
There was silence, until Sakura said, "Um…Uchiha-san?"
"Hm?"
"This large building…it wouldn't happen to, you know, have a green roof?"
"It does. It is the only one in the village that does."
"But, uh, it doesn't have like… a whole compound behind it and stuff, right?"
"It does. It is owned by a rich man."
"Uh…we're going to have a bit of a problem."
Itachi raised an eyebrow and glanced over Sakura's shoulder. Then the other eyebrow shot up as well. "Ah. I see what you mean."
The place was swarming with shinobi.
There was a knock on the door to Naruto's apartment. "Yeah, yeah, coming!" Naruto called, wondering who would come around now. It was 6:00, every sensible person was having dinner (he, of course, was currently getting ready to train). He opened the door.
"Oh, hey, Ino. What's up?"
"Is Hinata here?" Ino peeked in. Naruto stepped back and let her in.
"Yep. I think she's eating dinner, go ahead. I'm going out to train. Hey, Hinata! Ino's here!"
"Hello, Ino-chan, please, come on in!" called the timid voice from the 'kitchen'. Ino noted the absence of a stutter.
"Feel free to eat something, there's plenty of ramen in the cupboard," Naruto said cheerfully, then left for the training grounds.
Ino navigated her way through the dump that was Naruto's apartment. She found the one table in the house, where Hinata was currently eating instant ramen. The former Hyuuga gave her a small smile. She was looking thin from her months in prison—Naruto's was no place to be keeping her. She needed something more than ramen. "How you feeling?" Ino asked.
"I'm well, thank you," Hinata answered, the same small smile. "I'm glad everyone's had closure…the Hyuuga heard about what happened to Neji. There will be some sort of uprising soon, no doubt."
"Honestly, have you had anything but ramen since you've gotten out of prison?" Ino questioned, cutting to the chase.
"Umm…I had some dango…"
"Hinata, I know it's great to be living with Naruto, but he can't…I mean, he doesn't know anything. Just because he can live on ramen doesn't mean everyone can. And just look at this dump!" she gestured to the scene around here. There seemed to be a pair of boxers on top of the microwave. "You need to find somewhere to live, unless you plan on marrying him or something." Hinata blushed at the suggestion.
"Ino…I appreciate your concern, but… Naruto is the best thing for me. His smile…every time I see it, I feel like I'm healing a bit more. I wanted to pay him a rent, but he wouldn't accept it…"
"Well, at least he's a gentleman in that respect," Ino muttered. "But Hinata, girl, you've got to get out more. We've got to do some things together. I mean, not to be blunt or anything, but you own nothing—technically not even the clothes on your back. We have to make you a life. You're not a Hyuuga anymore, so you don't have to hide from them. And Tsunade-sama…she secretly approves of what you did. I know it. And Neji-san! He's still a Hyuuga, but he's in debt to you. You have friends."
"I know," Hinata replied.
"Anyway, do you want to have dinner with me and my team on Friday? It'd be a start," Ino offered, although it wasn't really an offer. It was more like an order. Hinata nodded.
"Oh! Would you like some ramen?" she seemed to realize that since she was technically a hostess, it was her job to offer up food.
"Ah…sure." In reality, Ino didn't feel like food at all, especially not ramen, but being her snooping self (and proud of it!) she wanted to look around.
As Hinata got up and prepared the meal, Ino walked around into the room. There was a single, tattered armchair, with Hinata's jacket slung over it. Presumably, that was where she slept. Naruto probably slept on the bed in the corner. The room was in horrible shape, clothes everywhere. The window was open—anyone could just jump in and kill them in their sleep! Ino's heart softened and clenched when she saw the framed picture of Team Seven on the dresser. They were all so young and happy. And Sakura…Sakura was in the middle. Surrounded by friends. Now she had to be lonely…
Upon thinking of Sakura, Ino caught a funny scent. It was something she smelled every day—blood. But it also had the distinct scent of… Sakura's hair. Ino's eyes narrowed as she followed the smell to the corner, where there lay an old, torn green shirt. When she first saw it, Ino had assumed it was Naruto's, but it occurred to her that everything Naruto owned was orange or black. This was the type of color he'd never wear. Ino picked up the shirt—and found it to be stained with blood.
A note fell from the folds of the shirt. Ino read it, but dropped it halfway through.
Everything connected, and she immediately wished it hadn't.
The blood was Sakura's. The shirt was torn and had Sakura's hair on it because it had been hers. And the note…
"No," Ino whispered, but her rational side told her it was true.
Sakura was dead.
Tsunade was just trying to sneak some sake out of the freezer Shizune had restricted her from when Ino burst into the Hokage's office.
Slamming the fridge shut behind her, Tsunade noted the expression on Ino's face. She couldn't put a name to it.
"We—we're holding a funeral for her," Ino hissed furiously.
Ah. So that was it. Tsunade heaved a sigh, grabbed the sake from the freezer, and went to sit at her desk. She pulled a chair up across from her own for Ino. "Sit."
Ino didn't move.
"I said sit."
Ino grimaced at her, but grudgingly settled into the seat.
"How did you find out?"
"Naruto's house," Ino responded, crossing her arms in a hostile manner. "A shirt with her blood and hair on it and a note from Kakashi's spies? Only a moron couldn't figure it out. And yet, Naruto seemed happy enough."
"He doesn't believe any of it," Tsunade said, pouring a glass of sake. She pushed it toward Ino and grabbed another glass for herself.
"I'm underage," Ino pointed out.
"Do I look like I care?"
"You're the Hokage."
"Again. I don't care. It's good for the soul."
Ino shrugged and took a drag of the alcohol, then keeled over coughing. When her head came back over the desk, she exclaimed, "Holy—you drink this stuff?"
It was all stalling. Stalling from addressing the elephant in the room. Tsunade already knew how this conversation would go: Ino would insist that Sakura be remembered as a hero, Tsunade would say she couldn't do that for a traitor, Ino would say that Sakura didn't really leave of her own will, that she should be given a chance, Tsunade would lose it, probably break a few things, and inform Ino that in real life, there were no second chances. Ino would cry and Tsunade would order her out of the office.
Sighing, Tsunade pulled out the note Sakura's parents had left and watched as her pupil's eyes flitted over the paper.
There was a knock on the door. "Enter!" Called Tsunade. Nara Shikamaru stepped in, eyeing the sake with curiosity, but walked forward to look over Ino's shoulder. To Tsunade, he said,
"I'm here because I wanted to give back those scrolls I borrowed." He pulled out a few papers from his vest, but continued to read the note.
"Naruto mentioned something about Sakura's death, or lack thereof," Shikamaru shrugged. "He doesn't believe a word of it."
Tsunade glared at him frostily. This was a delicate situation, Ino did not need to have it rubbed in—but Shikamaru continued, hands in his pockets,
"Consider this scenario: Sakura decides she wants to leave Orochimaru. She asks Sasuke to help. Sasuke is charitable. Sakura wipes some blood into her shirt—it's so easy to just prick yourself—and a few of her hairs. She wants to be considered dead so she can carry out her plans in peace—so she can kill Uchiha Itachi. Sakura doesn't tell Sasuke her purpose. Sasuke tells Orochimaru he killed her. And that's the information the spies giving this information received."
Ino looked back at him, eyes shining. "It's possible, isn't it?" she asked the Hokage.
Tsunade sighed. "Possible, but not probable. Why would Uchiha be so charitable? No, Sasuke has proved that he is capable of killing. And explain, then, why Sasuke's blood was present."
"A fight?" Shikamaru shrugged. "Or perhaps they were both injured and Sakura healed Sasuke."
"Still, it would be stupid to put off an A-ranked criminal as dead on so little evidence," Shikamaru pointed out, crossing his arms.
"Shikamaru!" Ino scolded.
Shikamaru fixed her in his gaze. "Sakura may not be dead, but you have to accept that she is a traitor. Even if she comes back to the village, I doubt she'll be welcomed. She may have wiped herself from the records—I checked, she actually did it—but there is overwhelming evidence that she lived here anyway. Somebody will find a legal way to give her the death sentence." He looked back to the Hokage. "As I said, she is dangerous. In any other situation, we would wait for positive proof that said criminal is dead."
The boy had a point. Tsunade narrowed her eyes. She'd spent the last two days grieving, and now she was expected to get her hopes up again? Oh, she was the Hokage, she shouldn't have hopes to keep the criminal alive. "You're right, Nara. We can't cross her out of the bingo book. But then, where is she? Because she's not at Orochimaru's base."
Shikamaru walked toward the door. At the last second, he turned back. "If she's not dead, she is without a doubt out to go kill Uchiha Itachi. Either she's gaining power from another source, or her ego is so inflated she thinks she can take him on herself. Sakura will be around one S-ranked criminal or another. Our job is to find out which one." He turned back around and continued out. He stopped once more. "But as you said, she is, in all probability, dead."
What an asshole.
Three days later, Sakura was standing in line next to the Uchiha Itachi, preparing to attend a grand ball packed with shinobi. Turns out the couple getting married had more than a few enemies, so the security was at its max.
In the past few days, Sakura and Itachi had both gathered information and eventually managed to figure out where the heir in question was staying. It would be a simple once they were in the ballroom to incapacitate a few guards silently and to sneak to the room where the money would be hidden. Doubtless the money would be hidden in a safe. Itachi could probably use his sharingan to see through the code and crack the safe.
Of course it wouldn't be that easy. But that was the theory.
The real problem was getting in. There was literally a shoulder-to-shoulder guard all around the compound, and an invisible shield above the compound. The only way in was through the front door.
And that was why Sakura was brushing the knots out of her wet hair in front of a mirror, in the motel room she and Itachi had rented. Taking a dip in the hot springs had been utterly satisfying: for the first time in forever, she felt clean and exfoliated.
She'd had to dye her hair. Ninja would see that she was using jutsu and it would attract unnecessary attention, so genjutsu was out of the question. Her hair was now coal black. Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to afford contact lenses for both of them—the room was expensive enough. Sakura had already had to carefully steal an elegant dress from a store.
"I am ready when you are," Itachi called from the opposite end of the room, having faced the opposite direction to give Sakura some personal space to get dressed.
Sakura brushed out one last knot and put the brush down. She announced, "I'm good to go," and taped a single kunai to the inside of her thigh, under her long dress.
When Itachi turned around, Sakura didn't miss the way his eyes swept up and down her body twice before he turned toward the door and held it open for her. Sakura flushed; in order to fit in she had to wear what women traditionally wore to these kinds of events, her dress was unnecessarily revealing. The black silk crept down her torso, fitting tightly around her slim waits and curving out at her hips, slits running up her thighs. The cut was fortunately not too low, but still not exactly decent. Sakura felt exposed and constricted. It was going to be difficult to repress her senses and chakra. For all intents and purposes, she had to appear a normal citizen…
Itachi wasn't the bad looking either, having tied his hair back and placed the black contact lenses in his eyes. The sharingan was nearly permanent and more difficult for him to repress, so they'd had to color them. His lithe body was well outlined in his suit, which apparently he'd saved from his time in Konoha. He had had more time to pack than her, after all, and more space. He simply had to cover up the Uchiha emblem on the shoulder.
They walked, Sakura hobbling in the necessary high heels, to stand in the line extending halfway through the village. Once they got to the door, the doorman looked at them and asked,
"Sorry, your names are?"
"Saito Kane and my wife, Yumi," Itachi answered smoothly. Sakura was proud to say she maintained her expression and didn't flinch at the term 'wife'. The doorman frowned and said,
"I'm sorry, I don't believe I…"
The doorman looked up and met Itachi's gaze. He was surprised for a moment before Itachi firmly leaned over and pointed to an obviously blank part of the parchment, saying, "We are here, see? Old friends of Tochigi-san's."
The doorman's eyes looked bleary as he said in an almost robotic voice, "Of course. Forgive me, my eyesight must be diminishing. Welcome, Saito-san."
As embarrassing as it was, the fanciest party Sakura had ever been to was Shizune's birthday, so she attempted to follow Itachi's lead as they stepped into the room full of dancing, swirling people. He was an Uchiha; surely he knew all kinds of etiquette and attended many formal occasions before…before…the—the massacre.
"Bad choice of dress," Itachi murmured absentmindedly as they tried to make it look like they weren't pushing through the crowd to a door leading into the rest of the mansion. When Sakura shot him a confused look, he elaborated, "You…stand out from the other women."
"How so?"
"I'm sure you'll find out."
Sakura did find out when one of the more raunchy men present attempted to grab her ass when she fell a bit behind Itachi. It took all of Sakura's willpower not to turn around and punch the man into the refreshments. She gritted her teeth and continued to walk. And Itachi's shoulders were totally not shaking with laughter.
There was a quartet playing their instruments on the stage platform. The violinist got up and said into the microphone, "All right, this next piece we'll be playing is a love song in honor of the impending marriage, so everybody grab a partner and enjoy yourselves!"
Sakura trensed as the sweet tones of a violin filled the room, a minuet beginning. The room was now full of swaying couples and pushing through them to get to the back was becoming more difficult. She managed to catch up with Itachi, but immediately wished she hadn't when he muttered, "The guard near the entrance we're going for is watching us. We must appear inconspicuous."
Immediately, Sakura stopped, casually folded her arms and moved her mouth so that it would appear she was making conversation.
"That is not inconspicuous," Itachi told her, his back to the guard. "We must do what everyone else is doing." He held out his arms. Wound them around Sakura's waist. Sakura was too stunned to move, so Itachi had to prompt, "Come on. Your hands go on my shoulders." When Sakura still didn't respond, he sighed and moved her stiff hands to his shoulders.
And that was how Sakura Haruno ended up dancing a love song with Uchiha Itachi, mass murderer, S-ranked nuke-nin, and Sasuke's brother.
AN: No, I don't know what the Japanese wear for formal occasions—but then, it's Naruto. I figured I could utilize some artistic license. Also, they have computers, they can have contact lenses and hair dye. And violins. And—yeah. Being a cellist, I had to include some music. I don't know what they're playing, but I imagine it's something you'd expect at a formal party with dancers. Yule-ballish. Or something.
I dunno, I lol'd at the thought of Sakura and Itachi dancing. Itachi being all graceful, Sakura being scared out of her wits. So I had to include it. Also, it's drama and totally trolling SasuSaku :D I'm cruel. But Kishimoto is trolling the manga anyway.
Sorry about the whole not updating thing. I have an honor roll status to maintain, you know. Life is a bit FUBAR.
Btw, this will probably be the chappy to get the 99th, 100th, and maybe 101th reviews, so those people get requests. See profile for more info.