Lightning had struck her before she could touch her feet to the ground. Instead of landing gracefully, soundlessly she crashed loudly and painfully.
-I have never hated anyone more than I hate that fucking soulless dog right at this very fucking second-
He was on her before she could take a breath before she could stand before she could open her eyes, she felt his surge of hatred and blood lust. Before the thought of "him," he was there ripping at her throat.
An explosion rent the air around them. He flew through the air and landed gracefully on his feet a few trees away.
"Sakura?" Deidara spoke her name in confusion, "What are you doing here?"
-What the hell, how?-
"I'm suppressing my chakra." She gasped out, "How did you know...it was ...me?"
"Itachi was calling your name." He helped her stand up.
She hadn't been able to hear through the ringing in her head.
"Itachi, where is he?" She choked out, her throat, had he cut her? She lifted a glowing green hand to her throat and eased her pain, not cut, almost crushed.
"Here," Itachi spoke from behind them.
-Why do men always want to take you from behind-
"I told you to leave the village why are you here?" Itachi's voice was cold, so unlike what she was used to.
"Take it easy yeah," Deidara stood in front of her. " She almost died because of that asshole over there." He points to Kakashi who is sitting on a swinging tree branch watching them.
"Deidara, why don't you hate me right now, I deceived you," Sakura asked
"I knew what was going on the whole time yeah!" He smiled at her
"What?" she was shocked
"You don't hide your signature as well as you think hey, and besides Leader Sama has been having us take turns following you." He smiled a real smile again.
"You're not a bad person either." He grinned
-Wolves, crows and now…..fucking smartass artists.-
"He's coming." Itachi flew into the air and met Kakashi over the trees, the sky exploded in electricity and fire. When they broke apart they had landed back on the ground, away from one another, facing each other.
"Sakura!" Kakashi called, "where does your loyalty lie? "
"Konoha Asshole!" she calls back
"Then come, why are you there with the enemy?" His eye blazed red
"Sakura, go," Itachi says to her
"What? No, she comes with us yeah, he just tried to kill her?" Deidara protested.
"It isn't time yet,besides if he wanted her dead, she would be dead." Itachi tells him calmly like he is telling him he had eggs for breakfast.
"But," Deidara starts to protest.
"I said NO. She doesn't belong to you." Itachi's word is final and Deidara gives Sakura an apologetic smile.
"Sakura, you have 10 seconds, then I attack" Kakashi calls " With the intent to kill."
"Itachi." she starts to say
"No. Don't say another word. Go to him, back to them...for now" He lifts his hand and pokes her in the forehead with two fingers. Again pictures flash through her head, Them eating Dango, them in their cabin, him watching her sleep, a rose, him telling her he loves her as he takes off his necklace. "Go, please."
Kakashi is running, she runs full force toward him, arms out in front of her, he changes his stance, one arm out, one hand on his pack, he jumps and catches her midway in the air and they drop to the ground her in his arms, kunai in his hand pointed at Itachi.
"Stalemate for now," Kakashi says, half statement, half question.
"Hn.' Itachi nods and then is gone.
"Sakura?" Deidara looks to where Kakashi is holding her still crouched on the ground.
"It's okay Deidara, go, thank you, but go." She tries to smile at him but she can't get it out, she is crying and she doesn't know why. Itachi had left her, again.
Deidara flies away on a bird-like sculpture looking back at her till she can't see him anymore.
Kakashi looks down at her, she looks at him and starts to try to get down, he grips her painfully to his chest and teleports them to the side of the lake.
"What the fuck were you thinking following me!" He grips her by her arm after he sets her down, he is hurting her but he doesn't care, she rips her arm from his grasp and slaps him hard across the face as quickly as the lightning building up in his hand.
"Of course I would follow you, you fucking asshole! " She slams her foot into the ground and the earth ripples and shakes for meters around her as he jumps in the air, spinning and throwing paper bombs at her
-A diversion-
She punches the ground making a crater and punches the ground again creating a smaller crater in a crater and ducks, his foot breezes inches from her face.
Flat to the ground now she rolls to the left as he comes from the right grabbing her leg, throwing her and slamming her into the ground with a kick to the side.
Fuck that hurt, she groans to herself as she sends chakra to her feet and leaps out of her hole making the hand signs "Earth Style, Earth Rampart!" She jumps again on top of her raising mountain searching for him everywhere.
From behind he grabs both her arms pulls her back to him twists and slams her into the ground again, laying on top of her.
-What is up with all the grappling! Use a freaking Jutsu!-
"Enough." Kakashi breaths ragged into her ear laying on top of her.
"You started it" She is out of breath too and it comes out as a gasp.
"You slapped me" He counters
"You were breaking my arm in your grip!" She yells in his ear.
He flinches back.
Blood is dripping down the side of his face, off his masked chin onto her cheeks. His eyes are still wild but their rage is fading.
"Let me up." She tries to push him off
-Is he made of cement ?-
"No." He says and flattens himself on her
-Are you kidding me?-
She wiggles underneath him trying to get out.
"Stop," He says
"No! I want to get up!" She yells at him again but not in his ear.
"Stop moving Sakura." He groans
She thrashes under him, she wants up and she wants up now!
"Please." He whines in her ear.
She immediately stills her thrashing, oh.
-Way to go, idiot, blood lust hello? Makes men horny duh-
"I want to get up" She doesn't move but she really does want to get up.
His breath is hot on her throat and he nuzzles her neck.
"Kakashi, get off of me or I'm going to fucking kill you and so help me it will be bloody and very painful." She warns.
"You...aren't...strong...enough...Sakura." and he grinds his body into hers.
"Get off of her Kakashi." The sounds of a katana leaving its sheath whispers through the air.
"Sasuke, how nice of you to join us." Kakashi slowly, deliberately, slides his body off of Sakura.
Sasuke reaches a hand down to her, she takes it and stands up, swaying only slightly. Sasuke moves to her, to support her but she shakes her head.
"What is going on? Both of you left then I feel insane amounts of chakra flooding and sparking the skies and find you two trying to kill one another." Sasuke looks from Kakashi to Sakura.
"Sasuke, if I wanted to kill Sakura, she would be dead." He said without arrogance.
"We saw Itachi and Deidara, Sasuke, and he attacked me!" She looked to Kakashi glaring.
"You attacked Sakura?" Sasuke immediately stood in front of her to protect her from Kakashi.
Kakashi barked out a cruel laugh. "If it came to it, she would be protecting you pup, now step aside." Kakashi took the few steps he needs to get to Sakura's side.
"I wasn't attacking you, I was preventing you from leaving." He said looming over her.
"You teleported to my side but when you saw Itachi you teleported to his side." He looked at her, his Sharingan was still uncovered, "I thought you were leaving with him." Cold eyes, one red, one slate, one fire, one ice.
"I wasn't going to leave with him. I don't even know where he goes. How many times do I have to say it! I knew him as a crow! Only recently have I known he was a man!" She lashed out and kicked a tree, it splintered and flew breaking through 5 more trees before it finally fell dead to the ground in its own bed of splintered wood.
"I was worried." Was all Kakashi said
"Where is Itachi?" Sasuke had been scanning the area with his Sharingan.
"Gone," Kakashi said.
"With Deidara, who knew who I was! Which meant he knew who you were, all of us!" She yelled because she was angry she had been fooled, so had Sasuke.
-Not hard to fool him though is it-
Kakashi had been fooled too.
-Okay the artist is good I'll give him that-
"Where did they go?" Sasuke asked unusually calm
"To their base? We don't know, unless, you know and you're not telling us?" She raised her brow to Kakashi.
"I don't know." He said truthfully.
"I need a bath can we go back now?" Sakura asked.
"Sakura, where does your loyalty lie?" Kakashi asked her again.
-I don't know-
"Konoha, always Kakashi." She was tired of this.
"That is not the question anymore." His hand rose to her cheek.
-What are you doing Wolf?-
"What?' Sasuke took Sakura's hand and drew her back, away from Kakashi's hand.
"We should go," Sasuke said looking at them looking at one another.
"Answer me." Kakashi was talking only for Sakura, it was clear.
"I don't know." And for the first time in a very very long time, she burst into uncontrollable, hot, huge, emotionally strained tears of loneliness, fear, and hate. Years of control broke inside of her. She started backing away from them then.
Kakashi saw the change in her eyes and darted forward grabbing her, to stop her, help her.
"Kakashi let her go!' Sasuke hadn't understood, he thought the man was attacking her again.
"Stay out of this! You do not belong! " Kakashi snarled at him like the wolf he so clearly is.
Sakura thrashed in his arms, snarling biting, clawing at him to let her go.
-Kill, Kill, Let me out, LET ME OUT!-
Chakra roared from her temple, her seal on her forehead breaking, she glowed. A burst of manic laughter filled the air and she threw Kakashi off of her. He flew through the air slamming into trees, rocks, and earth. Turning she raged forward toward Sasuke who was not prepared and she caught him in the arm that he foolishly brought up to defend himself with, she smashed through it cracking it, breaking it, and then he was gone from her sight...crows erupted from everywhere, flying at her pecking at her ripping her hair, her clothes.
"Itachi! Itachi! ITACHI!"
She threw her head back screaming till her throat bled and then she screamed some more, slamming her fists into the ground sending a shockwave through the earth.
It felt like she was dying, her soul was ripping, she wanted to die. Tears flooded down her cheeks in torrents, and then he was there red eyes, and then she was gone.
Itachi.
Everything was black. She couldn't see anything. He touched her face gently, wordlessly. She turned to his touch and clung to the feeling of his hand on her face memorizing it because she knew she was dying and it would be the last time, for surely she wasn't going to heaven, only hell waited for her.
"Open your eyes Sakura." He whispered.
She did. "Itachi." She breathed his name, life's breath.
"We're in our place Sakura, yours and mine, our cabin."
She sat up and looked around. She was in their bed, he was sitting by her in a chair from their table. The fire was going in their fireplace and the door to their cabin was closed to the cold. Tea was waiting for them on the table. They were home.
"Genjutsu." She whispered.
"Yes Sakura, I had to find a way to calm you." he leaned forward and kissed her gently.
"Itachi, why? Why didn't you want me to go with you?" She was crying again, she hated crying, it made her feel weak.
"It isn't the right time Sakura, I have to make sure you will be safe, things are not...ready yet." He kissed her hand and held it in his.
"Ready? What needs to be ready?" She asked him still upset he hadn't wanted her with him but he wasn't saying he never wanted her with him, only not right now.
"I am part of the Akatsuki as I am sure you have figured out if Hatake hasn't already told you."
She nodded.
"Not everyone is like Deidara and I. Some are monsters that walk in the form of men. There are others like Deidara that were forcibly recruited that do not wish to be there but have found peace, but not many. It is a small group and...I do not trust them." She could see the sadness in his eyes.
"I will wait then, a blood promise remember?" She kissed his hand that was holding hers and smiled at him.
"A blood promise." He leaned farther over and kissed her deeply, running his fingers through her hair with one hand, holding her hand with the other, his lips felt like molten lava on her own, his breath was steam and vapor.
"Itachi, I want you to, I want to be with you, I, I love you." She whispered it like she didn't believe it.
"I loved you from the first day I saw you crying by the bench when you were 6 and I was 10." She gasped at his words, was it true or was it a lie, was he real or was he trying to calm her?
"I'm going to release you now. You will be in pain most likely from your.. Rant. Kakashi and Sasuke are there still. They are worried." He kissed her one last time.
"It has been a moment in reality even though it has been 20 mins here. I will not stay when I release you but know that I love you, and I can't now, but one day I will come home to you, and never leave you again, until I die, hopefully at a very very old age next to you in bed with our children grown." Another kiss and he released his genjutsu.
Air filled her lungs, painful, lonely air. He was gone. No more tears. He was gone but he would return. Pain, her body ached so much pain. Her seal.
-You released it in a fit of uncontrolled selfish rage you fucking moron, what a fucking waste!-
Oh, she had forgotten.
"Sakura." Sasuke was patting her face.
Were her eyes still closed? Yes, oh, well then. She still didn't open them. She wasn't ready for reality yet. One day, he had said one day...what if that day never came, did he expect her to wait forever?
Strong arms lifted her up, peppermint and what was that other smell, oh, how could she forget, blood. Peppermint and blood.
"Let's go back to the inn Sasuke, I have our henge covered, make your own and let's get going." Kakashi didn't wait for him to answer he had already started running toward the inn.
We aren't teleporting she said to herself, oh, he must be low on chakra. Did I really try to kill him? Sasuke, his arm. I'm sorry she said to no one, eyes still shut to the world.
Wind so much wind. Like the cawing of crows, the howling of a wolf.
Will the heavens fall without you here, the wind blowing life into my lungs, how can I live without you by my side, Itachi, I am alone, surrounded by people, I only want you by my side. One day.
When, when Itachi, when can we go home, will I still feel the same when I wake up to an empty bed with only a rose to kiss and hold, only a rose to warm my bed...she fell limp in Kakashi's arms and he knew she was really asleep this time.