Don't own Naruto. TT_TT

When Times Change

:-:

Chapter one: That Damn Scroll

He was behind her. She felt him near, at 5'o clock exactly. Cold sweat ran down her back with each step she took from tree branch to tree branch, failing to not make a noise as she exhaled air from her mouth anxiously. She wasn't so sure who 'he' was, only that 'he' was by each second getting closer.

Finally reaching her destination, Sakura jumped down, landing with expert moves. She stood in front of a clearing where an old temple stood still firm as its first days it was constructed. Feeling the strong chakra signature coming near, the pink-haired kunoichi rushed into the temple at the speed of light. She just had to get the sacred scroll of the temple and rush out of there before the other shinobi managed to get near the temple.

As soon as she stepped inside the holy place, her emerald green eyes scanned the place in search of the damned scroll that was the cause of her terror at the moment. Straight. Left. Right. Her pink eyebrows furrowed. Up. Just as she had thought. Indeed, it was on the ceiling protected by a seal that if not by her expert eye, she wouldn't have detected it. She concentrated the right amount of chakra on her feet to enhance her jump. Now at the ceiling, Sakura ran upside-down towards the scroll. She stood before the glowing barrier that protected the scroll. With top speed, she made the right hand signs to release said seal. Boar. Tiger. Dragon. Boar. Ox. Horse. Dragon.

The seal was released. With her gloved hand, Sakura grabbed the scroll, her jade eyes searching for a different exit other than the one she had gotten in. She stiffened when she noticed the sinister chakra slow its pace down as it walked up the solid flight of steps that were before the temple. She checked her chakra. She could fight him, but depending on whom it was she might end up either as the victor, hurt, or even possibly dead. Her jaw tightened, she could also conceal her chakra and hide somewhere she was sure the person wouldn't find her. The kunoichi bit her lip as she tried to control her fast breathing; the ominous being had entered the temple.

Sakura almost lost her concentration on concealing her chakra as she saw who exactly the owner of the strong chakra was. Uchiha Itachi. She swallowed hard, eyes widening as she still stood on the ceiling upside-down, her short hair flowing freely above her head. The Uchiha walked deeper into the temple, he stood exactly right below Sakura's form. The pinkette's breathing stopped. His bleeding eyes scrutinized the place, but never looked up. He turned around to face the temple's entrance. Sakura bit her lip, feeling cold sweat flowing up her brow, obeying the law of gravity as it rained down from her form to the cold floor. Her leaf green eyes panicky followed the tear of sweat. Time seemed to have slowed down, making seconds look like hours. Finally, the tear of sweat crashed with the ground that was just right behind Itachi. With wide eyes, Sakura awaited for any reaction coming from the man few meters away. He stood there impassive as ever. With no emotion registered in his face, he evacuated the old temple never turning back, his black cloak flowing with the wind.

The pink-haired kunoichi waited for what she thought as forever to once again breathe. He hadn't noticed her… She exhaled out loud letting her body finally relax. "Kunoichi," a dark voice called right behind her, her body stiffened not liking how close the man's body was to hers, or more precisely, not liking whom it was. "It seems you feel too overconfident of yourself. Did you not think that an S-class nin wouldn't be able to sense you right away? Tsk, to think that low of me, shall I show you what happens to those who deem me disgraceful?" Sakura noticed the kunai being gently placed at the crook of her neck. Sakura swallowed her saliva. "What do you want, Uchiha?" Her voice was nearly a whisper; she hesitated not wanting to anger the Akatsuki member. Itachi blinked, never moving from his position. "It's good to hear that we can come to an understanding rather than I having to kill you." His velvety voice was next to the rosette's ear, feeling his hot breath with each spoken word. "It seems that we both desire the same item." Sakura bit the inside of her cheek. "I want the scroll." Sakura tightened her hold on the scroll, her body shaking with fright.

"Alright," her voice was shaky, "you can have the scroll…" Itachi after hearing this lowered the kunai. Sakura took the chance to jump as farthest as she could from him. With feather-like movements, she landed in the ground, feeling a bit dizzy due to the amount of blood that had reached her head.

Adding chakra to her feet to fasten her speed, she ran deeper into the temple, not caring where she was headed to as long as she could escape the dangerous criminal, Uchiha Itachi. She dodged a kunai that was aimed towards her being, jumping in the process to the other side of the room she had reached. Now facing the Uchiha, she kept her gaze at his neck remembering well to never look at an Uchiha in the eye.

"I allowed myself to play cat and mouse twice with you but I won't allowed you to do so a third time." Itachi amusedly looked at the kunoichi before him that tried to avoid eye contact. Did she not know he could still cast her into one of his powerful genjutsus even without her having to look at him in the eye? It seems not. "Hand over the scroll, kunoichi, and I might just spare your life."

Sakura looked down at the scroll she held on her hand. Tsunade shishou had instructed her personally to get a hold of it. She didn't know what it was for but if her shishou had asked for the subject to remain classified it meant that the scroll had a great power or spell, perhaps even a prohibited jutsu. She had promised to retrieved it and bring it back safely to Konoha, but that wouldn't be possible with the circumstances she was in at the moment. She could easily hand the scroll to the Uchiha but that will allowed the Akatsuki clan to gain power. Though she was an ANBU, she knew herself that she wouldn't last a second against the almighty Uchiha Itachi. Escaping was out of the question, he had mentioned it himself. So what else could she do? She only had one last option left. She had to use the scroll. If it really was that powerful that both Konoha and Akatsuki wanted it then probably it would be strong enough to defeat the Uchiha, kill the Uchiha, or both. It would be better any way as long as Akatsuki wouldn't get a hold of it.

Sakura did something she never would have if she weren't in the situation she was; she glared at the Akatsuki member, Uchiha Itachi. Her long fingers slowly traced over the small seal that enclosed the scroll. With the tip of her nail, she pulled the seal lightly enough to only peel it off half way. Itachi's eyes narrowed to ominous slits. "I wouldn't to that if I were you." He took a step forward. Sakura took a step backwards. "That's just too bad because you aren't." With that last said, Sakura peeled off the rest of the seal.

Before she knew it, darkness had consumed not only her but as well as the Akatsuki member, Uchiha Itachi.

Sorry! I just wanted to write this so bad! I will update my other stories soon. No worries. C: Just let me know what ya think about this!

Random Question of the Day: Do you like frogs?

A.) They are cute to look at but not to touch! XD

B.) Ewww! No way! Keep that bastard away! X_X

C.) I started liking them when they came out in Naruto. C:

D.) Snakes eat frogs! :O

E.) I own a lot of frog stuffed animals! I'm obsess with them! *_*

I personally love them. Most likely I'm with answer choice E.