Title: Driven
Genres: General and Hurt/Comfort
Summary: They were both people, driven to death for the same cause. AU Non-Mass.
A/n: A Sweet Release is meant as a release for my creative thought. This will be where I post shots about Itachi and Sakura. Chapters will be labeled by the first in the series as you may note, this chapter is denoted as 'Driven' if I ever make a follow-up it will be posted as 'Driven 2'. This is to get me back into writing, when my creativity is at a low for my other works. Please give a round of applause for Hypermanic who was kind enough to beta this story for me. Enjoy, Z.z
They were both driven. Driven by their own hearts; driven by their own beliefs; driven to the point they died for a cause they believed to be right. It was sad that they were unable to see, plainly, how they were the same; because they were so similar it was scary.
To begin at the end, they both died alone and unwanted. They both loved people so much that it caused their hearts to break. They both believed that the world could one day be made innocent, given enough healing and careful planning. They both looked toward the future with hope; that things would eventually right themselves; like a team could be made whole or a killer justified. They both enjoyed the simple things in life; like a cup of tea, a book of haiku. They both struggled with inner demons, a literal 'inner' and figurative guilt.
To return to the end, they both died alone and unwanted. They died because they were driven by a cause, with a belief, that was greater than oneself. A selfless death, one might say; not that anyone truly cared about the clan murderer or the weakest member of Team Seven. Both hated the life of the shinobi where there was only death and lies. They went against their own philosophy and gave all they could, their very breath, to protect what they loved. One killed a clan to save his brother and his village while the other killed the brother to save the village.
Yes, they both loved the village, an inanimate object which did not love them back; yet another frightening similarity.
But it wasn't really the village that they loved. They loved the way the wind whispered through the leaves, the quiet of a late afternoon training session, the lights as they shined upon the faces of the mountain, the way civilians carried on innocently. They simply loved the foundation of their village. That foundation created two pacifist souls who desired peace.
Peace, such a controversial word. A sorrowful word. A painful word. It was also that same word that brought those two pure-hearted individuals to their knees as they soaked in their own blood.
Peace.
Two lives ruined by the tainted truth some evil man fed them.
How sad. To be driven by something, that in the end, turned out to be just another lie.
I'm Here:
He was completely alone and the distressing thing was that it was painful. He wanted to be rebuked for his crimes. He wanted his cousin to scream at him. He wanted his mother to cry at him. He wanted his father to try and kill him. He wanted his clan to be disappointed in him.
He wanted something.
He wanted someone.
Someone to tell him what was right and what was wrong, if all of his planning was for nothing.
He now understood though.
He was most likely in hell.
This world with no one in it was where he belonged for his actions of treason, murder and betrayal. He was surprised that he was not forced to relive all of the painful, bloody memories over again; of course, he relived them willingly every day anyways.
It took him three years to realize that this was his punishment that he did not even deserve to be rebuked. When he realized that he would be left to his thoughts, he submitted. He believed the punishment was justified.
"Eternity alone," he had quietly murmured.
Then his eyes opened to an abnormal sight of color.
It was like a fading picture. A woman, lying in a pool of blood, a katana sticking up from her chest cavity, was before him. Her body jolted as electricity seemed to make her nervous system react.
He got to his feet and quietly moved forward to look down at the woman lying on the ground.
His question was answered. All of his planning was for naught.
Slowly the woman and blood came into focus, the translucent scene becoming more real at every passing second, while the katana and wounds became a blur until they disappeared altogether.
The dull green eyes began to lighten to the color he knew them to be. And then she began to choke, raggedly coughing up the blood still in her lungs.
He kneeled at her side, lifting her to sit upright. He let his fingers slip through the blood clotted pink hair as he tried to comfort her. "Shh…" He whispered quietly, "I'm here."
The woman continued to struggle for each breath but she slowly gained control of her breathing.
Itachi looked down at the woman, knowing only one thing for certain. She was his redemption.
Voice:
When she realized who he was, she growled. Realizing that she couldn't move because her body was weak, made her growl louder. When she comprehended she didn't have enough chakra to even crack the porcelain face before her, everything broke loose inside which caused the growl to become a snarl, which caused another coughing fit.
He didn't move though. He supported her back with his hand because if he removed it she would fall back onto the hard surface. He would not ruin his chance; no matter what the woman threw at him, he would remain her constant companion of solace in the empty world. He never thought that he would sink so low as to need someone else; but being in an empty world alone with only dark thoughts for several years had changed him. He needed a distraction, now more than ever, because he now knew that everything he had planned had been demolished in his absence.
The same little girl that had obliterated the only comfort he had of believing that his little brother had become of a powerful hero was now the only distraction he had from his distress. But she wouldn't speak to him; the only sounds she made were those that mimicked animals. Even though there were none in this world, the man still remembered what they sounded like.
He became the physical structure which she relied on. He gave her water; fed her the local vegetation; waited patiently as she snarled and threw things at him while her motor skills returned to her. He even gave her his shoulder when she burst into tears at random moments, although those moments never lasted long. She hated touching him.
He rarely spoke, but when he did he tried not mention the old life but instead tried to explain the life they were now in. He took her outside when he began to educate her on the new world because there was no other way she would believe him. He started off by telling her that there were no animals and no fish. That after a while, the silence in the air would become natural. He also told her of how the world seemed to resemble their old home and how he remembered it. Everything was complete; there were clothes hanging up to dry, medicine in the cupboards, dirty dishes in the sink; except for the missing life forms and dust. Nothing seemed to age in this world besides the plants. She listened to what he had to say, but only nodded her head in acknowledgement of his statements. Then the silence would return.
He was not bothered by the silence. For once, he did not have time to brood on things of the past because the newly recovered, super-strength woman kept him on his toes when his attention wavered.
She had just thrown another cup at him and he had caught it with his index finger without breaking it into pieces. Then she laughed; a hard, angry, rough laugh; while she stood and pointed a finger at him. After that she glared and the look said one thing 'You killed me, you killed your clan, you destroyed my family, you forced my two brothers into trying to kill each other, and you ultimately shattered my village. You're the one to blame.'
The light green eyes darkened and then she collapsed to her knees. A cry, that snapped the already broken heart of the man, escaped from her lips. Her body leaned over and she cried, at first, with dry heaves. Her body then poured out tears as she coughed on her own salt water. Her fist hit the ground, but there was no chakra in it. Her nails dug into the wooden floor and she continued to cry.
He simply moved closer to her and gently patted her on the back, because it was the only thing he could do. He was the reason her life had been horrible. He knew he was the one to blame. He silently gathered the shaking body and held her close as her heart continued to pour out undrinkable water. It took the woman several hours to stop crying and the pause only came because she became emotionally exhausted. Her forehead rested against his shoulder and her body came to a still.
Then for the first time he heard her voice.
"Thank you."
And he knew he didn't deserve her thanks.
Reality:
'Monster' was the actual word that classified the man in front of her in the bingo book she once owned.
Five months is what the monster said when he explained how long she had been in this 'new world'. He had been here more than three years.
But three years didn't seem like enough time for someone to change so drastically, especially one with the genetics of an Uchiha. The man who killed her still 'hn'-ed and yet, this one didn't. The monster had brought her water, fed her food, and helped her stand to get to the bathroom or to go on walks. Monsters did not do things for other people; monsters made life hell for others.
The man before her… No. She clarified once more, the monster before her did not match her definition.
He made her scared; she knew what he could do to her but he was… too nice.
She hated not understanding what was going on. So far, they seemed to be left in this world together. She hated that also. She didn't want to be with him or near him because she knew exactly what he had done. He murdered her teammate's family, made one of her brothers strive for revenge and the other fear for his life. He ultimately had forced the choices that carved the painful path of Team Seven.
Her eyes narrowed at the man as he set down her refilled cup of tea. He picked up her dirty plate and walked back into the kitchen where she could hear him set it on the counter. He returned to the room then sat with his back against the wall to her side. His eyes flickered over to her and watched her with coal black eyes.
Something was wrong… The thing in the room with her was supposed to be evil… but it wasn't… She would have believed it was all an illusion if she hadn't screamed 'Kia!' at the top of her lungs, whenever he had left to gather food, for the first week.
Surreal was what the world seemed like; perhaps it always had been.
She always believed her team would be put back together; that she would get married to her childhood crush; that she would take over the hospital. She believed that broken pieces could be glued together, to resemble the whole once more.
Obviously she had been clueless about reality; she was dead and so were all her hopes and dreams. She drained the cup in one gulp. Everything she had wished for growing up had been taken away with one final blow of a chidori laced katana; something which she could only blame herself for not dodging.
She glanced at the monster. His coal eyes stared at her unfocused. She had yet to see him activate his blood limit… She thought he would keep it activated; that all of his kind enjoyed having such power over others.
Her grip tightened on the cup. Even dead he somehow had power over his younger brother.
She threw the tea cup at him.
He easily caught it with an index finger. Even unfocused the monster couldn't be touched. There was no need for him to waste his blood limit. She rose to her feet to glare down at him. She wasn't worthy in his eyes. She gave a hard laugh. She had never been worthy in anybody's eyes had she? She'd always been the one left behind; the weak one, the one unfit to fight, the one that needed to be protected.
Her hand rose on its own accord; wanting to accuse the 'monster' before her.
The coal eyes widened slightly revealing the pain inside of his eyes. Monsters' weren't supposed to have an ounce of humanity.
Nothing seemed real anymore.
She could hear her heart shatter in her chest and she fell while crying in pain.
It took several moments before she realized she was being held by something warm. She only cried harder because it wasn't real. It couldn't be real. If it was real, then her entire life had been a lie.
When she finally cracked open her eyes enough to look at him; she finally saw. He was just a man, a man who was not a monster but something different.
"Thank you," she whispered, because maybe—just maybe—she had found reality.
Search:
"Search." He demanded in the annoying tone he always used when he seemed to think she might try to get out of it.
She glared him down in return.
His lips twitched.
She growled.
"Sakura."
She hated his condescending tone. Out of all the people to be stuck with for eternity…
"You find it," she snarled.
The man gave one of his mischievous smirks, which were becoming more occasional after five years of being stuck on the same abandoned planet together.
He shrugged, "I don't need it." The man then turned his back and began walking away.
"You lost it!" She screamed.
"How?" He questioned, sparing her a glance. "When the glove was on your hand?"
She spat on the ground before him while cracking her knuckles in a threatening manner. "I don't know; but you obviously had something to do with it."
The man turned again, throwing the glove over his shoulder at her. "It took you two hours to realize it was missing. Please notice things sooner."
The woman put the glove back on.
Then, making sure his back was turned, she let her frown turn into a smile, at least the man tried to keep her entertained.
Insanity:
It happened very slowly …
(jk ^-^ )