xXx
Sakura anxiously perched at the dusty window of a rather run down inn, verdant eyes darting back and forth, searching for any sign of enemy or friend entering the gates of the small but industrious merchant village.
It had only been a little over an hour, but time felt as if it was dragging on forever. She wanted desperately to be back within the safety of the village.
Naruto was still unconscious, laying in a cot on the other side of the room. His loud boisterous snores ensured her that he was in fact ok.
Itachi and Sasuke were at another end of the room, where Itachi fretted over Sasuke's wounds and insisted upon cleaning and dressing them. On occasion his keen eyes would catch sight of another and Sasuke would swat his hands away, insisting he was ok and that Itachi was worrying over nothing.
One sharp look from his older brother would chase the fight out of Sasuke and he would look to the corner of the room as his brother continued his ministrations, positively pouting.
Sakura wanted to giggle at the interaction but was quickly sobered by the thought that Sasuke truly did get off easy… and Itachi was no doubt well aware of that fact. If he and the others had been even 30 seconds later…
Well, Itachi would be tending to his baby brother's corpse.
To yours as well… Her inner voice couldn't help but to add.
A shudder pulled itself through her small frame and she looked out the window once more, determined not to dwell on corpses.
We may have survived but…
A limp form clad in jounin colors flashed through her mind-
No! Stop thinking about it! She internally scolded herself, pushing her face into a hand as if she could physically force the thoughts to the back of her mind. When she was home, alone in her room- only then would allow herself to dwell on the loss.
"Is your head bothering you?"
The low voice was laced with concern. She jerked her head up to be met with deep, dark eyes. Her breathe involuntarily caught in her throat at the sudden proximity. She hadn't even heard him move across the room.
Itachi was kneeling before her with his arm resting casually atop one uplifted knee. Even in that position he still had a height advantage; his head cocked softly to one side so he could assess her at her own level. His long tied back hair spilled over his shoulder- this close she could see how it shined like dark threads of silk in the light from the window beside her.
She had the sudden urge to reach out and touch it.
What is wrong with you? Get it together! Her internal chastisement caused the blood to rush to her face.
A cool hand came up to lay against her forehead, then against one cheek. Dark brows furrowed ever so slightly. "You feel flushed."
Her thoughts vaporized at his touch, but the vague feeling of mortification remained.
His eyes darted to her injured hand and Itachi held out his own; long and slender fingers outstretched as if asking permission.
She obliged and set her hand atop his, palm up.
He made a quiet 'tsk' sound and Sakura's eyes shot up to meet his in fear of being reprimanded. But he was busy taking something from his pouch before tearing the cork off with his teeth. She didn't get so much as a warning before he poured an unknown liquid over her hand.
"Gah!" Her gasp followed an attempt to pull back the offended appendage as the wound began to sizzle and sting.
Itachi held her in place effortlessly. Her hand trembled with pain but when she looked up at him again he was watching her.
"Sorry." He amended, his features soft and genuine. "It's easier the first time when you don't know what's coming."
They watched the wound sizzle together for a few moments, and each made Sakura feel further and further from her body. She had to consciously focus to feel the pain now.
"It doesn't look infected yet, but it needs to be cleaned immediately." Gently continuing, he turned her hand over to show the exit would at the back, which was admittedly caked with dirt.
Lifting the bottle once again, he purposefully caught her gaze. "Ready?"
Pink hair fell into her face from a quick nod.
"Take a deep breath." She did as she was told just as the liquid burned atop the torn skin.
This time she managed to not make a sound; the pain felt far away, as if she was empathetically watching it happen to someone else.
"Very good." He breathed as he began to wipe down both sides before wrapping the wound.
Sakura felt the heat returning to her face at the innocent praise despite herself, desperate that he would not look up from his work and notice the strange effect he was having on her.
She was content to privately blame it on the stress of the past day and nothing more.
Trying to mentally distance herself from the situation in an effort to cool off, she looked over the shoulder of the Uchiha heir to meet the eyes of his younger brother, who noticed her flushed state. His gaze darted from her to his brother and back again.
To her horror, Sasuke's intelligent eyes narrowed now in what looked to be suspicion.
Sakura's, in turn, shot up at the ceiling as if it was the most interesting thing in the room.
They stayed fixed on a discolored spot just above the middle of the room until she felt a final sharp tug at her hand as Itachi secured the bandage in place. He gave his work a once over before, apparently satisfied, gave the top of her hand one light pat and stood. His smooth features were now interrupting her intense scrutiny of the ceiling, so her eyes quickly shot to the corner where the walls met the roof instead.
"Thank you." She all but whispered.
She detected the subtle movement of acknowledgement from her periphery, but when he failed to move away she chanced a glance back at him.
His eyes were downcast, brow furrowed in deep thought. He turned slightly and drew a breath, seemingly to address both her and Sasuke, but with a straightened spine his sharp eyes snapped to the front of the room.
Her eyes followed suit to find nothing but a closed door, and just when she was about to question him, a loud clamor sounded from down the hallway.
Adrenaline surged through her body and she was on her feet in less than a second. She saw Sasuke mirror her reaction.
But both sets of shoulders sagged with slight relief when they saw the familiar ANBU uniforms burst into the room.
Shisui and the tall silver haired man appeared first, out of breath and disheveled. Shisui all but leaned his weight against the door to hold it open.
A loud scuffle came from the hallway, but from her vantage point she was unable to see what was coming, so she looked to the Uchiha brothers who had a better view. Itachi was unreadable- only the tightness of his jaw gave anything away.
By contrast, the younger brother was much easier to decipher. Sakura watched as the color drained from Sasuke's face, giving him such a phantasmal appearance, she was unsure if he'd just seen a ghost or had become one himself.
But as two more ANBU-clad shinobi that she didn't recognize came through the doorway, she was certain her countenance mirrored his own.
Dragged between the two men was the limp form of Renjiro-sensei. With his arms thrown over each of their shoulders and his head bowed deep over his own chest, it was clear they were struggling with his dead weight.
Sakura dared not to hope…
"He's still alive…" One of the ANBU grunted as the pair placed him on the floor. "But just barely."
As they arranged him to lay on his back, Renjiro's head lolled to the side, facing Sakura.
And as much as she tried, the young kunoichi could not tear her eyes away from his blood encrusted face- bruised and hollowed sockets stared straight back at her.
A hand covered her mouth in abject horror.
"The nukenin?"
Itachi's voice was faint, again seeming to be far away.
A pause.
"They were not going to come alive." The serious voice came from the corner with the silver nin, and she felt a pull to look at him.
But Renjiro's haunting gaze commanded her full attention.
She felt trapped by it.
Were they sure he was still alive? She could detect no movement from his chest; the calming presence of his chakra was absent.
She was certain that if she continued to stare into his vacant gaze, she would be dragged into the dark cavities of death along with him.
Urgent conversation continued in the background, indistinct and fuzzy, as the sound of her own pounding heart drummed heavily in her ears.
Suddenly she was lacking oxygen- it had all been sucked into the vacuum of the twin craters before her.
They gaped open in a grotesque juxtaposition to her own sealed lungs.
Her stomach lurched; the taste of acid burned the back of her tongue.
She was out of the room before she had even made the conscious decision to move. A blast of fresh air hit her face, alerting her she had made it outside with no time to spare.
On hands and knees, she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the grass. In between heaves she gulped as much oxygen as humanly possible, but it never seemed to be enough. Her injured hand grasped at the front of her dress, tugging it away as if it was constricting her ability to breath properly.
A high pitched wheezing alerted her to the possibility of another presence until she realized it was her making that sound. She quickly dismissed it- if she could just lighten the weight on her chest-
Her awareness picked up hands on her shoulders which she immediately attempted to swat away.
She needed space.
She needed air.
She needed-
"Sakura!"
Two strong hands grasped her shoulders firmly, holding her in place as her eyes snapped up in alarm.
She found herself once again ensnared in another's gaze. But instead of drowning in the pits of the abyss, she was floating in two lakes of soothing crimson.
She felt all her muscles instantly relax and her breathing return to normal.
Though she could no more tear herself away from the tendrils of this gaze, she discovered it was a much more blissful cage than the last.
Her body felt light- like she was floating- and it appeared as if millions of cherry blossom petals were swirling around her. They danced daintily through the tendrils of her hair; their caress was satin against her cheek. She noticed it smelled of spring- the lingering scent of petrichor and pine. The air tasted sharp and crisp, like early morning mountain air, filling her lungs in abundance.
Never in her life could she recall feeling such tranquility and peace.
When the petals faded and the colors around her seemed to snap back into focus, she couldn't help but feel a small pull of disappointment.
"What was that?" She whispered, her lips barely moving.
"You were having a panic attack."
It was Itachi. He had been the one to run after her?
She felt simultaneously moved at his thoughtfulness and mortified that he had witnessed her breakdown.
"No… I mean what was that?"
She quickly stood in an attempt to distance them both from her half digested lunch still on the ground, hoping he hadn't noticed it. He seemed to measure her steadiness before finally allowing his hands to drop from her shoulders.
Her skin felt too cold in their absence.
"Genjutsu."
Well. She knew that.
"How did you know that specific imagery would work for me though?" She clarified.
At this he looked slightly taken aback, as if he had not expected such a question.
"With Genjutsu, it's often beneficial to draw from experience."
It was her turn to be stunned into silence.
Was that what relaxed him? Where he found peace?
Little that she knew about this man, she had still not expected that. It clashed with his reputation of being cold as the steel he wielded, forever cloaked in the shadow of a conspiracy of ravens.
She took a slight step back, filing this information away and allowing it to repaint her mental picture of the man before her in a different light.
He was steady under her scrutiny.
"How are you feeling now?"
"Better." She admitted. She glanced back over her shoulder at the inn.
"There's a chance he will make it if we can return him to the village immediately. Shisui is the fastest man I know. He has already left with two of the others."
Looking back at the ANBU captain, Sakura noticed the softness in his eyes and the small lilt of his lips. It was meant to be a reassuring expression, she was sure, but there was something else that was heavy on her mind.
"They took his eyes… why did they do that?"
A slight exhalation. She found his empty stare now directed at the treeline.
"I am not sure. But this is not the first time this has happened."
Sakura felt a chill climb up her spine.
Sasuke… Zabuza's intent toward him only changed when he saw his eyes…
Her mind filed through her memories like flipping pages in a photo album. The images stopped on Zabuza, pinning Sasuke to the trunk of the tree… leaving himself open to an outside attack as he rifled through his pack for something…
The image of Renjiro-sensei's sightless visage, forever burned into her memory now. But she focused on how little trauma there was to the surrounding skin. As if the eyes had been scooped out by a tool.
And it clicked that Sasuke had been mere seconds away from the same fate.
Unbidden, an image of Sasuke's young porcelain face marred by dark hollow sockets stained her mind. She felt her stomach roil in response but the phantom scent of petrichor dampened it.
"Come."
As Itachi led her back into the hotel to their room, she could hear that Naruto was now conscious again.
As soon as she walked through the doorway the blonde was upon her.
"Sakura-chan! There you are! Are you ok?"
The worry evident in his eyes pulled a reassuring smile to her lips.
"I'm fine, Naruto." She gave him a wary once over. "How about you?"
The question was met with a thumbs up.
"I'm feeling better than ever! And Sasuke said Renjiro-sensei is alive too?!"
She paused at this, still not entirely convinced.
"He is." Itachi confirmed from behind her before moving past them both to speak with the silver haired ANBU leaning nonchalantly against an old dresser. Their tones were hushed.
"Naruto… what happened to you back there? Was that a new jutsu, or…?" Sakura probed, searching his face for answers.
His confusion was evident in the way he scrunched up his nose.
"What're ya talkin' about, Sakura-chan?"
"You're chakra." Sasuke stepped in this time, clearly just as eager to clear this mystery up. "It was visible. And… your eyes- they were red."
"Oh yeah! Your eyes were red too, Sasuke! What was up with that?"
There was a visible twitch in the young Uchiha's left eyebrow.
"That's the Sharingan, my kekkei genkai. Idiot."
"Oh." Naruto scratched his head in thought. "Well uhh… maybe I have it too then?"
The twitch deepened.
"Only Uchiha can have the sharingan."
"How do you know? What makes you so special, huh?"
"It's basic genetics, dobe!"
"Naruto." Sakura's quiet voice cut in before the argument could escalate. "Were you aware of what you were doing?"
The blonde boy seemed to give it some thought.
"Not really…" He admitted, sheepish. "I just saw you and Sasuke in trouble, and I dunno. I felt myself get really mad and I had this surge of energy… and then… it was almost like my body was moving on its own."
He was staring at his hands rather intensely, as if he didn't recognize them. It was clear something about the recollection was bothering him.
It hadn't been her intent to cause him any distress, so she quickly put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Well anyways, thank you Naruto. You really have a way of appearing when we need you most. That move you did on Zabuza in the meadow- that was amazing!"
His whiskered cheeks tinged pink at the compliment.
"Ahh, it was nothing!"
Sakura turned to their other teammate.
"You too, Sasuke. I think you saved my life a couple of times back there…"
He huffed, averting his attention to the window. "Actually, I think we're all pretty even in that regard." His eyes flicked back at her, then Naruto, and though he didn't expand on the thought, the look communicated enough.
There was a thank you in there somewhere.
"You're right!" Naruto chimed in, hooking both Sakura and Sasuke around the necks. "We make a great team, you know?"
Sakura let out a little laugh at his exuberance and from the other side she could hear Sasuke's muffled "Get off of me!" as he struggled against Naruto's grip.
The feeling of being watched drew her attention to the corner where the two older shinobi were standing, now quiet and observing them.
But it was the unknown ANBU that caught her attention. He was hard to read as three-quarters of his face was now hidden with a black mask and lowered forehead protector. But the one eye that was visible narrowed in interest.
Sakura couldn't shake the feeling that lone slate eye was more percipient than the sharingan.
xXx
When they made it back through the familiar village gates, the five of them reported straight to the Hokage.
Though this wasn't the first time Sakura had given a report directly to the hokage, it was the first time they wouldn't be recounting drab and mundane details as he half listened amidst doing paperwork.
This time was markedly different.
Fugaku-sama sat at his desk, nothing in front of him but his crossed arms. His deep eyes seemed to penetrate the genin trio as if assessing any weakness.
Sakura felt bolstered by having her teammates at either side of her. Itachi and the silver-haired shinobi stood at opposite sides of the room behind them- ready to pick up where Team 7's report ended, she surmised.
"Start from the beginning. Don't leave out a single detail." The Godaime's powerful voice echoed off the wooden walls.
Both Sakura and Naruto bristled, trying to think of the best way to start. Sasuke thankfully picked up their slack and launched into a rather detailed retelling of events.
She was surprised to hear pride in his voice as he recounted the way she had thrown herself before their client and took the brunt of the attack to protect the bridgebuilder. When he humbly glanced over his own heroism, she hesitantly interrupted to set the record straight.
Sasuke had saved her life- there was no denying that. She made sure the Godaime knew.
Naruto jumped in pointing out how Sasuke had been willing to lay his life on the line for the both of them to escape.
Sasuke countered with the way Naruto had ambushed and held his own against an S-ranked nukenin, not at all ashamed of admitting how impressed he had been, and Naruto was then quick to gush about Sakura's Doton jutsu and how well it had meshed with Sasuke's Katon.
The report persisted in this way, each genin highlighting the strengths and heroism displayed by their teammates as they recounted their story in the Land of Waves. None of them had a need to boast of their own actions- they were recognized and celebrated by another before they even had the chance.
Sakura could feel the cohesion of their team in that room as they faced their village leader. Sakura relished in the realization that they had each other's backs- whether they were on the battlefield or not.
"I see. You three did well, considering the circumstances. This mission may be classified a failure, but at least you can say you have had your first A-ranked mission."
Sakura's eyebrows raised in surprise as Naruto spluttered to her right.
It was reclassified as A-ranked?!
"In the meantime, be sure to have your injuries checked at the hospital. It was reported Renjiro has been stabilized there as well, so you can visit him if you'd like. However, due to his handicap he will no longer be able to mentor as your sensei. Unfortunately, you will be grounded until I can find another jonin to assign to you."
Conflicting emotions warred in Sakura's chest at the news- relief that Renjiro-sensei was going to be ok after all but simultaneously heartbroken that his career as a shinobi was likely over.
"Dismissed." The Godaime said as he waved the two more seasoned shinobi up to him.
"Actually…" A languid voice cut in.
All three genin turned to the silver haired man standing with his hands in his pockets, appearing almost bored.
"If it's all the same to you, Hokage-sama, I would like to volunteer as the replacement sensei for Team 7."
xXx
AshleyMarieD: Thank you so much! I'm so glad that this story has caught your interest! 3
ForgettheStereotypes: I'm glad you enjoyed, hope this holds you over for now. ^_^
Tam1706: Yessss more Kakashi to come now, for sure. 😉 And I got this one up within a month, so a definite improvement, I feel! Hehe.
Leafshadow2: I'm very happy you think so! I've always loved Itachi as a character- I only want to do him justice. 3
Kazablanka119966: Had to sprinkle a couple itasaku moments into this one, but it's only just beginning.
Thank you again to everyone who is reading, and especially to those who took the time to review! Just know that I love and appreciate you all!