Forgotten Spring Time of Youth

A Naruto Fanfiction

Written by Katsushiga Hoshibi

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In the early morning mists, a single crow cawed darkly. A lone kunoichi made her way to the Hokage's office, determined to right a grievous wrong. Hinata knocked quietly on the large doors that lead to the office of the ninja leader of Konoha. She nervously awaited the answer, knowing that she was betraying her friend for the honor of the village.

"Come in," Tsunade beckoned. Hinata nervously entered the room, seeing the scattered books and scrolls lying haphazardly around the large room. Tsunade was busy gazing over a document, pushing it to one side as she saw the visitor entering the office. "Hinata? What do you need this early in the morning?"

Hinata fidgeted a moment before gathering her courage. "Tsunade-sama, I have to tell you about something that happened a few months ago in the Snow Country."

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Humming happily to herself, Sakura skipped along the path leading through various flowers that would guide her to an area rich with herbs for her medical training. It had only been three months since she last saw the love of her life, the dangerous S-class criminal, Uchiha Itachi, but she felt as though she could wait an eternity to see him. After the mission to the Snow Country, Sakura was worried that her two companions would reveal her devastating secret, but they had agreed to remain quiet. If nothing else, Sakura was confident that they would keep their word.

Looking down at a patch of red-black flowers, Sakura smiled cheerfully. Devil's Iris was a potent medicinal herb that could relieve visual ailments. Crouching down, she began to harvest the plant as she thought of Itachi and wondered if the Devil's Iris would be helpful in maintaining his eyes with the stress of the sharingan.

"He must be fine without it. Itachi-sama is a lot stronger than Kakashi-sensei, especially since he was born with the sharingan," she thought aloud.

"Do you wonder this often," Itachi's voice said from behind her. Startled, Sakura fell to the ground and looked behind her to see a swirl of wheat seeds in the form of a fox. "I apologize for startling you. Have you been well?"

Sakura smiled brightly at the sound of Itachi's voice. "Can I ever be well without you? I've missed you, Itachi-sama."

"Then I will not make you wait forever. Meet me at the Hokage Cliffs at sundown. I cannot prolong this communication as the mangekyo sharingan's technique of Inari is difficult to maintain for long periods of time."

"Itachi-sama… I've missed you; of course I'll be there. I-" Sakura was cut off as the wheat seeds scattered on the wind before they slowly drifted to the ground. "Love you…"

Dusting herself off as she rose to her feet, Sakura gathered the herbs she had cut and started slowly walking towards Konoha. It was dangerous to meet Itachi in town, especially so close to the Hokage's building, but she was too excited to fear that anything could go wrong. This reunion was long over due.

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Sitting atop a tree in a forest outside of Konoha, Rock Lee was taking a break from his training. After becoming a chuunin, he was sent on missions too frequently to enjoy the better things in life. Resting in a tree and just absorbing the ambience was a joy that he had been neglecting in the past few months. Lee was optimistic of becoming a jounin in the next few years, despite being completely unable to use ninjitsu. Relying completely upon taijutsu had gotten him to where he was and he was fine with that. He didn't feel that he had to rely upon ninjitsu at all. It was one of the few ways that he was able to keep toe-to-toe with Sasuke's sharingan when Lee's rival was still in the village.

Two years had passed since Sasuke left. Lee both loved and hated that change. Sakura had sought out Sasuke's love, and that stood in the way of Lee's goal of winning her heart. On the other hand, he was a comrade of Konoha who had defected. No other tragedy could come close to matching that kind of heartbreak. Taking a deep breath, he cleansed his mind of such thoughts before leaping out of the tree and into the path of an unidentified traveler coming dangerously close to the secret ninja village.

Staring out from an oriental straw hat, the visitor glared at Lee with soft brown eyes. His black cloak fluttered around him as the embroidered red clouds danced. Lee found all of this vaguely suspicious.

"State your purpose and your name, sir," Lee spoke loudly. "As a loyal Konoha shinobi, I must make sure that you have good intentions for visiting." As Lee talked, the man removed his hat, which had hid a Konoha headband with a deep scratch running down the middle of it. Lee's eyes widened as he realized the threat that stood before him.

"I have come to collect my bride, Haruno Sakura. I am Uchiha Itachi. Take that as courtesy as this will be the last name you will ever hear." Itachi's eyes bled to the red of the sharingan.

Quickly lowering his gaze to avoid the genjutsu trap of a sharingan user, Lee clenched his teeth. "Uchiha… Itachi? Saying that Sakura-san is your bride?! I, Rock Lee, will defeat you in my springtime of youth!"

"Springtime has not come for you, leaving you in the winter of death," Itachi commented as he released a small volley of shurikan that Lee deftly avoided. The green clad ninja tried to close the gap quickly with a kick that Itachi dodged elegantly.

"The sharingan is no match for taijutsu when I don't look in your eyes. This will be your downfall, Uchiha-san!" Lee threw another kick, which Itachi avoided. Recollecting himself, Lee stared at Itachi's midsection to see two fingers gesturing upwards. Instinctively, he raised his view, which was met with Itachi's gaze of the mangekyo sharingan.

"Typical," Itachi commented as Lee stiffened under the influence of the genjutsu. "Mangekyo sharingan: Susanawo."

Lee found himself transported to a world of never ending waves with a pitch-black sky. Miraculously standing on top of the water, the waves crashed into him, battering his body. Lee coughed up salt water mixed with blood as the water continued its relentless assault.

"In the world of Susanawo, a storm always brews. It is a scene from Hokusai's nightmare, a world so relentless that drowning would be a quick release." Itachi formed a hand seal as lightning struck Lee, evoking a scream as the current licked through his body. "You will suffer for the next twenty-four hours in this nightmare."

In the real world, Itachi watched as Lee collapsed, jerking sporadically as the technique disabled the young ninja's psychomotor abilities. To Itachi, it was almost as easy as drowning a puppy. After tossing a kunai into the heart of Lee, he began to walk away. The day was becoming late enough already.

Relaxing his eyes, Itachi thought for a moment that he saw a shadow move through the trees. Looking back, Lee's body was gone. Itachi was certain with his years of living in Konoha that the anbu elite had watched the entire battle. It was almost bitter how they allowed a child of Konoha to die so simply.

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In the downtown shops of Konoha, Sakura was idly wandering about looking at sweets. She was certain that her Akatsuki lover would enjoy anything that she picked out, but she wanted this date to be special. A blush crept along her cheeks as she looked over a taiyaki stand. The fish-shaped pancakes were filled with a sweet red bean paste and would certainly make the evening wonderful.

"Sakura, what are you looking so cheerful about?" Ino stepped up next to her, flashing an ignorant smile paired with her blank, white eyes.

"Oh. I, um, wanted to get a couple of taiyaki to share with a friend of mine, but I wasn't sure if he would like it," Sakura replied as she nervously played with a strand of hair. Ino's clan could invade other people's minds and take control of them. Sakura was panicked, worried that her friend might pry her mind to discover the identity of her love.

"It isn't for Naruto, is it?"

The question took Sakura by surprise. "No… It couldn't be for him, anyways. He's still off training with Jiraiya-sama."

"Eww! You mean it's for Rock Lee?" Ino shuddered visibly. "Have you completely given up on Sasuke?! I mean, if you don't want him, I'll gladly take him off your hands… but seriously? Lee? Gross!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow before turning back to watch the taiyaki cook. "I don't think you know him. He's not around the village a lot." Sakura ordered and paid for two taiyaki as she talked with Ino.

"Well, who could it be, then? Is it a jonin? I didn't know you liked older guys," Ino taunted as a flush crept up Sakura's face. "It IS an older guy, isn't it? You definitely have to tell me who it is now!"

Sakura took the brown paper bag with the taiyaki and started walked down the street with her friend. "It isn't that I don't want to, it's just that I really can't. No one can know that I'm seeing him."

"Come on, Sakura. I'm not going to betray you, and I'm not crushing on anyone, so it isn't like I'm going to try to steal him away from you again." The two walked in silence for a few brief minutes before coming to a riverbank.

The sun glinted off the water as the reflection of clouds rolled on top of the waves. A gentle wind rustled through the long grass as cicada chirped in the distance. Sakura held the paper bag close to her, in between her knees and chest as she sat down, gathering her resolve.

"Ino, if I tell you, you have to absolutely promise that you won't tell anyone. Not your teammates, not your teacher, not the anbu, not anyone." Sakura looked at her friend with her eyebrows creased with worry.

Sitting down beside her friend, Ino looked concerned. "It couldn't be that serious. Who is it?"

"Uchiha Itachi. Sasuke's older brother."

With those words, Ino's eyes grew wide with fear. The entire village of Konoha knew that Itachi was a dangerous S-class criminal who had destroyed the Uchiha clan single-handedly. Even casually talking to him would be a serious crime. Not only had Sakura talked to him, she was apparently dating him as well.

"Sakura… There's no way. Don't you know what he did? What he is? You could be thrown in prison for that! You can't possibly mean that you lo-"

"He came to me wounded," Sakura cut in. "and I'm a medical-nin. I couldn't leave him bleeding and dying so I took care of him. I know that Itachi is a criminal and I know that he did a lot of things, but I've seen a different side of him. One that has feelings and can love."

"You can't be serious!"

"I am," Sakura stood up as tears filled her eyes. "And I love him and I want to be with him forever. If you can't be happy for me, then maybe you sh-" Her sentence was cut short as darkness clouded her vision. A sharp thrust to her neck had rendered her unconscious. The last fleeting images were of rushing to the ground and the taiyaki spilling out of the paper bag.

"I'm sorry," Hinata apologized to her fallen friend.

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Vibrant pink and purple clouds dotted the horizon as the sun set over Konoha. In the distance, a crow cawed mournfully. Itachi was sitting on top of a rock restlessly rolling a shurikan over his knuckles. Sakura wasn't running late, but he was growing impatient. Since the anbu had watched his fight earlier, they might have intercepted Sakura and might be planning an ambush.

The lone shinobi's thoughts trailed back to a few months earlier where he had been in the company of two other Konoha kunoichi. He idly wondered if either of them had betrayed Sakura. Itachi frowned, as he regretted not learning more about setting traps in his youth. Whereas it could have become needlessly dangerous for Sakura to come to the chosen location, it would have put his mind at ease when considering the obscene amount of danger that faced him from coming back to Konoha.

Noticing a bit of movement out of the corner of his eye, Itachi casually tossed a shurikan into the bushes. The leaves rustled and then were quickly silenced. Smiling confidently, he knew that he was sitting in the middle of an ambush.

Four heavily armed anbu quickly leapt to surround him from four corners. Itachi stood up, releasing his ninja sword from the sleeve of his cloak. It was then that he noticed Tsunade standing with an unconscious Sakura tucked under her arm. Itachi relaxed his grip on the sword, releasing that he posed a threat to his lover's safety if he insisted on fighting. He couldn't even use the mangekyo sharingan without posing a risk to her.

"Uchiha Itachi!" Tsunade barked. "You dare to mock me by coming to the Hokage Cliffs and toying with a young girl's heart?! You will not be allowed to leave here unharmed." Tsunade reached back with a free hand to smack her fist into a boulder, reducing it to rubble.

"It isn't for you that I have come here. Give the girl to me and I will not come here again," Itachi calmly negotiated. Fear crept through his mind, unsure of how to escape alive and steal away Sakura. Several members of Akatsuki had servants to assist them, so having Sakura around wouldn't be problematic. The real ordeal came in how to get her away from the village and out of Tsunade's hands.

The anbu spread out as Tsunade approached Itachi. Standing Sakura up, Tsunade applied a pressure point to force her awake. The pink-haired girl squirmed in response in a sleepy manner before fear started to shadow her eyes.

"Haruno Sakura," Tsunade addressed her pupil. "You are guilty of assisting an S-class criminal and treason to Konoha. There is only one way to atone for this." She took out a Japanese short sword and thrust it into Sakura's hands. "Kill Uchiha Itachi or be killed yourself."

Itachi closed his eyes as the words of the Hagekure floated to the surface of his mind. "'…a real stalwart is a man who will go out secretly, say nothing, and die. It is not necessary to achieve one's aim; one is a stalwart in being cut down. Such a person will most likely achieve his purpose.'"

"'You should understand that there are three conditions to the resolution of a retainer. They are the conditions of the master's will, the condition of vitality, and the condition of one's death,'" Sakura answered.

Tsunade gritted her teeth. "It is YOUR master's will to strike down this criminal and redeem yourself!"

"Tsukiyomi," Itachi recited as he caught Sakura in the illusionary world. The moment that Tsunade and the anbu were distracted was his chance to bring her to him.

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Waves of inverted colors danced upon tall grass, as Sakura stood alone in the middle of a field. Confused, she looked around to not find anyone that was previously in front of her. The Hokage Cliffs, Tsunade, and the anbu were gone. More importantly, her love was also gone from her sight.

Arms clad in an Akatsuki cloak wrapped around her from behind. Itachi appeared out of nowhere to pull Sakura into his arms. Her soft body pressed against his own was the only thing he needed. Akatsuki, the tailed-beasts, his brother's weak hatred, and his other dreams meant nothing to him now. Sakura was the only person who meant anything. The illusionary world of Tsukiyomi was now Heaven.

"'The word gen means 'illusion' or 'apparition.' In India, a man who uses conjury is called genjutsushi, 'a master of illusion technique.' Everything in this world is but a marionette show. Thus we use the word gen.' From the first chapter," Itachi recited.

"If the world is an illusion, then what is reality?" Sakura turned around to wrap her arms around him.

"For us, this." Pulling her closer, Itachi firmly kissed Sakura, his lips dancing along her own. The world danced around them, as they remained entangled for several moments. Their first kiss breathed passion into the world around them, making the inverted Tsukiyomi dimension swirl in real colors. The dark world of the moon goddess had become vibrant and real.

"I love you, Itachi. I never want to be away from your side."

"Outside of this, I cannot give you the life I wish I could. Death awaits me there. From my deepest heart, I'll give you the only gift that I can."

Within the illusion, Sakura went through years of her life with Itachi. Together they became married and lived a normal life, without being shinobi. Itachi became a schoolteacher and Sakura became a famous actress who also volunteered at a chakra-healing clinic on the side. Together they had children who grew old before their eyes and became successful adults. Their family grew, and Sakura Uchiha was never happier.

At the end of the shadow play, Sakura became aware once more of what existed back in cruel reality. Color left the world as Tsukiyomi lost its magic. Itachi's gift had lasted a lifetime. It was the reality that would never become truth for anyone other than the two who experienced the wonders of the genjutsu world.

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Trembling, Sakura raised the sword in her hands. Around her, Tsunade and the anbu stiffened. Only a moment had passed in the outside world, a moment that had been a lifetime for the two lovers. After Itachi's sharingan reverted back to normal eyes, everyone relaxed, everyone except for Sakura. She knew what had to come next.

"For myself, there can be only loyalty for my husband. I love you, Itachi." With those last words, the sword pierced her throat as the wet, red blood showered down upon the barren earth. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl for Itachi as he watched in wide-eyed terror as the love of his life fell to the ground before him.

Itachi slowly moved toward his lover in shock. Kneeling down in front of her, he removed the sword and closed her eyelids. "Sleep well, sweet princess, and may flights of angels sing you to your rest."

Glancing at Tsunade and the anbu, hatred burned in his eyes. Taking the sword into his hands, he ran a free hand through Sakura's smooth hair. After leaning down to kiss her soft lips one last time, he dragged the sword across his abdomen, sending himself to the land where his lover awaited him.

Minutes passed as the sun set into deeper twilight. One anbu voiced a concern. "Hokage-sama, what are your orders?" Tsunade turned to the now-set sun.

"A glooming peace this evening with it brings. The sun, for its sorrow, will not show its head. Go now, to have more talk of these sad things. Some shall be pardoned, and some punished; for never was a story of more woe than this of Sakura and her Itachi."

Closing her eyes, Tsunade regretted her decision for a moment. Itachi had killed Rock Lee with the anbu reinforcements arriving a moment too late. Sakura's treachery was well known throughout the village and now she lay dead in her lover's arms. Tsunade knew it was unavoidable. The two star-crossed lovers knew the Hagekure too well. The life of the honorable warrior was fraught with turmoil, death the only salvation in the end.