Author: Hey guys! Thanks for being patient again. I had trouble with this because I wanted this to be something different but it didn't turn out that way. So...writings block galore. fun fun. I suffered through it. I"m so excited about the next couple of chapters though, so once I have them proof read I'll get them out because I can't wait :D

Warning: NEXT chapter will contain lemon. hehehe

Chapter 31-Epitaph

Confusion will be my epitaph. As I Crawl a cracked and broken path, If we make it we can all sit back and laugh. But I fear Tomorrow, I'll be crying. Yes, I fear tomorrow I'll be crying.

---3 months later

Three months and they were no closer to finding Itachi. And the frustration was starting to show.

Sakura watched Sasuke with a nervous gaze. His sharingan glowed in the darkness of the cave, a dangerous glint flickering this way and that, hoping beyond hope there would be some clue, some piece of evidence that would find a way to his goal. But the cave had been burnt to a crisp and all that was left was shard remains of furniture.

His hands were fisted at his sides, his chakra was swirling the dust at his feet and his features were knit tight with desperation.

She knew this to be a very dangerous position for him so she did and said nothing.

Without looking Sakura knew his other three teammates looked on with helplessness. Over the past three months, she noticed how much they were dedicated to Sasuke despite how rebellious they were at times. His failure was their failure. Karin took most of the blame upon herself for she had been the one to lead them here.

It hadn't been the first time their journeys had taken them to disappointment but for some reason Sasuke was taking this one worse than the others.

His gaze snapped over to Karin. Her red gaze dropped to the ground. "What do you feel now?"

She shook her head. "It's only the aurora." She didn't explain further for Sasuke wouldn't hear anymore.

Karin could see and feel chakra signatures but sometimes when someone releases an immense amount of chakra, the reminisce can stay in that area for weeks. It was hard for her to tell the difference with Akatsuki members because their chakras are so large that the remaining chakra was just as strong as the person.

Sakura went to call after him but Sasuke was gone from their sights before she could.

Jugo and Suigetsu stepped closer to Karin to try and console her. "Mistakes happen, he's just being a douche." Suigetsu forced a laugh but Karin shook her head in personal anger.

Sakura turned from them and began her track of Sasuke. It was highly stupid of her to go after him when he was upset but from the months she spent with him, Sakura knew better to fear him. Despite a few run-ins where they were at each other's throats, she never felt like her life was threatened.

She sighed out and she knew it was because of relief. When Karin said she felt Itachi, fear dropped into her belly. Being with Sasuke over the four month course, she knew better than to think he was ready to face his brother. She wondered if Sasuke himself knew the truth to that.

Sakura found him standing at a cliff's edge. He had gone perhaps six miles from their location. The sun was setting and it reflected off the ocean's waves. The sky was pink and purple and in the distance, she could see a front moving in, appearing to store a horrible storm.

Cautiously she took the few steps remaining to stand beside him. The wind blew heavily and she took in a deep breath of the salty air. She wondered what day it was. She knew it was sometime in June but any other information was lost to her.

Sakura hated to admit it, but she loved living outside of the village walls. There was something in this type of freedom that made her feel, invincible.

Sakura turned her green eyes to Sasuke. His gaze was blindly on the horizon before him. His long black bangs wavered in the wind. She wished to reach up and touch his black silk hair but knew better.

"I feel him." Sasuke suddenly spoke, startling her. He kept his eyes ahead, stoic and motionless.

She watched him momentarily. "Itachi." She whispered though not questioning.

He swallowed harshly. "He's near. I know it."

Her brows knit, "Karin--"

"Is lying." He bit darkly, his hands fisting, his chakra rising. The killing intent was powerful but just for a brief moment. "Or she doesn't sense it." He scoffed, obviously he didn't believe that was the case.

"She wouldn't lie, Sasuke." She reassured quickly. Though even now, she wasn't quite sure. Perhaps Karin knew as she did that Sasuke wasn't ready. What a harsh position to be put in, she thought.

To hear the conviction, Sasuke's power softened and his posture relaxed. But his depression and his rage still held sway, she could tell.

Sakura stared upon the ground. His hand in her view. She wasn't used to seeing him in such a state that perhaps her better judgment was swayed by her need to help. Slowly, unsurely, she slipped her fingers in his hand. Though his fingers didn't wrap around hers, he didn't remove his hand either. Sakura looked up to him, smiling gently. "You'll defeat him, Sasuke. On the day we finally find him."

It was an encouragement he needed to hear and never did.

Spending months with him, she learned to read most of everything. It was something she had never been able to do as a child. As a child she always thought he needed to be left alone. She always thought he was just pissed off at the world. And she always believed deep down, he was happy.

She had been so incredibly naïve. Sasuke needed a friend. He needed someone to reassure him that there was hope. He needed someone to realize that it wasn't anger that drove him to vengeance. It was sadness and betrayal. And he needed someone to help him deal with that said sadness.

No one wanted to take on that responsibility because honestly Sasuke was a hard person to get close to. But really, all they had to do, was not push. Allow Sasuke to open up when he wants and to run away when he needs to. It was that simple.

Sakura was willing to take that position now. She was stronger, both mentally and physically. She would help him conquer whatever it was he needed and together Itachi will die. His desire for his brother's death was now her desire. Killing Itachi was always on her mind, thinking of different ways to conquer him. She thought up strategies and tricks that could somehow weaken him because for her, Itachi was a god, unable to die. She preyed she was overestimating him. She preyed she'll be able to help when the time comes.

--

Kiba pulled on his black jacket before entering the Hokage's office. He wondered if she had finally chosen a mission for him. He scoffed. Three months since he put in the request and she just now decides to send him out of the village. Really wasn't a point now. He didn't think it was possible to be anymore miserable than he was.

Kiba looked down to Akamaru. The beast whined with sympathy. Akamaru had been there with him a month ago. They had been traveling to their regular training spot when they spotted Hinata walking hand and hand with, none other than the great Uzamaki Naruto. His torn heart had been shattered completely. That scene had been the exact reason why he had wanted to leave and now that damned image will be forever burned into his memory.

He strengthened himself. He didn't need the Hokage to get on his case.

Kiba entered only to stop short upon the pair of eyes that met his. Ino tried to smile but the effort was too great. She was just as ashamed as he was.

Three months prior they had met for lunch and that lunch turned into dinner, which turned into a night of drinks. And a morning of terrible regret.

Though he hadn't loved Sakura, they were best friends. When they had sex, they weren't using one another. They were helping each other. They were healing their hearts and their souls.

Sleeping with Ino, however, had only been out of hate for themselves, and a loneliness that consumed the good parts of them, leaving all bitter and angry thoughts. Making it a terrible mistake.

A woman cleared her throat from behind and Kiba whipped around to find TenTen staring expectantly at him. He instantly moved aside to let her in. Now he was terribly confused. Akamaru huffed, asking what was going on. Kiba shook his head and headed in, standing next to TenTen.

"Yosh." Tsunade stood at her desk, waiting impatiently but quietly. She caught each person's gaze with a hard determined look of her own. She couldn't help to think that TenTen looked nearly healthy besides the dark rings under her eyes. She felt her motherly instincts curl inside her but swallowed the bile down. "Recently, you three have partitioned to 'search' for Sakura." Tsunade cracked her knuckles against the desk. She shot a glare to her assistant, Shizune who stood in the corner pleading with a hard-pressed gaze.

Straigntening she sighed. Despite the chastisement she would receive later, she knew what she was doing. Yet, as her gaze landed on the three young ninjas, her fear returned. But that too, she swallowed.

Ino eagerly spoke out of turn, "So we're going to go get her back?"

Tsunade caught her gaze. "Iie." Ino went to protest, "Sakura made her choice. As you all will make yours now. This mission will be just as dangerous, just as hopeless. The mission, is to protect the next jinchuuriki." She held a photo. "You might remember the Trinity. They are the next primary target on the list of Akatsuki. We have reason to suspect they are the last jinchuuriki before Naruto.

"Tsunade-sama, at least tell them--"

"Shizune." Tsunade bit sharply. The woman snapped her mouth shut. With a deep breath she continued. "This mission. Will fail." Ino's gaze was the only one that widened. The silence nearly ate her resolve, willing, begging her to sent them back home to their parents and friends. But they were the only ones eligible for the job and that wanted to go. "Your mission is to protect them. For as long as you can."

She tried to phrase it the best way she could without scaring them out of it. To save Naruto, sacrifice was mandatory. She had no other option really. Tsunade walked around her desk to lean against it, leaning closer to them. "I want you to think about this before you answer me. There is a ninety-six percent chance you will die. The only reason I picked you three was because at some level you knew going after Sakura would end just the same. Infiltrating Oto and going straight to their Kage, would have been a massacre. I could not allow Sakura to feel that guilt." The hokage coughed, a bit too much emotion clouding her thoughts. "I want you to ask yourself. Is what you are going through now, worth sacrificing your life?"

Each gaze told her nothing of what they were thinking. They were stoic, perhaps too surprised by the extremity of this mission. "You have till sundown to decide"

-------------------

Sakura followed in the same footsteps Sasuke took. She landed on his last branch and jumped to the next, keeping a good distance from him. Sometimes she taunted him, matching his speed with her own but of course he always one. Three months gave her enough practice to beat the three behind her but Sasuke had much more strength and power than she could ever possess. Today she didn't play. He wasn't in the mood.

It was somber now. A bit too depressing even for her. Karin and she usually are giggling and talking up a storm, Suigetsu's rants about how annoying they are, and Jugo, well, Jugo watches. That hasn't changed.

Sakura felt like she was with family now. Two brothers, an older sister, and a…trainer.

Needless to say, Sasuke and hers relationship hadn't changed much. Well, not in the way she would like it too. Perhaps it was her that was the problem. She was terrified if she tried to get closer, Sasuke would push her away. She was rightly afraid because not only did she think so, she knew it to be true. Sasuke had left her before the last time they were ever close and it would happen again. She would much rather be a bit unhappy than be without him.

After only a half hour run, Sasuke came to a stop on the outside of a cave. It was perhaps the same mountain side as the damaged one they were at earlier. Karin and Suigetsu began bickering about something that Sakura didn't care for, watching them push their way inside, Jugo followed only to make sure they didn't end up hurting each other. Sasuke stood with his back to the mountain watching the darkening sky. It would rain fearsome tonight from the roaring thunder in the distance. She smiled tenderly, vaguely wondering again why he loved the rain so much. It had been a question she asked him long ago and never received an answer for.

"Sasuke." She called and watched him strut inside, ignoring her presence as usually. Sakura giggled and rolled her eyes. She could sense that his temper had been soothed somewhat. It relaxed her knowing that.

Making her way in, she caught sight of her red-head counterpart hiding in a corner. It was odd considering Sasuke would have known she was there anyway but the Uchiha continued on seeming ignorant. She ventured over as soon as the said ninja was out of sight. "Karin." Sakura whispered. "Are you alright?"

The woman's attitude had changed back into the depressive female that traveled here. It took her a few moments longer to com up with a response, her red gaze to the floor, her finger twisting in her blood hair. "I'm doing the right thing, aren't I?" Her whisper was etched with fear and sadness.

Sakura's brows knit. "What are you talking about?"

Karin fidgeted nervously, tears were peaking in her eyes. "He's not ready to face him."

A shock blasted her out of ignorance. She stumbled on her words unable to figure out what she really wanted to say and unsure if she did speak if Sasuke himself wouldn't hear her. She grabbed Karin by the arm, forcing her outside and down the way a bit before jerking to a stop. "Itachi's close?!"

"Shhh!" Karin growled, quickly scanning for any movement. "You trying to get me killed? Sasuke going to murder me if he finds out--"

"How close?"

"Not really close." She added nervously, "About a hundred miles."

As if that mattered. Just the fact that Itachi lived on the same freaking planet made Sasuke blood boil, what if he found out Itachi was within an hour distance?

Though that was a scary thought, what made it worse was knowing of Sasuke instant doom the moment they meet. She wasn't ready for Sasuke to face Itachi either. She feared there would be a great change in him should he actually win the battle. She feared he'd lose his will to live.

Sakura shook her head, there was more pressing matters to attend to. Karin would be in serious trouble if Sasuke found out. Trouble as in dead.

"Karin." Sakura sighed, "Why did you lie?"

She fought back bravely, "You know why. He'll die."

To know that someone else agreed with her own private assumption was a relief. She thought she was just being negative. She thought she wasn't giving Sasuke enough credit. But to hear it from someone else made it become all too real. Sakura leaned against the mountain side. "He still loves Itachi." Karin nodded despairingly.

Sakura looked over to Karin, the woman was in her own world with her own thoughts. This woman had been able to do what she had never been able to. She had been able to deny Sasuke. Karin was stronger than she had ever imagined. Sakura envied her for doing so. She knew her self would have never been able to do it. So despite knowing what Sasuke would do to them and how upset he would be if he ever found out, Sakura whispered, "Arigato."

--

Sasuke watched as they all scrambled from the protection of the cave out into the pouring rain. These conditions were great practice for them.

Personally he had no intention of allowing them to fight. But in order for them to do what was needed to be done, they had to be prepared. "I will explain." He spoke loud over the vibrating downpour and the rolling thunder. "When the time comes, I have instructed you on how to use a barrier and that will be your mission. You are to uphold the barrier and that is all. Kisame will try and stop you. You will not be able to kill him." Suigetsu scoffed at this but Sasuke ignored him. "What I will teach you, will disable him long enough to get the barrier up." Sasuke caught each of their gaze.

It was ironic considering. Orochimaru had tried so hard to get him to take charge of the troops in Oto and never once did he talk to a single one. But here he had his own small little army to train. Though he despise it, having them here was better for his own well being.

If he hadn't met them so long ago, perhaps he would be a murderer by now. These three had taken deaths onto their hands, maybe unknowingly, saving him from blooding his own. It was one less thing to haunt him in his nightmares.

Sakura's green gaze was the easiest to see in this darkened weather. She stood strong, unwavering and seemingly powerful with her fists clenched and her back straightened.

Three months living with her had been sickening. She cared for him as she would a brat and for the most part he had been able to disregard her subtle advances. She always tried to make him eat three meals a day. She kept watch on his sleeping, warning him when're or three days had passed without and disobeying any of his teammates to train with him. Sadly those three seemed afraid of her. Pansies. He wasn't one easily frightened.

Sasuke had rebelled in the beginning. Three years without a person telling him what to do. Besides Orochimaru but that was obviously different. Three years of taking care of himself, ALONE, and he wasn't dead. He could take care of himself, he wasn't a child.

Yet, her ways of punishment were definitely unjustified. If he went days without food, she would poison his water. If he went days without sleep, she would keep the team moving until he couldn't. And if he went days without stopping, she would train with him. The last one may not have seemed so bad but her punches were too powerful for him to just simply walk away from. He had speed but all she had to do was land one hit on him and he was dead weight.

Sasuke found that just following those three simple guidelines would give him more of an advantage. He never realized how much sleeping and eating really effected him until her rules started to follow. Now, he doesn't miss a meal nor a chance to sleep.

It was a different way to live. And perhaps a better one. He had felt himself get stronger. Her healing powers did more than just fix the outside. It helped his chakra itself. To describe it was difficult for him because personally he didn't understand it. But when she would heal his wounds the dark curse inside him that whispered and boiled would simmer and quiet. That allowed his chakra reserves to expand even further than he thought they were capable.

Of course he never mentioned this to Sakura but perhaps he did allow more hits than usual to land upon him.

Her role however in defeating Itachi hadn't changed. She had no part. When the battle finally came, he hoped he would be able to find a way to get rid of her before hand. She was a weakness he was allowing because he had no choice. He couldn't leave her out here. She wouldn't survive. Her death though meant nothing, it was Naruto's anger he didn't want to face.

Leaving her wouldn't be an easy feat either. His teammates had grown attached to her. So much so that they might rebel. He was too close to reaching his final goal that having such a discourse with them now would be problematic to his victory. He needed three to complete the barrier. And those three had to have the curse to do it.

Sasuke felt the heat of the lightning strike. It resonated in his soul, filling him with it's warmth. The lightning called to him, begging him for a challenge. And this night, he was up for one. "But first. We battle." With a single nod, his four teammates attacked.

--

Tsunade caught the last glimpse of the sun when there was a knock upon her door. She turned, catching all three step into the room and stand before her proud and strong. The sight touched her heart. It was a strange feeling. She had been alone most of her life but upon taking the position of Hokage she had become closer with this generation's rising ninjas. Perhaps it was because of Naruto and his way of life that led her to become softer, more compassionate as he was compassionate. So she now felt that all of these young teenagers were the children she never had.

Knowing she was sending them to their deaths was something she would feel guilt for the rest of her life. But there was a duty she must achieve. Saving Naruto was a priority before even the village itself. The only thing she could do, was honor these three when their deaths were finally reported.

She nodded, showing her pride. "You leave in the morning." They disappeared.

Tsunade dropped in her chair. Her strength demolished by the lives she was ruining. Self-loathing and blame swallowed her whole and she quickly pulled out the bottom drawl, grabbing her sake bottle and drowned herself in her sorrow.