Merry Christmas!

Well, to make up for not posting Thursday and such, there is uber SakuraXItachi fluff in this chapter! I hope you guys like it!

Read on!

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5:00, Akatsuki Hideout

Itachi swore silently. Just when he was beginning to gain Sakura's trust, Leader had to interrupt him. Oh, he knew whose fault this was: Deidara. The dirty fink had ratted him out to Leader, and now Itachi had to go report to him. Unfortunately, Deidara and Tobi had left today, so Kisame would have to go with them.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. Where were Kisame and Sakura? Scanning the house for signs of Kisame's chakra, he found the two in Kisame's room.

Impatiently, Itachi wound his way through the many hallways of their hideout to the blue man's room.

He threw open the door and froze.

Sakura was leaning on Kisame's chest, and he had his arm around her. Gently, Kisame leaned down and kissed Sakura's forehead. Startled by Itachi's sudden presence, the two looked up.

Itachi took a deep breath.

"Itachi, I know this looks bad…" Kisame blurted, after they both hastily got up. "But it's not like you think!"

Itachi ignored Kisame. "Leader wants us to report to him. We're leaving in one hour," he said, trying to not to let the emotion creep into his voice. Then, Itachi fled as soon as he could, his cloak swishing around behind him.

How dare him! Itachi was furious with Kisame. Only years of calming training had restrained him from killing the blue man right on the spot.

Apparently, Deidara had been right.

"I really don't think you should be flirting with Kisame… un."

Kisame's room, Same time

As soon as he had seen Itachi, all the color had drained from Kisame's face.

"Oh, shit."

Sakura looked equally worried.

Kisame looked at the pink-haired konoichi. "I shouldn't have done that-" he started, but Sakura interrupted him.

"No!" She said desperately. "That's what he said!"

Kisame's bewildered face turned on her. "What are you talking about?"

Sakura looked away.

"Last night Itachi kissed me. I thought it was a dream," she mumbled. "He kissed me, and then he said that he shouldn't have done it…" Sakura looked back at Kisame. "But the thing is… I think I love him."

Kisame frowned at her. "And I just ruined it… I'm sorry."

Sakura shook her head. "You didn't ruin it… Itachi's just a bit jealous."

"Well, then…" Kisame shrugged at her. "Go reassure him of your love."

Sakura smiled.

"Go on. I'll meet you guys in the living room."

Sakura got up and walked to the door. She looked back and smiled at Kisame, a beautiful, lovely smile that was genuine, and hadn't been seen by anyone in a long while. Then, she disappeared beyond the threshold of Kisame's doorway.

Konoha Hospital, Same time

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Shizune!" After an hour of begging, the medic-nin had finally broken. Strangely enough, though, Naruto seemed fine. Shizune ruffled the young man's hair. It must've been the Nine-Tailed Fox.

"I'll check you out of the hospital. You're free to go."

Naruto grinned at Shizune and hugged her. Then, he shot out of the room, fast as lightning, leaving an exasperated Shizune behind.

"What a fruitcake."

Ten Minutes Later, Naruto Uzumaki's House

Naruto packed as fast as he could, shoving weapons and clothes and anything he could fit in his backpack with a speed even Rock Lee would envy.

He was just about ready, when a knock on his door cut through the silence of his apartment.

Reluctantly, Naruto laid down his stuff, and answered the door.

It was none other than Kakashi Hatake.

"Oi! What's up Kakashi?"

The masked jonin peered past him. "Can I come in?"

Naruto nodded. "Sure thing!" He stepped aside and let Kakashi into his house, then shut the door.

Looking around, Kakashi's visible eyebrow went up. "Going somewhere?"

Naruto jutted out his chin. "As a matter of fact, I am! I'm going to find Sakura-chan. Dattebayo!"

Kakashi squinted at him. "You just got out of the hospital!"

Naruto scowled. "Stop treating me like a child! I'm not your student anymore!"

Kakashi sighed. "You're right. Well, I guess I can't stop you…"

"Nope."

"So, I'm coming with you."

5:30, Akatsuki Hideout

Itachi stormed into his room. He felt so mad he could've punched something.

This was all Kisame's fault. He made him sign into AIM that day, he made friends with Sakura, and he was the one in there sucking face with the love of his life!

In the back of Itachi's mind, he knew that this didn't have much to do with Kisame, but he just wanted to blame someone.

Itachi also knew that he shouldn't be mad at Kisame; after all, Itachi himself had fallen in love with Sakura. Nevertheless, it was just too easy to lay the guilt on the blue man.

And on top of all that, there was still the matter of going to see Leader.

It was all too much for Itachi, and he sat down on his bed, holding his head in frustration. When he had kissed Sakura the night before, he had felt sure that Sakura loved him. But today, he caught Kisame and Sakura kissing in Kisame's bedroom. Why was life so cruel?

Itachi got up sullenly and sat in front of his computer.

Pulling up a conversation with Sakura, Itachi slowly calmed down. However, soon his thoughts drifted toward Kisame again, and the Uchiha pounded his desk in anger.

Why Kisame? Why did Sakura choose him instead of Itachi?

Suddenly, there was a timid knock on Itachi's door.

Automatically assuming it was Kisame, Itachi got up and unlocked the door.

If that sorry bastard thought he was going to apologize, he was dead wrong. Itachi yanked the door back violently, but drew back, startled, when he saw that it was Sakura.

Before he could say anything, Sakura started babbling.

"Itachi, I'm really sorry, and I didn't mean to hurt you. There was nothing going on back there, though; we were just talking, and I was thinking about last night and I'm sorry, because I should've, well, what I'm trying to say is… I think I'm in love with you!" she finished in one breath.

Itachi looked at her, bewildered.

"What?"

Sakura looked at her feet; and then she stepped closer and leaned up on her tiptoes.

Itachi realized what she was doing, and leaned down a bit for her. Sakura softly kissed him and wrapped her arms around him.

"I love you, Itachi."

Konoha Gates, Same time

"Are you ready, Naruto?" Kakashi asked the blonde man standing next to him.

"Ready as I'll ever be!" he confirmed. Then, with a mutual nod, the two jonin stepped out of Konoha.

"We're going to find you, Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered, as he crossed the threshold. "Dattebayo!"

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Uh, sorry for the skipping places so much... I had to get the point across.

So? Was it worth it? Naruto and Kakashi go out, just as Sakura has decided that she does, in fact love Itachi. Juicy conflict, and ItachiXSakura fluff: What more could you want?

Again, Merry Christmas, you guys! There's only gonna be a few more chapters on this book, and I'm going to do the third, and final part, of my story. Any requests for the last book?

Keep reading and review!