Chapter VIII

The Secret of Sakura

Her head rang with a piping sound as she fought to open her eyes without throwing up. Every time her eyelids raised her vision was blurry and she felt like she had been twirling around for ages while looking up. She didn't have any control over her limbs, it hurt every time she tried to move.

Blinking multiply times she managed to focus her gaze at her surroundings, still with much difficulty thanks to the dim light from a candle standing on a cupboard. She obviously was locked inside some kind of cell, because the walls were nothing but stone, carelessly carved out of a mountain and the door was made of thick steel.

She tried to move her arms, only to notice that they were chained above her head. Her feet were also chained, but separately to the ground. Her body was drained, and she barely had the strength to lift her head and stare at the person entering the room through the door.

"I see you have woken up, Sakura-san," the voice of Orochimaru, the one and only, made her stomach turn over once again. He closed the door and walked against her, smirking. "Although barely though," he mussed amusedly.

"Shut up, bastard," Sakura sneered, glaring at the black haired man.

"That's not a very nice thing to say to your host, Sakura-san," he chuckled.

"You're not my host, shit-face," she hissed and tried to scoot away from his kneeling form.

"There is no point in trying to run away, you won't be able to leave anyway," he laughed when she gave him another glare.

"What the hell did you take me here for?" she asked, still warning him with her eyes.

He 'giggled', "your bloodline of course."

"Bloodline?" she stared strangely at him, "just because my name is Uchiha doesn't mean I have the sharingan, idiot."

He let out a loud laugh. "Oh, poor Sakura-san! You do not even know about your bloodline? Well, it's not surprising, considering who your parents are," he breathed out, trying to regain his breath.

"Don't you dare talk down on my parents!" she said angrily, her energy coming back.

"Of course not, Sakura-san," he moved closer to her, and set a hand on her pale thigh, "I'll tell you about your bloodline, after I have done what you have too do to obtain it…"

Sakura's eyes widened in horror when his fingers slowly slid the kimono up her leg…

-

"I am sure all of you know what you are doing here, and the reason for it," Tsunade said, staring hard at the eight men in front of her. They all looked grim, and the bloodlust emitting from the most powerful was unmistaken.

"Sakura has been kidnapped by Orochimaru, and I called you to issue orders to you all," the blonde frowned and tried hard to not let tears slip past her amber irises. At the mention of the culprit the temperature raised unexpectedly.

"And those orders are, Tsunade-sama?" Itachi asked stiffly, his voice rough with suppressed emotion.

"Itachi and Shisui will hunt after Sakura, the rest of you are to remain here," at the command the youngest blonde in the room exploded.

"What the hell?! Baa-chan, we all have to go and get that bastard!!" Naruto growled, his canines showing off their impressive length as he growled with animalistic rage.

"No, you are not. All members of team 7 are not to leave the village until Sakura has returned," she shifted her gaze to the other blonde man, "Agito-san may travel outside the village to greet Itachi and Shisui when they come back, but you are not to go with them the entire way."

"I understand," Agito muttered, his clear gaze was darkening by the second.

"Well I sure as hell don't!!" the kyuubi vessel banged his fist down in the Hokage's desk, his eyes turning redder.

"Naruto, calm down, and I will explain!!" Tsunade also banged her fist into the desk, and broke it in half. Scared off, Naruto's eyes returned to normal.

"Itachi and Shisui are the fastest here, and the most skilled. Their genjutsu and sharingan will be helpful in the rescue of Sakura. Shisui has the ability to manipulate his opponents, and he have a body flicker technique almost matching that of the fourth Hokage. Itachi is going because he is Sakura's husband, of course, and he is the only one here who can beat Orochimaru without endangering the mission or himself all to badly--

"Then why can't I go?" Sasuke asked, stepping forward and put a calming hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"No one in team 7 can go, you would all be too emotional both before and after Sakura's rescue. I think that the only one she will stand to meet emotionally is Itachi, all of you others would be to troubling for her to face," Tsunade lowered her gaze.

"Sakura-chan is our teammate!"

"That's the exact reason!!" Tsunade yelled, no longer being able to stop her stressed nerves. "How do you think Sakura will react if I send you and you all would be asking her questions, telling her things or blaming her?!"

Naruto stood still, frozen in shock.

"Do not only consider you own emotions, Naruto! If I hadn't been forced to stay here I would be on my way right now!!" the busty woman cried, her tears rolling down her cheeks.

"But why did Orochimaru want Sakura? Surely he didn't invade Konoha to get to Itachi, did he?" Yamato asked.

"One of the goals Orochimaru had was surely to get to Itachi, since he want's his body…however…" the hokage glanced at the father of her apprentice. He nodded slightly.

"Orochimaru also wants Sakura's bloodline," Tsunade sat down with a sigh and looked out the window.

"Bloodline? Sakura-chan doesn't have a bloodline! We've been--

"You didn't know because she didn't know either. And even if she did, I doubt she would tell you anything about it," Agito said, facing the team that was every enemies nightmare.

"I have never heard of a bloodline within the Haruno clan, except exceptional chakra control and skills with genjutsu," Kakashi said, frowning.

"Only high positioned people, such as the Hokage and a few clan heads know about it. Basically, people we Haruno feel that we can trust, like the Uchiha clan. That is probably why you never heard of it, Kakashi-san," Agito explained, looking over to Itachi.

"Itachi and Shisui have known for a very long time, since their mothers are best friends with my wife and her sister," the blonde man sighed sadly.

"So, what is this bloodline then?" Sai asked, his fake smile gone for once.

"Giving an enormous amount of chakra…" Agito muttered, but then stopped.

"…through sexual contact," Itachi finished, his voice was dripping with the urge to kill, and his knuckles turned white as he fisted his hands.

The room became quiet. Naruto turned as pale as Sai, and the already pale men became a sickly blue. It wasn't long before Tsunade broke down and cried, and tears slipped down Agito's cheeks too.

"W-what? S-Sakura-chan is…" the poor vessel couldn't form the correct sentence as he stumbled against the wall, leaning against it. His body was shaking, and his eyes were watery. "I-is that the reason…" he looked up at Itachi, "is that the reason the two of you were engaged?!"

Only Shisui noticed the twitch of Itachi's hand.

"You used her body and couldn't even protect her?!" oh, now he said it.

No one noticed the movement of the clan heir before there was a rough bang, and Naruto was pressed up against the wall with a tight grip on his neck. He coughed and fought to get loose, without much success. He opened his eyes to stare at glowing ruby.

The other people in the room found it impossible to move, the entire room was filled with Itachi's chakra, even their lungs was hesitant about breathing the heavy air. A feeling of needles stabbing skin had them all wincing.

"Don't you dare say anything like that," his voice was colder than ice, "don't you dare say that I used her." His grip tightened. "I have been protecting her from the very day she was born. Do you really think I would marry her just to use her?"

"Itachi! Let go of him!" Tsunade yelled, her voice high pitched.

Tsk-ing Itachi loosened the grip before letting go completely. He stepped away and balled his fist again. "Can we head out, Tsunade-sama?" Itachi asked, his tone was just as stiff as his body.

"…yes," they blinked, and the two Uchiha's were gone.

-

"Itachi! We have to think about a plan before entering!" Shisui called as he tried to keep up with his outraged cousin.

"I have one, obliterate everything and everyone who comes in our way," Itachi hissed angrily.

"That's not a plan! You probably don't even know where we're going!" the not so smart man yelled.

Itachi glanced over his shoulder, "our rings…"

"Huh? Those are chakra rings?!" Shisui gasped, that kind of rings were extremely rare and expensive (not that the later was a problem for their family, but still…).

"Most married clan heirs have one," the genius Uchiha explained, looking ahead again.

"Ah, I see!" Shisui smiled in understanding, "but we still need--

"More moving and less talking, Shisui," Itachi growled.

"Uh… yeah…"

-

Itachi felt a cold shiver run through his body when the hideout came in sight, at the same time as his blood burned in his veins and his eyes became flaming crimson. He heard Shisui panting beside him, but ignored it and headed for the far-too-obvious entrance. He purposely stepped on a branch, making the sound echo throughout the clearing and inside the dark tunnel. His carefully suppressed chakra was let loose when he set foot on the stone floor, making the wind blow, raising dust from the ground and loose stones fell to the ground.

Shisui, who walked just behind his cousin, felt a shock wave go through him. His muscles tensed and his senses suddenly was put in high alert as respond to the imposing force. He obviously knew about the difference in chakra levels when having sexual intercourse with a Haruno, but still, he never knew that it could be this…mighty.

Unpleasant shivers went up and down his body with every step he took, he could sense the agony and bloodlust oozing from the four walls surrounding them. It was truly frightening, walking aimlessly towards the dark, in a lair belonging to one of the most powerful and feared criminals in the world. But Itachi obviously didn't realize it, or was just ignoring it, as the prideful Uchiha he is.

Shisui had to force himself not to mewl nervously when a sound, sounding almost like a hungry growl, came from the depths. He could almost swear that his cousin growled back at it.

"I see you have arrived," the humorous voice of Kabuto echoed in the dark corridor and he walked out of the shadows in a corner.

"Where is Sakura?" Itachi demanded an immediate answer, if not…who knows…

"In a hurry, Itachi-kun? It doesn't matter even if you do, it's already to late for--

Kabuto let out a pained cry as he was smashed up against the wall, spitting blood, bleeding from the hole in his stomach where Itachi held his katana. He looked up, into blazing sharingan, and froze at the intensiveness, almost as if he was under a paralysis genjutsu. The smirk faltered from his face, when he noticed the chakra circling the sword, visible with the naked eye.

"W-what are…" he couldn't continue when he felt his insides clench.

"Blowing up your organs…" Itachi smirked sadistically, much like the grey haired man had done so many times. Not even when pained screams affected him visibly.

Shisui watched in almost horror as the skin on the stabbed monster started to melt, and what frightened him most was that this was not a genjutsu. He felt his stomach turnover when all tissue on the grey haired man literally turned into a pool of mixed body substances. In all his years as a shinobi, he had never seen anything so disgusting.

Itachi, seemingly unaffected, pulled his katana out of the wall and sheeted it once again, his eyes dark with hatred. He started to walk down the corridor on his right, not waiting for his shocked cousin. Soon he reached a door with light coming out from beneath it. He heard Shisui breathing behind him, the inhale came to an abrupt end when he reached for the handle.

He turned the knob, and opened the door, calmly walking in, with a most impressive aura. The air was strangely tight, rasping their breaths.

In the huge cave room there was a large throne, formed out of snakes made by stone. The many candles lit the room enough to fool the day there was a window. But no such thing was visible, but still, the stonewalls and pillars threw shadows over the floor. The slightest sound echoed, even the action of exhaling bounced of the walls multiple times.

"Hello, Itachi-kun," said man stopped, seemingly unaffected by the presence of the man who dared to kidnap his wife, the man who dared to touch the woman belonging to the most powerful Uchiha alive.

Itachi didn't say anything, only his lashes fell slightly, giving him an almost sleepy look. Shisui watched in terror at his cousin's calm behavior, he could not even imagine what was running through his head at the moment, seeing what he did only moments ago. If there was one thing Shisui knew, it was to never get close to the younger male when he was in this state.

Only a few times before he had seen him behave like this. The first time when he was nine, he came home with tainted clothes, dirt and blood stains covering his clothes and face, scaring his mother to near death. When she had asked what had happened he only uttered one sentence in five days.

"They dared to touch her…"

That was the first time Shisui ever heard of his cousin's obsession with the petite Haruno, even if he had no idea it was her back then. He barely knew who she was, he had only met her once when she was playing with Amarante when he and his parents came to visit her mother.

The second time Itachi showed this frightening anger was eight years later, right after the failed Chunin exams. He had lingered around the hospital for days, worryingly stalking around on the emergency ward, sneaking into the room his future wife was resting, unconscious. When the doctors came with the fearful news that they did not know when she was going to wake up, or even if, he had gone to the training ground in the deepest part of the Uchiha compound. Two days later when Mikoto went to check on him there was nothing left to be called training ground, barely even ground.

'This have to be what they call true love…' Shisui thought to himself, wanting to laugh at the cliché story-book line. But this surely was no time to laugh.

"Where is she?" Itachi's dark voice was hoarse, demanding.

Orochimaru laughed, "my, have you lost your manners, Itachi-kun?" He stood up, raising his hand.

"Do you not want to know what I did to her first?" he asked, with that disgusting voice that made it sound like he laughed whenever he used it.

The Uchiha prodigy narrowed his eyes and a frown appeared on his handsome face. "Tell me where she is," he was getting painfully impatient, feeling the rage boil in his body.

"Maybe, but still, I want you to hear what I did to her, Itachi-kun," the snake smirked, "as thanks for killing Kabuto."

Itachi clenched his jaw.

"You should have seen her hard eyes, transforming into a horrified stare as tears flowed down her beautiful cheeks, landing on her chest…" Orochimaru smirked, he obviously noticed the further stiffening of the Uchiha's. "I slowly removed her kimono as she cried for me to stop…and cried for your help, Itachi-kun."

Itachi was shaking by now, his face turned downwards.

"I entered her, feeling how tight she was, making her scream for you in pain and desperation--

"Shut up!!" Itachi suddenly yelled. His eyes were wide, his pupils small and blood seeped from them.

Shisui gasped, it couldn't possibly be…but it was there, right in front of his eyesight.

Mangekyou Sharingan.

He uncertainly looked down on himself, having to see if he was dead or not. Nothing wrong.

'Then what the hell?!' no one had ever forcibly activated the secret doujutsu, the elders had never mentioned it either. It was supposed to be impossible to activate it if you did not kill your best friend.

"I-Itachi…T-those eyes…" he mumbled in shock, only being able to stare wide-eyed at the terrible miracle.

"Don't you dare touch her!!" Itachi screamed, his face showing the most emotion it ever had. The blood trickled down his cheeks, dripping down on the ground.

"To late to tell me that now, Itachi-kun," Orochimaru smirked wider, "I already did."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!!" the prodigy was breathing heavily, his teeth clenched and his eyes shone with utter hate.

Shisui had no chance of catching the sudden movement of his cousin, and gasped when he heard the clash of swords echo. Itachi had drawn his katana, and so had Orochimaru, both releasing their chakra, making it harder to breathe properly.

'What are those eyes?' Orochimaru wondered, and gasped when he felt his consciousness get sucked into an alternative world of this one.

He stood on a field, but there was nothing even resembling colors on the ground, only a grayish black, with white outlines. He looked up and saw the red sky with a blood moon hanging alluringly over him. The field suddenly transformed into an ocean, or lake, stretching to the horizon all around him, leaving him with a feeling of insignificance. He turned around multiple times, confused, scared.

Where was this place, he wondered, and was chocked to find that the former energy of the extra chakra he had taken from Sakura was nowhere to be found within himself.

"Where is this?!" he yelled, looking for something as he twirled around, and caught sight of the man who's body he so dearly desired.

"This…" Itachi looked at his hand, a calm expression covering his face, "…is Tsukiyomi."

"What?"

"One of the three eye techniques achieved when you succeed on attaining the Mangekyou sharingan. A world, impossible to break out from, created by the one wielding the eyes of gods," Itachi smirked, "a world where the creator decides the rules of nature, time and mass. A world which ninety-nine percent of the visitors never get out of alive…"

Orochimaru gasped, and notice that his limbs had been strapped to a crucifix, and no matter how hard he tried to tear away, he got nowhere.

"Your resistance is futile, Orochimaru… Now, I will let you become my guinea pig…" the Uchiha was grinning almost insanely.

The snake man watched in horror as a sword appeared in the prodigy's hands. And he screamed when it pierced his leg, and twisted around. Then there was another stab he looked down, and realized there was not only one Uchiha standing in front of him, but a thousand.

"Orochimaru, for every second you are alive, I shall kill you," Itachi smirked, finally being allowed to test everything he had ever thought of as torture. On the man he hated the most. The man who had the amount insanity to touch what was his.

"I-Itachi, t-those eyes--

Shisui stopped talking when he heard a blood shilling scream, and Orochimaru fell down to the ground. Itachi lowered his sword and stumbled, the intense chakra disappearing, allowing both of them to breath freely once again. He let out a pained moan and brought his hand up to his eyes, trying to lessen the immense throbbing. He deactivated his sharingan, finding that the pain was suited when he did so. When he opened his eyelids he saw the red covering his hand, but was not shocked. Somehow, he had forcibly activated one of the ultimate secrets of his clan, and there was sure to be consequences for it.

"Itachi, are you ok?" Shisui appeared by his side, carefully watching the body of the sannin. "What happ--

"Sakura…" Itachi mumbled, raising his left hand, taking of the glove with his teeth, revealing the golden band on his finger. "Where is she…?" he sounded exhausted, and Shisui was sure that without the extra chakra from Sakura he would have surely been dead by now.

The ring gloved with a faint light, showing a trail of chakra before his inner eye though the wall. His eyes were painfully strained, but still he raised his sword, and with movements to fast to catch with the eye, he sliced the wall, panting hard.

The stone crumbled down, revealing a dark room, barely illuminated by a lone candle, and the ones in the bigger hall. By the wall, a small figure was laying, wrapped in remains of clothing.

Itachi swallowed hard, and jumped over the remains of the throne, landing beside the small and fragile body of his wife.

He gently lifted her up, turning her face against his. It was dirty, bruises and dirt marring her fair skin. Her hair was out of the bun it had been in when he last saw her, and the pink brilliance was mixed with brown. He gently, with shaking hand, brushed a strand away from her eyes, gently stroking her temple and cheek. He tried to wake her up with his gentle touches, whispering soft words against her forehead as he cradled her.

His shoulders were shaking, and for the first time on his life he felt the urge to cry.

"I-Itachi…" the sound was barely hearable, yet still it bounced of the walls, into Itachi, corrupting his insides with clenching ache. He opened his eyes, and gazed into tired, relieved precious stones.

A small smile came to her lips, but tears formed in her orbs. Her hand came up, and stroke his cheek tenderly. He grabbed her small hand with his own, preventing it from leaving his skin. "Itachi…don't cry…" she mumbled, giving him a pained look, trying to comprehend why exactly he was crying. He was here now, wasn't he?

The droplets of water fell onto her face, making her own fall. Only now she realized just how much he was shaking, he could barely hold her hand properly in the state he was in. She swallowed hard, her dry throat aching in the process. She struggled to get closer to him, tiredly nuzzling her nose against his chest.

"I'm sorry, Itachi…" she said, ignoring her tears.

Itachi looked at her, pity shining in his eyes. If it was for himself or her, not even he knew. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Sakura…" his hoarse voice felt good in her ears, and she sobbed.

"If I'd done as you told me, this would never have happened… Itachi, I'm sorry," she repeated sadly, green eyes misting.

He only shook his head, afraid to speak any more. He was sure that his voice would be unsteady if he tried to utter a word. He hugged her tightly, cradling her body against his own, crying into her hair.

For the first time in his life, Itachi felt how much it actually hurt to cry.

-

Tsunade watched with a heavy heart as Mikaru cried loudly into the chest of her husband when she told her the dreadful news. Her chest was compressed into a small bomb of anger, ready to explode for the gentlest touch. She felt the need to cry herself, but she could not show such weakness, not here, not as the Hokage. And ironically, people wondered why she drank such amounts of sake.

-

Naruto sat out in the waiting room, the unusually quiet waiting room. The waiting room he had to sit in, waiting for his fake sister to wake up. The waiting room he had to sit in with four of the most emotionless men in Konoha. The room they should all be sitting in worriedly, looking tired and miserable. But no, no, no, no. Those bastards just have to look like heartless shinobi. Really, who was the knucklehead ninja?

-

Something tickled her nose, and she sniffed irritably. She forced her heavy eyelids open, Not really wanting to, but she definitely couldn't get to sleep with the constant strokes to her sensitive skin. Her dark field of vision didn't want to let the light in, and she got teary eyes as she fought the sunlight shining on her eyes. She tried to bring her hand to her face, but found it sealed against her front by a warm and moving mass.

Immediately, she snapped her lids open, ignoring the pain, and started to push on the body in front of her, wanting to get away, not wanting to be hurt. But her frantic fighting was resisted, and she was only pressed tighter to the chest she was facing. She let out a yelp and finally took her time to look at the face of her captor, noticing that was no captor, but a bleak, blindfolded and exhausted Itachi, lying next to her, with his arms around her.

She stared wide eyed at him, her brain slowly processing the new information she had gotten out of that brief look she did. Itachi, who looked utterly weak compared to his usual self, was seeming to looking at her, something like a mix of relief, fear and shame on his beautiful cheeks and temple. The lines on his face had become deeper, and longer, and she wondered exactly how long she had been asleep.

Next, the images of her night and day in that cave played before her inner eye. The words, the touches, the actions…all of it hit her at once.

Instinctively she tried to inch away from him, but he refused to let go, only wrapping her tighter within his embrace. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, breathing her scent and nuzzling the skin. And even if her body was tense, and she had to force herself to not scream, she couldn't push him away. She couldn't push him away, because still, it felt good when he held her. The fact that he was still desperate for her presence made her heart beat fast and her mind to relax slightly.

"Sakura…" he whispered, relief and newly gained calm oozing from his sigh. He carefully moved his body closer to hers, uncertainly looking for her acceptance. With his hands above her waist she felt no need to stop him, as he kept his manly areas away from her.

He mumbled her name all over again, repeating it softly to himself. Sakura raised her hand, and gently stroke his cheek, making him lean his head back, to direct his covered eyes towards her.

"Itachi, why are you blindfolded?" she asked softly.

"I overused my sharingan in the fight against Orochimaru," that explanation had to do for the moment, he didn't want her to worry about him.

"When can you take it off?" she brushed a few strands of hair from his forehead.

"When Tsunade-sama says so," he said.

"Keep your eyes closed," she whispered and gently put her fingers beneath the cloth, and removed it. She held it in her hand and smelled it. The faint ironic smell was mixed with that of his skin, and it felt both calming and unnerving. She leaned her face against his, and gently put her lips to his eyelids. He sighed in wellbeing, searching her face with his hand, pulling her down.

He affectionately rubbed his nose against hers, smiling tenderly.

Uchiha Itachi knew that his life was both cursed and blessed the day she was born, and he thanked the gods for letting her return to him.

And he would never let her go again.

---

Owari

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Word count: 4724

I have finished… I am done with a whole story… I never knew this was possible!! I truly am amazed by myself. But of course, it was not me alone, all of you who have read, faved and commented has given me the strength to make it J

Now; I couldn't write about Sakura's rape, it was to god damned horrible!! This chapter actually HURT to write! I felt my heart clench whenever someone cried or when I explained the emotions, urgh, I'm not made to be sad!

Still, what do you think of my illustration of the feelings Itachi had? It's really hard to write his train of thoughts, since he barely reacts to anything, and he's a man, I'm not. I do not understand how men like him think!

Anyway, I really am happy that so many liked this, and sometime, in the future, I might make a one or two-shot sequel ;)

Love you all and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading.