Second Chances (An Itachi & Sakura FanFic)
Prologue – A Simple Wish
“Haa… Haah…
Argh… Your eyes belong to me now. I’ll
take them slowly… I want to savour this.” Itachi gasped out between labored
breaths. Sasuke flinched at his venomous
threat. Without warning, Itachi’s heartbeat pounded against his chest, and dark
streams of liquid came gashing out of his mouth. Between the pain and the rapid
coughing fit that had assaulted him, his knee gave out as he gripped his chest
in agony. It was during that instant that Sasuke saw an opening as Susanoo, the
gigantic humanoid surrounding Itachi, momentarily weakened. With the stealth
and accuracy only a skilled ninja has, he flung a tagged kunai towards Itachi.
The
resounding explosion gave Sasuke some comfort, but only briefly, as the cleared
out smoke revealed an unscathed Itachi. Sasuke’s act of impulse only served to
fuel Itachi’s anger, and he began making gradual steps towards him.
“DAMN YOU!”
Struggling to remain unaffected, he unleashed a scroll with explosive seals
tags which he swiftly attached to his kunai, aimed at his Brother. With Susanoo, any in-coming attacks are
futile. Haven’t you realise that, Sasuke? Itachi pondered pensively.
“My eyes…”
With each
nearing steps, Sasuke’s helplessness and fear only increased, threatening to
swallow him inside out. His last attack with his sword was easily repelled by
Susanoo’s Yata Mirror, and the force of repulsion caused him to be backed up
against a wall with a large Uchiha symbol craving. The irony of the situation
was not lost on him – that the very symbol of his pride severed him of his
escape route, leading him closer than ever to his impending death. Itachi’s
blood stained arm reached out, ready to claim those every eyes that Sasuke were
so dependent on. He could only respond
with shaking legs.
“… S….
S..... … …. .. … …. T...”
What the…? What did Itachi just said? Sasuke’s thought was interrupted as
his Brother’s fingers were mere inches from his forehead. It came nearer, and
nearer, and…. Poke. Upon contact with
his forehead, Itachi’s fingers slackened and went tracing down the left profile
of his face, leaving behind a trail of blood, reminiscent of tear tracks.
Itachi’s body sang forward, diving head first onto the wall beside Sasuke,
before sinking onto his knees and collapsing on the broken granite floor,
battle won but match lost.
Chapter 1 – All Alone
Cutting
off the thread, Haruno Sakura successfully sealed the gaping wound of her
latest and last of her morning shift's casualty. She looked up and was met with
approving nods and eye contacts from her seniors of Konoha Hospital, where she
worked as a part-time assistant medic after school and during the weekends.
Swiping the sweat off her now glistening forehead, she proceeded to thank
everyone for their help (her mother always empathized mannerism and maintaining
good relationship with her co-workers, albeit being just a part-timer) while
swiftly peeling off her doctor's coat. A quick glance at her watch gave her
enough reason to hasten up - it was already four past ten! She was supposed to
be off work an hour ago, lazing around at her apartment and sipping tea while
listening to one of her favorite idol's songs... Shaking her head out of her
fantasy-about-to-turn-into-reality, she bid her last farewell to her
Supervisor, Ms Shizune (a real charmer - she still hasn't thank her for those
amazing homemade strawberry shortcakes yet, and gently reminded herself to
return the favor soon) and excused herself from the building.
Ten minutes has passed before she brisk past her apartment's guard house - the
perks of working near your house, not before waving at the "jolly
guardians" who she loved so much.
"Konichiwa, Izumo-san, Kotetsu-san! You two are working hard as
ever!"
"Konichiwa, Sakura-chan! Iya, iya, that's our job. But aren't you late
today! Hopefully there weren’t any fatal casualties...?" Kotetsu Hagane
replied with a concerned look.
"Ah, shinpai shinaide, the staffs are working really hard and they are all
doing fine now," Sakura responded with a certain pride for her seniors,
and herself, knowing she did her best be it bandaging, paper work or even the
hardest task- closing of huge wounds. The last took some time to get used to,
and between the exposed bones, overflowing blood and limited time, the novelty
of such a gruesome scene was lost on her.
"Jaa, I'm going up to rest for a while. Keep up the good job, futari
tomo!"
"Hai, hai, we will look out for any suspicious guy going after you!"
Izumo offered with humour.
"Tataima!" Sakura exclaimed
cheerfully, her voice echoing slightly throughout the empty apartment on the
tenth floor. She frowned slightly, before remembering that there was not supposed
to be anyone at home. How could there be
when they were all dead? Kicking off her white heels, she surveyed her
living room. The furniture was kept sparse to reduce the housekeeping, making
the space very minimalist. The walls were freshly painted pristine white,
thanks to Naruto's latest obsession of messing with paint. That best friend of
hers lived by the motto “Live life to the fullest,” though sometimes she wished
he would slow down. She was only juggling one part-time job and was barely
managing! So, when Naruto offered to paint her house, Sakura practically dove
at the chance. Who doesn't like a free paint job?
“Urgh, I am sticky and I hate it,” Sakura said out loud with a disgusted
shudder as she made her way to her bathroom. She was never one to take her time
over trivialities like showering, and was done before her green tea was soaked
up by the boiling water.
Carrying
her green tea into her cosy cocoon - her room, she sat and leaned back against
her black armchair, sipping her aromatic drink while staring into the eyes of
her beloved idol – Kanae Itachi.
"Tataima, Itachi-san," Sakura whispered to the full body poster of
the lead singer, secured neatly within a custom-made rosewood frame and hanging
proudly against the celadon wall, beside her single bed. Despite her
independent facade, she was in fact garnering most of her confidence from
Itachi. Since the day she had the poster, it has quickly became a habit for her
to hold idle conversations with him, from ranting about her overzealous
physical education teacher, panicking over what to wear on Picture Day (while
hoping to capture her crush’s attention with the strategically chosen outfit)
to sharing her deepest sorrows that not even Naruto knew about. It has offered
her some form of comfort and delusion of an occupied flat other than herself.
The chores of the day finally took its toll on her as she start to feel her
eyelids getting heavy. All the overtime she did to cover for her school fees
and daily expenditure were definitely a killer to her health. She carefully sat
the clay cup on her desk and made a bee dive for her bed. She smiled at him
'lying' next to her (above her), before giving in to her exhaustion. Her last
thoughts were of his mesmerizing eyes and those locks hanging in front of his
onyx orbs, imagining them to be swaying with the wind, of her sweeping it off
his forehead and kissing it...
Is it over?
Sasuke dared a glance over at Itachi's
still life. Yes, Itachi's dead. I've
finally beaten you, nii-san... Or did you not let me win on purpose?
Before Sasuke could wonder any further, he felt darkness consuming him from
within. He promptly fell over and landed adjacent to Itachi.
It
is over.
Before Sasuke lost his consciousness, he
could not help but wonder, why does it
have to be me? Why can’t nii-san be… Like before? It was at this very
instant that Itachi's body shimmered slightly, followed by a sudden jerk that
propelled his soul out of his vessel, towards a new perspective.
When Sakura was deep in slumber, nothing
could pull her away from her state of unconsciousness. Nothing. Hell, she even
slept through an earthquake (albeit a small one)! That was what she thought.
Amidst the deafening silence and stillness, the poster hanging beside Sakura's
bed began emitting rays of ghastly white, filling up the entire room with its
heavenly luminance. Itachi's limp and bruised body went tumbling out of the
life size poster, landing ceremoniously on top of Sakura.
"Oooof..." What the... What's
this heavy thing on top of me?
"It can't be you right, Itachi...? I'm sure I secured you on my
wall...." Sakura mumbled beneath the baby pink blanket. She shifted her
face, and felt something soft tickling her cheek. Sakura's eye immediately
bolted open. If Sakura was in a deep slumber before, she was definitely sober
now.
Who wouldn't with Itachi in the same room
as you, much less lying on top of you? Not that she knew that, not yet. Sakura
tried to sit up, but the dead load was too much to handle for her stiff muscles
from those hours of work and heavy sleep. Impossible, she must still be
dreaming. Wait what if this was... A pervert thief?! That notion jolted all her
drowsy muscles awake and with one shove, she managed to get away from being
sandwiched between the unidentified person and her bed, only to roll and landed
on the timber floor with a dull thump.
"Itai... Eh... what?! Is this really...!" From her new vantage point
beside the bed, she assessed the scene with part disbelief and undisguised
admiration. Sakura blinked. There laid the most beautiful man she has ever laid
eyes on in her entire existence.
Cladded simply in a loose-fit, V-neck
lavender tee-shirt with a mesh top underneath and slim-fit lavender cotton
pants, Sakura could not believe that such unflattering apparels could
complement to such extent with his alabaster skin and appeal so much to her.
This was the same man who she squealed and yelled over and swooned at since
five (and probably the only guy she has ever known who could pull off a head to
toe assemble of pure purple raiment) - her idol Kanae Itachi. It can’t be.
The next bugging issue was, what the heck
was he doing in her room? Why wasn't he moving at all? She began tapping
lightly on his shoulder.
"Ano... Itachi? Are you awake? Ita... Shinjirarenai, what happened to
you?" Now that the novelty of the situation has worn off, she began to
notice another more disturbing observation - the multiple bruises and scratches
and the severe burn on his entire
right arm. Her medic instincts took control; after hastily securing the load of
pink hair with the hairband on her bedside table, Sakura knelt down and swiftly
assessed his various injuries. Second
degree burns, a deep wound across his left thigh and those streaks of dried
blood on his cheeks… I've got to take him to the hospital. Without
deliberating further, she probed him up and carried him by his shoulders out of
her room.
Kicking open the front door, Sakura managed to
get both of them out of her house with little effort (with much thanks to
Itachi’s slender build) before closing it back with a muted thump.
“Hang on there, Itachi-san! I am
bringing you to the hospital now…” Sakura whispered
encouragingly while
shuffling slightly on the way to the lift at the end of the deserted corridor.
It was during times like this that she was glad that she has MIA neighbours –
who knew what sort of gossip could escalate should she be caught hurling a man
out of her flat by a buttinsky? I must be
in luck, eh? Sakura grinned inwardly at that thought as she pressed the
lift button with her knuckles.
….
“You've got to be kidding
right?" Cried an exasperated Sakura. Between her irrational brewing
excitement and anxiety to bring Itachi medical aid, she completely missed the
“Under repair” signage pasted on the lift’s door. There was even a cute image
of a chibi construction guy beside the texts, bowing in mocking repentance at
her.
“I must be in luck, eh?” Sakura forced out with a defeated sigh.
So bright... Is this... The afterlife?
“Ten days… Worry… Sta…”
Are
those people’s voices? I tried to move my arm, but it would not
respond. Why does my body feel so heavy…
And weak? I tried shifting my neck, and in doing so it sent an intensifying
pain throughout my now aching body.
"Mfmm..."
“Itachi…? Itachi-san, is that you? Shishou,
quick come over here! He’s awake!” The
afterlife is a lot noisier than I expected.
Through my hazy vision, I could make out
two figures looming over me, and soon felt someone pulling at my top and
dragging something cool over my chest. Next, light was shone into my eyes.
Surprisingly, it did not hurt my vision but I did not appreciate being prodded
and probed at, since I thought that afterlife is supposed to be peaceful and accommodating… Or was this my retribution?
“How is he?”
“Calm down, Sakura. He is fine. To be
honest, I was shocked that he even regained consciousness, not after you
bringing him in that wrecked condition.
I cannot say I fully believed your explanation, in which I shall find
out more in due time, Sakura.”
“Hai, sumimasen, soushite, arigatou.”
Wrecked
condition? What happened to me?
“Also, for some reason his superior rectus
and optic nerve were severely damaged. Thankfully for the latest technology
that resourceful Jiraya managed to secure for us, I was able to restore them,
along with some other muscles along his superior and inferior oblique. However,
he would still need some aids to see clearly, since the damaged cannot be
reversed.” With that concluded, Tsunade, managing director and Sakura’s master,
left the room.
“Wher… Where am I?” I
forced out between laboured breaths. My throat felt like it was on fire, and in
dire need of water.
“The hospital. Here, have some water
first.” After I was probed up against the headboard of the bed, I was given a
glass of water to sooth my dry throat. Gradually getting used to the
brightness, my vision became more focused (as focus as the persisting
blurriness allows) and I realised I was in a small room. The white walls were
devoid of any decorations and emitted hints of fresh paint, while hanging next
to the bed were a wall of cerulean cubicle curtains complementing the pale
yellow ones pulled across the window to shelter against the brewing breeze.
“How are you feeling now?” I tilted my head
and was met with a pair of big, sparkling jade orbs, fully focused on me. She must have found me. I could not detect
any chakra on her, it’s unlikey she’s a ninja.
However, what really caught my attention was
the mass of pink hair resting just above her shoulders, looking so surreal and
displaced yet it somehow suited the healthy complexion of this young woman, who
has begun to reveal signs of worry at my lack of reaction.
“I am fine.” Surreal or not, I knew nothing
about her. Neither her village, nor her capabilities. I needed to know more,
and began to eye her warily. To my surprise, she burst out laughing. Refraining
from revealing anymore of my thoughts and emotions, I waited patiently for an
explanation.
“Oh, don’t worry Itachi-san; I am not some
paparazzi- see, no cameras, notebooks or whatsoever! You can rest assure that
no one will disturb you over here.” What
is she saying?
“How do you know my name?”
“How could anyone not know your name? At least, the whole
of Konoha knows about you. But after your venture to other places like the Rain
and Sand, you can practically say that everybody knows about you.”
So, I must be in Konoha now. However, something felt amiss. I did not sense any ANBU
Black Ops around, and if the
pink-head knew about me, then how could she remain so friendly in front of me?
What about… Sasuke?
“After all, you are the heartthrob
of all females, the legendary Kanae Itachi!”
Wait a second, did I hear Kanae? I did not recall anyone of my age
group bearing similar name as me, much less a Kanae-san.
“On a serious note, how did you
end up in my room though, Itachi-san? I had the biggest shock in my life- you
were all beaten up and unconscious, I thought you were dead!”
“What happened to Sasuke? Did he
come back?”
“I was all worried… What?
Sasuke-kun? I could not contact him since he just left Konoha for his taijutsu
training with Sensei, but don’t worry, he will be back by next week.”
“That’s good.” So he returned to the village, that’s good.
“Ne, Itachi-san. Could you me
excuse me for a second? Let me go fetch your dinner; you must be famished.” I
nodded my thanks and was left alone, at last. Although there were still plenty
of ambiguities to be solved, I was heartened to hear that Sasuke came back and
regained his status as a proud ninja of Konohagagure, where Naruto and his
friends were. Where we were from.
Coming back to what she said, who
could this Kanae Itachi be? Could he have casted a powerful genjutsu and
deceived everyone that he was a Konoha ninja? It was plausible, but very
unlikely since I would have detected any ignis fatuus, especially one of a
massive scale. Flipping off the hospital blanket, I lifted my legs off the bed
and walked towards the window and pushed aside the curtain. How long has it
been since I last came back to Konoha, to check on Sasuke?
The first thing I noticed were the
specks of lights scattered across the crepuscular landscape- my vision must be
beyond hope now. In fact, I was astonished that I could still see after
straining them so much during my battle with Sasuke. I did not expect light to enter them once again.
The next thing that I found
disturbing was the perspective from the hospital. I was getting too good a view
for a mere three storey high architecture. I observed a sea of vertical
structures with irrational height emerging from the mass of low buildings that
were reminiscent of those in Amegagure, but never present in Konoha. On the
ground, there were multiple infinite tracks that seemed to stretch on beyond
the darkness. Along the continuous paths I could make out a parade of
rectangular figurines moving, undeviating from its designated path as though
charging towards an impending war.
“What is going on?” My eyes began
a frantic and futile attempt in searching for the Hokage’s monument. What
resided at its location was the same mountain, and if I recalled hard enough I
could conjure up the five great Hokage’s faces on the now vegetated mountain
surface.
I took a reluctant step back and
was instantly filled with an emotion so raw and so eerily familiar to the
younger me – helplessness. This is
Konoha, but no longer the Konoha that I knew of.
What happened after I had passed out?
“Itachi-san? Sorry I took so long!
I didn’t want you to have the hospital food so I went home to cook…
Itachi-san…?” A sudden gust of wind from the window caught Sakura off-guard, causing
her to drop the lunchbox, spilling its contents. She remained rooted to the
ground, numbed against the scalding contents of her dinner on her feet. Itachi
was gone. She began making sluggish
steps towards the unmade bed. With her shaky hand, she picked up a piece of
note lying on the bed in place of the owner.
“Oh no, this is bad… I’ve… I’ve
got to find him!” Tucking the note carefully into her skirt’s pocket, Sakura
went after Itachi.
Scribbled in neat handwriting:
Thank you, Sakura.
To be continued...
I’ve always wondered how Itachi would cope in the modern
era, and inspired by a drawing of Itachi hanging beside my bed, here’s how I envisioned it to be like. I have never done this or even imagined that one day I would write a story and finish it (yes this story is finished! You can check out the rest of this story here.) I guess this goes to show that the only one who could stop you is you, isn't that right Phoebe? wink wink* ;)
Do leave any comments and/or suggestions you have below, they'll be a great help. Once again, thank you anyone who have gave this story a chance.
