Labyrinthine—an Itachi & Sakura story
By: M. Shiroi

Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

CHAPTER XXII

"Sasuke! Your left!" Naruto belted, jumping out of the way as an explosion landed.

"Usuratonkachi, keep your eyes on him!" Sasuke yelled back, dodging as Deidara's explosive critters swarmed around him. He gritted his teeth, eyes flitting to the orange-masked man who stood hidden between the trees. Every now and then, he uttered a soft and winy "Deidara-senpai!" but so far he had made no attempt to join the fray.

It was him.

The man who killed his clan.

He had seen him before, not so long ago. It seemed like too much of a coincidence that he was here now too. His bearing differed completely from the first time they met. The cool, confident man replaced by a whimpering buffoon. But Sasuke could see.

It was all a lie.

As if the masked man could hear his thoughts, he ceased his panicked routine and turned to stare at Sasuke. He cocked his head as if in contemplation, but Sasuke could clearly read the challenge in there.

To his right, Deidara continued the assault against Naruto. 'First things first,' Sasuke thought. Naruto wasn't a lightning user—his wind techniques were useless against Deidara and his sage techniques would mostly come in handy during close combat. 'He's just out of range for Chidori Nagashi… But Naruto…'

Counting on the fact that Naruto somehow knew exactly how to turn the tide of battle, Sasuke sprinted toward him, nodding his head to Deidara as Naruto turned to stare incredulously at him. Within a split second, Naruto read his intentions, Sage marks spreading over his eyes as he prepared a burst of chakra to his hands and cupped his hands in front of him just as Sasuke reached him.

Sasuke stepped into Naruto's hands, launched into the air as Naruto bellowed a cry and hurled him into the air with all the Sage chakra he could. Distantly, Sasuke heard the masked man utter an amazed sound as Deidara cursed loudly, flying off. 'Too late,' Sasuke thought, forming the seals for Chidori. The bird Deidara was perched on turned to fly off, but Sasuke was quicker, cutting off a wing with a jet of lightning.

Deidara let out a curse, hurtling toward the unforgiving ground. No doubt he could save himself, Sasuke thought as he drew blood and formed the seals for his hawk summon. First, they would eliminate Deidara. After that, there would be plenty of time to seek answers from the masked man who was currently making a show of biting his nails through his gloves.

"I see movement," Sakura said, pushing her nose against the glass.

Kakashi was in his futon, ostensibly asleep, but she knew him better than that. A mouse scurrying between the walls would wake him instantly, a remnant of his childhood days spent at war. He never slept well and the winter period was worse.

"What do you see?" She didn't know how, but he somehow sounded both tired and wide-awake at the same time.

"Movement up on the rooftops," Sakura reported, cheek pressed to the glass. She narrowed her eyes, trying to see what was beyond her purview. In the reflective surface, Sakura spotted him turning in his futon, head laying on his hand as he looked up to her. "It might be regular Rain shinobi, but it could also be either one of them."

"One way to find out."

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, cracked open the window and formed the seals of a Mokubunshin. Immediately, wooden tendrils broke free from her left side, forming a perfect copy of herself. Kakashi watched in interest as her copy broke away from her and exited through the window. Sakura closed the window again.

"The rain hasn't started again," Sakura noted, looking to the lopsided moon that hung at its zenith. Dark clouds gathered before it, slowly obscuring the moon's light. Curfew had just started—they allowed nobody out on the streets except for Rain shinobi. Prime time for the lord of Rain to walk around, it seemed.

On the other side of town, Sakura could sense both Yamato and Itachi remaining firmly in place. They had spent the day exploring the south side of the metropolis and had returned to their lodgings for the night. Wondering whether they had more luck in their search for information, Sakura stepped away from the window and sat down on her futon.

Kakashi had read his copy of Icha Icha Tactics, an arm folded behind his head. She let out a soft sigh. She had expected her first S-Class mission to be more exciting. Instead, they had spent three full days walking around the city to find as much information as they could about Pein and his angel. They had gotten nowhere.

The village seemed peaceful; at day there was bustling activity in the main streets, vendors selling their wares, civilians doing their shopping and visiting restaurants and cafes. They often spotted low-ranking shinobi patrolling the streets during the day, but Kakashi was fairly sure none of them ranked higher than chuunin. Which brought them to conclude that most high-leveled shinobi were out of the village or patrolling during the nights.

However, one thing became abundantly clear; Sakura had visited the Sand during a joint mission and the Rock for a medic's exchange. Both villages had a clear hierarchy with the Kage in an administration building, much like in Konoha. No such structure seemed to exist in Rain and the leading man himself was shrouded in mystery. But the shinobi from Rain had to get their orders from someone. Lady Angel, perhaps?

"You're gritting your teeth, Su-zu-mi," Kakashi said lightly, turning a page.

She turned her eyes to him, admiring the way he seemed completely relaxed as he lounged on his futon. She felt like she was constantly on edge. "I feel like we should do something," Sakura replied.

Kakashi glanced at her. "Not what you expected from an S-Class mission?"

Feeling caught, Sakura chuckled softly. "You know me so well, I-wa-se-san."

He crinkled his eye at her. "Activity is the lowest early in the morning. We will check in with Itachi and Yamato tomorrow. Try to contact Yamato, will you? Six quick rises in energy should tell him enough."

"What about location?"

"Prior to us entering Rain, I informed both of a rendezvous location."

Sakura nodded. Closing her eyes, she sought both chakra sources once more. As usual, the source belonging to Itachi filled her with warmth, exactly like he would if he were in the very room with her. Inwardly, Sakura smiled; three days alone with Kakashi would have been a dream to her a few months ago. Now, she missed someone else entirely.

Reaching out to Yamato, she gave their connection a quick tug as he had taught her. In return, his chakra flared slightly, acknowledging her. She raised and dipped her chakra six times, signaling to meet at the appointed location at six in the morning. Yamato replied by flaring his chakra one last time, letting her know he understood, before letting his energy die down again. "They got the message," Sakura said, a little incredulously.

"Convenient, having two Wood release users," Kakashi said, peering at her over his worn novel.

She ducked her head, a goofy smile playing on her lips. Compliments from Kakashi were as rare as a smile on Sasuke's face, or Naruto refusing a free bowl of ramen. She lay down on her futon, thoughts wondering to both Naruto and Sasuke. She wondered how they were faring on their mission to Wind. Somehow she was sure they would be fine.

They would always be fine.

"Did you get an answer?" Kakashi said, prompting her to look up at him. His head hidden behind the book, Sakura could only see the top of his eyebrows and the disheveled silver mess that was his hair.

"An answer?" Sakura queried.

He lowered his book, slate grey eye warm and kind as he observed her silently for a long moment while she wracked her brain, thinking of what he could refer to. A memory stirred.

"I wonder what it feels like," she had said to him once, many weeks ago. "I-I mean I have had feelings for some people, sure… But I wonder if being in love is that much different from an infatuation."

He couldn't possibly be referring to that, could he? Kakashi was not the type of man who would question his students about their love lives. In fact, he had spent most of her younger years vanishing every time she referred to her ideal future with Sasuke. In hindsight, honestly, it was the only course of action befitting the great Copy Nin.

A realization hit her.

'He knows. He knows about Itachi. He knows we're… what are we doing? Seeing each other? We're not really dating. Having sex? We've touched each other, but does that even count as sex? How on earth does Kakashi know?'

The panic must have registered on her face as Kakashi dropped his book onto his chest. "Sakura? Did Yamato have an answer?"

"Yamato?" she nearly bellowed in shock.

He raised an eyebrow in a manner that she easily recognized as him silently laughing at her while simultaneously wondering where on earth her head is. In fairness, she was doing the same. "Yamato acknowledged at the end of the exchange," Sakura said hastily.

Kakashi nodded.

"I was thinking about Naruto and Sasuke," she added, hoping he wouldn't catch on to the half-lie. Truthfully there was someone else on her mind, but it was too soon and too fragile to speak of to anyone else, much less her former crush and current captain.

He was quiet for a briefest of moments. "Everything will be alright Sakura."

"I know," Sakura said with a smile.

Careful to avoid puddles of water, Sakura trailed after Kakashi as he picked his way through the city. His Sharingan uncovered, Kakashi kept an eye out for any Rain shinobi, slowly guiding them to the tower where Yamato and Itachi would meet them. The sun barely broke through the clouded horizon, a few weak rays of light hitting the tall buildings.

They reached one of the tallest towers, a demon's head protruding from the side, tongue stuck out. It looked like you could enter the tower through the mouth, but Kakashi carefully led them up the side of the building to the very top.

"Captain," Yamato's familiar voice greeted them. As Sakura reached the top, she found Yamato sitting on a nearby pipeline, hand up in a greeting. Itachi stood behind him, hands pocketed, looking up just as she climbed onto the roof. He looked as calm and stoic as ever, though his dark eyes lingered on her longer than on Kakashi. A smile broke on her lips even as she fought against it.

"Yo," Kakashi greeted.

"I see you're on time," Yamato joked, leaning his elbows on his knees.

"You have Sakura to thank for that," Kakashi said.

'Liar,' Sakura thought to herself. Kakashi was notoriously late, except for S-Class missions and the rendezvous during them, it seemed. He was ready to go before she had even woken.

Kakashi leaned against the railing. "I hope you were more successful than us."

Yamato smiled. "Judging from that tone, you found little information?"

"Less than little. Angel trinkets and what amounts to urban legends," Sakura said, sitting down on another protrusion. "I sent a bunshin out last night to see what happens during the night, but half an hour later the rain started. Bunshin canceled herself out before learning anything of interest."

"We stumbled upon similar problems until last night," Itachi finally spoke, eyes turned to Kakashi. "A young genin we put a trail on went to a bar with a friend. They spoke about Pein's tower, which prompted us to search out our young friends. I… persuaded them to tell me the location of the tower."

"How do we know it is Pein's?" Sakura asked, shivering involuntarily as Itachi's gaze burned over her.

"The genin spoke of a battle between Pein and an unknown assailant—based on the timeframe, it is highly likely they spoke of Jiraiya-sama," Itachi explained. "They instructed the genin to bring a corpse of a dead woman to Pein's tower. From what I gathered, this is a rare, but an occasional occurrence."

"Hmm," Kakashi said, crossing his arms. "Well done. And the tower's location?"

"You will love this," Yamato said with a sly smile. He raised his hand as if to point at some place, only to point down.

Sakura stood as if burned by the very tower itself.

"Here?" Sakura hissed. "This is Pein's tower?"

"Correct," Itachi said. "Prior to coming here, Yamato and I scouted the tower. No guards, no discernible chakra sources, no traps. In fact, it seems wholly abandoned to all but the shinobi from Rain."

Kakashi remained quiet, going over the facts. How often had she seen this over the last decade or so? He still seemed aloof and sleepy-eyed but she could see the wheels turning behind his eyes, a battle plan, a contingency plan and a plan that focused on a quick escape.

"Should we enter today? Right now?" Yamato asked.

"At night the rain comes. We stand a higher chance trying to make our way inside right now than we do during the nights," Itachi replied, eyes on Kakashi. "We have no way of countering the rain and thus avoiding detection. This is Akatsuki's stronghold—we'll have a disadvantage nonetheless."

"Better to have the element of surprise," Kakashi concurred. He stood up straight, looking at Sakura momentarily before turning his eyes back to the two men. "We go in now."

Yamato immediately stood, closing the distance to Kakashi. Itachi followed close behind as Sakura did a mental count of the weapons and other items she carried with her, concealed in a small scroll. "What is the plan?" Sakura asked.

"We go in together. Scout out the tower to see if we can find clues regarding Pein or any other pertinent information. Single line team; I'll lead, Yamato follows, Sakura third and Itachi will close the line and watch the rear." Kakashi captured her gaze. "If someone finds us, no hesitation. That is the S-Class nature of this assassination."

"Understood," Sakura said.

"During battle, Itachi and I will take the offensive; Yamato will support and keep Sakura safe," Kakashi continued.

"Yes, Captain," the three of them said dutifully.

He put his hands back into his pockets and eyed them all one by one before removing his eye patch, the Sharingan set in his half-lidded eye blazing. Itachi's eyes bled crimson.

She took a deep breath, feeling like the four of them stood as the precipice. Suddenly, the danger that came with the mission came rushing back at her. This wasn't a simple reconnaissance mission. This was a very real and very dangerous mission that was about to near its end rather abruptly. If Pein was inside the tower and the four of them took him down, Naruto would be safe.

An image flashed before her eyes of her blond friend, grinning without a care in the world.

'Anything to keep you safe, Naruto,' Sakura thought, a small smile blooming on her lips.

Kakashi leapt into action, stealthily jumping over the edge, followed closely by Yamato, Sakura and Itachi closing off the line. As she landed on the outstretched metal tongue of one of the demon heads, Itachi landed behind her. For the briefest of moments, Sakura could swear he laid his hand on her shoulder to calm her. She looked over her shoulder, flashing him a small smile that he acknowledged with a tiny nod.

She dashed after Yamato, quiet as a mouse as they made their way into the tower. Her earlier guess had been correct; inside the mouth was the entry point to the tower. It led into a massive hallway covered with steel pipes. Kakashi carefully guided them inside, signaling now and then to wait in place before moving on.

The corridor led into another passageway with closed doors. Breathlessly, Sakura watched as Kakashi entered the first door, only for him to re-emerge a second later. As they passed the now open door, Sakura noticed the room was empty.

Kakashi scouted out the entire passage, all rooms empty. Feeling strangely reminded of an old hideout they had once scouted that belonged to Orochimaru, Sakura turned the corner along with the rest of the team, climbing the stairs to the next level.

The first room and what seemed to be only room had double doors and wasn't as easily opened as the rooms downstairs. Kakashi had crouched down beside the doors, no doubt using his superior sense of hearing and smell to make an educated guess what to find inside, before placing his hand on the panel beside the doors. Blue lightning lit up around Kakashi's fingers, causing the panel to malfunction, the doors opening noiselessly.

A TL-light blinked on, wan light illuminating a large room that housed six ovoid shaped pods. Kakashi signed for them to remain in their place outside the room, creeping in to look into the first pod. He frowned at it before moving onto the next pod, beckoning them to come in.

A rustle sounded behind them, the noise causing both Itachi and Sakura to whirl around immediately. A paper bird drifted past them in the corridor, carried by the wind, but Sakura narrowed her eyes as it. A glance over her shoulder told her Itachi was having the same doubts, while Yamato and Kakashi nodded in understanding; already they had tripped some kind of mechanism.

Even the smallest act of entering and opening a door had gotten them caught. Inwardly, Sakura smiled. There was no way they would have gotten to Pein undetected; she knew that now, and so did the rest of Kakashi's team.

Kakashi picked up the pace, rushing soundlessly after the bird as the rest of his team followed without uttering a single word. The bird turned around another corner, picking up the pace until it dropped in front of a large opening.

Kakashi slowed down his pace, creeping toward the large space and peered over the edge. "It seems they have found us," Kakashi mumbled. He looked over his shoulder, wordlessly remind them of his instructions before leaping into the room. They jumped in after him without hesitation. As Sakura jumped, she looked down to find a woman with blue hair in an Akatsuki cloak looking up at them.

"More intruders?" the blue-haired lady asked. Though it was little more than a whisper, her voice echoed in the empty chamber. A dozen or so paper birds fluttered behind her, and now that Sakura was on the same level as her, she could see that the woman had no feet; the bottom of her body made of… paper?

"Well, you caught us in the act," Kakashi said, voice soft and playful, though Sakura could easily find the serious note in his voice. He was stalling for more time now, examining the environment in which they found themselves and their opponent. "The Lady Angel, I presume?"

"Konan," Konan said, voice bored.

Behind Konan, a large white mass of what looked to be paper sheets formed, hurtling in a large stream toward Kakashi. Gritting her teeth, Sakura prepared to jump out of the way only for Itachi to appear in front of her. A large stream of fire came from his mouth, incinerating the stream of papers instantly.

Konan re-appeared to Kakashi's right, as though folding herself into existence through paper sheets itself. Fascinated, Sakura observed her technique, watching as Kakashi easily blocked Konan's kunai. 'Flashy and interesting technique, easy to catch opponents unaware with… Slow though,' Sakura thought, keeping Konan in her sights as the blue-haired woman withdrew.

Konan reassembled herself a few meters away from them, slowly ascending into the air. Two magnificent wings formed of white sheets of paper formed behind her, propelling her further up.

Itachi and Kakashi readied themselves in front of her. Beside her, Yamato was keeping a close watch, undoubtedly analyzing Konan's technique as much as he could. A large gust of wind came as Konan released dozens upon dozens of blades hidden in her wings toward them. In response, Kakashi slammed his hands down on the ground, a wall of mud and rock rising to block all the weapons. Along with Itachi, Sakura moved to the right of the wall, just in time to see little origami birds and other critters scuttle toward them, carrying explosives with them.

She lost sight of Kakashi, but the sound of thousands of birds suddenly echoed around the room, a streak of blue lightning in his hand as he sprinted at top speed toward where Konan was flying.

Just as he was about to leap to her, something invisible crashed into him. Taking Kakashi by surprise, Sakura gasped as the Copy Nin slammed onto the ground.

"I was about to handle this…" Konan said, staring at someone she couldn't see.

From the corridor where they had previously found the rooms with the pods in dropped another person—a man with ochre hair, wearing an Akatsuki cloak. He landed gracefully beside Kakashi and Konan, watching with a blank expression on his face as Kakashi righted himself and put some distance between them. A small wound had opened near Kakashi's temple, a steady stream of blood trickling down his neck.

"Pein."

A/N: Guys. GUYS. The awesome response I got to the last chapter and the author note talking about comments and reviews was absolutely amazing. I was battling a horrible writer's block these last weeks and your amazing comments have LITERALLY helped me get through it, whereas otherwise I might have given up on it. I had tears in my eyes waking up to so many lovely and encouraging comments. Please continue sending authors your love; not just to me, but to so many other authors too!

To that end, I'd like to re-acknowledge my girl peachandbetty who is Labyrinthine's greatest fan and who writes some RIDICULOUS fanfiction of her own. Please check out A Book Worth Reading. It's one of my favorites already.

I wish I had time to reply to all of you, but please know each and every comment you leave is seriously appreciated and encouraging!

AoiNoSakura: I have some original works that I haven't really shared. Other than that I work as a translator and now and then copywriter so I do some writing outside of fanfiction. Burning Impossible: Feelings ARE hard! But our girl is definitely getting there. Kaikuro: Thank you for your message! I have to admit to being the same, but seeing as response has been so low, I've been trying to review every chapter I read, even the ones I beta myself. It kind of sucks, but reviews also help bring new readers in! Kira: Thank you for this amazing review and insights! Fandom has indeed changed, so I'm hoping we can help stories get more reviews to stimulate writers and bring in new readers just by raising awareness of the effect it has on writers. Sailingnoselling: Hope life has turned a little less rough dear! Ari: Thank you! I love illustrating two sides of a coin. Akatsuki Sakura Itachi: Oh gosh, I'd love to see more ItaSaku fanart myself! Bah: Oh my gosh, you moved again?! Elle Blessingway: Thank you reviewing, even with one hand! Good luck with your newborn and congratulations!

Again, thank you all so much!

- Mitsuki