Last Priority

Chapter 13

Enjoy (:

-

Previously on Last Priority…

Itachi lay down in his bed and tried, in vain, to go to sleep. This would, after all, be the last time he'd sleep in a bed for a long time. Maybe the next time he slept in a bed, Sakura would be there beside him. He closed his eyes and tried to push out the image of Sakura's smiling face from his mind.

-

Itachi awoke a few short hours later from his restless sleep and cursed himself for becoming so vulnerable. It certainly would not do if he was caught off guard or wasn't able to perform at his best when they went to retrieve Sakura because he had failed to get the required amount of sleep. He sighed silently and allowed his mind to run over a particular memory he recalled, raising more questions to his already troubled mind.

Itachi let his concern for Sakura cloud his better judgment and had nearly them both killed. Their earlier mission had been a near failure, all because he couldn't stand to see Sakura as injured as she had been and still fighting, so he did what he scolded her for doing all those months ago; he saved her at the risk of failing their mission. Thankfully he'd been able to take most of the damage himself, though Sakura did not come out unscathed. Maybe this relationship they'd allowed to develop between them was a bad idea; perhaps they were only truly supposed to be partners, nothing more, or maybe not even that. If things continued the way they were going now, he'd be dead in a matter of months trying to protect her, though he knew she didn't necessarily need to be protected. Still, he didn't like to think of her getting hurt at all, no matter how capable she was. Before they had pursued this relationship, they shared a comfortable, functional partnership. He had somewhat of a hard time taming his desires, but neither of them had been in as much danger as he had placed them in this morning. He despised the thought of such weakness in himself, but he had no one to blame but himself. Itachi couldn't keep Sakura from his mind. Although she brought such a despicable weakness in him, he couldn't bring himself to regret his decisions. These past few months were almost…happy. If he allowed himself to feel such a thing, he imagined it would be something like what he'd been feeling lately; he settled on naming it as content.

-0-O-0-

Sakura limped feebly from her room, making her way to the kitchen. When she arrived, she noticed someone else's presence. She recognized it to be Pein's partner, Konan, she believed. The older, blue-haired nin looked up when Sakura entered. It was no secret that Sakura being recruited into the Akatsuki displeased Konan and the hateful glint in her eye just now proved it. Whether it was because Konan felt intimidated by her presence, being a female such as herself, or some other unknown reason, she didn't know.

"Haruno Sakura," The paper specialist spat out.

"Good evening, Konan-san," Sakura responded timidly. She was much too tired to return the venom in her voice.

"Pein told me about your mission, you nearly failed."

"Nearly, but we didn't."

"This isn't your first time either is it?"

Sakura just sighed.

"Are you aware that Itachi has never failed a mission in his time here?"

Sakura took a seat and looked out the window. "I am."

"Ever since he got you as a partner, he's been getting more and more close calls. Yet you don't seem to care enough to fix your mistakes."

Sakura didn't reply, didn't know how to reply. Was she having a bad influence on Itachi?

"You're going to get him killed you know. He nearly died saving you, though I don't see what he sees in you. The only reason you're here is because of your medical skills; you shouldn't be out on the battlefield endangering our missions and members." The way she said 'our' was strictly exclusive, as if she didn't belong with them.

Sakura knew that Konan was saying these things because she was trying to discourage their newest member and that she should ignore her words. However, something inside her couldn't help but see the truth in the harsh words. Sakura sighed again; would she never be allowed to be happy? No matter, her mind was made up.

"I will ask Leader for a new partner then."

"That's Leader-sama to you"

"Hn." Great, she was picking up Itachi's habits.

"Instead of asking for a new partner, you should ask to be taken off the mission roster, or better yet, work alone, maybe then you'll get yourself killed," she said wryly.

Once again, Sakura remained silent. Sensing that the she was done, Konan left the room.

Sakura couldn't help but wonder if Konan was the only one having these thoughts. Did they all think she was a hindrance but just hid it well? Did Itachi? The throbbing in her leg was becoming too much and she didn't want to add on to that pain, so she made her way to the courtyard to clear her mind. She sat down in the field of flowers, taking in the sweet fragrance and basked in the warmth of the setting sun. Sakura closed her eyes and let the soft breeze carry her away. She listened to the gentle chirping of the crickets, the rattling of the aspen leaves, and the occasional chirping of the brave birds, daring to stay awake at night when the rest of nature slept. The sounds eventually lulled her into a deep sleep in the flower beds.

"Oy, blossom, you're gonna get sick out here."

Sakura awoke to Kisame's gentle voice. How did such a large, menacing creature pull off such a soft voice; this was her first time hearing it come from his mouth. She opened her eyes hazily and blinked away the remnants of sleep as she tried to focus her mind. She figured it was sometime near midnight, judging by the moon's place in the sky. She looked to her side and saw Kisame crouching beside her.

"Mmm…what time is it?"

"Half past twelve. You're really tired, hm?"

"I guess I am…" Sakura's conversation with Konan came rushing back to her. She groaned and rubbed her head, hoping to ease the expected headache.

"You okay there? You look like you have a hangover or somthin' and trust me, I know how much that blows."

Sakura shook her head. "I'm just…really tired; I used up a lot of chakra on the last mission. I'm going inside."

Kisame nodded and watched her limp back into the headquarters.

-

*knock, knock.

Who could possibly be coming to see him at this time? Stupid question; Itachi recognized that chakra signature easily. He pushed his troubling thoughts aside and went to let Sakura in.

"Um, gomen Itachi. I know it's late."

"Hn." He followed her as she went to sit on his bed.

"This…thing going on between us…I think we both know that," Sakura paused, unsure of what to say as Itachi waited patiently. "It's only going to hurt us Itachi. I don't want to get in your way, so I've decided that I'm going to ask for a new partner." Itachi stiffened at her admission, but didn't say anything. "Maybe we should just forget this ever happened, we'll—"

"So when things do not turn out the way you want, you run away, forget it ever happened. Perhaps you really are as weak as Sasuke said." He held her eyes in a cold stare.

Her palm cracked against his left cheek. Itachi did nothing to acknowledge what she had done, he simply stared at her. Sakura let her rage loose on him and sent several punches and kicks at him. He let her do as she pleased for a while until he decided enough was enough.

"Sakura."

No answer. She merely continued to shower him with punches and kicks here and there.

"Sakura, stop this."

"No."

Itachi then started to dodge and block her assault, but never once countered. He pinned her down to the bed after some time, willing for her to calm down. She struggled against him futilely.

"I apologize for my rude words," he murmured quietly into her hair.

She said nothing as she lay limply beneath him.

"I do not wish to forget anything, Sakura." He hovered over her, staring deeply into the emerald eyes that had first enchanted him. His entire body was tense and stiff and his body language screamed anger, however, his eyes were a different story. Their charcoal depths held a soft searching gaze, and Sakura thought she saw confusion flicker behind them, though she may have just been delusional from the pain in her leg. She looked away, unable to bear his scrutiny.

"Don't." he nearly whispered. He gently gripped her chin and turned her face towards him, straight into his waiting lips. He kissed her gently, urging her to respond and return the kiss. He tried to remind her just why they allowed this relationship to last as long as they had.

Sakura pulled away reluctantly and opened her eyes to look at him. "Itachi, this…was a mistake." As much as it hurt to say, she needed him to understand that this was only going to hurt him if they continued.

Itachi felt a twinge in his chest. Was this… emotional hurt? The weakness and pain he looked down upon and hated was threatening to take over his control. He didn't know what exactly he was feeling, but he didn't like it at all.

"I was a mistake," he stated more than asked.

"No, I didn't say that, I just meant that… we made a mistake, letting our desires get the better of us. Being missing nin, we know how dangerous that is and these past few months have been proof of that."

Itachi rested his forehead against Sakura's and remained silent for some time. Eventually, he dropped down beside her and pulled her close to him in a frighteningly gentle embrace, but she knew that it would have taken no less than ANBU to pry her away from him if he didn't will it. It took some time, but Sakura returned the embrace, albeit reluctantly, but Itachi didn't seem to mind.

"How was this a mistake, Sakura?"

She simply shook her head and buried her face further into his chest. She didn't trust her voice. She couldn't lie anymore, not to him, not about this. He was not a mistake; she didn't believe her earlier words for a second and she knew that neither did Itachi.

"I wish for you to stay," he spoke into her hair. Sakura stared wide-eyed at his chest. This was the first time he'd ever voiced out his own desires. Sure, he had preferences, but he never told her he wanted anything. For the longest time, she was convinced that he didn't want anything at all.

"I wish I could, but I can't. I'm sorry Itachi." She leaned up to give him a peck on the cheek, but he turned his head and held her there; he kissed her softly, yet urgently; slowly, but rushed. They finally broke apart and Sakura pried herself from his grasp. She walked to the door and placed her hand on the doorknob, opened the door, and walked out, but not before sending one last glance at the man she was sure she wouldn't see for a long time.

He had a hard time working without her presence as he had grown accustomed to having her near at all times, but he had managed. It took a while, but Itachi was able to convince Leader, subtly, that Sakura needed to stay with him, and much to her dismay, he agreed. All of her hard work of trying to keep Itachi from her mind and controlling her desire for him was thrown out the window when Leader had told her that she would be resuming her place with Itachi as his partner.

This made Itachi think, did Sakura really want to be with him? After all, she did try to leave him, though he wouldn't let her.

Sighing for the umpteenth time, Itachi closed his eyes and once again tried to blank his mind so he could get some sleep.

-

Sakura opened her eyes blearily. She was finally released and was safe and sound back into her own home. Why did it feel so unfamiliar and new to be back; kind of like she hadn't been home for a long time? She wasn't even sure if she could really call it home anymore; just a house she was staying in. She'd been told that she was on a mission when she and her team were ambushed and that's why she was in the hospital.

'Just how long was that mission anyway?' Sakura wondered silently.

She fell into her morning routine effortlessly as she washed her face, made breakfast and took a shower before heading out to the hospital. She would be staying in the village for a while long until she was deemed ready to take on missions outside the village walls again. Until then, she'd be fulfilling her duties at the hospital.

The day passed by quietly enough, as did the days after. She was beginning to get comfortable again and everything felt natural again. A week had passed since she was released from the hospital and Naruto invited her for lunch, which she accepted eagerly. Her heart's brother was extremely helpful throughout the entire ordeal and Sakura was more than grateful to him.

"Sakura-chan!" a voice called.

She looked up at her name to a blonde figure dressed in his usual ridiculously bright orange outfit that seemed to suit him more than anything. "Hi," she smiled. He led her into the restaurant and they talked about light topics, steering clear of her recent stay at the hospital and all that entailed, seeing as the thought of it made Sakura slightly uneasy.

"Ne, Naruto," Sakura's mood did a complete one-eighty as she focused her deep verdant gaze on him. "There's…something I wanted to ask you."

Naruto cocked his head to side slightly, "What is it, Sakura-chan?"

"I, um... Is there something I'm missing?"

"What do you mean?" The kyuubi container began to get slightly worried. Was she starting to remember what they'd work so hard to make her forget?

"I'm not really sure. Everything just feels… kind of surreal; like I'm not really supposed to be here."

"That's ridiculous; of course you're supposed to be here. Just look at your forehead protector." Naruto offered her a comforting smile.

Tsunade suggested they replace Sakura's original headband with a new one, since hers had been efficiently slashed and if that didn't bring her memory back, then nothing would.

"I guess you're right, but sometimes I just feel like I don't really belong here, and that something's missing."

Naruto did his best to assure her that she was exactly where she belonged and Sakura brushed it off as nerves and shakiness from her time in the hospital. However, she wasn't completely reassured. Something she'd never admit to anyone was that at night, she'd often stare at the stars and try to recall that time period she was certain she was missing. She just didn't belong there and she felt empty but she couldn't figure out what was missing and it frustrated her to no end.

Sakura did her best to push these feelings out of her mind but they just wouldn't leave her alone. She asked her mentor to take a look to see if anything was wrong and maybe it was a poison of some sort…or something. Tsunade accepted her request to humor her so she could later assure her student that all was well. Sakura was administered with some medicine that knocked her unconscious so Tsunade could do some tests and check her system in a way that wouldn't be too painful for her student. Just as she

BANG!

It seemed that Itachi and his team chose that exact moment to retrieve their lost member.

"Shit," Tsunade cursed to herself. She saw this coming, but seriously, couldn't they have picked a better time? She was at a loss for what to do or where to put her prized apprentice. The medicine wouldn't wear off for few more hours and she didn't want to risk leaving her alone. Naruto and Kakashi, Neji, and Shikamaru were on a mission and weren't due back for three more days so that didn't leave her with many other options as to who to leave Sakura with. She couldn't stay with Sakura because she had duties as the Hokage to get out there and secure the safety of her people. She finally decided to leave her with Shino and Sai and went to the streets to do what she could.

It was horrible, many building of Konoha were reduced to a pile of rubble thanks to a shinobi who manipulated bombs. However, it gave Tsunade great pride to see that the members of Akatsuki weren't looking so great and were having a hard time standing their ground against the Leaf nin.

Itachi, however, was not as violent as his teammates. He dashed through the shadows of the village in search for his target, Haruno Sakura.

He could sense her chakra nearby and he followed the trail. He stopped when he saw her…laying down sleeping or unconscious…behind two ninja whose names escaped him. No matter, he'd kill them and take Sakura back before his team was killed. That would have been the plan…if Sakura wasn't going to get mad at him afterward. Technically, he was permitted to do as he pleased since Konoha had given Akatsuki more than enough reason to engage in battle, but he knew Sakura wouldn't be pleased with him killing two people he was certain shared some kind of bond with her.

"Uchiha Itachi," called the one wearing sunglasses and a high collared jacket. He recalled seeing this one in battle with Sakura the first time they encountered her, it seemed they'd been on the same team.

"Hn," he replied coolly. That was all that had been said before all hell broke loose.

Sai immediately pulled out a scroll and drew several creature—monsters more like it—and brought them to life, sending them towards his opponent. Itachi easily destroyed them while dodging the swarm of bugs that approached him. Wanting to end this quickly, Itachi closed his eyes and executed a few familiar but deadly hand seals.

"Amaterasu," he murmured before the black fire covered the vicinity, but he was careful to avoid the rosette-haired woman on the bed behind his opponents.

Shino had jumped away and had managed to get away with only a few minor burns; Sai however, wasn't so lucky as his entire left side was burned badly and he was now on the ground, clutching his left arm and panting hard.

The battle continued on for a while longer and Itachi had a few minor injuries of his own, but otherwise was doing fine. His opponents were sporting rather serious injuries; Sai, in addition to the burns, had a gash running along the length of his right arm and had broken his left leg, through the appendage wasn't of much use prior to the injury; Shino had several broken bones, a gaping hole in his abdomen and had a punctured lung so he was having a hard time breathing. Itachi decided to end it and did so without killing them before carefully taking Sakura into his arms and running away to alert his team that the job was done.

Konoha was in a terrible state after they left, bits and pieces of building from one end of the village had somehow managed to end up flying halfway across the village. The Akatsuki, save for Itachi and Hidan, weren't doing much better, each member was sporting their own injuries but it didn't stop them from running like hell into safer grounds.

-

"Nnggh," Sakura woke up suddenly on alert, immediately feeling the absence of any familiar chakra. She shot up from the surprisingly comfortable bed and reached for a kunai, only to find that her weapons pouch had been removed.

'What the hell?' She wondered in her head, 'Where am I? What happened?'

"Sakura," she heard a deep voice call. Her head snapped towards the direction of the voice, he legs instantly crouching into a battle ready position on the bed. She suddenly froze when she determined the owner of the voice

"Uchiha Itachi…" she whispered.

"You are awake." He walked to her until he was directly beside the bed, looking down at her.

"How do you know my name? What do you want with me?" She demanded, trying her hardest to keep her voice from wavering.

Something passed through his eyes as he gazed down at her with an unreadable expression. "You do not remember," he stated.

"Remember what?" she growled. Sakura tensed. Remember? Did he know something about what she felt she was missing? The thought frightened her, that she might have something to do with an S-class criminal.

Itachi simply stared at her for a long while before walking away, and leaving her in the room. The room seemed to ignite something within her, but she couldn't seem to place it.

Sakura was left in the room unbothered for hours on end before the door opened once more, revealing a calm Uchiha. Just the thought of him scared Sakura and she did her best to keep her gaze from wandering to him. He placed a tray of food on her lap which she did her best to ignore, though her stomach was clearly in disagreement with her.

"Eat, Sakura," Itachi urged. The way he said her name sent shivers up her spine for reason beyond her.

She knew the food wasn't poisoned because they wouldn't have brought her to wherever she was now only to kill her, but she still refused the food offered to her. Itachi sensed that she wouldn't eat and sighed inaudibly as he moved the tray from her lap to the table beside the bed. He simply watched her and allowed a rush of relief to wash over him, knowing that she was back, although her memory seemed to have been altered.

Sakura felt his intense gaze on her and she shifted under his scrutiny, but refused to look at him. She stared at a spot on the wall and hoped he would go away soon. She was about to finally turn to look at him when she suddenly felt a pair of lips crash down on hers. It seemed Itachi just couldn't help himself.

"Mmph—!" Sakura's eyes widened and she tried to push him away, though her efforts were futile. Itachi kept a strong hold on her waist and behind her head as he kissed her hard. He definitely missed holding her, though he'd never admit it out loud. He finally pulled away and allowed a stunned Sakura some breath.

"What—" Once more, a pair of soft lips claimed hers but this time was gently and coaxing. She felt a warm tongue trace her lips, causing her to gasp and allowing Itachi to plunge his tongue into her soft cavern. Sakura's eyes widened once more, though this time in realization. This felt completely right, and she knew why. Her memories came flooding back to her as she returned the kiss with equal passion. Her tongue darted out to play with his and their muscles danced as she clung to him desperately. She allowed him to explore her mouth as she moaned into the kiss and melted into Itachi's arms. When they finally broke away, she sighed in contentment.

"Itachi," she whispered.

"Hn," he replied as he buried his face in her neck, smelling the sweet scent of strawberries.

Itachi finally found it in himself to let go of her and hand her the food tray again, hoping she'd eat something. She smiled at him gently, took the food from him and started eating.

"Are you injured?" she asked him worriedly.

"No," he lied, and she knew it, though she let it go, deciding she'd heal it later on.

"I'm sorry. I put you all through a lot of trouble."

"Do not apologize," he replied softly as he stared at her intently watching her every move. Sakura blushed under his intense gaze and averted her eyes to the window.

"I kind of missed this…even though I didn't know what I was missing. I guess I … kind of missed you too, Itachi," Sakura blushed as she told him.

Before she could blink, he was on her once again, lips claiming hers. He wrapped his arms around her petite form possessively as he placed a hand behind her head to deepen the contact. She opened her mouth for him and their tongues met eagerly, dancing and playing with one another. Sakura lifted her hands to play with his impossibly soft hair. She moaned into his mouth and tilted her head back to deepen the contact. He pulled away reluctantly and their lips hovered mere centimeters apart.

"And I you," he whispered, his warm breath fanning her already heated face.

Itachi's lips trailed lower and he kissed his way down her throat and back up, settling on a sensitive spot at the nape where her ear met her jaw.

"Itachi," Sakura sighed contentedly.

He felt his self-control waver and he forcibly removed himself from her before things got out of hand and he was unable to stop himself. He climbed into bed beside and wrapped his arms around her, allowing her to fall asleep safely tucked away in his embrace. Itachi didn't sleep much that night; he simply held the petite woman with pink hair, memorizing the feel of her against him, her arms holding him gently.

-

"Katsu!"

Sakura jumped back to dodge the explosion sent her way and pulled a nearby tree from the ground to throw at her opponent currently perched on a bird in the sky.

"I'm exhausted," the blonde nin said, finally coming down from his bird after a few more minutes of their fight.

"Me too, let's end it for today," Sakura replied.

She'd fallen into her old routine easily enough; training, missions, training, and Itachi. She was surprised at how easily everything came to her and how natural it felt to be surrounded by these criminals and share meals and decent conversations with them.

"Sakura," she heard a smooth tenor call her name and turned around.

"Itachi," she greeted with a smile.

"I'm gonna go inside for some food. I'll see you later, yeah?" Deidara said as he left the two alone.

"Kay, see you," Sakura called after her blonde friend.

"Did you need something, Itachi?"

"Leader wishes to speak with you. He requests your presence in his office tonight after dinner."

Sakura nodded, "Do you know why?"

"I do not," Itachi said as he shook his head.

"Hmm… alright then."

Sakura and Itachi made their way back to the base in companionable silence and they both walked into Itachi's room, planning to spend the rest of the afternoon there, just enjoying each other's company. Itachi made his way to the washroom and Sakura sat down on the bed, stretching her legs out in front of her.

'Hm, my legs are getting really dry, does he have any lotion around here?' she thought to herself. Finding a bottle of lotion she'd gotten him as a present for Christmas, she squirted some on her hand and reclaimed her spot on the bed, spreading the cool substance on her legs.

-

Itachi walked out of the washroom to find Sakura lounging on his bed spreading a sweet smelling substance on her long, milky legs. Honestly, was she trying to tempt him to take her right then and there? What did he do to deserve this torture? Well, maybe he was a mass murderer, killed his clan in a single night, & joined the most notorious criminal group in the world, but still! Was she unaware of how unbearably… sexy—for lack of a better word—that was?' Oh no, he did not just call someone sexy. Itachi groaned inwardly; what was this girl doing to him?

"Ah, Itachi, I hope you don't mind, I used some of your lotion," Sakura looked up as he walked out of the washroom.

"I've noticed," he said in a dangerously low voice as he made his way towards the bed. That voice sent shivers up and down Sakura's back and caused her stomach to do flips in anticipation of what Itachi would do. However, before he got to the bed, a firm knock was heard.

He suppressed the urge to sigh in irritation at the untimely interruption as he went to answer the door.

"Oy, Itachi, blossom," Kisame nodded to them in greeting, "Leader said that he wants to her now, apparently he's going somewhere and won't be here later," the shark-nin motioned to Sakura.

She lifted herself off the bed and walked to the door, "Right, thanks for letting me know." She left the room with a sigh, nodding her goodbyes to the two.

-

Sakura sighed as she stood in by her bed later that night, staring at the moon. The meeting with Pein puzzled her and to be honest, she was getting somewhat worried. She'd been given a mission of the utmost importance and she was surprised that she was being trusted with it. She was, after all, the newest member and she thought that such a mission would be given to someone more qualified, but she accepted it nonetheless. Was this some kind of a test? Or maybe they really did trust her that much. The thought scared her more than she thought it would have.

"Sakura," a muffled voice called from outside her door, pulling her out of her daze.

"Come in," she called back, hearing the door open then close shortly after.

"What did Leader say?" Itachi inquired as he neared her.

"It's just a mission." She explained the details as he listened intently.

"I will accompany you," he said finally.

"No," she snapped.

"Sakura, this mission is dangerous—"

"—which is exactly why you're not coming with me!"

"You think I will die on this mission?" Itachi raised an elegant eyebrow.

"No, but you'll get hurt…" the petite kunoichi looked away.

"I will not."

Her gaze snapped back to him. "There's always the possibility. I don't want to risk it—I love you dammit and—!" Sakura froze wide-eyed, just as shocked at her admission as Itachi was, "I mean…" she stuttered and stumbled over her words before finally giving up and turning away to walk to the balcony.

Itachi stood rooted to the spot for a few moments, staring at the spot she had previously occupied, before following her soundlessly and wrapped his arms around her, chin rested atop her head. "I will accompany you," he repeated.

Sakura just nodded.

-

"Stay here," a certain Uchiha instructed his injured roseate companion.

Sakura bristled at the command. "I can fight, Itachi," she growled.

He simply stared at her before moving away. He refused to risk her wellbeing for this mission, which he could easily complete himself; however, it seemed Sakura didn't agree with him.

"Get back here, you bastard," she snarled, standing to stop him. "I'm perfectly fine. In case you've forgotten, this was originally my mission and I intend to complete it." Why was it necessary for everyone to assume she was weak all the time? She wasn't the vain, weak little twelve year-old from six years ago; she could take care of herself when the need arose and she most definitely didn't need a stuck up Uchiha-bastard to tell her what she could and couldn't do. She was tired of being looked after, and she thought that being in the Akatsuki would show her worth enough, but apparently she was still that weak little girl from all those years ago.

Itachi slowed his steps to a stop and looked back at Sakura. The look in her eyes was so full of anger, shame, and hurt, that he couldn't stop himself from going back to her wrapping his arms around her. He wasn't trying to hurt her, only to protect her and told her as much, only to have his chest repeatedly assaulted by her small fists and being shouted at that she didn't need his protection.

"Let go of me!" she repeatedly shouted into his chest. "I hate you…" she finally whispered in defeat, deflating considerable.

He refused to let go and simply waited for her to calm down before murmuring into her hair.

"I love you, Sakura."

The pink-haired medic stiffened at his remark before melting into him and wrapping her arms around him. The entire thing felt so surreal, but the heat emanating from her companion and the stabbing pain in her side told her that everything was definitely real. The Uchiha Itachi had just confessed his feelings. Such feeling that were considered impossible for a man such as himself.

"I love you too," came her muffled response.

-

A/N: I was able to update a bit more quickly this time (: yay! Haha.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I realize that almost the entire thing focuses on just the two of them, but I thought they deserved a chapter all to themselves, seeing as they've been apart for a while now.

Thanks to my faithful readers and newer readers for reading and bearing with me. Constructive criticism is highly appreciated! :D

Hope you enjoyed. Reviews are highly appreciated!

~Ja