Black cherry blossom

Black cherry blossom
- If you go ... - Ita X Saku OS

Sometimes things happen in life that you never thought could happen. The heart decides things that one does without understanding and the question of correctness. Once you've made up your mind, there's no going back ...

A day in winter. Snow fell from the gray clouds in the sky and lay down on a pink-haired girl. She stopped with relish and looked at the cloud-covered sky above her. As she closed her eyes, she gave the snowflakes a warm smile.
The white winter landscape around Konohagakure, which is currently recovering from the attacks of the Akatsukis, let peace return to the hearts of the people. A peace that seemed lost for a long time ...
Sakura started moving again. She just came back from a mission and finally wanted to go home. From the beginning she hadn't liked leaving her home in these difficult times. But Tsunade had asked her to do so and, more or less voluntarily, she had left.
When she entered the forest in front of Konoha, she suddenly stopped. Something had caught their attention. Her senses had struck. Quietly but attentively, she scanned her surroundings so as not to overlook even the smallest hint. Despite the fact that the girl knew such situations, she was a little nervous. A queasy feeling spread in her stomach, but the fear tried to swallow her. As an experienced Kunoichi, she had to do this too.

The forest lay dead still before her. Nothing and nobody was to be seen. And yet the pink-haired girl crept slowly through the forest. If there was still an enemy hiding in these woods, this could be their end. At this thought the girl startled inwardly and shook her head vigorously to wash him away from such thoughts. "You shouldn't even think like that."she hissed barely audibly between her teeth.
After a few more steps, there was a crack on her right side. She quickly turned in that direction and already pulled out some Kunai and Shuriken. She listened nervously into the room and did not move an inch. There, that sound again. Sakura took all her courage and went deeper into the forest at the first row of trees.
She moved further and further away from the path she had come on and soon she reached a clearing where she often picked flowers as a child. But at this time of year you only saw snow, which protected the soil and the plants until spring. Her steps left narrow footprints in the white splendor as she continued toward the center of the clearing. And then she discovered something. There in the snow you could see a few drops of blood that seemed to be leading away from the clearing.
"What happened here?", Sakura asked into the silence, but received, as was to be expected, no answer. For a few seconds she thought about what to do and decided to help the injured person. As a medic-nin, it was her duty. And besides, this situation had made her curious.
Sakura quietly followed the blood splatters and followed the mysterious person. Based on the size and amount of blood droplets in the snow, the girl could conclude that there was a cut, probably on the upper arm. Out of the corner of her eye, the girl heard movement and turned in that direction in a flash. Raised their guns. "Who's there?" The girl called into the loneliness of the forest. There was no answer, but she did not take her eyes off the one tree. "Show yourself! I know that you are there!", She tried again. Sakura hoped to sound brave and confident, even if she was actually quite scared. Still, she wasn't intimidated. A long time ago she had decided to become bolder and stronger and the pink-haired woman had meant it too ...And indeed something stirred. A black figure stepped out from behind the tree and looked at her with cold eyes. A chill ran down Sakura’s spine. Her eyes widened when she recognized the person opposite. His black hair, his cold look, made the blood run cold in her veins. Sakura couldn't believe it. Itachi Uchiha stood in front of her! The Uchiha clan murderer believed to be dead. "But that ...?", The Kunoichi stuttered. At that moment she wished she hadn't been so curious after all. But then she discovered something that changed her mind. The black-haired man was blind in one eye and had several cuts on his upper arm. All in all, he looked pretty battered. Which was natural too. He seemed to have narrowly escaped death. Pity germinated in the girl. Even if she knew exactly who she was facing.
The boy just looked at her. There were no emotions in his face. His cold eyes, one of which was a lighter color, looked at the girl. "How did you ...?" Sakura began, even though she knew he wouldn't answer. Slowly she lowered her weapons and put them away.
“What are you doing there?” The Kunoichi froze in her movement. Itachi's cold voice penetrated inside her. But not only that made her freeze. Itachi, the killer, was so damn similar to his brother. Those cold eyes, the rigid face, the way he moved. Everything reminded her of Sasuke. And without realizing it, she returned to her old role. "I put my weapons away. If I am to heal you, I need my hands.", Sakura bitched at the black-haired man and continued with her movement. Itachi looked closely at his counterpart, but didn't change his face. Only when the girl came up to him did he take a step backwards. "Hey.", Sakura growled when she noticed his defensive stance. “Let me heal your wounds!” Itachi said nothing.Sakura sighed and tried to get to him again. And this time he didn't back down. Instead he said in a calm, emotionless voice: "What if I kill you?"
Sakura paused. Did she hear right? Did he think she was stupid? "I know that you are blind in one eye and you can hardly see anything in the other. And I also know that your left arm has been paralyzed by some kind of poison. So don't act like that and let me limit the damage. " Said and done. Less than 10 seconds later, the Kunoichi was already taking care of the Uchiha's wounds. She wondered how she had treated the man before her. A few minutes ago she was still terrified, but now it seemed to have blown away. It was like talking to Sasuke. The two brothers were really damn alike ...
"So, done.", Sakura sighed and wiped his forehead with one hand. She was able to take care of the bleeding areas and almost completely healed the paralysis. But she couldn't help his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" She asked the boy now that she couldn't hold back her curiosity. They sat side by side on a fallen tree because Sakura couldn't leave him alone in the forest. The Uchiha did not answer the question from the pink-haired man and sat in silence. This annoyed Sakura because she inevitably had to think of Sasuke. Snapping, she pointedly turned her head to the other side.
"I survived." Itachi said. Inwardly, Sakura rolled her eyes. She already knew THAT.
"But how?", The girl raked and looked at him again from the side. He looked damn cool with the long black hair and the coat, even if it was a bit torn. Sakura caught the thought and immediately turned a little red. Quickly looked forward into the forest. Her heart was pounding violently and the pink-haired woman did not understand why.She hadn't even felt that way when she faced Sasuke ...
"I don't know. My Sharingan must have had some reserves.", The black-haired man said calmly, as if he didn't really care.
"But why are you here now? The ninjas from Konoha could catch you at any time!", The girl replied. No reaction at first. But then the young man opened up, as he probably had never done before.
"Is my brother here?" Itachi asked. Sakura froze. She wouldn't have expected that now. It still stung her heart when she thought of Sasuke's renewed betrayal.
"No." she growled. “He didn't come back after it was said that he'd defeated you.” There was a short silence before Sakura added: “He's got his own team now ...” Sakura noticed herself how her voice was getting sad and resolved to give herself up to pull together. You never knew ...

Itachi rose, but swayed a little. "Hey!", Protested Sakura and also got up. "Sit down again! The herbs against paralysis weaken the circulation!" But the Uchiha did not react. He buried his face in the coat and turned away.
"Sasuke knows what happened. Konoha is in danger. If you love your city, you better leave now.", Itachi said and Sakura could swear to hear some disappointment in his voice.
"What?", She asked incredulously, but the Uchiha said nothing more. Sakura wondered what to do next. Quickly back to Konoha? Or do you care about the injured person first? The girl sank into thought and only noticed a few seconds later that Itachi had started moving. "Stop!" She called and ran after him. "Konoha can also take care of himself for a while. First we have to look for a hiding place for you.", Smiled the pink-haired woman. Itachi just looked at her. "Why?" He asked then. The only answer he got was the girl's head tilting."Why are you doing this for a clan killer?"
Sakura was flabbergasted. She didn't really know why she was doing this. Something in her told her that she couldn't just judge him like that. There was more to it than just a murderer ...
"Because I don't believe that you wiped out your clan for no reason. You also left your brother alive. And if he did. As a medic-nin, I won't leave any injuries behind.", She pouted and looked around the area . After a few seconds the girl knew where she was exactly and remembered an empty hut nearby. "Come on.", She said and took Itachi's hand. Immediately the blood rose to her head and her heart beat too fast. She hurried ahead and tried to calm down.

After a few minutes they reached an old wooden hut. Sakura knew that it once belonged to an older man who didn't like being in the city and therefore lived alone here in the forest. But he died two years ago and the house has been empty since then. A perfect hiding place.
The girl opened the door and they were already