Author's Notes: I must give thanks to Angel897 for her excellent suggestion for chapter 9, I put it to good use! Thank you for all you many reviews! I hope this chapter is met with such approval as well.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Reminder: This fiction is rated M for a very good reason so if you are not old enough or emotionally mature enough to handle its content, turn away now.

Shattered Fate

Chapter 10

When Sakura heard Itachi tell his men that he would stay behind and deal with her she wondered just how much of her disguise had slipped away when she killed the man threatening Hinata.

If he even suspects a little of who I truly I am I won't have to bother about wondering when Pein will kill me, Itachi will save him the trouble.

Sakura stood there, flecks of blood drying on her face, the kimono in ruins and her body still in fight mode. She felt nothing except a cold detachment. It was always this way after she killed someone. It was as though she buried some part of her that was human in order to take a life.

Sakura eyed Itachi warily as he continued to watch her. She pushed her toes deeper into the pebbles, gaining a more steady purchase. If he's ready for a fight this will end badly.

"Were you harmed?" he demanded of her, the distance of the body between them. Sakura's wariness gave way to confusion. If he wants to fight me, why is he asking if I'm hurt?

"No," she told him, "why would you ask?"

"You are covered in blood, Lady Saio." He reminded her, staring pointedly at her blood-stained kimono.

The coldness that had invaded her soul abruptly fled in the wake of his heated stare. Her mind suddenly painted a vivid image of just how she appeared before this man.

Not only was she covered in blood, her kunai making wet dripping noise as the blood pooled next to her, but her kimono now revealed all of her legs save at the juncture where the obi had slid, stopping the material from opening fully. The heavy material had slid far enough down her arms that both shoulders were bare as was the upper half of her chest.

Sakura had once heard the phrase 'died of embarrassment' and never thought it would apply to her. She rarely, if ever, was embarrassed.

Guess I was wrong on that account. Why did he have to see me looking like this? She just realizing how appropriate that phrase now fit. She would gladly sink into the ground at this very moment.

Sakura refused to close her eyes, even though it felt as though her blood was being set afire, her skin too tight as Itachi's eyes leisurely but thoroughly scanned her half-covered body.

"Is there anything you need?" his voice was soft, holding whispered promises she dared not even think about, despite the many forbidden pictures her mind was now forming.

Sakura's mouth all of a sudden decided to turn into a desert. It took her several tries to clear her throat so that she could at least be able to talk.

"I could use a quiet spot to clean up before I rejoin Hinata." She told him, relieved that least her voice sounded normal, albeit a bit on the husky side.

He was at her side as soon as the last word left her mouth, startling her with his speed that she stepped back instinctively, nearly disrobing herself completely.

Itachi snaked an arm around her waist, stopping her fall, her body brushing up against his harder one. Her nipples peaked instantaneously at the contact, heat pooling between her legs.

This time she did close her eyes. She was not used to feeling desire for a man.

She had never been allowed to have those feelings.

"I'm fine, you don't have to hold me up." She told him, her tone deliberately cold, despite the contradictions of her body. Itachi chuckled softly at her words, his laughter almost physical as it stole over her skin.

Sakura abruptly opened her eyes when a heavy weight descended on her shoulders, the soft wind no longer playing over her skin.

It was Itachi's uwangi.

She stepped away from his body, turning to see him as his jacket settled itself around her shoulders. Her eyes belied her confusion. "I don't…why did you give me your jacket?" she asked him, taking in the fact that the pure white shirt he wore underneath the jacket made his crimson eyes and raven hair stand out more so.

"Lady your kimono suits you well, but at this moment covers very little." He told her, his lips curving into a sensual smile. Sakura swallowed hard and clutched the jacket closer to her near naked body.

Once more he reached out and grasped her around her waist, this time the front of her body pressed up intimately against his. "What are you-…" she began to ask, but Itachi was already racing them away from the festival.

His speed was such that she either had to link her arms around his neck or clutch the jacket and take the chance that she wouldn't suddenly fall, despite the firm grip of his arm around her waist.

Feeling the blush deepen on her face she looped her arms his neck. Now every curve of her body was pressed against his stronger frame. Her nipple tightened further and she prayed to whatever god that would listen that Itachi would think it merely the cold wind causing her body's reaction, and not the sudden craving she felt for this man she was ordered to kill.

"Where are-.." she tried to ask, but silenced immediately when he pressed a finger to her lips. "Wait." He told her, the glow of the moonlight catching his crimson eyes before turning away from her face. They moved deeper into Uchiha territory and Sakura had no idea where she was at and wondered a little why that didn't bother her. Pressed up against him so, he smelled of sandalwood, wind and the wild forests.

It was a heady scent.

Sakura closed her eyes and promised herself as soon as they stopped she would pull away from him immediately, but the woman buried deep inside of her sighed with delight at his scent.

No more than ten minutes passed since they had left the festival, but Sakura knew that they had already traveled several miles. She was wondering if he ever planned to stop, when Itachi did just that.

The abrupt halt left her vaguely disoriented, leaving her arms entwined around his neck a moment longer than needed. Blushing furiously she pulled her arms away and saw that he had brought her to the edge of the forest where a large, still lake beckoned.

The moonlight reflected back in its calm waters and the only sound was that of a nightingale and their breathing.

It was beautiful and Sakura didn't hesitate to walk to its shores and sink down upon its sandy banks, tearing off Itachi's uwangi so that she could plunge her blood smeared hands into the pristine waters.

With unwarranted fierceness she began scrubbing at her hands trying to remove the blood, wanting nothing more to do with that loathsome man who had tried to kill her friend.

She had been scrubbing angrily for only a few seconds when Itachi's presence was suddenly behind her, his arms around her body as his fingers slid into the water pulling her hands away from each other. Slowly, gently he massaged her skin, the blood coming away easily for him, despite her attempts to wash it away.

It was a sensual delight for Sakura who had never allowed a man to touch her like this. She knew plenty of men, mostly from the Akatsuki and she would sooner gut them then let anyone of them near her body.

She hadn't realized that being with a man like this could be…..pleasurable.

Sakura bit her lip to hold back a cry of protest when his hands released her own, the blood completely washed away. So it came as another shock when she heard the tearing of fabric and the feeling of cold, wet silk on her shoulders.

She turned her head and saw that Itachi had removed his red obi, tearing a strip off and was now washing the blood off of her shoulder.

"Itachi, your clothes…there was no need." She protested even as her body delighted in his tender touch once more.

"It is but cloth Lady, your need is greater." He replied mildly, leisurely wiping away the last of the blood until her skin shone porcelain once more.

When he reached for her face, Sakura panicked and snatched the torn silk from his hands. "I can wash my face," she told him quickly, turning to wet the cloth once more and hide her burning face in its coolness.

Gods what is wrong with me? Why is he touching me so, and why am I letting him? I'm supposed to kill him, not find myself enjoying the touch of his hands.

For the first time in her life Sakura found herself torn. She knew she had to kill Itachi. Pein would not let her live past the first hour if she had to tell him she could not complete her mission.

But now also for the first time she found her emotions hard to control. This male, Itachi, awoke strange new feelings that both scared her and excited her.

Why am I doing this to myself? Itachi must die, so why does it hurt so? Is because I am drawn to him?

She didn't understand it and ruthlessly pushed back those thoughts, burying her newly awakened feelings. They served no purpose in her life, she was an assassin.

That's all she was ever allowed to be.

Once more strong male hands covered her own, pulling them away from her face. "There is no need to scrub so hard Saio," he told her, his voice holding a soft caress, until he saw what she was desperately trying to wash away.

Silent tears were making tracks down her face.

"Why do you cry?" he asked her, his hand cupping her face, his thumb brushing away the falling tears. That one last gesture of gentleness from him finally pushed Sakura into response.

"Stop that!" she snapped at him, thrusting away his hand from her face, scrambling to her feet not caring that she had yet to retie her obi and her kimono was still showing too much of her skin.

"Stop being so nice to me! I can take care of myself!" she growled at him, her arms protectively crossed over her body. Despite the vehemence in her voice, her body was still reacting to the desire caused by his single touch.

"Of that I have no doubt." Replied Itachi, coming to his feet easily, his stance one of indolence. "A woman who can kill a man with little effort is not one who needs to be coddled."

"Then stop being so gentle with me!" she snarled at him, her eyes flashing.

For a moment Sakura saw something akin to curiosity flash in his eyes. It was then she realized he had dropped his sharingan. His eyes were once more their obsidian shade.

"Saio, being coddled and being kind are not the same." He told her, as though explaining something new to her.

"The only time a male is nice is when he wants something specific from a woman!" she shot back, then instantly regretted it. She only said that because she remembered back during her 'training' with Pein. He would always appear pleasant and nice just before he would personally deliver a lesson in 'disobedience' once more to her.

Itachi's intelligent eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Saio, is that how you equate kindness with deception?"

Sakura stared at him, her face guarded, saying nothing.

Itachi gave a soft sigh and slowly moved toward Sakura, where upon she continued to move away from him until her back smacked up against a tree.

"I should be getting back to Hinata, she will be wondering where I am." She told Itachi, a hitch in her breath as he continued towards her with a feline grace. "You are in my care, Hinata will not worry." He said softly once again mere inches from her body.

Her eyes flashed green fires, her anger once again overriding her longing for this man. "I don't need your protection," she growled at him, wondering why he insisted on staying with her. "Shouldn't you be getting back as well?"

Itachi placed his palm on the tree, right next to her head. His other hand reached out and cupped her face. "No, I have another duty." He replied, his voice dark and sensual.

Sakura was trapped. By his voice, his eyes and now his hands held her so she could not escape. "What duty?" she asked cautiously and do you really have to be this close because I can barely think with you so near.

"You have been sadly misinformed. My duty is to rectify that mistake. I am neither kind nor gentle." He told her before his mouth captured her own, stealing the very breath from her lungs.