in for the kill

note1: ooh I'm so bad. I haven't written a chapter for this in days. Wrote a few new stories though, so eh. Inspiration strikes whenever it feels like it.
note2:I wanna start a war. But not yet though. Too soon for that.

arc one: dawning
chapter: cave

It was dark and damp, with moss on the walls and bats on the ceiling. There was a smell of mildew in the stale air and Sakura thought that she would rather spend the night in the rain than in this miserable excuse for a shelter.

She glares at Itachi over their little fire, as if this was his fault. (She knows it's not, but it's still nice to pretend.) She needs to do something, anything, to get rid of this awful tension that has settled over them like a shroud. She wonders if maybe they're both at fault here, both responsible for the actions and reactions that have brought them here. She closes her eyes and remembers.

They're leaving a small tea shop on the border of Rain and Grass. Sakura's still got a tiny smile on her lips (she had learned just how much Itachi liked his dango when he had calmly threatened Tsukuyomi on her when she tried to take some, and it amused her to no end) and there was a spring in her step from a job well done.

She finished paying and spotted Itachi halfway down the road, the impatient bastard she muttered under her breath. She rushed through the crowd, bumping shoulders with a man going the other way. She turned to apologize and her breath caught in her throat.

Onyx eyes stared back impassively, but his head tilted slightly to the side once he recognized the pink haired kunoichi.

"Sasuke," she whispered, feeling twelve years old again and like she had just woken up on a cold bench all alone. He looked like Sasuke always did. Angry and tragic and so, so beautiful.

She was shaking from everything she was feeling, eyes wide in shock. Here he was, after so many years gone, and she had no idea what to do about it.

He mistook her indecision for fear, and his eyes took on a condescending glaze. He sneered at her, mouth twisting into something ugly, and she wanted to hit him. Actually, she really wanted to punch him in the face. Yep. She was going to do it.

Cool fingers wrapped around her wrist and a slender arm slid around her waist, preventing her from placing a nice right hook straight into Sasuke's bastard jaw. She whined, but Itachi just 'Hn'ed in acknowledgement, arm holding her tight against him.

She saw Sasuke's eye widen, a myriad of emotions play through his face. She didn't know if she wanted to hug him or break his neck.

"Sakura?" Itachi questioned lightly. It was now or never. She sighed and nodded her head in acquiesce, and they were gone in a swirl of leaves and cherry blossoms, leaving Sasuke to stare after them longingly.

And so here they were, in a cave in the middle of nowhere, full of sorrows and memories best left alone.

Crimson eyes meet jade and Sakura can feel her heart almost stop. (They are so similar, yet so very, very different. She wonders if she will ever be able to look into Itachi's eyes and not think of Sasuke, and hopes so, for both of their sakes.)

"Do you regret it?"

There's something in the air, and she can taste it on her tongue. The metallic tang reminds her of blood, pain, love and broken promises. She leans against the damp wall and sighs, hands pressing into the cool stone beneath her.

She feels him crouch in front of her, ready to ask again. There was something more in his voice than his usual cool indifference, something she would have called desperation with anybody but Itachi. (But he is Itachi, and she doesn't know what to call the pleading undertone. Not really.)

"No, no I don't," she whispers with a slight shake of her head. (And she doesn't. Sasuke had his chance, but he fucked it up and now they are done.)

It is enough, and he sits next to her and stares into the twisting flames. Her lips curl into a faint smile when his pinky finger crosses hers, and she thinks everything might be okay.

note3: Um, yeah. Uchihas make angst, but I'm working on it, okay?
note4: Don't go to bed at 8 then wake up at 12 guys. It's not worth it.