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Chapter 12

Sakura looked out from the front gate, a newly made blade tough and sharp in hand. It was her preferred weapon, and it couldn't be any better. Itachi had it made for her, and to her hands it was lighter than any blade she had ever held. It made her that much more deadly. The fact of the matter though, was that her mind wasn't settled on the will to fight made it useless. She contemplated her purpose for fighting, but most of all she could only reflect on Mikoto's parting words 'If' Mikoto had said 'if I die' and yet, why did it sound more like a premonition of the future? She glanced at the corner o her eye, where she spotted the Uchiha compound ready to receive civilians, Mikoto had been assigned to protect them and use the compound as a stronghold within the village.

The thought of Sakura's first female friend drenched in her own blood, gasping for breath, sent a shiver down her spine. One, more chilling and fearful than the fact that Orochimaru was on his way, it brought her to the revelation that not everyone knew how to fight for their lives. Not everyone was as good as she was when it came to the battle field, to killing, to ending a life to further your own. It brought her to the stunning reality that, someone she loved might die just as easily as she had cut others down. She thought of the many she had killed, their begging, their desperation. She wondered what was it that they thought when she had cut them down with her sword? Did they have loved ones that would miss them just as much as she would if a loved one of hers died?

It made her realize why the ANBU despite her best efforts hated her. Without knowing it she had cut down so many of their comrades. People they loved, people whom, she couldn't return. It brought on a wave of guilt. As if he read her thoughts, a skill he often did Itachi came up to stand beside her, like a silent pillar for her slowly self destructing world. As if to hold her together, he hooked a finger around one of her own, and their hands began to twine. Together they watched the horizon for any sign of movement. He made her remember that she was not alone, for he had seen a similar world.

The only difference, was that he knew how to hold it together better. She knew that Itachi, was stronger. He always had something to fight for, while she didn't know what to fight for anymore. She tightened her hold on his hand; he let her, never flinching at her desperate grasp. She didn't know what to fight for anymore. Before it had only been for survival…but now? She felt so guilty that she thought that if she died, it would be divine intervention or fate, playing its last hand to her. Did she really deserve a happy life when she had killed so many?

Faces came back to haunt her, the days of her earlier and less proficient kills, all of it had started at the young age of eight. That had been the time, when endless days began. The harassment. The desperation to get away, the failed attempts at escape, then the collar had been put around her neck, like a rabid dog, not even Shiro had ever worn one. Then she had been pit up against person to person, ages ranging from older to younger children. All of them in her same position, all of them desperate to live. At first she had almost died the first couple of times, and then punished by the people who had bet on her.

Finally, she began to fight back; even now she could remember her first kill. A girl, around her own age, she had been long in the system, her eyes lacked humanity or emotion. She had scared Sakura, and had managed to get her on her back trying to fend off the dull kunai the girl held in her hand. She could still remember the girl who had looked down at her, her purple eyes flat and dark, empty. Sakura wondered if this was how she had looked to so many of her victims? Like the living dead? Somehow Sakura had managed to throw sand in the other girl's eyes, and they wrestled on the ground moments later Sakura found herself pinned again, the other girl had strategically scratched her face with the tip, slowly and purposefully.

The other girl had been putting on a show for the people who cheered them on. Then for some reason something inside of her had snapped, like a worn rubber band unable to sustain anymore stretching. With a cry, Sakura surprised the other girl and had her pinned, that's when the details fuzzed over, all Sakura could remember after that, was she was standing over a dead body. The girls purple eyes slightly wider but blank but as emotionless as before, Sakura looked at her hands, they were stained with red, and the girls throat had been cut clear through the jugular. People were cheering.

Sakura could remember, her world began to dim, the vibrant red on her hands seemed dull, it was when she began to numb herself to the world, lest she break under the deed that she had done. Sakura had been nine and already the world seemed like an incredibly cruel place. After that, everything seemed to be a blur, fight after fight, kill after kill, until finally they began to bring her out to assassinate. That was when she had tried to escape, but those plans failed and she was put with handlers and a shock collar and the killing continued. Sakura could remember the hesitation she saw in many a nins eyes when they faced her, and that hesitation allowed her to make it out alive. By the age of fourteen she was already infamous.

It was also the time where she was opened to a world filled with more pain. It had been bad when she had killed her first time, she could say it was even worse when she had first lain with a man. Even now those memories would forever haunt her. Even now she shuddered at what she was forced to do, but eventually she had gotten used to that as well. At the time she had realized that she would never progress; she would always remain a marionette played with by merely a will, manipulated through force. She wondered why was it that she never ended her life, even though she was perfectly capable of it.

Why was it that she lived through that pain, just to live another day through the same pain? Sakura couldn't understand anymore. Did she really deserve to live? Even when she had lived in a world of sin for so long? Even after all of it, did she deserve happiness? So lost in her thoughts she didn't realize the tears that began to run from her blank green eyes. It shocked many, not minding the audience; Itachi put a hand over her green orbs and held her in a hug from behind. " Isn't the sky wonderful." he whispered into her ear, trying to get her thoughts derailed from the wreck it was beginning to become silently she sobbed.

Soon after she calmed, his presence was like a drug, something she couldn't live without "The sun begins to wake." He told her, but she didn't listen to his words, merely holding his strong arms, soaking in his warmth, feeling the vibrations of his voice. How many times had she been saved by his voice? His presence? She wondered if he knew that he was the light to her world. Mikoto had said 'If' it was a premonition, but it didn't mean that, Mikoto would die. Sakura chose to believe that Mikoto would make it out of this alive. Taking Itachi's hand, she opened it, to show her his palm.

Working around the bulk of the sheathe, she wrote, 'love' into his rough and calloused hand, she kissed it, and put it to her cheek. In a moment of irrationality, she had been shown what to fight for. She wasn't fighting for her life, but her future, a vision of a dream, that required her to live. The future, she imagined children, a big yard, a dog or two, smiles and laughter. A husband, who loved to bathe in the sunlight, Itachi, and a garden with all the colors of the rainbow, a peaceful life in a world full of kindness, she was fighting for her happiness.

She may not have deserved it; she may be angering the gods by trying to take it. She fingered the scar that ringed her neck. Then again, since when had the gods, ever helped her? As the wind blew she spotted movement on the horizon, with the rising sun she could see the outline of Orochimaru's army. An army of the living dead, both human and monster alike, an army she used to be a part of, an army in which she was to face. She unsheathed her sword, like a signal, many began to tense, but this time it wasn't because she was holding a deadly weapon. It wasn't because they thought she would kill them while they had their backs turned.

Like a signal it had readied them for an attack. The gleaming eyes of both peacemakers and the ambitious alike mixed and hardened into one fighting force. Their pride for their nation, and strength pushed them to all new levels. Not only but she was part of it. Short lived her time was here, true, but she couldn't deny that she had come to love this place like no other… In fact she couldn't imagine living in any other place but this one. The thought brought strength. Itachi kissed her on the cheek and released her. Him being by her side made her feel invincible. Alongside him she watched the horizon her stance at a steady at ease, waiting for the order to attack.

~(Itachi)~
He could only watch as countless shinobi leapt from the wall to defend their village. Despite their quiet nature, battle cries filled the air from both jounin and ANBU alike, surprisingly Sakura stayed with him tense for battle. She wanted to be there to take down Orochimaru and she couldn't do that until his forces dwindled and he tried to go in for the kill.

Itachi watched along side of her as the man seated atop a giant snake, watched in the distance his elite guard stationed around on the topper most parts of the trees. All of them held some sort of amusement at the macabre scene as man faced monster, they watched as many men and creature screamed. It was sickening, just as Sakura described. Despite the fact that Orochimaru had made these no longer human creatures what they were, they stayed with him. Whether it was the belief that the snake would turn them back or the belief that life would get better if their master merely got what he wanted they fought, with almost equal force of those who defend their homes valiantly.

"Go." Said a voice to him and Sakura who looked at the battle field Itachi turned toward the Hokage, her arms crossed in an almost scolding manner, "Don't worry about me I can protect myself." Itachi hesitated stuck between his duty and his wish to fight alongside his family. Sakura waited for his decision. The Hokage gave him a soft smile that didn't match her usual stern and high manner. "I'm not letting the deciding factors of the war just stand here next to me, plus I'm not a Sannin for nothing… Or do you doubt my abilities?"

He couldn't contest that, saying that he doubted her abilitiy would have him punched being an obedient underling he would take the blow, and he would end up in the fray because he was sure the woman would punt him over the wall. A smirk touched his lips and he pulled down his mask, bowing as he did. Along with Sakura he jumped into the fray of the battle mowing down opponent after opponent, ignoring their pained screams, together they headed straight for Orochimaru's guard.

Sasuke spotting them caught up along with Naruto soon after Kakashi, very soon they had a five man team plenty to take on Orochimaru and his guard.

~(Sakura)~

She ran slightly before Itachi, disabling any monster she thought could give him any trouble. Not that she really thought that, but she knew that quite a few of them had a couple of nasty surprises up their sleeves if hit the wrong way, and she didn't want him or any of her current team getting blown into small bits, she needed them to live in order to fight Orochimaru. She knew that she was using them as a stone to fix this ultimate goal, but she knew that it was necessary. She needed closure something to right the world he had put upside down; hopefully she could get a happy ending.

Hopefully after this she wouldn't have nightmares of him anymore. He represented a chapter in her life, a long and painful one and she wanted him dead for it. It didn't matter what he had to say, it wasn't like she expected an excuse from him anyway. She didn't think the snake could grovel, but if he could she was determined to get a couple of them out. Only then could she truly free herself from his shadow. "I wasn't aware that you were still alive, dog." Said the cool voice of Kabuto as he jumped in front of her, she glared in response. "I thought you had died alone with that collar of yours strapped around your neck. His cold smile sent a subconscious shiver down her spine.

She wanted to fight him, but knew that he wasn't her prey to fight. Sasuke leapt at the nin claiming him as his prey. For a moment she watched them tangle and then she was off in the direction of Orochimaru, he was the one she needed to take down. Not only that but she knew to stay away from this particular teams more spectacular battles, they tended to leave a lot of shrapnel flying everywhere.

One by one their group grew smaller, until it was just her. She found herself standing atop the giant snake head face to face with her long time tormentor. Her sword at ease at her side, dripping with the blood of his beloved experiments, "Ah, Sakura, I was expecting you." He smiled at her reflecting the madness that lay within him.

His yellow piercing eyes, sparking with amusement at her arrival, ironically she bowed to him, as if she cared for his opinion. His eyes turned gold reflecting his anger at the harmless insult but he smiled, something that sent a slight shiver down her spine. It reminded her of the days he looked at her like that, and the needles he would hold up, as she struggled on the operating table, although the effects had worn off, the emotional scars remained. He pushed on. "You, cut your hair…your beautiful long pink hair, now why would you do such a thing?" he asked as if he were an upset mother worrying over the wellbeing of their beloved child who had foolishly took scissors to his or her hair. Sakura smiled and took up a short strand and kissed it she loved her hair the way it was now. Her confidence was stacking up although his presence chilled her, it was bearable.

Raising her katana she began to attack. As expected he was quick on his feet, despite being akin to a legless reptile, easily he blocked her attack, but she had been expecting that. Letting him hold the edge of her katana she kicked with a chakra filled leg, it missed, but then she directed it onto the snake's massive head. Pained it reared, and she sank her long katana into its head to keep herself stable. She watched as Orochimaru was thrown into the air. Detaching from the snake, she leapt for him with an upward slicing motion.

He countered with the sword he kept stored in his tongue. Grabbing the snake that was his tongue, she span as they fell to the ground, landing first she cocked a leg and slammed it into his side, slicing the snake off in one fluid motion. He tried to scream but it was smothered with the blood that ran down his throat. Knowing he wouldn't take it hands down she dodged an incoming attack, letting herself freefall from a tree. Taking the kunai in her holster she threw the deadly weapons toward him to serve as a distraction as she caught onto another tree branch. Now was her time to catch him by surprise. Sinking the blade into the tree branch she made hand signals as the snake man cut down weapon by weapon.

Putting one hand to her lips she blew and a giant fireball formed. 'Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!' She watched in satisfaction as his eyes slightly widened as he got hit by the attack. She knew though that he was far from dead. Quickly she pulled the katana out of the trunk to block an attack, a barrge of snakes, lay at her feet, she looked to the smoking mass that he was her nose wrinkling at the smell of burnt flesh. The huff of anger, emitted from his lips, as the burning outer layer singed his inner skin. Before this had been a sign for her to be afraid, but now, she knew it was a sign, that she had the upper hand. She waited for the smoke to clear; it revealed his terribly scarred and peeling skin. His face twisted in displeasure.

Like a snake he shed his outer appearance, it was that of a young man, she didn't recognize him, but all the better. She wouldn't have to fight a former cell mate, not that she held any affection for any of the monstrosities that he had created. "I see you've learned a couple of new tricks." He said, brushing off his clothes. Sakura tilted her head slightly to the side to acknowledge his words, "As your guardian I'm glad to see your progressing. So, that's why…I'll do you the honor of making you my next vessel." He made hand signs unfamiliar to her, but she felt her eyes widen as the shell of a man he lived in tore and he became a massive white snake. Uneasy she took a step back, but this only gave him an opportunity to strike.

They plunged from the trees, she had just barely managed to bring her sword to block his fangs, she was terrified for being devoured. Yet, she found that she couldn't cry out. Like always she felt so helpless. She felt her stomach drop as they hurtled to the ground and she had no idea where she would hit. From her left a stream of white bandages circled her and pulled her out of the way in the nick of time, snatching her away from Orochimaru's great jaws. A moment later she found herself in Itachi's arms, the bandages that circled his arms, apart of his ANBU outfit, were loose because of his daring rescue.

They watched as the snake righted himself as he crashed to the ground with no damage taken. He hissed in amusement. "Ahh, I see, so my dear little Sakura has grown up, you've found yourself a little protector." The snake man said, his words gave her goose bumps but she ignored them and very gently she let herself out of Itachi's grasp, he let her go willingly, and she stood confidently with her sword poised for battle. She had been startled, but only that, she should have expected Orochimaru to deform his body so; she should have expected him to do something that twisted to himself.

The reality of it was hard to grasp, but that didn't matter at the moment, she leapt down toward the massive white head, and slashed down, with chakra enhanced blows cutting through the snakes tongue and part of his torso, he shrieked. Angry he flung curses in her direction, curses she ignored. Shutting herself from the sounds of his shrieking she concentrated on his misshapen form and fought with a level head. Slowly the fear she used to hold for him drained as if every blow she struck to him they became an outlet to her pain, she could feel her raw emotions for this disgusting creature drain.

The writhing mass in her heart, that viewed her as dirty and torn was beginning to numb. The man she had once thought was the terror of her existence she saw as a pitiful snake, well not really, she found him neither pitiful nor likeable, the intent to kill him was there, her rage though, was beginning to ebb, and she felt the scars of her past begin to heal just a little bit. She knew she could never forgive him, but at least she wouldn't feel raw, about her wounds, at least she would begin to move forward.

She looked down on him, he was bleeding profusely his blood was not the red of a humans rather a bit more purple. There was a time where she felt nothing when she saw blood, and there was a time when she felt terror at drawing blood. Now though she reached an even medium it was a slight interest, and she watched the purplish run from her sword, knowing he couldn't attack her, she had cut every relevant tendon and ligament there was in his body, she had also severed his spinal cord and he could only hiss at her under breath and bare his fangs. "You'll pay dearly for thiss." He told her with a hiss.

"Will I now?" she whispered only to him, she could feel Itachi watching quietly overhead. "Yes, I'll make you suffer, just as I had your mother." He replied, his words rang false in her ears. "I guess you would know wouldn't you?" she asked, finding humor in his sad plight for a chance to live; even now he had hopes of living. "I never got to know her. I have you to thank for that because of that I don't regret a thing though." She remembered the kind voice of her mother, the features that she couldn't completely remember, the hair that had been darker than hers. She remembered the few things she had taught her and showed her, but those were memories so far away that they all seemed like a dream. Not only that but she couldn't dwell on the past, something she had learned in the Konoha village, she thought of Itachi. All the things she needed to live for. She remembered the words of Mikoto, as the older woman looked to her a smile on her face, she was more like a mother than anything else.

'If I die,' she had said slowly as if trying to gather her words, 'if I die, can you promise to take care of them? I want you to be happy, and live the life that Haru-chan never got to live. Have children, smile, heal, and be with your beloved for eternity. If Fugaku gets irritable don't hold it against him, you know he's an idiot…he's my idiot, and I love him all the same. Can you promise me that?'

Sakura had something to live for, and she could only live that through if she got past her past, and finally found herself. She knew that there were many memories she needed to remember, many things she had to see, before she could take charge of Itachi and the Uchiha clan. With that newfound determination she raised her katana for the last time, and struck the final blow.

~(Itachi)~

It had been two years since Sakura had left on her own, taking the first few tentative steps toward her freedom on her own, today she was supposed to come back. He had taken the day off. The two years went by quick, as he helped the Hokage clean up the outer walls and get their economy back on their feet. Despite the shortness of the battle Orochimaru had left a big mess to clean up even after death his zombie army, their acidic blood did a number on their environment, and their walls deteriorated at a fast pace for a while.

Amidst it all Sakura had left, trying to find herself, trying to get on her feet, trying to grasp the world in her fingers. A journey she could only do alone. So he waited for her here. After the fight they had taken damages to their numbers more injuries than actual deaths due to her forewarning. "Itachi." Called his mother, he turned, she had not gotten out unscathed, her arm would bear a scar forever, but it didn't bother her sunny demeanor in the least. "Are you waiting again?" she asked teasing him. He wanted to roll his eyes, but found it beneath him to do so. So he inclined his head and looked out to the sunlight, from their home view which had a perfect view of the Konoha gate.

The moment she came through those doors he would greet her. The moment he felt her chakra, he melted into the shadows, and reappeared at the village gate in the shadows of the trees, he watched as she approached the village at an even pace. Hat obscuring her face and hair, as if to surprise them all, it didn't fool him, quietly he stepped into the light of the sun which warmed his skin so. By this time she was waving to the village guards who waved back. She walked toward him, taking off her hat, to his surprise her pink hair was now slightly wavy and was now just a bit beneath her shoulders.

He approved of this new look. "Itachi." She said, her voice like a warm summer night caressing his skin. It was no longer forced, no longer whispered as if it pained her to speak. The scar around her neck was now significantly lighter. "Sakura." He said in return. She hugged him around the torso, breathing him in, "I'm home." She told him. He wrapped a possessive arm around her, finding that she had filled out in the two years that they had not seen each other, before she had been quite skinny and none of them could find the cause as to why. He didn't dislike it. It made her softer to touch. Quietly arm in arm they walked to the Uchiha compound. His mother, already at the door ready to greet her proclaimed daughter-in-law.

He knew that their troubles were far from over, but life was often full of strife, a balance of happy and sad times. He could only hope that he could give Sakura the happiness she so deserved. When his mother finally left the alone, his beloved sun was beginning to set, making Sakura's hair red, like the color of his clan emblem the fan. She hugged him around the neck, and drew a heart on his cheek, taking on her silence once more; she kissed the heart that she traced. He could feel her affections for him, a feeling he shared too powerful for words and writing alone.

Feeling a little selfish, he buried his face into her chest, feeling the thump of her heart, like old times she ran her long pretty fingers through his hair. She loved him, and he loved her, at the moment that was all that mattered. He held her tighter, and possessively as if trying to feel her for the two years she had been gone. He could feel her smile. Being the understanding woman she was she let him hold her, running her fingers through his hair, braiding it and unbraiding it to her liking. He let her, a privilege that would be shared by no one else. Dusk turned to night, a moment spent like this, and he could live in it for centuries more. She drew a heart at the base of his neck, and he drew one on her back. Together they fell asleep, surrendering into sweet oblivion in each other's arms, their hearts beating in synch with one another, as the star shot across the sky they were together, and they would always be.

-The End-

Sweetness! Ending! XD Finally done!!! XD I also got done with ACT!... I'll probably have to take it again though -.-… I don't work well under pressure and my parents piled so much of it on me today that when I went into the testing room I thought I was going to be sick… Now that my brain doesn't feel like I just put it into a microwave for fifteen minutes my imagination came back!!!! Yayyyyy!!!!!! Doesn't change the fact that I'm really sad that this story ends here!!!! Oh well…. Gotta work on my other stories XD. Thanks for reading and pleasssseeeeee review!!!~~~

To my anonymous!
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To couples lover: Thankies! I'm glad you like it, too bad it's done right?
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To Goldstruck: thankies! I'm glad you like it!!
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To happy reader: XD Thank you take care yourself!!