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Hindsight's 20/20	By : tealeaf Category: Naruto AU/AR > General Views: 1090 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Discalimer: Naruto ain't mine.
Authors Notes: Hey
everyone, thank you very much for your patience and kind encouraging reviews.
I�ve really appreciated it.

So, this is Chapter
5�it�s shorter than the other chapters so I added a bonus at the end. You see,
this chapter 5 is actually the second version of it that I wrote and the only
of the two that I completed. So, at the end of this, you will find the 8 pages
of the alternative chapter 5. I think it�s kinda neat, they�re both rather
radically different from each other on some important things. I hope you guys
like it.

Oh, and I would like
to dedicate this chapter to Leafy Girl who has been constantly cheering me on
all year for it. Without her I probably would have given up on it so if you
guys are fans, you might want to thank her too.

And a huge thanks to
Lily for beta-ing for me.

��

Hindsight�s 20/20 �
Chapter 5
By: Tea Leaf

��....

He stepped on the gas
and they sped away, ripped away from everyone trying to hold them back. In the
long run, running now would prove to be pointless. She knew that but she didn�t
care. She would run as fast and as far as she could for as long as she could.
She�d been running for four years, another day wasn�t going to make much of a difference
to her self-loathing.

Haruno clung tightly
to Itachi�s waist as the miles flew away beneath them. She didn�t know where
they were going and to be honest, she didn�t care. Itachi was one of the few
people she trusted to this extent.

The sun steadily
wandered down towards the earth and the cooling air whipped through her
clothing, chilling her to the bone with mesmerizing strength. Idly she wondered
if she were to let go, could she just fly away on the wind.

Her fingers shifted,
loosening their grip fractionally. Itachi�s large gloved hand landed on top of
hers, holding them in place. She tightened her grip again and his hand went
back to the handlebar.

Finally, as the sky
bled reds and golds and their city had long
disappeared from the horizon, he slowed and finally stopped on the shoulder of
the highway. She climbed off and pulled off her helmet, keeping it in her hand
as she walked towards the flood barrage that had been set up beside a rather
active river. The water was low right now as it was fall. It was draining away.
She climbed up and sat down on the wood.

A minute later, Itachi
joined her, face set in his blank mask, gaze distracted as he looked out over
the water.

He didn�t say
anything. He didn�t need to, she knew what he was thinking, what he wanted to
say. She felt guilt swamp her as he sat silent beside her. She�d broken her
promise to him. She�d been so caught up in preserving the semblance of a life
they had built for themselves that she had denied anything trying to upset it. But
in doing so, she�d disturbed the very foundation of their relationship. They
could depend on each other. She had not been reliable.

�I�m sorry�� The
broken words she�d been whispering like a mantra her entire life rose from her
throat without her conscious thought once again. The difference between when
she used to use it and when she did now was that now, the words mattered. They
made a difference to the man hearing them.

He had loved to hear
her say them; plead them to him as he punished her.

Itachi simply accepted
them. He did not need to punish her for any transgressions; he knew she would
not commit them again. She had been well trained. But even that wasn�t his
fault and so she didn�t hold it against him. He trusted her personality, knew
it better than his own. In a way, it was the same in reverse.

Maybe that�s why she
had been so afraid to let him know.

She leaned against him
and he lifted his arm, looping it around her shoulders and letting her snuggle
close to him.

She clung to his
jacket, letting the heat of his body warm her and the slight scent of his sweat
mixed with cologne and the ever present undertone of blood envelop her. She
knew that this would be one of the last times she�d be able to.

(�)

Haruno winced as she
heard Ino�s shrill excuse for a voice raging at the top of her lungs about the
injustices that had been committed to her in yesterday�s sparring match.

The whole school was
abuzz about it. Apparently, the student body had spent the afternoon watching
the fight rather than studying their lessons. Ino was basking in the attention,
taking advantage of every opportunity to rant and rave about how horrible she,
Haruno, was. And of course, everyone was lapping it up.

She felt even more
cynical than normal. She�d forgotten just how much of a freak show she was.

�Haruno-chan!� The chipper voice was swiftly followed by a
heavy arm landing over her shoulders and a large grin swimming into her field
of vision.

�Good morning!� Naruto
exclaimed brightly.

Haruno bit back the
harsh retort of �And what the hell is good about it?� and settled for nodding
in acknowledgement of him. She wasn�t really in the mood to be chatty.

Naruto�s smile
faltered slightly at the corners as he tightened his grip on her shoulders,
pulling her into a half hug.

�Thanks for
yesterday.� He told her seriously.

She smiled weakly.

�Don�t mention it.�
She stated as she felt the weight that had been hung on her spirit since the
previous night lift slightly. She�d done the right thing. Her reputation didn�t
matter, nor did Ino�s mental state. Naruto did, and she�d protected him.

�Chouji and Shika both
got out of the mess unscathed too. And Ino�s just being a bitch, as usual.� He
informed her.

�I know.� Haruno
answered as she took a deep breath and pushed an attempt at a smile onto her
lips.

They wandered silently
through the crowded halls, heading towards the stairway that led them to the
second floor where their English class was.

Their third was
waiting for them on the landing between the two stories.

Sasuke frowned at
Naruto�s arm and the fact the Haruno was not alone. He had not been overly
surprised to see that it was indeed his brother that she was �with� but it did
nothing to lessen the shock of seeing him for the first time in a decade. Or of seeing her leave so readily with him.

He needed to get her
alone as soon as possible and pump her for information on Itachi. He needed to
convince her to help him in his plan.

But right now he
couldn�t.

Haruno looked away
from him as Naruto forced her to stop in front of him.

Naruto was grinning
brightly, exchanging morning pleasantries with the younger Uchiha. She was
surprised by the camaraderie they displayed. It seemed that fighting together
made them friends.

The thought was
punctuated as Naruto playfully punched Sasuke in the arm and the latter joined
them on the last leg of the trip to class.

{Well, that�s two
hurdles down so far: facing the school and facing Sasuke�those were the easy
ones�} she thought as dread slowly tightened the long muscles of her back. The
tension grew with each step they took closer to Kakashi�s classroom door.

Naruto�s arm tightened
slightly, comfortingly around her shoulders.

She had to admit, she
was a bit relieved that she wouldn�t be facing him alone. She knew that she would
have to soon, but at least right now she could avoid it.

(�)

Kakashi had not been
looking forward to his first class�more so than usual. He did not want to teach
at all today. He just wanted to grab Haruno the second he saw her and take her
far far away from here for a very long discussion.

He looked up from his
desk as he heard Naruto and Sasuke�s voices outside the door. The pair came in,
Haruno held protectively under Naruto�s considerably massive arm. Something
inside of him tightened inexplicably at the sight. It took him by surprise and
he was suddenly glad for the mask that hid his face and his gut reaction.

Haruno met his eyes
for a second, long enough for it to feel like she was looking straight through
him and knew exactly what he was thinking and feeling. But then she looked
away, breaking the connection and cautiously avoiding making it again as she
slid towards the back of the class with her teammates.

His hidden eye
twitched slightly.

Steadily the students
threaded in and finally the bell rang. He sucked it up and did what he was paid
to do.

(�)

The class dragged on
but if asked later, Haruno would not have been able to relay what she had been
taught and Kakashi would not be able to say what he was teaching. Haruno spent
the morning watching the grounds beneath the window blindly, Kakashi�s voice
like static in the back of her mind.

Many times Naruto
thought to strike up conversation with her, but every time, something reminded
him that it was a better idea to just not say anything at all right now.

Finally the bell rang
to both the relief and dread of many of the students. Steadily they filed out
as Kakashi cleared away the notes and books he�d been using. Sasuke slouched
back in his chair as he waited, propping his feet up on the desk in front of
him. Naruto slumped down in his desk; face almost lost in the bulk of his
crossed arms. Only a glint of electric blue revealed that he was in fact very
awake and aware of his surroundings. Haruno continued to stare out the window.

Kakashi leaned against
his desk, arms crossed over his chest as he assessed his charges. Again, he
mentally cursed himself for agreeing to take them on in the first place.

Sasuke stared at him
challengingly; his impatience radiated from him. Finally with a sigh, Kakashi
gave in to the pressure of duty.

�You guys did well yesterday.�
He stated awkwardly into the silence of the room.

Naruto shifted
slightly, both eyes now peeking out from over his arms and locking on their
teacher.

Kakashi coughed in an
effort to dislodge the glue blocking his words. He needed to come up with
something constructive for the team to work on. Now was not the time to sort
out personal demons.

The silence stretched
and thickened, only Haruno seemed unaffected as her cold green eyes avoided
reality.

With a muttered curse,
Kakashi gave up.

�Sasuke, Naruto, team
up with Gai and his team today.� He stated tersely.

Haruno�s eyes snapped
to the front of the class, the move punctuated by the slamming of Sasuke�s
boots on the floor and Naruto�s questioning �huh?�.

Kakashi squared his
shoulders and set his jaw, filling his form with years of command.

�That is your training
for the day. Go.� He reiterated, his tone not harsh or loud but immobile.

Naruto cast a worried
glance at Haruno but her faint nod had him lumbering to his feet and collecting
his book bag.

�Come on Sasuke. We�d
better hurry or Gai will get out the spandex.� He said lightly, a forced grin
stretching his lips and squinting his eyes.

Sasuke�s eyes locked
on Kakashi�s only visible one. But his teacher�s face remained infuriatingly
impassive.

Naruto nudged his
shoulder lightly.

With a snarl, Sasuke
rose and snatched up his bag, spiting a dark glower at Kakashi as he passed.

Kakashi�s composure
remained though as he steadily watched them leave and listened to their steps
down the empty hall. As the last echoes faded, he slowly rose from the desk,
moving heavily and deliberately towards the door. The soft thud of wood against
wood and the click of the latch echoed through the still room. Haruno had not
moved an eyelash, watching him warily as he moved. She waited for a lock that
never came.

Kakashi let go of the
handle and moved again, his footsteps heavy and reluctant. He�d forced their
confrontation because he could not bear letting it go. But now that the moment
was at hand his mind had wiped blank of words and his body felt heavy and
lethargic.

Had things turned out
differently so long ago, he�d never have been here. Had he but known�he shook
his head slightly of the familiar and ever futile what ifs.

His feet dragged as he
moved towards her, the weight of the air pressing down on him, harder with
every step.

Haruno felt the
tension in her shoulders slide into heavy waiting. Her hands fell from where
they rested on the desk, down onto her lap in an ungraceful movement. The
weight of them was suddenly so hard for her to bear as her shoulders bowed with
the effort.

Her breathing was
growing harder, a suffocating weight pushing down on her rib cage, compressing
it, not allowing her the air she seemed to need.

Finally Kakashi
reached her and turned the chair of the desk in front of her.

He sat down heavily,
almost collapsing into it. He met her eyes and simply looked at her, unable to
say a thing.

Haruno�s jaw had locked,
her throat slowly squeezing shut. She stared back.

Slowly the dust in the
room settled around them as the sunlight stretched through the windows. There
was something wrong about the brightness. Haruno felt robbed that it wasn�t
even yet midday. The sun
should be setting. Slowly meandering and declining in the sky. Like they were.

Her eyes grew sore as
did the back of her neck. Her breathing tightened and her heart stepped up. Her
muscles tensed as she held it back.

She wanted to cry, to
yell, to scream at him, to hurt him. She wanted to hit him, to expose him.

His gaze was half
hidden and dark, full of resignation. He�d long ago given up. Given up on everything, on himself, on his life, on her. He
was hiding, hiding from her in plain sight.

He hadn�t even raised
his bandana so as to look at her with both eyes. That, more than anything,
pushed back the flood of her emotions. How could she open up to a ghost? A specter of the man who brought this out in her.

Her eyes died as he
watched.

The bell rang.

She broke eye contact
and stood, gathering her things.

He stared at the spot
where she had been.

She walked past him,
steps heavy and echoing hollowly as she went to the door.

He made no effort to
stop her.

She didn�t hesitate at
the door, nor look back as she walked through.

(�)

Itachi found her lying
on the bottom of the bathtub, covered in barely lukewarm water.

She rose to the
surface as he looked down at her, lips parted as she took a deep breath of air,
filling the lungs that had been so compressed but a moment ago.

The room was dark, the
only light stemming from the moon and filtering in through the stained, crushed
glass window.

His hands rose, cold
and calloused and smoothed her hair back from her face, exposing the churning
burn scar on her forehead, before moving down to wipe the water out of her
eyes.

Her hands remained
limp in the water, her fingers grossly warped from the long soaking she�d done.

�You need to train
him.� He told her, his voice like black gravel rolling roughly through her
ears.

She bowed her head in
acceptance.

(�)

Sasuke was sneering
condescendingly as she explained to him that he had a lot of work to do.

The entire day had
passed in a blur to her, much as the day before. And now here she was, taking
the day off work to do what she had promised to do long ago.

She was going to
prepare Sasuke for a confrontation with Itachi.

But Sasuke would have
none of it. All he wanted from her was a location and no matter how hard she
tried to explain to him that he would be killed, he would not accept her help.

She was so tired. Tired of arguing with him. Tired of
talking about death and revenge. Tired of hearing what Itachi had done
to his brother. Tired of everything.

She closed her eyes,
hand rising to gently massage her forehead.

If he wouldn�t accept
her help, despite all her efforts, then that was all there was to it. Secretly
she thought this was better anyway.

She rose from his
living room couch and walked wearily to the door.

There was static in
the back of her mind again, he was still yelling at her but she�d long lost the
ability to understand his words.

Finally he grabbed her
shoulder and spun her around to face him.

He was angry but she
could see the fear deep in the dark pools of his eyes.

She felt the band over
her ribs contract.

�Every day after
school, meet me in the abandoned warehouse on Industrial.� She instructed him.

He nodded reluctantly.

�We�ll start
tomorrow.�

She pulled on her
shoes and left. She heard the static but she ignored it. Her mind pleaded
respite.

She left the
apartment, taking the stairs rather than the elevator so as to take more time
getting home. She wasn�t ready to face Itachi. She didn�t want to tell him that
she would be training his brother to kill him, like he had asked her to. She
didn�t want to think of the repercussions it would have on her own life. She
would have to quit her job which meant her funds would only decline from here
on out. She would have to live with the fact that one or the other Uchiha was
going to die and that she would be partially responsible for that death.

She was going to be
fully responsible for destroying Sasuke�s soul and everything good in him.

She blocked the
thought from her mind, ignoring it, denying it. She forced her brain to go
blank as she moved slowly and aimlessly through the dark streets. The roads
seemed familiar somewhere in the back of her mind but she didn�t probe the
feeling, she simply followed it in effort to escape everything else.

Her eyes stayed low on
the ground, her shoulders hunched against the cold night wind coming in off the
water.

Off the water�she
looked up and found herself at the loading docks. She smiled deprecatingly to
herself as she moved to the railing, crouching down and leaning against the
post as she stared out over the inky water.

She had not been here
in many years. In what seemed like a lifetime ago, this had been where he had
taken her to escape her father. She�d almost forgotten about it. She�d always
been so grateful to him for it. Her savior, he had seemed. So
strong and smart, so brave to defy her father. So kind
to her. Always so kind, sharing his smile that was
hidden from everyone else. He was as gone now as she was. Both the girl and the man, phantoms of a better time.

Maybe better wasn�t
the best word. The highs had been far higher than anything in her life now but
so the lows had been so much lower. Life now was stable, comfortable, static. Or at least it had been. She wasn�t so sure it was
any more and it was sure to only get worse.

She closed her eyes
and rested her forehead against the cold metal post, momentarily drowning in
her nostalgia, falling so deeply that even those haunting strains of the
harmonica he would play for her filled her ears.

But he had never played
a song so sad for her.

She opened her eyes,
banishing the cobwebs of her memory and straining her ears.

It was faint, so
faint, but it was there.

She shouldn�t follow
it, the last thing she needed right now was to be shut out. But her feet moved
of their own accord, drawn to the sounds. Drawn to the
player.

She moved into the
deep shadows of the alleys connecting the old warehouses that had been
converted to apartments. The air was cold and moist, clinging icily to her,
sticking in her hair and her throat.

The brick walls
closing in on her were damp, mold growing in places. The fire escapes were
slippery, starting to hide as a fog seeped in from the water. The straining
harmonica echoed hollowly around her, she felt like she was listening to it
underwater. It was misleading, the sound seemed to have no real origin, and for
a moment she stopped, almost caving to the belief that it was all in her head.

But the thought of
what lay in wait should she leave now loomed over and her feet refused to turn
towards it. She continued to move forward, her steps almost silent, only a dull
thud adding depth to the grief flowing around her.

She stopped at the
base of one of the fire escapes and looked up. At the top, a faint light
filtered through the open window, coming from far deeper in the room. A
silhouette cut into its muted exposure, casting his shadow down the opposite
wall.

Entranced, she pulled
down the ladder leading up. It was either surprisingly silent or both were far
too involved with the subconscious realm to hear its squeak. Slowly and
steadily she climbed upwards, occasionally slipping on the cold, wet metal. But
she persisted. There was nothing but broken glass at the bottom.

Finally she reached
him but he showed no awareness of her. His face was completely uncovered, his
gray hair falling to shadow his closed eyes without his usual headband holding
it back. His lean lips caressed the well worn metal of the harmonica as his
long-fingered, hard-worked hands cradled it, so gently and so fiercely, as if
it were the last precious thing he had to his name.

She crouched down in
the shadows, sitting on the worn, rusty rungs of the old fire escape, looking
up at the man who went to such lengths to hide from her, completely exposed to
her eyes for the first time since before her father died.

She couldn�t say how
long she sat there listening to him play what was slowly seeming to take the
shape of their lives. The last note strained and fought only to die lingeringly
into the night.

Haruno had her legs
tucked up close against her chest, her arms wrapped around them as her chin
rested exhaustedly on her knees.

He sat slouched in the
wide, open window frame, one bare foot propped against the peeling wood, while
the other jean clad leg draped languorously down to the metal balcony of the
fire escape. His shoulders were hunched and pulled in but Haruno suspected it
had more to do with his state of mind than the cold river air washing over his
bare skin.

Slowly, he pulled the
harmonica away letting his arms fall back to either side of the window while
his head fell back against the frame, throwing his hair out of his eyes.

He didn�t acknowledge
her presence, but she knew he was aware of her. She simply waited, soaking him
in, re-familiarizing herself with his features. His forehead was high and
unmarred, framed by a slightly pointed hairline. His eyes were deep set, his
eyebrows casting dark shadows over them even when they were in the brightest
sunlight. His nose was well molded, properly proportioned, though slightly
crooked and bumped where multiple breaks had healed. His cheekbones were a
little high, his jaw smoothly defined though darkened slightly by stubble and a
gauntness that had sunk in after the last time she�d seen him. His chin was
strong; his lips were a little long and a little thin, marred by a small white
scar cutting across the right side of the bottom. His paleness was perhaps more
dramatic due to the thin red scar that ran down the left side of his face,
cutting across his eye.

She was surprised by
how clinical she felt, slowly dissecting him with her eyes. She was intruding,
she knew. He didn�t want her to look at him but she wasn�t through with looking
at him yet. She doubted she�d ever see her fill.

With a deep sigh that
shivered in his ribs, his eyes cracked open. Mismatched red and black met her
diluted green, allowing her the full weight of them. She felt her shoulders
curve in under them as their weight settled heavily in her chest and sunk her
deep into her toes. She could see his questions clear as day, straining to
reach her through the failing light and the shadows cast by his brow, enhanced
by the dark circles under his eyes.

She refused to answer
it until he spoke it to her. She would ignore it; ignore it in hopes of avoiding
the inevitable for as long she could.

It took an almost
superhuman effort for him to formulate the words and push them out of his
throat after several minutes.

�Why are you here
Sakura?� His voice sounded so much older, rusted from neglect and time.

Something in her fell,
deflated at the words. Maybe some small, secret part of her had hoped�hoped�for
what, she couldn�t describe.

It took her a long
moment to order her thoughts into a legitimate reason. If she said �nothing� he
would disappear inside and she would be locked out. And today�she just couldn�t
take that today.

�You have my
sketchbook.� She answered him, her voice small and just this side of hesitant.

He continued to watch
her and she waited patiently for him.

He could easily just
go inside and get it, give it to her and send her off. His logical brain stated
that that was exactly what he should do. But his body felt like it was made out
of lead and refused to make a move towards it.

�Why am I in it?�

The words, which but a
moment ago had been glued in his throat suddenly spilt forward like water. So
fast, they were hanging in the air, shimmering and dissipating into the fog. So
fast, they were gone and he couldn�t take them back. He wasn�t sure he wanted
to.

�It�s for an art project.�
She answered quickly, embarrassed by the answer and taken off guard by the
question. Her inner self sneered at her. Kakashi was not a man she�d ever taken
the coward�s way away from. How things had changed.

He didn�t ask further,
simply slid gracefully unto his apartment floor and prowled away from her, into
the dark recesses within.

Her pulse quickened as
a sense of desperation pushed her to her feet and through the window after him.
She froze as she stepped inside.

The furniture was old
and worn, third hand when it came to him and well used since. It was tidy but
somehow felt musty, as if everything was covered in a growing layer of dust.
The way houses whose owners had died and had no one left to care for their
home. An overwhelming emptiness momentarily overcame her.

The light flickered as
he walked in its path, emerging from his bedroom with the thick pad of paper in
hand. He handed it to her wordlessly as he walked past her into the kitchen.

She held it dumbly for
a moment, her eyes following him as he moved listlessly in the shadows of his
kitchen, filling a kettle with water and setting it on the stove before leaning
against the counter to wait.

She pulled her
mechanical pencil out of the spiral binding of the book and moved, leaning
against the back of the couch and looking through the doorway at him. She
flipped blindly to the first blank page.

Obliviously, she drew
the lead across the paper, translating her vision.

The kettle whistled
and he moved, turning off the stove and taking the container off the element.
He poured the water into the waiting tea pot, watching as color bled from the
teabag, drowning in the hot water. He reached into the cupboard above him,
pulling out two mugs. He turned to offer her some tea but by the time he looked,
she was already gone.

His body suddenly felt
heavy again as he turned and poured only one mug.

(�)

Genma chewed
thoughtfully on his toothpick as he took in the new piece now hanging beside the mysterious ink drawing.

This one was done
entirely in pencil and was of a man leaning against a kitchen counter. The view
was through a doorframe and most of the room was lost to intricate shadows, the
man was masked by them. It felt so lonely, so forlorn, so abandoned.

If he were asked
though, he would have said that the most gut-wrenching part had to be the
shadow that stretched up over the wall that the doorway was cut out of. It was
so abstract; most would have probably sworn it off. But he would swear that the
shadow was of a person reaching out for the figure in the kitchen.

��

Hindsight�s 20/20 �
Alternate, discarded Chapter 5

��

They drove. The miles
stretched out in front and behind them as they sped down the ribbon of
pavement. The wind, ice cold, whipped by but her skin was soon numb to its
bite. The city split before them, warping around them as they forced their
exit.

They were leaving, but
she wasn�t escaping.

It was a new prison
they went to, another filthy city with the same chains waiting to shackle her
to this existence she deplored. She hated herself, a lot more today than she
had since�well, maybe not that much yet. There was little in the world that
could make her hate her reflection that much. Just that,
really.

But today had been a
bad enough day without having to remember that. And so she
let the cold air sink into her, numbing her thoughts.

Her sight blurred as
the scenery flew by for hours, the sky steadily fading. It was all just fading
away, wasn�t it?

As the sky burned
crimson, he finally turned onto the off ramp, taking her into her city�s twin,
his city.

Itachi did not live in
a city he worked in. He believed it was too obvious. He owned an apartment in a
city four hours away. He didn�t live in his apartment. It was too obvious for
those who knew him. He lived in a room in the building across the street from
his apartment with a window looking into his apartment�s living room. That way
he could watch for intruders and know who was hunting him before they could
find him.

To those who didn�t
know him like she did, they might think he was overly paranoid and maybe he
was. Or maybe they just didn�t understand the realities of life as an assassin.

But she knew him
better than that.

It wasn�t because he
was paranoid or afraid, Itachi wasn�t afraid of anything. He wasn�t even being
realistically cautious.

It was a game. A hunting game. A single player, single
shooter video game. He would watch with his sadistic grin of
anticipation, hoping to be found, hoping that someone would dare to challenge
him.

Hoping
for his little brother to catch up to him.

He had taken her there
once, only once. She shuddered at the memory. Itachi was a different person in
the comfort of his own home. Or maybe it was that he was a different person
when away from it. Whatever the case, he was human when in her home. He was a
monster when in his own.

He wasn�t taking her
there yet. She didn�t doubt for a second that that was where they would end up
later, but for now, their destination was a mystery. But wherever it was, she
was sure it was someplace she did not want to be.

He was angry with her.
She could tell by the tenseness his body had been carrying since he�d laid eyes
on his estranged sibling.

She was his prey
tonight, and he would play with her until he was ready to devour her because
that was how Itachi played. And it seemed that the knowledge that his sibling
was so close had sparked up his playful streak again. It had been dormant since
he�d lost his left eye.

He pulled up to an
expensive Italian restaurant and parked. Immediately, she was out of place.

Phase one to the game: Take the prey out of its
natural environment.

She pulled off her
helmet and adjusted her headband over her imperfect forehead. She squared her
shoulders and followed him inside.

Their coats were taken
at the door. She was grossly underdressed, especially for the elite dinner
crowd currently gracing the perfectly made tables. Had the Maitre d� not
recognized Itachi, she would have been turned away before her dirty, sneakered foot had touched the plush red carpet.

They were taken to a
table in the far corner of the room by the window. He sat in the chair by the
wall, forcing her to sit in the chair that exposed her back to the other
dinners. She could feel their cruel eyes burning into the space between her
shoulder blades. She was completely exposed.

Itachi was immaculate
and perfectly appropriate in his black leather pants and silk shirt, offset by
his slim, blood red tie. His hair was pulled back, tied loosely at the base of
his skull; his eye shot straight through her. One of
his elbows rested on the arm of his chair, the fingers from that hand idly
tapping his chin. His shoulders were thrown back, making him appear larger, like
he owned and filled all the space around him. She could feel his chakra
pulsing; she could see the results in his blood red eye.

Phase 2: Intimidation.

It had been a long time since he�d held up
his sharingan around her. She strained slightly to keep her breathing steady.
It was all just a game. He wanted to get the better of her. She couldn�t let
him. She�d never let someone do that to her again.

He didn�t say a word to her, speaking only
to order red wine when the waiter came to the table. His sharp gaze never left
her.

She hated how he looked through her.

Against her will, she was slowly tensing
under his scrutiny.

His lips twitched slightly at the corner.
He raised his wine glass and took a sip of the dark liquid. And
still remained intensely silent.

She gave into the urge to look away from
him, choosing to focus a spot on the wall over his right shoulder instead.

In her peripheral
vision she saw his smirk grow a little wider.

They ordered dinner.
She could hear that predatory lilt in his voice now.

They waited in
silence. His was patient. Hers was tense but she wasn�t about to break it. She
had nothing to justify to him and she refused to allow herself to forget it.

Finally the food came
but she had no appetite.

�Eat, Sakura-chan.� He
said, she could tell he was mocking Kakashi�s calling earlier in the day.

But she picked up her
fork and did as she was told. Itachi was well known for violent mood swings
once his displeasure had been aroused.

�Is it good,
Sakura-chan?� he asked her with a thickly fake sincerity.

�Very
good.� She answered after
swallowing the ash in her throat.

�Isn�t it nice to eat
out at nice restaurants?� he questioned again before taking another sip of his
now refilled glass of wine.

�It is very nice.� She
answered mechanically. She knew where he was leading. He was flaunting his
money. Money was power. And everyone knew that the only thing Itachi craved was
power.

He was very powerful.

It was a reminder.

As if she could
forget.

�It is nice. We could
do it more often.� He answered.

Now he was offering
that money to her. Reminding her that if her pride would allow it, she would
never have to work in that damned coffee house again, she could buy her
apartment building and gleefully burn it to the ground. But that money was
dirty.

�mm.�
She responded vaguely.

He understood her.
He�d been the only one who ever really had.

He didn�t say
anything, letting the silence stretch and thicken. Letting
the pressure of his gaze build on her steadily.

�How is Kakashi-senpai?�
he asked finally, a terrifying grin spreading across his lips.

She dropped her fork
and looked up sharply.

He hadn�t expected her
to answer him; she knew she wasn�t supposed to. Her reaction was enough. It
told him everything he wanted to know.

Now he had power over
her. Sakura cursed fluently inside her head.

He knew she didn�t
care what he did to her, but doing something to someone she cared about�well
that was another story.

�How long Sakura?� he
asked, his voice cold, his expression now blank and serious.

She didn�t even bother
pretending she didn�t know what he meant.

�I met him the first
day of school, it clicked on the third.� She answered.

�Why?� he pressed.

�He used the
sharingan.� She answered.

�How evolved is it?�

�First
stage.�

The questions and
answers were like rapid fire, unconscious and unhesitant.

Itachi sat back in his
chair, fingers steepled together as his elbows rested on the arms of the chair.
He was contemplating this new information.

�It won�t do.� He said
finally.

She didn�t respond.
She wasn�t sure if he was talking to her or himself.

�Raise it.�

She tensed. She nodded
once.

She had trained with
Itachi and Kakashi for a very long time, she knew how the sharingan worked and
she knew what would be required of her.

She didn�t want to.
But she didn�t honestly have a choice in the matter. She had never had a
choice.

He threw cash on the
table and stood. She stood as well and followed him out of the restaurant,
retrieving her red leather cross as she did.

(�)

He took her to his
apartment. Not the decoy but the real one. She hated this room. It reminded her
of her father�s.

It was dark; the
lighting was bad so it wouldn�t be obvious from the outside. The walls were
covered in weapons, guns, katanas, kunai, shiruken,
daggers, sais, kodachi.
There was a case full of nin-jutsu scrolls. There was a sniper rifle set up at
the window facing the entrance of the building across the street where his
decoy apartment was. The scope doubled as a telescope to watch people. There
were more telescopes set up, one facing his decoy apartment�s bare windows so
that he could watch everything that went on in it. Then there was his loose
telescope, the one he used to watch people when he was bored. The idea of being watched by a murdered creeped her out. But
then again, one stared at her in the mirror everyday so she really couldn�t
complain.

He didn�t even bother
checking his scopes; he just closed the door behind him, locking it. He then
started stripping as he moved towards the bed that was set under the katana
rack and that she knew had several loaded handguns strapped to the headboard.

She followed suit.

This was another show
of power. One she�d been subjected to for as long as she could remember.

She�d learned to numb her
body to the point where she couldn�t feel anything anymore. But she was aware
of it. She couldn�t help but know. She was utterly powerless and there was
nothing she could do about it.

People seemed to like
to remind her of that.

(�)

He dropped her off on
time at school the next morning. This was the last place she wanted to be right
now, especially in the same clothes she�d worn yesterday.

He�d know the second
he saw her. He always knew. She could always tell. He would always give her
that look, the look that said he really did not want to be looking at her; he
didn�t want to see her.

She hated that look.

But she couldn�t go
back to her apartment. Itachi had gone back there to sleep some more. She didn�t want to see him for as long as she
could manage without looking suspicious. It would be suspicious if she didn�t
go home that night.

He would ask her about
her progress with his brother.

She had to make
progress with his brother.

She wanted to tell his
brother to run as far and as fast as he possibly could and to never look back
for a second. She wanted to do that herself.

But she wouldn�t tell
him that. And she wouldn�t do that.

She owed Itachi and
she couldn�t leave until she�d paid her debt to him.

She was starting to
get funny looks from the students walking past her. Funnier
than normal at any rate. And a different kind of funny than the ones she
would be getting once Ino had played Drama Queen for the whole student body.

She sighed and moved
towards the main door. She�d just have to suck it up.

She didn�t bother
loitering in the halls or going to her locker just to fiddle with its lack of
content. She went straight to class. It would be better to get it over with
without an audience.

The classroom was
empty when she reached it on the second floor. She moved to the back of the
class and took the desk next to the window in the last row.

Kakashi was staring at
her from his desk opposite her in the front of the class. She hadn�t even
looked at him when she�d come in. She refused to look at him now.

She heard his chair
scrape. His steps moved towards her. He straddled the seat at the desk directly
in front of her and crossed his arms on the back of it, resting his chin on
them and staring at her intently.

Her hand twitched
slightly but she stilled it with her will before it started to shake.

�Stop staring at me.�
She said monotonously, eyes still fixed determinately away from him.

He didn�t. His gaze
was starting to weigh on her. It was harder to suppress her shaking hands. Her
pulse was slowly getting louder and louder as it thrummed through her ears.

She snapped her eyes
away from the window and met his straight on.

No wonder she�d
reacted like that, he was staring at her with both of his eyes. One coal black, the other blood red.

She hadn�t expected
that.

She swallowed hard.

�What?� she asked
after a minute, her voice a lot less firm and annoyed than she�d wanted it to
be.

�Are you ok?� he asked
her, holding her gaze.

She looked down.

�I�m fine Kakashi.�
She told him. It was truthful. She was ok. She had no choice but to be ok.

He kept staring at
her, staring through her. She hated that about the sharingan, she always felt
overexposed and raw under its intensity.

He opened his mouth.

The bell rang. The
stream of students pouring into the desks cut him off.

He stood and moved
back to the front of the class.

She turned her eyes
back to the window.

Naruto flopped into
the seat Kakashi had just emptied.

��Morning
Haruno-chan�� he said through a huge yawn before smiling brightly at her.

She turned and smiled
back at him.

��Morning
Naruto. Late night?� she
asked him with a suggestively cocked eyebrow.

He flushed slightly.
She laughed at him.

Sasuke sprawled into
the desk beside her.

He didn�t say anything
but he was watching her out of the corner of his eye. He wanted to talk to her.

Well, she wanted to
talk to him too so he�d have every opportunity.

The second bell rang.

Kakashi yelled at the
students to sit down and shut up.

Haruno pulled out her
headphones and set them in her ears discreetly before pressing play on her
walkman, effectively blocking out the noise of the class and the voice of the
teacher. She stared out the window and watched the sun lazily climb in the
cold, faded gray blue sky. The soft subtleties of the music helped her clear
her head and focus on her immediate problems, raising Sasuke�s sharingan before
Itachi became impatient with her. She suppressed the shudder that strained to
shake her spine at the memory of the last time she�d tried his patience.
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Hindsight's 20/20