Chapter 16: Immunity
Sakura had already eaten and dressed by the time Itachi came to visit for the day. Today he came on his own—even without her usual knock. She hoped that he was here for more genjutsu training as he had promised.
Itachi looked at her seriously upon entering the room.
"Sakura, I just wanted to apologize for last night. Falling asleep once was a mistake on its own, but falling asleep two nights in a row is inexcusable. I'll be more careful from now on," he spoke with unnecessary contrition in his voice.
Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head vigorously. "Absolutely not. Sleep is vital and it'll help your body through its recovery process. I know you're not getting enough sleep at night," she chided, "So, please at least sleep for the duration of our sessions."
Considering that he woke without incident at the end of last night's session, there was no good reason not to let himself sleep for a little while. Well, no reason other than the fact that it was an integrant of her escape plan.
"I'll do whatever you need me to. Just let me know if it becomes a problem for any reason," he agreed hesitantly. "Would you like to continue your genjutsu training today?"
Sakura grinned. "I'd love to. You mentioned the possibility of attaining total immunity and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested."
They began right away. Similar to their first session, he bombarded her with genjutsu after genjutsu which she dispelled by recognizing the illusion and normalizing her chakra flow. After a few hours of altering between reality and phantasmagoria, the techniques became progressively easier to dispel.
Finally, she threw her hands in the air out of utter exasperation. "Itachi! I'm not going to get any better if you start wimpifying your genjutsu now! Am I doing something wrong?"
He smirked at her. "I'm not weakening my genjutsu, Sakura. You're just becoming less receptive to them."
Her eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yeah. If you've already made that much progress today, I'll go and prepare dinner. As much as continuity helps build resistance, neither of us will perform well if we're hungry." He stood from his seat and Sakura nodded in still-awed assent. "I'll be back shortly," he said before leaving.
Her voracious mind turning toward dinner, Sakura wondered if she would survive once she successfully escaped. Food pills would not taste so adequate after Itachi had pampered her with impeccably prepared meals for a whole week. She imagined her stomach gurgling in rebellion as she tried to flee the hotel room with the stealthy grace of a kunoichi and laughed at the hypothetical scenario—the haplessness of the imagery was fitting.
When Itachi returned with dinner, she had not left her seat at the table, but instead sat sideways with her head draping down to the floor. Sometimes looking at life from a new perspective kept her brain working right—even if the perspective was an upside-down one. Rather than appearing meditative, she suspected that she looked like an odd mannered monkey.
She sat up and brushed her clothes into place as if nothing had happened. In good Itachi fashion, he appeared totally unaffected by her strange behavior. Now that she thought about it, he hung around the Akatsuki; even her strangest moments probably seemed normal in comparison.
As she began to chow down the food placed in front of her, she requested, "Tell me something about yourself." Sakura knew some of his darkest secrets, yet his more mundane aspects remained a total mystery.
He paused between bites. "Like what?"
"Hmm…" She decided to start simple. "What's your favorite color?"
His response came without contemplation. "Purple."
"Mine's red," she grinned, "And my least favorite is pink. What's yours?"
"…red. Sorry." He coughed. "Now I think it's my turn to ask a question. What's your favorite food?"
"Ooo… That's tough. If I had to choose a favorite, I'd say blueberries. They're healthy and delicious at the same time, you know?" She licked her lips thinking about a freshly washed bowl of them before asking, "What about you?"
He looked away a little embarrassed. "As much as I dislike the color red, strawberries are the paragon of perfection."
"I would've never guessed! Strawberries are good, too, though."
"What were you expecting?" he chuckled, "Gobbets of human flesh?"
Sakura chortled—despite seeming sobersided, Itachi was actually quite funny. Plus, their back-and-forth questioning made her feel like a teenager again; she had not played silly icebreaker games with a new friend in a long time. But, she was having fun and suspected that he was, too.
"No way! I just didn't expect something so sweet. OK, next question: if you had to live in a village other than Konoha, which one would it be?" Immediately—but too late—she realized that it was a stupidly insensitive question. For her, it was rhetorical; for Itachi, it was a constant reality.
Itachi thought for a moment and, much to Sakura's relief, appeared entirely unoffended. "I'd have to go with Ame. I love the rain and criminals are some of the only people left in the world who wouldn't turn me away."
She offered a small, wistful smile—it must have been hard to suffer the stigma of something you never wanted to do. "That's understandable. Personally, I don't think I could choose one village. I'd just become a wandering vagrant." Noticing that they had finished their dinner and seeing an opportunity to redirect from her insensitive subject, she added, "Are you ready for the next healing session?"
He nodded and they both moved to their usual positions. Sakura's heart fluttered as she began her work—her plans relied on him taking her advice on sleep for the next two evenings. If tonight did not go as planned, then tomorrow might not either.
Her heart rate slowed when he fell asleep as she had urged him to do. She continued her healing and smirked upon discovering that his wounds were almost completely healed on a cellular level—everything was falling into place.
Even if her diet would suffer for it, she would escape tomorrow evening.
When she finished her work for the night, he looked perfectly normal; no lesions or irritation remained. As Sakura gently shook him awake, she hoped that he would not question his healed appearance.
"Itachi," she murmured, "You can wake up now. I'm all done for the night."
Upon hearing her voice, he slowly blinked himself into a state of wakefulness.
Slowly, he lifted himself from the bed. "Thank you, Sakura. Your reputation as a skilled medic precedes you, and deservingly so—you've really done a great job."
Sakura beamed at him; she doubted that the day when she was left unimpressed by his praise would ever come. "Thank you! I hope that means that you've started to feel better."
"I have. I'll see you tomorrow," he said as he waved farewell for the night.
Sakura felt a little sad about his departure, but decided to sleep on it—for now, she needed all the rest she could get. After a nice, yawning stretch, she plopped into bed and waited for the evening's slumber to take her somewhere new.
The next day, Sakura awoke to Itachi quietly setting breakfast on the table.
Just as he turned to leave, she called out, "Wait! I'm up! Stay and eat breakfast with me."
"Sure," he replied, "Just let me get my own breakfast. I'll be right back."
His brief absence gave her just enough time to will herself out from under the covers, stretch out her sleepy limbs, and begin her tired trek over to the table. By the time she made it over, he had already set down his own plate and began to sit.
When Sakura realized what was on her plate, she froze mid-descent. Instantly, heartfelt tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them away before they could amount to anything. Today's breakfast was buckwheat pancakes smothered in blueberry compote. And, if the compote did not satisfy her blueberry cravings, there was a fresh bowl of them set to the side of her plate.
"You made this for me?" she asked in a voice drenched in disbelief. If her eyes were working properly, this might be the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for her.
"Well, yeah. I mean, I don't really like blueberries that much, so I made mine with strawberries instead," he said, gesturing to his own plate. He seemed wholly unaware of—or at least too humble to acknowledge—the gravitas of his own kindness. Most of the people in her life were indisposed to thoughtfulness or just too busy; this was a new and wonderful experience.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" she exclaimed. She stood from her chair wanting to make some kind of gesture to back up her words and looked around the room unsure of what to do with herself.
Taking a deep breath and a dose of valiancy, she wrapped her arms around Itachi in an embrace. It was a little awkward because he was sitting and unprepared for her action, but she felt that kindness like his could not be fully thanked without a hug.
For a brief moment, time paused with her arms wrapped around him and pressing him close to her heart. It was strange because of its incongruence with all of her expectations, yet it was intimate and peaceful at the same time. However, Sakura quickly reentered reality upon feeling him tense within her embrace.
Stepping back fast enough to have been hugging fire, she announced, "Well, I'd better get eating! I wouldn't want to let it get cold." She hoped that she had not overstepped his personal boundaries, but she lacked any sense of regret.
Finally, she sat down and began to enjoy her meal. Taking her first blueberry drenched bite, she sighed with euphoria.
"Thank you," Sakura said heavily, "Thank you."
"I'm just glad to see that you like it." She swore she caught a small smile on his face before he took in a mouthful of his own food.
"Sorry if you're not a hug person," she apologized between hearty bites, "I didn't mean to weird you out, or anything." She could have let it be, but she thought it was better to address the matter up front rather than feel awkward throughout their entire breakfast.
He shook his head. "No need to apologize. You just surprised me is all."
"Sorry about that. Who knew that a hug was what it would take to surprise the great Itachi Uchiha?" she laughed and then reassured him, "Don't worry, though—your secret's safe with me."
Once Sakura had cleaned her plate and emptied her bowl of all blueberry matter, she leaned back in her chair in a state of complete bliss.
"Are you ready for another day of training?" he asked.
As much as she wanted to take a post-food nap, she gave him a lazy salute. "Aye-aye, Cap'n." Then, Sakura sat up in her seat and attempted to look alert.
Immediately, he began his barrage of genjutsu. The illusions were strange, though. Not only were they becoming easier to dispel, but they were also becoming fuzzy in nature. They were so blurred and unrealistic that it would take a gullible moron to believe that they held any semblance to reality. After the first two hours, they became evanescent on their own without any active effort to dispel them.
Sakura pressed her lips together. "Itachi, it's getting weird. Your illusions—if you can even call them that anymore—are starting to dissipate on their own."
"That's a good sign. It should mean that your brain will automatically reject anything less than a high-ranking genjutsu. We should keep up with the training, though, so that it doesn't become just a temporary effect."
"Wow." She blinked in awe of her new ability. "That's really neat. I didn't know something like this was even possible. Will it change how I would react to something like the tsukuyomi?"
He shook his head. "No. If someone tries to trap you within a top tier bloodline-based genjutsu, the only things you can do are avoid the trap altogether or ride it out to the finish line. However, your training will heighten your psychological defenses, which will prevent serious damage and shorten your recovery time."
Sakura could not suppress her satisfied grin. "That's really damn cool. Hopefully it'll come in handy someday."
"I imagine it will. Why don't we take a break for now? We could have an early dinner and continue the training when we're done eating," he suggested.
"That sounds good to me. I need to run myself through the shower, anyway." Sakura felt sticky from going so long without a wash.
Once they agreed, they stood from their seats and parted ways.
After she had showered and dressed, Itachi returned with dinner. As they sat down to eat, something heavy settled in Sakura's stomach: this would be their last meal together before she snuck off in pursuit of bringing some rightness to the world again.
Much to her surprise, Itachi initiated conversation this evening. "So, it's been a while since you left the village. Have you adjusted to the lifestyle of a missing nin yet?"
"I guess so. I think your good cooking might've played an important role in that transition, though," she joked. "It's been a long time since you left the village. Have you adjusted to the lifestyle of a missing nin yet?"
He shrugged. "To be honest, I kind of like it. I've always been a solitary person and, with a reputation like mine, I can go most places without being bothered."
"Ha! And yet, your reputation didn't stop me. Do you ever get people who challenge you in hopes of bounty money or fame?" she inquired. She was genuinely curious.
"I don't imagine that anything could stop you once you've set your mind to something," he responded smugly. "But, I do get those types on occasion. Normally, they're easily scared off, but every now and then I'll get a good fight."
"Was I a good fight or just easily scared off?" she teased.
"A respectable fight, obviously. How else would you've gotten the nickname 'Pink Earthquake'?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Now that you mention it, how did I get that nickname? You and I were the only people on that battlefield, yet Sasuke found me by rumors that began to circulate shortly after our heartwarming introduction. I'm sure that an Uchiha prodigy like yourself must notice that it doesn't add up quite right..."
"You can hardly call it an introduction when you wouldn't even tell me your name," he pointed out.
Sakura ignored him and persisted, "You seeded those rumors, didn't you? You had to have. But why?"
He shrugged again. "When I finished connecting the dots on who you were and why you were there, I figured that even if nothing else came from it, my little brother could use an old friend."
Sakura snorted. "Sasuke washed himself of friendship a long time ago. Thanks for trying, though. Before I thought he'd died, Naruto and I were hell-bent on bringing him home. But, he saw us as nothing more than a hindrance. I'm sorry to say, but your efforts only gave him another tool toward killing you—at least in his eyes."
Itachi stayed silent and looked down at his food.
Suddenly, Sakura understood. "That was your intention, too, wasn't it? You thought that I'd just help him kill you." She slapped her knee as her body shook with laughter. "You hadn't expected that I'd have intentions of my own, had you? My goals ran in direct opposition with not only Sasuke's, but yours, too. Who would've thought?"
"It seems that the moment you think you have human nature and all of its intricacies figured out, someone goes out of their way to prove you wrong," Itachi professed. He looked deeply ashamed of himself.
"I didn't go out of my way," she corrected him. "But, Fate might have."
He sighed. "Of all the things for which Fate could punish me, it chose presumptuousness. Life's a fickle thing."
"It sure is…" she trailed off, swallowed by the maw of her stormy thoughts.
Looking down at their plates, Sakura realized that they had finished their food a while ago. "Would you like to practice genjutsu before we work on your face?"
Itachi yawned. "I already tried 15 minutes ago in hopes of evading your question. It clearly didn't work. I'd say you're solidly immune at this point. You should still practice in the future but, as it stands, garden variety genjutsu can't touch you."
As her jaw gaped, he added, "I didn't know it could be done that fast. Given time, you could become a true virtuoso of the art."
"Thank you." She knew she was blushing. "It helped to have such a talented teacher." She never knew herself to be capable of something so extraordinary.
"I'm just glad to have helped. I'm sure it's a skill that'll prove itself useful one day."
She nodded in agreement. "As much as I'd rather it not, I'd be surprised if it didn't. If we're done training for today, are you ready for me to start working on your face?"
"Ready as always," he affirmed.
They prepared for the sixth night with their usual routine; Itachi lied in the bed while Sakura pulled a chair up next to him.
"It seems like the healing has gone faster than I expected. Do you think you'll be finished tonight?" Itachi inquired before entering his traditional state of silence.
Sakura cursed his attentiveness. She had healed him at a faster rate than promised, but she had hoped he would not notice. Fortunately, she crafted a response to this situation beforehand.
She deceptively chuckled, "I thought you might ask that, but tonight and tomorrow night will require the hardest work. It's going to involve the repair of individual microsomes, which is… time-consuming, boring, and absolutely necessary."
"Do whatever you need to do," Itachi stated. He was an excellent patient. He did not fidget much and never objected to any of her instructions. He was every hospital staffer's dream.
Sakura smiled. "Get comfortable and close your eyes. Let me know if anything hurts."
Itachi did as she commanded. Sakura leaned forward and began to run her chakra through the once damaged skin around his eyes. Where his tissue once blistered, blackened, and peeled, it now returned to its smooth, pale hue. He looked fully healed and he was—but she intended to do everything she could to make him think otherwise.
Her hands glowed as chakra flooded his cells just as it had each night prior. Surely, it felt like any other night to him. Soon her work would lull him into such a state of comfort and relaxation that he might fall asleep, supposing that one could rely upon tradition.
However, once he entered his land of dreams, this night would be different. Tonight, she would wait until he was asleep for thirty minutes and then she would rise from her chair, grab her cloak and bag, and quietly close the door behind her. At thirty minutes, he would be in his deepest stage of sleep and would need much more than the soft click of the door to wake him as she made her escape.
Predictably, his pulse and breathing slowed after a half-hour of her chakra's soothing contact. She patiently continued her routine, knowing that his sleep would not be unstirrable until at least thirty minutes passed. Even though Sakura could feel the anticipatory adrenaline tingling in her veins, she knew that this scenario was one of "good things come to those who wait."
It tested every shred of patience Sakura possessed, but thirty minutes finally passed. She gradually reduced her chakra so that she would not startle him awake. She doubted that a sudden state change would be enough to rouse him, but it posed a risk she was unwilling to take.
Finally, her chakra flow slowed to nothing—now was the time to escape. Sakura soundlessly stood from her seat and identified the location of her bag and cloak, which were hanging on the open door of the bathroom. She floated across the room to lift them from their hook, took a promissory glance at Itachi's sleeping form, and continued her floating in the direction of the door.
Once her hand was on the knob, she opened the door with the gentleness one might use to handle a newborn baby. This door was all that stood between her and the rest of the world—this door was her last obstacle to freedom. During her days locked in this room, she had looked longingly out the window, but even more longingly at the door. Trying to escape out the window would have been noisy, but opening the door was just another everyday sound.
Fortunately, the window's view educated her on the surrounding environment. She had no idea where Itachi had taken her, but her hours of observation led her to believe that it was a small town managing to bustle with activity at all hours. Sakura wondered how he had gotten her here without arousing significant suspicion—he was carrying an unconscious woman, after all—but she surmised that he was stealthy enough to pull off anything.
Much to her relief, the door opened and closed without a creak. She stood in a quiet hallway lined with doors, confirming her assumption that they had been staying in a hotel.
The quiet was strange, though. Normally hotels rang of active vacationers or people who came and went, but this one did not. Initially, she had assumed that the walls were well insulated, but now she found that even the hallways were silent as a graveyard. Although the quiet should not have bothered her, she felt unsettled as she donned her cloak and swung her bag's strap over her shoulder.
After scanning the premises, she found a glowing red "EXIT" sign at the end of the hallway to her right. Moving soundlessly, she glided across the stale teal carpet and opened the metal door to the stairwell. It seemed that they resided in one of the higher floors, but Sakura had no time to waste. With soundless grace, she swung herself over the center railing and allowed herself to fall several storeys before landing on the ground floor.
Sakura grimaced upon discovering that there was only one door—not only did it pose a fire hazard, but it also led to the lobby. She had hoped to avoid contact with people on her way out and the lobby dashed those dreams into pieces at her escapee feet.
As if Fate were designed to spite her, she opened the door to find herself right next to the reception desk. The man there looked startled to see her—unprofessionally so. He recovered enough to smile at her, but his hand reached for his desk phone in a way that she did not like.
In a flash, Sakura propelled herself over his desk and smashed his phone into pieces with her fist. His hesitation in greeting her suggested that he might have been one of Itachi's informants, an affliction for which Sakura offered no sympathy.
"Trying to ruin my head start? I don't think so," she spat. With no hotel guests in sight, it occurred to her that Itachi might have bought out the entire hotel for their stay in order to monitor her movements.
The receptionist trembled, "We didn't expect you to leave until tomorrow night." He seemed uncomfortable with her proximity.
Sakura grinned. "Good. I was hoping for the element of surprise." She hit him in his pressure point and he fell to the floor unconscious, but unharmed.
She quickly identified the location of the exit and made her way to it. As she stepped out of the front door, a pulse of dread shot out from her stomach. It felt as if Itachi's eyes had just snapped open and her intuition was delivering the dire warning.
Now she could only run and hope that the chemicals from sleep lingered in his muscles—because Sakura knew that her head start ended here.
Authoress's Note:
So, strawberries or blueberries? I'm definitely in the blueberry boat. Or, I wish I was in a blueberry boat, even if I would eat them all.
As always, thank you all so much for reading! And, a special thanks to those who take the time to review, it's a huge motivator and the feedback really helps. So, thank you.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. :)
Have a wonderful evening (or day, depending on your location),
A
