Nothing But the Truth

Chapter 1

Story: Nothing but the Truth

Author: MizukiYukiko

Rated: T

Pairing: ItachiXSakura

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Naruto.

Summary: Her arms locked around his shoulders before he could even register what she was doing. Burying her face in the crook of his neck, she whispered, "I'm so sorry that this happened to you." Itachi's eyes widened in shock; no one, not one person ever, had apologized to him. No one had ever viewed this as something that had happened to him.

Notes: 50_shinobi themed challenge #4. Inner demons.

Okay, so when I first started this story, I had not been following the anime or manga. Now that I've finally caught up, I've realized my timeline is grievously off. So you'll have to be patient with my cannon. It really doesn't bother me all that much since I've always felt that the story was a little heartbreaking for a bunch of fifteen and sixteen year olds to go through anyway. In this fic, which is pre- Invasion of Pein, Sakura and those in the original nine genin are 18, Team Gai is 19, and Itachi is 23.

I've taken unapologetic liberties with the cannon. I'm also revising the story. Chapters 1-5 are being almost completely redone, as this chapter is now edited. I will also be adding/changing some things in the rest of the chapters.

Revised 6/29/13

Please read and review, and I hope you find the added detail to your liking! 

Nothing but the Truth

Chapter 1

"At the moment when her eyes closed, when all feeling vanished in her, she thought that she felt a touch of fire imprinted on her lips, a kiss more burning than the red-hot iron of the executioner."

Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

It was dark. It was cold. She shivered. It was with this movement that she felt the irritation of the chains around her wrists. I'm hanging. Her mind told her, as did the pain in her arms. This was replaced with a splitting pain in her face and her head. She had gotten hit, hard. Where was she? Her mind was a jumble of fragmented memories, thoughts, and feelings. As one emotion or memory came to her, it would be gone in an instant and she found herself questioning if it had truly been there in the first place. She didn't know. Her memories of the past few days, weeks, whatever were gone.

She groaned at the discomfort in her head and her arms. She didn't think they had much blood going to them. There were bits and pieces coming back to her. A battle? Yes, there had been a battle. Black cloaks with red clouds flashed through her mind. Akatsuki. The details were fuzzy, but she was certain that's who had taken her. Oh this is just fantastic, she thought bitterly to herself. Inner-Sakura's voice rang throughout her ears knowingly, calling her a weakling for ever getting captured in the first place. Then again, she remembered the last time she had been taken by enemy-nin, and Inner-Sakura had said the same thing to her. It was almost as if Sasuke was in her head, constantly calling her weak and annoying. Wincing at the memories of her long-forgotten teammate, she pushed them back, ignoring them.

Right now, she had to focus on the situation at hand. She had been captured by the Akatsuki. What wasn't clear was why. The Akatsuki weren't usually the take prisoner types. Killing an enemy was usually much more effective for their purposes. However, they did take prisoners when they had something to gain from such a situation – such as capturing the jinchuriki to extract the bijuu. Her mind raced, trying to decide why they had captured her. If they were in a battle, it was most likely to lure Naruto to them. She was the kyuubi's best friend and teammate, after all. There was also the slightest chance that they wanted her for her abilities as a medic. She had been abducted for the very same reason on a previous occasion.