Time heals every wound.
If only that saying proved true.
No matter how much time has passed, the scar that has been etched deep into his innermost being does not seem like it would heal.
Reminiscing about that day wrought a dry laugh out of his throat, solely for the sake of providing a wall of denial against the agonizing memories that danced menacingly around his mind, searching for ways to penetrate that crumbling wall and revel in his destruction.
Just a little more time, then an escape would present itself before him.
He longed for it.
But for the meantime, what he could do was hide behind those walls, and strengthen and maintain them if need be.
What a coward. But there was no denying his true form.
A lowly, insignificant, coward, he was.
What could he do?
Facing those demons would mean the unveiling of the curtain, and everything he had struggled to achieve would be exposed.
Nothing mattered as long as he could accomplish his mission.
And thoughts like these needed to be dispelled.
The mission mattered most.
Nothing else.
Sakura shivered intensely as the freezing hands of winter caressed the supple skin of her body. The five of them were perched atop a thick limb of a towering tree, concealed by the thick foliage of the surrounding forest, overlooking the snowy landscape stretching out beneath them.
How a tree could flourish in such dire weather, Sakura was not sure.
Shikamaru had sent them a pigeon bearing a message, proposing a rendezvous point amongst the cold, barren tundra of the Land of Frost since the other team was journeying back from a mission in the Land of Lightning.
She wrapped her cloak tighter, attempting to ward off some of the cold but to no avail. When was Shikamaru going to come anyways? Surely he could have thought of a better and warmer place to rendezvous, or at least be a little on time, so his friends would have a lower risk of turning into life sized popsicles.
She wished for a hot fire, so she could thaw her numb fingers and warm her cracking lips.
But a fire would be out of the question, since the smoke would easily be detected and it would be best if the small entourage retained a low profile, avoiding as much human contact as possible.
Still, she tried her luck.
"Do you think we could just start a fire? A tiny one?"
Wisps of mist curled and dissipated into the air as Kakashi muttered a no, obviously irritated by the unusual temperature.
Sakura heaved a small sigh and reverted her gaze elsewhere, taking in the scenery of the snow littered trees dotting the white plain.
She had read books describing such landscapes before. Accustomed to the balmy weather back in Konoha, the idea of a wide, freezing plain, barren and devoid of life sounded like a nightmare to her.
Despite the icy wind's attempt to dry out her eyes, the crisp air here proved to be much more refreshing and clean. No such malice and fear hung in the air as she had expected, but standing before such a landscape, she had found it to be strangely beautiful. Much like a land long forgotten,lost in the mists of time, hauntingly beautiful.
An image flitted into her mind.
A black haired male raised up his fingers to her face, smirking at her when small fires danced across his fingertips, illuminating the closed space around them.
Sasuke wouldn't have any trouble in this type of weather, would he?
If he were here, keeping warm wouldn't be a problem.
And wasn't this his dream mission? When the time to capture the most hated man in his memory had come?
She had already made peace with these unpleasant thoughts of hers, and when they decided to reside in her mind for some time, she had willingly welcomed them with open arms. They in turn, no longer kept her up at night, tossing and turning in her bed, unable to slip into a sound sleep.
She wondered if her old teammate would have taken a liking to the surroundings. Opposites attracted, didn't they?
Cool, lithe fingers touched her back gently, startling her and wringing a gasp of surprise.
Sai flinched, withdrawing his hand and allowing it to fall back at his side.
"I'm sorry, Sakura,"
Relief flooded into her veins. She was glad that the person who intruded her thoughts was not Naruto or Kakashi. They could pinpoint what exactly was bothering her in an instant, as if her mind was a book and they had read through it so many times to know every word in it. And she really wasn't in the mood to talk about Sasuke again.
Sai's cheeks had took on a pastel shade of pink due to the wintry air, though other than the physical changes, his stance told Sakura that he wasn't bothered by the frigid air.
"It's fine, I just happened to be reminiscing about some memories," Sakura forced a shaky laugh.
Thankfully Sai decided against prodding her with questions regarding her memories and he plopped next to her on the solid limb of the tree.
"You don't seem affected by the cold at all,"
The artist gave a little shrug, listlessly entangling and untangling his fingers.
"It doesn't."
Unwelcomed irritation surged through her. How was she supposed to reply to that answer? She didn't want an uncomfortable situation to develop. Just as she decided that she would just ignore him, she felt curious eyes bearing into her.
She raised an eyebrow at him quizzically.
"Did I do something again?"
Then only the feeling of guilt replaced that of annoyance. What was her problem? She muttered a curse to her despicable, fickle moods.
"You didn't, it's just me," Sakura gave a shaky laugh. "Mind sharing some secrets on how to get used to the temperature? I'm already trying to regulate my body temperature internally, but it's not working as I would like it to,"
"You just get used to it, I guess. I've been on many missions that require the team to penetrate dense snowy forests, where everything was dark and frigid, and when it wasn't dark it was the surroundings were of only one color: white,"
Sakura nodded halfheartedly and a part of her was glad that it wasn't her who was sucked into that stark world of nothingness like Sai was.
In her mind, a flurry of thoughts were starting to take place, but for some reason, her subconscious was somehow intent on tormenting her gently.
No matter how she had tried to guide her thoughts towards more important things like the mission, it had always wandered back to the Uchiha that she held so dear in her heart.
Thunderous guffaws resonated from the other end of the sofa, accompanied by the clinks of beer glasses and the high-pitched squeaking of quite a number of courtesans.
Itachi cast a wary glance in the direction of his partner and his doxies and the blue skinned man returned his glance with a wink, which then slapped the bottom of a courtesan, arousing a surprised squeak from her throat.
He yearned to leave the stuffy, dingy nightclub but that would be going against the terms of their stupid bet. The bet had been whether that brat, Hidan would return to the stronghold after his encounter with the ninjas from Konoha. And it turned out that his halfhearted answer of 'yes' would actually lose the bet.
And so, he had followed his partner down to the nightclub located a short walking distance from their inn, merely entertaining the large man's insatiable lust for female flesh and strong intoxicants for if that hunger of his was not controlled, his performance would suffer great hindrance. The whines and grumbling were not to be left out either.
The Uchiha found it terribly irksome.
A warm soak in the hot spring baths of the inn would definitely be more of a pleasant evening.
Averting his gaze from the sight of the scandalous crowd, he chose to immerse himself in staring at the intricately carved vase propped on a wooden side table. The complex network of strokes orchestrated into a mystifying landscape, portraying some ethereal female deities bathing in a stream, resulting in a product of a considerably high standard. Not something he would expect to see in a garish, uncultured place like this.
Just as he extended his arm to touch the engravings, the pungent scent of cheap perfume intruded his sense of smell and settled in beside him. A slender-fingered hand adorned with two large rings caressed his right cheek, prompting his head to turn in the direction of the owner.
"You're still as handsome as ever," came the seductive purr.
Itachi merely took her hand and guided it away from his body in response.
Then came a high-pitched laugh. "I love a cold, dark and mysterious man. Makes everything all the more interesting, don't you think?"
How irritating. Again he ignored her.
Seemingly, women of her type took ignorance for acceptance and the black-haired girl started draping herself all over him, simpering and "accidentally" landing her hands on his thigh, and every touch seemed to move upwards.
The terms of the bet was that Itachi had to stay with Kisame until he was done with his uncultured ogling and groping, then they were to retire to their separate bedrooms, Itachi by himself and Kisame with one or two of his … Newfound friends.
His tolerance for the vexation slowly thinned, and unable to help himself, he spoke.
"How long have you worked here?"
The girl was giddy with happiness at his sudden response.
"About a year and a half, handsome, and-"
"I have met many people who had different career backgrounds, so how is it, working in a… whorehouse?"
The girl's expression contorted into one of shock from the sudden humiliation, stood abruptly and walked away.
The evening passed quickly, Kisame's laughter slowly faded into a distance drone as Itachi continued to brood. Interrupting his train of thoughts, Kisame finaly announced that it was time to withdraw to their own bedrooms, and that Itachi had paid his debt well.
The Uchiha had walked out of the nightclub even before Kisame had finished his sentence.
I apologize for the drier chapters, from the next chapter on, there will be some interaction between my favourite couple. I hope you'll continue reading and again, I apologize if your patience is wearing thin. Please do voice out your opinions regarding the story below if possible, I really appreciate it! :)