Title: Hurricane Sakura

Author: les-belles

Word Count: 938

Created: August 4th, 2016

Completed: August 13th, 2016

Author's Note: So… It's been a while… But I'm back now! Possibly for good! No promises! But I will finish what I've started, damnit. Even if it kills me, which isn't entirely out of the question, at this point.


It took everything Itachi had to avoid giving Sakura any clue that he was aware of her presence, which was a task that seemed to be increasing in difficulty as the days went on. It appeared nowhere was safe from her shadow, and he found himself unwillingly longing for her to confront him, call him out, yell at him as he was sure she wanted to. Perhaps then, faced directly with her pain, confusion, and mistrust, he could just give in, break down, even go back to her.

His jaw clenched. He had come too far to give up, even for her, even if the pain of losing her was neck-and-neck with the pain of losing Sasuke. He tempered the anger within himself, letting out a measured breath. There had been two years of peace, two years of love. It would have to be enough to sustain him, to keep him strong in the the face of what he must do.

"She is very pretty, Itachi-san," Konan remarked in her typical deadpan. If Itachi hadn't known her, he would find it questionable whether or not to believe her. "What we must do is difficult, but it would do well for you to remember that it is for her, and everyone like her."

"I am aware," he snapped, as much as his normally soft-spoken voice could bite. Konan didn't seem to mind, or even register it, simply continuing to pace down the sidewalk. "It is fortunate my grandfather isn't aware of your change of heart - or of your true reasons for coming all the way from Amegakure."

"Yes, very fortunate."

"I suppose it is coincidence that it came at such an opportune time, for us."

Konan glanced towards him, matching his searching stare with dogged serenity. "Pein is waiting, we would do well to hurry."
Itachi's eyes narrowed. A dangerous path to walk, indeed.


The tastefully carpeted hallway in front of Itachi's door was becoming worn with her pacing, but Sakura could not stand still for the life of her. She allowed herself six paces in both directions, and four passes altogether before she could check her watch, her frown tightening with every glance and the slow pace of the hands. Where the hell could he be?! She would not let herself think of him sitting on that woman's couch, smiling over a glass of wine, moving ever so slightly closer to that blue-haired bi—

"Sakura?" His voice was rough, and it hurt to feel the shivers in her spine that it evoked. She clenched her eyes shut, took a deep breath, then turned slowly to face him. The sight of him almost crippled her resolve, but she couldn't let it.

"What is her name?" It hadn't been what she was planning to say, but after the words left her mouth, Sakura knew it was what she had wanted to know more than anything. Itachi's face went blank, before he gestured to the door.

"Please, come inside."

Sakura wanted to scream at him, confront him fully with her anger and betrayal right there in the hallway, his neighbors be damned, but a part of her noticed the slump of Itachi's shoulders, the dark circles beneath his eyes, and it tamed her — for the moment.


Itachi flipped on the light switch, illuminating the entryway to the apartment he had called home for the last two years. Nervous energy was radiating off of Sakura to the extent that he could feel his utter exhaustion overcoming him. He was so tired of holding everything back, of shouldering this burden alone, but his pain was nothing in comparison to what could be done to her, if he was weak.

Perhaps it was best, if she thought him unfaithful. Monstrous.

"Her name is Konan. She… is my grandfather's choice for me. It is why I spent a year abroad, to become more acquainted with her." If he must lie, if he must hurt her to protect her, then he would make it unforgivable.

"So I guess you could say that I fell under the "Act of Rebellion" category, then." All the fight had gone out of her voice, leaving a lack of emotion rivaling his more devastating interactions with his grandfather. Thoughts of Madara made him clench his fists.

"Yes, I suppose that would be accurate." A simpler time, when he still thought things could be different. "My… Apologies, Haruno-san. I have acted dishonorably."

"Your apology is worthless, Uchiha-san," she spat, spinning on her heel before throwing the door open and stomping down the hallway. Itachi let his gaze linger on the open door. He knew her too well for it to be that easy.

Right on schedule, Sakura's stomping became louder again, until she spun around the doorframe, fury and pain clear on her features, energy practically crackling around her. He suppressed a smile, his love for this hurricane of a human warring with his fierce desire to protect her from what must be done — even though hurting her himself was the best way to protect her.

"You've made me feel a lot of things, Uchiha, especially today. In the span of — what, a minute? — you have made me feel worthless. Stupid. Dishonest. But I think the worst thing you've ever, ever made me feel, is loved. You… you —! YOU SUCK!" Her screech rattled the glassware on the island of his kitchen, the force of her slamming the door knocking one of Deidara's paintings askew on his wall. Her exit left in its wake a silence that was more crippling than her righteous outpour.


A/N: Not the happiest of drabbles, but fear not, in the next chapter things will start looking up for our pink-haired fireball!