Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, otherwise, Itachi would never have died.

Sakura's bright pink hair billowed behind her as she ran through the treetops, jumping from branch to branch. If she stopped for even fifteen minutes, her perusers would catch up and try to stop her. By the tome she found him, her chakra was going to be dangerously low, but she needed to do this at all costs. Nothing was going to stop her, she couldn't let anyone else do this, because she loved him. She was going to kill Sasuke.

Danzo had finally listed Uchiha Sasuke in the bingo books, and the ANBU were let loose to hunt him down. When they found him, they would kill him in the most merciless ways possible, and then leave him to the buzzards afterwards. there was no way she was going to let that happen to him, no- he was going to die honorably, and by her hand. She might die trying, she knew she was no match for him, but as long as she succeeded, it wouldn't matter.

In her haste, a branch scraped against her bare arm, drawing blood. This was good, it let her concentrate less on having to kill Sasuke, and more on the pain. She didn't want to kill the one person she had ever loved, but there was nothing else to do, this case was hopeless. He wouldn't understand, and he would never forgive her, but it was better to kill him than to leave him to the ANBU. She was doing this because she loved him, Sakura had to tell herself.

If she failed, there would be more people who would never forgive her. If Sasuke ended up surviving, and killing her instead, she could only imagine what they would think. Naruto, Kakashi, Ino, Sai- they were her closest friends. After defending Konoha from Pein, everyone had lost so much, and she would be taking even more from them. She couldn't fail them, she had to survive, and she had to kill him, no matter how much her heart screamed for her to run in the opposite direction. He had to be stopped, by all means.

It took all day and night to catch up to him. Sasuke and his team had rested the whole night, and their chakra was full. Sasuke was up, he was comfortably resting up against a tree trunk, his arms lazily crossed against his chest. The red head girl from before was no where to be seen, but both the shark and bulky ones were sleeping in the branches. Though she couldn't see them, she could sense their chakra signatures nearby.

Their eyes met, and he knew why she was there, she could tell immediately. The last time she had seen him was at Orochimaru's hideout; she remembered the cold, disdainful look he had given her and Naruto. He was well into the dark now, with no chance of returning. Sasuke had changed from the boy she had loved as a genin; that Sasuke was gone, he didn't exist anymore. She had to keep telling herself that the boy she loved was dead to her, or she was never going to be able to go through with killing him.

"Sakura." He called, making no effort whatsoever to do anything more than that. It was clear to her that she was no longer important, that she was just as weak as she had been during their genin years. Weak and insignificant, that was what she was to him, what she had always been. All the better, if he didn't care for her, then it would be easier to kill him. Maybe he knew that too.

"Sasuke-kun." She answered, willing that her voice not fail her, not now, when she needed to be stronger than ever before. To her, it sounded weak, like she had choked on his name, but he heard the strength she has been trying to feign. He could hear the tears begging to break through her calm facade. She would always be the same for him, Sakura would always change back into the teary little girl for him, even now, when she had sent herself to kill him.

"Danzo told me someone would be coming for me," he drawled, "right before I killed him."

All was silent after this comment, the only thing she could here was the wind rustling through the leaves of the trees surrounding the little clearing she stood in. Sakura wis in utter shock, unable to believe that Sasuke had killed the sixth hokage, and that he had lived to tell the tale. Was he really that powerful? She knew as much as him that she wasn't going to live through this, her only chance was to drag him down with her.

"To think that they sent a pathetic kunoichi like you to kill me. You konoha nin are pitiful." Sasuke spat, his obsidian eyes bleeding into the crimson of his sharingan. The fact that he would look at her with such hate hurt, like an invisible kunai being thrust into her chest and then being twisted agonizingly. That look could have been enough to send her to her knees and beg for her life. She refused to grovel at his feet, to show him how pathetic she really could be. She would fight him, even if it was pointless. She would fight for Naruto, Kakashi, and him. He may not have deserved it, but she would fight for Sasuke, because the man who sat before was not him.

Sasuke had always been cold, perhaps aloof, but the blood-lusting man before her wasn't Sasuke. Sasuke was careful, caring and quiet, calm, strong and smart. Now the only thing left of the old Sasuke was his strength. His chakra signature was different, it was erratic and searching for someone to kill, she could just feel it. He lived to kill, just like Gaara had been in the chunin exams. More than anything, he was lost, lonely, and in need of someone to love him. Sakura wished she could be that for him, but her duty came first, he had to die.

"You're still weak. You'll always be too weak." He said, slowly getting to his feet. She glared at him bravely, which he quickly returned, his sharingan spinning dangerously.

"You don't know anything about me." Sakura replied angrily, determined to not weaken herself for him, she wouldn't let her emotions for him get the best of her again, not when she had gotten so far. She had become a medic just to save him, and she was probably the strongest medic in konoha, now that Shizune and Tsunade were gone. She could crush the earth beneath her, and rip trees out with her bare hands. How could he call her weak? She couldn't begin to describe her fury.

Before she could stop him, he disappeared from where he stood, appearing behind her once more. He stood so closely to her that she could feel his warmth radiating off him, could feel his breath fanning the back of her neck. Sakura clenched her fists, preparing to give him a much deserved punch to the face. It was terrifying, how familiar this situation was, it was just like the night he left, the night she had offered him her heart, and he had crushed it in his capable hands.

"You haven't changed at all." He whispered, running a finger down her spine, and then back up again. She gasped, unable to do anything to stop him. He saw this weakness, and knowing she was incapable of stopping him, he snaked his arms around to grope her. Again she gasped, not knowing how to stop him from moving his hands in violent circles about her breasts. It was degrading and harsh, but she loved it. And she hated herself for it.

"So weak." Sasuke purred, trailing his tongue up her neck as she let out a pleasing groan. She shuddered against him, her feelings overwhelming her, as they always seemed to.

"Always letting your guard down." He chuckled, retrieving his hand to pull out a kunai. Her instincts kicked in just in time for her to jump away from his attack, which had intended to slash up her back. She turned to face him, cursing herself for letting him get control of her so easily. He was right, she hadn't changed at all.

She pumped chakra through her arms and to her hands, preparing herself to destroy him. Sakura would wait for him to attack her first, the best offense was a defense, just as Tsunade had taught her all those years ago. Sasuke gave her his infamous smirk, unsheathing his katana. He wouldn't give her any mercy, but she still had to try, for who he used to be. She couldn't allow this monster to take anymore control of him than it already had.

He charged in a speed she could hardly have time to react to, his smirk still planted on his aristocratic features. Sakura jumped to the side only just in time to escape his katana, almost losing her balance. Sasuke turned and attacked again, and Sakura could do nothing but pull out a kunai to block his katana. He was ruthless, attacking her again and again, not giving her a chance to do more than stand and block.

She had used too much chakra finding him, and then he had gotten through her defenses so easily, with just a touch. These two factors had weakened her drastically, not that she had much of a chance in the first place. He was stronger than Danzo, Orochimaru, even Itachi, and his chakra reserves were full. She was hungry and tired, him well rested and fed. Why had she been so dense? This was a fool's errand, and she could never defeat him.

Her actions slowed even more, and his attacks began to break through to her. Sakura recieved cut after cut, her body being too worn to keep up with his inhuman speeds. Blood trickled down her arms and legs, and her chakra was too far gone for Sakura to heal herself. She hadn't even landed one hit on him yet.

Frantic now, she didn't bother to dodge his attacks and charged for him, her fists full with the last of her chakra. She lunged again and again, but he always backed out of the way before she could get close enough to him. It was like he was teasing her, the way he jumped here and there in an unreadable pattern; it seemed that at least one of his old habits had lasted. She couldn't help but to wonder if he still spoke Uchiha-nese on a regular basis.

Sakura shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the random thoughts of who Sasuke used to be, when he had been the boy she loved. That boy was already dead, Sakura thought, rushing into another attack, which was rendered useless. She continued to attack him, but every time she tried, he jumped out of the way. Eventually she fell to her knees, out of breath and covered in sweat. She had lost, and this time it would cost her life. Sakura could only hope she died of chakra depletion before he finished toying with her, or that he ended it quickly.

Sasuke casually circled around her, amused by how long it had taken to defeat her. She was panting, while he had never even broken a sweat. He had always known she was a pathetic excuse of a kunoichi, but for her to be this weak was just sad. He had been expecting something better from the apprentice of the fifth hokage. He supposed that she was a little better than her time as a genin, but no more than that. Sasuke was a little surprised that she was considered a chunin rank; the leaf village must have relaxed after he left.

She watched as Sasuke made another round about her, like she were prey to the predator. Sakura longed for him to finish his teasing, she was humiliated enough as it was. He never said anything, but he only ever needed his eyes to make fun of her, she could practically see the laughter in their dark depths.

Sighing, he kneeled down in front of her, a bored expression on his face. He was tired of playing with her, it seemed, and perhaps he would be generous to end it quickly. For a minute, they just stared into each other's eyes, waiting for something to happen. He saw her begging, longing for him to kill her and be done with it. He had no objection to killing her, but she was going to suffer, for the ignorant assumption she had made in thinking she could defeat him. Sakura was going to regret ever having come to kill him, even when she was completely dead. He would send her to hell, where she would suffer for all of eternity.

"Beating like a drum." He muttered, placing a gentle hand over her heart. Sakura gulped, waiting endlessly for him to make the final blow. Had he decided to pity her, to let her go?

A moment later, a kunai was harshly thrust through her chest, and more precisely, through her heart. No, of course he would never be merciful for her. He was heartless, and she was just his demonstration to the world that he didn't care about the people in his past. He lived for the moment, and to kill anyone who got in his way.

Sakura coughed, spitting up blood. He smiled, his eyes narrowing into two dangerous slits. She lifted a hand to her mouth, coughing violently. Her blood ran from her mouth, to her hands, and then down her arms. It was too much, the blood loss was making her dizzy. It was too painful, too cruel. Just as she was about to fall over, the blood loss making her too weak to even sit, he grabbed her shoulder, keeping her upright. Their eyes met again, his being cold and unfeeling, hers desperate for escape, and for acknowledgment. She knew better than to get either from him, but she wanted it nonetheless.

She would have never expected him to do so, but a second later, he had pressed his lips to hers. Tears flowed down her face, and she responded wholeheartedly. He pushed for entrance, and she allowed it, so their tongues tangled together hungrily. He swallowed her metallic tasting blood and then pulled away, licking her lips clean.

"Even after I killed you, you still loved me. How pathetic." He murmured. He stood up, letting go of her shoulder, which caused her to slump onto the forest floor. How cruel, he had only kissed her in the end to torture her again. It hadn't meant anything to him, it had just been another way for him to toy with her, it was something she would be forced into remembering for the rest of eternity.

"Sayonara, Sakura." He said coldly, leaving the clearing. She watched as his teammates jumped down from the branches. The shark one snickered at her sad state, and the super-tall one did nothing but look down at her sadly. He must have known what Sasuke was becoming, and it looked like he didn't like it as much as she didn't.

She was alone now, her blood seeping into the ground. Not even a chirping bird could be heard, not even the wind in the trees. The tears still dribbling, she lay on her back and pulled out Sasuke's kunai. Sakura looked up at the sky, realizing that this would be the last time she would ever do so. Poor Naruto and Kakashi, it seemed that they were losing another member of team seven. She only hoped they would forgive her, and forgive themselves for not being able to stop her.

She was such a fool for loving the one person that could never love her back, could never return her feelings. He was the one person who had ever reduced her to nothing like this, had ever gotten so close to her like this. Sasuke would be her first, and last, love. Part of her wished that she had forgotten about him and gone with Naruto instead, but she would have only regretted in the future. He was her brother, and nothing more.

Sakura smiled sadly, wondering what would become of Sasuke, as she slowly closed her eyes. Everything around her started to fade; the smell of her blood and of the grass she lay in wasn't so potent, and her ears rang from the silence. It wasn't so terrifying like she thought it would be, dying was rather peaceful. There wasn't anymore pain, everything was numbed, as if she was disconnected from her body. Then everything was gone, it was just her and the nothingness.

...

Sakura was both dizzy and confused when she opened her eyes, finding herself lying in a futon, in an unfamiliar room. She wondered if someone had miraculously saved her from her fatal wound, of if this was the afterlife. She had been expecting fire and brimstone, not silky sheets and polished wood floors. She sat up slowly, and took a careful look about the room. There was a desk, a closet, then a small table with cushions around it. Besides this, the room was plain, because the walls were bare, and there was no window to be seen.

When she stood, Sakura found that she was in nothing but a sleeping kimono. It would be better if she found something more appropriate to wear first, but Sakura wanted to know where she was before anything else. Silently, she slipped through the sliding door and into the hallway. There wasn't any other doors, so she quietly walked down the hall, listening for anything that would indicate someone was coming. It was eerily silent though, and so she crept all the way to a turn. Sakura poked her head out around the corner, and once she was sure nobody was there, she continued down the next hall.

She repeated this several times without hearing a sound, or sensing a person nearby. Sakura did pass by several doors, but she couldn't sense anyone inside, so she didn't investigate them further. After passing hall after hall, she began to think she would never figure out where she was, and considered that she may have been going in circles. Every hall looked the same, so it was reasonable to think that she may have been lost. Sakura was about to give up on ever finding her way, when she heard a voice.

Instinctively, she hugged the wall and continued in like that, listening to the stranger's voice. Whoever he was, he was singing to a song she vaguely recognized. He wasn't a wonderful singer, but he stayed in tune, which was more than what she could do. As she snuck closed still, she could begin to hear the CD player he was singing along to, and smiled to the familiar words.

"So what if you can see the darker side of me?"

She slid against the wall and turned to another hallway.

"No one will ever change this animal I have become."

There was a door, and from it she could see light peeking through.

"And we believe, this is the real me,"

Slowly, she moved to the door to peek into the room.

"Somebody help me tame this animal I have become."

Sakura gasped at seeing through the sliding door. Him being there certainly proved one thing, she was dead after all, unless someone had brought him back to life, though she couldn't picture anyone wanting to do that. He was an S-class criminal, and a mass murderer. He was a menace that nobody would miss on Earth. So much for the 'someone miraculously healed our fatal wound' theory. For some reason, the fact that she was dead didn't scare her as much as the fact that Uchiha Itachi was in the other side of the door did.

The door slid open, as Sakura had given herself away from her gasp. It was hard to read his expression, his face showed both his mortification at being listened to while singing, and his shock at her being there. He was clad in only a towel, his raven hair wet and being brushed through, his hairbrush having the dual uses of a microphone and as something to tidy his hair with. She blushed at the sight of so much pale, muscular skin, and at the fact that she had heard him singing. Him being a mass murder was the last thing she wanted to think about, but it was one of the more important points that crossed her mind.

Itachi wanted to repeatedly hit his head against the bathroom sink, he couldn't recall ever being more irritated with his younger brother's density. Why had Sasuke needed to kill her of all people? Now his seemingly perfect plan was utterly ruined, the kunoichi had gotten herself killed by his brother.

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word out, he saw her face blanch, and then she ran off. He wasn't all that surprised, she didn't know that he was innocent, and that he had done everything for Sasuke. She thought he was more cold-hearted than Sasuke apparently had become. Sasuke must have completely lost all sanity if he had killed the kunoichi. Itachi didn't want to think it, but based on her death, he could only guess what crimes he was pulling, and it might have been better if he had killed Sasuke in the beginning. It was too late to regret what he did now though, and he couldn't go and fix Sasuke's mistakes this time around.

Sakura dashed from the bathroom and continued down the hall, her fear making her forget her need for stealth. She ended up reaching the end of the hallway, and it opened up into a living room. There, she found Deidara and Karin fighting, and Danzo hiding in the corner, being antisocial. Orochimaru was sitting relatively comfortably, reading some sort of scroll. Danzo was the first to notice her being there.

"Haruno! As the sixth hokage-"

"Shut the hell up! Nobody cares if you were the sixth hokage!" Karin whined, turning from Deidara. She gasped in shock, surprised as much as Itachi had been in finding Sakura there. Karin had sought out Itachi after her death, to tell him of Sasuke, because she knew Sasuke would have wanted her to. Being dead, and no longer having a need for secrecy, he told her everything she wanted to know, including his plans for Sasuke's future. He had been perfectly honest with his reasoning, so it hadn't made her too angry. His intentions for the pink haired medic and Sasuke had been hard to listen to, but being dead, she was forced to accept it.

"He killed you?!" She shrieked. Sakura blinked, not understanding. Why would Sasuke's red headed teammate be dead, and how would she know that Sasuke had killed her? She looked around the room; Orochimaru... Deidara... Itachi... Danzo... They were all people Sasuke had killed. Had Sasuke killed his kunoichi teammate as well?

"He killed you?" She asked back, her tone quiet. Sasuke had gone too far, killing someone who trusted him with all of her entirety, who had no doubt, sacrificed everything for him. It was too cruel, the rest she wasn't too bothered by. Orochimaru, Deidara and Itachi had all been S-class criminals, and Danzo had been a scum bag desperate for power... But to kill her, it was too much.

"God, Itachi is going to be pissed." Karin muttered, shaking her head tiredly. She continued in telling Sakura, "Whatever you do, avoid Itachi. Seeing you here is going to put him in a really bad mood, and nobody wants to deal with a pissed off Uchiha."

"Too late for that, he already saw me. He just looked agrivated that I heard him singing." Sakura replied standoffishly, trying to pretend that a few moments before then, she hadn't been terrified for her well being. Besides that, why would her death piss off Itachi? She had met him once in her life, and it had been on opposite sides of a battlefield.

Deidara laughed at the idea of Itachi singing, while Karin paled. Suddenly, there was a crashing sound in the general direction of the kitchen, followed by a long string of profanities. It was silent after Itachi's short pissy-fit, and everyone was too terrified to check on the state of their abused kitchen.

Sakura turned to Karin, expecting a full explanation for what was going on, and why Itachi even cared if she was dead. Nothing was making sense to her, and she hoped (though rather doubted) that Karin would enlighten her on Itachi's mood swings, or whatever his problems were. Karin saw Sakura's determination, and though it would hurt her to tell the reasons behind everything, it would hurt Sakura even more when she knew her purpose in Itachi's plans. Sakura would want to fulfill her purpose, but she didn't have the chance now to do so. Karin had never really had a chance to begin with, but she had.

"Itachi's plans were ruined because you're dead." Karin stated. Sakura blinked a few times, still not understanding. Itachi's plans being foiled would make him angry, that much she could comprehend, but how she could be somehow involved in them didn't make sense. She waited, and Karin decided to continue.

"You and Sasuke were supposed to rebuild the Uchiha clan, according to his carefully made plans."

Sakura could say nothing. Itachi had been planing on her rebuilding the clan with his younger brother? Two things didn't add up at all. First: why would he want the Uchiha clan to be rebuilt. Second: How did he know about her feelings for Sasuke? She looked into Karin's bespectacled eyes, begging for answers. She gave in.

"I'm not sure how, but he knew that you would love Sasuke no matter what, and-"

"It could have been you, you loved Sasuke as much as I did."

"And Sasuke loved you back."

Again, silence passed between the two girls as Sakura's thoughts settled. Sasuke had loved her? If that were true, he would have never killed her. He could have knocked her out again, and left her on the forest floor in that manner. He had given her no chance of survival, he would have if he really had loved her. Then again, she had sent herself to kill him, but that had been for his own good.

It was at this moment that Itachi found it best to appear. Sakura, who had her back to the door, failed to notice this, so when he said, "There's tea," in a clipped tone, she almost jumped in surprise. She turned to look at him curiously, this time him being fully dressed.

"I think I'll change." Sakura said nervously, giving everyone an awkward smile. Honestly, she didn't plan on rejoining them for tea. Once she found her room again, she intended to barricade herself inside and think everything through. There wasn't any need for tea anyway, right? She was dead, so food and drinks should be pointless for her.

"Haruno-san, allow me to help you find your room. These halls can be confusing at first." Itachi said politely, just as Sakura had turned to leave. She stopped in her tracks and turned back to the room, and ultimately, Itachi. She looked at Karin for help, but only got a shrug in return. After receiving no help, she sighed in defeat and nodded her head in consent.

Sakura followed behind Itachi at a safe distance, being sure to not get too close. It was obvious that he had only nominated himself to help her find her room so that they could talk in private. Though this had to be the case, she followed him down the intricately connected halls in silence for five minutes. She had so much she wanted to ask him; he had a lot of explaining to do, but she felt he should be the first to speak.

Itachi noticed, with aggravation, how Sakura distanced herself from him, as if by any given moment, he was going to attack her. Karin had, without a doubt in his mind, already told her the basics of his plan, but he felt that he should tell her what should have been her future himself. He wasn't going to tell her something if she wasn't going to trust him, otherwise, she probably wouldn't trust a word he said. So he stayed quiet, until she had gotten more comfortable around him.

"I assume that Karin has already told you what I had initially intended for your future." He finally said, his tone dry. Sakura said nothing, her emotions too overwhelming for her to be able to trust her voice. He waited patiently for her to get control herself so that she could say something in response.

"Why would you want the Uchiha clan to be rebuilt?" Sakura asked softly. She honestly wanted to yell at him for deciding her future for her, like her emotions were unimportant to his brilliant plans, but he was right in assuming she would accept Sasuke despite his many faults, and his numerous crimes.

"One would think that much would be obvious." He stated. Sakura's face scrunched up in agitation. It was so unnatural that it was ridiculous. One day he kills his family, and the next he decides that the clan should be rebuilt. No, it didn't add up at all.

"Well, it's not."

Apparently, Karin hadn't told her everything about what happened.

"I had my brother kill me so that he could have a chance at a good life." He said, with no explanation. She didn't say anything, she couldn't think of something appropriate to say in such an unusual situation.

"He was uninvolved at the time, and too young to understand. It wasn't his fault that I had to kill him."

Sakura glared at the floor as she continued walking. Itachi couldn't be serious, nobody had to kill their entire family.

"You didn't have to kill them."

"Tell me, Haruno-san, why did Sasuke feel the need to kill you?" He asked calmly. He stopped in front of a door, but she made no move to open it.

"You don't understand. He did it because I was going after him; he was doing such terrible things, and he had to be stopped. I didn't want to do it-"

"Then we are no different. Years before I was accepted into the ANBU, the Uchiha clan began planning crimes that could effect those wholly unconnected with the clan. I knew of everything, being the clan heir, and I was expected to take part in executing these plans. I quickly came to understand that if these plans were put into action, it would start a fourth ninja war."

Sakura stared at Itachi in shock. What could have been so terrible that he would have had to kill his family just to stop them? Itachi saw her unspoken question in her eyes, and the surprise underneath that. This didn't come as a shock to Itachi, what he was telling her went against everything she had ever known.

"The Uchiha clan was planning to overthrow the hokage, believing that our clan should be in control of the village."

This was too much to process. She knew how the rest had gone. Itachi had been chosen to eliminate his clan because they trusted him; he was on the inside. He was certainly strong enough, being the youngest ANBU captain in konoha history. Itachi had been the obedient shinobi and killed everyone he loved, only to die for it. It was impossible to decide who was right and who was wrong, all she knew was that Itachi was innocent, and that Sasuke had killed him for nothing. All that trouble Sasuke had gone through, it had all been a waste. Running away to train under Orochimaru, suffering the sound nin, it had been pointless.

If Sasuke had known the truth form the beginning, he would never have needed to leave. She wouldn't be dead, Sasuke would live in konoha, and they could have had a real chance with each other. If Itachi had told the truth to begin with, she wouldn't be forever separated from Sasuke. It was all his fault.

"You blame me." He stated calmly, catching her as she began to fall to the floor. It had been too much for her to hear, and too soon. Itachi understand why she would find him to blame, if Sasuke had known everything from the start, she would have had a happy life.

"It it your choice wether you forgive me or not, but try to understand that I did not intend things to end as they have. Sasuke was supposed to return to konoha victorious and a hero, and then eventually, rebuild the clan with you."

Itachi watched with indifference as tears pooled into her emerald eyes. He had been expecting one of two different reactions: either she burst into tears, or she used some of her legendary strength to punch him through the wall. The tears spilled over and fell down her face. Itachi forced himself to watch as she sobbed; he deserved to see what he caused. He was such a terrible person, all he every caused was misery and pain.

"It really is my fault." Itachi said, his voice void of any emotions. She could say nothing, do nothing, but cry. He didn't know what to do, he wasn't used to dealing with crying girls. Itachi was unsure of wether or not he should try to comfort her, but that may only serve to make matters worse. Still not sure if it was the right thing to do, Itachi sighed, then picked her up. Using his foot, he opened the door and entered, only to lay her on the futon and leave. He walked back towards the others, trying to block out the sounds of her wails, no matter how much he of all people deserved to listen to her.

AN: Wow, here's my first chappy, tell me what you guys think!