I'm pretty excited to see such a positive response to the idea of a Shino/Sakura fic. I've read a couple and I think I have a general idea of what I'd like to do with it. Of course this will continue to be a ItaSaku fic but that one will be coming soon! It seems like quite a few of you would like to see Itachi make Sakura jealous. How can I refuse? He wouldn't be Itachi without a little manipulation, right? Hope you enjoy!

Read. Rate. Review. Be jolly and enjoy cold press!

Itachi was not angry at all. It would be ridiculous to be jealous over a short interaction between colleagues. It would be simply idiotic to be jealous over a woman that was not even his partner. He was not angry but his fingers still itched to drag Sakura away from the Aburame child. There was a weird energy around them that was getting under his skin. He had noted, with mild amusement, that she had not looked at him once since she arrived. He would be annoyed at the disrespect if it hadn't been so clear why she hadn't greeted him. She was embarrassed after their bedroom encounter. He stopped himself from admitting that it was rather cute. Especially because he had seen her train in her chest binding and a pair of very small shorts on many occasion. Not to mention the fact that she spent so much time around men.

Itachi was team leader but he knew his usual pace would be too grueling for the others so he set an easy pace. He hadn't expected the team Tsunade had picked. His interactions with Anko had been limited and he had never once actually met Shino. He frequently met with the Aburame clan elders and he greatly respected the clan. They had a similar disposition to his own and he appreciated that they never felt the need to fill silences. He expected this mission to go well. Well, as well as things could go when you are going to be in close quarters with a prospective marriage partner.

He knew very well that Anko was on the list. It was a bit surprising really because there had been a time he assumed she would end up with Kakashi. That was until Kakashi had made a very public claim for Iruka. Itachi could see why they had put her on the list. She was very attractive and he knew first hand that she was a talented Ninja. He figured he could make some effort to make a connection with her. Although, with Sakura around she was of very little interest to him. He would much rather spend the following days with his brother's teammate.

He hadn't chosen the formation and quite frankly he wondered at Sakura choosing the flank. Anko was to his right and Shino to his left. The diamond formation was typical but he would have preferred her to be closer. They traveled in silence for a while. Itachi was grateful for the peace. He needed the familiar sound of feet shuffling and the wind gliding around them after recent events. He had assumed he would be suspended from missions until he chose someone. Of course, it wasn't doing the elders much good keeping him detained. He may or may not have destroyed a training field and a portion of the police quarters. It was through no fault of his own, truly. He hadn't had a decent match since sparring with Sakura and he forgot to restrain himself.

They hadn't made it much farther when Sakura mumbled something about the pace being too easy. He didn't need to look behind him to know she was glowering. He could tell from her tone. She had a tendency to talk to herself when she was displeased about her circumstances. He was tempted to push their pace to the next level but he knew that if he pushed them too hard on the first day the rest of the trip would be hell. He'd have to listen to griping about sore muscles all night long. She would, unfortunately, have to deal with the pace.

At some point Sakura had decided she would make idle chat with Shino. Itachi felt his brow tick in annoyance. His eyes flicked over to the boy. He couldn't say much about his appearance. He was covered from head to toe. Sakura didn't appear concerned with such matters and seemed to be finding his conversation scintillating. What began as friendly chatter had shifted to clan politics. Apparantly, the Aburame clan was anticipating Shino chosing a partner soon. Itachi disliked the direction this was going. He picked up the pace. He was not going to listen to Shino drop hints that he was single and a possible prospect. He'd rather listen to them bitch about how tired they were when they hit a stopping point.

The conversation slowed and he could feel Sakura's satisfaction. He was not at all pleased with himself for giving in to her. Of course he was not satisfied with pleasing her. That would be pathetic. The tension in his shoulders was merely gone because the conversation had ceased. They went back to running quietly. He could feel the chakra in his teammates feet makes the trees quiver as they pushed through the forest. No ones breath was labored yet. Good, because this wasn't even his easy pace. It was too slow, too moderate. It felt like walking to him. He felt Sakura's chakra surge as though she too craved a different pace. Not for the first time he found himself wishing it was just the two of them. He had a feeling he could push her pretty hard and she wouldn't complain. He heard rumors of Tsunade's brutal training. It was no wonder she worked restlessly without complaint.

His mind began to wonder now that it was silent again. He couldn't seem to get the image of her nearly naked form out of head. He needn't have the sharingan to remember such a sight. She had looked positively radiant with her hair a wild mess and tired eyes searching him for answers. Her pale skin gleamed under the early morning sun. He would be a fool not to take note of her body as it was on display. She wasn't wearing lace as he had seen on many women before. She had been wearing a plain white bra and soft blue panties that looked to be made for comfort rather than for appeal. Her face was wrinkled from her bedding and yet...he had never wanted to join a woman in bed as badly as he wanted to in that moment. He wanted to wake up next to her, not be tapping on her window.

He snapped out of his thoughts quickly. This was going to be a long mission.

I know its a little short! I am sorry. I really need to get a new chapter of one of my Harry Potter fics up in honor of Emma Watson's birthday today! Jealousy and a campfire next chapter. Perhaps someone might get a little handsy... ya never know ;)

Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed. Who should be groping who in the next chapter? Let me know your thoughts in the reviews!