Happy Birthdays and New Beginnings

A/N: I know that many of you who have stayed dedicated to this fanfic are awesome authors/writers yourselves. I know also that I have said this many times before but this is my first fanfic. I still can't believe it. I feel as if I have been writing stories since I was in second grade. Weird huh? For those of you wondering if I'm going to put this story on hold because of my DracoxHermione fic. I'm sad to say I'm slightly disappointed. I've been known to handle more than one thing at a time. I can switch from one task to the other in a heart beat. I will be doing both stories at once. Don't worry; you'll get the bad ass plots and thrills just like in this one. Anyway, enjoy chapter 10

Back at the apartment Sakura was crying and Hinata listened and conforted her as Sakura told her everything… from the day she turned 18 to her first kiss, to Orochimaru raping her. And finally to Sasuke kissing her only moments ago.

Now… she was tired. Mentally, emotionally, and physically drained.

It was midnight when Hinata left the apartment. Sakura stumbled down the hallway. She entered her room and clumsily removed her clothes and put on her pajamas.

She collapsed onto her bed… She was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

Sasori stepped into Akatsuki headquarters silently. It was still pouring rain outside and he was creating a pool of water on the floor.

"Itachi," he called.

A dark figure entered the room. Lightning ignited the sky and lit up the room. He could see a shadowed figure standing in the hallway. Itachi stood in the entrance of the dark, deserted hallway. He was holding a bottle of sake. He didn't look drunk but he did look angry.

"What are you doing here Sasori? Come to laugh at me? I'm miserable. Sakura's in Konoha. Three miserable months without her!" he yelled.

"Itachi, she's not doing well. She told the Kyuubi and a girl that she knows, she tried to tell your brother but they ended up arguing and … then… he … kissed her," he said.

Itachi's eyes grew dark.

"She slapped him and ran to her apartment. She's in love, sad, lonely and confused. I think she needs you right now," he explained.

Itachi grabbed his cloak and wrapped it around his shirtless body. He walked toward Sasori, dropping the sake bottle. It shattered instantly as it hit the floor. He walked past Sasori and out into the rain.

"Are you coming?" he asked.

Sasori smiled as he led Itachi into the trees toward Konoha.

Sasori walked into the apartment with Itachi following closely. The rain was still coming down but not as intense as before. The apartment was dark as they made their way down the hall to Sakura's room.

Sakura was sound asleep in bed. Her eyes were slightly pink from crying. Her pink hair was sprayed carelessly across her pillow.

Itachi walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed causing Sakura to stir in her sleep.

He lightly brushed a hair away from her face and wrapped it around her ear. She was so beautiful. He never thought that it would be possible for anyone to miss someone as much as he missed her.

Sakura's eyes fluttered open as she slowly face Itachi. The moment she recognized him she shot up in bed with wide eyes.

"Itachi? Is it really you?" she asked.

He couldn't find the words so he silently nodded his head.

She jumped into his arms and nuzzled her head into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her as he heard her silently sobbing.

"I didn't want him to kiss me. I was yelling at him and he just grabbed me and… Oh God Itachi I'm so sorry!" she cried.

He held her tightly. He pulled her back and kissed her on her forehead.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I missed you so much; this has been the longest three months of my life! I spent the first month crying my heart out. The second month was spent in my apartment talking to Naruto. And the third was spent catching up with friends," she sighed.

"I spent the last three months training, drinking, and training," he paused as he saw Sakura smile at him. "I mean you can't get abs like these without a little effort," he said smirking.

Sakura leaned forward and ran her hands down his rippling abdomen.

"No… I guess you can't," she smiled.

She held his head in her hands and studied him.

"I missed you so much," she said. "Your onyx eyes, your black hair. And your smile… I missed your smile the most," she added.

He lightly brushed his lips against hers. Sakura felt herself go faint. She kissed him lightly and he held her tighter, deepening the kiss. She pulled back and sighed happily.

"Sasori," she said. "This is the best birthday I could have ever asked for,"

"Glad I could be the one to give it to you. I'll just leave now," he added as he left the room.

Itachi looked at the clock. It was 2 in the morning. They were both tired. He wrapped his cloak around them and laid down on the bed. That night Sakura and Itachi fell asleep in each others arms.

Sakura woke up and turned to see Itachi sleeping soundly. She smiled to herself, 'He's probably exhausted,' she thought. She looked over at the clock and saw that it was 4 in the morning. She leaned over Itachi and lightly kissed him. She felt a hand snake around her waist and pull her down onto his body. She yelped and then moaned when she felt his hot, seductive tongue enter her mouth. She pulled back and smiled. He was smirking up at her.

"Happy birthday," he whispered kissing her again.

"I'm glad you're here with me," she sighed resting her forehead against his.

"I'm glad Sasori came up and got me," he paused. "Listen Sakura, I know that you want to tell Sasuke about us but I'm telling you that if he has feeling for you… he won't be happy. When an Uchiha makes up his mind about something… he doesn't rest until he obtains it. Sakura you're mine, but Sasuke doesn't' know that so he won't stop until he has you. But when he finds out that you love me. He'll do anything to get you back. I'm telling you this so you won't be surprised if Sasuke and I battle each other," he said.

Sakura sat there and listened to him. She didn't want to lose Itachi. After Ino died, she couldn't afford to go through that again.

She nodded her head.

Itachi wrapped his arms around her.

"I know you're worried Sakura, but we'll get through this together," he said.

Sakura and Itachi spent the whole morning with each other. Sakura was standing in the kitchen cleaning dishes from breakfast.

She smiled when she felt Itachi nuzzling his nose in the crook of her neck. She leaned her head back.

"Itachi," she moaned.

He lightly kissed the tender flesh on the side of her neck.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Sakura? It's me Naruto. Hinata is here too. Can we come in?" he asked.

"Itachi, you have to go," Sakura said.

Itachi stopped kissing her neck and started walking down the hallway toward her room. Sakura grabbed him from behind.

"Sakura? Are you there?" Naruto called.

"Will I see you later," she asked.

Itachi took her hand and kissed it.

"I've been away from you too long just to walk away," he said.

He walked down the hall, stepped out onto the balcony of Sakura's room.

Sakura ran to the door and opened it. Fifteen people jumped out at her.

"SURPRISE!!!"

Sakura smiled as her friends entered the apartment.

"Kakashi, Asuma?" she asked as 4 sensei's entered her apartment. Gai and Kurenai joined their students in the apartment.

Tsunade walked up to Sakura.

"Happy birthday Sakura," she said hugging her tightly.

"Thank you Tsunade-sama,"

Sakura closed the door to the apartment. She turned and faced the crowd in her living room. Naruto was kissing Hinata. Sakura smiled when they both saw her.

"Sakura," Shikamaru called. He rushed up to Sakura holding the baby in his arms.

"Shikamaru, hi Sakura!" she said tickling the little giggling girl.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

"Sure," she said ushering them into her room.

She felt comforted when she felt Itachi's presence near by.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Well um, there's something that I didn't tell you yesterday. When Ino was pregnant with Sakura she was told that there was a chance that she could die during the delivery. So knowing that she wrote a note to you incase she died. I found it in our sock drawer this morning and decided it would be the perfect present," he said. He took an envelope from his back pocket and slowly handed it to Sakura.

She could feel her heart racing and her hands shaking. She slowly reached out and took it from him.

He watched her as she opened the envelope and slowly pulled out the piece of paper.

She looked over the letter as tears slowly fell from the corners of her eyes.

Dear Sakura,

If you're reading this I'm probably dead. I know this may have come to a shock to you when you found out but I was pregnant. I'm in the hospital and I've seen my baby girl, her smile reminds me of you… that's why I'm naming her Sakura. The doctors don't think I'm going to make it but you know me… I'm a fighter. I don't want you to be sad because I'm gone because I've left a piece of me here to be with you. Shikamaru is practically a brother to you and now you have my daughter to look after. I want to ask you something and I hope you'll say yes… I want you to be the godmother of my little girl. Please say yes, Shika can't do it alone.

Remember, I don't want tears… not from you, it'll only make this harder for the others to handle. I hope you say yes. We've known each other since we were 6, you were my worst enemy and my best friend and I love you. Remember billboard brow… don't you dare cry.

Love, Ino Nara

P.S. Oh, and Sakura? Keep my little girl safe… for the both of us.

Sakura looked up at Shikamaru and saw that tears were streaming down his face.

"So, will you be her godmother?"

"Of course," she cried hugging him and the baby tightly. She held out her arms and Shikamaru gladly handed Sakura to her.

"Go to aunty Sakura," he laughed lightly.

Itachi studied her holding the child in her arms. He could picture her smiling down at her own child… a child she would have had with him. He waited patiently as the guests talked to each other throughout the afternoon and finally left.

He decided to wait on the roof until he was sure that everyone left… especially his brother… He couldn't wait to give the birthday girl her present.

Once everyone left, it was just Naruto, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Sasuke.

"Well I better be heading home, Sakura is getting restless," Shikamaru said as he rose from the couch.

"Yeah, I should too. It's getting late," Sasuke added.

"Well see you later!" Sakura called as they shut the door.

Sakura could feel that Itachi had just entered the apartment.

"So, how was last night? Are you okay?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah," Sakura replied.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"Sasuke kissed me,"

"WHAT!?! That bastard!!! I'm going to kill him!" Naruto yelled.

Hinata shushed him as she eased him down onto the couch.

"Naruto calm down, Sakura you haven't told him have you?" she asked.

"No," she sighed.

"Well if you think I'm pissed off I can only imagine how Sakura's criminal, creepy, cold, broody boyfriend must feel," Naruto scoffed.

"I'm as angry as hell," Itachi said.

He walked down the hallway and came up behind Sakura. He wasn't wearing anything but black pants and his cloak. He greedily wrapped an arm around Sakura's waist.

"W-What are you doing here?" Naruto exclaimed.

"I heard Sakura needed me, so I came," he said.

"I love him Naruto," Sakura said.

Naruto stared at her and looked at Itachi and finally glared Sakura in the eye once more.

"And does he love you?" he asked.

Itachi looked at Naruto, and then down at Sakura. He looked deeply into her eyes and answered.

"Yes,"

Sakura looked at him happily. He wasn't afraid of what other people thought. He loved her and she loved him.

Hinata looked at her friend and smiled. She had watched Sakura over the years, throwing her life away to impress Sasuke. How she would trail after him. How he later broke her heart after she had given it to him without as much as a second thought. How he almost left her alone to go chasing after power, seeking it from the one man who had later raped and tortured her… Orochimaru.

Naruto looked up at the couple and then looked at his teammate. She was beaming. He hadn't seen her this happy in a long time. It wasn't Sakura that made him uneasy. It was Itachi. He had killed his clan when he was 13 years old. He was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people. But he couldn't help but feel happy for Sakura.

"I noticed the baby, whose was it?" Itachi asked her.

"Ino's," Sakura sighed happily as she remembered the baby's smiling face.

"You looked happy holding her,"

"Her name is Sakura… Ino named her after me,"

"Then she must be a very beautiful baby," he sighed.

Sakura smiled and leaned back against him.

"Well we better go home," Itachi stated.

"Yeah," she replied.

Hinata and Naruto walked over to her to say their goodbyes. Hinata raced over to Sakura and hugged her tightly.

"I'm going to miss you! Write me as often as you can!!!" Hinata said.

"I'll try, God I'm going to miss all of you so much,"

Naruto walked up to Itachi and shook his hand.

"You better not hurt her, or I'll,"

"I know Kyuubi, I won't," Itachi replied.

"Sakura? Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said.

They walked out of the apartment and headed down the road toward the entrance to Konoha.

Sakura pulled her Akatsuki cload tightly around her. They smiled after they jumped off into the forest together.

Sasuke raced back towards Sakura's apartment. He couldn't let her leave without telling her he loved her.

He turned the corner and ran into Naruto and Hinata.

"Hey, where are you going in such a hurry?" Naruto asked.

"Sakura's place,"

"Oh, she left,"

"What?"

"Yeah, she went back to Akatsuki,"

"No, she wouldn't. Why would she leave?" he asked.

"She fell in love," Naruto sighed.

"What!?!" Sasuke fumed.

"…"

"With who?" Sasuke cried.

"With," Naruto mumbled.

Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the collar of his shirt and yanked him forward.

"WITH WHO NARUTO!!!" he yelled.

"With Itachi Uchiha," he said.

Sasuke stopped and dropped Naruto and staggered back.

"Sasuke, she wanted to tell you herself but she was afraid of what you would think," Hinata said.

"No, it's a lie! Why would she want to be with a sick, cruel bastard that killed his whole family just to see what he was capable of?" he cried.

"He won't take her from me!!!" he added as he ran toward the gates of Konoha.

"Sasuke!!!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto! It's no use… he's gone," Hinata said.

Sasuke ran through the forest as fast as his legs could carry him. This wasn't happening. Sakura loved him. She had told him that night when he had left. She had given herself to him and now he wanted her back. How could she love Itachi? She couldn't love him… He wouldn't let her.

Itachi and Sakura stopped to rest in a small clearing. The forest around her reminded her of her chunnin exam in the forest of death. The trees were thick and towering above them. She was snapped out of her thought when she felt Itachi's strong arms wrap around her waist.

"It's just us now," he whispered.

"Yes," she sighed.

Suddenly Sakura felt her body fly backward and land with a thud as she fell on the hard ground. She looked around wildly to see Sasuke leaning over Itachi's body, punching him repeatedly in the face.

"Sasuke? STOP!!!" she cried. Her heart was racing. This wasn't happening.

Itachi pulled free of Sasuke and wiped away the blood trickling down past his lip. He closed his eyes and breathed. They snapped open with a fiery crimson gaze.

Sasuke stood in an offensive stance and charged his brother.

Sakura couldn't watch this; she couldn't bear witness to this again.

"Itachi, Sasuke stop!!!" she yelled.

They ignored her and were still headed toward each other.

"No… STOP!!!" she screamed. She ran at Sasuke. She tackled him to the ground. He yelled in agony and violently kicked her off of him. She cried out as she landed a few feet away.

Itachi stopped in his tracks and looked at Sakura. Sasuke stood and looked down at his teammate.

Sakura looked up at both of them with tears streaming down her face.

"Both of you stop… please," she begged.

Sasuke looked at her in shock. Did she truly love Itachi?

"You can't love him, you love me, you told me that night,"

"Sasuke that was 6 years ago. After Naruto brought you back you didn't talk to anyone. You hardly did anything outside of training. You thrived on becoming stronger so you could destroy your brother. I learned to move on with my live and accept that you would never love anyone but yourself," she said.

"How do you know if he really loves you?" he asked.

"Because I do," Itachi said.

Sasuke looked at his brother and found himself at a loss for words. Sakura, his teammate. The girl who 6 years ago was practically drooling over him. And Itachi. The brother he looked up to and longed to be. S-class criminal, murderer; was actually in love.

He didn't know what to think. He hated to admit it but he was happy. In a way for both his brother and the girl of his dreams. In another for himself. He could wait until they married and knowing how much they were in love… he would be an uncle in no time.

He turned away from Sakura as Itachi walked over and helped her up. Sasuke noticed that they were both wearing Akatsuki robes. Knowing what an excellent medic she was, he had no doubt that Sakura was truly happy with Itachi and Akatsuki.

He looked at Sakura and smirked.

"Don't forget to keep me posted on the wedding date," he called as he leapt into the trees and back on his way to Konoha.

Sakura looked up at Itachi and Itachi looked down at Sakura.

They both smiled as Itachi cupped her cheek lightly and kissed her soundly before they leapt off into the forest towards Akatsuki headquarters.

A/N: OMG I love it!!! This chapter made me cry as I wrote it! I have started writing my DracoxHermione fanfiction but I can't come up with a name. I'm still thinking. Anyway…sorry it took so long to update this chapter. Hopefully future chapters will be submitted more promptly. Thanks for all of your reviews I appreciate them so much!!!

-CrimsonRain47