(A\N: Um, sorry that it took so long. I've had a hectic week and my editor was a little late with the chapter. But before we begin, I would just like to specify a few things:

Due to the last few chapters of the manga I feel compelled to explain some things to you: since this story started before all that has happened in the manga (so crazy!) my storyline will not coincide at ALL (ok, maybe a little) with what it going on in the actual Naruto series. Leader really is the Leader of the Akatsuki. So there. It would take me forever to change the entire plot to fit the manga and I'm not even going to try. So yeah…just thought you should all know. Sorry if that upsets some people, but I talked it out with my editor and we both agreed this would be much easier. Besides…my story hasn't followed the manga at all anyway. So I guess it isn't that big of a surprise. Leader's name will be Pein though! That's about it… So anyway, enjoy reading!

Oh, and I was listening to Next Contestant by Nickelback while writing this, so it's sort of inspired by it…listen to the song and you'll know what I mean, hopefully. :)

Chapter 8

Don't Touch

Sakura sighed as she entered the apartment, yawning. Tobi was skipping in behind her, looking as lively as he had that morning. She envied his energy. Just like Naruto. She thought with a smile as she closed the door behind Tobi who was running around the room picking up objects—what little few there were—and looking them over.

"It's just an apartment, Tobi." Sakura muttered as she headed towards the back room.

"It's Sakura-senpai's apartment." Tobi exclaimed. "Tobi wants to know what Sakura-senpai used to have in her apartment before she became Akatsuki."

Sakura nodded absently. "Right Tobi. I'll leave you to it. Is the couch ok?"

"Hai! Tobi likes couches."

Sakura stifled another yawn. "Ok. Then I'll get you a blanket and some pillows ok?"

"Hai! Tobi likes pillows too."

Sakura wondered if there was anything Tobi didn't like. She went to the closet and saw that everything in it was just where it had been when she'd left. She was slightly embarrassed to have Tobi over, since the apartment was hardly livable. She had never really paid attention to it before. There were no pictures on the walls, only a TV in front of the couch and a small coffee table.

"Here you go Tobi." Sakura placed the things on the couch, watching as Tobi popped his head out of the bathroom.

"Sakura-senpai's old bathroom is cleaner than the Akatsuki bathrooms." Tobi confirmed.

Sakura snorted. "Public restrooms are probably cleaner than the Akatsuki bathrooms, no matter HOW many times I clean." She shuddered at the thought. She supposed it made sense, since none of the other Akatsuki members she knew seemed to actually care about personal hygiene. Sure, the others didn't like things too dirty but she swore they'd never heard of disinfecting spray until she'd come. A swipe with a wet cloth did NOT make something clean.

"Sorry we don't have any food, but as you can see, I haven't really been here to restock the fridge." Sakura commented.

Tobi nodded. "It's alright Sakura-senpai. Tobi isn't that hungry. Tobi had ramen, remember?"

"No." Sakura muttered. "I didn't even see you take off your mask. You're just like Kakashi-sensei sometimes."

"Kakashi-san wasn't always a sensei." Tobi murmured, almost in question.

Sakura smiled. "No. He was a genin once too."

"Good." Tobi nodded. Sakura found it slightly odd that he needed reassurance about Kakashi, but she shook it off. This was Tobi she was talking about.

"Does Sakura-senpai think Kakashi-san is cool?" Tobi asked. "Tobi thinks so. He has that cool mask."

Sakura laughed. "Yeah, you two have a lot in common." She joked as she gave a soft sigh. "You never cease to amaze me Tobi."

He merely rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish gesture. She wished she could see his face. She could just imagine him giving that little embarrassed grin that Naruto would always plaster on his face when she praised him.

Tobi was definitely one of a kind. That much was certain.

Sakura gave a soft sigh as the conversation about politics with Stone finally died down. As fascinating as that had been, Sakura was only too happy to get off the subject.

"Well, Sakura, what do you think about helping us out a little?" Naruto broached. "I mean, you did say that the Akatsuki would help us since we're allies, right?"

Sakura nodded. "Hai. At the moment it will only be Tobi and I, of course. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, Stone has been invading our borders with small attack groups." Jiraiya supplied. "We need to find a way to get rid of them without making it look like Konoha is trying to start a war. So far we've been doing so covertly, but the attack forces are getting larger."

Sakura nodded.

"Why can't Konoha just attack the Stone shinobi, Sakura-senpai?" Tobi asked.

"Stone is pulling this off on purpose." Kakashi supplied. "They're sending their shinobi to attack us in hopes that we'll defend ourselves. This will give them the right to declare war on us because we attacked them."

"But they attacked first." Tobi grumbled.

"But that doesn't matter. They'll find a way to make it look like our fault." Yamato shrugged.

"That way, the other villages will be hesitant to ally with Konohagakure, since Konoha started the war in the first place." Sakura finished.

"Che. Politics." Naruto grumbled. "I hate 'em."

"Then why did you become Hokage?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto merely glared.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Sai asked, his fake smile in place.

Sakura smirked. "Let Tobi and I handle it."

"Eh?"

"If the Akatsuki attack the Stone shinobi at the border, then the other villages can't say it was Konoha that killed them, since everyone knows how much Konoha hates the Akatsuki." Sakura grinned.

Naruto grinned along with her. "Have I ever told you how much I missed you, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura laughed. "Don't worry about it. So, what do you think?" She looked to the others and waited.

"Sounds good to me." Jiraiya shrugged. "But it's the Hokage's decision." The others nodded.

"We haven't asked Tobi if he'll do it." Naruto drawled. "Is that ok with you, Tobi?"

"Hai Hokage-sensei!" Tobi nodded vigorously.

"Eh?" Naruto blinked. "Sensei?"

Tobi nodded again as the others stared at him incredulously. "Hai. Tobi thinks Hokage-sensei should be called sensei."

"Er…why?" Sakura asked, seeing the others share a 'this guy is delusional' look behind her.

"Tobi doesn't know…Tobi just thinks that that's what a sensei should look like."

Naruto grinned, "Thanks Tobi!" He looked to Sakura and winked. "I like him already. He's a lot nicer than those other Akatsuki grumps."

"You just like him because he called you sensei." Sasuke muttered. "Dobe."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him.

Kakashi sighed, shaking his head.


Sakura shrugged before she left Tobi to his own devices, heading into her room. She flipped the light switch on and looked around, gaze thoughtful. It had been so long since she'd stepped foot in this place.

It was the most lavishly decorated room in her apartment but that still wasn't saying much. She placed her Akatsuki hat and cloak on the bed, ignoring the drab black color of the sheets. It had always just been easier to buy the dark colored comforter, since she had rarely spent time in the bed except to sleep. She was starting to regret taking the easy way out, because the shade of the pillowcases matched Itachi's hair perfectly. It was going to be a long night…

She sighed as she sat down on the edge of the stiff mattress, looking at the sparsely covered walls. On the bedside table were three pictures. She lifted the first, brushing off the thin layer of dust. It was of her, Ino, and their parents when they had gone to the beach one summer. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been to the beach. She and Ino had both come back as red as lobsters. Of course, Ino had tanned beautifully afterwards and Sakura had merely peeled for a few weeks.

The second picture was of the original team seven: the infamous picture of Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto tilting their headbands to look exactly like their sensei who stood behind them, looking amused at the whole situation.

The third picture was of Sakura, Naruto, Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai. There was no Sasuke. The picture wasn't as cheerful and bright as the first two. There was an underlying sadness in Naruto, Kakashi, and hers' eyes. Sai had his fake smile and Yamato looked as if he didn't really know what to do in the situation, as if he felt naked without his ANBU mask on.

Sakura took the pictures out of their frames, looking at the dates on the backs of them as well as her old scrawled handwriting, explaining the situations. She laughed softly at the hearts she had drawn around Sasuke's name. She had been so immature back then…

Sakura reached into her obi, pulling out the faded, ripped picture she always kept close to her. She unfolded it, four pairs of charcoal eyes staring back at her.

"Where did you get that?"

Sakura didn't look up as Sasuke sat down on the bed beside her. "It was in your room in Sound." She ran her hand over the creased edge that had cut Itachi off from the rest of the Uchiha family.

Sasuke placed his hand over hers, pressing the crease back down. "He doesn't deserve to be seen with them."

"Sasuke…" Sakura sighed as she took his hand off of hers. She stared him straight in the eye, her gaze sympathetic. "Just don't."

Sasuke shook his head. "I'll never forgive him for what he did."

"I never asked you to." Sakura muttered. "All I asked you to do is stop." Stop what she didn't know. Maybe his insane thoughts of revenge.

"I have to kill him."

"No. You don't."

Sasuke gave Sakura an annoyed stare, but she didn't seem to notice it. Or perhaps she did and she just ignored it. She seemed to be good at hiding her emotions now. Like the fact that she hadn't even seemed surprised that he'd slid through her window into her bedroom.

"You can have it back." Sakura pressed the picture into his hand. She smiled softly. "It's your family after all."

Sasuke nodded, taking the picture and slipping it into his pocket. "Arigato. And Sakura?"

"Hm?"

"I do. If I don't kill him then everything I've ever done has been in vain."

Sakura shook her head. "Do you think your parents really wanted you to destroy your own life and your own happiness for revenge?"

"But my Clan—"

"Is dead, Sasuke, save for you and your brother and..." Sakura looked away for a second as if she had meant to add another name to that list but had stopped. She merely cupped his face in her hands and stared him in the eye. "And there is nothing that will bring them back. Do you think that sprinkling Itachi's ashes upon their graves will truly bring you closure?"

She didn't want to know his answer. She was afraid he was too far gone now.

"I don't know."

His answer was truthful and world-weary. He didn't move away from her touch. In fact, she noticed that he leaned into it, as if he needed to feel her skin against his. It unnerved her, because she didn't want him to think there was anything more between them than there truly was. But she felt it was appropriate to comfort him in what little way she could. There were many things he would have to come to terms with soon and she wanted to help him with that.

He finally spoke again, closing his eyes with a sigh. "Sometimes I just want to close my eyes and fall asleep and wake up to my mother making breakfast and my father reading the paper and Itachi telling me he can't train with me and poking me in the forehead like he used to do. But it will never be like that again, Sakura." His eyes snapped open and he glared, though she knew the glare wasn't directed at her but at something far away, "And it is because of him that it will never be the same."

Sakura let go of him, sighing as she stood. "Oh Sasuke…I'm so sorry that all of this has happened to you, you know that."

"Hai."

"But…you have to understand…it all happened for a reason. I don't know what it is, but I know that something good will come from it all in the end, alright?" She knew that what she said were just words of comfort that had no real weight or truth in Sasuke's eyes, but she felt as if they were true.

"I promise you Sasuke…" Sakura gave him that old smile of hers as she gave his hand a squeeze. "I promise you that you'll find your peace with it all one day. And then you'll smile and you'll be happy."

"One day." Sasuke said as if he didn't believe it himself.

"And on that day, I'll be happy too." Sakura gave a soft laugh. "Because my greatest wish is that you, Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, and Yamato find happiness."

"Why?" Sasuke questioned, brow furrowed. "Why do you care so much about us? Why aren't you like Ino or Temari or Tenten or Hinata? Why don't you care about your own happiness?" Because if you were like them I wouldn't love you so much. Why can't you just stop being so beautiful?

"You're family, Sasuke. All of team seven is my family." She looked down at her hands. "I always felt so horrible when the holidays would come around and I knew that all of you would be spending it alone. I felt selfish and…spoiled for having a family to laugh and share those days with. I was ashamed of myself for my happiness because all of you had been through so much." She finished in a whisper. "And yet I couldn't understand what any of you had gone through. I didn't try either, because that would have just made all of you angry."

Sasuke nodded. He hated it when people tried to sympathize and say, "I know what you're going through." Because Sakura was right, no one knew exactly what another person was feeling. But he felt guilty for the fact that he'd always viewed Sakura as a spoiled little brat when they had been younger. She'd always been a burden.

And now I wonder if I could go on without you holding me up, he thought dryly. Who's the burden now, eh?

"Didn't you read my letter, Sasuke?" Sakura's voice was trembling now. "I just want you and Naruto to be happy!" She seemed almost angry at him for his stubbornness.

"I can't. Not until he's dead or…" Sasuke stopped himself as he stood abruptly. He looked at Sakura who was watching him almost warily, to the pictures of their team that lay on her bed.

"Oh Sasuke…" Sakura reached out a hand, but stopped herself. She couldn't make the same mistake she had with Deidara. She couldn't let him think there was anything more than friendship between them.

"Naruto is Hokage. He has Hinata." Sasuke stated. He took a step towards her and she took a step back. "But what do I have?"

"Sasuke…" Sakura began, uncertain of the look in his eyes. That look didn't fit Sasuke. He should stare at her in annoyance or acceptance with that smirk of his, never that look. As if he was undressing her with his eyes.

"I have no one." He whispered as he placed his arms on either side of the wall, trapping her between them. Sakura's eyes darted from the window to the door, hoping to hear Tobi come running down the hallway to say he couldn't sleep. But he didn't, and Sasuke leaned in closer.

"I don't have you…" His lips skimmed hers, before he captured her mouth with his.

There was a second of stunned silence. It ended quickly, however.

Sakura placed her hands on his chest, pushing him off of her. "Stop it!" She managed to sputter out. "I mean it Sasuke! Don't make me hit you…" She threatened shakily, breathing in a deep breath.

Sasuke grabbed her hands at the wrists, even as she told him no. Then he brushed his nose against her cheek. "You don't love me." It was a statement, not a question.

"Don't make me say it Sasuke." She whispered, still struggling. "Just let me go. I can't love you the way you want me to."

"You can't? What's stopping you Sakura? That means that you still have feelings for me, ne?"

"Don't twist my words." Sakura amended, trying to remain calm. She'd finally patched up her relationship with Sasuke and he was ruining it. Didn't he know what this was doing to her?

His breath still tickled her neck, before he pulled away and looked her straight in the eye—charcoal to jade.

"Sasuke this is absurd—" Sakura began again, turning her own glare on him. "Let me go."

"You said you wanted me to be happy Sakura, well if I can't kill my brother then the only way I can be happy is with you. You want me to be happy don't you? That's what you said." He taunted in that silky smooth voice, just like Itachi's.

"I can't do that." Sakura wailed, trying desperately to get him to understand. Was she going to have to tell him straight out? He would finally leave her alone then, wouldn't he?

"Make me happy Sakura…" Sasuke whispered hoarsely, and Sakura heard the desperation and need behind his words. It wounded her to have to tell him the truth, but it had to be done.

"I can't." Sakura's eyes were wet with tears as she shook her head. "I can't because I'm in love with—" She stopped as a hand slammed down across her mouth and Sasuke was glaring at her, eyes no longer dark grey. They'd become crimson.

"Don't say it." Sasuke hissed, hand still over her mouth as he shook his head. "Don't ever say it Sakura." Then he let go and she breathed in deeply, opening her mouth to speak. But he cut her off as he pressed his forehead against hers, still trapping her as he stared into her eyes.

"I won't lose to him Sakura. I won't let him take you away from me like he took away my parents."

"Sasuke—"

"I will kill him and you will love me and you will stay in Konoha."

"—will you just listen—"

"And then I'll be happy and so will you and we will revive my clan and—"

SLAP.

Sasuke blinked as he lifted a hand to his stinging cheek. Tears ran down Sakura's face as she wrenched her other hand out of his grasp. She shook her head. "I'm sorry Sasuke…but this is how it has to be."

Sasuke's eyes slowly lost their crimson hue and she saw his jaw tighten as he looked down at his hand. Then he looked back up at her once more, and his gaze was heated. "No Sakura. I won't lose. This isn't over."

And then he was gone and a small piece of paper fluttered to the ground. Sakura immediately knew it was the creased corner of the Uchiha family photo. Sasuke had finally ripped Itachi out of it for good.

Sakura rubbed her wrists and slumped to the ground beside her bed. She gave a soft sob as she threw herself onto the mattress, cursing Sasuke and herself and anyone else she could think of.

He was going to ruin it, wasn't he? Sasuke would never be happy until he got what he wanted and the one thing that would make him happy was something he couldn't have.

Sakura gave way to soft sobs as she let them soak the blanket. It felt coarse and scratchy against her wet cheek.

Don't do this to me Sasuke. We're family. I wanted to give you, Naruto, and the rest of team seven a real family.

A small part of her wanted to fall asleep and then wake up to find it was all a horrible dream. She would wake up in her bed and realize she was late for training with team seven.

Don't tear us apart…

Another part of her wanted to see her parents again. Her mother had always known how to fix Sakura's problems. Sakura just wanted to fall into her arms and cry into that ridiculous pink apron of hers that said 'kiss the kunoichi' that her father had gotten her mom for their anniversary. But she couldn't go see her mother. She couldn't…

don't…don't be like Itachi was and destroy the family you have left. Please…

She wanted Itachi to kiss her and scold her for being so emotional and letting his 'foolish brother' get to her.

All I've ever wanted was to fix things between us all…and you're ruining it. You're killing it.

She gripped her stomach as nausea filled her and she leapt up, throwing the door open with a bang as she lunged for the bathroom.

Tobi found her a few seconds later after he'd sped down the hallway at the sound of the door slamming against the wall. She was bent over the toilet, puking as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Sakura-senpai?"

She didn't answer him, even as she finished throwing up. She just put her head in her hands and cried silently. There was no sound, and Tobi knew it was because she prided herself on not letting anyone hear her cry anymore.

He knelt next to her on the linoleum, "Is Sakura-senpai ok?"

She took a few deep breaths, before she slowly nodded. "Hai…I'm fine Tobi."

"It's ok Sakura-senpai. Sometimes we have to cry. Tobi remembers that he used to cry when he was little." And then Tobi gave her a hug, holding her against him, not even realizing that he had somehow remembered something about his past however insignificant it had been. "And when Tobi cried he wished that he had someone to hug him, but Tobi never did. So Tobi will hug Sakura-senpai when she cries."

"Oh Tobi…" Sakura whispered. "I've lost a friend tonight."

"Did Tobi do something wrong?" Tobi asked, suddenly panicked.

"Not you Tobi." Sakura replied softly. "Someone else."

"Oh." Tobi nodded, letting her lay her head on his shoulder. "Well, sometimes we lose friends, Sakura-senpai. Even though Tobi doesn't remember much, he remembers that he used to have friends."

Sakura said nothing as she tried to regain her composure. She let Tobi rub her back soothingly and she was reminded painfully of her mother once more. She could almost picture Tobi in that same ridiculous apron.

"Sometimes Tobi wishes Sakura-senpai didn't remember everything and she was like Tobi. Then Sakura-senpai wouldn't cry."

Sakura gave a haggard laugh as she gave Tobi a squeeze. Me too, sometimes… "Thanks Tobi. I think I just need to get this nasty taste out of my mouth now. You can go back to bed."

Tobi jumped up. "Tobi will go get Sakura-senpai a glass of water!" And then he sped down the hall before she could protest.

Only when the glass was firmly pressed into her hands and she'd taken a few small sips was Tobi content enough to go back to bed. He told Sakura goodnight after making her promise to take him to see Hokage-sensei in the morning.

Sakura watched him go and merely stared into the darkness. She wouldn't—couldn't let him see the fear shining in her eyes. She was so afraid…she was afraid that Sasuke would go through with his promise to kill Itachi. And she was afraid Itachi would go through with his promise to kill Sasuke.

She was afraid that one of them would fulfill their promise.


The next morning, Sasuke wouldn't have believed anything had transpired between the two of them the night before if he hadn't been there to witness it—and the fact that Sakura didn't spare him a glance as she sat down in the empty seat beside the Hokage's desk. Her back was a bit stiff, and she stared straight at Naruto as he talked, so that she wouldn't have to look over at the young Uchiha.

Naruto grinned at them both, completely oblivious to the fact that Sasuke looked like he wanted to jump Sakura and start making out with her on the floor right then and there and that Sakura was silently praying Sasuke wouldn't do whatever it was he was thinking about.

Tobi was as oblivious as Naruto—in fact, he seemed to be completely absorbed in tracking the fly that was buzzing around the room.

"So the others should be here soon." Naruto continued as he looked over some paperwork. He was filling out papers for the upcoming Chûnin exam. Or at least that's what Sakura deducted from the few words she could see without making it look obvious that she was trying to sneak a peak.

"And when they come back we can finally have that happy reunion we wanted. The other one was kind of ruined…" Naruto trailed off, not liking the silence.

Sakura nodded with a laugh. "Yeah. You know, Hinata has quite a slap."

"She's really sorry about that." Naruto immediately apologized. "That entire night she was afraid you hated her for it."

Sakura smirked. "I kind of deserved it Naruto. It just surprised me, is all."

Naruto nodded, relief apparent on his face. "Yeah it surprised me too."

"So I'm curious, how did you finally get Hiashi-san to let you two become engaged."

Naruto's face fell a bit. "Well, you know how little he used to think about Hinata…"

Sakura's gaze darkened as well. "Hai."

"He told her it didn't matter if she married me, because she's a failure anyway and Hanabi is going to become the heir."

Sakura gasped. "That's unfair! She's stronger than Hanabi anyway!"

Naruto nodded, frowning. "I know. And then Neji got up and defended her, saying that marrying me wouldn't be a failure, especially since I was going to become Hokage one day." Naruto grinned, as if remembering that moment with fondness.

"Wow…" Sakura whistled. "Neji must really respect you, Naruto." A lot has happened since I left.

Naruto snorted. "Yeah. I guess so. Or maybe he just did it to get on Hiashi-san's nerves. He seems to be doing that a lot lately."

"Are he and Tenten finally together?" Sakura leaned forward eagerly. She supposed she could get all this gossip out of Ino when she came back, but Sakura didn't know how long she would be in Konoha anyway so she had to get it all now.

"I guess you could say that. I've never seen Tenten so happy. And I don't think I've seen Neji that happy before either."

Sakura smiled. "I'm glad. I've always wanted those two to finally hook up." Tenten has always been waiting for you, Neji. She can give you the love that I couldn't.

"This doesn't sound like a heated ninja discussion to me." Ino laughed as she walked inside, Shikamaru, Asuma, and Choji behind her. "Hey forehead."

"Hello Ino." Sakura greeted. She was silently relieved that wee suddenly other people in the room. Tobi and Naruto had been oblivious, so they'd been little help.

"HI!" Tobi jumped up. "Wow! Sakura-senpai, that girl has the same hair as Deidara-senpai!"

Sakura blinked, looking from Ino to Tobi before she laughed, "You're right!"

"You mean that blonde guy who kept saying 'yeah' after everything?" Ino asked with an eyebrow raised. "Ha! We so do NOT have the same hairstyle."

"Yes you do." Tobi argued.

"No I don't."

"Uh-huh."

"Uh-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"Uh-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"Who ARE you?" Ino finally asked, hands on her hips.

"This is so troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered to himself. Asuma merely took a drag on his cigarette and Choji looked rather confused.

"This is Tobi." Sakura intervened. "Leader-sama sent him with me to Konoha."

"This guy is hilarious." Naruto grinned. "You'll love him."

"Naruto likes him, eh?" Shikamaru asked. "This is going to be troublesome…"

"Sit down already." Asuma drawled as he motioned to the seats around him. He'd already plunked himself down after placing the mission scroll on Naruto's desk.

"So? Has Grass agreed?" Naruto asked, all business once again.

Shikamaru sighed, "They said they needed more time to deliberate."

"Which means no." Ino finished for him.

Naruto frowned, before raking a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I figured. It's ok. I mean, I got word from Gai and his team telling me that they've allied us with Smoke."

"That's good." Choji commented, munching on a bag of potato chips.

"EEK!" Ino jumped out of her chair, swatting away at the man behind her. "Don't touch my hair!"

"But Tobi wanted to play with it." Tobi whined. "Sakura-senpai always lets Tobi play with her hair. And Ino-san's hair is even longer."

Ino looked at Sakura, who shrugged. "He's really good at French braids."

There was a small moment of silence as Ino looked from Sakura, to the ever-hopeful Tobi, before she slowly sank back down in her chair, eyes still suspicious. "Oooook…"

"Yippee!" Tobi did a small victory dance before he began braiding.

"How old is he, five?" Asuma smirked. The others were trying to hold back their laughter at the sight of an Akatsuki member braiding Ino's hair.

Sakura grinned. "I don't know. But I think Ino likes him already."

"Of course she does. She usually gets along well with people on her own maturity level." Shikamaru smirked.

Ino shot him a glare but didn't move as Tobi kept working. "Don't listen to him Tobi. He's a lazy bum who never brushes his hair. He doesn't understand why some people like to look pretty."

Shikamaru shook his head in annoyance while Asuma grinned. Choji just continued munching his chips.

During all this time Sasuke had remained silent. His gaze continued to go to Sakura, watching her smile and joke with the others. Sakura seemed to be trying her best to ignore him completely, becoming engrossed in a conversation with Ino who was ooing and awing over the wonders Tobi was doing to her hair. She'd pulled her small mirror out of her pocket and was going over every inch with a grin.

"When are the others coming, do you think?" Sakura finally asked, still ignoring Sasuke. Dammit won't he stop staring at me? I'm not a freaking piece of meat!

"They should be here by the end of the night or tomorrow morning, maybe." Naruto answered. They all blinked as Sakura's cat walked into the room, grinning. It curled around Sakura's leg, purring.

Sakura absently bent down and scratched his ear. "What is it cat?" Where have you been Was the unspoken question.

"You get to have some fun soon, mistress." Was the cat's only reply.

Sakura frowned, ready to order him to clarify when the door burst open. Sakura cursed inwardly, noticing that she didn't recognize the chakra. She grabbed Tobi, throwing him towards the bookcase.

"What is it Sakura-senpai?" He asked curiously. "Are we playing hide-an-seek?"

"Shh!" Sakura hissed, pressing against the wall as the two Chûnin ran into the room, breathing heavily and covered in blood and scratches, half delusional from pain. Sakura's first instinct was to go and heal them but she refrained herself from doing so.

"H…Hokage-sama…" One choked out, even as Ino knelt down and began healing him. "S…Stone shinobi…heading towards the village…tried to keep them out…couldn't attack directly…four squads…"

Naruto stood nodding. "Ino, get those two to the hospital." Ino nodded as she and Choji grabbed them and began trudging towards the hospital.

"What are you going to do, Hokage-sama?" Asuma asked.

"He's probably going to send us…what a drag." Shikamaru groaned.

Sakura stepped out of the shadows, grinning, "Time to earn our keep, Tobi."

"Er, Sakura?" Naruto and the others blinked as she placed her Akatsuki hat on.

Sakura laughed. "Like I said before, if the Akatsuki kill all those Stone shinobi, you have nothing to worry about. Tobi, stay here." She ordered. "I'll take care of them."

"A bit high and mighty now are we, eh?" Shikamaru grinned teasingly.

Sakura smirked. "Come along and see."

"I'm going." Sasuke spoke.

Sakura didn't spare him a glance. She merely brushed past him. "Your Hokage will be the judge of that."

Sasuke's gave her a small look and suddenly everyone felt the underlying tension that had finally surfaced between the two of them. The room became stuffy as Sakura and Sasuke glared at each other for a moment, neither ready to back down.

"Er…sure teme…you can go…" Naruto hoped that Sakura wasn't going to kill him for allowing Sasuke to go with her. He stood taller, becoming as commanding as any Hokage before him. "Asuma, Shikamaru, you two will go with Sasuke and Sakura. Tobi will stay here with me. When Ino gets back I'm sending her to go and get Sai, Kakashi, and Yamato. Go."

"Hai Hokage-sama." Sakura grinned as she tipped her hat in his direction. "Be a good boy Tobi." She said as an afterthought before she sped out of the room, Asuma, Shikamaru, and Sasuke behind her.

The cat sat on Naruto's desk, cleaning himself. He looked up with another grin. "I told you that you'd get to have some fun."

"This isn't what I'd call fun." Naruto muttered.

"Don't worry! Sakura-senpai will take care of everything."

Naruto nodded, still unsure of his decision to let Sasuke go. If something went wrong, Sasuke and the others would be in the middle of the fray. And he had a feeling that something had gone one between Sakura and Sasuke the night before. Everyone might think he was a dunce, but he saw a lot more than they gave him credit for.


Sakura felt the tingle of excitement rush through her at the prospect of a battle. It had been a while since she'd fought an actual fight. Sparring matches with the other Akatsuki members and killing some remaining sound guards at the different bases did not count.

She'd hopefully get to try out some of her jutsu that she'd gained from her Sharingan.

She was still on edge from the night before with Sasuke, but she knew she couldn't let it get to her. If Sasuke was going to act like a little child who was brooding over some toy he couldn't have then so be it.

She just really hoped he'd get over all of this. She didn't want to lose him again. And she really didn't want Itachi to kill him. But she was still pissed at him for making her choose so abruptly like that, for making her slap him. Ok, so he hadn't grabbed her hand and whipped it across his face, but he might as well have.

And at the moment her anger was overriding the despair—and Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Asuma were getting the brunt of it.

"You guys stay out of sight." Sakura spoke, feeling edgy at the fact that Sasuke was still staring at her. "The Stone-nin can't find out that you were here or working with me. Just stay out of the way and let me do my job."

Shikamaru shrugged, Asuma raised an eyebrow, and Sasuke looked like he was about to protest but decided against it. He merely gave a small smirk in her direction.

Sakura heard the rustling of leaves in front of her and jumped down onto the ground, waiting.

Let the fun begin.

The Stone shinobi burst into the clearing, stopping as the light assailed them and they immediately recognized the cloak of the person standing in front of them.

"…Akatsuki…" The main Jônin squad leader ground out.

Sakura remained hidden inside of the cloak. "Che. Out of my way." She snapped.

"Let us pass." The Stone-nin took a step forward. "We aren't here to fight the Akatsuki. We're heading to Konoha."

"Do I look like a need an explanation?" Sakura laughed scornfully.


Sasuke, Asuma, and Shikamaru inwardly shivered at the cold, scathing tone to Sakura's voice. Her appearance as a bloodthirsty Akatsuki member was flawless.

Sasuke hoped it was just good acting.


"Please Akatsuki-san…" The Stone-nin broached once more. "Both of us have a common enemy, the Hokage of Konohagakure."

"He is neither my enemy nor would I deem him common." Sakura laughed, before she threw a kunai, which cut off the left half of the man's bangs, making the pieces of hair flutter down to the ground.

The Stone-nin all had their kunai out, getting into battle positions. The leader of the squad merely stood there, eyes calm. He didn't even lift his hand to touch his severed hair.

"We are both civilized people, Akatsuki-san." The squad leader spoke soothingly. "We can talk this out."

"There is nothing to talk about. Leave." Sakura ordered.

"Perhaps we can come to an agreement…" The stone-nin continued. "I'm sure you can see how valuable an alliance with stone would be for the Akatsuki."

"We don't need an alliance." Sakura drawled. "Especially not from some pathetic Stone-nin."

The Stone-nin to the left of the squad leader lunged.

Sakura slammed her fist into the man's stomach as he charged, and blood splattered across the surprised faces of the rest of his squad. She ignored the way her fingers brushed against the edges of the gaping hole that had once been his abdomen. The man merely let out a gurgle as blood flecked onto her cloak as he coughed twice before sliding down to the ground.

Sakura knelt, wiping her crimson-stained hand on his jacket. She then stood once more, "I warned you."

"Don't think for a second that you're going to get away with this…" One of them ground out, grabbing a wickedly curved sword from a sheath upon his back.

Sakura twirled a kunai between her fingers. Come on, you need something bigger than a kitchen knife to scare me. That sword doesn't even begin to compare to Samehada. She wasn't feeling overly cocky, but she knew that she had to play out the role of a powerful, arrogant Akatsuki member. She could do that, right?

"Don't underestimate the Akatsuki." The leader commented coolly to his squad. His eyes flickered to the bloodied corpse of his teammate, whose stomach looked at if it had been run through a meat grinder. "All of them are s-classed criminals."

"Why would the Akatsuki be protecting the Hokage?" Another asked. This one was slowly pulling out a pair of wakizashi. Sakura noted it with a flicker of her eyes. She had activated the Sharingan to take in everything, glad that her hat hid her face from view.

"The Kyuubi belongs to the Akatsuki. We can't have you killing him until we extract his demon, now can we?" Sakura taunted, running a finger over the cool blade of her kunai. She noticed the two stone-nin who had come in from behind her.

Child's play.

Sakura allowed herself to give an excited grin as the first stone-nin lunged from behind her. She stepped to the side, throwing the kunai. It dug into the man's outfit as he went past her from the momentum of his lunge, pinning his sleeve to the ground. He wrenched his hand up, tearing the sleeve and freeing himself. However, it had given Sakura all the time she'd needed to slam her leg down onto his back, snapping his spine.

She vaulted off of the man, grabbing another kunai that she used to block the shuriken and kunai thrown at her as she slowly dropped down to the ground behind the second Stone-nin who had previously been behind her.

He whirled around, stabbing forward with a katana. She twisted away from the blade, but it managed to slice a small hole in her cloak as she grabbed his wrist, snapping it. He let out a small growl of pain as he dropped the katana. It landed in the dirt, the metal clanging against a stone.

Then she brought her knee up, feeling it collide with his stomach as he spit out a mouthful of blood. She rammed her kunai down, slitting the man's throat before the others had time to react.

She let the corpse drop and waited for the other stone-nin to make a move. She felt the chakra signature beneath her suddenly and she jumped up to avoid the hand reaching out of the ground where she had previously stood. Sakura began rapid hand signs, before breathing in deeply. Then she let loose her Katon: Karyū Endan. The flames shot from her mouth like a flamethrower.

As the flames enveloped one of the shinobi, the captain of the squad hurriedly created a wall of earth to surround him and the others, protecting them from the heat. Sakura frowned at that as she landed back on the ground. Three more to go.

She dodged the first stone-nin who came for her, his curved blade skimming past her cheek. Her hands became alight with chakra as she activated her mystical palm technique. She slashed the tendons in his arms and legs as he stumbled past her. He wouldn't be getting up to help his comrades anytime soon.

The second one proved to be more difficult as he dodged her glowing palms expertly. He must have had some encounters with medical shinobi before. Unfortunately for him, her Sharingan took in every one of his moves—as well as the three other squads of Iwagakure shinobi heading towards them. She'd have to make this quick and devastating.

There. She had him. She grabbed the man's head, twisting it. It snapped as his neck broke, and she ignored the way she easily let him drop with only a small sense of regret. She was a shinobi. She was a killer. And she was Akatsuki.

The only one left was the leader of the small squad.

"Your reinforcements won't arrive in time to save you." Sakura spoke calmly.

The man smiled softly. "Even you cannot defeat twenty-one skilled Jônin. Medic-nin's are experts at close-range attacks. You can't fight them all at once."

Sakura grinned, although it was hidden behind the collar of her cloak. "Don't worry about me, Stone-san." And she jumped up to the tree branch behind her as the earth beneath her began sinking and caving in on itself due to the man's earth jutsu.

And that was when the other three squads arrived.


"She seriously can't hope to fight all of them off at once." Shikamaru drawled from his vantage point. "But then again, this is Sakura, so I guess she'll try even if she can't succeed."

"Don't forget that monstrous strength of hers." Asuma took a drag on his cigarette. "Those Stone-nin are in for a rude awakening if they think that all she knows is short-range jutsu."

Sasuke merely watched.


Sakura waited as the shinobi surrounded her. The last remaining member of the fist squad watched her with cold amusement. "You should have taken our offer, Akatsuki-san."

Sakura gave a small laugh. "Don't underestimate me."

"You are outnumbered."

Why is it that every time a shinobi is outnumbered people think they can defeat them easily? Sakura asked herself as she pulled her glove on more snuggly. She flexed her fingers a few times as the shinobi watched her, waiting for her to make a move.

"Nobody goes after the Kyuubi except the Akatsuki." Sakura spoke calmly, before she slammed her fist down onto the ground.

The eruption was catastrophic. Dust billowed through the trees and several were uprooted by the force. Asuma, Sasuke, and Shikamaru had to jumped back to escape the damage.

Boulders shot through the air and the sound of shinobi yelling out in pain echoed through the remaining trees.

When the smoke finally cleared Sakura was standing in the middle of a large crater. A crater that had destroyed a quarter of a mile of forest, ten Stone-nin, and Sasuke's pride.


I thought I'd finally become stronger than her. He thought with a twinge of annoyance. But more so he just watched the graceful, powerful way she moved.
Sakura could tell that the shinobi wouldn't underestimate her anymore. They were all on their guard, the surprise evident on their faces.

"I thought the only shinobi with that kind of strength outside of Stone were the Sannin Tsunade and her apprentice."

Sakura shrugged. "Perfect chakra control has its uses." Then she jumped forward. The shinobi rolled away from her, but her leg merely slammed into the ground, creating a fissure. She parried all the kunai and shuriken thrown at her, ignoring the cut on her arm where she'd been too late to deflect a kunai.

She hoped that Naruto wouldn't think the explosion meant something bad had happened. The last thing she needed was for several Konoha shinobi to come rushing into the scene. After all, she wasn't exactly on good terms with them either. They'd probably attack her on sight.

Let's end this, then. She grunted as she dodged the rock spires shooting out of the ground. And she began rapid hand signs.


They walked back to Konoha in silence. Sakura wanted to shake the dust and dirt off of her, but she decided it would just be better to get home and take a long shower. The Hokage's Tower was in full view before her three companions finally spoke.

"Damn." That was Asuma. He shook his head with an amused smile. "You certainly are Tsunade's apprentice."

Sakura took that as a compliment, even though she knew that Asuma still didn't completely trust her. She didn't expect him to, however.

"And here I'd thought that we'd all be on your level after all that training we went through. What a drag…" Shikamaru muttered.

Sasuke remained silent.

The rest of the battle had gone reasonably well. Sakura had taken out the rest of the stone-nin. Of course, she's sported a broken arm and several minor cuts and scrapes. She wasn't Itachi after all. So she'd healed herself, resetting the bone with a grunt before they'd begun heading back to Konoha.

"I'm going to head to my apartment." Sakura murmured. "If Naruto needs to ask me something tell him I'll come in the morning. I'm too tired to talk to him right now."

Shikamaru snorted. "You're just lucky you don't have to follow his orders like we do."

Sakura grinned. "Yup." And then she turned down the street with a smile and a wave.

She walked down the darkened streets slowly. She wasn't worried about any of the Konoha civilians spotting her, however. She'd placed a small concealment jutsu over herself before she'd entered Konoha. Anyone who didn't know what to look for her would be completely oblivious. And the darkness of night helped hide her from the people who did know what to look for.

She needed sleep.

"You're stronger."

Sakura blinked as she turned to see Sasuke walking alongside her. She merely sighed as she continued towards her apartment.

"Thanks."

"It's true." His hands were stuffed into his pockets and he looked just like he had so many years before, with his blue shirt and his white shorts, when she'd been trailing behind him like a lovesick puppy, thanking him for saving her from Gaara. But it had been Naruto who had saved her. Not Sasuke. And he was no longer wearing a blue shirt and white shorts, but an ANBU uniform instead.

Sakura shrugged. "I've been training."

"I'd like to train with you." Sasuke broached.

"Maybe," Sakura answered in a whisper. "Aren't you supposed to be talking with Naruto?" She felt uncomfortable with him now, and she was ashamed of herself for it. She was ashamed of herself for backing down on him. He needed her, didn't he? He was lost and she needed to help him find his way home.

A home where he'd be happy.

There was another small moment of silence as they merely walked.

"Hn."

Oh god when he did that he sounded so much like Itachi it hurt…didn't he know that Sakura was already missing his older brother terribly?

"Sasuke, I'm sorry I slapped you." Sakura murmured. "But you have to understand…"

"There's nothing to say, Sakura." Sasuke spoke, cutting her off. "You don't need to worry. I'll fix everything."

Sakura didn't know if she wanted to know what his way of 'fixing everything' was. She merely raked a hand through her hair.

"You grew it out again."

Sakura gave him a lopsided smile. "Hai."

"I like it long."

Of course you do. You and Itachi are more alike than you think. Sakura closed her eyes for a moment, before giving another sigh. "Thanks." She didn't believe she'd ever felt so relieved to see her apartment and Tobi popping his head out the window, waving frantically at her.

"Sakura-senpai! You're home!"

Please tell me he's using a concealing jutsu…Sakura inwardly groaned.

"I'm coming Tobi." Sakura called up to him. She walked to the door of the apartment building, but was stopped as Sasuke caught her hand.

She looked back at him warily, but he merely gave a small smile—no it was still a smirk, she couldn't classify it as anything else—and gave her a peck on the cheek. "If this is what it takes to make you love me Sakura, I can afford to go slow." He murmured against her cheek. His breath buzzed against her skin and she blinked.

"Sasuke don't start." She began, but found herself talking to air. She glared into the surrounding darkness before she walked inside the building, pulling off her hat as she went. She stopped at her apartment door, feeling hot liquid sting the corners of her eyes.

She felt dirty. Dirty for not stopping Sasuke and beating him within an inch of his life for touching her like that. She loved Itachi, not Sasuke anymore…she couldn't…Sakura sighed as she leaned against her apartment door, closing her eyes.

Why can't he understand?

She wasn't given the time to answer her own question as the door opened behind her and she fell onto her apartment floor on her butt with a squeak.

"Welcome back Sakura-senpai!"


Sakura slowly let the warm water wash away the blood and dirt that caked her arms and feet. She lathered her shampoo in her hair, massaging her scalp as she tilted her head back, giving a soft sigh.

Tobi was slurping down some instant ramen in the kitchen. Apparently his Hokage-sensei had gotten him hooked on it.

She blinked, getting a strange, uneasy feeling. She frowned, not quite understanding why her stomach fluttered in nervousness. As if she was just waiting for something horrible to happen.

Sakura let the bubbles from the shampoo in her hair swirl around the drain as she bit her lip.

What is going on?


Sasuke opened the gate to the Uchiha compound, walking down the dirt road. He felt a strange sensation crawling up his spine but he tried to ignore it. He was merely being paranoid. He couldn't sense any chakra signatures, after all.

He was a bit annoyed at Sakura's distant behavior. She was avoiding him. He supposed he couldn't really expect anything different, though. Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets, shoulders hunched as he gritted his teeth. The fact that Sakura was in love with his brother made his blood boil. But he would make sure he knocked some sense into her. She was his. If he had to slowly regain her trust to make her love him than so be it.

And he couldn't deny he was slightly turned on by her fight with the Stone-nin. It had been nothing like her fight with him two years ago. She had been strong then too but he'd been cocky. He knew if he had actually fought her and not merely underestimated her that time it would have been more of an even match.

But now, even after he had become stronger, he could see that he would have had a hard time fighting against her. She had become a deadly weapon. If it weren't for that kind smile of hers he would swear that it wasn't his Sakura at all. His Sakura. He liked the sound of that.

She's strong. The perfect woman to begin rebuilding the Uchiha Clan.

Children with the Sharingan and perfect chakra control…their power would be devastating.

But that wasn't the reason he wanted her. He would never stoop so low as to merely use a woman for their abilities. He wasn't Itachi.

He blinked as the wind whistled around him, blowing his bangs into his face. He looked up at the moon and stopped, breath hitching as his charcoal eyes became crimson with anger and hatred as recognition dawned.

Outlined by the bright full moon was the shadowed figure standing upon a pole. It was one he hadn't thought to see for a very long time, and never in that same place. This time the shadow wore no ANBU outfit. Only a black cloak with crimson clouds.

Itachi Uchiha jumped down from the pole, landing on the ground in front of Sasuke without a sound. His own eyes glowed with the Sharingan.

"Itachi…" Sasuke growled, lunging forward. It seemed he would go through with his promise to Sakura sooner than he had thought. This time he would show Itachi that Sakura was his.

But before he could attack he found himself slammed against a wall, Itachi's hand around his neck. He didn't even have much time to think as the crimson Mangekyou Sharingan glared into Sasuke's own red eyes. Sasuke struggled but he couldn't do anything against his older brother.

Why am I never strong enough? He thought, as Itachi's fingers curled around his throat. Still helpless… Those two words echoed through his mind. No matter how strong he became Itachi always seemed to be five steps ahead of him.

"Don't touch her." Itachi's voice was cold—but not emotionless. He leaned in close, his voice a deadly whisper in Sasuke's ear.

"I will kill you!" Sasuke roared.

Itachi chuckled darkly. "No my foolish brother, I will kill you."


Sakura's eyes opened as she shot out of the bathroom, realization donning, "NO!"

She grabbed the bathrobe from her chair, throwing it around her as she bounded out the door of her apartment, ignoring a completely confused Tobi who had sat up on the couch as she zoomed past him.

What had gotten into his Sakura-senpai?


"You never wanted to kill me before, why now?" Sasuke hissed. "I thought I was too weak to kill?"

"You still are." Itachi amended. "But you've crossed the line little brother."

"Nani?"

"Get used to not getting what you want, Sasuke. Because if you touch her one more time I will kill you."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, eyes flashing. "It's not like you to be so generous. I didn't know you gave second chances."

"I don't." Itachi muttered against his ear, his grip tightening around Sasuke's neck. "But Sakura has made me promise not to splatter your insides against the compound walls."

Sasuke felt the rough wood dig into his back, a few splinters cutting into his skin. He didn't even wince as he felt blood well up in little pinpricks of pain. Then Sasuke felt himself dropped as if Itachi had suddenly become bored with him.

Sasuke jumped to his feet. "Let's finish this."

Itachi regarded him with an air of annoyance. "Don't go near her again."

"She's mine."

He saw Itachi's eyes flicker, and he knew he'd done something to ruffle his older brother's feathers. He didn't have time to think as pain shot through his shoulder.


(A\N: Yay! Another chapter done! I know, I know, evil cliffhanger…

I hope you all liked it. This one came out longer then expected. But I decided to add some extra stuff in here since it was so late.

Oh, and happy birthday Happy Bunny!

Sincerely, Lady Hanaka

Pick-up line: You must use Windex on your pants—because I can see myself in them!)