Chapter 4
Sakura shook her head to drive away those painful memories. She got up and started preparing for the mission.
In the forest, during the mission
"I'm going to get some water," said Sakura.
"Kay," said Naruto and Sai together who were involved in some arm wrestling thingy while Kakashi-sensei was sleeping, a new Icha Icha Paradise on his face. They will never change thought Sakura referring to three men who were now the pillars of her life since the fourth one left her.
Sakura was collecting water from the river when she sensed a chakra she knew, a smell she loved and did not need to turn over to know that HE was behind her.
She walked across him, inhaling his smell without letting him notice. My memories do not do him justice, she thought. But it does not change the fact that he left me. She passed cross him, ignoring him.
"Saku—"but Itachi stopped.
After a long minute of silence, Sakura talked first.
"Why Itachi? I just wanna know why. Was I not worth being your wife? I want to know what caused you to doubt your decision."
She's crying, he thought. He approached her.
"I had my reasons, and as I told you I was not ready."
"Hell you were not ready!!" Sakura screamed, "You would not have proposed me if it was the case. 12 months Itachi. I waited for a response from you for 12 months! 12 FUCKING MONTHS WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU, WAITING TO HEAR YOU SAY THAT YOU WERE SORRY AND THAT YOU LOVED ME,"
Sakura suddenly grabbed Itachi.
"Look at me in the eyes and tell me that you did not want to marry me. Tell me that you did not want me to be yours on that day."
Itachi knew that he could no longer lie to her. She knew him too well and he was tired to see her suffer. Everything went quiet, only the sound of running water could be heard. Itachi broke the distressing silence.
"The truth, Sakura, is that I did all that for you not to suffer. Sakura, for god's sake, try to understand. I'm an Uchiha, a roof of pure trouble and problems. I did not want you to die."
Sakura knew from the sudden change of Itachi's eyes that he was still hiding something. His pure and sensual onyx eyes filled with so much love and hurt were now replaced by the cold and emotionless red sharingan ones.
"Okay! Swear that you're not hiding anything."
Itachi was trapped. He could no longer lie. He freed himself from Sakura's grip and looked down fearing that Sakura would notice his tears.
"Sasuke's not dead, Sakura!! I did not kill him!! I JUST COULD NOT KILL MY OWN BROTHER!! He came back, Sakura, he did. He threatened me. He told me that he would kill you if I married you. I love you, Sakura, and could bear the fact that you could be hurt."
Sakura was gaped. Sasuke is not dead?! She thought. She could hardly accept that the one who once tried to rape her was alive.
Itachi sensed a familiar chakra. A chakra belonging to the one who was responsible for the hell his life was now. He quickly took Sakura in his arms, thus avoiding a kunai thrown by someone he could no longer stand.
"Sasuke-kun…," Sakura said surprisingly.
There he was. Sasuke Uchiha, newly admitted to the Akatsuki, missing-nin of Konoha, her long dated team-mate and friend and also once her lover. There he was, dressed in an Akatsuki cloak; half of his bare chest could be seen. His sexy spiky raven hairs were flying freely in the cold breeze that ruled in the forest. He was more handsome than in her memories and he seemed more dangerous and cold. She was lost in the emptiness of his sharingan eyes.
"Sakura," he said, "My dear Sakura, you should thank me. I avoided you from having a stupid and WEAK husband." His eyes thought being on Sakura, were paying attention only to Itachi. Sasuke knew that Itachi hated that anyone touch Sakura. He moved neat Sakura and Itachi. He touched Sakura and using a teleporting ninjutsu, he teleported himself and Sakura away from Itachi. The latter surprisingly did not move. He was just there, motionless.
Sasuke's face was a few inches from Sakura's. He whispered to her ears:
"I could not let him have you. He has always been the best, always having better than I have. I could not let him have my Sakura. If you cannot be mine, you shall be nobody's."
Sasuke's voice had such a tone of madness and anger that it literally made Sakura shiver. Moments later, without her realising, her lips were forced on Sasuke's. He was kissing her wildly, taking away her breaths. She tried to pull him but Sasuke took that for an encouragement and due to the huge weight difference.
Sasuke suddenly stopped sidestepping just in time Itachi's suriken.
"Look after her," he said. Zetsu appeared and did as he was told.
"I'll be right back, darling", Sasuke told Sakura caressing her soft right cheek.
"So my chicken big brother finally decided to protect his so-called lover. What will you do, eh? Kill me? You could not last time, remember?! That's the difference between you and me, Itachi. I do everything I must do to achieve my goal, that is to be the only Uchiha left and if that implies killing my brother, I'll do it. Sakura's lips taste great, you know, just like cherries in a vanilla cream. And you know how much I love vanilla. But I won't hesitate to kill her."
Itachi could feel anger accumulating inside of him. Sasuke was trying to chip him. He was talking too much. Suddenly, Naruto and an eagle drawn by Sai jumped on Zetsu to immobilise him. Kakashi attacked him with a Kamui technique,(sorry did not find better ^^,), thus freeing the pink scared chunin. Sasuke did not let all that disturb him at all. Sakura was under shock. She tried to assimilate the situation. Suddenly Sasuke threw a lighting blade ninjutsu towards Itachi. Sakura jumped in front of him, receiving the attack instead of her lover did. She was propelled against a tree and a puddle of blood surrounded her.
"Sakuraaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" yelled Itachi. Itachi went over to Sakura. He picked her lifeless body in his arms and his face in her neck saying "I'm sorry Sakura" over and over again.
Sasuke was thunderstruck. How could he… Anyways it was already done. He started laughing when he saw that his brother was crying.
"Oh! The great Itachi Uchiha, the genius of the Uchiha clan, is actually crying. You're weak!"
"Enough! Ok! Enough! I've been listening since a while. Not hitting back to you does not mean I'm scared or anything! You think you're strong Sasuke but you're still the little boy who was always following me. You cannot bear seeing me happy, can you?! You know why I did not kill you, it's because I thought you'll change, change into someone good and responsible but no, YOU HAD BETTER PLANS! You've hurt Sakura twice but I forgave you thinking that you were still a kid but not now. You wanna be treated like an adult; well I'll treat you like a grown-up.
Itachi was beside himself. He attacked Sasuke with an Amaterasu ninjutsu. The two Uchiha brothers became involved in a merciless fight. Enormous amount of chakra were floating in the air. Naruto, Sai and Kakashi were speechless with surprise. Itachi were extremely dangerous when he was angry. He held the final stroke to Sasuke. Itachi was there over Sasuke's dead body. He got up and went where his soul mate was. He just laid there by her side, holding her in his arms as if to protect her from danger.
Naruto approached Itachi. He touched his elbow and gave him a gaze. A gaze to make him realise that she was gone. Itachi looked at Naruto. No he could not accept that; his little flower could not be dead. She just could not. Not wanting Naruto and the others to see his tears, he quickly lowered his head. A tear from Itachi's eyes fell on Sakura's face and made its way to her lips. She is so beautiful. There's so much that I want her to know, so much that I want to do with her but she's gone, Itachi thought.
"Is that what you call justice?!! Killing her for someone who left her!! I should be dead and she should be alive and moving on in life. YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN ME!!!!!!!!!!!" Itachi yelled looking at the sky.
Suddenly wails could be heard. Everyone was surprised and dare not move. Itachi looked at Sakura wondering if God has listened to him. Sakura tried to move but Itachi grabbed her and hugged her tight. Sakura was surprised as she was not used to Itachi showing his feelings like this.
"It's okay baby. I'm okay. And Itachi…" Itachi looked up. "..you're crushing me".
"So this is what is called a miracle? I read about that in one book and…"said sai.
"These things cannot be read Sai. You should experience them," said Naruto and the brink of tears. Kakashi nodded.
Itachi and Sakura laughed. Itachi drew closer to Sakura and caught her lips in a passionate and long kiss taking her breaths away.
Itachi carried Sakura on his back to Konoha. She received the necessary medical aid and after receiving a long rumbling from Tsunade-sama, Sakura was allowed to go home. She stayed at the hospital for three weeks and there wasn't a day without which Itachi failed to come to visit by little, Sakura rediscovered in Itachi the one for whom she had fallen. Itachi insisted to have a decent funeral for Sasuke though no one understood why he still cared for that traitor but after all he was his brother so no one objected.
Voila, there is still a last chapter…will try to update in two days…Special thanks to my best friend who had 75% of the idea of this chapter..love you dudie angel…=*