"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy. For what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another."

- Anatole France

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Silent Sacrifice Chapter 15: To Hell and Back

"What are you doing? It's nearly midnight." Madara's voice cut into the peaceful silence of the night.

Sasuke glanced over from where he sat alone, watching the full moon gleaming above. "The moon reminds me of him," he replied quietly, turning his gaze back to the sky. "I've been thinking of that night, of the memories I tried to forget." Sasuke tilted his head to the side, his gaze squinting ever so minutely. "And, now that I look deeper into what happened, I remember something…" His fingers clutched at the material of his pants. "I'd thought my mind was playing tricks on me - I saw a flash of liquid rolling down his cheek, just for a moment. I couldn't figure it out. But it looks like you were telling the truth."

Madara watched the younger Uchiha, slightly curious.

With his onyx gaze still fixed on the limitless, open sky, Sasuke continued, "I remember now - that night, as he left…"

The youngest living Uchiha forced his voice not to waver.

"…Itachi was crying…"

Sakura clenched her fist as she felt Naruto and Kakashi's chakra signatures approach the Hokage tower. She glanced at Sai's emotionless form beside her, and then toward Tsunade where the Hokage sat at her desk, silent and unmoving. Shizune met Sakura's gaze, her dark eyes worried. Several of Jiraiya's frogs sat in the room with them, their heads slightly bowed.

Sakura just took a deep breath, and turned back as Naruto and Kakashi entered the room.

At the sight of Naruto's confused expression, Sakura had to force herself to calm down.

To hell with you, Pein. You just keep on hurting us. First Naochi-san, and now Jiraiya…

"You see," the smallest toad continued from his talk with Naruto (which Sakura had tuned out from), "little Jiraiya died in battle just recently."

Sakura could barely stand to watch as Naruto's expression turned to one of complete incredulity - his eyes widened, his jaw fell slack.

…you're going to pay for this. There is no way Naruto will let this one go. You have brought your own death upon you.

"W-what did you just say?"

Sakura closed her eyes, turning her head downward.

Pein, you won't be alive much longer.

Naruto's tone, when he spoke, was that of someone who had just lost a large, irreplaceable part of them self.

Naruto will be coming after you, so watch your back.

"How did it go?" Zetsu questioned, his form completely hidden by the plant appendages enclosed around him. His voice echoed from the hollow area he was incased within.

"It went well," Madara answered smoothly, focused on the water around the bridge they were standing on. "Better than I thought it would, actually. Sasuke remained pretty calm throughout the whole story."

"That's good." Zetsu's voice was slightly uninterested.

"There is no one to trouble me now that Itachi is dead," Madara continued. "Sasuke is ours to control." His one visible Sharingan eye flashed. "Now, we sit back and see what happens."

"You see, before poor ol' Jiraiya died, he left a message for y'all."

The smallest toad - Fukasaku was his name - hopped around so that his back was exposed to the group. "An' here it is!"

Tsunade's eyebrows drew sharply together before the toad turned to face them again.

"He did it so the Akatsuki wouldn't know what he was sayin'," the toad chirped. "Jiraiya-chan died for this here."

Naruto's quiet voice suddenly cut through the thick air. "Baa-chan, did you send him there?"

Tsunade's eyes closed. "Yes."

"What the hell were you thinking?" The blonde's voice rose to a shout. "You knew how Ero-Sennin could get! How dare you send him on such a risky mission -"

Kakashi held his arm out as Naruto made to take a step forward. "That's enough, Naruto." The jounin's tone was impassive.

Naruto's teeth gnashed together. "Screw this," he spat.

Before Sakura could stop him, he had stomped out of the room in a whirl of orange. Some how, she knew she couldn't be the one to comfort him. Not this time. The blow he'd taken was far too deep for any healing she could do.

Ding-dong.

The door opened slowly, creaking. A lone blue eye peaked through. "Shikamaru?" Naruto's voice was weary. "What do you want?"

The brown-haired shinobi raised an eyebrow. Even such a minute action screamed of languor. "Can I come in?" he drawled.

"Uh, yeah, sure…"

Shikamaru stepped inside, noticing the empty ramen cups littering the floor.

"So," Naruto yawned, "what's this about?"

Shikamaru noticed that the blonde didn't seem as down as he'd thought he would be. His eyes were dull, yes - a direct contrast to the brightness they usually gave off - but it seemed he had stepped away from the verge of the crisis. Iruka must've gotten to him.

The jounin held up a picture depicting the code on the toad's back. "Does this make any sense to you?"

Naruto was staring at the ground sightlessly, gaze blank.

Shikamaru sighed. "Hellooooo, Naruto?"

He waved a hand in front of the blonde's face, and suddenly he was jolted back to reality.

Maybe the blonde wasn't okay as he'd thought.

"Ah, sorry, sorry!" Naruto chuckled uneasily. "What am I doing, now?"

Shikamaru sighed once more and stood up. "Come with me for a minute," he said.

"Where?"

"Just get up."

"Oh, hi, guys!" Kurenai waved to them from where she was walking down the steps of the hospital.

Naruto didn't miss the small smile that graced Shikamaru's lips.

"You know," Kurenai continued, "you don't always have to come visit us like this."

Us? Naruto thought, and then he noticed the little boy grasping Kurenai's fingers, staring at him with big, dark eyes.

"I'm afraid I do," Shikamaru replied, voice kind. "Asuma made me promise."

Kurenai smiled, and kneeled down to the little boy at her side. "Say hi to Naruto," she whispered in the kid's ear.

"Hi, Nawuto," the boy mumbled shyly, moving to hide behind his mother's legs.

Kurenai chuckled. "Miro's just started picking up on some words. He's pretty talented for a two-year-old, ne?"

Naruto felt his lips curve upward. He'd known Kurenai had a kid, but this was his first time actually seeing him. "Better than me at that age, I bet," he said softly, making the red-eyed female laugh.

"Well, we'd best be on our way," she announced. "We're going to get ice cream as a treat for Miro doing so well during his check up." Stepping toward the two, she whispered, "If you guys see Sakura, tell her I said thank you. She's the only one who's been able to keep the kid from crying."

Shikamaru saluted to her. "Will do, ma'am."

"Bye-bye, Shikamawu!" Miro called, stumbling after his mom as they walked away.

The jounin smiled whole-heartedly and waved.

Naruto turned to the brown-haired shinobi once they had disappeared.

"That kid's gonna be my pupil someday," Shikamaru said, staring down the path they'd walked.

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Asuma left him in my care," he continued, gaze now focused on the sky.

The blonde's eyes flickered from the road and back to Shikamaru. He could see the pride in the older man's stance. And Naruto thought to himself in that moment that one day, Shikamaru would make an excellent dad. An excellent sensei, too.

"I know about Jiraiya-sama." The soft-spoken words jolted Naruto from his thoughts. He raised his eyes to meets Shikamaru's hardened gaze. "I lost my teacher, too. I know what you're going through. Nothing will happen if you keep hesitating."

Naruto's brows furrowed.

"You're not in a position to do that anymore," Shikamaru went on.

"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned, frowning.

Once more, Shikamaru shifted his attention to the sky as he spoke. "Asuma entrusted me with a lot, from things big to little. It's the same for you, Naruto…an unlimited number of things. Same for Sakura, too. We've all lost one of the most important figures in our life, and we've been given responsibilities."

Naruto thought of Sakura's broken expression, of the tears that refused to fall as she mourned Itachi's death. If Itachi meant even as close to her as Jiraiya did to him…

Maybe, just maybe, he could start to understand her.

"Don't you think it's about time for us?" Shikamaru asked.

"Time for what?"

"To be the ones who entrust," the brown-haired shinobi answered, "not the entrusted." He smiled a small smile. "It's a pain in the ass, but I can't say that." He sighed, and finally met Naruto's gaze. "Just think, pretty soon, you'll be the one treating some kid to ramen. You'll see Sakura leading her genin team to do some training, and you'll look down at your own team, and they'll call you 'Naruto-sensei.' We can't stay kids forever, Naruto -"

You have to grow up at some point.

"- not if we wanna be kick-ass shinobi like Asuma and Jiraiya-sama, that is."

Naruto met Shikamaru's slight grin with his own.

The older man shoved the picture in front of his face. "Now get a grip. You've got work to do."

Sakura had packed herself a bento in the morning - a simple meal consisting of onigiri and sliced salmon. Once her shift at the hospital was over - Tsunade had agreed to let her back on the roster, to her great joy - she headed over to Team Seven's old training grounds.

Minutes later, she found herself standing in front of the three old cut tree trunks Kakashi had tied them to on their first day of training.

"Damn it, Kakashi-sensei, I'm gonna murder you!" Naruto screamed as he struggled with the ropes restraining him.

Sakura glared. "Shut up, you moron! Like you'd be able to take on a jounin!"

"Tch, idiots," Sasuke's ever emotionless voice joined in.

Sakura felt her throat constrict. Thinking of such things wasn't good for her.

She padded over to the middle trunk, and planted herself down beside it. With her back resting against the aged wood, she began to unwrap her bento.

"What is that?"

Sakura glanced up to meet Itachi's opaque eyes. She didn't think she'd ever stop being secretly glad that he trusted her enough not to activate his Sharingan around her.

"My lunch," she responded, holding up her small bento box. She'd just finished training for the day, and the many strawberries and peach slices she'd prepared for herself had never looked better. Especially with the sugar she'd sprinkled on top.

"Is that all?" he questioned, frowning.

She frowned back. "Yes. Do you have a problem? See, it might not have protein like fish or meat, but it's good to have a lot of fruit, too. Plus" - she grinned - "it's delicious." She picked up a strawberry with her chopsticks and held it up to him. "Wanna try some?"

She fully expected him to deny, or maybe, if he accepted, to just grab the fruit with his fingers. But then he leaned down, closed his mouth around the strawberry, and pulled away, chewing thoughtfully.

Sakura gaped at him in disbelief. Had he just eaten off her chopsticks? Had she just fed him?

Desunei was thoroughly entertained - her laugher reverberated through Sakura's head.

Finished, Itachi met the pink-haired kunoichi's astounded gaze. Faint amusement flickered in his obsidian depths. "Too sweet," he admonished. "But" - his voice grew slightly lighter, less inexpressive - "I can tolerate. May I have another?"

She stared at him for a few more seconds before his words registered in her mind. "Uh, yeah, of course." Sakura fumbled with her chopsticks and picked up another strawberry. "H-here you go."

This time, she was prepared for his movement. He leaned down and took the small fruit in his mouth, pausing with his lips just barely touching her chopsticks to meet her eyes. She swallowed, startled, but in the next moment he was standing at his full height.

"Thank you," he said evenly, and she could only nod as he walked away.

Her bento was left opened and untouched. Her gaze focused on a nearby tree, staring at its kunai-scratched trunk with sightless eyes.

Involuntarily, her hand found the light thread of her necklace, and she fingered the three small, metal rings that hung from it.

"I've noticed the necklace you wear," Sakura commented as she whetted her kunai to a deadly sharpness. "Is there any significance to it? You don't have to answer me if you don't want. I was just curious."

The Uchiha on the other side of the small clearing cracked an eye open to look at her. His arms were crossed, back resting against the side of a smooth boulder. "My mother picked it out for me when I was young," he responded flatly. "She said it would look good." He grew silent. Then: "I was not very fond of it, but she told me it would make a nice present to give to a girl, if I ever found one I liked."

The pink-haired kunoichi halted in her movements, tilting her head thoughtfully before turning to meet his gaze. "Have you ever liked someone, Itachi? In a romantic kind of way?"

He remained still. His eyes shifted to the darkening sky above them. "I did," he responded quietly. "Years ago, I did."

"What happened to her?"

"I killed her," he answered, like it was nothing. Sakura stiffened at the lack of emotion in his tone. "She was a part of the clan, a very distant cousin, I believe. I murdered her along with the rest of her family."

Sakura stared down at the kunai in her hands, imagining driving it through the heart of the one she loved.

Her brows furrowed. Two years ago, it would've been Sasuke she pictured. Now…she wasn't so sure.

Her eyes flickered to the Uchiha across from her. "Do you think you'll ever find someone to give it to again?"

"Well, just for the sake of it, I was planning on giving it to Sasuke. It'd be a shame for a present from our mother to go to waste."

Sakura smiled.

"As far as in the sense you're speaking about…" She saw his eyes turn to look at her. Brows raised, she locked her gaze with his.

One corner of his lips tilted upward. "I guess we'll just have to see."

Sakura lowered her head to her knees, pushing her fingers into her hair. Deep breaths forced their way through her lungs as she fought to keep herself from panicking.

It hurts.

She crossed her arms over her chest, clutching at her bare arms.

It hurts.

A choked gasp escaped her lips, followed by a soft, tearless sob.

Itachi…

Sakura hugged herself tightly. The pain of her fingernails drawing blood upon her biceps didn't register in her mind.

…I miss you. So much. You don't even know -

She heaved a large, shaky breath.

Why? Whywhywhywhywhywhy -

'Sakura.'

The pink-haired kunoichi squeezed her eyes closed once before opening them.

I'm sorry, Tigress. It's just that -

'I know. It's okay. Mourning for someone you love isn't something to be ashamed about. But you're hurting yourself, child - look at your arms.'

Slowly, Sakura raised her head, and blinked as she took in the bloodied, torn state of her biceps. Her blunt nails had dug in hard enough to make it look like they had been through a shredder.

A flicker of chakra, and they were healed.

'Now eat, child. You'll need every ounce of strength you have from now on.'

And why is that? Sakura wondered, finally breaking apart her chopsticks and beginning to dig in.

'Can't you feel it in the air?'

Sakura frowned.

'Chaos, child.' Desunei's thought-voice was soft. 'Chaos is upon us.'

"'The real one isn't with them.'"

Naruto scratched his head. "Okay, we've discovered the code and all, but what the hell does that mean?"

Kakashi's Icha Icha Tactics book lay open before them. Shikamaru shook his head at the genius of it all. If it weren't for Naruto's knowing that Jiraiya's "9" in the code was really the katakana character for "ta" - eventually leading them to look at the Tactics book, and the first word of each page number given from then on - they'd still be left in the dark.

"We should get in touch with Fukasaku-sama," Kakashi spoke up. "It should mean something to him if he was there during the fight with Pein."

"I'll ask the Godaime to find him right away," Shikamaru responded.

"All right!" Naruto chimed in, and pumped his fist in the air. "Let's go talk to her right now!"

"So," Madara began, "what kept you?" His single, visible Sharingan eye stared impassively at the orange-haired man to his right.

Pein responded with an even colder tone. "I had an unprecedented visitor."

The eldest living Uchiha gave a harsh, clipped chuckle. "Someone managed to delay the invincible Pein? I guess the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya lives up to his title, eh?"

Akatsuki's so-called "God" wasn't amused in the least. "At any rate, he's dead. I can start hunting the Kyuubi whenever I want."

"Konoha will be searching for you now, I'm sure you know," Madara said as he rose from his seat. "The longer you wait, the more time they'll have to plan. Get moving" - his voice lowered to a deadly steadiness - "before things get problematic."

Konan spoke up for the first time since their impromptu meeting began. "Pein is unassailable," she countered flatly. "He will obtain the Kyuubi, no matter what it takes."

Madara turned his cold stare to the azure-haired female. "Only two more bijuu now," he stated. "Sasuke is taking care of the Hachibi."

Konan's brows drew together. "Killer Bee? Can he handle that?"

"Sasuke will succeed," the Uchiha replied, undeterred. "This…"

Konan could almost picture Madara's cold smile beneath the mask he adorned.

"This, I can guarantee."

Orange hair whipped about as another gust of harsh wind flew by. Six pairs of sterling grey eyes stared forward soullessly. Identical black cloaks with the signature red clouds rustled, whipping back and forth with faint snapping noises.

"Get ready, Konan," one of the six men spoke with a voice completely devoid of emotion.

His blank gaze turned to the churning sky.

"We're heading for Konoha."

A/N: *cough* Why, hello there kind people of the world! *weak smile* You all know I love you dearly, right? No need to murder me, right?

...has it been over a year already? Crap.

Never mind. Murder me all you want. Kill me, then resurrect me so you can kill me again. I deserve it for being such a lazy-ass authoress who would rather watch Korean dramas all day (LEE MIN HO WILL YOU MARRY ME?) and drool over SHINee's music videos than let even the mere concept of wiping the dust off this story cross her mind. (Well, that, and AP Euro was a bitch. I probably wrote a book's worth of essays about King Henry VIII and his hos. I passed the Exam, though! Yay for actually opening the textbook!)

Ahem. Anyways. I haven't exactly been inactive, as those of you who have put me on your watch list have probably noticed. I've written a few one shots in between, and even reached the first ending of a multi-chaptered story (R.I.P. Alerion). But for whatever the reason, whenever I thought of this story, I cringed and immediately went back to my husband (ha! I wish) for comfort. It wasn't until today - maybe I just had a sudden urge? Nah, I think it was the guilt - that I finally decided to get off my ass (figuratively - I was still very much so on my ass while writing this) and get this son of a mother finished.

And here it is. After being away from it for so long, I'm not too sure about it, but honestly, it's moving in the direction I want it to, so I can't complain too much. Not much Sakura action (I almost broke into tears while writing the flashbacks), but have no fear! She will unleash her badass-ery sooner than later! In my eyes, having her and Naruto sharing the spotlight (and eventually, yes, Sasuke too - he's just taking a while to earn that spot) makes it more believable to the actual Naruto story line rather than just Sakura. And I'm trying to make this as realistic and in-character as possible. So, while Sakura is stronger here in our little world, she will not be an overlord, even if we all wish Kishimoto-sensei would deem her as such.

Speaking of Kishimoto, who's excited for the sixth-month wait for the english-subbed version of Road to Ninja?

I think I can survive - Sasuke's hitting on Sakura, guys. What more can we ask for?

Well, now that I've proven that I can officially write a longer Author's Note than the actual story (oh sarcasm, how I love thee), I'm afraid I must sleep. Because heaven knows I never do that anymore. (SHINeeissoworthit,fo'shizzle.)

Sincerely and with many apologies,

Silver Echo