The Forgotten Fiance

Chapter 12

Sakura opened her eyes to see something strange.

The sky was red, the ground was black, there was nothing before her for miles on end.

"You awake, little sister?" She jumped as crows flew above her, cawing.

Suddenly, a man appeared. His appearance looked starkly like Sasuke's- onyx eyes, long-ish hair, white marble skin and the same stern face. Two wrinkles- maybe scars?- ran down his face as he gazed into her face. "Who are you?" she asked, surprising herself.

"Who am I? ...Hm... I guess I'm your brother-in-law," he said back to her.

"What is this place, brother-in-law?"

"This? This is my reality." He waved a hand as a little black-furred wolf swam into view. It jumped into Sakura's arms, nuzzling into her skin. "I can do everything and anything here- but I'm trapped."

"Do you want me to help you, brother-in-law?"

"No... there is no way you can help me. But you also need help, yes?"

Sakura frowned, creasing her forehead. "I... need help?" He nodded as he waved his hand again. A picture came into view- an unfamiliar scene with herself dancing with a masked person at a ball. "You lost your memories."

"How do you know that, brother-in-law?"

"Hmm... let's just say I have a connection. Do you want to get those memories back?"

Sakura nodded. She felt familiar with her brother-in-law. "Okay. I can help you, little sister."

"You... can?"

The wolf disappeared as something popped inside her head. "Your name is Itachi," she said, pointing at him. Itachi smiled faintly. "Yes, I am. Do you remember my face?"

"...Crow?"

"Very good. It seems like there is a way to reverse it, then. Good..."

Sakura frowned. "Brother-in-law, do you have my memories?" Itachi shrugged. "Do I? I'm not sure. I created this system for my brother, but it seems like you looked into my eyes before he..."

"This was all for Sasuke?"

"Mmm. It was originally made so that I would take his memories of me and put some of my consciousness inside his brain, so that I could activate his own Mangekyou and 'delete' his servants' memories of me. It would have been for the best- I know too well that my very presence was disgusting to the entire household."

Itachi snapped his fingers, and another picture appeared. It was a young man with a crow mask, and Sakura in a different ball gown. "But my eyes came in contact with you just when I activated the Sharingan... and your body isn't one of the Uchiha blood. It cannot handle the massive power of my visual prowess and thus, creates great pain when you try to recall the memories."

Another snap, and a scene where Sakura was conversing with Ino, Rin, Tenten, and Hinata appeared. Necklaces and bracelets were strewn everywhere. "Your mentality is strong. Your subconscious senses something, and forcibly tries to take back your memories. Of course, your mentality is no match for my Mangekyou."

"How do I fix it, brother-in-law?" Sakura asked.

Another faint smile illuminated his face. "I'm not sure. This system wasn't meant for you, so even I don't know what to do... but I have some idea. Try telling Sasuke to use his Mangekyou on you- and hopefully meet with me here. I would surrender and the system might break, giving back your memories and everything returning back to normal."

Sakura nodded. "But this is no easy task," Itachi warned. "The Mangekyou takes years to practice and perfect. One mistake could cause your entire body to shut down. Sasuke must be careful when he enters- otherwise he might just end up killing you both in the process. Your body would serve as the meeting point with the two of us. Can you allow that?"

Sakura nodded again as she spoke. "I believe that your intentions are good, brother-in-law." He smiled. "You are one of the few people who think so... even those at the Akatsuki are in spite of me."

Suddenly, Sakura felt something pulsing deep within her- and it was then she realized that up till now, she had no heartbeat. "It looks like our time is up," Itachi sighed as the three images vanished. "Remember- the system will try to take these memories that you had with me away. Fight, Sakura. Do not give in to my crimes."

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Sakura emitted a huge gasp as she sat up. "She's good!" someone called, as two people rushed towards her. "Sakura-chan!" Rin sobbed as she hugged her tightly. "I thought you would be gone..."

"It's good to see you up and running, Sakura," Guy winked. Sakura gave him a small smile as she looked around. "Where... am I?"

"At the hospital in the Village of Rain."

Sakura turned to see Sasuke staring at her, his back and neck badly bandaged. "Sasuke, your back-"

"This is nothing," he said as he leaned back. "You need to rest, Sakura."

She looked at Guy and Rin, who were still both screaming, and then looked over at Sasuke. "...Where's Kakashi and Neji?"

Suddenly, all grew silent.

"I'm just going to take a leak, I'll be right back!" Guy announced suddenly as he took off. Sakura stared after him as her gaze then dropped to Rin's. "Are... are they okay?" she asked.

Rin was avoiding her eyes. "See... Sakura... the thing was..."

"Yo!"

Sakura's head whipped over to look at someone rolling in in a wheelchair.

It was Kakashi.

"Kakashi! You're fine, right?" she asked him rushedly. "Yes, I'm completely fine. My leg's just a little bit banged up, but give it a day or two and I'll be all better," he said with a serene smile. Sakura smiled back. "Good, good..."

"...Then where's Neji?"

The same, horrible silence haunted them again. "And Neji?" she pressed them.

"Sakura... he's dead."

Sakura stared at Rin, openmouthed. "What?"

"S-Sakura... he's dead," Rin choked out.

Sakura shook her head. "No... that can't be," she whispered. "He's so... strong... he can't be gone..." She continued muttering that until the horrible truth had sunken in. "Rin... it was my fault," she said as a tear rolled down her face. "Neji's- Neji's dead because of me, I took the bomb, it was my idiocy that killed him-"

"No, Sakura! It's not your fault... I wanted to help them too," Rin sobbed as she ran over and gave her a heart-squeezing hug. "It wasn't your fault that the bomb went off... it was all him, the old man..."

Sakura pulled Rin away from her. "And the child?" she pressed. "Is at least the child okay? She tried... she tried to warn me! She told me not to take the shoes- she's innocent, Rin! Is she alive?"

A silent nod was all she needed before Sakura completely broke down.

"No, no... Neji and that little girl... they were innocent, they were innocent!" she cried as everyone watched her silently. "And it's all my fault...!"

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to y'all who thought I killed Kakashi off, YOU THOUGHT