A/N: Uh oh...
The grass crunched under their feet as the moon illuminated their thick, dark cloak which surrounded the whole of their bodies. Itachi's gaze was fixed on their path, his emotionless mask still intact and his sharingan was lighting dangerously, ready to kill those who are foolish to even take a single glance of that astounding but deadly rubies.
Suddenly, Sakura halted dead in her tracks.
"Itachi-san..." She whispered; her gaze was towards the ground.
Itachi blinked before stopping as well; their distances were mere inches.
"...what is it...?"
Sakura pursued her lips together as she looked up to him, "After this...can I go back to Konoha?" She paused, "...I'm sure Tsunade-sama was being worried about me right now. I haven't told her about this...Konoha would consider me a missing-nin if I don't go back any sooner,"
Itachi froze for a second but easily regained his composure. If she would go back to Konoha, then report her tale to the Hokage herself, Akatsuki would surely be endangered; however, if she did not return, the Hokage would send her a search party...Stuck between a rock and a hard place, huh?
He shook his head, "No."
"W-Why?"
"Sakura..." he put a single hand on her shoulder, "...we should talk about this for some other time. The mission is our priority."
Sakura pouted slightly but nodded anyways, "...okay..."
Itachi let go of her as he strode at their path once again. Sakura followed him a little sooner after contemplating, a little too vague about what will happen now.
The walk was made up of nothing but silence, until Itachi halted which made Sakura bump her face into his back. "...ow..."
"We should stay here for tonight..." he sighed tiredly.
Sakura tilted her head diagonally so that she could see whatever he was referring at, "an...inn?"
He nodded silently before opening the wooden door and stepping inside, Sakura following behind. They were greeted by an old lady who looked in her sixties, who was smiling from ear to ear. She had a welcoming gaze glued to them, before she spoke:
"What can I do for you...?" Her smile turned into a grin.
"A room, please."
Sakura smiled slightly; for a cold blooded killer, he was sure polite, "Only one?"
He replied softly, "Yes."
"Well, here you go." The old lady handed Itachi a key, with a number saying 401, "Fourth floor, first to the left."
Itachi nodded relentlessly before handing the woman some money, (which made Sakura a little surprised). He soon walked towards the other direction, key in hand, and face hidden in his bangs. Sakura followed suit, feeling uneasy as she felt the old woman's gaze burning into the both of them.
After climbing a few steps, they reached a wooden door that said: 401.
Itachi placed the key on the keyhole before twisting it, making it creak slightly, then turned towards her. "I'm sure you've met them..."
She stared at him, questioning, before she looked towards her right. "S-Sasori-san?"
"Look who's here..." The puppet master greeted lazily before walking towards the both of them, "You've been assigned to a mission as well, Itachi-san, Sakura-san?"
Itachi nodded curtly, "Where's Deidara?"
"He said he's going to stay in the room for a while," He gave a pointing gaze towards the other door across theirs, "Where are you headed to?"
"Sound."
"Ahh..." Sasori sighed slightly, "Were headed to Stone. We would leave this place by dawn, how about you?"
"Same." Itachi blinked, "...We're going to rest now, Sasori-san. We'll leave as soon as you do."
Sasori nodded, "Good night then, Itachi-san, Sakura-san."
"Hn."
"Hai. Good night, Sasori-san." She smiled, "Say that as well to Deidara-san, please."
Sasori stalked off as he opened the adjacent door, while she followed Itachi towards the door in front of him. She entered it before he did, and then closed it afterwards.
"You seem so tired..." She observed, his back facing her.
"..." Itachi coughed silently, covering his mouth as he did.
"...Is that—?" Her eyes widened.
Itachi turned around, his fingers were blooded, "It's nothing..."
"Please lay down on the bed," She ordered professionally, "...why didn't you tell me this sooner?"
Itachi hardly did so, before she kneeled at his side, "...Hn."
Sakura mentally shrugged him off, then removed his cloak, throwing it nonchalantly aside, "What are you feeling right now?"
"Hn..." He rasped weakly.
She pressed her hands against his chest, feeling it rise up and down with intervals, "Please...Itachi-san..." It glowed green soon after his breathing became normal, "...I still need to treat you. The chakra I poured into your lungs would help you stay normal for the night."
Itachi closed his eyes tiredly before opening it once again; it was onyx. Then his gaze shifted to her, his eyes showed less pain.
"Explain..." she sighed, stepping out off the bed before crouching beside the wall then begin rummaging her pack, revealing a white cloth. She proceeded to the bathroom, turning the faucet on, damping the cloth as she frowned at him.
"Hn..."
"Itachi-san!" She nearly growled at his drastic silence, before stepping out of the room with the damp cloth, proceeding to stand near the bed frame.
"Hn..."
She growled, kneeling at his side once again, then threw the cloth to his face.
"Wash your damned face, you lazy bastard!"
Itachi froze, did she just...swore?
Sakura's eyes widened, "Uh, umm...I'm sorry..."
"...I've never heard you say that..."He removed the cloth from her hand and threw it aside, "...Hn..."
"..." She outstretched her arms to pick up the poor, crimson cloth, then wiped his mouth, effectively removing the red stain.
"It doesn't sound like you, Sakura-san," he remarked throatily, "...are you learning from Hidan?"
"N-no..." She shook her head, her cheeks flustered.
"..Hn." He grunted slightly when she began removing his shoes, after his forehead protector and placing it on a side table.
Itachi stared at her while she removed her yukata leaving her in nothing but mesh top and black shorts, and then raised her hand to touch his forehead. "You're ill."
"Hn..."
She sighed exasperatedly before getting under the covers, ready for a sleepless slumber. "Tomorrow let me know the symptoms and I'll try to heal it," She yawned slightly, turning her back towards him. "I'm just so tired right now..."
"...Sakura."
She muffled, "Hai?"
He hesitated at first, but then spoke with something rather regretful, "If...Akatsuki was a threat to Konoha, what will you do?"
It was a few more seconds before she answered, her back still facing him, "...Why all of a sudden?"
"No, just answer my question."
"...I don't know...what I would do..."
Itachi mentally sighed, lifting the covers so that he was beside her, "What will you chose?"
"...I...I'm not sure. Why are you asking this kind of things anyway? Is Akatsuki a threat against Konoha?"
He closed his eyes, contemplating what to say, "No."
She turned her body so she was facing him now, her gaze contemplative, "I see."
Itachi's hand made its way into her cheek, leaning down and capturing her lips with her, he whispered jadedly, "Do you love me?"
"...I...I..." She wasn't sure what really to say, or as if there are really words that could describe her emotions—there was something inside, but it is as if it was sealed. "Sakura," He called out, "...Do you love me?"He repeated, softer this time.
"...I don't know..."
"That does not answer my question," he frowned slightly, grabbing her necklace, giving it a small tug, "...If I remove this, will you?"
Sakura stared at his charcoal eyes, her brows slightly furrowed showing off a small warning glare. "You won't."
"Of course, I can." He smirked, removing his grasp on the object and proceeded to lie on the bed, "I can do whatever I want, Sakura-san."
She sighed, getting off of the bed and walked towards the bathroom.
"Where are you going?"
"I am not yours!"
He was quite taken aback by the remark, but let her continue nonetheless. "After I had accomplished the mission, I am going to go back to leaf, and tell everything that had happened when I was gone." She frowned, "You could not stop me...I am not your doll to command."
"Is that so?" He bit out a dark chuckle.
"But that was just what you are to me."
Her eyes widened, "...what?"
He smirked, "No...It's nothing. Go to sleep. You are free to do whatever you wanted to do."
Her head bent downwards as she entered the bathroom, "...I see. Goodnight, then."
He responded, eyes glinting with a dark intention.
"Good night."
A/N: -dodges flying objects- Woo...how long have I last updated? 1...2...3...-gets hit by a flying tomato-
Sorry, Sorry! But you know, I'm not just procrastinating in a corner here! I've decided to revise this, I'm still not sure when I can post those new chapters. But I'll make sure that those small, little annoying mistakes have been corrected, and the story line would be more mysterious, understandable, and longer—or that's what I think.
So...I'm sorry again...I'll see you next time.
P.S. Whatever you are thinking right now, IT'S WRONG! I'm not r—
