Pink Clouds

Darkkinkachu: If I had a nickel for every nice thing you do, I'd buy a bunch of flowers and give them back to you :)

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Big Bad Wolf

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Uchiha are evil.

That was the conclusion Sakura came to as Itachi landed yet another effortless blow. If Itachi and Sasuke were supposed to be perfect examples of their clan than it was a very good thing that the maniac raining punches down on her had killed them all off.

Sakura needed back up. Badly. But Naruto and Sai were preoccupied with their own huge, blue problem about twenty feet away.

She had never seen anyone fight the way Uchiha Itachi did. It was so graceful. Each hit, each dodge, each tiny flick of the eyes, seemed thoroughly planned and was exactitude with cold, cruel perfection.

Darkness was beginning to skirt around the edges of her vision as a seemingly endless river of blood trickled from various wounds. Sakura didn't know what to do any more. The stories didn't hold a candle to the real thing…

"Bully…" the word slipped from her bleeding lips before she could even comprehend what she was saying.

The man stopped not three feet from her, "Pardon?"

The way he asked so calmly, like she wasn't a threat at all, goaded the young medic into continuing in a weak mummer, "That's what you are, Uchiha Itachi. You think…you're all that, but you're just a bully, picking on those who can't protect themselves. What kind of man kill's his entire clan and warps his little brother's mind for no reason other than to test his strength?"

Blood was coming out in fine, foamy, little sprays while she spoke. The blood loss and fatigue kept her from seeing the renewed interest in the twisted mans eyes.

"Do you know what you are, Uchiha Itachi?" Sakura slurred, swaying slightly.

"Pray tell, what am I little girl?"

"You are nothing but a wolf. A big bad wolf, scaring women and children and destroying homes. Go way wolf…go…way…"

"A big bad wolf, you say?" his voice was so hypnotic. Sakura could feel herself slipping further and further into the darkness and the voice of the wolf was drawing her in.

Even if she had been in top fighting condition, Sakura would not have caught the sudden movement of the red-eyed male. He was behind her in an instant, just close enough so that the warmth of his chest began to seep into her back, oddly soothing to her battered body.

His lips actually brushed against the shell of her ear as he whispered, "Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll take away everything you love."

And then he was gone.

Hot, grimy tears cleared a tiny path down her face as Sakura fell forward. Fear, confusion, anger, and exhaustion took over. As the inky blackness closed in, Sakura mumbled her last defiant words; "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?"

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"…ake up soon?"

A kind of buzzing filled the girls ears as vague strains of conversation drifted into her foggy mind. Hmm…Who's that talking? She wondered, debating rather to ease back into sleep or investigate, hmm…wait…who am I?

"Sakura is strong. Always has been. She'll wake up soon enough, Naruto."

Ah, yes. Sakura. That was her name. And that former voice had been Naruto, the latter Kakashi. But what were they doing in her room? She just wanted to sleep…

"Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll take away everything you love."

The rose haired girl shot up with a strangled scream, the memories of just before she passed out flooding sharply into her mind. The scene before her came together slowly as she tried to catch her breath.

She wasn't in her room she was in the hospital surrounded by her friends. As Naruto came barreling down on her with delighted cries of 'Sakura-chan!', she decided she was safe. Konoha was safe and she had her friends. Sakura glanced out the window with a small smile.

Who's afraid of the big bad Uchiha?

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When Sakuras kitten turned up dead on her door step a week later, she was irate. The Kunia buried between its small furry shoulder blades told her some thoughtless Genin had been practicing its aim on helpless animals. Sakura had half a mind to tell Tsunade and hurt down the little bastard.

The sudden disappearance of her rare and beloved Sugar Blaze flower (it had been a gift from her now deceased grandparents) confused and angered her, but that was all. How someone had stolen a heavy potted plant from her living room in the middle of the day was beyond her.

But when her special picture of Team 7 turned up missing, she knew something was wrong. Sakura kept the picture well hidden and locked in her memory box. Oddly enough, that had been the only thing taken.

She went immediately to her best friend Ino. After a good, long talk and lots of ice cream, Sakura was soothed and went home, any sense of dread cleared away.

The next day, Ino suffered a bizarre and unexplained training accident and had to be hospitalized. Unnerved, Sakura turned to Tenten, another close friend whom she had found she had a lot in common with.

Tenten was found dead the next morning, apparently mauled by some large animal. The coroner told Sakura it was canine, maybe a wolf.

And then it clicked. While Sakura stood over a sink of dirty dishes, scrubbing and crying, it hit her. A wolf. The wolf. Slowly she sank to the floor a fresh wave of tear pouring down her face. He really was doing what he had said.

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"Why?"

As Sakura stood on the head of the second Hokage carved into the cliff, she asked why this was happening to her. Why the deranged man had taken an interest in her, why he was doing this, why…everything. Why Ino, why Tenten, why her poor cat.

"Why?" she cried out a little louder. But the wind only swept her words away leaving her with no answer, "Why…"

She precived his precence just a moment to late. Already he was right behind her, just as he had been before. The breeze blew long, black strands of hair out, tickling her face. He just stood there at first, the cold point of a Kunia pricking at the girls neck, before he leaned down and nipped her ear, "Huff puff."

"You're a monster."

"Oh?" his other hand had started to run smoothly up and down her arm, "I thought I was the wolf. Are we playing a new game now?"

"A game?" though she knew she couldn't win, that he really would kill her this time, she couldn't keep from turning her head slightly, green eyes blazing with hate, "You killed Tenten…I know it was you."

"Do you know how hard it is to find a full grown wolf and get it to kill just one person?" his hand had traveled to her hair, rubbing the silky strands between his fingers, "I worked really hard on that one, precious. It was even harder than buy out all those Fudge-E Lumps that you loved so much."

"So that was you too," her voice was cold and distant, quivering slightly, "Bastard."

"Be nice," the knife dragged against her neck, drawing a fine red line, "Or else."

"Or else you'll kill me?" she sneered, "or buy all the cream soda? I love that too, you know."

"No…" it happened very quickly and painfully. The gentle hand that had been touching her hair suddenly knotted itself there, tearing at her scalp. He brought his body flush to hers and bit at her ear much harder, "What's the name of that boy you play Go with on Wednesdays and Fridays? Or maybe that little girl in the hospital you're such good friends with? I think your parents will be next, though…"

"No…" tears began to pour from her eyes again, "No, you can't."

Itachi flicked his tongue against her neck, "Oh but I can. It's what I do. Aren't you the one who told me that, Sakura?"

Sakura could only sob as he held her tighter, almost crushing her. It was all her fault. This was happening because of what she had said to him.

"Come with me…" Itachi's breath felt very hot in her ear as he hissed, "or I'll kill them all."

Slowly, so slowly, she nodded. She couldn't let anyone else die for her sake.

And then they were gone.

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Darkkinkachu: I don't like this. I don't like it at all. Sigh…oh well. Please review and tell me what you thought! REVIEW I SAY!

I've decided I don't care what order you want them in XP I'll just write all of them as I feel and then take votes for extra parings/triangles/threesomes at the end. Ok with you guys?

Next up…

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Questions

She just had to ask…

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WARNING!

The Author Will Now Rant About Why This Story Was Freakin' Hard to Write

(you don't have to read it if you don't want to)

First of all, Itachi in general is a very hard character to use. Unlike most stoic ice-block characters, such as Gaara and Sasuke, he has no apparent reason for his actions. There is no explanation as to why he does what he does. He has no back story other than his disdain for the Clan (which I don't fully understand except that they were to hard on him).

Itachi is a very blank slate as far as Fan writing goes. Some people would think that's a good thing, meaning that you can make him do and think what ever you want. I find it troublesome. If I don't know what he's really like, how can I know if I'm staying to far from his character?

Itachi stories TEND to (but not always) fall into one of four categories: Crazy, Lonely (and wanting love), Possessive, or OOC. Sometimes with a mixture of two or more. This was intensely hard for me to write because I wanted it to be original. I feel like I made Itachi just like every one else makes him.

That's why I'm so disappointed in this story.

Man, why can't I write essays on anime and manga for school/college? I would actually get A's for a change…fhoo…