Chapter Two:

Sai went directly to the popular ninja bar that his companions were known to frequently attend. They might have been underage at most bars, but when you're a ninja and you risk your life everyday for your village they tend to be a bit more lax about the rules. It was one of the best places to pick up on the local gossip, not that Sai would ever partake in such a thing, but Sakura and Ino seemed to enjoy such things and he often found himself dragged along.

And the food was great, so even if the sake was off-limits there was plenty to enjoy.

It didn't take long before he spotted his targets in the far corner of the bar tucked away in the shadows. Fortunately, Kiba and Lee were sitting at the same table along with Neji and Shikamaru.

"Hinata's still depressed. She's been recovered physically for a while now but mentally she's a mess. Her father's given her a great deal of grief for risking her life for Naruto," Neji confided before taking a drink from the glass of water in front of him. He opened his mouth to continue, but then his milky-white eyes fell upon Sai. "Sai,"he greeted in a voice that lacked the warmth it had only moments before.

The others looked over toward him with various expressions of greeting. Shikamaru nodded his head, Lee smiled broadly, and Kiba pushed back the unoccupied chair next to him and gestured for Sai to sit.

"Come have a seat, Sai," Kiba said patting the empty chair. "We were just talking about the time when my love-sick teammate risked her life for everyone's favorite idiot." He laughed boldly. "As if Naruto needed any help!"

Sai took the offered seat and was glad that both Kiba and Lee were present. It made his responsibilities easier. Neji was still watching him with a somewhat hostile look and Shikamaru idly twirled an unlit cigarette between his fingers. Ever since Asuma's death more often than not the lazy genius could be seen with a pack of cigarettes, though he seldom smoked them after he dispatched of the Akatsuki responsible for his teacher's death.

"Tenten is visiting her now," Rock Lee added. "Hinata wanted to see Sakura-san, but Neji told her it was impossible since she had just finished a very long shift at the hospital."

Sai looked back over at Neji and tried to analyze the Hyuga's attitude. There was no particular reason for Hyuga to dislike Sai, but he was under that distinct impression. Perhaps he was jealous of his relationship with Sakura? Sai shook his head slightly at the idea-surely not.

"Hello everyone," Sai said politely with his much practiced polite smile. "It is convenient that you are both here, Kiba and Lee. Sakura has a request for the both of you."

Neji folded his elbows and forearms over the table and leaned closer. Shikamaru's dark eyes shown with a keen interest. Kiba and Lee both listened attentively much more focused than moments ago.

"She would ask that you both join the two of us tomorrow on a mission to find Naruto. There is an urgent need that she speak with him," Sai explained. He had learned the art of giving only necessary information. There was no need to know that Sakura's need to speak with Naruto was from his pointing out to her the selfishness of her past promise and the danger it presented to their teammate.

"I would ask if you'd informed the Hokage and received permission for this mission," Shikamaru said before either young man could answer. "However, with Lady Tsunade unconscious and the strangely elected Danko as the sixth and at some meeting of the Kages that would be difficult to do."

"Kakashi Hatake should have been the sixth," Kiba said taking an angry drink out of his glass. He didn't appear to be drinking water and the slightly bitter-sweet scent of alcohol tickled Sai's sense of smell.

"The elders had actually wanted Kakashi as the sixth, but Danzo convinced them that he had the better experience," Shikamaru said. "I'd have preferred Kakashi myself," he said with a touch of admiration. Kakashi had taken Shikamaru's team under his wing when they tracked down the Akatsuki responsible for their teacher's death.

"The elders are spineless," Neji said quietly.

"And corrupt, but what can we do?" Shikamaru answered with a helpless shrug before tucking the unlit cigarette into his front pocket.

"I can only speak for myself, but if Sakura-san has a need of me I will be happy to help her in any way I can. It was she that gave me confidence after we first went looking for Sasuke and I became injured. She never let me give up thinking I'd recover and be a great ninja!" Lee's eyes were bright in happy memory. Sai had to wonder if Sakura knew he'd react this way to her request-if so it was a wise choice.

"Of course!" Kiba chimed in his own answer. "Danger and action always seem to follow Sakura's team. I'm sick and tired of sitting around and waiting for the next attack. I want to prevent it!"

Neji's lips were tight and his expression unhappy. "I would prefer if someone with a bit more experience were also present."

"I'm a member of the elite Root," Sai answered him with another polite smile that he didn't feel. "Sakura is the apprentice of the great Sannin Tsunade and she defeated a member of the Akatsuki. We've faced off against both Itachi, Kisame, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke. A mission to track down and speak to Naruto is within out capabilities."

"I would like to volunteer regardless," Neji said. "I've worked with Sakura before and she could use my eyes and experience. The forests are full of unknown dangers as we're currently in the calm before the storm of war."

"She didn't ask for you," Sai said in a flat voice.

Shikamaru put a friendly hand on Neji's stiff shoulder. "This is too troublesome," he muttered. "Neji, you have a mission tomorrow with a cell of Jounin. Even if you wanted to join Sakura's team-which I'm sure she wouldn't have minded-you have other obligations."

Neji eased back in his chair, but his eyes still bore an unhappy menace directed toward Sai.

"I would volunteer as well, Sai, but I have obligations with the Hokage's absence and cannot leave. However, I will fill out whatever necessary paperwork there might be to make sure this mission goes as smoothly as possible should there be any issues. You make sure you let Sakura know how troublesome she is for making me do this."

"I will inform her," Sai reassured. He gave Kiba and Lee a quick, genuine smile. "I will see you both at sunrise at the front gates." He stood and made to leave the tavern, but he could feel the cold stare of Neji Hyuga burning into his back.

OoO

Sakura took a deep breath of the relaxing lavender field. She walked barefoot and the cool grass and lavender herbs felt soothing between her toes. There was a bubbling brook nearby and that provided ambient white noise. A white lacy dress graced her body with an easy flow. Only in her dreams did Sakura look girly and frilly. Ever since Sasuke she'd focused on her studies both in medicine and in the art of ninjutsu. She didn't have time for long hair and ribbons and long pretty dresses. And this particular dream was a common one of hers that promoted healing in both mind and body.

"It's about time you fell asleep," a deep, oddly familiar voice sounded from behind her causing her heart to jump.

She turned to see who had interrupted her very personal dream and took a step back at seeing none other than Itachi Uchiha. A character like that in her soothing dream was contradictory to her goal of relaxation.

"Yes, it is a dream," Itachi said reaching down to pluck up a handful of lavender. "And yes, I'm really here and not a figment of your imagination." He sniffed the herbs before opening his hand and letting them drift on the light breeze. "Nice dream world."

"It's where I go to relax. What do you mean you're not a figment of my imagination?" He certainly seemed like the Itachi she knew. He was slightly above average height, lean, with his face deeply lines in the nasomaxillary fold-a trait generally acquired from exposure to great stress of which in her medical opinion he was definitely a candidate. His hair was loose about his shoulders instead of tied back and looked like black silk that was dark as a raven. The only exception was that he didn't have on the red and black clouded cloak of the Akatsuki, but he did have on the black fishnet ninja gear she remembered him wearing underneath it.

And his nails were black. If she were to dream about Itachi-which she wouldn't-she'd have given him normal nails. She must have been more exhausted than she thought to be seeing such a thing.

Itachi looked down at his nails. "I didn't realize they bothered you," he said quietly. Suddenly, his nails were no longer painted black but were the normal pinkish cast of natural nails. He smirked at her-a look so similar to a younger Sasuke that it hurt. "I'm real."

"You're dead," Sakura said cocking her head to the side and staring at him-he didn't look transparent but seemed quite solid. She'd never been this close to him without also experiencing the overwhelming fear of being killed. Now she knew the horrible truth that he was actually loyal to Konoha and had no intention of harming her team in all their various confrontations. The most dangerous member of Akatsuki was actually the safest. It put everything she knew about him into a different perspective and suddenly he went from scary and overbearing to kind of good looking, scary, and overbearing. "Sasuke killed you."

"I allowed him to kill me," Itachi corrected. "I was already dying," he said taking a step closer to her. Suddenly he was standing right in front of her defying the laws of physics-even dream physics-and lifted a tendril of her pink hair to rub between his fingers. "It's strange being dead. I thought I'd go on to the next plane of existence, but it appears I'm stuck in some sort of limbo." He dropped her hair and looked down at her. "I need your help, Sakura."

"You need my help? The great genius of Itachi Uchiha needs the help of the lowly Sakura Haruno? The man who was able to single-handedly take down the strongest clan in our village and evade capture as a fugitive for almost a decade?"

"Seeing as you are alive and I am dead, you seem to have the advantage," he answered dryly. The gentle breeze blew his dark hair about his face and given their close proximity it brushed against Sakura's neck.

"Why me?"

He sighed and looked down at her. His eyes were ebony with no trace of the fearsome, crimson Sharingan. "I gave up everything for Konoha. All my hopes rested within Sasuke. It seems they were misplaced." Itachi smiled sadly. "It would seem that the genius Itachi Uchiha miscalculated."

"Okay," Sakura said sitting down with her legs folded under her in the field and the long white dress fanned out around her. She patted the spot next to her and Itachi joined her by sitting Lotus-style on the ground. "Do continue."

"I cannot rest until Madaara is destroyed. And I cannot allow Sasuke to be corrupted into the monster he once thought I was. He has joined Akatsuki in my place though his intentions are far from noble. Now that he knows the truth he is intent on destroying Konoha instead of being her hero."

"The truth being that the elders ordered you to destroy your clan," Sakura said.

Itachi ran his fingers over the ground until he pulled up a smooth stone. He tossed it toward the brook and it skipped four times before sinking under the surface. "There are only four people in the world that Sasuke cares about at all. And that is your Team 7 and myself, but seeing as I'm dead I am no longer in the equation."

"So why not go to Kakashi or Naruto?"

"I have my own reasons. But if you'd like to spell some out for you: Naruto's mind is too crowded with the Kyubi. And frankly, I prefer you to the Copy Ninja. Upon confronting Sasuke they would be forced to engage in a fight. He won't see you as a threat. You, however, would serve as a useful tool to him and I'm afraid that is all that matters to my little brother-usefulness."

Sakura burst into laughter. Tears sprang to her eyes and she wiped them away with the back of her hand in a vain attempt to stanch the flow. She struggled to collect herself, but laughed all the more upon seeing the annoyed look on Itachi's face.

"Sasuke has over-used his Sharingan and will soon be blind. He lacks the control that I possessed and the willpower to use that little which he does have. My brother seeks to destroy while I had hoped he would protect." Itachi reached for Sakura's wrist and drew her hand toward him. She stopped laughing and stared at her hand in his-he didn't feel like a dream. He was warm and his hands were strong. "You have the gift of healing," he said softly tracing the lines of her palm. "And he will not kill you."

"He seemed pretty determined to do so the last time I saw him," she said jerking her hand away from his grasp disturbed by the sensation.

"An act to prove his loyalty to Orochimaru no doubt. I allowed Sasuke to fight me for several reasons. One was to infuse him with my powers and the other was to cleanse him of the taint of that parasitic snake."

"You said you were dying. What was wrong with you?"

Itachi touched his chest. "A lung disease. I took medication to prolong my life, but eventually I was always a lost cause."

"Had you ever sought the attention of a medic? I might have been able to do something," Sakura said poking his chest.

He smiled at her sadly. "I sought the village doctors and they prescribed herbs and medications to help control the symptoms. Perhaps you or Lady Tsunade might have been able to cure me, but I had a death wish, remember?"

"And now that your wish has been granted?"

Itachi looked far into the distance staring at something Sakura couldn't see-something in his mind only that wasn't included in her dreamscape. "That's why I need your help now."

"Did you move my body cream?"

"The lavender bottle? I am noticing a common trend with you."

"It's a nice smell!" Sakura defended. "And relaxing!" She didn't add that it was a new favorite scent of hers after discovering that she used the same shampoo as Kakashi's dog Pakkun. Itachi didn't need to know such trivial details.

He chuckled and turned back to her and the lines in his face didn't seem quite as deep. "There was no contradiction on my part. And yes, I moved it. It was a test."

"Did you pass?" Sakura said sarcastically.

Itachi looked thoughtful. "Possibly. I'm still-for lack of a better term-training."

"What if you're wrong again? What if Sasuke just kills me with all those lovely powers you gave him?"

"He won't."

"I'm filled with confidence," she said standing and brushing off the lavender pedals that had fallen onto her skirt.

"I won't allow it."

"News-flash, Itachi, you're dead." There was a faint buzzing in her ear.

Itachi gave her a sad look and his ebony eyes flashed crimson. "It's time for you to wake up Sakura. Safe travels to you and your team. Look inside the inner pocket of your cloak. I will see you soon."

Sakura's eyes opened wide and she sat up in bed with the scent of lavender strong in her olfactory sense. The sky outside her window was still dark but her alarm clock was buzzing away at a loud, annoying pace. She turned it off carefully. She'd already broken three alarm clocks in the last month with her monstrous strength. She puzzled over her dream-it was becoming hazy, but she remembered clearly that she'd had an entire conversation with the ghost of Itachi Uchiha.

Blearily she rubbed her eyes and then crawled out of bed. He told her to look inside the inner pocket of her cloak and even though she knew it was only a dream she still felt compelled to search. Her greyish-white cloak was draped over the decorative shogi screen in the corner of her room alongside several scarves.

Sakura looked at the two inner pockets and found nothing within, but then she noticed a very faint series of stitching near the base of the cloak. It was certainly not part of the factory design and appeared as if someone had taken a sewing kit and added an extra, secret pocket. She pulled back the delicate seams and it unraveled. A silver pendant of some sort fell out onto her palm. It was a necklace with a circular charm and inlaid within the circle was a bird with its wings spread wide in a V.