2.

A/N: Partly inspired by 'Seven' by Taylor Swift.

The red and white of the infamous family symbol drew her back to the days when she would visit the main household of the Uchiha's. The row of shoes that were neatly lined up against the wall on the entrance of the house was something that had always caught her eye whenever she visited - not the crest that loomed above her as she would enter, framed up high for all to see the family's pride; nor the family portrait that was situated on the opposing wall of the front door. It was those damn row of shoes that had convinced her that Sasuke's stern father suffered from some strain of OCD. But more than that... whenever she would linger outside, she would hear the eruption of intoxication meddled with distortions of familial traditions and customs.

She would hear the arguments that would fester between his beloved father and elder brother, and it would always frighten her, to know that such a pure, innocent boy resided in such an arduous abode.

It was in their secret plotted land that she recalled herself one day saying to him, "Your house must be haunted. It must be."

To that, he had put his defences up. "Ghosts aren't real. Are you having your bad dreams again? Mother says that you just need to face whatever is frightening you when you're awake if you want the bad dreams to stay away. And Mother is never wrong."

The ivy plants that had grown around their feet and the mossy rocks that were embedded into the soil seemed to encircle them together, drawing them closer as she leaned in and whispered as they both teetered on the edge of the rocks.

"Nu-uh," she shook her head, dispelling his words. "It MUST be haunted. Because your dad seems to always be mad and that must be why! I heard him and your brother shouting again."

The boy was silent, a sullen look had passed over him as he sat there, a slight frown etched onto his features. When he didn't speak, she continued, "If you want, you can come with me. I heard Mama and Papa say how we might be venturing out - I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds exciting."

At this, Sasuke looked up from the ground and stared at her. "Venturing out? You mean you're leaving?" Even at the age of seven, he seemed to be able to decipher the elaborate language of adults.

"Of course not without you!" she smiled at him. "Never without you. So you should really come with us. We'll move to Suna together, and we can be there forever! Drink sweet tea in the summer, just cross your heart and don't tell no other!"

Sasuke's pained face seemed to lift at her ridiculous notion. He flicked her forehead and said with a slight quirk of his lips, "You're so silly, Sak."

She giggled at his friendly demeanour and lost herself in happiness, flailing her arms around until she slipped off the rock she was perched upon and grazed her knee.

"Sakura?"

"Sakura?"

Sakura blinked and looked up to see Naruto staring at her, concerned as his brows furrowed together. "Are you okay? You've just been staring at that envelope since I handed it to you. Do you want some space? I can go if you want-"

"No, it's okay!" Sakura managed to sputter out. "Us three have always been a team, right? So we'll open it together."

"Even if it's just addressed to you? I mean, that's why I thought he was still texting you, you know?"

"Naruto... That doesn't even make sense. If we were texting, why would he decide to change his way of contacting me?" Sakura perked up one pink eyebrow earning a shrug from the nonchalant blonde.

Sakura took in a deep breath and manoeuvred her trembling fingers around the envelope until she had unsealed it and peeled out the letter encased inside. Her eyes wandered around the page, trying to divulge the few, scarce words, wondering what they meant. How had he known? And why now? The words seemed to swim into each other the more she scanned the words, attempting to process the ink stained on the parchment, but to no avail.

"What does it say?" Naruto asked eagerly as he attempted to read the letter, suddenly having forgetting that he had just offered her 'some space' only moments before.

She handed the letter to him as the words puzzled her, her head spun as she tried to piece it together as Naruto read the letter aloud:

"Sakura,

I am aware of your exploits.

I need your assistance.

You know where to meet me.

"The fuck? Is that it? Are you sure it's Sasuke? It's not even signed by hi- Actually, wait, of course. The bastard wouldn't care to sign his name would he? But hey, he reached out to you, so we can go tomorrow after my seminar, what do you sa-"

"But why?" Sakura asked, more to herself than to her friend. She was of certainty that it was Sasuke who had written that letter. She knew his handwriting from anywhere, even after all this time. And the red and white family crest that was stamped as a way of signature at the bottom of the letter screamed 'Uchiha' all over it.

"'Why' what? Clearly Sasuke needs to you do something for him. Now I don't know how he caught wind of what you've been up to, and I don't know exactly where he's planning to meet you, but you don't need to be so anxious. He clearly understands why you do what you do," Naruto comforted her, sporting his infectious grin on his face.

Sakura managed a small smile before she said, "Maybe you're right. But you can't come with me, Naruto. You've got a life here. I don't know what Sasuke wants or how long he needs me for, so there's no point in you tagging along as well when things have only just started to come together for you. Your dream is to become the President, and God knows we need someone more like you than Mr Shimura overseeing things. So please, Naruto, stay here," she pleaded with rationality.

"You know the technical term is 'Hokage' right? Part of my course has been about researching the history behind that title... But anyway, what would that friend of yours think?" Naruto asked, scrunching up his face in protest.

"'That friend...?'" Sakura mimicked softly to herself before it dawned on her. "Who? Ino?"

"Yeah, yeah! That loud-mouthed one!" Naruto made a face in disgust at the mention of her name.

Sakura looked at her friend's reaction, slightly amused as she asked, "You don't like her, do you?"

"No!" Naruto huffed. "She's EXTREMELY LOUD and obnoxious too! Always getting into other people's business!" Naruto puffed out his chest in exasperation.

Sakura stared in disbelief at her childhood best friend as he had just described himself the way Sasuke had always referred to Naruto when introducing him to anyone. She could almost hear his dark, brooding self say, "And that loser is Naruto. He's extremely loud and obnoxious. Just pretend you care about what he's saying, or ignore him. That's what I do."

"Next you'll say you hate that she's a blonde," Sakura suggested, egging him on, seeing if he'll catch on to her mocking him.

"Actually I do!" Naruto had caught the bait. "Who does she think she is flaunting that hair and blue eyes of hers! Hmph!"

Sakura stared at Naruto for one long minute... Before she erupted into laughter. "Sasuke's always been right about you. You really ARE an idiot!"

Naruto sported a look of hurt on his face as his sky blue eyes softened like a child's. "Sakura-chan, why do you have to be so mean?" he whined softly, still oblivious to the irony of his words targeted at another blonde.

Sakura shook her head with a small smile at play on her lips as if to dismiss their playful exchange of words. "I'll really miss you Naruto, and I'm sure Sasuke does too in his own way, wherever he is. But he asked for me and it's probably because you've got your path set out for you that he hasn't requested your presence. You understand that, right?" Sakura attempted to draw out his blessings for her to leave, but alas, he was unrelenting.

"Why does it sound like you're saying goodbye, Sak? I'm coming with you, not for your sake, but for Sasuke's," Naruto protested, his brows stitching together as he demonstrated how serious he was. "I won't let you leave without me. We don't know what kind of trouble he's in nor exactly why he wants to so desperately meet up with you so suddenly."

"Charming," Sakura replied dryly. "And here I was thinking that you were concerned for a maiden in distress."

"We both know you're no such thing," Naruto snorted.

Sakura shone a wicked smile at her best friend, baring her teeth for a quick second revealing the devil that harboured within her, constantly itching to make its move. And it was as her loyal-to-the-bone friend raised his eyebrows at her with an amusing grin on his gentle face that the thought finally struck her.

"Actually, you're right," the woman declared. "We'll go together."

"Really?!" Naruto asked as his eyes widened, shocked that she would turn her heart at such ease of a protest.

"Hmm," she hummed back in confirmation. "I just need to get a couple of things ready." With that, she jumped off the bed and left her friend staring at her back as she retreated out of the room and into the hallway.

It was in the kitchen that she had taken herself and the used dishes too, washing and drying them, leaving them to rinse - doing her bit in the household, grateful for her friend who had done whatever he could - whatever she would let him do - to make her livelihood more comfortable, easing her burdens and allowing her the reigns to do as she pleases as she wrecks others' lives, just so long as she doesn't bring her problems home. Oh how she loved him. Oh how she saw him like a brother, an extension of herself. Even if she hadn't been dealt with the best cards in the pack that is life, at least she had Naruto, and he was always there when she needed him.

It was also in the kitchen that she brought out the red wine and two glasses, imprinting her lips on one, and stirring the white contents in another. Particles spun together, the white flecks dissolving until its traces were no more, solidified into the liquid; a devil dressed in rich red adorning the mask of an angel. Sakura lifted the two wine glasses, taking care to note which one was which, her nude lipstick stain a good tell-tale sign of which was hers in case she forgot, and her feet led her to the room.

The darkness drank her in, almost suffocating her quite immediately as she stepped inside. It had been quite some time since she had allowed the pain to take her in, sweep her away until she was left with only an ache that could be soothed with false hopes and pasts that were so far gone, they almost seemed as if the memories of childhood innocence did not belong to her. But the pain that settled into her was not hers for her to keep. There was a reason that he had left, and with that, it was the pieces of his story that he had left behind here.

In the dark she could still picture the family portrait of the dark-haired nuclear family, and his sweet face that smiled as his mother held him and her brother's shoulders. His father stood by his mother, and if it wasn't for his eyes, then it would not be apparent that he was satisfied, at peace, fulfilled with how his life had turned out. The shine in all their eyes were glistening, even in this dusty old room that he had left. As she fell to her knees, the memories of him opening up to her and Naruto struck her like a bullet:

He had been acting differently all week, and she had surmised that it had to do with the fact that his brother had appeared on every news outlet. Gone was the Sasuke with his soft smiles and playful teasing, and in his place was a broken, vulnerable young man she had known that he had been hiding away from her. But here he was, on his knees in his bedroom clawing at his hair as he attempted to draw fragments of his life together.

She had kneeled beside him and had held him as he had cried his frustrations out to her. But she couldn't heal his wounds, mend his broken wings. He had fallen - her light in the sky, her best friend - had fallen, and she didn't know how to help him.

It was later in the week that Naruto suggested he release his tension through a spar. Sakura had seen them wrestle, box, kick each other around before. It had always been short of seriousness, but what she had seen that week from Sasuke was... different, to say the least. It was lucky for them that Sakura was known as a 'brain box' or 'Forehead' by a certain female friend and had enough knowledge of the human body to be able to assist the healing of fractured bones.

It was by the end of the week that she had found him in his room packing. It was the hushed whispers between him and Naruto that had allured her to his room.

"Sakura," he had said, acknowledging her presence without a single glance over his shoulder. She took in his white shirt and his black trousers that fit a bit too well before she sat cross-legged on his bed, beside Naruto.

"You're leaving," she had declared, cutting to the chase, not wanting to tread around the topic any longer.

When the silence dragged on, a little bit too much to feel unsettling, it had been Naruto who had intervened. "Sakura, don't be mad. Sasuke, he-"

Sakura raised a hand to stop him from his rambles and she cut in, "I know. It's fine, Sasuke. I understand. You want to find him, don't you, Sasuke? Itachi, I mean. Your brother. You want to track him down and ask him what happened to your... You want answers. I get it. I'm not mad. If you need to leave, then just go. Me and Naruto will be here when you're back, I promise," she had vowed, giving him her permission, not that he needed it.

She still remembers how he had finally turned his head slightly around and had said, "Thank you Sakura." Was it then that his pain had become hers too? Or was it before that? She could not remember.

'Have you found your peace, Sasuke? Or do you still wander the earth searching for answers?' She guessed she would know tomorrow.

The light flickered on and the presence that filled the room lightened any suffocating tension that had weighed her down earlier.

"Sakura, you're still up? It's unlike you to be in here," Naruto questioned, gesturing around the room.

"Ah, I was reminiscing... Drink with me," Sakura offered, the untouched wine glass pushed into his hands. He took his place beside her on the floor, and it was then that they had brought up stories about each of the furnishings. Unravelling long-forgotten stories of each ornament their old friend had left behind, promises of a sweeter tomorrow as they both mentally and emotionally prepared for what the future would bring. It may be hard, but they would get through it together. It would be like the old times again, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke - or so Naruto thought.

They laughed into the night, untold tales on the tips of their tongues as the wine took its course, drugging its victim and leaving only the maiden with enough willpower to take her leave as the sun rolled over into the sky. It was with the rising of the sun that she had left an apology of sorts in the form of a kiss on the temple. She knew he had friends in high places, connections that he had formed with his friendly nature and eventually, with the revelation that he was the late Hokage's son. He was too well-known; he was a distraction. He was a nuisance. As much as she loved him as one loves any friend, he would only hold her back, and like she said, it was not him who was asked for. With one last look, she took her belongings and fled.

"You know where to meet me".

She knew indeed.

It had taken her a whole day to travel to the designated spot. The place where all their dreams had been burrowed into the ground, hoping for it to take root, when they were only seven. The land where they would meet, in what they had thought was their little secret, was now barren. The leafy green lands were still as green as they once were, and the lake still glistened like emeralds under the waking of the sun, and the mossy rocks were still rooted in their spot. But with so much seeming the same, it was all different. She couldn't pinpoint the gravity of where their platonic affections towards each other had bristled, nor could she feel the heat of a blush swarming up her skin as she tried to recall the times he had left her stupefied with happiness. In place of the loving memories that she had held close to her heart, instead of being hit with more flashes of a warm past, she was met with a path that led to a home.

On closer inspection, it was more of a mansion.

To think that he had quite literally taken root in their past full of hopes and dreams in order to keep the distortion of their reality at bay made her feel slightly queer. Had he changed so much in the last ten months that he had decided he would rather face the illusions of his own created reality, forgoing the dystopian, cruel way of life that they had been dealt with? Had they really been driven so far apart, that their vision of the future was no longer aligned? But then why had he called her here to him? To save her? From herself? She almost scoffed at the thought. None of it made sense, and none of it resembled the Sasuke she remembered.

She realised she would get nowhere if her feet didn't start moving, and so she would inspect this new way of life with her own eyes. See to it that he was living well, and if they truly could not approve of the other's life choices, she would depart and gift him with her sweet farewells.

As she neared the brown-bricked mansion that was well-hidden within the trees encasing it, she noticed the door was left slightly ajar.

She pushed it open slightly to accommodate herself and she entered the lavish building. The pillars that greeted her soared up high, and when she preened her neck to look at its end she did not fail to notice the grand chandeliers that hung high above her, welcoming her with their incandescent glow. Artistic pictures draped the hallway on either side and Sakura was left frozen to the spot as she took it all in. She had never been allowed to enter a place with such prestige for her lowly birth, and she did not know whether to feel at awe for being welcomed to such a place, or insulted, knowing that her fate was not written for her to be in such places.

Just as she was about to turn, intending to retreat with her heels hot and the fire within her burning with more rage at the world, intending to burn it to the ground into ashes, a voice halted her very thoughts.

"I'm glad you came as swiftly as possible," the soft, gravelly voice sent shivers up her spine as each word was punctuated slowly, desirably. His voice was a contradiction of sorts: calming but also captivating, as if just the low timber of his voice was enough to send you hurdling into whirlpools of illusions.

Her gaze found the man behind the voice, as she watched him as he was sat upon a throne-like chair. One leg folded over the other's knee, and his perfectly chiselled face perched upon the back of his hand. The lines on his face only accentuated his handsome features, and for a moment she swore she had forgotten how to breathe.

He was beautiful.

He could not be trusted.

"Itachi?"

A/N: This is me trying to put into words the different scenes that are plaguing my mind.

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