I'm so sorry guys about the lack of updating. I don't think I've posted anything in half a year. Things became really hard and it was only around January that I actually started writing again. After the War is going to be posted by the end of May with any luck and Unforgettable Mission is being rewritten right now, but by June the story line should be continued.
Disclaimer: I definitely don't own anything from Naruto. Sorry...
Rain
Rain poured down upon Konoha with a vengeance. The only people out on the streets were the shinobi who carried on as though it was a normal day, even if the rain was freezing and felt like kunai piercing them with every drop.
Haruno Sakura went through her morning routine in a daze. She hated the rain. It brought back the memory of her single most crushing failure: not being able to save Uchiha Sasuke, her teammate and one of the two men she counted as brothers.
It had been two years ago on a difficult ANBU mission. They had been successful and were on their way home. Sasuke, Naruto, and she were making good progress despite the horrible downpour they were running through and they weren't an hour away from Konoha when they were ambushed by Sound Nin. Sakura had used up a lot of chakra earlier when they narrowly escaped the perimeters of an Akatsuki hideout. Kami, she could still hear Naruto screaming for her to save Sasuke. She had failed. She had collapsed trying to heal him and woke up to an angry Uchiha Fugaku.
He had wanted her to become a civilian. She wasn't worthy of saving anybody if she couldn't muster enough chakra to save his son an hour away from the village and had been frivolous with her chakra on an S-class mission. She was more than a failure. Sakura hadn't even fought Fugaku. She tried to convince Tsunade that Fugaku had a valid point, but she was considered to be too valuable of a medic. Tsunade refused to let her protégé go, curtly telling Fugaku that medics couldn't always save everyone and that Sakura wasn't in the right state of mind to give her opinion on a reduction in status to civilian.
Later, Sakura was grateful that Tsunade had insisted, or rather forced, that she stayed a kunoichi. She loved working in the hospital and it was her only comfort on these rainy days. After her shift in the hospital was over, she would go to a bar and drink away her sadness and the hangover the next day would be a blessing because at least she would have forgotten about Sasuke for a few hours.
Hurriedly, Sakura ran to the hospital, trying to blink away the tears that were threatening to spill from her emerald eyes. Upon arriving in the hospital she quickly changed into her coat and scrubs and started to take care of the patients.
Her lunch break came too soon and she was glad when it was interrupted by Shizune who told her that there was an injured team of ANBU who needed to be taken care of immediately so that they could report to Tsunade.
Sakura offered a small smile to Shizune before abandoning her untouched miso soup and going to the room the ANBU were in.
Their masks were off and Shikamaru was holding a barely conscious Ino. Automatically, she rushed to her.
"She was too busy trying to heal everyone else that she forgot to monitor her own chakra. I'm the only one she was able to completely heal," Shikamaru murmured.
"Don't worry, she'll be fine," Sakura told him as she placed her hands gently on either side of Ino's head and lent her some of her chakra. Before long, Ino's eyes fluttered open and she gave Sakura a weak smile.
"Hey forehead," Ino whispered softly.
"Ino-pig, make sure you're more careful next time," Sakura teased her gently.
"I couldn't let my husband die now, could I?" Ino smiled up at Shikamaru and was shocked by the horrified look on his face.
"It's raining…" Shikamaru murmured in Ino's ear as he pulled her to him.
Ino opened her mouth, ready to apologize, but her husband stopped her. "Don't rub salt into old wounds. She'd rather that you pretended that it was all in the past, even if it isn't."
"But…"
"No, Ino. Don't do it. We should go to the Hokage's office. The other two can meet us there."
"Fine…" Ino consented with one final glance at her best friend.
Sakura took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure before looking up at the other two shinobi that she could sense were in the room. When she saw them she wanted to run. She wanted to run far away and never come back to that room.
"Uchiha... Uchiha-san…. Uchiha-taichou…" Sakura stuttered as she tried to form a proper greeting for Uchiha Itachi and his cousin Uchiha Shisui. The two people Sasuke had been closest to in his own clan were here. She hadn't seen them since the day of Sasuke's funeral and she hadn't wanted to. She knew that she couldn't ever look them in the eye without feeling an unbearable guilt.
Hesitantly, she walked up to Shisui, who was much more bearable in her opinion since he wasn't Sasuke's brother. "Remove your armor," Sakura told him in a slightly shaky voice before shaking her head and snapping into her medic mode. She needed to make sure that these two shinobi were healthy. It didn't matter who they were.
"Sakura, long time, no see," Shisui grinned at her. "I've missed you and so has Mikoto-sama."
"Ah… I haven't found time to visit the Uchiha compound. My schedule is quite hectic," Sakura replied hesitantly. She couldn't understand how Shisui could stand looking at her and there he was teasing and flirting with her like he had always done before her failure.
"Then I'll need to get injured more often to visit you," Shisui said, leaning toward her.
Sakura refused to jump back since she was in the middle of healing an injury on his arm, but Itachi ensured that he stopped. "Let the medic finish her work," he said coolly.
"Arigatou, Uchiha-taichou," Sakura murmured as she finished with Shisui.
"Thanks Sakura!" Shisui grinned before hugging her. Sakura bit her lip, trying to hold back tears as she remembered her last time healing an Uchiha. "I'll see you around, and Itachi, I'll meet you at the Hokage office. I can't let the poor Hokage deal with those two alone."
"I'm sure that you're the one she's least looking forward to seeing," Itachi replied lightly.
"Ah… don't be like that Itachi-chan," Shisui told him, pouting before heading out of the room.
"Um… uh… take… take off your armor… Uchiha… Uchiha-taichou," Sakura stuttered. This was taking a lot more strength then Sakura had. Itachi reminded her too much of Sasuke, although she knew that he was probably the one who Sasuke had modeled himself after.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Haruno-san," Itachi told her smoothly and politely. He was the perfect Uchiha heir that Sasuke had always talked about. Sakura knew that she should never have expected any less.
"Ah… I know that, Uchiha-taichou. My mind was elsewhere. Forgive me," She replied quietly before healing him in complete silence.
When she was finished, she quietly told him so and bade him a good day before walking as fast as she could without actually running to her office. When she was there, she closed her door and sank down to the floor with her back to the door. Looking up, she could see the rain falling outside of her small window.
Distraughtly, she stared out the window and remembered all the times she, Naruto, and Sasuke had trained, fought, and laughed together.
At one point, Shizune pushed open the door, throwing Sakura a little ways across the floor. Upon seeing her unstable state of mind, Shizune quickly brought Sakura to the comfortable chair by her desk and put a blanket around her before saying something about getting Tsunade.
However, the next thing Sakura heard was a gentle tap on the door. She didn't bother answering it, even when it continued. The tears just kept falling down her face.
Before long, the door opened, revealing Uchiha Itachi who swiftly entered the room, closing the door behind him. He sat in the chair in front of her desk and watched her bury her head in her blanket to avoid seeing him.
The two remained like that for a long time. Itachi finally sighed and stood. Sakura sighed, believing that he was finally going to leave. Instead she felt herself being lifted and her head being pressed against a very masculine chest. She heard a soft curse and then the words for a transportation jutsu. The abrupt movement made her dizzy and she leapt out of Itachi's arms and onto the floor of his room the moment they arrived.
Her eyes widened as she realized where she was. She was in the last place she wanted to be. She quickly got to her feet, only to be pushed onto a bed by Itachi.
"You're staying here until you hear me out," Itachi told her in a clear, though quiet voice. She had forgotten how much she had loved hearing him speak. His confident authority was comforting and the tone of his voice always made her feel protected. Or at least it once did. Now, it just made her feel worse and long to go to a bar and get so drunk that she wouldn't remember her own name.
"Are you listening, Haruno?" Itachi asked her abruptly.
"Hai," She whispered hesitantly.
"Then listen carefully to what I have to say because you cannot carry on in this way," Itachi snapped at her. It was uncharacteristic of him to act this brusque which must have meant that her behavior for the past two years must have been quite irritating in his opinion.
"I understand that you're mourning for the loss of Sasuke who was more than a teammate to you. I know that he was your brother in many senses. He would mention that you were a sister to him whenever Shisui would tell him that the two of you were a perfect match. However, it has been more than enough time to move on. As a kunoichi, you should know that death is normal in the world of shinobi. Did you not lose your long time mentor, Hatake Kakashi four years ago? You're twenty-two and a prodigy in the medical world…"
Sakura laughed bitterly, interrupting Itachi, who merely gave her an inquisitive look at her action. "If I were anywhere close to a prodigy, who I have never claimed to be, never have been, and never will be, then I would have been able to save him."
"You never would have been able to save him Sakura," Itachi retorted. "I read the mission report very carefully and multiple times since I have been given all of Sasuke's mission scrolls, as stated in his will. Of course I knew the mission was quite dangerous and I asked the Hokage to see a copy of the mission that Naruto had handed in. I must say I was impressed that he could write a decent report. In any case, he clearly stated that all three of you would have died of blood loss had you not been able to heal them immediately. Sasuke's death was inevitable."
"I could have been more careful watching for any attackers. I could have jumped in the way…"
"What good would that have done to anyone Sakura? It'd be as big of a blow as Sasuke dying. Sasuke would not be happy to see you holding on to this guilt so much. So please, let it go for Sasuke's sake." Itachi's words lingered in the air as silence settled in between them. Sakura was taking in Itachi's words, but couldn't find a way to let go of her memories. Itachi was watching her. He was waiting for her reaction.
After what felt like an hour, but could only have been fifteen minutes, Itachi approached Sakura and put his hand on her shoulder. "Even my father has gotten past his initial anger. He never meant to say that you should be demoted in any possible way. He just did not want to see the loss of his son."
"Itachi, who are you talking to?" Mikoto asked as she quickly entered her son's room. When she saw Sakura with her tear-stricken face, she quickly rushed to her and enveloped the small girl in her arms and started crying softly.
"Sakura… Sakura…" Mikoto murmured as she comforted the young medic. "I've been trying to find you and talk to you. For the past two years I've wanted to tell you that it was never your fault. Darling, you always did your best. You would never have saved Sasuke that time."
"Mikoto-sama… I… I know… I know I could have…" Sakura sniffled.
"No… If you had been able to save him then you would have, even if it had cost you your life. You've always been the daughter I've never had. Sakura, please, let go of him. Sasuke would never blame you," Mikoto told her with a gentle firmness that only a mother could ever accomplish.
Sakura looked up at Mikoto and then slowly turned her head toward Itachi before finally resting her eyes on her hands. "You're right. Both of you are. I need to move on. I… I'm so sorry for how I've acted." Tears started welling up in her eyes.
"That's enough of those dear. Please stay for dinner. Don't worry. Shisui will be here. Hopefully he'll give you a reason to come back. The two of you really would have adorable children," Mikoto told her with a smile on her face.
"I'd like that Mikoto-sama. Could I help?"
"No, you can stay with Itachi. Shisui will be over in an hour or so." With that Mikoto left.
Sakura still found that she was unable to look at Itachi. It took a few minutes for her to gather her fragile self together and look up at him to murmur a quiet thank you.
"I just wish that I could have helped you earlier," Itachi replied.
"You're mother is joking about Shisui and I, right?" Sakura asked, with an awkward smile on her face as she slowly started pulling herself out of her shell.
"Not really, I think she really wants you in the family. I think her original goal was to get you to marry Sasuke, but that dream quickly ended by the time you were both jounin," Itachi told her, testing her reaction to Sasuke's name.
"Ah yes. I did have a huge crush on him when we were younger," Sakura remembered with a soft smile. "But it wasn't long before he became my other brother."
"Hn…"
"You Uchihas… ugh… I'm going to go help your mother. As soon as the "hn" comes out, I'm gone," Sakura smiled before fluidly walking out of his room.
Itachi heard her greet Shisui in the hall and tell him her destination. He heard Shisui protest, but lose. He had forgotten what it was like to have Sakura in the house and how much he liked it.
Shisui came into Itachi's room before jumping onto his bed. "So... have you fallen back in love with Sakura-chan, yet?"
"I never fell out of it."
Sakura went off to the garden when Mikoto shooed her away. It had not been raining for a while now and she insisted that Sakura had to wait for Naruto to come so that he wouldn't harass her as she cooked ramen.
She sat just outside the house by a small pond under a sakura tree. It had been one of her favorite places to just sit and talk with Sasuke and Naruto. She had missed it.
Sakura didn't know how long she sat there. It could have been a minute or an hour, but the peace was broken as soon as Naruto arrived.
"Sakura-chan, you're here!" Naruto cried out before giving her a big hug. "Hinata look, Sakura's in the Uchiha compound! I knew she wouldn't be able to resist Mikoto-sama's ramen."
"Hi Hinata," Sakura greeted the Hyuuga girl as she disentangled herself from Naruto's tight grasp. "How have you been? We should go out to eat sometime."
"It's been so long," Hinata smiled as she finally got to reach out and hug Sakura. "We'll talk later. I think I should go make sure Naruto doesn't attack Mikoto-sama while she's cooking."
Sakura laughed with Hinata before noticing the ring on her hand.
"Wait, Hinata are you engaged?" She asked incredulously.
"Ah… yes… as of a few hours ago. I'll tell you all the details at dinner," Hinata beamed. She had gained so much more confidence since dating Naruto and Sakura was happy that Naruto had finally asked her to marry him after all their years together.
"I can't wait!" Sakura exclaimed giving her friend one last hug before Hinata ran after Naruto.
She slowly sat back down to her pond with a wide smile on her face. Then she remembered that Sasuke would never see Naruto marry and the smile disappeared. She tried to fight back the tears, but they came anyways. She could hardly believe that she could cry this much in one day.
"What's the matter Sakura?" It was Itachi. She could tell that he was standing right behind her.
"Ah… nothing… I'm happy for Naruto and Hinata. That's all," Sakura told him, turning to him with a small smile on her face.
"Sasuke would be happy that Naruto finally asked her to marry him," Itachi murmured.
"I know," she choked out as she succumbed to the sobs that she desperately wanted to suppress. She never liked appearing weak and especially not to Sasuke's aniki.
Suddenly, she was enveloped in a hug by the Uchiha. "It's all right, Sakura. He'll be watching, I'm sure and when Naruto finally says his vows, I'm certain that he'll have a smile on his face."
"Why does it hurt so much?" Sakura mumbled into Itachi's shirt.
"In this case, it's because one of your brothers will not see the other get married to the love of his life. You were always a bit of a romantic if I remember correctly," Itachi murmured, hesitantly placing a hand on her back. He had never had to comfort anyone since Sasuke had entered the Academy. It was strange holding Sakura and feeling comfortable. It made him feel powerful to think that he could protect her. He hadn't realized that he felt quite this strongly for the young kunoichi.
"Hai… I've had a weakness for romance," Sakura smiled, pulling away from Itachi. "Thank you, Uchiha-taichou."
"There's no point in addressing me that formally at such a casual occasion." Itachi waved his hand dismissively.
"All right, Itachi-san. Um… we should go inside," Sakura told him and started walking toward the house where she could smell Mikoto's delicious cooking.
"Itachi will suffice, Sakura," he told her in that tone that was cool and authoritative. How could she protest, like she wanted to?
"Come now," Itachi told her, pressing his hand into the small of her back to lead her inside.
"Uh… okay… Itachi…" She blushed, struggling to say his name without a proper suffix.
"See, that's not too hard, is it?" Itachi smirked as he whispered in her ear.
"Ah… no, not at all Itachi," Sakura replied. She started to wonder if he had a bet with Shisui that he could get her to go on a date with him. "But you really should maintain a proper distance. I do work at a hospital."
Itachi smiled slightly, happy to see her feisty personality start to return to her. "I was unaware that I was improper. Forgive me."
"Hai, hai," Sakura dismissively answered while walking away toward Mikoto.
Itachi watched her for a moment and admired her. Yes, she was beautiful in a strange way. Her sakura pink hair somehow matched with her bright emerald eyes. Yet, Itachi was in love with her because he admired her strength and there was something so enchanting about her. How could he not resist her? She was very popular amongst all shinobi and even civilian men were so attracted to her that they would try to flirt with her. She was a magnet for attention, though she downplayed her appearance and skills. She would be the perfect wife too.
"So how are you going to get her?" Shisui asked, lazily putting an arm around Itachi.
"I will not allow her to fall in love with some other inferior man. She is mine," Itachi told him.
"State the obvious Itachi. You can easily get other men to not follow her around if you wanted to, but how are you going to win her heart? It's not that easy. She goes on dates, but never has a boyfriend because nobody is worth her time," Shisui reminded him.
"That will change soon enough," Itachi replied.
Sakura sat between Hinata and Shisui at dinner and was directly across from Itachi. The dinner was delicious as always and she was able to tell that Fugaku was sorry for his conduct toward her two years ago. It had been quite un-Uchiha-like.
"Ah so Sakura, why don't you tell me who's this lover that I've heard about?" Shisui slyly asked her, glancing at Itachi as he spoke. Itachi stiffened, waiting for Sakura's response.
"I haven't ever had a lover," She told him in a bored tone suggesting that they had already talked about this.
"Really now Sakura-chan, there has to be some lucky guy for a young women at the age of twenty-two. Or are you really the kind of girl that likes one night stands?" Shisui teased.
"Shisui, that's such inappropriate conversation!" Mikoto scolded and Shisui shrugged and dropped the topic.
Sakura turned to Hinata and began discussing wedding details with her. She became very excited when Hinata asked for her to be a bridesmaid, to which Sakura consented of course. The two scheduled a lunch for the next day and Sakura agreed to ensure that Ino and Tenten came while Hinata told her that she'd be bringing her little sister Hanabi. This was for wedding discussions of course.
Sakura smiled as Hinata turned to Naruto and the two reached across the table to hold hands. It was so cute and she could only hope that she found someone she could love like that. She thought back to when she thought that she was in love with Sasuke. It had not turned out to be the right kind of love for romance.
Suddenly she felt a foot prod her leg and her eyes shot up to meet Itachi's midnight ones. For a moment she was lost in them and then she angrily kicked him as a message to back off. He smirked, irritating her further. Thankfully though, dinner was winding down and it was time that she helped Mikoto clear away the table. Shooting Itachi one final glare, she rose and started collecting dishes.
After everything was done being washed, Sakura announced that she needed to go home since she had an early shift at the hospital. Smiling, she left the compound and started walking home.
It was a chilly night and she cursed at the fact that her jacket was in her office at the hospital. Itachi hadn't brought it with him when he had transported them to his room. "Damn you Itachi," she muttered under her breath.
"Now, now, Sakura, I wouldn't be too cross with me," Itachi told her as he placed one of his own jackets around her.
Sakura turned around; ready to rip the jacket off and tell him that she was fine when she saw the gentle look in his eyes. "Arigatou…" she murmured as she blushed and turned back to walk away when she felt his hand on the small of her back.
"Allow me to take you home."
Sakura's eyes widened in surprise and she immediately protested. "I've come home from the Uchiha compound plenty of times in the past. I don't need an escort." Stubbornly, she maneuvered out of his gentle hold and started to walk away with a determination to shake off the Uchiha.
"I know you're a capable kunoichi, Sakura. It's simply proper for a woman to have an escort. My mother insisted," Itachi told her as he once again placed his hand on the small of her back.
Sakura wanted to protest, but she knew that she had never left the Uchiha compound alone. She was always with Naruto or Sasuke and sometimes Shisui. If Mikoto demanded it, then she knew for sure that she wouldn't be able to get out of it.
"It's much nicer to see you return to yourself. I was frustrated, seeing you move through these past two years in a sort of daze," Itachi told her.
"I suppose I was different. I've always been much too weak," Sakura replied, turning her head away from him and moving away from him. "I shouldn't have been acting the way I did. I should have remembered that my village needed me."
"Sakura, all that matters is that you've returned. Though I do wonder why you were able to change so quickly. If that was the case then why did it take two years?" Itachi stopped her and looked steadily into her eyes. She knew that he wouldn't allow either of them to move until she answered him. For a while they stayed like that.
"I needed to hear it from you," she finally admitted.
"Why?"
"You were his closest friend and… and…" Sakura trailed off.
"And..?" Itachi prompted.
"And I couldn't bear to see you angry with me. I couldn't approach you. How could anybody? You're the strongest shinobi in the village. It's practically impossible to come near you without feeling some sort of… anxiety. Fear would never describe it. Everyone naturally compares themselves to other people. I guess… Oh damn it… I'm rambling now…" Sakura frowned and turned away to continue walking.
"Sakura…"
She pretended not to hear.
"Sakura…"
Pretend he's not there. She could keep walking away. Thank goodness that she hadn't told him that she loved him. He would think that she was just another fan girl.
"Sakura, you should get rid of that pointless anxiety you claim that you have around me," Itachi told her impatiently, unable to continue waiting for her to turn around.
Sakura paused. "Why?" She asked, not turning around.
For a moment there was silence and Sakura sighed, about to keep walking. This was starting to become a waste of her time.
"I love you."
At that Sakura froze. "What?" She whispered.
Then she felt warm arms pull her to him protectively. "I love you Haruno Sakura. I have since you were a jounin and I won't ever cease to do so."
Sakura's breath hitched. "Damn it. I thought I was done crying."
Itachi chuckled nervously and turned her around.
"Sakura…"
"I love you too Itachi and I promise you that I won't ever stop, even if you find a lover," She told him, confidence ringing in her answer as she looked up into his eyes.
Itachi shook his head. "You're the only lover I could ever want."
"Itachi…"
"Sakura…"
"Um... should we kiss now? Romantic here, remember?" Sakura smiled nervously.
Itachi smiled his little lopsided smile before leaning into her. Their lips met and Sakura instantly melted into him. They melded together perfectly and she smiled as Itachi broke away to lean his forehead against hers.
"I'm not ever letting you go."
I couldn't resist writing this. My first oneshot (and I was thinking that I would never write one)! I liked the beginning better than the end, but I'd appreciate your thoughts so please leave a review. It'd really make my week. :)