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Chapter 14

Sakura watched Itachi pick his own little dog fight, although she didn't mind him asserting his dominance, she understood that it was many of those guy things that she would never fully understand, but the matter of the situation at the moment was who he was picking his fight with. But, she did have to appreciate his valor, she always knew the man was crazy, but this brought up a whole new level. Not bad, she felt a twitch go up in her cheek.

At least he would entertain her a bit maybe it would serve as a good distraction from the sweltering heat and all of the frippery these nobles so loved to indulge in. She tapped her fingers against her leg, and waited as the flags went down, and for Itachi to break loose. She wondered how Kummori, Ryoutaro would react, she knew the man wasn't stupid, and that he was strong, in fact if it weren't for the fact that he was on a different sides and had different views from her a long standing relationship might have worked in due time, but the fact and truth of the matter was that he wasn't.

He was also incredibly arrogant, although she could have mended that with a few fights of her own, Lady Haruno of the High Court was not made to be a fighter. She was sure that the council members who supported the samurai faction in fighting would like him for her future husband and she knew he would be pushed to be her husband when they found out that Itachi was a shinobi. Although she knew that their proposal in the matter would hold up as tough as a flimsy tower of cards. They never were good at uniting which is why Sakura had gotten away with repealing a lot of those acts that they tried to so foolishly defend.

Over the course of her two year instatement as a counselor to the Lord, she had repealed many things in order to break new light into the world, such as supporting the roles of women and promoting them, and empowering them. Although she knew her influence didn't reach the most rural of places it was a start to this country's slow reform, and in order for her to continue doing such a good job in moving the Fire Country a couple steps ahead of the rest, they needed no conflict. And the samurai the stupid fools wished to challenge that balance. She knew her tsctic with Kumu had only hindered their plans for a while, Sakura knew that they would corrupt another one of the ladies, and then set her on the foolish Lord who sat beside her.

It made Sakura's head hurt, she glanced at Itachi in the field, and Ryoutaro who fought him with a fierce expression a stark contrast to Itachi's calm coolness, that seemed to offset any enemy. She knew that Itachi was holding back, but she noticed that his opponent was doing the same; they were sizing each other up on the battle field. Despite Ryoutaro's shouting and declarations she could hear clearly from the stands, Ryoutaro had the skill and experience to back it up, and she wondered how the match would turn out, seeing as she had instructed her beloved not to use any ninjutsu's or genjutsu's there was no need for him to encourage the council's pushing's to marry another.

The council of course did not want her to marry someone they did not know, and with Ryoutaro under their thumb she knew that they would push him forward and throw him in her path… she thought of the previous times she had met the man. Kind, strong a bit rough around the edges but would make a good husband, although he was easily manipulated, and here in the married world it was the man who did all of the talking. Something Sakura would never accept. She knew that if she chose Itachi she would be free of that sort of restriction, and although the Uchiha clan was a hard group she knew how to handle them from what she had heard about clan life, it really wasn't too much different from Court life.

Then again, she wanted rest from Court not a recreation, no matter though, it was something she could deal with later. She wondered at the fact that their match was taking a long time, "Nervous?" the Lord asked from her right, she scoffed lightly as befits a Lady of her station lazily waving a hand in the air, "Hardly," she told him, she had full confidence that Itachi could take what Ryoutaro could handle, it was just a matter of getting out of it unscathed. Now that she would like to see, Ryoutaro as raw in form he was with chakra she was sure that he unconsciously knew how to infuse it into his blade which made him an unpredictable element.

She smirked, as Ryoutaro slashed and a wave of dark blue emitted from his sword and went into the way of a blocking Itachi. There was a reason she hadn't tried to take Ryoutaro down just yet, and this was another reason why. Although she had nothing against the man personally she acted for what was best for the country. The way Itachi twitched slightly alerted her to the pain he was feeling; strangely enough he was still maniacally smirking. It was his ego that made him do it, "Don't lose on me now Weasel-dear, you promised you would make this end for me." She said smiling as she did the heat barely but an annoyance now. She was caught up in more interesting matters; it was a novel experience to see Itachi sweat a little plus she knew he had the stresses of being here to let go of. "What amuses you my Lady?" Asked the slightly interested and lazily tired man beside her, even though he couldn't see the spark in her eyes she knew he saw the devious smirked on her face.

"Oh, nothing My Lord, only, I've just now realized the interest you and the others share for this particular event." "Oh?" he asked his tone smooth and lazy, "Well isn't that wonderful." Her attention was brought back to the field she watched as Itachi gave the final blow and brought Ryoutaro down, slightly sweating from the heat. He looked up to the tiers where the people cheered and looked at her. He did say that he would end it as fast as possible. She tapped her wrist as if to indicate the time, his eyes twinkled as he walked offstage past those who were collecting Ryoutaro's body. A job well done, Sakura had to say, a job well done.

~(Itachi)~

He smirked to himself in justified satisfaction. He had won, true the Ryoutaro character had proven himself a bit of a difficulty, but he expected no less from someone who was chosen to keep Sakura down, although Itachi was sure she would never go down until the bloody end. The bloodiest end, he knew how much she loved her independence and ability to say what she wanted and when. She fought hard for it and it's that battle that had her in his sights today. He wondered where that fear of independence being taken away stemmed form, that undeniable will to get stronger than everyone else.

Her un-relenting manner that caught this eye in the first place, and it was features like this that he saw continually throughout all of her different characters shown that made him slightly more confused than he was before of her. Interesting, he had never met a subject like her who continued to baffle him so. It was a refreshing yet strange experience. He wondered what prize she would give him, although he was sure that it would be among one of the few experiences with her he wouldn't like.

From her sweetly sounding voice he knew that he was in for something big but detrimental in their relationship, although he didn't know what. Sakura wasn't a predictable person, although her thought patterns were easier to read than Naruto's there wasn't much of a difference. He looked up to her; calmly she was conversing with the Fire lord. He felt a possessive streak over take him, he didn't want her near the other man. He clenched his sword slightly harder, but before he could analyze any further his name was called. He turned back to the arena, he needed to finish this quickly, not only for his and her mental health, but he had to tell her about the Akatsuki here.

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They waited in the shadows of the trees hidden by the leaves just as a pair of guard samurai walked right under them. This was her terms of 'reward' and it certainly was a treat she was showing another side of herself that he was not familiar with. She was dressed in a fools outfit, granted that it was a mix of black to white and the shades in between, her hair pulled back in a high pony tail, he couldn't see her expression under the manically smiling mask but her knew that it was that of contemplation.

About what, Itachi didn't know. She sprang from her place in the tree without making a sound and sailed overhead, her outfit shifting cleverly to let her blend in with the shadows, he could hear a ghost of a chuckle come from her as she flipped through the air. He had never seen such a daring ANBU operative, but not only were her movements quick but they were unnecessary, Itachi was sure it was to goad the enemy into making rash actions. But there was a cold sense to this other her; he felt a sort of cold sensation coming from her. Itachi followed after her taking from the shadows, arriving to her point.

There was something eerie about her. Although she didn't say a thing it showed in her actions. The way she chortled occasionally, it was a cold laugh a stark contrast than her usual throaty chuckle or courtly laughter. This side of her was by far much more dangerous than her other sides. Itachi had the distinct impression that she was mad. Then again this might be the best way to combat an Akatsuki, her unpredictable movements and strange ways in this form would unsettle any fighter opposite of her.

At this point in time, even now as he crouched beside her he felt slightly unsettled, he felt the fine hairs of the back of his neck rise, a good thing he also had his ANBU mask in place, he could feel his features shift into that of a frown. She dampened her chakra to the barest minimum and pointed through the tree leaves. Itachi activated his sharingan to look through the henges that they wore. He pointed them out, and she nodded. He had already informed her of their identities. The one named 'Deidra' and the one named 'Sasori' were having a discussion. He heard the quiet sliding of metal, he glanced to her she had two reflective discs, with the other hand he made hand signs and threw the two card shaped discs into the tree trunk. It was almost like a summon but Itachi could tell that these weren't summoned beings; they were in fact normal animals.

He heard her giggle coldly, and softly. She tapped her neck where her black collar and transmitter were. A small compartment opened, and she took out two small pins, they looked like data chips. Gently she put them in inconspicuous places of the owl and the bat that she had before her, and then pushed them off. He watched as they circled over head of the two Akatsuki members catching their attention for a moment and then disappearing once again into the night, but Itachi knew that there was more to this trick.

If he looked hard enough the remnants of her chakra in the two were in a bush not far from where they were discussing, interesting he had never seen an ANBU utilize this sort of skill before. He continued to watch them, intently as another entered their meeting place, a blue in color man, Hoshigake Kisame, if Itachi remembered the BINGO book correctly. From beside him, he heard her quietly shift to sit comfortably on the tree branch, she looked down intently, and he could feel the coldness of her personality come off of her in waves. He had a bad feeling, and without provocation she leapt toward the group of Akatsuki, and for that one moment in time Itachi felt fear.

~(Sakura)~

She laughed quietly to herself as she let herself fall, maybe she could nab one of these guys and convert them into a follower. She sent a kunai to the opposite trees in both directions a thin wire running between the two, expertly she used that as her standing ground, she was sure she had scared Itachi. While another one of her selves would have been appalled at the blatant disregard toward a teammate, Watanuki enjoyed it, she was a fool after all, she was supposed to trick people and scare them a bit. Since when was Itachi any different?

Quietly she giggled to herself, as she felt the slightly muffled flare of his chakra that carried to her but not enough to alert their prey that stood beneath them. He was a professional through and through. Sakura-or shall we say Watanuki? Smiled from behind her mad hatter mask, it really was the first time this character had to work with someone else; needless to say it was a novel experience. She watched them from directly above them balancing on the thin wire, her outfit shifting to make her a part of the shadows. She had always liked life on the edge, to the point where your blood pumped so hard, the adrenaline high was intoxicating.

It was fun to walk the thin line of death. She listened to their conversation, with a less than avid interest, whatever they said was getting recorded in the data chips she had put on those animal. The only reason they had went without being shot down by the Akatsuki was because of the fact that they barely had any chakra remnants of an owner. Sakura wondered, though how far could she push it. Before Itachi snapped that is. The thought brought another bought of bubble laughter to her lips.

It was a shame that the Akatsuki who worshipped the demon god 'Jashin' wasn't here then she really could have had fun. No matter she was intended to have her fun anyway, plus she wanted to see how her other self's 'beloved' would handle this new development. She wanted to see for herself what her other side had chosen for a husband, and just because her other sides agreed with her choice, didn't mean that Watanuki did. She looked predatorily at that Akatsuki, it was her turn to try her hand at a henge. After all she hadn't been able to utilize that particular skill in a while.

She didn't want to get rusty either. She let herself fall back and into the dark trees where she shifted her clothing never making a sound, the moment she hit the ground she made a jusu to change her appearance, let's see if the Akatsuki had something against beautiful women. The soft poof of the atmosphere allowed her to take form of another. At the moment whoever laid eyes on her would see a long haired blonde, with bluish eyes in a colorful kimono slightly confused and a bit tipsy from the evening's events. Surely no man, no matter what organization could resist such a temptation.

Quickly she summoned a clone of her ANBU operative self, and from the safety of the trees she knew Itachi was watching. How cute, he was at a loss of what to do. He was lucky, lucky that the other side of her didn't bring out Kage, now Kage, there was a loose cannon. Kage probably would have charged them all, without hesitation and on pure quietly stirring rage. At very least, Watanuki was using her head to get through this one no matter how dangerous.

She winked to the distant Itachi who sat in the trees, at a loss of what to do. She glanced around, and let herself trip on something, "Kyaa!" she screamed out effectively spraining her ankle on a root. Her clone approaching her menacingly, and pitifully she quivered like a scared rabbit. She began to whimper. A moment later, she was surrounded by many henges, she smirked secretively to herself, her clone counterpart looked at her for a moment, and then disappeared. All the while she herself began to let tears fall.

No matter what a man said, he was naturally protective of something pretty; it was something all men did. The Fire Lord, Itachi, and now even these men would bend to the will of a particularly naïve and pretty courts woman. "Are you alright?" someone asked, holding out a kind hand. Fleetingly she looked up, letting her now blue eyes catch the light of the moon, "T-thank y-you." She said quietly, as if she were truly terrified. Her tone didn't even ring false. Gently she placed her hand in the other mans, in this form she had removed herself of all calluses that might give her away. If someone were to test her, she would be no use in fighting but sewing and playing an instrument would be her forte.

"What happened?" she looked up to the man who helped her up so gently. She sniffed, as if to gather her wits, "I-I don't know, o-one moment I was in the Palace inter chamber and then I was here, with that strange person looking over me!" She flinched as she put pressure on one foot. Making a small sound, to stifle the cry of slight pain, "I seem to have injured myself." She put a little more weight on the sturdy shinobi who was dressed as a samurai guard. With the little pin she had set in her Kimono sleeve she slipped it into his clothing, it was a small recording and tracking device.

When she felt the small device snap into the cloth without a sound, now she had to get out of there. Being between three rogue shinobi capable of taking cities was not very comforting, even from the mad Watanuki's point of view, although it had been fun fooling them, and she knew that this form wouldn't last for long. They were after all shinobi, and would see through the henge sooner or later, although she knew that they would be stunned by the out appearance for a while. Almost as if they had read her mind, a cool kunai was placed against her throat.

"Show your true form, kunoichi." A cool voice said from behind her, from the voice pattern and lack of warm in his skin, she supposed that this was the supposed, 'Puppet Master Sasori.' She contemplated acting innocent, but from the looks of the others faces that possibility was slim that they would believe her, she smiled. And she scoffed, "Found out already huh?"

(A/N I planned on ending it here but seeing as I haven't updated in a while….)

~(Itachi)~

He didn't like this feeling, this waiting anxiety this new her was giving him, when they got to safety he would remind himself to wring her neck. She had just thrown a wrench into his mentality and his plans. In a way though he had to admire her all the more for doing so, that didn't change the fact that he did not like this 'Watanuki' ANBU operative. So he watched almost helplessly as he Akatsuki approached her in that henge form, although it was a good appearance he knew that she would be found out soon enough.

He tensed his muscles ready to fish her out at any moment, Itachi crept closer to them to hear, "Found out already huh?" the words sent a thrill through him as he saw the kunai in the distance against her pale white skin. Just them she poofed into her normal self, flipping easily from their grasp, cols laughter emitted from her throat continuous and almost innocent like a child's, it sent a new wave of goose bumps against his skin. "A message from my Master." She told them, green leaves beginning to stir around her. This her seemed strange, and not a moment later a gentle hand grasped his shoulder.

It was Sakura who looked down at her clone with him, relief washed through his system. They watched calmly as the Akatsuki sent the Kunai straight into her clone's chest. "You will never win." It said before it poofed out of existence. As they cursed, Sakura lead them out of the unsteady ground, he saw the purpose of this mission. It didn't abate his anger any less. Even if it was to warn potential enemies, telling them to back off, and a way to show Itachi a new her… He tried to calm himself, trying not to snap before they arrived on her, little compound given by the Fire Lord as her ANBU headquarters.

The moment they landed on safe ground this other side told him, "You did well, shinobi. I see why my other sides picked you. Not a rash action about you is there?" It was said in an amused voice which angered him even further. All the while he took off his mask, his sharingan reacting with his overflowing anger. He grabbed her shoulder and pushed her to the ground, he knew that she let him. "What was the meaning of that? Why did you intentionally do that?" She laughed a high laugh, one that was a sure sign of insanity, "Tell me shinobi do you know the purpose of this mission?" she asked him, her words, slipping across his skin coolly like; he was running an ice cube against it.

He didn't answer, his anger being too great, that it became in impossibility to do so. "Not only did I manage to get a recorder and tracker on one of them and send two of my less used summons to tail them, I managed to trick them. As the person I am that in itself is a mission success. As part of the one you love, you also had to learn me, or do you wish to back down from that marriage proposal you had given us? Isn't learning me-us your purpose in falling in love? The fact that you can't figure through 'us' makes you curious and want to know us extensively." As the logic was played out for him, he calmed himself, "What do you mean by 'us'?" he asked, at the moment this was more to his interest, she had gotten out alive, and unscathed and for now that was the only thing that kept him from locking her away forever.

"Do you know why the 'ANBU 9' was created? Weasel-dear?" the usage of his nickname unnerved him, it made Itachi want to reply, but he found that he couldn't, he had yet to find the reason for that particular development in her life. Why had she created so many other parts of herself and purposely separated them when she would have been stronger as a whole?

"Do you know the reason why, the moment I remove this mask I become someone different? Why it always seems as if we're hiding something from you? Just as you try to hide yourself from us? Do you ever wonder why we never share our past? From what you've concluded, we're alike. But, the thing is Weasel-dear. We're so different! An infinity of things separate us, and that's where the interest lies. It's why we both look at each other; we try to see our differences and what match. Nothing more shinobi, nothing less, do you wish to find out? " Watanuki asked amusement laced her tone; Itachi looked at her sharply through the slitted eyes of the mask. "How far, Weasel-dear, are you willing to sink into the psyche of our mind?"

He didn't say a thing; he knew that he shouldn't answer this trickster side of her. If her testimony was right, and she was a different person, Watanuki was the type to mentally disturb her opponent with questions like that, and not answer them just for the hell of it. Her other sides however were different, if he pressured them just enough he knew he would get a semblance of an answer from her, as vague and guarded as it was. He reached down and gently removed the mask from her face. Green met black both in guarded interest. Her manner changed and she had once again returned to the 'Haruno, Sakura' he knew. Her eyes were bravely looking up at him as if she had done nothing wrong.

He wondered how many times how close had she come to loosing herself from another one of her sides, for their emotions were as strong if not stronger than what she expressed normally. She was an unexpectedly fragile in some ways; it made her seem so human. At that alone a rare and tender smile made its way to his face, she really was such a strange and wonderful woman. How far was he willing to sink? A strange question, but the Sakura before him should have known, that he was willing to sink as far as it took to obtain his goal.

All the questions her other self had taunted him with ran through his head but he found that he couldn't bring himself to ask even one, all of it would come out in due time. This was a strange test of his loyalty and persistence, strange that another side of her was trying to drive him away and see how much he could take. Anger now gone, he leaned down to kiss her.

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Done! 4,376 words of typing! Oh well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!!! Sorry for the late update! I got distracted with the series I was reading and restarting on reading the Prince of Tennis….. Man, why does this sound so similar to Kakashi when he arrives late and says, "Sorry! I got lost on the road to life!" XD anyway Thanks for reading!!! Please review!

To my anonymous:
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To Wow: Perceptive aren't you? Ideas are slowly starting to close themselves off from me… Is it stress? I'm not too sure at the moment ^.^… Sorry to keep you waiting, but Thanks for reviewing!!! This story –since it is alive- loves you all the more for being so worried about it!!!