Kiss The Rain

A/N: This chapter was by far the hardest to write. I seem to be saying that about all of the chapters, but because this is the start of the turning point in the relationship between Itachi and Sakura, I had to think long and hard about what would work best for them. So, I came up with this. The obession that Madara has towards Sakura is not of a potential lover, but rather his sick curiosity of what strength he can cull from her in order to please his blood-lust. Well, we'll just have to wait and see what he does next, won't we?

Anyways, big round of applause for my beta, Prinnybubbles. She keeps me straight. And, remember to read and review. I really like them. Thanks!!


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“I tried to warn you, but now you see the madness that is Akatsuki.”

Sakura turned and found herself facing Itachi. He was wearing his ANBU uniform and he looked as though he had just returned from a mission. His mouth was slightly turned up, and for a moment, she allowed herself to get lost in the dark warmth of his eyes.

Itachi moved closer and lifted his hand until it cradled her chin. “It will only get worse from this point on,” he warned, stroking the soft skin of her cheek with his fingers. “I am not certain that I can protect you against his mangekyo. I will do what I can, but I cannot be certain that my protection will be enough.”

Sakura frowned. “Who are you talking about?” she asked.

Itachi shook his head. “You will soon see for yourself.”

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Itachi watched as Sakura’s eyes slowly opened, her face twisting into a grimace of pain. He’d been with her for the past two days, watching over her and caring for her. This was the first time she had awakened without him having to gently shake her several times.

When her eyes fully opened, she turned her head and looked up at him. For a moment, he allowed himself to return her gaze, clenching his teeth as the familiar warmth within his chest ignited. This girl was quickly becoming a weakness for him, and he knew that if he wanted to keep his life the way it was, he would have to do something about her.

He watched as she attempted to sit up. When she fell back against her pillows, he knew that she had exhausted her already weakened strength. Moving forward, Itachi reached for the pitcher of water beside her bed and poured her a glass. Handing it to her, he calmly said, “Drink slowly. You have been asleep for two days and will need to start your recovery.”

Sakura reached for the glass but could barely hold it becasue her hand was shaking so badly. Paling, she knew what this meant—her chakra had still not returned, and she could only assume that Pein’s chakra-draining technique was still active.

Itachi took the glass from her and sat down beside her. Without a word, he brought it to her lips and watched as she took tiny sips of water. Her eyes closed as she took in the water, and he watched as her eyelashes gently brushed over the tops of her cheeks.


This really was unbecoming of him. To notice such a trivial detail told him that he needed some time away from the young woman. When she finally drained the glass, he stood up and set the glass back down on the table by the pitcher.


“Kisame will arrive shortly. You are to remain in bed,” he informed her.

Snorting, Sakura grimaced as a flare of pain hit her senses and then snapped, “Where in the hell could I go?”

Itachi refused to reply. Instead, he simply walked to the door and quietly murmured, “Whatever you did to anger the leader, I suggest that you refrain from doing it again. Next time, he might kill you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sakura hissed, watching as the older Uchiha left the room. Once the door shut, she closed her eyes and bit her lip as tears began to form. Everything hurt and she was too damn powerless to do anything about it.

One thing was for sure: once she regained her chakra, she would be more vigilant around this leader, and when he didn’t suspect anything from her, she would knock his block off.

Lying back against the pillows, Sakura stared at the ceiling and felt the familiar tendrils of sleep circle around her mind. At least in sleep she could forget her pain.


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Madara and Zetsu were carefully moving plants around in the greenhouse when Pein arrived. The masked man looked up and straightened before looking over at Zetsu and nodding. When the familiar barrier fell over them, a hard voice snapped, “Speak.”

Pein bowed. “The kunoichi has awoken, though only long enough to drink a glass of water,” he reported. “Itachi has left the compound and she is being cared for by Kisame.”

“Do you think that is a wise decision?” Zetsu’s calmer half asked. “After all, it is well known that Kisame and the young lady cannot stand each other.”

The dark half, adding his input, hissed, “They could wind up killing each other.”

Madara straightened to his full height and replied, “I don’t believe that Kisame will actually harm her. He seems to get more enjoyment out of irritating her.”

Pein gave a sharp nod. “Kisame is fully aware of the consequences should the girl be harmed. He will not risk my anger,” he stated, his tone flat.

Walking towards Pein, Madara calmly said, “And you will not risk mine. Let me be very clear that I am still very angry with you, Pein. Tell me, just how important is Konan to you?”

Pein stiffened. “Konan has nothing to do with this,” he said.

Underneath the mask, Madara smirked. “Oh, but she does. I’ve decided to ensure your complete cooperation with Sakura’s well-being,” he purred as he circled Pein. “You see, if Sakura comes to any harm, what I do to Konan will make what you did to Sakura seem like a sweet dream. Do not fail me in this task, Pein. I’ve been very lenient with you, but I will not accept failure in this. Do we understand each other? Remember, it is Konan’s well-being that is at stake here.”

Pein gave a sharp nod and turned to leave. At the door, he glared over his shoulder at Zetsu. When he felt the barrier fall, he left the greenhouse and was out of their sight.

Madara turned to Zetsu. “Speaking of Sakura, I have heard that she is still in pain. Perhaps you could assist in helping to relieve the pain,” he said. He nodded with approval when Zetsu’s calmer side murmured that he would deliver the medicine before dinner.

Turning, Madara’s eyes narrowed in the direction that Pein had taken. Now that the man knew his female companion was in jeopardy, he would take every action to ensure Sakura’s well-being.


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Sakura’s eyes slowly opened to find Kisame sitting beside her, his nose stuffed into a very familiar orange book.

His pale eyes shifted over to her when he sensed her movement. “Well, well,” he drawled. “Let me be the first to tell you that you look like shit when you first wake up, Princess.”

“Considering what I am waking up to, I’m not surprised.” she snapped and immediately regretted it when pain flared in her leg.

Kisame snorted and looked back at the book. “Yeah, yeah,” he muttered.

She winced as she tried to shift her position from lyi ng to sitting, but yelped when the pain shot up from her leg and into her back. She gasped when she felt a warm hand on her back and scowled when Kisame muttered, “You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?”

Before she could reply, the door to her room opened and she was stunned to see Zetsu enter. The large man allowed his gaze to travel over her and then narrow upon Kisame, whose hand was still on her naked back. He watched as Kisame propped her up against the pillows and calmly said, “I have been asked to bring you something to help ease the pain. You will have to eat before taking it, but once it enters your system the pain will lessen considerably.”

Sakura slowly nodded, watching as both men exchanged pointed glances. Zetsu set the medicine vial down onto the table beside the bed and then turned to leave. When he got to the door, Zetsu turned and said, “Kisame, you are expected in a meeting in one hour. Haruno-san’s dinner will be brought to her shortly and you are to make sure that she has taken the medication. You will report her status to me when you arrive.”

Kisame snorted, but nodded. Together, he and Sakura watched the Akatsuki spy close the door and then they looked at each other. With a loud grunt, Kisame flung himself back into the chair he had been sitting in and proceeded to scowl at the floor.

The silence finally became too much for her, so Sakura quietly asked, “Where is Itachi?”

Clenching his jaw, the shark shrugged. “Probably out somewhere trying to figure out how to get out of this mess that you got us all into,” he snapped, his playful tone gone. “You know, he tried to warn you not to fight him, but you just had to go and prove that you can overcome his sharingan. Now we are up to our eyeballs in trouble and have to take care of you because you are too stupid to keep your fucking mouth shut.”

When Kisame finished his rant, Sakura looked down at her hands and sighed. “I didn’t approach your leader, and I sure as hell didn’t do or say anything to deserve what he did to me,” she replied. “After the fight with Itachi, he simply showed up and said that he wanted to spar with me. Once we got into the dojo, I felt as if I had been drained of all my energy and then he attacked me. As for not fighting Itachi, well, I don’t really have a say in that. Call it a defense mechanism, but it was not intentional—at least, not on my part.”

Taking a deep, calming breath, Kisame turned his eyes to the younger woman and asked, “What exactly did you see that first time when Itachi placed you into the mangekyo? Why in the hell was he so rattled that he walked away from you without drawing blood?”

Sakura turned her eyes to her folded hands and took her own deep breath. “I saw something that he had been trying to forget. I suppose that some memories are best left undisturbed.”

“Indeed,” Itachi said, allowing his eyes to narrow at the pair before him as he stood in the doorway to Sakura’s room. “And those memories will stay between us, Sakura.”

The kunoichi bit her lip and looked away from the narrowed glare. Kisame, however, was not intimidated. Standing up, he was about to demand an explanation from his partner, but the presence of someone else at the door made him pause.

Itachi stepped aside to allow the woman who worked in the kitchens to pass by with a plate of food. He watched as the woman placed the plate onto a tray that she had brought with her, setting it across Sakura’s lap. Once assured that Sakura had everything that she needed, the woman left, and Itachi closed the door behind her.

Finally, Kisame growled, “Okay, I’ve dealt with the secrets for long enough. We are partners, and damn it, I deserve to know what in the hell is going on.”

Itachi turned his head towards his partner but didn’t bother to respond. Sakura, however, decided to enlighten the shark with what she knew. Personally, she never cared for secrets either, and since meeting Itachi in battle, she’d been forced to carry this dirty little secret for long enough.

“Itachi didn’t murder his clan. He took the blame in order to prevent his little brother from going after the one responsible,” she said, her tone weary.

Kisame allowed a soft whistle to escape his lips as he glanced over at his partner. The fact that Itachi wasn’t denying it spoke volumes. But it didn’t escape his notice that Itachi wasn’t upset that Sakura had spilled the beans.

Judging from the clenched jaw and matching fist, Itachi was way past upset—Itachi was downright furious.

The Uchiha did not utter a sound. Instead, he turned on his heel, opened the door, and strolled from the room while Kisame stared at his back.

Sakura, however, didn’t bother to watch him leave. She quietly ate the meal that had been provided and then softly asked Kisame to hand her the medicine that Zetsu had left for her. As the shark watched, she drank the contents of the small vial, grimaced, and then handed the vial back to him before allowing him to remove the tray.

He let everything that he had just discovered run through his mind, before softly murmuring, “Do not tell anyone else what you have told me. Because we are partners, I have the right to know in order to protect my own ass. For everyone else, including the leader, it is none of their fucking business.”

Sakura gave him a weary smile and slowly nodded. She didn’t fight him when he helped her to lie back down, nor did she acknowledge his departure. As the medicine began to work and the pain began to fade, she allowed a tired smile to cross her lips. Finally, the words she had wanted to speak were now out there and Itachi could no longer deny them. Let him deal with the consequences now. She was tired of doing it all by herself.


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“Did she take the medicine?” Zetsu asked upon seeing Kisame enter the room.

Kisame took a good look around and found that everyone was sitting at the table, including Itachi, who had an empty space beside him.

“Yep.” Kisame grinned. “She filled her belly, drank it down, and nodded off pretty quickly. If you ask me, I say we keep her unconscious. This way, we don’t have to hear her bitching.”

Zetsu murmured quietly to Tobi, who bounced in his seat excitedly. But when Pein stood up, silence loomed in the room and the leader began to speak.

For nearly an hour, Pein spoke about upcoming missions and how Sakura would be integrated into Akatsuki. Finally, the meeting was adjourned and Kisame quickly followed his partner out of the room and down the dark hallway.

Catching up with the younger man, the shark calmly said, “It’s not just you who carries this burden. You can’t expect her to keep your secret, especially if it is haunting her. She doesn’t hold any loyalties to you or to this organization. We’ve both heard her cry out in her sleep, and I’ve heard her mention your name and another name. If you want someone to be pissed at, you can be pissed at me for harassing her about it. Personally, I don’t care. I’ve never kept secrets from you, especially if it could potentially harm us or a mission, and I expect the same courtesy.”

He didn’t even give his partner a chance to respond. Itachi stopped walking and watched Kisame disappear down the hallway. Itachi stood frozen for a moment before moving down the hall, and didn’t stop until he was in front of Sakura’s door.

He reached out to grasp the doorknob, but froze when he heard her cry and call out for him. Leaning his forehead against the door, he debated as to whether or not he should go in. Finally, he took a deep breath and entered the room to find Tobi sitting next to her. The younger man had pulled a chair close to the bed and only turned his head when Itachi cleared his throat.

Jumping up, Tobi quickly said, “Tobi wasn’t hurting her. Tobi just wanted to come and sit with Sakura-chan. Tobi is a good boy.”

“Leave, ” Itachi ordered and moved forward until he was next to the masked man. He watched as Tobi’s shoulders slumped and he gave a saddened sigh. Without another word, Tobi moved to the door and paused to glance over his shoulder before exiting the room, softly closing the door behind him.

As he walked down the hall, the slumped shoulders straightened and his steps became brisk and hurried. He made his way to the large office where he knew Pein was. Without knocking, he entered and sneered, “I think that our dear Itachi is beginning to have feelings for our guest.” He shuddered at the word ‘feelings.’

Pein sat back in his chair and calmly asked, “What did you expect? After all, according to you, they share a history, and now she is possibly being protected by his subconscious. It was bound to happen.”

Madara made a gagging sound and then proceeded to walk over to the chair that was in front of the desk. Sitting down, he said, “You’re awfully calm about this. But then again, you have the same kind of feelings for your own partner, so it shouldn’t be such a big surprise that you’d not see this as a problem.”

“You keep mentioning my relationship with Konan,” Pein said. “However, I don’t believe that you really care one way or the other about the possible relationships that can form between partners. We have always said that personal objectives can be obtained only if the missions of Akatsuki are not harmed. Itachi has performed to expectation and beyond so I do not see this as a problem.”

Madara sighed heavily. “Of course you don’t,” he muttered. “However, should this little development between Itachi and Sakura cause me problems, I will not hesitate to correct this issue. Also, I’ve decided that when she is healed, she is to be partnered with Deidara. I grow tired of his threats to kill me and his babbling about art. Perhaps Sakura would be so kind as to rid me of that fool once and for all.”

“She is a Leaf shinobi,” Pein returned. “She does not have it within her to simply kill someone because they get on her nerves. Konoha is all about peace, justice, and protecting the ones you care for. She won’t kill him, no matter how annoying he becomes.”

Madara stood up and watched as Pein stood and gave him a respectful bow. “I’ve been informed that her chakra has not returned,” Madara stated, turning to look the younger man in the eye. “Reverse your jutsu, Pein. My precious time is wasting and I am eager to play with her.”

Pein bowed his head in acceptance and calmly said, “It will be done immediately. But it is best if she regains her chakra naturally. Within the next two days, she will regain her chakra and can start mending her wounds.”

“Hn,” Madara replied and slipped into the shadows and out of Pein’s sight.

When he was alone, a smirk formed on Pein’s lips. His master’s downfall was close at hand, and he would make sure that he was close enough to watch the ancient man fall.

~!~

He sat through her agonized whimpers and knew that his demons were plaguing her, just as they had plagued him for so many years. But he had not realized that it was this bad for her. Her words rang in his ears, and he knew that something h ad to be done in order for both of them to escape this hellish prison. The question was what could he do?

He supposed that sitting down and finally telling her the entire story would help ease the burden. All of her questions would be answered, but once the truth was out, would she look at her beloved Konoha the same?

All Leaf shinobi were brought up to believe that Konoha stood up for justice and would not tolerate any sort of injustice. But not all of Konoha’s citizens felt that way. Those three elders were the ones who had started all of this. He’d already turned Danzo’s offer down, and had even told the other two elders that he would never participate in the killing of his own clan, even for the sake of avoiding war. The third hokage had stood beside him and praised him for his decision. But then Madara came, and the decision was ripped from his hands. Thankfully, the third hokage believe him, and had even suspected that Madara was still alive. It seemed that the first hokage knew more about the forbidden techniques of the sharingan than even his own clan and had informed the second and third about the possibilities of immortality.

Now he was faced with his past and an innocent victim was thrust into his lap, and he didn’t know what to do with either one. One thing was for sure: he needed to figure out a way to handle the situation before it grew into something that neither he nor Sakura could handle.

Sakura’s agonized sobs hit his ears and he silently moved from his seat beside the bed to sit on the bed with her. He had long ago removed his cloak and sandals in order to be comfortable and now, as he sat beside her with his hand stroking back her bangs, he allowed himself a moment to trace her features with his eyes.

She was a striking young woman. He had known when he first saw her as a child that she would turn out to be beautiful, but she had exceeded his expectations. He had been shocked to see just how strong both physically and mentally she had become, and he was… pleased. The shy violet turned out to be a flower who demanded attention.

He was brought out of his musings when Sakura turned slightly and moved her head so that it was resting on his left thigh. The action stunned him, but only for a moment. He contemplated moving her back to her pillow, but when he heard her sigh and finally quiet down, he allowed his hand to rest on the top of her head. It was as though she was taking comfort in his presence.

Leaning back, he fought to remember when the last time someone felt safe in his presence was, and the memory of when Sasuke was a baby came to his mind. Sasuke was always toddling after him once he could walk. He could remember that when it came to a choice between walking to him or to their mother, Sasuke would always walk to him and expect for his big brother to pick him up.

He had forgotten these memories. He had tried to bury them along with his family, but thinking of them now didn’t cause his stomach to rebel. No, this time the memories made his body warm, and for the first time in many years, the corner of his mouth lifted just a bit and he allowed himself to relax.

Closing his eyes, he could hear Sasuke’s baby voice calling for him and it made the sadness that lived within him less vivid.

“’Tachi!'”