Chapter Ten: Broken Pulls and Imprisoning Fears
Present Day:
Sakura landed on the rooftop much harder than she normally would. The encounter had left her shaken and feeling lost, among other things. But there was no sorting the emotions that coursed along with the racing adrenaline in her veins. Distinguishing one from another was unachievable, as they had all merged and fused into one, singular bundle. A bundle that no amount of pulling and twisting would untangle.
Breathing heavily, she stared down at the cracked pavement of the crumbling warehouse roof. The surface crunched slightly as the loose gravel beneath her feet slid and scratched beneath the souls of her shoes. The sound was strangely comforting as it helped her reign in her thoughts tightly enough that she could focus.
There was still no processing the emotions she felt, so instead Sakura focused on the facts. She was an intellectual, she could deal with facts far better than her emotions. Those she had never been able to control. So as she focused on the cool air that passed through her hair and the crunch of rocks, she listed the facts of tonight's events.
Deidara was at the club. That meant their informant was to be trusted. Sakura had been able to keep him by her side for the majority of the night. But he disappeared. That meant either he had an agenda tonight or she was not as intriguing as Kakashi had thought when he assigned her as the bait to lure him. These first facts were simple and easy to glean insight from. But once she had easily processed these particulars of the night, she came to the more difficult events.
Sasuke Uchiha had picked her out of the crowd and confronted her. He had spoken to her, called her by name, and touched her. At this thought, the place on her arm where each of his fingertips had rested seemed to burn.
Her own hand raised to her forearm and traced the lingering heat that haunted her skin. She closed her eyes tightly as she tried to focus back on the factual and not emotional.
He had chased after her when she ran away. And when she escaped, he lashed out in frustration. He had lost control and risked exposing himself to mortals. To other observers, his upset manor and loss of control would appear to be the final piece of data worth taking note of. But for Sakura there was one more fact that she could not ignore. He had not given up.
Instead he had taken to the skies and continued his search. For how long she did not know, she had not stayed long enough to find out. For all she knew he was still out there, flying around and searching, looking for her. Despite this missing information, there was something she could gain from this fact, he was desperate.
Why? How? Each question was paired with each fact she listed about the Uchiha and she could not produce a single intelligible answer for any of them.
She was a seasoned guardian who had just barely been selected to join the ranks as an archangel. Her lineage was of no significance. In fact, she did not even know from what branch she originated from. She was close with Tsunade but she was not a confidant in any political business in which the Senju collaborated in.
In other words, she was of no use in gaining any intelligence from. She had no special powers or bloodline that could not be found somewhere else. Perhaps her healing abilities went above the normal, but again, Tsunade was far more superior. And she was certainly not a person of significance within the seraphim community.
So why would someone of such famed power pick her out of a crowd? How would he have even known that she was a seraph? How did he know her name? What, in all of the gods names above, would Sasuke Uchiha want so desperately?
"Sakura."
Dazedly she looked up to see Kakashi walking hurriedly towards her. "What happened?" he asked, his eye quickly scanning her over. "Is something wrong? Did we miss the signal?"
Numbly she shook her head. "No, I'm fine there was no signal," she managed to say breathlessly.
At her words he gave a final appraisal then looked around the building, flaring his chakra in signal as he surveyed. Immediately Sakura felt a response, followed by the appearance of Naruto as he dropped out of the clouds where he had been circling above. As Naruto landed, he looked between Sakura and Kakashi, his eyes alert and looking for a reason as to why he had been called down.
"What's going on?" he asked. "Did we miss the signal? Where is Deidara? Sakura are you…"
"No you did not miss the signal and I am fine," Sakura quickly interrupted as her brain finally began to truly catch up. She looked between the two. "I am sorry but I lost him. He was there, I had him, and then he stepped away and I don't know where he went. I swear I looked everywhere for him but then…" She paused unsure of how to explain.
As her words slowed, faltered, and then stopped, Kakashi took in her face. Her mouth was pulled into a deep frown as the point between her two eyebrows bunched together. It was a tell tale sign that he knew well. Something was bothering her conscience.
He thought back to when she first arrived. Even then he had noticed something off by the way she had landed. He hardly ever saw her land so ungracefully since she first learned to fly. Only when something was truly upsetting her did she lose control of the strength Tsunade had given her.
Automatically Kakashi's mind filled in the reason. She was feeling guilty for losing Deidara. His mouth turned down at this. He admired Sakura's tenacity in perfection but too often it was a flaw. She put too much on herself and did not give herself enough credit. She could not blame herself for losing a demon such as an Akatsuki member.
He let out a quiet sigh.
If anyone was to blame it would be him for putting too much on her. It was easy to forget who and what she really was. She blended so well with their kind that it became easy to forget that she was not one. At least not fully. She may have gained their gods given powers and immortality, but there were still traits that made her still very human.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, he could not help but catch on to the unusual way she was looking. Small tremors were coursing through her body. They were quickly calming but he could still see the tremors of her fingers in between the clenching of her fists at her side.
When Sakura was guilty she got twitchy and refused to make eye contact. It was what made her a terrible liar. But her fingers were trembling, not twitching. The closer he looked, the more he was beginning to think that it was not guilt that she was feeling.
His eyes flashed back up to her face and he caught her eye. There was a staggered dazed look to them as if she was switching in between the wanderings of her mind and focusing on conversing with them. Kakashi pondered this as he took in her features again. She was disturbed but it was not from guilt. There was something else that was causing her to struggle with her usually adept focus.
"Sakura," Kakashi said as neared her and laid a hand on her shoulder. Sakura looked up to meet his eyes and she saw his single visible eye looking at her closely. "Did something else happen tonight?"
Did something else happen tonight? Her mind parroted his words within her head.
A hysterical laugh nearly escaped her lips at the question. She was not sure why her mind found any amusement in this query. Perhaps it was because she was such a nervous wreck at the moment or it was the heavy irony weighted in the truth.
But what exactly was the truth?
Her mind reformed Kakashi's question. What exactly, had happened tonight? It was a question she was not sure how to explain. A fabled rogue demon had approached her, called her by name, looked at her so...so…
She did not even have the knowledge on how to interpret what she had seen in his eyes. But what she did know, was that it had frightened her. The intensity of his presence and the potential of what could have happened had caused her to flee.
A shiver ran down her back as she recalled the anger he had expressed upon failing to catch her. What kind of ire would he have displayed had he caught her? Or a far more terrifying, yet plausible question, what kind of wrath would he rain upon her when he caught her?
It was not a thought she wanted to even dare introduce to her imagination. But like a person afraid of scary things when alone in the dark, she could not seem to think of anything but that.
This time the shiver that ran through her body was frigid, making goosebumps rise along her skin as the likelihood of such an event happening was calculated within her mind. In the span of approximately two weeks she had happened to run into him twice. Statistics would suggest that she only had a week before the inevitable would occur again.
Third time's the charm. It was an unwritten and unscientific law that mortals quoted to each other when hoping for a certain outcome. Sakura wondered if that certain law would be granted to a seraph as well. But the question was, which seraph would be granted the charm. Usually the third outcome was the opposite of the first two results, and she had just evaded him twice.
She thought back to those evasions.
The first time he had been so indifferent. He had hardly taken any notice of her until the end. And even then it was nothing more than a casual curiosity. She could hardly label that has an escape. There had been nothing trying to capture her. But tonight. Tonight was something else entirely. And Kakashi was asking her to describe it.
If she did, what would be his reaction? What would be the result?
It had been a week and a half since she had been allowed to come back to hunt. Thirteen consecutive nights in which she had felt locked and trapped in the skies above. It was a funny thing, she had never felt trapped until she experienced freedom. And what would happen to that freedom if she revealed that not only had she ran into the reason for her imprisonment, but he had singled her out.
Internally she shook her head. No, she could not let it be known. She could not risk being locked up. She had been lucky enough to even be allowed to the mortal realm during daylight hours.
Sasuke was out there right now. Soaring across the city looking for her, searching for her. Why he was doing this she did not know, but that would not matter to Tsunade. And if she were to tell Kakashi, he would tell her.
She looked directly into Kakashi's eyes. She could not remember a time when she had ever lied to him. Or at least tried. And never had attempted to cover something as big as this. It hurt and she did not like it. But she could not risk it.
"No," she said, shaking her head from side to side as she focused on keeping eye contact and holding her hands steady. "I am just…" she looked down at her feet. It was harder than she expected. Mortals made it look so easy. Other seraphs made it look easy. So why was this so difficult? She swallowed then met his eye again. "I am sorry I failed. I know you worked hard to convince Tsunade to let me come tonight and I failed."
She was tempted to look away again, but she held fast. She needed him to believe her. She watched as his eye slightly narrowed as he scanned every inch of her face. Her heart beat hard against her rib cage when it darted to her hands. She resisted the urge to tighten her grip, it would be a give away that she was trying to hide her usual tell of untruthfulness.
In reality her heart had not slowed since she encountered the Uchiha and the lie was prolonging its return to a normal palpitation. And she hoped he could not see the racing beat of her pulse.
After a prolonged and stressful bated breath, Kakashi finally pulled her towards him. He rested a hand on her cheek as his head tilted sympathetically.
"It's alright," he assured her. "It's not your fault. It was a long shot and the fact that you even made contact with the target goes beyond what I was expecting." His hand moved to pat her on the head. "You did well tonight. I am just glad you are safe."
Guilt stung her at his words. Was she safe?
"Let's head home," Kakashi announced, turning to Naruto and giving Sakura a chance to let out the breath she had been holding.
"Can we get some ramen before we go!?" Naruto exclaimed.
Sakura felt something heavy fall on her and she looked up to see Kakashi looking at her strangely. She always wondered how he could manage to have so much force in a single eye. But she did her best to not blink as she held his stare.
"No," Kakashi said, his eye not leaving Sakura. "We need to report back. Tsunade will want to know as soon as possible how the mission went. We need to let her know that we at least made contact and that our sources were correct."
Sakura swallowed as her heart sped up even more. He knew. She did not know how, but that look told her everything. He knew that she was lying. Kakashi finally looked away and she felt the weight of his stare lift away.
She shook her head. No, she was being paranoid. She was feeling guilty for lying. Everything was fine, she was fine. For all she knew she was being paranoid about everything.
As much as she wanted to believe those thoughts, there was only so much she could ignore. She wanted to believe it was all just her imagination, that it was her ego being overly inflated. Why would a creature so dangerous and powerful want anything to do with her weak and insignificant self. The answer was simple, they wouldn't. But as much as she clung to that belief, something inside her whispered something far differently. And what scared her the most was the desire within that whisper.
It was a desire that was far too persuasive and wanting that she was tempted to give into it. She was not sure, but it was almost as if that whisper had come from the deepest depths within her heart. As if that desire was her own and not some invasive foreign thought as she hoped it to be.
The first rays of the sun were stretching in the early morning sky, painting it a golden color as it took over the midnight blue that twilight had dyed it.
Sasuke sat perched atop one of the eagles heads of the Chrysler building. It was a wondrous overlook but it went unnoticed as the demon stared down at his hand. Even now, hours later, he could still imagine the feel of her skin and the fragrant smell one would think would be forgotten after a few hundred years. His eyes projected his memories vividly and he scrutinized every image of her, comparing memories from long ago to last night, looking for flaws or evidence that proved he had been mistaken.
He had spent the entire night searching, covering the area of the club numerous times. Sweeping back and forth every street between there and a ten mile radius. But she was not to be found anywhere. It was as if she had just disappeared into thin air. He had even tried to hone in the pull that he had felt earlier but there had been nothing to follow. The line was silent, he was cut off.
The only evidence he had to prove tonight's encounter were his memories and the knowledge that he had touched her. The last one was the most important. He had physically touched her. Which proved she had not been some manifestation made up by his half sane mind. She had been real and when he had spoken her name she had reacted, she had been surprised and caught off guard that he knew it.
His brow furrowed deeper and he traced the lines on his hand with a finger. The tingling sensation brought back the faint memories of her arm in his hand. As he finished tracing the last lines in his palm he clutched his hand, nails biting into his skin as his eyes lifted to the horizon.
The impossible had happened. He had no sound knowledge of how to explain what had happened last night. But he had theories. However he needed more information to prove those theories. Information that was limited to only a few certain people who could provide him with answers. At least answers he felt could be true and not just overheard rumors.
Slowly he stood up, his bones cracked and popped from his stiff posture for the past hour of deep thought.
He thought of each candidate and let out a breathy curse as he realized that there really was only one option in which he could get answers from. The idea of it made him feel sick. But desperate times called for desperate measures. It had been a long time since he had entered his home realm.
"So has the prodigal son decided to return home?"
The familiar voice almost caused him to regret even stepping a single toe into this realm. He squeezed his eyes tight before turning around to face his guest. He should have known his brother would be aware the moment he wandered beneath the Earth's surface. He had just hoped he would have had some time to acclimate to the place he once called home. But perhaps it was for the best. The fewer who saw him the better.
It had only been a few years since Sasuke had last seen his brother. A small time frame when compared to the decades that used to pass between their encounters. His father had forbidden anyone in his family to speak to him. But Itachi had never been able to fully obey his father when it came to Sasuke.
At first Itachi had sought him out in an attempt to 'save' him. And despite Sasuke's great lengths to prove to his brother that he needed no saving, Itachi had never given up. Many times Itachi had interfered with Sasuke's actions and plans. At one point, it had been one time too many and Sasuke had vowed to kill Itachi. He almost succeeded over seventy years ago but with Orochimaru's death, also came the death of his vow.
Why his brother would even want him back now was beyond him. But every few years or so, Itachi would seek him out and make an offer. And each time, Sasuke refused. Deep down he was not sure which day to dread the most, the one when Itachi gave up, or the one when he accepted and came home. Because despite how much a person could push others away, even the lonest person needs someone. Sasuke hated that fact but he could not deny it, he needed his brother. But going home also felt like giving up, it felt like betrayal. And given recent events, it was certainly no longer an option.
Sasuke took in the familiar face of his brother. It surprised him how much he seemed to have aged, especially for an immortal. The stress lines beneath his eyes seemed deeper and his body looked weaker, thinner. If they had been meeting for any other reason, Sasuke would possibly be concerned. But he had other pressing matters.
Itachi's eyes moved down him in examination.
"You look well little brother," he said with a nod of his head. "I would be happy if the circumstances were different but I worry what you have done over the years to look so...healthy."
Sasuke sent him a dark look. "You know I have no need to collect souls to survive."
Itachi nodded in agreement. "Yes, but there is still a price."
There was a drawn out silence between them. There was no denying Itachi's statement but Sasuke would not let his righteous brother have the satisfaction of being right. So he did the alternative.
"I did not come to talk about me," he said, changing the subject.
Itachi cocked his head to the side, intrigued. "Then what did you come to talk about? It must be something important for you to come here and talk to me willingly," he commented. "That or you had no other options."
"I had options," Sasuke said.
An amused smile pulled on his brothers thin lips. "So I am the lesser of two evils," he said wryly. "My what an honor. I shiver to think who else you could possibly know that would be more vile of an option than myself."
Sasuke felt his brother look at him closely. His words were sarcastic but his tone had a hidden worry.
"What do you know of reincarnation?"
It was obvious that the topic was nothing Itachi was expecting by the surprised expression on his face. But the surprise hardly lingered as guarded suspicion took over.
"Why?" Itachi asked.
"That is my own business," Sasuke quickly replied harshly.
"The last time I let you to your own business I lost my brother," Itachi shot back in a hardened tone. "I won't make that mistake again. So unless you tell me why, I suggest you go find that other loathsome source you avoided by coming to me."
Sasuke gritted his teeth. His irritation to his brother growing. This was the exact reason why he had been dreading this. Itachi was not one to give answers freely. He was the type to give one and take two. But Sasuke was desperate. He needed his answers and he was much more willing to pay Itachi's price other than the price that would be required by his other only reliable source.
"I found her," he stated bluntly. "In New York. Walking, talking, breathing, living." His last word was emphasized.
Itachi stared at his brother, disbelief sweeping through his body. There was no need to ask who his brother was referring to.
There were many things that led Sasuke to his wayward road of destruction and travesty. Itachi felt he could have prevented or protected his brother from most of them. But he had failed his brother in too many ways to count. However there was always one in which he could never blame himself for. One that he always wondered if it had really been the true cause of it all.
Sakura, the catalyst of everything.
The mortal girl that had bewitched and entranced his brother so much, that when she was lost, he too became lost in a different sense. Itachi had never met the girl, but his brother had confided her existence. Sasuke had never claimed his true feelings but he did not need to. Itachi had seen it in his eyes when speaking of the 'annoying mortal' that did stupid things out of the kindness of her heart. However he had not realized the depth of Sasuke's feelings until the mortals untimely death.
Perhaps there was something Itachi could have done before. But at the time, Itachi had thought it harmless. His brother had found something that brought him happiness, who was he to take that from him?
Now that he knew of the consequences, Itachi would have personally removed the girl from Sasuke's life early before anything could evolve too deeply. But even as early as Sasuke had told Itachi about the mortal girl, he was already far too late.
Itachi was not a believer of fate, at least not for his kind. There was no logical explanation of the need for destined intervention to interfere with their balanced world. They were the makers of intervention. But then again, gods were easily bored and they were fickle creatures.
So if he did believe that a thing such a fate existed, he knew there would be no stopping it. Whatever his foolish brother had done to deserve his tapestry of fate to be entangled with another, it must have been a truly dark mark against the weaver. For it was a cruel fate his brother had lived. And it seemed he was still being punished.
"That's...impossible," Itachi finally uttered in a tone just barely above a whisper.
He was having a hard time believing his brother was still fixated on the girl. He had thought he had given up on her long ago. But here they were, two and a half thousand years later and he was speaking of her existence with more life and hope in his eyes than he had seen reflected in his brothers face for just as long.
A part of him had a small hope that what his brother was saying was true. Because then maybe he could regain his foolish, but beloved little brother. If anything could cure him it would be her. But there were two problems.
The first being that Sakura had died. It had been an early and unfortunate death but it was a death all the same. The second problem was that along with hope and life, there was also desperation in Sasuke's eyes. And desperation was dangerous.
Desperation planted false hope and convinced people to see things that were not there. It caused a person to find solutions that only resulted in more problems. Decisions were made without any thought. Actions were taken that had dire consequences veiled as insignificant. Desperation was the fuel for poor choices. It had been desperation that caused his brother to seek out Orochimaru, which had been just the beginning of his brothers downfall.
"I know it sounds unbelievable. But it was her. That is why I need to know," Sasuke insisted. "What do you know of reincarnation? Is it real?"
"Yes," Itachi replied. "But it would be impossible for her," he quickly added when he saw the shift in Sasuke's eyes.
Sasuke's brow furrowed. "Why for her?" he demanded.
"Because reincarnation is for the souls that are uncollected. If a soul goes unclaimed it is recycled until it can be harvested," Itachi said softly. "You told me yourself she was a true soul. If she was, her soul would have automatically found its way to the god tree. There was no need for it to be collected by seraphim." He watched Sasuke's shoulders sink and his eyes lower. Itachi hated the dimming of hope in his brothers eyes but he would not feed him false hope. That was what the snake seraphim had done.
Silence passed between them until Sasuke shifted. His body stiffened with a set posture as he lifted his eyes to meet Itachi's. It was then that the older brother saw that desperation flicker again. "Maybe she wasn't a true soul. Maybe she was just a good person," Sasuke challenged. "What if we had been wrong. Naruto and I were the only ones close to her and neither of us claimed her soul because we thought there was no need. Otherwise–"
"Otherwise what?" Itachi interrupted, his tone taking on a sharp edge. "You would have claimed it? Dragged her down to hell where she would spend an eternity of sorrow and punishment?"
Sasuke said nothing and Itachi let out a heavy sigh. He wanted his brother back so badly but not this way. If he gave Sasuke any hope in thinking he could somehow bring her back there would be consequences. Ones that he was not sure the world could survive again. The actions of his brother's past had already put a strain on not only their realm, but all. While there were many other factors to the delicacy between the underworld, heavens, and earth, there was no denying Sasuke had played his part in weakening the fragile balance.
It was just recently that things had passed from hostility to abrasive tolerance. And no matter how strained their relationship was, Itachi could not afford to lose him. The man in front of him was hardly a fraction of the little boy who used to follow him around. His eyes had always been so full of that dangerous desperation as he pleaded for him to train him. Itachi could not help but let a wane smile adorn his lips but it quickly disappeared when he saw the expression on his brother's face.
Itachi sagged. "Sasuke," he said gently. "I am sorry, but Sakura is gone. Had it not happened then, it would have happened a few decades later. Disease, war, old age, childbirth." A flicker of anger raced across Sasuke's face at the lay causes. "Humans died for many reasons back then. But the reason would not matter. What matters is she was a mortal, her fate was inevitable. Her time was always going to be limited."
Sasuke was shaking his head before Itachi had even finished. "You don't understand though," Sasuke replied. "I saw her, I touched her."
Itachi let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Even if she was reincarnated, she would not remember. She would not have any knowledge of you. It may be the same soul but it is a different life, a different family, a different name, a diffー."
"She has the same name," Sasuke quickly interjected. "She looks exactly the same."
Itachi paused for a moment contemplating this oddity but he finally shook his head. "Coincidence," Itachi brushed off.
"Is it though?" Sasuke questioned. "I have heard that some mortals have visions or dreams of people from history or other lives, their other lives." Sasuke was quick to follow up. "If this is true that means when a person is reincarnated they still possess their memories. They just can't remember fully. If I could just make her remember–"
Desperation was dangerous and Sasuke's entire being was overflowing with it.
"Sasuke," Itachi cut him off in a pleading tone. "Please, let it go, let her go. She is mortal. Mortals die, if this truly is her, what hope do you have than to lose her again? Has the past not taught you enough of the consequences that befall mortals that get involved beyond the guidance and temptation of seraphim? There is a reason there are no records of a bonded mortal and immortal having a happy ending. It is because there are none. Even if Sakura were to remember you, would you truly risk her being hurt again?"
"I won't let that happen again!" Sasuke growled. His voice quivered with anger.
"She's mortal!" Itachi growled back. "All mortals die. There is no escaping her fate."
"Orochimaru knew how to do it," Sasuke defended. "He made mortals immortal. I have seen it myself."
"Then perhaps the one good thing that came from your fall was his death," Itachi snapped back.
He saw Sasuke's eyes flicker back and forth as if searching for a rebuttal. And then they paused and Sasuke looked up at him, determination setting into his eyes. Itachi felt his stomach drop. Determination, paired with desperation, was even more dangerous.
"Kabuto," Sasuke stated. "Kabuto would do it."
Itachi's face crumpled with disgust. "The man that you have been hunting down for over half a century? You would let him near, nay touch Sakura?" His tone was sharp and full of disgusted accusation. "Nothing good will come from that leech," Itachi continued. "If you truly cared for her, you would see to it that she stayed far away from him. Not take her to him for guaranteed suffering and damnation."
Sasuke glared at him. "I would not make the same mistake as last time. As soon as he is finished I will end him."
Itachi shook his head. "There would be consequences."
"Fuck the consequences!" Sasuke growled. "I am already scheduled for the worst parts of hell. If I reserve more suffering then so be it."
"You may be willing but is she?" Sasuke said nothing in return. His eyes fell to the ground. "Sasuke," Itachi called lightly. "If she truly is living, then let her do that. Let her live her life in peace. Let her live a long and happy life full of all the wonderful experiences that come with mortality. Dragging her into our world will only hurt her."
For a long moment, Itachi thought he had broken through to his brother. He had thought he had finally brought sense to him. But then Sasuke looked up and all earlier thoughts were erased. The look in Sasuke's eyes told Itachi that he had thought wrong.
"I don't care," Sasuke said firmly. "I need her."
Itachi was not surprised. Despite the many changes and dark things, there were somethings that had always been a part of his brother's personality. Sasuke was both stubborn and selfish. Always had been and it seemed he always would be.
As Itachi stared back into Sasuke's face, he watched it morph into a long forgotten expression. It was the face his brother donned when he wanted to bargain for something. When Itachi had last seen it, Sasuke had asked him for piggy back rides and flying lessons. Usually the offer in exchange was Sasuke's already unwanted dessert or a shiny knick knack that he had found while exploring a certain cavern.
Itachi had never been able to say no to such innocent trades but he was not so sure this time. For as familiar as this expression was, there was still a hardness to it. A sign that told Itachi that he would not like what would be requested of him.
"You want me to come home?" Sasuke tempted. "Then help me."
Itachi looked back into his brother's face. Moving his attention from side to side as he looked into each of his brothers eyes. Itachi did not desire many things. Bringing his brother home and seeing him healed from his wayward years of destruction was one of those few.
But this was not the right way. It went against so many laws of nature. His shoulders sank and his eyes fell down in sorrow. "I am sorry Sasuke," he said to the ground. "But I cannot help you with this. I cannot stand next to you and watch you destroy yourself."
There was a long pause that was broken by a single word. "Fine," Sasuke bit out.
There was no need to look at his face because his tone told Itachi everything. Sasuke's tone held betrayal and anger. But when he spoke again it was gone.
"Will you stop me?" He challenged.
"No," Itachi whispered quietly.
He could not condone it, but deep down, he would not deny what could heal his brother. The outcome would most likely destroy what was left of his foolish little brother, but perhaps Itachi was plagued with the same thing as his brother. Desperation.
"Good," Sasuke let out. "Because if you do, I will not fail to do what I meant to do seventy years ago."
Sasuke stood in the shadow of one of the several, small maple trees that decorated the Brooklyn neighborhood. It was one of the more quiet neighborhoods in the city. Occasionally a taxi or personal car would drive by but nothing compared to the constant stream of skyscraper metropolis outside of the residential district.
The occasional jogger or hipster passed by. Each one too focused on their rectangular devices to pay him any mind. And if they did, Sasuke did not take notice. His entire focus was on the apartment building across the street.
His sharingan blazed behind a dark pair of sunglasses as he moved his eyes from one window to the next. Many had their curtains drawn but if there was even a crack in a drawn window, Sasuke took in every detail and movement within the small flats.
A flash of sunlight being reflected by glass caused his eyes to snap from the third floor to the front entryway. The glass door was pushed open fully and with a thundering heart of anticipation, Sasuke waited for the resident to come into view.
"Damn it," he cursed the moment he saw the pale boy with dark hair step out into the sunlight.
All anticipation erupted into irritation. It was him, again. The boy he had run into in the street a week ago.
There was something off about the mortal in more ways than one. Normally he would not have given the young man anymore mind if it were not for the fact that it kept leading him to this particular mortal. It being the pull.
Sasuke was certain it was broken. After Sakura got away from him, he was left with nothing. She was at a club and the pull was what had led him there, it had led him to her. It was his only source. His only hope. So he had followed it. But something was wrong now. The pull was broken. It had to be because each time he followed it, he found himself running into the pale faced mortal with the awkward mannerism.
The first time he had not even taken notice of the boy. His eyes had passed over him without a thought in their search for pink and green. The second and third time he had brushed it off as coincidence. The fourth had brought about the suspicion and the fifth confirmed it. He had purposely followed the boy around for the past three days, hoping that perhaps he would somehow lead him to Sakura. He had thought it worth it only because of the drawing he had seen when he first ran into the awkward boy.
Sasuke had brushed it off not long after and had nearly forgotten about the picture until a few days ago. He had been watching the boy at a coffee shop he had followed him to and the recollection hit him when the boy began sketching the barista.
At the time, Sasuke had easily refuted the possibilities that the drawing being of Sakura for a couple sound reasons. It had been black and white making the coloring of the girl any possibility and the hair had been too short. With that he had easily forgotten about the boy within a few minutes. He had just been another insignificant mortal like the thousands he had passed in the street that day.
But then he had seen her that very night, stepping out of the crowd with the very same short hair. After that, coincidence could not be ignored. And after finding himself drawn to the pasty artist for a week, Sasuke could not help but ignore the possibility that this boy knew Sakura. But alas, after two days of following the boy, all Sasuke had gained was more than a lifetime's worth of watching painfully awkward interactions between the boy and the rest of the world.
The more Sasuke observed him the more he learned of the boys habits. He was always drawing people, strangers to be exact. The deli man behind his cold cuts, the child flying a kite at the park, the woman waiting on a bench for the subway. Sasuke was not pleased with this discovery as it meant that even if it had been Sakura in the drawing, the raven haired boy had most likely sketched it while staring at her from across a cafe.
Sasuke watched the boy pull his phone from his pocket and answer it. The conversation was short and brief before the boy hung up and began to make his way down the street. As he turned the corner, Sasuke ignored the aggravating tug that insisted he follow.
Gritting his teeth he did his best to ignore it. No, today he would not follow. It seemed pointless. But he would not give up entirely. He had to know for sure that the picture was just a coincidence and not a possibility.
So after waiting an extra five minutes, Sasuke crossed the street and made his way into the building. Strange as he was, the boy had a connection to Sakura. The question was what kind of connection. Was it a brief sighting? A chanced moment when their paths crossed and he thought her an image worth capturing. Or was she more than that? Perhaps a friend or coworker. Whichever it was, Sasuke was going to find out.
Sakura was regretting omitting certain details of the night with her run in with the Uchiha. It was a funny thing. She had kept quiet about her meeting with the Uchiha for one reason. Her freedom. And yet, it turned out paranoia and fear was doing the same job she had thought Tsunade and Kakashi would have done had she said something.
For the past week she had avoided and neglected her guardian duties to Sai. Too scared of what would happen if she ran into Sasuke again without Naruto or Kakashi only a signal away. So instead she spent most of her time in the past week, deep in the archives of the library, trying to find out all she could about Sasuke Uchiha. And there was not much. There was plenty about his family but nothing much about Sasuke specifically. To make things worse, what she learned about the traits and patterns of the more famous of his ancestors did not help her confidence of safety. An enemy that was Uchiha was one to be feared.
She had tried to subtly gain some knowledge from Naruto but it was difficult to keep him focused between his short attention span and the strained history of their relationship. In short, she gained nothing from the blonde seraph. Kakashi would have been a reliable source but Sakura was currently avoiding him at the moment.
Perhaps it was her paranoia but Sakura was almost certain that Kakashi knew she was keeping something from him. From the look he had given her before their departure that night, to the hawkish way he seemed to be watching her now, Sakura knew she needed to tread lightly. She had given the excuse of not meeting Sai for the past week under the pretense that she was 'testing him', seeing how he did for a few days without her influence. Those few days turned into a week and now there was no avoiding it. Sakura could not put it off any longer.
It was not as if she had not left the heavens realm. She had come with Naruto and Kakashi at night to do the usual hunting. She had skipped the first night with the excuse that she was too tired. But there was no avoiding the other nights under the same excuse and there were no new ones to be made. So for those nights she had swallowed her fear and gone with them.
She had been fidgety and cautious, always looking over her shoulder the first few hours. But it soon faded into an eased repetition as she stayed near them as the night progressed. It was easy to forget about the dangers with the knowledge that Kakashi and Naruto were close by. So easy that she had nearly lost all fears until the next morning.
She had stood at the portal, staring down at the swirling void of light for nearly an hour before cowardice took over and she found refuge in the library. Sakura had hoped that gaining knowledge of the unknown would help quell the fear but after a week, everything still seemed a mystery. However she could not put it off any longer. Today was the day she had to go down alone. She just had to hope that should anything happen, luck would bless her again.
She was standing at the void's edge again. Taking a deep breath she tried to calm her racing heart as she wiped her moist palms against her thighs. Her attempt did little to dry the damp skin as this was the third time she had done this and the fabric of her dress was beginning to feel more like a damp kitchen towel than a fashionable garment.
"You can do this Sakura," she whispered to herself. "There is nothing to be afraid of. You are a strong, independent woman. You can rely on yourself—"
"Rely on yourself to do what?"
Sakura jumped at the sudden interruption of her private pep talk. She turned around instantly to find the owner of the unexpected voice walking lazily down the path.
Kakashi stopped a few feet away from her, his hands in his pockets and his head cocked the side, observing.
"Uh," Sakura stalled. "Nothing, just talking to myself."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Instead his head tilted back as he stared up at the warm sun and the clouds that covered the heavens sky.
"Bit late in the day for you to be headed down?" he finally commented as his attention fell back down to her. "Trial finally over?"
She was not sure but she detected a hint of sarcasm in his voice. All she could do was nod dumbly until she realized he was waiting for her to make some sort of explanation. "Yeah," Sakura said, her voice sounding not quite so sure. "I slept in and had a bit of a late start. Guess a week of slothfulness formed some bad habits." She let out an awkward nervous laugh that felt heavy between them. "Anyways…" She began when Kakashi only managed a tight smile of social conduct. "I should probably head now."
She took a backwards step and tried to turn away but was stopped by the call of her name.
"Sakura." She turned back to see Kakashi looking at her with a worried expression that made her feel guilty. "Is everything alright?" he asked slowly. "Because you can tell me anything. I might be a glutton for gossip but am also known to keep a secret or two. If that is what you wish?"
She almost let everything slip from her lips. Starting with the incident with the Uchiha going all the way back to her centuries worth of yearning for answers to her past. But despite the good sense of self preservation and her trust that Kakashi would keep his word if she asked, she kept her tongue still.
Finally she managed to shake her head and give him a tight lipped smile. "No," she managed to say. "I am fine. Just still a little disappointed with myself about Deidara and stressing over Sai. I feel like he is really close to a breakthrough. That's why I wanted to see how he does on his own and did some research this week instead."
She was not proud of the half truths she was feeding him but what else could she say. She was not exactly lying. Sai was close to a break through. Although she did feel guilty that she hardly gave any attention to his actions the past week nor did any of her 'research' have anything to do with the subject of her guardianship.
It seemed Kakashi was not thoroughly impressed either. Disappointment crossed his face which only served to fester her earlier guilt. "Very well," he said dismissively. "Run along then I am sure you have plenty of work waiting for you after abandoning Sai for a week. Or at least enough to cure you of your slothfulness."
She was not sure if his phrasing was purposeful or accidental accusation but it stung all the same. However, she swallowed the thick bitter taste of her half truth lies and pretended they settled heavily in the pit of her stomach and not on the conscience of her heart.
She bid him farewell as she tried to ignore the guilt. Using her escape as a cloak for her fear, she passed through the portal.
Kakashi watched as Sakura jumped down into the portal. Her pink hair swirled as the whirlpool of white and golden light absorbed her until she disappeared into the mortal realm. Like a pool of water settling from the ripples of disruption, he watched the portal as the warm colors settle into its normal gentle flow. He stared at the calming swirl for a moment longer before giving out a heavy sigh and running a hand across his face.
He was worried.
He had looked into what Sakura had been researching and it had nothing to do with helping Sai. She had spent the past week reading just about every archive available regarding the Uchiha. Naruto had also mentioned she had been asking about Sasuke and Kakashi was certain she was avoiding himself in addition to lying.
But the most worrying of all was the cause of this sudden obsession she had with the Uchiha. Was it just a random curiosity or was it more? Was there something internally drawing her curiosity?
Sakura had never given any particular attention to the Uchiha for the multiple centuries that he had known her and now, suddenly it was like an obsession. No, he mentally corrected himself. It was not sudden nor random. In fact he could pinpoint the moment of her odd behavior beginning. It was the night they had run into a particular Uchiha.
It only had drastically changed in the more recent week but now that he thought about it, she had been off ever since that night they had run into him. Had that meeting triggered something within her? Brought about memories that had been buried and sealed away?
Kakashi was confident the seal placed upon her mortal memories was still intact. But he questioned how intact it was? Could something like a brief meeting between them be strong enough to weaken it? Maybe just enough to let something slip through? If not, could it just be residing emotions that lingered for centuries? Dormant and awaiting to be reignited by the person they belonged to.
With a heavy sigh he turned around and began walking back up the pathway. He often times questioned the decision to not let Sakura know of her true past and how she came to be. He also questioned keeping it from Sasuke. Yes, Sasuke was unpredictable and untrustworthy, but that was because of the loss of Sakura in his life. Before he was neutral but if it meant keeping Sakura safe, Kakashi believed Sasuke would have done anything. There were other events and situations that led him down his wayward path, but Kakashi believed Sakura could have been enough to keep him stable. But that would all remain a mystery he supposed.
Tsunade's command had kept him from saying anything from the beginning. He both dreaded and praised the day when it all came to revelation. Tsunade believed that day would never come but Kakashi knew better. He had always known.
There was a force that had drawn those two together. He never knew what it was or where it came from but it was there. Be it the will of the gods or something far beyond that, it was inevitable, Sakura and Sasuke belonged together. And Kakashi had no doubt in his mind that force would eventually draw them together again.
He looked forward to that day because he was tired of the lies. He saw the hurt and confusion that Sakura bore from her mysterious past. It bothered him that a piece of her was missing. Yes she would be angry with him when she realized the degree of truth he had kept from her, along with Tsunade and Naruto. But Sakura was forgiving and when the truth came to light, he was sure she would eventually come to an understanding. He did not like it when Sakura was angry with him but thankfully it was never for long. It was not in her nature, even things such as secret keeping of her true existence were forgivable in her book. At least that is what he hoped for.
But what he truly feared was the connection between her and Sasuke. If her memories returned they would be of a boy who, despite his grumpy nature, loved far more strongly in a subtle way. She would see a boy who had protected her and sought out everything to keep her safe. She would see the boy that had a heart dispute the icy core that held it. Her emotions that were dormant would finally make a connection and he feared what she might do if those unclaimed emotions were finally attached to something tangible.
The Sasuke now was not the Sasuke she had known and he was fearful that Sakura would realize that the hard way. She would seek out that boy and what Kakashi feared is that she would find herself face to face with a monster. And there was no telling what that monster would do to her.
The worst of that fear was what would happen if that connection drew them together before she knew the truth of anything. What would be the result? Sasuke loved her fiercely but he was also selfish.
Kakashi shivered at the thought as his imagination made the worry on his mind increase ten fold. There would be no telling what Sasuke would do to Sakura, where he would take her, or what he would tell her. Even if she had no idea who he was, Sasuke would not care because he would have her.