AN: Huzzah for crack pairings

AN: Huzzah for crack pairings. I wanted to try my hand at this. Hopefully it's enjoyable if not amusing.

The title comes from Negotiation methods:

cherry picking is used metaphorically to indicate the act of pointing at individual cases or data that seem to confirm a particular position, while ignoring a significant portion of related cases or data that may contradict that position. (Wikipedia)

"It is generally known, that he who expects much will be often disappointed; yet disappointment seldom cures us of expectation, or has any effect other than that of producing a moral sentence or peevish exclamation" -Samuel Johnson-

Jade eyes narrowed as she watched diligently from her concealed position within the trees. 5 days it had taken to track him down, through rain and mud, nearly snow at portions of her journey. She was far away from home, away from anything she was familiar with. Her thoughts strayed to Konoha with longing. She had missed the funeral more than likely at this point. Her heart ached briefly at the thought. Naruto would probably never forgive her for that…of course he'd probably also never forgive her for going off on her own to do this. She hadn't even left a note explaining her absence…they might worry. But he couldn't understand. She had to do this. To end this once and for all. For Sasuke Kun…

It had taken years of training, of exhausting herself, or pushing herself to the limits to deepen her chakra. Training with Naruto had helped her immensely because he never seemed to run out of chakra because of the kyuubi within him. Out of team seven she'd had the least amount of chakra. Through training she'd overcome her handicap. Hours upon hours upon hours had been used to increase her taijutsu skill. Lee had personally taken her under his wing and after that Neji would spar with her. She had trained with Kakashi and his sharingan to hone herself, prepare herself should she ever encounter Sasuke or Itachi. Kakashi had also been able to teach her the sword, getting her the twin katana she carried now after she'd made anbu. Sakura had changed. No longer was she the lovesick useless girl from her past. She was now a hardened warrior, a woman.

Muscles tensed in anxious anticipation, sweat dripped slowly and agonizingly down her shoulders and face as she waited for her opening. She had waited her entire life for a moment like this, trained for a moment like this. Jade eyes were intent and focused blending with the foliage. She had never felt so alive, so aware and ready. Her bubblegum pink hair was tied in a ponytail having grown longer, it barely was touching her back from it's high place. Her anbu mask was on top of her head, not on, keeping her bangs out of her face and concealing most of the bubblegum colored strands from her enemy. More importantly she would not fight this man with her mask on. He would know her face, her name as he died.

Her legs were cramping, muscles tired from the journey and being forced to squat for so long. The humidity was maddening, thick and tangible in the sweat pouring down from her back and face. It was worth it. She was prepared for this. She'd rested yesterday allowing her body to return to it's strength after journeying for so long. She was at the top of her game, 21 years old, an anbu captain. She had learned and grown into herself and her abilities. She had full chakra, and she was warmed up. She was ready for this. Now…Springing into action with her anbu speed she launched forward, twin katana unsheathed as she sliced. Ravens flew from her blow, but Sakura was fooled only momentarily by the shadow clone. She was an expert at chakra control and her senses were sharper than her teenage days. She sliced the air, having sensed his presence and was pleased as a piece of his clouded cloak fell to the ground.

Uchiha Itachi seemed to materialize before her. Sharingan eyes stared at her from behind black bangs, his long hair trailing in a low ponytail behind him. She couldn't meet his eyes. She knew this, but she didn't need to. His gaze like Sasuke, his little brother, had a physical affect. It burned her and she could feel it as it took in her appearence. She took in traces of his features as she launched her attack swords moving at blinding speed. His eyelashes were longer, the shadows on his face darker, but her heart still convulsed, shriveling in pain. He was so like Sasuke that it hurt and she fought the flinch. He was her enemy. Today he would die. Wasting no time, she was on him, twin swords spinning and slashing as the Uchiha prodigy drew his own single sword and parried. He said nothing, those piercing penetrating eyes staring at her, burning her still as she avoided them, while she launched her attack.

Twin swords danced elegantly and deadly as they slashed in combinations. His face betrayed no emotion but his eyes appeared watching everything with a strange fascination. Those sharingan could see her moves for all their intricacy and delicacy. She might have been flattered if she wasn't so hell bent on avenging Sasuke's death. Let him see this, much good it will do him she thought launching her parcels of exploding senbon at him as she retreated in to the trees.

Senbon scattered the area. It had taken months of work to seal the jutsu that allowed for them to explode. Naruto's wind and sealing talent gained from Jiraiya before his untimely death had made it possible, as well as Sakura's knowledge and chakra control. It had taken several trial and error attempts. Several times she'd been caught in the cross fire and had spent the day pulling senbon out of her skin. Though Narutop himself had gotten them stuck in his ass. She'd giggled as she'd pulled them out with her tweezer as he'd cried. For someone as strong as he was and as skilled as a ninja he was such a cry baby. After those attempts, though the senbon had been a success. Now the deadly packages were just another trademark of Konoha elite ninja.

If he had gone down from that, Sakura was going to be disappointed. She split a few clones, allowing them to search out and be seen while she retreated to hide for a moment and scan for his chakra. She said a silent thank you to Naruto for forcing her to work heavily with clones against his own legion. They were handy, she had to admit, presuming one had enough chakra to spare. She'd prepared herself for the extravagant use of chakra. She'd found a way for them to feel like her. It used a bit of chakra to do it, but they retained her chakra signature. She lost the chakra, but it was a handy trick for fooling S class criminals. Her mind was racing, adrenaline fueling her, as she planned, leaving traces of things for her use, all the while calculating how long she had, and how she could avoid and maneuver the Uchiha into her traps.

She caught her breath stilling it, he was close. She launched forward seeing her opening as Itachi wrestled with one of her clones. He had attempted taijutsu and her clone now held him in place, position taught by Lee, who'd even managed to surpass Gai sensei in his knowledge of taijutsu. Gai sensei had been so proud of him. She grinned wryly and said a silent thank you to Lee. Itachi had underestimated her skill and would pay for it dearly. Of that she was certain. She brought twin katana up and out as she slashed, battle cry echoing into the air.

Arm guards had blocked her blow, but she knew better than that. She'd put chakra power behind her strike, and was satisfied to hear the sound of flesh scrape across her blade as he parried her first katana away from his arm to avoid further damage. Did your sharingan see that Itachi, or was it too late to block? she thought darkly. He had already dispersed her clone simply enough, his foot having blocked the other sword trying to force her back with his kick. She'd already planted her feet with chakra though and didn't budge. His eyebrows narrowed and he retreated a few paces back. Sakura blinked. He had retreated? What the hell? She stood twin katana poised, ready to strike, but waiting for him to make the first move. He simply regarded her intently, sharingan burning her though she avoided his gaze still. She fought the shiver that raced through her, hating that her body still responded, even to one as loathing as himself. She waited, tense, sweat trickling down her face, still avoiding his look.

"Why aren't you attacking!" She snarled, fury and adrenaline giving her a burst in speed. If he was gonna sit there and gawk she would make him pay for it. She landed a blow across his arm, Akatsuki robed sleeve coming off. Startled she realized there was no blood on her sword.

"You wanted to believe it, didn't you? that you had the strength to harm me?" Came a soft voice from behind her.

His body was so close to hers, hard and taught as a ninja's body should be. His breath brushed across her back and neck and fought the flinch. She was irritated that she'd been fooled. He'd been able to create that clone in the middle of the battle without her knowledge. That's why he'd stood still for so long. Such should have been expected from the Uchiha prodigy and she cursed her foolishness. A simple kunai was pressed to her throat.

"I did harm you, from the smell of your blood, Uchiha" She retorted, fiercely as she broke every bone in his hand.

"Don't be presumptuous." He warned her, dragging the kunai across her throat.

"Damn you!" Sakura snarled, fists clenched as she whirled on her heel to hit him with a chakra boosted punch. Her neck was bleeding, but she healed it quickly, launching her attack again.

"A medic nin? I see." Itachi told her, face blank, but blood red eyes alight with amusement.

"Fight me! Or are you too scared?" She cried.

Eerie laughter surrounded her. She slashed above her, fury emboldening her strokes. She'd almost hit him.

"You have a lot to answer for Itachi!" She hissed as he leapt over her, mocking her.

"If I do not answer to a kage, why should your personal ideal of justice concern me, Kunoichi?" He said, voice silky and controlled. His voice had echoed from above the trees.

Sakura's eyes narrowed, and she fixed chakra into her feet jumping from tree to tree as she bounced from point to point off the two trees climbing higher, until she could stand firmly on a branch. The sun peeked out through the clouds blinding her momentarily, but that was all it took. She just barely kept his sword from taking her head, as she parried. Leaping backwards she managed some sort of hit on him mid air and they exchanged a volley of blows before landing again. She launched herself off of the tree using her momentum to speed towards Itachi. Apparently her earlier hit had only knicked his thigh, the slice apparent on his Akatsuki coat. She blocked and parried his sword, sword whittling past his neck. She flipped, turning, and landed, balanced on a shaky branch, that bent with her weight. She kept a foot out like a dancer to keep her balance, and the other foot was rigid and prone, her chakra keeping her in place as well as her own balance.

"Impressive. Your chakra control is exceptional Kunoichi." Itachi complimented her.

"My name is Haruno, Sakura. The name of the person who will kill you!" She said with determination as she used the counterweight of the branch to spring up swords flashing in the light of the sun.

"Sakura…my foolish little brother's team-mate. How quaint" Itachi mocked, blocking her and sending her sailing past and over him. He appeared before her with lightning speed. She parried the blow with a swipe of the sword, landing on the ground as her sandals slid, the dirt flying from the impact. She grit her teeth as her feet ached. She healed the bruises on her feet knowing she would need to be at full strength to keep up with Itachi. The sword to her left was parried, the sword in her right sailing past his shoulder. She grinned as he leapt again for the trees. She tossed her sword in to the air and smashed her fist into the tree, wildlife left in the surrounding area giving alarming cries as the tree fell taking others down with it. Catching her sword, she retreated with a knowing smirk. Itachi was forced to take the ground but found his way littered with explosive kunai and wire. What he hadn't accounted for was another 4 packages of senbon.

The explosion rocked the forest probably killing any wildlife that hadn't escaped. Even Sakura was forced to retreat again from the destruction. She'd placed atleast four different packages of senbon on top of the kunai charges. Either he'd bluffed earlier in not seeing her swords, or he really hadn't and this would prove her theory. She waited, tense, scanning for his chakra signature. That had to have taken care of him...Though she had underestimated the sharingan in the past. But avoiding so many senbon needles, kunai and wire, as well as the explosion was practically impossible for anbu, much less elite s class criminals. She scanned for his chakra. He wasn't a god. He was human.

"Looking for my remains?" He murmured behind her. Sakura's swords whirled, but he was able to block both of them, arm not straining at all from her chakra boosted parry.

"Is this amusing to you?" She said, gritting her teeth in frustration.

"Mildly. You're weak." He taunted, though once again he still had a blank expression.

That was it. Her entire life she had been mocked for her weakness. The weakest of her team, the weakest in her class. When push came to shove at every turn in her youth she hadn't been able tom protect the people she'd loved. She hadn't been able to keep Sasuke from leaving. And now he was dead. She was done with being weak. She would kill this man and nothing would stop her now. She was not weak anymore. She had managed to injure him, a fact he hadn't remembered and she had taken for granted. She had taken several other s class criminals, such as Sasori, the puppet master Akatsuki member, and that feat was accomplished in her youth. She would end this.

With a flick of her heel, she smashed the ground, jumping up after him as they exchanged blows mid spin. She managed to cling to a side of a tree looking for him.

She had quick enough reflexes to block the sword with her two, but even with her chakra boosting her strength her arms were still shaking trying to keep the Uchiha prodigy at bay. The bark peeled from their contact as they slid, causing deep marks within the trees as they fought. It didn't help that they were doing this battle sideways and she had to control the chakra in her feet as well as her hands and arms. Sweat trickled down her face, pink bangs escaping from her ponytail with her effort.

He pushed her back, advancing.

"Tell me kunoichi before you die, why you thought it wise to provoke me?" Itachi said, that goddamned blank expression still slapped across his features. It tore her as she thought of Sasuke. Sasuke kun…

"Because you're a murderer!" She snarled, using her rage to her advantage and pressing forward.

"You will have to be more specific" Itachi said as he allowed her to gain ground.

"You killed Sasuke!" She cried, managing a deep slash across his chest. She was startled by the blow, but more startled by the look of surprise and disbelief in Itachi's eyes as she done it. Had her words affected him so much?

Sharingan eyes widened and narrowed and he disappeared from her view. The next time Sakura blinked she felt the wind knocked out of her from a devastating blow to her side. Even with her anbu skill she hadn't been able to see that coming. Such was the power of the Uchiha clan. She had summoned her chakra to ward off and cushion the blow too late. Ribs cracked painfully, and she curled, bracing herself as she flew up and to the right smashing into a tree, her back taking most of the damage, as the tree cracked and she fell, a thousand branches breaking her fall in the process. She was able to cushion her fall this time with chakra to avoid dying with a splat.

She didn't have a moment to process her near death, as she was slammed into a tree trunk painfully. He had pinned her right hand with his knee, sending the sword in her left hand flying, as his knee pinched painfully into her skin, forcing her to release her tenuous grip on the sword in her right. Her hand latched onto the arms of Itachi as he strangled her, gasping for breath, her body aching in a thousand places. It was the hand that was broken and his blood mingled with her own dripping red and fierce as his eyes. She choked on her pain, her medic body already in the process of healing her as her chakra glowed. It was a good thing he had a choke hold, because she probably wouldn't be able to stand on her own. She glared at him fiercely.

"If you break it, you will regret it." He warned her, sharingan flaring. She blinked back tears as she breathed painfully trying to make the most of her healing while she could. The cuts burned as did her muscles, her chakra dealing with them so that they wouldn't become infected. Who was she kidding? She might not even be alive in the next few minutes.

She was surrounded by a green aura, making her jade eyes all the more intense, the colors playing across her face, highlighting that bubblegum pink hair. Her mask was cracked, from a slice she hadn't realized he'd landed. She was fortunate her mask had spared her that blow or she would be dead now. As it was he watched with fascination as the green chakra sealed the slashes across her face, though the blood still marred her cheek. It didn't suit her he thought suddenly and Itachi regretted the thought instantly. You're weak he berated himself.

"Why did you do it?" She rasped, stalling.

Itachi wrestled with himself. She was healing herself as they spoke, trying to stall. She was the apprentice to the sannin Tsunade herself and so her healing skills were above par. He wondered briefly if the rumors of her surpassing her mentor were true. If he told her, he would reveal his own lack of information and have to keep her alive to find out her information. It would require giving information, but if what she was saying was true…he had to know. He had never negotiated for information, merely tortured his victims, but then again he'd never been put in the position where the person in question was his last missing family member and also his spare.

He would do it. After all he could kill her later should she prove a problem. She most certainly wasn't a threat at her skill level, though she had gotten lucky. He cringed as he still had some senbon needles stuck in him, chakra counteracting the poisons and toxins she'd laced them with. She was clever that much was certain, and he'd been a fool for underestimating her on account of their past. Further proof that his ties to Konoha needed to be severed. Though if her information was correct, he'd just severed the last family tie without his knowledge. He released her, and she slipped to the ground, crying out at the pain from her damaged ribs.

"I didn't kill him." He replied, hoping to play on her compassionate side and throw her off guard. He'd read her correctly.

Green eyes widened in disbelief. "It had to have been you…there was no one else…"

"Kunoichi-"

"Sakura" she interjected.

"Sakura then, I have no reason to lie to you" He said simply, building and gaining trust.

"There's no one else powerful enough to-" Sakura choked, spitting blood as she realized there was quite a bit more damage than she'd originally thought. But to waste anymore chakra was to sacrifice herself at the hands of Itachi. How had he managed such fierce damage with a single blow. He had been taking it easy on her. Green eyes narrowed.

"That isn't true and I think you know it." He said simply debating. If he kept her alive he could get the story out of her one way or another. He wouldn't have to use the mangekyou which was costly in terms of chakra anyways .

"Tell me kunoichi, did his body have any unusual wounds…missing appendages hands….ears…eyes for example?" Itachi asked her.

Jade eyes narrowed. "Why should I tell you?"

"Because I will torture you slowly and painfully if you do not. As it is your death is probably imminent."

Sakura glared. "And that's motivation for me to-" She choked, spitting up blood again.

"You might want to put your efforts towards your own healing, instead of being spiteful." He said simply. Sakura looked up into his eyes searching for mockery. There was none evident on his face, and she winced as she realized she'd looked into his eyes.

"You'd looked into my eyes before now, Kunoichi. If I wanted you in a genjutsu you'd already be in one. As it was I wanted you to experience that fall, though if you aren't more compromising I might be forced to used the Mangekyou." He said.

"You wouldn't…going..blind" She rasped, blood dribbling down her chin as she worked her chakra overtime in healing the internal bruising, bleeding and rupturing.

"You were misinformed." He repeated.

She shook her head fervently, a smirk gracing her face.

"Kakashi sensei knew….he suffers the same problems. You can't pretend" She retorted.

His eyes blinked for half a second longer than they had before. She knew he was bluffing.

"Do not test my patience Kunoichi. You either know, or serve no further purpose." He replied haughtily, impatience evidence in the rigidness of his stance. God damned arrogant Uchiha. It must be a family thing she thought the trace of a smile flickering only to disappear. He toyed with a single kunai, twirling it in his fingers as she'd seen so many Anbu do…as she'd seen Sasuke do. The memories overwhelmed her, stalling her chakra as her vision blurred. She choked again, spitting up more blood.

"I know…" And she hit the ground, passing out from the pain of her injuries, the shock to her system and fatigue. When she hit the floor, Itachi growled his frustration. He couldn't kill her now. He would be forced to take her, simply to figure out what it was that she knew, probably through a long and torturing process where he would more than likely be forced to use the Mangekyou. Anbu may have changed but if she had made Anbu she'd probably received torturing training, and strength of mind training. She'd be able to resist the basics of torture and Itachi didn't have the taste for long drawn out torture. It was a benefit that the Mangekyou was quick. The only other option he had at this point was that he would have to infiltrate Konoha to get more information. That would not sit well with leader sama. Perhaps she was less problematic than that complication. He consoled himself with that thought.

"Kisame" He called.

The ex mist nin appeared before him, towering over the tall Uchiha. His sharp teeth were locked in a grin as he looked from the girl to his partner.

"For someone as weak as she was, she certainly did more damage than any of the other nin we've fought" He said.

He found himself breathless from a kick from the Uchiha, and in a headlock, his own samehada forced and already cutting his throat before he could recognize the movement.

"If you value your weak life Kisame, you will take her, drain half of whatever chakra she has left and say nothing further until we reach head quarters."

Choking, though it was half laughter, Kisame was released as Samehada hit the ground with a thud and the Uchiha disappeared.

Laughing to himself, blood dripping, he settled his sword against her, draining her as ordered, and picked up her unconscious body, none too carefully and threw her over his back.