Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Time is Relevant in a Déjà vu World	By : MistraRose Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female > Itachi/Sakura Views: 1668 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Naruto in any shaph or form! I also make no profit with writting this story.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
Chapter 9- Journey to Confrontation

When Sakura woke up the morning of the Chuunin Exams, she
knew it was going to be a LONG day. The night before she had made all the
preparations for the day. Her last meeting with the Hokage was filled with
sorrow, and him giving her the letters she would need to gain the trust of two
people. The only one to know of what Itachi did was the Third, and he would
hopefully trust his judgment. She would be meeting him sooner then later and it
was time to get going. Sakura left her apartment and headed towards the arena
to watch her teammates fight.

Sakura hadn’t really thought on what Sasuke had done to her
that day, since she kind of blacked it out. She would admit that a boy who
chose to stay away from girls sure knew how to kiss one. Bringing her
fingertips to her lips, she could still feel the tingling and spark. In the
past she was never given the chance to kiss him, except on the cheek. Looking
back on it, she wasn’t really sad that she didn’t kiss him, because in the long
run she saw him as a brother, not a lover. Besides, in this world things
couldn’t work between them—they had a major factor against them. It was the
same reason she couldn’t be with Neji. She was older than them by four years
and knew their darkest secrets that others didn’t know about. It wasn’t like
she looked down on age; her parents had a ten-year difference, with her mother
being the younger one. She just wanted a man that was older then her.

Just as Sakura was getting ready to walk into the arena she
bumped into Ino, TenTen, Hinata, and Kiba; they joined her in her area instead
of being spread out. While waiting for the match to begin, they started to bet
who would win against who. No one really thought that Naruto would beat Neji,
but she couldn’t be persuaded on her bet. When the match finally began, Sakura
cheered for Naruto loudly. When Neji was punched in the jaw, she brought her
hand to touch her own since she knew what that punch felt like. When Naruto was
declared the winner she jumped over the rail to hug her teammate.

“You did it Naruto! You kept your word,” yelled Sakura as
she hugged a still shocked Naruto. When she pulled back she kissed Naruto on
the cheek and smiled at him. “But, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, you are
going to be royalty some day. I say you did well, little brother. Take your lap
around the arena, you deserve it!” said Sakura as she playfully pushed a
gasping Naruto away from her.

“Li…little brother?” asked a surprised and shocked Naruto.
He had no family and here Sakura was offering to be his sister. He hoped he
wasn’t dreaming because if she was it would crush him.

Sakura smiled and started to walk away from Naruto, but
looked over her shoulder and grinned. “You got it, bub. You were my first
friend here, and besides I think you and I clicked. But, most of all, I always
wanted a little brother to spoil.” With those words spoken she jumped back up
to her seat in the stands. She turned to see a teary eyed, but smiling Naruto.
He took his lap around the ring and that was when she noticed that Kiba and
Hinata were missing.

When she couldn’t find them in the crowd surrounding her,
she turned to Ino and their new addition Chouji. “Hey guys, where did Hinata
and Kiba run off to?” Asked a worried Sakura; she never did know where they
were during the attack on the village and it worried her.

“When you jumped down to congratulate Naruto, Hinata started
to cough up blood, so Kiba took her to the doctor. They were just barely into
the aisle when an Anbu showed up and offered to heal her. He took her to the
healing chambers I’m guessing and Kiba is keeping her company,” said Ino, who
stopped her conversation with Chouji. They were all worried about Hinata, but
the Anbu said not to worry; so they trusted him.

Exhaling a sigh of relief, she turned her head to watch the
next match begin. Sakura knew she needed to find them, so she sent a small,
unnoticed pulse of chakra through her feet to find her friends' signatures. The
pulse came back to her and she turned around swiftly causing her long hair to
hit Ino in the face. The pulse had read that they were unconscious at the tops
of the stairs within the shadows. Sakura’s eyes raked the crowed to find the
cloaked Anbu members, and found one that gave her an artic chill down her spine.
Only one had given her that feeling, the bastard of a traitor and spy Kabuto.
When she saw him watching her she acted like she was looking for another
friend. She slowly turned to watch as Shikamaru was just pushed out of the
challenger box. She turned to face Ino and said sorry about her hair getting in
her face.

The group continued to watch as Shikamaru beat Temari, but
gave her the win any way because it was too troublesome to go further. They
waited for Sasuke to arrive and when he did she wasn’t as surprised as last
time since she was more on her toes watching the Hokage. She really did feel
sorry for him, but he would go out as a hero, just the way any Hokage wants to
go. When Sasuke’s match started she turned to welcome Kakashi to the match. That’s
when she noticed Gai and Rock Lee standing next to him. They must have walked
in just as he arrived. “Nice to see you again, Kakashi. I hope all went well,
since you didn’t have to come and get me for another healing session?” Asked a
smiling Sakura, she knew the answer, but it was a good way to break the silence
that had befallen the group.

Kakashi looked at his student and saw that she was wearing
the same outfit she had been when he had brought her to tend to Sasuke’s
wounds. “Yes, everything turned out fine. No need to worry,” said a creased
eyed Kakashi as he brought his book out to read. He wouldn’t be reading, he was
more alert then people thought; it was his act. Gai and him conversed for a
little while until Gai asked who Sakura was since he had not seen her before.
“She is the replacement for Jada, since she is resigning. Her name is Sakura
Haruno and she excels in genjutsu and is learning to be a medic,” said Kakashi,
never taking his eyes from his novel.

Rock Lee heard the two teachers talking and looked over to
see who they were talking about and he grasped the crutches tighter. Blood
started to seep into the once white bandages; from the pressure he placed on
the crutches. She was either a goddess or an angel, but whatever word he chose
to use, she was beautiful. She wore the leaf headband proudly on her forehead,
and possessed a calming presence. “Hello there. My name is Rock Lee. I hear
your name is Sakura, you truly hold the power of youth, dear flower,” said Rock
Lee as he extended his injured hand out to her.

Sakura looked up at Rock Lee and smiled at him. He was sad
now, but he would be better once Lady Tsunade worked her magic on him. She took
his hand in hers and shook lightly, to not cause him pain. “I have heard a lot
about you, Rock Lee, from TenTen. She speaks very highly about you, isn’t that
right TenTen,” said Sakura as she poked her friend in the ribs, who kept
pushing the finger away from her abused ribs. Sakura finally stopped and faced
Rock Lee again, “Sorry, I haven’t stayed long enough to talk to you Rock Lee
when I visit. You are usually asleep when I drop by, so I leave the lily in the
vase for you everyday.” He didn’t need to know that she always waited until he
was asleep to stop by with the flower. She wanted to meet him here, not in the
hospital.

Lee stood in shock and stared at the girl. “It has been you
leaving the flowers for me daily, but why?” Asked a confused Lee. She didn’t
even know him and she was being nice to him.

“Do you mind if I call you Lee?” Asked Sakura who got a nod
from Rock Lee in approval. “Thanks Lee, I felt bad because of what happened at
your match with Gaara. But, don’t worry, you’ll get better in no time, I just
know it! You’re too strong of a ninja to stay down for long, but take your time
and heal right. Nothing is gained by pushing ones self before you're healed.
You will only slow your healing down instead of helping it,” said Sakura as she
smiled at a shocked Lee. He really was a good person that would become so much
stronger after he heals.

Lee nodded his head in understanding and resolved to try and
take her words to heart. It would be hard not to push himself, but he would try
to back off some. He turned his head to watch the match everyone had been
waiting for.

Gai watched and listened to Kakashi’s student as she gave
his student advice on healing. He had been trying to find the person who had
been leaving the flowers, but no one would help him. They all said she wanted
to remain secret until she revealed herself. All he knew about her was that she
was a lot nicer then Jada. That girl only had on thing on her brain and it
wasn’t being a ninja. Taking one last look at Sakura, he turned to watch the
match.

From there, everything played as normal as it should have.
Naruto came barging in demanding that the match get stopped. The Hokage got
attacked, people fell asleep, and the attack was underway. Sakura played her
part and not attacking was hard, but it had to be done that way. Stepping in
front of Gaara’s attack hurt just as bad as it did last time for Sakura, but
instead of a glare, she smiled at him as he pinned her to the tree. She
pretended to pass out, but it didn’t feel any better then it did last time
before she passed out. When the battle was over, she did wake up just as Sasuke
caught her. Sakura helped Sasuke with Naruto as the three siblings left for
home and smiled at Gaara one last time.

The two leaped from the tree branches and hurried towards
the village to see what they could do to help. Naruto was passed out between
the two. Sakura turned towards Sasuke and smiled, ”Hey Sasuke, thanks for the
catch back there. I was just coming to and wouldn’t have woke up before I hit
the ground. So, what happened while I was out of it,” asked a curious Sakura
who cocked her head to the side to prove her point.

On the way there Sasuke told her about his battle first with
Temari then explained the battle with Gaara, until they arrived. He explained
in detail what happened after she had been pinned to the tree and Naruto’s win
over Gaara. “Why did you jump in the way when Gaara was attacking me? You could
have been killed,” demanded Sasuke angrily as he glared at her. He had taken
her words to heart after she had left him with Kakashi. She was the first
female to not throw herself at his feet. He did really like her, she was
beautiful and stronger than normal people, but he would wait to see what would
come of their friendship. He didn’t want to scare her; he wanted her to come to
him if she wanted a relationship. He was brought out of his thoughts by
Sakura’s answer.

“Well Sasuke, that’s easy. You are my teammate and I will
not stand on the sidelines while a comrade needs my help. I have lost too many
people in battles and do not plan to lose any others on my watch. I will admit
I did not think everything completely through, but I didn’t want you to die
from that hit. I would rather it be me to die from a hit meant for someone
important to me, than them. I will then know that I have lived my life and
completed what I wanted to do: protect those that are most precious to me, even
at the cost of my life,” said a depressed Sakura, remembering all the friends
she had lost in the past. She turned to face Sasuke and saw understanding in
his eyes. He was not guarding his emotions for the first time and allowing
someone to see who he really was.

Sasuke heard her story and felt a pull at his heart; her
eyes held sadness within their emerald pools. She had no family like him and
she understood the drive to achieve a goal; at all cost. Even if they didn’t
date, he couldn’t help but see her as a sister maybe down the line. She would
be a great woman to marry and bring the next line of Uchiha into the world. ‘She understands me better than anyone I
know. I am glad she was put on our team as the replacement,’ thought Sasuke
as they continued through the forest.

“Hey Sasuke, I know that this is a bad time to bring up what
happened in the desert, but I want to tell you something that I learned,” said
Sakura as they continued their journey. Sakura looked down to see if Naruto was
still knocked out and when she saw that he was she awaited Sasuke’s
responds.

Sasuke really didn’t know what to say, but he was curious
about what she learned. “Why not,” said Sasuke, it wasn’t like they were going
to get anything out of Naruto since he was out like a light. Beside his loud
mouth might give him more of a head then one he had already from the
battle.

“Well….when I got home after you kissed me I did some
research and I found something out that I thought you might want to know about.
It’s about the curse mark and some of the affects that is has on the body,”
said Sakura as she turned her head to gage his reaction. She knew that he
already knew a little about the curse mark, but not as much as he would later
after he met the Sound Four.

Sasuke looked at Sakura in surprise. She knew some
information about the mark on his neck that their teacher hadn’t told him. He
nodded his head towards Sakura; he wanted to learn all he could about the damn
mark that was making a mess of his life.

Seeing the nod of his head, Sakura continued where she left
off. “Well, the curse mark likes to mess with the host's body and if it’s used
too many times, it can really start to destroy the cells in the body. But, that
wasn’t all I wanted to tell you….I think I might have found a reason why you
kissed me….” Said a very blushing Sakura as she turned her head away from
Sasuke’s view to try and get her blush under control. She really was
embarrassed since she thought of Sasuke as an honorary brother, not a lover,
but when he kissed her she couldn’t help but moan. He had caught her by
surprise and it didn’t help that he reminded her of the man she had a crush on.

Sasuke couldn’t help but blush himself, but he understood
why she did since it was unlike him to act in such a manner, but he felt like
he had no control. After a couple moments and getting his blush under control,
Sasuke asked her to finish her sentence. He couldn’t wait to learn what else
she was going to say.

Sakura finally achieved getting her blush under control. She
turned to face her teammate and to finish giving him the answer. “The curse
mark has a way of changing the host's mind and it influences certain ideas in
the mind. Now I know that you are used to girls falling all over you, but since
I am not, the mark and you see me as a challenge in a way. Am I correct?” Asked
Sakura to Sasuke and when he nodded she continued. “Well, when I arrived to
heal you, you were already drained of a lot of chakra and the curse mark knew
that. It really became active when you saw me and after that the mark started
to change your mind and influence your thirst for certain things….like for an
example….female contact,” said a scarlet red Sakura. It just wasn’t from
telling Sasuke this but from knowing that Sasuke had a slight attraction
towards her and her response towards him. She really wanted to stop blushing. ‘I’m not a damn twelve year old fan girl
again, seeking Sasuke’s attention at every turn,’ thought Sakura as she
tried to get her blush once again under control.

Sasuke took her words in and after he thought on them he
realized that the ideas had a lot of merit behind them. He would never have
done something like that even if he were attracted to a girl, until he got to
know her better. Sasuke knew that the curse mark would make his life hell, but
for it to do this. He was beginning to think that his life was hell already and
destined to remain that way.

He turned his attention to Sakura, “I’m sorry about that and
I hope you will forgive me and next time something like this happens, I hope to
have better control over it. It's just that I consider you someone precious to
me and kind of think of you as mine,” said Sasuke who had a slight tint of red
dusting his checks. He saw that Sakura had nodded her head in understanding. ‘How is it that she always knows how to
understand me and what I am always saying? Why can’t other girls be like her?’

Sakura understood where Sasuke was coming from. “I know what
you mean Sasuke. I may not have been an original member of your team, but I
feel like I have been from day one. I feel like you and Naruto are mine…. my
honorary brothers, my family. With that said I still mean what I said about
placing my life on the line if it’s one of my family members,” spoke a
determined and fiery-eyed Sakura as she caught Sasuke agreeing with her.

‘To have someone else
look out after me and see me as family. You really are something special,
Sakura. We will see.’ “We will see what happens, Sakura,” answered Sasuke.
The rest of the way to the village was in silence, except when Naruto started
to snore, which got both members laughing at the blond.

They arrived back in the village and took Naruto to the
hospital and helped with the injured ninja they came across, and killed those
that threatened them. Once everything was clear, Sakura sought out Jiraiya,
because she had to talk to him.

It was time to have a small visit with him. She told Sasuke
that she would meet up with him later; she was going to check in another
direction for survivors. They split and she tracked him down; he was near the
outer wall talking to Ibiki. She landed near the two and they acknowledged her.

“The wounded have been taken to the hospital and the dead
are being gathered so they may be buried. I have another body I found on my
travels here, but she was a civilian now. Jada Tomoe was found near the Forest
of Death and had been stabbed in
the stomach. She bled to death before I got to her. I am sorry to say that I
didn’t really know the girl. Last time I met her was with the Hokage,” said a
mournful Sakura. She didn’t want to lie, but that would be the only way to
cover up her death and not get questions asked. It may not have been in battle,
but at least she would be recognized in a way. The two nodded to her and she
turned her main attention towards Jiraiya. “If you will, Lord Jiraiya, I would
like a couple minutes to talk to you privately. It concerns Naruto and I think
you should know about him since you are his teacher,” said Sakura, who waited
for his response. When he gave it he said his farewell to Ibiki and followed
Sakura.

When Sakura felt she was out of earshot, she brought a light
amount of chakra to her eyes and found no one to overhear them. She reverted
her eyes from the Byakugan back to normal and faced the older man. When she
turned to face him she found that he wore a glare and he was looking right at
her. ‘Great, what did I do to deserve
this,’ though Sakura as she waited for him to speak. She didn’t have to
wait long.

“You want to explain to me why you feel I need to know the
brat's condition. I know he will be fine, but what I want to know most of all
is why you wear a Sand headband as a belt. If you were from Sand, you would
have known about the attack, but yet you did nothing to stop it. Are you a
spy?” Demanded Jiraiya heatedly. He needed to know if she could have stopped
his teacher’s death. He would get his answers one way or another.

‘I didn’t expect
that,’ thought Sakura as she pondered the answers to his questions. After a
while she came up with the answers and decided the truth was better. If he even
smelled a lie, he would become suspicious and that wouldn’t help her. She
wanted his trust; he would be a great ally to have. ‘Well, best not make him wait to long.’ “I used to live in Sand
until I heard of my mother's death just recently, and moved back here. I knew
nothing of the coming invasion, because if I did, don’t you think I would have
told someone? I would have said something if I had known, and besides, this
headband belonged to a really good friend of mine. He died a long time ago
during a mission. He died protecting me when I was heavily wounded and it was
his siblings that gave me the headband. I am no stranger to death or
sacrifice,” said a mournful Sakura as she remembered Gaara’s death protecting
her and allowed the tears to take their place. She didn’t allow them to fall
since now was not a time to be remembering that battle.

Jiraiya looked at Sakura with a newfound respect. She wasn’t
like the new generation who knew nothing of the hardship ninja faced. “Sakura,
I feel sorry that you have had to lose people close to you so young, but that
is the life and way of a ninja. You cannot change what is done, so you must
look towards the future and shape it,” said Jiraiya as he looked at the Hokage
Mountain.

“Jiraiya, I know that you care about Naruto more than you
say because he is your godson. You promised the Fourth that you would take care
of him since it was from your book that he named him. I wish you would just
admit it that you care for the brat as you call him,” said a smirking
Sakura. She wanted him to understand she knew a secret that no one knew about
the sannin.

Jiraiya turned his head quickly to stare at the smirking
face of Sakura. ‘How can she know that,
no one but the Third knew about Naruto and he’s now dead. Who is this girl,’
thought Jiraiya as he took a couple steps away from her.

Sakura watched as he stepped away from her and sighed. She
hoped she wasn’t making a mistake and trusting him. Sakura turned her palms up
towards Jiraiya to show she meant him no harm. “Lord Jiraiya, I mean no harm,
but more than anything I mean to change what will come to pass in about four to
five years. I know I haven’t given you a reason to trust me but I ask that you
do. The Third knew of my secrets and I ask that you too will listen because I
need another hand because I am only one person. You were one of his students,
so I know that he taught you about honor and the Will of Fire. Please follow me
and I will explain everything to you in detail, but not here. If you do not
follow I understand and will not hold it against you, but I ask that you do
because it will save millions of lives,” pleaded Sakura as she jumped to the
top of the roof and headed towards the apartment.

She didn’t need to look back to know that Jiraiya was
following her. Once at the apartment she walked to her door and deactivated the
genjutsu and traps. She didn’t need to scare him off.

Jiraiya watched as she completed a complex series of hand
signs and laid her hand on the door. The door glowed a faint green and she
walked in and he followed. He kept his senses on alert and watched for any
movement he felt was suspicious. Looking around the apartment he noticed that
it was clean but most of all held no real traps should a ninja get past the
door. Turning to look at Sakura he noticed she was sitting on the couch waiting
for him. He took his seat on the chair by the table and waited.

“I would offer you something to drink, but I think you
wouldn’t drink it since you would feel I might try to poison you. I will cut to
the chase and not beat around the bush. My name is Sakura Haruno and I am
really sixteen years old and from the future where I am really older than that.
I was sent back because in the future, I am the only surviving leaf ninja from
the village. Everyone is dead, and that means Naruto, Tsunade and yourself. You
died fighting the Akatsuki leader named Pein, but you would know him as Nagato
from Rain,” said Sakura as she recited the information that Tsunade had told
her from Jiraiya’s last scroll. She locked eyes with him and saw that he had
gone rigid.

‘She knows of the
Akatsuki and their leader's name. If all what she says is right then were in
trouble. That would explain how she knew of me being Naruto’s godfather,’
thought Jiraiya, but he didn’t let his guard down just yet. He wanted one more
piece of proof before he believed her. “If you are who you say you are then
tell me, who is Naruto’s mother and where was she from?” If she didn’t answer
the question right he would know she was a spy and he would kill her.

Sakura smiled at Jiraiya as he asked the question. She was
glad that he didn’t trust her right off the back and wanted more proof to her
claim. She was glad that Naruto found his family’s history book in the archives
of the Hokage library and shared with her his history. “Her name was Kushina
Uzumaki and she was from the Village
of Whirlpool. Naruto was given her
last name since no one knew that the Fourth had a child. When the nine-tails
attacked he decided to use his son since he could ask no one else to give up
their own child. In the end his wishes were in vain and Naruto wasn’t hailed as
the hero but as the demon himself,” spoke a slightly mad Sakura as she remembered
how Naruto was treated. She really hated the village for not respecting their
Hokage’s wishes, but they didn’t know the whole truth so they allowed their
fear to cloud their minds.

Jiraiya’s jaw fell out of his mouth. Only the Third and he
knew the name of Minato Namikaze wife and where she was from. He knew that the
Third wouldn’t tell anyone to protect Naruto; the elders of the village didn’t
even know that the Fourth Hokage had a child. He turned and noticed that
Sakura’s hands had made fists and her fingers were white and would have been
bleeding had she not been wearing gloves. ‘So
she holds some affection towards the blond. But, if she is as old as she says
then she has seen a lot in her life. That would explain the complex hand signs
at her door. You hold many secrets,’ thought Jiraiya as he relaxed his body
to get comfortable; he trusted her, but still kept his body ready for anything.

Sakura finally came out of her old memories and noticed that
Jiraiya had finally relaxed and was smirking at her. ‘Ah oh. I do not like that smirk one bit and coming from him it’s even
worse,’ thought a frightened Sakura who allowed her body to go rigid. “Is
there a reason your smirking like that?”

“Yes, it seems that you hold a flame towards Naruto, am I
right?” asked Jiraiya. ‘This would make
interesting new novel material. I wonder if I could get her to pose for me,’
pondered Jiraiya silently from within his head.

Sakura heard the question and laughed. Her and Naruto, that
was just wrong on so many levels. Finally getting her laugh under control she
answer his question. “The only feelings I have for that noodle head are those
of sisterly affection. He is destined to be with another girl that will make
him even happier than I ever could.”

Jiraiya nodded his head and voiced what was bugging him. “So
tell me what happens that you need my help with. If you gained the trust of the
Third, then you have my support.” If the future was as bad as she claimed then
she would need a little extra help and he would be glad to help her the best he
could.

Sakura informed him of her world's demise and what lead her
to the current time. It took over an hour to explain to him everything that
happened in her world and what she had done in this world. She answered his
questions and would continue to until they were done talking. She told him what
was to come and what she needed him to do to insure that everything went as
planned. “…so I need you in the end to train Naruto and take him on as your
apprentice. Only under your teachings will he become the man he was meant to
be,” said Sakura as she finally finished her tale.

Jiraiya understood her need for help, but now he knew that
she would need his help to pull it off. He needed to train the brat so that he
would stand a chance in the future. ‘Well,
I was thinking of taking on a challenge. I just didn’t know that I would be
taking on the biggest challenge the leaf could offer.’ He didn’t like some
of the information that she gave him, but it did help clear up some of the
information he already knew about. ‘Who
knew that Itachi Uchiha was really on our side the whole time and would later
be reinstated as a leaf ninja of Konoha.’

“So you understand that I need you to teach Naruto; you
might be surprised at his ability to learn and his drive to succeed. I guess
the name fits the title of your character in your novel. But trust me when I
say that he will grow on you and change many people's lives,” said Sakura as
she walked out of the kitchen and sat a cup of tea in front of him. She turned
to stare out the window and watched as people rushed around helping others.
“This is all I ask of you, Lord Jiraiya, nothing more. But, you must not tell
anyone unless I say otherwise.” Sakura looked down at her scarred arms since
she had dropped the transformation jutsu and the genjutsu to hide her scars.
She didn’t realize that her arms were bare of any scars, just the scars from
her memories. He wanted to see the real her, so she showed him, he was
surprised when he found out that she also held a contract for the toads on her
wrist. She told him she learned it from Sasuke since he was taught by
Orochimaru.

“Lady Sakura, if you ever feel the need to talk to someone
because the pressure gets too great, you can always seek me out. I will always
listen and help you the best I can. I still cannot believe everything that
happens but that would explain a lot of things and how you knew about them.
Well, I better be going since I need to talk to Naruto and get him to go on the
trip to retrieve Tsunade. But tell me, how does he convince her to come back
when many have failed?” asked a confused sage to turned to face the young
women. Jiraiya watched as Sakura started to smile and wondered what she could
be thinking of to make her smile in happiness.

“That’s easy Lord Jiraiya, he just does what comes natural
to him. He helps those who have lost hope see the light at the end of the
tunnel,” said Sakura as she remembered Naruto’s LONG tale of his bet with the
slug princess. He really did have a way for helping everyone he came in contact
with.

Jiraiya left and Sakura followed after transforming again to
her younger self. She went to the hospital and helped where she could. It would
be in the next couple days that the dead would be buried and respects paid
towards them.

When it was time for the funeral, Sakura never really cried
since she had done that the night before. As she walked to join the group
walking home she turned and looked off into the distance towards the gates. She
knew he was here and soon they would meet once again. “I will see you tomorrow
Itachi, that I promise. You may not see me, but I will see you,” mumbled a
happy Sakura as she ran to catch up to the three boys waiting on her.

As the golden sun rose the day after the funeral for the
Hokage, people could find Sakura outside at the training ground since six that
morning. She was beginning to get less sleep since she could no longer hold the
nightmares at bay. So instead of just lying in bed she would get up and
exercise. Sakura wanted to keep her strength up, but she also didn’t like
getting spied on. Stopping her training mid swing she turned her attention
toward the trees and smirked.

The person in the trees saw the smirk and watched as his
teammate disappeared and he blocked her kick to his ribs. After jumping out of
the trees, Sasuke landed on the dirt and watched as Sakura walked towards him.
She was wearing her usually training outfit, which didn’t leave much to the
imagination, but yet it did. She wore her usual high heeled shoes, but she had
wrapped her legs just like Ino. Her skirt reached the knees, was black with a
slit on the right side, for easy access to her weapons. Her stomach was bare,
but covered with more bandages, as well as her chest. Her top was a red corset
that had no sleeves, but tied around her neck. Around her neck was the usual
necklace that no one could see and her ears were pierced. Her hands had the
normal gloves and wrapping around her wrists.

It didn’t matter what she was wearing since everywhere she
walked she had eyes watching her. He was headed to meet Kakashi later for some
training and decided to have a light sparring session with Sakura. After his
talk with her he found that she knew a lot about him that other girls didn’t.
He accused her of being a fan girl and she told him she just knew his type and
watched his body language since that always told stories. He found it was
easier to see her as a friend than a potential girlfriend. Since he had never
kissed a girl before he was surprised at the emotion if could bring out and he
let it overwhelm him. After he realized that he found it easier to be around
her and think of her as a sister he never had, even if he had kissed the said
sister just about a month ago. A sister that always got her way one way or another
with him and usually set him straight if he was wrong.

After their six-hour light sparring session she walked with
him to meet Kakashi at the teahouse for more training. Sakura was telling
Sasuke about a friend of hers that was always driving her nuts because of his
endless supply of energy, and Sasuke said that this person reminded him of
Naruto. The two laughed since it was true and arrived to see Kakashi waited for
Sasuke. Sasuke was shocked to see his teacher early and commented on it, when
Asuma and Kurenai arrived.

Sakura could see the red clouds from the short distance and
knew who they were. ‘I didn’t expect to
be meeting him here. Oh well,’ thought a slightly shocked Sakura as she
took her place next to Sasuke’s side. “Hello Kakashi, you sure are a little
early. Asuma, Kurenai how are you guys doing? I haven’t seen Ino or Hinata for
a while so could you please tell them I said hi, if you see them before I do,”
She asked the two who nodded.

“So what are you two doing out together?” asked Asuma. He
still didn’t trust her, but he had gone to talk to his father about her. The
Hokage told him that she wasn’t a threat to the village, if anything she was
the savior. He didn’t know what he meant, but one thing he did notice was that
he had never seen Ino so happy, so he left it alone for now.

“Well Asuma, Sasuke and I just came from doing some light
training and I walked with him to meet Kakashi. If you’re going to hit Sasuke
and I up about being out together, what about you two. You two seem overly
friendly towards each other, but I guess it could be my imagination at work,”
said a smirking Sakura who allowed her eyebrow to rise as she caught Sasuke’s
smirk out of the corner of her eye.

Kakashi interrupted the light banter between the three and told
Asuma and Kurenai about the two strangers secretly. Of course the two strangers
had fled the teashop before the two leaf ninja’s knew it. After the two left
Sasuke and Sakura followed Kakashi to the training grounds where he wanted
Sasuke to get training in. He said that he would be back after a bit, he had a
small errand to run. When he disappeared, Sasuke just shrugged his shoulders
and smirked at Sakura who sadly shook her head no. “You forget buddy that I
have a meeting with a friend of mine that I can not miss. I have been waiting a
month for this meeting and I am not about to miss it. He will only be in town
for a couple hours before he leaves again. I’ll come see you later after the
meeting and tell you how it went and I’ll cook you dinner. Sound like a treat?”
asked Sakura who used her puppy eyes. As she turned around to leave and meet
her old friend again, Sasuke yelled out to her.

“Fine. Leave, I don’t care. I will take you up on that
dinner since it’s you cooking and not the idiot's idea of dinner,” said a
smirking Sasuke as he smirked more at Sakura’s attempt to stop her giggle. When
she couldn’t stop the giggle she just let it out.

“You forget buddy boy, that idiot is my honorary brother and
so are you. You two just play nice ok. I do not want to have to separate you
two and put you guys in time out,” said the giggling Sakura as she walked out
of the training grounds. She barely heard Sasuke’s ‘ya right, if you could’
reply before she was out of range. Once she was out of sight, she took off
towards the fight she knew was taking place and hoped she wasn’t too late.

Sakura arrived just a little after Kakashi must have made
his appearance. She stood off in the trees and watched the battle play out.
When Kakashi was stabbed in the back by the clone Itachi, she felt the blade of
a kunai in her back. ‘So he felt my
arrival. I shouldn’t be surprised since I could never beat him, except those
few times,’ thought Sakura as pain consumed her body, to only have a log
took her place.

Itachi looked around for the female and had to admit that
she was good. She hid her chakra very well and she had stealth. “You might as
well come out of hiding, kunoichi. I know where you are,” said a flat toned
Itachi. He watched as his shadow clones took care of the other three leaf
ninja. Their skills surely were lacking since he left the village.

Sakura, from her hiding spot in the trees, jumped down in
front of the older Uchiha and looked at his feet. “It is good to finally meet
you, Itachi Uchiha. I have heard a lot about you, and I must say that the
stories do not measure up to your skill. I have been waiting for you and I
wonder,” Sakura raised her eyes to finally meet his, “if you received the
Hokage's last letter to you,” asked a slightly hopeful Sakura. When she didn’t
notice a difference in his posture, she changed tactics. “So I see that I get
the real Uchiha over the shadow clones that the others are fighting. I feel so
special,” said now a sarcastic Sakura. She saw the movement and countered just
as the sweep happened with a jump. Only problem, that was what he counted on,
as he kicked her into a set of trees.

Itachi walked over towards her and stopped as the girl
disappeared again. She really was good at her timing. He hadn’t seen her
complete the hand signs. ‘Maybe she is a
worthy adversary, but she is young.’ Itachi looked around to find where his
prey had gone to. He turned around in time to block her punch and then her leg
aimed at his side. Too bad he didn’t see the difference in the shadow clone
fast enough as it exploded. Itachi was thrown backwards and then kicked into
the air by Sakura.

Sakura kicked Itachi into the air and followed after him,
only problem was he blocked each and every one of her attempts to hit him. When
they both landed, Sakura looked around her to find the real Itachi and not the
clone now in front of her. Not finding him she saw that something was off and
knew she had been caught. She had caught the reflection of his ring. She
hurried and canceled the genjutsu just as Itachi hit her in the stomach with a
punch.

The air left her lungs and she felt her hair being pulled up
and she locked eyes with Itachi. He had his sharingan spinning and she knew
what he had planned, the Tsukuyomi. She wasn’t afraid, she just knew that there
was going to be a repeat performance of the last time he first tried it on her.
‘Oh well, I wanted a way to talk to him,
this will work better since he will see the truth.’ “If I were you Itachi,
I wouldn’t do that. The last time you did, you ended up on your ass with an
even more sever migraine then the one you have daily,” said a truthful and
smirking Sakura as she was pulled into the blood red realm of the moon.

Itachi heard what she had said, but just ignored it. As the
Tsukuyomi finished materializing he walked over towards the girl pinned to the
cross. There was something that started to bother him when he noticed that she
wasn’t fighting the restraints and she had a smirk on her face. He took out his
sword and held it against her stomach. He would break her spirit; even the most
seasoned ninja breaks sometime. ‘She is
too cocky for her own good.’

“I just knew you wouldn’t listen to me, but I guess that's
what I was counting on,” said Sakura as she screamed, when the sword pierced
her stomach. It really did hurt, but he had taught her to overcome the pain and
called her inner self to help. She heard him tell her about the 72 hours of
pain and all that, but she didn’t respond. She had only screamed once, and that
would be all he would get from her. Her inner self would respond for her and
saw that she was materializing behind the Uchiha as she rose from the ground.

From within the Tsukuyomi, Itachi could control all, but he
didn’t expect for someone else to be able to appear. He didn’t feel the chakra,
but he did feel the sudden pain in his own stomach and looked down to see a
sword protruding from it. He turned his head and came face to face with an
older and slightly different copy of the girl on the cross. The sword was
pulled from his stomach and he turned his attention to the girl with her weapon
drawn and his blood dripping from the tip.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Itachi Uchiha. I must say that
it has been a long time. You must be confused since there are two of me within
a world that you command. And that’s simple really, I have two different
personalities, but the other one only comes out when I’m brought into the
Tsukuyomi. Since we have a nice three days to get to know one another, I think
I will start with myself. My name is Sakura Haruno and the girl on the cross is
only my transformed state to hide my real age. Who you see in front of you
currently is my real age,” said Sakura as she looked at the Uchiha as he took
in all the information. She wasn’t disappointed when he asked his question since
she did play off his like for solving puzzles.

“If that is true, then how in the real world did the
sharingan not pick up on you having a changed appearance using genjutsu? The
sharingan is able to break any genjutsu,” spoke a very slightly confused Itachi.
He didn’t like to be confused in any situation and tried to avoid it when
possible. Confusion could always get you killed in battle. He placed his hand
over the wound the other copy of the girl had given him.

“That’s easy, I created a genjutsu that can not be detected
around my body unless I let it be known. It was something that I had help
creating before a friend of mine died. Instead of the genjutsu being used to
confuse the enemy, I made it where it hides what I don’t want others to see.
The chakra is dispersed evenly over the body and instead of covering the
person; it’s absorbed in the skin and morphs the body back to another form. It
takes such a little amount of chakra that it's not picked up by the sharingan
or the byakugan. Is there anything else you would like to know about it before
I finish telling you what needs to be said?” asked an impatient Sakura, who was
tapping her foot on the ground and stopped when she noticed her younger self
smirking at her. She knew it was childish, but she couldn’t help it and she
stuck her tongue out at herself.

Itachi listened and was baffled that there was a genjutsu
that could beat the two most powerful blood limits within the Leaf
Village. He turned and locked eyes
with the older girl and saw within her eyes his own, the sharingan. ‘That’s not possible, only the Uchiha clan
can use the power of the sharingan, but somehow she has acquired it. I wonder
if she is like Kakashi, but who would she have gotten them from?’

“I see that you have been observant, but no one ever said
you weren’t. I gained them from someone precious to you. They were a gift, from
him, before his death. I would tell you more, but you do not trust me and I,
you. This land is familiar, but not. The people are the same, but the circumstances
are different, but time flows steady,” said a smirking and mysterious Sakura.
She knew that she probably confused him, but he would remember what she told
him and work on its meaning later. She watched as Itachi’s wound started to
heal itself. ‘Good, I want him in top
condition when he fights.’

Itachi looked at Sakura with a slight smirk on his face. She
couldn’t have gotten them from the person precious to him since he had just
seen him this morning and he was fine. ‘This
girl has gone off the deep end, if she thinks I will believe her.’ “That is
where you are wrong, I have nothing that is precious to me and if you are
referring to my weakling of a brother, you are mistaken. He is just a means to
which I plan to test my power on later,” said an uncaring Itachi as he turned
to once again face the younger girl upon the cross; only to face the older
Sakura standing in front of him now.

When Itachi turned his back, Sakura disappeared and
reappeared in front of him. She watched as a slight hint of shock registered in
his eyes. Raising the sword she pointed it at his chest and smirked. She was
looking forward to getting a good workout; even if it was from within the
Tsukuyomi. “Since we have seventy-two hours to visit, how about we take this up
a notch,” said an excited Sakura as she disappeared and kicked him into the
many crosses within the red landscape. She started to walk towards the Uchiha
and was smiling all the way, “Oh and Itachi, I don’t play nice.”

Itachi got up from the ground in time to dodge the needles
that were sent at him from his opponent. He didn’t know who she thought she was
but he was going to end this fight and take her attitude down a few notches. He
completed the hand signs for a genjutsu that he had copied from the kunoichi
earlier. He disappeared and appeared out of the top of the tree with his sword
ready to pierce her heart. What he didn’t expect was for her to pull the same
move he did. Releasing the genjutsu he fired some fireballs at her only for
them to meet her fireballs.

Sakura matched Itachi's move for move and decided to up the
game a little bit and ran towards him to fight taijutsu. He blocked her kicks
and punches and visa versa, but her main objective was just to get close enough
to him. Once their hands were locked and battling for dominance, Sakura looked
into Itachi’s eyes and smiled. “Hope you don’t mind if I take you out with a
bang.”

With those words spoken Itachi's eyes widened as he pulled
his body out of the way as the girl in front of his exploded. That was his move
and no one was supposed to know it except him, so where did she learn it!? She
had used it earlier, but he had figured it was just luck that she pulled it
off. ‘Now this girl is becoming more of a
pest then I thought she would be.’

Itachi really looked at the girl as she came out from behind
the cross her younger self was tied to. He really studied her and he noticed
that she wore a necklace around her neck that he had seen before, but only on
Tsunade. The necklace had come out of from underneath her shirt and fell
in-between her breast. So she had trained with the legendary Sannin Tsunade,
but what did she do to earn the necklace that the sannin never parted with?
Itachi dodged as she jabbed a sword towards his stomach and he jabbed his at
hers. He would figure out her secrets before they left the Tsukuyomi.

For the next 71 hours, punches, kicks, ninjutsu and other
battle tactics were used to try and bring the other down to submission. Too bad
it was a battle of wills and neither was willing to give up and admit defeat.
Each fighter pushed the other to limits they had not been pushed to for a
while.

Sakura knew that time was running out if her count down was
right about the time. They only had about another minute before the Tsukuyomi
wore off. She jumped away from Itachi’s kunai aimed at her head and landed on
the cross that her younger self was sleeping on. Tapping her foot on her
double's head woke the girl up, who smiled up at her older self. “So I take it
I can get down now that you’ve had your fun playing in the graveyard,” joked
the younger smirking Sakura as she applied chakra to her arms and broke the
bonds holding her.

Itachi watched as the younger girl broke the bonds like they
were made of nothing but silly string or paper. When the two girls stood side
by side, Itachi took a slight step back as he prepared for their attack, and he
didn’t have to wait long.

The younger Sakura created three clones of herself and ran
towards him. He tried to find the difference in them, but they were perfect
shadow clones. She mixed herself within the group and he dodged each of their
hits until there wasn’t a clone left. He turned his head just in time to see
the younger one swing the cross towards his body. He went to move, but found
his body glued to the ground. He looked down to see two hands wrapped around
his ankles. He looked up in time to see the punch aimed for his face. He
couldn’t block its full impact, but he tried.

Older Sakura watched as one of the clones disappeared into
the ground instead of disappearing like the others. When the clone was ready,
she grabbed the ankles to keep him from moving. Younger Sakura picked up the
cross she was tied to and swung it at the Uchiha’s body and the older Sakura
put chakra into her fist and ran towards the man. He was in for one huge hurt.
He looked up just as the cross nailed him in the ribs and his arms blocked most
of the force from the punch, but it still connected with eighty percent of its
power.

When the hits connected was the time that the Tsukuyomi came
to an end, but not before both parties were forced apart and they both hit the
trees behind their bodies. Itachi looked up from his spot as he forced his body
up from the ground. He watched as the younger girl stood up with no problem and
smirked at him and held her hand out in front of her with five fingers. When
she stopped her count out loud and then lowered her hand did he feel the
excruciating pain in his head and behind his eyes His head felt like it was
going to explode and he closed his eyes momentarily. When he finally opened his
eyes after a few seconds, he found her still standing against the tree and was
smirking. He noticed that his clone was about to leave and decided that it was
time to leave and think on all the information he had learned from her. He knew
when it was better to leave and that time was now. He turned to leave and as he
did he heard her words as he disappeared from the trees.

Sakura smiled and stood up and counted down from five. When
she reached five, she knew his headache had finally kicked in. When he started
to leave she spoke where only he would hear her words, “I told you if you took
me within the Tsukuyomi you would get a headache. I guess I shouldn’t be
surprised, you didn’t learn your lesson the last time I told you either. Just
so you know, I told you I don’t play nice. Just a note, while an olive branch
isn’t always visible, it’s always there waiting. Another thing you should know
Itachi, everyone has something precious to them that they would do anything to
protect, whether it be memories, friends, treasure or family.”

Sakura turned her head and watched as the two Akatsuki
members left. She would meet them again, and this time she would be introduced
to Itachi’s partner. She just hoped since she won the last battle, she wouldn’t
get her ass handed to her next time. It was always how their sparring went.
Only problem was that the third round was always decided who won and it was a
sixty-forty change. She just wasn’t looking forward to their next meeting, she still
needed to give him the letter, and she took off and headed to meet up with
Sasuke again. She needed to blow of some steam.

The next couple of days leading up to Naruto being gone, she
hung out with the girls and trained with Sasuke when she wasn’t doing her own
training. Ryo contacted her and informed her that her sword was going to be
ready in the next couple weeks. It was taking longer than he thought because he
was taking his time. When she hung around with the girls, she got to know the
boys better and that helped in befriending them. She already knew most of the
boys within the rookie nine plus Team Gai, but she needed stronger bonds with
them.

When she heard that Sasuke learned about his brother seeking
Naruto out and left, she followed. She just didn’t realize that it would be so
fast. She was hoping for a little longer break, but there was nothing she could
do about it. With her training at night to keep herself in shape, she was
exhausted, but at least it kept the nightmares at bay.

She pushed herself to go faster since she was a little ways
behind Sasuke and with his temper fueling his strength he would reach him
faster. Sakura pushed more chakra into her legs to go faster; she had to get to
him before he did something stupid like attack his brother and get his hand
broken.

Sakura arrived in the town about two hours after Sasuke, but
unlike him she knew what hotel and room the two were staying in. She ran
towards the hotel and looked up and saw lightning coming from the window and
knew she was too late. She jumped and was about to break the wall, when she was
blasted backwards when the said wall explored. She dodged the debris and from
her spot on the side of the building looked through the hole. She watched as
Sasuke’s wrist was broken and he was thrown away from Itachi. He started to
walk towards his brother when she decided to interfere.

Itachi had known she was on the other side of the wall and
when he had pushed Sasuke's attack to the wall, knew she would be caught in the
debris. From the hole in the wall he spotted her standing on the side of the
wall looking in. He wondered why she was there, but he didn’t care, he was
there to do a job and he was going to finish it. He heard the bones break in
Sasuke’s wrist as he broke it and threw him away from him into the wall. He
turned and started to walk towards Naruto when she made her presence known to
all the occupants in the hall.

Her outfit was the one from before when she had fought him
in the forest and she wished she had more time to get better prepared for
facing Itachi. When he was away from Sasuke enough, she disappeared and
reappeared between Naruto and him. Over Itachi’s shoulder Sakura saw that
Sasuke was slowly making his way up from the ground. She turned her full
attention to Itachi and smiled at him. “Itachi, I figured you were brought up
better then this. Where are your manners and not introducing your friend and
here I thought you were a gentleman? You do realize that you are going to be
having one hell of a hotel bill when you leave after causing such damage,” said
a sarcastic Sakura as she placed one hand on her waist and the other was in
front of her inspecting her nails.

She watched as Itachi attacked her and she blocked his hit
to the stomach with her leg. When he pushed her back away from him she bent
backwards to dodge the kunai aimed for her chest. Using this position to her
advantage, she dropped all the way to the ground and kicked his feet out from
under him. He started to fall backward and by the time she lunged at him he was
already on his feet, and therefore managed to block both her punches. She
pushed a little chakra into her arms for more strength and she saw that he took
a step back to get a better balance.

Too bad she didn’t think ahead or she would never have
gotten her hands caught by the elder Uchiha.

Itachi knew that she was going to attack him head on and
waited until everything was where it needed to be to win the match. When he
finally had her hands in his, he fell backwards and used her own momentum
against her as he kicked her in the chest up towards the ceiling.

Sakura couldn’t do anything but try and block the hit, but
Itachi’s leg managed to get through her defenses and she was kicked and hit the
ceiling. It wouldn’t have been bad but she was tired, and had the air knocked
from her lungs. As she came down from the ceiling she was then kicked in the
stomach into the wall near Sasuke. Sakura’s back hit the wall and she felt and
tasted the blood leave her mouth. She knew that a lung must have been
punctured, and she had quite a few ribs broken and cracked from his hits. She
struggled to get up and looked up just as a hand wrapped around her throat,
stopping the air from reaching her deprived lungs.

She put both hands up to try and get him to remove his from
her throat. He brought his other hand up and she grabbed it with her other
hand. “Let me go you ass,” demanded a weakening Sakura as she felt the blood
start to roll from the side of her mouth. When he still didn’t let go, she
applied pressure to his enclosed hand, but stopped when he followed her action
with his hand on her neck. When he grabbed her other wrist with his hand she
decided to get him another way. Using her one hand she completed the hand sign
to split a needle out of her mouth that cut his check and landed just
centimeters from Kisame’s own head. Maybe it wasn’t a smart idea but she didn’t
want to lose to him and when his eyes caught her she shut her eyes to avoid
falling into the Tsukuyomi again.

Itachi didn’t think that someone else could do one handed
hand signs but the girl in front of him proved she could as she spit a needle
at his face. He moved his head enough that the needle just cut his check. He
could hear his teammate cursing in the background, but he didn’t care. When
their eyes locked for a moment he noticed within her eyes the color red. ‘So,
even in this world she somehow possesses the Sharingan. So where did she
acquire them?’ thought Itachi as he hit a pressure point in her neck and
let her body fall against his.

Itachi let her gently drop to the ground and turned around
in time to block his brother’s weak attacks. If he compared the two the their
abilities he would have to say that the kunoichi was a couple levels above his
brother. He picked his brother up by the collar of his shirt and punched him in
the stomach and into the wall near his teammate. He turned around and blocked
Sakura’s punch to his jaw, but he missed the one to the side of his face. He
didn’t know how she woke up so fast, but he would deal with her now, then his
brother.

Sasuke attacked his brother when he knew this was suicide,
but he was trying to help his teammate out. From his place on the ground he
barely looked up through his bangs to see that Sakura had nailed him in the
cheek with one of her hits. He barely smirked when he felt the sudden urge to
vomit and he did on his side. He wiped his mouth when he locked eyes with
Naruto who was still within the room’s doorframe. Naruto was going to attack
when Sasuke slightly shook his head.

Naruto watched from the sidelines, as his two teammates were
beaten up by Sasuke’s older brother and he did nothing to stop it. He would
respect Sasuke’s wishes but it was killing him not to help out and he knew that
the next time he met Itachi he would kill him.

Sakura felt some of the bones in her hand break that Itachi
had caught, but she smiled sweetly when her other hit him in the check. He
didn’t look too happy but she didn’t care, she didn’t like that he had knocked
her out and then she had to unlock the pressure point so she could wake up.

She knew she was out of chakra except what she had stored up
and she was not about to use that until later when it was absolutely necessary.
She locked eyes with Itachi and she didn’t like what she was seeing, but knew
there was no way she could stop it. He was going to use her in some way to
torture and torment Sasuke. Even without chakra, she still fought against her
captor but he slowly backed her into a small doorway. It didn’t matter what she
did at the moment since he could over power her. She felt like a new born
kitten.

Itachi slowly backed Sakura up into the wall and had her on
the other side of the door with her back facing his partner and her two other
teammates. There would be another way to get Sasuke angry at him and she would
make the perfect weapon to drive his hatred higher. Itachi pushed his body
against the kunoichi and he felt her stiffen against him. He brought his head
down towards her neck and blew upon her heated skin and he felt her shutter. He
would admit that she did have a body that many men would want in their women,
but he wasn’t one of them. He looked over her shoulder and saw that Sasuke was
fighting to get up from the ground, but he wasn’t succeeding very well. He saw
that Sasuke looked up and decided to push him even more and placed his mouth
next to her ear and just lightly brushed his lips against her skin. To Sasuke
it would look completely different and that was what he wanted.

Sasuke fought to get his body to work, but he couldn’t seem
to and when he finally did manage to stand up with the wall as support, he
stopped. Right in front of him he watched as Itachi placed his lips against
Sakura’s ear and nipped it. ‘Why that bastard! How dare he touch her in that
way,’ yelled Sasuke within his mind and he attacked his brother in a blind
rage.

Sakura felt his breath against her ear and she couldn’t
control as her body shuttered at his breath tickling her. She knew there was
nothing else she could do, but whisper in his ear before the darkness she had
been fighting overcame her. “I knew you were a bastard Itachi, but to do this
is even a new low for you. I just hope the next time you and I meet that you
have gotten the Hokage's letter. Know this, Itachi, you just pushed your
brother too far and he will now embrace the darkness, the same darkness that
you hoped he would never seek out.” And with those words past her lips she
embraced the darkness and welcomed its embrace and just maybe she could finally
catch up on her sleep that she needed.

Itachi didn’t know what her words meant, but he allowed her
unconscious body to fall to the floor and he turned his complete attention to
his brother. It did not take much to take Sasuke down since he was running into
the situation in a blind rage. Itachi punched Sasuke in the stomach again but
this time he used the wall to give him more force.

Sasuke slumped over his brother’s hand, and had more blood
fly out of his mouth onto Itachi’s already red and black cloak. Sasuke couldn’t
move from his position against the wall. He went to look up when his neck was
grabbed and his body was brought up eye level with Itachi’s. Sasuke grabbed his
brother’s arm and tried to twist it, but all was in vain.

Itachi watched as his pathetic brother struggled against him
and he brought his other hand up and hit Sasuke on the leaf symbol on his
forehead protector. He finally caught Sasuke’s eyes with his and pulled him
into the Tsukuyomi, just like he did on the night he murdered the clan.

Now Itachi was known as a sadist whenever he was in battle,
but when he brought victims into the Realm of the Moon, he was the devil. He
tortured Sasuke with the death of the clan over and over again, but Sasuke to
some point stopped acknowledging the blood of the clan. So, Itachi switched to
his final form of torture that he knew would get his brother pissed.

Sasuke kept seeing the blood, death and slaying of his
family and after a while he just blocked everything out and went into a trance.
That trance was broken when he heard her voice calling his name. Sasuke opened
his eyes to see Sakura being held by his brother in nothing more than a thin
sheet. Sasuke locked eyes with Sakura who fought against her captive, but he
was stronger then her in her current state. Sasuke lunged at his brother but
found that he could not move. He looked down and noticed that he was chained to
the floor in his parent’s master bedroom. He looked up and saw that Itachi had
chained Sakura to the bed and had removed the sheet to show her bare flesh. Sasuke
fought the bonds holding him and yelled out for Sakura to fight it, but no
words escaped his mouth.

Itachi looked at his brother and saw him fighting the chains
and turned his attention to the woman on the bed. She really was beautiful; it
was a shame that she was going to be used for this purpose. Itachi slowly moved
his hand and touched her face and he watched as she moved her face away from
his hand. He smirked, it really was fun to torture people in this world and
this time there was no other personality to save her. He ran his hand lightly
over her chest, but he never touched her breast. Her legs really were long and
strong and he loved the feel of her silken skin against his calloused fingers.
He touched the inside of her legs, but never ventured higher than her thigh.
Even he had grounds he would never cross without permission from a willing
participant. It really was too bad that Sasuke didn’t know that Itachi never
touched his teammate intimately.

Sakura knew that the feeling she was experiencing was not
her own and knew that he was making her feel emotions she didn’t want to
express. As his touch slid over her skin she could not stop the cries or moans
of pleasure that left her mouth. She was thankful that he never touched her
breast or her upper thigh, but knew that Sasuke didn’t know that. She looked
over at Itachi and saw that he had removed a kunai from his sleeve and started
to cut Sakura’s wrists and legs. As the blade cut into her skin Sakura cried
out in pain because the metal was burning hot and it left welts.

Sasuke could feel the blood running from his bloody and raw
wrists, but he didn’t stop. He didn’t like that Sakura was being abused in
front of his eyes. To him this was worse than seeing the clan killed over and
over again. “Let her go, you bastard! I’m the one you want, not her!” yelled
Sasuke to his brother who turned around holding the bloody kunai in his hand.
Sasuke watched as droplets of blood fell to the floor, droplets of Sakura’s
blood.

Itachi faced his brother and slowly walked towards him. Once
he was in front of him he placed two fingers upon the bloody kunai and wiped it
on his fingers. Those two fingers he placed on Sasuke’s check and it slowly
rolled down his check, mixing with his tears, tears of blood. Itachi leaned
forward where Sasuke could only hear his voice. “Foolish little brother, I plan
to bend her to my will and there is nothing you can do to stop it,” said a
smirking Itachi as he slowly stood up, turned and walked back to his prey. His
silent observer fought with renewed vigor to break his bonds.

Sasuke watched as his brother walked away from him to
Sakura. He wanted to kill his brother. Watching his teammate being touched was
making his blood boil, and wished he could use the mark upon his neck. When he
didn’t feel the power, he screamed in his head since his voice couldn’t be
heard. ‘I’m going to kill you!’

This torture to both parties continued until the seventy-two
hours were up and both were released from the realm. Sasuke cried out in
anguish as he was finally pulled from the vision and slumped against the wall.
Sakura still within the darkness never moved for the eye to see, but her
muscles had become stiff and ready for action regardless of her being
unconscious.

Jiraiya had arrived just as the two teammates were pulled
into the Tsukuyomi and watched the drama unfold that Sakura had told him about.
The cries of pain that Sasuke let out had Naruto’s resolve finally shattered
and he attacked Kisame and Itachi. The battle played out as Sakura described it
and this time he was prepared and didn’t get kicked in the face by Gai,
luckily.

Gai didn’t come alone like Sakura mentioned he would, but he
was not going to complain. He had a task to complete and he couldn’t be
watching over Sakura, so he gave her over to Asuma. Gai and Asuma would take
the two back to the hospital and would await Tsunade’s arrival.

Before Naruto and Jiraiya left he promised his two teammates
that he would bring the lady back to the village and he would become stronger
for them. Naruto now was more determined to get stronger; he didn’t want to see
Sasuke and Sakura get hurt like that again. He would become stronger and he
vowed to keep his promise, since he never went back on his words.

Jiraiya and Naruto left to go finish their journey to find
Tsunade and would complete it just as Sakura had predicted. Jiraiya wasn’t
surprised after a while and now knew what Sakura had meant by Naruto just being
himself. ‘That brat really is a one of a kind. I wonder what other wonders
you will work on this hardened world. Who else will you change,’ thought
Jiraiya as he followed beside his old teammate and her assistant and watched as
Naruto ran ahead of them. Jiraiya couldn’t wait to get back to the village and
have her heal the people that needed healing. He needed to know what else was
going to happen and what else he was going to be expected to do. Jiraiya turned
his attention to his old teammate and wondered what Sakura’s next step with was
going to be. ‘Are you going to tell her your secrets or are you going to let
time run its course for now? But, knowing you Sakura, you will wait until
you’re ready. The troubles for the leaf are just beginning.’

*~*~*~*Back in
Konoha*~*~*~*

Asuma and Gai brought the two teammates to the hospital to be
looked at after they returned to the village. The doctors that looked at them
said that both of them had been exposed to the same thing that Kakashi had
been, only it looked like it was slightly worse. They said that they would need
to wait for Tsunade to return to heal them.

Sasuke and Sakura were put in the same room. A week went by
with nothing changing in the two patients’ status. A nurse was checking
Sasuke’s vitals when she heard something behind her. The nurse turned around,
only to scream and drop the tablet she was carrying. In front of her was the
female teammate of Team 7 awake and holding her head in her hands. The nurse
ran over to her to push her back down so she could lie down, but Sakura refused
to lie back down.

“I’m fine. Can I have some water please?” Asked a tired
Sakura softly since her throat was dry and sore from disuse. When the nurse
left to get the water Sakura turned her attention to the bed beside her and saw
Sasuke. She felt her heart tighten in her chest. ‘I’m so sorry Sasuke,
if I had known that he would use me against you then I never would have showed
up.’ Her hands clenched the sheets in anger tightly. It took her a moment
to notice that her clothes had been changed. ‘Glad I used that genjutsu to
cover up those markings so people wouldn’t wonder what those marking were.
Those would be questions, I’m not ready to answer yet.’ Sighing in relief,
Sakura silently wished she could have been more help, then a hindrance. ‘I’m
still in the way it seems. I guess I need to be careful and try picking my
battles better.’

Seeing and feeling the warm lights she turned her attention
to the window and saw the sun setting in the distance. Out there in the
distance she hoped that Jiraiya and Naruto succeeded in getting Tsunade to come
with them. Somewhere, in the mountains Itachi was hopefully reading the Third’s
letter and he would meet with her again. “Next time you and I meet you ass, I’m
going to get even. That’s a promise,” mumbled Sakura under her breath as the
nurse returned with her water. She wouldn’t stay in the hospital long; she had
some things to get ready and some people to go see. A slightly lift of the lips
graced her face as she looked forward to getting even. ‘Payback's going to
be a bitch.’

*~*~*~*~*~*

Authors Note:

Well Itachi finally makes his entrance; Sakura and Itachi
get into a fight. Then the two get into another one in the last of the chapter.
Now Itachi may seem a little bit of an ass as Sakura called him, but he does
have a front to put on in front of his brother. I hope this eased peoples
craving for Itachi to finally appear and guess what? He will now be in about
all the rest of the chapters from here on out. There will be more tension
between Sakura and Itachi later as the stories progress since she having to
earn his trust, and there will be some interesting moments later. :D

People might be wondering why she hasn’t used the bloodline
traits she was given yet, well she wants to keep them a secret until later. She
does use them here and there, but nothing real visible where other people will
notice. I also do not want to turn Sakura into a superhuman who can not be
beat, I want to make her as human as I can, but still strong and trying not to
make her perfect.

Am I pacing the story well, or what? Tell me what you guys
think.

Who saw that she was going to tell Jiraiya about her
abilities? Now can you guess who is next on that list and it should be easy?
Until next later my dear readers!

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Chapter 9- Journey to Confrontation

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