Chapter 14

The impact with the ground shakes the very core of my being. It doesn't hurt. The air, however, sears on its way into my lungs as I breathe it in hungrily. I start coughing, my hand shooting up to my throat, but I'm too shaken to gain any form of control over my chakra and heal myself.

I open my eyes, but my vision is blurred. I blink fast, trying to dispell the haze. My limbs are weak and shaking. I barely have the strength to sit up. I manage to crawl away, though I'm confused and have no control over the direction. It feels as if I'm a broken doll, trying to get a hold of all my strings, only to realize some of them have been cut.

I hear Kisame howl and the sound of it is deafening. My vision is clearing, I see the Kiri-nin standing a few feet away from me, holding his head like he's trying to burst it open. I'm slow to understand exactly what is going on. Kakashi-sensei? I wonder. Sasuke, some part of my irrational mind whispers. I've obviously been deprived of oxygen for too long.

But it's the wrong Uchiha standing between me and Kisame.

"Sakura-chan!"

I hear footsteps and a couple of voices calling out for Naruto to stay back. He doesn't listen. A moment later, he kneels beside me and helps me into a sitting position.

"Sakura-chan, your lips are blue. Are you alright?"

I don't reply. Naruto grabs my arm and starts pulling me up. My attemps to resist him are feeble, but they don't go unnoticed.

"Sakura-chan! Snap out of it, we need to go!"

He thinks I'm still trapped in a genjutsu. My lips move. "No," they mean to say, but no sound comes out, only pain. I see Itachi turn around, and Naruto tenses, doubling his efforts to drag me away. I'm heavier than I look, and a lot more stubborn. I make an effort and slap Naruto's hand away.

Naruto looks confused, wounded even, but he doesn't give up. I grab his wrist and shake my head, even if that hurts, too. Then he sees Itachi closing the distance between us and moves back inadvertently, letting me go. Itachi pays him no attention as he kneels beside me and quietly helps me get back on my feet. I'm leaning on him for support since my legs are still weak, but at least I'm standing. Let me keep my last shred of dignity.

I'm face to face with Itachi, holding onto his arms as if to a lifeline. I don't care how this might look to the rest. I see Naruto with the corner of my eye, and the expression on his face is somewhere between disbelief and apprehension. My eyes fill with tears as I look up at Itachi. Of all my friends here, Itachi was the one who saved my life, blowing his cover in the process. Nothing hurts more than wanting to thank him and being unable to.

"I'm sorry," my lips say and his Sharingan doesn't miss it, because he leans over to whisper in my ear.

"I've sacrificed enough already."

I take a hand to my mouth and my shoulders move up and down as I start sobbing soundlessly, every move sending a ripple of pain through my throat. I don't feel any of it. All I know is the joy and relief filling my heart to the point of bursting.

"Step away from her, Itachi," I hear Kakashi say. "Explain yourself."

I look at Kakashi-sensei. He is standing in a position that would allow him to attack fast, and his hands are positioned to form the Raikiri if Itachi should make a wrong move. His eyes are full of doubt. He thinks Itachi attacked his partner as a ruse.

Never before have I needed my voice more. I raise a hand to my throat to heal at least some of the damage, but Itachi presses it back down.

"Don't waste your energy," he tells me quietly, then looks at Kakashi-sensei. "I have no intention of fighting you, Kakashi-san. I surrender."

"You'll understand if I don't believe you," Kakashi says. My heart sinks as I feel him gathering chakra in his dominant hand. I let Itachi's arms go and move in front of him, arms outstretched, shaking my head.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto says, looking worried. "What has he done to you? This is Itachi Uchiha. He's a criminal! He's the reason Sasuke left us!"

His words tear at my heart, but I don't relent. Yes, this is Itachi Uchiha I'm protecting from my own friends. Yes, he's the reason Sasuke left. Yes, he's a criminal. But there's more to his story than just that, and I can't seem to get my point across. Why do they all think I've lost my wits during these few weeks?

"Itachi-san," I hear a low, rumbling voice from behind. "I never took you for a traitor."

The gravel crunches as Itachi turns around to face Kisame, who's somehow broken out of the genjutsu. Dread coils in my belly like a venomous snake.

"I have to say I'm disappointed," Kisame says, his tone dripping with poison.

In a moment, Itachi pushes me so hard I stumble forward a few steps and if Naruto hadn't been there to catch me, I would have fallen.

"Get her to safety," I hear Itachi say.

"I'll kill all of you Konoha wretches!" Kisame bellows, and his Samehada bursts from its wrappings, twice its usual size, as he swings it at Itachi. I watch, horrified, as it makes contact with Itachi's arm and shreds through his cloak and flesh, but no blood comes from the wound and Itachi scatters into a dozen crows.

Kisame looks downright mad right now. If I thought he looked terrifying before, boy, was I wrong. I fear for Itachi. A few weeks of intermittent healing sessions will not be enough to help him get through a fight of this caliber unscathed. I pull free from Naruto's hold and stumble towards Kakashi-sensei.

"Help him!" I cry, desperate at the strangled sounds that come from my throat instead.

I turn around to watch the battle, heart hammering in my chest. I never thought someone so huge could be so fast, but Kisame somehow manages to keep up with Itachi and all I see are their blurred shapes as they clash.

"Sakura, we need to go," Kakashi tells me, reaching out to grab my shoulder, but I swat his arm away like I would a pestering fly.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto says, "maybe we should help. I mean… Itachi let Sakura go. He told us to get her to safety. Maybe he meant it when he said he's surrendering."

"Even so, I can't risk losing any of you just to help a criminal," Kakashi-sensei says.

I shoot him a look torn between hurt and anger, but his jaw is set in a way that tells me his mind is already made up. Fine, I think. Stay back, I understand.

They have nothing to lose. I do.