Deceptively Near to One's Heart
Princess of Ikana
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and its respective owners.
Summary: [drabble]A hint of Ita/Saku- Itachi had always been weak for tea shops, even after becoming a rogue nin, that he would make excuses for Kisame and him to stop at one. Time is against them when Sakura and Naruto must locate Itachi before Sasuke does, luckily for them, Sakura remembers once when Sasuke mentioned his brother's love of dangos and green tea… which leads them to the land of tea.
Itachi and Kisame were pursuing their target when Itachi felt his ring burn, indicating that their leader was demanding they attend a meeting amongst members.
The timing couldn't be any worse as Kisame just landed a swing on the enemy nin who was from the hidden village hidden in stone.
"Finish him quickly, this can't wait" Itachi commanded gruffly before pulling away from the chase to find a spot to correspond.
Kisame grinned widely, not getting many chances to do as he pleased.
Itachi was the straight-headed one, and didn't want to clean up Kisame's messes that would leave clues to other's of Akatsuki's business.
He found a quiet spot 2 miles away near a waterfall. He quickly set up precautions in case anyone came across him alone and used the jutsu to join the meeting.
The pressure to capture a Jinchuriki each was mounting as more information was being leaked to the five great nations and targets were being pinned on each member of their organization, Akatsuki.
Naruto and Sakura were running behind Kakashi and his dogs as they were pursuing a clue about their missing teammate Sasuke who left to join Orochimaru to get stronger in order to beat his brother and exact revenge for his clan. They were currently on the border of fire and hot springs.
Sakura was thinking back to the few times she got any information out of Sasuke about his older brother and his ambition to end him.
He had slipped one afternoon during a mission where they stopped at a tea shop and Sakura offered him a dango but he quickly declined, sweets weren't his favorite but his brothers.
"What are the odds of us encountering him if we check out south?" Sakura asked timidly, pointing in the direction of the land of tea.
Kakashi signaled to stop as they gently landed on a hilltop next to a young tree.
"Why there?" he asked for further clarification.
Naruto looked very puzzled but held off saying anything.
"Sasuke doesn't like sweets but dango's are Itachi's favorite" she disclosed.
Kakashi's eyes widened in realization when he too remembered not noticing Itachi and Kisame's presence while he waited for Sasuke one occasion, just outside a famous Konoha teashop in the shopping district.
"We're wasting time!" whined Naruto, jumpy already.
"It's a huge bargain, but you could be onto something… without any other clues we will check out a few key spots I know, from other trips" Kakashi agreed to her suggestion.
Sakura smiled.
The meeting was tense as their leader informed them that they had to watch out for the younger Uchiha, who had killed his mentor and was in search of Itachi, there was some worry about him interfering in their operations.
Kisame suggested they avoid their usual hideouts and opt for a remote inn, Sasuke wasn't likely to check those out anytime soon, before the hideouts, the Akatsuki had set up.
Itachi agreed.
They went to the land of tea, being a smaller nation and thought it was remote enough, Kisame wanted to check out some shops and left Itachi to his own devices.
The hours passed unevenly, besides an coughing fit in which Itachi was getting concerned of how much time he had left. He noticed it, not long after he had joined Akatsuki that there was something wrong with him and after consulting a doctor, he was told it was a rare one , that had no cure, and he may only have 5 more years unless he could find some to cure him... He was internally furious as Sasuke was only 8, in five years time, he may only reach chunin level if he hadn't improved after he left.
Travelling around, he found some remedies that would prolong his life a bit longer, but it was only a temporary fix, Maybe it was a good thing, that Sasuke felt ready to face him now... he certainly had the advantage of a healthy body in comparison to him.
He recently snuck back into Konoha, on his own, and heard that Tsunade, had made Sasuke's pinkette teammate her student and she was becoming quite impressive in the art of medical jutsu.
As a child, he could tell that she had fallen hard for his little brother, being at the academy together and admiring him from afar. Itachi didn't give her much notice back than besides admiring her determination in chasing a Uchiha, they were hard to catch.
Sakura grew to become a beauty, surely Sasuke must have noticed, for he knew that he appreciated intelligence in a woman.
He should have just talked to her, back then when she was visiting one of Konoha's local parks. surely she may have some insight on how to cure him?
They decided to stake out on one of the lands more traditional cafes named Sho-an. Kakashi claimed they made the best dango in the world.
Sakura was sent in under disguise as an older, but still young woman of average height, long brunette hair and kept her Jade eyes. She named herself Mineko, and during the day blended in nicely serving customers as a tea hostess.
Three days passed with no sign of the Akatsuki when Kakashi noticed a chunin from Sand, which was weird so he signaled Sakura to pay him close attention.
She flirted with him and slipped some powder into his drink when he wasn't looking. Only took 5 minutes before he began to spill that he was actually an Akatsuki spy.
Sakura made sure to tell him that their café was holding a special dango event that he wouldn't want to miss.
Later that night, the sand spy met up with Kisame who was waiting for them in one of their smaller hideouts nearby.
"What intel do you have?" he ordered briskly.
"The 3 tailed beast is hidden under a vast lake west of Kirigakure, you will need someone with an abundance of chakra to draw it out from hiding" he mumbled.
Kisame grinned, this was excellent news, he turned away to leave when suddenly a flyer was flung at the back of his head.
Kisame swung his sword towards the spy and Samehada had a lovely chakra feast.
The corpse was disposed of into the river before Kisame even bothered to look at what was thrown at him, it was an advertisement from one of Itachi's favorite cafes that were having a surprise special deal on dango and tea, but they would have to visit in person to claim it.
They had time in between searching for the next target that Itachi commanded they visit the café for the special deal and Kisame was so used to Itachi's few whims that he agreed to go.
The next day was the sale event and Sakura was nervous, Naruto wouldn't hold his cover well enough and they could just be giving them a jinchuriki and Kakashi was better at surveillance, so it had to be her to be the infiltrator.
It was closer to the end of the day, before they entered the café, most of the patrons had come and gone by that point, but Sakura thought that's exactly the kind of timing they would want. Too many people around, could cause someone to notice and spread the word of their location.
She sauntered up and sweetly asked.
"What will it be today?" she murmured while smiling at Itachi.
Kisame scoffed at the display, knowing out of the two, Itachi was way more attractive.
Itachi, tilted his head slightly and stared at her intensely. Sakura giggled and flicked her hair in response, needing to keep up her rouse.
He turned back to his menu and quickly answered her.
"We'll have the special… traditional green tea and a dozen of the… Sakura dangos please" he ordered handing back the menu as he lazily stared out the nearby window.
Sakura sweated a little inside, wondering if that quip was on purpose… did he suspect her?
She took their menus and left them in peace.
Once she got past the door drape towards the kitchen she noticed a small slip of paper and cringed… he knew…Suspecting a trap, she ignored the piece of paper but tucked it away for later.
Only took her a few moments to put together their order, before she went back out.
Itachi was gone, she held back her sigh of frustration. Kisame was in a better mood and tried flirting with her. Not to add more suspicion, she flirted back.
"Well pretty lady, if you feel like a bit more of a good time, here's where we're staying tonight, and it's under Kisame," he wrote the name of a nearby hot springs inn.
She smiled at him before tucking it in her apron discreetly before telling him to enjoy and headed back to the kitchens.
Sakura let herself shiver once she was in the staff area in the back, who would want to entertain such a beastly man?
With Itachi gone and her ruse may have been up, it was risky to even meet them later on. She was sure he would tell Kisame and they would kill her if she showed up.
Sakura took her small break before going back to serving other guests for the rest of her shift.
Later that night, she met back up with her team and they looked at the note, Itachi left her.
"Meet me, at noon tomorrow at the blue bridge"
Naruto and Kakashi looked at one another before declaring no.
"Maybe he doesn't suspect anything, like we think? And I should just meet him? Course I can't ask anything about what they are up or why they are visiting now, I'll give myself away"
"But what if he thinks it a nin?" asked Naruto directly.
"It looks worse if I don't show, don't worry worst case, I'm the best on defense if I need to get out, just meet me at our rendezvous location and we'll head out."
Naruto looked worried and Kakashi nodded, understanding as kunoichi, she knew what would be best in this scenario. Besides it could be much worse… she could have been forced to sleep with a mist nin that looked like a shark…
The next day at the stroke of noon, Sakura was waiting at the blue bridge on the west side of town. In the distance, a shadow loomed and in moments, Itachi's silhouette
Sakura turned in his direction to greet him happily when she felt him lightly flick her forehead suddenly.
Inner screamed wildly, before she gawked at him in surprise.
Eyes closed, she trusted herself to be okay.
"Mister…. I'm flattered but I don't even know your name?" she said breathless.
"Of course you do… Haruno Sakura" he murmured, smirking lightly.
Her cover was blown. She backflipped a few feet away from him and pulled out a kunai.
"How?" she asked glaring now.
"I don't forget my brother's teammates," he answered.
Sakura bite her lip in frustration, no of course not, always about Sasuke.
"Did you think by finding me, would lead you to him?" he then asked while leaning on the railing of the bridge.
Sakura kept her guard up and avoided looking towards his face, hands or the water, fearing genjutsu, if he hadn't already trapped her somehow.
She stayed silent, Itachi didn't need to know anymore and she needed to focus on getting out of there immediately.
She looked behind her quickly, only to see Kisame standing on the other side of the bridge, sword out and resting on his shoulders waiting for her move.
Looking back in the direction of her main concern… he wasn't there.
Reaching outward she quickly scanned the area for his presence. He was to her left!
She looked right and blocked a shuriken. Red eyes captured her as he was actually on her right, and had tricked her.
Sakura thought of Sasuke, as she was sure she was done for… no one escaped the mangekyou sharingan.
Naruto was pacing restlessly, Sakura should have made it to them by now.
"Sakura is late, something must have happened to her." Kakashi stated the obvious.
"What if she's dead?" Naruto dared to ask.
"It's a possibility, then we must locate Sasuke before Itachi, for Itachi will use Sakura's death to taunt Sasuke" he replied grimly.
They set out to scout for the two Akatsuki members and hopefully, Sakura intact and alive.
Time felt endless in the land of Tsukuyomi… Sakura briefly remembered Sasuke warning her about the dangers of his eyes and what he had done to her, instead his brother was.
He was the master in breaking minds and he certainly invaded her as he pressured her into reliving some of her worst moments, mainly those moments where Sasuke broke her heart.
Three long days of hell, and she felt broken and unmotivated to care anymore.
"Just end it already" she whispered as she hung from a post, finally able to rest with nothing but empty space and red skies.
"If you truly loved my brother, then this would be nothing." Itachi replied that light appeared from the shadows next to her.
"He doesn't feel the same towards me, if you're planning on using me against him, he will just kill me himself probably" she reasoned, feeling empty.
"You're truly weak, if you only live for my brother, what goals do you have for the future ?" Itachi asked.
Sakura thought of a future without Sasuke in it… and though she felt hollow, she thought of helping others recover mentally, wars, trauma and the way of the ninja was a very difficult lifestyle and it took such a mental toll on people, whether they were ninja or not.
"I wanna help people, heal from all the darkness of the mind" she replied blankly.
Getting her thinking for herself, Itachi smiled lightly before releasing her from his hold but also gave her some hidden truths. He showed her his motives and true feelings about the past and what he had done, and why he tormented Sasuke so much.
Sakura was surprised to see the man behind the mask and she realized that Itachi had sacrificed everything to protect Sasuke's future, even if it killed him.
"Why are you showing this all to me?" she dared to ask.
"Because, though everything I've done up to now was to protect Konoha and Sasuke's future as sole survivor of our clan, knowing I'm dying. I never saw you interfering in my plans."
Sakura figured he was emotionally trying to get her to fall for his tale, and even if Uchiha Itachi was actually innocent.
"I'm not trying to change your mind but I do need your help. I was ready to die by Sasuke's hands, but I want to live to see what happens after the fall of Akatsuki."
"I can't prevent Sasuke from wanting to fight you to the death" Sakura exclaimed listlessly.
"It's not Sasuke I'm worried about, I'm already dying from a rare disease and I'm not sure how long I have left, probably no more than 6 months is my guess."
Sakura's eyes widened a fraction, Itachi was dying?!
She sighed, knowing he was smart.
"Then you already know, that even if I could identify your ailment, if there's no treatment already, it could take months to develop one, and you may not be strong enough to survive, besides Sasuke is already hunting for you, to kill you, and it may take him longer than us but he will find you soon" she revealed.
She paused, waiting for more pain but felt at ease… Itachi stopped tormenting her, she reached over to his shoulder and forced her chakra into him, releasing herself from his hold.
In the real world, mere moments had passed, she had collapsed on the bridge to her knees and shockingly looked up to Itachi staring back at her.
He walked across the bridge to Kisame before they both leaped away. You could briefly see Kisame confused on how Itachi was letting her go.
Sakura was feeling overwhelmed with all the new information she had received. She couldn't blame Itachi for hurting Sasuke as much as before, and although she knew that nothing was going to stop him from hunting him in blind rage, Sakura wished she could help make him understand how wrong he was about his older brother.
Itachi had been watching them all along, all three of them… Sasuke of course, Naruto being one of his targets, and her because she was someone he had admired from afar. She was far too young to be a love interest but he watched her grow up and become as legendary as her mentor and uniquely more as herself. She was worthy of being watched as an ally and a threat.
Kakashi and Naruto appeared not long after and they were relieved to see her alive but would need to regroup.
Sasuke had formed a small 4 person squad to track the locations of Akatsuki hideouts, as he was ready to face off against Itachi and exact his revenge. His search led him to the land of tea and he was amused, to think all he had to do was follow the trail of dango shops…
Also to his surprise he felt familiar chakra in the area, which could only mean that Naruto was going to get in his way again… if he dared, he was going to end him and anyone else that tried.
Sakura wouldn't tell them what had happened but insisted that they needed to intercept Sasuke before he found Itachi who was still nearby.
"Sakura, you're injured mentally, I don't think you can stand up against either of them" Naruto sadly tried to persuade her to stop this madness.
"You don't understand, and there's no time to explain…" Sakura replied while unleashing her secret stores of chakra. She suddenly knocked Naruto out and moved to the nearby window, staring at Kakashi, waiting for his move.
Kakashi recognized the diamond that appeared on her forehead as he let her go, leaving it up to her.
Sakura nodded in gratitude before leaving.
Sasuke located Itachi's signature and was racing towards him when suddenly, a burst of cherry blossoms surrounded him. He activated his eyes angrily.
"Sakura, if you know what's best, leave now or I will kill you" he threatened, knowing she could hear him.
There was no response but Itachi's aura suddenly disappeared, and Sasuke halted. She was trying to trap him in a genjutsu, foolish woman!
She may have excelled at the art among the three of them, but it wouldn't beat a kekkei genkai, what was her plan? She already knew he could escape her.
He focused around the area and pinpointed her amongst the chaos, and fired off a lightning shuriken jutsu he had mastered. She seemingly was caught in it and was pinned to a nearby tree while being electrocuted. He glanced at her pained expression feeling a slight bout of guilt, similarly like that time he left the village and she had chased after him begging him to stay or take her with him.
She melted away, revealing a water clone. Sasuke wasn't surprised but he was surprised at her new speed when she managed to land a hit on him, releasing more chakra into his chest.
His consciousness was enshrouded by her lesser genjutsu.
She poured all of the information she had obtained from Itachi himself into Sasuke and hoped for the best as it was now up to him.
Kisame was having fun messing with the Konoha nin, as he faced off against Kakashi before and would have loved to be the one to bring in the nine tails, the hardest one to capture of all the tailed beasts.
Nearby Tobi, or Obito rather, noticed that Itachi had made his move, it would be rather troublesome if both brothers united against his ultimate plan and decided it was time to interfere.
Sakura released Sasuke from her trap, and before he could react, Tobi merged from an unknown space and punched him in the stomach, knocking him out before kidnapping the young Uchiha.
Sakura screamed Sasuke's name, trying to intercept Tobi's ploy but he was too fast.
Itachi appeared from the tree line, moments later looking quite scared.
Sakura whirled towards him.
"Did you know about this?!" she yelled at him.
"No," he replied honestly.
Itachi's plan failed and not knowing what Tobi planned on doing with Sasuke or how Sasuke even thought so now due to Sakura's interference, all he could do was live and save his brother.
Sakura surprised him and began to heal his left eye suddenly and his train of rapid thoughts was lost.
"I will help cure you and hopefully survive this illness, but you must promise me we'll save Sasuke" she commanded seriously.
He wasn't entirely sure he could promise her anything as he was completely compromised but he trusted her with his empathic heart and wanting to bring peace to their world.
"I promise," he whispered lovingly, stroking the top of her hair.
~Fin
A/N: An idea of a short fic revolving around how everything would have been different if Sasuke knew the truth about his family and Itachi before their fight to the death, and like Itachi would have been an excellent character to have kept alive. Course I fitted some mild Ita/Saku moments in there. At this point in the story, its not for sure that Sasuke would have been saved from his darkness and loved Sakura like he ended up in the end. I hope you enjoyed this one shot. Please R&R and drop a follow for future stuff.
*I'm still developing a plot for a chaptered Ita/Saku story but it coming along slower.
Ikana-hime