Chapter 2:

Sakura's Decision

The City Had Been Razed.

The area around me was all cinder and ashes and rubble. Charred bodies battered and maimed, children covered in bruises arms, feet heads chopped off raggedly. The scent of blood and ash overwhelmed me, the heat of Konoha's summer engulfed me, and made the sent even stronger as though the sheer quantity of it were not enough. Flies swarmed around, hitting me in the face, the beastly things no doubt drawn by blood. I swallowed back bile coming up my throat.

The dryness of the heat did nothing to keep the fires from spreading. The crops from farms surrounding were in a blaze. I had never seen anything so gruesome, so hideous. I tripped over something, falling forward. I screamed as I saw that I had fallen on top of a small body charred and rotting with the head cut off and sliced throat, the blood wasn't dry but sticky. I pushed myself up and frantically wiped at my clothes as if I could wipe away that I had fallen on him, that he had been dead. The vomit forced its way from my stomach, I just couldn't hold it back anymore, I put my hands on my knees gasping for breath as the last of what little bit was in my stomach abandoned me as I retched.

I saw the symbol of Danzo's reign on a banner clutched in the dead child's hand, the leaf of Konoha flaming surrounded by black rather than the green of my family's banner. It had been Konoha's center of art, of culture and education, Konohagakure. The people had been destroyed to make an example of anyone who would speak out against Lord Danzo. Pain had taken me here to see the truth, the extent Danzo's evil.

My people were dead.

Danzo had killed thousands in this city alone. I gave up, sat down in a pile of ash as I cried and cried and cried. The kind "Lady Angel" whom I now know as Konan, Pain's wife, took me up into her arms and held me as I cried, whispering reassurances to me as my breath wouldn't fill my lungs. My vision left me.

…

After my little field trip, another devastation struck, the blonde man, Deidara, gave me the news that my mother had been killed, poisoned cantarella, not a pretty death, it forces the body to vomit and defecate before finally killing you.

I knew her death was bound to happen as soon as Danzo had realized what my mother had done and that there was no chance that Danzo could marry her. It was no less of a shock. But what a heinous way to die I hadn't thought he had spited her such. I locked myself in my room. I refused anyone's presence and denied myself of food. After a week of this I heard a knock on my door. I called at whoever it was to go away, but he entered anyway. It was the Uchiha prince, Itachi, I threw a pillow in a half attempt to keep him out but he just shoved it out of his way. He looked at me eyes heavy. "My mother is dead, too. My father beat her to death." He walked over to me and sat on to my bed.

"My brother and I had been hiding under our mother's bed with the intent on startling her, but my father came in during one of his rages. This was worse than the others. I tried to make my brother close his eyes but he wouldn't listen.

"I had been eleven, my brother was eight. I could never look at my father again without imagining killing him. On my eighteenth birthday I found that my father was far more evil than I had already known.

"I had found a staircase under my father's desk. It led down to the most disgusting thing I had seen in my life. I found the laboratory of my uncle Orochimaru. My uncle had been conducting experiments on human beings. Innocent people were mutated, some had animal parts sticking out of their bodies, others had been sown together bleeding, and they were all plainly malnourished, and mutilated. The worst part was the smell, the smell of blood, feces and antiseptic.

"That night I ran. I joined the Akatsuki about a year later determined to seek out revenge and I discovered that in retaliation for my escape my father had killed my best friend Shisui. You aren't alone Sakura, It's true I know what it feels to sit and smile and pretend everything is fine when you know the evil that sits before you."

"How did I move past this? How did you survive?"

"I knew I was determined to kill them all and return to my kingdom and set my country right. To keep my country from ever suffering such tyranny again. That is why you must get up and take back your kingdom." He held my hand and gave it a squeeze, before he reached the door and I called out, "Itachi?"

"Yes, Sakura?"

"I will join the Akatsuki, take back my country."

He smiled at me, "Then you'd best come eat so we can get to work."

For the first time in a week I ate properly. I wouldn't lock myself in my room anymore, but instead I would spend my time at a desk in the Akatsuki library. The only people I would allow into the room were Konan whom was becoming a dear friend and Itachi, who helped me figure out how I was going to pull this off.

I knew that first we needed an army. I knew just gathering rebels alone wouldn't be enough; we would need artillery and supplies, as well as the fact the numbers would be no match for Konoha's or Uchiha's standing armies always prepared for war. There was another country with a standing army. In fact it was twice the size of Konoha's army due to all of the trading ventures that had to be defended and they had enough wealth to fund the entire war, the country of Suna.

I began to reach for a piece of paper at the same moment Itachi had. I felt my hand brush against his warm one and our eyes locked for a moment too long, it made me blush. I then proceeded to explain my intent before drafting up my treaty that I would present to King Garra. I often worked late into the night, passing out in my exhaustion, sometimes finding myself being carried like a new bride by Itachi, who walked me into my bedroom and put me in my bed.

In a week I had completed my treaty. At last I knew how I would defend my people and in the relief of the moment, I threw up my papers and found myself in Itachi's arms, kissing him. After I had realized what I had done, I backed away blushing. Itachi only smiled saying, "Why, you've turned pinker than your hair Sakura." I tried to pretend that hadn't happened and proceeded to tell Itachi my plan.

"We will need my brother. Konoha would never accept me as their ruler, and the people would only rally around my brother. Both you and my brother would have to gather rebels from your countries. I will go as a diplomat to Suna to present this treaty to King Gaara, and we will stage a military coup." Itachi nodded at my plan, seeing nothing wrong with that plan thus far. He grinned at me, those beautiful red eyes gleaming at me again.

"I think you will make a brilliant diplomat, Sakura"

"And you'd better be a pretty great general, Itachi, or we shall be reliant completely upon Gaara."

"Oh, I assure you I know how to lead an army," he winked at me,

I laughed, "I'll believe it when I see it, hero." Shoving him just a little bit, I turned away and slipped on one of the papers nearly hitting the floor. Itachi had caught me just in time. Our faces were close together, it wouldn't take much for him to kiss me again, but at that moment Konan opened the library door.

"Dinners almost rea-I see you're busy." She then turned around and closed the door, behind which I could hear her laughing. Itachi set me on my feet and I was almost sure he had been about to kiss me again, but it was my imagination.

"You should go to bed after dinner. Those bags under your eyes are getting darker from all these nights of working with me," I said rather awkwardly.

"Yea, I will. Thanks." Did he really sound as nervous as I was? No, it couldn't be. Prince Itachi nervous? As if.

I walked out of the room and headed down the hall to dinner. In the dining room I could hear them all laughing about a "royal couple." I blushed. "Traitor," I said under my breath and turned back around deciding, embarrassed, that I wasn't hungry.

Tomorrow, I decided, the best course of action would be to get Hinata, the one girl my brother Naruto had ever taken a real interest in and the only person who could possibly convince him to do anything. The only question was how?