Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, which indefinitely sucks.

Thank you to everyone who has been keeping with me these past few weeks! I know that some of you haven't really agreed with the pairings in this fic, but I appreciated everyone's responses to the past 2 chapters.

Anyway, I'll shut up and get on with the next chapter. Hope everyone likes it ok! I didn't want to move things along too quickly without giving the story line some proper thought because I didn't want to kill it. Lol!

If you want, please review! I'd love to hear back from you all! xD

Blackbloodedkunoichi (beta) A/N: Ne, Sakura-chan, you are such an awesome writer! You surpass me by far hahaha 3

NEH if you people don't review Sakura-chan then...then sob we will both be very upset! Review and give her kisses and hugs and luuurve! Because this baby girl needs it! Give her some love! (Is it okay if I write this A/N? XD)

Stained Cherry Blossoms

Fate's Cruelty

It was early morning, when a dark figure emerged from the forest. His charge had already departed on her latest mission, leaving him to check up on his latest, secret vendetta.

With fluid, rapid movements, he had moved through the forest swiftly, getting to his destination in under an hour. As always, his slick mind and deadly ability allowed him to move about without being detected. Dark onyx eyes narrowed maliciously on his target as he watched them exit the safety of their own home and move stealthily to the roofs of the oldest estate in Konoha.

He smirked.

You've waited too long. He thought as he silently followed. Your blood shall spill.

Sakura woke early. Her emerald gaze traveling around the room, taking in her surroundings. Sitting up, she rubbed one of her eyes before pulling her knees up to her chin and resting her arms atop them. Silence still engulfed the room as the early morning birds chirped quietly outside.

Something didn't feel right.

Yawning and stretching, her jade gaze found the clock on the bedside table.

It read 5:25.

Rolling her eyes, she slipped out of bed and to the bathroom, emerging ten minutes later fully dressed and ready to go. Grabbing a fistful of her shoulder length pink hair, she pulled it up into a ponytail, tying it back so that it would stay out of her way. Her outfit had changed in the months that she'd been staying with Sasuke. She'd replaced her normal red top with her clan's symbol on the back with one of his older shirts, and a pair of loose-fitting black capris. Grabbing her weapon's pouch, she strapped on her kunai holster and slid her sandals on.

She was going to train early.

Her eyes came to rest on the figure slumped on the couch in the living room. She smiled softly as she went to his side, grabbing the throw blanket from the back of the couch, and covering him up.

"See you in a few hours Sasuke-kun." She whispered in his ear, her lips brushing his cheek softly.

With that, she left, leaping to the roofs of the Uchiha Estate, stealthily making her way towards the training grounds where she and Sasuke had been training consistently for almost a year.

Itachi smirked.

This was going to be just too easy.

Sakura noticed a change in the wind when she arrived at their private training spot. A shiver went down her spine, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

Something really wasn't right.

It happened before she knew what to expect. A deadly blur of red and black clouded her vision as she found herself slammed up against a tree. She cried out in shock and choked on warm liquid coming up her throat…

Blood.

"Wha-what do you want you fucking asshole?" She choked out, glaring furiously up into murderously red sharingan. The pain in the back of her head becoming almost unbearable as Itachi's grip tightened harshly, yanking her chin up to expose her slender neck to him. His hand slid from her hair to around her throat within seconds. Sakura gasped as she felt her air supply drain as his cold fingers squeezed her esophagus tightly.

"You've broken your word, little kunoichi." He said icily.

Sakura's eyes widened.

"Let me go." She mouthed, her head beginning to spin from lack of oxygen. She kicked her feet, trying hard to knock one of his legs out from under him. But Itachi was too quick for that. He easily blocked her kick, crushing her shin with his leg guard. He stood about two feet from her, his arm closing the distance between them easily and lifted her small form off of the ground, keeping her pressed firmly to the tree. He watched as she continued to struggle a moment longer before gradually giving in and going limp in his hold.

He threw her to the forest floor once he felt her concede.

Sakura smirked wearily to herself when she felt Itachi release her. Silently, she reached behind her, pulling kunai into her right hand. As Itachi began to approach her seemingly "limp" form, she leapt up, chucking the kunai at him as hard as she could.

He smirked.

So this would be more of a challenge than expected.

Good.

Oh how he hated easy kills.

Sakura glared angrily as she set up her next attack. Her body was still recovering from loss of air, but she felt the strength gradually returning to her muscles as she flipped over a branch, putting more distance between herself and the eldest Uchiha. She could feel him gaining on her fast, and she knew she had to think of something quick. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, driving her to a whole new level of focus this early in the morning. A plan began to take form in her mind, and she quickly yanked several exploding tags from her pouch. Smirking to herself, she spun around, throwing at least a hundred small stamp-sized tags at her opponent. They showered around him like falling leaves, several landing on him. Not wasting a second, Sakura threw the activating kunai with the largest exploding tag trailing behind and took off as fast as she could.

BOOM!

The heat from the explosion engulfed the whole area as Sakura looked behind her, pausing briefly on a branch to survey the collateral damage. At least an acre of trees were destroyed, some still burning and the grass below was charred.

Poof!

Sakura whirled in time to block a vicious attack to her upper torso by an upper cutting kunai. "A-a clone?" She whispered incredulously. Itachi smirked. "You've grown stronger, kunoichi. But it will not be enough to save you."

Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously and she began to gather chakra to her fists. "That so huh?" She said smugly.
Itachi raised an eyebrow at her. She is different than the others.

"Most people fall to their knees in fear once they find out I'm going to kill them." He said in a taunting voice.

Sakura glared at him. "And most people have learned to stop doubting me so fucking much." She fired back, her green eyes blazing with anger.

"Why the hell won't you just leave Sasuke-kun alone!" She yelled, coming at him again, this time changing her angle of attack, so that she put herself directly in front of him. Itachi smirked. In a split second, he had successfully knocked her off of her feet and pinned her to the ground. He caught both of her hands in his own, quickly tying them together using chakra strings.

Sakura struggled against him. "Get off me you fucking bastard." She growled. She felt her chin being jerked up to look into his eyes.

"Why do you care?" He asked, his eyes showing no emotion, one of his many icy barriers.

Her emerald eyes that once burned with such inner fire seemed to be extinguished within that same moment. They were replaced with a sudden surge of fear and hesitation.
"Oh come now kunoichi, you were so eager to talk a moment ago. What changed?" Itachi mocked his tone smug but his glare dangerous.

Sakura shuddered. "You are such an asshole." She tore her eyes from his face, staring instead at the tree leaves over his shoulder. She brought her foot up in between his legs, nailing him hard in the groin, nearly crippling him for a few moments. His reaction was enough to show her that her speed had indeed improved and she rolled backwards and away from the deadliest missing-nin from all of Konoha.

She took off running as fast as she possibly could, not once looking back but using her sixth sense to detect the distance between her and Itachi as she formulated a plan in her mind.

When given opportunity, Sakura always seized it. Tsunade would have expected no less from her young apprentice.

Itachi had given her an opening, and she snatched said opportunity. She broke through the chakra strings binding her wrists together, having studied enough from Tsunade on how to do so. A kunai with a tag wrapped around its handle sliced easily through her enemy's bonds. In a matter of seconds, Sakura set up a trap for her pursuer. She did several handseals, setting off the trap a bit early, getting him to sidestep an explosion he would've evaded had he maneuvered around the trap. Sakura smirked, but her smug look was wiped clean off of her face as Itachi flew through the flames, arms crossed in front of his face, a deadly glare in his eyes and two large kunai gripped in both hands. Sakura flipped out of the way as the first kunai came towards her throat, and then leapt off the branch she was on, falling to the forest floor below.

Itachi watched her and as she fell, he made his move.

Two exploding bunshins cross attacked, both forming seals for a katon jutsu. Each took turns nailing sharp, precise hits on her body as she fell. Itachi watched from afar, waiting for the right moment to bring her completely under his mercy.

Sakura landed hard, blood dripping from a wound somewhere on her forehead and from her mouth. She stood shakily, holding her left side tenderly and looked around, green eyes wide with fear. She pulled shuriken in between her fingers, taking a deep calming breath.

Focus Sakura, focus. She thought to herself. Remembering her training with Sasuke, she knew enough to watch out for doujutsu that Itachi would surely use to subdue her. Well, if the bastard wants to play that way… she thought silently. Gathering what chakra she could, she focused it to her eyes.

Her vision increased impossibly well, giving her the same effects as the first level of a beginner Sharingan user. True, she did not have the bloodline ability, her chakra control was perfect though, and thus, this technique she'd learned from Sasuke to predict her opponent's movements and attacks would save her in this fight.

Itachi came at her, attacking viciously and hard.

But Sakura was ready for him. She spun in mid air, throwing shurikens at both of them, flipping upside down to avoid several balls of fire hurtling at her. The two bunshins disappeared but more came in their place. Soon, Sakura was running low on chakra, her new technique draining a considerable amount out of her, and it took a lot just to keep it up.

"I…won't lose...to you." She panted, breathing hard as she evaded more fire attacks from the elder Uchiha.

He was relentless. The moment Sakura stopped running was when he knew he had her. Her stamina had improved in the months since she'd destroyed the snake Sannin, but it wasn't enough to keep up with him, Uchiha Itachi.

He closed the 50 meter distance between them within a blind second, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt and slamming her up against a tree. He smirked as he recognized his younger brother's old shirt on her.

"You have proven yourself to be worthy of an Uchiha." He murmured in her ear. "But you were not strong enough to stop me."

Sakura gasped for air as sweat beaded down the sides of her face. "I, don't have…to beat…you. W-we'll get you soon enough." She started coughing fiercely, closing her eyes tightly so she wouldn't make the mistake of looking into Itachi's stern red gaze.

"You know, you're just as stubborn as your little friend." Itachi said in a low voice.

Sakura's eyes snapped open wide at this. "Wh-what do you mean!" she snapped, her eyes narrowing on him. "Where is she! What have you done to Ino-chan!"

Itachi smirked. "What have I done to her?" He asked mockingly.

"Damn you fucking bastard! Tell me where she is! What's happened to her!"

She froze when she felt a cold finger trace over her flushed cheek and then to her lips.

"Such a vile tongue on a fragile little thing." He tsked audibly, knowingly taunting her. Sakura growled and lashed out, biting towards his finger but only succeeding in catching thin air in her barbaric grasp.

"You'd best stop worrying about your friend and worry about yourself. It seems you have forgotten our deal, little kunoichi."

Sakura felt a shiver go up her spine. "I haven't forgotten." She said in a dangerous tone, her glare more than intensifying.

"I told you I would kill you if you didn't deliver my message to my foolish little brother."

"Yeah, and what of it?" She countered, fiery anger boiling her blood once again.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at her. "You make the mistake of mocking me, kunoichi. This spells death for most people." Sakura closed her eyes, waiting for death to come.

It didn't. Several long, drawn out seconds passed.

Instead, she felt a hard pressure at the juncture of her neck. Before darkness took over, she heard, "Do not take my threat lightly kunoichi. I will see you again."

Sasuke raced down the street as fast as he could. The bad feeling in the pit of his stomach growing as he rushed to the hospital. Less than 10 minutes ago, one of his ANBU subordinates had shown up at his door, a grave message to deliver.

Haruno Sakura had been found an hour earlier, bloody, beaten and unconscious in the forest.

Now, as he came to a skidding halt in the lobby of the hospital, his eyes bled to red as he scanned the list of patients at the nurse's desk. Without waiting for permission, he dashed up four flights of stairs, taking three at a time to get there faster.

Sakura was still unconscious when he got there. He noticed someone already in the room, and his breath released as he realized it was their former sensei, Kakashi.

"Sasuke, you can stop pretending not to be there." The silver haired Jounin's voice filtered through the open doorway. Sasuke grunted, shoving his hands in his pockets before casually kicking the door open the rest of the way and making his entrance.

"Kakashi. What happened?" He asked, attempting to make himself seem uncaring. Not too many people in Konoha knew of his feelings toward his female teammate, and he wanted to keep it that way, at least until after they both defeated Itachi together.

"She was attacked this morning while training." Kakashi replied, pulling out his perverted orange book. Icha Icha Paradise.

Sasuke made a private note to use a Katon jutsu on his sensei's whole collection.

He waited for his old sensei to elaborate, but Kakashi just shrugged his shoulders, gesturing towards the seat beside the bed that held a petite, bandaged form. A monitor beeped every other second, monitoring Sakura's heart rate, and a respirator mask covered her nose and mouth, delivering medicated gas into her damaged lungs.

Kakashi gripped the younger Uchiha's shoulder tightly. "Stay. She needs you." He said simply, giving his former prodigy student a push towards the bed before moving out of the room. Sasuke stood stolidly in place, waiting to hear the click of the door closing behind his old sensei. Once he felt Kakashi's chakra sense get farther away, he moved toward the bed where his teammate lay.

"Sakura…" He whispered softly. Anger boiled in his blood as he clenched both hands into tight fists. His fingernails cut into the palms of his hands, drawing blood slowly. Onyx eyes glared at the floor, as if willing this all to be a dream.

"I'm sorry." he said, walking closer and resting a hand on her shoulder. "I should have been there."

It was the middle of the night when she returned. Her clothes were stained with blood and her chakra was running low. Leaping gracefully from the trees, she flipped over the tall gates of what had become her second home for almost a year. She knew he wouldn't be there. In fact, he'd told her three nights before that he would be gone when she came home that night.

Ino sighed.

This was becoming a little too scheduled. She'd asked Itachi what was going on and why Sakura had been brought to the Akatsuki stronghold. Itachi had answered that she was part of a plan to bait Kyuubi. But that made no sense. If her best friend was bait for Naruto, why wouldn't she have been held hostage? Why release her?

A sudden thought had crossed her mind then.

Sasuke.

Itachi had been talking about his confrontation with his younger brother for at least a few months now. Ino couldn't help but think Sakura's relationship with Sasuke had a connection somehow as to why she had been here. Ino rolled her eyes. She knew the truth would be revealed sooner or later. If it all came down to it, she would watch Itachi go off to face his little brother, then follow along behind just to be sure that her lover survived.

I'll help you Ita-kun. I just want to be happy with you, and I can't do that if you're dead. She thought to herself. Ino entered her room, stripping down to her undergarments the minute she'd closed the bathroom door behind her. Turning on the tap, she stepped into the shower, undressing fully and standing under the harsh pelting hot water. It soothed her sore muscles, but she smirked at how defined they had become over the past several months. Rusty orange water ran down her body as she scrubbed her hair clean of the blood that had been caked to it for the past two days. As soon as she was done showering, she heard a noise in the other room. She flipped off the water and wrapped herself in a towel; peeking out through the doorway to see who it was that had signed their own death sentence by entering her room without her permission.

Angry blue looked up into amused onyx.

"I-Ita-kun!" She squeaked, backing away from the door as it opened all the way. "What're you doing home?" She asked, reaching for her clothes. A warm hand stopped her actions as she felt herself being pulled towards him.

The towel slipped as he enveloped her in his arms and she blushed heavily, averting her gaze from his face as she realized she now was wrapped in his arms, completely naked.

"Whoops." She heard him whisper amusedly in her ear.

"I-I thought y-you said that you w-wouldn't b-be home for a-a while…" she stuttered, shyly reaching for the towel. She was stopped as Itachi scooped her up into his arms, laid them both on the bed, and leaned down, capturing her lips with his own, keeping her from protesting. His Akatsuki cloak covering them both and warming Ino's slightly chilled body. The cool silk sheets felt good against her clean skin, and she wrapped both arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer to her. She moaned softly as he took complete control, his fingers left hot trails on her skin, setting her on fire as desire flooded her senses. She drew him closer to her and whispered in his ear, "I've missed you." She felt him smirk against her lips. Ino giggled as his lips trailed down her neck, suckling at the skin, tickling her. Her hands found the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up over his head, tossing it aside.

She sighed contentedly as she felt him press their bare chests together. The contact making her almost nostalgic from the first time they were together. Ino laid her head on his shoulder as she hugged him close.

"You were gone so long." She whispered. She felt his hands hold her by her hips as he stared deep into her longing eyes. "You're mine, little Iris. Never forget that. I always come for what is mine."
Ino giggled as a feeling of relief washed through her.

Itachi discarded his pants and boxers quickly and pulled Ino with him under the covers of 'their' bed. Ino shyly smirked up at him as he pinned her underneath. "Then take me with you next time, ok? I hate being here alone without you." Itachi smirked at her before closing the distance between them with a rough kiss.

"You need to sleep. I will wait for your explanation of your mission in the morning." He said in her ear. He felt her nod and he wrapped her in a tight embrace, their hands entwining and crossed in front of Ino's chest.

Sakura.

Sakura…

Sakura, wake up.

PLEASE WAKE UP!

Sakura's eyes snapped open. Her heart pounded hard against her chest and she looked around the room, taking in her surroundings as quickly as she could. It was then that she discovered the "restraint" her right hand was in.

A sleeping Sasuke clutched it tightly in both of his own.

"Sasuke-kun…" She whispered softly.

Suddenly, a flash of red and black crossed her vision and she screamed.

---

Sasuke opened his eyes sharply, his brain recognizing the scream emitting from the person beside him. In an instant, he'd grabbed the still sleeping Sakura by her shoulders, giving her a gentle shake.

"Sakura." He said quietly, hoping to get her attention. No response.

"Sakura…" He said it a little louder. The screaming intensified.

"Sakura, wake up!" He commanded, his worry beginning to grow. Still no response.

"PLEASE WAKE UP!" He shouted, giving her a firm shake, not enough to hurt her more, but just enough to jolt her from the nightmare haunting her in her sleep.

Sakura's eyes snapped open. "S-Sasuke-kun?" She croaked, not having spoken in so long had made her voice croaky and thick.

"Aa." He replied. He didn't hesitate in slipping an arm supportively under her neck and pulling her up into his arms. "It's ok." He whispered in her ear.

He was now very glad he'd stayed.

"Are you ok?" He asked after a long moment, watching for a reaction from her. His question only had her hanging on to him tighter.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, sounding defeated. "I wasn't strong enough."

Her words sent a feeling of dread through him. Sasuke pulled away slightly, just enough to look her in the eyes. "What do you mean?" He asked softly.

"I went up against Itachi. He caught me when I was out training in the early morning. I…I wasn't strong enough to stop him." Tears filled her eyes as she lowered her gaze from Sasuke's face.

"No, Sakura." Sasuke said, anger boiling inside, he took her in his arms again. "I know you did the best you could. We promised, remember? We'll fight him together, and win." He felt her nod.

"In the meantime, you need to rest. The cell regeneration pills Tsunade gave you have helped speed up the healing process, but you still need to take it easy."
She nodded again.

Sasuke sighed deeply as he felt her let go and move to lie down once more. He smirked as he climbed in next to her. Sakura jerked with surprise when she felt his arms pull her towards him protectively. "I will protect you, Sakura. I promise." He said softly in her ear. She snuggled up close to him and closed her eyes again.

Sleep then came much easier and swifter than expected.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. Her gaze was resting in anguish at the scroll sitting on her desk. Uchiha won't be too pleased with this. She thought silently.

Re-reading the report she'd received, she pondered her next move.

06:00am

ANBU squad 4- Captain Hyuuga Neji

While patrolling parameters, a dark figure was noticed entering the village. One of our members followed them in. They entered the Uchiha Estate, traveling to where the Clan used to hold secret meetings before it was brutally destroyed by Uchiha Itachi.

Five minutes were spent inside before an item of importance was noted missing.

The Clan's main scroll.

The identity of the thief is currently unknown, but suspects include: Uchiha Itachi, any subordinate of his, a clone, or…

Tsunade could tell that whoever had written this report had had some trouble in writing the next name.

Red Iris.

A/N: Hey guys! I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry I've taken so long to update! This summer has been VERY EXTREMELY busy and hectic. Not exactly the nice mellow, relaxing summer I was wishing for.../ Anyway, Ino-chan and I are home now from Otakon, which TOTALLY kicked ass by the way! Lol! I will post pics on my site sometime if I get the chance.

Anyways! I hope you all at least enjoyed this next chapter, and yes I know it is a cliffhanger. The next one will be posted within the next week or so. I'm tired of taking so long to update.
XD

Leave me a comment if you wish! It helps motivate me more to update. Lol!

Arigatou and ja ne!

-Uchiha Sakura-