Stumble [Rewrite]

Assignment

"When you look in the mirror, who do you see?"

Dan, Ibiki, and Genma leaned closer to the two-way mirror in anticipation. Sakura stared and stared and stared and stared; for a minute, almost.

Then she looked at Inoichi. "No one important."

...

Inoichi picked up the mirror and placed it on top of all the other papers and stood, offering the eight year old a forced smile.

"This concludes the examination, Sakura. Thank you for your time."

::

"Sakura-san?"

She let the glass doors of T&I close behind her as she looked up. "Itachi-san."

He was the last person she expected to see at the sector. Pacifistic, Sasori said he was. If that were true, then this was the one place he would have avoided in all of Konoha. He glanced at his surroundings for a few moments before returning his attention back to her. The hardness in his gaze was unmistakable though his small smile still remained.

"Sasuke has expressed his worry about you. He says you've been absent from the Academy for three days now," he said. Sakura shrugged.

"I've been doing a little of this, a little of that," she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Nothing he or Naruto need to worry about. I'll be back Monday morning no problem."

Itachi accepted her answer with the slight tilt of his head, but it looked as if he wanted to say more about the subject. He settled on staring at the Torture and Interrogation sign at the side of the door. The bags under his eyes were more pronounced all of a sudden even if he wasn't placing his attention directly on her. "You're so young."

"So were you."

Black, as dark as shadows, flickered down to her. "I had no choice. You can get out while you still can."

There was something about his words that began to piss her off. She knew that in the other timeline that no one suffered as much as he did. At thirteen, Itachi killed his parents and hurt the one he loved the most in the process. He chose the livelihood of thousands of people over a couple hundred of his own blood. He was Konoha's scapegoat that deserved everything he never got, and she respected that of him.

"I don't have that opportunity," she said.

"You do."

But this Itachi?

"I don't think you understand, Itachi-san."

"What is there to not?"

Sakura grit her teeth. This Itachi knew jack shit about his misery in the other timeline and because of his ignorance, it gave every reason for her not to get upset. But she was aware of who she was before.

She remembered her death—feeling every breathing moment.

She accepted the fact that her daughter would never exist this time around; the only creation she dared to call truly beautiful.

She involuntarily let her parents die this time around because she was too damn focused on Sasuke's happiness to tend to her own.

Yes, she shouldn't be mad, though there was only so much that she could take from others. Sakura took one firm step forward, eyes taking on the blistering heat of anger. Itachi didn't account for her to react this way, or actually look intimidating while doing so.

"Never assume things of people," she sneered. "I'm sure that even a genius like you doesn't know the whole world, so I'd appreciate you'd cut that everyone-has-a-choice shit and take a few steps back. Re-evaluate yourself before coming to me."