It had been a week.

And so far, the Fire Country was living up to its name. Every day was more insufferably hot than the last, and as much as she hated to admit it, the heat was starting to get to Sakura's head. The more she pushed forward, the more difficult it became to worry about her most basic needs. She'd been careful to preserve her food supply, but her water canteen had run dry more than once already, and even her soldier pills had depleted remarkably in such a short time. So far, she'd managed to stay away from the main roads and any villages or towns, so no Leaf ninja had crossed her path as of yet, but each day, she became even more wary and suspicious than before.

The heat and the unbearable quiet was making her more paranoid than she liked. She jumped at every noise and slept with one eye open—she rarely slept as much as she should. She'd taught her body to work with an internal alarm clock, so sleeping for two or three hours at a time was no hard task. But she knew, even in her hurried search, the little rest she was getting was taking a toll on her body.

But she knew she was close. She had to be close. Sasuke and his team had to be on the move, and it was hard tracking them on her own, without any ninja dogs or tracking ninjutsu at her disposal. She was doing her best, going off of the information she'd collected over the past few months and her own mental map of the countries, stopping by villages only when she needed to pick up any new info, but at the rate she was going, she felt as though she was just running in circles. But now, she could have gone to the Wind Country and back, but she'd hardly come near the Land of Fire's borders. She'd ended up farther south than she was used to going, but she was sure this was the right way. She was positive. She could feel that distinct Uchiha aura.

But on the seventh day, Sakura caved.

Not enough food, not enough sleep, and too many soldier pills made the heat too strong. She dropped to the ground from the treetops and dragged herself off the road and through the brush. Only when she was sure she was deep enough in the wilderness did she collapse against the nearest tree. Letting out a long breath, she closed her eyes and met darkness.

It was the chakra that woke her.

Though it just barely brushed her consciousness, it was enough to jolt her awake as if she'd been slapped in the face. Normally, she'd be up, on her feet, with a knife in her hand at the mere scent of another shinobi, but she'd hardly had enough rest to consider herself prepared for battle. Instead of landing in a defensive stance, she tripped and stumbled over her own feet, right back to her knees. With a gasp, she shook her head, trying to clear the fuzziness. A flash of black at her right made her twist, but too quickly. The momentum threw her to the ground. Groaning heavily, she hefted herself back to her hands and knees, squeezing her eyes shut so hard she saw stars in the darkness of her mind.

Tilting her head up, she peered through her pink hair at the man standing over her. A black and red cloak, unbuttoned at the top, just enough so she could see his face. A pale face with beautifully slanted eyes, framed by feathery black locks. It was a blurry face, but she recognized it. Or more accurately, she recognized his eyes. She could think of no other eyes so scarlet, so cold, so deadly.

And in that moment, those eyes were all she saw.

The Sharingan.

It was flight or fight, and maybe it was the sudden spike in her anger or maybe the surge of panic that abruptly flooded her veins or maybe it was nothing but the heat. But a growl ripped through her throat and she lunged at him, fingers fumbling for a kunai. They slipped past her fingers, the blades slicing through her skin as they clattered to the ground. She swiped at him, but he was gone in a flicker of black, and again, she fell on her face. Breathing heavy, she scrambled to get upright, whirling around. Her legs wobbled without her consent, and her ankles felt flimsy beneath her weight. She spun, eyes searching for orbs of blood. But she was alone.

"No," she snarled, hands trembling as she raised her kunai. She was still jerking her head this way and that, trying to keep her balance and see everything around her at the same time. "I saw you! I know you're here; you can't hide from me!"

There was silence. There were no birds or rustling leaves. Even the wind was still. Clenching her jaw, Sakura pressed a palm to one eye, trying to see straight, trying to stay on her feet. She fell back, crying out as she caught herself against a trunk. She reached back to steady herself, the rough bark digging into her hands, her legs twisted awkwardly, nearly buckled. Any moment, and they'd give beneath her. What was wrong with her? Was she really that bad off?

Another flash of black caught her eye, and her head followed it instinctively. The movement only threw her off balance again, and she whined as her vision filled with shadows and stars.

"Stop playing games with me, you asshole…" she growled, so light under her breath, there was no way he could hear. Raising her head, she lifted her voice and called out, "Why don't you come at me? Isn't that what you always do? Well, do it! I won't hold back this time! I won't! You know why? Because I hate you!"

Lips graced her ear.

"Hate?" She twisted at the word, but he was already gone. Tripping back, she gasped, but managed to stay on her feet this time. It was getting easier to think clearly. But not quickly enough. She had to recover! Now.

"Stop it," she snarled, clutching her head. It was pounding terribly, reverberating as if someone was striking it with a hammer, and her brain wouldn't stop rattling about inside. "You can't do this to me anymore. I won't let you… No more words. Just…just face me already! I'm tired of waiting for this! Why can't you just face me and let me kill you already!"

It was definitely the heat. Gasping hard, staring at the ground, she shook her head. Face hidden behind a veil of hair, she closed her eyes against the tears threatening to approach.

"At least…" she muttered, pressing her lips together until they were numb, "At least kill me if I can't…"

"You give up easily," was his response, just behind her. His breath ghosted through her locks, tickled the back of her neck.

"Shut up!" she screamed, but it was too late. Even as she spun to face him, the tears were starting to brim. She wasn't surprised to find no one behind her. She could see again, but her head still throbbed and her legs were more unsteady than before. "Damn you! You…you stupid… You keep underestimating me. You'll regret it… I'm stronger than I look now… And I hate you more than you realize! I hate you… You hear me: I hate you! I hate you, Sasuke!"

Her voice rang in the silence until the echoes faded.

Not a bird moved.

Nor the leaves.

Or even the wind.

"Sasuke isn't here, little kunoichi," came his response, hardly a breath away. She could feel his lips again, just barely there. She spun, and this time, he didn't disappear. He ducked back from her lunge easily, and she lifted her eyes to meet his gaze, and as his words sank in, everything seemed to fall into slow motion.

Slow motion as his unfamiliar face fell away, his raven hair fluttering as his stony eyes regarded her with the most unreadable expression. And she couldn't help it when her jaw loosened and her lips parted and her eyes went wide. Everything, for just one moment, froze in place. And nothing moved.

Not even the wind.

"Oh."

"Oh," he agreed, voice velvet soft.

And then everything was in motion, everything a blur. Where once nothing had moved quick enough, now everything was fast forwarding. She spun and kicked, even dodged, and for a bizarre few seconds, she felt as though maybe, just maybe, she stood a chance. She could feel him as he moved around her, like a ghost brushing against her with every motion, and she knew he was toying with her, she knew, but she couldn't stop fighting, not now, not for a second, because if she did, it would all be over, and she'd have wasted everything, wasted it all, on the wrong Uchiha.

"Fast," he commented, so soft, so quiet, she doubted it was even real, but then his fingers were brushing her throat, and she stabbed at his hand with a yell. And again, he murmured, "Fierce."

She ducked a blow to her head and swung at him again. Even though it was futile. Even though she knew this fight wasn't even a battle.

"Determined," he whispered, and she let out a frustrated scream. Just a scream. Of anger and hate, and all of it directed at herself. His grip was suddenly anchored to her arms, from behind, so she couldn't see him. She couldn't budge, couldn't lift her arms so much as an inch. "But are you strong?"

It hadn't been a scream. No, not that. The noise she'd uttered just moments before, that had been nothing but a whine, a whimper, a sigh. Now, she screamed. She screamed as chakra surged through her and she heaved, and yanked her body from his grip. Screaming, she spun around and threw her fist at him, chakra so heavy in her curled fingers, she could hear it buzzing. He dodged again, but she wasn't done. Not done screaming, not done fighting. She snapped a roundhouse kick toward his head, and when he swiftly slipped past it, she slammed her heel into the earth.

The ground exploded around them, and through the flying debris, she could see the momentary surprise on his face. All that gave him away was the slight lift of his eyebrows, but it was enough. Enough of an opening to dart forward, through the rubble, until she was upon him. And then she struck out at him.

And she almost had him. She let herself believe she came so close.

"Indeed she is." He was behind her again. And this time, when he grabbed her, his left arm snagged her by the waist, locking her arms against her sides, and his right hand touched a kunai to her throat.

She trembled.

"What do you want?" she breathed, acutely aware of the heat against her back, of the cold metal sliding silently along her jugular.

"All in good time," he answered, voice low. It was low indeed. Lower than she remembered Sasuke's being. Had Sasuke's ever been that low? "Now, what do you want?"

The world was spinning. It wasn't supposed to be spinning; she was standing still. She closed her eyes, frowning at the tingling in her legs and arms, the sensation that tickled the insides of her skull.

"What do you want, kunoichi?"

"Sasuke," she answered, going limp against him. She couldn't fight it anymore. She wasn't supposed to be awake. Her head rolled back into his chest. "Sasuke…dead."

It was all she could manage to say.

But the darkness was much kinder than the truth.

And so she welcomed it gratefully while his name rang in her head.

Itachi Uchiha.

I basically tried to make this scene a tad more realistic. In her naivety, Sakura rushes in her search for Sasuke. She's anxious, depressed, and angry. So yeah, she's still an idiot. Naruto and Lee did shit like that all the time in the anime; they could just handle it because they have absurd amounts of chakra.

There was one major change I made, and I wonder if anyone noticed, but I took Kisame out of this chapter. One, because it was unnecessary and his presence only contributed to the OOC-ness. Secondly, I like his entrance in the third one better. If allowed three genres, I'd definitely add humor to adventure and romance. I consciously kept this a very light, easy-to-read story. Not something very dense. I did this on purpose. I also made an attempt at keeping the same provocative dialogue while making it less awkward and more in character. I originally wrote this story before we knew much about Itachi's character at all, so I decided to make him very sexual. He's a man aware of his attractiveness, and with that appeal comes a psychological weapon. Since this is a very closed story, with only three characters pretty much, there is a lot of sexual tension that is very hard to ignore. Continue onward if you dare.

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