A/N: The second-last chapter ^^
This may sound completely and totally anti-climactic, but the truth isn't always exciting or magnificent. The truth is sometimes... well... boring. So, despite the anti-climax to the following words, here it is anyway: This is when I woke up. I cried out in agony and misery, my eyes shooting open only to close when a bright bolt of lightning lit up the stormy sky. Rain pelted my skin, drenching me and I felt numbed from the cold.
I looked around, trying to figure out where I was only to see nothing. Without the lightning, there wasn't a single thing that could be seen and I groaned. Where was I? Why did my chest feel so hollow and what happened to Haruno?
"We have to get him out of here!" somebody shouted, their voice muted slightly from the pouring rain, "He'll catch pneumonia and die at this rate and his wound is deep! We can't afford to have him die!"
"We should just leave him to die!" another argued, "Nobody will miss him, anyway!"
"We can't! We need to interrogate information out of him before he dies! There are protocols to be followed, laws to be obeyed! If we break them, then we're no better than he is! Now, there's a cave over by that cliff, so why don't we all camp out in there and we'll head out when the storm clears?"
"You mean to tell me I have to share a cave with him?"
"Oh, don't be so immature! He's unconscious, remember, and he's going to die anyway!"
"Yeah, but..."
With that, my eyes drifted closed and I could hear no more. I was too tired, too weak, in too much pain and yet still so numb. How could that be? Where was this pain coming from? Was it the rain in my eyes or was I really crying? Why was the only name running through my mind as I drifted into slumber "Sakura"?
Why?
The next I opened my eyes, I was cloaked in warmth and I felt as though I was in an embrace, arms around me, holding me tight. I leaned into the warmth and sighed, imagining Haruno beside me. Oh, how I missed her. Where was she? Was she okay? Was she the one holding me?
I tried to turn to see who was with me, only to feel an immense amount of pain in my chest. I couldn't move a single inch without pain shooting through me. I groaned softly.
"Itachi?"
"Haruno..." I whispered, "So much... pain... Sasuke sucks."
Silence... and the arms tightened around me. And then she asked, "Do you remember what Sasuke-kun did? Do you have any recollection?"
"I-I... I was in a car... and you were there. Sasuke drove... had to save you, so I killed Sasuke. Killed myself. Named the star..."
More silence. The arms held me tighter as though comforting me. "You have amnesia," she whispered, "Your memories will come back."
"W-What?" I whispered back, "B-But I remember. Killed Sasuke to save you. I flew through the windshield. You screamed."
"None of that happened, Itachi. Sasuke-kun used his chidori on you and you almost died. I saved you and brought you back to Konoha. All of this stuff about a car accident and you saving me... it was all a dream."
Chidori... Konoha... Amnesia... A dream... A dream? My eyes widened. A dream... A fucking dream! Ignoring the pain, I sat up and turned around to look Haruno in the eye. The look was different. It wasn't soft and open like her eyes had been in Tokyo, they were cloaked, hiding her emotions... like any shinobi would in the presence of an enemy.
"Why are you holding me like this?" I asked, looking around to find myself in a hospital room. I peered out the window to find the familiar buildings of Konoha... Tokyo Tower was replaced with Hokage Tower. It left me feeling nostalgic for Tokyo. "Why am I still alive? Why did you save me?"
"I was holding you like that because you wouldn't seem to stop moving around in bed if I didn't. You were having a bad dream and I didn't want you to reopen your wounds. The reasons why you're still alive and why I saved you are the same: We need you for questioning."
"Questioning...?"
"About the Akatsuki. But you seem to have Amnesia, so that will have to wait, but, for now, lay back down. You shouldn't be moving around like this or you might reopen your wounds and they're pretty severe. I'm actually surprised you're able to move without crying."
"I don't cry," I lied. I did cry, though... once. I cried when I woke up in the rain. It wasn't the rain in my eyes... it's like... I knew. I knew that my Haruno was gone and I would never see her again. And so I cried. Just the thought of it made me want to cry again.
I didn't.
"Now, come here."
"No."
"I don't intend to harm you."
"That's not what I'm nervous about."
"Well, whatever it is, you can stop and lay down. You need to relax. You've been through a great deal and, the sooner that chest wound heals, the sooner you can get out of here."
"And into a jail cell?"
She didn't answer. She didn't have to because I knew. I was here so I could answer their questions and then die. That was all. That was all it ever could be. I was no longer Haruno's friend... I was an enemy again.
I was a terrorist.
A/N: I think it sounds a bit forced because I've had a bad writer's block, but I hope it's okay! The next chapter should be done soon! ^^
