Chapter Two
Only the Results Matter

"Haruno, do you have the results?" a voice asked, breaking through Sakura's foggy mind.

Slowly she lifted her head from her desk and stared in confusion at the blurred image of someone standing next to her. She blinked the sleep back and focused her eyes to see the fuzzy person was Shino. Still slightly disoriented, Sakura sat up slowly and glanced at her computer to find the words "100% match" blinking repeatedly on her screen. She moved to print the document, but her fingers froze over the keyboard when the clock caught her attention in the corner of her eyes. She was an hour and a half late to the meeting.

"Oh shit!" Sakura yelled, jumping to her feet.

In her mad dash to collect the necessary items, she forgot about Shino and started to run towards the elevator. The loud, intentional clearing of his throat made her freeze. Quickly Sakura spun on her heels only to freeze when she saw Karin was standing in the doorway to the backroom with a wide smirk on her face. For a long moment Sakura just stared at her in confusion, trying to remember why she was there before she vaguely recalled Itachi telling her Karin would be coming in to assist her.

So much for that, she thought acidly as she glared at the slightly younger woman before she sprinted back to her computer and printed out Shino's report, repeatedly telling the printer to hurry, before she threw the document at him. Sakura had already pressed the up button for the elevator before she groaned loudly in annoyance and ran back into her lab, passing Shino in the process.

"Hold the elevator for me," Sakura called.

The pink-haired woman completely ignored Karin's grinning face and sprinted to the computer on the far wall. Quickly she pressed the keys to print the matches for the victims from the serial killer and crossed her arms as the printer slowly coughed out the information she needed.

Her patience was slowly thinning and the fact that she could feel Karin's arrogant smirk burning a hole into her back only made the process seem to take later. Impatiently Sakura glanced at the clock every few seconds, tapping her foot quickly and loudly against the floor. She practically ripped the last paper from the printer before she sprinted back to the elevator.

A loud groan of frustration escaped her lips when she saw Shino hadn't held the elevator for her and had instead decided to go on his merry way without even so much as a thank you. Again Sakura pressed the up button, though forcefully this time, but after a few moments she gave up and instead turned to the stairwell and ran up the eighteen flights of stairs. She knew it would have been faster to wait and take the elevator, but she felt more productive this way and continued to run up the flights of stairs, taking them two at a time.

By the time she finally reached the top, her breath was coming in ragged pants and her eyes were already closing in exhaustion. Sleeping for only two hours and using large amounts of energy without eating was going to kill her. Well that's if the Superintendent General didn't. Itachi was going to be furious. Sakura could already see the rage she was going to face – not physically, but the waves she was going to feel coming off him in a couple of minutes –and inwardly she flinched. She was going to end up like Miki!

No, Sakura thought fiercely. She was a field agent for a year and a half and she had known Sasuke for six years; she was used to the wrath of Uchihas. She could handle it.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura steeled herself and headed towards Conference Room One with the documents in hand. She heard a few voices from inside as her hand came in contact with the door handle, though they were muffled and impossible to make out. Taking a deep breath, Sakura opened the door, but it had only cracked open a few inches when a familiar voice caught her attention. She turned her head slightly to see Shino flirting with a policewoman with the very same paper she had given him in hand.

Immediately Sakura's anger flared and she fixed him with a glare. "Aburame!" she called. Slowly he turned his head away from the pretty woman and paled at Sakura's appearance. "Don't go too far."

His pale face became confused. "Haruno?" he asked unsure.

"I still have to kill you," she smiled politely before she turned and entered the room.

Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly in annoyance as she took a deep breath to control her anger, but the breath caught in her throat when she realized she had accidentally left the conference room door slightly ajar. Everyone in the room was staring at her. Some were looking at her like she was crazy, some were careless – Shikamaru – and others were passive, namely Itachi. That unnerved her. Though, Ino's glare was pretty dangerous at the moment too.

"Glad you finally joined us, Haruno," Shisui said calmly, almost carelessly. "Where were you?"

Sakura paused. "In my lab." She quickly looked down at the documents to busy herself. "I got nine fingerprint matches and I'm running the rest through AFIS, but there's a high chance that we won't get even half." Carefully Sakura pulled the pictures of the identified victims from her file and set them on the table the Superintendent General was sitting in behind. She was careful to keep her head down and to avoid eye contact with everyone. "Hyuuga sent me an e-mail last night. He said that some of the bodies have been there for a little over a year and any fingerprints are going to be impossible to get."

She vaguely saw Itachi nod in acknowledgement, but she didn't dare relax just yet. She kept completely still and silent as he looked over the pictures before passing them onto Shisui and Sasuke. Silence fell over the room and Sakura groaned inwardly when she realized everyone was waiting for their superior's dismissal.

Oh no! That meant they had already gone over any other new information and how to proceed. She had missed everything.

Note to self: have Ino catch me up, Sakura thought.

Eventually Itachi nodded at everyone. "Dismissed."

Immediately Sakura spun on her heels and began briskly walking toward the door, fully intent on getting out of the room before anyone could stop her, but before she could make it to the door, Itachi called for her. "Haruno, a moment."

She cringed visibly as Ino sent her an apologetic look, her glare gone, before her blonde friend hurried passed her and through the door. It didn't take long for everyone to file out of the room and when the door finally closed shut behind Sasuke, Sakura turned to face her boss, unsure of what to expect.

Itachi was still sitting behind the front table, his expression still impassive and his posture unchanged. He was leaning back in his chair; his fingers laced together and resting calmly in his lap. His eyes were intense and dark, focused only on her as if she were the only thing in the world and right now Sakura knew that was moderately true; but as if her mind was against her, Sakura began thinking how nice the crimson, button-up shirt under his black suit looked against his complexion.

Fiercely Sakura shook herself and focused. Itachi was still waiting for an explanation.

"I apologize for my tardiness," Sakura said, bowing slightly. Purposely she kept her sight on the ground and immediately averted them afterwards to her hands to keep her eyes anywhere but on her gorgeous superior. "I promise it won't happen again."

"I shall hope not," Itachi finally said. His voice was as always silky smooth and as always, it caused her stomach to fill with butterflies. "You're dismissed."

Sakura relaxed visibly and let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding before she bowed again. She made to grab the file off the table, but Itachi's long fingers wrapped around her wrist, effectively stopping her from retrieving it. Quickly her eyes snapped upwards in surprise and confusion, but he shook his head slightly. "I meant for the day, Haruno."

Her mouth parted slightly and she stared at her boss in disbelief. Her tired mind scrambled as it tried to find some argument as to why she couldn't leave, but she came up blank. She had finished all her work last night – early this morning – and no new evidence had been handed over to her yet because of her lack of cases. "What? Why?" she said, stalling for a reason to stay.

"Because I need my officers working at their best," he said smoothly.

Sakura pierced her lips together as they stared one another down. "Then why did you let me work through the night?"

He paused for a split second, but it was long enough for Sakura to notice. "I did not know that was your intention."

Something close to accomplishment made her warm all over in satisfaction at being able to make him hesitate, but it quickly faded and she realized the only heat she was now feeling was coming from her wrist where he was holding her captive. An immediate blush began to tint her cheeks and she pulled her wrist out of his grip casually. As reluctant as she was to pull away she knew if she didn't, she wouldn't be able to keep her blush at bay and Itachi would see; then being alone with him would be really awkward.

"Go home, Haruno," Itachi finally said, breaking Sakura from her inner thoughts. "Sato will take up your work."

She opened her mouth to argue, but thought better of it and finally nodded in resigned agreement. She would lose this battle so it would be a waste of time to argue. Quietly she opened the door and started to walk out of the conference room.

"Oh and Haruno," Itachi called. She glanced over her shoulder to see a faint smirk on his face. "Don't be late."

Sakura rolled her eyes in reply, but there was a small smile on her lips. Then she exited the room and walked to the elevator to grab her things from her and Sasuke's lab. As she waited for the doors to open, she glanced over her shoulder and waved slightly when she caught Ino's eye, but the contact broke when Itachi walked out of the conference room and stepped between the two. His small smirk was still present and when he spotted her it widened a fraction before he turned towards his office. Only after Sakura stepped into the elevator and the doors started to slide shut did she stick her tongue out at his back childishly. Though when he glanced over his shoulder, she gave a start and quickly looked away in embarrassment. Thank the lord she was going home.


"And then he got me a dozen roses," Ino continued as Sakura sipped her mocha. "It was so romantic."

"Uh huh," Sakura replied as the elevator doors closed before they were lifted upwards towards the eighteenth floor.

Sakura was only half-listening to what her best friend was saying as they waited for the doors to open again. As much as she loved her blonde friend, sometimes all the soppy, love stories were too much for her, even if she was just reminiscing of her and Shikamaru's six month anniversary last night. Still, she didn't need all the details. Somehow Ino's stories always led Sakura to become a little jealous. Maybe it was because her own love-life was non-existent and she didn't want to hear what she was missing out on…

No, Sakura shook her head. No, that definitely wasn't it.

Sighing, Sakura stepped out of the elevator after Ino, keeping her eyes fixed on the patterns the white tiles made; though she stopped abruptly when a pair of shoes stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "Officer Haruno."

Slowly Sakura looked up. She groaned mentally when she came face-to-face with Shino. Annoyed she rolled her eyes and looked away from him only to realize he was holding a file, but that wasn't what caught her attention. His knuckles were white from his death grip on the papers and she noticed he was shifting restlessly from foot-to-foot as if he was afraid to say something. Though after the stunt he played on her last week, it was probably a good thing he looked so nervous.

"What do you want, Aburame?" she asked coldly.

"I…I wanted to apologize for last week."

Sakura stared. He couldn't be serious, could he? Shino wasn't someone who cared about hurting other's feelings to get what he wanted and Sakura sure as hell knew he wasn't coming to apologize because he felt bad. No, she realized someone had definitely forced or guilt-tripped him into saying sorry to her. But the only people she could think of with that type of power – or persuasion she guessed – was Shisui or Sasuke and neither of them would care enough. Unless, it was the Superintendent General.

"Haruno?" Shino asked.

Sakura retrained her eyes on him and nodded. "It's fine," she said carelessly. Then her eyes hardened. "Just don't do it again." Then she quickly caught up to Ino who was waiting for her impatiently outside the usual conference room.

Sakura could tell Ino was about to start ranting to her about something, but she cut off abruptly as they stepped inside the room. Almost immediately Sakura turned to look at Itachi and from the small smirk on his face she knew her suspicions were correct; it had been him.

"Yamanaka, Haruno, where have you been?" Sasuke asked.

Ino lifted her drink. "Coffee."

"Didn't you get my text?" he asked almost impatiently.

Sakura and Ino glanced at one another. "No," they replied in unison.

The youngest Uchiha glared in frustration as Sakura gazed around the room again. She noticed everyone was holding a piece of paper in hand; some were reading it, marking up the paper, as others watched the confrontation. Though what really caught her attention were the three officers standing off the Superintendent General's left. Two of the three were wearing suits; the other had a comfortable t-shirt and jeans. All three of them drew her attention and she allowed her eyes to slide over the three of them as Itachi talked Sasuke into calming down.

The most appropriately dressed had blue hair and he was extremely tall; easily over six feet. His face had a rather ragged look to it and she could vaguely make out three scars under his eyes on each cheek. His black eyes were dark and sinister-looking, but the aura he was giving off was what made her skin crawl.

Sakura wondered how the red-head next to him wasn't shaken. Honestly, he looked like a weakling next to his tall friend – if that's what they were – only coming up to about his shoulders. His pale green eyes were lazily gazing about the room, observing and watching everything; the action reminded her of Itachi. The red-head's grey suit fitted his body nicely and now that Sakura actually looked she could see the slight muscle under the cloth; he wasn't as weak as he looked, that was for sure.

Then on the far end was the casually dressed blond she had noticed earlier. Even his slouched, hands-shoved-in-his-pockets stance was far too casual for where he was. His long blond hair fell over his shoulders and stopped at the middle of his shoulder blades while his bangs covered his left eye completely. Half of his hair was pulled back into a topknot on the crown of his head, keeping the rest of it from falling in his face. His strange and unprofessional appearance made Sakura realize he was a friend or Itachi wouldn't have even let him into the building.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched him brush the hair out of his eyes with long, slim fingers; the fingers of an artist. She made eye contact with him for a split second and her breath caught slightly when she felt herself get pulled into the mesmerizing ocean of blue that were his eyes. Though a moment later Sakura fiercely ripped her eyes away from his and instead casually swept her eyes over the three mysterious men before returning to Sasuke as he continued to glare at the two females.

"Where are your phones?" Sasuke finally asked.

Ino shrugged. "Missing."

"Dead."

Sakura's reply was distracted and she unconsciously followed Ino to the seats next to her boyfriend before picking up one of the many papers. She read over the letter and stared at it in confusion.

"What is this?" Ino asked.

"It's a letter," Shisui said.

Sakura saw Ino open her mouth to snap something, but the red-head spoke before she could utter a word. "This letter was sent to us from the East Coast Killer. It -."

"I'm sorry, who?" Sakura interrupted.

"The serial killer," the unknown blond supported.

She side glanced at Ino. She was watching everything with a rare, blank look that Sakura knew she used whenever she didn't want attention. Almost immediately Sakura knew Ino had made up the name. She vaguely remembered hearing it on TV last night, but she had been so exhausted by work she hadn't thought anything of it and went straight to bed. For some reason Sakura was slightly disappointed. She would have thought Ino would have thought of something more creative than that.

"Like I was saying," the red-head continued. "The killer sent us this letter this morning. We believe they're-."

"How was it sent?" Sakura interrupted again.

His pale green eyes flashed for a second before they turned to Itachi to explain. The Superintendent General looked vaguely amused for a second before he turned his sights on her. "It was mailed through the postal service. I have sent Hatake and Inuzuka's teams to investigate the return address, but they reported the place was empty," Itachi answered in a smooth voice.

Sakura nodded slightly in acknowledgement. She vaguely heard the new officer continue, but she wasn't really listening as she thought about it. Obviously they knew how to avoid being found while sending them messages, which unfortunately meant they were smart. Unless…

"Hyuuga said some of the victims died a little over a year ago," Sakura said. "Could it be possible he wrote this letter back when he made his first kill?"

Itachi stared at Sakura for a long while. Silence fell over the room as the Superintendent General weighed the option. His beautiful obsidian eyes seemed to pierce into her very soul as he mulled over her thoughts before he finally nodded in approval. "Nara, run the database for any residents of that apartment; start from four years ago to the present." Shikamaru groaned in response. "Yamanaka, Shisui will speak with you about what goes through the media. Sasuke, you and Hyuuga are to find what blade killed our victims. I need to know if it was the same blade or different ones." Then his eyes turned back to Sakura. "Haruno, the envelope from this letter is in your lab; see if you can pull some prints or saliva off the seal." Slowly he glanced around the conference room, making eye contact with each individual. "The rest of you, get some identities to our John and Jane Does. Dismissed."

Everyone stood and bowed to their superior before they filed out of the room. Sakura made for the elevator to head to her lab, but before she could reach out and press the down button a hand reached out and beat her to it. Startled, she snapped her head around to find the mysterious blond was standing next to her, grinning boyishly.

"Hi," he said.

Sakura looked at him warily. "Hi?"

"What's your name?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes and scoffed at his failed attempt at flirting with her. "It's customary to give your name before asking for someone else's."

He nodded slightly. "True. I'm Deidara."

"Hi," Sakura said again before she looked at the elevator, willing it to hurry. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk; she just didn't want to be hit on again. It would just be Shisui all over again and Sakura was sure the Superintendent General wouldn't let her get away with it again. Damn…

"So what's your name?" he asked.

She cringed. "Haruno."

"Haruno, huh?"

Out of the corner of her eyes, Sakura saw him open his mouth again, but Sasuke approached and shook his head. Deidara glanced at him and gave him a curious look, but the Uchiha gave him a sinister look. "I wouldn't hit on her. Last time Shisui did, he got a bloody nose."

"But that's Shisui," Deidara said.

"He was my superior then too," Sakura commented lightly.

That caught his attention. Deidara turned to her sharply and stared in surprise as Sakura and Sasuke walked into the elevator. Fortunately Deidara seemed to be in too much surprise to move and the doors slid closed before he could join them inside. She just hoped he wouldn't hit on her again. Otherwise she might have to get her point across physically, which in her opinion wasn't a bad thing.


With a deep sigh, Sakura sat back and stared at her computer in defeat. The monitor was showing a blinking window, informing her there were way too many fingerprints overlapping to be able to get a match. Though, that wasn't the only reason for her dismal mood. The seal on the envelope had been closed with regular tap water and to top it off, Shikamaru's research had come up empty. No one had lived in that apartment for nearly seven years and the last man to own it was now buried in Sendai's cemetery. As brilliant as her idea may have been, it still failed in the end and as her father used to tell her: only the results matter.

Slowly Sakura pushed herself into an upright position and printed off her results before she headed towards the elevator. For the first time in weeks, she was hesitant when the doors finally opened and it took her a moment to hit the button for the eighteenth floor. With a small frown, she watched the numbers on top of the door count up as she slowly closed in on her destination.

Suddenly a loud shout reached Sakura's ears, making her forgot all about her worries. Her head snapped to the doors as more raised voices sounded on the other side of the elevator. Unconsciously Sakura pulled the papers in her hand closer to her chest as the doors opened and she stepped out onto the white tiled floor carefully, What she saw made her look around in alarm.

People were yelling and screaming at one another like they were all accusing each other of being the murderer. Ino was leaning over her desk arguing with Shiranui Genma while Shino was shaking his head at something Naruto said as Neji watched with a dangerous glare. Shikamaru seemed to be the only one not present and she guessed he slipped away the moment the fights started. The Superintendent General was standing on the far side with the red-head and the blue-haired man Sakura had seen earlier. The two unfamiliar men were speaking calmly to each other – the complete opposite of the rest of the officers in the room – while Itachi watched the whole thing with a blank expression. Though, his eyes were scanning the room as if searching for something.

When she caught sight of him, Sakura quickly headed in his direction, carefully dodging around other officers on the way. At one point she had to jump out of the way of a chair as it hit from the floor from accidentally being shoved as an officer took a quick step back.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked.

Itachi turned his eyes on her but before he could speak Sasuke stopped on his other side, staring at the room with eyes probably as wide as hers. "What happened? I have people calling me asking if someone was shot."

Itachi side glanced at Sasuke for a split second before he let out a sharp whistle that left Sakura's ears ringing. Silence quickly fell over the floor as all officers stopped in their tracks and turned to their superior. Sakura watched as Itachi gazed around the room before his eyes turned to a projector she hadn't noticed earlier in the mad rush. The letter from the East Coast Killer was being projected onto a whiteboard with notes written next to it. Some words were circled and others were underlined, but she couldn't figure out what they stood for.

"This is exactly what the killer wants," Itachi finally spoke.

The redhead pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against. "Confusion and chaos," he added

Itachi nodded his agreement. "Right, Sasori." The Superintendent General turned his attention back to the enlarged letter the killer sent and pointed at a paragraph. "He's managed to tie the Chunichi Dragons baseball team in with Wiccan and the newest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Your points of view are all different because he has touched base with all concepts. This is exactly what he wants: confusion and chaos, as Sasori said. He knows how we work and knows it will slow down our investigation." Itachi stated before he picked up a whiteboard pen. Sakura watched him uncap the marker and write two words in his elegant script. They made her freeze.

Law Enforcement.

No one said anything as Itachi placed the pen down and turned back to face everyone. Sakura opened her mouth but no words came out as she and the rest of the floor stared at the Superintendent General speechless. Anyone of them – anyone in this building – could be the East Coast Killer. She could very well be best friends with the murderer. Automatically Sakura's eyes turned to Ino, but the blonde was staring at Itachi in just as much astonishment. In fact, everyone looked shocked to their core, but Itachi's latest discovery made Sakura realize anyone of them could be the killer. She just hoped that if the killer was indeed in law enforcement, it wasn't anyone in this department.

"Sasuke," the blue-haired man finally spoke. "Inform the front desk there is no need for alarm and we apologize for the fright we might have imposed."

"Uh, right, Special Agent Hoshigaki," the youngest Uchiha said before he turned and walked into a separate office.

Everything else was silent as they waited for Itachi's instruction. The Superintendent General made eye contact with the blue-haired man, who Sakura now knew as Special Agent Hoshigaki, before returning his attention to his subordinates. "This message is a fluke. Proceed as normal. If there is any suspicious activity in this department or in others report it to Uchiha Shisui. Understood?"

The officers nodded, but it was a moment before activity resumed in the normally busy floor. Sakura watched as Ino made up with Genma before she walked away, probably in search of her boyfriend to tell him exactly what happened. It took Sakura a moment to remember why she had come up, but one glance at the paper in her hand reminded her. She turned to find the Superintendent General, but found him deep in conversation with Special Agent Hoshigaki and Sasori. Sakura hesitated for a moment, realizing that rechecking her work wouldn't harm anyone. A few isolated fingerprints would be better than nothing.

With one final glance around the room, Sakura followed a few officers to the elevator and hit the button for the basement floor before she turned her gaze to the papers in her hands.


"Well if you can't give me that fingerprint, give me the other one!"

Itachi looked up from the file in his hand at the sound of Sakura's angry, frustrated voice. Quietly he stepped out of the elevator and walked into the police department's lab to find her glaring dangerously at her computer screen. He watched silently as her delicate fingers moved over the keys and drew a square around the fingerprint she wanted. The print flashed once before a note popped up on the screen.

"Insufficient data, my ass," Sakura snapped.

Angrily she pushed her chair back and stood up to pace. Itachi watched as Sakura stopped in the middle of her lab and closed her eyes. She took deep, calming breaths and visibly relaxed before she opened them again.

"Okay," she coached herself. "Partial prints can work too. They're not as good, but they still work."

Once more Sakura drew a box around the top portion of a fingerprint and hit the enter button. Another message popped up, but Sakura knocked it down and hit a series of keys before another window popped up. A wide grin spread across her face as the partial print began running through AFIS and she jumped out of her seat cheerfully. "Oh hell yes!"

With her grin still in place, Sakura turned around only to abruptly freeze when she found Itachi standing before her. A long moment of silence passed between them as Sakura froze in her victory position and stared at him with her eyes wide in shock as a bright blush flushed her cheeks. A quick look of embarrassment and surprise flashed across her face before she quickly dropped her arms to her sides once more and bowed. "Sir," she said awkwardly.

"Haruno," Itachi greeted.

When she straightened, she kept her eyes averted away from him, causing a small, amused smirk to cross his lips. Casually he closed the file in his hand and approached her computer as a name popped up and her computer dinged. At the sound, Sakura immediately forgot her embarrassment and turned around to pull up the file. He watched as her eyes widened and grew bright in excitement at the prospect of finding the victim. Itachi smiled minutely at her excitement as she retrieved the file for the fingerprint match.

Unknown to Sakura, Itachi was very aware of the fact Sakura had come to him earlier during the war upstairs to speak with him, but after everything had settled down, she had vanished before he could talk to her about her findings, or lack thereof as he had learned a few minutes ago. Since then, he had been too busy to come to her and apparently she had been stuck in her lab with every intention of finding a fingerprint.

A small stab of pity for her hit him when she pulled up the file to find the print belonged to Hoshigaki Kisame, his long-time friend and ex-partner. In fact, Itachi vaguely remembered the fingerprint had gotten there when he first grabbed the envelope from downstairs. He was fairly certain if she chose another one, his own prints would be on the envelope as well and possibly the receptionist downstairs.

Slowly Itachi glanced at Sakura as her face fell. She was staring at the computer screen miserably with her head in hands. The pink-haired woman gave a loud groan of annoyance before she took a quiet breath and slouched in her chair. "It's just your friend," she murmured almost to herself. "What is he doing here anyways?" she snapped half-heartedly.

"I asked him to help on this investigation," Itachi answered, looking over his portfolio. He stared in surprise at all Kisame's known information and realized he was already thirty, though if he was twenty-six then that was about right.

"He works for the Special Assault Team?" Sakura asked, glancing over his information. "No wonder Sasuke called him Special Agent," she seemed to be speaking more to herself than anyone else. "A fucking SAT is working with us. Holy shit."

Itachi turned his attention from the computer to stare at Sakura in surprise as she spoke to herself; he'd never noticed she had such a foul mouth before. Normally he didn't appreciate it when a person swore in his presence but when it was coming from such an innocent-looking women, he found it highly amusing.

Even more to his amusement, it seemed she didn't even know he was watching her for she gradually shook herself and turned to him. "I'm sorry. There are just too many fingerprints from being sent through the postal service and they're all overlapping."

The way her eyes dimmed to a dark green made him feel a little sorry for her as his amusement faded. He knew she had been working all day trying to find some good news to give him, but apparently there was none to give. She had done all she could and that was all he could ask for.

"What about the seal?" Itachi asked.

Sakura turned back to her computer and pulled up another window. "He used tap water."

Itachi pursed his lips together slightly as he stared at the scientific drawing of water on the screen, but eventually he sighed softly and took a step back. "Good work, Haruno. Go home. It's been a long day."

She sent him a small, apologetic smile in return. "Yes, sir."

Itachi started towards the elevator, but a memory from this morning made him stop and turn back to Sakura. "Oh and Haruno."

She turned at the sound of her name and watched him expectantly.

"Deidara has a bad left ankle," he supported.

A smile came onto Sakura's lips and she flashed him a brilliant grin. Her eyes returned to their usual deep emerald as she gave a small laugh. "Thank you, sir, but I'm hoping I won't have to know that for later."

He smirked slightly both in amusement and agreement before he nodded in response and left for the elevator. As he waited, he read Neji's report on the identified bodies, but he only made it halfway before he realized he wasn't alone. He glanced to his left to find Sakura was standing next to him in her white winter coat, texting someone. Itachi didn't say anything as they stepped into the lift and automatically he pressed the button for the eighteenth floor. It wasn't until that moment did he realize all the lights were still on in the lab.

Sakura seemed to sense his curious gaze – well as curious as his gazes could get – and she smiled and shrugged. "Last one there has to turn everything off," was her simple reply.

"Hn," Itachi said, turning back to his file.

There was a short moment of silence before he heard her shift. "Why did you make Aburame apologize to me?"

Itachi side glanced at her. Her face was carefully blank and her arms were hanging loosely at her side. He had no idea what she was thinking or what she was expecting him to say. Better play it safe. "I did not make Aburame apologize to you."

"But you did guilt trip him into it," she countered easily.

He watched her for another long moment and closed the file in his hands with a smart snap before fixing her with his full attention. "I merely had a talk with officer Aburame. What he did afterwards is completely of his own fault."

Sakura looked unconvinced and she crossed her arms slightly before she leaned her hip against the railing in the elevator. Her lips were pursed in a fine line and her eyes narrowed in observation as she watched him closely. It was obvious she didn't believe him.

She was very much like him, he realized. She had been an excellent field agent for a long time and he knew it was because of the way she watched and calculated everything before making a move. Itachi guessed she grew up with a father figure in law enforcement much like himself and began learning the simplest police training from a young age.

"I don't believe you," Sakura finally said.

Itachi gave her a look that told her to continue.

"I think you sat him down and explained to him in vivid detail of what happens when an officer doesn't get his work done on time," she explained with a small smirk. "And then you continued to explain how that will get you nowhere in life until you finally broke him down to the scared rookie he is."

Of course she was right but Itachi didn't show any indication that what she said was true. Though the smug smile forming on her lips told him she knew she was right and haughtily she turned her attention back to the numbers on the elevator.

"Hn," Itachi replied, going back to the file.

He only for a few words in before he heard her speak again. "Why do you do that?" she asked. "What does it even mean?"

Itachi slowly he glanced at Sakura and frowned slightly in confusion. "Do what?"

"That little 'hn' or whatever," she said, shaking her head in confusion. "Sasuke does it and every once and a while Shisui will too. Is it like a family thing or are you all just picking up each other's habits?"

Itachi's frown faded and he raised his eyebrow in amusement. He gave her a long stare that caused a small blush to tint Sakura's cheeks. It surprised him when he realized he rather liked the look; it brought out her flawless skin. That single thought made him realize once again just how beautiful Sakura was and he felt a small, almost insignificant stab of jealousy hit him in the stomach when he thought of how extremely lucky her boyfriend was to have found her. So far, Sakura had excelled in peaking his interest and he wanted to know more about this seemingly fragile woman.

In the past two years, Itachi had learned Haruno Sakura had a fast and quick mind with a keen eye for observation. In chaotic situations she knew how to act and her reflexes easily matched his. That had been proven when she sent a blow to Shisui a second after he made his comment with her impressive left hook.

Another strange thing Itachi had noticed was her left punch was stronger than her right even though she was right-dominant. He used to think her right swing was deadlier, but when Itachi asked Sasuke about it he just shook his head and wouldn't say anymore on the topic.

"In my defense," Itachi finally replied, "they acquired it from me."

Sakura opened her mouth in a silence, sarcastic gesture of understanding. "But what does it even mean?"

Itachi smirked slightly as the elevator doors opened and silently he stepped out of the lift with Sakura in tow. Then he sent her a small playful look over his shoulder before he walked away. The sudden silence of her footsteps made him realize she had stopped following him and one look at her reflection in one of the dark computer screens showed her open surprise. Had his look affected her so much that she had frozen mid-step? The thought that he had that much power over her made his smirk widen slightly and this time he couldn't conceal all of it.

He could have fun teasing this woman, he realized.