Chapter Thirty-One
Red Tide

Itachi shoved Sakura down as glass exploded everywhere. She hit the ground hard, her palms stinging as she caught herself on the pavement, but in the chaos of it all, the pain didn't register as she scrambled for her gun.

Around them, people screamed as bullets buzzed through the air. Sakura could hear the unmistakable thuds as a handful embedded into the other side of the car they had taken refuge behind. Beside her, the crack of Itachi's gun filled her ears and she risked peering over the hood to unload an entire clip at their attackers. She ducked again when the headlight next to her head exploded.

"I can't make out a plate," she yelled over the gunfire.

Itachi shook his head, taking shelter next to her. "I can't either. How many more rounds do you have?" he asked, emptying his clip and reloaded his weapon before he had even finished asking the question.

Sakura didn't have to count. She always knew exactly how much she carried. "Two more clips."

Somewhere nearby, a girl let out a sharp scream. One of absolute pure terror. It echoed in Sakura's ears louder than the rest, but she didn't dare divert her attention. Instead, she pushed herself back onto her knees and took aim, her bullets blending with Itachi's as they fired back at the black SUV.

A handful punctured the side of the car and shattered the back window, but none seemed to land. Growling, Sakura took cover once more to reload her weapon, but before she could strike again, Itachi landed on top of her and shoved her flat against the ground.

"Get down," he hissed.

A moment later she understood why when the unmistakable crack of a high-powered rifle ripped through the air. It shredded through the body of the car, raining shrapnel down on top of them. Sakura held Itachi flush against her as the bullets impacted the cement only inches from where they lay. She held her breath, her fingers digging into his sides as she prayed to whatever god might be up there that he wasn't struck.

After what seemed like an eternity and then another one, there was a break in the shots. Itachi didn't waste any time. In a blink of a moment, he was up and firing again. Sakura joined him, but before she could pull the trigger, blood sprayed out the passenger window. It seemed that was enough to make the driver nervous for they hit the gas and sped away. The firefight ending as quickly as it had begun.

The moment the car was out of sight, a hush fell over the street. Only the faint call of sirens in the distance broke up the utter quiet, a signal that help was on the way. Some minutes too late.

Without a word, Sakura slowly lowered herself back to the ground, her knees like rubber as the adrenaline washed out of her system. She stared at the car they had taken cover behind, counting the gaping wounds in the side of it where the bullets had ripped through the cheap metal. Just by the exit pattern, she knew it had been an AK-47. She tried not to think of how close they had just come to death. It still felt like he was breathing down her neck.

Pulling her gaze away, Sakura turned her head to glance at Itachi. He was still crouched beside her, his gun still poised between his hands as he stared down the road where the shooters had disappeared, as if he was expecting them to return for another round. There were small scratches on both his forearms that were still bleeding slightly, but she didn't see any bullet or metal fragments. They fortunately didn't appear to be anything significant.

Only once Itachi was certain they were safe for the time being, did he relax his tense stance. He holstered his gun before he glanced at her. He looked her over carefully, his eyes lingering somewhere near her shoulder.

It was then that she realized she had been grazed by some shrapnel. Blood was bubbling from the cut and trailing down her arm. Now that she was aware of it, her bicep began to burn, but it wasn't anything worth worrying over.

"It's nothing," she said, wiping the blood away on her dress.

Itachi studied her for a long moment before he nodded. Then his eyes fell past her, his expression suddenly sobering some.

Confused, Sakura followed his gaze to find the body of a young girl was laying only a few yards away. A victim caught in the crossfire. There was a pool of blood slowly spreading around her, seeping into the cement and staining her pale pink dress. Her lifeless face didn't look much younger than Sakura's.

Sakura forced herself to tear her eyes away as hollowness carved a hole out in her chest. "We have to go," she said quietly. "Before the police get here."

Itachi didn't answer but after a moment he pushed himself to his feet. He helped her stand as well before they both hurried into the closest alley and disappeared into the dark.

xx

Less than half an hour later, Sakura stood just behind Itachi as he knocked on the door of a grungy-looking apartment. The hallway itself was dimly lit with a blue carpet that was faded down the center from use and stained in some spots. It was apparent that the building was minimally cared for.

The patter of footsteps on the other side of the door had Sakura snapping her attention forward again, every sound making her a little jumpy after what they had just been through. She didn't know who she was expecting but she blinked in surprise when the door swung open to reveal Shisui. Dressed in a pair of basketball shorts and a maroon shirt, he obviously hadn't been expecting them. His brow cocked curiously but after taking in their disheveled clothes and somber expressions, he stepped back and gestured for them to come inside.

"I heard there was a shooting," he said after they had closed the door behind them. "I should have figured it was you two."

"You say that as if it was our fault," Itachi said, his tone mildly irritated. But not as Shisui. Rather, at the situation itself. "Madara must have caught wind of our meeting today and was on the hunt for us."

Sakura paused where the kitchen met the living room and took a curious glance around, noting that while the apartment building itself seemed in disrepair, Shisui's apartment looked newly remodeled with granite counter tops and clean, oak floors. It was like walking through the wardrobe into Narnia.

Upon Itachi's comment, she turned to regard them. "Actually, it was Izuna."

Shisui paused from where he had sat behind his computer, cup of noddle in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other. There was some sort of CIA database displayed on the monitor with information scrolling by but he seemed to give it no mind.

"You're certain?" Shisui asked.

She nodded as her gaze continued about the room. There were three different gaming systems in front of a large flat screen television with a wide, comfortable chair lined up right in front. For some reason, she wasn't entirely surprised to learn Shisui was a gamer.

"Madara's too subtle to do a drive-by shooting," she said. "But Izuna…well, I might have pissed him off once or twice. Likely more."

"Izuna is not someone you want as an enemy," Shisui warned.

Sakura was hardly fazed. "Neither am I."

"Izuna is the black sheep of the family," Itachi said, if only to break the staring contest Sakura and Shisui suddenly found themselves in. "He was never CIA, but when Madara turned, Izuna was only too willing to help his brother. I believe money has always been his motive for…well everything."

That hardly surprised Sakura, but she didn't reply as her phone suddenly pinged in her pocket. She had texted both Kakashi and Ino while she had dashed through the city with Itachi. Kakashi she had heard from, but Ino….the blonde still hadn't replied. At least until now.

'Got out in time. With Shika,' Ino's message said. Then another text came in. 'No eyes in the club. I think you were found, not followed, but I would still lay low.'

Sakura replied quickly, telling her to do the same before she returned her attention back to the Uchiha cousins. Shisui had set his Cup of Noodle down to free his hands. His fingers ran across his keyboard while Itachi stood just behind him.

"It looks like there's only been two reports of gunshot wounds reported to the hospital tonight. Both of which seem to be bystanders, but I'll keep looking in case one of Izuna's men checks in. I'll have the company pick anyone up if they go in for treatment," Shisui said. Then he glanced at Itachi. "You two should stay here for now. Get washed up and wait a few hours until things calm down."

"Thanks, Shi," Itachi said.

The older of the two waved him off, only pulling his eyes away from his computer to shoot them both a look. "And stay out of the pantry."

Itachi didn't reply to that but he was smiling when he turned away. He led Sakura down the hall before opening the first door on the right. It was a spare bedroom. Inside there was a plain mattress with a single pillow and a simple dresser, a complete opposite to the rest of the apartment that was so well furnished.

Itachi didn't give the room much of a look over, seemingly been there before. He simply steered her into the connected bathroom. Inside, he began pulling drawers open, searching for something. Sakura didn't know what until he pulled out a first aid kit.

"Let me see your arm."

She nearly laughed. "What? It's nothing."

"You're still bleeding," he told her.

"It's barely a scratch."

"Sakura."

His tone was velvet wrapped around hard steel. It gave her pause, but when she met his gaze, she found only tenderness. It was enough to make her stop resisting. His touch was gentle as he pulled her arm closer. When he was sure there weren't any metal shards embedded in her skin, he grabbed a washcloth and wetted it before he cleaned the blood and grime from her skin.

Goosebumps rose along her arm as he dapped disinfectant along the scrape before he grabbed a roll of gauze and bandaged the small wound. As soon as he was done, Sakura grabbed the medicine from the counter and began cleaning the cuts along his own arms. They were mere scratches. Probably not even worth cleaning at all, but she found the simple action soothed her. Helped calm the nerves that had become frayed from the shooting.

"We're really something, aren't we?" Sakura murmured at some point.

"Not quite the classic love story," Itachi agreed with quiet amusement.

"That's okay. I always thought they were kinda boring anyway."

She looked away to put the disinfectant aside. When she turned back, she found he was watching her with an unreadable expression. She opened her mouth but before she could ask what that look was for, he slipped his arm around her waist and bent his head to kiss her.

It was simple and sweet. He kissed her simply for the sake of kissing her and she melted against him, her hands falling to his chest. All she felt was him, his heat and his hands as they slid up her spine to tangle into her already tangled hair.

Sakura wasn't quite sure who deepened the kiss first. She was only acutely aware of the heat that began to build low in her stomach as his tongue twisted with hers, a little rougher, a little more demanding than usual. That arousal sharpened abruptly when Itachi grabbed her hips and pulled them flush against his. The fabric of his jeans felt rough even through the material of her dress, but it only added fuel to the fire that was simmering within her.

Just below her navel, his growing bulge pressed into her stomach and without breaking their kiss, she unbuttoned his pants and slipped her hand inside to grasp him. Itachi groaned against her lips as she squeezed him, his hot, velvety length heavy in her hand. That simply sound urged Sakura on.

Pulling his pants down, she dropped to her knees before she took him in her mouth. Itachi inhaled sharply through his teeth as his fingers threaded into her hair. She bobbed her head slowly at first, taking time to taste him before she built up speed.

Peering through her lashes, Sakura looked up to find Itachi's expression was lined with pleasure. His lips were pursed, muting his groans and reminding her they weren't alone. Still, it didn't stop her from taking him all the way in her mouth before she pulled back to fist the bottom of his length, her tongue paying special attention to his head. His grip on her hair tightened to the point of near pain.

"Fuck," Itachi growled, jerking her back onto her feet. "You drive me crazy."

He crashed his mouth back against hers, his desperation like a riptide. So strong and frantic. Pulling her down, down and threatening to never let her up again. She didn't resist when his hands slipped under the hem of her dress and pulled her panties down. As soon as they were gone, he hoisted her up onto the counter and stepped between her legs, bunching her skirt around her hips.

Sakura was already so wet that he slipped inside her easily. Just like every time before, he stretched her deliciously, but she wasn't given the time to appreciate the initial penetration as he started a hard rhythm.

She cried out when his tip nudged her cervix. "Fuck! Right there," she said with a rough whisper as she pulled him closer. A little needlessly because she was certain he already knew every inch of her body.

Her head fell back against the mirror as he moved against her and he took the opportunity to sink his teeth into the exposed flesh at her collarbone. The pained pleasure made her gasp again and she dug her fingers into his shirt.

"Is it true?" Itachi asked against her skin.

Sakura bit back another moan. "Is what true?"

"That you find Kisame hot."

His statement was so out of the blue that it cut through Sakura's lust-clouded mind. She paused, even as Itachi continued his pace, and looked up to meet his gaze. His eyes were as black as night and filled with heat and desire, but also something else. Jealousy perhaps?

"Did what I say bother you?" she asked.

His expression seemed to tighten as his hips eased to a slow rhythm. "You know it does."

She couldn't resist the small smile that formed in the corner of her mouth at his answer and she grabbed the collar of his shirt to pull him closer until their lips were less than an inch apart. "But you're the one fucking me, aren't you? Not him."

This close, Sakura could make out every flicker of his expression, which is why she saw the very moment his mouth turned up into a smirk right before he thrust up into her particularly hard. She bit back her yelp as his lips brushed against jaw. "And that is the way it is going to stay."

His possessive tone might have made her bristle had they been in any other situation, but with him buried inside her, it only made her hotter, wetter. With her hands still gripping his collar, she forced his mouth to hers again, his lips muffling her cries of pleasure. She tightened around him, already feeling the familiar pressure of her approaching orgasm.

"I'm so close," she told him, wrapping her legs tighter around his waist.

He replied by slipping his hand between them, his thumb pressing against the sensitive pearl just above where they were joined. "Then come for me. And only me."

And she did.

With a broken moan, Sakura shuddered against him. He cupped the back of her neck to keep her from smashing her head back against the mirror, all the while keeping his pace. Her fingers gripped his shirt so tightly, she was amazed it didn't tear as the waves of her climax washed through her.

Sakura wasn't even consciously aware of his name tumbling from her lips, but those three syllables were enough to do Itachi in. He held her through his own orgasm, one hand bruising her hip with the other still at her neck. He groaned brokenly against the shell of her ear as he emptied himself inside of her, his hips continuing to roll against hers until the last waves of his climax washed through him.

The bathroom was utterly still after that. Only the sound of their shaking breaths echoing back at them filled the quiet. In the aftermath, Sakura's fingers loosened their tight grip on his shirt but she didn't release him completely as she rested her face in the crook of his neck. Just his mere presence relaxed her more than the sex ever could. A small smile crossed her lips.

"What is it?" Itachi asked, his arms tightening around her minutely.

Her eyes closed as she shook her head against his collarbone. "I just like that possessive side of you. It's nice…to be wanted. It makes me happy."

He didn't immediately reply to that. Instead, he pulled back, just enough to look down at her to search her face. "You've never said that before."

"It's hard to admit it," she told him quietly. "I've never been allowed to be happy about anything before."

Sakura half-expected a look of pity to cross his face but it never came. He simply smiled softly before he bent his head to kiss her. This time, there was no lust or heat behind it, but neither was it lacking in passion. When he pulled away, he eased himself out of her before he helped her stand. With gentle hands, he unzipped her dress and slipped it off her before he finished undressing himself.

They showered together, not saying a word under the spray of the water and not needing to. Afterwards, they laid in bed, their clothes left in the bathroom and the used towels on the floor. Sakura could hear every beat of Itachi's heart against her ear as she rested her head on his chest. His fingers dragged through her hair, lulling her to sleep as the stress of the day fell forgotten.

"What if we left?" Itachi asked into the quiet.

"In a few hours," she murmured. "We need to give the streets some more time to settle down."

He gave a small pause. Then said, "I meant leave New York. What if we just left everything and disappeared?"

As soon as his words registered, Sakura stilled. She took a moment to blink the sleep from her mind before she pushed herself up onto her elbows. Just enough to look down at him. "You mean run away?"

Itachi nodded before he ran his fingers through her hair. "We could do it. Leave here and never come back."

"You know we can't," she said with a small, forced smile. Hoping he was teasing. Wishing he was just telling her a fantasy.

"Why not?"

Her smile faded when she realized he was serious. "Because you have parents and a brother. And Shisui. And I have…"

"You have what?"

She chewed the inside of her lip before answering, "I have things to do here."

"Sakura..." he began.

And for once, she was glad he didn't say whatever he was about to. Instead, she lay back down upon his coaxing as the quiet settled over them again. No longer soft and comfortable. But stale and stagnant with words and thoughts unspoken.

Some time passed before Itachi's hand fell still and his breath evened out. But even with his gentle warmth and comfortable weight of his arms around her, Sakura continued to lay awake, replaying his words over in her head.

It sounded like a wonderful fantasy but it was only that. Eventually the guilt would eat away at Itachi and she knew she wouldn't be able to watch that happen. No matter how much the thought of being with him, where they could go to dinner or coffee or the movies without the fear of being seen or attacked, appealed to her.

Just before dawn, Sakura slipped out of bed. She dressed herself in her clothes from last night, ignoring the blood and grime on her dress. Not wanting to make a sound, she held her heels between her fingers as she crept down the hall.

To her surprise, Shisui was still awake. He was behind his computer, his back to her. Sakura tried to slip out unheard but his fingers stilled on the keyboard before she even made it halfway across the room.

"Not even going to say goodbye?"

She paused with a cringe before she glanced back at him. "I didn't want to interrupt you."

"I meant to Itachi," he clarified, half turning in his chair to look at her.

She hid her frown. "It's easier this way."

"For you or for him?"

Sakura didn't answer.

Shisui sighed in response before he spun his chair around to face her fully. "Look, I'm just worried about him. And you're, well you. If anything happens to him..."

"I'm threatened a dozen times a day, Shisui," she countered, unfazed.

However, Shisui simply shook his head, something akin to a sadness in his expression. "You misunderstand me. That wasn't a threat. It's a plea."

Sakura held his gaze for a long moment as something passed between them. An unspoken understanding. Or perhaps it had been spoken.

She held Shisui's gaze evenly as she nodded her head once. "I'll protect him any way I can."

"Thank you," he murmured.

Then he turned back to his computer, as if she had never been there.

xx

Sakura texted Kakashi the moment she was in the back of a taxi and on her way towards her apartment downtown, the closest one to Shisui's. She wanted to be alone, but she knew the silence would only talk back to her. Ask her questions and give her ideas she didn't want to deal with just yet.

He hadn't replied by the time her cab dropped her off out front, but Kakashi had never failed her before. She doubted he would do so now.

Biting back a yawn, Sakura crossed the lobby to the elevator. She took it to her floor with every intention of changing into a pair of sweats and a comfortable t-shirt before she sat down with Kakashi and told him everything she had learned. There was still so much planning to be made. And she'd need a second, clearer head to help her do it.

Slipping into her condo, Sakura shut the door behind her and made her way further inside. The instant she flipped on the lights, she stilled. For it wasn't Kakashi standing in her living room. But rather, Hashirama.

He was standing before the large, bay window, his back presented to her. There were two other men with him. Bodyguards, both dressed in clean, expensive suits. They eyed her stiffly as she entered the room, as if she were the uninvited guest rather than the other way around.

A little wary, Sakura scanned the rest of the immediate area, relieved when she found no one else present. Hashirama likely wasn't here to bring her harm then. Not that she could really think of any other reason as to why he would be here at such an hour.

"It's a little early for breakfast, isn't it?" Sakura said pleasantly.

"Then it is a good thing I am not here for it," Hashirama told her, his gaze still fixated out the window.

"I figured not," she said with almost a sigh. She drew to a stop where the living room met the kitchen. "Two visits in less than one day. Must be something important."

Before Hashirama, the sky was just beginning to lighten from a dark blue to a softer indigo. If she didn't know any better, she would think he was waiting to watch the coming sunrise. But she did know better, which is why she was hardly surprised when he turned his back to the coming morning to regard her. "It is. There has been a change of plans."

"Oh?" Sakura asked as he descended the two steps that led from the bay window down to where the living room furniture was neatly organized in front of a flat screen television.

Hashirama didn't speak until he made himself comfortable on the end of her white, designer couch. "I have decided you won't be using Tobirama's men to assist with bringing down Akatsuki. You will use mine."

His words made Sakura noticeably give pause. She stared at him for a long moment before she frowned. "That would delay any potential raids by at least a day. If not longer."

"It is an inconvenience," he nodded amicably, "but it is what I am ordering."

Confused, Sakura furrowed her brows. "I'm already in communication with Tobirama's men. It would be more than just an inconvenience. It would require me shuffling information, weapons, locations. All my resources," she listed.

Hashirama nodded. "I understand. And I am willing to compensate you for the trouble."

"It has nothing to do with money, Hashirama," she shook her head. "There's no way Tobirama would agree to this. What did he say when you told him?"

When he remained silent, cold understanding dawned on her. It settled deep in the pit of her stomach.

"He doesn't know, does he?" she asked quietly.

Rather than offer her a direct reply, Hashirama adjusted the expensive watch on his wrist, his eyes briefly flickering to the time, as if he had somewhere to be. "My brother will no longer be assisting you with any matters pertaining to Akatsuki. All future assets needed will be brought to my attention and provided by me and my contacts only."

"You mean to cut him out," Sakura said, unable to keep her tone from taking on a sharper edge.

"I understand your hesitance. Tobirama was loyal to a point with you, just as he has been with me," he told her. Somehow, she got the feeling that his tone was full of more compassion than he actually had. "But it is time the charity I have provided my brother come to an end. Tobirama is fully capable of handling his own assets and when Akatsuki has been dealt with, I am only willing to split with the profits to one other party."

When he shot her a purposeful look, Sakura arched her brow in disbelief. "Me?"

"Do not be so surprised. You have proven that you can handle the work," he told her. When she didn't reply, Hashirama stood and made his way towards the door, only stopping briefly when he was beside her. "Do not think of this as a betrayal to my brother, Sakura. Tobirama will be given his own territory and the freedom to bring in and move product as he sees fit. It is time I stop holding his hand. What is that saying: Every sun has to set."

Sakura pulled herself out of her thoughts as she recognized the saying. She couldn't resist the small smile that formed on her lips. "I thought you didn't know Arabic?"

He inclined his head slightly. "Perhaps I do not speak the tongue, but I do find their proverbs meaningful." Then he nodded towards his guards, a silent signal for them to lead the way out. "Get some rest, Sakura. We will discuss the details later."

Even after the door closed soundlessly behind him, Sakura didn't immediately move. She stared at nothing as she thought, only coming back to herself when Kakashi stepped out of the shadows near the steps that led up to her bedroom.

He said nothing as he leaned against the wall. Simply waited for her to speak.

"How did he get in here?" she asked eventually.

"Front door."

She frowned at that, wondering if he had somehow swiped the key Tobirama had stolen from her. Brothers.

"As soon as Akatsuki is dealt with, I'm selling this place," she told him.

She swept past him to head to her bedroom where she grabbed a pair of sweats and a comfortable shirt. Even with Kakashi standing only a few feet away, she didn't hesitate in stripping off her dress. She didn't have to look to know that his back was turned.

"It seems that Hashirama doesn't care for Tobirama as much as we thought," he said.

"No," Sakura agreed quietly. "It sounds like Hashirama had another motive when he took Tobirama in. He didn't want a brother. He wanted a second set of hands to handle his growing assets."

"And who better to do that than his poor, gangster brother who was living on the streets. Hashirama's act of kindness pretty much guaranteed Tobirama's blind loyalty," Kakashi murmured. He only turned around after the rustling of clothes had stopped. "So, what are you going to do? Are you going to tell Tobirama or are you going to carry out Hashirama's orders?"

Sakura didn't look at him. Instead she turned her attention to her arm as she pulled off the bandage Itachi had placed. The cut still stung but the bleeding had stopped. She stared at it for a long moment as she thought.

It felt like there was a red tide coming in. As if the waters around her were about to turn as crimson as blood and become deprived of all oxygen. Killing all those it touched and void of all life.

Sakura looked up slowly as the first morning light peeked over the horizon and spilled out into the room. It cut across her eyes, setting her emerald orbs on fire with new life. The sunlight was still too weak to do any real damage, but soon, it wouldn't be. Just like her.

"I'm going to do what I've always done: whatever the hell I want."

to be continued…