This is in response to a request on one of my other fanfics from a reviewer. I will say right off it is ItaSaku. Some people may say that it is OOC for Itachi to even fall for Sakura, but I'm ignoring that. I'm not going to make it silly, though. If you don't like this pairing, please do not bother me with flames. Or read the story. Find a pairing you like on Ffnet, it's created to pander to everybody's tastes. Ok?

Summary: Sakura has grown powerful beyond anything anyone every dreamed, but it is still not enough for the man she loves. (Yup, some SasuSaku, but bear out it doesn't last long). Itachi has been acting off in the manga recently, so I am simply going to ignore the whole 'enticing the Kyuubi' scenario for now. He thinks it is time to test his brother's loyalties.

1

Sasuke sat by the training grounds and watched as Sakura pummelled Naruto into the dirt time and again. He'd already used up most of his chakra fighting Naruto's two-tailed Kyuubi form and although he had managed to temporarily disable him there was no beating the guy. Sasuke conceded that Naruto had grown stronger by a long way.

Sakura, though…

Oh, she was stronger, no doubt about that. The Slug Tamer's student did her sempai proud. As well as her abilities with medical chakra, and insane strength, she was more mature. She didn't follow him around quite so much on his return from Orochimaru's. There had been one request to join her for dinner at a local restaurant, where she would have gone whether he came or not. When he declined, she had not asked again. The end of the relentless 'Sasuke-kun's had come as a great relief.

But somehow, he remained unsatisfied with her. He knew that she still wanted acknowledgment, at least, from him, and he refused to give it to her. It would feel degrading to him. He had always been so high above them – when telling her off he said, bluntly, that she was 'even weaker than Naruto'. It was a state of affairs he felt uncomfortable thinking about, because it had changed. Back then he was the star, Naruto vainly struggling to reach his level and Sakura neglecting her training to glorify Sasuke further.

He felt that, if he treated her in the same way as he had back then, she might return to worshipping him. Sasuke's pride was all-consuming; he had hated his fangirls back then, but the thought that one of them might have surpassed him was so sickening that he would take the fangirls.

She and Naruto had learnt kendo as well. Sasuke still carried Orochimaru's sword, and it suited him. Naruto hefted a great blade across his back that could hack like a meat clever, but wasn't much good for short-range fighting. Sakura's sword was a traditional katana, with a hook of metal on the outside edge, right near the hilt. It was to embed the weapon in an enemy's flesh, and could be retracted at Sakura's will. Sakura had taken to the sword as well as she had taken to every discipline she had been taught. Everyone underestimated Sakura, and she pressed her advantage for all she was worth.

Sasuke made up his mind to ignore her as much as possible. Not that they spoke much. Sakura usually spoke to Sai, ignoring Naruto's yells and Kakashi with his nose in his porn once again. Recently Sasuke had taken to going for sake with Neji after training or missions, the pair of them geniuses who's pride had led, at some point, to their humiliation.

He stood and walked back to his apartment. He had sold off the massive Uchiha estate and was well off for it. There were too many bad memories lurking amongst those walls, and the knowledge that as yet he had failed to compensate for them was almost too much to bear.

As he walked, he knew he was being watched. He put it down to one of his team-mates checking on him and ignored it.

1

"Hn."

Itachi crouched in the middle of the tree and thought hard. Akatsuki had disbanded since Paine had been killed. As far as everyone was concerned, he was the leader. Which meant that Itachi could ignore the Kyuubi and concentrate on his brother.

In a twisted way, he was proud of what his brother had become. He had betrayed all his friends for power and failed to become as powerful as they; he was one of the highest-ranked nins in the Bingo Book. But at the same time, he felt that Sasuke had failed to learn some of the lessons Itachi had set out for him. He saw his brother's arrogance and his refusal to believe he wasn't on top any more. He needed to be taught the value of connections. Not bonds. Connections. Links with other powerful nins made you strong. Itachi was weaker for having lost the Akatsuki, but he was still more powerful that Sasuke in his own right.

The most obvious solution was to remove one of his brother's team-mates to get him back on track to looking for Itachi. It would certainly anger him. Murdering one of them would suffice, but Itachi felt a sudden impulse. He rarely acted on impulse, but this was a good one. He would capture one. He would see how well Sasuke would respond to hope. He would make his brother pray desperately that his team-mate remained alive. If he failed to do so, Itachi would kill the victim and then destroy his brother. Utterly. Letting him know he was more worthless than Itachi because he did not feel anything for a friend.

That matter resolved, Itachi turned his mind to the next step. Whoever he picked as a kidnap victim would create a new series of problems for him; namely, where to keep them and how to restrain them. He also had to ensure that Sasuke could find it, but not too easily, and that there was an area for a final showdown with the younger Uchiha.

Fortunately, such a place existed – courtesy of Orochimaru. Far off in the Stone Country, an underground labyrinth built by the snake Sannin contained everything he needed to sustain a lengthy capture. The finer tailoring of restraints depended on which person he chose.

Kakashi was out of the question. He also had a Mangekyo Sharingan, and was damn near impossible to capture. Yamato, with the First Hokage's abilities, likewise. Sai was not important to Sasuke, and Naruto was still too well guarded. That just left the kunoichi.

Itachi shut his eyes as he began to work out the finer details of his plan.

1

Sakura trailed home, stomach growling for food. Her mind was on Sasuke. She had trained and trained to try to bring the bastard home – and then he had returned himself. And then she forced herself further to prove to him that she had changed, that she was worthy at least of his attention. She'd spent hours outside of training honing her skills with her blade, having attracted the leadership of an ANBU weapons expert to help her. Her medic skills and strength surpassed Tsunade's. She'd trained herself to stop hitting people whenever they pissed her off slightly, taking a new, more relaxed approach to life.

And still Sasuke didn't look her way.

She let herself into the apartment and tore off the end of a loaf, some cheese and grabbed an apple. She then settled down to work on a new jutsu she was developing. Sakura's strength had never been ninjutsu – her "Sakura Blizzard" technique wasn't much good against swift enemies.

A knock on the door distracted her and she decided to take a break tonight. Her head was aching a bit and it would be good to get some rest. She wandered over to the door to find Sai standing outside.

"Hey, Hag," he smiled, holding up a bag from a take-away up the street. "I figured you'd be too tired to eat some real food, so I got you your Peking Duck and prawn toast." Sakura gave a sigh of relief that it wasn't Naruto. She liked the guy, but he would be a bit too much at this time.

"Sai, you're a lifesaver. Come in, I have no willpower to do this work and I feel like slumping for a bit."

Sai and Sakura had forged an bond after saving each others' lives repeatedly. There had been times before now when they had just spent the night at each other's house (creating a goldmine for the gossips the next day), watching stupid films and going out to the 24-hour takeaway for more sustenance every now and again. It was a quiet companionship they both enjoyed, and they teased each other well. Despite Ino's protests, though, Sakura knew that she could never be attracted to Sai. He was just too like Sasuke – a gentler, more considerate Sasuke – that she couldn't fall in love with him. Sometimes she desperately wished she could.

Walking into the living room, Sakura slotted the latest martial arts 'epic' into the DVD player as Sai banged around in the kitchen fetching plates and glasses. The two of them then settled down for a period of mindless violence and junk food.

1

Sasuke froze. He felt a sinister chakra that brush against his own, velvety and cloying, utterly disgusting. He knew that chakra. Itachi had flared it to Sasuke know where he was. But why would he attract attention like that? In the middle of Konoha, crawling with high-class shinobi?

It was the supreme confidence of the Uchiha clan again. Sasuke followed the trail, which stopped outside Naruto's apartment, causing Sasuke's heart to hammer against his ribs for a minute. But a brief glance through the window confirmed that nothing had happened – Naruto was fast asleep, snoring like a log. After checking to see that it was Naruto and not a replacement, Sasuke cursed. The trail had stopped. What happened?

A though occurred then. Sasuke decided to check on his other team-mates. He would just stick his head through the window at Sakura's, he wouldn't wake her. She lived on the far side of town, though. He decided to wait until practice the next day to see if she was all right.

1

Itachi grunted. He had not counted on a member of ROOT being present at Sakura's house. The false trail he had laid for the ANBU to draw them as far away as possible from his real destination had been in vain.

Itachi was a patient man normally, but tonight he could not afford to hang around. The longer he had to stay in Konoha the more inconvenient it was for him. He shut his eyes and his hands flashed together.

Inside the apartment, Sai was the first to realise something was wrong. The furniture was melting apart and the walls were twisting. Colour was leaking out of everything.

"Sakura! It's a genjutsu!" He yelled. He went to clap his hands together in the release seal but vines shot from the walls and pinned his arms and legs down. The same happened to Sakura before she could move. As she opened her mouth to yell, both shinobi were gagged with leaves.

Then a sleeping gas came creeping into the room. As Sai used his ROOT training to fight it off for as long as he could, he saw a figure come into the room and pick up Sakura's limp body.

"Tell Sasuke that this could have been avoided if he was less self-obsessed," Itachi said, fully aware that Sai was not out yet. He jumped onto the roof and then leapt towards the fence, before disappearing into the forests surrounding Konoha with his captive.

1

While I am aware that there should have been a big fight scene for Sakura, I think it affords her more respect if Itachi had to plan to wait until her guards were down before immobilising her and knocking her out – it shows he respects her powers, yeah?

Anyway, R & R per favore, or the next chapter don't go up.

- Genjutsu-Dragon.