"Just let me close my eyes

but do the same if you walk away,"

It Will Rain -Bruno Mars

I remember a while back, that day, the day when I decided to take my own life. The memory is as vivid and clear in my mind like it was just yesterday. My body was submerged in the cold current of the river, I let it hug me in it's deep embrace, my body slowly being one with the body of the current. The water filled my lungs, expanding every inch of my small organs, the small gurgle of bubbles floated out my mouth, each one after the other ensuring my slow but welcome death. The water rushed in my ears, preventing me from hearing my demise and to lay in a false sense of security. I remember I had my eyes close, too much of a coward to see the Grim Reaper when he rips my weaken soul from my body.

I was almost there, to the bottom of the river and to the bottom of my misery. With a life like mine, it wasn't much of one to begin with. The water managed to strangle the little last of oxygen out of me, I open my eyes a final time, to see a small black speck in the water, pink tentacles of hair around my face and that small final bubble of air floating away, and slowly on my soul floated on with it.

Something soft touched my lips, gingerly air blowed through my numb lips. Am I dead? I thought.I cough up water, intuitively wiping away the salty liquid from my cold cheeks. "No you aren't," the voice confirmed back and I mentally kicked myself for thinking aloud. "Who are you?" asked the voice. I didn't open my eyes to look at my hero, something inside me wished he would have left me sinking at the bottom of Hokage river instead of rescueing the damsel in distress.

.

We staid like this for a while before the voice sighed, the shuffling of wet clothes and sneakers against the cement ground told me he dived in fully clothed after me, 'how sweet'. I sourly thought. "You can play dead all you want, I'm not moving from here until you explain to me why the hell did you just fall from an expressway into a moving current." The voice declared, obviously angry at my daring move. He wouldn't have much time to wait, my back was cooking against the cement ground and if I play dead any longer, I might smell like burnt skin.

"I didn't ask you to save me." I said.

"You didn't have to, I saw you made a stupid decision. " He figured. I sat up, readying my self to tell him off. 'How dare he', right when a jolting pain splits through my leg, causing me to buckle back down on my ass.

"You know what," I braced myself to give him a good tongue lashing, who did this dude think he is! Judging me right off the back for doing something with my own life! "Who the hell are you?!" I shot daggers at his face, which may I add was awfully handsome. Besides the unnerving stare he gave me, he was very attractive: Long wet black hair that was plastered to his masculine face, his jaw was tightly clenched, his cheeks rosy from saving me from me and his eyes giving me an icy look, colder than the water that's soaked in our cloths.

"You still didn't answer my que-forget it, you're shaking." The man stood up, felt his wet hair and cursed outloud, mumbling something along the lines of losing his hair tye because of a suicidal chick. I tried to stand but felt that horrible pain in my side, like someone was stabbing me with a butter knife, the pain went from my lower left ankle up to my left hip, I was really in pain. I didn't realize I was swaying until the man grabbed me by my waist to steady me.

"You need medical attention, mentally and physically." He said and I rolled my eyes.

"I don't need your commentary nor your help." I spat out indiginantly. I shook him off me and regreted it instantly when my left leg buckled again and I fell straight on it, OH DEAR KAMI I WAS IN PAAAAAIIIIN. I bit my tongue and fought off a stubborn tear. I took deep breaths, seeing him from the corner of my eye shaking his head at me.

"Still don't need my help?" He held out his hand as if I was going to grab it. Seeing me not budge, he closed his beautiful eyes and counted silently before opening them and giving me what he forcing was a sincere look on his face. "Please, I want to help you, I can take you where ever you want to go, just stop jumping off bridges and holding onto your pathetic pride, it's not getting you anywhere." He had a point. I grabbed his hand and he helped me up, putting my left arm over his broad shoulder, he rested his hand rather snuggly in the curve of my waist, helping me up the cement steps. The sun had set by this time, making the night a baked navy color. I limped with him across a dirt road where his car was parked in a fishtail swerve.

"Tough day?" I sarcastically asked. It was his turn to roll his eyes at my joke. It dawned on me he must have saw me when I jumped and in a hurry, stopped and jumped in after me. I felt bad now, he really didn't need to jump in after me, it was my choice and something I should live (in that case, not) with. I must admit, though, it was rather heroic of him. He had a sweet ride: Red and Black Shelby Mustang with a large family crest on the hood. He helped me in the passenger side and got in the drive side.

He started the car engine and we drove at a comfortable silence. It was him who decided to start conversation. "What is your name?"

"Sakura Haruno. Yours?" The night's lights passed by us in a blur. I got a good look at his clothes: Jeans, T-shirt, and expensive sneakers. fancy, I thought. All soaked however, He still looked good and put together versus my soaked cheap Aeropostale jacket that was falling apart and ripping at places, my second hand store jeans and cowboy boots that were so soaked, they were getting a nasty odor.

"Sakura? My name is Itachi Uchiha." He turned to see my expression, seeing if his name would ring a bell, not-a-one. I nodded slowly though, taking in this information. Not like it mattered, he's probably taking me to the Hospital or nut-house, either one he felt I needed.

"Why did you jump?" He asked out of the blue. It was something I should have expected but honestly didn't. Why did I jump? Was life becoming too much for me? Did I finally reach my breaking point like they do in war and took the coward's way out? Why did I finally settle to put the gun to my head and jump to my death? I truly did know why I did it. I'm just… too scared of what he'll say when I say it outloud, to let it marinate in the air. Then he would really judge me. And the utter thought of that, scared me. When I first thought of it, it sounded good in my head but if you said it out loud, you sounded like an idiot. The last thing I need was being and sounding like an idiot.

"I don't want to say…" I fiddled with the wet cuff of my jacket. I gulpped uneasily and sniffed back the tears I never ask to make an appearance. He understood this and didn't press the subject. We dropped it and sat in silence again.

"Where are you taking me?" I tried to change the subject and atmostphere.

"To my home, my family has a doctor." He casually replied. As much as I should have been worried about going to a complete stranger's home, I'm more intrgued with the fact his family had a doctor. How rich are you that you're family has a 'personal' doctor? I thought skeptically and bitterly.

"Very rich." He must have been reading my mind or I was THINKING OUTLOAD AGAIN. "My family well, has numbers in great places." He flashed me a devilish smirk that sent chills down my spine and impure thoughts through my head on what he can do with that mouth. 'Numbers in great places,eh? Well that's not suspicious at all'.

"So, you have a family? Home?" He changed the subject.

"No, and No. Mom's dead, Dad…don't have one." I replied easily, the pain of saying those words are numbed, in it's wake a dull ache in the heart. Itachi however seem unfazed by my words, like he didn't hear me say them.

" I see, where did you live?" This subject he presses on about?

"Um, I lived in a foster home in the rougher parts of the village with an abusive lady I called Goemie. Up until last week, she died. My case worker said I was seventeen and a complete waste of their time, they stamped me to begone and sent me off with ten bucks and a 'good luck to you'" I rested my weary head on my frozen knuckles. The heat was on but I'm still iced up at heart.

"Your life seem difficult." He replied.

"Thank you, I didn't realize that."

"Is that why you jumped?"

"…"

"Hm?"

"…Shutup." I didn't realize I was crying until he reached over and handed me a tissue from his arm rest. I grabbed it and dabbed at my eyes. I humorlessly chuckled. "You really know how to push someone's buttons."

"Hm."

The ride after that went fast, he pulled up to a gigantic estate that looked more like a small neighborhood by itself surrounded by a thick wood gate that enclosed the whole community. I stepped out and awed at it's beauty, Itachi helped me limp through the gates. The inside was even more beautiful. Traditional style Japanese homes alined the small community. Houses seperated only by a backyard and two large cement walk ways on each side of the homes. Each other the same as the next but unique in it's own creative way. In the front of all this was a massive Koi pond with what looked like hundreds of Koi fishes swimming in bunches in the pond illuminated by underwater lights. On the farthest side of this community, a home bigger than all the small houses sat perched high on a hill, with it's own light up Koi pond to the side of it with a Sakura tree looming protectively over the pond, weeping it's delicate petals. It was beautiful.

"Come, my families' home is up that hill." He said, steering me over the beautiful pavement. I looked down and noticed it had the same crest from the hood of the car on every four stones, I felt unworthy stepping on them. We climbed all the stairs to the top of the hill, upon closer observation, his home was more modern with a traditional twist: Shouji doors but with a modern style door behind it to prevent intruders and unwanted guest. Itachi sat me on a rocking chair that was tied to the branch of a tree that loomed over the house's courtyard and I watched him take his keys and shook the water off them before sliding the shoji door and unlocking the other behind it. He came back for me and helped me into the house. "Do you need help with your shoes?" He offered.

"No, no I got it." Honestly I didn't…They just stunk to high hell and I didn't want him to have to smell it, that would be embarrassing. I hobbled to a corner where I pulled off my wet boots and soggy socks and tucked them away where they wouldn't kill someone with their foul stench. I use the wall for leverage as I pulled my self up, declining his offer to help me again, I might be temporarily crippled but damn I'm not helpless!

We must have been making a lot of noise because I heard light footsteps trotting towards the lit corridor. "Itachi, is that you, hon?" A voice as smooth and soft as silk asked. The female's voice made me flinch, causing me to slip and Itachi to step and grab me, I twisted as to not fall on my left and fell onto his chest instad just as the woman came into the hallway. I didn't realized I was scared but I was; I felt like a deer in headlights even though I'm pretty sure Itachi knew what he was doing.

A tense silence passed between us. "Hello Okaa-san." Itachi greeted in his annoying casual tone.

"Hello Itachi. Who's your friend? She's cute." The woman replied equally as casual. She was smiling widely and did not one bit seem intimidating even though I felt she can be as easily as she's not. My face was still snugly place against Itachi's wet shirt. I took the chance to quietly inhale his scent.'Mmmm, Spice. Just like Christmas.' "Why in great Kami's name are the two of you soak and wet?" 'Now she was getting suspicious.' I didn't want to tell her 'Oh yea, I was trying to commit suicide and your son almost crashed to come after me, funny story, actually!'

"It rained today." He blatantly lied. I tried not to shoot him a look of disbelief.' You can't expect her to believe that lie, it didn't even rain today!'

"Okay," She smoothly replied and walked out the hall. Now upright, I shot him a 'really' face and he replied with a blank stare. He then lightly grabbed me by thr elbow and ushered me to a room with a lot of comfortable looking plush chairs, sitting me on one.

"It's your left leg, right?" He confirmed just as he slowly lifted my leg onto his lap. Pulling my pant leg up to get further inspection. I wince at the pain as he probed around my leg.

"Hey, first, stop. Second, I think I'm just sore. It's not a broken leg, I can tell you because if so, you wouldn't had been able to lift this off the ground without me throwing you." I conclude, I notice swelling in my left. I lift my right pant leg and compared, I put the two next to each other. "I need an Ace banadge and some crutches and I'll be fine until your doctor comes and runs tests on me.

"How do you know this?" He looks thoroughly impressed that I knew my medicine.

"My mom was a doctor. She died while overseas helping other patients, I use to read her medical books when I was a kid. I actually graduated high school early just to go to med school to be just like her." I smiled fondly at my memories. I truly missed her. I reminsed for a moment in my memroies, not noticing Itachi move and coming back moments later with a small Styrofoam cup with something hot and chopsticks. By this time I had my leg propped up and I was relaxing in my cold clothes.

"Eat this, I'll get you something dry to wear." He commanded with little room for objection. I held the warm cup and stared into it for a moment, contemplating should I consume food I didn't see getting prepared. I thanked him nonetheless but he only waved it off and walked out the room. I heard him trot up stairs and dug immidietly into the noodles. I didn't realize how hungry I really was.

This was all well and great but where am I going to stay when his hospitality runs out and I overstay my welcome? It's only so long he can play hero. I should tell him straight up I can't stay here and I'll leave in the morning. Yea, I'll say that, not only will that be short, sweet and to the point, it'll give me the night to think where the hell am I going to stay?'

"No," He stated bluntly, handing me a pair of pink pajamas that had to belong the lady we saw earlier.

"What do you mean no? You can't keep me captive!" I yelled angrly, he gestured for me to lower my volume.

"No, you're in bad shape and you told me have no where else to live."

"I can't just live here." He had to admit, I had a point, he just couldn't cram me in his closet and take me out when his parents leave. He didn't even know me.

"Actually I'm going to give you a job, and it pays very well." He had a mischievous look in his eye that made me skeptical of this job.

"And what job would that be?" I narrowed my eyes skeptically at him. His face may be blank but his eyes were telling me he was very amused, what was this guy thinking? Sex slave? Naughty house maid? Naughty nurse?! What have I gotten myself into?

"Be my fulltime personal assistant and in exchange, I will pay for you to go to med school and give you a home to live in." He offered me and I amost choked on the hot juice of my noodles. What? Med school? Assistant? Is this guy kidding me? He must be pulling my leg. I'm half expecting him to laugh in my face and tell me to leave.

"I don't kid, Sakura." Whoa.

And That's when I started working for the Devil, himself, Itachi Uchiha.

~O~

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