A.N.
Bless all of those who have reviewed, faved, and followed my story. I really, truly appreciate it!
If you have not kept up with the manga from here on out there may be spoilers.
Disclaimer: Naruto does NOT belong to me.
Sayuri and any characters that have not and will not appear in the manga and/or anime are completely original.
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And upon request by sPaRkzZz I will include a recap on the previous chapter.
Enjoy!
"You're still planning on fighting him?" He nodded. "But…" Sayuri bit her lip and looked down. "But you did it because you were ordered to, not because you wanted to!"
"It doesn't matter. Once Sasuke kills me he'll be able to return to Konoha a hero."
Sayuri's hand stopped glowing as she pulled back. "What makes you so sure he'd return?" Black eyes slid to her form.
She still didn't understand what her part was in all of this, but it was ok. Everything would fall into place in due time. "I know my little brother." was his answer.
Sayuri's fists clenched at her sides. "What if he finds out the truth?" He looked at her then. "What then?" She hated how he could say that Sasuke would return with such confidence. Sure he was his older brother, but ultimately Sasuke was his own person, and he rarely acted as was expected.
"He won't." He placed a hand on her head. "And even if he does, you'll be there to anchor him."
The Marihasha heiress looked up. Anchor him? She frowned. Just what the hell does he mean by that!?
Seeing her confusion he smiled and patted her head. "Go to sleep, Lady Sayuri."
Later that night she lay on her back staring up at the ceiling unable to fall asleep. This was tuning into a mess. Itachi was going to fight Sasuke soon, and the guy seemed completely comfortable with the idea of dying by his brother's hand. And what was that about her being an anchor? She turned to her side to watch Itachi, completely transfixed by the slow rise and fall of his chest.
"It's not fair…" she whispered, as she clutched the pillow under her.
Choice
As a child Sayuri dreamt about becoming a ninja. She would follow her father around the compound listening into his conversations and watch him train the new ANBU members. When she turned four she lost her mother and all dreams of becoming a ninja went down the drain as her father began to pull her away from such things. Instead of learning how to mold chakra or throw shuriken she was taught in the arts of a Shinto priest, the position her mother had held before her untimely death.
At the age of five that training stopped as she was left alone, her entire clan wiped off the map in a single fire. It was then that she was given a choice: to continue her studies as a priestess, or to begin training as ninja. It was needless to say that she chose the latter. In her childish mind she figured that if she trained hard enough to become a ninja, to be the strongest konoichi there was, to be able to take back what once belonged to her clan and become clan head, then no one will be able to take anything away from her again. She will never again have to experience the pain of losing someone dear to her, because she'd be strong enough to protect them.
That mentality didn't leave her once she lost her memory. Waking up in an unknown room with people asking her questions she didn't know how to answer, calling her by a name she did not recognize, prodding her…it was enough to scare the young Sayuri. But none of that had any effect on the one thing she had in the forefront of her mind: to become a ninja. For what reason, at that point she didn't know, but somehow, something within her kept signaling her unto the ninja path. It didn't matter how much Saito had argued against it, or how much Kenji tried to scare her through stories about war and murder.
Now that she was fourteen and a lot brighter than what she was when she was five, Sayuri had come to one conclusion: no matter how hard one trained, no matter how strong one became, there was always someone stronger, faster, or smarter that would be able to take everything one held dear and tear it apart.
That much was evident with Itachi, she realized as she followed the man through the woods. He was strong, he was bright, but that didn't stop Danzo from making Itachi kill his family, and turning Sasuke into a revenge thirsty teen.
But of course that didn't mean that Itachi had nothing up his sleeve. The Uchiha had manipulated everyone into playing part of his little game, a game in which his little brother would come out victorious, should everything fall in to place. She was but a mere pawn in such game, an important pawn, but a pawn none the less.
Her hands clenched. The two continued walking through the forest, crushing the fallen leaves in their wake. She felt used, heck she was and still is being used!
Itachi had sealed her mind, without once considering what that would do to her. All he thought about was the well being of his brother. Did he ever think that she could have gotten better on her own? Did he ever consider the fact that sealing her memories just made life that much harder for her? She had to start over, she had to create new memories, and just when she was feeling whole again, the past slowly bombards her.
But no, Sasuke came first. She frowned. Did she ever come first to anyone?
From what she remembers decisions were always made for her. What to wear, how to walk, how to talk, how to sit, when to go out, when to train, when to go to the hospital, what to eat, how she must act. It seemed to her that the only real decision she made herself was her career path. And now…she looked at Itachi's cloaked back, she felt as though even this was planed out as well.
"Itachi?" she murmured as they continued on their way after having left Kisame behind. She felt more strain on her body and figured they were going uphill. "Am I…" she hesitated.
Itachi glanced back for a second before continuing. "Are you what, Sayuri?"
She pulled on the sleeve of her cloak. "Am I dispensable?" He stopped. Sayuri followed suit. Did she say something wrong?
"Why do you think that?" he asked not yet looking at her.
"I…I don't really know…I just feel as if I'm not necessary."
He turned to her then. "Quite the opposite, you are indispensible. You are important for the future."
"Who's future? Sasuke's?" she asked and he nodded. "What about my future?" He looked at her then. "When do I get to decide what happens to my life? When do I stop being a pawn and begin being me?!" She felt herself become angry.
Itachi blinked back in surprise, he hadn't expected her to react this way. He actually expected her to be completely on board with his plan and not have her questioning her validity. "Sayuri…you are not a pawn."
"That's a lie!" she felt a lump in her throat. "I am a pawn! From the minute you decided to seal my mind up until now…I've been a pawn. You knew I'd come looking for you didn't you!?" Her chest hurt, probably because she still hadn't fully healed or maybe it was because she felt like crying, perhaps it was because of both but at the moment she didn't care.
"That is not…" he paused and stared hard at the girl. When he realized that nothing but the complete truth would placate her, he nodded. "Yes…" he sighed. "I knew you'd come looking for me."
"How?" she asked slowly.
"The day I last saw you, at the hotel, I placed a jutsu on you so that I'd be able to see through your eyes." Her brown eyes narrowed. "I was also able to influence your thoughts through it." He added with a sigh.
"You were the one that made me see the fire then?" He said nor did nothing. "You were the one that was leaking memories through the seal." She stated and he stood unable to look away. "You were the one who led me to think that Danzo was behind my clan's murder."
When Itachi nodded in agreement she almost lost it. She felt like screaming, like crying…like ringing his neck. The way she saw it, her life wasn't her own…it had been deliberately manipulated by Itachi.
"It was for your own good."
"My own good!?" she echoed incredulous. "What if I didn't want to remember? What if you had left me alone? What was to say that I couldn't live with my own memories? Why the hell did you seal them!? I could have been fine!" She felt something wet roll down her cheeks. Vaguely she realized that she was crying but she didn't care. This was her way of acting out.
"Yes I influenced your thoughts but the decisions you made were all you own." The man stood stock still as he answered the teen. "Yes, I allowed myself to be found but in the end it was your choice to come to me, your choice whether or not to believe me, and right now…this…" he gestured around him. "…Is also your choice. At any time you may choose to leave, I'm not going to hold you back."
Sayuri narrowed her eyes. "But you still want something from me for telling me the truth…" she retorted.
"Yes, but only if you so choose to continue."
"Continue…" she echoed.
Itachi gave her a nod. "If you decide to follow me from this point on you'll have to come through your end of the deal for the truth you sought after. If you decide to leave, then I won't ask of anything more from you."
"It's my choice." She whispered.
"It's always been."
XXX
"What a mess!" Moriyo mumbled to herself as she stepped around a sprawled drawer. Bright orange eyes wondered the room. Drawers were thrown about their contents sprawled every which way. Clothes were off their hangers and thrown around, the lamp lay on its side broken; the vanity looked as if something big had rammed into it, and the bed was a mess. Documents that should have been on the desk by the window were on the ground.
Kenji wasn't kidding when he said the place was trashed. She bent down and picked up one of the scrolls on the ground. Just as she held it in her hands she noticed a few specs of red. Curious she leaned forward and sniffed. "Blood."
Moriyo pulled back. The ANBU leader had gone to the Hokage and told her that he had to send Sayuri on a brief mission three days ago. Yesterday he told Moriyo that he believe someone was after Sayuri. Of course the dark haired shinobi looked at him oddly and asked why he believed that, to which Kenji replied by ordering her to go to the girl's home.
She felt a wave of nausea then. It was just like before with Kaminari, except this time there was no body to be found and the only evidence was a few specs of blood. Briefly the thought of Sayuri's dead body on the ground came to mind but she quickly did away with it. No, Sayuri was still alive otherwise Kenji would have said something. The jounin stood her full height. She looked at the half open window.
She must have escaped…Moriyo concluded. She must not be in the village, meaning she left without permission…If Kenji hadn't gone to the Hokage she would have automatically been labeled a missing nin by the elders regardless if she left because she was attacked.
The konoichi clenched her fists. Now she understood why Kenji sent her here. He wanted her to gather information…to gather evidence of foul play, and maybe even a reason as to why the Marihasha heiress was attacked.
They were searching for something…but what? She wondered as she walked around the room.
XXX
Diachi and Hajime sat before the ANBU captain a bit nervous by the glare they were receiving on their captain's behalf.
"You two are going to tell everything that happened on your last encounter with Sayuri."Both teens looked at one another.
Hajime was the first to speak. "What do you mean, Captain?"
Kenji's frown deepened. "I mean that as of three days ago, Sayuri has been missing from the village and you two are going to help me figure out where she could have gone."
"Missing?" Hajime exclaimed as he jumped from his seat. Diachi remained calm, however he very much felt like Hajime about this bit of news.
"Yes missing. I found her home ransacked and not matter where I searched I couldn't locate her. I've told the Hokage that she was sent on mission, it'll buy us some time until we find her. You two are to remain quiet about this, if one of the elders finds out that she left without permission she'll be classified a missing ninja."
"What do you want to know?" Diachi asked after a few seconds of silence.
Kenji sat down. "Anything suspicious you noticed about her. If she was jumpy or if she seemed to be daydreaming, anything that can help me find out what happened."
Diachi pinched the bridge of his nose. "She asked me about Danzo and the root the last time I saw her at my apartment." He sighed. "I gave her blueprints to the ROOT's base."
"You what?" Kenji hissed. And here he thought that Diachi was the most sensible out of the three and he was the first one to give Sayuri sensitive information.
"I-I…" Kenji turned to Hajime who seemed to flinch lightly under his Captain's gaze. "I…might have given her documents on the Akatsuki."
Kenji felt a full on migraine coming. "And what exactly was your reasoning for giving her top secret information!?" The two did not answer. "This is ridiculous both of you were played by a mere girl!" He screamed as the two seemed to sink into their seats.
XXX
The building was old. There were random cracks on the wall, and small lanterns that lead the way as they walked the hall. At times she would notice Itachi tremble but said nothing about it, figuring that it was not the best time. The hallway led them to a large room. Her eyes narrowed at the single chair at the back, the Uchiha crest behind it. It seemed to have been a throne room in the past.
"You can still turn back." Itachi's smooth voice drew her out of her musings. She turned back to the man that stared at her with a small hint of amusement mixed with sadness. If everything went accordingly then this would be the last time he would see her.
"No, I'm sure." His eyes slid to her right hand as it was inside the pocket of her dress.
"You keep fingering that necklace of yours, is it of sentimental value to you?"
Sayuri froze, hand still in the small pocket of her dress. "How did you…?"
Itachi smiled. "I saw you take it out a while back at the hotel. Why don't you put it on?"
She squeezed the bell one last time before letting go of it. Calmly she took her hand out and attempted to look relaxed. "It doesn't matter."
Itachi regarded the teen with a mix of curiosity and melancholy. "Are you ready for—" Itachi suddenly doubled over in a coughing fit.
"Itachi!" she ran up to him but stopped as he raised a hand to stop her. She felt useless as he continued to cough. "Sit." She ordered as he gradually stopped. Confused the Uchiha looked at her about to protest but she would have none of that. With a determined gleam in her eyes she gestured to the only chair at the back of the room.
Itachi stepped up the stairs and stared at the seat before he was promptly shoved into it by the Marihasha heiress. "Sayu—"
"If you're going to fight him you will fight him in the best condition you can be." She made a few seals as a light green glow took to her hands. "Those pills you've been taking won't do anything for this. I can at least manage to suppress the symptoms for a while longer." He opened his mouth to intervene but Sayuri cut him off once more. "I think I can get you back to a suitable level." She concentrated on relieving the stress he had on his lungs before continuing to the rest of his body. "After all you want this to be as believable as possible."
To him her last comment sounded strained. It could have been because of the pressure of using chakra she barely had on him, or it could have been due the frustration she felt because of his method of dealing with the entire situation. In any case he decided not to dwell on it, it was his choice and if she wanted to help him no matter how absurd his idea was to her, then so be it.
"There." She breathed out as she stepped back and wiped off the small bit of sweat she accumulated over the ordeal. He stood and flexed his arms surprised at how much stronger he felt. He turned to the girl as she stepped back to watch her handy work.
Itachi looked up at the ceiling. "…It's time." His words were just above a whisper. Sayuri watched him intently as he looked back at her. "You will do what I ask without hesitation?" His tone left no room for argument as he took a more serious look.
Taking a deep breath she gave him one sharp nod. "Yes." She saw a small smile before everything turned Sharingan red.
XXX
The day he first met Sayuri, she was but a small bundle in the arms of a silver haired woman. Often he had heard his mother talk of said woman and the head of the Marihasha clan. From what his highly analytical seven year old mind understood was that their relationship was complicated. He understood that clan politics often made it difficult to marry out of love but he figured if his parents could do it than so could they.
In any case he distinctly remembered holding the hand of his almost two year old brother as they approached the woman sitting on the chair with the bundle in hand. He remembered being amazed by the woman's eyes as they were two different shades of blue. Gently she showed them the small bundle in her arms. He had sucked in his breath as he noticed that the baby had one ruby red eye and one sapphire blue. His brother had been too young at the time to understand any of it, but he knew that the woman had allowed him to see the baby because she knew that one day he and his brother would protect the bundle.
Years passed, and he had become a Chunin by age ten. He saw her again only this time she was three. Sayuri had been running about the garden while her mother watched from the entrance. He stood quietly next to the girl's mother as his eyes followed the toddler as she chased a butterfly. He heard the silver haired woman laugh lightly as she turned to him.
"She needs friends." He remembered her saying to him. At the time he only looked at her with curiosity in his eyes. "You should bring your brother." She smiled. "The two of you would do her good."
"Yes ma'am." He answered. Suddenly he felt a hand on his head.
"You're so young and a Chunin already…" She smiled down at him, blue eyes on him but he felt as if she was staring right through him. "You remind me of myself." Her smile suddenly disappeared. "Don't forget yourself." She had said.
At the time he didn't understand he simply nodded before setting out to greet the three year old girl. A year later he took his brother to meet her for a second time, seeing as the first time his brother had been too young to remember. Itachi had watched them shake hands and saw the spark in his brother's obsidian eyes. Every day his brother would ask to go visit Sayuri and he complied. Each day he watched as Sasuke did practically anything for the younger brunette just to have he smile directed at him and not Itachi. He watched his little brother carefully now. The sixteen year old stood before him, both slightly sweating due to the chakra they spent while fighting genjutsu against genjutsu. It was time to get the show on the road.
"You still do not have eyes like mine." Sasuke glared at him. "How do you expect to defeat me when I am still obviously stronger than you?"Sasuke growled.
Itachi pulled of the impassive look well. "Allow me to level the playing field."
Sasuke took a defensive stance as his brother snapped his fingers. A subtle movement from his right caught his attention. The sound of footsteps seemed to echo in the room until finally the person stepped out into the light. Sharingan eyes widened slightly at the sight.
There before him, stood the girl that haunted his dreams. Her hair brown hair had grown to her waist; she wore a dress and sported bandages on her person, he noticed the tattoo on her arm, before his eyes settled on the necklace.
What the hell is she doing here!? He thought. No…This has to be another illusion. But if that was so, his Sharingan would have automatically let him know of it. His red met her brown. The life that he had remembered in those unique brown eyes was no longer there. It was gone. All he could see was an empty shell.
"What did you do?" he tried hard to keep his voice even his eyes not leaving hers.
Itachi scoffed. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked. "She's under genjutsu."
"You kidnapped her." Sasuke stated.
Itachi looked at his brother. He had been right after all. Sayuri still meant something to him, but still he had to make sure. "Consider it…a gift." Sasuke turned to him then feigning impassiveness. "Kill her and your eyes would be like mine." The older Uchiha didn't miss the slight widening of his little brother's eyes or the twitch of his fingers.
"What are you going on about?"
Itachi blinked. He had to keep up with the façade. "You say you see me dead at your feet, but you cannot win against my Mangekyo." He began to slip his free hand back into the sleeve of his coat. "So your goal shall unfortunately end a fantasy. For you do not possess the Mangekyo."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his brother. Kill…Sayuri? He risked a sideways glance at the brunette. "I won't."
"And I won't waste my time with a weakling." Itachi narrowed his eyes. It was a risk he was about to take but he'd take it any way…for his brother. "If you won't kill her willingly, then I shall give you a reason for you to do so."
From the corner of his eyes he watched the brunette's body tense. His eyes turned to Itachi who merely stared back at him.
"It's not me you should be watching, foolish little brother."
Sharingan eyes widening he jumped out of the way just as a katana slashed at the spot he was once at. With barely hidden shock, he watched as the brunette straightened up and twirled the katana in her hand, assuming an offensive stance before rushing back at him again.
She's fast! He realized as the heiress continued to attack him. He evaded each and every one of her strikes. He had to figure out a way to break the illusion. He hissed as she managed to nick his arm. Sayuri shifted and with her left hand pulled out three shuriken, throwing the deadly pieces of metal at him.
The Uchiha jumped out of the way, and turned around just in time to block a kick that was aimed for his back. He skidded back to a halt and lowered his arms. They were numb. That kick had been rather hard. In a few seconds she sheathed the katana before rushing at him. Her punch met the air as he stepped back. Quickly he grabbed her wrist and swung her down onto the ground hoping that the shock from the impact would wake her.
No such luck. The girl stood up robotically and took out a kunai. She disappeared and reappeared right before him. He barely had time to take out his Kusanagi to block her strike. He noticed as her chakra seemed to pool into her hands in order to re-enforce it against his blade. He grunted as he was forced to take a step back. With her free hand the girl made a fast series of hand signs, taking Sasuke by surprise.
"Fire Style: fireball jutsu."
The Uchiha cursed as he rolled out of the way. Sharingan eyes watching as the white spiraling ball of flame incinerated everything in its path. He had imagined that she would be strong but not this strong. All of the training that he had done with Orochimaru, and she was still able to match him in every way! It felt as if she already knew what he was about to do ahead of time. But that had to be impossible, the only way for her to do that would be to either have the Sharingan, or…
Obsidian eyes stared back at the girl warily. She launched at him again, this time a series of kicks to his person. She dropped down to the ground and swept his feet he jumped back and she was suddenly on her hands as she turned and kicked the blade out of his hand before delivering a kick to his abdomen. He back flipped and landed off to the side in a crouch.
"Rei…" he whispered. He watched as the girl stood, face completely devoid of emotion. She might be under a genjutsu but everything she did had become second nature, they did train together after all.
"What's wrong Uchiha?" he stilled. "You don't seem to be putting much of a fight." Her words were mocking but her tone was detached. His Sharingan began to spin.
"Don't bother." He turned his gaze to his older brother. "You'll be wasting your chakra trying to break the genjutsu. Sayuri is no longer there."
Sasuke glanced at the girl before him. "What do you mean no longer there?"
Itachi smirked. "It was too easy pulling her under the illusion, she didn't resist much. I believe it was because she simply gave up. She knew there was no way for her to defeat me."
Sasuke clenched his fists, his knuckles turning a pure white. If Sayuri wasn't the one in control of her body then who was he fighting!?
"A puppet." Itachi answered his unasked question. "You are merely fighting a puppet with the face of the girl you had sworn to protect once upon a time."
Protect? Sasuke wondered as he watched the girl tilt her head to the side as she regarded him. Suddenly he his mind went three years back. When she was still a Genin, and had fallen under his brothers Tsukuyomi. His eyes narrowed. She always got wrapped up in his problems. She wasn't supposed to be here.
In a blink of an eye he vanished, Itachi turned to see him aiming his Kusanagi at his back. Just as he was about to make contact something else stopped him. He gritted his teeth at what he saw. Sayuri was protecting Itachi. Her arms were raised in front of her. If she hadn't done that then his blade would have gone through her head.
He pulled back and glared. "What the hell are you doing Sayuri!?" he demanded.
"She cannot act of her own free will, Sasuke." Itachi said as the girl lowered into a defensive stance. "She's a puppet under my control. And although your idea of attacking me to break the jutsu is correct, that does not mean I won't use her as a shield."
Sasuke growled. "Bastard."
"Name calling won't get you anywhere. If you want to get to me you must kill her first."
"Water style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Water in the air began to accumulate around her.
"The power of the Marihasha clan is amazing. Don't you think little brother?" Suddenly the dragon launched itself at him.
He jumped out of the way only to have the jutsu change directions and follow him. She's become skilled in jutsu as well. He concentrated his chakra into his hand before rushing at the oncoming dragon. "Chidori!"
The effect was immediate. The dragon was split in two and the girl was left defenseless. Her brown eyes met his and for a brief second he hesitated as an onslaught of memories of her bombarded him. However he wasn't dealing with the real Sayuri anymore. Reality hit him hard as he was suddenly pinned against the ground, the brunette's knees on his shoulders as she held a tight grip on his neck.
He watched as she took out a kunai and leveled it above his head. Cursing he let his chakra pour out of his body in an electric current. The girl above him hissed in pain as she pushed off of him and stumbled back. Sitting himself up Sasuke watched as the girl trembled. Most likely she was beginning to feel numb.
Using that bit of time he turned his attention to his brother who regarded the entire scene with aloofness. Unraveling the bandages in his arms he quickly summoned a windmill shuriken aiming it at his brother. Itachi quickly blocked it with a kunai.
Sasuke smirked as he ran his Chidori through the shuriken allowing it to cut through his brother's kunai and consequently cut through him.
"You ran the Chidori through…!" His brother exclaimed as he suddenly became a flock of crows all of which began to surround him.
Alarmed Sasuke looked about him until suddenly he saw it. Sayuri appeared in a matter of seconds and sent a kick to his abdomen sending him flying towards the wall. In a quick flurry of movements he found his limbs pinned against the wall by thick roots. Turning his attention back to the girl he saw her hands on the ground.
"It'll take a lot more than simple roots to keep me down…Sayuri." The girl straightened up as he ran his Chidori through his body, effectively breaking the through the roots. She moved to take out her katana but froze mid way as she felt a blade pressed against her neck. "If you won't stay out of my way, then I'll simply make you."
Quickly taking a grip of his hand she ran lighting through her own body. Sasuke hissed and steppe back. "You're not the only one that can run electricity through their system."
"Sayuri…" he narrowed his eyes; the commas around his iris began to spin. "I know you're not lost. You're in there somewhere. Wake up damn it!" The girl blinked at him. "Don't let him manipulate you."
"Words won't get through her." He heard his brother say. And he was right. The girl simply kept attacking him. She wasn't the Sayuri he remembered. Her blank eyes were nothing like the lively fiery ones he had seen before, her smile was nowhere in sight, not even the arrogant smirk she used to have on her face whenever she managed to one up him during their training as Genin.
Her moves although skilled were robotic. He raised his Kusanagi to block her katana. They lacked the passion and determination he had seen in her long ago. She swiveled and struck again this time managing to nick him on the shoulder. He watched her turn time and time again as she struck him each time hitting his leg or arm. That's when he realized something crucial.
Sayuri never aimed to kill. She had plenty of opportunities but she always left an opening for him to be able to block, deflect, and even attack her. His brother was wrong. Sayuri was still there, because she wasn't he would have been critically injured long ago.
The heiress might not be the fastest or the strongest, but she knew her jutsu well. She hadn't earned that tattoo on her arm for nothing.
Their blades clashed as he finally made his decision. Allowing his curse mark to react, a snake made its way out of his body just before it swiped at her. Sayuri quickly pulled back. She didn't have time to react as Sasuke suddenly appeared in her line of vision swinging a leg at her. She took the blow to the head and landed harshly on the ground. Just as she was about to get up there was a weight on her, a hand suddenly gripping her hair and pulling her head back. Blank brown eyes stared into Sharingan red.
He didn't care what Itachi said, he had to try. Damn it! Where are you!? His grip on her hair tightened as he searched her mind in barely concealed panic.
XXX
Itachi watched his brother closely. He won't kill her…Red eyes watched as his brother tightened his hold on the girl, the simple gesture was proof enough for him to know that Sayuri was still important to Sasuke. From this point on she would be his anchor. Itachi held a single hand sign in front of him.
Kai: Release.
XXX
Sayuri blinked. "Sa…Sasuke…?" she whispered. The Uchiha looked down at her. She winced, the guy was on her chest wound and his hand was gripping her hair tightly. Obsidian eyes looked into warm brown. She felt something wet slide down her forehead as suddenly a very sharp pain on her temple made itself known to her.
Quickly she began to piece everything together. The last thing she remembered was Itachi's Sharingan. Her body was practically screaming at her, and as she looked over the Uchiha she came to the conclusion that he had been fighting someone. And from the current position and pain she was in, that someone had to be her.
Her vision began to blur, and she attributed the look of worry in Sasuke's eyes to her fractured skull. So this is what Itachi had in mind. He wanted her to fight Sasuke without restraint. That was why he put her under genjutsu. The man had technically locked her up within her own mind and done with her body what he pleased. But she wasn't about to complain. This, whatever this was, is Itachi's idea. She knew that he wouldn't have done this to her without a valid reason.
Her lids began to feel heavy as she chanced a glance at Itachi who smiled sadly down at her. This would be the last time she'd see him. Her gaze turned back to Sasuke. The teen had long ago released her hair and was now pulling he head up. The weight on her body was gone. She felt like a rag doll as he pulled her toward him before jumping out of the way.
In her haze she felt rather than saw the fire ball that Itachi had aimed their way. She felt a hand on her cheek as they landed. Brown eyes turned back to the younger Uchiha as he said something but she couldn't concentrate enough to hear what it was. He suddenly looked up and rolled out of the way from an onslaught of shuriken.
Fighting to stay conscious she placed a hand on Sasuke's arm. The Uchiha looked down at her and said something, but she didn't understand… her consciousness was slipping.
XXX
"Sayuri…" he looked down at her as he felt something touch his arm. She stared up at him, confusion on her face as her eyes began to glaze over before they slid shut. "Shit." He cursed.
"Why not kill her?" Itachi asked his brother who continued to stare at the limp body in his arms. "She'll only serve to drag you down."
"No." Sasuke whispered as he set her aside. "She'll live."
"Is that so, foolish little brother?"
Itachi saw no change in Sasuke's resolve. Needless to say he was proud.
A.N.
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