6.
The crispiness of the leaves under his feet are the only things that speak to him in this quiet, desolate world. The night is bleak and blackness surrounds him as he makes his way towards the car gifted to him from one of Orochimaru's men: Jugo. A man who for reasons that Sasuke doesn't understand, is loyal to him like a dog is loyal to its owner.
Sasuke enters his convertible, and his hand grips the wheel firmly as rage festers across his face. His nose crinkles as a scowl surfaces and as his brows crease together: flames of anger boil over his body until he cannot take it anymore and he bangs his head on the steering wheel. He grits his teeth and it is the only thing stopping him from screaming and smashing the windows into shards of glass that would represent his soul at this very moment.
A swirl of emotions and the weight of the world crushes over Sasuke. He feels as if he has been buried under a ton of bricks and there is no way of digging himself out without being tattooed in bruises and scars in the aftermath. Itachi... Sakura... It had suddenly all become too much. Seeing her again had been too much. He had been aware of Sakura's movements as Kabuto, another one of Orochimaru's right hand men, had discovered that a certain Sakura Haruno had been asking civilians across towns close to Konoha if they had heard of any news about the younger Uchiha brother. Sasuke had not wanted to cross paths with either Sakura nor Naruto... not anytime soon. He had hoped to come face to face with Itachi, discover the secrets of their family's demise and sort out the misplaces puzzled of his wrecked life.
What had actually happened the day he lost his family?
Why did he never see his brother again?
Why did his gentle, older brother disappear off the face of the earth and not even leave a note, an email, reach out through social media? He had had ten years to do so, but somehow, Itachi had found it was suitable to leave his traumatised younger brother as an orphan to fend for himself and never return to check up on how he was doing.
A dark thought had always lurked within the deepest depths of Sasuke's mind, clawing away at him... eroding at his heart and mind... but Sasuke had always pushed it away, not wanting to deal with the torment behind the suspected truth, that perhaps, Itachi had ran and not returned because he had been the culprit. He had been the one to take everything away from Sasuke, destroy all ties and bonds with their family in one night. But it had not just been their parents who had left this world - it was all the Uchiha's, every single extended family member had been eradicated, and Sasuke could not understand why or how it had come to be. The Uchiha's were a proud family, and even whilst having a 'main household' it was no secret to even a young boy of the disagreements and conflicts that existed between the Uchiha's. Even between his own father and older brother, there had been far too many times where they had exchanged words to wound and had not met eye to eye. So why had the Uchiha's decided to congregate all in one setting for one night to only find themselves slaughtered, burnt like leaves disintegrating into ashes? Sasuke did not know, and it angered him.
He had hoped for so many years that Itachi was not the one responsible, but Sakura's words and the family secrets he had started to uncover affirmed and gave voice to his suspicions and they curled around his windpipe, ready to break him. But there was still a slight hope that trickled down from Sasuke's eyes that allowed himself to breathe: there was no real proof that Itachi had really been responsible behind the arson of the Uchiha's, and so Sasuke would not let the thoughts fully consume him.
Sasuke raised his head from the steering wheel and looked up at the moon: the phase of the moon tonight was a waxing gibbous, not perfectly round, but just enough. It reminded him of the Uchiha crest, and just that thought once again angered Sasuke. His thoughts paved their way back to the Uchiha pendant worn around Sakura's neck that bounced against her heart, and the thought angered him. Moreso, the ruby ring that glinted in the sun that was placed around her finger threw Sasuke into a frenzy. Sasuke elbowed the car door in frustration before raking one hand across his hair in an attempt to pacify himself - but the attempt was short lived.
His mother's necklace and ring - something he had been sure had been lost in the fire - now appeared around the skin of his best friend. Both him and Itachi knew that wearing those jewellery were to signify a Uchiha matriarch, and so the thought of Itachi having gifted them to Sakura meant that Itachi was not playing around when he had told Sakura that he wanted her to be the matriarch, Sasuke mused. But why her? And how long had Itachi been tracking her movements? And 'how did he fucking have mother's necklace and ring?'
The questions swirled in Sasuke's mind, closing in on him and suffocating him to the point that he felt breathless. He had managed to stop himself from making a scene around Sakura, as even though the sight of her had irritated him and for her to wear his mother's jewellery was something he had taken to deep offence, he still deeply cared for her and she did not deserve to be heckled with his frustrations and anger without giving her the chance to explain first. So he had obliged and listened. He had reserved his thoughts and emotions... for Itachi.
He knew that Sakura wanted to kill his older brother, for the pain that Itachi had supposedly inflicted on himself he believed, and although he does not want to believe it and still hopes the prospect of Itachi having killed his family is unfounded... if her suspicions were correct, he would do it first. He does not want it to come to that, but if he must, he will avenge his family.
She moves across the night with ease, her unresolved turmoils leading her way back to the mansion. She is anxious to be back where she parted from. How would she react when she came face to face with Itachi? The mere thought of him left imprints on her mind that were marked in tatters and ruins: how dare he touch her in places where no other man had ever been? How dare he rid her of her belongings and intercept her drugs and use it on herself - she was still unsure about what had happened on that night, but she was sure about one thing: Itachi was more dangerous than she had first anticipated, and the route of her narrative seemed to lead to his death.
It is past midnight when she arrives at the locked golden gates that cages in the mansion. A gate which had not been locked the first time she had made her appearance. She notices a buzzer and presses it, waiting for the intercom to speak back at her. It takes a few more buzzes before she is answered.
"We do not accept guests. Especially at this late hour," comes an unfamiliar gravely voice of a middle-aged man.
"It's Sakura," she responds back. "I'm engaged to Itachi. I believe he'd be expecting me back, no matter the hour."
Her words are a mastery of magic and the golden gates unshackle themselves, allowing the weight of a teenage girl to be able to push them open until she has entered back into the magnitude of Itachi's palace. She is merely a pawn at his disposal, but she has a few tricks up her own sleeve, and she will play her part well. For herself, for Sasuke.
She is welcomed into the building by unfamiliar faces and well-spoken courtesies, both of which she pays no mind. She first treks upstairs to the master bedroom, the room of the owner of this cursed mansion, but alas it is locked. Sakura reflects that this may be the best for now, although the fact that she still has no idea of his whereabouts tugs at her mind as she takes herself to her own room and inspects the clothing that had been handed to her. They are all of quality material, but that is not what preoccupies her mind as she rummages through them, turning them inside-out. She is relieved to find that her new clothes had not been bugged with speakers that may record her conversations, and so she relocates her task of searching for cameras and audio tapes to the rest of her room.
Expectedly, she locates a tiny device made to record audio under her mattress and within a drawer. Sakura crushes them with her feet before she allows sleep to pardon her troubles and slip her away into unsuspecting territories...
She is back at the dinner table, on Itachi's lap. She straddles him and makes a joke about how the name 'Sakura Uchiha' fits so well between his lips.
She holds her glass around him but does not take a sip. Instead, she takes his and downs it. It was untouched before she had placed her lips on the rim, she is sure of it now. Had that been his plan all along? Knowing that she only drank from whatever was his, and so he played along with her little farce and beat her at her own game, drugging his own glass, knowing full well she would disregard her own and go for his.
In her dream state she can see herself losing her rationality, her own morals. She whispers vulgar thoughts into his ear, before she agrees to follow him. He leads and she complies.
She is placed on his bed and a warm wet towel is dabbed across her neck, something which she believes to be his mouth taking a taste of her. Was she mistaken?
She wants it to stop. She does not want to feel like this - to be taken like this. But there are hands gliding over her body, pulling at her clothes, leaving her bare. Her body is on fire but she cannot do anything about it. It is too late before she realises that she herself has unclothed her feminine body. She is exposed - but she is alone. Still, the drug courses through her veins and she wants the intrusion in her body to fade away, alas, there is nothing she can do about it but she still tries to pierce her own skin with her fingernails. Her nails dig deep into her skin leaving purple marks that stain her body. She has been tattered and ruined, by her own hands. But her mind has been destructed and tormented by him who had put his plan into motion, intending to break her slowly.
In her dream state she can see him now, but she swears his usual unreadable inky eyes are now stained in red-
Sakura awakes with a gasp.
Her dream had exposed pieces of that night that had been cast away from her, but what realities really lay between her fantasy of her dream? She could not trust her own mind at this point, as it may be playing tricks on her - attempting to piece together what had really happened and denying that she had been tainted by that man. She decided that she would have to confront him if she wanted the truth.
The morning sun makes itself known to her as it peeks through the slit between her curtains. Sakura dresses herself in a casual white dress that reaches her knees and uses the ensuite bathroom to make herself look presentable for the day. She leaves for the adjoining room but once again it is locked. She thinks to use one of her hairs pins to pick the lock, but before she is able to even sift her hands through her short tresses, she is called by one of the maids for breakfast, and would she like to choose the food and wine for the engagement party today?
Sakura scurries along the corridor, careful to avoid the servants and maids who speak to her, asking her questions of where she was yesterday as she makes her way across the vast rooms of the mansion, attempting to locate Itachi's office where they had had some of their meetings discussing names that cast a shadow such as Danzo Shimura and Orochimaru.
Even if Itachi is not here for her to confront about what he may or may not have done to her, even if she cannot try to coax out of him the truth about his family, there must be something in his office that connects him to how he knows about the dark secrets of the world of politics - and most importantly - how he knew of her and what she had been up to for the last ten months.
Sakura unclips a hairpin and makes work of the lock. The door speaks in creeks at her insolence for having disrupted its quiet as she tiptoes in, careful not to make a sound. A library of books covers one side of the small office; a desk sits in the centre, a plant pot on the desk as well as a closed laptop and some stationery. She sits at the chair by the desk and contemplates how to open and turn on the laptop without leaving fingerprints. There are no gloves nearby, and any she did have with her before alongside her medical kits had been confiscated with everything else. In the end Sakura decided to forgo the attempt at trying to snoop through his laptop, it was unlikely that she would have gotten any access anyhow as hacking was not a skill set of hers. Sakura's green eyes scan the room lazily when a book on a shelf catches her eye:
'The Will of Fire - The History of Konoha'. It was a text she had studied in History class at school before the current Hokage had ordered the burning off all books with the slogan 'The Will of Fire'. Shimura had stated that the slogan of the previous Hokages on textbooks for students and civilians alike to read were propaganda, and if anyone was caught with any such text then they would incur a major fine.
Sakura stood up from where she was sitting as she was drawn to the textbook. As she opened it, she noticed how the pages had yellowed with age and had tears and folds over them, as if they had been read and touched by hands several times. Sakura notices a bookmark and finds the pages it lays upon: 67 and 68. There is a handwritten note next to the page number 67 that states UM-TFOTS.93. The actual content of the pages say nothing all too exciting except something about how the term 'Hokage' emerged from folklore about a different time.
The note baffles Sakura at first, but as she placed the book back, she realised that the shelves are labelled with letters signifying who the authors of the texts are in order to organise the texts like a proper library. A spark ignites in Sakura as she realises what the letters in the text may have been referring to, and she feels a rush of adrenaline as it feels like she is in some sort of escape room, ready to solve a puzzle and find out more about the mysterious Itachi Uchiha. Sure enough, there is a shelf marked 'UM', and as she scans the few texts she notices a book which title has the same initials as the rest of the marked page: 'The Fortress of the Sharingan'. The book is black and the words are lettered in gold.
Sakura opens the cover of the book and finds a note tucked into the front:
To Itachi,
Enclosed in this book are the tales which you have sought.
You are now indebted and belong to the Akatsuki.
Pain
The word 'Pain' is written in what Sakura can only suspect to be dried blood as it stains through the note. Sakura is left more baffled than before, left again with far more questions than answers, however, she will not let that stop her. Sakura flicks through the pages, looking to locate page 93 due to the previous handwritten note by Itachi, but as her thumb brushed against the page 72, she drops the book with a thump at the call of her name.
"Miss Haruno?"
Sakura turns, startled, at the interruption and of being caught snooping through Itachi's private office to find only the butler from the previous day.
"Is everything okay?" he asks as he looks her up and down slowly.
Sakura picks up the book and tucks it back into place, delaying her response.
"Miss?" he asks again.
"Yes, I'm fine," she replies, a slight bite in her tone. "I was simply becoming accustomed with the texts of my fiance. We will share a future together, it only makes sense to start sharing our hobbies and interests, wouldn't you agree?"
"Ah... Yes, to be sure. You are quite right, Miss Haruno," he agrees not too confidently as he wrings his hands together. She reads his body language and deduces that he is nervous. "But-"
"You," she interrupts. "Where's Itachi?"
"No one knows where he is, Miss," he responds with a calmness, however she can read beneath his exterior and notices his clammy hands and the sweat protruding along his brows.
"You expect me to believe Itachi would leave his manor out in the open with his employees not knowing how to contact him in an emergency?" she challenges, and then adds with her green eyes narrowing as her voice dipped lower, "Don't lie to me." A threat of some sort. She half expects it not to work as this man does not - should not - know of what she is capable of. But the sweat picks up, and even from where she stands she is sure that his heart rate increases, and as he finally relents and speaks she notices the dryness of his mouth.
"He is on a business trip. I believe you were tailing him..." His voice fades away as he realises that he has just exposed that she was on the right trail to pursuing him the previous day but had got side-tracked. "He will be back before the engagement, so you don't need to worry, Miss." With that, he gives up a weak smile before ushering her out of the office and mumbling how Itachi shouldn't have been so careless to have left his office open for anyone to walk into.
Aimlessly, Sakura walks the halls and then the gardens of the manor trying to piece together what she has found... but all her calculations amount to nothing. All she has learnt is that Itachi is a meticulous man, more than she had previously presumed, if the riddles illustrated by the page numbers suggested anything. It is as Sakura is walking around the garden that she spots it: a fountain twin to the one she had seen Sasuke by before, with the Uchiha emblem crafted into the stone that holds the water within.
Gears turn in Sakura's mind, thoughts wash over her cascading through like a current that has no dam to stop it and she is almost overwhelmed by the nothingness that her thoughts conclude to. But one thing is for a certainty, that town had some sort of affiliation with the Uchiha. As Sakura gingerly steps closer towards the stone fountain, intending to trace the curves of the crest as she had seen Sasuke once done, something halts her: on the opposing side of the fountain sits an old woman on a rocking chair muttering to herself.
Sakura cannot hear the words the woman says, but she is sure she reads the word "Uchiha" on the woman's lips, and so Sakura nears her as if creeping up onto a wounded, stray animal, intending to hear whatever secret this old crone may keep within the whispers she holds dear to herself. Sakura steps into the orbit of the old woman, so close she is that she can smell the dampness that clings onto the older lady's cardigan.
"...tradition and culture... you know better than... Madar..." is all Sakura can decipher, even as close as she is beside the old lady. Sakura begins to reconsider her intentions, as surely this old woman knows nothing more about Itachi Uchiha than herself, and so begins to turn around when her hand is caught and held back by bony, wiry fingers that stroke her own soft, creamy hands. Sakura is startled at first, but allows herself to be pulled back towards the old woman.
"Ah Mikoto, dear," the old woman says. "You came."
Sakura holds in a gasp at the name of which she has been addressed, before she kneels down before the rocking chair and responds meekly, "Yes... I've come, ma'am."
"And how has he been fairing? Your lord husband I mean. I know that Fugaku has always been firm and unyielding even as a child, but surely as a father and husband he is a changed man, no?" the lady caws like a crow, words spilling out of her mouth without even a thought to let the other party to respond. "As his ol' nanny I can only hope that he has grown into a man that is devoted to his wife and children as he is devoted to the customs and laws of his family traditions and the land he lives on. Does he take care of you well? Does he feed Itachi and little Sas? Have you brought them along with you?"
Sakura's lips move along each other, parting then sealing itself, with no words escaping her throat as it constricts and then releases tirelessly at the revelation that this woman was as close to the family as being the late patriarch's nanny. It is only when she hears the pressing call of, "Mikoto?", that Sakura finally answers.
"Yes... Anyone can see that Fukagu-kun is devoted to me and our sons, you don't need to worry," Sakura replies, trying her best to sound as earnest as the Mikoto she had always remembered.
"Ah, well that is good to hear, my child," the woman nods with satisfaction. "So, what news do you bring to me this time?"
Sakura hesitates before she reveals, "Itachi... he is set to be engaged. He is no longer so little, but is now a man grown." Sakura's teeth grate together as she remembers how 'grown' Itachi is with the consuming and almost perverted stares he has always glanced her way.
"Really? Engaged? Knowing that husband of yours it'll be to some long-distanced relative just like you and Fugaku. I can only pray that it works out between Itachi and whoever he is paired with, but for the love of God, Mikoto- You need to really put a stop to this Uchiha nonsense of marrying within the family just to-" The words stopped and so did the rocking of the chair. For half a heartbeat, Sakura had almost thought that the woman had breathed her last breath and had knocked on the doors of death, awaiting to begin her next life when she felt her hand being gripped tighter.
"Keep the Uchiha's bloodline safe and pure. Go!" The woman releases Sakura's hand and swats it away when Sakura tries to grasp at her again as the woman shuffles away from her with her cane. Sakura is left standing by a rocking chair that rocks for a few more rounds before the movement fades away until it is motionless like the sky that is painted in clear blue. Despite her surroundings being a picture of stillness and calm, Sakura's own mind are in tatters as she is left unsure whether the woman's last request of hers was a continuation of her previous thought to Mikoto Uchiha, or if... the old woman had demanded something off of Sakura Haruno.
With no one to talk to and no one to trust, Sakura resigns to her quarters after agreeing that she will take a look at the magazines full of wine and food privately in her own room. Lunch too, is requested to be taken to her room, for a bride-to-be wishes to have some peace before she is requited once again with her loved one, is the whisper that carries along the corridor and into the garden and around again, until dinner too is served in Haruno's chamber.
It has been an hour since Sakura had scraped her dinner outside of her window, allowing it to fall into the pits of the bushes rather than the pits of her stomach, for fear of what would happen if she did not try to stay one step ahead - even when she had, she had been left unawares. Who knew what these butlers and maids of Itachi's had been ordered to do? How could she trust the workers of a man who has meetings with someone who calls himself 'Pain' and signs his letters with blood? She had learnt that the world was cruel and twisted, and in turn she too had been defiled and had become accustomed to the dark ways of the world, but there were some avenues which even she had not explored nor become acquainted with.
It was as she was lying on her bed, making notes of the timeline of events which she had learned about in order to make sense of all the information that she had gathered that she heard a beating against the large doors that opened up towards her balcony. At first Sakura had thought that it was just hail, as the snow had not completely melted away in this region, however, when she heard a rattle of the handles on the side of the balcony, she became alert and wondered and hoped if this could be the alternative to her hunger strike until Itachi returns with answers...
Sakura made her way to the curtains and pulled them apart, only to come face to face with a familiar sight behind the glass panes: his hair stood up in spikes behind him, but at the front, it fell into place like a love story that meets its climax once two lovers confess their undying feelings. As she opened the door she was met with his onyx eyes that held a hint of urgency in them as he pushed past her and settled onto her bed as he took his boots off and dusted off the snow.
"Sasuke!" she finally breathed out. "What- Why- How did you get up here? You know there are vines that have stinging nettles alongside the walls so people don't climb up?"
He looked up at her and regarded her coolly before he stated, "That's exactly how I came up. And now I need you to treat me."
"You're incredulous!" Sakura groaned as she knelt in front of Sasuke inspecting the damage of his hands; a redness had already appeared, however the telltale signs of white spots had still not begun emerging on his skin signified that it was only the early signs of a rash. "I don't have anything on me. All my equipment has been taken from me so I can only apply soap which is an alkaline and so should neutralise-"
"Sakura," Sasuke said her name with ease and she looked up at his relaxed composure, awaiting his next words with impatience. "I brought dock leaves." He nodded at the backpack he brought alongside him and she immediately opened it up and found it nestled at the top.
"So I take it you anticipated this? You've been planning this for a couple of hours, hm? Because you can't find dock leaves around here, especially in this snow," Sakura reflected out loud.
"Hn," Sasuke responded back with a grunt. "I was driving around. Noticed a few things."
"I see," Sakura replied. "But how did you even know this was my room? There's many grand windows with vines laced around them."
"Ah, but yours is the only one that throws food out every couple of hours."
Sakura winced at that. "Is that why... Is that why you brought a packed lunch with you...?" she asked, referring to the box of dumplings under the dock leaves she found and almost sounding hopeful.
"Take it," he said. "But shouldn't you be tending to me, Sakura?" He raised a brow at the fact that she was still holding the dock leaves but had neglected to relieve him of his sting.
"For the first ten minutes it's best to avoid touching the rash, every great doctor knows this," Sakura relayed, a hint of sarcasm playing at the last of her words.
"And I suppose you're the greatest of all doctors, right?" Sasuke taunted with a slight smirk. She was sure he knew what that title meant to her - the fact it was something unattainable for her due to her lowly birth, and so she only frowned and smacked him lightly on the arm to which his smirk faded away. "Anyhow, you better eat up."
Sakura mumbled a, "Thanks," as she took the dumplings stuffed with tomatoes and started to satiate her hunger crossed-leg on the floor in front of Sasuke.
Sakura watched Sasuke as he took in her room, the lavish silk gowns that spilled out of her wardrobe and the comfortable bedding which he sat upon, until his eyes cast onto her notes beside him.
"Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki's car crash/death on October 10th 2002," Sasuke read aloud from her notes. "Planned death by Shimura. Defect of Orochimaru - 2003. Uchiha massacre - 'accidental' explosion; 2010. Hiruzen Sarutobi's death - planned death by Orochimaru and Shimura; 2015. Shimura rises to power and becomes Hokage; 2016. Itachi part of 'Akatsuki', 2021." At that last note, Sasuke flicks his eyes towards Sakura and his eyes stand cold as his face settles into a stony expression, seriousness seeping over every inch of his face. His lips press together until they are a thin line, and suddenly she can feel every touch of snow on her body, even as she is indoors, as his gaze on her are icicles ready to take her into hostage under his piercing gaze. As she takes a bite into her final dumpling, a rice falls stray into her lap instead. Her hands are unsteady as she looks back, fazed by his expression.
"Sakura," he says, a slight aggression interlaced with the way he calls out to her. "What do you know of the 'Akatsuki'?"
"I... I don't know much," she reveals. "Only that there's some guy who calls himself 'Pain' and that Itachi is a part of them. I don't actually know how long Itachi has been a part of the Akatsuki, but it was only today that I found a note addressed to him tucked inside one of his books."
Sasuke sighed in relief at her answer, and it is then that Sakura asks, "Why? And what do you know of them?"
Sasuke looks back at her again and his stony mask settles on his face once again. "They're a gang in the underground world - it's unclear who is part of them as they aren't well known but the name 'Akatsuki' has been popping up whenever I have found some sort of trace of Itachi or the Uchiha's being behind some sort of murder or a disappearance.
"I... I was afraid that you were affiliated with them, but I'm glad Itachi hasn't roped you into anything that could end up with you in prison, or worse, dead. As to how I've come to know of them..." Sakura noticed how Sasuke's eyes shifted uncomfortably away before glancing towards her again. "Orochimaru. He was once a part of the Akatsuki, which is how I now know that Itachi has been associated with them for about ten years or so."
Sakura frowned at this new piece of information. "Do you think it's wise to be affiliated with this Orochimaru man then? From what I've heard, he double crosses people and leaves them for half dead-"
"And you don't?"
A slight gasp left Sakura's lips before she refuted his words. "Are you really judging me, Sasuke? I really thought after everything, you of all people would understand the choices I've had to make. It hasn't been easy, living on barely nothing and having nothing to amount to! And with all that piling up on my plate, wearing me thin, my nights were spent thinking about whether you were okay! And even now, I've risked myself for you. For you, Sasuke. I've agreed to come back here to help you find peace but all you have for me is judgement!"
"I'm not judging you, Sakura. I'm only trying to make you realise the irony of your words," Sasuke quietly offered, a silent plea to make amendments. "How have you been anyway? Have you managed to get anything else out of Itachi? Other than confirm that he works for the Akatsuki?"
Sakura swallowed the rest of her frustration and looked away abashed at the way she had just lashed out at him. "No... He still hasn't returned. But there was an old woman who mistook me for Mikoto though. She revealed herself to me as your father's old nanny... She seemed to have it in her head that both you and Itachi were still young, so I..." Sakura looked towards Sasuke meekly to which he inclined his head for her to continue. "I acted the role of your mother, Sasuke... I informed her that Itachi is soon to marry." Sakura bit her lip as a cold haze froze over the inky pools of his eyes. "I know I can never be like your mother, Sasuke. I just thought that if I pretended to be her, then maybe she may reveal some secrets to someone so trusting, someone she is familiar with. I'm sorry, Sasuke. I'm not trying to replace your mother or take away her position in the family. I know she was highly respected, not just within the Uchiha, but even with the common folk. I've heard the stories from Ino," Sakura added with a rush.
"It's fine, Sakura. You don't have to explain," Sasuke said, but there was a lack of comfort in his words, and only coldness where there should be warmth. "Besides, there's something I didn't tell you last time I saw you. All these people within the mansion - the butlers, the old widow, the maids - they all come from common families who bought their living through working with the Uchiha. It's their families which are annihilated if they don't comply to the rules or have challenged the Uchiha's in any way... So don't reveal too much about yourself to anyone you talk to here. If you need to pretend to be my mother, then so be it. If it keeps you safe then I don't mind, I just don't want to lose another precious person, Sakura, do you understand?"
Sakura digests this slowly, taking in his words slowly as it gathers into her mind until it settles like snowflakes finally layering into a thin film of snow on the ground.
"Is that why, yesterday, you pulled me into the alley when I mentioned there were butlers?" Sakura asks, remembering how Sasuke had suddenly became hyper-aware of their surroundings and had pressed his body against hers until it seemed as if she was out of sight to anyone else. "Was that town also owned by the Uchiha? Was that the reason for the fountain? I noticed the old widow rocking near Itachi's fountain - it had the same markings of the Uchiha crest."
"Yeah," Sasuke breathed out, confirming her suspicions. "I figured there was something strange about that place. I think I know now. Most of the people from that town come from families who have once served the Uchiha... so by loyalty, they all possibly feel like they owe allegiance to Itachi." Sasuke brought his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose as he exhaled gruffly, closing his eyes in the process to relieve some tension. When he opened his eyes again he looked down at Sakura and said, "Here's what we'll do. You continue going to speak to the old widow whilst Itachi is away. Get whatever information out of her that you can."
"And you?" Sakura asked, as she took his hands in hers and started to rub the dock leaves gently onto them. The touch of their skin against each other sent shivers down her spine; it was a pleasant feeling to be around him, despite feeling as if the world was crashing in on them. The touch of his skin, knowing that he was alive and well, was reassuring to her, and it kept her going, wanting to see the end of whatever it was that he was planning. She wanted to stand by his side as he finally finds closure in his life, and maybe then he would return the favour and help her climb the social ladder, outside of Konoha. It was a small fantasy of hers, to live with a dear friend, but what else was there to hope for in this desolate world?
A similar feeling seemed to reside in Sasuke, Sakura mused, as he softly responded with, "I'll help you." His eyes were soft as he looked down to where their hands met. "I'll take care of you, Sakura. I'll act as if I work for the Uchiha. I intend to keep you alive."
"By feeding me dumplings?" she asked, her eyes innocent as she looked up at him.
"Yeah," he smirked down at her.
Once again, she felt safe with Sasuke Uchiha by her side. It almost felt like old times again, two best friends, toying with each other with brilliant smiles and snide remarks on the tip of their tongues. A past of fresh summer days were behind them, fuelling them on for a better tomorrow, even as they sat together in a harsh winter that threatened spring to not bud anew. But somehow, within his presence, as she pressed the pain of her hands within his cold ones, she could feel safe and as if his mere existence could melt away and replace the winter's frost, and allow the buds of spring to be born, for who needs winter when Sasuke Uchiha was the epitome of a harsh season? Somehow she knew, as long as they were together, they could get through whatever the hurricane of life threw at them through its storms and winds.
Sakura stopped rubbing the dock leaves onto his palm and left him on her bed as she brought a jug of cold water, a towel and some soap and began to massage the soapy cloth over his hands whilst she sat next to him. His hands may have been tarnished by whatever it was that he was withhelding from her, whatever secrets he harboured behind those inky pools, for she was sure that any association with Orochimaru was nothing holy nor admirable. Despite the prospective soiled hands which she held and cleansed, to her his hands were worth more than any mansion, how grand they were to promise to keep her safe whilst she was trapped within a monster's cage.
As she finished wiping his hands dry, she held them in her grasp close to her heart. She whispered to him her heart's desire, "I have but one request, Sasuke."
It is as he looks at her that she notices the closeness of their faces. She could count the eyelashes that protrude from his eyes if she cared, but instead she takes note of how his slender nose fits so perfectly in the centre of his face, creating a symmetrical picture that any woman would die to have for herself.
"What is it?" he asks.
"Stay with me tonight, Sasuke," she requests in a hushed tone, studying his face as he gives nothing away to her demands.
"If that is what you wish."
His words are of finality, and it is done.
They cushion themselves on her bed, a distance of worlds apart between them which is filled with whispers of their pasts and she is almost 13 again - brimming with hope and a want for a better future. Hope and desires to save little boys from a cruel fate at an orphanage that does not want its inhabitants who have nowhere else to go. She knows where her past lies with him, and somehow, somewhere deep inside, a seed sprouts inside her waiting to grow to want a future with him too...
If her heart was made of stone, then he is the ivy that grows beneath it, threatening to cradle her and wash her in green colours of life and save her from her anger at the world.
Her eyes flutters close, and as they do, she once again sees the seven year-old boy who once beckoned her to a land where they could escape to from all the fears of the world.