Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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Itachi
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The cool compress over his eyes only did so much to dull the massive migraine that had become Itachi’s life. For the past nine years, his Sharingan had practically been activated during all his waking hours. Being declared a rogue ninja, infiltrating the most elite international terrorist group and partnering with a literal shark seemed good enough reason for him to be constantly on edge.

“Hey, are you well enough to assist?” Sasori’s deep, bored tone caught Itachi’s attention. He hadn’t even felt him approach. The puppet master felt his frail, human body was a burden that needed to be replaced with an immortal frame that would never age.

Itachi shifted aside the compress to peek at the crimson haired Sand shinobi. The spy master was only a few years older than Itachi. He’d pieced together that Sasori’s childhood had been just as riddled with grief as Itachi’s. It really was a small world though, their lives so interconnected.

Itachi’s closest friend after his beloved cousin Shisui, was Kakashi Hatake — the man who’s father, Sakumo Hatake, assassinated Sasori’s parents.

And then there was the monster that had cursed Itachi’s baby brother and led him astray from the Leaf. No one knew Orochimaru and understood his research better than Sasori— a genius scientist that enjoyed dabbling in poisons. There had to be a way to remove the cursed seal on Sasuke, Sasori was the one that could teach Itachi.

All Itachi had to do, was remove the man’s heart, store his body in a lab preserved in some chemical that resembled amniotic fluid, and place the heart inside the wooden body of a puppet. He could do that. Nothing was as hard as being barely thirteen and then ordered to wipe out your entire clan by your village leaders.

“Are you certain?” Itachi asked, sitting up and setting aside the compress entirely. He deactivated his sharingan— genjutsu didn’t work on Sasori anyway with his perfect chakra control.

“I won’t have to waste my time with the frailties of mortality — no more illness, no need to sleep, no need to eat,” Sasori pointed out. “I’ll be able to manipulate a hundred puppets, not just ten.” He angled his head to the side and then offered his hand to help Itachi stand. “No one else is competent nor trustworthy enough for me to ask,” he added softly.

Sasori was a terrifying opponent. He’d decimated an entire village single-handedly the year before. What sort of damage would he be capable of in an immortal body? The Akatsuki already had an immortal pair — Hidan and Kakuzu. How much harder would it be to protect Konoha and the Yondaime’s son after Sasori forsake his mortal coils?

Itachi snatched his familiar black cloak with the crimson clouds from the hook on the wall and shrugged his shoulders into it. He liked the way the collar hid his face. If he could just stay in the shadows, do his duty, and live just long enough to save Sasuke — then it would all be worth it. He could finally rest and join his lost family.

He took a deep, careful breath, grateful no coughing fit followed. Then Itachi followed after his senior Akatsuki member. After he helped Sasori transfer into his puppet body, then the Spy Master would teach him everything he knew about the cursed seal and how to remove it.

Itachi would just need to continue his facade — not let the Spy Master realize Itachi himself was a spy. Kisame may have been Itachi’s mission partner, but more often than not, the Mist swordsman felt more like his jailor. He had to remember, none of these people were his friends. Uchiha Itachi was a friendless, kin-slayer. His spirit died that terrible night under the blood moon and his body had slowly been dying ever since.
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OoO

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Sakura
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In the last three years, Sakura had improved by leaps and bounds — she’d trained under her hero— the first female Hokage and the woman that had revolutionized medical ninjutsu. She mastered the taijutsu forms that had been passed down through the kunoichi of the noble Senju clan. She’d been promoted to chunin two years ago at the respectable age of fourteen.

“Your apprenticeship with me is officially over, Sakura.” Godaime Tsunade Senju sat across from Sakura, elbows braced on her hokage desk, chin resting on her laced fingers. A stack of playing cards laid face down to the side. Their game had ended in another draw as Sakura once again manipulated the outcome to ensure her gambling addicted mentor lost interest.

“I’m eager to take missions again,” Sakura pointed out. Her assignments over the duration of her apprenticeship involved countless hours at the hospital performing surgery, accompanying the Hokage as part of her entourage at official diplomatic meetings, attending to the daimyo himself and the medical needs of his family. She was admittedly jealous whenever Ino would talk about some of the missions Team Ten completed. Her own teammates had been scattered to the wind — Sasuke defected, Naruto on his own special training in the distant mountains, and Kakashi back in Anbu.

“I will miss sparring with you at the end of a long day of dealing with paperwork and egotistical council members,” Tsunade mused, opening her desk drawer and taking out a bottle of top shelf sake and a couple of cups. She poured them each a drink. “This calls for celebration. This particular sake was a gift from the daimyo’s wife when I first took over this role.” She lifted her cup and Sakura tapped hers against it.

“Kanpai!” They chorused.

Sakura sipped at the potent amber liquid. “Strong,” she murmured, trying not to grimace. Alcohol was an acquired taste and while she enjoyed the mild light-headed feeling, she neutralized the effects of the alcohol by speeding up her liver’s metabolism. That she’d never had the misfortune of a hang-over was a benefit of her diligent training and need for perfection.

Tsunade drained her cup and tapped manicured fingers over the antique solid oak desk. “So, I’ve decided to put you in Anbu under your old captain.”

“You want me to work with Kakashi-sensei?” Sakura asked in disbelief. She’d seen her old jonin instructor in passing every couple of months, but they’d not really spoken to each other outside of casual greetings.

“He’ll be more Kakashi-senpai, or just Captain. I’ll let you two figure it out. You’ll work in a two-man cell. And when Naruto finishes his training with Jiraiya the three of you will form a team again.” Tsunade leaned back in her chair and sighed deeply.

Sakura twirled her very pink hair. “I’m not sure how incognito I’ll be with this hair.”

“Kakashi already sticks out like a sore thumb with that unruly mop of silver hair on his head and his infamous chidori,” Tsunade reasoned. She tilted back in her chair and peered up at the rafters. “Any suggestions, Genma?”

“A simple henge if you’re worried about it,” Genma said, jumping to the floor. “ You’ll mostly be in the shadows and if someone does see you — they won’t be around to remember you. And actually Hatake knows fuinjutsu — when he wears his mask he looks like a nondescript brunette of average height and average build.”

Tsunade waved him off and he abruptly disappeared back into the rafters.

“Fuinjutsu, huh?” Sakura was decent in the art. It came in handy with certain surgeries. She could certainly stand to improve in the skill. Maybe now that she had some understanding of her own abilities, Kakashi might actually be able to teach her something not entirely basic. “Master Tsunade, Anbu isn’t exactly an ambition of mine,” Sakura said quietly, staring at her reflection in the residual sake in her cup. “I’m not exactly stealthy.”

“Neither am I,” Tsunade said with a sigh. “So it’s not something I can teach you, but it is something you should learn. Do you still wish to bring back that wayward teammate of yours?”

Sakura thought back to her promise with Naruto. She thought back to Sasuke’s last words to her, his quiet thank you. She nodded. “Yes, Master Tsunade.” Kakashi’s words echoing in her mind — Those that abandon their friends are worst than scum. Sasuke was lost and in pain — she and Naruto would not abandon him. “Do you think I could read the file on Itachi Uchiha?”

Tsunade frowned. “Why?”

“He’s Sasuke’s target. And not many people can go toe-to-toe with Kakashi-sensei.” Sakura pursed her lips, remembering when both Kakashi and Sasuke had been placed in comas after an encounter with Itachi. “Why would he taunt Sasuke and Kakashi? It makes no sense, not when he slew his entire clan in cold blood.”

Tsunade opened the sake bottle and tipped it back, draining it. She wiped the back of her hand across her lips. “Unfortunately, his file is missing. I suspect after Master Sarutobi passed and before I returned, Danzo plucked that particular file.” She waved the empty bottle at Sakura. “Though your captain was on a team with him — so he could tell you more than anyone else in the village.”

Great, the notoriously tight-lipped Kakashi Hatake held all the answers.

Half an hour later, Sakura waited on the roof of the Hokage tower. Tsunade had summoned Kakashi to meet Sakura there. And knowing Kakashi, she’d end up waiting much longer than half an hour. She regretted not having at least a book or something to occupy her time. So, she laid back and stared at the passing clouds of the early afternoon sky. Her mind wandered, trying to imagine what this next step in her shinobi career would be like. Training under the jonin sensei that treated her more like a pet kitty than a valuable ally.

Speak of the devil. “Yo,” Kakashi greeted, flash-stepping onto the roof and settling next to Sakura. “I hear we’re teammates.” He laid flat on his back, arms tucked behind his head.

“Are you going to make me do the Bell test again or something?” Sakura asked, looking over at him, taking in the familiar silver hair, visible dark half-lidded eye, and black mask.

“Hm, that doesn’t really work since we’ll be a team of two,” Kakashi murmured. “We’ll train together for a month before we take any missions.” He reached into the inner pocket of his flak jacket. “I’ve brought you a present.”

“Oh?” Sakura braced her weight on her elbow. “What is it?”

“Your Anbu mask,” Kakashi explained holding out an object wrapped in dark green material.

Sakura took it from him, their fingers brushing in the exchange. She noted that they wore the same type of fingerless black gloves. Carefully, she unwrapped the green material to reveal the white Anbu mask, she flipped it over and cursed.

“You must be fucking kidding me,” Sakura scowled. She lifted the mask up accusingly — it was a kitten.

Kakashi smiled through his mask, his visible eye crinkled happily. “Nope, Kitten. It goes well with my Hound mask.”

Sakura huffed and studied the designs of the mask. She looked at the inside that would rest against her face and saw it was completely blank. “Genma said something about fuinjutsu to hide my unique features.”

“I’ll teach you how to apply the seals,” Kakashi explained. He rose fluidly to his feet, the familiar slouch in his tall frame. “You’ll have to decide what your disguised features will be. — I’ve adjusted my hair style, color, height and build to the senses of those around me. Unlike a henge, I don’t actually adjust my body measurements— doing so would affect my fighting style.” He offered his hand to help her stand.

“Okay,” Sakura sighed. She took his hand and let him help her to her feet, even though it wasn’t necessary.

“You’re bigger than I remember,” Kakashi murmured, blinking in surprise before releasing Sakura’s hand.

“Puberty does that to a girl,” Sakura snapped haughtily, hooking her new mask to her hip.

“Mah, now you’re making me feel old,” Kakashi complained. He gestured towards her mask vaguely. “My first mask was a fox. I had it changed to a hound once I reached captain. If you don’t like the animal, it’s motivation to advance in the ranks.”

“I don’t particularly want to be in Anbu,” Sakura answered. “My Hokage has asked and I will do my best.”

Kakashi nodded. “Minato Sensei is the reason I went into Anbu. He recruited me when he became the Yondaime.”

“How old were you?” Sakura asked.

“Fourteen.” He grimaced behind his mask. “I was shorter than you at the time.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Sakura said with a laugh. Her smile faded when she noted Kakashi’s pained expression. “You were younger than everyone.”

He nodded. “Yeah.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and stared across the rooftop for a moment. “We’ve only got a month to get you field ready. Meet me at Training Field Three in an hour.” Then he was gone, leaving Sakura behind to blink in surprise at his absence.

Chapter Text

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Kakashi
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After the Konoha Crush invasion led by Sound’s Orochimaru and his Suna allies, the Leaf shinobi roster was depleted. If Lady Tsunade had been there, or if Sakura had been the medic she is now— things would certainly be in better shape. It didn’t help that Danzo Shimura seemed to command his own shadow army separate from Anbu— which was under the Hokage’s direct command. It also didn’t help that the council members seemed to always side with him, putting the Godaime as outnumbered and ineffective.

“I know you’re supposed to be training for the other position we talked about,” Tsunade started apologetically. Shizune had sealed the Hokage office into silence with only the trusted trio of Hokage guards present — the same three that had been handpicked by the Yondaime and were beyond Danzo’s influence. And also the Jonin Commander Shikaku Nara was also in attendance, his stern face creased in a scowl.

“We’re at your disposal,” Kakashi murmured, glancing briefly at Sakura at his side. She stood at attention practically vibrating with eagerness. He hid a faint smile under his mask, thinking how similar she was to Naruto at times. Those two rays of sunshine were supposed to balance out the blackholes of darkness that were him and Sasuke. So far, for the past two weeks, he and Sakura had learned to compliment one another pretty well on the practice field — Gai and his team as well as Kakashi’s old Ro teammates Tenzo and Yugao had challenged them plenty . Their skillsets were vastly different, but he was glad for Sakura’s analytic skills. She was quick on her feet and seemed to understand any of the strategies he’d come up with, just as he’d found it pretty easy to catch on to her methods on the fly. “What can we do for Konoha, Godaime?”

Tsunade grimaced. “I need a trusted team with a capable medic to visit a village deep into the heart of Tea. However, there’s been an unusual amount of hostility towards the merchants of late — so I need someone to help quell any trouble as well.” She gestured towards Kakashi and Sakura. “Your team fits the bill. The pay is good and our treasury is collecting dust.”

Kakashi nodded. “We still need time to work together before we’re ready for any S class missions, but I am confident that Sakura and I are more than capable of A and B class missions. This will be as regular shinobi representing the Leaf I assume?”

Shizune held out a scroll and Kakashi opened it and read through the various lists of requests. He looked back up at Tsunade with a raised eyebrow. “Or a dozen A and B ranked missions.”

“The pay is good. And it’s good publicity to have the two of you out there representing the Leaf. I want people to know of our strength. The Copy Ninja Kakashi and the Godaime’s Apprentice! The best deterrent we have against outside aggression is blatantly flaunting some of our strongest shinobi.” Tsunade sighed, her honied gaze drifted past them to the table against the far wall with her unopened sake bottle. “I’m not going to pretend that I’m good with my money, but it’s hard for me to believe the Sandaime could have let things get this bad.” She brought her gaze towards the tall jonin guard behind her.

“Did he? Or do you suspect there might be someone else funneling the funds elsewhere?” Genma asked on cue, shifting his senbon between his teeth. His light brown eyes shifted towards the office door, focused on the sound barrier seal.

Tsunade gestured towards Shizune. “Tell them.”

“For some reason, the council and the Daimyo seem to always side with Danzo —even when his decisions aren’t in their best interests. It’s suspicious behavior. Lady Tsunade and Jonin Commander Nara have been the odd ones out time and time again.”

“Danzo is definitely embezzling funds towards his Root army,” Nara stated confidently. “Unfortunately, he’s been doing it for decades — the only time he’d been unable to do so was under Lord Minato’s brief tenure as Hokage.”

Kakashi pursed his lips. Nara’s words led more credence to Kakashi’s belief that Minato’s death had been completely avoidable and that Danzo created the conditions to return the Sandaime to power. He’d been the one that wanted Orochimaru as the Yondaime and had created a huge hurdle for Fugaku Uchiha to even be considered with a modicum of fairness. For years, Kakashi struggled with the guilt that there should have been something more he could have done to save his precious sensei. But even he was only one man.

“It’s my belief that Danzo arranged the weakened security the night the Yondaime perished,” Nara continued. “The Uchiha police were forbidden to intervene — and they would have been perfect for reigning in a wayward tailed beast.” His dark eyes flashed. “He wanted his favorite puppet back at Hokage.”

Kakashi’s jaw spasmed. So he wasn’t the only one that suspected such a reality. “You can trust Tenzo and Yugao. And Gai. I wouldn’t extend the benefit of a doubt to anyone else though.”

Tsunade nodded. “Good to know. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Needless to say, everything said during this meeting is strictly confidential,” Nara said. He folded his arms over his chest and the scars on his face seemed more prominent in the harsh light filtering in from the office windows. “It doesn’t leave this room. Everyone understand?”

A chorus of affirmatives went about the office.

“Sakura, you should use Lady Katsuyu to report to me,” Tsunade suggested. “I don’t even want to risk messenger hawks.”

“Of course, Master Tsunade.” Sakura bowed deeply in respect. She looked over at Kakashi, her jade eyes gleamed in excitement.

Kakashi sighed. She was the lone chunin in a room full of seasoned jonin. Of course she would be excited. He remembered the feeling of being the youngest shinobi in the room — trusted implicitly by the Hokage themself.

“Alright, Hatake, Haruno, head out before the end of the day. Dismissed,” Tsunade waved them off.

Kakashi and Sakura left the Hokage tower together. They headed towards Ichiraku — having already made plans to eat there after the meeting for nostalgia sake. It wasn’t a bad place to eat — it actually was decent food, but Naruto’s overindulgence usually ruined the experience. He’d been gone for a few years now training under the Toad Sannin. Kakashi didn’t want to admit it, but he missed the loud-mouthed blond. He acted absolutely nothing like Minato, but Naruto’s eyes sparkled with the same optimistic gleam that had made Kakashi idolize his old sensei.

“Mah, Sakura-chan, I had no idea you were so eager to spend time one-on-one with your old sensei,” Kakashi teased.

“At least you don’t snore,” Sakura murmured. “Besides, you said you’d pay for lunch today as reward for landing a hit this morning.”

Kakashi rubbed his jaw, remembering the graze of her knuckles over his flesh. She’d broken his jaw, but had fixed it soon afterwards. He knew the memory of the pain would haunt him even if there was no hint of it whatsoever anymore. “I’m the one that suffered the impact of your fist, maybe you should be treating me,” he pouted.
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OoO

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Itachi
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The Akatsuki did more than acquire tailed beasts — seeing as that aspect of the organization was unpaid, they needed to earn income. Serving as Bounty Hunters and Mercenaries — depending on the team — served this purpose well. Itachi and Kisame were generally Bounty Hunters. And while Itachi hadn’t gone into the police force, he did enjoy using investigative skills. These bounty collections for bandits and worse were missions that Itachi actually enjoyed. His favorite had been a few months back rounding up the culprits of a sex slave trade. He’d enjoyed watching Kisame deal with the scum and dropping off the sack of heads to the authorities. Itachi had felt the tiniest drop of good karma when he used his Tsukuyomi to alter the memories of the victims, blocking off the terrible experiences so that they’d be able to live their lives without being haunted. He’d given each and every one a choice and they’d all been eager to forget. As they trotted off happily, blissfully unaware of the terrible pain they once suffered, he’d been more than envious.

The black cloaks with the crimson clouds of the Akatsuki hadn’t gained notoriety yet, however Intelligence forces were starting to make the connection. Outside of the Five Hidden Villages, henges weren’t necessary. So, while Itachi and his partner Kisame had been assigned Tea to deal with some local bandits, he’d been happy to wander around the streets in a plain brown cloak and a large straw hat.

Sure, the Akatsuki were considered terrorists to some, and every member had a detailed entry in each of the Hidden Villages’ Bingo books— but rogue ninja weren’t innately up to no good all the time. Frankly, the more Itachi got to know Kisame — the more he respected the swordsman. Like the darkness that festered within Konoha’s government, Mist also was poisoned by a crazed leader — the Fourth Mizukage had been a blood thirsty maniac who’s insane demands led to the Shark-like mutation that defined Kisame and the deaths of most of the Seven Swordsmen and countless Mist shinobi fatalities in an annual Battle Royale.

For the last nine years, Itachi had gotten to know the primary members of the Akatsuki. He’d tried to drop hints to Konoha about the group’s mission to acquire the tailed-beasts, but he wasn’t sure how well the intelligence worked with the Sandaime’s death. Did the current Hokage even know of his position as a spy? Likely, Danzo would keep that tidbit to himself as the warmonger continued to manipulate events to Konoha’s favor. Itachi scowled, conflicted about his path. He couldn’t risk blowing his assignment, because he was sure that Root black ops would target Sasuke the minute he did. Itachi had only thought Sasuke might be safe in Konoha under the watchful of Kakashi Hatake, but Orochimaru might actually be better suited to protect Sasuke from Danzo’s minions and also be motivated thinking he was protecting his next vessel. Sasuke should be strong enough to leave Orochimaru now though. Itachi had to learn how to remove that cursed seal — time was running out!

Itachi cleared his throat, feeling the familiar tightness in his bronchials. He breathed in the steam from his hot tea, soothing the inflammation just a bit.

Kisame’s loyalty within Akatsuki wasn’t something Itachi quite understood just yet, despite them being partners. The only member Itachi sort of understood, was Sasori — but now even that relationship was strained. How does one relate to someone whom abandoned their humanity? He thought back to the laboratory where Sasori’s human body was stored in cryogenic preservation. The puppet body had been an impressive weapon, but Itachi still preferred to feel the world around him — even if it hurt.

He and Kisame had rounded up several bandits over the last week, earning nice bounties for their efforts. They were about to head out when Itachi decided to indulge in his favorite past-time while Kisame collected their fees. While he had a picture in the Bingo book — it was of his thirteen year old self. Even if a rogue shinobi did recognize him, the flee on sight recommendation kept him mostly unbothered.

Itachi relaxed in the back booth inside the quaint teashop that he’d been eyeing all week. He had ordered a jasmine matcha tea. The caffeine would help him focus on their return trip. He’d been just about to add a spoonful of honey, when he noticed the bell at the shop’s door indicating another patron.

The cafe was crowded with civilians as well as a few local Grass shinobi. The bell at the entrance had been ringing frequently, but something about this time made him look up. The hairs on his arms stood at attention sensing a strong chakra signature and then even more alarming was how quickly the chakra was masked — as if they forgot for a moment to hide their presence. It was an amateur mistake, but also one that most wouldn’t notice—- unless you were an S ranked missing shinobi.

Itachi was no amateur. To make things even more bizarre, the woman walked in with her Leaf hitai-ate on prominent display, long pink hair cascaded down her back. It was Sasuke’s old teammate — the Apprentice of the Godaime Tsunade Senju.

Her bright eyes scanned the crowded cafe, until they landed on Itachi’s table. He was by himself while the other tables had multiple occupants. With a dazzling smile on her face, she approached him. Itachi watched warily as she was suddenly at his table. Surely, she would recognize him. He and Sasuke both favored their mother. Though, of Sasuke’s team, she was the only one he’d purposely avoided on his little stroll inside Konoha a few years back. He’d heard she was resistant to genjutsu — was that true?

“I’m terribly sorry to bother you, sir. Would you please consider sharing your table with me?” She gestured towards his tea. “I would be happy to cover your drink for you in my gratitude.”

Itachi gestured to the seat across from him. It was a terrible idea, but he was innately curious about Sasuke’s childhood friend. And it would rouse more suspicion if he’d declined. “It’s not necessary to buy my drink. A pleasant conversation will be repayment enough.”

She smiled at him — teeth a dazzling white. “Aren’t you quite the charmer?” She offered her hand. “I’m Haruno Sakura. I’m from the Leaf — here to do a little work at the clinic.”

Itachi took her hand. Her fingers were calloused and warm. “Shisui,” he murmured. It was foolish to use his cousin’s name, but it was the first thing that popped into his head. Most people sensed his reserved nature and didn’t bother him. He wouldn’t offer up any unnecessary information. Did she really not recognize him? This encounter might be a pleasant respite.

The waiter hurried over and took Sakura’s order. She ordered a jasmine green tea with milk and some lemon cookies. She gestured towards the honey. “You like your tea sweet too, Shisui-san?”

Itachi nodded. “I do indeed, Sakura-san.” He added the honey and stirred his drink while watching her carefully. She was pretty and there was the diamond-shaped seal on her forehead that kept drawing his attention. He’d heard of the Godaime’s Seal of Hundred. It would seem that her apprentice also had unlocked the impressive ability. Sasuke had a strong team, if he could be convinced to rejoin them, he’d be capable of stopping the Akatsuki from nabbing Naruto. “So you’re here to work at the clinic?”

Sakura nodded. “I’ve spent a lot of time at the hospital the last few years back home. It’s nice to get out and explore the area and help people all around. And I’ve been eager to visit Tea.” The waiter showed up with Sakura’s tea and she doctored it to her liking. She took a sip and hummed in delight. “How about you, Shisui-san? What brings you to Tea?”

“What makes you think I don’t live here?” Itachi asked.

Sakura gestured towards his outfit. He wore simple dark blue tactical pants, black mesh shirt, and a simple brown cloak rather than his black and red Akatsuki one. “You’re obviously shinobi with that get-up. You’re just not wearing your forehead protector, trying to be discrete.” She cocked her head to the side studying him. “You’re from Kumo aren’t you? Or maybe Grass, but that would make you local. No, definitely Kumo. Your manners are much too refined to be from a small shinobi village.”

“I could be,” Itachi answered, amused at her deductions. “Are you alone?” He looked past her, wondering whom her mission partner would be. If it was Hatake Kakashi — he would be in trouble. Even if Sakura didn’t seem to recognize him, Hatake would. His Bingo book picture was from when he’d just barely been thirteen. At twenty-two he looked significantly different. Though, his eyes should have reminded her of Sasuke. Did she really not know who he was?

“No, my partner is talking to the local authorities.” She set her tea down once and picked up a lemon cookie. She gestured towards the plate. “Please help yourself.”

“You’re very generous,” Itachi murmured, accepting a cookie. He took a tentative bite, enjoying the blend of lemon and sugar.

Sakura smiled at him again, though her eyes were sad. “Sorry, you remind me of one of my best friends.” She sighed and looked back into her tea cup. “I haven’t seen him in a long time.”

“You must miss him,” Itachi said quietly, unable to resist. He needed to shut up, he should not help her make the connection.

“I do,” Sakura whispered. “I just hope he’s okay.” She sipped from her tea and her gaze drifted towards the window, watching the pedestrians outside. She reached for another cookie the same time as Itachi and blushed when their fingers brushed against each other. Itachi retracted his hand and selected a different cookie. “Sorry about that.”

“They’re good cookies,” Itachi said with a faint smile. When was the last time he smiled? It had probably been a good decade since that day. He took another sip of his tea, but felt Sakura’s knee knock against his under the table and he choked on the hot liquid, resulting in a coughing fit.

“I’m so sorry!” Sakura’s face was flushed red and she reached across the distance to pat his back. “Oh no! Sorry, let me just…”

Then a soothing rush of warm, healing chakra invaded Itachi’s body— straight to his esophagus and then his bronchial tube. He stayed completely still, inwardly cursing his own self for letting down his guard enough to allow a medic to invade his space. He knew how deadly Kabuto was and yet here he was — letting the Godaime’s apprentice lay her hands on him.

“Oh, Shisui-san,” Sakura murmured, brow creased in concern as she pulled back her hands. “I’m so sorry, it’s just habit. I thought you were choking and then. You’re lungs were really inflamed. If you want, I’d be happy to reduce your symptoms.”

“That’s not necessary,” Itachi said, struggling to keep his expression neutral. He would not be visiting little tea shops in the future. This whole encounter was foolish!

She bit her lower lip. “I’m here to offer my healing services, Shisui-san. And I didn’t mean to knock you under the table — this place is just so crowded. Please?”

She batted her jewel-toned eyes at him.

Against his better judgement, Itachi found himself agreeing with a single curt nod.

“Great!” Sakura patted the seat next to her. “Sit over here for a moment. It will be easier.”

Without a word, Itachi switched to her side of the table. He should leave. He should just teleport away right now. All it would take was her to venture towards his eyes for her to realize he had the Sharingan. There was no way she wouldn’t notice — she was teammates with Hatake Kakashi and his brother Sasuke!

“It’s going to feel a little warm. It won’t be longer than five minutes, I promise.” Firm hands, much smaller than his own, laid across his back just under his shoulder blades. The warmth of her healing chakra seeped into his lungs and for the first time in years, Itachi found himself breathing without difficulty. “Did someone poison you?” Sakura asked, her tone soft and gentle.

Memories of his mother tending to a scraped knee when Itachi had been a young boy sprang to mind. “I’m not sure,” he murmured. “It just started gradually a few years ago.”

“I’ll be in this area for a few weeks. You should come by in a few days, I’d be happy to look into this further — no charge,” Sakura offered.

Oh, Itachi was incredibly tempted. He took the first painless deep breath in many years. “Thank you, Sakura, for the cookies and the healing session. I really have to get going now. I wish you a good day.” He started to stand and collect his cloak, grateful to create a little distance between them. She’d been nothing, but kind. But she would figure out his identity any moment now. He didn’t want to see her lovely, caring jade eyes darken in hatred.

“Thank you for sharing your table, Shisui-san,” Sakura said, smiling up at him. “Again, sorry about earlier.”

Itachi met her eyes for a moment, his vision wasn’t as sharp as it had been in his youth, but it was clear enough that she was a pretty woman. He resisted the urge to activate his Sharingan and capture the image of her looking at him like he was a decent human being. Instead, he nodded and then placed more than enough money on the table to cover both their meals plus a generous tip. He could feel her eyes on him while he left the cafe. He adjusted his straw hat and went to meet Kisame on the outskirts, careful to keep his chakra cloaked. He prayed to whomever was listening that he wouldn’t cross paths with the Hound of Konoha.
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OoO

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Sakura
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The first time Sakura met Itachi Uchiha, she didn’t realize it was him. She and Kakashi had gone to a rural village in the Land of Tea. Kakashi was doing recon and she was visiting a cafe, hoping to pick up some gossip from the locals.

She’d entered the crowded tea shop and saw a solitary man with dark hair sitting in the corner. He seemed quiet and was rather surprised when she joined him. He was polite and kept his own counsel, though she did manage to get him to speak a little. Naturally, she’d made a fool out of herself, clumsily knocking her knee against his under their shared table. At least she’d been able to make it up with an impromptu healing session. His lungs had been in a terrible state! She wanted to work on him more, but she was definitely making him uncomfortable. She’d never seen lungs as ravaged as his. She’d barely made a dent in their inflammation before he’d retreated.

After a half hour, Shisui left, paying for both their tea. She couldn’t even remember the last time someone paid her bill. Maybe it was Naruto? Once upon a time when they were fresh out of the Academy on a supposed date?

Sakura went to meet Kakashi and found the same man now facing off against her captain. The genial fellow she’d shared tea with was no where to be found and a menace of lethal cunning now faced off against her teammate. The dark, deadly chakra rolling off him was absolutely terrifying.

“Don’t look at his eyes!” Kakashi warned, staring intently at the dark-haired man’s feet.

Too late. Sakura had stared at those beautiful onyx eyes as they morphed into a kaleidoscope of crimson and black — just like Sasuke’s. “Shisui?” Sakura asked, confused. Why would he fight Kakashi? “What are you doing?”

The raven-haired man blinked at her in astonishment and then he was gone, a burst of crows taking flight.

When he was gone, Sakura rushed to Kakashi’s side, sending a burst of healing chakra into his system to scan for any anomalies. He seemed fine, aside from a rush of adrenaline in his system from his fight-or-flight response. “What was that about?”

Kakashi turned towards her, his hitai-ate shoved up into his silver, unruly hair. He gripped her shoulders, his fingers digging into her uncomfortably and his mismatched eyes were both wide in disbelief as he scanned her from head to toe. He took a deep, shaky breath and then stepped back, sliding his hitai-ate back over his Sharingan. “That was Uchiha Itachi.”

Sakura’s mouth gaped open in disbelief and she looked over her shoulder to where the not-Shisui had burst into a murder of crows. “The man that murdered Sasuke’s clan?”

“Sasuke’s older brother,” Kakashi added. “Why did you call him Shisui?”

“That’s the name he gave me when we had tea in the shop,” Sakura murmured. She bit the inside of her cheek. How dare that bastard act so cordially to her when he’d ruined Sasuke-kun’s life!? “That bastard,” she whispered vehemently. She hated the man — truly. And she didn’t hate anyone before. “He’s the reason Sasuke left us.”

Kakashi nodded. “How did you not recognize him? He wasn’t even wearing a henge.”

“Why would I know what he looks like?” Sakura asked. “I mean, I thought he seemly vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place it.” She closed her eyes and rubbed the heel of her hand over her forehead. “Stupid.”

“Come on,” Kakashi said, scooping Sakura into his arms abruptly. He flash-stepped them away from the village proper before she could even protest and deposited them into a room at the inn. He dumped Sakura on the bed and set about wards to the room.

Sakura took a few deep breaths, willing the nausea to pass after the lightning-enhanced transportation method disoriented her, gifting her with a wicked sense of motion-sickness.

“You’re not leaving this room until you memorize this,” Kakashi hissed. He unzipped his travel pack and pulled out a dark green book and tossed it at Sakura.

She caught it with ease and studied the simple cover. Bingo Book of Konoha and Suna. “What’s a Bingo book?”

“Something I should have made sure to go over with you before we ever left the village,” Kakashi growled. “I thought we’d have at least a little time to settle in.” He ran his fingers through his already disheveled hair in frustration. He opened the window to their room and then pricked his finger to summon half his pack of ninja hounds. The multitude of ninken scattered outside, save for Pakkun whom curled up next to Sakura’s on the bed.

Kakashi closed the window and flopped on the single bed next to Sakura. “You looked Itachi fucking Uchiha in the eye and it did nothing to you. How is that even possible?”

“Is that not normal? Doesn’t the Sharingan just do a high level of genjutsu? Those don’t work on me,” Sakura murmured. “I read that Senju Tobirama was the same way— it has something to do with perfect chakra control.” She flipped the pages until she got to one Uchiha Itachi. “That bastard!” He was younger, but there was no mistaking those soulful eyes, the cut of his jaw, that perfect nose.

Kakashi chuckled and then groaned. He turned on his side to peer at the page as well. “Yeah, I mean — he is still pretty recognizable. Haruno Sakura, the Godaime’s Apprentice, sharing tea with Konoha’s number one terrorist.”

“He seemed polite,” Sakura muttered. She snapped shut the book in a huff, her cheeks blazing. It was like the rooftop all over again — she could have died for her foolishness. “He’s gone now. Your ninja hounds are on patrol. I promise to read this book and have it memorized by morning. You can go now to your own room.”

“Ha!” Kakashi groaned and ran his hands down his face. “Obviously, I can’t trust you to be alone.” He sat up again and dragged his pack back towards him, dug around for a moment and pulled out a trio of thin books in yellow, blue, and gray. “Why don’t you open page twenty in the yellow book?”

Sakura stared down at her team captain in confusion. Sure she messed up, but he didn’t need to be so dramatic about it. She was definitely not going to mention her impromptu healing session of the missing S-ranked ninja. With a huff, she opened the book to the aforementioned page. It was an entry — about her. “What?”

“Yeah and page sixteen in the blue and twelve in the gray. I’m usually ranked number one or two in the Iwa, Mist, and Kumo books. I’m not leaving your side for the duration of this mission.” He kicked off his ninja sandals and stretched out on the bed and closed his visible eye. Pakkun shuffled away from Sakura and settled on Kakashi’s chest. “I guess it’s a good thing I don’t snore, eh, Sakura-chan?”

Sakura stared down at her team captain in shock and then again at the Bingo entries about her. She didn’t know what was worse — having Kakashi babysit her 24/7, having tea with Itachi FUCKING Uchiha, or being clueless about the bounty on her own head.

She skimmed through the different Bingo books and read four different entries about Itachi. Kin-slayer, Uchiha -clan Massacre, Flee on Sight. The list of his known nefarious activities was substantially long, but no where did it say enjoys jasmine tea and lemon cookies, very polite, very sick.

Sakura snapped close the book. She hated him, she really did. But, she also wanted to know exactly what was wrong with his lungs. She hated mysteries.

“I know you haven’t memorized all those entries yet,” Kakashi mumbled.

With another huff of frustration, Sakura started her way through the Bingo books. “When were you planning to suggest I study these, anyway?”

“During this mission,” Kakashi reasoned. “I thought it would be the perfect way to spend your downtime. I just didn’t expect you to have tea with Itachi Uchiha in the first thirty minutes we entered the village.”

“Okay, I get it, I messed up,” Sakura grumbled.  “I’m fine.  We’re fine.  Let’s drop it.”

“You know crows eat kittens, right?” Kakashi said quietly.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Kakashi sighed.  “I’m going to sleep.  Don’t leave this room without me.”  He cracked his thunderstorm grey right eye open at her.  “That’s an order, Haruno.”

“Yes, Captain.”

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Chapter Text

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Kakashi
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“1.98 meters in height, swordsman that favors water techniques,” Kakashi quizzed his partner as he stared out at the rainy streets outside. He sat on the cushioned window seat in their apartment’s bedroom alcove. “Travels in the company of another missing Nin we’re both familiar with.”

Under the assumed names of Sukea and Saeko, Kakashi had rented the two of them an apartment in the crowded almost metropolitan district of the village, where the majority of the traveling merchants often set up long-term rentals as well as younger, childless couples. Staying in the inn long term simply wasn’t an option for the battle-hardened shinobi after the run-in with two notorious members of the Akatsuki. Itachi had literally put him into a coma before and he wasn’t going to let Sakura get kidnapped and used as bait — Naruto (the nine-tails jinchuriki), Kakashi (the elite S class shinobi of the Leaf) and the Godaime herself would tear the world apart looking for her. And the metro area was a major hub for gossip.

So, Kakashi used that tactical brain of his and found them an apartment. They used henges whenever they were in public, only dropping them once secured within the walls of their little private abode. The villagers they worked with assumed that Kakashi and Sakura were staying outside of the village, but nearby. They worked as themselves, promoting the strength of Konoha as Kakashi Hatake and Sakura Haruno, but they also hustled in occupations as their alter egos — Sukea and Saeko — to gather intel.

“Hoshigaki Kisame,” Sakura answered. “Nothing about how he looks like a shark? Razor-sharp teeth?"

“1.76 meters,” Kakashi started, ignoring her snark. “Medic. Chakra natures Earth, Water, Wind, Yin and Yang. Chakra scalpels are preferred technique.”

“Ash grey hair, black eyes, glasses,” Sakura added. “Kabuto Yakushi. You’re not even trying to challenge me now, Kakashi,” Sakura scoffed. “He led me and the boys out of the Forest of Death on the catastrophic chunin exam.”

Kakashi felt his heart lurch at the sound of his name without the ‘sensei’ title coming from Sakura’s lips. That was also new — and he liked it. Too many years had passed since someone spoke to him like a casual friend, aside from Gai. But in the two months since he and Sakura took this assignment and were practically living on top of each other — one bathroom, one bed, one tiny kitchen — he’d insisted on her dropping the honorific. They were both Anbu now and he would be damned if she started calling him Kakashi-senpai. He already had one friend that refused to drop the habit.

However, with her comment, he hid a grimace behind his familiar black mask. Signing his genin up for the chunin exams after only four months of training — had been a mistake. He thought it would be a good experience for them. Hell, he’d done the chunin exam on his own when he was six. However, if Orochimaru hadn’t invaded and sought out his team specifically, they likely would have been fine. Though, if he’d waited — like Gai had advised — and worked with all three of them — would Sasuke still have left? It had been a few years now since there had been any news on the tragic young man. Was he still himself? Or had Orochimaru finally claimed the poor boy?

“Don’t think I don’t recognize when you spiral, Kakashi,” Sakura chided. She set a bookmark inside the Botany text she was studying and closed it with a loud thud. “If the medical program hadn’t been decimated and practically dismantled by the Sandaime after the Yondaime’s death, there’s no way you would have passed the psychological exam upon your forced retirement from Anbu. Never the less, you shouldn’t have been forced to watch over a bunch of novices.”

Kakashi couldn’t change the past, so he needed to not harp on it. Sakura had forgiven him for his clumsy attempts to make up for neglecting her in favor of focusing on the last Uchiha and his old sensei’s orphaned son.

Things were different now. Sakura had trained under the legendary Tsunade Senju. She was a skilled medic with impeccable chakra control. And she had a lot of strong opinions about the shinobi system and the mental toll extracted from the ninjas themselves.

“This isn’t to say you didn’t do the best you could,” Sakura continued. Every word she spoke in his defense loosened that painful knot of guilt in his gut. “You lost your teammates, your sensei, not to mention your own family years before. You should have been offered counseling.” She narrowed this jade eyes at him. “Not offered to have your memories wiped by a Yamanaka clansmen.”

Oh, so she knew about the memory purges offered under the Sandaime’s rule for Anbu. Of course she did. Lady Tsunade would have learned about it and told both Shizune and Sakura — her apprentices. “From what I’ve heard, they are pretty effective,” Kakashi protested weakly.

“You declined them for good reason. I’ll be forever grateful that you had the foresight to do so,” Sakura answered, a soft smile on her lips. She patted the spot next to her on their bed.

“Alright,” Kakashi sighed. He stood from the benched seat and sat on the edge of the bed. There was hardly enough space for him given how she’d spread out a half-dozen books over the comforter. He gathered up the medical, botany, and geography books. “I only knew to reject the memory wipes because Master Minato disapproved of the technique. None of his bodyguard platoon were allowed to do so either. Our memories are what makes us — the good, the bad, and the ugly.” He’d also told Kakashi the only way to survive the ugly is to have something beautiful with loved ones — friends and hopefully one day a life partner. “Since this is obviously not challenging enough for you. How about you create a clone that looks like the different bounties in the bingo books?”

Sakura took the books from his arms and set them on the nightstand next to her side of the bed. She made the very heavy load seem weight-less with her monstrous strength. “I’ve never made a clone that didn’t look like myself,” she murmured thoughtfully. “I wasn’t aware you could do that.”

Kakashi nodded, feeling an unexpected warmth at the idea of actually teaching Sakura a new technique. Creating shadow clones that looked like other people wasn’t one of the thousand techniques he’d copied over the last two decades— he’d figured it out himself. “How many shadow clones can you make?”

“At one time? Or within a certain timeframe?” Sakura asked. “I can make four at a time, but our apartment here is pretty tiny. We’d feel cramped with six bodies in this space. Anything more than four clones and they are poor quality and easily dispelled. The rate to which I could create one and then replace it — maybe a couple of hours? I’ve not tried it before. Usually, I would make clones to maximize studying.”

“Clever,” Kakashi acknowledged. He laid back on the bed and tucked his arms behind his head and crossed his right ankle over the left. He looked over at his partner, appreciating the young woman she’d grown into. He was glad she dropped her henge in their apartment. It had become cozy sharing a single-bedroom and bed — though nothing inappropriate had occurred— except sometimes Sakura would snuggle against him and maybe he secretly enjoyed the small token of affection. Kakashi couldn’t help, but notice that Sakura was a far cry from the annoying adolescent that he met on the rooftop years ago. “Creating clones will help increase your stamina.”

“Says the man whom passes out from chakra exhaustion on every major mission,” Sakura pointed out with a laugh.

Kakashi smiled ruefully. “To be fair, that’s because of my Sharingan. I promise my stamina in other avenues is quite spectacular,” he teased, feeling a little miffed by the insinuation. He’d also performed hundreds of solo A and S class missions without passing out once. She gave him so little credit sometimes.

“Uh huh, I might make you prove that to me one day,” Sakura answered, flashing him a flirty smile that stirred a bolt of desire straight to his loins which he violently suppressed. “So, what will be my prize?” Sakura stretched out languidly on the bed next Kakashi and turned on her side to face him. She was close enough that he could feel the warmth of her breath on the exposed flesh of his upper cheeks.

“What do you want, Kitten?” Kakashi kept his Sharingan eye closed, his hitai-ate was discarded on his nightstand, along with his gloves. His visible eye flickered down to her lips for a moment and then he closed his normal eye to steady himself. While he could acknowledge Sakura had grown into a beautiful woman — a chunin now Anbu that was legally an adult that was more than capable of consenting — he would never want to put her in an awkward position. Just because her senior captain might have appreciated her intelligence, brawn, bravery and beauty didn’t mean he was going to act on it and make things weird. They were more than teammates — they were friends. He had so precious few friends.

“I want you to tell me about Itachi,” Sakura answered.

Her request was like a wet blanket. Kakashi was speechless. He hadn’t talked about Itachi in years — he still felt such guilt for not seeing the signs of Itachi’s darkness. “Wouldn’t you rather I share with you some seduction techniques?” He crinkled his eyes in a familiar smile.

Sakura laughed breathlessly. “Nice try, but that would require you to remove your mask. Besides, Master Tsunade wouldn’t send me on any seduction missions. And I have my doubts about how skillful you would be seeing as I’ve never seen you in a relationship.”

Kakashi didn’t do relationships, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know his way around the bedroom. She was right in that he’d have to take off his mask, but it wasn’t like Sakura hasn’t seen his face at this point. There was only the one bathroom and they were usually huddled over the sink together when it was time to brush teeth and she’d given him medical aid more than once. Maybe he was a little offended at her easy dismissal of the idea. He’d been teasing, but….

“Maybe another time,” Sakura offered, a soft smile on her lips, reading his expression—even though half his face was masked.

“Itachi, huh?” Kakashi thought he could redeem himself through Sasuke, where he’d failed Itachi. Instead, he failed them both. Fugaku Uchiha had been Master Minato’s friend and rival, and yet Kakashi wasn’t able to help either of Fugaku’s sons. Though, if Sakura wanted to protect herself from Itachi —- Kakashi would tell her what he could. “Alright. After you create four clones of people from the Bingo book. I’ll even let you pick.”

“And how do I do that?” Sakura asked. “I’d like for you to explain the process before I attempt it. I’m not like Naruto. I don’t have the limitless chakra reserves to just jump into a situation without assessing it.”

“All good points,” Kakashi agreed. He settled back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. With his eyes closed, he thought of different ways to create the shadow clones in the different forms. “Well, there are different ways to make this work. I’ve done it so many times, I can imagine the other form and then will it into existence. However, you know how to do a henge. So, that’s the easiest way to do it. Create yourself into the henge and while wearing that henge create the shadow clone. Do that a couple of times and I think you’ll be able to interlace the henge technique onto the shadow clone technique and skip the step of making yourself into the henge.”

“That’s very clever,” Sakura said quietly. “You were meant to teach and mentor, Kakashi. You know too much not to, but you just needed students that knew more of the basics.”

“I did feel that my Anbu subordinates learned a lot from me,” Kakashi admitted.

“Well, I’m Anbu now, Hound.” Sakura stood and Kakashi sat up to observe.

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OoO

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Sakura
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As Sakura stood under the shower-head, letting the warm water run over her shoulders she willed her muscles to relax. She was tired — six shadow clones that took on the form of different people within the Bingo books was taxing work. Though, the tension had formed for a very different reason — learning about the tragic youth that was once Itachi — seemed to correlate well with the soft-spoken, polite man she met in the cafe— and it made her inexplicably sad. Had fates been different and Itachi and Sasuke had grown up together like they should have with their clan intact — they both would have been so much better off. And Sakura suspected that if that had been the reality her childhood crush would have been on the older Uchiha brother. The pressure Itachi must have been under — Kakashi had experienced similar unreasonable responsibilities thrust upon him by the village. The Nindaime created the Ninja Academy to prevent the formation of child soldiers with fragile psyches. If the village leadership had honored that very wise rule, Itachi wouldn’t have snapped. It was clear he must have had a psychotic break, because the man she interacted with was not a sociopath— or at least not a psychopath.

However, another reason for her tense muscles was whatever seemed to be changing between her and Kakashi and their relationship. She was certainly not the same girl he knew four years ago, but then neither was he the same man. Gone was the deeply depressed, avoidant personality she knew Kakashi as. In those months when he’d been her sensei, she only ever saw a glimmer of his true personality when he’d been engaged in battle. He was a protective wolf — keeping his pack safe. Or, maybe a protective Hound keeping his family safe, considering his Anbu persona.

She also realized something else this evening. On that one spring day when she, Sasuke and Naruto had worked together on trying to unmask the Copy Ninja — one of the happiest days of her life to be honest— Kakashi had been there the entire time as Sukea. He’d allowed himself to have fun with them too and she would bet it was probably one of his happiest days too. Now that she knew about his ability to manipulate the forms of shadow clones, he’d done it then.

In her mind’s eye, she was already penning a letter to Naruto informing him of her discovery.

She smiled into the water cascading down her face. And for the first time in many years, she felt pretty content with her life.

There was a gentle knock on the bathroom door and Kakashi opened it a crack, not enough to look inside, but enough for his voice to carry. “I’m heading into the village to grab us take out. You want your usual from Megumi’s?”

Sakura pulled back the shower curtain enough to see some of Kakashi’s unruly silver hair from the doorway. “That sounds perfect, thanks, Kakashi.”

He paused. “No problem, Sakura. I’m leaving Bull here while I’m gone. I won’t be gone too long.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then.” Sakura listened to hear if he’d use the front door like a civilized person, or the balcony. She waited a moment and noted he used the front door — which meant he was going as Sukea. She toweled off and slipped on a pair of comfortable pajama shorts and cami top. When she and Kakashi had first started sharing the apartment, she would have never worn an outfit that revealed so much skin.

However, over the last few weeks, she’d grown more confident in both her body and in her proximity to Kakashi. She was a far cry from the vain little pre-teen she once was. She pulled out the messenger scroll she’d packed away and started to compose a letter to Naruto — he was due a letter anyway.

Bull shuffled over and settled at her feet. The large dog nudged his wet nose against Sakura’s shin, earning pets between his ears.

She’d only just revealed the identity of that photographer from long ago when she felt the familiar tingle of her slug summons. Master Tsunade had helped Sakura create a contract with Katsuyu the year before and it was also a convenient method for the two to communicate.

The slug summons poofed into existence on Sakura’s desk. “Good evening, Lady Katsuyu,” Sakura greeted.

“Good evening, Lady Sakura,” Katsuyu rejoined. “I apologize for the abrupt appearance. Are you alone?”

Sakura pet Bull between his flopped ears again. “Well, I have Bull with me. Kakashi should be back in a few minutes.”

“Okay, I think I should wait until he’s back,” Katsuyu worried.

That was ominous. “Is Master Tsunade okay?”

The slug summons nodded. “Yes, Lady Tsunade is well. She’s stressed of course, but overall well. She asked me to deliver some unsavory news, but advised me to make sure Captain Hatake was present as well.”

“Is it Naruto?” Sakura could feel a panic start to grow. The pen she held in her hand snapped and ink stained her fingers. “Or Ino? Are they okay?”

“Naruto and Ino are both well, so far as I or Lady Tsunade are aware,” Katsuyu explained. She tilted her head to the side. “Please do not ask me anything further until Captain Hatake has arrived.”

“Alright,” Sakura agreed. She tossed her broken pen into the trash and moved to the bath to wash her hands clean. She wasn’t sure how long she spent washing her hands, Bull had repositioned himself in the doorway.

“Yo,” Kakashi murmured, leaning against the doorframe. He had a bag of take out dangling from the distal joint of his fingers. “Everything okay? I noticed your summons is taking a nap on the desk.”

Sakura switched off the water. The ink stain was long gone at this point. She dried her hands and waited for Kakashi to make room for her to leave the bathroom. “She brings news from Master Tsunade, but she couldn’t tell me until you were here too.”

“Oh. Well, let’s go find out,” Kakashi suggested. He unloaded the take out onto the counter in the kitchen while Sakura brought Katsuyu to the kitchen table.

The slug’s antenna twitched nervously. “Lady Sakura, there is no easy way to say this. So I will simply say it. Your parents were at the merchants bazaar in the neutral territory between the lands of Fire, Wind, and Earth.”

“They go there every summer,” Sakura murmured, wondering why Master Tsunade would bring up her civilian parents.

“They’re dead,” Katsuyu explained. “The Anbu sent to retrieve their bodies and bring them back to Konoha suspected foul play — likely poisoning. Lady Shizune will be examining them. May we have permission to perform an autopsy?”

Sakura merely stared at the slug summons as her vocabulary failed her. Her parents had been so excited for her when she’d gone into the ninja academy and even more so when she specialized in medical ninjutsu. Her mother had fan-girled over Kakashi— apparently having a major crush on Kakashi’s father back when she’d been a girl — Sakumo Hatake. Her father just wanted her to be happy — be it as a kunoichi or a doctor. Her mother made the most delicious home cooked meals and her father told the corniest jokes. What was she going to do now?

Her knees shook and suddenly, Kakashi was holding her from behind, hugging her against him.

“Permission granted,” Sakura murmured. She felt steadier with Kakashi there. “Can I return home to plan for their funeral?”

Katsuyu bowed her head sadly. “Unfortunately, you are to continue with your mission. Their bodies will be cremated after the autopsy.” The slug summons frowned. “Lady Tsunade doesn’t wish you to see them as they are presently. The poison was not a kind one.”

Poison usually wasn’t — the rot and necrosis usually made the victims so grotesque they were nearly impossible to identify. No one was better at analyzing poisons than Shizune, though Sakura had learned from her and was an apt pupil. She ached to do something though!

“You may have a memorial when you return — after your mission,” Katsuyu continued. Her bulbous eyes shifted towards Kakashi.

“We understand,” Kakashi stated, his voice deep and confident. “And Shizune will pass along her findings?”

Sakura felt a surge of gratitude for the request. She couldn’t help her parents, but she could learn about the poison and find the bastard responsible. She felt like she was channeling a little of her inner-Sasuke, understanding his thirst for vengeance a bit better.

“I’m sure that can be arranged.” Katsuyu gave the two of them one more sad nod before vanishing.

Kakashi sighed as he smoothed his large, warm hand over Sakura’s hair. “It’s not okay, but it will be, I promise,” he murmured.

Sakura turned in Kakashi’s arms and buried her face against his chest. His shirt grew damp with her tears and he continued to stroke her hair gently.
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OoO

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Sasori
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With a steady hand, Sasori added the final ingredient to the poison he was concocting. The first version of this toxin had wrecked quite a bit of havoc on civilians a few days back — a greedy merchant had paid Sasori handsomely to eliminate several rivals during a bazaar in the neutral territory between Wind, Fire, and Earth. Sasori had later been disgusted by the merchant’s swarthy attitude, that he’d later killed him— after collecting his fees of course.

He didn’t like loose ends. Sasori observed as the poison shifted from a deep purple to a clear, odorless form and he hummed in satisfaction. This puppet body of his didn’t feel the same annoyances as his human form had — there was no need to eat, drink, or sleep. He also didn’t have those pesky morning erections to deal with that were a constant reminder of his solitude. The occasional episodes of loneliness were easier to ignore now without those mortal qualms. It also helped him tolerate his jovial, pyrotechnic partner, Deidara. And of course, he was immune to all poisons as well as dismemberment. His puppet body would simply reconnect itself should he sustain any trauma.

While this toxin satisfied Sasori, he was no step closer on coming up with a solution for Itachi’s lung ailment. Part of him regretted not taking advantage of the medical ninjutsu his granny tried to teach him in his youth. He’d picked up some basics from the crone, but his resentment towards Chiyo made him a poor student. Besides, there was zero motivation to save lives and much more interest in ending them. The Third Kazekage nurtured Sasori’s skill in taking lives. And Sasori respected no one more than the Third Kazekage.

He scribbled a few more notes about this newest brew. Then he set aside his journal and sorted through his missives. His various spies had been busy of late and he had several reports to read over. Sasori had men and women scattered throughout Wind especially, but also a few in Earth and Fire. He’d recently acquired a few interesting tidbits from his people in Tea. The Copy Ninja was frequenting a little merchant village there and in the company of the Godaime’s apprentice. Granny Chiyo bitched about Tsunade Senju more than anyone else in her cankerous life — so this apprentice might be a useful person for him to learn more about.

Sasori could probably find a way to capture the Hokage, but it would be a lot of trouble. A chunin-level kunoichi who wasn’t quite seventeen would be a much easier target. Children were easy to manipulate — he could attest to that from his own experience.

The Copy Ninja was the son of The White Fang — the man that killed Sasori’s parents. He didn’t care too much about Sakumo Hatake’s bloodline in his present puppet form, but had he still been a flesh and blood man — then Sasori would have been tempted to do something about that nuisance. Unfortunately, Itachi was apparently fond of Hatake and Leader also seemed rather enamored by him. Sasori didn’t feel like going against either of them at the moment. It was too much trouble dealing with a sulking Itachi or an irritated Leader who straddled the fence of sanity. Though, if Hatake were to cross his path and a battle ensued, Sasori would have no problem using lethal force.

He’d have those spies in Tea focus a little more on this Sakura Haruno.
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Chapter Text

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Sakura
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This wasn’t the first time Master Tsunade had denied what felt like a perfectly reasonable request from Sakura. And it was an emotional response to want to be back home in Konoha to bid farewell to her parents, even if they’d died far from home and it had already been a couple of weeks. She had only just learned of it!

And while Sakura trusted Shizune’s competency, would she really dedicate as much attention towards the original of the poison? Maybe she could ask Shizune to send Sakura the components she discovered and Sakura could research the origins herself, maybe figure out the poisoner’s location and possibly their identity. Then, what would she do? Would she go vigilante? Wouldn’t that make her the same as Sasuke? And wasn’t his guest for vengeance obviously wrong?

Kakashi had suggested she take a few days to herself. He left Bull and Biscuit with her in their apartment and he helped the local law enforcement during the evenings. They were on different sleep-wake schedules because he wanted to give her some semblance of privacy during her grief. So, Kakashi had the bed and slept during the day while Sakura read through medical journals. She’d already read through a dozen times. She read the script until the words blurred together. Biscuit would nudge her around that time and she’d snuggle under the covers, clutching onto the cuddly ninken until Kakashi woke her in the mornings when he returned.

It was early afternoon on the fifth day that Sakura had finally had enough. She sealed up the journals she’d been reading and leaned back in her chair with a groan of disgust. She was sick of this village and sick of tea. It didn’t help that her only company was Kakashi and he often had his nose stuck in his old porn book. She missed Ino . She missed Naruto. But most importantly, she missed her parents.

Though the ninken were nice company, they didn’t talk back — except Pakkun. And the adorable pug was generally with Kakashi and too busy to babysit Sakura.

As if sensing her elevated level of irritation, Kakashi tucked his well-worn copy of Icha Icha Tactics into the front compartment of his backpack. “Let’s go for a run.”

Sakura stared at him for a moment, trying to process his words. They’d hardly spoke in the last four days, aside from him letting her know when he prepared food or to ask if she wanted to help him in the kitchen. Normally, she declined. Though this morning had been the exception — they’d worked silently alongside each other making breakfast earlier.

“Just because I’m done studying, doesn’t mean I want to run laps.” Sakura folded her arms over her chest and scowled at Kakashi. “I’m not Gai-sensei.”

Kakashi chuckled and pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. In the privacy of their apartment, he’d stopped wearing the hitai-ate and simply kept his left eye closed. It made him look younger and softer, actually showing the majority of his face.

It was getting easier to be around him in such close quarters. Dare she think it, Kakashi Hatake was one of Sakura’s closest friends. “Besides, don’t you have a shift this afternoon with the local security?” Sakura continued.

“Sakura, you have to get out of this apartment. I know what it’s like to lose one’s parents. Trust me, a run outside in the fresh air will be a nice escape.” Kakashi let his hand fall to his side and he stared back at her with his mis-matched eyes. “And as your captain, Kitten, you need to do as I say. I’d hate to write you up for insubordination.”

In spite of herself, Sakura laughed. She ran her palm over her face and sighed. “I cannot believe you’re calling me Kitten.”

Kakashi tilted his head to the side. “I do remember when you were a cute little genin, Kitten, and on a mission with the boys. You all wore those adorable little cat ear headbands.”

Sakura snatched the pillow off the bed and threw it at Kakashi’s face. “Call me kitten one more time and see what happens!”

Kakashi caught the pillow with ease and winked at her. “You’ll have to catch me first, Kitten.” Then he poofed out of the apartment using his body-flicker technique.

With a groan, Sakura took after him.

They ran outside of the village in Tea, deep into the forest. Kakashi’s pace was relentless and Sakura had to push herself to keep up. She suspected his endurance might have been strengthened by the resurgence of his rivalry with Gai— he definitely hadn’t been this good of shape back when she’d been a genin. Maybe she should have trained more with Lee? Nearly an hour had passed before Kakashi slowed down and gradually led her towards a hill at the edge of the thick tree line that overlooked a stream.

Kakashi summoned his ninken and sent most of the pack on patrol while he settled on the lush, carpet of grass with Pakkun and Biscuit staying close. “Sit with me, Sakura.” Kakashi patted the space next to him. “If you feel like yelling — this is a good place for it. It might make you feel better. And there’s no one around for kilometers to hear.”

Sakura settled on the ground next to him and drew her knees up to her chin. With her arms wrapped around her shins. The act of screaming would release much needed endorphins. “Alright.” She buried her face against her knees and screamed until her voice became hoarse.

Kakashi dramatically twisted the tip of his index finger against his ear canal. She might have felt her lip twitch in mild amusement at the image he made.

Biscuit nudged his wet nose against her hand. “Hey, there. Sorry, Biscuit. I wasn’t thinking about your sensitive hearing.” She ran her fingers through the blond dog’s fur in apology. “I hate that I wasn’t able to say goodbye to them.” She turned towards Kakashi to find he was already looking at her, his thunderstorm grey left eye soft with sympathy. “How can I have closure? In my mind’s eye, it’s more like they are simply on an extended business trip.”

“It’s easy to forget they’re gone,” Kakashi murmured, looking away. “Sometimes, it’s like losing them all over again.” He picked up a pebble from the hill and tossed it into the stream below.

“Now everyone on Team Seven is officially an orphan,” Sakura mused morosely. Naruto knew knew his parents. Sasuke didn’t talk about his loss much, mostly his need for vengeance. Though he had expressed to her and Naruto both that losing a loved one rather than never knowing them was indeed harder.

Was it better to have love and lost than to have never have loved at all? Sakura felt both scenarios were painfully lonely.

Kakashi reached over and mused Sakura’s hair. “Team Seven is a family.” His expression was somber. “We’re family.”

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OoO

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Sasori
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He was not a fan of Iwagakure shinobi— including his current partner— whom he had grown to tolerate over the past year. The rocky terrain of Earth was a bitch on the gears of his Hiruko scorpion puppet. Hiruko wasn’t an option, he was necessary armor that also served as a fearsome weapon. Sasori sat at his workbench cleaning debris from all his puppets. A benefit of taking on the puppet body full time was his increased mental capacity. He no longer needed to sleep or eat and had all the time in the world it seemed.

However, that didn’t mean he liked using his time cleaning the inner workings of his puppets. The puppet body that housed his own essence was a fascinating process — much akin to taking a shower and the personal hygiene he employed in life. One’s body was a machine — be it flesh and blood or wood and gears.

Deidara was at the local market picking up supplies. Sasori’s last job had filled their account quite generously. And this village wasn’t too bad. The neighbors mostly kept to themselves. Sasori did occasionally talk to a few members of the outcast Kamizuru clan. Their knowledge in venomous insects— particularly bees, wasps and hornets— was quite useful as he continued to play around with different poison concoctions. He did so enjoy studying chemistry.

Unlike most of the Akatsuki, Deidara was still in the good graces of his home village’s kage. Dei had been the apprentice of the Tsuchikage Onoki and an upper level member of the Explosion Corps. Though, those good graces would soon be expiring once Kisame and Itachi caught the jinchuriki of the four-tails. It’s all fine when the super-powers of rival villages were stolen, but not when it happens to your hidden village.

Deidara had befriended one particular resident in this rural village far away from the epicenter of Iwa and Sasori actually tolerated the blind man better than most.

There was a knock at the front door to the cottage. “Come in,” Sasori called out, not bothering to look up from his table when he recognized Shisui’s fiery chakra.

“I brought the wasps you requested,” Shisui explained. He set a jar with a mesh cover on Sasori’s work table. “They’ll be out for a couple of hours due to the smoke inhalation. These are yellow jackets and they’re the most aggressive of the local variety. They’re pretty vicious buggers and with very little provocation will sting multiple times.”

“I’ll be fine,” Sasori answered curtly. It wasn’t obvious to the casual observer that Sasori’s body was not one of flesh and blood— but of wood and metal. Angry wasps couldn’t harm him and Deidara wasn’t due to return until the next day, so he’d be sure to finish extracting their poison by then. He turned in his chair and studied the dark haired man. There was something about his facial features and his coloring that made Sasori think of Itachi. “You’re not expecting these back are you?”

Shisui held up his hands in protest and chuckled. “No, no, they’re all yours, Sasori. Just be careful.” He reached into the inner pocket of his vest and laid a capped syringe on the work table. “Just in case you get into a jam, this is anti-venom.” He scratched the top of his head, musing his dark curls. “I don’t have any memories from before I woke up in this village,” Shisui murmured. “I do know that I’d been poisoned and this anti-venom is the only reason I’m standing before you now.”

“So you have no idea what became of your eyes?” Sasori asked. “Or if your name is actually Shisui?”

The other man shook his head, a frown tugged at the corner of his lips. “Sometimes, I wish I knew, but other times, I suspect I’m better off not knowing.” He pulled out a chair from the dining table — Deidara insisted they have a complete set of four even though Sasori felt it was needless since he didn’t eat and they didn’t invite company. Shisui sat near the worktable and while he couldn’t see, he seemed to have an idea of Sasori’s project. “Taking a life should be done with utmost respect. Killing for profit is wrong.”

Sasori set down his tools and studied the human. He looked to be in his late twenties. Though, his hands were scarred like a shinobi, not like a hunter. “And you have experience with killing?”

“Now, I am only a hunter of game. I suspect in my past I was a tool. Based on the extent of my injuries when the clan found me, someone wanted me dead and tried very hard.” Shisui gestured towards his blindfold. “They took my eyes, which makes me think I must have been a Hyuga or an Uchiha based on where my body washed ashore.” He sighed. “Either way, my village was obviously done with me and I’m done with killing under orders.” He gestured towards the unmoving wasps in the container. “Do not make me regret allowing you to study these creatures. I have a family here and I will protect them.”

Sasori tilted his head curiously at the confident man. He did remember seeing a young boy and girl with curly dark hair following after the man in the woods a few days ago. Were they his children? “Exactly what would you do about it?”

A confident smile spread across Shisui’s lips. “Whatever I needed to do. Perhaps burn your wooden body to cinder?”

If Sasori’s glass eyes could widen in disbelief, they would have. But since he was in his mechanical body, he mentally marveled instead. “How do you know about that?”

Shisui tapped his nose. “With the loss of one sense, the others tend to grow. My sense of smell and hearing are pretty impressive.”

“I see,” Sasori murmured. Technically, he no longer had eyes either, yet he was capable of seeing based on his chakra flow recognizing his mechanical body in place of his frail human form.

“Look, I don’t really care what you do outside of this village. It’s a dog-eat-dog kind of world out there,” Shisui said, emphatically gesturing with his hands. “But I do ask you not sully the name of the clan that saved my life. And that you not bring trouble to our valley.”

“I am not in the habit of shitting where I sleep,” Sasori answered, keeping his tone carefully neutral. Not that he defecated anymore — another bonus of his engineered body.

Shisui laughed. “A little more crass that I would have put it, but yes.”

“Your request is reasonable,” Sasori agreed. He turned back to his workbench. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to return to my work.”

Shisui leaned back in his chair, going no where. “I don’t mind observing for a while. The kids are at their grandparents’ house and my wife is on duty.”

Sasori shot him one more curious look and with a faint smirk on his own wooden lips returned to his project. “Very well. Would you like for me to explain to you how the mechanisms work?”

“Sure,” Shisui answered. “I’m a hands on kind of guy.”

Sasori used to enjoy working with the junior members of the puppet brigade, discussing the different puppets and the mechanics. Shisui was an avid listener and had a few decent suggestions. At least an hour or two passed before Deidara strolled inside.

“Oh, we got company, yeah?” Deidara called out, closing the door behind him and shedding his cloak and hat. “Oh! It’s the resident blindman.”

Shisui laughed. “Yeah, I guess that’s me.” He stood, towering over both Sasori and Deidara with his height. “I don’t want to overstay my welcome. Be careful with the wasps.”

After the villager left, Deidara sat in the recently vacated chair. “Making friends, yeah? That’s unusual for you.”

“He was pleasant enough company I suppose. Reminded me of Itachi for some reason,” Sasori murmured hunching over his work. Which Sasori considered Itachi an almost friend, or at least someone he enjoyed spending time with. By contrast, Deidara was not fond of the missing nin from Konoha. Itachi had used less than savory methods to recruit the Iwa explosion expert at the behest of their leader the year before.

“Hm, it’s that dark hair, deep tear trough lines, the chakra reserves, the fondness of crows and the faint smell of smoke,” Deidara observed with a shudder. “Just like the Itachi of my nightmares — except this guy smiles.” He leaned forward to peer at Sasori’s project. “I read an old Iwa Bingo Book that had an entry on Shisui Uchiha back when I was a genin. He could be the same person. Supposedly he died about eleven years back.”

“Considering I officially died ten years ago, it is possible,” Sasori acknowledged. “Any update on our next objective?” Since Sasori shed his human body, it was difficult for him to receive the telepathic messages from their second in command.

Deidara blew out a frustrated breath, ruffling his blond bangs. “We’ve been assigned the One-tail.”

“I see. Due to my spy-network within Wind, Leader has chosen the most appropriate team for the young Kazekage,” Sasori reasoned. “And he wouldn’t be my first Kazekage to kidnap.” He twisted the torque wrench and secured the last gear. “I will have to deal with his siblings. Kankuro has been studying the scraps of my work for the last several years. I think it is time he met his hero, don’t you?”

Deidara chuckled. “You’re an evil bastard, you know that?”

“I believe I identify more as Neutral evil,” Sasori retorted. He picked up the container with the wasps. They showed signs of rousing. “If you do not wish to be attacked by these disoriented Hymenoptera species I suggest you vacate.” He studied the yellow and black stripes. “Yellow jackets are aggressive and sting multiple times.” He glanced up in time to see Deidara swallow nervously.

“I think I’ll head back into town and grab a bite to eat, yeah?”
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OoO

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Itachi
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He read over the report Sasori had sent him regarding Sasuke and Orochimaru. The Snake Sannin had yet to try and take over Sasuke’s body, but he would be trying soon. Either Sasuke would need to force his own escape, or someone else would need to end Orochimaru’s wretched existence. Itachi should have killed Orochimaru years ago, but he’d stayed his hand with orders from the Sandaime and Danzo prohibiting him from lethal engagement of the disgraced sannin.

Not for the first time, Itachi wished he had handled things differently with his brother. Fugaku had taught Itachi that the most assured method to grow stronger with their bloodline ability was through trauma and hatred. Itachi thought vengeance was the only guaranteed method to have Sasuke focus on that goal of growing stronger. Unfortunately, instead of seeking the power though the channels of Hatake — like Itachi had hoped — Sasuke had been seduced by Orochimaru’s promises. Maybe Itachi should have gone easier on Hatake, but if he had, there was a chance he’d have a chidori through his heart right now.

With the start of another headache forming, Itachi took a sip of his chamomile tea laced with peppermint. He set aside the report from Sasori about Sasuke and started reading the one about his and Kisame’s target in Iwagakure. The jinchuriki of the four-tails monkey beast was an expert taijutsu master of the same generation as JIraiya by the name of Roshi. He would prove a difficult opponent. Most jinchuriki didn’t live very long, the immense chakra required to be a host for a tailed-beast being a limiting factor, yet Roshi had lived in harmony with his beast for forty years. On top of it, the four-tail jinchuriki was a lava user.

Considering that Itachi and Kisame’s targets were Naruto and Roshi, Itachi knew they’d have to somehow defeat Roshi in order to buy time. Though, Itachi suspected Konoha’s leadership for him to join the Akatsuki was to help in stealing the tailed beasts from the other villages. Uchiha sharingan and wood release were the best ways to subdue a tailed beast after all. It would leave Konoha with the nine-tails, the most powerful of all the bijuu. The ninja world would have been better off if Hashirama had left the tailed beasts free to roam instead of alienating whomever was unfortunate enough to become a jinchuriki from their fellow shinobi with a chasm of fear.

Kisame flared his chakra outside the door of their hideout before entering. Itachi glanced up from the scroll after noting Roshi’s last known whereabout. He arched an eyebrow as he observed Kisame’s hunched posture. The giant swordsman toed off his shoes and hung his black and red cloud cloak on the hook behind the door. When Kisame met Itachi’s eyes, his navy sclera made his pale gray irises appear luminescent in the dim light of the room.

Itachi set aside the scroll. Kisame was generally unflappable but he certainly had a defeatist aura about him today. “Why do you look so beat?” He was supposed to be meeting with an old friend of his — Mei Terumi — to learn about lava techniques and the best ways to counter them.

Kisame leaned Samehada— his massive sentient sword — against the wall. “Me? What about you, Itachi? Why do you look so defeated?” He countered, turning back and with long-legged strides, crossed the room to settle in the overstuffed armchair opposite of Itachi.

“I did ask first,” Itachi murmured.

“I still got people in Mist I care about,” Kisame sighed, stretching out in the chair.. “It’s gotten worse since Zabuza’s failed coup. Mei was a year behind me at the Academy, so we never had to face each other in the bloody graduation ceremony.” He drummed his fingers over his armrests impatiently. “She’s always been loyal to a fault but it’s hard walking on egg shells around Yagura.”

Itachi leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his thighs and steepled his fingers together to rest his chin. He continued to study Kisame’s expression. Normally, his partner was fairly energetic. The last time Itachi had seen him so forlorn had been when news of Zabuza’s death in the Land of Waves had reached them. It hadn’t helped that Itachi had been relieved that Sasuke’s team had survived relatively unscathed in that same conflict.

“Would you like to talk about it?” Itachi asked, keeping his tone neutral and bored. “I can prepare us some tea and biscuits.”

“Nah, not hungry,” Kisame said, waving the thought away dismissively. “Besides, after our training, I ate with Mei. She wants to overthrow the Mizukage and asked what it would cost to hire an Akatsuki mercenary.” He rubbed his palms down his face. “The thing is, I want to help her — I have some really strong feelings for Mei. Yagura is already allied with our group though. Madara or whomever our masked leader actually is somehow has manipulated Yagura for some purpose.” Kisame chuckled in self-depreciation. “I don’t even know what the point of our group is, somehow following my Mizukage has led me to being part of the Akatsuki.

Itachi leaned back and closed his eyes. “The one time I crossed paths with Yagura, I barely escaped. I used Amaterasu. He didn’t seem possessed at the time.”

“One, you were maybe thirteen at the time time because I remember what a little shit you were trying to assassinate my kage,” Kisame pointed out. “Two, I’m ninety-percent sure his possession happened afterward— it’s some sort of high level genjutsu. You would have noticed being a genjutsu master and all.”

Itachi thought about the power that his best friend Shisui possessed with his mangekyou sharingan. Was it a power such as that? And if the Mizukage was under the direction of the Akatsuki, was he destined to die just like the other jinchuriki? Eventually, the three-tail would need to be extracted as well, right?

“So what do you plan to do?” Itachi asked.

“Use the skills I learned with Mei to take down the four-tails jinchuriki, worry about the next part later.” Kisame smiled suddenly. “Apparently, Mei has had a crush on me since we were teens. She has legs that go on for miles too. And her curves.” He whistled appreciatively and pulled up the sleeves to reveal his thick forearms and the burn marks on his flesh. “Totally worth getting singed with her lava attacks.”

Itachi smiled faintly. The burns on Kisame’s arms would be healed by the end of the day. He had an impressive recovery factor. Meanwhile, Itachi could feel that familiar tightness in his chest. The healing session with Sasuke’s old teammate seemed like a half-way remembered dream at this point.

“Sasori has tracked Roshi’s latest whereabouts. When you’re ready, we’ll confront him.” Itachi rose from his chair and started for their little kitchenette. “I’m going to fix myself something to eat. There will be enough for you if you change your mind.”

Kisame smirked. “You going to make those rice balls of yours? I’m always in the mood for those.”

For a moment, Itachi had a flashback to his youth when Shisui used to tease him about his balls— using innuendo that Itachi wouldn’t understand until years later. The memory passed and he simply nodded and quietly made his way to the kitchen.
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OoO

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Kakashi
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He and Sakura had been overlooking the river for hours. The sun had set a while ago and the stars were serene in the night sky. He’d caught a couple of fish earlier for their dinner.

“My father committed suicide,” Kakashi said, breaking the silence that had surrounded them for the last couple of hours as they were both lost in thought.

Sakura turned towards him abruptly, her jade eyes wide in shock and concern. “Kakashi,” she whispered. She laid her warm hand on top his glove-covered one. “I’m so sorry.”

Kakashi snorted. “I didn’t tell you for sympathy. I’m just letting you know, I understand about not having said final words.” He pursed his lips together. There was no need to share that he’d been five years old and had been the one to find the rapidly cooling body as Sakumo’s lifeblood stained the floor of their family home. “He was an elite shinobi. My mother had died when I was even younger, I don’t really remember her. There’s mostly just the faint association with jasmine. She had a little garden,” he trailed off, a vague impression of white hair and golden eyes and a warm embrace springing to memory.

“Still.” Sakura squeezed the back of his hand once more and then pulled her hand back to her lap. Her pale eyes studied his face and he was grateful for his mask. It had been a long time since he’d felt so exposed. “The olfactory nerve is connected to the prefrontal cortex — where memories are made. Memories associated with smell are generally the strongest.”

A wan smile crossed his face. He had no right to be proud about Sakura’s accomplishments, but he was glad she was able to put that big, beautiful brain of hers to use learning medicine.

“Minato— Naruto’s father— was about ten years older than me. He was orphaned young too and he took me under his wing. As Jiraiya had taken Minato under his wing at a young age. It’s a vicious cycle— orphans amongst the ninja. I lived on my own and was sent into battle at the age of six. Minato looked out for me the best he could. There was another boy about my age, Shisui Uchiha — also orphaned at a young age and another prodigy.” Kakashi stared into the slow moving stream below them, the sound of the water bubbling over the stones soothed the anxiety growing in his heart. “Eventually, I was put on a team with a couple of genin — Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara— with Minato as our sensei.”

He touched his scarred cheek under Obito’s left eye. “I lost them both. This was Obito’s eye. He reminded me that my father had been a true hero— he’d become disgraced by the elders when he’d abandoned his mission together intel in order to save his teammates.”

Sakura’s hand was back on Kakashi’s again. He felt a single warm tear trickle out of Obito’s eye. “They’re all gone now. One event after another.” Obito was lost in the collapsed cave and was crushed by the rocks. Rin had been dying from the strain of the three-tails forcefully inserted into her body and chose to die at his hand. Minato and Kushina had both been lost when the nine-tails had been forcefully extracted by the mysterious invader on the night of Naruto’s birth. Honestly, the loss of his teammates was harder to endure than the loss of his parents.

“I make you this vow. I will always come for you and Naruto. I will never abandon you,” Kakashi promised, facing Sakura and flipping his hand so that they were palm to palm, fingers entwined. He hadn’t abandoned Sasuke either. He was still determined to find a way to save Itachi’s younger brother as well. He just didn’t know how and when he’d tried Sasuke had rebuked him. It would need to be a team effort of himself, Naruto and Sakura to bring Sasuke back into the fold. He still had hope — Naruto and Sakura were so similar in their dedication and their hearts were so big! Obito’s heart had been big like theirs and he would make sure his childhood friend’s dream lived within the two of them.

“Naruto is the son of your previous sensei,” Sakura said quietly, pulling her hand away from his. She laid back on the ground and glanced over towards Kakashi. “He’s the jinchuriki. If it were to come down to it — you choose him.”

Kakashi’s jaw tightened. “I won’t choose between you. I will protect both of you.”

Sakura closed her eyes. “Master Tsunade trained me to be durable, Kakashi. I don’t need you to protect me. Naruto is the future of our village. His ninja way is the only way our world will one day find peace. I won’t blame you. Remember, Naruto comes first.”

Kakashi said nothing, but in his heart, his promise seared itself into his very soul. No matter what, even if the whole world burned around them, he would make sure his teammates—his family — endured.

He laid back on the ground alongside Sakura and stared at the star-filled night sky. They would still be in Tea for a few more weeks and he’d do his best to make sure Sakura knew she still had him. Biscuit and Pakkun snuggled up next to the two of them. They would sleep under the stars that night, far from Konoha, but not far from home.

Home was your loved ones, not a place build of brick and mortar.

Chapter Text

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Kakashi
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Half a year passed while he and Sakura completed various missions within Tea and Grass. They’d earned a generous amount of money and there had been plenty of light moments together. Kakashi had been fond of both Naruto and Sakura, but it had been a vague fondness, like one has for a puppy. His feelings for Sakura were stronger now — she was more than a friend, more like family. He was glad that he’d been able to help her cope with the loss of her parents. They’d both laughed over Naruto’s terrible penmanship whenever letters from him and Jiraiya were exchanged.

It was a novel experience, exchanging letters with teammates far away. They weren’t even mission related — just nonsense more often that not. Naruto and Sakura trash talked about the superiority of toads versus slugs. Kakashi enjoyed piping in about how only dogs were used as therapy animals. Sakura had then explained to him about oxytocin and how it released stress and that it was also known as the cuddle hormone. Kakashi had listened to her excitedly prattle on. When she asked him a question to see if he’d been paying attention, her eyes had shown so bright with joy when he’d been able to regurgitate the information.

She wasn’t used to such an attentive audience.

He was surprised that he thought as Sakura as more than a partner. Honestly, he felt she’d become his best friend — even more so than Tenzo or Gai. And Naruto was starting to feel more and more like Obito — so positive and determined. He still worried for Sasuke, but there wasn’t much they could do about him. Orochimaru was a slippery sannin and had escaped Anbu hunters for over twenty years.

They had picked up a few clues about the Akatsuki mercenary band. The jinchuriki from Earth had been kidnapped. The man’s body had been found

He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, least of all Sakura, but he had developed a very strong attachment to his kunoichi. He didn’t want to analyze it too much. But he’d gotten used to starting and ending each day with her at his side. They’d fallen into a domestic routine and he was going to miss this when they returned home— so much so that he toyed with the idea of asking her to move into his apartment.

Today they were taking it easy — it was Sakura’s birthday after all. They’d completed all the side missions and were now picking up odd jobs. However, for the past month, whenever Sakura summoned Lady Katsuyu, she’d been unable to communicate with the Godaime.

Kakashi had sent one of his ninken to Mount Myoboku, checking on Jiraiya and Naruto.

He folded his left arm over the table and cushioned his left elbow in his hand, and propped his chin on his raised fist. He watched as Sakura opened her mouth wide to bite into the strawberry daifuku. He chuckled as she moaned loudly while eating the dessert. He’d taken great pains in not only acquiring the coveted recipe from her favorite cafe back in Konoha, but finding a local baker that could make it just right.

Apparently, such a thing did not exist and Kakashi Hatake had actually made the sweet treat himself.

Sakura licked her fingers clean and grinned back at him. “That was delicious, Captain. Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome, Sakura-chan. It was no trouble at all,” Kakashi answered, flashing her one of his eye-crinkle smiles. It had been a hell of a lot of trouble, but she was worth it.

Then, seeming out of the blue, they received the summons from the Hokage to return to the village. Though, when Sakura attempted to speak with Tsunade with their shared summons, Lady Katsuyu had been unable to connect to the Godaime.

It was worrisome that while the Hokage’s seal was on the orders, it wasn’t Tsunade Senju’s seal.

“Should we reach out to Jiraiya?” Sakura asked. “I don’t want Naruto getting entangled in any village politics. If this isn’t from Master Tsunade, then it’s the elder council.”

“I’m not a fan of those dinosaurs,” Kakashi worried. He rubbed his jaw thinking over how many times that ancient council blocked any kind of progressive agendas Minato, Hiruzen, or Tsunade had tried to pass. Danzo, Homura, and Koharu were all cruel, spiteful and greedy.

“Mount Myoboku cannot be reached without a Toad Sage,” Kakashi explained. “So long as Naruto is there, he’ll be safe. We should definitely send them a message by hawk though.” There was a scratching at the window for their room and his ninken Pakkun waited patiently on the window ledge. He rose from the table and opened the window to let the pug inside.

“Thanks, Boss,” Pakkun grunted, jumping inside the room. “Got some activity in the north.” He turned towards Sakura and she scratched him behind the ears. “Good to see you, Floral Green.”

“I guess you’re not here to wish me happy birthday?” Sakura asked.

“Happy birthday.” Pakkun’s tongue lolled out his mouth for a moment before he turned back to Kakashi. “It’s Kitsune and Shark. They’re hunting that big beetle jinchuriki from Waterfall.”

Kakashi cursed mentally. So much for a quiet evening before they started the journey back. He started to pack up his gear. Kakashi had kept his dogs on patrol ever since he and Sakura ran into Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. He still couldn’t believe Sakura shared tea with the man that slaughtered the Uchiha clan! He also found it hard to believe that Itachi had been so polite and cordial all things considered. Itachi had no trouble terrorizing his little brother and his old Anbu captain, but the Godaime’s apprentice? He was a perfect gentleman. Kakashi knew Sakura was a pretty woman, but to someone who’s heart was as hardened as Itachi —it made no sense.

“Fuu is in danger?” Sakura began to make haste gathering her own gear. “She was in the chunin exams with me back in Sunagakure. She’s a formidable fighter, but she’s also incredibly naive. Itachi was able to convince me he was a kind, polite, docile person and she’s weak against genjutsu.”

“We head out in three minutes,” Kakashi ordered. He unfurled the storage scroll that contained their Anbu uniforms. “Time to go hunting, Kitten.” He tossed Sakura her Anbu mask and then secured his own. Charcoal and crimson mismatched eyes met pools of jade as they prepared. This would be their first real challenge in months. “Remember what read in the Bingo books.”

Sakura nodded. “Aye, Captain Hound.”

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Sakura
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On her seventeenth birthday, she enjoyed a strawberry daifuku. Kakashi had somehow managed to procure such a sweet treat out in the middle of a rural village halfway between Grass and Waterfall. She wasn’t sure how he worked such magic, but it made the first birthday spent as an orphan almost tolerable.

Though, aside from her parents, Sakura missed her friends. She missed Naruto and Ino. And while it had been years since she’d seen him last, she missed Sasuke. The Sasuke she’d actually befriended while they’d been teammates. She was a far cry from the useless girl that fawned over them in their youth. She wanted to apologize for her behavior. She had no idea just how much he was suffering — she thought she knew — but only now after experiencing grief herself did she understand. Losing Sasuke himself had been her first experience with soul crushing sadness. The lonely exhausting work she put in training under Master Tsunade was on par with the hours she knew Sasuke had put into training back at the Academy and later as active shinobi. She had no doubt he was must stronger now, but she worried for the cost. She just wanted to save him from the darkness and pain that consumed his heart.

And having met Itachi, she couldn’t understand how that polite man from the cafe could possibly be the same monster that destroyed Sasuke’s life! There had to be a way she could maybe help them both? She shook her head— no that was not happening. Itachi Uchiha was a master manipulator. He pulled a fast one over Kakashi-sensei and his entire clan.

When she blew out the single candle Kakashi had placed in the daifuku treat, she wished for Sasuke’s health and well-being. She and Naruto had both grown strong. They should be able to start tracking him. They were more motivated than the other surveillance teams that had failed thus far.

However, more pressing at the moment, it had been five weeks since she’d communicated with Master Tsunade through Katsuyu. Then there was the strange request from the village to return home. Now Pakkun brought word that Itachi Uchiha was nearby, trying to capture Fuu for the Akatsuki.

With chakra lacing her feet, and frankly her whole body, she and Kakashi took off at breakneck speeds.
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Itachi
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He and Kisame were still not one-hundred percent recovered from their recent battle and capture of the Four-tailed jinchuriki. Roshi was in his fifties and greatly experienced shinobi whom had a very efficient relationship with his tailed-beast. His mastery over the elements of Lava, Fire and Earth made him a formidable opponent. Kisame’s knowledge about Lava technique learned from the skilled Mei Terumi allowed them to have a chance.

The only reason Itachi and Kisame hadn’t perished in the confrontation with the Iwa jinchuriki was the obvious strive between the human shinobi and the monkey-bijuu that had been sealed within him. That efficient relationship between human and bijuu wasn’t one of mutual respect, but more master and servant.

Itachi’s use of his Sharingan gave him an advantage over most of the other Akatsuki members — save the man in the orange mask. That man was also a fellow Uchiha — but certainly not Madara for he was too young. Itachi didn’t investigate the man’s identity — it wasn’t his assignment from the elder council and frankly the masked man helped him accomplish his assignment of slaughtering his own clan.

Itachi didn’t have the stomach to slay the non-combatants — children and their parents, the retired and disabled.

When facing the jinchuriki from Iwa, Itachi learned from the Four-tails, Son had never been addressed by name in the forty years he’d been sealed within Roshi. Son was also tired —he’d been fighting for decades and when Itachi offered him a time of peace, he’d been eager to betray the human that treated him as a servant.

So, Itachi and Kisame managed to capture Roshi, Samehada weakened his chakra reserves until Itachi was able to slip him into a deep genjutsu with his Tsukiyomi. Then the Akatsuki members linked up using Pain’s thought wave technique and managed to extract the Four-tails.

Only happen-stance caused Itachi and Kisame’s paths to cross the jinchuriki from Waterfall. She was about the same age as Sasuke and Itachi struggled with that realization. He still thought of Sasuke as the sweet eight-year old he’d once been. Though, after he’d been in Orochimaru’s clutches for the past four years, he feared he’d not recognize Sasuke anymore.

Itachi didn’t hate many people — it took too much effort to hate for the most part. But he hated Orochimaru. That coward had withdrawn from the Akatsuki ranks after his failed attempt to capture Itachi and had then gone after his little brother. Part of Sasori and Itachi’s friendship had been based on their mutual dislike of Orochimaru

Itachi didn’t like the snatching of children and brainwashing them in experiments for the mad scientist. Sasori was annoyed that his old partner had abandoned the Akatsuki cause after he’d finally come around to embracing Konan and Pain’s ideology.

Itachi did not believe in the Rain shinobi’s ideology — bringing the world together under the umbrella of mutual pain so that from the ashes a unified body could form. Itachi knew the man in the orange mask was the true leader of the Akatsuki and that he’d somehow manipulated Pain into serving as the figurehead. What that mysterious Uchiha truly wanted was up for interpretation.

“Spunky,” Kisame grumbled when the jinchuriki of the seven-tails sprouted wings and flew off. “Teenaged brat.”

Itachi resisted the urge to remind Kisame that the only teenager he spent much time around had been Itachi himself. Kisame had practically raised him from a gangly thirteen year until now ten years later. His partner had been more of a father to him than his own father ever had been.

Itachi stopped dead in his tracks. Kisame, sensing his stillness turned towards him with an arched eyebrow. His crows kept surveillance and they’d noticed the rapid approach of the two Konoha shinobi on the forest’s periphery. Fuu was heading straight towards them.

“What do you want to do?” Kisame asked, deferring to Itachi. Since they weren’t in their actual bodies, but only a small portion of their chakra was infused into the spies Sasori supplied them when, they wouldn’t be likely to capture Fuu and defeat two high ranked Konoha shinobi.

It wasn’t just two high ranked Leaf ninja — it was two Itachi was familiar with and they were both wearing Anbu masks. However, their identity was clear as day to Itachi. Kakashi Hatake was S rank and Sakura Haruno while she was ranked A, she wasn’t far from the upper echelons. More importantly, they were members of Sasuke’s precious Team Seven — the one team Itachi really didn’t want to have to fight.

Why did they always end up crossing paths?

Of course, he knew the reason why. Team Seven was always an Assault team. “Fuu isn’t our target. Let Kakuzu and Hidan do their job.”

Kisame shifted his blade over his shoulder. “Alright, so, just a little fun in the mean time? They’ve both got rather large bounties on their heads. Kakuzu will likely be more pleasant to deal with if we fill the group’s treasury.”

“They are my brother’s teammates,” Itachi said quietly.

“Ah, well, non-lethal games it is I suppose.” Kisame laughed boisterously and smiled, the sharp points of his teeth especially disturbing when coupled with the excited gleam of his eyes. “It won’t take long to leech the chakra from the Copy Ninja.”

Itachi nodded. He’d simply place Sakura into a genjutsu and then he and Kisame could abandon these borrowed bodies and return to their own bodies — thousands of leagues away meditating as the final extraction of the six-tails continued. Pain had captured that one.

While Kisame and Kakashi faced off, the Copy Ninja fast and powerful in his own right and using the Sharingan that both allowed him to observe his opponents at supernatural speeds, but also drained his chakra alarmingly fast. It made Itachi nervous to see his old captain and friend place himself in such a precarious position. He could see that Fuu continued to head south, using these two as a distraction for her own escape.

Seeing friends abandon friends disgusted Itachi — Kakashi had ingrained that into him as well during their time on Team Ro. Though, he supposed Fuu and Haruno were likely acquaintances at best. When he’d requested these two be placed on the team with his brother, he knew they’d be loyal to a fault and determined. They were heroic and self-sacrificing. If Itachi couldn’t be there for Sasuke, he wanted others that represents the best parts of himself to be there.

“I don’t suppose you’d be interested in sharing a tea together instead,” Itachi teased softly.

Sakura huffed, her jade eyes narrowed behind her mask. “I don’t know who you’ve confused me with, Uchiha, but no thanks,” she hissed.

He thought briefly of Izumi - the girl he crushed on during his adolescence. Sakura and Izumi looked nothing alike — Sakura with her pink hair and green eyes, Izumi had brown hair, brown eyes. Their personalities were also quite different too — Izumi was polite, soft spoken, diligent and obsessed with Itachi. Sakura was easily angered, incredibly intelligent, loud and obsessed with his little brother.

While it was incredibly inconvenient running into Kakashi and Sakura, it was in a way enjoyable. Brave Konoha shinobi like these two were why Itachi continued to serve the Leaf as a spy. It would have been nice if they could have worked together like back in the days of Anbu when Kakashi had been Itachi’s captain. The year and a half that Itachi had served on Team Ro had been the best of his shinobi career. The missions were challenging, but they’d always felt like justice. His targets had done terrible things and he knew his actions were protecting others. His teammates had been skilled and intelligent and looked out for one another. When Itachi lost Shisui and then Kakashi due to his next mission, it had only been by providence that Kisame had become his partner.

The memories of Shisui’s last moments, how Izumi blindly trusted him as he led her to death, his parents as they presented their necks to him accepting his judgement haunted him. However, it was Sasuke’s anguished face that threatened to destroy him utterly. Itachi wouldn’t have lasted six months with as dark as his thoughts were, if it wasn’t for the Mist Swordsman. To say he owed Kisame his life would be an understatement. The man was more father to Itachi than Fugaku had ever been.

Itachi dodged Sakura’s projectile kunai while he caught her second kunai in a clash of steal. It felt more like a sparring match or a dance, than a battle. He was grateful she didn’t try to smash his face — it wouldn’t have hurt him aside from knocking out his tentative possession of the man, but it would hurt the body. Thankfully, he wouldn’t have to feel guilty this time about abandoning these men. Sakura would be able to heal them and help them survive the loss of the possession jutsu.

Then he made the mistake of trying to cast a simple genjutsu on her.

“Oh, Itachi-kun?” Sakura mocked his voice sweetly, though for some reason her tone had the opposite effect on him. He rather enjoyed her adding the honorific to his name. “Those tricks don’t work on me.”

That was inconvenient. However, Itachi could sense it would be easy to push her buttons — like it had been to do so on young Sasuke. She wanted him to pretend that he didn’t know exactly who she was — as if he wouldn’t recognize Sakura Haruno! He remembered the hazing initiates into Anbu received with their masks— particularly with Kakashi as her captain. The man was a terror on the field of battle, but he also didn’t seem to have a mean bone in him. The Copy Ninja didn’t drag out battles, but was efficient and avoided causing any unnecessary suffering. That made him a practical saint in the shinobi world. The whiskers painted on Sakura’s Anbu mask gave him an idea. “Is that right, Kitten?”

Sakura growled. “Don’t call me Kitten!” With her fist covered in chakra , she destroyed the earth beneath his feet into an impressive fissure.

Itachi allowed his body to explode into a murder of crows, substituting with his summons and moving to stand directly behind Sakura, his hands over her upper arms, his lips right against her ears, breath warming her skin. “Until next time, Kitten.” He lingered a moment, enjoying the scent of pine, earth, and salt on her skin, along with just a trace of jasmine.

Sakura elbowed him hard in the belly, and Itachi released the possession of the Suna shinobi.

He blinked in rapid succession within the lair he and Kisame had been meditating during the extraction of the bijuu. His vision was still slightly improved from Sakura’s brief cafe healing session. He was still breathing easier too. And her scent lingered in his nose. The jasmine on her breath was likely from her preferred flavor of tea.

“Were you flirting with that girl?” KIsame asked.

Itachi chuckled. “Maybe that’s what that was,” he mused with a very faint, yet tired smile on his lips.

“I’ll have Pain let Kakuzu know about Fuu’s last coordinates.” Kisame rose in one smooth motion, his large frame casting a shadow over Itachi as he stood. “Don’t fret it, ‘Tachi. She’s a pretty little minnow . You’ve been breathing better ever since she got her hands on you. Imagine what she could do with more time? It would be a waste to kill her. If we get the opportunity, we should take her with us.”

“And Hatake?” Itachi pressed.

Kisame snorted. “Why would I kill him? We’re mercenaries and killing him wasn’t the mission.” He sighed, running his hands through his short hair. “Besides, you get all pouty when he’s hurt.”

Itachi wanted to protest that he did not get pouty, but thought it best to let the conversation die. He waited until Kisame finished communicating with Pain and then started on their dinner.

Itachi opened a blank scroll and started a coded message back to Konoha. He was doing his best to delay the acquisition of the nine-tails. Though he had concerns. The arrangements he made with the Third Hokage was to ensure the safety of not only his brother but his teammates. Konoha already failed to keep Sasuke safe, seeing as he was in Oto. And today was Itachi’s second time in the last few months to cross paths with Hatake and Haruno. It was becoming a problem and he worried it would endanger his status as a spy if he kept letting them slip through.

He didn’t really think Konoha could do much to keep them from crossing paths.
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Sakura
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When they returned to the gates, their Anbu masks stashed away and back in jonin blues, the guards on duty were more subdued than usual. Moments later, a four man cell of Anbu soldiers appeared to escort them to Hokage tower.

Sakura took note of the oddity of having Anbu escorting two of Konoha’s most loyal shinobi— whom happened to also be Anbu. Two masked Anbu led them and two trailed behind. She walked closely to Kakashi and bumped the back of her hand against his. They both wore gloves, but she purposely let her exposed fingertips brush against his. A few meters later, Kakashi returned the gesture, confirming her concern.

The message was clear. Something wasn’t right in Konoha. It was made even more clear when they were escorted into the Hokage’s office only to find Danzo Shimura sitting at the great oak desk. His single visible eye watched the two of them with a calculating gleam. The other Anbu disappeared into the rafters and the door was shut behind them.

“Hatake. Haruno,” Danzo greeted.

Kakashi and Sakura remained standing at attention. Perhaps the elder expected them to drop to their knees in supplication. He would be disappointed. Tsunade had ended that practice, saying it was bad for her shinobi’s knees, but some still kept the habit from the Third.

“Shimura,” Kakashi deadpanned. His lack of respect only surprised Sakura a little. She’d have to ask him specifically why he took that kind of tone with a council member. Though, he’d probably not tell her why— he was still cagey about his past. She knew Master Tsunade disliked Danzo a great deal.

“Where’s Master Tsunade?” Sakura asked, in as polite a tone as she could muster. This was not the time to make demands. She could feel the Anbu shifting in the rafters. Normally, their presence made her feel safer, but there was something ominous about these particular shinobi.

Danzo folded his arms over his chest, the Anbu in the rafters flared their chakra in warning. There were a dozen of them— usually there were no more than three or four Hokage guards.

“The Senju Princess is recovering at the hospital,” Danzo explained. “I’ve been named interim Hokage — as the most senior member of the council. I heard about your parents, you have my condolences, Haruno.”

“Oh,” Sakura deflated at the unexpected sympathy in the warmonger’s tone. “May I check on Master Tsunade? If it’s a medical condition, perhaps I can lend my assistance?”

Kakashi remained on guard. Sakura felt emboldened to speak her mind because even though Danzo had a dozen Anbu surrounding them, she had absolute faith that between Kakashi and herself, they could handle such a number.

“Wouldn’t you think Shizune Kato with her years of experience under Lady Tsunade compared to your scant couple of years would be more than capable of caring for our Godaime?” Danzo challenged. He raised his left hand and snapped his finger. Out of the shadows a man in a white, nondescript mask—Root— stepped out with a scroll in hand. Danzo took it and then held it out towards Sakura. “Your next mission.”

She started to put the scroll away, but Danzo glared at her. “Read it now, kunoichi.”

She unfurled the scroll, her eyes widening at the mission details. “What is this?” She could feel Kakashi’s lazy gaze on her, bored by all appearances, but she knew it was sharply attentive. She could practically smell the ozone on him from his Lightning. She was tempted to hand him the scroll so he could read it himself. There was no way Master Tsunade would approve such a mission!

“Are you refusing an order, Haruno,” Danzo asked. “Did you not share a cup of tea with Itachi Uchiha seven months ago?”

“Well, yes, but I didn’t know it was him,” Sakura protested.

“Did you not cross paths with him two weeks ago — and live?” Danzo asked. “We have lost plenty of Anbu with more experience than you. Itachi Uchiha let you live — twice.” He cocked his head to the side. “You are uniquely capable of this mission.” A sly smile spread across his craggily face. “I thought you wanted to help your precious Sasuke rebuild his clan.”

Sakura’s mouth dropped open at this old man’s audacity. “Maybe when I was thirteen I would have been stupid enough to do anything for Sasuke-kun.” She was a grown woman, with a career, with worth beyond being a little doting wife. Maybe she was an orphan now so that made her a clan-less, family-less kunoichi at the mercy of the village elders. She could not believe this creepy, old man was ordering her to seduce Sasuke-kun’s murderous, S-class older brother in the hopes of conceiving a child! Sasuke had stated that rebuilding the Uchiha clan was his goal aside from killing his brother. Her trying to get pregnant from the brother he vowed to murder was just out of the question! “This is not exactly the type of mission I trained to be a shinobi to perform.”

“If you’re a loyal shinobi of Konoha, you’ll do what your village asks of you,” Danzo snapped. He closed his eye and pressed his middle two fingers against the center of his forehead. “I’m being generous, Haruno.” He pulled open the desk drawer on his left and pulled out another scroll and tossed it to Kakashi. “Read it, verify the signature.”

Kakashi and Sakura exchanged looks and he quietly unrolled the second scroll, his eye widened at what he read. “Sakura,” he murmured. He held it out to her.

Sakura read through the familiar script in disbelief. It was Sasuke-kun’s handwriting and it was his last will and testament. He wanted if anything should happen to him for Sakura to be the one to carry on the Uchiha bloodline. He’d left behind a sample of semen with the hospital — he did think of her when he made it if that helped her with the task should it become necessary. He hoped she could forgive him for such a burden, but there was no one else he would entrust with such an important endeavor.

“While I’m not one to honor the wishes of missing-ninja,” Danzo started. “The Uchiha do have an unique bloodline and your civilian DNA would be a good match so as to not interfere with the dojutsu. Your intelligence and chakra control would only be more useful in combination to be frank. However, Sasuke’s blood has been tainted with Orochimaru’s curse— we’ve confirmed that through studies of Anko. If you wish to honor your teammate’s last wish— this is how you do it.” A smug expression transformed his craggily face into something creepy and disturbing. “I am actually quite kind.”

Sakura stared between him and the words of her old crush. Did Sasuke truly write this? Was this a forgery? She had always thought he cared, but…Surely, Sasuke would never have asked such a thing of her. But, then, she had proclaimed her love for him quite a few times and he’d seemed to accept it in the end, had he not? But he still left and she’d been knocked unconscious and carried to the park bench.

“You’re dismissed,” Danzo ordered gruffly. “You may keep the paper if you wish, we have copies.”

“Where is Master Tsunade,” Sakura demanded, not budging and not being distracted by this disturbing turn of events. She didn’t trust Danzo, Tsunade hated him, and frankly he was disgusting and her mind reeled with this mission she’d just been given. Was he really her Hokage? Did she have to do this? Would she be a missing-Nin if she refused? Did Sasuke really ask this of her? And more importantly, she hardly owed him such a request even if he had asked. Thank you did not equate to please undergo in vitro fertilization and start popping out my babies and by the way I won’t be there with you you’ll be a single mom too. Knock yourself up!

“Classified,” Danzo snarled. “Don’t make me repeat myself,” he warned.

Kakashi gripped Sakura’s neck, his hand warm upon her back and he bowed stiffly, forcing Sakura to do the same. Then he led her out of the Hokage’s office. “Understood, sir.”

She started to tell him, right then and there in the hall, but he held a finger over her lips, his visible eye darted side to side. Then he scooped Sakura into his arms and flash-stepped them halfway through the village. They were standing in his apartment, his bed with the childish dark green comforter with ninja stars embroidered on it and a cactus plant in the window.

Kakashi did a series of hand symbols and then slapped a silencing tag on his apartment door. “Tell me.” He took her hands and led her to the couch in the middle of his living room. They sat across from each other, their knees brushing against each other and the points of contact helping to center her as the world seemed to spin.

“I’ve been ordered to seduce Itachi Uchiha,” Sakura murmured. “It’s a blood womb mission.” She felt her chin tremble. Her parents were dead. Tsunade was hidden. Her village was being ruled by a monster. “The alternative is trust that Sasuke actually did make a semen deposit when he was thirteen and that he really hoped I would be willing to be a single mother and raise up a new Uchiha clan. I have no doubt that Sasuke cared about me, but I don’t think he would have ever asked for this.”

Kakashi drew her against him, his hand cradled the back of her head and he pressed her cheek against his shoulder. “You will do no such thing, Sakura. Even if he had asked, you aren’t obligated to do such a thing. And Danzo spins more lies than a spider spins webs.”

She sniffed, finally letting the tears fall. “I trained so hard. And none of that matters.” She could feel Kakashi’s shirt growing damp and her voice was muffled against his shoulder. His fingers ran through her hair, gently tugging on her scalp, soothing. “I’m not going to lose my virginity to an S-class criminal.”

“You won’t,” Kakashi promised. “Tsunade had us leave the village because she was worried about Danzo. He tried to kill the Third Hokage before — I know because I’m the one that stopped the assassination. It’s how I met Tenzo. It’s how I learned about Root— where he rounds up orphans, trains them into being his own army. It wasn’t Anbu in the rafters, it was a dozen Root agents.”

She probably cried on his shoulder for another couple of minutes before the tug on his her hair finally calmed her so that she could think clearly. It was silly, but her father used to do that to her when she was little. She’d come home from the academy after another day of bullying and Kizashi would set her in his lap and stroke her hair while her mother heated up hot chocolate and strawberry lemon cookies and sing softly until the tears dried up. Sakura took a deep breath and drew away from Kakashi, only a little embarrassed that she cried in front of him. Hoping that her face wasn’t red and splotchy and ugly she looked him in the eyes, he’d removed his Hitai-ate at some point. “I trust you. I care about you. Will you do it?”

“Will I do what?” Kakashi asked carefully, his eyes narrowed.

“Have sex with me. It’s either you or Naruto and honestly I don’t know what Jiraiya will have taught him by now.” Sakura grimaced. “And he might still have feelings for me and he would make it a bigger deal than it has to be. If Konoha requires me to get pregnant, I’d like to at least have sex first.”

“Sakura.” Kakashi took both of her hands in his, his thumbs brushed over her palms in slow circles. “It is a big deal. It should be with someone you love. And you’re not getting pregnant — at least not in the way Danzo has suggested. I cannot believe Sasuke would have asked this of you and if he did, he wasn’t in his right state of mind.”

If Sasuke had been desperate, didn’t that make the request even more pressing? Sakura decided to focus on another aspect of the conversation. “I can’t even think about that right now.” She chewed the inside of her lip, thinking about her disturbing orders. “Tell me. Was your first time with someone you love?”

Kakashi closed his eyes and let out a weary sigh. “No. It was with a friend — before Anbu sent me on a seduction mission.” He sighed. “Look, if it comes to it, I would be honored.” He cradled her face and braced his forehead against hers. “Honored, you hear me?”

Sakura said nothing, not really sure what to say. “Well, I guess I should go see about staying with Ino while we’re in the village. “

“What happened to your apartment?” Kakashi asked. “Your parents’ house?”

“Shizune put the house on the market. It made no sense for it to be empty when there’s a housing shortage,” Sakura explained. “I cancelled my lease before we left. My things are in storage in the Hokage penthouse. I’d just assumed I’d stay with Master Tsunade until I arranged something more permanent. I have plenty of money from the estate sale.”

“Stay here tonight, Sakura,” Kakashi suggested. “Just to sleep — nothing more,” he added sternly.

“Can I convince you to do something more?” Sakura asked, feeling her cheeks burn at the idea.

“No. I’m your captain and I’m your friend,” Kakashi told her, standing from the couch and offering his hand. “You’ll take the bed. I’ll sleep on the couch here. I’ll send a hawk to Jiraiya in the morning and we’ll find Tsunade.”

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OoO

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Sasori
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He listened half bored wearing the armored puppet of Hiroku as his agent revealed that the Kazekage’s older sister would soon be leaving Suna for an extended trip into Konoha. Apparently, she was sweet on the Nara heir whom she’d faced in the chunin exams a few years back. This would make a good opportunity to go after the jinchuriki of Suna. The village had grown weak under the Fourth Kazekage’s reign, so much so that Orochimaru had taken over the man without anyone being the wiser.

Sasori listened on about Gaara’s older brother, Kankuro. He remembered the boy from ten years back. The puppet user had idolized Sasori and had been enamored with several of Sasori’s old puppets. It might be interesting to reunite with the boy. Though, likely he’d simply end up poisoning him.

Oh well. The puppet brigade of Suna was basically worthless ever since Sasori abandoned the cause. Besides, wasn’t that old saying something about never meet your heroes?

After dismissing his sleeper agent back into the desert, knowing he’d soon return to the village none-the-wiser, Sasori returned to the little hovel he and Deidara had moved into.

They’d left behind the rural village in Earth— the Tsuchikage had been understandably upset when Itachi and Kisame had killed the jinchuriki of the Four-tails. Though, Sasori had been glad that his new friend Shisui was alive and well when he left him. He had fears, in spite of his supposed emotionless new body, that Shisui would suffer the same fate as his childhood friend Komushi. And Sasori had even grown found of the other man’s two children. He didn’t even like kids, but they were alright.

“So, what’s the plan, yeah?” Deidara asked, as soon as Sasori stepped inside their underground lair.

The gears shifted and spun in Hiruko until it opened, revealing Sasori’s smaller modified body nestled within. He climbed out and stretched his wooden limbs. “Gaara’s sister the wind user will be leaving. That will leave his older brother as the only real obstacle. He’s a puppet user like myself, but he’s using my old abandoned puppets. I know all the mechanisms of those puppets, so even if modified, it shouldn’t be too challenging.”

“Uh huh,” Deidara mused. “Sand siblings, blah blah blah.”

“I have the schedule of the guard rotation and with Gaara’s insomnia, taking him at night will be the best time,” Sasori explained. “I think we should capture him in four days.”

It was true that Sasori hated Orochimaru. The snake sannin was selfish and casually cruel. Sasori knew he’d likely be labelled cruel himself, but he didn’t exercise malice in his actions — he was more dispassionate than anything. Sasori killed his prey and sometimes out of respect, would continue to use their bodies after converting them into immortal art to be used as a weapon. Orochimaru tortured his victims or brainwashed them.

However, Orochimaru had succeeded in weakening not only Konoha, but Suna. It did make it easier for the Akatsuki to captured tailed beasts. However, after Sasori was done with his part of the jinchuriki capture and extraction, he would dedicate his efforts into ending Orochimaru’s life before he truly did discover the secret of immortality. The world did not need that snake to be around forever!

There was only one wild-card when dealing with Suna — his grandmother and great uncle. From what his spies observed, the elders rarely interacted with others. He didn’t think they’d be a problem. With their advanced age, it would be unlikely they’d be a threat even if they did care enough to intervene.

“Alright, you do the plotting and I’m going to get some sleep, yeah?” Deidara asked, retreating to the bedroom at the back.

Sasori wandered over to his workbench, planning to mix up a few batches of his newest poisonous recipe. Maybe he’d create something special just for Kankuro. There were a few properties in the wasp venom that mixed nicely with some of the local belladonna and foxglove. He should probably add a dash of scorpion toxin for nostalgia sake. It wouldn’t be an immediate death — an antidote was possible, but unlikely even with a seventy-two hour window.

However, it would let Granny know the poison was a Sasori original. He had the urge to let her discover he was still alive. Aside from actually going to visit her, this opportunity seemed like the best option.

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Chapter Text

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Sasori
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His sleeper-agent spy Yura had proved exceedingly helpful. Sasori prided himself on long-term planning. When he’d converted the man into his spy five years before, he’d not been certain he would be promoted to a senior official. However, the last four years his intelligence had been exceedingly helpful. Though, even he’d been in the dark about Orochimaru’s infiltration of Suna and Raza’s death. Orochimaru was cunning, so Sasori simply vowed to not let the snake outwit him again. The knowledge about the guard schedule and Temari’s absence had been just the prime opportunity to snatch Shukaku’s host.

Yura had been a good, loyal servant to Sasori. He’d remembered when Sasori was a youth had led the armies of the Third Kazekage. He’d earned his nickname for the red sands bathed in blood. Sasori didn’t like taking out Suna shinobi, but some things simply couldn’t be avoided. He and Deidara needed to enter the village and the guards were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Deidara flew off to draw out Shukaku’s host— Gaara. The Kazekage was more honorable than his father, choosing to protect his village single-handedly to the point of exhaustion and allowing Deidara to abduct his unconscious form. Though, it was unlikely the jinchuriki would know about Deidara’s ability to infiltrate the tiniest grain of sand and to turn the defense sand coffin into a prison.

They’d been interrupted on their departure. Sasori ordered Deidara to fly off with Gaara while he dealt with Kankuro.

Part of him was flattered as he faced off against the Kazekage’s brother. The kid was utilizing Sasori’s old hand-me-down puppets. It was almost cute. It was nice that his reputation was known even to this younger generation — he’d left Suna many years before. He was a little disappointed that he’d had to poison such a promising puppeteer. Maybe granny would save him, but he doubted she had a chance against Sasori’s poison.

He’d perfected this blend with a combination of cobra, scorpion and the wasp venom he’d collected in Iwa. Likely, this painted boy would expire within the next seventy-two hours.

Sasori and Deidara with the unconscious Gaara in tow were only a little late to the mountain. Pain’s nagging about their punctuality grated Sasori’s already irritable mood. It wasn’t every day someone returned home for the first time in their new body and killed a bunch of shinobi that were once their fellow soldiers.

The extraction would take three full days — not too difficult since Sasori no longer needed to eat or sleep, but his fellow Akatsuki members would certainly struggle with the ordeal. With Orochimaru’s absence, it had become a little more difficult to extract the bijuu. It had taken every bit of three days when they’d dealt with the Four-tails from Iwa a couple of months before. The Six-tails had also been rather draining. If they were lucky, they wouldn’t be interrupted again.

Obstacles continued to obstruct the Akatsuki’s objective. Zetsu stood on guard for every one of the Akatsuki members since they’d all be occupied. This time, it was Konoha shinobi again. It had been decided that Kisame and Itachi would deal with the Leaf pests as they had the time before.
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OoO

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Sakura
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When she and Kakashi had been summoned before Danzo the next morning, she’d felt a great sense of trepidation. She’d still not been able to find any clue about the whereabouts of Master Tsunade, Shizune-senpai, or any of the hokage’s three bodyguards. Danzo was the next highest ranking elder though and even as interim hokage, it was difficult for her to accept his orders.

She’d never felt this way around the Sandaime, but then again she’d been a little kid. Maybe she just didn’t know any better. From what she learned from Kakashi, the Yondaime would have led the village into a positive direction, much like Master Tsunade was attempting. Though, under Shimura’s leadership, Konoha’s future looked bleak indeed.

“We’ve received an emergency request from Suna,” Danzo explained. He sniffed and then leaned forward, bracing his non-bandaged arm on the hokage desk. “Their Kazekage has been captured.”

“A trip to Suna isn’t exactly a day trip,” Kakashi pointed out. “This sounds time-sensitive.”

“The retrieval of the kazekage isn’t your prerogative. That’s a Suna problem. Investigate what you can and report to me your findings. You’ll be escorting the Suna princess Temari. She’s got a day of travel ahead of you. Relay to her about the kazekage and ensure she makes it to Suna unscathed. Naruto will be joining you,” Danzo added. He sniffed again and rubbed the back of his bandaged hand over his nose. “Jiraiya arrived about an hour ago with information about the Akatsuki making more brazen moves lately.”

Sakura narrowed her eyes behind her mask. Was Danzo snorting leaf of the coca? It might explain his arrogance and delusions of grandeur.

“And Lord Jiraiya?” Kakashi asked. “He’s here.”

Danzo narrowed his visible eye, clearly annoyed to be questioned. “Lord Jiraiya has his own mission and cannot babysit at this time. You’ll be reunited with your old genin. You must be thrilled. He should be here shortly.”

Sakura’s jaw tensed at the barb. Naruto may have been overly enthusiastic and annoying, but he didn’t need babysitting. She knew he was training hard with the Sannin. She couldn’t refute that he was a genin.

The door to the hokage office opened and inside stepped Jiraiya and Naruto. The white-haired Sannin studied Kakashi and Sakura for a moment. Then he stood behind Naruto with his large hands over the blonde’s shoulders.

“Hey! Why don’t I get a mask?” Naruto whined immediately. “What’s the big deal?” He glanced behind him at Jiraiya. “Why you holding me down, Pervy-sage? You think I’m gonna run off or something?”

“Silence, boy,” Danzo snapped. It was very obvious he didn’t like Naruto at all.

Sakura frowned. Sure, Naruto was a trouble-maker when he was a kid, but he was a brave and loyal shinobi. Maybe it was more about Naruto’s parents. Danzo was probably still jealous of Minato Namikaze and while she couldn’t tell a whole lot from the stone engraving of the Yondaime, but likely Naruto favored him.

She looked over her shoulder at Naruto, while keeping her head bowed while crouched on the floor. They locked gazes and he pursed his lips, his expression serious.

“It’s likely the kazekage was targeted because of his tailed beast,” Danzo explained.

“So you want to use Naruto as bait?” Jiraiya deadpanned. “We don’t know that. We don’t know what Akatsuki goal is or if they are even the ones responsible for kidnapping the Kazekage.”

“It’s more that if a foe could overwhelmed a kage-level jinchuriki, likely only another jinchuriki would stand a chance,” Danzo answered. “Hatake, Haruno this is a regular escort and hopefully rescue mission. No need for masks.”

Naruto rubbed his fist against his open palm. “We’ll get back Gaara, believe it!” He looked up at Jiraiya. “This is what we’ve been training for! Let’s go!”

“I’ll meet up with your team later, Naruto,” Jiraiya answered. “I need to speak with the Interim Hokage.”

“Dismissed Hatake, Haruno, Uzumaki,” Danzo ordered.

A short while later, the reunited Team Seven were on their way outside of the village, backpacks and cloaks secured on their persons.

And while it was a little embarrassing, after about four hours it became clear that Sakura didn’t have nearly the same amount of stamina as either Kakashi or Naruto. Considering Naruto’s bountiful chakra, she accepted a piggyback ride from him so they could catch up to Temari. Sakura had gratefully been released to stand on her own two legs again. Though, she had discovered that Naruto smelled better than she remembered — more like sunshine, ocean and pine forest — rather than stale ramen.

What would have normally taken an entire day to travel, they’d accomplished in seven hours. Temari had been understandably surprised by their arrival and exceedingly distressed to learn about her brother’s fate.

“He’d finally been accepted by our people, now this!” Temari cried out and unleashed her fan in frustration, causing a path of destruction. “Father was murdered and now Gaara is in danger!”

“I know!” Naruto cried out. “This sucks. Not only has Gaara been kidnapped, but we didn’t even get to eat anything before we left!” Naruto complained. “Pervy-sage and I literally just got back to the village when we had to meet that old bandaged man. Where’s Granny Tsunade anyway?”

“Your hokage is missing?” Temari demanded. “Gaara was taken after he exhausted himself protecting the entire village from a massive bomb. It just doesn’t make sense though, somehow the enemies found a hole in our security. It’s like Orochimaru all over again.”

Sakura said nothing, letting Kakashi answer that loaded question. When he remained silent, naturally, Naruto spoke.

“Yeah! Well, I don’t know about all that,” Naruto admitted, scratching the side of his face over his whisker marks. “Pervy-sage has kept me hidden away in the mountains and then suddenly, he needs to check something out.” He skidded to a halt on the flat plain just outside the Konoha treelike. “Says I’m only allowed to trust Kakashi-sensei and to stay with him at all times! I’m not a baby, ya know!” He smiled broadly at Sakura. “It is nice to see you again, Sakura-chan!”

“I missed you too, Naruto,” Sakura answered, resisting the urge to knock him upside the head for being so loud. Ninjas were supposed to be stealthy. At least his new jumpsuit was predominantly black instead of bright orange. “You need to stay quiet though. We’re outside the forest and your voice carries.”

“No more talking, until we reach Suna,” Kakashi ordered. He inhaled heavily. “We’re going to need to continue without resting. Sakura — you have some soldier pills? You’ll need to conserve most of your energy for medical emergencies.”

Sakura huffed. She didn’t want to be dead weight. “I can keep up,” she answered. She tapped her forehead as a reminder.

“You’re going to need every bit for the upcoming confrontation,” Kakashi warned. “If you start to fall behind —,” he let the warning trail off. “We’ll take fifteen minutes break then head out again. If we keep at this pace we’ll make it by mid-afternoon.”

She didn’t want to be carried by her teammates. Temari wasn’t being carried, so Sakura wouldn’t either. “I’ll keep up,” Sakura promised.

“I believe in you, Sakura-chan!” Naruto smiled at her encouragingly. His smile faltered. “And —um— I’m real sorry to hear about your parents, ya know?” He opened his arms and while he’d been carrying her on his back, this was a different embrace.

“I appreciate that,” Sakura said, accepting the hug. It did feel good to be hugged by sunshine personified. “I’m sorry I ever made fun of you as an orphan.”

“Pshesh. It’s fine. I’m sorry, I spied on your bathing all those times,” Naruto murmured before stilling suddenly, his neck turning red. “Uh, I mean.”

“Naruto,” Sakura warned through clenched teeth. If they didn’t have an important rescue she’d clobber him right then and there. She would have to save his treatment for later.

They traveled constantly for the next twenty-four hours, stopping only for short breaks. When Sakura thought she might need a rest, she popped a soldier pill. Maybe it was more than she should have consumed, but she was not going to be left behind or be a burden to her teammates.

By the time they arrived in Suna, Kankuro was near death. Sakura was able to manually remove the poison and repair his damage on a cellular level. Analyzing the poison and creating an antidote would take longer. Thankfully, Lady Chiyo had been well versed in poisons and together the managed to create an antidote.
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OoO

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Itachi
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It was unfortunate that Gai’s team came too close to the extraction ritual. Separating thirty percent of his chakra when he was already fighting to keep his lung condition stable was particularly draining. Kisame had been eager to face off against the taijutsu master. And while Kisame could be counted on to watch Itachi’s back, he wasn’t motivated to not kill Leaf shinobi. Though, Kisame had agreed to use non-lethal attacks against Hatake and Haruno and of course their jinchuriki target Uzumaki. The Nine-tails was too great a resource to risk a premature release through death. So, that actually made Naruto the safest person from the Akatsuki.

Kisame’s objectives were for the most part his own and they were different than Itachi’s. He would serve the Akatsuki’s objectives faithfully, especially since they didn’t interfere with his goals in helping his Mist girlfriend achieve power in Kiri. An opportunity to unleash Samehada against a worthy opponent was something Kisame absolutely was eager to engage. And unfortunately for Gai Might, Itachi wasn’t particularly fond of him and wouldn’t risk his position in the organization for him or his students, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be harmed!

When it came to confronting Gai’s team or Kakashi’s team — Itachi would always choose to protect his precious people. His old captain was someone he held dear to his heart. He hoped Kisame’s battle wouldn’t prove lethal, but he could only focus on his own conflict.

Itachi had masked his emotions upon discovering it was Kakashi serving as a jonin leader and not as Anbu. He recognized Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno. He was glad she wasn’t wearing that mask. An elder from Sand was with them.

“Long time no see, Kakashi, Naruto,” Itachi murmured, keeping his tone calm, dispassionate. His gaze met Sakura’s and he smiled faintly. “Kitten, it’s a shame we meet again under such circumstances.” He wasn’t sure, his eyes weren’t what they used to be, but he thought he noticed her blush. Or maybe she was just red with anger.

“That’s not my name!” Sakura roared, slamming her fist into the earth.
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OoO

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Sakura
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Belatedly, Kakashi warned his team not to look into Itachi’s eyes. Naruto still fell under the effect of Itachi’s genjutsu, but Sakura broke him out. She then witnessed her friend do something amazing. Naruto had learned a lot in his time training with Jiraiya. Surprisingly, he defeated Itachi within a short amount of time. The demon that destroyed Sasuke’s life and killed the entire Uchiha clan was defeated by Naruto’s new special attack?

It seemed too easy.

It was too easy.

The body was not that of Itachi at all— to which Sakura was strangely relieved, but she didn’t want to think about that too much. It belong to a jonin from Suna. It was a forbidden jutsu. Lady Chiyo recognized the man as one of her village’s jonin— Yura. Sakura ran her chakra through his system, but Naruto’s attack had been fatal. She worried how he would take it, but he seemed completely non-plussed. Maybe he didn’t realize he’d just taken a life? Or had he become desensitized to it? The latter thought broke her heart a little more. Hopefully, he just didn’t realize his own strength.

They tracked Gaara and the Akatsuki that had captured him to a mountain. Gai’s team was also there and it was a relief to have more allies. They worked together to destroy the barrier seal. Gai’s team separated to the other distant points of the seal while Sakura used her monstrous strength to bring it down. She wasn’t sure what was keeping Gai’s team, but two cloaked Akatsuki showed up along with Gaara’s lifeless form.

The blonde man took to the air with Gaara and Naruto gave chase, his aura dangerously leaking the Nine-tail’s chakra. Kakashi went with him. That left Sakura and Lady Chiyo against the masked man with the strange tufts of dark hair who seemed to crawl on the ground his back was so hunched over. When his cloak was destroyed, she realized he was a massive tank with a wicked retractable blade — poison-laced.

This was the man responsible for poisoning Kankuro!

“Stop hiding, Sasori and show yourself!” Chiyo cried.

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OoO

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Kakashi
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His instincts were screaming at him. He and Naruto were now separated from Sakura and he still didn’t know what became of Gai’s team. He’d left his precious person in the company of an old woman that had a grudge against Konoha that spanned longer than he’d been alive. Naruto had spent years training with Jiraiya at Mount Myoboku and yet the Nine-tails’ chakra was spilling out killing intent. Where was Jiraiya? Wasn’t he supposed to join them?

The blond on the clay bird kept taunting Naruto. The sight of Gaara’s lifeless body simply obliterated any chance of Naruto being reasoned with. Like his mother — he was hot-headed and impulsive. Also, like Kushina, Naruto had the ridiculous power levels to be a threat even when he was charging into the unknown. Kakashi was already exhausted. The journey to Suna had been challenging and this explosives expert was extremely talented. If Naruto hadn’t taken out Itachi’s strange clone, Kakashi wouldn’t even have the energy for this chase.

He could only hope that Sakura could hold out until he could get back to her — or Gai would show up. Or Jiraiya. Sasori of the Red Sand was the most notorious defector from Suna in decades. Though, having the man’s family with her knowledge of his background might give Sakura and Chiyo an edge.

It was clear this missing ninja from Iwa had already been near the end of his reserves. His left hand appeared crushed — a consequence of his attack with Gaara and his reserves were low from the extraction they’d done in the mountain. In spite of that, he was still strong and agile. After dodging a multitude of explosive little clay birds, Kakashi saw an opportunity. He’d only tried this technique out twice before in training. He lifted up his hitai-ate to reveal Obito’s sharingan and targeted kamui on the Akatsuki member deadly left hand.

Kakashi cursed under his breath. His aim had been a little off — the man’s hand were spared, but he’d managed to take out the length of his left forearm, his mouthed hand fell detached as he screamed.

Naruto took the opportunity to snatch Gaara and they retreated as the man’s screams grew hoarse and a series of bombs began to rain down around them.
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Chapter Text

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Sakura

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How was one person this strong?

Sakura and Lady Chiyo worked in tandem, evading Sasori’s plethora of poisonous puppets. When she’d smashed her chakra-laced fist through that tank of his— it had shattered only to reveal Sasori’s true form.

He was too pretty to be real. And he should have been oldish— a couple years older than Kakashi based on his bio in the bingo book. However, Sasori with his sleepy expression, doll-like eyes, soft pretty red hair, and thick eyelashes, he looked younger than Sakura. It made no sense!

Thankfully, her antidote bought the two of them time because every one of his weapons was poisoned. Seeing a puppet-form of the missing, legendary Third Kazekage had caught Lady Chiyo off guard. However, Sakura managed to obliterate the puppet — only for Sasori to call forth a dozen more to replace it.

Chiyo summoned ten puppets — one controlled by each of her ten fingers with incredibly precise chakra control.

“This battle is becoming expensive,” Sasori murmured, shrugging off his cloak. “An old hag and a little girl are causing me to waste my best puppets. It’s been a while since I had to use myself.” Multiple blades sprouted from his spine, revealing the fact that he was no longer human. His belly opened and expandable metal rope with a barbed end unwound and shot out towards Sakura. She dodged as best she could, but Chiyo was still distracted and Sakura couldn’t read Sasori’s attacks fast enough to avoid all his traps in time. Chiyo was busy with her ten puppets and couldn’t direct Sakura’s movements as well.

The barbed rope pierced Sakura’s right lower belly. With a grunt of pain while healing the wound around the blade, not activating her seal just yet, Sakura grabbed hold of the rope and yanked it right off the psuedo-spine in Sasori’s puppet body, causing his form to disassemble.

She smiled faintly and stumbled towards Chiyo, releasing her seal momentarily and healing her damaged cells. She burned the poison out, saving the final vial of antidote.

Unbeknownst to her, Sasori’s body had reassembled yet this time scroll after scroll after scroll were opened. “Secret Red technique performance of a hundred puppets.”

Sakura stumbled back at the magnitude of the enemy forces.

An assault from a hundred puppets at once rained down upon Sakura and Chiyo. Sakura unleashed her seal as her body was pierced time and time again, repairing the damage almost as soon as it occurred and burning out the poison from her system.

The burning, stinging, pain continued, but she continued to shield the Suna elder. She could feel her seal draining from the constant assault, but she would endure.

“I remember hearing stories from the second war of how Granny Chiyo took out an entire village with her ten puppets,” Sasori explained, his voice deep and melodic. It was like telling stories at night around the campfire, not at all like a megalomaniac giving his villain monologue. “However, I have destroyed an entire continent with my puppet army.”
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OoO

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Sasori
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To say he was surprised by the fortitude of this Leaf kunoichi would be an understatement. She’d created an antidote to his greatest poison. She’d destroyed his best puppets — Hiruko and Third Kazekage were both beyond repair. His own form— the Scorpion had sustained substantial damage. And perhaps the most impressive feat, she’d convinced his grandmother whom abhorred Konoha to work alongside her and they’d been an impressive team.

He could admit that he didn’t know everything about the Byakugou seal, but Orochimaru had been obsessed with it. Tsunade Senju could leave it activated for up to a hundred healings. Sasori literally had pitted a hundred puppets against the kunoichi. She would run out of chakra before he did. Though at this rate — between the extraction and now this battle it was going to take him a long while to recover.

Eventually those black stripes that covered her arms, face, and torso receded as she used up the stored chakra. She fell to one knee, closed her eyes briefly and then stood resolutely, barring Sasori from reaching Chiyo.

Why was she protecting the old crone? “Please, stop this. Your grandmother loves you. There’s no need for all this destruction. What is it for anyway?”

Should he answer her? She was trying talk-no-jutsu. It hardly appealed to him in his mortal form. It certainly wouldn’t change his mind now. He paused only a moment when Chiyo shot a barrier seal on him. Before his puppet body could slam against the mountainside, Sasori jumped ship so to speak, settled his essence in one of his other puppets. It too was shaped into his preferred form — the youthful visage that had once been his, though it possessed significantly fewer weapons than his preferred battle-body. This was the body he usually favored while tinkering in his shop.

As Chiyo boasted about besting him, Sasori snuck behind the girl and the moment she turned toward him, he stabbed her with a katana he’d taken from one of his broken dolls. It struck through her lower left side. With her seal gone, she couldn’t heal as before, but he watched in amazement as she held the sword in place while healing the wound around the blade with the precious little chakra she had left. “This too is poisoned. Your efforts are futile.”

Then Chiyo injected the girl with a vial of antidote and sicced the puppets of his parents upon him. Then his grandmother surprised him, using her life-force to heal Sakura’s mortal injuries. It was a technique she’d created specifically for him — to breathe life back into a puppet in exchange for ones’ own life. However, Sakura wasn’t dead, so the old crone didn’t die in the act either.

The willingness of his prejudiced, hateful grandmother to save this girl who couldn’t even be at her twentieth name-day intrigued Sasori. Then he hit his grandmother with the same poison he’d used on Kankuro — she’d have about thirty-six hours before she’d succumb unless she had more of that antidote.

As his grandmother’s technique was interrupted, Sakura had yet to regain her consciousness. Though, her injuries had all, but vanished. There was but a scar on her lower left belly from his most recent stabbing. Sasori stared at that scar for a moment, feeling an oddly possessive feeling as she was now branded by his blade.

He caught Sakura’s unconscious form against his chest, one arm banded around her waist while he stroked his free hand through her blood-stained, sweaty hair freeing the tangles. “You’re quite a girl, Sakura Haruno, apprentice of Tsunade Senju,” Sasori murmured. He shifted her weight so that he carried her with one arm under her knees and the other behind her back. “I think I’ll keep you.”

The puppets broken and shattered littered the field. Sasori resealed some within their scrolls— the ones he could repair. Others he left as debris, evidence of an epic battle. As he clutched his prize close to his wooden body, he pondered the irony of his cruel grandmother bestowing more kindness to this girl in the hours’ long battle than in all the years of his lonely, miserable childhood.

And while he’d lost more than half his puppets — it had never been about the quantity of puppets but the quality.

He suspected that Sakura Haruno would be his greatest prize of all.
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OoO

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Kakashi
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He’d managed to use his new ability with Obito’s eye to obliterate part of the Akatsuki’s arm. Deidara had retreated, no longer interested in battle and more interested in saving his own skin — what was left of it. Gaara had crushed the man’s other hand.

Kakashi and Naruto recovered Gaara’s body and he’d managed to keep Naruto from unleashing the Nine-tails and going on a rampage.

They hurried as fast as they could back to the mountain, hoping that Sakura and Chiyo had managed to either stop Sasori or at least escape. He’d not expected to see the absolute destruction of the valley. There were bodies everywhere. Though, his nose told him these people had long-since been dead and made into puppets.

He found the old lady and dropped Gaara’s body off next to her. Naruto remained vigilant by the kazekage, not seeming to realize that his teammate — whom he claimed to love — was absent. Kakashi’s chakra was almost at its limit, using the Mangekyou Sharingan drained him even more than the regular sharingan. As he summoned his ninken, his vision began to grow dark.

“Rival!” Gai’s familiar voice shouted in his ear. Strong hand shook his shoulders and Kakashi’s head wobbled back and forth. It took all his effort to remain conscious, keeping his ninken on this plain to search. He didn’t have the energy to answer.

Then he heard the Toad Sage. “Take him back to the village, Might. Naruto, you and I are returning to Mount Myoboku.”

Naruto then proceeded to cry out in frustration as he seemed to finally realize that not only was Gaara dead, but Sakura was missing.

Warm chakra surged into Kakashi’s veins. He blearily opened his right eye to see the old medic from Suna. She looked ashen and weary. “I don’t have long, Hatake. I can bring the kazekage back.” She smiled weakly. “She did good. Sasori took her— claimed her as his newest possession. She’s more useful to him alive than as a re-animated puppet. I made sure he saw her worth.”

Kakashi didn’t know what she was talking about. He understood that Sakura was alive and in the hands of one of the most notorious of the Akatsuki.

The next thing Kakashi knew, he was halfway back to Konoha with Gai and his team. He sat up abruptly and panicked when he couldn’t sense Naruto or Sakura. “Where are they!” He remembered about Sakura’s abduction by Sasori.

“Stay calm,” Gai ordered, his hand on Kakashi’s shoulder, helping him to sit up. Lee crouched on his other side holding a mug of hot coco of all things. “Drink.”

Kakashi only acquiesced because it was cold and because he was thirsty.

It was Tenten that answered. “Lord Jiraiya took Naruto with him. They’ll continue the search for Godaime Tsunade. He thought maybe she retreated to the slug dimension along with her guard platoon and Lady Shizune.”

“Sakura?” Kakashi asked.

“He’s going to reach out to his contacts, try to track her that way,” Neji added. “Said for you to not worry and just head back to the village and do your duty.”

“Did he now?” Kakashi asked. Funny how he wanted Kakashi back in the village and yet he’s off hunting for his missing teammate. Tsunade had purposely kept him and Sakura away from Konoha for most of the past year. With her missing now and Sakura abducted, like hell was he going to be Danzo’s errand boy. That man tried to kill him when he’d been a young Anbu captain more than once.

“The Suna elder? What?” Kakashi knocked Gai’s hand away from his shoulder and rolled his head to loosen the stiffness in his muscles. “Gaara?”

“She brought him back— exchanged her life for his in some forbidden jutsu,” Tenten explained. “He’s back in Suna. He has scouts looking for Sakura too.”

Kakashi had no hope that the shinobi from Suna would be helpful. They’d let two international terrorists walk right in the heart of their village. “I’m not going back to the village just yet.”

“You’ll be a missing nin, Kakashi,” Gai warned.

He shook his head. “I received orders from Lady Tsunade a year ago. They were to supersede any future orders. Under the condition of either Naruto or Sakura being abducted, I’m to do anything and everything to retrieve them. Naruto is the jinchuriki to the strongest of all the tailed-beasts. Sakura possesses knowledge of the secret techniques of the Senju-Uzumaki clans as the Godaime’s apprentice.”

He was completely making this up as he went. Tsunade made no such orders, but if anything Kakashi Hatake was a damn good liar when he needed to be. Except, he’d been unconscious for two days and the trail would be cold or nonexistent if Deidara had caught up with his partner and taken to the air.

“Please, my rival, be careful,” Gai warned. “Come back to the village first, get cleared by the hospital?”

“If you leave now, you’ll be an easy target with a massive bounty on your head,” Neji added.

“Who’s going to evaluate me?” Kakashi grimaced, a terrible migraine throbbing in his left temple. The three best medics were missing — Tsunade, Shizune and Sakura. Wait, there was one medic that he trust. “Yugao. Take me to Yugao. And Tenzo.”

Gai nodded. “Okay, I can do that.”
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OoO

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Itachi
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That was too close of a call. That Rasengan Naruto hit his avatar with had been extremely lethal and rather than have thirty percent of his chakra obliterated, Itachi had abandoned his possession of Sasori’s man. Kisame had been similarly surprised by Gai Might and his three teammates. Sasuke’s generation had quite a few powerhouses and they were trained under some of the greatest jonin. Though, Kakashi and Gai had been rivals even when Itachi had been on Team Ro. The unusual friendship was something Itachi had envied as making friends had never been his strong suit.

The extraction of Gaara’s bijuu — the third such extraction in the last two months —had been exhausting and his breathing was more labored than usual. Seeing Sakura Haruno there, knowing what she was capable of — that she could heal his lungs and she’d been so close — was a special kind of torture.

And while it wasn’t much, Itachi had kept a single crow trailing after Team Seven. The summons had chosen to observe Sakura’s battle with Sasori rather than chase after the fast flying Deidara and Naruto. When Itachi accessed those memories, he’d been amazed at the havoc that kunoichi unleashed. Not for the first time, he lamented that his life couldn’t have been more simple. He should have liked a scenario where he could have stayed with his brother in Konoha and been part of Sasuke and his friends’ lives.

In that other world, he knew he’d have been friends with Sakura. Shisui would have loved her. Izumi would have liked her too. Maybe in this scenario, Sakura would have become family — her bond with Sasuke was unmistakable.

Except, in this reality, Itachi’s family and clan were all dead — save Sasuke whom was under the influence of Orochimaru and the masked man that was one of the leaders of their group.

He sincerely hoped that Sasori wouldn’t kill her.

The man —if Sasori could even be called a man these days — was even more callous and wouldn’t be swayed by a pretty face. Yet, he did have an affinity for pleasing aesthetics. He’d literally just killed his granny. Though, as a fellow kinslayer, Itachi knew he shouldn’t hold that against his fellow Akatsuki.

What purpose did an immortal puppet have for a medical specialist?

“What do you think is gonna happen when we collect all the tailed-beasts?” Kisame asked, his voice weary as well. The process had even exhausted one with as massive chakra reserves as him.

Itachi turned in his cot to look at his partner on the other side of their hideout. Kisame’s pale blue skin appeared more grey. Itachi never intended to find out what would happen because he didn’t intend for Naruto’s bijuu to be unleashed. Before he could answer, there was a playful knock on their front door.

Kisame was up in a flash, an alert and deadly sentinel. For someone to find their hideout and get past all their wards was nearly impossible. Though, if they meant harm, why would they knock?

“Oh Itachi-kun! Long-time, no mass-murder together!” The voice was familiar. It was the masked man — the one that went by Madara — that had helped Itachi with his gruesome assignment before he left his home. This same man is the one that brought Itachi to Kisame.

“Oh, it’s just Madara.” Kisame’s shoulders relaxed. Madara and Kisame had been partners for a couple of years before Itachi joined the Akatsuki. Though, since Akatsuki actually started collecting the tailed-beasts, Madara had been absent and unpaired. “He’s the one that set up this hideout.”

Itachi remained on guard. Madara could teleport and was wicked with a blade. While Itachi had taken out the police and active shinobi from his clan, Madara had been the one to take out the innocent and the elderly. The older Uchiha had taken pity on Itachi when he’d said he wanted to eliminate the entire clan. Madara hadn’t questioned if it was orders or Itachi’s own initiative. Though, Itachi had serious doubts that the older man had taken a thirteen year old’s claim as testing his strengths at face value. After that bloody massacre, Madara had found Itachi a home in the Akatsuki and set him up with his own former partner.

As soon as the door was opened, the cloaked figure vanished before their eyes only to materialize directly behind them both in the room. He pushed back his hood to reveal a hideous orange mask, his visible eye fading from crimson to black. Itachi had always suspected the hidden eye might have been the Rinnegan, but there was no visual confirmation.

“What are you doing here, Madara?” Kisame demanded.

The man waved his hand dismissively and blew a raspberry. “I no longer go by that name. Call me Tobi!” His tone was overly cheerful. “I was just in the neighborhood. I was minding my own business when suddenly half an arm fell right out of the sky! I recognized it as Deidara’s so I packaged it up, gave it Kakuzu. He’s going to visit him and reattach it. Can’t have our members losing their limbs, now can we!”

“Madara? Tobi? I don’t ‘really care what you call yourself. Are you sure you’re still a member?” Kisame asked, folding his arms over his broad chest and scowling. “We could have used your help these last couple of months. Extracting these tailed beasts is quite labor-intensive.”

Tobi ignored Kisame and directed his garish orange masked face towards him. “How are you doing, Itachi-kun?”

Itachi stared at him in silence. What was this about? “Fine,” he answered.

“Are you?” Tobi pressed, leaning forward with his hands on his hips like a disbelieving seven year old. The imagery was oddly terrifying. A man this strong acting playfully usually meant they were unpredictable and mentally unstable. Itachi didn’t like unpredictable opponents, though he wasn’t one to judge the mentally unwell as he was one himself. Everyone within the Akatsuki— even these two whom he’d worked with on delicate matters — was an opponent and mentally unwell.

“Sasori took a kunoichi from Konoha,” Itachi admitted. “She has value to me alive.”

“Ah, because of your illness.” Tobi nodded. He tapped his right temple. “I get headaches myself. Don’t want a valuable medic to get turned into a puppet.” He sat on the edge of Itachi’s cot. “It’s a shame about the nine-tails. We might need bait again to get him out of those mountains. We can’t finish the task without him. What are you going to do about it?” He braced his arms behind him on the bed and crossed his right leg over his left knee and bounced his foot up and down. “He’s your assignment after all. Kisame got his target — the monkey man.”

Itachi’s plan was to delay. He just needed to live long enough to rescue Sasuke from Orochimaru’s clutches, remove the cursed mark, unlock his Mangekyou Sharingan and allow Sasuke to harvest Itachi’s eyes to merge the two and then have the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan so he wouldn’t go blind when he used his doujutsu. That was his plan. Sasuke could be the hero of the world and Itachi would go quietly to his grave.

Itachi cleared his throat and rubbed his knuckles over his sternum pointedly.

“Ah, maybe the medic can fix you up and then she can be bait to lure out the fox-brat?” Tobi suggested.

“What’s going on in Konoha? Has Danzo really taken over as Hokage?” Itachi asked, knowing that Tobi was keeping an eye on their old home as well. No matter how far removed, Uchiha wanted to know the happenings of Konoha. Especially someone who once claimed to be Madara — one of the cofounders.

Tobi tugged at his earlobe. “That’s what it seems like. The Copy Ninja is looking for me. You worked with him. Why would he be looking for me?”

That was news to Itachi. What would his old captain want with Tobi? Danzo tried to kill Kakashi before. Danzo had murdered Shisui. Itachi wasn’t sure he wanted to continue this farce himself. Konoha had not protected Sasuke. The Third was dead. Itachi’s family was decimated at his own hand. Tsunade Senju had been honorable, so he’d continued under her reign, but was she even receiving his messages? Jiraiya was a talented man, but even he didn’t seem to realize Itachi was his informant or that his old students from Rain were the leaders of the Akatsuki. Just how much of a hermit was he?

“Kakashi Hatake has always been loyal to Konoha, but what is Konoha now? His precious people are all dead and his former students are scattered. I would think he’d be focused on saving his teammates,” Itachi answered. “Those that abandon their friends are less than scum.”

“He said that, huh?” Tobi mused.

Who was this man? Itachi nodded. “It was his motto when I worked with him in Anbu. It’s the same sentiment that led to his father’s downfall.”

Tobi nodded. “The White Fang was a great man. The ninja system destroys great men and women all the time.” He flopped back on Itachi’s bed, arms tucked behind his head. “That’s why the system must be abolished.”

“What about the mizukage?” Kisame interrupted. “When can we capture his tailed-beast?”

“Eager to put your girlfriend in charge of the system we all despise?” Tobi asked. “Hmmm?”

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Chapter Text

Sakura

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She wasn’t dead.  There was that.  She also couldn’t move.  It took great effort to open her eyes and confirm that she was indeed not dead.  Her fingers twitched as sensation began to come back to her — she’d been injected with some sort of neurotoxin that temporarily paralyzed her body — different that the nasty poison Sasori had used on Kankuro.  She also couldn’t access her chakra reserves, though she was still aware of her Byakugou seal.  Her hands flew to her neck— was this a chakra suppressing collar?  She was also tussled up in some sort of invisible bindings— chakra strings?

Then hovering over her, sleepy amber eyes peered down into her face.  “Right on time.  Don’t make me regret this, kunoichi — I can still turn your body into a puppet and have access to your ninjutsu.”

“You wouldn’t have my chakra control,” Sakura rasped.  Though, his mastery of chakra was near perfect.

Sasori tilted his head at an inhuman angle.  “I suppose not.”

“What do you want with me?” Sakura demanded.

“When one grows up in the desert, one does not squander resources.”  He shifted his hand and Sakura was forced into a sitting position- manipulated just like one of his puppets.  “You created an antidote in only a few days to a very complicated poison I spent three years perfecting.”  He smiled, an eerie stretch of his wooden lips.  “I suppose I’m impressed.”

He turned away from her and sat at a stool in front of a wooden table.  The crushed remains of the puppet body that had hidden away this form was sorted into neat piles — presumably to repair it. 

She wouldn’t correct him in that it took her a few hours to make the antidotes — well — fourteen hours.  “Looks like I broke your toy pretty badly,” Sakura taunted.  Maybe it was better this way.  Tsunade was gone.  Danzo wanted her to seduce Itachi Uchiha and then assuming she did have a child — no doubt it would be turned into a weapon of Root.  Naruto had Kakashi and Jiraiya— so he’d be fine.  Though, Sasuke—well — maybe Naruto could still save him.  Maybe it would be better just to end it now.  “I won’t help you, so you might as well just kill me.”

Sasori smiled again.  “This puppet is damaged, but it can be repaired.”  He blinked his doll-like eyes.  “You are feeling overly emotional— don’t kill me.  Kill me.  I can sympathize.  I can make you like me — you’ll have your abilities, but won’t need to eat or sleep.  You’ll have all the time in the world at your disposal and you won’t age either.  You’ll forever be young and at your maximum power.”

“Can you even feel anything?” Sakura challenged.  She could feel her temper flare at the audacity of him to suggest her become a monster like him.  Maybe her forehead was a little big and maybe having a period once a month was a pain, but there was medicine for that and she had grown into her forehead because she’d aged.  “I rather like being human.”

“Do you?” Sasori deadpanned.  “How’s your bladder feeling?”

Now that he mentioned it, she really needed to go.  It was actually acting quite a bit.  The neurotoxin must have kept her bladder and bowels from releasing their contents — otherwise she’d have had an even ruder awakening.

“I do need to use the bathroom,” Sakura admitted, shifting uncomfortably.

“I’m not stopping you,” Sasori pointed out, his lips curling again. 

What an asshole!?  Guess he could still feel something, since he seemed to enjoy this taunting.  He’d also seemed affected by the things his grandmother said and when she’d used the puppets of his dead parents. 

“May I please be released, so that I can use the bathroom,” Sakura asked, through gritted teeth. 

Suddenly the chakra bindings around her vanished.  “Down the hall, first door on the left,” Sasori answered.  “Your chakra stores are too low to run.  The bracelets don’t restrict them completely.  Remember, if you do run, I will turn you into a puppet.  I had living puppets as well— similar to how you performed for granny.”

Sakura swung her legs off the cot she’d been laying on.  She waited for feeling to return to her feet before she stood.  Her balance was slightly wobbly.  “So I’m alive for your entertainment.”

“If you will,” Sasori admitted.  “And you have free will at the moment.”  There was an icy sensation around her throat from the collar.  “But I can easily change that.”

She started for the hallway, but caught the wall for a moment when a rush of dizziness struck.  She looked over her shoulder at Sasori — he was watching her with unblinking eyes.  “How much of you is a puppet?”  His insides were missing — he’s had that impressive metallic scorpion tail  and the excessively long length of chain.  This wasn’t the same form with he multiple arms and scrolls and scorpion tail.  He looked almost human in this form.

Sasori stared at her for several seconds before responding.  “Your virtue is safe in my company, kunoichi.”    He waved his hand impatiently at her.  “Go to the restroom before you soil yourself.”

Sakura wasted no more time and was relieved to find the bathroom was simply that — a sink, a toilet, a shower-bath combination.  It was quite the set up for someone that didn’t have bodily functions of elimination.  Maybe his partner — the blond man — liked taking baths?

Curious by nature, she noticed the tooth brush at the sink — including one still in the package.  The soaps and shampoos — she saw her own preferred  brand in here—Floral Green.  She opened the cabinet and found a boar-hair hairbrush with a cherry blossom tree carved into the wooden handle.  It was an exact replica of the one Sasuke-kun gave her at the summer festival, a few months before that accursed chunin exam that changed all their lives.

She traced her thumb over the handle and as a sob threatened to erupt from her throat, she hastily placed it back in the vanity drawer.  Was this her fate?  There would be no knight in shining armor to rescue her.  She’d either have to get out of this mess on her own, or she’d die.  And in spite of her bravado earlier, Sakura did not want to die.

She had teammates to protect and to save.  She had parents to avenge.  She had a Hokage to find.  And if she let herself die, her name would be added to the memorial of fallen shinobi and Kakashi’s depression might fall beyond repair at that point.  She wouldn’t do that to him or Naruto.  Or Ino.  Or—-Sasuke?  She shook her head.  "Those that abandon their friends are less than scum,” she recited their team’s mantra. 

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OoO

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Sasori

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His spy in Suna had been paramount in his and Deidara’s infiltration and abduction of the Kazekage.  He knew about the new defenses and the guard rotation.  The village had been placed on high alert due to a warning by the sannin Jiraiya.  Unfortunately, eliminating the toad hermit was off limits for the Akatsuki — per orders of Pain and Konan.  Sasori didn’t mind too much — he wasn’t eager to face off against a man like Jiraiya.  With proper planning, it was possible to beat the sage due to his hot-headed temperament. 

It was a shame that he lost a few more of his men to Itachi and Kisame’s avatars, but it had slowed down the team from Konoha from interrupting the bijuu’s extraction. Sasori was a little annoyed with himself for not checking in with his Konoha spy.  Though, he decided to cut himself a little slack.  He might not need food or sleep, but he did need to rest and restore his chakra reserves. 

It was easy to forget that Suna had mended its pact with Konoha— particularly after Orochimaru’s little stunt a few years back.  New leadership, new tactics though.

Two days had passed since he and Deidara had settled into their hideout along the border of Wind and Earth.  He’d been tempted to return to the village they’d spent half the year at, but not until Sasori had at least regaining most of his power.  And Deidara was in no condition to travel at the moment.  He’d given his new charge his old room — it wasn’t like he needed it anymore.  She’d spent most of the past two days sleeping and recharging her chakra as well.  She didn’t have access to use it, but there was nothing to stop her from meditating.  Sasori had taken it upon himself to prepare food for his two human residents.  Deidara didn’t have a functioning hand and Sakura could hardly be trusted around sharp objects.

Sasori allowed his mind to settle into that of one of his agents in Konoha — a member of Root that Orochimaru had modified at the request of the warmonger Danzo Shimura.  He knew that Orochimaru still worked with the shadow kage Danzo.  That connection was the reason the disgraced sannin continued to scheme and have access to so many resources — double now that Orochimaru had convinced the daimyo of Oto to make him kage.

Sasori chuckled to himself as he absorbed all the knowledge.  Danzo had been busy!  He staged a co’up and installed himself as the village leader!  The esteemed Godaime Tsunade Senju was missing — his agent didn’t know where or when.  She was either dead ,buried deep into the darkest recesses of Root’s underground headquarters, or escaped somewhere and severely weakened.  There was no way she would willingly allow Danzo to control Konoha.

‘Granny will be pleased to know her rival —,’ Sasori quickly aborted that thought.  Granny Chiyo was dead.  No use thinking about her.  Jiraiya had taken the Nine-tailed jinchuriki back to the mountains where no one had access but a toad sage or a toad summoner — of which there were two.  That was inconvenient.  Kakashi Hatake was hospitalized after his battles — extreme chakra exhaustion.  Sasori smiled at that.  Deidara will be glad to know that the man that maimed him was suffering too.  Sasori was aware that Hatake’s father was the one to murder his own parents, but that was another life — business in the shinobi world. 

His newest acquisition was likely to be more cooperative if she knew her teammates lived.  He remembered from his days in the Third War, just how motivating hope could be to his soldiers.  They would shoulder substantial burdens and duress if hope remained of one day being reunited with their precious families.

Sasori dug deeper, curious about his new prize.  “Ah,” he murmured aloud finding what he wanted.  Sakura had indeed trained under the Godaime Tsunade and been partnered with Hatake when she crossed paths with Itachi.  He sorted through more memories and frowned.  Danzo had given her one of those insulting red scroll missions — treating kunoichi as nothing more than broodmares.  'Such a short-sighted, mundane old man.’ 

Though, that tidbit could come in handy.  How determined was this Sakura Haruno to accomplish all her assigned missions?  Was her loyalty to Konoha?  Or with the absence of her mentor would she defect willingly?  Itachi Uchiha was a beautiful man and and given the very obvious interest she had in the younger brother, it would be fascinating to see how that played out.  And didn’t he still owe Itachi a favor for his help in transferring Sasori from his fleshy prison?

Sasori drummed his fingers upon the armchair.  He could hear the running water of the bath down the hall as the woman in question settled in for a soak.  He’d even given her a dried herbal blend of eucalyptus and lavender for her sore muscles earlier that afternoon— a blend he’d used himself before his transformation.  She’d been surprised by the gesture and the smile she’d given him had been genuine.

He’d offered the simple kind gesture because it was better to offer honey over vinegar to one’s slaves.  He knew enough about psychological warfare to manipulate a young woman.  He’d been rather successful in his former life at seducing partners.  Did they keep his interest?  No. Did he enjoy the chase?  Yes.

That smile she gave him earlier, it had sparked his interest.

“Oh,” he sighed, using the mind of his spy to read over some of the missives Danzo had in his filing cabinet.  That job several months back with the merchant had been staged.  It had seemed like easy money at the time, but Sasori hadn’t cared about deeper machinations behind a merchant’s greed.  It would seem that his poison had more specific targets — Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno.  He’d inadvertently been responsible for making Sakura an orphan.  He ran his fingers through his soft, wavy hair.  He’d always liked his hair and occasionally would venture back to the lab to his original body to shore off more locks to replace ones that had fallen. 

Sakura had accused him of being unfeeling.  That simply wasn’t true.  One’s heart seemed to be the essence of feeling and he’d been unable to part with that aspect of himself in this soul transfer technique.  Though, he was a shinobi and fought in a war at a young age.  He’d been disciplined to not care. 

He felt the connect abruptly severed between himself and his spy.  “And another one bites the dust,” he grumbled in annoyance.  He was losing his sleeper agents left and right.  Though, it hardly mattered.  There wasn’t much more for him to learn from Konoha and her usurper Hokage. 

Before Sasori could think much more about it, he felt the wards around the hideout flare in warning.  He recognized the chakra signatures of Kakuzu and Hidan.  A pair of his puppets greeted the other two Akatsuki members.  He didn’t mind Kakuzu — he had a head for numbers and with his technique Sasori actually felt a weird sort of kinship.  Hidan was another story — he still didn’t know why such a murderous sociopath was recruited.  But then again, didn’t Sasori raze an entire continent singlehandedly a year ago?  He wasn’t the best to judge.  Though, Hidan would take one look at the Konoha kunoichi and want to sacrifice her to his Jashin.

Sasori’s hands clenched the arms of the chairs and the wood creaked ominously under the force.

“Sasori,” Kakuzu greeted when Sasori’s puppet escorted them inside.  He held a bloody package in his arms.  “Tobi found something interesting.  I believe this belongs to Dei.”

“What is it?” Sasori arched his eyebrow.  There was quite a bit of blood. 

“Apparently his arm.  It seems when Hatake sliced it off, it showed up where Tobi stumbled across it?”  Kakuzu shook his head.  “Honestly, I don’t like to ask too many questions with that guy.”  He shifted the package.  “I’m here to reattach it and fix the damage from the kazekage on his other hand.”

It was all Sasori could do to cauterize Deidara’s wounds earlier.  They’d collected what remained of his forearm and hand, but he was missing a good chunk of the center of his arm.  His other hand had been crushed by Gaara’s sand.  Sasori had planned to make Deidara a pair of prosthetics and integrate the unique hands, but actually having the flesh would be better for his clay-bomb jutsu.

Sasori ventured towards his workshop and took out the sealing scroll that held Deidara’s detached lower arm and hand. 

“Is he in the bath?” Hidan asked, cocking his head to the side, pale lavender eyes staring down the hall.  “Must be hard to bathe without your hands.”

“Hey, what’s all this racket?” Deidara groaned, sitting up with effort without his arms to brace him. 

“I’ve come to reattach your arm,” Kakuzu answered.  “And repair the smashed one.”

“I’m gonna be a fucking zombie, yeah?” Deidara asked, blinking warily.  He sniffed and looked over towards Sasori, his hair fallen into his eyes, but unable to push it back.  “Or I become a puppet?  I guess I’ll be a zombie.”  He sniffed.  “Better than Sasori telling me what to do all the time.  At least as a zombie I can argue, yeah?”

Sasori snorted softly and then moved quickly to the entrance of the hallway, effectively blocking Hidan’s exploration of the hideout.  He looked up cooly into the taller man’s lavender eyes. 

“Who’s in the bath, Sasori?  You’ll just waste them on a puppet.  Jashin is hungry,” Hidan hissed.  “And so am I.”

“Find your own prey.  You cannot have mine,” Sasori answered.  “She belongs to me.”

“Did you bring home a giiiiiirl?” Hidan teased, a sly smile crossing his lips.  His eyes darted past Sasori with a hunger in them now.  “Can’t you share?  A warm woman’s body would be wasted on you.  You’re a wooden eunuch these days.  Let me have some fun before you ruin her!”

“She is not for you,” Sasori retorted coldly.  His scorpion tail slithered out of his lower spine poison glistening on the tip and the Jashin-worshipper stepped back warily.  He had the option of being an eunuch or not.  His body was adjustable to suit whatever his needs.  He didn’t have to explain the mechanics of it all to a simpleton like Hidan.

“Is she pretty?” Hidan asked, taking a cautious step back, but not fully retreating.  “I’m surprised you haven’t turned her into a puppet yet.  Isn’t that your thing?  Why the delay?”

“Not all puppets have to be dead to do my bidding,” Sasori murmured.  He had flesh and blood spies too.  And he’d seen how his grandmother had used Sakura in their battle.  If he could do that, it might be a better unified effort than he had with his Third Kazekage puppet— which had been destroyed under the combined efforts of Sakura and his granny.  “I used her ability to staunch Dei’s injuries.”  It had been easier to use Sakura than himself.

“A medic?  That is useful,” Kakuzu added.  “Hidan, go outside.  You can hunt for a sacrifice and leave Sasori’s pet alone.”  He crouched over Deidara’s form and inspected the remains of his arms.  “Now, Hidan.  None of us have the time nor patience to deal with your antics.”

With a slew of protests under his breath, the silver-haired man strode out of the hideout.  Sasori firmly shut the door behind him.  His puppets would stand guard. 

“You might want to keep a closer eye on your ward,” Kakuzu warned.  “Hidan can be rather single-minded in his objectives and you piqued his interest.”  He released the sealing scroll and set the bloody object next to it.  “This is going to take a while.”

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OoO

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Sakura

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She was soaking in the bath, muscles relaxed with the herbal blend when the door opened and Sasori stepped inside.  He closed the door behind him.  His sleepy eyes scanned her naked body and she sunk lower under the water, knowing it would do nothing to obstruct the view since the water was mostly clear.  The herbs he’d given her only provided a faint opaque sheen.  She should have known it was too good to be true that he’d leave her pretty much alone.  That last two days had been mostly quiet coexisting.

“What are you doing?” Sakura hissed.  She kept her temper in check, always aware of the cold bite of the collar around her throat.

“You made me curious,” Sasori admitted.  He observed her, leaning against the door, arms folded over his chest.  “I am here keeping you alive though.  My partner was injured and we have some of our group visiting repairing the damage.  One is likely to sacrifice you to his god.”  He tilted his head again, amber eyes focused on her breasts.  She tried to hide them with her arms folded across, but he merely shifted his attention to her groin. 

“Can you not stare?” Sakura pleaded, squeezing her knees together in an effort to preserve modesty. 

Sasori brought his eyes back up to hers. “Very well.  You asked if I could feel.  I am trying to determine the answer to that.”  He shrugged off his cloak, wearing a simple dark red sleeveless undershirt and black utility pants most shinobi wore.  He seemed leanly muscled — but if that wasn’t his body he could have just carved it to be whatever he wanted.  This form didn’t have half a dozen swords protruding from his back and if he had that scorpion tail, it was hidden.  He looked human more or less.  Sasori sat on the edge of the tub, his eyes inspecting her once more before he leaned over and caught her hair in his hands, tilting her head back. 

“This form of mine is that of a teenager,” Sasori explained.  “I only transferred in the last couple of years into this body.  I’ve had my fill of courtesans.”  He fisted his hand against her skull, forcing her back to arch, forcing her breasts above the water’s surface.  His other hand was surprisingly smooth as it traced over breasts, cupping her left one, rolling her nipple between his thumb and index finger.  “Kunoichi were assigned seduction missions against me — we enjoyed one another — and then I would inject them with poison so they never woke up.  They died with a blissful smile on their lips.” He leaned close, his wooden lips moved against the column of her throat, just over the collar right at the carotid’s pulse point.  “To be fair, they tried to poison me first.  Such tactics won’t work anymore.”

Sakura stayed completely still.  She knew she was at this man,— this monster’s mercy.  He’d kept her alive so far, but that didn’t mean she understood his motives.

“Have you been assigned any scarlet letter scrolls, Sakura?” Sasori whispered, his deep voice sent shivers along her bare flesh.  Chakra strings wrapped around Sakura, holding her in place.  His hand traced down her ribs and settled with his palm splayed against her hip, his thumb brushing against her clit.  He smiled against her throat.  “Good girl, Sakura.  You’re so responsive to my touch.”  He rubbed circles around her and her body betrayed her when she moaned at the sensation and the rush of endorphins.  “I can modify my body as the need arises.” 

This was not okay!  She was a kunoichi and knew her body was a weapon and she had to use whatever she could to defeat an enemy.  Kunoichi were taught in their final year at the Academy how to weaponize their sex.  That didn’t mean she wanted to be touched by a puppet!  She could feel tears prickle her eyes and she knew there would be no heroic last minute save from any of her over-protective teammates.  She only had herself to rely upon.

With the tiny bit of chakra she was able to form outside of the confines of her suppressor collar, she broke the chakra strings constraining her.  “Get off of me!” Sakura hissed, not caring that her scalp burned painfully from his grip when she knocked his hand away from her groin, just as he started to run his cold middle finger along her slit.  She punched the side of his face, her knuckles stinging painfully from the impact.

Sasori released her abruptly and she splashed under the water as he stood suddenly so far away.  His cheek was cracked from her attack.  He dried his hand on the over-sized bath towel.  “I do not feel pain, Sakura.  You’ll only hurt your hand.  However, I do not think I will turn you into a puppet, if I can help it.  You wouldn’t be as soft or warm.”  His sleepy, amber eyes shifted back to meet her frustrated gaze.  “I am the spy master of the Akatsuki.  I know you were ordered to seduce Itachi Uchiha.”  He tilted his head again and his lips curled into another sardonic smile.  “Perhaps, I will enjoy watching more than I did participating."    

He was out of the room in a moment, door closed softly behind him.  She could still sense his presence just outside the door.  Ready to rush back in if need be.  Though, he was definitely needing to be on the other side of the door. 

Sakura sunk deeper into the water and felt her eyes prickle with tears.  The first time she is touched by a man and it’s this monster.  How did he know about the mission Danzo had given her?  Could he possibly know about Master Tsunade?  Did he know if Naruto and Kakashi were okay?  Would he tell her?  Did he know about Sasuke?

Chapter Text

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Itachi
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He needed a plan. Itachi had sacrificed everything for Konoha, — save his younger brother. Though, had he really spared Sasuke? He’d made him an orphan, tortured him psychologically in the hopes that Sasuke would end Itachi’s miserable existence. Just when Sasuke had hope of finding a home with his Team Seven found family, Orochimaru poisoned him.

“I want to kill Orochimaru,” Itachi announced. Previously, he’d been forbidden from such fatal action by the leadership of Konoha. However, Orochimaru was a missing-nin and the bounty on his head was massive. Though, he was now also officially the kage of Oto.

“Oh?” Tobi asked. “That seems rather sudden.”

“If we want Uzumaki, we need bait,” Itachi explained. The idea was forming in his mind. It was logical. It would also be a clear break from Konoha under Danzo’s leadership. Returning to Konoha was never in Itachi’s future. He’d been condemned to die since the moment he accepted those tragic kinslayer orders. "The best bait that would draw him out of the mountains even against the wishes of Jiraiya, would be Sasuke and Haruno.”

“I see,” Tobi murmured. “Orochimaru has proven a useful ally, though an unreliable one.”

Kisame chuckled. “You can rely on the snake to consistently be looking out for himself.”

“Alright,” Tobi agreed. “We can take out Orochimaru. He’s a nuisance. Leave Kabuto though. He’s useful.”

Itachi felt his breath hitch in his chest. Was that it? Was it that simple? Could he eliminate Konoha’s number one enemy just this easily? The Sandaime had greatly reduced Orochimaru’s abilities by sealing his arms and keeping him from performing the plethora of jutsu he’d come to for years. That bastard invaded Konoha and killed quite a few good shinobi in his quest for vengeance and immortality. He’d also murdered the previous kazekage. “I need to consult with Sasori. He knows him best.”

“Fine,” Tobi agreed. “I’ll drop you off there. Kisame and I need to have a talk with a certain Copy Ninja.”

Itachi couldn’t believe his luck. Was something actually going to happen in his favor? If Tobi used his teleportation ability, he’d have Itachi outside whatever hideout Sasori and Deidara were at within moments! “When would we leave?” Itachi really needed another day to recover his chakra, but did Sakura have a day with Sasori? Surely, Sasori was even more exhausted than Itachi.

“An hour or two?” Tobi suggested. “I need to recharge. Do you have something I can eat?”

Itachi stared at the man sprawled out over his bed. “I could probably fix up some omelets.” He had a flashback to before the loss of Shisui, when all was right in his world and he’d watched over Sasuke for a long weekend while their parents were out of the village. He’d created the most elaborate and extensive multi-course meals. He’d also tried very hard to make the perfect omelet and it was Kisame that taught him an easier way to do it.

“Nothing too fancy, ‘Tachi,” Kisame murmured, yawning and then closing his eyes.
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OoO

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Kakashi
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He felt lost. He had to be carried back to Konoha. Jiraiya and Naruto were off to the mountains again. Jiraiya would continue to use his resources to try and track down Lady Tsunade and Sasuke. They had a few months before Orochimaru would try to take him over. Part of him had written off Sasuke, but a tiny hopeful part (that sounded suspiciously like Naruto and Sakura) cheered on the idea that Sasuke would escape on his own if some reason they couldn’t get him.

Kakashi knew in his heart of hearts that Jiraiya would not put much effort into tracking down Sakura. Tsunade would likely scorch the earth looking for her, but the Toad sannin didn’t have such motivation when compared to his godson and the love of his life.

Though, at the moment, Orochimaru was a safer option than returning back to Konoha. Jiraiya worried that Tsunade was murdered, but he couldn’t confirm it. However, her Hokage Guard Platoon was also missing and so was Shizune. It was possible they’d sought refuge somewhere else. Though, wouldn’t Sakura have been able to communicate with Tsunade with their shared summons? Unless, Tsunade wasn’t conscious. Maybe she was alive, but incapacitated?

The only person Kakashi could help— needed to help — was his precious teammate— Kitten.

“What are you going to do?” Gai asked quietly, somber in his demeanor. He sat next to Kakashi’s hospital bed. “My team is being assigned to track down Itachi and the man with the big sword — I can never remember his name. I fought against some version of him outside those mountains.”

“Hoshigaki,” Kakashi murmured. “Kisame Hoshigaki— swordsman from Mist.” He rubbed his forehead and sighed. “Nothing on Genma, Raido or Iwashi?”

Gai shook his head.

Then through the open window of his hospital room, a familiar chakra presence appeared. Moments later, Tenzo slipped inside Kakashi’s room. He took off his Anbu mask and frowned as his dark brown eyes inspected Kakashi’s prone form. “You need to leave, Senpai.”

Kakashi fell back on his pillow. Now that he was here, he just wanted a few days rest in the hospital. Though, he also wanted his village to not be ruled by an angry dictator. “Why? I just got back.”

“Danzo is going to try to kill you again,” Tenzo explained. “Except this time, no one will be able to protest.”

“Why would he want to kill me?” Kakashi could actually think of several reasons, but he preferred to not voice them aloud. Have a death warrant hanging over his head in the very village he’d dedicated his entire life to protecting and fighting for wasn’t very motivating to stay a loyal dog to the Leaf. A hound abused by its master will eventually bite back.

“With Lady Tsunade no longer serving as Hokage, there’s been talk amongst the council about someone filling the position permanently,” Tenzo explained. “Danzo has the elders that were Hiruzen’s advisors, but the clan heads are almost unanimous — they want you.”

“Really?” Kakashi laughed at the absurdity of the idea. Kakashi was known as the friend-killer and failed genin instructor. What sort of idiots wanted him to run their village? “Why not Asuma? He’s the Sandaime’s son.”

Gai gasped audibly. “My rival, you cannot think you are less than Asuma!” He began to cry and sniffle. “I would be so honored to call you my Hokage!”

“You need to leave — tonight,” Tenzo continued. “Yugao and I are doing everything we can, but she’s not been the same since losing Hayate.”

Kakashi was aware his old subordinate was grieving her lover. She’d turned in her sword and now worked at the hospital full time. She’d actually been the one in charge of his care. “I’ll need to pack and…”

Tenzo dropped a bag onto the end of Kakashi’s bed. “Your easy escape bag from your apartment. I took the liberty of adding your Make Out series books and your team photos. I also added some new kunai and as much money as I could spare. You also have rations that will last a week and a half.”

Gai immediately stood and pulled out his wallet and started to pull out bills and toss them down at Kakashi’s prone form. “Here, take all my money too, my dear rival.”

Kakashi braced himself into a sitting position with his arms behind him. Was he really going to leave Konoha? If there was one thing he identified as — it was a loyal Konoha shinobi. What was he without his village? What was a dog without his master?

“She’s alive,” Gai said, clutching Kakashi’s shoulder. “You must save your partner.”

“I actually have three years of unpaid vacation saved up,” Kakashi reasoned. He gestured for Tenzo. “I need paper to make my official request. It’s what Lady Tsunade did when she went off on her sojourn.”

“I’m pretty sure the only reason she wasn’t labeled a missing nin was because the Sandaime had a soft spot. Danzo has no such affection for you,” Tenzo pointed out.

Kakashi grinned. “That’s why Lady Tsunade gave me permission before this all happened.” He uncovered his Sharingan and not only wrote out his portion of the request, but the approval signature that was a perfect forgery of the Godaime’s. “I’m always so tardy about things, if you’ll submit that to the proper channels for me.”

Tenzo grinned. “Sure thing. I’ll make sure a copy is given to each of the clan heads.”

Kakashi doubted if a paper permission slip would matter too much against Danzo with his usurped power. However, it would buy him time. He thought about the mission Danzo gave Sakura shortly before their ill-fated rescue mission.

If Sasori decided to keep her alive — and surely he would — he’d be too fascinated about her counter to his poisons. Sakura would find a way to survive. Danzo practically told her to infiltrate the Akatsuki. So, maybe what Kakashi needed to do — was the same.

He thought briefly back to the man Itachi told him about back before he’d joined his Anbu team Ro a decade before. The man with the orange mask was also seen very briefly on the surveillance videos Anbu had of the Uchiha district before the massacre. It had only been a brief still, but Kakashi had seen with his own eyes that the masked man had been with Itachi that night.

Kakashi would track down his old teammate or find the man in the mask.

He needed answers and if he couldn’t find them — then he’d make his own path.

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OoO

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Sakura
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She chewed on her rice ball, listening to Deidara complain about the itchy desert environment. “We should go back to Iwa. All this sand —ugh. It just gets in every crack, ya know?” He turned towards her, his visible blue eye wide and expressive. “Wouldn’t you rather be in Iwa?”

Iwa? Suna? It was all the same to her. She wanted to be back in Konoha, or maybe Tea. “How about the Mount Myoboku area?”

“Isn’t that where the loud-mouth scampered off to?” Deidara asked. He turned back to the stove and shook his head, long blond hair shaking behind him. “No, thank you, yeah? He’s Itachi’s problem.”

Sakura said nothing and picked up a second rice ball. The collar around her throat was a constant reminder that while the light-hearted banter of the pyromaniac across from her might have been amusing, her captivity was no laughing matter. Thankfully, there’s been no repeat occurrences of Sasori touching her. He’d kept a careful distance and it took two days before he repaired the damage she inflicted upon his wooden face.

Deidara strode towards her, holding the skillet with one hand and the spatula with another. You’d never know that part of his arm had been severed and then miraculously reattached, or that she’d repaired the compound fracture of his left hand. Ever since Sakura healed the hand that Gaara had crushed, Deidara had been nothing, but pleasant to her.

She learned that he’d been part of the Tsuchikage’s elite bomb squad. He’d been on a mission to destroy a dam under Onoki’s orders, but had been intercepted by Uchiha Itachi. “He caught me with those miserable demon eyes, yeah? I was trapped inside the absolute worst nightmare. If I wanted to keep my sanity, I had to agree to join the Akatsuki.”

“Is that how members are recruited?” Sakura scoffed. She thought about the nightmares Itachi tortured both Sasuke-kun and Kakashi with had damaged their psyches. What had it done to Deidara? “That hardly inspires loyalty — join or else!”

Deidara shrugged, stirring a blend of vegetables and roots on the stovetop. “I respected the goals of the Akatsuki. Topple the existing shinobi system ruled by old assholes like Onoki. If I’d succeeded in blowing up that dam, it would have wiped out an entire small village of civilians. Turns out the old goblin wanted the daughter of the chieftain as a mistress, her parents refused, so he wanted the entire village to suffer.”

“The kage is supposed to protect the people of his or her country,” Sakura murmured.

“Apparently, being rejected by a fourteen year old girl and her parents was too much for the old man,” Deidara explained. “So yeah, when Itachi caught me and then Sasori recruited me. Well, they seemed better company compared to a child molester, yeah?”

He scooped half the stir-fry onto her plate and then the remainder on his plate. He set the empty skillet back on the stove top and turned off the heat. “I imagine Konoha under that crotchy old Danzo wouldn’t be much better.”

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek to stay quiet. He wasn’t wrong. She didn’t recognize Konoha under Danzo’s leadership. It was imperative that she find Tsunade.

“It is nice to have someone to eat with,” Deidara said quietly, sitting across from her at the table.

“Itadakimasu,” Sakura murmured.

Deidara grinned briefly in return. “Itadakimasu.”

It had been four days since the battle. As Sasori didn’t sleep, he’d given Sakura his bed. She could hear him laboring through the nights and days at his worktable repairing puppets that she and Lady Chiyo had damaged. Deidara was almost decent company and in spite of herself, Sakura sort of liked him. He was a like a blend of her two blond best friends — Ino and Naruto.

Halfway through their meal, Sasori sauntered into the kitchen. His puppet body moved soundlessly as he sat next to Sakura at the table. She stiffened at his proximity and he watched her with those unblinking amber eyes. He brought his hand to her collar and wordlessly he removed it. However, before she could appreciate the newfound freedom the cool metal of a silver necklace with a garnet gemstone took it’s place.

“An upgrade.” Sakura ran her fingers over the cold metal.

“For being such a good girl,” Sasori murmured, a faint smirk on his face.

She wanted to knock that smirk off his wooden face, crack that perfect cheek once more. It may have been a pretty necklace, but it still served the same purpose as the slave collar. It was a way for him to track her and control her. “It’s not suppressing my chakra,” she pointed out.

“That’s not its purpose. I am willing to allow you a bit of trust. Betray my generosity, you will regret it,” Sasori promised, his glass eyes bright with a terrifying light. “This necklace will help me locate you,” Sasori explained. “It’s a safety precaution. Hidan is a little too interested in you. And with the bounty on your head, Kakazu might also be a pain.”

Deidara waved his chopsticks at her. “He’s got a point, yeah? You don’t want to be sacrificed to Jashin or whatever.” He grinned. “I think you might be worth more than me in the Bingo books. I’m a little offended, yeah.”

“I reward loyalty.” Sasori gestured towards Deidara’s fully functional left hand. “I will offer you a boon as a token of my appreciation.”

Something more than a tracking collar? “What can you offer me?” Sakura tilted her head to study him. He stared back unblinking. He wasn’t a real person, and yet that spark of intelligence behind those inhuman eyes showed he was both human and not at the same time. What happened to his real body? Were any of his puppets still cognizant? Were they trapped against their will in bodies made of wood? The idea terrified her.

“I have the knowledge acquired from a vast network of spies across the continent,” Sasori explained. “What should you like to know, Haruno Sakura?”

Could he know where Master Tsunade was? Or Sasuke? Though, what good would knowing where either were location if she couldn’t do anything about it? Naruto was out of the question. She wouldn’t risk leading the Akatsuki to whatever safe haven he found. With this necklace instead of the chakra suppressing collar, she had access to her chakra. Maybe she could summon Katsuyu? “Where is the Godaime of Konoha Senju Tsunade?”

The kettle on the stove began to whistle and Deidara left to prepare tea for him and Sakura.

Sasori’s lips thinned and he looked annoyed. “Her whereabouts are unknown,” he admitted with a huff of annoyance. “I will let you know when I learn something.”

“Uchiha Sasuke?” Sakura asked.

“Likely Orochimaru’s western hideout.” Sasori drummed his fingers over the table, the sound of wood on wood a sharp reminder of his true nature.

Sakura stared at those painted fingernails. What happened to his real body? Why did he forsake being human for this odd semblance of living? Was it similar to how Kakashi uses his porn books to avoid talking to people by making them uncomfortable and wearing a literal mask to hide his feelings? Was Sasori so emotionally wounded that he felt it best to avoid feeling all together?

Damn she missed Kakashi. And Naruto. And Master Tsunade. And Ino. “What happened to Lady Chiyo?”

Sasori’s eyes narrowed. “She used some technique to exchange her life for that of the kazekage’s. He lived and she died.”

Deidara returned and set a cup of steaming tea in front of her.

“I didn’t know such a technique existed,” Sakura mused. What was with this family using these forbidden jutsus? Between Gaara’s murderous rampage when they were kids, Sasori and his grandmother the Sand shinobi were all not quite well in the head. Maybe too much sun?

“Likely, the old crone intended to use it on me.” Sasori shrugged a delicate shoulder. “It was a fool’s errand.”

“A fool’s errand to make you human again?” Sakura pressed. He was being surprisingly open. She had to take advantage while she could. Kunoichi training and being best friends with the Yamanaka heiress taught Sakura the more you know about your opponent, the better your odds of coming out on top. She would survive this ordeal, but she would have to understand these Akatsuki members in order to do so.

Sasori scoffed. “To assume I would need her help. If I wanted to return to a mortal body, I have the means.” He smirked, a cruel upturn of his lips. “Why? Do you have a thing for older men? You might appreciate the lack of temptation. Else wise, how would you complete your mission with the infamous Uchiha Itachi if you’re too distracted by me?”

Her cheeks burned at the reminder. It was time to change the subject. “Do you know much about Orochimaru’s cursed mark? Particularly, how to remove it?” Sakura asked. She would take this opportunity to figure out a way to fix Sasuke and free him from the snake.

Sasori tilted his head to the side and studied her. “I assume you mean removing it without causing a fatality. The easiest way is to kill the host. Uchiha Itachi also seeks this information.” He raised his hand and traced his fingertip over the garnet gemstone of her new necklace. “It will be difficult to fulfill your mission if the brothers kill one another.”

“I wouldn’t mind the world being minus one more Uchiha,” Deidara grumbled.

“You are still bitter about your recruitment,” Sasori retorted.

Sakura felt her cheeks heat at the memory of her assignment regarding Itachi. If the world was simpler and he’d been the soft-spoken, polite, handsome man she met at the tea shop, a romance with him would be something she’d enjoy. However, he was the kinslayer that abused one of her best friends. She desperately longed to talk to Master Tsunade and know where she was and brainstorm with Ino. Sakura was stuck in the company of international terrorists and her current village leader was a cruel warmonger. Too many of her loved ones were in danger—including Naruto and Sasuke. And how would Kakashi be handling her kidnapping? Would he fall back into a deep depression, blaming himself when he really had no choice but to prioritize Naruto over her?

Would Itachi even live long enough to fight Sasuke? Between his failing vision and his inflamed lungs, what would his health be like now? “Uchiha Itachi was not well when last I saw him.” She took a sip of her tea, hoping to end the conversation.

Sasori braced his forearms over the table and leaned forward. “But you would like to see him again. He is objectively aesthetically pleasing.” He ran his gaze from her eyes down her throat. “I believe the two of you would compliment one another. His dark raven hair in contrast to your pale petal pink. Your jade eyes against his onyx and ruby. I would imagine when he fucks you that your screams would compliment his deep grunts in a harmonious melody. I would like to observe.”

Sakura started to choke on her tea. While she could admit that Itachi was a beautiful man, he was also the scum of the earth. Kakashi had taught her that those that leave their friends behind were less than scum. Yet, Itachi had murdered his family and then tortured both his old team captain and his little brother with his genjutsu nightmares. “Uchiha Itachi is a mass murderer.”

Sasori chuckled darkly, his amber eyes flashed in amusement.

That’s when Sakura remembered that Sasori had bragged about killing an entire country with his puppet army. He was ten times worse than Itachi. And his poisons were terrifying. How many countless people fell to his science that would never be included in his deadly tally? She scowled, thinking about her civilian parents and their recent death. Did he have a hand in that or was it just some other scruple-less apothecary?

“But, aren’t we all? I mean, ninja, right? Since we can walk, we’re taught to fight and kill. How many people have you killed, Sakura?” Deidara challenged. He flexed the left hand that Sakura repaired and released a tiny clay bird from the mouth in his palm.

She wrapped her hands around her tea cup, letting the heat seep into her hands. She had no answer for that, knowing that while she’d saved more lives than she took, she too had blood on her hands. Every shinobi could expect to eventually take a life and she’d been promoted to Anbu. Her Kitten mask might have been given to her with a smile from her old captain, but it was heavy with the weight off responsibility.

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OoO

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Itachi
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Tobi, the masked man, formerly known as Madara was difficult to read. He always had been. His personality had swapped so many times since Itachi knew him, though he suspected the version he met as a teenager was the true persona behind the mask.

This was the man that murdered the guard that escorted the daimyo back when Itachi had been a genin. He was the man that killed his hot-headed genin teammate. The man that helped him with the gruesome task of slaying his clan under the village orders. Tobi didn’t know it was under orders, but only what Itachi told him — a test of his strength. He’d given Itachi a place amongst the Akatsuki afterwards. He owed the man, but he didn’t trust him. The feeling was certainly mutual.

“What?” Tobi snapped, his playful tone no more. They were taking a brief break, sharing a simple meal of onigiri that Itachi had prepared before their departure.

“Two things,” Itachi answered. “Why aren’t you using your teleportation? And why did you agree to take me to the girl?”

Tobi stretched out his long legs and braced his palms behind his back as he stared forward. “I want to give the Copy Ninja some trails to follow.” He crossed his legs at the ankles and shook his foot impatiently.

That made sense. Itachi finished off his onigiri. He wasn’t particularly hungry. His appetite had improved briefly after his last healing session with Sasuke’s teammate. His lung condition had left him ravenous so often and he’d trained his mind to ignore the cues. Now, he simply didn’t notice. When one is in a constant state of pain and hunger, eventually you become desensitized. He waited for Tobi to answer the second question.

“I can tell you have no intention of catching the nine-tails jinchuriki,” Tobi continued. “I think it’s time for a team swap. The remaining jinchuriki are the most difficult of the tailed beasts and a sharingan will be critical to capture it. You’re not the only one with a sharingan. Kisame’s strength will be an asset. Deidara also proved quite talented with his capture of the one-tail. Sasori’s strength is temporary at a lull after how many of his toys were broken.” Tobi’s visible eye flashed crimson. “You’re in a hurry? I think I left enough of a trail for Bakashi.”

Before Itachi could take his next labored breath, Tobi vanished and reappeared behind him. Strong arms banded around his shoulders and the next moment, the world vanished in a vortex and he stood outside the door of a heavily warded hideout in the land of Wind.

There were two puppet figures that approached them, their long black robes billowed in the arid wind. They stared at them with silent appraisal in their glass eyes, wordless, Sasori’s chakra running through their forms. Itachi counted six clay birds fluttering towards them, Deidara’s bombs ready to blow up in their faces.

They were brought inside and once they were past the wards, Itachi sensed the presence of Haruno Sakura. He felt his breath hitch and he kept his face expressionless to hide his concern. Was she alive?

“What do you want?” Sasori’s deep, bored tone interrupted. His puppet body stood before them in the hallway. He angled his head in an odd way that was a stark reminder of his inhuman existence.

Tobi angled his head to the side, mimicking the movement. “We’re having a roster change.”

“Roster change?” Sasori repeated, his eyes flat.

“You’re like a toothless lion. How many puppets did you lose in that battle?” Tobi challenged.

Sasori’s narrowed eyes was answer enough.

“I’m taking Deidara with me and you’re getting the invalid,” Tobi continued.

“Inval—,” Itachi sputtered in disbelief.

“You have the medic, don’t you?” Tobi pressed. “You didn’t turn her into a puppet yet did you? Leader will be unhappy with you if you do that.”

“She has more purpose alive,” Sasori agreed. “For now.”

Itachi clenched his jaw. He would do what he needed to keep Sakura alive. If not for the sake of the Leaf’s future, then for Hatake and his brother. He owed them both to keep their precious teammate alive.
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OoO

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Sakura
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Hours had passed since she sat meditating, slowing building chakra to replenish her seal. Sasori had kept her locked in her bedroom when someone had come to the hideout. She didn’t want to meet the other Akatsuki members. Sasori and Deidara were enough for her to have to deal with as it was.

Part of her pondered running away, but still, she would be caught before she could get far. Running away in the open desert without supplies was suicide. She needed a plan. Only someone like Naruto with unlimited strength and healing factor could get away with running off half-cocked without any sort of plan and just letting themselves be ruled by emotion.

It had been a long time since Sakura let herself be ruled by the whims of her heart. Tears didn’t stop Sasuke from leaving. Tears didn’t convince Itachi from hurting Kakashi. Tears didn’t bring her parents back to life. Tears didn’t find Master Tsunade. Tears didn’t protect Naruto from the Akatsuki.

When the door opened, she peeked past her eyelashes as Sasori stood in the doorframe. The dim light behind him making long shadows cast about her room.

“We’re leaving,” Sasori announced.

Sakura opened her eyes wide. “Where?”

“I need more materials to repair my puppets,” Sasori continued. “Get up, grab your bag.” He gestured towards a small bag that Deidara had given her the day before — inside were spare clothing, a simple first aid kit, a couple of botany books. The latter had been a sort of peace offering from Sasori after the bathroom incident.

She rose from the bed and smoothed out the wrinkles in the skirt of her apron. Before she could bend to pick up her pack, chakra strings had already lifted it and settled it over her shoulders. Sasori hadn’t moved so far as she could see but she knew it was him.

“Right now?”

Sasori said nothing, but turned his back on her and strode down the hall. It wasn’t like he had to watch her with his glass eyes to know what she was doing. He didn’t see like a human anymore. He wasn’t human anymore.

With a sigh of frustration, Sakura followed him out only to stare in shock at the two new Akatsuki standing in the kitchen.

Uchiha Itachi stared back at her, his sharingan memorizing her form in spite of the room’s darkness. She hands clenched into fists at the sight of that handsome face knowing just what sins he’d committed.

“Ah, our newest member,” the man in the orange mask commented.

“She’s not a member,” Sasori corrected. “She’s my asset. She does not belong to the Akatsuki.”

“Hmmm. Leader might not like that answer,” the orange masked man whistled, rocking back on the balls of his feet.

Sasori folded his arms over his chest. “Konan can convince him.”

“It’s good to see you again, Haruno-san,” Itachi murmured, his eyes never leaving her face.

Sakura tried to avoid looking at him directly, but the temptation was too great and what was he going to do? She shifted her gaze from his throat up and met his onyx irises, so much like his brother’s eyes. “Kinslayer.”

Sasori snorted. “This will be interesting,” he murmured, his thin lips curled in amusement.

Sakura bit the inside of her mouth to keep from responding. Deidara was suddenly in front of her, his arms around her and lifting her into a hug. He brought his mouth close to her ear. “Don’t worry, Cherry Blossom. I’ll make your friends’ death quick.”

Then Sakura, Sasori, and Itachi were snatched up by the masked man and dropped off at the edge of a forest. Before Sakura could even regain her equilibrium, the masked man was gone.

“Where are we?” Itachi asked, his hand upon Sakura’s elbow to steady her. He was too gentle for a man with so much blood on his hands.

Sakura yanked her arm away from his grasp and Sasori’s chakra strings plucked her up and moved her bodily to his other side, away from Itachi. Give her another day or two and she’d be strong enough to make a run for it. Assuming where-ever they were wasn’t in the middle of nowhere. She noticed the slight frown on Itachi’s lips. What did he expect?

“Outskirts of Iwa,” Sasori answered.

Sakura would keep her panic bottled up and buried deep inside. Iwa was too far from any allies she might have. She’d have to bide her time in the company of these two terrorists.
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Chapter Text

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Itachi
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He had been on the receiving end of a hateful glare before, that was nothing new. After all, he knew what he was. Kinslayer.

Tobi had transported him and his two new teammates — and they were all wearing the Akatsuki black cloaks with the red clouds — to the outskirts of Iwa at the edge of a forest. They were caged in effectively by the mountainous natural border between Wind and Earth countries. The Kamizuru clan had been forcefully relocated from Iwagakure into this no-man’s land. While the ancient clan of Bee users founded the hidden village in Earth, the first Tsuchikage was of their clan, their failed invasion of Konoha two generations ago and subsequent defeat led to their current exile and decimated population.

Though, there would be more survivors of the Kamizuru clan than Uchiha, thanks to Itachi’s past assassination assignment. He stopped that train of thought before he started to spiral. He had to focus. Sasuke and Hatake’s kunoichi was thoroughly snagged within the Akasuna Sasori’s spider’s web. The man had connections and motives that even Itachi didn’t quite comprehend. Sasori was twelve years Itachi’s senior and had experienced a harsh shinobi life — so harsh he felt it imperative to amputate his emotions entirely. And from what he knew of Sakura from their previous meetings and from the memories he gleaned from Sasuke when he’d put his brother in the genjutsu years back, she wore her heart on her sleeve, as did the Uzumaki jinchuriki.

It would have been fun in another world to see how his sullen brother would have blossomed under the affection of such teammates.

Itachi scanned the environment. It wasn’t too far from the area where he and Kisame had battled and captured the four-tail jinchuriki. His lungs were still somewhat inflamed from all the smoke inhalation from not only his own fireball jutsus, but the volcanic ash that Roshi had created.

Sasori kept Sakura snug at his side. The way she’s snatched her arm from Itachi’s hand earlier as if she’d been burned by him made Itachi feel somewhat nauseated. She chose the side of a mass-murdering man whom discarded his mortal body so he’d be even less inclined to be troubled with a petty thing like a conscience.

Itachi’s conscience was all consuming.

It wasn’t like he could hate himself any more than he already did. Being around Sakura would become a special type of torture, yet he was also excited about the prospect. For the first time in a decade he wasn’t feeling the oppressive cloud of depression and his desire for death consuming his every thought. He had to live now. He had another person to protect— if not for his own sake then for Sasuke and Hatake, whom he owed both a great debt. Having this same woman that had so sweetly talked to him like a real person in that Grass tea house now treat him like the monster he was — it was soul crushing. He needed to let her know that he was her ally.

He summoned a pair of crows and set them to fly about the area and observe. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down now. Sasori felt indebted to Itachi at present, but there was no way of knowing if that would spare Sakura whatever fate the puppet master had in mind. Not only was she his brother’s precious teammate, but she was someone that represented the good of Konoha. Sasori—like most of the Akatsuki members— hated Konoha. His parents had been assassinated by Sakumo Hatake. Sasori needed to consider Sakura worth more than whatever vendetta he held against the Hatake.

Itachi would protect her— somehow.

“We need to bathe,” Itachi announced. “Any tracker worth their salt will smell the flower garden that is coming off the kunoichi.”

Sasori looked between the two of them. “Hm. I hadn’t considered that.” He tapped his nose. “No more olfactory.” Sasori began to lead the way deep into the overgrown forest. “Dei and I established a base around here,” he explained. “There’s a nearby waterfall and pool beneath it for bathing.” He turned his head towards Sakura. “I suggest you use it. I had not considered the bath salts I treated you to would attract attention.”

“Unless they have ninja dogs, I hardly think it matters.” Sakura folded her arms over her chest defensively. “Are you planning to watch. Again?” She hissed when Sasori’s chakra strings yanked her arms down to her sides.

Itachi’s jaw clenched. He didn’t think Sasori would have been a threat to Sakura in that way. The Suna shinobi no longer had the proper anatomy for such things. It was one of the reasons he discarded his human body — such base desires were distracting.

Sasori rotated his head 180 degrees to look back at Itachi in his inhuman way. “Sakura doesn’t seem to understand that she lives because of my magnanimous grace. She keeps testing my patience. I have suffered her to live thinking she might prove useful to your healthcare, Uchiha.” His smile was tight and eerie. “She will still make a prize to my collection.”

“I’ve never known you to take prisoners before,” Itachi admitted, keeping his voice carefully neutral. He flickered his eyes briefly towards Sakura. Her jade eyes met his and he could see the fear, but also the determination to be brave in unusual circumstances. “I believe she has more uses alive. She apprenticed under the greatest medical ninja alive. Her knowledge is unique.”

“True. The girl proved herself quite capable in our battle. She captured my interest,” Sasori admitted. “She even gained the favor of the wretched crone that was my grandmother.” He traced his finger along her cheek all the while jade eyes narrowed as the kunoichi seethed. “She’s feisty. Which I normally find displeasing. Perhaps my time with Deidara has mellowed me. Her aesthetics couldn’t be wasted. Yet, her talent with poisons and medical ninjutsu…,” he trailed off. “She would have proven too great a distraction in the past, but now.” He looked behind him at Itachi again. “I still owed you, Uchiha. I don’t forget my debts.”

Sasori led them through the thick woods. He trailed his fingers along the trees they passed. “I like this forest for the variety of durable wood for my puppets,” he admitted. “I will leave you two to bathe. I imagine you have some catching up to do.”

“Why would I talk to him?” Sakura mumbled.

“Because you both wish to save Sasuke Uchiha and I wish to end the overly long life of Orochimaru,” Sasori answered. He smiled, an eerie twisting of his lips. “And I believe you have a mission to finish, Haruno. I’m sure Uchiha will be more than happy to help you accomplish it— you being such a good little kunoichi of the Leaf.”

Itachi arched an eyebrow at the comment and the dark pink blush staining Sakura’s cheeks. What was that about? What sort of mission did Shimura give her when he usurped the role of kage?

The sound of the waterfall drowned out any further possible conversation. Sasori and Sakura walked up the side of the mountain using chakra lacing the soles of their feet. Itachi followed suit, somewhat amused to be doing a skill he’d mastered as a genin so many years ago in such strange circumstances. Then Sasori did a series of hand seals and the deafening roar of the waterfall silenced.

“Outsiders will not be able to hear, but I’ve added your chakra signatures to the silencing seal so that you’ll be able to hear one another,” Sasori explained. “I need to meet with an old apprentice and get to work on repairing the puppets you destroyed.” He gave Sakura a pointed look. He gestured towards her necklace. “Don’t try anything or I’ll know. And I am not one to forgive someone that disobeys.” He traced his thumb across the chain around her throat. “I’ve limited your access to chakra. No mountain smashing, my pet. One of my puppets will come in a couple of hours to guide you to the hideout.”

That left Itachi and Sakura alone at the waterfall. He shrugged out of his cloak and laid it across a large stone to air out in the fresh sunlight that trickled through the forest. He opened his pack to take out the standard scentless shinobi body wash and shampoo. Then soon enough he was down to his boxers, the cool air from the mountains chilled his skin. He could admit, the sound of Sakura’s hitched breath stoked his male ego. It had been a long time since he’d allowed himself to be so exposed — physically in front of anyone. Then he stepped out of his boxers and walked into the pool at the base of the waterfall. He let the water run over his hair, down his back, and trickle down his half-hard cock.

He resisted the urge to smile when he looked over his shoulder at Sakura, still fully clothed staring shamelessly over his nude form. She seemed to especially enjoy his ass. Which he was pretty proud of himself. It was one of his better assets. The darkening of her cheeks and the dilated pupils made him think she liked what she saw. “I don’t know how long we have. Sasori has always been an impatient man.” He began to scrub himself with the soap, lathering it over his shoulders, down his arms, into his hair.

Sakura quickly averted her eyes and started to strip herself, but she kept on a pair of no-nonsense black briefs as she stood near him under the waterfall.

“You’re not in danger from me touching you, unless you want me to,” Itachi said quietly. There was a vicious looking dark pink scar on her lower abdomen standing in contrast to the rest of her smooth pale flesh. Had she been run through with a sword? It looked recent. Had Sasori done it? She wouldn’t have been defeated easily, but Sasori had a merciless reputation. He held out the soap to her. “I don’t think you should go back to Konoha. It’s not safe.”

Sakura laughed incredulous as she took the soap from him, their fingers brushing in the exchange. “The S-class mass murderer thinks it’s dangerous for me to return home.” She ducked into the pool of water and swam away from him, when she resurfaced she scrubbed her sudsy hands through her hair. “I won’t let you hurt Naruto and I’m not going home without Sasuke.” She glared at him over her shoulder.

Itachi noticed her eyes drop from his face to his groin where he was idly washing, stroking his cock with his remaining soap. Then he stepped deeper into the pool, hiding himself below the waist and rinsing off. For someone not interested in him, she sure seemed to enjoy ogling him. “If I wanted to harm Naruto, he’d have been captured the first time I entered Konoha a few years back. And how do you plan to bring Sasuke home?”

He intended to use Sasori’s knowledge himself. Killing Orochimaru once past his plethora of followers wouldn’t be too difficult. Itachi’s Mangekyo Sharingan would make it easy to place a multitude of shinobi under the thrall of a genjutsu without much trouble. Removing the cursed mark on Sasuke was the challenge. Itachi would no longer be obeying Danzo. He never should have obeyed him to begin with, but he’d been so lost without Shisui and if he’d refused, Danzo would have killed Sasuke then and there. What did that Shadow kage ask of Sakura?

“Sasori has agreed to tell me what he knows about Orochimaru. They used to be partners within the Akatsuki. It’s a reward for impressing him by creating an antidote to his poison,” Sakura explained. She glared at him. “I won’t let you hurt Sasuke-kun anymore.”

Itachi ran his fingers through his hair, the strands loose and clinging to his back. Sasuke had survived under the guardianship of Orochimaru for nearly five years now. The snake would be eager to snatch his body. Time was running out. “I wanted to help Sasuke survive this world we’re in. Orochimaru interfered. He was supposed to stay in Konoha and train under Hatake. I don’t like him being with Orochimaru any more than you do. Orochimaru doesn’t care about Sasuke. He just wants to steal his body and soon he will make a move to do so.”

Sakura strode through the water until she stood right in front of him, a soap-covered finger jabbing painfully into his sternum. “Well maybe he would have if you hadn’t trapped him in a nightmare right after he recovered from Orochimaru’s poisoning! He was barely thirteen! What did you think would happen?”

Itachi caught her wrist and pulled her against him, her bare breasts pressed against his chest, her pebbled nipples scraping against his flesh. The necklace around her throat flashed with a bright red glow and he could feel it absorbing chakra. “That was a mistake,” he admitted. He didn’t point out what he’d been forced to do when he was thirteen. “Though, perhaps the Sannin is a better option than Konoha considering Danzo is now unchecked and in power. He’d have stolen Sasuke’s eyes, same as he did with my older cousin Shisui and then left him to die by poison.”

Sakura stared at his lips, keeping her eyes carefully trained away from his eyes. “Shisui huh? Like the name you used from the tea house?” She swallowed thickly. “Danzo is scum. I will agree to that.” She didn’t attempt to pull free, but shifted so that she gripped Itachi’s wrist and managed to pivot and slam his body into the pool of water using a simple grappling technique.

Itachi wrapped his arms around her and brought her down with him as they both sank under the surface. The only thing between them was her scrap of black briefs. Onyx and jade clashed under the water and Itachi touched his feet to the bottom of the pool and stood upright carrying Sakura along with him. The only reason they weren’t both freezing was his warmer than average Uchiha body-temperature. His affinity to the fire chakra would be the difference between a waterfall conversation and hypothermia. He would hold her close, to keep her warm, no other reason. “Are you done?”

Sakura shook her head, water droplets flying from the action. “I was ordered to seduce you. Before I left. Danzo ordered that I get impregnated by you. He said it was Sasuke’s last request before he left the village— to rebuild the clan with me.” She huffed, blowing her hair out of her face. “I know that was a lie. Supposedly Sasuke left behind a vial of sperm. At thirteen? I don’t think so. Much less leave a letter for the village council and not his teammates? We didn’t even know who Elder Shimura was at that time. I may be a fool, but I’m not an idiot.”

Itachi needed to break his silence. There was no need for pretense with Sakura at this point. His mission to infiltrate the Akatsuki was at an end. He’d done what he could to protect the Yondaime’s son and Leader no longer trusted him. “I was ordered by Danzo to kill my entire clan, or else he would have killed Sasuke. Elder Shimura would have murdered my seven year old brother and then had his Root kill the whole clan anyway. It would have been a blood bath and there would have been collateral damage. It’s better that a thirteen year old boy went unhinged than to admit the illegal Root organization existed and murdered the entire police force. People might wonder about all those orphans that went missing.”

Sakura gripped his biceps. “What?”

“So maybe I’m a fool. But thirteen year old me thought it would be better to offer my clan a quick, clean death. I had to save Sasuke. He is everything to me.” Itachi leaned his forehead against hers, feeling so very tired. It had been so long since he’d held anyone. He just wanted to gather her against him — she was a reminder of home. It had been so long since he’d been at home. “Maybe if Shisui had still been alive I could have found a better way. I couldn’t do it by myself. That man in the mask — Tobi? He killed the noncombatants — the elderly, the children. I wasn’t strong enough to do that. I started with my girlfriend and I ended with my parents. I know I’m a kinslayer. I know I’m the worst kind of monster. I was also a soldier following orders.”

“You were thirteen,” Sakura whispered. “I wasn’t planning on doing it.” She angled her face up towards him. “Seducing you. I wouldn’t let the council take my children from me.” She cleared her throat. “Though, now that my parents are dead and Master Tsunade is gone, there’s not really anyone to stand up for me, except Kakashi-sensei.”

“No, it’s good you would protect your children,” Itachi agreed. “Though, likely Danzo would find a way to eliminate you. That’s his usual mechanism of operandi. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had something to do with the death of your parents. Weren’t they civilian merchants?” His thumbs began to caress small circles at Sakura’s hip, very aware of their proximity. She was dealing with loss that he was very familiar with. His partner Kisame had helped him through the worse of his pain through training and humor. What Itachi really had needed was to be held. He could do that for Sakura.

The cold pool of water was the only reason he didn’t have a raging erection. It had been so long since he simply held and hugged someone. It was probably Sasuke as a toddler, before Itachi had graduated the Academy. It felt nice. He was reluctant to let her go. “If things had been different, I’d have very much liked to have grown up with you, Sakura. I would have asked you out to tea or to a picnic. Taken you on a late night stroll to stargaze.”

“Or a swim?” Sakura released a breathy laugh. She started to extract herself from his arms. “So you’re the spy within the Akatsuki.”

He checked in with his summons, analyzing their observation. Sasori was several kilometers away, likely looking for the acquaintance he mentioned. Some of his puppets patrolled the area. They were truly alone. He nodded, acknowledging the mission that had taken up nearly half of his life. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, Sakura. Konoha is a people, not a council. You are Konoha.”

“I’m capable of taking care of myself,” Sakura argued. She raised her eyes from his jaw to meet his gaze directly, showing her decision to trust in him with the action more so than in their proximity.

“Are you? You’ve been taken captive by Akasuna Sasori. Your village is headed by a wicked power-hungry man. Your teammates are scattered to the wind,” Itachi pointed out.

Sakura slid her hands down to Itachi’s wrists and brought them up to press against her chest. “We’ll team up. Kill Orochimaru. Save Sasuke-kun. Find Master Tsunade. Get rid of Danzo. Keep Naruto safe.”

“That’s a lot for two people,” Itachi murmured. “You should seduce me though. Sasori seems to expect it. It will help our cover.” His eyes dipped to her lips. “And I think it would be a good stress relief for us both."

“Is it a cover?” Sakura countered. She released his hands and stepped back, bracing an arm over her breasts in the process. “You’re part of the Akatsuki regardless of how you were initially recruited. Apparently, if that cloak means anything, I’m part of it too now.”

Itachi stepped towards her and cradled her cheeks with his palms. They didn’t get the chance to live in a world where his clan lived and they grew up together. However, they did keep crossing paths. “Fate keeps bringing us together, Sakura. I’ve spent the last decade dying. I’d like to try living, at least for a little while.” He dipped his head down, the tip of his nose nudging hers. “With you,” he added before he slanted his lips over hers.
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OoO

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Sakura
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This was really happening! She was actually part of the Akatsuki and naked alongside Itachi Uchiha and kissing him. She’d been in love with Sasuke when she was younger and maybe she had a type— tall, dark haired, dark eyed and tortured. Though — silver hair had a nice charm as well. With her chakra suppressed, she couldn’t run the health analysis she wanted and see just how inflamed his lungs were, but she could sense the illness within his lithe body even now. She wasn’t alone! And Itachi Uchiha was not only a genius, but resourceful.

Now that she understood a bit more about what really happened with the Uchiha clan, could she really blame him for not coming up with a better option at the age of thirteen? She’d been ready to defect at the same age to follow her first love into the unknown of a snake monster.

Thank Kami Sasuke knocked her out and left her behind on that bench. She wouldn’t have apprenticed under the greatest living kunoichi otherwise. She wouldn’t have later trained and worked as a partner to Kakashi Hatake as Anbu. She also wouldn’t have been abducted by Sasori to be part of his collection. Most likely, she’d have been the victim of some disgusting experiment by that monstrous Orochimaru.

“You’re thinking too much,” Itachi murmured, drawing back and pressing his forehead against hers.

“You’re ill,” Sakura whispered, laying her palm over his left pectoral and feeling the beating of his heart. She stared at the necklace he wore with the three charms on it. “I don’t have access to all my chakra. I used a lot of my reserves in my battle with Sasori and it’s slow-going to replenish with these restraints. We need to convince Sasori to trust me enough to allow me to regain my reserves so I can work on healing your body. Have you not sought any medical attention since you’ve been away from Konoha?”

“This necklace,” Itachi observed, tracing his finger along the chain at her throat. “And it’s not exactly a smart decision for a missing-nin with a large bounty to trust any medic with their health. The teashop was the first time anyone has run a scan on me, much less offering healing chakra.”

“This necklace is better than the collar I had before, but it’s still an impediment,” Sakura admitted. She slipped her arms around Itachi’s waist and laid her cheek over his heart and simply breathed him in. “Can you, just hold me for a little while? You remind me so much of Sasuke-kun.”

Itachi’s strong arms encircled her, one hand between her shoulder blades and the other at the small of her back. He chuckled, the deep rumble vibrating from his chest to hers. “Together. We’re in this together.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I am not Sasuke though.”

She knew that. While the brothers looked alike, Itachi was calm and solemn. Sasuke was moody and sullen. Though, she didn’t doubt the bravery of either one. She looked up at him again, sliding her hands over his shoulders and into his hair. It was as silky as it looked. She wasn’t alone in this nightmare. She had him! “I’ve never been as close to death before as when I fought Sasori,” she whispered. She could feel his cock bobbing against the cleft between her thighs. It was thrilling. And she rubbed herself over the length of him, earning a hiss. This was different than when the puppet master has spied on her during her bath or when he’d touched her uninvited. She enjoyed the feeling of Itachi’s calloused fingers on her body. She loved his deep voice as his words caused her pulse to race.

“I’ve never known him to take a prisoner before,” Itachi agreed. His hand at the small of her back began to slip down, past the edge of her briefs, his fingers caressed the swell of her upper ass. “Sakura, are you trying to seduce me?” His eyes flashed crimson for a moment.

She smiled hesitantly. “Is it working? I’ve uh, never tried before.” She bit her lower lip, thinking back on some of the techniques all kunoichi were taught back at the Academy. She remembered hearing Ino whisper loudly to other clan-girls how she was unlikely to be sent on any seduction missions given the importance she held as a clan heiress, but for those less important females that was probably the only way they would be able to contribute to Konoha.

They hadn’t been friends at the time and the comment had certainly been directed towards her— a civilian without clan protection. Yet, here she was the Godaime’s apprentice trying to seduce Uchiha Itachi.

“Well, you’ll need to remove this,” Itachi murmured, his hand working to slide her underwear down her legs before taking her earlobe between his teeth and biting gently. He pulled back, her black briefs spun teasingly by the tip of his index finger before he tossed them to the shore with a wet plop. “If we do this, Sakura, you’re mine. There’s no returning to Konoha. There will be no marriage between you and my little brother. Do you want to risk that?”

Sakura gasped as his hand returned to her hip and then went further to cup her mound. Master Tsunade would want to do to whatever it took to survive. Kakashi would want her to do whatever it took to survive. Would Naruto forgive her? If they saved Sasuke, he’d forgive her, she knew it. “I don’t love Sasuke like that anymore,” she whispered. “I will always love him and want to save him, but he never saw me as wife material. I—-I do have feelings for Kakashi —we were partners for so long. I had thought….”

Itachi stopped her words with his lips crashing against hers. “Hatake isn’t here. I am.” His tongue invaded her mouth, traced her teeth, twined with her own. The length of his cock rubbed against her groin when he pulled back, holding her at arms’ length. “And you’re wrong about Sasuke. I read his mind when I placed him in that nightmare. It was always you for him, but his love for you wasn’t enough. He chose to avenge ghosts. And Hatake abandoned you again. He chose Naruto and left you to die with Sasori.” His dark eyes flashed to crimson as he memorized her naked form with his Sharingan. “I will not abandon you, Sakura. I will not return to Konoha, the village that ordered the slaughter of my family.”

“You’re an Akatsuki errand boy, Uchiha,” Sakura answered. And he felt like the only ally she would have given the dire circumstances. What better way to affirm their alliance — sink or swim.

“Hm.” Itachi pulled her against him again. “The village is failed project, Sakura. Eighty years ago, the Senju and Uchiha forged an alliance to end the violence. What has become of it? The decimation of both clans at the hands of lesser men like Shimura. The Akatsuki members are all victims of the shinobi system. Family is ignored for the ‘greater good.’ But what is the greater good if not family?”

It was true, she was a tool for the village. Disposable under the current leadership. Master Tsunade valued her, but she’d left Konoha for over twenty years. Kakashi was the most loyal of all shinobi she knew — dedicating his entire childhood and adult life to fighting for Konoha. Yet, it resulted in the death of his father and his entire original team. She knew how broken he was and yet he persevered. “I won’t abandon my teammates,” she vowed.

“I would never make you choose between me and your precious Team Seven,” Itachi promised. “You and your team are the only people in Konoha I still would protect.” He whispered in her ear. “Yet, none of you are in Konoha, are you?”

Was this how missing-nin were created? Twisted logic spoken by someone charismatic?

“At the very least, let us enjoy each other when so much has been taken away,” Itachi continued.

She could die tomorrow. Itachi was the only person that offered her even a grain of hope. Wouldn’t she be a fool to not at least try? If her heart was shattered again, would it matter? That was a problem for future Sakura. Right now, she wanted to forget about the rest of the world and be worshiped by this fallen dark angel. “Alright, Itachi. I’m yours.”

He smiled so softly that Sakura’s heart melted right then at the unexpected sight. “Okay.” His hands were under her thighs and he lifted her. “Legs around my waist. I want to do this on the ground. It’s cold in this fucking pool.”

Sakura laughed and wrapped her legs around his hips, feeling his cock pressed against her belly while she hugged his shoulders, pressing her modest breasts against his chest. Her nipples were hard from the cold water and he was deliciously warm.

Itachi waded through the water carrying her and it took all Sakura’s willpower not to giggle under the attention. When they reached the shore, he laid her flat on her back on the sand. His crimson and black sharingan scanned her head to toe before he settled between her legs and lifted her left ankle over his shoulder and started to trail kisses down her leg until he reached her inner thigh. She shivered as his warm breath blew across her swollen pussy.

“What are you doing?” Sakura asked, fighting a flood of desire when Itachi’s eyes faded from crimson to onyx as he met her gaze.

“Worshiping you,” he answered. “I want both your legs over my shoulders. I want to try something.”

“Try? You mean, you’ve never?” Sakura cleared her throat. He’d never gone down on someone before? Could she really ask him that?

“Not much opportunity or motivation as a missing-nin,” Itachi answered, pressing a kiss to her navel. He nuzzled his nose against the pink thatch of curls at her apex. Then his tongue ran along her slit before his lips found her clit and sucked.

Sakura’s thighs clenched around Itachi’s head and it was probably good her chakra was suppressed or else she might have crushed the dark-haired Adonis.

He slipped one finger inside of her, pumping in and out slowly, then a second, and he did this curling thing inside that made Sakura squirm, a delicious heat flooded her body. He released her clit with a pop and then settled over her, gazing down at her with a self-satisfied smirk while his chin glistened in her essence. “I admit, my knowledge is limited. We can try more things later.” He cleared his throat and grimaced.

Sakura reached down and brought her hand over the base of his swollen cock, enjoying how he felt like hard, warm velvet under her touch. “I want you now, Uchiha.”

Itachi needed no further imploring and he brought his lips back to her hers, letting her taste herself on his tongue. Then his blunt tip probed at her core and he slowly began to slip inside. His dark eyes were focused on her. “You’re so tight, Sakura.” One of his hands cupped her breast, rolling her nipple between thumb and index and the other held the side of her face, his thumb running over her lower lip. “You’re so beautiful. Relax for me, my dove.”

She squeezed her eyes shut as Itachi entered her until he was sheathed complete within, pink and raven meshed together. The pain morphed into a sweet pleasure as she felt full of him. She opened her eyes to find Itachi watching her with his sharingan again, capturing their intimacy to memory. She blushed at the realization. “I’m good, move, Uchiha.” She bucked her hips against him.

He chuckled and then began to rock his hips against hers until they found a rhythm. She lost all track of time. The world narrowed down to Itachi and where his body connected with hers. His hand abandoned her breast and found her nub again, circling it in a special kind of torture while his lips suckled her tit and his tongue did wicked things to her nipple.

As her organism began to quake, squeezing his cock inside her he cursed and pulled out, his fingers replaced his manhood while he exploded all over her chest, thick white cum covered her and then he collapsed on top of her.

Itachi rolled onto his back and dragged Sakura on top of him, the sticky mess congealing between them. “Sorry, I wanted to come inside, but couldn’t risk it.”

Her contraception medication would still be active for a few months more. While taking Itachi Uchiha as a lover sounded like a good idea, starting a family with him was a whole another can of worms she wasn’t ready to think about. “It’s fine.” She pressed her lips against his and he sighed, opening his mouth to her. His hands ran up and down her body in lazy adoration.

“Let’s clean up,” Itachi suggested, his voice a deep rumble. “I don’t want Sasori or one of his puppets to catch us like this.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “I can’t see him with my crows.”

Hand in hand, the two walked back to the pool and rinsed. Itachi had taken another bar of soap from his pack and they cleaned each other, learning the dips and valleys of each other. She paused over his ribcage and trickled just a tiny amount of her available chakra within when she noticed his labored breathing. Moments later, Itachi sighed in relief. Sakura pressed a kiss to his sternum.

Then Itachi’s posture grew rigid and his muscles tensed.

“You two work quickly,” Sasori announced, appearing at the shore. “And here I thought I would have to encourage the two of you.”

Sakura started to peek over her shoulder at the puppet master, knowing he stood behind her and had a good view of her ass. Itachi’s hand at her upper back shifted to cup her head, fingers threaded within her hair and keeping her from looking behind.

“I would prefer to not have an audience, Sasori,” Itachi droned. “Did you disassemble on the other side of the mountain and reassemble yourself to get here so fast?”

Sakura had seen him do that during their battle when she thought she’d defeated him. That wasn’t quite as impressive as the flash-step she’d seen by both Kakashi and Itachi or the teleportation of the masked man. However, it was a terrifying skill she didn’t realize her captor possessed. Her chances of running away from him declined even further.

“The kunoichi is mine, not yours. To the victors of war are the spoils,” Sasori protested, not answering the question. “I am willing to share.”

She could see him in the reflection of the pool. Sasori’s body disassembled and then reassembled within arms length of her and Itachi in the pool. His action was confirmation of Itachi’s earlier query. It was a stark reminder that Sasori was not a man, but something else. It did afford her a view of his naked form. He was completely smooth as she expected.

“I claimed this woman nearly a year ago,” Itachi argued. “In Grass. She was never available to be taken. And you owe me.”

“My debt to you is not so steep that I would give you a prize such as she and my knowledge on Orochimaru,” Sasori countered. His wooden hand was on Sakura’s shoulder then. “You work fast, Sakura. You are an impressive girl.”

She stiffened under Sasori’s touch, his words, and the killing intent that waifed off him directed towards her new lover. “Itachi is beautiful and life is fleeting. Tomorrow I could die. I want to live while I can and you can’t exactly offer me what he can.”

“Hm. My offer stands. There is no need to let beauty be ephemeral,” Sasori chided. His chakra strings formed around Sakura and he pulled her away from Itachi just enough to look back at him.

“And feel nothing, like you? No thank you,” Sakura hissed.

“Hn,” Sasori grunted, releasing the chakra strings. “Yet, I feel infuriated by you. Interesting.”

“I thought you wanted to watch,” Sakura challenged stepping back towards Itachi, her arm banded across her breasts again. Itachi flash-stepped and was behind her solid and warm. His arm laid over her own, holding her against him.

“I prefer not having an audience, Sasori,” Itachi stated. His killing intent even greater than Sasori’s. She really needed to get this cursed necklace off her throat so she could defend herself.

Sasori smirked. “Sorry, my little queen, the necklace stays.” He dissembled again and reassembled on the shore, showing off now. His cloak materialized over his body as well as a pair of dark pants. “Come. We have work to do if you wish to save your precious Sasuke from Orochimaru. My sources tell me he’s planning for the body transfer within the next fortnight.”

Itachi’s arm flenched and Sakura felt her heart drop at the information. They would sort out whatever this was between the three of them later.
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Chapter Text

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Sakura

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The walk back to the hideout had been awkward. At first it had been decent enough leaving the waterfalls, but not a quarter mile later, Sasori issued orders that Sakura remove her shoes. Her footwear dangled from the puppet master’s fingers tauntingly. The path back was roughly strewn with rocks jagged and sharp. He released the chakra suppression from the necklace, though it wasn't as oppressive as the collar had been. Forbidden from applying chakra to her feet, soon Sakura suffered a multitude of injuries. Her diamond seal felt heavy, straining to heal the wounds while Sakura forced her body to accept the damage. Sasori wanted Sakura to prove she would obey him and even work against her own sense of self-preservation.

Though, it seemed more to her that Sasori was angry that she's done exactly what he'd taunted her to do. She’d seduced Uchiha Itachi. And she'd enjoyed it. And it was clear that Itachi felt he had a claim on Sakura that trumped Sasori's. Sakura knew she didn't belong to either of these men, but she was a patient woman. She would bide her time. She could die tomorrow, but she would live today!

Sakura refused to so much as whimper in spite of the burning sensation across her feet. It felt like she was being stabbed by a thousand shards of glass.

Sasori had practically marched alongside Sakura, his stiff palm pressed against the small of her back, making it impossible for her to carefully pick her footholds and seeming to guide her over the roughest terrain. Itachi had trailed behind, close enough his shadow merged with her own. His anger was palpable, but he did not intervene in this strange power play.

She was only a little sore from her activities with Itachi, choosing to focus on that area of her body and remembering how nice it had felt to be worshipped by the man. It offered some distraction from her feet. It wasn't too uncomfortable losing her virginity, being a kunoichi granted a certain flexibility. Itachi hadn’t been huge, but large enough to make her happy. It wasn't exactly how she imagined it going, but with the very real possibility of death in her near future, she was grateful for the experience.

It would have been nice to cuddle with her new lover, slumber in his embrace and just breathe Itachi in. Though, he had been gentle and she appreciated it. She tried not to think of the loss of her childhood dream of sharing such a thing with Itachi's younger brother. And wasn't that interesting? Sasuke was Itachi’s younger brother in her mind now. Not Itachi was Sasuke-kun's elder brother.

She should have been able to enjoy a sweet, romantic walk back to the cabin with her beautiful boyfriend hand in hand. Instead, she was being marched by her jealous, sadistic captor while her lover hovered with barely suppressed rage.

Sakura had to remember she was in the company of members of the greatest terrorist organization on the continent! These men had between them killed more people than casualties in some wars.

“I'll prepare a meal for Sakura and myself,” Itachi volunteered once the hideout was in view. His tone was bland in its neutrality. If she hadn't seen the dark anger simmering in his onyx eyes when she glanced at him over her shoulder, she wouldn't haven't known.

“Sakura will rest,” Sasori ordered. “She has an unmistakable limp.”

Itachi scoffed with a loud and sharp exhale from his nose. “This pace over this rough terrain without her shoes was unnecessary discomfort. I ask you allow her to heal herself while I prepare the meal.”

“I will deal with my pet’s body,” Sasori hissed.

“She is our ally in our upcoming mission. We will need her skills once facing the snake and his medic,” Itachi said quietly. “And she does not belong to you, Sasori. At least not solely. You have made your point. She has shown her obedience. Allow her to heal or else you will know my wrath, puppet.”

“Your genjutsu is useless on me,” Sasori countered irritably.

“Perhaps, but you would serve as kindling to my black flames,” Itachi warned.

“Very well. Sakura, you may tend to your injuries.” Sasori shifted his hand and then stooped down to scoop Sakura into his arms. “Tend to the kitchen, Uchiha.”

Sasori seemed to glide over the distance before he dropped Sakura gently on the bed. He treated her like precious glass after allowing her to suffer during the walk. He truly was a heartless bastard.  "Come to the workshop once you've finished."

After a while, her feet appeared normal, no sign of her earlier wounds. She joined Sasori in his workshop at sat at his work table, pieces of a wooden puppet disassembled before her. Sasori sat at the window, staring out into the distance.

“I simply don't understand why you gave up your humanity,” Sakura said quietly knowing he could hear her. She studied his profile. It was hard to read him with his emotionless stance. She ran her fingers over the arm of the puppet, grateful it was made of pine and not a human body.

Itachi was in the kitchen, preparing a meal for him and Sakura. She had been tempted to ignore Sasori's orders and stay in the bedroom.  If she had, sleep would have overtaken her and it simply wasn't wise to sleep just now in this uncertain company. 

“I'm not a nice person,” Sasori scoffed. “Even as such, like most Shinobi I suffered sleepless nights. Nightmares of hands covered in blood that would never fade.” He gave her a pointed look with his heavy-lidded eyes. “I found myself distracted by lust, chasing a fleeting orgasmic moment. It was never enough.” He cocked his head unnaturally. “I did enjoy the image of you and Uchiha. The way cherry blossom hair tangled with raven silk. I enjoy art. The two of you were exquisite. He seemed to please you well enough. I'm a bit surprised given how reserved he normally is. If we had more time I should like…,” he trailed off.

A wry smile spread across his lips. “I am curious how his little brother will react to the intimacy you shared with the kinslayer.”

Sakura was more worried what Kakashi would think. Five years had passed since Sasuke abandoned the village, his team, and specifically her. The boy she loved would now be a stranger. That didn't mean she'd given up on saving her childhood friend.

“This can't be the reason you wanted to talk to me, Sasori,” Sakura protested. She sniffed, enjoying the aroma of jasmine rice and the spices of the food Itachi prepared in the kitchen down the short hallway. “Why are we in your workshop? I would rather be resting in bed.”

“After we deal with Orochimaru and free your little friend, I want you to perform a surgery,” Sasori explained. “An eye transplant.”

“I will not allow anyone to take Sasuke-kun’s eyes,” Sakura hissed. “Nor Itachi's.”

Sasori rolled his amber glass eyes. “From my old body. It's preserved. I wish to give them to a man in this village.” He looked away, towards the hallway. “He is a good man. Truly. I never thought I would meet someone like him.”

“You love him?” Sakura asked carefully. She didn't judge love regardless of packaging. Love was love. She was impressed a man who rejected his own emotions would feel this strongly about someone.

“More like, he reminds me of an old friend. This man, he is a father. Former shinobi by the way he carries himself. Lost his memories and found a place here, has two charming children and an adoring wife. It's the first time since my own parents that I've seen a family like this.” He turned back towards her. “His eyes were taken. I would like to give him the gift of sight. Do this for me and I will release you into the care of your Uchiha lover– should he survive our upcoming conflicts.”

“What about you?” Sakura asked.

Sasori shrugged. “The last of my family is dead. You destroyed my puppet army. You would have been my greatest puppet, but I would be performing a disservice if you were dead because your intelligence is most attractive. You solved my impossible poison. You are the only person on this earth that understands about my family and past.” He offered his hand and then led them towards the bedroom across the short hallway. He laid back on the bed, leaving Sakura to settle in the windowseat. His arms behind his head, he stared at the ceiling. “If you do die, I will make you into a puppet.  I won't waste your talent.  In another life, perhaps I could have been like Shisui. Have a wife and children – family. Or at least a partner. I never much liked children. They are very untidy.”

Sakura’s mind short-circuited for a moment. “Shisui?”

“He doesn't remember much, but that's his name. His wife– a woman of the Kamizuru clan– found him nearly a decade ago. He'd been poisoned and half-drowned.” He turned to face Sakura. “Even blind, he's a talented carpenter.” his eyes narrowed. “Tell me why his name caught your attention. I'll know if you're lying. You're a terrible liar, Sakura.”

“Itachi had a friend named Shisui,” Sakura said quietly. She was a terrible liar and she wasn't about to risk strangulation by chakra strings by this man. More importantly, he held the knowledge to rescue Sasuke.

“I see.” Sasori laughed softly. “What will the crow do now that he won't be all alone?”

There was a gentle rap of knuckles on the doorframe and Itachi loomed in the doorway. “Lunch is ready.” His dark eyes shifted between Sakura and Sasori and then back again. “What?”

Sasori sat up, slung his legs over the side of the bed and leaned forward with his hands flat over his knees. “There is someone I want you to meet. A carpenter living amongst the people of this rural village.”

Itachi's expression remained neutral. He held his hand out for Sakura. “Come. Before it grows cold.”

She took his hand, appreciating the strength within his calloused grip. Silently, Itachi led her towards the kitchen, his hand in hers comforting. Once they were out of visual range of the bedroom, Itachi swung Sakura out so that her buttocks were pressed against the counter, his hands flat on the countertop caging her in, his body pressed against hers. Sakura's hands fisted into the front of his shirt. “Who?”

“A man named Shisui. He is blind and lost his memories. He was saved by a passing Kamizuru clan member from a near drowning and a poisoning,” Sakura whispered. “The bee and wasp users that used to rival the Aburame.”

“He cannot be alive,” Itachi’s voice cracked with emotion. “No one could survive what he went through.”

“Are you sure? Did you see his body?” Sakura clenched her fists, wrinkling his mesh armor shirt.

Itachi closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. He took a deep, shuttering breath and then drew back his hands and stepped back. Sakura released her grip on his shirt. “Eat.” He gestured towards the set table and then moved to pull out a chair for her and then sat in the second chair himself.

Sakura sat in the chair he pulled out for her and murmured her thanks for the meal. Then she dipped her spoon into the curry he prepared.

“The milder taste of jasmine rice is a good base for the flavors of curry,” Itachi explained, his dark eyes far away in thought.

“It's good,” Sakura said, offering a quick smile, but his eyes were unfocused while Itachi was lost in thought.

“My mother's recipe,” Itachi answered absently.

Sasori ambled into the kitchen and sat on the countertop, watching the two of them eat. “My spies say Orochimaru is at his northern most base. We will leave in two days time.”

“Just the three of us?” Sakura asked. She thought the masked man would join them. “Won't he have reinforcements?”

“I'll have a dozen operational puppets,” Sasori added. “Tobi will be here as well. He said he has some things he wants to pick up that Orochimaru didn't return after he defected. Kisame and Dei. He will want to use you and the Uchiha brat to draw out the Nine-tails.” Sasori smirked. “Bait.”

“Kabuto is resourceful and has no honor. Tobi requests his life be spared for future gains. He will be unpredictable,” Itachi said. “And the Sound followers will be desperate. Orochimaru has brainwashed many of them since they were young children.”

“He has never been good about caring for his things. The Kaguya boy was a true prize, yet Orochimaru let him waste away. I wonder if he is still desperately clinging to life or if Kabuto gave up on prolonging the inevitable,” Sasori mused.

“The bone user?” Sakura remembered Naruto and Lee telling her about the skilled Swordsman with the long white hair and pale skin.

“Indeed. Last of his kind,” Sasori agreed. “Orochimaru is merciless. And so shall we be without mercy,” Sasori promised. “Sakura, you should meditate and build up your reserves.” He cocked his head unnaturally again. “Betray my trust and Uchiha here pays the price.” He turned his attention to Itachi. “I will take away Shisui's children and wife should either of you work against me.”

“Threatening innocents?” Sakura set down her spoon, her stomach churning. “Have I not been obedient to you, Sasori?”

“You have been a good little pet,” Sasori agreed bemused. His expression twisted. “Just because the lives of you two and Shisui hold value to me, doesn't mean I extend such generosity to others,” Sasori snarled. “Do not try my patience. Unlike the Uchiha, if you spread your legs for me it will have little effect.”

Sakura felt her cheeks flame in anger and saw the grim line of Itachi’s mouth.

Sasori's hands detached from his puppet body and flew towards Sakura's throat. Itachi gripped the tabletop to keep from interfering. And the pretty necklace that enslaved her to Sasori's will fell to the table with a thud.

His hands returned to his body. “Itachi, come with me. Leave a clone with her.” Sasori started out of the kitchen and rotated his head one hundred and eighty degrees and stared at Sakura. “Finish your meal, girl. Then go to sleep.”

Maybe she could finally summon Katsuyu and see if there was any news on Master Tsunade! She picked up her spoon and made a show of eating. Itachi met her gaze, his dark eyes, flashed into the Mangekyo and she allowed herself to slip into his genjutsu.

The two of them were on a bridge she recognized from the Uchiha district from her days of visiting Sasuke when they'd been teammates. Below them a pond full of koi in reds, golds, and whites swam in colorful groups. A massive cherry blossom tree in full bloom cast them in shade.

Sakura and Itachi both wore summer festival yukatas– Sakura's was a pale green like her eyes with a white and silver obi, her hair long and in curls falling to the small of her back. Itachi wore a dark blue yukata with the Uchiha crest upon his back. His equally long hair fell in raven sheets down his back, the breeze surrounding them causing their locks to swirl together in pink and black.

“In another version, this could have been our life,” Itachi’s deep voice rumbled. “I wish I could give you a thousand afternoons enjoying the spring breeze under the cherry blossom trees.” He pulled Sakura into his embrace, arms banded around her waist and shoulders, pressing her close against him. His chin settled on top of her head. “I do not regret loving you under the waterfall, but I wish I had a chance to romance you, earn your heart and your trust. I do care for you, Sakura. I couldn't leave you untouched amongst the Akatsuki. Hidan would be unable to resist sacrificing a virgin to his devil. He would assume Sasori would not care enough for retribution, but now that I've made a claim he won't risk my eternal fire. “

Sakura shivered. “He came by when the other one came to fix Deidara 's arm.”

Itachi’s arms squeezed her tight against him. “I will do all I can to make sure you survive this ordeal. We must prevent the Akatsuki’s capture of Uzumaki. The Akatsuki must fall. If Shisui is truly alive, I must keep him out of this conflict. He deserves a peaceful life. He was always the best person I ever knew. Danzo Shimura stole one of his eyes. I was entrusted with the other. He would have been instrumental in this conflict in his prime, but if he's been a civilian this whole time, I cannot ruin this for him.”

“Will you be okay?” Sakura asked. She barely knew Itachi and yet she knew everything about him at the same time.

“Nothing about this is okay, Sakura. We will manage though,” Itachi promised. “What will you do? Most likely we will be gone for an hour or two. Will you use your summons?”

“I will. I need to see if I can learn about Master Tsunade. She has to be alive. She has to be somewhere,” Sakura worried, her hands splayed over Itachi's chest.

“Good. Hatake will be looking for you.” Itachi chuckled and then shifted to press a kiss to Sakura’s cheek. “Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to talk before he tries to chidori me through the heart.” He sighed. “I intended to die at Sasuke’s hand. Now I will have to find a way to sate his vengeance and yet still live.” He brushed his lips over hers, his tongue traced the seam between her lips, slipping his tongue inside, exploring her mouth before he pulled back with a sigh. “I owe you to live. I will do what I must. You must do the same. You must survive for me, Sakura.”

She nodded. “I will.”

The genjutsu ended, only a second passed in their reality.  Itachi discreetly knuckled away the blood that had dripped from his eye.

“Oh and Sakura?” Sasori said, drawing her attention. “When you run your diagnostics, you'll notice that hormonal birth control that was in your system was purged by my poison.” He smirked.

Sakura shifted her gaze to Itachi and saw him pale. At least he'd had the foresight to pull out in time. Though, there was the smallest chance that precum could …no. She wouldn't allow her mind to go down that path.
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OoO

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Kakashi
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He knew the masked man was close. He’d returned to the mountain where Sakura had faced Sasori. Chiyo had died so that Gaara might live and she took with her any information on her grandson with her.

His ninken scoured the area, but after a while the trail abruptly ended. Strong ozone replaced the trail – the trademark of the masked man.

He didn't know much about the man. He did remember a young Itachi on his Anbu team talking about the masked boogie man. When Team Ro cleaned up in the Uchiha massacre aftermath, it was evident that Itachi had help from that masked boogie man. The surveillance videos of the Uchiha district were suspiciously missing from Anbu headquarters, but Kakashi suspected Danzo and his Root destroyed the evidence.

Then Kakashi felt his presence, his muscles tense and his chakra humming.

“So, you've been looking for me,” the Akatsuki member sing-songed. “Why is the Copy Ninja of Konoha so far from home? Has the loyal Konoha dog lost his master?”

“I've lost my kitten,” Kakashi answered, not acknowledging the implication that he was here without orders. “Thought I might help her find her way home.”

The masked man materialized a few meters in front of Kakashi. “I don't much care for your current master. The other one wasn't too bad.”

“No, the Godaime and Yondaime were Masters worth following,” Kakashi admitted. It was left unsaid that the Third and current interim hokage were questionable leaders.

“Is this your way of saying you're a rogue ninja, Hatake?” The man asked.

“My first loyalty is to my team. The people of my village are who I fight for, not a warmonger wearing a stolen hat,” Kakashi answered. If that made him a rogue ninja then so be it. But, he had a legal right to this little excursion based on clan support and a forged letter by the Godaime.

The man clucked his tongue. “So you lost your kitty.”

Kakashi nodded. “She was taken by the scorpion of Suna.”

“The puppet master is quite fond of your kitten,” the masked man pointed out. “Though, I believe your former kitsune is even more fond of her .”

If there was any doubt before, this was the man Itachi told him about. Though, the fact this man knew Itachi’s Anbu handle was surprising.

He disappeared and then reappeared behind Kakashi, his long, muscular arms wound around Kakashi’s throat and then they both vanished within the familiar void of kamui. Kakashi fought his instincts to resist. He had to bare his throat like a submissive pup right now. Analytically, he knew he was worth more alive than dead.

The world around them vanished and Kakashi found himself on his knees in a gray landscape, mountains in all directions to the distance and a massive tree reached high into the orange sky.

And Kakashi recognized the pull into this bizarre landscape. It was the same as when he used Obito 's eye to vanish enemies and projectiles.

Then the masked man ripped off his orange swirl mask. Staring back at Kakashi was the scarred face of Obito Uchiha! Not much made Kakashi lose his composure and after the last few weeks, he wasn't truly surprised to discover one more insane thing to happen.

“How is this possible? What is this place?” Kakashi resisted the urge to touch the scar over his transplanted eye. “Obito.”

Obito paced and gestured towards the massive tree. “It is peaceful here, aside from when you transfer your enemy’s weapons or body parts into my peaceful realm,” he complained. “It was so gross when Dei’s arms plopped right near my lap!”

“Was it you?” Kakashi asked quietly. “Was it you the night the nine-tails was released in the village? When Minato-sensei and his wife died?”

Obito giggled. “You got me!” He started to treewalk up the massive tree. “You, Bakashi, let Rin die!” He glowered at Kakashi – one eye crimson Sharingan and the other a pale purple with concentric lines to replace the eye he gave Kakashi.

“I failed Rin,” Kakashi admitted. “Her death is my greatest regret.”

“Yet, you have replaced her with your Kitty!” Obito chided. “What are you willing to do for my help with your little kunoichi? Have you truly abandoned Konoha?”

“Shimura has usurped power,” Kakashi admitted. He couldn't make himself say that he abandoned his home. Home was more than brick and mortar. It was the people. Home was Sakura.

“That rat, again? He orders the slaughter of my clan and then steals the village for himself,” Obito scoffed.

“What is your goal, Obito?” Kakashi asked.

A moment later, Obito was at his side again with a kunai at Kakashi’s throat, blocked by Kakashi’s armored arm guard. “Rin doesn't want me to kill you.” He clucked his tongue. “Though I had to watch the girl I love fall in love with you and die in your arms. It's only fair you should watch your girl fall in love with someone else.” He brought his mouth close to Kakashi's ear. “Young Itachi has taken quite a shine to her.” He stepped back. “He's more age appropriate, don't you think?”

“Can you tell me about this tree?” Kakashi would not be baited. His feelings towards Itachi were conflicted. His young Anbu subordinate had always been reliable, honest, at least until he snapped and killed his clan. Kakashi had considered him a friend and had claimed himself for not noticing Itachi’s descent into madness. Though Obito may have just explained Itachi's dark behavior – an order by the village elder council!

“Oh! Sure! It's my family,” Obito explained. He ran his fingertips over a low hanging cocoon. “Itachi took down the warriors. I took the children and those that were not active Shinobi.” He smiled fondly. “They are dreaming their best lives.”

Kakashi arched an eyebrow. Team Ro had been in charge of the cleanup after the Uchiha massacre. There had been plenty of non-combatants slain in the streets and in their homes. Were the youth here in Kamui and not brainwashed members of Root?

“When will you release them?” Kakashi asked.

Obito tilted his head. “Why would I? They are so happy.”

‘Because it isn't real!’ Kakashi shouted back in his mind. In reality he stared back at Obito with his visible eye half-lidded in feigned boredom while Obito 's eye shed tears behind his hitae-ate.
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OoO

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Itachi
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It was really him! Shisui was alive and he was happy. That smile, the playful tone, that curly mop of black hair! He was tall, broad. The teenaged boy Itachi remembered had grown into a man.

As if sensing the presence of Itachi’s crow observing him with his children, Shisui angled his face to the branch where the summons perched. He had his children run off and waited patiently for Sasori and Itachi.

If Shisui's memories were truly gone, at least some of his ninja instincts survived.

“Lord Sasori. You've brought a friend,” Shisui greeted as they stepped into his space.

“Indeed.” Sasori started his eyes between Itachi and Shisui. “I may have found someone that knew you from before.”

“Oh?” Shisui's dark eyebrows rose high into his brow. “You think you know me from before? Was the bird yours?”

“The crow was my summons,” Itachi confirmed. “I recognize you.”

“I'm afraid I don't remember anything before ten years ago,” Shisui murmured apologetically. “My name and a love for dango apparently are the only memories that stick around.”

“Do you wish me to tell you about your past?” Itachi found himself stepping closer, eager to touch Shisui's shoulder and confirm he was really there.

“Would that knowledge bring me joy?” Shisui asked quietly. He ran his finger over his closed eyelid, sunken due to no eye behind it. “I can't imagine it's a happy story.” His hand fell to his side. “Tell me your name or who I am to you.”

“I am Itachi. You're my best friend – my older brother in heart though not in blood,” he explained.

“Itachi,” Shisui echoed, a warm smile on his lips. “Your brother is Sasuke,” he whispered. “I taught you how to summon the crow,” he added, his tone awed.

“You remember?” Itachi stepped towards him, hand outstretched.

“Your voice, it's so familiar,” Shisui whispered. “The Uchiha! We’re the Uchiha! Were you able to save everyone?”

Itachi's hand fell to his side in defeat. “No. I failed.”

Then Shisui was suddenly there, hugging him. “I can't believe you're here, ‘Tachi! You have to meet my family!”

“Another time, my brother,” Itachi murmured, standing motionless, resisting the urge to clutch at his friend. He could not allow himself to show vulnerability before Sasori again.
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OoO

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Sakura
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She laid back on the bed staring up at the ceiling. Lady Katsuyu confirmed that Tsunade yet lived, but hadn't summoned her. So the greatest likelihood was that she was either in a coma or had her chakra completely suppressed. The coma seemed more likely. Given that absence of her protective guard, they'd probably transported her far away or they'd all been overrun and captured.

Sakura's feet were back to normal and she confirmed Sasori’s words from earlier, by running a diagnostics of her hormone levels.

Then she felt the return of her housemates. Sasori ventured back to his workshop and Itachi came to her room. He sat on the edge of the bed. He leaned towards her, large hand right by her pillow and stared down into her eyes.

Sakura allowed herself to slip into his genjutsu.

“Did you find her?” Itachi asked

“Was it him?” Sakura asked at the same time.

They were sitting atop Hokage mountain, stars bright in the night sky shining down upon them. Itachi and Sakura both wore jonin blues with green flak jackets. Their Leaf forehead protectors in place on their heads.

“She's alive, but that's all I know,” Sakura answered. “Lady Katsuyu would know if she died. The contract would have broken, but she cannot sense her location. We suspect she's comatose.”

Itachi held up his hands. “I didn't do it.”

Sakura snorted amused. He has been the one to put Kakashi and Sasuke into comas. “This time you're innocent,” she agreed.

Itachi’s fingers caressed Sakura's cheek and then slipped into her hair. He brushed his lips over hers. “It was Shisui. My Shisui! Some of his memories came back to him, but he's been through so much. I don't wish to involve him in this.”

“Sasori wanted me to transplant the eyes from his human body to Shisui,” Sakura explained.

“Not necessary,” Itachi murmured nosing the space below her ear, kissing her neck. “I have one of his eyes. Tobi has a large collection of Sharingan he's collected over the years. Not from the massacre. He says his predecessor used to collect the eyes of our clansmen whenever they fell in battle.”

“Why does Sasori say he owes you?” Sakura asked.

“I'm the one that helped him transfer his essence into his puppet. I know where his true body is stored,” Itachi explained. He sighed and rubbed his thumb over Sakura's bottom lip. “I cannot appear besotted by you, Sakura.”

“Will we have a repeat of the waterfall shore?” Sakura whispered.

“In our minds we can meet,” Itachi offered. “It's difficult holding a genjutsu over you for very long.”

“You're using your Mangekyo,” Sakura murmured. “Most genjutsu don't work on me at all.”

“That makes you ideal for mothering future Uchiha. You wouldn't want your kids forcing you into genjutsu!” Itachi teased.

“Would you even want children?” Sakura studied his face, the lines less pronounced in this dream version. “If you wanted your clan to live, you shouldn't have killed everyone!”

“I wouldn't have dared to want anything before, Sakura. The Uchiha will live on through Shisui's bloodline regardless of myself. Though, it is foolish, I ask you to allow me to dream just a bit more.”
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Chapter Text

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Sakura
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Somehow, she’d fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep. It was surprising considering that lately her sleep had been restless with scenes of battle with Sasori, the Sound ninja at the first Chunin exams, Sasuke’s rage as the wicked black cursed marks spread over his flesh, Naruto losing control of his tailed beast and lashing out, Kakashi standing in front of the Memorial stone in defeat, and the news of her parents’ death. Perhaps, knowing that Tsunade yet lived and that Sasuke hadn’t been taken over by Orochimaru yet offered her just enough hope that ease her anxieties.

She blinked open her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. The only source of light from the lamp on the bedside table on the other side of Itachi. He’d slept next to her on top of the covers, sitting up with long legs outstretched, his back braced against the headboard, arms folded over his chest, long, dark hair a curtain around his face.

Sensing her attention, those long, dark lashes of his fluttered open and he peered down at her with onyx eyes. Itachi said nothing and Sakura cleared her throat, sitting up beside him. He must have changed her, because her outfit was different. She had on her panties, but an oversized black shirt that looked identical to the one Itachi wore.

“Hi,” Sakura murmured shyly, tugging at the braid she’d secured her hair in over her shoulder. She could hear the sounds of woodwork from down the hall. Her captor was laboring tirelessly over his puppets. It was almost a soothing, repetitive sound excepting knowing what those puppets were capable of. However, it would be nice to be on the same team as Sasori and not opponents. Given his feelings of affection towards Shisui and his respect towards her and Itachi, maybe it wasn’t too late. Granny Chiyo would want her to try!

“You should return to sleep,” Itachi answered quietly, his deep, sleep groggy voice sending chills down Sakura’s back. With a voice like his, he could read poetry aloud and claim the heart of any audience. “The room is secure,” he added.

“Hard to sleep considering the circumstances.” Sakura angled herself to face him more fully. His brow was furrowed and she had to resist the urge to trace her finger down that deep line and smooth it out. She wanted to trust this man, but part of her was still terrified of him. She knew the Uchiha rage all too well. Itachi seemed calm now, but what would tip the scales? She was greedy for more, greedy for all of him. He had been an amazing lover— not that she’d had much to compare him against.

“You should have slept dreamlessly,” Itachi protested, a note of concern in his tone.

“Ah. You put me under,” Sakura realized. She scanned the room, sensing the chakra buzzing around them. “You sealed the room.” She pulled on his shirt over her body. “Changed my outfit.”

“I did,” Itachi agreed. “I studied a little fuinjutsu,” he admitted. “It comes in handy for safeguarding a shelter. Though Sasori is somewhat versed in the practice as well. It’s keyed to our chakra, so no one uninvited may enter.” The continued sound of a hammer down the hall was a reminder of whom exactly wasn’t invited.

She blew out a frustrated breath of air. “If we’re to be teammates in this invade Sound and rescue Sasuke-kun mission, I want to be able to trust both of you.” What Sasori had done to her in the bathtub, how he had touched her, was wrong. However, when she did make her rejection of such an intrusion of her person vocalized and then punched him in the face — he hadn’t repeated the act. That had to count for something.

“Okay,” Itachi answered. “What do you need?”

She studied Itachi, sleeping while sitting up, a kunai right next to his pillow. At least his Sharingan wasn’t activated — ruining her work. “I need you to feel confident enough that you can sleep laying down like a normal person. I want cuddles from my boyfriend when I sleep.”

A sly smile spread across his lips. “Boyfriend?”

Sakura folded her arms under her breasts, pushing up the little cleavage she had. She noted with some pride how his dark eyes darted down for a lingering moment and the bob of his Adam’s apple. “Yes, boyfriend. Let’s have a talk with the puppeteer.”

She swung her legs over the bed, adjusting the too big shirt that draped over her shoulder. She scanned the room, finding her shorts folded neatly on top of a trunk. She snatched them up and stepped into them. She stood at the door. “Release the seal.”

Itachi did so, starting at her silently.

“Are you coming?” Sakura prodded.

Without a word, Itachi slid out of the bed to join her, wearing the exact same style shirt as her own. She grabbed the neck of her borrowed shirt and ducked her head down for a sniff. It smelled like the woods and a bit like smoke — like Itachi.

He chuckled, but said nothing as they walked down the hall, Sakura leading and Itachi her silent shadow. The wood working ended abruptly and when Sakura opened the door to the workshop, Sasori had turned on his stool to face them, his half-lidded eyes more alert than usual.

“We need to talk,” Sakura announced.

“I felt you spoke your peace earlier. More to say?” Sasori arched his crimson eyebrow. “You dropped the barrier seal.”

“Yes. I asked him to. I don’t want to be afraid of you, Sasori. And I am not going to harvest your eyes from your old body,” Sakura continued.

The puppet frowned, his eyes narrowed, but he kept quiet. His amber gaze flicked past her shoulder briefly at Itachi and then returned to her.

“We’re going to defeat Orochimaru. I doubt if we can kill him anyway. He’s been studying immortality for ages, but he won’t get to have Sasuke-kun. He never would have agreed, except Orochimaru poisoned him with that cursed mark. It messed with his head.” Sakura jerked her thumb towards Itachi. “And this one messed with his mind shortly afterwards.”

Sasori’s fiery eyebrow rose again at that.

Itachi sighed. “A miscalculation on my part.”

“I see,” Sasori murmured. He gestured between the two of them. “Though my calculations about the two of you seem to be correct. Is that because Itachi has been the spy within the Akatsuki this past decade? Have the two of you bonded regarding your loyalty to the Leaf?”

Only because she was attuned to his heart rate, did Sakura noticed Itachi’s skip a beat. No doubt, Sasori also noticed.

“Why do you think that?” Itachi asked, his tone bland. He spoke as if they were discussing the rate of grass growing and not the fact that he’d been a spy for the past decade.

“Oh please. You’re teamed up with Kisame — the most protective of all the Akatsuki. He wouldn’t allow a child to be harmed, even a murderous shinobi such as yourself. Konoha is dark. It has been for decades.” Sasori returned to his puppets, notching a joint into place with his back to them, but continued speaking. “The Third Hokage and his council were warmongers whom first disregarded the lives of their own people and naturally of others. That Academy of yours was supposed to protect children until the age of twelve. Yet, how many shinobi in Konoha were graduated before the age of eight? I’m not saying Suna is any better in regards to caring for the lives of her people. Mist pits the students against each other in that battle Royale.”

“I see,” Itachi murmured. “The spy master is well versed. Why have you not said anything to Pain?”

Sasori snorted. “Pain may be the founder of Akatsuki, but he’s not the leader. The leader is the one that recruited you — or at least he’s the protege of the original leader.” He finished snapping the joint in place and turned back toward them, his eyes on Sakura’s now. “Tell me why you won’t help in an act of charity for Shisui. That seems the sort of thing you would live for, Haruno Sakura.”

Sakura pursed her lips thoughtfully. He was staring right through her. She wasn’t nervous in his presence though. He still weirded her out, but, she trusted him to not kill her frivolously. And for Lady Chiyo, she would try to help him. “How many years have you been in that puppet body? And did you change to it so that you wouldn’t feel emotions? Remorse?”

A smirk formed on Sasori’s lips. “Worried about my conscience, Sakura?”

Sakura frowned. He was teasing? There was more humanity to him that he’d like to admit. “Did you touch me so that Hidan would not sacrifice me?”

Itachi’s sharp intake of breath was the only sound.

Sasori’s eyes narrowed again. “I am a villain. Stop trying to make me sound like some anti-hero. I murder people for money on a routine business. I’m good at it. It’s what I was trained to do. It’s what I do. Even civilian merchants fall under my hand.”

His words confirmed Sakura’s suspicion, she’d come to that conclusion as well. “Your grandmother wanted to save you. I can reverse your jutsu, place you back into your real body.” She tapped her forehead over her seal. “You have the required chakra control to achieve something like this. It keeps Master Tsunade in prime condition. There's no need to be a puppet.”

“It wasn’t for my appearance that I abandoned my human form,” Sasori answered. “I can control hundreds of puppets like this. I could only manage ten as a human. Mortality has limits.”

“If you have allies, you don’t need to control hundreds of puppets,” Sakura pressed. “Master Tsunade is a good hokage. Help me find her, put her back in power and you can find a home in Konoha or in Suna — whichever you prefer. Gaara is a good Kazekage. He tries very hard.”

“Gaara murdered quite a few people with his tailed beast running rampant,” Sasori pointed out. “I do believe that the tailed beasts do not belong inside humans— that is why I agreed to join Akatsuki after my Kazekage fell in battle. It was a cruel idea enacted by your First Hokage Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. I believe the latter took over Akatsuki to right that wrong.” He cocked his head to the side, seeming to choose his next words carefully. “I believe your parents died as a result of a poison I created.”

Sakura closed her eyes briefly, letting that pain wash over her and then bottled it up to deal with another time. He’d already implied that earlier, now he was confessing. “If it wasn’t yours, Sasori, it was someone else’s,” she said. “It hardly matters who, what matters is why. If Akatsuki’s goal truly is peace, then let’s acquire it.”

“What do you have in mind?” Itachi asked quietly.

Sakura stepped back and tugged his hand into hers, entwining their fingers. He stared down at her, but didn’t pull away. “Master Tsunade is a great leader. She has wanted to change the way of shinobi for some time. She values lives unlike her predecessor. And Hatake Kakashi is her chosen successor— he abides by the code that lives are precious and will not leave behind a comrade if there’s anything he can do to save them. I trust no one more than I trust him to try his best to protect lives. He has suffered much loss — you all have — we all have. There must be a better way. My teammate is Uzumaki Naruto — his ninja way is what I aspire to. Keeping promises, saving lives, helping others find the path to redemption and acceptance. He lives with a tailed beast inside him, but tries to find a harmony with it.”

“But first we reclaim your wayward Uchiha from Orochimaru. Then I will put an end to the snake,” Sasori vowed. He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “I will consider your suggestion.” He rubbed at the cheek that she’d shattered a few days ago.

“Why do you want to kill him?” Sakura asked. “Orochimaru.”

Itachi’s hand squeezed hers in surprise. Even Sasori arched his eyebrows.

“Because he betrayed Akatsuki to focus on his own ends,” Sasori supplied. “He killed your Third Hokage and destroyed your village. He experiments on children. I’ve killed plenty, but I don’t torture my victims. Why don’t you want him dead?”

She wasn’t sure about him not torturing his victims. If she hadn’t extracted the poison from Kankuro it would have been a miserable death. “I want Orochimaru stopped,” Sakura admitted. “Though, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. There is only one person I consider my enemy.”

“Danzo,” Itachi answered.

Sakura nodded. “Exactly. He’s been in power so long, even if from the shadows, and hasn’t risked his own life or those of his friends. He’s stolen orphans and brainwashed them to his guard and he ordered the massacre of one of the founding clans of our village. Why? The person that must lead us into the future — an era of peace and cooperation — must be someone that values life.”

“I have an idea,” Sasori mused. “Why don’t you become Hokage? I will consider giving up my notorious ways with someone as passionate as you leading.”

“Me?” Sakura stumbled back, only Itachi’s firm grip keeping her steady.

Sasori nodded. “Gaara was made Kazekage at sixteen. Aren’t you eighteen? Nineteen?”

“That’s Naruto’s dream, not mine. And I have a hokage — Master Tsunade,” Sakura protested.

“Kakashi would hate being Hokage,” Itachi reasoned. “He’d do it, but he would hate it.” He chuckled. “I once wanted to be Hokage when I was younger.”

“Why not a trifecta? Hatake is looking for you, after all, Sakura,” Sasori answered. “He’s left Konoha.”

“I just want to restore Master Tsunade for now. If this is going to work — I need my team,” Sakura declares. She glanced at Itachi. “My whole team — Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto.”

Sasori chuckled. “It’s Itachi’s assignment to catch Uzumaki. Without surprise, he seems to fail every time. Interesting when he never fails at anything else.”

“Uzumaki is a crafty one. His tactics are difficult to predict,” Itachi pointed out.

“Go back to sleep. We will study the maps and blueprints I’ve acquired on the morrow,” Sasori suggested. He raised his hand, the ring on his thumb collecting the ambient light from his lamp. “We will focus on invading Orochimaru.”

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OoO

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Kakashi
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“How do you know they’re alive?” Kakashi asked quietly. The sheer amount of chakra radiating within the roots and the branches of this strange, alien tree was absolutely surreal. He couldn’t detect fire, lightning or air chakra. It was all a mixture of earth and water— the same chakra needed for the Mokuton — the ability of the Shodaime Hashirama and of Tenzo.

“Well, I guess we can wake one of them up!” Obito walked along the lowest branches, tracing his fingers over the massive white cocoons that were hanging and pulsing with chakra. It had been ten years since the massacre. “Oh! This is Auntie Shiori! She made the sweetest pastries!” He pulled the sword off his back, laced it with lightning chakra and sliced it through the flesh of the cocoon.

Obito moved swiftly and caught the body that tumbled to the ground. The woman’s hair was white, their cheeks sallow, their skin a strange yellow color and they were quite clearly both emaciated and dead. “Wakey wakey, Auntie Shiori!” He shook her unmoving body. Then he frowned and laid his arm over her still chest. “Why isn’t she waking up?”

Kakashi walked carefully, slowly towards them and laid his second and third finger over the pulse point of the carotid in the neck. He wasn’t surprised by the lack of a heart beat. “They’re gone.”

Obito hugged the corpse close and then leapt back into an upper bough of the tree. He started talking incoherently to the dead auntie.

Kakashi could only watch worriedly. How many of his relations did Obito ‘save’ only to slowly lose them? What was this monstrosity? Exactly who did Obito fall in with? “How did you create this tree?”

“Kokuo,” Obito answered. “The Five-tails was the first bijuu Akatsuki extracted.”

He didn’t continue and Kakashi didn’t press. The five-tails had been in Iwagakure. Did that mean the five-tails was dead? Was it transformed into this tree thing? Was it trapped within the tree?” There were so many questions! His host was skittish so he needed to bide his time.

“So you survived the rockslide,” Kakashi stated after an hour had passed. He was stretched out over the grey-scale terrain of the Kamui dimension. Obito was still sitting in the upper bough of the tree, holding the mummified body of one of his clansmen— his Aunt Shiori. His orange swirly mask discarded on the ground surrounded by the strange white cocoon casing that once contained the dead Uchiha matron.

“Do you think she can fix them? Rin—I mean— Sakura.” Obito’s voice was tiny, barely a whisper. He jumped out of the tree and landed on the ground below. His sharingan had faded from his right eye into the familiar onyx iris as tears streamed down the scarred side of his face. His left eye, pale lavender and reflective of the strange starry sky within the realm.

“I cannot say, Obito,” Kakashi answered, keeping his voice steady and calm. He could feel the transplanted eye that had once belonged to Obito welling up with tears. Now he wondered, all the times Obito’s eye had teared up, had it been reflective of Obito’s mental state? Obito confusing Sakura’s name with Rin wasn’t surprising. On a surface level, the two had quite a bit in common. When she was younger, Sakura had been too similar to Rin and it had made Kakashi rather uncomfortable. Her crush on Sasuke and Naruto’s crush on her paralleled the dynamics of his own original team. However, the Sakura was Kakashi’s Anbu partner and if someone could analyze this mysterious tree and the collected Uchiha, it was her. “Maybe you can take me to her and we can come back here and she can run a diagnostic.”

Obito sniffed and ran the back of his hand over both his eyes, the body he carried balanced over his shoulder. “Is this a trick? So that I’ll take you to her?” He took a deep breath and shook his head. “No. No. Even Bakashi couldn’t have planned for this situation. I thought they’d be okay— my clansmen. I thought they were just dreaming, ya know?” He took an even deeper, shakier breath. “If they’re dead.” He laid the body down gently on the ground under the tree. “If they’re dead then I messed up.” He blinked his eyes rapidly at Kakashi. “I was always a screw up, wasn’t I?”

Kakashi wasn’t really very good at pep talks. Telling people to look underneath the underneath and that abandoning your friends made you lower than scum were his two go-to talks. What did come to mind was a comment Iruka of all people told him years ago when his Team Seven had been fresh Academy graduates. “The road to Hell is often paved with good intentions.”

Obito stopped sniffling and stared hard at Kakashi. He snorted. “Bakashi, that’s stupid.” He ran his fingers through dark, thick curls. Then he swept his gaze over the expanse of the many, many branches from the massive alien tree. “Let’s go talk to her. She’s probably already fixed Itachi.”

“Wait, Obito,” Kakashi called out. “How did you survive?”

“Huh?” Obito picked up his discarded mask and placed it back over his face. “Well, you remember the founder of Konoha? Well, Madara Uchiha had prolonged his own life, using the combined DNA of this alien creature. Well, it repaired part of my body and there was some sort of DNA from Lord Hashirama. Sometimes, I get confused. My brain was injured from the debris.” Obito touched his left lavender eye. “Master Madara collected Sharingan over the decades since he left the village. This eye is a transplant that was evolved.” He strode towards Kakashi until he stood in front of him with his hands braced over his hips.

“I really don’t understand,” Kakashi admitted.

Obito scoffed. “The genius Bakashi doesn’t understand?” He giggled. “How bad do you want to see the girl?” He spun in a lazy circle, his arms outspread. “Do you looooooooove her? Love her like I looooooved Rin?”

Kakashi stared up at Obito, grateful for his mask. Otherwise, he might have snarled at his onetime friend. “I will do whatever I can for my friends,” Kakashi answered. He wasn’t about to confess his complicated feelings for Sakura to his one-time friend before he even understood them himself. When he didn’t figure out his feelings, that was a conversation for Sakura alone. For now, Kakashi needed to save Sakura, but could he maybe save Obito too? He understood this tree monster. Would he still try to go after the tailed beasts? Could he protect Naruto?

“Welp, let’s go!” Obito slung his arm around Kakashi’s neck and then the two of them slipped into the Kamui portal, being spat out near a forest edge. The trees were different than the evergreens in Konoha. They were on the outskirts of Iwagakure— not far from where Kakashi lost his eye and Obito had been crushed.

It was difficult to hear over the roar of a nearby waterfall. Kakashi focused on the scents of the forest. He clenched his jaw as he recognized the scent of Uchiha Itachi. However, a little more faint, he could smell her— Sakura.
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Chapter Text

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Itachi
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The three of them studied the maps and blueprints on the kitchen table. He’d made a simple breakfast for Sakura and himself earlier. He’d slept well the night before, unusual for him given his occupation. His visual acuity was improved to near that of his teens and it didn’t hurt to breathe. The chronic fatigue and migraines that had become routine were gone. He wanted to hold Sakura and shout out his appreciation for what she’d done for him.

He’d lived with one foot in the grave for the past decade, yet now he wanted to live. Seeing Shisui — his role model growing up — so broken by the shinobi system, yet thriving outside of it, made Itachi re-evaluate. He’d done everything his village had asked for him, though that same village had broken so many promises to Itachi.

He’d entertained a rare hope when the Senju woman became hokage, but now with Danzo running Konoha and the warnings Itachi sent ignored, his days as a spy within the Akatsuki were at an end. Did that mean he agreed with the philosophy of the group? He wasn’t sure. The work was generally reasonable and he was fond of his partner Kisame. His arrangement with Sasori was akin to working with the devil, while appreciating his genius. The Scorpion was refreshingly honest and straight forward. He’d definitely changed into a more terrifying individual since he’d transitioned into a puppet body.

As Sakura leaned over one of the blueprints, a strand of her pink hair fell out of the single braid. He resisted the urge to tuck it behind her ear. He simply wanted to touch her. He’d never been a particularly tactile person. He remembered Shisui telling him stories of his girlfriends and Itachi never quite understanding the appeal. He realized now, he’d simply been too young and too desensitized. The intimacy they’d shared under the waterfall had been almost overwhelming for him. This was not the time to allow himself to become distracted by a woman’s charms— by her charms. If they were successful, they’d have more time for such things later. It was motivation for success. She was probably confused by his standoffish behavior. He wanted to hold her, therefor he pretended he wasn’t interested. It was classic Uchiha tactics.

Or maybe she wasn’t deterred by his behavior at all. Sakura was familiar with both Hatake and his brother. They both shared some of his less desirable personalty traits. She’d also somehow won over Sasori — which he would have thought impossible.

Itachi felt Sakura run her bare foot across his shin under the table, her toes tickling up his skin, higher and higher. She glanced at him over the table briefly, her pupils blown wide as she bit down on her lower lip. Then those toes of hers were against his inner thigh, probing at the heavy weight of his growing erection. His eyes smoldered as he stared back at her. If they weren’t plotting a very sensitive operation, he’d take her back to their bedroom and remind her why it wasn’t wise to play with fire.

He was starting to understand part of the reason Sasuke left Konoha. If he’d opened his heart to this woman, perhaps the rage within would have had a chance to quiet and his broken heart could have mended. Itachi had selfishly stolen that possibility from his younger brother twice over now.

Itachi took a deep breath and gently lifted her foot off of him. His body’s reactions were also new. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy a libido before, but with his compromised health, his body had other priorities. Sakura had awakened him in more ways than one. He breathed out sharply from his nose in amusement at the obvious pout on her lips.

Sasori looked up sharply, his sleepy amber gaze shifting between them suspiciously. “If your hormones continue to be a distraction, I can easily transfer you both into bodies without such inconveniences.”

Then suddenly, both Itachi and Sasori stiffened. The ring on Itachi’s fourth finger and Sasori’s thumb lit up. It was an unscheduled call from Lord Pain, the Leader of the Akatsuki.

The older shinobi exchanged glances and rose as one from the table. Itachi laid is hand over Sakura’s shoulder briefly with a quick squeeze. He thought about summoning a shadow clone to keep Sakura company, but didn’t want to use the chakra. Nor did he want to give her the impression he didn’t trust her.

“Stay,” Sasori ordered before leading the way out of the room for his workshop in the back. Itachi followed after him without a word.

He and Sasori met in the back room, the holographic, telepathic image of Leader stood before them. While the Kage of Amegakure, was the figurehead of the Akatsuki, his vision for world peace seemed to be heavily influenced by the masked Uchiha. From what he could determine, the current masked man was not the original masked man. Madara Uchiha himself had shaped the group’s goal nearly twenty-years ago.

Itachi had been part of the group for a decade and since the masked man he knew as Tobi couldn’t be much older than Itachi himself. Given his preoccupation with Itachi’s old Anbu captain, he felt Tobi was likely Kakashi-senpai’s age. He needed to talk to Shisui some more, privately. See if he could help him figure out the identity of the other man. He had a feeling Shisui’s amnesia was more a willful situation than a physiological one. Though, delving into Shisui’s mind wouldn’t be possible considering he had no eyes to be tricked into genjutsu.

While Itachi’s priority was rescuing Sasuke from Orochimaru’s clutches and freeing him of the cursed seal, he knew he also needed to find a way to preserve Hatake’s life. And keeping Shisui safe with his family away from shinobi business. Tobi was a higher rank within the Akatsuki organization than Itachi. Though, he didn’t have one of the ten rings. Given his ability to teleport, if he needed to communicate, he could literally just pop over to wherever. Tobi was powerful and unpredictable — a very dangerous combination.

“It does not matter to our ultimate goals whether Orochimaru lives or dies,” Leader stated. “His ring must be gathered though. The extraction is optimal with ten participants.”

The rings could only be removed in death.

“Very well,” Sasori agreed. “I will stop his heart, take the ring. Whether it restarts or not, will not be my concern.” He cocked his head at an angle. “Have you found a replacement for the tenth ring?”

Itachi kept his expression neutral. Keeping his emotions tightly locked behind a mask of indifference was the most useful skill his father taught him in his youth. While it would have helped him to be the heartless bastard needed to lead his clan, it kept him alive as a young man within this terrorist organization. Though, the terrorist adjective was tacked onto the Akatsuki by Konoha’s leadership. Considering it was actually led by the leader of Ame, Itachi wasn’t quite sure about the label.

He was starting to question a lot of things lately and it made him uncomfortable. Itachi needed someone to talk about these things. With Shisui nearby, he wanted to fall back to him, but it wasn’t fair. His best friend had found a peaceful existence with his family. Itachi didn’t need to burden him. Maybe he could lean into Sakura, but he was her senior. He needed to be a support for her. If he succeeded in bringing Sasuke into the fold, he’d need to be strong for his younger brother. There was a lot of damage he’d need to repair. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone like Captain Hatake confidently taking the lead. Itachi hated facing off against Kakashi over the last couple of years. The only person he respected more than Kakashi, was Shisui. What was Hatake going to think when he found out about Itachi and Sakura? It wasn’t like the man could hate Itachi even more than he already did.

Itachi didn’t mind the burden of being hated when he’d given himself a death sentence. Now, that he wanted to live, it was a greater challenge.

Honestly, Itachi had been forced to assassinate more people under his short career in Konoha, than he’d killed while under Akatsuki’s command. His partner Kisame had basically fostered Itachi until he’d been sixteen. It was a stark contrast to how both his clan and his home village had treated Itachi like a disposable weapon. Only two other people within all of Konoha had treated Itachi as if he was someone worth protecting — Shisui and Hatake. His short tenure in Anbu had introduced him to Hatake’s team Ro. While Anbu worked in the shadows, Itachi had been spared the unsavory aspects, being allowed to work predominantly with his genjutsu from afar. Though, both Shisui and Kakashi had trained Itachi in using kenjutsu, later Kisame did the same.

Itachi preferred non-lethal attacks, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t capable.

Comparing his work as a Konoha shinobi and those he’d completed under Akatsuki, the latter was usually more honorable. Capturing rogue shinobi with large bounties and unsavory rap sheets and also bandits and murderers was rewarding work. He did not hold back in those cases.

The orders to capture the jinchuriki actually made sense from a peace point of view. More often than not those shinobi were forced to be vessels of the tailed beasts and couldn’t tame the powerful bijuus living within them and would rampage and slaughter countless people.

Itachi’s nightmares came from the work he’d performed as a Konoha shinobi. The work he completed under the Akatsuki didn’t add to his guilt. Though, his association with individuals like Sasori did cause increased worries. Sasori had been a war hero for Suna— a General in the third war— before he’d been fifteen. He thought nothing about snuffing out a life. So, it had been a welcome surprise that he’d not killed Haruno Sakura.

And now, Itachi found himself unexpectedly bound to the kunoichi. He had to protect her. She had to live. She could bring so much good and healing into the world. All his hands had been capable of was death and violence.

“Tobi has expressed an interest, though I am under the impression more have been recruited into our fold as of late,” Pain stated, staring at the two of them with a flat expression.

“Let us secure the ring first,” Itachi suggested.

“I trust in this you won’t fail, Itachi,” Pain continued. He shifted his attention to Sasori. “You acquired the Hokage’s apprentice from Konoha?”

“She is with us,” Sasori answered. “She won’t be a problem. She’s grown rather fond of our favorite kinslayer. Though, she was the apprentice of the former Hokage. Shimura Danzo has usurped power.” His smile was brittle. “I don’t believe any of us are fond of him.”

Itachi kept his expression bland as usual, though he was seething at all the information Sasori was sharing. Pain already didn’t trust Itachi, yet Sasori had just attached Sakura’s fate to his own. When he’d planned to die at Sasuke’s hands, it didn’t matter that Pain had grown more and more distrustful of Itachi. Now though, it mattered.

“Oh? Perhaps you will no longer object to a direct assault on Konoha, Itachi?” Pain asked.

“It will always be my preference to not engage in mass destruction,” Itachi argued. “I have no objection to an invasion of Konoha under its current authority.” He let his disdain for Danzo be reflected with a rare narrowing of his eyes. “Your dislike for Shimura is mutual, Pain-sama.”

Pain chuckled, a rare sound. “Dislike is putting it mildly, Itachi-san. Finish your business with Orochimaru then report to Ame. I wish to see the Godaime’s apprentice for myself. I’d like to evaluate her skills. She could be useful for Ame.” He tilted his head eerily looking between the two men. “That won’t be a problem, will it?”

“Of course not,” Sasori scoffed. “So long as she remains in mint condition.”

“You’re not turning her into a puppet,” Pain dead-panned. “She has value to me alive.”

Sasori shrugged. “Only if she were to die prematurely. It’s not my preference. She holds more valuable to me alive as well.” He gestured towards his own form. “I would prefer she take a form like my own.”

“Would it be possible to bring my brother?” Itachi asked, interrupting Sasori before he could try to convince Leader of the merits of turning Sakura into a living puppet. Itachi would not let that happen. He’d turn Sasori into kindling with his Amaterasu.

“Have you finally picked a side, Itachi-san?” Pain asked. “I suppose another Sharingan to tame the tailed-beasts would be useful. Very well.”

The connection faded and Itachi had to forcefully unclench his jaw. Was he prepared to truly fall in with Akatsuki now? As he and Sasori were about to make their way back to Sakura in the kitchen, the barrier around the perimeter was disturbed. Itachi’s chest constricted as he recognized both chakra signatures — Tobi had returned, but he wasn’t alone.
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OoO

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Sakura
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With both Itachi and Sasori in the other room, she took the opportunity to summon Lady Katsuyu. There was the chance that Master Tsunade had awakened — wherever she was and needed help.

“I’m sorry, Lady Sakura,” Katsuyu’s antennae drooped. “She is still alive, but hasn’t summoned me. I cannot sense her on this plane.”

“Is it possible she’s at Mount Myoboku?” Sakura whispered, not sure why she was lowering her voice considering the other two occupants wouldn’t be able to hear. “With Lord Jiraiya?” And with Naruto, she added silently.

Katsuyu perked up at the suggestion. “That is possible. It is outside my dimension, so I wouldn’t be able to locate her unless she were to summon me.”

“But then, why wouldn’t he have said something?” Sakura mused. She picked up the small slug summons and placed Katsuyu on her shoulder. She walked towards the kitchen sink, braced her hands on the counter to stare out the window into the tree line. Maybe Jiraiya simply didn’t trust her. But, surely, he would have trusted Kakashi? Or maybe he found Master Tsunade and transported her there? He definitely wouldn’t trust Sakura now that she was in cahoots with the Akatsuki. “Okay, when you see her let her know what’s been happening with me.”

“You are allied with the Konoha spy within Akatsuki, but no longer due to Shimura’s coup,” Katsuyu whispered in Sakura’s ear. “Your loyalty is to protecting the people in Konoha and to Lady Tsunade.”

Her loyalty was to her Team Seven as well, but it was probably best to not voice that considering Sasuke’s current affiliation. “Yes, exactly.” Sakura studied the empty sink. Itachi really was OCD in his cleanliness. The dishes from breakfast had already been scrubbed, dried and put away. She needed something to keep her hands busy with all her worries for her friends.

The barrier outside the cabin flared.

Itachi was standing behind her a moment later, the smell of ozone accompanying him from the flash-step technique. Sasori stood outside alongside one of Itachi’s shadow clones. Itachi’s hands settled upon Sakura’s shoulders, but there was no hostility in his touch. It felt more comforting than anything and that was certainly not a feeling most would attribute to an Uchiha known for slaughtering his own clan.

“That’s Tobi,” Itachi murmured, leaning close to her ear and then jerking back at the sight of Katsuyu. “Pardon me.”

“It’s quite alright, Itachi-san,” Katsuyu chirped.

Itachi cleared his throat. “Captain Hatake is with him.”

Sakura’s breath hitched. Kakashi was here? Was he a prisoner? How was he here? Did he threaten an Akatsuki and make them take him to Sakura? Why wasn’t he in the village taking down Danzo? “Is he okay?”

“We’re about to find out.” Itachi stepped back, releasing her shoulders.

Then Sasori lowered the barrier and the masked man and Kakashi strolled right inside the perimeter. Kakashi’s posture was the same relaxed, stooped pose he normally had when he was trying to look non-threatening. Though, Sakura was aware he could snap to battle-ready in the blink of an eye. He wore his Anbu mask over his face, but she’d recognize not only that gravity defying silver hair, but she’d seen his Hound mask many times over the last year.

“Let’s wait at the table,” Itachi suggested. He pulled out a chair and gestured for Sakura to sit. He sat next to her in a second chair. There was a loud screeching sound —like a thousand birds screaming. Itachi grimaced a moment. “Kakashi rammed a chidori into my clone. He — uh— was able to smell our activities by the waterfall. He is unhappy about our relationship.”

Sakura’s mouth went dry. She was hoping to avoid having such a conversation with Kakashi. She thought maybe it could come up sometime in the future — say after Sasuke was saved from Orochimaru’s clutches and she worked to restore Master Tsunade to her rightful position as kage. Or maybe years from now, when Naruto was hokage!

Considering Kakashi knew about the mission Danzo had given her before they left to rescue Gaara, he was sure to disapprove her choice. He’d warned here to stay away from Itachi. He didn’t know that Itachi was in fact their ally and had been serving as a spy for Konoha all these years.

She couldn’t exactly tell Kakashi that while having sex with Itachi, she’d been able to relax and feel safe after the constant terror she’d experienced since she and Lady Chiyo had faced Sasori in the mountains. Though, with Kakashi here, her survival wouldn’t be dependent upon Itachi. Since the elder Uchiha brother still seemed somewhat suicidal when it came to facing Sasuke, it was good that Kakashi was here. Maybe he could help her save Itachi from himself.

Moments later, Sasori settled on Sakura’s other side while Kakashi and the masked man settled opposite. Kakashi stared directly at Sakura, one eye stormy grey and the other the bright red of his Sharingan. She resisted the urge to tug on her braid, keenly aware that her hitai-ate was still locked up in Sasori’s workshop. She hadn’t been forced to slash through it, but she felt naked without it.

Then Kakashi closed his left eye and Sakura still couldn’t draw her gaze away from him. Kakashi shifted his eye towards Itachi, who was sitting very close to her.

“As I was saying,” Sasori stated in a bored tone. “I have need of my newest acquisition. She cannot go with you, Tobi.” He gestured vaguely towards Kakashi. “You or your pet dog.”

“Hound,” Sakura corrected under her breath. She caught the amused twinkle in Kakashi’s visible eye. He wasn’t worried about this power play. Discretely, Sakura touched her finger to Lady Katsuyu, hidden under her hair. As if reading her mind, her slug summons split into two with the second portion traveling down Sakura’s body to the underside of the table towards Kakashi.

“Captain Hound,” Itachi greeted, keeping his voice both neutral and respectful.

Sakura couldn’t be sure, but she thought she may have heard Kakashi growl. “Captain Kitsune,” Kakashi answered.

“Why not?” Tobi whined. “I needed her more than you do! You’re not even a real boy anymore, why do you need a medic, Puppet?”

“I don’t answer to you,” Sasori challenged. He held up his hand showing the ring on this thumb. “Leader has asked us to collect Orochimaru’s ring.” He angled his head to the side. “You can help or you can hinder, Uchiha.”

Tobi groaned and leaned back dramatically in his chair, his arms flopping to his sides. “Fine. We’ll go with you to take back Orochimaru’s ring. Then the medic comes with me! I have an important task for her!”

“Then the medic visits Leader. He will determine her fate.” Sasori gestured towards Kakashi. “That of your dog as well.”

“I would like to speak with Hound alone,” Itachi stated.

“No,” Tobi and Sasori snapped together.

Tobi started to cackle in amusement. “Jinx!”

“You may speak in front of us all, Itachi,” Sasori suggested. He folded his arms over his chest and glanced at Sakura, his amber eyes danced with amusement — an unexpected emotion considering their glass composition.

“Very well. We will see my brother when we visit Orochimaru. Will you return him to Konoha?” Itachi asked.

“I have no plans to return to Konoha at this time,” Kakashi answered, his tone flat.

“Have you slashed through your hitai-ate?” Itachi asked.

“I am not known for dramatic gestures,” Kakashi countered. “I imagine when we run into Sasuke, he will have some unsettled business with you, Kitsune. It seems that not only have you taken his family and his sanity from him, but now you’ve taken his intended?”

Sakura bit her inner cheek to keep from rebutting the comment. She knew Kakashi didn’t consider the childhood crush she’d had on Sasuke to be serious. She cared for him and had no doubt that Sasuke also cared for her — at least a little in his own way. They would be strangers now, but she refused to let him die for someone like Orochimaru. Her friend had been poisoned by that snake monster and she would save him. Naruto was counting on her to complete this mission!

Tobi giggled. “Oh! This is fun!” He leaned over the table, balancing his weight on his forearms as he glanced between Kakashi and Itachi. “My dog and your crow are fighting over your prize, Puppet Master!”

Sasori spread out the blueprints that had been left on the table and moved them closer to Kakashi and Tobi. “Read over these. We leave in the morning. It’s going to take at least three or four days of travel.”

Tobi waved his hand dismissively. “That was before I showed up. We can be there this afternoon.” He turned first towards Itachi and then Kakashi. “Though, if I were to just take her, there’s nothing either of you could do about it.”

Both Itachi and Kakashi tensed at the threat. Only Sasori remained unmoved. “Infiltrating Orochimaru’s lair this afternoon is too soon,” Sasori protested. “Though if we were to go tonight — that would be the best time. His guards were always less alert during the evening.” He swept chakra strings around Sakura’s body and dragged her chair flush against his.

If he’d settled her in his lap, which was likely his initial plan, Sakura would have bashed his wooden skull in. Thankfully, he’d refrained from doing so. “Stop taunting our subordinates, Tobi,” Sasori warned.

The sudden killing intent that radiated off the four men at the table would have made Sakura laugh, if it hadn’t been so terrifying. “I’ll take Kabuto,” she volunteered.

“We’ll take him together,” Kakashi suggested.

“I don’t think so,” Sasori interrupted. “Sakura you will work with me. Kabuto was my spy, but he thinks he could play me. You are a good match for him, but I owe him. I think we let these three finish Orochimaru. I am not so selfish to deny he has wronged multiple parties.”

“Sakura and I work well together,” Kakashi argued.

“You and I used to work well together, Captain,” Itachi added.

Tobi clapped his hands. “So we’re agreed! Puppet and Kitty will work together. And Hound and Crow!”

“Kitsune,” Itachi corrected with a sigh. Shisui had been Crow. “And what will you do, Tobi?”

“Besides transportation?” Tobi asked. He rubbed his hand over the orange mask that still covered his face. “Well, I wonder if that bone warrior is still there. He’s the last of the Kaguya clan, ya know?” He gestured towards Sakura. “He’s got some sort of disease. You can probably fix him, right?”

“I can certainly evaluate any captives we find at Orochimaru’s lair,” Sakura assured him. It was her duty as a medic to render aid whenever possible. She gestured towards her necklace and turned towards Sasori. “I trust you won’t restrict my abilities.”

He reached for her then, tapping his cold wooden fingertip over the diamond seal on her forehead. “I wouldn’t dream of it. I know you won’t betray me — not with so many of your loved ones within arms’ reach.” He shifted his amber gaze from Itachi to Kakashi and then back to Sakura. His smile was disturbing and knowing. “Why don’t we practice our techniques so that we’ll be better in sync?”

“I would like Kakashi-sensei there as well, he’s a great observer and would be able to give me tips,” Sakura suggested.

“She’s right,” Itachi added. “He’s a great tactician.”

“Why don’t we all go spar?” Tobi suggested. “I have the perfect place!”

Before anyone could argue, the world around them swirled into a gray vortex.
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Chapter Text

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Sakura
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One moment Sakura was in the kitchen of the Akatsuki hideout. The next, the tall, masked man stood in front of her and had one hand on her shoulder and another on Sasori’s. Then they were transported to a rocky landscape bathed in perpetual twilight.

“Welcome to Tobi’s place!” The masked man released their shoulders and gestured grandly towards the mostly barren landscape behind him, but never taking his gaze away from Sakura’s face. She glanced over his shoulder to see the only vegetation was a grove of a half-dozen trees a short distance away. Various weapons littered about the ground — a couple of swords, some shields, a giant battle axe.

Tobi bent at the waist, bringing his face eye-level to Sakura’s. He reached for her hair and Sakura remained completely still, considering this man akin to a rabid animal. If she didn’t startle him, maybe he wouldn’t bite. He took hold of her braid and yanked out the tie, running his fingers through the hair briefly until it fell loose past her shoulders. The gesture was surprisingly tender. “Forgive the decor, you can thank Bakashi for the scattering of weapons. He started sending me little gifts a few years back.” He stepped back, cocking his head to the side to study her. “Rin’s hair always looked better down,” he murmured.

Vertigo hit Sakura like a hurricane. She clutched her hand over her chest, fingers brushing over the outline of the inert silver necklace at her throat, hidden behind her zippered top. Thankfully, it wasn’t suppressing her chakra and she quickly focused on securing the canaliths in her inner ear to center her balance.

“This is the dimension you utilize to teleport,” Sasori observed, stepping away from Sakura. “I had wondered when Kakuzu mentioned you found Dei’s severed arm.” He scoffed. “A gift from Bakashi, hmm?”

“Yep!” Tobi answered. His visible eye spun a familiar red and crimson kaleidoscope. It was a Sharingan eye. And with hair as black as both Sasuke and Itachi’s, there was no doubt in Sakura’s mind that Tobi was an Uchiha. “Tobi will be back in a minute.” He wagged his gloved finger at Sakura. “Tobi has to pick up your boyfriends.” Then he vanished before their eyes.

Sasori snorted. “Boyfriends, huh?” He shook his head bemusedly before he ambled towards the battle axe. He lifted the large weapon and shifted its weight between his hands. He rotated his head one-hundred eighty-degrees to look at her from behind. “I think this will suit you, Sakura.”

Sakura swallowed, unnerved by the inhuman display and forced her attention to the axe. It brought back memories of Zabuza’s massive sword when she’d been a pre-teen, six years before. “Is it well balanced?”

Sasori faced forward again and rotated the axe in his hands. “I’ll adjust the handle to suit your height better, but yes. The balance is fair.” He held the axe out, pointing the bit of the axe head towards a grove of trees in the distance. “Those trees are wrong. Can you sense their strangeness? They appear to be a copse of trees, but truly they have the same root system.”

Sakura bit her inner cheek to keep from retorting that Sasori was odd. She crouched to the ground and laid her palm flat over the dirt and focused her Earth chakra to mapping the environment, particularly towards the grouping of trees. She jerked away abruptly when she sensed the massive chakra reserves coming from the trees. Sasori was right in that they shared the same root system and it was a single organism, not a group of individual trees. “What kind of tree is that?”

Instead of answering, Sasori walked towards the grove. Not wanting to be alone in the strange place, Sakura followed after him. The tans and browns — desert colors— of his simple clothing led to him fading into the bland shades of the environment. Sakura kept pace, not wanting to be too far away. As they drew closer to the grove, she counted a half-dozen trees that twisted into multiple branches with strange white capsules that dangled like massive spider eggs. There were no leaves. “A tree needs leaves for food, for photosynthesis. This defies basic botany.”

Sasori laid his hand around the trunk of one of the bloated trees. Before he could offer an answer, the atmosphere distorted and Tobi returned with Itachi and Kakashi.

Both men were tense, muscles coiled and ready for a fight. With Kakashi’s black and grey uniform and Itachi’s black ninja garb, they both blended in with the shadows. Kakashi’s hair was pulled back from his face by his intact Hitai-ate and his Sharingan was exposed, ready for battle. Itachi’s Sharingan were also activated. The crimson of their irises in their dark eyes almost glowed in the gloom.

Sakura wouldn’t have thought the two of them had much in common, but at this moment, it became clear that both Kakashi and Itachi were terrifying shinobi. She remembered with crystal clarity that they’d once upon a time been on the same Anbu team. She really hoped they’d be able to work together once more. She vowed not to lose either of them. While they’re skills and strength were without question, they’d both suffered so much. Was that the plight of shinobi? To work hard your whole life, only to lose everything time and time again?

She clenched her hand into a fist and pressed it against her breastbone.

In contrast to her companions, Sakura felt too colorful amongst this quartet with her coral pink hair, bright green eyes, eye-catching crimson top. She was a simple chunin compared to these men whom had all survived war. All their hands were stained in blood, serving as weapons for whomever was in charge — their kage, elder council, or the leader of the Akatsuki. Even Naruto hadn’t batted an eye when he killed the nin that had worn Itachi’s face in their battle months back.

The blood that stained Sakura’s hands were men or women she’d been unable to save in surgeries gone wrong, or injuries too severe. She understood Master Tsunade’s hemophobia — fear of blood. The Godaime had worked hard to work past that challenge. Sakura did not belong in the company of such warriors as these seasoned shinobi. Her parents had been simple merchants trying to live in a world with shinobi. They did not survive. She could feel her own panic starting to grow, a cold sweat began to trickle down her back.

A moment later, she felt the warmth of both Kakashi and Itachi flanking her protectively. “Are you two okay?” She whispered, frustrated when her voice cracked.

“I’ve been here before,” Kakashi murmured, his hands warm and familiar on her shoulders, gently squeezing, conveying his relief at their reunion all the while she could sense the killing intent he was directing towards Itachi on her other side. “When I’ve caught things with my Sharingan and made them vanish? It was to here they were sent.”

Tobi called him Bakashi and Kakashi had his Sharingan from his childhood teammate that had been lost in battle. This masked man was who exactly?

Cackling like a madman, Tobi began to spin in circles with his arms extended out at his sides, — much like a child pretending to be a helicopter. “Welcome to my home, sweet home!”

“These trees are parasites,” Sasori announced in a bored tone. He slammed the axe he’d picked up earlier into the ground. “Do you want us to chop them down?”

Kakashi began to tap his thumb against her shoulder blades in code, relaying the message that they couldn’t speak more aloud. He continued to spell out an explanation with the coded-taps he’d taught her during that extended mission they shared. He knew the identity of man in the orange mask — another shinobi from Konoha. He also apologized she was forced to go through the seduction of Itachi.

Sakura’s cheeks heated realizing Kakashi probably could smell how Itachi’s scent blended with her own. His mask served two purposes: blocking an overwhelming sense of smell and hiding his emotions on an otherwise overly expressive face.

She’d have to find a way to break it to Kakashi that she hadn’t seduced Itachi for a mission, but had been genuinely drawn to him. Itachi was frankly irresistible between his good looks (so much like his brother, whom she’d crushed on for the whole of her childhood) and quiet, thoughtful personality and rich baritone voice. It hadn’t exactly been a hardship when Sasori had forced their re-introduction. She wasn’t a fool and knew that the intimacy they shared under the waterfall hadn’t exactly been at knife-point. She was genuinely attracted to Itachi and the feelings were reciprocated — something she wasn’t familiar with. When she called Itachi her boyfriend, he’d only smiled and accepted the title without protest. It wasn’t like with Sasuke where her feelings were met with rejection and being called annoying, or given a sad thank you before leaving her behind.

Itachi was akin to Sakura like a ship in a storm. She’d been drowning when he pulled her on deck. Yet, now Kakashi was here, comforting, familiar and safe. Kakashi was like the coast guard, ready to take her home and away from the turbulent sea if she only asked. Was it greedy for her to need them both?

Itachi’s warm hand settled upon her low back, reassuring and patient. “That is a god-tree,” he whispered. “The father of Indra, the founder of my clan, and his brother stopped their mother, — the goddess Kaguya Otsutsuki, from claiming all life with chakra. This tree is how she would absorb that energy back into herself. She brought the chakra we manipulate into ninjutsu energy into this world. The original humans did not possess it.”

Kakashi tapped out on Sakura’s back, — ‘Folk-lore.’

Was this lore that the Uchiha clan hoarded? It would make sense that whatever knowledge had once been passed down traditionally amongst the ancient clans would be obscure now that this man had wiped out that very clan. “We’re in the realm of a goddess?” Sakura asked.

“No,” Kakashi answered in a low tone. “This is something else.” He glanced at Itachi over Sakura’s head. “This is where the masked man took many of your clan on the night of the massacre.” He let out a long breath. “He foolishly thought he was saving them, placing them within a constant dream state where their only reality was their greatest fantasy.”

“Genjutsu”Itachi murmured. “The Infinite Tsukiyomi. It’s a dangerous dream that kills most victims.” He sucked in a shuddering breath. “I had wondered — he volunteered to kill the young, the non-combatants that night. Each of those cocoons holds the remains of my clan.”

Sakura understood that Itachi alone hadn’t been able to slay his entire clan. However, facing two dozen trained shinobi with the Sharingan would have been impossible unless it was someone immune to the power. Itachi’s eyes had been superior to his clansmen, but the orders had been to kill the entire clan. She had struggled to reconcile the gentle lover Itachi that she knew with the assassin that had killed his family.

“Are you sure they’re dead?” Sakura asked.

“It’s been ten years,” Itachi whispered hoarsely.

“There were several missing clan members when Ro did the recovery mission,” Kakashi murmured. “There was a lot of unidentified piles of ash. The presumption was that their bodies were incinerated. This looks like at least two-dozen souls within those cocoons.”

“I was ordered to terminate fifty souls that night,” Itachi said quietly. “I was thirteen but not fool enough to think I could succeed on my own.” He inhaled deeply, his hand tensing against Sakura’s low back. “I took on the active shinobi. Tobi volunteered for the others.”

Tobi vanished and then re-appeared directly in front of Sakura, peering directly into her eyes with his mask obscuring his face. He was a tall man — taller than both Kakashi and Itachi. Then he raised his hand and yanked off that garish orange mask, revealing a face of opposites. He was scarred on the right but with a a familiar Sharingan with the same three point star she knew from Kakashi’s transplant eye. The left side was a face just as handsome of Itachi or Sasuke— high cheekbones, strong jaw, but a gaping hole where his eye was removed. He closed the eyelid on his left. “They aren’t dead. I mean, I killed some of them, but most of them I brought back here. They’re just sleeping.” He turned his glare at Sasori. “The tree isn’t a parasite!”

“How did you create this tree?” Sasori questioned.

“The five-tails bijuu,” Tobi answered. “The trees only grow a little in this dimension. On Earth, it would be one massive tree, but I need more bijuu for that.” He giggled again. “Everyone will be so happy!”

Kakashi’s thumbs tapped on Sakura’s back again. ‘Masked man, insane.’

“I’m pretty sure they haven’t aged. They’re like — in stasis.” Tobi teleported to stand next tone of the tree trunks, trailing his hands over the bark. Then he suddenly vanished again and then reappeared directly in front of Sakura. He secured his mask back in place. “I figure since you’re practically family bonking with Itachi and all, you can check up on our clan. It might be nice to wake up Izumi.” He giggled. “She probably won’t like you much though.”

“What?” Itachi gasped and then started to cough. Sakura turned towards him, hands automatically pressed to his chest, infused with healing chakra.

The masked man shifted his single visible eye towards Itachi. “Oh, did you think your girlfriend died? She’s just sleeping, ‘Tachi.”

“We can worry about your tree graveyard later,” Sasori interrupted. “We need to plan for our invasion of Orochimaru’s lair. Tobi, when will you bring Kisame and Deidara? They’re part of our little army and should be here while we prepare.”

Tobi turned to glare at Sasori. “Fine. But don’t call my grove a parasite!” He ran his fingers through his thick, black spiky hair. Then he was focused on Sakura again, a smile in his voice. “So, Sakura-chan, maybe you can check on Rin-chan.”

“Rin?” Kakashi’s breath hitched. “Obito, she’s gone. You know she’s gone.”

Tobi turned towards Kakashi then, his visible eye swirling in anger. “Your hand may have punched through her physical heart, but I have always been Rin’s heart.” He laid his hand over his left breast dramatically. Then turned his eye back to Sakura. “So you’ll check on her, right?”

“Of course,” Sakura answered, keeping her tone polite and professional. She didn’t know how this tree worked, but she had dealt with comatose patients before.

“Can you turn off your Sharingan, Hatake?” Sasori interrupted.

Kakashi’s hands tightened on Sakura’s shoulders again. “No.”

“Ah. Sakura, have you analyzed his optic nerve?” Sasori asked. “There’s likely scar tissue between it and the occipital lobe.” He then rounded on Tobi. “After we finish with Orochimaru, Sakura and I will help you with this hideous tree.”

Tobi began to cackle again. “Rich! Coming from you, Sasori! Calling something else hideous.”

Sasori sniffed. “You’re an uncultured plebeian that doesn’t understand the nuances of beauty or art.” He shook his head, shaggy crimson locks jostling in the process. “Just go collect Kisame and Deidara. We need to plan our infiltration and retreat mission and Sakura and I will be busy ensuring our team is in peak condition.”

Tobi started at Sasori in complete silence for several long moments. “Fine. I’ll be back in an hour.” Then he teleported away, leaving them in the middle of the haunted grove.

“Is he really gone?” Sakura asked. She started towards the tree, but Kakashi held her in place, his grip iron.

“He’s gone,” Kakashi answered. “He opened one of those pods and the person within was wasted away.” Then he pulled Sakura against him and flash-stepped them away from the grove. A crow followed them, circling above. “Are you okay?”

The crow began to dive towards them and then was substituted with Itachi landing right beside them. “Hatake,” Itachi greeted staring hard at Kakashi’s face with his dark eyes, Sharingan deactivated before he focused on Sakura, expression softening. “Are you okay?”

Sakura laughed, feeling hysteria building up. “I’m fine. I mean, I’m not a puppet, so there’s that.” She gestured between Itachi and Kakashi. “Kakashi, Itachi is Jiraiya’s spy within Akatsuki. He killed his clan under orders — Danzo’s orders.”

“Ah,” Itachi rubbed his jaw, expression sheepish as he grimaced. “I do apologize for the genjutsus, Hatake.”

Kakashi’s arm slid around Sakura’s shoulders and he drew her behind him, putting his body between her and Itachi, acting as a shield. “Save your apologies for Sakura and for Sasuke.”

“I will spend my life apologizing to Sasuke,” Itachi admitted. He focused on Sakura, his dark eyes full of intensity as he looked past Kakashi. “I cannot regret my time with Sakura.”

The tension between the three of them was so thick it could be cut with a kunai. Then Sasori assembled himself right behind Sakura, the silver necklace shocked Sakura by freezing abruptly. He’d used it to hone in on her position. “They’re all dead. Everybody in those cocoons are serving as batteries for that tree.” He angled his face to the side to peer at Kakashi’s face. “You’re going to need to lose that Hitai-ate, Hatake.”

Kakashi had shifted so that Sakura was still behind him, but now Sasori was on his right and Itachi on his left.

“We don’t have time for a pissing contest,” Sasori continued.

“You’d lose,” Itachi murmured irritably.

“Sakura, analyze Hatake’s ocular nerve. I need to speak with Itachi more about the cursed seal,” Sasori ordered. He held up his hand before any of them could speak. “As I’m the senior shinobi, I expect your cooperation in this matter.”

“Senior shinobi? You’re a missing nin from Suna. We are loyal to the Leaf,” Kakashi argued.

A cruel twist of Sasori’s carved lips was his response. “Are you now? Well, in that vein, I left Suna under orders of the Third Kazekage. Unfortunately, he died in th emission we were on and since I knew the elders wouldn’t believe my account, here I am. Of the four of us, which was a General in an Army during war?”

“That would be you, Sasori,” Itachi murmured. He turned toward Kakashi. “He’s the spy master in Akatsuki. Nothing escapes him.”

Sasori tapped a finger over his temple. “Gaara is twenty years old and he’s better off without the one-tails bijuu poisoning his mind. Shimura Danzo is a warmonger that murders his own people without an ounce of remorse. Orochimaru steals children and experiments on unwilling subjects. Frankly, the world would be better under the authority of Lord Pain.” He gestured towards the distance where the grove stood as a haunting reminder of Tobi’s failed experiment. “And if we’re not careful, we’ll all end up as batteries to an alien tree.”

“We wouldn’t want that,” Kakashi agreed. He used his free hand to unknot the back of his Hitai-ate and then shoved it into his pants pocket.

“Come, Itachi,” Sasori ordered, as he started to stride away.

Itachi looked between Kakashi and Sakura and then took Sakura’s hand. He leaned down and brushed his lips over her knuckles, where her fingers peeked out of her gloves.

Kakashi had been about to ram a lighting enhanced fist into Itachi when he burst into a murder of crows and scattered.

He turned to Sakura when it was just the two of them, closing his Sharingan eye to study her with his thunderstorm grey right eye. “Itachi claimed you were his girlfriend while we were left behind earlier.”

Sakura blinked up at him, suddenly feeling very shy having this conversation with her closest friend. Because ever since she’d been teamed up with him as an Anbu operative, they’d grown a deep bond. It felt like a betrayal to admit that she’d given herself entirely to Uchiha Itachi when they’d only known each other for such a short time. Especially after everything Itachi had done personally to harm both Kakashi and Sasuke. “He was naked under a water fall, Kakashi. Nobody could resist him.”

Kakashi laughed and shook his head and then he pulled Sakura against him in a bone-crushing hug. “You definitely have a type,” he murmured against her hair.

Sakura wrapped her arms around him too, returning the hug. “I dunno. I like older silver-haired men with cool scars bisecting their eye that wear a mask to hide their handsome face too.”

This time when he laughed, his chest vibrated against her ear. “We’ll get through this, I promise. We’ll find Lady Tsunade. We’ll stop this weird tree thing from finding its way to our world.”

“And we’ll save Sasuke too,” Sakura added.

“Do you really think you could fix Obito’s eye so that I could turn it on and off?” Kakashi asked quietly. “Shizune studied it once when she and Lady Tsunade first returned to the village. There is scar tissue, but she didn’t feel qualified to mess with it.”

Sakura nodded. “Probably. You’re able to switch between the regular Sharingan and the Mangekyo version. I’ve worked with Itachi’s eyes now, so I know how it’s supposed to look. It was a battlefield surgery, Kakashi. Your teammate did a remarkable job, but she wasn’t trained under Master Tsunade either. Did you have the Mangekyo when it was first transplanted?”

“No,” he murmured, squeezing her tighter. “That happened when I killed Rin. The shock and trauma caused it to manifest in its current form.” He shuttered.

“If you can switch between the two forms, there’s no reason to suspect your brain lacks the function to activate and deactivate it,” Sakura mused. “Maybe that neuronal pathway is simply blocked.”

“Could she really be within one of those pods?” Kakashi took a deep breath. “Rin that is. Obito really loved her when we were teens, but she was obsessed with me. I promised him when he was trapped under that rockslide dying that I would protect her. Yet, she died right in front of me.”

“We can’t take Sasori’s cursory evaluation to be fact just yet,” Sakura reasoned. “After we finish rescuing Sasuke, I can study it further.” She swallowed thickly. “If Itachi’s girlfriend is trapped within, I owe it to him to try and save her.”

“She was never his girlfriend, Sakura,” Kakashi murmured. “I remember the two of them. Shisui liked to gossip about his younger cousin and spoke of Izumi’s crush. It wasn’t mutual. Honestly, I didn’t think Itachi was capable of loving anyone aside from Shisui and Sasuke, and well, we know how twisted his relationship with Sasuke is.”

“Alright, well, I don’t know how much time we have.” Sakura pulled away from his embrace and laid her fingers against Kakashi’s temples, probing chakra seeping into his face, focused around his eyes. She repaired the refractory angle of his lens and repaired some of the damage to his retinas and the blood vessels within. His vision was much better than Itachi’s had been. She drew back, wanting more time to puzzle over what she’d discovered regarding the optic nerve.

Kakashi blinked at her, his mismatched eyes meeting her gaze. “My vision is a little clearer.”

“By the way, Shisui is alive — apparently.”

“What?”
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OoO

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Sasuke
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It would soon be time to enact his plan. He’d learned what he could from Orochimaru, even though the bastard didn’t have use of his own arms after the Third Hokage sealed them away. Sasuke ran his fingers over the cursed seal over his neck. If he hadn’t been poisoned, he never would have followed this mad-scientist that experimented on children.

Though, being a true ninja, Sasuke took the opportunity to learn what he could. He’d befriended Juugo, whom the cursed seal originated. He’d been able to piece together that Orochimaru himself didn’t quite understand how the blood curse worked. He’d also learned that the mortality rate was ninety percent. It was likely the care Sakura had provided him during their time in the Forest of Death and Kakashi’s subsequent sealing of the mark that allowed him to survive.

Sasuke had visited Ryuki Cave and created a contract with the snake Aoda. He had also secretly formed the contract with his father’s hawk shortly before he left Konoha. Itachi had his crows that served as his eyes and while Sasuke hated his brother, he realized the kinslayer was a genius and thought to emulate him when possible. He’d also learned from Kimimaro — a surprising ally whom taught him a great deal about swordsmanship — that Itachi had defeated Orochimaru several years ago when they crossed paths.

“Don’t you feel like we’re just delaying the inevitable?” Karin asked, grimacing as Kimimaro bit down on her wrist.

“She’s right, I’m not suitable to host Lord Orochimaru. Why are we prolonging the inevitable?” Kimimaro murmured, rubbing his thumb gently over the bite marks on Karin’s arm. “Thank you.”

Karin jerked her arm towards herself and sniffed haughtily. “He’s going to transfer soon. Kabuto has been making all the usual preparations.”

“You have more worth than serving as his vessel,” Sasuke scoffed.

“Says his future vessel,” Kimimaro challenged. “I’ll miss you, Uchiha, but I do feel I’ll rest easier knowing Lord Orochimaru will live on.”

“Brainwashed idiot,” Sasuke murmured. “I’m not giving him my body. He couldn’t defeat Itachi when he was a child even when his arms were working. He doesn’t have the ability to defeat him now. He lied from the beginning. I have no intention of allowing myself to be duped.”

“I cannot let you betray Lord Orochimaru,” Kimimaro protested hoarsely, he sat up weakly and then fell back to his pillow.

“Just take a nice nap. We’ll wake you up when it’s over.” Sasuke braced his hand on Kimimaro’s pillow and peered into his green eyes with his Sharingan spinning, trapping the last of the Kaguya clan inside a genjutsu. He leaned back, and turned towards Karin. “Be ready to release the hostages.”

“You won’t need help?” Karin asked, chewing her bottom lip worriedly.

Sasuke stared back at her for a moment, thinking back on how strange his life had been over the last five years. He knew that his old teammates had never given up on him — Naruto and Sakura still hunted any clue about him. He’d been impressed during the one time they’d actually faced off against each other. They’d both grown stronger. It made him proud and sad at the same time. In another time, he’d have been right alongside them. Though, this was his path. If he’d not ventured into Sound, what would have happened to Karin, Kimimaro, Suigetsu, and Juugo? How many more people would Orochimaru have experimented upon?

Even the Akatsuki had left Orochimaru alone when he betrayed their organization. The Third Hokage could have killed him, but he allowed him to live and continue to wreak havoc on so many lives. The other Sannin hadn’t stopped him either, yet they’d been the ones to train Sasuke’s old teammates, so he couldn’t discount them entirely. Part of him longed to reunite with Naruto and Sakura. Yet, for his own peace of mind, he had to avenge his family — Itachi had to be stopped and he was the only one capable.

It might take his entire new team to help him track his brother and stop him, but they’d do it. He knew that Naruto and Sakura would somehow ask him to spare Itachi and allow him a chance of redemption. Sasuke didn’t believe in redemption.

He also was a little bit worried. The Akatsuki had already captured Gaara and stolen away his tailed beast. So many had already been acquired. He knew that Naruto held the spirit of the nine-tails — that impressive, terrifying chakra gave his friend great strength but also made him a coveted target. And even more pressing, Sasori — Orochimaru’s old partner — apparently had fought against Sakura and kept her! He could only hope that Naruto and Kakashi had done everything in their power to free her. While Sasuke worried for the girl that had wormed her way into his heart in his youth. He knew she was capable of great feats and had to hope that she’d survive this situation.

“Do you still intend to go after the puppet master afterwards? Should you prove successful?” Karin asked. She knew Sasuke’s objective and frankly, considering he was the first person to treat her with kindness ,— an encounter in the Forest of Death that he didn’t even remember, — she supported him plan.

“Sakura saved my life. I would like to make an effort, while also looking for my brother,” Sasuke explained. He abandoned his Team Seven, but he hadn’t forgotten them. He’d tried, but they were often the only hope he felt in those first lonely months living in this subterranean lair. He didn’t make friends easily, but even so, that loudmouthed blond and the brilliant pinkette would always hold a special place in his black, withered heart. “Naruto should still be with the Toad Sage in the mountains.”

Karin nodded. She had greater tracking skills than anyone, — an Uzumaki herself,— she’d inherited powerful abilities. Itachi would be looking for Naruto. So, if their group headed towards the mountains near Amegakure, they’d hopefully find them both.
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OoO

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Itachi
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He and Sasori discussed more details about the cursed mark that Orochimaru used on Sasuke. The Snake-sannin placed pieces of his soul into the curse with hopes of taking over the body of the marked victim. He might have been striving for immortality, but every time he claimed another victim, he lost another piece of his immortal soul.

With a fractured spirit, whatever moral compass or empathy he might have once possessed would continue to fade until he was but a dark blight preying upon the world.

“You can see why I was disappointed when you didn’t simply kill him those years ago,” Sasori murmured.

“I was under orders,” Itachi admitted. “The Third Hokage and the elder council protected Orochimaru even with all his crimes.” He’d been working with Root all this time. “Why didn’t you kill him?”

Sasori sighed. “Same as you. Orders from Lord Pain. Perhaps, I felt a sentimentality towards him. As Kisame practically raised you from boy to man, Orochimaru did the same for me.” He gestured towards the haunted grove. “If you wish to examine the pods, now is a good time.”

“Are you certain they are all dead?” Itachi asked, grief squeezing his heart as he considered what he would find.

“The tree takes nutrients, it does not give. If they were alive, they aren’t now,” Sasori explained. “While I’m not a practicing medic, I am knowledgable enough. This is a variation of the jutsu we performed that allowed me to separate my soul, mind and personality from my body. My flesh and blood body is being supplied nutrients from the vat of amniotic fluid within that lab. I found the pod that Tobi had opened. The person inside had been withered away like a mummy.” He ran his amber eyes up and down Itachi’s person. “Worried your girlfriend will be upset seeing you dwelling your old girlfriend?” His lips stretched into an amused smirk. “I’m rooting for you.”

Itachi gestured towards the grove. “Is this why we are capturing the tailed beasts? To make parasite trees?”

“I think we need to have a very frank discussion with Lord Pain when we arrive in Amegakure,” Sasori suggested. “Who is really in charge of our organization? Is it Lord Pain? Or is the Masked Uchiha?”

“His name is Obito,” Itachi murmured.

“Madara, Tobi, Obito. With Suna in shambles from when Orochimaru infiltrated it, Konoha under Danzo’s rule, Iwa’s kage has one foot in the grave, and Kiri is controlled by an insane jinchuriki.” Sasori picked up the giant battle axe and balanced it over his shoulder. “Kumo is a challenge with the Raikage and the Eight-tails, but otherwise this is the perfect time in history for the shinobi villages to crumble.”

Itachi eyed the battle axe. It didn’t seem like a weapon Sasori would use. It did seem like something Sakura would benefit from. He watched as Sasori pulled a scroll from the front pocket of his jacket and then secured the axe within the weapons’ storage scroll.

“I told Sakura I would adjust the handle for her,” Sasori explained. He looked back at the tree. “It’s strange how many of the jinchuriki have come to us willingly. I do not believe the tailed beasts were meant to be caged within human flesh.” He rotated his head from one side to the other. “I cannot tell you how confining the human body is. For them, it must be so much worse.”

Itachi stared past Sasori towards the trees. Part of him wanted to find Izumi’s pod, beg her forgiveness. He’d spent so much of the last few years resenting her as a way to cope with his guilt for killing her. If she’d only helped him and Shisui to reason with the elders of their clan. She’d been just as resentful as the rest of his clan. She’d been eager to participate in the coup.

Though, if Shisui and he hadn’t been manipulated by Shimura, if the massacre had been prevented, if the coup could have been talked down with compromise — Itachi likely would have been married to his childhood friend. Likely, they’d have a child or two by then and he’d be the heir of the Uchiha. He probably would have been content with such a life.

He was not one to dwell too deeply into the what-could-have-beens of life. This was the life he had and it was a life where Shisui was alive. Sasuke was alive and strong and so very smart. Itachi was no longer actively dying. He was actually eager to continue living with hopes of reconciling with his brother and maybe having a future with Sakura.

He sensed the disruption of the air and then Obito returned, Kisame and Deidara in tow. Kisame had his usual massive Samehade strapped to his back, but he also had a large pack. Deidara also had a large pack on his back.

“We brought tents and bedrolls, yeah,” Deidara announced. He sniffed disdainfully, his bright blue eyes focused on the trees behind Itachi and Sasori. “Uh, what is that?”

“My family!” Tobi cheered, slinging his arm around Deidara’s neck casually. He too had a large pack over his back. “Itachi, you want me to show you where Izumi is? I can introduce you to Rin too!”

“It’s been a long day,” Itachi demurred. “How about tomorrow?” Or how about never?

Before he could say more, Kisame was at his side, with a meaty shoulder bumping into Itachi’s. “So, the woman from the tea-shop, huh? How’d Hatake take it?”

“Not well,” Itachi answered.

Chapter Text

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🍆Kakashi🐺
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He was most definitely not comfortable. He trusted Sakura — completely. However, they were in a strange dimension where he’d apparently been sending weapons and enemies into over the last couple of years whenever he used the Sharingan eye’s teleportation powers. Obito had vividly described how Deidara’s arm plopped right into this realm and onto his lap.

While Kakashi forced his shoulders to relax, he was still ready to spring into action at the slightest threat. He kept his arm braced over his drawn up knee to stop himself from ramming a chidori through the loud, excitable man in front of him, that both annoyed him and made him miss Naruto at the same time.

The blond bomber in question waved the re-attached arm in front of Kakashi’s face, his palm tongue blowing raspberries at him. Thankfully his mask blocked the spittle.

“So, yeah, if you’re gonna be Akatsuki, you gotta slash your forehead protector thingie,” Deidara sneered. He waved his re-attached hand dismissively. “Look, I ain’t one to hold a grudge, yeah? Sasori’s doll, er, I mean your girl—er—Itachi’s girl, yeah? She did a good job making sure both my hands are fine. So, I owe her.” He narrowed his bright blue eyes, piercing in the dull colors of the realm. Then he turned his back on Kakashi and stormed away with a huff. “Tobi! Where can I go to blow stuff up?”

“Let’s not,” Obito protested. He continued to sit at the base of one of those nasty trees, staring at the cocoon that held Rin’s body. “My family is sleeping and you’ll give them nightmares.”

“Are you ready for another round?” Sakura kneeled next to Kakashi on the ground, her knee pressed against his thigh in a small act of reassurance.

Kisame chuckled (at the possible innuendo) and then received a terrifying glare from Itachi. The large, blue-skinned man rubbed his fist over his mouth, trying to hide his smile.

Kakashi sighed. It seemed unlikely that he’d ever be able to turn the Sharingan off and on. Frankly, he worried that Obito would demand the eye back. Wouldn’t that make more sense? As if sensing his train of thoughts, Obito suddenly materialized on Kakashi’s other side. He peered down at Kakashi’s face with his single eye. Kakashi cleared his throat. He had to ask. “Are you sure you don’t want it back?”

Obito rocked back on his heels and blinked repeatedly at the question. “I gave it to you, Bakashi. This is Rin’s handiwork.” He shrugged. “Besides, I can find you anywhere so long as you have a part of me.” He chuckled. “I like knowing where you are.” He turned his attention to Sakura. “We’ll spend a week here, Doll. You’ll fix Bakashi’s eye and then you and Sasori come with me. I have another task.”

Kakashi wanted to ask about the doll comment, but Obito was suddenly gone as quick as he’d arrived. Taking his place, the puppet master settled on his other side. Bored, half-lidded amber eyes studied Kakashi. “I did want to extend my gratitude, Hatake,” Sasori murmured. “If you hadn’t abandoned Sakura when you did, none of us would be here now.”

“He didn’t abandon me,” Sakura protested, the cooling touch of her palm settled over Kakashi’s brow. As she continued to pour her mystical palm’s chakra into his optic nerve, his vision became more and more clear. The Sharingan’s vision wasn’t the full colored spectrum as his natural eye — it was in infrared, yet more crisp in detail.

Sasori hummed. “Agree to disagree.”

As Kakashi stared into Sasori’s glass eyes, it was clear that an intelligence sparked behind the prosthetic. It was such a strange existence, the soul within this wooden constructed body. Yet, the monster tree that Obito had grown, held the empty shells of so many loved ones. A soul without a body, bodies without souls, — it was one of those existential questions Master Minato had loved so much.

“So, Kakashi,” Sakura took a deep breath before moving her hand from his forehead to hold back his hair from his face, fingers threaded through his silver locks. “Sasori is going to take a look too, okay. I know you don’t trust him, but I do. We have an idea, but I need him to study the pathways too.”

“Fine,” Kakashi agreed. It wasn’t like he had too much choice. If he was joining the Akatsuki, he’d have to work with these people. It was almost surprising to see how well Sakura got along with both Sasori and Itachi. Though, her relationship with Itachi stoked an anger in his belly. It was hard for him to reconcile the shy, solemn Itachi that seemingly had a psychotic break with the doting boyfriend he seemed to act around Sakura. Over the years, Kakashi had come to think of Sakura as his. She was his teammate to protect, friend to guard, woman to love. Sakura was Kakashi’s family. She was home more so than the wooden walls surrounding Konoha.

Then he felt the cold, foreign chakra of Sasori seeping into his body. And Sakura’s chased right after it. It was strange to understand just how well the two seemed to work together. The battle where she’d been taken was barely six weeks ago!

Then, the cool flood of foreign chakra was gone and the more familiar sense of Sakura’s chakra faded as well. “It should be easy as blinking,” Sakura whispered. Her hand now cupped the side of his scarred cheek. “Close your eyes, Kakashi and will your Sharingan off.”

Kakashi stared at Sakura’s face and committed to memory with the Sharingan her high cheeks, full lips, hopeful eyes and then closed his eyes. He willed Obito’s eye to deactivate and felt an immediate change. The floodgates that constantly drained his chakra just stopped. His eyes fluttered open and both eyes saw in the full colored spectrum familiar coral pink hair, jade eyes and a flash of bright white teeth in her smile. His eyes prickled with tears in relief. He closed his eyes again and when he opened them, his Sharingan was activated once more as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He laughed, closed his eyes and stared back again with normal vision.

Sasori snorted and then stood as if a marinette puppet that was jerked to his feet. He then dematerialized and reappeared several meters away and became engrossed in conversation with Itachi, whom had just returned from wherever he’d been with Obito.

“Great,” Sakura breathed. “I’m glad it worked.”

Kakashi arched an eyebrow. “You weren’t sure?”

Then Sakura threw herself at him, arms wrapped around his waist and buried her face against his chest. Only after a moment of hesitation, Kakashi’s arms settled over her and he pulled her into his lap and pressed his forehead against the crown of her soft, silky hair. He could smell her familiar scent through the thin fabric of his mask.

“We’re going to save Sasuke,” Sakura’s voice was muffled by his shirt. “Then we’ll find Master Tsunade. Stop Danzo. Free Konoha. Clear Itachi’s name.”

Before Kakashi could respond, Itachi was now sitting next to them. “Even with my name cleared, I could never return to Konoha.” He sighed. “For better or worse, we’ve technically all defected at this point. I would also never be able to live in a place where so many of my clan died at my hands.”

“Are you still planning to die at Sasuke’s hands?” Sakura asked, straightening to speak clearly, but still holding Kakashi.

Itachi shook his head. “Not intentionally. I wouldn’t do that to you, Sakura. And I owe Sasuke the chance to decide my fate. It will be up to my brother whether I live or die.” He inhaled, his breath unsteady. “He will have to wait until after we destroy Danzo and re-take Shisui’s eye. I wish to restore his sight. I have his second eye in my possession.”

Then, Obito materialized once more, staring down at the trio. “Sakura. I need you to implant Fugaku’s eyes into Itachi.”

“What?” Sakura’s brow furrowed. “Itachi and Sasuke’s dad? Itachi’s eyes work well, why would I replace them.”

“Ah, it’s not exactly replacing them,” Itachi explained. “To unlock the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, the eyes of another Mangekyo Sharingan merge with the transplant recipient.”

“And what’s that benefit?” Sakura asked.

“No need to repair the vision,” Itachi explained. “It’s a power Madara discovered and documented when he took the eyes of his brother. Mito Uzumaki did the transplant.” He reached across Kakashi’s arm and tapped his finger over Sakura’s diamond seal. “She was Lady Tsunade’s grandmother and also had this mark.”

“How are your father’s eyes even here?” Sakura asked carefully.

“Oh, I collected most of the clan’s eyes,” Obito answered. “I even have Auntie Mikoto’s eyes for Sasuke. She was a badass back in her Anbu days.” He sniffed. “And I want you to transplant the eye of Uncle Teyaki into me.” He raised his pale right arm. “I’m going to convert it into the Rinnegan."

“The Rinnegan?” Kakashi asked. All this Uchiha eye magic was going to give him a headache worse than any chakra-exhaustion migraines he had before. His arms tightened around Sakura. He wanted to flash-step away, but Obito would simply materialize wherever he went, or Sasori would, or Itachi would. Everyone one of those three seemed to teleport in some way or another! He couldn’t outrun them, he’d have to put that genius brain of his to use and outwit them.

“Happens when Uchiha and Senju blood is mixed,” Obito explained. He waved around his pale hand. “This arm has almost identical cellular structure compared to Hashirama.” He then stared pointedly at Sakura’s diamond seal. “And yours and Itachi’s girlfriend has the power of the goddess Kaguya right in her forehead. With her chakra involved, it won’t be hard to manifest.”

“Don’t you need a second set of eyes then? Or you’ll go blind?” Kakashi asked. How long would his vision last with the use of the Sharingan? The clarity had returned with Sakura’s recent treatment, but wasn’t it just a matter of time before it degraded again?

Obito shrugged. “Not with this in my blood,” he answered, wiggling his right hand’s fingers. He grinned, a disturbing image with half his face flawless and the other half wrinkled in scar tissue. “Don’t worry, your medic will keep you from going blind. Uchiha didn’t have healers quite like Sakura-chan.” He looked over his shoulder back at the monstrous tree. “Though, when Rin wakes up, I’m sure she’ll be just as capable.” Then he danced off back towards the trees.

Itachi sighed. “She’s definitely just a corpse,” he whispered. “They all are. They are well preserved inside the pods, but once it’s opened, they whither immediately.”

“Do you think he wants Orochimaru and Kabuto because of Edo Tensei?” Sakura asked.

“It’s hard to know what he wants.” Itachi turned to pick up the stack of bed rolls nearby. “We should sleep.” He gestured towards Sakura and Kakashi. “I’ll take first watch. Then Kakashi.”

Kakashi clenched his jaw. He really wanted to trust Itachi again. He missed Itachi for more years than they’d been friends. If he could truly trust Itachi again, it would be a huge relief. He didn’t want to give Sakura up to this dark-haired, dark-eyed prodigy, but if they could work together to keep her safe, he could find a way to manage some sort of arrangement. “Alright.”

Sakura released her grip on Kakashi and reluctantly he let his own arms fall back to his side, feeling empty at the loss of contact as she took two of the bed rolls and spread them out side by side. “I’ll take the second watch,” Sakura announced. She patted the second roll and shot Kakashi a pointed look. “It’s cold here.”

In spite of the situation, Kakashi snorted. He slipped into his bed roll and then had to catch his breath when Sakura turned into him, pressing her body against his and clutching his shirt front tightly. They’d grown close during their time in Anbu together, but this was still new territory for him. The only time he’d really held her like this, was after her parents’ death. She must have been through so much since her capture. He shifted his arms around her and tucked her against him. They were surrounded by enemies, stranded in a foreign realm. There wasn’t exactly much he could do if their current companions decided to attack. If he killed any of them, likely they’d be trapped in the alternate dimension. Kakashi wanted to trust Itachi. Sakura certainly was singing his praises. He met Itachi’s calm gaze briefly then Kakashi closed his own eyes and let the exhaustion he felt lead him into a restless sleep.

Then Sakura’s familiar chakra settled into his brain, sedating him into a deep, dreamless sleep.
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OoO

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🐦‍⬛Itachi🦊
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His crows roamed the skies out of habit. The birds were a bit confused by the landscape, but the summons still worked even in the foreign realm. Part of him wanted to see Izumi’s pod for himself, but a bigger part didn’t want to open that can of worms. Hatake’s presence was a mixed bag. It was almost a relief to have one of the best friends he ever had while he lived in Konoha here. However, it was clear that the relationship between Kakashi and Sakura was more personal than he realized. He wasn’t exactly jealous, but certainly he remained uneasy.

He felt anxious about his upcoming reunion with Sasuke and that took priority over everything else. He needed to survive long enough to eradicate Orochimaru’s poison from his brother. A month ago, if Itachi died afterwards, he’d have been content. His health was significantly better and with more time under Sakura’s care, he’d likely have a full recovery. If the procedure to merge his father’s Mangekyo Sharingan with his own took place, blindness from excessive use of the Sharingan wouldn’t be a risk.

Itachi didn’t want to die. He wanted to find a way to repair the damage on his relationship with Sasuke and even Shisui. He wanted to be true friends with Kakashi, Tenzo, Yugao, and Genma again. And he wanted to have a life outside of living as a shinobi with Sakura. He found it hard to care about Konoha itself, considering the decent Hokage worth following was currently missing and the son of the Yondaime was also outside of the village.

He didn’t want Lord Pain to raze Konoha to the ground and destroy so many lives that had nothing to do with Danzo and his machination's. He wouldn’t mind the destruction of Danzo, the elder council and Root though. Some of the Root members were simply victims themselves, child soldiers like he’d been. Maybe something could be done for them. Maybe a Yamanaka could brain-wash their brain-washing?

Itachi only knew how to use his genjutsu for torture and taking Sakura out for dates within his headspace. Though, Shisui had been capable of affecting the minds of others. Was it wrong to ask him to risk the quiet life he’d found?

“Soooo,” Kisame drawled out, ambling towards Itachi, flossing between his razor sharp teeth. He’d just finished eating dinner — several skewers of steak with vegetables. Itachi had indulged in the food earlier. It had been really quite delicious. They vegetables had been glazed with honey and frankly eating a meal he didn’t have to prepare was very appreciated.

Obito didn’t need to hunt with his ability. He just popped into the kitchens of various restaurants and street vendors and helped himself. Sometimes, he gave Deidara funds to purchase food. Apparently, of the various members of Akatsuki, Deidara was the most approachable and vendors usually gave him good deals.

Itachi’s manners were impeccable, but even in henge, it seemed he had a tendency to either intimidate people or attract fangirls and fanboys. Most people were terrified of Kisame from his size and those that weren’t would cower once he opened his mouth. As a result, they’d become rather skilled hunters over the tenure of their partnership. Itachi arched an eyebrow and folded his arms over his chest. “What do you want?” His relationship with Kisame was complicated. Whereas, Kakashi and Shisui had been older brother type figures to Itachi, Kisame was more father to Itachi than Fugaku had ever been. He was also the person most likely to kill him and to have his back in equal measures during his time with Akatsuki.

Kisame rubbed his forehead, then ran his fingers through his navy hair. “So, you’ve been undercover this whole time. Recruited by Madara, who is actually Tobi, who is actually Obito and who knew you were undercover the whole time.” He grimaced. “And assigned to me.”

Itachi wasn’t originally assigned to Kisame, but he’d certainly been the best partner he’d had in the organization. Knowing what he knew of the horrors of Kiri, he actually respected Kisame more for defecting such a blood-thirsty nightmare. If the world were kinder, Kisame would have been a General in an honorable army.

If Akatsuki could somehow find a way to purge the shinobi world of the rot, maybe there was a chance for honor to return. Maybe, a warrior’s heart could rest at ease at night knowing their actions protected and didn’t harm. “Yes,” Itachi answered. “Is that your question?”

Kisame laughed and shook his head. “No, I want to know about that,” he gestured towards where Sakura and Kakashi slept. “Though, knowing your mastery of articulating how you feel,” this was said with heavy sarcasm as Itachi was a man of few words. The less words spoken, the fewer lies to keep up with. “I’m just looking forward to observing from a safe distance is all.” He stared back at Kakashi. “He’s the one that took down Zabuza. That punk was my friend once upon a time.”

“I see,” Itachi mused. “Do you have any questions about your role in the upcoming infiltration and assault?”

He shrugged. “I’m a tank, as usual. Dei’s the fireworks. Sasori and your girlfriend are going for Kabuto. I gotta say, he definitely looks better as that red-headed Twinkie than in that other body. And uh— I guess Madara wants to be called Tobi? Anyways, Tobi and the Copy Ninja will be freeing up the hostages.” He massaged the back of his neck and grimaced. “You sure you’re okay facing your brother and Orochimaru by yourself?”

For the last several years, Itachi had been fighting at a fraction of his potential due to his chronic illness. He wasn’t particularly worried about the Orochimaru with his arms sealed by the Third, unable to do jutsus on his own. He’d defeated a fully healthy Orochimaru back when he was only fourteen. The Orochimaru that worried Itachi was the portion of the sannin’s soul that he latched onto Sasuke when he’d marked him with the cursed seal.

It would require the best acting of Itachi’s life to pull off this mission. Sasuke would have to come at him with all he has and hopefully, Itachi wouldn’t suffer a mortal blow this time. Sakura would be pissed.

“We still have a couple more days to prepare.” Itachi’s gaze drifted back towards the haunted grove. He felt a chill down his spine at the sight. Did Obito really have his parents’ eyes preserved? Itachi had read about the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. He’d intended to gift Sasuke his own eyes, but now?

“It’s convenient that the Apprentice of the Mother of Modern Medical Ninjutsu is on our side now,” Kisame commented. His grinned toothily at Itachi and waggled his eyes brows suggestively. “She’s done wonders for your disposition.”
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OoO

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🍅Sasuke🐍

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The Northern-most hideout for Orochimaru was more or less home to a skeleton crew. The majority of his subordinates were split between the Southern and Eastern hideouts. Less than twenty-percent of the normal occupants were at the current base.

It was all in preparation for Orochimaru’s attempt to steal Sasuke’s body. Which was something Sasuke most certainly did not consent to happening, but he had to find a way to deal with the cursed mark when it became clear that the smartest man in the village, though he was loath to admit it, Kakashi had no permanent solution for removing it. Maybe if the Uzumaki clan still existed there’d be a chance. Though, the only survivors he knew — Naruto and Karin were completely ignorant in the field of Fuinjutsu. Even the chunin exam proctor Anko was still a slave to Orochimaru’s will with the same seal. Sasuke would not be indebted to anyone, much less a man obsessed with immortality.

His conversations with Kimimaro had been enough to reveal the weaknesses in the transfer. If the host wasn’t willing, it would fail. Sasuke certainly wasn’t willing. He only followed Orochimaru because he’d been poisoned with the curse mark and wanted to learn more about it and he was going to make a name for himself. Sasuke Uchiha, greatest detective of his generation and slayer of the wicked Snake Sannin! And in his heart of hearts, Sasuke was annoyed that his murderous older brother couldn’t have finished the job and killed Orochimaru when they’d fought years ago. Itachi didn’t have a problem killing their parents, but a man that literally abducted children to experiment on was worthy to live?

It made no sense. Even years later, Itachi’s actions that night made no sense. The fact he forced Sasuke to re-live that trauma when he snuck back inside Konoha, encouraging him to grow stronger by severing his bonds. Well, Sasuke would do things his own way. Kakashi couldn’t beat Itachi when they faced off, so Sasuke had to leave Konoha.

There was no doubt he’d grown stronger now, having trained with the swordsmen from Kiri — Kimimaro and Suigetsu. Orochimaru himself was rather ruthless in battle, even maimed as he was by the Third. Sasuke did have a nice little contract with Aoda, though a full contract with the snakes involved training in Ryuchi Cave. Sasuke had no intention of becoming a Snake Sage or suffering unsightly mutations should he fail.

Aoda had proven to be a decent friend to Sasuke in an otherwise lonely place. He learned that the source of the cursed mark was Jugo’s clan and they’d been gifted (or cursed) with he ability to absorb natural energy for enhancing physical strength with mutations had originated from Ryuchi Cave. And what Sasuke learned from this analysis, was the cursed seal on his neck came from Jugo’s bloodline, except instead of natural energy, the seal fed off his chakra and released Orochimaru’s chakra.

It wasn’t that Sasuke was totally vain, but he wasn’t about to risk turning into a snake monster for a little power. As an Uchiha, he had untapped potential from his descent from Indra. He just had to find a way to eradicate his body of Orochimaru’s taint. So far, he still wasn’t sure how, but killing the man seemed a good start.

And maybe, if he was lucky, his brain would consider the fact that he killed his mentor as traumatic enough to unlock his Mangekyo Sharingan? It was hard to know for sure, especially since he didn’t actually care about the sannin.

Only one person really knew about Sasuke’s plan, his sparring partner Suigetsu. The Mist ninja was one of the seven swordsmen, his capture by Orochimaru and subsequent experimentation, caused a certain level of hatred that Sasuke could understand. The two had bonded over their mutual trauma. While Suigetsu could be loud and annoying, he was skilled.

Killing Orochimaru was just one part of Sasuke’s mission. He still had to find Itachi and avenger their clan. He’d use the warden of the Northern base, the red-headed Karin. Which she claimed to have no clan, she was undoubtedly an Uzumaki. She was an amazing tracker, but also amazingly annoying. Perhaps, it was his plight in life to be annoyed by Uzumakis?

And Jugo ,— the one’s who’s blood was the source of Sasuke’s cursed mark, — would also be an useful ally. They’d grown to be tentative friends, considering that Kimimaro and Sasuke both seemed to be the ones capable of calming down his tantrums. Kimimaro less so now with his failing health.

Maybe, Sasuke could try to seek assistance from Tsunade Senju. He might have been living under a literal rock in these subterraneous bases of Orochimaru, but the snake sannin often spoke of his former teammate with a great deal of admiration (and love?). He knew that Sakura had somehow trained under the hokage while Naruto trained under the other sannin — the one that wrote the perverted books. Orochimaru often complained about that too.

With a determined stride, Sasuke prowled along the halls silent and with murderous intent. His arm pulsed with Lightning as he prepared to end the life of Orochimaru.
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OoO

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🌸Sakura🐈‍⬛
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She stared down at her Hitai-ate and the vicious slash through the Leaf. Kakashi had done the same for his. If the choice was to officially join Akatsuki or remain loyal to the warmonger elder that was responsible for ordering the mass murder of the Uchiha clan and threatening Tsunade Senju’s life, it was best to severe ties with the village.

It was not the Konoha that Hashirama Senju envisioned. Master Tsunade had kept Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto mostly outside of the village in recent years because of the very real threat Danzo represented. Though, Sakura did worry for Ino, Hinata, Tenten and their teams. But without a clan of her own and without her parents, Sakura would have been forced into Root if she did return to Konoha. She’d already been given a red scroll mission and technically she’d succeeded in wooing Itachi, but that was complicated.

Comparing Root to Akatsuki, somehow the latter seemed more noble.

Itachi’s warm hand fell upon her shoulder. Sakura raised her hand to cover his, squeezing gently and appreciating his quiet support. She’d performed the merging of his father’s Sharingan eyes into his, marveling at the strangeness of it. It was fascinating to see how it caused his brain and his ophthalmic system to adapt. When he blinked back at her, she could tell that his vision was even sharper than before and would never degrade now.

She tried to imagine what it must have been like for Madara Uchiha with the help of Mito Uzumaki,— the betrothed of his greatest enemy and childhood best friend,— to have done the same procedure with the eyes of his precious brother. It seemed partly, the traumatic idea of knowing you were taking the eyes of one of your precious people played a roll in the mutation. Though, it seemed more likely to Sakura that the transplant had more to deal with genetic compatibility than trauma.

“Stay with Sasori,” Itachi advised. “He’s quite strong and he’s been planning this raid for longer than you or I can even imagine.” He leaned over and used his free hand to brush back Sakura’s hair, tucking it behind her ear gently. “Kakashi will be fine as well. He will make sure you and Sasuke make it through this battle.”

“And you?” Sakura pressed, gazing up at him. She wasn’t blind to the fact that Itachi had been unusually somber. She didn’t think he was suicidal, but he still had the sacrificial hero quality to him.

“It is not my intention for my story to end today, Sakura,” Itachi said quietly. “None of us know our time though. I should be quite happy to live beyond this battle, explore a future, — with you. Though, if I fall, please, do not hold it against Sasuke. I have wronged him so much. I trust the two of you can maybe find solace in one another.”

Sakura narrowed her eyes. “As long as you do everything you can to try to survive.” She stood and gripped the front of his shirt and pulled Itachi down so that their faces were level, her attention falling to his lips briefly before she forcefully met his gaze.

Itachi’s Sharingan whirled and Sakura’s mind joined his in his headspace. This time, they were at a beach, the ocean’s waves lapping at the shore while the sunset on the distant horizon, painting everything in an orange glow.

Then Itachi’s arms were around her, always he was more free in his affections when they were within his Tsukiyomi. Simple genjutsus didn’t work on Sakura, so he had to use his bloodline. “I have every intention of living, Sakura. It had just been so long since I had hope. I’m almost not sure what do with it.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Hope is a most dangerous thing.”

“It certainly led Obito down a dark path,” Sakura agreed. “So you know how to defeat the cursed mark?”

Itachi nodded. “It will be dangerous and almost impossible. I will succeed, but I cannot guarantee I will survive. I will do my best. I’d like a future where I can hold you in my arms in reality and not just within this vision.”

“I miss Sasuke so bad,” Sakura whispered. “Even with everything that happened to him, he was a good person. He didn’t express his feelings much, but he was so noble. He was brave too. Even when we were facing odds that should have spelled certain death, he always overcame his fears and he was a good friend to me and Naruto.” She laid her hands over Itachi’s cheeks. “Until you messed with his head and Orochimaru poisoned his body. You must fix the damage. If you die before letting Sasuke have time with his brother, he’ll never recover. You must save Sasuke, but save yourself as well.”

Itachi turned so that his lips were against Sakura’s palm and pressed a chaste kiss. “I suspect I’ll be in bad shape at the end of the battle,” he admitted. “I’ll expect you to save me.”

The plan was after everyone performed their individual tasks on the mission, to join the battle between Itachi, Sasuke and Orochimaru.

He brought has hands down her arms and pressed her palms together, entwining their fingers. Itachi pulled Sakura flush against him and kissed her with a determination that made her toes tingle. When he pulled back, his eyes glittered and his lips were swollen. “If you have to choose though, I ask that you save Sasuke. My motivation in life has been to ensure that he lives and thrives. Please, Sakura. Promise me. If I were to live and Sasuke died, I would be an empty husk.”

Itachi had survived so much pain and trauma in his life, but Sakura knew, if he lost Sasuke, it would be a loss he could not recover. She loved him enough to understand this. Silently, she nodded.

With a relieved sigh, Itachi wound his arms around her again and hugged her close. Then they were back in the Kamui realm, the genjutsu ended. Kakashi stood next to them, wearing all black ninja garb and the black cloak with red clouds of the Akatsuki. He held a second cloak draped over his arm.

Itachi stepped back and Sakura accepted the cloak and put it on, officially accepting a position within the Akatsuki.

“Let’s go exterminate a snake,” Kakashi said. His dextrous fingers secured the clasp of her cloak more secure and he met her eyes with two dark eyes— one onyx and the other thunderstorm grey. Then the left flickered into the familiar crimson and black of the activated Sharingan. “And free our hawk.”

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OoO

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🐦‍⬛Itachi🦊
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This day was ten years in the making. Ten years of despair with the only hope the sweet release of death to anticipate. That was no longer the case. Every breath no longer felt like his lungs were full of ground glass. Shisui was alive! Itachi didn’t want to presume, but he felt like he was in love with a kind, intelligent, beautiful woman. His brother had grown into a strong and clever warrior.

“Nervous?” Kisame whispered, shifting his massive sword over his shoulder.

“No.” Itachi wasn’t prone to nervousness. Anticipation? Sure. Night-terrors? Definitely. He shifted his attention towards Sakura and Sasori. That massive battle axe was strapped to her back. Sasori had changed into one of his battle bodies — deadly scorpion tail hidden under his cloak and several repaired puppets.

He then settled his gaze on Kakashi, whom wore his Konoha Hitai-ate without a slash — one foot in both worlds. Deidara had loudly protested, but Obito didn’t seem to mind. Sakura had implanted one of his preserved Sharingans that he’d collected over the years and it somehow interacted with the alien DNA on the right side of his body and now swirled a lavender Rinnegan. Obito was in such a good mood, when Sakura asked him if Kakashi could leave his Hitai-ate intact, he’d agreed.

“Okay dokey! Let’s go for a ride!” Obito called out before he gathered everyone around him. He used the combined power of his original eye and his newest one to create an electric blue Susanoo to gather everyone and transport the crew to the Northern most hideout in Orochimaru’s territory.

Itachi’s crows dispersed, analyzing the base in different directions as the team split up towards their objectives.

He found his target. Sasuke was alone. He’d meet his brother — let Sasori kill of the feeble body of Orochimaru. Itachi would eradicate his essence from Sasuke.

It wasn’t difficult to evade the Sound shinobi that prowled the base. Itachi simply used misdirection, basic genjutsus to pass by unseen.

And there he was.

In Itachi’s mind, Sasuke was forever an eight-year old boy looking up to him with love and admiration. This Sasuke was a man grown, black, spiky hair, broad shoulders, taller than himself. His onyx eyes, — the same as their mother’s,— shifted to crimson and black pinwheels and the sword that was strapped to his back was in his right hand, crackling with electricity.

“Brother,” Sasuke greeted, his voice deep and mature.

The sound of a grown man’s voice coming out of his little brother was like another knife to Itachi’s heart. So much time had been lost. Danzo had cheated Itachi out of so much. “Brother,” Itachi echoed.

“Why are you here?” Sasuke demanded, his knuckles white in the tight grip on his blade.

Itachi tilted his head to the side. “Aren’t you looking for me?”

A moment later, Sasuke rushed towards Itachi, blade crackling with energy as Itachi blocked it with a kunai that he’d utilized wind chakra to maintain a barrier and prevent electrocution. Itachi’s chakra natures included fire, water, wind, yin and yang. Lightning and earth were not in his wheelhouse. “My eyes are like yours, but I didn’t kill my best friend.”

Itachi substituted with crows, settling several meters away. “Neither did I,” he admitted. He studied Sasuke’s cursed mark, it pulsed on his neck. “Where’s your master?”

Sasuke popped his head in either direction. “Dead in the back room.” The black flames of the curse began to spread from Sasuke’s neck, along his jaw, down his arm. It reeked of Orochimaru’s chakra.

Itachi prepared himself best he could. This battle would be challenging physically, mentally, and emotionally. He had to cleanse Sasuke of the foreign chakra. “Why don’t you show me how strong you have become?”

The smile that spread across Sasuke’s lips sent shivers down Itachi’s spine as his brother’s murderous intent was palpable.
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Chapter Text

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Sakura
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She wasn’t nervous exactly, but it had been some time since she’d been in a battle. The last time, she’d ended up taken hostage and wound up in a terrorist organization. Now she was assigned as mission partners with Sasori. She’d memorized the layout of the hideout, but still stuck fairly close to Sasori. The dark didn’t bother him, mostly because he didn’t see like a normal person anymore.

While she’d declined his request to transplant his human eyes into Shisui, she was curious about his mortal body. Part of being human was understanding that eventually one’s life would come to an end. He’d already lost his loved ones — his parents, his grandmother, his mentor. It struck her that his abandoning his physical body was his attempt to separate from his complex feelings.

“What are you thinking?” Sasori murmured. “I can feel your eyes upon me.”

Sakura huffed. Of course he did. “When this is over, I’ll go with you to look at your preserved body.”

“Oh? You’ll do the eye transplant?” Sasori asked, his tone pleased and his normally placid expression smug. “You’ve certainly had plenty of practice lately.”

“I didn’t say that,” Sakura sighed. “Besides, it sounds like Shisui’s eyes aren’t lost, simply inaccessible as of yet.”

“Ah, you want to know what I look like,” Sasori mused. “Ogling Uchiha and Hatake’s bodies aren’t enough for you?”

“What?” Sakura hissed, her cheeks burning. “I didn’t—,” her words were abruptly cut off by Sasori’s hand over her mouth.

His lazy amber eyes bore into her. “We’re close.” He did a hand signal to indicate they should communicate silently if necessary.

She nodded and he released her mouth, frustrated that he’d managed to touch her. She should have been able to evade him! She wasn’t some fresh-faced chunin. And then she was covering her own mouth to contain her surprise at the laboratory they walked inside. It was filled with rows and rows of glass cylinders with bodies inside. Some were alive, eyes wide and pleading as they tapped silently on the glass, begging for release. Others floated in suspended animation, impossible to ascertain whether they were alive or dead.

Sasori signaled for them to head the nine o’clock direction. They passed several lab tables with papers strewn about as if someone packed in a hurry. He sent two puppets ahead of them, looking for Kabuto.

They didn’t find Kabuto, but there was a boy near Sakura’s age, maybe a little older. His long, white hair was brittle, his skin pale and his bones seemed to protrude out of his skin. There was a machine with tubes hooked up to the unconscious man and it beeped steadily.

Sakura scanned the room for threats. “The room is secure,” Sasori stated. She moved to the man’s side and looked him over closer, a scan of her chakra over him. “It’s the Kaguya clan survivor,” he murmured. “Orochimaru collects desperate orphans.”

The Kaguya boy was dying. His illness reminded Sakura of Itachi’s lung condition. She remembered, faintly, the story Lee told her once about his and Gaara’s encounter with the bone-swordsman in their pursuit of Sasuke when he defected. The long-ago memory clicked into place. “You’re supposed to be dead, Kimimaro.”

Pale green eyes snapped open and started back at her.
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OoO

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Itachi
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His little brother had grown skilled. Sasuke was fast and he radiated power, but it was tainted by the foreign chakra of Orochimaru. “There’s no doubt you’ve grown stronger,” Itachi admitted, evading Sasuke’s blade with a substitution with his crows. Sasuke didn’t use just any old sword, he wielded the Sword of Kusanagi.

What would his brother had been like if he’d been able to train under the tutelage of Itachi, Shisui, their parents? He’d hoped that somehow Hatake would be able to take Sasuke under his wing, but he’d ruined that, hadn’t he? That last trip to Konoha, when he’d forced Sasuke to relive that awful and bloody night, Itachi had severed those tentative bonds with Team Seven.

“Are we just going to dance around each other or do you intend to kill me, Ototo?” Itachi taunted.

This time when Sasuke lunged towards him, Itachi caught him in the Tsukiyomi of his Mangekyou Sharingan. He created the image of himself lounging in a throne of black stone.

“I’ll dance on your grave!” Sasuke snarled and the illusion snapped. Itachi just barely evaded a chidori through his chest, the sound of a thousand birds screeching familiar from his time in Anbu.

It was almost sweet that his old team captain taught his baby brother his signature move. He could tell Sasuke was already fatigued. From what Sasori explained to him about the body transfer, there had likely been a battle waged within Sasuke’s mind which was every bit as exhausting as a physical battle.

Then the cursed mark on Sasuke’s neck began to spread, increasing his power, spreading black hashes all around his body, his hair grew long and wild past his waist, his skin took a gray tone and two disgusting hand-like wings popped out of Sasuke back.

Itachi feigned a great blow, staggered back using all his powers of deception. He took Sasori’s advice and took advantage of the malunion of Sasuke’s natural chakra with the foreign chakra of the cursed mark. Itachi wrapped himself within the armor of his susanoo. Instead of a massive skeletal samurai warrior, he focused the astral energy over his body like plated armor with the power of the defensive Yata mirror coating the plates in an impenetrable defense.

Itachi unleashed a massive fireball and as the smoke cleared away, the cursed mark began to change again. The monstrous hand-wings on Sasuke’s back seemed to shed like an old snake skin and where they fell to the ground, Orochimaru revealed himself. “There you are.”

Sasuke stumbled in shock, staring with his jaw slackened, viciously sharp canines protruding past his lips as the Snake Sannin materialized. Orochimaru’s body was that of a giant white snake. He held his hand over his throbbing shoulder blade. “Impossible.”

This was it. Itachi’s eyes spun as he unleashed his susanoo in its final form, holding the the ethereal Totsuka sword and the Yata mirror. He could feel Sasuke’s eyes shifting between his massive fiery orange samurai Guardian, thickly corded with muscles, protecting Itachi within its marine rib cage.

“How!?” Orochimaru hissed. “I have searched for decades for the Totsuka blade!” From his snake-like body, multiple heads began to emerge, until there were eight.

“Hm,” Itachi used the sword to slice off one of those heads, then another, then another in rapid succession, until there was only one. He didn’t owe Orochimaru any explanation, but he’d not had to search for the Totsuka sword or Yata mirror. Once he activated his susanoo for the first time, they’d appeared. The two heavenly weapons chose him to be their wielder.

“Amaterasu,” Itachi ordered, erupting the tail of the failed Snake Sage into black flames. While Orochimaru cried out shrilly in pain, Itachi pierced him with the Totsuka sword, sealing him within the jar along with all the severed heads to trap him within the world of drunken dreams for all eternity and effectively eradicating his connection to Sasuke. The cursed seal bubbled at Sasuke’s neck and dissolved.

Itachi turned back towards Sasuke, who’s hair had shifted back to his normal length, his skin pale and no longer ashen. Itachi held his hands up, palms displayed outwards, in a sign of peace. “A temporary truce. We must talk.”

“Why?” Sasuke scowled, drawing his sword as it crackled with electricity. “You’ve had ten years to talk to me. Why would I listen now?” He grimaced, staggering a bit after being freed of the foreign chakra after nearly five years.

“That’s fair. I never should have told you to kill your best friend,” Itachi started. He needed to make this fast. He didn’t have enough chakra to maintain his susanoo armor much longer and he was about to be vulnerable. “I did not kill our clan to test my powers. I was under orders. They were planning a coup. The only way I could ensure your life would be spared, was to agree to perform the massacre myself.” He ran his fingers through his hair, as it had come loose form his ponytail. “I was thirteen and not wise enough to seek another way. The village failed to uphold their end of the bargain. Orochimaru never would have gotten to you otherwise.” He gestured towards the swirl of ashes from the portion of the sannin that he burned swirling in the wind. “Orochimaru worked for Elder Shimura.”

“I don’t believe you!” Sasuke roared and lunged at Itachi.

The elder brother managed to evade for a while, but eventually his chakra began to flicker and his susanoo deactivated. He still needed to grow stronger in order to maintain it for longer, his body had been too weak for so many years. And when Sasuke slammed Kusanagi into his heart, Itachi collapsed against him. “It’s okay. Maybe it’s better this way. I love you, Ototo.” He coughed, blood spilling from him lips. Sakura was going to be pissed that he died.

“Shit,” Sasuke cursed, staring in disbelief at the sword protruding from Itachi’s chest. His sharingan morphed at that moment to the Mangekyo Sharingan as blood tears spilled down his cheeks. “No,” he whispered, holding Itachi’s weight. “Help! Somebody!”

The air seemed to shimmer around them as Obito popped onto the scene. “Tisk, risk. Went a bit too far, huh? At least you didn’t use lightning like Bakashi.” Then he vanished.

“Who the hell was that?” Sasuke croaked, his arms tight around Itachi as the latter’s legs shook, no longer able to support his weight. “Please don’t die. I—I didn’t mean it, Nii-san.” He started to pull out the sword.

“Leave the sword. If you pull it out, I will be gone in seconds.” Itachi raised his index and middle finger to Sasuke’s forehead and tapped it like he had when they’d been kids. “It’s fine. I expected this ending. She’s going to be upset, but she’ll get over it.” He leaned his forehead against Sasuke’s shoulder. “You’ll be okay.”

Then Obito returned, a certain medic in tow. Itachi almost laughed as he sensed her outrage. Itachi was dying, standing only because Sasuke supported his weight while his right hand held a sword through his heart. The warmth of soothing chakra eased the pain and Itachi lost consciousness, but not before whispering, “Sakura, I’m sorry.”
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OoO

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Sakura
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This was the epitome of nightmares. The boy she’d loved her whole childhood had just mortally wounded the man she’d fallen for these last few weeks. If she’d been just ten seconds later to his side, Itachi would have been beyond saving. What was up with these two and their apologies before they plunge her into her deepest moments of despair? Was it some Uchiha thing?

As it was, Itachi’s chances of recovery was dicey. Sakura had used quite a bit of chakra stabilizing Kimimaro while Sasori continued to look for Kabuto. That rat was nowhere to be found! Her diamond seal hadn’t completely replenished, so she didn’t have big reserves to work with, so she had to be efficient because Itachi’s life depended on it. She glanced up briefly, Sasuke still holding Itachi up, met her gaze, his crimson eyes darkened with a Mangekyo shaped like a sun, — it was absolutely beautiful,— and silent tears.

“When I tell you to, you will pull out the sword, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura ordered, using her most authoritative tone, the one Master Tsuande used during delicate surgeries.

“He said that will kill him,” Sasuke protested weakly. His voice so much deeper than she remembered.

“He’s not dying,” Sakura vowed. She appreciated that he wasn’t asking questions — like what she was doing there, why she was wearing an Akatsuki robe, why Itachi had a green glow about him. She’d seen Lady Chiyo use a forbidden technique on Sakura when she’d been stabbed by Sasori. She wasn’t dead, so it didn’t kill Chiyo, but it patched the mortal wound with part of her life, — her soul. Sakura understood the basics of the technique and after studying with Sasori, felt she could pull it off. She had to.

“I’ll just go check on everyone else,” Tobi announced before he vanished again.

“I have so many questions,” Sasuke murmured. He took a deep breath. “Ready.”

Sakura prepared herself. “Now!” The moment Sasuke retracted the blade, she poured in chakra, sealing the tears in Itachi’s heart as the sword pulled out of it. And then as she could feel his essence slipping away in spite of her efforts, she released some of her own life force to keep him from venturing into the Purelands just yet.

“What are you doing?” Sasuke’s voice was panicked as he observed with his sharingan, knowing exactly what she was doing. “Why would you go so far?”

She could feel Itachi’s heart stabilize. The sword was removed and Sasuke caught Itachi’s weight fully and settled him on the ground. Sakura collapsed to her knees beside them. Sakura could feel her own vision start to dim from extreme chakra exhaustion. She smiled weakly at Sasuke. “If I can learn to work with the sociopath that poisoned my parents, you can learn to forgive Itachi.” Then she collapsed on top of Itachi’s prone form.

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OoO

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Kakashi
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So many things in his life were topsy-turvy at the moment. The realization that Obito was alive and insane seemed the most reasonable fact. He’d been a bit strange as a child, but then Kakashi wasn’t really one to judge, all things considered. However, learning that the loud mouthed, chronically late, klutzy boy from his time on the four-man squad under the command of Master Minato now being the leader of the most notorious terrorist organization of his lifetime,— that was harder to comprehend.

Their small party consisting of Kakashi, Obito, Kisame and Deidara had rounded up the majority of the residents at the hide out. Deidara had caught the spy Kabuto as he tried to escape with countless storage scrolls. While they’d been planning their raid of the hideout, Sasori had explained that Kabuto had originally been a sleeper agent of his, like so many of his spies.

It became clear only more recently that Sasori’s brainwashing on medics with their precise chakra control weren’t particularly infallible. Instead of providing the Akatsuki spy master with information about their former member, Kabuto had passed on information to Orochimaru. It was partly how he was able to stay ahead of the organization. Though, if Kakashi had been brain washed, he’d have taken offense as well. He didn’t blame Kabuto for that choice. Comparing one sociopath to another, he wasn’t sure if Sasori was any better than Orochimaru to be honest. The one thing Sasori had going for him, he killed his victims, he didn’t torture them, — usually. (Though some of those poisons had seemed especially nasty.)

Kakashi had faced Kabuto with extreme prejudice when he’d tried to slip past him. This was the man that terrorized his precious genin in their first chunin exam! He’d shared drinks with Shizune Kato before and she’d spoken in length about her run-ins with the Sound medic. Her disgust at hia using medical chakra to take lives rather than save them was understandable. Kakashi didn’t like him on principle.

The whole base was a living nightmare. It was even worse than Obito’s Kamui realm with the demon tree. This was the home of a mad scientist obsessed with immortality and completely without empathy. The walls were stained with blood splatters and evidence of carnage recent and old.

The members of the Akatsuki, at least the half-dozen Kakashi had seen up close so far, seemed almost noble in comparison. Kakashi had been responsible for his share of bloodshed, he was an elite assassin and for the past twenty-six years a loyal dog of Konoha’s military. What had that loyalty afforded him? He’d grown up an orphan and later lost his surrogate father, dozens of dead friends and teammates. The family he’d once found were now slowly being gathered into the Akatsuki.

“Are you sure I can’t just blow him up, yeah?” Deidara asked. He sat on a clay bird creation and hovered in the air.

Sasori was busy hog-tying the Sound medic a little too enthusiastically, taking the betrayal by his former agent personally. Sakura had trailed alongside him to meet their party with a large man draped over her shoulders.

“No,” Tobi scoffed. “If two medics can’t figure out the god tree, maybe it will take three.” He started to whistle, his arms behind his back, stepping one foot exaggeratedly in front of the other. “Maybe between the three of them they can almost be as smart as Rin.”

Kakashi bit the inside of his cheek to keep from responding. He wasn’t biased or anything, and he was grateful for his childhood friendship with Rin. However, she was no Sakura, — who was by far not only his favorite former subordinate but his favorite person. And while he didn’t like Sasori or Kabuto, he had no doubt they were both genuses too. It didn’t matter how smart you were though. Kakashi had analyzed that demon tree with his Sharingan. Those cocoons were holding corpses, not sleeping bodies.

“Take him, will you?” Sakura shifted the unconscious man with the long white hair off her shoulders for Kisame.

“Kitten, are you sure this one isn’t dead?” Kisame asked, shifting the white haired Kaguya survivor over his shoulder. “Feels like dead weight to me. You’re stronger than you look.”

“First of all, on Hound is allowed to call me Kitten,” Sakura snapped.

Kisame laughed again. “Aw, I thought Itachi would be allowed to call you that too.” He waggled his navy eyebrows suggestively while pressing his lips tight together to suppress his laughter.

“And Kimimaro is alive, but he still needs more extensive treatment,” Sakura explained, ignoring the other comment. She shifted close to Kakashi, her shoulder pressed heavily against his. “I’m going to need to sleep for days after this.”

“You and me both,” Kakashi murmured as he slid his arm around her waist, helping to support her weight. The fatigue was different than what he’d become accustomed to over the years. It wasn’t chakra drain from Obito’s eye. Being able to switch that power on and off made a world of difference. Kakashi was mentally and emotionally drained.

That’s when Kakashi noticed the massive chakra signature in the distance.

“Oh, a susanoo!” Obito cooed. “It’s like a fairy tale come to life! I’ve got to see this.” He teleported towards the battle.

“What should we do now?” Deidara asked. “Should we start collecting the other residents?”

“Nah, they’re either unconscious or dead,” Kisame argued. He dumped Kimimaro on the ground, much to Sakura’s vocal dismay and then proceeded to stretch out, arms behind his head, legs crossed at the ankles. “Some of them we’ll take with us, some we’ll turn in for bounties, and others we’ll let loose. Gotta wait for the boss to decide.”

Sakura crouched over Kimimaro’s prone form. “Try to be a bit more gentle,” she hissed at Kisame.

The shark-man shrugged. “Why? You’ll just heal him, right?”

“Sakura seems to have an affection for lost causes,” Sasori murmured.

Kakashi sat himself, drew up his knee towards his chest to rest his elbow over it. It was one of his favorite positions whenever he was on watch during missions. He patted the ground next to him and met Sakura’s tired green eyes.

Sakura huffed, but didn’t argue as she sat next to him. She leaned her cheek against his shoulder and they waited.

Obito returned about twenty minutes later and shifted his weight between his feet, hopping from side to side. “You better come, Kitten.”

“For the love of—!,” Sakura rose angrily to her feet.

A moment later, Obito vanished with Sakura in tow. Kakashi could only stare at the spot where they’d been. Obito was probably the most dangerous foe he’d ever faced and he would have to tread carefully.

“I hate when he does that,” Sasori complained. He stared into the distance, amber eyes narrowed. “Orochimaru is dead.” He glanced up at Deidara. “Make another bird and take us there.”

“Would it kill you to ask please?” Deidara whined. “It takes time you know!”

“Fine, take Hatake. Kisame and I will stay here with the prisoners,” Sasori answered. He shifted his bored gaze to Kakashi. “You’re Akatsuki now. Not Konoha. Go.”

Kakashi said nothing, his jaw clenched in frustration. He climbed onto the clay bird with the bomber, thankful the man didn’t seem to hold any grudges against Kakashi. Fortunately, Kakashi didn’t begrudge him either. Naruto was fine. Gaara was fine. The kazekage managed to keep his village safe from the attack months back. If Onoki had been his kage, he’d have likely defected himself. Kakashi also understood that most of the members of Akatsuki had been press-ganged into joining. There weren’t too many volunteers.

As the clay bird drew near, a massive ethereal purple rib cage surrounded the forms of Itachi prone on the ground, Sakura passed out on top of him and Sasuke draped protectively over the two of them. Obito waited outside the barrier, unable to enter even with his teleportation power.

As Kakashi leapt off the clay bird and approached the partial susanoo, Sasuke glanced up and met his eyes. The younger man’s eyes had transported into the Mangekyo Sharingan with a sunburst design. “Kakashi,” he greeted.

“Sasuke,” Kakashi rejoined, keeping his tone carefully neutral. His former student had grown into a young man. There was no trace of the cursed seal on his exposed neck. His body-language implied that he was protective of both Sakura and Itachi.

“I’m hoping you can explain to me what’s happening,” Sasuke continued. His eyes flickered over towards Deidara briefly, whom flinched upon seeing the sharingan.

“I told you!” Obito whined.

Sasuke scowled and looked back at the masked man. “Forgive me for not taking the word of a masked lunatic.”

Obito held his hand over his mask and then stopped. “Keh. Whatever.” He folded his arms over his chest and turned away. “We can’t stay here forever.”

“Are they?” Kakashi asked, gesturing towards Sakura and Itachi.

“They’re alive,” Sasuke answered. “Heart beats are steady, but sort of slow.”

“We came to rescue you,” Kakashi answering, smiling in his eye-crinkle way.

“Yeah, okay,” Sasuke sneered.  He glanced back down at Itachi.  "I was about to form Team Hawk.  My three subordinates should be around here somewhere."

"Well, now you get to join the Akatsuki!" Obito cheered.

Sasuke opened his mouth in an automatic protest, but Deidara spoke before he could find his words.  "Don't even bother fighting it.  Recruitment into Akatsuki isn't exactly optional."
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Chapter Text

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Sakura
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As her consciousness stirred, Sakura could hear the familiar sound of pages being turned and sensed the warm body of her closest friend. It was a barely rustle of paper and several long seconds passed between each turn. Her eyes fluttered open, soft orange light illuminated the darkness of a bedroom and the sound of steady rainfall pattered against the windowpane.

She was stretched out on a full-sized bed, tucked under freshly laundered cotton sheets and a fluffy light grey comforter. She glanced to her side to see Kakashi sitting up beside her, back braced against the headboard. She had a moment of disorientation, thinking the scene somewhat familiar to their long-term mission as Anbu operatives.

“Maybe next time, try to have a little more regard to whether you live or die when you decide to share your life essence with someone,” Kakashi’s tone was low and his words carefully measured, trying to contain his anger. He turned another page, keeping his dark eyes focused on his book.

Sakura winced, realizing he knew exactly what she’d done to save Itachi and he was not pleased with her choice. It wasn’t surprising. Kakashi knew about Lady Chiyo’s technique. He’d likely witnessed the elder Suna kunoichi’s miraculous resurrection of Kazekage Gaara. Sakura had only used a portion of her life-force, much as Chiyo had done for her as she was dying from Sasori’s poison. Itachi hadn’t been quite dead, though his heart had stilled for several seconds and he’d been unconscious. “It’s not a technique I can repeat without great cost.”

“Uh huh.” Kakashi turned another page and even through his mask, she could see the tension in his jaw as he broiled with fury.

“How long was I asleep?” Sakura asked, propping herself up on her elbows. She scanned the room slowly, noting hers and Kakashi’s packs sitting on top of a desk on the far wall. There was a wardrobe closet and an attached bath. Given the constant rain outside, it was pretty obvious she’d been transported from Orochimaru’s territory of Oto into the rainy village of Amegakure. “Where is everyone?”

“You were asleep for five days,” Kakashi answered. “Itachi is sharing a room with Sasuke. It seemed appropriate. They have a lot to talk about.” He glanced down at her, arching an eyebrow as if expecting her to argue. “I’ve been feeding you broth and carrying you to the bathroom for other basic body functions.”

Sakura’s cheeks burned at the realization that Kakashi had to take care of her, like a hospital nurse. “Thank you.” She brushed her hair back, only to find it secured into a neat braid. He’d braided her hair? She felt her eyes water with emotion, knowing she’d been cared for while she’d been incapacitated and helpless-- like a kitten.

He shrugged as if all this were no big deal. In a short amount of time, Kakashi abandoned his home where he’d served most of his life as an elite soldier to chase after her and later play nurse. “I am my father’s son. My team needed help.”

She felt a tightening of her chest and had difficulty breathing, — a panic attack. She leaned forward, clutching at her shirt gasping. Kakashi’s warm hand pressed between her shoulder blades and rubbed soothingly. When she caught her breath she looked up at him again, eyes brimming with emotion. “Kakashi, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for everything.” She gestured around the room. “This whole mess? You were on track for hokage!”

Kakashi sighed, but kept his eyes steady on hers as he pulled back his hand, settling it on his raised knee. “It’s my mess too. Obito and Itachi were both my teammates. I shouldn’t have left you to face an S-class Akatsuki with a foreign shinobi we barely knew.”

Sakura took his hand, held it between hers. “You had no choice. Naruto was the priority. Besides, I had my separate mission.”

“Ha!” Kakashi pulled his hand out from hers and ran it through his disheveled silver hair. “Right. Well, I suppose you succeeded in that part.”

Sakura smiled faintly. “Accidentally successful,” she mused. She laid back against the pillow and stared up at the ceiling. It was a pretty decent room. She couldn’t see any mold or cracks in the ceiling. That surprised her given the humid environment. “Have you met the leader? Any idea what he wants?”

Kakashi wore a silver ring on his left pinky finger with a peridot gemstone and the kanji for Sky. “Pain is the kage of this village,” Kakashi explained. “From what I’ve gathered, he founded Akatsuki and Madara, — the original Madara whom saved Obito — joined it. There’s another figure. I’ve not met him, but Kisame told me about him. Its name is Zetsu and it seems to be a plant humanoid creature. Obito doesn’t have a ring, but he seems to be the mastermind behind the current plan of acquiring the tailed beasts.”

“So this Lord Pain doesn’t know about the tree?” Sakura asked.

Kakashi shook his head. “I believe he will soon. He’s offered us a position as Amegakuri shinobi.” He pursed his lips. “If you’ll heal his body.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Not sure.” Kakashi raised his arms and crossed them behind his head. He leaned back and closed his eyes. “I only saw an extension of him,” he answered through a yawn.

“How long have you been awake?” Sakura brushed Kakashi’s silver hair back. Without his Hitai-ate it fell into his eyes. With Lightning as his primary chakra nature he had no hope of his hair ever cooperating. “Why don’t you rest now, I’ll keep watch, be vigilant.”

“I set up traps, but I don’t know how well they’ll hold up against an entire troop of S-ranked shinobi,” Kakashi murmured, keeping his eyes closed. “There’s no need for you to keep watch. If my trap goes off, it will wake me. I’ll just rest for an hour or two.”

Sakura shifted and grabbed Kakashi’s hips and pulled him down with her superior chakra-enhanced strength until he was laying supine on the bed. “If you’re going to sleep, then sleep, Kakashi.”

Kakashi cracked open his dark grey eyes and peered at her through his silver lashes. “Fine.” He wrapped his arms around Sakura and held her close on top of him and rested his chin on her head. “I gotta make sure you don’t run off again,” he mumbled.

Unable to muster the motivation to move when Kakashi was so comfortable, Sakura pressed her cheek over the steady cadence of his heart. “I didn’t even get a chance to ask how your new eye was doing.”

“I’ve got peripheral vision again and no chakra drain,” Kakashi murmured groggily. “Though five days without sleep seems to be my limit.”
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OoO

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Itachi
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Ten years of memories of lives spent apart, suffering their own individual hells separated Itachi and Sasuke. At least he knew that Sasuke was himself, no longer corrupted by the taint of Orochimaru. However, the sweet little boy that idolized him and clung to their mother’s skirt and had their mother’s sweet eyes was not apparent in this man before him, whom now had broader shoulders and two inches of height above Itachi.

“This whole time, you’ve been loyal to the village,” Sasuke stated. “The village that ordered you to murder our entire clan rather than having a council meeting to discuss the grievances?” He cocked his head to the side. “The Chief of Police didn’t deserve a conversation with the village council? That didn’t strike you as odd?”

“What do you know?” Itachi asked. Sasuke couldn’t have learned this while he was in Konoha. The details of the event would be buried deep within redacted documents.

Sasuke snorted derisively. “I learned that the Third allowed Orochimaru to kidnap and experiment on orphans and civilians alike. He turned the other way. That some elder councilman worked with Orochimaru and had a stolen Sharingan implanted in his right eye that belonged to Shisui. I learned that same councilman has his entire right arm covered in Sharingan eyes, Itachi. You were played. You murdered our whole family so that Danzo Shimura could grave-rob our people and harvest our eyes!”

“How do you know all this?” Itachi asked quietly.

“How do you think? Orochimaru is a twisted individual, but they are honest. It doesn’t serve them to lie. After five years living in Sound, I learned things.” Sasuke jabbed Itachi painfully in the sternum. “I’m a detective, just like I said I would be.”

Itachi sighed and rubbed at his chest tiredly. “I didn’t know about the stolen eyes. I should have thought about Danzo’s true motives. Shinobi are to act under the direction of our hokage and the council. We are tools, not individuals, Sasuke. Father may have been leader of our clan, but he’d lost control. His subordinates were already planning a coup and that would have led to multiple civilian casualties.”

“So, you could have asked father to help you,” Sasuke hissed.

“Shisui and I had a plan, but after we lost him, I had no alternative. If I did not comply, Danzo would send Root to eliminate all the Uchiha. Including you. This was the only way I could ensure your safety,” Itachi explained. “Our clan was weak. Without Shisui, father, mother, and I alone were capable fighters against the level of Root.” Itachi closed his eyes with a grimace. “So few of our clansmen had even the second level Sharingan. Our clan had grown weak, but in our arrogance didn’t even notice. I had to make sure you survived and that you’d be strong, Sasuke. That’s all that mattered.” He closed his eyes, so very tired. He thought he’d died in their last battle. Why was he still here?

“That’s all that mattered, huh?” Sasuke repeated. “I had to live alone amongst the ghosts of our family. I can still smell the blood soaked into the ground when I close my eyes, — a mix of copper and earth. You imprinted the memory of mother dead and father’s last words to me on repeat in my mind.” Sasuke warm hands were on Itachi’s face, prying open his eyelids. “And that freak puppet man said you’re screwing Sakura, — my Sakura.”

Itachi knocked aside Sasuke’s hands, reminded faintly of similar tussles with Shisui when he’d been younger. “I was a thirteen year old child soldier and I did the best I could. Tobi, the man in the orange mask, helped me that night and then offered me a position in the Akatsuki. I arranged with Hiruzen to serve as a double agent.” He squeezed his eyes tight. “Placing you on Hatake’s team was supposed to protect you. Yet, Orochimaru still managed to attack you and poison you. You were not safe.”

Sasuke laughed, low, dark and humorless. “Life as a ninja isn’t meant to be a safe occupation, brother.” He huffed. “You said it yourself, we’re tools.”

“Sakura is complicated. I’m sorry, but I do care about her,” Itachi murmured tiredly.

“You were dead," Sasuke stated, running his fingers through his unkempt hair his shoulders tense.  "And yet she somehow brought you back. The puppet man mentioned something about a Red Scroll as well. Sakura was ordered to seduce you?” Sasuke demanded.

“I’m still loyal to Konoha,” Itachi said quietly. “It wasn’t exactly a hardship to endure. I’d been so close to dying for so long.” He didn’t mention his and Sakura's earlier run-ins or how she’d managed to heal his illness. “I have lived hyper-vigilant for the past decade. Sakura offered a temporary escape from the misery of my life.”

“Konoha isn’t worth defending,” Sasuke snarled. “It deserves to burn.”

“Konoha is a dream and the citizens shouldn’t suffer because their leader is awful,” Itachi argued.  He clenched his his hands over the blanket covering his lower body. “I have recently learned that Shisui is alive.”

“Shisui?” Sasuke asked. “I thought he killed himself. Jumped into the river.”

“He was poisoned by Danzo,” Itachi explained. “Found me, entrusted me with his remaining eye before he fell. Against all odds, the river brought him towards a displaced clan that had an expertise in venom. He’s blind, but he’s happy. He has a wife and children.”

“What happened to his other eye,— is that the one Orochimaru mentioned? And the one he entrusted you with?” Sasuke’s tone was lace with suspicion.

“Stolen by Danzo, so that we couldn’t manipulate our clan into calming down so that they’d continue on the course of self-destruction and justify its own elimination,” Itachi continued. “The one I took is within one of my summons. I intend to give it back to him, as well as take back the one Danzo stole.” He was so tired as he rubbed at his chest again. “I cannot find it in myself to care about Konoha at the moment. You’re alive and strong. Orochimaru is dead. My only friends within the Leaf are outside of the Leaf — Shisui, Hatake, and Sakura.”

“I'm not sure you understand what friendship is,” Sasuke murmured. “What’s the end game with the Akatsuki? They want to recruit me now? Do they know you were ratting them out?”

Itachi nodded. “The leader is aware, always has been. He’s the one that helped me that night. His name is Tobi and he’s the one with the orange mask. He’s also insane. The figure head leader wants to destroy Konoha. He’s only stayed his hand out of respect for me, — so far. He wants Sakura to heal him, like she healed me.” He held his hand over his breast bone. “I was dying, Sasuke. I was almost blind from over-using my Sharingan and could barely breathe without drowning in my own blood.”

“Stay away from Sakura,” Sasuke warned.

“Why? It’s been years since you two were teammates for a very brief period,” Itachi pointed out. “You were barely friends, Ototo.” He cleared his throat, feeling parched. Sasuke reached for the pitcher of water on the nightstand and filled a glass and shoved it at Itachi, — begrudgingly attentive. “Thank you.” He sipped the ice-cold water, grateful for the excuse to collect his thoughts.

“Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura were the closest people I had to family. I would have stayed with them, accepted them as a second family, except you strolled into Konoha. You attacked me, forced me to gaze into your Mangekyo Sharingan and put me into a coma for a month. I would have died if Naruto hadn’t miraculously brought Tsunade Senju back to the village.”

“A month?” Itachi set the empty glass on the nightstand on his side of the large bed. He had endangered Sasuke? Maybe Obito wasn’t the only one that had gone insane. He hadn’t realized his attack had been that potent. He’d wanted to take them off the board, but didn’t think they’d be stuck in comas. That’s how he killed Izumi. His mind drifted towards the pod where her corpse was kept warm, feeding that monstrous tree.

“Like I said, stay away from Sakura.” Sasuke rose from the bed and started for the door. “I’ll find you, later don’t come for me.” He raised his hand, curled it into a fist. “It’s taking all my will power not to punch your face repeatedly."

“Where are you going?” Itachi asked, struggling to sit up. Why was he so weak?

“To my Sound teammates,” Sasuke answered. “Apparently, Sakura saved the life of two walking corpses. I’m going to go check on the other one.”

“You can’t go wandering around,” Itachi protested.

Sasuke laughed again, running his hands through his unruly hair again- no wonder it was also a spiky mess. “Of the two of us, I’m the one that hasn’t betrayed Lord Pain.” He opened the door, stepped out and closed it with a dull thud that shook the paintings on the wall.

Itachi groaned. Things would have been easier if he’d just died saving Sasuke as had been his original plan. “Sakura,” he mumbled. Twice, she’d kept him from dying and now he was going to have to deal with messy, complicated feelings.
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OoO

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Konan had come to escort her to meet with Lord Pain. Sasori was accompanying them as well. Sakura had wanted to check on Itachi and Kimimaro, but apparently that was out of the question. Kakashi had wanted to accompany her, but was asked to wait in their room. She’d not made it too far down the hall when they crossed paths with Sasuke.

Sakura had to crane her head back to look up at him. He’d grown tall and she smiled faintly, glad to see his visible neck unblemished by any curse mark. “Sasuke-kun,” Sakura greeted.

“You have two minutes,” Konan said in her calm, crystalline voice. “Come, Sasori.” With an scowl, the puppet master followed the Angel of Ame down the hall, leaving Sakura and Sasuke relatively alone.

“Sakura,” Sasuke answered. His dark gaze swept over her briefly before meeting her eyes. “I have come to thank you for saving Itachi’s life, even if he’s scum.”

She didn’t like him referring to a noble person like Itachi as scum, but it did feel oddly like an homage to Kakashi’s lesson to them about abandoning friends. “I couldn’t let him die. He’s been used by too many people. It’s not right to him or to you. I want you to have a chance at reconciling.” Danzo had stolen Sasuke and Itachi’s chance to grow up together, Sakura would make sure they had a chance to be brothers again.

Sasuke snorted. “Not right?” He stared at her forehead for a long moment, attention on her diamond-shaped seal. “I suppose not. You trained under the Senju doctor? The gambling alcoholic that brought me out of the coma?”

Sakura nodded. “She’s the Godaime Hokage, but I won’t argue that she doesn’t have some struggles with gambling or alcohol. I didn’t want to be useless anymore.”

His lip curled. “You were never useless, just a kid that was still learning, but you are still annoying.” He sighed and then reached for her, his large hand gently holding her upper arm. He arched a thin raven eyebrow as he squeezed her biceps. “Okay, I’m not sure if I’m more impressed by your muscle tone or by the fact you resurrected Itachi. Because he was definitely dead.”

“Only dead for a moment,” Sakura pointed out. She wasn’t going to debate with a layman about the semantics of pulse versus brain activity for the true definition of death. “It’s not something I learned from Master Tsunade, but from an Elder medic in Suna.”

“Thank you, Sakura,” Sasuke said, and then released her arm. He brought his hand back to his side before stuffing it into his front pocket like he used to do when they were kids whenever he became fidgety. “I know about the two of you. I’m not happy about it, obviously. I’ve asked him to stay away from you. I can’t believe you were given an order like that, Sakura.”

Sakura sucked in a big breath and then released it, letting her mind process how best to respond. “I’m Anbu, Sasuke. Sometimes, we’re given less than savory orders. Though, I didn’t sleep with Itachi because of some mission. We actually accidentally met a couple of years ago when I’d been on a mission with Kakashi. It was sort of a meet cute in a crowded tea shop and we shared a table. He’d said his name was Shisui.”

Sasuke snorted. “Big difference between sharing a table and sleeping together.”

She smiled faintly, remembering how beautiful Itachi had been under the waterfalls, his body no longer half-dead. She thought about their dates within Itachi’s genjutsu. “ I care about your brother. A lot.”

Sasuke stared up at the ceiling and huffed. “Of course, you do, Sakura. You always fall for broken men, don’t you?” He looked back at her with a slight smirk on his handsome face. “Who’s more broken than me? My older brother.”

He gestured towards the end of the hall where Konan and Sasori were waiting just out of view. “I killed him once, I don’t intend to do it again. However, I’m not returning to Konoha. Not after everything that’s happened. I intend to accept Lord Pain’s offer to become a shinobi of Amegakure. I think you should too.”

“I’m about to meet with him,” Sakura answered. Kakashi had already accepted a ring for the Akatsuki. What role would she play? “I won’t abandon Naruto though.”

Sasuke’s dark eyes narrowed. “Even if he’s already abandoned us?”

“You don’t believe that,” Sakura whispered.

Sasuke sniffed. “Anbu, huh? That mean you know how to fight with a sword? We should spar sometime.” He started past her, close enough that their arms brushed against each other. “Thank you for helping Kimi too.”

Sakura whirled around, grabbing Sasuke’s wrist. He stared down at her hand for a moment, then back to her face, his crimson Sharingan faded back to his onyx irises. “Where are you going?”

“To see Kakashi since we all seem to be right in the middle of this mess,” Sasuke answered. “Reminds me of that simple C-ranked escort to Wave that ended up being an A-ranked mission.” He gestured down the hall with a nod of his chin. “You’re busy and I need some answers.” He laid his other hand on top of hers. “We’re okay, Sakura. I’m not mad at you.” He closed his eyes briefly. “I actually am not sure that I’m totally against the idea of you and Itachi. If he’s anything like the brother I remember from before the incident. We all do what we must to survive.”

Sakura loosened her grip and Sasuke slipped out of her hold. With one last glance at his retreating figure, she faced forward and joined her escorts. Konan stood calmly, leaning against the hallway, her beautiful face an expressionless mask, but her amber eyes were sharp.

Sasori watched her with his half-lidded gaze, arms folded over his chest impatiently drumming his fingers.

Without another word, Sakura followed them to meet with Lord Pain. He was in an office, walls of bookcases and a massive desk in the center. It reminded her of the Hokage office. Which made sense, Pain was the kage of Amegakure. Sakura dipped her head in a respectful bow. Pain studied her, his lavender swirl eyes sent a shiver down her spine, but Sakura was careful not to flinch. Black barbs aligned his nose and ears. She could sense the chakra radiating through them, connecting Pain to someone else.

“Apprentice of Tsunade Senju of the Leaf and Chiyo of the Sand,” Pain greeted, his voice a deep rumble. “It is unfortunate that Kabuto wasn’t able to join us.” He gestured between Sakura and Sasori. “The two of you will have to manage.”

Sasori tilted his head to the side, but said nothing. Sakura could feel her palms start to sweat as she realized Pain didn’t have a heart-beat, he was breathing, but only so that he might speak, the inhalations and exhalations were too sparse to function as oxygenation. It was different than Sasori and his puppet body though. This had something to do with those strange eyes. “Where is your real body, Lord Pain?”

Konan turned towards her immediately at her question, a dozen paper cranes floated in the air above her poised to attack.

A slow smile spread Pain’s handsome barbed lips. He patted his chest. “This body is that of my dearest friend. I could not save his life, but I was able to at least preserve his form.” He gestured towards Konan. “And this way, dear Konan and I are able to preserve the memory of her lover.”

That was depressing. Sakura pressed her lips together to keep from interrupting. One of the lessons Kakashi taught her in Anbu, don’t interrupt monologuing villains. But, she was innately curious how exactly they preserved the memory of this handsome body. Also, how very sad to see your lover, but also know it wasn’t your lover. Sakura would hate it.

“Madara will bring you to me,” Pain continued. “It is too remote a location from here.”

Sakura’s mouth hung open at that name drop. Madara? The founder of Konoha, Madara?

“He goes by Tobi now,” Sasori explained. “Let’s hope it’s not another tree.”

“Tree?” Pain asked.

Sasori wave him off. “A discussion for another time, trust me.”

“I believe Zetsu has made mention of a tree before,” Pain mused. “He’s due to return from his scouting mission soon.” He focused his eerie lavender gaze on a spot in the corner of the room.

A moment later, the strange Uchiha with the half-scarred face that liked to hide behind an atrocious orange mask appeared in the kage office. Tobi bowed dramatically, sweeping his arm low below his waist. “At your service, Lord Pain.” He glanced at Sakura, his mask now had two holes and his eyes flashed crimson. She recognized the pattern from Kakashi’s old transplant.

Sakura had a strange moment of deja vu seeing the eye she’d become so familiar with in someone else’s face.

“Ah, Kitten! Good to see you again! Bakashi was really hogging you these last few days!” Tobi rocked on the balls of his feet, nervous energy vibrating his long arms. He glanced over at Sasori. “You in a better mood, Mister McMoody Puppet Master?” He shifted his attention onto Pain. “Or are you jealous about Lord Pain’s Puppet skills?”

“It’s not puppetry,” Pain protested, his tone overly patient, as if this was a reoccurring topic of debate. “It’s the Six Paths of Pain.”

“Let’s just get this over with,” Konan interrupted.

“Okay!” A massive electric blue rib cage erupted within the office along with two skeletal arms. “All aboard!” Tobi snatched everyone in the room towards him using the Susanoo and then teleported everyone.

The process of teleportation was disorienting. Sakura took one unsteady step when the orange-haired man with the piercings, Lord Pain, moved behind her to grasp her shoulders. She willed herself not to cringe under his cold touch. Then her attention was brought to the far wall. A pale man with long crimson hair that fell practically to his knees, emaciated and with a multitude of chakra rods protruding from his back and throughout his arms.

His lower body was encased in a wooden device and his hands were covered in some sort of metal encasement. The red-haired man lifted his chin and stared directly at Sakura with those familiar lavender Rinnegan eyes.

“This is my true body. Unfortunately, it takes great effort for me to speak. My vocal chords are as sorry a state as the rest of me,” Pain explained. He released his grip on her shoulders and she moved closer to the man with the broken body. This would be an even greater challenge than Itachi’s lungs and eyes.

“I suspected as much,” Sasori said quietly. “An Uzumaki.” He moved to stand next to Sakura, also examining Pain’s true body. “That explains the massive amounts of chakra.” He glanced at her, as if waiting for her to begin her observations.

Naruto was half-Uzumaki, but he had insane amounts of chakra. He was also a jinchuriki, so she wasn’t sure how much of that chakra was his and how much the Fox’s. She stepped up onto the throne-like seat that upon close inspect seemed to be a statue of some sort. Her hands glowing with her mystical hand technique ran her first diagnostic. “Can you tell me how you were originally injured?”

“Twenty years ago in a battle against Hanzo, the kage before me. He was driven to murderous paranoia by someone you’re familiar with — Danzo Shimura,” Pain answered from the body with the orange hair. “Legs were damaged by explosions. And this statue — I summoned it.” The red-haired man grimaced, while the orange haired man spoke. “It drains the life force of a summoner. It is supposed to be powered by tailed beasts.”

While Sakura was able to see exactly what sorry state Pain’s legs were in, the bones were intact but the muscle were completely wasted away. He did still have circulation, so it was possible theoretically. Or maybe even prosthetics like Sasori could create would be an option. She could feel the statue was trying to leach out her chakra, much like the tree in Obito’s realm. She stepped back, running into the hovering form of the orange haired man. She glanced between the two. “Okay, this is going to be confusing If I have to call you both Lord Pain.”

The man behind her sighed. “Call me Lord Pain.” He gestured towards his immobile form. “Call him, Nagato.”

Sakura focused her eyes on Nagato’s eyes, they sparked with the same intelligence held within Pain’s body. She noticed Konan hovering just outside her periphery, standing next to an antsy Obito. Then she turned towards Sasori. “We have to separate him from the statue. It’s just like that tree. There’s no point pouring chakra to heal him while he’s connected. That thing will simply syphon it.”

“I can create a sort of exoskeleton to protect his lower body, help him ambulate,” Sasori mused. He shrugged. “Or we could amputate if his legs are too useless and attach some prosthetics.”

Sakura nodded. “Definitely options.” She crouched to study the strange statue. “What is this thing?”

“The tailed beasts were originally one entity,” Tobi explained. “This is where we’ve been placing the captured bijuu.”

“Then it should have enough fuel from the ones already captured. We should be able to free Lord Nagato from it’s clutches,” Sakura reasoned.

“So you can do it?” Konan asked, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed. “You can free him?”

“It won’t be easy,” Sakura acknowledged. “And I’d need certain assurances.”

“Such as what?” Pain demanded, his tone still flat, but the emaciated, crippled form across from her, his eyes flashed dangerously. “What is your price?”

“Naruto. He is to be unharmed,” Sakura stated.

“Your village? Do you not wish to ask me to spare it?” Pain asked.

“I would ask minimal casualties, but currently Konoha has been taken over by an awful man. Kakashi has already accepted a position in Akatsuki. You’ve offered a position as a Amegakure shinobi.” Sakura shrugged. Tsunade traveled for nearly twenty years. She had no family within the walls of Konoha. Most everyone she cared about was here in Amegakure or in the Toad realm of Mount Myoboku. She still worried for her old Academy classmates and her more casual acquaintances.

“Uzumaki Naruto is the godson of Jiraiya,” Sasori supplied. He tilted his head at an awkward angle and focused on Nagato’s long, red hair. “A cousin of yours, perhaps?”

“Zetsu will not like abandoning the capture of the tailed beasts,” Tobi pointed out.

“Do you want us to fix your tree problem?” Sakura asked, focusing on Tobi with an idea springing to mind. Now that she understood some of the similarities between this statue and that tree, she may have figured out a solution.

Obito’s eyes narrowed behind his mask. “Can you?”

“Absolutely!” Sasori answered before Sakura could.

She wasn’t sure why he was helping her, but she appreciated the support. Sakura crouched and ran her hand over the statue, feeling it try to nip at her chakra. “How do we separate the two of you?”

Pain began to spin the ring on this thumb thoughtfully. “We’ll need to gather the ten Akatsuki with rings and force the separation much like we do when separating the tailed beasts from their hosts.”

“Can you do that while wearing a ring?” Konan asked.

Pain nodded. “It might cause some of my other paths to fail, but it’s the only way to keep my original body from crumbling under the strain.” He laid his hand over Sakura’s shoulder. “I can make arrangements within a few days. Will you be capable of the procedure on your own?”

Sakura frowned. She wouldn’t have enough chakra and if the people wearing rings were busy using their chakra to separate Nagato from the statue, that limited her options of people she trusted that could lend her chakra. “I’ll need help from Sasuke.” She pursed her lips. “And actually Naruto too.”
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OoO

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Meanwhile, at Mount Myoboku, Naruto dismissed his multitude of clones. It had been ages since he’d been able to travel outside of the Toad realm. He’d finally been reunited with his old team then Sakura had been kidnapped and Gaara had died, but then was resurrected by some strange magic that old hag performed.

Then Jiraiya had snatched him back to the mountains and Kakashi told them he was going to find Sakura.

“How much longer am I going to have to wait around!? I need to be out there!” Naruto cried out, raising his arms high above his head and spinning in slow circles. “I need to be helping my friends!”

“I need a drink,” Genma mocked. “You are the loudest shinobi to ever exist. I can’t believe you're Minato’s kid.”

That was another thing, ever since Granny Tsunade showed up half dead in Pervy-sage’s arms with her bodyguards in tow, Naruto had been hearing story after story about his father, — the Yondaime! He felt a little guilty about all the times he’d defaced his father’s statue when he’d been pulling pranks as a kid. Unfortunately, Granny Tsunade didn’t look so hot. She looked a bit like a shriveled up old prune, almost as bad as the old crone from Suna. The toads weren’t sure if she was going to wake up or not.

Jiraiya ambled towards them, rubbing at his nose, his eyes more somber than usual. “Orochimaru is dead,” he announced. There was a crow balanced on his shoulder.

“Oh? Awesome! Any news on Sasuke?” Naruto asked eagerly, balancing on the balls of his feet. He wasn’t going to feel sad about the monster that ruined Sasuke’s life and killed the Old Man Hokage.

“It would seem that Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura are all together,” Jiraiya explained. “And part of the Akatsuki.” He grimaced as if stating the news was painful for him.

“The Akatsuki?” Naruto’s thoughts raced. That’s the group Itachi was in and that attacked Gaara and kidnapped Sakura!

JIraiya nodded. “And um,  it turns out that my informant all this time has been Itachi Uchiha. And the leader of Akatsuki wants to extend an invitation for you to join.”

Naruto’s mouth hung open in shock. “The red cloud people?”

Jiraiya closed his eyes and nodded again. “I had a trio of apprentices in Amegakure long ago. They’re the ones running Akatsuki and they’ve offered to take care of our Danzo and Root problem.”

“That’s really nice of them!” Naruto smiled, linking his hands behind his head. “How’d that crow find you?”

“What’s the catch?” Genma demanded.

“First, the crow was waiting outside my favorite brothel,” Jiraiya answered, raising his index finger. Next he raised his middle finger. “Second, Konoha will become a vassal state of Amegakure and Kakashi will be placed as the the Rokudaime Hokage until such time that Naruto is old enough and mature enough to take over the mantle.” He lifted his ring finger. “And finally, Konoha may become a free village once more after all the corruption has been purged.”

“Huh,” Genma mused, chewing on his senbon thoughtfully. “That is really nice of them.”

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Chapter Text

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Sakura
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While on the way back her shared room, she made plans to meet with Sasori that evening to brainstorm and come up with a treatment plan for Nagato. Her nerves were frayed and she was excited and anxious about the fact that her whole team was about to be reunited. The fact that she was having to continue to work alongside the man that created the poisons that ended her parents’ lives was additionally exhausting.

She hated Sasori. Yet, she also sort of loved his mind. He was diabolical, yet brilliant. He wasn’t without morals, but simply had a different code of ethics that no one else could quite comprehend. And he seemed to like her and she sort of trusted him.

As the door to her quarters drew near, a strong part of her wanted to go to Itachi, but he was busy reconciling with Sasuke. Her brief conversation with Sasuke earlier had been nice, but she longed to really reconnect with him. How did his talk with Kakashi go? And how was Kakashi? He’d become her best friend (and she loved him) over the last few years. How much pain had she caused him?

She felt the traps outside their room accept her and she slipped inside. Kakashi was shirtless and maskless, doing pushups on the floor and his muscular upper body glistened with sweat. Sakura leaned heavily against the closed door, struck by the masculine beauty of her captain.

Kakashi glanced up, dark eyes focused on her as he continued with his exercises. In silence, they watched each other. And then he rose to his feet, muscles sleek like a panther as he strode towards her with predator eyes. He stood towering over her, palms pressed flat against the door caging her in on either side of her head.

All the emotions of the past several months slammed into Sakura — the despair, the loneliness, the terror, and the fleeting moments of bliss.

Sakura settled her hands on his slick chest, slowly slid her way up to his hair, threading her fingers into those soft, silver strands that defied gravity. “You’re filthy, Kakashi. Let me clean you up.”

His eyes searched hers, dark with a multitude of emotions— affection, worry, lust. “Do you want to talk about it, Sakura?”

“Later,” Sakura whispered.

“Alright,” he agreed, leaning down to press a chaste, tender kiss to her forehead, right over her seal.

Sakura cupped either side of his face and gazed into his eyes and watched as the darkened as he stared back at her. “I love you, Kakashi. You mean everything to me.” She pulled him towards her, pressing her lips gently against his. They were as soft and responsive as she imagined they would be. She realized at that moment that she did love Kakashi and had for years if she were honest with herself, but it didn’t mean she stopped loving Itachi. Was her heart truly big enough to love two men?

With Itachi, she knew that she would always come second to his sense of duty. With Kakashi, she felt like if the world burned and she could only have one person at her side — it would be him. For her, he would be scum, but he would never be less than scum. He hadn’t abandoned her. With Kakashi Hatake on your side, all things were possible.

Things like turning Akatsuki into an asset to save Konoha from a destructive dictator.

Kakashi’s hands settled on her hips, dragging her body against his. Hard planes and soft curves fitted against one another like a puzzle. Sakura arched against him when one of his hands slipped over her butt, squeezing while his other hand splayed across her hip. Kakashi’s long fingers stretched and his thumb dipped inside her panties and circled over her clit, sending electricity straight through her.

Her legs almost gave out and Kakashi’s hands shifted again to settle under her thighs and lift her. Sakura wound her legs around Kakashi’s lean waist, pressing her core against his groin and feeling the swell of his erection pressing into her.

She pulled back from his lips and pressed soft, lingering kisses to the scattering of pale scars along his chest. Kakashi walked them towards the bath and fumbled the shower on.

“I thought I lost you,” Kakashi whispered. He released her to fumble out of his pants and Sakura began to strip as well, their clothes piling together on the bathroom floor. “I was supposed to be the one, Sakura. I could still smell him all over you.” He pressed his lips to the pulse point on her throat and growled. “Caring for you this past week with his scent taunting me.”

She gripped his shoulders, biting her lower lip in uncertainty. Her draw to Kakashi was magnetic, but she’d always been able to ignore it before, focused on one crises after another. Her feelings for Itachi were real, but he’d left her. Now she was living amongst the Akatsuki and her only true friend from home was this man right here.

“He doesn’t own you, Sakura. He didn’t choose you. He willingly left you.” Kakashi’s thumb gently pulled her bottom lip free of her teeth. “I choose you. I love you too.” He pressed his forehead against hers, eyes staring into each other. “And if being with you means being with Itachi too, fuck it. I don’t care. If he makes you happy with his dark, brooding attitude, so be it.”

She pressed her body against Kakashi’s again and together they fell into the shower. His warm, calloused hands caressed her back as the water cascaded down upon them. Then he dipped his head and began to lavish attention to her breasts. “Kakashi,” she moaned as his tongue swirled around her nipple. He looked up, his grey eyes darkened by his arousal. It was hard to think, but she had to tell him before he made her lose her mind completely. “My birth control doesn’t work anymore.” A certain someone had neutralized it.

He arched his silvery eyebrow and then released her breast with a pop. “Soooo,” he drawled, as he trailed his fingers lightly down her belly, thumb circling her clit again before he traced along her folds, dipping in just enough to sample her wetness. “I plan to fuck you thoroughly Sakura, before the sun has set. Do you want me to pull out? Use our mouths?” He brought his hands back to her hips, drew her against him, his erection pressed between her legs while his lips ghosted her ear. “Or do you want me to try and put a pup inside you?”

The idea was both thrilling and terrifying. “Maybe, one day.” She could see it, a little silver-haired toddler with green eyes, but she could also imagine a raven-haired child. She was a medic and had access to her chakra again. She could simply make sure there weren’t any unplanned ‘pups.’

“There’s no hurry,” Kakashi murmured biting the lobe of her ear. Then he reached past her for the soap and started to scrub his body, smirking at her crestfallen expression.

Sakura took the soap out of his hands. “Let me,” she murmured lathering the soap and then wrapping her hand around his hard cock. She started to stroke him, thumb tracing the thick vein on his underside, but Kakashi gripped her wrist, stilling her movements.

“I want inside of you, Sakura,” Kakashi growled. He crowded her against the wall, the shower rinsing away the suds. He gripped her thigh, balancing it over his hip.

She nodded, unable to speak and looped her arms over his strong shoulders, pressing her center over his thick tip. She gasped as he slowly slid inside, filling her. They both panted, acclimating to one another. She rolled her hips and he pulled back and slammed into her again with a grunt while her nails dug into the taut muscles of his spine.

Half an hour later, the two of them were tangled up together under the sheets. Kakashi’s arms wrapped around Sakura and she laid her cheek over his heart, comforted by the steady rhythm of his pulse. His fingers trailed up and down her arms.

“I’d love to go again, but you almost died a few days ago,” Kakashi murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “In the morning though. I’d like to start my days with you.”

“Sounds good,” Sakura agreed, humming as she shifted to bite his nipple playfully and earn a hiss.

“Brat,” Kakashi laughed. He brought one his hands down to her ass and pinched her in retaliation, earning an indignant squeak. “I had a long talk with Sasuke while you were gone,” Kakashi murmured. “He’s himself again.”

“I saw him in the hallway,” Sakura admitted. “It’s strange to miss someone when they’re right in front of you.”

Kakashi ran his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp with his nails gently. “I convinced him that you and Itachi deserved to talk to one another. And that whatever relationship existed between the two of you, it wasn’t his business.”

Sakura tensed. Kakashi and Sasuke talked to each other about her and Itachi? She squeezed her eyes tight and pressed her forehead against Kakashi’s breastbone. “It’s unlikely Itachi wants to speak with me. I brought him back to life when he clearly had plans to end it. I took away his choice.”

“We’re tools, Sakura,” Kakashi said quietly. “At least that’s been the shinobi way for generations. Sometimes, taking our own lives is the only choice we have. My father took his life. It’s incredibly cruel to do that to your loved ones. It was selfish of Itachi to try to die and leave Sasuke and you to pick up the pieces.”

“What about you? Your friend—?” Sakura shifted, splayed her palms across Kakashi’s chest and pushed herself up to meet his steely gaze. “He’s alive, but he’s insane.”

Kakashi released a sigh, his hand grazed along her spine before settling in the small of her back. “I was a brat as a kid. I hated my father for leaving me. I blamed him instead of the village for his reputation being sullied. I didn’t understand about scapegoats at the time. I was always painfully honest, but shinobi are trained to lie, Sakura. Obito was another really honest kid, broken by the system. I’d rather him be alive and broken than dead though. There’s still a chance to help him.”

“That tree, Obito’s power, and honestly, Lord Pain himself— chakra isn’t magic, but with them, it seems like magic.” Sakura shook her head. “Sasori convinced both Pain and Obito that we could help them.” She laughed. “He transferred his soul from his body into a puppet! These are the types of people we’re dealing with, Kakashi!”

“And you brought Itachi back to life,” Kakashi said quietly. He arched his neck and pressed his lips to her forehead over her seal. “Isn’t that miraculous?”

Sakura rolled over and flopped next to Kakashi on the bed. It was nice being able to speak so openly. “I missed this. Talking to you.”

“Yeah?” Kakashi turned towards her, balanced his weight on his elbow. “Well, without you, Konoha didn’t hold much appeal.” He brushed his thumb along her cheek. “I once told Sasuke that everyone I loved was dead. That’s no longer true, Sakura.”

Then he rose from the bed, the thick muscles of his toned ass and broad shoulders flexed with the movement demanding Sakura’s attention. He stood by the window, hands braced on the frame as he peered out into the rainy landscape. “I asked Sasuke to invite Itachi over here later this evening.”

“You did?” Sakura sat up, clutching the sheets to her chest and curled her legs up under her.

Kakashi nodded. “You’ve always had a big heart, Sakura.” He leaned against the wall, arms over his chest, cock at half-mast and his eyes calm and calculating. “Surely, you’ve noticed the shinobi male to female ratio is three to one.”

“I have noticed,” Sakura said quietly.

“It’s not unusual for a romantic partnership to involve more than two people,” Kakashi continued.

“Have you been in such a partnership?” The idea of Kakashi romantically involved with someone twisted her belly painfully. He was older and extremely handsome and intelligent, naturally he’d been well-appreciated by others. And he was certainly experienced by the way she still tingled in all the right places.

Kakashi chuckled darkly and strode back to the bed, he laid his hand gently over her cheek. “Jealous, Sakura?” He smiled teasingly. “You’re the one I left the village for, the one I came inside of earlier.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “And no, I’ve not been a throuple before. I’ve generally just tried one person at a time. Though, I’ve never really had a real relationship before. I want you beside me when I’m serving as hokage. We’ll take back our village, Sakura.”

There was a sharp knock at the front door. Kakashi snatched up his boxers and as he stepped into them, kept his eyes trained on Sakura. “That would be Itachi.” He opened the top drawer of the dresser and pulled out a dark green hapi robe with white blossoms. “Konan had clothes delivered while you were unconscious. You might not want to be naked for this conversation.”

Sakura slipped into the robe, appreciating the cool silk against her skin. She secured the ties at her waist. Kakashi watched her at the door. She nodded that she was ready and he twisted the knob, opening the door to reveal Itachi Uchiha in the hallway.

Itachi wore a plain light gray yukata with his long raven hair unbound and loose down his back. His dark eyes first landed on Kakashi and then past him to Sakura. “May I come in?” He asked, his tone polite.

Kakashi formed a few seals to disarm the traps and stepped back to make room. Itachi’s gaze remained steady on Sakura and she nodded. Only then did he walk inside.

Itachi carefully removed his shoes at the door and Kakashi rest the traps. Itachi then strode towards Sakura, he kneeled on the floor in front of her, took her hand in his and pressed his forehead against the back of her hand. “I’m sorry, Sakura. Please, forgive me for leaving you like I did.”

“Leaving me?” Sakura repeated. She glanced over Itachi’s dark head and met Kakashi’s steady gaze. He returned to the bed and sat beside her, arms folded behind his head and leaned against the wall saying nothing, but serving as a silent guardian. “You mean for killing yourself?”

A faint chuckle escaped Itachi’s lips. “I was selfish,” Itachi admitted. “I was just so tired.”

“Do you forgive me?” Sakura asked, leaning forward, her pale pink hair touching Itachi’s dark locks. “You keep trying to die and I keep forcing you to live.”

Itachi looked up then, still crouched on the floor in front of her. “I told you that you were mine, but then I left you, didn’t I?” He smiled faintly. “Kakashi is a good man.”

“So are you, Itachi,” Kakashi said, rolling back his shoulders, stretching rotator cuffs. “Join us, Kitsune.”

Squeezing Sakura’s hand once more, Itachi stood and gestured for Sakura to scoot over on the bed with his free hand. She shifted until her thigh was pressed against Kakashi’s and Itachi sat on her other side. He continued to hold her hand, fingers entwined.

“Kitsune?” Sakura asked.

“His old Anbu moniker,” Kakashi explained.

“Crow was already taken by my cousin, so…,” Itachi trailed off. He looked over Sakura’s head at Kakashi. “So, Hound, you’re going to be the next hokage”

“I was already the next in line,” Kakashi admitted. He chuckled. “Even joining the Akatsuki hasn’t gotten me out of that responsibility.”

Sakura looked between Itachi and Kakashi. She’d literally just had sex with Kakashi, was naked under her robe, and yet Itachi was holding her hand. He had to know. Yet he was completely nonplussed about the whole situation. Well, she wasn’t! Sakura chewed on her bottom lip anxiously.

Itachi brought their joined hands back to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Sakura, I’m not going to make you choose between Kakashi and myself. We’re stronger together than apart. I left you. I am only too grateful if you will accept my affections once again.”

“Sasuke is going to have a heart attack,” Sakura muttered.

Itachi chuckled, a deep rumble in his chest. “He knows I’m here.”

“I’m more concerned about how Naruto will react,” Kakashi added. He sniffed and then sighed. “You two smell alike now. And I don’t mean from sex.” He smirked. “Sakura definitely smells more like me in that regard.”

“On a chakra level?” Itachi asked. He wrinkled his nose and sighed. “I may not have your nose, Hatake, but I can smell you all over Sakura.”

Sakura flushed

Kakashi nodded. “Your yang chakra matches Sakura’s now.”

“Really?” Sakura applied just a bit of her healing chakra through her connection with Itachi. She could feel the chakra associated with medical ninjutsu now when she’d not felt it before when healing him. “I wonder if I should train you in medicine.”

“I’m willing to learn,” Itachi answered, his dark eyes twinkling in amusement.

“So, what exactly does my favorite Kitten plan to do?” Kakashi elbowed Sakura playfully in the ribs.

“All the Akatsuki are being called back to find a way to extract Lord Pain from the husk that used to contain all the tailed beasts,” Sakura explained. “And Sasori also promised Obito that we could revive the people feeding that accursed tree.”

“Good thing you’re a genius,” Kakashi mused.

Sakura pulled his arm down and held his hand, she brought both Kakashi and Itachi’s hands curled against her chest. “No. It’s a good thing my two lovers are geniuses.”
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OoO

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If it had been anyone other than Kakashi, Itachi would have killed him right then and there. When he’d claimed Sakura before, he meant it. Things were surprisingly decent between him and his little brother. They had a lot to work through, but it was nice to see the sort of man Sasuke had grown into.

Itachi was full of regrets for his actions that night so many years ago and all the Uchiha blood staining his hands. He thought his death would help him to atone, but he realized now that it was living with that pain that was his true punishment. He didn’t deserve the peace the Purelands would offer him. And seeing so many of his clan trapped inside some sort of eternal slumber feeding an unnatural tree, he still had work to do.

Danzo would be stopped so that he couldn’t destroy more lives. The idea that Kakashi would be leading the Leaf was reassuring. It had once been Itachi’s dream to be hokage. Would he return to Konoha alongside Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke? Should he live somewhere rural like Shisui?

“So, how does this work?” Sakura released Kakashi’s hand and gestured between the three of them. “I can’t marry two people.”

“No, I suppose not,” Itachi agreed. “It’s simple though. The Uchiha name is cursed. You’ll marry Hatake.” He turned towards her, studied the cute furrow creasing her brow. He used his free hand to poke her gently in the crease with his second and third fingers. “I’m comfortable living in the shadows, Sakura. Just allow me to bask in your sunlight.”

“I don’t know,” Kakashi considered, raking his fingers through his silver hair. “The Hatake clan might be cursed too. Maybe we should take Sakura’s surname.”

“Haruno Itachi.” Itachi smiled faintly and closed his eyes, leaning against the headboard.

Sakura laughed breathlessly, squeezing his hand. “That would be crazy.”

“We could start a new clan,” Kakashi suggested. “But I don’t mind Haruno Kakashi either.”

“I don’t see how you two are so casual about this. You both seem rather — I don’t know — alpha?” Sakura struggled to describe the two S-class assassins sharing her bed.

“I mean, if it had been anyone other than Kakashi, I wouldn’t be so understanding,” Itachi explained. He tugged Sakura over onto his body, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling the side of her face with his nose. “It’s only fair. I lost my virginity to Kakashi and then I took yours.”

Her brain stopped working.

Kakashi groaned. “I was hoping that wouldn’t come up.”

“You two?” Sakura couldn’t see Itachi from his place behind her, but she could feel that he was hard, his erection pressed insistently against her ass. “When?”

“Anbu. I was his captain,” Kakashi explained. “Red scroll mission and he didn’t want his first time to be a mission with a stranger.”

“You two? But— I—I didn’t realize you were so close,” Sakura murmured.

“We were friends,” Itachi said, kissing her shoulder and gently sliding her robe down for better access. “So, if I have to share the woman I love with someone else? I can tolerate a man that was my own lover in the past.”

“We were kids,” Kakashi pointed out, shoving off the bed. “I’m much more skilled now.”

“I’m sure you are,” Itachi agreed, amused. He expected that he’d find out before too long. He felt remarkably unburdened since his resurrection. Dates with Sakura inside his genjutsu weren’t going to cut it anymore. And now it wasn’t necessary to hide either.

“Sakura, you have about two more hours before you’re meeting with Sasori,” Kakashi said, shoving off the bed. He grabbed his masked undershirt and started to dress.

Itachi busied himself with distracting Sakura with his lips and teeth, forming love-bites along the upper swell of her breast as the belt around her robe was loosened by his dextrous fingers. The silken material began to gape open, revealing more of her creamy flesh for his enjoyment. He glanced up and caught Kakashi’s heated gaze. Maybe they could take turns watching Sakura come undone?

Clearing his throat and with his mask in place, Kakashi braced his knee on the bed. He leaned towards Sakura and Itachi. He kissed her forehead softly. “I’m heading out.” Itachi paused in his ministrations and released Sakura’s tender flesh from his teeth. He glanced up and met Kakashi’s fierce eyes once more. “I’d ask you to behave, but I know you’re both itching to reconnect. Just don’t make a mess of the sheets.”

“There are spare sheets in the linen closet,” Itachi pointed out, reasonably, and earned a scowl from the older man. He pressed a gentle kiss to Sakura’s shoulder, so that he could hide his amusement from the obviously irritated Kakashi.

“Obito and I will be meeting Naruto,” Kakashi explained. “I’ll see you tonight, Sakura.” He shifted his gaze back to Itachi. “You’re still sharing a room with your brother.”

“Noted,” Itachi answered. A minute later, Kakashi was gone, leaving Itachi and Sakura alone. “I was thinking,” he mused, nipping her neck again.

“Hm?”

“I think we’re basically soulmates now, right? Since your yang chakra brought me back to life,” Itachi explained. He had vague memories of a bright light and a painless, peaceful existence. He wasn’t about to mention that to Sakura.

“Every time I use my Byakugou seal, my cells divide,” Sakura explained. “It’s not a limitless power. The more I use the technique, the more time I shed from my lifespan.” She took a deep breath and turned to face Itachi, straddling his hips.

Itachi swallowed thickly, feeling his length press hard against her belly. “Is that the technique you used?”

Sakura shook her head. “Not entirely. Our souls or spirits are manifestations of our yang chakra. Yours had slipped away, all but the faintest of embers. I poured part of my life-force into you.”

“Part?” Itachi gripped Sakura’s waist. He felt dizzy for a moment and just needed to ground himself. “You split your life-force between us,” Itachi reasoned. “Did you cut your lifespan in half, Sakura? For me?”

Her beautiful jade eyes welled with tears. “I couldn’t lose you, Itachi.” Her warm hands slipped inside his robe, palms pressed over his chest, fingers curling into his flesh. “I just found you!”

Itachi cradled her face in his hands and slanted his lips over hers. Kakashi would want to kill him if he ever learned this, but it would be a waste of Sakura’s sacrifice. He pulled back, rubbing the tip of his nose against hers, their breath mingling. “You sweet, generous woman.” He felt his own eyes water with emotion.

Then he knocked Sakura flat on her back and her hands loosened his robe and she pulled his cock free, rubbing her thumb over his tip. “We only have about an hour.” Sakura smiled shyly.

“We should probably be taking it easy,” Itachi reasoned. He unwrapped her robe from her chest and captured one breast in his mouth and the other with his hand.

“Endorphins are good for your health,” Sakura panted. She stroked him up and down and then held him at her entrance. “I don’t want a genjutsu, Itachi. I want you to prove to me you’re really alive!”

And that’s exactly what Itachi did.
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