Ch 25: Interrogation and Answers

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the story.

Ugh…

What is that annoying sound?

Sakura's eyes open just a crack to take in her surroundings. She looks to the left of her and sees a dripping IV connected to her arm and as she slowly turns to the right, she sees the perpetrator of the sound: a computer system monitoring her vitals.

I'm in the hospital...but why? I thought I was dead.

Just then a nurse walked into the room.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I should have knocked. I didn't think you would be awake this soon, Ms. Haruno." Sakura still doesn't have the strength to get her perfect vision back and can't exactly make out the appearance of the nurse. She only moans in reply.

"Why am I still here?"

"Oh, I don't know the specifics Ms. Haruno. The Hokage should be able to tell you more about that. I'll just go get him for you shall I?"

"No- " but before Sakura could get out a sentence the nurse was gone. Seems like she's scared of me.

It seems like a few seconds pass before the nurse comes back to Sakura, but really hours have gone by. This time, however, the nurse has brought an entourage of shinobi with her.

"Alright, Ms. Haruno, we are going to get you fed and showered. The Hokage has requested a meeting with you." Sakura only stares back with dull eyes.

She hears two doctors right outside her door arguing with the ninja entitled to bring her to the Hokage.

I wonder what's going on?

l

l

Sakura soon finds out what the fuss was about as she sits in the Hokage's office.

She is surrounded by many shinobi faces, some faces that she never thought she'd see again. Up front and center are Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji. Can someone say awkward?

Then the top dog of Konoha walks through the doors…Uchiha Itachi.

Correction: now it's awkward.

"Itachi…" Sakura wearily whispers as he makes his way towards her. Sakura is still not fully recovered and can barely stand being conscious. She is slouched in the chair as much as the restraints allow, the sweat on her brow making its way down her face, her eyelids half open, her neck barely able to hold the weight of her head as she strains to look up at him.

"You will address me as Lord Hokage," he says coldly.

A painful jolt that has nothing to do with her injuries hits Sakura through the heart; she can only sit back and wince in pain.

Itachi turns his head towards Neji and nods, giving him the cue to begin his special Hyuga jutsu.

Neji's eyes are stern as he says, "I'm going to immobilize your chakra now, Haruno."

Sakura's eyes follow his every move as he approaches her. Were she any stronger right now, she would be appreciating the sensuous view, but as it was she couldn't even muster up the energy for one word.

Neji lifts his chakra infused hand and gently lowers it to Sakura's wrist. The second his hand hits her it's lights out for Sakura as she falls into unconsciousness again.

l

l

3 days pass…

Being a prisoner sure does suck, but Sakura can't complain. The only complaint she would have is that she is not dead. She hadn't really planned on what would happen to her after the Moon's Eye plan was executed, since the chances of survival were so slim. Nothing ever goes according to plan.

Throughout the three days, she has tried to figure out what happened after the great battle but has come up with very little.

Akatsuki lost (or so they think), Sakura almost died and flatlined 3 times, she has no clue where her members were or if they are even alive, and she is now the most hated person in all Konoha.

Someone knocks on her hospital door.

Sakura turns her head towards the door and says, "Come in," Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto enter.

Well, well. Isn't this quite the reunion.

Sakura's body tenses up at the sight of her old Team 7.

For a while no one says anything; they only stare at Sakura in silence. One can see the emotions passing through the men's faces: sorrow, anger, helplessness, care, betrayal, and finally regret. So many questions left unanswered.

She wants to tell them that this wasn't their fault, that they had nothing to do with it, but that would be a lie.

"We have been ordered to bring you to the Hokage," Kakashi says, breaking the silence.

"Hai." Sakura nods her head in understanding and moves towards them.

Before she can walk out the door, Sasuke gets in her way. "Wait," he says as he puts his hand in front of her, halting her steps "You can't walk there; you'll lose too much energy." Then he pulls out a wheelchair and points to it.

"Sit down."

"Sasuke, I am perfectly capable of walking there on my own two-"

He cuts her off. "I said sit."

Sakura sighs in exasperation. "Oh for goodness' sake." She walks over to the chair and theatrically sits down.

Their little spat lightens the mood around them. Sasuke's lips even start lifting into a small smirk.

"Can I at least wheel myself there?" Sakura playfully asks.

To which all three men quickly reply with "NO!"

l

l

The walk over to Itachi's office is pretty quiet, except the one time Naruto asks her, "Why?"

She doesn't respond. She's already come this far with her secret- now she's going to see it to the end.

This time there are fewer ninja in the room: only Tsunade, Jiraiya, Ibiki, Team 7 and, of course, the 'Lord Hokage' Itachi.

"Take a seat, Ms. Haruno," Tsunade orders.

Jiraiya and Tsunade have become the new elders of Konoha and they are pretty good too. Most of the success that the villages had in defeating Akatsuki was owed to their help.

Sakura sits down right across from them, the desk the only thing separating her from the new elders and the Hokage. Ibiki stands to the side of her; Sakura can see a cool arm blade under his sleeve.

She couldn't help, but taunt him just a little. "Nice weapon." I think I'll take it for myself.

"That's enough, Sakura," Itachi calmly says and begins advance towards her.

Sasuke pulls up a chair for his brother to sit in and places it right in front of Sakura.

Oh, crap…please don't tell me you're going to use the sharingan on me.

Itachi sits down and faces Sakura. He closes his eyes for a few seconds, then slowly opens them to reveal his ruby red eyes.

He knows I'm not fully recovered. There is no way I can hold him off or even resist him! Sneaky Bastard!

"Put your wrist on the arm rest," he orders.

Sakura shoots him a mean look and angrily complies.

Itachi presses two fingers up against her pulse, the sensation shooting sparks through her system. This is new…I wonder what he is going to do?

"Seeing as your system is too weak to withstand any real interrogation jutsu, I am going to ask you basic yes or no questions and you are going to answer truthfully."

Sakura nods in reply and does what was asked. At first it is just basic questions that they already know the answer to.

Is your real name Sakura Haruno? Yes. Did you murder the elders? Yes. Did you murder Danzo? Yes. Did you murder Madara? Yes. Did you assume the false identity 'Suki Uchiha' after you committed these murders? Yes. Then the questions start to get harder.

Did you become acquainted with citizens of Konoha and Suna under the pretense that you would use them in your evil scheme? No.

Have you been planning the Moon's Eye plan ever since you murdered the elders? No.

Are you working for someone? Some hesitation, then she truthfully answers, "No."

"She hesitated there. Are you sure she is telling the truth?" Tsunade asks.

Ibiki nods his head and explains, "Yes. Her facial features and body language show no manner of deceitfulness. She has been very open to us and has not lied…so far."

Itachi also gives input. "If she did lie, I would be able to detect a change in her chakra flow."

He removes his fingers from her wrist, satisfied with her answers for the moment. Sakura almost wishes he hadn't let go.

"I would like a moment alone with Ms. Haruno. Leave us," he orders.

Ibiki and the elders, however, have a different idea; they all start to protest.

"Lord Hokage!-"

"You can't-"

"It would be most unwise-"

Itachi doesn't even let them finish their sentences as he cuts them off with a meaningful glare.

"I would like to handle Ms. Haruno alone." He doesn't repeat his request of having them take their leave.

All three of them, including Team Seven, nod their heads and go.

Now Sakura and Itachi are left alone, staring at each other in silence.

"You have gotten yourself in quite the problem, Sakura." The way he says her name sends chills down her spine. It reminds her of the time the chunin preliminary matches were about to start, when they were in his private quarters alone and he had just found out about her having a false identity.

"It seems that this time, I can't bail you out of your mess." He is still sitting right in front of her and is starting to lean in closer to her.

"Do I still have to call you Lord Hokage like a random stranger, or may I be graced with the honor of calling my friend by his normal name? That is, if you're still going to consider me your friend," Sakura says with some spice. She is still upset at how coldly he treated her after she had barely woken up. So she may have committed some crimes to deserve it, but that still didn't mean she has to like it!

He smirked and then replies by completely ignoring her statement.

"I have a theory." His voice is louder in the beginning than in the end, as though he were still thinking his idea over.

"A theory?" Sakura says.

"Yes, a theory about why you did all of this…"

Oh this should be rich! I can't wait to hear about what mumbo jumbo he's come up with. There's no way anyone will ever guess my true motives…wait, but he is Uchiha Itachi…

"Sakura, every move you have made has benefited a certain someone. Every murder, every crime- it has all lead to a specific person's rise."

Oh shit, I think he's guessed it.

"When I first started to think about why you might have done this I thought of the obvious idea: that you yourself were trying to rise to power. But then I started wondering... What could have provoked you? If your alibi of 'Suki Uchiha' was true, then it would be for the obvious reason that you had no power to protect your parents against the murder, but in reality your parents didn't die. They are alive and well in Konoha."

Itachi stops leaning toward Sakura and leans back in his chair as he continues. Sakura's heart is pounding in her chest, believing that she has been found out for real this time.

"I ruled out anything having to do with 'Suki Uchiha' and started from the basic Haruno Sakura perspective. The only problem there was that I had never met you while you were little Sakura. That's when it became clear. I actually had met you while you were still little Sakura; though it was a brief second it was all I needed to come to my conclusion."

Sakura's palms are sweating something fierce; she feels as though at any second she is going to pass out as Itachi continues his explanation.

"It was there, in the coliseum of the olden days, when I had first met you. You were just a little six year old girl sleeping peacefully throughout the night under a big oak tree. What you were doing was of no importance, but the exact spot of your location was…" he pauses to look up at her and shoots her an intense glance.

Sakura's emotions are starting to get the best of her as her eyes start filling with tears. This is it.

"You usually were a very good liar, but I could always tell if you were lying. You always did it to cover up something or keep something hidden, but there was one time I was confused at why you lied. I had just figured out who you really were and told you- you had nothing to fear from me. Then I asked you if you knew what would happen if my clan did not back down from their threats on Konoha. You had no reason to lie about that, since it would not benefit you in any way. I wasn't sure then, but I am now."

"The final nail in the coffin was when you kidnapped said certain person…Sakura. Every trial you have ever overcome, every significant action was benefiting…me."

Sakura's eyes widen. She is left speechless.

Itachi gently cups her chin in his hand, while his other wraps around her waist, softly pulling her into his embrace.

He has on a smile of undoubtable adoration.

"I know you love me, Sakura Haruno. You cannot deceive my eyes."

The tears that Sakura has been trying to hold in begin to fall. Her emotions are bouncing all over the place. She hardly cares.

Itachi's face gets real serious as his voice drops sensuously low.

"And I want to tell you…I love you too."

Then he kisses her.

l

l

l

Authors note: This is the revision my lovely beta Oblatespheroid has done.

Just a few tweaks here and there, but it makes a huge difference.

So let me know what you think and ideas are always welcome.

Sincerely

~Claja