The rest of the walk was silent, aside from Kisame's non-stop whistling. Sakura didn't mind, it was actually a rather soothing sound. She hated silence, preferring to spend her time out in the wilderness where the birds sang freely, and the world became its own orchestra. The Akatsuki lair was far too quiet.
She made note of the layout as they slowly walked through the base. It wasn't the dark gloomy place she had first seen, instead the colours of the walls turned brighter, an occasional window lit up the hallway. Doors on either side of her had labels like 'food storage' and such. When they reached the grand entrance Sakura was taken aback. It was purely naturally lit. An enormous monical in the ceiling filtered the iridescent sunlight through, setting it to shimmer across a grand marble floor. She stared, her eyes scrutinizing every inch of a would-be killer's home.
"On the left of the stair case, Deidara and Sasori share a unit, Kakazu and Hidan; Tobi had a room with Zetsu. Leader-sama and Konan-sama share the center room there. On the right side is Kisame in his own room, your room is the middle, and my own at the end. Those who... prefer solitude usually are put by themselves. We all have adjoining doors, which is precisely why you are situated between Kisame and me."
Sakura glanced at the man next to her, she'd never heard any Uchiha use that many words at one time. It was slightly amusing.
"Yea, a lot of these guys... can be perverts blossom. And not to sound too inappropriate but you are beyond easy on the eyes. Hell your gorgeous, which is precisely why Itachi there is being so protective of you." Kisame laughed out.
Itachi shot a glare at Kisame that could melt ice, and Kisame just grinned at him.
"Awe c'mon Uchiha, it's not like she hasn't heard it before, right blossom?"
Both men turned to her; she looked at them for a moment and blinked in an uncaring way. Without further ado, she turned and began her ascent up the huge marble staircase that led the way to her room.
"Ouf, cold that one, eh Itachi?" muttered Kisame.
"Hn." The famous Uchiha answer, god she hated that.
Itachi seemed to notice her stiffen at his grunt, and he almost cracked a smile. Seems his little brother had inherited the proud Uchiha trades.
Sakura made her way to the middle door, and reached out to grab the handle. As soon as she touched the cold metal however the air around her cackled loudly. Colour shot out of the handle and onto the plain wood of the door. A deep turquoise splashed across it like waves, with bright flashes of white that made her door look like an oceanic storm.
"Damn, Lightening and water eh? Wonder how that happened." Kisame muttered again.
She turned to them and arched an eyebrow.
"The door infuses itself with your chakra signature and nature, no one buy you can open this room." Itachi explained quietly.
Sakura just shook her head slightly, and pushed the heavy door open.
Pink. Everywhere, pink carpet, pink canopy bed, pink walls, pink furniture. Everything was frilly, impossibly girly. Her eye twitched in utter annoyance, and she was thankful she wasn't facing Itachi and Kisame.
"Wow... Konan got a bit too carried away, ne blossom?" Kisame laughed.
She shot him an unimpressed glance and continued into the room. On the huge bed lay a small cloak, embroidered with red clouds that were lined with silver. On top of it lay a simple straw hat with a bell, and a teal coloured ring, inside the face of it hope was written. She picked up the item, and slipped it on her index finger.
"That will allow Leader-sama to track you at all times. Also, we are able to communicate with you through that ring. Don't lose is blossom." Kisame told her, his voice serious for once.
She nodded, and took another glance around at her new abode.
"Well... Konan said for you two to get better acquainted eh? Guess I'd better go find Tobi, little shit head is probably up to no good..." He trailed off as he left Itachi and Sakura by themselves.
The door shut with a loud bang. And there stood the two stoic shinobi, both just as quiet, both just passive. Sakura sighed, and sat down on her bed, kicking her shoes off, before letting her weaponry fall to the ground. Itachi watched her as she unsheathed a beautiful katana from her back and laid it on the other side of her bed.
"Sakura-san, you are a swordsman?" Itachi inquired quietly.
She looked over at the Uchiha and nodded mutely.
"Interesting, perhaps you and Kisame would enjoy training together." He continued.
She just nodded again, staring into his deep onyx eyes. He met her gaze, and without breaking it made his way over to sit beside her.
"We have a lot to discuss." He whispered.
She nodded, much to his irritation. He arched an eyebrow at her, but didn't push on her utter lack of response.
"You may ask me anything." He told her.
She blinked, her eyes widening a tad before she moved her glace to the window on the far side of the room. He watched her face intently, noting how she chewed on her bottom lip as if she were stopping them from moving.
Sakura didn't know what to ask first.
Well duh, why did he kill all the Uchiha? Why did he betray the village? Why spare Sasuke? C'mon Sakura, now is your chance, you're not fucking mute!
Do I really want to know? Think about it, what if the truth... what if it doesn't have a purpose... I don't know if I can handle that answer.
Buck up girl, you are a shinobi, your acting like a child. You owe it to yourself to at least ask.
You're annoying.
So we've been told.
"Sakura…" Itachi urged.
"Why?" She whispered.
She whipped her head back in his direction. Her listless eyes suddenly taking on a fierce light, her eyebrows narrowed, her cheeks were pink and her breath was coming faster.
"Why did you murder the entire Uchiha clan? Why did you spare Sasuke? Why are you here? Why Itachi? You used to be a prodigy, the hope of Konoha, why did you turn?" She demanded, her soft voice not suiting the apparent anger in her voice.
Itachi's eyes snapped, they darkened in their onyx depths and he looked away from her.
"Sakura, have you ever loved someone so much that you would gladly give your own existence over to the hands of the devil himself, just in the hopes they would be spared?" Itachi whispered.
She didn't answer, just continued to stare. Her silence slightly unnerved him, but he didn't stop. If she were to be his partner now, she needed to know everything. Not only had that... he wanted her to know everything that happened. Maybe then he could ease some of the pain that wasn't enabling her to become stronger.
"You see... The Uchiha were... Corrupt," He paused, looking at Sakura out of the corner of his eye. She blinked and her eyes turned questioning. "You see, my own father was head of the clan, and he thought that the Uchiha did not have enough say in the village. Even running the police force was not enough for my father. He was a vain, selfish man. He was plotting against the council... plotting to kill the Hokage, with the help of Dango... I knew this. I cared far more for the village than I did for my own clan. I became a double spy for the village hidden in the leaves, into their most prestigious clans. "
Sakura's head was spinning, she had never heard any of this before, and she was the apprentice of the 5th... This information should have been revealed a long time ago.
"I was assigned an unranked mission. I was to stop the Uchiha uprising... by any means necessary. I was ordered to execute the entire clan. Even then the children were being brought up to hate the Hokage, to think themselves better than the rest of the people within the village, with the acceptation of Sasuke. Sasuke was the innocence my clan could never destroy, the only thing my mother and father ever truly loved. He was a complete accident, and almost died as an infant... he was premature and so weak..." He trailed off, and shook his head once.
Sakura had a strong urge to reach out and comfort the Uchiha sitting next to her, but she didn't think another traitors hand would be able to sooth.
"I went through with it, for the love of my village. But Kami help me I could not kill my little brother. I knew what that mean, I knew I had gone against my orders and for that I would be sentenced to death. I also knew that that is exactly what the council was hoping for. My death would ensure that no one ever know the truth of the Uchiha massacre, so no other clans would get the idea of going against the Konoha government. So I did what I had to, I made Sasuke hate me, fear me that night. I disappeared completely. The Akatsuki recruited me almost immediately." He told her, his voice laced with some emotion she couldn't quite place.
She let her hand reach out, and touch his bare arm. His eyes snapped open and stared at her fingers on his arm. She didn't pull away, but instead she let her healing chakra creep into his body. She didn't quite know why she had an urge to do this, but for some reason it felt right, she knew Itachi was suffering from some illness she could sense it immediately. But now she felt as if he deserved a second chance.
He closed his eyes and relaxed back onto the bed. Her chakra was beautiful, warm as a summers day, soothing as the lapping of the waves on the oceans coast. He felt it creeping through his system, he knew she would find his illness soon, and he tried to pull away.
"I've known since I saw you Itachi." She whispered.
Her chakra was seeping into his damaged eyes, but her words made it impossible for him to move. She had seen right through his mask, and even after he told her that he had chosen to take the mission, he had betrayed his family and his brother and had run like a coward she still sat next to him soothing his wounds... healing his body.
Her chakra wrapped itself around his pained heart, restoring the tears in his aorta, seeping into his lungs and removing the poisonous disease. She let it radiate through every pour in his body. He was almost high; his body was pulsating in a gentle pleasure. He inhaled her scent, the scent of Konoha... his heart contracted as it reminded him of his mother.
"Itachi, I know what it's like to be a killer. To be alone, to have to let the people you love hate you in order for them to gain their power... I understand you Itachi Uchiha."
And it was true, staring at his peaceful face; she felt as if every emotion she had hidden in the past 6 years had matched everything he had just poured out to her.
"I cannot expect forgiveness Sakura, I cannot expect love. As you live to protect Naruto, I live to protect Sasuke." He whispered.
She let her hand travel up his arm and rest on his chest.
"But you live Itachi, you are human, Sasuke has this hatred toward you because of how much he loved you. It's not too late, Sasuke can be saved Itachi." She whispered.
He didn't move every word she was saying was breaking down the thick walls that shielded his heart. Suddenly, he felt a soft pressure on his chest; his eyes snapped open to see Sakura lying against him, her ear over his heart. Her chakra gently receded out of his system, and he knew there was nothing he could do now. He was healed.
"Sakura I do not want to live." Itachi whispered.
"It is because you have nothing to live for yet. I have felt the same way; at least I did... until I came here." She said.
His hands came up to her body, one arm wrapping itself around her slender waste, while the other held her head to his chest. Her hair was soft beneath his calloused fingers, her body softer against his. He had no doubt in his mind that this union was mean to be, Kami always kept destiny out of predictions reach. But as he held this broken kunoichi in his arms, he didn't doubt for a second he could put her back together, and vice versa.
"I want to know Sakura. Why you are here, the truth, you can trust me." He whispered.
She stiffened, and tilted her head back to stare at him.
"The elders assigned me an s-rank mission to join to Akatsuki and stop them from coming after Konoha ... and Naruto." She told him gravely.
"How stupid, we aren't after the nine tails." He muttered.
She sat up, his hands slid around her hips; she leant over him and gazed into his eyes.
"What do you mean?" She demanded, her voice suddenly increasing in volume.
"Sakura, every country that had a bijju was planning on using it for evil. Their jinchurikki were nothing but pawns to them. Konan told you we are a peace keeping organization. It is because of the countries plans we take the bijju. But Naruto Uzumaki, one day he will meet the Akatsuki without anger, we know this, he is a pure soul. Gaara was a mistake, we didn't realize that jinchurikki had changed for the better, we believed that they simply put him in authority to use him as a weapon." Itachi explained.
She blinked, her eyes filling with tears, Naruto was safe... She crashed down into Itachi and held him tight.
"He's going to be okay." She chanted over and over again.
Itachi just held her, whispering soothing things into her sore ears.
"Sakura, around me you do not need to hold anything in. We are one in the same, you can trust in me, as I feel I can trust in you. Your hope gives me hope; your strength gives me strength. You are my partner." He said.
She listened in quiet awe. NEVER did she think she would be lying in a bed with THE Uchiha Itachi, letting him comfort her in a way she hadn't let anyone in 6 years. It felt so nice to just lean into another body that understood exactly the turmoil inside her soul.
Her body suddenly was overcome by a wave of tiredness. She felt herself relax completely against Itachi; she didn't realize she had used so much chakra to heal him, and how extensive his problems had been. Itachi noticed this, and shifted them higher up on the huge bed, pulling back the covers from underneath them. He held her easily with one hand, and slipped under the covers with her. She lay against his chest, listening to the steady heartbeat underneath her ear. He stroked her hair softly.
"Kami sent you to me." He whispered.
She felt as if it was the other way around, but she didn't argue, just snuggled in deeper into the eldest Uchiha's warm body.
"Destiny is not anything predicable." She mumbled.
Her mind started to sway, her eyes felt incredibly heavy. She let Itachi's gentle strokes on her hair lull her into unconsciousness. Her heart filled with REAL hope now. No, this was nothing she had been expecting, this was nothing any shinobi lesson has ever prepared her for. Suddenly, she was looking at the world a different way. So much corruption, too much hurt. Brother against brother, comrade against comrade, it needed to stop. She wanted to help. And that's when she decided, this is where she belonged. As Konan said, this was her home. For the first time in a long time Haruno Sakura fell asleep, with a smile embedded on her delicate face.