Trigger warning: blood, scenes of torture, death and sex
Choosing the place where they first met and had their first date as neutral territory was cruel even for him, but she didn't allow it to crush her resolve or stunt her plans once Gaara helped ground her. No, Sakura used it to strengthen herself, to shut away the heart that was once his.
Rolling her shoulders back and tipping her head fractionally, she ensured she was the first one to enter the bar with an air of unwavering confidence, to make it a point that she did not fear the Uchiha Clan. As she stood in that moment, they all knew that she was capable of holding her own, especially considering they knew of her coven, but they didn't know just how impressive a force she had backing her. One wrong move and Kabuto would strike, his already impressive power boosted by the rest of the coven's as they pooled their magic together back at the mansion.
Something else that aided her in keeping hold of her confidence and hardened heart was the bittersweet fact of the bar not matching up to the one in her memories, prompting her to come to a halt at the entrance, hand finding its way haughtily to her hip. As she should have expected, it had changed many times over the years in order to keep up with the times and Sakura surveyed every little detail with a secret bout of relief.
Not even noticing the Uchiha clan could take that relief and confidence away from her.
Scattered around the place, she could tell from the way they watched her so expectantly that the Uchiha clan believed Itachi would be who and what she looked to first, proving their likely suspicions of her harbouring any of their old feelings for each other. Of course, they knew nothing of who she was now or what she had gone through to get to such a stage, and it showed in their watching her more closely after dismissing Itachi so blatantly, ready to strike at any given moment until three others entered behind her (hell, unbeknownst to them, something as simple as her wearing skinny jeans instead of one of her designer dresses should told them she was ready for anything – the sight of them had had Ino whistling and sending her prayers to the unaware clan).
If the clan was surprised by the Sabaku clan flanking her, then they showed no signs of it. Rather, they remained unsettlingly silent and in their seats, refusing to stand to greet them. Being as proud as they were, Sakura knew that was their subtle way of disrespecting the four of them, but like hell it would ever bother her. It simply meant that, as always, the Uchiha clan was behind on the times.
But that didn't matter.
All composure threatened to snap at the hesitant brunette lingering in the background, causing her to falter in continuing the critical assessment of the bar that held so many memories, her heart lunging straight to her throat.
He brought her to their bar.
"You," Sakura growled upon recognising the woman standing uneasily beside Itachi, her dark eyes expressing her nervousness, that anxiety escalating into full blown panic when Sakura's upper lip curled and bared the fangs that'd so effortlessly torn her throat out.
"His pet?" questioned Gaara blandly.
How hadn't she seen her arrival? They'd all been watching the bar for hours – literal hours. Both the front door and the back.
Just as she took a threatening step forward, Shisui flash stepped between them from his seat on the other side of the bar, features cold and unmoving. "You're in neutral territory. Respect that."
Her being there meant only one thing.
Breathe, she warned herself, taking a moment to calm the rage setting her heart on fire.
They were reckless in bringing her, Sakura thought more rationally, for now she knew they had to have a witch on their side who was cloaking the girl (luckily for her, their exposing that fact meant Kabuto would pick up on it and have the coven nullify any magical attacks effortlessly), using her presence during the meeting in the place where they had their first date to throw her off. They were trying to piss her off.
It was working.
"I will. For now," she assured with a disarming smile. "Although I did make a promise to myself that should I see that girl again after ripping out her throat, the next time, I was going to tear her heart out."
A promise Sakura would carry out gleefully in front of his eyes again.
Remaining relaxed in his seat at the bar like the girl beside him wasn't a nervous wreck, Itachi brought a glass to his lips and took a long sip of whisky. Behind him, she spotted a compelled bartender cleaning in a daze and knew the man wouldn't remember a second of what transpired in his bar that day. His doing, she thought and met his calm gaze, the arrogance exuding from him as Itachi leaned back onto the bar putting her on edge.
Just like her noteworthy self-preservation skills, he always had some type of ace up his sleeve.
He was plotting something, paranoia told her.
"Funny," her ex-lover murmured in response and set his empty glass down. At his silent order, the bartender refilled it promptly then returned to his aimless cleaning of the already spotless bar. Idly, she wondered if his weak, human arm was aching from the constant circular motioned buffing yet. "I recall making a similar threat about Gaara-kun."
Snorting derisively, said redhead stepped further into the bar so that he was dead centre of them all and Sakura could tell from the way several of the Uchiha shifted in their positions that they were anticipating a show of his psychotic side, particularly Sasuke, who appeared just as eager to clash with him. They knew that Gaara wasn't one to hesitate in calling others out or attacking, not even when outnumbered as greatly as he was – even outnumbered, he would deal a significant amount of damage and it was only partly due to his unpredictable nature. Then, they had to take into consideration that his equally vicious siblings coming to his defence.
"No one is stopping you," he dared, arms spread out uncaringly.
"I am," countered Shisui as he returned to his earlier chosen seat without sparing them another glance, deeming them unworthy and she sensed the effect it had on Gaara, the anticipation of laying into them all calling to his darker side. "Sakura-chan, you requested a truce and out of respect for our friendship, no matter how long ago that may be and even after you harmed my cousin, I accepted on behalf of the clan. Do not make me regret it."
Ah, it seemed the niceties had really only been for Itachi's sake, Sakura noted. Without her connection to Itachi and certainly after her display of ruthlessness and uncaring towards Sasuke's life, any traces of friendship that may have lingered between them for old time's sake, were all just about used up. Should she continue pushing and threatening the lives of those he cared about, then Shisui would snap and take her out.
Duly noted.
She shook her head with mock disappointment, green eyes returning to Itachi's with a brief quirking of an eyebrow. "You wanted a reaction out of me by choosing this place and bringing your new pet – don't go crying to your big cousin when you get one."
They weren't anticipating such a drastic change in her personality, Sakura noted with wonderful amusement, assessing each of their expressions calmly. The only ones who didn't seem to particularly care about what was happening, were Madara and Fugaku, the two men silent and resolute in whatever their plans for her happened to be. She could tell just by the arrogant tilting of their heads and completely relaxed body language that they didn't view her as a threat.
Arrogant bastards, she thought hotly and was incredibly thankful when the bartender wordlessly made his way around the room with a tray of drinks. However, that gratefulness vanished abruptly and had her annoyance swelling at the familiar drink she was given – a drink she hadn't drunk since he left her.
Her jaw clenched.
"Your influence on her is notable," came Mikoto's unimpressed mutter, glare boring into Gaara's uncaring stare.
"I suppose you could argue that at least I was there during her darkest times," came his flippant response and Sakura made sure to outwardly react to the brief graze of his hand to her neck as Gaara brushed the hair off her shoulder, her eyes never leaving Itachi's and relishing in the emptying of his glass. "Whereas your clan abandoned one of their own during said dark times."
"Sakura-chan was a sweet, innocent girl–"
"And is now a strong, independent woman who finally flourished once she was no longer his pet," interjected Temari smoothly, spitting the word. Offering a feral grin, she added ruthlessly, "It can't be helped that my dear brother awakened a side Itachi couldn't even glimpse at."
Gaara smirked impishly, the drifting of his other hand down her side unmistakable in its implications. "And what a side it is."
She fucking loved the Sabaku Clan.
Although outnumbered, they never showed a second of hesitance in stepping into that bar and standing against another original family. Just Gaara's reluctance to start a war against the Uchiha due to not wishing to be part of an endless war, but being there regardless for her sake, eased the crushing weight of being in that bar with them all.
It was rare for the original clans to be in the same room as one another – the last time it happened, from what she'd heard anyway, Sasuke and Gaara had clashed so viciously, so savagely, that it'd taken them both weeks to fully heal, which was impressive considering vampires usually healed the moment an attack landed (unless it was a werewolf bite). Sakura could tell just from the glint in her lover's eye as it once more purposely caught Sasuke's that he was more than ready to go for round two, the mixing of the two's killing intent enough to keep everyone in their places, least they wished to start the fight.
"Why would I want to look upon such an ugly side of you?" Itachi asked of her directly, dismissing Temari and the others entirely. "Gaara-kun has–"
"Why blame Gaara?" she questioned and leaned back into his chest, relishing in the way Itachi's eyes bore into them more intensely than ever. Heightened emotions were a bitch but at the same time, when on the other side they were extremely useful, and she was so very intrigued by the flash of possessiveness that shone through his cold mask. "If you really need to blame someone, blame yourself. You're the one who made me this way. Gaara was simply the one who ensured I didn't self-destruct."
"Warping your personality in the process," came Itachi's calm response. "There is nothing left of the woman–"
"Who you abandoned for not grieving in the way you wanted her to," Sakura interjected icily, jaw clenching and she raised her glass, adding with a bite to her tone, "May that naïve, weak woman rest in the pieces you left her in."
His gaze narrowed.
"This is getting us nowhere," muttered Sasuke and he finally stood, glowering down at her.
Temari raised a daring eyebrow, one that was begging of the youngest Uchiha to try pushing his luck with her. Even if she happened to be weaker, she would still happily accept unconsciousness for a short while if it meant taking several hearty chunks out of him before her brother got stuck in and stole all the fun.
"What, no warning for him?" Sakura questioned of Shisui, pouting playfully. "C'mon, Shisui-san. Surely you can see how I'm being antagonised here? Step up your referee skills. Do better."
"Sasuke will not act untowardly," came the cold mutter of the oldest vampire in the room, his unwavering stare enough to kick her pesky, life-saving self-preservation skills into overdrive. Even knowing she had two originals' blood coursing through her veins and a whole coven of Orochimaru's descendants backing her, going against Uchiha Madara concerned her. She wasn't stupid enough to think being stronger meant better, for his millennia of fighting experience would always give him an edge against her. "He knows better."
As did she. But that wouldn't stop Sakura ensuring Konoha remained hers.
Dismissing Madara and scoffing (because maybe if she just ignored him, he would go away), Sakura dropped her glass to the table to her right with a sharp crack and held Itachi's gaze, muttering, "Step up your game. I haven't taken a sip of this shit for over fifty years."
Raising an eyebrow, he made his show of appreciating her obvious to them all. "Why is that?"
"I moved onto bigger and better."
Obito released a heavy sigh and stood. "If this is going to resort to petty insults, I will take my leave–"
"Sit down, boy," ordered Madara without looking his way. He didn't wait for Obito to follow through with the order, already knowing that he would. Instead, he continued lowly, saying, "Although, he does have a point. We are not here to discuss who you have whored yourself out to."
The instantaneous awakening of Gaara's demon eyes had Sakura pressing a hand to his chest, stunning the Uchiha clan when he didn't rip it off like he would have had it been anyone else.
"Let them think what they want," came her much too calm response, and she nodded her thanks when Gaara's eyes returned to normal. "They're just pissed about being bested by an ordinary vampire."
"Bested?" laughed Madara condescendingly. "You are juiced up on an original's blood. That will soon be out of your system and there will be no saving you once it has."
Oh?
Sakura's smirk was downright maddening as she looked back to Itachi and Sasuke, and the effect that it had on the latter confirmed her suspicions. The hatred in his eyes was delicious, but what really set her blood on fire was the brief flash of guilt in Itachi's since it was entirely his fault why his brother was in such a predicament.
Shocking them all, she burst into a hearty, patronising laughter.
That was all it took for Sasuke to lunge.
Having two different originals' blood within her was insane, granting Sakura the ability to see each movement almost as though she was predicting them, stealing the element of surprise from the others. She saw the way Madara's expression darkened with rage at being disobeyed, the way the others stood to attention and prepared themselves to stop Sasuke. The only ones who didn't react were the three behind her, Shisui and Itachi, for they all knew what to expect.
Foot lashing out at the wooden chair to her right with remarkable speed that had Gaara smirking proudly, shattering it, Sakura caused the entire room to freeze as she shoved the makeshift stake through her own stomach without a moment of hesitation, ensuring to keep her eyes locked with Itachi's the entire time.
Another reason why she'd worn such a throwaway outfit: Sakura was itching to deal out some damage to one of the banes of her existence, but not at the cost of her pretty dresses. He wasn't worth a single one of them.
"This won't ever get old," she promised darkly and grinned when Sasuke doubled over, her own glee only increasing at Temari's laughter.
"What have you done, you fools?" demanded Fugaku angrily of his sons.
"I see Itachi withheld some vital information," muttered Kankuro, his cockiness shining through.
Leaning against the wall beside the door, the burly brunet kept his entertained gaze focused on Sasuke's agony, relishing in the evident struggle to regain composure. It certainly didn't help that Sakura kept the stake in her own stomach, prolonging her show and tell with taunting jostles of the weapon.
Mikoto was by her son's side in an instant, her demon side's eyes awakening and settling on her. "Enough."
Enough? Enough? "I will tell you when I've had enough," snarled Sakura and she yanked the stake from her stomach, making the older woman yell in fright when it came down just an inch beneath her heart. The agony was nearly enough to knock her legs out from beneath her, but Sakura persevered out of sheer stubbornness, her heels clicking resolutely on the wooden flooring as she strengthened her stance. "I don't take orders from your clan anymore. It'll do you all well to remember that."
The stake clattering noisily to the ground had nothing on Sasuke's gasp of relief, the sound bringing a harsh smile to Gaara's features.
She could tell that for the time being, they possessed the upper hand. Her show was enough to dissuade Fugaku from whatever he'd originally had planned for her, although his fury filled stare was quite the spectacle, almost overshadowing his reluctance. What made it even greater was that it was set on his two sons and not her.
Had she mentioned that meddling was another of her favourite pastimes?
"Explain yourselves," ordered Obito.
"Allow me," Sakura chirped up happily and strutted her way over to the bar like she wasn't covered in her own drying blood (the injuries were already healed, stunning her in taking even less time to heal on her than Sasuke), stomach somersaulting at the way Itachi's brunette took an anxious step back at the approach.
Ignoring the bartender entirely, she compromised his obsessive cleaning by stepping up onto the spotless bar with the aid of the stool and landed silently on the other side. She perused the shelves with great intent before snatching up her lover's favourite sake, making quick work of filling four dishes of Suna's finest. It was strong enough to have knocked her on her ass had she still been human and even now as a vampire, gave a damning kick.
"Your precious son was feeding this girl his blood," Sakura informed the others, only pausing to knock back her sake. It was by her second that the Sabaku clan took theirs, joining her. "I killed said girl–" Rolling her eyes uncaringly and hesitating in pouring the next shot, she shrugged. "–admittedly out of jealousy and in the process, ingested a generous amount of his blood. Now, for the most interesting part."
They were hanging onto her every word and she knew she was in total control in that moment because of the Sabaku clan taking their bottle of sake and taking a seat at a nearby table. Had Gaara believed she was in any sort of danger, he never would have left her side.
Smirking, Sakura leaned against the bar right next to Itachi despite the cold aura he oozed, gaze drawn to what she could see of his proud profile. Not even looking at her as his mistakes were laid bare for the entirety of his clan's judgement, Itachi kept his hard gaze focused on the far wall, jaw clenched, knowing that the moment all of this was over, they would descend upon him.
Back during their time together, on many occasions, Sakura had witnessed the disliking of his clansmen whenever he healed weakling humans from fatal injuries – it was because of that soft heart that he boasted the greatest bloodline link, for the moment humans found out about vampires and their abilities, their greedy, power hungry ways took control. They did anything to achieve that status, even if it meant killing themselves.
His new woman was scared stiff and it only served to add to her amusement as she toyed with them both like a cat with its prey, the sight filling Gaara's eyes with pride. And why wouldn't it? He'd taught her well.
Much to the horror of the clan, she told them cheerfully, "I happen to be working alongside a powerful coven of Orochimaru's descendants, all of whom are more than happy to lend a hand in the Uchiha clan's downfall. With their broad range of reading material and impressive powers, it was a cinch using Itachi's blood to link my life to Sasuke's." Reaching out blindly, she grabbed Itachi's favourite whisky and poured him a glass, handing it over with an impish smile that she knew was pissing him off, the clashing of their gazes as he wordlessly accepted the glass filling her with an intense sense of satisfaction. "There was no use in linking my life to yours unless I wanted Sasuke on a leash."
They finished their drinks simultaneously, the loud thunks of their glasses coming down on the bar adding to the tension in the air.
"You don't care enough about your own well-being to make an impact on you that way," she added coyly, rejoicing in the obviousness of his woman's unease. That uncertainty and jealousy only spiked to whole new levels at the dropping of Sakura's voice, for Itachi's reaction to the new, more intimate tone unmistakable. What really got her blood rejoicing with the thrill of the game Gaara introduced her to, was the indignant reaction of his clan to her daring move to bring an arm around Itachi, hand coming around his throat, lips brushing against the outer shell of his ear as she whispered seductively, "How does that collar feel, I-ta-chi?"
She had him. She could feel it in the rigidness of the muscles hidden beneath his well-fitted suit, in the way he refused to make a move towards her now that Itachi knew she wouldn't hesitate in attacking Sasuke, even if it meant causing harm to herself.
"There is one problem with your plan," stated Madara and the man stood to his full height, gaining the uneasy attention of every occupant in the room.
"Oh?" she drawled and brought her hand back to herself.
Even with her boost in speed and strength, Sakura was just as stunned as everyone else by how fast Madara cleared the distance between them, his glare absolutely venomous while reaching for her. Many yelled for him to stand down, trying to remind him of the connection between Sakura and Sasuke's lives. The only one who didn't react was Gaara, although she noticed the way his hardened gaze never missed a beat on the off chance that he was needed to step in.
"I do not care for a brat who has brought nothing but shame to our name," came his low growl and Sakura strengthened her stance in preparation even as her inner voice demanded she ran for her life. "What is to stop me from killing the pair of you and sparing myself another millennium of shame?"
She tipped her head back daringly and the sudden freezing of his muscles at the assault from her hidden trump card had Sakura smirking, for it gave the man at her side the opening he needed to round on his elder, slamming Madara into the bar with a hand to his throat. The loud crash had many on their feet and prepared for anything, but what really stood out to Sakura was the fearful flash in Sasuke's eyes.
"Me," Itachi responded darkly, hold strengthening when the other Uchiha struggled.
Rasping, he spat hatefully, "I cannot die, fool–"
"You can be imprisoned," came his simple, uncaring response, upper lip curling. "You can desiccate. I assure you now that you will spend your next millennia trapped and desiccated, begging for that millennia of shame, if you push me, Madara."
Despite hating him so intensely that she felt physically sick, Sakura could never deny that the bond between the two Uchiha brothers impressed her massively. Back when she was human, she'd admired that connection and wished she'd had siblings also – no, not just had siblings, but had that bond. The one that always brought the two comfort on their darkest days. The one that had them coming to the other's defence no matter how badly they'd fucked up. The one that came before anyone else in their lives, even before the supposed loves of their lives.
She'd wanted it so badly that it caused an inescapable loneliness.
Glancing to the brunette hesitating on her next move, knowing how greatly she was outmatched with her being the youngest vampire in the room by a minimum of seventy years, Sakura almost pitied the girl. Almost. Decades of resentment and heartache and betrayal prevented it.
"Know now that you will never matter more than his brother," she goaded without a shred of mercy, stomach clenching from the intensity of the rage that had consumed Sakura for over fifty years. "No matter what this man tells you, even if he promises you the moon and stars, the moment Sasuke calls on him, Itachi will abandon you."
"Sakura-chan, you–"
Green eyes snapped to the only female member of the Uchiha clan, piercing her with the weight of her fury. "Tell me I'm wrong."
At the abrupt lashing out of Madara's arm, Sakura instinctively stepped just out of reach, her reflexes on a whole other level to what they once were. He managed to break out of Itachi's hold with a noticeable struggle, leading her to question when and how the younger man had managed to close the gap in their strengths.
Would it be a problem for her? Potentially, though only if the link between herself and Sasuke was severed.
"Stop, Madara," Fugaku ordered, arms folding over his chest like his eldest son wasn't a single second away from having his heart torn from his. "This is exactly what that woman wants: division."
Oh, she wanted so much more than that. She wanted to run the Uchiha clan out of Konoha with their tails between their legs, to humiliate them in far worse ways than she had once been when so carelessly tossed aside. She wanted to witness her lover's psychotic grin and hear his dark, gravelly laughter as he tore into them without abandon.
She wanted Itachi to hurt like she had hurt.
"Then let her have it," Madara shot back.
At his continued defiance and Shisui's approaching of the bar, Gaara also joined them, his icy glare that settled on the brunette making her flinch. Uncaring of being so close to two of his standing, irate enemies, he sat down and turned his back on them, the sight of his audacity and show of power making Sakura's stomach pool with heat.
He smirked and she drank in the sight of it, admiring the knowing gleam in his eye.
Much to her amusement, it wasn't anger that had him finally acting. It wasn't hatred or boredom. No, what had Gaara involving himself was his knowing that she was feeling aroused at his domineering energy in that moment, and his own selfish desires of wanting to wrap up the meeting so that they could act on their need for one another. It was always impossible ignoring the attraction between them, after all.
"Enough," came Gaara's rough command and at the weight in his voice, Sakura's eager gaze shot to Itachi's pet, heart fluttering at the immediate response he received from her. It told her that during his walk to the bar, when he'd glared at her and made the girl uncomfortable, he'd trapped her in his compulsion. "This is taking too long."
"You–"
But he cut Itachi off with a snort and an arrogant tipping of his head in the girl's direction, pupils dilating on hers as he ordered, "Until an honest truce has been made, you will sit here and use this–" She bit her lip at the revealing of the stake she'd tossed aside, wondering just when the hell he'd managed to grab it without any of them noticing. He spun it around his hand expertly, fully aware of the eyes glued to his every movement. Even though they should have anticipated the move, they were unable to stop him when Gaara straightened and the stake was hurtled across the bar without a shred of hesitancy, embedding itself deeply into her stomach and causing her to stumble back weakly. "–to stab yourself repeatedly."
"Monster–"
"Who has saved time for all involved." Gaara's dark glower settled over Itachi's pet. "Start."
As always, he didn't order her not to feel fear or to hide her pain. They had to listen as she whimpered for mercy while sitting down, had to watch as her hands shook around the stake. Sakura was willing to bet anything that the only reason Itachi's pet could pull it from her stomach was because of Gaara's compulsion, her cry and Itachi's flash of pain sending a jolt of excitement straight through her.
At the first plunging of the stake into her stomach and the shout of agony, Sakura took that as her cue to start, saying with a maddening smirk that reflected in Gaara's eyes, "You are all sat here arrogant as hell like I don't have the upper hand. You can bitch and whine all damn day for all I care, but the bottom line is, you're not getting a square foot of this town back and there's not a thing you can do about it." Looking directly to Itachi and relishing in Madara's reluctant dismissal as he returned to his darkened corner, she told him, "And you can stop flattering yourself, too. This goes deeper than you leaving me behind over fifty years ago. As you can see, I moved on from you."
"Then what is your problem?" he questioned, finally tearing his gaze from the suffering of his latest woman.
Her problem? Oh, there just wasn't enough time in the day for Sakura to even introduce her rant of why she despised the Uchiha clan.
The sound of Temari and Kankuro clinking their dishes together, apparently completely unphased to the scene of torture going on behind them at the hands of their younger brother, had her rage simmering somewhat to make way for amusement. They were so unlike the tensely wound Uchiha clan, but then again, they were uptight for a reason.
"My problem is your audacity," Sakura shot back with a glare. "You show up here after all this time and think I'll just hand over the town that I spent decades protecting and raising from the ground." Glass shattering in her grasp, she snarled, "This is my town and if you want it back, then you better be prepared to rule it without your baby brother by your side."
"Our audacity?" demanded Shisui disbelievingly.
"We lived in peace here and made lives for ourselves before you switched off your humanity," muttered Sasuke disdainfully. "It was you who brought platoons of hunters out of the woodwork."
Was he really that delusional, or was that what they all made him believe?
It didn't matter. She would rip that veil from over his eyes and force him to see the truth.
"And look at that," she countered with a vexing smirk that had his upper lip curling. "Those hunters who gave you such a hard time just a few days ago – who also happen to be three times more powerful from the ones you all pitifully ran from, by the way – are now under my command just like the rest of Konoha. How many did you manage to defeat again?"
His jaw clenched, eyes never leaving hers and Gods, she could almost taste his loathing of her.
Sakura smiled. "Oh, that's right. You didn't defeat any of them. You ran. Again."
"Priorities," he growled in response. "I was there to put you down, not pick a fight against hunters."
A valid response, she supposed.
Sighing irritably, Sakura plucked the spare cleaning rag from the unaware bartender's pinny and wiped the sake and remaining glass from her hand. "And as always, your big brother and cousin had to come to your rescue before you screwed everything up again."
"Again?" came his affronted demand.
Sakura rolled her eyes and tossed the rag to the bar, deciding to give the irate youngest Uchiha her full, undivided attention. "You say that I was the one who brought the hunters to Konoha, but Itachi told me the truth – albeit, in his weird, cryptic way."
The unease that swept throughout the Uchiha Clan had her rejoicing and Sakura took her sweet time in answering to Sasuke. She busied herself with pouring Gaara another glass of sake, sharing a small smirk at the promise of their celebrations later in his hungry gaze.
"Do you remember when I was first turned?" she asked conversationally of the youngest Uchiha, looking his way. Shrugging uncaringly before he could answer for himself, she said, "Probably not. You were on a ripper binge."
"Stop," ordered Shisui.
"No," came her simple, defiant response, emboldened by the way Gaara languidly spun in his stool, elbows coming to rest on the bar now behind him. She wondered what expression he was wearing that stopped Shisui's advance to silence her, that had the rest of the clan hesitating and his siblings finally looking up from their drinking game, growing serious. "That state I brought Konoha back from? The poverty, the devastation, the corruption, and the opportunists? All caused by you, Sasuke."
The anger was snuffed out of him, his widening eyes meeting each of his clansmen's demandingly.
They remained silent, just as they always did.
"There's a reason why old man Sarutobi Hiruzen allows me to rule this town," she muttered darkly, hands coming to grip the edge of the bar tightly. "Why we're mostly on the same page and why his followers, his hunters, work for me and not against."
Gods, just looking at Sasuke fuelled Sakura's original heartbreak, the one that was exacerbated by the Uchiha clan's disappearing act once they'd had their way with her home. Completely uncaring for the mess they'd left her to stew in, lost in her grief and vulnerable to attacks of others who were after the Uchiha clan… It wasn't only Itachi who abandoned her to such a fate, it was all of them. It wasn't just her who was left behind and trapped in the suffering, it was the entirety of Konoha.
Admittedly, the truce between her and Sarutobi was still shaky even after fifty years, but their main understanding was the safety of their town. Did the humans fear her kind? Yes, definitely. Why wouldn't they fear her kind after Sasuke so ruthlessly tore through Konoha on his binge? However, like she told Konohamaru just the other day: they were free to leave. They just didn't, knowing that it was safer to live with her than against.
"Finding that humanity switch came at the right time," she muttered disdainfully and noticed the empathetic glance thrown her way by Temari, who'd witnessed for herself just how gruesome it'd gotten back then. "It gave me the strength needed to protect the town you left in ruins. I defended it from others of our kind, from werewolves, from the monstrosity that is humankind." Gritting her teeth, Sakura snarled at the general uncaring from the oldest of the Uchiha clan, "This is my fucking town."
"As I previously stated," Madara drawled indifferently, a complete opposite from her shaking, angry form that had obtained the concerned gazes of many. "Once that blood is out of your system–"
Barking out a harsh laugh, Temari said, "Which will never happen, you bastard. We know exactly what you will do to her – unlike your disloyal clan, we stand by ours."
"We're more than willing to keep Sakura juiced up," added Kankuro, his smirk maddening to the others.
"Just imagine," came Gaara's mutter that was filled with dark amusement. "You are struggling now with only my blood and just a small percentage of Itachi's. How powerful will Sakura be if she ingests great amounts of all three of ours?"
Sparing a knowing glance over at the sobbing pet who was still stabbing herself in quick succession, barely leaving enough time to heal, Sakura once more met Itachi's eye and smiled sweetly.
"That is why this goes so much deeper than just you leaving me behind, Itachi," she told him simply, happily knocking his arrogance down a peg or two. "My issue lies with your clan, who were quick to jump ship and leave the entire population to suffer the consequences of their being here."
Of course, Sakura knew that Itachi had never agreed with their narcissistic tendencies and general disregard for human life – showed them that time and time again by healing humans no matter what their background, partaking in wars as a healer to try and better their town's survival rate.
However, that was perhaps what made her despise the impressive, unbreakable bond between the two brothers. How effortlessly Itachi seemed to step away from all he believed in, how easily he broke her heart and abandoned her during the unnatural loss of her parents, disgusted her.
"Want to know something interesting I found out after you left?"
"I'm sure you will tell us regardless," sighed Obito, who clearly wanted to leave already.
Turning and grabbing herself another bottle, Sakura found herself taking a deep, calming breath and was thankful for the sudden wave of support Gaara sent her way. It certainly aided in her turning and meeting Itachi's eye again, the accusation and hate causing his eyebrows to raise fractionally in surprise.
"Better yet, I'll ask you," she murmured, busying herself with another shot. It didn't ease the vicious aching of her heart or the turning of her stomach – if anything, the next two amplified how she was feeling and Sakura knew that was risky, so set the bottle down with a reluctant thud. "How did my parents die, Itachi?"
The smoothing of his expression and Shisui's disbelieving glance in Sasuke's direction damned them.
"I was too broken up to put the pieces together when you broke the news and comforted me," came her quiet mutter and it sickened her how Mikoto suddenly couldn't look her way, telling Sakura the older woman also knew about it. "But once I found my switch? Once I had the composure I needed to finally understand?"
Itachi sighed and she fiercely fought back her emotions when he lowered his gaze.
"I lost them shortly before you left – no, they were taken away from me." Fury had Sakura snatching the stake from his pet's trembling hands and ramming it into her chest, mere inches from her heart. "How does it feel, Sasuke? Because this is how I felt when you killed my parents during your ripper binge fifty years ago."
Just as Itachi's pet lunged to take back the stake, lost in her compulsion, Sakura lashed out unforgivingly and tore her heart from her chest, using her unrestrained rage and the Uchiha clan's uncertain silence at Sasuke's psychical agony, to throw his lover's heart at Itachi with everything she had. It didn't make her feel any better hearing the loud thud of the girl dropping lifelessly to the ground, didn't bring her any form of petty enjoyment ruining one of Itachi's precious suits. All she felt was rage.
"Don't stand before me and blame others for what you turned me into," she snarled and leapt over the bar, coming to stand before Itachi with a dark glower that had his cousin moving to intervene, only to suddenly be faced with Gaara as he came to her defence, the pair staring one another down. "You covered for him when Sasuke tore my parents to pieces and left me behind to deal with the fallout of his ripper binge."
They all believed she was a petty, scorned ex of his who couldn't get over him and for the most part, Sakura never corrected any of them. The only ones to know the truth of her heartache and resentment, were the Sabaku clan and her righthand woman, Ino. It didn't matter to her if others knew the truth behind her holding onto that fury.
"I used this rage to keep myself going and to bring Konoha back from the state your clan left it in," she muttered with an uneven voice, the weight of her betrayal and resentment pouring into her words. "We have all moved on from you. Don't be coming back here after all this time like nothing's happened and bringing up the losses your clan inflicted on us all."
To really make her point hit home, Sakura brought a hand to her own chest, digging her nails into her flesh without hesitation. The move had Sasuke growing frantic, but one swift blow from Madara had him falling back into place, the older man glowering down at him with palpable disappointment just as he always had upon their discovery of Sasuke's ripper gene.
"Don't underestimate how far I will go to protect my town," she growled at him and dug deep into her chest, fingers flexing before they reached her heart, her emotions numbing the pain she should have been in.
Nobody dared to make an offensive move towards her at Sasuke's wheeze, his desperate clutching of his chest revealing the bloodied marks directly over his heart from beneath his shirt. Mikoto hovered over her son uselessly, tearing up and pleading with her to have mercy, Fugaku demanded that she released him, Obito and Madara slowly turned to face her with their demon side's eyes awakening.
Sakura narrowed her eyes, daring, "Call my bluff."
The feeling of Itachi's hand covering hers not to restrict, but gently, had her brows casting shadows over her furious gaze and glaring up at him murderously. After all that time, after fifty years of suffering and moving on, if he thought for even a second that she would go crawling back at the first sign of that gentle, caring nature she'd fallen so hard for, then he was about to have another heart messing up his suit.
But he surprised her by saying matter-of-factly, "The fact that Gaara-kun isn't reacting to you potentially about to take your own life tells me that Sasuke isn't in any danger." Still, the hold on her hand wasn't rough, not even as Itachi eased it out of her chest, procuring a handkerchief to wipe her clean of the blood. "Which means that Orochimaru's descendants have found a way to create a deeper link between you both. You're essentially using his immortality, correctly?"
No.
Like hell she would fall for that false sense of security.
Just as Itachi lashed out, Sakura countered the move against Gaara and had him crashing to the ground with an unyielding grasp around his neck, uncaring for the way the wood cracked beneath his weight and her strength. The others stood to attention at the sudden attack, but the appearance of the Sabaku clan surrounding her and Itachi blocked their intervention, not that it really mattered. Not when her coven suddenly intervened and immobilised them all with blaring headaches that progressed to the bursting of blood vessels in their brains, rendering them useless as their bodies quickly set to healing the damage that just kept coming.
"Don't fucking push me," she growled threateningly over the grunts and yells of his clansmen, adding a relentless knee to the groin to rub salt in the wound of his being bested once more. "I have ways of keeping you bastards down."
Desiccation. She knew from the knowing look in his eyes that he caught on fast.
Applying a warning pressure to Itachi's throat, Sakura sat back on her haunches and glowered down at him.
"Temari."
Without looking away from the writhing clan, the blonde lowered herself to Sakura's side and exposed her wrist, holding it out.
"D-Don't you… dare…!" warned Madara darkly.
"Forgive me," Temari stated uncaringly, head dipping. "But I was not aware that you had a say in our clan's transgressions."
"Your transgressions…" Fugaku uttered, glower never leaving Sakura's body. "They have made… a mockery… of our clan."
"Blame your sons for that," muttered Gaara. "They are the ones who were bested."
"I will blame you for that," Madara continued to persevere, managing to clamber to his knees, then to his feet, although his hands never once left his throbbing head. It was quite the impressive sight and had Sakura pausing in sinking her teeth into Temari's wrist. "To feed some pitiful vampire your blood–"
"This pitiful vampire is full of Itachi's blood and connected to Sasuke and isn't afraid of dying," she reminded him cheerfully, exposing her teeth. "Remember that."
A hand found its way to her mouth, blocking her attempt to finally drink Temari's blood and green eyes shot down to black, filled with disbelieving rage at his defiance. Gods, part of her was so deliciously tempted to rip the appendage off with her teeth, to ingest more of his blood – it would be quite the wondrous kick in the teeth for the lot of them.
"S-Some truce," spat Shisui, expression twisting from his agony.
"As though you guys weren't here to put her down anyway," Kankuro shot back as he towered over the fallen man.
Overpowering the hand keeping her jaw locked like she was nothing more than a rabid animal, Sakura pinned it to the ground beside Itachi's head, her nostrils flaring and demon side's eyes awakening in response to the murderous intent coursing through her veins so intensely it scalded her.
"I run this town now," she repeated for the hundredth time, wondering just when the hell it was finally going to sink in for them all. Other hand locking his jaw to see how the fuck he liked it, Sakura lowered her face to his, muttering hatefully, "If you want to keep your precious baby brother alive and keep living your unsightly life of giving up everything for each other, of fucking over everyone else, then leave."
At the narrowing of his eyes and twitching of his muscles, Sakura snapped her teeth at him warningly.
"This is your last chance, so what will it be?"
A/N - Someone please stop me, because I'm having way too much fun with the drama in this one hahah. It's been a fun change from the more serious stories I've been writing, with the added bonus of there being no set due date for it. I've got to admit, though, I never intended for this to progress any further than a one-shot haha.
Do you guys think Sakura's right in thinking the Uchiha Clan has a trump card? They were a little too quiet during the meeting, don't you think?