"I love you, Sakura. Will you marry me?"

"Oh, Itachi...of course, I will!"

Sakura lowered her head as a man hidden in shadow sat behind the desk before her. She was summoned soon after she returned from her last mission. There was no doubt her next assignment would be just as significant as the last one, maybe even more so.

"We have another mission for you, Agent," the man declared through the space. "This one might be harder to take out than the others, but I have no doubt that you will fulfill it just the same."

Sakura displayed a small smile, almost a smirk, of pride.

"Will you, Itachi Uchiha, take Sakura Haruno to be your wedded wife? Through sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do."

"And do you, Sakura Haruno, take Itachi Uchiha to be your husband? Through sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do."

Sakura scanned the virtual documents in her computer and memorized the details of her target. Her target, a man not much older than she was, had a reputation for being smart and dangerous. Many tried to take him down, but instead of finding his mutilated corpse in an isolated area, police found bodies of assassins killed in his place. Going after this man might be suicide, Sakura realized, so she had to study hard.

No man or woman who had been tasked to kill Itachi Uchiha returned alive.

"It's only two days, Itachi. Ino will be with me the whole time."

"I understand."

"Don't you trust me?"

"You know this isn't about trust, Sakura."

"I know...but still! Ino and I have been planning this vacation for months. And it's not even that far from town! I'll be back home before you know it."

"...Alright."

"I love you, Itachi. I really do."

"I love you too. Enjoy yourself and please... come home safely."

After avid research and careful observations, Sakura decided that the best place to kill Itachi Uchiha was next to the river flowing below the bridge of the city. He made sure to visit at irregular intervals, but for reasons Sakura couldn't deduce, he would always visit at night. It was an unwise habit for a man that was supposedly as intelligent as he was to develop. Maybe this was intentional, Sakura guessed. The location could be a trap for her as much as it could be for him.

She needed more information.

"Good evening, sir. Is Itachi Uchiha in the vicinity?"

"You're speaking to him. How can I help you?"

"I'm afraid we have terrible news. We found your wife, but she's—"

"No."

"I'm sorry, sir, sh—"

"Get out."

"Sir—"

"GET OUT!"

The information Sakura had requested was harder to obtain than she anticipated. Itachi might be just another target, but her employers were strangely hesitant to share everything they knew about him. She had to consult a classified source to gain the information she needed. What she found made her blood run cold.

Itachi was an assassin of The Agency until he resigned from his position. His method of resignation is unknown. He was last seen with a woman he later married, Sakura Uchiha (Sakura Haruno before marriage). He was unconvinced of his wife's death and believed that she was still alive and missing. He currently tortures and kills assassins possibly affiliated with The Agency until her location is revealed.

The first time Sakura saw Itachi was through the lens of her sniper rifle. At least, it should have been her first time. Despite what the document had told her, she had no recollections of Itachi and any life shared with him. Her history was hazy, yes, but there was no way she could have had such a history with the man. The only memories she could truly associate with her past was her life at The Agency. She only knew how to kill.

Another bad habit Itachi possessed was sitting at the same bench beside the river. The building she took cover in not only gave her a clear shot of the man's head, but it also kept her hidden from unwanted eyes. She didn't understand how many assassins failed to eliminate him. Her mission had not been easy, but she could name ten that were much more challenging than this one.

Sakura raised her rifle and placed her finger over the trigger. There was no wind resistance nor distance to challenge her abilities.

So why didn't she shoot?

Sakura readjusted her rifle and made her aim through the scope, but still didn't pull the trigger. She couldn't. Merely seeing him had halted her thoughts and movements. She couldn't think, couldn't speak—couldn't breathe.

Then, before Sakura could process what happened, the room she was hiding in was engulfed in smoke. Her vision began to spin as her lungs struggled to hack the haze out of her body. A loud thud shook the right side of her head when she collapsed onto the ground. The last thing she saw was a masked man standing above her, and a gun pointed between her eyes.