Eeek! It's finally here! I can't express how excited I am to finally be at this point in the story. I'll try to update as quickly as I can, the suspense is actually killing me! Thank you so much for the support, it means so much to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. :) xx
Sakura's eyes fluttered open. She squinted in the bright early morning light; the sunlight streaming through a gap in the curtains felt like it was burning straight into her retinas. She yawned hugely and glanced over her shoulder at Itachi. He slept deeply, his arm thrown over her waist. She felt her eyes crinkling in a smile as she took in the sight of him, all mussed and rosy-cheeked. He was usually awake before she was, so she always felt like she'd won somehow if she was up first.
She took a moment to watch him, her heart fluttering as he sighed, snuggling closer to her. His expression was so open, so relaxed, that she felt a blush rising into her cheeks. There were only two times when he looked like this; when he was sleeping, and right after they'd been intimate. Sakura took a deep breath, trying to force her thoughts back to the present; it wasn't the time to jump his bones.
But he really did look good, and she tried to ignore the way that her heart thundered in a staccato tempo against her ribs. I need a cold shower, she thought with a smile, trying to strategically extract herself from his embrace.
Sakura moved slowly, gingerly out from under his arm, genuinely shocked when his eyes didn't flick open. He must be exhausted, she thought with wonder, reaching over to brush his hair out of his face. She was tempted to wake him up, but he looked so peaceful that she didn't want to disturb him.
She checked the clock on the wall, thinking that it had to be nearly time to meet Tsunade, but she was pleasantly surprised to find that it was only six-thirty; she had plenty of time to get ready. The memories of the night before suddenly slammed into her and she fought down the urge to puke.
Her anxiety spun around in circles in her stomach, forcing her to take a deep breath and try to calm the flood of ice in her veins. She muffled the sound of her frantic breaths and tried her hardest to focus on something that wasn't related to Konoha's impending doom.
She settled on a memory of training with Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke. The familiar feelings of nostalgia and contentment that she associated with this particular memory slowly began to dilute the adrenaline in her veins, and her heartbeat began to slow.
Don't freak out yet. You have time. Breathe, Sakura.
The panic slowly retreated, and she heaved a sigh, her hand pressed to her heart. It thumped steadily under her palm, centering her.
I can't take much more of this.
She stood up, stretched, and then immediately bit back a small groan of pain as her muscles strained, flooding her body with a sense of overwhelming soreness. Ugh. Remind me not to drop eight stories onto a concrete floor again.
She padded silently to the bathroom, easing the door closed with a tiny click. She concentrated and cast a silencing jutsu over the bathroom, trying to ignore the little voice in her head that told her to leave the door open; Itachi wouldn't be an unwelcome addition to her shower. That defeats the point of the cold shower. Focus, Sakura.
She chuckled softly, trying to breathe deeply and thwart the wave of anxiety that still threatened to engulf her. She hurriedly turned the water on. Her body was not her friend right now, and she just needed to clear her head. Sakura chalked it up to a mixture of exhaustion, frustration, and stress.
I can't do what needs to be done if I'm falling apart every two seconds. You're going to have to be strong for everyone else. Don't let your fear in.
That's what Orochimaru wants. If you panic and freeze up, he wins.
The thought made her blood heat with fury. The water was freezing, which was exactly what she needed. Shivering, she gave a small sigh of relief as her muscles relaxed slightly.
Cracking her neck, she directed chakra down the length of her body, washing away the bruising and superficial cuts that she'd collected. She felt herself growing annoyed as she healed some of the deeper bruises, but thoughts of the previous night kept her calm. Itachi had listened to what she'd had to say, and she was secretly very proud of him for admitting that he was in the wrong.
They still had a lot of work to do to work out their issues; she was still hesitant to let him out of her sight. It wasn't even the thought of her safety that gave her pause; it was what Itachi might do if she was threatened again. With the eminent battle approaching, it was better to stay close. With that being said, she knew that they'd made some real progress.
There's nothing more attractive than a guy who's willing to admit when he's made a mistake. But, man, having open communication in a relationship is exhausting. When it's safe, I'm going to sleep for ten years.
Shutting the water off, she quickly toweled off and opened the door, trying her hardest not to make any noise.
She sighed, glancing at Itachi's sleeping form again as she got dressed. She was tempted to put on the coffeepot, but she didn't really feel like drinking a cup that was more dust than caffeine. She thought for a moment, debating whether she should just go straight to Tsunade's office or somewhere else first.
She was just popping into the bathroom to brush her hair when she remembered that she'd chopped most of it off in a panic the night before. Her hands ran through the short, uneven ends; now that it was daytime she looked like a crazy woman.
Wow, it really looks like you did it with a kunai. Naruto would have done a better job than you, she thought, letting herself mourn the loss of hair that she'd spent so much time growing.
Oh well, at least no one could try to grab it in a fight.
Finally, after she gave up on trying to arrange her part so that she looked less neurotic, she sighed and made the decision to pop over to Ino's. I'm going to get a scolding, but at least she won't let me leave her place looking like a scarecrow.
She closed the front door gently, locking it with a quiet click. Tromping down the stairs, she decided to take a shortcut to Ino's place. Now that she'd seen the state of her hair in the daylight, it wouldn't help any of the rumors swirling around about her if she continued to walk around looking like a cavewoman.
She made it in record time, knocking on the door and hoping that Ino was home.
Sakura determinedly didn't think about the fact that Orochimaru was probably speeding towards Konoha. Nope, don't go there. Don't do it, Sakura. Breathe, girl.
She'd barely made it through the first set of their "secret childhood knocking pattern" when the door was flung open and Ino pulled her inside. She let out a squeak, almost tripping over the threshold as Ino bodily yanked her into the foyer of her house. "Forehead, get in here! You have some explainin' to do!"
"Wah!" was her only response as she recovered her balance, glaring at her friend through the veil of hair that had flopped over her face. "What was that-"
She cut off as she took in Ino's shocked expression, her hand flying up to touch her hair self-consciously. "Please help," she said plaintively, a grin spreading across her face as Ino ran straight to her bathroom to get her hair scissors.
"Sit down, Sakura!" She called, making a huge racket as she rummaged around in her drawers, swearing and tossing what sounded like cans of cat food, keys, and glass bottles to the ground as she searched. Sakura knew that she had a large collection of beauty supplies, but it appeared that it had grown exponentially in the last six months since she'd been home.
Sakura made her way into the living room, and was about to fling herself down on the couch when it suddenly moved. She let out a small squawk of surprise as Shikamaru blearily glared at her, rolling onto his back and staring at her with reproach. "Watch it," he grumbled, rubbing his eyes and yawning hugely.
"What are you doing here?" She asked curiously, glancing over her shoulder at the bathroom, which was still filled with the sounds of Ino searching for her shears. It sounded like a small battle was being raged in there.
"I was searching the whole damn village until about two hours ago," he replied, stretching and sitting up. He scratched his head, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "Before you ask, no, we didn't find Fugaku."
Sakura had a gut feeling that they wouldn't, and she sat down heavily on the spot that Shikamaru's legs had just vacated. "Thanks for trying."
"Hey, don't freak out yet. We'll find him." He said it so earnestly that she almost believed him. She smiled weakly, settling down and waiting for Ino to finish digging in the endless pit that was her makeup drawer. She couldn't help her invasive question; it looked like a lot had changed since she'd last been home.
"So… you and Ino, huh?"
"Nah," he replied, settling into a cross-legged position and crossing his arms. "Her place is where I always crash when I'm working late. She's always got food."
Temari won't be happy to hear that.
Sakura hummed in agreement, relieved when Ino finally popped out, brandishing her scissors with no small measure of triumph. "I knew that they were in there somewhere! So, spill! What the hell happened to you?!"
Sakura allowed herself to be towed to an armchair, sitting obediently so that Ino could get to her savagely chopped ends. She noticed that Shikamaru had straightened up out of his slouch and was listening with interest. She sighed; it was better to get it over with sooner rather than later.
"Uh, well, okay, so it starts with when I resurrected Sasuke-"
She launched into her story, spurred on by Ino's well-timed gasps and loud exclamations of "he didn't!" and "you're kidding!"s.
When she finally reached the part where Itachi had unleashed the Amaterasu, Shikamaru's mouth flapped open and he sprang to his feet.
"So what you're tellin' me, is that you have used a sharingan, Itachi has control over Sasuke's old eyes enough to use the highest form of doujutsu, and Sasuke has enough control over Itachi's old eyes to put it out?!"
"Yeah, I guess." She asked curiously, oddly relaxed by the soft sound of Ino's scissors on her hair. "Do you want to know anything else?"
"I'll write out a list later. I like to know what I'm dealing with," he replied, shrugging. "Sasuke can put out the flames too, that's good to know."
"So you cut your hair off," Ino said wistfully, inspecting her ends and flapping her hand. "You spent so long growing it-"
Sakura laughed, craning her neck back so that she could look Ino in the face. "It's just hair. It gets in the way while I'm fighting anyways."
"It's so pretty though! And, I bet Itachi likes to grab onto it-"
"Okay, that's my cue," Shikamaru muttered hurriedly, rising to his feet and stalking down the hallway to the front door.
Sakura's blush reached all the way down to her toes. "Um, yeah. He does," she said lamely, laughing at Ino's mock-surprised gasp.
"You little minx! Tell me everything."
"Pig, we don't have time! I'll tell you after Orochimaru's dead. I have to meet the Hokage, so hurry up."
Sasuke rolled over, stuffing his fingers in his ears to try and block out the sound of Naruto's snores. He was in the living room, and he could still hear it. He tossed and turned for another hour. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, stalking to the bathroom and taking a very fast, very annoyed shower. He didn't hesitate to slam the door when he left, completely confident that Naruto wouldn't hear a thing.
Sasuke moved quickly through the apartment building, his sandals tacking against the concrete floor as he sped down the stairwell.
He had strapped on all of his weapons, and had even borrowed a spare flak jacket from Naruto. He didn't know when shit was going to hit the fan, but he wanted to be prepared. His katana tapped rhythmically against his shoulder blades as he walked, it was a comforting weight that made him feel like he was in control.
His muscle memory took over, leaving his mind free to wander. He didn't know if Sakura was aware that he knew where she lived; he'd lost count of the times that he'd attempted to pluck up enough nerve to go and visit after he'd left the team.
Between his father's demands and his own insecurities telling him that she wanted nothing to do with him, he'd never actually knocked on her door. He'd managed to convince himself that he'd lost their friendship; it was easier to pretend that he'd wanted to make his father proud more than he'd craved their company. He knew now that he'd been wrong, and that fact gave him more strength than he ever could have found on his own.
He was a little too good at putting distance between himself and others, however, slowly but surely, he was starting to feel like he'd regained most of what he'd lost. Earning back Sakura and Naruto's trust was at the top of his to-do list, more or less adjacent to wanting to kill his father.
He would die again before he let any of his friends get hurt.
He strode down the street, keeping to the alleyways. The last thing that he wanted was to be stopped and asked how he was still alive. That was a conversation that he was dreading. People could be dreadfully nosy, and he wasn't in the habit of talking about his personal life.
Two blocks, then turn right. Sakura'd better be there.
He knew that Itachi would be with her, and he didn't think that he was quite finished yelling at him yet. He felt a flicker of quiet admiration for Sakura; the way that she'd yelled at Itachi had made him feel a little bit better. He'd been absolutely horrified to see the Amaterasu; that was just about the only technique that he was afraid of, and for good reason.
He couldn't take the thought of Itachi going dark, not when they were dangling off the edge of a precipice as it was. He was just starting to feel like he and Itachi had re-established their brotherly bond, the last thing he wanted was to tear that apart. With all of his close family members dead (Fugaku was as good as), Itachi was it.
Sasuke had always been told by his father that Itachi was a ruthless, cold-hearted killer who used people for his own gain. After finding out that Itachi was the complete opposite, his uncharacteristic willingness to kill to save Sakura had put a black mark in Sasuke's trust in his brother. Sasuke was just starting to realize that Itachi was a lot more complicated than he was. He grudgingly had to admit that he might have done the same thing to save someone that he loved, had their positions been reversed.
Sasuke liked to see things in stark black and white, and now that he was seeing shades of grey, he didn't like it one bit.
Sasuke's already dark mood deepened as he turned a corner and almost ran into a man coming from the opposite direction. He was about to grunt out an apology when he realized that it was Shikamaru. They stared at each other in complete silence for a few long seconds before Shikamaru lit up a cigarette and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yo," he murmured smoothly, blowing out a long stream of smoke. "You look pretty good, for a dead guy."
"Thanks," Sasuke said drily, inwardly thrilled to see his old friend. "You've looked better."
"Yeah, you could say that again. You Uchiha are too damn troublesome," Shikamaru said just as drily, holding out a hand. Sasuke shook it, feeling a small grin slide over his mouth as they quietly got reacquainted. "You seen Sakura?"
"Yeah, she's at Ino's. Ino's gonna be thrilled to see you," Shikamaru muttered, shrugging and flicking ash off of his cigarette. "It's amazing what dying will do to fix her burning hatred for you."
"That's not fair." Sasuke's tone deepened as he bristled. "Sakura and I were never an item, she can't act like-"
"I don't give a shit, Uchiha, but you gotta deal with her best friend. She doesn't like you for a reason."
"That was one time, and I didn't even know that Sakura-"
"Save it for the girls." Shikamaru grinned, gesturing towards Ino's house with a lazy wave. "Ino's fixing her hair."
Before Sasuke could say anything, he sauntered off, whistling cheerfully. Sasuke glared at his retreating back, steeling himself for the inevitable confrontation with Ino. He sighed deeply and made his way through the streets to Ino's house, dreading the reunion. He knocked twice, completely nonplussed when Ino flung the door open, her eyes widening with surprise.
"What the hell are you doing here?" She demanded, looking him up and down and raising one eyebrow appreciatively. "Sakura did a good job."
"I'm here for her," he muttered, brushing past her and ignoring her annoyed groan. "Sakura?"
"Sasuke, did you find out anything?"
Sasuke stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowing as Sakura stood up, taking in the sight of her cropped hair. Now that the ends had been smoothed out, she looked good, cute even.
He punched down the tiny flush that threatened to warm his cheeks and crossed his arms as he sat down on Ino's couch. He couldn't see her expression, but he got a smug feeling of satisfaction to know that she was already annoyed with him. He knew that he was right when she let out a small huff.
"Not really. Naruto and I couldn't find Fugaku," he muttered, watching Sakura out of the corner of his eye. "He's gone."
Sakura swore, loudly and vigorously as she began to pace, her hair flying around her shoulders as she spun on her heel and waved her hands in frustration.
"Why does Fugaku have to be the common denominator in every scenario that doesn't go according to plan?! I looked everywhere, the shrine, the cemetery. I went to the Uchiha district and was told that I should go and check out the burial ground. I even went to your grave, Sasuke-"
"Wait-" Sasuke stood up suddenly, his stomach dropping as he considered her words. "Which grave?"
She stopped in her tracks, staring at him with no small measure of confusion. "What do you mean which grave? The Konoha cemetery..? What aren't you telling me?"
Sasuke let out a short laugh. It was a cold, bitter sound.
"Son of a bitch," he muttered, striding towards the door, knowing full well that she was half a step behind.
"Sasuke, what the hell-"
He took off, running at top speed towards the Uchiha cemetery.
"There are two graveyards," he shot over his shoulder, not even surprised when he saw that Ino was running along with them. "There's another burial ground, where the Uchiha keep their real bodies-"
He was cut off by Sakura's loud gasp. "Are you telling me that I cried over an empty grave for months?! I planted tomatoes there for you!"
Sasuke was surprised to find that he was unaffected by that fact. The sentiment still counted, as far as he was concerned. He could still pick the tomatoes when they were ready, it didn't really matter where they were.
He fought the urge to chuckle at Ino's confused reply.
"Uh, I've worked at a flower shop for years, and tomatoes aren't exactly a common grave flower. Plus, they're nasty."
"Shut up, Ino!"
Sasuke's eyebrows shot upwards and he listened in admiring silence as Sakura began to swear again, fluently and enthusiastically. She was pretty good. Tsunade must have taught her a few new ones. She only swore when she was in a horrible mood, and that was just fine with him. Sakura did some of her best work when she was furious.
"Where is this secret graveyard?" Ino demanded, keeping pace with no trouble. He wasn't surprised; she'd always been one of the higher scoring genin in their class. "Why the hell do you have two? It's the kekkei genkai?"
"Yeah. Follow me and I'll show you," he replied, running up the side of a tall building and hopping over the wall. The three of them ignored the shouts of the guards and sentries. "Who gives a fuck if I break a few more rules."
They paused long enough for Ino to persuade the lookouts that they were working for the Hokage, and to let them through, otherwise Sakura was going to blast a hole in the village wall. Sasuke almost chuckled as they retreated, throwing a grudgingly impressed look at Ino.
"What, Uchiha?" She demanded, her hands on her hips as she tossed her long hair over her shoulder. "Sakura would have done it!"
"Tch, nothing," he grumbled, catching Sakura's eye as she grinned.
"She's right. Now, you were going to take us to your secret burial spot..?" Sakura trailed off meaningfully, clearly trying not to yell at him for keeping such a huge secret. He didn't respond, simply took off into the forest, the other two shinobi trailing close behind.
The trees flickered past so quickly that they were almost a blur, and still, they moved faster. Sasuke's blood thundered in his ears and he could feel excitement welling through his veins. He found himself filled with dark glee; he might finally have the chance to kill his father.
He was too caught up in his thoughts to see the dark expression that Sakura wore openly on her face. Had he looked back at her, he would have immediately figured out that she was planning to intervene on any kind of half-baked revenge plot that he'd managed to come up with by the time they got to the graveyard.
Ino kept up an incessant flow of questions, which he answered with one-word responses and sounds that could only be described as grunts.
"How long have you known about this?"
"Tch, years."
"How many graves are there?"
"Hundreds."
"How the hell do you crazy Uchiha keep that many bodies from being discovered?"
"Genjutsu."
"No shit, Sasuke! That's not what I'm asking and you know it!" She hollered hotly, prompting Sakura to laugh.
Sasuke had to fight a small, triumphant smirk away from his lips as Ino got progressively more frustrated with his lackluster answers. It was payback for years of her passive and straight up aggressive comments about his relationship (or lack thereof) with Sakura. He could be very petty, and that didn't bother him one bit.
"Uchiha, you still haven't learned how to play with others, and goddamn it-"
"Lay off, Pig. He's got a lot going on right now," Sakura muttered, sounding so exhausted that he nearly turned around to check on her.
"We all do!" Ino replied, just loud enough for Sasuke to hear her. "He's not the only one who's stressed out!"
"This is different. He's busy trying to think of a way to get revenge on Fugaku, and you're interrupting his brooding," Sakura said bluntly, rolling her eyes at him when his head snapped around to glare at her. His frustration was tempered by the knowing glint in her eye. He knew that she would hold Fugaku down while he punched him. Maybe they would even take turns for a while.
The thought filled him with a twisted sort of affection. Turning his attention back to the task at hand, he slowed to a stop and put a hand out, cautioning the other two from passing the spot where he stood.
"Careful, wait for me to break the genjutsu," he murmured, summoning his sharingan. The familiar warmth of its activation streamed over his eyes, and he allowed his chakra to pulse outwards. The genjutsu resisted for a split-second before it melted away, rippling away from the forest like sunlight through water.
Ino gasped and Sakura swore quietly as the sprawling Uchiha burial ground was revealed. Sasuke didn't move for a moment, taking in the sight of the giant trees that cradled the secret spot. The sight of them brought a wave of sorrow; his mother was buried here.
"Sasuke, it's huge!" Sakura breathed, her eyes scanning over the area with no small measure of amazement. "That's one hell of a genjutsu."
"My father is most likely going to be at Shisui's grave," Sasuke said shortly, jogging down one of the pathways with no hesitation. His heartbeat accelerated as he got closer to his mother's grave; the pain of her death had never ebbed away.
"How do you know that?" Sakura asked, still slightly breathless from the pace of their run.
"He would have preferred Shisui for a son," Sasuke muttered, trying to ignore the jealously that threatened to seep into his thoughts. He wasn't in the mood to go into details.
Sakura began to protest, but cut off abruptly as he suddenly stopped in his tracks, ice winding through his veins as his stomach plummeted into his knees. Shisui's grave had been disturbed. Piles of recently-dug up earth surrounded the plot, and Sasuke knew that they were too late.
Sakura ran past him, her chakra blossoming out from her hands as she inspected a pool of dark, reddish liquid on the ground. "It's blood. This whole place feels like-"
"It's Orochimaru's chakra," Sasuke said slowly, his heartbeat thundering in his ears as he stared at the aftermath of his father's last moments. "He's completed the transfer."
"We need to get back to the Hokage, now!" Sakura said sharply, turning and darting off into the forest. Sasuke didn't have to look at her to know that she was fighting back tears. They had failed, and now Orochimaru had a mangekyou sharingan.
Fugaku stood silhouetted in front of the setting sun, his dark hair rustling as a strong wind picked up, snapping at their clothes and blowing their hair about in wild tangles. Itachi stopped in his tracks, keeping his distance as his father turned and surveyed him with an unreadable expression in his eye.
"My son," he said finally, gesturing for Itachi to join him. Cautiously, Itachi obliged, summoning his sharingan and preparing himself for a fight.
"Fugaku," he greeted softly, unsure as to the purpose of this dream.
His father said nothing for a moment, simply surveyed him with a slightly raised eyebrow. Itachi was disconcerted by the soft, open set of Fugaku's eyes; his father hadn't looked at him like this for nearly fifteen years.
"I suppose I deserve that. I can't expect to gain your forgiveness, Itachi-"
"No, you can't," Itachi interrupted, fighting down a surge of anger that threatened to rise out of him. "You can't ask for that."
Fugaku sighed, crossing his arms and turning once more to stare at the sunset. "I'll pay for my crimes, Itachi, you can be sure of that. Make sure that you don't let your brother make the same mistakes that I did; you two are the only good things that I ever managed to create."
Itachi said nothing. He had no words. His emotions rioted within him, and he was about to attempt to express the depths of his frustrations when he was stopped by his father putting up a hand.
"Remember what you were taught, Itachi. You must see everything. If you are blinded by distraction or hesitation, you will be cut down. Don't let Orochimaru win."
With that, he turned and walked away into the sunset, leaving behind a very confused Itachi. His body started to move of its own accord, but no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't catch up to his father's rapidly retreating back-
Itachi's eyes flicked open, and he reflexively reached his hand out for Sakura. He was surrounded by her scent, and he took a moment to breathe deeply; the scent of cinnamon and honey was calming. To his surprise, the bed was empty, her side was cold. His brow furrowed in sleepy confusion as he scanned her room and searched for her chakra signature in the apartment.
There was no sign of her, he was alone.
He rolled over onto his back, trying to calm his racing heart as he pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes. Itachi sat up, breathing slowly and deeply as his pulse returned to normal and the thin sheen of sweat that covered his skin dried. He ran a hand through his hair and slowly extricated himself from the twisted sheets.
That dream was strange. I can't shake the feeling that it was somehow a warning. It doesn't matter now.
I know that my father is dead, I can feel it.
He glanced at the clock on the nightstand and couldn't help his tiny huff of surprise. It was already nine-thirty. He'd slept for more than nine hours, which was longer than he'd rested in years. His chakra had been more depleted than usual after the technique that he'd deployed using the crows. The Amaterasu had taken more out of him than he'd expected as well. He needed to be more careful, he couldn't afford to overextend himself.
He concentrated for a moment, summoning a crow with a mental command and a quick nip to the heel of his palm. Kage puffed into existence, fluffing his wings and inclining his head in a silent question.
"Itachi-sama," he croaked, hopping onto Itachi's shoulder as Itachi smoothed his index finger across the inky feathers of his wing.
"Thank you for your help last night," he murmured, glancing down at his hands where they now rested on his lap. "I'm afraid that I require more of your assistance."
"Of course. How can we help?"
"Take your family and scatter into the air. Orochimaru will be here shortly, and I want to be as prepared as possible."
"Be careful, Itachi-sama," the raven replied, flapping over to the window as Itachi strode over and unlocked it. Without another word, his familiar took off from the windowsill; the early morning sunlight made his pitch-black feathers shine like they'd been polished.
Without wasting another moment, Itachi left the apartment, locking the door behind him and replacing the key on top of the door frame. He made a mental note to tell Sakura that she should keep it in a better hiding spot and then set off for the Hokage tower.
Itachi decided to keep to the rooftops, preferring to stay out of the way of the civilians who milled about in the streets, blissfully unaware of what had transpired the night before. Once again, he silently thanked Sasuke for his timely arrival.
If the flames had remained unchecked for any longer, lives would have been lost. The unconscious shinobi would have died horribly, burning to death as the flames spread, searching for anything that would burn.
He didn't regret his choice, hell, he'd make it again in a heartbeat if it meant that he could have saved Sakura from the agony of torture, but there was a small part of him that was horrified by what he'd done.
He'd spent so much of his life trying to protect others, to only kill when absolutely necessary or in self-defence. His choice to kill as many people as it took to free Sakura was so out of character that he was left with a lingering sense of guilt. It didn't matter that he hadn't gone through with it, it was the intention that mattered.
He still didn't know what he would have done if he'd found her dead.
Itachi knew his own mind, knew his heart, and knew who he was. He had always prided himself on maintaining the balance between his body, heart, and mind. What he didn't know was what he could be capable of if the woman he loved was taken from him.
There it is. That's the truth.
He vaulted over the gap between two buildings, continuing to run towards the massive tower. To his relief, he wasn't stopped or questioned by any of the shinobi who ran past him on the thieves' highway. He wasn't in the mood to explain why he was back in the village.
Sakura and Sasuke must have done some damage control, he thought with a small smirk. There's another reason for me to be thankful for her.
His mind ticked quickly over the discussion that he'd had with Sakura the night before. He knew, without a doubt, that she made him work harder to be a good person. It wasn't enough to want to be good; one had to consciously work at it. Being with her made it clear to him that he wasn't quite there yet.
He had potential, that much he did know, but he was a constant work in progress. But if there was one thing that Itachi was good at, it was relentlessly pursuing a goal.
The corner of his mouth ticked up as he considered the way that she'd yelled at him. It never failed to put him in a good mood when she got all riled up. He made a mental note to tease her more often.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden arrival of Sakura, Sasuke, and Ino Yamanaka at the base of the tower. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he knew by the tone of Sakura's voice and the set of Sasuke's jaw that something was very wrong. Ino took off towards the hospital, leaving Sakura and Sasuke to talk intensely amongst themselves.
Instinctively he knew what it was. Fugaku was dead, or gone, or worse. He stopped for a moment on a nearby rooftop, watching as they darted inside the tower. He glanced up, and making a split-second decision, he shot chakra into his feet and ran up the side of the tower. He made it up to the Hokage's window in record time and tapped gently on the glass.
He wasn't stupid enough to enter without permission.
Tsunade's face loomed into his sightline, and he almost smirked at the exasperated expression on her face; she obviously hadn't accepted that the window was both a convenient and dramatic entrance point. Itachi caught sight of Kakashi standing behind her, and he inclined his head slightly in respect.
The Hokage twisted the lock open and slid the window up, her expression steely.
"Uchiha, you've gotta stop doing that-" Tsunade began to scold him, her tone low and irritated as he smoothly maneuvered himself inside, "-you're in no position to be bending the rules-"
"Hokage-sama, my brother and Sakura will be outside your door in three seconds."
"I-what?"
He simply inclined his head towards her office door.
Three.
Two.
One.
Tsunade opened her mouth to ask another question when she was interrupted by a frantic series of knocks. She threw Itachi a look that let him know that she wasn't impressed. "Come in!"
"Hokage-sama! We found-" Sakura half-stumbled into the room as Sasuke threw the door open with such force that the door frame protested by creaking loudly. They paused as they took in the sight of him standing there.
"Itachi?" Sakura's eyes widened, and she smiled at him. A warm bubble of contentment took root in his chest, and he felt his heart begin to pound as her eyes lit up.
"Morning," he murmured, his steely expression softening as she walked over to him, his gaze raking over her hair. He decided on the spot that he liked it short; she looked different somehow, stronger. He had to forcibly reroute his thoughts as she turned back towards the Hokage, displaying the smooth column of her throat as her hair shifted across her shoulders.
Yes, he liked her hair at this length. A lot.
"-we found out where Fugaku went after he escaped."
His thoughts came to a screeching halt as he absorbed what Sakura was saying. A trickle of worry wound into his veins as her statement registered; his dream had been right.
Fugaku is dead.
"There's a second burial ground? How did I not know about this?" Tsunade demanded, her eyes narrowing.
"It's a closely-guarded clan secret," Itachi heard himself saying, as if from a distance. His voice echoed hollowly in his own ears as he came to terms with the new information.
"Tsunade-sama, we found Fugaku's blood by Shisui's grave," Sakura started, throwing a worried glance at Itachi. "A lot of it."
"Orochimaru has him. We weren't able to stop him," Sasuke finished, crossing his arms and staring stonily out the window. "His chakra was all over the place."
Itachi's heart skipped a beat, and he forced himself to concentrate. He didn't have time to decipher how he felt about Fugaku's death; there would be plenty of time for that later. He settled for an icy calm and turned to face Tsunade, determined to focus on the task at hand.
"What's our next move?" He asked quietly, taking comfort from Sakura's steady presence beside him as he surveyed Kakashi and the Hokage. "Anything that you can think of to take down an Uchiha will need to be used."
Orochimaru may have won this fight, but I'll win the war, he thought darkly, sharing a meaningful look with Sasuke.
"We'll have to fight him the same way that we'd fight anyone else," Tsunade replied, shaking her head. "We'll need to hit him fast and where it'll hurt him the most. We'll need to take out his sharingan first, but I don't think that we'll have too much trouble given how many we have on our side."
"I agree," Kakashi murmured, nodding along.
Itachi forced himself to take a deep breath. There was nothing that he could do to change the situation, there was no use getting upset. Silently, he willed Sasuke to stay calm.
They couldn't afford to fight with each other, not when Orochimaru was on the verge of winning.
Keep your cool, Sasuke.
"Itachi, Sasuke, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm sorry to hear that Fugaku's dead," Tsunade continued quietly, her honey-colored eyes softening with sorrow as she surveyed Itachi and Sasuke.
"Are you..?" Kakashi asked slowly, his visible eye widening. "You hated him."
"Well, yes, but damn it, he had to go and make everything difficult all the time! Can you blame me?" She grumbled, throwing him an exasperated look. Sakura almost grimaced; that was a very stupid thing for him to say.
"He tried to dig Shisui up, probably to give his eyes back, given the blood," Sasuke said bluntly, his features an emotionless mask. Sakura could see a vein pulsing in his neck, and she resisted the urge to try to comfort him. He needed to grieve in his own way, and she wasn't stupid enough to try and invoke his wrath.
"What I don't get is why he went there in the first place," Sasuke continued, glaring at the Hokage. "How did he get out from under your watch?"
Tsunade, to her credit, didn't wilt under his intense gaze. She met him with a glare that was just as icy. Sakura couldn't help shrinking in on herself; the active chakra that swirled around the two of them wasn't a good sign; the last thing they needed was to start fighting amongst themselves.
"That might be my fault. I told him that he should return Shisui's eyes, if he really felt remorseful about what he's done. But, that doesn't mean that the blame should fall to me, Uchiha," she said firmly, her tone leaving no room for negotiation.
"Tell that to Kiba, Lee, and Gai. I'm going to help Ino wake them up," Sasuke muttered, turning on his heel and leaving without another word.
"You think that anyone who isn't an Uchiha could withstand a mangekyou?! He made his choice! Sasuke, don't walk away from me!"
Sasuke's only response was to slam the door to Tsunade's office so hard that the walls rattled. Sakura groaned, trying and failing to hide her frustration. Great. I know his father just died, but really, Sasuke?!
"He'll see reason, Tsunade-sama," Itachi murmured, his expression far away, "He's angry for a myriad of reasons. Give him space."
"We don't have time!"
Tsunade's expression darkened and she slammed her hands down on her desk without any warning. Sakura didn't flinch as the oak desk splintered and cracked under the force of the blow. She would probably have done the same thing.
But Tsunade wasn't finished. She turned on her bookshelves next, throwing them across the room and out of the window as she got all of her anger out. Sakura was impressed when she punted the remains of her desk into the far wall, shattering the wooden door that led to her private study. After a few minutes of raining destruction on her office, Tsunade came back to her senses and stopped, her eyes widening with shock and embarrassment.
"Oh. Well, shit."
Tsunade let out a frustrated growl as she surveyed the damage, breathing hard as the rage ebbed out of her system. "I guess you're in charge now, Itachi. You have my congratulations on your appointment as clan leader, Uchiha-sama. Do you think that your clan will fight with us?"
"As long as they know what Orochimaru did, then yes. My family is fond of revenge," Itachi replied, his tone measured. Sakura glanced over at him, squeezing his hand in hers. He returned the pressure, his expression growing flintier by the second.
He'd never wanted this, she knew that. He'd confided in her that he would have gladly given up his position as heir if he'd been able to. Itachi wanted nothing more than to retire and move somewhere where no one knew the name Uchiha. Sakura couldn't blame him; she'd even offered to go with him.
Itachi said nothing more, but the dark look in his eye spoke volumes.
"Sakura, can you fight?" Tsunade continued, as if Itachi hadn't spoken. "Against both kinds of curse marks?"
"Both kinds?" Sakura was confused; she didn't know what her mentor was talking about. "Did you find out something from Orochimaru's original research?"
Tsunade sighed, crossing her arms. "I found out that our hostages were marked when I performed a double autopsy yesterday. They took a pill that was filled with Orochimaru's chakra. He can activate it without the host's consent, unlike any of the other marks that I've seen."
"Well that's a problem," Kakashi said drily, shaking his head. "Have either of you fought against a transformed host?"
"We both have," Itachi replied, the ghost of a smile playing around his lips. "Sakura's better at it. My sharingan can calm it, but her strength was more useful."
"I don't know if we can use this information to our advantage, just be aware that you might not be able to tell who is marked until Orochimaru decides that it's time to unleash their power," Tsunade said pointedly.
"Understood," they murmured in unison. Sakura couldn't stop her mind from running over everything that she'd seen in the testing facility. She couldn't think of a time when she'd seen a hidden mark activated, but she didn't doubt Tsunade's findings.
"Tsunade-sama, the source of the marks is coming here under Gaara's protection, maybe you should talk to him about what he knows?"
"Not a bad idea, Sakura. Well done," Kakashi said cheerfully, grinning at her behind the mask. Itachi hummed his agreement. She felt a flash of pride and tried to ignore the pleased flush that settled into the apples of her cheeks.
"Good. Sakura, are you up to fighting them if it comes down to it?" Tsunade pursed her lips and tapped her finger against her chin. "I don't want to risk your safety if you're not in fighting shape."
"I'm good as new."
"Go on then. Show me," Tsunade prompted, indicating with a wave of her hand which technique she was talking about. Sakura grinned.
Her whole system hummed with strength, and she tapped into it, running the energy through her veins. Her muscles felt good, and she took a moment to test her chakra control, snapping her hands out and igniting a chakra blade.
Sakura allowed her chakra to bloom outwards, sheathing her arms with a thick layer of glowing green energy. She was careful to work around the dregs of Uchiha chakra that refused to leave her system, still unsure what she could do with it now that she didn't have a sharingan anymore.
Without much effort, she snuffed the chakra out and crossed her arms.
"My chakra's running at full capacity. As soon as things take off, I'll release my seal. Orochimaru can't throw anything at us that I won't be able to destroy," she said flatly, hoping that she sounded more confident than she felt. "I can summon Katsuyu to heal our forces when the seal is open."
"Good. But, you won't be running medical; I'll need you on the front lines. Give Orochimaru hell." Tsunade's tone was neutral, but Sakura could hear the undercurrent of rage underneath her words. "Leave Katsuyu to me unless you desperately need her, I'll direct her power from here."
Grinning wolfishly, Sakura caught Itachi's eye. His expression was, as per usual, impassive, but the look in his eye told her all that she needed to know; she had impressed him.
"So, since we probably have, at most, two hours before everything explodes, what's the plan?" Itachi asked bluntly, crossing his arms and looking towards the Hokage.
Tsunade thought for a moment before she shook her head. "We should know better than to plan too far ahead. Sakura and Itachi, I'm promoting you. Kakashi will be acting general, and you two are getting command of your own squads."
"Does that mean..?" Sakura asked slowly, trying to wrap her head around what Tsunade was saying.
"Yeah. Congratulations, you outrank the clan heads. You both have the rank of Lieutenant-General. I guess you outrank yourself now, Itachi." Tsunade let out a small chuckle, her expression intense. Her amber eyes surveyed them with pride, and maybe a little bit of triumph.
Sakura's eyebrows shot upwards, and she had to bite back a wave of excitement. Her glee was quickly tempered by the reality of the situation, and she leaned against the windowsill, glancing sideways at Itachi. His eyes flicked towards her, and he nodded minutely.
"Noted. What kind of squads are we commanding?" He asked softly, politely inclining his head as his hand subtly smoothed over Sakura's shoulder. She hadn't realized how much tension she'd been holding in her body, and she hurriedly took a deep breath, almost sighing as her muscles relaxed.
"That's up to you. You've got my permission to pick and choose who you think you'll be able to fight best with. I don't care about rank or protocol; pick the squads that will save Konoha."
Kakashi scratched his head, planting his feet shoulder width apart and appraising them with his visible eye.
"Sakura, you'd be better off choosing people who have as much strength as you do, or at least a fraction of it," he added hastily as both Tsunade and Sakura's eyes narrowed at him. "Itachi, if you don't mind me saying so, your chances are better if you fight with the Uchiha."
Itachi laughed softly, his eyes darkening into inky pools as he glared at the Copy Ninja. "I don't mean any disrespect, but let me choose my own fighters. Uchiha fighters depend too heavily on their sharingan. A mixed team will cover all of the bases."
"Spoken just like an ANBU captain," Kakashi shrugged, his silver hair bouncing. "Alright, do what you want. But, I want Shikamaru."
Sakura chuckled, leaning into Itachi as his hand gently traced along the small of her back. "He'll grumble about it, but go for it. If I can request a few people?"
Tsunade turned her attention over to her, a smile playing around the corners of her mouth. "Who did you have in mind?"
"I want Chouji, Hinata, Neji, and Hanabi. My ninjutsu and Chouji's taijutsu can cripple our opponents physically, but I also want their chakra streams destroyed," she replied darkly, allowing a surge of anger to flood through her veins. "I don't know how many of Orochimaru's cronies are marked, so I want them taken care of quickly."
She didn't have to see Itachi's face to know that he agreed; his thumb traced small circles over her spine, sending shivers down the length of her back.
"I like that plan," he murmured, turning his head to look her in the eye. Her heartbeat accelerated as they shared a meaningful look, and the silence was only broken by Tsunade loudly clearing her throat. Sakura quickly looked away, a blush burning over her cheeks as she forced her thoughts to return to the task at hand.
"Good. Give me a list and I'll make sure that you have the recruits. Now, get out of here, you have work to do. Oh, Kakashi, I need you to find Naruto. We need to go over a few last minute additions to the plan."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
Sakura made to leave for the door, but was stopped by Kakashi putting a hand up in a silent request for her to stay. "Hang on, I'd like a word. You too, Itachi."
Tsunade was already out the door, waving at them to continue their conversation without her.
"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura couldn't help her curiosity; Kakashi was acting strangely, even for him. It made her nervous to see him so serious; she couldn't shake the feeling that he was hiding something.
"I want your word that you won't intervene if Tsunade-sama, Asuma, and I confront Orochimaru," he began carefully, watching them out of the corner of his eye. "I know that you've got your reasons for wanting him dead, but the village needs you, alive."
Sakura began to protest, but was silenced by Itachi's hand squeezing her shoulder. No way, what the hell?!
Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly as he sized up the sixth (unofficial) Hokage, his expression unreadable. "You do realize that your students won't let you die."
Kakashi's eye widened, but he recovered quickly and grinned behind his mask. "Why do you think I asked you to stay behind as well? You understand what I'm asking."
"Kakashi-sensei, you don't honestly think that we're going to stand back and let you get yourself killed?!" Sakura demanded, shaking her head furiously. "Absolutely not! Naruto's the heroic one, not you!"
She almost lost her composure as Itachi hastily muffled a chuckle. "That's not what I meant! Kakashi-sensei, you're not reckless!"
"Put your emotions aside and listen to me for a minute," Kakashi replied sharply, his commanding tone quickly and effectively cutting off her objections. She wilted slightly and held her breath, waiting for him to continue.
"People are going to die, and we can't have the next generation of the Konoha administration wiped out. I'm not going to sugar-coat this; some of your friends are going to lose their lives. My generation and the one before mine have done what we can. In this situation, we're expendable. Let us put our lives on the line for Konoha."
"No!" Sakura tried to ignore the wave of panic that shot through her system. "Don't even talk about that-"
"I've lived through a war, the Nine-Tail's attack, and a career in ANBU," Kakashi said shortly, cutting off her sputtered protests. "I'm not going to lie down and die. All that I'm asking is that you allow us the opportunity to lay down our lives for Konoha. Don't jump in and shield us."
"We can't afford to have the Uchiha clan head, next Hokage, Chief Medical Officer, and next potential ANBU general dead. That'll effectively cripple the village," Itachi finished solemnly, nodding slightly.
"ANBU general?" Sakura asked slowly, confused by his list. He can't be thinking-
"Sasuke," Kakashi answered, raising an eyebrow and surveying Itachi over his mask. "I have a feeling that he has some serious changes in mind for the village, I'd rather have him on our side. He's made for the job."
Sakura glanced at Itachi, uncertainty swirling in her stomach. To her surprise, Itachi wore a small smirk. "Not a bad idea," he admitted, taking a deep breath and raising one eyebrow. "We can discuss that later."
"Kakashi-sensei, hold on a minute-" Sakura finally snapped back to reality. "If there's something you're not telling us, you'd better spit it out!"
"Nope! Good luck!" He replied cheerfully as he lazily saluted and then subsequently disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sakura coughed violently as she fought to breathe. As the smoke cleared, her jaw dropped to discover that a hunk of wood had suddenly appeared in his place, making a loud clunk as it hit the floor.
A substitution jutsu?! What the hell?! It's like I'm a kid again! When I get my hands on him-
Her thoughts were interrupted by a full laugh from Itachi, who, to her extreme surprise, was now grinning.
"He hasn't changed."
"I'm going to kill him," Sakura muttered, following Itachi as he left the office, making their way towards the exit of the Hokage tower.
"What's your plan?" He asked quietly, poking her in the forehead and jarring her out of her dark mood.
"I'm going to get my team together, and then I'm going to the wall," she replied, tapping her finger against her lips in thought. "What are you thinking?"
"I need to talk to my clan. They should know what's happened," he replied, a flash of uncertainty flitting across his expression before he schooled his features into an impassive mask once more.
"Do you want me to come with you?"
He smiled gently, stepping towards her. "No, I'll handle it, but thank you. Take care of what you need to do."
"As long as you're sure," she trailed off, lacing his fingers with hers.
"I am." Itachi kissed her quickly before he took off down the stairwell. "I'll find you later. Good luck."
"You too," she murmured, watching him go. She tapped her foot nervously as she thought, her mind whirring through what she needed to do before she could assign her squad to their task. She bent and quickly dragged a kunai along her finger, drawing enough blood to summon Ringo.
The tiny slug puffed into sight, quivering with excitement. "Sakura-san! Everyone's talking about the battle! I'm ready to fight!"
"Your job is to keep yourself safe, little one," Sakura chastised her gently, fondly reaching out and patting the small, slimy creature on the head. "Can you find a few people for me?"
Ringo puffed up, eying Sakura with her tiny, bulbous eyes. "You betcha! Who are they?"
Sakura quickly rattled off the names, grinning as Ringo dutifully repeated them. "Great, I'm counting on you."
"I won't let you down!" She puffed away, and Sakura stood up again, feeling a little bit more confident as she absentmindedly waved away the smoke that still filled the air. Without waiting to let herself get caught up in her dark imaginings, she took off towards the wall.
On the way, she ran into the four people who she'd been hoping to find. Ringo was a very fast worker. Chouji, Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi were more than willing to fight with her, and for that she was glad.
What followed her meeting with the Hokage were two very anxious hours spent at the front gates, delegating tasks and allocating resources. Sakura wasn't new to the concept of leadership, but she certainly felt uneasy knowing that she was going to be responsible for Konoha's first response to Orochimaru's attack.
She was very relieved to know that her reinstated status as the Hokage's apprentice had been accepted without any obvious dissent; it made her job a hell of a lot easier if she didn't have to persuade anyone that she was fighting on their side. She wore a new Konoha headband, and that meant more to the shinobi of her village than any verbal promise ever could.
"What's your plan, Sakura?" Neji asked quietly, his serene expression calming her as she stopped pacing to answer him.
"I have no idea. We're going to have to access the threat when it gets here. I don't know if he's going to bring anyone with him, but we need to be prepared for anything. Have you got the fortification jutsu finished?"
"Yes," Hinata said quietly, indicating on the map that they were poring over where the shinobi responsible for keeping the wall intact were located. "The points of the sealing jutsu are ready to be activated. They'll wait for a flare."
"Good," Sakura sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I don't know how Shikamaru does it; I'm not cut out for strategy."
Hinata smiled gently, shrugging. "You're doing a great job, just don't panic."
Sakura flushed slightly at her friend's frank statement, and tried to act as nonchalant as possible. "Yeah, yeah, okay. I'm going to try and think my way out of any scenario that Orochimaru could hit us with."
"We'll just have to hit them harder," Neji murmured, a rare smile playing around the corners of his mouth.
"Okay, so no pressure," Sakura muttered, her expression darkening. "I'll just punch a Sannin to death, shall I?"
Her team sensibly left her alone after that.
She felt like she was wearing a hole on the top of the wall as she paced, trying to out-think the most intelligent foe she'd ever encountered.
A shout that unexpectedly rang out across the wall jerked her out of her thoughts.
"Haruno-sama, there's a group heading towards the gates!"
"Fortification positions everyone; I want weapons leveled at the intruders! Prepare the defensive jutsu; I don't want to get caught by surprise!" She called, her heartbeat accelerating as she fell into the position of commander, barking orders to prepare for the siege.
She could hear the hum of activated chakra, and concentrated enough to see a shimmering miasma of energy surrounding the portal as metal gears were ground into place and the mechanisms sealed. A bright flare exploded into the air above the village as the protection jutsu was activated. Sakura didn't know whether to feel safe or not; there was no telling if it would actually protect them against an army.
There was a tense moment of silence. Nothing happened. Sakura wasn't sure whether she wanted to scream or run headlong at the newcomers; the silence was deafening.
"Haruno-sama, there's someone who wants to talk to you!"
Chakra swirled into the air, sending her battle instincts into overdrive as she tried to isolate the signature. She was too high up to tell who it was, but she relaxed incrementally when she realized that it wasn't Orochimaru.
Sakura's head snapped downwards as she recognized one of the chakra signatures; she felt more than heard the commotion at the front gates. Abandoning her post, she took off towards the top of the fortified wall, peering over the lip of the stone at the ground below.
Her chakra-sharpened eyes pierced through the slight mist that had gathered at the base of the wall.
What she saw there frightened her.
The first thing she saw was Juugo, his body was so battered and bruised that she barely recognized him. He was supported by Gaara and a red-haired woman that she didn't know. Sakura's heart flew into her throat as she visually assessed the damage to her ally, horrified by the amount of healing he was going to require.
Gaara! He did manage to bring them, but at what cost? I need to know what's happening, now!
She quickly took in the sight of the large group of people who had come with him and put her hand to her mouth with no hesitation.
Her ear-splitting whistle cut through the crowd like a knife, and she waited until all of their attentions were on here before she spoke. "Open the gates! Move it! They're allies!"
The huge doors split open and separated, allowing the rag-tag band to file through the gateway into the village. Sakura threw herself off the top of the wall, landing lightly in front of Juugo and darting forwards to help support him. "Gaara, what happened?!"
"Orochimaru found them, right outside the staging village," Gaara replied, helping her hoist Juugo back to his feet as he groaned in pain. "They fought hard. Orochimaru left Juugo for dead and took off."
"And your men?" Sakura asked worriedly, scanning the group for the familiar logograph of the Suna headband. She didn't see any, and her brow furrowed.
"They're following a few miles behind us to head off anyone who was headed our way," Gaara assured her, laying a hand on her shoulder as he helped the redhead maneuver Juugo into a sitting position. Sakura nodded tightly, her hands glowing with chakra as she assessed the damage to Juugo's body.
"Thank you, Gaara."
"Anything for my friends," he murmured, his serious eyes surveying the test subjects. "They're in bad shape, Sakura."
"Take them to Tsunade-sama at the hospital. She'll get them patched up."
She couldn't smother her gasp of horror as her chakra permeated into Juugo's chest. His ribs had been almost entirely shattered; he was literally held together by his intercostal muscles and a very fast, very ramshackle patch job. Absently, she wondered who had saved his life by healing him.
Juugo should have been killed, how the hell did he survive?
"Juugo, your body, it's a miracle you're still alive-" She breathed, her eyes widening as she saw what she was dealing with.
"Orochimaru should have killed me," Juugo wheezed with difficulty, his huge hand flying to his side to cradle his ribs. "I'm going to rip him apart, just give me a chance."
"You're in no shape to fight any more!" The red-headed woman said firmly, darting in front of them and shaking her finger at Juugo. "You nearly died! It was stupid trying to take on Orochimaru by yourself-"
"We're alive, aren't we?" Juugo muttered, sounding so much like Sasuke for a moment that Sakura felt her mouth ticking up in a small smile.
"She's right, Juugo."
The girl threw Sakura a calculating look, but her steely expression softened as she noticed the twinkle in Sakura's eye. "Yeah, see? If Haruno thinks that you're half dead, I'm obviously right." She tossed her bright hair over her shoulder and Sakura suddenly felt a flicker of recognition.
"You're Karin, right..?" She asked hesitantly, wracking her brain for the right name. She was rewarded with a small grin.
"Yeah, Karin Uzumaki. You healed me when I almost died trying to fight that guy who used the earth release technique."
"I remember. Uzumaki, huh? I think I know your cousin," Sakura said drily, reaching out the shake Karin's offered hand. "Thank you for helping Juugo."
"Peh, I didn't do it for him. I've been trying to find a way to get out of that mountain for two years," Karin replied stiffly, crossing her arms and indicating Gaara with a jerk of her head. "Thanks for caring enough to get us out though. The Kazekage said that you were the one who told him to meet us."
"I did. You're the one who healed Juugo enough to get him here?"
"I know enough to be useful." Karin pushed her glasses farther up her nose with her forefinger, surveying Juugo with a practiced eye. "I was able to get him into traveling shape, but I can't do much more than that until I get my chakra levels up."
"Get to the hospital, the Hokage's expecting you," Sakura said firmly, pointing towards the medical buildings. "She'll protect you."
Karin let out a small, bitter laugh. "I don't know if anything could protect us from Orochimaru. You've got your work cut out for you."
Sakura felt a trickle of ice wind its way into her veins. She knew that Karin was right. "What do you know?"
"Nothing that'll be helpful. The fact is that he's probably here already, and if you don't know where he is, you're all going to die before you get a chance to defend yourselves," she said bluntly, ducking back under Juugo's arm as Gaara led the way to the hospital.
Sakura watched Karin and the others go with narrowed eyes, trying to parse apart her feelings about what Karin had said.
"If you weren't right, I might be offended," Sakura murmured, too quiet for anyone else to hear. She heard the hum of chakra once more as the gates were sealed, and she breathed a silent sigh of relief.
She was absorbed in her thoughts, so much so that she nearly jumped out of her skin as a warm hand touched hers. She spun around, intent on berating whoever it was, but her words died on her lips as she recognized Itachi. He didn't look guilty at all; in fact, she thought that he looked a little bit smug.
"You're jumpy," he commented softly, lacing his fingers with hers and indicating a dark alleyway with a jerk of his head. She shook her head, allowing him to tow her into the half-darkness.
"I can't believe that you aren't! I'm so on edge that I feel like I'm going to either explode or throw up!" She said feverishly, sighing as his arms wrapped around her. Sakura breathed in his comforting scent as he embraced her, setting his chin on top of her head. "Maybe both at the same time."
"Please don't. I don't have time to do laundry," he murmured drily, his hands drawing soothing patterns on her skin as she relaxed.
"How are you so calm?" She asked, listening to the steady sound of his heartbeat as he held her.
"This isn't my first war," he reminded her gently, finally drawing back to look her in the eye. "You're worried about people dying."
His statement wasn't a question.
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. He was silent for a moment, his eyes far away. Finally, he sighed and tapped her gently on the forehead. "You're used to being the person who saves lives. It'll be an adjustment to take them instead, but I don't have any doubts that you'll devastate Orochimaru's ranks."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" She laughed softly, shaking her head at his frank appraisal of her fighting abilities. "Death isn't good, no matter how it comes about."
"Spoken like Tsunade's apprentice," he replied quietly, the look in his eye softening as he regarded her. "Promise me that you'll be careful."
"Only if you promise me that you won't do anything stupid like try to sacrifice yourself," she retorted, tucking a strand of his long, dark hair behind his ear. The corner of his mouth ticked up, and she grinned when his dimple winked into view.
"Fine, I promise that I won't act like Naruto," he murmured, cupping her face between his palms and gently raising her chin. She was about to inform him that Naruto was good, and honorable, and he should respect him for that when her mind went completely blank.
The look in Itachi's eye held her transfixed as he bent to kiss her, his lips brushing against hers firmly and deliberately. She melted into his arms, kissing him back with equal enthusiasm as he took a step towards her, pinning her gently against the wall of the building behind her. Sakura knew, distantly, in a part of her brain that wasn't overtaken by her need for Itachi, that what they were doing was very stupid, and it definitely wasn't the time for them to fool around.
But the rest of her brain very helpfully informed the rational part that they might die, so some hanky-panky was perfectly acceptable before a battle. That observation shut her brain up quite nicely, and she was suddenly free to focus on the way that Itachi made her feel.
They were so caught up in each other that neither of them noticed the black wave of crows flapping frantically towards the village. Without any warning, the air exploded with a silent puff of smoke as they were simultaneously destroyed. The shinobi on the walls exchanged confused glances, and looked around for their commanders as another flare was released.
The hum of activated chakra diffused through the air, sending gentle waves of electricity through the ground as the village's defenses were activated once more.
Sakura wove her hands into Itachi's soft hair and pulled him as close as she could, forgetting to muffle the soft moan that escaped her lips as his mouth marked down her throat. He chuckled quietly against her skin, the sound of his voice rumbling through her body.
She started to laugh with him, but the sound became a sharp gasp as he nipped gently at her skin. She was debating whether or not to tell him to stop when he kissed her again. That sent any rational thoughts that she was entertaining straight out the window.
We're in an alley, making out like we're damn teenagers again!
Finally, when she broke the kiss to breathe, she managed to dredge up enough rational thought to lay her palm on his chest and push gently. "Itachi, we can't do this here-"
"Hm, and what exactly do you think is happening here, Haruno?"
She forced herself to ignore the way that his sultry tone sent a bolt of heat straight into her belly, and she huffed. "We're not even somewhere private! Anyone could walk past, and you're the head of the Uchiha clan now-"
"Now you have a problem with semi-private sex? You could have fooled me," he whispered, laughing at her sudden blush as he leaned close enough to brush his lips along the shell of her ear. "I do a lot of things that my clan doesn't approve of; this wouldn't even make the cut."
He sounded so amused that she nearly smiled. His warm breath puffed across the skin of her neck and she resisted the urge to press every inch of her body to his.
Focus, Sakura!
She shivered, trying and failing to sound annoyed as she half-shoved him away again. "It's not that, I just don't think that it's a good time right now-"
"Are you sure?" He rumbled, his eyes shining in the half-darkness as he surveyed her. She knew that she was disheveled, and red-faced, and definitely struggling to string a sentence together. She knew for a fact that he liked it when she was all hot and bothered.
"It's not that I don't want to! I-I just think that we should be doing this elsewhere, and it also feels like we're saying goodbye, and I can't deal with the thought of losing you-"
"Sakura," Itachi said firmly, cradling her face between his palms. "I promise you, no matter what, I will come back to you."
Sakura felt the tell-tale prickling of tears behind her eyes, and she bit her lip in an attempt to keep them contained. She was holding onto her control by her fingernails, and the open, caring expression on his face was almost enough to make her come undone. "Itachi-"
"Let me finish, please. I'm not good at expressing how I feel, and I'm sorry about that. But what I do know without a doubt-" he took a deep breath, as if he were steeling himself for what he was about to say,"-is that I'm prepared to die to save you."
"I know," she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into his shirt as he held her just as tightly. "I love you too. Don't you dare die."
His soft laugh was muffled by her hair, and he gently ran his fingers through it as she drew back. "I'm not easy to kill. If it does happen, I know that you can bring me back."
His tone was light, teasing even, but she didn't miss the intense undercurrent of uncertainty that coloured his words. She hopped up on her tip-toes and kissed him, trying to express everything that she was feeling. Apparently, he agreed with her.
He pulled her closer, each brush of his lips languid and purposeful. She forced herself to break away, comforted by the fact that she finally had definitive proof that Itachi loved her too. Her heartbeat hammered in an irregular staccato against her ribs, and she had to fight to get her brain back to a place where she could think rationally.
"Don't even joke about dying," she muttered, disentangling herself from his arms and hurriedly adjusting her shirt and bra. He smirked as she fixed the zipper on her flak jacket, completely unapologetic for making her look so dishevelled. "Aren't you supposed to be informing your family members that you're in charge now?"
A slow grin spread across his mouth, and she felt her eyebrows shoot upwards. He's being so open today. Where has that been over the last six months?
"I've already told them. Once they get over the shock, they'll follow my command," he said rather smugly, his eyes glittering with amusement. Sakura couldn't help but wonder what he'd said to gain their allegiance so quickly.
She was about to ask him when a sudden explosion rocked the village. She let out a small gasp of surprise as the ground buckled, and she was surprised to find herself pressed into the side of a building once again, Itachi's body was shielding her from any oncoming threat.
"What the hell is happening?!" She yelled as the ground continued to move, and huge cracks appeared in the concrete of the sidewalks. Itachi yelled back a reply, but it was lost in the chaos as people began to flood into the streets, crying and screaming as they ran from the destruction.
Sakura barely had time to think as Itachi scooped her up into his arms and dashed upwards, only stopping when they were on the rooftop of a nearby building. Suddenly it was silent, the ground had stopped moving and there was no more falling debris as the buildings swayed back into their moorings. She tumbled out of his arms, staring in complete shock at the now-eerily still village.
"What the hell-" Sakura began, glancing around at the damage with no small measure of confusion. "We don't get earthquakes here-"
"It's Orochimaru," Itachi said firmly, his sharingan spinning so fast that his eyes were a blur of scarlet. "Look up."
Sakura did as she was told, her stomach dropping and her blood running cold as she took in the sight of the giant barrier that suddenly surrounded Konoha. It was tinged blue, and vaguely resembled a bastardized version of the Susanoo.
She couldn't help her gasp of surprise, and she glanced at Itachi. "That's bad, isn't it?"
He nodded, his eyes taking in the barrier. "It's a sealing jutsu. Its purpose is to stop anyone from getting in or out."
"Why the hell would he want that?!" Sakura demanded, whirling on her heel as she heard something that confirmed her worst fears. A concussion blast echoed off of Hokage Mountain, bringing with it the faint sounds of screaming. Dark chakra shot through the air, bringing with it a fierce wind that whipped at their hair and clothes. Sakura had to shield her face with her arm, and that's when she remembered something important.
"Orochimaru has two kinds of curse marks. One that requires the chakra of the user, and another that is completely controlled by him. He can use those ones without the consent of the marked shinobi. That's how he was able to kill our hostages from miles away."
Tsunade's voice echoed on her ears, and she gasped. The realization of what Orochimaru had planned hit her like a ton of bricks and it was all that she could do to remain standing. The shock made her knees feel weak, and her rational brain screamed at her to do something as the barrier above them shimmered and hummed with power.
Ear-splitting screams continued to rent the air as explosions rocked the hospital, and Sakura felt her lungs compressing, driving all of the oxygen out of her body as her fear took over. Itachi darted over and put his arm around her as her knees gave out.
"No!"
She gasped for air as her panic overrode all of her ability to think, clutching Itachi's arm like it was her lifeline.
"Breathe, Sakura. What do you know?"
"Itachi, he's activated their curse marks! Orochimaru's trying to kill as many of us as he can without lifting a finger! That's why he didn't kill Juugo! The test subjects are transforming, they'll kill everyone that they get their hands on!"
"Where's Naruto?" Itachi demanded, his sharingan spinning even faster than she thought was possible as he pulled her to her feet. "We have to move, now! Orochimaru's trying use them to release the Nine-Tails. Then all he'd have to do is deactivate the barrier and use my father's mangekyou to control the beast."
"No, you find Naruto!" She said firmly, an icy calm washing through her as she settled into battle mode. Now that the initial shock was past, she was feeling murderous. "I'm going to stop the test subjects. Get Naruto as far away from them as you can, don't let him do anything stupid."
He nodded, brushing his thumb across the back of her hand as he turned to leave. "Be careful."
"Promise that you'll come back to me," she said simply, drawing herself up to her full height and turning her attention to the task at hand.
"Of course I will," he murmured; the look in his eye made her heart ache.
Without waiting for any further reply, she flung herself off of the roof, landing on the street and darting towards the wall, where she'd left her hand-picked team. She couldnt' afford to lose her nerve.
Time to end this fight. It's about time that I get a chance to kill the bastard, she thought angrily, bursting upwards as she shot towards the watchtower where her team had been stationed.
"Team Washi, let's go!" She roared, landing hard and quickly moving through the hand signs of the one jutsu she'd never dared to use. "It's time to hunt a snake. Don't hold back, use everything you've got!"
Release!
The air around her shimmered with power as a halo of chakra exploded out of her forehead. She heard herself yelling, roaring out a battle cry as raw power flooded into her body, marked by a glowing purple ribbon of pure chakra. It wove down her arms and legs, awarding her the chakra of a hundred shinobi. Finally, after seven years, she was going to fight with everything that she had.
Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi landed beside her, their byakugans pulsing with their accelerated heartbeats as they stared towards the hospital. Chouji charged through the streets below them, his limbs extending and growing as he released his strength.
"Let's go!"