Beautiful Disaster: Part 1

Prologue: Community Service

Inspired by the song "Beautiful Disaster" by Kelly Clarkson. NOT A SONGFIC!!

This will be an ItaSaku fic. Bold is Inner Sakura's voice. Enjoy! (I hope...)

Oh yeah, and please excuse my pathetic medical terms. I'm not a doctor. Please bear with my terrible knowledge of the human anatomy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

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I don't know
I don't know what he's after
But he's so beautiful
Such a beautiful disaster
And if I could hold on
Through the tears and the laughter
Would it be beautiful
Or just a beautiful disaster?

- Kelly Clarkson "Beautiful Disaster"

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Sakura Haruno decided she liked her job as a medic…at times.

And then there were those times when she wished she’d simply opened up a ramen stand instead.

This was one of those times.

“Anyway,” said Tsunade. “You will tend to his physical injuries for the duration of his imprisonment. Nothing more, nothing less. If you experience any…uh, problems with the patient, speak to me immediately, and I shall see to it.”

I’m already experiencing severe problems with this arrangement itself, thought the pink-haired kunoichi as she followed the blonde Hokage into a dank and dark dungeon. Damn Naruto for talking me into “community service”.

Then she realized something. “Um, Tsunade-sama? Shouldn’t Sasuke be here for this?” The last part choked slightly in her throat, but Sakura managed to mask it just in time by clearing her throat slightly. Thankfully, Tsunade did not notice.

Instead, the sannin made a dismissing sound in her throat. “We prefer to keep our prisoners alive for questioning, Sakura. The boy will no doubt do something rash when he realizes the man he vowed to kill is lying helpless and unconscious in one of Konoha’s jail cells. Besides, how do you propose we contact him? He betrayed us Sakura. It’s time you understood that.”

Sakura bowed her head in submission and fell quiet. It was quite true that she had not yet gotten over Sasuke Uchiha’s departure from the Leaf Village, but she had been so close…until they caught him.

Tsunade was unlocking a heavy-looking set of steel bars. Sakura craned her neck and tried to get a good look inside the cell. All she saw was darkness. But she distinctly heard a faint, yet steady rhythm of breathing.

The barred gate swung back, and Tsunade disappeared into the shadowed room beyond, beckoning Sakura to follow. Hesitantly, the eighteen-year-old kunoichi stepped in.

There was a sudden flash of light, and Sakura squinted her eyes against the sudden illumination, she realized her sensei had lit a lamp hanging from the ceiling.

The walls of the jail cell were comprised entirely of stone. Except for a lone cot, a chair, and a trolley of medical supplies in the corner, the room was empty of furniture. Sakura wrinkled her nose. The atmosphere inside held the distinct essence of something that has not met fresh air for a century or so.

“I’ll leave you in peace while you get started on him.” And with that said, Tsunade left the room. Sakura suddenly felt a pang of irrational panic. Suppressing the urge to scream “Don’t leave me here alone with him!” the young woman took a deep breath, cracked her fingers, and crossed the floor towards the small bed.

Each step seemed to bring a stronger sense of foreboding to Sakura, and she almost wanted to turn and run. She attempted rather foolishly to rationalize with herself as she went.

Well I’m about to heal an S-class missing nin! I wouldn’t be normal if I wasn’t afraid! And it doesn’t matter that he has no chakra to spare. This was the man who had single-handedly slaughtered his entire clan without batting an eye, he’s part of the Akatsuki, and he hurt Sasuke-kun!

The young medic neared the still figure on the bed. His back was facing her, and Sakura knew she would have to move him to heal him properly.

Chewing her bottom lip with anticipation, Sakura mustered all her courage and reached for her patient’s face. His skin was smooth and cold under her touch. The young kunoichi froze in that position for a while, every muscle in her body coiled up with tension.

When the infamous Uchiha did not stir, Sakura gathered up her wits one last time…and turned his body to face her.

It was her worst fear come true.

Itachi Uchiha was a spitting image of Sasuke, only older. His high cheekbones, finely arched eyebrows, and overall aristocratic and flawless complexion were all typical features of an Uchiha. His long hair was still in its low ponytail, and a pair of faint lines ran under his eyes, curiously contrasting his otherwise wrinkle-free visage.

It took Sakura all her self-control not to bolt out of the horrid dungeon.

Just when I’m beginning to move on, I get reminded of Sasuke-kun again. The gods seem to enjoy playing cruel jokes on me.

She observed the face in silence, drinking in every detail, pretending it was not that of Itachi Uchiha, but of Sasuke Uchiha. And when the man on the bed would open his eyes, they would be the purest shade of black, with not a single splash of crimson marring it's depths. Then he would throw his arms around the pink-haired kunoichi who had done so much for him, and tell her...

But he wasn't Sasuke. And never will be.

Although, the face was so painfully alike the face she had known years ago...the face of the boy she had begged and cried for, just so he may remain in Konoha with her. But in the end, he had left anyway...

And it's all because of this man.

A flame suddenly burned to life inside the kunoichi, a flame that she had never before experienced...even when Ino called her "forehead girl", even when Naruto would be a baka and screw up everything...even when he left...

...And Sakura felt like hitting Itachi, like hurting him badly. Because he was the one responsible for Sasuke's betrayal, he was the one who made his younger brother the cold avenger he was today, he was the reason Sakura could not sleep at night, haunted by images of a raven-haired youth and echoes of the words "thank you"...

...And for those reasons, Sakura wanted him to pay.

All of a sudden, the Uchiha progidy stirred slightly, and the pink-haired medic felt a foreign pressure on her wrist. She was immediately aware that her hand was trembling noticebly, and already, there was a steady glow of pale blue chakra emanating from it. She was also aware that Itachi's hand was wrapped firmly around the trembling hand's wrist...

Unnerved, the kunoichi jerked her hand from his grasp, stumbling back a few steps. The simple act had almost seemed intentional, calculated...planned.

But that would be impossible. Itachi was confirmed to be in an almost comatose state.

Rubbing the wrist where the Uchiha had touched as if she had been burned (although the strange sensation she felt at that moment was quite the opposite), Sakura began taking timid steps towards the bed again, only allowing her feet to cease movement when she was right beside the cot once more.

Breathing hard, the pink-haired medic drew up the only chair in the cell, and studied the man in front of her, willing herself not to lose control this time. The Uchiha's breaths were slow and shallow. Obviously, he was unconscious, but Sakura was still afraid to touch him any more than she needed to. Although now, the fear was based more off of what she feared she would do to him rather than the other way around.

Sakura took a few moments to wipe out the unpleasant tingling in her fingertips before tucking a strand of pink hair behind her ear and analyzing the situation.

Okay, I should probably start off with the pulse…

Willing her hands not to tremble, Sakura took a slim wrist between her thumb and index finger, counting the faint thuds that occasionally corresponded with her own, which was currently booming tirelessly in her eardrums, like bass drums amid the smothering silence.

Hmm. Pulse is slightly off, but not the point of being dangerous. All right. Let’s see what we’re dealing with here.

With fingers so steady it even surprised herself, Sakura began to pull off the black and red cloak Itachi was wearing, mentally scolding herself when she realized she was blushing slightly. Underneath, he was clothed in a black shirt with a strip of mesh around the collar.

An expert medic’s eye caught the patch of blood immediately.

Tossing the Akatsuki cloak aside carelessly, Sakura immediately pushed up Itachi’s shirt without giving it a second thought. She was greeted by a giant, gaping hole in the Uchiha’s stomach.

Oh no. What the hell did he do?

Continuously swearing under her breath, Sakura pulled the trolley containing medical supplies towards her, not even bothering to take her eyes off the injury. Quickly, her fingers found a piece of sterilized cloth in the dim light, and she immediately pressed it to the wound, all the while applying chakra to it in attempt to create an artificial blood clot.

After about five minutes, Sakura removed the cloth gingerly, peeking underneath to see whether or not the blood clot was successful. It was, but she knew there was no time to rest, as the clot would break as soon as the chakra holding it together was used up. Swiftly, the kunoichi grabbed another piece of cloth and dipped it in a mixture of water and alcohol, then swiped the edges of the wound with it for sterilization. All the while, Sakura was channeling chakra into the injury, trying to envision the damage inside her head.

Obviously not made by a weapon, judging by the shape of the wound. Maybe some sort of powerful jutsu…?

After running the perimeter of the bloody hole twice with the sterilized cloth, Sakura licked her lips nervously and pressed the palm of her hands to the edges of the injury, directing her chakra into his body, welding muscles together, connecting bone, reuniting the tattered ends of blood vessels…

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the exhausted kunoichi fell back in her chair, letting out a sigh of relief. She eyed her work appraisingly, and found herself quite pleased with it. She had managed to heal everything but the skin. Now there was a raw patch on Itachi’s abdomen, but there was no helping it. Sakura knew she had no more chakra left to spare for the day, so instead, she pulled out a roll of clean linen and began to bandage the Uchiha’s mostly-healed wound.

Tying up the end of the linen proved to be a strangely satisfying thing to do. Sakura couldn’t help but a grin a bit to herself as she exited the cell.

One more life saved…even if it is the life of an S-class criminal and psychotic mass-murderer.

Feeling strangely elated by that thought (although the fact that her patient hadn’t jumped on her halfway through the session may contribute quite a bit as well), Sakura hurried up into the soft embrace of warm sunlight and fresh, clean air.

Meanwhile, back in the dark and stuffy dungeon, Itachi Uchiha opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of pink before the female medic who had just healed him disappeared from view completely.

A faint smirk tugged at the corner of the Mangekyou wielder’s lips as he studied his newly healed and dressed wound.

Not bad. Not bad at all…

To be continued...

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Yeah, um...that was a godawful short and boring chapter. Sorry. But I say we wake up Itachi in the next chapter, ne? (insert maniacal laughter)

Constructive criticism welcome!

-xXsilent-musicXx