WARNING: Flashbacks of rape.

Chapter 37 – I Need To Know

They – she – were going to try and talk her parents into allowing Gaara to stay over again. Sakura had spoken about it with Gaara since he had been quite concerned that she couldn't sleep due to her nightmares and he had agreed with her. Even though he hadn't said the words, Sakura could tell that Gaara hated sleeping alone, too. Sleeping next to each other made them feel protected, made them feel safe. They kept each other's nightmares away.

Sakura knew that she would be able to talk her mother into allowing it, but she wasn't so sure about her father. He wasn't even comfortable when Itachi was around and he had known him since he was just a child! For this, Sakura would have to speak to them individually, starting with Mebuki. Her mother – to a certain point – understood her and if she worded what she needed to say a certain way, then she would most likely agree. Hopefully.

So how was she going to do this? Honestly, Sakura had no fucking idea. Back when she was younger, she would have just blurted it out without caring about either of their reactions. But now? Damn it. She was too worried about hurting their feelings or pissing them off. The old her would have laughed her ass off at how sentimental she had become. Actually, there was no 'would have' about it. Sometimes, when Sakura was alone, there was this little, yet extremely loud, voice in her mind. It was her 'inner' acting almost exactly like she used to.

She couldn't make them something to eat and sit down and talk with them – they would see right through it. Not only that, but Sakura was an awful cook. Like, seriously. One time she had almost burnt down Ino's house whilst making rice. She still wasn't too sure how that had happened.

Perhaps she should just blurt it out. At least that way, it would be over and done with fairly quickly. Gaara would have to be there, too. He wanted to speak with them in person instead of through Sakura like they were in their first year of high school all over again. She hoped that he wouldn't be too blunt when speaking with her father. It would be rather annoying if they started arguing. Sakura sighed, shaking her head to herself as she pulled into her driveway. No. She would just have to have faith in Gaara and hope for the best.

Spotting her mother's car, Sakura frowned before parking her own right beside it. Behind her, Gaara also parked his car, though made sure not to block the driveway. She had been hoping Mebuki would be at work until later that evening, so that she could spend some time alone with Gaara. After what had happened in Kakashi's office only a few hours ago, she had wanted more time to prepare herself. You would think that she was going to war! With her parents, she pretty much would be.

Gaara waited patiently outside of her car as Sakura gathered her things from the front seat and it genuinely surprised her when he opened the door, holding it open for her as she got out. When he noticed her look of shock, Gaara rolled his eyes at her, shutting the car door once she was out.

It seemed Mebuki had been expecting them as the front door was all but yanked open just Sakura had been about to grab the doorknob. "Sakura! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Her mother frowned as she stepped to the side so that Sakura and Gaara could enter, exchanging a wary glance with the latter, who simply shook his head in response. Whilst he was pretty much emotionless on the outside, inside, Gaara was torn between warning Sakura of the suicide watch or keeping it a secret. He knew how important it was, but… it felt so wrong lying to her. No, it wasn't lying, but he may as well be. Sakura was so honest with him and keeping something like this from her made him feel sick to his stomach.

Still, if it was to keep her safe and stop her from harming herself or taking her own life, then he would do whatever he had to.

Nobody, not even herself, was going to harm Sakura.

Not if he had anything to say about it.

They had decided to just speak to them both at the same time. It had been Sakura's idea, really, as she didn't want to say something that really hit home and end up forgetting it before she could tell it to the other parent. Well, it was more likely that Gaara would say something that really made things seem clearer to them, but whatever.

So here they all were. Sakura had sat beside Gaara and opposite them sat her parents. Her mother was smiling politely whilst her father seemed suspicious, eyeing them both through narrowed eyes. It made her sigh with annoyance, knowing that something utterly absurd would be–

"You're not pregnant, are you?"

–coming much sooner than she had expected.

Sakura could practically feel Gaara's shock as he stared blankly at her father, his eyes a fraction wider than what they usually were and his mouth hanging open ever so slightly. Also, though she wasn't entirely sure, Sakura could have sworn that she heard his breath leave him. She sighed once again, her eyes closing and eyebrow ticking as she waited for her mother's reaction.

"Don't be ridiculous, Kazashi!" Mebuki snapped, glaring at her husband with a mixture of annoyance and disbelief. "How can you even ask her that? Sakura is smart enough to use protection! Not to mention that Gaara–kun seems just as cautious. I just–" she growled, shaking her head. "I can't believe you asked her that, not after everything that has happened recently. For all you know, they might not have even been together that way!"

By now, Gaara was blushing, blushing! The sight of the pink tint along his cheeks made her heart skip a beat. Did he know how beautiful he was? Oh! The tops of his ears and back of his neck were pink, too! Inwardly squealing like a fan–girl, it took everything in Sakura not to show her giddiness, though it seemed Gaara noticed as he very pointedly avoided meeting her eyes.

"I know what boys are like at their age, Mebuki! And I know what–"

"Enough!" They were all shocked by Sakura's outburst, including herself, but she didn't pause for even a second as she continued. "Dad, thank you for caring and everything, but you don't know Gaara. He's not like other boys! And, mom, you're right. We haven't been together that way." she sighed, averting her eyes as she spoke again. "And, just so you both know, it was Gaara's idea for us to wait. He wants to make sure that we're both ready for something like that."

Her father looked torn between yelling at her and saying something to Gaara. She couldn't tell what because, obviously, she wasn't a man. Whatever he wanted to say, however, Gaara seemed to understand as he nodded once, to which, in response, Sakura and Mebuki shared exasperated looks, both getting annoyed with their silent conversation.

Then, her father looked to her, his eyes narrowing once again. "So what did you want to speak with us about?"

Sakura bit her lip nervously, giving them a small smile. "…Well, I was wondering… No, both Gaara and I were wondering if you could allow him to sleep over again."

Kazashi went so red in the face that she was tempted to reach out and check his pulse. "What?"

"Oh relax, Kazashi!" Mebuki groaned, rubbing her temples. "Gaara–kun has been very good to Sakura and it's obvious he will never do anything to hurt her!"

"Only to sleep!" Sakura blurted out before she could even stop herself. Though, when she spoke again, her voice was softer, almost like a mumble. "I… He keeps my nightmares away."

"Nightmares?" Mebuki repeated as she watched her daughter sadly. She had noticed that Sakura had been looking awfully tired lately, but Mebuki hadn't thought it was nightmares that had been keeping her awake! She had thought that Sakura stayed up half of the night watching television, since whenever she went by her room, it was always on. "Why didn't you say anything to us, Sakura? We could have spoken to Tsunade–sama about–"

She was on her feet in an instant, glaring down at them both. "That's why! Do you even know how you're looking at me? You're looking at me with so much pity it makes me sick. It make me feel sick to my stomach!" Gaara quickly stood up and grabbed her wrist, telling her to calm down, but Sakura shook her head at him. "And if you tell Tsunade–sama, after everything that has been happening lately, she might put me on suicide watch again! You don't know what that place was like. It was torture! They tied me to a fucking bed and watched me every moment of every day! I wasn't allowed even a second of privacy, not even to bathe." Before Sakura even noticed, tears were pouring down her cheeks. "Don't… Don't tell her! Please. Please!"

Just as Sakura looked like she was about to fall to the ground, Gaara caught her, pulling her to his chest as she sobbed and sending a glare over her head directed to her parents. He knew that he shouldn't have trusted Tsunade! No, Sakura wouldn't be placed on suicide watch just because of her nightmares, but the fact that just the thought of having to go through it again terrified her made him so incredibly angry. And what was that about being watched as she bathed and being tied to a bed? Were they even allowed to do that? Wasn't it an invasion of her privacy?

At the sight of Mebuki lowering her head as her own tears started to fall, Gaara looked away and pulled Sakura closer.

"Don't… don't make me g–go back there!" Sakura begged between sobs, her body shaking in his arms.

"You're not going back there, Sakura." Gaara told her quietly, shooting her parents another glare when they looked as though they were about to argue. There wasn't a chance in hell that he would make her go through something like that again – not if it affected her this much. He would personally deal with Kakashi and Tsunade.

"Promise?"

He was silent for a moment before answering, lowering his eyes to the ground. "…I promise."

There was some good news, but there was also bad news.

The good news was that Gaara was allowed to stay over again, though only on weekends. It wasn't that bad, really, and definitely better than nothing! The bad news was that, after her unexpected breakdown, her parents had been hovering around her more than what they usually did.

Sakura wasn't even sure what the hell had happened. Why had she thought that having nightmares would get her placed under suicide watch again? It didn't surprise her how she had reacted to the thought of going back to that place, because it honestly had been hell. Sakura just wished that she hadn't broken down like that in front of Mebuki and Kazashi. Gaara… well, whilst breaking down in front of him was a little embarrassing, it didn't feel like he pitied her or judged her like the others did. It felt like he was always on her side.

Oh! There was more good news. This weekend, well, today, her parents would be going away for the night! It had been Mebuki's idea, something about her and Kazashi needing to sort out a couple of things. Sakura had no idea what that was about, but it didn't matter! She and Gaara were going to have the place to themselves for the night. Maybe she could cook him a meal? No… She was an awful cook. Takeout? Definitely. But what was his favourite food? Sakura knew that he preferred spicy foods, but what sort? How spicy?

Just as Sakura was about to call him, the doorbell rang, making her pause for a moment before she went downstairs to answer it. She knew that it wasn't Gaara because he never rang the doorbell, he preferred to knock for some reason. Itachi had his own key so–

Sakura sighed as she looked at the door. Her key was still in the lock and the bolt was on. So if it was Itachi, he wouldn't be able to use his key. Refraining from slapping her forehead with annoyance, she quickly peeped through the eye–hole, relaxing when she recognised who it was, but the moment Sakura unlocked the door and opened it for Itachi, she tensed at the look on his face. It was completely blank, but their was a serious glint in his eyes, one that silently told her to just shut up and listen to him. Of course, being as polite as he was, Itachi would never actually tell her to do that. At least, Sakura didn't think that he would. She hoped he wouldn't. How would she react to him telling her to shut up? She would probably be stunned into silence.

"Are your parents out?" She frowned at his question, the tension in her muscles increasing as she nodded. Itachi sighed. "You should sit down, Sakura. There is something you should know about."

"What is it?" Sakura asked and the only reason she moved into the living room after shutting the front door was because Itachi had already left to go in there. Damn. Whatever he had to tell her must be pretty big if he was acting all mysterious. Oh! Maybe it was a surprise? Sakura inwardly grinned. She loved surprises!

Itachi closed his eyes, trying his best to ignore the excited gleam in her eyes. He had been debating for over three weeks now whether to tell her about the tapes or not. Last night, he had decided just as he had been about to fall asleep that he would tell her today. Sakura deserved to know the truth about what had happened to her. After speaking with Minato and Kushina when they had visited him to tell him about the suicide watch, they had also informed him that Sakura had no idea what had happened to her during the two weeks she had left home. All she was aware of was that she had taken drugs, drank a lot of alcohol and did things that she wasn't proud of.

It pained him to be the one to tell her the truth, to show her the evidence, but it had to be done. Maybe, by doing this, Sakura could get closure. Not knowing what happened was tearing her up on the inside. "Sit down, Sakura."

The excitement completely disappeared out of her at his tone, at the look in his eyes as he placed a bag onto her coffee table. "What's wrong, Itachi? Are you okay? Did something happen with Sasuke?"

"No. Sasuke is fine." he sighed once again whilst opening the bag. "There is something I must show you. Just… try to stay calm."

As he removed the tapes from his bag, stacking them up into a neat pile, Sakura's eyes widened, but before she could say anything, he spoke once again. "After Sasuke came home and told me about what had happened, I went to visit Karin." If Itachi noticed her tense, he didn't say anything about it. "Sakura, does the name 'Cherry' mean anything to you?"

She frowned, looking thoughtful for a moment. "…I can remember… The guy who… he…" Her frown deepened, seeming more like a scowl. "I don't know. Vaguely, I guess." He held up a tape, turning it around so that Sakura could see the label. "What does that say? 'Cherry – tape one'? What does that have to do with anything? I thought you said you went to visit Karin? Who's Cherry?"

"There are thirty tapes in total, thirty–one if you count the most recent tape that Karin has recorded – your confession to Gaara–kun."

"W–What?"

"You are Cherry, Sakura." Itachi told her, his chest clenching and stomach twisting uneasily at the horrified look in her eyes. "It seems Karin has known all along what happened to you during the two weeks you left home." Sakura was on her feet in an instant, taking the tape from him with shaking hands. "Before you watch those tapes, I want to warn you. I only watched a couple of seconds of the one Karin showed me and I did not like what I saw. I don't recommend you watch those tapes, Sakura."

Tears filled her eyes as she looked down at the tape in her hand. "They're… sex tapes… aren't they?" His silence answered her question, making Sakura shut her eyes as she made a conscious effort not to destroy the tape in her hands. "I know that I… I did stuff… but I had no idea that they, that Karin, had recorded it. I don't remember any of it! I don't remember her being there!"

Itachi shook his head, frowning down at her. "You didn't willingly do things with those people, Sakura." When her eyes remained closed and her tears continued to silently fall, he gently grabbed her chin, raising her head and waiting until she opened her eyes once again. "You don't have to watch what is on these tapes. I only brought them here so that I could tell you about them. I was going to take them straight to the police, to Shisui, but I had to tell you. You deserve to know what happened to you."

"I need to watch them." she whispered, her eyes never leaving the tape's label for a second. Cherry? Tch. How predictable and unoriginal! Like she had never heard that before. "I have to know what happened."

He closed his eyes and sighed. "Very well. Do you want me–"

Sakura shook her head, swallowing hard before looking up at him with a smile. "I'd rather you didn't see them. You're my older brother and I don't want you to see me in such a way."

"I understand." Itachi told her, though he paused for a moment when he turned to leave. "If they are too much for you to handle… I will be at home."

Nodding once, Sakura gave him another smile. "Thank you."

"Are you sure you want me to watch these with you?" Gaara asked uncertainly, eyeing the tapes before them with narrowed eyes.

Sakura bit her lip as she also stared at the tapes although her gaze was more nervous and unsure rather than hateful. As soon as he had arrived, well, not straight–away, but after dinner, she had told him of the tapes and who Itachi had taken them from. At first, Gaara had been angry to the point Sakura had thought he was going to find Karin and brutally murder her. It had taken a lot to calm him calm. But… was it bad that a part of her wanted him to kill Karin? She shook her head. Not entirely, but despite everything Karin had done, Sakura knew that they couldn't kill her. It would be giving her the easy way out and it wasn't worth being sent to prison.

"I can't do this alone."

Hearing her softly spoken voice, Gaara immediately looked over to her and seeing that Sakura was shaking ever so slightly, he took a seat beside her. "Sakura, I'm only asking because this…" He glared down at the tapes before looking back at her. "This is finally going to help you remember what happened to you. You said so yourself that many different people used you during those two weeks and I know that this is going to be hard on you. You shouldn't be stressing yourself out so much."

She shook her head. "What will be harder is if I have to watch these things by myself. I already have a good enough idea what will be on them… Gaara, please, I know that this… this might change how you see me, but please don't make me do this alone. Please."

"Nothing will change the way I see you." he sighed, pressing his forehead to hers and closing his eyes. "I just don't want you to have to go through this. I understand that you feel as though you need to know what happened, but these tapes… what they're going to show you…"

"I know." Sakura pulled away and moved over to the old tape player she had found. "But I need to know, Gaara."

As the video was pushed into the player and the screen filled with writing, telling them that this was the first tape, Sakura slowly sat back beside Gaara, her eyes hard as she stared at the television, only for them to widen at the first face that appeared.

"That's the guy." she whispered. "The one I met in the streets."

"Say hello to the camera, Cherry."

"I already told you, Zaku." a pink haired girl grumbled as the camera focused on her. There was an angry scowl on her face, but the pink stains along her cheeks and the top of her chest made it obvious that she was drunk. Not only that, but her eyes were heavy, though that could have been because of the amount of make up she had on her eyes. "My name isn't 'Cherry'! For fuck sake, it's not very original, is it? You'd think that the person who decorated this… room… if you can even call it that, would be a little more creative."

Zaku's eyes narrowed but it was, surprisingly, not him who chided her. It was a higher pitched voice. "Oi! Don't speak to him in such a way, you slut."

Sakura's head snapped up as her eyes narrowed dangerously, fists clenching by her sides once she had unfolded her arms. "What did you just call me? Come over here from behind your stupid camera and say that, you four–eyed freak!"

There was a sound of anger before Zaku intervened. "Oi, Cherry, Karin, you better sort your acts out." Then, he sighed before turning to face her. "Are you ready?"

"Ready?" Sakura repeated, frowning with confusion. "Ready for what?"

"Karin!" Zaku growled with annoyance. "You didn't explain it to her?"

"Like hell I'm explaining anything to that whore!"

He simply shook his head, not bothering in arguing with Karin as he turned back to Sakura. "We're going to have a little fun." The sight of her body tensing made him smirk as Zaku grabbed her wrist, pulling her against him. "Think of this as… advertisement. When others see how perfect you are, they'll want you, too." Pushing her down on the bed, on the black satin sheets, he ignored her whimper of him to let her go as he roughly ripped away her underwear and climbed on top of her, unzipping his pants as he did. "Smile for the camera, Cherry."

Despite the smile on her face, despite her moaning loudly, it was obvious Sakura wasn't entirely there for her eyes held a distant look, though the camera didn't focus on her face for too long as it moved up and down her body, making sure to capture every single moment of Zaku taking her against her will.

Once he was done, Zaku collapsed on top of her, seeming not to notice how Sakura was too still for it to be normal and it wasn't until Karin pointed it out that he got up, only to roll his eyes and chuckle. "See? She's just dazed."

There was a chuckle behind the camera, but it didn't sound as genuine as Zaku's before the camera was shut off.

Sakura swallowed hard once, twice and then a third time as her eyes stayed glued to the screen that was now blank. Part of her wanted to scream and cry, whilst the other part of her felt too numb to do anything other than stare. She didn't even dare to look over at Gaara, who was just as silent, but Sakura could feel his eyes on her face. Strangely enough, it didn't feel like he was judging her. It didn't feel like he was pitying her, either. It felt like Gaara was torn between what he wanted to do, too.

Numbly, Sakura got up and switched tapes to the second one, pushing it in and sitting down in front of the television, not even having the strength to move back to the sofa where Gaara still sat in shock, like he couldn't believe she was putting another one of the vile tapes on.

She had to know.

"So this is Cherry, eh?" a male voice asked as he entered the room, looking down at the girl who was laying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and seeming to be in a world of her own.

There was a sigh. "Yeah, this is her."

"Is she even alive?" he asked with a frown, moving forward and slapping her cheek as though that would tell him if she was or not.

From behind the camera, there was a snort. "Don't be an idiot, of course she is! Cherry is just a little… Well, she's had a little too much to drink. Zaku spoils her, you see."

The man chuckled as he stood up straight and shook his head. He wasn't anything impressive and seemed to have an easily forgettable face, though his muscular build was quite intimidating.

"Right…" the man chuckled again before dressing down and moving Sakura's body to the edge of the bed and as he did, Sakura groaned and frowned softly in confusion.

She didn't even put up a fight as the large man removed her underwear and took her roughly, without even preparing her for him, first. The sound of flesh smacking against flesh, Sakura's whimpers of discomfort and the man's grunts filled the room and every so often, the camera would change angles or would zoom in on Sakura's face, which was contorted with pain. When the man was done, he looked down at the sight of Sakura with a sick smirk before dressing, throwing some money over her body and leaving. After that, the video cut off.

"T–They sold… my body?" Sakura whispered in a mixture of shock, disgust and pain. "I'm a–"

"Don't even dare to say it, Sakura." Gaara interrupted her with a low growl as he got up from the sofa to sit beside her. Taking her hand in his, Gaara lifted his other hand and forced her to look him in the eye. "You saw the exact same thing as I did: you were barely even conscious!"

She shook her head, her eyes still wide. "B–But they sold me."

Gaara closed his eyes, not knowing what to say because it was true. The bastards had sold her body.

Sakura pulled out of his hold, changing over the tapes to number three.

"Oi, Cherry," Zaku called out as he knocked on the bathroom door. "Will you hurry up in there? Your client is waiting for you."

She didn't answer and after a minute or so of waiting, Zaku growled before slamming into the door, effectively breaking the lock and dragging her out. As he yanked her into the room and in front of the camera, Sakura stumbled and her eyes were glassy as she finally looked up at the camera. There were a few new bruises covering her body, but they weren't that noticeable due to the lighting.

"You need to smile, Cherry." he told her with a roll of his eyes.

At his command, Sakura glared daggers at him before turning to the camera and giving a sultry smile. "How's this?"

The sound of a door closing captured her attention. "Perfect. How much is she again?"

"Four hundred for an hour." Zaku told him without missing a beat.

The other man scoffed. "That much for just an hour? She better be a natural pinky."

Zaku smirked. "Believe me, she is."

With that, Zaku collected the money and left and once he had, the man came into sight, already naked, and immediately pushed Sakura down onto the bed and stripped her of her clothing, obviously wanting to use his hour with just sex. However, instead of taking her the way she had been expecting, the man quickly flipped her over so that she was on her stomach and entered a completely different part of her body.

The scream that tore from Sakura's throat stunned Karin as the camera started shaking and she took a step back, gasping as she did so.

After a couple of seconds though of Sakura crying with pain, Karin steadied herself and walked forward again, making sure to capture many different angles. The sight of Sakura's tears, of her red face twisted with obviously agonizing pain didn't seem to bother the redhead in the slightest as she zoomed in on her face before zooming in on the part where their bodies connected.

When he was done, Sakura was trembling and didn't dare to move as she stayed still, laying on her stomach on the bed with the man's seed covering her back. This was the sight that welcomed Zaku and the new client joining him when he returned and when he saw the state she was in, his eyes were wide.

"What the fuck happened to her?" he demanded immediately before walking over to Sakura and checking between her legs. "Is that fucking blood?" Zaku roared in anger before grabbing Sakura's arm and yanking her off of the bed, ignoring her whimpers and cries of agony. "Oi, Cherry, you better get a hold of yourself. Your next customer is already–"

The other man interrupted him. "She's messed up, man. Look at her! There's another man's seed on her back." he told Zaku, not at all caring about the glare that was suddenly turned on him. "She's beautiful and everything, but I'm not having her like that, not when she's in that state. There's nothing arousing about taking a girl when she looks half dead. Take care of your woman, Zaku. She won't last long if you don't."

And just like that, he left, not seeming to realise that Zaku was now very pissed off.

"This is your fault!" he yelled at Sakura before throwing her to the ground, ignoring her cries of pain as he beat her.

Gaara could only stare at the screen in horror and shock before he turned to Sakura, pulling her crying form against him as she sobbed. His body was shaking almost as badly as hers. What the hell had he just watched? The girl he… Sakura had been brutally anal–raped and beaten. What… Gaara couldn't even think as he tightened his hold around her, bringing her impossibly closer.

After a couple of moments, she calmed herself down and continued with the other tapes, watching them blankly as she did. Sakura was aware of Gaara watching her as she watched them, how he didn't completely let go of her for even a moment. She was grateful for that. He was keeping her there and stopping her from falling apart. She needed that. She needed him.

Just like Sakura had told him, both men and women used her, though the women were just as rough as the men, using different sorts of sex–toys on Sakura and forcing her to do stuff she did not want to do. After a while though, it became obvious that Sakura kept detaching her mind because the faraway look seemed to strengthen, if that made any sense. On each tape they had watched so far, Sakura had been wearing heavy make up, her hair was styled certain ways and she would always be wearing close to nothing – only her bra and underwear. They always looked tacky, too. In fact, the whole thing looked like a very bad porno.

When they were on the thirteenth tape, Sakura's empty mask cracked as she frowned, watching the screen intently and leaning forward. By now, they had moved back to the sofa because the wooden flooring was cold and hard.

"Oh my God." Sakura gasped as she quickly paused her television and leaned even further forward, ignoring Gaara for a moment as he watched her curiously before turning to him. "Gaara… I think I know him!"

His eyes widened. "Who is he?"

She shook her head, biting her lip and standing, rushing over to the house phone and dialling a number she knew by heart. It took several rings and the entire time Sakura couldn't keep still, her entire body practically trembling with adrenaline and behind her, Gaara got to his feet, standing close to her, but not too close so that he was crowding her. Finally, after the tenth ring, somebody answered.

"This is Uchiha Itachi."

"Itachi, it's Sakura." she mumbled, chewing on her thumbnail for a second before dropping her hand. "Can you come over? It's an emergency."

Hearing him getting up and the sounds of fabrics rustling, Sakura inwardly sighed, grateful that he was doing as she asked without questioning her. "Has something happened?"

Well, almost without questioning her, but then again, she shouldn't have expected him not to. It was way past midnight! "Just… can you come over as fast as possible?"

"Of course." Itachi replied without hesitation. "I will be there in a couple of minutes."

"Thanks."

She hung up, turning to Gaara, who seemed curious yet uncertain, no doubt because Itachi was Sasuke's brother. It wouldn't be because he was afraid of the older Uchiha, it would be because things could become very uncomfortable.

It seemed like only seconds later that Itachi knocked on the door and when she let him in, Sakura could see that he was confused as to what she could need him for. She felt a little guilty for waking him up – he looked so exhausted. "I'm sorry for waking you," Sakura told him as she motioned for him to follow her into the living room, "but this is really important and I know that if I left it until tomorrow, I would either forget or my parents would find the tapes."

When they entered the living room, it was silent for a moment as Itachi and Gaara locked gazes before the former nodded once in greeting and Gaara did the same. Sakura felt like slapping a hand to her forehead and groaning. Men! Why couldn't they say hello like normal people instead of nodding? First her father and Gaara and now it was Itachi, too!

And then Itachi realised what she had just said as his head snapped to the side to look at her. "You have been watching the tapes?" He had been hoping she would change her mind.

"Yeah." Sakura mumbled, her eyes lowering to the ground for a second. "I had to know what happened to me. You have no idea what it feels like to have no recollection of what happened during those two weeks."

"Sometimes it is better not knowing." Itachi replied smoothly, trying to keep the slight shake out of his voice as he remembered watching just one of those tapes.

She shook her head. "Believe me, it's not. Anyway, I had Gaara watch them with me because I didn't want to watch them alone. I couldn't." When Itachi nodded once, she continued. "We were about halfway through them when I saw somebody I recognise."

His eyes widened. "You know him?"

Once again, Sakura bit her lip and walked towards the television, trying to ignore the uneasy look in Itachi's eyes as she pointed at the screen. She couldn't really blame him for not wanting to look because she and Gaara didn't want to, either. It didn't help that, on screen, she was being pinned onto a bed by a man who was smirking down at her. Thankfully, however, Sakura had paused it before it could show him doing anything to her.

"Actually, you're the one who knows him, Itachi."

A/N – Ew, ew, EW! I bought this split remedy, leave–in conditioner by TRESemmé and it absolutely reeks! You're supposed to put it on damp hair, so I did, and then later last night, I could smell stale milk. Oh my God. I nearly threw up! I've had to change my bedding and everything.

This chapter will be the last chapter with the rape flashbacks. I promise. It'll be discussed, but it won't be in great detail.

I know some of you will be like "why the hell did Itachi give her the tapes if he didn't want her to watch them?" and it's fair enough if you are. Itachi didn't want her to watch the tapes, he wanted to tell her about them so that he could have her permission to give them to the police. After all, what's on those tapes involves her and not all victims of rape step forward.

Anybody got any tips on how to repair bleach damaged hair? I've been deep conditioning it, using that smelly leave-in conditioner and I've stopped using heat on it altogether. But the concert is next week and I can't do anything with my hair! It's not as bad as it was, but it's gone quite... I don't even know. Parts of it is falling out. The only reason I bleached it was to get the blue out and even after bleaching it twice, it's still not completely out!

To make matters worse, my hair now smells like stale milk.

FUCK MY LIFE.

Ugh.

ANYWAYS, HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)