Trigger warning: blood, scenes of torture, death and sex
She was…
Ignoring Naruto's splutter that was begging of her not to react, Sakura wasted no time in rushing the unnaturally blonde woman whose scent was maddening to her. She barely even had the chance to gasp her surprise before a hand was being shoved deep into her back, eyes locking at Sakura's twisting of their bodies and instantaneously ensnaring her.
"Sakura-chan, don't–"
"Knock," she ordered lowly, facing her forward once more.
Her fist tightened inside her body, trembled as she continued to be overwhelmed by the scent rolling off the frightened human who had no other choice but to comply. But she was taking much too long and having enough, Sakura pushed that little bit further until her hand tore through the other side of her chest, knocking on the door herself in such a manner that contradicted the fury within.
It was irrational. Stupid. Yet regardless of knowing such things, there she stood with the literal heart of another in her grasp all because she caught a mere whiff of him on her.
"I can't lie and say it's not personal," she breathed into the trembling woman's ear. "It so is."
The saddened exhale behind her was ignored completely by the bordering on furious swinging of the door, and Sakura offered a feral smile at the sight of an Itachi who was quite clearly becoming unhinged. That anger cracked at the sight they made together and effortlessly dissipated her own foul mood.
"Hello, love."
How far could he be pushed this time?
Tempted to try her luck, she ensured all attention was on her when allowing the human's body to fall lifelessly to the ground with a grotesque thud, holding eye contact while seductively licking the blood from her hand. And he was entranced by Sakura's every move, much to her dark amusement. His pupils were dilated, lips parting when she licked her own.
"We need to talk," she murmured, dragging her wandering gaze from his inviting lips just in time to witness the increasing need in his.
So fucking easy.
"…About?"
Without a care for the scene that it made (since she knew Naruto would dispose of her anyway), Sakura stepped over the pitiful lump of a human and into Itachi's personal space. She made a show of inhaling and enjoying his scent, allowing her lidded eyes to convey lust and satisfaction of her own. Messing with him seemed even greater fun when he was so visibly distressed already and she itched with the urge to lay into him with full force.
"I need you," Sakura whispered temptingly.
"Quit it," ordered Naruto and he gave a tug of her hand just as she reached out for Itachi. "We don't have time to screw around."
It was with obvious reluctance that Itachi glanced to him, though seconds later he had her stunned by the brief flash of relief that cleared his eyes of her influence. "Come inside," he said without needing to, seeing as she just killed the owner and destroyed the barrier that denied them entry.
Such a gaudy place, Sakura thought haughtily, gaze sweeping the space. It was far below her standards – couldn't even be compared to the home he created with the intent of it becoming their family home. One tacky ornament in particular had Sakura quirking an unimpressed eyebrow, and she tipped it precariously with a single fingertip until a hand covered her own and had her meeting Itachi's eye from over her shoulder.
"And here I thought you had good taste," she teased as she was made to release the ornament.
"You really think I had a hand in choosing this?" came his humoured response.
Any vocal response she made would lead him to believe she was jealous of the woman who did decorate the mansion. So, instead, Sakura made a show of considering him carefully before a quiet clearing of a throat captured her attention. Part of her hoped it to be Sasuke so she could torment him too, but she knew it would realistically be Shisui. According to Naruto, Sasuke wasn't in the greatest mindset.
"Sakura-chan," the blond pushed impatiently.
Saying that, neither was Naruto. He'd driven her insane from the very start of their road trip with his teeming concerns that could no longer be held back. From what was going to happen to Kakashi and Rin in their absence, to questions about Gaara's lack of involvement in their travels, to wondering about Mitsuki's sour mood after she stepped up as his parent to discipline him for disobeying. However, the most irritating questions were the ones about the ripper who was growing hungrier by the day, reminding Sakura of Itachi and Shisui's tendencies to force Sasuke to go cold turkey.
She could already feel the twinging of her throat; the burning sensation in her gut worsened by the vervain she continued to ingest daily. If it continued as she and Gaara suspected it would, then she would be forced to leave her home until Sasuke fed again for fear of turning on the witches. On her son.
Therefore, that was going to be another point of their meeting. They were screwing her over by starving him, so she was going to have to rectify his struggles with self-control somehow. A better, long term solution.
The rest of their mansion was just as flamboyant as the entryway, its only saving grace being that the curtains were drawn. With only the fire illuminating the space (which Sakura presumed was on purpose), the vibrant decorations were dulled considerably and made the living area almost bearable. It seemed the woman she'd just killed was new money and lacked good taste, so spent frivolously on anything with a large price tag and hoped it worked well together.
"Sakura-chan," Shisui greeted politely from his seat beside the fireplace. "You are fond of your dramatic entrances now, I see."
She pouted at the words and reached behind herself to drag the now eager hybrid in with her. "I didn't want to wait around for your pet to invite me in, that's all."
"How did you know?"
"Itachi's scent was all over her," came her muttered response.
"Try not to sound too jealous about it," Naruto snickered.
Much to her frustration, he managed to duck beneath the hand that swung for him before flash stepping further away, re-appearing closer to the stairs. They all knew where he would be headed and Sakura growled under her breath when he offered a pitiful wave from over his shoulder as he took two steps at a time, clearly too eager to find his lover to bother with them now.
Lips lowered to her ear and Sakura resisted the urge to shiver at the lower tenor of his voice when Itachi softly murmured, "You're jealous?"
Moving away would give him the impression she was affected by him in a way that made her uneasy. Leaning back gave him too much power.
Mind made up, Sakura turned and stepped tantalisingly closer as he straightened, fully aware of the surprised man seated behind them but not caring in the least. "Should I be?"
"Should I?"
She snorted and turned away from her former love, knowing that his eyes were still on her as she made her way towards the sofas with an extra sway in her hips. Like hell she was going down that rabbit hole anytime soon. Not while she needed a favour, anyway.
"How are Mitsuki-kun and Ino-san?" Shisui enquired during her approach.
That boy…
Sakura barely bit back her agitated growl.
"Mitsuki-kun is currently grounded until further notice," she amused them by muttering. "Ino's his warden for the duration of his sentence."
As though his disobeying direct orders and tangling with two freaking heretics wasn't bad enough, her hard-headed son proceeded to argue with her about it all. Rationally. Mitsuki dared to look her dead in the eye and calmly disagree and argue his case and holy shit, that made her angrier because she knew he had a point.
"I don't know where he gets it from," Sakura continued in a low mutter. "He's so stubborn it drives me crazy."
Itachi's knowing smirk that she caught sight of was let off the hook by Naruto's worried sigh, his footsteps heavy as he came back down the stairs. Something in his expression had Itachi's shoulders dropping and prompted her to glance back to Shisui, who was now frowning and placing his book to a small, rounded table by his side.
"Let me guess: Sasuke drama," she guessed, eyes rolling when Naruto pouted at her like a kicked puppy. "Where is the little ray of sunshine?"
"Refusing to leave his rooms," explained Itachi and he made his way to the bar at the other end of the room. Then, after a short pause like the repercussions only just occurred to him, he looked to her with a minute frown and asked, "Are you coping?"
Just about, but like hell she was about to tell him that. "I hope you're not starving him up there," was all she responded with instead, haughty. "If I go back to that feral state because of you lot, there will be hell to pay."
There must have been something more serious going on with the ripper, Sakura realised at the look of concern Naruto shot in Itachi's direction. They shared a silent conversation that had her eyes narrowing suspiciously until finally, the blond shook his head, causing what she could guess was relief to flash through Itachi's expression.
However, just as she opened her mouth to point out how rude their telepathic conversation was, Shisui intervened swiftly and asked her, "Where is Gaara-kun?"
Likely agitated and putting her clansmen on edge with his bad mood as he remained at the mansion. Sakura wouldn't have minded him joining her, but considering she had a pretty big favour to ask of the men before her, she knew Gaara's presence wouldn't exactly butter them up. If anything, it would irritate Itachi.
"Believe it or not, I don't need him by my side every second of the day," she muttered with a roll of her eyes. "We both know I work faster this way."
Shisui frowned. "How so? Surely having an original like him–"
"Don't even go there," Naruto begged, stunning them with the deep redness of his face. "Those guys can't keep their hands off each other even if there's others around. It's crazy. I thought I was bad."
Sakura's gaze grew lidded at just the reminder of what he walked in on, and she smirked impishly.
"And any normal person would stop if somebody walked in," he shot directly at her in an accusing manner that had her genuinely laughing. "You guys just kept going! You–"
"Enough, Naruto-kun," sighed Itachi.
"You have no right to act so jealous," she warned her former love, eyebrow lifting. "Not when I can still smell your latest woman."
The older of the two Uchiha men sighed empathetically, telling her even when Itachi shot him a dark look of warning, "Ease up, Sakura-chan. Itachi's still coming to terms with all that he's missed in the past fifty years. The ending of your relationship is raw to him."
"As it should be," she shot back. "I'm a catch."
"Why are you here?"
The less than subtle shift in conversation had her resisting the urge to continue toying with Itachi, despite the intense craving within that left her aching like a junkie. Instead, she chose to drift closer to the fire that graced her with its warmth, and Sakura's gaze grew distant at the dancing flames that beckoned her closer.
Fire had always seemed so beautiful, in her eyes. So volatile and alluring; pretending like they could tame it when really all it took was one split second of misjudgement for it to lash out at them. A smile gradually pulled at her lips when Sakura held out her hand to the flames, fingers twitching at the appealing heat that attempted to lure her in. Not all that dissimilar to those in her life.
Movement behind her brought Sakura back to the present and she turned her head to the side to spare them a half-hearted glance over her shoulder. "First things first: feed the ripper." Her eyes narrowed fractionally and combining the shifting of the veins surrounding them as she activated her demon side's eyes, she gave off a cold warning that was amplified by the shadows cast over her features by the fire. "Know now that if I get even a flash of a temptation of harming Mitsuki-kun, I will tear your worlds to shreds."
Not them physically but their worlds. They would never live another happy or peaceful day so long as she was alive.
"Relax, Sakura-chan," insisted Naruto and he sighed, coming to stand with her. "I just checked myself. Sasuke's feeding."
"I can feel his thirst–"
"He's always thirsty," came his grave response. "Comes with the territory of being a ripper."
Not allowing him to enter another attempt of swaying Sakura into unlinking their lives, she rolled her eyes and faced the two Uchiha men with a considerably friendlier smile that was meant to throw them off. "Well, now that we've got the awkward part over with, it's time to get to the real issue here."
"Real issue?"
It was Naruto who bluntly demanded, "Where is Obito?"
"Why do you suddenly care about Obito's well-being?" Itachi murmured, and she thanked him with a nod when he handed her a drink.
"I don't," she replied simply. It was easy to note their suspicion of her words, though it was only to be expected all things considered. In a show of being unconcerned by that, Sakura spared a glance around the living area before showing interest in the shattered glass bottle, eyebrow raising as she played with ideas of who threw the temper tantrum. "I've only met the guy once and set him on fire – sorry about that, by the way, Shisui-san." Sakura smiled warmly at his displeased expression. "It wasn't personal."
"Yes, it was."
Her playful laughter had something in Itachi's expression softening, and part of her wondered if he was comfortable in all their presence now, since his reactions to her were hardly discreet (not like any of their other meetings). They had Naruto offering him a comforting clap to the shoulder before he made his way over to the bar.
"Okay maybe it was a little, but you guys were trying to kill me first." She smirked when he offered a pout, knowing that was as good as it would get between them. "Anyway, back to the recluse. Turns out he has a couple of heretic friends who haven't seen him since before our first meeting."
Shisui straightened in disbelief. "Heretics…!"
"Kakashi-san and Rin-san," came Itachi's surprised murmur. "They're alive?"
"And pissed." Rolling her eyes, Sakura helped herself to the sofa and kicked her feet up onto the coffee table, eyebrow quirking when Itachi's focus lingered on her heels then legs. "So am I."
"Why?"
"You guys didn't check in on me," she accused playfully, though the words soon dripped with annoyance at the situation, and she lost her sulking pout. "You didn't think it strange when Sasuke was taken out by a bitching witchy headache out of nowhere?" The two men exchanged glances and she scoffed. "You didn't even realise. Some support system you guys have here."
At the dipping of the other side of the sofa, she glanced to Itachi languidly and delighted in the grave concern trying to etch itself into those aristocratic features. Lifting her chin at the insistence of his finger, Sakura allowed Itachi to touch and assess her like he could see the torture inflicted, even leaning into his touch when he cradled the side of her face delicately. It was quite the sight to behold, witnessing his melancholy.
The clearing of Shisui's throat just as their powerful gazes locked had Itachi sighing and reluctantly releasing her, looking over to him as his cousin questioned, "I assume Gaara-kun came to your defence?"
Translation: were they dead now?
"Not immediately," came her airy response and she graced the mutt with a look of appreciation that had him hooked onto her every word and grinning wolfishly, so visibly proud of himself. "Naruto did so first, before he risked everything with Gaara and my clan to end things amicably."
Realisation had Itachi sitting back in his seat and he sipped at his whisky. Part of her idly speculated why he chose anything other than his favourite, for the stench she caught a meagre whiff of was completely foreign to her. Then she had to bite back her devious grin when the dots connected, and her attention landed on the shattered bottle of whisky once more.
"You came to some form of agreement."
"That requires our assistance," added Shisui.
"I think it's safe to assume Obito's stuck with Madara, right?" Naruto drawled with a roll of his eyes. Glass filled beyond what was considered well-mannered or proper, he came to stand at the head of the seating area with a stance that was strong and unmoving, making it clear that he wasn't leaving without an answer he believed to be acceptable. The sight had her feeling proud of the mutt. "We need you to find where he's hiding out."
A quiet scoff had Sakura's attention redirecting back to Itachi, silently watching in the hopes that he would continue to wear his emotions so openly. He didn't. And she barely resisted the urge to narrow her eyes at the frustration flickering to life.
"The moment we give up our position, Madara will capture us also," Shisui stated blandly and crossed one leg over the other. "He cannot, under any circumstances, get his hands on Sasuke."
Well, she was obviously inclined to agree with that statement considering it'd be her life on the line. However, if she wanted to keep her son from falling onto Madara's radar, then Sakura knew she needed the heretics on her side. With them as an ally, she could enact her revenge and keep her coven out of the battle altogether.
Itachi would be the one to need the most convincing, meaning she had to step up her game from childish torment. Playing around with him to get under his skin was all fun and games but she knew ultimately it got her nowhere. Targeting his emotions, now that Sakura knew he did in fact have a heart and what's more, he was having a bad day, was the way to go about it. All she had to do apply pressure.
"I made them a deal," she pushed, holding onto Itachi's gaze seriously. "If I hold up my end of the deal, then those nifty little heretics will ensure my son doesn't step within a hundred miles of Madara."
But her former love was unmoving. "You could always give up on your need for vengeance."
It was incredibly rare for anybody to tell her no and so his callous words threatened to send her into a spiral of white-hot rage. Sakura commended herself on somehow containing it.
"Give up on avenging my parents who were enjoying their retirement after a lifetime of service?" she shot back calmly, knowing that the response hit hard because Itachi inhaled deeply and helped himself to a large gulp of his whisky. "What about avenging what was supposed to be my happy ever after? Our happy ever after."
Dark eyes shut and somewhere opposite them, there was a vocalised wince. "Sakura…"
But she kept advancing in her emotional assault just as she was taught to, even angled her body towards him and opened up her expression in a show of passionate fury and longing. "We planned babies, Itachi."
For several extremely long moments, nothing but the flickering flames could be heard in the living area, although Sakura was certain that the horrified shock of the other two men was loud enough to make up for that. In that time, she held onto Itachi's gaze, jaw clenching and brows mashing together as she forced herself to focus on the flashing heartache that she had spent decades masking and denying.
If she had to plunge headfirst into that pain to spare her son from future suffering, then so be it.
"You can't tell me that I'm wrong for wanting to unleash all this pain and anger out on the person who so effortlessly stripped me of everything I ever wanted." Damn, she was good. The voice waver, the heavy breathing from the intensity of said heightened emotions – hell, she even managed to squeeze out a tear that had his eyes growing tight. "Itachi…"
"Enough, Sakura-chan," warned Shisui, but his voice was soft. Empathetic, almost.
She didn't lean closer. Didn't make it seem too much by seeking his touch. Instead, Sakura brought her arms around herself and squeezed her middle until her knuckles drained of colour. It used to be one of her biggest tells for being in great distress and while she'd rid herself of it several decades ago, she knew it was a good way to display vulnerability and lure Itachi in. "Please," she continued quietly. "I can't move on now that I know the truth."
It must have been a hell of a show, because a hand was coming to her shoulder in a comforting gesture that had Sakura forcing herself to bite back a conniving smile.
"You wanted to make it up to her," Naruto added to the ambush and gave a squeeze of her shoulder. "Help us now. Madara's already taken one future from her. Don't let him even think of taking the one she has with Mitsuki."
And she used that opening too, allowing the desperation and fury to shine bright in her expression. It awakened her demon side's eyes at the mere thought of Mitsuki being harmed, hands trembling uncontrollably as she let the emotions flood back in.
Did they need to keep pushing? Honestly, Sakura wasn't sure if she had anything left to give besides her body, and she knew that wouldn't have half the impact as the emotional assault did.
"Forget it," she snarled and was up on her feet in one swift movement. "I–"
Itachi was on his and catching the hand that tried lashing out to the side with ease, yanking her closer so that he possessed her undivided attention.
Outrageously, her heart pounded feverishly in her chest.
"This will bring you closure?"
Sakura's jaw clenched at the lack of distance between them that demanded she craned her head back to look up at him. "I hope so." Putting on an air of exhaustion, she allowed her lips to turn downwards at the corners. "I need it to."
"Itachi," Shisui tried, but his voice sounded distant the longer her former love held onto her gaze, his expression one of careful consideration and intense longing that shockingly had her scrambling to keep her cool. "Sasuke is–"
"All for Madara's downfall," stated Naruto coldly, head dipping. "Don't try speaking for him."
"That is not my intention," he said placatingly and stood, his seemingly peaceful morning obliterated like she'd thrown that precious book and glass of whisky into the fire herself. "Sasuke is vulnerable on a whole new level now. Partly down to the link between his and Sakura-chan's lives, but mostly due to the shame Madara believes it has brought on our name."
But Sakura refused to let Shisui be the voice of reason.
Her hand came to Itachi's side and gripped tight, head falling forward just as she brought forth the tears that damned him. "Our plans have been relentlessly tormenting me ever since your compulsion lifted," she whispered in a pained voice. "We were so close to having it all, love."
A gentle hand swept through her hair before bringing her head to his chest, stunning her into breathlessness with the burst of emotions within her own at the loving, protective embrace. Embarrassingly, genuine tears stung her eyes and Sakura was forced to tighten her grasp on him, the sudden intake of air ragged and agonising.
Grief, Sakura belatedly recognised the heightened emotion. It was coming back with a vengeance.
"Leave us," Itachi ordered coolly.
Holy shit.
It was unbearable.
The ringing of her ears was so intense it left her lightheaded, and Sakura's legs betrayed her horrifically by buckling under the weight of the grief as it surged through her.
"Forgive me," he murmured and held her close, securely just as she was certain she was about to shatter into a million pieces. The flashes of memories were too much to handle, snapping through her head without any hopes of being slowed or controlled. "My compulsion would have kept so much of your heartache at bay."
Her parents. Happy, so in love and at peace. Then, their butchered bodies. The terror stamped permanently into their frozen expressions. Blood that seemingly wouldn't stop showing up, requiring Ino to completely gut and redecorate the cabin, taking her months to find exact replicas of everything.
"Now that you are focusing on it, it will be bringing it all to the surface."
The future she'd craved. The babies who could have gone to school and excelled but instead remained as nothing more than a frozen possibility. Babies who could have made friends and fallen in love and lived their lives to the fullest. Potential grandkids, then great grandkids. She could have watched their family tree blossom so beautifully over the years and protected their descendants with everything she had.
"You were never able to grieve for any of it, were you?"
Those gentle mornings on the terrace watching the sun rise. Sharing sweet nothings and passionate kisses, enjoying the beauty of nature and their love.
"I'm sorry for taking your ability of finding peace away from you."
Being so at peace and feeling as though all was right with the world, that she'd found her place with the person who'd meant everything to her.
"Let it out, my love," he urged. "I have seen countless vampires fall to their heightened emotions when they try to deny them."
But before letting it out, she needed to allow everything back in, and Sakura sincerely believed her heart couldn't handle that onslaught. It already felt like it was taking a horrific beating and each strike stripped away another piece of her heart.
It was going to kill her.
"I should have never compelled you," Itachi continued apologetically, voice a soft hush that was trying and failing to bring her back from the edge. "I should have stepped up as your partner and stuck around to help you through your grief."
"What are you doing to her?" came the furiously guttural voice of the person she least expected to come to her aid.
Sakura could barely bring herself to glance in the direction of the stairs, jaw clenched so tight that sharp shooting pains shot throughout her teeth and gums. Then, when she finally could raise her head, it brought her no joy to see Sasuke suffering the same agony as herself – couldn't when it hurt so much. She couldn't even string together one coherent thought, and it left Sakura staring at him stumbling to a halt distantly, with her held up only by Itachi's unyielding embrace.
"You're out of your room," he marvelled.
But Sasuke refused to look away from the torture in her eyes, his own twitching briefly.
Then Sakura could finally take her first unburdened breath when he struck himself ferociously enough to overshadow the grief, aiding her in replacing it with the rage she clung to with everything she had.
"You will kill the both of us if you force her to face that grief again," came his rough, muttered warning. Sasuke sluggishly came down the last few steps, movements physically weak but possessing a darkness that had her oddly grateful for his usually disgusting presence. "It seems you were right about her heart being too weak–"
"Do not twist my words," Itachi muttered, watching his brother out of the corner of his eye as he meandered over to the bar. "I recalled the words of her mother, who oftentimes stated that Sakura's heart is big enough for their entire family."
"Which will now be heightened," he shot back, just as he did several shots of the whisky Itachi had previously been drinking. "I refuse to have myself be burdened by someone else's grief."
Sakura released a huge sigh of relief as the last wave of grief finally receded. It continued to lurk in the recesses of her mind and that caused her grave concern for when it surely returned with a vengeance, but for the time being, it was at bay. She would manage another day.
"See what I mean?" she demanded, using the whole embarrassing ordeal to her advantage, just as her lover taught her to. Leaning back but not out of his arms, Sakura met Itachi's eye fiercely. "I can't let go. It's going to kill me."
It was with a deep exhale that Itachi pulled away now that she could stand on her own and returned to the sofa. She could tell from his body language that he was troubled by her request and the breakdown (making Sakura grateful that it aided her instead of merely humiliating her), though there was no telling how harshly she had to push him until they met the edge. Apparently that self-control he'd boasted from the moment they first met was back.
"What is it that you want?"
Hope flickered to life in the form of Uchiha Sasuke the Ripper, and she resisted the urge to reveal the devious side of herself when looking to him. "Above all else, Madara dead. But first I need to rescue Obito to gain the favour of his pets."
Sasuke hesitated in pouring another glass and eyed her sceptically from the corner of his eye, demanding, "Pets?"
"It appears Obito didn't kill Kakashi-san and Rin-san as he was ordered to do so three hundred years ago," sighed Itachi.
Well, shit. Seemed she was right about them both being old as hell, therefore, more powerful than she could handle. Well, Kakashi was. Sakura was still certain she could take the seemingly gentle and pampered Rin.
The heretics had wanted to join them on the road trip but at her insistence of needing to meet with Itachi first to butter him up, they had reluctantly agreed. She suspected Kakashi did so more out of protectiveness, not wanting to risk Rin's life if they were stabbed in the back.
"…Heretics."
Itachi's eyes shut in resignation. "Do not get any ideas, little brother."
Sakura couldn't deny part of her was in awe of the demon ripper as Sasuke pushed away from the bar. Darkness seemed to gather around him in suffocating thick waves and in that moment, he appeared demonic in the low lighting, his vampire side activated and staring Itachi down coldly, murderously.
"A heretic could syphon away Hashirama's curse," he reminded him lowly.
"Precisely why Madara ordered Obito to put them down."
A full-strength Sasuke was not her idea of a fun time, especially not when that posed the risk of his ripper gene strengthening also.
"Sasuke," called out Naruto calmly, sternly and when Sakura looked to him, she was surprised to find the mutt watching his lover closely and with a mask of stoicism. He remained fixed in the doorway and behind him stood an equally grave Shisui. "We already know that's not a good idea."
She was glad they were all on the same page regarding that. However, Sakura wasn't there to argue about Sasuke's curse or how hard the little ripper found life. Said as much, even when it had the youngest Uchiha looking to her furiously for her callousness, clearly becoming unhinged, before his attention darted around the room and narrowed dangerously.
"Don't listen to them," urged Naruto and he finally approached Sasuke, catching the hands that were halfway through swiping at what she saw as nothing but thin air. "They're dead. They can't do anything."
Interesting, though certainly problematic if that happened to trickle through their magical link. It seemed she had more than one task to complete during her time with the Uchiha clan, which had great potential of blowing up in her face.
Maybe enlisting the aid of his personal guard dog would be beneficial?
Sakura instantly replaced her thoughtful expression with a sharp smile when Itachi shot her an unimpressed warning. She hadn't even noticed he'd been watching her.
So distracted by her former love, she could only look up in surprise as the hybrid was launched across the room and way over her head, and she let out a low, appreciative whistle at the loud crash that swiftly followed.
"Sasuke," cautioned Shisui, stepping further into the room.
"Where are they?" he demanded of her, ignoring his cousin like he hadn't uttered a word.
Sakura snorted at that. "You're adorably delusional, Sasuke-chan. Like hell am I letting you anywhere near my new toys."
If Sasuke's curse was lifted then that put Konoha at a humongous risk. Already, those flashes of ripper rage that granted him enough strength to take out a goddamn hybrid who overpowered them all was troubling. They sure as hell didn't need him possessing that strength permanently – or, if the words of Naruto were not exaggerated, have it proven that that watered-down strength had nothing on his true power.
They wouldn't stand a chance.
"You…!"
She refused to flinch when he suddenly appeared before her, his hand closed around her throat and shoving her back into the wall, instead smirking up at him maddeningly. Just as the others moved to intervene, she raised a careless hand in their general direction, never looking away from Sasuke's furious glare.
"Kinky," she rasped. "And here I believed you'd be vanilla after the other night had you calling Naruto all scared and upset."
The hand twitched, much to her amusement. "You…!"
Barely sparing the offending arm a second glance, Sakura summoned Gaara's blood and swatted it away with ease now that his tantrum and power surge was waning just as her lover had recollected. She had their positions reversing instantly and grinned ferally at the slamming of his back to the ground, the air whooshing out of him delightfully. Legs locking around his and with one hand pinning him, the other wrapping around his throat, Sakura leaned back as much as the position allowed.
"That was pathetic," she teased and looked down on him. "Then again, I suppose as a bottom, you wouldn't really have any experience in doing the choking, would you? Is that why you freaked out and had Naruto interrupt us? Naruto is pretty gentle, isn't he?"
Shisui sputtered.
"What the hell would you know–"
"Will you guys give it a rest already?" came Naruto's agitated demand. "Either fuck it out of your system or–"
Swiftly recovering, Shisui slapping him upside the head silenced the blond from saying more, but he still warned flippantly, "Watch your mouth, Naruto-kun, lest you wish for Itachi to permanently shut it for you."
Amused, Sakura glanced over at her former love and licked her lips at the cold waves of anger rolling from him.
"If it wasn't already obvious: I'm against your unstable baby brother having his curse lifted," she assured him and tightened her grip when Sasuke struggled. "But I hope you realise the new issue you're now facing."
So visibly unimpressed and annoyed, Itachi chose to go back to his seat and she almost chuckled as she imagined that he was sulking at the ultimatum he now had to make. Deciding to let him stew for a moment, Sakura looked back to Sasuke appreciatively and thanked him for making her life easier by intervening, before offering a cheerful, playful slap to the face and standing.
"Seems we have no other choice now," sighed Shisui, watching as Naruto helped Sasuke to his feet only to be shoved away seconds later when he tried fussing.
"…Aa," Itachi muttered.
Too giddy from having yet another battle end in her win, Sakura approached her volatile former love with a skip in her step all the while admiring the dark aura that warned her to stay away.
"Don't be like that," she purred and had Itachi's jaw clenching when she draped herself onto his lap as effortlessly as she used to. The way her arms came around him had powerful nostalgia bursting in her belly and she grinned impishly at the tension snapping between them, meeting his eye daringly. "Don't make me beg for it like you used to, Itachi."
"Stop trying to push my buttons, Sakura."
"But I'm having so much fun with you."
"I am not your plaything."
The grin widened wickedly. "You want to be, though."
There was no way for him not to lend a hand now, not when the alternative meant Sasuke offering his assistance to the pair of heretics with the price of removing his curse. Sakura had witnessed for herself how desperate they were to save Obito and knew it wasn't outside the realm of possibility for them to side with a monster like Sasuke. Not if it meant freeing their third musketeer from his tormentor.
Playing with the hair at Itachi's nape in a disarmingly familiar gesture that had his anger cracking, Sakura sat herself more comfortably in his lap and graced him with a smile filled with warmth.
"You have never been able to deny me before," she reminded in a soft voice, coaxing him into accepting her by dipping her head lower. "Don't start now, love. Not when I need you."
"Ino was right," marvelled Naruto and he nudged Shisui in disbelieving amusement. "Nobody can say no to Sakura-chan."
The eldest Uchiha's jaw clenched.
Itachi's hands came to settle on her hips as they had countless times in the past, so effortlessly finding the spot they'd once claimed as theirs and to reward him for swaying in her favour, Sakura allowed their noses to brush.
"You are a cruel woman," muttered Shisui disdainfully.
But she didn't look away from the vulnerable man beneath her as their gazes remained locked, his utterly open emotions hidden by the curtain that was her hair. The agony in his expression prompted Sakura to swipe her thumb just under his eye, confirming her thoughts when she first arrived of Itachi growing unbalanced as he played catch up. Coming to terms with all that he lost during the last fifty years of sleeping was taking its toll on him.
Sakura wasn't sure whether to pity him or be relieved that it worked to her advantage.
"I'm a survivor," she corrected in a distant murmur.
The weaker part of herself that was awakened when the compulsion was lifted reared her ugly head, bringing intense longing and heat that urged Sakura to close the distance and comfort him.
"Be that as it may," Shisui continued gruffly. "You are using my cousin's vulnerability to your advantage. Preying on it. Just like–"
"A vampire?" she questioned with humour and finally spared Itachi from her ensnaring gaze.
But he was far angrier than she could have imagined, and Sakura huffed with amusement at the coldness glaring over at her. "Like the monster you replaced him with."
"Oi," warned Naruto, whirling on him. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about–"
"He did the same, right?" Shisui pushed and she was pleasantly surprised by the assault that tried to snap Itachi out of his heartache. He was one who always held back from what she could remember; she must have been making greater progress with Itachi than she'd initially thought to prompt him into intervening. "If I am remembering the timeline correctly then the two of you met when you had your humanity off."
The request was wholly unfair, though since it came while her emotions were off, Sakura wasn't surprised or upset. Then again, Ino was pissed enough for the both of them and had tried to tear Sarutobi a new one when he listened to his old-time friend, Danzo.
They all knew what it was yet Sarutobi chose to be naïve. It was Danzo's attempt of killing her off once and for all. Her humanity had been off too long in his eyes and with no way of knowing if she would turn it back on, Danzo assumed killing her to be the next best move forward, for it was only a matter of time before she turned on Konoha. Ino believed Sakura didn't know what he intended to happen, that she was too far gone to care, but she had no plans of dying anytime soon.
That was why and how she could stand so calmly in the face of such devastating destruction. The tiny town of just two hundred citizens a couple of days from Konoha was in ruins, complemented by a bloody haze that had acted as Sakura's guide as it domed the area. Fires raged ominously in the background, almost overshadowing the gargles and exhausted sobs for mercy; the thick plume of smoke threatening to hide the harrowing scene entirely, but Sakura had spotted him within seconds of arriving. How could she overlook such demented beauty?
Looking like the devil himself, Sabaku no Gaara parted from one of his victims and stood wordlessly upon sensing her presence. Possessing the deadly grace of a true predator, facing her with the blood of hundreds splattered across his body and smeared across his features. He was unmoving for several moments, assessing her as closely as she was him, before the lack of fear had his head tilting minutely with interest and icy eyes appraised her appearance.
She smirked at the physical yearning she both experienced personally and spotted staring back at her.
Danzo believed standing between Sabaku no Gaara and Konoha would end in her demise.
She would go back with him wrapped around her little finger.
Funny how things turned out.
Her original plan was to use Gaara to her advantage – which she did, though only until Ino managed to flip her humanity switch. From there, the physical heat that so powerfully entangled them both only deepened to unparalleled heights, exploding with the strength of her emotions surging. Try as he might to appear as unfeeling, even Gaara soon fell victim to them.
"You seem to be mistaken," she chuckled and sat back on Itachi's lap. "But I have no reason to correct you." The man beneath her was rigid, Sakura noted and she faced him once more, emboldened by the tightened grip on her hips. "Find comfort in knowing that Gaara and I are equals in our relationship. We know each other's limits and only take and give as much as the other is comfortable with."
"Given all that transpired in our own relationship, I have a hard time believing you are satisfied with such an open relationship."
"I have my son. I have my soulmate. I have insanely euphoric sex. What more do I need?"
Itachi raised a single eyebrow and, in that moment, she belatedly realised he was gradually reining in his rampant emotions. "Is that all he is? Good sex?"
"I believe I said insanely euphoric sex."
He huffed and sent her a smirk that had her resisting the urge to clench her thighs when it flooded her mind with memories of their passion. "Then forget your twisted sense of control. I will find comfort in knowing he doesn't have a place in your heart."
"Maybe we should slip out before it gets heated," whispered Naruto.
Sakura pretended not to hear the hybrid or the agreements of the others. "Don't kid yourself," she snorted and pressed down harder on his chest when Itachi attempted to sit up at the sound of the door shutting behind the trio who ditched them. "Surely, you can feel that others have taken up residency in my heart now?"
"For now," he countered. Itachi glanced downwards at the hand on his chest before intensifying the grip he had on her hips to drag Sakura closer, their breaths mingling. "You will always be mine, my love. Just as I will always be yours."
There was a stark difference between Itachi and Gaara, she realised with a jolt of surprise. With the latter, control was so very rarely ever passed to her in their game of cat and mouse – any that was, was handed to her. Whereas with Itachi, the balance continuously shifted; the upper hand constantly switched. It was a guessing game.
It seemed he was regaining the control, just like with his emotions.
Instincts warned Sakura to back off. Continuing to toy around with Itachi was growing dangerous when she couldn't predict the outcome; the dissipation of his compulsion that demanded she hated him made it too difficult to hold onto what powered her through the past fifty years, opening her up to that all-consuming love.
Heat and an intense yearning sparked between them at the next meeting of their eyes, and Sakura's jaw clenched as she was flipped very much like the tables in their game.
Back hitting the plush cushions of the sofa the moment the others' voices disappeared and signified their leaving the immediate area, she gripped at his arm and the back of Itachi's neck, though damned herself for hesitating in immediately throwing him off. The temptation of dragging him closer was too much for her to act.
"You cannot deny our love when all of this comes so naturally with us," he whispered heatedly, nose skimming along her throat, his weight pushing her down further into the cushions. "Not when we run in circles of denial and keep ending up in this position."
"If you're so sure of yourself then take me here and now," she taunted and tipped her head back to expose her throat, gaze lidded. "If you're right then I won't reject you."
But that sneaky, equally devious man knew to tread carefully after the last similar altercation. His leaning back to hover over her on his knees wasn't exactly a retreat, but Sakura knew that it was an opening he'd mistakenly presented.
She wasn't given a chance to bulldoze her way into it, though. Itachi silenced her by murmuring, "Not only do I carry the scent of the woman who owned this mansion, but you are covered in her blood and reek of Gaara-kun." Then, he covered the possibility of viewing his response as a retreat by adding, "But I plan to go and rectify that issue now, if you care to join me."
Sakura smirked while looking to the hand and arm that had torn through the woman's chest, wondering how she'd managed to ignore the blood that had grown crusty since.
"Maybe next time, love," she chuckled and pressed a hand to his chest. He was gentle while grasping it to aid Sakura in sitting upright. "I'm afraid this really is just a business trip."
There was no mistaking the hope that was rekindling in Itachi's brightening body language, but she felt no urgency to squash it anytime soon. Partly due to it opening him up to further manipulation and her agenda, but also… It oddly filled her with relief to have that horrid image of his exhausted, pained features gradually overwritten by the expression he now sported.
It must have been visible on her features, for Itachi offered a small smile and leaned closer to kiss her forehead sweetly, gently telling her, "We are not unsalvageable or beyond hope."
"Itachi…"
He was well and truly back on his game. Proved as much by cutting her off with a simple, confident, "I will assist you in rescuing Obito."
Green eyes narrowed. "The price?"
Itachi smirked and stood from the sofa to make his way to the stairs. "I suppose I ought to fight dirty when contending with the likes of the abominable Sabaku no Gaara." Pausing to spare her a glance from over his shoulder that was full of invitation and need, he told her in no uncertain terms, "You will give me one night to remind you how and why we fell so hopelessly for one another."
That… was dangerous, her recovering heart warned.
He quirked a single eyebrow and asked, "Unless you are ready to admit you were wrong when declaring we are truly over?"
Damn it, how the hell did he always manage to do that? To so effortlessly tip the scales back in his favour?
"Those are my conditions. One night of my choosing and before we rescue Obito. Only then will I devote my all to assisting you."
…Shit.
A/N - I hope you all had a good Christmas! I hosted for the first time and for sixteen people in the end, but as chaotic and overwhelming as it was at times, it felt really nice to have a full and noisy house!