Chapter 10 – What Happened?

After checking the room thoroughly and realising that the target was not there, Itachi rushed over to the table in the centre of the room, thankful that his mask hid his emotions as he saw the state of the young child.

Barely even four years old and already…

Not allowing himself time to think, Itachi quickly untied her, cradling the back of her head as he gently lifted her. Against him, she shivered and he did his best to find some kind of blanket for her, but the best he could come up with was his travelling cloak. It only took seconds for him to open it and bring her closer, to close the cloak around them both.

Itachi was sickened by the fact that he could feel her blood soaking into his uniform.

Fortunately, the young girl was unconscious. The pain was too much for her body to handle. That was better for Itachi. The last thing he needed was to hear her cries of pain, or for her pleas and begs. No, the sooner he returned her to her village, the better.

Of course things were never that simple, though.

The second they were outside, the second Itachi set off at a steady pace, the girl in his arms woke with a jolt and immediately started to cry.

Shutting his eyes for a brief second, he took a deep breath and then picked up the pace, determined on making the journey quick. The child needed medical assistance as soon as she could possible get it, because her wounds… They had Itachi's stomach turning. They had him damn near staggering and emptying his stomach. Him. But he knew he had to stay calm for her. For the child. She was panicking, growing more scared by the second and it seemed the sight of his ANBU mask only made that fear grow. It was understandable.

"M-Mama… I want Mama…"

It was at her whispered beg that Itachi reluctantly accepted that they would not make it in time back to the village.

Glancing around for a second, he made his way to the biggest tree, one that would easily hide them should they have anybody following them. He hadn't taken the time to thoroughly check.

"Mama–"

"Quiet, little one," Itachi murmured as soothingly as possible as he removed his mask. Holding her tenderly in his arms, he leaned back against the tree, trying to catch his breath from the running. "You will see her soon," he lied. "But first, we must calm ourselves so we don't worry your mother too much. Let them all believe that we are tough, even though it's all lies."

She sniffed in his arms, still trembling and still bleeding out.

There was nothing he could do to save her.

"T-That man–"

"Is gone, I promise. He won't be bothering you anymore." Damn it. He needed to find a way to track that psychopath.

"I can't… feel m-my fingers," she suddenly sobbed. "W-Where…?"

Before the child could lift her hand, Itachi caught it and kept it from her view. The sight of it would only make her more hysterical and Itachi wouldn't even blame her for it. All fingers, including her thumbs, had been viciously cut off. As had her toes and right ear. As had most of the skin on her right leg.

How anyone could do such vile things to an innocent child, who was no older than four (if that), Itachi would never know.

His mission had been to assassinate the person who was committing such unforgivable crimes, but for once, Itachi disobeyed. This child… If he hadn't taken her, she would have died alone on that table, crying for her mother.

How was he supposed to allow that to happen?

And as the child eventually grew still in his arms only seconds later, as her chest stopped rising and falling and the light left her eyes, Itachi looked up at the darkening sky, taking a moment to accept the inevitable.

He had failed to save her.

Breathing was finally possible and as he gasped for breath, Itachi quickly sat up in bed, gripping the sheets covering his thighs tightly.

Again…

She was haunting him again.

It had been well over a year now since the child's death and even now, she was haunting him.

Usually, Itachi was able to block out most of the deaths from his days in ANBU, but not hers. Never had he been able to block out or forget her death. Was it because she was just a child? No. In the year of her death, well over two hundred children had died in the space of a few months. None of their deaths haunted him as badly as hers did.

Was it because, unlike every other death he'd witnessed or caused, she died in his arms? Was it because he'd held her as she took her last breath? Comforted her when she cried for her mother? Made false promises that she was safe? Lied to her?

What was it?

Why wouldn't she leave him alone?

Itachi took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

What he wouldn't give to have a full night of sleep. To just close his eyes and not see their faces. To not see their family's faces as he broke the news, as he handed over the deceased children, murmuring that there was nothing more he could do. The amount of times Itachi had had to leave abruptly, all because their emotions were too much for him to handle…

There were certain things even ANBU hadn't been able to take away from him.

Humanity.

But in return, it had given him so much. Forced upon him so much. There was the hatred towards himself, towards his leader, towards his father, towards the monsters he'd had to assassinate or work with. The numbness. Sometimes, Itachi could go days without feeling a single emotion. He could do unforgivable things, such as taking a life, without feeling even a flicker of remorse.

Those were just two of so many things that plagued him now and had ever since he'd turned fifteen years old.

The time on the clock read that it was twelve past five. With slow, exhausted movements, Itachi threw back the covers and got up, deciding it was time to start his day.

Drowning in work would be his distraction.

Walking Pakkun was one of Sakura's favourite pastimes. It was so relaxing, mainly because of how much of a laid-back dog Pakkun was – like owner, like pug, she supposed. The fresh air and the wide, open field of grass and flowers also helped to relax her.

It was early in the morning, just gone seven, but Sakura hadn't been able to sleep. She was too restless from the night before, from the whole kissing of the forehead situation. After informing Kakashi and Naruto of what had happened, they'd laughed at her, telling her she was being silly for getting so worked up about it. Just because Itachi kissed her forehead, it didn't mean that he saw her as a little girl.

But what if he did? What if, that entire evening, Itachi had spent it trying to work out whether or not he saw her as a child?

Sighing, Sakura sat down on a bench and did her best to ignore the chill that tried to soak through her joggers. There weren't many others out just yet, so she felt confident with taking Pakkun off his harness and allowing him to roam free for a while.

Sometimes she liked going to the park and watching the families together. Ino hated it when she did that, though. She always said that it made her look like a creep, but one time, in a moment of openness, she'd murmured that it made her feel sad, because she knew exactly what would be going through Sakura's mind.

Pulling her jacket tighter around her body, she looked away just as Pakkun began to pee against a bin.

It wasn't that Sakura watched families together because she was a masochist. Sometimes she was just genuinely curious about how families worked. There were so many different kinds! There was the average family – the kind you saw often, so didn't take much notice of. There was the mother, father and child or children. But then there were the families with the same-sex parents, or the families with only one parent. They all interested her. Seeing how they worked together, how they loved each other…

Don't get her wrong, though. Sakura knew that there didn't need to be a parent for it to be a family.

She had two families. Her blood family and then her real family. Her real family consisted of Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, Ino, Obito and Rin. At one point or another, they'd all stood up for her or had been there for her when she needed support the most. They loved her. That was what made them family.

As though sensing her sombre thoughts, Pakkun appeared by her feet and tilted his head to the side, watching her silently.

"I'm okay." She offered him a small, sad smile and petted his head.

One day, Sakura hoped to think about her blood family and not feel like she was missing out on something special. She hoped to have her own little family and when she did, if she was given such a privilege, then she would never let a day go by where they wouldn't feel her love for them. Never would she ever let any of her family – not her husband, not her children – suffer or be hurt the way she had been.

In her pocket her phone buzzed and Sakura was quick to look at the text, though rolled her eyes at the laziness of it.

Pakkun?

Of course Kakashi hadn't used a full sentence – that would be too much to do when it was so early in the morning.

With me. Back soon.

Well, if he was going to be lazy…

Smiling to herself, she put her phone away and reached down, clipping the lead back onto Pakkun's harness. He didn't like sitting around for his entire walk. No, Pakkun enjoyed going all around the park, or as far as they could be bothered to, even though he'd made the trip several times before. Somehow, he never got tired of it.

He was so lucky that she loved the park.

"Naruto, are you–"

She froze as soon as she opened the door, her eyes going wide with horror at the sight before her.

Like she had, Naruto also froze, but his fists soon clenched tightly against the floor. "It's not what it looks like."

Movement was impossible. There was no escape. All Sakura was capable of doing was watching as Naruto continued to half-lean on the floor, with that ridiculous song playing in the background and his phone angled so that the camera was on him.

And then she burst into laughter, almost collapsing in her place. "You… You…"

At her fit of giggles, the blond frowned and quickly jumped to his feet, switching the song off as well as the video recorder on his phone. "You yell at me if I walk into your room without knocking!"

"I did knock!" The laughter hadn't subsided in the least, but Sakura still defended herself. "You didn't hear me because of that stupid song!"

"It's not that bad…"

Finally and just barely putting a lid on her giggles, though still smirking teasingly, Sakura spread her legs a little, imitating him (in a standing position instead of laying on the floor) as she bent her knees and rolled her hips in a grinding motion, the same way he had been. "Baby grind on me… Relax your mind take your time on me…"

"Okay! I get it!" A dark blush was staining his cheeks and Naruto looked anywhere but at her. "I was only doing it because Kiba said–"

"Whatever Kiba said, Naruto, is wrong." She sighed and rolled her eyes, standing up straight once more. A second later and her hand was on her hip. "Would you have really posted a video like that online? For the whole world to watch? Anyone who does it looks like an idiot."

"Well, no." His blush darkened. "Kiba said I should send it."

Oh no. Her stomach was curling horribly. "Send it to who?"

Blue eyes met hers and then averted straight away.

The explosion that followed, the anger, was unmissable. "You idiot! If you sent something like that to Hinata, she'd probably faint and then Neji-san, or worse, her father, could have seen it! Do you have any idea how much trouble you'd be in? Neji-san still doesn't like you!"

Naruto sighed.

Even as they made their way out of the apartment and down the elevator, even when they were sat in his car and on their way to school, the rant continued. Couldn't Naruto understand how forward that was? And sending it to Hinata? Sakura was doing her best to make him understand that somebody like Hinata needed time.

"She could have taken it the wrong way, Naruto. Hinata could have thought that you only want one thing from her." Sakura sighed, her anger subsiding. "I only got angry because I don't want you screwing everything up because of something Kiba said. You've been so happy lately and I don't want that to change."

He smiled down at her and parked the car. "Thanks, Sakura-chan. You always stop me from making bad decisions."

She smiled right back at him. "Somebody has to."

School felt like it was dragging.

And something odd had occurred to her, also.

It was Wednesday now and usually, by a Wednesday, Sakura's weekend would already be planned, but this week was different for some reason. Not only was she not receiving any texts from Itachi, but now she wasn't receiving any from Hidan.

Granted, he was probably pissed with her for attending The White Party with Itachi.

By Monday afternoon, the pictures were everywhere. On the news, in the newspaper, in magazines and online. Everywhere. And they didn't look good. Well, Sakura thought she and Itachi looked amazing in them and had actually had a few printed off, ready to stick in photo frames, but they would look bad from Hidan's perspective.

She'd tried calling Hidan. No answer. Texts went ignored. Part of her wondered if that meant the deal was off, because one of their rules was that he would always answer the phone to her, in case she needed help or something of the sort. That was why he was on speed dial.

As for Itachi…

Monday evening, Sakura had sent him a text, once more thanking him for the amazing evening, however… No answer.

Strange.

It wasn't her phone, because Kakashi had been receiving her texts and calls. As had Sasuke, Naruto, Ino and Hinata. So what was the problem? Was it them? Were they the problem?

Sakura shook her head and dropped down into a seat between Naruto and Sasuke, who were both eating their lunches. She immediately turned to the latter.

"Is your brother busy lately?"

He paused in his eating, regarding her with an odd expression before Sasuke continued like she hadn't said a word, eating the rest of his sandwich. It was only when it was finished that he replied, "Yes."

Well, that explained Itachi not replying to her texts, but Hidan? During their five month relationship (deal) not once had he ignored her. It was childish, really. How were they supposed to talk things over if he refused to talk to her? Or was Sakura supposed to take his silence as their deal being off?

The thought was daunting.

"Why?"

Sakura looked back up to Sasuke, who was now frowning down at her. "What?"

"Why did you ask me if he's busy?"

"Oh…" She also frowned and picked up her sandwich. "We haven't spoken since the party."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke asked, "Have you even tried to speak to him or start a conversation? Itachi has the tendency to be antisocial."

"Yeah!" Why did he think that she wouldn't have tried to start a conversation? "I sent him a text on Monday but he hasn't replied."

The Uchiha shrugged and continued to eat. "He's been busy at the station recently."

"But…" Sakura's frown deepened and once Naruto had spotted Hinata, quickly making his way over to her, she murmured to Sasuke, "Things ended weirdly on Sunday."

He tensed. "I don't want to know."

"No, not like that!" she snapped. "I mean… I don't think it was like that."

Reluctantly, so very obviously reluctantly, Sasuke nodded once, silently telling her to continue.

"Well, he… He kissed me. On the forehead," murmured Sakura.

And she was once more frowning at the widening of Sasuke's eyes, as he seemed to choke on his drink until she soundly patted him on the back. Perhaps a little too roughly, considering the dark look he shot down at her, but it knocked the shock out of him, too. What was his problem?

"On the forehead?" he asked quietly, voice slightly hoarse due to the choking incident.

Sakura nodded. "Like I'm a child! I mean, if he kissed my cheek, then I wouldn't be so upset about it, because a lot of people kissed my cheek during the party. But he kissed my forehead, Sasuke! It made me feel like a little girl and like he–"

"It's not like that. Trust me."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously at the look on his face. "Explain."

Glancing around the cafeteria to try and find an escape, Sasuke sighed. There was none. Naruto had ditched him again. "When we were growing up, Itachi was always poking my forehead."

That only upset her further and Sakura couldn't even fully understand why! "So he sees me as a sibling?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No."

"Then what the hell does it mean?" She was getting frustrated now. "Does it even have a meaning?"

"It does." The look on the Uchiha's face was serious as he regarded her. "My mother once told me that Itachi always poked my forehead because it was a great sign of affection from him. I'm sure you've already heard that he's labelled as a genius, right?"

Yes, but Sakura hadn't thought that it was taken so literally. Sure Itachi was great at a lot of things, but a genius?

"He has trouble being around people. Not just your average anxiety. I mean, he can't connect with them. It's like Itachi can't fully understand people who aren't on his level. Mother's always said that he's special like that, but… I don't know." There was a long pause and during it, he sighed again. "Just be patient with him, Sakura. He's one of the smartest people I know, but when it comes to people, he hardly knows a thing."

Yes, Sakura had gathered that, too. This time, she was the one who sighed, but there was a roll of her eyes to go with it. "If it really is a great sign of affection, don't you think he would have called me back by now? Or at least sent me a text to let me know how he is? Or whether or not we have plans for this Saturday?" Shrugging, Sakura finally took a bite of her lunch, keeping her eyes on the sandwich as she added quietly, "For once, Sasuke-kun, I think you might be wrong."

She didn't notice the way he scowled down at his lunch, or the uncertainty in his eyes. She didn't notice the way his fists clenched as he thought harder and harder about what the hell Itachi was playing at.

Was it odd that she was beginning to grow worried?

It was Friday evening now and there wasn't a single message on her phone from Itachi or Hidan. No missed calls. No voice messages. No texts.

Biting her nail for a while longer as Sakura considered calling them, she stared down at her phone. Obviously, she wouldn't call them at the same time and not only because Hidan would be livid with her for doing such a thing. It was out of consideration for the pair of them.

Should she ring them?

Or was she being paranoid?

In the end, Sakura had rang the pair of them. Whereas Itachi's phone was switched off, Hidan's simply went to voicemail after ringing for an eternity.

During the entire time it took to shower, dry and straighten her hair, do her makeup and get dressed, her stomach was in knots. Sakura wasn't sure whether or not she should just go back to bed or make other plans for the day.

What if he didn't turn up?

Why was he suddenly ignoring her?

Those thoughts only grew louder the longer Sakura sat around waiting for Itachi. In a way, she felt like a child. Helpless and so dependent on the person she was waiting for. It was a horrible feeling.

The sound of the front door opening and shutting didn't register, nor did the footsteps that made their way into the living room slowly, sluggishly. Not once were they heavy, though.

"Sakura?"

She looked up at Kakashi, surprised that he was awake so early since he had had a night shift the night before. Not only that, but he had one that night, too. Sleep was important to him. "Morning."

"What are you doing up so early?"

Frowning, Sakura glanced over at the wall clock and then back to Kakashi, only just catching on that he was still in his uniform. That idiot had only just returned, even though last night's shift finished three hours ago! She bet he had stayed behind to help with another case again. "It's gone ten, Kakashi."

He nodded, though paused in heading to his bedroom. "Why are you already dressed? Going somewhere?"

"It's Saturday…" When Kakashi didn't react to her words, clearly much too tired from his shift, Sakura rolled her eyes. "I go out with Itachi on Saturdays. He always picks me up early and we spend the entire day together!"

It confused her when Kakashi frowned, like he was also confused about something and a horrible feeling filled her stomach, one much worse than the knotting sensation. Just the look on his face had her stomach plummeting to her feet. "Sakura… Itachi just came into the station as I left. He's working today. Traded shifts with someone, I think, since they usually prefer to have someone with his experience on the night shift during the weekend." His frown deepened. "Didn't he tell you?"

No. Itachi hadn't told her a damn thing.

In fact he hadn't spoken to her since the party.

Instead of telling Kakashi that, Sakura smiled brightly and stood up, trying to laugh it off. "I must've forgotten. Early mornings don't always agree with me."

"Sakura–"

"I'm fine," she snapped, though quickly smiled again. "I forgot. My mistake."

Before he could say anything more, before Sakura could watch the pity in his eyes grow, she turned and headed towards her bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind herself.

Had she done something wrong?

Tears of frustration filled Sakura's eyes as she threw her stupid bag onto the bed and all but ripped her stupid t-shirt off, because she felt so stupid and annoying and–

"Fuck!" she half-sobbed when the shirt got caught on her earring.

Why would Itachi just ditch her like that? Why would he purposely swap shifts when Saturdays were their days?

Once her earring was freed, Sakura sat down on the edge of her bed and forced herself to calm down.

Obviously, she'd done something to upset him. Last Sunday, he'd been happy enough to dance with her and to kiss her forehead and whatever else happened! Maybe it was something she'd said?

All week, Sakura had been somewhat brushing off his silence as Itachi being busy. He was a police officer and everyone had high expectations of him, meaning he couldn't afford to mess up. She didn't want to distract him from his work. But…

But why was he suddenly ignoring her? Why was he suddenly ditching her without a warning?

What had she done to upset him?

Or was he simply done with her? Had he had enough? Perhaps found someone his own age to take out and spend the day with?

Sakura shook her head, scolding herself for such pathetic thoughts. He was working, not taking somebody out and even if he was doing the latter, it was none of her business.

But if it wasn't, then why did she feel so betrayed?

Itachi had left her to sit around, waiting for him like an idiot, like she was nothing but a lost puppy waiting for somebody to entertain her, to take care of her. And damn it, it made her feel so angry because of all the negative emotions it brought forward, making her feel so pathetic and stupid and annoying and–

Sitting around and sulking wasn't going to do her any good.

Sighing, Sakura stood up and quickly stripped, grabbing her uniform. Since there was nothing else to do and she had the day to spare, she may as well do something productive, right? If Itachi didn't want to spend the day with her, then fine. She didn't need somebody like that, somebody who would drop his friends so easily and without a single care, in her life.

The thought worried her, but she decided in that moment that it was better to be around Hidan.

At least she knew where she stood with him.

The bus was packed as usual and as they drove by the police station, Sakura felt the childish urge to turn her head away and pout, or to glare and stick her tongue out. It was a powerful urge, but not impossible to ignore, so she stuck to merely staring at it until it was out of her line of sight.

There was still no word from Itachi. Despite saying to herself only half an hour ago that she would drop him just as he had dropped her, Sakura found it difficult to put her phone down, just in case he finally replied to her texts and calls.

Fortunately, she wasn't stood up for long (she'd never been able to reach the straps that standing passengers held onto) because her bus stop came into view. Sakura was quick to shove her way through the blockage of passengers, smiling in thanks to the bus driver as he let her off.

Many times before, Ino's mother had told them both that, when wearing the shop's uniform, it was imperative that they were on their best behaviour. They couldn't do anything that would damage the shop's reputation. That meant she had to act even friendlier than usual and had to be more kind and considerate.

It was fairly busy once Sakura reached the store and as she opened the door, the bell above it sounded her arrival, warning the other workers that somebody had just entered. More of a precaution than anything. So far, there hadn't been any thieves or anything of the sort, but it was always good to be careful.

Ino was not the one at the counter, much to her surprise. Instead it was her mother. The woman was beautiful, but it was obvious that Ino got her looks from her father. Whereas Ino had blonde hair and blue eyes, her mother had brown hair and brown eyes. Quite a stern woman, if you asked Sakura, but she had a heart of gold and always went out of her way to help others.

"Hi, Yamanaka-san." Sakura smiled. "Need any help?"

Across the store, Ino frowned over at her and paused in picking up a crate. "You go out with–"

"Not today." She continued to smile at the brunette, not showing how angry or upset she felt about Itachi ditching her. "I can work for free, if that–"

"Don't be absurd!" Ino's mother scolded before opening up the counter door. "Come and put your apron on, Sakura-chan. Ino's head is in the clouds, so she's been slacking today."

The blonde stuck her tongue out once her mother's back was turned.

It was only two hours later when somebody entered the store, requesting to speak with Sakura.

For a brief second, hope bloomed in her chest and Sakura thought maybe, just maybe, it was Itachi and he had come to apologise, to tell her he'd genuinely forgotten about Saturday being their day.

But it wasn't him.

She did her best to hide her disappointment as Sakura stood up from her crouched position and dusted off her hands on her apron, making her way into the staff room. While she was busy, Ino had allowed the guest to enter the staff room (she could only do that because her mother had nipped out to get more change from the bank).

"Oh, Hinata!" Sakura was stunned for a moment. "What can I do for you?"

Instead of being her usual, shy self, Hinata looked determined as she stood in the doorway of the staff room, covered from her neck to her hips in a thick, cream jacket to fight off the winter chill. To go with it (and secretly surprising Sakura because Hinata didn't seem like the type to wear them) she wore a pair of blue jeans that were tucked into black boots.

"I can't stay for long," she admitted quietly before speaking louder and taking a step forward, "Please, if you can, I would like your advice on something."

"Sure." Grabbing her things from the staff room's refrigerator since she could take an early lunch, Sakura indicated to the small table in the centre of the room with her chin. "Take a seat." Once they were both seated, she offered half of her lunch to Hinata, but she politely declined. "So… What's up?"

"Well…" Ah, there was the hesitancy that Sakura knew and loved. "I was wondering if…"

A gentle push wouldn't do any harm. "If?"

She blushed slightly. "I should be asking him, I know, but… Do you know how Naruto-kun feels about me?"

Surprise almost caused her to drop her pasta. Hadn't Naruto already confessed? Hadn't he already told Hinata that he liked her? Were they just hanging out as friends? "Why?"

A small, shy smile pulled at her lips and Hinata looked down at her hands, the blush on her cheeks deepening. "I made him a scarf for Christmas, but I need to know how he feels first." She looked back to Sakura, her dark eyebrows knitting together. "I don't want to ruin our friendship if he doesn't return my feelings."

Oh. Green eyes softened and Sakura put down her pasta, offering Hinata a soft smile. "You're right, I'm not the person you should be talking to about this, because it's not fair to Naruto. He confides in me…" She shook her head. "The most wonderful and warm, yet sometimes heartbreaking things and I can't destroy that trust, Hinata."

Disappoint momentarily flashed in her eyes. "I-I understand."

"But," She smiled again at the hope that now entered her features, "because I love my best friend and know what's best for him, I can assure you now that you won't be ruining your friendship by giving him the scarf."

The hope grew and once more, a blush swept across Hinata's cheeks. Sakura almost wanted to laugh, however, there was a bubbling jealousy in her chest. They were so lucky to have each other, especially since Sakura knew how lonely Naruto could get. She squashed the building jealousy down as best as she could.

"Just promise me one thing, Hinata." The Hyuuga nodded quickly. "Please take care of him. I care about you both, but I know I don't need to say this to him. He's… so protective of those he cares for. Even if it takes a while for you both to get to that stage, I know he'll always be there for you as a friend, confidant or boyfriend."

The blush returned more deeply than before. "I promise, Sakura-san. Um…" Again, hesitancy showed. "May I ask you one more thing?"

Sakura nodded and once more began to pick at her pasta, not all that hungry anymore. "Sure, go ahead."

"The other week, at the ice arena… That was Uchiha Itachi-san that you were with?"

Again, Sakura nodded, but didn't look up. All anger had left her now after working for two hours non-stop in the busy store and now she just felt… disappointed. Uchiha Itachi had let her down and it hurt for reasons she couldn't even explain. "Yeah."

A pause. It lasted long enough that she eventually risked a glance at Hinata, silently wondering why she was looking at her so intently. It was like the Hyuuga was trying to find all the answers in the world with just one look. Hinata opened her mouth suddenly, but just as quickly shut it and averted her eyes. Seeing that she needed a moment to gather her thoughts and courage, Sakura gave her that moment, mainly because she was curious about what she had to say.

"Growing up," she began quietly, frowning softly, "our families – the Hyuuga and the Uchiha – were fairly close. Neji-nii-san attended the same dojo as Itachi-san before he suddenly left at the age of fifteen." Looking back to Sakura, her frown deepened. "They weren't close in the slightest, but they often sparred together and he said that he has never sparred with a more fierce martial artist. Neji-nii-san said that Itachi-san was difficult to get to know or to understand. Everything about him is unknown.

"You know how my cousin can be. He must know everything." Sakura rolled her eyes, understanding completely and softly, Hinata giggled, then once more grew serious. "In the dojo, he heard some rumours. You have never been close to Neji-nii-san, but since you are my friend, he wanted to warn you about Uchiha Itachi-san, Sakura-san. He wanted to warn you that day at the ice arena, even though Itachi-san was with you at the time."

Warn her?

Why did her heart suddenly skip a beat? Why did she feel the need to hold onto something tightly?

"What?" Why did she sound so breathless?

"According to Neji-nii-san and what he has heard, Itachi-san is not a very good person, Sakura-san." The words were spoken quietly, but they seemed deafeningly loud to Sakura at that moment in time and she could hear her own pulse racing. "He has been a part of things and has done things that we can't imagine." There was another pause and during that pause, Hinata gripped hold of the table, adding quietly, "Neji-nii-san wanted to warn you not to trust any of the Uchiha. They–"

"Enough." That was it. "I'm sorry, Hinata. You're a good friend, really you are, but you seem to be forgetting that Sasuke-kun is an Uchiha and I know I can trust him. There are other Uchiha that I know I can trust, too. Tell your cousin thank you for the warning, but it's unnecessary and I would be grateful if he could stop speaking so badly about the Uchiha family."

"S-Sakura-san…" murmured Hinata. "Please–"

"If that's all," No longer hungry, Sakura stood up and dumped her pasta into the bin, "I need to get back to work."

It was wrong of her to be pushing Hinata away, but she knew she had no other choice. There was always the option of sharing the information of Itachi being in ANBU, of the fact that he'd fought every day for years to keep Konoha safe, but what good would that do anyone? That information was highly classified and had to be kept a secret. Not only that, but Sakura couldn't even deny that she was pissed off with the accusations towards the Uchiha family. They'd been nothing but kind and welcoming to her.

Hinata must have realised that she'd hit a nerve, because she soon stood up and lowered her head. "Forgive me, Sakura-san."

She didn't watch her leave, instead keeping her hard eyes on the sink in the small kitchen.

Why was she defending the man who'd abandoned her? Who'd ditched her so suddenly?

"I'm telling you," Ino rolled her eyes, "you're overreacting about it. You know what I'm like when it comes to giving guys second chances." Thoughtfully, Sakura nodded and leaned against the counter, listening carefully. "Unless you slept with him before, during or after the party, then there's no cold-hearted reason for him to suddenly ditch you. Maybe they really needed him at the station?"

So, in other words: because he didn't sleep with her and (in Ino's words) get what he wanted from her, Itachi couldn't have ditched her for his own selfish reasons. It was because… he was busy.

She shook her head and sighed. "How can you be so sure?"

After all, she still went with him to the party, fully aware of the fact that it would piss Hidan off immensely. How was she supposed to know whether or not that was Itachi's plan? He didn't like Hidan and that was putting it lightly. Something serious had happened between them, something to do with ANBU.

It seemed pretty childish, though, didn't it? Using a seventeen year old girl to get back at someone. And it wasn't like Sakura was Hidan's weakness, because all they had between them was a deal. The most she could do to harm him was destroy his reputation.

And… To do that, all she had to do was make him look like an idiot who couldn't keep his girlfriend under control, who couldn't keep her from whoring around.

Sakura dropped her head into her hands and groaned.

They would be shutting up the shop soon as it was getting late into the afternoon. Street lights were on and the sky was dark, covered with equally dark clouds that made it painfully obvious that it was going to be lashing it down with rain soon enough. Ino's mother had left half an hour ago (needing to return home so that she could make dinner for her husband and daughter) and all other employees finished minutes ago, muttering goodbyes on their way out. She and Ino were staying behind to complete an outstanding order.

"Trust me, Forehead." Again, Ino rolled her eyes. "Trust him! I know it's not easy for you to trust anyone, but… I don't know." She shrugged and added quietly, "Sasuke-kun has to look up to him for a reason, right? He can't be that bad."

Nodding, she stood up straight and left the counter after switching off the till, handing Ino the keys. They were much smaller than the keys to the door and easily lost, so the blonde was quick to shove them into her pocket. She then pulled out the door keys, about to turn to lock it.

"I guess, but… Why didn't he tell me? Saturdays… Their our days! Itachi's never ditched me before."

Blue eyes saddened. "I can guess at what you're thinking, Sakura, but it's not the same as–"

Suddenly the door was smashing open, startling both Ino and Sakura as they spun around, their eyes widening at the sight in front of them before everything went black.

A/N - Dun, dun, duuuuuuun. Are you all making the connections yet?

I've been catching up with OITNB in between university, work and looking after my nephew and it's safe to say I'm EXHAUSTED.