Crimson met Jade Chapter 7: Family Portrait, a naruto fanfic

Hello everyone! This chapter was a challenge! We get to see Itachi and Sakura's point of view on the same exact subject! I was pretty excited to give you all insight on whats going on in the mind of the utterly cool calm and collected Itachi Uchiha. I appreciate all of the new followers and favorites I have gained! Please continue to review and I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Love, peace, and ramen!

P.S. I don't own Naruto...yet...: )

Itachi

I had lost count of the minutes that passed by as I stood in the hot shower. My one arm extended out with my palm lying flat against the wall, as I hung my head down into the water stream.

My long strands of jet black hair hung down heavily past my shoulders and for a moment I wondered why I never contemplated cutting it shorter. I knew why subconsciously, but pushed that thought away the moment it began to surface.

I kept my hair long to pay homage to mother and father. It would seem silly and absurd to most considering I did slaughter my entire clan by choice, but to me it made perfect sense. In a sick twisted way I did it to punish myself for what I had done to them, some days I forced himself to remember that night because to forget would be too easy.

Stop distracting yourself.

It's you again.

Long time no see. That's thanks to you, considering you're always pushing me away.

Why wouldn't I? You're annoying.

I'm truthful, and I make you feel.

So you're calling me a liar?

No but it sounds like you think you are.

Go away, pest.

You know who else makes you feel?

No.

Liar. Sakura makes you feel.

She doesn't mean anything to me.

So why did you kiss her?

I don't know.

Because she evokes some type of happiness within you. You feel alive around her.

She sparks my curiosity, nothing more.

Why do you think that is? She intrigues you because she has the ability to make you feel.

Whatever.

And yet, still you lie to the one's you care about. Not telling her the truth about your intentions with Sasuke. Keeping her at a distance, doing everything possible to make her hate you.

Be quiet.

You wanted to kiss her, you want to protect her, why else would you throw yourself in front of a kunai for her? Why do you regret the rape so much, even though you lie and pretend that you don't?

I said be quiet!

I slammed the shower wall with my fist causing a hairline crack to appear. My sharigan activated by instinct as soon as my anger surfaced.

A sudden jolt of pain rushed through my eyes causing me to clutch my face within my two hands. Fiery needles of pain continually attacked, causing a trickle of blood to escape my left eye. I stumbled out of the shower, fumbling around looking for a towel. Successfully finding the towel I had previously laid on the side of the sink I released his head from my hands to wrap it around my hips.

Another jolt of pain shot through my eyes causing me to stumble backwards into the bathroom counter, knocking over the small ceramic vase with the bamboo plant in it. It hit the floor with a crash loud enough for sensitive shinobi ears to hear.

A small grunt escaped my mouth, I doubled over in pain steadying myself with one hand on my thigh and the other clutching my forehead.

"Itachi?" her voice came from outside the door.

Dammit! I panicked to myself, what was she doing outside of her room I don't want her to see me like this. Vulnerable and in pain.

"Go away, I'm busy." I tried my hardest to keep my voice steady, careful not to give away the fact that I was in pain.

"I left my medical journal in here earlier. I wanted to re-read some notes before bed." Icould tell she was intent on getting what she came for.

Silence grew between us as I focused on trying to open my eyes so I could retrieve her journal and give it to her so she would go back to her room.

I slowly opened my eyes, and met darkness. I panicked.

"Itachi? Are you still there?" she was still standing outside.

"Go back to your room. I'll bring it to you shortly." I ordered as my breathing sped up.

The last time I had been this panicked was when Saskue has hurt himself while running with a kunai in his hand when they were little kids.

The bathroom door suddenly burst open.

"Itachi!" Sakura gasped.

"I told you to go back to your room" I winced in pain.

I felt her at my side instantly gripping my face with hands.

"You're left eye it's bleeding. Deactivate your sharigan right now!" I could hear in her voice she was just as panicked as I was. The only difference was she was making hers known.

I deactivated my sharigan and the pain subsided, restoring some sight to my eyes.

She remained silent, allowing me some time to gather myself I assume. After a few moments of silence she finally spoke.

"Let me see them." Her voice was barley a whisper as she laid a hand on my shoulder giving it a soft squeeze.

I wanted to physically push her away from me.

Her touch is soothing, isn't it Itachi?

"I'm fine" I lied, taking her hand in my and lifting it off of my shoulder.

Her skin is warm and soft, isn't it Itachi?

I released her hand ignoring my inner voice.

"Itachi…let me see, please. I want to help you."

"Leave, Sakura. I don't want your help." I was becoming irritated with myself but I was taking it out on her.

"Is that so?" she challenged.

This girl was truly relentless.

"If you don't leave now, I will make you leave." I threatened.

"That's going to be hard for someone who is partially blind."

Infuriated at the fact that she knew I could barely see anything, along with feeling extremely vulnerable that I was defenseless to even someone like Sakura, I reached out and shoved her backwards. I heard her gasp in surprise as she hit the floor.

"This is your last chance." She was starting to try my patience.

I stood up straight, blindly making my way towards the bathroom door when I was unexpectedly sent crashing through a wall.

Had she actually kicked me through the bathroom wall?

I heard her footsteps approach me, grabbing me by the collar of my mesh top. Her usual bright jade eyes, were a shade darker, narrowed and full of fury staring down right into mine.

"First you threaten to kill me, then you rape me, then you lock me up and mistreat me for months, drag me to your room like you're going beat me then instead kiss me, you tell me you don't have any intentions of harming me and now you're pushing me away because you don't like the fact that I'm seeing you at low point?! Any NORMAL person would have gone insane by now! However somehow I manage to keep my sanity even after months of being around YOUR insanity! You tell me you want me to heal your eyes and now you tell me you don't want my help! Well which is it Itachi!? If you don't want me to heal your eyes then I don't need to be here any longer, right?! Well then I'll just pack my things and—"

Before she could finish I pushed her backwards putting one hand on her shoulder, and the other wrapped around her neck, pinning her to the floor. Wide eyed and silent she stared up into my gaze, analyzing what I would do next.

"You will not leave," I told her.

You became angry at threat to leave, didn't you Itachi?

She reached out her free hand; fingertips glowing green with chakra she touched my temple with two of them. I closed my eyes in relief, as she sent strands of her cooling chakra to my eyes.

We stayed that way for thirty minutes before she pulled her fingers away and pressed the palm of her hand to the side of my face.

I opened my eyes and gazed down at her.

What was she doing?

"What is it about you?" she asked

"What are you talking about?" I was irritated. Irritated because her actions were not the same as her words and I couldn't figure her out.

"You're not all bad like you pretend to be. There's something you're hiding. Something about you, I can't figure it out." She whispered. "You're cold and distant, and I get that but what I don't get is why? Who made you this way?"

"You don't know what you're talking about, I've always been this way." I was uncomfortable with where this conversation was going.

"No you weren't, Saskue told me about your childhood. You were always busy, but you loved him and he loved you. Saskue looked up to you, so why? Why did you slaughter your clan? Why did you let Saskue live? Who made you do it? Who made you this way?"

Her jade eyes were starting back into mine, they were full of empathy and sorrow. It was making me sick to my stomach.

Let her in.

I won't!

She's trying to understand you.

I don't want her to.

Yes you do.

"I don't." It was too late before I realized I had spoken my inner thought aloud.

"Don't, what?" she asked.

"I don't want you in here." I saved my slip up.

"Itachi…"

I had had enough of this and I wasn't in the mood to deal with her stubbornness. I released my hand from around her throat, stood, opening my bedroom door.

"It's my room, now leave." I ordered.

Reluctantly, she lifted herself off of the floor and stood. Without giving me so much as a glance she walked out into the hall.

I closed the door behind her, removed my shirt and walked over to sit on the edge of my bed.

She never grabbed her medical journal.

Then I realized, her journal was never here.

Sakura

Okay so snooping isn't exactly on my list of things I'm proud of accomplishing in life but my curiosity got the best of me.

After Itachi kissed me and left like nothing ever happened, I sat in his room for about thirty minutes trying to wrap my head around the insanity I call life. While sorting through the many thoughts inside of my head, I realized I had misplaced my medical journal and thought I left it in Itachi's room during a healing session. I looked in his bookshelf, under the bed and, then I found something in his dresser drawers. A picture of him, Sasuke, and whom I assume what their mother and father. Itachi and Saskue looked so happy. Itachi has his mother's eyes and her smile. Saskue, from what I observed, absolutely had all of his father's features, even their frowns were identical. This picture was the first time I had ever seen a smile on Itachi's face and it made me realize, he wasn't always this cold and distant. The longer I thought about it, and the longer I stared at the picture, the more I realized Itachi was no different than the rest of us. I have killed; one can say it was for protection of the village, but killing someone is killing someone, the differences in reason do not matter. Yes, Itachi slaughtered his entire clan in one night, for reasons I do not know, but how many people have I killed? I would never know because no one is counting. I'm sure if I added it up the number would be a rather large one. How many people have been killed not by my hand, but as a result of my actions? In the end, I and the rest of the shinobi in this world are no different than Itachi. Naruto….you must think I'm insane for writing all of this and trust me I'm not so sure of myself either but there's something about him, something about that picture that I can't shake from my mind. I don't believe everyone is truly evil, I believe there is good inside of everyone and that sometimes those people get lost. Sometimes they become tainted when they have become hurt by the actions of others, and sometimes they have the same goals but their plans on how to achieve those goals differ from others. The battle between you and Pein showed me that everyone seeks peace, we just have different opinions on how to obtain it. I believe everyone is good Naruto but sometimes they need help obtaining that goodness, or getting it back because they've lost it. Just maybe, Itachi needs someone to help him. I know there is kindness inside of him, and for reasons I'm not quite sure of, I want to help him.

-With all my love,

Sakura

I closed the book to my journal, holding back the tears that were welling in my eyes. I missed Naruto dearly, and my home as well. Whenever the homesickness was too much to handle I would open my journal and write a letter to him, it made me feel a little closer to Naruto and to home. But at the same time Itachi was always in the back of my mind.

I was so conflicted inside, why would I want to help someone who kidnapped me, raped me, and mistreated me for months? Was I insane? Have I lost all my self-worth?

No matter how many times I tried to rationalize with myself that feeling anything but negativity towards him was insanity, I could convince myself that statement was entirely true. That picture changed everything. His kiss changed everything. It wasn't like the first kiss, it was gentle, and meaningful, almost apologetic. I don't know if he realized it but Itachi was showing subtle signs that he could actually feel.

The more I thought about him and the picture the more I wanted to see him. I decided to do the most bold, insane, unpredictable thing I'd probably ever done. I was going to go to Itachi and confront him about the picture.

I walked out of my room, down the dimly lit hall to Itachi's bedroom. I knocked lightly.

Nothing.

Just as I was about to knock again I heard a crash, as if someone had knocked a glass off of the counter.

"Itachi?"

"Go away, I'm busy."

Shit. I was really starting to regret this and drew a blank at the sound of his voice.

"I left my medical journal in here earlier. I wanted to re-read some notes before bed." I lied, I couldn't think of anything else to say at the time.

A long drawn out silence stayed between us.

"Itachi? Are you still there?" I asked.

"Go back to your room. I'll bring it to you shortly."

His voice sounded off, and why was he speaking to me from behind the door? Normally he would give himself the pleasure of telling me to go away to my face.

Something didn't feel right, I focused in on his chakra and realized it was fluctuating all over the place. I could tell he was in pain but I didn't know why. Without thinking I burst open his bedroom door walked in and seen him in his bathroom, bent over clutching his forehead.

"Itachi!" the medic in me immediately reacted, rushing to his side.

"I told you to go back to your room"

Still pushing me away, as usual.

Ignoring his coldness, I immediately began observing his face.

"You're left eye it's bleeding. Deactivate your sharigan right now!" I panicked. I had never seen anyone's eyes in this condition before.

He deactivated them immediately and I instantly felt his chakra fluctuations calm down. I gave him a few moments to catch his breath before I spoke.

"Let me see." I placed my hand on his shoulder giving him a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm fine" was all he said as he removed my hand from his shoulder.

I was determined to break through his cold demeanor.

"Itachi…let me see, please. I want to help you." I tried again.

"Leave, Sakura. I don't want your help."

"Is that so?" I challenged him.

"If you don't leave now, I will make you leave." He threatened.

"That's going to be hard for someone who is partially blind."

The words had flown out of my mouth before I had a chance to realize what I was saying. I knew Itachi felt extremely vulnerable and mocking his blindness wasn't the smartest idea on my part.

He reached out a hand and shoved me backwards causing me to fall on my butt.

Did he seriously just shove me? What Is he, five years old?

"This is your last chance." He warned me as he stood to walk away.

Infuriated by his stubbornness and arrogance I reacted, and summoned chakra to the bottom of my foot, hitting him in his back and sent him flying through the bathroom wall into the bedroom. Enraged, I stormed up to him grabbing him by the collar glaring into his eyes.

First you threaten to kill me, then you rape me, then you lock me up and mistreat me for months, drag me to your room like you're going beat me then instead kiss me, you tell me you don't have any intentions of harming me and now you're pushing me away because you don't like the fact that I'm seeing you at low point?! Any NORMAL person would have gone insane by now! However somehow I manage to keep my sanity even after months of being around YOUR insanity! You tell me you want me to heal your eyes and now you tell me you don't want my help! Well which is it Itachi!? If you don't want me to heal your eyes then I don't need to be here any longer, right?! Well then I'll just pack my things and—"

In an instant I found myself lying on my back with Itachi's one had around my throat and the other pinning down my shoulder.

"You will not leave." He told me.

Initially I was afraid; usually when I was being pinned down by Itachi it ended up in a fight. However this time his words from earlier echoed in my mind. "I have no desire to harm you." If there was one thing I noticed about Itachi, it was that he chose his words wisely and when he said something he more than likely meant it. He felt something….I know he did, I was going to make him admit it. I was going to kill his coldness with kindness.

I reached out my fingers, summoning chakra and touched his temples as I sent out strand of healing chakra to his eyes. Thirty minutes passed before I removed my fingers, I had did a quick cleanup of the immediate damage.

He opened his eyes and stared down at me. Deep down, in those onyx eyes I could see the Itachi that was in the picture. A loving older brother and son.

What is it about you?" I asked

"What are you talking about?" he sounded irritated.

"You don't know what you're talking about, I've always been this way."

He looked at me….no….it was more like he was looking through me as if he we're contemplating if he wanted to answer any of my questions.

"I don't." he blurted out.

"Don't what?" I was confused at his outburst.

"I don't want you here."

"Itachi…"

"It's my room, leave." He demanded.

I fixed my lips to argue, but silenced myself instead. I could tell Itachi wasn't going to let me win this battle. Maybe I was foolish to think that there was still some hope to breaking through. I suddenly felt an intense sadness come over me. Why was this effecting me so much? Stop it! I'm so confused. Utterly exhausted by my own thoughts I silently walked out of the room.