Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update but here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters!

Chapter 11: Sleep

"You know, it's getting pretty late." Sakura eyed the clock hanging on the wall above the fireplace.

"Just a little longer please?" Suki pouted.

"Yeah, we don't have school tomorrow." Suzuki pleaded.

"I wouldn't want you guys over-sleeping." Sakura stated. "And as I recall," she glanced at Kisame and Itachi, "you guys have some… things you must take care of tomorrow." She was obviously referring to the mission they had received from Pein –the sole reason they were here now.

Suki, Suzuki, and Kisame groaned at the same time.

"Do we have to?" they repeated simultaneously.

"Yes." Sakura snapped, almost snorting at Kisame's child-like attitude. Who would've ever known Kisame could act so… normal… if not maybe just a little less than normal for his child-like attitude at age… what, thirty something?

"Yes mother." Kisame said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and standing up, yawning and stretching slightly.

Sakura merely smiled a victorious smile. It was nice when you could verbally defeat a missing-nin of his status. Maybe she really had gotten Tsunade's attitude and characteristics. She could only pray she didn't act as Tsunade did when drunk and mad though…

"Goodnight Sakura, my dear." Sera hummed out as she walked towards Sakura and gave her a bear hug and kiss to the forehead.

"Goodnight Sera." Sakura nodded, hugging Sera back.

Sera then focused her attention towards Kisame and Itachi. "I will see you both tomorrow, yes?" Her question was filled with so much hope and plea, Kisame couldn't help but smile.

"We'll see what we can do." He merely replied. Who knew, maybe they would find Orochimaru's base early and would have to return to Lightning. But then again… waiting for the snow to pass wouldn't be too bad. Especially not when he would be amused for the most part, trying to see how far Itachi could go before cracking…

"Excellent!" Sera shouted in glee. "You two must try my onigiri and sashimi salad before you leave. Everyone tells me it's the best they've ever tasted." Sera exclaimed with glee.

Kisame grinned. "I'm sure I speak for both of us when I say we can't wait to taste it then, Sera. We'll see you tomorrow." Kisame nodded. Kisame happened to know Itachi was rather fond of onigiri, so he was almost sure even Itachi was slightly anticipating being able to taste her food.

"Goodnight m'boys." She hummed out and nearly tackled Kisame in a bear hug, and did the same with Itachi before he could even think about avoiding it.

Kisame could see the corner of Itachi's eye twitch just the slightest. Maybe this was where Suki and Suzuki got their clingy attitude… Kisame chuckled. 'I almost feel bad for Itachi… almost.'

Kisame quickly told the kids goodnight, promising he'd see them tomorrow, before Sakura ushered them outside before the blizzard got any worse, each of them carrying a small pile of firewood for her home.

"What blizzard?" Kisame asked quizzically. His answer came shortly after when Sakura opened the door and raised an elegant eyebrow at him, as if saying "that blizzard". "How'd you know there was a blizzard outside?" Kisame questioned as they hurriedly turned right and headed towards Sakura home. You really couldn't hear it inside, mostly because there was too much noise, and she had never gone outside to check the weather.

"It's Sound… and we're in the middle of blizzard season." Sakura sighed, almost regrettably. "The only downfall Sound has is that by six o'clock the temperature drops drastically and the blizzards pick up again. I'll give it about four days before we don't see the sun for the rest of the month." Sakura said.

"That just means we have to hurry up then." Kisame sighed.

"That or you could be stuck with me and Sera for the rest of the month." The corner of Sakura's mouth quirked upwards into a mocking smile. "But, I highly doubt Itachi here would enjoy loud squealing and hugs from Suki and Suzuki, and that crazed mother of theirs for the rest of the month." Sakura tried her best to stifle her laughter. She still earned a slight glare from Itachi though. Oddly enough, it didn't scare Sakura as much as she thought it would have, seeing those deadly eyes spin.

"Oh, and since when did you become an Itachi expert? Maybe he enjoys that atmosphere around him." Kisame raised a quizzical eyebrow at Sakura.

Both were in a heated stare down for several seconds before they busted up laughing. "Itachi, enjoy squealing and hugs? Yeah, like that would ever happen." Sakura stated in between laughs as she rummaged her pocket for the keys to her house.

Seconds later, they were all inside the house, shrugging off their coats and setting the firewood down by the fireplace.

"Itachi… do you mind starting the fire?" Sakura asked almost hesitantly. "I'm not very good at fire techniques." She avoided eye contact with him, looking to the side slyly as she recalled the time she almost burned her hair off trying to do a fire technique Kakashi had tried –and failed miserably- at teaching her.

Itachi gave her a curt nod as he walked towards the fireplace and began setting the wood down neatly, meanwhile Sakura began brewing tea.

"Okay, the bathroom is to the right, down the hallway and straight ahead. My bedroom is directly to the left." Sakura pointed out. "I'm going to go change right now, so if you would both excuse me…" She nodded at them before she disappeared into her bedroom.

Sakura quickly changed into the heavy black sweat pants she had received from Konan and a red, long-sleeved shirt with a black kunai in between her breasts. Afterwards, she brushed out her pink locks and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

When Sakura returned to the living room, she carried with her two blankets and a pillow, and set them down at the edge of the sofa.

"So umm, I figured you'd be warm soon enough considering you're right next to the fire, so you don't need that many blankets." She directed her attention towards Itachi as she went back to the kitchen and turned off the fire, getting a cup and filling it up with the tea.

"Perfect" Kisame said as he jumped on the sofa and lay feet crossed and hands behind his head. He closed his eyes and sighed as he felt the warm fire already reach out near his face.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Isn't Itachi sleeping there?" she asked as she approached the coach.

"Hmm…?" Kisame opened one eye and peeked at Sakura. "Oh, there was a change of plans. You're sleeping with Itachi."

Had Sakura not been extremely shocked, she would have dropped her teacup. Fortunately, his words froze her to the spot. "W-W-What…?" Sakura stuttered out, obviously perplexed.

"Yeah… we agreed Itachi didn't really want to sleep on a couch, and much more preferred a bed. Besides, every time hotels somehow only end up having bedrooms with one bed, I always end up sleeping on the floor. Itachi refuses to give up the bed." Kisame explained, and then turned to his side, this time facing Itachi. "Isn't that right, Itachi?"

Itachi felt like glaring at Kisame, seeing his daring smirk. Itachi hn'ed seconds later, bitterly almost, and reminded himself to later make sure he did something absolutely horrible to Kisame. Maybe letting him get hit by all the booby traps in Orochimaru's lair would work… But then again, maybe it wasn't enough of a punishment…

"I…see…" These were the only words Sakura was capable of letting out at the moment... she could only pray she did not begin hyperventilating.

'Oh, my, god… we're sleeping with Itachi! HOLD ME!' inner squealed maniacally.

'…Inner… do me a favor and shut up.' Sakura could only blink.

"Yuuup…" Kisame closed his eyes once more, finally appreciating his handy work. He wondered how the night would go. He didn't have much to worry about. The only problem he really had was that hit feet were sticking out of the couch.

Oh, and that Itachi would probably murder him tomorrow, but that, was another day. He had learned to appreciate now more than later… Even though by doing that he would receive a lot of pain… But hey, it wasn't like he wasn't in pain nearly every day… it was bound to happen being in Akatsuki and all…

Sakura blinked several times before she mustered up the strengths to turn around and walk away, her tea cup quivering oh-so slightly. By the time she had reached her room, the quivering had become so bad, she had to set it down on her night table in order to not spill it on the floor.

'Come on Sakura… it's nothing too bad. You were going to sleep next to Kisame and didn't mind.' She tried to give herself a pep talk. 'Yeah, it's just Itachi... nothing else. Besides, what could be the worst that could happen?'

Luckily, she had zoned inner out before she could even suggest anything. She really didn't need to be panicking about things that would surely never happen. Inner really did have a way of making her paranoid as hell…

The tea had helped Sakura calm down, and even made her slightly sleepy. The good thing was, by the time she had settled into the chilly bed with three blankets over her, Itachi was nowhere in sight. This only meant she wouldn't be awake when he actually entered the room and lay next to her. Goody, she was so happy. With these thoughts in mind, she was finally able to close her eyes and let her mind wander into the land of her dreams.

(Inner wasn't)

It had been about twenty minutes since Sakura had retired to her bedroom…

And Itachi was still sitting down on the couch beside Kisame's, glaring at the fire, though by now, it had numbed to a mere hard stare.

"It's getting pretty late." Kisame faked a yawn. "Maybe you should get going. We have a long day tomorrow."

Itachi glared at Kisame irritably and stood up slowly, walking towards the bathroom, scroll in his hand. Itachi quickly brushed his teeth and afterwards stared at himself in the mirror in front of the sink. So calm he looked, yet inside he was going slightly crazy. This whole… set up, as he called it, was preposterous. How could they possibly think he could end up with that kunoichi! One that had belonged to his younger brother until just recently even.

All he happened to know about her was that her name was Sakura Haruno, and she was the ex apprentice of the fifth Godaime of Konoha. Oh, and that she was overly emotional and had exceptional chakra-control and inhuman strength.

Yup, that summed about most of everything up.

Hiding the small headache this was just begging to explode, he exited the bathroom, turning off the light and then made his way to Sakura's bedroom, where he found her huddled in a fetal position to the left of the bed.

He summed up she was cold, considering there was a scowl on her face and she shivered ever so often. He didn't quite understand how she could still be cold when buried in so many thick blankets, and he was perfectly fine with just his black sweat pants and fishnet long-sleeve. But then again, his fire affinity did always keep him cozy, and she had said she wasn't the best at it…

Making his way to the other side of the bed, he almost hesitated getting into the bed, and highly contemplated just sleeping on the floor and telling Kisame otherwise. But then again, that man would probably already be able to see through his lies…

Oh, what was he going to do now?

Closing his eyes slightly, and then reopening them, his confidence anew, he climbed onto the bed and pulled the blankets over him, trying to keep as much distance from them as possible. Still, it wasn't as big as a bed as he would have liked for it to be. His shoulder accidently brushed again her arm.

And then…

All hell broke loose.

Sakura literally grabbed Itachi's arm and brought him closer, burrowing her head at the crook of his neck and wrapping her arms around his arm.

Itachi breath hitched in his throat. He was so shocked he was rendered motionless as he let the kunoichi now partly on him move her hands all over his chest.

What had gotten into her?

He heard her moan slightly from under her breath. "Warm…" he was barely able to make out.

His eye twitched as he let out a low moan. This woman was attacking him… because she was cold? Unbelievable! The mess he had gotten himself into. He should of just admitted he had a fear of woman –and a new found fear for the woman on him- and slept on the couch.

It was two hours into the night now…

Sakura had managed to hog all the blankets, now looking like a cocoon around her. She had also punched Itachi in the face twice and put her leg around him too many times to count.

He almost felt like waking her up and telling her to stop her… savage attacks on his pride… Really, how sad was it he couldn't even keep back a woman?

Hey, in his defense, who the hell used their chakra in their sleep? The mere thought made him glare at the ceiling.

Ughh, this girl was a real pain in the ass, he had to admit. If this was her in her sleep… well, he'd rather not imagine what she could really do in combat. So far, he had only seen a few kunai throwing, and even the speed of those was enough to impress him slightly, even though he wouldn't admit it in front of anyone…

This time, he didn't hesitate, and grabbed her leg and once again, pried it off of him (this time not as gentle as he had done before) and put it back on her side, if you would call it that. In his opinion, she was taking up more than half the bed.

Due to the harshness of his grasp on her leg, Sakura's eyes opened slightly, and she being faced to face with Itachi, couldn't help but blink a couple of times, though just barely.

"Sasuke…-kun" she smiled gently as she placed a hand on his head and started playing with his hair. "You smell good." She gave a small stifle of a laugh and then closed her eyes once more.

Itachi's breath hitched in his throat and he prayed she fell asleep once more… Being called Sasuke wasn't something he wanted…

"You're hair's getting long. I told you to cut it." There was slight concern and scolding in her tone as she grabbed a lock of his hair and started playing with it.

Itachi's heart thudded a little faster and harder than usual for several seconds.

"But you never listen…" she continued. "I really don't understand why I care so much… you're always so stubborn…"

With that, Sakura shut up, and fortunately, her mouth was kept shut for the rest of the night.

Oh, besides a snore or two.

'So… warm…' Sakura snuggled closer to the source of warmth underneath her.

Inner cackled maniacally in the background.

'Mmm' she groaned. 'Shut up inner. I haven't been this warm since the last time I visited Suna. Let me enjoy this.'

'If you say so… as long as you don't complain later on.' Inner shrugged.

Sakura mentally snorted. 'What would I have to complain about exactly?'

Inner could only think Sakura had no idea… In truth, it was inner who had nothing to complain about. 'And to think she never paused to think why she was so warm now when all her past nights had been beyond cold even when she was in front of a fire.' Inner rolled her eyes and shook her head. And to think the perfect little genius she had helped create couldn't even be logical enough to figure this out…

This made Sakura think slightly, and mustering up her strengths, even though she was still reluctant to do so (she was having such nice sleep and she had a feeling whatever inner was talking about would ruin her morning), she peeked one eye open.

At first, she didn't see anything. Sakura waited for her eyes to accustom to her surroundings, only to find it black still. Moving her head to the right a little, she saw soft, tan…

'SKIN?'

Now that she was more awake and acute to her senses, she became much more aware of her body. Instead of the soft mattress, she was on bulky and firm material; lumpy and tough, but also soft, comfortable, and most importantly (and maybe the sole reason she was mounted on whatever item she was on), warm.

Now being much, much, much more aware she stilled herself, afraid her shaking might wake him up. Her eyes widened, and the breath that had been coming out soft and calm, now hitched in her throat.

'Oh my god, I'm on Itachi aren't I?' her eyes flinched as she momentarily hoped inner would decide to say "No, it's just a big fluffy stuffed animal Kisame planted in your bed sometime last night."

'Yuuup!' inner ruined her parade, burst her bubble, and pooped on her party all at once.

"Would it be too much to ask for you to remove yourself from my being now that you are… ah, conscious?" Itachi inquired, and Sakura felt his masculine voice reverberate in his throat. (No kidding, her cheek was literally pushed up right next to it!). He had been up for a few minutes now, and he couldn't be any more relieved that Sakura was finally waking up.

Sakura tried oh-so hard not to squeak…

While Itachi was just relieved his nightmare was now coming to an end. His eyes were still closed, because he was still praying Sakura would not be able to tell he was tense all over. He disliked contact with the female population. So for a female (and the Haruno, of all people) to have slept on him… it was just too much…

"It seems you guys slept well."

Okay, now Sakura squeaked a high-pitched squeal, right into Itachi's ear.

And no, Itachi did not flinch because of the loudness that was Sakura. He flinched because of the sneaky deviousness that was Kisame.

Kisame tried not to crack up. Man, if he had only brought a camera with him… Konan would have paid BIG TIME to get such glorious black mail over Itachi… The Mighty Itachi Uchiha… being crumbled like a piece of coffee cake in front of the little girl in front, above, or on him right now… either term fit rather nicely.

Sakura, still too shocked of not only being on Itachi, but of having Kisame there seeing them, parted her lips to speak. "Kisame… how long have you been standing there, exactly?" she could only guess he was by the door by hearing the loudness of his voice.

"Hmmm…" he contemplated his answer. "Long enough to have gotten a good laugh, brought Suki, Suzuki, and Sera over here, and have gotten another good laugh." Kisame replied slyly.

Sakura was now shaking in no, not nervousness, but in embarrassment and anger. "You did what?"

"Would you please refrain from screaming in my ear, Haruno-san." Itachi stated calmly, though you could tell he was still waiting for Sakura to get off of him. Seriously, all he wanted was the girl to get off of him before he burst and decided he needed to mutilate her right this second. Great day he was waking up to, wasn't it? Itachi almost cringed at the thought.

Itachi heaved a microscopic sigh of relief as Sakura rolled off slowly (Itachi mentally thanked the gods that still looked after him, if there were any still) and Itachi watched as she knelt up and started rubbing her eyes tiredly in a cute childlike manner.

WHOA! Hold that thought! Cute? Where was this coming from?

Itachi mentally slapped himself. No, he did not find the Haruno girl attractive. And he most certainly did not find her interesting in the least, nor entertaining, or in any way pleasant to be around. No, No, No. Absolutely not.

"Oh, by the way, they're waiting for us to eat breakfast." Kisame spoke once more.

"Greaaat." Sakura stretched her arms, not at all trying to hide the sarcasm in her tone.

Scowling, she got up and headed for the bathroom.

She had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time she heard about this today…

And she was right. In fact, the first thing Sakura heard as she entered Sera's house was "So how was your sleep?" by Suki and Suzuki.

And again, the same exact question was asked as she sat down on the dining table, by Sera herself.

"Geez, no good morning?" she retorted, taking a vicious bite of her toast with butter.

"Oh, but that's day-to-day talk Sakura dear." Sera replied. "Enough of the boring stuff."

"And that's not a thing you as daily?" Sakura scowled. "And for your information, sleep is one of the most boring things you could ever converse about." Sakura glowered.

"You know what we all mean." Suki whined.

Sakura raised her eyebrow at Suki. "Pardon, but I don't." she snapped. "Sleep was the same as it usually was. And I believe you're making our guest uncomfortable by speaking of our sleeping arrangements." Sakura tried changing the subject, tired of having all the attention brought to her.

"Fine, fine, we'll change the subject." Sera sighed unhappily after a few moments. There were several seconds of silence until Sera spoke up again. "You know Miyuki right?" Sera asked.

"The owner of the house at the end of this block, right?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah" Sera nodded. "Well, her son, Kairi, has broken his arm. She came a few minutes before you arrived to ask if she could get your medical expertise to help heal his arm." Sera continued.

"Well, I never have anything on my agenda nowadays so sure, why not." Sakura smiled. "I'll drop by there after breakfast.

Sakura quickly took a sip of her milk, before resuming the conversation.

"Kairi…" she paused slightly, recalling her memories of the men she had seen in the town. "Is he one of the boys around my age?" Sakura questioned.

"Yeah." Sera nodded. "He's the one with red hair and blue eyes." Sera said. "He happens to be Aya's brother too… they're twins." Sera smiled.

"Oh really?" Sakura was shocked. "Aya told me she had a brother… but I wouldn't have imagined a twin…" Sakura said. "But still… Kairi…" she frowned slightly.

"You're talking about the weird looks he kept giving you, huh Sakura-kaasan." Suzuki asked.

"Weird looks?" Kisame questioned.

"Oh, it's nothing." Sera dismissed it with a wave of her hands. "That boy has a crush on you, I'm telling you Sakura."

Sakura blushed and sunk down in her chair a tad bit.

She could recall at least ten cases at the top of her head where bone head Konoha-nins would try to pull a move on her while she was examining them. And well, most of the time they left the hospital in a worse condition than they had come in…

She really didn't want to start with a record of being one of the meanest and toughest medics either…

"Please Sera, don't jinx it…" she sighed. "I'm so not into the blushing rabid fan boys." She sighed hopelessly.

Sera giggled lightly. "Well what do you expect? With looks like those you can't seriously expect to go somewhere unnoticed."

'Well excuse me for being accustomed to being followed everywhere by the nine-tailed Jinchuuriki, the most powerful ninja in Konoha, and sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, and the famous Copy-Cat nin, also the second youngest ANBU in Konoha…' Sakura thought as she sighed, and sunk deeper into her chair. "Let's just say I was well protected back home…" she muttered darkly. "And when that failed me, even my fists were good enough back-up."

Kisame chuckled at her last comment. "They'll make good enough back-up for most of anything kitten. Just relax. If he tries to pull a move on you just-"

"Before you go on Kisame, I don't plan on getting a reputation of being violent and masochistic." Sakura glared.

"Well then maybe you could- no that won't work…" Kisame cut himself off. "How about…! No, that won't do either…" Kisame glowered. He never knew how hard it could be to come up with a plan to scare someone without harming them or getting a bad reputation for it…"You're on your own." He finally decided after several minutes of contemplating.

"Thanks, like I didn't already know that." Sakura said sarcastically and rolled her eyes.

Kisame merely hmph'ed before focusing back on his pancakes and taking a bite of them. "This is very good Sera." Kisame complimented.

"Oh thank you!" Sera squealed. "You see, I add a pinch of cinnamon to it to give it a sweet taste." Sera said.

"Yeah, and it's even yummier with chocolate chips in your pancakes!" Suzuki giggled and bit into her own pancake, which was seasoned with small brown chunks everywhere.

Sakura smiled sweetly and focused her attention back to Kisame. "What time should I expect you two be back from your… mission?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"Well…" Kisame looked at Itachi for an answer.

"Late afternoon before the blizzards kick in." Itachi nodded at Sakura.

"Will you two make it in time to try my onigir?" Sera pouted.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world Sera." Kisame smiled.

"Excellent" Sera clapped gleefully.

"Sakura-kaasan, will you drop us off at school?" Suki asked.

"It's on the way to Miyuki's house, so I don't see why not." Sakura shrugged at smiled.

"And Kisame-niisan and Itachi-tousan?" Suzuki added.

Sakura tried not to flinch at Itachi's endearment, and looked at them, as if waiting for their answer.

"It can't hurt." Kisame replied before Itachi could even think about denying their request. He knew he'd get an earful (not really, Itachi never spoke much even when angry; actions spoke more than words, in his dictionary) while searching for Orochimaru's lair.

Within five minutes, the five of them were off to the small schoolyard just a few blocks away. Oddly enough, Suki and Suzuki had chosen to hold Kisame's hand, instead of Sakura. Now, she wasn't greedy at all, but…

'Those are myhands!' Sakura thought viciously, having a fiery glare set on Kisame. And what was even worse was that they decided to 'run ahead so as to not be late'. 'My ass! They're fifteen minutes early!'

Sakura wasn't dumb. She wasn't dense… well, maybe slightly… but even she could see what Kisame were trying to do.

'That little bastard's trying to take my children away from me!' Sakura would be in tears right now, had she not been much too aware that Itachi was staring at her from the corner of his eyes.

Inner dropped to the floor seconds later hearing Sakura's lame excuse. 'And I'd think this girl would have at least an ounce of common sense.' Inner shook her head disapprovingly. Where had she gone wrong teaching this girl? Maybe they could have done without the intensive fan girl training but…

'What do you mean?' Sakura glared at nothing in particular.

'They're obviously trying to get you and Itachi alone together, DUH!' inner rolled her eyes.

'… I see…'

Now that she did think about it, it made sense.She was just… off her rocker? Seriously, how exactly had she gotten on Itachi last night? She knew she wasn't the calmest and quietest of sleepers, for Naruto had always complained when they were stuck in a tent together, and Ino would always laugh at her whenever they had sleepovers, saying she'd talk about Sasuke in her sleep often… and-

Oh god.

Nah, what were the chances…?

Still, Sakura didn't like the unnerving silence that was now consuming them, and she decided, what the hell? It couldn't really hurt to try to get in a daily conversation with him, would it?

"Umm… I-Itachi?" Great, now she was stuttering. 'Focus Sakura, focus god damnit!' Sakura mentally slapped herself.

"Hm?" he hummed out.

"Sorry for umm… last night…" She looked to the left slyly, avoiding eye contact with Itachi.

"Ahh…" Itachi said. "Apology accepted, Haruno-san." Even though he said that, his thoughts said otherwise.

"Oh please, stop with the formalness… call me Sakura." She smiled.

Even though she said that, Itachi found it hard to even speak her name after… well… last night…

"I really don't understand why I care so much… you're always so stubborn…"

She clearly wasn't as happy as she looked, Itachi thought. The fact that she was still dreaming about Sasuke meant she still hadn't gotten over her affection for his younger brother. And that could only mean she was still in a fragile state of dependency on someone to lean one after this great mishap. Maybe that was what Kisame, Sera, and the two little girls were for Sakura.

"Very well, Sakura-san." He looked at her while speaking. He really didn't understand why this girl cares so much. It was just a name…

"Sa-ku-ra." Sakura glared a teasing glare at him. "You don't need to be so formal Itachi." She smiled brightly at him.

"…Hn…" he looked away quickly. "Why do you care so much?" he asked.

"Huh?" Sakura questioned.

"About the way I address your name." Itachi clarified.

"Because…" Sakura pouted, "We're friends now." She smiled. "And friends aren't so formal and up-tight." Sakura explained.

"…Friends?"

"Oh, come on Itachi, don't tell me you don't know what friends are?" she teased him.

Itachi glared. Of course he knew what friends were of all things… he just…

He never had friends…

Besides Shisui and Kisame, that is.

And he had killed one of them, no less…

He must make a horrible friend….

"Nothing good usually comes from befriending an S-Class criminal." Itachi stated, as if trying to tell her of all the troubles that came with becoming friends with Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, both part of the Akatsuki, the organization that was after a person who until just recently, had been her best friend.

"Well, those are risks I'm willing to take." Sakura smiled.

Itachi couldn't help but think she was being irrational and slightly idiotic. Why would she purposely put herself in danger just because of a friend? She couldn't just… be friends with the people here and have a decent, quiet life? What he would give in order to have a normal life again… But no, there was no turning back… It wasn't like Sasuke would ever forgive him… it's not like he could take everything back…

Itachi kept quiet, for he knew if he did indeed decide to open his mouth up once more, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from calling her a dimwit.

And lucky for him, Kisame and the two girls were getting closer and closer with every stride, meaning they had reached their destination.

Before Itachi knew it, Sakura was now alongside Suki and Suzuki, tucking in their shirts and adjusting their hair like any mother or sister would.

Sakura-kaasan, will you pick us up from school?" Suki asked.

"I'll see what I can do girls. If not, I'm sure Sera will be here when you guys come out." Sakura replied.

They nodded just as the school bell rang, and they grabbed each other's hands and ran inside the school building. Sakura couldn't help but stare in awe at the bundle of cuteness that they were.

After they were completely deserted, Sakura recomposed herself and started walking alongside Kisame and Itachi to the forest.

"What are the chances you may need my medical assistance?" Sakura asked.

"It's… highly probable." Kisame contemplated his answer for a while, before deciding maybe if he didn't get hurt on the hunt for the scroll, maybe it would be Itachi himself to inflict injuries and pain.

"Very well, I won't overdue it then. Of course, that'll mean I'll have to visit that Daisuke guy a few more times than I had originally planned…" at that comment, Sakura crinkled her nose and disgust and scrunched her eyebrows together.

"You really don't like that kid do you?" Kisame laughed.

"I would have no problem with him if I didn't feel his stares at random times of the day when I'm walking down the street or picking of the kids." Sakura shrugged. "I'm not a big fan of males that make it obvious they have a thing for you." Sakura sighed.

"Are you walking us all the way there?" Kisame asked, changing the subject. He knew that if Sakura kept thinking about it, the more nervous she would get.

"Nah, Miyuki's house is just a few blocks away from the forest. You guys are actually dropping me off." Sakura winked. "We will see you two at Sera's house for dinner, right?" Sakura asked. "She was going to make her famous Onigiri and Shashimi Salad." Sakura said.

"Oh, you're almost assured we'll be there with that for dinner." Kisame said, "Itachi and I happen to be big fans of Onigiri, you see." Kisame explained.

"Excellent. I'm sure Sera will try to put as much flavor into it since there are guests." Sakura said. "Just don't let her down. She could get pretty feisty." Sakura tried not to laugh as she recalled the time her husband said he would be home to try her new recipe, and he never showed up. "But then again, I'm sure she wouldn't lay a finger on you two." Sakura sighed.

"Why? Do you think she knows we're S-Class missing-nin?" Kisame nudged Sakura in the rub.

"Of course not" Sakura snapped. The idea was preposterous. She had made sure Itachi and Kisame seemed to be the nicest of people, even though one was six feet tall and shark-looking, and the other one looked like he hated the world and everyone in it the whole time. "I don't know why, but Sera seems to really like you two." Sakura shrugged.

"Maybe it's because we saved your life." Kisame said.

Sakura laughed. "That's a very likely possibility.

And as they rounded the corner, Sakura slowed to a stop. "Well, this is where I leave you two." She sighed. "Wish me luck." She shook her head.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad." Kisame shrugged. "You're just over exaggerating." He paused shortly afterwards Sakura did, and turned around to face her.

"You'd think I was." Sakura shook her head in dismay. "Whatever. Just make sure you guys don't die on me." she gave them a small wave.

"We'll try not to." Kisame laughed as he and Itachi kept walking onwards towards the forest.

Sakura sighed and watched them walk towards the snow-filled forest before inhaling deeply and knocking on the door.

"Hello, Miyuki? It's Sakura."

End of Chapter

Hey everyone, I got it up like I said I would. Is this a good enough reason for you all to not kill me? =D

Anyway… I had a few reviewers the other day (and maybe a few ages ago xD) tell me that they prefer SASUXSAKU. Now, the sole purpose of me posting this on fan fiction was to please you, the readers… So…

Decisions, decision…

I was going to make this a 2 or 3 part fic, and might end it soon after Akatsuki leaves from their mission.

So, here's my idea! Is it possible to write 2 different versions of this fic? This would be the first part, and there would be 2 sequels, I guess you could say? One with the pairing Itaxsaku and one with the pairing sasuxsaku….

So, can someone please help me? Is this a good idea (to please everyone I can) and most importantly, is this allowed on fan fiction?

Anyway, hope you all liked the chapter, I would appreciate reviews!

-Marzy-chan~~! :))