Hi guys! I haven't been updating for a while 'cause of the usual reason—damned writer's block! Anyway, something would be different about the next following chapters. It would be halved into 2 parts so I could make it longer. If you're confused or something like that, don't hesitate to criticize, flame, comment, or suggest anything.

The next few weeks were made up of missions for Itachi. Since his father was strictly forcing him to do more at ANBU, he had no choice as do as he was being told, not that he actually wanted to...

He continuously hopped towards tree to tree, shrugging his loud-mouthed teammates talking about a senseless with a silent 'hn'. He would finish this dumb mission fast...although, after he did, his father would rant about him, needing to get more training, practice, do more better at ANBU...blah, blah, blah...

"I've begun to see the truth. Even he was very strict against me, he showed that he cared...it's just too inconspicuous."

He inwardly sighed; his plan would take more time than he expected. It's not really because that he needed to prepare making sure his plan would succeed flawlessly and things would work against his own will...it was far more than that.

He frowned.

Looks like...

...Killing the clan would take more time than I thought it would be.

You're really a weakness.

And I will get rid of you.

Sakura smiled at Mikoto as the both of them finish washing the dishes. Mikoto did not actually want her to do anything for them, saying that it's unnecessary, but Sakura had always insisted in a form of a pleading smile. The family had grown quite used to her being here; making herself a maid (much to Mikoto, Sasuke, and Itachi's surprise) and letting herself indulge herself in needless form of work that did not attract much necessity. How for an heiress like her make such activities, working on it solemnly and actively, without any expectance of gratitude in return.

She was a great help, in fact. Mikoto had conserved a large of time for herself and her own family; even sometimes, she did not work for a whole day or so, obviously making all the work weigh down on the heiress' shoulders—although, not even once she did ever hear a single complaint.

Sakura sat down on the bed where she slept alone every day for a month now, completely drained. She blinked several times before breathing deeply. Mikoto was here as well, looking at her, a little concerned.

"What is it, Mikoto-san?"

Mikoto replied, now completely concerned, "Are you sure that you are not overexerting yourself, Sakura?"

It was a few seconds before she replied, "I'm not." She waved her hand in front to emphasize, "You don't need to worry about me, Mikoto-san." She smiled sadly.

"When is Itachi going to come back?"

Mikoto thought for a while before grinning, "Well, I was told that he was going to return tonight." Her grin widened, "So why don't we took a little time together, hmmm? I'm sure Itachi would love to see you dressed-up when he returns. And the two of you would share a cup of coffee and hold hands and...

Sakura refused to let herself to hear the mother's continuous bickering that would prove simply impossible. Life isn't a fairytale that would always end in a happily-ever-after. It was impossibly more than that. She began to see underneath the underneath, within Itachi's smile was a world of overflowing grief, and she did not allow herself to believe that she alone, a non family member, realizes that. Perhaps it was because they were truly the same. But she knew there are consequences for this that the clan should ought to know immediately—

It was Mikoto clearing her throat that woke her up from her reverie. "So what do you say, Sakura-chan? Do you want to buy some new clothes? It's the perfect time 'cause Sasuke's not here." She said, putting her hands on her hips and smiling slightly, "I do think that you need some for the next days you're going to stay here. Come on!" She grabbed her wrist before the girl could even reply.

What a hopeless romantic...

Sakura chuckled at her own thoughts; maybe, wasting this opportunity is not really a good idea, after all...

As the both of them walked towards the streets, she found herself being stared lustfully by other guys. She had been accustomed to it ever since she was on Amegakure, but that does not mean that she liked it a single bit. Perhaps if she was any other girl, they would probably stare back, but fortunately, in her own opinion, she was not any other girl. She was not considered to be an heiress for no reason, after all.

The two of them stopped in their tracks as a group of men-looking-thugs surrounded the both of them. They were looking very pleased.

"Hey lady, want to share a drink at that bar?" a man, about twice her height said. He had a dark brown hair and black eyes. She saw him grin sadistically when he did not receive a response from her.

Sakura looked to her side, seeing Mikoto's reaction. It was normal as ever, of course. She wasn't the wife of the Uchiha's leader for nothing. She examined all of them; probably reaching the sheer number of fifteen.

"No. If you'll excuse us." She bowed politely even she knew that this kinds of cowards doesn't deserve such thing from an heiress in the least. She frowned when all of them chuckled darkly. "A feisty one, eh?" She shook her head. "I'm sorry. Please leave if you don't want to get hurt."

The man laughed more without a care in the world, "How could such a little girl like you," He pointed directly, "beat the greatest thugs in this village?"

She turned her head to the right, "Mikoto-san. Please stay back as possible." Mikoto only nodded worriedly, "Can you take all of them, Sakura-chan? Are you sure you don't need my help?"

She blinked before raising her head to see the man in the eyes, "It's alright, Mikoto-san. They wouldn't put much of a fight anyway."

She saw the man sneered angrily, and she paid it little attention. Shrugging it off, she did the necessary hand seals.

"Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu."

Sakura's lips twitched into a smile as she saw her genjutsu work beautifully; it sent all of them running towards the other direction, wailing for their dear life like completely lost children. Although it was only a simple D-rank jutsu, she doesn't really use it as much as it had a devastating effect. It was a genjutsu that let your opponent see the worst of worst of all things, and she had experienced that from time to time—not in any sorts of jutsu or anything the like.

"Wow...Sakura-chan. They were all running away." Mikoto clapped happily, eyes wide.

Sakura looked at the ground, "...yeah." Mikoto placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder, "Are you sure you're alright?"

She nodded before grinning, "Hai. We should get going now."

Mikoto looked at her, fazed, "Alright..."

They had bought 4 pieces of Kimono; the 3 of them were in Sakura's choice while the last one was Mikoto's. Mikoto bought it all, which Sakura immediately refused to. But in the end, the Uchiha bought it when Sakura finally gave up. The first one was colored white with a light blue obi and a few flowery designs; the second one was colored in a dark blue with a black obi with had full of complicated designs; the third one was yellow and had a green obi with maple leaves scattered in it; and the last one was plain black with a red obi.

The both of them sighed; it took all their day to finish their little shopping.

The sun was now setting as they went home. "So, what are you going to wear for tonight?" Mikoto asked all of a sudden.

"What do you mean?"

Mikoto grinned, "You know...when Itachi-chan comes back...I'm sure he'll be happy to see you again. Let's see...had been a gone for at least a month because of a mission, correct?"

Sakura bowed her head low, trying to hide the blush using her bangs, "...what if he thinks...I'm not that...pretty?"

Before they knew it, they had been already in front of their house. Mikoto looked at Sakura, her brows furrowed. She held the both of her shoulders making her look up. "Sakura-chan." She said sternly, "If you weren't that pretty, then why would those boys a while ago giving you perverted and lustful looks even in front of you? And not only that, there are a lot of men who are obviously interested in you, just like what happened a while ago, right? Itachi-chan let you stay with him, why do you think so? He would usually shoo any girls away at first sight, because they kept on bugging him. But he didn't do that to you. He thinks you're different! And also, you had been staying with us here for a month, and I myself realized that you're incredibly smart, strong, and very beautiful. So why do you doubt yourself as 'I'm not that pretty?'!?"

"U-ummm..." She couldn't answer, the question was...quite rhetorical...

Mikoto took a deep breath, "Come on Sakura-chan, It would be a few minutes 'till he gets back. I'll dress you up!" She pushed the girl towards her room and closed the door shut.

Itachi had returned from the mission, slightly frustrated. Things didn't go completely went on the right track. It was because of those stupid team mates of his that blocked his way. If he was allowed to be alone, the mission would be completely successful. He inwardly sighed, the first thing he should do is take a shower then sleep, then wake up and train. His following mission would begin in a few days, and he was dead tired already.

I really need to perish this pathetic clan...He thought as he entered his house. He mumbled an 'I'm home' before finding no such thing as a person in the kitchen. Usually, his mother was there cooking for him, concerned if he was alright as if she did care, and greeted him happily. He was a bit surprised when he saw totally no one.

"WOW!!"

That was definitely Sasuke, there's no mistaking it.

And it was coming from his bedroom. He sighed secretly, it may be that Sakura was teaching him another jutsu and unfortunately, the venue was all of the places, was his bedroom. He started to walk towards it and began examining his family's house; the house that would soon bathe in his parent's blood...

It had been a month and he did not found any single object that had been moved and replaced. Maybe the people did...

Sakura.

He really wasn't sure if he was going to kill her as well; she had no link towards anything regarding the Uchiha's and she did nothing wrong. Frankly, they just met in coincidence...and maybe, he could also spare her as his little brother...But—

If he did have the sympathy to spare her, which means even if he did, in his own bare hands, single-handedly killed his own clan, and still show emotions such as sympathy and pity towards a single person, would show that he was still weak in a very small aspect.

Even it was very little, he would not let such things as weakness inside him. His brother had been an exception; he had other plans for him.

"Nii-san! Nii-san!" Sasuke ran up to him, panting. He looked down, "What is it?"

Sasuke grabbed his aniki's hand and pulled him towards his bedroom. The first thing he saw was his father, looking as amused when he had entered ANBU, with his arms crossed and a smirk in his lips. He was eyeing an object cautiously before heading towards the door, brushing past him, mumbling something and leaving completely.

His eyes widened momentarily before he looked at his little brother. He was as well eyeing the direction where his father looked into and he looked completely baffled...

What could be this thing that even his cold, ruthless father been amused to?

He looked up and there he saw... his mother, grinning wickedly at him and Sakura...his eyes widened. "I-It's been a long time...hasn't it, I-Itachi-k-kun?" He glanced at his mother who frowned desperately, mumbling that she did it in the wrong way.

"So what do you think...I-Itachi...kun?" She straightened and looked at him in the eye, "Do...I...do...I...look good?"

Mother...What have you done...?

He inwardly sighed. Being a genius and a prodigy, he, almost hesitantly, regained his composure, "Yes."

She was wearing a black kimono with a red obi and her hair was fastened into a formal bun including a light make-up which made her drastically...pretty...

His mother was definitely behind this...she was the only one who knew his favorite colors of all the people in the world.

"YES!?" he heard his little brother sneered angrily, "YES!? Is that ALL!? Look at her...any man would start jumping on her right now!"

Itachi glared, "Where DID you learn that word?" Sasuke glared at him as well, "I learned that from Shisui-san! And don't change the subject!" He crossed his arms angrily.

Itachi made a low growl in the back of his throat. This conversation is useless, and if they only realize, he was dead-tired. He turned his gaze to his mother, "Yes, alright. All of you please leave already, I've seen what I've seen and I'm tired." He stated icily.

"And we are not getting a single 'thank you' then? You know we've prepared for your homecoming all day." His mother frowned.

Itachi titled his head, "Hn. Leave."

His mother grabbed his younger son's hand with a frustrated growl before leaving completely, slamming the door shut behind her.

Itachi sighed before looking at Sakura with a glare, "What now?"

"...why are you so...why did you...what are you..." She hung her head low before turning her back to him. He removed his ANBU vest and went to the cabinet to change, "What?"

"I understand that you're tired, but there's no way that you should treat us like that especially Mikoto-san! I don't understand you at all, why don't you even show that you care for them at least a bit!? Do you really love your parents?!"

She activated her bloodline and glared at him.

He glared back, he didn't care if she was crying or not, "And what do you know!? Do you even know how much I've suffered!?" He activated his sharingan, "I've just met you and you don't have the right in judging me! Stop prying into my life! You are nothing to me...I will kill this damned clan and I will kill you with it—" His eyes widened as he realized what he just said. Great...his plan was now perfectly ruined.

"...What did you say...?"

"Sakura, I—

"...You would kill your own family for your own sake...?"

"It's not that like—

"Then...you...Uchiha Itachi...were far worse than my aunt herself..." Her face was hidden by her bangs, "...Then, this goodbye then...I hope we never meet again Itachi..."

She raised her head, "You are such a monster, I hate you..." She continued, "If we ever see each other again someday...I would not hesitate in killing you. Just remember that nothing had transpired between the both of us."

Before he could even reply, she had already disappeared in a swirl of cherry blossom.

His other plan had worked...he had successfully ridden of another distraction...but why did it hurt so much? This was not part of his plan.

He brushed those thoughts away as he stared at where she was a while ago. He closed his eyes and sighed silently. He opened them yet again.

It was Mangekyou.

There was no going back.

He would kill his clan once and for all.

And it would happen tomorrow night.

Gahhh...My mind was overflowing with a writer's block!

As you all noticed, there's been a little change in my writing style...T.T I don't think it was bad, I don't think it was good either. But anyways, please review and tell me what you think about it! It would be sincerely appreciated.