Chapter 5

I light a candle.

The object seems to be a kind of scroll used to deliver messages via birds, but when I open it I see it's blank. I think for a moment. Itachi would not go through all the trouble of sewing it into his cloak unless it contained something. It has been sealed to protect its contents from prying eyes, then. I frown, racking my brains. How many ways do I know to reveal sealed information? Not many. But if I'm wrong, everything in this tiny scroll might be lost forever.

I turn the scroll over and over in my other hand. I don't know how much Itachi plans to be gone for, so I have to assume I don't have much time. I try a few harmless jutsus, but the damn thing stays blank. I should have known better than to think this was going to be easy.

As I'm chewing on a nail, I taste blood again. There are a couple of smears on the side of my hand and I realize it must be Itachi's from when I bit him. I smile. If his blood won't do the trick, I don't know what would. It's dry now, but I bite one of my fingers to draw blood and press it on Itachi's. Then I put the smear against the soft paper and hold it for a couple of moments.

Writing starts to appear, unintelligible at first, then clear, albeit cramped. I read it and I don't realize I'm holding my breath until I finish. My hand falls in my lap. What is this? I keep asking myself over and over again. I read it again, though it doesn't make more sense than it did the first time.

Then I feel someone outside the room and I back away from the candle, holding the scroll so tightly my fingers are starting to tingle. Itachi opens the door and pauses, probably unsettled by the expression on my face. His eyes then fall on the crumpled cloak beside his bed, on the tear in the fabric. The door closes and my stomach twists sickeningly.

There's no point in hiding. I know that, as I see red seeping into the black of his eyes.

"Kindly return what you took," he says, but there is no kindness in his voice.

I throw it to him and he catches it in one hand. I glare right back at him.

"Explain yourself," I say. "Now."

He frowns and the look in his eyes is enough to chill me to the bone. "I don't have to explain myself to anyone, least of all to you."

"Do the Akatsuki know you're ratting out on them to Konoha?"

In the blink of an eye, I find myself slammed against the wall and Itachi's hand is closing in around my throat. I force myself to keep my eyes open, even as his grip tightens, drawing tears from them.

"Be. Quiet." He breathes those two words in my face and for the first time I am truly, utterly terrified. His quiet demeanor from the last few days had me underestimating his willingness to hurt. To kill. My eyes are still wide open, staring into the red abyss of the Sharingan.

"I won't tell!" I manage to say, but I'm starting to gasp for air and I think it's too late for any of that. "I just… want to understand…"

I'm seeing stars. Hot, white stars. Colors swim before my eyes as my lungs cry for oxygen.

All of the sudden his hand is gone from around my throat and I collapse on the floor, gasping for air. I look up and he's on the other side of the room, looking down at me. I don't understand. I touch my neck, checking for damage to my airways, but nothing seems amiss. I realize I can breathe just fine. Genjutsu, I think, trembling, as I move into a sitting position and slump against the wall. It was only genjutsu.

I look away from him, squeezing my eyes shut to protect myself. I hear him coming near and I feel the warmth radiating from his body as he crouches in front of me. A cold shiver runs down my spine. I wrap my arms around myself, curling into a ball.

"Sakura," he says. "Look at me."

His tone is such that I can't find it in me to disobey. He's holding the scroll in the palm of his hand and as I look at it, his chakra sets it ablaze.

"There is nothing for you to understand. I don't want to hurt you, but don't force my hand."

I sit there, dumbfounded, as he stands up to leave. In my head, I quickly count the things I know about Itachi Uchiha. One: he is Sasuke-kun's older brother. Two: he killed his entire clan in one night, sparing Sasuke-kun. Three: he left Konoha and became a missing-nin. Four: he joined the Akatsuki. Four is an unlucky number, because it is sometimes pronounced like 'death'.

Having read what I did, number three and number four seem to have more to them than I thought. And having done number three because of number two, something might just be off about that too. I've never given much thought to why Itachi killed the entire Uchiha clan. To me, the reason has always been eclipsed by the horror of the massacre itself. It's as if I only now come to realize no one does things like that without a reason. I'm surprised by my own ignorance.

I wonder if Sasuke-kun ever thought about it. A tear trickles down on my cheek and it tickles, so I wipe it away with the back of my hand. My heart rate is only now coming back to normal after Itachi's genjutsu.

I look up at Itachi and see him folding his cloak. A thought crosses my befuddled mind - a thought equally ridiculous and terrifying. I grab on to it, turn it on all sides. I can feel the blood slowly draining from my face as the implication sinks in. I bite my lips, close my eyes, breathe in and start counting again.

One: Itachi is Sasuke's older brother.

Two: Itachi was ordered to kill the entire Uchiha clan.

Three: Itachi left Konoha as part of the cover-up.

Four: Itachi joined the Akatsuki to spy on them.