Could I Stay?

By: Apherion

Summary: Another Itachi/Sakura fiction, basically fluffy goodness with some angst (updates will be made occasionally or when I've had an extremely good muse). Sakura is given another chance to pursue happiness.

Chapter 1

All was lost.

It was all hopeless.

Nothing existed anymore except…fear.

Rain poured forth from the murky, dank skies while she held Sasuke in her arms, dying. His last words were her name spilled numerous times as she attempted to heal him. She was so low on chakra though, and his wounds weren't minor. She held him to her chest and sobbed while the rain washed away her tears as well as both of their bloods.

"Sasuke," she whispered rocking backwards and forwards still clutching him to her chest. She felt as though life had been ripped from her. Extricated more painfully than that of tearing apart one's soul, though she had no idea what it was like to have no soul or to know the feeling of it being ripped to shreds.

They found them lying together when the rain had stopped, and only his heart had stopped beating. It took Kakashi and Genma to pull her away from him, to both ninjas' great displeasure. Tsunade wanted to be able to take Sasuke's body and quickly have a proper funeral for it, and she wasn't going to allow Sakura to make a fool of herself by stopping the proceedings.

During the funeral, Sakura had leaned on Kakashi, unable to speak words to the townspeople because of her inability to form words with her mouth except for the occasional 'why him' and 'why not me'. Somehow, after the funeral, Sakura had managed to stop crying and tried to force herself upon her ex-teacher. It broke his heart to stop her. After all, she was only trying to leave Sasuke's memory. Kakashi however couldn't bring himself to allowing her to use him like that. If he was a stranger to her, then perhaps the situation could've been different and this story would no longer exist. He was, however, her ex-teacher and was without a doubt worried for her well-being.

Kakashi took her to Ino's house, knowing that Sakura could not be in a man's presence in her state of mind. Ino graciously took Sakura in and Kakashi thanked her. Almost three years have passed and still the pain was as evident for Sakura as the day she was pried away from his cold, lifeless body.

"Sakura?" Ino's voice was hesitant as she readied herself for a night of going out on the town. "Would you like to come with me?"

"No, Ino, but thank you anyway. I think I'll finish cleaning, if that's all right with you." Sakura politely rejected Ino's feeble attempt to get her out of the house. Three years of having this new, almost-always depressed Sakura was odd, especially the fact that the original Sakura never cleaned once in her life, but now cleaning filled her whole day. Maybe Ino encouraged it when she saw that Sakura would run out of things to do and she'd stain the white rugs with grape juice or make sure that the laundry needed extra tending to so Sakura would have to think about how to remove the dirt.

"Are you sure? You haven't been out in so long and people have been asking where you've been." Ino's falsely hopeful voice had lost its conviction two years ago. One would think that twelve months was plenty of time to recover from a broken heart, or at least one would gain the ability to go outside and smell the air. Sakura had not left the inside of Ino's house since the day Kakashi begged Ino to keep her in order to 'save her from herself' as he had put it. And after what he told her what Sakura had tried to do with him, she could understand why he wanted to keep her out of the range of men.

"Yes, I'm sure. There are some nasty stains in this house and I could've sworn I cleaned them up just only yesterday." Ino smiled innocently.

"I feel as though I'm taking advantage of your housekeeping skills," Ino confessed sheepishly as she put on earrings.

"No worries, you letting me stay here is thanks enough." Ino smiled and waved goodbye. The door opened, then shut, and Ino was gone.

Sakura flinched at the door, but moved more swiftly than she had on any other time in her stay with Ino. Sakura was going to leave Konoha. Too many memories, even staying in Ino's house couldn't suppress the feelings she and Sasuke had between each other. Sakura could still feel them as though it was only yesterday, and she could still feel his motionless body as though he was in her arms at this very second.

Sakura took a moment to compose her mind before she left Ino's spotless place. The stains she had been talking to Ino about earlier were just a front for her to stay in the house alone. She sighed discontentedly and walked from the house.

She moved swiftly in the dim sunset. Though the horizon was painted hot pink with complimenting purples and oranges and reds from clouds getting hit by the sun, Sakura knew not to get distracted by something as fool-hardy as twilight. When she came to the stone gate, she leaned against a pillar, waiting for the guards to overlook the gate for merely a few seconds. She had the speed still enough to move in a blink of an eye, but hoped her out-of-practice state wouldn't have her caught. Just then, a distraction came upon the guards. Naruto was perfecting his harem jutsu.

Sakura ignored the crude idolatry of the nose-bleeding men swooning over the million female Naruto clones, and rushed through the gates. As soon as she knew she was far enough to look behind her, she did, whispering somberly as she looked back at Konoha:

"I must leave you now, my village."

She was now far enough into the forest to know she'd have to stop or risk losing her way. However, she pressed on hoping against hope that she wouldn't get lost. Or worse…

"What are you doing out here so late? Just out for a midnight stroll?" A cold shiver ran up her spine. The last time those words had been spoken to her, Sasuke had said them, only this time a more threatening person was in charge of the words.

"Won't you answer me?" His voice was coming from in front of her and she could see a moving figure in the distance. It sounded alluringly sweet. She found herself forced into speech by that voice.

"I…do not know where I am to go. I do not know what I am to do. I…was hoping leaving Konoha would help me siphon off my memories." Red eyes gleamed brightly in the night, but Sakura had long-since before studied his voice to know who it was approaching her.

"Oh yes, now I remember, the little pink-headed medic ninja. You held on longer than I thought you would, but you hadn't a hope of rescuing your beloved." She couldn't recognize the tone in his voice.

"Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?" She spoke slowly as her pursuer got closer to her, she watched his head incline.

"Obviously, as very few medic-nins have survived to tell the tale if they've gone against the Akatsuki, I would say you had gotten lucky they weren't able to kill you. They usually don't allow anyone to live." She could see him properly in the moonlight, but no matter the kind of threat he was, she felt relaxed to say the least.

"But you weren't there." Her indifference was almost frightening her. Sasuke was dead though, and the fact hadn't changed in three years.

"I was not, but I could still watch the fight. I was injured, almost mangled I would stretch so far as to say. Are you still grieving?" His voice which had been cold and apathetic, monotonous like hers, shifted to concern and interest.

"I don't believe so. I had him die in my arms; there was no way to deny that fact. I was angry at him for giving up so quickly, and then to turn around and be angry at myself was hard enough. I cried so many nights, the past years have all blended together, pinned together by tears. I've somewhat accepted it, but I have yet to embrace the fact."

"You will never embrace the fact that you've lost a loved one." He was still looking her in the eyes, but Sakura could almost feel the pain emitting from him. She stepped closer to him, though afraid of what he was once before, she felt connected to him by this.

"The Akatsuki were a secondary family to me, but even though, I still wished I could've done something to stop their deaths. It was all so rapid." Sakura let her fingertips brush his forearm before resting her hand on his shoulder. He did not move, rather he took one of his own hands and ran it through her hair.

"Have you lost a family as well?" His question to her was slight and did not demand her immediate response. She replied quickly through.

"Two like you, though the second time was just your brother, but he was still going to be apart of me and I him." Tears brimmed in her eyes as she remembered his proposal. She felt Itachi pull her into a hug.

"Your parents were killed then?" Sakura leaned into his arms, letting her tears flow.

"They were, by a special ops team from Rock…I was only four…" she trailed away, losing her voice to her weeping.

"Come with me," his voice was still soft. His embrace never lacked in holding her to him. She didn't stop her tears, just cried into his clothes. Maybe it was because of her seclusion from the world that she felt so comfortable with another male human being. It still hurt to think about Sasuke and the day he was murdered, and oddly, the one who was to comfort her at this moment had lost the ones who had murdered her love. A twisted feeling indeed filled her.

"Go with him Sakura. You both deserve comfort now." Her tears stopped.

"Sasuke," she whispered, swearing she had just heard him. She looked up and he was holding her.

"Let go Sakura, I want you to be happy." His image floated away, leaving in his wake Itachi's presence. Sakura blinked to clear her head. Surely her sanity could be questioned, but she knew that it was him.

"I will," she whispered to his brother. The skies opened and forth came the rain. Itachi only smiled down at her, not fazed by the water dripping on them in sheets. Sakura had never seen a smile light his face before, be it real or fake.

This dark-haired beauty took her to his home. Somewhere within the walls of the oppressing trees, the branches and roots broke off, and a clearing with a little cottage by a stream was visible in the ravine. The trip down to it wasn't difficult if you could maneuver yourself in, out, and between random tree trunks appearing out of thin air it seemed, if you were running that is.

Inside the little house, it was warm, a fire crackling serenely. The décor of it was subtle, homey of sorts. Sakura felt tired upon entering such a welcoming place. She had missed what it felt like to be inside a house that seemed familiar. Being inside Ino's house, bright with white and other godly colors, Sakura felt herself suppressed like a China doll on display.

The dark tones of the place she'd enter however, welcomed her far more than Ino's estate. With only the fire to give off light, Itachi's home was easy for her eyes to adjust to. And with nothing brighter than the fire's light, she was eased into some sort of security that she'd been missing since the death of Sasuke.

"Would you like to dry off?" Itachi's voice was smooth, and when she turned to look back at him, he had his shirt off and was in the process of hanging it outside on the patio. Her blush inflamed her face and she averted her eyes.

"Um…sure," her tone made it sound like a question. She heard a soft laugh.

"At least I didn't remove my pants, Sakura." His light-hearted voice made Sakura look up, making her embarrassment more evident as he still did not have a shirt on. Her eyes instantly flicked back to her feet.

"Surely you wouldn't," Sakura whispered to her feet, just now realizing that she was in over her head.

"No, not today at least…maybe when it's warmer," he winked at her, but she wasn't looking at him, still focusing on her feet. He wrapped a finger around her chin and lifted her face to look deeply into her spring green eyes, his red ones calculating. He allowed his eyes to close and his lips to slowly cloak hers evenly, kissing her sincerely.

Her eyes, which at the beginning had widened with shock, had slowly drooped shut. She pressed her lips into his with a passionate fervor, cupping the side of his face with a delicate hand. He pulled back, brushing her lips once before breaking all physical connection. Her breathing was at a stand still, but she didn't realize she wasn't breathing.

"Sakura," Itachi's voice sounded worried. When she opened her eyes, her vision swam in front of her. Her head was pounding too. "Are you all right?"

"Yes…I think so…" she said, trying to sit up, but he held her down.

"Don't move, you fainted," his voice was concerned for her. This man who was supposed to have no feelings whatsoever was worried over her. And then her memory replayed what had caused her to pass out.

She ran a hand over his cheek, and he hers. This man had kissed her as though she meant everything to him, and far from frightening her; he stole her breath away. With only one kiss, she knew this was not the same man Sasuke had long-since pursued in hopes of revenge.

"Won't you…kiss me again?" She asked softly, seeing him smile. He lingered over her before drawing his lips lightly against hers, barely touching them. When she opened her eyes, seconds after his lips had lifted from hers, she saw his red irises fading into his real onyx-colored eyes.

"You won't be attacking me, so why waste valuable chakra?" His simple answer and question left her stunned. She'd never seen his eyes turn to that dark, obsidian color.

"They're beautiful," she whispered lovingly. She astonished herself by running an unthinking hand across his eyelids and the lines under his eyes. Shocking still, he allowed her to continue.

"You have no idea how…exquisite that feels," he whispered, sighing and covering her hand with his own. Her right hand was molded to his cheek with his warm touch. He leaned into her slowly, receptively, and brushed his lips against hers.