Chapter One

Footsteps echoed in the archways of the small town, as the villagers went on their morning routine bargaining with the vendors for the goods. Her eyes scanned the many produce until she found an open bread stand. The aroma of freshly baked bread started to make her belly churn.

This is what she really wanted for her vacation…peace and quiet, and away from the others. In her heart, she knew her friends were trying their best to distract her from her work. The majority of the time was spent on pediatric wards, and if she wasn't at the hospital, she would probably be seen somewhere in the library reading up on current updates.

Maybe it was her own fault for burying her life into keeping busy, but it was a defense mechanism she used too often. An excuse here and then another excuse somewhere down the line. It was an easy game to play, but then it caught up to her eventually. She couldn't keep up her poker face, and she remembered an earlier conversation with Ino during their random afternoon lunches.

"You need a boyfriend," the blond sipped on her raspberry lemonade.

"Excuse me?"

She toyed with the black straw as she swirled the pink liquid in her glass, "A boyfriend…plain and simple."

Sakura fiddled with her salad, "I still have work and all."

"Enough of it already…geesh...it's a lame excuse and you know it." Ino landed her hand hard on the mahogany table, not a care in the world if she made a scene, "I think it's about time." She was tired of the charades that her friend was playing.

"Okay, I think you lost your mind."

"No I haven't." She rubbed her temple, "Out of all of us, you're the only one still single." She stressed the last word loudly, hoping any single males would pick up the hint. "And you're not getting any younger."

"And neither are you," hoping to deflect the conversation back to the blond in trying to figure out her future wedding date. The princess cut stone gleamed in her minty eyes. "That ring is eventually going to blind me."

"Stop changing the subject," she sipped on her lemonade again. "I don't care how many times I have to keep bringing this up, Sakura."

"Then what are you going to do then?" She continued to eat, while her friend was pondering her fate. "You're not going to make me be one of your bridesmaids and hopefully play cupid at the same time?"

"Now that's a thought," a hint of mischief crept up on her face. "No, I won't be that cruel, but you never know what might happen at weddings," and she gave her friend a wink.

At that moment, Sakura felt her face begin to flush, "Ino," and shook her head in disbelief.

"Stop living under a rock and wake up for once." She began to eat her chicken salad sandwich, "You've seen it before." She looked at how her friend reacted and the look was priceless. "Before I give you a heart attack or acute coronary syndrome or whatever you want to call it, I'm inviting you to come to Italy with me."

And that is how it all started.

She nibbled on her bread, as she ventured further into the square. The farmer's market was in full swing, and little by little, she uncovered the city's hidden secrets.

...

The creamy treat slowly liquefied under the Italian sun, as he sat in one of the open tables at the Piazza San Marco. He never liked sweets, but figured it was a touristy thing to do after coming halfway around the world. He stared at the gelato, and recalled an earlier incident.

"Do you mind?" He heard an all too familiar sound from a camera.

"Mind what?" a female voice spoke from his shoulder, as she took another picture of the gold mosaic at the ceiling of St. Mark's Basilica.

"For goodness sake, could you quit taking pictures?" His voice was cold and stern.

She ignored the tourist, "For the record, first, I think it's natural to be curious about art and history. And for the second, I like taking pictures."

Before he could say anything, he turned around to see if the female was still standing behind him. There was no one except across from him, looking at another mosaic under the western dome.

He sighed and stuffed his hands back into his pockets, as he continued his sightseeing.

"Look at who we have here."

"What do you want," he looked at his older brother's way through his pilot sunglasses, snapping him out of his earlier memory.

"For a big city like this, I wouldn't have expected to find you here." He sat at the opposite end of the table.

"Don't tell me Karin hijacked into your cell phone account."

"No…she didn't…not yet."

"Kakashi sent you over to spy on me." Sasuke readjusted his sunglasses and just stared at his brother.

"Nope."

The two officers sat quietly, taking in the scene like any normal person would try to do. "Don't tell me the department sent you over…just to check up on me."

"No they didn't either." He crossed his arms and leaned into his chair. "Everyone is still worried about you. It's not like you to take a sudden vacation." There was a five second pause in their conversation, before he began to speak again, "Look, I know you're still mad."

"Of course, I'm always mad." Sasuke looked over at his dessert, averting his gaze from his older brother. "It was supposed to be my call."

"Whatever you say."

"Hn."

"Five months wasted and I have you to thank." He pushed the cup towards Itachi. The white substance nearly tipped out of its container.

"There'll be other cases." He got up from his seat and let his younger brother sulk. At least, he knew he was alright for the moment. The truth of it all, he was playing two sides, carefully trying not to cross the lines. Otherwise one miscalculation would've sent a bullet through his chest. Game over and he would then be useless to everyone involved.

Itachi blended in with the crowd at the Piazza, and wondered if he could have done anything differently. His team was close to ending their investigation over a drug ring, while Sasuke's task force seemed to have woven their way into the grand scheme of plans in an unknown way after stopping one of Itachi's team members as an undercover agent. Everything was in danger at that critical tipping point.

When all the units converged at the rundown garage at the outskirts of town, he was faced with the toughest decision. He had to the play the role and the choice he had to make was his alone. The sight of Sasuke being beaten and stripped of his bullet proof vest seared in his memory as he decided to pull the trigger and to continue his own mission he was entrusted in.

The loud blast ricocheted against the rusty metallic walls and Sasuke fell hard to the ground. He watched as the crimson liquid pooled beneath his brother's body, but in an instant he aimed at the prize he was sent to claim as well. And everything afterwards was a blur. At that moment, the adrenaline rush kicked in and so did survival instincts.

He continued to walk through the walkways of Venice until nightfall. Purging the memory of Sasuke, and sending it to the recess of his mind, where hopefully he wouldn't have to relive it again.

Ahead of him, the sloshing of water was heard. His eyes furrowed that his shortcut back to his hotel was blocked with water overflowing from the nearby lagoon. Acqua Alta. He remembered reading it somewhere on the internet before coming to Venice. "Great," he muttered under his breath.

...

Sakura marveled at the sight in front of her. The air was crisp, as it made its way from the Adriatic. She felt it entwine with her pink locks. The moonlight above her highlighted the walkways as she decided to make her way back for the night.

Her heels clicked against the ground as she wove her way through the alleys. A couple of times, she spotted young couples here and there. And at that moment, she felt a stabbing pain in her tender heart. The same feeling that kept clawing its way back to the surface, and with each time, she felt it more sharply. Nevertheless, she could here Ino's voice inside her mind, and the same conversation kept playing over and over again.

She slipped her camera back in its holder, after taking random snapshots of the perfect night. She continued on her trek until her cell phone rang off, "Yeah on my way back to the room as we speak," her green eyes scanned the surroundings as she walked. "I hope you and Shikamaru enjoyed yourselves by the lake that Naruto was boasting about."

"Of course we enjoyed ourselves. Why wouldn't we? It's very romantic out there. It's even better in person than watching it on some DVD."

"And it would be nice if you could've joined us too." Sakura continued to listen. "Did you meet anyone yet?"

"That's a negative," she chuckled. "Look I'm almost there, and you can tell me about your next master plan. Ciao."

"But, I'm not-"

If she hadn't hung up the phone, she would've felt Ino talk her ear off for the remainder of her peaceful walk.

Ahead of her, she heard another couple giggling under the Italian moonlight, and she accidently bumped into them as she rounded the corner. "Sorry," not realizing the pair was that close in front of her. She smiled apologetically and continued on. Come on cupid, where are you?

She rounded another corner, being careful not to crash into unsuspecting strangers or couples. It was something she should've been cautious from the beginning. For one thing, working in hospitals…corners were notoriously for accidental collisions if it weren't for mirrors mounted on ceilings.

"Work with me here," the masculine voice caught her off guard, as she felt the cold bricks dig into her back.

"Who the hell are you?" She hissed back, as she felt the stranger accost her out of nowhere.

His onyx eyes pierced through her own, as she felt his hands work their way up to her blouse. "Someone plea-." His hand covered her mouth and at that moment, she kneed him in the groin. Hoping that little attack would stun him, but then she was met with the same force as before and her shoulders ached as they reconnected the abrasive surface. "Please stop," she whispered, trying to regain her composure. "Who are you?" She felt the back of his hand graze near her neck and then downward.

"Don't be silly, we met earlier today." His voice was barely audible.

Her mind raced a mile a minute, trying to figure out what this jerk was trying to do. She felt the top of her blouse become undone, and somehow they managed to move out of the public's viewing eye.

His tone filled with urgency, "Look, work with me here," his voice was dark and mysterious. He continued to work his hands lightly on her.

"I don't know who you are," she gritted through her teeth. Her heart was racing, as the stranger continued his advances on her.

"Look over my shoulder," he whispered by her ear, as his breath tickled down her neck.

In the dim light, she saw two figures stand by an archway. Each had a cigarette in hand, and they looked in frustration as they lost their catch for the night. One of them tossed their cigarette down to the ground and continued to look their way.

A knot formed in her stomach, and she was beginning to feel dizzy at the thought of what could've happened. Sakura played in his game of charades, and wrapped her arm around his neck, bringing their bodies close to each other. She felt his hands ghost the top of her covered breasts, and she trembled under his touch. She kissed him by his neck, hoping their mini act would deter any future harm to her.

He held her protectively, "Are they gone yet?"

She glanced up from his neck and looked at the other end of the square, where the two men had previously stood. Her eyes scanned the darkness, but she couldn't find them. The pair had disappeared into the night. "Yeah, they're finally gone."

The two immediately stopped, and Sakura quickly buttoned her cream colored blouse in front of her savior.

"I'm sorry if I surprised you back there."

"Just stay back, Mister," she gave a warning stare at him and gathered her belongings from the ground as best as she could.

"I didn't mean any harm back there." He put his arms up, hoping to calm the frighten female.

"Just stay back." She backed into the wall, and knew she was trap again.

"You missed a button." It was all he could say to hopefully diffuse the situation. He watched her readjust her shirt and before long, she flew at him with a punch.

Her fist connected with his jaw and the force sent him reeling down to the ground, knocking him out briefly. By the time he came to, she was already gone from plain sight as if she was just a figment of his imagination.

Maybe he did deserve it or maybe not. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a foreign object…a small black case laid on the cool wet pavement.

Sakura quickly made her way up the flight of stairs. Her hands trembled with keys, and before long, Ino was at the door. "What the hell happened to you?" Her eyes scanned over her friend's current appearance.

"I can't explain now," she was gasping for air.

She felt the room was spinning around her and it was getting harder to breath. The pediatrician stumbled her way through the doorway and collapsed on the ground.

"What the hell happened?" The same question was plastered on Shikamaru's face, as he looked at the petite form that was on the ground.

"I don't know," she tried dragging her friend to the couch. "Where do you think you're going?" She called out after her fiancé, but there was no answer.