Labyrinthine—an Itachi & Sakura story
By: M. Shiroi
Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
CHAPTER XXI
For the third time in his life, Itachi woke up with Sakura curled all around him. Her legs wedged between his, her naked body pressed firmly against him, as though she had tried to meld them together during the few minutes of sleep they had gotten. He looked down and smiled at her, tenderly kissing her forehead. Her breathing was even, dark-pink lashes casting long shadows over her cheeks.
A glance at the clock told him he had to leave in thirty minutes. Though he had showered just a few hours before, he definitely needed to take a quick shower again. Kakashi could smell Sakura all over him and he wasn't too sure how the older jounin would take it.
She stirred in his arms, letting out a soft little moan that a rush of blood straight down to his crotch. Part of him wanted to wake her, to slide into her and make love to her until she would come in his arms, calling his name. Another wanted to just lie there, watching her sleep as he relished in her feeling safe with him. Gingerly pressing a kiss to her lips, Itachi slowly and carefully extricated himself, tucking her in with the blanket until she curled further into the futon.
He stepped into the bathroom and quickly showered. Pulling on a fresh sweater and pants, Itachi searched his backpack for a scarf and wrapped it around his neck. Taking one last look at Sakura, Itachi couldn't help himself from smiling before stepping out of the room, using his chakra to maneuver down to the lobby and outside in a swift second.
The cool morning air hit him hard, causing him to hiss as he began his trek to where Yamato was waiting for him. The lopsided moon hung low in the west, the sky behind the stars showing the first hint of predawn indigo as he rushed through the barren fields, startling a few wild critters that shot back up into the trees as he passed by.
Yamato sat in the hole Kakashi had made with his jutsu, warming his hands and feet by a tiny fire and looked up as he arrived. "Morning," Yamato said in greeting.
"Good morning, Yamato-senpai," Itachi said, sliding his body into the bunker. "Any news?"
"No, it's been relentless. There was some activity on the water just as I took over from Kakashi-senpai, a few shinobi leaving the city around midnight, but the barrier has been up all the time." Yamato yawned.
"Hm," Itachi said, looking at the city. In the distance, neon lights burned brightly in the spiraling towers and skyscrapers while the city itself was shrouded in mist. The body of water that surrounded the metropolis was inky-black and still. "The last time I was in Rain, this city did not look like this."
Yamato made a sound of amusement. "It's been almost a decade for me, but it was a tiny town back then."
"Akatsuki?"
"I wonder," Yamato said, yawning again. "I'd better go get some sleep. Knowing Kakashi-senpai, he'll probably be ready to storm the city by the time he wakes. Did you sleep well?"
Unbidden, the memory of Sakura sucking his cock came to him. Careful to keep his face straight as he stowed the recollection away for a more appropriate time, he nodded. "Short, but good."
"Excellent. I'm looking forward to a futon and you know, a solid four hours of sleep," Yamato said, rubbing a hand over his face. "Good luck. Kakashi-senpai asked me to let you know not to engage the enemy if you see them. Please pass the message to Sakura."
"Of course," Itachi said, moving aside as Yamato climbed out of the bunker. With a wave of his hand, Yamato stepped away from the entrance and vanished from the perimeter, leaving him alone.
For the next three hours, Itachi sat quietly at the edge of the bunker, periodically letting out small streams of fire from his mouth to keep the fire going and his limbs warm. Now and again, he spotted shinobi leaving and returning to the city, though no patrols passed by. Time crept by slowly.
From time to time, his thoughts drifted back to the beautiful pink-haired woman he had left in the room, only to push those thoughts to a far corner of his mind. Something transpired between the two of them in that room, more than just the alleviation of the sexual tension that had run rampant between the two of them. More than just the taste of her on his tongue and her battle-roughened hands on his chest and beyond.
A movement caught his attention.
The familiar warmth of chakra pooling to his eyes and the extreme focus that came with the activation of his Sharingan took away the last vestiges of exhaustion he had felt. A figure stood in the middle of the lake, clad in Akatsuki's infamous cloak. The red and black material billowed in the wind as they—she, the Sharingan informed him—walked further onto the water's surface.
Instinctively, he extinguished the fire he had built while keeping his eyes trained on the woman. She looked up to the sky, as though admiring the bright colors that heralded the sunrise. The Akatsuki member raised her arms, slowly bringing them to the skies. Itachi watched as the rainfall above the capital finally weakened until it ceased completely, the first nascent rays of sunlight filtering through the grey clouds and falling onto the towers.
The woman turned into his direction then and Itachi narrowed his eyes in an attempt to get a good look at her. 'The Angel?' he thought, making out ochre hair pulled up into a bun. He watched carefully as the woman withdrew back into the city, disappearing into the dark cityscape.
Itachi brought his thumb to his kunai, deliberately drawing blood as he collected chakra to his hands and summoned a crow. He searched his pack for some paper and jotted down a message in code. Yamato could decrypt the new ANBU code for Kakashi. Having securely tied the message to his crow's leg, Itachi watched as it flew off.
The lake turned peaceful once more.
A knock on the door awakened her.
There were a few realizations as Sakura opened her eyes. First, Itachi had left the room for his shift and by the looks of the scant sunshine pooling in from her window, it had been a few hours. Second, the chakra source in front of the door was Yamato. Third, she was naked.
She gasped silently as she sat up straight, looking around frantically.
She was naked.
"Sakura?" Yamato's voice sounded.
"One moment," Sakura called back, scrambling to shoot into her pants and shirt. She rushed to the little hall, combing through her hair and opened the door. Yamato was looking remarkably well rested, hands pocketed in his pants. He raised an eyebrow.
"Did I wake you?"
"Yes," Sakura said ashamedly. "What time is it?"
"Well before your shift is supposed to start. No need to worry," Yamato said, a smile playing on his lips. "That being said, a message came in from Itachi. The barrier is down. We're leaving in five minutes so be ready by then."
"Understood," Sakura said, closing the door. She rushed back to the room, hastily folding up both futons and undressed, quickly binding her breasts and slipping back into her uniform once she located fresh underwear. Running into the bathroom, Sakura brushed her teeth and combed through her hair, pointedly ignoring the little blush that formed on her cheeks as her Inner persona bombarded her with memories of her night with Itachi.
Four minutes and fifty seconds after Yamato's summons, Sakura bounded down the stairs to the reception, carrying both her backpack and Itachi's. It wasn't until she saw Kakashi that she belatedly remembered how excellent his sense of smell was and she prayed to whatever gods watching that he would attribute the strong smell of Itachi on her to them sleeping in the same room.
"Yo," Kakashi said, raising his arm in greeting.
"I'm ready," Sakura said with a smile. "What happened?"
"Itachi only mentioned the barrier being down and having seen one of the Akatsuki members," Yamato said as they stepped outside, the three of them immediately accelerating into a sprint.
"Lord or Angel?" she asked.
"Unknown," Kakashi answered. She inspected him. Over the years, she had gotten used to him taking off his forehead protector when he was about to sleep or bathe. It was a rare sight to see him with just a simple eye-patch covering his Sharingan, his silver hair falling low over his face. Similarly, she could count the times she saw him without his flak jacket on two hands. He seemed to realize she was watching him, slate grey eye turned to her in question.
"How did you sleep?"
"Well enough," Kakashi said, his eye crinkling in what she guessed to be a comforting smile. She returned the gesture, noting the small bags under his eyes. He never slept well during winter, as though the season itself haunted him.
They reached Itachi in record time, the elder Uchiha climbing from the bunker as he sensed their arrival. Careful to keep her face expressionless and calm, Sakura's eyes swept over his form, noting he looked tired but alright. His eyes flickered to hers, as though observing her for a moment to wonder how she was doing, before moving his gaze to Kakashi. "Captain, I spotted an Akatsuki member a little over an hour ago. They stepped onto the water surface and the rain ceased. They returned to the city soon after."
"Was the Akatsuki member male or female?" Kakashi asked, hands pocketed as he stepped closer to the water.
"Female, ochre hair, about as tall as Sakura."
"The Angel?" Sakura asked.
"Likely," Itachi said, eyes drifting to hers.
Kakashi nodded, considering the situation. "We'll split into two teams. Sakura, you're with me."
She nodded.
"The city isn't used to strangers. Use the stories Yamato has prepared, keep a low profile and gather as much information as you can. Do not try to find us, I'll send out Pakkun with information for a rendezvous."
"Yes, Captain," Yamato and Itachi replied. Yamato held out his hand, forming seeds in the palm of his hand. In return, Sakura copied his technique, pleased to see pods forming in her palm. Yamato looked encouragingly at her, then accepted and swallowed the pod as she handed it to him.
Instantly, she felt a connection to Yamato, as though a string connected the two of them. Beside her, Kakashi pulled down his mask without preamble, surprising her with a full view of his handsome face as it pooled around his neck. Noticing her surprise, Kakashi turned to her. "Civilians don't wear masks." He collected the pods Yamato and Sakura had created and swallowed them both, Itachi following suit.
"Right," Sakura said, clearing her throat. She tried her hardest to ignore Itachi's gaze burning over her.
"Enter the city from the south side. We'll enter the north," Kakashi instructed. Both men heard the dismissal, and with one final look, Itachi and Yamato vanished from the perimeter. She felt them reappear near the south side of the city, the chakra sources of both men clear despite their distance. In case of emergency, she could definitely find them easily.
Kakashi turned face to the sky. "Let's go, Sakura, before the rain starts again."
"Yes, Captain."
Kakashi looked down at her, characteristic smile in place. She reveled once more at the fact that his expressions were so clear now that his mask was gone. She was standing so close to him that she could see the faint silver stubble that grew around jaw, his slate grey eye focused on the metropolis ahead of them. He pocketed his hands. "Let's go."
"Have you been here before?" she asked as they neared the city.
"Hmm," Kakashi said. "Once before. It wasn't anything like this. Small and torn apart." He smiled humorlessly, reaching into his backpack to retrieve his travel papers as they neared the check-in point.
Sakura eyed him carefully. His posture was always bad, but it got increasingly worse as they reached the check-in, shoulders slouched and back bent. Though it was easy to see he was in good shape despite his clothes and his long, warm-looking green scarf, he looked relatively normal, despite his characteristic silver-hair. When he greeted the chuunin on the other side of the desk, Sakura couldn't help but notice he had changed his way of speaking too, sounding very much like lazy-teacher Kakashi than Captain Kakashi.
She stepped up to the next desk, smiling brightly. "Good morning, I'm Akiyama Suzumi."
The chuunin behind the desk eyed her critically, slashed forehead protector gleaming in the early morning light. "Papers and identification," he stated, leaning back in his chair as he looked expectantly at her.
Resisting the urge to frown at the chuunin's discourteous demeanor, Sakura stuck a hand in her backpack, withdrawing the fake identification the Konoha intelligence department had created for her and the falsified travel papers. With a smile, Sakura handed the papers over to the chuunin and waited patiently.
"What is your reason for visiting Rain?" he asked, eyes scanning the documents.
"I'm traveling with Iwase-san," she replied, gesturing toward Kakashi who promptly looked up to lift a jovial hand in greeting. "He is writing a book about the Forgotten Nations and I'm joining as his assistant."
"The Forgotten Nations?" the chuunin frowned.
"Oh, my apologies," she giggled shrilly. "That is the name of the book. It encompasses all lands caught in the Third Shinobi War and that weren't part of the Five Nations. We're documenting the hardships these lands had to go through and how they're managing now, almost two decades since the end of the war."
The chuunin mumbled something under his breath, looking up to meet her gaze as he checked the photo on her identification. He reached out, grabbed a wooden stamp and brought it down on her travel papers. "This stamp allows you access to the village for seven days. Before you leave, come back past these stations to check out. If not, we will send shinobi after you."
"Understood."
"One more thing," the chuunin eyed her, leaning forward. "When it rains, go inside immediately. Curfew is at midnight."
"Curfew?"
"Nobody is allowed out after curfew except for our own shinobi. It's how we protect our village," the chuunin said, crossing his arms. "Write that down in your book."
"I will," Sakura said, nodding politely before stepping away from the desk. It seemed Kakashi had received similar instructions and waved at the desk chuunin as he stepped away. He returned his papers to his backpack with little pomp and strode toward the city entrance, Sakura in tow.
"When it rains, go inside immediately," Sakura repeated softly.
"That is probably the time of day Akatsuki's leader will do his rounds," Kakashi replied. A small frown played around on his face, corners of his lips turned slightly downward as he cast his eyes up to the ominous towering cityscape ahead of them. "Itachi spotted a woman."
"So the Angel makes the rain?"
"Hmm," Kakashi said in response. Thoughtlessly, her eyes drifted back up to his face, lingering on the tiny beauty mark in the corner of his mouth.
"If you keep staring at me like that, I'll get embarrassed, Su-zu-mi," Kakashi drawled jokingly, eliciting a soft laugh from her. The corner of his mouth turned up in an amused smile as he looked around, taking in the environment. She had no idea he was so expressive.
She had forgotten how easy it was to be with him. The last year or so had been filled with different daydreams, fantasies and urges to touch him, courtesy of her crush on him. Every interaction with him had her on edge, carefully crafting her expression to hide her deepest feelings from him. Though she still had the odd butterfly circling her stomach as she looked up at his handsome face, they were notably less, no doubt because of her recent adventures with a certain Uchiha.
They slowly walked into the capital. It was a city of wide avenues and small places to sit and eat. They had built most of the buildings from stone blocks with tile roofs. The structures were packed together closely together, making them seem squat despite the fact that they were five stories high. It wasn't long until they encountered the first of the spiraling towers, causing Sakura to stop and gawk at how high they reached.
In the distance, she could see a tower with a massive head protruding from the front size, its tongue sticking down at least two stories down. "This city smells like the forest just after a spell of rain," Sakura mentioned off-handedly, tracing the pipes that snaked around the buildings with her eyes.
"Petrichor," Kakashi replied.
"What's that?"
"The earthy scent produced by rain falling on soil," Kakashi explained. "It's called petrichor."
A smile formed on her lips. "I never knew."
The street they traversed was buzzing with activity, shinobi and civilians alike hurrying up and down the street. A group of elderly ladies stood by a stall, loudly complaining about the quality of the vegetables around this time of year. Three shinobi passed them by on the street, all wearing slashed forehead protectors. A lady selling steamed buns waved at them, asking them to come inside to try some of her food. "Hungry?" Kakashi asked, rising a slender silver eyebrow.
"I haven't had breakfast yet. Yamato rudely awoke me," Sakura joked.
Kakashi stepped up to the lady whose expression instantly brightened. "Oh, hello there young man, young lady. What can I do for you?"
"Two steamed buns," Kakashi said, holding up two fingers. He reached out to grab his treat as the elderly lady held one out to him and Sakura, then raised his eyebrows expectantly at Sakura. Glaring, Sakura pulled out her purse and snatched some bills.
"Thank you for your business," the lady said with a wide, nearly toothless smile.
"You'd think once in a decade or so, you wouldn't mind paying for your assistant," Sakura hissed at him as they sat down on one bench in front of the shop.
"When your expectations are low, chances are you won't be disappointed easily," Kakashi said, taking a bite of his bun. Sakura stared at him in fascination as he chewed while looking thoughtfully at the crowds passing by and bit into her food.
The wind picked up, causing a small lucky charm that hung from the shop's entrance to chime. Sakura leaned in closer to examine the trinket, noticing it was completely made from blue paper, a tiny bell hanging just above the folded little head. It was an angel. "This is cute," Sakura said, drawing the shop owner's attention.
"Oh you like it, huh?" the elderly lady said. She brought a gnarled hand to the tiny figure, lifting it gingerly. "The Lady Angel always looks out for us."
Beside her, Kakashi had turned his face to the lady with interest. "The Lady Angel?" Sakura feigned ignorance. "I'm sorry, we're new in these parts."
"Travelers?" the lady asked in shock, pushing her thick glasses back onto her nose as she leaned in closer to inspect the both of them. "We don't see tourists here often. What brings you to Rain?"
"We're writing a book," Kakashi chimed in, crossing his legs as he leaned back. He flashed his crinkly eyed smile again, though now she could see the pull of his lips and his perfect white teeth as he turned on his charms full-throttle.
The old lady herself had to be over eighty years old, but she was not impervious to the Copy Ninja's good looks. She blushed and giggled like a teenager. "Oh, I see. What is your book about?"
Sakura shrugged to herself and continued eating, feeling left out of the conversation as Kakashi hung up a very intricate fabrication about his travels around the world and his interests in Rain. In return, the old lady told him all about her life traveling around the countryside, helping rebels and taking care of war orphans later in life until she moved to the capital and founded her shop. She listened with interest but nothing the old lady said held any potential value. They finished their steamed buns and said goodbye to the lady.
"Now that I know what I'm looking for, every shop has one of those good luck charms," Sakura mumbled as they strolled through the city.
"Not just shops," Kakashi said thoughtfully, surreptitiously pointing at some children passing them by. On their backs were large backpacks and from them dangled the same charm. "Children and civilians alike all wear them in some form." He paused. "How are Jiro and Shigeru?"
Sakura concentrated, finding both Itachi and Yamato's chakra sources a few kilometers closer to them than earlier—apparently they had walked further into the city from the south side, though they were still far away from where Kakashi and Sakura were located. The familiar feel of Itachi's chakra source warmed her from deep within, a rush of butterflies fluttering against the inside of her stomach. "They're on the other side of the city."
Kakashi nodded. "There is an inn over there that looks to be our price range."
"You mean your price range," Sakura said jokingly.
"I'm a simple author, Suzumi-chan," Kakashi said lightly. "I need to write books before I'm able to afford a better price range."
"I bet if you wrote romance novels you'd do so much better," Sakura replied with a smile, following him to a run-down looking inn off the main street.
"Oh, I don't know about that," Kakashi returned genially. "I'm much more a fact-based man than I am a romance man."
Inner Sakura chose that moment to bombard her with literally every time she had seen Kakashi with his nose in one of the Icha Icha series books, giggling and chuckling and blushing madly. Naruto had brought back the first installment after one of his journeys with Jiraiya—after both Naruto and Sasuke had read through it, Sakura had chanced it. Despite the blatant smut in every other chapter, she had been surprised by how romantic the story had been.
"Is that so?" Sakura replied teasingly. "I thought the man who read Icha Icha almost religiously would be a very romantic kind of man."
Kakashi stopped in his tracks, glancing at her over his shoulder. "Did you—"
She cocked her head. "Maybe I have." She shrugged. "Maybe I haven't."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Naruto."
Sakura laughed. "I said nothing."
"No. But I'm good at reading underneath the underneath," Kakashi said, sliding the door of the inn open for her. They stepped to the desk where they were greeted by a receptionist. While Kakashi arranged for a room, Sakura looked around. There had been a small angel charm by the door when they entered, but there was a significantly larger version of it inside.
"What a beautiful charm," Sakura mentioned casually as the receptionist handed the key to the room to Kakashi.
"Isn't it just," the receptionist said distractedly, subtly mooning at Kakashi.
"Who is she?" Sakura asked.
"Who?" the girl said, eyes still on Kakashi.
'I travel with too many handsome men,' she thought, frustrated.
"The Angel," Kakashi spoke then, turning his slate grey eye to the receptionist again. She blushed under his intense scrutiny, bit her lip and batted her eyes at him.
"Our lady Konan," the receptionist said. "She's our guardian and the protector of our Lord Pein."
"I see," Kakashi said with a nod. "Thank you. That will be helpful." He flashed a quick smile before sauntering off toward their room, Sakura following close behind.
"Do these women just not see me standing here?" Sakura frowned.
Kakashi looked over his shoulder. "Hmm?"
"Oh," she met his gaze. "The receptionist at the previous inn was quite attached to Shigeru-kun."
Amusement danced behind his sole eye. "Is that so?"
She made a face. "Why are you laughing at me?"
"I wouldn't dare."
"Liar."
"That sounds familiar…" he said, scratching his chin in thought.
"I wonder why," Sakura said, sighing.
They stopped in front of the room. Following him, Sakura stepped into the room. It seemed decent enough, though the tatami mats looked worn out, and she spotted a cigarette burn on one curtain. Kakashi didn't seem to mind, he dropped his backpack and cracked open a window.
"What is the plan for tomorrow?" Sakura said, pulling out a futon from the cupboard. As she laid it down on the floor, she was promptly reminded of her night with Itachi. Staving off the memories, Sakura sat down on the futon and looked up to Kakashi.
"We'll do some recon tomorrow," Kakashi said, closing the window. "We know the angel is named Konan, which is another piece of valuable information. The fact that her name is known and everyone has one of those charms also indicates that people know her."
Sakura nodded carefully. "Alright."
Instinctively, she located Yamato and Itachi's chakra sources once more. They weren't moving around anymore, a sign that they had found a place for the night. She didn't watch Kakashi as he pulled his sweater off. Instead, her thoughts drifted to the color of Itachi's eyes and the way they softened whenever they looked at her.
A/N: Yum yum. A night with Itachi and now one with Kakashi. I know half of you is going to kill me for splitting them up but it's all good. I think…
And now, for something really near and dear to my heart. I've published (a longer) letter on tumblr, but here is the gist of it:
It's come to my attention that a LOT of writers in both the ItaSaku fandom and outside of this fandom are feeling unappreciated, are not getting feedback and feel like they're writing for nothing. Truth be told, I sometimes feel the same. As writers, we pour hours and hours of time in writing, revision, battling writer blocks, second round of revisions until we come up with a chapter that we're satisfied with. We post it online in the hopes that you enjoy it and give us any feedback. And after? After all that hard work?
Most authors wait for reviews that never show.
They post more chapters in the hope that it needs to pick up a bit. A few reviews drop in here and there. The story definitely gets read judging by the amount of views and likes… And then finally an author loses interest.
And stops updating.
What gives?
Why have we stopped reviewing? Why have we stopped saying even a simple "thank you!" after reading a chapter? Some reviewers write essays, but do you know how happy an author becomes just seeing a new review pop up? Just a thank you, or some words of encouragement, or even just a keyboard smash. Instead, most writers face crickets—even dear friends of mine who are writing INCREDIBLE fictions.
So, I beg of you: please review every chapter. Just send two words if you're intimidated or don't know what to say: "Thank you." Doing nothing is killing fandom. Saying nothing will ensure authors slowly stop updating and a fandom dies off. Stimulate your writers. Be enthusiastic and witness how a fandom will thrive even when the source material it's based on is already long over.
Doing nothing is killing fandom.
Thank you.
(Note that I'm not necessarily speaking about Labyrinthine, but on behalf of all fanfic authors I've talked to these past months.)
Much love,
Mitsuki