Chapter 4

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Lust

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The week before Sakura's examination had arrived and she was surprisingly calm, her fight with Tsunade had taken more out of her than she would care to admit and her session with Kakashi the next day was a disaster. He teased her asking was he not worthy of her best performance but it wasn't just the exam that plagued her mind, a couple of days ago Itachi had approached her. She was at the hospital for a change, picking up a few files that had been left unattended to in her absence, she was organising the mess on her desk when a knock came on her office door.

When he walked in, that same unfamiliar feeling took hold of her, she didn't even need to look at who it was. He stepped into the room and closed the door, standing in front of her desk as she kept her eyes firmly on the folders in her hands.

He cleared his throat and she had no choice but to look up, letting that uneasy feeling swallow her whole, as her eyes connected with his own. She tried not to let her fluctuating chakra seem obvious but she somehow knew he could tell.

"Itachi, what can I do for you?" she asked politely as he kept his gaze firmly on her face.

"I have a proposition." He said and Sakura stilled, setting down the folders.

"Which is?" she answered not meaning for it to seem clipped.

"I want to help you transform that Jutsu further." He said and her brows knit into a furrow.

"Why?" Sakura asked him questioningly, looking into his dark orbs searching for an answer.

"It interests me." Was his bland reply as she raised her eyebrow, this just didn't make any sense.

"I'm not interested." She said sharply and she noticed the slight twitch in his temple, clearly Itachi Uchiha was not used to being refused.

"As you wish." He said with the slightest trace of irritability as he took his leave.

Sakura took several deep breaths after that encounter, what Itachi found so interesting about her she would never understand.

She groaned at the memory, she hadn't seen the Uchiha since that rebuff, not that she minded, but a part of her wanted to test that Jutsu again, she was not completely confident about letting herself do it alone. She was certain she would need it in her battle for entrance to the black ops, what would Itachi say then when she used it in front of everyone. She honestly didn't understand what the point of having a good Jutsu was, if one couldn't use it. She pushed the thoughts of Itachi aside and continued on her way to the Hokage's office.

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"What's up your ass?" Sasuke said as he walked past Itachi sitting on the front steps of their house looking aggravated. Itachi had been so wrapped up in his thoughts; he hasn't even registered his little brother's presence until he spoke. Itachi merely glared at him and Sasuke shrugged.

"Fine, it's not like I care anyways." His brother said walking off and Itachi remained in his spot under the sun.

He was not used to being turned down like she had so easily done. It annoyed him and he had been brooding ever since. When she had asked him why, it had taken him off guard. He thought she would simply answer with a yes but he found himself unable answer exactly what it was that made him offer his help to her. He didn't want to admit or acknowledge the truth that was working its way to the surface of his mind.

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Sakura's day had been relatively relaxing for someone who had an ANBU exam at the end of the week. She pushed the thoughts of the upcoming event to the back of her mind; she wasn't ready to think about it yet. She was then consumed with thoughts of Itachi and his offer earlier in the week.

Had she been right to refuse him? He was only offering to help her, yet she couldn't get rid of the questionable feelings that arose when he was around her. The anxiety and intimidation he alluded washed over her with strange intensity and she could feel herself shrinking away even thinking about it. She was quietly thinking about the man, lost in her own thoughts when said person appeared before her. Sakura jumped at his appearance and immediately flushed from said actions.

"Itachi." She nodded her head in greeting, planning on continuing on her path but the man walked in front of her and she stopped, not wanting to meet his gaze.

"Why did you refuse my help?" he asked bluntly and Sakura had a feeling this was coming, she didn't want to have to answer something even she didn't know the answer to.

"You've already helped me enough as it is, I don't want to be further indebted to you." She said honestly, a part of her reasoning was indeed because Itachi had made it quite clear; he had stuck his neck out for the woman already.

"It is not a debt if I willingly offer my assistance." He said coolly observing the Kunoichi who had yet to look at him. He wasn't sure himself what led him to her, he just needed an answer.

"It was very kind of you but I have enough training to be doing, so if you excuse me." Sakura replied irritated at his persistence but as she made to move, he again stepped in front of her and she stiffened.

"I don't often get refused, Sakura. You continue to surprise me." He said catching her off guard and she finally turned her emerald eyes on him. He didn't like how he was being so open with this woman, nor did he like the sensation that went through him as her bright green eyes pierced his own.

Sakura was in a daze, she surprised Itachi? It sounded delusional, Itachi did not think highly of many people and for him to tell her that she surprised him, was like having the Hokage bow at her feet. She couldn't respond to his compliment and she merely stood there staring into his dark eyes, they were always so void of expression. She wanted to see something in them, something to tell her that he had emotions.

Itachi didn't like the way her gaze was penetrating him and he wondered what she was looking for in his eyes. It was an unusual moment between the pair as neither seemed to understand just what was going on. Itachi then straightened his posture and Sakura's stare quickly fixed itself somewhere off in the distance.

"If I am able to surprise Uchiha Itachi," she began smiling, "Then I shouldn't have any problems with the ANBU exam." Itachi smirked and moved around Sakura.

"It is not the exam that should be feared, rather the training when you enter ANBU itself." He said humbly leaving Sakura to think to herself.

She didn't quite know what to make of what just occurred between she and Itachi but at least they were on more civil terms than what they had been a few days ago. Sakura praised herself for not shrinking away at the intense aura he carried with him and headed on her journey home.

Itachi was disturbed by his actions; extremely disturbed, he did not talk to people like he had her. It was baffling the man at just what hold this woman had over him. This was his little brother's teammate and the attraction he felt towards her was not acceptable under his standards. Yet there was something very unusual about the pink haired medic. The way her hands could break a building, yet heal a bone, was fascinating. She was so powerful, yet so gentle, it was disconcerting that one person could have such opposite attributes and it was this that he decided was his fascination.

He was merely fascinated at the strange abilities of the girl.

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The days before her exam whittled away with amazing speed, it was already the day before and she felt like she was going to throw up at any instant. She was also relieved that she hadn't seen Itachi since their...confrontation at the beginning of the week. She pulled on her usual red top and tan skirt, it was an outfit she hoped she would not have to don after tomorrows events.

She landed in their usual training grounds and was met with an unusual sight, all of team seven were present and she eyed them warily.

"What's going on?" she questioned as the boys grinned at her.

"Training, obviously." Naruto grinned. "Your taking on all three of us!" he said happily and Sakura's jaw dropped.

"Do you want to kill me?" she snapped, the day before her exam was supposed to be a relatively easy relaxing day, she couldn't go into the arena tomorrow half dying.

"We'll take it easy." Kakashi said reassuringly, "Your exam is tomorrow, were not going to hurt you." He supplied when Sakura looked no further convinced.

"Your idea of 'taking it easy' and mine are clearly different." She sighed pulling on her gloved hoping they really didn't hurt her.

The boys stayed true to their word, not a single punch marred Sakura's pale skin and after the hour long session with the boys she called it quits. Taking them on was more work for her stamina than anything else, once one disappeared, another came attacking her.

"I say we go eat." Sakura declared happily and Naruto praised her idea as the foursome went in search of food.

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There was something extremely wrong about what he was doing, he knew this for a fact yet he didn't stop himself. He had to confirm just what was wrong with him, he had to make sure before he took any reckless actions. These were the thoughts that lead Itachi to spying on Sakura through her bedroom window.

He felt very uncomfortable about what he was doing, he was invading her privacy and it was more than perverted but Itachi couldn't struggle with his hormones any longer.

Sakura entered her bedroom looking tired and stressed as she stretched and took a sip of water from the glass next to her bed. He watched as she began to undo the buckle at her hip letting the tan skirt drop with a dull thud. Next she slowly pulled off the tight black shorts leaving her in a pair of modest pale pink underwear. She reached for the hem of her top and Itachi felt himself suddenly become hot. He wanted to turn away, feeling wrong at what he was doing but he couldn't move his eyes, fixated on the woman in the room.

She pulled the red top over her head slowly and her long pink hair fell down around her waist leaving her in only her bindings. It was hypnotic, the way she unravelled the cloth, taking it slow and meticulously, the way only years of being a medic could produce. Her breasts freed from their confinement bounced happily and he gulped trying to keep himself in check. She took him by surprise when she placed her hands on them softly massaging her own breasts as if to relieve them of the tight hold all day.

Itachi looked away having seen more than he should have allowed himself, he merely wanted to see her in her own environment, acting like she normally would and it had gone further than he had anticipated, much further. He raced through the trees with blinding speed heading straight to his apartment for a long cold shower.

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Sakura's day of reckoning had come; she felt the trickle of sweat run down her spine on the humid night. Her thoughts had been on the same damn topic as it had been in her three months of preparation. ANBU, The Elite, The Black Ops.

Sighing in her bed she rolled over, turning on the small fan beside her bed for occasions such as this. The cold air was a welcome relief and she closed her eyes hoping unconsciousness would overcome her before she was forced to open them again to face her fate.

"Sakura." said a quiet voice next to her; she stirred for a minute before finally shooting up in the bed. Her mother was beside her shaking her gently whilst Sakura's eyes headed for the clock and her panic subsided - she hadn't overslept.

"Nervous?" her mother asked observing the jumpy girl in front of her who nodded. "You'll be fine, now get up there's an eccentric silver haired man in the kitchen annoying your father."

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Kakashi walked Sakura to the ANBU headquarters where she would meet Naruto and Sasuke. The nerves in her stomach never once left her and if it hadn't been for Kakashi she would more than likely have bolted. They entered and Sakura signed in, the woman at the desk gave her a comforting smile.

"Finally." Naruto sighed seeing Sakura walk through the doors to a room full of seats, several of which were occupied. She noticed there was another examination taking place outside of the room as she walked over to the huge windows to observe the stadium below.

"I can't do this." She said her hands shaking as Naruto quickly made his way to her, steering her away from the windows.

"Of course you can Sakura-Chan!" he said happily trying to hide his own nerves for the woman beside him.

"Don't tell me all our hard work was a wasted three months." Sighed Kakashi making Sakura feel guilty and she shook her head.

"No, it's just the nerves I'll be fine." She smiled giving Naruto's hand a squeeze, as she did so a loud noise came from the intercom, her name was called...she broke his fingers.

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Sakura observed her opponent as he made his way down to the stadium. It was not dissimilar to the ones used for Chunin and Jounin examinations and Sakura reminded herself of her successes in those particular exams, trying to convince herself that this was just another spar like any other.

It certainly wasn't easy when there were so many pairs of eyes watching her from above. Since when did she garner such attention?

The young Hyuuga male before her looked cocky as he held an arrogant smirk to which Sakura's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. What was it that people so quickly misjudged, had years of training taught these men nothing. You never underestimated an opponent...even one with pink hair.

"Haruno Sakura challenges Hyuuga Yoshi in her entrance request for ANBU, standard rules of examination battles apply to which both parties have agreed. You may begin." said Ibiki loudly and Sakura felt a dizzying blood rush to her head as a sudden last minute bout of nerves hit her.

The Hyuuga looked at her and grinned.

"One touch from me and you're done." He said cockily, clearly unaware of Sakura's abilities, hearing his bold yet brash comment freed Sakura of her nerves and she pulled on her gloves loving the sound of the leather as it fit into place.

"One touch from me and you're done." She smirked and her boys felt shivers run down their spine.

The Hyuuga charged for her looking for a quick end to the battle as he said the haunting words 'Byakugan'. She evaded his strikes giving her time to think about her options, she didn't want to reveal her strength just yet; perhaps lulling him into a false sense of security was the best option for this foolish man. The thought of using her newly formed justu was also toying in her mind, she had only successfully used it the once and if it back fired again she would not only fail but completely embarrass herself in front of everyone. Most importantly Itachi, who she had so curtly refused to allow him to help her perfect the justu.

Her brows knit in contemplation as she still seemingly effortlessly dodged his attacks. The Hyuuga grew tired of chasing her and he leapt to a distance firing a barrage of shuriken, Sakura pulled the slim katana from her back and deflected them easily but the Hyuuga in front of her had disappeared and in the reflection of her sword she saw him coming behind her, his gentle fist raised.

Sakura ducked in time to miss an attack that would likely have finished her and she cursed herself for not keeping proper attention on the man. She had come to the conclusion that her new jutsu was what would win this fight for her. She highly doubted she would make it through the battle with a Hyuuga if she didn't. Once he hit her chakra points it was all over, likewise however she just needed to get him close enough to land a punch and he would be knocked unconscious, gentle fist or not.

This man was fast and Sakura was quickly tiring from his unrelenting stamina and force, she had just about missed the fourth palm he had aimed at her. She was never going to be able to form the complicated set of hand signs for her jutsu, she need a distraction. And there was only one way she knew. Springing backwards she placed enough distance between the man and herself before slamming her fist hard into the ground.

The Hyuuga was completely taken my surprise when the ground beneath him shattered and Sakura smirked. She immediately began forming the intricate seals and Itachi leaned forward at the railings, Shisui watched him knowing Itachi was not one to normally take notice of exam battles.

"What the hell is she doing." Mumbled Sasuke beside his older brother, all three had their Sharingan activated and that looked like no jutsu Sasuke had ever seen.

"What's going on is Sakura-Chan ok?" asked Naruto his back to the arena unable to watch the fight.

"Yes Naruto, she's ok but it seems as if Sakura-Chan has something up her sleeve, ne Itachi?" said Shisui watching as Itachi's eyes trailed the Kunoichi as she finished the seals.

"Nothing happened." Deadpanned Sasuke and Itachi held back a smirk, her jutsu had worked perfectly. Sasuke and Shisui could not see it but he could, the green glow that surrounded her, he wondered if the Hyuuga would be able to see it also. He doubted it when said Hyuuga stood amidst the rubble and charged for her.

Sakura stood praying that her plan would work when Yoshi made his move, his gentle fist at the ready she braced herself for impact. This would end her or make her. Her heart hammered in her chest when the first prod from his fingers came. She bit back her smirk at the young man feigning horror as she felt nothing when his hands attacked her with a barrage of angry assaults.

"What the hell!" Genma said disbelievingly as they watched in horror as Sakura was hit the full force of Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms.

"This doesn't make any sense, she could have dodged that." Shisui said watching the pink haired woman land in a heap in front of the Hyuuga. Sasuke was too shocked to reply, he didn't understand, was this something to do with those hand signs, that Hyuuga man hadn't seen her make them. Itachi could no longer hold back his smirk as he watched the almighty Hyuuga Trigrams failed so miserably against this jutsu. He might as well have poked Sakura for all the damage that was done.

Sakura lay on the ground inwardly grinning like a mad woman, it had worked so amazingly, perfectly well and the man before her was lulled into believing he had won. Hyuuga Yoshi deactivated his Byakugan and smirked, kneeling before the Kunoichi. She couldn't have panned a better outcome; she could now easily build the chakra in her hand when he couldn't see it forming, foolish man.

"You should have listened to me Kunoichi, one touch. Maybe better luck next time, hmm?" he said mocking her and she was so looking forward to wiping at grin off his smug face and the rest of the Hyuuga who stood watching the fight.

"And like I said to you," Sakura started, her chakra flowing to her hand so fast she thought it was going to burst as the Byakugan and Sharingan users watched in disbelief as she raised her fist to punch the man's face.

"One touch from me and you're done." She grinned watching Hyuuga Yoshi sail across the arena landing in an awkward position, out cold.

Sakura stood up and dusted herself off as the crowd began cheering her and only then did she it hit her. She had passed. Gut wrenching relief washed over her as a smile broke on her face. She was in.

"Sakura-Chan, I'm so proud of you." Said Naruto running pulling Sakura into the tightest hug humanly possible, using her inhuman strength she gripped his arms and peeled them off her body.

"Thanks Naruto." She beamed as she walked up to the rest of her comrades for their congratulations.

"My little Sakura-Chan is so grown up." Kakashi said mockingly as she punched him in the shoulder turning to thank the rest of her group as they praised her success. As they were turning to leave Sakura saw Neji Hyuuga walking up to her and she froze.

"Neji." She said surprised as he stopped before her, her teammates stilled unsure of what the proud Hyuuga was about to say.

"Congratulations Sakura, you played that very well. Yoshi is a reckless Shinobi and you used his arrogance against him." He said and Sakura smiled with relief. "But I must vouch my clans concern at how you withstood a one hundred percent accurate attack such as the Trigrams as if it were nothing but a poke from a Genin." Sakura panicked, this jutsu was not something she wanted everyone to find out about, it was like a secret weapon and the last thing she needed was the damn Hyuugas' trying to learn it making them effectively untouchable.

"Thank you Neji for your praise but I must apologise I can-" Sakura was cut off mid sentence when Itachi spoke from her left.

"Hyuuga, I believe Haruno-San's jutsu is of no one's concern but her own." He answered dryly if not insultingly as Neji glared at the older Uchiha.

"I was merely curious." Neji replied stoically careful not to insult his ANBU senior.

"Hm, perhaps you should take your curiosity elsewhere?" Itachi said coldly and Sakura watched him with amusement and surprise. Did he somehow think he had a say over her jutsu because he helped her with it, or did Itachi want to keep it secret for himself? Sakura suddenly didn't feel so great about this technique as she should. Before things got out of hand Sakura quickly piped up to smooth things over with Neji.

"Neji you were only enquiring no harm in that, ne Itachi? I thank you again for your congratulations." Sakura smiled politely and Neji nodded his head before leaving.

There was an awkward silence as team seven stood with Itachi, she was sure her boys were aching to know what was going on and Sakura just wanted to go home and shower. She was particularly concerned at the death glare Sasuke was shooting Itachi before Itachi smirked and walked away from the group.

"Well that was entertaining." Mused Kakashi languidly walking towards the exit leaving the trio behind, Sakura made a move to follow her sensei's lead but a hand on her shoulder prevented her from doing so.

"Eh Naruto, I kinda stink so I'm just going to head-"

"Spill." He said seriously as he and Sasuke stared Sakura down.

"That was the technique you had been trying to perfect, wasn't it." Grilled Naruto and Sakura hated when he became serious, it was like talking to a different person. Sakura nodded her head slowly unsure of what to say. From Itachi's reaction it was clear that she was to say very little.

"So it works now?" asked Naruto while Sasuke stood silent brooding over why Itachi was so concerned about it.

"Yes it works." She snapped losing her patience with them.

"Why does Itachi not want you talking about it?" questioned Sasuke his eyes narrowing, Sakura said nothing, how could she answer when she didn't know the answer. It was enough for Sasuke however as his stare left Sakura and Naruto seemed to relax also.

"Whatever, your brother is weird. To ichiraku!" he boomed loudly linking his arm with Sakura leading her out of the arena as Sasuke nodded his head.

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It played on Sakura's mind why Itachi seemed so concerned over this technique, did he find it that valuable. Sure a jutsu that prevented the user from damage was a powerful thing to have but it took a lot of chakra and one only had so much reserves. She was interrupted from her thoughts as her mother called her downstairs complaining about a loud mouthed blonde.

"Sakura-Chan you're late for your own party!" He exclaimed looking at the medics casual attire.

"What party?" she asked panicking, the thought of having to find an outfit running through her mind.

"Did teme not tell you?" he asked looking at her confused expression.

"Ugh! Gimme a minute." She groaned racing upstairs pulling her hair out of its bun and slapping on the nearest make-up she could find. Why they did this to her she would never know. The only remotely appropriate dress she could find was not remotely appropriate. It was short, cutting her mid thigh and it was tight, extremely tight. She looked herself over in the mirror not overly fussed on the deep red dress the clung to her like a second skin but there was nothing else to wear, she sighed fixing her lip gloss and left her room.

"Wow." Said Naruto when she entered the hallway, her hair was slightly messy and Naruto referred to it as the, 'I've just had a good romp look'. Sakura glared at him as it did little to quell her fears over her appearance.

Thankfully when she arrived to the exclusive ANBU lounge she had little to worry about, the women of ANBU were even less modest than she was. Naruto took her hand and lead her towards Sasuke and Shikamaru, she frowned wishing Ino was here but it was strictly ANBU personnel only. Sakura wasn't even officially in yet but it seemed to be custom to have a get together, or rather excuse getting drunk when new members were initiated.

"Hey." She smiled at the two men who seemed to be deep in conversation.

"Congratulations Sakura." said Shikamaru throwing Sakura a half smile and she grinned.

"Thanks!" she perked up feeling less uncomfortable as she looked around realising there were more familiar faces than she thought.

"Is that our Sakura-Chan." She heard a loud voice behind her and cringed as several heads turned to view the newest member.

"Shisui don't embarrass me." She groaned as he slung an arm around her shoulders.

"Why would I embarrass the newest ANBU recruit." He once again loudly stated and Sakura wished the ground would swallow her whole.

Following Shisui was the rest of his team and Hana Inuzuka, Sakura froze as the older woman approached, hoping she didn't recognise her...but she did.

"Sakura! I was surprised when I heard it was you who was our new rookie." She grinned a fang baring as she did so.

"You are familiar with our Sakura-Chan then?" Shisui asked his arm still attached to Sakura's shoulders as her eyes widened hoping Hana would say nothing.

"No but my little brother is." She winked and Sasuke and Naruto chocked on their drinks.

"Eh! Sakura-Chan you never!" yelled Naruto as Sakura turned red whilst Hana laughed along with Shisui.

"It was ages ago." She said trying to defend herself as her boys gave her angry stares.

"It always was entertaining to watch you trying to creep out of his room undetected." Laughed Hana and Sakura was certain the world hated her.

"Can we please change the subject." She groaned mortified.

Itachi was glued to her, the little show she had inadvertently put on for him the night previous had all but made his desires worse. For some reason Haruno Sakura stood out to him wherever her presence was, she was like a glowing pink beacon. He was not at all pleased with the unsettling thoughts in his head about the girl but he didn't wish them away. As he stood watching her turn red from Hana's teasing he found himself slightly amused.

It wasn't the first time he had found himself taken with someone, two years ago he had became close to a Jounin academy teacher. She was beautiful and smart but before his feelings had a chance to develop further she was killed. Itachi didn't believe himself capable of the feelings that came over him when he discovered her passing. It led to a dark few months, he certainly wasn't in love with the woman but cared about her deeply and her death still left him with an unsettling feeling but she was nothing like Sakura. The medic was something new for him, she was like a firework and it excited him.

#

It wasn't long before his subordinates were all feeling the effects of the alcohol as he sat observing the crowd before him. Itachi preferred to sit at the bar on his own, rather than deal with slurring drunks who talked incessantly about nothing.

His eye kept wandering to Sakura as she danced with Naruto, he twirled her around the floor as she laughed and rotated her hips to the music. Her dancing was hypnotic and he noticed he wasn't the only one staring at her, several of the younger ANBU stared hungrily at the new meat. He had nothing to worry over as nobody was getting past his younger brother and Naruto, even as the medic protested.

Sakura was dizzying at all the dancing and drinking, she wasn't going to embarrass herself in front of her new comrades so she excused herself from the crowd to make her way to the toilets. She smiled in her happiness at the triumphant win earlier in the day and rounded the long corridor to the toilets. Upon walking down the hall she saw a figure in the distance and squinted trying to make out who it was. As she came closer she recognised the familiar long dark hair and unwillingly smiled at the older Uchiha brother.

"Hello Itachi." She said politely as he neared her.

"Sakura." He replied with unusual casualness, Sakura paid no attention to this and made to move forward when he took another step towards her. She looked up at him and didn't know what to make of the look in his eyes. A part of her was telling her to run now while she had the chance, yet she remained rooted in her spot as he took another step towards her. He was so close, he was almost touching her and she felt a tingle run through her body. His arms outstretched to either side of her body effectively pinning her to the wall and she felt the tingling sensations multiply tenfold.

Was this really happening or is this some twisted genjutsu? Itachi Uchiha did not have her pinned to a wall with his face inches from her own. Sakura gulped as his breath fanned her face. Whether it was the drink or some secret desire she had yet to acknowledge, her hands reached forward and wrapped around his neck when he leaned down and softly touched her lips.

His lips were soft, she noted as he tugged on her bottom lip, seeking entrance and she opened her mouth obligingly, feeling a tingle as his tongue finally touched hers. He skilfully mastered the balance between tongue and no tongue as his lips kissed and sucked her own as Sakura sunk her hands deep in his raven locks. His hands which had previously been on the wall, found their way to her hips. She wanted to groan when his thumb made circles on her hip bone and he stopped kissing her lips moving quickly down her jaw to her neck.

The thought of getting caught didn't even enter her mind as Itachi sucked hard on her neck no doubt leaving a bruise. She sighed in delight as he pulled her closer into him and at that moment Sakura just wanted to have him. Before she could voice said opinions, he stopped his actions and his hands were once again on wall either side of her head. Sakura opened her eyes disappointed and it was all Itachi needed to see to confirm she wanted him. He smirked and took a step back, her frown deepening.

"You should get back to the party, everyone will be wondering where you are." He said smoothly turning to leave as she remained against the wall looking flustered.

Watching Itachi's back as he disappeared down the hall left shivers running up and down Sakura's spine. She didn't think it was capable for a kiss to illicit such feelings but it did, and she now had an unnerving attraction to the older Uchiha.

"What took you so long, jese." Naruto said as she made her way back to them at the bar. She looked over and saw Itachi sitting where he had been the entire night, acting as if nothing had happened. Sakura tried to remain cool as Sasuke handed her a drink - which she downed - and promptly stomped off to the dance floor. The two men exchanged looks and shrugged off her behaviour to 'women's troubles'.

Itachi wanted to chuckle at the fuming Kunoichi across the bar from him, he hadn't intended to make such a bold move that night but he just couldn't resist her any longer. He needed confirmation on whether she would reciprocate his feelings before he became infatuated with someone who was uninterested. His confirmation couldn't have been clearer at her state of irritation and frustration.

Perhaps pursuing Sakura would be more entertaining that he thought.

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Thank you so so much to all of you who reviewed last chapter, YOU ARE AWESOME, it really does mean the world to me.

I'm sorry for not replying to reviews last chapter though as there was some sort of back log in e-mails from fan-fiction so I only got like a tons of alerts at once and I was like wow! haha

Also this is now on over 80 alerts! Thanks again!