Yo, yo, YOOOOOOOO! HEY MAN! -shot- Welcome to the tenth chapter of AK~! Sorry for no updates~ I forgot about this for a while, and then school RUDELY decided to come and SMASH ITSELF IN MY FACE.

So, enjoy~!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I owe the characters in said series. (Sadly. I mean, how cool would it be to have an Itachi~?)

xXxXx Unraveling Thread xXxXx

That night passed without incident. Dinner that night was cooked by Deidara (forced into doing so by Itachi), and thus was extremely burnt. Even so, the salad he had made was not completely awful, and the Akatsuki members and the girls ate in relative peace. Despite this, there was a noticeable tension in the air around Itachi and Sakura, and it was not unnoticed by the other kunoichi that Hinata and Deidara sat next to each other, holding hands, throughout the meal.

After the meal, Sakura quickly returned to her room to sleep. She started to get ready for bed. She quickly pulled off her traveling boots, and then her bracelet-

Wait. Sakura blinked, staring at the item. Her bracelet? It was pink, and woven, and was obviously very old and loved. Everything she saw was telling her that it was the same one given to her by Ino when they were young, but that was impossible. She had dropped it at the training grounds, back when she was still in Konoha. It was the whole reason she had overheard her teammates talking about her.

Sakura frowned, but gently put the bracelet on her bedside table in front of her beloved picture. She dressed in her pajamas, and then climbed into bed.

The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes was the bracelet, and the last thought she had that night was, 'Something isn't right….'

xXxXx The Next Morning xXxXx

When she woke up, Sakura was once again reminded of the thoughts she had last night. But now, they seemed silly. She had probably just gone back to pick it up that afternoon, and it had slipped her mind. Yes, that had to be it. There was nothing odd going on here.

Sakura quickly pulled on her clothes before walking out to the kitchen to grab breakfast. In the hall, Sakura noticedit was just approaching sunrise, which meant she was up surprisingly early, for her. In Konoha, she had always slept late. She guessed it had something to do with still being wary of the environment. After all, the Akatsuki were a group of highly-dangerous S-class criminals.

To her surprise, once Sakura reached the kitchen, the only other member there was Itachi, who appeared to be drinking a cup of tea. 'Of course it had to be Itachi,' she groaned mentally. "Morning," she greeted.

To her surprise, Itachi responded with a kind, "Good morning." She blinked, and flushed. Sakura quickly turned to look for coffee. It was a bad habit she had picked up from both Shizune and Tsunade; after working late in the hospital or on paperwork, the kunoichi would often need a large, dark pot of the stuff.

She couldn't find any.

Of course.

"Is this what you are looking for?" a voice from behind her said. A pair of arms reached around her to open up a cabinet Sakura hadn't noticed. Inside was the coffee pot and a convenient bag of coffee, but Sakura barely noticed. 'Ohmygod,' the part of her that was still a hormonal fifteen-year old girl shrieked inside Sakura's head. Sakura could feel herself going red.

Thankfully (or not-so-thankfully, depending on what part of Sakura you asked), Itachi moved away, allowing her to pull out the two items she needed. She quickly prepared herself a mug, and, to rid the atmosphere of awkwardness, Sakura asked, "So why do you keep the coffee hidden away in a cabinet?"

Itachi paused a moment before replying, "As you have no doubt noticed, Tobi is already very, shall we say, energetic on his own. Once, he managed to drink two mugs of coffee. That particular experience resulted in several explosions and much lost money. As a result, we hide it in child-proof cupboards."

Sakura had to restrain herself from giggling the entire story, but the last sentence made her laugh out loud. "So wait, a member of an elite criminal organization can be kept out by child-safety locks?" Itachi nodded, and that was all it took for Sakura to fall over laughing. Itachi blinked. "I-I'm sorry," she managed to choke out between giggles, "but that's just too funny…!" She looked up at Itachi, and smiled. It was an honesty, open expression of happiness.

Itachi promptly left the room, with no explanation or excuse, just the soft click of the door.

Instantly, the laughter drained out of Sakura. She frowned, wondering exactly what that was. Was it because she had been laughing…?

xXxXx Elsewhere xXxXx

"Ah, Itachi," the leader said. "What brings you here?"

"I do not know if I am able to continue this mission," answered Itachi stiffly.

"And why," the leader answered softly, slowly, "is that, Itachi-kun?"

Itachi paused one moment before answering, "It does not sit well with my pride as an Uchiha."

The leader smiled, though Itachi could not see it. "Oh, Itachi, when has something silly as clan honor ever stopped you from a mission?" Itachi stiffened, and said nothing. With that simple line, the leader knew he had won. "Be a good boy and go continue on, okay?" He shoved Itachi out the door.

Once the younger male was out of the room, the leader frowned. He knew that this could cause him trouble….