I'm feeling generous today, and also, Easter is coming! Enjoy and review!
Trauma
It's been about week since the incident and since Sakura found that that she lost her sight. Tsunade had done a full body assessment on her and found that there's nothing defective or severely damaged beyond repair in her body and concluded that Sasuke's sharingan must've caused mental trauma to her brain, causing a failure in a part of her nervous system that was probably linked to her sight therefore causing her to temporarily lose her ability to see.
However Tsunade wasn't able to accurately estimate the duration of her blindness and she didn't want to use anymore healing technique that involved chakra with Sakura as the Yin seal healing technique has a critical stress impact to the body, if it just so happens that Sakura's body happened to be already on the limit, she could destroy Sakura's whole chakra system. So she decided to retain Sakura in the hospital till her sight has returned.
But to Sakura, her sight was the least of her problems.
Flashback
All thoughts of her blindness were pushed aside as Sakura turned towards Tsunade, eyes faded and blank but nonetheless she knew Tsunade was there. "Where's Sasuke?" she asked immediately, taking Tsunade by surprise. Tsunade clenched her fists 'She's asking for the person that did this to her...?'
Some part of Tsunade was already expecting this but she didn't think it was right for Sakura to be more worried about Sasuke than herself. So she decided to give it to her straight "Sakura, you are no longer allowed to see Sasuke for as long as you're in here" said Tsunade.
Sakura looked devastated "W-Why...? He didn't do anything wrong! Is he alright?" Sakura asked, part of her wanted to reach out and take Tsunade by the shoulder and shake answers from her, but she found that particularly hard to do in the dark.
She heard Tsunade get up from her chair, her footsteps walking towards the door "As he is now, he is a threat to you and possibly even to the village. This is a safety precaution for you, and that's my final decision." said Tsunade slid the door open.
"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura called out, she attempted to get out of bed only to end up tumbling down onto the ground with her arm tangled in her drip tubes. Tsunade's head snapped around to see Sakura struggling to get back up on the floor. "Sakura!" she scolded, immediately running over to her student. "What are you trying to pull, Sakura! You're still a patient here, my patient!" Tsunade tried to help her up back Sakura kept going on about wanting to see Sasuke.
"I have to see him, even if it's just a little while." she muttered, hands trembling as Tsunade pulled her up by the elbow, making her upper body straighten up. "I need to see him!" Sakura snapped, Tsunade grabbed her by the wrist and forced Sakura to face her. "Sakura, you can't see!"
Sakura's eyes widened, filled with tears as she lowered her head. Tsunade pulled her into a hug, allowing her student to sob into her shoulder "Please..."
Tsunade's brow furrowed and she clenched her teeth. No matter how Sakura begged she couldn't allow Sakura to see Sasuke- it was for her own protection.
A few days after that Sakura continued to refuse to eat but gradually she began to accept the fact that Sasuke wasn't coming. She had trouble sleeping as well mainly because the darkness reminded her of the cave back in Iwagakure however she had forced herself to get used to that too. She wanted to get better quickly so she could leave the hospital and see Sasuke.
Meanwhile...
Sasuke was having theory lessons from Itachi and due to his brother being hospitalized he was having his mangekyo lessons in his brother's ward till he gets chased out by a nurse.
Itachi hit Sasuke's head with a book "You're not concentrating enough, Sasuke" said Itachi as he circled around Sasuke who had his eyes closed and his hand holding a hand seal. Sasuke twitched and was immediately hit on the head with Itachi's book. "If you can't hold your chakra in your eyes you won't be able to bring out your mangekyou properly" said Itachi.
Sasuke was usually quick with learning how to concentrate but he suspected his brother was probably too worried about Sakura to put his mind fully into training.
Itachi sighed "Why don't we take a break, Sasuke. There's something I want to talk about" said Itachi. Sasuke released the hand sign and opened his eyes.
"What is it"
"Sakura"
Sasuke looked taken aback and he visibly swallowed but quickly tried to brush it off. He scowled "What about her" said Sasuke.
Itachi chuckled then sat down on his bed "Your reaction already told me everything I need to know" he said. Sasuke glared at his brother, silently demanding to know what he was thinking.
"As you are now, you aren't capable of drawing out the mangekyou, unless you want to go through that again" said Itachi.
"Tch" Sasuke eyes strayed to the side.
"I bet you know the cause as well. With Sakura swarming your mind, you can't get past the first stage" said Itachi.
"Then I'll stop thinking about her" snapped Sasuke.
Itachi raised his eyebrows "Oh? Haven't you already tried doing that? And considering the results I'm guessing that didn't work too well for you" his tone sounded like mockery but his eyes showed otherwise.
Sasuke glared at his brother. He can't get anything past his brother, he knew that, but this was just his way of telling Itachi that he doesn't want to go down this conversation.
However this time Itachi wasn't so merciful. "If you are incapable of getting rid of a single woman from your life, I'm withdrawing from coaching you how to use the mangekyou, you may come back once you've forgotten about Sakura." said Itachi. Sasuke's eyes widened, his brother had never sounded so threatening to him in his life.
"You can't be serious, nii-san" Sasuke challenged Itachi's eyes and immediately knew, his brother was dead serious.
"So I'm just supposed to forget her? Pretend like she doesn't exist? Don't say it like it's so simple, you don't even understand!" Sasuke was angry, angry that Itachi would actually suggest such a thing.
"I wish I don't, Sasuke!" Itachi snapped, never once had his brother raised his voice on him, till this day.
Sasuke's brow furrowed, did his brother just tell him that he has a lover, or rather- Had a lover.
"You never mentioned her" Sasuke walked over quietly to sit on the chair next to his brother's bed.
Itachi chuckled bitterly "You never asked, what's the point of bringing up someone that's already dead anyway." he said.
Sasuke scanned his brother's facial expression. It was nothing like he had ever seen before, Itachi's eyes looked so weary. He didn't even look like that after a 6 month mission away from Konoha.
"Then I'm asking you right now" said Sasuke. Itachi looked up and met his brother's eyes, he wiped the weary look from his face and try to replace it with his usual stoic and feint cheerful expression however his eyes gave him away.
"Amaterasu, that was her name. Named after the goddess of the sun, a very befitting name for her" a visible smile crossed Itachi's lips. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, an actual genuine smile.
"Yes, she also shares the same name as the black flames that we can summon with the mangekyou. Ironically she never achieved her mangekyou" said Itachi.
"So she was in the clan?" asked Sasuke.
Itachi nodded. "What happened to her?"
Itachi "Our team was sent to gather Intel on the enemy camp but we were ambushed"
9 years ago (This happened after Itachi and Sasuke's parents died)
Konoha sent out a team for information retrieval at the Kumogakure's camp 45 degrees south of the village. The team consisted of Itachi's old genin teammates.
Itachi and Shisui were already in the ANBU ranks, Amaterasu had just recently achieved jounin. "Amaterasu, keep up" Itachi called over his shoulder. Amaterasu was a girl with gleaming ink black hair that flowed down to her thighs with bangs that swept across her forehead. She wore her hitai-ate over her head like a hair band. Her eyes were like any Uchiha, the darkest shade of black with the gleam of an onyx. She wore a traditional white kimono top with golden linings and a mesh tube on the inside with a pair of black tights- typical for any shinobi her age. Her sleeves were much longer than her arm, flowing like a river behind her as she ran.
"Oh? I thought we were in a formation, my bad" she said and shot off with her next step on the branch, shooting past Shisui who was travelling behind Itachi. "Coming through, Shisui-kun" she said with a smug look on her face and shot through Itachi with ease.
"Now you're just showing off" said Itachi with a smirk on his face.
"You're the one that provoked her, Itachi" Shisui said. Amaterasu turned her head around and pulled down on her lower lid whilst sticking her tongue out.
"Real mature" Itachi rolled his eyes.
If only they knew what was up ahead.
Amaterasu activated her sharingan, eyes narrowing on the path in front of them. There was just something suspicious about that path, she didn't sense any chakra nearby but it just felt wrong. "Itachi, are we on the right track?" said Amaterasu, glancing back at Itachi.
"Positive, we should reach the base soon, keep your guard up" said Itachi.
"But there's something weird about this route, I think we should take a detour" said Amaterasu. Itachi activated his sharingan and scanned the surroundings ahead.
"There's nothing there, Amaterasu. We can't take a detour, it'll take too long. The enemy could be gone by the time we reach" said Itachi.
"A little detour wouldn't hurt, it might save us the trouble of bumping into someone" said Shisui.
Itachi shook his head "We're not straying from this path" he said.
And before they know it, they had stepped into the enemy territory. A strange sensation rushed through them. They halted immediately, landing on different tree branches to inspect the trap with Amaterasu first and Shisui last. "Genjutsu?" said Shisui.
"Appears so, dispel it" Itachi ordered.
"Kai!" The three of them said in unison
However the sensation lingered. They were still not free from the trap. "It's powerful" said Shisui. Amaterasu frowned, her sharingan on guard as she looked around in silence. And then she realized what they were trapped in. But she realized that too late.
"Shisui-kun! Itachi! It's a trap! Retreat as far away as possible!"Amaterasu shouted all of the sudden. Itachi and Shisui's bodies reacted instinctively and turned and ran the opposite direction with Amaterasu close behind, she looked down and realized that the technique had caught up, with one hard push. She sent Itachi flying out of the trap's range.
A barrier shot up in between her and her teammates, trapping her within. Itachi regained his footing and turned back, eyes widened "Tera!" he shouted frantically as Amaterasu looked at him apologetically from the inside of the barrier. Her palms on the transparent yellow wall. Itachi hammered on the wall, attempting to break it with force and soon realized it to be impossible. His sharingan activated and he scanned the barrier for any weak links and when he couldn't find one he decided to be rash "Get back!" Itachi shouted before he threw kunais with explosive tags attached to them.
They went off one by one but it had no effect on the barrier. "Itachi, they're coming!" Shisui shouted to his teammate as he armed himself.
"I'm not leaving her!" Itachi shouted, and then looked back at Amaterasu, still trapped like a rat. Instead of crying hysterically for her life, she was smiling-Smiling at him.
"Run, Itachi. I'll try to stall them" she said, her hand slid from the wall and down to reach for her pouch, arming herself.
Itachi looked at her hopelessly, his mind was in panic. He was crowned a genius by the whole clan, he always knew what to do, he always followed orders and he never panicked under whatever circumstances and here he is, wracking his genius brain for a plan- A plan that had a happy ending.
He couldn't think of one.
Frustrated, he drew his weapon. If they couldn't break the technique then they just have to kill the user. "Shisui, get ready. We're going to fight our way out" said Itachi. Shisui had never seen his best friend so distressed but he didn't argue and took his stance.
He heard the bark snapping from branches, leaves rustling with movement. They were here and, a hell lot of them.
"Oh? Gimura's trap only caught one rat? Guess we'll have to take care of these brats manually." A kumogakure nin said and signaled the shinobi to attack Itachi and Shisui. Itachi was quick, everything that came close ended up bleeding to death on the ground, his sharingan glowed fiercely in the dark-making sure there are no survivors.
Itachi went for the commander, raining the superior with kunais and shuriken. All it took for the latter to deflect the projectiles was a simple swing from his arm as his eyes never leaving Itachi who drew his kodachi (Short sword). Their blades collided, however the kumo commander's strength had proven to be superior when Itachi couldn't hold his ground against and had to push off to land on a branch behind him.
"Throwing weapons to direct your opponent's attention away from yourself so that you may land a fatal blow on them is a very good tactic. But you're still naive, kid"
Itachi's brows furrowed before he heard a voice."Itachi the numbers are increasing too fast!" he heard his best friend call out to him. Itachi glared at the commander, preparing to engulf him in a genjutsu but the commander was moving faster than his reflexes could respond even with his sharingan activated.
Itachi's eyes widened before finally managing to dodge a fatal lariat by ducking down and pumping chakra to his feet to prevent himself from being blown off by the mere force of the attack, he gritted his teeth then shot off to increase the distance between them.
It was then he heard an ear piercing scream. "Tera!" his head snapped away from the enemy and eyes straining to see what happened to his teammate. "Itachi look out!" Shisui shouted. Itachi's head turned back to dodge a slash from the commander.
Amaterasu's hand had been pinned over her head by a rod against a tree inside the barrier. Another man stood in front of her, holding a scythe similar to the death god's. "The more you struggle, the more it's going to hurt" said the man with silver hair and a foul look in his eyes. The way he looked at her made her feel like he was looking at some kind of animal in test labs.
"Feel honored, you're about to go to hell through my new technique, you'll be the first sacrifice" the man, he laughed maniacally before Amaterasu lifted her knee, ready to send him ramming against the barrier wall but the man blocked it with his palm. He looked at her, eyes glaring and angry. Amaterasu didn't breakdown, instead she pulled back her leg and swung the other. Determined to do everything she can without her hands.
The next kick collided with his side and sent him stumbling to the side, coughing blood as he clutched a possible broken rib. He wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, eyes widening at the sight of blood. "You... bitch" he spat with all his might before he thrusted his palm at the rod pinning her hands. Screwing the rod through deeper. Amaterasu's body tensed up as she bit back a yelp.
"Stubborn, aren't you" the man licked her blood off his hands before pressing the scythe against her neck. "Even if you cry and beg for your life I won't show mercy" he snarled into Amaterasu's face.
Slowly his face began to change; his skin turned black and white marks appeared all over his body making him look like a human skeleton. Amaterasu's eyes widened, she couldn't figure out what was happening and before she knew it, the silver haired man was sent flying to the side. Amaterasu felt pain ringing in her ribs as she gasped for air.
Her vision blurred for a moment but she could still make out Itachi dashing past her, going after her attacker. She blinked a few times and looked around, the barrier had been broken. She spotted a lifeless body lying near her; Itachi must've found the user.
But what was that blast of pain she felt?
The silver haired man laughed as Itachi landed multiple blows to his body, all in which sent him tumbling backwards. His skin turned black once again, Itachi slashed across his chest, Blood spurting.
Amaterasu gasped, her chest trembled as she looked down. Blood seeped from her top in the form of a slash but by the time she realized it, it was already too late. "Ita-" she called out to her teammate before she was cut off halfway as Itachi had sunk his kunai into the silver man's heart.
But instead of crying out in pain, he began uncontrollable laughter. Itachi scowled "Congratulations my brother" he looked at Itachi then a wide grin broke out on his lips "You've just killed your comrade" he said before his eyes widened as blood escaped through the side of his mouth and he fell forward, laying motionlessly on the ground.
Itachi's eyes widened and he immediately looked to Amaterasu. She could barely keep her body from dangling by her pinned hands as her own blood pooled at her feet. Itachi didn't waste another second, he hurried to her side, the first thing he did was free her from the rod. "Bear with this for a while" Itachi muttered to her before ripping the rod clean out and allowing Amaterasu to collapse on him. He held her close as listened to her uneven breathing.
"Itachi" she began but he cut her off.
"We're going to get you out of here and back to Konoha. Don't die on me, that is an order, Tera!" he said, trying to sound firm like he usually does but it only painfully reminded him that he was the one that led the team- he was the one that led them into a trap. His arms tighten around her as he looked towards Shisui who was busy holding out the army. He opened his mouth to call out to his best friend before he felt Amaterasu squirm in his hold. He knelt down and laid her down, trying his best to keep her comfortable."What is it, Tera?"
Amaterasu reached up to Itachi's face with her trembling bloody hand. "It's alright, Itachi." she breathed as she stroked Itachi's cheek, staining it with her blood. A smile broke out upon her features, eyes squinted and tears gathering. "Sorry for pushing you" she said as tears trickled down her cheeks.
Itachi grabbed her hand and held it gently then laughed softly "What are we, in pre-school?" he said. Amaterasu smiled at him. He brought their linked hands to his forehead and smearing blood onto his headband and the symbol of konoha; weeping bitterly as he said "I'm sorry, if I had listened to you back then you wouldn't have gotten trapped. If I had properly analyzed the enemy, you would-" he cut himself off when Amaterasu's head rested against his shoulder as he held her.
"Don't blame yourself, Itachi" her voice had faded to nothing more than a hoarse whisper.
"I'm so tired..." she said with a bitter chuckle.
"Tera, don't-"
Amaterasu hushed him. "It's okay, Itachi. I'm alright" she gave him a bitter smile yet it radiated with the warmth that had always surrounded her. Tears began to build in her eyes as her smile twisted into a look of fear and sadness as she tried to maintain her smile as she said-
"I love you, Itachi"
Her hand slipped away from Itachi's and fell to the ground. Itachi hugged her body close "Me too, Tera... I always have" he wept silently. He felt her pulse cease and his trembling fingers reached up to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear as he said "Tera...?" his eyes widened and his voice wavering as he gave her body a gentle shake and when no respond came, he broke.
"Amaterasu!"
The silver haired man pushed himself up "Damn, is this technique still too early for me...?" he looked up and saw Itachi getting back up, head hung low. His eyes looked upon the limp body of Amaterasu and instantly his face lit up, he laughed "Serves you right, you bastard. She's dead now! It's your entire fault!" he spat as he pulled out the kunai that Itachi stabbed into his heart.
In a split second Itachi's head snapped around, his eyes looking wild as black flames shot at him. Instinctively he jumped out of the way. The attack had still lightly grazed over his left leg, sending scorching pain throughout his body. He gritted his teeth as he grabbed at his leg.
Itachi went out of control that night, had it not been for Shisui using his own Mangekyou to counter Itachi's, he would've destroyed the forest. With all the enemies dead, Itachi and Shisui returned to the village with the corpse of their teammate. Shisui could do nothing but watch as his best friend held onto his unrequited love's body with a cold and distant expression; he knew then that this would change Itachi forever.
Extra…
A squadron of ANBU shinobi from Kumogakure was sent to search for the mission squadron and found everyone except for the commander, dead. "Raikage! Are you alright?" the squadron leader asked. "Yeah... but those damn Uchihas really did a number on our division." The commander or otherwise known as the Third Raikage said. "This is why we were against you leaving the village" the squadron leader said.
"If I weren't here then they wouldn't have even stood a chance and they'd go straight into our camp borders" the Raikage snapped. Their conversation was interrupted when a few members of the ANBU called out. "Sir! We found a live one"
"He's a Yugakure-nin"
"Identify yourself" The raikage stood before the silver headed man.
"Hidan"
End
This felt really weird for Sasuke, because he and his brother has never had a soul to soul talk like this before and it's kind of creeping him out. He didn't know what to do or what to say, he just sat there- listening.
"I was the team leader for that mission, but I was too naive. And that naivety led to the death of her and not only that but Shisui had left before me as well, due some issues arising within the clan he decided to stop it, but it cost him his life. My only regrets were that I couldn't save them when they were so close within my reach and I let them get away. I sometimes wonder if they really slipped past my fingers, or I simply let go" Itachi said as he looked at his hands, they were trembling.
Sasuke shot up from his seat "You did everything you could; there was nothing else you could do for them. I'm sure of it. Beating yourself up like this isn't like you, nii-san" Sasuke snapped.
Itachi looked up at his brother with a smile "I think it's time for you to take your own advice, Sasuke" Itachi said. Sasuke had just realized that he had just said what everyone had been trying to tell him. "I don't want any more regrets, Sasuke. I'd hate to see you go through what I've been through. I don't want you to regret anything" Itachi said.
Sasuke realized what he had to do, what he needed to do. Itachi gave him a nod "Go for it"
In Sakura's little ward she sat upright in her bed, she looked to be staring off into space and because of her blinded eyes her thoughts could no longer reflect in her eyes.
Ever since she had calmed down, her loss of sight has made her body to become more sensitive to her environment, especially on her chakra sensory. She could feel every shinobi in the village, the ones that left for missions, the ones that are simply resting at home however she could barely differentiate the chakra signatures of an individual. She couldn't even recognize who was in her room unless they spoke. She knew that there were guards standing outside her room, they change shifts in pairs every 6 hours. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't tell who was it that was standing outside her room.
However there was a certain person she felt connected to, his chakra signature kept on lingering in the back of her mind, surfacing every once in awhile, but that person-
wasn't in the village.
For some reasons Sakura could sit still in that exact same position for the whole day and she wouldn't even move if not for the nurses that constantly come in to check on her and help her eat and bring her to the bathroom.
And then she felt it, another chakra approaching her room. But it wasn't time for the guard change, this person was alone. It couldn't be a nurse, it wasn't her meal time nor was it the time for the nurse to check on her.
Outside...
Sasuke approached the ward that he had been forbidden for him. He came in face to face with the one person he didn't want to see the most. His face remained neutral at his eyes met the piercing golden glare of him.
"You dare show up here, in front of me"
"I'm not here to see you, Hiroyama"
"Sasuke, you should go" Naruto gave Sasuke a serious look, but his warning was over looked as Sasuke and Takuya already knew what they had to do. To get to Sakura, he needed to get pass Takuya. And Takuya was planning to use this as the chance to beat the living daylights out of Sasuke to avenge Sakura.
"Under hokage's order, I am allowed to beat the crap out of you till you leave. That is, if I let you leave." snarled Takuya. Naruto stepped in "Oi, Takuya. Sasuke was just going to leave, right? Sasuke" said Naruto, shooting firm looks at Sasuke. Sasuke didn't budge. Takuya pushed past Naruto and struck, grabbing Sasuke by the front of his shirt and slamming his back against the wall, snarling dangerously.
Sasuke merely stared back at his glare, not even making the effort to move a muscle. "Just let me see her" Sasuke said, his voice was almost pleading. Naruto wasn't used to seeing Sasuke like this, no matter how desperate the situation got for him, Sasuke never pleaded.
Something seemed to have snapped in Takuya, his eyes widened and he swung a clenched fist at Sasuke, catching the Uchiha's jaw and snapping his head to the side. Sasuke looked back up slow, Takuya's eyes still fixated on him. "You bastard..." Takuya said through clenched teeth, "After putting Sakura-chan through that, you can still come back and see her?" he raised his voice slightly with a bitter tone. "Because of you, she can no longer see"
Sasuke's eyes widened "What do you mean?" grabbing Takuya by the wrist. Takuya's fingers tightened "It's all your fault! I shouldn't have left her with you!" Takuya snapped. Sasuke glanced at Naruto, his blond best friend gave him a sorry look.
"Tsunade baa-chan said that Sakura-chan lost her sight due to brain trauma, she doesn't know when she'll be able to see again" said Naruto.
Sasuke's blood ran cold, brain trauma sounded a lot like his work. He broke out from Takuya's hold and tried to push his way to Sakura's door. "Just me talk to her, a minute will do" but Sasuke's path was cut off by Takuya
"I'll send you flying through the wall"
Suddenly, Sasuke felt the air tension rising to the point of suffocation, sensing danger, his body instinctively activated his sharingan and somehow managed to counter the technique Takuya was using. It was a battle between kekkei genkais for them.
"Break it up, you guys-" Naruto was cut off when a muscle twitched they had each drawn their kunai, Naruto drew his as well in case it got out of hand.
But the tension was broken when they heard crashing and chaos inside the ward.
"Sakura!" Takuya exclaimed
Panicked, the male shinobis were about to break the door down before it slid open on its own and Sakura stumbled out, just barely on her feet.
Sasuke's eyes widened when she tripped out of the door right in front of him, he felt his arms enveloping her and her head pressing against his chest as he bent down to catch her before she could fall. Realization struck upon her features as she recognized the person's touch and scent. She wrapped her hands around and gripped onto the back of his shirt. "Sasuke...!" she spoke into his chest.
Sasuke stood still, knees still bent and hands around Sakura. Not quite knowing what to say.
"It's really you right, Sasuke?" said Sakura, her words muffled in his chest.
"Yeah" Sasuke replied gently.
Sakura straightened, along with Sasuke. But she did not look up like she usually does, probably because it'd be pointless. Sasuke took this as the confirmation of her blindness and bitterly cursed himself silently.
"There has been complaints by the nurses here, now I see why"
That voice, Sakura's grip on Sasuke tightened. "Tsu-Tsunade baa-chan...!" gasped Naruto. Tsunade stood in the middle of the hallway, arms crossed and a frown on her face. Sakura pulled out from Sasuke's arms and stood in front of him
"Please don't send Sasuke away" Sakura scowled at her teacher, not even sure if she was looking at her in person.
"I figured you'd be coming around now, Sasuke" said Tsunade. A wry smile formed on Sasuke's face as he met her eyes and stepped out from behind Sakura.
"Then you should know that I'm not going to leave"
Tsunade snorted "I'm assigning you as her body guard, she probably needs you most now." said Tsunade, a smirk forming on her face. "Take care of her, Sasuke" said Tsunade as she turned on her heels. "Naruto, Takuya. You're off duty" she said as she walked. Her orders were direct and Naruto, a little weirded out by what just happened, chased after Tsunade along with Takuya.
Sasuke stood still, not quite able to register just yet till he felt a tug on his sleeve by Sakura. "Are you okay? Sasuke" Sakura asked quietly.
"I'm fine, lets get you back to bed" he said as he gave her a gentle push and when she took a reluctant step forward he was reminded of her lack of sight. He took both of her hands and stood in front of her as he took careful steps inside the room as he led her in then closed the door."Careful" he said as he connected their hands once again and continued to lead her, Sakura nodded as she took another step forward, followed by another.
A bitter scowl formed on Sasuke's face as he sees Sakura's blank stare in front. Sakura continued walking till she bumped into Sasuke. Her eyes widened slightly when she felt Sasuke wrap his arms around her in a hug, his face pressed into the crook of her neck and breathed, sending chills down her spine. Sakura stood still, hands at her side, chin on his shoulder.
"Sa...suke?" she said, sounding worried. "Are you unwell?"
"I'm fine, I'm perfectly fine. I wish I wasn't though, after all I did to you" his voice was hoarse. Sakura wriggled out from Sasuke's hold and grabbed hold of his face, making him look at her. Surprised, Sasuke stared deeply into her eyes that were slightly squinted because of her scowl
"Don't wish for something like that!" she scolded him. "I'm still alive, aren't I? You came back." Sakura gave him a smile "Even I can take a beating from the great Uchiha Sasuke" she said, teasingly.
Sasuke smirked "About that" he said before grabbing her and tossing her on the bed then holding her down by her shoulders, leaning over and placing his face dangerously close to her face "Didn't I make you promise to kill me if I ever go out of control again?" he said.
Sakura could tell he was close by the brush of his warm breath. "S-S-Sasuke? You're too c-close" Sakura stammered as she tried to wriggle out from his grip on her shoulders.
"I didn't take you for a person who doesn't keep their word" Sasuke said, lips just lingering over her uncovered neck, his warm breath creating a tension in her muscles.
"I-I" Sakura turned a variety of red as her breathing hitched.
"I'll punish you for lying to me" Sasuke whispered huskily, holding back a chuckle at the flustered Sakura.
"W-What?" Sakura squirmed.
Sasuke planted a kiss to her jaw line. She gasped at the contact.
"Wa-Wait a minute, S-Sasuke" Sakura tilted her head back, whether opening up neck to Sasuke or trying to get away from him. She herself wondered.
"I didn't even make that promise, I just said I trusted you to come-" Sakura was cut off as Sasuke gently lowered his lips down on hers. Her eyes drifting close instinctively as Sasuke deepened the kiss then pulled away to kiss neck. Sakura gasped and tried to push him away "S-Sasuke someone's coming" she said. Reluctantly, Sasuke straightened and smirked as Sakura fumbled to sit up right.
There was a knock on the door and the nurse came in, surprised at Sasuke's presence, Sasuke turned his head to look at the nurse at the door to acknowledge her presence when met eyes with someone he didn't expect to be Sakura's nurse. "Sasuke-kun?"
For the first time, Sakura heard the voice of her nurse. She had never spoken to her nurse because she didn't seem to be able to concentrate on anything else other than trying to figure out just whose chakra was it that kept on showing up in her system, that faint presence she could always feel.
"I-Ino?" said Sakura, recognizing the voice immediately. However Ino ignored her and focus on Sasuke's presence when she knew he wasn't allowed near Sakura.
"What are you doing here?" she snarled in a threatening tone.
"I-Ino it's-" however Sakura was cut off when Ino raised her voice. "You're not supposed to be here, Sasuke-kun." Ino sounded angry as she placed the tray on food roughly on the table.
Sasuke remained silent, he knew he was going to be up against a lot of people after what he had done to Sakura and then selfishly request to see her again.
"Sakura may have forgiven you but I don't. It's your entire fault, you did this to her!" Ino was shouting now, her fist clenched and shaking.
"She can't even recognize my chakra anymore" her tone turned bitter and her voice was wavering. "I'll never forgive you"
"Ino, Tsunade-sama assigned Sasuke as my bodyguard" Sakura's tone was flat and a little demanding, probably not wanting Ino to say anymore and silently asking her to leave. Seeming to get the message Ino stormed out of the room, slamming the door roughly behind her. Sakura felt horrible, she knew Ino was just worried about her, she had no ill intentions towards her at all and yet she sent away the one person that had silently took care of her when she couldn't do anything at all.
But she couldn't just sit aside while she yelled at Sasuke for something she thinks he shouldn't be blamed for. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. I'm so sorry" she clenched a handful of her sheets as tears began to drip from her blank eyes. Overwhelmed by tears she lifted her hands to wipe away her tears and try to hide them but it was in vain when Sasuke felt a piece of him die when her timid voice apologized to him when she really shouldn't.
"Why are you apologizing" he asked her as he slowly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest.
"I-If I had been stronger then I would've been a-able to help you, instead of getting hurt and making you take the blame. It's really n-not your fault, Sasuke. So you don't have to blame yourself for it" Sakura sobbed into his chest. Sasuke's arms suddenly tightened around he and he buried his face into her hair.
"You're a really good girl, Sakura. You know that?" he whispered hoarsely, his voice sounded like he was in pain. "But don't cover for everyone by blaming yourself, especially not for jerks like me. It's fine. Punishment if the last thing I'm worried about now." his bitter words were muffled in her hair in the end.
But Sakura stopped crying, shocked that that was how Sasuke was feeling she had no idea what else to say. They stayed in that silence for what seemed like ages, just enjoying each other's company like no one else existed.
As a matter of fact, someone did exist and they were standing just outside the room, eavesdropping on every word. Ino walked down the hallway, quietly.
Naruto and Takuya stuck close to Tsunade's heels, still demanding to know why she allowed Sasuke near Sakura when he's a potential danger to her. "Fifth, this isn't right. How can you let that Uchiha become Sakura's bodyguard. Is there some reason for this?" Takuya demanded.
"It's because he came back" she said.
"Hah? I don't see how that proves anything for that jerk" Takuya retorted.
"Shut up, Takuya." Naruto snapped.
Takuya shot a scowl at the blonde before Tsunade spoke. "I wouldn't have let him near her if he hadn't come back for her when she needed him the most. I told him that actions would be taken against him to try and scare him, to arouse some hesitation in him. If he allowed such a thing to slip in between his relationship with Sakura then I would have never allowed him to see Sakura ever again. However he came back, despite knowing that the whole village is aware of his sentence and that he will be standing against them to get to Sakura." said Tsunade, she looked at Takuya's shocked face from the corner of her eye.
"When you were picking a fight with Sasuke, he didn't once try to fight back- till you mentioned Sakura's blindness. What Sakura really needs now, is him."
So what did you think of Itachi's past? Amaterasu is an OC by the way, for those of you who don't know. In the manga Itachi was said to have a lover before he massacred his entire clan. But since this is a fanfic, I decided to change it up a little. I know some of you may not like it but it was the best I could do. Anyway, review and leave your thoughts about Amaterasu :3