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Hunter	By : Zelha Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female > Itachi/Sakura Views: 3374 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, duh. I only own a pair of sleepers, so obviously I don't make any profit with this story.

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Chapter 6: There’s More to Life Than This

Sakura
cursed viciously under her breath.

The main
room was packed with servants, advisors and the Daimyo’s family. A tense
silence hung like the proverbial knife over their heads, while they heard
explosions from time to time out in the Palace grounds.

Gloves
pulled on and fists clenched, the medic-nin stood next to the Fire Lord near a
window. His eyes couldn’t follow the speed of the fighters, but Sakura’s were
drawn to the battles like a moth to the flame.

Sasuke was
launching fire balls at a blond ninja that was
flying over the Palace with some sort of a white bird, while Naruto kept
building shadow clones in order to reach the bird. Yamato was against a weird,
short shinobi that resembled a scorpion. Sai was against a tall man that was
sending what it looked like black threads to the ANBU, but Sai’s inked animals
were doing their job. Kakashi, on the other side, was against a silver-haired
man that was cackling maniacally as the Copy Ninja kept throwing kunai at him. Shisui
was fighting marvelously against a blue-skinned ninja that swung a huge sword
like it weighted nothing, while Itachi fought one-on-one against a man wearing
an orange-swirled mask.

“Sakura,
tell me what is happening,” the Daimyo whispered. She shook her head as she
winced in sympathy when Naruto fell heavily onto the ground, explosions
blasting around him.

“There are
six enemies,” she reported to the Fire Lord. “They are wearing black cloaks
with red clouds.”

“They were
the ones that killed my Tsuyoshi!” the man whispered fiercely, eyes shining
with pain. Sakura placed a calming hand on the Daimyo’s arm.

“I beg of
you, Ieyasu-sama, calm down,” she pleaded. “Do you have some escape route we
can use? The Fire Country is nothing without you, My Lord.”

The man
issued a series of commands that put all the people gathered in the room
moving. As they traveled to a hidden tunnel that led outside the Palace, Sakura
couldn’t help but worry sick about her teammates and the ANBU team. Those nukenins were dangerous, that was more than obvious.

But the
last movement of the orange-masked nin against the
Uchiha Heir, slashing Itachi’s arm, worried her more than she was willing to
admit out loud.

-X-

They
reached the outskirts of the Fire
City through the
underground passage.

“Go back,
Haruno,” the Fire Lord ordered. “I will send a messenger hawk to Tsunade
telling her my new location. I will journey to Konoha when I deem it safe for
my family.”

“But,
Ieyasu-sama!” she protested. “I can’t leave you to your own devices, this is
dangerous!”

“Not so
much, girl,” he replied easily. “I have knowledge of the peasant’s ways,
remember?”

This
statement hushed her to silence. She remembered the stories that the Fire Lord
in front of her relayed when they visited him the last time. He had built his
Leadership by making alliances with other Daimyos, but he lived a good part of
his life wandering the lands like a rônin.

“Please,
Ieyasu-sama, promise you will go to Konoha,” she begged. “We can protect you;
the Hokage will dispatch an escort team--”

“I know
that, girl,” the Fire Lord smiled as he placed a straw hat on his wrinkled
face. “I’ve been in Leaf more times that you will ever realize,” he added.
“Now, go back. I want you to light my boy’s pyre. It is already set.”

“I--Ieyasu-sama!” Sakura exclaimed in shock.

“Sakura, do
that for me, please,” the Daimyo lifted his hat briefly, eyes flashing with
unshed tears. “The Will of Fire will bring peace to his soul.”

The
pink-haired kunoichi nodded, blushing as she tried to control the emotions
bubbling in her heart. “Hai... I will do as you ask,
Ieyasu-sama.”

“Thank you,
my child,” he whispered. “We will see each other again. Tell Uzumaki to
remember his Chuunin Exam story when we meet again.”

“Hai.”

“Remember, child.
The Will of Fire is the main drive for all of us, ninja or civilian, noble or
peasant.”

Watching
his retreating back, she sniffled for a moment and shot back towards the
Palace, her Inner personality already claiming for violence.

Running
silently through the corridors and deserted hallways of the Fire Palace,
she found the Mourning Chamber rather quickly, located on the opposite side of
the battleground. A number of torches lit the place; the Firstborn’s body was
already set for the cremation rituals.

“Tsuyoshi-kun,”
she whispered, grabbing one of the torches and thrusting it harshly onto the
gathered oak branches. “May the Gods and the Will of Fire bring you peace...”

Watching
absentmindedly how the flames engulfed the wrapped boy, she allowed her fists
to clench in anger.

“As for me,”
she vowed fervently, wiping her tears. “I hope you won’t mind a little bit of
ruckus in your honor.”

Gathering
chakra to her hands and running towards the window in the main room, she gasped
when she noticed how Shisui was down and the blue-skinned man was about to
deliver the last blow.

“Like hell
I will allow you to touch my friend!” she bellowed as her fist drove into the
wall, making it explode under her strength. “Why don’t you mess up with someone
your own size, asshole?”

The tall
swordsman looked up from his prey and cackled. “Are you talking to me, chibi
girl? You must be kidding!”

Performing
the teleportation jutsu, Sakura appeared next to Shisui, startling her blue-skinned
opponent slightly, who jumped back while he surveyed her suspiciously.
Thrusting a green-glowing hand on her Uchiha friend, she snarled.

“Don’t you
know that the appearances can be deceiving? You of all people should know
that!”

“Che, the chibi girl has claws,” the ninja sneered, his
pointy teeth flashing threateningly. “Girl or not, I think my Samehada will taste your chakra and I’ll enjoy tearing you
apart!”

“Nigero, Sakura,”
breathed Shisui urgently. “Kisame’s sword eats
chakra!”

Shit.

“Really
now,” she growled. “Let’s break some stuff then!”

Slamming her
fist on the ground, the force of her punch made the very earth shake under
their feet, unbalancing all the fighters on the field. Suddenly, a rock spike
shot out of the ground, making Kisame leap away to avoid it.

“Ah! You must
be the Hokage’s apprentice!” the former Kiri nin laughed derisively. “I’m so going to enjoy killing you,
little girl!”

“If you
catch me first, fish-face!” she snarled savagely, her hands flying in a series
of hand-seals. “Breezing Spring no jutsu!”

Uchiha
Shisui watched in awe at the spot where Sakura used to be as she teleported
away. Staggering to his feet, he activated his Sharingan one more time as he
tried to detect the medic’s presence around the unexpectedly still blue-skinned
ninja.

Suddenly, Itachi
landed next to him, clutching at his shoulder.

“Are you
OK?” Shisui asked. Itachi grunted. “I was almost done for but Sakura saved me.”

“The medic
did this?” the younger Uchiha asked, with a little incredulous hint in his
tone. “Why is she not with the Daimyo?”

“I don’t
know. What about your opponent?” Shisui asked.

“He went
away,” Itachi answered harshly. “We need to retreat. The Palace will be
destroyed at this rate.”

In a
whisper, Sakura flickered into view with two kunai in each gloved hand,
smirking dangerously.

“You know,
fish-face, I kinda hate it when someone
underestimates me,” she snarled as she stabbed the still man on his wrists in a
wide but accurate motion. The action broke the illusion and Kisame hissed in
pain.

“Bitch!” he
roared, dropping his sword. “I’m going to kill you!”

“Tell me
something new, sushi-pack!” she yelled back as she leapt backwards, hands
flying again. But just when she was about to call out her technique, a
gray-clad form appeared in front of her.

“Take a break,”
Itachi whispered, his eyes swirling rapidly. Kisame fell unconscious under his
genjutsu, while Shisui wobbled up to them.

“Why did you interfere?!” Sakura questioned angrily. “I almost had him!”

“He was
gathering a bunch of chakra,” Shisui replied on his cousin’s behalf. “He was
surely going for taijutsu if Itachi hadn’t stopped him.”

“We are
retreating,” Itachi’s stern voice took a steely undertone. “I’m sure my little
brother and Naruto-kun can finish off that Rock ninja. But you,” he added,
turning his head to glare at Sakura. “You need to answer a few things.”

“Wha- I’m not leaving without my teammates!” she yelled, but
a hand closed around her neck, shutting her up effectively.

“We are
going to need of your healing skills soon, medic,” Itachi said in a harsh
whisper. “Stop being such an annoying hindrance.”

She growled
deep in her throat, and she was about to snap back at him when a huge explosion
blasted near them, crashing them onto the Palace’s walls. A crack signaled the
spot where the two Uchiha and the pink-haired kunoichi landed painfully. Shisui
and Itachi recovered fast enough, but the elder cousin gasped when his eyes
took in the slumped form embedded on the wall.

“Sakura!”
he called out. “Itachi, we need to get her out of there!”

Emerald
eyes opened slowly as gloved hands glowed with blue chakra. “Goddamn it!” she
hissed angrily, slapping her hands on her surroundings and pulverizing the
edges that trapped her body, freeing herself and landing with a choked curse
next to them.

‘My back took the main damage,’ she
thought worriedly. Surveying her own wound, she deemed it light enough to heal
it later.

“Are you
okay, Sakura?” Shisui asked, his face showing how genuinely worried he was
about her. “Are you hurt?”

She
straightened up, hissing softly when her back cracked audibly. “Nothing I can’t
handle later.”

“Where is
the Daimyo?” Itachi asked curtly, watching how she brushed the pebbles off the skin
of her arms carefully.

“He escaped
through a hidden passage,” she said. “He should be on his way to Konoha by now.
He disguised himself to pass for a homeless elder. He ordered me to go back to
light up his son’s pyre.”

“How clever
of him,” Shisui smirked in amusement. “So I guess the smoke we can see on the
other side of the Palace is the Firstborn’s pyre?”

“...Hai,” she answered, closing her eyes to avoid more
dizziness, raising a torn glove to her head.

“Sakura-chan!”
a voice broke through her haze. Opening her eyes briefly, she could make out an
orange blur running towards her, followed by a blue one. “Sakura-chan!”

“Naruto,”
she breathed with a wan smile, feeling his arms wrapping around her. “Are you
okay, Naruto, Sasuke?”

“Yeah,
we’re just a little singed by that asshole’s clay bombs,” he replied hurriedly
as he maneuvered her to his back. “Come on, we have to flee like a bat out of
hell!”

“Kakashi-sensei,”
they heard her call softly, eyes clenched in pain. “I’m not leaving without
him.”

“I’m here,
Sakura,” he answered from between Sai and Yamato, who served as human crutches
for the seasoned jounin. “We are all here.”

“Good...”
she said before passing out.

-X-

Sakura woke
up a little while later, feeling the large leaps Naruto made while carrying her
on piggyback.

“How far until
a safe point?” she asked the blond.

“Sakura-chan! You’re awake!” he exclaimed, glad to hear her regaining her bearings.
“Are you OK?”

“I should
be the one asking you that, Naruto,” she replied fondly. “Is everyone alright?”

“We’re a
bit rough around the edges, but we are fine enough,” she heard Yamato’s voice
saying. “Good thing I can’t get poisoned that quickly.”

The
medic-nin raised her head frantically, searching for the ANBU operative. “Are
you poisoned?!”

“No, no,
Sakura-san, I’m perfectly fine,” Yamato replied hastily with a smile. “Kakashi-senpai
is unconscious though.”

“Let me
down, Naruto,” she ordered. “I need to check on Kakashi-sensei.”

“Not until
we arrive to a safe location,” Sasuke countered. “Ani-... Itachi-san ordered a non-stop retreat.”

Naruto
blinked in surprise when his pink-haired friend let out a frustrated growl but
didn’t retaliate.

Luckily
enough, the Uchiha brothers landed the first near a cave in the middle of
nowhere. Sasuke signaled to the others, and everyone got inside the cave
without leaving a trace.

Getting off
Naruto’s back, Sakura dusted her hands and looked at Itachi’s onyx eyes
angrily.

“Yamato,
cover the entrance,” Itachi ordered. “Sasuke, build a muted fire. Shisui, try
to dig a water source. Sai, post some of your ink sentinels outside.”

Sakura rolled
her eyes when Sasuke flew to do his brother’s bidding. Approaching Sai and his
charge, she helped him lay Kakashi down on the mossy ground. “Sharingan
overuse, why I’m not surprised,” she muttered in annoyance. “Sai-san, be a doll
and bring me some water, yes? Yamato-san, come here please.”

With a
glance to his nodding Captain, the Mokuton user
covered the cave entrance with growing vines quickly and went to the medic. While
she surveyed her team leader, the pale young man drew one of his scrolls and scribbled
the form of three snakes, which slithered towards the covered entrance and
coiled on its branches.

“I want you
to tell me what you perceived about Kakashi-sensei’s opponent,” she said with a
strained tone as she poured a great deal of chakra into her team leader’s
chest. Suddenly, she gasped and raised her eyebrows in horrified surprise. “He
has an internal hemorrhage--shit! This is the same wound I saw on the
Firstborn! Kakashi, wake up!”

Her eyes
roved anxiously over her sensei’s body as her hands pushed more green energy
onto his chest. Sai came back with a little bowl of water, which she grabbed
hastily and placed one of her hands on it, only to curse again as she brought
her hand to her mouth, pulling off her glove with her teeth.

“Come on, Kakashi,
don’t you dare to go into cardiac arrest or I’ll kick your ass into next
century!”

She forgot
about everything else, so intent she was with her task. She didn’t notice
Sasuke sitting next to her and Naruto to her other side, supporting her with their
mere presence. Naruto grabbed the bowl and held it on his hands.

“We are
here, Sakura-chan,” he said soothingly. “We are in this together.”

“Heat up
that water, Sasuke,” she said without taking her eyes off her patient. “I need
to bathe and disinfect his wound.”

Before the
raven-haired jounin got the opportunity to get the bowl from Naruto, Shisui
kneeled next to them and blew a little flame on the water, warming it
effectively.

“There you
go, kid,” he said with a little smirk. Naruto passed the bowl to Sakura, who
placed a bare chakra-laden hand over the steaming water.

To the ninjas’
surprise, the water molded itself under her chakra’s action into a bubble,
hovering and trembling under her palm. Bringing said bubble to Kakashi’s chest,
she pushed the water onto his wound. The Copy Ninja arched slightly, but her
chakra worked restlessly to close and mend his injuries.

After a
while, she could sit back with a heavy sigh. “He’s out of danger now,” she
said, lifting her brilliant eyes to Yamato’s. “Come here and let me look at you.”

“I’m fine,
Sakura-san--” he started to say, but his own Captain beat him into the punch.

“Haruno-san
commands the medical field, Yamato. Do as she says.”

Properly
told off, the shinobi submitted to the pink-haired kunoichi’s ministrations.
Sai came next, Naruto after him.

Her chakra
was dwindling now, she could feel it. Finishing healing Naruto’s scratches, he
looked at Sasuke.

“You’re
next, Sasuke,” she said. Said male crossed his arms, returning her glare.

“I’m fine,
Sakura.”

“Don’t be a whiny child and get over here,” she said tiredly. “I’m
almost out of chakra.”

“I said I’m
fine, Sakura, don’t be so annoying.”

“Since you
feel so unscathed, Sasuke, then I will take your turn,” Itachi cut in smoothly,
walking up to the medic. “My opponent hit me on my shoulder. Will you heal me?”

Sakura’s
eyebrows shot up in surprise when she heard him asking her for her skills ever
so politely. Nodding dumbly, she watched him take
a seat on the floor and pull off his ANBU vest slowly, in order not to disturb
his injury too much.

She gasped
nonetheless when a little river of blood trickled down
his arm. “Fuck!” she swore softly, pressing one of her hands as she motioned
Naruto to bring her another water bowl. Shisui assisted the blond once again
with the liquid’s temperature, looking at his cousin worriedly.

“What the
hell did he hit you with, Itachi?” he asked. The alluded male closed his eyes
as he felt the medic’s proceedings on his shoulder.

“My
opponent, Tobi, had curved kunai.”

He didn’t
need to explain further than that.

“It’s a
wonder you kept your arm functioning, he almost hit your cephalic vein,” Sakura
commented absently as she mended the torn tissue under her hand. “The muscle is
cramped but I can soothe it after you rest the healing and absorb my chakra
into your system.”

“Alright,”
he responded. “It is your turn now.”

She turned
her head. “What?”

“Your back
took a great deal of damage when you crashed into that wall,” he said
patiently. “Heal yourself.”

She smiled
dryly. “I can’t, I used all of my chakra.”

“Then tell
me what to do,” Itachi shot back, not paying any heed to the surprised gasp
that escaped his little brother’s mouth. “I won’t allow our medic to be in pain
when she healed us all so thoroughly.”

Emerald met
glittering onyx, making her realize he was serious. He was darkly amused for
some reason, but he was serious.

“It’s okay, Uchiha-san, I can rest and rebuild my chakra--”

“No. Tell
me what to do.”

“It’s
probably nothing--”

“Come now,
Sakura, humor him,” Shisui said with a smirk, taking in the thunderous scowl
that his youngest cousin had. “Is there anything we can do?”

Turning her
head to look at the elder Uchiha, he flashed her with one of his disconcerting
smiles. She sighed heavily and unzipped her own green vest.

“It’s
possible that you might see a swell on my spine,” she started to say as she
placed her vest on the floor and used it to cushion her chest as she lied down
slowly. Her red shirt was a bit singed, tattered and dirty, but then again none
of them were all glamorous after that humongous battle. “If the swell is over
my spinal cord, it would be better if we wait for me to replenish my chakra. If
it is presented in another part--”

A large,
warm hand placed itself softly on her back, cutting off her medical ramble.

“What
else?” she heard Shisui asking. “There’s no swelling on top of the spinal
cord.”

She sighed
in relief. “Good... then... ah, where is a Byakugan user when I need it! There
are a lot of pressure points around the spine. Maybe you can numb my back until
I’m able to heal it properly.”

The hand
retracted its palm, leaving her feeling only the fleeting fingertips, which
danced over her shirt-covered back, pressing gently around her injury, tapping
the correct pressure points to numb and block her pain. Sakura relaxed briefly
under the hand’s ministrations.

“Is this
correctly done?” a deep male voice asked softly. She turned her head and saw no
other but Uchiha Itachi sitting next to her, his hand on her back.

As if summoned
by the clash of their gazes, a dull flush spread on Sakura’s face.

“...Yeah,
I’m fine now.”

“Good. Rest
now, Shisui and I will stand watch.”

Feeling
thoroughly flustered and utterly confused, she could do nothing but obey his
polite... request. It didn’t sound like his known commanding tone, but
something entirely different.

What she
didn’t know was that a certain Uchiha was having the same puzzled thoughts.

‘What the hell?’

-XxX-

AN: Sorry
for the wait, guys!

Regarding
Sakura’s supah-powers, there’s nothing to be amazed
about. She is a jounin for God’s
sake, and I’m sure that her training with Tsunade (still going on as you can
read) got her a few nice tricks under her sleeve. Just bear with me for a
while, yes? She is not a superhero; she’s just the strongest kunoichi in the
world, besides Tsunade. That has to
count for something, ne? This Sakura doesn’t have any qualms to destroy
anything, no matter how massive or sacred, in order to achieve her goals. Chew
on that for a while, haha!

Once more, much
love to Sometime.Usagi for her lovely beta, insights
and booiiiiings! xD
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