AN: A very big thank you to FallenCrimsonStar for volunteering to beta for me.


A little older and wiser nine year old Sakura was much better at stalk and surveillance missions. For this one it required following her prey until he was alone and then should make her attack. She kept several dozen feet behind, only staying close enough to keep the clan symbol in sight.

After a good fifteen minutes of this, he stopped and whirled around. "I know you're following me. Show yourself."

Or maybe she wasn't being as stealthy as she thought. She crept out from behind the building she was hiding behind. "How'd you know it was me, Sasuke," she asked petulantly.

When Sasuke did indeed see it was her, he groaned. "Oh no, if I knew it was you, I wouldn't have stopped, but run for my life."

"You don't have to be like that Sasuke. I'm not like your fan-girls always pouncing on you."

"No you're worse," he growled.

She walked over to him. "Look, how about we make a deal that would benefit us both?"

"If it involves my brother in any way-no," he said emphatically.

She stuck her bottom lip out, "But I was going to make sure none of your fan-girls bothered you."

He got interested at that, and turned around placing his hands in his pockets. "And how is that?"

"If you tell me just one, just one place I can see Itachi I'll make sure you can train in peace," she bargained her big green eyes pleading.

He thought about it a moment. He was never going to get as strong as his brother if those idiot girls kept interrupting his training...but he couldn't' do that to his brother. "No - I can't," he said with a little difficulty.

Noticing his hesitation she honed in on that, "If you don't want to help me Sasuke then I guess I can't help you." She did a small shrug. "You're going to try to be doing your target practice and all the girls in the academy will be there, waiting for you." She smiled at him and his blood chilled, this girl was way too scary. "I just want to help you."

He got the threat: either help her or she would inflict all the fan-girls, which was all the girls, on him. He thought it out. He wasn't really selling his brother out-it was self-preservation for his virtue. The girls were getting more brazen with age.

"Fine," he bit out. "He's very busy though, with ANBU and missions and training. It'll be hard to catch him. But just this once and you will never ask me again."

"Of course Sasuke. And I'm glad to help out with the fan-girls because we're going to be in-laws one day."

He groaned, this girl. He wanted to get away from her as soon as possible. "His mission ends today so he should be coming home before night. You can catch him some point between entering the village all the way to our compound. And he always stops at the Hokage building first. And you are not allowed in, so if you don't catch him it's your fault."

Sakura squealed, "Thank you Sasuke. You're the best." She reached out to hug him quickly and he endured it because he was starting to get used to worse, much worse than that, from the other girls.

She turned around and started running towards the main gates. About halfway there, she stopped. She didn't want to ambush him as soon as he came in and Sasuke did say he had to stop at the Hokage building. 'Hmm, he had to cross a small bridge between the Hokage tower and the Uchiha compound. That's where I'll go,' she thought proud of her reasoning.

Once there she set up camp by propping herself up against the edge of the railing on the grass. She would be sure to catch him before he went home. It had been awhile since she saw him, much less spoke to Itachi. The last time she saw him was about six months ago when her and Ino were stalking the two brothers at another restaurant, and after that, they could never locate she tried her best to get to him but he was such a high rank it was impossible and whenever she did spot him, somehow he would always disappear. And then she thought of this plan. Who knew all the fan-girls Sasuke had would give her such an advantage.

Over the years she found out he was super intelligent like Shikamaru so she spent a lot of time studying to get even smarter so that he would like her. He was fourteen now but was only five years older so that was okay. She started plucking at the grass blades which she didn't notice came up very easy under her hand. She sighed, 'I hope he gets back soon.'

At the Hokage Tower, the object of her affection had no idea what was waiting for him. He finished his report with The Third, bowed respectfully, and made his leave towards his home.

It was an assassination mission, which was what the council mostly assigned him now. He knew he was a tool for Konoha, but he loved his village. He didn't mind killing, but he would rather kill to protect instead of killing whomever the council deemed unfit to live. But he accepted each and every assignment given without complaint, and finished them with no errors.

He walked steadily home, glad he was going to make it in time for dinner. With the amount of missions he was given now, he rarely was able to sit and enjoy meals with his family. His mother was worried that he was going to overwork himself, his father urged him to keep going and to build an influence with the council, and his little brother... A small smile ghosted at his lips, his little brother was probably his favorite thing. Sometimes he wondered if he loved torturing his little brother more than he loved his brother. They most times went hand-in-hand so he settled for a tie in his mind.

He was getting closer to his compound when he noticed a very familiar chakra. He could recognize that chakra no matter where it was because he made a point to avoid it. He sensed she was somewhere near the bridge, no doubt waiting for him to come by.

There was only one way she would know he was coming this way. And he had to cross the bridge instead of taking an alternate route, to have a valid reason for killing his little brother when he got home.

No one would dare say Itachi was a coward, and walking across that bridge will be the bravest thing he's ever done because he knew he would encounter fear itself. He walked to the end to the end of the bridge and then-

"Itachi," an overly girly voice called out and then Sakura appeared before him blocking his path.

He sighed. "Sakura," was all he said.

Sakura was kind of surprised that he stopped, but since this is what she was waiting for she spoke. "Um," she looked down and kind of wrung her hands. "I know you're probably tired but I just wanted to tell you that I love you, and I'm learning lots of things so that I'd be a good wife for you."

It was decided. Today was his last day as a Konoha-nin because he was going to kill Sasuke. But the girl was still talking. "I know right now I'm too young or good enough for you. But if you wait for me one day I promise to be perfect for you, okay?"

Itachi stared at her. He didn't know if that was a trick question so he wisely said nothing. She looked like she was about to say more when they were interrupted by a loud hiss.

Sakura jumped and Itachi looked over her shoulder to see a very fat tabby cat raised on his hackles hissing and growling at them. 'Just great, she's going to turn hysterical and try to jump me.'

But what the girl did surprised him. She turned her back to him and said in all seriousness, "Stay back Itachi. I know this cat. Her name is Miss Kitty, and she hates all boys. I'll try to keep her occupied so you can escape."

That surprised him. "Are you protecting me," he asked a little unsure.

She spared him a quick glance. "Don't worry. I encounter her all the time. Once she tried to get this dumb kid Naruto and I had to step in." She held up her left arm and it had an old scratch that was about five inches long. "That's nothing to what she'd do to a boy. Shikamaru had to get six stitches because he was too lazy to run from her before she attacked."

He was amazed, the same age as his brother and not even a Genin, yet she was protecting an ANBU captain. He shook his head in wonder. This would not do. He moved in front of her quickly and ignored her pleads for him to run. If he could cross that bridge, he could do anything. Using his chakra speed, he appeared directly in front of Miss Kitty and softly said, "Boo."

"EEKKK." the cat made the strangest noise and shot three feet up in the air. When it landed, it quaked with fear.

"Okay now let's make a run for it," Sakura called out.

"Not yet," he responded. He crouched back down and held his hand out. "Come here Miss Kitty," he murmured. Upon hearing his voice the cat gave a soft mew and came crawling over to him. She rubbed against his hand and then rolled, exposing her large belly and purring.

"That's amazing," he heard Sakura say who timidly came near the now humbled, simpering pooled cat.

"If you're not on the battlefield, a man never lets a woman protect him. No matter how scary it is, he needs to protect the woman. This cat could have seriously hurt you again, and it may just be a coincidence your friend needed stitches and you didn't," he admonished her. "You should be glad that all cats tend to like me." He still couldn't believe she did something that foolish. He never experienced anyone protecting and standing up for him in his entire life. Even his mother eventually sided with his father with decisions.

"I'm sorry Itachi, I just didn't want Miss Kitty to hurt you," he heard her voice waver. He looked over to see her green eyes fill with tears. "And it's only because I stopped you that we ran into her, and I didn't want you to have to fight her because you're probably tired."

He wished he could tell her that he killed three men on just this mission alone and two of them were in the bingo book. Being in the academy on track to becoming a kunoichi, she would eventually understand those things, but she deserved to keep the innocence the academy offered, something he didn't get to have, having graduated so young.

So all he told her was, "Thank you Sakura, you did well."

Her eyes brightened back up and before he realized that being crouched put them near the same height she lunged herself at him and threw her arms around his neck. "I'll always be near you to help you Itachi, always."

He tried unsuccessfully to pull her off even with a little chakra she didn't budge. Always buzzed though his head-in hindsight, he thought, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad to take the coward's way. But then he remembered her standing there, obviously afraid of the cat yet willing to protect him. So he allowed her to chat incessantly around his neck about becoming the perfect wife for him. He decided he would take all his frustration on his favorite person and through the trauma he was enduring right now, the council may even let him off.