The Fuyuhana
By: Wounded angel
Death was a word, a concept that Academy students were introduced to at a very early stage of their training. It would develop into a significant part of what they were training to become; in fact, it was the very core their lives would revolve around for the rest of their existence.
As an assassin, a warrior and a soldier, death was equivalent to what fire was to a blacksmith- a force that you could exploit and shape to your needs. It was a key element for achieving great things, be it terrifying and destructive or prosperous and productive. But it was fickle, never to be trusted not to turn on you at any given opportunity. It was a double-edged sword, a thing you lived and breathed until it would inevitably one day claim the payment for it. That was how things were; that was their reality as shinobi.
Sakura had never attended Konoha Shinobi Academy, so she had probably not gained the exact same preaching on this particular subject. This didn't mean, though, that she had missed out on it, for Tsunade had been an excellent stand-in. She had made it a main point in their training and reserved a good amount of time on it, wanting to be utterly assured that Sakura had completely understood the concept. Death was, after all, a cornerstone in Sakura's profession- maybe more so than to other normal shinobi, since as a kunoichi it was her ally, while as a medic it was her enemy.
Still, no matter whether it was she (or any other shinobi for the matter), all had to grasp and accept the inevitable intimate relationship they shared with death, dancing as they were on the thin and slippery line between it and life. Every day they spent in active duty there was the possibility of receiving a mission that would be their last, and it was a fact applied to everyone around them as much as themselves. Naturally, they all had to be prepared for the process that would undoubtedly follow when someone of their own never returned: mourning.
A wise person once said, 'To mourn is like being blind—you have to learn it,' and that was exactly what they all had to do— learn how to cope. This, in a translated version, simply meant learning how to lie convincingly to yourself that it had to be expected. For as opposed to a civil person's sorrow, to a shinobi it was not an option. You had to remain ever focused, calm, collected and capable of performing missions to the T , even with the emotional burden to bear. How you handled it was an individual matter, as long as it didn't interfere with your purpose as a pawn.
Sakura knew all this. She had had it drilled into her head at eight, and it had never left the back of her mind. Therefore, when she began grasping at the tendrils of consciousness the following morning, she lied absolutely still in her futon; and, in her solitude, she gave herself a passing moment of sorrow, of hope and of memories. But the tears gathering at the back of her eyelids didn't fall, and the sob lodged in her throat didn't sound. Like a human savouring the last rays of the sun before stepping into a suffocating darkness that would be her reality for an undetermined amount of time, she waited.
The burden of sorrow is one you bare alone. How you do it is for you to decide.
Hearing Tsunade's words whisper through her mind as she gathered up every moment and word exchanged between her and Yami, Sakura couldn't help it as one last tear cascaded down her cheek.
Man has been given the gift to forget. It's an important ability. If you don't forget, you can't live.
And with that thought ringing in her ears, Sakura forgot.
The rays of the afternoon sun filtered through the room, casting long shadows onto the floor while the sound of birds outside accompanied the serene humming of chakra in the otherwise still room.
A lone blue eye watched glowing green hands dancing across his bare chest and the newly healed wounds with a graceful professionalism only earned through years upon years of practising the art of healing. The constant controlled stream of chakra sweeping over the internal organs that had at first felt extremely uncomfortable was now rather soothing- at least as soothing as having a stranger's chakra moving around in you could be for a shinobi. The lack of worry probably had something to do with the fact that she had come to check up on him three days this past week, with her being the only medic around and all.
Deidara swept his gaze along the hands and up the arms towards the medic's face and settled there to observe the kunoichi properly. It occurred to him that he had never really taken a good look at her and seized the opportunity to scrutinize her features thoroughly. Her face was, as more often than not, smoothed into a carefully-guarded expression that seemed to be the only expression she wore. With her hair placed in a practical bun, it seemed even more prominent. He had to admit, if only to himself, that she had a certain beauty about her; not unique or exceptional in any way, she just possessed slightly better looks in order to be called 'pretty'. Certainly he had seen more beautiful women; but, she didn't strike him as someone who cared particularly about her appearance, so perhaps she'd rank higher on his makeshift list if she put some effort into it.
It was rather glaringly obvious that she had been the reason Sasori and he had been summoned to the headquarters, seeing as she was the only addition to the place. Konan had only confirmed his suspicion when she had filled him in on their situation.
His mechanical eye zoomed in and out of focus as he studied her. Holding the knowledge of the location of five out of nine Bijuus, huh? That was something you couldn't put across many. Her petite size only served to make the situation all the more ironic and utterly ridiculous. This small woman had managed to conjure up more Bijuus than an elite nukenin group; hadn't it hurt so much to do so, he would've broken down laughing right on the spot.
Deidara snapped out from his thoughts when he felt the soothing warmth of chakra withdraw from his body; and, instead, he directed a questioning, but still expecting, look at the medic.
Sakura, in turn, felt but ignored the look he was sending her way as she started rewrapping the gauze around the exposed torso. Voice level and professional, she gave the ultimate diagnosis. "Your healing is coming along just fine. Given another day or two, you should be fully capable of being full-time out on the field again."
The reaction was like a slowly building storm as her words fully sank in. Judging by the obviously dark air that seemed to encompass the shinobi beneath her hands, Sakura guessed the news had not been what he had wanted to hear.
"If you think I'll be kept still and compliant for even another minute, you're making a serious mistake," he growled in barely suppressed anger as he slapped her hands away and made a rise from his horizontal position.
Sakura watched him sit up with a calm expression that held a hint of annoyance. All her hard work on healing him was going to be completely wasted if he kept this up. "I believe Pein-san gave me full authority when it concerns your physical state, meaning I'm the one to determine just how long you'll be bedridden and out of the field. And I say that you're not going anywhere."
She was not particularly fond of the prospect of using her authority in such a manner that equalled rubbing it in his face; but, then again, she guessed it to be the only way in getting Deidara to comply. He was more temperamental than a pregnant woman, and Sakura had noticed that you needed to handle him with equal caution when angry.
Deidara turned a dark frown-marred face at her and settled her with an ice-cold stare. "Do you think I give a damn? Go ahead, go run to the boss and whine all you want. What do you think he'll do? Kill me? Hell, I'd take death any day over this fuckin' boredom of just lying around useless."
Sakura was not fazed by his hostile manner towards her; she'd probably have been more surprised had he taken it all in stride. However, enough was enough, she decided, when he made a move to stand and she reached out to firmly grasp his shoulder. He turned towards her, mouth half- opened, when she effortlessly pushed his weakened body back down onto the mattress. Hurriedly guiding chakra to her fingers, she pressed a few well-chosen chakra points and had him immobilized in a matter of seconds.
"Let me tell you where you went wrong in your assumptions just now," she said, looking down at the enraged and confused expression on Deidara's face when he realized he couldn't move. "That you believed that I'd need the help of somebody else to make sure that you follow my instructions, which in the end gain no one but yourself, is where you just made matters worse for yourself, cause now you won't be moving at all."
"You little bitch," Deidara ground out, and if looks had been able to kill, she would've been dead and buried by now.
"No relations to the Canis Familiaris, I'm afraid," she said with a small tilt of her lips as she rose from her seat.
A new profound string of curses followed her sentence, but she calmly turned to Aiki, who had been sitting silently by the wall, watching the scene unfold before her. Sakura caught the sight of a smile on her lips before she schooled her face into a respectful expression of submission.
"Could you finish up here, Aiki?" Sakura questioned, rolling her shoulder slightly as she gestured towards Deidara.
With a flicker of amusement, she watched the girl immediately rise from her seat. "Hai, Sakura-sama."
Nodding once, Sakura cast a glance back at Deidara, who was glaring up at her. "And I'll be seeing you again tomorrow," she said; and, without further ado, she walked out of the room.
Leaning against the wall beside the shoji screen to Deidara's room, Sakura rubbed her neck as she gave an exhausted sigh. These check-ups where starting to get to her. While she did have access to her chakra again, most of it was still sealed; that, added to these frequent visits, left her chakra levels dangerously low. But she guessed that had been what Pein had intended all along. The less excess chakra she had on her hands, the less trouble she could make.
"Trouble?"
Cracking one eye open, she saw Kisame grinning a few feet away from her. Wondering briefly if he possessed a hidden gift for mind-reading, she realised by the flicker of his eyes towards Deidara's quarters who he referred to. "No, everything's just peachy," she answered, an all too sugary sweet smile on her lips.
One of his eyebrows kicked up. "Really? Then why is Deidara throwing a hissy fit in there?" he asked, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the room she had just exited.
A hand rose to rub across her eyes. "Don't know. Why don't you go ask him?" she proposed, feeling too drained and tired for a conversation with anyone at the moment.
"Why, when I could ask you and get to enjoy your lovely presence a little longer?"
Sakura shot him a pointed look before sighing in defeat. "Deidara's not taking to being bedridden for another day overly well. Not that I blame him for getting restless."
Kisame laughed. "Poor bastard. If he didn't get on my nerves so much, I'd maybe even find it in my black little heart to feel sorry for him. As it is, though, I don't."
Settling him with a wide-eyed innocent look, Sakura said with faux confusion, "Black little heart? Here I've always thought of you as a big teddy bear, albeit discoloured and slightly deformed."
Kisame snorted. "Yeah, I tend to give that first impression; but, believe me, it's just an act, one that really attracts the ladies."
Chuckling lowly, Sakura pushed off the wall. "I'm sure it does."
The playful smile vanished from the Mizu-nin's face and was replaced by a slight frown. "But what about you? You look like shit. Although I don't doubt that black is your colour, the dark circles under your eyes really clash with the picture as a whole."
Her lips tilted half-heartedly. "I haven't really been sleeping well these past few days. Having my chakra levels so low makes it harder for me to catch onto sleep." That was of course an utter lie. Even just mild chakra depletion would have the exact opposite effect, but there were other things keeping her up at night- things she'd rather not think about while awake and that, as of such, came to haunt her in her sleep instead.
Luckily, her lie would almost certainly pass by Kisame, since he didn't have any medical knowledge; and, with Samehada, she doubted he'd ever really experienced a real chakra depletion to know from own experience how it is.
"Really, huh, must suck."
"To put it mildly, yeah."
After a few more exchanges of words, Sakura excused herself and began making her way back to her room. She was intent on trying to catch at least a few minutes sleep before beginning to roam the compound again for the location of the Bijuus. So far she'd come up empty-handed; but. the compound was big and they were undoubtedly well-hidden, so she wasn't all too concerned about not having found them yet. There was much ground to cover, after all.
A dull throbbing in her shoulder drew her out of her thoughts and a low hiss whizzed passed her teeth. Gently rubbing the sore spot with the palm of her hand, Sakura tried to quell the culminating pain. With the wound dealt by Kibishi healed, there was no reason for these ghost pains; still, she'd been having them ever since Aiki had helped her heal it. But she probably shouldn't be all too surprised if an injury dealt by a Jigoku ryoken would have to heal on more planes than the physical.
As if she didn't have enough of those already.
Her face slipped into a practised mask of apathy as the only outward sign of the turn in her thoughts. Wandering down the dark road to that day a few nights ago that had changed so much in her life. Her fight with Kibishi, seeing Yami, meeting Shi and…
She swallowed hard to wash away the sudden bitter taste in her mouth at the thought of Shi's words. How vividly she could still recall the darkness that had swallowed her in a seemingly bottomless pit of mangled disbelief and sorrow. Looking back, she knew without a doubt that she should have drowned in the dark waters she'd been plunged into. And she would have, hadn't there been a pillar in the middle of her despair to hang onto—hadn't Itachi been there. He had, with his silent and slight comfort, brought her back from her sorrow-induced insanity. He had held her late into the, in many ways, sombre night until she had ultimately tired herself out and fallen asleep.
She had expected him to have left her alone after that, but when she woke up the next morning, the traces of his chakra told her that he had left only a little while before she came to. All this had her resolve of not getting involved slowly chipping away, piece by piece and word by word.
Sakura only partially registered that her shoulder had stopped hurting before her thoughts were once again consumed by the Uchiha.
After that ordeal, their relationship –if that even was the right definition for it— hadn't been the same. As they had met throughout the estates on brief occasions, he had made no advances and Sakura hadn't shied away from him like she had done before.
Why? Because now more emotions than simple attraction and unease fell under the category of Uchiha Itachi: gratitude. It was certainly not a feeling wise to harness for an enemy. It complicated things. She had either consciously or not been placed in debt to him; and, honour-bound, she would have to repay him. The problems arose when what he might want as payment was added to the equation. She didn't fear he would ask her something personal, such as any physical favours; she believed that was something he wanted to accomplish on his own. No, what he was most likely to ask her was to hand over the Bijuus' whereabouts. He was, after all, first and foremost an Akatsuki, and that was their main objective at the moment.
As it may be, Itachi hadn't approached her since then, but he didn't leave her time to think that the whole matter was over and done with. She had on more than one occasion felt his watchful stare on her when moving around in the compound, reminding her of the questions still left unanswered and the debt unpaid. She knew she could push this only so far and would have to tell him something eventually.
'But what?'
She couldn't give him the truth and he wouldn't settle for anything less, and she was slowly running out of time.
Another wave of fatigue washed over her, jerking her from her deep thoughts and forcing her to grip the wall for support.
'Damn it.' Shaking her head slightly, Sakura dragged herself over to the window ledge she'd passed a little ways back. Numbness started to slowly but surely creep up her legs, and she had to fight to stay upright, barely sitting down before she completely lost feeling of her lower limbs.
A deep sigh passed her lips. It seemed as though she would need to reserve a little more time for resting than what she had at first planned.
Leaning against the wall, she gazed outside through half-lidded eyes, briefly wondering why she even bothered with planning anything since nothing seemed to work out anyway. Closing her eyes, she focused on her scarce chakra and after a moment of push-and-pull used some to keep the fatigue at bay.
Feeling the dizziness lift like a veil, she resisted the urge to sigh anew but this time in contentment. Blinking to restore her vision, Sakura sat up straight and stared down at the floor beneath her feet for a few seconds, taking a few heavy breaths to quell the slight sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. This was really not a good sign. Maybe she should just forget about everything and place herself under a self-induced coma for a few years. If that had been an option, then she would've picked it without hesitation.
Glancing through the corner of her eye, she found it wasn't all too far left to her room and, most importantly, her bed.
Jerking in surprise, Sakura's gaze moved to the outside as a shadow flashed by the window. 'What was that?' she wondered as her searching gaze swept over the garden. A dulled croaking reached her ears, and she redirected her eyes to the tree branches and found two pairs of coal-blackeyes staring back into her own.
Unmoving in their places, the crows melted almost perfectly into the shadow provided by the tree and remained like one whole inconspicuous blob between the branches, except for the occasional ruffling of their feathers or fluttering of their wings.
As Sakura observed the two shadows in the treetops, it struck her a little strange to find crows in a rainforest; it didn't quite seem like their normal habitat. Then again, they could just as well be messenger birds. Swallowing her initial unease with the shake of her head, she grasped the last strands of her strength and forced herself to her feet by using the wall as a support, intent on getting to sleep as soon as her worn body would let her.
With the crows croaking outside, Sakura continued to drag herself down the remaining halls, not quite being able to quench the unease swirling in her gut.
Pein kneeled on ground, cautiously and meticulously analyzing the remains of what looked like a kanji drawn in the dirt. It was somewhat similar to the Kochiyose no jutsu, and yet it wasn't. Had he been able to interpret what kanji had been drawn, he might have been able to figure out what the jutsu was and, more importantly, who used it. He needed all he could find about the attackers from a few nights ago so that he could start to unwind this unnerving series of events. He was equally surprised as angry about the night a few days back. It left a foul taste in his mouth; one did not attack the Akatsuki, much less in their own headquarters, without repercussions.
When he had learned of the attack, he had been, to put it mildly, furious about the audacity of someone trying to invade the Akatsuki stronghold with a handful of men. What had added fuel to the flames was that they had almost succeeded. It appalled him that all their steps of precaution and security measures had been so easily breached, swept aside, and provided them no forewarning. It simply wasn't possible.
Another disturbing variable was that with their established position as one of, if not the, greatest organizations in the underworld, none of their contacts had informed them of anyone planning an assault on them. Either his net of information was flawed, or the attackers had taken severe precautions to avoid being found out.
Moving his gaze from the kanji to the burnt patch of land a few paces away, he spoke without raising his gaze. "Were the ashes analyzed?"
"Hai," Konan answered, coming into view, "the only traces found were mainly sulphurcarbon and a third component that couldn't be identified." The blue-haired kunoichi's steps stirred some of the ashes and dirt into the air. "Any organic remains are completely nonexistent, but the heightened levels of the aforementioned components prove the burning of some form of material."
"Has the result been compared to the other samples?" Pein asked, directing the full weight of his stare on Konan.
"The third unknown component is significantly higher in the sample we took from here than the other places but otherwise completely identical. Still, what we have come over so far hasn't matched any of the summons' we have in our register or any mutant breeds of animals."
Pein rose from his crouching position in one fluid motion. "So what these creatures were remains a mystery."
"More or less yes. We don't have all the results from our scans back yet; but, at the moment, it seems like they will remain unidentifiable," Konan affirmed as she stepped up beside him.
He had never seen anything even remotely similar to these beasts. Finely-honed killing machines would probably best describe them, and the damage they had caused concerned him to the point of healthy caution.
"You said that you had also something concerning our guest?"
Konan remained silent for a moment before reaching inside her cloak. "Yesterday, the servant girl I assigned to help Haruno-san in her healing described a peculiar tattoo she had noticed while healing her shoulder wound. I asked her to draw it, and the outcome was this." Producing a parchment from within her robes, she held it out for Pein to take.
Rinnegan eyes ran over the contours of the drawing, expression remaining unchangeable. "And where exactly was this tattoo located?" he questioned a moment later.
"On the lower part of her back, the swirls silver and the crescent blue," Konan recited Aiki's description.
Pein kept his eyes on the paper and the symbol, as if he didn't already know the meaning behind it. Lowering the paper, he directed the weight of his stare on Konan. "Anything new concerning Oto?"
"We've been able to infiltrate their midst with a few spies. According to the reports I've received so far, nothing seems out of order, but until we've established a connection among the higher levels, it doesn't really say that much about what that traitor might be plotting."
Pein, catching the hostile undertone, stepped up behind her, close enough to feel the heat her body radiated, and in a rare show of affection, followed the curve of her neck with his nose, drawing in her scent but not touching her skin. "We both knew he would betray me in the end; it was only a matter about when and where, so don't act so upset when what we anticipated occurs. Both parties benefited from the alliance, and it lasted long enough for ours to be satisfied," he spoke lowly into her ear.
Having closed her eyes, she now opened them and stared ahead of her and spoke with an uncharacteristic soft tone of voice, "I know, but if I ever cross paths with that snake again, I'll have his throat slit faster than he can shed his skin."
Pein smirked. "And with my blessings, that is, if Itachi doesn't beat you to it. The two of them hold some unfinished business."
Humming in recognition, Konan tilted her head to catch a glimpse of him. "What are our next actions concerning the attack?"
"Run another scan on the remains, this time using the international database; also, have one of the spies look it up in the Oto register. It might be one of Orochimaru's latest experiments," he said, eyes wandering to the kanji on the ground. "And see what you can find out about that one. I want to know what jutsu is connected with it."
Konan bowed and disappeared in a flurry of paper pieces.
Having dismissed Konan, Pein himself returned to his study and sat down by his desk, staring at the paper with attached interest.
By proclaiming himself a god, he had known he would have to make sure to know who he placed himself equal with and had as of such done a great deal of research on the gods upholding the Balance. They were many and all had their own clan markings, a symbol for the god's power.
This was clearly one of them, but he couldn't recall which god it belonged to. However, if it contained the colour blue (only used by the greater gods) and silver (meaning it was one of the elementals) he would have to tread cautiously. Fortunately, they were in no immediate danger of being placed on the receiving end of a vengeful god, for the ground the headquarters were located on was desecrated and therefore outside all the gods' senses.
Still, he couldn't help but wonder how a normal human, a mortal, had come to receive the mark of a god such as this one. Gods adopting mortals into their clan was almost unheard of; only a handful throughout history had received the honour.
Furrowing his eyebrows, he lowered the paper to the surface of his desk and leaned back in his chair, hands folding under his nose in contemplation. If Haruno-san was indeed part of a powerful elemental clan, then it might in turn shed some light on the recent attack to his organization. He had thought the obviously fierce battle that had been fought between Sakura and the beast somewhat peculiar. Even in her weakened state, she should not have had so much trouble with dealing with it if it was as strong as the other ones. Maybe it was coincidence, maybe it was planned that she was to face the strongest of them.
All these abnormal happenings and every time the name Haruno Sakura was involved. Coincidence? Extremely bad luck on her part? Or was there something more to all this? Something that had been going on behind the scenes that the rest of the world was not meant to participate in?
Getting an idea, he went over to the rack of scrolls he kept near his desk and took out the Makímono no Hoshí. Quickly unrolling it, his eyes scanned over the contents.
'The flower of snow' could be referring to a weapon or ability, maybe given by the god whose protection she is receiving. If it was somehow connected to the Bijuus it would explain 'the power of the Nine she will guard and keep the under control'.
Staring at the parchment for a few moments longer, Pein lowered it to the desk, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. He knew he was slowly solving the puzzle to his goals; there were just a few missing key pieces left. And he had a feeling Haruno Sakura might just be the one to give them to him.
Sakura stood leaning against a wooden pillar by the porch overlooking the back garden. Another shower was drenching the plants, and the regular beating of the raindrops onto the ground brought her an inner calm. It was quite different experiencing a rainy afternoon in Ame from a dry spot as opposed to when you were caught in the spectacle. Absentmindedly, she noted that a lot more of the day would pass drenched in rain since the attack. Looking without seeing the rain falling before her, Sakura felt the slight warmth from the now tepid tea seep into her cold hand.
'Another day, another failure,' she mused to herself as she raised the cup of tea to her lips. The concoction tasted bland and foul now that the heat from it had gone, but she hardly thought of it as it washed down her throat. The days were ticking by in such a hurry, she was finding herself with culminating stress-levels at finding the remaining Brothers and getting the hell out of there. The knowledge that Shi was out there, constantly seeking, was all the motivation that one would need to try and find what they were looking for, but Pein had been one sneaky fellow when hiding the assurance to his world reign. By now she was positive she'd turned the house up and down and found what exactly? Nada.
Shifting her gaze down to her tea, she swirled it thoughtfully. Perhaps she should give contacting Zenpo-san another shot? Barely had the thought crossed her mind before she suppressed a chill from ghosting across her spine. The memory from last time made her stomach churn uncomfortably. 'Don't be stupid!' she reprimanded herself. 'He wouldn't try the same trick twice in a row, least of all on the same person. That manoeuvre is one that won't be seen for quite some time again.' Hopefully.
The words brought her little assurance.
From the doorway, Itachi watched her in silent contemplation. She had not noticed him, and he took the opportunity to his full advantage to take in her worn self. The bags under her eyes were dark and heavy and her eyes had lost some of their shine, dulled by a veil of exhaustion. As his eyes travelled down her body, he caught the first signs of malnutrition and found himself very displeased at her lack of care of herself. He knew living on the short supplies of chakra that she did would be a strain on anyone, but there was more behind this than that. Be it what it may, he would not idly stand by and watch her do this to herself.
Glancing off in the direction of the trees, his eyes flashed red for a fleeting second, and the crows that had been seated on the branches dissolved into shreds of shadows before he pushed off the wall and made his way over to Sakura.
At the sound of his light footsteps, her eyes darted in his direction; and, to his pleasure, he saw her posture remain calm. Seating himself calmly by the pot of tea, he poured himself a cup of the steaming liquid. There was a tense truce between them, and he decided not to endanger it as long as he still had questions that needed answers only she could give, so he had refrained from approaching her. Still, now he deemed she had had enough time to prepare herself. Today she would answer, ready or not.
From his new position, he could see the amount of support she drew from the pillar, and the corner of his lips lowered. Picking up the steaming cup, he, after a few assertions of the absence of drugs and poison, took a sip. It's hard to teach old dogs new tricks. "You've been neglecting your needs," he stated.
Leaning her head back on the wooden surface beside her, she took a sip from her tea. "It's nothing. I'm just a little tired because of my low chakra, that's all," she dismissed casually. "I'll be fine after a proper night's sleep."
His eyes closed. "Why haven't you've been getting that so far?"
The silence stretched on between them, filled by the pitter-patter of the rain. "Because of the truths that seek me out when I dream," she confessed softly before continuing in a stronger voice. "I compensate some of the deprivation with meditation."
"You, if someone, should know that it can never replace the sleep lost." Slowly, he opened his eyes to stare out over the garden. "And the dreams will pass, as all things do," he murmured.
Slightly taken aback by his response, she stole a glance at him from the corner of her eyes, wanting but not daring to voice a question rising within her. Do you speak from your own experiences? Taking a few more moments in the peace the rain offered her, she walked over to him when she could no longer ignore the reason to why he had come. Wanting some distance between them, she sat down on the seat opposite him and, with a voice guarded, once more said, "I believe you're here for some answers."
Looking across the table at her, Itachi met her eyes briefly and knew that it was all business now. Lifting her cup to her lips, Sakura patiently watched and waited for the questions he wanted answered. It wasn't so hard for him to know what to ask first. "What had happened to cause you such distress?"
The need for further clarifications was unnecessary, for both knew what they were talking about. Sakura sighed and stared down at the floorboards, trying to form the right words. Finally, she spoke, "My eyes were opened to a reality my heart couldn't bare…and I broke."
He hadn't really expected the blunt truth, but her vague answer was less than satisfactory. "What truth?"
Swallowing the tea in her mouth, she kept her gaze lowered when she answered, carefully trying to balance how much to hold back and how much to give out. She had known she would probably be forced to indulge him in some of her past, but what information she revealed would be at a minimum. What control she did have in this whole matter, she would exploit fully.
"I'm sure you are aware by now that I was the apprentice of the current Hokage. What no one 'til now was aware of, though, was that I had another mentor. He was the one who taught me the ways of the sword, and it is to him whom I owe a great deal of my skills. During our years as master and apprentice, we formed a special bond, one that went beyond the aforementioned and became somewhat sibling-like."
She paused, as if the next words brought her a great strain to say. "On that night of which you speak, I learned that he had been killed." The finality in her voice told him the last part was not up for discussion; and, deciding to indulge her, he refrained from asking further questions on it.
Continuing in this manner, her answering mostly and him asking his carefully-formed questions, time passed quietly. Soon, twilight had rolled by, and there was only the oil lamps shedding light on them and the rain as a pleasant background noise to the calm murmur of their voices. Having slipped in a few inquisitions about this mentor of hers amongst other questions on matters he had long wanted explained, a sudden connection became apparent to him. "This mentor you speak of, he was the one to give you the ring."
Sakura looked upon him with open surprise. The assurance with which he spoke his conclusion eliminated any attempt on her side to deny it; and, so calming her features, she nodded. "But not as an engagement ring. That use I came up with by myself." Swirling the tea in her cup she added, "So as you see, you had no right to take it from me," she said with a touch of anger.
"I had every right," he argued calmly as he drank his tea, not bothering concealing the possessive meaning to his words.
Fire flared alive in her eyes, before dying just as quickly. Having expected an outburst to deny him, as was their usual tug-o-war, Itachi watched her curiously. Realising the beginning of the pattern that seemed to encompass them on every occasion, Sakura quenched her anger. Staring at him for a moment longer, she let a soul-deep sigh cross her lips before averting her eyes away from him. "You'll never give up, will you?" she stated with a touch of melancholy. "But tell me, how are you going to make it work when there isn't any common ground for us to unite on?"
A flash of mirth crossed his dimly illuminated features before they calmed. "You should know it takes more than that to stop me."
Undeterred by his words, she continued to gaze up at the dark, shrouded sky. "You know I'll always try to escape, no matter how much time will pass. That I could never resign to be around just for your amusement. I won't put it past you to try, but even clipping my wings and placing me in a cage won't hold me forever." She turned to him with a calm that could not be found in her eyes. "Would it really be worth the trouble?"
Itachi's features hardened and his dark eyes adapted a crimson glow; or, maybe it was just the light from the oil lamps. "I'd expect nothing less from you than trying for escape, but do so with the knowledge that I will be there to catch you time and time again until you tire of it. You might gain periods of freedom, but no matter how much time may pass, in the end, I'll be there to bring you right back to me."
His blatant refusals of her ever feeling the completion of freedom again made anger sprout alive within her like a phoenix from the ashes. "There are other ways of escape than picking locks and bending bars," Sakura reminded heatedly, as she put the cup onto the table with more force than necessary.
The prospect of her doing what she threatened brought a growl-like undertone to his voice. "You're too proud for suicide and even if the failures would drive you to it, know that there'd be hell to pay for the living persons you still hold dear."
Her eyes narrowed, the inner fire flaring within her at his threat to her loved ones. In his case, it was even more than a simple threat, it was a promise; he could if he wanted to. "And how would you manage all that while staying true to your being a part of the Akatsuki?" she asked with an icy calmness.
Resting his arm on his upraised knee, he smirked mockingly. "I chose to be part of this organisation for as long as it benefited me. Do you really think such a petty thing as sworn allegiance could hold me back if I wanted to leave?"
Narrowing her green eyes at him, she glared at him like a fierce tigress. "Are you really so prepared to sacrifice all for what would be constant misery for the both of us?"
He matched her glare with equal heat. "Even a caged bird can sing."
Knowing she should expect nothing less from him, she clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth in the annoyance only he seemed capable of bringing forth and stood from her seat in a flurry. "It's a good thing we'll never have to find out, isn't it?" With those departing words, she left the porch in silent seething, leaving an equally angered Uchiha to contemplate the meaning behind her words.
A/N: Chapter 25 is up! I can almost hear you all throwing your hands in the air and shouting 'Finally!'
Yeah, I know it's been quite a while. Trust me, I never intended to have a longer interval than normal between the chapters but then life turned crazy and the chapter-writing just became more and more put off. I won't drag you into all the boring details of the chaos that has been my life for the last few months, all I can say is I am deeply sorry for making you all wait this long. I know some of you might have lost faith in me and my ever updating again but trust me when I say that I am not one to leave things half-finished. This story will either by hook or crook be completed and I hope that you people will help me keep the whip on my back!
I heartfelt thank you to all reviewers, I'm thrilled to see both new and old screen names lining the review list and ask all of you to be patient with me! And God I've missed this place.
I hope this chapter has been enjoyable for you. You lot also getting the feeling that Itachi and Sakura take one step forward but two steps back? You do? Mission accomplished. No seriously, I know that it might seem like this is getting nowhere but trust me, the next few chapters will be quite… eventful. Though I'm not telling how, nyah! :P Just that long awaited characters reappear and make our day!
I know many of you are upset about the whole Yami-thing, but all I can really say on the matter is that it had to happen for my plot to roll along. Would've greated one helluva roadblock otherwise. I was positively surprised at how many has started seeing Yami as a "real" character instead of a side-acting OC.
As for the Ita/Sak, glad you liked it. :)
I won't make promises on the next update in case I can't keep it, but I think its safe to say it will happen sooner than the latest one. :P
Review status: 1,108
Reviews: stargazing-sweetie(Glad to have been of help ;) And thanks for the faith!), sendo-tenshi, Deep-Dreaming (I'll see what I can do on the Shi/Sak-part ;)), Itachi's Insanity (We'll meet up with him soon.), NorthernLights25, akatsuki's hikari (Nooo, milk-deprivation, can take no more, nooo! Just kiddin'! XP), harunosakua, Crescent-Vampiress, Ita-ta , BlackBaccaraRose, aznkitty180, Dhampire12, All I Want For Xmas Is Ikuto, NejiTenSasuSaku4eva, Corrupted Anthro, Silver Shadowbreeze, Shadow, The Sociopathism of Trees, 7thDwarf, Inner Self(Itachi's human), aznangel101, Silver Tongue theangelgirlmax, Quiet Moon(It goes without saying that when the revelation about Shi is made, it will play quite a big part; Sakura being so secretive about the whole matter making it a little tricky but I have a pretty good idea on how I plan on getting him in on the secret.), Little Lady Lime, jackie-chan1230, Haru no hana (You do? Kewl, I've always wanted to start but never really found the time :(. It is kinda weird to translate basic expressions and words you've come so used to knowing after reading many fanifcs, but I still do it for those who aren't so used them yet. Still I must admit I rely much on my Japanese-English word book when I want a touch of Japanese in the story.), just-let-me-go(Thanks for the info!), I Love Bleach(Can't tell X)), MyLifeNotYours(In time absolutely ;D Thanks! I feel honoured.), Miss Bluebarry(I've noticed it too, even thought I've tried to refrain from all too many clichés. Still, I just find the badasses the hottest when possessive, but in right doses. Looking back on the other chapters I'm not really pleased with how I portrayed Itachi so I'll try to salvage it by rewriting some of it; when I'll find the time for that is another cookie.), .rose1110(Well here it is! Ehehe (sweatdrop)), Jin, icinnamonx3, Zakuro120, diane, Azera-v, another_being, Kuromi-Tenshi (No worries! :)), Fonrin(I've always wanted to watch the Notebook, thought about renting it on a rainy afternoon, do you recommend it? Naruto will soon be reintroduced, poor fellah hasn't had it easy either :(.), sadbird(Thanks, I'm gonna need all the luck I can get!), LixxyChan (Thanks!), kitten652, Renee-chan11, LustForTheMoon, MisstressOfTheUnderWorld, crystalwolfberri (Thank you! You're words really gave me a much needed boost! There are always a few clichés I find myself unable to let go, even though I want to make it as original as possible. That's also something I wanted with this story; to give Sakura some limelight for once. I've tried to keep the characters as IC as possible and if not, then at least not make them too much OC, but Itachi can sure be a bitch to write sometimes cause of his lack of expression and emotion. Thanks again, your words really touched me.), utoi(Thanks!), Return, InnocentKiller, Magpie-chan (Not as of yet, they don't know about her capture at the moment but they'll be appearing soon. Not really cause Tsunade's used to not having that much contact with Sakura during her travels. (:), ANBU Allysa, Orchid Marionette, SilentRain21 (Glad you liked it! Don't blame you. Sakura was at chapter 6 twelve, I know, pretty young considering what all happened but I do believe that maturity at twelve for shinobi was another than for civilians.), Serinity Dawn (I agree :).), Antanique013, bookbook, tracy-ann, CYUNME, Deep-Dreaming, kitten652 (I don't believe you'll be disappointed. Crouching tiger Hidden dragon is a great movie in my opinion!).
O.O That was one serious list of reviews. Thanks y'all for all the great feedback and comments — I treasure every single one of them!
Reviews are appreciated!
Hugs,
Wounded angel.