All rights to Naruto belong to Misashi Kishimoto.

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for making it to the endgame of the story! I really appreciate all of your support and I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.

NOTE: I just want to recommend anyone that wants to to reread the past few chapters as a refresher. Some key details that I wrote earlier will play a key role in the end. Trust me, I had to reread my story to make sure that things were consistent.

Also, I have never been to Tokyo Tower before so I deeply apologize if some facts about the structure are wrong. I did as much research as I could, but it can only amount to so much.

Itachi found himself, for what felt like the millionth time since he had been captured, in perpetual darkness.

After an hour or so of recalling and following the mental map he had created to the Tokyo Tower, he had finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel. Or in his case, the ladder at the end of the tunnel, above which was a trapdoor that led above ground.

Now he stood in what he assumed to be the basement of his destination.

Tokyo Tower was a popular tourist attraction, both for the citizens of the city itself and people from abroad. Itachi couldn't tell what time it was at the moment, which would've dictated whether the building would be open to the public or not.

If it was open, it would only make it harder for him to remain inconspicuous. After all, he didn't know who he could trust above the Underground anymore.

The room he was in was large, and that was about all he could assume it was if the echoes of his footsteps accounted for anything. Even more interesting, and perhaps more daunting, was the fact that the room was bathed in an eerie red light, like one would see in an old photo production room. It made some of the storage boxes kept in the basement visible to him by their silhouettes, but it was still too dark to see clearly, and the unnatural pigmentation of the light also made it hard for him to see any clear exit.

From what Itachi knew, the red light was not meant to be common in commercial buildings. It was only produced in one instance.

In a blackout.

Itachi slowly navigated his way around the boxes, trying to locate the bright green sign that accentuated a white figure running out a door, indicating the exit sign. If his hypothesis was correct, and there was a blackout, then he would have not been able to find one. And he didn't.

That presented another problem: if the power was cut in the tower, then there would be no way to contact the police station. He would be forced to go outside of the building, into the world where he didn't know civilians from criminals, ones that could be spies for Obito.

Itachi took his time to find his exit route, valuing stealth over time. He couldn't risk getting caught, not when he had gotten so far. Feeling around the walls a bit, he finally came upon a door. The red light glared upon a plate hammered into the door, one displaying Hiragana for "Staircase".

What concerned him was that he only had to try the knob once for the door to open. He assumed that it would have been locked, considering that the basement was off-limits to the public.

Regardless, he pushed the door open and started to carefully ascend the stairs. He was not granted with the luxury of the red light in the stairway; instead he was left with complete darkness except for the glow entering in from the door he kept open. Nevertheless, he continued to climb the stairs.

He pulled out the gun he took from the deceased guard in the Underground, releasing the safety and holding it on standby. Itachi never liked guns – they were lethal weapons that did more harm than good, even in situations of self-defense.

He sure as hell hoped he didn't have to use it.

He reached another door after a couple of flights of stairs, and approached what he believed to be the ground floor of the building below the Tokyo Tower. He grabbed the doorknob and turned it slowly, allowing the minimum momentum to push the door open slightly, with an almost-inaudible, resounding creak.

Again, he was disconcerted by the fact that an area that was supposed to be accessed by employees only was left open to the public. It could not have been an employee that made an error and left it open; the room he came upon was another one shrouded in darkness. The only difference came from the few windows that littered the walls and the large glass doors, streaming fresh rays of sunlight into the room, but not enough to illuminate the area.

Because of this sunlight, it couldn't have been much later than midday. But if that was true, where was everyone, and why were the lights out? It was certainly open hours for the famous attraction, yet the building was deserted. Not a single tourist, clerk, or janitor in sight.

Itachi stepped forward cautiously, keeping his footsteps light and his breathing slow. His nerves were hyper-aware – something felt completely off, and he wasn't comfortable notifying his team of his location when he was at such unease.

The glass doors of the exit shined brightly, as if inviting him to come towards them – to escape from the nightmare that he had thrown himself into. Through those doors was his salvation, a reminder that the world was not completely covered by darkness, and hate, and greed. If he made it through those doors, then Itachi felt that he would have a sliver of hope to hold onto.

But then, a shadow moved in his periphery.

Itachi immediately raised his gun in that direction, only to find another gun pointed directly at him.

Standing at the other end of the room, no more than a hundred feet away, was the bane to that salvation that he sought, the reason that he had spent hours, maybe days, in a world where only negativity existed.

At the other end of the room stood Uchiha Obito, the orange of his lollipop mask being the only thing to make him distinguishable. His black hair and dark clothing perfectly complemented the darkened corner he had tucked himself into. His back leaned against the wall behind him, giving him a look of aloofness to contrast the deadly weapon in his hand.

For a moment, both of them just stared at each other, neither one willing themselves to move.

Finally, Obito pushed himself off the wall and made his way slowly towards Itachi. In response, Itachi tightened the grip on his pistol, but he didn't dare shoot.

"Welcome, Itachi-kun," Obito said, coming to a stop just a few paces ahead of him. "I see you've found your way here, and I must say, I'm impressed with your ability to memorize maps and have spatial recognition. It can be a labyrinth down there," he said irreverently. "But experience works better than maps. I know every shortcut there is to this place."

"Obito, why are you doing this?" Itachi asked sharply, cutting off his cousin's idle chatter.

"I already told you-"

"No," Itachi interrupted, "no, I know that. What I don't understand is why you want to bring harm to so many people. The Obito I knew would never wish such a thing."

"Did you expect me to just lay down like a dog and wait for my own death? Or just accept the fact that our system is so corrupt that its supporters would dispose of their children like they were garbage rotting on the side of the road?" Obito's voice was no longer languid. It was filled with unbridled rage and contempt for those who wronged him.

Itachi could understand that much.

"But why rope millions of people into your plans? This Raid will cause injury and damage to so many people, not just the police. Why do you want them to suffer as well?" Itachi asked.

Obito sighed. "Listen, little cousin, in order to completely destroy the system that's been upheld, I have to upturn the public's faith in the police. This Raid will be too much for the police to handle, allowing me to usurp the spot as chief once the public deems that they need a new leader."

Itachi just narrowed his eyes.

"Chaos paves the way to peace, Itachi-kun. That's how it's always been. Just take a look outside," Obito said, cocking his head towards the glass doors behind him. "Don't you find it odd that there's no one around outside, during the daytime? This place should be open, filled with tourists and the like, yet there's no one here. Why do you think that is?"

"There's a blackout in this building." Itachi said immediately. His arm muscles started to strain with how long he was holding his gun up, but he could not will himself to lower it. The moment he did, he knew he would regret it.

Obito hummed. "Close, but not quite," he said as he wagged his finger. "I have shut off the power for the entire city."

Itachi tried to contain his shock by gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes at the orange mask in front of him.

"It's incredible how such a developed nation is so dependent on technology. More than that, it's quite depressing. I only cut the power an hour ago and the city has already devolved into chaos." Obito said with a shake of his head.

"But what about the Underground?" Itachi asked.

"The Underground operates with an entirely separate generator. Of course, there are many generators throughout Tokyo, but hacking into this broadcasting tower allows me to tap into the electrical mainframe of the city. One electromagnetic pulse was all it took for the entire system to fry. It was hard, let me tell you." Obito said as he chuckled a little. "What slaves we have become to what we've created."

"What about hospitals? Those on life support?" Itachi asked urgently, almost unbelieving that Obito could mindlessly put so many people in danger. Almost.

"Most hospitals should have a backup generator with some power," Obito shrugged. "If they don't, that makes reaching my goal a lot easier."

It didn't take Itachi much thought to know what Obito was hinting at. He was only planning to turn the power back on and call off the Raid when the people were the most vulnerable.

And when people are vulnerable, they'll accept anyone as their leader.

"I won't allow you to achieve that goal," Itachi said resolutely.

"Who says I need your permission?" Obito asked before clapping his hands together twice.

Immediately, Itachi found himself surrounded by men, dressed completely in black and their faces covered by visors. Now he found not just one gun pointed at him, but at least twenty.

Itachi sighed imperceptibly. His job just got a whole lot harder.

"Put down your gun, Itachi-kun. Your arm must be sore," Obito said flippantly. Itachi just continued to stare. "Perhaps I wasn't clear enough? Get on your knees and put the gun down. Be a dear and take out the magazine, while you're at it."

Itachi inhaled deeply at this unfavorable development, but he did as he was told, with slow and precise movements. He was keenly aware of how the men around him watched his every move, just as he watched theirs.

Once Itachi disabled and lowered his gun, he raised his head. He wouldn't let it seem as if he was bowing to Obito, like accepting defeat. Itachi's eyes narrowed at the man who now towered above him.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Obito asked pedantically, like he was talking to a child. When Itachi refused to respond, Obito sighed and started to take off his mask; slowly, as if he was teasing his cousin. Once the mask was off, Itachi was able to look right into the face of the man that he was once able to call family. But he no longer saw family in the man's distorted face – he only saw a monster.

Obito remained standing, walking right up to Itachi so he could look down upon him, like a false God looked down upon those he'd enslaved. Itachi wouldn't let him intimidate him, and met his gaze with unwavering conviction.

"You know, Itachi-kun, I wish that bomb had killed you," Obito said, a little wistfully. "At first a part of me wanted this moment to happen: a confrontation between you and me. But, I have to say, once I found out about the feelings you had for Haruno-san, and the fact that she returned them, everything just clicked," he snapped his fingers for effect.

"I didn't need that confrontation anymore. The fact that you, the pride and joy of the Uchiha clan, love a street rat," Obito chuckled, making Itachi slightly disconcerted about the delirium he was falling into, "that was enough for me to change my mind. You became a flaw in the system, and as a flawed person myself, I couldn't bring myself to completely hate you for that.

"So, I had given you the chance to die with her. Had that bomb exploded, then you both would have died," Obito tried to rest his hand atop Itachi's head, but Itachi cocked his head to the side. "You would have been together with her. As the merciful person I am, I wanted to grant my little cousin one last moment of happiness."

Obito shook his head disapprovingly and started to circle Itachi. "But you two were insistent on surviving." Obito clicked his tongue. "And now you'll both have to die, separately. I've already sent someone to kill Haruno-san, but I don't plan on killing you just yet."

He finished one circle around Itachi and then stopped, finally kneeling down so that the two of them were on the same level. "I'm going to parade you to the people – a representation of the failed system. You will have to watch me create my own system, and you'll just be left to rot in a prison cell, where not even the street rat herself can keep you company," Obito leaned in to whisper in Itachi's ear before he continued, "because she'll be dead."

Itachi head butted him then, making Obito back up. The stoicism in his eyes transformed into rage as a heavy feeling settled in his chest. He completely ignored the threats of the men around him as his thoughts only focused on one person.

No, Itachi told himself, Kisame-san won't allow her to die. Sakura-san won't even allow herself to die. Itachi glared at the man before him, who was dabbing his bleeding nose with his sleeve. She'll be fine, I just have to believe in her.

"Settle down boys," Obito commanded softly towards the yelling gunmen around them, "that was the reaction I wanted to see." Obito said with a maniacal smile. He stood up from his kneeling position and brushed himself off. "Besides, we can't get too excited just yet. The guest of honor hasn't even arrived yet."

Just as he said that, Itachi heard muffled yelling in the background, followed by the loud, thundering steps of military boots on the tiled floor.

"Well, speak of the devil and he shall appear," Obito said gleefully.

Itachi looked between two of the large men surrounding him to see a few figures approaching through a darkened corridor. From what Itachi could tell by the hysteric movements of the middle man, the other two were forcefully dragging his body. The muffled yelling was coming from him.

Once they were close enough, the two men dropped their captive on the floor, and it was then that Itachi saw that there was a bag over his head. The man continued to struggle, but with his arms tied up, it made him look more like a worm than a man.

Obito looked upon the man with a grin on his face, which contrasted from the murderous aura that Itachi felt emitting from him.

"Unbag him! Let him join the fun!" Obito ordered the two men.

In an instant, the bag was ripped from the man's head, revealing a bloodied and bruised face of a barely-conscious person. A gag remained around the man's mouth, muffling any screams or yelps that the man emitted.

The most shocking thing was when the man lifted his head, his eyes immediately meeting Itachi's as he did. It took Itachi a little while to make out the man's features in the darkness, but once he did, he knew immediately who it was.

Itachi gulped inaudibly as he felt another weight settle in his chest as he gazed upon the familiar man.

"Otou-sama?"

For a moment, the whole world seemed to still.

She couldn't see the extent to Kisame's wound because his back was turned towards her, and she couldn't gauge it from his posture either. Kisame stood, only slightly slouched, and kept his head held high towards his opponent. Zetsu's eyes were wide and his breathing was labored from the damage he had taken, making him look more than a little delirious. He started shaking his head frantically and backing away, as if he had seen a monster appear before him. In a way, that was probably what Kisame looked like to him.

After a moment of silence, the giant man finally fell to the ground, and with him, fell everything Sakura believed in.

He landed on his side, but quickly righted himself onto his back. His breathing was more frantic that Zetsu's, with him sucking in air through his clenched teeth rather than his nose.

Sakura broke out of her shock and haphazardly bear-crawled towards him, immediately dropping onto her knees by his side. Right when she looked upon his body, she saw his gray wife beater stained almost completely red, with the focal point being right in the middle of his chest.

"No, no, no, no, no," Sakura muttered to herself continuously, putting her shaky hands on Kisame's chest. She did so cautiously, scared that her hands, which were only used to fighting, would cause him more harm than good. She applied a little bit of pressure, but she knew that it was a futile attempt to stop the massive amount of bleeding.

Kisame's breathing devolved into wheezing.

Sakura's vision blurred as she looked from the man's face – his moth that was dripping blood, his glazed-over eyes – to his chest, and then back again. It was only after a few moments of trying to control her own breathing that she heard footsteps, slowly becoming fainter by the second.

Sakura snapped her head up to see Zetsu stumbling away from them, one hand on the wall to support him and the other clutching his stomach. His gun was left forgotten on the ground where he once stood.

"Stop," Sakura rasped, not quite able to find her voice as her hands continued to apply pressure to Kisame's chest. She could faintly see him limping into the darkness, but his figure was distorted by the tear that gathered in her eyes. "Stop! Dammit, you bastard, get back here!" Sakura screeched at the top of her lungs.

In a moment of hysteria, Sakura leaped forward and grabbed ahold of the gun that Zetsu dropped. Her hands, stained with Kisame's blood shook uncontrollably as she pointed the gun towards Zetsu's form, which was slowly retreating into the darkness of the corridor.

Sakura let out a battle cry as she rapidly pressed down on the trigger. It registered in her mind that there was nothing more than a clicking sound coming from the gun, but her finger didn't stop, as if a bullet would magically appear if she wished hard enough. And she wished it so much.

But it never happened. The magazine was empty.

She could chase after Zetsu. She could! He was severely injured after fighting Kisame so he couldn't have gotten far. If she ran after him she could snap that bastard's neck, or…or demand that he tell her how to stop the Raid. She could-

A sharp wheeze interrupted her train of thought, and her head snapped back to her injured mentor. She stood, conflicted about which course of action she should take. On one hand, Zetsu could get away and harm more people by being free. On the other, she would not be able to help Kisame when he was critically injured.

And by that point, Sakura knew who needed her more.

Once again, she dove straight for Kisame's body, pressing her hands against his chest and trying to block the blood flow with renewed conviction.

"Come on, big guy, we gotta get you out of here." She went around his body until she stood at his head, and then grabbed him under his arms so that she could drag him towards the exit. She then shifted her arms so they held his torso, covering his wound.

Kisame continued to wheeze and cough as blood gathered in his mouth, slowly making its way down his chin. His hands reached up to grab hers, covering them. He was still breathing too hard to make any coherent sense, but he was shaking his head slightly. She caught the look in his eyes – it was a pleading look. He was imploring her to stop.

As much as her body wanted to comply – she was trying to drag a 200-pound man, even though she felt like she barely had enough energy to stand – she couldn't allow herself to give up just yet. The stab wound in her side started to ache as the wire stiches dug deeper into her skin, causing searing pain to erupt from her abdomen. But still, she couldn't stop.

"Sakura," Kisame breathed out, squeezing her hands, "enough."

"Shut it, fish face! We're almost there!" Sakura said. She was panting heavily, but in contrast also grit her teeth and continued to pull.

Kisame began to cough violently, projecting copious amounts of blood onto the floor. Sakura looked down at her hands and wondered if she was pushing too hard into his stomach.

This doubt completely shook her resolve, and her muscles reacted by completely giving into their exhaustion. Sakura's legs collapsed from under her and she landed with Kisame's crushing mass on top of her. As he was too weak to even move, she had to painfully maneuver herself out from under him. She tried to lift his arms again and pull, but none of her strength came to her.

Yet, she held on, crying in frustration.

That was when Kisame grabbed her wrist and yanked her down, making her fall under her knees. Tears of frustration and pain shined in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. After all she'd been through, she was still trying to be strong.

"It's," Kisame breathed in a gulp of air, "alright." He finished with a sigh. Sakura started to shake her head and opened her mouth to protest, but Kisame just laid his large hand on her pink hair, now covered with dirt. "What's important…is that you're okay." Another violent set of coughs shook his body.

"Stop saying stuff like that. D-don't get sappy, shark fin! I'm going to get you out of here! You're going to live." Sakura yelled as she clutched his bloody shirt, asking – no, begging – her body to give her any last shred of strength it could.

"But I…" Kisame started to say, but the rest sounded like mumbles. He started to breathe harder.

"What…?" Sakura asked, leaning in to his paling face.

"But I don't want to live anymore." Kisame repeated weakly. His eyes were starting to flutter shut, but he held on. For Sakura's sake.

"What…what are you saying?" Sakura said as she lightly shook him. Her emerald eyes glossed over with new tears, but she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand, slathering blood and dirt all over her face. "You can't die here! I'm not going to let you!"

Sakura began pressing on his chest again. There was so much blood.

There was so much blood.

"I have…too many regrets…too many bad th-things that I've done…"

"That doesn't mean-" Sakura started, but Kisame cut her off.

"But the one thing I'll never regret…is being able to raise you. To see you grow into the strong woman you are now."

Sakura could no longer stop the tears from flowing. They streaked across her blood-stained face, leaving trails in their wake. "Stop…" she pleaded.

"But now…you're all grown. You don't need me…w-watching over you anymore." Kisame throat moved, and some blood made it back up, exiting out the sides of his mouth.

"Who says I don't?" She screamed, angrily. "I do! I…I need you here!" Her voice cracked at the end as she leaned over his body.

Both of them already knew that it was too late.

"I'm sorry…" Sakura said as her body shook. She couldn't meet his eyes, ashamed of herself. "I couldn't keep my promise." She wiped her face once again with the back of her hand.

Kisame stood up, his tall figure towering over her smaller one. His eyes held solemnness, which contrasted from his usual cocky and arrogant expression. "If I can help you escape from this terror cycle that we have trapped ourselves in, then I will make that our top priority," he said.

"Wh-what the hell are you talking about? We're both going to get out of this. I promise you that."

"You've protected me all this time, and I couldn't even keep my damn promise!" Sakura yelled and gritted teeth. She wanted nothing more than to exchange her own life for Kisame's.

The hand on Sakura's head moved down to cup her face, making her look directly into his round, glassy eyes.

"You've kept your promise." He said slowly, dropping his hand to lay on top of hers on his chest.

Sakura looked at him, bewildered and confused.

"I don't have to be tied down to this world anymore…knowing that you have a good man beside you." Sakura's eyes widened. "Knowing that he will make sure…that you stay out of trouble."

Sakura wanted to scream at him – tell him that she didn't need anyone to take care of her, that it didn't mean that he could just leave – but no words came out.

Kisame was struggling to stay awake. His vision blurred and out of the black spots that were forming on his eyes, he could only see Sakura's pastel-colored hair peeking out, like a beacon of light in the darkness.

But he couldn't give up just yet. Even if his heart had already stopped beating, he had to finish what he wanted to say.

"Because of you, shrimp," Kisame's eyes finally closed, but his head turned towards her, flashing her one final, toothy grin, "I'm finally free..."

And with that, his final breath left him.

The muscles of his face relaxed, but a smile still remained. Kisame died with a smile on his face, and it was the most peaceful look she had ever seen on him.

It was the look of one who was finally satisfied with himself. One who was free.

Sakura didn't scream or shake him, begging him to come back to life. She didn't openly sob until her body convulsed. She didn't curse the world for taking him away from her. No, that would have been cruel – to disrespect his final wish.

Sakura simply laid her body next to his, on the dirty floor, placing her warm cheek on his cold bicep. She was violently trembling, but she clenched her teeth and just allowed tears to stream from her eyes onto his arm.

She knew that she had to be strong for him – for the person who had brought her up and protected her when her real father threw her to the dogs.

But strength didn't mean locking up your emotions.

So, she allowed herself to cry silently for her father-figure.

Eventually, Sakura picked herself up, much to her muscles' chagrin, and wiped the remaining tears from her face. She knew that she could not stay where she was. No matter what she decided to do next, she needed to act.

Sakura looked at her two options, conveniently situated on opposite sides of her. To her left was the exit that led to the Upperground. It was her last chance of escape. If she was able to get out, she could quickly find Gaara and Sasori and flee the city. She could run away and never turn back. It was the safe option, and the option she felt like Kisame would want her to take.

On the contrary, looking to her right, she saw the dark expanse of the hallway that she had once come from, and which Zetsu escaped down. It lived up to the analogy she had given it when she had first came the Underground – a descent into Hell. If she went down that path, she would have to put her full trust in Gaara and Sasori to take care of themselves. If she went down that path, there was no guarantee that she would come back.

Yet…

If she didn't go down that path, and try to do something to stop what was about to happen, she would be partly responsible for the many deaths that are inevitable. If she didn't go down that path, she would be abandoning Itachi, wherever the hell he was, to fight for himself against his psycho bastard of a cousin.

And that was something that she could not allow herself to do. Itachi had fought enough battles on his own, and it was her responsibility to make sure that he wouldn't have to anymore.

Kneeling down once more next to her dead mentor, she picked up his upper body and moved to lean him against the cold stone wall. The position she put him in was slightly slumped with sagging broad shoulders and his downcast head, but it would have been pretty comfortable from a living person's perspective. If it weren't for all the blood, it might have looked like he was sleeping.

The small smile remained plastered to his face, as if he were in a pleasant dream.

Sakura leaned forward and placed a kiss on his pale blue forehead. She could taste the blood and grime on his skin, but she didn't care. She simply looked at him fondly.

"I'm sorry, Kisame. I know what you'd want me to do, but I'll be damned if any more people die without me trying to do something about it." Sakura said, smoothing down his matted blue hair. "I'll come back soon, okay?" She promised, reaching out to hold one of his hands that had fallen to the side, giving it a final squeeze.

The only response from him was his smile.

It took all the mental willpower Sakura had left to let go of his hand and continue down the hallway. Within just a short distance, she repeatedly caught herself wanting to look back at him, just to check that he was still there and he hadn't been spirited away. She didn't allow herself to, however. She knew that she had to keep her eyes on her objective, and once she looked back, she wouldn't have the strength to continue forward.

Without anyone to guide her, Sakura wandered blindly down the hallway. She didn't try to retrace her steps, which would lead her back to the room she and Itachi were held in. No, there'd be no point in that. But, as she was unfamiliar with this portion of the Underground, she found herself taking random turns whenever she could, without a clear destination in mind.

All of the walls and lights of the Underground looked exactly the same – she was unable to tell if she had been going in a circle the entire time or not.

After allowing her uncoordinated feet to guide her, she finally came upon a part of the Underground that looked different, if only slightly. The walls were still gray and rough, a flickering lightbulb still hung from the ceiling, but this area had a higher ceiling and heavy metal doors that lined up parallel to each other, with adjacent doors quite far away from each other. It looked like some kind of bunker.

A part of Sakura wanted to turn back and pick another path – a hallway with many rooms that could be concealing potential threats was usually never the best way to go. However, as Sakura closed her eyes and listened closely, she could hear almost nothing coming from any of the rooms. It was almost pin-drop silence, save for the dripping water from the ceiling. Either the rooms themselves were sound-proof, or everyone had left to go join in on the Raid.

"Do you have everything you need?"

Maybe not everyone.

The voice came from around the corner, in another hallway connecting to the one she was in. She heard the footsteps become louder as they approached. Her heart sped up as her eyes darted around the room, looking for a place to hide. Of course, the long stretch of the corridor left her completely exposed.

That left the doors. They were the most obvious places to hide, but she didn't know if something, or someone, inside might be more dangerous that who was on the outside.

She decided that this wasn't the time to play it safe. It was either stay and definitely get caught, or hide and maybe get caught.

Sakura briskly walked back the way she came, trying to keep her footsteps as silent as possible, until she came upon one door that was slightly isolated from all the rest. It was the only door that had a circular valve in order to open it, and the door seemed to be larger in size than the rest of them.

Going off the assumption that this might be a storage room or something of the sort, Sakura twisted the valve carefully and wrenched the door open. She cringed slightly at the squeaking sound, which magnified to a horrific degree throughout the barren hallway.

"What was that?" A male voice asked sharply. The footsteps became more frequent and louder, but luckily they hadn't reached around the corner yet.

Sakura opened the door just a tiny bit, enough to squeeze her petite body through the frame. Immediately as she entered, she felt an intense rush of cold air from the inside, like she had just stepped into a refrigerator. Pushing her discomfort out of the way, she quickly closed the door and slid down the wall, away from direct sight if someone were to open the door.

Sakura breathed in deeply and held it, waiting patiently to see if the men would uncover her or pass by. With her ear plastered to the wall, she tried to make out the footsteps that were undoubtedly getting closer. She heard their voices saying something, but she couldn't make out what.

However, by the way the volume rose and then fell, they had passed by her door.

Sakura finally allowed herself to exhale, feeling the relief of the diminished pressure in her chest. She laid her head against the stone wall, trying to calm the rapid beating of her heart.

"Sakura-chan?" Another voice said. Sakura gasped and immediately readied herself to fight off the other occupant of the room, only to find a man with familiar blonde hair staring at her, arms raised in defense.

"Deidara? What," Sakura started, but then registered how cold the room was, and started to rub her arms, "what are you doing here? And why is the room so fucking cold?" She whisper-screamed at him. The cold air was starting to constrict her throat.

Deidara moved closer so that he could get a good look at her. "Holy shit, you look like you've been through a slaughterhouse, yeah!" He said, completely ignoring her questions. He cringed at her bloody face, marred and discolored. Bruises covered her body and her shirt looked like a blood bag had been dumped on her. All in all, she looked like she had been to Hell and back.

Sakura self-consciously looked at her hands, which were still stained with Kisame's blood. Remembering how she used her hands to wipe her tears, Sakura could only imagine what her face looked like.

Deidara approached cautiously, as if she were a wounded and feral animal. "Are you-?"

"It's not mine," she immediately cut him off. Deidara nodded at this, but it was a curt and tense movement. In fact, he started to back up a little bit.

The two of them stayed silent for a while, not exactly knowing what to say to each other. Sakura knew what she needed to do, but she didn't know if the sentries were still outside. At least with Deidara she wasn't in mortal danger. If he did try to threaten her, she could easily overpower him.

"I'm surprised you're alive," Deidara said suddenly, sighing as he did. "I was afraid the bomb would have killed you, but it's good that Kisame got to you in time."

"Wait, how did you-?" Sakura started, but trailed off towards the end of her sentence.

Deidara sidestepped a little bit and motioned towards a large table behind him. Sakura stood up slowly – reluctant to leave her huddled position due to the cold – and began limping her way towards it. When she had reached the large metal table, she saw multiple wires, screws, and different metal parts scattered across the surface. A little further behind the table were machines, completely assembled.

It took Sakura a while, but she finally recognized the contraptions.

Sakura rounded on him. "You're building bombs?" She asked through gritted teeth. "Did you build the one they put on me?"

When she was answered only by Deidara's silence, she started to take threatening steps towards him, but he backed away and put his hands up once again. "Yes, yes, okay, I did build it, but," Deidara emphasized when he saw Sakura shoot him a deadly glare, "but, I didn't know what it was going to be used for until after I built it. And I was practically being held at gunpoint, what was I supposed to do?" Deidara defended himself, hoping that it was enough to pacify the Terror.

Sakura relaxed her face a little after that, knowing that he didn't really have a choice. She still couldn't get rid of her anger though.

"Didn't you find it weird that Kisame knew what was happening to you? When I found out what the bomb was for, I immediately told him to tail Zetsu. I assume he offed it with the remote too, which I also told him about!" He said frantically. Sakura supposed that it was his last-ditch effort to not get pummeled by her.

"Alright, fine," Sakura said with a deep sigh, choosing to believe his story. It seemed realistic, after all. "Is that why the room is so cold? Because you're keeping bombs in here?"

Deidara nodded as he walked towards the back of the cold storage, which had a small, rusted sink attached to the wall. He took a small navy-colored rag and wet it thoroughly, before walking back and handing it to Sakura.

"Wipe that shit off your face. It's starting to bug me, un," he said, referring to the blood she had all over her body.

Sakura scowled and snatched the towel away from him, but did as he said, running the damp rag across her arms, neck, and face. She took note of its slightly foul smell, but she supposed that it was better than smelling like a rotting corpse.

"Where is the big blue man, by the way, yeah?" Deidara asked off-handedly as he watched her clean herself off. He immediately saw her stiffen and her expression turn dark.

"He's gone," was all she was able to say. Her voice was low, in a whisper. It was the first time she had said it out loud, and that made it all the more painful.

Deidara's eyes widened. He was used to sudden deaths in the Underground, and it wasn't like he knew Kisame too well, but he had just seen him a few hours ago. It was incredible how fickle life was.

"Oh…I'm sorry-"

"Save it," Sakura snapped, her narrowed eyes boring into his. She then averted her gaze and returned it to the floor, wiping off the last of the blood from the bridge of her nose. "So what are the bombs for, anyway?" She asked.

"They're being used in the Raid."

Sakura figured as much, but that didn't stop her fists from clenching. "How?"

Deidara didn't answer.

"I asked," Sakura started as she threw the rag on the floor and went up to him, fisting his shirt in her hands and yanking him close to her face, "how?"

She saw Deidara gulp and look everywhere but her. "You better not tell me that you're going to go bomb civilians." She threatened.

"I don't think that's exactly their plan, un." He answered simply. He was monotone, a complete divergence from the bubbly idiot he usually was.

"Who the hell is "they"? And why are you still building them? I don't see anyone holding you at gunpoint right now!" Sakura said angrily, her voice raising.

Deidara clenched his teeth and put a finger to his mouth, motioning for her to lower her voice. "Will you shut up?" He whispered frightfully. "I don't know if you know this, but you've been marked as a traitor down here. Everyone thinks you're dead, so if they find out you're alive, they'll shoot you on sight, and since I'm here with you, they'll also shoot me!" She noticed that he had dropped his characteristic "un".

Sakura sneered at his statement, a part of her not minding if they killed him along with her, but she released his shirt and backed up, taking deep breaths to calm her nerves.

"How could you even think of bombing a ton of innocents? I don't care who's threatening you; don't you have any feelings?" She chided him, crossing her arms over her chest, just then realizing that her entire body had become numb to the cold.

"Since when did you become such a saint?" Deidara bit back, fed up at how she was talking to him. "And like I said before, these aren't being used to bomb innocent people on purpose. They're going to be used for blowing up buildings and shit like that, and we're going to try to reduce as much civilian collateral damage as possible," he said with a small, apathetic shrug.

"If you want to reduce collateral damage, maybe you shouldn't build bombs in the first place," Sakura sneered.

"I'm not saying that I want people to die, but even if I did, can you blame me? What has this city, and any person in it, done for me? They told me that my passion is a waste. They told me that I would end up without a job and on the streets. And guess what? I did. I had no choice but to turn to the Underground.

"So yeah, I recognize that what we're doing is wrong, but when you live down here like I have, there is barely any distinction between right and wrong anymore. There is only me, myself, and I, and everything I have to do is for my survival. Why should I care about other people when I can barely fend for myself?"

"Do you not have anyone that you care about up there? What about my cousin, your friend?"

The light in Deidara's eyes shifted ever-so slightly, as if suddenly remembered that yes, he did have someone that he considered a friend on Upperground.

"Even if you're just trying to take out infrastructure, if you put those bombs out there, who knows who's going to be caught? It could be him, and then you would be responsible for ending his life."

Deidara turned his back to her.

"Look, I don't know, nor do I care to know, the reasons why you're down here, but let me tell you something: Sasori had to drop out of art school because he wanted to support our family. He's in a tough situation right now, not making that much, but I sure as hell don't see him down here!" Sakura said, motioning around her.

"That's because-"

"-he found something to live for." Sakura finished for him. "He's an artist too! Do you think he doesn't have a tough time up there? But he's found a way to work through it because he has us with him. He lives for his family, and that allows him to pursue his passion."

She could see that he was starting to waver. "That's just him. What about me? I don't have any family."

"I can't tell you what to live for. You have to find out yourself. But know this, even if life has given up on you, and let me tell you, it's given up on me too, you can't give up on life. You can't think that just because life did you wrong, you have to get back at others to get back at life. That's not how it works!"

Deidara looked to the side, contemplating her words for a second. She didn't expect him to immediately agree with her; she knew where he was coming from. She knew how it felt to get cheated by the system and want revenge on it, and to be indifferent towards collateral damage.

"Besides, you can live for people other than your family. You just need to find those people that will help change your outlook on life," she said.

She knew that she had one of those people.

"Even if I wanted to stop it," Deidara started, still not looking at her, "there's nothing anyone can do now. The only person they're keen on listening to is the person leading this whole thing, but no one even knows who he is."

"I do," Sakura muttered under her breath. Deidara looked at her with a raised eyebrow, but didn't question her further, which she was grateful for. "When does the Raid start anyway?"

"Deidara looked towards a wall clock on the opposite side of the room, near the metal door. "Less than an hour, at four o'clock."

Sakura's eyes widened. It now made sense why the Underground thugs were holding back instead of just rampaging through the streets.

Four o'clock. Shi. The homophone for death in Japanese.

What a sneaky bastard, Sakura thought, clenching her fists.

A sudden rap at the door made both occupants of the room freeze. The loud sound stimulated Sakura's heart to rapidly beat, and she wondered if she had finally been uncovered.

"Deidara! Open up!" A gruff voice yelled from the other side of the door.

"Quickly, get under there!" Deidara exigently whispered as he pointed towards another metal table that was pushed up against the wall. Unlike the other one, which had thin legs supporting it, this smaller table was encased with large metal panels on all sides except for one, which would effectively hide her from sight.

Sakura did as she was told, quickly diving under the table and curling her body up in a way that would keep her out of sight. Her back laid against the panel of the table that faced the door.

She heard Deidara the squeak of the door when Deidara wrenched it open.

"Are they ready yet?" The same voice spoke.

"Not yet. Just give me some time, they'll be ready by the time we have to go," Deidara said. She couldn't tell whether he was lying or not.

"Well just hurry up, would ya? All of us want to be out there when the boss gives his speech," the man said.

"Speech? What are you talking about?" Deidara asked.

"You didn't hear the news? The hotshot running this whole thing is going to broadcast himself from Tokyo Tower as the Raid's going on. He's apparently blacked the city out, so no one's got any electricity. He's going to restore it if they accept him as a leader or some shit like that." Sakura could practically hear the man's shrug. "When he gives the word, the Raid is going to be called off."

So Obito's going to reveal himself and tell people to follow him if they want the attack to stop? Sakura thought as she shook her head. What a messed up asshole.

"And the Underground is going to listen to him? Just like that?" Deidara said blandly.

"I mean sure, why not? If he says that he's going to grant us freedom from this hellhole, I'll do just about whatever he tells me to." Sakura could hear footsteps as the man started to walk away. "Oh, one more thing," he said as he walked back towards the door frame.

"Yeah, what is it?" Deidara asked, quite vexed.

"Damn, you're in a bad mood," the man muttered. "But this'll cheer you up: the big boss captured the police chief, and apparently he's planning on killing him on air."

Sakura froze. Her breath completely left her.

Itachi was captured?

What if he was…she didn't even want to think about that. The wound that Kisame's death left on her heart was still fresh. She couldn't even imagine if she lost two people that she cared for dearly in the same day, to the same demented bastard.

She knew that she should have faith in Itachi – have faith that he, being the genius that he was, would be able to figure a way out of his situation. But a sharp pain gnawed at her heart, giving her a premonition that he was in deep trouble.

He was the reason she was fighting so hard against this Raid in the first place, why she hadn't just escaped and gotten her family out of the city. She didn't know if she could continue to have the strength to fight if her moral compass, and someone she had come to love on a deeper level than just a friend, was gone.

But she had told Kisame's dead body that she wouldn't let anyone else die if she could do anything about it.

And she had to do something about Itachi.

She had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Deidara had stopped talking to the man and closed the door. He then walked over to where she was and knelt down, surprised to see the pink-haired girl with her face down and her fingers clutching her hair.

"Hey," he whispered cautiously, "are you okay?"

She jumped like a startled animal, consequently hitting her head on the bottom of the table, making her wince. "Yeah, peachy," she bit out, but it sounded dazed and a little distracted.

"He's gone now, so you can…uh, come out," Deidara said a little awkwardly as he moved back to give her room to get out from underneath the table. Sakura crawled out slowly, her vision a little blurry from the impact she took to her head. "So what're you gonna do now, un?"

"Do you know the way to Tokyo Tower?" She asked immediately, answering his question with her own.

Deidara's brow furrowed slightly. "There are a couple of different ways to get there. But it'll take a while."

"Take me the fastest way," Sakura demanded. "I need to get up there."

"What about the Raid, un? I thought you wanted to stop it."

Sakura ran a hand through her filthy hair, pulling at it slightly. "Yeah, well, I have someone important to me that could be shot at any moment and I need to get up there, so if you're not planning on telling me where it is, I can beat it out of you," she threatened. She really wasn't in the mood for anyone's obstinacy at the moment.

"Okay, okay, calm down." Deidara held up his hands pacifistically. "It'll probably be heavily guarded, seeing that the police chief is there and everything."

"I don't care, I'll get past them easily enough," Sakura said confidently. "And I don't know if I've convinced you with my little speech or not, but you could do something to help reduce the damage of the Raid, like…I don't know, defusing all of these bombs." Sakura shrugged with false innocence as she pointed to the explosives behind her.

"That would be like signing my own death warrant," Deidara deadpanned.

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

Deidara ran a hand over his face and sighed, which came out as a long puff of cold air before disappearing.

"Okay, fine, un," Deidara shook his head dejectedly. What did he actually have to lose?

"Otou-sama?" Itachi breathed out, hoping that the sight before him was just a trick of his imagination. It was hard to believe that his father was in the state he was in. He had always seen his father standing tall and proud, with a look of complete stoicism. The man before him was beaten and broken, with eyes expressing his anger, frustration, and confusion. His teeth were clenched around the gag on his mouth.

When Itachi called out to him, Fugaku's head immediately shot up, looking at Itachi with a look he had never seen on him. It wasn't fear, a look most people would adopt in this kind of situation. No, his look was that of shame, more specifically, shame towards himself for letting his son see him in such a manner.

"It feels like a grand family reunion, doesn't it?" Obito said, his arms outstretched like a presenter at an auction. "Oh remove that gag, would you boys?" He directed towards the two men standing behind Fugaku.

Once the gag was off, Fugaku rolled around his jaw to test its soreness before looking at Itachi, to Obito, back to Itachi. His son was still kneeling on the floor, his dismantled gun next to him. His hair was ruffled and coming out of his ponytail, and there were cuts all along his face and arms.

"Itachi, what is the meaning of this?" He said in his usual gruff voice, but instead of his normal emotionless tone, his words were laced in bewilderment.

Obito tsked, "Still so harsh on Itachi-kun, huh?" Obito shook his head. "What's the matter, former chief? Don't you care if your son is alright?"

Fugaku's attention snapped to the speaking man, and slightly recoiled when he stared at his scarred face. "Who are you? What is the reason behind your actions?" Questions fired out of him like bullets from a gun. If he were in any other position, he would have been terrifying.

Obito walked over to his father; Itachi couldn't see his face because his back was to him, but he could see his father's clearly. His dark eyes were narrowed, but they showed more curiosity than venom.

The scarred man bent down into a squat before the former police chief, allowing him to get a clear look at his face. "Come on, uncle, don't tell me you don't know who I am. I haven't changed that much."

Fugaku scrutinized his face for a few moments before his eyes widened. "It can't be…Obito?"

"There we go!" Obito said, popping up into a standing position and patting Fugaku on the head like a good dog. Fugaku was too frozen to respond. "Of course, this shouldn't come at as much of a shock to you as it did to Itachi-kun. You knew I was alive."

Itachi's eyes widened at that, and he made no attempt at hiding his shock. His father had been the one to break the "news" to them that Obito had been shot and killed on the job.

"And now I'm going to make you atone for your crimes against me, the lower class of Tokyo, and even your own sons." Obito said, turning away from him.

"What are you talking about?" Fugaku asked as he tried to stand up. There was a distinct clicking of a gun being taken off safety behind him, so he reluctantly sat back down.

"You mean when I'm talking about Itachi and Sasuke? I'm talking about the mental torture you put your sons through. The mental torture you put the entire police force through. I couldn't take it, remember? I wasn't perfect like you wanted me to be, and you didn't want that tarnishing the justice system's "good name". Remember that, uncle?" Obito's voice rose with each word, no longer adopting a flippant persona.

"And look what you've done to your sons in the process." Obito said, walking back up to Itachi and motioning to him like he was a victim in a court of law. "They became emotionless. They couldn't understand the plight of other people because they became indoctrinated by the law. They became apathetic to the suffering of others because you, as well as the other leaders of our damned family, were apathetic to their suffering."

"Do not use me to work to your political advantage, Obito," Itachi interrupted. Obito looked down at him, unimpressed. "Just a few hours ago, you tried to kill me. Your hypocrisy doesn't make you righteous."

"M-my hypocrisy?" Obito had the audacity to laugh. "The police are the biggest hypocrites around! You say that you want to protect people, but you abuse your own. At least I tell the truth as it is."

Itachi narrowed his eyes, knowing that Obito's mania stemmed far deeper than just revenge. No, he was too far gone to be reformed.

"But enough of that, the clock is ticking, and it's almost four o'clock." Obito said, looking down at his watch. "It's time for the Raid to begin. And you," Obito said, turning to Fugaku, "will be the main spectacle. Take him to the broadcasting room," he ordered the two men.

"What are you planning, Obito?" Itachi asked, his voice laced with venom.

"Let's just say that everyone is about to see your father get what he deserves," Obito replied with a smirk. "Except for you, of course. Sorry about that."

Immediately, Itachi sprung up from his kneeling position to engage with Obito, a very uncharacteristic move for him, but Obito's henchmen got to him first, holding him back.

Itachi dealt a quick knee to the stomach of the man in front of him and slammed a hammer fist into the nose of another. The two of them were down almost instantly.

One of the other two who were holding him back took out their gun, but upon remembering instructions not to kill the current police chief yet, he simply hit Itachi in the back of the head with the butt of his gun. Itachi dropped to the ground on one knee, but did not crumple completely. His vision became blurry as the acute pain at the back of his head became more pronounced.

"Put him in the storage closet, I'll deal with him later," he heard Obito tell the men behind him, who radiated an air of contempt for his assault on them. He felt two people pick him up from under the arms, and as much as he wanted to fight back, his motor functions wouldn't allow him to.

"Oh, and Itachi-kun, I'll have someone bring Haruno-san's body to you soon. Just sit tight, okay?" Obito called as he walked in the direction that they had taken his father. His figure became more distorted the farther he walked.

And then, Itachi saw black.

When Itachi came to, the first thing he noticed was a foreign object poking into the side of his neck. Upon blinking his eyes a few times, he honed in on the silhouette of a broomstick that had been pushed over.

Itachi looked around to examine his surroundings. He was in a small room – not too small to be claustrophobic (which he was not) but not necessarily large either. From what he could see, he was in a long, thin room that was abundant with shelves holding what looked like cleaning supplies. At the very end of the short stretch was a wooden door.

Itachi tried to pull his arms forward to prop himself up, but found that they were being restrained behind his back. After rubbing his hands around a few times, and having the restraints cut into his wrists slightly, he discovered that he was being held back by tightly-secured handcuffs. Around his ankles were plastic zip-ties, also tightly binding him together.

Itachi almost wanted to sigh. He wasn't the police chief for nothing, and getting out of handcuffs was elementary training. It was obvious that Obito was banking on Itachi being knocked out for longer as opposed to actually restraining him.

Suddenly, one of the last things Obito said to him popped up in his head, and Itachi immediately bolted up into a sitting position, despite his compromised state. He scanned the small room as much as the light permitted him to, and even smelled the air. There was no scent of a corpse near him.

"I'll have someone bring Haruno-san's body to you soon."

Obito sounded so confident when he said that, like Sakura was already dead. She very well could be, but Itachi didn't want to think about that. She was smart and resourceful, and above all, she was a fighter. She wouldn't let some lackey take her out so easily.

He just hoped that she, her brother, and her mentor had escaped soundly, and that they were making their way out of the city or at least going into hiding. Knowing her, she would probably want to go back to help him once she secured the safety of her family, but Itachi hoped that Kisame held her back. But what if that was just the best-case scenario?

What if Sakura was really dead?

Itachi looked over his shoulder with a hard stare to the handcuffs that were restraining him. Once those were off, he would go see for himself.

If someone had taken away the only person who saw him as a human, who fought for him and stood by him when he was alone, who made him see that he wasn't perfect – if someone had taken the woman he loved away from him, then that someone was going to pay.

Itachi surveyed the room, looking for something to use.

His eyes then landed on the shadow of a black box, one of reinforced material with a handle at the top. If Itachi's suspicions were correct, then it was some sort of a toolbox, which meant that there had to be some sort of screwdriver or thin object he could utilize. The only problem was that it sat on the third shelf of metal rack.

But Itachi was trained for such a situation.

Pushing himself forward in an almost crab-walking fashion, Itachi made his way toward the metal frame. The movement made the soreness of his muscles profound, but he knew that he was in no circumstance to give himself time to rest.

Once he reached the base of the rack, he positioned his tied hands in a way that would support the rest of his body and lifted his legs up. His arms stung with the action, but he continued to push his feet upward, constricting his abs to give him better movement. He felt the edge of his left shoe touch the box, making it shift slightly. Positioning his hands a different way, he used both of his feet to veer the box off the shelf with his last bit of strength.

Unfortunately, that caused it to tumble off at an unexpected angle and land directly on his stomach. Admittedly, not one of his most prudent moments.

Although Itachi muffled his sound of pain within his throat, he couldn't help but think that if there was a guard outside the door, supposedly making sure he wouldn't do anything to release himself, they weren't doing a very good job.

Itachi slowly slid the toolbox off his stomach and onto the ground with a soft thud. Then, turning his body around, he maneuvered his cuffed hands to open the box and search for what he was looking for.

Luckily, he was not disappointed. A thin sliver of metal prodded against his fingertips. Upon moving his hands further up, he was able to clutch the handle of said object, allowing him to recognize it as a small screwdriver.

The next part came to him almost naturally.

Once he had released himself from his handcuffs, which resulted in him having to rub his wrists a few times to abate their soreness, he got to work on the zip ties around his ankles. These were easier to get out of: all he had to do was move his legs back and forth so that the sharp, metal edge of the tool cabinet next to him could cut through the middle of the ties, which took less than a few minutes.

He just hoped that in the time Itachi took to escape, Fugaku wasn't dead.

It was after he had ripped the zip ties off that he heard grunting behind the metal door that led out of the closet, as well as some muffled yelps and whispers.

Itachi knew that it wouldn't be prudent if he just strode out of the closet when he didn't know what was out there. He didn't know what exactly compelled him to just walk straight up to the door, unarmed, and twist the knob casually as if he was just opening the door to his house. He was in a hostage situation, after all. But oddly, a strange sense of calm and familiarity filled him, and that made the world outside the closed door seem a lot less menacing, at least to him.

And suddenly he knew, not exactly how or why, he just knew. It could have been the sounds behind the door, premonition, or just gut instinct.

He knew she was there.

The door was unlocked, which was a blatantly amateur move, if you were to ask Itachi. Apparently, his captors had an arrogant level of confidence when it came to their ability to restrain him.

He didn't even bother to open the door slowly, cautiously, like protocol demanded. No, for once protocol could go screw itself. He knew that there wasn't any danger behind the door.

Well, no danger to him, specifically.

What awaited him on the other side of the door was the pink-haired woman who had held his worried thoughts just a few minutes ago. One of the men who had captured him earlier – a large, burly man that looked to be at least twice Sakura's size and twice Itachi's weight – laid defenselessly on his stomach as Sakura held one of his arms behind his back, twisting it.

The man let out whimpers of pain, but Sakura silenced them by using her foot and squashing his face into the ground.

It was the most beautiful sight that Itachi had ever witnessed.

Maybe I really am a masochist, Itachi thought serenely as he looked upon the woman of his affections.

"I'm not going to ask you again, where is he?" Sakura asked as she twisted his arm a little more. The man squirmed pathetically, trying to kick his legs up and throw her off, to no avail. With one hand still holding his arm up, she ran her other hand through her messy, matted pink locks, and looked down at her victim in confusion.

The rational part of Itachi knew that it was the right moment to step in.

"You know," Itachi started, striding out of his makeshift prison with an air of nonchalance. He didn't miss how Sakura's head immediately snapped towards him, and he was afraid for a second that she would get whiplash, "he would probably be in a greater capacity to answer you if you were not ruthlessly crushing his face into the ground."

Sakura stared at him, her mouth agape, and he body unconsciously dropped the man's arm and stepped off of his face. The poor man rolled over and took a breath of fresh air before going limp, probably from exhaustion. Sakura paid him absolutely no mind as she stepped over him slowly.

"I…I thought you were dead," was the first thing that left Sakura's mouth. She was still looking at him as if she couldn't believe that he was standing before her.

"I thought you were dead," he counted lightly, and it had the desired effect. Sakura scoffed a little, but the corners of her mouth were unmistakably curving upwards. She then started to rub her eyes furiously, turning her head look away from him.

It took him a moment to realize that she was trying to dispel of her tears.

In an instant, he was in front of her, his hands gently guiding her face to look at him. She was stubborn, as always, and refused to look at him.

"Why are you crying?" He asked softly, running his thumbs over her cheekbones in a lover's caress.

Sakura gulped a little, but then scoffed. She blinked rapidly in a desperate attempt to rid the liquid from her eyes. "I'm not, you stupid cop. Why were you in a cleaning closet anyway? What kind of dumbass allows himself to be locked in there?" Although she had turned her face away from him, she did not retract from his hands.

"Sakura," Itachi said, partly in warning, another part in concern, and he used no formalities with her name. He tried to move his head so that he was in her line of view, but she was adamant in avoiding his gaze.

Ultimately, much to Itachi's surprise, she grabbed his black muscle shirt and pulled him towards her, burying her face into his chest while clutching the fabric on top of it. His hands moved from his face to the back of her head, slowly brushing his fingers through her hair and untying where he found knots.

"I'm…just glad you're okay," she said simply, but genuinely. Her voice was steady, as if nothing was wrong, but the sudden dampness that he felt in his shirt told him otherwise.

It was then that Itachi registered that his lover smelled like death.

He pushed her away slightly so that he could look at her, but she, once again, refused to look at him. "Sakura, what happened?" He asked softly.

Sakura let out a humorless chuckle and said, "it's weird hearing you say my name without an honorific. I didn't know you had it in you." Her fists were still clenched into his shirt.

Itachi gave the top of her head an unimpressed stare, knowing that she didn't have to see it to feel it.

When she finally did, he saw such a beautiful amalgam of emotions in her eyes – sadness, relief, happiness, and the slightest twinge of fear. His own eyes softened at the sight of her, holding her gaze with warmth in his own eyes.

After a few moments like this, she finally spoke:

"…Kisame's dead." She muttered abruptly. No precedent, no warning. She just stared into his eyes as the words came out, letting him clearly see the pain that was plaguing her heart. "I've lost the one person I looked to for guidance. And until I saw you…I thought I had lost you too."

Itachi adopted a solemn expression as he wiped the tears that were streaming down her face. She tried to move her face away from him, but he kept his hands steadier than before.

"Don't hide these from me," Itachi said, catching more tears with his thumbs. Sakura sniffled a little, but didn't repudiate his touch. "It's all right to be weak. That's something I remember you teaching me." He laid a kiss on her forehead.

Sakura choked out a quiet laugh through her tears. "Okay, don't get too mushy and disgusting on me. I'm only like this 'cause I'm emotionally unstable right now," she said as she pushed him away a little.

"Mushy and disgusting?" Itachi's baritone voice asked in amusement, leaning in slightly so that their noses were practically touching. Sakura flushed lightly but refused to shrink away. Sakura felt Itachi's breath tickle her ear as he whispered, "if I kissed you right now, would you find that mushy and disgusting?"

Sakura stammered out a few incoherent words, seemingly trying to retort and tell him how "gross" he was being, but to no avail. She was only saved, ironically, by a loud sound further down the hallway. In the next moment, Itachi grabbed her and pulled her away from the front of the storage closet, hiding behind a wall with her clutched to his chest.

Itachi tsked, but felt relieved when he spotted no adversaries. With his eyes still narrowed and wary, he leaned his mouth into the top of her head and whispered, "We'll finish this later. For now, we have to stop Obito."

Sakura gave no word of protest, as she helped Itachi clear the bodies of the men out of plain sight and then followed him down the hall.

They crept towards where Obito was, keeping as close to the wall as possible. Sakura didn't know the entire context of the situation, but then again, she didn't have to. She seemed to have already placed her trust in him, and that was something he was thankful for. He wasn't sure they had enough time for an entire explanation.

Voices resonated from down the hall once again, though because the structure of the building was so huge, it was difficult to tell which direction they were coming from exactly. Regardless, it sounded like two people were talking to each other – arguing, would probably be a better word.

Itachi and Sakura looked at each other suspiciously, tacitly asking each other if they should give into their curiosity and check it out. Sakura only shrugged.

Deciding to take a peek around the corner, into the main lobby of Tokyo Tower, Itachi's eyes immediately honed in on a single figure pacing worriedly up and down a small section of the large room. He was dressed in black, but there were obvious dark spots on his shirt that were sticking to his skin, indicating areas where he was bleeding. There was also red streaks through his bright green hair and running down his face. His skin, the white side of it, showed signs of bruising, while the black, burnt side appeared untouched.

It was Zetsu.

"Itachi, who is it?" Sakura asked lowly, since she was not the one peering around the corner.

Itachi contemplated not telling her, since there was a chance that she would make some irrational decision and run at him head-first. However, as she had put her trust in him, he had to reciprocate, so he backed up slightly so that she could see around the corner without straying from the wall.

She viewed Zetsu's frantic form with disgust, her face morphing into a nasty scowl. As Itachi had suspected, she made a move towards him, only for Itachi to grab her shoulders and stop her from advancing.

"Itachi!" She whisper-yelled, gritting her teeth as she did so. "He killed Kisame! I'm not going to let him just walk away like nothing happened."

Itachi shushed her pacifistically. Sakura looked affronted at first, but Itachi touched his ear with his pointer finger, motioning for her to listen. She was a little hesitant, but decided to humor him, though she kept her thoughts trained on how she would kill that bi-colored freak. They both peeked around the corner again.

"-have to report to Obito-sama and tell him that she's escaped!" Zetsu said hysterically as his pacing increased. His white hand was clutching his hair. Itachi and Sakura were trying to figure out who he was talking to before another voice said, "No, I can't do that. He'll put a bullet through my head in two seconds when he finds out that I didn't kill that pink-haired bitch. But I brought him to the Underground. I practically raised him. It doesn't fucking matter!"

Itachi and Sakura stared at the crazy man in shock and confusion. Sakura had seen him do this before, when he was about to shoot her. He was having what seemed to be a one-person conversation, but the other voice said otherwise. It was not just two different personalities in him, but two entirely different people.

This can't get any weirder, Sakura thought tiredly as she massaged her temples.

"It seems to be some kind of bipolar disorder," Itachi said softly. He was unsure of how to proceed with the situation, since he had never handled an enemy under a circumstance such as this.

Itachi thought a little about what he said.

"Sakura, did he say he was sent to kill you?" Sakura looked at him with scrunched eyebrows, but nodded.

"Yeah, he said Obito wanted me dead."

"So he must be in a stressful predicament since he was not able to complete his task. He fears that Obito will punish him for his failure," Itachi explained.

"Okay, so?" Sakura asked impatiently. She just wanted to go over there and beat Zetsu to death; was that too much to ask?

"What I am going to ask you to do is very dangerous." Sakura had to roll her eyes at that one. "Sakura, please, I'm serious. I believe that if you and Zetsu can draw Obito out with a distraction, then we'll be able to expose his insanity to the public."

"I'm not following," Sakura said as she narrowed her eyes.

"Obito is planning to broadcast my father's killing across Tokyo. If I can somehow show how he cares more about his selfish goals than the welfare of the people, we might be able to deter the Raid once they see how mentally unstable Obito is. So, I need you to confront Zetsu in a way that will act as the distraction I need to rescue my father and find a way to expose him."

"Let me tell you, Itachi, these guys in the Underground see displays of anger every single day. No matter how much power Zetsu has over the Underground, I don't know if a little chiding will do anything," Sakura said.

"It's the best chance we have."

Sakura paused before speaking. "Does Zetsu screaming bloody murder as I break all of his bones count as a distraction?"

"That will do," Itachi replied simply, slightly amused by the malicious glint in her eyes.

"Alright then, one distraction coming right up."

The whole city was in chaos.

Some streets were swamped with people; others were pin-drop silent with their vacancy. Sounds of yelling, crying, and pleading sounded throughout the area. Cars were backed up on the street, a very unusual occurrence for the infrastructure that Tokyo has. There were multiple car honks urging people to move forward, so that they could all escape the city.

There was no power.

Despite being the middle of the day, with it being bright outside, the people of Tokyo were shocked to see that all of their electricity had just vanished.

The people in the Underground train nervously looked at each other, wondering why the train had stopped, why the power was out, and if they were going to be trapped for long.

After all, the people of Tokyo were all about getting from one place to another on schedule. Such an occurrence as a power outage was a severe inconvenience.

People's annoyance during the first few minutes of the blackout turned into fear within the next hour. This fear morphed into mass panic in another half an hour.

Police were running around, trying to control the pandemonium around them, but to no avail. There were millions of frenzied people against only a few hundred of equally-frenzied police.

Hospitals rushed to sustain the life support of their patients. The attending personnel rushed into the basement to power to backup generator. There was less power than before, not enough to support the hospital.

The death toll was already rising.

One heart stopped.

Five hearts stopped.

Sixteen hearts stopped.

The people of the city thought that this was Armageddon.

But then the hour hand of the clock hit the number four.

Death.

A huge mass of people sprung up out of nowhere, like rats from their holes, yelling their battle cries from the tops of their lungs, some holding metal bats, some pipes, and some carrying large metal boxes with a partner.

Most people stood in shock as these…hellions started to wreak havoc on the city – smashing windows and overturning cars. They seemed to go around most of the civilians, like water around rocks in a river. They mainly targeted property – businesses, stores, cars on the street.

Police stations.

As the people of Tokyo came to their senses and started to run away from the mob, the metal boxes were placed in their stead. Making sure no one was close by, red buttons were pushed one by one. Nothing happened.

The buttons were pushed again. Nothing happened. The boxes remained stagnant on the ground.

But no large matter – the damage around them was still extreme.

A certain blonde was missing.

Obito watched the second hand tick on the clock on the other side of the room, mesmerized by the action. The clock had already struck four, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from it.

It was happening. Years of planning and agony had got him to this point.

And now, Tokyo was his.

Obito's gaze passively shifted to the older man in the room, who was still slightly struggling against the guard next to him. Directly across the room from him was a man with a video camera, hooked up to the mainframe that controlled almost every screen in commercial Japan.

He connected it to an alternative power source, so the monitors on the streets would be the only devices that have power in the city.

Once he killed the chief and established himself as leader, he would call off the Raid. They would listen to him immediately, of course. The person who gave them the chance to see the sunlight again. They would follow him blindly – they had seen death before, and to kill the man who had criminalized them and drove them into the shadows would make him all the more trustworthy in their eyes.

"Do not think that you can get away with this, Obito," Fugaku said, glaring at his nephew.

Obito looked at Fugaku with an amused expression. "Oh, and why can I not, uncle?" His tone was teasing, taunting Fugaku to make a case against him.

"Even if you take over Tokyo, what's that going to do? It's not the only city in Japan. The whole nation will be against you."

"That's where I have a counter," Obito said. "The Underground has more wealth than you could ever imagine, uncle. And I have so many people right in the palm of my hand that even the Japanese government isn't going to be able to do anything. Money and influence. Those are the only two things that matter to fickle humans, anyway."

"So your goal is to run a country based on fear?" At this point, Fugaku was just questioning him to buy himself time.

"It is more effective to be feared than loved. You should know that better than anyone," Obito said, motioning towards his scarred face.

"This goes far beyond just revenge on the police force, Obito. This is mutiny against the nation."

"They go hand in hand. Through fear, I will create the peace people want to see. It is something that only I have the vision to do." Obito sighed, knowing that he was taking too much time. "That's enough questioning from you, uncle. It's time for you to answer for what you did to me – us!"

The last word was added, almost like a second thought. Fugaku raised an eyebrow at this.

"Now then, are we ready to proceed?" Obito asked the man near the camera.

Before he could get his answer, he heard loud scuffling in the lobby, which was right outside the room. Obito raised an eyebrow in the door's direction.

"Now what is it?" He asked no one in particular with an agitated sigh. He took the gun out from his belt and cocked it, making sure that it was loaded. "You two stay with oji-san here. I'll be back in a few minutes." With that, he left the room, leaving the door open.

The two men were keen on making sure that Fugaku didn't move a single muscle, like good little henchmen to their boss. They turned their backs to the door and watched him with stern gazes.

Fugaku almost wanted to roll his eyes. These two were doing a pitiful job at guarding. They should have been completely aware of their surroundings, no matter what their orders were.

He looked at the dark expanse beyond the doorway. The lights were still off, even in the room he was in, but the warm light that was pouring in through the window was enough to illuminate his surroundings. He couldn't imagine what was happening out there now – how much chaos there was among the people. But he trained his operatives to handle situations such as this.

But did I make them suffer in the process? Fugaku pondered. He wondered if there was unmanifested hatred towards him by the entire police force, if they all thought that he committed atrocities as Obito thought. His harsh training was only for their benefit, to make them strong leaders and not let their emotions overrun their sense of justice.

But he hadn't meant for justice to replace their emotions.

His thoughts were interrupted by a small sound, gradually getting closer and closer. The other guards heard it too, but did not turn around just yet. Then, in his view of the hallway, rolling in from a position adjacent the door, was a small metal ball. It looked to be a marble of some kind.

The small sound of metal rolling on tile ended when the marble hit the door. The actual impact of the marble was almost soundless, but the vibration was amplified by how dead silent the room was. At this point, the guards had turned around and were looking at the ball strangely, as if it were a bomb that was about to explode.

Fugaku raised an eyebrow, but kept his face stoic. He had seen that strategy before.

The two guards looked at each other before one started to slowly walk towards the ball. Fugaku knew what was going to happen next and readied his muscles. The guard next to him didn't notice.

Just as the man bent down to pick up the object, he received a sharp kick to the jaw by the man hiding behind the wall next to the door. As he was wearing all black, he blended in with his surroundings, and was able to take the man completely by surprise. The guard fell to the ground, groaning lowly and completely disoriented.

The man next to Fugaku fumbled with his belt, trying to draw his gun, but Fugaku took this opening to knock the man off his feet using his legs. As the guard fell to the ground, Fugaku was able to swing his legs up and crush them upon the man's face as he hit the ground, effectively stifling any sound he would have made.

Panting a little bit, Fugaku looked up into the eyes of his son. Itachi wasted no time in crouching beside Fugaku and uncuffing him with the screwdriver he had found in the storage closet. In mere moments, Fugaku's hands we free, and he proceeded to rub his wrists.

"Itachi, what-"

"Not now, Otou-san," Itachi interrupted softly, not in an intrinsically rude manner. They had to keep their conversations to a minimum; after all, the mastermind behind their capture was right across the hall.

After seeing to his father, Itachi got up and went towards the video camera. It was still plugged in, but it was off for the moment. He looked around the room for something, soundlessly digging into cabinets and shelves until he found what he was looking for.

And extender cable.

Sakura had Zetsu pinned down in record time.

Engrossed within his dissociative dialogue, she had taken the chance to sneak up on him and hold him down on the floor with her forearm on his neck.

The bi-colored man gasped and coughed, trying to force her off of him. She noticed that he was significantly weaker than last time, and if the blood streaming down his head was anything to go by, it looked like Kisame had given him a concussion. He was drained and barely oriented, while Sakura was energized by her rage.

"Did you miss me, you murderer?" Sakura grit out through her teeth, pushing deeper into his neck.

"Y-you…" He couldn't finish his sentence because he was gasping again. His pupils started to get a little unfocused and his hands started to become more disoriented.

Well that wouldn't do. Itachi said he needed a loud distraction.

Despite her malicious conscience, Sakura lifted herself off the green-haired man, but got into an advantageous position for her, should she need to attack again. Zetsu coughed a sputtered for a few moments, while Sakura just glared at him. She had not pity to spare for her mentor's killer.

"What's the matter? Trying to figure out how to kiss up to your boss?" Sakura asked as she delivered a kick to Zetsu's ribs. He yelped in pain.

"Damn…you…" Zetsu snarled as he tried to raise himself to his feet. Sakura allowed him to, her arms crossed. She wanted to see if he would actually put up a fight. "All of my problems are because you just refuse to die!" He growled.

Sakura scoffed, as if she found his statement amusing, especially because that's exactly what she wanted to say. "I'm so sorry that I've foiled your plans of world domination. I must be such an antagonist," Sakura said, heavy sarcasm dripping from each of her words.

"You could have lived in the world that the Underground built. But instead, you chose the side of those…oligarchic, arrogant law enforcers!"

"At least I have my head screwed on right! Why would I want to live in your world; the world created by a fucking maniac?"

"Obito-sama is a visionary!" Zetsu retorted defensively.

"He's demented, is what he is! You think he cares about you? All he cares about is his revenge!" Sakura said as she motioned with her arms wildly.

"You don't know what you're talking about, little girl. Obito-sama is our leader, and I will do whatever he asks of me. That includes…killing you," his voice ended ominously as he launched at her with strength that he didn't exhibit earlier.

Sakura was knocked to the ground, but she still had the upper hand because he had such a weak form, and was able to push him off of her. Getting up quickly, she took Zetsu by the collar of his shirt and threw him a couple of meters away, making him crash into a metal trash can, which created an explosive-like sound that echoed in the large room.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Sakura tormented as she crouched next to him. Her hands fisted in his shirt and pulled him up so that he had a clear view of the killing intent in her eyes. "Honestly, I want nothing more than to snap your neck right now for what you did to Kisame."

"Then do it!" Zetsu growled, his hands on her wrists and yellow eyes glaring up at her.

"But I won't," she continued, ignoring him. "I'll let Itachi deal with you. Death is too merciful for murderous scum."

Zetsu scrunched up his face in anger. "Wrong choice," he said before his black arm pushed her off. Again, there was a strength inside of him that was left untapped before.

Sakura stumbled to the ground a few feet from him, and was about to attack him again when a voice spoke out.

"Well, this is just getting tiring," an annoyed voice drawled as soft footsteps drew closer and closer to where she was. Sakura turned her head to glance further down the room. At the end of the lobby was Obito, his face condescendingly passive.

"Obito-sama!" Zetsu exclaimed. He made a move to rush to his leader's side (like a little bitch, Sakura thought), but was held down by the extent of his injuries.

Obito walked forward, his steps threatening yet quiet at the same time. Sakura kept up her brave front, but on the inside, she wondered if this was it for her. She could only escape his grasp so many times before she was caught.

He stopped about ten feet away from her position on the ground, his scarred face looking down at her in irritation. "You're a stubborn little one, aren't you, Haruno-san?"

Sakura didn't humor him with a response. Her glare only intensified. Her thoughts were solely focused on Itachi and what he planned to do with Obito's attention being averted.

"Not talking, huh?" Obito asked rhetorically. His gaze then shifted to Zetsu, who shrunk a little bit at the intensity of Obito's stare. "I thought my specific instructions were to bring her to me dead." The threat implied at the end of the sentence did not go unnoticed by Zetsu.

"I'm sorry Obito-sama. The large man named Kisame-" Zetsu started, but was cut off when Obito raised his hand to silence him.

"I don't care what excuses you have. I gave you a job and I expected you to get it done or die trying," Obito said harshly.

"What a way to treat your subordinates," another voice chimed in. Walking out of the darkness was Itachi, his face cool and calculating.

Obito turned back to look at him, another look of annoyance overtaking his features. "Yes, Itachi, please come and join us."

Itachi stopped a little ways away from Obito, but he seemed to purposefully sidestep, as if he was trying to avoid something. Sakura found this a little odd, but that was until she saw the flash of a lens from within the cover of the dark hall.

Upon squinting her eyes, as inconspicuously as she could, she noticed a man with brown hair crouching close to the wall, a camera the size of a person's head in his arms. It was pointed directly at Obito, and Itachi had stepped out of the way to make sure that the camera had a direct shot.

"Obito, I will ask you one last time, call off this revolt that you are leading," Itachi said, putting in the last part of the sentence for clarification. If Obito thought he was speaking superfluously, then he didn't say anything.

Obito shook his head with a sigh. "Not this again, Itachi. This has been given too much thought – too much time and effort – for all of it to just go to waste. I have waited years for this moment."

"Then it's not about the people of the Underground, is it? It's all about you getting revenge on the system," Itachi pushed.

"Enough! Obito-sama doesn't have to answer to you! Everything he's been doing has been for the benefit of everyone in the Underground!" Zetsu yelled. Itachi looked at Obito and saw his eyes narrow in annoyance towards Zetsu's direction, but the man on the ground could not see it because of his position.

"Do you really believe this violence is going to solve anything? Do you believe it's what the people want, or what you've just convinced them to want?" Itachi asked, ignoring Zetsu.

Zetsu was about to speak in Obito's defense again, but the Uchiha beat him to it, "What they want to do is their decision. It doesn't affect me whatsoever if they desire violence or not."

"So if people are killed, then it doesn't bother you at all? What happened to the altruistic system that you wanted to build?" Itachi asked.

"Like I said before, peace requires sacrifices. It matters not whether the police or the people fall under that category," Obito said. He was getting a little disturbed by the amount of questions Itachi was asking. It wasn't as if the younger Uchiha was going to be able to convince him to kill off the Raid.

"So the death of the people you claim to be fighting for will only advance your plan?"

"Obito-sama would never-"

"People are…" Obito cut Zetsu off again, staring up at the ceiling to find the correct word he was looking for, "disposable."

The whole room went silent. Zetsu's mouth was agape, while Sakura's was clenched shut in anger.

Itachi remained stoic on the outside. But on the inside, he was smirking.

He had Obito right where he wanted him.

"No human being is disposable," Itachi said honestly. At this point, he had to speak from the heart if he was to convince the people of the Underground that they were on the wrong side.

"Oh, but they are," Obito said, his eyes wide in mania. It was at this point that Itachi stiffened, becoming guarded. There wasn't a hint of humanity left in Obito's eyes. "Everything that's happened up to this point has been because of me, not them. The only person I've had to rely on is myself, and they are only pawns for me to play."

"So you're not truly granting them their freedom, are you?" Itachi knew that all of Tokyo was watching, so he had to prod deeper.

"Oh, they'll get their freedom, alright. I still think that it's unfair that they've had to live in the shadows while the rest of the city remained oblivious. However, they still need someone to lead them. Do you think any of them are smart enough to get to where they are now if I had not specifically placed them there?"

"People are not pieces on a chess board."

"They are to me!" A malicious grin took over Obito's face. "I have to do the planning for them otherwise everything will be ruined. People like them are meant to follow minds like mine."

"That's not freedom, that's a dictatorship. If anything, you're going to make the system worse for everyone. You are not giving any people free will."

Obito smirked. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." Itachi's face remained the same. "What's the matter? Do you not believe me when I say that people are disposable? Alright, I'll give you an example."

With that, Obito walked over to Zetsu, looking at his disheveled form with a mixture of pity and disgust. "This is what comes of when I trust people to do a job for me and they fall short," Obito explained to Itachi, his eyes trained on Zetsu. He pointed his gun towards the male, a small smile on his face.

"Obito, don't!" Itachi yelled, stepping forward to stop his cousin from proceeding. Even if Zetsu was on the opposite side, Itachi didn't want anyone to die.

"W-wait, Obito-sama, I-" Zetsu started, but with the firearm still in his face, his fear morphed into anger. "You selfish brat! You wouldn't have been here if I didn't-"

"I have no further use for you," Obito said simply, with an eerie calmness to contrast Zetsu's outburst. Then, he pulled the trigger.

Sakura watched in horror as Zetsu's body fell to the ground in a heap. There was no struggle or spark of life emitting from him afterwards. Obito had gotten him right in the head.

After a moment of silence, albeit not the respectful kind, Obito said, "Do you see what I mean, Itachi? Haruno-san? Disposable. And now, in the end, I'm the one who has to pick up his slack." Obito said as he rounded on Sakura and stalked towards her, intent on finishing the job he had sent Zetsu to do. He checked the watch on his wrist. "I am really running behind schedule, let's make this quick."

When he looked up from his watch, Itachi had already rounded him without him noticing, and he stood in front of Sakura like a stronghold. Obito raised an eyebrow, but wasn't intimidated.

Itachi looked over Obito's shoulder for a split second, seeing the silhouette his father there with the camera. He seemed to realize that Itachi was in a dangerous situation, especially confronting a crazy man with a gun, but he kept his grip on the camera steady. Fugaku wouldn't intervene too early and risk exposing them. He trusted that Itachi knew what he was doing.

"Answer me one last question, Obito," Itachi said, clear enough so that the camera could pick it up, "are you willing to be a sacrifice for your vision? Like other people are?"

Obito looked at his cousin quizzically, seeming to ponder the question. His muscles relaxed and his gun dropped to his side. During this time, Sakura had stood up and went to stand next to Itachi, instead of behind him. Itachi seemed a bit less anxious when she stood by his side.

"I have already made many sacrifices," Obito answered simply.

"Oh, stop going around the question," Sakura said with a scowl, "what he's trying to ask is if your cause is more important to you than you leading it."

Itachi's eyes moved to Sakura's before casting them down towards Obito's hand with the gun in it. Sakura followed his gaze immediately understanding what he wanted her to do.

"But those two things go hand in hand, don't they? No one else can accomplish my dream but me. So, the answer is no, I would not make myself a sacrifice for this goal, no matter how many of them have to come before."

"That's all I needed to hear," Itachi said.

Sakura took that as her queue to launch herself forward, swiftly ramming her foot into the back of Obito's knee and her elbow into his ribs. His gun involuntarily slipped from his grip, allowing Sakura to catch it in both of her hands. She then jumped back a couple steps away from him.

Obito glared at her fiercely, but Sakura remained unfazed. Itachi simply took Obito's shock as a chance to walk over to Sakura calmly. She offered him the gun, and he took it, albeit with a little hesitation. Both of their backs were facing the camera.

Obito recovered quickly from his injuries, standing up straight to face the two of them. "So now what are you going to do, Itachi? Kill me? You don't have the courage to do that." Obito taunted as he stretched his arms out wide, like an offering.

"No," Itachi said calmly, "but it is not because I lack courage." He lifted the gun above his head so that the camera could capture it, and he spoke loudly for his message to ring clear.

"This," he said as he gripped the gun, "is not how society should be solving their problems. It takes the collective mind of every single person in order to make a system work. It shouldn't run on fear or apathy, but understanding and compromise." Itachi glanced at Sakura for a moment, noticing the small smile on her face.

"But there cannot be peace if we do not induce fear in everyone! Then what would be the incentive to remain civil?" Obito asked, his eyes frantically looking between the two.

"The incentive…would be the care that you have for people other than yourself," Sakura supplied, taking the words right out of Itachi's mouth.

Itachi took the gun that he had and threw it to the side of the room, a symbol that he would not use violence to finish the job.

Obito was somewhere between laughing and hyperventilating. His fingers were tearing into his hair as he frantically looked about the room.

"I haven't lost yet," he muttered to himself, not noticing the sound of an opening door behind him. "I haven't lost yet."

"No, Obito," Itachi said, looking over his shoulder at the men pouring in through the front door, "you have lost."

Obito slowly, reluctantly, looked over his shoulder to see uniformed men standing in front of the glass doors, blocking the possibility of escape.

Obito's eyes widened as he looked into the singular eye of his old partner.

"Uchiha Obito," Kakashi started, his voice strained slightly, "you are under arrest." Kakashi turned towards the rest of the police officers. "Take him away."

"No!" Obito screamed in disbelief, shaking his head frantically. "No, no, no, no, no-" Obito's mutterings continued as the police officers closed in on him. "Get away from me! Get away! NO!" Obito screeched as he tried to pull his arms away from the people that were restraining him.

It was a difficult sight to watch.

Out of the group of people that had come in, one of them walked towards Itachi and Sakura, his hands in his pockets and his eye trained on the criminal struggling behind him.

"Sasuke," Itachi greeted professionally.

"Chief Uchiha," he responded in the same manner, giving a polite nod to Sakura.

"How the hell did you guys know that we were here?" Sakura asked, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"We tried to go off the image on the screens, but it was too dark to see anything. That's when your brother found me," he said as he nodded to Sakura, making her overcome with relief that her brother was able to make it out safely, "and told me that you two were together. I went off the assumption that you still have the chipped necklace on you and I went to Itachi's desk to find the tracker."

"But," Sakura looked down at her neck, seeing nothing there, "I'm not wearing it. I left it on my-"

A silver chain then appeared in front of her, the thin cylinder pendant swinging back and forth across her vision like a pendulum.

Sakura looked up at Itachi curiously. "I took it from your bed when you went to chase after Hidan," he explained simply. He then turned back to Sasuke, "Well done; I didn't expect you to remember a detail like that."

Sakura took the necklace from him and grasped it in her hands. It was funny: the thing that she once viewed as a restraint probably ended up saving her life.

It was then that Fugaku revealed himself from the shadows, leaving the camera behind. Sasuke's posture immediately straightened at the sight of his father, and Shisui had walked over to stand next to Sasuke. With that, the four Uchiha glanced over at their defective relative, who was still struggling against his fate.

"So that's Obito now, huh?" Sasuke asked blatantly, although his tone held a bit of melancholy.

"I don't even want to believe it," Shisui said as he shook his head. He looked over to Itachi and Sakura. "You two have a lot of explaining to do." With that, he walked over to join Kakashi and the rest of the squad.

"I should-" Sasuke started.

"Wait, Sasuke," Fugaku said in a commanding tone. Sasuke immediately turned his attention directly to his father, his face stoic, yet tense. Fugaku wondered if this was just the first time he had noticed his son's fearful expression, or if he did before but he just never cared.

"Yes, sir," Sasuke said tersely.

Fugaku stood so that he was facing his two sons. Sakura, sensing that he was about to say something that didn't concern her, took a couple steps back. After a few moments of standing in front of Sasuke and Itachi with his eyes closed, he took a deep breath, and exhaled it slowly.

"Itachi, Sasuke…I'm proud, of you both."

And with that Fugaku walked off in the direction that the police were dragging Obito.

Sasuke and Itachi stood frozen for a little bit, staring at the spot where their father was. An unfamiliar feeling flowed through both of them. It wasn't happiness – they couldn't quite describe it. It felt…weird. Unnatural.

Itachi was the first to break out of his reverie when Sakura walked up to him and laced her fingers through his. He looked down at her and smiled softly, squeezing her hand to reassure her that he was okay.

Sasuke recovered from his shock a moment later. He looked towards his father's retreating back, and then towards their intertwined hands, back to his father, and then their hands again. Sasuke finally looked Itachi in the eye, and the older Uchiha almost wanted to laugh with how lost Sasuke looked.

"You have a lot of fucking explaining to do," Sasuke reiterated.

It had been a month since then, but to say that everything had returned back to normal would be a lie.

After the whole confrontation had been broadcasted across Tokyo, there was mass outrage from both the Upper- and Underground people. For the Underground people especially, they had found out that they were following someone who had no hope for them, who didn't care for them the way they had idealized him to. It left them lost and disoriented.

The thousands of people who decided not to participate in the Raid and had hidden underground were found out, but Itachi ordered for them not to be moved until he could find proper accommodations and fix the current situation at hand.

After the power had been fixed in the city, Itachi had gone on live television, which was broadcasted not only to the city of Tokyo, but to the entire nation, extending a formal apology for the inherent criminalization of those in lower socioeconomic standing, and the promise that he would include all of the people in the rebuilding of the city.

And it was just as Obito thought: when people were scared, they looked for someone to guide them. The only difference was that the man guiding them now cared about the welfare of all the citizens.

Ever since that broadcast, she had barely seen Itachi around.

He had been traveling all over the country, meeting with the prime minister and other delegated officials to discuss allocating money towards housing programs for the poor and remedial programs for those who were put into jail or had lived in the Underground and were forced to commit crimes. The criminals wanted for murder and other more serious crimes were tried and handled appropriately.

The one time she was able to see him in person was the day he had arranged for Kisame's funeral. He took the entire day off of work – ignored all calls, meetings, and messages – and just focused solely on her, holding her hand through the pain of what felt like losing a parent. The funeral was small, only consisting of Sakura, Gaara, Sasori, Itachi, and just a few other people from the Underground that admired him during his fighting days.

No, wait, there was one other attendee.

At the very end of the short ceremony, a blonde man placed a bouquet of flowers on Kisame's casket before they took him off to create him. Sakura looked at the newcomer in shock, and was surprised to find Deidara, who had been missing since the Raid, saying a short prayer to the fallen man. He looked at Sakura for a brief moment and smiled in melancholy, then vanished before Sasori even knew he was there.

Her family was doing well too – Gaara was studying for his college entrance exams and Sasori had been getting a lot more work around the city because new establishments were coming up with the influx of people. They had both been slightly traumatized by everything that happened, but they worked through it together.

There was also the fact that when Sasori found out that she was dating Itachi, he was practically bouncing up and down with happiness.

The only person who hadn't seemed to benefit from all the change was Obito. He was sentenced to life in prison for an act of domestic terrorism. Even until the end, he had still deluded himself into thinking that he was being righteous.

There was still quite a long way to go. A month wasn't enough to fix the entire infrastructure around them, but the small baby steps that inched closer to a better future were better than remaining stagnant.

With that thought fresh in her mind, Sakura made her way down the pavement towards the park that Itachi had told her to meet him at. It was one of the rare days he was home, and although Sakura would rather punch her own teeth out than admit it, she missed him greatly.

She hugged her large sweatshirt closer to her chest, trying to protect her skin from the cold breeze. She had on light gray sweatpants, since she had just come from the gym, and her hair was tied up in a small ponytail.

She found him sitting on a park bench in his normal, refined manner, while checking through something on his phone. He was wearing a long high-collared black coat with matching black trousers, and unintentionally, he was exuding what she liked to call a "tall, dark, and handsome" aura that seemed to draw in a lot of annoying female attention. From where she was, she could see many women pointing at him and giggling, some even trying to catch his gaze.

Sakura hoped that she was giving off enough angry vibes to repel them.

"Hey, Robot," Sakura greeted casually. Itachi immediately looked up at her and smiled. He pocketed his phone and stood, towering over her.

"Hello, Sakura," Itachi greeted, reaching up with two fingers to give her the customary tap on the forehead. She puffed her cheeks out a little, pretending to be annoyed, when she was really endeared by the action. It was Itachi's way of showing affection, since neither of them were too keen on anything too intimate in public. "Shall we?" Itachi asked as he motioned down the sidewalk. Sakura nodded, and the two of them began their stroll.

"How's your work been going? I know you leave out a lot of details in your calls because of complicated political jargon," Sakura said.

Itachi released an almost-imperceptible sigh. "It is alright, I suppose. The pace that we are going at now for reformation is slow, but acceptable. We're receiving large amounts of backlash from conglomerates that don't like the idea of raising taxes slightly to pay for the new homeless establishments."

"That sounds…absolutely terrible. I'm damn glad I don't have your job," Sakura muttered. She wouldn't want to deal with all the politics that go into financial decisions. That sounds like too much of a headache.

"There are times when even I do not wish to have it," Itachi commented wistfully. "Anyway, speaking of jobs, is the kickboxing ring running smoothly?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, it's been fine. Taking over Kisame and managing the thing has been a lot of work, especially since I don't completely know what I'm doing, but I think it's doing fine. Paycheck's been much better than my last odd job."

"Kisame-san would have been proud that you are carrying on his legacy," Itachi commented. Sakura said nothing but a small smile spread across her face as she nodded. "I believe this is a good time to talk to you about why I called this meeting."

She knew that he was speaking in that business tone of his just to piss her off.

Itachi reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a single white envelope. It was an official-looking thing, she observed when he handed it to her.

"What's this?" She asked cautiously.

"Open it," Itachi said.

Sakura ripped open the letter as carefully as she could (which was still quite messy by Itachi's standards), and took out the single sheet of paper with a small block of text as the top and a form with blank lines taking up the rest of the page.

Dear Haruno Sakura-san,

Due to your work in exposing the domestic terrorism attempted by Uchiha Obito, the city of Tokyo and the nation of Japan would like to offer their sincere gratitude to you and your family. Please fill out this bank wire transfer form to receive your five million yen reward. Send the letter to the return address specified on the envelope. Thank you for your service.

Regards,

Sarutobi Hiruzen

Prime Minister of Japan

"Whoa, no way!" Sakura exclaimed as she looked at the amount of money they wanted to transfer over to her. A couple people stopped to look at her after her outburst, but she did not pay them any mind. Itachi knew the reward that was in the letter, as he had gotten a similar one. He just looked upon Sakura's expression endearingly.

"This is – they're basically paying me Japan's average income in a reward," Sakura sputtered, this time keeping her voice lower on the topic of money.

"You deserve it. You risked your life to save the millions that would have been affected by the Raid. Just take the money," Itachi said, pushing the piece of paper she was holding closer to her chest.

"Oh, I'll take money from the government, no problem," Sakura said reassuringly, "but I want you to have some of it," she finished.

"Why would I take your money?" Itachi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because you paid off my debt, that's why! Don't think I've forgotten about that, Uchiha Itachi." She poked him in the chest with her pointer finger. Itachi raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"I did that because I wanted to. I will hold nothing over your head," he said simply.

"Yeah, well, I want to pay you back because I want to!" Sakura implored.

Itachi paid off about three million yen from her debt. Since she had five million, she would still be left with an extra two million, which would really help her with the bills-

"No," Itachi said, abruptly stopping her train of thought. With that, he started to walk off.

Sakura took a little while to process what he had just said, before she started stammering out her protests. "N-no? What the hell do you mean no? Itachi get back here, we're not done," she yelled as she saw him walk further into the park.

What she also saw was a woman, probably in her early twenties, with long, slightly-spiked red hair, walking on the same path opposite to them. The problem was that her eyes were lecherously trained on Itachi.

A vein popped on Sakura's head. Hell no, honey, that's my man.

Before Itachi even knew what was happening, Sakura ran up to him and interlaced her fingers in his. He looked down at her quizzically, before he saw her discreetly cast her glance to the side, towards the red-haired woman walking by them. Her eyes narrowed at Sakura before she completely passed them.

Ah, now he saw the issue.

Sakura scrunched her nose in annoyance. "Hmph, damn right, bitch," she muttered over her shoulder.

Itachi let out a hearty chuckle at that, making Sakura turn towards him and blush slightly in embarrassment. "Oh, shut up," Sakura mumbled as she ducked her head in order to avoid his eyes.

"Sakura."

"Yeah?" She asked, her head still down.

"Look at me." Sakura knew he was going to tease her or something, but she complied with his wish anyway.

That was when she felt a slight pressure on her lips, as Itachi dipped down and kissed her softly. She was shocked for moment, mainly because it wasn't like Itachi to show PDA, being as conservative as he was.

It only took a few seconds for Sakura to respond. They kissed softly – it was chaste, yet passionate at the same time. Itachi's thumbs were drawing circles on Sakura's cheeks, and Sakura's arms had wrapped around his neck loosely.

When they finally broke apart, Itachi ended by placing a lasting kiss on her forehead and then laying his cheek on top of her head.

"I love you," he said quietly.

Sakura almost didn't believe he had said anything.

She knew how he felt, as his emotions had been revealed when they were stuck in the Underground together.

But this was the first time that she had ever heard him say it.

Sakura removed her head from under his cheek and looked deep into the onyx abyss of his eyes. She reached up to touch his cheek, and his hand immediately covered hers and held it to his face.

"…It took you a while," she said softly, making a lighthearted comment out of the situation as she always did.

Itachi shrugged as he leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers. "I'm learning."

This was not where they thought they would end up when they entered the police academy.

About fifteen men and women were lined up inside a kickboxing dojo. The smell of sweat, the sound of glove hitting bag, and the sight of hard work and perspiration were the only things that flooded the senses.

Each of the new recruits looked around curiously, wondering if they had been given the wrong address and if they were actually late to their training session. This sparked immense anxiety from all of them before the police chief himself appeared before them, and pink-haired woman trailing behind him slightly.

"Good morning cadets," Itachi said.

"Good morning, sir!" They replied in unison, straightening their posture in the face of their leader.

"I suspect that this is not where you were expecting us to meet." Meek nods from his trainees were his only response. "Well, I suggest you make yourself familiar with your surroundings, because you will be spending a lot of training time in here.

"Training is going to be hard, stressful, sometimes agonizing. There are going to be times when you feel like giving up is a better option than pushing forward, because it is much easier to quit ahead before you have failed.

"But that is not how I run my police force. I want you to fail, and embrace that failure, and then get back up again. Don't use your inadequacies to beat yourself down. Use them to push yourself harder, and grow stronger because of that.

"No matter what your life was like before now, you will not pass everything in this training program in the first try, but our city needs people who are resilient, who are passionate, and who have the will to keep fighting. The people of this city deserve no less."

Almost immediately, his words started to take effect. The cadets, who were once anxious and frantic, squared their soldiers and looked at him with determination. That was exactly what he wanted to see.

"Haruno Sakura will be taking over your combat training." He motioned for Sakura to come forward and stand next to him. "You are to follow everything she tells you to do. Is that clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" His cadets responded.

Sakura could already see them sizing her up, even the women. Even if their leader said to take her seriously, they highly doubted someone with a small frame and pink hair would be able to teach them much.

Good, she thought. She'll take even more pleasure in their surprise.

"Alright Sakura, I'll leave them to you," Itachi said.

Sakura nodded then clapped her hands once. "Hit the mats, let's go!"

The cadets rushed forward, eager to please her.

Itachi sighed as he watched the freshmen scurry around. "Try not to terrorize them too much, now."

Sakura just cracked her knuckles and smirked. "No promises."

Alright, that's it, folks! Thank you so much for reading and for all of your support. Especially for getting through this maaaaad long chapter!

**And just so you guys know, the promise that Sakura made Kisame was back in Chapter 9 if you want to revisit it. I'm sorry! I'd been planning to kill Kisame off the whole time! It breaks my heart, but it's true.

I hope you guys understand the actions of the Underground people. All people act irrationally when they are scared. They look for someone to tell them what to do, and this is something that I've seen first-hand in real life. That's one of the core themes that I was trying to portray in the story. Although it was more dramatized in this case, let me know what you guys think about it.

Special thanks to: mxixnxh, Sakura the Crystal Rose, Cruisegirl86, Emilly da Great, loveitasakuxx, Seijuuro-chan, smb. xoo, Itachan, TheProdigy'sWife14, greenlightsforever1, gingerbridge, kaze mo, GreyMoon. Huntress, Angie2002-01, nervousdreamwriter19, and XxXMoonstoneEye19720XxX for reviewing!

Please leave a review with your final thoughts of the story! It would mean so much to me if you guys would leave just one remark telling me what you thought.

As always, I hope you are all having a fantastic day wherever you are! Thank you once again!