Chapter 18 Recall:

An unexpected 'visit' from Sakura's ex-teammate/ crush heralding the start of an arc and more obstacles between Sakura and Itachi, a girl's night out riffling through over love letters from a certain criminal, a brotherly moment between Itachi and his boyish hostage, and more tender moments (with a dose of jealousy), because that's what fanfics are for, right?


Chapter 19 – A Choice to Make

"Wu, wu, wu… Ah found it." Sakura took a few blind steps back, grabbed the back support of the chair, and sat down.

"Wow, he did a crap ton of C and B-ranked missions…" She reflected on the number of missions she was employed and realised with embarrassment she could count them with her fingers. "His Team must really be high in demand... I wonder if he ever rested." She would not put it pass him to be issued a weeklong vacation by the authorities and ordered to relax. She had the impression he was fighting towards some form of recognition, probably for the Chuunin exam's recommendation, but that seemed too shortsighted and superficial for a man like him.

Every ninja she met had a driving force to justify their hard work – some wanted to be recognised, some sought the power to protect, and some for revenge…

Why was he so desperate for more power? What was his driving force – what did he hope to see at the end of the long fight?

Her eyes lingered on the only S-ranked mission he was commissioned as a Konoha ninja. What business could the village council have that only a twelve years old Itachi could achieve?

He acted evasive when she mentioned Sasuke. What was so defining about his younger brother that left him spared? She recalled the conversation she had with Ino the other day at the book café.

"Hey Ino, have you wondered why Itachi left Sasuke-kun alive?"

"How rare that you want to talk about your secret boyfriend." There was a naughty twinkle in Ino's milky blue eyes before she shrugged. "He could have just missed him and was forced to flee before the authorities arrived."

"You know that's impossible. It wouldn't be a stretch if he missed out a distant relative, but his own brother? No way."

"Sasuke-kun must have pleaded to be spared and Itachi decided to keep him alive."

"Plausible, but that doesn't tally with his profile as a cold-blooded murderer who has resolved to slaughter everyone…" Not that she believed he was one.

"Well… Maybe he just couldn't do it?" Ino's shoulders sagged in exasperation. "I heard it's common for siblings to share a special bond, and Sasuke-kun was still so young back then!"

"That doesn't make sense… Why would he risk his life knowing that Sasuke-kun is bound to go after him in the future?"

.
.

.

"…!" It made sense now.

She thought it unlikely that he would be tirelessly training with slaughtering the entire clan as his motivation – someone that kind could never sustain hatred that long. Something unexpected must have happened and driven him to his current state. If her hypothesis was right, it was likely he had deliberately spared Sasuke not simply out of sentiment – he wanted to let his closest and only kin left washed off his sins.

Then was he not living each day…waiting to be free? The bingo book slipped out of her slackened fingers and landed with the covers smacked shut.

Anyone without a strong will or explicit motive would have collapsed from shouldering this sin or taken his own life. Just the fact he was still alive meant he had both. However, if he was waiting for Sasuke, then what was he doing co-habiting under a roof with S-rank criminals?

It might make sense that he joined Akatsuki to be voluntarily labelled an outlaw and keep his hands submerged in bloodshed… At least the constant killings and the organisation's affirmations could gradually desensitise and let him live down his misdeeds.

"It's only right for the bad guy to keep acting bad…right?" She picked up the fallen book and held her sorrowful gaze at his unfeeling eyes in the profile photo, branded with an 'S-rank, wanted.'

"I'll not let things end like this."


The fallen leaves by her feet stirred and flew across the ground before landing a short distance from where it was awakened. Beyond that, the midnight forest maintained its deafening silence and the occasional bone-chilly wind.

"I was beginning to think you might not show up." Her heart flinched at the all too familiar "Hmph."

"Right back at you. If you hadn't appeared that night, I would have resorted to infiltrating Konoha." She had nearly missed the slip of paper that was camouflaged over the soba bowl's logo, which the chef must have attached. The note only specified time and location, and she immediately discerned the sender's identity. It also explained the fugitive way this mysterious soba shop was operating as though to avoid detection.

"Just to talk to me? I'm honoured," Sakura offered drily, without humour. At times when it mattered, she could only come up with such useless rejoinder that was far from her honest thoughts. What she would give to grab his shoulders and beat the crap out of his handsome, smug face just to slap some sense into his thick head. "Are those…your friends?" Are we still friends? Did you ever treat me as one?

"Jugo and the others are just people working under me to reach a certain goal. However, I didn't expect to bump into you there, of all places." Sakura swallowed at the memory of her pressed up against the tree trunk, his kunai against her throat.

"It was a pleasure to be reunited with an old teammate, even if the greeting was rather rough."

"Let's continue where we left off." Ignoring her retort, Sasuke reached into his back porch and handed her a nondescript green scroll. "Pass it to him and he'll understand."

"By 'him,' you mean your brother?"

"That term meant nothing to me, and I have no need for one like that bastard."

"Hasn't it occurred to you something might have happened that made him act that way?"

"Shut up." He pushed back the memory of that day, the deviant way he retaliated to the clan elders in front of their gate. Someone who was usually so mild tempered, respectful, and gentle–

"Do you truly believe he felt nothing? That it was all just for power?"

"I don't give a damn what he feels. That night, what I saw with my eyes…that's the truth." He must have remembered wrongly. That monster was ruthless. That was a not tear he was shedding–

"Sasuke-kun…"

"That's enough." Sakura felt the surge of malicious chakra behind her and stopped her words. Even without looking at him she could picture the Sharingan setting the night ablaze.

"I don't know what you heard from that man or why you're defending him. I've wasted enough years, and now it's time to set things right again." He hooked a finger into a kunai in his hidden thigh porch and flipped his hand to his right. The crisp 'thud' of the weapon making contact with its target reverberated throughout the darkness.

"One week from now, we'll rendezvous thirty trees north from this spot. You can get in touch with him before then."

"Alright." Was he really going to kill Itachi? She bit back the burning and glaringly obvious question, clenching the scroll in her fist. "Sasuke-kun–"

She did not need to round the tree to know he was gone. She retraced the path of Sasuke's kunai and found it stuck dead centre on a thick tree trunk, exactly thirty trees from their earlier position. She plucked it out and replaced it in her porch.

"I still haven't asked how you've been."


The synchronised way their eyes enlarged and directed their questioning gaze at one another almost appeared rehearsed.

"Why us?"

"I have my reasons for teaming you two up, and if I reveal any further it'll ruin the challenge of this mission," Tsunade answered enigmatically, which only deepened their confusion and curiosity.

"Since Sakura has already been there with me, she'll naturally be in-charge of leading the way. After that, it's up to you two to decide who does the infiltration and so forth." After holding their steely eyes and rigid postures for a minute, she picked up a round red stamp and stomped it atop the mission scroll. "After considering your abilities and the nature of this task, I hereby classify this as a B-ranked mission."

"So, we can expect decent paychecks from this huh?" Shikamaru smirked and crossed his arms behind his head.

"Quite worth the trouble eh, Shikamaru?" She grinned knowingly before resuming back to an authoritative tone.

"Haruno Sakura and Nara Shikamaru, will you accept this mission?"

"Without hesitation," They chimed together in a salute.

"The journey to the Hidden Village of Cloud will take at least four days. I expect you two to be back by the tenth day, if not a messenger bird is in order, am I clear on that?"

"Yes Madam."

They were dismissed and agreed to meet at the main gate after dinner. The sooner it was completed, the quicker they could resume their comfy nights on the comforter, according to Shikamaru.

"For someone who lazes around on rooftops, that's rather unconvincing," Sakura pointed out causally.

"… Fine, it's because this is longer than I would expect from a search and retrieval mission, and it's just troublesome." Sakura laughed at the embarrassed way he was scratching his hair.

"And it doesn't have anything to do with the mission colliding with Sand's bi-monthly conference in Konoha?"

"And that…but not for the reason your smirk is indicating," He hastily added.

"Suuuuure, since you just saw her last month during the Chuunin Exams."

"There's no outtalking you, I'm outta here. Women are so troublesome…" She mimicked his headshakes and headed home to get ready. Now she just needed to grab her final bath and a filling dinner, while thinking of a method to deliver that scroll to Itachi and relaying his reply to Sas–

"Oh crap, you dummy!" She dragged her palm down her face, only remembering that promise to rendezvous in a week's time. Thinking she was calling him out, Shikamaru spun around, and she sheepishly shooed him along his way. "Not calling you, dummy!"

"You just did…"

Sakura figured the least she could do was to inform him on her mission, hoping he would not flip.

Really, who was she kidding, of course he would be pissed off, when was he not?

Muttering apologetically, she casted a genjutsu over the note on the tree trunk and hurried towards Shikamaru.

It had been a while since she travelled with a man besides Itachi.

Sakura-chan, can you hear me?

"Yes I hear you loud and fine."

"Who are you talking to?" Shikamaru asked and directed a quizzical glance next to her. She blinked and swallowed in trepidation. Shikamaru never called her 'Sakura-chan;' only Naruto did and he was not here-

"Oh, just, sometimes there're voices in my head and we…" She gestured with her hands the flow of conversations to and forth her mouth.

"…Is it?" Throwing her another skeptical look, he let it slide, probably too lazy to press on, she thought with a relieved sigh. That however, was short lived.

You need to report to the base now. Kisame's firm tone rang inside her mind.

I'm in the middle of a mission under the Hokage's order!

As much as I'd liked to say, "Oh, then that can't be helped," unfortunately this is equally urgent.

Did something happen to Itachi? Right off her head she could not think of anything more pressing than that.

If I told you it was me, would you still sound as worried?

Well, are you injured?

Why does my welfare sound like an afterthought? Anyway, fortunately or unfortunately, both of us are fine… She could detect a hesitant pause on his end. Our leader wants to meet you.

WHAT?

"…Sakura, I know it's rather dark, but I think you're concentrating too hard on the route ahead," Shikamaru commented lightly with a hint of concern. He usually appreciated a silent companion so he could do away with the tedious small talks, but when that companion was holding that constipated face and breaking every branch beneath her feet…

Don't worry Sakura-chan, it's nothing over the top, just your typical meet and greet sessions. She swore she heard him muffling his laughter. I hope you're moving towards the Land of Water, our new base is on the outskirts of Rain.

Right. Did she even have a choice? The fastest I can arrive is in two days' time.

I see you're closer than I expected. Pein will be coming to the base in four days' time, think you could finish your mission and ditch your partner by then?

How did you know I'm travelling with someone? She started sending apprehensive glances around her, staying vigilant to any suspicious human silhouette amongst the shrubs. Kisame cackled softly.

That's because your partner's been trying unsuccessfully to get your response.

You can even hear voices outside my head? She turned to Shikamaru, who was peering at her with pulsed lips and slightly ticked eyes.

"Y-Yes? Did you say something?"

"Did I say something? I've been trying to talk to you for the past ten minutes…" Shikamaru declared with resignation while Sakura muttered her apologies.


"You're still not gonna tell me what is it you're so preoccupied with, are you?"

Their mission was a success, practically tailored for their abilities. While Sakura was distracting the practitioner with made-up tales of Tsunade's struggles as an apprentice – the practitioner was a diehard fan of her master – Shikamaru, who was hiding, read her fingers signaling the location of the scroll. They had strategically picked sunset, where the shadow was the longest and the staff was the most fatigued. He first connected his shadow to Sakura's, which allowed him to extend further into the room towards the walls of drawers. After flashing a thumbs-up, he molded the tip of his shadow into a hook, pulled opened the drawer, and stealthily retrieved the stolen scroll.

Next, he released more chakra and willed it to extend all the way up the small window near the ceiling. Just before he felt his chakra completely depleted, he dumped the scroll out to where Sakura's clone was waiting. His butt hit the floor as his shadow retracted to rejoin his own.

"No matter how many times I do it, it's still so tiring…" He whispered and wiped the droplets of sweat dotting his forehead.

After promising to visit the practitioner and follow up on the stories, Sakura bid her farewell and resisted the urge to sprint down the mostly deserted hallway. She exchanged a minute nod with Shikamaru and they proceeded to escape the building from different exits.

He had popped the question when they finally left the village and the hubbub of chatters behind them, on the way home to collect their fat paychecks. Or so it should have been.

"If you're talking about my trouble over how to spend this mission's pay…"

"I'll take that as a no then." She did her best to mimic Itachi's poker face and kept quiet. She could hardly come clean and told him she was troubling over ways to knock him unconscious.

"Here, I prepared tons for this."

"You eat one of these, you could go on the whole day without craving for food."

"…This taste worse than Ino's charred meat." Despite his complaints, he meekly finished the whole pill, probably his way of expressing gratitude.

They were seated shoulder to shoulder under the watchful eyes of the forest creatures, the silence only punctuated by the chewing sounds and occasional howls of the inky night.

"I've seen you, you know."

"Huh?"

"Leaving the village late at night, and sneaking back in at dawn." Her stiffed shoulders and widened eyes were all the confirmations he needed. "I won't ask you what you're doing, because I know you wouldn't do anything to betray our village."

"…"

"…I just hope you're not in some sort of trouble." Shikamaru stared awkwardly towards the sky, his words of concern feeling foreign on his tongue.

"Do you trust our village unconditionally?" She asked instead, her own eyes trained on the mother crow that was still awake and protecting her children within the nest. "Believed everything that has been told to us?"

"Are there reasons to believe otherwise?" She was surprised he was not thrown off by her sudden question.

"I'm not sure, but both Master and I don't trust some of the village elders…" Without saying explicitly, it was evident who was on their mind right then. "…And I wonder will the Konoha Police Force be ever revived."

"Unless Sasuke miraculously returns and decides to take over, it'll most likely become obsolete with the growing power of ANBU."

"From the village council's perspective, it does seem they benefited from this power consolidation huh?" She had only just realised the possibility that the village council might have considered the Uchiha clan's extermination a good thing.

"Is this about Sasuke?" Her infatuation during their Genin days was no secret to anyone with eyes, and even a guy like him who drifted between reality and his sleep land was aware how Sasuke's abandonment of the village had affected her.

"I guess…" She snuck a sideward glance towards him, catching his drooping eyes and silent yawn. "Shall we take a quick nap before we continue?"

"…It's strange, I was still feeling energetic a moment ago," He spoke through his second yawn and leaned his head against the trunk.

"Sometimes you don't know how tired you're until you took a break."

"Guess so… Just… …" He was already out like the light but Sakura simply nodded with a sad smile. While she was chatting with the Cloud practitioner, she had also requested for a bottle of potent relaxant drug, which she later mixed with her soldier pills behind Shikamaru's back.

The next time he woke up, it would hopefully be ten minutes before she returned, before he noticed she was gone.

It was rather irresponsible to leave his unconscious body lying around in the forest, so she spent some twenty minutes to locate a cave before giving up and setting his body in a narrow tree den.

"I'll be back soon, enjoy your break partner," She whispered drily, casted a genjutsu over the hole, and plonked a giant boulder to barricade the entrance.

Muttering apologetically, she casted her searching gaze over the landscape and hurried towards them.


There was something unnerving about meeting the leader of all those dangerous men, much less be summoned by this very Leader...

When she arrived, the door was already opened; this extra gesture of welcoming and anticipating her presence only made her dread walking through the entrance…

She tried to soothe her jitters by searching and reaching for that familiar chakra and was surprised to find it responding to hers. Maybe she was not the only one facing anxiety – the notion of Itachi feeling nervous immediately drew a smile to her lips.

Her eyes were immediately drawn to a man with excessive studs (his side hobby besides killing perhaps) seated by the couch peacefully sipping from a gold teacup (another hobby?) He was accompanied by an elegant lady sporting a paper rose in her lavender hair, the only female member she had heard so much about but never seen in person. She was unexpectedly ordinary relative to what she had encountered so far, and she had no problem with ordinary.

"Haruno…Sakura, from the Leaf?" The fancy studs man suddenly boomed in a gruff voice, startling the wits out of her.

She caught a glimpse of Deidara and Sasori blithely playing shogi by the dining table, but looking distracted enough to know that they were eavesdropping; Kakuzu and Hidan were nowhere to be seen, while Kisame and Itachi were standing by the corridor outside Kisame's room speaking in hushed voices. Itachi turned and gave her a brief nod.

"Yes, and I assume you are the leader," She replied with forceful formality.

"Everyone calls me Pein, take a seat." He nodded his head to the empty armchair opposite the lady. It was only after she was seated did she notice the concentration of chakra on the lady's right arm. She was gazing intently at Sakura.

"Is your arm…?" She imitated the action of a dismembered limp.

"That's unfortunately the case. Due to the lack of medical specialist in the village at the moment, this is the best I could do now," She explained with a voice of silk and pushed the smoking cup of chamomile tea in her direction. "I'm Konan, glad to finally meet you," Konan added with a faint smile, shattering her ice queen illusion.

"Nice to meet you too…" She hesitantly turned towards Pein, and felt herself swallowing at his Rinnegan digging into her sight. "Shall I begin the reattachment…?"

"Go ahead."

After instructing Konan to swallow a painkiller, for the umpteen times, she summoned up her years of training and chakra to heal Konoha's enemy like her life depended on it.


"It's just as Kakuzu said, you have the potential of Tsunade, maybe even more," Konan remarked with approval after she had patched her up.

"I'm merely replicating what was taught to me."

"Your next mission is to accompany Kisame to collect a set of special currencies. Kisame will lead the way, it's just a short distance from our current stronghold." At this sudden turn of event, Kisame and Sakura's eyes met, before hers snuck towards the man leaning by the wall by the corridor.

"May I ask why am I chosen instead of his partner, Uchiha Itachi?"

"I have a separate mission that requires Itachi's skills. Besides, the person you two are about to deal with was a medical ninja from his village, and is reputed to play dirty. Since we still need his service, we could not kill him. Your involvement and expertise will ensure a smoother transaction on our side, that's all."

"Let's have a rolling good time working on our first mission together, Sakura-chan," Kisame chipped in behind Pein.

"Go get ready. You two will be departing in an hour." Sakura gulped back her anxiety and meekly nodded, for she was clearly powerless to decline.

"Kisame, I'm counting on you," Pein added as Kisame lightly shut the door behind them. Itachi's eyes remained trained on the door until he could no longer sense their presence. He could not get the image of Sakura's longing backward glance out of his mind, knowing how much he wanted to reach out and substitute Kisame's place.


"Kisame." He fell two steps behind her, taking one last look at her back. "This is not really the mission you're sent out to do yea?"

"What do you mean?" His hand paused by the hilt, surprised she addressed him by his first name. Not that it would change anything now. He tightened his grip as the tape wrapping around Samehada loosened, the animated monstrosity barely containing its frisson and chuckling silently to the pitiful scene of his master's hypocritical sympathy.

"This "mission" is really about you and me yea?"

Her wry smile was instantly engulfed in a thunderous blast of explosion as pieces of earth spluttered in all directions towards the sky, uprooting all trees within its circumference.

Stream of grey smoke billowed through cracks of the rubble; forest creatures and mutilated bodies of migrating birds that were unfortunate enough to get caught in the dispute littered the scene.

Sakura pushed a giant flat boulder aside and crawled out from the rocky pile, coughing and tearing from the stubborn smoke blowing her way.

She found a spot safe from the dangling rocks and collapsed against its smooth surface, catching her breath… only to have her false sense of security blowing up right behind her.

"Can't you be more precise with your aim huh, Kisame?" She slammed her fist into the ground as he dashed towards her, taking the chance to escape towards the undisturbed part of the forest. However, even she knew she could only buy so much time.


"This feels almost too easy," Pein remarked as he threw his head back and spread his arms along the empty sofa.

"You expected him to protest?" Konan quipped with a faint smile.

"I wouldn't go that far… If anything, I would have expected him to volunteer…" She sensed the doubt in his words.

"But this time's different, there's something about her that caught his attention." Konan touched the arm where her chakra lingered. "And that's why we're here, aren't we?"

"Because of his capabilities, we have left him to his own devices for the most part. However, things always get…complicated when Leaf is involved." Konan knew he was referring to the repeated failure of capturing the Jinchuuriki. For some reason, they were always met with reinforcements ready to throw their lives away to protect Naruto. Or they were simply terrible with timings. They still found it unbelievable how they causally bumped into one of the legendary Sanin and were forced to retreat.

"Well, you saw Kisame's report. If anything, he had even less mercy for his own people."

"And there's no reason not to trust Kisame," Pein asserted and nodded. It was unlikely that Kisame would cover for Itachi, since those happened during the nascent stage of their partnership.

"However, it's also true that he trusts Itachi, and seems to be quite fond of him."

"It would be problematic if every member were like Kakuzu." Konan chuckled softly at his pained expression. It was onerous enough to recruit suitable members, let alone one that could withstand death. Pein picked up the delicate teacup, only to find the tea dregs with its powdery residue.

"I'll go refill some tea for us." As Konan stood up, Pein pulled her back into the armchair.

"Pein…?"

The door slammed opened and two gruff voices came drifting in.

"You get a kick from ruining my plan, just admit it."

"Fuck you Kakuzu! I waited two fuckinghours, and I was already one hour behind time to offer a sacrifice!" Pein frowned as Hidan kicked the door shut with his foot before following Kakuzu to the kitchen.

"Shouldn't you know by now negotiating for information takes time? You think that cunning dog is going to reveal his trade secret just because I asked?" They shrugged off their cloaks and flung them over the kitchen island, eliciting a disapproving "tsk" from Sasori. He had just wiped it clean, and now who knew what kind of freak germs those two brought back. However, he was currently occupied with his own battle, his scheme to lure Deidara towards self-destruction almost done in three more moves.

"Kakuzu buddy…" Hidan drawled affectionately, in an attempt to lighten the mood and placed a causal arm around his partner's shoulders. "You know I'm doing you a service by killing him in the most painful way possible…" Kakuzu glanced at the offending arm and shrugged it away.

"You think I can't do it myself?"

"I was just speeding things up-"

"He was just about to tell me the name of the stone he used to create the pigment of the notes-"

"For fuck's sake, stop lying to yourself and just admit you could never produce the same counterfeit quality!" He slammed his palm against the marble tabletop, his earlier good intentions much too short-lived. A momentary silence ensued as Kakuzu lowered the empty glass cup he was picking up and stared intently at his wretched partner. Hidan knew that look. His scowl slowly turned into a smirk as he began cracking his fingers in titillation. A showdown in the kitchen was about to begin, only to be interrupted by a soft curse under Sasori's breath.

"Checkmate, hmm."


She released a muted yelp at the sting of jab to her upper back, collapsing with a soft thud into the turf. He picked her up and pinned her against the jagged edges of the trunk, pushing the unfamiliar taste of regret down his throat.

"Sakura-chan, it has been fun knowing you."

Sakura crawled helplessly at the hands clasping her neck, tears rolling out in suffocating pain.

"L…Let go…" She was beginning to feel light-hearted and curtains of darkness closing in from her sides, drowning out Kisame's pained expression. She channeled her remaining chakra to her feet and landed a bone-shattering kick to his shin, or at least she was certain she had broken his tibia.

Surely there were more efficient ways of finishing her off, but this was the least bloody way, even if he had to prolong her suffering, he thought bleakly. Itachi would be pissed off regardless of what he did anyway, he figured the least he could do was to leave her…identifiable.

He felt the familiar heat coming from his side before the Great Fireball engulfed his vision. Releasing a low "tsk," he loosened his death grip and hopped out of the inferno's path. Itachi's shadow clone captured her limped body and relocated out of Kisame's range.

"Itachi-san… You didn't have to see this." Even though he knew it would take more than a distraction mission to fool Itachi.

"I told you I wouldn't let her get killed, didn't I?"

"Pein thinks that she was sent to kill you. And as we know… Pein's decision is final."

"Did he think I would be so easily killed-"

"The way you're acting now is precisely why he wants her dead." He cut in. "I told myself, the moment you let your emotions lead the way, I'll have to step in."

"So you decided for yourself that I was acting irrationally? Even though all she has done was keeping our members in tip-top condition?" The air was once again still, the tension rolling off their shoulders in palpable waves. Kisame pulsed his lips and said nothing, hating that his partner was right. Itachi was always right. "So do you want to leave, or is this fight necessary to change your mind?" His Mangekyou Sharingan shone with an intensity Kisame did not know was possible.

"I guess this mission is a failure huh?" He heard Kisame whispered under his breath as he replaced Samehada and vanished into the wilderness of the landscape. Itachi did not doubt his ability, but even as he released the breath he did not know he was holding, he was still glad Kisame pulled back. He half-wondered if Pein already knew this would happen. He would not be surprised.


He found them a makeshift cave made of fallen logs, and gently lay her back along the inner most trunk, smug within the arms of darkness. This might be for the best, he thought wryly, he could finally be spared from the sleepless nights of trying to get her out of this cursed organization. He just had to work harder to keep her away from his "colleagues."

There was a faint green glow illuminating from the corner of his eye, and to his amusement Sakura was healing her leg gashes, while asleep. She was a natural, despite her constant protest of her supposed incompetence. When she was done mending most of her superficial wounds, his eyes darkened. In place of the awful wounds along her upper thighs were silky smooth, exposed skin. And the glimpse of chest bindings beneath the tear of her top was enough to drive his wretched mind down places it should not. She mumbled some unintelligible words and her legs parted slightly, which his usually blurry vision had no problem noticing.

He hastily shrugged off his cloak and pulled it over her shivering body, and sat next to her facing away, his mind focused on other pressing matters, like potential danger. It took him a moment to realize the irony of that thought as he felt a sudden weight on his left shoulder.

"You're hurt," Sakura murmured, instinctively moving her arm around his back and began healing. He quickly caught her arm to stop her.

"Don't. Save your chakra."

"… At least let me bandage the wound." Using her other hand, she withdrew a beige bandage, tucked up his shirt, and plastered it near his oblique area. "And take this pill."

"For the wound?" He thought it was an overkill for his superficial injuries but nevertheless quickly swallowed it.

"For a piece of my mind." She looked into his eyes and patted his chest with affection.

Well, it had been a while, he convinced himself with that half-ass thought, and bent towards her lips.

He lightly tilted her chin towards him and captured the chapped and familiar lips that was reserved only for him. He wanted so badly to push his tongue in, but was certain he was too weak then to stop just there. He cupped the back of her head and bit her bottom lip instead, and she released a soft quiver from the delightful pain. She shifted and a scroll fell out from her back porch. He fought the demand of his uncomfortable bulge and momentarily broke off the kiss, leaning back to calm his pumping heart.

When he felt much more in control, he muttered an apology, and picked up the scroll.

"That's… For you." She nodded weakly towards the scroll.

Itachi took one look and rolled it back, a jumble of emotions. Besides concern over Sakura in its possession, he was surprised to find himself in mirth.

"…About time…"

Withdrawing a similar scroll from the drawer, he scribbled a series of codes with his brush, summoned his favourite crow, and sent it flying. When he glanced at her this time, he was overcome with immense gratitude. However, more than anything, he was apologetic, towards her, and to himself for getting her involved too deeply in his messed-up life.

"You're going to fight him, aren't you?"

"I have to, it's the least I can do."

Uchiha Itachi, it's time to die.

He read the scroll once more as the first ray of dawn found its way through the thicket. His days of darkness was drawing to an end.


When Sakura found Shikamaru at the exact spot from when she hid his body, she released a breath of relief and collapsed next to him. While she was physically drained, her mind continued to run at miles per hour.

Even after finally escaping from Akatsuki's control (for the moment,) she felt far from being at ease. The guilt for assisting the enemy, her burgeoning feelings towards Itachi, Sasuke's revenge drawing day by day closer, she could no longer return to her normal life and feign ignorance.

She needed to figure out what she could or could not do.

She could not: undo those medical treatments, deny her brief association with Akatsuki, stop Sasuke from killing Itachi, and forget about Itachi.

She could: hide from Akatsuki (with some assistance), be with Itachi, and help Itachi.

She needed to make a choice.


A thousand apologies for the year hiatus... I have put this off way too long and lost the motivation to continue. Now I'm back to wrap this up, and will upload the final chapters over the next few days. Can anyone guess what is Sakura planning?