Back in your arms Chapter 16: Gathering At The Village, a naruto fanfic

Chapter 16

Gathering at the Village

"Sakura" he said almost loud enough for her to hear.

Shisui and Sakura looked back at him, surprised.

"You…you know my name?"

She looked at the stranger in front her. This was the first time she ever saw him and she would probably not even glance his way if she hadn't heard him say her name.

Shisui raised his brow. "You know her?" he asked as his gaze drifted to the raven-haired boy. He was fully aware of Sakura's memory loss. He heard it from Mikoto and Itachi themselves.

Sasuke cursed himself for not being careful. He was too surprised that he had already blurted her name out before he could even think. As a result, he soon found himself the center of attention with Sakura and Shisui, waiting impatiently for him to answer and the other members looking at him with curiosity. With all of their gazes directed at him, there was no way he could talk to his teammate in private. He had to think a way to get out of the mess.

"I don't know you," he looked away from her. Tsunade told him that the genjutsu would affect her memories but he didn't really expect him to forget everything. Looking at her expression, he could see that she didn't even show any flicker of recognition when she saw him.

"You're lying, I heard you say my name. Please tell me the truth, You know me right?" she said pleadingly.

"I said no. It was just a coincidence cause you looked like one of my relatives." That was the lamest excuse he ever made in his whole life. With his teammate's hair color and those unique emerald eyes, he couldn't just say that she looked like someone else, even Shisui had to raise his eyebrow at this.

"A relative who looks likes me and has the same name? Why wouldn't you tell me the truth?" she was really desperate and the man in front her was too stubborn. He began to walk away but she was able to grab his wrist just in time.

"Let go of me. You're interrupting our training," he said coldly as he forcefully pulled his wrist away from her tight grip and, without another glance, went back to what he left out.

"Wait. Don't go," she called out and was about to run after him if Shisui hadn't stopped her.

"Sakura-san?"

"Eh?" she gave him an inquiring look.

"I think he's telling the truth. He really doesn't know you. If he does, he wouldn't have treated you that way," he was referring to the way he completely ignored her and talked to her harshly.

"I guess so." She said unsurely, still not taking his eyes off the raven-haired lad.

"Are you all right?" Shisui berated himself for asking that insensitive question for it wasn't long when he saw the disappointment written all over her face.

"Y..yes, I'm sorry for interrupting your training. I have to go. Mikoto-san might be looking for me by now," she said, as she walked away from them, but not before giving Sasuke a final glance. He didn't see it though because he was busy picking up the kunais and shurikens on the ground.

Present

Tsunade stood in front the Konoha main library. She needed to do a research on something connected with Sakura's condition. There was something she couldn't understand quite clearly. She was sure that Sakura was only affected by the genjutsu so that means what she was seeing was supposed to be just illusions.

The problem was it turned out to be different and far more complicated than ever cause her mind was actually back in time for real and it wasn't just some sort of hallucination. Which leads to the conclusion that it wasn't a genjutsu at all. She didn't know anything about this very rare jutsu so she decided to do some important and strictly confidential research.

"Hokage-sama, a pleasure to see you here," the librarian who was around her mid-fifties bowed down.

She went toward her. "I told you to prepare the key," she lowered her voice so that no one would hear their conversation.

The librarian nodded "Of course, Hokage-sama," she said in the same low voice as she searched in her pocket for something. After successfully finding it, she held it up and handed it to her.

It was a small, old-fashioned silver key. It even had some rust in it, indicating its oldness. More or less, fifty years old

It was a key to the Forbidden section of the Library.

Past

"Sakura-chan, you took too long. Where have you been?" Mikoto began to prepare food for her. It was almost time for lunch she figured she might be hungry because she didn't eat any breakfast when she left the house.

"Mikoto-san, let me help you," she went over to her and attempted to grab the bowl she was holding and continue what she was doing but she held it away from her reach.

"Just rest, while you wait for me to prepare the food. I don't want you to get tired." She smiled and then went back to what she was doing.

"And Sakura-chan, I want you to prepare for tomorrow," she added as she began to set down her plate on the table.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes. There would be a gathering for the members of the prominent ninja clans in Konoha and there would also be businessmen who would attend. I want you to go with us,"

"But..I'm not really a part of any clan,"

"Well, technically, we are not really sure about that since you lost your memories and all. Besides, every member of the clan would attend. I don't want you to stay here alone." She reasoned.

She thought for a while. There would be ninjas who would be coming to that gathering. She might meet someone who knew her there.

"I guess there's no harm in going there," she finally said.

"If that's settled then you should go with me today. We will buy a dress for you to wear since it would be quite a formal occasion,"

"But that would be too much," She tried to refuse.

"Don't worry about that, it isn't a bother for me at all." She quickly interrupted her.

Sasuke and the others just finished training and they began packing their things to go back to the Uchiha residence.

"I have some business to attend to with the clan leader. All of you may go ahead without me." He glanced at the raven-haired boy.

"You," he pointed at Sasuke since he refused to tell him his name. "I need to talk to you for a while,"

Sasuke had a feeling this was about his earlier encounter with his pink-haired teammate. He couldn't quite place it right away but ever since that incident a few hours ago, there was something different about him.

As soon as the others were gone, Shisui approached him.

"Do you really know who Sakura-san is? Any one could tell that you were lying just a while ago,"

"It's none of your business,"

Shisui held him up by the collar of his shirt, his sharingan blazing wildly. He was not pleased by his impoliteness. He was a patient person, he could tolerate almost everything but this, he couldn't. Though he got to admit he was impressed by the boy's courage to say those things to an Uchiha clan member and one of the strongest at that.

"Give me a straight answer. Before, when I asked your name, you also didn' tell me what it is. Why aren't you answering my questions properly?"

"It's not important," he replied, unfazed by his intimidating look.

"Tell me," he demanded.

He received no reply.

"I could ban you from entering the Uchiha compound again and remove you from the list of trainees," he threatened.

"You wouldn't,"

"And why is that?"

"I could see it in your eyes a while ago. You were impressed by my skills and an Uchiha is seldom impressed. Besides, the gathering is tomorrow. You would need someone as strong as me to present before the Hokage and other businessmen who would attend." It was not mocking nor bragging, Sasuke was just telling him what he saw. Only an Uchiha can decipher the mind of another Uchiha.

Shisui removed his hold on him. He got to admit he was amused by this young man's behavior. He could read his mind perfectly. About not knowing his name, he would let him off the hook for now. As long as he was powerful and could help uphold the clan, a name is not important. He was more concerned with other things and he was determined to know the answer.

"I wanted to know how you are connected with Sakura-san,"

"Why do you even want to know?"

"So indirectly youï¿½re admitting that you do have connections with her,"

A frown creased his features. He definitely got him there. So it was his way of making him unconsciously admit that he was connected with her

"Why are you even interested?" he asked, annoyed.

"Well, if you're her relative or friend, I wouldn't mind. Other than that, let's just say you would be in big trouble with someone," Shisui knew they were not relatives. Their physical features were strikingly different to be one. Besides, when he first saw him in the office of the head of the servants, he had a feeling that he went there for reasons other than to serve the clan but of course, that wasn't proven yet.

Sasuke's mood darkened. "What do you mean?"

Shisui smirked. It's payback time. He wanted him to know how annoying it was when a person wouldn't want to answer your questions.

"Well, I guess that's none of your business already," he replied, imitating his words a wile ago.

Present

Tsunade had been scanning the whole area for books related to genjutsu for almost half of the day but she still hadn't found anything that was related to her apprentice's condition. So far she was down to the last three books in the section.

She gulped hard. There was another related section she hadn't checked yet. Her gaze drifted to the old corner shelf with the label 'Kinjutsu' on top of it in big bold letters.

Could it be? She thought. Could it really be possible that the one that really affected Sakura was not a genjutsu but a kinjutsu? Hesitantly, she placed the book of genjutsus she was holding back into its place and proceeded to the Kinjutsu books' section.

Present

"I know I would find you here," Shisui said as he entered the office of the Konoha Police Force and saw Itachi sitting on the chair where Fugaku usually sits.

He acknowledged his presence with a simple nod.

"I thought you have a mission today,?" he eyed Itachi's ANBU mask and his chunnin vest that were lying on top of the desk.

"They cancelled it because of the gathering tomorrow."

"And the Hokage called the head of the clans for a meeting and you were the one assigned to take over your father's place while he's gone," Shisui finished for him.

Itachi nodded. "Still the smart one as always," he said formally.

"Well, don't you want to ask me if there's something interesting that happened today?" Shisui sat down on the desk, his side facing Itachi.

He raised his brow. "Something interesting that happened while training?"

"Yes. Would you believe it? Sakura-san passed by and one of the trainees actually recognized her," Shisui swore he felt his friend stiffened a bit when he said that.

"Was it a he or a she?" that was the first question he asked.

"It's a he. And you know what? When Sakura-san approached him, he suddenly denied knowing her, though it's obvious that he was lying. I bet he just doesn't want to talk to her in public. I don't really know,"

"And what did she say?" Itachi's voice suddenly became cold and distant.

"She looked devastated and disappointed,"

And where did she go?

She said she would come back to your house,

Itachi didn't say anything else after that.

Present

There is a rumor that a forbidden jutsu had been invented by the former Kages in their desire to change something that happened in the past. The technique enables a ninja to extract the soul form a personï¿½s body using a great amount of chakra and sends it to a place somewhere in time. His real body would be left in the present but his soul could actually communicate and interact with the people in the past. If there were any events that were altered in the past, the changes would take place in the present as soon as the person, who did the change, wakes up. There was a consequence thought. The people who were affected by the jutsu experience complete memory loss and there were also a lot of ninjas who tried to steal the information for their own evil purposes. Because of this, the technique was kept a secret to other ninjas and the Kages wrote the secret to performing it in a single scroll that was still not found to this day. As time pass, people totally forgot about it and finally deemed it as a lie, saying that no one could ever defy time in any way.

Tsunade stared at that certain page. Could it be true? She thought.

She closed the book and looked at the cover, which was all black. The title was Dark Mysteries of the Old Kinjutsus written in silver at the top. She looked at the lower part of the cover. The name of the author was not written.

There was something suspicious about it. She examined the mysterious book again. Then, she noticed that there was the small sign of a musical note at the side. It was so small that she wouldn't had seen it if she didn't bent her head lower so that the book almost touched the tip of her nose.

A powerful realization had come to her.

Present

Mikoto glanced at the round blue clock that hung on a nail fastened onto the concrete wall. It was almost twelve midnight. She sighed and decided to go upstairs to sleep. Her husband and older son, she figured, wouldn't be home until past one in the morning.

True enough, it was past one in the morning when Itachi arrived home. Fugaku didn't go home for he still had some patrolling jobs to do.

He went inside by using the window on his room. It was closed but was unlocked from the inside. He lifted it up and swiftly went inside toward his room. He removed his shirt and dumped it onto the bed. Then, he sat down. He was still not sleepy.

He decided to check on Sakura. He had been really worried when Shisui told him what happened that morning.

He stood in front her room. He decided not to knock anymore to not wake her up. He didn't want to disturb her. He only wanted to see how she was doing.

Gently, he turned the knob and slowly opened it, careful not to make any noise. There, he saw She was lying on her back. Her long pink hair flowed freely on the bed.

He carefully sat down on her bed and gazed at her. She looked so peaceful and innocent.

She was day and he was night and the two could never be together.

He placed his hand on her cheek and lovingly stroked it. It's such a wonder how one person could make him lose control of himself.

He cared for her and he knew it. When Shisui told him what happened that morning, he felt disturbed. He knew she couldn't stay with them forever, Eventually, there would come a time when she would have to leave them all.

He was willing to do anything he could to make her stay and would make her happy that she wouldn't even think of her lost memories or her past anymore.

He was being selfish. He knew it

But for once in his life, he wanted to make a decision without being dictated by any one and own the thing he wanted the most.

"Sakura," he whispered her name and bent his head down toward her.

There was darkness all around her.

"Sakura-chan" a loud voice

"Fore-head girl" a female voice

"Hn You're annoying" a deep voice

She still couldn't see anything.

"Sakura," he heard someone say her name full of longing and there's something else-sadness. She opened her eyes, glad to be rid of the unpleasant dream only to feel something warm moving on her lips.

Her eyes widened and heat crept up her cheeks as realization dawned on her.

Itachi was on top of her. His eyes were closed.

And he was kissing her.

It didn't take long when she found herself returning the intoxicating kiss.

Itachi licked her bottom lip, asking for entrance. For a while, she hesitated but then, she slowly parted her lips, giving him access and right to own her mouth.

He took the time in memorizing every part of her mouth with his tongue.

Moments later, they broke apart and just stared in each other's eyes.

"I…Itachi-kun?" she whispered his name just to make sure it was really him.

He lovingly stroked her cheek. The attraction he felt for her was written all over his handsome features.

"Take a rest, We talk about this tomorrow," he said and bent down to place a chaste kiss on her forehead. He could see that she was still sleepy and he wanted her to rest.

She nodded her head as her eyes slowly started to close in a peaceful slumber.

He didn't leave her side the whole night.

Mikoto walked out of her room early in the morning when she saw her older son came out from his room.

"You came home late last night and you're leaving this early?" she asked, concerned for she rarely sees her son the past days.

"Tou-san told me to come early to prepare for the gathering later," he explained.

"nii-san? It was Sasuke who just came out of his room. Where are you going? Yesterday, you promised to train with me. Remember?"

Itachi sighed as he went toward Sasuke and ruffled his younger brother's hair. We'll do it next time when I'm not busy,

He faced his mother. She looked worried.

"I'll eat with Shisui later. Bye kaa-san," he said and went down. The next thing they heard was the sound of the opening and closing door.

She sighed and decided to start preparing breakfast when she realized something.

The room where her son came from was actually Sakura's room.

Sakura looked around but didn't find anyone by her side. She wondered if what happened last night was just a dream for it felt too vivid and real to be one.

She frowned. In any case, it was not a good practice for a ad to just eave a lady alone after kissing her but she knew that Itachi wasn't that kind of person. Maybe she would find out the answer later when they see each other again.

"Sakura, that looks good on you," Mikoto commented. She bought a back spaghetti-strapped dress that was an inch above her knees. It hugged Sakura's slim waist perfectly and showed approximately three-fourths of her creamy white legs. Her hair was tied into a low half ponytail with a few hairs loose on the side and she had some light make-up on.

Sakura blushed when she heard the comment. She didn't know that in gathering like this, they were supposed to dress formally.

Little Sasuke appeared later wearing a dark blue suit. He looked uncomfortable in the outfit.

"Kaa-san, could I just wear another one," he complained.

Mikoto chuckled and bent down to place a soft kiss on his forehead. "You'll do just fine. Remember, we have to look good because we are part of the Uchiha clan,"

Sasuke finally stopped complaining then looked around.

"Nii-san is not yet home. Would he be in there too?"

Sakura tensed for a moment when she heard the name. She was also wondering where Itachi was the whole day for she hadn't seen him since last night and she probably wouldn't know how to react in case she sees him again.

"Of course he would. It's just that he would go to the gathering straight from the headquarters with Shisui and your father," Mikoto explained and then fixed Sasuke's suit one last time before all three of them went out of the house.

"Are all of you ready?" Shisui looked at each of the trainees who were all dressed up in formal suits.

His gaze then traveled to the brooding Uchiha who was leaning on the wall. He was quite pleased with himself so far because he was able to keep up with his stubborn attitude.

"Hey you, the unknown one," Sasuke looked up. After all, he was the only one who didn't tell anyone his real name and it seemed that Shisui delighted in calling him random names whenever he had the chance.

"I trust that none of you would get in any trouble tonight." He said as he went out together with the others.

Sasuke just shrugged and followed them to the door.

"Does the beautiful lady want a drink?" a man around Sakuras age approached her. He was the fifth one who went to her this evening. As soon as they arrived, Mikoto left her and Sasuke after saying that she needed to meet with the other members of the clan.

"Um..no thanks," she politely declined, just like the responses the first four men got.

"No? How about a dance?" He offered his hand out for her to take,

"Nee-san doesn't want to dance," the man looked down to see little Sasuke glaring at him.

"My, is he your little brother? Quite protective," he chuckled and was about to pat little Sasuke on the head but he forcefully swatted his arm away.

The man became annoyed with the little boy's insolence but he decided to back away when he saw the symbol of the Uchiha clan on his right chest.

"Im sorry to disturb the two of you," he said as he nervously backed away.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment, she thought that there would be some trouble coming up. She wasnï¿½t really in the mood to do anything and was more contented in just staying on the sidelines and looking around for some person who would recognize her.

Upon looking around, her eyes caught sight of Shisui who was talking to the other ninjas who looked familiar. They were in the farthest corner of the room and he looked like he was giving them some important reminders.

And then it hit her. They were the same ninjas who were training yesterday.

And if they are there, then chances are, the raven-haired lad who seemed to recognize her yesterday might be there too.

As if to confirm her thoughts, she spotted him. She couldnï¿½t see him quite clearly but he seemed to be irritated with the way his arms were crossed and he seemed a bit isolated from the other trainees and was leaning on the wall. He hadnï¿½t noticed her yet, he noted.

Her attention left him when, a few moments later, the door opened and a group of ninjas went inside. A man around his mid-thirties was leading them. He has long flowing back hair and white eyes. Strangely enough, all of them possess the same eye color, making it obvious that they were members of the same can. Their presence was intimidating enough and all eyes were on them.

"We are pleased to welcome the presence of the Hyuuga Clan," the Hokage announced in a loud voice on the stage as the said people approached him. The one who appeared to be the leader-who was standing in front them the entire time-went over to him and shook his hand. After that, he looked at the other members of the clan and gestured to them that they could already scatter and have fun in the gathering while he stayed by the Hokage's side together with the other clan leaders who came before him.

"Shall we start the conference?" Hiashi asked the other clan leaders along with the Hokage.

"I don't think we could start yet. Fugaku-san is not yet present." The Hokage informed him.

An imperceptible frown creased his features. It was always the Uchihas that was the most important in clan gatherings like this. After all, they were the most prominent and most influential of them all. The Hyuuga clan is only second when it comes to everything and he didn't like it at all.

A few moments passed and the door of the hall opened again. This time, it was the Uchiha clan led by Fugaku himself with Itachi by his side. Sakuraï¿½s heart skipped a beat when she saw him. He looked so breathtaking in his formal attire-he wore a white long-sleeve collared top underneath and didnï¿½t bother to button his suit.

For a brief moment, as if sensing her presence, he threw a glance at her but he quickly looked away as if avoiding her and continued on their way toward the Hokage and the other clan members.

Sasuke couldn't help but look at his father. He seemed so powerful with all of the people who were following him. When he was younger, he also idolized him the same way he idolized his brother but never had he felt his intimidating aura until now.

The Uchiha clan received the same welcome like the Hyuuga clan but it was noticeable that they got more attention than the others. Almost all of the eyes in the hall were on them. Shisui and the other trainees went over to them and helped Fugaku with the presentation of the Uchiha clan's latest project to the Hokage-and that is to develop the skills of potential ninjas to become future outstanding Uchiha police or ANBU members.

The Hokage looked pleased. Every now and then, he would nod in approval.

After the presentation, Fugaku told the members of the clan, together with the trainees to enjoy themselves with the gathering as he proceeded to the important meeting of the clan heads with the other businessmen.

She didn't know what to do next. Should she approach the dark-haired lad she saw yesterday? She wasn't given the time to think when she saw him already approaching her.

Sasuke knew that if he suddenly tell her all about herself then she would probably not believe him. He also couldn't just grabbed her and take her away from the gathering. That would cause him one hell of a trouble since she was officially under the protection of the Uchiha clan. He decided to take things slowly.

He stood in front her and extended his hand out to her. "May I have this dance? He formally asked. Little Sasuke looked at his outstretched hand and thought she wasn't going to accept his offer.

Sakura hesitated but finally held her hand for him to take. "I'll be back," she smiled at the confused little Sasuke and followed the stranger.

"You know me right?" She looked at the lad in front her. She got to admit that he was really good-looking.

Sasuke nodded his head. He had his arms wrapped loosely around her waist.

"Then why did you push me away that time? I want to know who I am. Please tell me. Who are you to me? Are you a friend? A relative? Or someone else?"

He didn't really know how to begin. It was just too complicated to explain everything to her. Telling her that he came from the future to bring her back with him was just absurd for his taste.

"I am your teammate," he decided to answer her question first.

His answer brought more questions. "A teammate? How?" she wanted him to elaborate on everything that concerns her. "Where is my family?" She added the question.

He looked at her seriously and took a deep breath. This was harder than her imagined it to be.

"This is not the place where you should be. You don't belong in this time and I came here to take you back to the present." Well, to him it didn't sound good enough but it was the only thing he could come up with.

"What are you taking about?" She asked, confused. It was also the same time that the slow music ended and was replaced by another one.

"Excuse me," both of them turned to see Itachi beside them. His attention though, was focused on Sasuke. Sasuke was not one to be intimidated. He returned the glare and did not dare let go of Sakura.