Chapter 13
Impossibility's and dreamscapes
Itachi held the door for sakura, standing in the small space that a courtyard for the dinning establishment had been erected. She strode through and past him, stopping and turning toward the raven headed man.
"Thank you uchiha San, I guess I will see you tomorow morning." She could feel the sake in her system still as she held the bag of extra food. Feeling a bit foolish that she had tried to dissuage him in such a manner.
"My pleasure sakura." He said, reaching a hand out and tapping two fingers to her forehead. "Uchiha-" he cut her off, leaning in and kissing her forehead before popping into a blanket of black feathers.
She sighed. Turning to leave the courtyard. Knowing this was going to be a lot of strife with training.
Sakura stepped out into the busy market street, turning left towards the hokage tower. She had to report into Tsunade with her final decision. She'd made a leap, training this morning. With the liquid courage still pounding through her veins she knew she had to let her know.
She was going back to anbu, and after this mission, she would retire her white cloak, and stick to the hospital.
She knew she would have to convince her, show her she was ready. She would. Because she knew it was time.
A thought edged her brain. Didn't she make a death threat yesterday? Ah yes. Then there was sasuke to contend with. She would get to the bottom of this Itachi thing one way or another. Though the training would come in handy. She stepped over the last cobblestone that led from the market street to her bridge. Their bridge, team sevens bridge. Stopping for a moment to wrap her fingers around the red painted wooden bridge railing. Her mind wandered to days gone by, of easier times, of childish things.
She smiled, a true real smile, while gazing into the small river that spread wide connecting konaha to its foundations.
She turned, leaving those feelings behind, walking towards the tower that now held her destiny. Knowing that if she died out there, she did it for herself, not for ino. She did it to reconstruct herself back into the woman she deserved to be.
No more black hoods, no more sorrow.
She would live for today. As she had promised so many days ago.
Sakura stood in Tsunades office. Braced for the argument ahead. This time she wouldn't break. This time she would achieve what she came here to do.
Tsunade looked at the pinkette standing in her office, her head held low, balancing her chin on crossed fingers.
"Ok." Was all she said.
"Really? Just like that?" Sakuras mouth dropped open.
"You asked this time, you didn't just do. And if Itachi uchiha wants to train you, I'll give you the time you need. I still expect our once a week meetings until kakashi returns." She reached into the top drawer of her desk, pulling out a thick file. "This is all the known information on akasuna no sasori we have." She slid the folder forward, using one finger. "As long as you pass my mental inspections you will be reassigned to anbu."
Sakura gaped, walking forward and placing a hand on the folder. "Shishou…." She met her eyes. "I will." She retorted, pulling the file into her arms.
"I'm not handing you captainship back, just giving you an opportunity to participate." She reassured the girl.
"That's all I ask, Tsunade sama."
Sakura bowed low.
"I will reassign your hospital shifts," she motioned her hand as if dismissing her. "Postponed until you complete what you mean too."
Sakura nodded, feeling herself swell with hope. She turned headed to the window.
"And sakura?" She looked over at her pupil.
"Yes, shishou?"
"Wear your damned mask." She turned her chair away. Dismissing her.
Sakura smiled a bit at this, with a grin she said "you know, pink hair is pretty rare I hear. I only know of one shinobi with it." With that she jumped dodging out the window to the training fields.
In the distance she could hear "DISMISSED I SAID!" She laughed aloud feeling free, then with a sadistic grin she flickered. She had someone to converse with. Answers to find.
By late in the evening she had come to the realization that the raven haired prick was in hiding, his blonde friend also doing a good job of cloaking his chakra. Both of them together, not even a twinkling of an idea they were being followed. Trailed. Stalked. She gave a twisted grin to the ideas that spun through her mind. Genjutsu, layered, diffrent scenarios played through her head. Oh the fun.
Like they could feel her eyes burning their skin both men stopped. Sasuke and naruto spun crouching into defensive statures as she dropped from the building she was following them from. They visibly stiffened.
"Sa-sakura Chan!" Naruto squealed raising his hands.
"You have nothing to do with this, walk away, or stand witness." She dismissed.
"Sakura! Wait!" He rushed in front of sasuke who had backed up to the wall, eyes already bleeding red.
"Let her try this time naruto, I'm ready." He spat.
"Shut up teme! I'm trying to save your life!"
Sasuke whipped through hand signs, "fireball jutsu!" A deep orange flame whipped past naruto who dropped to the ground just in time.
Sakuras katana in hand, she cut the fire in half walking slowly towards him, glint in her eye.
"I believe your time is up, asshole, is that anyway to greet a friend?" Sasukes hands whipped again, seeing through her clone he peered back up. Looking for the original.
"And I believe your hiding sakura! What you afraid of my sharingan?!"
"Shut your damn trap sasuke!" Naruto sprang up and put both hands up again. "Sakura! We have-"
"Senju sealing barrer." Four posts of stone rose up around the two nin, both boys sprang forward. Smacking into a blue wall.
"Sakura please!" Naruto screamed. "We have-"
"Fireball jutsu!" Sasuke breathed out again another flame. Instead, it swarmed back from the wall, hurling towards both of them. "Reflection!" He seethed.
"Dumbass! Teme! Stop!" Naruto grabbed sasukes arms, stopping him from breathing out another fireball. "You have no idea what she's capable of when she's pissed!"
"Naruto you idiot! Stop we went over this!"
"I humored you teme! She will skin us, flip our guts out, and decorate this alley like it's Christmas! You should have seen Genma when he grabbed her ass two years ago!" Naruto pleaded with his friend. "He was in icu for a month!"
Sasuke stopped, examining the barrier with his sharingan. Seeing no visible weaknesses. He sighed. "Fine. Sakura. You got us."
"Sakura. Please let us out of this, we have some information…" naruto started.
A second sakura walked out from behind the shadows. Sasuke eyed her, she'd made her move.
"Continue, I'm listening. Make it fast, my sake is almost chilled." She was looking at her fingernails, her clone pulled out a senbon and handed it too her. "Arigato." She replied taking it. Then proceeded to clean them out with the end.
"Sakura. The barrier…" Naruto stated.
"Nice right? No way out, try the top, bottom, sides, even the corners. Full reflection." She stated dryly.
Sasuke growled. "Sakura stop this nonsense!"
The senbon snapped between her fingers. "Nonsense?" She smiled, looking up at them with flames in her eyes. "I'll show you nonsense." With that both boys dropped to their knees, a force barring down on them. Overwhelming pressure.
"Fuck!" Sasuke gasped out "Sa-Sa-sakura." He grimaced. "Ok! Ok! Fuck!" He choked out.
Naruto coughed and teeth fell out.
"Sa…." He blinked and fell headfirst into the puddle of teeth and blood.
"Gosh. That's not even a lot of pressure." Sakura kneeled down by the barrier, resting her arms on her knees.
"Ok! Ok!" Sasuke started. "We get it," he huffed. "Turn off the pressure please." Sasukes hair started to drop off his head. "Wh…what the fuck?!" He reached up running finger through as chunks fell out. "Sakura please stop!"
"Information good sir? Times a ticking!" She grinned, eyes crinkling. "Next I'm think resto al-"
"He, was very intrigued at the hokages office…" he puffed trying to get more air. "Your chakra control….your chakra lines. He mentioned to ka-San that they rivaled S ranked nins in their later years after tons of training." He huffed again. "That he thinks…he thinks your interesting!" Breathing deep. "That's not good coming from him! He's never intrested in girls, ever!"
He blinked. The alley was empty. Naruto was passed out next to him, his hands were empty of hair, no blood no pressure. What the fuck?
"Good answers sasuke," sakura said from the alley wall leaned back picking her nails with a senbon.
"Wait….wait a minute." He ran a hand through his hair, still intact. "What…"
"Level eight genjutsu. It was layered with a level seven, and even a third level eight." She pocketed the senbon. "Arigato, next time, don't make me search. Otherwise, I'll skip the genjutsu and get right to the castration." She flickered out of sight, cherry blossoms poofing into the space.
He didn't even see her cast it. Even with his sharingan activated to level two.
"Itachi better watch himself.." sasuke staired at the cherry blossoms that dropped to the floor.
Sakura heard her alarm clock blarring. Shaking free of the sheets that held her captive in a rush she slammed her hand down on the button that quieted the blarring machine.
Wait a minute.
Her alarm clock was broken, and yet here sat a new one in its place, the screen reading 4:15 in blue light. A small note card peeking out from the corner. She blinked her weary eyes. Adjusting to the blue faint glow the numbers gave off.
'Good morning, breakfast is on the table. See you in an hour -Itachi.'
She groaned, this son of a bitch. Really? Breaking and entering? Had he no shame?
She pushed off the bed, she had time for a shower and possibly a protein bar before she had to leave. No way was she touching whatever he'd prepared. The moment she seen him she'd give him a piece of her mind. Her head throbbed as she made her way into the bathroom turning the shower on and letting the steam fill the room.
Stepping into the hot stream she let her head come to whilst the water sloshed over her hair and body, resting her forehead against the shower stall.
After about ten minutes of this she washed herself down, feeling her muscles relax and rejoice in the hot water.
She stepped out and toweled down. Fixing her hair into a messy bun, she pulled on spandex shorts and a black shirt, fixing her kunai pouch in place and holstering her shurikin. She pulled her gloves in place, and healed the dark circles before headed out the bathroom door.
On the table sat a box. She side eyed it. It smelled sweet, next to that a plastic cup with a 'sakura' scribbled on it.
Wait a minute. She picked up the iced beverage, and sipped it.
Iced Carmel macchiato!! Her favorite coffee. She opened the box to see two everything bagels with cream cheese.
Wow. He was good.
She grabbed one and hoofed it down. Fuck principles, it was a class A felony to waste such precious food.
After finishing one she grabbed the other and checked the clock. She had fifteen minutes. She darted out the door locking it and hitting the stairs at a dead run. Eatting and running. Drinking when she could.
"Extra carmel, I'm going to find out who told him this." She mumbled finishing the bagel and coffee tossing it in a bin as she tore through the village.
The training grounds came into sight as she breezed along. Stepping into seven and making her way to the dark figure sitting in the center.
"Perfect timing." He said. Chucking.
"Crazy." She drawled, putting her hands on her hips and he rose and turned to her. "Their was this alarm clock on my side table that wasn't there when I went to bed last night. Oh! And it was programmed." She deadpanned.
He reached out and brushed a crumb off her cheek. "I see you liked the breakfast."
"I did actually. Back to the breaking and entering, unacceptable uchiha-San." She backed out of his reach.
"When you leave a door unlocked is it actually breaking and entering?" He smirked.
"yeah actually it's still considered breaking in entering if you don't get asked to come in." She glared. "What kind of training did you have in mind?"
"straight to the point I like that." He turned. Walking three steps and turning back to her. "Let's begin then."
With a poof, feathers rained down.
Here we go.
Six hours. Six hours of the most grueling workout she had ever done. She laid back in the grass heaving chest, the gray sky darkened with clouds frowning heavy.
"Tired already? I'm just getting warmed up." Itachi laughed.
"Fuck, slave driver." She cried out closing her eyes.
He leaned over her, looking down on her. "I will say this, your strong. Your chakra channels are still bright. You didn't waste it all this time."
"Last time, if you'd recall, id already been working out when you got here." She opened an eye. "And i depleted quite a bit before you showed up."
"Ah yes. Playing with the lightning technique." He held a hand out to her. She took it and he helped her to her feet. "Maybe I can help you with that. You could achieve it with much less chakra if you wanted." She was brushing herself off.
She stopped, looking back up at him. "What?"
"I said I can help you use less chakra, to complete that technique. That's a problem you've been having." He repeated.
"You sharingan users. Always had an upper hand." She gave a half smile. "Alright I give." She stood to attention crossing her aching arms. "How would I use less chakra?"
"When you push the lighting outwards, into the tree and force it to tunnel, in that moment you use an extrema amount of chakra to split the tree into senbon, yes?" He waved his hand.
"I do, yes." She nodded.
"Instead of forcing it, guide it." he said.
"Wow. Elegant. Wish I'd thought of it." She said, impassively.
"Let me show you then." He started towards her. Walking behind her.
"What are you-"
"Make the chidori." He stated grabbing her wrist.
"Um…"Her face flushed. "What?" She turned back their faces too close.
His breath fanned her cheek. "Make the chidori, sakura."
Her eyes locked with his, his back pressed to hers, his wrapped around her waist and hand holing her wrist outstretched.
"I don't know if I can…with you, um, so, um close."
She turned her head back to her hand. She knew she was a red as a cherry.
"You can." He said, brushing his hand up her waist and rubbing her core. "Build it from here."
She tried to focus. He was so close. Too close. "I…I can't focus…"
He whispered in her ear, "breathe, focus sakura," his voice caressed her name. She gulped. "Close your eyes. Focus."
She closed her eyes. Focusing hard. Then sending a serge of chakra from her core to her hand she focused the ball of energy guiding it out into the lightning ball.
She felt him lighten the chakra in her wrist. He let go and she opened her eyes, darting towards the forest trees she jumped pouncing at the base of the tree, she dropped her fist and knee into the dirt, guiding the lighting into the ground and pushing it back up to the tree. It splintered exploding and raining down senbon into the clearing.
She'd done it. Perfectly. She jumped up throwing a fist into the air "fuck yes! Did you see that!!" She turned around. Meeting itachis eyes. The adrenaline coursed through her veins as she danced for a minute. His smile matched hers.
She threw her head back and laughed. Rain started then, pouring down onto her hot skin. She threw her arms up. Letting it wash away her sweat. "I did it itachi!"
She looked back to where Itachi stood, but he was gone. Arms folded around her.
"Yes you did sakura." She turned quickly, pushing back and stumbling, he caught her wrist and pulled her back against his chest.
"Careful, sakura." he chided. Pushing her face up. "Say it again."
"Itachi!" She choked out. "Stop-"
He pulled her face to his, Their lips met, heat pulsed through her, a light buzzing in her ears as a tingling spread through her body. He deepened it with her gasp, tongues intermingling. She closed her eyes. Bright orbs of golden yellow burned in her mind.
She froze. Her body going cold.
His hands climbing her legs. She could feel his hands on her thighs.
She ripped herself from Itachi.
"Stop." She heaved. "Please…stop." She dropped to her knees. "I'm. Im not ready for that."
"I'm sorry, sakura." Itachi kneeled before her. "I didn't mean to press you."
"Yes you did! You have not a clue what I've been though!" She pushed his hands away, but he reached back to her.
"Then tell me. Tell me what it is you hide from me."
She felt tears in her eyes. Looking up at him. "Since you seem so desprate for answers I'll tell you why. But only once." Then she poured her heart out to him.
The rape, the nightmares, the torture, killing ino, everything tumbled out.
"You can find better uchiha San. Anyone but me. I'm nothing but a scrap of human left withering away. I have but one goal, and when that's finished. Then so will I." She cried, the rain pouring down over her.
"You, sakura, are not a scrap." He tilted her chin up and locked eyes with hers. Deep green to black. "I will help you finish what you started. I will help you bring that man down. But when it's done, I will not be. I want to see you reclaimed, I want to see you whole." He breathed. "I will not stop until I see you healed. No matter how long that takes." She sobbed into him.
This was the first time she had ever mentioned it's said it aloud. She had just overloaded him with a story that not many would listen to and still think her worth a second look. She was open for the first time in over a year and something felt freeing in that thought.
Someone else knew. Other that those who had read the reports, like kakashi Tsunade and her shrinks, she had talked.
Her face went red. He had prodded her for a little less than a week, and she had talked.
Her sobs lessened, but his arms around her did not. She finally wiped her face. Against her shoulder cuff. Rain was pelting them now.
"Do you want to go somewhere?" He said. She looked back up to him, rain pouring down her face, mixing with tears. His hair was plastered to the sides of his face. They were drenched.
"Yes. Let's go back to my place. I doubt mikoto sama would be happy to see her son returned in this condition." She said, as he helped her to her feet.
"Lead the way." He held his arm out to her.
She rubbed her bicep, looking at it.
"I will not push you any further." He conceded, holding the arm out further. "I swear."
She nodded. Putting her hand on his forearm and leading them in the direction of her home.
A/n: im sorry this took so long. I've been going through it lately. I almost gave up all together. I can't promise quick updates. But I want to finish this one
I lost someone very dear to me, and I've been struggling lately.
Thank you to everyone who commented and sent me love in the form of words. You all are amazing.
as always, let me know what you think. I know where this is going, I know how many chapters but let's keep that a secret for now!
until next love note
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