Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are created by Masashi Kishimoto, but the new plots (meaning the ones you don't recognize!) are mine. This fanfiction had been written for entertainment purposes only and without intention of infringing upon any copyright.

A/N: As always, thank you very much for all the reviews! Big shout out to: Illidan the Half Demon, ArjunaAnja, sandwich-chan, les-liaisons-dangereuses, jjayno1, AkatsukiSakura73, Kinkatia, Jester08, aznkitty180, dumdeedum, Dark Darianna Minamino, TeenageCrisis, Fei4, S.T. Nickolian, Reimei Hoshi, Coeur, Ita-ta, lara, sympatheticassassin, supersillee06, Blueberry Babe, anumeismyname, crystal teardrops, greenteamoose, Hao's Anjul, Luka1Sakura, GoddessOfFlash, midnight000shadow, Faye, Lraine, sadbird, Leila411, Incognito Temptation and troublesomefemale.

If you're interested, the poll results for pairing with Sakura is as follows - the numbers in the brackets are percentages: Itachi (31), Kakashi (17), Neji (9), Sasuke (9), Gaara (8), Shikamaru (6), Deidara (5), Naruto (4), Kiba (3), Sai (2) and Chouji (1). So I guess I'll be writing more Itachi-Sakura and Kakashi-Sakura then, hehe!

Here's the next chapter. Hope you'll like it!


The Contentious Heart by elle6778 – Chapter 11

Itachi kept his expression impassive as he scanned the eight Suna ANBUs approaching them. His own experience in ANBU was enough to tell him that the skill levels of his opponent must not be underestimated, let alone eight of them.

He snuck a sideway glance at his partner, noting that her attention was firmly fixed on their opponents as her hand slowly inched back to her pouch. A second later, she was gripping a kunai in each hand, just as the ANBU reached them.

"You have some nerve, entering Wind Country after what the Akatsuki had done to our Kazekage," one of the Suna ANBU bit out harshly through his mask.

"You're coming back with us," another one declared coldly, taking a step forward. This time it was a kunoichi. "I'm sure the Kazekage would like to ask you some questions. If you're still alive, that is."

"We are pressed for time," Itachi replied smoothly. "So we must decline."

"Don't mock us!" one of them hissed back at him. "Just in case you haven't noticed, there are eight of us here."

Itachi raised his hand, stilling Sakura when it looked like she was going to respond. "It is pointless to speak to them further. We have to fight."

"That's right, you piece of Akatsuki shit!"

"Ready?" Itachi murmured, ignoring the ANBU.

A flash of hesitation crossed Sakura's features, and then it was swiftly replaced by resolve. Her fingers came up to her eyes, and when her hands dropped, Itachi saw the bright glow of chakra swirling within her enhanced eyes.

"You take the four on the right. I'll take the rest," she announced.

"Hm."

With that, they streaked away from each other.

Itachi braced himself as a squad of four made a beeline towards him. His lips curled slightly in contempt. They were attacking him head on? How foolish.

It was time to test their potential.

In a flash, he created four clones and substituted himself with a nearby rock. Without pause, each of the Sand ANBU instantly engaged the clones in battle. His clone performed a fire jutsu, and the ANBU countered using a water jutsu. Unperturbed, another clone released a lightning jutsu. The Suna ANBU retaliated with wind jutsu, this time working in pairs.

When one of Itachi's clones released a water jutsu, the targeted pair of ANBU retreated swiftly, leaving a single kunoichi to come forth. The kunoichi lifted her hands together in an unfamiliar seal. A second later, the ground began to rumble and shake. In a blink of an eye, a wall of sand shot up in the air between the ANBU and Itachi's water jutsu.

Sand and water met with a thundering bang, spraying droplets in the air before the sand wall curved in to consume his clone.

Interesting, Itachi mused as his clone disintegrated into a flock of crows. This particular ANBU possessed a high level skill which allowed her to manipulate sand, much like the Shukaku's vessel. Deciding to push her further, Itachi directed his clone to release a stronger water jutsu.

As the Suna kunoichi prepared to defend her squad from the attack, Itachi glanced sideways to see Sakura preparing to launch a wind jutsu. The moment she completed her seals, spikes of high-speed wind shot straight out at the ANBU squad facing her. One of them was flung into the distance while the other three managed to disappear into the ground before her attack connected with them. They soon reappeared again, engaging Sakura in a furious battle. Another sand user, a weaker one, approached her, bringing particles sand which swirled faster and faster by the second, but the kunoichi only grimaced before launching another wind attack, pushing the particles back.

Then the pink-haired kunoichi reached into her pouch to pull something out. Itachi watched with a small smirk as she performed a familiar jutsu. A moment later, three other identical forms surrounded her. Itachi had seen this jutsu enough to know that these were not simple clones. They would continue to fight until the imbued chakra ran out.

Turning back to his own battle, Itachi watched his clones deflect another combination attack from two of the ANBUs. While Itachi continued to remain hidden, intently assessing his opponents' strengths and weaknesses, his three remaining clones continued to attack using a wide range of techniques.

Individually, they were not impressive, apart from the kunoichi with the high level sand manipulation skills. The rest of them only seemed to do well when executing combination attacks, Itachi noted. Therefore, all he had to do was to take out the most powerful of them all, the kunoichi, and then ensure that the rest were unable to execute any combination attacks.

With that thought, Itachi dismissed all but one of his clones and immediately took advantage of the four ANBU's momentary disorientation. Forming a rapid series of seals, his clone released the most powerful water jutsu he could summon. The strength did not matter actually, for the jutsu was only meant to be a distraction while his true self performed a genjutsu.

As expected, the one with the bloodline limit instantly focused on the water attack, positioning herself between the earth attack and the rest of her comrades. Two others froze on the spot, caught in his genjutsu, while the last ANBU was sharp enough to turn away to avoid being caught in the illusion. This particular shinobi immediately went to his two comrades, obviously intent on dispelling the genjutsu.

Satisfied that the last three would not be in the position to interfere, Itachi turned his attention back to the female ANBU, who had just managed to dispel his water attack again. Spinning towards him, the ANBU streaked forward, forcing Itachi to sidestep. A clanging sound rang through the air as their kunai clashed violently. Without pause, Itachi dropped to the ground and swept his legs out in a kick, but he was unsurprised when the brown-haired kunoichi succeeded in avoiding it. This shinobi was not to be underestimated.

Then his senses prickled a warning. Itachi sprung into the air just as a bright light flared up under him. A quick glance downwards told him that he had narrowly escaped a lightning bolt. His eyes narrowed at the realization that his enemy was also proficient at lightning jutsu.

Perhaps he needed to rethink his strategy.

The ANBU wasted no time in performing another series of seals, once again of a lightning nature. Clenching three shurikens between his fingers, Itachi spun high in the air. Intent on interrupting the lightning jutsu, he swiftly released his weapons towards the kunoichi. Concentration broken, she darted to the side, deflecting the shurikens with her kunai.

Dropping to his feet, Itachi noted that the persistent kunoichi was once again readying a lightning attack. Wind, which was the natural element to counter lightning, was by no means his strongest elemental jutsu. Sakura was possibly better equipped to handle this particular opponent, Itachi decided with slight irritation. Nevertheless, he was powerful and resourceful enough to ensure that this ANBU would regret crossing him.

With that thought, Itachi quickly flicked over a series of seals for a wind jutsu he had copied from Pein.

"Fuuton: Reppushou!"

A gust of wind shot out towards the brown-haired kunoichi at the exact moment that bolts of lightning shot towards Itachi. The two attacks collided, and a fraction of a second later, the clashing energies exploded outwards, forcing Itachi to take a step back.

His Sharingan was able to tell that the enemy kunoichi was now almost out of chakra, much to his pleasure.

Regrettably, he did not expect her to utilize the last of her chakra so soon in the form of yet another lightning jutsu. Before Itachi could fully avoid it, the lightning bolt grazed his left arm, drawing a pained hiss from him. Irked by the slight wound, Itachi did not pause before he performed the necessary seals for an advanced fire jutsu. Now that she was out of chakra, he could make his move.

Slamming his palm to the ground, Itachi called out, "Katon: Hinokami-no-jutsu!"

Balls of flaming red molten rocks shot straight up from the ground, each explosion getting closer and closer to the kunoichi who was attempting to jump out of harm's way, her jerky movements betraying her growing anxiety.

Then to Itachi's satisfaction, one of the molten rocks finally connected with its target, eliciting a cry of pain from the shinobi. Itachi glanced sharply at a book which fell from her as the kunoichi crashed against a tree, the force cracking its trunk. The ANBU was not dead yet, just incapacitated.

But Itachi knew that right then, he needed to deal with the others.

With that thought, he spun around to see that the other three ANBU were now free from his genjutsu, much as he had expected.

Substituting himself with a rock to avoid their attack, Itachi grimaced as he reappeared near Sakura. This battle was drawing out longer than acceptable, and he wished to end it soon. But there were too many of them for him to attempt a Tsukuyomi. The only appropriate choice for this situation was not something he wished to execute either, but it appeared that he had no choice.

Itachi felt the kunoichi's familiar presence behind him just before the warmth of her back pressed against his. Glancing around, he found that the remaining six ANBUs had formed a circle around them, while Sakura's clones were nowhere to be seen.

Studying their positions, Itachi frowned in displeasure at the realization that he could not execute his jutsu efficiently while his opponents were spread out like this.

"Break the circle," Itachi instructed calmly.

"Easier said than done," she muttered irritably.

His tone was harder when he said, "Break it and return to my side."

"Fine, I'll do it. Hang on!"

With that, she raised a glowing fist and brought it down to the ground. Cracks began to spread outwards from her fist, and a thundering sound erupted when the ground exploded under the Sand ANBUs, scattering them. Then she launched straight at them, forming seals as she did so.

Satisfied that she knew what she was doing, Itachi executed an advanced fire jutsu, forcing his three opponents to join the rest. The two previously injured ANBU were laying unconscious some distance away, but Itachi decided that taking down six of them was more than adequate.

"Now what?" the kunoichi asked behind him.

Not knowing what effect it would have on her chakra-enhanced eyes, Itachi ordered, "Stand back and close your eyes."

"What?" She sounded incredulous.

"Now."

With a frown, her eyes snapped shut.

His three tomoe began to spin, shifting to its Mangekyou form. Raising his hands, Itachi formed the necessary seals to execute the jutsu, his chakra surging upwards towards his eyes and lungs as he concentrated. The pressure behind his eyes intensified, and a dull throbbing pain slowly but surely began.

"Amaterasu," he mouthed.

In a burst of energy, he opened his mouth and released the attack. Fuelled by the power of the Mangekyou, the black fire sped out from his lungs, heading straight for the six shocked ANBU. Ignoring the soreness of his eyes, Itachi smirked in disdain as the desperate ANBUs began to release one after another water jutsu to counter the Amaterasu. Those foolish shinobi did not know that this was one fire jutsu which could not be countered in such a manner.

Then screams erupted into the air as the black fire engulfed their bodies. The victims began to writhe piteously, and Itachi knew that soon, they would move no more. Even now, the black flames ate their flesh, turning it into nothing but dust.

A gasp sounded beside him, and Itachi glanced out of the corner of his eyes to find the kunoichi staring at the result of his Amaterasu. Her eyes were fixed to the burning flames, her expression a mix of shock mingled with a hint of horror. She was still soft, he thought with no small amount of displeasure. Did she expect him to allow them to live?

"Is something the matter?" he asked silkily, injecting a hint of challenge in his tone.

She snapped towards him, her rounded green eyes flickering. Then she lifted her chin. "Nothing."

"Hm."

Knowing that they should not linger, Itachi stepped away. His eyes were drawn to the book which had fallen from one of the ANBUs. To his annoyance, his gradually blurring vision prevented him from identifying what it was, so he bent down to pick it up. Bringing it close to his face, Itachi finally recognized it as a Bingo book.

Pocketing it, he intoned, "Let's go."

Without waiting for her to reply, he burst into a run. It would be wise to get as far as they could away from the ANBU. The other two who had been knocked unconscious were lucky enough to survive and would no doubt report back to Suna as soon as they were able. Then Suna would inevitably send reinforcements, even though it was too late to save the other six.

As they ran across the desert, the sun began to set, casting an eerie glow over the entire landscape. The kunoichi was silent, and idly, Itachi wondered what she was thinking. The scent of blood reached him then, and Itachi glanced sharply to the side. Even through his deteriorated eyesight, he could see the dampness of her Akatsuki cloak.

"You're injured," he noted blandly.

Without glancing at him, she nodded. "Just a slight cut."

His eyes narrowed at her respond. A slight cut would not result in so much blood, but it appeared that the kunoichi was too proud to admit it out loud. Then, deciding that she was quite capable of handling her own injuries, he turned back to the front.

Itachi grimaced as another sharp sting shot through his eyes. A painful as it was, he had no choice but to keep his Sharingan activated. It was a good thing he did so, otherwise he would have missed the sight of the oasis bounded by desert rocks in the distance.

Inclining his head in that direction, he said, "We will stop there for the night."

She stilled momentarily as a spark of green chakra traveled across her eyes. "I see it. There's something that looks like a cave nearby."

"Hm."

Without a pause, Itachi continued to head towards their destination, despising the fact that he could not see clearly. The decline of his eyesight was an increasing concern even though it would not be long before he fixed the condition. But considering the state they were in, perhaps he should bring one of his plans forward.

Vaguely, he wondered if Pein knew that he had quietly learned the secret jutsu. It was unlikely, Itachi surmised. After all, all the evidences had been taken care of.

As he neared their destination, his attention was drawn to the sight of the hidden cave amongst the protruding desert rocks. Suppressing any signs that betrayed his relief at finding the shelter, Itachi stepped into the dark space and immediately checked for indications of any other living being. When he ascertained that they were secure, he sat down and leaned back against the cool inner wall of the cave. Only then did he deactivate his Sharingan, allowing his eyes to close. The relief was palpable.

A short while later, a subtle shuffling sound told him that the kunoichi was approaching.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

Keeping his eyes closed, he replied curtly, "Eyes."

"I thought I told you to tell me when it hurts," she chided tersely, but there was no mistaking the anxiety in her tones.

She was concerned for him, was she? The notion brought him an odd feeling, something which he could not quite place. After all, it had been a long time since he was subjected to such a thing. Perhaps he was mistaken, for it seemed ridiculous that she should be concerned about him. Or perhaps it was simply gratitude. Who knew what else the emotional kunoichi could be experiencing at that moment?

His eyes opened, and the blurry form of the kunoichi came into view.


Sakura sucked in a sharp breath when she found herself staring into a pair of onyx eyes. It was the first time she had seen Itachi without his Sharingan, and it unnerved her just how much those orbs reminded her of Sasuke. The shape of their eyes was different, but the slightly bemused expression in them was unmistakable.

Bemused or not, the idiot was obviously in pain, from the way he was slumped against the cave wall. It must be from that crazy jutsu he had executed, the one that the Sannin Jiraiya had warned Tsunade about, that Amaterasu. The amount of chakra involved in that attack had astounded her. And she was sure that it was the reason behind his current state. The chakra pathways around his eyes were probably burnt badly.

She frowned inwardly. Although she was glad that he had succeeded in getting them out of what could be a very bloody situation, she was sickened by the deaths of those six shinobi. Sakura cringed at the memory of the black flames which had engulfed them and the tortured screams which followed. It was one of the most horrifying sights she had the misfortune to see, even though the extent of Itachi's cruelty should not surprise her. After all, he had massacred his entire clan. To him, something like burning those ANBU alive was probably minor.

For a moment, she considered letting him suffer. He deserved it after putting those ANBU through that much pain. What he was suffering did not even come close to what the black flames had inflicted on the Sand shinobi.

Torn by whether she should heal him or not, Sakura continued to stare at him. After a while, she realized that her subconscious would not let her ignore his pain. It must be the medic-nin in her, she thought darkly.

She let out an exasperated huff. "Itachi-san. The next time this happens, tell me. I could have healed this earlier."

"There was no time. It would be unwise to linger."

"Fine. But now, let me have a look at it now before it gets worse," she said in an uncompromising tone.

A weary smile crossed Itachi's lips as he lifted his hand.

Then to her astonishment, he poked her in her forehead.

Stunned, she could only gape at him.

It took a while before she regained her composure and when she did, she reached up to rub her forehead gingerly. She could not believe that he, Uchiha Itachi, had POKED her in her forehead. And damn it, it was sore!

"What the hell was that for?" she demanded incredulously.

He simply studied her wordlessly. The corner of his lips still tilted in a weary smile, he closed his eyes again. Just when she thought that he had fallen asleep, his eyes opened into slits.

His voice was soft when he remarked, "You have a prominent forehead."

Sakura instantly stiffened and then her hands clenched into tight fists.

He did not just say that. Eyes narrowing, she pinned a glare at him. If he was not so weak from his eye injury, she would have smacked him for what he had just said. How dare he insult her forehead? The last person who had done so was Ino and that had been years ago.

"Itachi-san." Her voice was clipped. "I'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from insulting me."

"It was simply an observation."

An observation?! She glared down at his half-hooded eyes. Unbidden, her eyes traveled over his lashes. She had noticed before, although she had not paid much attention to it. Those lashes were nothing short of sinfully beautiful. And then it occurred to her that it was grossly unfair for an S-class male criminal to have such long, thick eyelashes.

Startled by her own thoughts, she froze. Did she just describe Itachi's lashes as beautiful?

A groan bubbled up within her. All the heat and sand must be getting to her. Why was she thinking such things about him? Inner Sakura was the one who normally come up with these inane ideas, not HER!She was more sensible than that.

Inner Sakura emerged smirking. 'Finally! It's about time you stop kidding yourself! What's so hard about admitting that Itachi is very attractive? Remember how sexy he was at the hotsprings? And how warm and hard he felt in the cave?'

Sakura glowered at her inner self. Fine, she was a woman and her senses could not help but to react to an attractive male. Yes, she had been rather flustered when she had seen him in nothing but a towel and then later in the hotsprings. And yes, ever since that time in the cave, she had been ridiculously aware of him. No one would really blame her, right? After all, Itachi was one hell of an attractive man.

Wait! Had she just admitted that she found Itachi attractive?

Wha-? Huh?

NANIIII?!

Inner Sakura beamed in smug satisfaction. Not only that, Inner Sakura apparently decided that it was an appropriate time to dance around in her head, just to rub it in.

Sakura could not believe it. Just what was wrong with Inner Sakura nowadays? She needed to get a grip. She COULD NOT find Itachi attractive. Itachi was a cruel, cold-hearted criminal. An enemy. Someone she would most probably end up having to kill. She could not have such thoughts about him no matter how good-looking he was.

"Sakura-san."

She jerked at his voice. "Huh?"

He was wearing that bemused expression again. Her eyes narrowed. What exactly did he find funny about the entire situation?

"I believe you were about to heal my eyes?" he prompted levelly.

Clamping her lips together, she nodded wordlessly. Still discomfited by her wayward thoughts, Sakura found it difficult to meet his gaze as she prepared to heal his eyes. The way he looked at her was as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. But it was not possible, right? The Sharingan did not allow one to read minds, only movements and chakra.

"Close your eyes," she instructed, thankful that her voice betrayed nothing of her discomfort.

He obeyed silently.

As she laid her palms over his eyes, his lashes brushed her skin and she had to bite her lips to focus. Just heal his eyes, Sakura, she chided herself. Attractive or not, Itachi was part of this crazy mission of hers and she had to keep a professional mind intact. This was no time to give in to the urges of a hormone-driven teenager, even though shewas a teenager.

She concentrated on healing his eyes for a while more until she was satisfied that it was fine. At least for a while. There was no way to heal it fully without extensive treatment. Such a thing was probably not a good idea, considering his status. He was already a great threat to Naruto as he was, let alone with fully-healed, perfect eyesight. To heal him would equate to betraying Konoha, and that was something she had no intention of doing.

Lifting her hands away from his eyes, she announced in a level voice, "It's done."

His lids lifted, and once again, she was greeted by a pair of dark eyes. For a moment, she could only stare, somewhat unnerved by how those eyes reminded her of Sasuke.

Then she blinked and his eyes were once again crimson.

"Thank you, Sakura-san," he said politely.

"How does it feel?" she asked, tracing a finger under one of his eyes to pull the bottom lid down. No redness surrounding the white, she noted as she peered closely.

"Better."

She pressed her thumb lightly on his eyelid. "Any more pain?"

"No."

"Blurriness or distortion?"

"Less."

She refrained from making a face. Was he only capable of one-word answers?

When his warm breath brushed against her lips, Sakura suddenly realized just how close her face was to his. An odd tingle instantly ran down her spine at the sensation. Of its own volition, her eyes landed on his lips. It looked so soft, so inviting. If she moved just an inch closer to him, their lips would touch.

Inner Sakura began to salivate in anticipation.

What the hell!

Dismayed by what she had almost done, she jerked away from him. He was watching her with half-hooded eyes, and to her consternation, there was a knowing look in those crimson orbs. Please, please tell her that he did not know what had just gone through her stupid, messed-up mind. She would not be able to live it down if he did. What was she thinking?!

Then he smirked.

Her embarrassment and discomfiture instantly evaporated at his smug expression.

The arrogant bastard.

So what if he knew? He was probably used to girls flinging themselves all over him. So there was nothing for her to be worried about, right?

With a huff, she averted her eyes and stood up abruptly, her injured leg almost buckling under her. Whatever it was that had happened just now, it was best all around if she distanced herself from him. Turning her attention outside, she noted that it was still bright.

"You should rest while I keep watch. I think it's best if we move out once it's dark outside. Are you okay with that?" And why did her voice sound so stiff and unnatural?

"Aa," was his only response.

A shuffling sound drew her attention back to him, and Sakura watched as he pulled his Akatsuki cloak closer around him before he closed his eyes. Hoping that he would fall asleep soon, Sakura walked to the mouth of the cave and sat down. She was still very much aware that she needed to send a message to Tsunade, but she could not do so until Itachi was fully asleep.

She sat on the ground, wrapping her hands around her knees as she waited.

One hour passed before she was convinced that he had fallen asleep. Stealthily, as to not wake him, Sakura crept out of the cave. She slowly walked further and further away from the cave. It did not matter where she went, she just needed to get far enough to avoid detection.

When she came across a shallow pond surrounded by some palm trees, she stopped. Expanding her senses, she noted with satisfaction that the area was secure. With swift movements, she performed the necessary seals to form the wind jutsu. Then she concentrated on the message.

"Rescue operation required for two wounded ally members in Wind Country desert, and six were fatally injured. The eighth vessel is in River. Speed essential to intercept capture in two days. Good luck."

Now that the message was sent, Sakura exhaled in relief. Hopefully Tsunade would get the message in time to make sure that the hachibi jinchuuriki remained safe by sending someone. In that case, it was likely that she would have to fight some of the Leaf shinobi, seeing that this jinchuuriki was hers to capture. But it could not be helped. All she had to do was to make the fight look as convincing as possible to the Akatsuki. That should not be too hard, seeing that the Akatsuki did not know the full extent of her skills. The last thing she wanted to do was to get more people killed.

She forced away the image of the six ANBU who had been engulfed in the black fire. Hopefully, the Kazekage would be informed soon enough so that he could rescue the two ANBU left alive. Still, she could not help but worry about the fact that those survivors could easily identify her. How many pink-haired missing-nin were from Konoha? Even if Gaara eventually found out about her actual mission, there was no guarantee that he would not retaliate.

An image of herself being suffocated by the Kazekage's sand instantly flashed across her mind, making her shudder.

Shaking away the morbid images, Sakura fixed her attention to the pool of water. Deciding to take advantage of it, she knelt down and began to wash the dust off herself. The water was lukewarm, but that was to be expected considering the heat in Wind Country.

Peeling her clothes off, she took note of her injuries. Most of them were minor, but there was a deep gash in her left thigh, courtesy of one of the ANBU. Biting her lips as she dribbled water over the wound, she could not help but wonder if she would have managed to get out alive without Itachi's Amaterasu.

Once clean and healed, she quickly made her way back to the cave, pausing only to restock her supply of bugs for her shapeshifting jutsu. She had used up her entire supply to hold off the Sand ANBU earlier. The fight had not been easy. But although she had been occupied with her own battles, one of the wind attacks Itachi had used had caught her attention. Idly, she wondered if he would be willing to teach her how to execute it.

When she stepped into the cave, she saw that Itachi was still asleep. For a moment, she just stood there staring at the figure leaning against the side of the cave. He looked so young, so relaxed. And so… pretty, with the tips of his bangs brushing his cheeks. It was somewhat hard to believe that this was a cold-hearted assassin. But then again, appearance could be deceiving. She should know that by now.

With an inward shrug, she settled down on the opposite side of the cave and tried to rest without falling asleep. Unfortunately, her weary body refused to cooperate and before she knew it, she had fallen into slumber.


Itachi opened his eyes, and immediately noticed that even without his Sharingan, his vision was a little sharper. However, he knew from the last time she had treated him that this effect was only temporary. After a week or so, his eyesight would become blurred again, forcing him to use the Sharingan all the time.

He glanced to the other side of the cave to see that the kunoichi was still sleeping. So much for standing guard, he thought wryly. Still, it did not matter since he would have awakened if there was any movement nearby.

Like he had done last night when she left the cave. He had sensed her return only an hour after she had left. From what he could tell, she had gone to cleanse herself because through the narrow slits of his lids, he had seen the dampness of her clothes and her water-darkened hair.

Studying her features, he was reminded of what had almost occurred yesterday. There was no mistaking the look in her eyes when she had bent over his face. Although he had been amused by the utter horror in her expression when she had realized what she was about to do, he was also somewhat… disconcerted when she had pulled back so abruptly.

Mulling over his reaction, Itachi finally decided that it was to be expected. Although aware that fraternization between comrades could only end badly, he was still a man. With the number of missions they had been assigned lately, there had not been any time for him or the rest to indulge in their usual… release. She was the only female he was in constant contact with for almost three months. Thus, his reaction to her yesterday was completely understandable.

As was with his reaction to her that day in Waterfall Country. To his consternation, his body warmed at the memory. Ever since their inappropriately close physical contact, he had been disturbinglyaware of her.

Shaking those thoughts away, he stood up and directed his gaze outside. He estimated that he had slept around four hours, since it was still dark. Deciding that it was safe to leave for a while, he followed the kunoichi's track to arrive at a shallow pond.

After a quick wash, he stood up and suddenly remembered the Bingo book he had retrieved yesterday. Pulling it out, he flicked through the pages, idly noting familiar faces, some crossed out, some not, including his own. Then his eyes fell on the picture of a pink-haired kunoichi. The picture was an old one, for she looked much younger in it.

He skimmed through her data, noting that she achieved the rank of Jounin just short of three years ago, and that her primary skills laid in medical jutsu. Her chakra-based taijutsu skills and her affinity towards wind and earth jutsu were nothing new to him, having seen her in battle ever since her fight with Kisame so long ago.

Then his eyes landed on the list at the bottom of the page. Haruno Sakura was wanted for the break-in and theft of Daimyou's property in Lightning Country, the kidnapping of the heir of some family, the destruction of the Aoki clan's stronghold, the infiltration of weapons facilities in Wave Country and the impersonation of the wife followed by the assassination of the head of Takashi clan. The list went on, but Itachi's attention diverted to the last line.

No known affiliation.

He smirked inwardly as he closed the book. This Bingo book must be old, otherwise her name would come under the Akatsuki organization.

Pocketing the book, he made his way back to the cave. When he stepped in, he saw that Sakura was already awake.

"It is time to leave," he told her levelly.

Nodding sleepily, she stood up and followed him out. He watched as she raised a hand to put something in her mouth. Then their eyes met, and to his surprise, there was a slight hesitation in hers. When he raised a brow, she dipped into her pouch and extended her hand towards him.

"Here," she offered.

Itachi glanced down to find a familiar pill resting on her palm. She was offering him a soldier pill? His first instinct was to reject her offering. After all, no one could be trusted. The pill could be something else disguised as a soldier pill, even though her countenance suggested nothing of that nature.

"Take it," she said, sounding slightly uncomfortable. "You didn't eat anything since yesterday."

An odd feeling washed over him then, something he could not quite identify. Discomfited by the unfamiliarity, he quickly brushed it away before reaching out to take the pill. However, he did not eat it. Instead, he pocketed it.

"I'll take it later."

"Make sure you do."

"Hm."

With that, he began to walk away from their shelter. They had to leave Wind Country before they were ambushed again, thus risking the further deterioration of his eyesight.

Whilst it helped that Sakura was partnered with him, he could not always rely on her aid. Only the weak would depend on another. Idly, he wondered if the condition of his eyes was one of the reasons for her position as his partner. After all, it was no secret that his eyes were bothering him. Was Pein, or rather Tobi, attempting to create this weakness in him? To weaken him by leading him to depend on another?

Itachi smirked inwardly. Even if it was so, he would not succumb to such a thing. He had relied on himself far too long to fall into the trap of relying on someone else.


Tsunade's lips were pressed in a tight line as she waited for the two teams she had summoned to assemble before her. With Sakura's information arriving so late, they had to act fast if they wanted to intercept the Akatsuki. They could not allow the Akatsuki to get their hands on another bijuu. As it was, she did not even know if they could make it in time.

This week was the busiest in all the time since Sakura had settled in the Akatsuki, starting with the situation in Tea Country. Knowing that Sakura would be elsewhere, Tsunade had dispatched Team Kakashi to handle the chaos there five days ago. She had heard nothing from them since then, and she could only hope that things were under control.

Then there was the issue with the spies. It was hardly surprising that the Akatsuki had spies in Konoha, and Tsunade knew that there was nothing she could do about it. If she acted anyway out of the ordinary, she might tip the spies off, and this would probably lead to questions being asked within the Akatsuki, putting Sakura at risk. At the moment, only she, Kakashi and Shikamaru knew about Sakura, therefore her student should be safe from the Akatsuki. The best she could do at the moment was to keep any plans to do with the Akatsuki close to her inner circle.

What was more worrying was how the Kazekage would react to the message she had just sent. No doubt the Kazekage's first question would be how Konoha had gotten their hands on such information, seeing that the event had occurred in Wind Country. She would not be able to answer him, and she hoped that Gaara would not choose to be obstinate this time because she had no time and patience to deal with a cranky Kazekage, considering their current situation.

It was clear to Tsunade that those wounded shinobi had been in a battle with Sakura and the Akatsuki. Only two survived but six were dead and Tsunade wondered if Sakura was responsible for any of the deaths. In their line of work, deaths were commonplace, and yet, she hoped that Sakura had not become completely jaded like so many other shinobi.

Akatsuki would come out in full force this time considering much they wanted the hachibi. The only unfortunate thing about this was that whomever she sent, they would be facing Sakura as well as the other Akatsuki members. It was not an ideal situation, but it could not be helped. For the integrity of Sakura's undercover mission, she could only instruct the teams to bring Sakura back alive, and put her faith in Sakura to evade capture.

Sakura had told them that not all of the Akatsuki members would be physically present during the extraction, that some of them would merely be projections. Tsunade frowned. The Akatsuki members were so careful to remain separated that it would be impossible to catch them all in the same place, and then ambush them.

This meant that Shikamaru's primary plan was unlikely to succeed.

A heavy sigh escaped her. In that case, she needed to discuss with Shikamaru the possibility of diverging from the original plan. The secondary plan would be riskier for Sakura, and prior to the mission, Sakura had been told to carry it out at her own discretion, without putting herself into harm's way. But knowing Sakura, the word 'harm' was relative. And if they decided that this was the way forward, they had to rely on Sakura checking out the pickup points to find their coded message.

A knock sounded on her door, and Tsunade called out, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal Team Kurenai and an ANBU squad.

Tsunade's tone was firm when she began, "I have a mission for you…"


They crossed the border into River Country just as the sun peeked over the horizon. The journey had not taken long, and they encountered no trouble.

And yet, Sakura could not stop her growing tension. In a short time, they would encounter the hachibi jinchuuriki and she would have to capture him. Unless, of course, Konoha intercepted it. She just hoped that her message got to Tsunade in time. Would Tsunade send someone? Would they arrive in time to stop the capture?

"Is something the matter?"

She could not tell him the truth. "We're running late," Sakura murmured absently.

"We are almost there."

Sakura bit her bottom lip. She was not worried about being late as such, but it was the first excuse which popped into her mind. Her worry was directed more towards the hachibi jinchuuriki.

"I'm supposed to capture the hachibi, remember?" she muttered. "Can't afford to be late."

"Aa."

Suddenly, Itachi's eyes narrowed.

A loud bang followed by a thick white cloud of smoke in the distance caught her attention. It was strangely familiar and Sakura had a feeling she knew who exactly was responsible for it. She almost groaned out loud, wondering just how much trouble was Deidara's actions going to cause her and how much injuries was the crazy blonde going to sustain this time.

"They are here," Itachi remarked levelly.

"Deidara definitely is," she replied dryly. "I wonder if there will be anything left of the hachibi once we get there. He could have waited for us."

"He is rash."

Sakura glanced sideways at Itachi. "He's crazy."

His brow lifted slightly. "Kisame is of the impression that you're as crazy as Deidara."

A gasp escaped her lips before she could stop it. "He said WHAT?" she cried incredulously. "He has some nerve. And who is he to talk anyway? I bet-"

"Sakura-san," he interjected suddenly.

His tone warned her that something was not quite right. She spun around, her stance prepared for any eventuality. Someone was heading their way. True enough, a moment later, two rogue ninjas appeared before them.

"Look at what we have here," one of them spat. "More Akatsuki brats for us to play with."

The other sneered. "Akira is pretty popular nowadays, isn't he?"

"Akira?" Sakura echoed questioningly, glancing at Itachi. "The jinchuuriki, I presume."

"Aa."

Sakura nodded once before turning back to their opponents. So these two must be the hachibi jinchuuriki's companions, the jounin missing-nins Kisame had told them about in the meeting.

The first one who had spoken scowled darkly. "You Akatsuki only look at him like a beast, don't you? You've been chasing him for years and you still have no idea what's his name."

"It is irrelevant," Itachi intoned dispassionately.

Sakura almost winced at his words, even though she knew that she should not be surprised at all. When was she going to ever learn that the Akatsuki was a bunch of cold-hearted criminals? But no matter how many times she heard such things, it still disturbed her.

It suddenly occurred to her that if not for this undercover mission of hers, the situation could be reversed and these two rogue shinobi could be her and Sai, trying to protect Naruto. A twinge of pity coursed through her at the thought that two of them would definitely lose at the hand of the Akatsuki if Konoha did not reach them in time to provide backup.

"Prepare to die, Akatsuki!"

The rogue shinobi raised his hands in preparation to perform a jutsu.

Just as Sakura was about to do the same, a streak of blue caught her attention. Kisame landed in front of them a second later, and the missing-nin's attack was instantly absorbed by Samehada. Without a pause, Kisame performed a water jutsu. The ground instantly rumbled and water began to spurt out of the cracks, spraying straight towards the two missing-nins.

Sakura could only blink at the speed of things. The two missing-nins were temporarily distracted, struggling against the water, but she was sure that they would be back soon.

"Let's go," Itachi instructed as he streaked forward.

With a nod, Sakura began to run towards the battlefield. A quick glance sideways told her that Kisame had pulled up beside her.

She frowned at the smug look on his face. "What?"

"That shinobi's jutsu would have hit you right in your face, kunoichi," the Mist shinobi said, grinning down at her.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "As if." Then she inclined her head in the direction of the explosions. "You left Deidara there alone?"

Kisame raised a brow. "He's just warning up the jinchuuriki for you."

"He's probably trying to get revenge for what happened before," Sakura muttered dryly, recalling the giant hole in the blonde's stomach the first day she had set foot in the Akatsuki's stronghold.

Itachi glanced back towards them. "How many are there?"

"Two teams. Eight including the jinchuuriki," Kisame replied. "Deidara and I took two down earlier, so excluding the two drowning ones, there are three left with the jinchuuriki."

"Where is Tobi?" Itachi asked.

"Pein called him back."

The flicker of suspicion in Itachi's eyes was barely perceptible, but Sakura caught it. She frowned inwardly, wondering what could have caused Itachi's reaction. Come to think of it, this was not the first time she had noticed Itachi paying attention to what Tobi did.

Then her mind shifted away from Itachi when she caught sight of another explosion. She was close enough now to see the four figures fighting next to a wide river.

As she ran towards them, Sakura took a deep breath, trying to ignore the way the hair behind her neck was standing on its end at the sheer amount of yellow chakra exuded by the brown-haired jinchuuriki. To her surprise, he was around her age, maybe a few years older. He reminded her of Naruto in his uncontrolled state, but she could not see any tails behind him. Also, it was clear by the way he was fighting that he was a very skilled shinobi.

This was not going to be an easy battle at all.

The three rogue shinobi surrounding the jinchuuriki spotted them, and began to peel off, leaving Deidara to fight with the jinchuuriki alone.

"Go to the jinchuuriki," Itachi instructed, his steps slowing.

Sakura nodded curtly and then continued to streak towards the jinchuuriki.

Surreptitiously, she scanned the area around them as she ran. There was no one else present except the jinchuuriki's team and the Akatsuki. Where was Konoha? Did they not receive her message? At the rate things were going, the Akatsuki would end up capturing the hachibi, and she would have no way of stopping them without blowing her cover.

What should she do?


A/N: And that's it for this chapter. Hope you've enjoyed it. Things are about to get a bit more serious for the next couple of chapters. Please review if you can, I'd love to know what you thought of the chapter. Thanks!

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