Blossoms Encounter Roses

Chapter 6

- Blood Stained Hands

"Are you going to save him?" Itachi's simple question echoed through her ears. Sakura could feel his silent gaze bore into her back. She knew the answer, but she wasn't sure whether she wanted to say it out loud. There was a long pause before she heard footsteps amble towards her. He was obviously awaiting a response from her.

"..Well?" His final word indicated that he didn't wish to wait any longer.

"..I can't," This earned a nonplussed look from Itachi.

"Why not?"

"There's no way.."

"What is his chance of surviving?"

She paused. She knew that he did have a chance, but it was barely enough.

"About 7% now."

"Perform the surgery anyway."

"But-"

"What is the problem?"

"I don't have enough chakra!"

Deep in thought, he lifted his hand to his chin.

"Do you want to save him or not?"

"..I do," She whispered.

"Then perform the surgery."

Sighing, she lifted her pale hands to Akira's chest and a faint green glow appeared. As a medic ninja, it was her duty to save others' lives. She wasn't meant to destroy them. That was all that mattered to her now. Her chakra levels were now dangerously low to the point of where if she strained herself any longer it might affect her health. Her sight was becoming blurred and her body began swaying towards the earthy floor. She was losing chakra fast. This was a danger point and if she pushed herself any further, she might lose consciousness and fail the surgery.

Sweat trickled down Sakura's pale face as she kept all her concentration focused on the faint green glow emanating from her palms; the same green glow that was slowly sucking up the last drops of her energy. She could feel herself beginning to waste away from lack of chakra. Her body continued swaying from dizziness and her blurred vision grew worse. The last thing emerald eyes found were red ones before everything went black.

Everyone recognized Itachi as the cold-blooded ninja who murdered his entire family excluding his younger brother. Just the sight of him would scare most people to death in fear of their lives. Though, this was simply the outcome of the rumors that had built up over the years. Yes, all the facts were true, but the public was missing pieces of the puzzle that could only be found in his memories. They were blockaded from the inside out, a wall to keep others out. As each year passes, it grows stronger and thicker, only to prove its purpose. Then, she came.

She wasn't afraid in the least. As days passed spending time with her, he rediscovered what it was like to feel. He felt the wall slowly breaking down. He was opening himself up again, and he felt.. different. All the years of isolation, seclusion, solitude.. He had become accustomed to it. It felt like company when no one was in the room. Now, he knew what real company meant. It had forced him to think not only about himself but for her as well. It was strange how every thought or action he made, he'd also have to think of how she'd react to it.

Now, he was going out of his way for someone else. Someone who had tried to assassinate him. Was he crazy? He wasn't sure anymore. Though, in some deep part of his mind, he believed that he would be able to prove all the rumors wrong. To finally be welcomed back to the village he risked his life for. It was a nice thought even if he knew it wasn't enough. Enough to prove his innocence. But.. to who? There weren't any ties between him and the villagers. They probably never even knew he existed. There was no reason for him to earn their respect. Then why has he been trying so hard to prove his innocence through subtle actions?

Steady cold hands held a faint green glow, barely pulsating. Dark crimson eyes narrowed as the glow flickered for a split second. Killing a life wasn't difficult. At times, it was strenuous not kill one. Now, the real challenge was restoring one. How could one hold something so fragile and brittle? Eyeing the frail green glow, Itachi felt his energy slowly seeping out of him. At first, it had startled him for a moment at the unsteady pace it was draining his chakra, but eventually, he had gotten somewhat quaint with the strange aura. This new skill that he had learned just merely seconds ago was probably the most difficult power he had ever acquired.

It wasn't something you could control. It pulsated with life, as if it had its own mind and feelings. It was quite different than the other skills that Itachi had ever dealt with. This one needed your full attention or it would wilt and die within a second. It was as if it needed special care for it to grow into something extraordinary. Like a flower, he contemplated. The more concentration he put into it, the deeper the shade of green it would turn. He would also notice the healing process would quicken too. It was so strange and new.. it could almost be considered exhilarating.

He could feel himself mending the broken bones and torn tissues of Akira's ribs and lungs. It was comforting, knowing that there was such a power like this. Not all ninjas were meant for violence and war. His lips unconsciously curved upwards slightly. This was something that he would have been content with.

Through a few strenuous minutes of constant work, Itachi's gaze wandered over towards the life-less body of the unconscious kunoichi. Her limp figure laid on the earthy floor where Itachi had left her. She had not moved since then. Her bright pink tresses laid on the ground in tangles. Dirt encompassed her pale cheeks, giving her a filthy look. She looked so helpless and unprotected. In some way, it gave Itachi a strange, distressing feeling. He quickly returned his gaze to the patient in front of him only to discover empty palms.

Itachi's eyes widened immediately. When did the green glow disappear? How long was it like that? Instantly, his head flew to Akira's chest, desperate to hear a pulse. What felt like minutes, a few seconds passed without sound. There was no pump or beat of a heart. A drop of sweat trickled down Itachi's cheek. This could not be possible. He had only lifted his chakra for only a brief moment. Half a minute at most. How could there be no pulse? To be absolutely sure of whether death had really taken over, the faint green glow appeared once again to hover against Akira's life-less chest. Itachi closed his eyes for better concentration and pleaded for any sign of movement within the body. Nothing. He found nothing. The blood was simply fluid in his veins. It was like stilled water. His lungs were still broken and unrepaired. Blood was seeping out of them like they were leaking. And his heart.. It was silent. Too silent.

Charcoal eyes reopened to find a cold body lying beside him. Merely minutes had passed and the boy was already beginning to turn an unnatural pale. Itachi closed his eyes as he placed a palm on Akira's forehead gently. A moment of silence was made before he abruptly pulled Akira into a more fitting position. Both hands clenched together on his chest, eyes closed, and a content expression on his face. He laid beside his sleeping sister who would find him shortly after regaining consciousness.

Itachi's gaze eventually spotted the pink-haired kunoichi once again. She was still in her original disheveled state. What would he tell her now? That he had failed at what he attempted to accomplish? Although he had not remembered making any promises to her, it was still a distressing matter. It was his idea to continue the surgery, yet the whole time he knew that Akira's chance of survival was minuscule. He wanted to believe that it was not his fault for Akira's death, but he knew that wasn't true. It was when he was in charge that Akira had silently passed away.

Bringing his fingers to rub his temples in stress, Itachi slowly ambled over to where Sakura lay. Why was it so important that Akira had lived? He served no purpose to Itachi.

He crouched lower and slipped his fingers beneath her knees and upper back. He lifted her without fail and began walking away from the scene. As he walked, thoughts crowded his mind.

Maybe he was destined to kill. Everywhere he goes, blood is shed. It mattered little to whether he was trying to save or kill a life. Someone always died. Throughout all the years of isolation, Itachi has learned not to become too close to others. It only brought despair and agony. He inclined his head to catch a glimpse of the girl sleeping in his arms. She was so.. innocent. Too innocent. Although she was an official shinobi by law, she had yet to experience the real ninja world. The bloodshed, the wars, ..the deaths. So why was he protecting her from that? Why was he treating her as if she were a small child? Once again, the thought of Sasuke struck his mind.

Something in his chest began aching. He had been stressing over things too much again. It wasn't good for his health. All he needed to do now was to get Sakura as far away as possible from the two shinobis. He wouldn't let her experience yet another death caused by him. It seemed to affect her emotional state, and he couldn't allow that.

Quickening his pace, Itachi flew through the rows and rows of rose bushes. They seemed endless yet calming. The cold night air blew across his cheeks, giving him a cool refreshing breeze. His long onyx hair followed recklessly behind him. Hours passed without a break and eventually, his eyes began drooping lower and lower the longer he ran. By that time, Itachi paid little attention to his surroundings. Enveloped in the trees of a forest, he continued his midnight sprint.

Several hours more, his pace slowed and he was forced to resort to an unsteady amble. He collapsed shortly after from exerting the rest of his chakra reserves. It wasn't a small job to perform a healing. It really took enormous amounts of chakra to restore someone back to health.

A dark figure laid on the grassy floor beside him, still unconscious. She must have really exhausted herself this time.

Hopefully, she hadn't exerted herself too much. Patting her cheeks gently, he prayed for a response. Not a single grunt or mumble was heard, but he could sense a twitch of a finger. Good. She was not completely unconscious.

He tilted his head upwards towards the navy blue night sky through blurred vision. A cool breeze blew through the ruffles of his hair and drew him to a slight shiver. He had no clothes other than the fishnet shirt that he always wore, and the baggy ninja pants that were the usual for any shinobi. He remembered leaving his cloak back where the cave was and figured that there was no way he would be able to retrieve it now. Though, he had no right to wear it now. It did not belong to him the day he left the organization. He has suffered colder nights than this anyway, he reassured himself.

Minutes passed and eyes became droopy. Itachi's thoughts became jumbled with each other, and his lack of energy pleaded for some well-needed rest. Slowly, he closed his faded charcoal eyes and the wild chirping of the crickets consumed the two. Night had taken its toll.

"Hm..? What's this?"

"What's what?"

"This," a member of the group spoke, "there's two people lying here in the middle of nowhere."

"What?"

"Come here," One waved his hand to motion for the others to follow him.

"Woah, who are these guys?"

"I don't know, but one of them looks injured."

"We should take them back," another suggested.

"Okay, I'll take the girl."

"Of course," one rolled his eyes.

"What?"

"You always take the girl," complained a boy from the back.

"Cause' you're too shy to!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are-"

"Stop wasting time. We need to get them to a hospital," interrupted the group leader.

"But I wanted to catch some fireflies tonight!" whined a boy.

"Well, as of right now, these people are our first priority."

By the wave of his command, the group headed back in the direction of their hometown.

Light seeped through her eyelids, forcing them open. She immediately took notice that she was on a bed. A familiar one in particular. She could never forget the feeling of those old-fashioned hospital beds. The hard yet sponge-y mattresses and the paper thin sheets they offered. It was all too recognizable. After all, she's worked in a hospital ever since she went to study under Tsunade-Shishou.

Sakura began to sit upright on the bed. Why was she in a hospital? How did she get here? The last thing she remembered was healing Akira-

"Hnn!" Her back ached. She felt so tired and dehydrated. What happened when she fell unconscious?

Her gaze wandered around the pristine white room before she spotted another person occupying the bed next to her. She could tell that whoever it was, was fast asleep. That was strange. Why were there two beds in one room? She crawled from her bed to take a better peek at the slumbering patient only to discover a long onyx pony tail that cascaded down and fell in tangles upon the sheets. And that all-too-familiar unblemished complexion excluding the deep crevasses beneath his eyes.

What was Itachi doing here? 'I would think that he would become reprimanded the second he set foot in any public building without a disguise.' Curious emerald eyes stared at him for some time before a loud click at the door interrupted her trance.

A nurse clad in white stepped in silently. She carried the usual metal tray that clanged anytime it was touched. She set it down beside Sakura's bedside table and began the normal conversation between patients.

"You're feeling better," she smiled.

"..Yes, um," Sakura began.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" the nurse asked the all-too-common question.

"There is," Sakura answered. "I don't seem to recall any memories of arriving at this hospital."

"Oh, I was going to explain that to you! You see, a group of young men came in late last night and asked us to check you two for any serious injuries," she paused, "Strange.. they said that they had found you two in the middle of a forest at around midnight."

"..A group of young men..?" she whispered to herself.

"Good thing is, is that we weren't able to find any serious injuries on you two. You just need to rest a bit more and regain your strength," the nurse continued.

"Here's a glass of water and some food. Go ahead and help yourself," she gestured to the tray on the table, "Ring this if you need any assistance," she handed Sakura a bell and left the room. Silence filled the atmosphere shortly after.

Sakura brought the tray to her lap and eyed the contents of her meal. There were two plates, supposing that one was for Itachi. Each held the same contents. A glass of water, a few pieces of toast, two fried eggs, and an apple.

Sakura immediately swallowed the glass of water and began wolfing down her toast and eggs. She was starving. Just mere minutes later, she began crunching down on her apple and looking around the room suspiciously. Just exactly how did she get here? It vexed her how she remembered practically nothing. Her memory was a blank from when she was healing Akira and now. She didn't even know how long she was unconscious! And how did Itachi and her end up in the middle of a forest? She clearly remembered being stranded in the bushels of never-ending roses. Drawing her fingers to her temples, a small green glow formed at the tips. Her head hurt, and she had no idea where she was right now. Too many questions were left unanswered.

A low grunt was heard beside her and her head instantly flew to the source of the noise. Shuffling of the sheets was enough to convince Sakura that Itachi was now awake.

Lifting a hand over his brow, Itachi stared right into the eyes of a tempered woman.

"What're we doing here?" questioned Sakura as she handed him the other plate of food.

He took it and looked around the room in confusion.

"..I do not know."

"What?"

"I do not remember arriving at any hospital."

"Then tell me everything you do remember."

Itachi paused. He couldn't tell her of the certain incident involving death. Instead, he decided to avoid the question by eating.

Loud crunches of crumbling toast broke the tense silence.

"Don't ignore the question," Sakura spat.

"I have nothing to tell," retorted Itachi.

"Yes you do, I know you do!"

"Please refrain from yelling."

"You're ignoring the question again," grumbled Sakura.

"As I have said, I have nothing to tell you."

Sighing, Sakura retreated back to her original position on the bed. All that was heard were crunches of food being consumed.

A brief silence and Sakura rebounded with another question. This time, in a hushed tone.

"..What happened to Akira?"

A moment's hesitation and Itachi returned it with, "That is of no concern to you."

He would not allow her to discover the outcome of that incident.

"Why?" Simple as the question was, it meant much more. Why didn't he let her know what happened? Why did he keep everything so secretive? Why couldn't she be useful? Why did he make her feel so ignorant?

Itachi persisted on devouring his food in silence. He made no move to continue the conversation.

"Fine," Sakura concluded. "since you won't tell me anything, I'm leaving."

"You have not been permitted to leave."

"Oh yeah? Watch me."

She brushed her sheets aside and stepped on the cold tiled floor with bare feet. Stumbling a bit as she walked, she ambled towards the door. Itachi watched casually until her hand reached the doorknob.

"You do not have my permission to leave."

"Are you going to stop me?"

A long pause settled between them. Itachi and Sakura both knew that he was too weak to fight back anyone in his state.

"That's what I thought."

With that, Sakura swiftly left the room. The creaking of the door slowly closing on its hinges was the last sound he heard from her.

The padding of her bare feet down the long hallways of the hospital crowded her thoughts. He was so infuriating! Why did he keep everything a secret from her? She had the right to know things. She was practically an adult now.

Eventually she reached the front desk where the receptionist sat nonplussed.

"I would like to request for the return of my clothes, please."

"Ma'am, are you sure-"

"I need to leave," Sakura interrupted.

The receptionist eyed Sakura suspiciously.

Sakura stared back defiantly.

"Well, where's the paper?"

"What paper?"

"The paper to get you outta here."

Sakura cursed under her breath.

A nearby nurse noticed Sakura wearing the normal patient clothes for someone who should be in bed. She immediately walked over to see what the commotion was about.

"What's going on over here?"

"Well, this young woman keeps requesting to leave," replied the receptionist.

The nurse eyed Sakura carefully before hooking a hand on her shoulder and smiling, "Miss, I'll escort you back to your room."

"What? No, I'm not planning on staying here."

"You need to regain your strength, you've exhausted yourself."

"But I'm fine, I can take care of myself," Sakura insisted.

"No, you need to rest."

This time, the nurse forcefully pulled Sakura with her down the long hallways once again. Reluctant to follow, Sakura fought back only to find the nurse's grip to become tighter. If she was at her full strength, she would be able to wrench herself away easily. Since when did she become so weak that she could succumb to a simple civilian?

Sakura refused to return to her room and continued insisting that she should be released. She began kicking and biting, screaming that she had no freedom. The nurse losing control over Sakura, was forced to resort to the emergency syringe that she always kept with her. Swiftly pulling it out of her pocket, she uncapped the needle and injected it into Sakura's arm. Shortly after, Sakura's vision became blurred and her pace unsteady. Stumbling down the hallway, Sakura was constantly slipping in and out of consciousness. The nurse carried Sakura the rest of the way and abruptly barged into her room.

Itachi's gaze immediately saw the life-less figure of a pink-haired girl hanging loosely across a nurse's shoulders. The nurse carefully set her back down on her bed and explained to Itachi, "She insisted on leaving when she was still weak, so I had to resort to putting her to sleep."

"Watch over her for me and make sure she doesn't run wild again, okay?"

Itachi nodded once in agreement and the nurse left the room with a sigh. Itachi loomed over the sleeping Sakura and brushed a few strands of hair away from her face. His palm rested gently on her unblemished cheek. Although Itachi was weak, she was weaker. She had exhausted every last drop of her chakra and still persisted that she was fine. He ran his fingers through her pink tresses. She probably would have gotten herself killed if it wasn't for the nurse. She was too weak to be out and about. Not to mention her cranky attitude. Itachi breathed out a sigh and returned to his side of the room.

Hours passed by slowly in the quiet room. Sakura did not awake yet and Itachi stared into the opposing wall with a blank face. Every now and then, a strange feeling overcame Itachi as if someone were watching him. No, he knew that someone had been watching him. His senses could not fail him. The first few times, he had simply brushed it off, supposing that they were just the hospital staff making their regular checks. Then, as night emerged, they came more frequent. He was aware of this, but did nothing as to not arouse suspicions. He had not yet regained all of his strength, leaving him vulnerable to capable shinobis.

More had gathered. There were roughly 7 or 8 of them, and they were shinobis. He could sense their chakra signatures, and they were far more advanced than a regular civilian. Narrowing crimson eyes, Itachi looked around the room suspiciously. They were ready to attack any second now. He had to be prepared, yet look as if he suspected nothing. His hand submerged under the sheets and groped around for any spare kunai to defend himself with. He found none. The hospital staff must have confiscated it. He would have to resort to using the objects around the room for defense.

He was ready. And apparently, so were they.

3 men barged in the door, breaking it down. Itachi narrowed his eyes and turned himself to face them.

"Itachi Uchiha," one spoke, "you are hereby under arrest."

Itachi began to stand up from his bed when two armored shinobi grappled him from the back, restraining him. Another held a kunai to his neck, the cold metal pressing against his pressure point. Itachi kept his still position with expressionless charcoal eyes. It was best not to struggle with highly trained shinobis. Though, he knew these people were not the military force. Their clothing was too unprofessional and their plan was disorganized. Though, their skills were not lacking. He could tell that they were sharp enough to catch any hint of an attack on them.

Because they were not the military force, Itachi decided to fight back. He did not know where these people would take him, and if he would ever escape. As a man walked forward, closer to the restrained Itachi, a leg flew up and grinded against his chin. His neck immediately snapped back as he fell to the floor, his face a bloody mess. His painful screams began the start of the battle.

The man holding the kunai to his throat drove it deeper, penetrating the skin. Blood seeped through and a groan was heard from Itachi as he lifted his leg once more to kick the man behind him. A loud crack was heard when his foot collided with a man's vulnerable knee. Cries of agony were made and more men came at Itachi in greater numbers.

They now surrounded him, flashing their weapons in the dark. He could hear faint clangs and shuffles. Various glints and shines were all that Itachi could see in the dark room.

"Now you've made us resort to violence," the apparent leader spoke before Itachi was barraged by the large group.

Silent through the dark, the group crept out the door and down the hallways, out into the night. Little did they know, they had left a trail of blood. Blood that was not theirs.

Okay, now here's the REAL Chapter 6. :D Hope you guys enjoy it. I don't have much to say other than HAPPY LATE NEW YEAR'S! Have a good twenty-thirteen!