Sakura watched the sun glisten off of the beautiful blade that had once belonged to Sasuke's mother. She really didn't want to kill the blonde that was laid helplessly on the ground, but he had promised to come after her if he were to survive. That was a promise she couldn't afford to let him keep. Without giving it any further thought she lifted the katana into the air and swiftly brought it down. Needless to say she was surprised when a kunai blocked the blades decent.

"I cannot allow you to kill him," Itachi Uchiha said as she withdrew her blade.

"If I don't kill him he will just come after me again," she defended as she dared to look the Uchiha in the eyes. She was greatly relieved to once more find deep onyx orbs instead of the menacing red that he was so renowned for.

"Perhaps you should learn to heed advice when it is given to you," he chided. "If you had done so you would have never had this encounter."

"Wait a minute," Sakura said. "Were you here the whole time? Did you just stand there and watch the whole fight?" She was growing angrier by the minute.

"You fought well," Itachi confirmed her suspicions. "Your skills were impressive and your strategy flawless."

And just like that her anger was gone. She couldn't figure out why such praise from the Uchiha mattered to her, but it did. Maybe it was because he was one of the most powerful shinobi in the world and she knew for a fact that he didn't often give out praise.

"Thank you," she replied keeping her tone neutral. He may have just flattered her, but she would be damned if she let him know.

"Heal yourself," the Uchiha ordered, "I will stand watch while you do so."

Damn, this Uchiha was one confusing mass murderer. One minute he attacks you, then he gives you advice, he spies on a fight between you and his comrade, and then he offers to stand guard while she heals herself. Maybe she was like a rat in a maze to him; fun to play with until the trap is sprung at the end.

"Why are you helping me?" She allowed her suspicion to show in her tone as she took him up on his offer and began to heal herself.

"My reasons are my own," he evaded her question. "It seems that your destination is Wind country. You should find it peaceful there at least for the next few months."

"Thank you," Sakura said knowing that it was probably against her best judgment, but for some reason she believed him. She made a hasty decision based an observation that she had made. "Set down and let me heal your ribs."

"How do you know that they are injured?" He quirked a brow.

"I saw you flinch when you put away your kunai, and you are intentionally keeping your breaths shallow. Don't forget that I am one of the most highly skilled medics that you will ever encounter," she explained.

"Hn," was his only verbal response, but when he took a seat on a large rock she took that as her answer.

Her chakra sent a warmth through him that he had never experienced before. It seemed to mend more than just his broken bones. Itachi had only ever allowed medic-nin to diagnose him. He was no fool anyone trained to heal injuries could just as easily inflict them with the very same chakra. That bore the question why was he allowing her to do so now?

"Why would you heal an enemy?" He voiced some of his thoughts.

"Because I don't think that you are an enemy; at least not yet," She honestly answered as she finished healing him and withdrew her chakra.

"Explain," he replied.

"I am still fun to toy with; I haven't reached the end of the maze yet," was her cryptic response. "Now what are you going to do with him?"

Itachi spared the blonde idiot that was still sprawled on the ground a glance before answering.

"Nothing. I assume by the fact that you were about to lob his head off with mother's katana that he will eventually awaken," he sighed. "I would prefer that he did not know that I was here."

"Fine," Sakura said as she walked towards the shinobi who was prostrate on the ground.

"I told you that I cannot allow you to kill him," Itachi told her as he watched her pull out a kunai.

"Oh I am not going to kill him," she smirked. "I am just going to give him something to remember me by."

With that said she kneeled next to Deidara and with one kunai swipe she sliced his ponytail off. Having done that she carefully removed the scope contraption that he had covering his eye and stood again.

"You realize that you have just declared war," Itachi gave a smirk of his own.

"I declared war on him when I killed Sasori," she shrugged. "I just ensured that when we face off again he will be too angry to think clearly. Now if you will excuse me I want to be far away from here when he wakes up."

Itachi nodded his head as way of telling her bye and was pleased to see that she continued away on a course that would lead her into Wind. Itachi stood over his comrade for a moment longer before he too took his leave. Why had he stopped her from killing Deidara? He and the blonde had a bumpy relationship to put it mildly, and it wasn't like his survival mattered to Itachi's goals. He tried to argue that it had nothing to do with their prior encounter and the emotions that he had seen swirling in her eyes, but it was a lame argument even to his own ears. After all Itachi knew better than most what bloodshed did to the very soul of a shinobi, and if he were to be honest with himself he did not care to witness the kunoichi stain herself in such a way. This did not bode well for his goals. If he could not stand to see her stain her soul with other's blood how was he supposed to stain his own with hers? He should have never let her heal him; he allowed himself a sigh. Having her chakra course through him had been like feeling the very essence of her being in the most intimate way that he could have ever imagined. His plans had been made so long ago, and they included eventually handing the nine-tail over to Akatsuki. Perhaps it was time that he made some revisions to his plans.


Sakura laid on her rolled out bedroll next to the fire looking up at the stars spread across the clear night sky. She could hear nothing except for the crackling of her fire and the occasional gust of wind. It was at times like this that she missed her friends the most. She could feel the loneliness cut down to her very core. She knew that if they were here Sai would be setting off to himself sketching whichever one of his teammates caught his eye. Naruto and Sasuke would be arguing until she finally put a knot on one or both of their heads, and Kakashi would be chuckling to himself while reading his dirty book. But they weren't here and even if they were things wouldn't be the same. She had Kakashi's little book so wherever he was he would not have the comfort of hiding from the world behind it. Sai probably was sketching, but he had one less teammate to choose from. Naruto, her best friend in the world, was probably still not over the heart ache of losing yet another precious person. That just left Sasuke, and if he were actually here he would probably slap her for having left him the way that she did.

The loneliness swept through her again. She had always been such a social person by nature that this was the hardest part of being banished from Konoha. The rest of it she could handle. Sleeping in the open was something that she had long ago grown accustomed to. Running at a fast pace for countless miles had become something that she enjoyed. She had even fought against two S-class criminals and survived. Though if she really thought about it she was quite sure that if Itachi Uchiha had really wanted her dead that she would be. Itachi; the thought caused a sigh to escape her lips. Ironically he had been her first break from the loneliness since she had been on her own. She was certain that Sasuke would do much more than just slap her if he was to discover that. But she couldn't think about foolish childhood crushes right now. No, Sakura Haruno had chosen to cast this burden upon herself, and now that she was out in the cold harsh world she had to take what she could get.

Itachi was her enemy of that she had no doubt, but he had offered her advice on not one but two occasions. He had even gone so far as to stand guard for her while she healed herself, and in turn she had voluntarily healed Konoha's most wanted missing nin. What did that say about her loyalties? No she refused to even entertain that line of thought. She was still loyal to Konoha and her friends, it was just that things were different out here. She knew that in this new life of her own creation everything was no longer so black and white. Sakura now lived in a world that only had varying shades of grey. She just hoped that it didn't make her become so jaded that her friends wouldn't recognize her when at last she was able to make it home. Finally she waved away such troubling thoughts tomorrow by this time she would again be surrounded by people that she knew were her friends. Itachi had said that peace awaited her in wind, and she hoped that it was true.