Chapter 34: Come True
Sakura walked slowly as she left the village. She knew that Tsunade would give her plenty of time for a getaway and she wanted as many curious villagers to see her pink hair and bloody hands as possible—the more people who saw, the faster the rumors would spread. She needed the rumors to spread as quickly as possible so that no one could have second thoughts about her plans and so that the Akatsuki could hear about her conquests.
She knew that they would come for her, but she wondered who it would be. Would it be Sasori's partner? That would make for an uncomfortable start. However, she could use it to her advantage to show her history of hardness. After all, it shouted, "I've been murdering big names since I was 15-years-old!" If that combined with Danzo's disposal did not rev the engine of their criminal machine, then nothing would.
When she finally reached the village gates and the keepers spotted her, she broke into a run. If all went as planned, they should be on orders to report her sighting to the Hokage directly rather than chasing after her. Sakura knew that she would have to face her comrades in combat eventually, but she was not ready to take that plunge quite yet. She would probably thank Tsunade for her medical background each time she beat a Konoha shinobi to the brink of death because she would know not only when to stop, but also when she could keep going. There would be no room for looking weak among outlaws.
She ran to the dead tree where she had hidden her supplies back in the hollowed cubby of its trunk, grabbed her bag, and kept running. Once she put two days of walking distance between herself and the village, she slowed down to a comfortable pace—she wanted people to find her now. Sakura had all of the practical supplies she needed and, although she would be marked as a criminal right away, Tsunade had promised her a day's time before anyone was sent looking for her.
As she had hoped, it was not long before she came upon a familiar town. It had her favorite bar around and she figured that she deserved a celebratory drink after her latest victory. Then, she would need another drink to prepare her for all that was to come.
"After a few months with them, I'll probably need more than just a couple drinks," Sakura mumbled to herself.
Even though she had only been to the bar once, her feet moved in the right direction as if they were operating on muscle memory. The people in the streets became increasingly gruff looking and the buildings began to look like they should not pass an infrastructure inspection. This was the part of town that always had the best bars.
Finally, her walking halted and she breathed in her favorite bar's outward glory. The shambled shack was called Tinsel Teeth's Tavern. She owed the bartender a drink and figured that it would be a good time to throw back a few of her own as she lay in wait.
Sakura threw open the doors like she owned the place and strutted over to the bar. As the sun had just fallen and the night was still fresh, it was a lot busier in the establishment than it had been during her first visit.
The bartender walked up to her without really looking and barked something about what she wanted to drink.
Sakura grinned and slammed her flask onto the bar. "Two drinks. One shot of top shelf vodka for me and another of whatever you'd like for yourself."
Finally, the woman looked up at her and gaped when she paired her recognition of Sakura's face with the flask in her hand.
"You really came back," she muttered in surprise.
"I sure did, Tinsel Teeth. With your flask in good shape, too! Fill it up with a drink for yourself on me. I have quite a bit to celebrate if you have a few moments to break from the other customers," Sakura offered.
Tinsel Teeth's face lit up with a terrifying grin. "My busboy can pick up the other customers for me! Let me grab those drinks and you'll have to share your exciting news."
The lethal blonde grabbed her flask from the bar and turned around to prepare the drinks as promised. When she returned, she held a full flask in one hand and a double-shot of clear liquid in the other.
Sakura went to reach for her money, but Tinsel stopped her with a shake of her head.
"This is on me for bringing my flask back in good shape. And for whatever we're celebrating," she chuckled. For someone with sharpened metal teeth, a no-bullshit attitude, and ownership of a criminal den, she was surprisingly bubbly.
"So, what're we cheers-ing?" she asked with a suggestive eyebrow waggle.
Sakura laughed before leaning in to whisper, "Well, you're the first person I wanted to tell because I figured it would get you some well paying customers." Tinsel had already looked intrigued, but now she leaned in, too. "Let's just say that I'm not dirty because I haven't showered in a few days." As Sakura paused, Tinsel Teeth waited patiently. "I had a brawl with Danzo Shimura, one of the village elders in Konoha. And, well, considering the fact that I'm sitting here breathing and he's not—the breathing part, I mean—you could say that I won."
Tinsel Teeth leaned back as if to admire her with a knowing grin. She lifted her flask in the air and Sakura did the same with her tall shot glass. They knocked their containers with a "clink!" and each threw back a swig. Sakura finished her drink with one more swig and set the empty glass down on the wooden bar.
"I'd heard he was dead, but I couldn't get the dirt on who it was. Everyone wanted to say that it was that Uchiha kid who did it and that Danzo was protecting you from him, but I think we both know what a stinking crock of shit that is." Tinsel rolled her eyes and continued, "But, with a notch like that in your belt, you know that you should be expecting special visitors any time soon, right?"
Sakura noticed Tinsel Teeth's eyes drifting toward the doors and her stomach sunk: what if she was worried about Sakura putting her bar in danger?
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, "Do you want me to leave? I know you're right."
Tinsel Teeth burst into a fit of hearty laughter.
"Of course not! I'm actually hoping it means that one of my favorite patrons will be stopping by," she snorted.
As if Fate were waiting on the wishes of Tinsel Teeth, the doors to her bar burst open and let a draft through the room. Two tall men entered wearing chillingly familiar cloaks decorated with red clouds. Although she recognized the blue-skinned man, she was utterly fixated on his partner. He was a handsome, yet dark man who probably shone like stained glass when he stood in the sunlight. Sakura would even go so far as to bet that, under his stony demeanor, he had a sense of humor. Despite the flat face that he showed the world, she guessed that he was really a person of many dimensions.
Her lips moved to say his name, but she was cut off by Tinsel Teeth shouting, "Sharkface!"
He offered her a grin that matched her own pointiness. "Tinsel Teeth! I'm sorry to say that I'm here on business."
The bar grew quiet, but Sakura did not care. The man—Itachi was his name, she thought—had his eyes just as carefully fixated on her as hers were on him. It had been months since she last saw him, but he still looked the same.
Sakura turned around, shook the fuzz from her head, and raised her empty glass.
"Hey, Tinsel, do you think you could get me a refill?"
Tinsel Teeth snickered at the look on her face before turning around to help out a friend in sorry condition. Sakura had been so worried about her plans surrounding Danzo that she had not taken even a moment to truly prepare for this reunion.
The second that Tinsel set down the shot glass, Sakura threw it down her throat with a sufferable burn. After a quick glance, she noticed that her favorite bartender had set down two more topped-off shot glasses, but she suspected that those were not for her.
She turned around to see Kisame bounding forward with a goofy grin on his face, but Itachi stood frozen in place. Unfortunately, his face was as frozen as his feet, so she could not get a read on him.
Sakura grinned at him. "Hey, Itachi. Long time, no see."
In an unusually public display, a smile flickered on his face as he finally stepped forward. That smile—a gift he shared with no one else—was all she needed to know that, despite their period of physical separation, true distance had not grown between them.
Feeling untouchable, she languidly slid down from her barstool. A room of criminals felt like a den of kittens as her veins buzzed with the power of her emotional high. Time seemed distorted in her favor as she took one slow step forward.
"Hey, Sakura. It's been awhile. The Akatsuki's heard that you killed Danzo," he stated, smile still flickering at the corners of his lips.
She took another step forward and chuckled, "I sure did. It's probably the greatest service I've ever done the world."
"I'm sure you know why we're here, then."
"To see my shining face?" Sakura quipped.
This time, the grin that broke across his face was unmistakable. "Well, that's why I'm here. But, as Kisame said, he's here on business."
They each took a step forward, closing the distance between them. The room was so quiet that the only things she could hear were her own heartbeat and the electricity crackling between them. Even though she had known before this moment, seeing him here crushed any possible doubts: Sakura loved Itachi.
"Kisame," Sakura asserted without turning around, "We can talk later."
He said something in response, but she was not listening.
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Don't you want to know why he's here?"
"Yeah, but we can talk about that later."
Sakura had more important things to do. She reached out with her hands, placing one on the crook where his shoulder met his neck and cupping the other around his jaw to his nuque. She paused to look for his permission and received her answer as he leaned forward and placed one hand on her shoulder with the other wrapping around her back.
She had not dreamt of this moment, but now that she was living it, she wondered why she had not. Mustering more courage than it took to battle Danzo, Sakura leaned forward and placed her lips upon Itachi's. His lips were soft and much warmer than she had expected. He returned her kiss gently, totally devoid of the aggression that someone might expect from a seasoned killer. Despite standing in a room of hardened criminals, she had never felt so incredibly safe and loved as she felt in this moment.
As they held each other, Sakura knew that this feeling was the pinnacle of human experience. Nothing could possibly compare to the sparks generated between them and the complete trust that they had developed for each other. No matter what they would face over the coming months or even years in the Akatsuki, she knew that they were in it together.
Although she wished this moment could last forever, she knew that some of its value came from its finite nature. Reluctantly, she pulled back and drew in a breath of air, allowing him to do the same. Ending the moment was strange and left her feeling as if an invisible force had abruptly slammed her back into her own body after an extracorporeal experience.
Attempting to reorient herself to physical reality, she realized that their exchange had made them the center of attention. She could feel the judgment and curiosity from each person's gaze acutely on her skin. While the thoughts of strangers could have no impact on her exuberant mood, she wondered what expressions Tinsel Teeth and Kisame wore on their faces.
Sakura turned around to move toward the bar in order to address the business end of things and saw the two familiar people in the room grinning at them madly. She had expected that sort of reaction from Tinsel Teeth, as the woman seemed to have a penchant for the strange and dangerous, but she hoped that Kisame's smirk did not bear any foreboding significance.
As Sakura returned to her barstool, Kisame leaned over to Tinsel and playfully sneered, "So that's why he's been so moody for the past few months." The pair guffawed in such harmony that Sakura blinked in awe for a moment before putting on a serious face.
When Itachi finally took the seat to her left, Sakura sighed, "So, I can guess why you're here. But please, humor me by spelling it out."
Itachi and Kisame locked eyes before turning their attention to her. Tinsel Teeth's eyes darted between the three of them, likely interested in what she was about to hear.
The shark man grunted, "The leader of the Akatsuki's heard of your exploits and thinks that you'd make a strong addition to our organization."
"Is this an offer or just a passing thought?" she remarked sarcastically.
Kisame roared with laughter, but Itachi's face remained gravely somber.
"We call it an offer, Sakura, because you'll get impressive pay and unique fringe benefits, but…" Itachi trailed off.
Kisame finished what his partner could not. "It's an offer that you can't turn down, pinkie. Even if you said no and ran away, we'd come find you again and again… We'd strong-arm you—by threatening the people you care about—into joining if we had to."
She laughed coldly at his empty threat. "You would threaten the people I care about? Who's that? There's only one person on that list and I think you'd have a tough time getting rid of him. It'd be like a wild animal chewing off its own leg."
She needed to assert a message of definitive ruthlessness from the get-go.
"What about your friends in Konoha?" Kisame asked.
She rolled her eyes and sneered, "I thought you said that your leader had heard of my exploits? I killed Danzo Shimura. I'm not exactly Konoha's favorite person right now."
"We know that, but we've heard that the shining Team 7 recently reunited. It seems weird that you'd kill Danzo just when your life was on the upswing," the shark man pushed.
"You call that the upswing? It might sound picture perfect, but to me it just meant being held back because I'm the fragile flower of the team. When I killed Danzo, I not only got to pass cosmic justice for what he did to me, but I also gave myself an out from spending the rest of my life with fools who underestimate me."
Kisame chuckled, "Well, if you join the Akatsuki, I don't think anyone would underestimate you ever again."
Sakura feigned deep contemplation by pausing to look at her hands. It seemed like he was swallowing every lie she placed in his mouth and she was glad for it—because then everyone listening in on their conversation was likely to believe her lies, too.
"Well, that might take some of the fun out of it. If people won't pick fights with me, I'll have to start looking for them," she grinned hungrily.
Kisame chortled, but looked at her expectantly.
She waved her hand at him. "Oh, Kisame, you should've saved your breath with all of the scare tactics. You really had me sold at 'good pay.' The answer is yes: I'll join the Akatsuki."
A sharp grin broke across his face and he roughly patted her shoulder as he might do to an old friend.
"Well, then, Itachi can take care of the rest! You two have work to do, but I think that I'll stick around and have a few more drinks. I'm all business-ed out for one night and I have a lot of catching up to do with Tinsel Teeth, anyway."
Sakura turned toward Itachi, who she noted had been stone faced and silent throughout this entire ordeal. He nodded in agreement with Kisame's plan and slowly stood from his barstool. Sakura followed his example and turned to Tinsel Teeth to say goodbye.
"Thanks for the drinks, Tinsel. I'll be sure to stop by for more when I get my first fat paycheck," she smiled. Sakura had a feeling that her favorite bartender would make a solid friend on her upcoming journey.
Tinsel Teeth smiled back. "You'd better! Visits from people like you leave business booming and plus: I really need a girlfriend to talk to in a place like this. I'd say don't take any shit, but you seem to have that one under wraps. So, have fun and I'll see you soon!"
Sakura laughed, thanked her one last time, and turned to leave. She heard Itachi following her steps to the door, so she did not bother to spare the bar's nosy patrons another glance before stepping into the crisp nighttime air.
For the first few minutes, they walked side-by-side in comfortable silence. Sakura stared up at the reminiscently full moon and wondered what this day meant for the rest of her life. She knew it meant something big, but it was too early to tell how things would turn out.
"You were awfully quiet back there. You alright?" Sakura asked.
Itachi nodded with his secret smile tickling the edges of his mouth. "I'm better than alright, honestly. I just held a high stake in the outcome of that proposal and didn't want to influence your decision."
"What high stake?"
"Selfishly, I wished that you would say yes," Itachi admitted with a hint of shame in his voice.
She laughed. "Selfishly? I don't think you know what that word means."
"It feels strange to have a dream come true." He paused. "I can see why people dream so often."
"Why's that?" Sakura asked.
He looked at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Because the more someone dreams, the greater chance he has at his dreams coming true—and the greater chance he has at feeling like I do right now."
Sakura looked at him in surprise and saw genuine happiness reflected by the moonlight dancing in his eyes. For once, the smile he wore was not hidden or restrained—this time, it was truly unreserved. It looked so lovely on him that Sakura could not help but to wish that he would wear it more often.
"I have to say, I feel pretty great right now, too," she confessed. She would go so far as to say that she also felt like one of her dreams had finally come true.
Tentatively, he reached out and slid his hand into hers; she reciprocated by intimately entwining their fingers. Just when she thought she had reached the apex of all happiness, he somehow managed to take her higher.
Sakura turned to him with a smile that she could feel all the way in her toes and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. She had no idea where her life was going to take her over the next days, months, or years. The ambiguity—especially coupled with certain danger—was unnerving. However, holding Itachi's hand under the full moon made all of the peril and obscurity seem less frightening. Somehow, knowing that Itachi would be by her side through it all made a future of uncertainty perfectly bearable.
A/N:
Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing over the past many months! I really hope you enjoyed my story. I had a lot of fun writing it and felt that it has helped me further develop my (still growing) writing skills.
I'm really grateful that you were all able to join me on this adventure. Perhaps I will write more soon. :)
Have a fantastic evening,
A
