YAY! I decided that I wanted to write another ItachixTemari story. I hope this one lives up to the first one. It might take me awhile to do it, because I want to try to keep it canon-ish. Yes, ItaTema is crack love, but I want the story to follow the actual manga.

I want to dedicate this story to all of my supporters. In particular, KalliopeStarmist and SithMistress. This story is for both of you and for your love of everything ItaTema and also the support you've given me during my rough times. It means a bunch to me.

Without further ado...my story in which all of the characters who appear do not belong to me.

Itachi was concerned. After years of waiting, Sasuke was finally powerful enough to exact his revenge. From the moment that he'd instructed his younger brother to foster his hatred, Itachi had known that one day he'd die by Sasuke's hands. He'd resigned himself to this fate.

The time and place had been decided. It was only a matter of time before the two Uchiha prodigies faced off. Itachi had been waiting for his younger brother to catch up to him. He hadn't really expected him to join up with Orochimaru to do this, but the act had convinced Itachi that Sasuke was serious about taking him down. And Itachi had been pleased with his brother's progress when he'd learned that Sasuke had defeated Orochimaru. From the sound of it, he'd done so with relative ease. Much as Itachi had done when he was younger and Orochimaru pulled the same stunt on him.

No, Itachi wasn't dreading his death. He had been expecting it for a number of years. Part of him was even looking forward to it. But his impending death had made him realize that there were a couple of things he wanted to experience before he died. So he had asked the Leader if he could go on a vacation of sorts. His request had been granted.

"Itachi, come back to us alive, okay?" the blue skinned man said from the doorway as Itachi shoved stuff in a bag.

Itachi responded with a noncommittal hnn…

Kisame gave him a toothy grin. "And if you're little brother does take you out, I'll take him down for you."

"Don't bother," Itachi said emotionlessly. "If he deserves it, he will kill me."

Kisame looked at Itachi, bewilderment clear on his face. "You want him to kill you, don't you?"

Itachi shrugged. He wasn't about to explain his motives to his partner. Kisame, who was quite used to being ignored by the stoic Uchiha, just changed the subject. "Well, hopefully you have a nice little 'vacation.'"

"Hn," was his only acknowledgement as he slung his pack over his shoulder and walked out of the room. He didn't bother to turn around to say goodbye.

Itachi made good time. He had decided to go to Suna. It wasn't Konoha so they wouldn't immediately recognize him. He would be able to hide in plain sight for the most part, considering that most of the Sand villagers wore robes and long concealing garments to protect themselves from the sand. He made his way to the edge of the desert, deciding to put on his robe as he travelled through the desert. It was a cool night, as most desert nights were, and Itachi was grateful for the warmth the garment offered.

He travelled silently through the desert, his only companions the creatures that came out to relish in the cool of the night. He was moving quickly, knowing that if he kept up his pace, he'd reach the village by sunrise. He met no resistance in the wilderness, and was able to reach Suna by daybreak.

He walked into the city. The guards at the gate immediately picked up on his presence, and came over to question him. "Who are you?" the younger man asked.

Itachi thought for less than a second, coming up with a new last name to keep his true identity secret. "I'm Matsuya Itachi."

"What are you doing in Suna, Matsuya-san?" the other man asked.

Itachi had been working on his new cover for a while so he easily replied, "I'm a travelling merchant. I need to find a rare desert flower that can only be found here. My family didn't care to brave the heat so they stayed back. I went on ahead and intend to stay here until I can figure out how to find it."

The guards wrote all of this down, nodding their approval of what he said. Signing the paper, they allowed him to enter the village. He wound his way through the maze-like streets, searching for a place to stay. Eventually, he found a hotel that would suffice.

"Temari," Gaara said as his sister walked into his office.

"Hai, Kazekage-sama," she said, lowering her head in respect.

"You don't need to use that with me," Gaara said reprovingly. She nodded. He continued. "A strange man entered the village today. The guards let him through because he didn't seem to be too much of a threat, but I want you to watch him. I don't want to take any chances."

Temari nodded her understanding. "Yes…Gaara-sama."

"Temari, be careful," Gaara said looking concerned. "I wanted to put somebody else on this, but you're the only person available."

"Don't worry, Gaara," Temari said with a playful smirk gracing her face, "I can handle him."

Gaara relaxed at her confidence. He could always count on Temari. She was the one person that no matter what happened was there for him. Her and Kankuro.

Temari left the building feeling confident. This was going to be an easy mission. She found his hotel easily enough since one of the guards was standing in front of it. She dismissed him, sending him back to his post. He left, nodding to her as he walked past.

Temari formed her plan quickly as she walked back to the house she shared with her brothers. The easiest way to do this would be to pretend that she was a resident of the hotel. And to do that she needed to transport her room there without the man noticing. So she packed up all of her clothes, leaving her hitai-ate on her dresser. She wrote Gaara a quick note telling him her strategy. Then she left, carrying her belongings.

She entered the hotel. The lady at the counter quickly acknowledged her presence. "Listen," Temari instructed. "A strange man got a room here this afternoon, correct?" The woman nodded. "Kazekage-sama has asked that I keep an eye on him. So I'm going to need to stay here until he leaves so that I can make sure he's not going to try anything funny."

"Hai, Temari-san," she said lowering her head.

"You can't do that," Temari hissed. "I'm just a regular citizen for the moment. I live here. You understand, right?"

The lady nodded. Temari then smiled at her, asking, "Okay, what's the best room you've got?"

"Room 201. It's actually right across the hall from that man…"

Temari nodded. "Alright, I'll take it." The woman nodded and proceeded to look for the key to the room. Several seconds later, she'd found it and handed it to Temari.

Temari wandered up to the second story of the place. She unlocked her room, walked in, and feverishly started putting her stuff away. Within a few minutes, she had the place looking like it had been lived in. She realized that she would need to buy food, but it could wait. The room was surprisingly nice, clearly having been made for people who intended to stay awhile. It had a bathroom, kitchen, living area, and bedroom. It was all mini-sized of course, but it would suit her purpose just fine.

It wasn't too long after that, when someone knocked on her door. She opened it up, coming face to face to a fairly intimidating black haired man. "Hello. Can I help you?" she asked.

He pointed across the hall. "I'm staying over there. I need a towel."

This startled Temari. Here was the man she was supposed to be spying on, and he was asking her for a towel. "Erm…sure I have extra. Why don't you have any in your room?"

He shrugged. "They forgot."

"Oh," Temari said. "Well, you can have one of mine. If you want…" He nodded his acceptance. "Come on in, I'll just be a second." She went off to her bathroom to find one of the towels the hotel had provided her. She certainly wasn't going to lend this stranger one of her personal towels.

Coming back from the bathroom with the super white but tiny bathtowel, she walked over to where he was standing. "Here you go," she said as she offered him the item. He took it out of her hands.

"Thanks," he said as he turned to leave.

"Wait a minute," Temari called after him. "I'm Temari," she said introducing herself. "And you are?"

"I'm Itachi," he said.

He turned to go back to his room. Temari was then struck with a brilliant idea. If she was supposed to watch him, she might as well do it in a way that he would suspect anything. "Um, Itachi," she called after him. He turned around to look at her. "If you're not doing anything tonight, do you want to go out for something to eat? It's never any fun to go by yourself."

He nodded his head. "Okay. How about six then?" she suggested.

"Whenever," he said. He walked the rest of the way into his room, closing the door behind him. Temari smirked. This was going to be easy for her. Very easy indeed.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Leave me some reviews please. And as a passing note, I refuse to kill Itachi. Even if he ends up dead in the manga, he will not end up dead in this. So if you're worried about the angst classifacation you've got nothing to worry about. I just like screwing with people emotions. It's fun. But if any of you think that's a spoiler...well it isn't really. Itachi is death defying.