Beyond Words

Summary: Itachi has always been a man of few words and Sakura learns that sometimes, there are things that cannot be expressed with words and are better expressed through actions. ItaSaku, Non-massacre AU.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters.

Enjoy (:

0-0-0

Sakura sits in the Hokage's office, staring at her shaking hands and seeing blood that's already been washed off long ago. She doesn't hear the heavy conversation that's taking place around her between her teammates and her mentor, all she can hear is the blood rushing in her ears and the heavy beating of her heart. She does her best to keep from hyperventilating and holds in the tears that threaten to fall.

-30 minutes ago-

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura make their way back to her apartment after training—Naruto had insisted that they walk her home today, saying something about not spending enough time as a team, disregarding the fact that they made a point to train together at least 5 days a week, if they weren't on a mission, and they ate lunch together almost eveyday. Recognizing the look in Naruto's eyes that says he won't drop the subject easily, Sakura doesn't say anything to discourage them from doing so—that, and the fact that she's simply too tired go through the trouble. Sakura's done a good job hiding it so far, but today's an incredibly weary day for her because it's her father's one year death anniversary. He was killed on the battlefield and went the way any honourable shinobi should, she reminds herself, but she can't ignore the suffocating feeling of loneliness that threatens to overwhelm her just at the thought of him. She still has her mother though, and they've gotten by fine with just each other so far. Sasuke and Naruto both sense that something's off with Sakura—which should be raising red flags, if Naruto, of all people, is noticing—and both have a slight idea of the cause, but neither broach the subject with her.

They reach her house soon enough and she turns around to thank them and say goodbye. Naruto offers her a hug and she returns his affection and to her complete and utter surprise, Sasuke also offers her a quick hug, but a hug nonetheless. It takes all of her self-control not to let her jaw drop and just stare. Her childish crush had died long ago, but she finds herself fighting a light blush down and fidgeting awkwardly because really, that was incredibly uncalled for. She turns to open the door and step inside, but freezes immediately as she is met with sickening amounts of blood and gore. Being a shinobi, she has seen her fair share of gruesome murders and death, but nothing could have eve prepared her for this sight; blood smeared all over the walls, her name written in the blood, as if calling her, and the undeniable knowledge—no matter how many times she tells herself otherwise—that this can only belong to one person.

"What…" Sakura stares straight ahead, finding a hard time breathing all of a sudden, let alone speak. "…I…" It takes all of her remaining strength not to collapse right there. The two boys rush to her side, seeing that she is dangerously close to falling on her knees, when they chance a look inside to see absolute chaos. Sakura's knees give out on her, but the fall never comes and she distantly realizes that Sasuke had broken her fall as he eases her down gently.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!" comes Naruto's loud exclamation after a few moments of tense silence.

"Shut up, dobe. You're too loud." For once, Naruto doesn't yell at Sasuke for calling him names and he simply looks down at Sakura.

"Sakura-chan," he calls lamely, his voice weaker than he intended. Sakura's eyes widen into saucers and she bolts upright much too quickly and nearly hits Sasuke's chin on her way up. She apologizes hurriedly before bolting into the mess that was her home, nearly twisting an ankle in her rush. Naruto and Sasuke exchange worried, knowing glances before following her.

Sakura freezes to the spot upon seeing her mother, gruesomely disembodied, different body parts sprawled across her own bedroom. A second feels like an eternity stretched over as a million and one thoughts pass through Sakura's mind. Her mind's first reaction and defense mechanism is denial; safe, sweet denial. 'This never happened,' she repeats to herself. These body parts, the arm on her bed, the leg on her dresser, her name written on the walls in blood, it's not really there and it's not really her mother's. This didn't happen on the one year anniversary of her father's death. Sakura really doesn't know what to think anymore, doesn't know how to, and she suddenly forgets how to breath; they come to her in ragged, hyperventilating pants. She rushes to her mother's main body, still partly intact and tires her very best to stop the blood that's still overflowing.

'I can fix this,' she repeats to herself, 'I just need to stop the bleeding…and—'

Suddenly, everything is happening too fast and the realization of what really happened here hits Sakura hard. She only vaguely feels Sasuke wrap an arm around her waist as Naruto moves to stand in front of her and envelops her in a hug, effectively blocking her view of everything but his ridiculously orange outfit. Neither one cares about the blood that smears all over their clothes.

"Let's go," she hears Sasuke mutter quietly, "We need to report this to the Hokage."

Sakura grips on to Naruto's jacket and Sasuke's hand. "No…" she lets out a weak sound. "We can't leave her here." Her words are almost too quiet to hear over her rapidly beating heart. She shakes her head, burying herself further in Naruto's embrace.

"C'mon Sakura-chan," Naruto says gently. They begin leading her out of the house and she lets herself be led, focusing on not shaking or falling on her knees and simply crying. She has not cried since her father's death, promising to be a true kunoichi, never letting these kinds of emotions stop her from doing her job efficiently.

-Present-

"Sakura," she vaguely hears her mentor call her; she looks up uneasily to meet the worried, amber eyes in front of her. "You'll be staying in the Uchiha compound tonight, alright? Sasuke has a spare room and we've discussed this entire ordeal. Until we get everything sorted out, you will stay there."

Sakura looks up at Sasuke, then at her mentor, "That won't be necessary, shishou; I can just rent a room myself." She tries to keep her voice steady, but her voice catches on the last word and she inwardly chides herself. Tsunade looks at her sternly, silently telling her that there is no room for argument on this. Sakura looks at her shishou, silently pleading her to let her rent a room. She doesn't want to be seen as weak, nor does she want to be a burden to Sasuke's family. His father and brother may not act differently towards her, but knowing Mikoto, she'll be too gentle, too caring, and the last thing Sakura wants is for the kind matriarch to feel obliged to care for her.

As if reading her thoughts, Sasuke speaks up, "Just listen to her, Sakura. It's no problem to me, or my family."

"Ne, baa-chan, why can't she stay with me?" Naruto complains. She explains to him, just how dangerous his home is and names a few of the many hazards in his home, and he quiets down almost immediately.

Sakura finally agrees to the circumstances grudgingly and she is ushered out of the room, still trying to flush the image of her mother's silently screaming face out of her mind. Sasuke walks her to his house while Naruto goes to Ino's house. Under the request of the Hokage, Ino is informed of what happened earlier that day and is requested to go to the store and buy some things that Sakura will need during her stay at the Uchiha compound. Her things are to be left in her home for taking them out would disturb the crime scene, and of course, no one could ask her to go to her house, where her mother lays completely torn apart, literally, to go pick out some clothes for, in essence, an extended slumber party at her friend's house.

Uchiha Compound

Sasuke takes Sakura to the spare room, just across his room and beside his brother's, before going to speak with his mother and father about the Hokage's instructions. He's fairly certain that his parents, or Mikoto at least, won't mind the least that Sakura stays with them, with or without the Hokage's request, and with or without the incident that occurred earlier, but he tells them anyway to make sure they are fully informed, besides, they'll find out sooner or later. Predictably enough, his father gives his assent impassively, while his mother looks absolutely horrified while murmuring something along the lines of, 'The poor thing.' Mikoto springs to life then, making her way to the cupboard to prepare some blueberry tea which, she has learned over the years, is Sakura's favorite. Fugaku on the other hand, simply gets up and leaves, though Sasuke has no idea as to where he is going.

"You know, Sasuke-kun," Mikoto says while she prepares Sakura's tea, "This would be a perfect opportunity to get closer to Sakura…and…well…potentially get involved in a relationship."

Sasuke very nearly chokes on the tea he is currently drinking but manages to force it back, and with years of practice is able to keep a relatively stoic face, but a twitch of his left eye escapes. "We do not see each other that way, kaa-san, and we never will."

Mikoto just smiles one of those knowing smiles that mothers always seem to be wearing. "Very well then, if you say so. Will you go take this to Sakura-chan for me?"

"Hai."

0-0-0

Sakura sits down on the bed shakily, nursing the blueberry tea Sasuke had brought her earlier, trying to get a grip on her emotions. Being surrounded by so many Uchihas who have no problems whatsoever with concealing their emotions leaves her feeling more than a bit embarrassed at her obvious lack of ability to do so. She stares at her hands, still in horror at the large amounts of blood that had previously stained them. Her breath leaves her in a deep, unsteady sigh as she closes her eyes. 'Just get a damn grip already,' she commands herself, 'What kind of a kunoichi are you.' Her thoughts are interrupted by a soft knock on the door.

"Come in," she calls.

The door slides open revealing, to her utmost surprise, Uchiha Itachi. "Good evening, Haruno-san," he greets her politely with a slight bow.

Sakura – still in mild shock and wonder as to why the Uchiha Itachi, greatest prodigy in Konoha at the moment, and clan heir would come to visit her – nods and greets him in return.

"I offer my deepest condolences for your loss," he says gently, in a tone she didn't even think him capable of. His calm voice helps to soothe her frayed nerves somewhat and help her get a grip on the situation. Of course, soft pillow and big teddy bear would have done wonders for her grief right now and Sakura has to remind herself that she isn't a five year old girl anymore

"Thank you, Uchiha-san," she says, equally quiet. It occurs to her then, that calling him Uchiha-san may not be the smartest thing to do, considering she's currently in the Uchiha compound. If she were to call him that in a more public place, all of the Uchihas would undoubtedly turn to her.

"Don't you think we've known each other long enough for you to call me by my first name?" He asks, as if reading her mind.

"In that case, you can call me Sakura." Despite her previous mood, she smiles at him rather convincingly, but Itachi can see the strain it causes her and the smile doesn't quite reach her eyes.

"Very well, Sakura-san," Sakura motions for him to sit down on the chair by the table, and does as asked, though he knows he'll be getting up soon. "Kaa-san has requested that I take you around the compound so you can familiarize yourself. Sasuke was called to the Hokage's office earlier and will be there for some time."

"Thank you, and I'm sorry to have to put you through this, I'm sure you have some training to do." She moves off the bed to stand unsteadily. It seems her legs weren't quite ready to support her, but she does her very best to stand up straight.

"It is no problem. There is no rush, sit if you need to; I've finished my duties for the day."

She doesn't know why, but this surprises her. Sure, it's now nearly eight in the evening so it would make sense that he's done for the day, but she's just always thought that someone like Itachi would be working and training all the time, save for eating, sleeping, and washroom breaks. The idea of sitting down is more than appealing right now, but she doesn't want to make him wait, also, she doesn't want to appear weak, especially not in front of someone like him. She's always been the strong one in times like this; when her father was declared MIA she cried for one night, but after that, she'd been the pillar of strength for her mother, who isn't—wasn't, she reminds herself—a ninja, so she felt no need to restrain her tears. When Ino's mother died, she stayed with her all the time, never once showing weakness, in hopes of helping Ino get through it. There had been several occasions when she was the one who held her tears back to help reassure the one suffering that things would turn out fine. But now, as melodramatic as it sounds, it feels as though she's lost everything; sure, she still has Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi, as well as many other close friends who have become like family to her, but her mother was the last thing she had to blood relations, and she wonders how Naruto gets through the night alone.

Sakura finally relents and sits back down on the couch, apologizing once more for keeping him. The silence between the two becomes more than a little uncomfortable and is on its way to 'incredibly awkward', well for Sakura at least. Itachi doesn't seem to mind the silence and he simply watches Sakura fidget with the edge of the bed sheets.

Sensing her discomfort, he decides to speak up. "I understand that today was not a particularly good day to begin with, so if you are tired, I can return tomorrow,"

This statement raises two thoughts; one, she really doesn't want to make him wait for her, but he might be busy tomorrow, why can't he just let her go now? And two, it sounds as if he knows that today is her father's one year death anniversary, but how would he know that? She's fairly certain that Sasuke wouldn't bring something like that up, and to his stoic brother no less. But then, how else would he know?

"How…?" Sakura is unable to ask a coherent question, and hates herself for sounding so impossibly lame, for lack of a better word. She is supposed to be the smartest in her year, save for Shikamaru of course, and she can't even ask a simple question, 'How did you know?' or at least something slightly more intelligent than a weak, 'How?' She fights the urge to groan and bury her head in the pillow for making a fool of herself in front of one of the greatest geniuses to be raised in Konoha.

"I attended the service last year, and I recall this to be the same date," Itachi manages to give her a reply several times more intelligent, which only serves to make her feel as smart as a brain dead horse. However, her brain dead horse mind wonders how, or why, his infinitely more intellectual one would even remember something as trivial as that, since it obviously doesn't concern him. She supposes he stores everything in that mind of his.

"I see, well thank you for your consideration, but we can go right now, really," Sakura tries to persuade him, but he's still not completely convinced that she will not pass out or fall. But really, it's understandable that he feels this way; she still hasn't seen herself in the mirror, but if she could, she'd probably think the same thing. She is unnaturally pale, her eyes are hollow and no longer a bright emerald, but now jaded and dull, and she has rather prominent dark circles underneath said eyes. She convinces him that she's well enough to go today, but he refuses to go until she's fairly recovered and definitely won't fall on her face.

So they wait.

Sakura tries to make light conversation, because she really can't stand the awkward silence anymore, but she can't get much of a response out of him and she's tired of talking about herself.

"So…" Sakura fidgets awkwardly, "How's ANBU?" She immediately hits herself – mentally of course, because humiliating herself further is not what she wants do right now – for asking such a terribly pathetic question. ''How's ANBU'! Really?' Inner Sakura chides, hitting her forehead repeatedly against her palm, and anything else she can find in her mind. She lets out an awkward laugh and looks down to her lap, too afraid to see the look on Itachi's face. You can't blame her though, making conversation with someone as socially introverted as Itachi isn't the easiest thing to do. He's been her patient at the hospital several times and they've built an easy companionship from his time there, but the hospital is her territory, a place where she can feel unquestionably comfortable. Now, however, after having gone through what she has in the past few hours, she feels terribly out of place and cannot even attempt to make easy conversation as she usually would.

Itachi raises an elegant eyebrow at Sakura's random question, but like the gentleman he was raised to be, gives her a characteristically polite, not to mention short, answer, "It is fine."

"…I see…I'm uh, feeling much better now, do you think it's fine if we go now?"

He studies her with an intensity that makes her lightly blush, which adds a bit of color to her pale face, and concludes that it is unlikely she will fall on her face and he'll be forced to carry her back. "Very well."

They leave the room much slower than is typically normal, though Sakura doesn't realize it and Itachi has no intention of bringing it up; he moves at the pace she is comfortable with. He directs her to the essential rooms, such as the bathrooms and kitchen, and tells her which rooms are forbidden. Even though their exchange is no long forced, it is still equally awkward and Sakura can't help the breath of relief that escapes her when he finally takes her back to her room.

"Goodnight, Sakura-san."

"Thank you, and goodnight, Itachi-san," Sakura bows slightly and, despite herself, smiles...just a bit. Yes, it had been incredibly awkward, but Itachi was nothing but nice to her and she is grateful for that. She enters her room and decides that it's time to go to bed, today has been incredibly tiring and she wants nothing more than to crawl up in the soft, jasmine scented blankets and stay there for a very, very long time. True to her word, she doesn't cry, not a drop, and she is slightly rather proud that she's able to hold it back. She offers a silent prayer to whatever Gods may be listening; she prays that her mother got to heaven, the afterlife, wherever people go after this life, safely.

To be continued…

Thank you everyone for reading! I hope my writing has improved a bit? I read over my other stories and was quite disappointed with them. But, practice makes perfect, ne? If you have any feedback, constructive criticism, then feel free to let me know, but please no flames? No, there isn't any ItaSaku-ness yet, but it'll get there, I guess you could call this the prologue of sorts, except that there's just too much going on to wave it off as a simple prologue.

Enjoy the holidays!

~Ja ne!