Thanks sooo much to Toyroys, ..End88 and Bloody Massacre for reviewing! :D you guys are beyond awesome! :D !

I want to apologise for the fact that this chapter is being published MUCH later than it was supposed to, was feeling sick, and school started again :/

But heres ch.4! I hope it's not as badly written as I think it is, if there are any changes you guys would like to see or any mistakes you would like to point out, please do so! :)

Anyway, I will shut up now, hope you enjoy and please review to tell me what you think! :D

"Itachi, what do you want, eh?" Sakura said as she tried to even out her breathing. This man, with his dark, cold black eyes and imposing figure- she acted tough around him, yet he still managed to scare the crap out of her, without (she thought) really meaning too.

"Nothing, Sakura-san," He said in a soft, yet deep voice. "I heard you shout and then slam the door, I was merely concerned for my hostess's wellbeing."

Her eyes widened. Was he really being serious? "Oh, ok then. Well, enjoy the rest of your coffee. I have some things to take care of." She turned around, so that she was facing the door. As her hand rested on the doorknob, she heard Itachi take a deep breath, the kind someone takes when they want to say something. She waited.

"Oh, and Sakura-san," He paused, "I actually don't like bitter coffee. I can't stand the taste."

Surprised, she answered, "You know where the sugar is." Sakura turned the doorknob and left, lightly shutting the door behind her.

The things she had to take care of involved heading to Karin's place and trying to convince her to go to a bar with her. Neither woman was old enough to drink, but Sakura had saved the owner's ass multiple times and he owed her. Regardless, she just needed something strong to get her mind off the unwanted guest in her house. Also, spending time with Karin was always interesting, to say the least.

Sakura generally got on better with boys, but she did have two good female friends, Hinata being one of them and Karin the other. Most people couldn't stand being in a room with Karin because she is exactly like Sai was- minus the general cluelessness. She was rude, annoying and had a history with Orochimaru (Konoha had taken her in after she was betrayed by Sasuke, swore loyalty to the Fire Country, something about nice chakra. Karin always went on and on about chakra and how it's 'feeling' differed from person to person. Sakura didn't get it).

One day she had just snapped and tried to beat Karin up, resulting in the unusual redhead befriending her. Sakura had no idea why- she decided to give up figuring Karin out a long time ago. They had begun to have regular sparring matches which in the beginning, Sakura always won. But the more they trained, the more skills Karin gained, finding out that she was adept at casting powerful genjutsus without detection. She was then sent to train with Kurenai, Konoha's master genjutsu user, thus cementing her skills. From there on she got accepted slowly by the shinobi of Konoha, and even finding someone who liked her for who she was, a citizen man who worked at the local barbeque place. This led her to finally getting over Sasuke, thus dissolving the grudge she held against Sakura for being his former teammate. Though even after all this development, she still had not learned to stop saying the bad word around Chouji.

They still lacked the easy Forehead/Pig relationship Sakura had with Ino, but they got on well enough and had a deep bond. Plus listening to Karin tune Neji was the funniest thing Sakura had ever seen.

"What colour is that wall?"

"Are you blind?" Neji said in an exasperated voice.

"Are you?"

"No."

"You look blind." Karin fiddled with her glasses.

"Are you saying all members of the powerful Hyuuga clan are blind?"

"Nope. Just you."

"Leave me."

"Even if you're not blind, your Chakra's shit. You stink worse than Suigetsu."

"Go. Away." Neji picked up his pace. Sakura couldn't help snickering.

"You should consider cutting your hair- it makes you look even more like a girl."

"That's it!" He abruptly stopped, drawing stares from the surrounding villagers, "Jyuuken: Sixty-four palm strike!"

"Ahhh!"

Neji had always been very sensitive to comments about his appearance- but being on a team with Gai and Lee, he really couldn't be blamed.

Sakura eventually arrived at Karin's home, a small flat which was filled with luxury items. As she was a sensor-type, Karin actually knew that Sakura was there without her having to knock. The fiery redhead opened the door for her, standing there in her signature short-shorts and boots, eyeing Sakura with a questioning gaze.

"Wanna go for a drink?"

"Hell yes!" She replied in a gruff voice. At that moment the phone rang, and Karin strolled to the phone to answer it.

"Hmmm I don't know…" Her voice changed pitch, from low and gruff to high like a child's voice. Sakura inwardly smirked- must be the boyfriend. "If you insist…"

She put the phone down, allowing a contented sigh to escape her lips. "I can't go right now… something came up… so sorry…"

Sakura gave her a smile that said it was fine, and slowly edged out of the room when Karin yanked open her cupboard door and started pulling random articles of clothing out. It was time to leave.

Shutting the door, a realisation hit her.

Now what was she supposed to do?

Life hadn't changed much in Konoha after the war, and that fact made her happy. Elders still took their grandchildren for days out, villagers still laughed and talked as they worked, and the night was still beautiful- her favourite time to be outside, either training or just taking a walk to enjoy the sights.

The past was still here- and she was stuck with a certain relic of the past for an uncertain amount of time.

Sakura sighed. It looks like she was going to be spending New Years with Itachi, after all.