Sakura was in disbelief. That's him… the brother Sasuke has always wanted to kill. She sat there a long time thinking about her encounter with the older Uchiha. She should have been injured or worse. In fact, why didn't they both, Itachi and his partner, kill the whole squad? They were perfectly capable of doing so but for some reason, they seemed as if they were just toying with them or they were trying to look for someone.
Maybe they were after Naruto? She considered this possibility. They could be looking for Naruto since they did have an encounter with him and Master Jiraya a few years ago but that was when the Akastuki wasn't known. They also didn't pose much of a threat to the great nations but now it seems they have become dangerous.
Sakura worried for Naruto, especially after his return with Master Jiraya. She feels guilty for binding Naruto with the promise to bring Sasuke back. It was Sakura's stupidity and childishness that caused Naruto more pain than he already had to deal with. She lost her childhood crush when Sasuke left. However, Naruto lost his brother when Sasuke left. Sasuke was the closest thing to a family Naruto has ever had and the rivalry between them only strengthened their relationship. They were best friends and Sakura knows how important Sasuke was to Naruto but she still went on and burdened Naruto with her feelings, almost as if to blame him for Sasuke leaving. To add to her burdensome request, Naruto had to fight the Akatsuki. Now she felt this need to protect Naruto and she will. She will protect him from blaming himself if Sasuke doesn't come back and she will protect him from the Akatsuki.
Slowly but surely, Sakura fell asleep after her mind finally let go of her jumbled up thoughts.
Jade coloured eyes stared back at him with that intense look behind them. Then the look of shock and eventually fear. Fear. Did he want to instil fear in her? However, the fear in her eyes made him feel slightly uneasy.
It was unusual for Itachi Uchiha to feel uneasy let alone anything at all. He was a mysterious man with many secrets but no emotions, no feelings and no fears. Though for some reason, this unknown, young kinochi stirred up something that he buried within himself years ago. Itachi didn't like that. He hated this feeling, as small as it was. It made him feel vulnerable and that was the last thing he wanted. I presume this may be the only time I will come across that young woman, he mused, or perhaps I will encounter her again? He sort of wanted to see her again and for some reason, he wanted to see the fear in her eyes again. He wanted to feel invincible like how he feels with every opponent. He supposed this was his way of dealing with his suppressed emotions. He wanted to erase that feeling by instilling fear and enjoying it. Itachi did not like confrontation but he did not hate it either. He was a complicated man.
Within the Akastuki, he was well known and well feared. He had people who detested him but they could not do anything out of fear. Leader was presumably the only one who did not fear Itachi and was also among the few in the organization who respected him. Itachi responded to respect with respect and insolence with power.
He never lashed out and he never lost control of his emotions but he does start to crave blood. He was never like this but ever since that night, out of anger and hate, he changed. He was not compassionate as he used to be. He became cold, distant, unemotional and sometimes even blood thirsty but he never showed it.
Itachi has learned that some circumstances in life can take an individual's identity away completely. The blood on his hands of innocent people drove him mad and it made him indifferent to the people he has killed since then. Nothing can ever beat the fact that he killed young children and then murdered his parents. Nothing. The blood of others never stained his hands as red as the blood of his clan did. He murdered his identity when he murdered his clan. He wasn't Itachi Uchiha of the Leaf anymore. He was a rouge Ninja, an S-class criminal associated with a dangerous criminal organization. That was his new identity, a killer.
He shook his head. Why was he even thinking about that night? He hasn't thought about it in years and it was unusual for him to ponder on his lost identity. A shinobi changes with the circumstances of their lives, a shinobi endures. He determined that a long time ago. So why is he thinking of this now? It was the woman. Why did she make him reflect on his life like this? Why did she even hold a thread of importance to him when he didn't even know her? He sensed something pure within her but he also sensed fire. He concluded that he was simply amused by her and nothing more.
I will probably never see her again, he thought once more.
My apologies readers! I was caught up with exams and never got the chance to update until now. I'll try to post more often!
Thank you for reading! Until next time.
- Marrs AK
xox