The Darkest Secrets
Chapter Four: Survivor's Guilt
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This makes me sad.
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Very slowly, he began to regain consciousness, as one by one his senses returned. First, he heard a faint, steady beeping, growing louder by the moment. Next, a distinctly sterile scent flooded his nostrils, with an undercurrent of other, less pleasant odors. Then, he was able to taste the metallic tang of old blood on his tongue. He felt the roughness of the standard hospital sheets on his arms.
Finally, he attempted to open his heavy eyelids, and promptly squeezed them shut as the overhead lights blinded him. He attempted to open them again, once, twice more before he was successful. The sight that greeted him was one of the drab, windowless underground hospital rooms set aside for members of the Anbu black ops.
Shifting his body ever so slightly, he determined that he was fairly stiff, but otherwise not in any kind of pain. Looking down at his bare chest, he noted a thin, raised scar across his chest. He had no doubt there would be similar ones on his thigh and back. There were also some EKG stickers stuck to his chest, which were hooked up to the source of the beeping on his left. A heart monitor. He watched the steady rhythm for a moment, before being somewhat startled by a squeezing sensation on his left arm. A blood pressure cuff was there, apparently set to inflate at a certain interval. His blood pressure reading flashed up on the screen next to his heart rhythm. 110/70. Continuing his perusal, he noted an IV line in his right arm, which was attached to two bags of fluids hanging from a pole to his right. An oxygen sensor was also taped onto his right ring finger.
Inspection of his physical condition complete, he began to look around the room. Directly across from his bed, mounted on the plain white walls, was a dry erase board announcing the date, and the name of his nurse for the day. According to the white board, he had been out for about three days. The bedside table was filled with sweets and fruit, which he assumed were brought by his mother. A half-eaten container of tomatoes indicated that his brother had also been present. Lastly, in the far right corner of the room was a closed, windowless door.
A few minutes later, the door creaked open, and Sakura strode into the room, a chart tucked under one arm and a large cup of coffee in hand. She gave him a relieved grin upon noticing that he was awake.
"You're damn lucky I was still awake when you dropped in on me, Uchiha."
He gave her an answering grin, pushing himself into a sitting position, to which his sore muscles protested. "Ah, I had every confidence that you wouldn't let me meet such a pathetic end." She snorted and muttered something that sounded vaguely like "Suck-up." Then, hands lighting with medical chakra, she began a short examination, her chakra weaving its way through muscles and organs, soothing and healing as it went. "Well," she sighed, sitting at the edge of the bed, "I no longer see a need to keep you here, since you're awake." She reached over to his left arm and unfastened the blood pressure cuff with a flick of her wrist. Then, pulling some gauze and tape from her pocket, she began carefully removing his IV line.
He thought for a moment that he should remove his own EKG stickers. After all, he was perfectly capable. But something compelled him to let her do it. He leaned back on his elbows, watching as she peeled off his oxygen sensor. Then her hands – rough and scarred from years of holding kunai and shuriken – reached up towards his chest, gently brushing against his bare skin as she methodically removed the gel-like stickers. His stomach fluttered in the strangest way, and for a moment it felt as though his heart were beating in his throat.
He blinked and took a slow, deep breath to clear his head. 'What the hell was that?' Suddenly, something soft landed on top of his head, blocking out his vision. He pulled it off his head and realized that it was a clean shirt from his bedroom. He looked up at Sakura, whose back was now turned to him as she jotted notes in his chart. "Your other shirt has holes in it," she replied, as though reading his mind.
He slipped it over his head and stood, the hem of the standard issue hospital bottoms just brushing the tops of his feet. Slipping on his sandals, which he found on the floor at the foot of the bed, he followed Sakura through the door when she beckoned him forward.
"The Hokage wanted you to go see her immediately when you woke up," she informed him, as they climbed the steps back up into the main portion of the hospital. He gave a quiet "Hn," of acknowledgement. Reaching the top of the steps, and the hall near Sakura's office, she turned to him and shot him a cheeky grin. "Hey, after this we can go for some light training. You know, get you back in shape after that three-day nap you decided to take. Lazy butt." He narrowed his eyes at her, a slight twitch of his lips betraying his mirth. "I assure you, Sakura-chan, my butt is anything but lazy." Her jade eyes widened in surprise, a very faint blush touching her cheeks.
"Ah, well, I need to file your chart now, so…" she began to turn away, but his hand reached out lightning fast to grab her elbow. "Thank you, Sakura," He said sincerely. She nodded and smiled before continuing on her way.
Once she was out of sight, Itachi sighed heavily and slumped against the nearest wall. What in the hell was he doing? This was Sakura! His friend, and his brother's teammate. It was wrong, wrong, wrong. 'But why is it wrong?' a tiny voice asked from the back of his head. 'She's the only woman besides your mother that you've ever been completely comfortable around. Admit it. Even Hana unsettles you, and she's been on your team for years.' Shaking his head to clear his wayward thoughts, he straightened up and made his way towards Hokage tower. He could think about this more later. Right now, he had his duties to attend to.
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The air in here was surprisingly dry, considering that the dammed up river rested only about 100 feet from the decrepit hideout. His skin itched from the lack of moisture and the film of dirt that now coated him like a second skin. Down the right side of his face he could feel the crust of dried blood. His arms had long ago gone numb, his fingers a slightly concerning shade of dark purple. The skin of his wrists were raw where they hung in shackles, suspended from the low ceiling.
The cells themselves were made of floor-to-ceiling rusted iron bars, a section of which swung out like a door and was locked in place by an equally as rusty chain and padlock. If he weren't chained in place, it might have even been easy to escape. But try as he might, he wasn't strong enough to break free of his bonds. Where the hell was Sakura when you needed her? This would be child's play for someone with her abilities. He rubbed the empty socket that used to contain his right eye against his shoulder. It itched like crazy, and the purulent goop left on his sleeve told him that it was most likely infected. Fabulous. He'd have to pay her a visit to take care of this nasty eye-socket, if he ever got out. Then he could try all the cyclops jokes that he'd been working on. He almost looked forward to getting whacked in the head for his poor choice in humor.
A sharp pain shot through his empty stomach, accompanied by a loud, high pitched growling noise. He nearly laughed. Pathetic. Of all the things that could have killed him, it was going to be starvation in a stupid, empty dungeon.
Well, almost empty. Some unfortunate corpse sat rotting two cells down, apparently forgotten. Or maybe left on purpose. The constant exposure to the scent of rotting flesh was a torture unto itself, after all. He shifted slightly against the cold dirt floor, trying to shift his battered body into a more comfortable position. However, the chains attached to his outstretched legs didn't allow him very much movement.
Danzo was now in possession of his right eye, the very same eye that contained the power of Kotoamatsukami. Now, what Danzo was planning to do with such power, was the real problem. The old man had yet to reveal anything to Shisui, despite the younger ninja's best attempts to goad him into releasing even the smallest of details. So he was locked up here, with no food or water, a smelly rotting corpse, and he was missing an eye. And he couldn't even gather any useful information.
The normally cheerful Shisui Uchiha was getting very, very cranky.
Idly, he watched as a fat looking rat scurried over to the corpse-cell, probably off to pick his meal from the poor man's bones. Bits of dust floated through a thin shaft of light provided by a small vent-hole at the top of the wall. Not that the vent hole worked very well. It smelled awful in here.
The week allotted to him for this mission by the Hokage would be over soon. He could only hope that she sent reinforcements quickly.
A telling step-shuffle and tap of a cane gave away the presence of his jailer before he even reached the prison door. The squealing of un-oiled hinges rang out harshly in the silent room, causing him to wince.
In stepped Danzo, this time sporting bandages wrapped over his right eye, indicating that Shisui's eye was most likely underneath. The Uchiha's one remaining eye flashed in rage as he struggled to assume a more aggressive stance, chained as he was. The elder shinobi simply laughed, a raspy, phlegmy sort of sound that was just as abrasive as the squealing door.
"Ah, Shisui-kun. Always so spirited." He unlocked the cell's padlock and allowed the chain to clatter onto the floor. Shisui stopped struggling and resorted to glaring with his one good eye. The old man chuckled as he closed the distance between them. He set his cane down on the floor as he came to a stop and crouched in front of him.
"You'll be pleased to know that your eye will not go to waste. It's adapting quite well to its new host." He then chuckled, a dark and sickly sound. "Your sacrifice will be instrumental in saving Konoha from itself. But just in case, should something go amiss…."
He began to reach forward, towards Shisui's other eye.
The Uchiha began to struggle again, attempting to kick out at his captor, but being held back by his shackles. So instead, he twisted his face away, and told himself that he would bite the old bastard's fingers off if he tried to take his other eye.
In his attempt at defiance, he didn't notice Danzo signal to two Root operatives just outside of the room. They rushed forward and wrenched his head into position, taking him by surprise and holding him still. Again, those fingers reached towards his eye. He felt a searing pain, and then….
Complete darkness.
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Shikamaru Nara lounged across a desk deep in the bowels of the Anbu building, where the Cipher Corp. was located. In front of him sat a rather irritating problem that the Hokage had handed to him a couple days ago.
'How troublesome.'
The damn scroll had to be covered in at least a dozen different wards and traps. He couldn't just clumsily break his way through them either. That might cause the scroll to self-destruct. No. This had to be solved delicately. Like those stupid metal wire puzzles. Forcing it would get him nowhere. It was all about finesse.
'This is such a drag.'
He had broken through 10 of them already. That left two that he could still see. Though he would have to give it a more thorough inspection once he finished with these two.
For this next one, it appeared that he would need to find the proper number and order of hand signs. He would then have to apply only a minimal amount of chakra, to see if the trap would weaken. Too much chakra with a wrong combination, and he might set it off. Forming a few hand seals, he placed his palm at the center of the scroll and leaked a small amount of chakra into it. Nothing. He tried again four times, before the scroll in front of him began to waver, almost like a mirage. There! Adding more chakra, he unlocked the 11th obstacle. Repeating the process, he eventually broke through the 12th, as well.
He carefully examined the scroll for anything he may have missed.
Nothing.
Holding his breath, he slowly peeled open the scroll…. Only to find a very complex, triple encoded cipher.
He groaned out loud, slamming his head down on the desk. "Ugh, Troublesome!"
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"He what?" Itachi asked, incredulous. Tsunade sighed. "He asked me to send him out on surveillance of Danzo."
He sat down heavily in the chair across from the Hokage's desk, rubbing at his forehead in frustration. "And he was allowed to go?" He asked. Tsunade merely nodded.
"Hokage-sama, especially after that scroll I found, I don't think it is wise for him to be out there alone. Please allow me to go after him."
"Following him out on such a dangerous and delicate mission could give up his position. And then the both of you would be in a tight spot. He was given one week. His week is up in three days. If he has not returned or sent word by then, take a team out to find him. Perhaps sending him out was unwise, but at the time, it was my best option."
Standing, Itachi nodded in acceptance, knowing that she was right. "Is that all, Hokage-sama?"
"Yes, she replied. Chose a team now that would be suitable for either outcome. When Shisui returns, we will need to act upon his findings. If he does not, then we will deploy a rescue team. I strongly encourage you to include a medic. Since there aren't very many in Anbu, you may choose from the Jounin ranks as well."
He nodded grimly. "Hai, Hokage-sama."
And then he disappeared.
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Sakura was lounging across the top of a large boulder located on the training grounds, waiting for Itachi to arrive. She ran a fallen leaf between her fingers as she absently stared up at the clouds, a habit she had adopted from the young Nara genius.
She thought through the odd behaviors exhibited by the Uchiha heir. It was rare that he ever kept secrets from her, unless they were strictly classified. And considering that she was the Hokage's apprentice, few things were ever kept from her. She could see how much it was bothering him, whatever it was. The signs were subtle, but they were there. It was in the way he got lost in his thoughts, a slightly furrowed brow indicating his distress. That normally wouldn't be enough to concern anybody. Anyone else would have brushed it off and moved on with their lives. And she wouldn't blame them. As an elite shinobi, Itachi was a very good liar. She had no doubt that he could trick the whole village into thinking he was some sort of super villain without much difficulty. But not her. Never her.
Her thoughts were cut short by the muffled sound of footsteps coming across the grass of the training field. Sitting up, she saw Itachi headed her way. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and his tied-back hair was draped over one shoulder. He was looking up at the clouds, much as she had just been. For all the world, he appeared casual and relaxed. But there was a tension in his shoulders that didn't go unnoticed by the pink haired medic.
She slid down from the boulder and approached him, coming to a stop just in front of him. She assumed a fighting stance in front of him. Looking up into his eyes, she joked, "Took you long enough." He too, sank into a fighting stance, an insufferable smirk plastered onto his handsome face. "Did you miss me, Sakura-chan?"
She stuck out her tongue. "Taijutsu and kunai only." She stated.
And the fight was on.
The two of them traded blows for several minutes, none of their strikes reaching the other combatant. Then, a smirking Sakura leapt back and drove a chakra-enhanced punch into the ground, shattering the earth. Itachi had already anticipated her attack and jumped back several feet, landing in a safe zone. Once the dust had settled, he launched himself over the unstable ground, three kunai in each hand. He threw them towards Sakura with perfect accuracy. Just as they were about to connect, there was a poof, and a log rested where she had once been. But he wasn't concerned. He never lost a spar against Sakura.
He landed cat-like on the ground, and then stood, quickly scanning the tree line and the sky above. She was nowhere to be seen. Then, she must have gotten a little further into the forest.
Just as he was about to step forward, though, a hand latched onto his ankle. Too late, he recognized it as the copy ninja's decapitation technique. Within a fraction of a second, he found himself mostly underground, completely unable to move his body. Only his head remained above the ground. He blinked up at Sakura, completely stunned. He had… lost?
His expression must have been pretty priceless, because Sakura suddenly dropped to the ground, clutching her stomach as she laughed hysterically. "You," She gasped out. "You should… hah… see your… hehe… see yourself." She sat up, wiping at the tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes, still laughing. When she looked back down at him, his shocked expression was gone, replaced by one of mixed annoyance and grudging respect. "When did you learn that?" He asked. He had never seen her use it before. She flapped her hand dismissively. "Oh, I got bored while you were taking your little snooze, so I asked Kakashi to train with me a bit."
He snorted softly. "Either way, you cheated. You said taijutsu and kunai only, and yet you used a ninjutsu to defeat me." She patted his head, smirking. "I'm a ninja, 'Tachi-kun. It doesn't count as cheating. It's called being sneaky." His eyebrow twitched at the nickname she used specifically to annoy him. She shifted so that she was cross-legged in front of him, and applied chakra to one finger, using it to carefully break up the earth around him. He wriggled free and lifted himself out of the hole, brushing dirt off of himself, with little success. He was still caked in the stuff. He sighed heavily. "Guess I need to go shower," he muttered to himself, plucking at his shirt. Sakura giggled again, amused by his sudden grumpiness.
Tsunade had always told her that she should learn one thing from every fight, no matter how small.
Today she learned that Uchiha Itachi was a sore loser. But in the most adorable way.
She leaned back and watched him grumble to himself, a soft smile lighting up her face. And unbeknownst to her, the way she viewed him began to change, morphing into something that neither of them could have ever expected.
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A/N: Happy Easter! (To those of you who celebrate it)
Wow. I'm being awfully mean to Shisui, aren't I? Poor guy. But on the bright side, we now have the growing feelings between Sakura and Itachi.
I'm actually pretty proud of this chapter. Over 3,000 words! I'd like to thank those of you who reviewed (Sanban and RedToast)
RedToast: I watched shippuden episode 453 yesterday. Itachi is so adorable as a kid! Especially when they had to wear the cat ears for that mission… too precious.
As always folks, please review! I enjoy reading them very much.
Until next time, TheDayDreamingInsomniac
