Sasuke leaped through trees with a speed he'd never achieved before. He knew where the Hidden Poison Village was, of course. Father had spoken about it once or twice, and when Sasuke asked why he'd eliminated it, Fugaku had shaken his head and said, "Resources."

It was true—Doku had a lot of natural resources like gold and stone. However, nobody wanted to go there because any berries on any bush were poisoned.

As the legend went, the founder of Doku had found the land unmarked and like a paradise. He decided to inhabit it along with his family. Naturally other villages wanted in, but the founder refused. Eventually villages started sneaking into the lands around and stealing resources, and Doku had no ninja to stop them. Angry that his land's financial value was being reduced, the man hired a specialist in plants to poison all the plants and only give the antidote to himself and those he held dear. So whenever workers entered the area mining gold and snatched a plump berry off the bushes and ate it, they would suddenly stop dead. It was the same with the water flowing in the streams. The Dokukage (as he wished to be known) and his followers could happily eat and not be affected, having the antidote.

However, the plant specialist who had come up with the antidote was assassinated—by Uchiha Fugaku on a mission for the Leaf, which wanted in on the copious resources. Since they no longer had someone to supply an antidote, the inhabitants of Doku died out from their own poison. Thus it was said that, in effect, Uchiha Fugaku wiped out the whole village.

Still, the Leaf had yet to come and claim the resources because there were urban myths of ghosts and poison gas in the air. After a time, the land had been given to the Uchiha Clan. There were now barriers around the border that only an Uchiha could break.

That was why Sasuke found it ironic that he'd only thought now to go and claim what was his. Because Itachi wasn't deserving of the name of Uchiha. The son of a bitch. What had he been writing in that letter? What was he doing to Sakura? Sasuke told himself it shouldn't matter. Sakura could become the Mizukage and he wouldn't care. Oh, who the hell was he kidding? He'd even lost someone who had been devoted to him to his brother. Sakura mattered. Maybe only because she was another thing he lost to Itachi. Maybe for another reason. Either way, she wouldn't get out of his dreams, either in a young or older form, either whimpering "Come back, Sasuke-kun" or turning her back on him and saying, "I don't need you any more." Either dream would leave him in a cold sweat, although they weren't nearly as bad as the usual nightmares.

He was going to kill Itachi.

Sasuke knew he wasn't done training, but it didn't mean he wasn't stronger. He could at least deal some serious damage. He knew he could.

As Sasuke gritted his teeth and thought about what strategies he would use, he sensed a chakra signature. He halted quickly. His brother, here? Sasuke had not yet entered the village itself… why was he waiting for him here?

But it wasn't his brother.

"Sakura," he called grimly. "I know you're there. Come out from your hiding place."

Sakura stepped out from behind a rock, and it made Sasuke irrationally angry to see her in an Akatsuki cloak, her now long hair braided back, her gloves now a coal black with fingers cut out, fingernails painted. "It's been a while, Sasuke," she said, giving the hint of a smile.

…She'd grown in the space of year. Her face had finally thinned out a bit, baby fat totally absent. Her green eyes were longer and narrower, no longer wide and innocent. The Akatsuki cloak hid any curves, but Sasuke was almost certain she'd grown taller. "What do you want? I don't have time."

Her eyes grew hard. "Sasuke, don't fight Itachi. He's too strong for you. I don't know what he told you to convince you to interrupt your training for this, but… it's not worth it."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in response. "You would know, of course, since you're his partner and all."

"Damnit, Sasuke, I'm sticking my neck out. I snuck away just so I could tell you this. You're not ready. Itachi is the strongest of Akatsuki, and if you couldn't even beat Deidara"— "that was a year ago," Sasuke protested—"You have no chance against him. Don't let your emotions rule you. Don't let him provoke you."

"You don't know what he's like," Sasuke hissed. "You don't know what he wants with you! He's just using you! Now get out of my way! Why the hell do you care what happens to me anyway?"

"Because—because—" For the first time, Sakura was at a loss for words. "You know what? If you think you can fight Itachi, prove it to me." Sakura crouched into a ready position. "Fight me, Sasuke. If you want to fight your brother, you'll have to get through me."

Sasuke allowed a smirk to grace his lips. "It won't be any different from the last time we sparred. If anything, the gap between our abilities has grown."

Instead of responding angrily, Sakura simply smiled angelically. "Are you sure about that?"

That smile was creepy as fuck.

Sasuke decided to push past her. He took off as fast as he could with Rock Lee's speed—

And went flying when Sakura stuck out her foot and tripped him. He went crashing into a tree. In a second she was on him, punching his stomach and winding him. He grabbed a smoke bomb from his holster and activated his sharingan as Sakura started coughing. He tackled her to the ground and held up his sword. "Don't get in my way, you annoyance," he hissed.

Avoiding his eyes, Sakura wriggled free of his pin and kicked him flat in the chest. He flew back. She caught him in the stomach again, and he coughed blood this time. Using the distraction, Sakura grabbed his shoulder and dislocated it. Sasuke hissed in pain and transferred his sword to his other hand, glad to be ambidextrous. He got a slash across her shoulder in before she'd jumped back, falling on the ground and driving her fist into the tree he was on. It splintered and all he could do was leap off, wincing in pain from his shoulder. He tried to remember how to force it back, but the pain was a little prominent.

He gritted his teeth and bent his elbow 90 degrees and twisted it a bit. There was excruciating pain for a moment or two, but the shoulder popped back into its joint. Sasuke reminded himself not to use the shoulder if possible. Then he realized Sakura was gone. He frowned for a second—before Sakura popped out of the ground and drove her fist up under his chin.

Sasuke growled, wiping blood from his lips, and decided it was time to end this. He made hand signs for a chidori, and lightning crackled around his fist. Sakura's eyes widened, then narrowed, and she gathered and concentrated chakra around her fist until it was sharp and glowing blue. A hit from either attack could undoubtedly kill.

Sasuke stood up with his chidori and looked at Sakura from across the clearing, saying with his eyes, You really want to go?

Sakura sneered and started running.

Sasuke followed suit.

In a matter of milliseconds they were close, close, only a few feet left, he could see the brilliant green in her eyes as the braid in her hair came undone and the flesh on both their cheeks rippled—

And then their fists were caught by gloved hands, the chakra dissipating in seconds.

"Hey, let's not fight," Kakashi said with a friendly grin, letting go of the wrists.

He was standing between the two as the smoke cleared, and both Sasuke and Sakura were breathing hard. "Sasuke, I already told you that jutsu is not to be used on teammates."

"Kakashi," Sasuke snarled, grabbing his wrist back and rubbing it. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just going to check up on my former students. I mean, I knew Sasuke gave himself to Orochimaru, but imagine my surprise when I found out that my other pupil was a member of Akatsuki! You know what they call you in the smaller villages around here? The Black Blossom. Because they think that's the color of your soul, contrasting sharply with your hair color and the blood splattering your face. I'm not even making this up. Naruto, the former dunce, is the most successful out of all of you!"

Sasuke snorted in derision. "Sure, if you call playing ninja serving old, fat lords and rescuing a woman's cat successful."

"Why are you here, Kakashi?" Sakura asked, her tone not betraying any emotion. "Where are your friends? Konoha ninja don't operate alone."

"Oh, I took a well-needed vacation from my duties. Tsunade wanted to make me Hokage, you know—her age is finally catching up to her! So of course I escaped from that with the excuse of finding the two of you."

Sasuke closed his eyes to calm himself. "Look, I don't have time for this. I have a criminal to kill."

"That's rich, coming from you," Sakura retorted.

"I haven't ever killed anyone! Judging by what I've heard on the way here, that's not the case for you! You're the only criminal here, Sakura!"

"Both of you have sunk so low," Kakashi mused. "It's no use trying to figure out who's still morally correct."

"Well I here was trying to save his ass, and what does he do? He blows me off!" Sakura told him, facing him and pointing an accusing finger at Sasuke.

"She's trying to interfere with my revenge!"

"You can't complete your revenge in the state you are, especially not now that we've sparred! You're weak, you let Itachi provoke you so easily!"

"You have no idea what he wrote in the letter he sent me!"

"Nothing should make you put your life on the line! The only thing he could've done is challenge something that you care for, and you care for nothing! What did he do, insult your pride?"

"Screw this!" Sasuke nearly screamed, and without warning grabbed a kunai and hurled it at Kakashi. Sakura did so at the same time.

Kakashi leaped aside. That was too well done to have been a coincidence—they must have been planning it all along. "You distracted me with your argument? How cleve"—then Sakura had rammed a fist into his stomach, inhuman speed making her impossible to track. Blood splattered her face.

"It's not polite to speak to others through a decoy," she said as the shadow clone poofed, "…Sensei." The real Kakashi stepped out from behind a boulder with a smirk.

"I'll ask once again before I go to kill a traitor. Is there anything important you wanted to tell us?" Sasuke's expression was once again impassive.

"Well, I had to knock Naruto out in order to stop him from coming after me, but you should know, Sakura, that your leaving absolutely destroyed him." Kakashi observed Sakura's expression as he said this, and thought he may have been imagining the look of agony that was quickly replaced with apathy. He continued, "Just wanted to hold you responsible for what you did. I won't tell him you're with the Akatsuki. But…" his eyes hardened. "If you attack Konoha, I won't cease to eliminate you, since you're Akatsuki and all."

"Why don't you start now?" Sakura taunted. "As you know, Akatsuki wants the Jinchuuriki. We will come for Naruto. It would be easier to get rid of me now…wouldn't it?" Sakura tilted her head.

Kakashi stared at his ex-student, who now stood with poise and turned her back to Sasuke rather than simpering at his. He knew the sight of Sakura in an Akatsuki cloak would be shocking, but the fact that it somehow fit her was even more disconcerting. He knew for a fact that he had the necessary power to disable at least one of them, but he wasn't sure he could deal with both. And with the explosive relationship between two, they were just as willing to work together against him as to kill each other.

"I don't want to kill you," Kakashi said, closing his eyes. It was a mistake. When he opened them, Sasuke was staring him in the eye and catching him in a genjutsu. Of course, it was nothing along the lines of Tsukuyomi and Kakashi broke out of it. However, it had had the desired effect, delaying him enough for Sakura to step over in a flash and tie him to a tree with ninja rope.

"Sound your distress signal," Sasuke said emotionlessly. "Konoha will come get you. You will say nothing about the encounter here."

And then Sasuke disappeared.

"HEY!" Sakura yelled. "What the—." She kicked the dirt. "Coward!"

She listened for a second. Then, to Kakashi's surprise she was right in front of him, undoing the ropes. She made eye contact with me. "You can't let Naruto know. Tell him I'm dead. Please. Tell them all… that there's no hope. They have to stop caring about me…have to stop coming after me." She turned around and clenched her fist. "Kakashi, I…"

"Sakura?" Kakashi murmured, walking over to her. One second she was derisive, fighting him and Sasuke, and now she seemed broken and remorseful. What the hell? Females…

"What's Ino doing?" she asked.

Kakashi was taken aback at the question, but answered: "She's training under Tsunade. Her clan jutsu aids in her medical jutsu so we understand a lot of illnesses much better now. She is also one of the top in taijutsu in her age group."

"And Naruto?" Sakura barely whispered.

"He…he devotes all his time to training, to get you and Sasuke back. He trains under Jiraiya and I, even Tsunade sometimes." He smiled. "He is fast becoming a fine ninja." His smile faded. "And you, Sakura? What's the meaning of this? Is it all to get Sasuke back? Didn't seem like it, with the way you were trying to kill him."

Sakura's hair hung over her face. "I want power to achieve my goal. I guess that makes me just as bad as Sasuke." She snorted. "Kakashi. This never happened. I really don't want to hurt anybody in Konoha, but I may end up being forced to do so. I'm sorry nobody in Konoha saw the potential in me. I just needed to be trained in a way the Leaf could never stand by." She looked away. "But…just between us…I'm working on keeping Sasuke sane. Discreetly. But I'm trying."

Kakashi felt overwhelmed. Sakura did everything out of ambition? And she still had passion for the village? Sasuke was consumed by revenge. Sakura had kept her head.

That meant she could become far more dangerous.

"Do you think I should be dead?" Sakura asked, tilting her head.

"Probably," Kakashi admitted. "But I won't do it." He sighed. "What happened to the good old days? When everything was okay?"

"Kakashi," Sakura said sadly. "I remember. You told me everything would go back to the way it was." Kakashi remembered the moment with self-disgust. She looked up at him. "I…I'm working toward that. Just in my way."

"Things won't be the way they were if you're dead!" Kakashi pointed out.

Sakura closed her eyes. "I won't be." She looked off into the distance. "I should go follow Sasuke before he reaches Itachi. Maybe I can still stop one of them from dying. Or maybe Itachi will blow him off." She turned her gaze to him. "Alright, Kakashi. There's only one way to end this without either of us looking like traitors."

"Yeah, I guess," Kakashi conceded.

"I'll do it on three. One…"

She punched him unconscious before she even said "two".

Sakura forced herself not to cry as she jumped the trees at top speed to reach Sasuke. She knew her way around, so she could take a shortcut to the village center, where Itachi would be waiting. The little reunion was over—she had to go back to being cold and heartless, and discourage Sasuke from trying to fight.

Even with the shortcut, she only arrived to the village center seconds before Sasuke. Sasuke gave her a glance, then shook his head angrily, ignoring her.

"Itachi, you traitorous, murderous bastard… I'm here. Show yourself," Sasuke snarled.

There was silence, and suddenly Sakura had a premonition that something awful was about to happen—

"Hello, Sasuke," Itachi said, walking about from behind a building. "And welcome back, Sakura."

Sakura gulped and started walking toward Itachi.

"So you're choosing him?" Sasuke asked dangerously, eyes narrowed.

For a split second, Sakura turned back. There was a sad smile on her face. "It's not a matter of choice, Sasuke." And then the sword entered her from the back, Itachi having thrown it with precision no other being on the planet had. Sakura fell to her knees, choking. Her eyes locked with Sasuke's as they darkened and she toppled forward onto the ground.

"No!" Sasuke yelled, half-screamed, forgetting everything, running forward, pulling the blade out and cradling Sakura in his arms, turning her over and looking at her deathly pale face as blood steadily trickled from her mouth. "Sakura!" Blood stained his shirt as he tried to put pressure on the wound, but it was no use.

Sakura's lips barely moved and Sasuke had to move closer to her to hear, bending over her mouth. "Sasuke…what am I to you?"

Sasuke's eyes felt like they were burning. He knew if he attempted to speak some strangled sound would come out, so instead he leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers, finally realizing exactly what he'd lost. She was dying, dead, and he still couldn't explain to her which she was to him… the teammate, the comrade, the enemy, the last thread to a normal life—

"Thank you," Sakura breathed against his cheek, and stiffened.

Sasuke let the tears blur his vision as he stood up shakily. He felt like a little kid again. He thought he'd known hate when Itachi killed his family, but when he killed his most precious person—because that's what Sakura had somehow, impossibly become—he wanted nothing more than to strike him down, humiliate him, and destroy everything he'd ever worked for.

"Well," Itachi said at last. "Isn't she beautiful? I told you. They're always the best when they're dead and can't open their annoying mouths. Just lie there, like a pretty geisha doll, stained in innards and blood and with hazy eyes… I suppose it was quite easy to discover your weakness before the fight even began."

AN: -is stoned by readers-

OMG! OS'S Troll level is over 9,000!

Uh, yeah. Review?