Karin could not believe this was happening to her. Itachi had chased after her; he cared about Sakura, and as always, she was left in the dust. She had to know what had happened, she needed to discover the result of his chasing Sakura back to her room.
She started to walk down the hall in the direction of Sakura's room, when a hand shot out and grabbed her forearm, stopping her in her tracks. She turned to see who had stopped her, and discovered, to her general disgust, that it had been Orochimaru. His hold on her arm tightened, a painful reminder of who he was, and what he was capable of. Even after death, Orochimaru would haunt her. She tried to shake him off, but he was too strong, and would not let her go.
"You will not stop them." He commanded in that sickly sweet voice, putting her hair on end. She had to be strong though, she could not back down from him. Karin was determined to see for herself, even if what she saw was heartbreaking.
"I have to, Orochimaru-sama." Karin whispered, looking to the floor instead of in his terrifying, yellow eyes. His hand tightened again, causing her to gasp in pain. She could not succumb to him, she told herself; she had to stand tall, or he would always be able to control her. Most of her miserable life, she had spent under his wing. While most thought it to be a great honor, she knew more than anyone (besides Sasuke) how terrible it was to be in such a position.
"You will not interfere, Karin. She will bring forth the next of the Uchiha clan. Their child will be mine, and I will have my Sharingan at last." He laughed maniacally, turning Karin cold to the bone. It was not possible for Sakura to conceive, of that much she was certain. They were all dead, so how could life come out of them? And even if it were possible, Sakura would not be the one to give Itachi a child, it would be her. Sakura did not love him as much as Karin did, Itachi was just confused.
"Why cannot I do it?" she asked in frustration. If a new Uchiha was going to be brought about, she was obviously the better choice. Karin was more than willing to bear his child, which was more than what she could say for Sakura. Sakura was too busy obsessing over Sasuke to see what was right in front of her. Not to mention the fact that she was much prettier than Sakura; Imagine the adorable kids she could make with him.
"Do you honestly think Uchiha Itachi would pay attention to a weak kunoichi like you? Even if he did give you the time of day, I would not allow a girl with your abilities carry the next Uchiha." Orochimaru cackled.
Karin fumed. "She is no stronger than I am. Sasuke killed her too."
"You think that she is at the same level as you? Haruno was trained by the slug princess, she is an experienced fighter and medic, perfect for continuing the Uchiha line. Yes, Sasuke killed her, but not until after a proper fight. You, on the other hand, were collateral damage, and trained by the likes of Kabuto. Not only is she highly skilled, but her genes are not dominant, meaning the Uchiha genes will show through undoubtedly. Their child will have a set of perfect Sharingan eyes."
His words were like poison, stinging with their bitter truth. Sakura was, genetically, the ideal choice for Itachi. Karin's strange bloodline could very easily intervene with that of the Uchiha. Nonetheless, Karin was willing to give Itachi anything he wanted from her, while Sakura was not. Unfortunately, because Orochimaru had gotten himself involved, there was nothing she could do anymore. If she got between him and his chance at perfect Sharingan eyes, then there would be hell to pay.
"I will not get between them, Orochimaru-sama." Karin whispered softly, trying to hide the tears he caused. Orochimaru laughed at her sad stated, but let her go. She knew better than to go against him, he had discovered her, and made her into the kunoichi she now was. She was one of his many creations, and she dared not offend him. The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away.
Karin warily headed down the hall, rubbing her sore arm, and trying not to cry. She was utterly beneath his control. She dared not refuse him anything, least of all the Uchiha child that eventually had to come to be. She knew Sakura wanted nothing to do with Itachi, but all the same, she felt a very deep, dark hatred for them both. It passed a moment after it had come, and she soon stood before Sakura's door in silence.
She would not knock, but instead listen to their voices, try to picture what the were doing behind the sliding door.
"...what I do know is that you make me feel different from any other person I have ever met. You make me confused, and angry, but at the same time, I have never felt more alive. I want you to understand that, Sakura." She heard Itachi softly whisper. He had just confessed to Sakura. He had just spewed the words he should have saved for her. Karin could hist picture him holding her beyond that door, silently begging for her to give in. Any normal woman would.
"I do not know what to tell you. You know how I feel about Sasuke-kun, that was why you chose me for him." Karin listened carefully to Sakura's murmured reply. Relief washed over her. Sakura was stronger willed than any other person alive; she had to be, if she was rejecting Itachi. She should have given Sakura more credit, Sakura still loved Sasuke, and that could not change anytime soon.
"You will never see him again, Sakura. When he dies, he will go somewhere else, somewhere you can never go." Itachi had growled back. It was clear to Karin that Itachi was very displeased with her rejection. The feeling of his betrayal spiked at hearing him call her Sakura. She had been Haruno before, but that had somehow changed. Despite his utter double-crossing, she could not leave yet, not until she knew the outcome of their conversation.
"Do you think that changes the way I feel about him? I wish I could forget about Sasuke-kun, but for sixteen years I lived for him, I loved him from the day I was born. It does not matter if he betrays me, if he continues the Uchiha line without me; these feelings do not go, no matter what I try." Was her response. Karin felt an overwhelming sense of thankfulness for Sakura. The kunoichi would not give up on Sasuke, and Karin's gratitude for that was immeasurable. Itachi was a smart man, she decided, he would know when to give up a battle, he knew when he could not win.
"It should matter." Itachi grumbled back, his tone stubborn. Karin smirked to herself. Itachi had lost this battle, and for once, she was happy he did.
"Well, it does not matter." She muttered back, clearly tired of his pestering her. Karin was tempted to cheer, Sakura kept rejecting him again and again.
"It will." Karin heard Itachi snarl.
Then there was silence. She was left to guess what was happening behind the door. With the wild imagination she possessed, her assumptions directed towards the worst case scenario.
Sakura gasped, turning her head away from Itachi. She could not believe that the Uchiha Itachi had just kissed her. She did not want to believe it. Only Sasuke should have been allowed to taste her so throughly, and yet, he had done that. She could not decide if she wanted to brush her teeth or go so far as to hang herself.
"What the hell was that?" She seethed. He looked down at her in bewilderment, trying to think of an appropriate thing to say in response.
"I would think you would recognize a kiss when you got one." He muttered lamely. Sakura scowled at him, not pleased with his answer. Why had he done it? Why would Itachi of all people want to kiss her? His words did not make sense, Itachi could not love her, they had not known each other nearly long enough for any attraction to form. He could not love her for who she was, he could only be interested in her in a physical level. The very thought made her skin crawl with unease and disgust. He wanted something from her, something she was sure she could never give him.
"Why are you doing this, Itachi?" She asked, tears beginning to spill in waves. He sighed as he wiped away the tears flowing with a cool finger, fanning her face with his sweet breath.
"Because, Koishii, he has broken you. He has killed you in more ways than one, and still you save yourself for him, knowing he will never come. I do not understand it, but it hurts to see you look so lost. I want to fix you, but I cannot do that until you let me."
"He loved me, you said so yourself." She said, fighting his words. He sighed softly, recalling what he had told her previously, knowing it to be true. Yes, Sasuke had loved her, but that had not stopped him from killing her.
"He did love you, but never enough. He will always love himself more than anyone else." Itachi murmured gently, kissing her wet cheek. She could do nothing but stare at him, mixed emotions showing on her face. She was angry, that much Itachi found obvious, but she was also saddened by his words, and confused. She knew that whatever feelings Sasuke had held for her, they had never been substantial enough to change anything. For her to hear this from Itachi though, it had so much more consequence. Itachi was not one to joke or tease on such subjects, he was fully serious. He seemed to truly care about her, and that was what confused Sakura so much. Sasuke had never given Sakura the time of day, but now his brother, whom she hardly knew, was.
Why was Itachi like this, and why could Sasuke not have been?
"And so you must think you love me enough?" She asked quietly. A very miniscule part of her wanted to give into him, just to feel needed by someone. She would only hate herself for doing that though, Itachi could never be a replacement for Sasuke. It would be cruel of her to do something like that with him, and it would never truly satisfy her. Sasuke was the only one capable of fulfilling her.
"I do not know if what I feel for you is enough, or if it even is love. But I will not stand to see you sit here alone, pitying yourself because you are dead, and you cannot be with Sasuke. You blatantly refuse to see the possibilities set before you; you are blinded, so I must help you see."
Sakura now understood the saying, 'hell hath no fury to a woman scorned.' She did not want to be fixed, least of all by the likes of Itachi. He was the one to cause this mess to begin with. He was the catalyst to her problems, not the solution. If anyone was blinded, it was him. He was reaching for something he could not touch, for something that he did not own.
"Itachi. I died with these feelings for Sasuke, I loved him even in death. If my love for him endures that, then it most certainly will last the afterlife. You are deluded, so just leave me in peace." She said thickly, her tears making it hard to even speak. He looked at her, and felt her pain. She was wrong, she did not have to love Sasuke just because of how she felt in life, but now was not the time to tell her so. Before he had died, she had been nothing more than Sasuke's potential wife, she had the perfect genetics for continuing the Uchiha clan, and she loved him. Now, however, his feelings were so much more. If he, the supposed human ice-sculpture, could grow to admire someone he had never really met before dying, he was sure Sakura could move on from his brother as well.
"When you are ready for help, come to me, Sakura. I will not bother you anymore." Itachi muttered, kissing her cheek with delicacy. He opened the door to come face to face with Karin, She was crying again, her eye makeup flowing down her cheeks with tears. She must have heard them running down the hall past her room, he concluded. Without a doubt in his mind, she had heard their heated conversation, and knew that he and kissed her. He should have felt guilty, but he did not.
"Take care of her." He ordered cooly, continuing down the hall, not even bothering to look back. Karin would obey him, her infatuation would not allow her to do otherwise. At least Sakura would be in good hands for the time being.
Karin walked into the room to find that Sakura's state was just as sad as hers was. Without either of them saying much of anything, Karin helped guide Sakura to the shower that they now shared. Sakura felt more regret than she had in a long time, and even more than that, guilt. Karin claimed to love Itachi, but this love seemed to be left unrequited. He thought himself to fancy her, of all people. At the same time, Sakura could not help but feel slightly flattered, once she got past the anger and disgust. For Itachi to form any sort of attraction to her when she was such an emotional mess, it was quite the compliment. Not that it changed anything.
Feeling refreshed, Sakura emerged from the shower. Karin waited for her to exit the bathroom, fully clothed, before leaving her post. She was sure sakura could make her own way back to her room, of the kitchen if that was her destination. She wanted just to get away from the woman who had become the root cause of all her failed romantic endeavors. It was too much to even look at Sakura as she combed her fingers through silky, exotically pink hair.
Karin wandered, unsure of where to go. She did not want to see anyone for the time being. Itachi had broken her heart, Sakura had unintentionally betrayed her, and Orochimaru had prevented her from intervening. Danzo she did not converse with anyway, but she supposed she did not have to avoid the insane, terrorist bomber. He was the only person she did not mind speaking with. His insanity often proved to be amusing.
Karin looked up from her feet, finding that she had strayed into the open living room area. It was empty, save for Deidara, who was making himself busy by sculpting a miniature bust of a tortured, anonymous man. She huffed softly, making her way to the couch so she could keep watching him. He glanced up minutely to see who had entered, then turned back to his work.
"You look like shit, un." He commented, not looking up from his sculpture. She scowled, wiping her face, trying to clean it so she looked somewhat presentable. Karin did not know why she even cared.
Deidara sighed, not satisfied with how he piece was turning out. With no hesitation, he took the mound of clay and smashed it back into its original form. It was so much easier to work on something when he had some sort of reference. He stared at the clay, attempting to from.
"Mind if I sculpt you, un?" He asked, looking from his clay to Karin. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she did not object.
"No, I do not mind. What do you need me to do?" She asked Deidara snorted, seeing she was getting a swelled head. He did not want to make a bust of someone who looked high and mighty.
"Nothing. You look miserable enough as it is." He said. She glared up at him for a second, then her expression returned it the same pitiful one it had dawned earlier. Satisfied, Deidara began to move the clay about, until it started to take recognizable shape.
"You want to talk about it?" Deidara finally asked, molding her mouth just in time for her to begin to speak. He hated working in silence, it made him feel uptight, when art should have been a way of venting pent up feelings. It was obvious something was bothering her, and considering how dramatic she was on a regular basis, it would be entertaining to listen to her fume.
"Stupid ass Uchiha. All they ever do is break people's hearts." She muttered, trying very hard not to cry. Deidara chuckled to himself, never looking away from the bust.
"I never did like those damn Uchiha. The bastards think so highly of themselves, just because they have those fucking Sharingan, un. I really wanted to be the one to kill Itachi, but his bastard brother ended up doing it. Now I am stuck with that ass for all for eternity."
"How long have you known Itachi-kun?" Karin asked slowly. Deidara laughed at the suffix she had added to his name, but did not pester her for it. If he was not sure before, he was now, Karin was infatuated with Uchiha Itachi, of all people.
"I have known Itachi for two or three years now. He was the one to recruit me into Akatsuki against my will. We made a bet, and when I lost, I had to join." Deidara explained with irritation. He still hated Itachi for making him join Akatsuki, and wished he could have had the satisfaction of killing him. It was almost shameful that he had been defeated by Itachi's younger brother instead, a boy around four years his junior. If he took the time to think about it, Deidara realized that he had never given Itachi any sort of pay back for wreaking his life.
"You hate Itachi-kun because he defeated you?" Karin asked. She made it sound so simple, Deidara mused. If he thought about it properly, Karin was partially right. It was his defeat that had started the hatred, and then Itachi's standoffish attitude that fueled it. The fact that girls kissed the ground he walked on only served to worsen their relations.
"I guess so. Do not let his suckish personality bring you down, un. He treats everyone like shit."
"Not Sakura." She corrected him sadly. Deidara was so surprised by this revelation that he let his hands fall from the sculpture to stare at Karin. To think that Itachi had taken an interest in someone of the female persuasion, it was nothing but preposterous. Deidara had been so sure that Itachi did not possess a single hormone in his body but obviously he was wrong.
"I wonder if she can get that giant pole out of his ass." Deidara thought aloud. Karin frowned. She had only decided to let him sculpt her because he was supposed to make her feel better. All that Neanderthal was doing was reminding her of what Orochimaru had said about sakura being the perfect genetic match for Itachi. Karin understood this much, but at the same time, she was sure that no other woman but herself could love Itachi as she did.
"She does not even know what kind of man Itachi is. If she cannot figure out this much, then she does not deserve to even try to pull the pole out of his ass!" Karin fumed, her face dawning a resistant pout.
Deidara snorted, entertained by her ignorance-fueled ranting. It was clear that she did not know what kind of man Itachi was either, she was merely putting him on a pedestal because of his good looks. "You think that you know Itachi any better than she does?" He asked dubiously.
His words silenced her, and Deidara got back to work. She was left to contemplate as he quietly molded the bust. He was right, she concluded to herself. Karin did not really know Itachi at all; her affections for him were based sole on those she had for Sasuke in her life. Sakura was the one, she had to be, Karin realized in horror. Sakura was the one who stuck to Sasuke, she was unwavering and accepting, and Itachi deserved a woman like that.
Take care of her... Itachi's words rang through her ears. Karin had assumed he meant that she get Sakura cleaned up and nothing more. That was not his initial meaning though. Itachi intended for Karin to remain Sakura's friend, despite his feeling for her. he wanted her to take care of her in the long term as well, something she knew could be excruciatingly painful. Karin would have to watch from the sidelines as their relationship progressed, would even have to help it along. It was nothing she wanted to be a part of, but if Itachi wanted something of her, she could not refuse him.
Sakura had not felt so utterly alone in a long while. She tried to relax in her room, but the silence was deafening, and the plain walls seemed to be closing in on her. She was anxious, and she needed to get out. Sakura wanted to cry, but it seemed that she had run out of tears. She had spent too much time crying over losing Sasuke to cry much for what Itachi had done.
Sakura was emotionally spent, exhausted almost, as if she had just had a ling training session with Tsunade or Kakashi. Yet, try as much as she did, she could not rest. Her open wounds were still trying to close themselves, to heal, and then Itachi had thrown salt on them. It would not have been so bad if what he had said was not true, but the fact of the matter was, he had not been lying. She was blinded, and she had failed to realize Sasuke's feeling for her were never enough to make him alter his path.
For someone as sensible as Itachi to tell her this made Sakura feel like an ignorant child, completely oblivious of the world she was living in. Perhaps she was, but she would much rather liked remaining ignorant than to be made aware. She had been in her own world for the majority of her life, and this alternate dimension only existing in her mind had followed her in death. It was unhealthy, and Itachi was right in thinking she needed help. Though assistance was necessary, she could never accept it from him.
She had to get through this somehow, Sakura told herself. Now that she knew there was a problem, she could resolve it on her own. Even if she could not, Sakura was resolved in not turning to Itachi for support. She needed someone who had the same obsession at one point, someone who understood.
For the time being, however, Sakura would try to fix things on her own. Sakura could not let her mind wander any longer, she could not be allowed to think of Sasuke. This may be difficult, with Itachi around; whenever she was Itachi's face, she could not help but to be reminded of his younger brother. They looked so similar to each other that it could have been considered scary.
However, Itachi's features were much more subtle than Sasuke's. Sasuke was both hard and soft at the same time, a paradoxical mix of calmness and burning hatred. Itachi was more in control of his emotions, his expressions rarely revealing how he truly felt. There was a certain confidence around him, and then the aura of piece he was constantly surrounded by.
Sasuke's features were much more masculine than Itachi's, his jaw square and cheekbones high. Even when he was being utterly consumed by darkness, he looked handsome. Absentmindedly, Sakura wondered what their kids would have looked like. They would have probably taken after their father, she guessed, with his dominant Uchiha genes. Sakura could almost see them; a small boy with a mess of black hair and smoldering dark eyes, a baby girl with a wide forehead and burning charcoal eyes. Good, strong children, taking right after their father. They would have been a happy family.
Sakura had to shake her head, scattering those betraying thoughts. Those children would never exist, she chided. She had to get out of that room, away from the emptiness. Her mind could not be trusted when she was alone.
Sakura left the room abruptly, not trusting herself to remain sane when she was alone. Not thinking about Sasuke and what should have been was going to prove itself difficult, but she had to step up to the challenge. Her very mentality relied upon it. Sasuke had to be forgotten, no matter what the cost. Sakura could not keep wallowing in self pity because of the sick twist of fate she was put through, and she knew what it took to end it all. She needed to move on from Sasuke, and learn to cope with her lost, even put it behind her. Sasuke had moved on before she had even died, and now she had to do the same.
AN: Thank you for reading, I am sorry it took so long to update. At least it felt like a long time.... Anyway, please review!!