Part One

Itachi Uchiha loved to run. Human interaction drained him. His daily run at precisely 6.00AM each morning was an effective method of escaping the idiotic, simple-minded people he was forced to work with. It also allowed him time to himself, something which he constantly craved and was far too often deprived of. An escape; a time for uninterrupted solitude and solid thinking. Nothing could distract him. The unused, hidden back-road he had stumbled upon a few years ago had been a blessing - he could run without ever having to see another soul.

His life was boring and solitary and had been for quite some time. It had been nothing but routine and predicability until the day he caught a glimpse of pink hair, green eyes and the faintest whiff of cherry blossoms whilst running on a particularly humid morning. Despite his stoic personality, one glance of this mysterious woman somehow piqued his curiosity. For reasons unfathomable to the detective, at many points throughout his day he found his thoughts straying towards the woman. Itachi reasoned that it must have been the impossible combination of her genes that caused the girl with the ridiculously bright pink hair and too-green eyes to stick in his mind.

—-

Sakura Haruno loved to run. The breeze in her hair, the burn in her legs and the gorgeous scenery gave her a sense of freedom that could not be found in any other facets of her daily life. At 6.00AM each morning, she donned her sneakers and headed out through her apartment door. It had been luck - and a severely lacking sense of direction - that found her stumbling across a gorgeous path near the beach, hidden behind a screen of shrubbery and trees. Jogging along slowly, it was not long before the golden rising sun, the sound of the ocean waves and the salty smell of the beach persuaded her to claim this seemingly uninhabited running path as her own. There was also another factor - the sighting of a gorgeously tall, dark and mysterious man that ran past her, too.

The first time the mysterious man ran past her, she was utterly surprised to see another person on the hidden path. She was also a little blown away by his dark hair, dark eyes and deliciously high cheekbones. Sakura's second glance of him left her utterly entranced and infatuated. The third sighting left her caught up in the sheer power and mysteriousness that his aura radiated. By the fourth sighting, she felt the dire need to know the stranger in spite of her common sense. The fifth time Sakura saw him, and the last sighting for the next few weeks, they made eye contact. By this time, she was his.

On the sixth day, she didn't see him. Nor on the seventh. Days flew by but she continued to run each morning, holding on to the vain hope that she might see him again. She would keep running.

—

Although Itachi didn't want to admit it, something about this woman stirred things in him that he hadn't felt in a very long time. The way her apple green eyes followed him, the beautiful flush on her cheeks and the smell of cherry blossom. He wanted her like he had never wanted anyone before. But his life was royally screwed. He knew he was a horrible, dark person that would inevitably hurt her. His family was gone and his relationships with women always ended in heartbreak. As much as it pained him, he stopped running to stop seeing her; this woman who had been haunting his thoughts and dreams. He hadn't slept properly in days. Forgetting her was better for both of them.

It wasn't long before his heart started hurting. He wasn't sure why.

Itachi threw himself into his work, trying everything to get the woman out of his head. What little hours of sleep he got were filled with pink hair and green eyes. His heart continued to hurt. Trying to forget her was only causing him more and more trouble.

The detective figured that the only way to soothe his aching heart was to see her again. For too long he had pushed those he loved away. Maybe it was his turn to be a little selfish. Yes, he decided. I need her. Itachi resolved not to hurt her.

After a long absence, Itachi woke early, tied his shoes and jogged out the door to the familiar path. His heart beat quickly in his chest for the first 15 minutes of his run as he thought about seeing her. What if she had chosen a different route by now? What if he never saw her again? His chest tightened painfully as he thought of the possibilities. His whirring mind stopped, however, as he spied a bobbing pink head. She was still here. Itachi hadn't planned this far ahead - should he stop her? Should he smile? No, that was not him. He would wait for her to make the first move, so he was sure that this attraction was a two-way street.

Sakura stubbornly held on to the hope that she would see her mystery man again. Her man? Where had that come from? Thoughts swirled incessantly in her head but were instantly stilled as she saw his towering figure. Her heart wouldn't slow. She had resolved to speak to him if she ever saw him again. It was now or never.

Here goes nothing. "Hey!" Sakura yelled from a distance. The man jogged closer before responding with a quiet hello, his low and melodic voice everything she had hoped it would be.

"You need to walk with me," spoke Sakura, ever the one to get straight to the point. She mentally berated herself as he shot her a quizzical look.

"I don't know you," responded the tall man. Sakura's heart sank. Maybe he didn't feel what she felt. Yet, always the one to pursue what she wanted, Sakura continued. She would not miss out on this chance.

"I want to know you. I haven't stopped running here for days just because I wanted to see you again."

Itachi felt… pleased. Happy, even. Was that the emotion? It had been so long. Yes, happy, he decided.

Keeping a straight face, he walked towards her. As he reached her side, her pleasant voice spoke again.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. I'm a doctor at the Konoha hospital."

"Itachi Uchiha. Detective."

Oh, so he's the silent type. I wonder what's beneath the facade.

There was a silence as the two walked side by side, both contemplating what to say next. He looked down at her as she began to speak.

"There's something about you…" she began timidly. "I don't know what it is. Whether it's my imagination - I want to pursue it further. Come to dinner with me. We may not know each other, so feel free to say no. But I don't want to always ask myself about what could have been."

He felt it too. Whatever it was. He was drawn to her like a moth to flame - she was unique, different. She knew what she wanted and was confident and innocent and breathtakingly beautiful.

His silence must have scared her, because she began to ramble. "I know I'm very straightforward. I just think that maybe we could have something and of course it's okay for you to say no, I would definitely understand. I should probably just leave now becau - "

"I'll come."

"Oh. Well. there's a cute little ramen shop near the hospital. How about 8 tonight? I'll meet you inside."

"I'll see you then," was all that Itachi said before he jogged back the way he came. He was glad she couldn't see his face - for the first time in months, a smile adorned his feature and lit his eyes. His heart had finally stopped aching.