Sakura ran and ran as if her life was depending on it, hearing rustle behind her she sped up and finally ran into the clearing, yelling, "Now" Three shadows appeared and Sakura ran until she was safe and behind them. The missing nin who was running behind Sakura came out the forest and ran right into Kakashi and his two male students.

The missing nin cursed and wanted to run back away but Sasuke

disappeared and re-appeared behind the man with a coy smirk on his face. The man cursed more and finally made a move towards Sasuke, throwing a punch at his face, Sasuke dodged with a fast speed and grabbed the mans arm, throwing a punch from himself and hitting him right onto the nose. The man screamed in pain as he was made fly backwards, pass Naruto and Kakashi who was casually reading his Come Come Paradise book.

Sakura dodged to the side to avoid the man and see him crashing into a tree. Sakura's green eyes widened, if her medic ears were correct, Sasuke would have broken several bones in the missing nins body. Her eyes snapped back to Sasuke who glared at her.

"Sakura-chan!"

but it was too late; the already half beaten missing nin stood up and had grabbed a kunai.

Sakura's breath stirred at the feel of something cold and sharp

against her neck. Sakura's eyes widened more and she nervously started to shake, breathing only through her nose. Stay calm Sakura! Calm! Breath in and out, in and out... That's it! She felt the mans breath upon her neck and shivered in disgust. As she looked back at her teammates she saw Kakashi had placed his book away, his hitai-ea shoved away from his eye and Naruto who had already performed seals for his kage bunshin.

But the one who caught her eye the most was Sasuke. He looked in rage at her and the man behind her. His hand had drifted towards his kunai holster.

But they all forgot one single thing.

Sakura was not the girl from when she was twelve years.

She was almost a full grown woman, someone with outstanding curves she was damn proud of! And most of all; she was trained by the Hokage herself! Summoning her strength in her elbow she quickly yet graceful hit the man in his chest and ducked in time as he tried to slash his kunai at her. Sakura fell to the ground, supported by her hands she kicked upwards against the missing nins chin, making him fly up.

She was ready to finish him but a blur in front of her had already finished it by grabbing the mans head from behind, and snapping his spine with one elegant move. Sakura's eyes widened yet again at the look of horrid the man had showed in the last second of his miserable life.

Sasuke stepped away to let the man fall down on his knees, and drop completely on the ground, in front of Sakura's feet. She quickly scrambled to get away from him and looked in shock at Sasuke.

She knew this was not the Sasuke she knew when they were back twelve years old. Now at the age of sixteen, both Sakura and Sasuke have changed.

It was almost scary.

Sasuke more and more showed signs from Orochimaru, or worse... Itachi.

Sasuke enjoyed killing. His red blazing eyes showed nothing but insane pride when he had satisfied himself with yet another dead human. Sakura usually had looked away from Sasuke's killing. He... The Sasuke she knew back then has died.

She still didn't know why the young Uchiha escaped from Orochimaru if he more and more looked like Orochimaru, if she wouldn't know any better she would say Orochimaru was Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes glazed over with fire as he bowed down to grab Sakura's arm tightly and pulled her up, flush with him. He hateful whispered in her ear, "I would watch out next time, it wouldn't be very pleasing to see one scar on your porcelain skin now would it? Haven't you broken any nails? No? Good." he stepped away from her and saw Sakura's eyes glare at him, she was ready to lung at him, but was stopped by Kakashi who coughed at the both of them.

Just in time, he had heard Sasuke's words, and knew they were untrue; Sakura wasn't weak at all, she showed that she was good enough like Sasuke and Naruto in battles, she was far more smarter then the two of them together. He looked back at the dead missing nin and sighed, as he uttered under his breathe "We were supposed to take him with us, alive."

Sasuke shrugged and pushed his hands in his pockets as he also looked at the body that lied on the ground. Sakura glared at him, this was like every mission, he would barge in, kill the god damn threat and tell her that she was weak, and of no use, only to cook and bear children.

One day, she would show that little asshole how much she was of use!

Oh, and he would look horrified if he knew just how she would surprise him.

----

Meanwhile, somewhere else.

----

"Urgh..." Kisame coughed up blood as his vision was blurred and looked at the person sitting next to his bed. "Have you killed the little bitch?" He had to squint his eyes so he could see the shadow nod at him. "This might be our end, huh?" he laughed bitterly as he coughed up more blood.

Itachi watched in a silent and genuine interest at his dying partner.

Interest because he had never saw this poison. And silent, because Kisame was in someway, a friend. They knew each other for some time now, they were partners for years and he had some times when he had to count upon Kisame and Kisame never failed him.

Now he was losing the only one he trusted in his whole Akatsuki Life. Itachi cursed Kisame inwardly, if he wasn't so god damn drunk, and wouldn't have taken the bitch to his room this all wouldn't have been happening!

But no, Kisame was too drunk to even know which room he had, when they finally had entered the room-- He grimaced slightly, he didn't even wanted to know. But the next morning he had found his partner on the verge of dying, and now, his time was almost there.

Kisame coughed up more blood, gaining Itachi's attention yet again. "Heh, I always thought I would die in battle, and now that little bitch..." he coughed more, closing his eyes. Itachi blinked slowly at the picture of Kisame. He didn't cough anymore, nor breathe.

Itachi stood up and walked over to his dead partner. Muttering the words 'partner' and 'good bye' before he grabbed his cloak and hat. He had to inform the headquarters. Looking over his shoulder one more time he gave Kisame one more glance before closing the door behind himself.

----

Back with Team 7

----

Sakura was walking next to Kakashi now and still couldn't get her mind off of how rude Sasuke has been to her as of lately. She thought he was a pig for thinking that way about her and women in general. Kakashi saw her anger rising so he spoke up "Excellent job Team 7, next time we leave the target alive. That is what our mission, after all, was for." He shot a glance to Sasuke who was ignoring everything he said.

Kakashi shook his head; he needed to have a serious discussion with Sasuke. His attitude was completely faulty and needed to be confronted. He walked up closer to Sasuke and put his hand onto his shoulder. Sasuke looked up at his sensei who continued looking forward. "Yes, Sensei?" He kept his blank face as he spoke to Kakashi.

Kakashi looked down at him and leaned in close, so only Sasuke could hear him. "I want to have a talk with you Sasuke. We need to discuss how you've been acting on our missions." Kakashi tightened his grip on his shoulder, giving Sasuke a clear understanding that he was VERY serious. Sasuke just looked forward again and nodded, as if it was no big deal.

Sakura noticed Kakashi and Sasuke's sudden closeness but forgot about it quickly when Naruto walked up to her side and poked her right arm. "What is it Naruto?" She said, completely annoyed with him already.

"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry about not cutting in and saving you back there. I was nearly about to jump in but then Sasuke did and...-"Sakura cut him off "UGH! I hate it when he does that. I can handle myself you know. I'm not some lame Kunoichi with a lack of skills." She began stomping her feet with more force as she walked and Naruto took this as a sign to let it go.

After a good two hours of walking, the team had finally reached Konoha again. Kakashi took the bag he was holding and slung it over his right shoulder. The content of the bag was a bloody mess. He had cut the head off of the man that they intended to bring back and put it in a sack to show Hokage the Fifth. Sakura couldn't take her eyes off of it the entire time they walked. Blood continued to seep through it, dying the bag with a rich crimson. She nearly puked at the sight, but quickly discarded the sight and looked towards the buildings they were walking by.

Kakashi and his team headed straight for Tsunade as soon as they reached the Hokage tower. Sakura stood next to Naruto, and both of them stood behind Sasuke and Kakashi. Tsunade greeted them with a warm smile that soon turned into a look of confusion. She had been expecting at least one man with them, but no one was there except for the regular members of the team.

"Did you fail on your mission, Kakashi?" She looked to the leader and then noticed the bloody sack he carried. A sigh left her lips.

Kakashi let the bag hit the floor with a dense 'thud'. "We would have succeeded in the mission Tsunade, if it were not for the carelessness and want to show off by our young Sasuke here." Sasuke heard how Kakashi took some time to think of what word to use, and heard that he settled with 'young'. This made Sasuke's blood boil in anger. He was now sixteen and definitely not 'young' as Kakashi had called him. He clenched his fists and his knuckles turned white under the pressure of his rage.

Kakashi noticed this and was glad that he had picked 'young' to describe him after all. He hid a smile behind his mask and bowed to Tsunade, who was also looking at how Sasuke was acting.

"I'm sorry to hear that you didn't think before you acted Sasuke. Do you have an excuse for yourself?" She noticed Sasuke's anger rose and took note of this. "If you don't settle down, you will be suspended from any missions for at least a month."

Sasuke relaxed but didn't settle. He made it look as if he did by letting his fists uncurl and taking in a slow breathe, but he was still angered at their harsh words. He was stronger now than he had ever been before. His name was spoken with respect and people feared him like they did his brother, Itachi. So this little thing of them calling him young and making him 'settle down' was getting on his last nerve. I mean the only reason he did it was to protect his belongings, Sakura. She's the perfect woman; she has a perfect body, can bare beautiful children, can cook and did I mention that she has a hot body?

Yeah, it was weird. Sasuke actually liking Haruno Sakura. The girl he called weak. He had never paid much attention to her, until now. He watched all her moves and still thought he could easily beat her. He didn't seem to acknowledge the fact that she had grown up, and could now fend for herself. He never left the state of mind that he could let her make her own mistakes and get hurt. He switched completely into protect mode and didn't care what anyone else said about it. She was his to protect, and his to own.

Sakura, however, didn't think of it this way. At first, yeah, she was drooling over all the attention that she had from Sasuke, but after awhile he started to be annoying. She could handle herself now and didn't need him around all the time. She could get hurt; it wasn't THAT big of a deal. She was also getting very mad about the idea that he only looked at her as a woman to bare children and cook for her husband. There's no way that Haruno Sakura would ever give up a life of being a ninja just so Sasuke could start a family.

Besides, who the hell said she wanted to be his wife? The only thing Sasuke would try is to get in her pants every god damn night, and whenever he had the chance, at day too.

No, Sakura would find herself a man that she did deserve. A man that would love her, someone who cared about her, someone she could talk to whenever she has a problem. But men like those; only exist in fairy tales.

"Dismissed" Tsunada's tone spoke up, seeing team seven nod and walk their own path home. "I hope you will do something about Sasuke, Kakashi. If we do not watch out there might walk a second Orochimaru, and we all do what we can to stop that. Nor do we want a second Itachi who kills the half of the village to test his own strength." Tsunade spoke firmly as she looked in the bag to see that it was indeed the man.

The stench that rose made her already want to puke in the bag and she quickly closed it.

----

Sakura was glad she was back home, the first thing she would do is getting rid of these clothing and have a nice bath that would make her relax. All thoughts about Sasuke had left her mind, but the same person was looking at her with raging lust.

She soon would be his, whether he had to force her or she would come to him. She would be his. There was no discussion possible. Sasuke suppressed the thought of taking her right to the wall, hearing her scream in pain an pleasure, feeling her break under him.

Sasuke cursed slightly when he watched Sakura walk inside of her flat. In a few moments Sasuke had disappeared.

----

With Itachi.

----

"Kisame?" A cold voice asked. Itachi had the urge to nod, but knew they couldn't see it so he had to speak up, "Yes. A spy from the Sand had influenced him to drink, and afterwards, they had gone off to his room." Not wanting to give the details. A shadow snorted "Typical Fish man, yeah..." the voice snickered.

Itachi shot the shadow a glare, knowing it wouldn't reach the person for the darkness surrounded them too much.

"This means a new partner, Itachi." Itachi's eyes shifted from the shadow to the shadow on the ground, the leader. Itachi remained quiet. He did not want a new partner; no one would be as good as Kisame. Though, leader's words were law. Akatsuki law.

"For now, you will be on your own. If you see anyone that is, strong enough to be your partner, don't hesitate. Till then, I will look for a new Akatsuki member." the shadow continued, "Dismissed." Every shadow left except Itachi who continued to stare a few more moments at the leader before disappearing too.

Appearing somewhere next to the border of the Leaf he looked around to relax somewhere. Seeing a small inn, which probably had a few rooms he decided to stay there for a couple of days and think about searching for a new partner.

He was looking for someone who was strong, and did not know much about the infamous Uchiha. But, every country knew of him, every child was thought to fear Uchiha Itachi, clan killer, to fear the one who killed his own family, killed the one who gave birth to him. Telling how insane he is.

Yes, the Uchiha did hate the name they gave him over the years, but it was handy at times. What made him more fearsome was that he had joined Akatsuki. Deadliest organization. Having one goal; becoming the strongest in the world. Gather the jinchiruuken, and overpower the world.

But now all he needed was rest, and a new partner.

----

At Sakura's.

----

A small moan escaped her as her body sunk in the hot water; she could stay like that forever. Forgetting time, forgetting just everything, and stay in this nice bath. Sakura sighed and closed her heavily lids. Not knowing someone had appeared in her room.

Sasuke heard a moan coming from the bathroom and he was eagerly to know the reason why she moaned. Was someone with her? He would kill the god damn bastard who dared to touch his property! Walking with the stealth of a cat he peeked inside the bathroom, seeing Sakura's clothes thrown on the floor, and the bath full with water.

He quickly, yet quietly walked back to her bed, looking around in her room. He slightly smirked and wondered why she had a king size bed in her room. Walking out of her bedroom he emerged into the kitchen, everything seemed perfectly in order, something his future wife should be.

Walking into the living room he also detected hygiene. He had set his mind. Haruno Sakura would be his, bare his children, and be his. He already had his mind set but this just made her more determined.

Time to disappear. Forming some seals quickly he disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving his pink beauty having her rest.

Sakura fell asleep in the warm luxury of her bath and awoke a few hours later. She sat up and stretched; the air of the room cool on her warm skin. She shivered and quickly got out and threw a towel around her petite frame.

She walked into her room and, after drying off, discarded the towel. She walked to her closet and took out a t-shirt and a flannel pair of pants and got dressed.

She walked slowly to her bed and fell back into it, sinking into sleep within a few seconds. She pulled up the covers and drifted off.

----

Back with Itachi

----

He walked casually into the inn and walked to the woman at the front desk. She smiled at him warmly "What can I get for you sir?" Her cheeriness was sickening, Itachi wanted to get a room and sleep as fast as he could. "One room." His answer was short and to the point, no side conversations with him.

The lady nodded "Ok, it will be 120$ a night and I'll need to take down your name." Itachi shot her a harsh glance and slammed down 250$ "There, and no name."

The woman's eyes widened and she slipped a key to the man "Room 215." She smiled and then went back to her work as Itachi took the key and headed for a nice, warm bed.

He walked up a flight of stairs and to Room 215. He used his key on the door and walked in.

It was a nice room, filled with furniture and a full-sized kitchen. He looked past all of that and walked straight to his bedroom. His eyes softened and he relaxed when he saw a nice, fluffy king-sized bed.

Itachi immediately discarded his shirt and pants and fell with a thud onto the bed. He drifted off quickly and fell into a deep sleep.

----

The Next Morning

----

Sakura awoke to the sun shining directly in her face. She sighed and groggily got out of her bed. She got dressed and headed into town. She wanted to go speak with Tsunade about the whole Sasuke thing, so she began walking for the Hokage Tower.

She walked in and ran right into the woman she'd been looking for. "Good morning Tsunade-Sama." She bowed and smiled warmly at her.

Tsunade smiled back "I was just coming to pay you a visit Sakura." Sakura looked a little surprised.

"You were? What ever for?" Tsunade replied, "I have a new mission for you, it will be a two man mission with you and Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura's eyes widened and her jaw fell open... "You have got to be kidding me, you know how he acts around me."

Tsunade nodded, "Exactly. Hatake Kakashi and I talked about our little problem and we think that if you spend more time with Sasuke that he'll eventually settle down. On the way things are headed, he'll be a new Orochimaru for sure. This afternoon starts your mission." Sakura felt like her life had been crushed, Sasuke was the one person she wanted to stay away from, not get closer to. "Fine, your word is law." She bowed to the Hokage and walked off in a state of utter confusion.

Turning around the corner she thought about going home, pack her stuff, go to Ino and hang out for a while, then go shopping for weapons and some food.

Seeing a shadow hover at her feet she looked up and met Sasuke's onyx eyes. "Heard about the mission?" he grunted. Sakura's eyebrow rose, yet she didn't answer and gave him only a nod. "Don't be late and don't get in my way." He said as he pushed his hands in his pockets and walking pass her.

Sakura held her breath, trying to control herself as she thought about how she would torture that stupid bastard!

Being totally out of the mood, she rushed home, slammed the door closed and walked upstairs, getting ready her stuff, ignore the asshole on their mission, and talk to Tsunade and Kakashi about this Sasuke problem!

"Urgh!" mumbling words like 'idiot' and 'I'll show him' 'stupid bastard' she angrily threw her clothes in her package and sat down on her bed, looking at the ceiling, not knowing someone else was looking at a same white ceiling…

-----

With Itachi.

-----

He lied there for two hours now, looking at the same white spot, wondering where he could find a good partner as Kisame. He thought about going to the mist, looking for a betrayer, but he knew no one would be like Kisame so he had to look somewhere else.

A soft sigh escaped his lips, the night he also couldn't sleep good, continue to think of a new partner that he couldn't trust, it had cost him and Kisame months to gain eachother trust.

After that, they became more feared then they already were.

Sitting up he looked around in the small room. Some practice wouldn't hurt. Grabbing his coat and weapons he headed downstairs, not forgetting to lock his door he passed the reception girl who had blushed when he passed.

Walking outside he walked another two miles away, needing a good place to train. He disposed himself from his cloak and threw it near a tree, taking out four kunai's he closed his eyes.

-----

Sakura's.

-----

Walking out the weapon shop she totally forgot about Sasuke's rude comments and looked at her watch, thirty minutes to go, I guess I can chat a bit with Ino. Starting to walk towards the flower shop she didn't know she was being watched by a shadow.